Scrinium Classical Antiquity

EVANS, C. S., Natural Signs and Knowledge of God. A New Look at Theistic Arguments. Oxford University Press, 2012. 224p. Paperback. Evans has here made a valuable and original contribution to the field of religious epistemology. Natural Signs and Knowledge of God deserves attention from, and is sure to provoke lively debate between, philosophers of religion and theologians. However, it should also be of interest to, and accessible to, anyone concerned with theistic apologetics. Even someone with little grounding in these issues is likely to gain something from it. Sarah Adams, Religious Studies (Publisher's information). € 47.54 (New) (MD)

MILNER, G.B., (ed.), Natural Symbols in South East Asia. School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, London, 1978. 1st ed. VIII,182p. ills.(B&W photographs). Sewn. Ex libris glued to inside front cover. Signature on free endpaper. Series: Collected Papers in Oriental and African Studies. € 17.50 (Antiquarian)

HAIMAN, J., Natural Syntax. Cambridge University Press, 1984. 296p. Paperback. Series: Cambridge Studies in Linguistics, 44. The view that language is in some way 'arbitrary', that there is no formal relationship between a linguistic message and the thought it is meant to convey, is long established and pervasive. The goal of John Haiman's study is to challenge the monopoly of arbitrariness, which he believes has affected in significant ways many models of linguistic description and analysis, notably those proposed by Saussure and more recently by Chomsky and his associates. Linguistic structures, Dr Hainian claims, may be compared to (non-linguistic) diagrams of our thoughts, and deviate from iconicity in many of the same ways and for much the same reasons as do diagrams in general. Arbitrariness develops as a result of the relatively familiar principles of economy, generalization and association. In relation to this thesis, Dr Haiman considers a wide variety of constructions, including conditionals and interrogatives, gapping, causative structures, auxiliaries and reflexives, and provides a wealth of exemplification from different languages that also points to typological differences in respect of iconicity. (Publisher's information). € 44.90 (New) (MD)

PALEY, W., Natural Theology. Oxford University Press, 2008. 384p. Paperback. Series: Oxford World's Classics. This is an astonishing book, made all the more accessible by some excellent modern footnotes John Habgood, Church TImes 07/07/2006 (Publisher's information). € 13.57 (New)

PALEY, W., Natural Theology: Volume 0, Part 0 6th Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2009. 604p. Paperback. Series: Cambridge Library Collection - Science and Religion. William Paley (1743–1805) argues for the existence of God as the intelligent creator of the world in this, his last book, published in 1802. He builds on early modern natural theology including the works of John Ray, William Derham, and Bernard Nieuwentyt, and most of his examples are taken from medicine and natural history. Paley uses analogy and metaphors, including a particularly well-written version of the 'watchmaker analogy', to prove that the world is designed and sustained by God. This sixth edition also contains a detailed bibliography, appendices on Paley's courses, and background notes on key figures. It was an influential best-seller throughout the nineteenth century, read by theologians and scientists alike, and reprinted in cheap editions for the middle classes. It inspired many nineteenth-century works on natural theology, including the Bridgewater Treatises (which also appear in this series), and is a landmark of Western thought. (Publisher's information). € 50.97 (New) (MD)

STOKES, G. G., Natural Theology: Volume 0, Part 0. Cambridge University Press, 2012. 286p. Paperback. Series: Cambridge Library Collection - Science and Religion. Specialising in optics and the motion of fluids, physicist George Gabriel Stokes (1819–1903) was Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge for over fifty years, President of the Royal Society, Master of Pembroke College and the most prominent religious scientist of his age. First published in 1893, Natural Theology contains the text of ten lectures he gave at Edinburgh. Stokes favoured the design argument for the existence of a Christian god, arguing against Darwinism. He believed the Bible to be true, though at times metaphorical. The lectures move from substantive observations on cosmology, electricity, gravity, ocular anatomy and evolution through to non sequiturs regarding providential design, human exceptionalism, the supernatural, spiritual immortality, and Christ's dual materiality and divinity. Fossilising a moment of impending shift in the history of ideas, these lectures highlight an intellectual dissonance in the Victorian scientific establishment. (Publisher's information). € 29.12 (New) (MD)

PLINIUS SECUNDUS, C., Naturalis Historia. Textauswahl aus Buch II (Kosmologie) sowie VII und XXIII mit Begleittexten von Apianus, Melanchton, Copernicus. Ausgewählt, eingeleitet und erläutert von K. Weddigen. Ernst Klett Verlag, Stuttgart, 1989. 5th impr. 32p. ills. Wire stitched. Bit creased. Title page bit rust stained. Series: Alsprachliche Textausgaben Sammlung Klett. (Rare). € 16.00 (Antiquarian)

PLINIUS SECUNDUS, C., (PLINIUS MAIOR), Naturalis Historiae Libri XXXVII. Post L.I. Obitum recognovit et scripturae discrepantia adiecta edidit C. Mayhoff. Vol. II. Libri VII-XV. Liber VII: Miraculous birth, miscarriage, etc., upbringing, life lessons, wonderful performances on different disciplines. Liber VIII: Fauna. Liber IX: Sea animals. Liber X: Birds. Liber XI: Insects. Liber XII: Indigenous Trees. Liber XIII: Exotic Trees. Liber XIV: Fruit Trees. Liber XV: Fruit Trees. Teubner, Leipzig, 1875. XXXXVIII,424p. Rebound. Library marks on spine and french page. € 34.50 (Antiquarian)

PLINIUS MAIOR, Naturalis Historiae. Tomus primus. Tomus secundus. Tomus tertius. Cum Commentariis et adnotationibus Hermolai Barbari, Pintiani, Gelenii, Dalechampii, Scaligeri, Salmasii, Grnovii, Is. Vossii et variorum. Accedunt praeterea variae lectiones ex Mss. compluribus ad oram paginarum accuratae indicatae. Lugd.Batav. et Roterod. apud Hackios, 1669. 3 vols. Leather bound. Head back vol.1 repaired with tape, head back vol.2 loosening, back vol.1 and 3 loose. Frontispiece missing. Ex Library Bürmania-Rengers, grieman van Gaasterland. With signatures from (a.o.): Hylckama, Zand, Vürtheim. [Graesse: Cette édition correcte qui entre dans la Collection Variorum, donne le texte de l'édition de Dalechamp, mais on n'y pas complètes les notes des différents interprètes de Pline: celles de Gronov ne se rapportent qu'aux livres XX-XXVI.] [Brunet: Belle édition, et l'une des moins communes de la Collection Anciens Variorum.] € 206.50 (Antiquarian)

WARD, J., Naturalism and Agnosticism: Volume 1. Cambridge University Press, 2011. 326p. Paperback. Series: Cambridge Library Collection - Philosophy. James Ward (1843–1925) was Professor of Mental Philosophy and Logic at the University of Cambridge. First published in 1899, this two-volume work consists of his Gifford Lectures, delivered between 1896 and 1898, in which he criticises Naturalism (the belief that all phenomena are governed by the laws of science, and that the supernatural cannot exist), and Agnosticism (the belief that the existence of spiritual phenomena cannot be proved or disproved), in favour of Idealism, in which spiritual and non-material phenomena are central to human experience. The lectures in Volume 1 set Naturalism and Agnosticism within the context of the Mechanical Theory, arguing against its claim that experience can be fully described in terms of mechanical concepts such as motion, energy and force. Exploring the ideas of prominent thinkers such as Newton, Huxley and Spencer, these thought-provoking discussions continue to inform and evoke debate among philosophers and natural scientists. (Publisher's information). € 31.54 (New) (MD)