Author: [BAXTER (Andrew)]:
Title: Matho: Or, The Cosmotheoria Puerilis, A Dialogue. In which The first Principles of Philosophy and Astronomy are accommodated to the Capacity of young Persons, or such as have yet no Tincture of these Sciences. Hence the Princilples of Natural Religion are deduced. Translated, and enlarged by the Author. Second Edition.
Description: London: Printed for A. Millar..., 1740. 2 volumes. 8vo, 190 x 113 mms., pp. [xii], 400; [viii], 362 [363 - 392], bound in 19th century diced morocco, gilt borders on spine, later reback with gilt spines, black morocco labels; upper margins in volume 1 water-stained, small repair to upper margin of title-page of volume 1, some browning of text, with the later bookplate olf Frank P. Hadley on the front paste-down end-paper of each volume; an indifferent set. Baxter first published a work under this title in a small quarto of 64 pages Edinburgh in 1738. This "translation" is more of a new work than a strict translation. He revised and enlarged the Latin version for a new edition in 1746 and published a second edition of the above work in 1745, and further editions followed in 1754 and 1765. Baxter was born in Aberdeen and educated at King's College, Aberdeen; he lived much of his life in Whittingham, near Edinburgh, but, as Sir Leslie Stephen remarked in Baxter's DNB entry, he seems not to have been aware of the work of David Hume. For that matter, Hume also seems not to have referred either in his published writings or his correspondence to Baxter's work, but Francis Hutcheson did, citing Baxter in his System of Moral Philosophy (1755; I, 200). The ten dialogues occur between Matho "A Boy of a fine Genius" and Philon; Matho's putative age would appear to be about twelve, but the discussion is sophisticated and demanding. Baxter was one of the earliest critics of George Berkeley, opposing, in the second volume, Berkeley's immaterialism and arguing instead that the existence of matter is crucial to theism.

Keywords: Philosophy prose Scottish Enlightenment


See more books from our catalog: Philosophy