Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828–1892), known as F. J. A. Hort, was an Irish-born theologian and editor, with Brooke Foss Westcott of a critical edition of ''

The New Testament in the Original Greek ''The New Testament in the Original Greek'' is a Greek-language version of the New Testament published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901) and Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828 ...

''.

Life

He was born on 23 April 1828 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, the great-grandson of

Josiah Hort Josiah Hort (c. 1674 – 14 December 1751), was an English clergyman of the Church of Ireland who ended his career as archbishop of Tuam. Born in Marshfield, Gloucestershire, son of John Hort, and brought up as a Nonconformist, Hort went to sch ...

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church. Histor ...

in the eighteenth century. In 1846 he passed from

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he was the contemporary of E. W. Benson, B. F. Westcott and J. B. Lightfoot. The four men became lifelong friends and fellow-workers. In 1850 Hort took his degree, being third in the classical ''

tripos At the University of Cambridge, a Tripos (, plural 'Triposes') is any of the examinations that qualify an undergraduate for a bachelor's degree or the courses taken by a student to prepare for these. For example, an undergraduate studying mathe ...

''. In 1851 he also took the recently established triposes in moral science and natural science, and in 1852 he became fellow of his college. In 1854, in conjunction with John E. B. Mayor and Lightfoot, he established the ''Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology'', and plunged eagerly into theological and patristic study. He had been brought up in the strictest principles of the evangelical movement, but at Rugby, under the influence of

Thomas Arnold Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were wide ...

and

Archibald Campbell Tait Archibald Campbell Tait (21 December 18113 December 1882) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England and theologian. He was the first Scottish Archbishop of Canterbury and thus, head of the Church of England. Life Tait was bo ...

, and through his acquaintance with F. D. Maurice and Charles Kingsley, he finally moved towards

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

. In 1857 he was married, and accepted the college living of

St Ippolyts St Ippolyts (or St Ippollitts) is a village and civil parish on the southern edge of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. It has a population of approximately 2,000. Governance North Hertfordshire District Council St Ippolyts is located within th ...

, near

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

, in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, where he remained for fifteen years. During his time there he took part in discussions on university reform, continued his studies, and wrote essays for various periodicals. In 1870 he was appointed a member of the committee for revising the translation of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, and in 1871 he delivered the

Hulsean Lectures The Hulsean Lectures were established from an endowment made by John Hulse to the University of Cambridge in 1790. At present, they consist of a series of four to eight lectures given by a university graduate on some branch of Christian theology. ...

before the university. Their title was ''The Way, the Truth, and the Life'', but they were not prepared for publication until many years after their delivery. In 1872 he accepted a fellowship and lectureship at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

.Emmanuel College
/ref> In 1873 he became a

fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

. In 1878 he was made

Hulsean Professor of Divinity John Hulse (15 March 1708 – 14 December 1790) was an English clergyman. He is now known mainly as the founder of the series of Hulsean Lectures at the University of Cambridge. Early life John Hulse was born at Middlewich, in Cheshire, the elde ...

and in 1887

Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity The Lady Margaret's Professor of Divinity is the oldest professorship at the University of Cambridge. It was founded initially as a readership by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, in 1502. Since its re-endowment at the end o ...

. Hort died on 30 November 1892 in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. He is buried in the Mill Road Cemetery, Cambridge.

Works

In 1881 he published, with his friend Westcott, an edition of the text of the New Testament based on their text critical work. The Revision Committee had largely accepted this text, even before its publication, as a basis for their translation of the New Testament. Its appearance created a sensation among scholars, and it was attacked in many quarters, but on the whole it was received as being much the nearest approximation yet made to the original text of the New Testament. The introduction was the work of Hort. His first principle was, "Knowledge of Documents should precede Final Judgments upon Readings". Next to his Greek Testament his best-known work i
''The Christian Ecclesia''
(1897). Other publications are
''Judaistic Christianity''
(1894); ''Village Sermons'' (two series)
''Cambridge and other Sermons''''Prolegomena to ... Romans and Ephesians''
(1895)
''The Ante-Nicene Fathers''
(1895); and tw
''Dissertations''
(1876) on the reading of a Greek word in John i.18, and on ''The Constantinopolitan and other Eastern Creeds in the Fourth Century.'' All are models of exact scholarship and skilful use of materials. His ''Life and Letters'' was edited by his son, Sir Arthur Hort, Bart, in two volumes published in 1896
''Volume 1''''Volume 2''

Other

Hort was a member of the

Cambridge Apostles The Cambridge Apostles (also known as ''Conversazione Society'') is an intellectual society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who became the first Bishop of Gibraltar.W. C. Lubenow, ''The Ca ...

and is credited with writing the oath of secrecy taken by new members, in or around 1851.

References

External links

*
''The Way, the Truth, the Life: Hulsean Lectures for 1871''
(first printed 1893)

with variants * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hort, Fenton John Anthony 1828 births 1892 deaths 19th-century biblical scholars Writers from Dublin (city) English Anglican theologians British biblical scholars New Testament scholars People educated at Rugby School Presidents of the Cambridge Union Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Anglican biblical scholars Lady Margaret's Professors of Divinity 19th-century Christian biblical scholars 19th-century Anglican theologians Hulsean Professors of Divinity

Life

Works

Other

See also

References

External links