Xinshun 1730

Chapter 1326 A Stylish Clique
The first version of the city on the hill is shattered.

Subsequent religious revival, moralistic return, the first great "awakening", reshaping the belief in God, and rebuilding the city on the hill—or, under the new economic base and productivity level, rebuilding the second version of the hill City - in the context of the city.

Joseph Warren really had a hard time taking this stuff that John Hancock was relaying.

Population can be restricted, but in the name of religion and belief; but not in the name of reason and experience.Although the result actually has the same meaning, the statement is intolerable.

In this, including Britain's later tough attitude towards North America, there are also a large part of religious reasons.

This group of people in North America clearly stated: [In fact, tolerance to religions and sects is the abandonment of true belief].

Anglicans, Quakers, Anglicans, etc. are persecuted in Massachusetts.

Until the charter of 1691, the British government warned Massachusetts with unprecedented toughness: to lift the persecution of other denominations, and not to limit the members of the state assembly with the membership of the Congregational Church.

The timing was coincidental, or not so coincidental but deliberate, that the Puritan Congregationalist-led Salem Witch Trials took place in 1692, the year after the new charter and prohibition of persecution.

Under the fanatical religious sentiment, Joseph Warren's attitude towards Hancock inevitably gave birth to a mentality of "preventing friends from being bewitched by demons and heretics".

Joseph Warren, a doctor.

John Hancock, is a businessman, and a big businessman at that.

The former, in terms of their class status, liked the idea of ​​the first version of the city on a hill very much.Get rich by hard work, wisdom, labor, and skills.

The latter, in terms of their class status, the conception of the first version of the city on the hill... can only say that everyone is a Puritan, and I just follow suit.

The first edition in 1630, the second edition in 1775, the third edition in 1865, and the fourth edition in 1980 are different.

Of course, it is impossible for Warren to understand some of the differences between him and Hancock from the perspectives of material, ownership, productivity, and production relations.

So he characterized the problem as Hancock may have been bewitched by atheistic heresy and planted some indescribable seeds.

As a friend, he has an obligation to pull Hancock from the brink of going astray.

So, Warren held back his dissatisfaction and anger at those relayed words, suppressed his emotions as much as possible, and said: "I don't know what else those people said, but I can tell you clearly that you heard Those words are far from the truth, and even run counter to it."

"Perhaps, it is correct in some details. But in the essence, it is completely wrong. You have to know that Satan is originally an angel, and demons are the most capable of using God's words to confuse people."

These religious discourses were heard by Hancock since he was a child.Under the influence of his ears and eyes, although these things sounded like nonsense to the people of Dashun, they sounded different to Hancock.

"Yes, you are right. But what are the real truths? How can we get close to these real truths?"

Warren smiled and made a simple analogy.

"My dear friend."

"The supreme wisdom and truth seem to be the cleanest water we want to absorb. These cleanest water can flow directly into our soul and heart."

"So, like a barrel."

"Can a dirty, dusty, stained barrel hold the cleanest moisture?"

"If it is accommodated, we can only judge whether the water in the barrel is clean or not. But if the barrel is already dirty, how can we rely on whether the water is clean?"

"Wash yourself, purify yourself, let your soul and heart be clean first. Then you can judge whether the water flowing into the barrel is pure water like the supreme wisdom and truth, or dirty water that is bewitched by heresy."

At this time, the phrase "the brain is sick" is wrong, because it is the soul and the heart that contain thinking and ideas at this time.

Warren's meaning is still very simple: You have to cleanse your heart before you can judge whether what you hear is truth or demagogy.

Just like a bucket, you can see whether the water is dirty or clean by letting water into the bucket.After that, your bucket itself is not clean, so you can't judge whether the water is dirty or clean.

These words are full of temptation for young people who are deeply in the era of change and believe in religion.

In fact, the brief contact with Dashun's trade personnel brought a huge impact to Hancock's thinking.

The way of thinking of the two sides is completely different.

With regard to smuggling and trade, Hancock and Dashun's trade ambassadors have basically the same conclusions - not guilty, not wrong, good.

However, why is it innocent, why is it wrong, and why is it good?

Like, pork isn't generally eaten in deserts.

On the other hand, theoretically speaking, pigs may have parasites, and there is not enough food in the desert to feed pigs, and the pigsty needs water to clean it, so it is right not to eat pork.

On the other hand, strange appearance, evil nature, dirty, lazy...

The conclusion is the same.

But the two sides are basically talking about chicken and duck.

Hancock has not been in contact with Dashun people for a long time.

But the group of people in Dashun itself, even the group of missionaries, can only be characterized as "superstitious atheists."

And the pure new learning system of the trade ambassador has cultivated a set of methodology and three views that seem completely weird at the moment. This kind of thing is already pickled, and it will be revealed unconsciously in the communication.

In a word, the opinion of the trade ambassador is that there is no sanctity in anything.So is smuggling, so is tariffs, so is trade, so is your Ansa tradition.

Smuggling and trading is a simple matter of who makes the money.You want to make this money, and Britain also wants to make this money. Traditions, laws, sanctity, and human rights bestowed by God are all bullshit.

Moreover, the words of the trade ambassador are often inadvertently full of irony.

Especially when Hancock mentioned the issue of New England banknotes, the trade ambassador gritted his teeth and asked Hancock disdainfully: Why did the South not have such a big opinion on the issue of banknotes?Because the plantation commodities in the southern states are needed by Europe, they are involved in European trade, and there is a currency circulation; while in the north, there is a group of grain growers, who are handmade, self-produced and sold, and you do not produce silver. Gold and precious metals are all concentrated in the hands of big merchants, and ordinary people are short of gold and silver in circulation, so they are naturally more sensitive to the currency system.

This has something to do with the slavishness of the southern states, no human soul, no self-awareness, what kind of lazy environment shaped their degeneration and loss of freedom, etc., has an egg relationship?
Under this kind of ideological hedging, it was only a brief contact, and Hancock's mind became a mess.

At this time, North America was still a cultural desert.Compared with France, or even the United Kingdom, the depth of thinking about some things is still a lot worse.

Dashun's words were like several big bombs, which were directly stuffed into Hancock's head.

In the confusion and confusion, Warren pointed out a clear path for him: one must first cleanse one's soul and purify one's heart before he can distinguish which are the whispers of the devil and which are the supreme truth.

This undoubtedly made Hancock full of interest.

It's no secret that Warren is a Freemason.

At this time, Freemasonry was still a fashionable thing in North America, and it belonged to the kind with a somewhat "forced" character.It is loved by people who don't have to worry about food and clothing, and who are idle.

The style is high and mysterious, and the people who join are some celebrities.

Franklin, for example, started as a Masonic warden and then became Grand Master of Pennsylvania.

If one enters such a small circle, one's style and grade will be improved, and one's heart will be satisfied.

Hancock heard Warren say this, and he tentatively asked: "So, how can I cleanse my soul and explore the real supreme truth?"

Warren smiled and showed off his ring.

"Actually, before you went out to sea with your uncle, some fellow apprentices proposed to invite you to join, and it was approved."

The Freemasonry in Massachusetts originated from the Scottish area, where the introduction system for membership is different from other places: in other places, a black ball is directly vetoed, while Scotland must have more than three black balls to deny membership.

People in the meeting will continue to look for new people and propose.

Warren didn't lie. Indeed, before Hancock went to sea, Hancock's proposal to join the club had already been passed.

After all, it was originally a small place, and everyone in the small circle recognized it.And many of them are Harvard classmates, and Hancock's family is engaged in big business.

Warren added: "I, on behalf of myself and the brothers of the Freemasons, formally extend an invitation to you."

"Now, you ask me the method of cleansing my soul, preparing to accommodate His truth."

"All I can say is: God helps, I can't help you personally."

"God has given you the help that Freemasonry has the right to give. He has given us the means to help you, and has given you the right to receive this gift through Freemasonry."

After saying this like a tongue twister, Warren said again: "My friend, before you take the test, you need to reflect on your soul at home."

"You are young, you are rich and you will inherit the family's wealth and business in the hundreds of thousands of pounds."

“But you have all this wealth, what business do you do?”

"Look at your life. A life of abundance where you get everything from society and don't contribute anything to it."

"Have you chosen a direction in which you can benefit others?"

"Do you believe that it is practicable for men to work together for the purpose of supporting each other in their journey to virtue?"

"Are you really willing to cleanse your soul and accommodate the light of His wisdom?"

Staring into Hancock's eyes, Warren said in a serious tone that Hancock had never seen before, "When you go back and wait for the blessing to come, please think carefully about these issues."

(End of this chapter)