John Taylor (22 June 1704 – 4 April 1766),

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

classical scholar, was born at

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Life

His father was a

barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

, and, by the generosity of one of his close customers, the son, having received his early education at the grammar school of his native town, was sent to

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 ...

. In 1732, he was appointed librarian, and in 1734

Registrary The Registrary is the senior administrative officer of the University of Cambridge. The term is unique to Cambridge, and uses an archaic spelling. Most universities in the United Kingdom and in North America have administrative offices entitled "reg ...

of the university. Somewhat late in life he took orders and became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Lawford Lawford is a large village and civil parish in the Tendring district of northeast Essex, England. It is approximately northeast from the centre of Colchester and west of, and contiguous with, Manningtree. Mistley merges with the east side of M ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in 1751,

Archdeacon of Buckingham The Archdeacon of Buckingham is the senior ecclesiastical officer in charge of the Church of England in Buckinghamshire. The archdeacon has statutory oversight over the ancient Archdeaconry of Buckingham, which has existed since (at latest) the 11 ...

in 1753,

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

of St Paul's in 1757. He died in London on 4 April 1766, aged 61 and was buried in

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

. He is also shown as Prebendary of Aylesbury from 1745 to 1747 and again from 1750 to 1756. Taylor is best known for his editions of some of the Greek orators, chiefly valuable for the notes on

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

law, e.g. ''

Lysias Lysias (; el, Λυσίας; c. 445 – c. 380 BC) was a logographer (speech writer) in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace i ...

'' (1739);

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...

' ''Contra Leptinem'' (1741) and ''Contra Midiam'' (1743, with

Lycurgus Lycurgus or Lykourgos () may refer to: People * Lycurgus (king of Sparta) (third century BC) * Lycurgus (lawgiver) (eighth century BC), creator of constitution of Sparta * Lycurgus of Athens (fourth century BC), one of the 'ten notable orators' ...

' ''Contra Leocratem''), intended as specimens of a proposed edition, in five volumes, of the orations of

Aeschines Aeschines (; Greek: , ''Aischínēs''; 389314 BC) was a Greek statesman and one of the ten Attic orators. Biography Although it is known he was born in Athens, the records regarding his parentage and early life are conflicting; but it seems ...

Dinarchus Dinarchus or Dinarch ( el, Δείναρχος; Corinth, c. 361 – c. 291 BC) was a logographer (speechwriter) in Ancient Greece. He was the last of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzanti ...

, and

Demades Demades ( el, Δημάδης, BC) was an Athenian orator and demagogue. Background and early life Demades was born into a poor family of ancient Paeania and was employed at one time as a common sailor, but he rose to a prominent position at Athen ...

, of which only vols. ii and iii were published. Taylor also published (under the title of ''Marmor Sandvicense'') a commentary on the inscription on an ancient marble brought from Greece by

Lord Sandwich Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu ...

, containing particulars of the receipts and expenditures of the Athenian magistrates appointed to celebrate the festival of

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

Delos The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...

in 374 BC. His ''Elements of Civil Law'' (1755) also deserves notice. It was severely attacked by

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 ...

in his ''

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 ...

'', professedly owing to a difference of opinion in regard to the persecution of the early Christians, in reality because Taylor had spoken disparagingly of his scholarship.

References

;Attribution *

External links

* English classical scholars Archdeacons of Buckingham Cambridge University Librarians Registraries of the University of Cambridge Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People educated at Shrewsbury School English male writers Clergy from Shrewsbury 1704 births 1766 deaths Writers from Shrewsbury {{England-academic-administrator-stub