THE CHARACTER OF A PRIEST; By Philanthropos

London: Printed and published by R. Carlile, 55, Fleet-Street, 1821.. 1821.. Fine. - Octavo, printed self-wraps, unbound, removed. 8 pages. There is a light crease across the top corner of each page, else the pamphlet is bright & clean. Near fine. <p>First edition.<p>Richard Carlile [1790-1843] was a famed political activist, radical publisher and a fearless campaigner for freedom of the press. He published works by Thomas Paine and radical pamphlets and journals, including Sherwin's Political Register, which was closed down by the government after he published in it the first full eyewitness report of the Peterloo massacre. He changed the name of the journal to The Republican and continued to press for the punishment of those responsible for the massacre. In the course of his career, he was prosecuted for blasphemy, libel and sedition and was imprisoned several times. His wife Jane was also imprisoned when she took over publication of The Republican while he was in jail. By 1821, Carlile was a declared atheist and the present pamphlet is a gleefully eloquent attack on the priesthood and "the multitude of assassinations, of massacres and of wars-- the avarice, the villainy, the bigotry and bloody-mindedness of Priests have occasioned...." The pamphlet opens with a declaration of the equality of man, a cause dear to his heart: "A Priest has the same essence, is composed of the same elements, endowed with the same organization as other men; he has no more natural command, no greater power, no greater right; Priests do not come into the world with crosiers or with mitres, or with rosaries; the revolutions of matter create and destroy them; they are decomposed as a cow or a cabbage...." He concludes: "...Whoever attempts to analyze the farce, to unveil the imposition of revealed religion, is sure to be attacked by Bishops, by Imans, by Bonzes, and by Muftis; truth acts upon these animals as light does upon the organization of bats and owls, and other reptiles, at mid-day".<p>Very scarce.