| Joseph Addison |
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Introduction
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(1672-1719).—
Poet, essayist, and statesman, was the son of
Lancelot Addison, Dean of Lichfield. born near Amesbury,
Wilts., A. went to the Charterhouse, where he made the acquaintance of
Steele (q.v.), and then at the age of fifteen to Oxford, where
he had a distinguished career, being specially noted for his Latin
verse. Intended at first for the Church, various circumstances
combined to lead him towards literature and politics. His first
attempts in English verse took the form of complimentary addresses,
and were so successful as to obtain for him the friendship and
interest of Dryden, and of Lord Somers, by whose means he received, in
1699, a pension of £300 to enable him to travel on the continent
with a view to diplomatic employment. He visited Italy, whence he
addressed his Epistle to his friend Halifax. Hearing of the
death of William III., an event which lost him his pension, he
returned to England in the end of 1703. For a short time his
circumstances were somewhat straitened, but the battle of Blenheim in
1704 gave him a fresh opportunity of distinguishing himself. The
government wished the event commemorated by a poem; A. was
commissioned to write this, and produced The Campaign, which
gave such satisfaction that he was forthwith appointed a Commissioner
of Appeals. His next literary venture was an account of his travels in
Italy, which was followed by the opera of Rosamund. In 1705,
the Whigs having obtained the ascendency, A. was made Under-Secretary
of State and accompanied Halifax on a mission to Hanover, and in 1708
was appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland and Keeper of the Records of
that country. It was at this period that A. found his true vocation,
and laid the foundations of his real fame. In 1709 Steele began to
bring out the Tatler, to which A. became almost immediately a
contributor: thereafter he (with Steele) started the Spectator,
the first number of which appeared on March 1, 1711. This paper, which
at first appeared daily, was kept up (with a break of about a year and
a half when the Guardian took its place) until Dec. 20,
1714. In 1713 the drama of Cato appeared, and was received with
acclamation by both Whigs and Tories, and was followed by the comedy
of the Drummer. His last undertaking was The Freeholder,
a party paper (1715-16). The later events in the life of A., viz., his
marriage in 1716 to the Dowager Countess of Warwick, to whose son he
had been tutor, and his promotion to be Secretary of State did not
contribute to his happiness. His wife appears to have been arrogant
and imperious; his step-son the Earl was a rake and unfriendly to him;
while in his public capacity his invincible shyness made him of little
use in Parliament. He resigned his office in 1718, and, after a period
of ill—health, died at Holland House, June 17, 1719, in his 48th
year. Besides the works above mentioned, he wrote a Dialogue on
Medals, and left unfinished a work on the Evidences of
Christianity. The character of A., if somewhat cool and unimpassioned,
was pure, magnanimous, and kind. The charm of his manners and
conversation made him one of the most popular and admired men of his
day; and while he laid his friends under obligations for substantial
favours, he showed the greatest forbearance towards his few
enemies. His style in his essays is remarkable for its ease,
clearness, and grace, and for an inimitable and sunny humour which
never soils and never hurts. The motive power of these writings has
been called “an enthusiasm for conduct.” Their effect was to
raise the whole standard of manners and expression both in life and in
literature. The only flaw in his character was a tendency to convivial
excess, which must be judged in view of the laxer manners of his
time. When allowance has been made for this, he remains one of the
most admirable characters and writers in English literature.
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By PanEris
using Melati.
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