John Balguy
Encyclopedia
John Balguy was an English
divine and philosopher.
and educated at the Sheffield Grammar School
(where his father Thomas Balguy was headmaster until his death in 1696) and at St John's College, Cambridge
, graduated BA in 1706, was ordained in 1710, and in 1711 obtained the small living of Lamesley
and Tanfield
in Durham
. He married in 1715. It was the year in which Bishop Hoadley
preached the famous sermon on 'The Kingdom of Christ', which gave rise to the Bangorian controversy
; and Balguy, under the nom de plume of Silvius, began his career of authorship by taking the side of Hoadley in this controversy against some of his High Church opponents.
In 1729 he became vicar of Northallerton
, in the county of York
. His next work was an essay on Divine Rectitude: or, a Brief Inquiry concerning the Moral Perfections of the Deity, particularly in respect of Creation and Providence. It is an attempt to show that the same moral principle that ought to direct human life may be perceived to underlie the works and ways of God: goodness in the Deity not being a mere disposition to benevolence but a regard to an order, beauty and harmony, which are not merely relative to our faculties and capacities but real and absolute; claiming for their own sakes the reverence of all intelligent beings and alone answering to the perfection of the divine ideas. Balguy wrote several other terse and readable tracts of the same nature, which he collected and published in a single volume in 1734.
. A second volume of sermons appeared in 1750 (3rd ed. in 2 vols., 1760).
Thomas Balguy
(1716–1785), who became archdeacon of Winchester, was his son.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
divine and philosopher.
Early years
He was born at SheffieldSheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
and educated at the Sheffield Grammar School
Sheffield Grammar School
Sheffield Grammar School began in 1604 as 'The Free Grammar School of James King of England within the Town of Sheffield in the County of York' in buildings in the Townhead area of Sheffield, resulting from the benefaction of John Smith of Crowland...
(where his father Thomas Balguy was headmaster until his death in 1696) and at St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's alumni include nine Nobel Prize winners, six Prime Ministers, three archbishops, at least two princes, and three Saints....
, graduated BA in 1706, was ordained in 1710, and in 1711 obtained the small living of Lamesley
Lamesley
Lamesley is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. The village is situated towards the south of Gateshead, near to Birtley and Kibblesworth. The parish includes Lamesley village, Kibblesworth, Eighton Banks and the Northside area of Birtley...
and Tanfield
Tanfield, Durham
Tanfield is a former mining village in County Durham, England near Stanley and is the location of Tanfield Railway and the Causey Arch. It is also the location of Tanfield School.-History:...
in Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
. He married in 1715. It was the year in which Bishop Hoadley
Benjamin Hoadly
Benjamin Hoadly was an English clergyman, who was successively Bishop of Bangor, Hereford, Salisbury, and Winchester. He is best known as the initiator of the Bangorian Controversy.-Life:...
preached the famous sermon on 'The Kingdom of Christ', which gave rise to the Bangorian controversy
Bangorian Controversy
The Bangorian Controversy was a theological argument within the Church of England in the early 18th century, with strong political overtones. The origins of the controversy lay in the 1716 posthumous publication of George Hickes's Constitution of the Catholic Church, and the Nature and...
; and Balguy, under the nom de plume of Silvius, began his career of authorship by taking the side of Hoadley in this controversy against some of his High Church opponents.
Life in the Church
In 1726 he published A letter to a Deist concerning the Beauty and Excellency of Moral Virtue, and the Support and Improvement which it receives from the Christian Religion, chiefly designed to show that, while a love of virtue for its own sake is the highest principle of morality, religious rewards and punishments are most valuable, and in some cases absolutely indispensable, as sanctions of conduct. In 1727 he was made a prebendary of Salisbury by his friend Hoadley. In the same year he published the first part of a tractate entitled The Foundation of Moral Goodness, and in the following year a second part, Illustrating and enforcing the Principles contained in the former. The aim of the work is twofold — to refute the theory of Hutcheson regarding the basis of rectitude and to establish the theory of Cudworth and Clarke that virtue is conformity to reason — the acting according to fitnesses which arise out of the eternal and immutable relations of agents to objects.In 1729 he became vicar of Northallerton
Northallerton
Northallerton is an affluent market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It has a population of 15,741 according to the 2001 census...
, in the county of York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. His next work was an essay on Divine Rectitude: or, a Brief Inquiry concerning the Moral Perfections of the Deity, particularly in respect of Creation and Providence. It is an attempt to show that the same moral principle that ought to direct human life may be perceived to underlie the works and ways of God: goodness in the Deity not being a mere disposition to benevolence but a regard to an order, beauty and harmony, which are not merely relative to our faculties and capacities but real and absolute; claiming for their own sakes the reverence of all intelligent beings and alone answering to the perfection of the divine ideas. Balguy wrote several other terse and readable tracts of the same nature, which he collected and published in a single volume in 1734.
Later life
In 1741 he published an Essay on Redemption, containing somewhat advanced views. Redemption as taught in Scripture means, according to him, "the deliverance or release of mankind from the power and punishment of sin, by the meritorious sufferings of Jesus Christ," but involves no translation of guilt, substitution of persons or vicarious punishment. Freed from these ideas, which have arisen from interpreting literally expressions which are properly figurative, the doctrine, he argues, satisfies deep and urgent human wants, and is in perfect consistence and agreement with reason and rectitude. His last publication was a volume of sermons, pervaded by good sense and good feeling, and clear, natural and direct in style. He died at HarrogateHarrogate
Harrogate is a spa town in North Yorkshire, England. The town is a tourist destination and its visitor attractions include its spa waters, RHS Harlow Carr gardens, and Betty's Tea Rooms. From the town one can explore the nearby Yorkshire Dales national park. Harrogate originated in the 17th...
. A second volume of sermons appeared in 1750 (3rd ed. in 2 vols., 1760).
Thomas Balguy
Thomas Balguy
Thomas Balguy was an English churchman, archdeacon of Salisbury from 1759 and then archdeacon of Winchester.-Life:He was the son of John Balguy, and was born at Cox-Close 27 September, 1716, educated at the Ripon Free School, and admitted to St John's College, Cambridge in 1734; was B.A. 1737,...
(1716–1785), who became archdeacon of Winchester, was his son.