Gibbons Funeral Sermon on the Death of Rev. Samuel Davies, President of Princeton
Divine Conduct Vindicated, or The Operations of God shown to be the Operations of Wisdom: in the substance of two discourses, preached at Haberdashers-Hall, London, March 29, 1761; occasioned by the decease of the Rev. Mr. Samuel Davies, M.A. and president of the College of Nassau-Hall in New-Jersey, February 4, 1761 … in which are contained some memoirs of Mr. Davies, and some extracts from his Letters.
London: J. Buckland …, 1761.
Price: $800.00
About the item
First edition, state unknown. 31, [1, ad for books “Published by the Rev. Mr Thomas Gibbons”] pp. 8vo. Gibbons Funeral Sermon on the Death of Rev. Samuel Davies, President of Princeton. Bound in late 19th century blue quarter calf and marbled boards, binding rubbed, small piece from A2 costing a few words. Felcone 99; ESTC N47977.
Item #252367
Gibbons (1720-1785), an Independent minister, wrote an important biography of Issac Watts, kept an entertaining diary of his active London life, and wrote poetry and hymns. Like the present volume, many of his publications were funeral sermons — this one preached on the death of the Reverend Samuel Davies (1723-1761), a Presbyterian minister from Delaware. Davies was instrumental in the founding of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). He spent eleven months in England raising money to build Nassau-Hall, the first permanent building on campus. Both Davies and Gibbons were prominent dissenters from Anglican orthodoxy and it is likely that they would have met during Davies’ fund-raising mission to England. They evidently carried on a correspondence, which Gibbons quotes from in his sermon. Davies served as the fourth president of the college until his early death at 37.
ESTC lists three 1761 editions — one with p. 31 paginated (as in this copy), one without pagination, and a third with a variant imprint for sale in America.
