A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature/Forster, John (essayist)

by John William Cousin

Forster, John (1770-1843).—Essayist, was b. at Halifax, and ed. at Bristol for the Baptist ministry. Though a man of powerful and original mind he did not prove popular as a preacher, and devoted himself mainly to literature, his chief contribution to which is his four Essays (1) On a Man's Writing Memoirs of Himself, (2) On Decision of Character, (3) On the Epithet "Romantic," (4) On Evangelical Religion, etc., all of which attracted much attention among the more thoughtful part of the community, and still hold their place. These Essays were pub. in 1805, and in 1819. F. added another on the Evils of Popular Ignorance, in which he advocated a national system of education.

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