DOCSLIB.ORG

Robert Barclay Robert Barclay His Life and Work

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Robert Barclay Robert Barclay His Life and Work Notes on creation of this text from the hardback book: The pagination has been preserved, viz. the text on any page in this document is the same text on that page in the book. The text in each paragraph has been preserved but generally flows so that the text on any given line will be different. The exception to this is that, where the book’s lines are part of a quotation and each line of the quotation begins with a quote mark, the quote marks and line breaks have been preserved. This may give an appearance which is not entirely pleasing. Original spelling has been preserved. The inside front cover pages are unique to this copy of the book and show the original owner, etc. Indention of paragraphs in the book have been preserved, as have the spacing between paragraphs, at least to a degree. The book contains all references to quotations in the page margins. It proved difficult to reproduce this appearance, so these references have been converted to footnotes. However, whenever there were actual footnotes in the book, the footnote numbers in the book were retained here, so the footnote numbering in this document may not be sequential from top to bottom of the page. 3 1 The page size in the original is 4 /4” by 7 /8”. Here is a sample of original text (full size): Stratton C. Jaquette 3rd month 2013 Palo Alto Meeting Society of Friends A.T.Murray Presented by Chappaqua. The Trustees of the Murray Fund, 12 - 6 - 13 . Religious Society of Friends, New York. ROBERT BARCLAY ROBERT BARCLAY HIS LIFE AND WORK BY M. CHRISTABEL CADBURY HEADLEY BROTHERS BISHOPSGATE, LONDON, E.C. 1912 Palo Alto Meeting Photo. J. D. Yeadon, Elgin. GOURDONSTOUN HOUSE Society of Friends CONTENTS CHAPTER. PAGE I. INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - 9 II. EARLY YEARS - - - - - - - - - 15 III. URY - - - - - - - - - - - - 30 HEADLEY BROTHERS, PRINTERS, LONDON AND ASHFORD, KENT. IV. LETTERS - - - - - - - - - - - 41 V. LAST YEARS - - - - - - - - - - 67 VI. "TRUTH TRIUMPHANT" - - - - - - 91 APPENDIX. EXTRACT FROM ROBERT BARCLAY'S TRACT ON PEACE - - - 107 ROBERT BARCLAY CHAPTER I LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS INTRODUCTION GORDONSTOUN HOUSE - - - - Frontispiece AMONG the many religious sects which came into being URY - - - - - - - - - - Facing page 32 during the seventeenth century, the Society of Friends was one of the most conspicuous. Its founder, George Fox, the MAUSOLEUM OF THE BARCLAYS son of an obscure weaver, taught that God speaks directly to AT URY, NEAR STONEHAVEN - - - 78 every man, and guides all who are willing to be guided. His TABLET IN THE MAUSOLEUM - - - - - 89 followers were commonly called Quakers,1 because he bade men tremble at the word of God. 1 "Justice Bennet, of Derby, was the first that called us Quakers, because I bade them [the justices] tremble at the word of the Lord."-George Fox journal. 10 Robert Barclay Introduction 11 Thousands gathered to hear his preaching, and through it these was Robert Barclay, who was an aristocrat and a found inward peace which before they had sought in vain. scholar. He set himself to prove that though the followers of By degrees they came to realize that this was the peace which Fox might be, for the most part, ignorant and illiterate men, Christ had promised to His followers. They set before them- yet their beliefs were in accordance with "scripture, reason, selves therefore the aim of being "Christians in good and true learning." The work with which his name will earnest"; they protested against everything which they always be connected is entitled "An Apology for the True considered contrary to Christ's teaching, and they tried to Christian Divinity, as the same is held forth and preached by live their lives in accordance with His law of love. All other the people called, in scorn, Quakers." But he also wrote religionists agreed that the Quakers1 were a "damnable sect . many other works in support of Quakerism. George Fox . deluded by Satan, though m the practical affairs of life, wrote to him on one occasion: even their adversaries admitted that they were, for the most part, a clean and upright people. The followers of Fox "And now, Robert, concerning the things thou speaks of belonged mostly to the labouring and artisan class. Like Fox about thy books, I say it is well that they are sent. Keep himself, they were men of little or no education in the within the rules of the spirit of Life, which will lead into all ordinary sense of the word. But there were notable truth. So all that have the instrument to work in God's exceptions, and among vineyard be not idle, but be diligent that you may have your penny." 1 Nicol, contemporary, diarist. 12 Robert Barclay Introduction 13 Barclay used his "instrument" to great purpose. His writings as a book of its kind could possibly be," and written in the raised the controversy which was raging around Quakerism best Church Latin with which he was acquainted. Besides from the level of ignorant abuse, and established it upon a Robert Barclay's own English version, it has been translated basis of intelligent criticism and enquiry. Among his into Dutch, Danish, German, Spanish and French, and parts contemporaries, his most famous opponent was John of it into Arabic, and has been read by all classes of readers. Norris, an Anglican philosopher and divine, who, in If Robert Barclay had been nothing more than a scholar and replying to the "Apology," pays this tribute to its author :–– theologian, his work would have only had an academic value. But he himself chose to be known not as a scholar, 1Mr. Barclay is a very great man . I know of no but as a "Servant of Jesus Christ," and it is for this reason Church . but might well be proud of the accession of so that his work is a living force to-day. considerable a writer; the general contempt they lie under Besides the scanty biography written by his son, there are does not hinder me from thinking the Sect of the Quakers to not many records of his doings. No portrait of him is known be by far the most considerable of any that divide from us, in to exist, we have no details of his personal appearance, and, case the Quakerism that is generally held be the same with with two or three exceptions, no one seems to have recorded that which Mr. Barclay has delivered to the world." his spoken words. But we When Voltaire read the "Apology," he gave as his verdict that it was "as good 1 "Two Treatises concerning the Divine Light," by John Norris, M.A., 1692, Part II, pp. and 32: 14 Robert Barclay know that he was a man with many friends, and greatly beloved; highly gifted, with wide sympathies, and great joy in life. CHAPTER II. EARLY YEARS.. ON the 23rd of December, 1648, Robert Barclay was born at Gordonstown, in the North of Scotland. His father, David Barclay, was famous as a soldier; he had gone abroad early, and had distinguished himself on the Protestant side in the Thirty Years' War. He returned to Scotland at the outbreak of the Civil War, and rose to the rank of colonel in the Covenanting army. Robert Barclay's mother, Catherine, the daughter of Sir Robert Gordon, was a member of the famous Gordon clan, which was allied by marriage to the ruling House of Stuart, she was third cousin to Charles I1. Her ancestors had been among the first Scotch Reformers and prominent theologians of their day. 1 See p. 119. 15 16 Robert Barclay Early Years 17 David Barclay was married on the 26th of January, 1648, wife and eight children also lived at Gordonstown. The and for some years his home was at Gordonstown with his eldest son of this family was a few years older than his wife's parents, and there Robert Barclay's childhood was cousin Robert. spent. Gordonstown House lies in a sheltered hollow, six Robert Barclay was a month old when Charles I. was miles north of Elgin, and one mile from the shore of the executed at Whitehall, "a treacherous, treasonable, and Moray Firth. The wings of the original building still re- bloody act," wrote the Chronicler of his mother's family, main. The walls are eight feet thick, the roof is surmounted Gilbert Gordon. A year and a half later, Charles II. landed by turrets, secret staircases and passages abound. It is a from Holland at Garmouth, ten miles from Gordonstown. gloomy place, but the scenery around is beautiful. For The Gordon clan, with all the Royalists of the north, generations this region has been celebrated for its rich crops, gathered to do him homage. He hoped, with Scotland's and its genial climate. To the south rises the blue range of the help, to gain his kingdom, and his Calvinist subjects Grampians, and in sight of these mountains the greater part believed that he would establish the supremacy of their of Robert Barclay's life was spent. religion. But these hopes were doomed to disappointment. He was the eldest of a family of five children, three boys He was driven from the country after crushing defeat, and and two girls. His uncle, Sir Ludovic Gordon, with his his early schooling in Presbyterianism only served to give him a loathing for the whole system. 18 Robert Barclay Early Years 19 Robert Barclay, too, was schooled in the doctrines and In 1653 this entry was made in the Synod Records of Moray practices of the Kirk, and with the same result. Years :––" David Barclay, sonne-in-law to Sir Robert Gordon, has afterwards he wrote of these early experiences: professedlie declined from the doctrine and discipline of this Kirk, denying it to be a Kirk.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Uaker Eligious Hought
    QUAKER ELIGIOUS R HOUGHT T A Friendly Apology for the 21st Century No Apology Required: Quaker Fragmentation and the Impossibility of a Unified Confessional Apologia . 5 David L. Johns An Apology for Authentic Spirituality . 20 Paul Anderson Responses to Johns and Anderson . 38 Arthur O. Roberts; Stephen W. Angell Responses to “Quakers and Levinas,” QRT #113 Levinas, Quakers and the (In)Visibility of God: Responses to Jeffrey Dudiak and Corey Beals . 53 Rachel Muers An Appreciative Response to Corey Beals and Jeff Dudiak . 57 Richard J. Wood Cumulative No . 114 April 2010 QUAKER RELIGIOUS THOUGHT Cumulative Number 114 April 2010 Sponsored by the Quaker Theological Discussion Group (http://theo-discuss.quaker.org/) The purpose of the Quaker Theological Discussion Group is to explore the meaning and implications of our Quaker faith and religious experience through discussion and publication. This search for unity in the claim of truth upon us concerns both the content and application of our faith. Paul Anderson, Editor ([email protected]) Howard R. Macy, Associate Editor ([email protected]) David Johns, Associate Editor ([email protected]) Arthur O. Roberts, Associate Editor ([email protected]) Gayle Beebe, Associate Editor ([email protected]) Phil Smith, Business Manager ([email protected]) Wess Daniels, Website Manager ([email protected]) Advisory Council: Carole Spencer, Ben Pink Dandelion, Ruth Pitman, John Punshon, Max Carter, Stephen Angell, Jeffrey Dudiak, Corey Beals, and Susan Jeffers Address editorial correspondence only to: Paul Anderson, Box 6032, George Fox University, Newberg, OR 97132 Quaker Religious Thought is published two times each year; the Volume numbers were discontinued after Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • The Experience of Early Friends
    The Experience of Early Friends By Andrew Wright 2005 Historical Context The world of the early Friends was in the midst of radical change. The Renaissance in Europe had strengthened the role of science and reason in the Western world. The individual’s power to understand and make sense of reality on their own was challenging the authority of the Catholic Church. Until recently there had been only one church in Western Europe. Martin Luther’s “95 Theses” that critiqued the Catholic Church is generally seen as the beginning of the Reformation when western Christianity splintered into a plethora of various “protestant” churches. In order to fully understand the significance of the Reformation we must realize that political authority and religious authority were very closely aligned at this time in history. Political authority was used to enforce religious orthodoxy as well as to punish those who expressed unconventional views. Meditating on the intensity of feeling that many have today about issues like abortion or gay/ lesbian rights or end of life issues might begin to help us to understand the intensity of feeling that people experienced around religious issues during the Reformation. Many people felt like only the triumph of their religious group could secure their right to religious expression or save them from persecution. The notion of separation of church and state only began to become a possibility much later. The English Reformation and Civil War In England, the reformation developed a little later than in Germany and in a slightly different way. In 1534, King Henry VIII declared the Church of England independent of the Roman Catholic papacy and hierarchy.
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Rudyard Early Friends' "Oracle of Law"
    Thomas Rudyard Early Friends' "Oracle of Law" By ALFRED W. BRAITHWAITE FRIENDS' HISTORICAL SOCIETY FRIENDS HOUSE, EUSTON ROAD, LONDON, N.W.i also obtainable at the Friends' Book Store, 302 Arch Street, Philadelphia 6, Pa., U.S.A. PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY HEADLEY BROTHERS LTD 109 KINGSWAY LONDON WC2 AND ASHFORD KENT Thomas Rudyard EARLY FRIENDS' "ORACLE OF LAW" HE earliest Friends had not much use for lawyers. This is true, I think, both colloquially and literally. TFor the colloquial sense we need not look further than the first few pages of George Fox's Journal, where Fox describes how, in one of the apocalyptic visions he had at the beginning of his ministry, the Lord opened to him "three things relating to those three great professions in the world, physic, divinity (so called), and law"; how the physicians were "out of the wisdom of God by which the creatures were made," the priests were "out of the true faith," and the lawyers were "out of the equity and out of the true justice, and out of the law of God." 1 This passage, though written at a much later date, and containing certain expressions used by Fox later,2 seems to reflect fairly the attitude of the earliest Friends. They were not anarchists; they believed in the rule of law;3 but they did not believe in law as administered by lawyers. In a pamphlet published in 1658 Fox wrote: "I see a darkness among the Lawyers, selfishness, wilfulness, and earthliness and unreasonableness," and in another place: "I beheld the Lawyers black, their black robe as a puddle, and like unto a black pit, almost covered over with black­ ness, yet there was a righteousness in the middle, which their unreasonableness run from."4 1 Journal, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Barclays of Urie
    A GENEALOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE BARCLAYS OF URIE, FOR UPWARDS Or SEVEN HUNDRED YEARS: WITH MEMOIRS OF COLONEL DAVID BARCLAY, AND HIS SON ROBERT BARCLAY, Author of the Apology for the People called Quakers. ALSO LETTERS That passed between him, THE DUKE OF YORK, ELIZABETH PRINCESS PALATINE OF THE IMINE, ARCHBISHOP SHARP, THE EARL OF PERTH, And other Distinguished Characters; CONTAINING CURIOUS AND INTERESTING INFORMATION, NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE EDITOR, BY JOHN HERBERT, NO. 10, BOROUGH ROAD ; AND SOLD BY WILLIAM PHILLIPS, GEORGE-YARD, LOMBARD-STREET; AND MESSRS. JOHN AND ARTHUR ARCH, CORNHILL. 1812. PREFACE. i r | ^HE following little work contains so many curious anecdotes relative to the celebrated Apologist of the Quakers, that, by giving it a greater degree of pub- licity, I trust I shall render an acceptable service to the literary world, and particu- larly to that respectable class of Christians whose cause he defended with such zeal, and whose tenets he explained with such ability, as to convert into an appellation of honourable distinction what was in- tended by their calumniators as a stigma of reproach. VI The Memoirs were written about the year 1 740, by Robert Barclay, the son of the Apologist, and printed chiefly for dis- tribution among his relatives and friends. Having been born in the neighbourhood of Urie, and during my early youth much connected with the Quakers in my native county, a copy was presented to me by a friend in 17/4, and has since that time been preserved with great care ; having many years ago considered it, on account of its rarity and intrinsic value, worthy of being re-printed and published.
    [Show full text]
  • TURNING HEARTS to BREAK OFF the YOKE of OPPRESSION': the TRAVELS and SUFFERINGS of CHRISTOPHER MEIDEL C
    Quaker Studies Volume 12 | Issue 1 Article 5 2008 'Turning Hearts to Break Off the okY e of Oppression': The rT avels and Sufferings of Christopher Meidel, c. 1659-c. 1715 Richard Allen University of Wales Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/quakerstudies Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, and the History of Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Allen, Richard (2008) "'Turning Hearts to Break Off the oY ke of Oppression': The rT avels and Sufferings of Christopher Meidel, c. 1659-c. 1715," Quaker Studies: Vol. 12: Iss. 1, Article 5. Available at: http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/quakerstudies/vol12/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Quaker Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. QUAKER STUDIES 1211 (2007) (54-72] ISSN 1363-013X 'TURNING HEARTS TO BREAK OFF THE YOKE OF OPPRESSION': THE TRAVELS AND SUFFERINGS OF CHRISTOPHER MEIDEL c. 1659-c. 1715* Richard Allen University of Wales ABSTRACT This study of Christopher Meidel, a Norwegian Quaker writer imprisoned both in England and on the Continent for his beliefs and actions, explores the life of a convert to Quakerism and his missionary zeal in the early eighteenth century. From Meidel's quite tempestuous career we receive insights into the issues Friends faced in Augustan England in adapting to life in a country whose inter-church relations were largely governed by the 1689 Toleration Act, and its insistence that recipients of toleration were to respect the rights of other religionists.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Middlesex County Ended As the County’S Original Settlers Were Permanently Displaced by the European Newcomers
    HISTORY BUFF’S THETHE HITCHHIKER’SHITCHHIKER’S GUIDEGUIDE TOTO MIDDLESEXMIDDLESEX COUNTYCOUNTY “N.E. View of New Brunswick, N.J.” by John W. Barber and Henry Howe, showing the Delaware and Raritan Canal, Raritan River, and railroads in the county seat in 1844. Thomas A. Edison invented the Phonograph at Menlo Park (part of Edison) in 1877. Thomas Edison invented the incandescent Drawing of the Kilmer oak tree by Joan Labun, New Brunswick, 1984. Tree, which light bulb at Menlo Park (part of Edison) in inspired the Joyce Kilmer poem “Trees” was located near the Rutgers Labor Education 1879. Center, just south of Douglass College. Carbon Filament Lamp, November 1879, drawn by Samuel D. Mott MIDDLESEX COUNTY BOARD OF CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS Christopher D. Rafano, Freeholder Director Ronald G. Rios, Deputy Director Carol Barrett Bellante Stephen J. Dalina H. James Polos Charles E. Tomaro Blanquita B. Valenti Compiled and written by: Walter A. De Angelo, Esq. County Administrator (1994-2008) The following individuals contributed to the preparation of this booklet: Clerk of the Board of Chosen Freeholders Margaret E. Pemberton Middlesex County Cultural & Heritage Commission Anna M. Aschkenes, Executive Director Middlesex County Department of Business Development & Education Kathaleen R. Shaw, Department Head Carl W. Spataro, Director Stacey Bersani, Division Head Janet Creighton, Administrative Assistant Middlesex County Office of Information Technology Khalid Anjum, Chief Information Officer Middlesex County Administrator’s Office John A. Pulomena, County Administrator Barbara D. Grover, Business Manager Middlesex County Reprographics Division Mark F. Brennan, Director Janine Sudowsky, Graphic Artist ii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... Page 1 THE NAME ................................................................................... Page 3 THE LAND ..................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Books Most Frequently Shipped by the Morning Meeting to Colonial Quakers
    Appendix 1: Books Most Frequently Shipped by the Morning Meeting to Colonial Quakers All titles were examined at the LSF and measurements are author’s own. For full titles, see Bibliography. Author Short title Date Number of ‘Quaker’ Size in cm pages on cover Robert Barclay A Catechism 1674 190 no 14 × 9. 5 (initials on and Confession (bound) cover) of Faith,second edition (ESTC R231196) Robert Barclay Apology 1678 392 In subtitle 19. 5 × 15. 5 (name on (ESTC R1740) (bound) cover) Robert Barclay Thesis 1675 16 In subtitle 20 × 12 (name on Theologicae (unbound) cover) (ESTC R216281) John Crook Truth’s 1662 23 In subtitle 17 × 14 (name on Principles (ESTC (bound) cover) R204876) Thomas An Answer to 1696 232 In subtitle 17 × 11 Ellwood (name George Keith’s (bound) on cover) Narrative (ESTC R8140) George Fox & Instructions for 1691 161 no 12.5 × 7 Ellis Hookes Right Spelling (bound) (initials on (ESTC R40417) cover) William Penn AKey 1693 35 In subtitle 15.5 × 10.5 (name not on (ESTC R28422) (unbound) cover) 171 172 (Continued) Author Short title Date Number of ‘Quaker’ Size in cm pages on cover William Penn The Christian- 1674 163 In title 26 × 17 (names of Quaker and his (bound) authors on Divine cover) Testimony (ESTC R37076) William Penn The Harmony of 1696 236 In subtitle 16 × 10 et al. (names of Divine and (bound) authors on Heavenly cover) Doctrines (ESTC R218217) Alexander Pyot A Brief Apology 1694 86 In subtitle 15.5 × 12 et al. (names of (ESTC R35979) (bound) authors on cover) George The Christian 1693 20 In title 15 × 9 Whitehead
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Barclay's Christology
    Quaker Religious Thought Volume 131 Article 3 9-2018 Robert Barclay's Christology Madeleine Ward Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, and the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Ward, Madeleine (2018) "Robert Barclay's Christology," Quaker Religious Thought: Vol. 131 , Article 3. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt/vol131/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Quaker Religious Thought by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ROBERT BARCLAY’S CHRISTOLOGY MADELEINE WARD obert Barclay (1648-1690) was arguably the most influential RQuaker theologian of the seventeenth century, but his legacy has been controversial. This article will assess this legacy through an examination of his changing Christology over time. This focus on Christology is justified because underlying the earliest Quakers’ belief that Christ was ‘come to teach his people himself’ was the notion that the Light within was Christ—and Barclay has been accused of striking this concern at its heart. Some, most notably D. Elton Trueblood, have argued that Barclay saved the early Quaker project with a theological acumen that evaded the more spiritually charismatic George Fox. However, others have been less positive. In particular, Rufus Jones viewed Barclay as retreating
    [Show full text]
  • Robert Barclay and Scripture
    Quaker Religious Thought Volume 97 Article 4 1-1-2001 Robert Barclay and Scripture Dean Freiday Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Freiday, Dean (2001) "Robert Barclay and Scripture," Quaker Religious Thought: Vol. 97 , Article 4. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt/vol97/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Quaker Religious Thought by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ROBERT BARCLAY AND SCRIPTURE DEAN FREIDAY he most concise declaration of Barclay’s attitude toward TScripture may be found in his Apology, Proposition 3, where he states: From the revelations of the Spirit of God to the faithful have come the scriptures of Truth, which contain: (1) a faithful his- torical account of the behavior of God’s people in various ages and of the many unusual and remarkable acts of God they expe- rienced, (2) a prophetic account of some things already past, and of others yet to come, (3) a full and adequate account of all of the chief principles and doctrine of Christ which were spo- ken, or which were written, by the motions of God’s Spirit at various times in treasured declarations, exhortations, and max- ims which are given to certain churches and their pastors.1 In his development, which follows immediately, Barclay adds: “We consider the scriptures undoubtedly and unequivocally the finest writings in the world.
    [Show full text]
  • The London Yearly Meeting and Books in the Quaker Atlantic World in the Late Seventeenth Century
    165 THE LONDON YEARLY MEETING AND BOOKS IN THE QUAKER ATLANTIC WORLD IN THE LATE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY Quaker use of print culture has been an important subject for studying the spread and support of the faith in England and beyond. Kate Peters contributed greatly to the examination of early Quaker print culture, arguing that Quaker writing and publications 'emerged as a tool of leadership', or as a method of maintaining authority over the movement.1 J. William Frost examined the idea of the Quaker Transatlantic Community through books, comparing books read by English Quakers to those read by Pennsylvania Quakers in the eighteenth century.2 This paper looks at the early Quaker Atlantic World and its networks, from travelling ministers and emigrants to commercial trade, examining some of the mechanisms of selection and distribution of Quaker print materials. The paper relies on the term community to mean a group of people with shared beliefs and a process of exchange but who were dispersed over a large area. Books printed in London, one process of exchange among others, allowed London Quakers to communicate ideas with a community of scattered Friends. The London Yearly Meeting was able to take advantage of London's position as a national and international city to create systems to exchange correspondence, print materials, and supplies necessary for survival in the colonies, and this paper will focus on its use of books in the Quaker Atlantic World.3 The roots of early Quaker print culture grew out of Thomas Aldam's 1652 recommendation that print materials were 'verye serviceable for weake friends, and convinceing the world',4 and the growth of Quakerism into a transatlantic community led to wider use of books and pamphlets for the same purposes.
    [Show full text]
  • The Irony of George Keith
    THE PRICE OF PERFECTION: THE IRONY OF GEORGE KEITH BY EDWARD J. CODY' I T N 1785, the Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote, "The best laid I schemes o' mice an' men/Gang aft a-gley,/An' lea'e us nought but grief and pain/For promised joy." In terms of their relation- ship to God, the American colonists proved the truth of this adage over and over again. Historians of the New England tra- dition have dwelt at length on the unintended consequences arising out of the Puritan attempt to fulfill God's will. To a lesser extent, historians of religious thought in the middle and southern colonies have indicated the existence of similar ironic developments in these areas, but because of the lack of theo- logical homogeneity among the subjects of their studies, the irony emerges with less clarity.' In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century, how- ever, the career of George Keith and the furor surrounding it provide the student of religious thought and church-state rela- tions in Pennsylvania with a clear example of how the Quaker attempt to fulfill God's will led to unwanted and even des-truc- tive consequences. A clear example, that is, if the student re- members two central aspects of Quakerism, the "Inner Light" and the community. 2 *The author is an Assistant Professor of History at Ramapo College, Mahweh, New Jersey. 'The ironic qualities in the colonial religious experience are implicit in the work of many historians. Two books which make this characteristic quite clear are: Perry Miller, Errand Into the Wilderness (Cambridge, 1956); and Frederick Tolles, Meeting House and Counting House; the Quaker Merchants of Colonial Philadelphia (Williamsburg, 1948).
    [Show full text]
  • Myth Oj the Middle Colonies" Reconsidered: the Process Oj Regionalization in Early America
    The "Myth oj the Middle Colonies" Reconsidered: The Process oj Regionalization in Early America N A PROVOCATIVE ESSAY published in 1983, Robert Gough argued that some scholars have moved too hastily to conceptualize I a regional entity—the "Middle Colonies"—from the merely contiguous provinces of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.1 He suggested that, in attempting to redress an old his- toriographical bias toward colonial New England and the South, these scholars have "assume[d] the uniformity" of those colonies and "pro- jected] characteristics" from some onto others, while "overlook[ing] more important regional distinctions within" the very geographical entity to which they hoped to call interpretive attention.2 One risk of this process, he argued, was that of reifying a concept that might "obscure more than clarify" the geographical complexity of early American society and culture.3 Gough marshalled an impressive array of evidence in support of his arguments. Addressing cognitive dimensions of the problem, he claimed that perceptive colonial observers—including travel writers, cartographers, political commentators, compilers of almanacs, and architects of the English imperial bureaucracy—did not seem to think that there was (or needed to be) any such thing as a "Middle Colonies" as we now presume to know it.4 He sifted through data on such diverse phenomena as soil types, growing seasons, settlement patterns, I am grateful to Michael Zuckerman, Jean Soderlund, and Patricia Bonomi for reading and commenting on earlier versions of this essay. 1 Robert J. Gough, "The Myth of the 'Middle Colonies': An Analysis of Regionalization in Early America," Pennsylvania Magazine oj History and Biography (hereafter, PMHB) 107 (1983), 393-419.
    [Show full text]