De Legibus Hebraeorum ritualibus et earum rationibus libri quatuor. 2-vol. set (Complete)
Cantabrigiae (Cambridge): Apud C. Crownfield; E. Jeffery & W. Thurlboum, 1727. Second revised. Hardcover. Folio (14 x 9 1/4"). [1] leaf (Frontispiece), [20]pp (Title, Praefatio; Praefatio auctoris ad lectorem; Librorum, Capitum, & Sectionum Argumenta; Subscribers to Spencer), 635, [1]pp. (Vol. 1); [2], [636]-1232, [28]pp (Index) (Vol. 2). Modern full brown morocco with gold lettering to spines. Raised bands. Engraved frontispiece portrait of the author by George Vertue. Decorative head-, and tailpieces.
Originally written in 1685, John Spencer's "De Legibus Hebraeorum" is a pioneer work of comparative religion, advancing the thesis that Judaism was not the earliest of mankind’s religions.
Spencer's chief purpose in writting this book was to prove in detail that the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish religion were instituted in direct opposition to the practices of the surrounding idolatrous nations, and in order to establish the strongest distinction between the Jews and them.
In this work the author derived nearly all his data from classical writers of Greece and Rome, the Church Fathers, the works of Josephus, or from the Bible itself.
Previous owner's bookplates on inside of each front cover (Library Brocket Hall; Francis Thomas de Grey Cowper - Panshanger). The pages are remarkably white and therefore appear to have been washed. Text in Latin. Binding and interior in very good condition. vg. Item #42840
About the author: John Spencer (1630-1693) was an English clergyman and scholar, Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Price: $750.00