3 August 1667 A.D. Anglican Cleric, Jeremy Taylor, Falls Ill—A
Chap Patronized by THAT Reprobatish Archgoat of Canterbury, Willy Laud
Graves,
Dan. “Jeremy Taylor Came Down with a Fever.” Christianity.com. Jun 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1601-1700/jeremy-taylor-came-down-with-fever-11630147.html.
Accessed 14 May 2014.
Jeremy Taylor did not know which of his two books
to consult. A week before, the author of the spiritual classics On Holy Living
and On Holy Dying visited a church member who was dying of fever. Now, on this
day, August 3,1667, Jeremy took to
bed, having fallen sick himself.
On Holy Living and On Holy Dying were guidebooks to
actions, thoughts, and prayers suitable to Christians. Popular in Jeremy's day, they
have remained in print ever since. For the most part they were instructions for
careful living; but once in a while Jeremy broke into a prayer like this:
"And now, Lord, who hast done so much for me, be pleased only to make it
effectual in me...Teach me to live wholly for my Savior Jesus, and to be ready
to die for Jesus, and to be conformable to his life and sufferings, and to be
united to him by inseparable unions...O sweetest Savior, clothe my soul with
thy holy robe; hide my sins in thy wounds, and bury them in thy grave..."
When Jeremy took to bed, he was in Ireland. He had
not wanted to be there although it was a reward for his loyalty to the crown
during the English Civil War. Plead as he would, however, he could not persuade
King Charles II to find him a position in England. Did the playboy king prefer
to keep the author of Holy Living and Holy Dying at a comfortable distance?
Jeremy Taylor had been a clergyman since he was 20.
His sermons attracted the attention of William Laud, a powerful bishop and the
violent persecutor of many who did not accept Church of England forms. Laud had
become Jeremy's patron and cleared a path for the young preacher.
Jeremy was accused of wishing a return to Roman
Catholicism. Since this was not true, he eagerly seized an opportunity to preach
a message against the gunpowder plot when it was exposed. This was a plan by
disgruntled Catholics to blow up the largely Protestant Parliament. His sermon
argued that recusancy (a refusal to obey established authority) was a sin.
England's Roman Catholics should attend Church of England services said Jeremy.
For Jeremy, obedience meant standing by the king. Consequently, he was a
Royalist.
Captured at the battle of Cardigan Castle, he went
to prison for his faithfulness to the monarchy. On two occasions, rebels
imprisoned him at Chepstow. But when the monarchy was restored, Charles II
appointed Jeremy Taylor to the position in the Irish church.
Jeremy did not do well in Ireland. He had a knack
for antagonizing the ministers under him. They rejected the Church of England
forms that Charles insisted upon. At times Jeremy feared for his life--which
was one of the main reasons he pleaded with Charles to be allowed to return to
England.
In the end it did not matter. If the ups and downs
of Jeremy's life were tied to the fortunes of the crown, his death was tied to
his performance of duty. Having caught the fever from his church member, he
died ten days later. He was fifty-four years old.
Bibliography:
1. Cambridge History of English and
American Literature in 18 Volumes (1907–21). Volume VII. Cavalier and
Puritan. VI. Caroline Divines. § 24. Jeremy Taylor.
http://www.bartleby.com/217/0624.html
2. Sampson, George. The Concise
Cambridge History of English Literature. (Cambridge: University Press, 1961,
especially p. 373.
3. Taylor, Jeremy. The Rule and
Exercises of Holy Living.
4. --------------. The Rule and
Exercises of Holy Dying.
5. "Taylor, Jeremy."
Dictionary of National Biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee.
London: Oxford University Press, 1921-1996.
6. Various encyclopedia and internet
articles, such as the Anglican calendar article.
Last update June, 2007
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