Peter Sterry: Platonist and Puritan 1613–1672

by Peter Sterry, Vivian de Sola Pinto (Editor)

Originally published in 1934, this book contains select extracts from the writings of prominent Platonist and Puritan theologian Peter Sterry, as well as a brief review of Sterry's life, works and beliefs. De Sola Pinto chooses the passages from Sterry's writings that are most likely to appeal to the modern reader and which seem 'to have the enduring and universal qualities of great literature, and which … truly represent what he himself regarded as the very pith of his doctrine'. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in English Platonism or Puritanism.

258 pages, Paperback

First published October 10, 2013

About the author

Peter Sterry (1613–1672) was an English independent theologian, associated with the Cambridge Platonists prominent during the English Civil War era. He was chaplain to Parliamentarian general Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke and then Oliver Cromwell, a member of the Westminster Assembly, and a leading radical Puritan preacher attached to the English Council of State.

Reviews

[Erick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Peter Sterry quite a bit. His thought is both mystical and fairly dense in complexity. I came across him while studying the Cambridge Platonists. They were a group of instructors affiliated with Cambridge college during the period of the English commonwealth. Most of them were called latitudinarians because they supported less restrictions on matters of faith and conscience. They were often strongly Protestant in theology but also Platonist and Neoplatonist in philosophy. Their ideas are interesting, but so far I have been the most impressed with Sterry. His discourse is more than cursorily poetic. His mystical tendencies are very hard to separate from his theological and philosophical tendencies, although some compilers have attempted to do just that. This compilation is more honest than the McMahon treatment in that regard. Sterry really made it clear to me that not all Puritans were cut from the same cloth. The introduction includes a great biography of Sterry and a breakdown of his theology. This book is really a great introduction to the man and his thought, but his works need to be read as a whole, not just as brief extracts. This really only provides a glimpse into his brilliance.

[Lukas Merrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great introduction to Peter Sterry and his life and thought. It contains a brief biography of Sterry and then some selections from his writings.

It left me wanting to read more and I hope to do so as I continue to explore the Cambridge Platonists.