Thomas Burnet
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Thomas Burnet (c. 1635? – 27 September 1715) was an English theologian and writer on
cosmogony Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe. Overview Scientific theories In astronomy, cosmogony refers to the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used i ...
.


Life

He was born at
Croft Croft may refer to: Occupations * Croft (land), a small area of land, often with a crofter's dwelling * Crofting, small-scale food production * Bleachfield, an open space used for the bleaching of fabric, also called a croft Locations In the Uni ...
near
Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. The River Skerne flows through the town; it is a tributary of the River Tees. The Tees itself flows south of the town. In the 19th century, Darlington underwen ...
in 1635. After studying at Northallerton Grammar School under Thomas Smelt, he went to Clare College, Cambridge in 1651. There he was a pupil of John Tillotson. Ralph Cudworth, the Master of Clare, moved to
Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...
in 1654, and Burnet followed him. He became fellow of Christ's in 1657, M.A. in 1658, and was proctor in 1667.''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', Burnet, Thomas (1635?–1715), master of the Charterhouse, by Leslie Stephen. Published 1886.
Burnet took employment travelling with Lord Wiltshire, son of Charles Paulet, 6th Marquess of Winchester, and through Tillotson as tutor to Lord Ossory, grandson of
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde Lieutenant-General James FitzThomas Butler, 1st Duke of Ormond, KG, PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688), was a statesman and soldier, known as Earl of Ormond from 1634 to 1642 and Marquess of Ormond from 1642 to 1661. Following the failur ...
. The influence of the Duke of Ormonde, one of the governors, secured his appointment in 1685 to the mastership of Charterhouse . Burnet took part in the resistance offered to James II's attempt to make Andrew Popham a pensioner of the Charterhouse. At two meetings held by the governors 17 January and Midsummer day 1687, the king's letters of dispensation were produced, but, in spite of the efforts of George Jeffreys, a governor, the majority refused compliance. After the
Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
Burnet became
chaplain in ordinary ''In ordinary'' is an English phrase with multiple meanings. In relation to the Royal Household, it indicates that a position is a permanent one. In naval matters, vessels "in ordinary" (from the 17th century) are those out of service for repair o ...
and Clerk of the Closet to
William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...
(until 1695). He received no clerical preferment and lived quietly in the Charterhouse, where he died on 27 September 1715, and was buried in the chapel.


Works


''Sacred Theory of the Earth''

Burnet's best known work is his ''
Telluris Theoria Sacra, or Sacred Theory of the Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surface ...
''. The first part was published in 1681 in Latin, and in 1684 in English translation; the second part appeared in 1689 (1690 in English). It was a speculative
cosmogony Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of the cosmos or the universe. Overview Scientific theories In astronomy, cosmogony refers to the study of the origin of particular astrophysical objects or systems, and is most commonly used i ...
, in which Burnet suggested a hollow earth with most of the water inside until Noah's Flood, at which time mountains and oceans appeared. He calculated the amount of water on Earth's surface, stating there was not enough to account for the Flood. Burnet was to some extent influenced by Descartes who had written on the
creation of the earth A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Creation myths develop ...
in '' Principia philosophiae'' (1644), and was criticised on those grounds by Roger North. The heterodox views of
Isaac La Peyrère Isaac La Peyrère (1596–1676), also known as Isaac de La Peyrère or Pererius, was a French-born theologian, writer, and lawyer. La Peyrère is best known as a 17th-century predecessor of the scientific racism, scientific racialist theory of polyg ...
included the idea that the Flood was not universal; Burnet's theory was at least in part intended to answer him on that point. Burnet's system had its novel features, as well as those such as the
four classical elements Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simil ...
that were very traditional: an initially
ovoid An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...
Earth, a Paradise before the Flood that was always in the spring season, and rivers flowing from the poles to the Equator. Herbert Croft published criticism of the book in 1685, in particular accusing Burnet of following the
Second Epistle of Peter The Second Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament of the Bible. The text identifies the author as "Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to Peter the Apostle, but most criti ...
rather than the Book of Genesis. During the 1690s John Beaumont and Johann Caspar Eisenschmidt picked up on Burnet's ideas. They engendered a great deal of controversy at the time, and Burnet defended himself against selected critics, John Keill and
Erasmus Warren Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
. Isaac Newton was an admirer of Burnet's theological approach to geological processes. Newton even wrote to Burnet, suggesting the possibility that when God created the Earth, the days were longer.Isaac Newton, letter to Thomas Burnet, 24 December 1680, in Sir David Brewster, Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Discoveries of Sir Isaac Newton, 2 vols. (Edinburgh: Thomas Constable, 1855), 2:453-54 However, Burnet did not find this explanation scientific enough. Lengthening the days would require an intervention on God's part. Burnet tightly held the belief that God created the world and all its processes perfectly from the start. He wrote:
We think him a better Artist that makes a Clock that strikes regularly at every hour from the Springs and Wheels which he puts into the work, than he that hath so made his Clock that he must put his finger to it every hour to make it strike. File:Burnet-1.jpg, alt=, 1719 copy of ''"The Sacred Theory of the Earth"'' File:Burnet-3.jpg, alt=, Title page of a 1719 copy of ''"The Sacred Theory of the Earth"'' File:Burnet-4.jpg, alt=, First page of a 1719 copy of ''"The Sacred Theory of the Earth"''


''The Ancient Doctrine Concerning the Origin of Things''

Some of the views expressed in this work, also known as ''Archaeologiae Philosophicae sive Doctrina Antiqua de Rerum Originibus'' (1692), were so unacceptable to contemporary theologians that he had to resign his post at Court. In this he considered whether the fall of man was a symbolic event rather than literal history.


''On the State of the Dead and of the Resurrection''

Burnet's treatise ''De Statu Mortuorum et Resurgentium'' was published posthumously in 1720. In Edward Gibbon's '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' III p. 99 Gibbon made reference to Burnet's ''De Statu Mortuorum et Resurgentium'' noting that Burnet "exposes the inconveniences which must arise", if souls "possess a more active and sensible existence".
Thomas Newton Thomas Newton (1 January 1704 – 14 February 1782) was an English cleric, biblical scholar and author. He served as the Bishop of Bristol from 1761 to 1782. Biography Newton was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge and was subsequently elect ...
, Bishop of Bristol and Dean of St. Paul's, criticised Gibbon and claimed that Burnet's views were exactly the opposite.''The gentleman's magazine, and historical chronicle'', 87 "The following remarks were written by Bp. Newton at the age of 78 : "Some books were published in 1781, which employed some of the Bishop's leisure hours in his rural retreat and during his illness. Mr. Gibbon's History of the Decline and fall ... Mr. Gibbon has the following note: "Burnet De statu mortuorum (56–84) collects the opinions of the fathers, as far as they assert the sleep or repose of human souls till the day of judgment. He afterward exposes (pp. 91, &c.) the inconveniences which must arise, if they possessed a more1 active and sensible existence. Who would not from hence infer that Dr. B. was an advocate for the sleep or and insensible existence of the soul after death? Whereas his doctrine is directly the contrary. He has employed some chapters in treating of the state of human souls in the interval between death and the resurrection; and after various proofs from reason, from scripture, and the Fathers, his conclusions are, that human souls exist after their separation from the body, that they are in a good or evil state according to their good or ill behaviour, but that neither their happiness nor their misery will be complete and perfect before the day of judgment."


Influence

Burnet's work had an influence on Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He is quoted at the beginning of the 1817 edition of his '' The Rime of the Ancient Mariner''. The ridge
Dorsa Burnet Dorsa Burnet are wrinkle ridges at in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon. They are about 194 km long and were named after Thomas Burnet by the IAU in 1976.Ocean of Storms Oceanus Procellarum ( la, Ōceanus procellārum, lit=Ocean of Storms) is a vast lunar mare on the western edge of the near side of the Moon. It is the only one of the lunar maria to be called an "Oceanus" (ocean), due to its size: Oceanus Proc ...
on the Moon was named after him.


See also

* ''
Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle ''Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle: Myth and Metaphor in the Discovery of Geological Time'' is a 1987 history of geology by the paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould, in which the author offers a historical account of the conceptualization of Deep Time an ...
'', a book by
Stephen Jay Gould Stephen Jay Gould (; September 10, 1941 – May 20, 2002) was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was one of the most influential and widely read authors of popular science of his generation. Gould sp ...
that reassesses Burnet's work


Notes and references

Attribution: * *


External links


''Telluris Theoria Sacra''
(Latin, 1681) - digital facsimile from the Linda Hall Library
''Theory of the Earth, vols. 1 and 2''
(English, 1684–1690) - digital facsimile from the Linda Hall Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnet, Thomas 1630s births 1715 deaths Clergy from Yorkshire People from Northallerton 17th-century English theologians Clerks of the Closet