123-498: Aphra Behn ( / ˈ æ f r ə b ɛ n / ; bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration era . As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing, she broke cultural barriers and served as a literary role model for later generations of women authors. Rising from obscurity, she came to the notice of Charles II , who employed her as
246-542: A Tory supporter. By 1666, Behn had become attached to the court, possibly through the influence of Thomas Culpeper and other associates. She has also been placed in Westminster , in lodgings close to Sir Philip Howard of Naworth , and that it was his connections to John Halsall and Duke Ablemarle that led to her eventual mission in the Netherlands. The Second Anglo-Dutch War had broken out between England and
369-479: A bisexual lawyer who scandalised his contemporaries. After her third play, The Dutch Lover , failed, Behn falls off the public record for three years. It is speculated that she went travelling again, possibly in her capacity as a spy. She gradually moved towards comic works, which proved more commercially successful, publishing four plays in close succession. In 1676–77, she published Abdelazer , The Town-Fopp and The Rover . In early 1678 Sir Patient Fancy
492-479: A cross necklace that is worn for the rest of their life as a "sign of the triumph of Christ over death and our belonging to Christ" (though it is replaced with a new cross pendant if lost or broken). This practice of baptized Christians wearing a cross necklace at all times is derived from Canon 73 and Canon 82 of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (Synod) of Constantinople , which declared: ...all
615-611: A dissertation at the University of Halle, and with the support of the university's rector, she did just that in 1754. Her medical inaugural dissertation was titled Concerning the Swift and Pleasant but for that Reason less than Full Cure of Illnesses , in which she argued that doctors were too quick to prescribe unnecessary cures. She stated that doctors intervened too quickly to prescribe medicines like opiates for illnesses that did not require them and made several suggestions regarding
738-591: A neologism unknown in the Septuagint and other pre-Christian Jewish texts. This broadness in the meaning of baptízein is reflected in English Bibles rendering "wash", where Jewish ritual washing is meant: for example Mark 7:4 states that the Pharisees "except they wash (Greek "baptize"), they do not eat", and "baptize" where báptisma , the new Christian rite, is intended. Two nouns derived from
861-627: A Funeral (1999), in Susanna Gregory ’s " Blood On The Strand ", and in Diana Norman 's The Vizard Mask . She is referred to in Patrick O'Brian 's novel Desolation Island . Liz Duffy Adams produced Or, , a 2009 play about her life. The 2019 Big Finish Short Trip audio play The Astrea Conspiracy features Behn alongside The Doctor , voiced by actress Neve McIntosh . In recognition of her pioneering role in women's literature, Behn
984-435: A body, He would hand over these bodiless gifts as naked [gifts] to you. But because the soul is closely linked to the body, He hands over the perceivable ones to you with conceivable things. (Chrysostom to Matthew, speech 82, 4, c. 390 A.D.) 2. The removal of clothing represented the "image of putting off the old man with his deeds" (as per Cyril, above), so the stripping of the body before for baptism represented taking off
1107-570: A child, wrote in Adversaria that she was born at " Sturry or Canterbury " to a Mr Johnson and that she had a sister named Frances. Another contemporary, Anne Finch , wrote that Behn was born in Wye in Kent , the "Daughter to a Barber". In some accounts the profile of her father fits Eaffrey Johnson. Although not much is known about her early childhood, one of her biographers, Janet Todd , believes that
1230-687: A citizen of God's kingdom. Baptism is not a human work; it is the place where God does the work that only God can do." Thus, they see baptism as a passive act of faith rather than a meritorious work; it "is a confession that a person has nothing to offer God". Dorothea Erxleben Dorothea Christiane Erxleben (13 November 1715 – 13 June 1762) was a German medical doctor who became the first female doctor of medicine in Germany. Educated by her progressive physician father and rector of her school, she desired to attend medical school and study medicine like her brother. She eventually petitioned Frederick
1353-459: A contemporary scandal, which saw Lord Grey elope with his sister-in-law Lady Henrietta Berkeley . At the time of publication, Love-Letters was very popular and eventually went through more than 16 editions before 1800. She published five prose works under her own name: La Montre: or, the Lover's Watch (1686), The Fair Jilt (1688), Oroonoko : or, The Royal Slave (1688), The History of
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#17327723774361476-583: A degree in such a field would be a waste of time. Although Erxleben never publicly remarked on the controversy behind womens education , she began to write down her arguments and opinions on the topic, which were published in 1742 as a book titled A Thorough Inquiry into the Causes Preventing the Female Sex from Studying . Her protofeminist book argued for Germany to take advantage of the talents of half of its population, while her father wrote
1599-588: A degree, and became highly respected by the town.During her 4th pregnancy in 1753 one of her patients died. Three local physicians charged her with medical quackery and filed a law suit. They felt their monopoly on medicine was threatened. Despite lack of proof, she was prohibited to continue to practice. The case rose through the courts and was brought before Frederick the Great in January 1754. The king ruled that Erxleben would have to pass an examination and submit
1722-493: A degree, and became highly respected by the towns people. However, local physicians who felt their monopoly on medical services was threatened filed a law suit, charging her with medical quackery . In January 1754, the king ruled that Erxleben would have to pass an examination and submit a dissertation at the University of Halle. Her inaugural dissertation was titled Concerning the Swift and Pleasant but for that Reason less than Full Cure of Illnesses , in which she argued against
1845-452: A foreword that described the need for reform in Germany’s universities and how the admittance of women would spur this long-needed change. Despite her University admission, Erxleben did not enter University immediately. In 1742, at the age of 26, she married auxiliary priest Johann Christian Erxleben, the husband of her recently deceased cousin, who already had five children. Their marriage was
1968-552: A generally happy one, and she went on to have four children with Johann over the next few years. Despite being busy at home for years managing her nine children, she was able to continue her medical studies at a slower pace. In 1747, her father died and her husband's health began to deteriorate, leaving the Leporin family with serious debts. To pay off these debts, Erxleben began to practice medicine in Quedlinburg even without
2091-504: A lethal combination of obscurity, secrecy and staginess which makes her an uneasy fit for any narrative, speculative or factual. She is not so much a woman to be unmasked as an unending combination of masks". Her name is not mentioned in tax or church records. During her lifetime she was also known as Ann Behn, Mrs Behn, agent 160 and Astrea. Shortly after her supposed return to England from Surinam in 1664, Behn may have married Johan Behn (also written as Johann and John Behn). He may have been
2214-404: A link between baptism and regeneration, but insist that it is not automatic or mechanical, and that regeneration may occur at a different time than baptism. Churches of Christ consistently teach that in baptism a believer surrenders his life in faith and obedience to God, and that God "by the merits of Christ's blood, cleanses one from sin and truly changes the state of the person from an alien to
2337-624: A material in a liquid dye) or "perishing" (as in a ship sinking or a person drowning), with the same double meanings as in English "to sink into" or "to be overwhelmed by", with bathing or washing only occasionally used and usually in sacral contexts. The practice of baptism emerged from Jewish ritualistic practices during the Second Temple Period , out of which figures such as John the Baptist emerged. For example, various texts in
2460-447: A merchant of German or Dutch extraction, possibly from Hamburg . He died or the couple separated soon after 1664; however, from this point the writer used "Mrs Behn" as her professional name. In correspondence, she occasionally signed her name as Behne or Beane. Behn may have had a Catholic upbringing. She once commented that she was "designed for a nun," and the fact that she had so many Catholic connections, such as Henry Neville who
2583-504: A morsel held in the hand into wine or of a finger into spilled blood. A possible additional use of the verb baptízein to relate to ritual washing is suggested by Peter Leithart (2007) who suggests that Paul's phrase "Else what shall they do who are baptized for the dead ?" relates to Jewish ritual washing. In Jewish Greek the verb baptízein "baptized" has a wider reference than just "baptism" and in Jewish context primarily applies to
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#17327723774362706-673: A number of previously unpublished pieces attributed to her, were published by the bookseller Samuel Briscoe: The Histories and Novels of the Late Ingenious Mrs. Behn (1696), All the Histories and Novels Written by the Late Ingenious Mrs. Behn (1698) and Histories, Novels, and Translations Written by the Most Ingenious Mrs. Behn (1700). Greer considers Briscoe to have been an unreliable source and it's possible that not all of these works were written by Behn. Until
2829-419: A popularisation of astronomy written as a novel in a form similar to her own work, but with her new, religiously oriented preface; and The History of Oracles ( Histoire des Oracles ). She translated Brilhac's Agnes de Castro . In her final days, she translated "Of Trees" ("Sylva"), the sixth and final book of Abraham Cowley 's Six Books of Plants ( Plantarum libri sex ) . She died on 16 April 1689, and
2952-558: A regicide who had been executed in 1660. Scot was believed to be ready to become a spy in the English service and to report on the doings of the English exiles who were plotting against the King. Behn arrived in Bruges in July 1666, probably with two others, as London was wracked with plague and fire. Behn's job was to turn Scot into a double agent , but there is evidence that Scot betrayed her to
3075-627: A spy in Antwerp . Upon her return to London and a probable brief stay in debtors' prison , she began writing for the stage. She belonged to a coterie of poets and famous libertines such as John Wilmot, Lord Rochester . Behn wrote under the pastoral pseudonym Astrea . During the turbulent political times of the Exclusion Crisis , she wrote an epilogue and prologue that brought her legal trouble; she thereafter devoted most of her writing to prose genres and translations. A staunch supporter of
3198-401: A translation of both verbs. Zodhiates concludes that the washing of the hands was done by immersing them. The Liddell–Scott–Jones Greek-English Lexicon (1996) cites the other passage (Luke 11:38) as an instance of the use of the verb baptízein to mean "perform ablutions", not "submerge". References to the cleaning of vessels which use βαπτίζω also refer to immersion. As already mentioned,
3321-518: Is Cyril of Jerusalem who wrote "On the Mysteries of Baptism" in the 4th century (c. 350 AD): Do you not know, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death? etc... for you are not under the Law, but under grace. 1. Therefore, I shall necessarily lay before you the sequel of yesterday's Lecture, that you may learn of what those things, which were done by you in
3444-586: Is a neologism in the New Testament derived from the masculine Greek noun baptismós ( βαπτισμός ), a term for ritual washing in Greek language texts of Hellenistic Judaism during the Second Temple period , such as the Septuagint . Both of these nouns are derived from the verb baptízō ( βαπτίζω , ' I wash ' transitive verb ), which is used in Jewish texts for ritual washing, and in
3567-703: Is a requirement for salvation and a sacrament , and speak of " baptismal regeneration ". Its importance is related to their interpretation of the meaning of the "Mystical Body of Christ" as found in the New Testament. This view is shared by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox denominations, and by churches formed early during the Protestant Reformation such as Lutheran and Anglican . For example, Martin Luther said: To put it most simply,
3690-561: Is a sacrament of initiation into the life of the children of God ( Catechism of the Catholic Church , 1212–13). It configures the person to Christ (CCC 1272), and obliges the Christian to share in the church's apostolic and missionary activity (CCC 1270). The Catholic holds that there are three types of baptism by which one can be saved: sacramental baptism (with water), baptism of desire (explicit or implicit desire to be part of
3813-422: Is almost universally the practice today, baptismal robes. These robes are most often white, symbolizing purity. Some groups today allow any suitable clothes to be worn, such as trousers and a T-shirt —practical considerations include how easily the clothes will dry ( denim is discouraged), and whether they will become see-through when wet. In certain Christian denominations, the individual being baptized receives
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3936-537: Is always with him/her, it reminds the child that Jesus died on the Cross to save him/her, that Jesus Christ is our Only Savior and the True God. By wearing a cross the child feels the love of God and gives the child hope and strength to overcome any obstacle in his or her life. There are differences in views about the effect of baptism for a Christian. Catholics, Orthodox, and most mainline Protestant groups assert baptism
4059-561: Is immerse/immersion, it is not true that the words can simply be reduced to this meaning, as can be seen from Mark 10:38–39, Luke 12:50, Matthew 3:11, Luke 3:16, and Corinthians10:2." Two passages in the Gospels indicate that the verb baptízein did not always indicate submersion. The first is Luke 11:38, which tells how a Pharisee, at whose house Jesus ate, "was astonished to see that he did not first wash ( ἐβαπτίσθη , aorist passive of βαπτίζω —literally, "was baptized") before dinner". This
4182-586: Is not included in the Poets' Corner but lies in the East Cloister near the steps to the church. Her best-known works are Oroonoko: or, the Royal Slave , sometimes described as an early novel , and the play The Rover . Information regarding Behn's life is scant, especially regarding her early years. This may be due to intentional obscuring on Behn's part. One version of Behn's life tells that she
4305-458: Is only partly dipped in water; they thus speak of immersion as being either total or partial. Others, of the Anabaptist belief, use "immersion" to mean exclusively plunging someone entirely under the surface of the water. The term "immersion" is also used of a form of baptism in which water is poured over someone standing in water, without submersion of the person. On these three meanings of
4428-511: Is practiced in several different ways. Aspersion is the sprinkling of water on the head, and affusion is the pouring of water over the head. Traditionally, a person is sprinkled, poured, or immersed three times for each person of the Holy Trinity , with this ancient Christian practice called trine baptism or triune baptism . The Didache specifies: This is how you should baptize: Having recited all these things, [the first half of
4551-659: Is practiced in the Orthodox and several other Eastern Churches. In the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, baptism by submersion is used in the Ambrosian Rite and is one of the methods provided in the Roman Rite of the baptism of infants. It is seen as obligatory among some groups that have arisen since the Protestant Reformation , such as Baptists . The Greek-English Lexicon of Liddell and Scott gives
4674-489: Is recorded to have written before she adopted her debt, John Palmer said in a review of her works that, "Mrs. Behn wrote for a livelihood. Playwriting was her refuge from starvation and a debtor's prison." The theatres that had been closed under Cromwell were now re-opening under Charles II, plays enjoying a revival. Under Charles, prevailing Puritan ethics were reversed in the fashionable society of London. The King associated with playwrights that poured scorn on marriage and
4797-623: Is seen as being a basis for Christian ecumenism , the concept of unity amongst Christians. Baptism is also called christening , although some reserve the word "christening" for the baptism of infants . In certain Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Churches, Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Assyrian Church of the East, and Lutheran Churches , baptism is the door to church membership , with candidates taking baptismal vows . It has also given its name to
4920-483: Is the passage that Liddell and Scott cites as an instance of the use of βαπτίζω to mean perform ablutions . Jesus' omission of this action is similar to that of his disciples: "Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash ( νίπτω ) not their hands when they eat bread". The other Gospel passage pointed to is: "The Pharisees...do not eat unless they wash ( νίπτω ,
5043-531: The Baptist churches and denominations . Certain schools of Christian thought (such as Catholic and Lutheran theology) regard baptism as necessary for salvation , but some writers, such as Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), have denied its necessity. Though water baptism is extremely common among Christian denominations, some, such as Quakers and The Salvation Army , do not practice water baptism at all. Among denominations that practice baptism, differences occur in
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5166-489: The Cavalier Parliament and James II succeeded him in 1685. In her last four years, Behn's health began to fail, beset by poverty and debt, but she continued to write ferociously, though it became increasingly hard for her to hold a pen. As audience numbers declined, theatres staged mainly old works to save costs. Nevertheless, Behn staged The Luckey Chance in 1686. In response to the criticism levelled at
5289-525: The Church (Sunday) School children [must] wear a cross knowing how spiritually beneficial it is for them. By wearing a cross the child is protected from evil forces, it invites the grace of the Holy Cross of Christ, it brings His Divine blessing upon the child, it gives the child a sense that he or she belongs to Christ, that he or she has a special identity, that of a Christian, it is a reminder that Christ
5412-610: The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) corpus at Qumran describe ritual practices involving washing, bathing, sprinkling, and immersing. One example of such a text is a DSS known as the Rule of the Community , which says "And by the compliance of his soul with all the laws of God his flesh is cleansed by being sprinkled with cleansing waters and being made holy with the waters of repentance ." The Mandaeans , who are followers of John
5535-470: The Early Middle Ages infant baptism became common and the rite was significantly simplified and increasingly emphasized. In Western Europe Affusion became the normal mode of baptism between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, though immersion was still practiced into the sixteenth. In the medieval period, some radical Christians rejected the practice of baptism as a sacrament. Sects such as
5658-479: The Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Churches, the individual being baptized receives a cross necklace that is worn for the rest of their life, inspired by the Sixth Ecumenical Council (Synod) of Constantinople . Outside of Christianity, Mandaeans undergo repeated baptism for purification instead of initiation. They consider John the Baptist to be their greatest prophet and name all rivers yardena after
5781-566: The Gymnasium (Germany) where the rector gave her writings by Anna Maria van Schurman and Olympia Fulvia Morata . Through him she also heard that Laura Bassi , an Italian physicist and academic had become doctor of philosophy at the University of Bologna . Bassi was the first woman in the world to be a professor at a university. Both siblings were introduced into medicine by their father. Her brother Tobias planned to study medicine at
5904-506: The New Testament both for ritual washing and also for the apparently new rite of báptisma . The Greek verb báptō ( βάπτω ), ' dip ' , from which the verb baptízō is derived, is in turn hypothetically traced to a reconstructed Indo-European root * gʷabh- , ' dip ' . The Greek words are used in a great variety of meanings. βάπτω and βαπτίζω in Hellenism had the general usage of "immersion", "going under" (as
6027-603: The River Jordan . The term baptism has also been used metaphorically to refer to any ceremony, trial, or experience by which a person is initiated, purified, or given a name. Martyrdom was identified early in Christian church history as " baptism by blood ", enabling the salvation of martyrs who had not been baptized by water. Later, the Catholic Church identified a baptism of desire , by which those preparing for baptism who die before actually receiving
6150-672: The Teaching , "The Way of Life and the Way of Death"] baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, in running water. If you do not have running water, then baptize in still water. The water should be cold, but if you do not have cold water, then use warm. If you have neither, then just pour water on the head three times in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both
6273-675: The Tondrakians , Cathars , Arnoldists , Petrobrusians , Henricans , Brethren of the Free Spirit and the Lollards were regarded as heretics by the Catholic Church. In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther retained baptism as a sacrament, but Swiss reformer Huldrych Zwingli considered baptism and the Lord's Supper to be symbolic. Anabaptists denied the validity of the practice of infant baptism, and rebaptized converts. Baptism
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#17327723774366396-482: The University of Halle , and his sister wanted to follow him. She petitioned King Frederick the Great of Prussia to allow her entry into the University of Halle. Frederick the Great approved this request in April of 1741. Erxleben’s admission into university was both criticized and admired. Critics like Johann Rhetius, a pamphleteer , argued that women were by law forbidden to practice medicine and therefore earning
6519-630: The Whigs wanted to exclude James, while the Tories did not believe succession should be altered in any way. Behn supported the Tory position and in the two years between 1681 and 1682 produced five plays to discredit the Whigs. Behn often used her writings to attack the parliamentary Whigs claiming, "In public spirits call’d, good o' th' Commonwealth... So tho' by different ways the fever seize...in all 'tis one and
6642-463: The 1660s seems to corroborate her stories of her time in the American colony. Although Behn's writings show some form of education, it is not clear how she obtained the education that she did. It was somewhat taboo for women at the time to receive a formal education, Janet Todd notes. Although some aristocratic girls in the past had been able to receive some form of education, that was most likely not
6765-629: The 19th century Mary Hays , Matilda Betham , Alexander Dyce , Jane Williams and Julia Kavanagh decided that Behn's writings were unfit to read, because they were corrupt and deplorable. Among the few critics who believed that Behn was an important writer were Leigh Hunt , William Forsyth and William Henry Hudson . The life and times of Behn were recounted by a long line of biographers, among them Dyce, Edmund Gosse , Ernest Bernbaum , Montague Summers , Vita Sackville-West , Virginia Woolf , George Woodcock , William J. Cameron and Frederick Link. Of Behn's considerable literary output only Oroonoko
6888-484: The Baptist , practice frequent full immersion baptism ( masbuta ) as a ritual of purification. According to Mandaean sources , they left the Jordan Valley in the 1st century AD. John the Baptist , who is considered a forerunner to Christianity, used baptism as the central sacrament of his messianic movement. The apostle Paul distinguished between the baptism of John, ("baptism of repentance") and baptism in
7011-486: The Dutch). He was said to die on the journey, with his wife and children spending some months in the country, though there is no evidence of this. During this trip Behn said she met an African slave leader, whose story formed the basis for one of her most famous works, Oroonoko . It is possible that she acted as a spy in the colony. There is little verifiable evidence to confirm any one story. In Oroonoko , Behn gives herself
7134-483: The Dutch. Behn's exploits were not profitable, however; the cost of living shocked her, and she was left unprepared. One month after arrival, she pawned her jewellery. King Charles was slow in paying (if he paid at all), either for her services or for her expenses whilst abroad. Money had to be borrowed so that Behn could return to London, where a year's petitioning of Charles for payment was unsuccessful. It may be that she
7257-576: The English drama of the 17th century, published a six-volume collection of her work, in hopes of rehabilitating her reputation. Summers was fiercely passionate about the work of Behn and found himself incredibly devoted to the appreciation of 17th century literature. Since the 1970s Behn's literary works have been re-evaluated by feminist critics and writers. Behn was rediscovered as a significant female writer by Maureen Duffy , Angeline Goreau, Ruth Perry , Hilda Lee Smith, Moira Ferguson, Jane Spencer, Dale Spender , Elaine Hobby and Janet Todd . This led to
7380-455: The Great of Prussia to allow her entry into the University of Halle . Despite a Royal permission to attend, Erxleben never entered University. When her cousin died, leaving five children, she decided in 1741, at the age of 26, to look after them, married widower Johann Christian Erxleben and went on to have four children with him. In 1747, due to economic constraints, the mother of nine children began to practice medicine in Quedlinburg without
7503-418: The Greek verb baptízein does not exclusively mean dip, plunge or immerse (it is used with literal and figurative meanings such as "sink", "disable", "overwhelm", "go under", "overborne", "draw from a bowl"), lexical sources typically cite this as a meaning of the word in both the Septuagint and the New Testament . "While it is true that the basic root meaning of the Greek words for baptize and baptism
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#17327723774367626-428: The Netherlands in 1665, and she was recruited as a political spy in Antwerp on behalf of King Charles II, possibly under the auspices of courtier Thomas Killigrew . This is the first well-documented account we have of her activities. Her code name is said to have been Astrea , a name under which she later published many of her writings. Her chief role was to establish an intimacy with William Scot, son of Thomas Scot ,
7749-485: The Netherlands, her mother is said to have had audience with the King in an attempt to secure Aphra's way home, implying there may have been some form of connection with aristocracy, however small. There is also no evidence that Oroonoko existed as an actual person or that any such slave revolt , as is featured in the story, really happened. Writer Germaine Greer has called Behn "a palimpsest ; she has scratched herself out," and biographer Janet Todd noted that Behn "has
7872-625: The Nun (1689) and The Lucky Mistake (1689). Oroonoko , her best-known prose work, was published less than a year before her death. It is the story of the enslaved Oroonoko and his love Imoinda, possibly based on Behn's travel to Surinam twenty years earlier. She also translated from the French and Latin, publishing translations of Tallement , La Rochefoucauld , Fontenelle and Brilhac. The two translations of Fontenelle's work were: A Discovery of New Worlds ( Entretiens sur la pluralité des mondes ),
7995-622: The Stuart line, Behn declined an invitation from Bishop Burnet to write a welcoming poem to the new king William III . She died shortly after. She is remembered in Virginia Woolf 's A Room of One's Own : "All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn which is, most scandalously but rather appropriately, in Westminster Abbey , for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds." Her grave
8118-528: The West, this method of baptism began to be replaced by affusion baptism from around the 8th century, but it continues in use in Eastern Christianity . The word submersion comes from the late Latin ( sub- "under, below" + mergere "plunge, dip") and is also sometimes called "complete immersion". It is the form of baptism in which the water completely covers the candidate's body. Submersion
8241-407: The amount of water was inconsequential and defended immersion, affusion, and aspersion practices (Epistle 75.12). As a result, there was no uniform or consistent mode of baptism in the ancient church prior to the fourth century. By the third and fourth centuries, baptism involved catechetical instruction as well as chrismation , exorcisms , laying on of hands , and recitation of a creed . In
8364-462: The baptism "λοχείαν", i.e., giving birth, and "new way of creation...from water and Spirit" ("to John" speech 25,2), and later elaborates: For nothing perceivable was handed over to us by Jesus; but with perceivable things, all of them however conceivable. This is also the way with the baptism; the gift of the water is done with a perceivable thing, but the things being conducted, i.e., the rebirth and renovation, are conceivable. For, if you were without
8487-401: The case for Aphra Behn, based on the time she lived. Self-tuition was practised by European women during the 17th century, but it relied on the parents to allow that to happen. She most likely spent time copying poems and other writings, which not only inspired her but educated her. Aphra was not alone in her quest of self-tuition during this time period, and there are other notable women, such as
8610-587: The church founded by Jesus Christ), and baptism of blood ( martyrdom ). In his encyclical Mystici corporis Christi of June 29, 1943, Pope Pius XII spoke of baptism and profession of the true faith as what makes members of the one true church, which is the body of Jesus Christ himself, as God the Holy Spirit has taught through the Apostle Paul: By contrast, Anabaptist and Evangelical Protestants recognize baptism as an outward sign of an inward reality following on an individual believer's experience of forgiving grace. Reformed and Methodist Protestants maintain
8733-422: The city. In partnership with local organisations, Canterbury Christ Church University announced, in September 2023, plans for a year long celebration of Behn's connection to Canterbury which would involve talks, a one-woman show, walks, and exhibitions, some hosted within the Canterbury Festival. Plays posthumously published Prose posthumously published, attribution disputed Behn's life has been adapted for
8856-512: The common religious upbringing at the time could have heavily influenced much of her work. She argued that, throughout Behn's writings, her experiences in church were not of religious fervour, but instead chances for her to explore her sexual desires, desires that will later be shown through her plays. In one of her last plays she writes, "I have been at the Chapel; and seen so many Beaus, such a Number of Plumeys, I cou'd not tell which I shou'd look on
8979-409: The crucifixion of the "old man" of the repentant sinner in preparation for baptism. Changing customs and concerns regarding modesty probably contributed to the practice of permitting or requiring the baptismal candidate to either retain their undergarments (as in many Renaissance paintings of baptism such as those by da Vinci , Tintoretto , Van Scorel , Masaccio , de Wit and others) or to wear, as
9102-480: The early church, many of the writings from the ancient church appeared to view this mode of baptism as inconsequential. The Didache 7.1–3 (AD 60–150) allowed for affusion practices in situations where immersion was not practical. Likewise, Tertullian (AD 196–212) allowed for varying approaches to baptism even if those practices did not conform to biblical or traditional mandates (cf. De corona militis 3; De baptismo 17). Finally, Cyprian (ca. AD 256) explicitly stated that
9225-579: The first female medical doctor Dorothea Leporin who made efforts to self-educate. In some of her plays, Aphra Behn shows disdain towards this English ideal of not educating women formally. She also, though, seemed to believe that learning Greek and Latin, two of the classical languages at the time, was not as important as many authors thought it to be. She may have been influenced by another writer named Francis Kirkman who also lacked knowledge of Greek or Latin, who said "you shall not find my English, Greek, here; nor hard cramping Words, such as will stop you in
9348-434: The first woman in Germany to do so. She spent the next 8 years practicing medicine in her hometown of Quedlinburg and died of breast cancer on 13 June 1762. For nearly 150 years, German medical history did not see another woman. Only in the early 20th century would women once again become admitted into German medical schools. However, she is still a pioneer in this field for women and for her ideas about opiates and
9471-407: The formation of modern thought around the female gender and sexuality: "Behn wrote about these subjects before the technologies of sexuality we now associate were in place, which is, in part, why she proves so hard to situate in the trajectories most familiar to us". Virginia Woolf wrote, in A Room of One's Own : All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn... for it
9594-522: The head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three times, once for each person of the Trinity . The synoptic gospels recount that John the Baptist baptised Jesus . Baptism is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. Baptism according to the Trinitarian formula , which is done in most mainstream Christian denominations,
9717-544: The idea of consistency in love . Among the King's favourites was the Earl of Rochester John Wilmot , who became famous for his cynical libertinism. In 1613 Lady Elizabeth Cary had published The Tragedy of Miriam , in the 1650s Margaret Cavendish published two volumes of plays, and in 1663 a translation of Corneille 's Pompey by Katherine Philips was performed in Dublin and London. Women had been excluded from performing on
9840-534: The inner chamber, were symbolic. 2. As soon, then, as you entered, you put off your tunic; and this was an image of putting off the old man with his deeds. Having stripped yourselves, you were naked; in this also imitating Christ, who was stripped naked on the Cross, and by His nakedness put off from Himself the principalities and powers, and openly triumphed over them on the tree. For since the adverse powers made their lair in your members, you may no longer wear that old garment; I do not at all mean this visible one, but
9963-404: The lexicographical work of Zodhiates says that, in the second of these two cases, the verb baptízein indicates that, after coming from the market, the Pharisees washed their hands by immersing them in collected water. Balz & Schneider understand the meaning of βαπτίζω, used in place of ῥαντίσωνται (sprinkle), to be the same as βάπτω, to dip or immerse, a verb used of the partial dipping of
10086-541: The lowest and most depraved of human inclinations," and that, "Her success depended upon her ability to write like a man." Edmund Gosse remarked that she was, "...the George Sand of the Restoration". The criticism of Behn's poetry focuses on the themes of gender, sexuality, femininity, pleasure, and love. A feminist critique tends to focus on Behn's inclusion of female pleasure and sexuality in her poetry, which
10209-715: The manner and mode of baptizing and in the understanding of the significance of the rite. Most Christians baptize using the trinitarian formula "in the name of the Father , and of the Son , and of the Holy Spirit " (following the Great Commission ), but Oneness Pentecostals baptize using Jesus' name only . The majority of Christians baptize infants ; many others, such as Baptist Churches , regard only believer's baptism as true baptism. In certain denominations, such as
10332-458: The masculine noun baptismós "ritual washing" The verb baptízein occurs four times in the Septuagint in the context of ritual washing, baptismós ; Judith cleansing herself from menstrual impurity, Naaman washing seven times to be cleansed from leprosy , etc. Additionally, in the New Testament only, the verb baptízein can also relate to the neuter noun báptisma "baptism" which is
10455-421: The mid-20th century Behn was repeatedly dismissed as a morally depraved minor writer and her literary work was marginalised and often dismissed outright. In the 18th century her literary work was scandalised as lewd by Thomas Brown , William Wycherley , Richard Steele and John Duncombe . Alexander Pope penned the famous lines "The stage how loosely does Astrea tread, Who fairly puts all characters to bed!". In
10578-469: The middle of your Story to consider what is meant by them...". Later in life, Aphra would make similar gestures to ideas revolving around formal education. Behn was born during the buildup of the English Civil War , a child of the political tensions of the time. One version of Behn's story has her travelling with a Bartholomew Johnson to the small English colony of Surinam (later captured by
10701-521: The most scandalous lives and write bawdy plays. By the late 1670s Behn was among the leading playwrights of England. During the 1670s and 1680s she was one of the most productive playwrights in Britain, second only to Poet Laureate John Dryden . Her plays were staged frequently and attended by the King. Behn became friends with notable writers of the day, including John Dryden, Elizabeth Barry , John Hoyle , Thomas Otway and Edward Ravenscroft , and
10824-565: The most...". Another version of her life says she was born as Aphra Johnson, daughter to Bartholomew and Elizabeth Johnson of Harbledown in Kent; her brother Edward died when he was six and a half years old. She is said to have been betrothed to a man named John Halse in 1657. It is suggested that this association with the Halse family is what gave her family the colonial connections that allowed them to travel to Suriname . Her correspondence with William Scot, son of parliamentarian Thomas Scot , in
10947-464: The name of Jesus, and it is questionable whether Christian baptism was in some way linked with that of John. However, according to Mark 1:8, John seems to connect his water baptism as a type of the true, ultimate baptism of Jesus, which is by the Spirit. Christians consider Jesus to have instituted the sacrament of baptism. Though some form of immersion was likely the most common method of baptism in
11070-594: The old man, which waxes corrupt in the lusts of deceit. May the soul which has once put him off, never again put him on, but say with the Spouse of Christ in the Song of Songs, I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on? O wondrous thing! You were naked in the sight of all, and were not ashamed; for truly ye bore the likeness of the first-formed Adam, who was naked in the garden, and was not ashamed. 3. Then, when you were stripped, you were anointed with exorcised oil, from
11193-431: The one who is baptized and the one who baptizes should fast beforehand, along with any others who are able, the one that is baptized being told to fast for a day or two. The word " immersion " is derived from late Latin immersio , a noun derived from the verb immergere ( in – "into" + mergere "dip"). In relation to baptism, some use it to refer to any form of dipping, whether the body is put completely under water or
11316-501: The ordinary word for washing) their hands thoroughly, observing the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they wash themselves (literally, "baptize themselves"— βαπτίσωνται , passive or middle voice of βαπτίζω )". Scholars of various denominations claim that these two passages show that invited guests, or people returning from market, would not be expected to immerse themselves ("baptize themselves") totally in water but only to practise
11439-403: The partial immersion of dipping their hands in water or to pour water over them, as is the only form admitted by present Jewish custom. In the second of the two passages, it is actually the hands that are specifically identified as "washed", not the entire person, for whom the verb used is baptízomai , literally "be baptized", "be immersed", a fact obscured by English versions that use "wash" as
11562-531: The play, she articulated a long and passionate defence of women writers in the preface of the play when it was published in the following year. Her play The Emperor of the Moon was staged and published in 1687; it became one of her longest-running plays. In the 1680s, she began to publish prose. Her first prose work might have been the three-part Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister , anonymously published between 1684 and 1687. The novels were inspired by
11685-526: The position of narrator and her first biographer accepted the assumption that Behn was the daughter of the lieutenant general of Surinam, as in the story. There is little evidence that this was the case, and none of her contemporaries acknowledge any aristocratic status. Her correspondence with Thomas Scot during the time of her stay in Surinam seems to provide evidence for her stay there. Also, later in her career when she found herself facing financial troubles in
11808-525: The power, effect, benefit, fruit, and purpose of Baptism is to save. No one is baptized in order to become a prince, but as the words say, to "be saved". To be saved, we know, is nothing else than to be delivered from sin, death, and the devil and to enter into the kingdom of Christ and live with him forever. The Churches of Christ ," Jehovah's Witnesses , Christadelphians , and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints espouse baptism as necessary for salvation. For Roman Catholics, baptism by water
11931-554: The primary meaning of the verb baptízein , from which the English verb "baptize" is derived, as "dip, plunge", and gives examples of plunging a sword into a throat or an embryo and for drawing wine by dipping a cup in the bowl; for New Testament usage it gives two meanings: "baptize", with which it associates the Septuagint mention of Naaman dipping himself in the Jordan River , and "perform ablutions", as in Luke 11:38. Although
12054-428: The proper use of purgatives , best interventions to promote menstruation and urination, as well as the correct usage and dosage of opiates. Erxleben's dissertation quickly spread throughout Germany, particularly among women with health problems, and Erxleben even translated the dissertation from Latin into German to make it more accessible to the poor. On 12 June 1754, Dorothea Erxleben received her M.D. degree, becoming
12177-503: The proper use of medicines. At the University of Halle Medical School a learning centre is named in her honor. Clinics and foundations have been named after her. On 17 September 1987, the German Federal Post Office issued a 60 pfennig postage stamp for the purpose of honoring Dorothea as part of its stamp series " The Women of German History ". On 13 November 2015, Google celebrated her 300th birthday with
12300-509: The prophylactic use of strong laxative , purgatives and perspiratory agents as it was practiced at that time. She pointed out that doctors were too quick to prescribe unnecessary cures like opiates for illnesses that did not require them and made suggestions regarding their correct usage and dosage, as well as best interventions to promote menstruation and urination. She spent another 8 years practicing medicine in her hometown of Quedlinburg until she died of breast cancer . Dorothea Erxleben
12423-768: The public stage before the English Civil War, but in Restoration England professional actresses played the women's parts. In 1668, plays by women began to be staged in London. Behn's first play The Forc'd Marriage was a romantic tragicomedy on arranged marriages and was staged by the Duke's Company in September 1670. The performance ran for six nights, which was regarded as a good run for an unknown author. Six months later Behn's play The Amorous Prince
12546-490: The reprinting of her works. The Rover was republished in 1967, Oroonoko was republished in 1973, Love Letters between a Nobleman and His Sisters was published again in 1987 and The Lucky Chance was reprinted in 1988. Felix Schelling wrote in The Cambridge History of English Literature , that she was "a very gifted woman, compelled to write for bread in an age in which literature... catered habitually to
12669-557: The sacrament are considered saved. In the Methodist tradition, Baptism with the Holy Spirit , has referred to the second work of grace, entire sanctification ; in Pentecostalism, the term Baptism with the Holy Spirit is identified with speaking in tongues . The English word baptism is derived indirectly through Latin from the neuter Greek concept noun báptisma (Greek βάπτισμα , ' washing, dipping ' ), which
12792-448: The same mad disease." This was Behn's reproach to parliament which had denied the king funds. The London audience, mainly Tory sympathisers, attended the plays in large numbers. But a warrant was issued for Behn's arrest on the order of King Charles II when she criticized James Scott, Duke of Monmouth , the illegitimate son of the King, in the epilogue to the anonymously published Romulus and Hersilia (1682). Charles II eventually dissolved
12915-482: The sciences alongside her brother Tobias. When asked about his daughter’s studies, Christian Polycarp Leporin was noted as saying that gifted women’s talents are being wasted in the kitchen. The Leporin family embraced the new ideas of the Age of Enlightenment , such as the values of Germany’s Bürgertum , which led to Christian’s belief that both of his children should receive the best education possible. Later she attended
13038-669: The stage in the 2014 play Empress of the Moon: The Lives of Aphra Behn by Chris Braak, and the 2015 play [exit Mrs Behn] or, The Leo Play by Christopher VanderArk. She is one of the characters in the 2010 play Or, by Liz Duffy Adams . Behn appears as a character in Daniel O'Mahony 's Newtons Sleep , in Philip José Farmer 's The Magic Labyrinth and Gods of Riverworld , in Molly Brown's Invitation to
13161-478: The trappings of sinful self, so that the "new man", which is given by Jesus, can be put on. 3. As Cyril again asserts above, as Adam and Eve in scripture were naked, innocent and unashamed in the Garden of Eden, nakedness during baptism was seen as a renewal of that innocence and state of original sinlessness. Other parallels can also be drawn, such as between the exposed condition of Christ during His crucifixion, and
13284-588: The verb baptízō (βαπτίζω) appear in the New Testament: the masculine noun baptismós (βαπτισμός) and the neuter noun báptisma (βάπτισμα): Until the Middle Ages , most baptisms were performed with the candidates naked—as is evidenced by most of the early portrayals of baptism (some of which are shown in this article), and the early Church Fathers and other Christian writers. Deaconesses helped female candidates for reasons of modesty. Typical of these
13407-555: The very hairs of your head to your feet, and were made partakers of the good olive-tree, Jesus Christ. 4. After these things, you were led to the holy pool of Divine Baptism, as Christ was carried from the Cross to the Sepulchre which is before our eyes. And each of you was asked, whether he believed in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and you made that saving confession, and descended three times into
13530-400: The water, and ascended again; here also hinting by a symbol at the three days burial of Christ.... And at the self-same moment you were both dying and being born; The symbolism is threefold: 1. Baptism is considered to be a form of rebirth—"by water and the Spirit" —the nakedness of baptism (the second birth) paralleled the condition of one's original birth. For example, John Chrysostom calls
13653-412: The word "immersion", see Immersion baptism . When "immersion" is used in opposition to "submersion", it indicates the form of baptism in which the candidate stands or kneels in water and water is poured over the upper part of the body. Immersion in this sense has been employed in West and East since at least the 2nd century and is the form in which baptism is generally depicted in early Christian art. In
13776-462: Was a radical concept at the time she was writing. Like her contemporary male libertines, she wrote freely about sex. In the infamous poem " The Disappointment " she wrote a comic account of male impotence from a woman's perspective. Critics Lisa Zeitz and Peter Thoms contend that the poem "playfully and wittily questions conventional gender roles and the structures of oppression which they support". One critic, Alison Conway, views Behn as instrumental to
13899-487: Was acknowledged as a part of the circle of the Earl of Rochester. The Rover became a favourite at the King's court. Because Charles II had no heir, a prolonged political crisis ensued. Behn became heavily involved in the political debate about the succession. Mass hysteria commenced as in 1678 the rumoured Popish Plot suggested the King should be replaced with his Roman Catholic brother James . Political parties developed,
14022-464: Was born Dorothea Christiane Polycarp Leporin on 13 November 1715, in the small town of Quedlinburg , Germany to the town’s progressive doctor, physician Christian Polycarp Leporin and his wife Anna Sophia, née Meinecke Her father home schooled his children and noticed her excelling at her schoolwork early on in life, as well as her general brightness. He arranged for her to be tutored in Latin, math and
14145-400: Was born to a barber named John Amis and his wife Amy; she is occasionally referred to as Aphra Amis Behn . Another story has Behn born to a couple named Cooper. The Histories and Novels of the Late Ingenious Mrs. Behn (1696) states that Behn was born to Bartholomew Johnson, a barber, and Elizabeth Denham, a wet-nurse . Colonel Thomas Colepeper, the only person who claimed to have known her as
14268-542: Was buried in the East Cloister of Westminster Abbey . The inscription on her tombstone reads: "Here lies a Proof that Wit can never be Defence enough against Mortality." She was quoted as stating that she had led a "life dedicated to pleasure and poetry." Following Behn's death, new female dramatists such as Delarivier Manley , Mary Pix , Susanna Centlivre and Catherine Trotter acknowledged Behn as their most vital predecessor, who opened up public space for women writers . Three posthumous collections of her prose, including
14391-454: Was featured during the "Her Story" video tribute to notable women on U2 's North American tour in 2017 for the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree . Baptism Baptism (from Koinē Greek : βάπτισμα , romanized: váptisma , lit. 'immersion, dipping in water') is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on
14514-638: Was later arrested for his Catholicism, would have aroused suspicions during the anti-Catholic fervour of the 1680s. She was a monarchist, and her sympathy for the Stuarts, and particularly for the Catholic Duke of York may be demonstrated by her dedication of her play The Second Part of the Rover to him after he had been exiled for the second time. Behn was dedicated to the restored King Charles II . As political parties emerged during this time, Behn became
14637-503: Was never paid by the crown. A warrant was issued for her arrest, but there is no evidence it was served or that she went to prison for her debt, though apocryphally it is often given as part of her history. Forced by debt and her husband's death, Behn began to work for the King's Company and the Duke's Company players as a scribe. She had, however, written poetry up until this point. While she
14760-438: Was published. This succession of box-office successes led to frequent attacks on Behn. She was attacked for her private life, the morality of her plays was questioned and she was accused of plagiarising The Rover . Behn countered these public attacks in the prefaces of her published plays. In the preface to Sir Patient Fancy she argued that she was being singled out because she was a woman, while male playwrights were free to live
14883-525: Was seriously considered by literary scholars. This book, published in 1688, is regarded as one of the first abolitionist and humanitarian novels published in the English language. In 1696 it was adapted for the stage by Thomas Southerne and continuously performed throughout the 18th century. In 1745 the novel was translated into French, going through seven French editions. It is credited as precursor to Jean-Jaques Rousseau 's Discourses on Inequality . In 1915, Montague Summers , an author of scholarly works on
15006-492: Was she who earned them the right to speak their minds... Behn proved that money could be made by writing at the sacrifice, perhaps, of certain agreeable qualities; and so by degrees writing became not merely a sign of folly and a distracted mind but was of practical importance. The current project of the Canterbury Commemoration Society is to raise a statue to Canterbury born Aphra Behn to stand in
15129-773: Was successfully staged. Again, Behn used the play to comment on the harmful effects of arranged marriages. Behn did not hide the fact that she was a woman, instead she made a point of it. When in 1673 the Dorset Garden Theatre staged The Dutch Lover , critics sabotaged the play on the grounds that the author was a woman. Behn tackled the critics head on in Epistle to the Reader . She argued that women had been held back by their unjust exclusion from education, not their lack of ability. Critics of Behn were provided with ammunition because of her public liaison with John Hoyle ,
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