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Zulu people
|Total population
|~ 12,159,000[1]
|Regions with significant populations
|South Africa
|10,659,309 (2001 census)
to 11,508,000[1][2]
(many also speak English, Portuguese, Afrikaans and Xhosa)
|Christianity, Zulu religion
|Related ethnic groups
|Nguni, Xhosa, Swazi, Ndebele, other Bantu peoples
The Zulu (Zulu: amaZulu) are a Bantu ethnic group of Southern Africa and the largest ethnic group in South Africa, with an estimated 10–11 million people living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Small numbers also live in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. Their language, Zulu, is a Bantu language; more specifically, part of the Nguni supergroup.
- 1 Origins
- 2 Kingdom
- 3 Apartheid years
- 4 Modern Zulu population
- 5 Language
- 6 Clothing
- 7 Religion and beliefs
- 8 Notable Zulus
- 9 See also
- 10 References
- 11 External links
The Zulu were originally a major clan in what is today Northern KwaZulu-Natal, founded ca. 1709 by Zulu kaNtombela. In the Nguni languages, iZulu/iliZulu/liTulu means heaven, or sky.[citation needed] At that time, the area was occupied by many large Nguni communities and clans (also called isizwe=nation, people or isibongo=clan). Nguni communities had migrated down Africa's east coast over centuries, as part of the Bantu migrations probably arriving in what is now South Africa in about the 9th century.[citation needed]
The Zulu formed a powerful state in 1818[3] under the leader Shaka. Shaka, as the Zulu King, gained a large amount of power over the tribe. As commander in the army of the powerful Mthethwa Empire, he became leader of his mentor Dingiswayo's paramouncy and united what was once a confederation of tribes into an imposing empire under Zulu hegemony.
Conflict with the British
On 11 December 1878, agents of the British delivered an ultimatum to 11 chiefs representing Cetshwayo. The terms forced upon Cetshwayo required him to disband his army and accept British authority. Cetshwayo refused, and war followed January 12, 1879. During the war, the Zulus defeated the British at the Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January. The British managed to get the upper hand after the battle at Rorke's Drift, and subsequently win the war with the Zulu being defeated at the Battle of Ulundi on 4 July.
Absorption into Natal
After Cetshwayo's capture a month following his defeat, the British divided the Zulu Empire into 13 "kinglets". The sub-kingdoms fought amongst each other until 1883 when Cetshwayo was reinstated as king over Zululand. This still did not stop the fighting and the Zulu monarch was forced to flee his realm by Zibhebhu, one of the 13 kinglets, supported by Boer mercenaries. Cetshwayo died in February 1884, killed by Zibhebhu's regime, leaving his son, the 15-year-old Dinuzulu, to inherit the throne. In-fighting between the Zulu continued for years, until Zululand was absorbed fully into the British colony of Natal.
Apartheid years
KwaZulu homeland
Under apartheid, the homeland of KwaZulu (Kwa meaning place of) was created for Zulu people. In 1970, the Bantu Homeland Citizenship Act provided that all Zulus would become citizens of KwaZulu, losing their South African citizenship. KwaZulu consisted of a large number of disconnected pieces of land, in what is now KwaZulu-Natal. Hundreds of thousands of Zulu people living on privately owned "black spots" outside of KwaZulu were dispossessed and forcibly moved to bantustans – worse land previously reserved for whites contiguous to existing areas of KwaZulu – in the name of "consolidation." By 1993, approximately 5.2 million Zulu people lived in KwaZulu, and approximately 2 million lived in the rest of South Africa. The Chief Minister of KwaZulu, from its creation in 1970 (as Zululand) was Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. In 1994, KwaZulu was joined with the province of Natal, to form modern KwaZulu-Natal.
Inkatha YeSizwe
Inkatha YeSizwe means "the crown of the nation". In 1975, Buthelezi revived the Inkatha YaKwaZulu, predecessor of the Inkatha Freedom Party. This organization was nominally a protest movement against apartheid, but held more conservative views than the ANC. For example, Inkatha was opposed to the armed struggle, and to sanctions against South Africa. Inkatha was initially on good terms with the ANC, but the two organizations came into increasing conflict beginning in 1976 in the aftermath of the Soweto Uprising.
Modern Zulu population
The modern Zulu population is fairly evenly distributed in both urban and rural areas. Although KwaZulu-Natal is still their heartland, large numbers have been attracted to the relative economic prosperity of Gauteng province. Indeed, Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in the province, followed by Sotho.
The language of the Zulu people is "isiZulu", a Bantu language; more specifically, part of the Nguni subgroup. Zulu is the most widely spoken language in South Africa, where it is an official language. More than half of the South African population are able to understand it, with over 9 million first-language and over 15 million second-language speakers.[4] Many Zulu people also speak Afrikaans, English, Portuguese, Xitsonga, Sesotho and others from among South Africa's 11 official languages.
Zulus wear a variety of attire, both traditional for ceremonial or culturally celebratory occasions, and modern westernized clothing for everyday use.The women dress differently depending on whether they are single, engaged, or married. The men wore a leather belt with two strips of hide hanging down front and back
Religion and beliefs
Most Zulu people state their beliefs to be Christian. Some of the most common churches to which they belong are African Initiated Churches, especially the Zion Christian Church and United African Apostolic Church, although membership of major European Churches, such as the Dutch Reformed, Anglican and Catholic Churches are also common. Nevertheless, many Zulus retain their traditional pre-Christian belief system of ancestor worship in parallel with their Christianity.
Zulu religion includes belief in a creator God (Unkulunkulu) who is above interacting in day-to-day human affairs, although this belief appears to have originated from efforts by early Christian missionaries to frame the idea of the Christian God in Zulu terms.[5] Traditionally, the more strongly held Zulu belief was in ancestor spirits (Amatongo or Amadhlozi), who had the power to intervene in people's lives, for good or ill.[6] This belief continues to be widespread among the modern Zulu population.[7]
Traditionally, the Zulu recognize several elements to be present in a human being: the physical body (inyamalumzimba or umzimba); the breath or life force (umoyalumphefumulo or umoya); and the "shadow," prestige, or personality (isithunzi). Once the umoya leaves the body, the isithunzi may live on as an ancestral spirit (idlozi) only if certain conditions were met in life.[8][9] Behaving with ubuntu, or showing respect and generosity towards others, enhances one's moral standing or prestige in the community, one's isithunzi.[10] By contrast, acting in a negative way towards others can reduce the isithunzi, and it is possible for the isithunzi to fade away completely.[11]
In order to appeal to the spirit world, a diviner (sangoma) must invoke the ancestors through divination processes to determine the problem. Then, a herbalist (inyanga) prepares a mixture (muthi) to be consumed in order to influence the ancestors. As such, diviners and herbalists play an important part in the daily lives of the Zulu people. However, a distinction is made between white muthi (umuthi omhlope), which has positive effects, such as healing or the prevention or reversal of misfortune, and black muthi (umuthi omnyama), which can bring illness or death to others, or ill-gotten wealth to the user.[7] Users of black muthi are considered witches, and shunned by society.
Christianity had difficulty gaining a foothold among the Zulu people, and when it did it was in a syncretic fashion. Isaiah Shembe, considered the Zulu Messiah, presented a form of Christianity (the Nazareth Baptist Church) which incorporated traditional customs.[12]
Notable Zulus
Politicians and activists
- Shaka
- Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma - Chairperson, African Union Commission
- Credo Mutwa - Spiritual leader of the Zulu people.
- Pixley ka Isaka Seme - Founder of African National Congress and the first black lawyer in South Africa.
- Jacob Zuma - President of the Republic of South Africa.
- Chief Albert Luthuli - President of the African National Congress and first South African Nobel Peace laureate.
- King Shaka ka Senzangakhona - Founder of the Zulu Nation
- Princess Constance Magogo Sibilile Mantithi Ngangezinye kaDinuzulu - Artist and Zulu Princess
- John Langalibalele Dube - first President of the African National Congress, founder of Ohlange Institute, Educator.
- Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Inkatha Freedom Party Founder and President
- Ben Ngubane, Former SABC Chairperson & Former Premier of Kwa Zulu Natal
- Jeff Radebe, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Performance, Monitoring, Evaluation and Administration
- Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education
- Malusi Gigaba, Minister of Home Affairs
- Nathi Mthethwa, Minister of Arts and Culture
- Sibusiso Ndebele, Former Minister of Correctional services & Former Premier of Kwa Zulu Natal
- Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Founder of National Freedom Party (splinter group from Inkatha Freedom Party)
Business and professional figures
- Phuthuma Nhleko, Former MTN CEO
- Professor Njabulo Ndebele, Former University of Cape Town Vice Chancellor & Writer.
Sport figures
- Doctor Khumalo, Soccer player
- Lucas Radebe, Soccer player
- Samkelo Radebe, Paralympic runner and gold medal winner
- Siphiwe Tshabalala, Soccer player
See also
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External links
- History section of the official page for the Zululand region, Zululand.kzn.org
- Izithakazelo, wakahina.co.za
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zulu people.
- Use dmy dates from March 2013
- "Related ethnic groups" needing confirmation
- Articles containing Zulu-language text
- Articles with unsourced statements from September 2015
- Articles with unsourced statements from July 2009
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Zulu topics
- 1709 establishments
- World Digital Library related
- Ethnic groups in South Africa


text:
Workers at GM, Ford to Score Nice Bonuses This Year
Profit-sharing bonuses for United Auto Workers' members at Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) are expected to be at least as large as last year's payout at General Motors and larger than the year-ago bonuses paid at Ford. Approximately 55,000 GM hourly workers and 40,000 Ford employees are in line for the payments.
GM workers can expect bonuses of between $5,500 and $7,000, and Ford's employees could receive a payment of more than $8,000 each, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The payments are based on a formula that gives workers a $1 bonus for every $1 million in North American operating profit at the two companies.
U.S. auto sales are on track to top 14.5 million units in 2012, up 14% over last year's sales total. In the first three quarters of the year, GM has posted operating profit of $5.55 billion and Ford's profit totals nearly $6.5 billion. And the fourth quarter looks good too.
Paul Ausick
Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Autos, Labor & Unions Tagged: F, featured, GM

subset: commoncrawl


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Phone: Mon-Fri, 9AM-6PM EST
The Incident Command Certification Program is designed to first instruct, train and then evaluate and certify Fire Dept. Officers who serve in the role of Incident Commander that supervise and manage emergency and hazard zone operations for every day, local NIMS Type 4 and Type 5 events.
This training and certification program produces Incident Commanders that make better decisions.
Chief Alan Brunacini
The "Blue Card" training program provides Fire Departments with a training and certification system that defines the best Standard Command Practices for common, local, everyday Strategic and Tactical emergency operations conducted on NIMS Type 4 & Type 5 events. This training and certification program produces Incident Commanders that make better decisions that will potentially eliminate the lethal and/or costly mistakes that cause injury, death, and unnecessary fire losses in the local response area.
1Completion of the 40-50 hour online training program (Cognitive portion of the program)
2Completion of the Simulation Evaluation Session (Manipulative portion of the program)
3Continuing Education (CE) and 3 year re-certification process (Cognitive and Manipulative skill maintenance)
4Instructor training and support program(Local delivery and management of the program))
1) The Blue Card 40 - 50 hour online training program: fulfills 100% of the Blue Card Hazard Zone Incident Command standard's cognitive and knowledge based classroom requirements. The successful completion of this Blue Card online training program is the first step in the command certification process. Once the student has successfully passed the online training program with a 70% or higher cognitive test score, they will be eligible to attend a 3 day Blue Card simulation, evaluation lab. Students must attend an evaluation sim lab within 1 year from completing the online training program.
2) Blue Card simulation evaluation session: each student will be evaluated in the role of the initial arriving Incident Commander (E-1 officer) and as the second arriving Incident Commander (BC-1 response chief) during the evaluation process. The student will have to fill both of the Incident Commander rolls for each of the programs 5 basic building types. The 5 basic building types are: residential, multi-unit residential, strip malls, commercial buildings, and big box structures. These occupancies represent over 90% of the structural fires we respond to and operate on. After successfully completing all of the required simulation evaluations, the student will be officially certified as a Blue Card IC.
3) CE and 3 year re-certification process: after the student has successfully passed the evaluation lab and has obtained their local, Type 4 & 5 Incident commander certification, they will be required to have 12 hours of Strategic and Tactical Command training - continuing education hours per year. The Type 4 & 5 command certification will be valid for a 3-year period from the date the sim evaluation process is completed. At the end of the 3 year certification period, the student will need to have at least 36 Blue Card tracked CE hours along with successfully passing their IC evaluation requirements in order to recertify and maintain their Blue Card IC certification for another 3 year time period.
4) Instructor training and support program - A major objective of the Blue Card training program is for individual departments or regions to quickly manage the certification and evaluation program themselves, while customizing the system to the local topography, resource levels, and SOPs. Future instructor/certifier's will first enroll in the Blue Card online training portion of the program available at www.bluecardcommand.com. When the on-line portion of the program has been successfully completed, the instructor will be eligible to attend the Train the Trainer program.
A Train the Trainer session consists of 5 consecutive, 8 hour days. The TtT participants will also get much more detailed lesson plans and instruction on the 5 basic occupancy/building types, tactical level embedded safety operations, command team operations, and mayday operations.
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Design Thinking is a process, and every company that does it defines that process based on some common principles. As I practice it, there are seven phases (which need not be run in any given order, but which must all, ultimately, be run):
- Define — Define the problem to be solved
- Research — Collect relevant data
- Ideate — Generate (without criticism) as many ideas as possible
- Prototype — Try some ideas (usually selected by a vote)
- Choose — Pick the winners
- Implement
- Learn
Why should you care?
The board of the Open Source Initiative has largely concluded that we have reached a point of organizational and contextual maturity. Namely, that open source has been defined, and a relatively large constituency of people have accepted that definition. So far, so good. What we have not done, however, is to make the OSI representative of that constituency. Yes, our board members have strong credentials as open source software developers, entrepreneurs, advocates, researchers, etc. But we cannot really claim that we are truly representative of the community, nor that we can truly speak for the community, other than the fact that each of us considers ourselves to be a small (very small) part of the community. There are others who identify themselves as members of the open source community (just as we do), who strongly believe that they better know how to protect and grow the open source movement, which includes greatly relaxing our standards for interpreting the OSD and allowing a great many more licenses to be approved. There are others who think that the OSD should specifically permit new and different ways that authors can control the use and distribution of their works. Etc. You may agree or disagree with these positions, but who gets to judge who is right? How are board members nominated and elected? How well does that process represent your position?
We believe that one way to address this is to transform ourselves into some kind of membership (or other representative) organization. But what, precisely, should be the goal? And what should be the process? And how should it be done? And how can we protect ourselves if 50,000 people who want to destroy open source decide they want to join and vote us into the ground?
This summer, five thousand or so open source community members will meet together in Portland Oregon at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention. This strikes us as a perfect opportunity to use an inclusive, design thinking approach to answer some of these questions.
I hereby volunteer to lead two sessions during a BOF at OSCON. The first session will be a primer on Design Thinking: what it is, how to do it, what not to do, some examples of successful design thinking. The second session will be the application of design thinking to the following problem: How Should The OSI Transition to a Membership Organization?
In my experience, 80% of all design thinking sessions I've attended result in a redefinition of the problem statement because in the process, we realized that we started off trying to solve the wrong problem. This is why problem definition is a part of the process, not an input to the process. Thus, it is entirely possible that the outcome of the session will be to solve some other problem. And if we do the process well, that will be a successful outcome!
In any event, if you do plan on coming to OSCON, please plan on attending one or both of these sessions. The first (on design thinking) should be strictly useful in any context. The second (on OSI governance) will be as useful as you are willing to make it. I hope to see you there!


text: To test drive this INFINITI QX80 in Richmond, please fill-out this form and a specialist from Applewood INFINITI will contact you shortly. It will be our pleasure to book an appointment at the date and time of your best convenience, when you will have all the necessary time to test drive this INFINITI QX80 at Applewood INFINITI in Richmond. Don't wait any longer, test drive it now!


text:
Children whose parents provide them with learning materials like books and toys and engage them in learning activities and meaningful conversations in infancy and toddlerhood are likely to develop early cognitive skills that can cascade into later academic success, finds a new study by NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.
The study, published online in the journal Applied Developmental Science, followed a group of children from birth through 5th grade to track the influence of early home learning environments on later cognitive skills and understand the factors that might explain long-term influences.
"There is growing evidence for the power of early learning environments on later academic success," said Catherine Tamis-LeMonda, the study's lead author and a professor of applied psychology at NYU Steinhardt. "Our study confirms that strong home learning environments arm children with foundational skills that are springboards to long-term academic achievement."
Research shows that the home learning environment powerfully shapes children's language and cognitive development. Children's participation in learning activities, the quality of parent-child interactions, and the availability of learning materials like books and toys are three key features of the home learning environment that support language and pre-academic skills in early childhood.
In this study, Tamis-LeMonda and her colleagues examined early home learning environments and whether they predict 5th grade academic skills for children of families from ethnically diverse, low-income backgrounds. The researchers studied 2,204 families enrolled in the Early Head Start Research Evaluation Project.
Children's learning environments were measured through a series of home visits at 14 months, at 2 and 3 years, and at pre-kindergarten. The researchers looked at literacy activities (including book reading, storytelling, and teaching letters and numbers), learning materials in the home (including books, toys, or games that facilitate expression and learning), and the quality of mothers' interactions with their children. Examples of high quality interactions included labeling objects in the environment and responding to children's cues; these sensitive interactions are attentive to children's needs and cognitively stimulating.
Learning environments were again assessed in 5th grade based on the number of books in the home and the quality of mothers' engagement with children, both spontaneous interactions and during a discussion-based task.
At the pre-kindergarten and 5th grade visits, children were assessed on age-appropriate academic skills. The pre-K visit included measures of vocabulary, letter and word identification, and math problem-solving; the 5th grade visit measured vocabulary, reading, math, and general cognitive abilities.
The researchers found that early learning environments supported the emergence of pre-academic skills that persisted into early adolescence to predict children's 5th grade academic skills. Pathways from early learning environments to later academic skill were similar for children from White, Black, Hispanic, English-speaking, and Hispanic Spanish-speaking backgrounds.
Notably, learning environments were highly stable over the 10-year study, suggesting that the experiences parents provide their infants as early as the first year of life may solidify into patterns of engagement that either continue to support or impede children's emerging skills.
The study highlights the importance of early childhood experiences for children's skill development and long-term academic success, and reinforces the notion that families have a major influence on children's academic outcomes.
The researchers note that the findings have implications for policy and practice, including the design of interventions for young children and parents from disadvantaged backgrounds.
"Improvements to early learning environments, whether it be in the home or through early childhood programs like Early Head Start, can effectively support the development of children exposed to socioeconomic disadvantage," said Tamis-LeMonda, who also co-directs the Center for Research on Culture, Development and Education at NYU Steinhardt.
In addition to Tamis-LeMonda, study authors include Rufan Luo of Rutgers University-Camden, Karen E. McFadden of Brooklyn College, Eileen T. Bandel of Mathematica Policy Research, and Claire Vallotton of Michigan State University. The study used data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, which was funded by the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Contract 105-95-1936). Funding from the National Science Foundation (Grants 0218159 and 0721383) also supported the research.
About the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (@nyusteinhardt)
Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development prepares students for careers in the arts, education, health, media, and psychology. Since its founding in 1890, the Steinhardt School's mission has been to expand human capacity through public service, global collaboration, research, scholarship, and practice. To learn more about NYU Steinhardt, visit steinhardt.nyu.edu.


text: It's long overdue, but I'm pleased as punch to finally take the wrapper off an updated site design for Tokyo Farm. The dust is still settling (and some more will likely get kicked up), but please come on in and poke around. And don't hesitate to leave a comment if you find a corner of the Farm that needs some attention. Somewhere between relocating the chicken coop and tearing down the old barn, something is bound to been missed!


text:
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Hey...Has anyone heard of the Trojan.VirtualRoot virus? My AV scanner is reporting that it has been found in c:\explorer.exe but it only finds it every other boot? Could this be a false positive? I have the latest definitions for Norton 2000 corporate.
I have been at odds trying to find more info on this virus. If you have any links I would appreciate.


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"Amazing grace, how sweet the sound..." So begins one of the most beloved hymns of all times, a staple in the hymnals of many denominations, New Britain or "45 on the top" in Sacred Harp. The author of the words was John Newton, the self-proclaimed wretch who once was lost but then was found, saved by amazing grace.
Newton was born in London July 24, 1725, the son of a commander of a merchant ship which sailed the Mediterranean. When John was eleven, he went to sea with his father and made six voyages with him before the elder Newton retired. In 1744 John was impressed into service on a man-of-war, the H. M. S. Harwich. Finding conditions on board intolerable, he deserted but was soon recaptured and publicly flogged and demoted from midshipman to common seaman.
Finally at his own request he was exchanged into service on a slave ship, which took him to the coast of Sierra Leone. He then became the servant of a slave trader and was brutally abused. Early in 1748 he was rescued by a sea captain who had known John's father. John Newton ultimately became captain of his own ship, one which plied the slave trade.
Although he had had some early religious instruction from his mother, who had died when he was a child, he had long since given up any religious convictions. However, on a homeward voyage, while he was attempting to steer the ship through a violent storm, he experienced what he was to refer to later as his "great deliverance." He recorded in his journal that when all seemed lost and the ship would surely sink, he exclaimed, "Lord, have mercy upon us." Later in his cabin he reflected on what he had said and began to believe that God had addressed him through the storm and that grace had begun to work for him.
For the rest of his life he observed the anniversary of May 10, 1748 as the day of his conversion, a day of humiliation in which he subjected his will to a higher power. "Thro' many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; 'tis grace has bro't me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home." He continued in the slave trade for a time after his conversion; however, he saw to it that the slaves under his care were treated humanely.
In 1750 he married Mary Catlett, with whom he had been in love for many years. By 1755, after a serious illness, he had given up seafaring forever. During his days as a sailor he had begun to educate himself, teaching himself Latin, among other subjects. From 1755 to 1760 Newton was surveyor of tides at Liverpool, where he came to know George Whitefield, deacon in the Church of England, evangelistic preacher, and leader of the Calvinistic Methodist Church. Newton became Whitefield's enthusiastic disciple. During this period Newton also met and came to admire John Wesley, founder of Methodism. Newton's self-education continued, and he learned Greek and Hebrew.
He decided to become a minister and applied to the Archbishop of York for ordination. The Archbishop refused his request, but Newton persisted in his goal, and he was subsequently ordained by the Bishop of Lincoln and accepted the curacy of Olney, Buckinghamshire. Newton's church became so crowded during services that it had to be enlarged. He preached not only in Olney but in other parts of the country. In 1767 the poet William Cowper settled at Olney, and he and Newton became friends.
Cowper helped Newton with his religious services and on his tours to other places. They held not only a regular weekly church service but also began a series of weekly prayer meetings, for which their goal was to write a new hymn for each one. They collaborated on several editions of Olney Hymns, which achieved lasting popularity. The first edition, published in 1779, contained 68 pieces by Cowper and 280 by Newton.
Among Newton's contributions which are still loved and sung today are "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds" and "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken," as well as "Amazing Grace." Composed probably between 1760 and 1770 in Olney, "Amazing Grace" was possibly one of the hymns written for a weekly service. Through the years other writers have composed additional verses to the hymn which came to be known as "Amazing Grace" (it was not thus entitled in Olney Hymns), and possibly verses from other Newton hymns have been added. However, these are the six stanzas that appeared, with minor spelling variations, in both the first edition in 1779 and the 1808 edition, the one nearest the date of Newton's death. It appeared under the heading Faith's Review and Expectation, along with a reference to First Chronicles, chapter 17, verses 16 and 17.
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)
That sav'd a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev'd;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ'd!
Thro' many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call'd me here below,
Will be forever mine.
The origin of the melody is unknown. Most hymnals attribute it to an early American folk melody. The Bill Moyers special on "Amazing Grace" speculated that it may have originated as the tune of a song the slaves sang.
Newton was not only a prolific hymn writer but also kept extensive journals and wrote many letters. Historians accredit his journals and letters for much of what is known today about the eighteenth century slave trade. In Cardiphonia, or the Utterance of the Heart, a series of devotional letters, he aligned himself with the Evangelical revival, reflecting the sentiments of his friend John Wesley and Methodism.
In 1780 Newton left Olney to become rector of St. Mary Woolnoth, St. Mary Woolchurch, in London. There he drew large congregations and influenced many, among them William Wilberforce, who would one day become a leader in the campaign for the abolition of slavery. Newton continued to preach until the last year of life, although he was blind by that time. He died in London December 21, 1807. Infidel and libertine turned minister in the Church of England, he was secure in his faith that amazing grace would lead him home.
I was able to consult the 1779 edition of Olney Hymns in the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center of the University of Texas at Austin. Printed in London by W. Oliver, it was in beautiful condition. The paper was almost as white and supple as it was when it came off the printing press. Those were the days before acid became a part of the papermaking process. Acidic paper, used in most books since sometime in the nineteenth century, has a relatively short life span, ultimately becoming brittle and crumbling. The 1779 Olney Hymns, on the other hand, will be in excellent condition for many future generations of Newton and Cowper scholars.
It was a thrill to handle the edition of Olney Hymns in which the hymn that came to be known as Amazing Grace was first published. But it was an even greater thrill when I opened the front cover and saw the inscription, "Rev. Wm. Smith, the gift of the author." The "Wm." is unclear, but "Rev." and "Smith" are very distinct. Of course, both Newton and Cowper contributed to Olney Hymns, but considering that Newton's contributions were far greater in number than Cowper's, it is likely that Newton himself was the author mentioned in the inscription.
I consulted other editions of Olney Hymns in microprint in the University General Libraries Microforms Unit. Mircoforms are very necessary adjuncts to scholarship, since no library can possibly have all the hundreds of thousands of rare and not so rare books available in microform, but those microprint editions of Olney Hymns were cold and sterile compared with the 1779 edition that I had held and that John Newton had held over two hundred years before me.


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Breakroom Supplies
More Categories in Breakroom Supplies
- Coffee, Tea & Cocoa
- Commercial Paper Towels
- Vending Machines
- Snacks
- Candy
- Beverages
- Disposable Bowls
- Commercial Trash Cans & Recycling
Breakroom Supplies
Sam's Club® carries a wide variety of breakroom supplies that are meant to keep your office running smoothly and your co-workers ready for any task. Whether you are looking for snacks, paper goods or electronics, Sam's Club is sure to have the breakroom supplies you want for your office.
Types of Breakroom Supplies
Coffee, tea and cocoa are popular additions to any breakroom. Additionally, coffee makers, like traditional 12-cup models or the modern single-cup varieties by brands like Keurig, are easy to use and clean.
Disposable bowls and other one-use plastic and paper goods, like plates and to-go containers, are useful in office breakrooms for employees to enjoy their lunches without having to fuss with reusable cutlery and plates.
Snacks are a great addition to any breakroom as they help keep co-workers full between meals. At Sam's Club, we have a large variety of snacks, from cookies and crackers to fresh fruit and cereal bars. Candy is another popular breakroom supply. We carry chocolates by Hershey's, fruit chews by Starburst and variety packs to please any sweet tooth.
Choosing Breakroom Supplies
To select the correct breakroom supplies for you and your office, keep the following tips in mind.
You could consider using vending machines. They are a popular choice for offices since they employees can instantly get tasty snacks and refreshing beverages, keeping hunger at bay and productivity high. Waste collection and recycling tools, including trash receptacles and bags, help to keep the breakroom tidy and environmentally friendly. Recyclable cups are a great option, for example, if your employees drink lots of coffee or tea because they will create less trash.
Compare prices, product features and consider any special needs your office may have, and you should be able to find the right breakroom supplies at Sam's Club.