The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living

by Jeremy Taylor

Jeremy Taylor (1613 – 13 August 1667) was a clergyman in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression and was often presented as a model of prose writing. He is remembered in the Church of England's calendar of saints with a Lesser Festival on 13 August.

Genres: Devotional, Essays, Religion

387 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1650

About the author

Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) was a cleric in the Church of England and a writer.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is somewhat heavy going although it's the modernized version. It's all fairly sound as a guide to the Christian life, though, and not as anti-fun as one might imagine.

[Judson Marvel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great.

[Jonathan Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tough going. Not for the faint of heart. But, a well needed challenge to holiness and happiness in the gospel.

[Gabriel Santana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A+

[Ronald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, but I don't know if a practical Christian can follow all the tenets that are propounded in this book.

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best book on living the Anglican life I have ever read. Not just an excellent resource on spirituality, but a robust synthesis of the wisdom of the classical authors subordinated in every way to Christian wisdom; there are nearly as many citations from Seneca and Plutarch as from Christian sources. The only caveat is the presence here of what Martin Thornton has described as "Caroline rigorism": in their zeal to take sin seriously, the Caroline divines have a tendency to impose standards more rigorous than even the most zealous of the ancient Fathers, and far more rigorous than is typical in the English school of spirituality. With a little caution about possibly tending towards morbid introspection, though, there is a tremendous amount of profitable material here.