A Brief Account of the Rise and Progress of the People Called Quakers

Penn, William, 1644-1718Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.7

Word count: 145K words
Chapters: 15

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Brief Account of the Rise and Progress of the People Called Quakers by PennAuthor: Penn, William, 1644-1718,Language: English, Class: BX: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: Churches, Church movements, Release Date: Sep 25, 2006

Editor's review

This work is William Penn's brief account, written from the perspective of a participant, of the early rise and development of the Quakers (the Society of Friends). Penn was himself a leading Quaker and the founder of the North American colony of Pennsylvania, so the book has value both as a document of religious history and as a primary source. It is short and clearly organized, focusing on how the community of faith formed its organization and spiritual character amid doubt and suppression rather than on abstract theological debate. For readers interested in the new sects that emerged after the Reformation, in seventeenth-century English religious toleration, or in the spiritual roots of the North American colonies, it offers a concise and opinionated entry point. It should be read as a historical testimony rather than a neutral scholarly general history, with attention to the author's identity, stance, and narrative intent. The Project Gutenberg edition is easy to search and cite and works well as supplementary material for topical reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers studying English religious history and the origins of the Quakers
Readers interested in the religious and intellectual roots of the North American colonies
Those interested in seventeenth-century sectarian literature and first-hand accounts

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting systematic theology or doctrinal analysis
Those seeking a neutral scholarly general history rather than a participant's account

Reading tips

Read the introductory chapters first to grasp the overall outline, then return to the passages on key figures and events.
Mark statements that clearly reflect the author's stance as you read, and compare them with later scholarship.
Consult background material on seventeenth-century English religious toleration alongside the text.
Given its brevity, it can be read in two or three sittings with brief notes.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book the official general history of the Quakers?

No. It is a brief account written by William Penn as a member of the Quakers, with a clear participant's stance and an apologetic purpose; it is closer to a first-hand testimonial document than to a modern neutral scholarly general history. Its narrative perspective should be kept in mind while reading.

Can I understand it without a background in religious history?

You can follow the general sense, but depth of understanding will be limited. The book deals with the seventeenth-century English religious environment and sectarian controversies, so it helps to acquire some background knowledge first, or to look up the relevant figures and events as you read, in order to grasp more smoothly why the author narrates as he does.

Is the electronic edition suitable for citation?

The Project Gutenberg edition is a public-domain electronic text that is easy to search and copy from, making it suitable as a source for topical reading and preliminary citation. For formal academic writing, however, you should still check page numbers and textual differences against an authoritative edition and note the electronic edition you used.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Penn, William, 1644-1718 Author · English · 1644–1718

Penn, William (1644–1718) was a British Quaker leader and the founder of the colony of Pennsylvania. Two of his works are held in this collection, both directly related to Quaker activity. The first, A Brief Account of the Rise and Progress of the People Called Quakers, sketches the rise and development of the Society of Friends. The second, A Sermon Preached at the Quaker's Meeting House, in Gracechurch-Street, London, is a sermon delivered at a Quaker meeting house in London. One is a historical account and the other a spoken address: the former organizes the history of the movement, while the latter offers direct exhortation in a setting of worship. His writing thus centers on religious matters and addresses the community of Friends in plain, purposeful language. As public information is limited, details of his life are not elaborated here; his works alone show his place in Quaker literature and preaching, and his care in recording and speaking for the Society of Friends.