TEMPLE, SIR WILLIAM, BART. English statesman, diplomatist, and author, was born in London. He was the eldest son of Sir John Temple (1600-1677), Irish master of the rolls, whose father was Sir William Temple (1555-1627), provost of Trinity college, Dublin. Temple was educated at the grammar-school at Bishop Stortford, and at the Puritan college of Emmanuel at Cambridge, where he came under the influence of Cudworth. In 1647 he started to travel abroad. In the Isle of Wight he met Dorothy Osborne, the daughter of the Royalist governor of Guernsey, Sir Peter Osborne; and though her family were opposed to the match, he married her in 1655.
In 166o Temple sat in the convention parliament, and in its successor, at Dublin as member for Carlow. He removed to England in 1663, attached himself to Arlington, secretary of state, and two years later was employed in various negotiations on the continent. In 1666 he became the English representative at the viceregal court at Brussels. While the Dutch war continued, Temple's duties consisted chiefly in cultivating good relations with neutral Spain, which was threatened by the claims of Louis XIV. on the Spanish Netherlands. Louis's designs became ap parent in the spring of 1667, when he marched an army into Flanders. This event was one of those which led to the peace of Breda, and to the subsequent negotiations, which are Temple's chief title to fame. The French conquests were made at the ex pense of Spain, but were almost equally dangerous to the United Netherlands, whose independence would have been forfeited had Louis succeeded in annexing Flanders. While the French were taking town after town, Temple made a journey into Holland and visited De Witt.
Temple had for some time pressed on his government the neces sity of stopping the French advance, and had pointed out the way to do so, but it was not till December 1667 that he received instructions to act as he had suggested. He at once set out for The Hague, and in January 1668 a treaty was made between England and the United Netherlands, which, being joined shortly afterwards by Sweden, became known as the Triple Alliance. It was a defensive treaty, made against the encroachments of France. The skill and celerity with which the negotiations were conducted and the results of the treaty, reflect great credit on Temple. The French king was checked in mid-career, and, without a blow being struck,. was obliged to surrender almost all his conquests.
Unfortunately the policy thus indicated was undone by Charles's personal policy embodied in the secret treaty of Dover which reversed the policy of the Triple Alliance. (See CHARLES II.) Meanwhile Temple had developed the good understanding with the Dutch by contracting a commercial treaty with them (February 1668), and had acted as English plenipotentiary at Aix la-Chapelle, where peace between France and Spain was made in May 1668. Shortly afterwards he was appointed ambassador at The Hague. Here he lived for two years on good terms both with De Witt and with the young prince of Orange, afterwards William III. The treaty of Dover led to Temple's recall, but Temple nomi nally held his post for another year. He perceived, however, that his day was over and retired to his house at Sheen. In June 1671 he received his formal dismissal. The war with the Netherlands
broke out next year, and was almost as discreditable to England as that of 1665. Want of success and the growing strength of the opposition in parliament forced Charles to make peace, and Temple was commissioned to carry through the change of front. After a negotiation of three days, carried on through the medium of the Spanish ambassador, the treaty of Westminster was made (February 1674) As a recognition of his services Temple was now offered the embassy to Spain. This he declined, as well as the offer of a far more important post, that of secretary of state, but accepted instead a renewal of his embassy to The Hague. In the March following he was nominated ambassador to the congress at Nijmwegen; but, owing to the tortuousness of Charles's dealings, it was not till July 1676 that he entered that town. The negotia tions dragged on for two years longer, for Charles was still receiving money from France, and English mediation was no more than a ruse. In the summer of 1677 Temple was summoned to England and received a second offer of the secretaryship of state, which he again declined. In the autumn of the same year he had the satisfaction of bringing about the marriage of William and Mary, an event which seemed to complete the work of 1668 and 1674. Louis still remaining obstinate in his demands, Temple was commissioned in July 1678 to make an alliance with the states, with the object of compelling France to come to terms. This treaty was instrumental in bringing about the general pacification which was concluded in January 1679.
This was Temple's last appearance in the field of diplomacy. His plan for the reform of the privy council failed. His name was removed from the list of the council in 1681, and thenceforward he lived in retirement, first at Sheen, and then at Moor Park in Surrey. When William III. came to the throne Temple was pressed to take office, but refused. His son became secretary at war, but committed suicide immediately afterwards. Temple died at Moor Park on Jan. 27, 1699.
Temple's works include An Essay on the Present State and Settlement of Ireland (i668) ; The Empire, Sweden, etc., a survey of the different Governments of Europe and their relations to England (1671) ; Ob servations upon the United Provinces (1672) ; Essay upon the Original and Nature of Government (1672) ; Essay upon the Advancement of Trade in Ireland (1673). Some of these were published in the first part of his Miscellanea (1679). In the same year apparently his Poems were privately printed. In 1683 he began to write his Memoirs. The first part, extending from 1665 to 1671, he destroyed unpublished; the sec ond, from 1672 to 1679, was published without his authority in 1691; the third, from 5679 to 1681, was published by Swift in 5709.
See Life and Works of Sir William Temple (2 vols., 1720 ; 2nd ed., with Life by Lady Giffard, 1731) ; a more complete edition, including the Letters, was published in 4 vols. in 1814 ; Burnet, History of his own Time; T. P. Courtenay, Memoirs of the Life, etc., of Sir William Temple (2 vols., 1836) ; Macaulay, Essay on Sir William Temple; A. F. Sieveking, Sir W. Temple and other Carolean Essays (1908) ; and E. S. Lyttel, Sir William Temple (Oxford, 1908).