William Cave (30 December 1637 – 4 August 1713) was an English
divine
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.[divine ...](_blank)
and
patristic
Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...
scholar.
Life
Cave was born at
Pickwell
Pickwell is a small, hill-crest village south-east of Melton Mowbray in the Borough of Melton, Melton district, in Leicestershire which used to have an ecclesiastical parish of its own and is since the early 20th century has been in the civil ...
, Leicestershire, of which parish his father, John Cave was
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
. He was educated at
Oakham School
(Like runners, they pass on the torch of life)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion = Church of England
, president ...
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 ...
. He took his B.A. degree in 1656, his M.A. in 1660, his DD in 1672, and in 1681 he was incorporated DD at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
. He was
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of
St Mary's, Islington (1662–91),
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 ...
of
All-Hallows the Great,
Upper Thames Street
Thames Street, divided into Lower and Upper Thames Street, is a road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London. It forms part of the busy A3211 route (prior to being rebuilt as a major thoroughfare in the late 1960s, it ...
, London (1679–89), and in 1690 became
vicar
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...
of
Isleworth
Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane, London, River Crane. Isleworth's or ...
in
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, at that time a quiet place which suited his studious temper. Cave was also chaplain to
Charles II, and in 1684 became a
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
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
, where he died. He was buried at
St Mary's, Islington, near his wife and children.
Works
![Cave Apostolici 1682 title page](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Cave_Apostolici_1682_title_page.jpg)
The merits of Cave as a writer consist in the thoroughness of his research, the clearness of his style, and, above all, the admirably lucid method of his arrangement. The two works on which his reputation principally rests are the ''Apostolici; or, The History of the Lives, Acts, Death and Martyrdoms of those who were contemporary with, or immediately succeeded the Apostles'' (1677), and ''Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Historia Literaria'' (1688). Dowling says that the works of Cave "rank undoubtedly among those which have affected the progress of Church-history. His smaller works greatly tended to extend an acquaintance with Christian Antiquity; his ''Lives of the Apostles and Primitive Fathers,'' which may be regarded as an Ecclesiastical history of the first four centuries, is to this very day
.e. 1838the most learned work of the kind which has been written in our own language; and his ''Historia Literaria'' is still the best and most convenient ''complete'' work on the literary history of the Church." Though he is sometimes criticised for not being critical with his sources, that failing means that many of his works, particularly ''Antiquitates Apostolicae'' and ''Apostolici'' contain a wealth of
legendary
Legendary may refer to:
* Legend, a folklore genre
* Legendary (hagiography)
** Anjou Legendarium
* J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium
Film and television
* ''Legendary'' (film), a 2010 American sports drama film
* ''Legendary'', a 2013 film fea ...
material, culled from a wide variety of sources, much of which is not readily available elsewhere.
![Johannes-Clericus-1657](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Johannes-Clericus-1657.jpg)
During the course of his work he was drawn into controversy with
Jean Le Clerc (1657–1736), who was then writing his ''Bibliothèque universelle et historique''. Cave published a dissertation ''De Eusebii Caesariensis Arianismo adversus Johannem Clericum,'' criticising Le Clerc's treatment of
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...
as an
Arian
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...
, as the last of three dissertations appended to the second part of his ''Historia Literaria'' (London 1698). Le Clerc replied in a work entitled ''Epistolae Criticae et Ecclesiasticae,'' which formed the third volume of the second edition of his ''Ars Critica'' (Amsterdam, 1700)
''reprinted (Leiden, 1778)'' Le Clerc said, that Cave, in his ''Historia Literaria,'' had concealed many things about the fathers, for the sake of enhancing their credit, which an impartial historian should have related; and that, instead of lives of the fathers, he often wrote panegyrics upon them. Cave responded the same year with his ''Epistola Apologetica'' (London, 1700). This was reprinted at the end of the second volume of the ''Historia Literaria,'' in the edition published at Oxford in 1743.
Cave is said to have been "of a learned and communicative conversation;" he is also reported to have been "a florid and eloquent preacher," and the printed sermons he has left behind bear out this character.
*''Primitive Christianity: or, the Religion of the ancient Christians in the first Ages of the Gospel'', 2 volumes, 1672. It was dedicated to
Nathaniel Crewe
Nathaniel Crew, 3rd Baron Crew (31 January 163318 September 1721) was Bishop of Oxford from 1671 to 1674, then Bishop of Durham from 1674 to 1721. As such he was one of the longest-serving bishops of the Church of England.
Crew was the son of Joh ...
, lord bishop of Oxford. Reprinted many times
''Vol. 1 (London, 1839)''an
''Vol. 2 (London, 1839)''
*''Tabulae Ecclesiasticae''
ables of Ecclesiastical Writers 1674
*''Antiquitates Apostolicae: or, The History of the Lives, Acts, and Martyrdoms of the Holy Apostles of our Saviour and the two Evangelists, St. Mark and St. Luke'', 1675. Originally published as the second part of
Jeremy Taylor
Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667) was a cleric in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression, and he is fr ...
's ''Antiquitates christianae''. Reprinted many times
''Vo1. 1 (London, 1834)''an
''Vol. 2 (London, 1834)''
*''Apostolici: or, the history of the lives, acts, death and martyrdoms of those who were contemporary with, or immediately succeeded the apostles. As also the most eminent of the primitive fathers for the first three hundred years'', 1677
''2nd ed. (London, 1682)'' Reprinted in later years a
''Lives of the most eminent Fathers of the Church that flourished in the first four centuries, Vol. 1 (Oxford, 1840)''
*''A Dissertation concerning the Government of the Ancient Church by Bishops, Metropolitans and Patriarchs'' 1683
*''Ecclesiastici: or, the History of the lives, acts, death and writings of the most eminent Fathers of the Church'', 1683. Reprinted in later years a
''Lives of the most eminent Fathers of the Church that flourished in the first four centuries, Vol. 2 (Oxford, 1840)''an
''Vol. 3 (Oxford, 1840)''
*''Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Historia Literaria a Christo nato usque ad saeculum XIV'', a literary history of ecclesiastical writers, in two parts, the first part publishe
''(London, 1688)'' the secon
''(London, 1698)'' Reprinted several times. The edition that appeared i
''(Geneva, 1705)'' was printed without the author's knowledge, reprinte
''(Geneva, 1720)'' This 1705 printing is said to have caused the author great loss, and to have so disgusted him that he would not issue a second edition; but he spent much time during the later years of his life in revising repeatedly this great work.
[Stephen 1887, 342.] He made alterations and additions equal to one-third of the whole work, and wrote new prolegomena. It was finally printed in two
folio
The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...
volumes, with some additional matter from
Henry Wharton
Henry Wharton (9 November 1664 – 5 March 1695) was an English writer and librarian.
Life
Wharton was descended from Thomas, 2nd Baron Wharton (1520–1572), being a son of the Rev. Edmund Wharton, vicar of Worstead, Norfolk. Born at Worstead, ...
, edited by
Daniel Waterland
Daniel Cosgrove Waterland (14 March 1683 – 23 December 1740) was an English theologian. He became Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge in 1714, Chancellor of the Diocese of York in 1722, and Archdeacon of Middlesex in 1730.
Waterland opposed ...
, the firs
''(Oxford, 1740)'' the secon
''(Oxford, 1743)'' It is regarded by all as being the best edition.
* Sermons: ''A Sermon before the King at Whitehall, 23 January 1675'' (London, 1676); ''A Sermon before the Lord Mayor at St. Mary-le-Bow, 5 November 1680'' (London, 1680); ''A Sermon before the King at Whitehall, 18 January 1684'' (London, 1685).
Notes
Bibliography
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cave, William
1637 births
1713 deaths
People from the Borough of Melton
People educated at Oakham School
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
17th-century English historians
17th-century English Anglican priests
Canons of Windsor