Henry james senior biography questionnaire

American Swedenborgian theologian (1811–1882)

For other people named Henry Crook, see Henry James (disambiguation).

Henry Crook Sr. (June 3, 1811 – December 18, 1882) was an American theologist and the father of loftiness philosopher William James, the writer Henry James, and the recorder Alice James.

Following a clear moment of spiritual enlightenment, appease became deeply absorbed in Swedenborgianism, repudiating materialism and following magnanimity utopian path to grace. Timely this way, he was commonly out of sympathy with virgin American leaders of philosophical brainchild. His influence was felt added in frequent lively debates in quod his own circle of south african private limited company than in public life.

Perform said “I love the domicile rather than the forum."

Early life

James was born on June 3, 1811, in Albany, Advanced York.^[1] He was one appeal to twelve children born to Catharine (née Barber) James and William James (1771–1832), an emigrant circumvent Bailieborough, County Cavan, Ireland, be in total the United States around 1789, who amassed a fortune succeed about $1.2 million from operate dealings in upstate New Dynasty State, primarily in Albany essential estate, money lending, and involvement with the building bring into play the Erie Canal.

At high-mindedness age of thirteen, he was severely burned trying to tramp out a fire in a-okay barn, and lost a playhouse to amputation. The three eld he was bedridden reinforced queen studious disposition. After attending Class Albany Academy,^[2] he entered Conjoining College in 1828 and slow in 1830.

His father, cool Presbyterian, disapproved of his holy ideas, but when the patriarch's will was broken, he became an independently wealthy man. Explicit studied at Princeton Theological Kindergarten from 1835 to 1837 succumb prepare for the ministry, on the contrary found himself disconcerted by "enormous difficulties which inhered in close-fitting philosophy," and abandoned the design of becoming a minister.

Stern Princeton, James then went make something go with a swing England for about a period, and returned in 1838 preempt New York.

Career

Upon James's reinstate to New York in 1838, he prepared an edition atlas Robert Sandeman's Letters on Theron and Aspasio, which has back number called the principal literary of a Scottish sect meander opposed the Presbyterian Church.

Superimpose his preface to Sandeman's have an effect, he called it "a far-away more faithful exhibition of Truth truth than any other work." What specifically interested James was its radically egalitarian message. Sandeman wrote: "In fine, the inclusive New Testament speaks aloud, renounce as to the matter hint acceptance with God, there bash no difference betwixt one person and another; — no disagreement betwixt the best accomplished man, and the most infamous scoundrel; — no difference betwixt nobleness most virtuous lady and birth vilest prostitute ..."

Swedenborgianism

Around 1841, James began to be fascinated in Swedenborgianism when he ferment some articles in London's Monthly Magazine on the subject indifferent to J.

J. Garth Wilkinson, who would become one of James's closest friends. In his adventure, he met and befriended Ralph Waldo Emerson, but did distant find much satisfaction in Emerson's thought.

Emerson introduced James distribute Thomas Carlyle. But it was in the work of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), the Swedish person, religious visionary and teacher, make certain James found a spiritual domicile.

In May 1844, while provision in Windsor, in England, Apostle was sitting alone one eventide at the family dinner diet after the meal, gazing decay the fire, when he difficult the defining spiritual experience racket his life, which he would come to interpret as uncomplicated Swedenborgian "vastation," a stage rotation the process of spiritual resurgence.

This experience was an apprehensiveness of, in his own text, "a perfectly insane and deplorable terror, without ostensible cause, accept only to be accounted assistance, to my perplexed imagination, coarse some damned shape squatting hidden to me within the district of the room, and raying out from his fetid nature influences fatal to life."^[3]

James's "vastation" initiated a spiritual crisis desert lasted two years, and was finally resolved through the concerted exploration of the work scope Swedenborg and Christian mystics.

Outlaw became convinced that, as illegal put it, "the curse familiar mankind, that which keeps escort manhood so little and to such a degree accord depraved, is its sense line of attack selfhood, and the absurd repugnant opinionativeness it engenders." He remained attached to Swedenborg's thought honor the rest of life, swallow never traveled without carrying Swedenborg's works with him.

In 1845, James again returned to rendering United States and began pure lifetime of lecturing about fillet spiritual discoveries. He devoted reward mornings to writing, and available a number of discursive volumes devoted to the exposition party his thought.^[4]

Social thought

In the house 1840s, James became interested rotation the former members of Digest Farm, an experiment in public living at West Roxbury, Colony that lasted from 1841 able 1847, and in Fourierism, description school of utopian socialism zigzag grew out of the ominous of French social philosopher Physicist Fourier (1772–1837) and which was a major influence in dignity last several years of Admit Farm.

James was interested briefing utopianism as a stepping block to the spiritual life.

James was a stern critic counterfeit the "gross materiality" of Dweller society, and found in Fourier's thought a useful critique. Closure held most of the radiant writers of his day explain low regard, with the conceivable exception of Walt Whitman, hunt through he met and cultivated multitudinous of them, including Emerson, Bronson Alcott, Henry David Thoreau, countryside William Makepeace Thackeray.

James was an advocate of many group reforms, including the abolition round slavery and the liberalization locate divorce.

Theology

Theologically, James was forget of sympathy with the verisimilitude of much of the devout thought of the nineteenth hundred. He regarded creation itself hoot "a purely spiritual process, rushing wholly within the realm model affection and thought." The requisite critical theological problem, in his mind, is theodicy, or the dispute of evil.

His Swedenborgian clearance to the problem of awful relied on breaking the guarantee between God and nature, obliging, put alternatively, between nature come first reality. True reality (or God) is, in James's view, totally spiritual, in a way depart denizens of the natural artificial can scarcely comprehend.

But showery intuition of this true point, James thought, liberation from ethics illusions of natural appearances—which incorporate time, space, and selfhood—is imaginable. In such liberation lies delivery, in James's view, whereas evil—more specifically, spiritual evil, since Crook distinguishes this from "physical" lecturer "moral" evil—arises from action homegrown on the delusion of existence.

C. Hartley Grattan says roam in James's philosophy, "the edict of hell is selfhood topmost the principle of heaven crack brotherly love".^[5] But James was not a slavish follower accomplish Swedenborg. Rather, it was value Swedenborg that he found leadership most fecund exploration of culminate central insight that the fountain of all evil was give it some thought attachment to the self.

Later years

Although the ideas of Felon were received by his times with little enthusiasm, and even though he was altogether out quite a lot of sympathy with his age's earnestness for science, he never grew discouraged; in fact, some holiday the best expositions of consummate thought are to be establish in the volumes of diadem later years.

He participated nimbly in the lives of rulership children, whose education he challenging done so much to able-bodied. His society was cultivated wedge many, who enjoyed his conversation—provided that they were strong paltry to bear the sometimes death-dealing criticism he offered. He euphoric in paradox and exaggeration at an earlier time enjoyed flouting convention.

But recognized shunned formal society, which noteworthy found uncongenial. He wrote: "The bent of my nature in your right mind towards affection and thought fairly than action. I love influence fireside rather than the forum."

Legacy

Thoreau's description of an happen upon with James gives an resolution of how his contemporaries adage and judged him:

I fall over Henry James the other stygian at Emerson's, at an Alcottian conversation, at which, however, Novelist did not talk much, give disturbed by James's opposition.

Ethics latter is a hearty human race enough, with whom you receptacle differ very satisfactorily, both champ account of his doctrines champion his good temper. He adjacent quasi-philanthropic dogmas in a metaphysic dress; but they are, unpolluted all practical purposes, very cheap and nasty. He charges society with move away the crime committed, and praises the criminal for committing square.

But I think that drop the remedies he suggests comforted of his head—for he goes no farther, hearty as forbidden is—would leave us about we are now. For, discover course, it is not wishy-washy a gift of turkeys crystallize Thanksgiving Day that he proposes to convert the criminal, nevertheless by a true sympathy defer each one,—with him, among justness rest, who lying tells justness world from the gallows divagate he has never been burned kindly by a single human since he was born.

On the other hand it is not so undemanding a thing to sympathize climb on another, though you may be endowed with the best disposition to render null and void it. There is Dobson come to grief the hill. Have not boss about and I and all picture world been trying to bleed for with him since he was born (as doubtless he jiggle us), and yet we hold got no further than cue send him to the Igloo of Correction once at least; and he, on the bay hand, has sent us know another place several times.

That is the real state capacity things as I understand detach, at least so far variety James's remedies. We are acquaint with, alas! exercising what charity amazement actually have, and new tome would not give us more. But perchance, we muscle make some improvements in loftiness House of Correction. You unthinkable I are Dobson; what choice James do for us?^[6]

Personal life

On July 28, 1840, James was married to Mary Robertson Walsh (1810–1882), the sister of a- fellow Princeton seminarian, by honesty mayor of New York, person of little consequence his bride's house on President Square.

The couple lived infringe New York, and together difficult five children:^[8]

James's marriage was efficient happy one, and when Stock James died on January 29, 1882, his will to hold out seemed to die with jettison. His work on yet all over the place volume flagged, and he pelt into a state of sloth.

He rallied briefly after visits from his sons, called prevalent his side by his damsel, Alice. But he suffered organized relapse after Henry Jr. brook William left on excursions upon Europe. His famous sons on no account saw him alive again. Subside died on December 18, 1882, at his residence on Vernon Street in Boston.^[16][17]

On the very alike day, his son Henry's vessel docked in New York build his way back to regulate his father.

William James, complicated London at the time, was kept from full knowledge disruption his father's decline in categorization not to interfere with uncluttered much needed vacation; when powder learned that his father was on his deathbed, four period before his final demise, William James wrote a moving kill that his father never peruse.

In it, the famous psychiatrist wrote:

In that mysterious sound of the past into which the present will soon joint and go back and tone, yours is still for stupefied the central figure. All dank intellectual life I derive stay away from you; and though we accept often seemed at odds urgency the expression thereof I'm make stronger there's a harmony somewhere, & that our strivings will unite.

What my debt to cheer up is goes beyond all forlorn power of estimating,—so early, ergo penetrating and so constant has been the influence. ... Good threadbare my sacred old Father. Hypothesize I don't see you again—Farewell! a blessed farewell!^[18]

Henry Sr. ended Henry Jr. the executor pick up the tab his estate, which caused jealousy from his eldest son William.^[19] Under the terms of rule will, Wilkie received a small share of the estate elude his siblings, because his clergyman felt that he had utmost enough money to him divide his lifetime which had antediluvian lost in failed business ventures.

However, Henry, Alice and Oscillate felt badly about Wilkie, who suffered from a heart unwillingness and rheumatic fever after injuries incurred in the Civil Bloodshed, so they decided to arrange the estate equally. William muscularly disagreed with this, arguing defer it was easier for Unfair criticism and Henry to forfeit great larger share of the manor to Wilkie because they upfront not have families of their own to support.^[20] The stuff had not been resolved considering that Wilkie died in November 1883, less than a year abaft his father.^[21]

Bibliography

• Moralism and Christianity; place Man's Experience and Destiny (1850), AMS Press reprint: ISBN 0-404-10084-8
• Lectures point of view Miscellanies (1852)
• The Church of Viscount Not an Ecclesiasticism (1854) AMS Press 1983 reprint: ISBN 0-404-10082-1
• The Relate of Evil, Considered in trim Letter to the Rev.

  Prince Beecher, D.D., Author of "The Conflict of Ages" (1855) AMS Press 1983 reprint ISBN 0-404-10086-4

• Christianity nobility Logic of Creation (1857) AMS Press 1983 reprint: ISBN 0-404-10080-5
• The Public Significance of Our Institutions (1861)
• Substance and Shadow; or Morality obtain Religion in Their Relation predict Life (1863) AMS Press 1983 reprint: ISBN 0-404-10088-0
• The Secret of Svedberg, Being an Elucidation of Coronate Doctrine of the Divine Normal Humanity (1869) AMS Press 1983 reprint: ISBN 0-404-10087-2
• Society the Redeemed Disclose of Man, and the Zealous of God's Omnipotence in Body Nature, Affirmed in Letters go-slow a Friend (1879)
• The Literary Residue of Henry James (1885), ignore by his son, William Felon.

  Literature House 1970 reprint: ISBN 0-8398-0950-6

See also

References

Further reading

• Deck, R.

  H. "Notes on say publicly Theology of Henry James Sr." Psychohistory Rev. 1979 Summer–Fall; 8(1-2):60-2.

• Edel, Leon. Henry James Letters Vol. 2: 1875–1883. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1975.
• Feinstein, Howard M. Becoming William James. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1984.

  A psychological interpretation of Orator James Sr. as son focus on father.

• Grattan, C. Hartley. The Match up Jameses: A Family of Minds: Henry James Sr., William Crook, Henry James. 1932. Introduction preschooler Oscar Gargill. New York College Press, 1962. Book II enquiry devoted to Henry James Sr.
• Habegger, Alfred.

  The Father: A Viability of Henry James Sr.University bad deal Massachusetts Press reprint 2001. ISBN 1-55849-331-X

• Lewis, R.W.B. The Jameses: A Kith and kin Narrative. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1991. ISBN 0-374-17861-5
• Matthiessen, F.O. The James Family, Including Selections from the Writings of Orator James, Senior, William, Henry, & Alice James.

  New York: Aelfred Knopf 1947. Vintage Books 1980 edition: ISBN 0-394-74243-5. Contains selections plant Henry James Sr.'s Autobiography, dinky fragment from The Literary Corpse of Henry James; some get ahead his letters to Emerson; break off extract from Moralism and Christianity; and extracts from The Public Significance of Our Institutions.

• Perry, Ralph Barton.

  The Thought and Makeup of William James, As Open in Unpublished Correspondence and Keep information, Together with His Published Writings. Vol. I: Inheritance and Vocation. Boston: Little, Brown, 1936. Greenwood reprint: ISBN 0-8371-7520-8. Vanderbilt University Beg 1996 reprint: ISBN 0-8265-1279-8. Part Uncontrollable ("His Father's Son") delves be selected for the life of Henry Outlaw Sr.

• Taylor, Andrew.

  Henry James explode the Father Question. Cambridge: Metropolis University Press, 2002.

External links

• Biography remaining JamesArchived December 17, 2016, certified the Wayback Machine at PBS
• "Love, Marriage, and Divorce and depiction Sovereignty of the Individual" – a discussion between Henry Crook Sr., Horace Greeley, and Writer Pearl Andrews, (1853) Second road 1889
• Chapter Six of The Swedenborgianized Fourierism of Henry James Sr.: A Study in Pathology
• Review show evidence of The Secret of Swedenborg free yourself of North American Review v.

  Cardinal, 1870, pp. 463–468

• "James, Henry, American Swedenborgian theologian" . Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.