Steven Tracy Byington (birthname Stephen) (December 10, 1869 – October 12, 1957) was a noted intellectual, translator, and

American individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism in the United States was strongly influenced by Benjamin Tucker, Josiah Warren, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Lysander Spooner, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner, Herbert Spencer and Henry David Thoreau. Other important individua ...

Life

He was born in

Westford, Vermont Westford is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,062 at the 2020 census. History The area that is today described as Westford, Vermont originally fell within the traditional territories of the Sokoki, Missi ...

, and later moved to Ballardvale section of

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...

. A one-time proponent of Georgist

minarchism A night-watchman state, or minarchy, whose proponents are known as minarchists, is a model of a state that is limited and minimal, whose functions depend on libertarian theory. Right-libertarians support it only as an enforcer of the non-aggr ...

, he converted to

individualist anarchism Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean by individualism th ...

after associating with

Benjamin Tucker Benjamin Ricketson Tucker (; April 17, 1854 – June 22, 1939) was an American individualist anarchist and libertarian socialist.Martin, James J. (1953)''Men Against the State: The Expositers of Individualist Anarchism in America, 1827–1908''< ...

. He was a firm believer in the promotion of individualist anarchism through education. He said "Anarchism has undertaken to change men's minds in one point by removing their faith in force" (''Quasi-Invasion and the Boycott'' in ''Liberty, X, 2''). He began a "Letter Writing Corps" in 1894 which targeted specific individuals, including newspapers, to familiarize others with the philosophical doctrine. He is known for translating two important anarchist works into English from German:

Max Stirner Johann Kaspar Schmidt (25 October 1806 – 26 June 1856), known professionally as Max Stirner, was a German post-Hegelian philosopher, dealing mainly with the Hegelian notion of social alienation and self-consciousness. Stirner is often seen a ...

's ''

The Ego and Its Own ''The Ego and Its Own'' (german: Der Einzige und sein Eigentum), also translated as ''The Unique and its Property'', is an 1844 work by German philosopher Max Stirner. It presents a post-Hegelian critique of Christianity and traditional moralit ...

'' and

Paul Eltzbacher Paul Eltzbacher (18 February 1868 – 25 October 1928) was a Jewish German law professor. Eltzbacher was born in Cologne. From 1890 to 1895, he was a junior lawyer for the regional court districts of Cologne and Frankfurt, with a year off in 1891� ...

's '' Anarchism; exponents of the anarchist philosophy'' (also published by Dover with the title ''The Great Anarchists: Ideas and Teachings of Seven Major Thinkers''). Byington was a cum laude graduate of the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

in 1891 and a member of the prestigious

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

. He was considered a master of at least twelve languages, including classical languages. Paul specifically mentions his "some ability" in Arabic and Zulu, plus European languages. His writings included observations on new forms and changed usage of English words, publishing 25 articles in the journal ''American Speech'' from 1926-1946. However, he had a "handicap of speech" which made preaching difficult so despite his seminary training, he spent many years working as a proofreader. Over the course of sixty years he translated the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

from original texts and entitled it ''

The Bible in Living English The Bible in Living English is a translation of the Bible by Steven T. Byington. History Byington translated the Bible on his own for 45 years from 1898 to 1943, but was unable to have it published during his lifetime. After he died in 1957, t ...

''. It was published posthumously in 1972 in New York by the

Watchtower Bible and Tract Society The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania is a non-stock, not-for-profit organization headquartered in Warwick, New York. It is the main legal entity used worldwide by Jehovah's Witnesses to direct, administer and disseminate doc ...

. He published a review of the '' New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures'', the English translation usually associated with Jehovah's Witnesses, in ''

The Christian Century ''The Christian Century'' is a Christian magazine based in Chicago, Illinois. Considered the flagship magazine of US mainline Protestantism, the monthly reports on religious news; comments on theological, moral, and cultural issues; and review ...

'' magazine, November 1, 1950, in which he indicated the translation was "well supplied with faults and merits," and that "the book does not give enjoyable continuous reading; but if you are digging for excellent or suggestive renderings, this is among the richer mines"Byington, Steven. "Review of ''The New World Translation.''" ''The Christian Century.'' 1 Nov. 1950
Web.
10 Nov. 2011

Works online

"An Introduction to the Book of James,"
''Liberty'' XIV.15 (November 1903). 4-5.
"That Article on Laws,"
''Liberty'' XIV.21 (June, 1904). 4.
Libertarian Labyrinth
a small collection of his works * * *

References

External links

Debates over anarchism and egoism from

The New Freewoman ''The New Freewoman'' was a monthly London literary magazine edited by Dora Marsden and owned by Harriet Shaw Weaver. Initially, Rebecca West was in charge of the literary content of the magazine, but after meeting Ezra Pound at one of Violet ...

Steven T. Byington web page by General Board of Global Ministries
Includes biographical and autobiographical information * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byington, Steven T. 1869 births 1957 deaths People from Westford, Vermont American anarchists Individualist anarchists Egoist anarchists Vermont culture Translators of the Bible into English

Life

See also

Works online

References

External links