John Norris, sometimes called John Norris of Bemerton (1657–1712), was an English

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

associated with the

Cambridge Platonists The Cambridge Platonists were an influential group of Platonist philosophers and Christian theologians at the University of Cambridge that existed during the 17th century. The leading figures were Ralph Cudworth and Henry More. Group and its na ...

Life

John Norris was born at

Collingbourne Kingston Collingbourne Kingston is a village and civil parish about south of the market town of Marlborough in Wiltshire, England. The village, which is on the A338 primary route between Andover and Marlborough, is one of several on the River Bourn ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

. He was educated at

Winchester School Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of th ...

, and

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

, gaining a B.A. in 1680. He was later appointed a fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of ...

(M.A. 1684). He lived a quiet life as a country parson and thinker at

Fugglestone St Peter Fugglestone St Peter was a small village, manor, and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, lying between the town of Wilton and the city of Salisbury. The civil parish came to an end in 1894 when it was divided between the adjoining parishes, and ...

with

Bemerton Bemerton, once a rural hamlet and later a civil parish to the west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, is now a suburb of that city. Modern-day Bemerton has areas known as Bemerton Heath, Bemerton Village and Lower Bemerton. History In 1086, t ...

, Wiltshire, from 1692 until his death early in 1712.

Works

In philosophy he was a

Platonist Platonism is the philosophy of Plato and philosophical systems closely derived from it, though contemporary platonists do not necessarily accept all of the doctrines of Plato. Platonism had a profound effect on Western thought. Platonism at l ...

and mystic. He became an early opponent of

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...

, whose ''

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding ''An Essay Concerning Human Understanding'' is a work by John Locke concerning the foundation of human knowledge and understanding. It first appeared in 1689 (although dated 1690) with the printed title ''An Essay Concerning Humane Understan ...

'' (1690) he attacked in ''Christian Blessedness or Discourses upon the Beatitudes'' in the same year; he also combatted Locke's theories in his ''Essay toward the Theory of the Ideal or Intelligible World'' (1701–4). He attacked religious schism in ''Christian Blessedness'' and ''The Charge of Schism, Continued.'' Others among his 23 works are ''An Idea of Happiness'' (1683), ''

Miscellanies A miscellany is a collection of various pieces of writing by different authors. Meaning a mixture, medley, or assortment, a wikt:miscellany, miscellany can include pieces on many subjects and in a variety of different Literary genre, forms. In c ...

'' (1687), ''Theory and Regulation of Love'' (1688), and a ''Discourse concerning the Immortality of the Soul'' (1708). His most popular work is ''A Collection of Miscellanies, consisting of Poems, Essays, Discourses and Letters'' (1687). His frequently-cited poem ''The Resignation'' was often published during the first half of the eighteenth century.

Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: ''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and ''The History of ...

quoted it to

Andrew Millar Andrew Millar (17058 June 1768) was a British publisher in the eighteenth century. Biography In 1725, as a twenty-year-old bookseller apprentice, he evaded Edinburgh city printing restrictions by going to Leith to print, which was considered b ...

(a prominent London bookseller) on the death of Millar's son, possibly from the then most recent edition, ''A Collection of Miscellanies'' (London: E. Parker, 1740).

References

* Acworth, Richard (1979). ''The philosophy of John Norris of Bemerton: (1657-1712)'' (Studien und Materialien zur Geschichte der Philosophie : Kleine Reihe ; Bd. 6) * Selections from the Worlds Devotional Classics. *

External links

* *Yang, June. "John Norris". ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (Fall 2008 ed.), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2008/entries/john-norris/. {{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, John 1657 births 1712 deaths Cambridge Platonists English male poets