The Debt Book (1625)

Artifact Summary
Artifact type	Religious treatise
Creator/author	Henry Wilkinson
Date	1625
Period	Stuart
City and country of origin	London, England
Abstract

Entry

• Imprint/call number: STC (2nd. ed.) / 25646. London: Printed by R. B[adger] and G. M[iller] for Robert Bird, 1625.
• Keywords: Book; Religious treatise; Debt; Credit; Charity; Poor relief; Christian love; Moral economy
• Latitude: 51.5074
• Longitude: -0.1278
• Current location: Bodleian Library
• Economic theme: Debt; Credit; Charity; Poor relief; Clerical maintenance
• Practice/technology: Printed biblical exegesis; moral instruction; sermon-treatise
• Capitalism status:
• Religious context: Protestant moral theology of debt, charity, and Christian love
• Legal/political context: Printed religious and moral treatment of debt, obligation, and social duty
• Labor context:
• Related artifacts:

Overview

A long moral-theological treatment of Romans 13:8. Wilkinson first argues against remaining in civil debt, then moves into the perpetual sacred debt of Christian love. The book combines biblical exegesis, practical advice, social criticism, and moral instruction.

Source

Shared PDF: Google Drive file. Shared folder: Google Drive folder. Bibliographic identifier: `STC (2nd. ed.) / 25646.`.

Sections

Front Matter

• Title Page and Dedication
• Printed Contents and Epigraph

Chapters

• Chapter I. Debts in General
• Chapter II. Owe No Man Any Thing
• Chapter III. Division of Debts and Hereditary Debts
• Chapter IV. Legal Debts and the Magistrate
• Chapter V. Debts to the Minister of the Gospel
• Chapter VI. Debts to the Poor
• Chapter VII. Necessary Debts Procured by Ourselves
• Chapter VIII. Voluntary Debts, Transient and Permanent
• Chapter IX. Apologies for Remaining in Debt
• Chapter X. How to Avoid Debt
• Chapter XI. How to Get Out of Debt
• Chapter XII. The Sacred Debt of Love
• Chapter XIII. Diversities of Love and Christian Love
• Chapter XIV. Qualities of Religious Love
• Chapter XV. Effects of Love and Its Fruits
• Chapter XVI. Love as the Fulfillment of the Law

Editorial Note

This landing page groups section-level drafts from a full-book transcription. The book is broken into front matter and chapter pages so the site can surface the text without a single giant page.