NJ Lois

Annotations and comments

NJ Lois has posted 16 annotations/comments since 2 June 2015.

The most recent first…

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Second Reading

About Saturday 20 August 1664

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Commencing in the 1880's, packet boats delivered mail along the Erie Canal and the Finger Lakes of New York State. Mail is still delivered by boat in the summer, on Skaneateles Lake (one of the Finger Lakes), The Thousand Islands, and to some of the lakes in the Adirondack Mountains, although the boats no longer bear the charming name of "packet boats." For a history of European and American Packet Boats, google "packet boats New York State" and go to "Packet Boat-Wikipedia" https: en Wikipedia.org/Packet_boat

About Sunday 10 January 1663/64

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Collonell Turner (a mad, swearing confident fellow) confident in the old sense: overbold, unduly self reliant, forward, presumptuous, impudent," sounds like our president-elect.

About Wednesday 14 October 1663

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"But, Lord! to see the disorder, laughing, sporting, and no attention, but confusion in all their service, more like brutes, than people knowing the true God. ..." about the descendants of the people that gave the world the concept of One God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, as in Genesis. What about the rest of the Books of the Old Testament- if its not to long to answer here.

About Thursday 3 September 1663

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Cognitive Dissonance : "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth... ." and Darwin's Theory of Evolution. What Fun !

About Thursday 21 May 1663

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Robert Gertz: "striking...there were better husbands and fathers then who did not find it the way of choice...and delighted in educating intelligent and capable wives and daughters. ..." The Reformed Churches looked upon women differently. They educated their flock so that they could read the Bible. The Jews were always "People of the Book." So , yes, some civilized people did not need to use their hands or belts or rods to "discipline" their wives, or children and servants.

About Sunday 24 May 1663

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"We must be careful not to judge Sam by 21st Century morals. He is a product of the 17th Century. ..." 21st Century morals (and 17th Century morals ) were and are based upon the Ten Commandments and Scripture, for those who follow the Judeo-Christian tradition. Our code of ethics and morality is one of the foundations of Western Civilization; another being Philosophy.
I came across a quotation once, by a Frenchman, I think, who said something to the effect that " no matter how loud you shout it, or how oft' you repeat it-- if it's wrong, it's wrong." Sam knows right from wrong.

About Monday 13 April 1663

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What is a Pom; Australian Susan's reference to Pom jokes, as an English person in Australia, and Aqua Scripto's reference to Pommes.

About Saturday 31 January 1662/63

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" Sam is a grouch. He's mad about the half-baked dinner, which he has already chewed her out for, and now he takes it out of her about her spelling. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Miserable twit."
There is criticism that "Some annotators seem to enjoy rushing to sanctimonious and self righteous judgment- the worst thing about this is that it obscures rather than helps the understanding of the diary's historical context." I don't see how the above has anything to do with understanding the diary's historical context. Sam can be a bully, as in beating his boy, and belittling his wife, whom he married when she was 15. He, an Oxford graduate, could have seen to her further education. In addition, Sam usually has dinner elsewhere, cooked by someone's cook, or by a professional.

About Tuesday 20 January 1662/63

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Aye, pompous: "Then to the office about business all afternoon with great pleasure seeing myself observed by everybody to be the only man of business of us all but Mr. Coventry." We are all entitled to our own opinion without being criticized.

About Tuesday 30 September 1662

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My mind I hope is settled again to follow my business again for I find that two days of neglect of business do give more discontent of mind than ten times the pleasure thereof can repair.