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Of bodies and of mans soul: To discover the immortality of reasonable souls: With two discourses, Of the powder of sympathy, and, Of the vegetation of plants.

Sir Kenelm Digby (1603-1665)
London: Printed by S.G. and B.G. for John Williams, 1669

Rare Books & Special Collections
Strong Room Collection SR 1P D56

We thank our donor...

Conservation treatment of Of bodies and of mans soul was generously funded by Adopt-a-book donor, Bryce Saint, and his family in memory of Nancy Saint. Their valued contribution has ensured this important 17th century collected edition of Digby's work will be available for future generations of researchers for many years to come.

Synopsis

Of bodies and of mans soul, 1669 edition, is a collection of Digby’s philosophical works published in two treatises, the first Of bodies and the second The nature and operations of mans soul: Out of which the immortality of reasonable souls is convinced. Bound with this edition are a further two works Of the sympathetick Powder: A discourse in a solemn assembly at Montpellier and A discourse concerning the vegetation of plants. Together they form the only collected edition of Digby’s philosophical and scientific work.

Arguably Digby’s most important piece of work, Of bodies, spans 38 chapters, each one devoted, in some way, to the fundamental properties of animate and inanimate bodies. In it, he considers quantity, density and rarity and how motion can arise from these. He also presents the theory that light is fire, and considers the senses, including touch, taste and smell. He argues that sound is purely motion, and that colours are merely light mingled with darkness. Of Bodies was a widely read text and, for its time, was ground-breaking in a number of subject areas. However, it appealed more to the artist than the scientist due mostly to a lack of precision and definition.[1]

Sir Kenelm Digby was born in Buckinghamshire, England, in 1603.  A diplomat and reputed natural philosopher, he married Venetia Stanley in 1625. She died just eight years later, prompting a famous deathbed portrait by Van Dyck.[2] Overcome with grief for his wife, Digby relinquished his public life for the seclusion of Gresham College, London, and returned to Catholicism. He took an interest in literature, religion, alchemy and astrology and began to write seriously on the subjects, producing works such as A conference with a lady about choice of a religion (1638), in which he argued that the Catholic Church was the only true church.

In the lead up to publishing Of the nature of bodies (1644) and Of the nature of mans soule (1644), Digby became increasing involved with several English Catholics in semi-exile. He supported Charles I in his bid to establish episcopacy in Scotland and, following an incident in which he killed a French nobleman for insulting the King, Digby was jailed by the House of Commons. On his release, Digby returned to France, where he remained during the English Civil War, and produced his two most notable works.

Despite his brief imprisonment, Digby was respected by many leading intellectuals of the time. He was a founding member of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge and also one of its governing council members. He was generally credited as being the first to note the importance of oxygen to the sustenance of plants, and devised a rudimentary theory of photosynthesis.[3] He also owned a glassworks company and developed the wine bottle in the form that we know today, an invention the Parliament recognised officially in 1662. Digby dedicated his life to literary and scientific pursuits and was knighted by James I.

Original Condition

Calfskin binding showing signs of serious degradation. Leather lifting from edges and corners of front and rear boards, with some sections missing altogether. Board corners in need of consolidation and re-covering. Original leather spine missing entirely and previous cloth repair to spine disintegrating, exposing the sewing system and cords. Numerous splits within the textblock and tears to several pages. Staining from prior cloth repairs to front and read pastdowns and endpapers. Requires rebacking and re-sewing.

Restoration by Anthony Zammit

Cloth from previous repair removed from spine and front pastedowns, together with its crimson residue. Sewing system dismantled completely. Textblock resewn and tears to individual pages repaired with Japanese tissue. Sections of the front board and its corners reconstructed and covered with custom-dyed calfskin. New hollow lining created for the spine and book sympathetically rebacked. New, black leather spine label, with gilt lettering, attached to spine. Inner joints reinforced with Japanese repair paper, and provenance notes, adhered to front endpaper during earlier cloth repair, transferred to the front pastedown.

Footnotes:

[1] Hall Boas, Marie, “Digby, Kenelm”, Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography, 2008
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Kenelm_Sir_Digby.aspx

[2] “Kenelm Diby”, Wikipedia, 2016
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenelm_Digby

[3] “Kenelm Digby”, Wikipedia, 2016
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenelm_Digby

Lee Hayes
August 2016