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Article: American leisure in books and printed ephemera.
- Article from:
- The Magazine Antiques
- Article date:
- August 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 Brant Publications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When Business and Diversion Inoffensive to God by Joseph Seccombe (1706-1760) appeared in 1743, it was the first sermon on leisure activities to be published in this country. (1) Written under the pseudonym Fluviatulis Piscator (River Fisher), the work addressed a thorny issue in Puritan America, that is, how to justify leisure pursuits when all of man's actions should glorify God. Seccombe, the brother of the minister John Seccombe (1708-1792), expounded on the region's most popular recreational activity, fishing. He averred that it had a practical purpose and was a "lawful recreation" and therefore not sinful. God created fish, those fish fed people, and therefore ...