Noël-Antoine Pluche

자료: 

Pluche, Noël-Antoine, abbé (1686-1761). French priest and teacher, famous for his Spectacle de la nature (1732-50). This encyclopedic work in nine volumes gives a simple account of the natural world and the cosmos, the human body, and human society. It includes descriptions and plates of machines which prefigure those of the Encyclopédie. Pluche uses the universe as proof of God's goodness, and takes side-swipes at the pretensions of philosophes. The work is written in an engaging style and was a huge publishing success.