1704 · London
by Bisset, William
London: Printed and Sold by A. Baldwin, 1704. [14],56pp. (wanting the half-title). Small octavo. Sewn, untrimmed. Corners creased and a bit frayed, otherwise a good copy. First edition. "The first of the books for which Bisset is remembered, Plain English ...was the text of his sermon before the Society for the Reformation of Manners, which he had been asked to preach as a substitute at the last moment. To the astonishment of all, he attacked the society for wanting to quieten the people rather than reform them; he also criticized its prosecution of poor sinners, rather than the affluent and prominent. The tract caused a controversy in which Isaac Sharpe responded with Plain English Made Plainer, but Bisset produced six editions of the work" (DNB) and this rebuttal. ESTC T5046 & N4278. (Inventory #: WRCLIT65978)