William Dalrymple (29 August 1723 – 28 January 1814) was a Scottish religious writer, minister and Moderator of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

in 1781. He is remembered in a poem by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

Biography

William Dalrymple was a younger son of James Dalrymple, sheriff-clerk of

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

. He was born at Ayr on 29 August 1723, and after a local education studied at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

graduating MA in 1740. He was licensed to preachby the Presbytery of Ayr in May 1745. He was ordained as a minister of the

, as the second charge in Ayr in December 1746, from which he was translated to the first charge in 1756. As a minister he was the man who baptised

on 26 January 1759. As the local minister Burns held him in high esteem. He received the honorary doctorate of Doctor of Divinity from the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

in 1779. He was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1781, replacing Rev Harry Spens. He was succeeded in turn by Rev Joseph McCormick. He died on 28 January 1814, having been one of the ministers of Ayr for the long period of sixty-eight years. Dalrymple was the author of several religious works.

Family

In August 1749 he married Susannah Hunter daughter of Rev John Hunter, his predecessor at Ayr parish church. Their descendants included William Dalrymple Maclagan the Archbishop of Canterbury and Prof

Douglas Maclagan Sir Andrew Douglas Maclagan PRSE FRCPE FRCSE FCS FRSSA (17 April 1812, in Ayr – 5 April 1900, in Edinburgh) was a Scottish surgeon, toxicologist and scholar of medical jurisprudence. He served as president of 5 learned societies: the Ro ...

.Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana by Hew Scott

Publications

*Family Worship Explained (1787) *A History of Christ (1787) *Faith in Jesus Christ (1790) *The Acts of the Apostles Made Easy (1790) *The Mosaic Account of the Creation (1794) *Meditations and Prayers (1795) *Legacy of Dying Thoughts (1796) *Solomon's Ethics or the Book of Proverbs Made Easy (1799) *The Scripture Jewish History (1803) *Statistical Account of the Parish of Ayr

Criticism

Dalrymple is chiefly remembered

' satirical poem ''The Kirk's Alarm:'' The lines indicate that Dalrymple was accused of holding unsound views on the subject of

the Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

; and the warm admiration which he expressed in the introduction to his ''History of Christ'' of a similar work on the death of Christ by his colleague Dr McGill exposed him to criticism when the latter publication brought upon its author a prosecution in the church courts for

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

Character sketch

James Gairdner James Gairdner (22 March 1828 – 4 November 1912) was a British historian. He specialised in 15th-century and early Tudor history, and among other tasks edited the '' Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII'' series. Son of John Gairdn ...

, writing in the '' Dictionary of National Biography'', stated that "Such were, however, the simple piety, meekness, and habitual benevolence of Dr. Dalrymple, that he was universally beloved by his parishioners, and no active proceedings or heresywere ever taken against him." Gairdner also gives as an example of his character an anecdote of Dalrymple meeting a beggar in the country who was almost naked, upon which Dalrymple took off his own coat and waistcoat, gave the latter to the beggar; then, putting on his coat again, buttoned it about him and walked home. According to

Gilbert Burns Gilbert Alexander Pontes Burns (born 20 July 1986) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and submission grappler. He currently competes in the Welterweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As a grappler, Burns ...

, when a schoolmaster at Ayr, while drunk, said disrespectful things of Dalrymple, the resulting outrage by the people was so strong that he was obliged to leave the place and go to London.

References