Jonathan Dymond was a son of Quaker ministers in the Society of Friends. The linen-draper and author wrote about abolition, religion, civil obedience, and other morality topics. Dymond had 2 books published during his life, with another published posthumously. While not a Transcendentalist, Dymond is known to have influenced Dr. William Ellery Channing (1780-1842) and William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879).
In the March 8, 1834, issue of The Liberator, William Lloyd Garrison wrote a brief review. Garrison laments that Dymond, “is—alas! (for he is now dead) was a prodigy among mankind – the Lord Bacon of our times. His mind was like the sun in its glory, seldom showing the least obscuration. Its amplitude was vast, its power almost super-human, its perceptions wonderful. The field which he occupies in his essays covers the globe, and embraces the whole human race. . .”
Jonathan Dymond died of cholera on 6 May 1828, while visiting the United States, and is buried in Exeter Quaker Burial Ground, City of Exeter, Devon, England.
Jonathan Dymond’s Works
- An inquiry into the Accordancy of War with the Principles of Christianity, and an Examination of the Philosophical Reasoning by which it is defended: with Observations on Some of the Causes of War and Some of Its Effects. (Philadelphia: Tract Association of Friends, 1823).
- Observations on the Applicability of the Pacifist Principles of the New Testament on the Conduct of States, and on the Limitations which those principles impose on the Rights of Self-defence. (London, UK: Peace Society, Tract No. VII, 1825).
- Essays on the Principles of Morality, and on the Private and Political Rights and Obligations of Mankind. (London, UK: Hamilton, Adams & Co, 1829; New-York: Harper & Brothers, 1834).
- Memoir, letters and poems of Jonathan Dymond: with bibliographical supplements. (Bristol, UK: Charles William Dymond, 1911).
