John Quine

Third son of a Foxdale miller, William Quine and Christian (née Callister), John Quine was introduced to Latin and the classics from an early age. He attended King William's College, near to which the family moved when Quine was twelve years old, when they settled in Ballasalla. After winning numerous prizes at the school, Quine won an open scholarship to study Mathematics at Merton College, Oxford, in 1877. His enjoyment of Oxford was hampered only by the occasional consequences of his quick tongue and a lack of funds that he attributed to his father's miserliness. He gained his Bachelor of Arts in 1881 and his MA shortly afterwards, as well as taking his Holy orders. Despite gaining his degree in mathematics, Quine developed his early interest in the classics into a passion which would last throughout his life. At Oxford he pursued courses in Greek and Latin literature as well as divinity. Upon graduation it was expected that he would go on to a successful career in the Church or the British Museum, but instead he returned to the Isle of Man, being by this time a staunch Manx Nationalist. ==Life on the Isle of Man==

Upon leaving university in 1881, Quine became curate of Kirk Michael. Early in 1883 he became the Domestic Chaplain to Bishop Rowley Hill. including the Chaplaincy of All Saints Church, Laxey, a position that he would hold until his death in 1940. He proved to be popular and successful in this role, despite his "sharp and occasional sarcastic tongue." Perhaps the most significant of his achievements in Lonan was his rescuing of Lonan Old Church from disrepair. Today it is a listed building of recognised national importance. ==Writing==

Quine's novel, The Captain of the Parish, was published in 1897 by Heinemann. It was well received by critics and public, with Mona Douglas commenting in the 1960s that the novel is a "classic of its genre" and that it "is accounted by many people the best Manx novel ever written." Quine’s novel was greatly praised by the Manx national poet, T.E. Brown, whose poetry is quoted ahead of each and every section of the novel. Brown expressed his admiration in a personal letter written to Quine on 26 April 1897: My blessings on you! you speak of inspiration, encouragement, what not, coming from me. With The Captain of the Parish I am supremely contented, I can die happy. To have had anything to do with the endeavour of such a work makes me very proud. Perhaps I have leavened you and my barm may stir in your young and vigorous veins. All right but, however that may be, I have got what I longed for, and, ever since I came to the island, conjectured a new Manx writer honestly suckled at a Manx breast. You will be faithful to us, and continue, and expand, and heighten the tradition, the sacred deposit. . . . You see I am excited, but how can I help it? Quine was also the author of a comic play entitled ''Kitty's Affair''. It was written in the Anglo-Manx dialect and it features a number of Manx types, including smugglers, farmers and maids. It was published in 1909 and received performances by several companies on the island. He also published a number of guidebooks to aspects of the Isle of Man, including its Electric Railway, geography and history. ==Manx archaeology and history==

Quine continued his great interest in ancient history and archaeology during his later life on the Isle of Man. He was twice president of the Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society and carried out much original research. His theories about Manx history were marked by their inventiveness and rejection of the accepted history of the Island. Most notable is his theory that the Isle of Man was "an integral part of the Roman Kingdom." Reports of one of his presentations to the IOMNHAS in 1917 states: [Quine] claimed that the Cronks, hitherto believed to have been burial places or fortifications; were really artificial mounds used by the Roman engineers to assist in the triangulation and plotting out of lands; they were found at regular distances of Roman miles in proper alignment, and the connecting lines formed regular parallelograms and triangles when tested on the Ordnance Map. He regarded certain Manx place-names as corruptions of old Latin designations derived from Roman emperors, goddesses and heroes. His other notable theories included the idea that Phoenician mariner merchants visited the island, and that Saint Patrick was born on the Isle of Man. It was generally considered that these theories were based on very little evidence and they have not been taken very seriously by the academic establishment. However, Mona Douglas was to later praise his skill in Manx archaeology and its early documents, writing that "there is hardly a branch of these subjects on which he has not written papers of profound scholarship and original thought." ==Later life==

In 1906 Quine was elected Chaplain to the House of Keys, a post he held until 1924. In 1909 he became the Canon of St. German's Church. His other positions of responsibility included being Chairman of the Lonan School Board and the Chairman of Lonan Board of Guardians. In 1916 he was elected Worshipful Master of the Maughold Freemason's Lodge. Even unto the end of his life, Quine didn't own a car but was a keen walker. In contrast to his scanty knowledge of Manx Gaelic, Quine was fluent in French – it was in this language that he kept detailed diaries. He remained a good friend with Archibald Knox throughout his life, commissioning works by him for his church in Lonan, including the war memorial and some silverware. It was Knox who created Quine's large slate headstone (although Knox was not able to finish it due to his own death). Quine died at the age of 82 on 29 February 1940. ==Publications==

• The Captain of the Parish, London: Heinemann, 1897 • Isle of Man Illustrated, Mates of Bournemouth Illustrated Guides, 1899 and 1900 • Memorials of Manxland, Baume and Son, 1906 • ''Handbook en Route – 'Isle of Man': A Souvenir of Coast and Mountain Electric Railway'', London: Joseph Causton, 1906 • ''Kitty's Affair'', Douglas: Broadbent Ltd., 1909 • • Scenes of Manx History – 12th Century, Isle of Man: Clucas and Fargher, 1920 • Early Scribed Rocks of the Isle of Man with Notes on the Early Pottery, 1923 (from a lecture delivered 22 February 1922) • ''Balnahawin: Including Flos Elleray's Holiday'' (edited by Julie Quine), 2014 (from previously unpublished papers) • ''Cross's Folly'' (edited by Julie Quine), 2014 (from previously unpublished papers) == References==