Abstract:Early modern husbands seldom wrote about their wives; Anthony Walker’s decision to base his tribute to his wife Elizabeth on her manuscripts is even more unusual. His memories of a virtuous wife and her depiction of their marriage, their family, and herself complement each other with a distinctive immediacy. Secular details vividly paint a human portrait that serves a spiritual end. Theirs was a providential marriage of “great Love and Care,” one of mutual delight and fulfillment. Elizabeth’s maternal love is apparent in her husband’s detailed attention to her careful religious education of their children and her poignant account of the illnesses and deaths of their three daughters. Elizabeth’s sympathy for the poor and ministering to the sick in the “true Spirit of the Gospel” and her concern for the souls of others further distinguish her among praiseworthy women. More than a conventional paragon of feminine virtue, Elizabeth Walker exemplifies in her writing and in her husband’s memories the daily practice of seventeenth-century holiness. Faith informed by her devotion to the Bible is throughout her life the essence of a lived spirituality.

中文翻译：

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部长的妻子：精神生活的早期现代肖像

摘要：早期的现代丈夫很少写关于妻子的文章。安东尼·沃克（Anthony Walker）决定以他的手稿向他的妻子伊丽莎白（Elizabeth）致敬，这一点更加不寻常。他对贤惠妻子的回忆，以及对婚姻，家庭和她自己的描绘，以独特的即时性相辅相成。世俗的细节生动地描绘了人像，为精神目的服务。他们的婚姻是“伟大的爱与关怀”的天赐婚姻，是彼此喜悦和满足的一种。伊丽莎白的母爱体现在她丈夫对她的孩子进行认真的宗教教育以及她对三个女儿的疾病和死亡的凄惨叙述中。伊丽莎白对穷人的同情和“福音的真正精神”中对病人的服侍，以及她对他人灵魂的关注，进一步使她在值得称赞的女性中脱颖而出。伊丽莎白·沃克（Elizabeth Walker）不仅是传统的女性美德典范，而且在她的著作和丈夫的记忆中都充分体现了17世纪圣洁的日常习俗。她虔诚奉献给圣经的信念是她一生中活泼灵性的本质。