Detailed Table of Contents to Vol. II.
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A HISTORY
OF
AMERICAN LITERATURE
II.
1676-1765
BY
MOSES COIT TYLER
PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
NEW YORK
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
182 FIFTH AVENUE
1879
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COPYRIGHT,
1878
BY G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS.
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CHAPTER XI.
NEW ENGLAND: THE VERSE-WRITERS.
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I. | —The two literary periods in our colonial age—Their points of distinction—The times and the men—Our intended line of march through the second period. |
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II. | —John Norton—His poem on the death of Anne Bradstreet—John Rogers—His poetic praise of Anne Bradstreet. |
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III. | —Urian Oakes—His high literary gifts—His elegy on the death of Thomas Shepard. |
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IV. | —Peter Folger, the ballad-writer—Benjamin Tompson, the satirist. |
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V. | —Michael Wigglesworth, the sturdy rhymer of New England Calvinism—His great popularity—Puts into verse the glooms and the comforts of the prevailing faith—The realistic poet of hell-fire—“God’s Controversy with New England”—“Meat out of the Eater”—”The Day of Doom”—Synopsis of the latter poem—Its wide diffusion and influence—His son, Samuel Wigglesworth, a true poet—“A Funeral Song” by the latter. |
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VI. | —Nicholas Noyes, the last and greatest of our Fantastics—His fine personal career—The monstrosities of his muse—Prefatory poem on the “Magnalia”—Lines on John Higginson—Elegy on Joseph Green—Verses on the painful malady of a Reverend friend. |
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VII. | —Strong influence in America of the contemporary English poets, especially Pope, Blachmore, Watts, Thomson, Young—Echoes of them in Francis Knapp, Benjamin Colman, Jane Turell, Mather Byles—The career and poetry of Roger Wolcott—His Connecticut epic—His “Poetical Meditations.” |
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VIII. | —Humorous poetry—John Seccomb and his burlesque verses—The facetiousness of Joseph Green—His impromptus—His “Entertainment for a Winter Evening.” |
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IX. | —War-verses—Popular ballads—”Lovewell’s Fight”—Tilden’s “Miscellaneous Poems”—John Maylem, Philo-Bellum—His “Conquest of Louisburg”—His “Gallic Perfidy.” |
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X. | —A group of serious singers—John Adams—His accomplishments and poetry—Poems by Several Hands”—Peter Oliver, the literary politician—His poem in honor of Josiah Willard. |
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XI. | —“Pietas et Gratulatio”—Its occasion—Its authors—A burst of American loyalty to the English monarchs—Its Greek and Latin verses—Its English verses—Apotheosis of George the Second—Salutation to George the Third. |
CHAPTER XII.
NEW ENGLAND: THE DYNASTY OF THE MATHERS.
| I. | —The founder of the dynasty, Richard Mather—His flight from England and career in America—His traits—His writings—An ecclesiastical politician—His love of study.
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| II. | —Increase Mather—His American birth and breeding—His residence in Ireland and England—Returns to New England—His great influence there—Pulpit-orator, statesman, courtier, college president—His learning—His laboriousness in study—His manner in the pulpit—The literary qualities of his writings—Specimens—Number and range of his published works—His “Illustrious Providences”—Origin of the book—Its value.
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| III. | —Cotton Mather—His preeminence—The adulation received by him—His endowments—His precocity—The development of his career—His religious character and discipline—His intellectual accomplishments—His habits as a reader—The brilliancy of his talk—Contemporaneous admiration—The watchword of his life—The multitude of his books—Characteristic titles—The fame of his “Magnalia”—His anxieties respecting its publication—Its scope—His advantages and disadvantages for historical writing—Estimate of the historical character of the “Magnalia”—The best of his subsequent writings—“Bonifacius”—“Psalterium Americanum”—“Manuductio ad Ministerium”—Its counsels to a young prophet—Study of Hebrew, of history, of natural philosophy—Assault on Aristotle—The place of Cotton Mather in American literature—The last of the Fantastics in prose—Traits of his style—Pedantry—His style not agreeable to his later contemporaries—His theory of style—Defence of his own style against his critics.
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| IV. | —Samuel Mather—His days and deeds—A stanch patriot—The end of the dynasty. |
CHAPTER XIII.
NEW ENGLAND: TOPICS OF POPULAR DISCUSSION.
| I. | —Early literary prominence of the clergy—Growth of the laity in intellectual influence—The range of the people’s thought and talk during the second colonial period. |
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| II. | —The mournful reminiscences of Joshua Scottow—The witchcraft spasm—Robert Calef and “More Wonders of the Invisible World.” |
| III. | —The diary in literature—Sarah Kemble Knight—Her “Journal”—Pictures of travel and of rustic manners early in the eighteenth century.
| | IV. | —Samuel Sewall—His brave life—The man—His attitude toward witchcraft and slavery.—His “Selling of Joseph”—Among the prophets—”A Description of the New Heaven”—The New Jerusalem to be in America—A gallant champion of the immortality of the souls of women. |
| V. | —John Wise—His inadequate fame—His genius as a writer—His career as preacher, muscular Christian, and opponent of despotism—The first great American expounder of democracy in church and state—His victorious assault upon a scheme for clerical aggrandizement—The Churches’ Quarrel Expoused”—The logic, wit, and eloquence of the book—His “Vindication of the Government of New England Churches”—Analysis of the book—Traits of his mind and style. |
| VI. | —Jeremiah Dummer—His early fame—Short career as a preacher—Goes to London and becomes courtier, barrister, and colonial agent—A faithful American always—His “Letter to a Noble Lord”—His “Defence of the New England Charters”—The elegance and strength of his style. |
| VII. | —The almanac in modern literature—Its early prominence in America—Its function—Wit and wisdom in almanacs not originated by Franklin—Nathaniel Ames, the greatest of our colonial almanac-makers—His “Astronomical Diary and Almanac,” an annual miscellany of information and amusement—Its great popularity and utility—Its predictions—Its shrewd and earnest appeals to the common mind—Its suggestions concerning health—its original verses—Predicts the Day of Judgment—A noble prophecy of universal peace—Vision of the coming greatness of America—A friendly address to posterity. |
CHAPTER XIV.
NEW ENGLAND: HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY.
| I. | —Further development of the historic spirit in New England—Biography and biographers—Ebenezer Turell—His biographies of Jane Turell and of Benjamin Colman.
| | II. | —William Hubbard—Picture of him by John Dunton—His literary culture and aptitude—Qualities of his style—His “General History of New England”—His “Indian Wars”—Celebrity of the latter—Its faults and merits—Represents the wrath of the people against the Indians—Portrait of a noble savage. |
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| III. | —Other literary memorials of the long conflict with the Indians—Mary Rowlandson and her thrilling “Narrative” of Indian captivity—”The Redeemed Captive,” by John Williams of Deerfield—Benjamin Church—His history of King Philip’s War and of other struggles with the Indians—Interest of his narratives—Samuel Penhallow—His history of Indian wars —Pictures of heroism and cruelty—His reminiscences of classical study—Samuel Niles—His “History of the Indian and French Wars.”
| | IV. | —Thomas Prince—His eminent career—His special taste and training for history—Has the cardinal virtues of an historian—His “Chronological History of New England”—Thoroughness of his methods—Salient features of the boot:—Its worthiness.
| | V. | —John Callender—His careful sketch of the first century of Rhode Island’s history.
| | VI. | —William Douglass—The life and the singularities of the man—A literary Ishmaelite—His ability and self-confidence—His sarcastic account of the medical profession in America—His “Summary”—A passionate, heterogeneous, able book—Its style and scope—Its drolleries—His dislike of the Indians, of the French, of Whitefield, of Bishop Berkeley, and of paper-money—General estimate of his book. |
CHAPTER XV.
NEW ENGLAND: THE PULPIT IN LITERATURE.
| I. | —Continued ascendency of the clergy—Their full maintenance of the grand traits of their predecessors,—manliness, scholarship, thoughtfulness, eloquence—Their improvement upon their predecessors in breadth, and in social and literary urbanity. |
| II. | —John Higginson—Sketch of him by John Dunton—The power of his character and of his long life—His election—sermon—His “Attestation” to the “Magnalia.” |
| III. | —William Stoughton, preacher and statesman—His “Narrative of the Proceedings of Andros”—His discourse on “New England’s True Interest not to Lie”—Its literary ability—Its courage. |
| IV. | —Urian Oakes—His greatness in prose as well as in verse—Contemporaneous estimates of him—His first artillery-sermon—Its great eloquence—Its delineation of the Christian soldier—His election-sermon—His second artillery-sermon. |
| V. | —Samuel Willard—His “Complete Body of Divinity”—His career—His theological lectures—Their great influence—Their publication in 1726 in the first American folio—Strong qualities of the book. |
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| VI. | —Solomon Stoddard—His activity as a writer—His special reputation for soundness of judgment—His “Answer to Some Cases of Conscience respecting the Country”—The sinfulness of long hair and of periwigs—Condemnation of other frivolities. |
| VII. | —Benjamin Colman—His great contemporaneous influence in church and state—His fine culture—His residence in England—His particular friendships there—His return to Boston—His long and prosperous public career—His discourses—Their literary polish—His charitable spirit.
| | VIII. | —John Barnard of Marblehead—His versatile culture—His eminence—His intellectual traits—His volumes of sermons—His gentlemanly treatment of sinners. |
| IX. | —Jonathan Edwards—Outline of his life—His qualities, spiritual and intellectual—His precocity in metaphysics, and in physics—His juvenile writings—His more mature studies in science—His spiritual self-discipline—His resolutions—The sorrows of his life—Habits as a student and thinker—His power as a preacher—Analysis of his method in discourse—”Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”—His literary characteristics. |
| X. | —Mather Byles—A scene in Hollis Street Church early in the Revolution—His brilliant career before the Revolution—His versatility—The misfortune |
CHAPTER XVI.
LITERATURE IN THE MIDDLE COLONIES.
1. NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY.
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| I. | —Traits of life in New York before it became English—After it became English—A many-tongued community—Metropolitan indications—Education neglected—Literary effort only in spasms. |
| II. | —Daniel Denton, a pioneer of American Literature there—His “Brief Description of New York”—His pictures of nature and of social felicity—Thomas Budd, of New Jersey, another pioneer writer—His “Good Order established in Pennsylvania and New Jersey”—William Leeds, a refugee from Philadelphia—His “News of a Trumpet sounding in the Wilderness.” |
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| III. | —Lewis Morris of Morrisania—His vivacious boyhood—Turns vagabond—Settlement into steady courses—A powerful politician—His literary inclinations—His letters from London—Provincial loyalty disenchanted by going to the metropolis. |
| IV. | —Cadwallader Colden—His long career—Manifold activity—Extraordinary range of his studies and of his writings—His “History of the Five Indian Nations”—Its characteristics—Its descriptions of the savage virtues. |
| V. | —Daniel Coxe of New Jersey—His “Description of the English Province of Carolana”—His statesmanly view of colonial affairs—Anticipates Franklin’s plan of a union of the colonies. |
| VI. | —Jonathan Dickinson, pulpit-orator, physician, teacher, author—First president of the College of New Jersey—His personal traits—His eminence as a theological debater—His “Familiar Letters.” |
| VII. | —William Livingston—His “Philosophic Solitude”—Manner and spirit of the poem—Antithesis between his ideal life and his real one—His strong character—Outward engagements—His activity as a pamphleteer and as a writer in the journals—His burlesque definition of his own creed—His “Review of the Military Operations in North America”—His “Verses to Eliza.” |
| VIII. | —William Smith—The course of his life—His special interest in the history of his native province—His “History of New York”—Criticisms upon it—Samuel Smith and his “History of the Colony of Nova Cæsarea or New Jersey.” |
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| 2. PENNSYLVANIA. |
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| I. | —The founders of Pennsylvania—The high motives of their work—Their social severity—Intellectual greatness of William Penn—Justice and liberality imparted by him to the constitution of his province—Education provided for—First impulses to literary production in Pennsylvania—The development of a literary spirit in Philadelphia. |
| II. | —Gabriel Thomas—A brisk Quaker—His “Account” of Pennsylvania and of West New Jersey—His enthusiasm for his province—Its freedom from lawyers and doctors—Its proffer of relief to the distressed in the old world—Richard Frame—His “Short Description of Pennsylvania”—John Holme—His “True Relation of the Flourishing State of Pennsylvania”—Jonathan Dickenson—“God’s Protecting Providence Man’s Surest Help.” |
| III. | —James Logan—Penn invites him to America and trusts to him his affairs there—His fidelity to the Penns and to the people—Difficulties of his position—His great intellectual attainments—His writings published and unpublished. |
| IV. | —William Smith—His influence upon intellectual culture in the middle colonies—Arrival at New York—His “General Idea of |
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| the College of Mirania”—Is invited to Philadelphia—His useful career as educator, preacher, and writer. |
| V. | —A succession of small writers—Jacob Taylor—Henry Brooke—Samuel Keimer—Aquila Rose—James Ralph—George Webb and his “Bachelors’ Hall”—Joseph Breintnal—A poem from “Titan’s Almanac” for 1730—Joseph Shippen—John Webbe—Lewis Evans. |
| VI. | —Samuel Davies—Born and educated in Pennsylvania—Acquires in Virginia great fame as a pulpit-orator—His mission to England—Becomes president of the College of New Jersey—His death—Great popularity of his published sermons down to the present time—His traits as a preacher—Passage from his sermon on “The General Resurrection.” |
| VII. | —Thomas Godfrey, the poet—Connection of his father’s family with Franklin—His early life and death—Publication of his “Juvenile Poems” His “Prince of Parthia,” the first American drama—A study of it. |
| VIII. | —Benjamin Franklin, the first man of letters in America to achieve cosmopolitan fame—His writings during our present period—His great career during the subsequent period. |
CHAPTER XVII.
LITERATURE IN MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, AND THE SOUTH.
| 1. MARYLAND. |
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| I. | —Ebenezer Cook, Gentleman—A rough satirist—His “Sot-Weed Factor”—Outline of the poem—Lively sketches of early Maryland life—Hospitality—Manners—Indians—A court-scene—Encounter with a Quaker and a lawyer—Swindled by both—His curse upon Maryland—His “Sot-Weed Redivivus.” |
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| 2. VIRGINIA. |
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| I. | —James Blair, the true founder of literary culture in Virginia—His coming to Virginia—Forcible qualities of the man—His zeal for education—Founds the College of William and Mary—First president of it—The Commencement celebration in 1700—His writings—“The Present State of Virginia and the College”—His published discourses on the Sermon on the Mount—His literary qualities—Passages from his sermons. |
| II. | —Robert Beverley—Parentage—Education in England—His study of the history of Virginia—How he came to write it—The blunders of Oldmixon—Reception of Beverley’s book.—The author himself seen in it—A noble Virginian—A friend of the Indians— |
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| His love of nature—His style—Humor—Hatred of indolence—Virginia hospitality and comfort—Calumnies upon its climate. |
| III. | —Hugh Jones, clergyman, teacher, and school-book maker—His “Present State of Virginia”—Objects of the book—Its range—Its sarcasms upon the other colonies—Its criticisms upon Virginia—Suggestions for improvement. |
| IV. | —William Byrd of Westover—His princely fortune and ways—His culture—Foreign travel—Public spirit—His writings—“History of the Dividing Line”—The humor and literary grace of the book—Amusing sketch of early history of Virginia—The Christian duty of marrying Indian women—Sarcasms upon North Carolina—Notices of plants, animals, and forest-life—The praise of ginseng—His “Progress to the Mines”—His “Journey to the Land of Eden.” |
| V. | —William Stith—Various utilities of his life—His “History of Virginia”—Defects of the work—Its good qualities—Bitter description of James the First. |
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| 3. NORTH CAROLINA. |
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| I. | —John Lawson—His picture of Charleston in 1700—His journey to North Carolina—What he saw and heard by the way—Becomes surveyor-general |
CHAPTER XVIII.
GENERAL LITERARY FORCES IN THE COLONIAL TIME.
| I. | —Tendency in each colony toward isolation—Local peculiarities in thought and language—Distribution of personal and literary types. |
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| II. | —General tendencies toward colonial fellowship, founded on kinship, religion, commerce, subjection to the same sovereign, peril from the same enemies—Special intellectual tendencies toward colonial fellowship, founded on the rise of journalism, the establishment of colleges, and the study of physical science. |
| III. | —The rise of American journalism—”Public Occurrences,” in 1690 “The Boston News-Letter,” in 1704—Dates of the founding of the first newspapers in the several colonies—Whole number founded in each colony before 1765—Description of the colonial newspapers—Their effect on intercolonial acquaintance—The growth of literary skill in them—Early literary magazines—First one founded by Franklin, in 1741—”The American Magazine,” at Boston—”The Independent Reflector,” at New York—”The American Magazine,” at Philadelphia. |
| IV. | —Early American colleges—Seven founded before 1765—Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, New Jersey, King’s, Philadelphia, Rhode Island—Grade and extent of instruction in them—Predominant study of the ancient classics—Requirements for admission at Harvard and Yale—Latin in ordinary use in the colleges—Range of studies—Expertness in the use of the ancient languages—How the early colleges led to colonial union—Their vast influence on literary culture—Their promotion of the spiritual conditions on which the growth of literature depends—One effect of their work seen in the state papers of the Revolutionary period—Lord Chatham’s tribute. |
| V. | —Study of physical science in America—Begun by the earliest Americans—Eminence of John Winthrop of Connecticut—His connections with the Royal Society—Fitz John Winthrop—Stimulus given to study of nature in New England—Increase Mather—John Williams—Cotton Mather—Jared Eliot—Joseph Dudley—Paul Dudley—Study of science in Virginia—John Banister—William Byrd—Mark Catesby—John Clayton—John Mitchell—John Bartram of Pennsylvania—John Winthrop of Harvard College—The intercolonial correspondence of scientific men—Culmination of scientific research between 1740 and 1765—The brilliant services of Franklin—America instructing Europe in electricity—Leading scientific men in the several colonies—Scientific fellowship a preparation for political fellowship—Impulse given by science to literature. |
| VI. | —Great change in the character of American literature after 1765. |
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