Samuel Wilberforce
Samuel Wilberforce | |
---|---|
Bishop of Winchester | |
Church | Church of England |
See | Winchester |
In office | 1870–1873 |
Predecessor | Charles Sumner |
Successor | Harold Browne |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1828 |
Personal details | |
Born | 7 September 1805 Clapham Common, London, England |
Died | 19 July 1873 (aged 67) Dorking, Surrey, England |
Previous post(s) | Bishop of Oxford Dean of Westminster |
Education | Oriel College, Oxford |
Samuel Wilberforce, FRS (7 September 1805 – 19 July 1873) was an English bishop in the Church of England, and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his day.[1] He is now best remembered for his opposition to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution at a debate in 1860.
Early life
He was born at
Samuel Wilberforce was from 1812 under Stephen Langston, and then
In 1823 Wilberforce entered Oriel College, Oxford. In the United Debating Society, the forerunner of the Oxford Union, he demonstrated some Whig views. His friends included William Ewart Gladstone and Henry Edward Manning, and were nicknamed the "Bethel Union" for their religiosity. Wilberforce's student recreations included riding and hunting.[3] He graduated in 1826, taking a first-class degree in mathematics and a second in classics.[9]
Wilberforce in late 1826 tried and failed for a fellowship at
Career
In 1830, Wilberforce was presented by Charles Sumner, Bishop of Winchester, to the rectory of St Mary's Church, Brighstone, in the Isle of Wight.[9][10] In November 1839 he was installed archdeacon of Surrey, in August 1840 he was collated canon of Winchester, and in October he accepted the rectory of Alverstoke.[9]
In January 1841, Wilberforce was made chaplain to
In March 1845 Wilberforce accepted the position of
After twenty-four years in the diocese of Oxford, Wilberforce was translated by Gladstone to the
Views and controversies
From an
High Churchman
Although a High Churchman, Wilberforce held aloof from the
In 1847 Wilberforce, at Newman's suggestion, became involved in the
In 1850
In 1867 Wilberforce framed the first Report of the Ritualistic Commission, in which coercive measures against
Contra Darwin
Wilberforce took part in the
Lucas argues that "Wilberforce, contrary to the central tenet of the legend, did not prejudge the issue".[15] He criticised Darwin's theory on scientific grounds, arguing that it was not supported by the facts, and he noted that the greatest names in science were opposed to the theory.[15] Nonetheless, Wilberforce's speech is generally only remembered today for his inquiry as to whether it was through his grandmother or his grandfather that Huxley considered himself descended from a monkey. Huxley is said to have replied that he would not be ashamed to have a monkey for his ancestor, but he would be ashamed to be connected with a man who used his great gifts to obscure the truth. Darwin was not present, but several of his friends replied, with Huxley perhaps the most effective. The popular view may be that Huxley had the better of the exchange; but there is a consensus view of historians that this account of the debate involves later fabrication, and that the outcome was moot.[16] "Reports from the time suggest that everybody enjoyed themselves immensely, and all went cheerfully off to dinner together afterwards".[17]
Wilberforce wrote a review of On the Origin of Species for the Quarterly Review. In it, he disagreed with Darwin's reasoning.[18]
Essays and Reviews
His attitude towards Essays and Reviews in 1861, against which he wrote an article in the
Colenso controversy
On the publication of
Reputation
The publication of
"Soapy Sam" may have been a reference to Wilberforce's characteristic hand-washing gesture, captured in the Vanity Fair cartoon by "Ape" (illustration, right). The nickname may also derive from a comment by Benjamin Disraeli that the bishop's manner was "unctuous, oleaginous, saponaceous".
Wilberforce has been called the "bishop of society"; but society occupied only a fraction of his time. In the House of Lords he took a prominent part in the discussion of social and ecclesiastical questions.[9]
Death
Wilberforce died from a riding accident on 19 July 1873, near Abinger. He had been on the way to visit Gladstone at Holmbury St Mary, with Lord Granville.[3] He was buried at East Lavington with his wife and her sister, the wife of Manning.
Works
Wilberforce published:[9]
- A tract on tithes(1831), "to correct the prejudices of the lower order of farmers".
- A collection of hymns for use in his parish (1832), which had a more general circulation
- Note Book of a Country Clergyman, stories
- The Apostolical Ministry, sermon.
- Letters and Journals (1837) of Henry Martyn, the Anglican missionary.
- Life (1838) of his father William Wilberforce published, with his elder brother Robert Wilberforce.
- Eucharistica (1839, editor) from the old English divines.
- Agathos and other Sunday Stories (1839)
- University Sermons (1839)
- Correspondence (1840) of William Wilberforce
- Rocky Island and other Parables (1840)
- A History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America (1844)
- Heroes of Hebrew History (1870), originally contributed to Good Words.
There were several volumes of his sermons.[9] He left a diary, and its content is considered influenced in parts by the editorial work he did on his father's papers, while also revealing of his own emotional life.[19] The anonymous Britannica 1911 author wrote of it that His diary reveals a tender and devout private life which has been overlooked by those who have only considered the versatile facility and persuasive expediency that marked the successful public career of the bishop, and perhaps earned him the sobriquet of "Soapy Sam".[9]
Legacy
Wilberforce was the patron of
Family
Wilberforce married on 11 June 1828 Emily Sargent (1807–1841), daughter of John Sargent, and his wife Mary Smith, daughter of Abel Smith. They had five children who survived early childhood, one daughter and four sons.[3]
- Emily Charlotte (1830–1917), the daughter, married J. Henry Pye.[3] Pye was an Anglican priest: the couple converted to Catholicism in 1868.[22]
- Herbert William Wilberforce (1833–1856), a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. He died at Torquay after duties in the Baltic Sea.[23]
- Reginald Wilberforce (1838–1914), army officer. He was author of An Unrecorded Chapter of the Indian Mutiny (1894), a work criticised by fellow officers of the 52nd Foot for inaccuracy.[9][24] Reginald was grandfather (through his fourth son, Samuel (Samuel Wilberforce (judge)) to Richard Lord Wilberforce, a Lord of Appeal.
- Bishop of Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 1882 to 1895, and Bishop of Chichester from 1895 till his death.[9]
- Basil Wilberforce (1841–1916), appointed canon residentiary of Westminster in 1894, chaplain of the House of Commons in 1896 and Archdeacon of Westminster in 1900; he published volumes of sermons.[9]
In literature
Wilberforce appears, caricatured, in Anthony Trollope's novel The Warden (1855), where he is portrayed as the third child of the Archdeacon, Dr Grantly, who is named Samuel and nicknamed Soapy, and is engaging and ingratiating but not to be trusted.[25]
References
- ^ Natural History Museum. Samuel Wilberforce. Retrieved on 14 February 2008.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8028-3714-1.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/29385. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/13389. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Meacham 1970, p. 8.
- ISBN 978-0-8028-3714-1.
- ^ "Spragg, Francis Roach (SPRG804FR)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ISBN 0-906328-31-4
- ^ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. W. Bowyer and J. Nichols for Lockyer Davis, printer to the Royal Society. 1850. p. 35.
- ^ Richard, Peats. "The Church Interiors of George Edmund Street in the Diocese of Oxford: An Assessment of Significance - Historic England Research Report 59/2018". research.historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-521-52213-7.
- ^ Wilberforce, Samuel (1860). "(Review of) 'On the origin of species'". Quarterly Review: 225–264.
- ^ S2CID 19198585..
- ^ Livingstone, David. "Myth 17. That Huxley Defeated Wilberforce in Their Debate over Evolution and Religion," in Numbers, Ronald L., ed. Galileo goes to jail and other myths about science and religion. No. 74. Harvard University Press, 2009, 152-160.
- ISBN 0521637163. p. 5
- ^ "[Wilberforce, Samuel]. 1860. [review of] On the origin of species, by means of natural selection; or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin, M. A., F.R.S. London, 1860. Quarterly Review 108: 225-264". darwin-online.org.uk. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-19-820651-4.
- ISBN 1903942977
- ^ Blain, Rev. Michael (2007). The Canterbury Association (1848–1852): A Study of Its Members' Connections (PDF). Christchurch: Project Canterbury. pp. 89–92. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-4426-4459-5.
- ISBN 978-1-108-04462-2.
- ISBN 1-85409-196-4, p. 336
- ^ The Warden, Chapter 12, 'Mr. Bold's Visit to Plumstead'
Bibliography
- Life of Samuel Wilberforce, with Selections from his Diary and Correspondence (1879–1882), vol. i., ed. by Arthur Rawson Ashwell, and vols. ii. and iii., ed. by his son Reginald Garton Wilberforce, who also wrote a one-volume Life (1888).
- Meacham, Standish (1970). Lord Bishop: The Life of Samuel Wilberforce, 1805-1873. ISBN 9780674539136.
- One of the volumes of the "English Leaders of Religion" is devoted to him, and he is included in John William Burgon's Lives of Twelve Good Men (1888).
- Woodward, Horace B. 1907. History of the Geological Society of London. Geological Society, London, 336p
- John Hedley Brooke, "Samuel Wilberforce, Thomas Huxley, and Genesis," in Michael Lieb, Emma Mason and Jonathan Roberts (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the Reception History of the Bible (Oxford, OUP, 2011), 397–412.
- Burgon, John William: Lives of Twelve Good Men, Murray, London 1891, pp. 242–278.
External links
- Works by Samuel Wilberforce at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Samuel Wilberforce at Internet Archive
- A list of the works of Samuel Wilberforce
Attribution
public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wilberforce, Samuel". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the