John Toland, Irish rationalist philosopher and freethinker was born on this day (30 November) in 1670. Though largely forgotten in his home country, Toland was and is a philosopher of international renown as well as a prolific writer on important political and religious issues of his day. As the website of the Humanist Society of Northern Ireland remarks:
An important step in this direction has recently been made by the decision of The Manuscript Publisher to re-issue, in Kindle and print editions, Toland’s highly influential 1714 pamphlet Reasons for Naturalizing the Jews in Great Britain and Ireland.
Previously available only in facsimile copies, this new editon of Toland’s pamphlet has been faithfully reproduced from the original. The text has been converted to a modern typeface but with original spelling, emphasis and formats preserved. The edition also contains an introduction, editor's notes and a chronology of Toland, his life and his times including the background to Jewish settlement in Britain in Ireland.
This publication will be followed in the new year with a re-issue of Toland’s An Account of the Courts of Prussia and Hanover.
Author J.N. Duggan, who is serving as General Editor for both of these publishing projects, describes how she first came across the figure of John Toland while researching her biography of Sophia of Hanover (published in 2010 by Peter Owen of London - see author's official website for more information).
It was this discovery which lead to her second book, also a biography, entitled John Toland: Ireland’s Forgotten Philosopher, Scholar ... and Heretic, available to buy online, including from the website of The Manuscript Publisher - see Our Bookshop.
Toland's pamphlet is widely seen as a landmark work in the movement for emancipation and equal citizenship of the Jewish people. At the same time historian Jonathan Karp has argued that Toland's motivation is best understood "when situated in the political and intellectual context of Augustan England rather than hailed as political prophecy."
However it may be viewed, this pamphlet shows Toland at his best as both a skilled and fearless controversialist.
It is from such sentiments expressed that we can discern a general plea to tolerance and humanity that has echoed down to the present time and gained universal acceptance.
Reasons for naturalizing the Jews in Great Britain and Ireland, On the same foot with all other Nations. Containing also A Defence of the Jews against All vulgar Prejudices in all Countries is currently available in Kindle and print-on-demand. For more information please visit our online bookshop.
J.N. Duggan's biography of John Toland: Ireland's Forgotten Philosopher, Scholar ... and Heretic is also available to buy online in print and e-book format.
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