Alexander Morus (or Moir or More) (25 September 1616,

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...

– 28 September 1670,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) was a Franco-Scottish

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

preacher.

Biography

More's father, born in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, was a rector at a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

college in the town of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

. In 1636 he left to study theology in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, where he became professor in Greek in 1639. By 1648, he was

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

and dean of the Academy in Geneva. He was an

Amyraldist Amyraldism (sometimes Amyraldianism) is a Calvinist doctrine. It is also known as the School of Saumur, post redemptionism, moderate Calvinism, or hypothetical universalism. It is one of several hypothetical universalist systems. Amyraldism is ...

, and ran into trouble in Geneva where his orthodoxy was suspect. He was appointed successor to Friedrich Spanheim, but then was forced to leave Geneva. He was working in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the 1650s. In 1654,

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

launched a vitriolic attack upon him, in his '' Defensio Secunda'', in the mistaken belief that he was the author of an anonymous

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

work containing a "rabid" attack on Milton, called ''Regii sanguinis clamor ad coelum'' (Cry of the King's blood to Heaven). Morus replied with ''Fides Publica'' in 1654, published like the ''Regii sanguinis'' by Adriaan Vlacq (also attacked by Milton). Milton then launched a second attack after Morus's reply. The true authorship of the ''Regii sanguinis'', written by Pierre Du Moulin, sent to Salmasius and only seen into print by Morus, came out in 1670. He was professor of ecclesiastical history at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

from 1652 to 1659, and pastor at Charenton for the last year of his life. During his time at Amsterdam he completed the second edition of Joseph Justus Scaliger's ''Thesaurus temporum'' and had it published there in 1658.Dirk van Miert, ''The Emancipation of Biblical Philology in the Dutch Republic, 1590-1670'', Oxford University Press (2018), p. 234

References

David Masson David Mather Masson (2 December 18226 October 1907), was a Scotland, Scottish academic, supporter of women's suffrage, literary critic and historian. Biography Masson was born in Aberdeen, the son of Sarah Mather and William Masson, a sto ...

, ''The Life of John Milton'', Volume 5 (of 7), 1654-1660 *Alexandri Mori ecclesiastae & sacrarum litterarum professoris fides publica. Contra calumnias Ioannis Miltoni, Hagae-Comitum (S'Gravenhage): Vlacq, 1654. *A. Bruce (1813), ''A critical account of the life, character and discourses of Mr. Alexander Morus''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morus, Alexander 1616 births 1670 deaths French Protestants Dutch members of the Dutch Reformed Church French people of Scottish descent Theologians from the Republic of Geneva Clergy from the Republic of Geneva