John Langhorne
John Langhorne was an English poet and clergyman, born in 1735 in Kirkby Stephen, Westmoreland. He was educated at home and at various schools, ultimately excelling in Greek studies. Langhorne began his literary career as a tutor, writing poetry and contributing to magazines. His translation of Bion's "The Death of Adonis" established him as a notable Greek scholar. Throughout his life, Langhorne held several clerical positions and published various works, including sermons and translations, gaining recognition for his prose, particularly in religious contexts.
In 1766, he published "The Poetical Works of John Langhorne" and later achieved success with his translation of Plutarch's "Lives." His personal life included two marriages, the first tragically ending with his wife's death in childbirth. Langhorne's notable later works included satirical poetry and translations, with his final clerical role at the cathedral in Wells. He died in 1779, reportedly due to issues related to drinking. Langhorne's literary contributions and religious career significantly influenced his contemporary literary and ecclesiastical circles.
On this Page
Subject Terms
John Langhorne
Poet
- Born: March 1, 1735
- Birthplace: Kirkby Stephen, Westmoreland, England
- Died: April 1, 1779
Biography
John Langhorne, the younger son of Joseph and Isabel Langhorne, was born in 1735 in Kirkby Stephen, Westmoreland, England, where his father was a clergyman. His father died when he was four years old. His mother homeschooled him until he attended the village school in Winton and then enrolled at Appleby, where he was an excellent Greek scholar. He left school when he was eighteen to become a tutor in Ripon, where he began to write poems. His first literary effort was a topographical poem intended to win the support of the Reverend John Farrer.
Langhorne published some of his poems in the Universal Magazine and the Grand Magazine before moving to Wakefield in 1758. At this time, he took deacon’s orders and began preaching. He later moved to Hackthorn, where he tutored Robert Cracroft’s nine sons. His translation, The Death of Adonis: A Pastoral Elegy from the Greek of Bion (1759), established him as a serious Greek scholar. He then entered Clare Hall, Cambridge University, where he intended to earn a bachelor of divinity degree and where he continued to write poetry during his brief tenure as a student. After Ann Cracroft rejected his marriage proposal in 1761 because of the differences in their economic status, he left Cambridge and took a position as curate in Dagenham, Essex.
In an effort to receive the support of some powerful people, he wrote The Viceroy: A Poem, Addressed to the Earl of Halifax (1762), but his poetic endeavor was unsuccessful. His prose works, particularly those about religion, fared better. The Poetical Works of John Langhorne appeared in 1766. Meanwhile, his religious career was progressing. From Dagenham he went to St. John’s, Clerkenwell, as curate and lecturer, and in 1764 he became the assistant preacher at Lincoln’s Inn in London. He published his sermons in 1764 and 1767 and continued to write for the Monthly Review until 1769. When he defended Scotland’s honor, which had been under attack by Charles Churchill, he earned Churchill’s enmity but secured the support of William Robertson, principal of Edinburgh University, which reportedly conferred an honorary doctor of divinity degree upon him in either 1766 or 1768.
Perhaps because of his growing reputation and ecclesiastical progress, Cracroft relented and married him, and he advanced to become rector at Blagdon, Somersetshire. His Precepts of Conjugal Happiness: Addressed to a Lady on Her Marriage (1667), celebrating his marriage, was unfortunately followed by his wife’s death in childbirth in 1678. After her death, he moved to Folkestone, Kent, where his brother, William, lived. The brothers’ six-volume translation, Plutarch’s Lives, Translated from the Original Greek with Notes Critical and Historical, and a New Life of Plutarch (1770), was successful, going through nine editions by 1805. His The Fables of Flora (1771) was the only book of poetry that rivaled the success of his prose works.
In 1772, he married a Miss Thompson and after a honeymoon in France returned to Blagdon to serve as magistrate. His legal experiences served as the source for his satirical poetic masterpiece, The Country Justice: A Poem, by One of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace for the County of Somerset (1774-1777). John Milton’s Italian Poems Translated, and Addressed to a Gentleman of Italy was published in 1776. In 1779, after assuming his last clerical post at the cathedral at Wells, Langhorne died, reportedly as the result of intemperance.