A Rake's Progress: William Whiston Reads Josephus

Abstract

William Whiston celebrated his sixty-seventh birthday on Monday, 9 December 1734. As if to solemnize the occasion, he entered his study and began translating the works of Josephus. The decision to undertake the translation was far from spontaneous. As early as 16 March 1733 Whiston had advertised the imminent publication of two dissertations on the Jewish historian, intended to serve as "preparatory to a New Version of Josephus in English." Still, the date is suggestive for elucidating the motivation of the translation. In the previous month Whiston's youngest son, John, had been made free of the Merchant's Taylor Company, having completed his apprenticeship with the bookseller Fletcher Gyles. Setting up shop in Fleet Street, John would become William's sole publisher, and the translation, I submit, was intended to secure an immediate best seller—which would both ensure the future well-being of John's business and alleviate William's chronic financial difficulties.

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