Chapter Lardner to Lear of L by Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

Lardner to Lear

Lardner, Dionysius (1793-1859).—Scientific writer, son of a solicitor in Dublin, and born there, was intended for the law, but having no taste for it, he entered Trinity Coll., Dublin, and took orders, but devoted himself to literary and scientific pursuits, and became a contributor to the Edinburgh Review, and various Encyclopædias. In 1827 he was appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in the University of London (afterwards University Coll.), and in 1829 began his great work, The Cabinet Cyclopædia, which was finished in 133 vols. 20 years later. In his literary undertakings, which included various other schemes of somewhat similar character, he was eminently successful, financially and otherwise. He lived in Paris from 1845 until his death.

Latimer, Hugh (1485-1555).—Reformer and divine, son of a Leicestershire yeoman, went to Cambridge in 1500, and became Fellow of Clare Hall. Taking orders, he was at first a defender of the ancient faith, but convinced by the arguments of Bilney, embraced the reformed doctrines. He was called to appear before Wolsey, but dismissed on subscribing certain articles. His opposition to the Pope, and his support of the King’s supremacy, brought him under the notice of Henry, and he was appointed chaplain to Anne Boleyn, and in 1535 Bishop of Worcester. For preaching in favour of the reformed doctrines he was twice imprisoned in the Tower, 1539 and 1546, and on the former occasion resigned his bishopric, which he declined to resume on the accession of Edward VI. On the accession of Mary he was with Ridley, Bishop of London, thrown into prison (1554), and on October 16, 1555, burned at Oxford His words of encouragement to his fellow-martyr are well known, “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England as I trust shall never be put out.” He holds his place in English literature by virtue of his sermons—especially that on The Ploughers—which, like himself, are outspoken, homely, and popular, with frequent touches of kindly humour.

Lauder, Sir Thomas Dick (1784-1848).—Novelist and miscellaneous writer, son of a Scottish baronet, wrote two novels, Lochandhu 1825), and The Wolf of Badenoch (1827), but is best known for his Account of the Great Floods in Morayshire in 1829. He also wrote Legendary Tales of the Highlands, and contributed to scientific journals and magazines.

Law, William (1686-1761).—Divine, son of a grocer at Kingscliffe, Northamptonshire, was educated at Cambridge, and in 1727 became tutor to the father of Edward Gibbon, the historian. About 1728 he published his best known book, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, a work which has had a profound influence upon the religious life of England, largely owing to the impression which it produced upon such minds as those of Dr. Johnson, the Wesleys, and others. In 1737 he became a student of the works of Jacob Bœhmen, the German mystic, and devoted himself largely to the exposition of his views. The theological position of Law was a complicated one, combining High Churchism, mysticism, and Puritanism: his writings are characterised by vigorous thought, keen logic, and a lucid and brilliant style, relieved by flashes of bright, and often sarcastic, humour. His work attacking Mandeville’s Fable of the Bees (1723) is perhaps that in which these qualities are best displayed in combination. He retired in 1740 to Kingscliffe, where he had founded a school for 14 girls.

Lawrence, George Alfred (1827-1876).—Novelist, was a barrister. He wrote several novels, of which one—Guy Livingstone (1857)—had great popularity. On the outbreak of the American Civil War he went to America with the intention of joining the Confederate Army, but was taken prisoner and only released on promising to return to England.

Layamon (flourished 1200).—Metrical historian, the son of Leovenath. All that is known of him is gathered from his own writings. He was a priest at Ernley (now Areley Regis), Worcestershire. In his day the works of Geoffrey of Monmouth and Wace, in French, were the favourite reading of the educated, and “it came to him in mind” that he would tell the story of Brut in English verse. He set out in search of books and, founding his poem on the earlier writers, he added so much from his own knowledge of Welsh and West of England tradition that while Wace’s poem consists of 15,000 lines, his extends to 32,000. Among the legends he gives are those of Locrine, Arthur, and Lear. The poem is in the old English unrhymed, alliterative verse, and “marks the revival of the English mind and spirit.”