Description
Original 1879 pamphlet titled Reason and Rome in Education: A Sermon by Cyrus A. Bartol, printed by Geo. H. Ellis of Boston. Delivered at the historic West Church, Boston, on November 23, 1879, this sermon addresses the role of reason in shaping education while cautioning against the influence of religious dogma (“Rome”) in public schooling. Bartol, a leading Unitarian minister and a figure connected to Boston’s Transcendentalist movement, presents a defense of rational thought at a time of significant debate over religion’s place in education.
This pamphlet is complete at 18 pages. The interior pages are clean with no foxing. There is a break at the top of the spine but the pamphlet remains intact. It has survived in very good condition for a 19th-century religious and educational tract.
Key points that make this item valuable and historic include:
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A firsthand document of the late 19th-century American education and religion debate
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Authored by a significant Boston Unitarian and intellectual figure
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Rare surviving example of a sermon printed by noted Boston publisher Geo. H. Ellis
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Tied to the broader cultural conflicts over secular and sectarian schooling
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A glimpse into Boston’s vibrant religious and educational discourse of the post-Civil War era
A scarce and meaningful piece for collectors of Boston history, religious studies, American education history, and 19th-century sermons.
