With the plague now beginning to spread and intensify, and having witnessed so many of his neighbors fleeing the city, the author realizes that he must soon decide whether to stay or go himself, and he offers his reflections and decision-making process as a guide to others who might find themselves in similar circumstances. Like many of us would be, he is torn between the desire to protect his belongings and property or to flee and perhaps save his life. In a particularly interesting conversation with his more well-traveled brother, he considers whether his fate is foreordained and thus not affected at all by any decision he might make.
In the end, after a series of incidents prevents him from leaving, he settles on considering what we might call the “preponderance of the evidence” as a method for making such a decision. By this he means that we should look upon the entirety of opportunities and obstacles that present themselves, to view them “complexly” as being “intimations from Heaven.” Finding guidance and solace in the 91st Psalm, and after a brief bout of some minor but worrisome illness, he is confirmed in his resolve to stay in London, placing his fate in God’s hands.
[For notes on the main themes of the novel, visit https://londonplague.com/postscript/. To see some ways in which our reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic are anticipated in the Journal, see https://londonplague.com/concordance/.]
Credits:
Podcast produced by Sam Brelsfoard
Music from Funeral Sentences of Henry Purcell (1659-1695), performed by the Choir of Clare College at the University of Cambridge, Timothy Brown conducting. Used by permission.
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© 2020 Mark Cummings