John Weiss
Encyclopedia
John Weiss was an American
author and clergyman, as well as a noted abolitionist.
Weiss was born in Boston. His father, a German Jew, was a barber in Worcester
. He graduated at Harvard
in 1837 and at the Harvard Divinity School
in 1843, studying abroad in between. He then preached at Watertown
, but withdrew on account of his anti-slavery opinions. He was pastor at New Bedford, Massachusetts
for a short time, resigning on account of the failure of his health. After several years of study and travel he resumed his pastorate in the Unitarian
church at Watertown
in 1859, remaining there until 1870. On the issue of slavery
, the Reverend
John Weiss was an outspoken abolitionist
. He was an advocate of woman's rights, a rationalist in religion, and a disciple of the transcendental philosophy. He delivered courses of lectures on “Greek Religious Ideas.” “Humor in Shakespeare,” and “Shakespeare's Women.” Of his lectures on Greek religious ideas, Octavius B. Frothingham said: “ They were the keenest interpretation of the ancient myths, the most profound, luminous, and sympathetic, I have met with.”
He edited and translated:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author and clergyman, as well as a noted abolitionist.
Weiss was born in Boston. His father, a German Jew, was a barber in Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
. He graduated at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1837 and at the Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
in 1843, studying abroad in between. He then preached at Watertown
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
, but withdrew on account of his anti-slavery opinions. He was pastor at New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford, Massachusetts
New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...
for a short time, resigning on account of the failure of his health. After several years of study and travel he resumed his pastorate in the 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....
church at Watertown
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
in 1859, remaining there until 1870. On the issue of slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, the Reverend
The Reverend
The Reverend is a style most often used as a prefix to the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style but is often and in some dictionaries called a...
John Weiss was an outspoken abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
. He was an advocate of woman's rights, a rationalist in religion, and a disciple of the transcendental philosophy. He delivered courses of lectures on “Greek Religious Ideas.” “Humor in Shakespeare,” and “Shakespeare's Women.” Of his lectures on Greek religious ideas, Octavius B. Frothingham said: “ They were the keenest interpretation of the ancient myths, the most profound, luminous, and sympathetic, I have met with.”
Works
He is the author of many reviews, sermons, and magazine articles on literary, biographical, social, and political questions. He also wrote:- Life and Correspondence of Theodore ParkerTheodore ParkerTheodore Parker was an American Transcendentalist and reforming minister of the Unitarian church...
(2 vols., New York, 1864) - American Religion (1871)
He edited and translated:
- Friedrich von Hardenberg, Henry of Ofterdingen (a romance, Boston, 1842)
- Friedrich SchillerFriedrich SchillerJohann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, Philosophical and Æsthetic Letters and Essays (with an introduction, 1845) - William Smith, Memoir of Johann G. Fichte (1846)