Abel Evans was an English clergyman, academic, and poet, a self-conscious follower of John Milton

John Milton

John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...

.

Life

He was son of Abel Evans of London, born in February 1679. He entered Merchant Taylors' School

Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood

Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....

 in 1685. He was elected probationary fellow of St. John's College, Oxford (1692), proceeded regularly to the degrees of B.A. (1696), M.A. (1699), B.D. (1705), D.D. (1711).

He entered holy orders in 1700, and held successively the incumbencies of Kirtlington

Kirtlington

Kirtlington is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about west of Bicester.-Archaeology:The Portway is a pre-Roman road running parallel with the River Cherwell on high ground about east of the river. It bisects Kirtlington parish and passes through the village. A short stretch of it is now...

, St. Giles, Oxford, and Great Stoughton, Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire is a local government district of Cambridgeshire, covering the area around Huntingdon. Traditionally it is a county in its own right...

. For a short, time also he was chaplain to his college. He was removed, according to Thomas Hearne

Thomas Hearne

Thomas Hearne or Hearn , English antiquary, was born at Littlefield Green in the parish of White Waltham, Berkshire.-Life:...

, because, in a speech made publicly in the hall of St. John's, he reflected upon William Delaune

William Delaune

William Delaune D.D. was an English clergyman and academic, President of St John's College, Oxford, and chaplain to Queen Anne.-Life:...

, the President, and most of the Fellows. The Duchess of Marlborough

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough

Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...

 supported him, and he was reinstated in his office.

Evans was presented by his college in 1725 to the rectory of Cheam

Cheam

Cheam is a large suburban village close to Sutton in the London Borough of Sutton, England, and is located close to the southern boundary between Greater London and Surrey. It is divided into two main areas: North Cheam and Cheam Village. North Cheam includes more retail shops and supermarkets,...

, Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, and died there 18 October 1737.

Works

Turning on former friends, he published (1710) a poem entitled The Apparition; a dialogue betwixt the Devil and a Doctor concerning the rights of the Christian Church, in which Matthew Tindal

Matthew Tindal

Matthew Tindal was an eminent English deist author. His works, highly influential at the dawn of the Enlightenment, caused great controversy and challenged the Christian consensus of his time.-Life:...

 and White Kennett

White Kennett

White Kennett was an English bishop and antiquarian.-Life:He was born at Dover. He was educated at Westminster School and at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where, while an undergraduate, he published several translations of Latin works, including Erasmus' In Praise of Folly.Kennett was vicar of...

 were roughly handled. In 1713 Evans published a poetical epistle to Jacob Bobart the younger

Jacob Bobart the Younger

Jacob Bobart , the younger, was an English botanist.Bobart was the younger son of Jacob Bobart. He was born at Oxford 2 August 1641, succeeded his father as superintendent of the Physic Garden, and on the death of Dr. Morison in 1683 lectured as botanical professor...

, entitled Vertumnus. Præ-existence (1714) was in Milton's style.