History
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘History’
In a sermon for the Feast of All Saints, eighth-century Northumbrian monk St Bede explains why it is worth going for the spiritual burn.
In a Sermon for All Saints Day, St Bede, a monk of Jarrow in early eighth-century Northumbria, picked up on a passage in the Epistle to the Hebrews which compared the Christian to a sprinter in a race. His gaze is fixed on Christ, waiting at the tape, and he is surrounded by cheering spectators from among his own family who have finished the race before him.
Eighth-century Northumbrian monk St Bede urged Christians to think of heaven, and then fight our way there for all we are worth.
In a Sermon for All Saints Day, St Bede, a monk of Jarrow in early eighth-century Northumbria, has been speaking of the Christian life as a spiritual warfare against the dark Enemy of mankind his unseen servants. The warefare does not last long, he tells us: soon we are released from it, and the warriors who have fought on to the end are gathered safely into a heavenly citadel.
‘Rain stopped play’ but it did not stop the ladies of Surrey and Hampshire from finishing their epic struggle at the Newington ground.
The first recorded game of cricket between two all-women teams took place back in 1745, but we must fast-forward to 1811 for the first county match, pitting Surrey against Hampshire on neutral ground in Middlesex. Thanks to the enthusiasm of the players and a fashionably boisterous crowd, even ‘rain stopped play’ could not dampen the occasion and a good time was had by all.
Sir Robert Walpole wasn’t impressed with kind of politician who pursues his own ambitions in the name of serving the country.
From the moment Robert Walpole was appointed First Lord of the Treasury in 1722, he was accused of toadying to the narrow interests of the Court, and ignoring the broader interests of the Country at large. By February 1741 the clamour for his resignation was getting noisy, but Walpole reminded the Commons that those who talk about ‘the good of the country‘ aren’t always thinking about it.
French essayist Voltaire provoked the wrath of his government by explaining how England was superior to every European state including the Roman Empire.
François-Marie Arouet (1694-1778) spent the years 1726 to 1729 in England. In 1733, he published a series of essays under the name ‘Voltaire’ sharing his observations on English life, chiefly on matters of religion and politics. He had noticed that English people often tried to compare their country with ancient Rome, which he thought rather absurd, especially as in one respect England was much better.
Sir John Eliot told the Commons that what worried him wasn’t the sabre-rattling of foreign leaders, it was incompetence and corruption at home.
Soon after King Charles I came to the throne in 1625, relations with his Parliament became strained over taxation, foreign affairs and the Church. In 1627, Sir John Eliot (1592-1632) was sent to prison for leading the outcry at the King’s bungled campaign against Spain in the Thirty Years’ War. Following his release, Eliot warned the Commons that the threat was as great as ever.