New England -- Religious life and customs; New England -- Social life and customs -- To 1775; Sunday
These annotations must have formed to the Pilgrims not only a dictionary
but a perfect encyclopædia of useful knowledge. Things spiritual and things
temporal were explained therein. Scientific, historic, and religious
information were dispensed impartially. Much and varied instruction was
given in Natural History, though viewed of course from a strictly religious
point of view. The little Pilgrims learned from their Psalm-Book that the
"Leviathan is the great whalefish or seadragon, so called of the fast
joyning together of his scales as he is described Job 40: 20, 41 and
is used to resemble great tyrants." They also learned that "Lions of
sundry-kinds have sundry-names. Tear-in-pieces like a lion. That he ravin
not, make-a-prey; called a plueker Renter or Tearer, and elsewhere Laby
that is, Harty and couragious; Kphir, this lurking, Couchant. The reason
of thier names is shewed, as The renting-lion as greedy to tear, and the
lurking-Lion as biding in covert places. Other names are also given to this
kind as Shachal, of ramping, of fierce nature; and Lajith of subduing his
prey. Psalm LVI Lions called here Lebain, harty, stowt couragious, Lions.
Lions are mentioned in the Scriptures for the stowtness of thier hart,
boldnes, and grimnes of thier countenance."
Here are other annotations taken at hap-hazard. The lines,
"Al they that doo upon me look
a scoff at me doe make
they with the lip do make-a-mow
the head they scornful-shake,"
Ainsworth thus explains: "Make-a-mow, making-an-opening with the lip
which may be taken both for mowing and thrusting out of the lip and for
licentious opening thereof to speak reproach." The expression "Keep thou me
as the black of the apple of the eye" is thus annotated: "The black, that
is, the sight in the midds of the eye wherein appeareth the resemblance of
a little man, and thereupon seemeth to be called in Hebrew Ishon which is a
man. And as that part is blackish so this word is also used for other black
things as the blackness of night. The apple so we call that which the
Hebrew here calleth bath and babath that is the babie or little image
appearing in the eye." Anger receives this definition: "ire, outward in
the face, grauue, grimnes or fiercenes of countenance. The original Aph
signifieth both the nose by which one breatheth, and Anger which appeareth
in the snuffing or breathing of the nose."
Before the Holland exiles had this version of Ainsworth's to sing from,
they used the book known as "Sternhold and Hopkins' Psalms." They gave it
up gladly to show honor to the work of their loved pastor, and perhaps also
with a sense of pleasure in not having to sing any verses which had been
used and authorized by the Church of England. In doing this they had to
abandon, however, such spirited lines as Sternhold's--
"The earth did shake, for feare did quake
the hills their bases shook.
Removed they were, in place most fayre
at God's right fearfull looks.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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