John Owen (epigrammatist) facts for kids

John Owen (born around 1564, died 1622) was a Welsh writer famous for his short, clever poems called Latin epigrams. He wrote them in Latin, and they were collected in his book Epigrammata.

He was also known by different Latin names like Ioannes Owen, Joannes Oweni, Ovenus, and Audoenus.

Life and Education

John Owen was born in a place called Plas Du, near Snowdon in Wales. He went to school at Winchester College. Later, he studied at New College, Oxford, where he earned a degree in law in 1590.

After college, he became a schoolmaster. He taught first at Trellech and then at Warwick School around 1595. He was a successful teacher, and his salary even doubled later on. When he passed away in 1622, he was buried in the old St Paul's Cathedral in London. A relative, Bishop John Williams, helped him in his later years and made sure he had a Latin message on his tomb.

His Famous Epigrams

Owen became well-known for how perfectly he used the Latin language. His epigrams were full of humor and cleverness. They were so good that people praised them a lot. His poems were even translated into English, French, German, and Spanish.

He started writing epigrams when he was still at Winchester College. In fact, writing these poems was a big part of his education there. When he was just 16, his epigrams were used in a special event. This was when Queen Elizabeth I visited Sir Francis Drake's ship after he sailed around the world.

Owen began publishing his epigrams in 1606. They quickly became popular all over Europe. Scholars and clever writers on the continent called him "the British Martial". Martial was another famous ancient Roman epigram writer.

The Epigrammata Book

John Owen's main work is called Epigrammata. It is divided into twelve books. The first three books were published in 1606. The rest came out at different times between 1607 and 1620. Owen often used ideas from earlier Latin poets in his own way. His epigrams stayed popular for hundreds of years after he died. They were printed many times and translated into different languages.

The way the books were numbered can be a bit confusing. They were first published in four separate volumes. Each volume started its numbering from "Book I". So, there were four "Book I"s, each dedicated to a different person. Later editions put all the volumes together and numbered the books from 1 to 12. Books XI and XII were added in a later edition from 1620.

It's interesting to know that Book XI, which has 128 moral poems, was not actually written by Owen. These poems came from another work called Disticha de Moribus by Michel Verino. Book XII is a collection of smaller writings by Owen himself.

A Famous Saying: Tempora mutantur

One of Owen's most popular epigrams is a version of a well-known saying. The original saying is "Tempora mutantur nos et mutamur in illis". This means "Times change, and we change with them."

Owen's version of this saying is:

"Tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis:
Quomodo? fit semper tempore pejor homo.” "How's that? The man (mankind) always gets worse with time"

—(Lib. I. ad Edoardum Noel, epig. 58.)

Because his Epigrammata was so famous, people sometimes thought he created this saying. The composer Joseph Haydn even named his Symphony No. 64 Tempora mutantur, likely inspired by Owen's book.

Translations of his Work

Many people translated Owen's Epigrammata into English. Some of the translators include John Vicars (1619), Robert Hayman (1628), Thomas Pecke (1659), and Thomas Harvey (1677). Harvey's translation is the most complete. A Spanish writer named La Torre translated Owen's works into Spanish in 1674. French translations were also published by A. L. Lebrun (1709) and Kerivalant (1819).

Challenges with his Writings

John Owen was a strong Protestant. He often used his clever writing to make fun of the Roman Catholic Church. Because of this, his book Epigrammata was put on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum in 1654. This was a list of books that the Catholic Church did not want people to read. Also, a rich old uncle who was Catholic was so upset by Owen's writings that he removed Owen from his will.

See also

In Spanish: John Owen para niños