ALGONQUIAN LANGUAGES. 



171 



Eliot (J.) — Continued. 



3-397, table of contents pp. [398-400], 16o. 

 Signatures A to Bb in eights. See the fac-sim- 

 ile of the title-page. 



Mr. Eliot's translation into the Massachu- 

 setts Indian language of Lewis Bayly's Practice 

 of Fiety, but "considerably abridged," accord- 

 ing to Dr. Trumbull, whose translation of the 

 Indian title is given above. The author of this 

 treatise was bishop of Bangor, and died in 1631. 

 His "sole claim to fame," as Prof. Tout re- 

 marks, "is the above-mentioned 'Practice of 

 Piety.' which, published early in the century, 

 obtained at once the extraordinary popularity 

 that it long maintained in puritan circles. The 

 date of its first publication is not known, but 

 in 1613 it had reached its third, and in 1619 its 

 eleventh edition. In 1G30 a twenty-fifth edition, 

 and in 1735 a fifty-ninth edition was published. " 

 The printed list of editions and translations of 

 the Practice of Piety, prepared by William 

 Cooke, F. S. A., contains seventy-eight titles. 

 Mr. J, E. Bailey, F. S. A.., has called attention to 

 the entry by John Hodge ttes, in the Stationers 

 Hall Eegister (iii, 475), on 11 Jan., 1611-12, of 

 what was probably the first edition of the book. 



On tlie Cth of the 5th (August 6th), 1663, Mr. 

 Eliot wrote to Mr. Richard Baxter in London, 

 announcing that he had begun to translate into 

 the Indian language that author's Call to the 

 Unconverted. ""When this Work is done," he 

 then continues, "if the Lord shall please to 

 prolong my Life, I am meditating of Translating 

 some other Book, which may prescribe to them 

 the way and manner of a Christian Life and 

 Conversation, in their daily Course; and how to 

 worship God on the Sabbath, fasting, feasting 

 Days, and in all Acts.of Worship, publick, pri- 

 vate, and secret ; and for this purpose I have 

 thoughts of translating for them, the Practice 

 of Piety, or some other such Book: In which 

 Case I request your Advice to me ; for if the 

 Lord give opportunity, I may hear from you (if 

 you see cause so far to take Notice hereof) be- 

 fore I shall be ready to begin a new work; 

 especially because the Psalms of David in Me- 

 tre in their Language, are }.oing now to the 

 Press, which will be some Diversion of me, from 

 a present Attention upon these other proposed 

 Works."— JSeKg'iace Baxterianoe, p. 293. In the 

 account of his own life Mr. Baxter writes of 

 Eliot : "And he sent word, that next he would 

 print my Call to the Unconverted, and then The 

 Practice of Piety : But Mr. Boyle sent him word 

 it would be better taken here, if the Practice of 

 Piety were printed before any thing of mine." 

 This advice did not reach Mr. Eliot until after 

 he had fluished his translation of Baxter's 

 Call. On the 25th of August, 1C64, he wrote to 

 the Commissioners at Hartford : ' ' Touching the 

 Presse, I thank God & yourselves for the good 

 successe of the work in it. Mr. Baxter's Call 

 is printed and disp'-ced. And though I have 

 Mr. Shepard's Synceare Convt (^ Sound Be- 

 liever all most translated, though not fitted 

 and finished for the Presse, yet by advertizm* 



Eliot (J.) — Continued. 



fro the hon'able Corporation, I must lay that> 

 by and fall upon the Practise of Piety, w'' I 

 had intended to be the last : therefore this win- 

 ter I purpose, if the Lord will, to set upon that 

 booke." In their next letter to the Corporation 

 in England, the Commissioners wrote, from 

 Hartford, September 1st, 1664, that they had 

 dismissed Marmaduke Johnson the printer, 

 and that "for after time wee hope to haue all 

 books lor the Indians vse printed vpon ezier 

 tearmes by our owne printer especially if it 

 please youer honors to send ouer a fonte of 

 Pica let' ers Boman and Italian which are much 

 wanteing for printeing the practice of piety and 

 other workes ; and soe when the Presses shalbe 

 Improue for the vse of the English wee shalbe 

 careful! that due alowance be made to the 

 Stocke for the same." The translation was- 

 finished by Mr. Eliot in 1665, and the book was 

 printed in the same year, probably by Samuel 

 Green. Under date of September 13th, 1667, 

 the records of the Commissioners contain the 

 folio wing charge for binding : " To t wo hundred 

 Practice of piety at 6d ," bl. 



Copies seen : American Antiquarian Society, 

 Bodleian, Yale. 



Probably the only copy that has come into 

 the market in recent years is the one adver- 

 tised for sale by Mr. Quaritch in Octobti-, 1873 

 (291 Catalogue, no. 18670), bound in red morocco 

 by Bedford, for 90 1. It was purchased by Mr. 

 Brinley, and at the sale of the first portion of 

 his library in New York, March, 1879 (no. 795), 

 it was bought for the library of Yale College 

 for $205. 



[ ] Manitowompae | pomantamoonk | 



Sampwshauau | Christianoli | Uttoh woh 

 an I pomantog | Wnssikkittealionat | 

 God. 1 I Tim. 4. 8. | Manittooonk ohtooo- 

 moo quoshodtuougash yeuyeu ut po- 

 man- 1 tamoo6nganitkalinepaomooug. 



Cambridge. | Printed for the right 

 Honerable Corperation in London | for 

 the Gospelizing the Indins, in New-Eng 

 land. I 1685. 



Title 1 leaf within a single line border verso 

 blank, text entirely in Indian, pp. 3-288, 273-333, 

 table of contents pp. [334-335] verso blank, 16°. 

 Signatures A to Y in eights. See the fac-sim- 

 ile of the title-page. 



The second edition of Mr. Eliot's translation 

 of Bayly's Practice of Piety into the Massachu- 

 setts Indian language. Dr. Trumbull has called 

 attention to the four typographical errors in 

 the title. The printing of this edition waa^ 

 probably begun late in 1685, and finished in the 

 summer of the following year. On the 29th of 

 August, 1686, Mr. Eliot wrote from Roxbury to 

 the Hon. Robert Boyle : "Our Indian work yet: 

 liveth, praised be God ; the bible is come forth, 

 many hundreds bound up, and dispersed to the 

 Indians, whose thankfulness I intimate and tea- 



