An Account of the Societies for Reformation of Manners, In London..

1699. A Call "To Be Zealous and Diligent" Against the Forces of "Prophaneness and Debauchery" [Woodward, Josiah (1660-1712)]. An Account of the Societies for Reformation of Manners, In London and Westminster, And Other Parts of the Kingdom. With a Persuasive to Persons of All Ranks, To be Zealous and Diligent in Promoting the Execution of the Laws Against Prophaneness and Debauchery, For the Effecting A National Reformation. Published with the Approbation of a Considerable Number of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal. London: Printed for B. Aylmer, 1699. [xxiv], 163, [9] pp. With a copperplate portrait frontispiece of William III. Octavo (7-3/4" x 4-3/4"). Contemporary cat's paw paneled calf, gilt-edged raised bands and lettering piece to spine, gilt tooling to board edges, marbled endpapers, edges gilt. Light rubbing to boards, fragment of small handwritten paper label to upper left corner of front board, moderate rubbing to extremities, front board and joints starting but secure, corners bumped and lightly worn, hinges cracked, faint offsetting to endleaves. Woodcut initials, text in Roman and black-letter type with side notes in English, Greek and Latin. Light toning to interior, occasional light foxing, early ownership signature ("E. Avenant") to title page. An appealing copy. $450. * First edition, the first of two 1699 issues. Woodward, an Anglican clergyman, was at the forefront of the growing movement to reform manners and morals, one of the more enduring legacies of the Enlightenment. This account of his own work describes his tireless efforts against "prophaneness and debauchery," including (but by no means limited to) "Prophane Swearing and Cursing, Drunkenness, Open-Lewdness, and Prophanation of the Lord's Day," sins recently "revived among us" (3). The work also includes an eight-page abstract of the penal laws dealing with morality added "for the more Effectual Promoting the Design of this Book." English Short-Title Catalogue R31843.