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FIRST EDITION, [20], 227, [5], occasional light foxing, title stabilised with tissue, repairs to front and rear gutters, light pencil annotations and manicules, contemporary speckled calf, corners rubbed, 8vo, London, 1688 First Edition of a Scarce Work. A translation of Bernard Le Bouvier de Fontenelle s Histoire De Oracles (1687) by Aphra Behn. This work on debunking the Oracles of Ancient Greece and Rome as frauds of the priests used to manipulate the masses, rather than under Demonic influence as suggested by the Church. This is an abridged version of Antonius van Dale s Latin work De Oraculis Ethnicorum (1683). Van Dales argument against the supernatural and the role of the Devil in the pagan oracular tradition was highly influential, but was not popularised until Fontelle s adapted version two decades later. Aphra Behn (1640-1689) was one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing. She broke cultural barriers and opened up public space for women writers. She was employed by Charles II to work as a spy in Antwerp. During the turbulent political times of the Exclusion Crisis, she wrote an epilogue and prologue that brought her into legal trouble; she thereafter devoted most of her writing to prose genres and translations. The History of Oracles… was the penultimate work to be published before her death in 1689. The dedication by Behn is to Lord Jeffreys, known as the "hanging judge". He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor. His conduct as a judge was to enforce royal policy, resulting in a historical reputation for severity and bias. Jeffreys historical notoriety comes from his actions in 1685, after Monmouth s Rebellion, where he was responsible for a high number of executions. Estimates of the numbers executed for treason have been given as high as 700. Behn's dedication has been criticised as a "triumph of sycophancy". Her name does not appear in the work, but the dedication is signed A.B. This dedication was removed from later editions. Seller Inventory # 6460
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