Eliezer Cogan
Encyclopedia
Eliezer Cogan was an English scholar and divine.
, Northamptonshire
, the son of John Cogan, a surgeon
, then sixty-four years old. The father, who survived until 1784, and was the author of An Essay on the Epistle to the Romans and of other anonymous pieces, married twice; by his first wife he had a son Thomas Cogan
the physician, and by the second he was the father of Eliezer. The boy studied Latin grammar
before he was six years old. For six months he was placed at Market Harborough
in the school of Stephen Addington
, but his early life was mainly passed under his father's roof, and he was self-taught in the rudiments of Greek.
To complete his education he was sent to Daventry Academy
, where he was for six years, three as pupil and three as assistant tutor, under Thomas Belsham
. At this time there were about 50 pupils, many known in later life as Unitarians
. WhenJohn Kenrick
moved from Daventry to Exeter
in 1784, his place was taken by Cogan, who thus became Belsham's colleague. In the autumn of 1787 Cogan was elected as minister of Presbyterian congregation at Cirencester
, and continued in that position until 1789. During this period of his life he printed for his friends, though he did not publish, a ‘Fragment on Philosophical Necessity.’
On 21 September 1790 he married Mary, the daughter of David Atchison of Weedon
, and in the following July he settled for a short time at Ware
in Hertfordshire
, but after a few months he moved first to Enfield and then to Cheshunt
. Cogan was elected minister of the chapel in Crossbrook Street, Cheshunt, in 1800, and in January of the following year he was also appointed by the dissenting congregation at Walthamstow
. During that year he preached alternately there and at Cheshunt, but then he transferred his school from Cheshunt to Higham Hill, Walthamstow, and ministered only to the congregation there.
His school soon became known, and among his pupils were Samuel Sharpe
, the Egyptologist and translator of the Bible, Benjamin Disraeli (of whom he used to say, ‘I don't like Disraeli; I never could get him to understand the subjunctive’), Milner Gibson, Russell Gurney
, and Lord Stone. He preached his farewell sermon at Walthamstow on the last Sunday of 1816, and in 1828 retired from teaching into private life. His portrait in life-size was painted at the cost of his pupils by Thomas Phillips
, R.A., and engraved by Samuel Cousins
, and the picture was presented to him at a dinner at the Albion tavern on 20 December 1828.
He died at Higham Hill on 21 January 1855, and was buried on 27 January in a vault in the burial-ground at the Gravel Pit Chapel, Hackney
, which contained his wife's remains. She died on 1 December 1850, aged 81.
's Table-talk of Samuel Rogers, p. 302, occurs the anecdote that when Richard Porson
was introduced to Porson with the remark that he was intensely devoted to Greek
, Porson's reply was, ‘If Mr. Cogan is passionately fond of Greek, he must be content to dine on bread and cheese for the remainder of his life.’ William Parr
praised Cogan's ‘intellectual powers, his literary attainments, and candour,’ and in 1821 stated that he had given directions that on his death a ring should be presented to Cogan. Joseph Priestley
was his guide in theology and metaphysics.His works were numerous.
Besides the ‘Fragment on Philosophical Necessity,’ he wrote:
He was the author of several sermons on the deaths of members of his congregation at Cheshunt and Walthamstow, and he read in manuscript and suggested some alterations in Alexander Crombie
's ‘Natural Theology’ (1829).
A long memoir of Cogan appeared in the Christian Reformer
, xi. 237–59 (1855), and was printed at Hackney as a pamphlet the same year. His daughter, Mrs. Gibson of Tunbridge Wells, printed for private circulation twenty-five copies of a short work entitled ‘Recollections of my Youth,’ giving details of school-life under Cogan.
Life
Cogan was born at RothwellRothwell
Rothwell is the name of several places in the United Kingdom:*Rothwell, Lincolnshire*Rothwell, Northamptonshire*Rothwell, West YorkshireRothwell is also the name of one place in Australia:*Rothwell, QueenslandIn names:...
, Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, the son of John Cogan, a surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
, then sixty-four years old. The father, who survived until 1784, and was the author of An Essay on the Epistle to the Romans and of other anonymous pieces, married twice; by his first wife he had a son Thomas Cogan
Thomas Cogan
Thomas Cogan was an English nonconformist physician, a founder of the Royal Humane Society and philosophical writer.-Life:He was born at Rothwell, Northamptonshire on 8 February 1736, the half-brother of Eliezer Cogan...
the physician, and by the second he was the father of Eliezer. The boy studied Latin grammar
Latin grammar
The grammar of Latin, like that of other ancient Indo-European languages, is highly inflected; consequently, it allows for a large degree of flexibility in choosing word order...
before he was six years old. For six months he was placed at Market Harborough
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
in the school of Stephen Addington
Stephen Addington
Stephen Addington D.D. was a scholarly English dissenting clergyman and teacher.-Life:...
, but his early life was mainly passed under his father's roof, and he was self-taught in the rudiments of Greek.
To complete his education he was sent to Daventry Academy
Daventry Academy
Daventry Academy was a dissenting academy, that is, a school or college set up by English Dissenters. It moved to many locations, but was most associated with Daventry, where its most famous pupil was Joseph Priestley...
, where he was for six years, three as pupil and three as assistant tutor, under Thomas Belsham
Thomas Belsham
Thomas Belsham was an English Unitarian minister- Life :Belsham was born in Bedford, England, and was the elder brother of William Belsham, the English political writer and historian. He was educated at the dissenting academy at Daventry, where for seven years he acted as assistant tutor...
. At this time there were about 50 pupils, many known in later life as Unitarians
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
. WhenJohn Kenrick
John Kenrick
John Kenrick was an English classical historian.-Life:He was born on 4 February 1788 at Exeter, the eldest son of Timothy Kenrick, Unitarian minister, and his first wife, Mary, daughter of John Waymouth of Exeter. He was educated at the local grammar school run by the Rev. Charles Lloyd and later...
moved from Daventry to Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
in 1784, his place was taken by Cogan, who thus became Belsham's colleague. In the autumn of 1787 Cogan was elected as minister of Presbyterian congregation at Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, and continued in that position until 1789. During this period of his life he printed for his friends, though he did not publish, a ‘Fragment on Philosophical Necessity.’
On 21 September 1790 he married Mary, the daughter of David Atchison of Weedon
Weedon
-Places:In England:*Weedon, Buckinghamshire*Weedon, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire*Weedon Bec, Northamptonshire*Weedon Lois, NorthamptonshireIn Canada:*Weedon, QuebecIn the United States:*Weedon Island, St. Petersburg, Florida-People:...
, and in the following July he settled for a short time at Ware
Ware
Ware is a town of around 18,000 people in Hertfordshire, England close to the county town of Hertford. It is also a civil parish in East Hertfordshire district. The Prime Meridian passes to the east of Ware.-Location:...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, but after a few months he moved first to Enfield and then to Cheshunt
Cheshunt
Cheshunt is a town in Hertfordshire, England with a population of around 52,000 according to the United Kingdom's 2001 Census. It is a dormitory town and part of the Greater London Urban Area and London commuter belt served by Cheshunt railway station...
. Cogan was elected minister of the chapel in Crossbrook Street, Cheshunt, in 1800, and in January of the following year he was also appointed by the dissenting congregation at Walthamstow
Walthamstow
Walthamstow is a district of northeast London, England, located in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is situated north-east of Charing Cross...
. During that year he preached alternately there and at Cheshunt, but then he transferred his school from Cheshunt to Higham Hill, Walthamstow, and ministered only to the congregation there.
His school soon became known, and among his pupils were Samuel Sharpe
Samuel Sharpe
Samuel 'Sam' Sharpe, or Sharp, National Hero of Jamaica was the slave leader behind the Jamaican Baptist War slave rebellion. Samuel Sharpe was born in the parish of St. James...
, the Egyptologist and translator of the Bible, Benjamin Disraeli (of whom he used to say, ‘I don't like Disraeli; I never could get him to understand the subjunctive’), Milner Gibson, Russell Gurney
Russell Gurney
Russell Gurney was an English Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1878.-Life:...
, and Lord Stone. He preached his farewell sermon at Walthamstow on the last Sunday of 1816, and in 1828 retired from teaching into private life. His portrait in life-size was painted at the cost of his pupils by Thomas Phillips
Thomas Phillips
Thomas Phillips was a leading English portrait and subject painter. He painted many of the great men of the day including scientists, artists, writers, poets and explorers.-Life and work:...
, R.A., and engraved by Samuel Cousins
Samuel Cousins
Samuel Cousins was an English mezzotint engraver, born at Exeter.He was preeminently the interpreter of Sir Thomas Lawrence, his contemporary. During his apprenticeship to S. W. Reynolds he engraved many of the best amongst the three hundred and sixty little mezzotints illustrating the works of...
, and the picture was presented to him at a dinner at the Albion tavern on 20 December 1828.
He died at Higham Hill on 21 January 1855, and was buried on 27 January in a vault in the burial-ground at the Gravel Pit Chapel, Hackney
London Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
, which contained his wife's remains. She died on 1 December 1850, aged 81.
Works
Cogan had a reputation as a Greek scholar. In the section of Porsoniana appended to Alexander DyceAlexander Dyce
Alexander Dyce was a Scottish dramatic editor and literary historian.He was born in Edinburgh and received his early education at the high school there, before becoming a student at Exeter College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. in 1819...
's Table-talk of Samuel Rogers, p. 302, occurs the anecdote that when Richard Porson
Richard Porson
Richard Porson was an English classical scholar. He was the discoverer of Porson's Law; and the Greek typeface Porson was based on his handwriting.-Early life:...
was introduced to Porson with the remark that he was intensely devoted to Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, Porson's reply was, ‘If Mr. Cogan is passionately fond of Greek, he must be content to dine on bread and cheese for the remainder of his life.’ William Parr
William Parr
William Parr may refer to:* William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Kendal - courtier and soldier, grandfather of Queen Katherine Parr* William Parr, 1st Baron Parr of Horton , son of the above...
praised Cogan's ‘intellectual powers, his literary attainments, and candour,’ and in 1821 stated that he had given directions that on his death a ring should be presented to Cogan. Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley
Joseph Priestley, FRS was an 18th-century English theologian, Dissenting clergyman, natural philosopher, chemist, educator, and political theorist who published over 150 works...
was his guide in theology and metaphysics.His works were numerous.
Besides the ‘Fragment on Philosophical Necessity,’ he wrote:
- ‘An Address to the Dissenters on Classical Literature,’ 1789, in which he urged the study of the classics.
- ‘Moschi Idyllia tria, Græce,’ 1795, which he edited with notes for the use of his scholars, but afterwards suppressed.
- ‘Reflections on the Evidences of Christianity,’ 1796.
- ‘Purity and Perfection of Christian Morality,’ 1800.
- ‘Christianity and Atheism compared,’ 1800. To this an answer was issued by a Mr. Robinson, whereupon Cogan published ‘An Examination of Mr. Robinson's reply to Mr. Cogan on the Practical Influence of a belief in a Future State,’ 1800.
- ‘Sermons chiefly on Practical Subjects,’ 1817, 2 vols.
- ‘Contributions to the Monthly Magazine, Dr. Aikin's Athenæum, the Monthly Repository, and the Christian Reformer, by the late Rev. Eliezer Cogan, 2 parts, I. Classical; II. Theological, Metaphysical, and Biblical. Extracted and compiled by his son, Richard Cogan,’ 1856.
He was the author of several sermons on the deaths of members of his congregation at Cheshunt and Walthamstow, and he read in manuscript and suggested some alterations in Alexander Crombie
Alexander Crombie
The Rev Dr Alexander Crombie was a Presbyterian minister, schoolmaster and philosopher....
's ‘Natural Theology’ (1829).
A long memoir of Cogan appeared in the Christian Reformer
Christian Reformer
The Christian Reformer was a British Unitarian magazine edited by Robert Aspland....
, xi. 237–59 (1855), and was printed at Hackney as a pamphlet the same year. His daughter, Mrs. Gibson of Tunbridge Wells, printed for private circulation twenty-five copies of a short work entitled ‘Recollections of my Youth,’ giving details of school-life under Cogan.