# Chafing Bells. This is obscure to me; help?



## NaphtaliPress (Feb 5, 2009)

This is a passage from a "use" in a sermon by the Scottish Presbyterian James Durham (d. 1658). I have not idea what "chafing bells" means in this context. Neither Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary nor the OED helped me.
It may have to do with trade but I would assume it is some sort of difficult action given how it is sandwiched between burdening with thick clay and beating the air. Anyone?
Your deeds prove that you have come some speed in other things, but what speed have ye come in your peace with God, in your progress in holiness, or in conformity to him? however, you may now shift the challenge, you will then know it, that you have been loading yourselves with the thick clay, *chafing bells* in the water, beating the air, placing your well-being in that which many who have gone before you to heaven never had, on that your care was taken up about, and on that your pains and care was bestowed. But your conscience will tell you, there was never much seriousness in the _one thing needful_.​


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## OPC'n (Feb 5, 2009)

If you chafe bells together, they make sound. If you chafe bells under water, you silence their sound....so it would defeat the purpose of chafing the bells. Sort of like beating the air is a defeating process....just my guess

-----Added 2/5/2009 at 01:58:15 EST-----

I really think it speaks of "all that you do is useless or unfruitful"


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## BobVigneault (Feb 5, 2009)

Chris, at first I was thinking that this was a nautical expression because both 'chafing' and 'bell' are nautical terms and so the explanation that Sarah gave sounded pretty good. Still does.

But, looking in the Webster 1828, we see that 'chafing' besides meaning to rub or wear away, also means 'to heat'. In fact, a 'chafing dish' is a vessel to hold coal for heating things up. They were very, very popular back in the day and still are.

From Wester 1828
chafing-dish

CHAFING-DISH, n. A dish or vessel to hold coals for heating any thing set on it; a portable grate for coals.

I can't find any occurances of a dish being called a 'bell' but the word 'bell' is certainly used for anything that is shaped like a bell and many old chafing dishes are.

If the 'chafing bells' are 'chafing dishes' then the metaphor means the uselessness of trying to heat something under water.

Wish I could find that connection because I kind of like it.

I'm guessing that there must be some poetry about when Durham was preparing his sermon that refers to 'chafing bells'. Now where is that poem.


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## LawrenceU (Feb 5, 2009)

Whatever they were chafing bells were manufactured in England during the reign of Edward III and went under a classification of goods that were not allowed to be imported starting in 1463.

This has my feeble mind intrigued. I'll keep looking.

-----Added 2/5/2009 at 09:39:00 EST-----

Alright. I called my linguist, English professor father. He suggested the following:

Chafe originally meant to annoy, scare, or worry. It later became used to mean wear down. For instance, a horse can chafe at the bit: the bit annoys him and this causes wear.

He surmises that chafing bells were bells that wear either designed to be used as an alarm bell (on a door or opening that would sound as the door was bothered), hung in such a way to keep animals from a garden, mounted on fences to keep animals from leaning and lunging at the fence or gate, or mounted on harness to sound as the animal pulled a cart.

BTW, did you know that jingle bells drive most horses nuts? They would be chafing bells.


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## NaphtaliPress (Feb 5, 2009)

Lawrence, thanks very much for going to that extent to help. I'm still having trouble getting the sense though. Is it that these bells then are in the water peeling from the motion of the waves, not really doing any good? It perplexes me there was no entry in the dictionaries noting such a thing. It is rather surprising how few "hits" there are on Google and almost all in Google books.


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## LawrenceU (Feb 5, 2009)

It could be that the chafing bells that he mentions were placed on boats or floated near piers, like a bell on a buoy. Thus, Durham was warning his listeners / readers that erecting 'safety devices' to prevent sin was of no effect if they were no primarily focusing upon the finished work of Christ for their sanctification.


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## BobVigneault (Feb 5, 2009)

Just a warning to anyone who wants to google 'chafing bells'. Uhhhhhh,.... well, let's just say that Google is first going to guess that you may have misspelled 'bells'. You have been warned.


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## NaphtaliPress (Feb 5, 2009)

Yep. Way more entries for that.


BobVigneault said:


> Just a warning to anyone who wants to google 'chafing bells'. Uhhhhhh,.... well, let's just say that Google is first going to guess that you may have misspelled 'bells'. You have been warned.


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## Ivan (Feb 5, 2009)

NaphtaliPress said:


> Yep. Way more entries for that.
> 
> 
> BobVigneault said:
> ...



TMI...not goin' there!


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## NaphtaliPress (Feb 5, 2009)

That sounds good but I think reading way more into it. That it is in a series of vain labor I think is the key to figuring it out. The sermon is one of eight (not sure the other seven survive; in MS if so) on the "one thing needful" and much of the application is being taken up with the cares of our callings and neglecting Christ. I'll post a fuller passage for context if it will help (sorry but formatting drops out; previous text bolded below).



> Use Two. This may discover the great folly that is among men; and give ground to expostulate with them for it. If nothing be absolutely necessary for happiness but godliness, what will become of the most part of men that slight it, and desire and endeavor to obtain other things? They spend their money for that which is not bread, and their labour for that which satisfieth not [cf. Isa. 55:2]. They go many a wearisome foot, and yet find nothing but vanity; they gather wealth and put it into a bag with holes; they labor in the fire, and have no fruit of their labor, more than they had never had anything. And they shall know, to their woeful experience, this truth, when the world shall be burned, and they shall be stripped naked of all their enjoyments, and brought to an account for wearying themselves with very vanity [Hab. 2:13]; and their neglecting the one thing needful. It will be a great thing to get folks convinced of this now, they cannot believe it, but they are seeking the one thing needful, and they think they place not their happiness in creatures. But if the Lord were discovering some of your hearts, could you say, that most of your time and pains have been spent upon that which is most needful; if so then, what length are you come in godliness, when compared with what you formerly attained long since? What acquaintance have you with the spiritual exercises of pious souls, or of living by faith upon the Son of God? If you were coming to die, what is laid up for the foundation of your peace? Are you reconciled to God, and in good terms with him? Is your interest in Christ clear? Is there any ground of your acceptance with Christ at his coming, and second appearance?
> 
> I am not now speaking of guessing and conjectures, which the profaneest [most profane] may have, but what solid and real ground have you, that will bear you out if the day of judgment were come, and men and women were brought to the trial; or more particularly called out, and spoken to, and it were said unto them, “What have you been seeking as necessary? Your deeds prove that you have come some speed in other things, but what speed have ye come in your peace with God, in your progress in holiness, or in conformity to him? however, you may now shift the challenge, you will then know it, *that you have been loading yourselves with the thick clay, chafing [?] bells in the water, beating the air, placing your well-being in that which many who have gone before you to heaven never had, on that your care was taken up about, and on that your pains and care was bestowed. *But your conscience will tell you, there was never much seriousness in the one thing needful.
> 
> ...





LawrenceU said:


> It could be that the chafing bells that he mentions were placed on boats or floated near piers, like a bell on a buoy. Thus, Durham was warning his listeners / readers that erecting 'safety devices' to prevent sin was of no effect if they were no primarily focusing upon the finished work of Christ for their sanctification.


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## py3ak (Feb 5, 2009)

From the context it seems clear that he is not speaking of "chafing bells", as in the kind of bells known as "chafing bells", but is rather thinking of the activity of _chafing_ a bell. The Google links bring up some import and manufacture information on "chafing bells", but nothing that I've seen on the activity of "chafing" as related to bells. The grammar requires that "chafing" be functioning as a verb, rather than as an adjective.


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## LawrenceU (Feb 5, 2009)

Not necessarily, Ruben. In context it can also be seen as type of bell. Remembering that the type of bell served a purpose. Each of the items / conditions listed is useless. Thick clay cannot be used for moulding. Chafing bells in the water offer no warning. Beating the air is senseless. Placing our well being in something new is of no use. Taking pains and cares to amass such things if of no benefit.


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## NaphtaliPress (Feb 5, 2009)

Durham references Habakkuk 2:13 in this use. As far as the thick clay, I found this:
Habakkuk 2:6. Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe[SIZE=-1][/SIZE] to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay!

Maybe these are all allusions to scriptures? At least this one may be. Thoughts? The bells still throw me, though the passage is about vexations

-----Added 2/5/2009 at 02:25:51 EST-----

The last may be drawn if not in context, from 1 Cor. 9:26, "I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air"


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## VictorBravo (Feb 5, 2009)

Chris, it might also be "chaffing." I found one reference to the same list of prohibited imports except it used the spelling of "chaffing" bells.

Etymology search of "chaff" and "chaffing" shows that it used to mean "idle, useless" especially in terms of talk or sound.

So maybe it's nothing more than "useless bells" under water.

But the fact that it appears on an old list suggests to me that there was a kind of bell, perhaps somewhat noisy and pointlessly amusing, bantering, whatever, that was popular.


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## NaphtaliPress (Feb 5, 2009)

idle may may more sense. I did find this interesting entry about chafe versus chaffe (vex versus playful banter).
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of ... - Google Book Search

-----Added 2/5/2009 at 03:15:12 EST-----

Chaffing: blow up or talk aloud
Grose's Classical Dictionary of the ... - Google Book Search
Maybe raging bells in the water? Some sense like that?
The Royal Standard English Dictionary - Google Book Search


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## Jon Lake (Feb 5, 2009)

Chris I just checked the Oxford English (I just have the short 2 volume it may be in the Complete) but mine gave no more than what you have thus seen. Sorry... NOW I'M CURIOUS!  Anyone have Oxford Unabridged?


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## VictorBravo (Feb 5, 2009)

NaphtaliPress said:


> Maybe raging bells in the water? Some sense like that?




Whatever kind of bells they were, I think we can be fairly sure that, if they were underwater, they were nigh to useless.


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## py3ak (Feb 5, 2009)

LawrenceU said:


> Not necessarily, Ruben. In context it can also be seen as type of bell. Remembering that the type of bell served a purpose. Each of the items / conditions listed is useless. Thick clay cannot be used for moulding. Chafing bells in the water offer no warning. Beating the air is senseless. Placing our well being in something new is of no use. Taking pains and cares to amass such things if of no benefit.



But in that case it would require "loading" to be still the governing verb, and "loading" yourself with chafing bells under water seems to me to make even _less_ sense than "chafing" a bell or bells.


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## NaphtaliPress (Feb 6, 2009)

Or, OED online.
I would have gotten another sermon edited or portion of one done today if it were not for this pesky thing. But such are what the interesting footnotes are made of.


Jon Lake said:


> Chris I just checked the Oxford English (I just have the short 2 volume it may be in the Complete) but mine gave no more than what you have thus seen. Sorry... NOW I'M CURIOUS!  Anyone have Oxford Unabridged?



-----Added 2/6/2009 at 05:04:52 EST-----

Here is the note I've come up with so far to explain this. Input and critique is still welcome. I lean toward Ruben's thinking of an action rather than type of bell, though this is from the 17th century and from MS notes of a hearer. So I would not say it is absolutely certain.

_Chaffing,_ or to chafe, means to worry or vex, and _chaffing bells,_ while it may refer to specific bells common at the time, the grammar would indicate an action, such as ringing. The imagery may be of vigorously ringing bells in or under the water, which is rather ineffective if they are to be heard; hence an ultimately useless activity. The first and third actions at least allude to scriptural imagery for futile or self-defeating endeavors (Hab. 2:6; 1 Cor. 9:26).


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## VictorBravo (Feb 6, 2009)

NaphtaliPress said:


> Or, OED online.
> I would have gotten another sermon edited or portion of one done today if it were not for this pesky thing. But such are what the interesting footnotes are made of.
> 
> 
> ...




Looks good enough to me. I've been swayed by Ruben's interpretation, that "chafing" is a verb, because of the structure of the sentence (the other items of the list begin with verbs).


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## LawrenceU (Feb 6, 2009)

victorbravo said:


> NaphtaliPress said:
> 
> 
> > Or, OED online.
> ...



Well, Vic beat me to it.


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## NaphtaliPress (Jun 21, 2016)

Revisiting this really old thread as I'm re-editing the sermon in question. Chaffer means to haggle or bargain; I wonder if chaffing bells were bells sold to businesses for some purpose? As some have noted they do appear on store inventories and date to well before Durham's time. I'm still not particularly happy with how to handle the explanation. I do think three futile activities are in view. Since the first and last are from scripture is there any scripture that comes to mind, thinking of some other item than a bell in the water? My current note reads:Chaffing, or to chafe, means to worry or vex, and chaffing bells, while it may refer to specific bells common at the time, the sentence structure with verbs beginning two of the three items in the list, would indicate an action as well. The imagery may be of ringing or vigorously ringing of bells in or under the water, which is rather ineffective if they are to be heard; hence an ultimately useless activity. The first and third allude to scriptural imagery for futile or self-defeating endeavors.​


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## VictorBravo (Jun 21, 2016)

Interesting blast from the past. Funny how I didn't remember entering this discussion at all.

I think your idea of vigorous ringing in the water is sound. (Pun intended....)

One other idea is that it might have something to do with bell-making. I ran across the use of "chafery" in iron working, where metal was reheated before being worked into usable shapes. Maybe during his period, it referred in some way to bell-founding or casting. Of course, trying to heat metal for shaping in water would be equally futile.


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