A History of the Quakers – John Gough (1789) (1st ed) (Vol 2)

S$120.00

A History of the Quakers – John Gough (1789) (1st ed) (Vol 2)

S$120.00

Title: A History of the People Called Quakers, from their first Rise to the present Time. Vol. 2

Author: John Gough

Publisher: Robert Jackson, Dublin, 1789. First edition.

Condition: Full calf. Very good. Front hinge slight cracked, front board re-attached. Text clean, binding tight. Vol 2 only of a 6-vol set. A scarce history of the Quakers. App. 8″ by 5″. 557pp.

About the Quakers (from Wikipedia):

Quakers (or Friends) are members of a historically Christian group of religious movements generally known as the Religious Society of Friends. The Evangelical Friends Church International uses the phrase Friends Church. Members of the various Quaker movements are all generally united in a belief in the ability of each human being to experientially access “that of God in every person”, and therefore they profess the priesthood of all believers, a doctrine derived from the First Epistle of Peter. They include those with evangelical, holiness, liberal, and traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity.

The first Quakers lived in mid-17th century England. The movement arose from the Legatine-Arians and other dissenting Protestant groups, breaking away from the established Church of England. The Quakers, especially the ones known as the Valiant Sixty, attempted to convert others to their understanding of Christianity, travelling both throughout Great Britain and overseas, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of these early Quaker ministers were women. They based their message on the religious belief that “Christ has come to teach his people himself”, stressing the importance of a direct relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and a direct religious belief in the universal priesthood of all believers. They emphasized a personal and direct religious experience of Christ, acquired through both direct religious experience and the reading and studying of the Bible. Quakers focused their private life on developing behaviour and speech reflecting emotional purity and the light of God.

In the past, Quakers were known for their use of thee as an ordinary pronoun, refusal to participate in war, plain dress, refusal to swear oaths, opposition to slavery, and teetotalism. Described as “natural capitalists” by the BBC journalist Peter Jackson, some Quakers founded banks and financial institutions, including Barclays, Lloyds, and Friends Provident; manufacturing companies, including shoe retailer C. & J. Clark and the big three British confectionery makers Cadbury, Rowntree and Fry’s; and philanthropic efforts, including abolition of slavery, prison reform, and social justice projects.