Jonas Proast
Encyclopedia
Jonas Proast was an English High Church
Anglican clergyman and academic. He was an opponent of latitudinarianism, associated with Henry Dodwell
, George Hickes
, Thomas Hearne
and Jonathan Edwards. He is now known for his controversy with John Locke
, over Locke's Letter concerning Toleration.
. After an Oxford
education he was ordained in 1669, and became chaplain of All Souls College, Oxford
in 1677.
He left his Oxford chaplaincies at Queen's College and All Souls as the result of an extended controversy with Leopold William Finch, the Warden of All Souls. Finch wrote an account of the quarrel in The case of Mr. Jonas Proast (1693). According to Anthony à Wood Proast was first expelled by Finch for "not giving his vote for the warden when he stood to be History Professor and for being medling and troublesome in the
house." This was on the occasion in 1688 of the election, won by Henry Dodwell, for Camden Professor of History. Proast returned, though only in 1692, by the intervention of the Visitor, William Sancroft
.
He became Archdeacon of Berkshire in 1698.
Proast reacted to the appearance of the English
translation
, by William Popple
, of the Epistola de Tolerantia (Locke's Letter concerning Translation first appeared in this anonymous Latin version). In the anonymous reply, The argument of the Letter concerning toleration, briefly consider’d and answer’d (1690) he advocated for the possible moderate use of force in matters of religion. He argued that the magistrate had power to restrain false religion.
Proast's main point was that coercion
may not lead directly to changed understanding of religion; but indirectly certain uses of force may actually inculcate beliefs or make the mind receptive to them. This argument aimed at undermining the premise of Locke's main argument on the ineffectiveness of intolerant behaviour and penal laws.
Locke reacted with A Second Letter concerning Toleration later in 1690, though under a pseudonym Philanthropus. Proast followed up with a reply in February 1691. After a pause Locke produced a Third Letter later in 1692. It was eight years before Proast replied with Three Letters of Toleration (1704). In that year Locke died, and his Fourth Letter was a posthumous work.
As a consequence of the exchanges with Proast, Locke had to sharpen his arguments, and moved further onto the ground of religious skepticism.
High church
The term "High Church" refers to beliefs and practices of ecclesiology, liturgy and theology, generally with an emphasis on formality, and resistance to "modernization." Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term has traditionally been principally associated with the...
Anglican clergyman and academic. He was an opponent of latitudinarianism, associated with Henry Dodwell
Henry Dodwell
Henry Dodwell was an Anglo-Irish scholar, theologian and controversial writer.-Life:He was born in Dublin, Ireland. His father, William Dodwell, lost his property in Connacht during the Irish rebellion and settled at York in 1648...
, George Hickes
George Hickes
George Hickes was an English divine and scholar.-Biography:Hickes was born at Newsham, near Thirsk, Yorkshire, in 1642...
, Thomas Hearne
Thomas Hearne
Thomas Hearne or Hearn , English antiquary, was born at Littlefield Green in the parish of White Waltham, Berkshire.-Life:...
and Jonathan Edwards. He is now known for his controversy with John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
, over Locke's Letter concerning Toleration.
Life
He was born in ColchesterColchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
. After an Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
education he was ordained in 1669, and became chaplain of All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
in 1677.
He left his Oxford chaplaincies at Queen's College and All Souls as the result of an extended controversy with Leopold William Finch, the Warden of All Souls. Finch wrote an account of the quarrel in The case of Mr. Jonas Proast (1693). According to Anthony à Wood Proast was first expelled by Finch for "not giving his vote for the warden when he stood to be History Professor and for being medling and troublesome in the
house." This was on the occasion in 1688 of the election, won by Henry Dodwell, for Camden Professor of History. Proast returned, though only in 1692, by the intervention of the Visitor, William Sancroft
William Sancroft
William Sancroft was the 79th Archbishop of Canterbury.- Life :Sancroft was born at Ufford Hall in Fressingfield, Suffolk, son of Francis Sandcroft and Margaret Sandcroft née Butcher...
.
He became Archdeacon of Berkshire in 1698.
Proast reacted to the appearance of the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, by William Popple
William Popple (Unitarian)
William Popple was an English Unitarian merchant, the translator of John Locke's A Letter Concerning Toleration.-Life:He was son of Edmund Popple, sheriff of Hull in 1638, who married Catherine, daughter of the Rev...
, of the Epistola de Tolerantia (Locke's Letter concerning Translation first appeared in this anonymous Latin version). In the anonymous reply, The argument of the Letter concerning toleration, briefly consider’d and answer’d (1690) he advocated for the possible moderate use of force in matters of religion. He argued that the magistrate had power to restrain false religion.
Proast's main point was that coercion
Coercion
Coercion is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner by use of threats or intimidation or some other form of pressure or force. In law, coercion is codified as the duress crime. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in the desired way...
may not lead directly to changed understanding of religion; but indirectly certain uses of force may actually inculcate beliefs or make the mind receptive to them. This argument aimed at undermining the premise of Locke's main argument on the ineffectiveness of intolerant behaviour and penal laws.
Locke reacted with A Second Letter concerning Toleration later in 1690, though under a pseudonym Philanthropus. Proast followed up with a reply in February 1691. After a pause Locke produced a Third Letter later in 1692. It was eight years before Proast replied with Three Letters of Toleration (1704). In that year Locke died, and his Fourth Letter was a posthumous work.
As a consequence of the exchanges with Proast, Locke had to sharpen his arguments, and moved further onto the ground of religious skepticism.
Further reading
- Mark Goldie (1993), John Locke, Jonas Proast and religious toleration, 1688-1692
- Richard Vernon (1997), The Career of Toleration: John Locke, Jonas Proast, and After