Giorgio de Santillana

Les hommes de la fin du n olithique connaissaient-ils la m canique c leste et la grande horloge cosmique ? Avaient-ils appr hend les cycles de la "grande roue" des plan tes dans l'espace, les effets de la "pr cession des quinoxes" ? Quelles taient les influences de ces derniers sur leur pens e et leur sacr ? Ont-ils pu transmettre cette science de l'astronomie avant l'invention de l' criture ? Les auteurs de ce livre nous proposent une relecture des textes sacr s et mythologiques de l'humanit fond s sur une tradition orale remontant entre autres aux poques archa ques m sopotamienne, nordique, gyptienne, grecque, hindoue ou persane. Ils d montrent qu'y affleurent des l ments "fossilis s" d'un savoir tr s ancien, beaucoup plus important qu'on ne l'imagine aujourd'hui. Ce faisant, ils contribuent ouvrir des perspectives de recherche dans le champ de l'arch o-astronomie et dans celui des mythologies compar es. Cette traduction est la seule dition fran aise de ce livre culte.

A truly seminal and original thesis, this is a book that should be read by anyone interested in science, myth, and the interactions between the two. In this classic work of scientific and philosophical inquiry, the authors track world myths to a common origin in early man's descriptions of cosmological activity, arguing that these remnants of ancient astronomy, suppressed by the Greeks and Romans and then forgotten, were really a form of pre-literate science. Myth became the synapse by which science was transmitted. Their truly original thesis challenges basic assumptions of Western science and theories about the transmission of knowledge.

One of the most important philosophers of the nineteenth century, Friedrich Nietzsche's influence on modern thought has extended beyond the borders of philosophy. His works have helped shape modern anthropology, psychology, theology, and sociology. Poets, novelists, and artists have also been touched by Nietzsche's powerful concepts and perspectives. Edited by a noted Nietzsche scholar, this authoritative compendium is a vital assembly of nearly all of Nietzsche's early works. Marking the advent of his mature philosophy, these aphorisms and prose poems examine the impulses that lead human beings to seek the comforts of religion, morality, metaphysics, and art. Nietzsche proposes greater individualism and personality development, addresses issues of society and family, and discusses visions of free spirits with the courage to be rid of idealist prejudices. Written in his distinctive, often paradoxical style, The Dawn of Day presents practically every theme touched upon in Nietzsche's later philosophical essays. It is an essential guide and a fundamental basis for the understanding of the great philosopher and his work.

"In the gallery of what might be called the martyrs of thought, the image of Galileo recanting before the Italian Inquisition stirs the minds of educated modern men second only to the picture of Socrates drinking the Hemlock. That image of Galileo is out of focus . . . because it has been distorted by three centuries of rationalist prejudice and clerical polemics. To refocus it clearly, within the logic of its own time . . . de Santillana has written The Crime of Galileo, a masterly intellectual whodunit which traces not the life but the mental footsteps of Galileo on his road to personal tragedy."—Time