Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury (or Chirbury) KB (3 March 1583[1] – 5 August 1648[2]) was an English soldier, diplomat, historian, poet and religious philosopher.
He studied multiple languages and disciplines at University College, Oxford, and began his political career in Parliament, representing the Welsh counties Montgomeryshire and Merioneth.
As a soldier, Herbert distinguished himself in the Low Countries, serving under the Prince of Orange. His diplomatic career was most active in Paris, where he aimed to arrange a marriage between Charles, Prince of Wales, and Henrietta Maria, which took place in 1625.
Herbert was granted an Irish peerage as the Baron Herbert of Castle Island in 1624, followed by an English barony in 1629. During the English Civil War, he took a neutral stance, retiring to Montgomery Castle which he surrendered to Parliament.
Herbert is most renowned for his work in philosophy, particularly his treatise De Veritate which positioned him as the "father of English Deism". This seminal work distinguishes truth from revelation, probability, possibility, and falsehood. Other significant works include the De religione gentilium, a pioneering work on comparative religion, and Expedition Buckinghami ducis, a defence of the Duke of Buckingham's actions in 1627.
Herbert also produced a body of poems, showing his prowess as a faithful disciple of Donne, and his autobiography provides a lively account of his life up until 1624.
- ^ Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury at the Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Herbert's date of death has been the source of confusion. The date 5 August appears in the burial registers of St Giles in the Fields, and is corroborated by independent documentary evidence. However, his tombstone, erected some years later, apparently bore the date 20 August, and this date was subsequently accepted by many biographers. It is now believed to have been an error: see Roberts, Dunstan (2016). "The death of Lord Herbert of Cherbury revisited". Notes and Queries. 63 (1): 44–45. doi:10.1093/notesj/gjv228.