The Intellectual Heathen

A reaction paper

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Eric Fournier

English 201-001

Mr. Rowlette

September 20, 2010

Reaction Paper III

“The Intellectual Heathen”

            The war created between Thomas Morton and William Bradford over the separation of church and state may be the first time this argument had reached the shores of America.  The mostly political, but religious war stemmed from the major intellectual differences between the two founders.  Morton, the founder of Merry Mount which he referred to in his writings as Ma-re Mount was a place for the refined to come and establish themselves.  He created a base of operation, bringing in people he knew would follow suite to his tastes.  In respect Bradford also creating his own community of devout believers struggled with keeping reigns on his followers and feared most a plague of religious dissent, and Morton was Bradford’s germ.

            To really gain a grasp on reality of this situation one must closely examine the difference in their literary styles and content of their literary works.  There is not much scholarly knowledge of Morton’s life before coming to the New World, but his behavior in Massachusetts opens a window to his soul.  He was an intellectual anarchist to the religious foundations that the Puritans were establishing in America and exerted his point.  During his time as the leader of Ma-re Mount he set up a Maypole to celebrate the modern pagan festivities of their time, and wrote some lascivious material just to irk at Puritans coat tails.  He wanted to see the freedoms that he and his party could freely express now away from the monarchy and Church of England expressed.  He desired not only to express these freedoms, but to expel or convert any

who did not see his way.  His view of the Puritans was that they were stuck up, and fools for

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believing in only Biblical intellectualism.

            Focusing on Morton’s poetry, in “The Poem” he makes in each line a literary reference that only the educated or well versed in pagan mythology would understand.  He also brings a bit of intellectualism to his next famous poem, “The Song”, but it does seem to be more designed to kick cloud of sand into the faces of the Puritans.  An example of his intellectualism is best found in the following lines of “The Poem”, “Of trumpet loud, at which the seas were found / So full of protean forms that bold shore / Presented Scylla a new paramour,” (Morton 140)  He used many other lines filled with wonderful literary prose.  His intent wasn’t a pure desire to see other intellectuals as he was come to America; it was of want of the destruction of the Puritan society.  He hated the Puritans, and when they finally burned down his house and banished him back to England, which he quickly returned from to try and cause more despair in retaliation, he made hundreds of legal battles for them, according to his biography.

            The Puritans, though not as intellectually refined, saw through any rouse Morton put up.  William Bradford does his best to establish in his colonists a deep desire to uproot Morton.  Even though Bradford’s literary attempts at an argument are neither strong, nor even seen as valid to the English Royal Court, he places in effect a mindset that is still followed today by groups as the Amish.  This mindset was and is that to remain a Christian society, and to follow the true will of God, they must separate themselves for the lasciviousness of mankind.  At best they were running from the exact same things as Morton, but their view was this, they had won the New Canaan by the hand of God, and any pagan, unclean, or savage thing must be converted or be destroyed.  Bradford used the teachings of Moses, and the book of Revelation along with a few grand events they called divine intervention to rally the support he needed for his colonists to really abuse the Bible and the so called Word of God they received from it.

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In Bradford’s book, “Of Plymouth Plantation”, in chapter XIX is found the first attacks at Morton and Merry Mount.  Attacks though not as direct can also be found in chapter XXXII when talks the horrible crime and who the Puritans think are to blame for it.  Chapter XIX gives a grand view of how Bradford truly felt of what these secular people were doing so close to his divinely Christian settlement, “Morton likewise (to show his poetry) composed sundry rhymes and verses, some tending to lasciviousness, and others to the detraction and scandal of some persons, which he affixed to this idle or idol maypole. (Bradford 127)  Bradford saw the behavior set forth by Morton to be so destructive in nature that he would rally his people in force to banish Morton, and eventually he would persuade some to actually massacre the town of Merry Mount.

            This war was survival of the fittest; Bradford did win; however, only by what may be seen as divine intervention, or plain outsmarting.  Morton did cause the Puritans troubles, even after his death until Cromwell took the reins.  The one unifying argument that holds these two together is the common one of separation of church and state.  Here may be the first actual view of this argument in progress, but not on the Puritans side who used the Bible as their law book, but on Morton’s.  Morton, not the Puritans, can be seen as the first reformist, pushing for true freedom from the tyranny that religious communities cause.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Works Cited

Bradford, William. “A Horrible Truth” 1642. The Norton Anthology American Literature

Volume A Ed. Nina Bayam, General Editor. Seventh Edition 127
Morton, Thomas. “The New English Canaan”. The Norton Anthology American

Literature Volume A Ed. Nina Bayam, General Editor. Seventh Edition  140