"Discourse on the Worship of Priapus." Richard Payne Knight, Esq. London Edition. 1865. Privately printed. Numbered copy (147). Edition 500 ("three hundred for England and two hundred for America"). This copy belonged to Dr. Hugh MacDonald Sinclair (ex libris).
The scandal surrounding this book led to attacks against Knight by powerful religious figures. Knight was a member of Parliament, and the book, despite its popularity, was considered anti-religious. The book was said to have promoted the ancient cults of Priapus, which were then largely lost to history. Knight was accused of promoting sexual freedom despite his scholarly approach to the ancient worship of Priapus.
Knight prophetically wrote: "Of all the profane rites that belonged to the ancient polytheists, none were more furiously inveighed against by the zealous propagators of the Christian faith than the obscene ceremonies performed in the worship of Priapus… Even the form itself, under which the god was represented, appeared to them a mockery of all piety and devotion and more fit to be placed in a brothel than a temple." (Page 14).
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