Page:The Life and Works of Christopher Dock.djvu/27

Rh only leaf necessary to complete a mutilated copy, firmly resisted temptation.”

The first translation into English was made by Governor Pennypacker and appears in the above recited volume under the caption, “Christopher Dock, the Pious Schoolmaster on the Skippack, and His Works.” This present volume is the next attempt to give the modern student an insight into the rare spirit of this unique teacher. It is, moreover, the first time that all of Dock's literary remains, with translations, have been collected and published.

Dock was not only a great teacher and author of pedagogical works, but he was the composer of many beautiful hymns. These will be found in the volume; and, to reveal his skill as a penman as well as his accomplishments as a hymn-writer, I herewith reproduce one of the most beautiful of his existing manuscripts.

The elder Saur was an ardent admirer of Dock's teaching ability. When he found that Dockobjected to the publication of the Schul-ordnung until after the writer's death, Saur formulated a plan to pay tribute to Dock's worth in a manner not offensive to the religious convictions of the pious schoolmaster. This resulted in Saur publishing in his almanac for 1752 an article in the form of a dialogue. In this article Saur, in discussing with a “Newcomer” the advantages of life in the Colony of Pennsylvania, pays high tribute to two great teachers whom he knew intimately. Although the names of these teachers are not given, Saur clearly