John Winthrop: Godly Commonwealth
In this brief discourse, which is believed to have been delivered as a lecture to the group of colonists about to depart for the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Winthrop (1588-1649) lays out a vision for building a godly commonwealth.
Winthrop, a devout Puritan, was a lawyer, not a minister, and his training shines through in both the structure and content of his argument. From the primary premise that God has ordained a variety of conditions among men–some to be rich, some to be poor, and so forth–he derives the traditional Christian ideal of unity realized through diversity to offer a vision of a political community based in the radical ideal of “brotherly affection.” Based on the extraordinary demands of colonization, Winthrop urged his
Winthrop, a devout Puritan, was a lawyer, not a minister, and his training shines through in both the structure and content of his argument. From the primary premise that God has ordained a variety of conditions among men–some to be rich, some to be poor, and so forth–he derives the traditional Christian ideal of unity realized through diversity to offer a vision of a political community based in the radical ideal of “brotherly affection.” Based on the extraordinary demands of colonization, Winthrop urged his