Alciphron: or, The Minute Philosopher. In seven Dialogues. Containing an Apology for the Christian Religion, against those who are called Free-thinkers. Contemporary sheepskin - 1803

Octavo [388, [2, ads] pp. (200 x 121 mm). Contemporary mottled sheep rebacked to style, gilt spine with burgundy morocco label. Some light foxing & browning to text, due to paper quality. Old ink signature on front free endpaper, marginal chip in a preliminary blank. Overall an unusually nice, attractive copy now Housed in a custom clamshell box with a red leather label. First American edition, originally published in the UK in 1732. Berkeley (1685-1753) wrote the Alciphron during the years 1729 to 1731 while relaxing in Newport, Rhode Island, where he was awaiting funds (which never came) for his projected college in the Bermudas. This this is the first major philosophical work to be written in America, though published in London first. The book attracted more attention than any of his previous works. The dialogues it contains constitute a defense of Christianity from the point of view of an Anglican divine. Alciphron is regarded as an outstanding example of English literature among works on philosophy. It is described on the title-page as an Apology for the Christian Religion, against those who are called Free-Thinkers, and the Dialogues defend revealed religion against the current beliefs of the Deists. Luce places Alciphron with Joseph Butler s Analogy, 1736, as the only comparable book on Christian apologetics in the eighteenth century (Keynes, p. 37)