Samuel Dyer (translator)
Encyclopedia
Samuel Dyer was an English translator.
. His parents were dissenters
, and he was intended for the ministry. After a school kept by John Ward
near Moorfields
, he was sent to Philip Doddridge
's dissenting academy at Northampton
. He went to the University of Glasgow
, and then the University of Leyden, where he matriculated 16 September 1743 and stayed two years. He returned to England a classical scholar and mathematician, knowing French, Italian, and Hebrew, and a student of philosophy. He refused, however, to become a minister, or to take to any regular work, preferring to spend his time in literary society.
He was an original member of the Ivy Lane Club
formed by Samuel Johnson
in the winter of 1749, which met weekly at the King's Head inn. Through the influence of Samuel Chandler
he obtained the work of translating into Latin a number of tracts left by Daniel Williams
, the founder of the library; but he tired of this task. After a visit to France he resolved to translate François-Vincent Toussaint
's Les Mœurs, but after the first sheets were printed stopped work Dyer's means at this time were very limited, his father having died and left the bulk of his property to his widow and eldest son and daughter. Johnson and Sir John Hawkins
wanted Dyer to write a life of Erasmus, but he revised an old edition of Plutarch
's ‘Lives.’ For this edition (published by Jacob Tonson
in 1758) he translated the lives of Pericles
and Demetrius
, and revised the whole work. He had also acted as tutor in Greek to Richard Gough.
In 1761 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1766 was put on the council. He joined the ‘Literary Club’ on its formation in 1764, where he was influential. Through this club Dyer first formed the acquaintance of Edmund Burke
, to whom he later became close. Chamier, another member, obtained for Dyer an appointment in connection with the war office.
By the death of his mother and brother Dyer came into possession of £8,000, which he invested in East India Company
stock, wishing to become a director. Failing in this, he speculated disastrously, at the suggestion of Johnson, in annuities on the estate of Ralph Verney, 2nd Earl Verney
. Immediately after his loss he was seized with an attack of quinsy, from which he died 15 September 1772. It was hinted that he had committed suicide. The money he left was insufficient to pay for his funeral.
Sir Joshua Reynolds and Malone both believed that Dyer was the author of Junius's Letters
. The evidence was weak and circumstantial kind: immediately after Dyer's death, Reynolds, who was one of his executors, entered his rooms in Castle Street, Leicester Square, and found William Burke
destroying a large quantity of manuscript. On Reynolds asking for an explanation, Burke answered that the papers were of great importance to himself, and of none to anybody else.
Life
Dyer was the son of a jeweller in the City of LondonCity of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
. His parents were dissenters
English Dissenters
English Dissenters were Christians who separated from the Church of England in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.They originally agitated for a wide reaching Protestant Reformation of the Established Church, and triumphed briefly under Oliver Cromwell....
, and he was intended for the ministry. After a school kept by John Ward
John Ward (academic)
John Ward was an English teacher, supporter of learned societies, and biographer, remembered for his work on the Gresham College professors, of which he was one.-Life:...
near Moorfields
Moorfields
In London, the Moorfields were one of the last pieces of open land in the City of London, near the Moorgate. The fields were divided into three areas, the Moorfields proper, just north of Bethlem Hospital, and inside the City boundaries, and Middle and Upper Moorfields to the north.After the Great...
, he was sent to Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge
Philip Doddridge DD was an English Nonconformist leader, educator, and hymnwriter.-Early life:...
's dissenting academy at Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
. He went to the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
, and then the University of Leyden, where he matriculated 16 September 1743 and stayed two years. He returned to England a classical scholar and mathematician, knowing French, Italian, and Hebrew, and a student of philosophy. He refused, however, to become a minister, or to take to any regular work, preferring to spend his time in literary society.
He was an original member of the Ivy Lane Club
Ivy Lane Club
The Ivy Lane Club was a literary and social club founded by Samuel Johnson in the 1740s. The club met in the King's Head, a beefsteak house in Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row, near St Paul's Cathedral, London....
formed by Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson
Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
in the winter of 1749, which met weekly at the King's Head inn. Through the influence of Samuel Chandler
Samuel Chandler
Samuel Chandler was an English Nonconformist minister.-Life:He was born at Hungerford in Berkshire, where his father was a minister. He was sent to school at Gloucester, where he began a lifelong friendship with Bishop Butler and Archbishop Secker; and he afterwards studied at Leiden...
he obtained the work of translating into Latin a number of tracts left by Daniel Williams
Daniel Williams (theologian)
The Revd. Dr. Daniel Williams was a Welsh Presbyterian benefactor, minister and theologian.-Early ministry:Williams was born in Wrexham, Denbighshire, and was a cousin of Stephen Davies, minister at Banbury...
, the founder of the library; but he tired of this task. After a visit to France he resolved to translate François-Vincent Toussaint
François-Vincent Toussaint
François-Vincent Toussaint was a French writer most famous for Les Mœurs . The book was published in 1748 and was soon prosecuted and burned by the French court of justice....
's Les Mœurs, but after the first sheets were printed stopped work Dyer's means at this time were very limited, his father having died and left the bulk of his property to his widow and eldest son and daughter. Johnson and Sir John Hawkins
John Hawkins (author)
Sir John Hawkins was an English author and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson and Horace Walpole. He was part of Johnson's various clubs but later left The Literary Club after a disagreement with some of Johnson's other friends. His friendship with Johnson continued and he was made one of the executors...
wanted Dyer to write a life of Erasmus, but he revised an old edition 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.’ For this edition (published by Jacob Tonson
Jacob Tonson
Jacob Tonson, sometimes referred to as Jacob Tonson the elder was an 18th-century English bookseller and publisher....
in 1758) he translated the lives of Pericles
Pericles
Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
and Demetrius
Demetrius
Demetrius, also spelled as Demetrios, Dimitrios, Demitri, and Dimitri , is a male given name.Demetrius and its variations may refer to the following:...
, and revised the whole work. He had also acted as tutor in Greek to Richard Gough.
In 1761 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1766 was put on the council. He joined the ‘Literary Club’ on its formation in 1764, where he was influential. Through this club Dyer first formed the acquaintance of Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
, to whom he later became close. Chamier, another member, obtained for Dyer an appointment in connection with the war office.
By the death of his mother and brother Dyer came into possession of £8,000, which he invested in East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
stock, wishing to become a director. Failing in this, he speculated disastrously, at the suggestion of Johnson, in annuities on the estate of Ralph Verney, 2nd Earl Verney
Ralph Verney, 2nd Earl Verney
Ralph Verney, 2nd Earl Verney PC, FRS , styled Viscount Fermanagh between 1743 and 1752, was a British politician.-Background:...
. Immediately after his loss he was seized with an attack of quinsy, from which he died 15 September 1772. It was hinted that he had committed suicide. The money he left was insufficient to pay for his funeral.
Reputation
According to Sir John Hawkins, Dyer wilfully neglected the opportunities of his life, and was by his own choice and determination a sensualist of the worst type. Edmund Malone, though, declared that Hawkins's character of Dyer was ‘greatly overcharged and discoloured by the malignant prejudices of that shallow writer who, having quarrelled with Burke, carried his enmity even to Burke's friends’. Thomas Percy agreed that it was a misrepresentation. Burke wrote the following notice of Dyer in one of the London papers:‘He was a man of profound and general erudition, and his sagacity and judgment were fully equal to the extent of his learning. His mind was candid, sincere, and benevolent, his friendship disinterested and unalterable. The modest simplicity and sweetness of his manners rendered his conversation as amiable as it was instructive, and endeared him to those few who had the happiness of knowing intimately that valuable and unostentatious man.’
Sir Joshua Reynolds and Malone both believed that Dyer was the author of Junius's Letters
Identity of Junius
Junius was the pseudonym of a writer who contributed a series of political letters to the Public Advertiser, from 21 January 1769 to 21 January 1772 as well as several other London newspapers such as the London Evening Post....
. The evidence was weak and circumstantial kind: immediately after Dyer's death, Reynolds, who was one of his executors, entered his rooms in Castle Street, Leicester Square, and found William Burke
William Burke (author)
William Burke was an English pamphleteer, official, and politician. He was one of the supposed authors of Junius's Letters.-Life:...
destroying a large quantity of manuscript. On Reynolds asking for an explanation, Burke answered that the papers were of great importance to himself, and of none to anybody else.