Gilbert Wakefield
Encyclopedia
Gilbert Wakefield was an English scholar and controversialist.
Gilbert Wakefield was the third son of the Rev. George Wakefield, then rector
of St Nicholas' Church, Nottingham but afterwards at Kingston-upon-Thames. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge
, where he graduated B.A. as second wrangler in 1776. Wakefield took orders, but left the ministry and the Church of England
to become a Unitarian
. He earned his living as a classical tutor in various Dissenting academies
, including the famous one at Warrington
.
Wakefield was a controversial writer, and both he and his publisher, Joseph Johnson
, went to prison for his writing. Wakefield was a strong defender of the French Revolution
and partook in the Revolution Controversy
; he wrote a seditious pamphlet
, and was imprisoned in Dorchester gaol for two years for it.
Wakefield wrote A Reply to Some Parts of the Bishop Llandaff's Address to the People of Great Britain, a Unitarian
work attacking the privileged position of the wealthy. This was in response to An Address to the People of Great Britain (1798), by Richard Watson
, Bishop of Llandaff
, which argues that national taxes should be raised to pay for the war against France and to reduce the national debt. Johnson and others were put on trial for sedition for selling Wakefield's Reply. Johnson was fined £50 and sentenced to six months imprisonment at King's Bench Prison
in February 1799, after which he published very few political works and no controversial ones.
Towards the end of 1791 appeared Wakefield's Translation of the New Testament, with Notes, in three volumes octavos. In his memoirs Wakefield records that the work was laborious particularly in the comparison of the Oriental versions
with the received text
, but was well received and "much more profitable to me than all my other publications put together". A revised edition followed in 1795.
Wakefield also published editions of various classical writers, and among his theological writings are Early Christian Writers on the Person of Christ (1784), Silva Critica (1789–95), illustrations of the Scriptures, and An Examination of Paine's Age of Reason
in (1794).
Also
Gilbert Wakefield was the third son of the Rev. George Wakefield, then rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of St Nicholas' Church, Nottingham but afterwards at Kingston-upon-Thames. He was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
, where he graduated B.A. as second wrangler in 1776. Wakefield took orders, but left the ministry and the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
to become a Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
. He earned his living as a classical tutor in various Dissenting academies
Dissenting academies
The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and nonconformist seminaries run by dissenters. They formed a significant part of England’s educational systems from the mid-seventeenth to nineteenth centuries....
, including the famous one at Warrington
Warrington Academy
Warrington Academy, active as a teaching establishment from 1756 to 1782, was a prominent dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by those who dissented from the state church in England...
.
Wakefield was a controversial writer, and both he and his publisher, Joseph Johnson
Joseph Johnson (publisher)
Joseph Johnson was an influential 18th-century London bookseller and publisher. His publications covered a wide variety of genres and a broad spectrum of opinions on important issues...
, went to prison for his writing. Wakefield was a strong defender of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and partook in the Revolution Controversy
Revolution Controversy
The Revolution Controversy was a British debate over the French Revolution, lasting from 1789 through 1795. A pamphlet war began in earnest after the publication of Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France , which surprisingly supported the French aristocracy...
; he wrote a seditious pamphlet
Pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound booklet . It may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths , or it may consist of a few pages that are folded in half and saddle stapled at the crease to make a simple book...
, and was imprisoned in Dorchester gaol for two years for it.
Wakefield wrote A Reply to Some Parts of the Bishop Llandaff's Address to the People of Great Britain, a Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
work attacking the privileged position of the wealthy. This was in response to An Address to the People of Great Britain (1798), by Richard Watson
Richard Watson (bishop)
Rt Rev Richard Watson was an Anglican clergyman and academic, who served as the Bishop of Llandaff from 1782 to 1816. He wrote some notable political pamphlets....
, Bishop of Llandaff
Bishop of Llandaff
The Bishop of Llandaff is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff.-Area of authority:The diocese covers most of the County of Glamorgan. The Bishop's seat is located in the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul , in the village of Llandaff, just north-west of the City of...
, which argues that national taxes should be raised to pay for the war against France and to reduce the national debt. Johnson and others were put on trial for sedition for selling Wakefield's Reply. Johnson was fined £50 and sentenced to six months imprisonment at King's Bench Prison
King's Bench Prison
The King's Bench Prison was a prison in Southwark, south London, from medieval times until it closed in 1880. It took its name from the King's Bench court of law in which cases of defamation, bankruptcy and other misdemeanours were heard; as such, the prison was often used as a debtor's prison...
in February 1799, after which he published very few political works and no controversial ones.
Towards the end of 1791 appeared Wakefield's Translation of the New Testament, with Notes, in three volumes octavos. In his memoirs Wakefield records that the work was laborious particularly in the comparison of the Oriental versions
Alexandrian text-type
The Alexandrian text-type , associated with Alexandria, is one of several text-types used in New Testament textual criticism to describe and group the textual character of biblical manuscripts...
with the received text
Textus Receptus
Textus Receptus is the name subsequently given to the succession of printed Greek texts of the New Testament which constituted the translation base for the original German Luther Bible, the translation of the New Testament into English by William Tyndale, the King James Version, and for most other...
, but was well received and "much more profitable to me than all my other publications put together". A revised edition followed in 1795.
Wakefield also published editions of various classical writers, and among his theological writings are Early Christian Writers on the Person of Christ (1784), Silva Critica (1789–95), illustrations of the Scriptures, and An Examination of Paine's Age of Reason
The Age of Reason
The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a deistic pamphlet, written by eighteenth-century British radical and American revolutionary Thomas Paine, that criticizes institutionalized religion and challenges the legitimacy of the Bible, the central sacred text of...
in (1794).
Selected writings
- "Wakefield's New Testament" - A new translation of those parts only of the New Testament, which are wrongly translated in our common version 1789
- Autobiography Memoirs of the life of Gilbert Wakefield 1792 - 405 pages
Also
- Correspondence, ed. Charles James Fox Correspondence of the late Gilbert Wakefield, B. A. 1813
- A Catalogue of the library of the late Rev. Gilbert Wakefield - 1802 - 57 pages