Steven Tracy Byington (birthname Stephen) (December 10, 1869 – October 12, 1957) was a noted intellectual, translator, and
American individualist anarchist.
Life
He was born in
Westford, Vermont, and later moved to Ballardvale section of
Andover, Massachusetts. A one-time proponent of
Georgist
Georgism, also called in modern times Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from land—including ...
minarchism, he converted to
individualist anarchism after associating with
Benjamin Tucker. He was a firm believer in the promotion of individualist anarchism through education. He said "Anarchism has undertaken to change men's minds in one point by removing their faith in force" (''Quasi-Invasion and the Boycott'' in ''Liberty, X, 2''). He began a "Letter Writing Corps" in 1894 which targeted specific individuals, including newspapers, to familiarize others with the philosophical doctrine. He is known for translating two important anarchist works into English from German:
Max Stirner's ''
The Ego and Its Own'' and
Paul Eltzbacher's ''
Anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
; exponents of the anarchist philosophy'' (also published by Dover with the title ''The Great Anarchists: Ideas and Teachings of Seven Major Thinkers'').
Byington was a cum laude graduate of the
University of Vermont in 1891 and a member of the prestigious
Phi Beta Kappa. He was considered a master of at least twelve languages, including classical languages. Paul specifically mentions his "some ability" in Arabic and Zulu, plus European languages.
His writings included observations on new forms and changed usage of English words, publishing 25 articles in the journal ''American Speech'' from 1926-1946. However, he had a "handicap of speech" which made preaching difficult so despite his seminary training, he spent many years working as a proofreader.
Over the course of sixty years he translated the
Bible from original texts and entitled it ''
The Bible in Living English''. It was published posthumously in 1972 in New York by the
Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. He published a review of the ''
New World Translation
The New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (NWT) is a translation of the Bible published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society; it is used and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses. The New Testament portion was released first, in 19 ...
of the
Christian Greek Scriptures
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, Transliteration, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as ...
'', the English translation usually associated with
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
, in ''
The Christian Century'' magazine, November 1, 1950, in which he indicated the translation was "well supplied with faults and merits," and that "the book does not give enjoyable continuous reading; but if you are digging for excellent or suggestive renderings, this is among the richer mines"
[Byington, Steven. "Review of ''The New World Translation.''" ''The Christian Century.'' 1 Nov. 1950]
Web.
10 Nov. 2011
See also
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Christian anarchism
Christian anarchism is a Christian movement in political theology that claims anarchism is inherent in Christianity and the Gospels. It is grounded in the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answ ...
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Egoist anarchism
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Individualist anarchism in the United States
Works online
"An Introduction to the Book of James,"''Liberty'' XIV.15 (November 1903). 4-5.
"That Article on Laws,"''Liberty'' XIV.21 (June, 1904). 4.
Libertarian Labyrinth a small collection of his works
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References
External links
Debates over anarchism and egoism from
The New Freewoman
Steven T. Byington web page by General Board of Global MinistriesIncludes biographical and autobiographical information
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Byington, Steven T.
1869 births
1957 deaths
People from Westford, Vermont
American anarchists
Individualist anarchists
Egoist anarchists
Vermont culture
Translators of the Bible into English