TENNYSON
TENNYSON
baronet. In 1668 he was chosen ambas
sador at the Hague. He retired in 1670
for the purpose of study, and published his
Observations upon the United Provinces
(1672), which the clergy charged with
heresy on account of the liberal plea for
toleration. In 1674 Temple returned to
the Hague as ambassador, and in 1677 he
succeeded his father as Master of the Bolls
for Ireland. In 1679 he was elected
Member of Parliament for Cambridge
University and admitted to the Privy
Council. In 1680 he definitely closed his
brilliant diplomatic career, and retired to
the study of letters and philosophy.
Temple was one of the most elegant prose
writers of the time, and among his secre
taries he included Jonathan Swift. His
chief works, besides the above, are Miscel
lanea (1680) and An Introduction to the
History of England (1695). Bishop
Burnet says of Temple : " He thought
religion was only for the mob. He was
a great admirer of the sect of Confucius in
China, who were Atheists themselves, but
left religion to the rabble" (ii, 70). He
also credits Temple with the Epicurean
belief that " things were as they are from
all eternity." Burnet accordingly tries to
belittle Temple s character ; but his editor
observes in a footnote : " The author
should have done more justice to the
character of this truly great man one
of the ablest, most sincere, generous, virtuous ministers that any age has pro duced." All admit that Temple was " untainted by corruption " (Diet. Nat. Biog.) in one of the worst periods of British political corruption. D. Jan. 27, 1699.
TENNYSON, Alfred, first Baron Tennyson, poet. B. Aug. 6, 1809. Ed. Louth Grammar School and Cambridge (Trinity College). Tennyson had collabo rated with his brother as a boy in writing verse, and together they had published Poems of Two Brothers (1827). In 1829 he won the Chancellor s gold medal by his poem Timbuctoo, and in the following year
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his Poems, Chiefly Lyrical convinced many
that he had a great future. In 1833 he
published Poems (including " The Lady of
Shalott " and other fine pieces), and two-
further volumes of poems in 1842 com
pleted his reputation in literary circles.
He received a Civil List Pension of 200.
In 1847 he produced Tlie Princess ; and in
1850, when he published In Memoriam, he
was appointed Poet Laureate. Idylls of
the King (3 vols.) appeared in 1859, 1869,
and 1872. Enoch Ardcn (1864) made a
record in poetic circulation at the time,
selling about 60,000 copies. Tennyson
gave great offence to Freethinkers, and
aroused protests in the theatre, by his
Promise of May (1882), of which the
Agnostic hero had an unworthy character ;
and he is very commonly regarded by
religious readers as orthodox. But the
plain Pantheism of In Memoriam, his most
thoughtful production, is a correct expres
sion of his views. The poet Allingham-
[SEE], who was an intimate friend, often
discussed religion with Tennyson, and found
him uniformly sceptical. " I believe in
Pantheism of a sort," he said (Diary,
p. 127). In 1867 Allingham found him
" uncertain regarding the condition and
destiny of man " (p. 149), and, although
he later became more hopeful of a future
life (p. 368), he never leaned on the Chris
tian doctrine. His son, Hallam Tennyson,
sufficiently, if reluctantly, confirms this in
his Alfred Lord Tennyson (2 vols., 1897)-
A few months before the poet died he was
induced to take the Communion with his
family ; a fact which was widely adver
tised. But Hallam tells us (ii, 412) that
his father was careful to impress upon the
clergyman that he took it only on the-
understanding, in his own lines :
It is but a communion, not a mass : No sacrifice, but a life-giving feast.
He had no further ministrations from the- Church. A few days before he died he spoke with great admiration of Giordano Bruno and Spinoza, and said of the former :: " His view of God is in some ways mine " (ii, 424). It is clear that he lived and
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