b. at
Bwlch-yr-helygen
in the Parish of
Llanarth, Cards.
,
5 March 1804
, but his parents —
David
and
Mary
Davies
— shortly afterwards moved to a near-by farm called
Castell-y-geifr
. His father, whose education was above the average, was his first
teacher
, but when he was 7 years old he was sent to the school at
Neuaddlwyd
kept by
Thomas
Phillips
(
1772
-
1842
) (q.v.)
. He began to
preach
at an early age, and in
1822
was received into the
Independent Academy
at
Newtown
. Here his
teacher
was
Edward
Davies
(
1796
-
1857
) (q.v.)
, while among his fellow-pupils were
Samuel
Roberts
and
David
Rees
(
1801
-
1869
) of
Llanelly
(qq.v.)
. Here, too, he was given the opportunity of mastering the elements of
Hebrew
,
Aramaic
, and
Syriac
, as well as of improving his knowledge of
Latin
,
Greek
, and divinity. He was invited to
Glandŵr
,
Pembs.
, on six months probation, and was ordained
28 March 1827
. Two years later he founded
Moriah church
,
Llanwinio, Carms.
In
1863
he gave up
Glandŵr
and, thereafter, until his death,
16 Dec. 1884
, confined his activities to
Moriah
. He was a good
pastor
, a sound
preacher
, and a
leader in his circle and denomination
; in
1873
he was
chairman
of the
Union of Welsh Independents
. He was a
frequent contributor to the periodicals of the day
, writing under the pseudonyms
Siôn Llethi
,
Castellanus
, and
Siôn Gymro
. He delighted in controversy of the kind carried on with
John
Roberts
(
1804
-
1884
) (q.v.)
in
Y Dysgedydd
,
1850-2
, on ‘
Fanciful Preaching
.’
He excelled as a
translator
and
commentator
. In
1881
he published his version of the
Minor Prophets
(
Y Proffwydi Byrion
), an original translation from the
Hebrew
with marginal
Latin
,
Greek
, and
Syriac
readings, and explanatory notes. This work is the fruit of forty years of sustained labour and research. His other papers include
Llyfr Coheleth
and
Llyfr Hosea
— translations;
Horae Petrinae
, lectures on
S. Peter's epistles
;
Floreas Poetici
— a collection of his verse. He also published
Llethi, Afonig Llanarth gyda Sylwadau Achlysurol
, in
1868
, but he was but an indifferent
poet
. His son,
John Griffith
Davies
(
1836
-
1861
)
, is separately noticed.
Rev. Thomas Eirug Davies, M.A., B.D. (1892-1951), Lampeter
