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A gifted yet controversial anatomical teacher, Robert Knox
(1791-1862) published this remarkable study in 1852. It explores
the influence of anatomy on evolutionary theories and fine art
respectively. The first part of the work discusses the lives and
scientific insights of the eminent French naturalists Georges
Cuvier (1769-1832) and Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1772-1844).
Rejecting the explanations offered by natural theology, Knox
maintains that descriptive anatomy can give answers to questions
surrounding the origin and development of life in the natural
world. The latter part of the book is concerned with the relation
that anatomy bears to fine art, specifically the painting and
sculpture of the Italian Renaissance. Entering the debate about the
importance of anatomical knowledge in art, Knox focuses on 'the
immortal trio' of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.
Henry Lonsdale's sympathetic biography of Knox has also been
reissued in this series.
This 1817 book by 'A. M. Philalethes' traces the history of Ceylon
(now Sri Lanka) from the classical period to 1815, providing
details of the religion, laws and manners of the people. An
appendix contains an account, originally published in 1681, by
Robert Knox (1641 1720) of his nearly twenty-year captivity on the
island. The identity of the pseudonymous 'Philalethes' is not
certain: he may have been Robert Fellowes (1770 1847), who,
however, never visited Ceylon, or the Revd G. Bissett, who did. The
book, which includes topographical notes and a collection of moral
maxims and ancient proverbs, begins with classical accounts of the
Island of Ceylon by Ptolemy, among others, and moves from this
'imperfect acquaintance with this remote region' to Knox's 'lively
picture of the state of the country and manners of the people'
which, according to 'Philalethes', was among the most important
possessions of Great Britain.
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