Joseph Wasse (1672–1738) was an English cleric and classical scholar.

Life

He was born in Yorkshire, and entered

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

as a

sizar At Trinity College Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an Undergraduate education, undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in retur ...

in 1691. He became bible clerk in 1694, scholar in 1695, was B.A. in 1694, fellow and M.A. in 1698, B.D. in 1707. In 1711 Wasse was presented to the rectory of Aynhoe,

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, by Thomas Cartwright, with whom he was on close terms. He passed most of his time in his library at Aynhoe, and, according to

William Whiston William Whiston (9 December 166722 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to inst ...

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 Hellenis ...

thought him the second scholar in England.

Death and legacy

Wasse died unmarried on 19 November 1738. Part of his library was acquired by his successor at Aynhoe, Dr. Francis Yarborough, later principal of Brasenose College, Oxford (1745–1770). The books, with manuscript notes by Wasse, were given by Yarborough's heirs to the college. Wasse's copy of Thucydides, with many notes, went to the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...

Works

Wasse assisted Ludolph Kuster in his edition of the ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

'' (1705), and in 1710 published a critical edition of

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (, ; –35 BC), was a historian and politician of the Roman Republic from a plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became a partisan of Julius ...

, based on an examination of nearly 80 manuscripts. The edition of

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

by Karl Andreas Duker and Wasse was published in 1731 at Amsterdam, and was reprinted at Glasgow in 1759 with the Latin version by

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

and Andrew Foulis. In

Samuel Jebb Samuel Jebb ( – 9 March 1772) was an English physician, nonjuror and literary scholar. Life He was born about 1694, probably at Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, the second son of Samuel Jebb, a maltster, and Elizabeth Gilliver. His eldest brother, ...

's ''Bibliotheca Literaria'' Wasse wrote extensively; the William Bowyer felt that the length of Wasse's articles was detrimental. He contributed scientific articles to the ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...

''. One topic he investigated was the production of lightning bolts with gunpowder; he had attended experimental philosophy lectures by

Roger Cotes Roger Cotes (10 July 1682 – 5 June 1716) was an English mathematician, known for working closely with Isaac Newton by proofreading the second edition of his famous book, the '' Principia'', before publication. He also devised the quadrature ...

and

at Cambridge. Wasse became a proselyte to

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. Clarke's altered, Nontrinitarian revision of the 1 ...

Arian Arianism (, ) is a Christological doctrine which rejects the traditional notion of the Trinity and considers Jesus to be a creation of God, and therefore distinct from God. It is named after its major proponent, Arius (). It is considered he ...

opinions, and in 1719 published ''Reformed Devotions'', dedicated to Cartwright and his wife.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wasse, Joseph 1672 births 1738 deaths 17th-century English Anglican priests 18th-century English Anglican priests Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge English classical scholars English male writers Clergy from Yorkshire People from Aynho