Elizabeth Thomas (1675–1731)

Abstract

This chapter contains selected letters from the correspondence of Elizabeth Thomas, an English poet and letter writer of the early eighteenth century. It includes Thomas’s letters to and from John Norris, Mary Chudleigh, and Richard Hemington, spanning the period from 1699 to 1705. The chapter begins with an introductory essay by the editor, highlighting the main philosophical themes of the correspondence, including animal souls, thinking matter, divine foreknowledge, love and friendship, and the moral and intellectual capacities of women. It is demonstrated that Thomas raises a number of her most critical points in her appraisal of Norris’s metaphysics and in her letters to Hemington concerning Norris’s theory of love. The text includes editorial annotations to assist the reader’s understanding of early modern terms and ideas.