The Right Honourable John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury PC FRS DCL LLD (30 April 1834 – 28 May 1913), known as Sir John Lubbock, 4th Baronet from 1865 until 1900, was a banker, Liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist and polymath.
He was a banker and worked with his family’s company, but also made significant contributions in archaeology, ethnography, and several branches of biology. He helped establish archaeology as a scientific discipline, and was also influential in nineteenth-century debates concerning evolutionary theory.
In addition to his work at his father’s bank, Lubbock took a keen interest in archaeology and evolutionary theory. He spoke in support of the evolutionist Thomas Henry Huxley at the famous 1860 Oxford evolution debate. During the 1860s, he published many articles in which he used archaeological evidence to support Darwin’s theory. In 1864, he became one of the founding members (along with Thomas Henry Huxley and others) of the elite X Club, a dining club composed of nine gentlemen to promote the theories of natural selection and academic liberalism. In 1865 he succeeded to the baronetcy. During the 1860s he held a number of influential academic positions, including President of the Ethnological Society from 1864–65, Vice-President of Linnean Society in 1865, and President of the International Congress of Prehistoric Archaeology in 1868. In 1865 he published Pre-Historic Times, which became a standard archaeology textbook for the remainder of the century, with the seventh and final edition published in 1913.
His second book, On the Origin of Civilization, was published in 1870. During 1871, he purchased part of the Avebury estate to protect its prehistoric stone monuments from impending destruction. During the early 1870s, he held the position of President of the Royal Anthropological Society from 1871–73, as well as the position of Vice President of the Royal Society in 1871. During this period he worked with John Evans, the other key figure in the establishment of the discipline of archaeology.
In 1865 Lubbock published what was possibly the most influential archaeological text book of the nineteenth century, Pre-historic times, as illustrated by ancient remains, and the manners and customs of modern savages. He invented the terms "Palaeolithic" and "Neolithic" to denote the Old and New Stone Ages respectively. More notably, he introduced a Darwinian-type theory of human nature and development. "What was new was Lubbock’s ... insistence that, as a result of natural selection, human groups had become different from each other, not only culturally, but also in their biological capacities to utilize culture."
He had extensive correspondence with Charles Darwin, who lived nearby in Down House. Lubbock stayed in Downe except for a brief period from 1861–65, when he lived in Chislehurst. Both men were active advocates of English spelling reform, and members of the Spelling reform Association, precursor to the Simplified Spelling Society. Darwin rented land, originally from Lubbock’s father, for the Sandwalk wood where he performed his daily exercise, and in 1874 agreed with Lubbock to exchange the land for a piece of pasture in Darwin’s property. When Darwin died in 1882, Lubbock suggested the honour of burial in Westminster Abbey, organising a letter to the dean to arrange this, and was one of the pallbearers.
بعد أن قرأت كتاب المؤلف (السعادة والسلام) ، بحثت عن جميع كتب اللورد أفبري المترجمة بالعربية وجعلتها ضمن قائمتي للقراء..
هذا الكتاب لا يختلف كثيرا عن كتاب السعادة والسلام.. فالمواضيع التي تحدث عنها المؤلف هي متشابهة.. فتكلم عن السعادة وأداء الواجب وعن الكتب واختيارها والصداقة والزواج والحب. وتحدث عن العلم والعمل وأهمية الوقت والصحة والمال والفنون والشعر وختم حديثها بالحديث عن الحياة والمصائب والموت. وهذه المواضيع المتفرقة هي التي تجعل كُتب اللورد أفبري ممتعة. فتحس بأنه يتحدث معك ويعطيك نصائح من صميم تجربته مدعما كلامه بأقوال الحكماء والمفكرين.
أورد بعض الاقتباسات : يقول روسو: حتما على المرء أن يُبتلى ولو بصغائر المصائب حتى يتسنى له أن يشعر بكبائر البركات..
لم يغرق أحد في بالوعة اليأس إلا كان هو الرامي بنفسه فيها.
ومن عاش يتنقل بين الملاذ والمسرات الزمنية، فهو الأسير المقيد فعلا، وما حريته إلا وهم باطل.
وما الملك إلا من ملك نفسه.
كان الأقدمون يشكون من قلة الكتب، فأصبح المتأخرون يشكون من كثرتها..
وقليل من تطارحه حديثا ولا تستفيد منه شيئا..
لا يعرف لذة العلوم إلا من ذاقها...
ولا يذهلك أن تعلم أن تسعة أعشار المسقمين، معدتهم بيت الداء، وحلقهم بابه، ونهمهم علله وأسبابه...
والمرء لا ينعم إلا أن يُشارك في نعمته..
قال مونتين: قلّ من تزوج عن حب ولأجله ولم يندم بعد حين !
وعندي أن الحب يجب أن يتولد بذاته في القلب لا أن يوجد فيه إجبارا وإلزاما.
وبين مئات ممن يتكلمون، واحد يفكر، وبين ألوف ممن يتفكرون واحد فقط يرى...
يقال أن لكل إنسان (ملاك حارسا)، وهذا صحيح، والضمير هو ذاك الملاك.
معاذ الحق أن أحسب الاضطرار إلى العمل في عداد مصائب الحياة...
ومن الأمثال القديمة، بأن الشيطان يجد عملا لأهل الفراغ...
الموت ختام الحياة، والقبر آخر مكان يوجد فيه الانسان على هذه الأرض، ولكن، بعد الموت، وبعد القبر، تُرى... ماذا يكون؟