The Spirit of Love and The Spirit of Prayer are two of William Law's best known texts for Christians seeking guidance on their faith and inspiration in their everyday lives.
The first work takes the form of a dialogue between three men - Theogenes, Eusebius, and Theophilus, who discuss the nature of love in humanity. The trio discuss love in relation to the other human emotions and experiences, followed by the qualities of the love which man expresses to God his deity, and Jesus Christ as the Lord and savior of all men.
To better understand the love of God, the three create many hypothetical scenarios involving the behavior of individuals. They also find agreement on what circumstances that love, and the associated phenomena of forgiveness, may arise. Frequent references made to holy scripture which the three conversation partners have at hand.
In The Spirit of Prayer, William Law investigates the relationship between man and the world around him. He at first prepares the reader for his arguments in favor of prayer as a part of Christian life, before expounding on the heavenly principles of the Lord and his angels.
William Law was a lifelong servant of the Church of England, spending years in the service of the church. He famously lost his post at Emmanuel College at Cambridge University, as he felt speaking an oath to the new king George I was a violation of his conscience. Unafraid of controversy, he authored famous critiques to the Bishop of Bangor, while other works have been cited as prime examples of the ecumenical relationship between Anglicanism and Catholicism.
Cover: The Infant Samuel at Prayer by Joshua Reynolds (c. 1776)