John Chamberlayne (c.1668–1723) was an English writer, translator, and courtier.

Life

He was a younger son of Edward Chamberlayne and his wife Susannah Clifford. In 1685 he entered

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

as a

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

. Leaving Oxford without a degree, he proceeded to the

University of Leyden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

, where on 12 May 1688 he entered himself as a student. Here, it would seem, he chiefly studied modern languages, Sloane Manuscript 4040, f. 104 of which, according to contemporary report, he knew sixteen. On his return he filled various offices about the court. He was successively gentleman waiter to Prince George of Denmark, gentleman of the

Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

first to Queen Anne and then to King George I. He was also secretary to

Queen Anne's Bounty Queen Anne's Bounty was a scheme established in 1704 to augment the incomes of the poorer clergy of the Church of England, and by extension the organisation ("The Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the Augmentation of the Maintenance of the ...

Commission, and on the commission of the peace for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

. In 1702 Chamberlayne was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

. Chamberlayne died at his house in Petty-France (now York Street), Westminster on 2 November 1723, and on 6 November was interred in the family burying-ground at Chelsea, where he had a residence, and where on his church wall a tablet was placed to his memory.

Works

Chamberlayne's major work was his translation of

Gerard Brandt Gerard Brandt (25 July 1626, Amsterdam – 12 October 1685, Amsterdam) was a Dutch preacher, playwright, poet, church historian, biographer and naval historian. A well-known writer in his own time, his works include a ''Life of Michiel de Ru ...

's ''History of the Reformation in the Low Countries'', 4 vols. 1720–3. In the preface to a part of this, published in 1719, he relates that

Gaspar Fagel Gaspar Fagel (25 January 1634 – 15 December 1688) was a Dutch politician, jurist, and diplomat who authored correspondence from and on behalf of William III, Prince of Orange, during the English Revolution of 1688. Early life Fagel was ...

assured

Gilbert Burnet Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was highly respected as a cleric, a preacher, an academic, ...

"that it was worth his while to learn Dutch, only for the pleasure of reading Brandt's ''History of the Reformation''". Chamberlayne also continued his father's ''Present State of England'' after his death in 1703, and issued five editions. The son's name still appeared on editions that were published after his own death (as late as 1756). He also published translations of: *

Samuel von Pufendorf Samuel Freiherr von Pufendorf (8 January 1632 – 26 October 1694) was a German jurist, political philosopher, economist and historian. He was born Samuel Pufendorf and ennobled in 1694; he was made a baron by Charles XI of Sweden a few mo ...

's ''History of Popedom, containing the Rise, Progress, and Decay thereof'', 1691 * The

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

, as ''Oratio Dominica in diversas omnium fere gentium linguas versa'', Amsterdam, 1715 *

Bernard Nieuwentyt Bernard Nieuwentijt, Nieuwentijdt, or Nieuwentyt (10 August 1654, West-Graftdijk, North Holland – 30 May 1718, Purmerend) was a Dutch philosopher, mathematician, physician, magistrate, mayor (of Purmerend), and theologian. Career As a p ...

's ''Religious Philosopher, or the right Use of contemplating the Works of the Creator'', 3 vols. 1718 * Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle's ''Lives of the French Philosophers'', 1721; and *

Jacques Saurin Jacques Saurin (January 6, 1677 – December 30, 1730) was a major French religious figure in the late 17th century and early 18th century who was particularly well-known as a preacher. While he began his career as a Catholic priest, Saurin ultim ...

's ''Dissertations, Historical, Critical, Theological, and Moral, of the most Memorable Events of the Old and New Testaments'', 1723. In 1685 he published a translation of Philippe Sylvestre Dufour's ''The Manner of making Coffee, Tea, and Chocolate as it is used in most parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, with their Vertues''. This tract became popular. From Oxford on 24 June 1686 he dated his translation of ''A Treasure of Health by Castor Durante Da Gualdo, Physician and Citizen of Rome'' (''Il Tesoro della Sanità'', 1586). Chamberlayne contributed three papers to ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...

'': *''A Relation of the Effects of a Storm of Thunder and Lightning at Sampford Courtney in Devonshire on 7 Oct. 1711'' (No. 336, p. 528). *''Remarks on the Plague at Copenhagen in the year 1711'' (No. 337, p. 279). *''An Account of the Sunk Island in Humber'' (No. 361, p. 1014). In the ''Sloane Manuscripts'' there are letters from Chamberlayne on the affairs of the Royal Society. He was also a member of the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, and translated for them Jean-Frédéric Osterwald's ''Arguments of the Book and Chapters of the Old and New Testament'', 3 vols. 1716; new ed. 3 vols. 1833.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlayne, John 1666 births 1723 deaths English translators Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society English male non-fiction writers