MISCELLANIES. In Two Volumes

[2], ii, iv, [4], 301, [1 (blank)]; [4], vi, [7] - 282 pp. 16mo, gathered in 8s. 7-3/16" x 4-5/8" Shepherd was a "Church of England clergyman and theological writer, . who matriculated from Corpus Christi College, Oxford, on 1 December 1749 at the age of seventeen. . After considering a military career he took orders in the Church of England and eventually was appointed chaplain to Thomas Thurlow, bishop of Lincoln and later of Durham; Thurlow's nomination gained Shepherd the archdeaconry of Bedford in July 1783. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in May 1781, and in 1788 he was Bampton lecturer at Oxford. In 1792 he was instituted to the rectory of Wetherden and Helmingham in Suffolk by Lord Chancellor Thurlow, brother of the bishop, and he held these preferments until his death. Shepherd published a wide selection of writings, including poetry and drama, although he came to concentrate on theology. His poetry was not unsuccessful: his Ode to Love (1755?) was reprinted in 1760 and The Nuptials (1761) went into three editions. Most of his poetic and dramatic pieces were included in the two-volume Miscellanies (1775). Several of Shepherd's theological works went into two or more editions, including his response to Soame Jenyns in The Review of a Free Enquiry (1759), The Requisition of Subscription to the Thirty-Nine Articles (1771), and Reflections on the Doctrine of Materialism (1779), addressed to Joseph Priestley. Shepherd published regularly throughout his life; his last piece was No False Alarm, or, A Sequel to Religious Union (1808). He died at the parsonage at Wetherden on 3 January 1809." [ODNB]. "The first volume [of Miscellanies] consists primarily of verse, and includes odes, elegies, and two long poems, 'The Nuptials' and the dramatic poem 'Hector'; at the end is a letter to Sir William Jones on education. The second volume contains the author's philosophical writings, particularly his letters to Soame Jenyns occasioned by the latter's 'Free Enquiry into the Origin and Nature of Evil." [Quaritch]. Shepherd's works are now uncommon in the trade. This 2 volume work is offered with 2 other Shepherd titles, TavBooks ID #37012 & 37013. The listed price is for all 4 volumes. Light binding wear. Prior owner bookplate/signature. Overal, an attractive Very Good Plus copy. Period bindings of full light brown spotted calf with elaborate gilt decorated spine; dentelles & marbled paper eps. Pale yellow edge stain 1st collected edition. OCLC records 8 institutional holdings.…