American Puritan & Colonial

Funeral Elegy of John Woodmancy

Benjamin Tompson (1642-1714) · 649 words · 3 min

The source for this document is http://name.umdl.umich.edu/N01155.0001.001

Project Note

This is licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND. This license allows reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator.

The source of this document is the Early English Books Online (EEBO-TCP) website. Those books were transcribed in a character for character manner and can be very cumbersome to read since there was no standard spelling during that time. Many spelling variations such as "unlesse", "vnlesse", and "vnles" regularly appear.

This project was conceived to clean up those books as much as possible and make them more accessible to the interested reader, leading to the creation of a massive list of variant spellings and their corrections. This was used to clean up the text, but is of course only as complete as the list itself. Because of the nature of the original transcription, some words have missing characters or places where the original language (e.g., Greek) was not transcribed. This effort does not change that. Be aware that the original transcription can also be faulty and in some cases entire sentences may be missing.

Although this is no substitute for a properly compared, proofed, and scholarly edition, I believe that the result is a document which is far more accessible, particularly for searching for terms using standard spelling. The document has been cleaned and presented in what I hope is a pleasing and useful format for the vast majority of Christian brothers and sisters who just want access to read these spiritually nourishing works.

However, a word of warning: The Puritans were a very diverse group of people and their age was characterized with godliness, but also much upheaval, disputation and strife. They disagreed on many doctrines and some of these works contain less orthodox or Scriptural views than others. The reader is strongly advised to read with discernment, particularly if it is unknown whether author is trustworthy.

This project took a huge amount of time and skill to bring to fruition. I would particularly like to thank David Jonescue for the initial list of Puritans he found on EEBO and the concept behind this project as well as the continuous, unceasing efforts toward seeing this complete. Without his labor, this would not be available. Alex Sarrouf was invaluable in providing the initial list of over 7,000 spelling variations he had identified and corrected, as well as continuing to review more than 16,000 additions to that list for any typos.

Logan West
(with David Jonescue and Alex Sarrouf)
www.puritansearch.org

The Grammarians Funeral, OR, An ELEGY composed upon the Death of Mr. John Woodmancy, formerly a School-Master in Boston: But now Published upon the DEATH of the Venerable Mr. Ezekiel Chevers, The late and famous School-Master of Boston in New-England; Who Departed this Life the Twenty-first of August 1708. Early in the Morning. In the Ninety-fourth Year of his Age.

        EIght Parts of
        
         Speech
        
        this Day wear
        
         Mourning Gowns
        
        Declin'd
        
         Verbs, Pronouns, Participles, Nouns.
        
        And not declined,
        
         Adverbs
        
        and
        
         Conjunctions,
        
        In
        
         Lilies
        
        Porch they stand to do their functions.
       
        With
        
         Preposition;
        
        but the most affection
       
        Was still observed in the
        
         Interjection.
        
        The
        
         Substantive
        
        seeming the limbed best,
       
        Would set an hand to bear him to his Rest.
       
        The
        
         Adjective
        
        with very grief did say,
       
        Hold me by strength, or I shall faint away.
       
        The Clouds of Tears did over-cast their faces,
       
        Yea all were in most lamentable
        
         Cases.
        
        The five
        
         Declensions
        
        did the Work decline,
       
        And
        
         Told
        
        the
        
         Pronoun Tu,
        
        The work is thine:
       
        But in this case those have no call to go
       
        That want the
        
         Vocative,
        
        and cannot say O!
       
        The
        
         Pronouns
        
        said that if the
        
         Nouns
        
        were there,
       
        There was no need of them, they might them spare:
       
        But for the sake of
        
         Emphasis
        
        they would,
       
        In their Discretion do what ere they could.
       
        Great honor was conferred on
        
         Conjugations,
        
        They were to follow next to the
        
         Relations.
        
         Amo
        
        did love him best, and
        
         D
         
          •
         
         cco
        
        might
       
        Alledge he was his Glory and Delight.
       
        But
        
         Lego
        
        said by me he got his skill,
       
        And therefore next the
        
         Herse
        
        I follow will.
       
         Audio
        
        said little, hearing them so hot,
       
        Yet knew by him much Learning he had got.
       
        O
        
         Verbs
        
        the
        
         Active
        
        were, Or
        
         Passive
        
        sure,
       
         Sum
        
        to be
        
         Neuter
        
        could not well endure.
       
        But this was common to them all to Moan
       
        Their load of grief they could not soon
        
         Depone.
        
        A doleful Day for
        
         Verbs,
        
        they look so
        
         moody,
        
        They drove Spectators to a Mournful Study.
       
        The
        
         Verbs
        
        irregular, 'twas thought by some,
       
        Would break no rule, if they were pleased to come.
       
         Gaudeo
        
        could not be found; fearing disgrace
       
        He had with-drawn, sent
        
         Maereo
        
        in his Place.
       
         Possum
        
        did to the utmost he was able,
       
        And bore as Stout as if he'd been A
        
         Table.
        
         Volo
        
        was willing,
        
         Nolo
        
        some-what stout,
       
        But
        
         Malo
        
        rather chose, not to stand out.
       
         Possum
        
        and
        
         Volo
        
        wished all might afford
       
        Their help, but had not an
        
         Imperative Word.
        
         Edo
        
        from Service would by no means Swerve
       
        Rather than fail, he thought the
        
         Cakes
        
        to Serve.
       
         Fio
        
        was taken in a fit, and said,
       
        By him a Mournful
        
         POEM
        
        should be made.
       
         Fero
        
        was willing for to bear a part,
       
        Altho' he did it with an aking heart.
       
         Feror
        
        excused, with grief he was so Torn,
       
        He could not bear, he needed to be born.

        Such
        
         Nouns
        
        and
        
         Verbs
        
        as we defective find
       
        No
        
         Grammar
        
        Rule did their attendance bind.
       
        They were excepted, and exempted hence,
       
        But
        
         Supines,
        
        all did blame for negligence.
       
         Verbs
        
        Offspring,
        
         Participles
        
        hand-in-hand,
       
        Follow, and by the same direction stand:
       
        The rest Promiscuously did crowd and cumber,
       
        Such Multitudes of each, they wanted Number.
       
        Next to the Corps to make th' attendance even,
       
         Jove, Mercury, Apollo
        
        came from heaven.
       
        And
        
         Virgil, Cato,
        
        gods, men, Rivers, Winds,
       
        With
        
         Elegies,
        
        Tears, Sighs, came in their kinds.
       
         Ovid
        
        from
        
         Pontus
        
        hast's Apparrell'd thus,
       
        In Exile-weeds bringing
        
         De Tristibus:
        
        And
        
         Homer
        
        sure had been among the Rout,
       
        But that the Stories say his Eyes were out.
       
         Queens, Cities, Countries, Islands,
        
        Come
       
        All Trees, Birds, Fishes, and each Word in
        
         Um.

        What
        
         Syntax
        
        here can you expect to find?
       
        Where each one bears such discomposed mind.
       
        Figures of Diction and Construction,
       
        Do little: Yet stand sadly looking on.
       
        That such a Train may in their motion
        
         chord,
        
         Prosodia
        
        gives the measure Word for Word.

Sic Maestus Cecinit, Benj. Thompson.