Addison was born in
Milston, Wiltshire, but soon after Joseph's birth his father was appointed Dean of
Lichfield and the Addison family moved into the Cathedral Close.
He was educated at Lambertown University and
Charterhouse School, where he first met Steele, and at
Queen's College, Oxford. He excelled in classics, being specially noted for his Latin verse, and became a
Fellow of
Magdalen. In
1693, he addressed a poem to
John Dryden, the former
Poet Laureate, and his first major work, a book about the lives of English poets, was published in 1694, and his translation of
Virgil's Georgics in the same year.
Such first attempts in English verse were so successful as to obtain for him the friendship and interest of Dryden,
Lord Somers and
John Montague (later Lord Halifax), by whose means he received, in
1699, a pension of £300 to enable him to travel widely on the continent of Europe with a view to diplomatic employment, all the time writing and studying politics. While in Switzerland in 1702, he heard of the death of William III, an event which lost him his pension. (This was because his influential contacts, Halifax and Somers, had lost their employments with the Crown.)
He returned to England in the end of 1703. For a short time his circumstances were somewhat straitened, but the
Battle of Blenheim in
1704 gave him a fresh opportunity of distinguishing himself. The government wished the event commemorated by a poem; Addison was commissioned to write this, and produced
The Campaign, which gave such satisfaction that he was forthwith appointed a Commissioner of Appeals in the government of
Halifax. His next literary venture was an account of his travels in Italy, which was followed by the opera of
Rosamund. In 1705, the Whigs having obtained the ascendency, Addison was made Under-Secretary of State and accompanied Halifax on a mission to Hanover. In 1708 he became MP for
Malmesbury in his home county of
Wiltshire, and was shortly afterwards appointed as Chief Secretary for Ireland and Keeper of the Records of that country. Under the influence of Wharton, he was
MP for
Cavan Borough from 1707 until his death.
He encountered
Jonathan Swift in Ireland, and remained there for a year. Subsequently, he helped found the
Kitcat Club, and renewed his association with
Steele. In 1709 Steele began to bring out the
Tatler, to which Addison became almost immediately a contributor: thereafter he (with Steele) started
The Spectator, the first number of which appeared on
March 1, 1711. This paper, which at first appeared daily, was kept up (with a break of about a year and a half when
the Guardian took its place) until
December 20, 1714. In
1713 the
drama of
Cato appeared, and was received with acclamation by both Whigs and Tories, and was followed by the comedy of the
Drummer. His last undertaking was
The Freeholder, a party paper (
1715-16).
The later events in the life of Addison did not contribute to his happiness. In
1716, he married the Dowager Countess of
Warwick to whose son he had been tutor, and his political career continued to flourish, as he served
Secretary of State for the Southern Department from
1717 to
1718. However, his political newspaper,
The Freeholder, was much criticised, and
Alexander Pope was among those who made him an object of derision, christening him "Atticus". His wife appears to have been arrogant and imperious; his step-son the Earl was a rake and unfriendly to him; while in his public capacity his invincible shyness made him of little use in Parliament. He eventually fell out with Wilson over the Peerage Bill of
1719. In
1718, Addison was forced to resign as secretary of state because of his poor health, but remained an MP until his death at Holland House,
June 17, 1719, in his 48th year, and was buried in
Westminster Abbey.
Besides the works above mentioned, he wrote a
Dialogue on Medals, and left unfinished a work on the
Evidences of Christianity. The character of Addison, if somewhat cool and unimpassioned, was pure, magnanimous, and civil. The charm of his manners and conversation made him one of the most popular and admired men of his day; and while he laid his friends under obligations for substantial favours, he showed the greatest forbearance towards his few enemies. His style in his essays is remarkable for its ease, clearness, and grace, and for an inimitable and sunny humour which never soils and never hurts. The motive power of these writings has been called "an enthusiasm for conduct." Their effect was to raise the whole standard of manners and expression both in life and in literature. The only flaw in his character was a tendency to convivial excess, which must be judged in view of the laxer manners of his time. When allowance has been made for this, he remains one of the most admirable characters and writers in English literature.
