About Edwards
Jonathan Edwards : Man of Letters
Following is a brief excerpt from George Claghorn’s introduction to volume 13 of the Works of Jonathan Edwards, "Letters and Personal Writings." George Claghorn is Professor of Philosophy at West Chester University.
"The letters and personal writings show the private, human Edwards, the man behind the treatises and the sermons. Edwards emerges from these writings not as an austere and aloof scholar but as an alert observer, keenly interested in both local and worldwide events, and as an astute reader of persons and situations. The letters, in particular, reveal many aspects of Edwards’ personal world. They range in mood from the aggressively argumentative to the gently comforting to the intellectually and spiritually searching…
Letter writing was necessary for those who lived far apart in an age before the conveniences of modern transportation and communications. In the eighteenth century, moreover, preoccupation with community and a new social interaction among hitherto exclusive groups created a confluence between the informal essay and personal communication that resulted in the medium designated "epistolary." Edwards’ contemporary Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the most astute exploiter of cultural trends in the history of American civilization, did not become a master of several epistolary forms for nothing. From the brilliant familial letters of Abigail Adams or the huge intellectual and political correspondence of Thomas Jefferson to Franklin’s various forms of informal address, the American scene was alive with new modes of personal expression during the eighteenth century…
In New England’s provincial culture, the epistolary mode may have received some reinforcement from the conversion narrative and other early reports that stressed the experience of an individual through personal narrative. Certainly some of Edwards’ most striking compositions were delivered in the epistolary mode: his letter to Paul Dudley describing the flying spider (Oct. 21, 1723), his letter to Benjamin Colman detailing the Northampton awakenings (May 30, 1735), and his ‘Personal Narrative,’ which was probably part of a letter to Aaron Burr (Dec. 14, 1740). These documents demonstrate not only the appropriateness of the letter as a practical device, but also Edwards’ sense of the epistolary conventions of his day. Jonathan Edwards was neither an Abigail Adams nor a Benjamin Franklin as a letter writer, but he everywhere displays a keen sense of the epistolary conventions respecting subjective involvement, a carefully modulated acknowledgement of the reader, and a voice precisely adapted to the subject at hand…
Edwards greatest means of expression was his pen. As he told the Trustees of the College of New Jersey in his letter of October 19, 1757, ‘So far as I am able to judge of what talents I have, for benefiting my fellow creatures by word, I think I can write better than I can speak." Seated in his study with quill in hand, he collaborated and contended with many of the brightest minds of his day, including educational, political, and military leaders. Although the extant record represents only a fraction of the letters he wrote, it amply confirms his power to attract and persuade. In addition, the letters record his dealings with ordinary people: family, neighbors, congregations, and fellow clergy. They also illustrate his relationships with disciples, such as Joseph Bellamy, who perpetuated his legacy. At the same time, Edwards’ letters reveal his shortcomings and flaws, such as his self-righteousness and pride and his sometimes self-destructive adherence to duty."[1]
[1] Claghorn, George, "Introduction to "Letters and Personal Writings," in Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 16, ed. George Claghorn (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999), p. 3-5.
For further bibliographic resources, check out JEC Recommends...
Also, check out our Bookstore
