Thinking With Pen in Hand
Posted by TulipGirl | Under Christianity and the Church, On the Bookshelf, Theology for Girls Tuesday May 27, 2008Sereno Dwight on Jonathan Edwards
“Even while a boy he began to study with his pen in his hand; not for the purpose of copying off the thoughts of others, but for the purpose of writing down, and preserving, the thought suggested to his own mind. . . . This most useful practice . . . he steadily pursued in all his studies through life. His pen appears to have been always in his hand. From this practice . . . he derived the very great advantages of thinking continually during each period of study; of thinking accurately; of thinking connectedly; of thinking habitually at all times . . . of pursuing each given subject of thought as far as he was able . . . of preserving his best thoughts, associations, and images, and then arranging them under their proper heads, ready for subsequent use; of regularly strengthening the faculty of thinking and reasoning, by constant and powerful exercise; and above all of gradually molding himself into a thinking being. . .” (Works, I, xviii)
I love this quote on so many levels. I like the idea of “gradually molding [oneself] into a thinking being;” it’s great to know it’s not all natural!
Yes, definitely! The “steady pursuit. . .” I think you’d really like to listen to the MP3 lecture.
Do you have the mp3 lecture somewhere? (Did I just miss an obvious link?)
Errrrr. . . sorry Ashley!
I’ve been listening to a series of biographies, very fascinating and inspiring. Here’s a link to the text and the MP3 for the bio of Jonathan Edwards.
More biographies can be found here and here.