John Brown (18th century)

This article is about the 18th-century English poet. For the 20th-century Irish poet, see John Brown (Ireland).

Rev. John Brown (5 November 1715 - 23 September 1766) was an English poet, clergyman, and miscellaneous writer.

John Brown, An Essay on Satire, 1745. Courtesy WorthPoint.

Life

Youth and education

Brown was born at Rothbury, Northumberland, where his father was curate. His father, also John Brown, a member of the Haddington family, had been ordained by a Scotch bishop, and at the end of 1715 became vicar of Wigton.

The son was sent to the Wigton grammar school.

On 18 June 1732 he matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge, earning a B.A. degree with distinction in 1735, followed by an M.A. in 1739 and a Doctor of Divinity in 1755.

Career

Brown took orders, and was appointed minor canon and lecturer by the dean and chapter of Carlisle. He showed his loyalty by serving as a volunteer in 1745 at the siege of Carlisle, and his sound whig principles in 2 sermons afterwards published. He thus obtained the notice of Dr. Osbaldiston, dean of York, who in 1747 became bishop of Carlisle, and who appointed Brown a chaplain. An accidental omission of the Athanasian Creed at the appointed time brought a censure; and Brown, after reading the creed out of due course, to show his orthodoxy, resigned his canonry.

A poem upon Honour (originally published in 1743), and an Essay upon Satire, appeared in the 3rd volume of Dodsley's collection. The last, "occasioned by the death of Mr. Pope," contains a high compliment to Pope's literary executor, Warburton. Warburton saw it "by accident" some time after its publication, and asked Dodsley to let him know the author's name. He published it in the collected edition of Pope's works before the Essay on Man.

A poem on Liberty. occasioned by the peace, appeared in 1749. Warburton introduced Brown to his father-in-law, the munificent Ralph Allen. Whilst staying at Allen's Brown preached a sermon at Bath against gambling (22 April 1750). It was published with a statement that the public tables were suppressed soon after the sermon was preached. Warburton now advised Brown to carry out Pope's design of an epic poem, Brute; and when this was begun suggested an essay upon Shaftesbury's Characteristics. The essay, completed under Warburton's eye, appeared in 1761. The 2nd part of this essay is a remarkably clear statement of the utilitarian theory as afterwards expounded by Paley, and is highly praised in J.S. Mill's essay upon Bentham. The book provoked answers from C. Bulkley, a dissenting minister, and an anonymous author, and it reached a 5th edition in 1764.

Brown showed his versatility by writing 2 tragedies, Barbarossa (produced at Drury Lane 17 Dec. 1754) and Athelstane (produced 27 Feb. 1756) The former obtained a considerable success. David Garrick acted in both, and wrote the prologue and epilogue of the former and the epilogue to the latter. A line in the 1st epilogue, "Let the poor devil eat," &c., gave great offence to Brown. Neither has much literary value, though Athelstane was preferred by the critics to its more successful rival. Warburton, Allen, and Hurd lamented that a clergyman should compromise his dignity by "making connections with players." Warburton, however, had introduced Brown to his friend Charles Yorke, and through Yorke's influence his brother. Lord Hardwicke, presented Brown in 1756 to the living of Great Horkesley, near Colchester.

In 1757 appeared Brown's most popular work, An Estimate of the Manners and Principles of the Times. A 7th edition appeared in 1758, a "very large impression" of a 2nd volume, and an "explanatory defence" in the same year. From the identity of the 1st and 7th editions of the Estimate Hill Burton seems to doubt whether the success was genuine. There is no doubt, however, of the impression made at the time. "The inestimable estimate of Brown,' says William Cowper in Table-Talk, "rose like a paper kite and charmed the town," earning for its author the lasting sobriquet of John "Estimate" Brown.

The Estimate is a well-written version of the ordinary complaints of luxury and effeminacy which gained popularity from the contemporary fit of national depression. Macaulay refers to it in this respect in his essay on "Chatham." In his 1st volume Brown describes Warburton as a Colossus who "bestrides the world." A coolness, however, seems to have arisen at this time between him and Warburton. Horace Walpole ascribes it to Warburton's jealousy of his friend's success in a letter (to Montagu, 4 May 1578), from which it also appears that Brown was supposed to have been mad. Walpole says that he had only seen Brown once, and then "singing the Stabat Mater with the Mingotti behind a harpsichord at a great concert, at my Lady Carlisle's" in "last Passion week," a performance which Walpole regards as inconsistent with Brown's denunciations of the opera. He also asserts that Brown was a profane curser and swearer, that he tried to bully Sir Charles Williams, who had answered the Estimate, and was supposed to be about to divulge the swearing story, and that he insulted Dodsley, who acted as go-between.

Brown was clearly an impracticable person. He had complimented Pitt and the 1st Lord Hardwicke in his Estimate, and the failure to obtain patronage induced him, it is said, to resign the living received from Hardwicke's son. In 1760 Warburton says that Brown is "rarely without a gloom and sullen insolence on his countenance," symptomatic perhaps of mental disorder. Bishop Osbaldiston, however, presented him with the living of St. Nicholas in Newcastle in 1761. Brown published several other works, which had little success.

In 1765 Brown engaged in a curious correspondence, from which long extracts are given in the Biographia Britannica. Dr. Dumaresq had been consulted about the provision of a school system in Russia. A lady mentioned Brown to him as an authority upon such questions. Dumaresq wrote to Brown, and received in reply a paper proposing vague and magnificent plans for the civilization of Russia. The paper was laid before the empress, who immediately proposed that Brown should visit St. Petersburg, and upon his consent forwarded £1,000 to the Russian ambassador for the expenses of the journey. Brown made preparations to start, bought a post-chaise and other necessaries, and obtained leave of absence as a the king's chaplain. His health had been shattered by gout and rheumatism, and the remonstrances of his friends and physicians induced him to abandon the plan of exposing himself to a Russian climate. He accounted for his expenses to the Russian minister, and wrote a long letter (28 August 1700) to the empress, suggesting a scheme for sending young Russians to be educated abroad.

He was apparently disappointed and vexed by the failure of the scheme. Less than month later he committed suicide by cutting his throat. A letter from a Mr. Gilpin of Carlisle says that he had been subject to fits of "frenzy" for above 30 years, and would have killed himself long before but for the care of friends. Walpole's remark, given above, seems to imply that his partial derangement was generally known.

Publications

Poetry

• Honour: A poem. London: Robert Dodsley, 1743.
• On Liberty: A poem. London: C. Davis, 1749.
• An Essay on Satire: Occasion'd by the death of Mr. Pope. 1745; London: Robert Dodsley, 1749.
• The Cure of Saul: A sacred ode. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1763.

Plays

• Barbarossa: A tragedy. London: J. Bell, 1755; Dublin: J. Exshaw, R. James, et al, 1755.
• Athelstan: A tragedy. London: Lockyer Davis & Charles Reymers, 1756.

Non-fiction

• The Mutual Connexion between Religious Truth and Civil Freedom: A sermon. London: Robert Dodsley, 1746.
• Essays on the 'Characteristics' of Shaftesbury. London: C. Davis, 1751.
• On the Pursuit of False Pleasure: A sermon. London: W. Bowyer, 1752.
• On the Use and Abuse of Externals in Religion: A sermon. London: C. Davis, 1753.
• An estimate of the manners and principles of the times. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1757, 1758.
• An Explanatory Defence of the 'Estimate'. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1758.
• An Additional Dialogue of the Dead between Pericles and Aristides: Being a sequel to [Lyttelton's] 'Dialogue between Pericles and Cosmo'. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1760.
• On the Natural Duty of a Personal Service: In defence of ourselves and country; a sermon. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1761; Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: I. Thompson, 1761.
• A Dissertation on the Rise, Union, and Power, the Progression, Separations and Corruptions, of Poetry and Music. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1763..
• On Religious Liberty: A sermon. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1763.
• The History of the Rise and Progress of Poetry: Through its several species. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1764.
• Sermons on various subjects. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1764.
• On the Female Character and Education: A sermon. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1765.
• Thoughts on Civil Liberty, on Licentiousness and Faction. London: L. Davis & C. Reymers, 1765.
• A Letter to the Rev. Mr. Lowth: Occasioned by his late letter to the author of the 'Divine Legation of Moses [Warburton]'. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: J. White & T. Saint, for L. Davis & C. Reymers, London, 1766.
• A Description of the Lake of Keswick. Kendal, UK: J. Ashburner, 1770.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.

See also

• List of British poets

References

•  Stephen, Leslie (1886) "Brown, John (1715-1766)" in Stephen, Leslie Dictionary of National Biography 7 London: Smith, Elder, pp. 10-12 

External links

Poems

• John Brown (1715-1766) info & 3 poems in English Poetry, 1579-1830
• John Brown at the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive (4 poems)

About

• Brown, John (British divine) in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen & Sidney Lee). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Brown, John (1715-1766)