Sunday 1 March 1662/63

(Lord’s day). Up and walked to White Hall, to the Chappell, where preached one Dr. Lewes, said heretofore to have been a great witt; but he read his sermon every word, and that so brokenly and so low, that nobody could hear at any distance, nor I anything worth hearing that sat near. But, which was strange, he forgot to make any prayer before sermon, which all wonder at, but they impute it to his forgetfulness.

After sermon a very fine anthem.

So I up into the house among the courtiers, seeing the fine ladies, and, above all, my Lady Castlemaine, who is above all, that only she I can observe for true beauty. The King and Queen being set to dinner I went to Mr. Fox’s, and there dined with him. Much genteel company, and, among other things, I hear for certain that peace is concluded between the King of France and the Pope; and also I heard the reasons given by our Parliament yesterday to the King why they dissent from him in matter of Indulgence, which are very good quite through, and which I was glad to hear.

Thence to my Lord Sandwich, who continues with a great cold, locked up; and, being alone, we fell into discourse of my uncle the Captain’s death and estate, and I took the opportunity of telling my Lord how matters stand, and read his will, and told him all, what a poor estate he hath left, at all which he wonders strangely, which he may well do.

Thence after singing some new tunes with W. Howe I walked home, whither came Will. Joyce, whom I have not seen here a great while, nor desire it a great while again, he is so impertinent a coxcomb, and yet good natured, and mightily concerned for my brother’s late folly in his late wooing at the charge to no purpose, nor could in any probability a it.

He gone, we all to bed, without prayers, it being washing day to-morrow.


22 Annotations

First Reading

TerryF  •  Link

"nor could in any probability a it."

L&M have "nor could in any probability expect it."

TerryF  •  Link

Doing his best, Dr. Lewis (sic) feebly forgets.

L&M note he is 71, and who knows whether he suffers from gout or ague, as many of the aged apparently did.

(Posted further info on him in the Background. http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo… )

Josh  •  Link

"he read his sermon every word, and that so brokenly and so low, that nobody could hear at any distance, nor I anything worth hearing that sat near" . . . "my Lady Castlemaine, who is above all, that only she I can observe for true beauty".

Might the unheard text have been Isaiah 3:24?
"And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty."

Alan Bedford  •  Link

"Might the unheard text have been Isaiah 3:24?"

Very a propos, but March 1 is St. David's Day (patron saint of Wales) and this year (1663) it's Quinquagesima Sunday. The recently-adopted Book of Common Prayer
http://www.eskimo.com/~lhowell/bc…
says that the Epistle is I Corinthians 13, and the Gospel is Luke 18:31ff

TerryF  •  Link

The lectionary addresses the situation in the Chappell.

From The Epistle. 2 Cor. 11. 19:
"Charity...Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things...If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities."

From The Gospel. St. Luke 8. 4.
"If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities."

Thank you, Alan Bedford.

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

" he is 71, and who knows whether he suffers from gout or ague, as many of the aged apparently did. "
Tis Sam that has to get bees was out?

1 Corinthians 13:1-2
If I speak in the tongues of men and angels,
but have not love,
I have become sounding brass or a tinkling symbol.
And if I have prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains,
but have not love, I am nothing.
Luke 18:31ff (NASV): "Then Jesus took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon. And after they have scourged him, they will kill him, and the third day he will rise again.’"

in Aqua Scripto  •  Link

Erratta: I forgot it be bees WAX;

Firenze  •  Link

'we all to bed, without prayers, it being washing day to-morrow.' Not sure what is the connection - possibly that they all needed an early night? - since washing would mean rising in the small hours to set the fire to heat the copper to produce the volume of hot water needed.

Or is it just, that faced with a day of scrubbing, soaking, slapping wet linen about, wringing, hanging, taking down, ironing, starching, goffering etc - no one felt particularly thankful to Almighty God?

Mary  •  Link

to bed without prayers.

Perhaps if Will Joyce had not stayed talking until quite so late, there might have been time for prayers AND an early night for all.

TerryF  •  Link

The ecclesiastical years 1663 and 2006 compared:

This year (2006) Quinquagesima Sunday, St. David’s Day, was last Sunday, or so I was told; yesterday was Ash Wednesday and we are now in Lent, with laundry to do -- of this I am certain.

alanB.  •  Link

No prayers before sermon, no prayers before bed. Sam's on a slippery slope. As regards it be washing day ahead, when I have to press that program button, I usually mutter a prayer that I have hit upon the right sequence. I suspect that this is a man thing!

Stolzi  •  Link

"my uncle"

This link should be
http://www.pepysdiary.com/encyclo…
not 883, which faileth.

Sam doesn't say his prayers, is merciless towards bad sermons, and has a good deal of skepticism regarding what the Established Church teaches, but he doesn't want any other groups to exercise religious freedom, oh no.

Perhaps not a totally unjustified attitude, seeing how intimately these matters were tied in with politicks.

Mary  •  Link

peace between the King of France and the Pope.

This is a false report. Diplomatic relations had not yet been re-established between them and no peace would be concluded for another 12 months.

TerryF  •  Link

The ecclesiastical years 1663 and 2006 compared more exactly:

This year (2006) Quinquagesima Sunday, was last Sunday, 26 February; yesterday, 1 March, was Ash Wednesday and we are now in Lent.

Lastly, "Quinquagesima is the name for the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. It was also called Quinquagesima Sunday, Shrove Sunday or Esto Mihi. The name originates from Latin *quinquagesimus* (fiftieth), referring to the fifty days before Good Friday (this calculation includes Sundays, unlike the forty-day calculation for Ash Wednesday itself)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quin…

chris  •  Link

... and mightily concerned for my brother’s late folly in his late wooing at the charge to no purpose, nor could in any probability a it.

Is there anyone out there amongst you good people who could shed some light on the above phrase? "Wooing at the charge" - "nor could in any probability a (expect)it"? Translated into "good" English meaning what?

Second Reading

Terry Foreman  •  Link

chris, L&M transcribe "mightily concerned for my brother’s late folly in his late wooing at that charge, to no purpose, nor could in any probability expect it."

Perhaps Will Joyce's silly point of view was that Tom's last futile wooing was (whatever else) a financial failure?

Bill  •  Link

" I heard the reasons given by our Parliament yesterday to the King why they dissent from him in matter of Indulgence, which are very good quite through, and which I was glad to hear."

Here is part of the House of Commons address to the King:

It is humbly conceived, that the indulgence proposed will be so far from tending to the peace of the kingdom, that it is rather likely to occasion great disturbance. And on the contrary, that the asserting of the laws and the religion established, according to the act of uniformity, is the most probable means to produce a settled peace and obedience throughout your kingdom; because the variety of professions in religion, when openly indulged, doth directly distinguish men into parties, and withal gives them opportunity to count their numbers; which, considering the animosities that out of a religious pride will be kept on foot by the several factions, doth tend directly and inevitably to open disturbance. Nor can your majesty have any security, that the doctrine or worship of the several factions, which are all governed by a several rule, shall be consistent with the peace of your kingdom. And if any person shall presume to disturb the peace of the kingdom, we do in all humility declare, that we will for ever, and on all occasions, be ready with our utmost endeavours and assistance to adhere to and serve your majesty, according to our bounden duty and allegiance.
---The history of England. P.R. de Thoyras, 1757.

Blah, blah, blah

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

"to bed, without prayers...."

I wonder in which room Pepys held the family prayers? By 'family' of course, I include the servants.

JayW  •  Link

1 March is always St David's Day but Quinquagesima moves with Easter. Or rather it will, unless Easter becomes a fixed date. Report from www.churchtimes.co.uk on 22 January 2016:
A MOVE by the Coptic Pope to unify and fix the date of Easter was supported by the Primates during their gathering, the Archbishop of Canterbury reported last week.
Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria has proposed that all Churches celebrate Easter on the second Sunday of April. The Primates joined Pope Francis and the Ecumenical Patriarch in supporting this, Archbishop Welby said last Friday. There was a "promising chance" that the proposal would come to fruition, he said, despite the fact that "the first attempt to do this was in the tenth century; so it may take a little while." He predicted that it would take "between five and ten years" to come into effect.

Sasha Clarkson  •  Link

The date of Easter was originally linked to the Jewish Passover festival, which starts on the night the first full moon after the vernal Equinox. Several European names of Easter reflect this, for example Pâques in French, and Пасха (Paskha) in Russian.

In Western Christianity, Easter Sunday is defined as the first Sunday after the Equinox, falling this year on March 27th.

Orthodox Easter falls on (our) May 1st this year for two reasons. Firstly, the Orthodox calendar ignores the actual vernal equinox, and uses March 21st Julian/April 3rd Gregorian instead. Secondly, the Alexandrine tables used to calculate the date of the full moon are now incorrect by four to five days. This latter inconsistency was what inspired Johannes Kepler to the work which led to his laws of planetary motion.

Chris Squire UK  •  Link

OED has:

‘charge, n.1 < French charge . .
. . 10. a. Pecuniary burden; expense, cost. arch.
. . c1522 T. More Treat. Quatuor Nouissimis in Wks. (1557) I. 90 Thou hast lytle money & much charge.
. . 1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler iii. 79 'Tis the company and not the charge that makes the feast.
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 265 January..is the rich mans charge, and the poor mans misery . . ‘

Bill  •  Link

CHARGE, A Burden, or Load; an Employ, or Office; Cost or Expence; Also an Accusation, or Impeachment; an Onset; Also hurt, damage.
---An Universal English Dictionary. N. Bailey, 1724.

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