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Eliot took pains, as he had opportunity, to inftruct them in hufbandry; and to excite them to a prudent management of their affairs.

On the third of March 1647, the Rev. Meffrs. John Wilfon of Bofton, John Allen of Dedham, Henry Dunftar, the first prefident of Harvard College, and Thomas Shepard of Cambridge, with feveral other English went to Noonanetum ; a difcourfe was delivered, and after fermon they defired, that if any of the Indian women had any difficulties with regard to the Chriftian religion, they would propose them, either by acquainting their hufbands, or the interpreter privately with them. Accordingly one asked, "Whether fhe prayed, when the only joined with her hufband in

respect to health. Maft not the Indian, that we would civilize, be allowed, at leaft for a feafon, a pretty free use of his fishing line, his bow and arrow, and his fowling piece, and thofe innocent, active amufements, to which he has been long accustomed? Nature, or contracted habits of this kind, cannot be expelled at once. Thefe cuftoms now mentioned may be intermixed with la

bor in the field, or work at fome me

chanic art. It must be a work of time to expel nature, or habit, which is a fecond nature. Thefe obfervations may apply to those who turn their attention to the study of the learned languages, or of the arts and sciences, if any here

after should incline to engage in thefe pursuits. In ancient times, a collegiate building was fequeftered at Cambridge for the ufc of Indian youth. Sundry were admitted into college, and purfued their ftudies. Moft of them, if I mif

take not, died before the time came round for receiving the honors of the fociety. I think but ene was gradnated. Perhaps fufficient attention was not paid to diet, air, and exercife. It is doubtlefs of great confequence, that ftrict regard be paid to each of these ; and we may add to cleanlinefs, which the Indians are by no means diftinguished for encouraging, and practising.

his prayer to God Almighty ?" Another asked, "Whether her husband's prayer fignified any thing, if he continued to be angry with his wife, and beat her?"

At this, and fome other meetings, the English gave away clothes to the Indian men, women, and children; fo that on a lecture day, the greatest part of them appeared decently dressed after the English manner.

While these things were doing at Noonanetum, or Nonantum, the Indians about Concord expreffed their defires of being civilized, and taught Chriftianity. They earneftly defired Mr. Eliot to come and preach to them; and addreffed the government for a tract of land, either by the fide of the Bear Swamp, or on the caft fide of Mr. Flynt's Pond, to build them a town. About the latter end of February 1647, several of their fachems and principal men met at Concord, and agreed upon fundry laws for their civil and religious government.

They prohibited, by what they deemed fuitable penalties, all Powowing, drunkenness, ftealing, profanation of the Sabbath, fornication, murder, adultery and unnatural luft, and beating their wives (which, it seems, was a common practice among them).

They refolved to lay afide their old ceremonies of howling, greafing their bodies and adorning their hair, and to follow the Englifh fashions.

They agreed to pray in their wigwams, and to attend to religious duty at their tables.

Thefe, and fome other orders of the fame nature, were published, and approved by the whole

Shepherd's clear funfhine, quoted by Mr. Neale.

company; and Capt. Willard | "helps. I have confidered the of Concord, was defired to be" word of God in 2 Tim. ii. 3. their recorder, and fee them put in execution.

"Endure hardship as a good fol"dier of Chrift." When he had once entered upon the teaching of the Pagans, it is almost incredible how much time he expended, how much toil he underwent in the profecution of this undertakinghow many wearifome days and nights rolled over him-how ma ny fatiguing journies he pursuedand how many terrible dangers he was exposed to, but, by the inter pofition of a watchful providence, efcaped.*

The fachems and powows were in general at first, and a great number of them afterwards, invet

Mr. Eliot was very refolute and diligent in his miffionary labors among the Indians, and his fphere of action was extenfive. Befides this settlement at Noonanetum, and that at Concord, he vifited and preached to the Indians at Dorchefter mills, Watertown, and other parts of the Maffachusetts, and as far as Pantucket falls on Merrimack river. He travelled alfo into various parts of the colony of New Plymouth, offering to preach the gospel to as many of the fachems, and their fubjects, as were willing to hear him.terate enemies to Chriftianity. The Many attended to the propofal; fachems generally did all they but others turned away with dif- could, that their fubjects might dain, rejecting the counsel of God not entertain the gofpel. Dr. against themfelves, as may be tak- Mather fuppofes, that in the Mafen notice of in the sequel. fachusetts, and New-Plymouth, they did more to hinder the body of the people from receiving the gofpel, than even the powows themselves; tho' the latter had great influence, and used it to the utmoft. The ground of this conduct of the fachems was a fear left the Chriftian religion should abridge them of the tyranny, which they had accustomed them. felves to exercife. They held their people in abfolute fervitude, and ruled by no law but their will, which left their poor flaves nothing that they could call their own. They now fufpected, that religion would put a reftraint upon fuch ufurpations, and oblige them to a more equal and humane way of government. Some of them therefore addreffed the English, and urged, that no motions about re

He took frequent journies, often thro' bad roads in a new country: he expofed himself neceffarily, at times, to heat and cold, to ftorms and tempefts, and to other hardships in the wigwams of the natives, where, it must be fuppofed, the accommodations must be generally mean. In a letter to the Hon. Mr. Winflow, he wrote thus, "I have not been dry night "nor day from the third day of "the week to the fixth, and fo "travel, and at night pull off my "boots, wring my ftockings, and "on with them again, and fo con"tinue; but God fteps in and

He was father of Rev. Samuel Willard of Boften, vice-prefident of Harvard College. Concord was fettled in 1636. Their first minifters were Rev. Mefirs. Peter Bulkley, and -Jones. See wonder-working prov-ceiving the Chriftian religion might ever be made to them. When

idence of Zion's Saviour.

+ Hutchinson's Hift. vol. i. p. 263. Neale, vol. i. p. 249.

* Magnalia, B. iii. p. 196.

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The powows were no less intent upon hindering the propagation of Christianity than the fachems. Their influence over the people was great. Tho' fome of the converts had courage enough to defy the power of these jugglers, yet others were afraid to appear openly against them; and Mr. Eliot relates, that he obferved a remarkable difference in their countenances, when the powows were prefent, and when they were out of the way. But having given, in the fecond number of this hiftorical effay, a particular account of this order of men, I fhall not now add, but refer the reader to what was there related.

Now, if Mr. Eliot's profelytes were hated by the fachems and powows, and treated by them with fo much feverity, it need not seem ftrange, that he himself was the

* Governor Hutchinfon, after Dr. Mather, Mr. Matthew Mayhew, and others, obferves, that fome tribute was paid to support the Indian prince, or fachem. Mr. Mayhew takes notice of feveral particulars: they expected prefents of their fubjects, which were counted due debts; they were alfo entitled to the fkins of beafts killed in their dominion's, to first fruits, &c. They were much diftinguished from their fubjects in their manner of living: they appeared in a comparative degree of magnificence; their families and attendants being well clothed with the fkins of moofe, bears, deers, beavers, &c. The provisions for their tables, as flesh, fish, roots, fruits, berries, corn, beans in great variety and abundance, were always brought by their neghboring fubjects; concerning all which they were as void of care as the moft power-plain: at one time they gave him twenful prince in the universe.

He also obferves, that as the prince was acknowledged abfolute lord on the land, fo he had no lefs fovereignty at fea for as all belonged to him which was ftranded on the fhore of the fea coaft, fo whatever whales, or other wreck of value, floating on the fea, taken up on the feas, washing his fhores, or brought and landed from any part of the fea, was no lefs his own. [Mag-1 nalia, B. vi. p. 51.]

Mr. Hutchinfon gives this account; that Cutshamoquin, a fachem, complained to Mr. Eliot, that fome of his fubjects were more flack in their tribute of corn, &c. than they were before they profeffed Chriftianity; which, Mr.

Neale obferves, was in part true; for whereas before, the fachem had an abfolute difpofal of the fortunes of his fubjects, they gave him now no more than they thought reasonable. But to wipe off the reproach which Cutfhamoquin had laid upon them, thofe few praying Indians who were prefent, told Mr. Eliot what they had done for their fachem the two laft years, leaving him to judge whether their prince had any reafon to com

ty-fix bushels of corn-at another time fix more-en two hunting days they killed him fifteen deers--they broke up for him two acres of land-they made him a great houfe, or wigwam-they paid a debt for him of three pounds ten fhillings-one of them gave him a fkin of a beaver of two pounds, befides many days' work in planting corn all together: yet, they faid they would willingly do more, if he would govern them justly, by the word of God. But this fachem, fwelling with indignation at this petulant difcourfe of his vaffals, turned from the company and went away in great rage; tho' upon better confideration, he himself profeffed Chriftianity not long after.

Job.

object of their fixed averfion, when | Differtation concerning the book of he was using his ftrenuous endeavours to draw off the people from their old fuperftitions to a new religion, and to introduce a regular and equitable form of government. The fachems and powows both apprehended, that upon Mr. El. iot's fuccefs, there would be a great diminution of their power and wealth: accordingly Mr. Eliot was frequently treated in a contemptuous and rude manner,

and fometimes threatened with the lofs of life. And it is fuppofed thefe men would gladly have affaffinated him, had they not dreaded the confequence, a rupture with the English.

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Sometimes, in the wilderness, without the company or affistance of any Englishman, he has been treated with very threatening language by fome of the Indian rulers; but God infpired him with fo much refolution, as to tell them, "I am about the work of "the great God, and my God is "with me; fo that I fear neither you nor all the fachems in the "country; I will go on; and do you touch me at your peril!" But notwithstanding the oppofition made to the gofpel by the fachems and powows; notwithftanding the bias of education, which has no fmail influence upon the minds of most men, particularly the ignorant and fuperititious; notwithstanding thefe and other obstructions, the force of truth, under divine influences, gradually prevailed. In a courfe of years, feveral Indian churches were gathered, many congregations of catechumens were formed, and the profpect was fo pleafing, that Mr. Eliot and other miffionaries were encouraged to purfue, with vigor, the benevolent work. (To be continued.)

HE canonical authority of THE this book is fufficiently fupported by the honorable mention of Job in Ezekiel, xiv. 14— 20.-by the quotation in 1 Cor. iii. 19. from Job, v. 13. and the apoftolic reference to his exemp lary patience, James, v. 11.-and alfo by this, that it has been received as a part of the infpired word of God by the Jews, in all beft means of determining the gen ages, who not only have had the uine books of holy fcripture of the old teftament, but are alfo well known to have exercifed the

moft diligent caution on this important subject.

Various are the queftions which have arifen concerning this book, among which are the following; viz. When and where lived Job and his friends? Who was the author, or penman of the book? Whether it be a fimple narration of facts and events, or adorned with poetic license? What is the moral and religious inftruction which it contains, or for what end was it written? Obvious difficul ties attend us in attempting an anfwer to each of the three firft of thefe queftions; as we have no contemporary or collateral writers who caft any confiderable light on this book, excepting in the references already noticed-and the author has affixed no date to the birth and death of Job, or hinted any thing by which the day in which he lived can be certainly determined; and touching his country, has only informed us that it was the land of Uz. A like obfcurity attends the other four fpeakers who are introduced, and make up an important part of the hiftory. We hall, however, ex

amine each of the queftions by the lights in our poffeffion. And, I. When and where lived Job and his friends?

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that his children had arrived to maturity, and were fettled in families before his calamity. If fo, he must have been at least fifty or fixty years old at that time, which added to the number just mentioned, is about two hundred. Now "the Lord bleffed the latter end of Job more than his beginning" and we are affured that when he died, he was an old man and full of days, we may fuppofe him to have lived fifty or fixty years, or perhaps more in the whole longer than those of his generation in common, which will place him fomewhere in the time. of the fojouring of the Ifraelites in Egypt, or a little before the time of Mofes. Concerning Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu, we are in a still wider field of con

It appears from Gen. x. 23. that Uz was the name of a grandfon of Shem. And from the 29th verfe of the fame chapter we learn that one of his defcendants in the fifth generation was named Jobab. From Gen. xxxvi. 28. with the 1 Chronicles i. 42. we learn that one of the pofterity of Efau, was called by this name. Gen. xxxvi. 33. we learn that Jobab, a defcendant of Efau reigned in Edom, before any king reigned in Ifrael; from all which it appears that both Uz and Jobab were family names in the defcendants of Shem. And it is to be prefumed that the firft of note gave name to the country, ftiled the land of Uz.jecture, but from the mention of And it has been conjectured, that Jobab was the father of Jobhence we may fuppofe that Job was a defcendant of Shem, and of Efau, and that his country was in fome part of the poffeffions of the Edomites, called from another of the pofterity of Shem the land of Uz; at leaft that he reigned there, for it seems from the accounts in Gen. xxxvi. that, at that time, the kingdom was not hereditary, in one family, but was poffeffed in rotation, by men of the beft family and character.

them in this book connected with the following paffages, it is moft probable, they were the defcendants of Abram, by Keturah, Ifhmel, or Efau. See Gen. xxv. 51. chap. xxxvi. 10, 12, 15. chap. xxv. 2. or that Elihu was a defcendant of Nahor-fee Gen. ii. 21. and Jeremiah xxv. 23.

II. We now proceed to enquire who was the author, or penman of this book? On this, the opinions of the learned are various, fuch are the following:

1. That it was written by Job's three friends, as fome compenfation for their injurious treatment of him-Sanctius, and Quidam in Sanctium.

2. Solomon-fee Nazianzen, Nicetus, Olympiodorus, Poly

If the preceding obfervations are juft, it will follow that Job muft have lived not long before the age of Mofes. And this conjecture is ftrengthened by the account of his age, in the clofe of the book. We are there inform-chron. &c. ed that Job lived one hundred and forty years, after his afflictionsand that when he died, he was an old man and full of days. From the reprefentation in the beginning of the book, it appears probable VOL. III. No. 12.

3. Job himfelf-fo Pineda, Gregory, Scultetus.

4. Ifaiah, from likeness in the compofition.

5. Ezra, after the Babylonish captivity-Prideaux Çon.

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