April 25, 1792, Fairford, Gloucestershire, England.
March 29, 1866, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.
Hursley, Hampshire, England.
April 25, 1792, Fairford, Gloucestershire, England.
March 29, 1866, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England.
Hursley, Hampshire, England.
Keble was the son of the vicar of Colne. After a brilliant career at Oxford University, he took Holy Orders and became Curate at East Leach and Burthorpe. In 1827, he published The Christian Year: Thoughts in Verse for the Sundays and Holy Days Throughout the Year, which was an instant success. In 1831, Keble became a professor of poetry at Oxford. In 1833, he laid the foundation of the Oxford Movement by delivering his famous Assize Sermon. In 1835, he accepted the vicarage at Hursley, where he stayed the rest of his life.
Keble was a modest man, and probably thought less of his own work than did the least of his admirers. He once accompanied the vicar of a parish in southern England on his visit to the Sunday School. The superintendent asked Keble to say a few words to the children, who were already acquainted with his hymns, so that they might more easily remember them. Keble demurred, but when the superintendent persisted, said May they sing something?
When they finished, his face was beaming as he said:
My dear children, you sang most beautifully in tune; may your whole lives be equally in tune, and then you will sing with the angels in heaven.