Note 667 — Chapter XI · THE DEFEAT OF THE THEOCRACY

Bishop, New England Judged, pp. 4 f., 12; Swarthmore Collection, vol. I, p. 66, cited in Jones, Quakers, p. 28 n. One of the curious elements in the psychology of the Puritans was their morbid interest in the most indecent sexual matters. One may find the details of a similar physical examination set forth by Winthrop, and the pages of his journal, as those of Bradford, the records of colonies and towns, the letters of clergymen, etc., all contain minute accounts of matters which to-day would find their place only in a limited class of medical textbooks.