As I’ve been reading seventeenth-century New England sermons, I’ve come across some curious facts. Here are a few for your amusement:
- John Wilson wins the prize for the shortest sermon of the seventeenth century. His last sermon, preached in 1677 and entitled A Seasonable VVatch-VVord unto Christians Against the Dreams & Dreamers of This Generation, was only eight pages long. The longest sermon I’ve come across so far was eighty pages long.
- The most humorous title award goes to a treatise against Quakers entitled George Foxe Digged out of His Burrows . . . .
- For quite awhile, Samuel Greene in Cambridge was the only printer in New England. Starting in the middle of the 1670s, however, he had some competition from John Foster in Boston. I haven’t been looking at other printed matter, but John Foster seems to have taken over a fair share of the market in sermons. Foster also sometimes prints elaborate mastheads and even puts the seal of Massachusetts on government decrees.
- In 1673, the minister from Groton, a town that was then near the Massachusetts frontier, published a series of sermons on “Solemn Occassions.”
- In 1676, Benjamin Tompson wrote a elegy in tribute to the deceased governor of Connecticut, John Winthrop (not the more famous John Winthrop). In the title, he calls Winthrop a “most charitable Christian, vnbiased politician, and unimitable pyrotechnist.” I looked up the word pyrotechnist in the Oxford English Dictionary, thinking that the word could not possibly mean what I thought it meant. But, sure enough, pyrotechnist is defined as “one employed or skilled in pyrotechny; a maker or displayer of fireworks,” and the OED lists its earliest occurrence as being in 1791. I’m still not sure what it means, but it seems intriguing.
Christianity Today has an interview with J. I. Packer entitled “Physicians of the Soul.” The interview is interesting but has some factual and interpretational problems. For example, Packer’s description of Puritan theology is not accurate, because (I suspect) his definition is closer to his own theology than to the Puritan’s; John Bunyan was a Non-Conformist, not a Puritan.
“Neglect not duty, because you cannot do more than your duty.”
From Eleazar Mather, A Serious Exhortation to the Present and Succeeding Generation in New-England; Earnestly Calling upon All to Endeavour that the Lords Gracious Presence May Be Continued with Posterity (Cambridge: Samuel Greene, 1671), Early American Imprints, no. 162.
This site will give you all the English education you need: Book-A-Minute Classics. Recommendation courtesy of Kellen Funk.
I’ve decided to participate in a project started by Rick Brannan at Logos Bible Software that was mentioned on the ESV Bible Blog. The project is to have several people of varying Greek abilities copy a New Testament epistle by hand to see what kind of scribal errors they make. I doubt that anything valuable for New Testament textual criticism will be learned from the study; the anachronisms are too many and too great. It smacks of forcing textual criticism and history into a scientific mold. The value for me, however, will be increased appreciation for the work of scribes in copying the Bible. It will also be an opportunity to learn something about paleography; I’ve already checked out some books.
Several of the participants have written the project. Below are links to the most interesting articles, especially those containing photographs of the manuscripts that they have produced:
I’ve finally settled on a topic for my research paper; in fact, I’ve even written about six hundred words on my topic. I’m writing about historical consciousness and the changing uses of history in occasional sermons preached during the first three generations in New England. I’ll try to explain that more clearly (and at greater length) in the paper.
Along the way, I’ve come across some sermons that have cause thought or amusement. For example, I don’t know where the minister Seaborn Cotton was born, but I have a good idea. In a 1655 sermon entitled God’s mercy, shewed to his people, in giving them a faithfull ministry and schooles of learning, for the continual supplyes thereof, Charles Chauncey, the president of Harvard College, preaches truths that are just as relevant as the “Philosophy of Education” class that I was just in. Speaking of connections to BJU, in the same sermon there are four or five pages refuting the idea that ministers should “nourish their hair” (i.e., wear long hair). I printed those pages out for Philip, hoping that he would come under conviction. The title that I mentioned above is fairly short; some have two or three subtitles.
Last night, in a failed attempt to transform him into my research assistant, I brought Scott to the library. He assisted me for a while in setting up my database, but he was soon distracted by the used magazines for sale. He purchased a magazine for 10¢, and we left the library.
This morning, I was diligently scouring the notes to Stout’s The New England Soul for useful sources; Scott was reading his magazine. Suddenly, Scott ripped a page from the magazine and began rubbing it on his throat, wrists, and hair. Why? He had discovered a free sample of cologne in his magazine. At this point, there are a couple of things you should keep in mind: (1) Scott had already put on cologne earlier this morning, and so he was now had two conflicting scents. (2) The magazine that he purchased was being sold by the library, so it must have been a back issue at least several months old.
I did not think much of Scott’s application of cologne at the time, since I was about ten feet away. As we walked to lunch, I could smell only nature’s rain. But when we set our trays down at the dining common, a nauseating smell overwhelmed me. I can’t repeat Kellen’s description of what Scott smelled like, but Kellen was right. When Eau de Scott hits the thrift stores, make sure you pass it by.
According to Christianity Today, George Marsden will be retiring from Notre Dame’s history department, and Mark Noll will be leaving Wheaton’s history department to replace him. Both Marsden and Noll are well-known evangelical historians, and both will have ended up on Notre Dame’s faculty. I’ve been half-seriously considering Notre Dame for further study, so this is an interesting development . . .
There weren’t many proofs to read at work today, so I got to “professionally develop.” I was able to read a whole book on copyediting. I’m a bit afraid to write anything now, but once I get over my copyphobia, my writing should improve, technically at least. I also got to read the Chicago Manual of Style. The opening chapter contains many fascinating facts about book publication; I can’t wait to get to the chapter at the end that explains the printing process. (It might take a few years of non-busy times to get there though.) CMS has some wonderful passages. Take this observation, for instance (1.93):
Running heads, the headings at the tops of pages, function as signposts. . . . Running heads are sometimes placed at the bottom of the page, where they are referred to as running feet.
