A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume 1: Taken from a View of the Education and Discipline, Social Manners, Civil and Political Economy, Religious Principles and Character, of the Society of FriendsClarkson, Thomas
Religion
A Portraiture of Quakerism, Volume 1: Taken from a View of the Education and Discipline, Social Manners, Civil and Political Economy, Religious Principles and Character, of the Society of Friends
Clarkson, Thomas
Society of Friends
These omissions of the ceremonies of the world, as begun by the
primitive Quakers, are continued by the modern. They neither bow nor
scrape, nor pull off their hats to any, by way of civility or respect,
and they carry their principles, like their predecessors, so far, that
they observe none of these exterior parts of politeness even in the
presence of royalty. The Quakers are in the habit on particular
occasions of sending deputies to the king. And it is remarkable that his
present majesty always sees them himself, if he be well, and not by
proxy. Notwithstanding this, no one in the deputation ever pulls off his
hat. Those, however, who are in waiting in the anti-chamber, knowing
this custom of the Quakers, take their hats from their heads, before
they enter the room, where the king is. On entering the room, they
neither bow nor scrape, nor kneel, and as this ceremony cannot be
performed for them by others, they go into the royal presence in a less
servile, or more dignified manner, than either the representatives of
sovereigns, or those, who have humbled nations by the achievement of
great victories.
The ground, upon which the Quakers decline the use of the ordinary
ceremonies just mentioned, is, the honours are the honours of the world.
Now, as that these of the world, they consider them as objectionable on
several accounts.
First, they are no more the criterions of obeisance and respect, than
mourning garments are the criterions of sorrow. But Christianity is
never satisfied but with the truth. It forbids all false appearances. It
allows no image to be held out, that is not a faithful picture of its
original, or no action to be resorted to, that is not correspondent with
the feelings of the heart.
In the second place the Quakers presume, that, as honours of the world,
all such ceremonies are generally of a complimentary nature. No one bows
to a poor man. But almost every one to the rich, and the rich to one
another. Hence bowing is as much a species of flattery through the
medium of the body, as the giving of undeserved titles through the
medium of the tongue.
As honours of the world again the Quakers think them censurable, because
all such honours were censured by Jesus Christ. On the occasion, on
which he exhorted his followers not to be like the Scribes and
Pharisees, and to seek flattering titles, so as to be called Rabbi Rabbi
of man, he exhorted them to avoid all ceremonious salutations, such as
greetings in the market-places. He couples the two different customs of
flattering titles and salutations in the same sentence, and mentions
them in the same breath. And though the word "greetings" does not
perhaps precisely mean those bowings and scrapings, which are used at
the present day, yet it means, both according to its derivation and the
nature of the Jewish customs, those outward personal actions or
gestures, which were used as complimentary to the Jewish world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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