William Whiston (9 December 166722 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian,
natural philosopher
Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science.
From the ancient wo ...
, and
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems.
Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change.
History
On ...
, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, Theology, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosophy, natural philosopher"), widely ...
. He is now probably best known for helping to instigate the
Longitude Act in 1714 (and his attempts to win
the rewards that it promised) and his important translations of the ''
Antiquities of the Jews
''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the ...
'' and other works by
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
(which are still in print). He was a prominent exponent of
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
and wrote ''
A New Theory of the Earth''.
Whiston succeeded his mentor Newton as
Lucasian Professor of Mathematics
The Lucasian Chair of Mathematics () is a mathematics professorship in the University of Cambridge, England; its holder is known as the Lucasian Professor. The post was founded in 1663 by Henry Lucas, who was Cambridge University's Member of P ...
at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
. In 1710 he lost the professorship and was expelled from the university as a result of his unorthodox religious views. Whiston rejected the notion of eternal torment in hellfire, which he viewed as absurd, cruel, and an insult to God. What especially pitted him against church authorities was his denial of the doctrine of the
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...
, which he believed had
pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...
origins.
Early life and career
Whiston was born to Josiah Whiston (1622–1685) and Katherine Rosse (1639–1701) at
Norton-juxta-Twycross
Twycross is a small village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district, in Leicestershire, England, on the A444 road.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was ...
, in
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire ...
, where his father was
rector. His mother was daughter of the previous rector at Norton-juxta-Twycross, Gabriel Rosse. Josiah Whiston was a
presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
, but retained his rectorship after the
Stuart Restoration
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to ...
in 1660. William Whiston was educated privately, for his health, and so that he could act as
amanuensis
An amanuensis () is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another, and also refers to a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority. In one example Eric Fenby ...
to his blind father.
He studied at
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School at
Tamworth, Staffordshire
Tamworth (, ) is a market town and borough in Staffordshire, England, north-east of Birmingham. The town borders North Warwickshire to the east and north, Lichfield to the north, south-west and west. The town takes its name from the River T ...
. After his father's death, he entered
Clare College, Cambridge
Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refound ...
as a
sizar in 1686. He applied himself to mathematical study, was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts (BA) (1690), and AM (1693), and was elected Fellow in 1691 and probationary senior Fellow in 1693.
William Lloyd ordained Whiston at
Lichfield
Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...
in 1693. In 1694, claiming ill health, he resigned his tutorship at Clare to
Richard Laughton
Richard Laughton (1670?–1723) was an English churchman and academic, now known as a natural philosopher and populariser of the ideas of Isaac Newton.
Early life
Originally from London, he was educated at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was ...
, chaplain to
John Moore, the
bishop of Norwich
The Bishop of Norwich is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The bishop of Norwich is Graham Usher.
The see is in t ...
, and swapped positions with him. He now divided his time between Norwich, Cambridge and London. In 1698 Moore gave him the living of
Lowestoft
Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...
where he became rector. In 1699 he resigned his Fellowship of Clare College and left to marry.
Whiston first met
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, Theology, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosophy, natural philosopher"), widely ...
in 1694 and attended some of his lectures, though he first found them, by his own admission, incomprehensible. Encouraged after reading a paper by
David Gregory on
Newtonian philosophy, he set out to master Newton's ''
Principia mathematica
The ''Principia Mathematica'' (often abbreviated ''PM'') is a three-volume work on the foundations of mathematics written by mathematician–philosophers Alfred North Whitehead and Bertrand Russell and published in 1910, 1912, and 1913. ...
'' thereafter. He and Newton became friends.
In 1701 Whiston resigned his living to become Isaac Newton's substitute, giving the Lucasian lectures at Cambridge.
He succeeded Newton as Lucasian professor in 1702. There followed a period of joint research with
Roger Cotes, appointed with Whiston's patronage to the
Plumian professorship in 1706. Students at the Cotes–Whiston experimental philosophy course included
Stephen Hales
Stephen Hales (17 September 16774 January 1761) was an English clergyman who made major contributions to a range of scientific fields including botany, pneumatic chemistry and physiology. He was the first person to measure blood pressure. He al ...
,
William Stukeley
William Stukeley (7 November 1687 – 3 March 1765) was an English antiquarian, physician and Anglican clergyman. A significant influence on the later development of archaeology, he pioneered the scholarly investigation of the prehistoric ...
, and
Joseph Wasse.
Newtonian theologian
In 1707 Whiston was
Boyle lecturer; this lecture series was at the period a significant opportunity for Newton's followers, including
Richard Bentley
Richard Bentley FRS (; 27 January 1662 – 14 July 1742) was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. Considered the "founder of historical philology", Bentley is widely credited with establishing the English school of Hellen ...
and
Samuel Clarke
Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an English philosopher and Anglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkeley.
Early life and studies
Clarke was born in Norwich, ...
, to express their views, especially in opposition to the rise of
deism
Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning " god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation o ...
. The "Newtonian" line came to include, with Bentley, Clarke and Whiston in particular, a defence of
natural law
Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...
by returning to the definition of
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
of a
miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
(a cause of human wonderment), rather than the prevailing concept of a divine intervention against nature, which went back to
Anselm. This move was intended to undermine arguments of deists and sceptics. The Boyle lectures dwelt on the connections between biblical prophecies, dramatic physical events such as floods and eclipses, and their explanations in terms of science. On the other hand, Whiston was alive to possible connections of prophecy with current affairs: the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
, and later the
Jacobite rebellions.
Whiston supported a qualified
biblical literalism
Biblical literalism or biblicism is a term used differently by different authors concerning biblical interpretation. It can equate to the dictionary definition of literalism: "adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense", where literal mea ...
: the literal meaning should be the default, unless there was a good reason to think otherwise. This view again went back to Augustine. Newton's attitude to the
cosmogony
Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe.
Overview
Scientific theories
In astronomy, cosmogony refers to the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used ...
of
Thomas Burnet
Thomas Burnet (c. 1635? – 27 September 1715) was an English theologian and writer on cosmogony.
Life
He was born at Croft near Darlington in 1635. After studying at Northallerton Grammar School under Thomas Smelt, he went to Clare Colle ...
reflected on the language of the
Genesis creation narrative
The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity. The narrative is made up of two stories, roughly equivalent to the first two chapters of the Book of Genesis. In the first, Elohim (the Hebrew generic word ...
; as did Whiston's alternative cosmogony. Moses as author of ''Genesis'' was not necessarily writing as a natural philosopher, nor as a law-giver, but for a particular audience. The new cosmogonies of Burnet, Whiston and
John Woodward John Woodward or ''variant'', may refer to:
Sports
* John Woodward (English footballer) (born 1947), former footballer
* John Woodward (Scottish footballer) (born 1949), former footballer
* Johnny Woodward (1924–2002), English footballer
* Jo ...
were all criticised for their disregard of the biblical account, by
John Arbuthnot
John Arbuthnot FRS (''baptised'' 29 April 1667 – 27 February 1735), often known simply as Dr Arbuthnot, was a Scottish physician, satirist and polymath in London. He is best remembered for his contributions to mathematics, his members ...
,
John Edwards and
William Nicolson in particular.
The title for Whiston's Boyle lectures was ''The Accomplishment of Scripture Prophecies''. Rejecting
typological interpretation of biblical prophecy, he argued that the meaning of a prophecy must be unique. His views were later challenged by
Anthony Collins. There was a more immediate attack by
Nicholas Clagett
Nicholas Clagett (14 April 1686 – 8 December 1746) was an English bishop.
Life
Claggett was from a clerical family of Bury St Edmunds. He went up to Trinity College, Cambridge aged 16 in April 1702, graduating B.A. in 1705–6, M.A. in 17 ...
in 1710. One reason prophecy was topical was the
Camisard movement that saw French exiles ("French prophets") in England. Whiston had started writing on the
millenarianism
Millenarianism or millenarism (from Latin , "containing a thousand") is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming fundamental transformation of society, after which "all things will be changed". Millenarian ...
that was integral to the Newtonian theology, and wanted to distance his views from theirs, and in particular from those of
John Lacy.
Meeting the French prophets in 1713, Whiston developed the view that the
charismatic gift of revelation could be
demonic possession
Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and r ...
.
Tensions with Newton
It is no longer assumed that Whiston's ''Memoirs'' are completely trustworthy on the matter of his personal relations with Newton. One view is that the relationship was never very close, Bentley being more involved in Whiston's appointment to the Lucasian chair; and that it deteriorated as soon as Whiston began to write on prophecy, publishing ''Essay on the Revelation of St John'' (1706).
This work proclaimed the millennium for the year 1716.
Whiston's 1707 edition of Newton's ''
Arithmetica Universalis
''Arithmetica Universalis'' ("Universal Arithmetic") is a mathematics text by Isaac Newton. Written in Latin, it was edited and published by William Whiston, Newton's successor as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Camb ...
'' did nothing to improve matters. Newton himself was heavily if covertly involved in the 1722 edition, nominally due to
John Machin
John Machin (bapt. c. 1686 – June 9, 1751) was a professor of astronomy at Gresham College, London. He is best known for developing a quickly converging series for pi in 1706 and using it to compute pi to 100 decimal places.
History ...
, making many changes.
In 1708–9 Whiston was engaging
Thomas Tenison
Thomas Tenison (29 September 163614 December 1715) was an English church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1694 until his death. During his primacy, he crowned two British monarchs.
Life
He was born at Cottenham, Cambridgeshire, the son a ...
and
John Sharp as archbishops in debates on the Trinity. There is evidence from
Hopton Haynes
Hopton Haynes (1667–1749) was an English employee of the Royal Mint and theological writer.
Life
Born about 1672, Haynes entered the service of the Mint as weigher and teller in 1696 or early in 1697, almost at the same time as Isaac Newton's ...
that Newton reacted by pulling back from publication on the issue; his
antitrinitarian views, from the 1690s, were finally published in 1754 as ''
An Historical Account of Two Notable Corruptions of Scripture''.
Whiston was never a Fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
. In conversation with
Edmond Halley
Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720.
From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, H ...
he blamed his reputation as a "heretick". Also, though, he claimed Newton had disliked having an independent-minded disciple; and was unnaturally cautious and suspicious by nature.
Expelled Arian
Whiston's route to rejection of the
Nicene Creed
The original Nicene Creed (; grc-gre, Σύμβολον τῆς Νικαίας; la, Symbolum Nicaenum) was first adopted at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. In 381, it was amended at the First Council of Constantinople. The amended form is ...
, the historical orthodox position against
Arianism
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God ...
, began early in his tenure of the Lucasian chair as he followed hints from
Samuel Clarke
Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an English philosopher and Anglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy between John Locke and George Berkeley.
Early life and studies
Clarke was born in Norwich, ...
. He read also in
Louis Ellies Dupin Louis Ellies du Pin or Dupin (17 June 1657 – 6 June 1719) was a French ecclesiastical historian, who was responsible for the ''Nouvelle bibliothèque des auteurs ecclésiastiques''.
Childhood and education
Dupin was born at Paris, coming from a ...
, and the ''Explication of Gospel Theism'' (1706) of
Richard Brocklesby. His study of the ''
Apostolic Constitutions
The ''Apostolic Constitutions'' or ''Constitutions of the Holy Apostles'' (Latin: ''Constitutiones Apostolorum'') is a Christian collection divided into eight books which is classified among the Church Orders, a genre of early Christian liter ...
'' then convinced him that Arianism was the creed of the early church.
The
general election of 1710 brought the
Tories
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
solid political power for a number of years, up to the
Hanoverian succession of 1714. Their distrust of theological innovation had a direct impact on Whiston, as well as others of similar views. His
heterodoxy
In religion, heterodoxy (from Ancient Greek: , "other, another, different" + , "popular belief") means "any opinions or doctrines at variance with an official or orthodox position". Under this definition, heterodoxy is similar to unorthodoxy, w ...
was notorious. In 1710 he was deprived of his professorship and expelled from the university.
The matter was not allowed to rest there: Whiston tried to get a hearing before
Convocation
A convocation (from the Latin '' convocare'' meaning "to call/come together", a translation of the Greek ἐκκλησία ''ekklēsia'') is a group of people formally assembled for a special purpose, mostly ecclesiastical or academic.
In a ...
. He did have defenders even in the
high church
The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
ranks, such as
George Smalridge
George Smalridge (''alias'' Smallridge; 18 May 1662 – 27 September 1719) was Bishop of Bristol (1714–1719).
Life
Smalridge was born at Lichfield, son of the Sheriff of Lichfield Thomas Smalridge, George received his early education, this b ...
. For political reasons, this development would have been divisive at the time.
Queen Anne made a point of twice "losing" the papers in the case. After her death in 1714 the intended hearing was allowed to drop.
The party passions of these years found an echo in
Henry Sacheverell's attempt to exclude Whiston from his church of
St Andrew's, Holborn
The Church of St Andrew, Holborn, is a Church of England church on the northwestern edge of the City of London, on Holborn within the Ward of Farringdon Without.
History
Roman and medieval
Roman pottery was found on the site during 2001/02 ...
, taking place in 1719.
"Primitive Christianity"
Whiston founded a society for promoting primitive Christianity, lecturing in support of his theories in halls and
coffee-houses at London,
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
, and
Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...
.
Those he involved included
Thomas Chubb
Thomas Chubb (29 September 16798 February 1747) was a lay English Deist writer born near Salisbury. He saw Christ as a divine teacher, but held reason to be sovereign over religion. He questioned the morality of religions, while defending Chris ...
,
Thomas Emlyn
Thomas Emlyn (1663–1741) was an English nonconformist divine.
Life
Emlyn was born at Stamford, Lincolnshire. He served as chaplain to the presbyterian Letitia, countess of Donegal, the daughter of Sir William Hicks, 1st Baronet who married ( ...
,
John Gale,
Benjamin Hoadley
Benjamin Hoadly (14 November 1676 – 17 April 1761) was an English clergyman, who was successively Bishop of Bangor, of Hereford, of Salisbury, and finally of Winchester. He is best known as the initiator of the Bangorian Controversy.
Li ...
,
Arthur Onslow,
and
Thomas Rundle. There were meetings at Whiston's house from 1715 to 1717; Hoadley avoided coming, as did Samuel Clarke, though invited. A meeting with Clarke, Hoadley,
John Craig and Gilbert Burnet the younger had left these leading
latitudinarian
Latitudinarians, or latitude men, were initially a group of 17th-century English theologiansclerics and academicsfrom the University of Cambridge who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England). In particular, they believed that ...
s unconvinced about Whiston's reliance on the ''Apostolical Constitutions''.
Franz Wokenius wrote a 1728 Latin work on Whiston's view of primitive Christianity. His challenge to the teachings of
Athanasius
Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...
meant that Whiston was commonly considered
heretical on many points. On the other hand, he was a firm believer in supernatural aspects of Christianity. He defended prophecy and miracle. He supported
anointing the sick and touching for the
king's evil
The disease mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis, also known as scrofula and historically as king's evil, involves a lymphadenitis of the cervical lymph nodes associated with tuberculosis as well as nontuberculous (atypical) mycobacteria.
Dise ...
. His dislike of
rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...
in religion also made him one of the numerous opponents of Hoadley's ''Plain Account of the Nature and End of the Sacrament''. He was fervent in his views of ecclesiastical government and discipline, derived from the ''Apostolical Constitutions''.
Around 1747, when his clergyman began to read the
Athanasian Creed
The Athanasian Creed, also called the Pseudo-Athanasian Creed and sometimes known as ''Quicunque Vult'' (or ''Quicumque Vult''), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes", is a Christian statement of belie ...
, which Whiston did not believe in, he physically left the church and the
Anglican communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, becoming a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
.
By the 1720s, some
dissenter
A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc.
Usage in Christianity
Dissent from the Anglican church
In the social and religious history of England and Wales, ...
s and early
Unitarians viewd Whiston as a role model.
Lecturer and popular author
Whiston began lecturing on natural philosophy in London. He gave regular courses at
coffee house
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
s, particularly Button's, and also at the Censorium, a set of riverside meeting rooms in London run by
Richard Steele
Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''.
Early life
Steele was born in D ...
. At Button's, he gave courses of demonstration lectures on astronomical and physical phenomena, and
Francis Hauksbee the younger worked with him on experimental demonstrations. His passing remarks on religious topics were sometimes objected to, for example by
Henry Newman writing to Steele.
His lectures were often accompanied by publications. In 1712, he published, with
John Senex, a chart of the
Solar System
The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...
showing numerous paths of comets. In 1715, he lectured on the total
solar eclipse of 3 May 1715 (which fell in April
Old Style
Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...
in England); Whiston lectured on it at the time, in
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
, and later, as a natural event and as a portent.
By 1715 Whiston had also become adept at newspaper advertising.
He frequently lectured to the Royal Society.
Longitude
In 1714, he was instrumental in the passing of the
Longitude Act, which established the
Board of Longitude
The Commissioners for the Discovery of the Longitude at Sea, or more popularly Board of Longitude, was a British government body formed in 1714 to administer a scheme of prizes intended to encourage innovators to solve the problem of finding lon ...
. In collaboration with
Humphrey Ditton he published ''A New Method for Discovering the Longitude, both at Sea and Land'',
which was widely referenced and discussed. For the next forty years he continued to propose a range of methods to solve the
longitude reward, which earned him widespread ridicule, particularly from the group of writers known as the
Scriblerians. In one proposal for using magnetic dip to find longitude he produced one of the first
isoclinic maps of southern England in 1719 and 1721. In 1734, he proposed using the
eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three c ...
s of
Jupiter's satellites.
Broader natural philosophy
Whiston's ''
A New Theory of the Earth from its Original to the Consummation of All Things'' (1696) was an articulation of
creationism
Creationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation. Gunn 2004, p. 9, "The ''Concise Oxford Dictionary'' says that creationism is 't ...
and
flood geology
Flood geology (also creation geology or diluvial geology) is a pseudoscientific attempt to interpret and reconcile geological features of the Earth in accordance with a literal belief in the global flood described in Genesis 6–8. In the e ...
. It held that the
global flood
A flood myth or a deluge myth is a myth in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Parallels are often drawn between the flood waters of these myths and the primae ...
of
Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5� ...
had been caused by a
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...
. The work obtained the praise of
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...
, who classed the author among those who, if not adding much to our knowledge, "At least bring some new things to our thoughts."
He was an early advocate, along with
Edmond Halley
Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720.
From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, H ...
, of the periodicity of comets; he also held that comets were responsible for past
catastrophes in Earth's history. In 1736, he caused widespread anxiety among London's citizens when he predicted the world would end on
16 October
Events Pre-1600
* 456 – Ricimer defeats Avitus at Piacenza and becomes master of the Western Roman Empire.
* 690 – Empress Wu Zetian ascends to the throne of the Tang dynasty and proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire.
* 912 ...
that year because a comet would hit the earth.
William Wake as
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Just ...
officially denied this prediction to calm the public.
There was no consensus within the Newtonians as to how far mechanical causes could be held responsible for key events of sacred history:
John Keill was at the opposite extreme to Whiston in minimising such causes. As a natural philosopher, Whiston's speculations respected no boundary with his theological views. He saw the creation of man as an intervention in the
natural order. He picked up on
Arthur Ashley Sykes
Arthur Ashley Sykes (1684–1756) was an Anglican religious writer, known as an inveterate controversialist. Sykes was a latitudinarian of the school of Benjamin Hoadly, and a friend and student of Isaac Newton.
Life
Sykes was born in London ...
's advice to Samuel Clarke to omit an eclipse and earthquake mentioned by
Phlegon of Tralles
Phlegon of Tralles ( grc, Φλέγων ὁ Τραλλιανός ''Flegon o Trallianos'') was a Greek writer and freedman of the emperor Hadrian, who lived in the 2nd century AD.
Works
His chief work was the ''Olympiads'', an historical compen ...
from future editions of Clarke's Boyle lectures, these events being possibly synchronous with
Christ's crucifixion
The crucifixion and death of Jesus occurred in 1st-century Judea, most likely in AD 30 or AD 33. It is described in the four canonical gospels, referred to in the New Testament epistles, attested to by other ancient sources, and consider ...
. Whiston published ''The Testimony of Phlegon Vindicated'' in 1732.
Views
The series of
Moyer Lectures often made Whiston's unorthodox views a particular target.
Whiston held that ''
Song of Solomon'' was
apocrypha
Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
l and that the ''
Book of Baruch
The Book of Baruch is a deuterocanonical book of the Bible, used in most Christian traditions, such as Catholic and Orthodox churches. In Judaism and Protestant Christianity, it is considered not to be part of the canon, with the Protestant B ...
'' was not.
He modified the biblical
Ussher chronology, setting the
Creation
Creation may refer to:
Religion
*''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing
*Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it
*Creationism, the belief that ...
at 4010 BCE. He challenged Newton's system of ''
The Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended'' (1728). Westfall absolves Whiston of the charge that he pushed for the posthumous publication of the ''Chronology'' just to attack it, commenting that the heirs were in any case looking to publish manuscripts of Newton, who died in 1727.
Whiston's advocacy of clerical
monogamy
Monogamy ( ) is a form of dyadic relationship in which an individual has only one partner during their lifetime. Alternately, only one partner at any one time ( serial monogamy) — as compared to the various forms of non-monogamy (e.g., pol ...
is referenced in
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, dramatist and poet, who is best known for his novel '' The Vicar of Wakefield'' (1766), his pastoral poem '' The Deserted Village'' (1770), and his ...
's novel ''
The Vicar of Wakefield''. His last "famous discovery, or rather revival of Dr
Giles Fletcher, the Elder's," which he mentions in his autobiography, was the identification of the
Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Turki ...
with the
lost tribes of Israel
The ten lost tribes were the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, As ...
.
Personal life
Whiston married Ruth, daughter of George Antrobus, his headmaster at Tamworth school. He had a happy family life and died in
Lyndon Hall,
Rutland
Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire.
Its greatest len ...
, at the home of his son-in-law,
Samuel Barker, on 22 August 1752.
He was survived by his children Sarah, William, George, and John.
Works
Whiston's later life was spent in continual controversy:
theological
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...
, mathematical,
chronological
Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , '' -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. ...
, and miscellaneous. He vindicated his estimate of the ''Apostolical Constitutions'' and the Arian views he had derived from them in his ''Primitive Christianity Revived'' (5 vols., 1711–1712). In 1713 he produced a reformed
liturgy
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
. His ''Life of Samuel Clarke'' appeared in 1730.
In 1727 he published a two volume work called ''Authentik Record belonging to the Old and New Testament''. This was a collection of translations and essays on various deuterocanonical books, pseudepigrapha and other essays with a translation if relevant.
His translation of the works of
Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
(1737), with notes and dissertations, is often reprinted. The text on which Whiston's translation of Josephus is based is, reputedly, one which had many errors in transcription.
In 1745 he published his ''Primitive New Testament'' (on the basis of
Codex Bezae and
Codex Claromontanus
Codex Claromontanus, symbolized by Dp, D2 or 06 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1026 ( von Soden), is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written in an uncial hand on vellum. The Greek and Latin texts are on facing ...
).
Whiston left memoirs (3 vols., 1749–1750). These do not contain the account of the proceedings taken against him at Cambridge for his
antitrinitarianism
Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essenc ...
, which was published separately at the time.
Editions
*
*
See also
*
Noah's Flood
*
Catastrophism
In geology, catastrophism theorises that the Earth has largely been shaped by sudden, short-lived, violent events, possibly worldwide in scope.
This contrasts with uniformitarianism (sometimes called gradualism), according to which slow incremen ...
*
Biblical prophecy
*
Dorsa Whiston, named after him
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
Biography of William Whistonat the LucasianChair.org, the homepage of the
Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
Bibliography for William Whistonat the LucasianChair.org the homepage of the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge University
*
*
*
*
"Account of Newton" ''Collection of Authentick Records'' (1728), pp. 1070–1082
"The Works of Flavius Josephus"translated by William Whiston
by
Immanuel Velikovsky
"Whiston's Flood"
"William Whiston, The Universal Deluge, and a Terrible Specracle" by Roomet Jakapi''Collection of Authentick Records'' by Whiston at the Newton Project
Collection of William Whiston portraitsat England's
National Portrait Gallery
Primitive New TestamentWilliam Whiston | Portraits From the Past''A New Theory of the Earth''(1696) – full digital facsimile at Linda Hall Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whiston, William
1667 births
1752 deaths
17th-century apocalypticists
17th-century English mathematicians
18th-century apocalypticists
18th-century English mathematicians
Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge
Catastrophism
Chronologists
English Baptists
Lucasian Professors of Mathematics
People from Hinckley and Bosworth (district)
Post-Reformation Arian Christians