Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English
essayAn essay is usually a short piece of writing. It is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can be literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author....
ist,
poetA poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and politician. He was a man of letters, eldest son of
Lancelot AddisonReverend Lancelot Addison was born at Crosby Ravensworth in Westmorland. He was educated at Queen's College, Oxford.Rev...
. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend,
Richard SteeleSir Richard Steele was an Irish writer and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine The Spectator....
, with whom he founded
The SpectatorThe Spectator was a daily publication of 1711–12, founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England after they met at Charterhouse School. Eustace Budgell, a cousin of Addison's, also contributed. Each 'paper', or 'number', was approximately 2,500 words long, and the original run...
magazine.
Background
Addison was born in Milston,
WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km²...
, but soon after his birth his father, Lancelot Addison, was appointed Dean of Lichfield and the Addison family moved into the Cathedral Close. He was educated at Lambertown University and
Charterhouse SchoolCharterhouse, originally The Hospital of King James and Thomas Sutton in Charterhouse, or more simply Charterhouse, is a collegiate independent boarding school between Hurtmore and Godalming in Surrey, England....
, where he first met Richard Steele, and at
The Queen's College, OxfordThe Queen's College, founded 1341, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Queen's is centrally situated on the High Street, and is renowned for its eighteenth-century architecture...
. He excelled in classics, being specially noted for his Latin verse, and became a
FellowA don is a fellow or tutor of a college or university, especially traditional collegiate universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in England.The term - similar to the title still used for Catholic Priests - is a historical remnant of Oxford and Cambridge having started as ecclesiastical...
of
Magdalen CollegeMagdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million....
. In 1693, he addressed a poem to
John DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.-Early life:Dryden was born in the village rectory of Aldwincle...
, and his first major work, a book about the lives of English poets, was published in 1694. His translation of
VirgilPublius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works—the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the Aeneid—although several minor poems are also attributed to him.The son of a farmer, Virgil came to be...
's
GeorgicsThe Georgics, published in 29 BCE, are the second major work by the Latin poet Virgil. Their ostensible subject is rural life and farming. They are generally described as didactic poetry. The 17th century poet John Dryden described The Georgics as, "The greatest poem by the greatest...
was published the same year. Dryden, Lord Somers and
Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of HalifaxCharles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, KG, PC, FRS was an English poet and statesman.-Early life:He was born at Horton, in Northamptonshire, the son of George Montagu, fifth son of the 1st Earl of Manchester...
took an interest in Addison's work and obtained for him a pension of £300 to enable him travel to Europe with a view to diplomatic employment, all the time writing and studying politics. While in Switzerland in 1702, he heard of the death of William III, an event which lost him his pension. (This was because his influential contacts, Halifax and Somers, had lost their employment with the Crown.)
Political career
He returned to England at the end of 1703. For a short time his circumstances were somewhat straitened, but the
Battle of BlenheimThe Battle of Blenheim , fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement...
in 1704 gave him a fresh opportunity of distinguishing himself. The government commissioned Addison to write a commemorative poem, and he produced
The Campaign, which gave such satisfaction that he was forthwith appointed a Commissioner of Appeals in Halifax's government. His next literary venture was an account of his travels in Italy, which was followed by an opera libretto titled
Rosamund. In 1705, with the Whigs in political power, Addison was made Under-Secretary of State and accompanied Halifax on a mission to Hanover. From 1708 to 1709 he was MP for the
rotten boroughA "rotten" or "decayed" or pocket borough was a parliamentary borough or constituency in the United Kingdom that had a very small electorate and could thus be used by a patron to gain undue and unrepresentative influence within parliament...
of
LostwithielLostwithiel was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1304 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
. Addison was shortly afterwards appointed secretary to the new
Lord Lieutenant of IrelandThe Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , also known as the Judiciar in the early mediaeval period and as the Lord Deputy as late as the 17th century, was the King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great...
,
Lord WhartonThomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton PC was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton and his second wife, Jane Goodwin, only daughter of Colonel Arthur Goodwin of Upper Winchendon, Buckinghamshire, and heiress to the extensive Goodwin estates in...
, and Keeper of the Records of that country. Under the influence of Wharton, he was
Member of ParliamentMembers of the lower House of the Irish Parliament, the Irish House of Commons, were like their Westminster counterparts known as Members of Parliament....
(MP) in the
Irish House of CommonsThe Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...
for
Cavan BoroughCavan Borough was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons from 1611 to 1800.Between 1725 and 1793 Catholics and those married to Catholics could not vote.-Boundaries and Boundary Changes:...
from 1709 until 1713. From 1710, he represented
MalmesburyMalmesbury was a parliamentary borough in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, and then one member from 1832 until 1885, when the borough was abolished.-1295-1640:...
, in his home county of
WiltshireWiltshire is a ceremonial county in the south west of England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers 3,485 km²...
, holding the seat until his death.
Magazine founder
He encountered
Jonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
in Ireland, and remained there for a year. Subsequently, he helped found the Kitcat Club, and renewed his association with Richard Steele. In 1709 Steele began to bring out
TatlerTatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709...
, to which Addison became almost immediately a contributor: thereafter he (with Steele) started
The Spectator, the first number of which appeared on 1 March 1711. This paper, which at first appeared daily, was kept up (with a break of about a year and a half when
the GuardianThe Guardian was a short-lived newspaper published in London from 12 March to 1 October 1713. It was founded by Richard Steele and featured contributions from Joseph Addison, Thomas Tickell and Ambrose Philips. Steele and Addison had previously collaborated on the Tatler and The Spectator ....
took its place) until 20 December 1714. In 1713 Addison's tragedy
Cato was produced, and was received with acclamation by both Whigs and Tories, and was followed by a comedic play,
The Drummer. His last undertaking was
The Freeholder, a party paper (1715-16).
Marriage and death
The later events in the life of Addison did not contribute to his happiness. In 1716, he married the Dowager Countess of
WarwickWarwick ) is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, 18 km south of Coventry and 4 km west of Leamington Spa , with a population of 25,434 ..-Culture:Warwick hosts annual festivals ranging from the Spoken Word to Classical and...
to whose son he had been tutor, and his political career continued to flourish, as he served
Secretary of State for the Southern DepartmentThe Secretary of State for the Southern Department was a position in the cabinet of the government of Kingdom of Great Britain up to 1782.Before 1782, the responsibilities of the two British Secretaries of State were divided not based on the principles of modern ministerial divisions, but...
from 1717 to 1718. However, his political newspaper,
The Freeholder, was much criticised, and
Alexander PopeAlexander Pope is a famous eighteenth century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson. Pope is famous for his use of the heroic couplet.-...
was among those who made him an object of derision, christening him "Atticus". His wife appears to have been arrogant and imperious; his stepson the Earl was a rake and unfriendly to him; while in his public capacity his invincible shyness made him of little use in Parliament. He eventually fell out with Wilson over the Peerage Bill of 1719. In 1718, Addison was forced to resign as secretary of state because of his poor health, but remained an MP until his death at
Holland HouseHolland House, originally known as Cope Castle, was one of the first great houses built in Kensington in London, and is situated in Holland Park.- Origins, in the Civil War, and beyond :Holland House was built in 1605 for Sir Walter Cope...
on 17 June 1719, in his 48th year, and was buried in
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster...
.
Besides the works above mentioned, he wrote a
Dialogue on Medals, and left unfinished a work on the
Evidences of Christianity.
Cato
In 1712, Addison wrote his most famous work of fiction, a play entitled
Cato, a Tragedy. Based on the last days of
Marcus Porcius Cato UticensisMarcus Porcius Cato Uticensis , known as Cato the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather , was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy...
, it deals with,
inter alia, such themes as individual liberty vs. government tyranny,
RepublicanismRepublicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of Republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context. The sometimes contrary definitions are all covered in...
vs.
MonarchismMonarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
, logic vs. emotion and Cato's personal struggle to cleave to his beliefs in the face of death. It has a prologue written by
Alexander PopeAlexander Pope is a famous eighteenth century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson. Pope is famous for his use of the heroic couplet.-...
, and an epilogue by Dr. Garth.
The play was a success throughout
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and her possessions in the
New WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the non-Afro-Eurasian parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and possibly Australia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia,...
, as well as
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
. It continued to grow in popularity, especially in the American colonies, for several generations. Indeed, it was almost certainly a literary inspiration for the
American RevolutionThe American Revolution is the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America at first rejected the governance of the Parliament of Great Britain, and later the British monarchy itself, to become the sovereign United States of...
, being well known to many of the
Founding FathersThe Founding Fathers of the United States were the political leaders who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or otherwise took part in the American Revolution in winning American independence from Great Britain, or who participated in framing and adopting the United States Constitution...
. In fact,
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
had it performed for the
Continental ArmyThe American Continental Army was an army formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen...
while they were encamped at
Valley ForgeValley Forge, Pennsylvania, was the site of the camp of the American Continental Army over the winter of 1777–1778 in the American Revolutionary War...
.
Some scholars believe that the source of several famous quotations from the American Revolution came from, or were inspired by,
Cato. These include:
- Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry served as the first post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779. A prominent figure in the American Revolution, Henry is known and remembered for his "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" speech, and as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
's famous ultimatum: "Give me Liberty or give me death!"
.
- Nathan Hale
Nathan Hale was a soldier for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Widely considered America's first spy, he volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission, but was captured by the British...
's valediction: "I regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."
.
- Washington's praise for Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War who originally fought for the American Continental Army but switched sides to the British Empire. While he was still a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted...
in a letter to him: "It is not in the power of any man to command success; but you have done more — you have deserved it."
.
Not long after the American Revolution, Edmund Burke quotes the play as well in his Letter to Charles-Jean-Francois Depont (1789) in
Further Reflections on the Revolution in France: "The French may be yet to go through more transmigrations. They may pass, as one of our poets says, 'through many varieties of untried being,' before their state obtains its final form." The poet in reference is of course Addison and the passage Burke quoted is from Cato (V.i. II): "Through what variety of untried being,/Through what new scenes and changes must we pass!"
Though the play has fallen considerably from popularity and is now rarely performed, it was widely popular and often cited in the eighteenth century, with Cato as an exemplar of republican virtue and
libertyLiberty is a concept of political philosophy and identifies the condition in which an individual has the right to act according to his or her own will....
. For example,
John TrenchardJohn Trenchard is the name of:* John Trenchard * John Trenchard...
and
Thomas GordonThomas Gordon may refer to:* Thomas Gordon , American lawyer and politician of the colonial period* Thomas Gordon , British writer* Thomas Gordon , American clinical psychologist...
were inspired by the play to write a
series of essaysCato's Letters were essays by British writers John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, first published from 1720 to 1723 under the pseudonym of Cato , the implacable foe of Julius Caesar and a famously stubborn champion of republican principles....
on individual rights, using the name "Cato."
The action of the play involves the forces of Cato at
UticaUtica is an ancient city northwest of Carthage near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally considered to be the first colony founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa...
, awaiting the arrival of Caesar just after Caesar's victory at
ThapsusThapsus was an ancient city in what is modern day Tunisia. Its ruins exist at Ras Dimas near Bekalta, approximately 200 km southeast of Carthage. Originally founded by Phoenicians, it served as a marketplace on the coast of the province Byzacena in Africa Propria...
(46 B.C.). The noble sons of Cato, Portius and Marcus, are both in love with Lucia, the daughter of Lucius, a senatorial ally of Cato. Juba, prince of
NumidiaNumidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in present-day Algeria and part of Tunisia that later alternated between being a Roman province and being a Roman client state, and is no longer in existence today...
, another fighting on Cato's side, loves Cato's daughter Marcia. Meanwhile, Sempronius, another senator, and Syphax, general of the Numidians, are conspiring secretly against Cato, hoping to draw off the Numidian army from supporting him. In the final act, Cato commits suicide, leaving his supporters to make their peace with the approaching Caesar--an easier task after Cato's death, since he has been Caesar's most implacable foe.
Source
- Joseph Addison, Cato: A Tragedy, and Selected Essays. Ed. Christine Dunn Henderson & Mark E. Yellin. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2004. ISBN 0-86597-443-8.
His contribution
Joseph Addison begin his literary career by writing poems which were quite popular during his age. Then he started writing political pamphlets but they were not impressive. Additionally, he wrote plays. His plays, however, have no lasting quality about them. It is only as an essayist that Addison is chiefly remembered today. Addison began writing essays quite casually. In April 1709, his childhood friend, Richard Steele, started
The Tatler. Addison inspired him to write this essay. Addision contributed 42 essays while Steele wrote 188. Of Addison's help, Steele remarked, "When I had once called him in I could not subsist without dependence on him". On January 2, 1711,
The Tatler was discontinued. On March 1, 1712,
The Spectator was published, and it continued until December 6, 1712.
The Spectator which was issued daily and achieved great popularity. It exercised a great deal of influence over the reading public of the time. In
The Spectator, Addison soon became the leading partner. He contributed 274 essays out a total of 555; Steele wrote 236 for this periodical. Addison also assisted Steele with the
Guardian which Steele began in 1713.
Albin Schram letters
In 2005 an Austrian banker and collector named
Albin SchramAlbin Schram was one of the greatest collectors of autograph letters by shapers of world history. He was born in Prague to Austrian parents. He studied law at Vienna University and worked in Vienna, Germany and Switzerland...
died and, in his laundry room, a collection of around 1000 letters from great historical figures was found.
One was written by Joseph Addison, reporting on the debate in the House of Commons over the grant to
John Churchill, 1st Duke of MarlboroughJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough was a prominent English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs throughout the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
and his heirs, following the
Battle of RamilliesThe Battle of Ramillies was a major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession fought on 23 May 1706. The encounter was a resounding success for the allied forces of the Dutch Republic, England, and their auxiliaries; but the battle had followed a year of indecisive campaigning in 1705 where...
. The letter was written on the day of the debate, probably to
George StepneyGeorge Stepney was an English poet and diplomat.Stepney was the son of George Stepney, groom of the chamber to Charles II, and was born at Westminster...
.
Addison explains that the motion was opposed by Mr Annesley, Ward, Caesar and Sir William Vevian, 'One said that this was showing no honour to His Grace but to a posterity that he was not concern'd in. Casar ... hoped ye Duke tho he had ben Victorious over the Enemy would not think of being so over a House of Commons: wch was said in pursuance to a Motion made by some of the Craftier sort that would not oppose the proposition directly but turn it off by a Side-Wind pretending that it being a money affaire it should be refer'd to a Committee of the whole House wch in all probability would have defeated the whole affaire...'.
Following the Duke of Marlborough's highly successful campaigns of 1706, he and George Stepney became the first English regents of the Anglo-Dutch condominium for governing the southern Netherlands. It was Stepney who formally took possession of the principality of Mindelheim in Marlborough's name on 26 May, following the Battle of Ramillies. On Marlborough's return to London in November, Parliament granted his request that his grant of £5,000 'out of ye Post-Office' be made in perpetuity for his heirs. [1]
A second letter to his friend Sir Richard Steele was also found, concerning the
TatlerTatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709...
and other matters.
'I very much liked your last paper upon the Courtship that is usually paid to the fair sex. I wish you had reserved the Letter in this days paper concerning Indecencies at Church for an entire piece. It wd have made as good a one as any you have published. Your Reflections upon Almanza are very good.' The letter concludes with references to impeachment proceedings against Addison's friend,
Henry SacheverellHenry Sacheverell was an English High Church clergyman and politician.-Life:The son of Joshua Sacheverell, rector of St Peter's, Marlborough,...
('I am much obliged to you for yor Letters relating to Sackeverell'), and the Light House petition: 'I am something troubled that you have not sent away ye Letters received from Ireland to my Lord Lieutenant, particularly that from Mr Forster [the Attorney General] with the Enclosed petition about the Light House, wch I hope will be delivered to the House before my Return'.
As judged by history
- Lord Macaulay: “As a man, he may not have deserved the adoration which he received from those who, bewitched by his fascinating society, and indebted for all the comforts of life to his generous and delicate friendship, worshipped him nightly, in his favourite temple at Button’s. But, after full inquiry and impartial reflection, we have long been convinced that he deserved as much love and esteem as can be justly claimed by any of our infirm and erring race. Some blemishes may undoubtedly be detected in his character; but the more carefully it is examined, the more it will appear, to use the phrase of the old anatomists, sound in the noble parts, free from all taint of perfidy, of cowardice, of cruelty, of ingratitude, of envy. Men may easily be named, in whom some particular good disposition has been more conspicuous than in Addison. But the just harmony of qualities, the exact temper between the stern and the humane virtues, the habitual observance of every law, not only of moral rectitude, but of moral grace and dignity, distinguish him from all men who have been tried by equally strong temptations, and about whose conduct we possess equally full information.” – Essay on the Life and Writings of Addison, Essays vol. V (1866) Hurd and Houghton
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