A Short and Easy Method with the Deists; Wherein the Certainy of the Christian Religion Is Demonstrated by Infallible Proof from Four Rules, which are incompatible to any Imposture that ever yet has been, or possibly can be. In a Letter to a Friend.... With a Letter from the Author to a Deist upon his Conversion by reading his Book. To which is prefixed A Preface By the Rev. W. Jones.... A New Ediiton, Published by Desire of he Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge

London: Printed for F. and C. Rivington..., 1799. 12mo, 164 x 97 mms., pp. xi [xii blank], 111 [112 blank]. BOUND WITH: LESLIE (Charles): The Truth of Christianity Demonstrated, in a Dialogue betwixt a Christian and a Deist; Wherein the Case of the Jews is likewise considered. A New Edition, Published by Desire of he Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. London: Printed for F. and C. Rivington..., 1799. 12mo, pp. [iv], 144. 2 volumes in 1, bound in contemporary calf; spine worn, slight wear to joints and corners. The Irish clergyman Charles Leslie (1650 - 1722) was named for the martyred king, Charles I, and he was, not surprisingly, a zealous opponent of Roman Catholicism. A Short and Easy Method with the Deists was first published in 1694 and had reached a total of 29 editions by the end of the 18th century, and The Truth of Christianity Demonstrated appeared in 1710. His disapproval of Roman Catholics was complemented by an equal hostility to Jews and Quakers. Mark Noble, in his Biographical History of England (1806), commented that Leslie, "had much learning, but more faction; some wit but more scurrility." Samuel Johnson appeared to have a bit more respect for him, according to Boswell, saying of Leslie that he was "a reasoner, and a reasoner who was not to be reasoned against...." More recently, Professor J. C. D. Clark has described Leslie not only as "one of the most able intellects in the Stuart cause," but also "a vigilant and trenchant opponent of doctrinal error in the church."