NOTES TO COTTON MATHER

THE extract for special study is from the second chapter of the first book of the "Magnalia Christi." Both the original edition of 1702 (Thomas Parkhurst, London) and the reprint of 1853 (Silas Andrus & Son, Hartford) have been used. The editor of the latter edition says: "The author's language is peculiarly his own. In the rapidity of his manner, he could pay but little attention to style." The justice of this observation will be apparent from a consideration of the first few sentences. The orthography and Italics of the original have been retained.

1. Primordia

the earliest beginnings, or primitive history.

2. The Reformation in England was begun by Henry VIII, and firmly established by Elizabeth. The Act of Supremacy, declaring the king to be the "only supreme head on earth of the Church of England," was passed in 1535. This may be regarded as the beginning of the Reformation.

3. The rallying point of the Reformers of the sixteenth century was "the Word of God." In opposition to the authority of tradition and of the Pope, they laid down the principle that "the Scriptures are the only rule of faith and practice in religion." The Puritans maintained that the Anglican Church, instead of returning to the simplicity of the primitive church, retained too many ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church. The Puritans were so called because they urged, as they claimed, a purer worship.

4. The Act of Uniformity, which required that all public worship be conducted according to the Book of Common Prayer, was passed in 1559. It was enforced by Elizabeth with great rigor, the penalty for a third violation being imprisonment for life. Under these circumstances the Reformation, from the Puritan standpoint, indeed suffered a "hopeless retardation."

5. The covenant in question was formed at the village of Scrooby in Nottinghamshire.

6. This is the old spelling of human, which comes to us through the French. Humane, which has the accent on the last syllable, comes directly from the Latin humanus.

7. By human "inventions and additions" are meant the clerical vestments and elaborate liturgy of the Anglican Church.

8. A free reference to 2 Cor. viii. 5: "And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God."

9. The Puritans refused, as a matter of conscience, to wear clerical vestments and to use the Book of Common Prayer in public worship. This was a violation of the Act of Uniformity, and hence they were called Nonconformists.

It is estimated that in 1604 there were more than fifteen hundred Nonconformist clergymen in England and Wales.

10. Leyden was at this time the chief manufacturing city of the Netherlands, with a population of fully 70,000.

11. It is estimated that there were nearly three hundred adult persons belonging to the congregation.

12. John Robinson (1575-1625) was educated at Cambridge, held a benefice in Norfolk, was suspended for nonconformity, and then formed a congregation of Independents. A man of strong faith, excellent scholarship, and great ability, he deserved the praise bestowed upon him by Mather.

13. William Brewster (1560-1644) was the most considerable lay member of the congregation immigrating to Holland. He supported himself there by teaching English. He is generally known in history as Elder Brewster, from the office he held in the church.

14. William Ames, D.D. (1576–1633), was an independent theologian of England, and fellow of Christ College, Cambridge. He left England in the reign of James I to escape persecution, and became minister. of the English church at The Hague. He was at Rotterdam, expecting to sail to America, when his death occurred.

KNOW

15. By Arminianism is meant the peculiar doctrines of Arminius, a learned theologian of Holland. He was born in 1560 and died in 1609. His teachings may be summarized as follows: "1, God elects men to salvation on the basis of foreseen faith; 2, Christ died for all men, but only believers partake of the universal redemption; 3, Man, in order truly to believe, must be regenerated by the Holy Spirit; 4, The grace, by which true faith is effected, is not irresistible; 5, Men may fall away from a state of grace." The doctrines of Arminius, which are now widespread in various parts of the Christian church, were condemned by the Synod of Dort.

16. Simon Episcopius (his Dutch name was Bisschop) was born at Amsterdam in 1583 and died in 1643. He became the leader of the Arminian party after the death of Arminius. After the Synod of Dort in 1618, he was banished from Holland, but returned in 1626 to Amsterdam, where he became a professor of theology in the Arminian College there.

17. The Puritans transferred to the Christian Lord's day the rigorous laws of the old Jewish Sabbath. This transference has never been extensively sanctioned on the Continent, where indeed, as many believe, the tendency has been to the opposite extreme.

18. Congregationalism is that form of church government which rests all ecclesiastical power in the assembled brotherhood of each local church. Hence, it is opposed to the episcopal system of church government.

19. "The principle upon which the bishops justified their severities against the Puritans was the subjects' obligation to obey the laws of their country in all

things indifferent, which are neither commanded nor forbidden by the laws of God." – Neal's Puritans, Vol. I, p. 79. To the Puritans, however, they were not things of indifference, but of conscience.

20. The Walloons are Romanized Gauls, lineal representatives of the ancient Belgæ. They exhibit the Celtic temperament. Their number at present in Belgium is nearly three millions.

23. The substance of these articles is given in Palfrey's "History of New England," Vol. I, p. 154.

24. This act showed the deep earnestness of the Puritans. It was only a temporary communism growing out of their necessities. Bradford, a leader among the Plymouth Colonists, wrote: "The experience that was had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years, and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanity of that conceit of Plato's and other ancients, applauded by some of later times, that the taking away of property, and bringing in community into a commonwealth, would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God."

25. Delftshaven is fourteen miles from Leyden and two miles from Rotterdam, on the river Maas. Its present population is about 10,000.

26. When it was decided that the Speedwell was unseaworthy, a part of the company returned to England. The original number was about one hundred and twenty, of whom one hundred and two continued their journey in the Mayflower.

III

SELECTION FROM FRANKLIN

PRELIMINARY ADDRESS. TO THE PENNSYLVANIA ALMANAC, ENTITLED POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC, FOR THE YEAR 1758

I HAVE heard that nothing gives an author so great pleasure as to find his works respectfully quoted by other learned authors. This pleasure I have seldom enjoyed; for though I have been, if I may say it without vanity, an eminent author (of almanacs) annually, now a full quarter of a century, my brother authors in the same way (for what reason I know not) have ever been very sparing in their applauses; and no author has taken the least notice of me: so that, did not my writings produce me some solid pudding, the great deficiency of praise would have quite discouraged me.

I concluded, at length, that the people were the best judges of my merit, for they buy my works; and besides, in my rambles, where I am not personally known, I have frequently heard one and another of my adages repeated, with "As Poor Richard says," at the end on't. This gave me some satisfaction, as it showed not only that my instructions were regarded, but discovered likewise some respect for my authority; and I own, that to encourage the practice of remembering and repeating those wise sentences, I have sometimes quoted myself with great gravity.1

Judge, then, how much I have been gratified by an incident which I am going to relate to you. I stopped my horse lately, where a great number of people were collected at an auction 2 of merchants' goods. The hour of sale not being come, they were conversing on the badness of the times; and one of the company called to a plain, clean old man, with white locks: "Pray, father Abraham, what think ye of the times? Won't these heavy taxes quite ruin the country? How shall we ever be able to pay them? What would you advise us to do?" Father Abraham stood up and replied, "If you'd have my advice, I'll give it to you in short; 'for a word to the wise is enough; and many words

3

won't fill a bushel,' as poor Richard says." They joined in desiring him to speak his mind; and gathering round him, he proceeded as follows:

"Friends (says he) and neighbors, the taxes are indeed very heavy; and if those laid on by the government were the only ones we had to pay, we might more easily discharge them; but we have many others, and much more grievous to some of us. We are taxed twice as much by our idleness, three times as much by our pride, and four times as much by our folly; and from these taxes the commissioners cannot ease or deliver us, by allowing an abatement. However, let us hearken to good advice, and something may be done for us; 'God helps them that help themselves,' as poor Richard says in his almanac.

4

1.5 “It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their time, to be employed in its service; but idleness taxes many of us much more, if we reckon all that is spent in absolute sloth, or doing of nothing, with that which is spent in idle employments, or amusements that amount to nothing. Sloth, by bringing on diseases, absolutely shortens life. 'Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labor wears, while the key often used is always bright,' as poor Richard says. But doest thou love life? then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of,' as poor Richard says. How much more than is necessary do we spend in sleep, forgetting, that 'the sleeping fox catches no poultry, and that there will be sleeping enough in the grave,' as poor Richard says. 'If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be (as poor Richard says) the greatest prodigality;' since, as he elsewhere tells us, 'Lost time is never found again and what we call time enough, always proves little enough.' Let us then up and be doing, and doing to the purpose; so by diligence shall we do more with less perplexity. 'Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all easy,' as poor Richard says; and 'He that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night; while laziness travels so slowly, that poverty soon overtakes him,' as we read in poor Richard; who adds, 'Drive thy business, let not that drive thee;' and 'Early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.'

"So what signifies wishing and hoping for better times? We make these times better if we bestir ourselves. 'Industry need not wish,' as poor Richard says; and, 'He that lives upon hope will die