Letter from Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Bristol, to John Thelwall, 1796 May 13 : autograph manuscript signed.

Saying that Thelwall has given him "'the affection of a Brother' : and I repay you in kind. Your letters demand my friendship & deserve my esteem : the Zeal, with which you have attacked my supposed Delusions, proves that you are deeply interested for me, and interested even to agitation for what you believe to be the TRUTH;" quoting Thelwall's letters; arguing that there is only one passage in his essay "Modern Patriotism" that is offensive and quoting that passage; writing "My dear Thelwall! how are these opinions connected with the Conventicle more than with the Stoa, the Lyceum, or the grove of Academus? I do not perceive that to attack adultery is more characteristic of Christian Prejudices, than of the prejudices of the disciples of Aristotle, Zeno, or Socrates;" discussing the idea of "wet or intemperate Sinners" versus "dry villains;" posing a series of hypothetical questions about adultery, marriage, and the basis of moral principles; arguing "Great indeed are the moral uses of Marriage - It is Variety that cantharidizes us. Marriage, that confines the appetites to one object, gradually causes them to be swallowed up in affection. Observe the face of an whoremonger or intriguer, and that of a married man - it would furnish physiognomic demonstration. - The real source of inconstancy, depravity, & prostitution, is Property, which mixes with & poisons every thing good & is beyond doubt the Origin of all Evil;" discussing the relationship of Christian faith to patriotism; referring to the examples of Joseph Gerrald and Erasmus Darwin, and writing "Your Atheistic Brethren square their moral systems exactly according to their inclinations;" accusing William Godwin of misanthropy and a "love of singularity;" commenting on sincerity; defending various individuals, including Edward Williams (known as Iolo Morganwg), Thomas Walker, and Thelwall himself, against attacks by Godwin; mentioning rumors he has heard about Godwin; saying that he met Godwin once and "[h]e appeared to me to possess neither the strength of intellect that discovers truth, or the powers of imagination that decorate falsehood - he talked futile sophisms in jejune language - I liked [Thomas] Holcroft a thousand times better, & think him a man of much greater ability. Fierce, hot, petulant, the very High priest of Atheism;" relaying rumors about Gerrald, including that he abandoned a wife in the West Indies, wrote obscene letters, was a drunkard and a "Whoremonger"; describing his own and Robert Lovell's reactions to reading one of these letters; promising "On the subject of using Sugar &c, I will write you a long & serious letter - this grieves me more than your a[theism];" responding to Thelwall's criticisms of his poems and saying that he thinks they are fair overall, "[b]ut why so violent against metaphysics in poetry?"; referring to the popularity of Mark Akenside: "Perhaps, you do not like Akenside - well - but I do - & so do a great many others - Why pass an act of Uniformity against Poets?"; arguing for variety in poetry, and writing "That Poetry pleases which interests - my religious poetry interests the religious, who read it with rapture;" saying that a very dear friend of his, "who is in my opinion the best poet of the age" (Griggs identifies this as Wordsworth) likes certain lines in the volume, "[a]nd this man is a Republican & at least a Semi-atheist;" discussing the use of adjectives for introducing "variety into the versification [...] As to Harmony, it is all association. Milton is harmonious to me, & I absolutely nauseate Darwin's Poem;" asking Thelwall in a postscript to tell him when he plans to come to Bristol and saying that he may be able to put him up; sending his love to Thelwall's wife and children.