The son of Richard West,[1] he was educated at Winchester, Eton and Christ Church, Oxford; his father intended a career in the Church for him.[2][3] However, he was persuaded by his uncle, Lord Cobham to take a commission in the army[3] but soon left to work under Lord Townshend, a prominent Whig.[2] West left this position when it became clear that he had no prospect of advancement in such a career.[3]
West married Miss Catherine Bartlett with whom he lived in West Wickham (near Bromley) [4] in Kent and was appointed Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital, which provided him a modest income.[3] During this period, following dialogue with his cousin George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton he published the essay Observations on the history and evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1747) for which Oxford University awarded him an LLD. In 1749 West published his translations of the odes of Pindar; his translation of Pindar remained the standard version throughout the following century.[5] Only late in his life did West achieve a measure of financial success when he was appointed to a clerkship of the Privy Council in 1752.[2] He died four years later.
Works
Stowe, the gardens of the Right Honourable Richard, Lord Viscount Cobham (1732)
gilbert, west, 1703, 1756, minor, english, poet, translator, theologian, early, middle, eighteenth, century, samuel, johnson, included, lives, most, eminent, english, poets, contents, biography, works, notes, external, linksbiography, editthe, richard, west, e. Gilbert West 1703 1756 was a minor English poet translator and theologian in the early and middle eighteenth century Samuel Johnson included him in his Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 Notes 4 External linksBiography EditThe son of Richard West 1 he was educated at Winchester Eton and Christ Church Oxford his father intended a career in the Church for him 2 3 However he was persuaded by his uncle Lord Cobham to take a commission in the army 3 but soon left to work under Lord Townshend a prominent Whig 2 West left this position when it became clear that he had no prospect of advancement in such a career 3 West married Miss Catherine Bartlett with whom he lived in West Wickham near Bromley 4 in Kent and was appointed Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital which provided him a modest income 3 During this period following dialogue with his cousin George Lyttelton 1st Baron Lyttelton he published the essay Observations on the history and evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ 1747 for which Oxford University awarded him an LLD In 1749 West published his translations of the odes of Pindar his translation of Pindar remained the standard version throughout the following century 5 Only late in his life did West achieve a measure of financial success when he was appointed to a clerkship of the Privy Council in 1752 2 He died four years later Works EditStowe the gardens of the Right Honourable Richard Lord Viscount Cobham 1732 A canto of the Fairy Queen Written by Spenser 1739 The institution of the order of the garter A dramatick poem 1742 Observations on the history and evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ 1747 The odes of Pindar with several other pieces translated 1749 Education a poem in two cantos 1751 The oration of Plato translation of the funeral oration in Plato s Menexenus In Two orations in Praise of Athenians Slain in Battle 1759 Note Some publication dates are posthumous Notes Edit West Gilbert Dictionary of National Biography London Smith Elder amp Co 1885 1900 a b c Johnson Samuel 1781 Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets vol 3 pp 328 33 a b c d Jones Stephen 1812 Biographia Dramatica or A Companion to the Playhouse vol 1 pp 741 42 West Gilbert Bluestocking Corpus Carruthers Robert 1879 Chambers s Cyclopaedia of English Literature 3rd ed p 192 External links EditGilbert West at the Eighteenth Century Poetry Archive ECPA Dr Johnson s biography of Gilbert West at Project Gutenberg Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gilbert West amp oldid 1092195198, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
