Henry Coventry (c. 1710–1752) was an English religious writer.

Life

He was the son of Henry Coventry, younger brother of

William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry (c.1676 – 18 March 1751), of London and later Croome Court, Worcestershire, was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1719. Early life Coventry was the son of Walter Coven ...

and a landowner of Cowley, Middlesex, and his wife Ann Coles, and was born at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

around 1710; the writer Francis Coventry was a cousin. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

. He matriculated at Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1726, where he graduated B.A. in 1730 and became a Fellow, and M.A. in 1733. Coventry was an associate of

Conyers Middleton Conyers Middleton (27 December 1683 – 28 July 1750) was an English clergyman. Mired in controversy and disputes, he was also considered one of the best stylists in English of his time. Early life Middleton was born at Richmond, North Yorkshir ...

, Horace Walpole and William Cole. Cole wrote that, as an undergraduate, Coventry was a friend of Thomas Ashton, and they prayed with prisoners; but that later he was an "infidel". He was a correspondent of

John Byrom John Byrom or John Byrom of Kersal or John Byrom of Manchester FRS (29 February 1692 – 26 September 1763) was an English poet, the inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand and later a significant landowner. He is most remembered as t ...

, who had taught him

shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''st ...

at Cambridge in 1730; and was on good terms with William Melmoth the younger, a contemporary at Magdalene, who called him "my very ingenious friend, Philemon to Hydaspes", and dedicated to him his first work, ''Of an Active and Retired Life'' (1735). He died on 29 December 1752.

Works

With

Charles Bulkley Charles Bulkley (1719–1797) was an English Baptist minister. Life The fourth son of Thomas Bulkley, silk mercer in Ludgate Street, and Esther, fourth daughter of Matthew Henry, he was born in London 18 October 1719. His early education was und ...

and

Richard Fiddes Richard Fiddes (1671–1725) was an English Anglican priest and historian. Life He was born at Hunmanby and educated at Oxford University. He took orders, and obtained the living of Halsham in Holderness in 1696. Owing to ill-health he applied ...

, Coventry was a prominent defender of

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (26 February 1671 – 16 February 1713) was an English politician, philosopher, and writer. Early life He was born at Exeter House in London, the son of the future Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd E ...

. He wrote ''Philemon to Hydaspes, relating a conversation with Hortensius upon the subject of False Religion'', in five parts, 1736–37–38–41–44. After his death, it was republished in 1753 by Francis Coventry, in one volume. This work has been taken as

deist Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin '' deus'', meaning "god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation ...

; and it is replete with positive references to Shaftesbury.

Alfred Owen Aldridge Alfred Owen Aldridge (December 16, 1915 – January 29, 2005) was a professor of French and comparative literature, founder-editor of the journal ''Comparative Literature Studies'', and author of books on a wide range of literature studies. Car ...

, ''Shaftesbury and the Deist Manifesto'', Transactions of the American Philosophical Society Vol. 41, No. 2 (1951), pp. 297–382, at p. 376. Published by: American Philosophical Society.

John Mackinnon Robertson John Mackinnon Robertson (14 November 1856 – 5 January 1933) was a prolific Scottish journalist, advocate of rationalism and secularism, and Liberal Member of Parliament for Tyneside from 1906 to 1918. Robertson was best known as an advoca ...

listed it as a "freethinking treatise". Coventry is taken to have innovated in using the term "

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

" against

fanaticism Fanaticism (from the Latin adverb ''fānāticē'' ren-''fānāticus''; enthusiastic, ecstatic; raging, fanatical, furious is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal or an obsessive enthusiasm. Definitions Philosopher George Santayan ...

of a sectarian nature. In questioning the language and "luscious images" used in

devotional literature Christian devotional literature (also called devotionals or Christian living literature) is religious writing that Christian individuals read for their personal growth and spiritual formation. Such literature often takes the form of Christian daily ...

, he cited ''The Fire of the Altar'' of

Anthony Horneck Anthony Horneck (german: Anton Horneck; 1641–1697) was a German Protestant clergyman and scholar who made his career in England. He became an influential evangelical figure in London from the later 1670s, in partnership with Richard Smithies ...

, and wrote of the "wild extravagances of frantic enthusiasm". Coventry incurred the displeasure of

William Warburton William Warburton (24 December 16987 June 1779) was an English writer, literary critic and churchman, Bishop of Gloucester from 1759 until his death. He edited editions of the works of his friend Alexander Pope, and of William Shakespeare. Li ...

: who accused him of plagiarism in this work. That was in relation to Warburton's ''Hieroglyphics''; also of making unfair use of information communicated in confidence, which was to be published in the second volume of ''

The Divine Legation of Moses ''The Divine Legation of Moses'' is the best-known work of William Warburton, an English theologian of the 18th century who became bishop of Gloucester. As its full title makes clear, it is a conservative defence of orthodox Christian belief agains ...

''. John Brown, a Warburton ally, implied that Henry Coventry was a slavish disciple of Shaftesbury, and Francis Coventry rebutted the allegation. Coventry was one of the authors of the ''

Athenian Letters The ''Athenian Letters'' was a collaborative work of Ancient Greek history and geography, published by a circle of authors around Charles Yorke and Philip Yorke, and taking the form of commentary in letter form on Thucidydes. It had a “conside ...

''. A pamphlet entitled ''Future Rewards and Punishments believed by the Antients'', 1740, has been attributed to him.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Coventry, Henry 1752 deaths English writers Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge Year of birth uncertain