In May 1757, Christopher Smart, Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, renowned poet, writer for John Newbery, was involuntarily incarcerated in a London madhouse, where he spent the next seven years.
His crime: Spontaneous public prayer, which arose from his conviction that it was a crime to resist the impulse to pray, no matter what the circumstances.
And, according to his Samuel Johnson, “Another charge was, that he did not love clean linen.” Johnson might have risked confinement himself, for he added “I have no passion for it.”
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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