Книга: Isaac Watts «The Improvement of the Mind»

Isaac Watts

Isaac Watts (July 17, 1674 – November 25, 1748) is recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", as he was the first prolific and popular English hymnwriter, credited with some 750 hymns. Many of his hymns remain in active use today and have been translated into many languages.

Life

Born in Southampton, Watts was brought up in the home of a committed Nonconformist — his father, also Isaac Watts, had been incarcerated twice for his controversial views. At

The earliest surviving built memorial to Isaac Watts is at Westminster Abbey; this was completed shortly after his death. His much-visited chest tomb, in its photogenic setting at Bunhill Fields, dates from 1808, replacing the original that had been paid for and erected by Lady Mary Abney and the Hartopp family. In addition a stone bust of Watts can be seen in the non-conformist library Dr Williams's Library in central London. The earliest public statue stands at Abney Park, where he lived and died before it became a cemetery and arboretum; a later, rather similar statue, was funded by public subscription for a new Victorian public park in the city of his birth, Southampton. In the mid nineteenth century a Congregational Hall, the Dr Watts Memorial Hall, was also built in Southampton, though after the Second World War it was lost to redevelopment. Now standing on this site is the Isaac Watts Memorial United Reformed Church.

One of the earliest built memorials may also now be lost: a bust to Watts that was commissioned on his death for the London chapel with which he was associated. The chapel was demolished in the late eighteenth century; remaining parts of the memorial were rescued at the last minute by a wealthy landowner for installation in his chapel near Liverpool. It is unclear whether it still survives.

The stone statue in front of the Abney Park Chapel at Dr Watts' Walk, Abney Park Cemetery, was erected in 1845 by public subscription. It was designed by the leading British sculptor, Edward Hodges Baily RA FRS. A scheme for a commemorative statue on this spot had first been promoted in the late 1830s by George Collison, who in 1840 published an engraving as the frontispiece of his book about cemetery design in Europe and America; and at Abney Park Cemetery in particular. This first cenotaph proposal was never commissioned, and Baily's later design was adopted in 1845.

Works

Books

* "The Improvement of the Mind" [http://www.archive.org/details/improvementofmin01wattuoft Vol 1] [http://www.archive.org/details/improvementofmin02wattuoft Vol 2] at The Internet Archive
* "Logic, or The Right Use of Reason in the Enquiry After Truth With a Variety of Rules to Guard Against Error in the Affairs of Religion and Human Life, as well as in the Sciences" [http://www.archive.org/details/therightuseof00wattiala]
* "A Short View of the Whole Scripture History: With a Continuation of the Jewish Affairs From the Old Testament Till the Time of Christ; and an Account of the Chief Prophesies that Relate to Him" [http://www.archive.org/details/ashortviewofwhol00wattrich]

Hymns

Some of Watts' more well-known hymns are:

*Joy to the world! (sung to a tune by Lowell Mason, frequently attributed in error to Handel)
* [http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/m/a/marching.htm Come ye that love the Lord] (often sung with the chorus [and titled] "We’re marching to Zion")
* [http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/c/o/comehshd.htm Come Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove]
* [http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/s/jsreign.htm Jesus shall reign where’er the sun]
*O God, Our Help in Ages Past
* [http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/h/e/whenisur.htm When I survey the wondrous cross]
* [http://www.igracemusic.com/hymnbook/hymns/a03.html Alas! and did my Saviour bleed]
* [http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/h/i/thisitdl.htm This is the day the Lord has made]

Many of his hymns are included in the Methodist hymn book Hymns and Psalms.Many of his texts are also used in the American hymnal The Sacred Harp, using what is known as the shape-note singing technique.

See also

*Puritan
*English Dissenter
*Independent (religion)
*Congregational church
*Africa (William Billings)

Notes

References

*Marini, Stephen A. (2003) "Sacred Song in America: Religion, Music, and Public Culture". Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

External links

*gutenberg author|id=Isaac_Watts|name=Isaac Watts
* [http://204.239.18.204/index.php?title=A_Solemn_Address_to_the_Deity "A Solemn Address to the Great and Ever Blessed God"] (1802), originally published as "A Faithful Inquiry after the Ancient and Original Doctrine of the Trinity" (1745)
* [http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/7632/ The Isaac Watts Fan Club] background info and midi files
* [http://www.cyberhymnal.org/bio/w/a/t/watts_i.htm Hymns by Isaac Watts]
* [http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/g/ogohiap.htm O God our help in ages past] (this is the official school hymn of King Edward VI School, Southampton, Watts' alma mater)
* [http://www.monergism.com/directory/link_category/Puritans/Misc-Puritans/Isaac-Watts/ Monergism.com Isaac Watts] Links to works of Isaac Watts

Notes

Источник: Isaac Watts