Henry Stubbe facts for kids
Henry Stubbe (born 1632, died July 12, 1676) was an English doctor for the king. He was also a scholar who studied Latin and Greek. Stubbe was a historian, a writer, and someone who often disagreed with common ideas.
Life of Henry Stubbe
Henry Stubbe was born in Partney, Lincolnshire. He went to Westminster School for his education. As a child, he received help from a Puritan named Henry Vane the Younger. This help allowed him to get a scholarship to Christ Church, Oxford. He finished his studies there in 1653.
This was during the English Civil War. Henry Stubbe fought for Oliver Cromwell from 1653 to 1655. People said he was a very skilled Latin and Greek scholar. They also said he was good at math and knew a lot about history and politics.
Stubbe became the second keeper at the Bodleian Library. But in 1659, his friendship with Henry Vane caused him to lose this job. His book, A Light Shining Out Of Darkness, also caused trouble. It was seen as an attack on the church leaders.
He then became a doctor in Stratford-upon-Avon. After the king returned to power in the Restoration, Stubbe joined the Church of England. In 1661, he was made the King's Doctor for Jamaica. However, the climate in Jamaica did not suit him. He returned to England in 1665. He then worked as a doctor in both Bath and Warwick.
In 1673, he wrote against the Duke of York and Mary of Modena. This was in a newspaper called the Paris Gazette. He was arrested and faced a serious threat. Henry Stubbe died in an accident in Bristol. He drowned and was buried in Bath.
Henry Stubbe's Writings
Many people, including a historian named Anthony Wood, thought Stubbe was the best Latin and Greek scholar of his time. He was also seen as a great mathematician and historian.
After the king returned, Stubbe wrote strong articles against the Royal Society. The Royal Society was a group of important scientists. Some people thought his writings showed he had changed his political and religious views. But more recent studies suggest he stayed true to his main beliefs. His attacks on the Royal Society were a way to criticize the church and the king's power. He saw the Royal Society as supporting these powers.
Stubbe also criticized Francis Bacon, another famous thinker. He said the early Royal Society was "Bacon-faced," meaning they followed Bacon too closely. Stubbe also supported Thomas Hobbes, a philosopher, in his argument with John Wallis. Wallis was a mathematician and a founder of the Royal Society.
In 1671, Stubbe wrote An Account of the Rise and Progress of Mahometanism. This book also defended the Islamic religion from Christian criticisms. He could not publish this book. It was the first English work to show a positive view of Islam. The book was shared privately among people. In it, Stubbe tried to show how similar the beliefs of Islam were to Unitarian Christianity. Unitarian Christians believe God is one, not three persons.
Stubbe was part of a group of thinkers who were not happy with some Christian ideas. They wanted to find the original, simpler roots of Christianity in the Middle East. He also believed in religious toleration, which means allowing people to have different religious beliefs. This was a view he shared with other thinkers like John Toland. The book about Islam was finally published in 1911.
Henry Stubbe had many different interests. He even wrote a book praising chocolate. He called chocolate the "Indian nectar." In this book, he criticized people who refused to drink chocolate for strict religious reasons.
Works
- Clamor, Rixa, Joci, Mendacia, Furta, Cachiny; or a Severe Enquiry into the Late Oneirocritica Published by John Wallis, Grammar-Reader in Oxon. (1657)
- Vindication of that Prudent and Honourable Knight Sir Henry Vane (1659)
- Essay in Defence of the Good Old Cause (1659)
- A Light Shining Out Of Darkness (1659)
- The Indian nectar, or, A discourse concerning chocolate (1662)
- The Plus Ultra Reduced to a Non Plus (1670)
- Legends No Histories (1670)
- Campanella Revived (1670)
- An Epistolary Discourse Concerning Phlebotomy and The Lord Bacons Relation of the Sweating-Sickness Examined (1671)
- A Justification of the Present War against the United Netherlands (1672)
- An Account of the Rise and Progress of Mahometanism, and a Vindication of him and his Religion from the Calumnies of the Christians (written sometime between 1668 and 1676) (apparently three of the six manuscript copies were held by John Disney, the early Unitarian minister)
