John Webster (minister)
Encyclopedia
John Webster also known as Johannes Hyphastes, was an English clergyman, physician and chemist with occult interests, a proponent of astrology
and a sceptic about witchcraft
. He is known for controversial works.
in Yorkshire
. He claimed education at the University of Cambridge
; there is no evidence of this, but his writing displays a learned style.
He studied under the Hungarian alchemist Johannes Huniades
(János Bánfi-Hunyadi), who is known to have lectured at Gresham College
.
He became curate at Kildwick
in 1634. He has been linked to Roger Brearley, the Grindletonian leader active at this period in Kildwick (three years earlier); and is classified as an Antinomian. During the First English Civil War
he left a position as teacher at Clitheroe
, and was a surgeon and army chaplain in the Parliamentarian forces. At a later point he was with the forces of Colonel Richard Shuttleworth
. In 1648 he became vicar at Mitton. From a Grindeltonian convert, he moved closer to Quaker views. He has been called a Seeker
.
He preached with William Erbery
on October 12 1653, in a dispute with two London ministers, and serious disorder resulted after Erbery took a particularly aggressive line against the established clergy. At this point he was minister at All Hallows, Lombard Street.
In the late 1650s he was again at Clitheroe. In 1658 he was arrested, and had papers seized. He gave up the ministry, and practiced as a physician. He died at Clitheroe
.
The Academiarum Examen of 1654 made detailed proposals for the reform of the university curriculum; it was dedicated to General John Lambert
, a highly-placed officer of the New Model Army
. While arguing as a Baconian
, Webster wanted to combine ideas from the experimental philosophy of the time with those of astrology and alchemy.
Webster was interested in some of the ideas of Comenius
, for example the idea of a "real character"; he connected this with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Behind this is the conception of an Adamic language
, and the recovery of Adam's knowledge from before the fall. He also advocated for the teaching of the works of Robert Fludd
, and others such as Paracelsus
. He was satisfied with neither the theological nor the medical training on offer.
When the Royal Society
was set up, after the Restoration, Webster welcomed it.
’s teaching should be retained, and how amended. On the way, Webster introduces and marshals many modern authors, and a few scholastic and other medieval names, to illustrate his version of a new curriculum. Excluding classical authors and Church Fathers, at first appearance they comprise the following:
According to Frances Yates
:
and John Wilkins
, in Vindiciae Academiarum (1654) was used by them as an opportunity to defend a more moderate programme of updating, partly put in place already. Ward and Wilkins put the case that Webster was ignorant of recent changes, and inconsistent in championing both Bacon and Fludd, whose methods were incompatible. Wilkins suggested Webster might be well matched with Alexander Ross
: Ross was a most conservative supporter of Aristotle
, who with Galen
was Webster's main target in the classical authorities, and Wilkins had defended the Copernican system against Ross in a long controversy running from the late 1630s to the mid-1640s.
Ward and Wilkins used the same publication to argue against others (William Dell
and Thomas Hobbes
) who had been attacking the old universities of Cambridge and Oxford. Other opponents of the Examen were Thomas Hall
and George Wither
.
The long-running Hobbes-Wallis controversy was a by-product of this debate. It has also been taken as symptomatic of a developing split separating on academic issues the circle of Samuel Hartlib
, close in views and sympathies to Webster, from those in the universities who in religious terms would be allies, on the issues of practical applications, and also the status of astrology, chemistry after Paracelsus and van Helmont, and pansophism.
Metallographia (1671) was a chemical work. It attributed to mineral
s the property of growth. He had a corpuscle theory of matter, described as intermediate between those of Kenelm Digby
and Herman Boerhaave
. It also drew on the work of Robert Boyle
; but the strong influence was that of Jan Baptist van Helmont
This book was one that Isaac Newton
used in his own alchemical work. Daniel Georg Morhof
criticised it as largely a compilation from German authors (Boyle was not mentioned); the views of Johann Pharamund Rhumelius were given at length.
His The Displaying of Supposed Witchcraft (1677) was a critical and sceptical review of evidence for witchcraft. According to Hugh Trevor-Roper, this is not an innovative work, but at the level of that of Johann Weyer
. He opposed Henry More
and Joseph Glanvill
, who were arguing for the reality of witches. Webster went as far as suggesting that the Bible had been mistranslated to support that belief. It was translated into German, being published in 1719 at Halle where Christian Thomasius
had made his scepticism an academic point of view. In the same year he defended the reputation of John Dee
against Meric Casaubon
. He had recommended Dee in the Examen, and was a proponent of natural magic
. More edited Glanvill's earlier works on witchcraft, attacked by Webster, together with material of his own, as a reply, which appeared under Glanvill's name but after his death as the influential Saducismus Triumphatus.
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
and a sceptic about witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. He is known for controversial works.
Life
He was born at Thornton in CravenThornton in Craven
Thornton-in-Craven is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England. It is approx from the border with Lancashire and north of Earby. Barnoldswick is nearby. The Pennine Way passes through the village, as does the A56 road...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. He claimed education at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
; there is no evidence of this, but his writing displays a learned style.
He studied under the Hungarian alchemist Johannes Huniades
Johannes Huniades
Johannes Huniades was a Hungarian goldsmith and alchemist, resident in England from 1608. He was born at Nagybánya in Transylvania ....
(János Bánfi-Hunyadi), who is known to have lectured at Gresham College
Gresham College
Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in central London, England. It was founded in 1597 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham and today it hosts over 140 free public lectures every year within the City of London.-History:Sir Thomas Gresham,...
.
He became curate at Kildwick
Kildwick
Kildwick, or Kildwick-in-Craven, is a village and civil parish of the District of Craven in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated between Skipton and Keighley and has a population of 191...
in 1634. He has been linked to Roger Brearley, the Grindletonian leader active at this period in Kildwick (three years earlier); and is classified as an Antinomian. During the First English Civil War
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...
he left a position as teacher at Clitheroe
Clitheroe
Clitheroe is a town and civil parish in the Borough of Ribble Valley in Lancashire, England. It is 1½ miles from the Forest of Bowland and is often used as a base for tourists in the area. It has a population of 14,697...
, and was a surgeon and army chaplain in the Parliamentarian forces. At a later point he was with the forces of Colonel Richard Shuttleworth
Richard Shuttleworth (younger)
Richard Shuttleworth was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1640 and 1648. He fought in the Parliamentarian army in the English Civil War....
. In 1648 he became vicar at Mitton. From a Grindeltonian convert, he moved closer to Quaker views. He has been called a Seeker
Seekers
The Seekers, or Legatine-Arians as they were sometimes known, were a Protestant dissenting group that emerged around the 1620s, probably inspired by the preaching of three brothers – Walter, Thomas, and Bartholomew Legate. Arguably, they are best thought of as forerunners of the Quakers, with whom...
.
He preached with William Erbery
William Erbery
William Erbery or Erbury was a Welsh clergyman and radical Independent theologian.-Life:He graduated from Brasenose College, Oxford, England in 1623.....
on October 12 1653, in a dispute with two London ministers, and serious disorder resulted after Erbery took a particularly aggressive line against the established clergy. At this point he was minister at All Hallows, Lombard Street.
In the late 1650s he was again at Clitheroe. In 1658 he was arrested, and had papers seized. He gave up the ministry, and practiced as a physician. He died at Clitheroe
Works on education
In The Saints Guide (1653) he rejected the worldly wisdom taught in schools as of no spiritual value. He made the case against any kind of university-educated clergy. Austin Woolrych considers this pamphlet, dated April 1653, was probably a response to the dissolution of the Rump ParliamentRump Parliament
The Rump Parliament is the name of the English Parliament after Colonel Pride purged the Long Parliament on 6 December 1648 of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason....
.
The Academiarum Examen of 1654 made detailed proposals for the reform of the university curriculum; it was dedicated to General John Lambert
John Lambert (general)
John Lambert was an English Parliamentary general and politician. He fought during the English Civil War and then in Oliver Cromwell's Scottish campaign , becoming thereafter active in civilian politics until his dismissal by Cromwell in 1657...
, a highly-placed officer of the New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
. While arguing as a Baconian
Baconian method
The Baconian method is the investigative method developed by Sir Francis Bacon. The method was put forward in Bacon's book Novum Organum , or 'New Method', and was supposed to replace the methods put forward in Aristotle's Organon...
, Webster wanted to combine ideas from the experimental philosophy of the time with those of astrology and alchemy.
Webster was interested in some of the ideas of Comenius
Comenius
John Amos Comenius ; ; Latinized: Iohannes Amos Comenius) was a Czech teacher, educator, and writer. He served as the last bishop of Unity of the Brethren, and became a religious refugee and one of the earliest champions of universal education, a concept eventually set forth in his book Didactica...
, for example the idea of a "real character"; he connected this with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Behind this is the conception of an Adamic language
Adamic language
The Adamic language is, according to certain sects within Abrahamic traditions, the language spoken by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, i.e., either the language used by God to address Adam, or the language invented by Adam ....
, and the recovery of Adam's knowledge from before the fall. He also advocated for the teaching of the works of Robert Fludd
Robert Fludd
Robert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus was a prominent English Paracelsian physician, astrologer, mathematician, cosmologist, Qabalist, Rosicrucian apologist...
, and others such as Paracelsus
Paracelsus
Paracelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
. He was satisfied with neither the theological nor the medical training on offer.
When the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
was set up, after the Restoration, Webster welcomed it.
Authors mentioned in the Academiarum Examen
The Examen has 11 chapters, and builds up to the discussion in Chapter X of what in AristotleAristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
’s teaching should be retained, and how amended. On the way, Webster introduces and marshals many modern authors, and a few scholastic and other medieval names, to illustrate his version of a new curriculum. Excluding classical authors and Church Fathers, at first appearance they comprise the following:
- Chapter I: Hugh of St VictorHugh of St VictorHugh of Saint Victor was born perhaps in France, or more probably in Saxony. His origins and early life are rather obscure. He studied and taught at the Augustinian Abbey of Saint Victor in Paris after which he is named. His writings include works of theology, mysticism, philosophy and the arts...
- Chapter II: Descartes, Nicholas of CusaNicholas of CusaNicholas of Kues , also referred to as Nicolaus Cusanus and Nicholas of Cusa, was a cardinal of the Catholic Church from Germany , a philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and an astronomer. He is widely considered one of the great geniuses and polymaths of the 15th century...
, Francis BaconFrancis BaconFrancis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England... - Chapter III: John DeeJohn DeeJohn Dee was a Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.John Dee may also refer to:* John Dee , Basketball coach...
, ComeniusComeniusJohn Amos Comenius ; ; Latinized: Iohannes Amos Comenius) was a Czech teacher, educator, and writer. He served as the last bishop of Unity of the Brethren, and became a religious refugee and one of the earliest champions of universal education, a concept eventually set forth in his book Didactica...
, Joseph WebbeJoseph WebbeJoseph Webbe was an English grammarian, physician, and astrologer. He is now remembered for his views on language teaching, which were based on minimal instruction in grammar, against the contemporary fashion.-Life:...
, John BrinsleyJohn Brinsley the elderJohn Brinsley the elder was an English schoolmaster, known for his educational works.-Life:He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1584 and M.A. in 1588. He became the master of the school at Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, brought there by Henry Hastings,...
, William OughtredWilliam OughtredWilliam Oughtred was an English mathematician.After John Napier invented logarithms, and Edmund Gunter created the logarithmic scales upon which slide rules are based, it was Oughtred who first used two such scales sliding by one another to perform direct multiplication and division; and he is...
, HarrigonPierre HérigonePierre Hérigone was a French mathematician and astronomer.Of Basque origin, Hérigone taught in Paris for most of his life.-Works:...
, Trithemius, Giambattista Porta, Cornelius Agrippa, ClaramuelJuan Caramuel y LobkowitzJuan Caramuel y Lobkowitz was a Spanish Catholic scholastic philosopher, ecclesiastic, mathematician and writer.-Life:...
, Gustavus Silenus, Roger BaconRoger BaconRoger Bacon, O.F.M. , also known as Doctor Mirabilis , was an English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empirical methods...
, Kenelm DigbyKenelm DigbySir Kenelm Digby was an English courtier and diplomat. He was also a highly reputed natural philosopher, and known as a leading Roman Catholic intellectual and Blackloist. For his versatility, Anthony à Wood called him the "magazine of all arts".-Early life and career:He was born at Gayhurst,...
, Jakob BöhmeJakob BöhmeJakob Böhme was a German Christian mystic and theologian. He is considered an original thinker within the Lutheran tradition... - Chapter IV: Pierre GassendiPierre GassendiPierre Gassendi was a French philosopher, priest, scientist, astronomer, and mathematician. With a church position in south-east France, he also spent much time in Paris, where he was a leader of a group of free-thinking intellectuals. He was also an active observational scientist, publishing the...
, Justus LipsiusJustus LipsiusJustus Lipsius was a Southern-Netherlandish philologist and humanist. Lipsius wrote a series of works designed to revive ancient Stoicism in a form that would be compatible with Christianity. The most famous of these is De Constantia...
, Johann Baptist van Helmont, Nicholas HillNicholas Hill (scientist)Nicholas Hill was an English natural philosopher, considered a disciple of Giordano Bruno. He is known for his 1601 book Philosophia epicurea.-Life:...
, Ramon LlullRamon LlullRamon Llull was a Majorcan writer and philosopher, logician and tertiary Franciscan. He wrote the first major work of Catalan literature. Recently-surfaced manuscripts show him to have anticipated by several centuries prominent work on elections theory...
, Paulus Schalichius, Ficino - Chapter V: John NapierJohn NapierJohn Napier of Merchiston – also signed as Neper, Nepair – named Marvellous Merchiston, was a Scottish mathematician, physicist, astronomer & astrologer, and also the 8th Laird of Merchistoun. He was the son of Sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston. John Napier is most renowned as the discoverer...
, Henry BriggsHenry BriggsHenry Briggs may refer to:*Henry Briggs *Henry Briggs , *Henry Shaw Briggs , Union general in the American Civil War...
, Galileo, Christoph ScheinerChristoph ScheinerChristoph Scheiner SJ was a Jesuit priest, physicist and astronomer in Ingolstadt....
, Aguillonius, Hevelius, Thomas WhiteThomas White (scholar)Thomas White was an English Roman Catholic priest and scholar, known as a theologian, censured by the Inquisition, and also as a philosopher contributing to scientific and political debates.-Life:...
, Tycho BraheTycho BraheTycho Brahe , born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, was a Danish nobleman known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations...
, Copernicus, Kepler, Nathanael CarpenterNathanael CarpenterNathanael Carpenter was an English author, philosopher, and geographer.-Life:He was son of John Carpenter, rector of Northleigh, Devon, and was born there on February 7, 1589. He matriculated at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, on June 7, 1605; but was elected, on a recommendatory letter of James I, a...
, Pico della Mirandola, Elias AshmoleElias AshmoleElias Ashmole was a celebrated English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices.Ashmole was an antiquary with a...
, William LillyWilliam LillyWilliam Lilly , was an English astrologer famed during his time. Lilly was particularly adept at interpreting the astrological charts drawn up for horary questions, as this was his speciality....
, John BookerJohn BookerJohn Booker was an English astrologer, respected in that career for over 30 years. In the 1640s he was appointed licenser of mathematical publications, and so in effect a censor of astrological works, for the Stationers' Company.-Life:...
, Sanders, Nicholas Culpepper, Ubaldus, Marcus Marci, Baptista Benedictus - Chapter VI: Abenrois, Thomas AquinasThomas AquinasThomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
, Duns ScotusDuns ScotusBlessed John Duns Scotus, O.F.M. was one of the more important theologians and philosophers of the High Middle Ages. He was nicknamed Doctor Subtilis for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought....
, Albertus MagnusAlbertus MagnusAlbertus Magnus, O.P. , also known as Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, is a Catholic saint. He was a German Dominican friar and a bishop, who achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of and advocacy for the peaceful coexistence of science and religion. Those such as James A. Weisheipl...
, GregoriusGregoriusGregorius or The Good Sinner is a Middle High German narrative poem by Hartmann von Aue. Written around 1190 in rhyming couplets, it tells the story of a child born of the incestuous union of a brother and sister, who is brought up in a monastery, ignorant of his origins, marries his mother,...
, Durandus, Harvaeus, Maronaeus, Alliacensis, Trismegistus, GeberGeberAbu Musa Jābir ibn Hayyān, often known simply as Geber, was a prominent polymath: a chemist and alchemist, astronomer and astrologer, engineer, geologist, philosopher, physicist, and pharmacist and physician. Born and educated in Tus, he later traveled to Kufa...
, Arnoldus de Villa Nova, Basilius ValentinusBasilius ValentinusBasil Valentine is the Anglicised version of the name Basilius Valentinus, who was allegedly a 15th-century alchemist. There are claims that he was the Canon of the Benedictine Priory of Sankt Peter in Erfurt, Germany but according to John Maxson Stillman, who wrote on the history of chemistry,...
, Isaac Hollandus, ParacelsusParacelsusParacelsus was a German-Swiss Renaissance physician, botanist, alchemist, astrologer, and general occultist....
, William HarveyWilliam HarveyWilliam Harvey was an English physician who was the first person to describe completely and in detail the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the body by the heart...
, Robert FluddRobert FluddRobert Fludd, also known as Robertus de Fluctibus was a prominent English Paracelsian physician, astrologer, mathematician, cosmologist, Qabalist, Rosicrucian apologist...
, Crollius, Quercetan (Joseph DuchesneJoseph DuchesneJoseph Duchesne or du Chesne was a French physician. A follower of Paracelsus, he is now remembered for important if transitional alchemical theories.-Life:...
), William Gilbert, Mark RidleyMark Ridley (physician)Dr. Mark Ridley was an English physician, born in Stretham, Cambridgeshire, to Lancelot Ridley. He became physician to the English merchant in Russia, and then personal physician to the Tsar of Russia. While there, ca. 1594-1599, he compiled a Russian-English, English-Russian dictionary, which is...
, William Barlow, Cabaeus, Athanasius KircherAthanasius KircherAthanasius Kircher was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology, and medicine...
, Magnenus Regius (Johann Chrysostom MagnenusJohann Chrysostom MagnenusJohann Chrysostom Magnenus was a French physician and advocate of atomism.-Life:He was born at Luxeuil. He took a medical degree at the University of Dôle...
), Phocyllides Holwarda - Chapter VII: Thomas Campanella, Lambertus Danaeus (Lambert Daneau), Jean BodinJean BodinJean Bodin was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is best known for his theory of sovereignty; he was also an influential writer on demonology....
, Machiavelli, Thomas HobbesThomas HobbesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy... - Chapter VIII: Erasmus, LutherMartin LutherMartin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
, RamusRamusRamus can refer to:* A branch* A portion of a bone , as in the Ramus of the mandible or Superior pubic ramus* A nerve ramus such as the Dorsal ramus of spinal nerve* Petrus Ramus... - Chapter IX: BullialdusIsmaël BullialdusIsmaël Bullialdus was a French astronomer.Bullialdus was born Ismaël Boulliau in Loudun, Vienne, France, the first surviving son to Calvinists Susanna Motet and Ismaël Boulliau, a notary by profession and amateur astronomer. At age twenty-one he converted to Catholicism, and by twenty-six was...
- Chapter X: Franciscus Patritius, Telesius, Melanchthon
According to Frances Yates
Frances Yates
Dame Frances Amelia Yates DBE was a British historian. She taught at the Warburg Institute of the University of London for many years.She wrote extensively on the occult or Neoplatonic philosophies of the Renaissance...
:
Controversy over the Academiarum Examen
A reply from the Oxford academics Seth WardSeth Ward (bishop)
Seth Ward was an English mathematician, astronomer, and bishop.-Early life:He was born in Hertfordshire, and educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1636 and M.A. in 1640, becoming a Fellow in that year...
and John Wilkins
John Wilkins
John Wilkins FRS was an English clergyman, natural philosopher and author, as well as a founder of the Invisible College and one of the founders of the Royal Society, and Bishop of Chester from 1668 until his death....
, in Vindiciae Academiarum (1654) was used by them as an opportunity to defend a more moderate programme of updating, partly put in place already. Ward and Wilkins put the case that Webster was ignorant of recent changes, and inconsistent in championing both Bacon and Fludd, whose methods were incompatible. Wilkins suggested Webster might be well matched with Alexander Ross
Alexander Ross (writer)
Alexander Ross was a prolific Scottish writer and controversialist. He was Chaplain-in-Ordinary to Charles I.-Life:He was born in Aberdeen, and entered King's College, Aberdeen, in 1604. About 1616 he succeeded Thomas Parker in the mastership of the free school at Southampton, an appointment which...
: Ross was a most conservative supporter of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, who with Galen
Galen
Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus , better known as Galen of Pergamon , was a prominent Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher...
was Webster's main target in the classical authorities, and Wilkins had defended the Copernican system against Ross in a long controversy running from the late 1630s to the mid-1640s.
Ward and Wilkins used the same publication to argue against others (William Dell
William Dell
William Dell was an English clergyman, Master of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge from 1649 to 1660, and prominent radical Parliamentarian.-Biography:...
and Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
) who had been attacking the old universities of Cambridge and Oxford. Other opponents of the Examen were Thomas Hall
Thomas Hall (minister)
-Life:He was son of Richard Hall, clothier, by his wife Elizabeth , and was born in St. Andrew's parish, Worcester, about 22 July 1610. He was educated at the King's School, Worcester, under Henry Bright , one of the most celebrated schoolmasters of the day. In 1624 he entered Balliol College,...
and George Wither
George Wither
George Wither was an English poet, pamphleteer, and satirist. He was a prolific writer who adopted a deliberate plainness of style; he was several times imprisoned. C. V...
.
The long-running Hobbes-Wallis controversy was a by-product of this debate. It has also been taken as symptomatic of a developing split separating on academic issues the circle of Samuel Hartlib
Samuel Hartlib
Samuel Hartlib was a German-British polymath. An active promoter and expert writer in many fields, he was interested in science, medicine, agriculture, politics, and education. He settled in England, where he married and died...
, close in views and sympathies to Webster, from those in the universities who in religious terms would be allies, on the issues of practical applications, and also the status of astrology, chemistry after Paracelsus and van Helmont, and pansophism.
Other works
He edited William Erbery's works and wrote his biography in 1658, as The Testimony of William Erbery.Metallographia (1671) was a chemical work. It attributed to mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
s the property of growth. He had a corpuscle theory of matter, described as intermediate between those of Kenelm Digby
Kenelm Digby
Sir Kenelm Digby was an English courtier and diplomat. He was also a highly reputed natural philosopher, and known as a leading Roman Catholic intellectual and Blackloist. For his versatility, Anthony à Wood called him the "magazine of all arts".-Early life and career:He was born at Gayhurst,...
and Herman Boerhaave
Herman Boerhaave
Herman Boerhaave was a Dutch botanist, humanist and physician of European fame. He is regarded as the founder of clinical teaching and of the modern academic hospital. His main achievement was to demonstrate the relation of symptoms to lesions...
. It also drew on the work of Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle
Robert Boyle FRS was a 17th century natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, and inventor, also noted for his writings in theology. He has been variously described as English, Irish, or Anglo-Irish, his father having come to Ireland from England during the time of the English plantations of...
; but the strong influence was that of Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont was an early modern period Flemish chemist, physiologist, and physician. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to be "the founder of pneumatic chemistry"...
This book was one that Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
used in his own alchemical work. Daniel Georg Morhof
Daniel Georg Morhof
Daniel Georg Morhof was a German writer and scholar.He was born at Wismar. He first studied jurisprudence and then literae humaniores at the University of Rostock, where his elegant Latin versification procured for him in 1660 the chair of poetry...
criticised it as largely a compilation from German authors (Boyle was not mentioned); the views of Johann Pharamund Rhumelius were given at length.
His The Displaying of Supposed Witchcraft (1677) was a critical and sceptical review of evidence for witchcraft. According to Hugh Trevor-Roper, this is not an innovative work, but at the level of that of Johann Weyer
Johann Weyer
Johann Weyer , was a Dutch physician, occultist and demonologist, disciple and follower of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa. He was among the first to publish against the persecution of witches...
. He opposed Henry More
Henry More
Henry More FRS was an English philosopher of the Cambridge Platonist school.-Biography:Henry was born at Grantham and was schooled at The King's School, Grantham and at Eton College...
and Joseph Glanvill
Joseph Glanvill
Joseph Glanvill was an English writer, philosopher, and clergyman. Not himself a scientist, he has been called "the most skillful apologist of the virtuosi", or in other words the leading propagandist for the approach of the English natural philosophers of the later 17th century.-Life:He was...
, who were arguing for the reality of witches. Webster went as far as suggesting that the Bible had been mistranslated to support that belief. It was translated into German, being published in 1719 at Halle where Christian Thomasius
Christian Thomasius
Christian Thomasius was a German jurist and philosopher.- Biography :He was born at Leipzig and was educated by his father, Jakob Thomasius , at that time head master of Thomasschule zu Leipzig...
had made his scepticism an academic point of view. In the same year he defended the reputation of John Dee
John Dee
John Dee was a Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.John Dee may also refer to:* John Dee , Basketball coach...
against Meric Casaubon
Méric Casaubon
Méric Casaubon , son of Isaac Casaubon, was a French-English classical scholar...
. He had recommended Dee in the Examen, and was a proponent of natural magic
Natural magic
Natural magic in the context of Renaissance magic is that part of the occult which deals with natural forces directly, as opposed to ceremonial magic, in particular goety and theurgy, which deals with the summoning of spirits...
. More edited Glanvill's earlier works on witchcraft, attacked by Webster, together with material of his own, as a reply, which appeared under Glanvill's name but after his death as the influential Saducismus Triumphatus.
Further reading
- Thomas Harmon Jobe, The Devil in Restoration Science: the Glanvill-Webster Witchcraft Debate, Isis 72:3 1981
- Peter Elmer, The Library of Dr. John Webster: The Making of a Seventeenth Century Radical (London, 1986).
External links
- http://www.minrec.org/libdetail.asp?id=1471