1609 · Marriage & family
Christian Economy
William Perkins wrote this short book on the Christian household in Latin; it was published in English in 1609, after his death, as Christian Oeconomie (“economy” then meant the running of a home).
It covers marriage, raising children and running a household, with the clear, numbered style that made Perkins so widely read.
- About 3 hours to read (36,000 words)
- Rewards a slower read
- Readers interested in family life, and in the roots of Puritan thinking about the home.
Read it your way
Free to read and download. Paperbacks are coming soon. They will be printed on demand and sold at cost: we make nothing on them.
For churches, schools and local printers: the print-ready files are exactly what we send to Lulu, with the cover's spine sized to the page count. Print as many as you like.
Then & Now
What did 1609 look like?
Here is a paragraph from “2. Of the Household Service of God,” as it was first printed and as you'll read it in this edition.
As printed in 1609
Now these times, the word of God approueth. Deut. 6. 6. Thou shalt talke of p. 7 them, when thou liest downe, aud when thou risest vp. Psalm. 55. 18. Euening and morning and at noone, I will pray and make a noise, and he wil heare my voice. Psa. 127. 1. It is in vaine to rise earely, and to lie downe late, and eate the bread of sorrow, except the Lord vouchsafe a blessing, who will surely giue rest to his beloued.
Today
Now these times, the word of God approveth. Deut‸ 6:‸6. Thou shalt talk of them, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. Ps 55:‸18. Evening and morning and at noon, I will pray and make a noise, and he will hear my voice. Ps 127:‸1. It is in vain to rise early, and to lie down late, and eat the bread of sorrow, except the Lord vouchsafe a blessing, who will surely give rest to his beloved.
About this edition
Faithful, and easier to read
Perkins's Christian Oeconomie (1609), translated from the Latin by Thomas Pickering, in modern spelling from the EEBO-TCP transcription; footnotes kept in the original spelling; readings corrected and words the transcription left out restored from the 1609 page images.
83% of the words are exactly as printed. Most of the rest are spelling and punctuation; only 0.2% changed in grammar or wording. Every change is recorded, and you can see each one in Then & Now.
Open Then & Now- First published
- 1609
- Made from
- The 1609 London printing (EEBO-TCP A09377)
How this edition was made
Sources
- EEBO-TCP A09377: Christian Oeconomie, or, A Short Survey of the Right Manner of Erecting and Ordering a Family (London, Felix Kyngston for Edmund Weaver, 1609), translated by Thomas Pickering
- Corrections to the TCP transcription from the 1609 page images: "Lombard," and "though" restored where it left them out; "or", "continencie", "his", "then", "the" and "bought" where it misread them
Checked against
- Source files
- This edition on GitHub
- Licence
- Public domain (CC0): copy and share freely
- Found a mistake?
- Tell us
About the authorWilliam Perkins 1558–1602The Cambridge preacher often called the father of the Puritans.