Item #221318 A Letter from the Lord Bishop of London, to the Clergy and People of London and Westminster, On Occasion of the Late Earthquakes. Earthquakes, Thomas Sherlock.

London Rocked by Quakes: Warnings from a Merciful God

A Letter from the Lord Bishop of London, to the Clergy and People of London and Westminster, On Occasion of the Late Earthquakes.

London: Printed for John Whiston, in Fleetstreet, 1750.

Price: $300.00


About the item

One of several editions from 1750 (priority unknown), this one is distinguished by its format, pagination and and "[Price 2 d." printed to the right of the date. 16 pp. A8. 1 vols. 8vo. London Rocked by Quakes: Warnings from a Merciful God. Removed; two leaves separated, small inkstamp on title page. ESTC T180219 (4 locations in America).

Item #221318

In 1750 a series of 5 earhquakes rocked London. It was the occasion for a sermon to a terrified people, and this sermon by Thomas Sherlock (1677-1761) sold in "prodigious numbers", according to the DNB. Events such as the recent "two great Shocks of an Earthquake", regardless of what "little Philosophers" think or say, come as warnings from a merciful God to a sinful people. And Sherlock was never hesitant to trace their sins back to a sinful press:

"Have not all the Abominations of the publick Stews been open to view by lewd Pictures exposed to Sale at Noon-day? Have not Histories or Romances of the vilest Prostitutes been published, intended merely to display the most execrable scenes of Lewdness; Lewdness represented without Disguise, and nothng omitted that might inflame the corrupt Passions of the Youth of the Nation! ... While I was writing this I cast my Eye upon a News Paper of the Day, and counted no less than fifteen Advertisements for Plays, Operas, Musick, and Dancing, for Meetings at Gardens, for Cock-fighting, Prize-Fighting, &c ..."