‎HUYGENS (C.)‎
‎Nouveau traité de la pluralité des mondes traduit du latin en françois par M. D*** (DUFOUR) -- PREMIERE TRADUCTION EN FRANCAIS du KOSMETHEOROS DE C. HUYGENS -- BON EXEMPLAIRE‎

‎P., Moreau, 1702, un volume in 12 relié en pleine basane, dos orné de fers dorés (reliure de l'époque), (petit accroc sans gravité à la coiffe, mouillures pâles dans les marges de quelques feuillets), (12), 277pp., 9pp., 4 PLANCHES‎

Reference : 7994

‎---- PREMIERE TRADUCTION FRANCAISE du KOSMETHEOROS de HUYGENS paru en latin en 1698 ---- BON EXEMPLAIRE ---- "Huygens did not belive that complete certainty could be achieved in the study of nature, but thought that the philosopher must pursue the highest degree of probability of his theories. Clearly Huygens considered this degree to be adequate in the case of his explanations of light and gravity. It is difficult for the historian to assert how Huygens considered his theories about life on other planets and about the existence of beings comparable to man. The theories were expounded in his KOSMETHEOROS (1698). The argument of the book is very methodically set forth and its earnestness suggests that Huygens did indeed assign a very high degree of probability to these conjectures. In the Copernican world system the earth holds no privileged position among the other planets. It would therefore be unreasonable to suppose that life should be restricted to the earth alone. There must be life on the other planets and living beings endowed with reason who can contemplate the richness of the creation, since in their absence this creation would be senseless and the earth, again, would have an unreasonably privileged position... In the second part of Kosmostheoros Huygens discussed the different movements of the heavenly bodies and how they must appear to the inhabitants of the planets. He took the occasion to mention new advances in astronomy. He compared the intensity of light from various heavenly bodies - thus making the first attempt at photometry". (DSB VI p. 611)**7994/ARB4‎