MS 14991B - Sermons on the Beatitudes by Samuel Clarke

The volume contains notes on a series of sermons on the beatitudes preached by Samuel Clarke of St. Benet Fink, London. The manuscript also contains a sermon by Dr. Peake taken by William Jones, the notetaker for the entire volume, when he was an apprentice. Jones claims that the sermon contains every word delivered by Peake "my hande then being more quick & readie," and contrasts it with the notes taken of Clarke's sermons "in my olde age." Jones's preface to the reader is important for describing the differences between the sermons as delivered and the sermons as presented in this volume. Jones writes that the reader does not have all that was delivered: he has the "whole substance" but not the "p[ro]lifereations & Illustrations," for, as he confesses, he was sometimes absent from the sermon and then only had Clarke's summary the next sabbath as his guide. He also notes that even when present he could not take down Clarke's words verbatim, so many of his important expressions are recorded only in substance. He adds that readers will find a "good will, though not a full power to set forth this worke." Finally, he adds that he first took notes of the sermons in shorthand, afterwards writing them in secretary hand.