Edward Young
1683-1765
Birthplace: Upham, New Winchester, England
Occupation: English poet and dramatist, Royal Chaplain, Rector
After a disappointing political life Young took holy orders about 1724, serving for a time as the royal chaplain before
becoming rector of Welwyn in 1730. He achieved great renown in his own time, both in England and on the Continent, for his
long poem The Complaint, or Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality (1742-45), a Christian apologetic inspired
by the deaths of his wife, stepdaughter, and the latter’s husband.
Quotes:
- "Our birth is nothing but our death begun."
- "The man that makes a character, makes foes."
-
"The weak have remedies, the wise have joys; superior wisdom is superior bliss."
-
"Wonder is involuntary praise"
-
"Tomorrow is the day when idlers work, and fools reform."
(source for quotes: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/edward_young.html)
Other works by Young are:
The Instalment (to Sir R. Walpole, 1726)
Cynthio (1727)
A Vindication of Providence ... (1728), a sermon
An A pology for Punch (1729), a sermon
Imperium Pelagi, a Naval Lyrick ... (1730)
Two Epistles to Mr Pope concerning the Authors of the Age (1730)
A Sea-Piece ... (1733)
The Foreign Address, or The Best Argument for Peace (1734)
The Centaur not Fabulous; in Five Letters to a Friend (1755)
An Argument ... for the Truth of His [Christ's] Religion (1758), a sermon preached before the king
Conjectures on Original Composition ... (1759), addressed to Samuel Richardson Resignation ... (1762), a
poem.
Further information on Edward Young and his works can be found at the following links:
Brainy Encyclopedia http://www.brainyencyclopedia.com/encyclopedia/e/ed/edward_young.html
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Young
Old Poetry
http://oldpoetry.com/authors/Edward%20Young
Samuel Johnson's Life of Edward Young http://www2.hn.psu.edu/Faculty/KKemmerer/poets/young/default.html
The Burn's Encyclopedia
http://www.robertburns.org/encyclopedia/YoungTheReverendEdward16831511765.914.shtml
National Gallery of Victoria, Australia (beautiful
pics of the Blake-illustrated 1795 edition of Night Thoughts) http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/collection/international/print/b/blake/night_thoughts.html
