DOWNHAM, John

by John Downham

£1,650 · Offered by Sokol Books

First edition of the fourth and final part of 'The Christian Warfare', the 'most famous' theological work by John Downham, or Downame (1571-1652), a London priest educated at Christ's College, Cambridge. It 'aimed to arm the Christian against the temptations of "our spiritual enemies"' (ODNB), and in its language of battles and combatants is a form of spiritual allegory. In this final part, Downham suggests that the 'flesh' is far more than just a sensual or bodily substance (as 'Papists' mistakenly believe), but possesses rather a distinctively spiritual dimension, which must be encountered and rejected spiritually. Downham cultivated powerful friends and patrons throughout his career, who may have protected him from accusations of nonconformity: the second part of the Christian Warfare was dedicated to Thomas Egerton, Lord Ellesmere, the third to George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury, and this part to Francis Bacon, Ellesmere's successor as Lord Chancellor. Legal documents place Calverley, Lancaster and possibly the Taylors near Whalley, Lancashire; Lancaster appears to have been the executor of Calverley's will in 1618.

• Binding: Hardcover

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