Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Descriptive Information

Title

Lettres physiques et morales sur l’historie de la terre et de l’homme

Description

Jean Andre de Luc also proposed a distinct theory of the Earth in his Physical and Moral Letters (Lettres physiques et morales, 1778). This theory was biblically influenced, but as with the other texts presented in Religious Chronologics, future scientific approaches to Earth history drew insights from de Luc’s work. De Luc argued for a binary model of Earth history, split between a relatively short span of human history as defined by the old testament, and a vastly longer span (de Luc was not a biblical literalist) of pre-human history. The great divider, or revolution, was Noah’s deluge, but the accuracy of the model is less important in the context of this exhibit than the idea that nature had a history of its own, separate from human records and witness. In addition, it was de Luc that first proposed the name “geology” for this field of inquiry, and (notably before James Hutton) that an understanding of the time scales for Earth’s history should rely upon observations of “actual causes” (i.e., the present is the key to the past).

Call Number (click link to view in library catalog)

550 D38L

Authors

de Luc, Jean André

Full Title

Lettres physiques et morales sur l’historie de la terre et de l’homme

Date

1779

From the Exhibit

In Search of Lost Time: Religious Chronologics

Location

Paris

Language

English

Rights

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Type

Text

Medium

Book

Bibliographic Citation

de Luc, Jean Andre. Lettres physiques et morales sur l’historie de la terre et de l’homme. Vol. 2. Paris, 1779.