Nicholas Hill (1570 – c. 1610) was an English

natural philosopher Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the developme ...

, considered a disciple of

Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno ( , ; ; born Filippo Bruno; January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, poet, alchemist, astrologer, cosmological theorist, and esotericist. He is known for his cosmological theories, which concep ...

. He is known for his 1601 book ''Philosophia epicurea''.

Life

He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School and

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

where he matriculated in 1587, graduated B.A. and became Fellow in 1590. He was removed from his fellowship in 1591. Andrew Pyle (editor), ''Dictionary of Seventeenth Century British Philosophers'' (2000), article on Hill, pp. 424-6. After a possible position as secretary or steward to

Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford (; 12 April 155024 June 1604), was an English peerage, peer and courtier of the Elizabethan era. Oxford was heir to the second oldest earldom in the kingdom, a court favourite for a time, a sought-after ...

, he was supported by

Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, Order of the Garter, KG (27 April 1564 – 5 November 1632) was an English people, English nobleman. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James VI and I, Ja ...

. He was said to be a Catholic convert, by

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He was a pioneer archaeologist, who recorded (often for the first time) numerous megalithic and other field monuments in southern England ...

, but this is doubted by Christopher Hill. Aubrey's account also has him a close friend of

Robert Hues Robert Hues (1553 – 24 May 1632) was an English mathematician and geographer. He attended St. Mary Hall at Oxford, and graduated in 1578. Hues became interested in geography and mathematics, and studied navigation at a school set up by Walter ...

, at the centre of the Northumberland circle. He left England and resided in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, with his son.

Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford), Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Rope ...

considers that he was a Catholic, and for that reason expelled from St John's. He also associates Hill with the plot of Sir Robert Basset. According to an account of Hues recorded by

Obadiah Walker Obadiah Walker (161621 January 1699) was an English academic and Master of University College, Oxford, from 1676 to 1688.

, Hill's son died and he then committed suicide.

John Donne John Donne ( ; 1571 or 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet, scholar, soldier and secretary born into a recusant family, who later became a clergy, cleric in the Church of England. Under Royal Patronage, he was made Dean of St Paul's, D ...

satirized Hill in his ''Catalogus Librorum Aulicum'', and he was attacked and mocked by

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

(epigram 133/134).

Works

''Philosophia epicurea, democritiana, theophrastica'' was a work on the classical

atomism Atomism () is a natural philosophy proposing that the physical universe is composed of fundamental indivisible components known as atoms. References to the concept of atomism and its Atom, atoms appeared in both Ancient Greek philosophy, ancien ...

Epicurus Epicurus (, ; ; 341–270 BC) was an Greek philosophy, ancient Greek philosopher who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy that asserted that philosophy's purpose is to attain as well as to help others attain tranqui ...

and

skepticism Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

. It consisted of 509

aphorism An aphorism (from Greek ἀφορισμός: ''aphorismos'', denoting 'delimitation', 'distinction', and 'definition') is a concise, terse, laconic, or memorable expression of a general truth or principle. Aphorisms are often handed down by tra ...

s, which drew on Bruno and

Lullism Lullism () is a term for the philosophical and theological currents related to the thought of Ramon Llull (ca. 1232–1315). Lullism also refers to the project of editing and disseminating Llull's works. The earliest centers of Lullism were in f ...

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

and

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...

, as well as classical authors. It was published in 1601 (Paris), and in another edition in 1619 (Geneva). It included thoughts on an imaginary voyage to the Moon, a theme taken from Bruno. It also shows a close relation to Bruno's ''De Immenso'' and ''De Minimo''.Empson, pp. 42-3. Other influences were

Democritus Democritus (, ; , ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, Thrace, Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an ...

Hermes Trismegistus Hermes Trismegistus (from , "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest") is a legendary Hellenistic period figure that originated as a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth.A survey of the literary and archaeological eviden ...

and William Gilbert. He was a Copernican, perhaps also following Francesco Patrizi. Hill, however, stops short of exploring atomism as a mechanistic philosophy. Robert Kargon considers that Hill was not, in strict terms, an Epicurean, reserving to

Walter Charleton Walter Charleton (2 February 1619 – 24 April 1707) was a natural philosopher and English writer. According to Jon Parkin, he was "the main conduit for the transmission of Epicurean ideas to England".Jon Parkin, ''Science, Religion and Politi ...

the first English exposition of Epicurean thought. The ''Philosophia epicurea'' was known to

, through Ben Jonson's copy. It was referenced in

Robert Burton Robert Burton (8 February 1577 – 25 January 1640) was an English author and fellow of Oxford University, known for his encyclopedic ''The Anatomy of Melancholy''. Born in 1577 to a comfortably well-off family of the landed gentry, Burton a ...

's ''

Anatomy of Melancholy ''The Anatomy of Melancholy'' (full title: ''The Anatomy of Melancholy, What it is: With all the Kinds, Causes, Symptomes, Prognostickes, and Several Cures of it. In Three Maine Partitions with their several Sections, Members, and Subsections. Ph ...

''. According to Robert Hues, other unpublished work followed Bruno. Plastina, Sandra. “NICHOLAS HILL: «THE ENGLISH CAMPANELLA»?” Bruniana & Campanelliana, vol. 4, no. 1, 1998, pp. 207–212.

References

William Empson Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his firs ...

, John Haffenden (editor) (1995), ''Essays on Renaissance Literature: Donne and the New Philosophy'' *

Stephen Gaukroger Stephen Gaukroger (July 9, 1950 – September 3, 2023) was a British historian of philosophy and science who spent the majority of his academic career in Australia. Gaukroger was Emeritus Professor of History of Philosophy and History of Scienc ...

(2001), ''Francis Bacon and the Transformation of Early-modern Philosophy''

Life

Works

References

Notes

Further reading