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[Identification of item], in the Moses T. Cilley essays on natural theology, theism, and creationism versus evolution, 1861 and undated, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.
Purchase, 2008
Processed by: Alice Poffinberger, February 2010
Encoded by: Noah Huffman, February 2010
Accession(s) described in this finding aid: 2008-0164
Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory:
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
Methodist minister who preached in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Born in Salisbury, Mass., in 1830, to Jonathan Cilley and Abigail Fowler; married Sarah A. Eaton in 1849, and died after 1910.
Collection comprises a volume, 250 pages, filled with handwritten religious essays (called themes or lectures, which are sometimes separated into chapters), on the topics of natural theology, theism, and creationism versus evolution. Whether the essays were written to support the author's theological studies, as material to be presented in convocations, or in response to the scientific revelations or debates of the time is unclear; however, a reader with initials "J.W.M" read, notated, and provided short comments on the contents. Cilley provided a few ink drawings, including a chart showing the geologic strata and time periods, as well as an image of the human heart. Many essays contain citations to theological writings of the period. Among the many philosophers and writers covered are Aristotle, Benedict Spinoza, Thomas Hobbes, d'Alembart, Diderot, Voltaire, Alexander Pope, David Hume, Hugh Miller, and Enoch Pond.
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