The Sibylline Oracles Translated from the best Greek Copies : and compar'd with the sacred prophesies, especially with Daniel and the Revelations, and with so much history as plainly shews, that many of the Sibyls predictions are exactly fulfill'd.

SIBYLLINE ORACLES [1713 Trans Sir John Floyer].

Published by London R Bruges for J Nicholson, 1713

About this Item

Small 8vo, pp [8], xxiv, 336, bound in contemporary calf, spine with raised bands and red label, spine ends chipped, joints cracked with the upper joint internally reinforced, the spine cracked in several places and fragile, text lightly browned with edge browning to first and last leaves, still a good cop, FIRST EDITION; with this work the prominent Litchfield physician Sir John Floyer left his accustomed studies in medicine to publish works on Biblical prophecy and creation theory. This pioneering attempt to render the complexities of the oracles in English followed Floyer's borrowing of the original published Greek texts from the Bishop of Litchfield to whom his work is dedicated. The resulting work undoubtedly reflects Floyer's much wider scientific interest, somehting more than simply a Christian theological puzzle. They had, of course, received attention earlier in the 17th Century, notably from Twysden and Vossius, but Floyer was the first to present the Sibylles - or at least all thus far known - in English translation with dteailed commentary. 'What is striking in Floyer s approach is that he not only interprets the Oracles in their original setting, but systematically transposes them to the context of later periods in the Christian history, particularly from the time of the Islamic conquests, the crusades, the struggles between the Guelfs and the Ghibbelines in medieval Italy to the Reformation.' SIR JAMES STONEHOUSE'S COPY, with his signature at the head of the title page. A fellow physician, James Stonehouse [1716-95] would have taken an interest in Floyer's writings; later as an eminent cleric the work would have continued to interest him. An important work, rare in commerce, the binding in fragile but original state.

Seller Inventory # 30571

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Sibylline Oracles Translated from the best Greek Copies : and compar'd with the sacred prophesies, especially with Daniel and the Revelations, and with so much history as plainly shews, that many of the Sibyls predictions are exactly fulfill'd.
• Publisher: London R Bruges for J Nicholson
• Publication Date: 1713
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Seller catalogs:
  • eb76