Bancroft, Joseph; Barclay, Robert. A Persuasive to Unity, setting forth the Ground of that Source of Comfort: in which Ground of a Clean Heart and a Right Spirit, may Grow in Good and Firmly Support each Other as Living Stones. Philadelphia: Thomas William Stuckey, Printer, 1875. [9069]
Maroon cloth with blind borders, gilt title to spine, binding is tight, but with scuffing and some edge-nicks, a couple of worm holes to the rear joint. 7 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches, slip by the son of Joseph Bancroft tipped in before the title page indicating that the book was to be distributed freely within the Society of Friends (Quakers). 336 clean and unmarked pp. Good. Hardcover.
This work consists of a 50-page essay and introduction by Bancroft, followed by a reprinting of Barclay's Universal Love.
The entire title of Barclay's book is Universal Love Considered and Established upon its Right Foundation, being a Serious Enquiry how far Charity may and ought to be extended to persons of different Judgments in Matters of Religion, and whose Principles among the several Sects of Christians do most naturally lead to that due Moderation required. It was first published in 1677.
Robert Barclay (1658-1690), Scottish Quaker whose Apology (1678) became the standard doctrinal statement of the Society of Friends for many years. The book was a development from his public debates on the doctrines of the Quakers held in Aberdeen in 1675. "His friendship with James II, then the Duke of York, helped obtain the patent to settle the province of East Jersey, in the New World." - Encyclopedia Britannica.