Childraising a la Boswell
A few years ago, I wrote an essay which is a qualified love letter about my favourite 18th century diarist, James Boswell, detailing why he's still great fun (and sometimes very moving) to read. Something I briefly mentioned in the essay but could not find the relevant entry of was the incident where Boswell's little daughter Veronica for Christmas of 1779 decides to be an atheist and Boswell, instead of doing the supposedly period appropriate thing of punishing/beating/reprimanding, has a rather lovely conversation with her ending in him doing that very contemporary thing, consulting a self help book. :)
Today while looking for something else I came across the entry in question. Capital letters all courtesy of Boswell, who btw had quite a lot of religious angst (and when getting what was called the journalistic scoop of the century, a death bed chat with the most famous atheist of his day, David Hume, angsted even more when finding Hume firm on his choices). The year is 1779, the place is Edinburgh.
SUNDAY 19 DECEMBER. (...) At night after we were in bed, Veronica spoke out from her little bed and said, 'I do not believe there is a GOD.' 'Preserve me,' said I, 'my dear, what do you mean?' She answered, 'I have thinket it many a time, but did not like to speak of it.'
I was confounded and uneasy, and tried her with the simple argument that without GOD there would not be all the things we see. 'It is HE who makes the sun shine.' Said she: 'It shines only on good days.' Said I: 'GOD made you.' Said she: 'My mother bore me.'
It was a strange and alarming thing to her mother and me to hear our little angel talk thus. But I thought it better just to let the subject drop insensibly tonight. (...)
MONDAY 20 DECEMBER. By talking calmly with Veronica, I discovered what had made her think there was no GOD. She told me, she 'did not like to die'. I suppose as she had been told that GOD takes us to himself when we die, she had fancied that if there were no GOD, there would be no death; so 'her wish was father to the thought'. I impressed upon her that we must die at any rate; and how terrible it would be if we had not a Father in Heaven to take care of us. I looked into Cambrai's Education of a Daughter, hoping to have found some simple argument for the being of GOD in that piece of instruction. But it is taken for granted! I was somewhat fretful today from finding myself without fixed occupation; and my toe seeming not to heal. But my mind had a firm bottom.
Bless.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/767535.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
Today while looking for something else I came across the entry in question. Capital letters all courtesy of Boswell, who btw had quite a lot of religious angst (and when getting what was called the journalistic scoop of the century, a death bed chat with the most famous atheist of his day, David Hume, angsted even more when finding Hume firm on his choices). The year is 1779, the place is Edinburgh.
SUNDAY 19 DECEMBER. (...) At night after we were in bed, Veronica spoke out from her little bed and said, 'I do not believe there is a GOD.' 'Preserve me,' said I, 'my dear, what do you mean?' She answered, 'I have thinket it many a time, but did not like to speak of it.'
I was confounded and uneasy, and tried her with the simple argument that without GOD there would not be all the things we see. 'It is HE who makes the sun shine.' Said she: 'It shines only on good days.' Said I: 'GOD made you.' Said she: 'My mother bore me.'
It was a strange and alarming thing to her mother and me to hear our little angel talk thus. But I thought it better just to let the subject drop insensibly tonight. (...)
MONDAY 20 DECEMBER. By talking calmly with Veronica, I discovered what had made her think there was no GOD. She told me, she 'did not like to die'. I suppose as she had been told that GOD takes us to himself when we die, she had fancied that if there were no GOD, there would be no death; so 'her wish was father to the thought'. I impressed upon her that we must die at any rate; and how terrible it would be if we had not a Father in Heaven to take care of us. I looked into Cambrai's Education of a Daughter, hoping to have found some simple argument for the being of GOD in that piece of instruction. But it is taken for granted! I was somewhat fretful today from finding myself without fixed occupation; and my toe seeming not to heal. But my mind had a firm bottom.
Bless.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/767535.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.