Discourse Concerning Ridicule and Irony in Writing (1729)

Classic essay, first published in 1729. According to Wikipedia: "Anthony Collins (21 June 1676, Old Style - 13 December 1729, Old Style), was an English philosopher, and a proponent of deism… His writings gather together the results of previous English freethinkers. The imperturbable courtesy of his style is in striking contrast to the violence of his opponents; and, in spite of his unorthodoxy, he was not an atheist or even an agnostic. In his own words, "Ignorance is the foundation of atheism, and freethinking the cure of it" (Discourse of Freethinking, 105)."