Chapter Rochester to Rossetti of R by Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

Rochester to Rossetti

Rochester, John Wilmot (2nd Earl of) (1647-1680).—Poet, son of the 1st Earl, born at Ditchley in Oxfordshire, and educated at Oxford, saw some naval service when he showed conspicuous bravery. He became one of the most dissolute of the courtiers of Charles II., and wore himself out at 33 by his wild life. He was handsome, and witty, and possessed a singular charm of manner. He wrote a number of light, graceful poems, many of them extremely gross. Bishop Burnet, who attended him on his death- bed, believed him to have been sincerely repentant. In addition to his short pieces he wrote a Satyr against Mankind, and a tragedy, Valentinian, adapted from Beaumont and Fletcher.

Rogers, Henry (1806-1877).—Critic and theologian, was a minister of the Congregationalist Church, and ultimately Professor of English Literature in University College, London. He was a contributor to the Edinburgh Review, and is best known by his Eclipse of Faith (1852), a reply to F. W. Newman’s Phases of Faith. This work, which displays remarkable acuteness and logical power, had great popularity.

Rogers, Samuel (1763-1855).—Poet, son of a banker in London, received a careful private education, and entered the bank, of which, on his father’s death, he became the principal partner. From his early youth he showed a marked taste for literature and the fine arts, which his wealth enabled him to gratify; and in his later years he was a well-known leader in society and a munificent patron of artists and men of letters, his breakfasts, at which he delighted to assemble celebrities in all departments, being famous. He was the author of the following poems: The Pleasures of Memory (1792), Columbus (1810), Jacqueline (1814), Human Life (1819), and Italy (1822). Rogers was emphatically the poet of taste, and his writings, while full of allusion and finished description, rarely show passion or intensity of feeling; but are rather the reflections and memory-pictures of a man of high culture and refinement expressed in polished verse. He had considerable powers of conversation and sarcasm. He was offered, but declined, the laureateship.

Rolle, Richard (1290?-1349).—Hermit and poet, born at Thornton, Yorkshire, was at Oxford Impressed by the uncertainty and the snares of life he decided to become a hermit, a resolution which he carried out with somewhat romantic circumstances. He wrote various religious treatises in Latin and English, turned the Psalms into English verse, and composed a poem—The Pricke of Conscience—in 7 books, in which is shown the attitude of protest which was rising against certain Papal pretensions and doctrines.

Rollock, Robert (1555?-1599).—Theologian and scholar, born in Stirlingsbire, was first a Professor in St. Andrews, and then the first Principal of the University of Edinburgh He also held office as Professor of Theology, and was one of the ministers of the High Church. He was one of the earliest of Protestant commentators. He wrote chiefly in Latin, but some of his sermons and commentaries are in vernacular Scotch.

Roper, William (1496-1578).—Biographer, son of a Kentish gentleman, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas More. He has a place in literature for his excellent and appreciative biography of his father- in-law. He was a member of various Parliaments between 1529 and 1558. Although he remained a Roman Catholic, he was permitted to retain his office of prothonotary of the Court of King’s Bench after the accession of Elizabeth.

Roscoe, William (1753-1831).—Historian, son of a market-gardener near Liverpool, for a time assisted his flourished, devoting all his spare time to mental improvement. Subsequently he entered the office of an attorney, and in due time went into business on his own account, continuing, however, his literary studies. In 1799 he joined a local bank as partner and manager, which proved an unfortunate step, as the bank was obliged, in 1816, to suspend payment. In 1795 he rose into fame at a bound by his Life of Lorenzo de’ Medici. It was followed in 1805 by the Life and Pontificate of Leo the Tenth, which, though also a work of great ability, had not the same success—his treatment of the Reformation offending Protestants and Roman Catholics alike. Both works were translated into various languages. He also wrote some poems, including The Butterfly’s Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast, and several pamphlets on political questions, including the slave-trade, of which he was a determined opponent. He also took a leading part in the public life of Liverpool, which he represented in Parliament for a few years. He was an accomplished botanist.