Thomas Hobbes - OPERA - 1668

Thomas Hobbes Malmesburiensis – Opera Philosophica, written in Latin, All (part of the second and first of the volumes of the Opera Varia).

21 × 16 cm.
 Pages: 44; 146; (8), 261 pp.

Contains:
- Physica Problemata (with 2 folded plates)
- Examinatio et Emendatio Mathematicae Hodiernae (with 1 folded plate)
- Elementorum Philosophiae Sectio Prima – De Corpore (with 13 folded plates)

Numerous figures engraved in the text.

Frontispiece restored, margins repaired and walking marks (some restored with additional plates at the end). One plate very faded. Missing portrait (common in miscellanies of volumes I-II). Overall in good condition for a 17th-century volume, text intact and legible. Contemporary parchment binding.

This is one of the foundational Latin editions of Hobbes’ philosophical works, printed in Amsterdam (where the author had to turn to publish freely). It includes central texts of his thought:

- The physics and natural philosophy (De Corpore and Problemata Physica), with discussions on vacuum, motion, gravity, geometry and natural phenomena.
- The critique of contemporary mathematics (Examinatio…), directed in particular at John Wallis.

These works represent the core of Hobbes’ mechanical and materialist philosophy, which deeply influenced European scientific and political thought of the 17th century.

The Opera Philosophica of 1668 is the standard collective Latin edition of Hobbes’ works, edited by the author himself in his later years and printed by the famous typographer Joannes Blaeu. It is a milestone of modern philosophy, gathering in a single corpus the foundations of his physics, geometry and theory of knowledge.

Copies with all folded plates are very rare on the market.

This miscellany of Volume I and II, with its rich iconographic apparatus (16 folded plates in total + in-text figures), represents an important opportunity for collectors of philosophy, science and ancient books. The presence of numerous mathematical and physical plates further increases its documentary and collecting value.

Ideal for auctions of ancient books and important 17th-century philosophy collections.