In Free Thoughts on Religion, The Church & National Happiness, prophetic forecaster Bernard Mandeville delves into the dynamics of contemporary consumer culture. Here he presents salient commentary of the measured, steady evolution from our prehistoric predecessors to the modern society we know today. Initial chapters investigate religious issues including the nature knowledge, the societal impact of rites and ceremonies, and ongoing debates about Christian mysteries such as the Holy Trinity and the concept of free will. Subsequent chapters address "hot button" issues ranging from the politics of the church to the use of religion to assess the balance of powers in Britain's government. This volume includes: . On Religion, . Of Outward Signs of Devotion, . Of Rites and Ceremonies in Divine Worship, . Of Mysteries, . of Free-will and Predestination, . Of the Church, . Of the Politicks of the Church, . Of Schism, . Of Tolleration and Persecution, . Of the Reciprocal Behaviour between the Clergy and Laity, . Of Government, and . Of National Happiness. BERNARD MANDEVILLE (1670-1733) was believed to have been born in Dort or Rotterdam in the Netherlands into a family of medical doctors. He was educated at the Erasmian School in Rotterdam, and eventually studied philosophy and medicine at the University of Leyden, receiving his M.D. in 1691.

Rigorously inventive and revelatory in its adventurousness, 1650–1850 opens a forum for the discussion, investigation, and analysis of the full range of long-eighteenth-century writing, thinking, and artistry. Combining fresh considerations of prominent authors and artists with searches for overlooked or offbeat elements of the Enlightenment legacy, 1650–1850 delivers a comprehensive but richly detailed rendering of the first days, the first principles, and the first efforts of modern culture. Its pages open to the works of all nations and language traditions, providing a truly global picture of a period that routinely shattered boundaries. Volume 28 of this long-running journal is no exception to this tradition of focused inclusivity. Readers will experience two blockbuster multi-author special features that explore both the deep traditions and the new frontiers of early modern studies: one that views adaptation and digitization through the lens of “Sterneana,” the vast literary and cultural legacy following on the writings of Laurence Sterne, a legacy that sweeps from Hungarian renditions of the puckish novelist through the Bloomsbury circle and on into cybernetics, and one that pays tribute to legendary scholar Irwin Primer by probing the always popular but also always challenging writings of that enigmatic poet-philosopher, Bernard Mandeville. All that, plus the usual cavalcade of full-length book reviews. ISSN: 1065-3112 Published by Bucknell University Press, distributed worldwide by Rutgers University Press.