Gummere explores the attitudes toward the classics of seven prominent colonial Americans-Hugh Jones, Robert Calef, Michael Wigglesworth, Samuel Davies, Henry Melhior Muhlenberg, Benjamin Rush, and Thomas Paine. Each of them was essentially pragmatic and judged the value of the classics not only on the basis of their intrinsic worth but also for their relevance to contemporary problems. | Seven Wise Men of Colonial America by Richard M. Gummere, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters