Ralph Robinson (1520–1577) was an English scholar and man of letters. He is best known for his English translation of

Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord H ...

's ''

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island socie ...

'', originally written in Latin in 1516.

Life

Robinson was educated at

Stamford School Stamford School is an independent school for boys in Stamford, Lincolnshire in the English public school tradition. Founded in 1532, it has been a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference since 1920. With the girls-only St ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...

and

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 1 ...

.John Bennell
‘Robinson, Ralph (1520–1577)’
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', Oxford University Press, September 2004; online edn, May 2006, accessed 22 December 2008 At school he was a contemporary of William Cecil later

Lord Burghley William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...

, Lord High Treasurer of England and chief adviser to

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

, and the foreword of his translation, which is dedicated to Burghley, alludes to their school-days together. He graduated B.A. in 1540, and was elected fellow of his college Corpus on 16 June 1542. In March 1544 he supplicated for the degree of M.A. Coming to London, he obtained the livery of the

Goldsmiths' Company The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths, commonly known as the Goldsmiths' Company and formally titled The Wardens and Commonalty of the Mystery of Goldsmiths of the City of London, is one of the Great Twelve Livery Companies of the City of Londo ...

, and a small post as clerk in the service of his early friend, Cecil. From a poor background, he was long hampered by the poverty of the rest of his family.

''Utopia'' translation

Robinson's translation ''Utopia'' was originally published in 1551, with a second, revised, edition published in 1556. The book was published by Abraham Veal, at the sign of the Lamb in

St. Paul's Churchyard St Paul's Churchyard is an area immediately around St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. It included St Paul's Cross and Paternoster Row. It became one of the principal marketplaces in London. St Paul's Cross was an open-air pulpit from whic ...

, in 1551. The second edition appeared without the dedicatory letter. The third edition is dated 1597, and the 'newly corrected' fourth of 1624 is dedicated by the publisher,

Bernard Alsop Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

, to Cresacre More. Subsequent translators were

Gilbert Burnet Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was highly respected as a cleric, a preacher, an academic, ...

(1684) and

Arthur Cayley Arthur Cayley (; 16 August 1821 – 26 January 1895) was a prolific British mathematician who worked mostly on algebra. He helped found the modern British school of pure mathematics. As a child, Cayley enjoyed solving complex maths problems ...

(1808). From the section ''Of Lawes Not Made According to Equitie'':

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Ralph Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford English Renaissance humanists Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge English non-fiction writers People educated at Stamford School 1520 births 1577 deaths 16th-century English writers 16th-century male writers 16th-century translators 16th-century scholars English male non-fiction writers