No open-access location is known for this record yet.
No open-access location is known for this record yet.
[Introduction]. \nOn a Saturday afternoon in July of 1669, a master of arts named \nHenry Gerard rose to address a crowd of academics and spectators \nin the Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford. A public Act for granting degrees \nwas in progress, and nominally, Gerard was one of several opponents \nwho were to challenge the incepting master of arts William \nWatts in a ceremonial disputation on three philosophical topics: Is \nknowledge memory (An scientia sit reminiscentia)? Is all sensation \ntouch (An omnis sensus sit tactus)? Are the planets habitable (An \nplanetae sint habitabiles)? Watts was obliged to answer no, yes, and \nno respectively, so that Gerard, speaking to the second question, was \nexpected to argue that all sensation was not touch. 1 No one would \nhave been surprised, however, when Gerard ostentatiously ignored \nthe stated question and announced his intention instead to 'touch' \nthe doctors, their wives, and the Oxford townsmen-not, however, the \ntownsmen's wives, who according to Gerard suffered from the disease \ncalled 'touch me not' .2 Gerard proceeded to insult various \nmembers of his audience in academic Latin for nearly an hour. According \nto him, the Vice-Chancellor John Fell shared one soul, one \nbed, and one wig with the Regius Professor of Divinity, Richard \nAllestree; Dr Smith of Christ Church invariably broke his oaths, except \nwhen he swore to beggars that he would not give them a penny; the \nMayor of Oxford, John Lambe, was a tailor (sartor) and a cuckold \nwho had delivered a simple-minded speech to the visiting Cosimo de \nMedici earlier that year; Dr John Lamphire, the Camden Professor \nof Ancient History, was a new Milo of Croton capable of carrying \nan ox, not on his shoulders, but in his belly. John Evelyn, who was \npresent in the audience, described the speech to his diary as 'a tedious, \nabusive, sarcastical rhapsodie', and claimed he had advised the \nauthorities that it ought to be 'suppress'd' .3 In fact, the authorities \nwent further, expelling Gerard within two weeks. The diarist Anthony \nWood noted with disgust that before Gerard departed, he 'went about \nto shew his speech', ensuring that many copies would survive in the \nnotebooks of Oxford students and fellows .
Loading…
Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.