author
John Weiss
1818–1879
A fiery 19th-century Unitarian minister and essayist, this writer brought moral urgency and wide learning to everything from religion and reform to mythology. He was known for speaking out against slavery and for women's rights, and for writing with the energy of a public lecturer as much as a man of letters.
1 Audiobook
Wit, Humor, and Shakspeare: Twelve Essays
by John Weiss
About the author
Born in Boston on June 28, 1818, John Weiss studied at Harvard College and later at Harvard Divinity School before becoming a Unitarian minister. Alongside his ministry, he built a reputation as a lecturer, essayist, and author whose work ranged across religion, literature, and classical myth.
Weiss was deeply involved in the reform movements of his time. He was an abolitionist, supported women's rights, and was associated with the broad world of Transcendentalist and liberal religious thought. His sermons and essays were known for their independence of mind, and he sometimes clashed with congregations because of his outspoken views.
He is remembered not only as a clergyman but as a public intellectual who tried to connect moral conviction with culture and history. His books include works on Greek legend and religion, and he also wrote an early biography of Theodore Parker. Weiss died in Boston on March 9, 1879.