DISCOURSE ON FAITH AND REASON

A discourse on faith, reason and the authority of the Church, written in the form of a letter addressed 'Dear Cosen'. The anonymous author purports to respond to the 'unsafe and witty discourses' contained in letters from an unnamed cousin, with the aim of 'gaining a soule so near and dear unto mee' (pp. 1-2). He attacks rationalism, and advocates the submission of reason to the authority of the Roman Catholic Church (p. 165). He refers to 'the religion I now profess', suggesting that he is a convert to Roman Catholicism (p. 134). The text is undated but references to the authority of the Church 'of 1600 years standing' (p. 149) indicates the 17th century. At pp. 53-54 the author paraphrases text from the 'Advice to a son' by Francis Osborne (1593-1659), first published in 1655 and popular later in the century (see 'The works of Francis Osborn' 9th ed, 1689, p. 81). Text begins: 'Dear Cosen, Your last letters as they were pleasing and delightfull unto me, in regard to their ingenuity and witty reasonings...'. Ends incomplete.

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