John Eyton Bickersteth Mayor (28 January 1825 – 1 December 1910) was an English classical scholar, writer and

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

activist.

Life

Mayor was born at Baddegama,

British Ceylon British Ceylon ( si, බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between ...

(now

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

) the son of Rev. John Major and Charlotte Bickersteth. His mother came from the prominent Bickersteth family and was the sister of Henry Bickersteth, 1st Baron Langdale and Rev. Edward Bickersteth. He was sent to England to be educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

Joseph Bickersteth Mayor Rev. Joseph Bickersteth Mayor (24 October 1828 – 29 November 1916) was an English professor, classical scholar, and Anglican clergyman. Early life and education Mayor was born in Cape Colony''1911 England Census'' while his parents returned ...

was his younger brother. From 1863 to 1867, Mayor was librarian of the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, and in 1872 succeeded H. A. J. Munro in the professorship of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, which he held for 28 years. His best-known work, an edition of the thirteen

Satires of Juvenal The ''Satires'' () are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of th ...

, is notable for an extraordinary wealth of illustrative quotations. His ''Bibliographical Clue to Latin Literature'' (1875), based on

Emil Hübner Ernst Willibald Emil Hübner (7 July 183421 February 1901) was a German classical scholar. He was born at Düsseldorf, the son of the historical painter Julius Hübner (1806–1882). After studying at Berlin and Bonn, he traveled extensively wi ...

's ''Grundriss zu Vorlesungen über die römische Litteraturgeschichte'', was a valuable aid to the student, and his edition of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

's ''Second Philippic'' became widely used. He also edited the English works of John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester (1876); Thomas Baker's ''History of St John's College, Cambridge'' (1869);

Richard of Cirencester Richard of Cirencester ( la, Ricardus de Cirencestria; before 1340–1400) was a cleric and minor historian of the Benedictine abbey at Westminster Abbey, Westminster. He was highly famed in the 18th and 19th century as the author of ''The Descript ...

's ''Speculum historiale de gestis regum Angliae 447–1066'' (1863–69); Roger Ascham's ''Schoolmaster'' (new ed., 1883); the ''Latin Heptateuch'' (1889); and the ''

Journal of Philology A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

''. According to the '' Enciklopedio de Esperanto'', Mayor learned

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

in 1907, and gave a historic speech against Esperanto reformists at the

World Congress of Esperanto The World Esperanto Congress ( eo, Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, UK) is an annual Esperanto convention. It has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run for 113 years. The congresses have be ...

held at Cambridge. His life and work are idiosyncratically and somewhat unsympathetically described in ''

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the ''Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

's Mayor: The Professor Who Lived on 2d. a Day'' by

J. G. W. Henderson John Graham Wilmot Henderson is a retired Professor of Classics at Cambridge University, and a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. Henderson has worked within the Classics Faculty since 1975, as Assistant Lecturer (1975–1978), Lecturer (1978� ...

. He is buried in the Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge.

Vegetarianism

Mayor succeeded

Francis William Newman Francis William Newman (27 June 1805 – 4 October 1897) was an English classical scholar and moral philosopher, prolific miscellaneous writer and activist for vegetarianism and other causes. He was the younger brother of John Henry Newman. ...

as President of the Vegetarian Society in 1883. Mayor was a strict vegetarian and teetotaller but it was noted that "he never sought to impose his rule of abstinence on others." Mayor authored '' What is Vegetarianism?'', in 1886. His vegetarian writings were published in the book, ''Plain Living and High Thinking'' in 1897.

Selected publications

''Nicholas Ferrar: Two Lives''
(1855)
''Early statutes of the College of St. John at Cambridge in the University of Cambridge''
(1859)
''History of the College of St. John the Evangelist, Cambridge''
(with Thomas Baker, 1869)
''Bibliographical Clue to Latin Literature''
(1875)
''Modicus Cibi Medicus Sibi, Or, Nature Her Own Physician''
(1880) *'' What is Vegetarianism?'' (1886)
''The Church and the Life of the Poor''
(1889)
''The Latin Heptateuch''
(1889)
''Thirteen Satires of Juvenal''
(1889) *''Plain Living and High Thinking'' (1897)
''Mercy, Not Curiosity, the Mother of Medicine''
(1898)
''Cambridge Under Queen Anne''
(1911)
''Twelve Cambridge Sermons''
(1911)

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayor, John Eyton Bickersteth 1825 births 1910 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Bickersteth family British vegetarianism activists Cambridge University Librarians Kennedy Professors of Latin English classical scholars English Esperantists English male writers English temperance activists Fellows of the British Academy People associated with the Vegetarian Society People educated at Shrewsbury School Scholars of Latin literature