John Langhorne was a British translator, poet and priest. He and his brother, William Langhorne, are best known for their English translation of Plutarch

Plutarch

Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...

's Lives

Parallel Lives

Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century...

.

Biography

The younger son of Joseph (a clergyman) and Isabel, Langhorne was born in Winton

Winton, Cumbria

Winton is a village and civil parish in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. It is south of Brough, and north of Kirkby Stephen, and has a population of 213.- External links :*...

, near Kirkby Stephen

Kirkby Stephen

Kirkby Stephen is a civil parish and small market town in Cumbria, in North West England which historically, is part of Westmorland. The town is located on the A685, surrounded by sparsely populated hill country, and about from the two nearest larger towns, Kendal and Penrith...

, Westmorland

Westmorland

Westmorland is an area of North West England and one of the 39 historic counties of England. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974, after which the entirety of the county was absorbed into the new county of Cumbria.-Early history:...

. According to the parish register, "Joseph LANGHORN & Isabell BLAND of Winton" married "5 Aug 1718" Their church monument states:

1762. To. m. the Reverend Joseph Langhorne of Winton and Isabel his wife.

Her, who to teach this trembling hand to write,

Toil'd the long day, and watch'd the tedious night,

I mourn, tho' number'd with the heavenly host;

With her the means of gratitude are lost.

–John Langhorne."

He was educated first in Winton, and later in Appleby

Appleby

-Europe:* Appleby, North Lincolnshire, a village in England* Appleby Magna, a village and parish in Leicestershire, England** Appleby Parva, a village in the parish of Appleby Magna* Appleby-in-Westmorland, a town in Cumbria, England...

.

Following his 18th birthday, he became tutor to a Ripon

Ripon

Ripon is a cathedral city, market town and successor parish in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, located at the confluence of two streams of the River Ure in the form of the Laver and Skell. The city is noted for its main feature the Ripon Cathedral which is architecturally...

 family, and was later an Usher at the free school in Wakefield

Wakefield

Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....

. In Wakefield he took orders

Holy Orders

The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....

, being ordained Deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

.

He was for two years a curate in London, and from 1766 Rector of Blagdon

Blagdon

Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. According to the 2001 census it has a population of 1,172...

, Somerset, and later Prebendary

Prebendary

A prebendary is a post connected to an Anglican or Catholic cathedral or collegiate church and is a type of canon. Prebendaries have a role in the administration of the cathedral...

 of Wells

Wells Cathedral

Wells Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who lives at the adjacent Bishop's Palace....

.

He is chiefly remembered as the translator, with his brother, Rev. William Langhorne (1721–1772), of Plutarch

Plutarch

Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...

's Lives

Parallel Lives

Plutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century...

, but in his day he had some reputation as a poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

. His chief works in poetry are Studley Park

Studley Royal Park

Studley Royal Park is a park containing, and developed around, the ruins of the Cistercian Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, England. It is a World Heritage Site. The site also contains features dating from the eighteenth century such as Studley Royal Water Garden.-Origins:The Fountains Abbey was...

and Fables of Flora. In his Country Justice

Country Justice

Country Justice is a 1997 made for TV movie.-Plot:Emma is a 15-year-old girl who was raised by her grandfather, Clayton Hayes . She wants to know about her mother Angie Baker , who abandoned her when she was a baby...

(1774–77) he foreshadows George Crabbe

George Crabbe

George Crabbe was an English poet and naturalist.-Biography:He was born in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, the son of a tax collector, and developed his love of poetry as a child. In 1768, he was apprenticed to a local doctor, who taught him little, and in 1771 he changed masters and moved to Woodbridge...

, as in his descriptive poems he foreshadows William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....

.

He was twice married, and both of his wives died in giving birth to a first child. After the death of his first wife, Ann, in 1768, Langhorne went to live with his brother in Folkestone

Folkestone

Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...

 where William was perpetual curate

Perpetual curate

A Perpetual Curate was a clergyman of the Church of England officiating as parish priest in a small or sparsely peopled parish or districtAs noted below the term perpetual was not to be understood literally but was used to indicate he was not a curate but the parish priest and of higher...

 and it was during this time they produced their translation. Langhorne remarried in 1772, and after visiting France and Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

, returned to Blagdon.