A SERMON PREACHED AT BOSTON, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GENERAL COURT OR ASSEMBLY OF THE PROVINCE OF THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY IN NEW ENGLAND, MAY 27, 1761.
Boston: Printed by John Draper, 1761. 72, [1 errata], [2 blanks] pp, with the half title as issued, and an additional final blank. Stitched and entirely unsophisticated. Untrimmed. Upper blank corner of title page torn; final blank leaf dirty. Crimp to last couple of gatherings [no text affected]. Early ownership signatures of Elisabeth Ashley and Revd. Jonathan Ashley of Deerfield. Very Good.
A significant pre-Revolutionary discourse arguing that "civil government...was instituted for the preservation of civil liberty."
Liberty under a just government provides security, as liberty is perpetually in jeopardy in a state of nature. The rulers of civil society must "act in conformity to law." In religious matters, "the right of private judgment is unalienable." However, a people who are not religious are incapable of enjoying civil liberty. Indeed, the purpose of all religious revelation "has been to promote the cause of liberty in the noblest and most important sense."
FIRST EDITION. Evans 9017. ESTC W3170. Item #41973
Price: $850.00