Isaac Watts
theologian | |
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Known for | "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", "Joy to the World", "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past" |
Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English
Life
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Watts was born in
Watts displayed a propensity for rhyme from an early age. He was once asked why he had his eyes open during prayers, to which he responded:
A little mouse for want of stairs
ran up a rope to say its prayers.
He received corporal punishment for this, to which he cried:
Watts could not attend
Following his education, Watts was called as pastor of a large independent chapel in London, Mark Lane Congregational Chapel, where he helped train preachers, despite his poor health. He held religious opinions that were more nondenominational or
Watts took work as a private tutor and lived with the nonconformist Hartopp family at
On the death of Sir Thomas Abney in 1722, his widow Lady Mary and her unmarried daughter Elizabeth moved all her household to Abney House from Hertfordshire, and she invited Watts to continue with them. He particularly enjoyed the grounds at Abney Park, which Lady Mary planted with two elm walks leading down to an island heronry in the Hackney Brook, and he often sought inspiration there for the many books and hymns that he wrote.
Watts lived at Abney Hall in Stoke Newington until his death in 1748; he was buried in Bunhill Fields. He left an extensive legacy of hymns, treatises, educational works, and essays. His work was influential amongst nonconformist independents and religious revivalists of the 18th century, such as Philip Doddridge, who dedicated his best-known work to Watts.
Watts and hymnody
Sacred music scholars Stephen Marini, Denny Prutow and Michael LeFebvre describe the ways in which Watts contributed to English hymnody and the previous tradition of the Church. Watts led the change in practice by including new poetry for "original songs of Christian experience" to be used in worship, according to Marini.
Watts also introduced a new way of rendering the Psalms in verse for church services, proposing that they be adapted for hymns with a specifically Christian perspective. As Watts put it in the title of his 1719 metrical Psalter, the Psalms should be "imitated in the language of the New Testament."
Logic and science
Watts wrote a textbook on logic which was particularly popular; its full title was, Logick, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard Against Error in the Affairs of Religion and Human Life, as well as in the Sciences. This was first published in 1724, and it was printed in twenty editions.
Watts wrote this work for beginners of logic, and arranged the book methodically. He divided the content of his elementary treatment of logic into four parts:
In Watts' Logic, there are notable departures from other works of the time, and some notable innovations. The influence of British
In the third part, Watts discusses
By stressing a practical and non-formal part of logic, Watts gave rules and directions for any kind of inquiry, including the inquiries of science and the inquiries of philosophy. These rules of inquiry were given in addition to the formal content of classical logic common to textbooks on logic from that time. Watts' conception of logic as being divided into its practical part and its speculative part marks a departure from the conception of logic of most other authors. His conception of logic is more akin to that of the later, nineteenth-century logician, C. S. Peirce.[citation needed]
Isaac Watts' Logic became the standard text on logic at
Watts followed the Logic in 1741 by a supplement, The Improvement of the Mind. This also went through numerous editions and later inspired Michael Faraday. It was also widely used as a moral textbook in schools.
"Element" vs. "compound"
In Logic, Watts gave an early definition of chemical element, and contrasted "element" with chemical "compound" in clear, modern terms. He also provided an early list of elements then recognized by chemists—five in number—as he understood it. Watts did also, however, note the lack of consensus among chemists.[11]
Legacy, honours and memorials
On his death, Isaac Watts' papers were given to
The
The earliest surviving monument to Watts is in
Another early memorial may be lost: a bust to Watts commissioned on his death for the London chapel with which he was associated. The chapel was demolished in the late 18th century: remaining parts of the memorial were rescued at the last minute by a wealthy landowner for installation in his chapel near Liverpool, but it is not known whether the bust survives. Another bust is installed at the nonconformist Dr Williams's Library, in central London.
The first public statue stands at Abney Park, where Watts lived for more than 30 years at the manor house, and where he also died. The park later became Abney Park Cemetery, opened in 1840; and the statue of Watts was erected here by public subscription in 1845. It stands in Dr Watts' Walk, in front of the Abney Park Chapel, and was designed by the leading British sculptor, Edward Hodges Baily. A scheme for a commemorative statue on this spot had been promoted in the late 1830s by George Collison, who in 1840 published an engraving as the frontispiece of his book about cemetery design in Europe and America, and at Abney Park in particular. Collison's proposal was never commissioned, and Baily's design was adopted instead.
A later, rather similar statue was also funded by public subscription and erected in a new Victorian public park named after Watts in Southampton, the city of his birth. In the mid-nineteenth century, the Congregational Dr Watts Memorial Hall was built in Southampton and also named after him. It was lost to redevelopment after the
In 1974, the City of Southampton commemorated the tercentenary of Watts' birth by commissioning the biography Isaac Watts Remembered, written by David G. Fountain, who like Watts, was a nonconformist minister from Southampton. The clock on Southampton Civic Centre chimes the tune of the opening line of 'Our God, our help in ages past', three times a day, at 8am, 12 noon and 4pm.[14]
Cultural or contemporary influences
In his novel
In Herman Melville's epic novel Moby-Dick (1851), a minor investor in the whaling ship Pequod is Charity Bildad, "a lean old lady of a most determined and indefatigable spirit, but withal very kindhearted" (chapter 20). Her brother, the captain, had forbidden the sailors to sing "profane songs" such as sea shanties, so she "placed a small choice copy of Watts in each seaman’s berth" (chapter 22).
One of Watts' best-known poems was an exhortation "
The 1884 comic opera Princess Ida includes a punning reference to Watts in Act I. At Princess Ida's women's university, no males are allowed. Her father King Gama says that "She'll scarcely suffer Dr. Watts' 'hymns'".
A poem often referred to as "False Greatness" by Joseph Merrick ("The Elephant Man"), which was used in writing or "signature block" by Merrick, starting "Tis true, my form is something odd/but blaming me, is blaming God..." is often (incorrectly) quoted or cited as a work by Isaac Watts. In fact only the last few sentences were penned by Watts ("False Greatness", book II-Horae lyricae 1743) starting "Mylo, forbear to call him bless'd/That only boasts a large estate..."[15]
Works
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Books
- Hymns and Spiritual Songs (London: J. Humfreys, 1707)
- Horae Lyricae: Poems, Chiefly of the Lyric Kind (2nd ed. 1709)
- Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language for the Use of Children (1715)
- Guide to Prayer (1715; 4th ed. corr 1725)
- Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and Apply'd to the Christian State and Worship (1719)
- Logick: or, the Right use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth, with a Variety of Rules to Guard Against Error in the Affairs of Religion and Human Life, as Well as in the Sciences (1724)
- The Strength and Weakness of Human Reason: or, the Important Question about the Sufficiency of Reason to Conduct Mankind to Religion and Future Happiness, Argued Between an Inquiring Deist and a Christian Divine: and the Debate Compromis'd and Determin'd to the Satisfaction of Both (1731)
- Faith and Practice: Represented in Fifty-Four Sermons on the Principal Heads of the Christian Religion: Preached at Berry-street, 1733 (1739)
- The Improvement of the Mind: or, a Supplement to the Art of Logick: Containing a Variety of Remarks and Rules for the Attainment and Communication of Useful Knowledge, in Religion, in the Sciences, and in Common Life (1741)
- Vol 1 Vol 2 at The Internet Archive (1768, 1773, 1787 edition)
- The Knowledge of the Heavens and the Earth Made Easy, or The First Principles of Astronomy and Geography, first edition, 1726; 1760 edition at Google Books
- The Doctrine of the Passions – Explain'd and Improv'd, [fifth edition] (1795)
- A Short View of the Whole Scripture History: With a Continuation of the Jewish Affairs From the Old Testament Till the Time of Christ; and an Account of the Chief Prophesies that Relate to Him[16]
- An Essay on the Freedom of Will in God and in Creatures (attributed)
Hymns
Watts' hymns include:
- "Handel, first published in England in 1833, popularized by American Lowell Mason)
- "When pain and anguish seize me, Lord"
- "Come ye that Love the Lord" (often sung with the chorus [and titled] "We’re marching to Zion")
- "Come Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove"
- "Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun" (based on Psalm 72)
- "Our God, Our Help in Ages Past" (based on Psalm 90)
- "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross"
- "Alas! and Did My Saviour Bleed"
- "How Sweet and Awful Is the Place"
- "This Is the Day the Lord Hath Made"
- "'Tis by Thy Strength the Mountains Stand"
- "When I Can Read My Title Clear"
- "I Sing the Mighty Power of God" (originally entitled "Praise for Creation and Providence" from Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language for the Use of Children)
- "My Shepherd Will Supply My Need" (based on Psalm 23)
- "Bless, O My Soul! the Living God" (based on Psalm 103)
Many of Watts' hymns are included in the Anglican
See also
- Africa (William Billings)
- Congregational church
- English Dissenter
- Independent (religion)
- Puritan
Notes
- ^ Mable, Norman, Popular Hymns and their Writers, p. 179.
- ^ Boreham, F. W. (1945), A Late Lark Singing, p. 29.
- ^ a b Marini 2003, p. 76.
- ^ Marini 2003, p. 71.
- .
- ^ Fountain 1974, p. 58.
- ^ Watts 1825, p. 14.
- ^ Watts 1825, p. 115.
- ^ Watts 1825, p. 117.
- ^ Peirce, C. S. (1933) The Collected Papers of Charles Sanders Peirce, vol. II, Paul Weiss and Charles Hartshorne, eds. Cambridge MASS, Harvard University Press[page needed]
- ^ Watts, Isaac (1726) [1724]. Logick: Or, the right use of reason in the enquiry after truth, with a variety of rules to guard against error in the affairs of religion and human life, as well as in the sciences. Printed for John Clark and Richard Hett. pp. 13–15.
- ^ "The Calendar". The Church of England. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ Historic England. "Monument to Isaac Watts, East Enclosure (1396517)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
- ^ "West". www.southampton.gov.uk. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ Watts, Isaac, The Poems of Isaac Watts, Volumes 44–46, Press of C. Whittingham, 1822, p. 193.
- ^ Watts, Isaac (7 February 1819). "Ashort view of the whole Scripture history: with a continuation of the Jewish affairs from the Old Testament till the time of Christ; and an account of the chief prophecies that relate to him: represented in a way of question and answer ." Boston, C. Ewer – via Internet Archive.
References
- Jones, J. A., ed. (1849). Bunhill Memorials: sacred reminiscences of three hundred ministers and other persons of note, who are buried in Bunhill Fields, of every denomination. London: James Paul. pp. 298–304.
- Marini, Stephen A. (2003). Sacred Song in America: Religion, Music, and Public Culture. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.
- Thorncroft, Michael (1958). "The Fertile Soil; The Church is Built; The Early Years (1714–1758); The Age of Richard Price; New Causes for Old; The Ideal of Service; The Lights Go Out; The Present Day". Trust in Freedom: The Story of Newington Green Unitarian Church 1708–1958. Privately printed for church trustees..
- Watts, Isaac (1825). Logic or the Right Use of Reason in the Inquiry After Truth; with a Variety of Rules to Guard Against Error in the Affairs of Religion and Human Life, as well as in the sciences (reprint ed.). US: Kessinger..
- Music, David W. (2020). Repeat the Sounding Joy: Reflections on Hymns by Isaac Watts. Mercer University Press.
- Fountain, David (1974). Isaac Watts Remembered. Worthing: Henry E. Walter Ltd.
- Davis, Arthur Paul (1948). Isaac Watts: His Life and Works. London: Independent Press Ltd.
External links
- Isaac Watts at the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (ECPA)
- Works by Isaac Watts at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Isaac Watts at Internet Archive
- Works by Isaac Watts at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Works by Isaac Watts at Post-Reformation Digital Library
- An Essay on the Freedom of Will in God and in Creatures, a book attributed to Watts, at the Internet Archive
- A Solemn Address to the Great and Ever Blessed God (1802), originally published as A Faithful Inquiry after the Ancient and Original Doctrine of the Trinity (1745)
- The Isaac Watts Fan Club at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 October 2009) background info and midi files
- Hymns by Isaac Watts Archived 25 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- O God our help in ages past (school hymn of King Edward VI School, Southampton, Watts' alma mater)
- Isaac Watts Remembered (David G. Fountain, 1974) Biography commissioned by Southampton City Council (his home city) to commemorate 300 years of his birth (ISBN 978-0903556576)
- Monergism.com Isaac Watts Links to works of Isaac Watts
- Logic by Isaac Watts
- Improvement of the Mind by Isaac Watts
- The Harmony of all the Religions which God ever Prescribed to Men and all his Dispensations towards them by Isaac Watts
- The Ruin and Recovery of Mankind by Isaac Watts