The Character of a Trimmer and Other Writings

Brian R. Clack is Professor of Philosophy at the University of San Diego. He is the author of two books on the philosophy of Wittgenstein — Wittgenstein, Frazer and Religion (1999) and An Introduction to Wittgenstein's Philosophy of Religion (1999) — and of Love, Drugs, Art, Religion: The Pains and Consolations of Existence (2014), and co-author of The Philosophy of Religion: A Critical Introduction (third edition, 2019). He has edited Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France for the Broadview Editions series (2022).William Gibson is Professor Emeritus at Oxford Brookes University. He has written widely on religion and politics in the period 1660-1800, including James II and the Trial of the Seven Bishops (2009) and Samuel Wesley and the Crisis of Tory Piety, 1685-1720 (2021). He is editor of the Journal of Religious History, Literature and Culture and is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

• IntroductionNote on the TextSelect BibliographyA Chronology of the Marquis of HalifaxThe Character of a TrimmerA Character of King Charles IIThe Lady's New Year's Gift: Or, Advice to a DaughterA Letter to a DissenterThe Anatomy of an EquivalentMaxims of the Great AlmansorA Rough Draft of a New Model at SeaSome Cautions OfferedThe Government of the WorldPolitical Thoughts and ReflectionsMoral Thoughts and ReflectionsMiscellaneous Thoughts and ReflectionsSelections from the Miscellanys and Miscellaneous MaximsAppendix: Notable Historical Judgments on HalifaxExplanatory Notes