1698 INCENDIARY TAKE DOWN of PARADISE LOST as PRO SATAN PANEGYRIC The History of Sin and Heresie Attempted, From the First War That They Rais’d In Heaven

The History of Sin and Heresie Attempted, From the First War That They Rais'd In Heaven : Through Their Various Successes and Progress Upon Earth : To The Final Victory Over Them, and Their Eternal Condemnation in Hell : In Some Meditations Upon The Feast Of St. Michael and All Angels
This is the earliest known commentary on Milton's rejection of the Holy Trinity (Anti-Trinitarianism) in Paradise Lost.
Anonymous, [Charles Leslie]. Printed for H. Hindmarsh, at the Golden-Ball over against the Royal-Exchange, in Cornhil, London, 1698. First edition. Rebound in brown cloth covered boards, [8], 60 pages. Errata printed at end of Contents leaf. Complete (truncated) as issued, however the second leaf of the preface (pages 5, 6) is bound in at the rear. Ex Library, deaccessioned from the Pacific School of Religion, with its shelving label on the front cover, their bookplate on the front pastedown, their small oval ink stamps here and there, and the ghost remains of library pockets on the rear pastedown; otherwise VERY GOOD CONDITION: some old shorelining, light foxing, title page has corner-tip chips, page 23 has a closed bottom margin tear, and there is a BB size spot near the gutter between pages 56/57 where the two pages are stuck together affecting a few words, otherwise tight, bright, clean, and unmarked. Uncommon, only 23 copies in OCLC collections worldwide and is scarce in commerce, the only auction record I found was from 1899.
Charles Leslie accused John Milton (1608-1674) of promoting heretical views in his epic poem "Paradise Lost," by portraying the angels as ignorant of the Holy Trinity, a core Christian belief which Leslie considered a significant heresy. During this period, theological debates around the Trinity were highly contentious, making Leslie's accusation of heresy against Milton particularly significant. It was a pile-on and Leslie was the first of many prominent and influential voices trying to discredit the poet. Milton's work was banned by King Charles II and the Catholic Church which banned it for 216 years - in 1732 Pope Clement XII placed an Italian translation in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, where it remained until 1940.
Charles Leslie (1650-1772) Irish Protestant clergyman. Leading incendiary Jacobite polemicist infamous for his explosive rhetoric against Quakers, Jews, Socinians, Roman Catholics, and Deists. He refused to take the oath of allegiance to the new monarchs, William and Mary in 1689, and spent much of his life in self-imposed exile because of his controversial viewpoints. He was a prolific writer whose tracts opposed the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and supported the Jacobite Uprising of 1689. He condemned the slaughter of the MacDonalds at Glencoe (1692) and William and Mary for allowing it. He remains a challenging historic figure who as yet defies classification. (Inventory #: 2053)