The book was published in 1698 and is titled The Celestial World Discover’d: Or, Conjectures Concerning the Inhabitants, Plants and Productions of the Worlds in the Planets. In it, author Christiaan Huygens reasons out the existence of life on other planets, concluding that there must be other organisms besides those on earth since god couldn’t have created other planets just for humans to observe. The author also comes to the conclusion that these “celestial beings” must have hands and feet because of the convenience, unless “they have found out the art of flying in some of those Worlds.” Hands and feet aren’t the only ways in which the author pondered aliens must be like us, adding that they must also like things like music and astronomy, and suffered through wars and poverty, since those things lead to “invention and progress.” Despite how it may seem now, Spencer noted that the books’ author used reasoning according to the science available at the time. The rare book will go on sale July 5, 2022 with a guide price of $2,500-$3700/£2,000-£3,000 in Hansons Library Auction at Bishton Hall in Staffordshire, England. Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.
