Extrait de l'embryologie sacrée, ou moyen de procurer le salut éternel aux enfants qui naissent avant le terme , à ceux qui ne sont pas encore nés...

First edition. In original wrappers, under contemporary marbled paper. Upper headcap torn, lower headcap trimmed. Spine yellowed. The work is anonymous, but the preface leaves no doubt about the book's author; the translator appears to be Abbé Dinouard, who had published an Abrégé de l'Embryologie sacrée in 1775. A very interesting and remarkable reflection on caesarean operations and on the nature of the living in human beings. This is undoubtedly the first time that the foetus, or premature babies, were considered as living beings. It is striking to note that it was religious thought that led to reconsidering embryology through its conception of the living being