The Whole Duty of Man

Last updated

The Whole Duty of Man is an English high-church 'Protestant' devotional work, first published anonymously in 1658, with an introduction by Henry Hammond (1605-1660). It was both popular and influential for two centuries within the Anglican tradition that it helped to define. The title quotes Ecclesiastes 12:13, in the King James Version of the Bible : Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. [1]

Contents

The consensus view of modern scholars attributes the book to Richard Allestree. At the time of publication (towards the end of the Interregnum) the high-church tradition which it represents was a politically dangerous position. The authorship remained well concealed, and it has been noted[ according to whom? ] that the work has been attributed to at least 27 people, beginning with Hammond himself.

Other proposed authorships

Half a dozen other works appeared as by "the author of The Whole Duty of Man". A folio collection was published in 1684, edited by John Fell. [2] Fell asserted that all the attributed works were from a single author.

One of the proposed candidates as author is Dorothy, Lady Pakington, under whose roof Hammond lived. In discussing her, Mary Hays [3] noted as other such candidates Accepted Frewen, William Fulman, Richard Sterne, and Abraham Woodhead. Others mentioned in the Dictionary of National Biography article on Pakington by William Dunn Macray are Fell, Humphrey Henchman, William Chappell, and Obadiah Walker. [4]

A work with a similar title from 1673, The Whole Duty of Man According to the Law of Nature, is an English translation of a Latin work on natural law by Samuel Pufendorf, and is unrelated. [5]

Influence

John Page's A Deed of Gift to my Dear Son of 1687 quotes heavily from The Whole Duty of Man. [6]

After the rupture in their close relationship at the end of 1710, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough wrote to Queen Anne reminding her of "the directions of the author of C with relation to friendship". [7]

Samuel Johnson told Boswell that his mother made him read The Whole Duty of Man "from a great part of which I could derive no instruction."

In 1785, an updated version was published called The New Whole Duty of Man, which added slightly over 100 pages of material. [8]

Literary allusions

The Whole Duty of Man is mentioned in novels as a work typically to be found in small personal libraries. Examples are "a Family Bible, a "Josephus," and a "Whole Duty of Man", in The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy; [9] "a shelf on which Mrs Julaper had her Bible, her Whole Duty of Man, and her Pilgrim's Progress", in The Haunted Baronet by Sheridan Le Fanu; [10] and "the bookcases, where Fox's "Lives of the Martyrs" nestled happily beside "The Whole Duty of Man" in The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois. [11] Richard Brinsley Sheridan guyed it in The Rivals . [12]

This trope was employed by the American hoaxer George Francis Thomas in several conflicting accounts he published of the hermit William Wilson, who lived on one of Lake Superior's Apostle Islands in the 1840s and 1850s. Writing more forty years later, Thomas reported that Wilson carried the book everywhere and consulted it often. In one 1888 version, he claimed that the backwoodsman wrote cryptic comments in Latin in the book's margins, and that a page torn from the volume allowed Wilson's daughter to confirm his identity long after his death. Thomas omitted the daughter and the Latin notations from subsequent versions, but continued to make use of the book in his accounts, leading later writers to pass the claim on as fact as recently as 2008. [13]

Thomas Babington Macaulay wrote of William Sherlock's Treatise on Death that it "during many years, stood next to the Whole Duty of Man in the bookcases of serious Arminians". [14] David Hume, a critic, wrote in his An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals , that "I suppose, if Cicero were now alive, it would be found difficult to fetter his moral sentiments by narrow systems; or persuade him, that no qualities were to be admitted as virtues, or acknowledged to be a part of PERSONAL MERIT, but what were recommended by The Whole Duty of Man". [15]

Benjamin Franklin wrote, in a letter to his wife, regarding his daughter Sally, "I hope she continues to love going to church, and would have her read over and over again the Whole Duty of Man, and the Lady’s Library." [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecclesiastes</span> Book of the Hebrew Bible

Ecclesiastes is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word קֹהֶלֶת. An unnamed author introduces "The words of Kohelet, son of David, king in Jerusalem" (1:1) and does not use his own voice again until the final verses (12:9–14), where he gives his own thoughts and summarises the statements of Kohelet; the main body of the text is ascribed to Kohelet himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Fell (bishop)</span>

John Fell was an English churchman and influential academic. He served as Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and later concomitantly as Bishop of Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Hammond</span>

Henry Hammond was an English churchman, who supported the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Allestree</span>

Richard Allestree or Allestry was an English Royalist churchman and provost of Eton College from 1665.

<i>The Imitation of Christ</i> Book by Thomas à Kempis

The Imitation of Christ, by Thomas à Kempis, is a Christian devotional book first composed in Medieval Latin as De Imitatione Christi. The devotional text is divided into four books of detailed spiritual instructions: (i) "Helpful Counsels of the Spiritual Life", (ii) "Directives for the Interior Life", (iii) "On Interior Consolation", and (iv) "On the Blessed Sacrament". The devotional approach of The Imitation of Christ emphasises the interior life and withdrawal from the mundanities of the world, as opposed to the active imitation of Christ practised by other friars. The devotions of the books emphasise devotion to the Eucharist as the key element of spiritual life.

<i>The Mayor of Casterbridge</i> 1886 novel by Thomas Hardy

The Mayor of Casterbridge: The Life and Death of a Man of Character is an 1886 novel by the English author Thomas Hardy. One of Hardy's Wessex novels, it is set in a fictional rural England with Casterbridge standing in for Dorchester in Dorset where the author spent his youth. It was first published as a weekly serialisation from January 1886.

The Life with God Bible is a study Bible published by Harper in 2005, and utilizes the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). It was formerly published under the name Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible, but has been republished under the Life with God title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmund Law</span>

Edmund Law was a priest in the Church of England. He served as Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, as Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy in the University of Cambridge from 1764 to 1769, and as bishop of Carlisle from 1768 to 1787.

Pakington is the name of an English Worcestershire family, now represented by the barony of Hampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Griffith Thomas</span>

William Henry Griffith Thomas was an Anglican cleric and scholar from the English-Welsh border country. He has been quoted by theologian Alister McGrath in the science-versus-religion debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy, Lady Pakington</span>

Dorothy, Lady Pakington was an English friend and supporter of learned clergymen, and a writer of religious works. She was for many years reputed to be the author of The Whole Duty of Man. She enjoyed the esteem and friendship of the most eminent divines of her time. Dr. Henry Hammond resided at her home for several years.

Robert Pakington was a London merchant and Member of Parliament. He was murdered with a handgun in London in 1536, likely the first such killing in the city. His murder was later interpreted as martyrdom, and recounted in John Foxe's Acts and Monuments. He was the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth I's favourite, Sir John "Lusty" Pakington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westwood House</span>

Westwood House is a stately home, near Droitwich, Worcestershire, England. It has been subdivided into twelve self-contained apartments. The house has origins as an Elizabethan banqueting hall with Caroline additions and is a Grade I listed building. It was for several centuries the seat of the Pakington family. Situated west of Droitwich, it lies in the centre of its former estate, Westwood Park, which is Grade II listed in the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens.

Dorothy Erskine, Countess of Kellie was a public figure. While married to John Pakington, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, she was involved in a matrimonial dispute that was heard in front of the Attorney General, Francis Bacon who was also her son-in-law.

<i>The Graham Children</i> Painting by William Hogarth

The Graham Children is an oil painting completed by William Hogarth in 1742. It is a group portrait depicting the four children of Daniel Graham, apothecary to King George II. The youngest child had died by the time the painting was completed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecclesiastes 3</span> Third chapter of the biblical book Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 3 is the third chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book contains philosophical speeches by a character called 'Qoheleth', composed probably between the fifth and second centuries BC. Peshitta, Targum, and Talmud attribute the authorship of the book to King Solomon.

Margaret Bourchier, Countess of Bath was an English Tudor noblewoman. She is notable for the three high-profile and advantageous marriages she secured during her lifetime, and for her success in arranging socially impressive marriages for many of her children. Through her descendants she is common ancestor of many of the noble families of England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecclesiastes 5</span> Fifth chapter of the biblical book Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 5 is the fifth chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book contains philosophical speeches by a character called '(the) Qoheleth', composed probably between the fifth and second centuries BCE. Peshitta, Targum, and Talmud attribute the authorship of the book to King Solomon. This chapter contains advice on how to approach God the right way, and a discussion about poverty and wealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecclesiastes 6</span> Sixth chapter of the biblical book Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 6 is the sixth chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book contains philosophical speeches by a character called '(the) Qoheleth', composed probably between the 5th and 2nd centuries BC. Peshitta, Targum, and Talmud attribute the authorship of the book to King Solomon. This chapter deals with wealth and insatiability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecclesiastes 12</span> Twelfth chapter of the biblical book Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book contains philosophical speeches by a character called 'Qoheleth', composed probably between the 5th and 2nd centuries BCE. Peshitta, Targum, and Talmud attribute the authorship of the book to King Solomon. This chapter continues the previous one in the sustained encouragement to make decision and the need to act speedily.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ S:Bible (King James)/Ecclesiastes
  2. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fell, John"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 240.
  3. ↑ Female Biography (1807) vol. 3, pp.268-9.
  4. ↑ Macray, William Dunn (1895). "Pakington, Dorothy"  . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography . Vol. 43. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 86–88.
  5. ↑ Online text.
  6. ↑ Edward L. Bond, Spreading the Gospel in Colonial Virginia: sermons and devotional writings (2004), p. 73.
  7. ↑ G. M. Trevelyan, England under Queen Anne: The Peace and the Protestant Succession (1965), p. 66.
  8. ↑ The New Whole Duty of Man (1785), achived=https://archive.org/details/newwholedutyofma00slpr/ , archive-date=2008-08-14.
  9. ↑ s:The Mayor of Casterbridge/Chapter 10
  10. ↑ s:The Haunted Baronet/Chapter V
  11. ↑ s:The Souls of Black Folk/XII
  12. ↑ "The rivals" . Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  13. ↑ Thomas, George Francis, "Return of a Daughter" Ashland (Wis.) Weekly News, March 7, 1888. For subsequent mentions, cf, for example, Eleanor Knight, Tales of Bayfield Pioneers, Beedlow Media, Bayfield, Wisconsin, 2008.
  14. ↑ s:The History Of England From the Accession of James II/Chapter XVII
  15. ↑ s:An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals
  16. ↑ The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Pleasant Places Press, 2004), 226.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.