Herbert of Cherbury, Edward, Lord (1582–1648), elder brother of G.
Herbert, was created knight of the Bath in 1603. His adventures, from birth to 1624, are recounted by Herbert in his
Life, a remarkable document, not least for its unabashed presentation of its author's martial valour, success with women, truthfulness, sweetness of breath, and other virtues. Herbert aspired to a career in public service and spent much of the time from 1608 to 1618 in France, getting to know the French aristocracy and court. He also travelled in Italy and the Low Countries, fighting at the siege of Juliers (1610).
He was from 1619 to 1624 ambassador to France, on
Buckingham's recommendation. There he completed his most famous philosophical work,
De Veritate (1624), which postulates that religion is common to all men and that, stripped of superfluous priestly accretions, it can be reduced to five universal innate ideas: that there is a God; that he should be worshipped; that virtue and piety are essential to worship; that man should repent of his sins; and that there are rewards and punishments after this life.
De Veritate gained Herbert the title of father of English
Deism. He joined Charles's council of war in 1629, and became Baron Herbert of Cherbury. In 1632 he began a detailed ‘official’ history of
Henry VIII's reign, assisted by Thomas Masters, published 1649. From 1644 Herbert dedicated himself to the study of philosophy, supplementing his
De Veritate with
De Causis Errorum and
De Religione Laici, both published in 1645, and writing besides
De Religione Gentilium and his autobiography (begun in 1643). In 1647 he visited Gassendi in Paris. When archbishop
Ussher offered him the last sacrament Herbert replied, according to
Aubrey, ‘If it did no good 'twould doe no hurt’, whereupon Ussher refused it. Herbert also wrote poetry which is obscure and metrically contorted, evidently influenced by his friend
Donne. (See also
metaphysical poets.)
