The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason :: Charles Freeman soon to be presented for sale on the fabulous BookLovers of Bath web site!
London: William Heinemann, 2002, Hardback in dust wrapper.
Includes: Black & white plates; References;
From the cover: The adoption of Christianity by the emperor Constantine in the early fourth century brought a transformation both to Christianity and to western civilization, the effects of which we still feel today. In the centuries before Constantine, the Roman Empire had absorbed and sustained the Greek intellectual tradition which, in the astronomy of Ptolemy, the medicine of Galen and the philosophy of Plotinus, reached new heights. The continued development of rationalism coexisted with a fertile spirituality. A mass of new cults, many from the east, were absorbed into traditional Greco-Roman paganism and a wide variety of spiritual experiences co-existed.
The century after Constantines conversion saw the development of an alliance between church and state which, for political as much as religious reasons, stifled freedom of thought and the tradition of Greek rationalism …
Very Good in Very Good Dust Wrapper. Pages lightly age-tanned. Previous owners’ name & date to the first blank.
Black boards with Gilt titling to the Spine. (xxiii) 470 pages. Index. 9½” x 6¼”.
Of course, if you don’t like this one, may I persuade you to have a look at more books within my History catalogue?
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