Conyers Middleton

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Portrait of John Giles Eccardt

Conyers Middleton (born December 27, 1683 in Richmond , Yorkshire , England , † July 28, 1750 in Hildersham near Cambridge ) was an English clergyman and author of the early 18th century.

Life

Middleton attended school in York and from the winter semester 1698/1689 attended Trinity College in Cambridge. He was the son of clergyman William Middleton, who worked in Hinderwell, North Riding , Yorkshire. In Cambridge he became a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1703 and graduated in 1706 with a Master of Arts (MA). In the same year he received a fellowship at the University of Cambridge . This was followed in 1707 by ordination as a deacon in Ely and ordination as a priest on February 29, 1709. In 1717 he gave up his fellowship in Cambridge and married. In the same year he became Doctor of Divinity (DD).

Middleton was a Cambridge Librarian from 1721 to 1750 and Rector of the Church at Coveney , Cambridgeshire from 1725 until his death . From 1732 to 1734 he was the first holder of the endowed Woodwardian Professor of Geology in Cambridge . Middleton married his third marriage on June 5, 1747 in Petersham , Surrey .

Middleton was an argumentative writer who debated leading theological currents in England of his day. His work as a librarian and his work on the life of Cicero were also controversial. His work Life of Cicero from 1741 was accused of plagiarism by Samuel Parr and others (with William Bellenden as a model). But he was praised for his style by his contemporaries, for example Alexander Pope .

Works

  • 1719: Some Remarks upon a pamphlet entitled "The Case of Dr Bentley further stated and vindicated ..." .
  • 1723: Bibliothecæ Cantabrigensis ordinandæ Methodis quæ ebus ...
  • 1729: A Letter from Rome, showing an Exact Conformity between Popery and Paganism , (German: A letter from Rome showing that the papacy and paganism match exactly)
  • 1741: The History of the Life of Marcus Tullius Cicero , London, (German: The life story of Marcus Tullius Cicero). 1750: New edition in three volumes: Innys, London.
  • 1747: The Roman Senate , (German: The Roman Senate )
  • 1749: A Free Inquiry into the Miraculous Powers, which are Supposed to Have Subsisted in the Christian Church , (German: An outspoken inquiry into the miraculous powers believed to have existed in the Christian Church)
  • posthumously 1752: Reflections on the Variations, or Inconsistencies, which are Found among the Four Evangelists , (German: reflections on the differences or contradictions found among the four evangelists)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Middleton, Conyers
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English clergyman and author
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1683
PLACE OF BIRTH Richmond , Yorkshire , England
DATE OF DEATH July 28, 1750
Place of death Hildersham near Cambridge