Selden, John

John (1584-1654), a learned English jurist, antiquary, and author. He was born at Salvington, Sussex, and died at London. He studied at Hart's Hall, Oxford, and was afterward called to the bar of the Inner Temple. He established a large practice, but made a greater reputation as a scholar and writer than as a lawyer. His first work of importance related to the civil government of Britain previous to the Norman conquest. Other works were Titles of Honour, Concerning the Syrian Gods, History of Tithes, and Table Talk. The last is his best known work.