A History of the Earth and Animated Nature by Oliver Goldsmith
A History of the Earth and Animated Nature by Oliver Goldsmith
“Animated nature”. The title had me puzzled when I saw this two -volume set of books. Animated means excited, lively, spirited does it not? This will be interesting, I thought, a description of excited, lively, spirited Nature! But, as I found, there is another definition of animated – “endowed with life or the qualities of life”. Ah, this makes more sense. The history of the earth (inanimate) and the life on it (animate). And so I progressed beyond the title page…
In addition to A History of the Earth etc, we also have “An Introductory View of the Animal Kingdom” by Baron Cuver and “Copious Notes of Discoveries in Natural History and A Life of the Author” by Washington Irving. So lots to get my teeth into!