Thomas Gordon () was a Scottish writer and
Commonwealthman. Along with
John Trenchard, he published ''The Independent Whig'', which was a weekly periodical. From 1720 to 1723, Trenchard and Gordon wrote a series of 144 essays entitled ''
Cato's Letters
''Cato's Letters'' were essays by British writers John Trenchard (writer), John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon (writer), Thomas Gordon, first published from 1720 to 1723 under the pseudonym of Cato the Younger, Cato (95–46 Before Christ, BC), the ...
'', condemning corruption and lack of morality within the British political system and warning against tyranny. The essays were published as ''Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious'', at first in the ''
London Journal'' and then in the ''
British Journal''. These essays became a cornerstone of the
Commonwealth man tradition and were influential in shaping the ideas of the
Country Party. His ideas played an important role in shaping
republicanism
Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...
in Britain and
especially in the American colonies leading up to the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
. Zuckert argues, "The writers who, more than any others, put together the new synthesis that is the new republicanism were John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, writing in the early eighteenth century as ''Cato.''"
Life
He was born in
Kirkcudbright
Kirkcudbright ( ; ) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee, Galloway, River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie. A former royal burgh, it is the traditional county town of Kirkcudbrightshire.
His ...
towards the end of the seventeenth century. He possibly attended the
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...
.
He went to London as a young man and taught languages. Two pamphlets on the
Bangorian controversy commended him to
John Trenchard, a Whig politician; one was probably ''A Letter to the Lord Archbishop'' (i.e.
William Wake
William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a minister in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 to his death.
Life
Wake was born in Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, o ...
) in 1719, who had written a Latin letter reflecting upon Hoadly, addressed to the church of Zurich. Gordon became Trenchard's
amanuensis
An amanuensis ( ) ( ) or scribe is a person employed to write or type what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. It may also be a person who signs a document on behalf of another under the latter's authority.
In some aca ...
.
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...
made Gordon first commissioner of the wine licenses, a post which he held till his death on 28 July 1750. Gordon was twice married, his second wife being Trenchard's widow.
[
]
Works
A tract called the ''Independent Whig'', published at the time of the rejection of the Peerage Bill (December 1719), was followed by a second part in January 1720, on the peace with Spain and the value of Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
to England, several editions of which were issued. A weekly paper of the same name was then started, and carried on through the year, the articles by Trenchard, Gordon, and a third contributor, 'C.' nthony Collins being distinguished in the fifth edition. It was first collected in one volume in 1721. To the fifth edition (1732) were appended 'The Craftsman,' a sermon, in the style of Daniel Burgess, also published separately, a letter to a 'Gentleman of Edinburgh,' and an epitaph on Trenchard. In a sixth edition (1735) there was added a third volume containing Gordon's letter to William Wake
William Wake (26 January 165724 January 1737) was a minister in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 to his death.
Life
Wake was born in Blandford Forum
Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, o ...
of 1719 and other tracts; a seventh edition appeared in 1743, and a fourth volume was added in 1747 containing tracts written during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. The book was mainly an attack on the High Church
A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...
party, and on the title-page of later editions is called 'A Defence of Primitive Christianity ... against the exorbitant claims of fanatical and disaffected clergymen.' Thomas Wilson, bishop of Sodor and Man
The Bishop of Sodor and Man is the Ordinary of the Diocese of Sodor and Man (Manx Gaelic: ''Sodor as Mannin'') in the Province of York in the Church of England. The diocese only covers the Isle of Man. The Cathedral Church of St German where ...
, tried to exclude it from his diocese, and got into trouble in consequence. It was translated into French by the Baron d'Holbach
Paul Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (; ; 8 December 1723 – 21 January 1789), known as d'Holbach, was a Franco-German philosopher, encyclopedist and writer, who was a prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. He was born in Edesheim, near Landau ...
.[
In 1720 Gordon and Trenchard began the publication of ''Cato's Letters''. They appeared in the ''London Journal'' and then in the ''British Journal'' until Trenchard's death in 1723, and were reprinted in 4 vols. in 1724.][
Gordon published, by subscription, a translation of ]Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
, in 2 vols. 1728 (dedications to the Prince of Wales and Walpole), which went through several editions, and seems to have been the standard translation till the end of the century. Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English essayist, historian, and politician. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, is known for ...
read it in his youth (Misc. Works, i. 41). John Nichols claimed that Gordon's commentaries on Tacitus were derivative from the work of Virgilio Malvezzi, Scipione Ammirato
Scipione Ammirato (; 7 October 153111 January 1601) was an Italian author, Philosophy, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. He is regarded as an important figure in the history of political thought.
Ammirato's best-known w ...
and Baltasar Alamos de Barrientos. In 1744 he published ''The Works of Sallust, with Political Discourses upon that author; to which is added a translation of Cicero's "Four Orations against Cateline."'' He published an 'Essay on Government' in 1747, and a 'Collection of Papers' by him appeared in 1748.[
Gordon also wrote a preface to a translation from Barbeyrac called 'The Spirit of Ecclesiastics in all Ages,' 1722.][
The unfinished draft of a ''History of England'' is now preserved in the British Library Manuscript Collections.
]
Vegetarianism
Gordon, inspired by Bernard Mandeville, expressed strong disapproval with the mass killing of numerous animals for human consumption, stating, "it is very unreasonable that the whole Creation should be lavished away in this profuse Manner." He also argued that meat wasn't inherently the natural food for humans, asserting that it was merely cultural practices that led people to overcome their aversion to it and to disregard the cruelty inflicted upon animals during the slaughter process.[ pp. 145–146]
Notes
References
*Hunt, F. Knight
''The Fourth State: A History of Newspapers and of the liberty of the press'' vol.I. Londres: David Borgue, 1850.
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Thomas
1690s births
1750 deaths
18th-century Scottish writers
18th-century Scottish male writers
People from Kirkcudbright
Scottish political writers
Whig (British political party) politicians
Scottish publishers (people)
Scottish essayists
Linguists from Scotland
Scottish republicans
Amanuenses
English vegetarianism activists