Just received this. I found this book by reading the chapter on Ames in Beeke's
Puritan Reformed Spirituality. If anyone wants me to list the TOC, let me know - otherwise I'll save my fingers some typing.
Translator's Foreword
In the course of teaching the theology of William Ames I have had occation to make translations into English of the three major works about him which have been written up to this time. These appear here as three books within a single binding.
The first is a translation of the
Praefatio Introductoris, written in Latin in the 17th century, hardly a generation after Ames' death, by Matthew Nethenus of Utrecht. This originally served as a preface to Ames' Latin works.
The second, entitled
Guilielmus Amesius: Zijn Leven en Werken, was written in Dutch in the late 19th century by Hugo Visscher of Zegveld. This was presented as the author's doctoral thesis at the University of Leyden. The basic translation of this work was made for me by the Rev. Tjaard Georg Hommes, now of Arlington, Massachusetts.
The third, written in German in the mid-20th century, is from the pen of Karl Reuter of Duisburg-Marxloh. Entitled
Wilhelm Amesius, der fuhrende Theologe des erwachsenden reformierten Pietismus, this also had as its core a doctoral thesis. After being presented at the Protestant Theological Faculty in Bonn, it was reworked for publication as the fourth volume in the series,
Beitrage zur Geschichte und Leben der Reformierten Kirche, edited by W. Goeters, W. Kolfhaus, A. Lang, and O. Weber
Ames' influence has far exceeded his fame. In his native Britain he poured strength into the Puritan stream which has fed both Anglicanism and non-conformity. The thinking of Richard Baxter, for instance, is said to have been shaped by Ames to no small degree. On the Continent Ames was read with eagerness and assent wherever Calvinism was taught--from France to Hungary. In early New England he dominated theology for a hundred years, thanks not only to the power of his thought but also to his quite unusual lucidity of style. He had the gift of communication which belongs to the great teacher.
The time has come for a thorough-going study of Ames in English. Perhaps some student, availing himself of the wealth of material regarding the 17th century which modern scholarship now offers, will turn to this task. The tirad of works in this book should stimulate him and, in the meantime, serve to sustain for readers generally the memory of a fascinating man and a penetrating thinker - Douglas Horton.
(Chris: For that current study Horton was encouraging, check out:
The Learned Doctor William Ames. Dutch Background of English and American Puritanism - by Keith Sprunger)
