Elsa Sinclair Trans (2 results)

Hardcover with Dust Jacket. Condition: VERY GOOD. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. First Appearance of this foundational early work by Strauss, his first book publication in English, translated by Elsa Sinclair from Strauss's German manuscript. xviii, [3], 2-172pp. 8vo, navy cloth, gilt spine lettering, deckled tail edge. Owner's inscription to FFEP, one Mary Bailey of St. Anne's Society, Oxford d. 1947. Foxing to the endpapers and top edge, spine leaning, text entirely clean and unmarked with very sound binding; DJ tips a bit worn, spine toned with a few splotches, price intact. A Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, Strauss had a 2-year layover in England before emigrating to the United States in 1937. While on a temporary appointment at Cambridge, Hobbes delved into a deep study of the Genesis of Hobbes's thought. 'A student of the history of Jewish thought, from Maimonides to Moses Mendelssohn, he was naturally led to deal with the thought of Spinoza; and the chief work which he has hitherto published is a work on Spinoza's methods of biblical criticism. From Spinoza he was naturally, and logically, drawn to Hobbes. There was not only a parallel between the attitude of Spinoza to tradition and that of Hobbes: there was also the fact that Spinoza had used, if he had not entirely adopted, the moral and political philosophy of Hobbes. Turning accordingly to the study of the writings of Hobbes, Dr. Strauss came to England and examined the Hobbes papers in the library of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth. This set him thinking about the early thought of Hobbes; and that, in turn, led him to embark on a study of the genesis and development of Hobbes's moral and political thought. The result is the present volume.' (From the introduction by Ernest Baker).

Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Oxford, UK: Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1936. First Edition. Octavo; blue-gray boards stamped in gilt; 172pp. No dust jacket. Moderate wear to edges with brief exposure to extremities; spotting to cloth sizing; boards slightly bowed; binding sound and pages unmarked; a Very Good copy.