1648 JEREMY TAYLOR. Works of Prominent Anglican Devotionalist & Influence on John Wesley.

A very attractively preserved 17th century first edition of the works of influential Anglican divine and devotionalist, Jeremy Taylor [1613-1667]. Frequently referred to as the "Shakespeare of Divines," there has been almost not a single decade since their first publication where some or other work of his was not in print.  His early years were tumultuous. He had been received as Chaplain to King Charles I under the patronage of William Laud. When Laud was tried for treason and executed in 1644 under the joint influence of the Westminster Assembly of Divines and Oliver Cromwell's Presbyterian Parliament, Taylor's allegiance to the crown was in serious question. On suspicion, he was jailed several times, but never charged and ultimately released. It may well be the condemnation of the Gunpowder Treason he expressed in his 1638 sermon before the Crown that ultimately saved his skin. In it, he publicly denounced Catholic intentions on England, which had been in part Laud's undoing. The fi