Abstract

The formidable task of republishing Edwards' works is made the more significant by the planned inclusion of the manuscript material hitherto little known except to a limited number of research scholars. The job of deciphering and organizing these writings, to say nothing of providing a meaningful context for understanding their merits, is one of the first magnitude. Each of the volumes will be put into the hands of a competent scholar for the editing of the text and the writing of an interpretive introduction. No attempt is being made to secure a unanimous interpretation of Edwards, and there is no possibility of fastening his many-sided genius to the partisan interests of any theological or philosophical group. What should emerge from the finished project is the first complete edition of the known writings of Edwards, plus a series of interpretive essays, each of which will be in itself a major contribution to the understanding of Edwards and to the broader field of humanistic studies.