Henry More (1614-1687), the Cambridge Platonist, is often presented as
an elusive and contradictory figure. An early apologist for the new
natural philosophy and its rational support for Christian doctrine, More
also defended the existence of witchcraft and wrote extensively on the
nature of the soul and the world of spirits. A vigorous and prolific
controversialist against many varieties of contemporary `atheism' and
`enthusiasm', More was himself a spiritual perfectionist and
illuminist, believing that the goal of the religious life was a
conscious union with God.
Until now, most biographies of More have ignored these, his own,
preoccupations, and have made of him a rather eccentric but important
illustrative figure in one of several larger narratives dominated by
canonical figures like Descartes, Boyle, Spinoza or Newton. This is the
first modern biography to place his own religious and philosophical
preoccupations centre-stage, and to provide a coherent interpretation of
his work from a consideration of his own writings, their contexts and
aims. It is also the first study of More to exploit the full range of
his prolific writings and a number of unknown manuscripts relating to
his life. In addition, it contains an annotated handlist of his extant
correspondence.