Nudiustertian is a rarely used word that was first used in 1647 and quickly abandoned. Maybe because it is so difficult to pronounce. The day before yesterday is easier to say, and its meaning is clear. Nathanial Ward coined the word for his book The Simple Cobler of Aggawam in America.
Nathanial Ward’s biography is more interesting than the word nudiustertian. The Simpler Cobler of Aggawam in America is considered an eccentric book. Ward, a Puritan, was intolerant of other religious sects, as can be seen in this excerpt:
“I dare take upon me, to be the herald of New England so far, as to proclaim to the world, in the name of the colony, that all Familists, Antinomians, Anabaptists, and other enthusiasts shall have free liberty to keep away from us, and such as will come to be gone as fast as they can, the sooner the better.”
An earlier book, The Body of Liberties, established a code of laws based on Common Law and the Magna Carta. It is considered to have been an important resource used in writing the American Constitution.
For a taste of the The Simpler Cobler of Aggawam in America, here is the first paragraph:
Either I am in an Appoplexie, or that man is in a Lethargie, who doth not now sensibly feele God shaking the Heavens over his head, and the Earth under his feet: The Heavens so, as the Sun begins to turne into darknesse, the Moon into blood, the Starres to fall down to the ground; So that little Light of Comfort or Counsell is left to the sonnes of men: The Earth so, as the foundations are failing, the righteous scarce know where to finde rest, the Inhabitants stagger like drunken men; it is in a manner dissolved both in Religions and Relations: And no marvell; for, they have defiled it by transgressing the Laws, changing the Ordinances, and breaking the Everlasting Covenant. The Truths of God are the Pillars of the world, whereon States and Churches may stand quiet if they will; if they will not, He can easily shake them off into delusions, and distractions enough.
The Simple Cobler, courtesy of Project Gutenberg
Want to xertz? Go to the Infographics page for similar short, helpful content.
