"A GREAT MAN OF SCIENCE AND A GREAT SOUL" (ARNOLD TOYNBEE)

TEILHARD DE CHARDIN, Pierre. The Phenomenon of Man. New York: Harper & Brothers, (1959). Octavo, original blue cloth, original dust jacket. $950.

First edition in English of Pierre Teilhard's de Chardin's most important work.

A Jesuit trained as an archaologist, Teilhard de Chardin was insistent on the importance of reconciling science (and evolution in particular) with faith, which increasingly led him towards mystical understandings of both; this placed him in almost constant conflict with the Catholic church, which forbade him to publish his masterwork, The Phenomenon of Man. Although written in the 1930s and early 40s, it first published in 1955 in French, shortly after his death.

Only very minor spotting to cloth rear board. A fine copy.