We must lay down our pens as well as arms
(“Toleranz / Tolerance”, via)
Just finished reading Christopher Hill’s The Experience of Defeat, about the long and painful intellectual climbdown of revolutionaries after the English Civil War, through the slow loss of steam of the revolution in the 1650s, and after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Very interesting stuff, at least if you’re predisposed to find that sort of thing interesting.
One thing that caught me totally by surprise was the interest in Islam shared by some of the revolutionaries. The evidence seems to be spotty, but there’s some reason to think that the interest was not just theological:
“So [according to Henry Stubbe's history of Islam] Mahomet recovered true primitive Christianity, including what Stubbe always thought one of its most important tenets–absolute [religious] toleration. ‘It is indeed,’ he wrote, ‘more the interest of the princes and nobles than of the people which at present keeps all Europe from submitting to the Turks.’ … Ralph Josselin in November 1663 noted that ‘many’ were ‘over-desirous the Turks should overrun Christendom to gain their liberty.’ Josselin himself ‘abhorred that principle’ of gaining ‘any outward liberty’ through Turkish success, but nevertheless thought that ‘God may do good by them.’ Men [sic] were thinking of these things. The 1649 translation of the Koran seems to have worried Bunyan: ‘how can you tell but that the Turks had as good Scriptures to prove their Mahomet the Saviour as we have to prove our Jesus is?’”
Although I could hardly have less interest in religion in general or Christianity in particular, I do find it pretty interesting how politically radical people were forced to be once they started to take Protestantism seriously.
Anyway, this book is also delightful for the strange English names that it introduces you to. Among the best of these we have Slingsby Bethel, Arise Evans, John Okey, Valentine Greatrakes, Lodowick Muggleton and (my personal favorite) John Spittlehouse.
Post facto edit: I must add that a quick search turns up three John Spittlehouses on facebook. Some of us in this world have worse luck than others.
May 6th, 2009 at 8:20 am
If you liked this book, you also ought to check out two of Hill’s other books: ANTI-CHRIST IN 17TH CENTURY ENGLAND and THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN; RADICAL IDEAS IN THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION.