Born in 1599, Samuel Clarke was a man well known for his religious standing and pious lifestyle. Clarke was born in Warwickshire and attended college at Cambridge University. He resided at places such as Cheshire, Coventry, and Alcester, at all of which he was a highly respected minister and religious leader. His last place of residence was St. Bennet Fink, London, where he resided as minister for 9 years. After the Restoration, Clarke was removed from his place and standing of leadership after refusing to take an oath that he believed “was not unto the Holy lifestyle.”1 Between this time period and his death in 1682, Samuel Clarke released several historical works aligned with religion and Christ in the 17th century. Many of these pieces have been translated and refuted by scholars studying the ethical and Christian philosophy with which Clarke completed all of his works.
Among his first works include his piece, “A General Martyrology.” Written in 1677, this piece explores the persecutions and mistreatments that took place against the Church of Christ up until Clarke’s point in history. Throughout the piece Clarke explores several very large persecutions such as the Burning of Vivan, the deaths at St. Mard, and several other crucifixions and betrayals that fell against the churches in the 16th and 17th centuries.2 Throughout the piece, Clarke relates historical facts with biblical context in order to refute the attacks that were made on his faith and religion. The articles within “A General Martyrology” were thoroughly studied and discussed, leaving no questions about the ways in which Clarke believed these situations could or should have been handled.1 The style that Clarke used within this piece was also mirrored in his piece , “The Marrow of Ecclesiastical Histories,” within which Clarke breaks down the lessons the the bible presents in the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. Clarke’s work with this Old Testament book became one of the first on record to relate the term “to be meaningless”3 within the text and stories found in Ecclesiastes.
Much like these two historical pieces, Clarke also wrote a piece entitled, “The Lives of Sundry Eminent Persons in this Latter Age.” This argument was written in 1683 and was divided into two parts: Part I is about the “Divines” and Part II is about the “Nobility.” Throughout the piece, Clarke discusses certain historical figureheads and documented lifestyles in history. He situations the different people into Part I and Part II and discusses the ways in which these lifestyles and changes can help people make it to Heaven, or have them fall into Hell. Described as a “Hell, Fire, and Brimstone” piece, The Lives. is one of the last pieces that Clarke was ever able to write that has been made public. Even today, the piece is very controversial and presents ideas about Christianity and leadership that scholars are still working to understand.2
Although “A General Martyrology;” “The Marrow of Ecclesiastical Histories;” and “The Lives of Sundry Eminent Persons in this Latter Age,” were all very large and ground breaking pieces for Samuel Clarke, one of his most studied and historically finite pieces is entitled “A Mirror, or Looking Glass, for both Saints and Sinners.” Written in 1646, the piece was printed in a Volume of 16 pieces about the land and countries surrounding England. The text is a post discussion of the Restoration in the 17th century in which the Protestant Faith overcame historical religious affiliations within the Papist beliefs of Catholicism.4 The text is separated into 4 sections, all of which relay and outline information about Clarke’s view of religious acceptability. The piece relates a comparison of the historical views of both religious contexts and differentiates between the cultures of Catholic and Protestant lifestyles.
Throughout the first part of “A Mirror, or Looking Glass, for both Saints and Sinners,” Clarke discusses his views of controversial issues found within multiple types of religious practice. Clarke uses the first section of the piece to discuss things such as: abstinence, adultery, conjugal love, deceit, hypocrites, patience, superstition, vanity, etc.4 In order to create viable arguments, Clarke uses specific Bible verses and historical context in order to present all given views and understandings of different subjects. After backing up a subject such as Adultery, using the bible verse Exodus 20:14, “Though shalt not commit adultery,” or using the verse Proverbs 6:32, “[But] whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he [that] doeth it destroyeth his own soul;” Clarke would then present relevant historical stories and issues within which the issue was broken and dealt with by severe punishment or alienation. Throughout the piece, Clarke is very vocal about his own views and beliefs, and how the religious practices coincide or differ within a single subject.
The second part of the piece is a discussion of geographical locations of religious practices and beliefs all around the world.4 Clarke gives a very descriptive and opinionated outline of all countries and areas throughout the world and the religions that are practiced within each of them. As he discussed each area, he relayed facts about the geography, lifestyle, religious issue, punishment, and a type of random fact. Many of his entries are written along the lines of: “Bengala is a large country … the inhabitants are a most subtle, and wicked people: Men, and Women given much to uncleanness … Adultery is punished with the loss of their noses. In this Country are many Rhinoceroses.”5 Each area is given very specific details and reasons as to why Clarke does or does not agree with the religious practice of the area.
The third and fourth sections of the piece are very short and easily depicted. The third section is an in-depth description of the four plantations of the English in America.”6 The plantations during this time were Virginia, New England, Bermudas, and Barbados, and all of them followed a strict religious lifestyle. The fourth section of the piece discusses the “Wonderful Works of God in Creatures” and all forms of living things. This section outlines all types and breeds of animals found around the world. Clarke discusses each animal and the way in which Christ created and cared for each one of them. These last two sections have been heavily theorized by scholars and reworded and changed several different times. As a whole, “A Mirror, or Looking Glass, for both Saints and Sinners,” was re-released a second time, presenting further thoughts and beliefs made by Clarke about new or changing areas.7
Overall, these pieces are a presentation about Samuel Clarke’s personal and religious views based on the topic of religious acceptance and moral justice. In the piece, “A Mirror, or Looking Glass, for both Saints and Sinners,” his style is easily categorized as a study in historical context and personal acceptance of cultural issues. Each section of the piece in some way mirrors the beliefs that Clarke has about the society or world that people should work to create. In all of his pieces, Clarke uses the biblical and historical references in order to relay personal views and opinions about the Protestant and Papist religions. Overall, Samuel Clarke’s writing is a system of controversial pieces that attempted to show believers the correct path to follow.
Footnotes:
1 Rossignol, James. “The Ethical Philosophy of Samuel Clarke.” JSTOR. Oklahoma State University, n. d. Web. 18 Oct. 2015. Back to text.
2 Wigelsworth, Logan R. “Samuel Clarke: the Mirror.” Journal Of The History Of Ideas 70, no. 1 (January 2009): 45-68. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed October 19, 2015). Back to text.
3 “Ecclesiastes.” Oxford English Dictionary. Oklahoma State University, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2015. Back to text.
4 Kelmscott, Alfred. “A Mirror, or Looking Glass, for Both Saints and Sinners.” Kelmscott Library. Neill Works, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. Back to text.
5 Samuel Clarke, A Mirrour or looking-glasse both for saints and sinners held forth in some thousands of examples (London: Thomas Newberry, 1657). EEBO. Oklahoma State University. Web. 18 Oct 2015. Back to text.
6 Dybikowski, J. (2002). Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675-17 May 1729). In P. B. Dematteis & M. Weigel (Eds.), Dictionary of Literary Biography: Vol. Vol. 252. British Philosophers, 1500-1799 (Vol. 252, pp. 116-127). Detroit: Gale. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com Back to text.
7 Kalms, Mike. Bible:Trans. NIV. Study. N.p. Web. 18 Nov. 2015. Back to text.