Moderation a Virtue

A spirited 1683 defense of moderate conformists in the Church of England, written against high-church critics who branded them "Grindalizers" and "Trimmers." Drawing on Philippians 4:5, the author argues that moderation is the highest Christian virtue — the cement holding church and society together — and vindicates men who practiced equitable conformity without rigid extremism. Part polemic, part theological treatise, it offers a searching portrait of the truly moderate Christian as the wisest, best, and happiest of men.