An Essay on Capacity and Genius; to prove that there is no original Mental Superiority between the most illiterate and the most learned of Mankind, and that no Genius, whether Individual or National, is innate, but solely produced by and dependent on circ
London: W. Simpkin and R. Marshall, (1820). First edition. Leather_bound. Firts ediiton. N.d. (ca. 1820). Octavo in what appears to be contemporary three quarter dark brown leather over patterned paper covered boards. (2) 537, errata leaf (2). Scattered foxing to the blanks and a bit to the title page otherwise text is clean; tight in its binding although there is wear at the outer hinges, tips and edges. An unusual book, consisting of two seemingly unrelated subjects. The first, which is dedicated to John Locke, argues that there is no innate mental superiority between illiterate and educated men and that genius is a result not of natural but rather of environmental and developmental circumstances. The second essay is an examination on the nature of ghosts, with an appendix section Of "...two or three authentications of apparitions, on which my readers may exercise their own judgements...". Attributed to William Newnham, the esaays espouses a natural rather than supernatural explanation for such apparitions. Very Good. Item #E18746
Price: $250.00