The Athenian Society
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The Athenian Society
The Athenian Society was an organization founded by John Dunton in 1691 to facilitate the writing and publication of his weekly periodical ''The Athenian Mercury''. Though represented as a large panel of experts, the society reached its peak at four members: Dunton, Dr. John Norris, Richard Sault and Dunton's brother-in-law, Rev. Samuel Wesley. The group would answer the questions of readers about any topic, creating the first advice column. In 1693, for four weeks, ''The Athenian Society'' published also '' The Ladies' Mercury'', the first periodical published that was specifically designed just for women. History In 1691, John Dunton founded The Athenian Society (not to be confused with several other "Athenian Societies") in order to publish a journal. This group was originally composed of a small number of friends: John Dunton and mathematics teacher Richard Sault, then philosopher Dr. John Norris (though he declined to be part of the Society in writing and associated to profi ...
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The Athenian Society
The Athenian Society was an organization founded by John Dunton in 1691 to facilitate the writing and publication of his weekly periodical ''The Athenian Mercury''. Though represented as a large panel of experts, the society reached its peak at four members: Dunton, Dr. John Norris, Richard Sault and Dunton's brother-in-law, Rev. Samuel Wesley. The group would answer the questions of readers about any topic, creating the first advice column. In 1693, for four weeks, ''The Athenian Society'' published also '' The Ladies' Mercury'', the first periodical published that was specifically designed just for women. History In 1691, John Dunton founded The Athenian Society (not to be confused with several other "Athenian Societies") in order to publish a journal. This group was originally composed of a small number of friends: John Dunton and mathematics teacher Richard Sault, then philosopher Dr. John Norris (though he declined to be part of the Society in writing and associated to profi ...
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John Dunton
John Dunton (4 May 1659 – 1733) was an English bookseller and author. In 1691 he founded The Athenian Society to publish '' The Athenian Mercury'', the first major popular periodical and first miscellaneous periodical in England. In 1693, for four weeks, the Athenian Society also published '' The Ladies' Mercury'', the first periodical published that was specifically designed just for women. Early life His father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all clergymen. He was born at Graffham, Huntingdonshire, where his father John was rector. The family shortly moved to Ireland, when John Dunton senior became chaplain to Sir Henry Ingoldsby. At the age of fifteen John the son was apprenticed to Thomas Parkhurst, bookseller, at the sign of the Bible and Three Crowns, Cheapside, London. Dunton ran away at once, but was soon brought back, and began to love books. During the struggle which led to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Dunton was the treasurer of the Whig apprentic ...
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Periodical
A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also examples of periodicals. These publications cover a wide variety of topics, from academic, technical, trade, and general interest to leisure and entertainment. Articles within a periodical are usually organized around a single main subject or theme and include a title, date of publication, author(s), and brief summary of the article. A periodical typically contains an editorial section that comments on subjects of interest to its readers. Other common features are reviews of recently published books and films, columns that express the author's opinions about various topics, and advertisements. A periodical is a serial publication. A book is also a serial publication, but is not typically called a periodical. An encyclopedia or dictionary is also ...
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The Athenian Mercury
''The Athenian Mercury'', or ''The Athenian Gazette'', or ''The Question Project'', or ''The Casuistical Mercury'', was a periodical written by ''The Athenian Society'' and published in London twice weekly between 17 March 1690 ( i.e. 1691 Gregorian calendar) and 14 June 1697. John Dunton was the editor in chief. Berry, p. 18 A spin-off of ''The Athenian Mercury'', ''The Ladies' Mercury'', was also published by ''The Athenian Society'', in 1693, for four weeks. It was the first periodical that catered specifically to women readers. Title The magazine was first called ''The Athenian Gazette or The Casuistical Mercury'' when it was first printed. Dunton explains in his autobiography ''Life and Errors'' he had an inspiration for the title one day while he was walking home that he would "not exchange for 50 guineas." He continues that a reader of his magazine need only consult Acts 17:21 to see the reasoning behind the title. Dunton, p. 188. (Acts 17:21 ''(For all the Athenians ...
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John Norris (philosopher)
John Norris, sometimes called John Norris of Bemerton (1657–1712), was an English theologian, philosopher and poet associated with the Cambridge Platonists. Life John Norris was born at Collingbourne Kingston, Wiltshire. He was educated at Winchester School, and Exeter College, Oxford, gaining a B.A. in 1680. He was later appointed a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford (M.A. 1684). He lived a quiet life as a country parson and thinker at Fugglestone St Peter with Bemerton, Wiltshire, from 1692 until his death early in 1712. Works In philosophy he was a Platonist and mystic. He became an early opponent of John Locke, whose ''An Essay Concerning Human Understanding'' (1690) he attacked in ''Christian Blessedness or Discourses upon the Beatitudes'' in the same year; he also combatted Locke's theories in his ''Essay toward the Theory of the Ideal or Intelligible World'' (1701–4). He attacked religious schism in ''Christian Blessedness'' and ''The Charge of Schism, Continued.' ...
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Richard Sault
Richard Sault (born around 1630s ; died 1702) was an English mathematician, editor and translator, one of The Athenian Society. On the strength of his ''Second Spira'' he is also now credited as a Christian Cartesian philosopher. Andrew Pyle (editor), ''Dictionary of Seventeenth Century British Philosophers'' (2000), article on Sault, pp. 711-3. Life He kept in 1694 a mathematical school in Adam's Court, Broad Street, near the Royal Exchange, London. John Dunton the publisher, learning of him and his skill in mathematics, supplied him with literary work. When the notion of establishing '' The Athenian Mercury'' occurred to Dunton, he sought Sault's aid as joint editor and contributor. The first number came out on 17 March 1691, and the second on 24 March. Before the third number Dunton and Sault had joined to them Dunton's brother-in-law, Samuel Wesley. There are ''Articles of agreement between Sam. Wesley, clerk, Richard Sault, gent., and John Dunton, for the writing the Athe ...
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Samuel Wesley (poet)
Samuel Wesley (17 December 1662 – 25 April 1735) was a clergyman of the Church of England, as well as a poet and a writer of controversial prose. He was also the father of John Wesley and Charles Wesley, founders of Methodism. Family and early life Samuel Wesley was the second son of Rev. John Westley or Wesley, who was ejected that year as rector of Winterborne Whitechurch, Dorset. His mother was the daughter of John White, the so-called "Patriarch of Dorchester" and rector of Trinity Church, Dorchester. Following some grammar school education in Dorchester, Wesley was sent away from home to prepare for ministerial training under Theophilus Gale. Gale's death in 1678 forestalled this plan; instead, he attended another grammar school and then studied at dissenting academies under Edward Veel in Stepney and then Charles Morton in Newington Green, where Gale had lived. Daniel Defoe also attended Morton's school, situated "probably on the site of the current Unitarian ...
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Advice Column
An advice column is a column in a question and answer format. Typically, a (usually anonymous) reader writes to the media outlet with a problem in the form of a question, and the media outlet provides an answer or response. The responses are written by an advice columnist (colloquially known in British English as an agony aunt, or agony uncle if the columnist is male). An advice columnist is someone who gives advice to people who send in problems to the media outlet. The image presented was originally of an older woman dispensing comforting advice and maternal wisdom, hence the name "aunt". Sometimes the author is in fact a composite or a team: Marjorie Proops's name appeared (with photo) long after she retired. The nominal writer may be a pseudonym, or in effect a brand name; the accompanying picture may bear little resemblance to the actual author. ''The Athenian Mercury'' contained the first known advice column in 1690. Traditionally presented in a magazine or newspaper, an a ...
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The Ladies' Mercury
''The Ladies' Mercury'' (27 February 1693 — 17 March 1693) was a periodical published in London by the Athenian Society notable for being the first periodical in English published and specifically designed for women readers. History In 1690, London publisher John Dunton founded '' The Athenian Mercury'', the first major periodical in England or Scotland designed to appeal to a general readership. Dunton's ''Athenian Mercury'' dealt with a range of topics such as science, religion, as well as private life, including sexuality. The ''Athenian Mercury'' was a public forum where questions were submitted by readers. Because of the presumed interest of women readers in domesticity, courtship, and marriage, the editors decided to devote the first Tuesday of each month to such topics, announced this policy on 3 June 1691, and invited "reasonable questions sent to us by the fair sex". The monthly "ladies'" topics in the ''Athenian Mercury'' proved popular, and ''The Ladies Mercury'' ...
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Women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardless of age. Typically, women inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and are capable of pregnancy and giving birth from puberty until menopause. More generally, sex differentiation of the female fetus is governed by the lack of a present, or functioning, SRY-gene on either one of the respective sex chromosomes. Female anatomy is distinguished from male anatomy by the female reproductive system, which includes the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, vagina, and vulva. A fully developed woman generally has a wider pelvis, broader hips, and larger breasts than an adult man. Women have significantly less facial and other body hair, have a higher body fat composition, and are on average shorter and less muscular than men. Thro ...
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Acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. It gives an account of the ministry and activity of Christ's apostles in Jerusalem and other regions, after Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make up a two-part work, Luke–Acts, by the same anonymous author. It is usually dated to around 80–90 AD, although some scholars suggest 90–110. The first part, the Gospel of Luke, tells how God fulfilled his plan for the world's salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Acts continues the story of Christianity in the 1st century, beginning with the ascension of Jesus to Heaven. The early chapters, set in Jerusalem, describe the Day of Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit) and the growth of the chu ...
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Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, hence his common sobriquet, "Dean Swift". Swift is remembered for works such as ''A Tale of a Tub'' (1704), ''An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity'' (1712), '' Gulliver's Travels'' (1726), and ''A Modest Proposal'' (1729). He is regarded by the '' Encyclopædia Britannica'' as the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and is less well known for his poetry. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M. B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles. His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in ''A Modest Proposal'', has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian". Biography E ...
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