NAPIER, MARK (1798-1879).—Historian,s.of a lawyer in Edinburgh, was called to the Bar, practised as an advocate, and was made Sheriff of Dumfries and Galloway. Hepub.Memoirs of the Napiers, of Montrose, and of Graham of Claverhouse, the last of which gave rise to much controversy. N. wrote from a strongly Cavalier and Jacobite standpoint, and had remarkably little of the judicial spirit in his methods. His writings, however, have some historical value.
NAPIER, SIR WILLIAM FRANCIS PATRICK (1785-1860).—was one of the sons of Col. the Hon. George N. and Lady Sarah Lennox,dau.of the 2nd Duke of Richmond, and the object of a romantic attachment on the part of George III. One of his brothers was Sir Charles N., the conqueror of Scinde. Entering the army at 15, he served with great distinction in the Peninsula under Moore and Wellington. His experiences as a witness and participator in the stupendous events of the war combined with the possession of remarkable acumen and a brilliant style to qualify him for the great work of his life as its historian.The History of the War in the Peninsulaand in the South of France from 1807-14(1828-40) at once took rank as a classic, and superseded all existing works on the subject. Though not free from prejudice and consequent bias, it remains a masterpiece of historical writing, especially in the description of military operations. It was translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Persian. N. alsopub.The Conquest of Scinde(1844-46), mainly a defence of his brother Charles, whose life he subsequently wrote. He became K.C.B. in 1848, and General 1859.
NASH, THOMAS (1567-1601).—Satirist, etc.,b.at Lowestoft,ed.at Camb. A reckless life kept him in perpetual poverty, and a bitter and sarcastic tongue lost him friends and patrons. He cherished an undying hatred for the Puritans, and specially for Gabriel Hervey, with whom he maintained a lifelong controversy, and against whose attacks he defendedRobert Greene(q.v.). Among his writings areAnatomy of Absurdities(1589),Have with you to Saffron Walden, andPierce Pennilesse, his Supplication to the Divell(1592), all against the Puritans. InSummer's(a jester of Henry VIII.)Last Will and Testamentoccurs the well-known song, "Spring, the sweet Spring, is the year's pleasant King."Christ's Tears over Jerusalem(1593) may have indicated some movement towards repentance. Another work in a totally different style,The Unfortunate Traveller, or the Life of Jack Wilton(1594), a wild tale, may be regarded as the pioneer of the novel of adventure. It had, however, so little success that the author never returned to this kind of fiction. A comedy,The Isle of Dogs(now lost), adverted so pointedly to abuses in the state that it led to his imprisonment. His last work wasLenten Stuffe(1599), a burlesque panegyric on Yarmouth and its red herrings. N.'s verse is usually hard and monotonous, but he was a man of varied culture and great ability.
NAYLER, JAMES (1617?-1660).—Quaker theologian,s.of a Yorkshire yeoman, who, after serving in the Parliamentary army, joined the Quakers in 1651, became one of Foxe's most trusted helpers, and exercised a powerful influence. By some of the more enthusiastic devotees of the sect he was honoured with such blasphemous titles as "the Lamb of God," which, however, he did not arrogate to himself, but asserted that they were ascribed to "Christ in him." He was found guilty of blasphemy, pilloried, whipped, and branded, and cast into prison, from which he was not released until after the death of Cromwell, when he made public confession and resumed preaching. He was the author of a number of short works both devotional and controversial. He ranks high among the Quakers for eloquence, insight, and depth of thought.
NEAL, JOHN (1793-1876).—Novelist and poet,b.at Portland, Maine, was self-educated, kept a dry goods store, and was afterwards a lawyer. He wrote several novels, which show considerable native power, but little art, and are now almost forgotten. Among those which show the influence of Byron and Godwin areKeep Cool(1818),Logan(1822), andSeventy-six(1823). His poems have the same features of vigour and want of finish. In 1823 he visited England, and became known to Jeremy Bentham. He contributed some articles on American subjects toBlackwood's Magazine.
NEAVES, CHARLES, LORD (1800-1876).—Miscellaneous author,b.anded.in Edinburgh, was called to the Bar, and became a judge. He was a frequent contributor toBlackwood's Magazine. His verses, witty and satirical, werecoll.asSongs and Verses, Social and Scientific. He wrote also on philology, andpub.a book on the Greek Anthology.
NECKHAM, ALEXANDER (1157-1217).—Scholar,b.at St. Albans, was foster-brother to Richard Cœur de Lion. He went to Paris in 1180, where he became a distinguished teacher. Returning, to England in 1186 he became an Augustinian Canon, and in 1213 Abbot of Cirencester. He is one of our earliest men of learning, and wrote a scientific work in Latin verse.De Naturis Rerum(c.1180-94) in 10 books. Other works areDe Laudibus Divinæ Sapientiæ(in Praise of the Divine Wisdom), andDe Contemptu Mundi(on Despising the World), and some grammatical treatises.
NEWCASTLE, MARGARET, DUCHESS of (1624?-1674).—Dau.of Sir Thomas Lucas, and a maid of honour to Queen Henrietta. Maria,m.in 1645 the 1st Duke of Newcastle (then Marquis), whom she regarded in adversity and prosperity with a singular and almost fantastic devotion, which was fully reciprocated. The noble pair collaborated (the Duchess contributing by far the larger share) in their literary ventures, which filled 12 vols., and consisted chiefly of dramas (now almost unreadable), and philosophical exercitations which, amid prevailing rubbish, contain some weighty sayings. One of her poems,The Pastimes and Recreations of the Queen of Fairies in Fairylandhas some good lines. Her Life of her husband, in which she rates him above Julius Cæsar, was said by Lamb to be "a jewel for which no casket was good enough."
NEWMAN, FRANCIS WILLIAM (1805-1897).—Scholar and theological writer, brother of Cardinal N.,b.in London, anded.at Oxf. After spending three years in the East, he became successively classical tutor in Bristol Coll., Professor of Classical Literature in Manchester New Coll. (1840), and of Latin in Univ. Coll., London, 1846-63. Both brought up under evangelical influences, the two brothers moved from that standpoint in diametrically opposite directions, Francis through eclecticism towards scepticism. His writings include aHistory of the Hebrew Monarchy(1847),The Soul(1849), and his most famous book,Phases of Faith(1850), a theological autobiography corresponding to his brother'sApologia, the publication of which led to much controversy, and to the appearance of Henry Rogers'Eclipse of Faith. He alsopub.Miscellaneain 4 vols., a Dictionary of modern Arabic, and some mathematical treatises. He was a vegetarian, a total abstainer, and enemy of tobacco, vaccination, and vivisection. Memoir by I.G. Sieveking, 1909.
NEWMAN, JOHN HENRY (1801-1890).—Theologian,s.of a London banker, and brother of the above, wased.at Ealing and Trinity Coll., Oxf., where he was the intimate friend of Pusey and Hurrell Froude. Taking orders he was successively curate of St. Clement's 1824, and Vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford, 1828. He was also Vice-principal of Alban Hall, where he assisted Whately, the Principal,in hisLogic. In 1830 he definitely broke with the evangelicalism in which he had been brought up; and in 1832, accompanied by H. Froude, went to the South of Europe, and visited Rome. During this lengthened tour he wrote most of his short poems, including "Lead Kindly Light," which werepub.1834 asLyra Apostolica. On his return he joined with Pusey, Keble, and others in initiating the Tractarian movement, and contributed some of the more important tracts, including the fateful No. xc., the publication of which brought about a crisis in the movement which, after two years of hesitation and mental and spiritual conflict, led to the resignation by N. of his benefice. In 1842 he retired to Littlemore, and after a period of prayer, fasting, and seclusion, was in 1845 received into the Roman Catholic Church. In the following year he went to Rome, where he was ordained priest and made D.D., and returning to England he established the oratory in Birmingham in 1847, and that in London in 1850. A controversy with C. Kingsley, who had written that N. "did not consider truth a necessary virtue," led to the publication of hisApologia pro Vita Sua(1864), one of the most remarkable books of religious autobiography ever written. N.'s later years were passed at the oratory at Birmingham. In 1879 he was summoned to Rome andcr.Cardinal of St. George in Velabro. Besides the works above mentioned he wrote, among others,The Arians of the Fourth Century(1833),Twelve Lectures(1850),Lectures on the Present Position of Catholics(1851),Idea of a University,Romanism and Popular Protestantism,Disquisition on the Canon of Scripture, and his poem,The Dream of Gerontius. Possessed of one of the most keen and subtle intellects of his age, N. was also master of a style of marvellous beauty and power. To many minds, however, his subtlety not seldom appeared to pass into sophistry; and his attitude to schools of thought widely differing from his own was sometimes harsh and unsympathetic. On the other hand he was able to exercise a remarkable influence over men ecclesiastically, and in some respects religiously, most strongly opposed to him. His sermons place him in the first rank of English preachers.
Livesor books about him by R.H. Hutton, E.A. Abbott.Works(36 vols., 1868-81),Apologia pro Vita Sua(1864), etc.
NEWTON, SIR ISAAC (1642-1727).—Natural philosopher,b.at Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, thes.of a small landed proprietor, anded.at the Grammar School of Grantham and at Trinity Coll., Camb. By propounding the binomial theorem, the differential calculus, and the integral calculus, he began in 1665 the wonderful series of discoveries in pure mathematics, optics, and physics, which place him in the first rank of the philosophers of all time. He was elected Lucasian Prof. of Mathematics at Camb. in 1669, and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1672, over which body he presided for 25 years from 1703. In the same year his new theory of flight waspub.in a paper before the society. His epoch-making discovery of the law of universal gravitation was not promulgated until 1687, though the first glimpse of it had come to him so early as 1665. The discovery of fluxions, which he claimed, was contested by Leibnitz, and led to a long and bitter controversy between the two philosophers. He twice sat in Parliament for hisUniv., and was Master of the Mint from 1699, in which capacity he presented reports on the coinage. He was knighted in 1705, andd.at Kensington in 1727. For a short time, after an unfortunate accident by which a number of invaluable manuscripts were burned, he suffered from some mental aberration. His writings fall into two classes, scientific and theological. In the first are included his famous treatises,Light and Colours(1672),Optics(1704), thePrincipia(1687), in Latin, its full title beingPhilosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. In the second are hisObservations upon the Prophecies of Holy WritandAn Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture. In character N. was remarkable for simplicity, humility, and gentleness, with a great distaste for controversy, in which, nevertheless, he was repeatedly involved.Lifeby Sir D. Brewster, second ed., 1855, etc.
NEWTON, JOHN (1725-1807).—Divine and hymn-writer,s.of a shipmaster, wasb.in London, and for many years led a varied and adventurous life at sea, part of the time on board a man-of-war and part as captain of a slaver. In 1748 he came under strong religious convictions, and after acting as a tide-waiter at Liverpool for a few years, he applied for orders in 1758, and was ordained curate of Olney in 1764. Here he became the intimate and sympathetic friend of Cowper, in conjunction with whom he produced theOlney Hymns. In 1779 he was translated to the Rectory of St. Mary, Woolnoth, London, where he had great popularity and influence, and wrote many religious works, includingCardiphonia, andRemarkable Passages in his Own Life. He lives, however, in his hymns, among which are some of the best and most widely known in the language, such asIn evil long I took delight,Glorious things of Thee are Spoken,How Sweet the Name of Jesus sounds, and many others. In his latter years N. was blind.
NICHOL, JOHN (1833-1894).—Poet and biographer,s.of John P.N., Prof. of Astronomy in Glasgow,ed.at Glasgow and Oxf., and held the chair of English Literature in Glasgow, 1862-1889. Among his writings areHannibal(1873), a drama,Death of Themistocles and other Poems(1881),Fragments of Criticism, andAmerican Literature; also Lives of Bacon, Burns, Carlyle, and Byron.
NOEL, HON. RODEN BERKELEY WRIOTHESLEY (1834-1894).—Poet,s., of the 1st Earl of Gainsborough, wased.at Camb. He wroteBehind the Veil(1863),The Red Flag(1872),Songs of the Heights and Deeps(1885), andEssayson various poets, also a Life of Byron.
NORRIS, JOHN (1657-1711).—Philosopher and poet,ed.at Oxf., took orders, and lived a quiet and placid life as a country parson and thinker. In philosophy he was a Platonist and mystic, and was an early opponent of Locke. His poetry, with occasional fine thoughts, is full of far-fetched metaphors and conceits, and is not seldom dull and prosaic. From 1692 he held G. Herbert's benefice of Bemerton. Among his 23 works areAn Idea of Happiness(1683),Miscellanies(1687),Theory and Regulation of Love(1688),Theory of the Ideal and Intelligible World(1701-4), and aDiscourse concerning the Immortality of the Soul(1708).
NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-1601?).—Translator, 2nds.of the 1st Lord N., may have studied at Camb. He entered Lincoln's Inn 1557, but gave more attention to literature than to law. He is best known by his translation ofPlutarch, from the French of Amyot, in fine, forcible, idiomatic English, which was the repertory from which Shakespeare drew his knowledge of ancient history: inAntony and CleopatraandCoriolanusNorth's language is often closely followed. Another translation was from an Italian version of an Arabic book of fables, and bore the title ofThe Morale Philosophie of Doni.
NORTON, CAROLINE ELIZABETH SARAH (SHERIDAN) (1808-1877).—Grand-daughter ofRichard Brinsley S.(q.v.),m.in 1827 the Hon. G.C. Norton, a union which turned out most unhappy, and ended in a separation. Her first book,The Sorrows of Rosalie(1829), was well received.The Undying One(1830), a romance founded upon the legend of the Wandering Jew, followed, and other novels wereStuart of Dunleath(1851),Lost and Saved(1863), andOld Sir Douglas(1867). The unhappiness of her married life led her to interest herself in the amelioration of the laws regarding the social condition and the separate property of women and the wrongs of children, and her poems,A Voice from the Factories(1836), andThe Child of the Islands(1845), had as an object the furtherance of her views on these subjects. Her efforts were largely successful in bringing about the needed legislation. In 1877 Mrs. N.m.Sir W. Stirling Maxwell(q.v.).
NORTON, CHARLES ELIOT, LL.D., D.C.L., etc. (1827-1909).—American biographer and critic.Church Building in the Middle Ages(1876), translation of theNew Life(1867), andThe Divine Comedyof Dante (1891); has ed.Correspondence of Carlyle and Emerson(1883),Carlyle's Letters and Reminiscences(1887), etc.
OCCAM or OCKHAM, WILLIAM (1270?-1349?).—Schoolman,b.at Ockham, Surrey, studied at Oxf. and Paris, and became a Franciscan. As a schoolman he was a Nominalist and received the title of the Invincible Doctor. He attacked the abuses of the Church, and was imprisoned at Avignon, but escaped and spent the latter part of his life at Munich, maintaining to the last his controversies with the Church, and with the Realists. He was a man of solid understanding and sense, and a masterly logician. His writings, which are of course all in Latin, deal with the Aristotelean philosophy, theology, and specially under the latter with the errors of Pope John XXII., who was hisbête-noir.
OCCLEVE, (seeHOCCLEVE).
OCKLEY, SIMON (1678-1720).—Orientalist,b.at Exeter, anded.at Camb., became the greatest Orientalist of his day, and was made in 1711 Prof. of Arabic in his Univ. His chief work is theConquest of Syria, Persia, and Egypt by the Saracens(3 vols., 1708-57), which was largely used by Gibbon. The original documents upon which it is founded are now regarded as of doubtful authority. O. was a clergyman of the Church of England.
O'KEEFFE, JOHN (1747-1833).—Dramatist, wrote a number of farces and amusing dramatic pieces, many of which had great success. Among these areTony Lumpkin in Town(1778),Wild Oats, andLove in a Camp. Some of his songs set to music by Arnold and Shield, such asI am a Friar of Orders Grey, andThe Thorn, are still popular. He was blind in his later years.
OLDHAM, JOHN (1653-1683).—Satirist and translator,s.of a Nonconformist minister, was at Oxf., and was the friend of most of the literary men of his time, by whom his early death from smallpox was bewailed. He made clever adaptations of the classical satirists, wrote an ironicalSatire against Virtue, and four severe satires against the Jesuits. He is cynical to the verge of misanthropy, but independent and manly.
OLDMIXON, JOHN (1673-1742).—Historical and miscellaneous writer, belonged to an old Somersetshire family, wrote some, now forgotten, dramas and poems which, along with an essay on criticism, in which he attacked Addison, Swift, and Pope, earned for him a place inThe Dunciad. He was also the author ofThe British Empire in America(1708),Secret History of Europe(against the Stuarts), and in hisCritical History(1724-26) attacked Clarendon'sHistory of the Rebellion. All these works are partisan in their tone. O. was one of the most prolific pamphleteers of his day.
OLDYS, WILLIAM (1696-1761).—Antiquary, wrote a Life of Sir W. Raleigh prefixed to an ed. of his works (1736), aDissertation on Pamphlets(1731), and was joint ed. with Dr. Johnson of theHarleian Miscellany. He amassed many interesting facts in literary history, the fruits of diligent, though obscure, industry. The only poem of his that still lives is the beautiful little anacreontic beginning "Busy, curious, thirsty Fly." O. held the office of Norroy-King-at-Arms. He produced in 1737The British Librarian, a valuable work left unfinished.
OLIPHANT, LAURENCE (1829-1888).—Novelist and miscellaneous writer,s.of Sir Anthony O., Chief Justice of Ceylon. The first 38 years of his life were spent in desultory study, travel, and adventure, varied by occasional diplomatic employment. His travels included, besides Continental countries, the shores of the Black Sea, Circassia, where he wasTimescorrespondent, America, China, and Japan. He was in the Crimean War, Indian Mutiny, Chinese War, the military operations of Garibaldi, and the Polish insurrection, and served as private sec. to Lord Elgin in Washington, Canada, and China, and as Sec. of Legation in Japan. In 1865 he entered Parliament, and gave promise of political eminence, when in 1867 he came under the influence of Thomas L. Harris, an American mystic of questionable character, went with him to America, and joined the Brotherhood of the New Life. In 1870-71 he was correspondent for theTimesin the Franco-German War. Ultimately he broke away from the influence of Harris and went to Palestine, where he founded a community of Jewish immigrants at Haifa. After revisiting America he returned to England, but immediately fell ill andd.at Twickenham. O. was a voluminous andversatile author, publishing books of travel, novels, and works on mysticism. The most important are as follows:The Russian Shores of the Black Sea(1853),Minnesota and the Far West(1855),The Transcaucasian Campaign(1856),Patriots and Fillibusters(adventures in Southern States) (1860),Narrative of a Mission to China and Japan(1857-59),The Land of Gilead(1880),Piccadilly(1870), andAltiora Peto(1883) (novels), andScientific Religion.
OLIPHANT, MRS. MARGARET OLIPHANT (WILSON) (1828-1897).—Novelist and miscellaneous writer, wasb.near Musselburgh. Her literary output began when she was little more than a girl, and was continued almost up to the end of her life. Her first novel,Mrs. Margaret Maitland, appeared in 1849, and its humour, pathos, and insight into character gave the author an immediate position in literature. It was followed by an endless succession, of which the best were the series ofThe Chronicles of Carlingford(1861-65), includingSalem Chapel,The Perpetual Curate, andMiss Marjoribanks, all of which, as well as much of her other work, appeared inBlackwood's Magazine, with which she had a lifelong connection. Others of some note wereThe Primrose Path,Madonna Mary(1866),The Wizard's Son, andA Beleaguered City. She did not, however, confine herself to fiction, but wrote many books of history and biography, includingSketches of the Reign of George II.(1869),The Makers of Florence(1876),Literary History of England1790-1825,Royal Edinburgh(1890), and Lives ofSt. Francis of Assisi,Edward Irving, andPrincipal Tulloch. Her generosity in supporting and educating the family of a brother as well as her own two sons rendered necessary a rate of production which was fatal to the permanence of her work. She was negligent as to style, and often wrote on subjects to which her intellectual equipment and knowledge did not enable her to do proper justice. She had, however, considerable power of painting character, and a vein of humour, and showed untiring industry in getting up her subjects.
OPIE, MRS. AMELIA (ALDERSON) (1769-1853).—Novelist,dau.of a medical man, wasb.at Norwich. In 1798 shem.John Opie, the painter. Her first acknowledged work wasFather and Daughter(1801), which had a favourable reception, and was followed byAdeline Mowbray(1804),Temper(1812),Tales from Real Life(1813), and others, all having the same aim of developing the virtuous affections, the same merit of natural and vivid painting of character and passions, and the same fault of a too great preponderance of the pathetic. They were soon superseded by the more powerful genius of Scott and Miss Edgeworth. In 1825 she became a Quaker. After this she wroteIllustrations of Lying(1825), andDetraction Displayed(1828). Her later years, which were singularly cheerful, were largely devoted to philanthropic interests.
ORDERICUS VITALIS (1075-1143?).—Chronicler,b.near Shrewsbury, was in childhood put into the monastery of St. Evroult, in Normandy, where the rest of his life was passed. He is the author of a chronicle,Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy(c.1142) in 13 books. Those from the seventh to the thirteenth are invaluable as giving a trustworthy, though not veryclear, record of contemporary events in England and Normandy. It was translated into English in 1853-55.
ORM, or ORMIN (fl.1200).—Was an Augustinian canon of Mercia, who wrote theOrmulumin transition English. It is a kind of mediævalChristian Year, containing a metrical portion of the Gospel for each day, followed by a metrical homily, largely borrowed from Ælfric and Bede. Its title is thus accounted for, "This boc iss nemmed theOrmulum, forthi that Orm it wrohhte."
ORME, ROBERT (1728-1801).—Historian,s.of an Indian army doctor,b.at Travancore, and after being at Harrow, entered the service of the East India Company. Owing to failure of health he had to return home in 1760, and then wrote hisHistory of the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan from 1745(1763-78), a well-written and accurate work, showing great research. He alsopub.Historical Fragments of the Mogul Empire, the Morattoes and English Concerns in Indostan from 1659(1782). His collections relating to India are preserved at the India Office.
ORRERY, ROGER BOYLE, 1ST EARL of (1621-1679).—Statesman and dramatist, thirds.of the Earl of Cork, wased.at Trinity Coll., Dublin. After having fought on the Royalist side he was, on the death of the King, induced by Cromwell to support him in his Irish wars and otherwise. After the death of the Protector he secured Ireland for Charles II., and at the Restoration was raised to the peerage. He wrote a romance in 6 vols., entitledParthenissa, some plays, and a treatise on theArt of War. He has the distinction of being the first to introduce rhymed tragedies.
O'SHAUGHNESSY, ARTHUR WILLIAM EDGAR (1844-1881).—Poet,b.in London, entered the library of the British Museum, afterwards being transferred to the natural history department, where he became an authority on fishes and reptiles. Hepub.various books of poetry, includingEpic of Women(1870),Lays of France(1872), andMusic and Moonlight(1874). Jointly with his wife he wroteToyland, a book for children. He was associated with D.G. Rossetti and the other pre-Raphaelites. There is a certain remoteness in his poetry which will probably always prevent its being widely popular. He has a wonderful mastery of metre, and a "haunting music" all his own.
OTWAY, CÆSAR (1780-1842).—Writer of Irish tales. His writings, which display humour and sympathy with the poorer classes in Ireland, includeSketches in Ireland(1827), andA Tour in Connaught(1839). He was concerned in the establishment of various journals.
OTWAY, THOMAS (1651 or 1652-1685).—Dramatist,s.of a clergyman, wasb.near Midhurst, Sussex, anded.at Oxf., which he left without graduating. His short life, like those of many of his fellows, was marked by poverty and misery, and he appears to haved.practically of starvation. Having failed as an actor, he took to writing for the stage, and produced various plays, among whichDon Carlos, Prince of Spain(1676), was a great success, and brought himsome money. Those by which he is best remembered, however, areThe Orphan(1680), andVenice Preserved(1682), both of which have been frequently revived. O. made many adaptations from the French, and in his tragedy ofCaius Mariusincorporated large parts ofRomeo and Juliet. He has been called "the most pathetic and tear-drawing of all our dramatists," and he excelled in delineating the stronger passions. The grossness of his comedies has banished them from the stage. Other plays areThe Cheats of Scapin,Friendship in Fashion,Soldier's Fortune(1681), andThe Atheist.
OUIDA, (seeRAMÉE).
OUTRAM, GEORGE (1805-1856).—Humorous poet, was a Scottish advocate, a friend of Prof. Wilson, and for some time ed. of theGlasgow Herald. He printed privately in 1851Lyrics, Legal and Miscellaneous, which werepub.with a memoir in 1874. Many of his pieces are highly amusing, theAnnuitybeing the best.
OVERBURY, SIR THOMAS (1581-1613).—Poet and miscellaneous writer,ed.at Oxf., became the friend of Carr, afterwards Earl of Rochester and Somerset, and fell a victim to a Court intrigue connected with the proposed marriage of Rochester and Lady Essex, being poisoned in the Tower with the connivance of the latter. He wrote a poem,A Wife, now a Widowe, andCharacters(1614), short, witty descriptions of types of men. Some of thosepub.along with his are by other hands.
OWEN, JOHN (1560-1622).—Epigrammatist,b.at Plas Dhu, Carnarvonshire,ed.at Winchester and Oxf., and became head master of King Henry VIII. School at Warwick. His Latin epigrams, which have both sense and wit in a high degree, gained him much applause, and were translated into English, French, German, and Spanish.
OWEN, JOHN (1616-1683).—Puritan divine,b.at Stadhampton, Oxfordshire, anded.at Oxf., from which he was driven by Laud's statutes. Originally a Presbyterian, he passed over to Independency. In 1649 he accompanied Cromwell to Ireland, and in 1650 to Edinburgh. He was Dean of Christ Church, Oxf. (1651-60), and one of the "triers" of ministers appointed by Cromwell. After the Restoration he was ejected from his deanery, but was favoured by Clarendon, who endeavoured to induce him to conform to the Anglican Church by offers of high preferment. Strange to say Charles II. also held him in regard, and gave him money for the Nonconformists; and he was allowed to preach to a congregation of Independents in London. His great learning and ability rendered him a formidable controversialist, specially against Arminianism and Romanism. His works fill 28 vols; among the best known beingThe Divine Original, etc., of the Scriptures,Indwelling Sin,Christologia, or ... The Person of Christ, and a commentary on Hebrews.
OWEN, ROBERT (1771-1858).—Socialist and philanthropist,b.at Newton, Montgomeryshire, had for his object the regeneration of the world on the principles of socialism. His sincerity was shown by the fact that he spent most of the fortune, whichhis great capacity for business enabled him to make, in endeavours to put his theories into practice at various places both in Britain and America. He was sincerely philanthropic, and incidentally did good on a considerable scale in the course of his more or less impracticable schemes. He propounded his ideas inNew Views of Society, or Essays on the Formation of the Human Character(1816).
OXFORD, EDWARD DE VERE, EARL of (1550-1604).—Was a courtier of Queen Elizabeth, who lost his friends by his insolence and pride, and his fortune by his extravagance. Hem.adau.of Lord Burghley, who had to support his family after his death. He had some reputation as a writer of short pieces, many of which are in theParadise of Dainty Devices.
PAINE, THOMAS (1737-1809).—Political and anti-Christian writer,s.of a stay-maker and small farmer of Quaker principles at Thetford, became with large classes perhaps the most unpopular man in England. After trying various occupations, including those of schoolmaster and exciseman, and having separated from his wife, he went in 1774 to America where, in 1776, hepub.his famous pamphlet,Common Sense, in favour of American independence. He served in the American army, and also held some political posts, including that of sec. to a mission to France in 1781. Returning to England in 1787 hepub.hisRights of Man(1790-92), in reply to Burke'sReflections on the French Revolution. It had an enormous circulation, 1,500,000 copies having been sold in England alone; but it made it necessary for him to escape to France to avoid prosecution. Arrived in that country he was elected to the National Convention. He opposed the execution of Louis XVI., and was, in 1794, imprisoned by Robespierre, whose fall saved his life. He had then just completed the first part of hisAge of Reason, of which the other two appeared respectively in 1795 and 1807. It is directed alike against Christianity and Atheism, and supports Deism. Becoming disgusted with the course of French politics, he returned to America in 1802, but found himself largely ostracised by society there, became embroiled in various controversies, and is said to have become intemperate. Hed.at New York in 1809. Though apparently sincere in his views, and courageous in the expression of them, P. was vain and prejudiced. The extraordinary lucidity and force of his style did much to gain currency for his writings.
PAINTER, WILLIAM (1540?-1594).—Translator, etc.,ed.at Camb., was then successively schoolmaster at Sevenoaks, and Clerk of the Ordnance, in which position his intromissions appear to have been of more advantage to himself than to the public service. He was the author ofThe Palace of Pleasure(1566), largely consisting of translations from Boccaccio, Bandello, and other Italian writers, and also from the classics. It formed a quarry in which many dramatists, including Shakespeare, found the plots for their plays.
PALEY, WILLIAM (1743-1805).—Theologian,s.of a minor canon of Peterborough, where he wasb., went at 15 as a sizar to Christ's Coll., Camb., where he was Senior Wrangler, andbecame a Fellow and Tutor of his coll. Taking orders in 1767 he held many benefices, and rose to be Archdeacon of Carlisle, and Sub-Dean of Lincoln. P., who holds one of the highest places among English theologians, was the author of four important works—Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy(1785),Horæ Paulinæ, his most original, but least popular, book (1790),View of the Evidences of Christianity(1794), andNatural Theology(1802). Though now to a large extent superseded, these works had an immense popularity and influence in their day, and are characterised by singular clearness of expression and power of apt illustration. The system of morals inculcated by P. is Utilitarian, modified by theological ideas. His view of the "divine right of Kings" as on a level with "the divine right of constables" was unpleasing to George III., notwithstanding which his ecclesiastical career was eminently successful. His manners were plain and kindly.
PALGRAVE, SIR FRANCIS (1788-1861).—Historian,s.of Meyer Cohen, a Jewish stockbroker, but at his marriage in 1823, having previously become a Christian, assumed his mother-in-law's name of Palgrave. He studied law, and was called to the Bar in 1827. From 1838 until his death in 1861 he was Deputy Keeper of the Records, and in that capacity arranged a vast mass of hitherto inaccessible documents, and ed. many of them for the Record Commission. His historical works include aHistory of England in Anglo-Saxon Times(1831),Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth(1832), andHistory of Normandy and England(4 vols., 1851-64),pub.posthumously. He was knighted in 1832. His works are of great value in throwing light upon the history and condition of mediæval England.
PALGRAVE, FRANCIS TURNER (1824-1897).—Poet and critic,s.of the above,ed.at Oxf., was for many years connected with the Education Department, of which he rose to be Assistant Sec.; and from 1886-95 he was Prof. of Poetry at Oxf. He wrote several vols. of poetry, includingVisions of England(1881), andAmenophis(1892), which, though graceful and exhibiting much poetic feeling, were the work rather of a man of culture than of a poet. His great contribution to literature was his anthology,The Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics(1864), selected with marvellous insight and judgment. A second series showed these qualities in a less degree. He alsopub.an anthology of sacred poetry.
PALTOCK, ROBERT (1697-1767).—Novelist, was an attorney, and wroteThe Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a Cornish Man(1751), admired by Scott, Coleridge, and Lamb. It is somewhat on the same plan asRobinson Crusoe, the special feature being thegawry, or flying woman, whom the hero discovered on his island, and married. The description of Nosmnbdsgrutt, the country of the flying people, is a dull imitation of Swift, and much else in the book is tedious.
PARDOE, JULIA (1806-1862).—Novelist and miscellaneous writer,b.at Beverley, showed an early bias towards literature, and became a voluminous and versatile writer, producing in addition toher lively and well-written novels many books of travel, and others dealing with historical subjects. She was a keen observer, and her Oriental travels had given her an accurate and deep knowledge of the peoples and manners of the East. Among her books areThe City of the Sultan(1836),Romance of the Harem,Thousand and One Days,Louis XIV. and the Court of France,Court of Francis I., etc.
PARIS, MATTHEW (c.1195-1259).—Chronicler, entered in 1217 the Benedictine Monastery of St. Albans, and continued the work ofRoger de Wendover(q.v.) as chronicler of the monastery. In 1248 he went on the invitation of Hacon King of Norway to reform the Abbey of St. Benet Holm. In this he was successful, and on his return to England enjoyed the favour of Henry III., who conversed familiarly with him, and imparted information as to matters of state, which constitutes a valuable element in his histories. He had a high reputation for piety and learning, was a patriotic Englishman, and resisted the encroachments of Rome. His chief work isHistoria Major, from the Conquest until 1259. In it he embodied theFlores Historiarumof his predecessor Roger, and the original part is a bold and vigorous narrative of the period (1235-59). He also wroteHistoria MinorandHistoria Anglorum, a summary of the events (1200-1250).