Among the earliest texts on Gender Equality: Owen Felltham's Resolves - 1709

Felltham, Owen. Resolves: Divine, Moral Political. London: Benj. Motte for R. Bonwick, W. Freeman et al., 1709. Twelfth Edition. 672 pages. Includes his important essay "Of Woman." The Resolves were very popular at the time, though Feltham's stance on gender was progressive for Renaissance England, and his accusation of hypocrisy rankled a portion of his audience: "When a woman grows bold and daring, we dislike her, and say, she is too like a man : yet in our selves, we magnify what we condemn. Is not this injustice?" Feltham was still a teenager when he published his first edition of Resolves in 1623. This collection of essays played a crucial role in the development of the English essay as a genre. The original edition included 100 "resolves" that were considered to be short, aphoristic commentaries on aspects of the three realms delineated by the title: divine, ethical, and political. They concerned in equal measure the private and public realms of middle-class English life. Later revisions reflect how Feltham attempted to amalgamate these three distinct dimensions of "middle-class English life"-divine, ethical and political-into a more cohesive context. This tolerance is perhaps best demonstrated in regards to the ubiquitous Woman Question, a debate which continued to play a large role in the social atmosphere of Renaissance Britain. While most men viewed the women in rigid terms-as either "unconstant" or "excellent"- Feltham is notable for preferring to "[accept] some assumptions about gender but [question] many others: he asks commonsense questions and is willing to look beyond stereotypes." This copy has an early paneled calf rebacked in later leather. Extra engraved title page. Bookplate. A good copy with some chipping to the cover edges and some rubbing to the spine. The first 65 and last 30 pages of text have some staining in the upper corner but the text is generally in very good condition with some scattered foxing and spotting. There is a later ink name on the flyleaf and some browning to the inside covers. The inner hinges have been reinforced with white cloth tape. Scarce. Very good condition.