surviving relations of these worthy men sent in unto me a tenth part of the considerable and imitable things which occurred in their lives, they might have made more of a figure in this our history; whereas I must now sum up all, with assuring my reader, that it is the want of knowledge in me, and not of desert in them, that has confined us unto this brevity. § 2. After the union of Connecticut with New-Haven, there were in chief government Mr. Leet, whom we have already paid our dues unto: and Mr. Treat, who is yet living, a pious and a valiant man, and (if even Annosa Quercus* be an honourable thing!) worthy to be honoured for an hoary head found in the way of righteousness; besides, Mr. Winthrop, of whom anon, reader, expect a compleater history. CHAPTER IX. HUMILITAS HONORATA.† THE LIFE OF THEOPHILUS EATON, ESQ., GOVERNOUR OF NEW-HAVEN COLONY. Justitie Cultor, Rigidi Servator Honesti, In Commune Bonum. § 1. It has been enquired why the Evangelist Luke, in the first sacred history which he addressed unto his fellow-citizen, gave him the title of "The most excellent Theophilus," but in the next he used no higher a stile than plain Theophilus! And though several other answers might be given to that enquiry, 'tis enough to say, that neither the civility of Luke, nor nobility of Theophilus, were by age abated; but Luke herein considered the disposition of Theophilus, as well as his own, with whom a reduced age had rendered all titles of honour more disagreeable superfluities. Indeed, nothing would have been more unacceptable to the governour of our NewHaven colony, all the time of his being so, than to have been advanced and applauded above the rest of mankind, yet it must be now published unto the knowledge of mankind, that New-England could not of his quality show a more excellent person, and this was Theophilus Eaton, Esq., the first governour of that colony. Humility is a virtue whereof Amyraldus observes, "There is not so much as a shadow of commendation in all the pagan writers." But the reader is now concerned with writings which will commend a person for humility; and therefore our EATON, in whom the shine of every virtue was particularly set off with a more than ordinary degree of humility, must now be proposed as commendable. § 2. "Tis reported, that the earth taken from the banks of Nilus, will • An aged oak. + Humility in honour. Exact in justice-honest, humble, plain- very strangely sympathize with the place from whence it was taken, and grow moist or dry according to the increase and the decrease of the river. And in spite of that Popish lie which pretends to observe the contrary, this thing has been signally moralized in the daily observation, that the sons of ministers, though betaking themselves to other employments, do ordinarily carry about with them an holy and happy savour of their ministerial education. 'Twas remarkably exemplified in our Theophilus Eaton, who was born at Stony-Stratford in Oxfordshire, the eldest son to the faithful and famous minister of the place. But the words of old used by Philostratus concerning the son of a great man, "As for his son, I have nothing else to say, but that he was his son;" they could not be used concerning our Theophi lus, who, having received a good education from his pious parents, did live many years to answer that education in his own piety and usefulness. § 3. His father being removed unto Coventry, he there at school fell into the intimate acquaintance of that worthy John Davenport, with whom the providence of God many years after united in the great undertaking of settling a colony of Christian and reformed churches on the American strand. Here his ingenuity and proficiency rendered him notable; and so vast was his memory, that although he wrote not at the church, yet when he came home, he would, at his father's call, repeat unto those that met in his father's house, the sermons which had been publickly preached by others, as well as his own father, with such exactness, as astonished all the neighbourhood. But in their after improvements, the hands of Divine Providence were laid across upon the heads of Theophilus Eaton and John Davenport; for Davenport, whose father was the mayor of Coventry, became a minister; and Eaton, whose father was minister of Coventry, contrary to his intentions, became a merchant. His parents were very loth to have complied with his inclinations; but their compliance therewithal did at last appear to have been directed by a special favour of Heaven unto the family, when, after the death of his father, he by this means became the Joseph, by whom his mother was maintained until she died, and his orphan brethren and sisters had no small part of their subsistence. § 4. During the time of his hard apprenticeship he behaved himself wisely; and his wisdom, with God's favour, particularly appeared in his chaste escape from the snares of a young woman in the house where he lived, who would fain have taken him in the pits by the wise man cautioned against, and who was herself so taken only with his most comely person, that she dyed for the love of him, when she saw him gone too far to be obtained: whereas, by the like snares, the apprentice that next succeeded him was undone for ever. But being a person herewithal most signally diligent in his business, it was not long before the maxim of the wise man was most literally accomplished in his coming to "stand before princes;" for being made a freeman of London, he applied himself unto the East Country trade, and was publickly chosen the deputy-governour of the company, wherein he so acquitted himself as to become considerable. And afterwards going himself into the East-Country, he not only became so well acquainted with the affairs of the Baltick-sea, but also became so well improved in the accomplishments of a man of business, that the King of England imployed him as an agent unto the King of Denmark. The concerns of his agency he so discreetly managed, that as he much obliged and engaged the East-Land company, (who in token thereof presented his wife with a bason and ewer double gilt, and curiously wrought with gold, and weighing above sixty pound,) so he found much acceptance with the King of Denmark, and was afterwards used by that prince to do him no little services. Nevertheless, he kept his integrity amongst the tempt ations of that court, whereat he was now a resident; and not seldom had he most eminent cause to acknowledge the benignity and interposal of Heaven for his preservations: once particularly, when the King of Denmark was beginning the King of England's health, while Mr. Eaton, who disliked such health-drinking, was in his presence; the King fell down in a sort of a fit, with the cup in his hand, whereat all the nobles and courtiers wholly applied themselves to convey the King into his chamber, and there was no notice taken who was to pledge his health; whereby Mr. Eaton was the more easily delivered from any share in the debauch. § 5. Having arrived unto a fair estate, (which he was first willing to do,) he married a most virtuous gentlewoman, to whom he had first espoused himself after he had spent three years in an absence from her in the EastCountry. But this dearest and greatest of his temporal enjoyments proved but a temporal one; for living no longer with him than to render him the father of two children, she almost killed him with her own death; and yet at her death she expressed herself wondrous willing "to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, from whom" (she said) "I would not be detained one hour for all the enjoyments upon earth." He afterwards married a prudent and pious widow, the daughter of the bishop of Chester; unto the three former children of which widow, he became a most exemplary, living and faithful father, as well as a most worthy husband unto herself, by whom he afterwards had five children, two sons and three daughters. But the second of his children by his latter wife dying some while before, it was not long before his two children by his former wife were smitten with the plague, whereof the elder died, and his house thereupon shut up with a "Lord, have mercy!" However, the Lord had this mercy on the family, to let the distemper spread no further; and so Mr. Eaton spent many years a merchant of great credit and fashion in the city of London. § 6. At length conformity to ceremonies humanely invented and imposed in the worship of God, was urged in the Church of England with so much rigour, that Mr. Davenport was thereby driven to seek a refuge from the storm in the cold and rude corners of America. Mr. Eaton had already assisted the new Massachuset-colony, as being one of the patentees for it; but had no purpose of removing thither himself, until Mr. Davenport, under whose excellent ministry he lived, was compelled unto a share in this removal. However, being fully satisfied in his own conscience, that unlawful things were now violently demanded of him, he was willing to accompany his persecuted pastor in the retreat from violence now endeavoured, and many eminent Londoners chearfully engaged with him in this undertaking. Unto New-England this company of good men came in the year 1637, where, chusing to be a distinct colony by themselves, more accommodated unto the designs of merchandize than of husbandry, they sought and bought a large territory in the southern parts of the country for their habitations. In the prosecution hereof, the chief care was devolved upon Mr. Eaton, who, with an unexampled patience, took many tedious and hazardous journies through a desolate wilderness full of barbarous Indians, until upon mature deliberation he pitched upon a place now called New-Haven, where they soon formed a very regular town; and a number of other towns along the sea side were quickly added thereunto. But by the difficulties attending these journies, Mr. Eaton brought himself into an extream sickness; from which he recovered not without a fistula in his breast, whereby he underwent much affliction. When the chirurgeon came to inspect the sore, he told him, "Sir, I know not how to go about what is necessary for your cure;" but Mr. Eaton answered him, "God calls you to do, and me to suffer!" And God accordingly strengthened him to bear miserable cuttings and launcings of his flesh with a most invincible patience. The chirurgeon indeed made so many wounds, that he was not able to cure what he had made; another, and a better, hand was necessarily imployed for it; but in the mean while great were the trials. with which the God of heaven exercised the faith of this his holy servant. § 7. Mr. Eaton and Mr. Davenport were the Moses and Aaron of the Christian colony now erected in the south-west parts of New-England; and Mr. Eaton being yearly and ever chosen their governour, it was the admiration of all spectators to behold the discretion, the gravity, the equity with which he still managed all their publick affairs. He carried in his very countenance a majesty which cannot be described; and in his dispensations of justice he was a mirrour for the most imitable impartiality, but ungainsayable authority of his proceedings, being awfully sensible of the obligations which the oath of a judge lays upon him. Ils sont plus tenus de raison de garder Leur Serment, doubter mort, ou aucutie forfeiture:* and hence he, who would most patiently bear hard things offered unto his person in private cases, yet would never pass by any publick affronts or neglects offered, when he appeared under the character of a magistrate. But he still was the guide of the blind, the staff of the lame, the helper of the widow and the orphan, and all the distressed; none that had a good * They are more bound in reason to keep their oaths, than to fear death, or any forfeiture whatsoever. cause was afraid of coming before him: on the one side, in his days did the righteous flourish; on the other side, he was the terror of evil doers. As in his government of the commonwealth, so in the government of his family, he was prudent, serious, happy to a wonder: and albeit he sometimes had a large family, consisting of no less than thirty persons, yet he managed them with such an even temper, that observers have affirmed, "They never saw an house ordered with more wisdom!" He kept an honourable and hospitable table; but one thing that still made the enter tainment thereof the better, was the continual presence of his aged mother; by feeding of whom with an exemplary piety till she died, he ensured his own prosperity as long as he lived. His children and servants he would mightily encourage unto the study of the Scriptures, and countenance their addresses unto himself with any of their enquiries; but when he discerned any of them sinfully negligent about the concerns either of their general or particular callings, he would admonish them with such a penetrating efficacy, that they could scarce forbear falling down at his feet with tears. A word of his was enough to steer them! § 8. So exemplary was he for a Christian, that one who had been a servant unto him, could many years after say, "Whatever difficulty in my daily walk I now meet withal, still something that I either saw or heard in my blessed master Eaton's conversation, helps me through it all; I have reason to bless God that ever I knew him!" It was his custom when he first rose in a morning, to repair unto his study; a study well perfumed with the meditations and supplications of an holy soul. After this, calling his family together, he would then read a portion of the Scripture among them, and after some devout and useful reflections upon it, he would make a prayer, not long, but extraordinarily pertinent and reverent; and in the evening some of the same exercises were again attended. On the Saturday morning he would still take notice of the approaching Sabbath in his prayer, and ask the grace to be remembring of it, and preparing for it; and when the evening arrived, he, besides this, not only repeated a sermon, but also instructed his people, with putting of questions referring to the points of religion, which would oblige them to study for an answer; and if their answer were at any time insufficient, he would wisely and gently enlighten their understandings; all which he concluded with singing of a psalm. When the Lord's day came, he called his family together at the time for the ringing of the first bell, and repeated a sermon, whereunto he added a fervent prayer, especially tending unto the sanctification of the day. At noon he sang a psalm, and at night he retired an hour into his closet; advising those in his house to improve the same time for the good of their own souls. He then called his family together again, and in an obliging manner conferred with them about the things with which they had been entertained in the house of God, shutting up all with a prayer for the blessing of God upon them all. For solemn days of humiliation, |