| Collection | GB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections |
| Level | Fonds |
| Ref No | MS 2612 |
| Title | Henry Scougal, minister and Professor of Divinity: sermons |
| Date | c. 1675 |
| Extent | 1 volume (0.03 linear metres) |
| Creator Name | Scougal, Henry (1650-1678); minister and professor of Divinity |
| Administrative History | Henry Scougal, son of Patrick Scougal (?1607-1682), bishop of Aberdeen, was born in Aberdeen and graduated MA at King’s College in 1668. He was appointed a regent on the staff there in 1669. Ordained to the ministry, he was parish minister at Auchterless for one year and also acted as precentor in St. Machar Cathedral, Old Aberdeen, from 1671 - 1673. He was awarded the degree of DD when elected Professor of Divinity at King’s College in 1674 and served in that chair until his death on 13 June 1678. His ‘Life of God in the Soul of Man’ was first published anonymously with a preface by Bishop Gilbert Burnet in 1677 and ran into numerous editions after his death. Several of his discourses were added to these, one of which, on the Passion, from the text Lam. I. 12, is included in this manuscript (see MS 2612, pp.55-77). |
| Custodial History | According to an inscription on a flyleaf it had belonged to Reverend Frederick George Lee, FSA, Fountain Hall, Aberdeen [episcopalian minister]. It was purchased at the sale of his effects by Mr. Mowat, Old Aberdeen, who passed it to Robert Macleod, Portobello. He in turn showed it to Dr. J. Cooper and Dr. D. Butler, who agreed to attribute the authorship to Scougal. |
| Source | The manuscript was purchased by Aberdeen University Library from Sotheby’s in 1967. |
| Description | Collection of sermons by Henry Scougal. There are no dates or places of delivery mentioned in the manuscript, which evidently was part of a series of notebooks. The manuscript consists of 452 pages with sixteen sermons written in English and two notes in Latin. The contents include:
Inscription: ‘Note book C’. (flyleaf recto)
Note in Latin. Begins: ‘Rudolphus 2dus Imperator...’ (flyleaf verso)
Sermon; text: Prov. xix. 17; ‘He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again’. Discusses charity and good works. There is an additional note on p.53 on liberality of heathens and provision of hospitals which was advised by Julian the Apostate. (pp.1-53)
Blank page. (p.54)
Sermon; text: Lam. I. 12; ‘Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow...’ (pp.55-57)
Blank pages. (pp.78-80)
Sermon; text: Isa. xlviii. 22 or lvii. 21; ‘Thre is no peace, saith the Lord/my God/unto the wicked’; pp.106-107 contains ‘Corollarie’ which may be added to the introduction. (pp.81-107)
Sermon; text: Job xv. 20; ‘The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days...’. There are several interrelating remarks between this sermon and the previous one. (pp.107-121)
Sermon; no text; perhaps preached on a ceremonial occasion. Begins: ‘The Son of God came from Heaven he assumed our Nature and gave himself for us that he might sanctifie and clense and make us fitt to be a Spouse to him...’. Ends: ‘O happie who hast found such a husband who art married to thy Maker and unseparablie joyned to him’. (pp.122-130)
Sermon; text: Luke xii.4-5; ‘And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do’. (pp.130-160)
Sermon; text: Isa. lv.7; ‘Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon’. (pp.161-186) [There is perhaps a division at p.173 and there is reference on p.185 to possible addition of discourse in ‘notebook A’ on repentance of Peter.]
Sermon entitled: ‘A short discourse concerning the civill Magistrate’; no text; reference on p. 188 to Edward VI, William of Orange and Gaspar Coligny as ‘faithful magistrates’. Concludes with mention of discourse on same subject in ‘Mons. Tuffins Amendment de la vie’. (pp.186-193)
Notes in Latin; ‘Brevis Annotatiuncula de decimo Praecepto’. (pp.193-196)
Sermon; text: Jonah iii. 4; [On reaching Nineveh Jonah] ‘cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown’. (pp.197-230)
Sermon; text: Phil. iv. 5; ‘Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand’. (pp.231-235)
Sermon; text: James v. 1-2; ‘Go to now ye rich men weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten’. (pp.255-277)
Blank page. (p.278)
Sermon; text: Prov. xxx. 8-9; ‘Remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches...Lest I be full, and deny thee...’ (pp.279-311)
Sermon; text: Prov. iv. 23; ‘Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life’. (pp.312-326)
Sermon; text: Mark i. 14 -15; [Jesus said] ‘The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye and believe the gospel’. (pp.327-356)
Sermon; text: Luke xi. 28; ‘Blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it’. Also discusses taking of the sacrament by the unworthy. (pp.357-388)
Sermon; text: Ps. xxxiv. 13; ‘Keep thy tongue from evil and thy lips from speaking guile’. Note on p.405 gives alternative ‘proem’ from part of sermon on Col. iv. 6 in ‘notebook A.’ (pp.389-452) |
| Appraisal | This material has been appraised in line with normal procedures. |
| Accruals | None expected. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Access Conditions | The records are available subject to the signed acceptance of the Department's access conditions. |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the University Archivist and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material. |
| Language | English and Latin |
| Physical Description | No physical conditions affecting use of collection. |
| Related Material | The Library also possesses several collections of manuscript lecture notes on logic and moral philosophy taken at Scougal’s classes by students from 1669 onwards (MS 3924, MS 3926 and MS 1026). A copy of his morning and evening service at the Cathedral Church in Old Aberdeen is to be found in MS 140. |