Complex sentence: He was the author of "The Vanity of Dogmatizing" (editions from 1661), which attacked scholasticism and religious persecution and pled for religious toleration, the scientific method, and freedom of thought.
Split into simpler sentences: He was the author of "The Vanity of Dogmatizing" (editions from 1661), which attacked scholasticism and religious persecution. It was a plea for religious toleration, the scientific method, and freedom of thought.