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Edmund Hamilton Sears (April 6, 1810 – January 14, 1876) was an American Unitarian parish minister and author who wrote a number of theological works influencing 19th century liberal Protestants. Sears is known today primarily as the man who penned the words to "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" in 1849. It has been sung to two tunes, one by Richard Storrs Willis and another adapted by Arthur Sullivan from a traditional English air. Sears originally wrote the song as a melancholy reflection on his times while a minister in Wayland, Massachusetts, US. However, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" has since become a popular Christmas carol. ==Biography== Born on April 6, 1810, the youngest of three sons of Joseph and Lucy (Smith) Sears, Edmund grew up on a farm within sight of the Berkshire Hills, in Sandisfield, Massachusetts.〔(Hughes, Peter. "Edmund Hamilton Sears", ''Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography'', April 24, 2002 )〕 Sears attended Union College, in Schenectady, New York, where he was a member of the Delta Phi Fraternity. Following graduation from Union in 1834, Sears studied law for nine months under a lawyer in Sandisfield. He attended Harvard Divinity School, graduating in 1837 and began to preach as a missionary in Toledo, Ohio, remaining nearly a year. He served the Greater Boston Unitarian congregation in Wayland, and then a larger congregation in Lancaster. After seven years of hard work, he suffered a breakdown and returned to Wayland. He wrote ''It Came Upon the Midnight Clear'' while serving as a part-time preacher in Wayland.〔(Sawyer, Ken. "It came upon a Unitarian midnight clear", ''UUWorld'', November 1, 2002 )〕 In addition to the above noted hymn, Sears authored the following publications: ''Fire-side Colloquies'' (1847); ''Regeneration'' (1853); Calm on the Listening Ear of Night; Pictures of the Olden Time, 1857; ''Athanasia'' (1858); and Sermons and Songs of the Christian Life, 1875. With Rev R Ellis he edited "The Monthly Religious Magazine" for twelve years.〔Julian, John. ''Dictionary of Hymnology'', 1907〕 Sears found the Christ best presented in the Gospel of John. ''The Fourth Gospel the Heart of Christ'' (1872) was his most widely-read work.〔 Sears preached the equality of women and men. After the Fugitive Slave Law was passed, Sears declared from his pulpit that "when the human and the Divine law were in conflict it was the duty of all to obey the latter."〔 He died January 14, 1876, in Weston, Massachusetts.〔(Tillett, Wilbur. ''The Hymns and Hymnwriters of the Church'', Eaton & Mains, New York, 1911 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Edmund Sears」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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