Zachary Pearce
Encyclopedia
Zachary Pearce, sometimes known as Zachariah (8 September 1690 – 29 June 1774), was an English Bishop of Bangor
and Bishop of Rochester
. He was a controversialist and a notable early critical writer defending John Milton
, attacking Richard Bentley
's 1732 edition of Paradise Lost
the following year.
. He first attended Great Ealing School
. and then Westminster School
. He graduated BA from Trinity College, Cambridge
in 1713/4 and MA in 1717.
He was Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
(1716-1720) and chaplain to the Lord Chancellor, Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
.
Parker became his patron, to whom Pearce dedicated an edition of the de oratore
of Cicero
. He became rector of Stapleford Abbots, Essex (1719-1722) and St Batholemew, Royal Exchange (1720-1724) He was vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields
, London, in 1726. He was then Dean of Winchester
in 1739, Bishop of Bangor
in 1748, and Bishop of Rochester
in 1756. In 1761 he turned down the position of bishop of London
. He was Dean of Westminster (1756-1768).
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1720. Towards the end of Isaac Newton
's life, Pearce assisted him on chronology
There is a monument to Pearce in the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Bromley. He had married Mary, daughter of Benjamin Adams, a distiller, of Holborn.
. A Reply to the Letter to Dr. Waterland was against Conyers Middleton
, defending Daniel Waterland
; Pearce engaged in this controversy as a former student of William Wake
.
Other works were:
He also published sermons; he preached at the funeral of Sir Hans Sloane.
Bishop of Bangor
The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor.The diocese covers the counties of Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and a small part of Montgomeryshire...
and Bishop of Rochester
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
. He was a controversialist and a notable early critical writer defending John Milton
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
, attacking Richard Bentley
Richard Bentley
Richard Bentley was an English classical scholar, critic, and theologian. He was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge....
's 1732 edition of Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
the following year.
Life
Pearce was born the son of Thomas or John Pearce, a distiller, in 1690 in the parish of St Giles, High HolbornHigh Holborn
High Holborn is a road in Holborn in central London, England. It starts in the west near St Giles Circus, then goes east, past the Kingsway and Southampton Row, and continues east. The road becomes Holborn at the junction with Gray's Inn Road....
. He first attended Great Ealing School
Great Ealing School
Great Ealing School was situated on St Mary's Road, Ealing W5 London and was founded in 1698. In its heyday of the 19th century, it was as famous as Eton or Harrow, being considered "the best private school in England".-History:...
. and then Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
. He graduated BA from Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
in 1713/4 and MA in 1717.
He was Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
(1716-1720) and chaplain to the Lord Chancellor, Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield PC, FRS was an English Whig politician.-Youth and early career:He was born in Staffordshire, the son of Thomas Parker, an attorney at Leek. He was educated at Adams' Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge...
.
Parker became his patron, to whom Pearce dedicated an edition of the de oratore
De Oratore
De Oratore is a dialogue written by Cicero in 55 BCE. It is set in 91 BCE, when Lucius Licinius Crassus dies, just before the social war and the civil war between Marius and Sulla, during which Marcus Antonius Orator, the other great orator of this dialogue, dies...
of Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
. He became rector of Stapleford Abbots, Essex (1719-1722) and St Batholemew, Royal Exchange (1720-1724) He was vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Martin-in-the-Fields is an Anglican church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. Its patron is Saint Martin of Tours.-Roman era:Excavations at the site in 2006 led to the discovery of a grave dated about 410...
, London, in 1726. He was then Dean of Winchester
Dean of Winchester
The Dean of Winchester is the head of the Chapter of Winchester Cathedral in the city of Winchester, England in the Diocese of Winchester. The first incumbent was the last Prior William Kingsmill and the post is currently held by the Very Revd James Edgar Atwell,MA.-Deans:*1541–1549 William...
in 1739, Bishop of Bangor
Bishop of Bangor
The Bishop of Bangor is the Ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor.The diocese covers the counties of Anglesey, most of Caernarfonshire and Merionethshire and a small part of Montgomeryshire...
in 1748, and Bishop of Rochester
Bishop of Rochester
The Bishop of Rochester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Rochester in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the west of the county of Kent and is centred in the city of Rochester where the bishop's seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin...
in 1756. In 1761 he turned down the position of bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
. He was Dean of Westminster (1756-1768).
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1720. Towards the end of Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton
Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...
's life, Pearce assisted him on chronology
Chronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
There is a monument to Pearce in the Church of St Peter and St Paul, Bromley. He had married Mary, daughter of Benjamin Adams, a distiller, of Holborn.
Works
The Miracles of Jesus Vindicated (1729) was written against Thomas WoolstonThomas Woolston
Thomas Woolston was an English theologian. Although he was often classed as a deist, his biographer William H...
. A Reply to the Letter to Dr. Waterland was against Conyers Middleton
Conyers Middleton
Conyers Middleton was an English clergyman.Middleton was born at Richmond in Yorkshire, and was educated at school in York and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He graduated from the University of Cambridge, took holy orders, and in 1706 obtained a fellowship, which he resigned upon entering into an...
, defending Daniel Waterland
Daniel Waterland
Daniel Cosgrove Waterland was an English theologian.Daniel Waterland was born at Walesby Rectory, Lincolnshire, England, and educated in Lincoln and at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he graduated BA in 1703 and MA in 1706...
; Pearce engaged in this controversy as a former student of William Wake
William Wake
William Wake was a priest in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death in 1737.-Life:...
.
Other works were:
- Cicero, Dialogi tres de oratore (1716)
- LonginusLonginus- People :* Gaius Cassius Longinus , usually known as Cassius, one of the assassins of Julius Caesar* Saint Longinus, name ascribed to the Roman soldier who pierced the side of Jesus Christ on the cross...
, De sublimitate commentarius (1724) - Cicero, De officiis libri tres (1745)
He also published sermons; he preached at the funeral of Sir Hans Sloane.