Myles Davies Explained

Myles Davies (1662  - 1715 or 1716) was a Welsh author. He published the Athenae Britannicae in 1716.

Biography

Davies was a native of Whiteford, near Holywell in Flintshire, Wales. His parents George and Elizabeth Davies lived in Tre'r Abbot. Isaac D'Israeli said his biography was quite unknown. He was educated at the English Jesuit College in Rome, and was made a Roman Catholic priest on 17 April 1688. He left Rome on 15 October 1688 to work with the Jesuits in Wales, but soon converted to Protestantism, and in 1705 published an explanation (apologia) for his surprising conversion in The Recantation of Mr Pollett, A Roman priest.

The preface to one of his books describes him as "a gentleman of the Inns of Court".He was a learned and erudite scholar, but eccentric to the verge of insanity.

In 1715, he published the first volume of his Athenae Britannicae, a critical history of pamphlets called Icon Libellorum. It was described as "a queer production, but cram full of curious information".The Libellorum included a letter written in French and a Latin ode to Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford.

Davies became a mendicant scholar, selling his own books.He would visit the house of a potential patron and send in a bundle of his books, with perhaps an ode to the recipient, in the hope of receiving a gift in return. He was often rejected or insulted when trying to obtain payment or return of his work.By 1812, his work was described as extremely rare.

References

Bibliography

• Book: Literary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century: Comprizing Biographical Memoirs of William Bowyer, Printer, F.S.A., and Many of His Learned Friends; an Incidental View of the Progress and Advancement of Literature in this Kingdom During the Last Century; and Biographical Anecdotes of a Considerable Number of Eminent Writers and Ingenious Artists; with a Very Copious Index . John. Nichols. Samuel. Bentley . London. Nichols, Son, and Bentley . 1813.
• Book: Bibliotheca curiosa. Catalogue of the library of Andrew J. Odell . Andrew J.. Odell . George Philip. Philes. George Philip Philes . 1878.
• Book: Smollett, Tobias George. https://books.google.com/books?id=F4VHAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA384 . Review of Calamities of Authors . The Critical review, or, Annals of literature . Tobias George Smollett . W. Simpkin and R. Marshall . 1812.
• Review of D'Israeli's Calamities of Authors . The Gentleman's Magazine. 82. 1 . Sylvanus. Urban . London. Nichols, Son, and Bentley . June 1812.

• Davies, Miles. 32. New general biographical dictionary. 7 DAC - GEO. Hugh James. Rose. Hugh James Rose. Henry John. Rose. Henry John Rose. Thomas. Wright. Thomas Wright (antiquarian). London. Fellowes. 1848.
• Book: Jenkins, Geraint H.. The foundations of modern Wales: Wales 1642 - 1780. 4. History of Wales. Clarendon Press. 1987. 978-0-19-821734-3. 238.
• Eminent Welshmen: a short biographical dictionary of Welshmen who have attained distinction from the earliest times to the present. 1. Thomas Rowland. Roberts. Robert. Williams. Educational Publishing Co.. 1908. Davies, Miles. 51.
• Book: Collins, An. hatv. Miles Davies. An Collins. Divine Songs and Meditacions (1653). 119 et seq. Stanley N.. Stewart. Los Angeles. Clark Library. 1961.