Over the years my copy of Cruden's Concordance saw a lot of use. I was increasingly impressed that one person -let alone a "madman"- was able to compile such an amazing and useful reference tool all alone. But recently a friend at church gave me a copy of Alexander the Corrector: The Tormented Genius Whose Cruden's Concordance Unwrote the Bible by Julia Keay (Overlook Hardcover, 2005). Always eager to read a well-written biography, and interested to learn more about the enigmatic Alexander Cruden, I read it as soon as I could.
Alexander the Corrector documents Cruden's whole life, from his humble beginning in Aberdeen, Scotland, through the stormy years in which his sanity was repeatedly called into question, to his ultimate (and gradual) rise to fame by virtue of his magnum opus -his remarkable concordance. In several instances Cruden was, indeed, involuntarily committed into madhouses. However, as Keay notes, in each case where details are known (there was a possible brief internment at London's infamous Bedlam Hospital, about which there seems to be no extant details), Cruden was accused of insanity in close connection with some romantic relationship. In one case, for instance, a rival in one of these romantic affairs managed to have him committed for several weeks without any predicate psychiatric evaluation, and on the basis of virtually no evidence. In an incredible series of events, Cruden managed to escape -but he was not immediately returned to the madhouse as one might expect. The reason is, apparently, that no one else seems to have believed he was mad. Though Cruden was unsuccessful in the subsequent lawsuit he brought against his rival and several others, the court and numerous witnesses seem to have concluded that Cruden was perfectly sane.
Nevertheless, even given Keay's sympathetic portrayal of him, it is hard not to conclude that Cruden was an unusual individual. He was, for example, almost inhumanly determined and persistent. In addition to helping him complete the concordance, his tenacity seems to have been largely responsible for his remarkable and successful attempt, in his later career, to intercede on behalf of a young man sentenced to death over a relatively minor infraction. But it is not difficult to imagine how his eccentricity might also have added perceived credibility to the intermittent claims that he was insane.
What really struck me, however, was the amazing depth of Cruden's faith in Christ and his lifelong love and knowledge of God's Word. In a day when even many professed Christians have little knowledge of the Bible's content, Cruden's familiarity with the biblical text seems almost inconceivable (for instance, he committed the entire book of Psalms to memory). As a devoted Scottish Presbyterian, Cruden was fervently committed to the gospel and to living in accordance with its implications, even in the face of a British culture which, as Keay points out, had largely shunned what had become know as "religious enthusiasm". In fact, to the extent that at least some of Cruden's suffering was exacerbated by his outspokeness regarding his religious convictions (in at least one instance, labeling him an "enthusiast" apparently provided some basis for keeping him in a madhouse), he may justly be seen as suffering for Christ's sake (Matthew 5:11-12). The hand of Providence is also clearly visible throughout Cruden's life. For instance, his experiences in insane asylums empowered his later efforts to educate the public regarding the disgraceful manner in which the mentally ill were treated in 18th century England. What others meant for evil, God clearly meant for good (Genesis 50:20).
Keay certainly had her work cut out: Writing an engaging book about a man who wrote a reference work might have been a daunting task. Though she was certainly assisted by the fact that Cruden's life was anything but bland, Keay deserves praise for producing such an enjoyably readable work on the life of a truly remarkable man.
