James Hope Moulton
Encyclopedia
Reverend James Hope Moulton, born on 11 October 1863, and died at sea on 9 April 1917, was an English non-conformist divine.
was the first headmaster of the Leys School, Cambridge
where James was one of the first students. After attending King's College, Cambridge
, he chose to become a Wesleyan minister. He showed a strong talent for academic studies, and the University of Manchester
invited him to teach Classical Greek and other languages. He was also teaching at the Didsbury College, a Baptist
Seminar outside Manchester
. He was friend of James Frazer
, the Scottish social anthropologist. He developed a strong interest in Zoroastrianism
, one of the world's oldest known monotheistic religions. Over the course of his life he published many books and papers, mainly focused on Zoroastrianism and the Greek
texts that the Bible
is derived from. He was a Prison Chaplain at Preston for some time around 1910.
In 1916 he decided to take advantage of the academic lull of World War I
and spend a long spell in India
, to serve as a Methodist missionary and to research & lecture on Zoroastrianism
in one of its traditional homelands. This was not an easy time for James, as his wife had recently died, and while he was in India
, his son William Ralph Osborn Moulton died in the French
trenches on 5 August 1916. He spent 16 months in India
under the auspices of the YMCA
, researching, preaching and lecturing. A matter that was of particular interest to him was the religion of the Parsis, the Zoroastrians of the Indian subcontinent, and the relationship between their beliefs and the Judeo-Christian
religion. He felt that the former was awaiting its completion by the latter. While in Karachi, he availed of the friendship and library of Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla
, a U.S.-educated Zoroastrian scholar and the high priest of the Parsi community there.
He left Karachi
aboard the S.S. City of Paris, headed for Egypt
where he met with friend and colleague Dr J. Rendel Harris
. The pair set sail from Port Said
but as their ship passed the Gulf of Lion
it was torpedoed and sank. Moulton, Harris and several others from the ship escaped in a lifeboat , but James Moulton died on the third of the four days it took the boat to reach Corsica
. He was buried at sea on 9 April 1917.
Biography
His family had a strong Methodist background. His fatherWilliam Fiddian Moulton
right|thumb|Rev. William Fiddian Moulton. Portrait in Moulton Chapel, Leys School, CambridgeRev. William Moulton was an English Methodist minister, Biblical scholar and educator.-Biography:...
was the first headmaster of the Leys School, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
where James was one of the first students. After attending King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, he chose to become a Wesleyan minister. He showed a strong talent for academic studies, and the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
invited him to teach Classical Greek and other languages. He was also teaching at the Didsbury College, a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Seminar outside Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. He was friend of James Frazer
James Frazer
Sir James George Frazer , was a Scottish social anthropologist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion...
, the Scottish social anthropologist. He developed a strong interest in Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
, one of the world's oldest known monotheistic religions. Over the course of his life he published many books and papers, mainly focused on Zoroastrianism and the Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
texts that the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
is derived from. He was a Prison Chaplain at Preston for some time around 1910.
In 1916 he decided to take advantage of the academic lull of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and spend a long spell in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, to serve as a Methodist missionary and to research & lecture on Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
in one of its traditional homelands. This was not an easy time for James, as his wife had recently died, and while he was in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, his son William Ralph Osborn Moulton died in the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
trenches on 5 August 1916. He spent 16 months in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
under the auspices of the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, researching, preaching and lecturing. A matter that was of particular interest to him was the religion of the Parsis, the Zoroastrians of the Indian subcontinent, and the relationship between their beliefs and the Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian
Judeo-Christian is a term used in the United States since the 1940s to refer to standards of ethics said to be held in common by Judaism and Christianity, for example the Ten Commandments...
religion. He felt that the former was awaiting its completion by the latter. While in Karachi, he availed of the friendship and library of Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla
Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla
Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla , also abbreviated M. N. Dhalla, was a Zoroastrian priest and religious scholar....
, a U.S.-educated Zoroastrian scholar and the high priest of the Parsi community there.
He left Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
aboard the S.S. City of Paris, headed for Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
where he met with friend and colleague Dr J. Rendel Harris
J. Rendel Harris
James Rendel Harris was an English biblical scholar and curator of manuscripts, who was instrumental in bringing back to light many Syriac Scriptures and other early documents...
. The pair set sail from Port Said
Port Said
Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...
but as their ship passed the Gulf of Lion
Gulf of Lion
The Gulf of Lion is a wide embayment of the Mediterranean coastline of Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence in France, reaching from the border with Catalonia in the west to Toulon.The chief...
it was torpedoed and sank. Moulton, Harris and several others from the ship escaped in a lifeboat , but James Moulton died on the third of the four days it took the boat to reach Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
. He was buried at sea on 9 April 1917.
Selected works
- Grammar of New Testament Greek Vol. I - Prolegomena, 1906
- WILLIAM F. MOULTON a memoir, written with his brother, who had the same name as their father, William Fiddian MoultonWilliam Fiddian Moultonright|thumb|Rev. William Fiddian Moulton. Portrait in Moulton Chapel, Leys School, CambridgeRev. William Moulton was an English Methodist minister, Biblical scholar and educator.-Biography:...
- The Papers of Oscar BrowningOscar BrowningOscar Browning was an English writer, historian, and educational reformer. His greatest achievement was the cofounding, along with Henry Sidgwick, of the Cambridge University Day Training College in 1891...
, written with his father, William Fiddian MoultonWilliam Fiddian Moultonright|thumb|Rev. William Fiddian Moulton. Portrait in Moulton Chapel, Leys School, CambridgeRev. William Moulton was an English Methodist minister, Biblical scholar and educator.-Biography:... - Early Religious Poetry of Persia
- Early Religious Poetry of Persia 1911
- Early Zoroastrianism
- Fire Temples and Towers of Silence
- Parsi Piety
- The Crown of Zoroastrianism
- The Parsis
- The Parsis and Christian Propaganda
- The Teaching of Zarathushtra
- Treasure of the Magi: A Study of Modern Zoroastrianism
- Zarathustra and the Outside World
- Zoroastrianism
Academic Positions Held
- Tutor at DidsburyDidsburyDidsbury is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre, in the southern half of the Greater Manchester Urban Area...
College - FellowFellowA fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of Kings College, Cambridge - Greenwood Professor of Hellenistic Greek and Indo-European PhilologyPhilologyPhilology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
at Manchester University
See also
- William Fiddian MoultonWilliam Fiddian Moultonright|thumb|Rev. William Fiddian Moulton. Portrait in Moulton Chapel, Leys School, CambridgeRev. William Moulton was an English Methodist minister, Biblical scholar and educator.-Biography:...
, father - John Fletcher MoultonJohn Fletcher MoultonJohn Fletcher Moulton, Baron Moulton, GBE KCB QC PC FRAS FRS was an English mathematician, barrister and judge.-Early life:...
, brother - Richard Green MoultonRichard Green MoultonRichard Green Moulton was a professor, author & lawyer born in England, 1849 and died in America on 15 August 1924. He was the brother of William Fiddian Moulton, John Fletcher Moulton, and James Egan Moulton.- Selected publications :...
, brother - James Egan MoultonJames Egan MoultonJames Egan Moulton was an English born Australian Methodist minister and headmaster and school president.-Early life:...
, brother - George MilliganGeorge MilliganA. George Milligan was a Scottish professional footballer who played as an inside forward.-References:...
, co-author of Vocabulary of the New Testament.
External links
- From Egyptian Rubbish Heaps, Transcripts of a series of lectures he gave in 1914 http://www.abcog.org/moulton1.htm
- Online transcript of The Treasure of the Magi: A Study of Modern Zoroastrianismhttp://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=1197481