Of Temptation – The Nature and Power of It (Glasgow, 1758) by John Owen

Of Temptation; The Nature and Power of It. The Danger of Entering into It. And the Means of Preventing that Danger. With a Resolution of Sundry Cases Thereunto Belonging. By John Owen, D.D. Glasgow: Printed by J. Bryce and D. Paterson, and sold at their Printing-house in the Bridgegate, near the Old Bank, 1758.

This Glasgow printing of Of Temptation is a small-format eighteenth-century Scottish book of 156 pages. The title page bears the epigraph from Revelation iii.10, and the author’s address “To the Reader” (pp. iii to vi) is signed John Owen.

The text commences at p. 7 with Chapter I on Matthew xxvi.41, “Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.” It is printed in the long-s type of the period, with italic chapter summaries and catchwords.

John Owen (1616 to 1683), vice-chancellor of Oxford University and chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, is widely regarded as the foremost theologian of the English Puritan movement. He is still read and reprinted today.

Of Temptation first appeared at Oxford in 1658, drawn from sermons preached there.

This Glasgow edition, issued a century later by Bryce and Paterson, who printed several of Owen’s works in the 1750s, reflects the enduring demand for Puritan devotional writing among the Presbyterian households of eighteenth-century Scotland.

This copy of Of Temptation carries attractive early Scottish provenance: the contemporary ink ownership signature “James Smith” on the title page, and a further ink inscription “Biggar 1765” at the head of Chapter I. Biggar is a small market town in Lanarkshire.

Early pencil penmanship exercises and lines of devotional verse fill the front endpaper. These marks of use place the book in a Scottish reader’s hands within a few years of printing.

Of Temptation is a desirable piece for collectors of Puritan and Reformed theology, early Scottish imprints and eighteenth-century devotional books, and for anyone with an interest in John Owen and the Reformed tradition.

Condition – Good

Bound in full contemporary calf over boards, the spine with raised bands. The boards are heavily rubbed and scuffed with patches of surface loss to the leather, and the corners are bumped and worn.

The spine is rubbed with chipping at head and tail, and the joints are tender. The binding is secure but fragile and should be handled with care.

The text block is evenly toned throughout, with scattered spotting, light marginal soiling and some creasing to page corners.

Contemporary ink ownership signature to the title page, ink inscription “Biggar 1765” and a faint earlier inscription at the head of Chapter I, and early pencil writing and penmanship exercises to the front endpaper.

Text complete and clearly legible. A good, honestly worn copy of Of Temptation in its original binding.