The Reverend Samuel Clarke | |
|---|---|
 Samuel Clarke, portrait attributed toCharles Jervas | |
| Born | (1675-10-11)11 October 1675 Norwich, England |
| Died | 17 May 1729(1729-05-17) (aged 53) London, England |
| Occupation(s) | Philosopher,cleric |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 7 |
| Father | Edward Clarke |
| Relatives | John Clarke (uncle) |
| Education | |
| Alma mater | Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge |
| Philosophical work | |
| Era | Age of Enlightenment |
| Region | British philosophy |
| School | Nontrinitarianism • Semi-Arianism • Subordinationism |
| Notable works | Book of Common Prayer |
Samuel Clarke (11 October 1675 – 17 May 1729) was an Englishphilosopher andAnglican cleric. He is considered the major British figure in philosophy betweenJohn Locke andGeorge Berkeley.[1] Clarke'saltered, Nontrinitarian revision of the1662Book of Common Prayer continues to influence worship among modernUnitarians.
Clarke was born inNorwich, the son ofEdward Clarke, an alderman ofNorwich and Member of Parliament, and brother ofJohn Clarke.[2] He was educated atNorwich School andGonville and Caius College, Cambridge.[3][4] His tutor at Caius wasJohn Ellis, a personal friend ofIsaac Newton, but who innatural philosophy taught in line with theCartesianism that prevailed in the university.[5]
Clarke, however, came to adopt the new physical system of Newton; he used the vehicle of an annotated translation of a work on physics in the Cartesian tradition to comment on the superiority of the Newtonian system.[6] This textbook was published in 1697, and in the same year Clarke met the NewtonianWilliam Whiston.[7] It was a chance encounter in Norwich, but Whiston was then chaplain toJohn Moore,bishop of Norwich. Having takenholy orders, Clarke became chaplain to Moore in Whiston's place, and was presented by Moore to the rectory ofDrayton, Norfolk.[8]
In 1706, through the influence of Moore, Clarke obtained the rectory ofSt Benet Paul's Wharf, London. Soon afterwardsQueen Anne appointed him one of herchaplains in ordinary, and in 1709 presented him to the rectory ofSt James's, Westminster.[9] His church brought Clarke into personal contact with Newton.[6]
Clarke wasBoyle lecturer for two years, and produced two books. The Newtonian theologians used the Boyle Lectures to attack opponents (Thomas Hobbes andBaruch Spinoza,deists andfreethinkers in particular). Clarke's lectures set the agenda for further debates.[10] He dealt in 1704 with theBeing and Attributes of God, an example of aphysico-theological system;[11] and in 1705 with theEvidences of Natural and Revealed Religion. These books were later published together.[12]
Clarke's reputation rested largely on his effort to demonstrate theexistence of God, and his theory of the foundation ofrectitude. The former is not a purelya priori argument, and it was not presented as such. The intelligence, for example, of the self-existence and original cause of all things is, he says, "not easily proveda priori," but "demonstrably proveda posteriori from the variety and degrees of perfection in things, and the order of causes and effects, from the intelligence that created beings are confessedly endowed with, and from the beauty, order, and final purpose of things."[9] The theses maintained in the argument are:[9]
In order to establish his sixth thesis, Clarke contended that time and space, eternity and immensity, are not substances, but attributes: the attributes of a self-existent being.[9]
The work of Clarke on the existence of God set off a British debate that lasted to the middle of the century.[13]Edmund Law and other writers represented Clarke as arguing from the existence of time and space to the existence of Deity.[9] Law was influenced by a 1718 work ofSamuel Colliber that modified Clarke's approach.[13]
The public correspondence of Samuel Clarke with the English freethinkerAnthony Collins in 1707 and 1708 was a debate on the nature ofconsciousness. The principal focus of the correspondence was the possibility of a materialist theory of mind. Collins defended the materialist position that consciousness was anemergent property of the brain, while Clarke opposed such a view and argued that mind and consciousness must be distinct from matter. The correspondence also inquired into the origins of consciousness, personal identity, free will, and determinism.[14]
The debate arose from a controversy of 1706 on theimmortality of the soul. Clarke published a refutation of the views ofHenry Dodwell, and this drew in Collins, who wrote aLetter to Mr Dodwell in his defence.[15] By the sixth edition (1731), Clarke's ownLetter to Mr Dodwell of 1706 had grown to 475 pages, including the replies of Collins.[16] Clarke's main argument against Dodwell was that the soul, being immaterial, must be immortal.John Norris argued differently, though on Clarke's side of the debate, using in particular the ideas ofMalebranche.[17] Collins challenged Clarke on the ground of hissubstance dualism.[18]
Clarke studied scripture in the original languages, and theprimitive Christian writers. He took the degree ofdoctor in divinity in 1710,[4] defending as his thesis the two propositions:Nullum fidei Christianae dogma, in Sacris Scripturis traditum, est rectae rationi dissentaneum [No doctrine of the Christian faith, delivered in the Holy Scriptures, is contrary to right reason.], andSine actionum humanarum libertate nulla potest esse religio [Without the freedom of human actions, there can be no religion.].[8] The formaldisputation was long remembered for Clarke's virtuosity; but the presiding Regius Professor,Henry James, received the distinct impression that Clarke's views on the Trinity were unorthodox.[5] Clarke was required to swear to keep the39 Articles; and his attempt at self-justification by putting his views in book form were not immediately successful.[19]
During 1712 Clarke published his treatise onThe Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity.[20] It is divided into three parts. The first contains a collection and exegesis of texts in theNew Testament relating to thedoctrine of the Trinity; in the second the doctrine is set out, and explained as a set of propositions; and in the third passages in theliturgy of theChurch of England relating to the doctrine of the Trinity are considered.[9]
Whiston claimed that, some time before publication, a message was sent to Clarke bySidney Godolphin, to the effect "the affairs of the public were with difficulty then kept in the hands of those that were for liberty", and that therefore it was a bad time for the publication of a controversial book. Clarke in any case took no notice of any Whig qualms.[9]
Maurice Wiles calls Clarke's views "moderate Arianism".[21] At the time they were certainly denounced asArianism; they belonged, as did Newton's, to the type ofantitrinitarianism later called "High Arianism".[22] Clarke's position wassubordinationist, and less radical than Newton's and typical English Unitarians of his time. He looked at 1251 biblical texts, and rejected the added phrase known as theJohannine Comma. He made a more careful case than Whiston.[23]
The controversy within the Church of England to which Clarke was a major contributor had been initiated byGeorge Bull, with his publication in 1685 of views on the opinions of theChurch Fathers before theFirst Council of Nicaea (325 AD). He was reacting to issues that had been raised elsewhere in Europe, byPetavius, byChristopher Sandius andDaniel Zwicker for theSocinian camp, and theArminians.[24]
It was only with the close discussions of Clarke and his major opponentDaniel Waterland, a generation later, that the theological and historical points involved came clearly into focus. Clarke and Waterland had definite differences on the theology ofconsubstantiality andaseity.[25]
Waterland argued in theology for the Anglican orthodoxy of time, in particular that the possible attitudes were, besides the orthodoxAthanasian view, limited toArianism andSabellianism; and that the two latter were not consistent with Scripture.[26] He also championed Bull's historical claim, that the Fathers before Nicaea held the views that were orthodox after Nicaea. Clarke's resistance to both points has had support from some modern scholars.[27]
The trajectory of the English controversy from 1712 involved at least ten writers.[25] By summer 1714 the debate onThe Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity had ramified, and provoked a formal complaint from theLower House of Convocation: theBlasphemy Act 1697 still made it an offence for "any person, educated in or having made profession of the Christian religion, by writing, preaching, teaching or advised speaking, to deny the Holy Trinity". Clarke drew up an apologetic preface, and then gave explanations which satisfied the Upper House of Convocation. He had strong supporters among the bishops.[9][19] Clarke promised not to preach or write on the topic.[28]Arthur Ashley Sykes andJohn Jackson from then on acted as his proxies.[5] Other main participants in the controversy wereJohn Edwards,Francis Gastrell, James Knight who published with Bull's biographerRobert Nelson,[29] Richard Mayo ofGreat Kimble (son of the nonconformistRichard Mayo),Stephen Nye,Edward Welchman andEdward Wells.[25]
Caroline of Ansbach, the Princess of Wales, requested that Clarke defend his views in a disputation withEdward Hawarden, and it took place in 1719, in her presence. Hawarden returned to the subject inAnswer to Dr. Clarke and Mr. Whiston (1729).[30]
By 1724, Clarke had been pressured to public retract hisNontrinitarian views. However, he maintained these beliefs in private.[31][32] That year, Clarke privately altered his copy of the1662Book of Common Prayer, deleting Trinitarian formulae and theAthanasian Creed.[33] The work went unpublished, though copies were made and his son later donated the original manuscript to theBritish Library.[34]Theophilus Lindsey eventually encountered a copy in the possession ofJohn Disney.[35][36] Lindsey, using Clarke's work as his basis, published his ownUnitarian prayer book revision in 1774 and began using it with hisEssex Street Chapel congregation.[37] In 1785, Lindsey's work was further adapted byJames Freeman for use atKing's Chapel in Boston, where a ninth edition version is still used.[33]
In 1715 and 1716 Clarke had a discussion withGottfried Leibniz on the principles ofnatural philosophy and religion, which was cut short when Leibniz died. A collection of the papers which passed between them was published in 1717.[38]
In 1719 Clarke was presented byNicholas Lechmere, 1st Baron Lechmere, to the mastership ofWigston's hospital inLeicester. In 1727, on the death of Sir Isaac Newton, he was offered by the court the post ofMaster of the Mint, worth on an average from £1200 to £1500 a year. He refused the position.[9]
On Sunday 11 May 1729, when going out to preach before the judges atSerjeants' Inn, Clarke had a sudden illness. It caused his death on the Saturday following, in London.[9] His funeral was held at St James's on Thursday, 22 May.[39]
Clarke published aLatin version of theTraité de physique ofJacques Rohault (1617(?)-1672) with notes, which he finished before he was twenty-two. The system of Rohault was based on Cartesian principles, and was previously known only through the medium of a crude Latin version. Clarke's translation (1697) continued to be used as a text-book in the university till supplanted by the treatises of Newton. Four editions were issued, the last being that of 1718. It was translated into English in 1723 by his younger brother John,dean of Salisbury.[9]
In 1706 Clarke translated Newton'sOpticks into Latin, for which the author presented him with £500. In 1709, at the request of the author, Clarke revisedWilliam Whiston's English translation of theApostolical Constitutions. In 1712 he published an annotated edition ofCaesar's Commentaries, with engravings, dedicated toJohn Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough.[9]
In 1729 he published the first twelve books ofHomer'sIliad. This edition, dedicated toWilliam Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, was praised by Bishop Hoadly. Three years after his death appeared also the last twelve books of theIliad, published by his son Samuel Clarke, the first three of these books and part of the fourth having, as he states, been revised and annotated by his father.[9]
In 1699 Clarke published two treatises:Three Practical Essays on Baptism, Confirmation and Repentance andSome Reflections on that part of a book called Amyntor, or a Defence of Milton's Life, which relates to the Writings of the Primitive Fathers, and the Canon of the New Testament. In 1701 he publishedA Paraphrase upon the Gospel of St Matthew, which was followed, in 1702, by theParaphrases upon the Gospels of St Mark and St Luke, and soon afterwards by a third volume upon St John. They were subsequently printed together in two volumes and passed through several editions.[9]
In 1724 Clarke published seventeen sermons, eleven of which had not before been printed. In 1728 was published "A Letter from Dr Clarke toBenjamin Hoadly, F.R.S., occasioned by the controversy relating to the Proportion of Velocity and Force in Bodies in Motion," printed in thePhilosophical Transactions.[9]
Soon after his death his brother, DrJohn Clarke, published, from his original manuscripts,An Exposition of the ChurchCatechism, and ten volumes ofsermons. TheExposition is composed of the lectures which he read on Thursday mornings, for some months in the year, at St James's church. He revised them, and left them ready for the press.[9]
Clarke's ethical theory of "fitness" is formulated on the analogy of mathematics. He held that in relation to the will things possess an objective fitness similar to the mutual consistency of things in the physical universe. This fitness God has given to actions, as he has given laws to Nature; and the fitness is as immutable as the laws. The theory was criticized byThéodore Simon Jouffroy,Amédée Jacques,Sir James Mackintosh,Thomas Brown,Francis Hutcheson, and others,[9] but substantially defended byJohn Balguy againstHutcheson's sentimentalist case against moral rationalism. A similar form of moral rationalism is developed by theCambridge PlatonistRalph Cudworth.
Clarke had an influence onEnlightenment philosophers includingLord Monboddo.[40] He left notes on theBook of Common Prayer. These became the source ofTheophilus Lindsey'sThe Book of Common Prayer Reformed According to the Plan of the Late Dr. Samuel Clarke 1774, and other liturgical works.[41]
Clarke married his first cousin Katherine Lockwood (d. 1753), daughter of the Rev. Mr. Lockwood ofLittle Massingham, Norfolk and Katherine Clarke in St Margaret's Church,Burnham Norton, Norfolk on 17 October 1700. They had seven children, of whom five survived him;[8] only three children are mentioned in their mother's will, Samuel, Dorothy and Katherine.[42] Clarke's surviving son Samuel Clarke (b. 1710) died without issue sometime in 1778. His will was proved by his cousin Frances Clarke, one of the daughters of his uncleJohn Clarke on 13 May 1778.[43]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Clarke, Samuel".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
