The Curious Case of Dickory Cronke by Tim Veater.

Posted on October 23, 2013 by Admin

"Government figures: You would have to vaccinate nearly 170,000 people in the 20 - 29 age group to prevent ONE admission to hospital for a Covid-related condition.
WHEREAS even with under-rated reporting, there has been a serious adverse effect for every 800 vaccines administered.
For goodness sake work out the risk benefit for yourselves.
Why is the government still pushing jabs, even for children? Incompetence cannot explain it. There MUST be something much darker and more pernicious at work here as there has been throughout the Covid debacle."

The Curious Case of the Dumb Cornishman, Dickory Cronke (and his forty

suggestions for a contented life) – Tim Veater.

Most people are familiar with Robinson Crusoe and the author of the book by that

name – Daniel Defoe – who lived in London from c. 1661 to 1731. A prolific

writer of tracts and stories – yet most people would probably be hard pressed to

name any other works by him. Some regard him as the first true journalist and

novelist in the English language, when to be so, was perhaps even more fraught

and risky than it is today. He was also a Government spy!

Although mixing with monarchs, he also ended up in the stocks and prison, as a

result of political intrigue and his satirical works. He was a prolific and

versatile writer of more than five hundred books, pamphlets, and journals on

various topics including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology, the

supernatural and the economy. In contrast to the best selling moral tale of

Robinson Crusoe, who he placed almost alone on a far-off island for twenty eight

years, the racy – many thought quite scandalous – tale of Moll Flanders, was the

even more popular!

Somewhere between the two, he created and published the now little known short

story entitled “Dickory Cronke: The Dumb Philosopher, or, Great Britain’s

Wonder”. It is about a boy born dumb to a poor Cornish tinner, living not far

from the port of Padstow, who by dint of effort and the protection of kindly

employers in Wales and Bath, was after many years able to return to his sister

with modest savings to support them both.

Whilst away, despite his disability, he achieved a repution for honesty,

faithfulness and application, to such an extent he was regarded by many as a

silent though not insignificant, wise man or self-taught moral philosopher even.

On his return to Cornwall, when out walking he suffered an “apolexy”, which

today would probably be diagnosed as a stroke or some such. A search being

organised, he was eventually discovered unconscious, under a tree where he fell,

and carried home to his bed. However when he recovered, a most remarkable thing

had happened – he discovered for the very first time in his whole life he was

able to SPEAK!

As you might expect, this was as great a shock to his sister and friends as it

was to him. Yet even in the midst of his delight, he was aware that his time was

limited.

Not wishing to waste a moment of it, he set to sorting his papers and estate,

burning many items he thought unworthy or superfluous. He left the library he

had amassed to a friend of the Welsh gentleman who had cared for him, and the

rest to his sisters and to charity. His final energies he gave over to recording

what lessons he had learned from life’s experience. These he tabulated in forty

“Meditations and Observations relating to the Conduct of Human Life in General”

that are attached below. Some might think they are not without their usefulness

and application today, when scarcely an institution, creed or nature itself

retains our confidence and all is flux in human affairs.

So in summary we may say the Forty – yes Forty! – “Meditations and Observations”

encapsulate the wise words of a poor Christian Cornishman, who despite being

dumb all his life, at the age of fifty eight, miraculously rediscovered his

voice – to the benefit of all – before death intervened.

We do not know whether “Dickory Cronke” was real or imagined, or perhaps

contained elements of both, or if he was merely a conduit for the aging and

ailing Daniel Defoe to record his own philosophy. I shall have to leave it to

you the reader, to decide whether in today’s world, a eighteenth century

approach might benefit us?

“Meditations and Observations relating to the Conduct of Human Life in General”

– by Dickory Cronke (aka Daniel Defoe)

“1. Remember how often you have neglected the great duties of religion

and virtue, and slighted the opportunities that Providence has put into

your hands; and, withal, that you have a set period assigned you for the

management of the affairs of human life; and then reflect seriously that,

unless you resolve immediately to improve the little remains, the whole

must necessarily slip away insensibly, and then you are lost beyond

recovery.

“2. Let an unaffected gravity, freedom, justice, and sincerity shine

through all your actions, and let no fancies and chimeras give the least

check to those excellent qualities. This is an easy task, if you will

but suppose everything you do to be your last, and if you can keep your

passions and appetites from crossing your reason. Stand clear of

rashness, and have nothing of insincerity or self-love to infect you.

“3. Manage all your thoughts and actions with such prudence andcircumspection

as if you were sensible you were just going to step intothe grave. A little

thinking will show a man the vanity and uncertaintyof all sublunary things, and

enable him to examine maturely the manner ofdying; which, if duly abstracted

from the terror of the idea, will appearnothing more than an unavoidable

appendix of life itself, and a purenatural action.

“4. Consider that ill-usage from some sort of people is in a manner

necessary, and therefore do not be disquieted about it, but rather

conclude that you and your enemy are both marching off the stage

together, and that in a little time your very memories will be

extinguished.

“5. Among your principal observations upon human life, let it be always

one to take notice what a great deal both of time and ease that man gains

who is not troubled with the spirit of curiosity, who lets his

neighbours’ affairs alone, and confines his inspections to himself, and

only takes care of honesty and a good conscience.

“6. If you would live at your ease, and as much as possible be free from

the incumbrances of life, manage but a few things at once, and let those,

too, be such as are absolutely necessary. By this rule you will draw the

bulk of your business into a narrow compass, and have the double pleasure

of making your actions good, and few into the bargain.

“7. He that torments himself because things do not happen just as he

would have them, is but a sort of ulcer in the world; and he that is

selfish, narrow-souled, and sets up for a separate interest, is a kind of

voluntary outlaw, and disincorporates himself from mankind.

“8. Never think anything below you which reason and your own

circumstances require, and never suffer yourself to be deterred by the

ill-grounded notions of censure and reproach; but when honesty and

conscience prompt you to say or do anything, do it boldly; never balk

your resolution or start at the consequence.

“9. If a man does me an injury, what is that to me? It is his own

action, and let him account for it. As for me, I am in my proper

station, and only doing the business that Providence has allotted; and

withal, I ought to consider that the best way to revenge, is not to

imitate the injury.

“10. When you happen to be ruffled and put out of humour by any cross

accident, retire immediately into your reason, and do not suffer your

passion to overrule you a moment; for the sooner you recover yourself

now, the better you will be able to guard yourself for the future.

“11. Do not be like those ill-natured people that, though they do not

love to give a good word to their contemporaries, yet are mighty fond of

their own commendations. This argues a perverse and unjust temper, and

often exposes the authors to scorn and contempt.

“12. If any one convinces you of an error, change your opinion and thankhim for

it: truth and information are your business, and can never hurtanybody. On the

contrary, he that is proud and stubborn, and wilfullycontinues in a mistake, it

is he that receives the mischief.

“13. Because you see a thing difficult, do not instantly conclude it to

be impossible to master it. Diligence and industry are seldom defeated.

Look, therefore, narrowly into the thing itself, and what you observe

proper and practicable in another, conclude likewise within your own

power.

“14. The principal business of human life is run through within the short

compass of twenty-four hours; and when you have taken a deliberate view

of the present age, you have seen as much as if you had begun with the

world, the rest being nothing else but an endless round of the same thing

over and over again.

“15. Bring your will to your fate, and suit your mind to your

circumstances. Love your friends and forgive your enemies, and do

justice to all mankind, and you will be secure to make your passage easy,

and enjoy most of the comforts human life is capable to afford you.

“16. When you have a mind to entertain yourself in your retirements, let

it be with the good qualifications of your friends and acquaintance.

Think with pleasure and satisfaction upon the honour and bravery of one,

the modesty of another, the generosity of a third, and so on; there being

nothing more pleasant and diverting than the lively images and the

advantages of those we love and converse with.

“17. As nothing can deprive you of the privileges of your nature, or

compel you to act counter to your reason, so nothing can happen to you

but what comes from Providence, and consists with the interest of the

universe.

“18. Let people’s tongues and actions be what they will, your business is

to have honour and honesty in your view. Let them rail, revile, censure,

and condemn, or make you the subject of their scorn and ridicule, what

does it all signify? You have one certain remedy against all their

malice and folly, and that is, to live so that nobody shall believe them.

“19. Alas, poor mortals! did we rightly consider our own state and

condition, we should find it would not be long before we have forgot all

the world, and to be even, that all the world will have forgot us

likewise.

“20. He that would recommend himself to the public, let him do it by the

candour and modesty of his behaviour, and by a generous indifference to

external advantages. Let him love mankind, and resign to Providence, and

then his works will follow him, and his good actions will praise him in

the gate.

“21. When you hear a discourse, let your understanding, as far aspossible, keep

pace with it, and lead you forward to those things whichfall most within the

compass of your own observations.

“22. When vice and treachery shall be rewarded, and virtue and ability

slighted and discountenanced; when ministers of state shall rather fear

man than God, and to screen themselves run into parties and factions;

when noise and clamour, and scandalous reports shall carry everything

before them, it is natural to conclude that a nation in such a state of

infatuation stands upon the brink of destruction, and without the

intervention of some unforeseen accident, must be inevitably ruined.

“23. When a prince is guarded by wise and honest men, and when all public

officers are sure to be rewarded if they do well, and punished if they do

evil, the consequence is plain; justice and honesty will flourish, and

men will be always contriving, not for themselves, but for the honour and

interest of their king and country.

“24. Wicked men may sometimes go unpunished in this world, but wicked

nations never do; because this world is the only place of punishment of

wicked nations, though not for private and particular persons.

“25. An administration that is merely founded upon human policy must be

always subject to human chance; but that which is founded on the divine

wisdom can no more miscarry than the government of heaven. To govern by

parties and factions is the advice of an atheist, and sets up a

government by the spirit of Satan. In such a government the prince can

never be secure under the greatest promises, since, as men’s interest

changes, so will their duty and affections likewise.

“26. It is a very ancient observation, and a very true one, that people

generally despise where they flatter, and cringe to those they design to

betray; so that truth and ceremony are, and always will be, two distinct

things.

“27. When you find your friend in an error, undeceive him with secrecy

and civility, and let him see his oversight first by hints and glances;

and if you cannot convince him, leave him with respect, and lay the fault

upon your own management.

“28. When you are under the greatest vexations, then consider that human

life lasts but for a moment; and do not forget but that you are like the

rest of the world, and faulty yourself in many instances; and withal,

remember that anger and impatience often prove more mischievous than the

provocation.

“29. Gentleness and good humour are invincible, provided they are without

hypocrisy and design; they disarm the most barbarous and savage tempers,

and make even malice ashamed of itself.

“30. In all the actions of life let it be your first and principal careto guard

against anger on the one hand, and flattery on the other, forthey are both

unserviceable qualities, and do a great deal of mischief inthe government of

human life.

“31. When a man turns knave or libertine, and gives way to fear,

jealousy, and fits of the spleen; when his mind complains of his fortune,

and he quits the station in which Providence has placed him, he acts

perfectly counter to humanity, deserts his own nature, and, as it were,

runs away from himself.

“32. Be not heavy in business, disturbed in conversation, nor impertinent

in your thoughts. Let your judgment be right, your actions friendly, and

your mind contented; let them curse you, threaten you, or despise you;

let them go on; they can never injure your reason or your virtue, and

then all the rest that they can do to you signifies nothing.

“33. The only pleasure of human life is doing the business of the

creation; and which way is that to be compassed very easily? Most

certainly by the practice of general kindness, by rejecting the

importunity of our senses, by distinguishing truth from falsehood, and by

contemplating the works of the Almighty.

“34. Be sure to mind that which lies before you, whether it be thought,

word, or action; and never postpone an opportunity, or make virtue wait

for you till to-morrow.

“35. Whatever tends neither to the improvement of your reason nor the

benefit of society, think it below you; and when you have done any

considerable service to mankind, do not lessen it by your folly in gaping

after reputation and requital.

“36. When you find yourself sleepy in a morning, rouse yourself, and

consider that you are born to business, and that in doing good in your

generation, you answer your character and act like a man; whereas sleep

and idleness do but degrade you, and sink you down to a brute.

“37. A mind that has nothing of hope, or fear, or aversion, or desire, to

weaken and disturb it, is the most impregnable security. Hither we may

with safety retire and defy our enemies; and he that sees not this

advantage must be extremely ignorant, and he that forgets it unhappy.

“38. Do not disturb yourself about the faults of other people, but let

everybody’s crimes be at their own door. Have always this great maxim in

your remembrance, that to play the knave is to rebel against religion;

all sorts of injustice being no less than high treason against Heaven

itself.

“39. Do not contemn death, but meet it with a decent and religious

fortitude, and look upon it as one of those things which Providence has

ordered. If you want a cordial to make the apprehensions of dying go

down a little the more easily, consider what sort of world and what sort

of company you will part with. To conclude, do but look seriously into

the world, and there you will see multitudes of people preparing for

funerals, and mourning for their friends and acquaintances; and look out

again a little afterwards, and you will see others doing the very same

thing for them.

“40. In short, men are but poor transitory things. To-day they are busy

and harassed with the affairs of human life; and to-morrow life itself is

taken from them, and they are returned to their original dust and ashes.

“EPITAPH

“The occasion of this epitaph was briefly thus:–A gentleman, who had

heard much in commendation of this dumb man, going accidentally to the

churchyard where he was buried, and finding his grave without a

tombstone, or any manner of memorandum of his death, he pulled out his

pencil, and writ as follows:–

PAUPER UBIQUE JACET.

Near to this lonely unfrequented place,

Mixed with the common dust, neglected lies

The man that every muse should strive to grace,

And all the world should for his virtue prize.

Stop, gentle passenger, and drop a tear,

Truth, justice, wisdom, all lie buried here.

What, though he wants a monumental stone,

The common pomp of every fool or knave,

Those virtues which through all his actions shone

Proclaim his worth, and praise him in the grave.

His merits will a bright example give,

Which shall both time and envy too outlive.

Oh, had I power but equal to my mind,

A decent tomb should soon this place adorn,

With this inscription: Lo, here lies confined

A wondrous man, although obscurely born;

A man, though dumb, yet he was nature’s care,

Who marked him out her own philosopher.”END

15.7.2024

Geoff Beswick

Tim Veater Baruch (de) Spinoza[b] (24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin. As a forerunner of the Age of Enlightenment, Spinoza significantly influenced modern biblical criticism, 17th-century rationalism, and Dutch intellectual culture, establishing himself as one of the most important and radical philosophers of the early modern period.[15] Influenced by Stoicism, Thomas Hobbes, René Descartes,[16] Ibn Tufayl,[17] and heterodox Christians, Spinoza was a leading philosopher of the Dutch Golden Age.[18]

Spinoza was born in Amsterdam to a Marrano family that fled Portugal for the more tolerant Dutch Republic. He received a traditional Jewish education, learning Hebrew and studying sacred texts within the Portuguese Jewish community, where his father was a prominent merchant. As a young man, Spinoza challenged rabbinic authority and questioned Jewish doctrines, leading to his permanent expulsion from the Jewish community in 1656. Following his excommunication, he distanced himself from all religious affiliations and devoted himself to philosophical inquiry and lens grinding. Spinoza attracted a dedicated circle of followers who gathered to discuss his writings and joined him in the intellectual pursuit of truth.

Spinoza published little to avoid persecution and bans on his books. In his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus, described by Steven Nadler as "one of the most important books of Western thought", Spinoza questioned the divine origin of the Hebrew Bible and the nature of God while arguing that ecclesiastic authority should have no role in a secular, democratic state.[19][20] Ethics argues for a pantheistic view of God and explores the place of human freedom in a world devoid of theological, cosmological, and political moorings.[21] Rejecting messianism and the emphasis on the afterlife, Spinoza emphasized appreciating and valuing life for ourselves and others. By advocating for individual liberty in its moral, psychological, and metaphysical dimensions, Spinoza helped establish the genre of political writing called secular theology.[22]

Spinoza's philosophy spans nearly every area of philosophical discourse, including metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science. His friends posthumously published his works, captivating philosophers for the next two centuries. Celebrated as one of the most original and influential thinkers of the seventeenth century, Rebecca Goldstein dubbed him "the renegade Jew who gave us modernity."[23]

Biography

The Moses and Aaron Church now stands at the site of Spinoza's childhood home.[24]

Family background

See also: History of the Jews in Amsterdam

Spinoza's ancestors, adherents of Crypto-Judaism, faced persecution during the Portuguese Inquisition, enduring torture and public displays of humiliation. In 1597, his paternal grandfather's family left Vidigueira for Nantes and lived outwardly as New Christians,[25] eventually transferring to Holland for an unknown reason.[26] His maternal ancestors were a leading Oporto commercial family,[27] and his maternal grandfather was a foremost merchant who drifted between Judaism and Christianity.[28] Spinoza was raised by his grandmother from ages six to nine and probably learned much about his family history from her.[29]

Spinoza's father Michael was a prominent and wealthy merchant in Amsterdam with a business that had wide geographical reach.[30] In 1649, he was elected to serve as an administrative officer of the recently united congregation Talmud Torah.[31] He married his cousin Rachael d’Espinosa, daughter of his uncle Abraham d’Espinosa, who was also a community leader and Michael's business partner.[32] Marrying cousins was common in the Portuguese Jewish community then, giving Michael access to his father-in-law's commercial network and capital.[33] Rachel's children died in infancy, and she died in 1627.[34][33]

After the death of Rachel, Michael married Hannah Deborah, with whom he had five children. His second wife brought a dowry to the marriage that was absorbed into Michael's business capital instead of being set aside for her children, which may have caused a grudge between Spinoza and his father.[35] The family lived on the artificial island on the south side of the River Amstel, known as the Vlooienburg, at the fifth house along the Houtgracht canal.[24] The Jewish quarter was not formally divided. The family lived close to the Bet Ya'acov synagogue, and nearby were Christians, including the artist Rembrandt.[36] Miriam was their first child, followed by Isaac who was expected to take over as head of the family and the commercial enterprise but died in 1649.[35] Baruch Espinosa, the third child, was born on 24 November 1632 and named as per tradition for his maternal grandfather.[9]

Spinoza's younger brother Gabriel was born in 1634, followed by another sister Rebecca. Miriam married Samuel de Caceres but died shortly after childbirth. According to Jewish practice, Samuel had to marry his former sister-in-law Rebecca.[37] Following his brother's death, Spinoza's place as head of the family and its business meant scholarly ambitions were pushed aside.[30] Spinoza's mother, Hannah Deborah, died when Spinoza was six years old. Michael's third wife, Esther, raised Spinoza from age nine; she lacked formal Jewish knowledge due to growing up a New Christian and only spoke Portuguese at home. The marriage was childless.[38] Spinoza's sister Rebecca, brother Gabriel, and nephew eventually migrated to Curaçao, and the remaining family joined them after Spinoza's death.[37]

Uriel da Costa's early influence

Samuel Hirszenberg's imagined scene of Uriel da Costa instructing Spinoza (1901)

Through his mother, Spinoza was related to the philosopher Uriel da Costa, who stirred controversy in Amsterdam's Portuguese Jewish community.[39] Da Costa questioned traditional Christian and Jewish beliefs, asserting that, for example, their origins were based on human inventions instead of God's revelation. His clashes with the religious establishment led to his excommunication twice by rabbinic authorities, who imposed humiliation and social exclusion.[40] In 1639, as part of an agreement to be readmitted, da Costa had to prostrate himself for worshippers to step over him. He died in 1640, reportedly committing suicide.[41]

During his childhood, Spinoza was likely unaware of his family connection with Uriel da Costa; still, as a teenager, he certainly heard discussions about him.[42] Steven Nadler explains that, although da Costa died when Spinoza was eight, his ideas shaped Spinoza's intellectual development. Amsterdam's Jewish communities long remembered and discussed da Costa's skepticism about organized religion, denial of the soul's immortality, and the idea that Moses didn't write the Torah, influencing Spinoza's intellectual journey.[43]

School days and the family business

Spinoza's name crossed out on the list of pupils of Talmud Torah

Spinoza attended the Talmud Torah school adjoining the Bet Ya'acov synagogue, a few doors down from his home, headed by the senior Rabbi Saul Levi Morteira.[44][45] Instructed in Spanish, the language of learning and literature, students in the elementary school learned to read the prayerbook and the Torah in Hebrew, translate the weekly section into Spanish, and study Rashi's commentary.[46] Spinoza's name does not appear on the registry after age fourteen, and he likely never studied with rabbis such as Manasseh ben Israel and Morteira. Spinoza possibly went to work around fourteen and almost certainly was needed in his father's business after his brother died in 1649.[