Our of the olde fieldes, as men saithe, And out of olde bookes, in goode faithe, CHAUCER. BOSTON: Samuel N. Dickinson. Printer, 52, Washington Street. O SELECT SERMONS. BY HUGH LATIMER. Bishop of Worcester. WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE AUTHOR "Old HUGH LATIMER-One who had lost more learning than many ever had, who flout at his plain sermons; though his downright style was as necessary in that ignorant age, as it would be ridiculous in ours. Indeed, he condescended to people's capacity; and many men unjustly count those low in learning, who indeed do but stoop to their auditors. Let me see any of our sharp wits do that with the edge, which his bluntness did with the back of the knife, and persuade so many to restitution of stolen goods." FULLER. "LATIMER-brave, sincere, honest, inflexible-exercising his power over men's minds by a fervid eloquence, flowing from the deep conviction which animated his plain, pithy, and free-spoken sermons." SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH. EDITOR'S PREFACE. In a series of works like the present, it was thought neither practicable nor desirable to include the whole of Latimer's forty sermons, which in the old copies occupy the space of a small quarto. It has accordingly been the Editor's aim, in preparing this volume, to select such passages as exhibited most strongly the characteristic peculiarities of the worthy Father. The three first sermons are printed entire; then follow six in an abridged form; and the remainder of the volume consists of miscellaneous selections. The text of this edition is for the most part a transcript from that of Watkins, London, 1824, which purports to have been formed from a careful collation of the early editions. In not a few instances, however, a different reading has been substituted, taken from the editions of 1549, 1607, and 1635, all of which were fortunately in the Editor's hands. The edition first mentioned, that of 1549, is the princeps," a small 16mo. in black letter, and contains only the seven sermons preached in that year before King Edward VI. From this very rare and curious copy are now restored for the first time-on pages 178-81,-the passages relating to the death of Lord Admiral Seymour, which appear to have been omitted in all the subsequent impressions. Mention is made in them of two papers which the Admiral wrote, during his imprisonment in the Tower, to the princesses Mary and Elizabeth, instigating them to conspire against his brother, the Protector. If Watkins had ever read the sermon in this primitive edition, he would not have hazarded the assertion, that "not one word occurs in it about the correspondence of the Admiral.” The next volume of the Library will contain Selections from the Works of Jeremy Taylor. ALEXANDER YOUNG. BOSTON, DECEMBER 20, 1832. |