John Henry MacMahon (1829–23 May 1900) was a Church of Ireland cleric, known as a scholar of patristics and the scholastic philosophers.

Life

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Born at Dublin in 1829, he was the son of John Macmahon, a barrister. He was educated at Enniskillen, and on 1 July 1846 entered Trinity College, Dublin, as a pensioner; he graduated B.A. in 1852, being senior moderator and gold medallist in ethics and logic, and proceeded M.A. in 1856.[1]

MacMahon took holy orders in 1853, and was for some years a curate under William Alexander, later Archbishop of Armagh. He left parochial work after the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland church in 1869. He was subsequently chaplain to the lord-lieutenant, and from 1890 to Mountjoy Prison. He died in Dublin on 23 May 1900.[1] His daughter was the romance novelist Eleanor MacMahon.

Works

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MacMahon was deeply read in Aristotle, the Christian fathers, and the schoolmen, but was not considered an original thinker. His works were:[1]

  • Metaphysics of Aristotle, literally translated from the Greek (1857), in Bohn's Classical Library
  • A Treatise on Metaphysics, chiefly in reference to Revealed Religion (1860)
  • Church and State in England: its [sic] Origin and Use (1873), arguing for the maintenance of the established church
  • The Refutation of all Heresies by Hippolytus, translated (1888) in the Ante-Nicene Library

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Lee, Sidney, ed. (1901). "MacMahon, John Henry" . Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). Vol. 3. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Attribution

  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainLee, Sidney, ed. (1901). "MacMahon, John Henry". Dictionary of National Biography (1st supplement). Vol. 3. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

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