Archibald Alison (13 November 175717 May 1839) was a Scottish

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest and essayist.

Early life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, to Patrick Alison a Edinburgh magistrate, himself a younger son of an Alison of Newhall, near Coupar Angus. After studying at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, where he established his lifelong friendship with

Dugald Stewart Dugald Stewart (; 22 November 175311 June 1828) was a Scottish philosopher and mathematician. Today regarded as one of the most important figures of the later Scottish Enlightenment, he was renowned as a populariser of the work of Francis Hutc ...

, he studied civil law at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. He was ordained in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

as deacon in 1779 and as priest in 1782. He was appointed in 1778 to the

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...

of Brancepeth, near Durham. In 1784 he married Dorothea Gregory, youngest daughter of Professor John Gregory of Edinburgh. She had escaped an arranged marriage designed by her employer Elizabeth Montagu to marry her to her nephew and heir when she met Alison.

Career

The next 20 years of his life were spent in England, where he held in succession the livings of High Ercall, West Lavington, Rodington and Kenley. From 1791 until his death, he held the title of

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Salisbury, England. The cathedral is regarded as one of the leading examples of Early English architecture, ...

. In 1800 he moved back to Edinburgh, having been appointed senior incumbent of

episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

St Paul's Chapel in the

Cowgate The Cowgate (Scots language, Scots: The Cougait) is a street in Edinburgh, Scotland, located about southeast of Edinburgh Castle, within the city's World Heritage Site. The street is part of the lower level of Edinburgh's Old Town, Edinburgh, ...

. For 34 years he filled this position with much ability; his sermons were characterised by quiet beauty of thought and grace of composition. His preaching attracted so many hearers that a new and larger church was built for him. The new St Paul's Chapel on York Place in Edinburgh's

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was completed in 1818, and Alison, along with Rev Robert Morehead served as clergy there. In 1832 he was living at 44 Heriot Row in Edinburgh's city centre. His last years were spent at

Colinton Colinton is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated southwest of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north-east. To the north-w ...

near Edinburgh, where he died on 17 May 1839. He was interred at St John's Episcopal Churchyard in Edinburgh.

Family

He married Dorothea Gregory, the sister of James Gregory in 1784. She died in 1830. Their sons included Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet and William Pulteney Alison.

Works

Alison published, besides a ''Life of Lord Woodhouselee'', a volume of sermons, which passed through several editions, and a work entitled ''Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste'' (1790), based on the principle of

association of ideas Association of ideas, or mental association, is a process by which representations arise in consciousness, and also for a principle put forward by an important historical school of thinkers to account generally for the succession of mental phenome ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alison, Archibald 19th-century Scottish philosophers 1757 births 1839 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Writers from Edinburgh Scottish biographers 18th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests 18th-century Scottish philosophers 18th-century Church of England clergy 19th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People of the Scottish Enlightenment Enlightenment philosophers 18th-century Scottish educators 19th-century Scottish educators Burials at St John's, Edinburgh