Joseph Sortain (1809–1860) was a British

nonconformist Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

minister, an evangelical Independent, philosophy tutor at

Cheshunt College Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, Wal ...

, and biographer of

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

. A reputed preacher of his time, he was called "the Dickens of the pulpit" by

John Ross Dix John Dix or John Ross (21 September 1811 – after 1863) was a British writer and poet in Great Britain and America. An alcoholic, he wrote a noted biography of Thomas Chatterton and he wrote "In Our Own Dear Homes Again" during the American Civi ...

Life

He was born in

Clifton, Bristol Clifton is both a suburb of Bristol, England, and the name of one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells. The eastern part of the suburb lies within the ward of Clifton Do ...

; his father was a baker of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

descent. His parents were in the congregation of James Sherman.http://dissacad.english.qmul.ac.uk ''Sortain, Joseph (c.1809-c.1860)''.
/ref> This chapel was in the

Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion The Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion is a small society of evangelical churches, founded in 1783 by Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, as a result of the Evangelical Revival. For many years it was strongly associated with the Calvinist M ...

derived from the

Calvinistic Methodists Calvinistic Methodists were born out of the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival and survive as a body of Christians now forming the Presbyterian Church of Wales. Calvinistic Methodism became a major denomination in Wales, growing rapidly in the 1 ...

. In 1823 the congregation came under William Lucy, and shortly migrated to the Lodge Street Chapel. Sortain attended the Bristol Baptist Academy when still young (around 1824); at this period he won an essay prize, in a competition for which Lucy was his sponsor, on the topic ''Christ's Mission''. Reading Micaiah Towgood dissuaded him from going to 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 ...

. He then studied at Cheshunt College, and

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. He returned to Cheshunt College as a tutor, from 1838 to 1850. Under the initial arrangement he taught mathematics, logic, and belles lettres, for two periods of six weeks in a year.W. J. Mander, Alan P. F. Sell, Gavin Budge (editors), ''The Dictionary of Nineteenth-century British Philosophers'', Volume 2 (2002), p. 1045. From 1832 Sortain was the Countess of Huntingdon's preacher at her North Street Chapel in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, where he was admired as an orator, and noted for not exceeding 30 minutes. He held to the dissenting position of his family, though he was known not to differ much from Anglican theological positions.

Henry Crabb Robinson Henry Crabb Robinson (13 May 1775 – 5 February 1867) was an English lawyer, remembered as a diarist. He took part in founding London University. Life Robinson was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, third and youngest son of Henry Robinson (17 ...

appreciated Sortain as a preacher, while thinking

Frederick William Robertson Frederick William Robertson (3 February 1816 – 15 August 1853), known as Robertson of Brighton, was an English divine. Biography Born in London, the first five years of his life were passed at Leith Fort, where his father, a captain in the R ...

("Robertson of Brighton") would rival him. Sortain died on 16 July 1860. His funeral sermon was given by his friend Richard Alliott at the North Street Chapel. His reputation lapsed, and he could be called a "forgotten Bristol celebrity" by 1907.

Works

Sortain was a reviewer during the mid-1830s. He obtained work foe the High Church ''

British Critic The ''British Critic: A New Review'' was a quarterly publication, established in 1793 as a conservative and high-church review journal riding the tide of British reaction against the French Revolution. The headquarters was in London. The journa ...

'', through contacts with the Rev. Richard Harvey of

Hornsey Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey The London Borough of Haringey (pronounced , same as Harringay) is a London borough in North London, classified by some definitions as part of Inner Lo ...

, and

James Shergold Boone James Shergold Boone (1799–1859) was an English cleric and writer. Life Boone was born on 30 June 1799. In 1812 he was sent to Charterhouse School, and in 1816 he became a student of Christ Church, Oxford, where in 1817 he obtained a Craven s ...

. He wrote also for the ''

Edinburgh Review The ''Edinburgh Review'' is the title of four distinct intellectual and cultural magazines. The best known, longest-lasting, and most influential of the four was the third, which was published regularly from 1802 to 1929. ''Edinburgh Review'', ...

'', at the suggestion of

William Empson Sir William Empson (27 September 1906 – 15 April 1984) was an English literary critic and poet, widely influential for his practice of closely reading literary works, a practice fundamental to New Criticism. His best-known work is his first ...

. These articles of the mid-1830s were anonymous, but attributions to Sortain have been made, for topics such as Brougham on natural theology, Coleridge,

Charles Lyell Sir Charles Lyell, 1st Baronet, (14 November 1797 – 22 February 1875) was a Scottish geologist who demonstrated the power of known natural causes in explaining the earth's history. He is best known as the author of ''Principles of Geolo ...

on geology, and

Mary Somerville Mary Somerville (; , formerly Greig; 26 December 1780 – 29 November 1872) was a Scottish scientist, writer, and polymath. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and in 1835 she and Caroline Herschel were elected as the first female Honorary ...

's ''Connection of the Physical Sciences'' in the ''British Critic''.John Taylor, ''Notes on Bristol Huguenots'', Proceedings of the Huguenot Society, Vol. III Issue 3 (PDF), p. 373.
/ref> In the ''Edinburgh Review'' topics were

Richard Baxter Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he ...

Thomas Lathbury Thomas Lathbury (1798 – 1865) was an English cleric known as an ecclesiastical historian. Life The son of Henry Lathbury, was born at Brackley, Northamptonshire, and educated at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford. He graduated B.A. in 1824, and M.A. in ...

's ''History of English Episcopacy'', and

Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...

's ''Deontology'' (he thought Bentham's works brought on "mental nausea"). Harvey, however, seemed to find Sortain's oratory incomprehensible. Sortain wrote ''A Lecture Introductory to the Study of Philosophy'' (1839) as a Cheshunt College tutor. He published ''Romanism and Anglo-Catholicism'' (1841); at this time he was preaching on

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form) 1 John ; . 2 John . ...

. The ''

Eclectic Review ''The Eclectic Review'' was a British periodical published monthly during the first half of the 19th century aimed at highly literate readers of all classes. Published between 1805 and 1868, it reviewed books in many fields, including literature, h ...

'' noticed this work with one by

Charles Pettit McIlvaine Charles Pettit McIlvaine (January 18, 1799 – March 13, 1873) was an Episcopal bishop, author, educator and twice Chaplain of the United States Senate. Early life and family McIlvaine was born on January 18, 1799, in Burlington, New Jers ...

, as anti-

Tractarian The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

, though giving it little space, and regretting the "declamatory" style, while praising the content. His ''Life of Francis, Lord Bacon'' was published by the

Religious Tract Society The Religious Tract Society was a British evangelical Christian organization founded in 1799 and known for publishing a variety of popular religious and quasi-religious texts in the 19th century. The society engaged in charity as well as commerci ...

in 1851. Sortain wrote novels, as well as theological and philosophical works: *''Hildebrand and the Excommunicated Emperor'' (1852) *''Count Arensberg; or, The days of Martin Luther'' (1853).

Family

Sortain married Bridget Margaret, daughter of Sir Patrick Macgregor, 1st Baronet. She published ''Memorials of the Rev. Joseph Sortain'' in 1861.

Notes

External links

''A Lecture introductory to the Study of Philosophy'', online text.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sortain, Joseph 1809 births 1860 deaths English Methodists English male novelists 19th-century English novelists 19th-century British male writers

Life

Works

Family

Notes

Further reading

External links