Tom Brown (satirist)
Encyclopedia
Tom Brown was an English
translator and writer of satire
, largely forgotten today save for a four-line gibe he wrote concerning Dr John Fell
.
Brown was born at either Shifnal
or Newport in Shropshire
; baptismal records indicate he was christened on 1 January 1663. He took advantage of the free schooling offered in the county during his day by attending Adams' Grammar School
, afterward continuing his education at Christ Church, Oxford
and there meeting the college's dean, Dr Fell.
Fell was well-known as a disciplinarian, and Brown throughout his life displayed a disdain for restrictions. The legend behind Brown's most recognised work is therefore plausible: it states that Brown got into trouble while at Oxford, and was threatened with expulsion, but that Dr Fell offered to spare Brown if he could translate an epigram from Martial
(I, 32, 1):
According to the story, Brown replied without missing a beat:
Fell is said to have stayed Brown's dismissal from the college in admiration of this translation. However the story is of apocryphal provenance, and it is known that Brown left Christ Church without a degree, moving to Kingston upon Thames
where he stayed three years as a schoolmaster, and later to London
where he took up residence on Aldersgate Street
in the Grub Street
district.
Brown made a modest living from his writing in Latin, French and English, in addition to offering services of translation. He refrained however from ever attaching himself to a patron, and expressed contempt toward those who did so. He pursued a libertine lifestyle, and his satirical works gained him several enemies in their subjects.
His best-known works, apart from the quatrain, are probably Amusements Serious and Comical, calculated for the Meridian of London (1700) and Letters from the Dead to the Living (1702), although his writings were quite prolific. Several works of the period whose author is unknown are suspected to be his.
Toward the end of his life he began to regret the licentiousness with which he had lived it, and on his deathbed he secured from his publisher (one Sam Briscoe) a promise that any posthumously published works would be censored of "all prophane, undecent passages". The promise was promptly reneged upon.
Many of Brown's works went unpublished until his death, and the publication date of many is in question, as is his stature as a writer. Contemporary opinion was mixed; Jonathan Swift
spoke quite highly of Brown's work, and indeed parts of Gulliver's Travels
and other of Swift's works may have been significantly influenced by Brown's writings. On the other hand, those whom Brown mercilessly lampooned during his lifetime understandably did nothing to further his good reputation after his demise.
The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica gives this verdict: "He was the author of a great variety of poems, letters, dialogues and lampoons, full of humour and erudition, but coarse and scurrilous. His writings have a certain value for the knowledge they display of low life in London." Presently the best description of Brown's legacy may be that of Joseph Addison
, who accorded him the appellation "T-m Br-wn of facetious Memory".
Brown was buried in the grounds of Westminster Abbey
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
translator and writer of satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, largely forgotten today save for a four-line gibe he wrote concerning Dr John Fell
John Fell (clergyman)
John Fell was an English churchman and influential academic. He served as Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, and later concomitantly as Bishop of Oxford.-Education:...
.
Brown was born at either Shifnal
Shifnal
Shifnal is a small market town in Shropshire, England. It forms part of The Wrekin constituency, and is about east of Telford. It has a railway station on the Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton Line and is near to the M54 motorway.-Early medieval time:...
or Newport in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
; baptismal records indicate he was christened on 1 January 1663. He took advantage of the free schooling offered in the county during his day by attending Adams' Grammar School
Adams' Grammar School
Adams' Grammar School is a selective state grammar school in Newport, Shropshire, rated by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills as a Grade 1 outstanding school , the latest OFSTED report concludes "this is a truly impressive school"...
, afterward continuing his education at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
and there meeting the college's dean, Dr Fell.
Fell was well-known as a disciplinarian, and Brown throughout his life displayed a disdain for restrictions. The legend behind Brown's most recognised work is therefore plausible: it states that Brown got into trouble while at Oxford, and was threatened with expulsion, but that Dr Fell offered to spare Brown if he could translate an epigram from Martial
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis , was a Latin poet from Hispania best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan...
(I, 32, 1):
- Non amo te, Sabidi, nec possum dicere quare;
- Hoc tantum possum dicere, non amo te.
According to the story, Brown replied without missing a beat:
- I do not love thee, Dr Fell,
- The reason why I cannot tell;
- But this I know, and know full well,
- I do not love thee, Dr Fell.
Fell is said to have stayed Brown's dismissal from the college in admiration of this translation. However the story is of apocryphal provenance, and it is known that Brown left Christ Church without a degree, moving to Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
where he stayed three years as a schoolmaster, and later to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
where he took up residence on Aldersgate Street
Aldersgate
Aldersgate was a gate in the London Wall in the City of London, which has given its name to a ward and Aldersgate Street, a road leading north from the site of the gate, towards Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington.-History:...
in the Grub Street
Grub Street
Until the early 19th century, Grub Street was a street close to London's impoverished Moorfields district that ran from Fore Street east of St Giles-without-Cripplegate north to Chiswell Street...
district.
Brown made a modest living from his writing in Latin, French and English, in addition to offering services of translation. He refrained however from ever attaching himself to a patron, and expressed contempt toward those who did so. He pursued a libertine lifestyle, and his satirical works gained him several enemies in their subjects.
His best-known works, apart from the quatrain, are probably Amusements Serious and Comical, calculated for the Meridian of London (1700) and Letters from the Dead to the Living (1702), although his writings were quite prolific. Several works of the period whose author is unknown are suspected to be his.
Toward the end of his life he began to regret the licentiousness with which he had lived it, and on his deathbed he secured from his publisher (one Sam Briscoe) a promise that any posthumously published works would be censored of "all prophane, undecent passages". The promise was promptly reneged upon.
Many of Brown's works went unpublished until his death, and the publication date of many is in question, as is his stature as a writer. Contemporary opinion was mixed; Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
spoke quite highly of Brown's work, and indeed parts of Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
and other of Swift's works may have been significantly influenced by Brown's writings. On the other hand, those whom Brown mercilessly lampooned during his lifetime understandably did nothing to further his good reputation after his demise.
The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica gives this verdict: "He was the author of a great variety of poems, letters, dialogues and lampoons, full of humour and erudition, but coarse and scurrilous. His writings have a certain value for the knowledge they display of low life in London." Presently the best description of Brown's legacy may be that of Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison
Joseph Addison was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was a man of letters, eldest son of Lancelot Addison...
, who accorded him the appellation "T-m Br-wn of facetious Memory".
Brown was buried in the grounds of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.