ABSTRACT
As the date of the book in document 2 and the erroneous date in document 3 indicate, all four documents were copied by North in 1719, probably sometime after 26 May, when a second, much revised edition of Clarke's Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity was published. Note that in 1719 Clarke's Boyle Lectures were also re-issued in revised versions. By this time George Hickes was dead; and his literary executor, Bedford, was collecting material for the purpose of writing his biography. On 2 July 1717 North had written to Bedford concerning some of his own recollections of Hickes; and he also enclosed a copy of Hickes's letter of 23 May 1713 described in document. Moreover, version 1 provides a template for assessing the other two extant versions. Finally, by starting with version 1, it is possible to work out a tentative chronology of the 1713 correspondence, including letters that no longer are extant.
