Robert Sanderson (19 September 158729 January 1663) was an English

theologian 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 ...

and casuist.

Family and education

He was born in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and grew up at Gilthwaite Hall, near

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

. He was educated at

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, th ...

. Entering the Church, he rose to be

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...

Logician

His work on logic, ''Logicae Artis Compendium'' (1615), was long a standard treatise on the subject. It enjoyed at least ten editions during the seventeenth century and was widely read as a textbook. Sanderson's biographer,

Izaak Walton Izaak Walton (baptised 21 September 1593 – 15 December 1683) was an English writer. Best known as the author of ''The Compleat Angler'', he also wrote a number of short biographies including one of his friend John Donne. They have been coll ...

writes that by 1678 'Logicae' had sold 10,000 copies. In her introduction to the 1985 facsimile edition E. J. Ashworth writes that "The young Isaac Newton studied Sanderson's logic at Cambridge, and as late as 1704." Thomas Heywood of St. John's College, Ashworth adds, recommended Newton "Sanderson or Aristotle himself". Sanderson's logic remained popular even after the appearance of the influential Port-Royal Logic.

Church career

Sanderson's sermons were also admired; but he is perhaps best remembered for his '' Nine Cases of Conscience Resolved'' (1678), in consideration of which he has been placed at the head of English casuists. He left large collections of historical and heraldic matter in MS. At 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 ...

, he was elected to the See of Lincoln on 13 October 1660, confirmed 24 October and consecrated a bishop on 28 October. Sanderson is today perhaps best known as the subject of one of

's Lives, published in 1678.

Works

* ''The Works of Robert Sanderson in Six Volumes'' (1854) edited by

William Jacobson William Jacobson (18 July 1803 – 13 July 1884) was Regius Professor of Divinity at Oxford University (1848–1865) and Bishop of Chester (1865–1884). Life The son of William Jacobson, a merchant's clerk, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, b ...

. Oxford at the University Press. Most volumes are available in full or partial views in

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. * ''Logicae Artis Compendium'', edited by E. J. Ashworth. Bologna: Editrice CLUEB, 1985. Also published as vol.VI in 'The Works of Robert Sanderson in Six Volumes' W. Jacobson (ed).

References

External links

Short biography
at Rotherham.co.uk * * Archival Material at , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, Robert 1587 births 1663 deaths Bishops of Lincoln Westminster Divines English sermon writers Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford People from Rotherham 17th-century Church of England bishops Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Regius Professors of Divinity (University of Oxford) 16th-century Anglican theologians 17th-century Anglican theologians