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Libra Esoterica

Myths and marvels of astronomy

by Richard Anthony Proctor, David H. DeVorkin Collection DSI, Richard Richard Anthony Proctor, Owen Thomas & William Thomas

  • First published:
  • 19th century
  • Language: English
  • Content type: Primary source
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Description

Description from Project Gutenberg (opens in a new tab)

"Myths and Marvels of Astronomy" by Richard A. Proctor is a collection of essays that explores the intersection of astronomical science with the mythology and folklore surrounding it, written during the late 19th century. The work delves into how ancient and modern societies have interpreted celestial phenomena through myths, reflecting on both the marvels revealed by astronomy and the misconceptions that have arisen alongside them. Proctor aims to present these topics in an accessible manner, avoiding overly technical language while providing intriguing insights into the historical and cultural significance of astronomy. The opening of this publication sets the stage by outlining the author's intent to examine astrology and its historical context. Proctor discusses how astrology, once a widely accepted practice, entwined itself with cultural beliefs and everyday language, showcasing the tension between scientific understanding and popular belief. He references significant historical figures like Cicero and Pliny to illustrate the longstanding debate over the validity of astrology. The text presents a thoughtful critique of how misconceptions surrounding the stars were gradually challenged by rational thought and scientific discovery, inviting readers to consider both the allure and the folly of astrological beliefs throughout history. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Astrology, Mythology, folklore, and sacred legends, and Pyramids, ancient engineering, and sacred architecture.

  • Astrology

    Controlled discovery queries from internet-archive and openlibrary-historical matched “Astrology”. Retained metadata contains “astrological” in the description, “Astrology” in the description, and “Astrology” in the subject metadata.

    • “Astrology”· via Internet Archive
    • “Astrology”· via Open Library
    • “astrological”· in description
    • “Astrology”· in description
    • “Astrology”· in subject
  • Pyramids, ancient engineering, and sacred architecture

    Controlled discovery queries from openlibrary-historical matched “Pyramids”. Retained metadata contains “Pyramids” in the subject metadata.

    • “Pyramids”· via Open Library
    • “Pyramids”· in subject
  • Mythology, folklore, and sacred legends

    Controlled discovery queries from openlibrary-historical and project-gutenberg matched “Folklore”, “folklore”, “Mythology”, and 1 additional term(s). Retained metadata contains “Folklore” in the description, “Mythology” in the description, “Folklore” in the subject metadata, and 1 additional metadata match(es).

    • “Folklore”· via Open Library
    • “Mythology”· via Open Library
    • “folklore”· via Project Gutenberg
    • “mythology”· via Project Gutenberg
    • “Folklore”· in description
    • “Mythology”· in description

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

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Editions

Open Library reports 6 editions; 3 cataloged here.

HathiTrust catalog record

1896———Public view

Internet Archive unrestricted pre-1900 PDF scan

1878-01-01T00:00:00ZLondon : Chatto and WindusEnglish—Public digitized item

Project Gutenberg electronic edition

Project Gutenberg metadata does not identify the source print edition.

2008-09-08Project GutenbergEnglish—Public domain (USA)

Subjects

14 subject headings

Identifiers & provenance

How this record was assembled, and the authority identifiers it carries.

Identifiers

ISBN-13
ISBN-10
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OCLC
Open Library work
Project Gutenberg
Internet Archive
HathiTrust
Open Library work (alias)

Cataloging notes

  • Contributing institution: Smithsonian Libraries
  • Digitization sponsor: Smithsonian Libraries
  • Discovery required Internet Archive search metadata to report a PDF format; the exact direct-file URL is added only after the item's file listing confirms an unrestricted PDF filename.
  • Open Library reports 1 editions; this snapshot catalogs one representative edition and preserves work-level ISBN, date, and publisher aggregates.
  • Open Library reports 6 editions; this snapshot catalogs one representative edition and preserves work-level ISBN, date, and publisher aggregates.
  • Original print publication date and source edition are absent from Project Gutenberg metadata.
  • Scanner: scribe1.washingtondc.archive.org
Catalog id
openlibrary-work:OL13106914W
Edition coverage
Multi source partial
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