The Saint's Everlasting Rest

We do not arrogate tu ourselves so much as to suppose, that our commendation can add any thing to the authority of such a name as that of Richard Baxter, He belonged to a class of men, whose characters and genius now universally venerated, seem to have been most peculiarly adapted, by Divine Providence, to the circumstances of their age and country...

THOMAS L. ERSKINE is Professor of English at Salisbury State University, Maryland, and founding editor of "Literature/Film Quarterly". His most recent book was the casebook "Charlotte Perkins Gilman: The Yellow Wallpaper" (1993).

Richard Baxter (1615-1691) was a prominent English churchman and peacemaker who sought unity among Protestants. Born in Rowton to parents who undervalued education, he was largely self-taught. At age twenty-three he was ordained into the Church of England. Baxter became even better known for his prolific writing, with more than two hundred works to his name. His devotional classic, "The Saints' Everlasting Rest", was one of the most widely read books of the century. When asked what deviations should be permitted from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, he created an entirely new one, "Reformed Liturgy", in two weeks. His autobiography and his pastoral guide, "The Reformed Pastor", are still widely read today.