John Milner (nonjuror)
Encyclopedia
John Milner was an English clergyman, known as a nonjuring minister
, scholar and opponent of John Locke
.
, 21 June 1642. He probably left without a degree ahead of the parliamentary visitation of the university. Returning to Halifax he made the acquaintance of John Lake
, whose sister he seems to have married. Milner was probably with Lake at Oldham
in 1651; it has been inferred that he was schoolmaster at Chadderton
appointed in August 1641. Lake's friend was preaching at Oldham as late as 1654.
Milner is said to have subsequently returned to Halifax, and at the Restoration
was given the curacy of Beeston
in the parish of Halifax by Lake, who had then become vicar of Leeds. In 1662 he obtained the degree of B.D. at Cambridge by royal letters. His petition for his degree states that he had been deprived of a good benefice during the rebellion. In the same year he was made minister of St. John's, Leeds, was inducted vicar of Leeds 4 August 1673, and elected prebendary of Ripon 29 March 1681.
At the Glorious Revolution
of 1688 he joined the nonjurors, was deprived of all his preferments, and retired to St. John's College, Cambridge, where he lived in comparative ease. He died 16 February 1702, and was buried in the college chapel on 19 February. His only son, Thomas, vicar of Bexhill
, Sussex
, proved a great benefactor to Magdalene College, Cambridge
, under his will dated 5 September 1721.
Two anonymous pamphlets on Bishop John Lake's 'Dying Profession,' have been assigned to Milner, or Robert Jenkin
. They were published at London in 1690. Milner left in manuscript a translation in Latin of the Targum
on the First and Second Book of Chronicles, and other works on Scriptural chronology and current ecclesiastical controversies. The Account of Mr. Locke's Religion includes moderate and shrewd criticisms of Locke's detailed reasoning.
Nonjuring schism
The nonjuring schism was a split in the Church of England in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, over whether William of Orange and his wife Mary could legally be recognised as King and Queen of England....
, scholar and opponent of John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
.
Life
Milner was second son of John Milner and Mary, daughter of Gilbert Ramsden, born at Skircoat, in the parish of Halifax, and was baptised 10 February 1628. He was educated at the Halifax grammar school and entered at Christ's College, CambridgeChrist's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
, 21 June 1642. He probably left without a degree ahead of the parliamentary visitation of the university. Returning to Halifax he made the acquaintance of John Lake
John Lake (bishop)
John Lake was a 17th century Bishop of Sodor and Man, Bishop of Bristol and Bishop of Chichester in the British Isles.-Life:He was born in Halifax in the West Riding of Yorkshire and educated at St John's College, Cambridge...
, whose sister he seems to have married. Milner was probably with Lake at Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
in 1651; it has been inferred that he was schoolmaster at Chadderton
Chadderton
Chadderton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England, historically a part of Lancashire...
appointed in August 1641. Lake's friend was preaching at Oldham as late as 1654.
Milner is said to have subsequently returned to Halifax, and at the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
was given the curacy of Beeston
Beeston, Leeds
Beeston is a suburb Leeds, West Yorkshire, England located about 2 miles south of the city centre. The area is separated from surrounding areas to the north, east and west by the M621 motorway....
in the parish of Halifax by Lake, who had then become vicar of Leeds. In 1662 he obtained the degree of B.D. at Cambridge by royal letters. His petition for his degree states that he had been deprived of a good benefice during the rebellion. In the same year he was made minister of St. John's, Leeds, was inducted vicar of Leeds 4 August 1673, and elected prebendary of Ripon 29 March 1681.
At the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1688 he joined the nonjurors, was deprived of all his preferments, and retired to St. John's College, Cambridge, where he lived in comparative ease. He died 16 February 1702, and was buried in the college chapel on 19 February. His only son, Thomas, vicar of Bexhill
Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea is a town and seaside resort in the county of East Sussex, in the south of England, within the District of Rother. It has a population of approximately 40,000...
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, proved a great benefactor to Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary Magdalene...
, under his will dated 5 September 1721.
Works
Milner published:- 'Conjectanea in Isaiam ix. 1, item in Parallela qusedam Veteris ac Novi Testamenti in quibus Versionis LXX Interpretum . . . cum Textu Hebraeo conciliationem meditatur Author,' dedicated to James DuportJames DuportJames Duport was an English classical scholar.-Life:His father, John Duport, who was descended from an old Norman family , was master of Jesus College, Cambridge...
and Edmund CastellEdmund CastellEdmund Castell was an English orientalist.He was born at Tadlow, in Cambridgeshire. At the age of fifteen he entered Emmanuel College, Cambridge, gaining his BA in 1624-5 and his MA in 1628. Appointed Professor of Arabic in 1666, with the full title 'Sir Thomas Adams Professor of Arabic'. He...
, London, 1673. - 'A Collection of the Church History of Palestine from the Birth of Christ to the Beginning of the Empire of Diocletian,' London, 1688.
- 'A Short Dissertation concerning the Four Last Kings of Judah,' London, 1687 or 1689, occasioned by Joseph Scaliger's Judicium de Thesi Chronologica.
- 'De Nethinim sive Nethinaeis et de eis qui se Corban Deo nominabant disputatiuncula adversus Eugabinum, Card. Baronium,' Cambridge, 1690.
- 'A Defence of Archbishop Usher against Dr. Cary and Dr. Isaac Vossius, . . . with an Introduction concerning the Uncertainty of Chronology,' Cambridge, 1694. Controversial work supporting James UssherJames UssherJames Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
against Robert Cary and Isaac VossiusIsaac VossiusIsaak Vossius, sometimes anglicised Isaac Voss was a Dutch scholar and manuscript collector.-Life:...
. - 'A Discourse of Conscience,' &c., London, 1697 or 1699.
- 'A View of the Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris, Themistocles, &c., lately published by the Rev. Dr. Bentley, also of the Examination of that Dissertation by the Honourable Mr. Boyle,' London, 1698.
- 'A Brief Examination of Some Passages to the Chronological Fact of a Letter written to Dr. Sherlock in his Vindication, in a letter to a friend,' with 'A Further Examination [of the above] in a second letter.'
- 'An Account of Mr. Locke's Religion out of his own Writings,' &c. (charging Locke with SocinianismSocinianismSocinianism is a system of Christian doctrine named for Fausto Sozzini , which was developed among the Polish Brethren in the Minor Reformed Church of Poland during the 15th and 16th centuries and embraced also by the Unitarian Church of Transylvania during the same period...
), London, 1700. - 'Animadversiones upon M. Le Clerc's Reflexions upon our Saviour and His Apostles,' Cambridge, 1702.
Two anonymous pamphlets on Bishop John Lake's 'Dying Profession,' have been assigned to Milner, or Robert Jenkin
Robert Jenkin (theologian)
Robert Jenkin was an English clergyman, a nonjuror of 1698, later Master of St. John's College, Cambridge, Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity, and opponent of John Locke.-Life:...
. They were published at London in 1690. Milner left in manuscript a translation in Latin of the Targum
Targum
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
on the First and Second Book of Chronicles, and other works on Scriptural chronology and current ecclesiastical controversies. The Account of Mr. Locke's Religion includes moderate and shrewd criticisms of Locke's detailed reasoning.