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The Gentle Puritan: A Life of Ezra Stiles, 1727-1795
“Through this great scholarly effort of Yale’s Professor Morgan, we now have a unique access to the culture and intellectual life of 18th-century America. We also have for the first time a full biography of a remarkable colonial worthy, one which general readers can enjoy and scholars use with confidence.” ― Library Journal In this life of Ezra Stiles, president of Yale University from 1778 to 1795, the noted historian Edmund S. Morgan portrays a man who reflects the thought and temper of an age in New England and the middle colonies.
516 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 15, 2013
Ezra was a great man. He was orthodox but liberal and gracious, while seeking ecumenical unity amongst the American Churches. He believed that Christian sects were as important as local bodies, but that all were flawed in some way and therefor humility, graciousness and kindness should prevail amongst men who served Christ.
He improved the American college system by raising the standards and ceremony of Yale through a thorough and excellent liberal arts education. He was a great preacher, pastor and scholar. He did not diminish the role of Yale in providing preachers, he made them better candidates and improved the learned professions in his state and the United States.
He was not a fan of the New Divinity School of thought as it strayed from "Edwardian Divinity" as he understood it. He believed the New divinity was hyper-Calvinistic and that it offered those who most needed the good news nothing but contempt and vitriol. Stiles was an "old Light" but resembled the Puritans more than the "New Light" preachers like Whitfield, which gave way to the new divinity and the rise, ultimately, of the anti-clericalism that weakened the faith and the church in Connecticut.
His vantage point was such as to give his criticism of the Great awakening and new divinity legitimacy, given the years he lived (which allowed him to witness the fruits of the movement), his generosity and intimate relationship with key players. He believed pastors retired to their ivory towers at the close of the 18th century and spawned the decline of the church in Connecticut.
He always had time for those who disagreed with him and was universally respected for his piety, faith, learning, generous spirit, principled stance and graciousness. He had some warts, arrogance and touches of worldliness, that often tempts big minds in academia but he is a great man in the heritage of the American Church.
This book covers a lot and was very dense. Morgan's work always ranks high in my estimation and this book did not disappoint. One of the best chapters was called "the books he didn't write" about Stiles' encyclopedic knowledge.
I would like to expand my understanding of the period and infighting amongst Calvinists during this period.
He improved the American college system by raising the standards and ceremony of Yale through a thorough and excellent liberal arts education. He was a great preacher, pastor and scholar. He did not diminish the role of Yale in providing preachers, he made them better candidates and improved the learned professions in his state and the United States.
He was not a fan of the New Divinity School of thought as it strayed from "Edwardian Divinity" as he understood it. He believed the New divinity was hyper-Calvinistic and that it offered those who most needed the good news nothing but contempt and vitriol. Stiles was an "old Light" but resembled the Puritans more than the "New Light" preachers like Whitfield, which gave way to the new divinity and the rise, ultimately, of the anti-clericalism that weakened the faith and the church in Connecticut.
His vantage point was such as to give his criticism of the Great awakening and new divinity legitimacy, given the years he lived (which allowed him to witness the fruits of the movement), his generosity and intimate relationship with key players. He believed pastors retired to their ivory towers at the close of the 18th century and spawned the decline of the church in Connecticut.
He always had time for those who disagreed with him and was universally respected for his piety, faith, learning, generous spirit, principled stance and graciousness. He had some warts, arrogance and touches of worldliness, that often tempts big minds in academia but he is a great man in the heritage of the American Church.
This book covers a lot and was very dense. Morgan's work always ranks high in my estimation and this book did not disappoint. One of the best chapters was called "the books he didn't write" about Stiles' encyclopedic knowledge.
I would like to expand my understanding of the period and infighting amongst Calvinists during this period.
July 25, 2022
An interesting book for its insight into 18th century New England from the perspective of the history of Ezra Stiles, Congregationalist minister and president of Yale College. As the author says in his preface concerning Ezra Stiles, “But his intellectual curiosity was omnivorous, and precisely because his mind was more receptive than creative, this book is as much a study of the times as it is of the man.”
August 22, 2020
Was hoping for a bit more information on his interaction with well known revolutionaries of the time, but it is mostly about Yale, Calvinism's new light/old light schism, and his bio.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews