A SERMON UPON OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF OUR LATE SOVEREIGN, GEORGE THE SECOND. PREACH'D BEFORE HIS EXCELLENCY FRANCIS BERNARD, ESQ; CAPTAIN-GENERAL AND GOVERNOR-IN-CHIEF, THE HONOURABLE HIS MAJESTY'S COUNCIL, AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, OF THE PROVINCE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS-BAY IN NEW-ENGLAND, JANUARY 1. 1761, AT THE APPOINTMENT OF THE GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL.
Boston: James Draper, 1761. 40pp, but lacking the half title. Neatly disbound, light spotting. Good+.
Cooper became a passionate advocate of American independence, so much so that the British sought his arrest in 1775. His Sermon, reflecting the remarkable change of heart Americans would experience during the next fifteen years, praises the King, "this truly great and Pious Prince," to whom "these British colonies are indebted" as a guardian of American liberty. He lauds the King's success in the French and Indian War and prays, "May Canada ever remain annexed to the British Dominion, a Monument of the Glory of our late Sovereign's Reign." He has great hopes for the now-commenced reign of George III.
Nevertheless, he says presciently, it is "highly unreasonable to place an absolute Trust even in the greatest and most exalted of Princes," whose "Power is derived and limited, not original and absolute."
FIRST EDITION. Evans 8828. Item #34238
Price: $250.00