Donne and the politics of conscience in early modern England / / by Meg Lota Brown.

• Superior document: Studies in the history of Christian thought ; Volume 61
• VerfasserIn: Brown, Meg Lota,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, The Netherlands ;, New York ;, Koln : : E.J. Brill,, [1995]; ©1995
• Year of Publication: 1995
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in the history of Christian thought ; Volume 61.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (172 pages)

Donne and the Politics of Conscience in Early Modern England examines the responses of John Donne and his contemporaries to post-Reformation debate about authority and interpretation. It argues that the legal and epistemological principles, as well as the narrative practices, of casuistry provided an important resource for those caught in the welter of conflicting laws and religions. The first two chapters explore the political, historical, and theological contexts of casuistry, locating Donne in debates about the limits of reason and the relativity of law and ethics. Chapter three addresses Donne's concern with problems of moral decision and action, of knowledge and definition, in five of his prose works. Chapter four examines ways in which his verse assimilates and wittily subverts casuists' responses to epistemological and linguistic uncertainty. The study is particularly useful for literary critics, intellectual historians, and theologians.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / Meg Lota Brown -- Acknowledgments / Meg Lota Brown -- Chapter One Introduction: "Nothing Without Perplexities" / Meg Lota Brown -- Chapter Two The Politics of Conscience: Contexts and Controversies / Meg Lota Brown -- Chapter Three Case Divinity and the Argument of Donne's Prose / Meg Lota Brown -- Chapter Four "In that the World's Contracted thus": Casuistry and Beyond in the Songs and Sonets / Meg Lota Brown -- Chapter Five Conclusion / Meg Lota Brown -- A Selected Bibliography / Meg Lota Brown -- An Index of Names and Places / Meg Lota Brown -- An Index of Subjects / Meg Lota Brown -- Studies in the History of Christian Thought / Editor: Heiko A. Oberman.