4 DECREES AND ‘LECTION: Referring to the decrees of the Calvinist doctrines, especially to the notion of election—those people God has elected to be saved.
5 DISINTERESTED BENEVOLENCE: As the context makes clear, disinterested benevolence means to do good without considering one’s own needs or the outcome. It was particularly important in Hopkins’s theological system because it exemplified true virtue, or selflessness. One consequence of the doctrine of disinterested benevolence was that it enabled belief in predestination while promoting moral action on earth.
6 MORDECAI: The biblical Mordecai discovered a plot to kill the Jews, and he sat at the king’s gate in protest. Moreover, he refused to pay homage to the Persian king, just as Katy Scudder refuses to pay homage to Mrs. Brown’s material wealth. See the Old Testament book of Esther.
7 JOHN BUNYAN: English Nonconformist preacher and writer (1628- 1688); best known for his Pilgrim’s Progress (1678), which became a central text for Puritan readers.
8 DR. STILES: Ezra Stiles (1727-1795) was an American clergyman and scholar who served as pastor of the Second Congregational Church in Newport, Rhode Island, from 1755 to 1776. Later, he was president of Yale University, where he also taught ecclesiastical history. Although his theology was conservative, Stiles’s social views were liberal; one sign of his liberalism was his interest in Newport’s Jewish community. Stowe has altered historical fact in her portrayal of Stiles.
9 ARMENIAN: Arminians were a Protestant sect that believed in some degree of human control over salvation, in contrast to the Calvinists’ belief in predestination. Calvinists held that Arminianism was heresy, so to call the Doctor an Arminian is a weighty admonition.
10 PAUL’S EPISTLES: A reference to the following books of the New Testament: Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews, all structured as letters written by Saint Paul to these groups or individuals.
11 CALVINIST: Often used interchangeably with Puritanism, which based its belief system on the works of John Calvin (1509-1564). That the Doctor is not intimidated by being accused of an Arminian interpretation by a staunch Calvinist indicates his conviction and honesty.
12 UNREGENERATE DOINGS: A reference to the unsaved state of natural man.
CHAPTER V
1 “IMMEDIATE EFFICIENT AUTHOR OF EVERY ACT OF WILL”: James points to the tension within Puritan theology between free will and election: the vexed question of how it is possible that the elect can commit evil acts.
2 “ ‘BE YE NOT ... AN INFIDEL’ ”: II Corinthians 6:14-15.
3 ELECTED: Elected by God to be saved. In this belief system the potential for a child to be damned was entirely possible and, justifiably, caused great anxiety.
CHAPTER VI
1 “CADENUS AND VANESSA”: Poem (1713, 1726) by Jonathan Swift, written in mock classical style.
2 ISAAC DID REBEKAH: Genesis 24.
3 ULTIMA THULE: Literally, the northernmost region; figuratively, any distant place or goal.
4 ELIJAH: I Kings 17:6.
5 DUOMO OF FLORENCE: Cathedral in Florence, Italy, designed by the Florentine painter, sculptor, and architect Giotto di Bondone (1276-1337). To his contemporaries, its campanile, or bell tower, seemed to reach up to the heavens.
6 DA VINCI OR MICHEL ANGELO: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist, known for the painting Mona Lisa, among many other works. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564) was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and poet who is considered the father of the Italian Renaissance.
7 ST. DOROTHEA: Patron saint of apples, brewers, gardeners, lovers, young couples.
8 LAMB’S: A reference to Christ, who, like the lamb in the Old Testament, took on mankind’s sin and was sacrificed in order to deflect God’s wrath.
9 TO CONSECRATE HERSELF PUBLICLY: Within the Calvinist community one made a profession of faith to confirm one’s status as a member of the elect; this often happened later in life and after much inner searching.
CHAPTER VII
1 MISERERE: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s (1756-1791) music to the Psalm 51.
2 RAPHAEL ... VENUS: Raffaelo Sanzio (1483-1520) was an Italian Renaissance painter; the Apollo probably refers to the Apollo Belvedere, a Roman copy of a Greek fourth-century B.C. bronze statue, and the Venus most likely refers to the Venus de Milo, a marble statue of the second or first century B.C.
3 SAMBO AND CUFFY: In nineteenth-century America, these were generic names for African Americans.
4 MOGADORE: A seaport in west Morocco.
CHAPTER VIII
1 “THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOMETH THE WORLD”: I John 5:4-5.
2 PLATO ... TEETHING: A Greek philosopher (428-348/47 B.C.) and student of Socrates. Plato speaks of romantic love in the Phaedrus, especially sections 250-52, though in more immediate language than this passage suggests.
3 “WRITTEN ... HEART”: II Corinthians 3:3.
4 BYRON’S POETRY ... AFFECTIONS: Reference to the Romantic poet Byron and Jonathan Edwards’s treatise Concerning Religious Affections (1746).
5 ASSEMBLY’S CATECHISM: A catechism is a summary of Christian belief, usually arranged in question-and-answer format for pedagogical purposes. Stowe’s reference is probably to the catechism associated with the Westminster Confession, originally formulated by the Westminster Assembly (1643-45) in Great Britain and formally adopted by New England Puritans at the Cambridge Synod of 1648.
6 “TRULY MY WAITING SOUL ... OVERPAST”: Psalms 62:1.
7 ROULADE: A musical term, meaning a series of tones sung to a single syllable in rapid succession.
8 ST. AUGUSTINE: An early Christian teacher and philosopher (354-430). In his Confessions, Augustine tells of his restless, dissolute youth. Stowe’s reference to Augustine’s mother is a piece of the pattern she builds throughout the novel of alluding to the mothers of prophets and saints.
9 “WAITING ... GOD”: Romans 8:19.
10 TITIAN: Tiziano Vicelli, an Italian painter (1488/90-1576).
11 ALCIBIADES: An Athenian general and politician (450-404 B.C.). In his youth, Alcibiades served briefly with Socrates at Potidea (432). Alcibiades was arrogant and ambitious, and contemptuous of democracy; he was eventually murdered because of his duplicity.
12 SOCRATES: Athenian philosopher (464-399 B.C.) whose disciple Plato recorded his dialogues. In Plato’s writings, Socrates is a character who challenges his compatriots to reconsider received opinions and, in The Republic, lays the conceptual groundwork for a democratic society.
13 “DEPART ... MAN”: Luke 5:8.
CHAPTER IX
1 CANAAN: The land God promised to Abraham in Genesis 12:5-10.
2 “OUT OF THE MOUTH OF BABES ... AVENGER”: Psalms 8:2.
CHAPTER X
1 ST. PAUL: A Christian apostle, author of the New Testament books known as the Pauline epistles, and one of the major formulators of early Christian theology and social organization. Paul’s writings have been extremely influential in the Christian world. (See also Chapter IV, note 10.)
2 MANDINGOES: Reference to a number of West African peoples united by a common language known as Mande or Mandingo.
3 ZION: In the Bible, a designation for Jerusalem; in Christian typology, a reference to the community’s leadership status in Christian life and government, casting New England as the New Jerusalem. Here, it refers to the typological designation.
4 GORGONS: In ancient Greek mythology, the Gorgons were sisters who could turn mortals to stone.
CHAPTER XI
1 FEDERAL PARTY: One of the early political parties in the United States. Federalists believed in the Constitution, a centralized government, and republican ideals.
2 “THE STEPS ... HIS WAY”: Psalms 37:23.
CHAPTER XII
1 THEOPHRASTUS: A Greek philosopher and scientist (c. 370-285 B.C.); a disciple of Plato and Aristotle. Theophrastus wrote treatises on logic, ethics,
metaphysics, and the natural sciences. Stowe humorously implies that had he lived in Congregationalist New England, he would have been a disciple of Hopkins.
2 NEBUCHADNEZZAR: A Babylonian king (630-562 B.C.) who destroyed Jerusalem and carried many Jews to captivity.
3 PAULA ... THE WORLD: Saint Jerome (c. 347-420?) was one of the Church Fathers, and translator of the Latin version of the Bible known as the Vulgate. Saint Paula was a Roman matron who, upon being widowed, devoted herself to the Church, heading a convent near Saint Jerome’s monastery in Bethlehem. Jerome became Paula’s spiritual guide and biographer. “The most splendid painting in the world” refers to Domenichino’s (1581-1641) Last Communion of Saint Jerome, which hung in the Vatican opposite Raphael’s Transfiguration. It is one of the few paintings of Saint Jerome to feature Saint Paula. Stowe probably saw the painting herself on her 1854 visit to Italy; her memory may also have been aided by Anna Jameson’s Sacred and Legendary Art (1848), which includes a reproduction of it.
4 RICHARD BAXTER: An English Puritan clergyman and writer (1615-1691); he published the autobiographical writings Reliquiae Baxterianae, 1696.
5 EX CATHEDRA: From the seat of authority.
6 BASQUE: A tight-fitting bodice or tunic.
7 GOVERNOR DEXTER: Perhaps referring to Samuel Dexter, who served as Secretary of State under President Adams in 1801.
8 RACHELS: Not a reference to the Rachel who was Jacob’s wife, but to the figurative Mothers of Israel, deprived of their children by various tyrants. See the Old Testament book Jeremiah 31:15 and the New Testament book Matthew 2:18. References to Rachel weeping for her children were common in nineteenth-century American literature, often in association with slave mothers.
9 MISS ADAMS: Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, who was a minister to Great Britain (1785-88) and the second president of the United States (1796-1800).
10 COURT OF ST. JAMES: The British royal court.
11 REPUBLICAN MATRON: “Republican motherhood” was a powerful notion that women, as mothers, were responsible for rearing the future citizens of the United States.
12 LADY SALISBURY ... DEVONSHIRE: The Salisburys, Talbots, and Devonshires are all noble English families.
13 MARRIAGE-SUPPER: Revelations 19:9.
14 PSYCHE: Greek mythological personification of the soul. Loved by Eros, Psyche disobeyed his order never to attempt to see his face, and was punished by banishment. Eventually, they were reunited.
CHAPTER XIII
1 “THE KING’S DAUGHTER ... NEEDLE-WORK”: Psalms 45:14.
2 COLONEL BURR: Aaron Burr (1756-1836) was an American political leader and grandson of Jonathan Edwards. Vice president of the United States (1801-5), he killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804. He was tried for treason and acquitted (1807).
CHAPTER XIV
1 COVENANT BLESSING: A reference to Burr’s Puritan ancestry; Mary believes he should be a member of the elect because his grandparents and parents had been elected.
2 EH, BIEN... ICI: Ah, my friend, and what are you doing here?
3 RIEN QUE M‘AMUSER: Why, amusing myself.
4 MONSIEUR LA TROUVE ... APPAREMENT: Apparently, Monsieur is quite good at finding beautiful ladies.
5 PETITE JALOUSE! RASSURE-TOI: Little jealous creature! Rest assured!
6 NE SUIS-JE ... FAIT: Do I not belong entirely to you?
7 JEWISH RABBIN: A rabbi, Jewish teacher, and religious leader.
8 LA FAYETTE: Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Cilbert du Motier de La Fayette (1757-1834); French officer and statesman who aided America in the Revolutionary War and became close friend and adviser of General Washington.
9 BELLAMY: Dr. Joseph Bellamy, a pupil of Jonathan Edwards and a famous preacher in his own right. As a student, Aaron Burr lived with Bellamy’s family and studied Presbyterian theology under him.
10 GOSPEL FEAST: A reference to the Christian belief that the Jews will acknowledge Christ just before the Second Coming.
11 TUTOIEMENT: Between ourselves, intimate address.
12 CORBEILLE DE MARIAGE: Wedding presents.
13 ROCHAMBEAU: Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Comte de Rochambeau (1725-1807); commander of French forces sent to America in 1780, he joined Washington’s army and helped to defeat Cornwallis.
CHAPTER XV
1 DINAH: In nineteenth-century America, Dinah served as a generic name to indicate any female African-American servant. In the Bible, Dinah was Jacob’s daughter. She was raped and then vindicated by converting the Shechemites. See Genesis 34.
2 MOSES ... ON THE MOUNT: Exodus 20-24. A reference to Mount Sinai, where God gave Moses the Ten Commandments.
3 ALGERINES: Algerians—people living in Algeria, a West Africa nation on the Mediterranean Sea.
CHAPTER XVI
1 VALLEY FORGE: Winter quarters of Washington’s army in 1777-78, located in southeastern Pennsylvania. Because of the substantial hardships suffered there, it has come to symbolize the heroism of the Revolutionary army.
2 APOCALYPSE: A reference to the biblical Revelation of Saint John the Divine, which prophesied the end of the temporal world, the second advent of Christ, and the revelation of divine purpose.
3 FIFTH VIAL ... CENTURY: A reference to vials of wrath, Revelations 15:7.
4 BABYLON: A biblical reference to the excessive luxury and sin of Babylon, configured as whore, Revelations 17-18.
5 POPISH POWER: A reference to the Roman Catholic Church. Puritans often referred to the church and the pope collectively as the modern Babylon.
6 RECUEIL: Collection.
7 “THEY SAY ... CONVERSING WITH HER”: Stowe has quoted Jonathan Edwards’s famous tribute to his future wife, Sarah Pierpont, who would become Aaron Burr’s grandmother. At the time it was written, probably 1723, Edwards had only heard of Pierpont, who was then thirteen years old. They were married in 1727. See Jonathan Edwards: Letters and Personal Writings, ed. George S. Claghorn (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), pp. 745-47 and 789-90.
8 “RESOLUTIONS”: In 1723, when he was still a very young man, Jonathan Edwards made a list of seventy “Resolutions” designed to remind him how to achieve exemplary moral and spiritual behavior.
9 LA BELLE FRANÇAISE: The pretty Frenchwoman, a reference to Madame de Frontignac.
10 LA BELLE PURITAINE: The pretty Puritan, a reference to Mary.
CHAPTER XVII
1 BELLONA: The ancient Roman goddess of war, often described as Mars’s wife or sister. Such a reference ascribes significant power to Candace’s person.
2 HORS DE COMBAT: Cato is “lovingly” pitched out of Candace’s line of fire, which is at the moment directed at Digo.
CHAPTER XVIII
1 “MY DEAR, HONORED FRIEND ... GUIDED ARIGHT”: For Mary’s letter to Hopkins, Stowe has adapted a letter written by her mother, Roxanna Foote, to her father, Lyman Beecher, on September 1, 1798. See The Autobiography of Lyman Beecher, ed. Barbara M. Cross (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961), vol. 1, pp. 56-58.
CHAPTER XIX
1 FAUBOURG ST. GERMAIN: A neighborhood in Paris, on the Left Bank.
2 REMBRANDT: The Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606-1669), best known for his portraits and his mythological and Christian paintings.
3 ANTWERP: The second largest city and chief port of Belgium, and home to Rubens.
4 RUBENS: Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), a Flemish painter whose works included landscapes, portraits, and historical and Christian subjects.
5 OVERBECK: Johann Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869), a German religious painter.
6 MAIS, MON DIEU ... BELLE!: But my God, the child is beautiful!
7 MA TOUTE BELLE: My love.
8 CEPENDANT ... IL: However, she is pious, devout—and, at nineteen, how can this be?
9 BOSSUET’S SERMONS: A reference to Jacques-Benigne Bossuet (1627- 1704), a French bishop and writer.
10 JEUNE HOMME: Young man.
11 OH, C’EST ENNUYEUX CELA: Oh, it is all so tedious.
12 ENNUI: Boredom.
CHAPTER XX