John Armstrong

Under the pseudonym "Launcelot Temple, Esq", he published Sketches, or, Essays on Various Subjects in 1758. The "Oeconomy Of Love" has been described as an eighteenth-century guide to sex and is particularly interesting in that the lines: "To shed thy blossoms thro' the desert air, And sow thy perish'd offspring in the winds" are thought to be a possible inspiration for the more famous lines by Thomas Gray contained in his "Elegy Written in a Country Church-Yard" as follows: "Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air." However John Armstrong's use of floral metaphor in the "Oeconomy of Love" refers to the unnecessary shedding of semen whilst the author cautions young men against sexual practices that he condemns in his role as poet and physician. Strangely what must have been once the small town of Castleton, with a castle, church, manse, regular licensed markets and many homes has now totally disappeared. In the churchyard, however an obelisk stands to the memory of John Armstrong. It reads: "If yet thy shade delights to hover near The holy ground where oft thy sire hath taught, And where our fathers fondly flocked to hear Accept the offering which their sons have brought. Proud of the muse, which gave to classic fame Our vale and stream, to song before unknown; We raise this stone to bear thy deathless name, And tell the world that Armstrong was our own. To learning, worth, and genius such as thine, How vain the tribute monuments can pay! Thy name immortal with thy works shall shine, And live when frailer marble shall decay." Of considerable note, also written on the same stone, in this deserted churchyard of a town or village of which nothing else remains, lies the further inscription: "In Memory of George Armstrong, M.D,1720-1789, Brother of John the Poet. Doctor George Armstrong is the Father of modern Paediatrics, and the Founder of the World's First Hospital for Sick Children. He died in London where he had given his life for the children of the poor"

• Name — John Armstrong • Born — 1709 • Died — 1779 • Occupation — poet, physician • Notable Works — The Art of Preserving Health (1744)