Ethan Allen's philosophical work begun in his youth with his Deist friend, Dr. Thomas Young of Salisbury. In 1785 his Reason the Only Oracle of Man was published. This book was a financial disaster and not well-received, probably because its ideas were as controversial as its author. It most clearly reflected his personality as a free thinker and an independent spirit. He issued a scathing critique of the Bible and Organized Religion in general. He postulated a Natural Law and the ideal of a Good God in harmony with Nature, hardly ideas that would endear him to New England.
This book is the full text of the Controversial work reproduced from the reprinting done in 1848.