BENTLEY, RICHARD. - Anglican scholar and Hellenist, b. at Dulton on 27 Jan. 1662, d. at Cambridge on 14 Sept. 1742. He studied at Cambridge and, in 1690, took Holy Orders.
The first of the eight lectures he delivered in defense of the Christian religion, A confutation of atheism (1692), in which he demonstrated the existence of God on the basis of Newton's recent discovery, has remained famous. He was appointed royal librarian in 1694 and, in 1699, master of Trinity College, where he remained until his death, despite the unceasing hostility of the Fellows. To B. we owe the correction of a great many ancient texts and the establishment of scientific criticism. With the Dissertation upon the Epistles of Phalaris (1699), he denounced the evident inauthenticity of those epistles. Among his most renowned writings, mention should be made of Remarks upon a late discourse of Freethinking (1713), in which he ridicules Anthony Collins as a deist and critic of the Christian Creed.
His style, always sharp and precise, often sarcastic, is at times pervaded by a vein of humor.
Bibliography2 worksJ. Mähly, R. B., eine Biographie, Leipzig 1868; J. E. Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, II, Cambridge 1908, pp. 401-10. Amata Martor
BIBL.: J. Mähly, R. B., eine Biographie, Leipzig 1868; J. E. Sandys, History of Classical Scholarship, II, Cambridge 1908, pp. 401-10.
Martorelli, Amata. “Bentley, richard.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. II, col. 1361. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1949. https://azioneromana.com/article/bentley-richard.
MLA
Martorelli, Amata. “Bentley, richard.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. II, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1949, col. 1361. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/bentley-richard.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec2_bentley_richard,
author = {Martorelli, Amata},
title = {Bentley, richard},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {II},
pages = {1361},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1949},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/bentley-richard}
}
One of some 20,000 entries brought back from the twelve printed volumes (1948–54). Spotted something? Help us improve it.
Click or scroll to zoom · drag to pan · Esc to close
