Item #1079 Clocks and the Cosmos, Time in Western Life and Thought. Samuel L. Macey.

Clocks and the Cosmos, Time in Western Life and Thought

Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1980. First Edition. 8vo. Red cloth covered boards stamped in gold. 260 pp. including index. A little light foxing on top and fore-edge of text block, otherwise a tight, clean, very good to fine copy. / Clean, crisp very good dust jacket. Item #1079

The horological revolution began in England in 1660, when mechanical clocks first became sufficiently accurate for the requirements of urban man. Since this time, and particularly in the ensuing 100 years, clocks influenced the language, themes and literary forms used by poets, theologians, and philosophers. Unlike similar metaphors - the mirror or the lamp, for instance- the importance of the clock to the thought and writings of Western man has not been adequately explored until this book. Choosing historical survey as his method, Samuel L. Macey begins by outlining relevant horological developments from the beginning of the neoclassical age, charting their influence on the industrial revolution as well as on English society and the arts. He moves to a discussion of the clock metaphor as it was used by scientists and philosophers of the time. Finally reviewing the rise and fall of the Watchmaker God.

Price: $30.00