Friday, May 26, 2023
Quaker Bible
I am writing a play, which I may put here (as I've done with most of my plays) about the Quaker Bible. That is not really a good term for it, so I'll probably call the play Purver's Bible. It was written in the 1700s by Anthony Purver, an English Quaker who basically spent a lifetime writing, translating, and making notes about the translations. It is available today on Google Books although a few people have found bound copies, often signed by John Fothergill, in various places around the U.S.
Fothergill was a wealthy Quaker who traveled extensively in the 1700s. When he came back to England he noticed that Purver had finished writing his Bible, but had not gotten anyone to publish the whole thing. He put down a thousand pounds to publish the whole thing in a single volume, and sent several to his friends, who were scattered worldwide. Those copies are what remain of it. It never sold very well.
It also wasn't sponsored or taken in by the Society of Friends, which is why it is probably not good to call it the Quaker Bible. Purver was unquestionably a Quaker, as was Fothergill, but there is nothing especially Quaker about the way he translated, or the language that he used. There is also nothing especially revolutionary about his interpretations of the original texts. Biblical scholars have analyzed the differences and haven't really come up with much that is profound or important.
The key was that it didn't offer a better way of putting things than the King James Version, which became prominent in that era and which still has a huge position in the market. When he started writing it, he was mad about the archaic forms of language in the KJV and was determined to put it in a more modern expression. His changes were not considered by most to be worth changing versions, though; it never sold extensively. It could be that his notations and comments about the translations weighed the whole thing down so much that it made printing and distributing prohibitive.
He learned a number of lessons about translation which, obvous though they may be to translators, are still relevant to those who consider the Bible the absolute truth or even the rock upon which the entire religion sits. When you get down to word correspondence things get a little tricky.
This gets compounded when you realize that the Ancient Hebrew version was itself translated from earlier languages, with the New Testament apparently coming through Ancient Greek. He had to learn about seven languages to get to the bottom of it. He was self-taught and many say he really could have used some good guidance from scholars on his path.
Watch this site for the play. It's very interesting.
Fothergill was a wealthy Quaker who traveled extensively in the 1700s. When he came back to England he noticed that Purver had finished writing his Bible, but had not gotten anyone to publish the whole thing. He put down a thousand pounds to publish the whole thing in a single volume, and sent several to his friends, who were scattered worldwide. Those copies are what remain of it. It never sold very well.
It also wasn't sponsored or taken in by the Society of Friends, which is why it is probably not good to call it the Quaker Bible. Purver was unquestionably a Quaker, as was Fothergill, but there is nothing especially Quaker about the way he translated, or the language that he used. There is also nothing especially revolutionary about his interpretations of the original texts. Biblical scholars have analyzed the differences and haven't really come up with much that is profound or important.
The key was that it didn't offer a better way of putting things than the King James Version, which became prominent in that era and which still has a huge position in the market. When he started writing it, he was mad about the archaic forms of language in the KJV and was determined to put it in a more modern expression. His changes were not considered by most to be worth changing versions, though; it never sold extensively. It could be that his notations and comments about the translations weighed the whole thing down so much that it made printing and distributing prohibitive.
He learned a number of lessons about translation which, obvous though they may be to translators, are still relevant to those who consider the Bible the absolute truth or even the rock upon which the entire religion sits. When you get down to word correspondence things get a little tricky.
This gets compounded when you realize that the Ancient Hebrew version was itself translated from earlier languages, with the New Testament apparently coming through Ancient Greek. He had to learn about seven languages to get to the bottom of it. He was self-taught and many say he really could have used some good guidance from scholars on his path.
Watch this site for the play. It's very interesting.
Friday, May 19, 2023
Improving the pamphlets
Some people have pointed out that the rustic nature of the pamphlets actually works to our favor. But the more I make them, the more I wish I could be a little more professional with them.
The main problem to me is that in enlarging type I made it a little less clear. I want each letter to be a bold black against the page. It has several other problems: sometimes the color doesn't show very clearly on some kinds of cardstock; sometimes it's too large to fit into a standard envelope (though they don't seem to mind or charge for a slightly larger envelope), and, there is a mark on one page and a possible typo on another. If I were to redo it I could address each of these problems but redoing it is a huge amount of work.
I had said that I would get a quote from a local printing company, but I haven't found one. This option is still on the burner. I'm not sure how much it would be.
After months of inaction/paralysis, I am finally able to get to this. Stay tuned because I'm on it now. I will keep at it until I get the best solution.
The main problem to me is that in enlarging type I made it a little less clear. I want each letter to be a bold black against the page. It has several other problems: sometimes the color doesn't show very clearly on some kinds of cardstock; sometimes it's too large to fit into a standard envelope (though they don't seem to mind or charge for a slightly larger envelope), and, there is a mark on one page and a possible typo on another. If I were to redo it I could address each of these problems but redoing it is a huge amount of work.
I had said that I would get a quote from a local printing company, but I haven't found one. This option is still on the burner. I'm not sure how much it would be.
After months of inaction/paralysis, I am finally able to get to this. Stay tuned because I'm on it now. I will keep at it until I get the best solution.
Pamphlets are back
That's right - it's a pamphlet, the size of a quarter sheet of paper - 20 pages, all personally printed, folded, trimmed and stapled. I have kept the price (below) down in Quaker fashion without making any deals for amount or other things. You simply pay the costs of putting it together and getting it out there.
It's kind of a labor of love to crank these out and send them out, but that's for another post. Here I'll say that the cover was intended to be black and white, but still has several versions, similar to this, and is now being printed in color. Color used add significant cost to the operation, but it no longer does. Here are the prices.
send orders to Tom Leverett, 919 No. Broad St., Galesburg, IL 61401, or use Paypal (tlevsp @ gmail.com).
They are $.80 each + postage. Even if you get 100, they are $.80 each, but postage will change. Postage is
$.63 for 1-2 (first class)
$3.49 3-10 (media mail)
$4.29 11-30 (media mail)
These prices are subject to change as I find out more; all prices are for Domestic.
Use paypal or send check to given address.
tlevspress.blogspot.com
Updated info on Quaker press page: http://tlevspressquaker.blogspot.com"
