John Lemprière
Encyclopedia
John Lemprière English classical scholar, lexicographer, theologian, teacher and headmaster. He was the son of Charles Lemprière (died 1801), of Mont au Prêtre, Jersey.
, where his father sent him in 1779, and from 1785 at Pembroke College
, Oxford
, probably on the advice of Richard Valpy
, receiving graduating BA
in 1790, MA
in 1792, BD
in 1801, and DD
in 1803.
Lemprière may have been influenced by another Pembroke man, the lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson
, whose famous A Dictionary of the English Language
had appeared in 1755. A little over thirty years later, around 1786, Lemprière started work on his own Classical dictionary.
In 1787, he was invited by Valpy to be assistant headmaster at Reading Grammar School
, and in 1789, to the great pride of his father, he preached in St Helier, Jersey. He achieved renown for his Bibliotheca Classica
or Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors, (Reading, November, 1788), which, edited by various later scholars, long remained a readable if not absolutely trustworthy reference book in mythology
and classical history
. Lemprière wished "to give the most accurate and satisfactory account of all the proper names which occur in reading the Classics, and by a judicious collection of anecdotes and historical facts to draw a picture of ancient times, not less instructive than entertaining." (Lemprière, Preface, 1788). It has been a handbook for teachers, journalists, dramatists and poets for almost two hundred years and John Keats
is said to have known the book almost by heart. "Far from being just an ordinary dictionary, however, Lemprière's encyclopedic work is full of incidental details and stories which bring the mythical past to life." It is also assumed that the great scholar Valpy helped Lemprière with the dictionary.
Lemprière held a schoolmaster
's post at Bolton Grammar School
in 1791 and was a curate
at Radley
. From 1792 until 1808 or 1809, he was headmaster of Abingdon Grammar School
, and in 1800 was also appointed as vicar
of that parish, serving until 1811. While occupying these two posts, he published a Universal Biography of Eminent Persons in all Ages and Countries (London, 1808).
He neglected at this time both his clerical as well as his scholarly duties, so that in 1799 he was deprived of his benefice
. Falling numbers in the school led to his downfall. In desperation, he even devised a shady scheme under which he guaranteed scholarships at his own old College, Pembroke, for a fee of twenty guineas.
In 1809 he succeeded to the headmastership of Exeter Free Grammar School
and held this post until 1819. On retiring from this school, following a disagreement with the trustees, he received the living
of Meeth in Devon
, which, together with that of Newton St Petrock
, he held until his death from a stroke in the Strand
, London. He is buried in Meeth, where his grave can be found.
Two of his sons were also Rectors of Meeth: Francis Drocus Lemprière (born 1794) and Everard Lemprière (born 1800). His daughter Caroline, who died at the age of twenty-seven, was the first wife of John Bathurst Deane
.
has as its background Lemprière's writing of his dictionary, as well as the places the Lemprière family came from. The main character is John Lemprière, author of the Classical Dictionary, and also his father, Charles Lemprière. The rest of the story is fiction.
It is possible that the poet Tony Harrison
makes reference to Lemprière in his poem "A Kumquat for John Keats" in the line "Flora asphyxiated by foul air / unknown to Keats or Lemprière" - as he would have been a contemporary of John Keats.
The character Mr. Scogan expresses his admiration for Lemprière's work as a biographer and lexicographer in Aldous Huxley
's novel Crome Yellow
(ch. XIV).
Life
He received his early education at Winchester SchoolWinchester College
Winchester College is an independent school for boys in the British public school tradition, situated in Winchester, Hampshire, the former capital of England. It has existed in its present location for over 600 years and claims the longest unbroken history of any school in England...
, where his father sent him in 1779, and from 1785 at Pembroke College
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, probably on the advice of Richard Valpy
Richard Valpy
-Biography:He was born the eldest son of Richard and Catherine Valpy in Jersey. He was sent to schools in Normandy and Southampton, and completed his education at Pembroke College, Oxford. In 1777 he took orders. After holding a mastership at Bury, in 1781 he became head master of Reading grammar...
, receiving graduating BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1790, MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in 1792, BD
Bachelor of Divinity
In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....
in 1801, and DD
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
in 1803.
Lemprière may have been influenced by another Pembroke man, the lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
, whose famous A Dictionary of the English Language
A Dictionary of the English Language
Published on 15 April 1755 and written by Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, sometimes published as Johnson's Dictionary, is among the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language....
had appeared in 1755. A little over thirty years later, around 1786, Lemprière started work on his own Classical dictionary.
In 1787, he was invited by Valpy to be assistant headmaster at Reading Grammar School
Reading School
Reading School is a state-funded, selective academy school for boys in the English town of Reading. It is notable for tracing its history back to the school of Reading Abbey, making it one of the oldest schools in England. There are no tuition fees for day pupils, and boarders only pay for food and...
, and in 1789, to the great pride of his father, he preached in St Helier, Jersey. He achieved renown for his Bibliotheca Classica
Lemprière's Bibliotheca Classica
The Bibliotheca Classica , or Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors is the best-known work of John Lemprière, an English classical scholar. Edited by various later scholars, the dictionary long remained a readable if not absolutely...
or Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors, (Reading, November, 1788), which, edited by various later scholars, long remained a readable if not absolutely trustworthy reference book in mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and classical history
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
. Lemprière wished "to give the most accurate and satisfactory account of all the proper names which occur in reading the Classics, and by a judicious collection of anecdotes and historical facts to draw a picture of ancient times, not less instructive than entertaining." (Lemprière, Preface, 1788). It has been a handbook for teachers, journalists, dramatists and poets for almost two hundred years and John Keats
John Keats
John Keats was an English Romantic poet. Along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, he was one of the key figures in the second generation of the Romantic movement, despite the fact that his work had been in publication for only four years before his death.Although his poems were not...
is said to have known the book almost by heart. "Far from being just an ordinary dictionary, however, Lemprière's encyclopedic work is full of incidental details and stories which bring the mythical past to life." It is also assumed that the great scholar Valpy helped Lemprière with the dictionary.
Lemprière held a schoolmaster
Schoolmaster
A schoolmaster, or simply master, once referred to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British public schools, but is generally obsolete elsewhere.The teacher in charge of a school is the headmaster...
's post at Bolton Grammar School
Bolton School
Bolton School is an independent day school in Bolton, in the North-West of England. It comprises a co-educational Nursery and Infant School and single sex Junior and Senior Schools . With almost 2,400 pupils it is one of the largest independent day schools in the country.-History:Bolton School...
in 1791 and was a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at Radley
Radley
Radley is a village and civil parish about northwest of the centre of Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Lower Radley on the River Thames. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire....
. From 1792 until 1808 or 1809, he was headmaster of Abingdon Grammar School
Abingdon School
Abingdon School is a British day and boarding independent school for boys situated in Abingdon, Oxfordshire , previously known as Roysse's School. In 1998 a formal merger took place between Abingdon School and Josca's, a preparatory school four miles to the west at Frilford...
, and in 1800 was also appointed as vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of that parish, serving until 1811. While occupying these two posts, he published a Universal Biography of Eminent Persons in all Ages and Countries (London, 1808).
He neglected at this time both his clerical as well as his scholarly duties, so that in 1799 he was deprived of his benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
. Falling numbers in the school led to his downfall. In desperation, he even devised a shady scheme under which he guaranteed scholarships at his own old College, Pembroke, for a fee of twenty guineas.
In 1809 he succeeded to the headmastership of Exeter Free Grammar School
Exeter School
Exeter School is a selective independent co-educational day school for pupils between the ages of 7 and 18 located in Exeter, Devon, England. In 2010 there were around 180 pupils in the Junior School and 670 in the Senior School...
and held this post until 1819. On retiring from this school, following a disagreement with the trustees, he received the living
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
of Meeth in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, which, together with that of Newton St Petrock
Newton St Petrock
Newton St Petrock is an ecclesiastical and civil parish in the Torridge District of Devon in England, occupying approximately . It has a population in 2001 of 163....
, he held until his death from a stroke in the Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
, London. He is buried in Meeth, where his grave can be found.
Two of his sons were also Rectors of Meeth: Francis Drocus Lemprière (born 1794) and Everard Lemprière (born 1800). His daughter Caroline, who died at the age of twenty-seven, was the first wife of John Bathurst Deane
John Bathurst Deane
John Bathurst Deane was a curate, antiquary, and author. He belonged to the Society of Antiquaries and its Council and also to the Antiquarians' Club. He was one of the founders, in 1843, of the British Archaeological Association and, in 1844, of the Royal Archaeological Institute of Great Britain...
.
Publications
- "Bibliotheca Classica" or "Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors", (Reading,1788)
- "Sermon preché dans le Temple de la Paroisse de St. Helier, à Jersey, le deuxième d'Août." (1789)
- "A Sermon preached at the opening of St. Peter's Chapel, Swinton, in the parish of Eccles, Lancashire, on Sunday, April 10, 1791."
- "Herodotus" (a translation, Book 1 only), (1792) (References in: The Histories by Herodotus. G. C. Macaulay (1890) Reprint: Barnes and Noble, 2004)
- "Universal Biography of Eminent Persons in all Ages and Countries", (London, 1808)
Lemprière in Fiction
The 1991 prize-winning novel Lemprière's Dictionary by Lawrence NorfolkLawrence Norfolk
Lawrence Norfolk is a British novelist known for historical works with complex plots and intricate detail. His novels also feature an unusually large vocabulary....
has as its background Lemprière's writing of his dictionary, as well as the places the Lemprière family came from. The main character is John Lemprière, author of the Classical Dictionary, and also his father, Charles Lemprière. The rest of the story is fiction.
It is possible that the poet Tony Harrison
Tony Harrison
Tony Harrison is an English poet and playwright. He is noted for controversial works such as the poem V and Fram, as well as his versions of ancient Greek tragedies, including the Oresteia and Hecuba...
makes reference to Lemprière in his poem "A Kumquat for John Keats" in the line "Flora asphyxiated by foul air / unknown to Keats or Lemprière" - as he would have been a contemporary of John Keats.
The character Mr. Scogan expresses his admiration for Lemprière's work as a biographer and lexicographer in Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...
's novel Crome Yellow
Crome Yellow
Crome Yellow is the first novel by British author Aldous Huxley. It was published in 1921. In the book, Huxley satirises the fads and fashions of the time. It is the witty story of a house party at "Crome"...
(ch. XIV).
See also
- Culture of JerseyCulture of JerseyThe culture of Jersey is the culture of the Bailiwick of Jersey. This has been shaped by Jersey's indigenous Norman language and traditions as well as French and British cultural influences, to which have been added cultural trends from immigrant communities such as the Bretons and the...
- HMS Bellerophon (1786)HMS Bellerophon (1786)The first HMS Bellerophon of the Royal Navy was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line launched on 6 October 1786 at Frindsbury on the River Medway, near Chatham. She was built at the shipyard of Edward Greaves to the specifications of the Arrogant, designed by Sir Thomas Slade in 1758, the lead ship...
- Lawrence NorfolkLawrence NorfolkLawrence Norfolk is a British novelist known for historical works with complex plots and intricate detail. His novels also feature an unusually large vocabulary....
- Lemprière's Bibliotheca ClassicaLemprière's Bibliotheca ClassicaThe Bibliotheca Classica , or Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors is the best-known work of John Lemprière, an English classical scholar. Edited by various later scholars, the dictionary long remained a readable if not absolutely...
- Newton St PetrockNewton St PetrockNewton St Petrock is an ecclesiastical and civil parish in the Torridge District of Devon in England, occupying approximately . It has a population in 2001 of 163....