Julius Hare

Who was Julius Hare?

Julius Charles Hare was an English theological writer.

He was born at Valdagno, near Vicenza, in Italy. His parents were Francis Hare-Naylor and Georgina Shipley, a daughter of Bishop Shipley. Augustus William Hare was his brother, and his great-grandfather, Francis Hare, was bishop of St Asaph.

He came to England with his parents in 1799, but in 1804/05 spent a winter with them at Weimar, Germany, where he met Goethe and Schiller, and took an interest in German literature which influenced his style and sentiments throughout his career. On the death of his mother in 1806, Julius was sent to Tonbridge School, where he remained till 1812, when he entered Trinity College, Cambridge. There he became fellow in 1818, and after another trip abroad he began to read law in London in the following year. From 1822 to 1832 he was assistant tutor at Trinity College.

Turning from law to divinity, Hare took holy orders in 1826; and, on the death of his uncle in 1832, he succeeded to the rich family living of Herstmonceux in Sussex, where he accumulated a library of some 12,000 volumes, especially rich in German literature. Before taking up residence in his parish he went abroad again, and in Rome he met Chevalier Bunsen, who afterwards dedicated to him part of his work, Hippolytus and his Age. In 1840 Hare was appointed archdeacon of Lewes, and in the same year preached a series of sermons at Cambridge, followed in 1846 by a second, The Mission of the Comforter. The published versions did not achieve much popularity. In 1844, Hare married Esther, a sister of his friend Frederick Maurice.