François Bernier - Abrégé de la Philosophie de Gassendi [E.O.] - 1674

Rare original edition of 'The Summary of Gassendi's Philosophy' published after his death by his disciple François Bernier (1620-1688). Two additional expanded editions were released in 1678 and 1684.

Two volumes in one edition, with continuous pagination.

Full marbled calf from the period. Smooth spine decorated, with a title piece and gilded compartments. - Scuffs on the headbands and edges. Slightly yellowed paper, outer margins of the first 30 pages affected by humidity (see photos), with no impact on the text. Good condition.

Pierre Gassendi (1592-1655) is notably known for: reintroducing the notion of the atom; defending the existence of the vacuum; and being the first to perform in 1641 the experiment on the fall of a stone from the top of a ship's mast in motion, an experiment that confirmed Galileo's (1564-1642) assertion that a stone dropped from the top of a ship's mast will fall at the foot of the mast whether the ship is at rest or moving at a constant velocity.

François Bernier
Summary of Gassendi's Philosophy
Paris, at the house of Jacqus Langlois and Emmanuel Langlois, 1674
Fort in-12 (15.5 x 9 cm); title, 3f. 1f. of table, 509pp. 1f white, lxxipp.