# October 1660 explained — The Diary

> Chapter companion for The Diary by Samuel Pepys.

## What happens

Pepys manages his household renovations, navigates naval office duties, and observes the political and social scene in Restoration London. He dines with Lord Sandwich, hears gossip about the Duke of York's scandal, witnesses the display of executed regicides' remains, and prepares for Lord Sandwich's voyage to fetch the Queen.

## Themes in this chapter

### Political Intrigue and Restoration

Court scandal involving the Duke of York, discussions of royal favor, and the display of traitors' remains underscore the volatile political climate.

### Naval Administration and Corruption

Pepys engages in naval office duties, ship payments, and discussions of the Winter Guard, highlighting the administrative machinery of the Navy.

### Daily Life and Domesticity

Pepys oversees house painting, furniture purchases, and deals with a cellar overflow, reflecting the challenges of domestic management.

### Religion and Sectarian Conflict

Pepys attends church services, criticizes the preaching, and notes Lord Sandwich's scepticism and the meeting of Episcopalian and Presbyterian divines.

## Character check-ins

### Samuel Pepys

Busy with house furnishings, naval office work, and attending to Lord Sandwich's affairs.

### Edward Montagu, Earl of Sandwich

Dines privately with Pepys, discusses finances and court gossip, prepares to sail for the Queen.

### Sir William Penn

Accompanies Pepys to Whitehall and Deptford; shares merry discourse and bawdy songs.

### Sir William Batten

Travels with Pepys to Whitehall and Deptford for ship payments.

### Elizabeth Pepys

Buys household items and suffers from boils.

### Mr. Sheply

Helps prepare Lord Sandwich's pistols; shares a bed with Pepys.

## Key lines

> So I see that religion, be it what it will, is but a humour, and so the esteem of it passeth as other things do.

Pepys observes that religion is merely a passing fashion, valued only as a whim.

_Reflects Pepys's sceptical view of religious devotion._

> he that do get a wench with child and marry her afterwards is as if a man should ⸻ in his hat and then clap it on his head.

Lord Sandwich compares marrying a woman you've impregnated to soiling your hat and then putting it on.

_A crude metaphor illustrating the disdain for forced marriages in court circles._

> I found him to be a perfect Sceptic, and said that all things would not be well while there was so much preaching, and that it would be better if nothing but Homilies were to be read in Churches.

Pepys finds Lord Sandwich a complete sceptic who believes excessive preaching harms society and prefers only homilies.

_Highlights the tension between Puritan preaching and Anglican ritual in the Restoration._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_diary_se/chapters/october-1660
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_diary_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_diary_se/chapters