[DeFoe, Daniel?]
The Dumb Philosopher (London: T. Bickerton, 1719).

THE| DUMB PHILOSOPHER;| OR| Great-Britain's Wonder,| CONTAINING| I. A Faithful and very Surprizing Account| how DICKORY CRONKE, a Tinner's Son in| the County of Cornwal, was born Dumb, and| continued so for 58 Years; and how some| Days before he died, he came to his Speech:| With Memoirs of his Life, and the Manner of his Death.| II. A Declaration of his Faith and Principles| in Religion: With a Collection of Select Me-|ditations, Composed in his Retirement.| III. His Prophetical Observations upon the| Affairs of Europe, more particularly of Great-|Britain, from 1720, to 1729. The whole extracted from his Original Papers, and con-|firmed by unquestionable Authority.| To which is annexed.| His Elegy written by a young Cornish Gentleman,| of Exeter Coll. in Oxford; with an Epitaph| by another Hand.| [rule]| Non quis, sed quid.| [rule]| LONDON:| Printed for Tho. Bickerton, at the Crown in Pater-|Noster-Row. 1719. (Price 1 s.)

Description

titlepage/ p.v-viii preface/ p.9-64/ 8°.

Shelf-marks

{L: 112.b.38} {L: G.13533} {NA:MH: EC7/D3628/719d}.

Bibliographical Reference

ESTC: t069706.

Author

J. R. Moore (1960), p.168: 422: Defoe, Daniel.

History of Publication

	a	The Dumb Philosopher (London: T. Bickerton, 1719). [Dated with the "Elegy" on p.62: Exeter, Coll., 25 Aug. 1719. - J. R. Moore (1960), p.169: 422: 13 Oct. 1719.]
	b	[...] (Dublin: T. Hume, 1720).
	b	[...] second edition (London: T. Bickerton, 1720) [Datierung: J. R. Moore (1960), p.169: 22: 27 May 1720.]

Remarks

Heterogenious book, with the life of Dickory Cronke (1660-1718) turning out rather curious and comical than serious: The man is borne numb, he learns how to read and write and becomes during his life span the servant of two succeeding masters. Inheriting both their fortunes he ends up with £60, enough to live on a private life. He gets into contact with his sister, to live at her place, and spends his days with walking, reading, writing and sleeping. Before his death inbetween two fits of appoplexy he finds himself able to speak and to forsee the hour of his imminent death. He offers his good bye to his sister, writes down a personal religious confession (inter-confessional, based on the bible, loyal to the Anglican church), a piece of ethics and a practical advice on how to live without being noticed too much, all which finally includes a prophecy for the years 1720-29, loaded with metaphors, envisioning French attempts, to divide the British. Special topics: alchemy and crime.

o.s.