Sir William Soame, 1st Baronet (also Soames) (c.1645–1686) was an English translator and diplomat.
Life
The Soame family was based in East Anglia, and in the commercial world of London, where
Stephen Soame
Sir Stephen Soame (c. 1540 – 23 May 1619) was an English merchant, landowner and politics, politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons in 1601. He served as Lord Mayor of London for the year 1598 to 1599.A.M. ...
had been Lord Mayor. Soame was his great-grandson, second son of Stephen Soame of
Little Thurlow;
his mother was Mary Dynham, daughter of Sir John Dynham of Borstall, who had previously been married to Lawrence Banastre. He was admitted a fellow commoner of
St John's College, Cambridge in 1660.
Soame was
High Sheriff of Suffolk
This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk.
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...
in 1672–3. The office brought him into conflict with
Sir Samuel Barnardiston, 1st Baronet over the handling of the by-election for caused by the suicide of
Sir Henry North, 1st Baronet. Sir Samuel was a relation, being a grandson of Stephen Soame. He was also an opponent of the court, and Soame sent in a double electoral return when Sir Samuel stood as candidate, against
Lionel Tollemache (courtesy title Lord Huntingtower), one return discounting many of his supporters. The matter was pursued vigorously through the courts, as a vendetta, by Sir Samuel Barnardiston, even after Soame's death against his widow. Soame was knighted in 1674.
Soame was an envoy to the
Kingdom of Savoy, around 1680. He was created a baronet by Charles II in 1685. A
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
, he was allowed to retain his membership in that year, despite being in arrears with his subscription.
Made Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Soame died on
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
in June 1686, having called at
Algiers and
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
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, utc_offset1 ...
to renew treaty agreements.
His appointment had been political, going back to the
Oxford Parliament of 1681.
James Brydges had been the choice of the
Levant Company, but Charles II took against his political sympathies, and imposed Soame by prerogative in 1684.
[
]
Works
Soame made a translation, ''The Art of Poetry'', of Nicolas Boileau
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
's ''L'Art poétique''. According to Jacob Tonson, it dated from 1680. It was later revised by John Dryden
''
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the per ...
, and published in 1683. The Dryden revisions included substitutions, for example Thomas Duffett for Charles Coypeau d'Assoucy in speaking about burlesque, and Samuel Butler for Clément Marot; Ben Jonson
Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
replaces Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...
. A derived work was published by John Ozell
John Ozell (died 15 October 1743) was an English translator and accountant who became an adversary to Jonathan Swift and Alexander Pope.
He moved to London from the country at around the age of twenty and entered an accounting firm, where he was s ...
in 1712. Another version from Charles Gildon
Charles Gildon (c. 1665 – 1 January 1724), was an English hack writer who was, by turns, a translator, biographer, essayist, playwright, poet, author of fictional letters, fabulist, short story author, and critic. He provided the source for m ...
's ''The Complete Art of Poetry'' (1718) changed Thomas Randolph to Thomas D'Urfey
Thomas d'Urfey (a.k.a. Tom Durfey; 165326 February 1723) was an English writer and wit. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera.
Life
D'Urfey was born in Devonsh ...
to remain topical.
Family
Soame married Lady Beata Pope, daughter of Thomas Pope, 3rd Earl of Downe
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
(connecting Soame with Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford
Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford, PC, KC(22 October 1637 – 5 September 1685) was the third son of Dudley North, 4th Baron North, and his wife Anne Montagu, daughter of Sir Charles Montagu of Boughton House and Mary Whitmore. He was created ...
who married another daughter); and then Mary Howe, daughter of Sir Gabriel Howe. He died without issue.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soame, William
Year of birth missing
1686 deaths
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
English translators
English diplomats
Fellows of the Royal Society
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge