Dell - Tryal of Spirits - 1699

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THE WAR AGAINST FALSE TEACHERS: A RADICAL VOICE FROM CROMWELL’S ENGLAND
Rare third edition of one of the most radical religious texts of Puritan England in the Seventeenth Century.
William Dell attacks the institutional clergy and questions the role of universities in religious formation. A preacher of the Parliamentarian army, he was Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge during the Commonwealth. This London edition of 1699 was printed by Tace Sowle, a central figure of English Quaker publishing. A specimen of notable historical provenance, with a handwritten ex libris dated: “Edward Smith His Book. 1708.”

ABSTRACT
The Tryal of Spirits both in Teachers and Hearers is one of the most representative texts of the English religious radicalism born during the Civil War and the Commonwealth. William Dell develops a scathing critique of the clergy which he considers “carnal and anti-Christian,” opposing ecclesiastical and academic authority with spiritual discernment founded directly on Scripture. The starting point is the precept of the First Epistle of John: “Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God.” The work addresses the problem of true and false teachers, religious authority, and the preparation of the Christian minister, arguing that humanistic and university training does not by itself constitute a necessary preparation for preaching the Gospel. To The Tryal of Spirits are added other important polemical texts: a refutation of the errors attributed to Sydrach Simpson, originally connected to a controversy that arose at the University of Cambridge in 1653; a testimony against academic degrees in theology; considerations on Luther and, finally, The Right Reformation of Learning, Schools and Universities. The 1699 edition bibliographically consists of [10], 192 pages and is cataloged as Wing D934.

MARKET VALUE
Uncommon edition of notable interest to collectors of Puritanism, the English Civil War, nonconformism, religious history, and the history of the University of Cambridge. For this specimen, considering especially the condition of the binding but also the interesting manuscript provenance: Indicative market value: €300–400.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary full-leather binding. Boards heavily worn, with abrasions and superficial losses. Spine very worn with extensive loss of covering, cords and stitching structure exposed. Front and rear hinges weakened and binding generally fragile. Internally, paper with natural browning, stains, physiological foxing and normal signs of use. Worming noted along the inner margin from G1 to K3, at the bottom. Leaf G4 shows a defect in the lower outer margin affecting a printed note. Of particular interest is the provenance: on the front pastedown is affixed a large handwritten label reading “Edward Smith His Book. 1708.” In old books, with centuries of history, some imperfections may be present, not always detectable in the description. This listing includes AI Visuals. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp. (4); X nn. 192.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
The Tryal of Spirits both in Teachers and Hearers.
London, Printed and Sold by T. Sowle, [1699].
William Dell.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Tryal of Spirits arises in the exceptionally turbulent climate of the English Revolution, when the authority of the Church, of the universities, and of traditional channels of knowledge was subjected to radical critique. Dell argues that the true authority of the preacher does not primarily derive from academic titles, ordination, or humanistic culture, but from the authenticity of his spiritual experience and conformity to the word of God. The polemic directly involves Cambridge. The work incorporate a response to positions expressed by the independent theologian Sydrach Simpson during the 1653 Commencement. Dell challenges the equating of universities with the ancient “schools of the prophets” and radically questions the idea that human learning constitutes a necessary preparation for understanding and teaching the Gospel. The volume is therefore not only a religious work but a significant document of the sixteenth‑seventeenth century debate on freedom of conscience, ecclesiastical authority, and the very function of universities.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
William Dell (c. 1607–1664) was an ecclesiastic, preacher, and one of the most radical voices of English Protestantism during the Civil War and the Commonwealth. He served as chaplain to the Parliamentarian army and became Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. Contemporary bibliographic sources to the edition present him on the title page as “Minister of the Gospel and Master of Gonvil and Caius College in Cambridge.” His positions placed him at the margins of the religious orthodoxy of the time: he attacked clericalism, defended a strongly spiritual conception of the Church, and showed sympathy for various nonconformist milieus. This radicalism makes Dell a particularly interesting figure for understanding the religious and political universe of Cromwellian England.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The Tryal of Spirits first appeared in 1653, in the midst of the Commonwealth. The Folger Shakespeare Library preserves and describes this first edition, in which the polemic against Sydrach Simpson and reflections on university education are already present. A later edition appeared in 1660, the year of the Restoration. The specimen offered here belongs to the third edition, London, T. Sowle, [1699], published almost half a century after the first appearance of the work. The editorial persistence of the text demonstrates its importance in English nonconformist circles. Particularly significant is the printer Tace Sowle (1667–1749), one of the most important printers and booksellers connected to the London Quaker community. The bibliographic catalog preserved at the end of the volume directly documents the nonconformist bookselling milieu in which this new edition of Dell was marketed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Wing, Donald Goddard, Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, 1641–1700: D934.
ESTC: R27292.
Folger Shakespeare Library, The Tryal of Spirits both in Teachers and Hearers, London, T. Sowle, [1699], [10], 192 pp.
Folger Shakespeare Library, original edition, The Tryal of Spirits both in Teachers & Hearers, 1653.
Early English Books Online (EEBO), reproduction of the British Library’s copy of the London edition of 1699.
Wing D934 – London, Tace Sowle, [1699], 8vo.