This map shows the islands that guard the entrance to the port of Amsterdam. Move it south, and you can see how the tiny country of the Netherlands is interconnected.
Rotterdam is on its own river, obviously linked to the Hook of Holland.
Robert Hooke's Wiki bio says: "An impoverished scientific inquirer in young adulthood, he became one of the most important scientists of his day and found wealth and esteem by performing over half of the property surveys after London's great fire of 1666 and assisting in the city's rapid reconstruction."
Elsewhere I found this description: "In the Great Fire of London, [JOHN] Ogilby claimed, probably with some exaggeration, that he lost his entire stock of books valued at some £3,000, as well as his shop and house, leaving him worth just £5. ... As he sought to restore his fortunes, Ogilby was already looking in new directions. "The initial opportunity he seized on was the reconstruction of London’s burnt-out centre. He secured appointment as a “sworn viewer”, whose duty was to establish the property boundaries as they existed before the Fire. Ogilby was assisted in the project by his step-grandson, William Morgan, and by a number of professional surveyors. "The result was an outstanding plan of London, on a scale of 100 ft. to an inch, on 20 sheets, although it was not printed until after Ogilby’s death." https://mapforum.com/2022/01/03/b… https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
You can see the map at https://www.theguardian.com/books… 'In the aftermath of the Great Fire, he became a “sworn viewer” charged with surveying the ruins. Within six years, Ogilby, who had no previous experience of surveying, was putting together “the most accurate Survey of the City of London and Libertyes therof that has ever been done.” In 1671 he was appointed royal cosmographer.'
London was lucky to have such talent at its disposal.
John Ogilby saw the mercantile ambition of Restoration England, and exploited the potential by publishing geographical descriptions of the wider world. In 1667, he issued ‘An Embassy from the East India Company of the United Provinces to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperor of China.’ This was translated from the original Dutch text, and illustrated using the original Dutch views and plates. Pleased by the response, Ogilby conceived a multi-volume description of the world, a project he described in May 1669: “Africa, though not the remotest, yet furthest from our Acquaintance, the Author intends to be the First Volumn. America, being the next least known, the Second. Asia according to the same order, the Third. Europe, that hath been most Surveyed, of which much is to be said that hath not yet been Collected by any English Author, he designs to be his Fourth and Fifth Volumn; the last, but not the least in our Concerns, will onely contain the Business of Great Britain.”
The volumes were joint collaborations with the Dutch publisher Jacob van Meurs. ‘Africa’, published in 1670, was the least original, both in terms of the text, maps and illustrations. The ‘Atlas Japannensis’ (1670), the ‘Atlas Chinensis’ (1671), and ‘Asia’ (1673) followed.
"They are too esoteric for pay TV." I was wrong. I understand they are on Apple TV now.
I found a biography of John Ogibly, and have excerpted what he was doing during the Diary years:
John Ogilby turned his attention to the Latin classics, as a translator and publisher. His first attempt in 1649 was a translation of the works of Virgil, but after his marriage to a wealthy widow the same year, his publishing activities received a boost.
One way John Ogilby financed these volumes was by advanced subscriptions from patrons, in return for including their name and coats-of-arms on the illustrations. As the prestige of his books increased, so did the number of subscribers. Another way was to secure a patron, preferably in the court circle. ... In 1661, John Ogilby was sufficiently in favor to be asjed to write poetry for Charles II’s coronation procession; he later published ‘The Relation of His Majesties Entertainment Passing Through the City of London’, and a much enlarged edition in 1662, which included a set of plates depicting the procession.
In 1665, Ogilby left London to avoid the Plague. This was a minor disruption compared to the disaster he suffered in 1666.
In the Great Fire of London, Ogilby claimed that he lost his entire stock of books valued at some £3,000, as well as his shop and house, leaving him worth just £5. On another occasion, he said he lost two-thirds of his stock, which may be more accurate.
To restore his fortunes, John Ogilby seized an appointment as a “sworn viewer”, whose duty was to establish the property boundaries as they existed before the Fire. Ogilby was assisted in this by his step-grandson, William Morgan, and by several professional surveyors. The result was an outstanding plan of London, on a scale of 100 ft to an inch, on 20 sheets, which was printed after Ogilby’s death.
Pepys never buys/acquires roses for Elizabeth throughout the Diary! Never mind Valentine's Day, but not in midsummer either.
John Milton tells us that before the Fall of Man, roses were thornless. When Adam and Eve were chased out of the Garden of Eden, roses acquired thorns to remind them of their folly.
Perhaps those thorns disqualified roses as a symbol of love for 17th century people.
To be fair, Pepys doesn't mention having flowers or plants in the house either. Dogs, monkeys, cats, yes, plants no. You'd think they would have welcomed the aroma.
Map making and surveying were important and rare skills in the 17th century.
The world’s first road atlas, 'The Britannia' was a sumptuous collection of English and Welsh road maps, created by an ageing Scottish former-dancing-master-turned-secret agent, was published in 1675.
John Ogilby was cosmographer to Charles II, and 'The Britannia' featured a series of maps of routes depicted in a distinctive vertical scroll format by engraver Wenceslaus Hollar.
Ogilby made use of a standardized scale* to increase the usefulness of his maps. He also eliminated all but key details of the routes depicted, including, for example, bridges, rivers, ‘A Great Mountaine’, ferries, heath, ‘arrable’ and the most prominent buildings in a vicinity, among them churches and the seats of local gentry.
Pepys and annotators have told us of many people getting lost in what should have been quite well-travelled locations, so Ogilby's maps were much needed.
I have heard of soldiers in the Civil Wars using leather strips with highlights written/embossed on them as maps. Couriers must have needed something easy to hold and read as they took correspondence around on hoseback -- frequently in the rain, so paper and ink would be useless -- even if the armies involved had scouts and locals to guide them.
For a picture of Ogilby's maps, and a general history of map making, with lots of references to John Stow, see https://www.countrylife.co.uk/lux…
* He had to make Parliament decide how long a mile was for starters.
Why did Charles II want to know about roads in Wales in 1675? For that story -- well worth your time! -- see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C…
Extra tidbit: David Attenborough used Capt. Cook's maps of the coast of New South Wales while he was documenting the Great Barrier Reef.
What were Queen Catherine and Pepys really drinking:
"In ancient China, compressed teas were usually made with thoroughly dried and ground tea leaves that were pressed into various bricks or other shapes, although partially dried and whole leaves were also used.
"Some tea bricks were also mixed with binding agents such as flour, blood, or manure to better preserve their form so they could withstand physical use as currency. Newly formed tea bricks were then left to cure, dry, and age prior to being sold or traded.
"Tea bricks were preferred in trade prior to the 19th century in Asia since they were more compact than loose leaf tea and were also less susceptible to physical damage incurred through transportation over land by caravans on the Ancient tea route."
"Seven of the Clocke" From Nicholas Breton's Fantasticks, 1626:
"It is now the seuenth houre, and Time begins to set the world hard to worke: The Milke-maides in their Dayry to their Butter and their Cheese, the Ploughmen to their Ploughes and their Harrowes in the field: the Schollers to their Lessons, the Lawyers to their Cases, the Merchants to their accounts, the Shop-men to What lacke you? and euery Trade to his businesse: Oh tis a world to see how life leapes about the lims of the healthfull: none but findes something to doe: the Wise, to study, the strong, to labour: the Fantasticke, to make loue: the Poet, to make Uerses: the Player, to conne his part: and the Musitian to try his note: euery one in his qualitiee and according to his condition, sets himself to some exercise, either of the body, or the minde: And therefore since it is a time of much labour, and great vse, I will thus briefly conclude of it: I hold it the enemy of Idlenesse, and imployer of Industry.
"Farewell."
How seriously do we take this? The Diary and other sources make me think some people's work was dictated by daylight and weather, and in England in mid-winter I doubt they would be ploughing at 7 a.m., for instance. Maybe they were feeding the chickens or sharpening the ploughshears?
At the Navy Board, where they used candles and firelight in winter, I can imagine Mr. Hewer sharpening his quills, making ink, filing yesterday's correspondence in boxes, and sorting the incoming mail, getting ready for today's challenges at 7 a.m..
At least one Frenchman was happy about Charles II's coronation:
"The merchant, poet, and bibliophile Pierre de Cardonnel (1614–1667), born in Caen, Normandy, to an established Protestant family of traders, gained influential allies at court in France and England by leveraging his financial success and diverse literary interests. Among Cardonnel’s published writings are extended poems, originally written in French and translated later into Latin and English, celebrating the coronation and foreign policies of Charles II.
"Cardonnel’s network illustrates how written material managed to circulate between Protestants and Catholics across disparate regions, and he is considered an important vector in the early reception of the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes."
"He that will not stoop for a pin, will never be worth a pound."
Never heard that one before. It goes along with: "A stitch in time saves nine" and “It never occurs to fools that merit and good fortune are closely united” which also extol the virtue of thrift in small matters, attention to detail, taking control of your situation, and not leaving things up to luck or fate.
The word “Luck” is said to be derived from an old Anglo-Saxon verb meaning “to catch” and therefore signify something good caught almost by chance. Such a derivation seems reasonable as prosperity and adversity are sometimes thought to be dependent on fleeting events/opportunities that must be seized before they pass, which goes back to medieval and ancient philosophy of the Roman Rota Fortunae, which is a representation of the capricious nature of Fate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rot…
These proverbs -- and Sir William Coventry -- are arguing that fortune/good luck can also be the result of consistent attention to details.
My favorite along these lines is "Work and acquire, and thou hast chained the Wheel of Chance" -- Ralph Waldo Emerson.
This goes along with what I discovered yesterday about original meaning of 'the pursuit of happiness': https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
"old Delkes, that carries pins always in his mouth,"
Old Delkes must have worked in the office because Early Modern society had a great fear of swallowing pins which was likely influenced by their widespread use. Pins were used to hold together clothing, style hair, organize documents and, of course, for sewing.
A book has come out about Christopher "Kit" Marlowe:
"Localizing Christopher Marlowe: His Life, Plays and Mythology, 1575-1593 446 pages
"This study punctures the stereotyped portrayals of Marlowe, first created by his rival Robert Greene, and, yet, which still colour our view. In doing so, Ide reveals the social and cultural discourses out of which such myths emerged.
"We know next to nothing about the life of the playwright Christopher Marlowe (b.1564 - d. 1593). Few documents survive other than his birth record in the parish register, a handful of legal cases in court records, Privy Council mandates and reports to the Council, the coroner's examination of his death, and a few hearsay accounts of his atheism. With such a limited collection of biographical documents available, it is impossible to retrieve from history a complete sense of Marlowe. However, this does not mean that biography cannot play a significant role in Marlowe studies.
"By observing the details of the specific places and communities to which Marlowe belonged, this book highlights the collective experiences and concerns of the social groups and communities with which we know he was personally and financially involved. Specifically, 'Localizing Christopher Marlowe' reveals the political and cultural dynamics in the community of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, into which Marlowe was deeply integrated and through which he became affiliated with the circle of Sir Francis Walsingham, mapping these influences in both his life and works."
"I all the afternoon at home doing some business, drawing up my vowes for the rest of the yeare to Christmas; but, Lord! to see in what a condition of happiness I am, if I would but keepe myself so; but my love of pleasure is such, that my very soul is angry with itself for my vanity in so doing."
Pepys didn't consider happiness the way we do. From reading the classical Greek and Roman moral philosophers, they understood the pursuit of happiness as being a quest for being good, not feeling good — the pursuit of lifelong virtue, not short-term pleasure. Amongst these virtues were the habits of industry, moderation, and sincerity, all part of a daily struggle for self-improvement, character development, and calm self-mastery.
Pepys recognizes that he has work to go before he achieves these virtues -- hence the vows.
When you read the US Constitution's promise of the right to the pursuit of happiness, this is what the Founding Fathers intended. You have the right to go to work and be all you can be in the New World. What you achieve is up to you.
Don't under-estimate the Early Modern desire to Latin-ize English:
In Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet and Richard III the phrase “declension of pronouns” is used to describe language. That phrase relates to Latin, the language of education for Shakespeare’s lifetime, throughout Europe.
It helps to understand the Latin background of nouns, pronouns, and spelling in 16th and 17th century English when you navigate their literature.
What one learns from The Diary! For instance, "Castle" soap was a main ingredient in clysters, and Early Modern treatments for The Stone:
"Soap in medicine. The purer hard soap is the only sort intended for internal use; this triturated with oily or resinous matters, renders them soluble in water; and hence becomes an ingredient in pills composed of resins, promoting their dissolution in the stomach, and union with the animal fluids. ... "It is likewise a powerful menstruum for the calculus, or stone in the bladder; a solution of it in lime-water being one of the strongest dissolvents that can with safety be taken into the stomach: the virtue of this composition is considerably greater than the aggregate of the dissolving powers of the soap and lime-water, when unmixed." -- A New and Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. 1764.
To which Nate Lockwood on 13 Feb, 2016, added this gem: I first learned of Castile Soap in a chemistry class. We made the soap and then added gasoline to make napalm. While production napalm is not made from castile soap the 'palm' comes from palmitic acid (a constituent of palm oil). I believe that the 'na' relates to Sodium (Na).
I can see Cuttance, Creed and Pepys rolling their eyes at the tenth fanciful utterance, and Creed checking his watch and saying, "Oh, it's 2:30 -- I must run -- Pepys, do you need to take a coach with me to the Duke's?"
Cuttance, "Are you going to that meeting? So am I -- may I join you?" And the three abandoning their beers and fleeing.
Although we read of his frequent days spent with former colleagues and old friends in bars, and probably judge this idleness by 21st century standards, Pepys did not view these outings as a waste of time. This was "intelligencing" and the cementing of alliances. Perhaps little valuable information was learned -- but sometimes helpful hints came his way. Knowing who's up, who's down, what's in and what's out was essential to his -- and therefore the Navy Board's -- ability to function.
Remember, no TV, streaming or daily newspapers, no email or X nor Instagram or Facebook. A weekly Gazette came out with the Royal propoganda digest -- that Pepys never mentions it probably indicates that he didn't find it useful. And there were pamphlets -- thousands of them -- where someone printed up their arguments on a subject; weeks later someone would print their argument against that point-of-view. This could go back-and-forth for years. You can't run a business based on that.
So Pepys takes time when he can to check in with his old colleagues at Whitehall, the Sandwich's family and servants, school and university friends, well-connected relatives, and walks Westminster Hall, just finding out what's happening -- and telling them what he needed them to know about the Navy's dealings, sowing the seeds for future favors and actions.
Today, Pepys truly took a day off and did nothing of any redeeming social value -- beyond taking care of his health as best he could, paying attention to Elizabeth, and practicing his French. Not an altogether wasted day.
Cock-Threshing was an old medieval sport practiced on Shrove Tuesday, and still popular in Pepys day. A Dutch tourist in 1663 described the practice as: "In London one sees in every street, wherever one goes, many apprentice boys running with, under their arms, a cock with a string on its foot, on which is a spike, which they push firmly into the ground between the stones. They always look for an open space and, for a penny, let people throw their cudgel from a good distance at the cock and he who kills the cock gets it."
Why kill the cocks? Because eggs and meat are about to go off the menu.
Other fun traditions of Shrove Tuesday included cock-fighting, football, eating pancakes, tossing dogs in the air, and, under the Stuarts, apprentice riots.
The city of London banned throwing at cocks in 1704. But it continued, just out of town, well into the 1760s.
Comments
Third Reading
About Rotterdam, Netherlands
San Diego Sarah • Link
This map shows the islands that guard the entrance to the port of Amsterdam. Move it south, and you can see how the tiny country of the Netherlands is interconnected.
Rotterdam is on its own river, obviously linked to the Hook of Holland.
https://mapcarta.com/West_Frisian…
About Robert Hooke
San Diego Sarah • Link
Robert Hooke's Wiki bio says:
"An impoverished scientific inquirer in young adulthood, he became one of the most important scientists of his day and found wealth and esteem by performing over half of the property surveys after London's great fire of 1666 and assisting in the city's rapid reconstruction."
Elsewhere I found this description:
"In the Great Fire of London, [JOHN] Ogilby claimed, probably with some exaggeration, that he lost his entire stock of books valued at some £3,000, as well as his shop and house, leaving him worth just £5. ... As he sought to restore his fortunes, Ogilby was already looking in new directions.
"The initial opportunity he seized on was the reconstruction of London’s burnt-out centre. He secured appointment as a “sworn viewer”, whose duty was to establish the property boundaries as they existed before the Fire. Ogilby was assisted in the project by his step-grandson, William Morgan, and by a number of professional surveyors.
"The result was an outstanding plan of London, on a scale of 100 ft. to an inch, on 20 sheets, although it was not printed until after Ogilby’s death."
https://mapforum.com/2022/01/03/b…
https://www.pepysdiary.com/encycl…
You can see the map at
https://www.theguardian.com/books…
'In the aftermath of the Great Fire, he became a “sworn viewer” charged with surveying the ruins. Within six years, Ogilby, who had no previous experience of surveying, was putting together “the most accurate Survey of the City of London and Libertyes therof that has ever been done.” In 1671 he was appointed royal cosmographer.'
London was lucky to have such talent at its disposal.
About John Ogilby
San Diego Sarah • Link
CONCLUSION:
John Ogilby saw the mercantile ambition of Restoration England, and exploited the potential by publishing geographical descriptions of the wider world.
In 1667, he issued ‘An Embassy from the East India Company of the United Provinces to the Grand Tartar Cham, Emperor of China.’ This was translated from the original Dutch text, and illustrated using the original Dutch views and plates.
Pleased by the response, Ogilby conceived a multi-volume description of the world, a project he described in May 1669: “Africa, though not the remotest, yet furthest from our Acquaintance, the Author intends to be the First Volumn. America, being the next least known, the Second. Asia according to the same order, the Third. Europe, that hath been most Surveyed, of which much is to be said that hath not yet been Collected by any English Author, he designs to be his Fourth and Fifth Volumn; the last, but not the least in our Concerns, will onely contain the Business of Great Britain.”
The volumes were joint collaborations with the Dutch publisher Jacob van Meurs.
‘Africa’, published in 1670, was the least original, both in terms of the text, maps and illustrations.
The ‘Atlas Japannensis’ (1670), the ‘Atlas Chinensis’ (1671), and ‘Asia’ (1673) followed.
Excerpted from https://mapforum.com/2022/01/03/b…
About John Ogilby
San Diego Sarah • Link
"They are too esoteric for pay TV." I was wrong. I understand they are on Apple TV now.
I found a biography of John Ogibly, and have excerpted what he was doing during the Diary years:
John Ogilby turned his attention to the Latin classics, as a translator and publisher. His first attempt in 1649 was a translation of the works of Virgil, but after his marriage to a wealthy widow the same year, his publishing activities received a boost.
One way John Ogilby financed these volumes was by advanced subscriptions from patrons, in return for including their name and coats-of-arms on the illustrations. As the prestige of his books increased, so did the number of subscribers.
Another way was to secure a patron, preferably in the court circle. ...
In 1661, John Ogilby was sufficiently in favor to be asjed to write poetry for Charles II’s coronation procession; he later published ‘The Relation of His Majesties Entertainment Passing Through the City of London’, and a much enlarged edition in 1662, which included a set of plates depicting the procession.
In 1665, Ogilby left London to avoid the Plague. This was a minor disruption compared to the disaster he suffered in 1666.
In the Great Fire of London, Ogilby claimed that he lost his entire stock of books valued at some £3,000, as well as his shop and house, leaving him worth just £5. On another occasion, he said he lost two-thirds of his stock, which may be more accurate.
To restore his fortunes, John Ogilby seized an appointment as a “sworn viewer”, whose duty was to establish the property boundaries as they existed before the Fire.
Ogilby was assisted in this by his step-grandson, William Morgan, and by several professional surveyors.
The result was an outstanding plan of London, on a scale of 100 ft to an inch, on 20 sheets, which was printed after Ogilby’s death.
About St Valentine's Day
San Diego Sarah • Link
Pepys never buys/acquires roses for Elizabeth throughout the Diary! Never mind Valentine's Day, but not in midsummer either.
John Milton tells us that before the Fall of Man, roses were thornless. When Adam and Eve were chased out of the Garden of Eden, roses acquired thorns to remind them of their folly.
Perhaps those thorns disqualified roses as a symbol of love for 17th century people.
To be fair, Pepys doesn't mention having flowers or plants in the house either. Dogs, monkeys, cats, yes, plants no. You'd think they would have welcomed the aroma.
About Maps of Britain
San Diego Sarah • Link
Map making and surveying were important and rare skills in the 17th century.
The world’s first road atlas, 'The Britannia' was a sumptuous collection of English and Welsh road maps, created by an ageing Scottish former-dancing-master-turned-secret agent, was published in 1675.
John Ogilby was cosmographer to Charles II, and 'The Britannia' featured a series of maps of routes depicted in a distinctive vertical scroll format by engraver Wenceslaus Hollar.
Ogilby made use of a standardized scale* to increase the usefulness of his maps. He also eliminated all but key details of the routes depicted, including, for example, bridges, rivers, ‘A Great Mountaine’, ferries, heath, ‘arrable’ and the most prominent buildings in a vicinity, among them churches and the seats of local gentry.
Pepys and annotators have told us of many people getting lost in what should have been quite well-travelled locations, so Ogilby's maps were much needed.
I have heard of soldiers in the Civil Wars using leather strips with highlights written/embossed on them as maps. Couriers must have needed something easy to hold and read as they took correspondence around on hoseback -- frequently in the rain, so paper and ink would be useless -- even if the armies involved had scouts and locals to guide them.
For a picture of Ogilby's maps, and a general history of map making, with lots of references to John Stow, see
https://www.countrylife.co.uk/lux…
* He had to make Parliament decide how long a mile was for starters.
Why did Charles II want to know about roads in Wales in 1675? For that story -- well worth your time! -- see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C…
Extra tidbit: David Attenborough used Capt. Cook's maps of the coast of New South Wales while he was documenting the Great Barrier Reef.
About Tea
San Diego Sarah • Link
What were Queen Catherine and Pepys really drinking:
"In ancient China, compressed teas were usually made with thoroughly dried and ground tea leaves that were pressed into various bricks or other shapes, although partially dried and whole leaves were also used.
"Some tea bricks were also mixed with binding agents such as flour, blood, or manure to better preserve their form so they could withstand physical use as currency. Newly formed tea bricks were then left to cure, dry, and age prior to being sold or traded.
"Tea bricks were preferred in trade prior to the 19th century in Asia since they were more compact than loose leaf tea and were also less susceptible to physical damage incurred through transportation over land by caravans on the Ancient tea route."
The second paragraph has me shuddering! The need for tea bricks no longer holds, fortunately.
https://encyclopedia.thefreedicti…
About Thursday 25 October 1660
San Diego Sarah • Link
Working hours for Everyman:
"Seven of the Clocke"
From Nicholas Breton's Fantasticks, 1626:
"It is now the seuenth houre, and Time begins to set the world hard to worke: The Milke-maides in their Dayry to their Butter and their Cheese, the Ploughmen to their Ploughes and their Harrowes in the field: the Schollers to their Lessons, the Lawyers to their Cases, the Merchants to their accounts, the Shop-men to What lacke you? and euery Trade to his businesse: Oh tis a world to see how life leapes about the lims of the healthfull: none but findes something to doe: the Wise, to study, the strong, to labour: the Fantasticke, to make loue: the Poet, to make Uerses: the Player, to conne his part: and the Musitian to try his note: euery one in his qualitiee and according to his condition, sets himself to some exercise, either of the body, or the minde: And therefore since it is a time of much labour, and great vse, I will thus briefly conclude of it: I hold it the enemy of Idlenesse, and imployer of Industry.
"Farewell."
How seriously do we take this? The Diary and other sources make me think some people's work was dictated by daylight and weather, and in England in mid-winter I doubt they would be ploughing at 7 a.m., for instance. Maybe they were feeding the chickens or sharpening the ploughshears?
At the Navy Board, where they used candles and firelight in winter, I can imagine Mr. Hewer sharpening his quills, making ink, filing yesterday's correspondence in boxes, and sorting the incoming mail, getting ready for today's challenges at 7 a.m..
About Wednesday 24 April 1661
San Diego Sarah • Link
At least one Frenchman was happy about Charles II's coronation:
"The merchant, poet, and bibliophile Pierre de Cardonnel (1614–1667), born in Caen, Normandy, to an established Protestant family of traders, gained influential allies at court in France and England by leveraging his financial success and diverse literary interests. Among Cardonnel’s published writings are extended poems, originally written in French and translated later into Latin and English, celebrating the coronation and foreign policies of Charles II.
"Cardonnel’s network illustrates how written material managed to circulate between Protestants and Catholics across disparate regions, and he is considered an important vector in the early reception of the political philosophy of Thomas Hobbes."
https://www.oxforddnb.com/newsite…
About Dr Faustus (Christopher Marlowe)
San Diego Sarah • Link
"I count religion but a childish toy, and hold there is no sin but ignorance." --
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593)
Yes, that's enough to get you locked up.
About Thursday 2 January 1667/68
San Diego Sarah • Link
"He that will not stoop for a pin, will never be worth a pound."
Never heard that one before. It goes along with:
"A stitch in time saves nine" and “It never occurs to fools that merit and good fortune are closely united” which also extol the virtue of thrift in small matters, attention to detail, taking control of your situation, and not leaving things up to luck or fate.
The word “Luck” is said to be derived from an old Anglo-Saxon verb meaning “to catch” and therefore signify something good caught almost by chance. Such a derivation seems reasonable as prosperity and adversity are sometimes thought to be dependent on fleeting events/opportunities that must be seized before they pass, which goes back to medieval and ancient philosophy of the Roman Rota Fortunae, which is a representation of the capricious nature of Fate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rot…
These proverbs -- and Sir William Coventry -- are arguing that fortune/good luck can also be the result of consistent attention to details.
My favorite along these lines is "Work and acquire, and thou hast chained the Wheel of Chance" -- Ralph Waldo Emerson.
This goes along with what I discovered yesterday about original meaning of 'the pursuit of happiness':
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Friday 11 August 1665
San Diego Sarah • Link
"old Delkes, that carries pins always in his mouth,"
Old Delkes must have worked in the office because Early Modern society had a great fear of swallowing pins which was likely influenced by their widespread use. Pins were used to hold together clothing, style hair, organize documents and, of course, for sewing.
For more about this fear -- and the use of pins by supposed witches in the 17th century -- see
https://theconversation.com/early…
About Thursday 14 February 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
The misling weather must be over for now. Perhaps the snowdrops are out. Bundle up, Ladies and Gents., as it can be blowey on the Thames.
About Monday 26 May 1662
San Diego Sarah • Link
A book has come out about Christopher "Kit" Marlowe:
"Localizing Christopher Marlowe:
His Life, Plays and Mythology, 1575-1593
446 pages
"This study punctures the stereotyped portrayals of Marlowe, first created by his rival Robert Greene, and, yet, which still colour our view. In doing so, Ide reveals the social and cultural discourses out of which such myths emerged.
"We know next to nothing about the life of the playwright Christopher Marlowe (b.1564 - d. 1593). Few documents survive other than his birth record in the parish register, a handful of legal cases in court records, Privy Council mandates and reports to the Council, the coroner's examination of his death, and a few hearsay accounts of his atheism. With such a limited collection of biographical documents available, it is impossible to retrieve from history a complete sense of Marlowe. However, this does not mean that biography cannot play a significant role in Marlowe studies.
"By observing the details of the specific places and communities to which Marlowe belonged, this book highlights the collective experiences and concerns of the social groups and communities with which we know he was personally and financially involved. Specifically, 'Localizing Christopher Marlowe' reveals the political and cultural dynamics in the community of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, into which Marlowe was deeply integrated and through which he became affiliated with the circle of Sir Francis Walsingham, mapping these influences in both his life and works."
Hardcover:
9781843846932
December 2023
Ebook (EPDF) --
9781805431411
December 2023
Ebook (EPUB) --
9781805431428
December 2023
About Wednesday 6 June 1666
San Diego Sarah • Link
"I all the afternoon at home doing some business, drawing up my vowes for the rest of the yeare to Christmas; but, Lord! to see in what a condition of happiness I am, if I would but keepe myself so; but my love of pleasure is such, that my very soul is angry with itself for my vanity in so doing."
Pepys didn't consider happiness the way we do. From reading the classical Greek and Roman moral philosophers, they understood the pursuit of happiness as being a quest for being good, not feeling good — the pursuit of lifelong virtue, not short-term pleasure.
Amongst these virtues were the habits of industry, moderation, and sincerity, all part of a daily struggle for self-improvement, character development, and calm self-mastery.
Pepys recognizes that he has work to go before he achieves these virtues -- hence the vows.
When you read the US Constitution's promise of the right to the pursuit of happiness, this is what the Founding Fathers intended. You have the right to go to work and be all you can be in the New World. What you achieve is up to you.
About Thursday 21 February 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
Don't under-estimate the Early Modern desire to Latin-ize English:
In Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet and Richard III the phrase “declension of pronouns” is used to describe language. That phrase relates to Latin, the language of education for Shakespeare’s lifetime, throughout Europe.
It helps to understand the Latin background of nouns, pronouns, and spelling in 16th and 17th century English when you navigate their literature.
About Clyster
San Diego Sarah • Link
What one learns from The Diary! For instance, "Castle" soap was a main ingredient in clysters, and Early Modern treatments for The Stone:
"Soap in medicine. The purer hard soap is the only sort intended for internal use; this triturated with oily or resinous matters, renders them soluble in water; and hence becomes an ingredient in pills composed of resins, promoting their dissolution in the stomach, and union with the animal fluids. ...
"It is likewise a powerful menstruum for the calculus, or stone in the bladder; a solution of it in lime-water being one of the strongest dissolvents that can with safety be taken into the stomach: the virtue of this composition is considerably greater than the aggregate of the dissolving powers of the soap and lime-water, when unmixed." -- A New and Complete Dictionary of Arts and Sciences. 1764.
To which Nate Lockwood on 13 Feb, 2016, added this gem:
I first learned of Castile Soap in a chemistry class. We made the soap and then added gasoline to make napalm. While production napalm is not made from castile soap the 'palm' comes from palmitic acid (a constituent of palm oil). I believe that the 'na' relates to Sodium (Na).
For the whole conversation about the many uses of Castile soap, ancient and modern, see
https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/…
About Tuesday 12 February 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
I can see Cuttance, Creed and Pepys rolling their eyes at the tenth fanciful utterance, and Creed checking his watch and saying, "Oh, it's 2:30 -- I must run -- Pepys, do you need to take a coach with me to the Duke's?"
Cuttance, "Are you going to that meeting? So am I -- may I join you?" And the three abandoning their beers and fleeing.
About Sunday 10 February 1660/61
San Diego Sarah • Link
I read it as you do, Eric.
Although we read of his frequent days spent with former colleagues and old friends in bars, and probably judge this idleness by 21st century standards, Pepys did not view these outings as a waste of time. This was "intelligencing" and the cementing of alliances. Perhaps little valuable information was learned -- but sometimes helpful hints came his way. Knowing who's up, who's down, what's in and what's out was essential to his -- and therefore the Navy Board's -- ability to function.
Remember, no TV, streaming or daily newspapers, no email or X nor Instagram or Facebook.
A weekly Gazette came out with the Royal propoganda digest -- that Pepys never mentions it probably indicates that he didn't find it useful.
And there were pamphlets -- thousands of them -- where someone printed up their arguments on a subject; weeks later someone would print their argument against that point-of-view. This could go back-and-forth for years. You can't run a business based on that.
So Pepys takes time when he can to check in with his old colleagues at Whitehall, the Sandwich's family and servants, school and university friends, well-connected relatives, and walks Westminster Hall, just finding out what's happening -- and telling them what he needed them to know about the Navy's dealings, sowing the seeds for future favors and actions.
Today, Pepys truly took a day off and did nothing of any redeeming social value -- beyond taking care of his health as best he could, paying attention to Elizabeth, and practicing his French.
Not an altogether wasted day.
About Shrove Tuesday
San Diego Sarah • Link
Susanna on 28 Feb 2004 added this:
Cock-Threshing was an old medieval sport practiced on Shrove Tuesday, and still popular in Pepys day. A Dutch tourist in 1663 described the practice as:
"In London one sees in every street, wherever one goes, many apprentice boys running with, under their arms, a cock with a string on its foot, on which is a spike, which they push firmly into the ground between the stones. They always look for an open space and, for a penny, let people throw their cudgel from a good distance at the cock and he who kills the cock gets it."
Why kill the cocks? Because eggs and meat are about to go off the menu.
Other fun traditions of Shrove Tuesday included cock-fighting, football, eating pancakes, tossing dogs in the air, and, under the Stuarts, apprentice riots.
The city of London banned throwing at cocks in 1704. But it continued, just out of town, well into the 1760s.