: 111 y i|ijtiiiiHlli!iliii);ii^: iiiPii I iii is pi m i iiiiii lililiiWi ill iljii iiiiipi iii UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES 4 6 9 6 11 IvSAxVC WALTON. ?'uil^/ud .fuh I. IJJ^ fy M^.,^,J^o.:, e^reMMy J.^,ui.yr. LIVES DR. JOHN DONNE; SIR HENRY WOTTON; MR. RICHARD HOOKER; MR. GEORGE HERBERT; AND DR. ROBERT SANDERSON. Br ISAAC WALTON. WITH NOTES, AND THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. BT THOMAS ZOUCH, M. A. THESE WERE HONOURABLE MEN IN THEIR GENERATIONS. ECCLE3. xliv. J. r R K: SON, SPENCE, AND MAK^MJN. EET, B. WHITE, FLEET. STREET, T. PAYNE, AT THE ., LONDON; J. COOKE, OXFORD; J. DEICHTON, CAMBRIDGE j lAWMAN, J.TODD, AND H. SOTHER AN, YORK. ^nuo 1796. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR RICHARD PEPPER ARDEN, MASTER OF THE ROLLS, AND ONE OF HIS MAJESTY'S MOST HONOURABLE PRIvy COUNCIL, SIR, ERFECTLY fenfible of that regard which you entertain for the virtuous charadrer, I experience no difficulty in com- mitting to your patronage a new edition of the following pages. — They contain portraits of genuine excellence, iinifhed by no unfkilful artift. Charmed from my earlieft years with their captivating beauties, I fhall probably be deemed a partial and prejudiced fpedtator. Be this as it may — when I requefl your permiflion to infcribe to you a volume which exhibits a full and adequate reprefentation of perfons eminent for their great and amiable qualities, I am confident of your kind indulgence. I am, Sir, with all poffible refpeft, your Honour's moft obliged and devoted fervant, Wycliffe, Jan. i6, 1796. THOMAS ZOUCH. PREFACE ro THE READER. XT will be neceflary to obferve, that a more full and particular account ^ of feveral of our EngliQi divines and other eminent perfons mentioned in ^ this volume might eafily have been introduced. But fuch a detail would have far exceeded the bounds of my plan, which was only to interfperfe fome traits of their charadlers, fome fhort extradts from, or references to their works, fufficient to incite in the reader a defire of acquiring a more ^ intimate knowledge of them, by a diligent examination of their writings, t or a more enlarged inquiry into their lives. I CANNOT excufe myfelf from declaring that I retain the moft lively fenti- ments of gratitude for thofe many inftances of kindnefs with which, in ■5 the profecution of this work, I have been favoured by feveral gentlemen of diftinguifhed charadler in the republic of letters. The nave, tranfept or crofs-ailes, with the chancel of the church of Leighton Bromefwcld, when viewed in the year 1 794, were in a ftate of decay, and great ncgled. I am authorifed, however, to fay, that John Norris, Efq. of Magdalen College, in Oxford, lord of the manor of Leighton, and patron of the vicarage, intends, in concurrence with the parifhioncrs, to reftore the dilapidated parts of the fabric to their former ftrcngth and beauty. The PREFACE TO THE READER. The beautiful engraving of the north-caft view of the church is not the performance of a profefTed'artift, but of a gentleman of mild and amiable manners, who is now Janguifliing under the prefTure of undeferved mif- fortune. CONTENTS. CONTENTS, LIFE OF ISAAC WALTON Page ix WALTON'S LIVES. DEDICATION TO DR. MORLEY, BISHOP OP WINCHESTER 3 EPISTLE TO THE READER 5 VERSES TO MR. WALTON, ON HIS LIFE OF DR. DONNE 9 LETTER FROM DR. KING, BISHOP OF CHICHESTER, TO MR. WALTON 15 ( LIFE OF DR. DONNE 23 APPENDIX WORKS OF DR. DONNE 1^3 '^ LIFE OF SIR HENRY WOTTON 11? APPENDIX — WORKS OF SIR H. WOTTON . . . . , 1 89 LIFE OF MR. RICHARD HOOKER 193 APPENDIX TO THE LIFE OF MR. HOOKER 284 CONCERNING THE NEW CHURCH DISCIPLINE, IN A LETTER FROM MR. GEORGE"! J. . . 293 CRANMER, TO MR. HOOKER J APPENDIX — WORKS OF MR. HOOKER ; 305 LIFE OF MR. GEORGE HERBERT 3II APPENDIX NO. I WORKS OF MR. HERBERT 393 NO. II. — ACCOUNT OF MR. ANDREW MELVILLE 398 ^, LIFE OP DR. ROBERT SANDERSON, BISHOP OF LINCOLN 407 APPENDIX WORKS OF DR. SANDERSON / . . 505 ADDENDA 509 THE LIFE OF MR. ISAAC WALTON. 1 PRE SENT not to the reader the hiftory of a wife ftatefman, an adventurous foldier, or a profound philofopher. Yet I truft, that he will experience no fmall degree of fatisfadlion from contemplating the virtues of a private citizen; who, though he arrogates not to himfelf the fplendour of high defcent, or the pride of fuperfluous wealth, deferves our approbation and regard. Ifaac, or as he ufually wrote his name, Izaac Walton, adorned with a guilelefs fimplicity of manners, claims from every good man the tribute of applaufe. It was his ambition (and furely a more honourable ambition cannot be excited in the human bread) to commend to the reve- rence of pofterity the merits of thofe excellent perfons, whofe comprehen- five learning and exalted piety will ever endear them to our memories. The important end of hiftorical knowledge is a prudent application of it to ourfelves, with a view to regulate and amend our own conduct. As the examples of men ftri£lly and faithfully difcharging their profeiTional duties muft obvioufly tend to invigorate our efforts to excel in moral worth, the virtuous charadlcrs, which are fo happily delineated in the following pages, cannot fail, if confidered with ferious attention, of producing the moft beneiicial and Lifting imprcfrions on the mind. The Life of the Author of this biographical coUedlion was little diverfi- fied with events. He was born of a refpeiSable family, on the ninth day of Auguft, 1593, in the parifh of St. Maiy's, in the town of Stafford". Of his father no particular tradition is extant. From his mother he derived an hereditary attachment to the Proteflant religion, as profelTed in the Church B of " " September 1593. Baptiz. fuit Ifaac filius Jen-is Walton, XX" die menfis et anni p''' ilid." — ( Rcgijler of St. Marfs, in the town of Stafford-) X THE LIFE OF of England. She was the daughter of Edmund Cranmcr, Archdeacon of Canterbury, fifter to Mr. George Cranmer the pupil and friend of Mr. Richard Hooker, and niece to that lirfl: and brighteft ornament of the Re- formation, Dr. Thomas Cranmer, Archbiiliop of Canterbury. No veftiges of the place or manner of his education have been difcovered : Nor have we any authentic information concerning his firft engagements in a mercantile life. It has indeed been fuggefted, that he was one of thofe induftrious young men, whom the munificence of Sir Thomas Grefham, the founder of the Royal Exchange, had placed in the fhops, which were ereded in the upper buildings of his celebrated Burfe"'. However this may be, he foon improved his fortune by his honcfty, his frugality, and his diligence. His occupation, according to the tradition ftill preferved in his family, was that of a wholefalc linen-draper, or Hamburgh merchant'. The writers of " The Life of Milton" have, with the moft fcrupulous -ittention, regularly marked out the different houfes fucceffively inhabited by the poet, " as if it was an injury to negledl any place, that he honoured by his prefence." The various parts of London, in which Ifaac Walton refided, have been recorded with the fame precilion. It is fufficient to inti- mate, that he was for fome years an inhabitant of St. Dunftau's in the Weft. With Dr. John Donne, then vicar of that parilh, of whofe fermons he was a conftant hearer, he contradled a friendfhip, which remained uninterrupted to their feparation by death. This his parifliioner attended him in his laft licknefs, and was prefent at the time that he configned his fermons and numerous papers to the care of Dr. Henry King, who was promoted to the See of Chichefter in 1641. He married Anne, the daughter of Thomas Ken, Efq. of Furnival's Inn; a gentleman, whofe family, of an ancient extraction, was united by alliance with feveral noble houfes, and had poflefled a very plentiful fortune for many generations, having been known by the name of the Kens of Ken- Place, " 'Sir John Hawkins's Life of Walton," p. xiii. The ceconomy obferved in the con- ftruflion of the fliops over the Burfe fcarce allowed him to have elbow-room. They were but feven feet and a half long, and five wide. {See IFard's Life of Sir Thomas Gref!)am,p. 12.) ' According to Anthony Wood, he followed the trade of a fempfter. (Atk. Ox. Vol. I. fol. 305. St'e alfi Sir Jihn Hawkins's Life of Walton, p. xiii. xv.) MR. ISAAC WALTON. xl Place, in Somerfetfliire. She was the fifter of Thomas Ken, afterward" the deprived Bilhop of Bath and Wells. If there be a name to which I have been accuftomed from my earlieft youth to look up with reverential awe, it is that of this amiable prelate. The primitive innocence of his life, the fuavity of his difpofition, his tafte for poetry and mufic, his acquirements as a polite fcholar, his eloquence in the pulpit, for he was pronounced by James II. to be the firft preacher among the Proteftant Divines — Thefe endearing qualities enfure to him our efteem and affedlion. But what principally commands our veneration is that invincible inflexibility of tem- per, which rendered him fuperior to every fecular confideration. When from a ftridt adherence to the didtates of confcience he found himfelf re- duced to a private ftation, he dignified that ftation by the magnanimity of his demeanour, by a humble and ferene patience, by an ardent, but unaf- fedled piety. In 1643, ^^' Walton, having declined bufmefs, retired to a fmall eftate in Staffordshire, not far from the town of Stafford. His loyalty made him obnoxious to the ruling powers; and we are affured by himfelf, that he was a fufferer during the time of the civil wars'*. In 1643 the Covenanters came back into England, marching with the Covenant glorioufly upon their pikes and in their hats, with this motto, " for the crown and cove- nant OF BOTH KINGDOMS." *' This," he adds, " I faw, and fuffered by it. But when I look back upon the ruine of families, the bloodfhed, the decay of common honefty, and how the former piety and plain-dealing of this now fmful nation is turned into cruelty and cunning, when I con- fiderthis, I praife God, that he prevented me from being of that party, which lielped to bring in this Covenant, and thofe fad confufions that have followed it." He perfevered in the mod inviolable attachment to the royal caufe. In many of his writings he pathetically laments the affli£lions of his fovereign, and the wretched condition of his beloved country involved in all the miferies of inteftine diffentions. The incident of his being inflrumental in preferving the leffer George, which belonged B 2 to * See *• Walton's Life of Dr. Sanderfon," p. 441. xli THE LIFE OF to Charles II. is related in " Aflimole's Iliftcry of the Order of the Garter'." We may now apply to lilin what has been faid of Mr. Cowley ; " fome few friends, a book, a cheerful heart, and innocent confcience were his com- panions." In this fcene of rural privacy he was not unfrequcntly indulged with the company of learned and good men. Here, as in a fafe and peaceful afylum, they met with the moft cordial and grateful reception. And we are informed by the Oxford Antiquary, that, whenever he went from home, he reforted principally to the houfes of the eminent cler- gymen of the Church of England, of whom he was much beloved. To a man defirous of dilating his intelledlual improvements, no converfation could be more agreeable, than that of thofe divines, who were known to liave diftinguiflied him with their perfonal regard. The Roman Poet, of whom it has been remarked that he made the liap- pieft union of the courtier and the fcholar, was of plebeian origin. Yet fuch was the attraftion of his manners and deportment, that he clafTed among his friends the firft and moft illuftrious of his contemporaries, Plotius and Varus, Pollio and Fufcus, the Vifci and the Meffalce. Nor was Ifaac Walton Icfs fortunate in his fecial connexions. The times in which lie lived were times of gloomy fufpicion, of danger and diftrefs, when a fevere fcrutiny into the public and private behaviour of men eftablifhed a rigid dlfcrimination of character. He muft therefore be allowed to have poffeired a peculiar excellency of difpofition, who conciliated to himfelf an habitual intimacy with Ufher the Apoftolical Primate of Ireland, with Archbifhop Sheldon, with Morton, Bilhop of Durham, Pearfon of Chefter, and Sanderfon of Lincoln, with the ever-memorable Mr. John Hales of Eton, and the judicious Mr. Chillingworth ; in flaort, with thofe who were moft ' The account is alfo prefeved, by tradition, in the family. *' Col. Blague remained at Mr. Barlow's houfe at Blore-Pipe, in StafFordfliirc, where, with Mr. Barlow's privity and advice, he hid his Majefty's George under a heap of dull and chips, whence it was conveyed through the trufty hands of Mr. Robert Milward of Stafford, to Mr. Ifaac "Walton, who con- veyed it to London, to Col. Blague, then in the Tower; whence efcaping not long after, he carried it with him beyond feas, and reftored it to his Majefty's own hands." (Plofs Hiji. of Staffordjlilre, Ch. VIII. Seel. 77. Se^ alfo Afmiolis Hijory of the Order of the Garter, /.. 228.) MR. ISAAC WALTON. xiii raofl celebrated for their piety and learning. Nor could he be deficient in urbanity of manners or elegance of tafte, who was the companion of Sir Henry Wotton, the moil accomplifhed gentleman of his age^ The fingular circumfpection which he obferved in the choice of his acquaint- ance, has not efcaped the notice of Mr. Cotton. " My Father Walton," fays he, " will be feen twice in no man's company he does not like; and likes none but fuch as he believes to be very honeft men; which is one of the beft arguments, or at leaft of the beft teftimonies I have, that I either am, or that he thinks me one of thofe, feeing I have not yet found him weary of me^." *■ " My next and laft example fliall be that undervaluer of money, the late Provoft of Eton College, Sir Henry Wotton, a man with whom I have often fiflied and converfed ; a man, whom foreign employments in the fervice of this nation, and whofe experience, learninjir, wit, and cheerfulnefs, made his company to be efteemed one of the delights of mankind." ( Complete Angler, P. I. Ch. I.) In Sir Henry Wotton's verfes, written by him as he fate fifhing on the bank of a river, he probably alludes to Walton himfelf, who often accompanied him in his innocent amufement : " There flood my friend, with patient fkiil, " Attending of liis trembling quill." That this amiable and excellent perfon fet a high value on the converfation of his humble friend appears from the following letter : " MY WORTHY FRIEND, " Since I lafl faw you, I have been confined to my chamber by a quotidian feaver, I thank " God, of more contumacy than malignity. It had once left me, as I thought, but it was " only to fetch more company, returning with a furcrew of thofe fplenetick vapours, that " are called Hypocondriacal; of which moft fay the cure is good company, and I defne no " better phyfician than yourfelf. I have in one of thofe fits endeavoured to make it more " eafie by compofing a fliort hymn\ and fince I have apparelled my beft thoughts fo lightly as " in verfe, I hope I {hall be pardoned a fccond vanity, if I communicated it with fuch a friend " as yourfelf; to whom I wifh a cheerful fpirit, and a thankful heart to value it, as one of " the greateft blefiings of our good God; in whofe dear love I leave you, remaining " Your poor friend to ferve you, " H. WOTTON." (Reliquia Wottoiiiaiut, p. 361. Aih edit. See the Hymn mentioned in this Letter, in IFalton's Life of Dr. Donne, p. 187.^ « Complete Angler, P. II, Ch. I. xlv THE LIFE OF Bcforc his retirement into the country, he publiOiccl " The Life of Dr. Donne." It was originally appended to " LXXX Sermons, preached by that learned and reverend divine, John Donne, Dr. in Divinity, late Dean of the Cathedrall Church of St. Paul's, London, 1640." He had been fo- licited by Sir Henry Wotton, to fupply him with materials for writing that Life. Sir Henry dying in 1639, before he had made any progrefs in the work, Ifaac Walton engaged in it. This, his firft efTay in biography, was by more accurate revifals corredted, and confiderably enlarged in fubfe- quent editions. Donne has been principally commended as a poet; — Walton, who, as it has been already remarked, was a conftant hearer of his fermons, makes him known to us as a preacher, eloquent, animated, affect- ing. His poems, like the fky befpangled with fmall ftars, are occafionally interfperfed with the ornaments of fine imagery. They muft however be pronounced generally devoid of harmony of numbers, or beauty of verfifi- cation. Involved in the language of metaphyfical obfcurity"", they cannot be read but with fixftidioufnefs : They abound in falfe thoughts, affedted phrafes, and unnatural conceits'. His fermons, though not w^ithout that pedantry which debafcs the writings of almoft all the divines of thofe times, are often written with energy, elegance, and copioufnefs of ftyle. Yet it inufl; be confeffed, that all the wit and eloquence of the author have been unable to fecure them from negledt. An '■ Dr. Donne affects the nietaphyfics, not only in his fatires, but in his amorous vcrfcs, where nature only fliould reign, and perplexes the minds of the fair fex with nice fpeculations of philofophy, when he fliould engage their hearts and entertain them M-ith the foftneffes of love. In this, if I may be pardoned for fo bold a truth, Mr. Cowley has copied him to a fault, fo great a one in my opinion, that it throws his " Miftrcfs" infinitely below his PIndariques and his latter compofitions, which are undoubtedly the beft of his poems, and the moll corred. — (Mr. DrydeiCs Dedication, prefixed to the Tranjlation of Juvenal and Perfius.) 'Mr. Pope has clafled the Englifli Poets by their fchool. Firft, School of Provence. Second, School of Chaucer. Third, School of Petrarch. Fourth, School of Dante. Fifth, School of Spenfer. Sixth, School of Donne. In the latter fchool he has very injudicioufly placed Michael Drayton, who wrote before Donne, and not in the leaft in his manner. — " Dr Donne's (poetical) writings are like a voluntary or prelude, in which a man is not tied to any particular defign of air, but may change his key or mood at pleafure; fo his compofitions feem to have been written without any particular fcope." ( Butler' sRemains, Vol. II. p. 498.) MR. ISAAC WALTON. xv An inftancc of filial gratitude and affedlion occurs in a letter from Mr. John Donne, junior, to Mr. Ifaac Walton, thanking hiia for vviiuiig his father the Dean's Life. " SIR, " I fend this book rather to witnefs my debt, than to make any payment. " For it would be incivil in me to offer any fatibfadion for that that all " my father's friends, and indeed all good men, are fo equally engaged. " Courtefies that are done to the dead being examples of fo much piety, " that they cannot have their reward in this life, becaufe lafting as long, " and ftill (by awaking the like charity in others) propagating the debt " they muft expedt a retribution from him, who gave the firft inclination. " 2. And by this circle. Sir, I have fet you in my place, and inftead of " making you a payment, I have made you a debtor; but 'tis to Almighty " God, to whom I know you will be fo willingly committed, that 1 may '* fafely take leave to write rayfelf, *' Your thankful fervant, From my lioufe in Covent-Garden, ■) TQ T)ONNE " 24.'. June, 1640. J J * * It is difficult to difcover what correfpondence fubfifted between our bio- grapher and the writer of the preceding letter, who, having been admitted to the degree of Dodtor of Laws in the Univerfity of Padua, was incorpo- rated in that degree at Oxford, in i638\ In a will which was printed in 1662, Dr. John Donne, junior, bequeathed all his father's writings, with his " Common Place Book," to Ifaac Walton, for the ufe of his fon, if he fhould be brought up a fcholar. That he was a clergyman, and had fome preferment in the diocefe of Peterborough, w^e learn from a letter written to him by Dr. John Tov/ers, Bilhop of Peterborough, his diocefan; wherein his Lordfhip thanks him for the firft volume of his fatlier's fermons, telling him, that his parifhioners may pardon his filence to them for a while, fmce by it he hath preached to them and to their children's children, and to all our Engliih pariflies, for ever. Anthony Wood, although he defcribes him as a man of fenfe and parts, is unfavour- able ■^ He died in 1682, and was buried in the Churchyard of St. Paul, in Covent-Garden. . ^^l THE LIFE OF able to his memory, lie reprefents him as no better than " an atheiftical buffoon, a banterer, and a perfon of over-free thoughts, yet valued by Charles II." With a farcafm not unufual to him, he informs his reader, that Dr. Walter Pope " leads an epicurean and heathenifh life, much like to that of Dr. Donne, the fon." Bilhop Kennet, in his " Regilter," p. 3 1 8, calling him, by miftake, Dr. John Downe, names him as the editor of " A Collcdion of Letters made by Sir Toby Matthews, Knight," with a charadcr of the moft excellent Lady, Lucy Countefs of Carlifle, by the fame author; to which are added feveral letters of his own to feveral perfons of honour, who were contemporary with him, London, 1660, 8"°. I cannot but obfcrve, that he neither confulted the reputation of his father, nor the public good, when he caufed the " Biathanatos" to be printed. If he was determined, at all events, to difregard the injundions of parental authority, would it not have been more expedient to have committed the manufcript to the flames, rather than to have encountered the hazard of diffufmg certain novel opinions, from which no good confequences could poffibly arife? For though thofe effeds did not adually follow, which are mentioned by an induftrious foreign writer', who tells us, that on the fir ft publication of this work, many perfons laid violent hands on themfelves; yet ' The following account of Dr. Donne is given in " MorliofF's Polyludor," L. VI. C. IV. §xviii. "Inter quos numerandum puto johannem donne, Ecclefiae S. Pauli apud Lon- dinenfes Dccauum. Ingeniofiflimum fuifle Poemata ejus juvenilia oflendunt Londini A. 1633 in 4 edita, qua; anno jetatis 18 fcripfit, plena argutifTimorum conceptuum : Quorum aliquot in Linguam Belgicam vertit Conftantius Hugonius a Caiolo fecundo Regc follicitatus, qui inimitabilem Germanis et Belgis hujus viri ftylum putabat. Ser- mones vero facyns elegantiflimos et multos, et in varies S. Scripturae textus emifit Londini, diverfis annis. Scripfit et Meditationes fupcr morbo iwofacras, qua: in Linguam Belgicam con- verfa; et Amilelodami 1655, in 12 editx. funt. Scripfit et Librum, quem a tali Viro fcribi potuifle plane mirere, quippe qui uvTayi^^av, certis in caCbus, licitam quoque efle affirmaret : Titulus, Eiafaiarc^: That Jelf-muriler is not fo naturally a Jin, that it may never he other-wife : Editus vero liber dcmum poll mortem Audloris efl : Atque, ut aiunt, ipfo etiam, dum viveret, ejus editioncm fcrio deprecante prohibentcque, Londini 1648, in 410. At mox, cum prodiiflet, adeo fe multis horainibus probavit, ut hand pauci ejus Lettione ad mortem voluntariam adadti memorentur: Recufus certe iterum Londini eft, 1644. Et haud dubie dedit occafionem fcribendo alii Libro, nefcio cujus Anonymi, qui perniciofifFimam opinionem ex animis hominum evellere haud abs Re tentabat." ( Pellicanicidium, or the Chriflian Advijer againjl Self-murder : Tsgetker ivith a Guide, and the Pilgrim's Pafs to the Land of the Living, Lond. 1653, in 8vo.) MR. ISAAC WALTON. xvU yet the moil remote probability of danger accruing from it fhould have induced him entirely to have fuppreffed it. But to return from this digreffion. The narrative of the vifion in this Life of Dr. Donne hath fubjcdcd the author to fome fevere animadverfions. Let it however be remembered, that he probably related the matter with cautious and difcreet fidelity, as it was really reprefentcd to him. The account is not inferted in the earlier editions of Dr. Donne's Life. Hence we may prefume that the ftri .0, .678. «« THOMAS LINCOLN." Among the literary charadlers of the fixteenth century, none appears with more tranfcendent luftre than that of Sir Henry Savile, a magnificent patron of merit, and a complete gentleman. He feems to have traverfed the whole range of fcience, being equally celebrated for his knowledge of ancient and modern learning. The life of this illuftiious fcholar would be a valuable acquifition to the Republic of Letters. That it was adlually compiled by Mr. Ifaac Walton, we have every reafon to conclude. Dr. King Bifliop of Chichefter, in his letter to him, [dated Nov. 17, 1664, tells him, that " he has done much for Sir Henry Savile, the contemporary and friend of Mr. Richard Hooker." It is ferioufly to be regretted, that the moft diligent inquiry after this work has hitherto proved unfuccefsful". Among " The following particulars, relative to Sir Henry Savile are colleded from Mr. Aubrey's " Lives of Mathematical Writers." He was as learned a gentleman as any of his time. Mr. Hobbes informed Mr. Aubrey, that Sir Henry Savile was ambitious of being thought as great a fcholar as Jofeph Scaliger. But if in the attainments of claflic literature he was in- ferior to Scaliger, in mathematical knowledge Dr. Wallis declared him to be exceeded by none of his contemporaries. He was a very handfome and beautiful man : No lady had a fairer complexion. Queen Elizabeth, to whom he explained Greek authors and politics, favoured him much. He was preferred by her to be Mailer of Eton College, of which he was fo fevere a governor, that the fcholars hated him for liis aufterity. To men of wit he gave no encouragement. When a young fcholar was named to him as a good wit, he would rejedt him, and choofe the plodding ftudent. John Earle, afterward Bifhop of Sarum, being recommended to him, on that account, was the only one of that charader, to whom he ex- tended MR. ISAAC WALTON. xxv Among thofc wliom Sir Henry Savilc honoured with his friendfhip r/as Mr. John Hales of Eton. Mr. Anthony Farringdon, an eminent preacher, and a man of extenfive learning and exemplary piety, had col- lecfted materials with a view to write the life of this incomparable perfon. On his deniife, his papers were configned to the care of Mr. Ifaac Walton, by Mr. William Fulman, of Corpus Chrifti College, Oxford, who had propofed to hnifh the work, and on that occafion had applied for the affiftance of our biographer. The refult of this application is not known. " Fulman's Collection of Manufcripts," written with his own hand, was depofited in the archives of the library of his college, and Wood laments that he was refufed accefs to them. It is unneceflury to add, that " The Life of Mr. Hales," by Mr. Dez-maizeaux, was publifhed in 1716. Angling had been long a favourite diverfion in England. Alexander Nowell, Dean of St. Paul's, the compofer of " that good plain unperplexed Catechifm, which is in our good old Service Book," was a lover of, and' moft experienced proficient in this delightful art. It was his cuftom, befides his fixed hours of private and public prayer, to fpend a tenth part of D his tended his patronage. He treated the Fellows of Eton College with afperity ; and his influ- ence with the Queen rendered all oppofition vain. When Mr. Gunter came from London to be appointed his Profcflbr in Geometry, he brought with him his feftor and quadrant, with which he began to refolve triangles, and to perform feveral operations. This difgufled the grave knight, who confidered the operations as fo many triclcs below the dignity of a mathematician, and he immediately conferred the profefforfliip on another candidate, Mr. Briggs from Cambridge. Mr. Aiibrey learned from Dr. Wallis, that Sir Henry Savile had fufEciently confuted Jofeph Scaliger's Tra£l " De Quadratura Circuli," in his notes on the very margin of the book: And that, fometimes, when Scaliger fays, " A B C D ex Conftruftione," Sir Henry adds with his pen; " et demonftratio veflra eft afinus ex con- flruftione." In his travels he had contra£l:ed a general acquaintance with learned men abroad ; by which means he had accefs to feveral Greek MSS. in their libraries, and thus obtained correft copies by his amanuenfis, who tranfcribed the Greek chara£ler with admirable (kill. Fronto Duca;us, a French Jefuit of Bourdeaux, clandeflinely engaged a perfon to fupply him, every week, with the fheets of Sir Henry Savile's Greek edition of " The Works of Chryfoftoni," printed at Eton, of which he compofed a Latin tranflation ; and publiflied " Chryfoflom's Works," in Greek and Latin -, thus fuperfeding the fale of the Engliih impreffion. Sir Hcniy Savile died Feb. 19, 1621, having been Provoft of Eton College twenty-five years. xxvi THE LIFE OF his time in this amufement, and alfo to beftow a tenth part of his revenue, and ufually all his fiih among the poor, faying, that " charity gave life to religion"' An elegant Latin poem", written by Dr. Simon Ford, was in- fcribed to Archbilhop Sheldon, who, in his younger years, being fond of this diverfion, is faid to have acquired a fupcrior fkill in taking the Umber or Barbel, " a heavy and a dogged lilh to be dealt withal." Dr. Donne is called " a great pradlitioner, mafter, and patron of angling":" And we learn from good authority, that Mr. George Herbert loved angling; a circum- ftance that is rather to be believed, " becaufe he had a fpirit fuitable to anglers, and to thofe primitive Chriftians who are fo much loved and com- mended." Let not thefe remarks provoke the chaftifement of cenfure: Let them not be condemned as nugatory and infignificant : Amidft our difquietudes and delufive cares, amidft the painful anxiety, the difguftful irkfomenefs, which are often the unwelcome attendants on bufmefs and on ftudy, an harmlefs gratification is not merely excufable, it is in fome degree necefTary. '' Sec " Walton's Complete Angler," Parti. Ch. I. At Brazen-Nofe College, in Oxford, of which Dr. Nowell was Principal, is a portrait of him with a fifhing-rod over his head, a paper of fifhing-hooks in his hand, and this infcription : ALEXANDER NOWELLUS, SACRiE THEOLOGI^ PROFESSOR, S. PAULI DECANUS OBIIT I3 FEB. ANNO DOM. 160I, R. R. ELIZ. 44, AN. DECANATUS 42. ^TATIS SUJE 95; CUM NEQUE OCULI CALIGARENT, NEQUE AURES OBTUSIOKES, NEQUE MEMORIA INFIRMIOR, NEQUE ANIMI ULLB FACULTATES VIET^ ESSENT. PISCATOR HOMINUM. (Glitch's Wood's Hift. and Aiiilq. of the Univ. of Oxford, p. 370.) Among other afls of beneficence, this venerable man founded the Free Grammar School of Middleton, in Lancafhire, in 1572, and endowed it with a fmall ftipend for two mafters. " "Mufse Anglicanje," Vol. I. p. 97. — Gervafe Markham, the author of " The Whole Art of Angling," 4to. 1656, rather proceeds too far, when he tells his reader, that an angler fliould be " a general fcholar, and feen in all the liberal fciences j" that he fliouldbc " a gram- marian, a logician, and a philofopher." =" The Author of " The Angler's Sure Guide," 8vo. 1706, has attributed a book entitled, '• The Secrets of Angling, by J. D." to Dr. Donne. MR. ISAAC WATLON. xxviL neccflary''. In the fkilful management of the angle, Ifaac Walton is acknow- ledged to bear away the prize from all his contemporaries. The river whicli he feems principally to have frequented, for the purpofe of purfuing his inofFenfive amufement, was the Lea, which, rifmg above the town of Ware in Hertfordshire, falls into the Thames a little below Blackwall; " unlefs we will fuppofe that the vicinity of the New River to the place of his habi- tation might fometimes tempt him out with his friends, honeft Nat and R. Roe, whofe lofs he fo pathetically mentions, to fpend an afternoon there"." In his tradt of" The Complete Angler, or the Contemplative Man's Recreation," he has comprifed the cleareft and fulleft inftrudlions for the attainment of a thorough proficiency in the art. James Duport, the Greek Profeflbr at Cambridge, who was far from being a novice in the ufe of the rod% difdained not, on this occafion, to addrefs our author in a beautiful Latin Iambic Ode, of which the following claffic verfion will not be unacceptable to the reader''. " Hail "Walton! honoured friend of mine, " Mighty mafter of the line! " Whether down fome valley's fide " You walk to watch the fmooth ftream glide, " Or on the flow'ry margin ftand " To cheat the fifli with cunning hand, D 2 « Or >■ " The Experienced Angler," a little tradt, written by Colonel Robert Venables, is now before me. The perufal of it calls to memory the days of youth, the guilelefs fcenes of earlier life, fpent with innocent companions, in " delightful walks by pleafant rivers, in fweet paftures, and among odoriferous flowers." The concluding obfervation in this little book applies to all readers: "Make not a daily praBlce, •which is nothing elfe but a prof ejfiotiy of any recreation ; lejt your Immoderate love and delight therein bring a crofs -with it, and blafl all your content and pleafure in the fame." I mention this entertaining work, becaufe Ifaac Walton has prefixed to it not a preface, but an " Epiftle to the Author," who was perfonally unknown to him. Having accidentally feen the difcourfe in manufcript, he held himfelf obliged, in point of gratitude, for the great advantage he had received thereby, to tender his particular acknow- ledgment. The teftimony of fo expert an angler could not fail of recommending the tract. ' " Biographical Didtionary," in the article Walton Isaac. • He calls himfelf " Candidatum arundinis." »• For this verfion I am indebted to Mr. James Tate, B. A. Fellow of Sidney Suflex College, Cambridge. xxviii THE LIFE OF " Or on the green bank, feated ftill, " With quick eye guard the dancing quill. " Thrice happy fage I who, diftant far " From the wrangling forum's war, «' From the city's buftling train, " From the bufy hum of men, " Haunt fome gentle ftream, and ply " Your honeft crafts, to lure the fry : «' And while the world around you fet " The bafe decoy and treacherous net, " Man againfl: man, th' infidious wile, " Or, the rich dotard to beguile, " Bait high with gifts the fmiling hook " All gilt with Flattery's fweeteft look;. " Arm'd for the innocent deceit, " You love the fcaly brood to cheat, " And tempt that water-wolf, the pike, " With rav'ning tooth his prey to (Irike, " Or in the minnow's living head " Or in the writhed brandling red " Fix your well-charged hook, to gull " The greedy perch, bold biting fool, " Or with the tender mofs-worm tried " Win the nice trout's fpeckled pride, " Or on the carp, whofe wary eye " Admits no vulgar tackle nigh, " Eflay your art's fupreme addrefs, " And beat the fox in fheer fineffe: " The tench, phyfician of the brook, " Owns the magic of your hook, " The little gudgeon's thoughtlefs hafte " Yields a brief yet fweet repaft, •• And the whilker'd barbie pays " His coarfer bulk to fwell your praife. " Such the amufement of your hours, " While the feafon aids your powers; " Nor {hall my friend a fingle day "' Ere pafs without a line away. " Nor thefe alone your honours bound, " The tricks experience has found; « SuWimer MR. ISAAC WALTON. xxix " Sublimer theory lifts your name " Above the fifher's fimple fame, " And in the practice you excel " Of what none elfe can teach as well, *' And wield at once with equal Ikill " The ufeful powers of either quill. " With all that winning grace of ftyle, " What elfe were tedious, to beguile, " A fecond Oppian, you impart *' The fecrcts of the angling art, " Each fifli's nature, and how belt " To fit the bait to every tafte, " Till in the fcholar, that you train, " The accomplifli'd mafter lives again. " And ycl your pea alpircs above " The maxims of the art you love; " The' virtues, faintly taught by rule, " Are better learnt in angling's fchool, " Where Temperance, that drinks the rill, " And Patience, fovereign over ill, " By many an a£live leflbn bought, " Refine the foul, and fteel the thought. " Far higher truths you love to ftart, " To train us to a nobler art, " And in the lives of good men give " That chiefeft leflbn, how to live; " While Hooker, philofophic fage, " Becomes the wonder of your page, " Or while we fee combin'd in one *' The Wit and the Divine in Donne, " Or while the Poet and the Prieft, " In Herbert's fainted form confeft, " Unfold the temple's holy maze " That awes and yet invites our gaze : " Worthies thefe of pious name " From your pourtraying pencil claim " A fecond life, and ftrike anew " With fond delight the admiring view. " And thus at once the peopled brook " Submits its captives to your hook, « And XXX THE LIFE OF " And wc, the wifer fons of men, " Yield to the magic of your pen, " While angling on feme (Ireamlet's brink " The mufc and you combine to think." In this volume of " The Complete Angler," which will be always read with avidity, even by thofe who entertain no ftrong relifh for the art which it profefles to teach, we difcover a copious vein of innocent pleafantry and good humour. The fcenes defcriptive of rural life are inimitably beau- tiful. How artlefs and unadorned is the language ! The dialogue is diverfi- fied with all the characteriftic beauties of colloquial compofition. The fongs and little poems, which are ocrafionally inferted, will abundantly gratify the reader, who has a tafte for the charms of paftoral poefy. And, above all, thofe lovely leflbns of religious and moral inftrudtion, which are fo repeatedly inculcated throughout the whole work, will ever recommend this exquifitely pleafmg performance". It was firft printed in 1653, with the figures of the fifhes very elegantly engraved, probably by Lombart, on plates of fteel ; and was fo generally read as to pafs through five editions during the life of the author. The fecond edition is dated in 1655, ^^^ third in 1661 ; and in 1668, the fourth appeared with many valuable ad- ditions, and improvements. The lovers of angling, to whom this treatife is familiar, arc apprifed, that the art of fifhing with the fly is not difcufled ■with fufficient accuracy ; the few directions that are given, having been prin- cipally ' I venture to quote the following beautiful pafTage. " Content will never dwell but in a meek and quiet foul. And this may appear, if we read and confider what our Saviour fays in St. Matthew's Gofpel: For there he fiiys, ' Blefled are the merciful, for they fhall obtain mercy: Blefled be the pure in heart, for they (hall fee God: Blefled be the poor in fpirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God : And blefled be the meek, for they Ihall poflefs the earth.' Not that the meek fliall not alfo obtain mercy, and fee God, and be comforted, and at laft come to the kingdom of heaven -, but in the mean time he, and he only, poflefles the earth as he goes towards that kingdom of heaven, by being humble, and cheerful, and content with what his good God has allotted him. He has no turbulent, repining, vexatious thoughts, that he deferves better ; nor is vext, when he fees others pofleft of more honour, or more riches than his wife God has allotted for his fhare : But he poflefles what he has with a meek and con- tented quietnefs, fuch a quietnefs as makes his very dreams plcafing both to God and himfelf." (Complete Angler, P. I. Ch. xxi.) MR. ISAAC WALTON. xxxi eipally communicated by Mr. Thomas Barker, who has written a very entertaining tra£t on the fubjedt. To remedy this defed, and to give leffons how to angle for a trout or grayling in a clear ftream, a fifth and much im- proved edition was publi(hed in 1676, with a fecond part by Charles Cotton", of Beresford, in StafFordfhire, Efq. This gentle nan, who is re- prefented as the moil laborious trout-catcher, if not the moft experienced angler for trout and grayling that England ever had, to teftify his regard for Mr. Walton, had caufed the words PISCATORIBUS SACRUxM, with a cypher underneath, comprehending the initial letters of both their names, to be infcribed on the front of his fifhing-houfe. This little building was fituated near the banks of the river Dove, which divides the two counties of Stafford and Derby. Here Mr. Walton ufually fpent his vernal months, carrying with him the beft and choicefl of all earthly bleffmgs, a contem- plative mind, a cheerful difpofition, an adlive and an healthful body. So beauteous did the fcenery of this delightful fpot appear to him, that, to ufe his own words, " the pleafantnefs of the river, mountains, and meadows about it, cannot be defcribed, unlefs Sir Philip Sidney, or Mr. Cotton's father were again alive to do it'." In the latter years of the reign of Charles II. the violence of fadlion burft forth with renovated fury. The difcontents of the Nonconformifls were daily increafmg; while Popery afTumed frelh hopes of re-eflablifhing itfelf by •i Dr. Plot, in " The Natural Hiflory of StafFordfliire," p. 48, ftyles Charles Cotton, of Beresford, Efq. " his worthy, learned, and moft ingenious friend." Beresford lies in the county of Stafford, on the banks of the river Dove ; and not far from Dovedalc ; of the beau- ties of which, fee " Aikin's Defcription of the Country round Manchefter," p. 501. * " Oh my beloved nymph, fair Dove ! " Princefs of rivers ! how I love " Upon thy flovv'ry banks to lie, " And view tliy filver Itream " When gilded by a fummer's beam ! " And in it all thy wanton fry " Playing at liberty: " And, with my angle upon them, " The all of treachery " I ever learnt induftrioufly to try," (The RctWfmem, by Mr, Cotton, St. vi.) xxxii THE LIFE OE by fomenthig and encouraging the cUvifions, that unhappily fubfifted among Proteftants. A tnid:, entitled " The Naked Truth, or the True State of the Chuixh," was publilhed in 1675, and attributed to Dr. Herbert Croft, Bifhop of Hereford. Eager to accomplifh an union of the Diflenters with the Church of England, and to include them within its pale, this prelate hefuated not to iuggeft the expediency of propohng feveral concefhons to them, with refpedt to the rites and ceremonies then in ufe, and even to com- ply with their unrcafonable demand of abolifhing Epifcopacy. It may be eafily prcfumed, that thefe propofals met with no very favourable reception: They were animadverted upon with much fpirit and ability, in various pub- lications ^ In the mean time, animofities prevailed without any profpedl of their termination. From fanaticifm on one fide, and from fuperftition on the other, real danger was apprehended. Thofe, Avho exerted themfclves in maintaining the legal rights and liberties of the eftablifhcd Church, were denominated ' Whigs.' Moft of them were perfons eminent for their learn- ing, and very cordially attached to the eftablifhed Conftitution: Others, who oppofcd the Diflenters, and were thought to be more in fear of a republic than a Popifh fucceflbr, were diftinguiflied by the name of ' Tories.' At this critical period, Ifaac Walton expreffed his folicitude for the real wel- fare of his country, not with a view to embarrafs himfelf in difputation, — for his nature was totally abhorrent from controverfy, — but to give an in- genuous and undiflembled account of his own faith and practice, as a true fon of the Church of England. His modefl:y precluded him from annexing his name to the treatife, which he compofed at this time; and which appeared, firft, in 1680, under the title of " Love and Truth^, in two modeft and peaceable f Three celebrated tra£ts on this fubje£l were anonymous, i. " Animr.dverfions on a pam- phlet, entitled ' The Naked Truth,' London, 1676." This was written by Dr. Francis Turner, Mailer of St. John's College, Cambridge; and afterward fucceflively Bifliop ot Rochefter and Ely. 2. " Lex Talionis, or the Author of The Naked Truth flripped naked, 1676." This work is attributed to Mr. Philip Fell, one of the fellows of Eton College. 3. " A Modeft Survey of the moft Confiderable Things, in a Difcourfe lately publifhed, entitled ' Naked Truth.' In a Letter to a Friend, 1676." Dr. Burnet owned himfelf to be the author of this laft tract. E The author, in the choice of the title affixed to his trait, might allude to EpheJ. iv. 15. " Speaking the Truth in Love" MR. ISAAC WALTON. xxxiii peaceable Letters, concerning the Diftempers of the prefent Times; written from a quiet and conformable Citizen of London, to two bufie and fa£lions Shopkeepers in Coventry, ' But let none of you fufFer as a bufie-body in other Men's Matters",' i Pet. iv. 15. 1680." The ftyle, the fentiment, the argumentation, are fuch as might be expedled from a plain man, adtuated only by an honeft zeal to promote the public peace. And if we confider that it was written by him in the 87th year of his age, a period of life when the faculties of the mind are ufually on the decline, it will be fcarce poflible not to admire the clearnefs of his judgment, and the unim- paired vigour of his memory. The real purport of this work, which is not altogether unapplicable to more recent times, and which breathes the ge- nuine fpirit of benevolence and candour, is happily exprelTed in the author's own words to the perfon, whom he addrefles in the fecond letter. " This I befeech you to confider ferioufly : And, good couiin, let mc advife you to be one of the thankful and quiet party; for it will bring peace at laft'. Let neither your difcourfe nor pradlice be to encourage, or affift in making a fchifm in that church, in which you were baptized and adopted a Chriftian; for you may continue in it with fafety to your foul; you.-may in it ftudy fanitification, and pradife it to what degree God, by his grace, fhall enable you. You may fall as much as you will; be as humble as you will; pray both publicly and privately as much as you will; vifit and comfort as many diftrefled and dejedled families as you will; be as liberal and charitable to the poor as you think fit and are able. Thefe, and all other of thofe undoubted Chriftian grcces, that accompany falvation, you may pra(3:ife either publicly or privately, a'^. much and as often as you think fit; and yet keep in the communion of E that * This traft is affigned to Mr. Ifaac Walton, on the bed authority, that of Archbifiiop Sancroft, who, in a volume of Mifcellanies — ( Mifcellanea 14, 2, 34.) — in the library of Emanuel College, in Cambridge, has, with his own hand, marked its title thus: " If. Walton's 2 letters cone, y' Diftemps of y' Times, 1680." ' Such kind advice accorded with his ufual fentiments. " Ven. This is my purpofe, and fo let every thing that hath breath praife the Lord. Let the bleffing of St. Peter's Mafter be with mine. " Pisc. And upon all that are lovers of virtue, and dare trufl: in his Providence, and be " quiet, and go an angling. ' Study to be quiet,' " i TheJT. iv. 1 1. ( Cqw^-cU Av^kry P. I. .-. i.' xxxiv THE LIFE OF that church, of which you were made a member by your baptifra. Thcfc graces you may pradife, and not be a bufie-body in promoting fchifm and faU'ion; as God knows your father's friends, Hugh Peters and John Lilbourn did, to the ruinc of themfelves, and many of their diiciples. Their turbu- lent lives and uncomfortable deaths are not, I hope, yet worn out of the memory of many. He that compares them with the holy life and happy death of MV. George Herbert^ as it is plainly, and, I hope, truly writ by Mr. Ifaac Walton^ may in it find a perfeiEl pattern for an humble and de- vout Chriftian to imitate: And he that copJiders the reftlefs lives and un- comfortable deaths of th£ otiier two (who always lived like the falamander, in the fire of contention), and confiders the difmal confequences of fchifm and fedition, will (if prejudice and a malicious zeal have not fo blinded him that he cannot fee reafon) be fo convinced, as to beg of God to give him a meek and quiet fpirit; and that he may, by his grace, be prevented ' from being a bufie-body, in what concerns him not." Such admonitions as thefe could only proceed from a heart overflow- ing with goodncfs, — a heart, as was faid concerning that of Sir Henry Wotton, " in which Peace, Patience, and calm Content did inhabit." His intercourfe with learned men, and the frequent and familiar convcr- fations' which he held with them, afibrded him many opportunities of obtaining feveral valuable anecdotes relative to thehiftory of his contempo- raries. The following literary curiofity is preferved in the A{hmolean Mufeum, at Oxford : " ffor y^ fFriends q"' this: " I only knew Ben Johnfon: But my Lord of Winton knew him very " well"; and fays, he was in the 6% that is, the upermoft fforme in Weft- " minfter fcole, at which time his father dyed, and his mother married a " brickelayer, who made him (much againfl: his will) help him in his trade; " but in a fliort time, his fcole-maifter, Mr. Camden, got him a better im- " ploymcnt, which was to atend or acompany a fon of Sir Walter Rauley's, " in his travills. Within a fhort time after their return, they parted (I " think not in cole bloud) and with a loue futable to what they had in " their " Dr. Morley, Blfliop of Winchefter, in the early part of his Hfe, was " one of Ben Jon- fon's fons." I TVIR. ISAAC WALTON. xkxv " their travilles (not to be comended). And then Ben began to let up for " himfelfe in the trade by which he got his fubfiftance and fame, of which ^' I need not give any account. He got in time to have a iodI. a yeare " from the king, alfo a penfion from the cittie, and the Uke from many of the " nobilitie and fome of the gentry, w"'" was well pay'd, for love or fere of his " railing in verfe, or profe, or boeth. My lord told me, he told him he was " (in his long retyrement and licknes, when he faw him, which was often) *' much afflickted, that hee had profained the fcripture in his playes, and " lamented it with horror : yet that, at that time of his long retyrement, " his penfion (fo m.uch as came in) was giuen to a woman that gouern'd " him (with whome he liu'd and dyed nere the Abie inWeftminfter;) and " that nether he nor {he tooke much care for next weike: and wood be " fure not to want wine: of w"" he ufually tooke too much before he went " to bed, if not ofteaer and foner. My lord tells me, he knowes not, but " thinks he w^as born in Weftminiler. The queftion may be put to Mr, *' Wood very eafily upon what grounds he is pofitive as to his being born " their; he is a friendly man, and will refolve it. So much for braue Ben. " You will not think the reft fo tedyous as I doe this. - " fFor y' 2 and 3 q"' of Mr. Hill, and Bilingfley, I do neither know *' nor can learn any thing worth teling you. *' for y'' two remaining q"' of Mr. Warner', and Mr. Harriott this : " Mr. Warner did long and conftantly lodg nere the water ftares, or " market, in Woolftable. Woolftable is a place not far from Charing- *' Crofle, and nerer to Northumberland-houfe. My lord of Winchefter *' tells me, he knew him, and that he fayde, he firft found out the cercula- " tion of the blood, and difcouer'd it to Dr. Haruie (who faid that 'twas he *' (himfelfe) that found it) for which he is fo memorally famofe. Warner " had a penfion of 40I. a yeare from that Earle of Northumberland that lay " fo long a prifner in the Towre, and fom allowance from Sr. Tho. " Aylefbury, and with whom he ufually fpent his fumer in Windfor Park, " and was welcom, for he was harmles and quet. His winter was fpent at E 2 " the ' Of this great mathematician, fee '* Wood's Ath. Ox." Vo!. I. col. 461. xxxvi THE LIF£ OF " the Woolllable, where he dyed in the time of the parlement of 1640, *'of which or whome, he was no louer. " Mr. Herriott", my lord tells me, he knew alfo: That he was a more " gentile man than Warner. That he had 120I. a yearc penfion from the " faid Earle, who was a louer of ther ftudyes) and his lodging in Syon- " houfe, where he thinks, or believes, he dyed. " This is all I know or can learne for your friend; which I wifh may be " worth the tim.e and trouble of reading it. Nou\ 22, 80. " J. W. *' I forgot to tell, that I heard the fermon preacht for the Lady Danvers, *• and have it: but thanke your fFriend"." A life of temperance, fobriety, and cheerfulnefs, is not feldom rewarded with length of days, with an healthful, honourable, and happy old age". Ifaac Walton retained to the laft a conftitution unbroken by difeafe, with the full poffcflion of his mental powers. In a letter to Mr. Cotton from London, April 29, 1676, he writes; " Though I be more than a hundred miles from you, and in the eighty-third year of my age; yet I will for- get both, and next month begin a pilgrimage to. beg your pardon." He had written " The Life of Dr. Sanderfon," when he was in his eighty-fifth year. We find him adive with his pen, after this period, at a time when, *' filvered o'er with age," he had a juft claim to a writ of eafe. On the ninetieth anniverfary of his birth-day, he declares himfelf in his will to be of >" Of Mr. Thomas Hariot, or Harriot, fee " Wood's Ath. Ox. Vol. I. col. 459. The opinions which have been entertained concerning the infidel principles of Hariot, arc fuf- iicicntly confuted by the infcription on his monument, ercfted by his executors. Sir Thomas Aylcfbury and Robert Sidney, Vifcount Lifle, in which he is exprefsly called, " Vcritatis Indagator fludiofilTimus, Dei triniunius Cultor piiflimus." " This was the fermon preached by Dr. Donne, in the parifli church of Cliclfey, at the funeral of Lady Danvers, the mother of Mr. George Herbert. See " Walton's Life of Mr. Herbert," y. 331. Annexed to this extract, in Mr. Aubrey's MSS. in the Aflimolean Mufcr.m, are thefe words : *' This account I received from Mr. Ifaac Walton (who wrote Dr. Donne's life, &c.) Decemb. 2, j68o, he being then eighty-feven years of age. This is his own hand-writing, J. A." ° " Eft etiam quiete et pure ct eleganter a£l3e -,'ing volume the brilliancy of wit, the elaborate corredinefs of ftylc, or the alciti- tious graces and ornaments of fine compofition. But that pleafing iim- plicity of fentiment, that plain and unaffedled language, and, may I add, that ^ A circumftance mentioned in this narrative,, reminds me of the dcfcription of a domefHc pidure, in " The Life of Melnnclhon," who was feen by one of his friends, " with one hand rocking the cradJe of his child, with the other holding a book," . xlvi THE LIFE OF that natural cloqucnce% wliich pervades the whole, richly competifates'the want of elegance, anil rhetorical embelliOimcnt'. Truth is never dilplayed to us in more grateful colours, than when flie appears, not in a garifli attire, but in her own native garb, without artifice, without pomp. In that garb Ifaac Walton has arrayed her. Deeply imprcfl'ed with the excellence of thofe exemplary chara£ters which he endeavours to portray, he fpeaks no other language tlian that of the heart, and thus imparts to the reader his own undifguifed fentiments, fo friendly to piety and virtue. Afluredly, no plcafure can be placed in competition with that, which refults from the view of men feduloully adjufting their adlions with integrity and honour. To accompany them, as it were, along the path of life, to join in their conver- fation, to obferve their demeanour in various fituations, to contemplate their acts of charity and beneficence, to attend them into their clofets, to behold their ardour of piety and devotion ; in (hort, to eftablifii, as it were, a friend- ihip and familiarity with them, — this doubtlefs, muft be pronounced an happy anticipation of that holy intercourfe, which will, I truft, fubfift be- tween beatified fpirits in another and a better flate. Thofe parts of this volume are more peculiarly adapted to afford fatif- /adtion, improvement, and confolation, in which is related the behaviour of thefe good men at the hour of death. Here we find ourfelves perfonally and intimately interefted. " A battle or a triumph," fays Mr. Addifon, " are conjunclures, in which not one man in a million is likely to be en- gaged; == This quality is, I truft, not improperly applied to Mr. Ifaac Walton's writings. " True eloquence," fays Milton, " I find to be none but the ferious and hearty love of truth: And that, whofe mind foever is fully poflefled with a fervent defire to know good things, and with the deareft charity to infufe the knowledge of them into others; when fuch a man would ipeak, his words, like fo many nimble and airy fervitors, trip about him at command, and in well-ordered files, as he would wifli, fall aptly into their own places." * I indulge myfelf in quoting only one paffage. Having defcribed the poignancy of Dr. Donne's grief on the death of his wife, the author pathetically concludes. " Thus he began the day, and ended the night-, ended ihc reftlefs night, and began the weary day in lamenta- p.ons." The repetition is exquiCtely beautiful. It reminds me of Orpheus lamenting over JLurydice, in Virgil's Georgics: ■ " Te veniente Die, te decedente canebat." MR. ISAAC WALTON. xlvii gaged; but when we fee a perfon at the point of death, we cannot forbear being attentive to every thing he fays or does; becaufe we are fure, that feme time or other, we fhall ourfelves be in the fame melancholy circum- ftances. The general, the ftatefman, or the philofopher, are perhaps cha- radlers which we may never act in; but the dying man is one v.'hom, fooner or later, we fhall certainly refemble." Thus while thefe inftrudive pages teach us how to live, they impart a leffon equally ufeful and momen- tous — how to die''. When I contraft the death-bed fcenes, which our author has defcribed, with that which is exhibited to us in the laft illnefs of a modern philofopher, who at that awful period had no fource of confola- tion but what he derived from reading Lucian and other books of amufe- ment, difcourimg cheerfully w^th his friends on the trifling topics of com- mon converfation, playing at his favourite game of whift, and indulging his pleafantry on the fabulous hiftory of " Charon and- his Boat," — without one fmgle adl of devotion, without any expreflion of penitential forrow, of hope, or confidence in the goodneis of God, or in the merits of a Redeemer; — when this contraft, I fay, is prefented to my view, it is im- poffible not to adopt the language of the prophet, " Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my laft end be like his"." Is it neceiTary to add, that we are here prefented with two pleafing por-» traits of female excellence, in the. mother and in the wife of Mn Georo-q Herbert? In the firft were united all the perfonal and mental accomolifh- ments of her fex: The enlightened piety of the latter, her native humility her • ruly Chriftian charit)^ exhibit her as a perfedl model of every thing good and praife-worthy, while her marriage with Mr. Herbert, thou^-h attended with fome unufual circumftances, proves inconteftably, that an union, originating from " good fenfe, from inclination, and from an equality •" Dr. Thomas Townfon, the late Archdeacon of Richmond, read " Ifaac Wakcn's Lives" during his lafl illnefs, with a view, no doubt, to trim his lamp, and prepare for his Lord, by comparing his condua with the examples of thofe meek and holy men, defcribed by the pleafing and faithful biographer. Healforead, and, afluredly, with fimiJar intention;, Mr. Herbert's " Country Parfon."— Of this pious and learned man, the ornament of the eighteenth- century, fee " Churton's Memoirs of Dr. Townfon." ■^ See " The Life of David Hume, Efq." p. 435.46, xlviii THE LIFE OF eqiulity ot a^e, of dignitj'-, and of fortune," can fclJom fail of being at- tended with hnppinefs. It is faid of Socrates, that all -vvho knew him, loved him : And that if any did not love him, it was becaufe they did not know him. May we not affirm the fame of that worthy perfon, who is the fubjedt of this memoir? Such was the fvveetnefs of his temper, fo afFedlionate was the regard which his friends profeilcd for him, that, in their epiftolary correfpondence, thougli they were far fuperior to him in rank and condition of life, they ufually addrelTcd him in the language of tcndernefs and foothing endear- ment, ftyling him, " Good Mr. Walton;" " Honeft Ifaac;" " Worthy Friend;" " Dear Brother;" " Moft Ingenious Friend." No one better deferved thefe kind appellations. Let it always be recorded to his honour^ that he never retraced any promife^ when made in favour even of his meanejl friend^. Neal, in his " Hirtory of the Puritans," introduces an erroneous quotation from " Walton's Life of Mr. Hooker." Dr. Warburton, in his notes on that hiftory (Warburton s Works ^ Vol. VII. p. 895,) commenting upon this quotation, fpeaks of " the quaint trafh of a fantallical life- writer." Is it pofliblc to fuppofe that an epithet, more adapted to the afperity of faftidious cenfure, than to the cooj and deliberate judgment of candid and equitable criticifm, fliould be jullly applied to a man of real merit, who flrenuoufly exerted himfelf in promoting the caufe of religion, as well by his writings as by his exemplary conduit. The corporation of Stafford have publicly pronounced him their worthy and generous benefadtor. Of his ungular munificence to the poor inhabi- tants of this his native town, we find feveral inftances in his life-time: And, at his death, he configned fome bequefts of confiderable value to be appropriated to their ufe % In * Sec " Mr. Cotton's Epiflle Dedicatory to his moft worthy Father and Friend, Mr. Ifaac Walton the elder," prefixed to the Second Part of " The Complete Angler." ' It appears from a table fixed in the Church of St. Mary's, in the borough of Staflbrd, that Mr. Ifaac Walton gave, in his life-time, a garden of eight fhillings a year, to buy coals for the poor yearly about Chriftmas; and that he alfo gave twenty-two pounds, to build a flonc- wall around St. Chad's churchyard in the faid borough; and did alfo fet forth nine boys apprentices, bellowing five pounds on each. At MR. ISAAC WALTON. xlix In an ancient infcription yet extant, it is faid of a Roman Citizen, that he knew not how to ipeak injurioufly — nescivit maledicere. We may obferve of Ifaac Walton, that he was ignorant how to write of any man with acrimony and harfhnefs. This liberality of difpofition will ever re- commend him to his readers. Whatever are the religious fentiments of the perfons, whom he introduces to our notice, how widely foever they difier from his own; we difcover not, in his remarks, the petulance of in- difcriminate reproach, or the malignancy of rude inve£live. The mild fpirit of moderation breathes almoft in every page. I can only lament one inftance of feverity, for which however feveral pleas of extenuation might readily be admitted. He is known to have acquired a relifh for the line arts. Of paintings and prints he had formed a fmall, but valuable colle£tion^ And we may prefume, that he had an attachment to and a knowledge of mufic. His afFedion for facred mufic^ may be inferred from that animated, I had al- f motl At his death, he bequeathed one meffuage or tenement, at Shaiford hi the county of Staf- ford, with all the land thereto belonging, of the clear yearly value of twenty pounds ten Ihillings and fixpence; of which, ten pounds are appropriated, every year, to the putting out two boys, fons of honeft and poor parents, to be apprentices to tradefnien, or handicraftfmen; and five pounds to fome maid-fervant, that hatlt attained the age of twenty-one years (not lefs), and dwelt long in one fervice; or to fome honeft poor man's daughter, that hath at- tained to that age, to be paid her at, or on the day of her marriage. "What money or rent fliall remain uiidifpofed of, he direfts to be employed in the purchafe of coals, for fome poor people, that fhall need them : the faid coals to be diftributed in the lajl week of January, or every firjl -week in February; becaufe he confiders that time to be the hardejl, and moji pinching time. ' In his laft will, he leaves to his fon " all his books, not yet given, at Farnham Caftell, and a dejke of prints and piHures; alfo a cabinet, in which are fome little things, that he will value, though of no great worth." » " He that at midnight, when the very labourer fleeps fecurely, fhould hear, as I have often done, the fweet defcants, the natural rifing and falling, the doubling and redoubling of the nightingale's voice, might well be lifted above earth, and fay, Lord, wliat mufic haft thou provided for the faints in heaven, when tliou affordeft bad men fuch mufic upon earth?" — (Complete Angler, P. I. Ch. /.) I THE LIFE OF mofl flud, that enraptured language which he adopts, whenever the fubjed occurs to him. It will be cafily recollea;ed, that Ken, his brother-in-law, whofe morning, evening, and midnight hymns, endear his memory to the devout Chriftian, began the duties of each day with facred melody. And that between men perfedlly congenial in their fentiments and habits of virtue, a fimilaricy of difpofition in this inftance fhould prevail, is far from being an unrealonable luggeftion. That he had an inclination to poetry, we may conclude from his early intimacy with Michael Drayton, " the Golden-mouthed Poe; ;" a man of an amiable difpofition, of mild and modeft manners, whofe poems are much lefs read than they deferve to be. It is needlefs to remark that on the firft publication of a work it was ufual for the friends of the author to prefix to it recommendatory verfes. Ifaac Walton, whofe circle of friends was very extenfive indeed, often con- tributed his fhare' of encomium on thefe occafions. To his productions of this kind no other commendations can be allowed, than that they were fin- cere memorials of his grateful and tender regard. It muft however be added, that he never debafed his talents by offering the incenfe of Adulation, at the fhnne of Infamy and Guilt. The perfons, whom he favoured with thefe marks of his attention, were not undeferving of praife. Such, for inftance, was William Cartwright, who, though he died in the thirtieth year of his age, was the boaft and ornament of the Univerfity of Oxford, as a divine, a philofopher, and a poet''. Dr. Fell, Bifhop of Oxford, de- clared him to be, " the utmoft man can come to;" and Ben Jonfon was wont to fay of him, " My fon Cartwright writes all like a man." And here an opportunity prcfents itfelf of afcertaining the author of " The Synagogue, or the Shadow of the Temple," a colledlion of facred poems ufually annexed to Mr. George Herbert's " Temple." Mr. Walton has ad- dreffed fome encomiaftic lines to him, as his friend; and in " The Complete Angler," having infertcd from that coUeiStion, a little poem, entitled " The Book of Common Prayer," he exprefsly affigns it, and of courfe the whole work •" See " Comedies, Tragi-cometiies, with other Poems, by William Cartwright, late Student ■ of Chrifl: Church in Oxford, and Frodor of the Univerfity. London, 165 1." MR. ISAAC WALTO.Y. li work, to a reverend and learned divine, Mr. Chriflophcr Ilarvie, that pro- fejfes to imitate Mr. Herbert, and hath indeed done fo mqft excellently; and of whom he adds p'eafantly, " you will like him the hctter, becaufe he is a *' friend of mine, and I am fare no enemy to angling'." Faithfully attached to the Church of England, he entertained the highefl veneration for her difcipline and dod:rines. He had not been an inattentive fpedtator of the rapid progrefs of the feftaries, haftening from one degree of injuftice to another, until -an univerfiil anarchy confum mated the ruin of our ecclefiaftical conftitution. In his Laft Will he has announced an ingenuous and decided avowal of his religious principles, with a defign, as it has been conjed.ured, to prevent any fufpicions that might arile of his inclination to Popery, from his very long and very true friendfliip with fome of the Roman Communion \ But a full and explicit declaration of his Chriftian faith, and the motives which enforced his ferious and regular attendance upon the fervice of that Church in v,^hich he was educated, are delivered, with great propriety and good fenfe, in his own words. For thus he writes in a letter to one of his friends. " I go fo conftantly to the f 2 "church ' See " The Complete Angler," P. LXVIII. and p. 123, edit of 1773. We find the name of Chriftopher Harvie fubfcribed to " Verfes addreffed to the Reader of the Complete Angler." He is probably the fame perfon, who was the author of " The Right Rebel. London, 1661," 8vo. — a treatifc, difcovering the true ufe of the name, by the nature of rebel- lion ; with the properties and pradlices of rebels, applicable to all, both old and new fanaticks : by Chriftopher Harvey, Vicar of Clifton in Warwicklhire. He was a miniller's fon, in Chefhire, and was educated in Braze-nofe College, Oxford. See " Wood's Ath. Ox, Vol. II. col. 268. ■< A fteady friendfliip fubfifted between Mr. Walton and Mr. James Shirley, who, having been ordained a clergyman of the eftablifhed Church, renounced his religion, for that of the Church of Rome. He is defcribed by Phillips, in his " Theatrum Poetarum," printed at London, in 1675, as " a juft pretender to more than the meaneft place among the Englifli poets, but moft efpecially for dramatic poefy, in which he hath v/ritten both very much, and, for the moft part, with that felicity, that by fome he is accounted little inferior to Fletclicr himfelf." See " The Life of Mr. Herbert," p. 390, Jli THE LIFE OF " church fcivice to adore and worfhip my God, who hath made me of " nothing, and prcferved me from being worfe than nothing. And this " worfhip and adoration I do pay him inwardly in my foul, and teftifie it " outwardly by my behaviour; as namely, by my adoration, in my for- *' bearing to cover my head in that place dedicated to God, and only to his " fervice; and alfo, by ftanding up at profeffion of the Creed, which con- " tains the feveral articles that I and all true Chriftians profefs and believe ; " and alfo my ftanding up at giving glory to the Father^ to the Sou, and to " the Holy GhoJI, and confeffing them to be three perfons, and but one " God. " And, fecondly, I go to church to praife my God for my creation and *' redemption; and for his many deliverances of me from the many dan- " gers of my body, and more efpecially of my foul, in fending me redemp- " tion by the death of his Son, my Saviour; and for the conftant affift- " ance of his holy fpirit: a part of which praife I perform frequently in " the Pfalms, which are daily read in the public congregation. " And, thirdly, 1 go to church publicly to confcfs and bewail my fins, " and to beg pardon for them, for his merits who died to reconcile me and " all mankind unto God, who is both his and my father; and, as for the " words in which I beg this mercy, they be the Lctany and CoUedls of " the Church, compofed by thofe learned and devout men, whom you and " I have trufted to tell us which is and which is not the written word of " God; and trufted alfo to tranflate thofe fcriptiires into Englifh. And, in " thefe Colledls, you may note, that I pray abfolutely for pardon of fin, " and for grace to believe and ferve God: But I pray for health, and peace, *' and pletity, conditionally ; even fo far as may tend to his glory, and the " "-ood of my foul, and not further. And this confeffing my fins, and " begging mercy and pardon for them, I do in my adoring my God, and " by the humble pofture of kneeling on my knees before him: And, in " this manner, and by reverend fitting to hear fome chofen parts of God's " word read in the public aflembly, I fpend one hour of the Lord's day " every forenoon, and half fo much time every evening. And fince this " uuifonn and devout cuftom of joyning together in public confejfion, and " praife MR. ISAAC WALTON. lii *•'• praife^ and adoratmi of God, and in one manner, hath been neglefted; " the power of Chriftianity and humble piety is fo much decayed, that it " ought not to be thought on but with forrow and lamentation; and I " think, efpecially by the Nonconformifts." The reafons which he has afligned for his uninterrupted attention to the difcharge of another duty will afford fatisfaftion to every candid reader. *' Now for preaching, I praife God, I underftand my duty both to him and *' my neighbour the better, by hearing of fermons. And though I be de- " festive in the performance of both (for which I befeech Almighty God to *' pardon me), yet I had been a much worfe Chriftian, if I had not fre- *' quented the bleifed ordinance of preaching; which has convinced me of " my many fins paft, and begot fuch terrors of confcience, as have begot in " me holy refolutions. This benefit, and many other like benefits, I and " other Ghriftians have had by preaching: And God forbid that we fhould " ever ufe it fo, or fo provoke him by our other fins as to withdraw this " blefled ordinance from us, or turn it into a curfe, by preaching herefie and ^'- fcbifm; which too many have done in the late time of rebellion, and indeed " now do in many conventicles ; and their auditors think fuch preaching is " ferving God, when God knows it is contrary." Such were the rational grounds, on which he founded his faith and pradice. No excufe is pleaded for again noticing the opportunities of improve- ment, which he experienced from his appropriated intimacy with the moft eminent divines of the Church of England. Genuine friendfhip exifts but among the virtuous : A friend is emphatically ftyled " the medicine of " life;" the fovereign remedy that foftens the pangs of forrow, and alleviates the anguifh of the heart. We cannot therefore fufficiently felicitate the condition of Ifaac Walton, who imbibed the very fpirit of frlendlhip; and that with men renowned for their wifdom and learning; for the fandity of their manners, and the unfullied purity of their lives. " If," to ufe the words of one of his biographers, " we can entertain a doubt that Walton " was one of the happicft of men, we fhew ourfelves ignorant of the nature *' of that felicity; to which it is poffihle even in this life for virtuous and " good men, with the bleffing of God, to arrive'." The ' " Biographical Dictionary." Ed. 178.1. liv THE LIFE, &c. The features of tlie countenance often enable us to form a judgment, not very fallible, of the difpofition of the minu. In few portraits can this dif- covery be more fuccefsfuUy purfued than in that oi Ifaac Walton. Lavater, the acute mafter of phyfiognomy, would, I think, inftantly acknowledge in it the decifive traits of the original: — Mild complaifaace, forbearance, mature confideration, calm adlivity, peace, found underftanding, power of thought, difcerning attention, and fecretly adlive friendfhip. Happy in his unblcmilhcd integrity, happy in the approbation and efteem of others, he inwraps himfelf in his own virtue. The exultation of a good con- fcience eminently fhines forth in the looks of this venerable perfon. " CANDIDA SEMPER " GAUDIA, ET IN VULTU CURARUM IGNARA VOLUPTAS. Hacket, Bifhop of Lichfield and Coventry, ufed this motto, " SERVE GOD, AND BE CHEERFUL." Our Biographer feems to have adhered to this golden maxim, during the whole tenor of his life. His innocence, and the inoffenfive plainnefs of his manners, his love of truth, his piety, and the unbiafled redtitude of his conduft difFufed over his mind a ferenity and complacency, which never forfook him. Let no one, however elevated in rank or ftation, however accompliflied with learning, or exalted in genius, efteem himfelf undervalued, when it fhall be pronounced concerning him, that his religious and moral qualities are placed in the balance, or compared with thofe of ISAAC WALTON. ERRATA. Page 2t, rme 32,— An^elicanse, >-m(/ Anglicanae." —— 30, 35, — motre, r^a(/ matre. —_ 38, 14, — 1608, read 1648. ■ 53, 16, — meditated, read mediated. i_ 96, 8, — reftored to health, but he, rw^reftored to health:*' But be. 121, 28, — Sir Henry Wotton, read Sir Edward Wotton. ■ . . 132, •^— 20, — Angli, read Anglia. .— 146, 27,— July 25, read July 27. '■ July 27, >va(/ July 31. 147, 25,— Kill, read XIII. 176, 32, — Dr. Marter, readHr. Martin Luther. - 18 r, 20, — Odvardo, rM^ Odoardo. 21, — lango, readhiRgO, —— — — — — 22,— fa, read fu. WALTON'S LIVES, TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE AND REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, GEORGE, LORD BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, AND PRELATE OF THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER\ MY LORD, IDiD fome years paft, prefent you with a plain relation of the life of Mr. Richard Hooker, that humble man, to whofe memory princes, and the moft learned of this nation, have paid a reverence at the mention of his name. — And now, with Mr. Hooker's, I prefent you alfo the life of that pattern of primitive piety, Mr. George Herbert ; and, with his, the life of Dr. Donne, and your friend Sir Henry Wotton, all reprinted. — The two firft were written under your roof; for which * Dr. George Morley, diftinguiflied by his unfhaken loyalty and attachment to Charles I. was, at the Reftoration, firft made Dean of Chrift-church, and then Bifliop of Worcefter. In 1662 he was tranflated to the fee of Wincheftcr. Though nominated one of the Aflembly of Divines, he never did them the honour, nor himfelf the Trijury, to fit among them. During his abfence from his native country, he endeared himfelf to feveral learned foreigners, particularly to Andrew Rivettus, Heinfius, Salmafius, and Bochart. He conftantly attended the young exiled King ; but not being permitted to follow him into Scotland, he retired to Antwerp, where for about three or four years he read the fervice of the Church of England twice every day, catechized once a week, and adminiftered the communion once a month to all the Englifii in the town who could come to it, regularly and (Iriclly obferving all the parochial duties of a clergyman, as he did afterwards at Breda for four years together. Walker, in his Hiftory of the Sufferings of the Clergy, liaving quoted Anthony Wood's character of this prelate, concludes with this exclamation : " O that but a fingle portion of " his fpirit might always reft on the eftablilhed clergy !" He died in 1684. ( Le Neve, FiilUr, and Wood.) 4 EPISTLE DEDICATORY. which reafon, if they were worth it, you might juftly chal- lenge a Dedication: And indeed, fo you might of Dr. Donne's and Sir Henry Wotton's ; bccaufe, if I had been fit for this undertaking, it would not have been by acquired learning or ftudy, but by the advantage of forty years friendship, and thereby with hearing and difcourfing with your Lordfhip, that hath enabled me to make the relation of thefe Lives paf- fable (if they prove fo) in an eloquent and captious age. And indeed, my Lord, though thefe relations be well- meant facrifices to the memory of thefe worthy men, yet I have fo little confidence in my perform.ance, that I beg par- don for fupcrfcribing your name to them, and defire all that know your Lordfhip, to apprehend this not as a Dedication (at leafl by which you receive any addition of honour), but rather as an humble, and a more public acknowledgment of your long continued, and your now daily favours to. My Lord, Your moft afi"e6lionate And moft humble fervant, IZAAK WALTON. TO THE READER. THOUGH the feveral introdudions to thefe feveral lives have partly declared the reafons how, and Why I undertook them, yet fince they are come to be reviewed, and augmented, and reprinted, and the four are how become one book ", I defire leave to inform you that fhall become my reader, that when I fometime look back upon my education and mean abilities, it is not without fome little wonder at myfelf, that I am come to be publicly in print ^ And though I have in thofe introduftions declared fome of the accidental reafons that occafioned me to be fo, yet let me add this to what is there fiid, that by my undertaking to colled fome notes for Sir Henry Wotton's writing the Life of Dr. Donne*^, and by Sir Henry's dying before he performed it, 1 became like thofe men that enter eafily into a law-fuit or a quarrel, and having begun, cannot make a fair retreat and be quiet, ■* He had not then written the life of Bifliop Sanderfon. ' In the preceding Epiflle Dedicatory, our author niodeftly refigns all claim to ** acquired learning or ftudy." '' Sir Henry Wotton addreffed the following letter to Mr. Ifaac Walton, who had requefted him to perform his promife of writing the life of Dr. Donne. " MY WORTHY FRIEND, " I am not able to yield any reafon, no not fo much as may fatisfie myfelf, why a moft ** ingenuous letter of yours hath lain fo long by me (as it were in lavender) without an anfwer, " fave this only, the pleafure I have taken in your ftyle and conceptions, together with a " meditation of the fubjeft you propound, may feem to have call me into a gentle flumber. " But, being now awaked, I do herein return you moft hearty thanks for the kind profecu- " lion of your firft motion, touching a juft office due to the memory of our ever-memorable *' friend ; to whofe good fame, though it be needlefs to add any thing (and, my age con- *' fidered, almoft hopelefs from my pen), yet I will endeavour to perform my promife, if it •• were 6 EPISTLE TO THE READER. quiet, when they dcfire it.— And really, after fuch a manner, I became engaged into a neceflity of writing the life of Dr. Donne, contrary to my firft intentions ; and that begot a like neceflity of writing the life of his and my ever honoured friend. Sir Henry Wotton. And having writ thefe two lives, I lay quiet twenty years, without a thought of either troubling myfelf or others, by any new engagement in this kind ; for 1 thought I knew my unfitnefs. But, about that time, Dr. Gauden' (then Lord Bifliop of Exeter) publifhed the life of Mr. Richard Hooker (fo he called it), with fo many dangerous miflakes, both of him and " were but even for this caufe, that in faying fomewhat of the life of fo defervlng a man, I " may perchance over-live mine own. " That which you add of Dr. King (now made Dean of Rochefler, and by that tranflated " into my native foil) is a great fpur unto me ; with whom I hope (hortly to confer about " it in my paflage towards Boughton Malherb (which was my genial air), and invite him to " a friendfliip with that family, where his prcdeceflbr was familiarly acquainted. I fliall " write to you at large by the next meflenger (being at prefent a little in bufmefs), and then " I {hall fet down certain general heads, wherein I defire information by your loving dili- " gence, hoping fhortly to have your own ever-welcome company in this approaching time " of the /;; and the cork. And fo I reft your very hearty poor friend to ferve you. «H. WOTTON." ( Reliquia Wottoniana, p. 360. edit. 3.) • Dr. John Gauden, born at Mayland in Eflex, educated at St. John's College, Cambridge, was Dean of Bocking, and Mafter of the Temple, in the beginning of the reign of Charles I. In 1660 he was made Bifliop of Exeter, and from thence promoted toWorcefter in 1662, in which year he died, aged 57 years. " Cum Gilbertus Cantuarienfis Majeftatem ejus certiorem " feciflet Gaudenum vita fundlum efle, " non dubito" regerit Rex, " quin facile erit reperire " hominem eo longe digniorem, qui in ejus locum fufficiatur." (Vita Johannis Barwick, p. 251.) Whatever credit may be due to the animadverfions of feveral writers on the conduft of Dr. Gauden, it will be only an aft of juftice to intimate, that the editor of the works of INIr. Richard Hooker, and the author of the Memoirs of the Life of Bifliop Brownrigg, and of many other very valuable writings, deferves much of pofterity. His way of preaching is faid to have been moft admirable and edifying. The King, when he nominated him to the fee of Exeter, bore this teftimony to his merit, by obferving, " That he upon all occafions had " taken EPISTLE TO THE READER. ^ and his books, that difcourfing of them with his Grace Gilbert, that now is Lord Archbifhop of Canterbury, he enjoined me to examine fome cir- cumffances, and then rectify the Bifhop's miftakes, by giving the world a fuller and truer account of Mr. Hooker and his books than that bilhop had done; and I know I have done fo. And let me tell the reader, that till his Grace had laid this injundtion upon me, I could not admit a thought of any fitnefs in me to undertake ir; but when he twice enjoined me to it, 1 then declined my own, and trufted his, judgment, and fubmitted to his commands ; concluding, that if I did not, I could not forbear accufmg myfelf of difobedience, and indeed of ingratitude, for his many favours. Thus I became engaged into the third life. For the life of that great example of holinefs, Mr. George Herbert, I profefs it to be fo far a free-will offering, that it was writ chiefly to pleafe myfelf, but yet not without fome refpedt to pofterity: For though he waS" not a man that the next age can forget, yet many of his particular add and virtues might have been negleded, or loft, if 1 had not colle£ted and prefented them to the imitation of thofe that fhall fucceed us : For I humbly conceive writing to be both a fafer and truer preferver of men's virtuous adlions than tradition; efpecially as it is managed in this age. And I am aUb to tell the reader, that though this life of Mr. Herbert was not by me writ in hafte, yet I intended it a review before it fhould be made public; but that was not allowed me, by reafon of my abfence from London when it was printing : fo that the reader may find in it fome mif- takes, fome double exprefhons, and fome not very proper, and fome that might have been contracted, and fome faults that are not juftly chargeable upon *' taken worthy pains in the pulpit and at the prefs to refcue his Majefty and the church of ** England from all the miftakes and heterodox opinions of feveral and different faclions ; *♦ as alfo from the facrilegious hands of thofe falfe brethren, whofe fcandalous converfation *' was confummate in devouring church-lands, and then with impudence to make facrilege *' lawful." {Wood's Jtk. Ox. vol. ii. ccl. 208.) It muft be owned, that he was one of the Aflembly of Divines in 1643, ^"^ t'^^t he took the covenant ; to which, however, he made fome fcruples and objeftions, fo that his name was foon ftruck out of the lift. He aban- doned the caufe of the Parliament as foon as they relinquiftied their firft avowed principles of reforming only, inftead of extirpating monarchy and epifcopacyi 8 " EPISTLE TO THE READER. upon me, but tlie primer ; and yet I hope none fo great, as may not by this confeffion purchafe pardon from a good-natured reader. And now I wifh, that as that learned Jew, Jofephus, and others, fo thefe men had alfo writ their own lives ; but fince it is not the faihion of thefe times, I wifh their relations or friends would do it for them, before delays make it too difficult. And I d;;lire this the more, becaufe it is an honour due to the dead, and a generous debt due to thofe that ihall live and fucceed us, and would to them prove both a content and fatisfadion. For when the next age (hall (as this does) admire the learning and clear reafon which that excellent cafuift Dr. Sanderfon (the late Bifliop of Lin- coln) hath demonftrated in his fermons and other writings ; Avho, if they love virtue, would not rejoice to know, that this good man was as re- markable for the meeknefs and innocence of his life, as for his great and ufeful learning ; and indeed as remarkable for his fortitude in his long and patient fuffcring (under them that then called themfelves the godly party) for that do£trine which he had preached and printed in the happy days of the nation and the church's peace ? And who would not be con- tent to have the like account of Dr. Field ^^ that great fchoolman, and others of noted learning? And though I cannot hope that my example or reafon can perfuade to this undertaking, yet I pleafe myfelf, that I fliall conclude my preface with wifliing that it were fo. J. W. ' Dr. Richard Field, Chapbin to James I. and Dean of Glouccfler, died Nov. 2i, 1616,— the friend of M. . RichnrJ Hooker, and one of the moft learned men of his age. He was the author of a work entitled, " Of the Church, fol. 1610." — James I. when he firft heard him preach, faid, "This is a Fic/il for God to dwell in." — With the fame allufion Fuller calls him that learned divine, " whofe memory fiiielleth like a Fie/d that the Lord hath bleffcd." — Anthony Wood mentions a manufcript, written by Nathaniel Field, Redor of Stourton, in Wiitfliire, containing " feme fhort Memorials concerning the Life of that Rev. Divine, Dr. Richard Field, Prebendary of Windfor," &c. The feature which peculiarly marked his dif- pofition, was an averfion to thofe difputes on the Arminian points, which then began to difturb the peace of the church, and from which he dreaded the mofl unhappy confcquenccs. It was his ambition to conciUtate, not to irritate. TO MY OLD AND MOST WORTHY FRIEND* MR. IZAAK WALTON,, ON H t S LIFE OF DOCTOR DONNE, &c. WHEN, to a Nation's loft, the virtuous die. There's juftly due from ev'ry hand and eye. That can, or write, or weep, an elegy. Which though it be the pooreft, cheapeft way. The debt we owe, great merits to defray, Yet it is ahnoft all that moft men pay. And thefe are monuments of fo fhort date, That with their birth they oft receive their fate • Dying with thofe whom they would celebrate. And though to verfe great reverence is due. Yet what moft poets write proves fo untrue. It renders truth in verfe fufpeaicd too. Something more facrcd then, and more entire The memories of virtuous men require. Then what may with their funeral-torch expire: This hiftory can give ; to which alone The privilege to mate oblivion Is granted, when deny'd to brafs and flone. Wherein, ,0 VERSES TO MR. WALTON. Wherein, my friend, you have a hand fo fure, Your truths fo candid luc, your ftyle fo pure. That what you write may Envy's fearch endure. Your pen, difdaining to be brib'd or preft, Flows without vanity, or intereft ; A virtue with which few good pens are blcft. How happy was my father then^ ! to fee Thofe men he lov'd, by him he lov'd, to be Refcu'd from fraikies and mortality. Wotton and Donne, to whom his foul was knit, Thofe twins of virtue, eloquence, and wit, He faw in Fame's eternal annals writ. Where one has fortunately found a place. More faithful to him than his marble was''. Which eating age', nor hre fhall e'er deface. A monument that, as it has, fliall laft And prove a monument to that defac'd ; Itfelf, but v.'ith the world, not to be raz'd. And even in their flow'ry characters. My father's grave, part of your friendfhip fhares ; For you have honour'd his in ftrewing theirs. Thus s The charaiftcr of Mr. Charles Cotton, the father of Charles Cotton the poet, is moft beautifully delineated by the noble hillorian. (Life of Edward Earl of Clarendon, fol. 1 759. p- 16.J ^ His monument in St. Paul's church before the late dreadful fire, 1665. ' Jamq; opus cxegi, quod, nee Jovis Ira, nee Ignis, Nee poterit Ferrum, nee f is VERSES TO MR. WALTON. "Wottnn, — a nobler foul was never bred ! — You, by your nairativc's moll fven thread. Through all his labyrinths of hte have led ; Through his degrees of honour and of arts, Brou^jh'' him fecure from Envy's venom'd darts, Which are ftill ievell'd at the greateil parts; Through all th' employments of his wit and fpirit. Whole great efiefts thelt kingdoms ilill inherit, The, trials then, new trophies of his merit; Nay, through difgrace, which oft the worthieft have, Tiiro' all fiate-tempefts, thro' each wind and wave, And laid him in an honourable grave. And yours, and the whole world's beloved Donne, When he a long and wild career had run, To the meridian of his glorious fun ; And being then an obje£t of much ruth. Led on by vanities, error, and youth. Was long ere he did find the way to truth : By the fame clew, after his youthful fwing. To ferve at his God's altar here you bring. Where an once wanton mufe doth anthems fing. And though by God's moft powerful grace alone His heart was fettled in Religion, Yet 'tis by you we know how it was done; And know, that having crucify'd vanities And fixt his hope, he clos'd up his own eyes, And then your friend a faint and preacher dies. The I VERSES TO MR. WALTON. 13 The meek and learned Hooker too, almoft I'the Church's ruins over-whehn'd and loft, Is by your pen recover'd from his duft. And Herbert ; — he, whofe education, Manners, and parts, by high applaufes blown, Was deeply tainted with Ambition, And fitted for a court, made that his aim ; At laft, without regard to birth or name. For a poor country-cure does all difclaim ; Where, with a foul compos'd of harmonies, Like a fweet fwan, he warbles as he dies His Maker's praife, and his own obfequies. All this you tell us, with fo good fuccefs. That our oblig'd pofterity (hall profefs, T'have been your friend, was a great happinefs. And now ! when many worthier would be proud T'appear before you, if they were allow'd, I take up room enough to ferve a crowd : Where to commend what you have choicely writ, Both my poor teftimony and my wit Are equally invalid and unfit : Yet this, and much more, is moft juftly due, Were what I write as elegant as true. To the bcft friend I now or ever knew. But, my dear friend, 'tis fo, that you and I, By a condition of mortality, With all this great, and more proud world, muft die : In 14 VERSES TO MR. WALTON. In which eflate I afk no more of Fame, Nor other monument of Honour claim, Tlicn that of your true friend, t'advance my name. And if your many merits fhall have bred An abler pen to write your life when dead, I think an honefter cannot be read. Jan. 17, 1672. CHARLES COTTON" " The author of " Scarronides, or Virgilc Traveflie," and of other poems. He compofed the fccond part of " The Complete Angler, or the Contemplative Man's Recreation ;" being a continuation of Ifaac Walton's tra£l on the fame fubject. In this work he tlius fpeaks of our Biographer : " I have the happinefs to know his perfon, and to be intimately acquainted with " him, and in him to know the worthieft man, and to enjoy the bed and trueft friend any *' man ever had : Nay, I fliall yet acquaint you further, that he gives me leave to call him. " Father, and I hope is not afliamed to own me for his adopted Son." COPY OF A LETTER MR. IZAAK WALTON, DOCTOR KING, LORD BISHOP OF CHICHESTER'. HONEST IZAAK, THOUGH a familiarity of more than forty years continuance, and the conftant experience of your love, even in the word of the late fad times, be fufficient to endear our friendlhip ; yet, I muft confefs my af- fection much improved, not only by evidences of private refpeft to many that know and love you, but by your new demonftration of a public fpirlt, teftified in a diligent, true, and ufeful collection of fo many material paf- fages as you have now afforded me in the Life of venerable Mr. Hooker; of ' Dr. Henry King, Bifliop of Chichefter, fon of Dr. John King, Bifliop of London, and great nephew of Robert King the firfl; Bifliop of Oxford, and the laft Abbot of Ofney, was the author of a new metrical tranflation of the Pfalms, (of which he has given a modeft ac- count in a letter to Archbifliop Uflier, dated Ot\. 30, 165 1. Ufier's Letters, p. 567,) and alfo of poems, elegies, paradoxes, fonnets, divers Latin and Greek poems, with fome fermons and religious tradts. Whilft he was Dean of Rochefler, he was fufpected of fa- vouring the Puritans : The king, defirous of gratifying that party, made him Bifliop of Chi- chefter : But during the time of Cromwell's ufurpation, he fuftered with his brethren, and was compelled to go abroad. He returned at the Reftoration, and furviving that event nine years, died Oct. i, 1669. He was advanced to a bifliopric, when Epifcopacy was in a finking ftate ; " It being conceived," fays Jacob, " the moft effedual method for the refti- " tution of that order, to prefer perfons not only of unblameable lives, and eminent for " their learning, but fuch as were generally beloved by ail difinterelled people. The king's " choice amongft thefe was very happy in this great divine, who lived a moft religious life, '• and did not die till after his order was reftored." 1 6 LETTER TO MR. WALTON. of which, fincc dcfircd 1)7 fuch a friend as yourfelf, I fhall not deny to give the tellimony of what I know concerning him and his learned books; but fliall lirft here take a fair occafion to lell you, that you have been happy in choofing to write the Lives of three fuch perfons, as pofterity hath juft caufe to honour; which they will do the more for the true rela- tion of them by your happy pen : of all which 1 fhall give you my un- feigned cenfure. I fhall begin with my moft dear and incomparable friend Dr, Donne, late Dean of St. Paul's church, w-ho not only trufted me as his executor, but three days before his death, delivered into my hands thofe excellent Sermons of his, now made public ; profefTmg before Dr. Winniff ", Dr. Monford", and, I think, yourfelf then prefent at his bed-fide, that it was by my reft- lefs importunity, that he had prepared them for the prefs ; together with which (as his beft legacy) he gave me all his fermon-notes, and his other papers, containing an extradt of near fifteen hundred authors. How thefe were "> Dr. Thomas WinnifF, fucceffively Dean of Gloucefter an^ of St. Paul's, was promoted to- the biftiopric of Lincoln in 1641, on the tranflation of Dr. Williams to York. His inildnefs,. mccknefs, and humility, were equalled only by his learning, integrity, and eloquence. He experienced vexation and trouble in his promotion, and was under the necefTity of retiring to a country parifh, Lambourn in Eflex, where he died in 1654. A monument was there erected to his memory, on which he is defcribed as one " Ex eorum numero Epifcoporum, quibus " incumbebat nutantis Epifcopatus molem pietatis ac probitatis fure Fulcimine furtentare." He has been cenfured, along with Uflier, Prideaux, and others, for the moderation which he always difplayed towards the Puritans, and indeed towards all thofe who were not well af- fe£led to the church of Enghmd. But furely fuch a moderation is more commendable than the I'.arflinefs and acrimony of intemperate zeal. Lord Clarendon naming four other divines, who were appointed bifhops at the fame time with Dr. WinniiF, charafterifes them as ." of " great eminency in the church, frequent preachers, and not a man to whom the faults of *' the then governing clergy were imputed, or againft whom the lead objection could be •' made." "■ Dr. Thomas Mountfort, a Refidentiary of St. Paul's, died Feb. 27, 1632. It appears from Strype's Life of Whitgift, that this perfon was fufpendcd for having clajideftinely mar- ried Edward, Earl of Hertford, and Frances Pranel, widow of Henry Pranel, Efq. without bans or licenfe. Upon his fubmiflion and earneft dcfire to be abfolved, he obtained abfolu- tion from Archbifliop Wliitgift himfelf. LETTER TO MR. WALTON". 17 were got out of my hands, you, who were the medenger for them, and how loft both to me and yourfelf, is not now feafonable to complain: But, fmce they did mifcarry, I am glad that the general demonftration of his worth was fo fairly preferved, and reprefented to the world by your pen in the hiftory of his life ; indeed fo well, that befide others, the beft critic of our later time (Mr. John Hales" of Eaton College) affirmed to me, he had not feen a life written with more advantage to the fubjed, or more reputation to the writer, than that of Dr. Donne's". After the performance of this taflc for Dr. Donne, you undertook the like office for your friend Sir Henry Wotton ; betwixt which two there was a friendfhip begun in Oxford, continued in their various travels, and more confirmed in the religious friendfhip of age : and doubtlefs this excel- lent perfon had writ the life of Dr. Donne, if death had not prevented him ; by which means his and your pre-colle£tions for that work fell to the happy menage of your pen : a work which you would have declined, if imperious perfuafions had not been ftronger than your modeft refolutions againft it. And I am thus far glad, that the firft life was fo impofed upon you, becaufe it gave an unavoidable caufe of writing the fecond : If not ; it is too probable, we had wanted both, which had been a prejudice to all lovers of honour and ingenious learning. And let me not leave my friend Sir Henry, without this teftimony added to yours ; that he was a man of as florid a wit, and as elegant a pen, as any former (or ours, which in that kind is a moft excellent,) age hath ever produced. And " The ever memorable John Hales, Greek Profefibr in the UniverGty of Oxford, and after- ward Fellow of Eton College, from his vaft erudition, called " The Walking Library," was efteemed to be one of the greateft fcholars in Europe. Having attended the Ambaflador of James I. to the Synod of Dort, he compofed, in a ferles of letters, a regular and mofl faith- ful narrative of the proceedings of that aflembly. His adherence to the royal caufe, involved him in diftrcfs. Obliged to fell his moft valuable colledion of books at a low price, he died in extreme mifery, May 19, 1656, aged 72 years. It is juftly remarked, that " it was none of the leaft injuries of thofe times, that fo eminent a man as Hales fliould live and die un- der fuch neceffities as he did, by which his life was fliortened." P This was fpoken of the firft edition of Ifaac Walton's Life of Dr. Donne, which was. printed in 1640 ; and not, as Wood afBrms, in 1653. ^ H : S i.ETTF.R TO MR. WALTON. And now ha\Ing made this voluntary obfcrvation of our two deceafed friends, 1 proceed to fatisfy your dedre concerning what I know and believe of the cvcr-memorable Mr. Hooker, who was Schifmaikorum Malleus, fo great a champion for the^Church of "England's rights againlt the fadious torrent of Sepanitifts, that then ran high againll church-dilclpline ; and in his unanf\verable books continues to be fo againft the unquiet difciples of their fchifm, which now under other names ftill carry on their derign% and, who (as the proper heirs of their irrational zeal) would again rake into the fcarce-clofed wounds of a newly-bleeding ftate and church. And firfl:, though I dare not fay that I knew Mr. Hooker ; yet, as our Ecclefiaftical Hiftory rq)orts to the honour of St. Ignatius', " that he lived in the lime of St. John, and had feen him in his childhood." So, I alfo joy, that in my minority I have often feen Mr. Hooker with my father, who was after Bifliop of London ; from whom, and others, at that time, I have heard moft of the material pailiiges which you relate in the Hiftory of his Life ; and, from my father received fuch a chara£lcr of his learning, humility, and other virtues, that, like jewels of invaluable price, they ftill caft fuch a luftre, as envy or the ruft of time fhall never darken. From my father I have alfo heard all the circumftances of the plot to de- fame him ; and how Sir Edwin Sandys outwitted his accufers, and gained their confeffion : and I could give an account of each particular of that plot, but that I judge it fitter to be forgotten, and rot in the fame grave with the malicious authors'. I "> The Separatifts from the Cliurch of England, were originally called by a general term, *' Puritans." Split into parties, they were foon diferiminated by the various appellations of " Pre(byterians," " hidependents," " Brownifls," " Familiils," &c. ' Ignatius, Bifliop of Antioch, is in the lift of the Apojlol'ic Fathers, among whom were placed fueh Chridian doctors as-had converfed with the apoitles themfelves, or their difciples. This pious and venerable man, who being expofed to wild beads by the order of Trajan, fuf- fercd martyrdom with the utmofl: eonllancy, was educated under the apoltle and evangelifl St. John, and intimately acquainted with St. Ptt;r and St. Paul. ' The writer of this letter experienced, in his own perfon, a pleafure equal to any, of which human nature is capable, that of vindicating the injured fame of a beloved parent. When Dr. LETTER TO MR. WALTON. iq I" may not omit to declare, that my fatlier's knowledge of Mr. Hooker, was occafioned by the learned Dr. John Spencer ; who, after the death of Mr. Hooker, was fo careful to preferve his invaluable fixth, feventh, and eighth books of " Ecclefiaftical Polity," and his other writings, that he pro- cured Plenry Jackfon, then of Corpus Chrifti College, to tranfcribe for him all Mr. Hooker's remaining written papers ; many of which were im- perfedl : for his ftudy had been rifled, or worfe ufed," by Mr. Chark, and c.nother, of principles to like his. But thefe papers were endeavoured to be completed by his dear friend Dr. Spencer \ who bequeathed them as a precious legacy to my father, after whofc death they refted in my hand, till Dr. Abbot", then Archbifhop of Canterbury, commanded them out of my cuilody, by authorizing Dr. John Barkeham'' to require, and bring them to him to his palace in Lambeth; at which time, 1 have heard, they were put into the BIlliop's library, and that they remained there till the martyrdom of H 2 Arch- Dr. John King, Bifliop of London, a mun of foliJ gravity and piety, and of fuch an excel- lent volubility of tongue as well as invention,, that James I. denominated him " the King of Preachers," ^-as traduced as having abjured that religion, -vvhich in th.e courfe of a long lite he had uniformly defended and adorned, this his fon detected the falfehood of the accufition, and in a fermon at St. Paul's Crofs, clearly expofed the artifices of an infamous, but at that time no unufual calumny. ' Prefident of Corpus Chrifti College in Oxford. After the death of Mr. Hooker he pub- Jillied the five'books. of the Ecclefiaftical Polity, with an excellent preface, fubfcribed L S. the initial letters of his name. (See Wood's Ath. Ox. vol. I. p. 393.^ " The character of this prelate, juftly to be admired for his truly Chriftian moderation and mildnefs, has been moft happily pourtrayed by the pen of the Right Hon. Arthur Ondow, for many years the venerable Speaker of the Britifh Houfe of Commons, in " The Life of Dr. George Abbot, &c. reprinted with fome additions, &c. Guildford, 1777." " Chaplain to Archbifhop Bancroft, as well as to his fucceflbr. Dr. Abbot, and Dean of Bocking in Effex : An able divine and an amiable man. To his knowledge in divinity he ad- ded otlicr literary accomplifliments, being an accurate hiftorian, weil Ikllled in coins and an- tiquities, and fo great a proficient in heraldry, that he is gi'nerally fuppofed to have been the author of that celebrated work, which was publifhed in the name of John Guillim. , He was alfo the editor of Crakanthorpe's book againft the ArchbiHiop of Spalato, entitled " Defcnfio JEcclefis;," &c. Speed, at the conclufion of his Hiftory of Great Britain, gratefully acknow- ledges " The moft acceptable helps both of books and collections (cfpecially in matters re- "• meter from our times) from that worthy divine, Maftcr John Barkeham, a gentleman com- " pofed of learning, vertue, and courtefic, as being no leffe ingenioufly willing, than Icarn- . " cdly able, to advance and forward all vertuous endeavours." He bequeathed his valuable coins to Archbifhop Laud, through whofc munificence they were depofiteJ in the Bodleiaai ■ Library at Oxford. . «Q LETTER TO MR. WALTON. Archbllliop Laud ; and were then, by the brethren of that facfllon, given, with all the library, to Hugh Peters*, as a reward for his remarkable fervice in thofe fad times of the Church's confufion : And though they could hardly fall into a fouler hand; yet there wanted not other endeavours to corrupt and make them fpcak that language for which the fadion then fought, which indeed was — to fubjccl the fever eigti power to the people. But I need not ftrive to vindicate Mr. Hooker in this particular ; his known loyalty to his prince whilft he lived, the forrow exprelled by King James at his death, the value our late fovereign (of ever-blelTed memory) put upon his works, and now, the fmgular charadter of his worth by you, given in the pailages of his Life, efpecially in your Appendix to it, do fulllciently y Hugh Peters, a man of loofe morak, having been expelled in the earlier part of his life from the Univerfity of Cambridge, became afterward an itinerant preacher in New England, Holland, and other countries, and was at length appointed one of Oliver Cromwell's Chap- lains, and a Colonel in the army. He and -Dr. Burgefs arc clafled among thofe precious- gifted teachers, to whom Butler alludes in the heroical epifblc of Hudibras to his Lady, vcr. "^05, 306. He occafionally preached the lefture at Stepney, and from thence was called by William Grecnhill, the noted Indepcndant, " The Evening Star of Stepney." Many inflances are recorded of the violence of his zeal againft; monarchy. When Oxford was furrendcrcd in 1646, for the ufc of the Parliament, he was one of the chaplains who, by pro- pagating the mod feditious doctrines in the town and in the univerfity, endeavoured to fc- duce the inhabitants and the young fcholars from their allegiance. In the pulpit he not unfrequcntly afted the part of a buffoon or merry-andrew. He ufed to fay, that it would never be well till 150 — " The three L's, the Lords, the Levites, and the Lawyers," were put down. He preached divers fermons to perfuade the army to deftroy the king, whom he com- pared to Barabbas."^— It was given in evidence againft him, that he was wont to call the king tyrant and fod\ and that, on the Sunday after his Majefty was brought to his trial, in the courfe of his fermon, he uttered thefe words,—" Lord, now letteft thou thy fervant depart in " peace, for mine eyes have feen thy falvation." Such was the man who got poflefiion, not only of the Archbifliop's library at Lambeth, but alfo of the invaluable one which belonged to the King. A commiffion was granted by Charles II. dated Sept. 10, 1660, to Thomas Rofs, tutor to the Duke of Monmouth, and Elias Aflimole, Efquires, empowering them to examine Hugh Peters concerning the books and medals which he was fufpe£led of having embezzled. It was well known that he had ranfacked the royal library and clofet, and that their moft valuable curiofities were taken out, and difperfed over Europe. In his examination (B'togr. Brit. vol. 11. p. 230. K."] he declared, that he gave up the key and cuftody of them to Major General Ireton. — Of his behaviour, during his trial and at his execution, fee the State Trials. LETTER TO MR. WALTON. 2 1 fufEciently clear him from that imputation. And I am glad you mention how much value Thomas Stapleton, Pope Clement the VIIL and other eminent men of the Romifh perfuafion, have put upon his books : Having been told the fame in my youth by perfons of worth that have travelled Italy. Laftly, I mull again congratulate this undertaking of yours, as now more proper to you than any other perfon, by reafon of your long knowledge and alliance to the worthy family of the Cranmers (my old friends alfo), who have been men of noted wifdom, efpecially Mr. George Cranmer, whofe prudence added to that of Sir Edwin Sandys, proved very ufeful in the completing of Mr. Hooker's matchlefs books : one of their letters I herewith fend you, to make ufe of if you think fit. And let me fay further ; you merit much from many of Mr. Hooker's beft friends then living ; namely, from the ever-renowned Archbilliop Whitgift, of whofe incomparable worth, with the charadler of the times, you have given us a more fhort and fignificant account than I have received from any other pen. You have done much for the learned Sir Henry Savile, his contem- porary and familiar friend ; amongft the furviving monuments of whofe learning (give me leave to tell you fo) two are omitted ; his edition of Euclid^, but efpecially his tranflation of " King James's Apology for the Oath of Allegeance,'' into elegant Latin; vv-hich flying in that drefs as far as Rome, was by the Pope and Conclave lent to Salamancti unto Francifcus Suarez'' (then refiding there as prefident of that college) with a command to ^ Or ratlier his works entitled " Praeletfliones tredecim in Principlum Elementorum Eu- clidis Oxonise Habita;. Oxon, i<^2i." 4to- Sir Henry Savile having read thirteen lectures upon tlie firfl eight propofitions of Euclid, furrendered the chair to Mr. Briggs, taking leave of his audience in his laft lecture with thefe words, " Trado Lampadem fucceflbri meo, " dodtiflimo viro, qui vos ad intima Geometrix Myfleria perducet." (Ifni-d's Profijfors of GreJJjam College, p. 121.^ =■ A celebrated Jefuit, the author of many controverfial and other trafts. He was born in 1548, and died ih irti7. His works are contained in 23 vol. foilo. The treatife here al- luded to is entitled " Defenfio Fidel Catholicne, contra Angelicana: Se(f\x Errores, una cum Refponfione ad Jac. Regis Apologiam pro Juramento Fidelitatis. Mag. 1619." A copy of this book was burnt In England by public authority. It is related of liim, th.it he met death Vvith the moft joyful tranquillity and compofure of mind, uttering thefe words, " Non puta- " bnm 2 2 LETTER TO MR. WALTON, to anfwer it. And it is worth noting, thiit when he had perfeded the woik. which he calls " Defenfio Fidei Catholicae," it was tranfmitted to Rome for a view of the inquifitors ; who, according to their cuftom, blotted out wjiat they pleafcd, and (as Mr. Hooker hath been ufcd fince his death) added whatfoever might advance the Pope's fupremacy, or carry on their own in- tereft ; commonly coupling together Deponere et Occidcre^ the dcpofing, and then killing of princes. Which cruel and unchriftian language, Mr. John SaltkeP,. the Amanuenfis to Suarez, when he wrote that anfwer. (but lince a convert, and living long in my father's houfe\ often profcfled the good old man (whofe piety and chanty Mr. Saltkel magniiicd much) not only dilavowed, but detefted. Not to trouble you further ; your reader (if according to your defirc, my approbation of your work carries any weight) will here find many juft reafons to thank you for it ; and polfdily for this circumftance here mentioned (not known to many), may happily apprehend one to thank him, who heartily wiihes your hapj^inefs, and is unfeignedly, Sir, your ever-faitlxful and affedionate old friend, CHicHESTrR.Nov. HENRY CHICHESTER. 17, 1664. " bam tarn duice, tam fuave e(Ic mori." ( Diciioiiaire Hifloriquef iz'c. a Puiis, i"]'].) Dr. Robert Abbot, Bifliop of Salilbury, delivered a courfe of lectures againll Suarez. The^ were publiflied after his death by his fon, with this title, " De fuprema poteftate regia, cx- ercitationes habitx in Academia Oxonienfi, contra Rob. Bellarmine et Francis Suarez. Londini, 1619." 4to. Pope Paul V. diihonouredhis title of Holinefs, and caft an indelible ftain on his infallibility, by an exprefs approbation of the doiStrine advanced in the writings of Suarez in defence of the murder of Kings. " Mr. John Saltkel or Salkeild ; for fome years a Member of the Church of Rome and a Jefuit. He was profoundly read in theological and other authors; but, being for the fame of his learning brought before King James, he was fo far convinced by his Majefly's argu- ments, as to come over to the Church of England, for which he was wont to ftyie himfelf " The Royal Convert," and the King honoured him fo far, as to call him " The Learned Salkeld" in his works and writings. (Echard's Hijlory of EnginnJ, vol. II. p. 871.^ " Never had England more learned bifliops and doctors : Which of them ever returned *• from his majefly's difcourfe without admiration ? What king chriftened, hath written fo " learned volumes ? To omit the reft, his lafl of this kind, wherein he hath fo held up Car- "dinal Bellarmine and his niafter Pope Paulus, is fuch, thatPleffisand Mouline, the two great "lights of France, profcfs to receive their light in diis difcourfe from his beams, and the " learned Jefuit, Salkeild, could not but be converted with the neccffity of thofe denionflra- " tions " (Holy Panegyric, Bijhop HalPs Works, p. 1142.) INIr. Salkeld became Redor of Church Taunton in Devonfliire, in 1635, and was afterward, for his loyalty, deprived of his preferment, and died at Ulculm, in Feb. 1659-60. THE LIFE DOCTOR JOHN DONNE, LATE DEAN OF SAINT PAUL'S CHURCH, LONDON. THE INTRODUCTION. IF that great mafter of language and art, Sir Henry Wotton, the late Pro- voft of Eaton College, had lived to fee the publication of thefe fernions% he had prefented the world with the Author's life exadtly written ; and it was pity he did not ; for it was a work worthy his undertaking, and he fit to undertake it : betwixt whom, and the Author, there was fo mutual a knowledge, and fuch a friendfhip contraded in their youth, as nothing but death could force a feparation. And, though their bodies were divided, their affedlions were not : for that learned Knight's love followed his friend's fame beyond death and the forgetful grave'' j which he tcftified by entreating me, whom he acquainted with his defign, to inquire of fome particulars that concerned it, not doubting but my knowledge of the Au- thor, and love to his memory, might make my diligence ufeful : I did moft gladly undertake the employment, and continued it with great content till I had made my colledtion ready to be augmented and completed by his matchlefs pen : but then, death prevented his intentions. When I heard that fad news, and heard alfo that thefe fermons were to be printed, and want the Author's life, which I thought to be very remark- able : Indignation or grief (indeed I know not which) tranfported me fo far, that I reviewed my forfaken colledlions, and refolved the world fhould fee the heft plain pi£ture of the Author's life that my artlefs pencil, guided by the hand of truth, could prefent to it. I And ' It muft be remembered that the life of Dr. Donne was originally prefixed to the firft vo- lume of his fermons, printed in 1640. ''The grave which caufes forgetfulncfs. In this fenfe the epithet is ufed in Milton If the fleepy drench " Of that forgetful lake benumb not ftill. Par. Lost, B. II. ver. 7 j, " Obliviofo laevia MafTico " Cibaria exple. HoR. L. H. Od. VII. ver. 11. O^Ti iru ii( aJsv 7i Tit lK^t^aOc>T« ^uh»^ti<;, Thbocr. '!,\ivh>\, «. 61. 26 THE INTRODUCTIOiSr. A^d if I fhall now be demanded, as once Pompey's poor bondman was' ; — (the grateful wretch had been left alone on the fea-fhore, with the forfa- ken dead body of his once glorious lord and mafter : and, was then gather- ing the fcattered pieces of an old broken boat to make a funeral pile to burn it, which was the cuftom of the Romans j — " Who art thou that alone " haft ihe honour to bury the body of Pompey the great* ?" fo, who am I that do thus officioufly fct the Author's memory on lire ? I hope the quef- tion will prove to have in it, more of wonder than difdain. But wonder indeed the reader may, that I, who profefs myfelf artlefs, flaould prcfume with my faint light to fliew forth his life whofe very name makes it illuftri- ous ! but be this to the difadvantagc of the perfon reprcfented : Certain I am, it is to the advantage of the beholder, who fhall here fee the Author's pidture in a natural drefs, which ought to beget faith in what is fpoken ; for he that wants fkill to deceive, may fafcly be trufted. And it the Author's glorious fpirit, which now is in heaven, can have the leifure to look down and fee me, the pooreft, the meaneft of all his friends, in the midft of his officious duty, confident I am, that he will not difdain this well-meant facrifice to his memory : for, whilll his converfation made me and many others happy below, I know his humility and gentle- nefs were then eminent ; and, I have heard divines fay, thofe virtues that were but fparks upon earth, become great and glorious flames in heaven. Before I proceed further, I am to entreat the reader to take notice, that when Do£tor Donne's Sermons were firft printed, this was then my excufe for daring to write his life ; and, I dare not now apx)ear without it. ' Philip, the frcecl-man of Pompey, watched the dead body of his mafter, till the multi- tude had fatisficd their curiofity ; and then wafhing it with fea-water, he wrapt it up in a garment of his own, and finding fome rotten planks of a little filherman's boat, he gathered them together for a funeral pile. Lucan has given a long defcription of Pompey's unhappy deftiny. According to his account, the body was thrown into the fea, and Servius Codrus, once his qux-ftor and his friend, brought it to fliore, and paid the laft honours to it. E latebris pavidus decuriit ad aequora Codrus QuiuHor ab Idalio Cinyrxx litoie Cypri : In faullus magnl fuerat comes : ille per umbras Aufus ferre gradum, viflum pietate timorem Conipulit, ut mediis quxfitum corpus in undis Duceret ad temm, traheietq; ad litora magnum. LvcAN. L. VIIT. ver. 7*0*/ * Plutarch's Lives, W. JOHN DONNE. THE LIFE OF JOHN DONNE. MASTER John Donne was born in London, in the year 1573, of good and virtuous parents : and though his own learning and other mul- tipUed merits may juftly appear fufficient to dignify both himfelf and his pofterity, yet the reader may be pleafed to know, that his father was mal- cuUnely and lineally defcended from a very ancient family in Wales, where many of his name now live, that deferve and have great reputation in that country. Ey his mother he was defcended of the family of the famous and learned Sir Thomas Moor*^, fometime Lord Chancellor of England ; as alfo from that worthy and laborious Judge Raftall^ who left pofterity the vaft ftatutes of the law of this nation moft exactly abridged. He had his firft breeding in his father's houfe, where a private tutor had the care of him, until the tenth year of his age ; and in his eleventh year was fent to the Univerfity of Oxford ; having at that time a good com- mand both of the French and Latin Tongue. This, and fome other of his remarkable abilities, made one then give this cenfure of him ; That this I 2 age ^ Fuller's Church Hiftory, B. x. p. iii. ^ John Raftall, a celebrated printer, manied Elizabeth the filler of Sir Thomas Moor. Wil- liam, their fon, was brought up to the bar, and was appointed one of the Julliccs of the King's Bench in 1558. Upon the demife of Queen Mary, he fteadily adhered to his religion, left England, and fpent the remainder of his days at Louvain. He publiflied the works of his un- cle Sir Thomas Moor in one volume. He alfo formed a colledtion of and wrote a comment on the ftatutes, and a very ufcful book entitled " Les Termes de la Ley," or " An explica- tion of certain difficult and obfcure words and terms of the common laws and ftatutes of this realm now inufe." The author of feveral trads againft Bifliop Jewell was John Raftall, who left the Church of England, in which he had been ordained pricft, went to Rome, and with this his kinfman was admitted into the fociety of Jefus. 28 THE LIFE OF age had brought forth another Picus Mirandula ''; of whom flory faya> that he was ratlier born, than made wife by (ludy. There he remauied fome years in Hart-Hall', having, for the advancement of his ftudies, tutors of feveral fciences to attend and inftru«Sl him, till time made him capable, and his learning, expreffed in public exercifes, declared him worthy to receive his hril degree in the fchools, which he forbore by advice from his friends, who being for their religion of the Romifli perfua- fion, were confcionably averfe to fome parts of the oath that is always ten- dered at thofe times, and not to be refufed by thofe that cxpcft the titulary honour of their ftudies. About the fourteenth year of his age, he was tranfplanted from Oxford to Cambridge" ; where, that he might receive nourifhment from both foils, he flayed till his feventeenth year ; all which time he was a moft laborious ftudent, '' Picus Prince of Mirandula, a duchy in Italy, now the property of the Dukes of Modena, was born in 1463, and having refigned his fovereignty in favour of his nephew, he died in 1494. He is faid to have made fo wonderful a progrefs in (ludy, as to underftand twenty- two languages at the age of eighteen years, and at the age of twenty-four years to difpute with great fuccefs, de omni fcibili. " Picus Mirandula 32 xtatis anno quo obiit omni difci- plinarum genere non modo tinftus, fed plane imbutus crat, ut Encyclopediam Scientiaruni jure fibi vindicare potuerit, longiore vita plane digniffimusprinccps." ( Scaligerana. ) He was honoured with this pompous Epitaph " Hie fitus eft Picus Mirandula : cxtera norunt " Et Tagus et Ganges, forfan et Antipodes." On which it has been juflly remarked, that " his name, then celebrated in the remotefl cor- " ners of the earth, is now almofl forgotten, and his works then Itudied, admired, aniap- " plauded, are now mouldering in obfcurity." (Dr. fohnfoiUs works, vol. 2. p. 273.^ The life of this prodigy of learning, written with great elegance of language by John Francis Prince of Mirandula is iuferted in Bates's Vita feleHorum, i^c.p. 90. ' " He continued for three years at Hart-Hall, which was fo called from Elias de Hertford, who lived in the tenth year of Edward the firll. An. Dom. 1282. In 1312 it changed its name to Stapledon Hall, but upon the fettlement of Exeter College it returned to its former appellation." ( Le Neve.) In 1740 it was by a royal charter erefted into a college by the name of " Hertford College in the Univerfity of Oxford," to confill of a principal, four fenior, and eight junior Fellows. " To Trinity College in Cambridge, where he was fellow pupil with Mr. Samuel Brookp. who fucceeded Dr. Leonard Maw in the mallerlhip of that college. JDHN DONNE.: 29 ftudent, often changing his ftudies, but endeavouring to take no degree, for the reafons formerly mentioned. About the feventeenth year of his age, he was removed to London, and then admitted into Lincoln's Inn, with an intent to ftudy the law ; where he gave great teftimonies of his wit, his learning, and of his improvement in that profeflion : which never ferved him for other ufe than an ornament and felf-fatisfaftion. His father died before his admifTion into the fociety ; and being a mer- chant, left him his portion in money. (It was 3000I.) His mother and thofe to whofe care he was committed, were watchful to improve his knowledge, and to that end appointed him tutors both in the mathematics, and in ail the other liberal fciences, to attend him. But v,-ith thefe arts they were advifed to inftil into him particular principles of the- Romifh Church ; of which thofe tutors profeft (though fecretly) themfelves to be members. They had almoft obliged him to their faith ; having for their advantage, befides many opportunities, the example of his dear and pious parents, which was a moft powerful perfuafion, and did work much upon him, as he profefTeth in his preface to his Pfeudo-Martyr' ; a book of which the reader fhall have fome account in what follows. He was now entered into the eighteenth year of his age ; and at that time had betrothed himfelf to no religion that might give him any other deno- mination than a Chriftian. And reafon, and piety had both perfuaded him, that there could be no fuch fin as Schifm, if an adherence to fome vifible church were not necefTary. About the nineteenth year of his age ; he being then unrefolved what religion to adhere to, and confidering how much it concerned his foul to choofe the moft orthodox, did therefore (though his youth and health, promifed him a long life), to redtify all fcruples that might concern that, prefently ' " I had alonger work to do than many other men : for I was firft to blot out certaine impref- fions of the Romane reHgion and to wreftle both againft the examples and againft the reafons, . by which fome hold was taken, and fome anticipations early layde upon my confcience, both by perfons who by nature had a power and fuperiority over my will, and others who by their learning and good life feemed to me juftly to claime an intereft for the guiding and rectifying of mine underftanding in thefe matters." (Preface to the Pfeudc-martyr^ which is pronounced by Mr. Granger to be the moll valuable of Donne's profe-writings.) ( Bisgraphical Hijl. vi! t- p- 2S1-J ^o THE LIFE OF .prefently lay afide all fludy of the law, and of all other fciences that might give him a denomination ; and begun ferioufly to furvey and confider the body of divinity"', as it was then controverted betwixt the reformed and the Roman Church. And as God's bleffed fpirit did then awaken him to the fearch, and in that induftry did never forfake him, (they be his own words in his prefiice to Pfcudo-martyr) fo he calls the fame holy fpirit to witnefs this proteftation ; that, in that difquifition and fearch, he pro- ceeded with humility and diffidence in himfelf ; and, by that which he took to be the fafeil way ; namely, frequent prayers, and an indifferent affection to both parties : and indeed, truth had too much light about her to be hid from fo fliarp an inquirer ; and, he had too much ingenuity, not to acknowledge he had found her. Being to imdertake this fearch, he believed the Cardinal Bellarmine" to be the bcft defender of the Roman caufe, and therefore betook himfelf to the examination of his reafons. The caufe was weighty : and wilful de- lays had been inexcufable both towards God and his own confcience ; he therefore ■ " The principal heads of this controverfy have been difcufled with great ability and candour by the mod eminent divines of our church, and particularly by thofe of them, who lived in the reign of James II. Mr. Pope, in a letter to Bifhop Atterbury, tells his Lordfliip, that when he was fourteen years old, he read the controverfies between the two churches. He adds, " and the confequence was, I found myfelf a Papifl: and a Proteftant by turns, accord- ing to the lafl book I read." This, as the writer of his life obferves, is an admirable defcrip- tion of every reader bufied in religious controverfy, without pofleffing the principles on which a right judgment of the points in qucflion is to be regulated. — If Mr. Pope had purfued this inquiry with the fame preparatory knowledge, with the fame humble diffidence that attended Dr. Donne, it is reafonable to think that the rcfult of his refearches would have been different from what he has reprefented it. ° Robert Bellarmine, raifed to the purple in 1599 by Pope Clement VIII. was born in 1542, and died at Rome in 1621. He was eltcemed by the Jefuits as the brighteft ornament of their order, and the Proteftant writers have always confidered him as the moft learned advo- cateof the church of Rome. His great work has been called *' Opus abfolutiffmium, quod controverfiarum ferme omnium corpus dici queat." The following eulogium is prefixed to a print of him by Bolfwert. *' Robertas Bi'llaniiitius FoWthmis Societatis jifu nnimi fubmiffione quam purpura major : nee pio mir)us quam dofto in haerefes controverfiarum calamo orbi '^^ -itiffimus : virtutum ut amator ita cultor omnium. Quam a Metre Virgine carnem acce- «< HI. % quam a facro lavacro innocentiam Deo reddidit : nullius fibi vita omni mendacii con- c -leta- cvijus etiam medicam manum in vario morborum genere expert! non pauci. Vivere a fcix^^ • ') ^'^^° inceplt anno MDCXXI. xtatis fux LXXIX. i JOHN DONNE. 31 therefore proceeded in this fearch with all moderate liafle, and about the twentieth year of his age, did fhew the then Dean of Gloucefter" (whofe name my memory hath now loft) all the Cardinal's works marked with- many weighty obfervations under his own hand ; which works were be- queathed by him at his death as a legacy to a moft dear friend. About a year following he refolved to travel ; and the Earl of EfTex go- ing firft the Cales, and after the Ifland voyages, the firft anno 1596, the fecond 1597, ^^ ^*^°^ ^^^^ advantage of thofe opportunities, waited upon his Lordiliip, and was an eye-witnefs of thofe happy and unhappy employ- ments". But he returned not back into England, till he had ftaid fome years firft. in Italy, and then in Spain, where he made many ufeful obfervations- of thofe countries, their laws and manner of government, and returned perfeft in their languages. The time that he fpent in Spain was, at his firft going into Italy, defigned for travelling to the holy land, and for viewing. Jerufalem and ihe SepuK chre of our Saviour. But at his being in the furtheft parts of Italy, the difappointment of company, or of a fate convoy, or the uncertainty of re- turns of money into thofe remote parts, denied him that happinefs ; which he did often occafionally mention with a deploration. Not long after his return into England, that exemplary pattern of gravity and wifdom, the Lord Elfemore% then keeper of the gieat feal, and Lord Chancellor " Dr. Anthony Rudd, born in Yorkfliire, and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He died liiftiop of St. David's in 1614. Of liis fermon preached in 1596 before Queen Elizabeth, fromPf. xc. 12, in which by perfonally alluding to her advanced years, and plainly telling her Majefty, that " age had furrowed her face, and befprinkled her hair with its meal," h& incurred her heavy difpleafure." (See Fuller'' s Ch. Hijlory, B. X. Cent. xvii./-. 69.) P Of this expedition in 1596, in which Cadiz was taken from the Spaniards, a narrative VTitten by the Earl of Eflex is inferted in Cambden's Annals of England, &c. " Sir Thomas Egerton, Knight, a native of Chefliire, the founder of the houfe of Eger- ton. In confideration of his fmgular merits he had the care of the Great: Seal committed to him. May 6, 1596, under the title of Lord Keeper, and by King James I. he was created Bdroii ot Ellefmore, and conftituted Lord Chancellor of England. His literary character js.pourirayed in the following letter written by Sir Francis Bacon, when he prcfented him with a. copy of " The Advancement of Learning." «* May ^3 THE LIFE OF Chancellor of England, taking notice of his learning, languages, and other abilities, and much affcdting his perfon and behaviour, took him to be his chief Sccittary ; fuppofmg and intending it to be an introdudtion to fome more " Maj' it pleafe your good Lordfhip, " I humbly prefent your lordiliip with a work, wherein as you have mucli commandment " over the author, fo your Lordfliip hath great intereft in the argument : for, to fpeak with- •' out flattery, few have like ufe of learning or like judgment in learning, as I have obferved " in your Lordfliip. And again ypur LordOup hath been a great planter of learning, not only " in thofe places in the church, which have been in your own gift, but alfo in your com- " mcndatory vote no man hath more conflantly held " detur digniori" ; and therefore both " your Lordfliip is beholden to learning, and learning beholden to you; Mhich maketh me ** pvefume, with good alVurance, that your Lordfhip will accept well of thefe my labours, " the rather becaufe your Lordfliip in private fpeech hath often begun to me in exprefTmg ** your admiration of his Majefty's learning, to whom I have dedicated this work; and whofe *' virtue and perfedion in that kind did chiefly move me to a vfork of this nature. And fo *' with fignification of my mofl humble duty and afl^edion to your Lonlfliip, " I remain." 1605. . (Bacoti's JfoiiSf vol. III. p. 229.) This excellent perfon died at the age of feventy years, March 15, 1616-17, having on the third of that month refigned the Great Seal, which on the feventh was given to Sir Francis Bacon. " It was faid of Bankes the Attorney (General) that he exceeded Bacon in eloquence, '•< Chancellor Elleftiicre in judgment, and William Noy in law." (Lord Straffbrde's Letters, vol. L p. 427.) " TO THE LORD CHANCELLOR. " Whilft thy weigh'd judgments, Egerton, I hear, " And know thee then a judge not of one year, " Whilfl I behold thee live with pureft hands, " That no affedion in thy voice commands, " That flill thou'rt prefent to the better caufe " And no lefs wife than ikilful in the laws, •' Whilft thou art certain to thy words once gone, " As is thy confcience, .which is always one : " The virgin long fince fled from earth I fee " T' our times rcturn'd hath made her heaven in thee. (Ben Jonfon.) Lloyd in his State Worthies, p. 756, obferves, that " Chriftendom afforded not a perfon *' which carried more gravity in his countenance and behaviour, than Sir Thomas Egertoji, ** infomuch that jnany have gone to the Chancery on purpofe only to fee his venerable garb, • *' (happy they who had no other bufinefs) and were highly pleafed at fo acceptable a pidture." JOHN DdNNE.. 33 more weighty employment in the State ; for which, his Lordfhip did often proteft, he thought him very lit. . Nor did his Lordfliip in this time of Mafter Donne's attendance upon him, account him to be lo much his fervant, as to forget he was his friend; and to teftify it, did always ufe him with much courtefy, appointing hr.n a place at his own table, to which he efteemed his company and difcourfo to be a great ornament. He continued that employment for the fpace of five years, being daily ufefiil, and not mercenary to his friends. During which time he (I dare not fay unhappily )fell into fuch a liking, as (with her approbation) ingreafed . into a love with a young gentlewoman th^t lived in that family, who was niece to the Lady Rlfemore'', and daughter to Sir George Moor% then Chancellor of the Garter and Lieutenant of the Tower. Sir George had fome intimation of it, and knowing prevention to be a great part of wifdom, did therefore remove her with much haile from that to his own houfc at Lothcfley, in the county of Surry ; but too late, by rea- fon of fome faithful promifes which were fo interchangeably pafled, as ne- ver to be violated by either party. Thcfe promifes were only known to themfelves ; and the friends of both parties ufed much diligence, and many ;trguments to kill or cool their affe(ftions to each other: but in vain; for love is a flattering mifchief, that hath denied aged and wife men a forefight of thofe evils that too often prove to be the children of that blind father, a pafTion that carries us to commit errors with as much eafe as whirlwinds remove feathers, and begets in us an unwearied induftry to the attainment of what we defire. And fuch an induftry did, notwithftanding much watchfulnefs againft it, bring them fecrctly together (I forbear to tell the manner how), and at laft to a marriage too, without the allowance of thofe friends, whofe approbation K always ' Sifter to Sir George Moor of Loxly-Farm, in the county of S\irry, Knight, and widow of Sir Jolin Woolcy, of Pirford in Surry, Knight, and mother of that Sir Francis Wooley, ^vho kindly took Dr. Donne and his wife under his protection. • This gentleman was Treafurer or Receiver General of the revenues of Henry Prince of Wales in 1604. In 1610 he was made Chancellor of the Order of the Garter, and in 1615 lieutenant of the Tower. ( See JVctd's A, 0. vcl. I. page 432.) 34 THE LIFE OF always ivas, and ever will be ncccflary, to make even a virtuous love be- come lawful. And that the knowledge of their marriage might not flill, like an unex- pedlcd tempeft, on thofe that were unwilling to have it {o ; and that pre- iipprehenfions might make it the k'fs enormous, when it was known, it was purpofcly whilpered into the ears of many that it was fo, yet by none that could aflirm it. But to put a period to the jealoufies of Sir George (doubt often begetting more reftlefs thoughts then the certain knowledge of what we fear), the news was, in favour to Mr. Donne, and with his al- lowance, made known to Sir George, by his honourable friend and neigh- bour, Henry Earl of Northumberland ' : But it was to Sir George fo im- meafurably unwelcome, and fo tranfported him, that as though his paffion of anger and inconfideration might exceed theirs of love and error, he pre- fently engaged his fifter the Lady Elfemore, to join with him to pro- cure her Lord to difcharge Mr. Donne of the place he held under his Lorddiip. — This requeft was followed with violence ; and though Sir George were remembered, that errors might be overpunifhed, aud defired therefore to forbear till fecond conliderations might clear fome fcruples, yet he became reftlefs until his fuit was granted, and the punifliment ex- ecuted. And though the Lord Chancellor did not at Mr. Donne's dif- miflion give him fuch a commendation, as the great Emperor Charles the Fifth did of his Secretary Erafo% when he prefented him to his fon and fucceffor ' Henry Percy, tlie ninth Earl of Northumberland of that name; " a learned man himfelf " and the generous favourer of all good learning," as he is called by Anthony Wood. This nobleman, upon the marriage of his youngefl daughter Lady Lucy Percy, a lady of the moft diftinguilhed wit and beauty, with the Lord Haye, afterward created Vifcount Doncafter and Earl of Carliile, dilcovcred the fame harfli'nefs of difpofition, which he probably cenfured in the father-in-law of Dr. Donne. The treatment which he received from James L to whom he always Ihewed the mofl faithful attachment, affords one among irtany inftances of the in- jufliee of that monarch, who fined this nobleman 30,0001. and " imprifoned him in the " Tower from 1605 to 1619 upon a mere fufpicion, without the leafl proof of his having had " knowledge of the powder-plot, as Cecyll himfelf confefled iq a letter to Sir Thomas Ed- " mun^, dated Dec. 2. 1605." (Birch's View of the Negocintioi7s,isfc. />. 245.) " On the i6th of January 1556, his Majcfty paffed the att " of the Renunciation of the " Cro\vn of Spain and all its dominions to his fon Philip in the prefence of Francis de Eraflb " his JOHN DONNE. 3- Iticceflbr Philip the Second, faying, " That in liis Erafo, he gave to him a " greater gift tlian all his eftate, and all the kingdoms which he then re- " figned to him ;" yet the Lord Chancellor faid, " He parted with a " friend and fuch a fecretary as was filter to ferve a king than a fubje£t." Immediately after his difmiflion from his fervice, he fent a fad letter to his wife, to acquaint her with it ; and, after the fubfcription of his name, writ, JOHN DONNE, ANNE DONNE, UN-DONE; And God knows it proved too true: For this bitter phyfic of Mr. Donne's difmiflion was not ftrong enough to purge out all Sir George's choler, for he was not fatisfied till Mr. Donne and his fometime compupil in Cam- bridge that married him, namely, Samuel Brook" (who was after Doctor K 2 in " his Secretary and all the Spaniards then at Bruflels." ( Stevens'' sTraiiJlat'wn of the Hijlory of Charles V. lurittett iti Spa/.'/f) by Di F. Prudencia de Sandoval, Bifhop of Pamplona, i^c. p. 453.) It was probably at this very time that the Emperor recommended this faithful fecretary to his fon. * Samuel Brook, defcended from a refpe£lable family at York, was the fon of Robert Brook, an eminent merchant, and Lord Mayor of that city in 1582 and in 1595. He was ad- mitted of TrinityCollege in Cambridge in 1596; and on September 26, i6i2, being then Chaplain to Prince Henry, he was chofen Divinity Profeffor in Grefliam College, on the re- commendation of that Prince, whofe unhappy -death followed, Nov. 6th cnfuing. In 1613 he was elefted one of the twelve preachers of the LTniverfity, and the year following he wrote a Latin paftoral, which was a6tcd with applaufe before King James in Trinity College Hall, on Friday, March 10. Copies of this performance are yet extant with this title, " Melanthe, " Fabula paftoralia, afta cum Jacobus, Magnx Brit. Franc, et Hibernire Rex, Cantabrigiam " fuam nuper inviferat, ibidemq 5 mufarum atque animi gratia dies qujnque commoraretur. " Egerunt Alumni Coll. San. et individuce Trinitatis-Cantabrigix. Excudebat Cantrellus " Legge, Mart. 27, 161 5." In 1630 he is faid to have compofed an Arminian Trcatife of Pre- deftination, with which he acquainted Bifhop Laud, who encouraged him in the work, re- commending it to the revifal of Dr. Lindfey and Dr. Beale, two great Arminians, and p; ..mi- fmg to perufe it himfelf, as appears by fundry letters. (Pryne's Canterbury's Doom, p. 167.) Of this traft Mr. Horfey, in the funeral oration delivered in Trinity College Chapi.1, thus fpeaks, 'i Nee ilium prxtereo foetum nuperrime formatum " de magna et fecreto Pntdejuna- " tionis Myferio Difputationes." Quanti nobis eflet a Tineis et Latebris redimere has pretiofas " chartas, ut typis fidcliter excufx in manus omnium pervenirent." In 1615 he was created D. D. and in 1618 was promoted to the Re(!a;ory of tjt. Margaret's, Lothbury, in London. He refigned 30 • ' THE LIFE OF in Divinity, and Maflcr of Trinity College) and his brother Mr. Chrlfto- pher Brook", fomctime Mr. Donne's Chamber-fellow in Lincoln's-Inn, who gave Mr. Donne his wife, and witncfled the marriage, were all com- mitted to three feveral prifons. Mr. Donne was firft enlarged, who neither gave reft to his body or brain, nor to any friend in whom he might hope to have an intereft, until he had procured an enlargement for his two imprifoned friends. He was now at liberty, but his days were ftill cloudy ; and being paft thefe troubles, others did ftill multiply upon him, for his wife was (to her extreme forrow) detained from him ; and though with Jacob he endured not an hard fervice for her, yet he loft a good one, and was forced to make good his title, and to get pofleffion of her by a long an^ reftlefs fuit in law, which proved troublcfome and fadly chargeable to him, v^d■lofe youth, travel, and needlefs bounty had brought his eftate into a narrow compafs. It is obferved, and moft trsly, that filence and lubmiflion are charming qualities, and work moft upon paflionate men: and it proved fo with Sir George; for thefe,and a general report of Mr. Donne's merits, together with his winning behaviour (which when it would entice had a ftrange kind of elegant irrefiftible art), thefe and time had fo difpaflionated Sir George, that as the world had approved his daughter's choice, fo he a.lfo could not but refigned his Profenbrfliip of Grefliam College in 1629, upon his appointment to the Mnfter- fliip of Trinity College in Cambriilgc, vacated by the death of Dr. Leonard Maw, Bifliop of Bath and Wells. In 163 1 he was made Archdeacon of Wells, and in that year he died ; and was buried in Trinity College Chapel, without either monument or epitaph. He is defcribed ns a man of wit and learning. And Rlr. Ilorfey commends him for his " concionandi copia." Of his writings there is extant only one difcourfe, from the title of which we may form an idea of the nature of the queftions, -which were then ufually difcufTed in the divinity fchools. " De auxilio divinse gratix exercitatio theologica, nimirum, an poflibile (it duos eandem "habere gratix menfuram, et tamen unus convertatur et credat, alter non : e Johan. xi. " 45, 46." (Ward's Piofejfors of Grejham College.) y A Bencher and Summer Reader at Lincoln's Inn, to the chapel of which he was a bene- faftor. He is much commended as a poet by Ben Jonfon, Drayton, and others of his co- temporaries. He VTOte an elegy, confecrated to the never dying memory of Henry Prince of Wales, I^ondon 1613, 4to. He alfo publifhed Eclogues dedicated to his much loved fricnel INIr. William Brown of the Inner Temple, London, 1614, 8vo. To this gentleman Dr. Donne hath infcribed two poems, ".The Storme" and " The Calme." JOHN DONNE. 37 but fee a more than ordinary merit in his new fon; and this at lail melted him into fo much remorfe (for love and anger are fo like agues, as to have hot and cold fits; and love in parents, though it may be quenched, yet is eafily rekindled, and expires not till death denies mankind a natural heat), that he laboured his fon's reftoration to his place ; ufmg to that end, both his own and his filler's power to her Lord, but with no fuccefs, for his an- fwer was, " That though he was unfeignedly forry for what he had done, " yet it was inconfiftent with his place and credit to difchargc and readmit " fervants at the requell of paflionate petitioners.'' Sir George's endeavour for Mr. Donne's readmiffion was by all means to be kept fccret: — (For men do more naturally reludl for errors, than fubmit to put on thofe blemifhcs that attend their vifible acknowledgment) — But however it v/as not long before Sir George appeared to be fo far recon- ciled as to wifli their happinefs, and not to deny them his paternal blef- fmg, but yet refufed to contribute any means that might conduce to their livelihood. Mr. Donne's eftate was the greateft part fpent in many chargeable tra- vels, books, and dear-bought experience : He out of all employment that might yield a fupport for himfelf and wife, who had been curioufly and plentifully educated, both their natures generous, and accuftomed to con- fer, and not to receive courtefies : Thefe and other confiderations, but chiefly that his wife was to bear a part in his fufferings, furrounded him with many fad thoughts, and fome apparent apprehenfions of want. • But his forrows were lefTened and his wants prevented by the feafonable courtefy of their noble kinfman, Sir Francis Wolly of Pirford in Surry% who inireated them to a cohabitation with him, where they remained with much freedom to themfelves, and equal content to him for fome years ; and, as their charge increafed (fhe had yearly a child), fo did his love and bounty. It hath been obferved by wife and confidering men, that wealth hath feldom been the portion, and never the mark to difcover good peo- * The fon of Sir John Wooley, Knight, Latin Secretary to Queen Elizabeth, who, though a layman, was promoted to the Deanery of Carlifle on the death of Sir Thomas Smith. He was knighted fome time after his advancement to that dignity. He caufed a monument to be 38 THE LIFE OF people' ; but, that Almighty God, who difpofeth all things wifely, hath of his abundant goodnefs denied it (he only knows why) to many, whole minds he hath enriched with the greater bleffings of knowledge and virtue", as the fairer tefiimonies of his love to mankind ; and this was the prefent con- dition of this man of fo excellent erudition and endowments, whole ne- celTary and daily expences were hardly reconcileable with his uncertain and narrow eftate; which I mention, for that at this time there was a moft generous offer made him for the moderating of his worldly cares, the de- claration of which fhall be the next employment of my pen. God hath been fo good to. his church, as to afford it in every age fome fuch men to ferve at his altar as have been pioufly ambitious of doing good to mankind ; a difpofition that is fo like to God himfelf, that it owes itfelf only to him, who takes a pleafure to behold it in his creatures. Thefe times (anno 1608"), he did blcfs with many fuch, fome of which live to be patterns of apoftolical charity, and of more than human patience. I have faid this, becaufe I have occafion to mention one of them in my follow- ing difcourfe ; namely, Dr. Morton, the moft laborious and learned Bifhop of Durham ; one that God hath bleffed with perfe£l intelledtuals and a cheerful be erefted to himfelf and his parents in the cathedral cliurch of St. Paul's. He is there re- prefcnted as fitting between his father and mother. The infeription begins " D. O. M. " Joannes Wolleius, eques auratus, Reginrc Elizabeths a Secretioribus Confiliis, Sccretarius *' Linguve Latina:, Cancellarius Ordlnis Perifcelidis, Dodlrina, Pietate, Fide, Probitate, Gra- " vitate clariflimus. \ ". Obiit anno 1595." Then follow twenty-four Latin hexameter verfes, in which are contained the hiftory and cha- raftor of Sir John Wooley, Elizabeth his wife, afterwards Lady Elfcmore, and Sir Francis Wooley their fon. (Dugdale's HiJJory of Si. Paul's.) * " I returned and faw under the fun, that the race is not to the fwift, nor the battle to the flrong ; neither yet bread to the wife, nor yet riches to men of underlla?tdi?tg." Ecclef. ix. II. •> According to the Greek Poet, JOHN DONNE. 39 cheerful heart at tlie age of 94 years (and is yet living'); one, that la his days of plwity had fo large a heart as to ufe his large reveuue to the en- couragement of learning and virtue, and is now (be it fpoken with for- row) reduced to a narrow ftate, which he embraces without repining, and ftill fliews the beauty of his mind by fo liberal a hand, as if this were an age in which to-morrow were to care for itfelf. I have taken a pleafuie in giving the reader a fhort but true charadter of this good man, my friend, from whom I received this following relation. — He fent to Mr. Donne, and intrcated to borrow an hour of his time for a conference the next day. After their meeting, there was not many minutes pafled before he fpake to Mr. Donne to this purpofe. " Mr. Donne, the occafion of fend- " ing for you is to propofe to you, what I have often revolved in my own *' thought fmce I lail fiiw you, which neverthelefs I will not declare but " upon ' " The learned, pious, and painful Bifhop of Durham (Morton) hath fought in front •' agninft Roman fuperRition and idolatry." (Sir Edivard Deerhig's Speech agahijl the Remon- Jltants.) This learned and charitable prelate, as Ifaac Walton fome where calls him, not more diilinguilhed by the fplendor of his parentage, than by his habitual temperance and diligence in ftudy, died Sept. 22, 1659, in the 95th year of his age, after having received the molt in- jurious treatment from the Parliament. No apology is ncceflary for the inlertion of the fol- lowing affecting Itory concerning him. " Having fulFered imprifonment at different times, and undergone many hardfliips, he was expelled from Durham-houfe. Wandering from place to place, he at lafl: went to London with about fixty pounds — (which it feems was then his all); — he was overtaken on the road by Sir Chriflopher Yelverton, who being known to the Bifhop was unknown to him ; and in difcourfe afking the old gentleman, " What he was," the good Bifiiop replied, " I am that old man, the Bifhop of Durham, notwithllanding all " your votes :" For Sir Chriftopher was not free from the ftain of the times. Whereupon Sir Chriftopher demanded where he was going : " To London," replied the old gentleman ; " to live a little while and then die." On this Sir Chriftopher entered into further difcourfe with him, took him home with him into Northamptonfliire, where he became tutor to that fon of his, which was afterwards the incomparably learned Sir Henry Yelverton, and pre- faced this mod excellent Bifhop's little piece of Epifcopacy." (Wallier''s Sufferings of the Clergy, p. 18.) " He was," fays his excellent pupil, " an ancient Bifliop, and had all the qualifications fit for his order, either to adorn or govern a church ; but above all he was eminent for his invincible patience under fo many violent perfecutions and almoft neceflities, always rejoicing in his lofles, and protefting that he thought himfelf richer with nothing and a good confcience, than thofe were who had devoured Ms goodly bifhonric. He was forty- four years a bifliop, a thing fo extraordinary, that but one exceeded him in this ifland." (Sir H. I'ehcrtoi^s Preface to ETr.crxoTrs; *7r3r<>?n«;, or the Epifcopacy of the Church of England jufllfitd. ) 40 THE LIFE OF " upon this condition, that you Ihali not return mc a prefent anfvver, but " forbear three days, and beftow fome part of that time in farting and prayer", " and after a ferious confideration of what I fhal! propofe, then return " to me with your aniwer. Deny me not, Mr. Donne, for it is the effcdl " of a true love, which I would gladly pay as a debt due for yours to *• me.'' This requcrt: being granted, the Doftor exprelTed himfelf thus : — " Mr. " Donne, I know your education and abilities ; 1 know your expedation " of a ftate- employment, and I know your htnefs for it^ and 1 know too " the many delays and contingencies that- attend court-promifes ; and let " me tell you, that my love, begot by our long fricndlhip and your merits, " hath prompted me to fuch an inquifition after your prefent temporal ellatc, " as makes me no ftranger to your neceffities, which I know to be fuch as " your generous fpirit could not bear, if it were not fupported with a pious " patience : You know I have formerly perfuaded you to wave your court- " hopes, and enter into holy orders; which I now again perfuade you to " embrace, with this reafon added to my former requeft: The King hath " yefterday* made me Dean of Gloucefter, and I am alfo poffefled of a be- *' nefice, the profits of which are equal to thofe of my Deanery ; I will " think '' The condition required by Dr. Morton of Mr. Donne, that he (hould not give an anfwer to the Doctor's propofal, until he had parted three days in fading and prayer, deferves notice, as marking the high devotional fpirit of the times : For it is to be remembered that this was not the propofition of an enthufiaftic puritan, but of a- very eminent and refpe£table divine of the Church of England. If our anceftors carried matters of this nature too far (which there is no reafon to think they did), their fucceflbrs have run into the contrary extreme. A principle of piety exercifed in referring our concerns to the providential direcftion of the Supreme Beinj;, would be no bar to the wifdom, ability, and fuccefs of our lawful under- - takings. This fciniment, that prayer and labour fliould co-operate, is cxprefTed by Donne himfelf, m one of his poems, though with no elegance of language. " In none but us are fuch mixt engines fownd, " As hands of douWe office ; for the ground " We till with them, and them to heaven we raife; •• Who prayerlefs labours or without this prays, " Doth but one half— that's none." (Biogr. Brit. zu. Edit.) ' He was prcfented by the King to the Deanery of Gloucefter, June 22, 1607, through th« recommendation of Archbilhop Bancroft: JOHN DONNE. 41 " think my Deanery enough for my maintenance (who am and refolve to " die a fmgleman) and will quit my benefice, and cftate you in it (which the *' patron is willing I fliall do), if God fliall incline your heart to embrace " this motion. Remember, Mr. Donne, no man's education or parta " make him too good for this employment, nvhich is to be an Ambajfador ''''for the God of glory ; that God^ ivho, by a vile deaths opened the gates of life *' to mankind. Make me no prefcnt anfwer, but remember your promife, *' and return to me the third day with your refolution." At the hearing of this, Mr. Donne's faint breath and perplexed counte- nance gave a vifible teftimony of an inward conflidt, but he performed his promife, and departed without returning an anfwer till the third day, and- tlien his anfwer was to this effeft : " My moft worthy and moft dear friend, fmce I faw you I have been " faithful to my promife, and have alfo meditated much of your great " klnduefs, which hath been fuch as would exceed even my gratitude, but " that it cannot do, and more I cannot return you ; and I do that with an " heart full of humility and thanks, though I may not accept of your " offer: But, Sir, my refufal is not for that I think myfelf too good for " that calling, for which kings, if they think fo, are not good enough j " nor for that my education and learning, though not eminent, may not, " being affifted with God's grace and humility,, render me in fomc mea- " fure fit for it ; but I dare make fo dear a friend as you are my con- " feffor ; fome irregularities of my life have been fo vilible to fome men, *' that though 1 have, I thank God, made my peace with him by penitential " refolutions againft them, and by the afllftance of his grace banillied them " my affeftions; yet this, which God knows to be fo, is not fo vlfible to man,. " as to free me from their cenfures, and it may be that facred calling from. " a difllonour^ And befides, whereas it is determined by the beft of Ca- *' fuifts, that God's glory fhould be the firfl end, and a 7naintenance the fecond " motive to embrace that calling, and though each man may propofe to L " himfelf •■ There is not the lead reafon to fuppofe that Mr. Donne ever clifgraced his charader by any aft of immorality. He probably mixed more in the world than he thought confident ■with the profeffion of a clergyman: He had not given that valediction to the pleafures and araufements of life, which he deemed rcquifite. When he devoted his time to the iludy of poetry, he chofe fubjefts for his pen, which at a later period of life r.ppearcd to him too trifling and ludicrous. 4-2 THE LIFE OF " himfclf both together, yet the firft may not be put lafl; without a viola- " tion of conlciencc, which he that fearches the heart will judge. And " truly my prcfcnt condition is fuch, that if I afk my own confciencc whether " it be rcconcileable to that rule, it is at this time fo perplexed about it, " that I can neither give myfelf nor you an anfwer. You know, Sir, who " fays, Happy is that man ivhofe coiifdence doth not accufe him for that thing " which be docs~\ To thefe I might add other reafons that dilTuade me ; " but I crave your favour that I may forbear to exprefs them, and tliank- . " fully xlecline your offer." This was his prefent refolution ; l)ut the heart of man is not in his own keeping, and he was deftined to this facred fervice by a higher hand; a hand fo powerful, as at lafl forced him to a compliance : of which I fhall give the reader an account before I fhall give a refl to my pen. Mr. Donne and his wife continued with Sir Francis Wolly till his death; a little before which time, Sir Francis w^as fo happy as to make a perfeift reconciliation betwixt Sir George and his forfaken fon and daughter ; Sir George conditioning by bond to pay to Mr. Donne 800I. at a certain day, as a portion with his wife, or 20I. quarterly for their maintenance, as the in- terefl: for it till the fliid portion was paid. Moft of thofe years that he lived with Sir Francis, he fhidicd the Civil and Canon Laws; in which he acquired fuch a perfedtion, as was judged to hold proportion with many who had made that fludy the employment of their whole life. Sir Francis being dead, and that happy family difiblved, Mr. Donne took for himfelf a houfe in Micham (near to Croydon in Surrey), a place noted for good air, and choice company : There his wife and children remained; and for himfelf he took lodgings in London, near to White-Hall, whither his friends and occafions drew him very often, and where he was as often vifited by many of the nobility and others of this nation, who ufed him in their councils of greateft confideration, and with fome rewards for his bet- ter fubfiftence. Nor did our own nobility only value and favour him, but his acquaintance and friendfhip was fought for by mofl AmbafTadors of foreign nations, and by many other ftrangers whofe learning or bufmefs occafioned their flay in this nation. He <* " Happy is he that condemneth not himfelf in that which he doeth." Rom. xlv. 22. JOHN DONNE. 4.3 He was much importuned by many friends to make his couftant refi- dence in London, but he ftill denied it, having fettled his dear wife and children at Micham, and near fome friends that were^bountiful to them and him ; for they, God knows, needed it : And that you may the better now judge of the then prefent condition of his mind and fortune, I fhall pre- fent you with an extradl colledcd out of fome few of his many letters. . " And the reafon why I did not fend an anfwer to your laft week's • " letter was, becaufe it then found me under too great a fadnefs, and at " prefent it is thus with me. There is not one perfon but myfelf well of " my family ; I have already loft half a child, and with that mifchance of " hers, my wife is fallen into fuch a difcompofure, as would afflidl her too " extremely, but that the ficknefs of all her other children ftupifies her; " of one of which, in good faith, I have not much hope ; and thefe meet " with a fortune fo ill provided for phyfic, and fuch relief, that if God " fliould eafe us with burials, I know not how to perform even that ; but "• I flatter myfelf with this hope, that I am dying too, for I cannot wafte "■ fafter than by fuch griefs. As for " From my hofpital at Micham, '°" " JOHN DONNE." Thus did he bemoan himfelf : And thus in other letters. " For we hardly difcover a fin, when it is but an omiffion of fome " good, and no accufing a<3: : With this or the former, I have often fuf- " pedled myfelf to be overtaken ; which is, with an over-earneft defire of " the next life. And though I know it is not merely a wearinefs of this ; " becaufe I had the fame defire when I went with the tide, and enjoyed " fairer hopes than I now do ; yet I doubt worldly troubles have increafed " it. It is now fpring, and all the pleafures of it difpleafe me ; every " other tree blolToms, and I wither: I grow older and not better; my " ftrength diminifheth and my load grows heavier, and yet I would fain " be or do fomething, but that I cannot teU what, is no wonder in this *' time of my fidnefs : For to choofe is to do, but to be no part of any " body is as to be nothing ; and fo I am, and fhall fo judge myfelf, unlefs I **• could be fo incorporated into a part of the worlds as by bufinefs to con- L 2 " tribute 44 THE LIFE OF *' tribute fonic fullcntatioa to the whole. I'his I mailo accouiit; I began *' early, when i imJcrftood the (ludy of our laws ; but was diverted by " leaving that and embracing the word voluptuoufnefs, an hydroptiquc " immoderate de/ire of hmnan learning and languages^ : Beautiful ornaments " indeed to men of great fortunes; but mine was grown fo low as to need " an occupation, which I thought I entered well into, when I fubjedled " myfelf to fiich a fcrvice as I thought might exercifc my poor abilities ; *' and there I ftiimbled and fell too : And now I am become fo little, or " fuch a nothing, that I am not a fubjed; goo^J enough for one of my own " letters. — Sir, I fear my prefent difcontent does not proceed from a good " root, that I am fo well content to be nothing, that is, dead. But, Sir, " though my fortune hath made me fuch, as that I am rather a ficknefs or " a difeafe of the world, than any part of it, and therefore neither love it " nor life ; yet I would gladly live to become fomc fuch thing as you " fliould not repent loving me. Sir, your own foul cannot be more zealous *' for your good than I am ; and God, who loves that zeal in me, will not " fuffer you to doubt it. You would pity me now, if you faw me write, for " my pain hath drawn my head {o much awry, and holds it fo, that my eye " cannot follow my pen. I therefore receive you into my prayers with *' mine own weary foul, and commend myfelf to yours. I doubt Tiot but " next week will bring you good news; for I have either mending or dying '' on my fide ; But if I do continue longer thus, I fhall have conifort in *' this. That my blefled Saviour, in exercifmg his juftice upon my two " ^vorldly parts, my fortune and my body, referves all his mercy for that " which moft needs it, my foul ; which is, I doubt, too like a porter that " is very often near the gate, and yet goes not out. — Sir, I profefs to you *' truly, that my loathnefs to give over writing now, feems to myfelf a fign '*' that I {hall write no more " Your poor friend, and God's poor patient ', ^"^' '* " JOHN DONNE." By '' Donne, in one of his poems, ufes the exprefiion of " Tlic facred hunger of Science." ' This letter moft affedlingly exhibits a gloomy pi£lure of family-diftrefs : A good man ftruggling vith poverty and ficknefs, almoft Gnking under the prefTure of accumubted mifery, but happily deriving confolation from this refledion, that while his body and his fortune only fuffered, the tend'.-r mercy of God was referved for his foul. In another letter he thus de- fcribes JOHN DONNE. 45 By this you have feen a part of the picture of his narrow fortune, and the perplexities of his generous mind; and thus it continued with him for about two years, all which time his family remained conftantly at Micham, and to which place he often retired himfelf, and deftined fome days to a conftant ftudy of fome points of controverfy betwixt the Englifli and Ro- man Church, and efpccially thofe of fupremacy and allegiance. And to that place, and fuch ftudies, he could willingly have wedded himfelf during his life ; but the earnefl: perfuafion of friends, became at lafl to be fo power- ful, as to caufe the removal of himfelf and family to London, where Sir Robert Drewry", a gentleman of a very noble eftate, and a more liberal mind, affigned him and his wife an ufeful apartment in his own large houfc in Drewry-lane, and not only rent-free, but was alfo a cheriflier of his fludies, and fuch a friend as fympathifed with him and his in all their joy and forrows'. At this time of Mr. Donne's and his wife's living in Sir Robert's houfe, the Lord Hay was, by King James, fent upon a glorious embaffy to the then French King Henry the Fourth ; and Sir Robert put on a fudden refolution fcribes his fad fituation ; — " I write from the fire-fide in my parlour, and in the noife of three " gamefome children, and by the fide of her, whom becaufe I have tranfplanted into a " wretched fortune, I mufl hibour to difguife that from her by ail fuch honed devices, as " giving her my company and difcourfe." The mournful hiftory of this unfortunate mar» riage affords a mod important leffon of inflruftion to young perfons. In an affair of high confcqucnce to their welfare in future life, the utmcfl caution, the moft rigid circumfpeclion are necefTary. Connexions, formed without the exprefs confent and approbation of parents and guardians, are fo far from being productive of domedic blifs, that they are generally marked with difappointment, misfortune, and penitential forrow. " Sir Robert Drury was the patron of Dr. Jofeph Hall, Bifliop of Norwich, who dedicates to him his Fird, as he does to Lady Drury "The Second Century of Meditations and Vows, Divine and Moral." ' The death of a young lady, the daughter of Sir Robert Drury, afforded to Dr. Donne a fubjeT£ x«i 6e^wl. ■ EuRip. in Hecub. JOHN DONNE. 47 '" you have fiept fiiice I faw you, and this is the rcfult of Ibme melancholy " dream, which I dcfire you to forget, for you are now awake." To which Mr. Donne's reply was, " I cannot be furer that I now live, than that I " have not flept fmce I faw you ; and I am as fure, that at her fecond appear- " ing fhe flopped, and looked me in the face, and vanillicd." Reft and fleep had not altered Mr. Donne's opinion the next day ; for he then af- firmed this vifion with a more deliberate, and- fo confirmed a confidence, that he inclined Sir Robert to a faint belief that the vifion was true. — It is truly faid, that defire and doubt have no reft ; and it proved fo with Sir Robert, for he immediately fent a fervant to Drewry Houfe, with a charge to haften back, and bring him word, whether Mrs. Donne was alive ? and if alive, in what condition (he was as to her health ? — The twelfth day the meflenger returned with this account — That he found and left Mrs. Donne very lad, and fick in her bed ; and that after a long and dangerous labour, ihe had been delivered of a dead child. And upon examination, the abor- tion proved to be the fame day, and about the very hour that Mr. Donne affirmed he faw her pafs by him in his chamber. This is a relation that will beget fome wonder ; and it well may, for moft of our world are at prefent poflefled with an opinion that vilions and miracles are ceafed. And though it is moft certain, that tv/o lutes being both ftrung and tuned to an equal pitch, and then one played upon, the other, that which is not touched, being laid upon a table at a fit diftance, will (like an echo to a trumpet) warble a faint audible harmony, in an- fwer to the fame tune, yet many will not believe there is any fuch thing as a fyrapathy of fouls : and I am well pleafed, that every reader do enjoy his own opinion ; but if the unbelieving will not allow the believing rea- der of this ftory a liberty to believe that it may be true, then I wilh him to confider, many wife men have believed, that the ghoft of Julius Casfar did appear to Brutus, and that both St. Auftin, and Monica his mother, had vifions in order to his converfion. And though thefe, and many others (too many to name) have but the authority of human ftory, yet the incredible reader may find in the facred ftory, i {Sam. xxviii.) that Samuel did appear to Saul even after his death (whether really or not, I undertake not to determine). And Bildad, in the book oi Job, (chap, iv.) fays thefe words; " A fpirit pafled before my face, the hair of my head " ftood 48 THE LIFE OF " ftood up, fear and trembling came upon me, and made all my bones to- " fhake." Upon which words I will make no comment, but leave them to be confidered by the incredulous reader, to whom I will alfo commend this following conlideration ; — That there be many pious and learned men that believe our merciful God hath afligned to every man a particular guardian angel", to be his conftant monitor, and to attend him in all his dangers both of body and foul. And the opinion, that every man hath, his particular angel, may gain fome authority by the relation of St. Peter's miraculous deliverance out of prifon {^A&s xii.) ; not by many, but by one Angel. And this belief may yet gain more credit, by the reader's confidering, that when Peter after his enlargement knocked at the door of Mary the mother of John, and Rode the maid-fervant being furprifed with joy that Peter was there, did not let him in, but ran in liafte and told the dif- ciples (who were then and there met together) that Peter was at the door, and they not believing it, faid fhe was mad ; yet when flie again affirmed It, though they believed it not, yet they concluded and faid — " It is his angel." More obfervations of this natiu-e, and inferences from them, might be made to gain the relation a firmer belief; but I forbear, left I, that in- tended to be but a relator, may be thought to be an engaged perfon for the proving what was related to me; and yet I think myfelf bound to de- clare, that though it was not told me by Mr. Donne himfelf, it was told me (now long fince) by a perfon of honour, and of fuch intimacy with him, that he knew more of the fecrets of his foul, than any perfon then living ; and I think he told me the truth : for it was told with fuch circum- ftances and fuch affeveration, that (to fay nothing of my own thoughts) I verily believe he that told it me did himfelf believe it to be true. I forbear the reader's farther trouble, as to the relation and what concerns it, and will conclude mine with commending to his view a copy of ver- fes given by Mr. Donne to his wife at the time that he then parted from her: And I beg leave to tell, that I have heard fome critics, learned both in languages and poetry, fay, that none of the Greek or Latin poets did ever equal them. VALE- ° Of the very probable truth of this propofition, fo pleafing to all good men, fee Bifiop BuU's Sermons f vol. II. p. 498. JOHN DONNE, 49- A VALEDICTION, FORBIDDING TO MOURN. As virtuous men pafs mildly away. And whifper to their fouls to go, Whilft fome of their fad friends do fay. The breath goes now j and fome fay— No :: So let us melt and make no noife ; No wind-fighs or tear-floods us move, 'Twere profanation of our joys To tell the laity our love. Movings of the earth caufe harms and fears » Men reckon what they did or meant ? But trepidation of the fpheres, Though greater far, is innocent. Dull fublunary lovers' love (Whofe foul is fenfe) cannot admit Abfence ; becaufe that doth remove Thofe things that elemented it. But we by a foul fo much refin'd. That our fouls know not what it is. Inter- allured of the mind. Care not hands, eyes, or lips to mifs. Our two fouls therefore, which are onCy Though I muft go, endure not yet A breach, but an expanfion. Like gold to airy thinnefs beat. If we be two ? we are two fb As flifF twin-compafles are two : Thy foul, the fix'd foot, makes no fhow To move, but does if th' other do. M And rfo THE LIFE OF 7lnd though thine hi the centre fit. Yet, when my other far does roam. Thine leans and hearkens after it, And grows ercdl as mine comes home. Such thou mufl be to me, who mult, Like th' other foot, obliciucly run : Thy firmnefs makes my circle juft. And me to end where I begun. I return from my account of the vifion, to teil the reader, that both be- fore Mr. Donne's going into France, at his being there, and after his return, many of the nobility and others, that were powerful at court, were watch- ful and folicitous to the king for fbme fecular employment for him. The king had formerly both known and put a value upon his company ; and had alfo given him fojne hopes of a ftate-employment, being always much pleafed when Mr. Donne attended him, efpccially at his meals'", where there were ufually many deep difcourfes of general learning, and very often friendly difputes or debates of religion betwixt his majerty and thofe divines whofe places required their attendance on him at thofe times ; par- ticularly P James I. took great pleafure in the convcvfation of thofe divines who attended his Court- It was ufual with him, particularly at his meals, to difcourfe with them, as well upon the con- troverfial points of religion, as upon various topics of literature. In the dedication of " An *• Anfwer to a Challenge made by a Jefulte in Ireland, 1624," to the King, the celebrated author, having preferred him to the Emperor Theodofius the younger, und to Alexius, thus addrefles his Majefty. " It is acknowledged, even by fuch as differ from you in the point of " religion, as a matter that hath added more than ordinary luftre to your royal eflate, that " you doe not forbear fo much as at^the time of your bodily repaji to havcy for the then Hie feeding of *' your intelleBual part, your highncjfe's table furrouiided with the attendance and conference of your *' grave and learned divines. What inward joy my heart conceived as oft as I have had the " happinefs to be prefcnt at fuch feafons, I forbeare to utter, onely I will fay with job; the *' eare -which heard you ble£id you, and the eye •which faiv you gave ivitnejfe to you." Dr. Jofeph Hall in his Holy Panegyric hath drawn a parallel between the Roman Emperor Conltantine and King James. " Conilantine fate in the midft of liifliops, as if he was one of them. King "James, befules his folemn conferences, vouch fafcs not feldom to fpend his meals in dif- ^' courfe with his biftiops and other worthy divines." C Bijhop Hall's Works, J>. 444.7 JOHN" DONNE. 51 ticularly the Dean of the Chapel, who then was Bifliop Montague'' (the publiflier of the learned and eloquent works' of his majcfty), and the moft M 2 reverend " The fifth fen to Sir Edward Montague, and brother to Edward the firfl: Lord Montague of Brougliton, eminent for his learning and liberality, and ufually called " King James's " ecclefiaftical Favourite." He publillied liis Majefly's works under this title : " King James's " Works, publiflied by James, Bifliop of Winton, and Deane of his Majefty's Chappel Royal. " I Reg. III. 12 V. Lee I have given thee a -wife and an underflaiid'ing heart. London 1616." He afterward tranflated them into Latin. He died in 1618, having been Bifliop of Winchefter only two years. He was buried in the Abbey clmrch of Bath, which, wliile he filled tlie fee of Bath and Wells, he repaired and beautified at a great expence, having been excited to thib aiS of munificence in the following manner: When he held his primary vifitation in the church of Bath, the bufincfs being done and the beneditlion given, Sir John Harrington flood up in the midfl of the congregation and addrelTed his lordfliip in a Latin poem on the ruinous flate of tiie buildings of the church, and concluded with a prophecy of its future flourifliing and beautiful condition under the aufpices of the bifliop. Te nempe ad decus hoc peperit Natura ; replevit Dotibus eximiis Deus : Ais perfecVa polivit : In gremio rcfovet ter magiji gratia regis Dilavil. 41.) Yet the incenfe of praife and adulation was liberally offered to him, both in his Hfc-time and after his death. Ben Jonfon, in an epigram, commends James as " bi (I of kings and beft of poets." One of the moft learned divines of his time declares the king's Paraphrafe upon the Revelation of St. John, which he is faid to have written be- fore he was twenty years of age, to be a memorable monument left to all poftcrity, luhich I can never loohe upon, but thofe verfes of the poet rtinne eiliuaies in my minde. Ccefi^ibus virtus rontigit .nnte diem : Ingenium coelefte fuis velociub ar.nis Surgit, €t jgnavx fert mala dainna mors. 52 THE LIFE OF reverend Dr. Andrews', the late learned Biftiop of Winchefler, who was then the king's Almoner. About this time there grew many difputes that concerned the Oath of Supremacy ' Of this great divine C.ifjubon thus fpeaks, " De cujus alta do£lrina in omni gsnere dif- *' ciplinarum quicquid dixcro minus crit." In him were eminently united thofe qualities, which feldom meet in one man, " Scientia magna, memoria major, judicium maximum, at " induflria infinita." He is faid to have poflefled a critical and accurate knowledge of at leaft fifteen modern tongues. Hence, no one was better qualified to be one of the tranflators of the Bible in the reign of King James. Lord Clarendon entertained fo favourable an opinion of him, as to declare. That " if Andrews, who loved and underflood the church, had fucceeded Bancroft in the fee of Canterbury, that infedtion would eafily have been kept out, wliich could not afterwards be fo eafily expelled." ( Hijlory of the Rebellion, b. I. p. 88. Edit. 1721.) Amongfl. Milton's juvenile poems is an elegy on the death of Bifliop Andrews. To his pa- tronage tlic venerable Jofeph Mede owed his fucccfs in being ele£led into a fellowfliip of Chrift's College, Cambridge. And it fliould be always mentioned to his honour, that it was ufual with him to fend for men of note, that he thought wanted preferment, and to give them prebends and benefices under feal before they knew of it. Of this we have a remark- able inftance in the cafe of Mr. Bois, on whom he conferred a prebend of Ely unaikcd for. He was fent for to London by the bifliop. When he had given him, as we commonly fay, joy of it (which was his firft falutation at his coming to him), he told him, " that he did be- " (low it freely on him, without any one moving him thereto ; though (faid he) fome pick- •' thanks will be faying, they flood your friends herein." Which prediiStion proved very true. (Peck's DefiJerata ciiriofa, b. VIII. p. 50.^ Fuller obferves of him, that " the fathers are not " more faithfully cited in his book, than lively copied out in his countenance and carriage; *' his gravity in a manner awing King James, who refrained from that mirth and liberty in " the prefencc of this prelate, which otherwife he afTumed to himfcif.'' Of his writings perh.ips the moft known and the mofl ufeful is his Manual of Devotions, compofed in Greek and Latin for his own private ufe, and rendered into Englifli by Dean Stanhope. For fome time before his death the manufcript was fcarce ever out of his hands. It was found worn in pieces by his fingers, and wet with his tears. A late editor of thefe devotions thus con- cludes his advertifehient to the reader. " When thou haft bought the book, enter into thy " clofet and fiiut the door ; pray with Bifhop Andrews for one week, and he will be thy " companion for the refidue of thy years ; he will be pleafant in thy life, and at the hour of " death he will not forfake thee." " Who," faith Bifliop Gauden, " hath more amplenefs " and complctenefs for a good Man, a good Bifliop, a good Chriftian, a good Scholar, a good ** Preacher, and a good CounfcUor, than Bifliop Andrews, a man of an aflonifliing excellency ■" both at home and abroad." (Lloyd's State Worthies, p. 1016.) JOHN DONNE. J J Supremacy and Allegiance', in which the king had appeared and engaged himfelf by his public writings now extant. And his majefty difcourfing with Mr. Donne, concerning many of the reafons which are ufually urged againft the taking of thofe oaths, apprehended fuch a validity and clearncfs in his dating the queftions, and his anfwers to them, that his majefty com- manded him to beftow fome time in drawing the arguments into a method, and then to write his anfwers to them ; and having done that, not to fend but be his own meflenger and bring them to him. To this he prefently and diligently applied himfelf, and within fix weeks brought them to him, under his own hand-writing, as they be now printed; the book bearing the name of " Pfeudo-Martyr"," printed anno 1610. When the king had read and confidered that book, he perfuaded Mr. Donne to enter into the miniftry ; to which at that time he was, and ap- peared, very unwilling, apprehending it (fuch was his miftaken modefty) to be too weighty for his abilities : And though his majefty had promifed him a favour, and many perfons of w^orth meditated with his majefty for fome fecular employment for him (to which his education had apted him), and particularly the Earl of Somerfet, when in his greateft height of favour ; who ' " Then I fay did his majcfly fliew this Chriftian courage of his more mauifeftly, when he fent the profeffion of his religion, " The Apology of the Oath of Allegiance," and his opinion of the Roman Anticlirill, in all languages to all Princes of Chriftendom. By occa- fion of which book, though there have rifen twenty Rabfhakes, who have railed againft our God, in railing againft our religion ; and twenty Shemeis, who have railed againft the perfon of his facred majefty — (for I may pronounce that the number of them who have barked and fnarled at that book in writing is fcarce lefs than forty) ; — yet fcarce one of them all hath un- dertaken the arguments of that book, but either repeated, and perchance enlarged thofe things, which their own authors had (hovelled together of that fubject (that is, the Pope's temporal power) ; or elfe they have bent themfelves malicioufly, infolently, facrilegioufly againft the perfon of his majefty ; and the Pope may be Antichrift ftill, for any thing they have faid to the contrary." (Dr. Donne's Sermon at Paul's Crcfsy March 24, 1616.) " " Wherein tills conclufion is evlded, that thofe who are of the Roman religion in this kingdom, may or ought to take the oath of allegiance, i6io." In this year Dr. Donne was incorporated M. A. in the UniverCty of 0.\ford, having already been admitted to that degree at Cambridge. 54 THE LIFE OF who being then at Theobald's" with the king, where one of the clerks of the council died that night; the earl ported a meffengcr for Mr. Donne to come to him immediately, and, at Mr. Donne's coming, faid, " Mr. " Donne, to tcftify the reality of my afi"oJl. vol IT.) JOHN DONNE. 5_j In the firil and moft blefled times of Chriftianity, when the clergy were looked upon with reverence, and deferved it, when they overcame their oppofers by high examples of virtue, by a bleffed patience and long-fuffer- ing ; thofe only were then judged worthy the miniftry, whole quiet and meek fpirits did make them look upon that facred calling with an humble adoration and fear to undertake it ; which indeed requires fuch great degrees of humility^ and labour^ and care^ that none but fuch were then thought worthy of that celeftial dignity ; and fuch only were then fought out, and folicited to undertake it. This I have mentioned, be- caufe forwardnefs and inconfideration could not in Mr. Donne, as in many others, be an argument of infufficiency or unfitnefs; for he had confidcred long, and had many ftrifes within himfelf, concerning the ftrid:nefs of life and competency of learning required in fuch as enter into facred orders ; and doubtlefs, confidcring his own demerits, did humbly afk God with St. Paul, " Lord, who is fufEcient for thefe things?" and with meek Mofes', " Lord, who am I ?" And fure, if he had confulred with flefh and blood, he had not for thefe reafons put his hand to that holy plough. But God, who is able to prevail, wreftled with him as the Angel did with Jacob, and marked him; marked him for his own; marked him with a blef- fmg, a blefhng of obedience to the motions of his bleffed fpirit. And then, as he had formerly afked God with Mofes, " Who am I ?" So now, being infpired with an apprehenfion of God's particular mercy to him in the king's and others' folicitations of him, he came to afk King David's thankful quef- tion, " Lord, who am I, that thou art fo mindful of me?" So mindful of me, as to lead me for more than forty years through this wildernefs of the many temptations and various turnings of a dangerous life ; fo merci- ful to me, as to move the learnedeft of kings to defcend to move me to fervc " A reader, who hath conudered with atterttion the hiftory of Mofes, as recorded in the facred writings, will not eafily acknowledge tlie propriety of applying the quality of meehncfe to this great leader of the Ifraeiites. He fcems rather to have been fufceptible of a warmth of temper. Hence Dr. Kennicott, following the verfion of a learned foreign profeflor, pro- pofcs a flight alteration of a word in the original, and gives a fenfe entirely ditVercnt from that, in which the paflage, (Numb. xii. 3.^ has been commonly explained, and more con- fiftent with the character of Mofes. " He was highly favoured with anfwers (from God) " above all the men which were upon the face of the earth." fSu Kenincoit's Remarks on SekcJ Pnjfagesy life. p. 57.) ^6 THE LIFE OF ferve at the altar; fo merciful to mc, as at Lift to move my heart to em- brace this holy motion : — Thy motions I will and do embrace : — And now I fay with the bleffed Virgin, " Be it with thy fervant as feemeth beft in " thy fight;" and fo, blefled Jefus, I do take the cup of falvation, and will call upon thy name, and will preach thy gofpeP. Such ftrifes as thefe St. Auftine' had, when St. Ambrofe'' endeavoured his converfion to Chriftianity, with which he confefleth he acquainted his friend Alipius. Our learned author (a man fit to write after no mean copy) did the like. And declaring his intentions to his dear friend Dr. King, then Bilhop of London, a man famous in his generation, and no ftranger to Mr. Donne's abilities, — (for he had been chaplain to the Lord Chancellor, at the time of Mr. Donne's being his lordlhip's fecretary); — that reverend man did receive the news with much gladneis; and, after fome expreflions of joy, and a perfuafion to be conftant in his pious purpofc, he proceeded with all convenient fpeed, to ordain him firft deacon, and then prieft not long after'. Now * Thefe juft and exquifitely beautiful rcfletlions affix infinite credit equally to Dr. Donne and to his Biographer. Is it not devoutly to be wiflied that they were deeply imprinted on the minds of every candidate for holy orders? ' Auguftin, the famous Bifliop of Hippo, and ufually called " the great Dodor of Africa," was born in 359, and died in 430. The carelefTnefs and levity of the earlier period of his life were in fome meafure compenfated by the unbounded charity, the piety and zeal which he difplayed after his converfion to the true faith. This converfion is attributed partly to the affe£ling difcourfes of St. Ambrofe, whofe le£lures he was induced to attend through mere curiofity, and partly to the tears and tender entreaties of his mother Monica. He hath fo freely acknowledged and ccnfured the impropriety of his former condud, in his books of Confeffions, that it is juftly deemed " tyranny to trample on him that proftrates himfelf." Erafmus, who hath written his life, exhibits him as the mod finifhed pattern of goodnefs — " quafi Dens voluerit in Auguftino tanquam in una tabula vividum quoddam exemplar *' Epifcopl reprefentare omnibus virtutum numeris abfolutum." "* Bifiiop of Milan, from the perfuafive powers of his eloquence, and the charming fweet- ncfs of his language, called " the Mellifluous Doftor." The eflefls which his difcourfes produced on St. Auguflin are defcribed in Confejfioimm^ lib. v. cap. 14. * ?Ie had bid farewel to poetry the year before ; his laft poem being written upon the death of Lord Harrington, a nobleman of extraordinary piety and learning. JOHN DONNE. 57 Now the Englifh Church had gained a fecond St. Auflin, for I think none was fo like him before his converfion; none fo Uke St. Ambrofe after it : And if his youth had the infirmities of the one, his age had the excel- lencies of the other; the learning and holinefs of both. And now all his ftudies, which had been occafionally diffufed, were all concentred in divinity. Now he had a new calling, new thoughts, and a new employment for his wit and eloquence. Now all his earthly affedlions were changed into divine love ; and all the faculties of his own foul were engaged in the converfion of others ; — in preaching the glad tidings of re- milfion to repenting finners, and peace to each troubled foul. To thefe he applied himfelf with all care and dihgence : And now fuch a change was. wrought in him that he could fay with David, " O how amiable are thy " tabernacles, O Lord God of Hofts !" Now he declared openly, " That " when he required a temporal, God gave him a fpiritual bleffing." And that " He was now gladder to be a door-keeper in the houfe of God than *' he could be to enjoy the nobleft of all temporal employments." Prefently after he entered into his holy profeflion, the king fent for him, and made him his chaplain in ordinary, and promifed to take a particular care for his preferment. And though his long familiarity with fcholars and perfons of greateft quality was fuch as might have given fome men boldnefs enough to have preached to any eminent auditory ; yet his modefty in this employment was fuch that he could not be perfuaded to it, but went ufually accompa- nied with fome one friend, to preach privately in fome village not far from London; his firft fermon being preached at Paddington: This he did till his majefty fent and appointed him a day to preach to him at White- hall ; and though much was expeded from him, both by his majefty and others, yet he was fo happy (which few are) as to fatisfy and exceed their expedlations; preaching the word fo as {hewed his own heart was pofTeiTed with thofe very thoughts and joys that he laboured to diftil into others: A preacher in earneft, weeping fometimes for his auditory,, fometimes with them ; always preaching to himfelf like an angel from a cloud, but in none ; carrying fome, as St. Paul was, to heaven in holy raptures, and enticing others by a facred art and courtlhip to amend their lives : Here pifturing a vice fo as to make it ugly to thofe that pra^lifed it, and a virtue N fo .58 THE LIFE OF fo as to make it be beloved even by tliofe that loved it not, and all this with a moft particular grace and an incxpreffible addition of comelinefs. There may be lome that may incline to think (fuch indeed as have not heard him), that my affedlion to my friend hath tranfported me to an im- moderate commendation of his preaching : If this meets with any fuch, let me intreat, though I will omit many, yet that they will receive a double witnefs for what I fay, it being attefted by a gentleman of worth, (Mr. •Chidley', a frequent hearer of his fermons) in part of a funeral elegy wrote by him on Dr. Donne ; and is a known truth though it be In vcrfe. Each altar had his fu'c He kept his love but not his objett. Wit He did not banifli, but tranfplantcd it ; Taught it both time and place, and brought it home To PIETY, which it doth bed become. For fay, had ever plcafure fuch a drefs ? Have you feen crimes fo fliap'd, or lovelinefs Such as his lips did clothe religion in ? Had not reproof a beauty paffing fin ? Corrupted Nature forrow'd that (he ftood So near the danger of becoming good. And when he preach'd flic wifh'd her ears exempt Prom PIETY that had fuch power to tempt. How did his facred flatt'ry beguile INIen to amend? More of this, and more witnefTes might be brought, but I forbear and return ". That f Rather Mr Cbudleigh : — John Chudleigh, M. A. of Wadham College in Oxford, and the cldefl, foil of Sir George Chudleigh, Bart, of Aliton in Devonfliire. K The character of Dr. Donne's Sermons is faithfully delineated by his fon in the Dedi- cation of them to Charles I. " They who have been converfant in the works of the holiefl; " men of all times, cannot but acknowledge in thefe the fame fpirit with which they writ ; " rcafonable demonftrations every where in the fubjecls, comprehenfible by reafon : As for *' thofc things which cannot be comprehended by our reafon alone, they are no ^here made *' eafiet JOHN DONNE. 55 That fummer, in the very fame month in v/hich he entered into facred' orders and was made the King's Chaplain, his majefty then going his pro- grcfs, " eaGer to faith than here ; and for the other part of our nature, which confifts in our palTions " and in our affeclions, they are here raifed and laid, and governed and difpofed, in a manner, " according to the wili of the author. The doftrine itfelf which is taught here is primitively " Chriftian ; the fathers are every where confulted with reverence, but apoftolical writing-s " only appealed to ns the lad Rule of Faith. Laftly, fuch is the conjundure here of zeal and " difcretion, that whilfl; it is the main fcope of the author in thcfe Difeourfes, that glory be " given to God, this is accompanied every where with a fcrupulous care and endeavour, thac ' " peace be likewife fettled amongft men." The two following extradls will enable the reader to form a judgment of Dr. Donne's ftyle ' and mode of writing : " It; is not enough not to truft in flcfh, but thou muft truft in that that is fpirit. And ' " when thou art to direft thy truft upon him who is fpirit, the fpirit of power and of confo- '• lation, ftop not, fbray not, divert not upon evill fpirits to feeke advancement or to feeki " knowledge from them, nor upon good fpirits, the glorious faints of God in heayen, to fcekc •' falvation from them, nor upon thine own fpirit, in an over-valuation of thy purity or thy •'merits. For there is a peftilent pride in an imaginary' humility, and an infectious foule- •' nefle in an imaginary purity ; but turne onely to the onely invifible and immortall God, •' who turnes to thee in fo many names and notions of power and confolation in this one " pfalme, ( Pf. /xii.J. In laft verfe but one of this pfalme David fayes, GW hath fpohen once^ " and tvAce have I heard him. God hath faid enough, but twice in this pfalme hath he re- " peated this, in the fecond and in tlie fixt verfe. He onely is my roche, and my falvation, and " my defence. And, as it is inlarged in the feventh verfe, my refuge and my glory. If my re- "fuge, — what enemy can purfue me ? If my defence, — what tentation fliall wound me ? If my •' rocie, what ftorme fhall fhake ine ? \i my falvation, — what melancholy fhall dejecl me ? It " •' my glory, — what calumny fhall defame me ? " I muft not ftay you now, to iafufe into you the feverall confolations of tliefe feverali " names and notions of God towards you. But.goe your feverall wayes homej and every " foule take with him that name, which may minifttr moft comfort unto him. Let him that *' is purfued with any particular tentation, inveft God, as God is a refuge, a fanftuary. Let •' him that is buffeted with the nieflenger of Satan, battered with his own concupifcence " receive God, as God is his defence and target. Let him that is fhaked with perplexities in ♦' his underftanding or fcruples in his confcience lay hold upon God, as God is his roclte and " his anchor. Let him that hath any diflident jcaloufie or fufpition of the free and full mercy " of God apprehend God, as God is his falvation. And him that walks in the in^lorioufneife " and contempt of tliis world contemplate God, as God is his gkry. Any of tJiefe notions is " enough Oo THE LIFE OF grefs was entreated to receive an entertainment in the univerfity of CaJtt- bridgc J and Mr. Donne attending his majefty at that time, his majcfty was *' enough to any man, but God is all tliefe and all elfe that all foules can thlnke, to every " man. Wee fliut up both thcfe confulerations (man lliould not (that is not all), God fliould *' be relied upon) with that of the Prophet Trtift ye not in a friend, put not your confidence in a " guide, keepe the doores of thy mouth fivm her that lies in thy bofome (there is the exclufion of •' truft in man) ; And then he adda in the feventh verfe, becaufe it flands thus between man *' and man, I will looke unto the Lord, I will looie unto the God of my falvation, my God nvill " heare me." ( LXXX Sermons, 1640, p. 662. J " Now to make up a circle, by returning to our firll word, remember : As we re- ** member God, fo for his fake let us remember one another. In my long abfence and far " diftance from hence remember me, as I fhall do you in the ears of that God to whom the *' fartheft eaft and the fartheft weft are but as the right and the left ear in one of us ; we hear " with both at once, and he hears in both at once ; remember me, not my abilities, for when *' I confider my Apoftleihip that I was fent to you, I am in St. Paul's quorum, quorum ego fum " minimus, the leafl of them that have been fent; and when I confider my infirmities, I am *' in his quorum in another commifTion, another way, quorum ego maxivius, the greateft of •• them ; but remember my labors and endeavours, at leafl my defire to make fure your fal- *' vation. And I fhall remember your religious chcerfulnefs in hearing the word, and your " chriftianly refpedl towards all them that bring that word unto you, and towards myfelf in ** particular far above my merit. And fo as your eyes that flay here and mine that mud be *' far of, for all that didance fhall meet every morning in looking upon that fame fun, and " meet every night in looking upon the fame moon ; fo our hearts may meet morning and " evening in that God which fees and hears every where ; that you may come thither to him " with your prayers, that I (if I may be of ufe for his glory and your edification in this *• place) may be reftorcd to you again; and may come to Itim with my prayer, that what " Paul focver plant amongft you, or what ApoUos foever water, God himfelf will give the *' increafe : That if I neVer meet you again till we have all palled the gate of death, yet in *' the gates of heaven I may meet you all, and tliere fay to my Saviour and your Saviour, "that which he fai:l to his father, " Of thofe whom thou haft given me have I not loft one." " Remember me thus, you that flay in this kingdome of peace, where no fword is drawn *' but the fword of juflice, as I fliall remember you in thofe kingdomes, where ambition on " one fide and a neceffary defence from unjufl perfecution on the other fide hath drawn many ** fwords; and Chrifl Jefus remember us all in his kingdome; to which though we mufl fail " through a fea, it is the fea of his blood, where no foul fufFers fhipwreck ; though we mufl " be blown with flrange winds, with fighs and groans for our fins, yet it is the fpirit of God °" that blows all this wind, and Iliall blow away all contrary winds of diffidence or diftrufl JOHN DONNE. 5, was pleafed to recommend him to the univerfity to be made Dodor in Divinity: Dr. Harfnett" (after archbifhop of York) was then Vice- Chancellor, who, knowing him to be the author of that learned book the " Pfeudo- Martyr," required no other proof of his abiUties, but propofed it to the univerfity, who prefently afTented, and exprefled a gladnefs that they had fuch an occafion to entitle him to be theirs '. His " in God's mercy ; where we fliall be all fouldlers of one army, the Lord of Hoftes, and chiU " dren of one quire, the God of harmony and confent: where all clients fliall retain but one " counfellor, our advocate Chrift Jefus, nor prefent him any other fee but his own blood, " and yet every client have a judgment on his fide, not only in a not guilty, in the remiffion " of his fins, but in a venite beriedicl'i, in being called to the participation of an immortal " crown of glory : where there (hall be no difference in affeftion nor in mind, but we (hall " agree as fully and perfe£lly in our allelujah and gloria in excetfis as God the Father, Son, ** and Holy Ghoft, agreed in the faciamus hominem at firft ; where we fliall end and yet begin *' but then ; where we fliall have continuall reft, and yet never grow lazie ; where we fliall " be ftronger to refift and yet have no enemy ; where we (hall live and never die, where wc " fliall meet and never part." (A Sermon of Valcdiclion at his going into Germany, at Lincolne's Inn, April i8, 1619. Donne's Sermons, vol. III. p. 280, 281. '' Dr. Samuel Harfnett, Mafter of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, was Vice-chancellor of that Univerfity in 1605 and in 1614, fucceffively Bifliop of Chichefter and of Norwich, and Archbifhop of York. He died March 12, 1630. Striclnefs to hiftoric truth precludes us from pafTnig over in filence an unfortunate circumftance of his life, viz. his expulfion from the Mafterdiip of Pembroke-Hall, for feveral pra£lices exhibited againfl; him in fifty feven Ar- ticles ; all of which are faid to have been fo flagrant, that he chofe rather to refign his Mafter- fliip than to undergo an inquiry. But as the purport of thefe Articles is unknown, and the nature of the charge brought againft him has never been afcertained, we remain in doubt what degree of cenfure he deferved. The infcription on his tomb was evidently penned by himfelf. " Hie jacet Samuel Harfnett, quondam Vicarius hujus Ecclefix, primo indignus Epifcopus Ciceftrienfis, dein indignior Norvicienfis, demum indlgniffimus Archicpifcopus." ' A different account of this matter is given in two letters of Mr. Chamberlain to Sir budly Carlton. In one dated March 16, 1614, he writes, " I had alnioft forgotten that " almoft all the Courtiers went forth Mafl:ers of Arts, at the King's being there ; but few or " no Dodors, fave only Toiitige , which was dene by a mandate, being fon to Sir Peter, the king's 62 THE LIFE OF His abilities and induftry in his profefTion were fo eminent, and he {o known and fo beloved by perfons of quality, that within the firfl year of iiis entering into facred orders he had fourteen advowfons of fevcral bene- iices prefented to him ; but they were in the country, and he could not leave his beloved London, to which place he had a natural inclination, having received both his birth and education in it, and there conlra£led a friendfhip with many, whofe converfation multiplied the joys of his life : But an employment that might affix him to that place would be wel- come, for he needed it. Immediately after his return from Cambridge his wife died", leaving him a man of a narrow unfettled eftate, and (having buried five) the careful father of feven children then living, to whom he gave a voluntary aflur- ance never to bring them under the fubjc£lion of a ftep-mother; which promife he kept moft faithfully, burying with his tears all his earthly joys in his moft dear and deferving wife's grave ', and betook himfelf to a moft retired and folitary life. In " king's fchcolmafter. The Vice-Chancellor and Unlverfity were exceeding ftridt in that " point, and refufed many importunities of great men ; among whom was Mr. Secretary, " that made great means for Mr. Weftfield ; but it would not be : neither the King's intreaty *' for John Dun would prevail ; yet they are threatened with a mandate, which, if it is com.e, *' it is like they will obey ; but they are refolved to give him fuch a blow withal, that he " were better be without it." And in another letter of nearly the fame date : " John Donne and one C/:fie went out Doc- *' tors at Cambridge with much ado, after our coming away, by the King's exprefs mandate ; *' though the Vice-Chancellor and fome of the heads called them openly ' Filios noQis et *' tencbrioncs,' that fought thus to come in at the window, when there was a fair gate open. *' But the word is, that Donne had gotten a reverfion of the Deanery of Canterbury, if ftich •* grants could be lawful ; wliereby he hath purchafed himfelf a great deal of envy, that a *' man of his fort (liould feek, per faltiim, to intercept fuch a place from fo many more wor- ** thy and antient divines." " Mrs. Donne died Auguft 15, 1617, on the feventh day iafter the birth of her twelfth child, and was buried in the parifli church of St. Clement's near Temple Bar. ' It appears that Nicholas Stone, a noted ftatuary in the reign of James I. made a tomb for Mrs. Donne, to be placed in the church of St. Clement Danes, for the which be had fifteen Pieces. (WalpoWs Anecdotes of PamUng^l^c, vol. II. p. J{^.J The following is the infcriptioii on her tomb ; ANN^E JOHN DONNE. 63 In this retlrednefs, which was often from thcTight of his deareft friends, he became crucified to the worW, and all thofe vanities, thofe imaginary pleafurcs that are daily acled on that reftlefs ftage ; and they were as per- fedlly crucified to him. Nor is it hard to think (being paffions may be both changed and heightened by accidents) but that that abundant af- fe<5tion which once was betwixt him and her, who had long been the de- light of his eyes and the companion of his youth; her, with whom he had divided fo many pleafant forrows and contented fears, as common- people are not capable of; not hard to think but that fhe, being now re- moved by death, a commeafurable grief took as full a pofleflion of him as joy had done, and fo indeed it did ; for now his very foul was elemented of nothing but fadnefs, now grief took fo full a pofTeffion of his heart, as e ■> TFilise, ey ( J Sorori, ;n f "1 Nepti, r. J (.Pronept ANN^ GEORGII -) fMorede ROBERTI / 3 Lothelley WILIELMI f } Equitum CHRISTOPHERI J (.Aurator. J Ll'ronepti Foeminje leftiffimje, dileflifliniaeque, Conjugi charifllmje, cafliffimreque, Matri piiffim?e, indulgentiflimxque, XV annis in conjugio tranfadlis, VII pod XII partum (quorum VII Superftant) dies Immani febre correptse (Quod hoc faxum fari juffit Ipfe prcE dolore infans) Maritus (miferrimum didu) dim Charse charus Cineribus cineres fpondet fuos Novo matrimonio (annual Deus) hoc Loco fociandos JOANNES DONNE Sacrae Theologix Profeflbr. Seceflit Anno XXXIII ^tat. fuse et fui Jefu CIC. DC. XVII. Aug. XV. (Stryfe's Stoiv's Survey of Londitit 1720, vol. 11, b. 4, p, 113.) 04 THE LIFE OF as to leave no place for joy ; if it did^ it was a joy to be alone, where like a pelican in the ivildernefs^ he might bemoan himfclf without witncfs or reftraint, and pour forth his paffions like Job in the days of his affliction, " Oh that I might have the defire of my heart ! Oh that God would grant " the thing that I long for !" For then, as the grave is become her houje^ fo I would haften to make it mine alfo, that ive two might there make our beds together in the dark'^. Thus as the Ifraelites fat mourning by the rivers of Babylon, when they remembered Sion"; fo he gave fome eafe to his op- preffed heart by thus venting his forrows : Thus he began the day, and ended the night ; ended the reftlefs night and began the weary day in la- mentations. And thus he continued till a confideration of his new en- gagements to God and St. Paul's " Wo is me, if I preach not the gofpel," difperfed thofe fad clouds that had then benighted his hopes, and now forced him to behold the light. His firft motion from his houfe was to preach, where his beloved wife lay buried (in St. Clement's Church, near Temple-Bar, London,) and his text was a part of the Prophet Jeremiah's Lamentation : *' Lo, I am the *' man that have feen affliction'." And ^ Tliis expreflion of Donne's grief reminds us of the wretched Romeo's words : " I will ftay with thee; " And never from this palace of dim night " Depart again : here will I remain " With worms, that are thy chamber-maids." (Romeo and Juliet, Afc V. Scene III.) In fimilar language Thefeus laments the death of Phaedra : To xATA yui 6f7.«, TO xara yaj xn^aj, Ttii cr>n r(f>i9fi{ ^iXraTijs c^ui^iaj. (Euripid, Hippoljlus, i'. 851. J " Pfalm cxxxvH. Dr. Donne tranflated this pfalm into Englifh verfe. ' Lamentations, iii. i. " I am the man which have affli(5tion feene, " Under the rod of God's wrath having beene ; " He hath led mee to darknelTe, not to light, " And againft mee all day his hand doth fight." boNNE. During this time of didrefs he was probably engaged in his Poetic Verfion of the Lamenta- tions of Jeremiah, following for the moft part the tranflation of Tremellius. JOHN DONNE. 6^ And indeed his very words and looks teflified him to be truly fuch a man; and they, with the addition of his fighs and tears, exprefled in his fcrmon, did {o work upon tlie affedlions of his hearers, as melted and moulded them into a companionable fadncfs'', and fo they left the congregation ; but then their houfes prefentcd them with objetf^s of diverfion, and his prefented him with nothing but frelh objeds of forrow, in beholding many helplefs children, a narrow fortune, and a confideration of the many cares and cafualties that attend their education. In this time of fadncfs he was importuned by the grave Benchers of Lin- coln's Inn, (who were once the companions and friends of his youth) to accept of their ledture, which, by reaibn of Dr. Gataker's'' removal from thence, was then void ; of which he accepted, being mod glad to renew his O intermitted. ' His eloquence in the pulpit is thus defcrlbed in Darnelly's Latin Poem : — — — " vidi, •' Audivi, et ftupui, quoties orator in sede " Paulina fterit, et inira gravitate levantes " Corda oculofque viros tenuit : dum Neftoris ille " Fudit verba (omni quanto mage dulcia melle?) " Nunc Iiabet attonitos, pandir myileria plebi . ■ " Non conccfla prius, nondum intellefta : revolvimt " Mirantes, tacitique, arreclis auribus aSant. " Mutatis mox ille moJo formaquc lo^ucndi " Trijiia pertradat ; Fatumque et flebUe mortis " Tempus, et in cinercs redeunt quod corpora prima ^ " Turn gemiium cunllos dare, tunc lugere videres, " For/ilan a Lachrjmii aliquis non temperat, atque " Ex oculis largum fiUlat rorem." •> Mr. Thomas Gataker, a folid, judicious, and truly pious divine, highly efteemed by Salma- fius and other learned foreigners, was the author of a treatife once much read " Of the Nature and Ufe of Lots," &c. and was juftly celebrated for his critical knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew languages. Being one of the Aflembly of Divines appointed by Parliament in 1642^ he conducted himfelf in that department with fingular prudence and moderation. In the Aflembly's Annotations on the Bible he executed wit^ uncommon ability tliat divifion which included Ifiiah, Jeremiah, and Lamentations. Kis Explication of Jeremiah x. 12, fubje<5ted him to the fevere cafti^itions of the famous aflrologer William Lily, againft whom he wrote " A Difcourfc Apologetical, wherein Lilie's lewd and loud lies in Iiis Merlin or Pafqull for the Go THE LIFE OE intermitted friendfliip with thofe whom he fo much loved, and where he had been a Saul, though not to perfecute Chriftianlty, or to deride it, yet in his irregular youth to negledl the viiible pradlicc of it; there to become a Paul, and preach lalvation to his beloved brethren. And now his life was as a Jloining light among his old friends , now he gave an ocular teilimony of the llri<3:nefs and regularity of it j now he might fay as St. i*aul advifeth his Corinthians, " Be ye toUowers of me, as " I follow Chrill, and walk as ye have me for an example." Not the ex- ample of a bufy-body, but of a contemplative, a harmlels, a humble, and a holy life and converfaticHi. The love of that noble fociety was exprefled to him many ways ; for, befides fair lodgings that were fet apart and newly furniihed for him with all neceflaries, other courtefies were alfo-daily added ; indeed fo many, and fo freely, as if they meant their gratitude fliould exceed his merits : And in this love-ftrife of defert and liberality, they continued for the fpace of two years, he preaching faithfully and conftantly to them, and they liberally re- quiting him. About which time the Emperor of Germany died, and the Palfgrave, who had lately married the Lady Elizabeth, the King's only daughter, was elected and crowned King of Bohemia; the unhappy be- ginning of many miferies in that nation ^ ' King James, whofe motto' (Bead pacifici) did truly fpeak the very thoughts the year 1654, are clearly laid open, &c." His houfe bore the refcniblance of a college, where many young men, foreigners as well as natives, continually attended to receive inflrutlions from his leftures. The mofl approved of his works are "A DifTertation upon the Style of theNewTeflament." " A Tracl de Nomine tetragrammato — A^lverfaria Mifcellanea." Pre- fixed to this lad work, publiflied by his fon, is his own life, written by himfelf. ' Upon the ilCath of the Emperor Matthias, his nephew Ferdinand, who fucceeded him in the imperial dignity, caufed himfelf to be proclaimed King of Bohemia. The States of Bo- hemia confidering their crown as eledive made a tender of it to Frederic, Elector Palatine, fon-in-law to the King of England, who immediately accepted the otfer, and marclied all his forces into Bohemia in fupport of his new fubje£ts. ' James was not aware of Queen Elizabeth's maxim, or at leaft he was not defirous of . practifing it, that "the people of England are more governable in times of war than in times of JOHN DONNE. 67 thoughts of his heart, endeavoured firft to prevent, and after to compofe the difcords of that difcompofed ftate ; and amongft other his endeavours, did then fend the Lord Hay', Earl of Doncafter, his AmbafTador to thofe unfettled princes; and by a fpecial command from his majefty, Dr. Donne was appointed to aflift and attend that employment to the princes of the Union ; for which the earl was moft glad, who had always put a great value on him, and taken a great plcafurc in his converfation and difcourfe: And his friends of Lincoln's Inn were as glad ; for they feared that his immoderate ftudy, and fadnefs for his wife's death, would, as Jacob faid, " Make his days few," and refpeQing his bodily health, " evil" too ; and of this there were many vihble fjgns. At his going" he left his friends of Lincoln's Inn, and they him with many reludations ; for though he could not fay as St. Paul to his Ephefians, " Behold you to Avhom I have preached the kingdom of God fliall from " henceforth fee my face no more;"' yet, he believing himfelf to be in a confumption queftioned, and they feared it; all concluding that his troubled mind, with the help of his unintermitted ftudies, haftened the decays of his weak body : But God, who is the God of all wifdom and goodnefs, turned it to the beft ; for this employment (to fay nothing of the event of it) did not only divert him from thofe too ferious ftudies and fad thoughts, but feemed to give him a new life, by a true occafion of joy, to be an eye- witnefs of the health of his moft dear and moft honoured miftrefs, the O 2 Queen of peace." Yet, notwlthflanding his well-known pacific di/pofition, the adulation of a Scotch poet (Alexander Boydt) hath compared him to Minerva for his wifdonij and to " Mars for his warlike qualities." , Primus in orbe Deus, qui jungis Pallada Marti, Et facis ut titulis cedut uterque tuis. ' Of whom fee Lord Clarendon's Hiftory of the Rebellion, vol. I. p. 61, Svo edit. 1705. " lie thus mentions his journey in a Latin letter to Sir Henry Goodycrc. "Elucefcit mihi •* nova nee inopportuna nee inutilis (paulo quam optaram fortaflis niagis inhonora) occafio " extera vifendi regna, liberofquc perquam amantiffiinx conjugis pignora cacteraquc hujus " aur;e oblcdlamenta aliquot ad annus relinquendi." Upon this occafion he preached a Ser- mon of valedidion at Lincoln's Inn, April 18, 1619, from whence an estrad is infertcd in a pieceding note. 63 THE LIFE OF •Queen of Bohemia, in a foreign nation, and to be a vvitncfs of that glad- ■ncl's which Ihe exprclTcd to fee him: Who, having formerly known him a courtier, was much joyed to fje him in a canonical habit, and more glad to . be an ear-witnefs of his excellent and powerful preaching \ About four- teen months after his departure out of England, he returned to his friends of Lincoln's Inn, with his forrows moderated and his health improved, and there betook himfelf to his conftant courfe of preaching. About a year after his return out of Germany, Dr. Carey*' was made Bifliop of Exeter, and by his removal the deanery of St. Paul's being va- cant, the king fent to Dr. Donne, and appointed him to attend him at dirmer the next day. When his majefty was fat down, before he had eat any meat, he faid after his pleafant manner, " Dr. Donne, I have invited *' you to dinner, and though you fit not down wnth mc, yet I will carve *' to you of a difh that I know you love well ; for knowing you love "London, I do therefore make you Dean of Paul's; and when I have *' dined, then do you take your beloved difli home to your fludy, fay *' grace there to yourfelf, and much good may it do you," Immediately ^ Tills unfortunate princefs from her amiable and engaging manners was called " The Queen of Hearts." — " God hath now at laft call her into an ocean of calamities, in which (he *' dill remains a floating example to other princes of the inftability of fortune, as fhe did in " her profperity, of civility and goodnefs." (OJlorne.) In Dr. Donne's Poems is an epi- thalamium or marriage-fong on the Lady Elizabeth and Count Palatine being married on St. "Valentine's Day, beginning thus : " Hail Bifliop Valentine, wliofe day is tin;, " All the aire is thy diocis, " And all the chirping choiifters " And other biids are thy parifliioners, " Thou marryeft every yeare " The lirique larke, and the grave whifpering dove, " The fparrow that neglefts his life for love, " The hcufshold bird, with the red ftomacher. "f Valentine Carey, Mafter of Chrift's College in Cambridge, and Dean of St. Paul's, is faid to have bctn born in Northumberland. He was confecrated Bifhop of Exeter, Nov. 2o, .i62C, and having well governed this church about fix years, he died June lo, 1626, JOHN DONNE. 69 Immediately after he came to his deanery, he employed workmen to repair and beautify the chapel, fufFering, as holy David once vowed, " His " eyes and temples to take no reft till he had firft bcautilied the houfe of " God." The next quarter following, when his father-in-law, Sir George Moor (whom time had made a lover and admirer of him) came to pay to him the conditioned fum of twenty pounds, he refufed to receive it, and faid, as good Jacob did, when he heard his beloved fon Jofeph was alive, " It is " enough \ you have been kind to me and mine ; I know your prefent con- " dition is fuch as not to abound, and I hope mine is or will be fuch as " not to need it ; I will therefore receive no more from you upon that con- " tract," and in teftimony of it freely gave him up his bond. Immediately after his admiffion into his deanery, the vicarage of St. Dunftan in the Weft', London, fell to him by the death of Dr. White % the advowfon of it having been given to him long before by his honourable friend, Richard Earl of Dorfet", then the patron, and confirmed ^ Ifaac Walton, our biograplier, was an inhabitant of this parlfli, and thus became inti- mately acquainted with Dr. Donne. " Dr. Thomas White, much admired as a preacher, died March i, 1623, and was buried in his chancel of the church of St. Dunftan in the Weft. Having founded a lecture in moral philofophy at Oxford, and being alfo diftinguiflied for many other charitable benefaftions, the heads of the univerfity direfted an oration to be publicly delivered, on occafion of his death, by William Price, the firft reader of that ledure. This oration, with feveral copies of verfes written upon the fame fubjeft, was printed under the title of " Schola moralis " Philofophia; Oxon. in funere Whiti pullata. Oxon. 1624," 4tO' (Wood's Ath. Ox.) ^ " Principibus placuiffe viris non ultima laus eft." Hor. The charafter of thisrobleman, Richard (Sackville) Earl of Dorfet, the friend and patron of Dr. Donne, is thus delineated by the pen of his lady, Anne, daughter and heir of George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, in the manufcript which flie has left, containing the hiftory of her life. " He was," fays Ihe, " in his own nature of a juft mind, of a fweet difpolition, " and very valiant in his own perfon : He had a great advantage in his breeding by the wif- " dom and difcretion of his grandfather, Thomas Earl of Dorfet, Lord High Treafurer of " England, who was then held one of the wifeft men of that time ; by which means he was " fo 70 THE LIFE OF confirmed by his brother, the late deccafed Ed\vard% both of them men of much honour. By thefe, and another ecclefiaftical endowment which fell to him about the fame time, given to him formerly by the Earl of Kent, he was enabled to become charitable to the poor and kind to his friends, and to make fuch proviiion for his childien, tliat they were not left fcandalous, as relating to their or his profefTion and quality. The next parliament, which was within that prefent year, he was chofen Prolocutor'' to the Convocation, and about that time was appointed by his majefty, his mod gracious maftcr, to preach very many occafional fermons, as at St. Paul's Crofs and other places ; all which employments he per- formed to the admiration of the reprefentative body of the whole clergy of this nation. He " fo good a fcliolar in all manner of learnings, that in his youth when he lived in the univer- " fity of Oxford, there was none of the young nobility then Rudcnts there, that excelled him. " He was alfo a good patriot to his country, and generally well beloved in it, much efteemed *' in all the parliaments that fat in his time ; and fo great a lover of fcholars and foldiers, as " that with an exccflivc bounty towards them, or indeed any of worth that were in dillrefs, " he did much diminiili his ellate : As alfo, with excedive proditjality in houfe-kecping " and other noble ways at court, as tilting, mafking, and the like ; Prince Henry being " then alive, who was much addicted to thofe noble exercifes, and of whom he was much " beloved." (Collhis's Peerage, vol. II. p. 194, 195.) * This nobleman, Edward (Sackville) Earl of Dorfct, was entrufted with the command of the Engiifli fortes which were fent to the affillance of the King of Bohemia in 1620; and in the next year was appointed Ambadiidor to the court of France. Of the melancholy cata- ftrophe of a duel witli his intimate friend Lord Bruce, fee the Guardians, No. 129, 133. During the civil wars he diftinguiflied himfelf by his loyalty to Charies I. with whofe death he was fo deeply affeded, that after that event he never went out of his own houfe. He died July 17, 1652. ^ On this occafion he fpoke a Latin oration as his inauguration fpeech, which is extant in his " Poems, &c. 8vo, London, 1719." Dr. Jofeph Hall preached the Latin feimon on the opening of this Convocation, which was held in 1624, and in which large fubfidies were granted by the clergy to the king. JOHN DONNE. 71 He was once, and but once, clouded with the king's difpleafure, and it was about-this time; which was occafioned by lome maUcious whifperer, who had told his majefty that Dr. Donne had put on the general humour of the pulpits, and was become bufy in inlmuating a fear of the l:ing's inclining to Popery, and a diilike of his government, and particularly for the king's then turning the Evening Lectures into catechilmg, and ex- pounding the Prayer of our Lord, and of the Belief and Commandments. His majefty was the more inclineable to believe this, for that a perl'on of nobility and great note, betwixt whom and Dr. Donne there had been a great friendfhip, was at this very time difcarded the court (1 ihall forbear his name unlefs I had a fairer occafion), and juflly committed to prilon, which begot many rumours m the common people, who in this nation think they are not wife unlefs they be buiy about what they under|land not, and efpecially about rehgion. The king received this news with fo much difcontent and reftleflhefs, that he would not fuffer the fun to fet and leave him under this doubt, but fent for Dr. Donne, and required his anfwer to the accufation, which was fo clear and fatisfadlory, that the king faid " He was right glad he *' relied no longer under the fulpicion." \Vhen the king had faid this. Dr. Donne kneeled down and thanked his majelly, and protelled his an- fwer was faithful and free from all collullon, and therefore " defired that " he might not rife, till,~as in like cafes he always had from God, fo he " might have from his majefty, fome alTurance that he ftood clear and fair " in his opinion." At which the king railed him from his knees with his own hands, and " protefted he believed him, and that he knew he was an " honeft man, and doubted not but that he loved him truly." And having thus difmilTed him, he called fome lords of his council into his chamber, and faid with much earneftnefs " My Doiftor is an honeft man ; and my " lords, 1 was never better fatisfied with an anfwer than he hath now " made me ; and I always rejoice when I think that by my means he be- " came a divine." He was 'nade dean in the fiftieth year of his age, and in his fifty-fourth year a dangerous ficknefs feized him, vvhich inclined him to a conAunp- tion. But God, as Job thankfully acknowledged, pre/ervei/ /j/s /pirily and kept 72 THE LIFE OF kept his intellcduals as cleai* and pei-feiil as when that ficknefs firll feizcd his body j but it continued long and threatened him with death, which he dreaded not. In this diflemper of body, his dear friend, Dr. Henry King (then chief Refidentiary of that church, and late BIfhop of Chichefter), a man generally known by the clergy of this nation, and as generally noted for his obliging nature, vifited him daily, and obferving that his ficknefs rendered his re- covery doubtful, he chofe a feafonable time to fpeak to him to this pur- pofe: " Mr. Dean, I am by your favour no ftranger to your temporal eftate, " and you are no ftranger to the offer lately made us, for the renewing a " leafe of the beft prebends corps belonging to our church, and you know " it was denied, for that our tenant being very rich offered to fine at fo " low a rate as held not proportion with his advantages ; but I will either " raife him to an higher fum, or procure that the other refidentiaries fhall " join to accept of what w^as offered : One of thefe I can and will by your " favour do without delay, and without any trouble either to your body or " mind; I befeech you to accept of my offer, for I know it will be a con- " fidcrable addition to your prefent eftate, w^hich I know needs it." To this, after a fhort paufe, and ralfmg himfelf upon his bed, he made this reply : " My moft dear friend, I moft humbly thank you for your many fa- " vours, and this in particular ; but in my prefent condition I ftiall not ac- " cept of your propofal, for doubtlefs there is fuch a fin as facrilege ; if '* there were not, it could not have a name in fcripture : And tlie primitive " clergy were watchful againft all appearances of that evil ; and indeed " then all Chriftians looked upon it with horror and deteftation, judging " it to be even an open defiance of the poivcr and providence of Almighty " God^ and a fad prefage of a declining religion. But inftead of iuch " Chriftians, who had feledled times fet apart to faft and pray to God for a " pious clergy which they then did obey, our times abound with men " that are bufy and litigious about trifles and church-ceremonies, and yet fo " far from fcrupling facrilege, that they make not fo much as a query " what it is : But, I thank God I have; and, dare not now upon my fick « bed, JOHN DONNE. 75 ** when Almighty God hath made me ufclefs to the fervicc of the church, " make any advantages out of it. But if he Ihall again reftore me to fuch ** a degree of health as again to ferve at his altar, I fhall then gladly take " the reward which the bountiful beneiadors of this church have deligned '*' me ; for God knows my children and relations will need it ; in which " number my mother (whofe credulity and charity has contrafted a very *' plentiful to a very narrow eftate) muft not be forgotten: But, Dodlor " King, if I recover not, that little worldly eftate that I ihall leave behind " me (that very little when divided into eight parts) muft, if you deny me *' not fo charitable a favour, fall into your hands as my moft faithful friend ** and executor, of whofe care and juftice I make no more doubt than of " God's blefling on that which I have confcientloufly coUcdted for them, *' but it fliall not be augmented on my fick-bcd; and this I declare to be "*' my unalterable refolution.'' The reply to this was only a promife to obferve his requeft. Within a few days his diftempers abated, and as his ftrength increafed, fo did his thankfulnefs to Almighty God, teftified in his moft excellent Book of Devotions', which he publifhed at his recovery ; in which the leader may fee the moll fecret thoughts that then poffefled his foul para- P phrafed • This book is dedicated " To the moft excellent Prince, Prince Charles." The two follow- ing extracts from this work will give a fufficient fpecimcn of the manner in which it is written. « THE PATIENT TAKES HIS BED. "third meditation. " We attribute but one priviledge and advantage to man's body above other moving crea- *' tures, that he is not, as others, groveling, but of an ere£l, of an upright form, naturally *' built and difpofed to the contemplation of heaven. Indeed it is a thankeful form, and re- " compenfes X^xax. fouk which gives it, with carrying that /o.v/c, fo many foot higher towards " heaven; other creatures look to the earth; and even that is no unfit objeQ, no unfit con- *' templation for rnan; for thither he muft come ; but becaufe man is not to ftay there as other *• creatures are, man in his natural form Is carried to the contemplation of that place, which *• is his home, heaven. This is man's prerogative ; but what ftate hath he in this dignity ? '"Ji. fever can fillip him downe ; a fever can depofe him; a fever can bring that head, which " yefterday 74 THE LIFE OF phrafed and made public; a book. that may not unfitly be called a Sacred' Picltire cf Spiritual Ecjlafies^ occafioned and appliable to the emergencies of that licknefs; which bookj being a compolition of meditations, dil'qui- litions, " yeflerday carried a croiune of gold, five foot towards a croiune of glory, as low as his own " foot to-daj'. When Gcd came to breathe into man the breath of life, hee found him flat " upon the ground ; wlicn he comes to withdraw that breath from him againe, he prepares " ]iim to it by laying him flat upon his bed. Scarce any prifon fo clofc, that affords not the " prifoner two or three Heps. The Anchorites that barqu'd themfelves up in hollow trees, and " immured themfelves in hollow walls ; that perverfe man that barrell'd liimfelf in a tubbe, " all could iland or fit, and enjoy fome change of pofture. A ficke-bed is a grave, and all " that the patient fayes there is but varying his epitaph. Every night's bed is a t^fe of the " grave : At night we tell our fervants at what houre we will rife, here we cannot tell ourfelves " at what day, what week, what month. There the head lies as low as tlie foot ; the head " of the people as low as they whom thofe feete trod upon : And that hand, that figned par- " don, is too weake to begge his own, if he might have it for lifting up that hand : Strange " fetters to the feete, flrange manacles to the hands, when the feete and hands are bound fo " much the fader, by how much the coardes are flacker; foe much the lefle able to do their " offices, by how much more the finewes and ligaments are the loofer. In the grave I may " fpeak through the ftones in the voice of my friends, and in the accents of thofe words " which their love may afford my memory. Keere I am mine own ghoj}, and rather affright " my beholders than inftruft them: they conceive the worfl of me now, and yet feare worfej " they give me for dead now and yet wonder how I do when wake at midnight, and aflce " how I doe to-morrow. Miferable and (though common to all) inhumane pofture^ where I " mufl pradlife my lying in the grave by lying Hill, and not pradtifc my refurreHion by rifing " any more." " EIGHTEENTH MEDITATION. " The bell rings out and tells me in him that I am dead. 'Y\\\^fouIe, this hdl tells mee, is •' gone out : Whither ? who fhall tell mee that ? I know not vjho it is ; much leffe luhat he " was ; the condition of the man, and the courfe of his life, which (hould tell mee whither he •* is gone, I know not. I was not there in his ficknejfe, nor at his death ; I faw not his -way, " nor his end^ nor can aflce them who did, thereby to conclude or argue whither he is gone. •• But yet I have one nearer mee than all thefe ; mine own charity : I aflce that ; and that " tels me ' He is gone to everlajling reji, and joy, and glory.' I owe him a good opinion ; it is " but thankful charity in mee, becaufe I received benefit and injlruciion from him when his bell " tolled : And I, being made the fitter to pray by that difpofition wherein I was affifled by " his occafion, did pray for him ; and I pray not without faith ; fo I doe charitably^ fo I do *' faithfully belceve that that/c://c is gone to cvcrlafling refl^ -ixiAjoy, and glory." JOHN DONNE. 75 ntions, and prayers, he writ on his fick-bed ; herein imitating the holy Pa- triarchs, who were wont to build their altars in that place where they had received their bleflings. This ficknefs brought him fo near to the gates of death, and he faw the grave fo ready to devour him, that he would often fay his recovery was fupernaturar : But that God that then reftored his health continued it to him till the hfty-ninth year of his life, and then in Auguft, 1630, being with his eldeft "daughter, Mrs. Harvy, at Abury Hatch in Efiex, he there fell into a fever, which, with the help of his conftant infirmity (vapours from the fpleen), haftened him into fo vifible a confumption, that his be- holders might fay, as St. Paul of himfelf, " He dies daily ;" and he might fay with Job, " My welfare paffeth away as a cloud, the days of my af- " fli(Stion have taken hold of me, and weary nights are appointed for " me." Reader, this ficknefs continued long, not only weakening but wearying him fo much, that my defire is he may now take fome reft ; and that before I fpcak of his death, thou wilt not think it an Impertinent digieflion to look back with me upon fome obfervations of his life ; which, whilft a gentle Dumber gives reft to his fpirits, may, I hope, not unfitly exercifejthy confideration. His marriage was the remarkable error of his life ; an error, which though he had a wit able and very apt to maintain paradoxies, yet he was very far from juftifying it; and though his wife's competent years, and other reafons might be juftly urged to moderate fevere cenfures, yet he would occa- fionally condemn himf(^lf for it. And doubtlefs it had been attended with an heavy repentance, if God had not bleft them with fo mutual and cordial affedions, as in the midft of their fufferings made their bread of forrow tafte more pleafantly than the banquets of dull and low-fpirited people. Tlic P 2 f Dr. Donne, in 1626, was named In a commiffion Ms-Itli Archbifliop Abbot, feveral Bifliops, Dodtors in Divinity, and Dodlors in Civil Law, to hear tlie caufe between Dr. Kinefley, Archdeacon of Canterbury, and the Rev. Mr. George Huntley, who had rcfufed to preach a vifitation fcrmon, at the command of the Archdeacon, " The Cr.fe of a Rector," &c. p- 10. 76 THE LIFE OF The recreations of his youth were poetry % in which he was fo happy as if Nature and all her varieties had been made only to cxercife his fharp "wit and high fancy ; and in thofe pieces which were facetioufly compofed and carcleisly fcattered (moft of them being written before the twentieth year of his age), it may appear by his choice metaphors, that both Nature and all the Arts joined to affifl: him with their utmoft fkill. It is a truth, that in his penitential years, viewing fome of thofe pieces that had been loofely (God knows too loofely) fcattered in his youth, he wifhed they had been abortive, or fo fhort lived, that his own eyes had witneffed their funerals : But though he was no friend to them, he was not fo fallen out with heavenly poetry as to forfake that, no not in his declin- ing age, witneffed then by many divine fonnets, and other high, holy, and harmonious corapofures ; yea, even on his former fick-bed he wrote this heavenly hymn, exprefling the great joy that then pofl'effed his foul in the aiTurance of God's favour to him when he compofed it. An 'Whatever praife may be iluc to the poems of Dr. Donne, they are certainly deficient in the beauties of verfification. To remedy this defecl, his fatires have been traujlated into Eng-i lljh verfe by Mr. Pope, and liis epigrams by Dr. Jafper Mayne, who edited them in 1652, with the title of " A Sheaf of Mifcellany Epigrams." Mr. Hume (Hip. of England, vol. VI. p. 132) has obferved, that in Donne's fatires, and indeed in all his poetical compofitions, thera appear fome flafhes of wit and ingenuity, but that thefe, are totally fuflbcated and buried by the harfheft and mod ' uncouth exprelTion which is any where to be met with. On Donne- and his poetry fee fome interefting remarifs in "Dr. Warton's ElTay on the Genius and Writ- ings of Pope," vol. II. p. 353. It has been humouroufly remarked, that verfes ought to- run like Ovid's, or walk like Virgil's, and not to (land (till like Dr. Donne's. Yet Ben. Jonfon, in an epigram to Donne, calls him " The delight of Phoebus and each Mufe :" and that he could make foft and fmooth verfes, appears from the following little poem ; " Come live with me, and be my love, " And we will fome newpleafurcs prove, •' of golden fnnds, and cryflal brooks, " With filken lines and filver hooks. "There will the river whifp'ring run," &c, JOHN DONNE. 77 AN HYMN TO GOD THE FATHER''- Wilt thou forgive tliat fin where I begun. Which was my fin, though it were done before ' ' Wilt thou forgive that fin through which I run, And do run flill though flill I do deplore ? When thou haft done thou haft not done. For I have more. ■ Wilt thou forgive that fin, which I have won Others to fin, and made my fin their door? Wilt thou forgive that fin which I did fhun A year or two, but wallow'd in a fcore ? When thou haft done thou haft not done. For I have more. I have a fin of fear, that when I've fpuil My laft thread, I ftiall perifli on the fliore : But fwear by thyfelf, that at my death thy Son Shall fliine as he fhines now and heretofore J - And having done that, thou haft done, I fear no more- ■ I have the rather mentioned this hymn, for that he caufed it to be fet to a moft &rave and folemn tune, and to be often fung to the organ by the chorifters * This compofition is not, furely, embelliflicd with poetical beauties. The reader who is defirous of forming a juft opinion of the merit of metaphyfical poets, among whom Dr. Donne is to be ranked in the firft clafs, will confult Dr. Johnfon's remarks in his Life of Mr. Cowley. "We can have little inducement to perufe the works of men, who inftead of writing poetry wrote only verfe, who cannot be faid to have imitated any thing, as they neither copied Na- ture from life, neither painted the forms of matter, nor reprefented the operations of intel- le£t. Deficient in the fublime and the pathetic, they"abounded in hyperbole, in unnatural thoughts, violent fidions, foolifli conceits, exprcffions cither grofsly abfurd, or indelicate and- difgufting." (Dr. Jolmfon's Worh, vol. IZ.p.24.) 7S THE LIFE OF chorifters of St. Paul's Church in liis own hearing, efpecially at the even- ing fervice, and at his return from his cuftomary devotions in that place, did occafionally fay to a friend " The words of this hymn have reftored " to me the fiime thoughts of joy that pofleffed my foul in my licknefs " when 1 compofed it. And, O the povi'er of church-mufic' ! that har- *' mony added to this hymn has raifed the aftc£lions of my heart, and " quickened my graces of zeal and gratitude; and I obferve that I always " return from paying this public duty of prayer and praife to God, with " an uncxprcffible tranquillity of mind, and a willingnefs to leave the " world." After this manner did the difciplcs of our Saviour, and the befl: of Chri- fllans in thofe ages of the church ncareft to his time, offer their praifes to Almighty God ; and the reader of St. Auguftine's life may there find, that towards his diffolution he wept abundantly, that the eneniies of Chri- ftianity" had broke in upon them, and prophaned and ruined their flinc- tuaries, and becaufe their public hymns and lauds were loft out of their churches. And after this manner have many devout fouls lifted up their hands and offered acceptable facrifices unto Almighty God where Dr. Donne offered his, and now lies buried. " But now, O Lord, how is tliat *' place become defolate'." Anno 1656: Before ' On the antiquky., ufe, and excellence of church-mufic, fee " Bifliop Home's (Ixtcen Ser- mons on various Subjedls and Occafions," p. 265. '' St. Auguftln died after the Goths and Vandals had with much barbarous cruelty and bloodfhedding over-run the greatefl part of his native country of Africa ; only three cities of any note were preferved from their fury, of which his own city, Hippo, was one, though befieged by them fourteen months. According to his prayer he was delivered out of their hands by tlie mercy of God, who took him to himfclf during the time of the fiege. See his Xife written by Pofidonius, and ufually prefixed to his works. ' By the votes of both Iloufes, made in the Long Parliament, Sept. ic-ii, anno 1642, for the abolifliing of bllliops, deans, and chanters, tlie very foundation of this famous cathedral, fays Sir William Dugdalc, was utterly fliaken in pieces. In the following year the famous .crofs in the churchyard, which had been for many ages the moil noted and folemn place [v this nation for the grentcft divines and.greateft fcholars to preach at, was pulled down to JOHN DONNE. 79 Before I proceed further, I think fit to inform the reader, that not long before his death he caufed to be drawn a figure of the body of Chrift, ex- tended upon an anchor, Hke thofe which painters draw when they would prefent us with the picture of Chrift crucified on the crofs; his varying no othervvife than to affix him not to a crofs, but to an anchor (the em- blem of hope) ; this he caufed to be drawn in little, and then many of thofe figures thus drawn to be engraven very fmall in Helitropium {lones"',and fet in gold, and of thofe he fent to many of his dearcft friends, to be ufed as feals ar rings, and kept as memorials of him, and of his affedtion to them. His dear friends and benefactors. Sir Henry Goodier", and Sir Robert Drewry, could not be of that number, nor could the Lady Magdalen Her- to the ground ; the flails of the Quire were alfo taken away ; as alio part of the pave* ment torn up, and monuments utterly demoliflied or defaced. The fcafFolds erected for the repair of the church were given to the foldiers, and by them pits were dug for fawing up the timber in fcveral places thereof, even where fome reverend bifliops and other perfons of quality lay interred ; and afterwards the body of the church was fivquently converted to a horfe-quarter for foldiers. { Sie Kennel's Re^iJIer and Chronicle, p. S49-) ° The Heliotropium is a very beautiful fpecies of jafper, and has been long known to tlie world as a gem. Its colour is a fine and ilrong green, fometimes pure and fimple, but more frequently with an admixture of blue in it. It is moderately tranfparent in thin pieces, and is always veined, clouded, and fpotted with a blood red. From this, its mofl obvious cha- rafter, it has obtained among our jewellers the name of the blood-ftone. (LeiuL's Materia Mtdica.) " One of the gentlemen of liis Majefly's Privy Chamber. To him Dr. Doune has addrelTed feveral of his letters in the Collection, which was printed in 1651. " To the honour of Sir Henry Goodycr of Pokfworth, a Knight memorable for his vir- " tues," faith Camden, " an affeftionate friend of his made this tetraflick."' " An ill ycnr of a Goodycr us bereft, " Who gon to God much lack of liiin here left j " FuU of good gifts of body and of ininde, •*"VVjrc, comely, learned, eloquent, and kinde." (Ifeever's Andint, Tun. Mcnumeris. p. 302.) So THE LIFE OF Herbert", the mother of George Herbert, for they had put ofF mortality, and taken pofleffion of the grave before him; but Sir Henry Wotton and Dr. Hair, the then late dcceafcd Bilhop of Norwich were; and fo were Dr. Duppa, Bilhop of Salifbury", and Dr. Henry King, Bilhop of Chichellcr (lately deceafed) ; men, in whom there was fuch a commixture of general learning, of natural eloquence, and Chriflian humility, that ihcy deferve a commemoration by a pen equal to their own, which none have ex- ceeded. .And ° Of this excellent woman fee " Walton's Life of Mr. George Herbert."" P Dr. Jofeph Hall, Bifliop of Norwich. " The learned have given him this chara(fler, that *' he was • Our Englifli Sciieca,' dexterous at controverfy, not unhappy at comments, very " good at chara£lers, better in fermons, beft of all in meditations and contemplations, all " which have long fince been put out in three volumes." ( Alagiia Britannia, -vol. HI. p. 394.) Full of the fpirit of Juvenal and Perfius, he is confidered as the firft of our fatirical poets. He introduces his celebrated work, " Virgidcmiarum" with thcfe lines^— *' I firft adventure, follow me who lilt, " And be the fecond Engliflt Satyrift." His difapprobation of burying the dead m churches is thus exprefled in his lad will : " I Jo- *' feph Hall, D. D. not worthy to be called Bifhop of Norwich, &c. Firfl., I bequeath my " foul, &c. my body I leave to be interred without any funeral pomp, at the diredion of my " executors, with this only monition, that / do net hold God's hotife a meet repofilory for " the dead bodies of the greatcft faints." Accordingly he himfelf was buried in the church- yard at Heigham near Norvvich. — Compton, Bifhop of London, entertained the fame fenti- ments — " The church for the living, — the churchyard for the dead." ■i Dr. Bryan Duppa, tranflatcd from the fee of Chichcdcr, to that of Sniifbury, was de- prived of all his preferment on the breaking out of the rebellion. Having faithfully continued his attendance on the king, to the time of his evcr-to-be-lamented death, he afterward re- tired to Richmond in Surry, where he devoted himfelf to ftudy and devotion. At the ifeftG- ration he was promoted to Winchefter ; and died, March 26, 1662. On the day preceding his death, Charles II. to whom he had been preceptor, viGted him in his bed-chamber, and on his bended knees implored his benediftion. " He died," fays Wood, " as he lived, " honoured and beloved of all that knew him ; a perfon of fo clear and eminent candour, that " ho left not the lead fpot upon his life or fundtion, maugre the hufy fedition of thofe who «• then, as before, blacked the very furplicc, and made the liturgy profane." And in this enumeration of his friends, though many muft be omitted, yet that man of primitive piety, Mr. George Herbert, may not : I mean that George Herbert, who was the author of " The Temple, or Sacred Poems and Ejaculations ;" a book, in which, by declaring his own fpiri- tual conflicts, he hath comforted and raifed many a dejefted and difcom- pofed foul, and charmed them into fweet and quiet thoughts ; a book, by the frequent reading whereof, and the affiftance of that fpirit that feemed to infpire the author, the reader may attain habits of peace and piety, and all the gifts of the Holy Ghoft and heaven, and may by ftill reading, flill keep thofe facred fires burning upon the altar of fo pure a heart, as fhall free it from the anxieties of this world, and keep it fixed upon things that are above. Betwixt this George Herbert and Dr. Donne there was a long and dear friendfliip, made up by fuch a fympathy of inclinations, that they coveted and joyed to be in each other's company; and this happy friend- fhip was ftill maintairrcd by many facred endearments, of which that which followeth may be fome teftimony. TO MR. GEORGE HERBERT, SENT HIM WITH ONE OF MY SEALS OF THE ANCHOR AND CHRIST. A Jl}taf of fnahes ufed heretofore to be my feal, which is the creft of our poor family. Qui prius afluetus ferpentum falce tabellas Signare, hxc noflrse fymbola parva domus Adfcitus domui domini, — Adopted in God's family, and fo My old coat loft, into new arms I go. The crofs my feal in baptifm fpread below. Does by that form into an anchor grow. Crofles grow anchors, bear as thou fliould'ft do Thy crofs, and that crofs grows an anchor too. But he that makes our crofTes anchors thus. Is Clirift, who there is crucify'd for us. Yet" with this I may my firft ferpents hold ; . {;+ THE LIFE OF death " he charged it to prefent his God each morning and evening with *' a new and fpiritual fong;" juftified by the example of King David and the good King Hezekiah, who upon the renovation of his years paid his thankful vows to Ahnighty God in a royal hymn, which he concludes in thefe words, " The Lord was ready to fave, therefore I will fing my fongs " to the ftringed inRrumcnts all the days of my life in the temple of my « God." The latter part of his life may be faid to be a continued ftudy ; for as he ufually preached once a week, if not oftener, fo after his fermon he never gave his eyes reft till he had chofcn out a new text, and that night caft his fermon into a form, and his text into divifions' ; and the next day betook himfelf to confult the fathers, and fo commit his meditations to his memory, which was excellent. But upon Saturday he ufually gave himfelf and his mind a reft from the weary burthen of his week's meditations, and ufually fpent that day in vifitation of friends or fome other diverfions of his thoughts ; and would fay, " that he gave both his body and mind that re- *' frelhment, that he might be enabled to do the work of the day foUow- " ing, not faintly, but with courage and chccrfulnefs." Nor was his age only fo induftrious, but in the moft imfettled days of his youth, his bed was not able to detain him beyond the hour of four in a morning ; and it was no common bufmefs that drew him out of his chamber till paft ten ; all which time was employed in ftudy, though he took great liberty after it. And if this feem ftrange, it may gain a belief by the vilible fruits of his labours, fome of which remain as teftimonies of what is here written, for he left the refultance of 1400 authors, moft of them abridged and analyfed with his own hand ; he left alio fix fcore of his fermons, all written with his own hand ; alio an exa<^ and labori- ous • It wns Dr. Hammoud's mcthoil, and furely not unwoi t!iy of imitation, " After every fermon " to refolve upon the enfuing fubjcd ; that being done, to purfuc the courfe of ftudy which " he was then in hand with, referring the clofe of the week for the provifion for the next " Lord's Day ; whereby not only a conftant progrefs was made in fcience, but materials •* unawares were gained unto the immediate future work : For, he faid, be the fubjedls " treated of never fo diftant, fomewhat will infallibly fivU in, conduciblc to the prefcnt pur- " pofe." (Fill's Life of Dr. Hammond, i". 1 1.) JOHN DONNE. Ss ous treatife concerning felf-murther', called " Blathanatos," wherein all the laws violated by that ad are diligently furveyed, and judiciouny cen- I'ured ; ' We have a full account of this tractate in the two following letters. " TO THE NOBLEST KNIGHT, " SIR EDWARD HERBERT.. "Sir, " I make account that thys booke hath enough, perform'd y' w"^"" yt undertooke, both by: " argument and example. Itt fliall therefore the lefle need to bee yttfelfe another example " of y' do£trine. Itt fliall not therefore kyll yttfelfe ; that ys, not bury yttfelfe ; for if y tt fliould " , no not in mine ov>-n hopes, " equally to your merit towards me. But befides the poems, of which you- took a promife, " I fend So THE LIFE OF iuied; a treatile written in his younger days, which alone might declare .him then not only perfci^ in the Civil and Canon Law, but in many other inch *' I fend you another book, to M-liich there belongs this hjftory. It was written by mc many *' years fince, and bccaufe it is upon a mifintcrprctablc fubjeft, I have always gone fo near " fupprefling it, as that it is onely not burnt : No hand hath pafled upon it to copy it, nor " many eyes to read it ; oncly to fome particular friends in both univerfities then when I writ " it did I communicate it; and I remember I had this anfwer, that certainly there was afalfe " thread in it, but not eafdy found Keep it, I pray, with the fame jealoufie ; let any " that your difcretion admits to the fight of it know tlic date of it, and that it is a book " written by Jack Donne, and not by Dr. Donne. Refervc it for me if I live, and if I cue I *' only forbid it the prefle and the fire : Publifli it not, but yet burn' it" not ; aiKl between thofc " do what you will with it. Love me ftill thus far for your own fake, that when you with- " draw your love from me, you will find fo many unworthinefles in me, as you grow afhamed " of having had fo long and fo much, fuch a thing as ■ " Your poor fervt. in Clir. Jcf. " J. DONNE." It vi-as firft publlrticd by authority in 1644, and dedicated by his fon, John Donne, to Lord Philip Herbert. In this dedication he afllgns the reafon of his difobedicnce to his father's order. " It was writ long fince by my father, and by him forbid both the prefle and the fire ; neither " had I fubjedled it now to the publique view, but that I could finde no certain way to defend " it from the one, but by committing it to the other ; for fince the beginning of this war my " ftudy having been often fearched, all my books (and al-moft my braines, by their continuall " allarums) fequeftered for the ufe of the committee ; two dangers appeared more eminently " to hover over this, being then a manufcript ; a danger of being utterly loft, and a danger " of being utterly found, and fathered by fome of thofe wild atheifts, who, as if they came " into the.v/orld by conqueft, owne all other men's wits, and are refolved tobe learned in " defpite of their ftarres, that would fairely have enclined them to a more modeft and honeft *' courfe of life." The fyftem advanced in this book has been accurately examined, and with great ftrength of argument refuted by the Rev. Charles Moore, in his " Full Enquiry into the Subjefl of Suicide," vol. I. p. 83, — 103, and vol. II. p. i, — 41. The learned author of that excellent work, in his letter, dated Jan. 27, r794, informs me, that fince its publication he has feen a fmall tra£l, called " Life's Prefervativt againfl Self-killing, &c. by John Syer, Minifter of Leigh inEflex, London, 1637," which, though pubiifhed after Dr. Donne's death, yet before the Biathanatos appeared, is in effe£t a very full and complete anfwer to it, written in its own method of fcholaftic diviUons and fub-divifions, ad infinitum. The following extrad, containing a (hort criticifm on this work of Donne, will not be un- acceptable to the learned reader. " Donne, docteur Angolis et fjavant Theologien de ce " fiecle. JOHN DONNE. 8/ fuch ftudlcs and arguments, as enter not into the confideration of many that labour to be thought great clerks, and pretend to know all things. Nor were thefe only found in his ftudy, but all bufinelfcs that paffed of any public confequence, cither in this or any of our neighbour-nations, he abbreviated either in Latin, or in the language of that nation, and kept them by him for ufeful memorials : So he did the copies of divers letters and cafes of confcience that had concerned his friends, with his obferva- tions and folutions of them, and divers other buhnelTes of importance, all particularly and methodically digeftcd by himfelf. He did prepare to leave the world before life left him, making his vnW when no faculty of his foul was damped or made defective by pain or ficknefs, or he furprifed by a fudden apprehenfion of death ; "but it was made with mature deliberation, expreliing himfelf an impartial father by making his children's portions equal, and a lover of his friends, whom he remembered with legacies fitly and difcreetly chofen and bequeathed. I cannot forbear a nomination of fome of them ; for, methinks, they be per- fons that feem to challenge a recordation in this place ; as namely, to his brother-in-law Sir Thomas Grimes, he gave that ftriking clock " which he had long worn in his pocket ; to his dear friend and executor Dr. King (late Bilhop of Chichefter), that model of gold of the Synod of Dort'', with " ficcle, eft connu par iin livrc en fa langue, imprimc a Londres fous ce litre : Bia9jtr«To«. *' C'efl; une efpece d'apologle du Suicide. II cite, pour appuycr fes dangereufes idees, Vexam- " pic (I'un grand nombrc dc heros paiens, enfuite celui de quelques faints dc I'ancien Tefla- " ment, d'line foule de martyrs, dc confeffeurs, de penitens, &c. Jefus Chrift mcme eft " amenc en prcuve de fon fyfteme. Un livrc aufli extraordinaire n'empeche pas I'auteur de " deveuir Doyen de S. Paul, parce qu'il fut regards comme une forte de ccnfolation qu'il " Youloit donner a fes compatriots, que la melancolie jette fouvent dans cette fureur." — ( Noiiver.u. DIB. HiJ}.~Caen. 1783.) " Charles I. on the morning of his execution, prcfcnted his attendant, Mr. Thomas Her-- bert, witii h\%filver dock. * The States General direded a gold medal to be ftruck in commemoration of the Synod held at Dort. On one fide is reprefented the Affembly of the Synod, with this infcription, " ASSERT A RELIGIONE." On the rcverfc, a mountain, on the fummit cf which is a temple. i*? T*[E LIFE OF with which the Stales prcfcnted him at his laR being at the Hiiguc ; -ancl the two pictures of Padre Paolo", and Fiilgentio', nicn of his acquaintance when temple, to which men are afccnding along a very Iteep path. The four winds arc blowing with great violence againft the mountain. Above the temple is written the word JEHOVAH, in Hebrew charaacrs. The infcription is " ERUNT UT MONS SIGN. CIDCXIX. Thefe winds are intended to reprefent thofe who at that time much difturbed the tranquillity of the church. ( Hijioire Metallique de la Republiqiie de Hollande, par M, Bizot. tow. I. p. 139.) T " Let me be bold to fend you for a new-year's gift, a certain memorial, not altogether " unworthy of fome entertainment under your roof, a true pl^ure of Padre Paolo the Ser- *' vita, which was firft taken by a painter, whom I fent utito him from my houfe then neigh- *• bouring his monaftery. I have newly added theJreuhto a title of mine own conception. " • Concilii Tridentini Evifcerator.' You will find a fear in his face, that was from a Roman " affafiinate that would have killed him as he was turned to a wall near his convent." (Sir Henry Wcttoii's Ltt.'ir to Dr. Samuel Collins, Provojl of King's College, and Profcjfor Regius of Divinity, Jan. 17, 1 63 7.) In this letter the charafler of Father Paul is drawn in fuch pleafing colours, that the reader cannot be difpleafed with a tranfeript of 'it. " I am defirous of characlcrifmg a little unto " you fuch part of his nature, cuftomes, and abilities, as I liad occafion to know by (ight or " by inquiry. He was one of the humbleft: things that could be feen within the bounds of •' humanity ; the very pattern of that; precept ' .^lanto dociior tanto fubmiffior,' and enough " alone to demohftrate, that knowledge well digcfted non injlat. Excellent in pofitive, cxcel- •' lent in fcholallical and polemical Divinity ; a rare mathematician, even in the molt ab- " ftrufe parts thereof, as in Algebra -and the Theori^ues ; and yet withal fo expert in the " liiftory of plants, as if he had never perufed any- book but Nature. Laflly, a great Canonifl, " which was the title of his ordinary fervice with the ftate ; and certainly in the time of the " Pope's interdict they had their principal light from hifn. When he was either reading or " writing alone, his manner was to fit fenced with a caftle of paper about his chair and over "head; for he was of our Lord of St. Alban's thinking, ' That all air is pradatory,' and •' cfpecially hurtful when the fpirits are moft employed. He was of a quiet and fettled tem- " per, which made him prompt in his counfels and anfwers, and the fame in confultation ' " which Themiflocles was in aclion «i,TO!r;t*^"» ^**» "x«»«t»ti);." * The friend and biographer of Father Paul, and celebrated for the dignity and freedom ■with which he preached the pure word of God. Of the real exellence of his difcourfes, no better teflimony can be adduced than the declaration of Pope Paul V. " He has indeed fome *' good fermons, but bad ones witliai ; He (lands too much upon Scripture, which is a book " that JOHN DONNE. 89 when he travelled Italy, and of great note in that nation for their remark- able learning. — To his ancient friend, Dr. Brook (that married him) Mailer of Trinity College in Cambridge, he gave the pidure of the bleffed Virgin and Joleph. — To Dr. \Vinniff(who.fucceedcd him in his deanery) he gave a pifture called the " Skeleton."— To the fucceeding dean, who was not then known, he gave many necelTaries of worth, and ufeful for his houfc; and alfo feveral pidtures and ornaments for the chapel, with a defire that they might be regiftercd, and remain as a legacy to his fucccflbrs. — To the Earls of Dorfet and Carlille, he gave feveral piclures, and fo he did to many other friends j legacies, given rather to exprefs his affeclion than to make any addition to their ellates : But unto the poor he was full of charity, and unto many others, who, by his conllaat and long-continued bounty, might entitle themfelves to be his alms-people ; for all thefe he made proviiion, and fo largely, as, having then fix children living, might to fome appear more than proportionable to his eltate. 1 forbear to mention any more, left the reader may think I irefpafs upon his patience; but 1 will beg hio. favour to prefent him with the begimiing and end of his will. . 31JT3 tf)c name Of ttc blclfcti anD gloiioiis Ccinitp, amen. 3i Jobn' Donne, t)p ti)e mcrcg Of €hxin Jefus, anD bj) the caiiinj of tf)c Cburcb of CnglanD, Wt^^ i'cing at tW time in gooD l)ealtb mv perfcft imr)cr= Gantiing (p?aifcti be actJ tf)crcfo?e) tJO f)cretjp mafee mg lafl (Kiill anD Cefta- ment, in the manner anD fo?m foUolnmg : jrirfl, 3f 5ivic mv gracious! ®oD an entire facrifilcc of fcoDp anD foul, tcitb my mca huvMc thanks fo? tfjat afliirance tubiclj bis 'IBldfcD Spirit imprints in mc noto of tbc f This difcourfe was printed at London in 1633, in 4to. under the quaint title of " Death's Duel, or a Confolatlon to the Soule againfl the Dying Life and Living Death of the Body." The text is from Pf. Isvjii. 20. It 13 tlie lall difgourfe in the third volume of Dr. Donne's Sermons. JOHN DONN'£. 95 The next day after his fernion, his ftrength being much wafted, and his fpirits fo fpent as indifpofed him to bufmefs or to talk, a friend that had often been a witnefs of liis free and facetious difcourfe, afked him, " Why " are you fad ?" To whom he rephed, with a countenance fo full of cheerful gravity, as gave teftimony of an inward tranquillity of mind, and of a foul willing to take a farewel of this world ; and fald " I am not fad, but moft of the night paft I have entertained myfelf with *' many thoughts of feveral friends that have left me here, and arc gone to " that place from which they Jhall not return ; and that within a few days / '■'' fjall go hence and be no more feen. And my preparation for this change " is become my nightly meditation upon my bed, which my infirmities " have now made reftlefs to me : But at this prefent time I was in a ferious " contemplation of the providence and goodnefs of God to me ; to me, ijoho " am Icfs than the leajl of bis mercies ; and looking back upon my life paft, " I now plainly fee it was his hand that prevented me from all temporal " employment, and that it was his will I fhould never fettle or thrive till " I entered into the miniftry ; in w^hich I have now lived almoft twenty " years (I hojoe to his glory), and by which I moft humbly thank him, I " have been enabled to requite moft of thofe friends which Ihewed m.e " kindnefs when my fortune was very low^ as God knows it was, and '* (as it hath occafioned the expreflion of my gratitude) I thank God moft " of them have ftood in need of my requital. I have lived to be ufeful " and comfortable to my good father-in-law, Sir George Moore, whofe " patience God hath been pleafed to exercife with many temporal crofles ; " I have maintained my own mother, whom it hath pleafed God, after aplen- " tiful fortune in her younger days, to bring to a great decay in her very old *' age. I have quieted the confciences of many that have groaned under " the burthen of a wounded fpirit, whofe prayers I hope are available for " me. I cannot plea.d innocency of life, efpecially of my youth ; but I am *' to be judged by a merciful God, who is not wilting to fee what I have " done amifs : And though of myfelf 1 have nothing to prefent to him but " fins and mifery, yet I know he looks not upon me now as I am of my- *' felf, but as I am in my Saviour, and hath given me even at this prefent " time gG THE LIFE OF *' time fome teftimonles by his Holy Spirit, that I am ofthe number of his *' eledt : I am therefore full of inexprejfible joy^ andJJjalldie in peace J" I mud here look fo far back, as to tell the reader, that at his firft return out of Eflex, to preach his laft fermon, his old friend and phylician, Dr. Fox, a man of great worth, came to him to confult his health, and that after a fight of him, and fome queries concerning his diftempers, he told him, " That by cordials, and drinking milk twenty days together, " there was a probability of his reftoration to health, but he pallionately *' denied to drink it." Neverthelefs, Dr. Fox, who loved him moft en- tirely, wearied him with felicitations, till he yielded to take it for ten days, at the end of which time he told Dr. Fox, " He had drunk it more to *' fatisfy him, than, to recover his health ; and that he would not drink it *' ten days longer upon the bell moral aifurancc of having twenty years " added to his life, for he loved it not, and was fo far from fearing death, *' which to others is the King of Terrors, that he longed for the day of his *' diflblution'." It is obferved, that a defire of glory or commendation is rooted in tlie very nature of man; and that thole of the fcvereft and moft mortified lives, though they may become fo humble as to banifh felf-flattery, and fuch weeds as naturally grow there ; yet they have not been able to kill this defire of glory, but that, like our radical heat, it will both live and die ^ Dr. Donne feems to have entertained an indiiFcrence to and an alienation from every fecular purfuit. In the various fcenes of his macurer life, he has his attention principally fixed upon another and a better ftate. His defires and affeclions being mortified and entirely fubdued, he familiarizes to his thoughts the idea of death. Hence he expreni's not merely an acquiefcence in the difpenfations of God calling him away from this world, but even an unwillingnefs to live ; and by that very extraordinary mode of reprefentation, which his biographer has recorded, he reconciles and endears to himfclf the ajjproaching moment of his diflblution. But fuch a conduct will not be purfued by the generality of mankind. We are indeed influenced by every religious and moral principle to afpire after length of days and an honourable old age ; when we languifli on the bed of ficknefs, to bear the agonies of paia with the confoling hopes of being reftored to health, not to rejedt the probable remedies which medicinal lliill propofes for extinguifi lug difeafe and protradliiig life. This difpofition, joined with a cheerful and ready config.iaicnt of our ftate to the will of God, and a jull fenfe of the fmall value of all earthly enjoyments, is furely not unworthy of the Chriftian chara M» JOHN DONNE. ST •what other adornments might then fuit with thepreient fafiiions of youthy and the giddy gayeties of that age ; and his motto then wau " How much fliall I be changM, " iJefore I am chang'd'!" And if that young, and his now dying pldure, were at this time fet together, every beholder might fay, " Lord ! how much is Dr. Donne *' already changed, before he is changed ?" And the view of them might give my reader occafion to afk himfelf with fome amazement, " Lord ! " how much may I alio that am now in health be changed, before I am " changed ; before this vile, this changeable body fliall put off mortality ?" and therefore to prepare for it. But this is not writ fo much for my reader's memento, as to tell him, thai Dr. Donne would often in his private difcourfes, and often publicly in his fermons, mention the many changes both of his body and mind j efpecially of his mind from a vertiginous giddinefs ; and would as often fay, " His great and moft bleffed change " was from a temporal to a fpiritual employment ;" in which he was fa happy, that he accounted the former part of his life to be loft, and the beginning of it to be from his firft entering into facred orders, and ferving his moft merciful God at his altar. Upon Monday, after the drawing this pidure, he took his laft leave of his beloved ftudy ; and being fenfible of his hourly decay, retired himfelf to his bed-chamber, and that v/cek fent at feveral times for many of his S 2 mcfl • " Antes muerta que mudada." The words nntes i>iu$ria que niiidada are fuppofed by a Spanilh author to have been originally written on the fand by a lady promifmg fidelity to her lover. The following lines were compofed by Mr. Ifaac Walton, and infcribed under the Pfint taken from this pion to canonize Igna- tius: " Iniquum eniih efle cum omnes artifices laniiq; prophani peculiares quos invocarent divos haberent folis laniis fpiritualibus ct rcgicidis fuus deeffet." Ignatius calling his eyes on the throne next that of Lucifer, alks by whom it is filled. When he hears the name of Boniface, he breaks out into a violent reproach againft him, and drives him from his place, in which he feats himfelf with the approbation of Lucifer. And here the vifion ends. The tracl concludes with a pretended defence of the Jefuits : " Tandem ad apologiam pro Je- fuitis acccdendum, id eft, de illis filendum. Favet enim illis quifquis de illis tacet. Ncg certe cuiquam diutiffime locuto (etfi ei Oceanus Clepfydra eflct) unquam deerit quod de eoruin flagitiis addere poffit." XII. " BIAeANATOS. A Declaration of that Paradoxe or Thefis, that Sclf-homlcidc is not fo naturally Sin, that it may never be otherwife. Wherein the Nature and Extent of all thofe Lawes, which feem to be violated by this Aft, are diligently furveyed." Laukn, printed by John Dawfon. — 4to. This work was publifliedby the author's fon,with a dedication to the Lord Philip Herbert, dated from his houfe in Covent-Garden, 28 ; no mention is made of month or year here or in the title-page. At the end of the book we find " 20 Sept. 1644, imprimatur Jo. Rufliworth." In the univerfity library at Cambridge are three copies of this book, in two of which are written letters by the editor. One copy, which contains the letter to Mr. Lee, was Biftiop Moore's; the other, containing the letter to Mr. Carter, belonged to Mr. Lucas, who founded the Lucafian Profeflbrfhip at Cambridge LETTER I. " FOR HIS MUCH HONORED FRINDE MR. LEE, AT THE COCKPITT. " SIR, ' " I take the bouldnefle to prefent to your hands this booke, hoplnge that it may bee wel- • " come to you, even for the patrone's fake who has receaved it foe nobly, that I cannot doubt " but that all his frinds will entertaine it as fome thinge that belongs to my Lorde Herbert •* and has lyen ftill thefe fivftie laft years to expert a patronc noble enough to entertaine a " peece that is an abfolute originall, and, I thincke, drawen by noe very ill a hande. " Sir, your moft humble fervant, Covent-Garden, Oft. :(,. « JO. DONNE." U 2. LETTER II. Ii6 APPENDIX. LETTER II. " FOR THE RIGHT WORSHIPFULL EDWARD CARTER, ESQ^ " SIR, " I have here fcnt you a booke that may peradvcnture give you fome entertaincment out of " the noveltie of the fubjeft, but that is not all my reafon of prefentinge it to you at this timcj " for, fince I lived in this parirti, I have publifhed a volume of eighty fermons preached by " my father ; and have prepared fixty more, which are licenfed and entered in the Printers' " Halle ; which is, as farr as I can drive them, untill the times allter. I was encouradgcd to *' undertake this worke by the learnedeft men in the kingdome of all profeflions, and was often ** told that I fliould deferve better by doinge foe, then by keepingc them to my owne ufe, for " by this mcancs I did not only preach to the prefent adge, but to our children's children. " Sir, I write this to you that you may judg what a fad condition a fchoUer is in ; when at a " public veftry in this parifli, I was told by a pittifull ignorant baker, I was an idle man, and " never preached. " Your humble fervant, " JO. DONNE.- Another edition of the Biathanatos appeared in 1648. . a I. • . — ^ ERR A TA. Page t, line ji,— to concilitate, r/a Of thefe monuments fee " IIafl;ed"s Hiftory of Kent," vol. IL p. /)37; — ."Harris's Hiftory of Kent," p. 48. 1 20 THE LIFE OF But left I flaould be thought by any that may incline either to deny or doubt this truth, not to have oblerved moderation in the commendation of this family ; and alfo for that I believe the merits and memory of fuch perfons ought to be thankfully recorded, 1 fhall offer to the confideration of every reader, out of the teftimony of their pedigree and our chronicles, a part, and but a part, of that juft commendation which might be from thence enlarged, and fliall then leave the indifferent reader to judge whether my error be an excefs or defe£l of commendations \ Sir Robert Wotton of Bodlon Malherbe, Knight, was born about the year of Chrift, 1460 : He, living in the reign of King Edward IV. was by him trufted to be Lieutenant of Guifnes, to be Knight Porter, and Compt- roller of Calais, where he died, and lies honourably buried. Sir Edward Wotton of Bodon Malherbe, Knight (fon and heir of the faid Sir Robert) was born in the year of Chrift, 1489, in the reign of King Henry VIL ; he was made Treafurer of Calais, and of the Privy Council to King Henry VIIL who offered him to be Lord Chancellor of England; *' But," fl\ith HoUinfhed, in his Chronicle, " out of a virtuous modefty he " refuled it." Thomas Wotton of Bodon Malherbe, Efquire, fon and heir of the faici Sir Edward, and the father of our Sir Henry that occafions this relation, was born in the year of Chrift, 152 i : He was a gentleman excellently edu- cated, and ftudious in all the liberal arts-; in the knowledge whereof he at- tained unto a great perfedlion ; who, tliOugh he had (befides thofe abilities, a very noble and plentiful eftate and the ancient intereft of his predeceifors) many invitations from Queen Elizabeth to change his country recreations and retirement for a court, offering him a knighthood (fhe was then with him at his Bodon-hall), and that to be but as an earneft of fome more honourable and more profitable employment under her ; yet he humbly refufed both, being a man of great modefty, of a moft plain and finglc heart, of an ancient freedom and integrity of mind. A commendation which ' HolHngnicd informs us that the family of tlic Wottons was very ancient, and that " Some perfons of that furname for their Angularities of wit and learning, for their honour *' and government in and of the realm, about the prince and clfewhere, at home and abroad, " defcrve fuch commendations,that they merit «/i'<'9_^|'n(j»'//i7/;7/5." (Chron. Vol. I. p 1402.) SIR HENRY WOTTON. 121 which Sir Henry Wotton took occafion often to remember with great glad- nefs, and thankfully to boafl himfelf the fon of fuch a father ; from whom indeed he derived that noble ingenuity that was always pradifed by him- felf, and which he ever both commended and cherifhed in others. This Thomas was alfo remarkable for hofpitality, a great lover and much beloved of his country; to which may juftly be added, that he was a cherifher of learning, as appears by that excellent antiquary, Mr. William Lambert'', in his Perambulation of Kent. This Thomas had four fons". Sir Edward, Sir James, Sir John, and Sir Henry. Sir Edward was knighted^ by Queen Elizabeth, and made Comptroller X of '* William Lambard of Lincoln's Inn, gent, a pupil of Lawrence Nowell the learned Anti- quary, and known to the countr3'- magiftrate as the author of " Eirenarcha, or of the Office " of the Juftices of Peace, 15991" and of the " Duties of Conftables, Borfliolders, Tithing- *' Men, and fuch other Lowe and Lay Minifters of the Peace, 1601." His " Perambulation •' of Kent," much applauded by Camden, encouraged many more men of learning to endea- vour the like fervices for their country. His chief work is " The Archaionomia five do prifcis Anglorum Legibus, 1568," being a tranflation of the Anglo-Saxon Laws. ■ * Sir Henry Wotton, in a letter to Lord Zouch, dated Florence, Aug. 14, 1592, mentions liis brother Edward, as having loft his wife, a gentlewoman, in his opinion, of moft rare virtue; his brother James as gone to ferve in the Low Countries ; and his brother John as retired to a folitary life, and at fome difference with his lady. f " My brother Edward hath, either againft his M'ill, as fome fay, or with it, as I fay, been knighted." (Letter to Lord Zouch, dated Sienna, Dec. 13, 1592.) Sir Edward Wotton was, in 1585, fent Ambafllidor into Scotland, for the purpofe of contrafting a league ofFenfive and defenfive with the king, to counteracl the holy league, which the Pope, the Spanifh King, the Guifes, and others had made to extirpate the reformed religion. (Spoifioood's Hijl.p. 339.) Sir Henry Wotton's charafter, while he was engaged in that embaflTy, is thus drawn by Dr. Robertfon. " This man was gay, well-bred, and entertaining ; he excelled in all the " exercifes for which James had a paffion, and amufed the young king by relating the adven- " tures which he had met with, and the obfcrvations he had made during a long refidence in " foreign countries ; but under the veil of thefe fuperficial qualities, he concealed a dangerous " and intriguing fpirit. He foon grew into high favour with James, and while he was feem- " ingly attentive only to pleafure and diverfions, he acquired influence over the public coun- " cils, to a degree which was indecent for a ftranger to poflcfs." ( Hii'!cr\ of Scotland, B. VIL) .• 122 THE LIFE OF of her Majefty's Houfehold. " He was," faith Camden, " A man rc- " markable for many and great employments in the ftate during her reign, " and fent feveral times Ambaflador into foreign nations. After her death, " he was by King James made Comptroller of his Houfehold, and called to *' be of his Privy Council, and by him advanced to be Lord Wotton, Baron " of Merley in Kent, and made Lord Lieutenant of that county." Sir James, the fecond fon, may be numbered among the martial men of his age, who was in the thirty-eight of Queen Elizabeth's reign (with Robert Earl of SufTex, Count' Lodowick of Naflau, Don Chriftophoro, fon of Antonio King of Portugal, and divers other gentlemen of noblenefs and valour,) knighted in the field near Cadiz in Spain, after they had gotten great honour and riches, befides a notable retaliation of injuries by taking that town. Sir John being a gentleman excellently accomplifhed, both by learning and travel, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, and by her looked uj)on with mbre than ordinary favour, and with intentions of preferment ; but death m his younger years put a period to his growing hopes. Of Sir Henry, my following difcourfe fhall give an account. The defcent of thefe fore-named Wottons were all in a diredt line, and mod of them and. their adlions in the memory of thofe with whom we have converfed: But if I had looked fo flir back as to Sir Nicholas Wotton (who lived in the reign of King Richard IL) or before him, upon divers others of great note in their feveral ages, I might by fome be thought tedious ; and yet others may more juftly think me negligent, if 1 omit to mention Nicholas Wotton, the fourth fon of Sir Robert, whom I firft named. This Nicholas Wotton was Doctor of Law, and fometime Dean both of York and Canterbury^ ; a man whom God did not only blefs with a long life, s He was inftalled Dean of York, Dec. 4, 1544, as in 1542 he was conflituted the firfl: Dean of Canterbury by the Charter of Incorporation. He held both tliefe preferments to the time of his death, Jan. 26, 1566-7. — What Sir Henry Wotton faid of Sir Philip Sidney, has been applied to Nicholas Wotton. " That he was the very meafure of congruity." Henry VIII. thus addrefled him on his appointment to a foreign embafly; " I have fent a head by " Cromwell, SIR HENRY WOTTON. 123 life, but with great abilities of mind, and an inclination to employ them in the fervice of his country, as is teftified by his feveral employments (vide Camden'' s Britannia), having been fent nine times Ambaflador" unto foreign princes; and by his being a Privy Councellor to King Henry VlIL to Edward VI. to Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth; who alfo, after he had been, during the wars between England, and Scotland and France, three feveral times (and not unfuccefsfully) employed in committees for fettling of peace betwixt this and thofe kingdoms, " died," faith learned Camden, " Full of commendations for wildom and piety." He was alfo by the will of King Henry VIII. made one of his executors, and chief Secretary of State to his fon, that pious Prince Edward VI. — Concerning which Nicholas Wotton, I fhall fay but this little more ; that he refufed (being offered it by Queen Elizabeth) to be Archbiihop of Canterbury — (vide Hol- lingfliead) ; and that he died not rich, though he lived in that time of the diflblution of abbeys. More might be added; but by this it may appear, that Sir Henry Wotton was a branch of fuch a kindred, as left a ftock of reputation to their pofterity; fuch reputation as might kindle a generous emulation in ftran- gers, and preferve a noble ambition in thofe of his name and family, to perform adtions worthy of their anceftors. And that Sir Henry Wotton did fo, might appear more perfectly than my pen can exprefs it, if of his many furviving friends, fome one of X 2 . higher " Cromwell, a purfe by Wolfey, a fword by Brandon, and mufl; now fend the law by " you." (Lloyd's State Worthies, p. 107.) He was confidered as poflefling the qualifica- tions of a (tatefman in a very eminent degree. " Every younker fpcaks as politic as Bifliop " Gardner or Dr. Wotton." (Spenfer's Letters to his friend Immerito.) ^ It appears from the infcription on his monument that he was fent Ambaflador twice to the Emperor Charles V. once to Philip King of Spain, once to Francis I. the French King, thrice to Henry II. his fon, once to Mary Queen of Hungary, governor of the Low Countries, and twice to William Duke of Cleves : That lie was alfo a Commiffioner at the renewal of peace between the Englifli, and French and Scots, at a place between Guifncs and Ardes, in 1546, and alfo at the caflle of Cambray, in 1559, and laftly at Edinburgh, in 1560. — See his life in a very valuable work lately publidied, entitled, " Some account of the Deans of " Canterbury, from the new Foundation of that Church by Henry VIII. to the prefent Time. •« By Henry John Todd, M. A." 124- THE LIFE OF higher parts and employments had been pleafed to have commended his to pofterity ; but fmce fome years are now pafled, and they have all (I know not why) forborn to do it, my gratitude to my dead friend, and the re- newed requeft of fome* that ftill live folicitous to fee this duty performed, thefe have had a powei to perfuade me to undertake it; which, truly, I have not done, but with fome diftruft of mine own abilities ; and yet fo far from defpair, that I am modeftly confident my humble language fliall be accepted, becaufe I fhall prefent all readers with a commixture of truth, and Sir Henry Wotton's merits. This being premifed, I proceed to tell the reader, that the father of Sir Henry Wotton was twice married ; firft to Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir John Rudftone, knight ; after whofe death, though his inclination was averfe to all contentions, yet neceflitated he was to feveral fuits in law ; in the profecution whereof (which took up much of his time, and were the occafion of many difcontcnts) he was by divers of his friends earneilly perfuadcd to a remarriage ; to whom he has often anfwered, " That if *' ever he did put on a refolution to marry, he was ferioufly refolvcd to " avoid three forts of perfons, namely, *' Thofe that had children ; " Thofe that had law-fuits ; " And thofe that were of his kindred." And yet, following his own law-fuits, he met in Weftminfler-hall with Mrs. Elionora Morton, widow to Robert Morton of Kent, Efquire, who was alfo engaged in feveral fuits in law ; and he, obferving her comport- ment at the time of hearing one of her caufes before the judges, could not but at the fame time both compaffionate her condition, and affed her per- fon (for the tears of lovers, or beauty dreft in fadnefs, are obferved to have in them a charming eloquence, and to become very often too ftrcng to be refifted), which I mention, becaufe it proved fo with this Thomas Wotton ; for although there were in her a concurrence of all thofe acci- dents, againft v:hich he had fo ferioufly refolved, yet his affedtion to her grew * Sir Edward Bifli Clarentieux, King of Arms, Mr. Charles Cotton, and Mr. Nick Oudert, fomctime Sir Henry Wotton's fcrvaut, and one of the witnefles to his laft will. SIR HENRY VVOTTON. 125 grew then fo ftrong, thcat he refolved to foliclt her for a wife ; and did, and obtained her. By her (who was the daughter of Sir William Finch of Eaftwell in Kent) he had only Henry his youngeft fon. His mother undertook to be tutorefs unto him during much of his childhood; for whofe care and pains he paid her each day with fuch vifible figns of future perfe(?don in learning, as turned her employment into a pleafmg trouble ; which {he was content to con- tinue, till his father took him into his own particular care, and difpofed of him to a tutor in his own houfe at Boclon. And when time and diligent inftrudlion had made him fit for a removal to a higher form (which was very early), he was fent to Winchefter-fchool, a place of ftri£t dilcipline and order ; that fo he might in his youth be moulded into a method of living by rule, which his wife father knew to be the moft necefTary way, to make the future part of his life both happy to himfelf, and ufeful for the difcharge of all bufinefs, whether public or private. And that he might be confirmed in this regularity, he was at a fit age' removed from that fchool to be a Commoner of New-College in Oxford; both being founded by William Wickhatn Bifliop of Wincheftcr. There he continued, till about the eighteenth year of his age ; and was then tranfplanted into Queen's-Cdllege, where within that year he was by the chief of that college perfuafively enjoined to write a play for their private ufe (it was the tragedy of Tancredo)^ which was fo interwoven with fentences, and for the method and exadt perfonating thofe humours, paffions, and difpofitions, which he propofed to reprefcnt, fo performed, that the graved of that lociety declared he had in a Height employment given an early and a folid teftimony of his future abilities. And though there may be fome four difpofitions, which may think this not worth a memorial, yet that wife knight, Baptift Guarini" (whom learned Italy accounts ' He was admitted of New College in 1584. * The famous author of the " II Paftor Fido." ^iS THE LIFE OF accounts one of her ornaments), thought it neither an uncomely, nor an unprofitable employment for his age. But I pafs to what will be thought more ferious. About the twentieth year of his age he proceeded M after of Arts', and at that time read in Latin three lectures cle Oculo; wherein he having defcribed the form, the motion, the curious compofure of the eye, and demonftrated how of thofe very many every humour and nerve performs its diftind office, fo as the God of Order hath appointed, without mixture or confufion J and all this to the advantage of man, to whom ihe eye is given, not only as the body's guide, but whereas all other of his fenfes require time to inform the foul, this, in an inftant, apprehends and warns him of danger ; teaching him in the very eyes of others, to difcover wit, folly, love, and hatred. After he had made thefe obfervations, iie fell to difpute this optique queftion : *' Whether we fee by the emiflion of the beams from within, or recep*- " tion of the fpecies from without"?" And after that, and many other like learned difquifitions, he, in the conclufion of his leftures, took a fair occafion to beautify his diicourfe with a commendation of the bleffing and benefit of " Seeing: — By which, " we do not only difcover Nature's fecrets, but v/iih a continued content " (for the eye is never weary of feeing) behold the great light of the " world, and by it difcover the fabric of the heavens, and both the order •' and motion of tlie cceleftial orbs; nay, that if the eye look but down- *' ward, it may rejoice to behold the bofom of the earth, our common *' mother, embroidered and adorned with numberlefs and various flowers, " which man fees daily gro\^ up to perfedtion, and then filcntly moralize *' his own condition, who in a fhort time (like thofe very flowers) decays, " withers, ' According to Anthony Wood, Mr. Henry Wotton fupplicated in June 1588 for the degree of Bachelor of Arts. But it did not appear from the records of the Univerfity that he was ever admitted to this degrecj or to that of Mafter of Arts. " See an accurate Hifl.pry of the Caufes of Vifion in Dr. Smith's Optics, volume II. , P- 23- SIR HENRY WOTTON. 127 " withers, and quickly returns again to that earth from which both had " their lirfl being"." Thefe were fo exadlly debated, and fo rhetorically heightened, as, among other admirers, caufed that learned Italian, Albericus Gentilis, then Pro- feflbr of the Civil Law in Oxford, to call him " Hciirice mi OceUe°\'' which dear expreffion of his was aUb ufed by divers of Sir Henry's deareft friends, and by many other perfons of note during his ftay in the univerlity. But his ftay there was not long, at leaft not fo long as his friends once intended ; for the year after Sir Henry proceeded Mafter of Arts, his father — (whom Sir Henry did never mention without this or fome fuch like reverential expreffion ; as, " That good man my father,'' or " My father the beft of men.") — About that time, this good man changed this for a better life, leaving to Sir Henry, as to his other younger fons, a rent-charge of an hundred marks a-year, to be paid for ever out of fome one of his manors of a much greater value. And here, though this good man be dead, yet I wifh a circumftance or two that concern him may not be buried without a relation, which I fhall undertake " The clafTic reader, and indeed every reader, will be highly gratified with this beautifuf paflage from Mr. Wotton's Lecture. Tx\a, fita, fxi)T£f iia.xafu.li SinTut t atieumit} n«»Tfo^£, 7rai/Ji;T«fa, TEAfjipsfE. OrPHEI.HyMN, ' alma liquentes " Humorum guttas Mater cum Terra recepit, " Foeta parit nitidas fruges, arbultaque laeta " Et genus humanum et parit omnia Isecla feranim, •' Pabiila cum piaebet, quibus omnes corpora pafcunt, " Et dulcera ducunt vitam, prolemque propagant, " Qiiapropter mcrito maternum nomen adepta 'ft." LuCRET. Lib. II. v. 991. " Quafi Sulftitia)is Herba, paulifper fui : " Repente exortus fura, repentino occidi." Plaut. Pskudol. In all languages the life of man has been compared to the flower that is foon withered, and pafleth away. » " Volo placere Philolachi, meo ocelh, meo patrono." (Plaut. Mofj. A. J. 5c, 3)— 11. 12^ THE LIFE OF undertake to do, for tliat I fuppofc, they may fo much concern the reader to know, that I may promifc myfclf a pardon for a fliort Uigreflion. IN the year of our redemption, 1553, NicTiolas Wotton, Dean of Can- terbury (whom I formerly mentioned), being then Ambaflador in France, dreamed that his nephew, this Thomas Wotton, was inchned to be a party in fuch a projedl, as, if he were not fuddenly prevented, would turn both to the lois of his life, and ruin of his family. Doubtlefs the good Dean did well know that common dreams are but a fenfelefs" paraphrafe on our waking thoughts, or of the bufmefs of the day paft, or are the refuk of our over-engaged affedlions, when we betake our- felves to reft ; and knew that the obfervation of them may turn to filly fuperftitions, as they too often do. But though he might know all this, and might alfo believe that prophecies are ceafed; yet, doubtlefs, he could not but confidcr, that all dreams are not to he negle£led or caft away without all confideration, and did therefore rather lay this dream afide, than intend totally to lofc it ; and dreaming the fame again the night following, when it became a double dream, like that of Pharaoh (of which double dreams the learned have made many obfervations), and confidering tliat it had no dependence on his waking thoughts, much lefs on the defires of his heart, then he did more ferloufly confidcr it ; and remembered that Almighty God was pleafed in a dream to reveal and to aftiirc Monica the mother of St. Auftin, " That he, her fon, for whom fhe wept fo bitterly, and prayed " fo much, fhould at.Iaft become a Chriftian''." This, I believe, the good Dean confidered ; and confidering alfo that Almighty God (though the caufes of dreams be often unknown) hath even in thefe latter rimes alfo, by a certain illumination of the foul in fleep, difcovered many things that human wifdom could not forefee : Upon thefe confiderations he refolved to ufe fo prudent a remedy, by way of prevention, as might introduce no great inconvenience either to himfelf or to his nephew. And to that end, he wrote to the Queen (it was C^ueen Mary), and befought her, " That "fhe » This dream is related by St. Auguftin in Ccfi/efietium, Lib. HI. c. ii. SIR HENRY WOTTON. 129 " (he would caufe his nephew, Thomas Wotton, to be fent for out of Kent j " and that the Lords of her Council rnight interrogate him in fome fuch " feigned queftions, as might give a colour for his commitment into a *' favourable prifon ; declaring that he would acquaint her Majefty with " the true reafon of his requeft, when he fhould next become fo happy " as to fee and fpeak to h^ Majefty''." It was done as the Dean deiired. And in prifon I muft leave Mr. Wot- ton, till I have told the reader what followed. At this time a marriage was concluded betwixt our Queen Mary, and Philip King of Spain. And though this was concluded with the advice, if not by the perfuafion, of her Privy Council, as having many proba« bilities of advantage to this nation ; yet divers perfons of a contrary perfua- fion did not only declare againft it, but alfo raifed forces to oppofe it •, believing (as they faid) it would be a means to bring England to be under a fubjedion to Spain', and make thofe of this nation flaves to ftrangers. And of this number Sir Thomas Wyat, of Boxley-Abbey in Kent (be- twixt whofe family, and the family of the Wottons, there had been an an- cient and entire friendfhip), was the principal adtor; who having perfua- ded many of the nobility and gentry (efpecially of Kent) to fide with him^ and he being defeated, and taken prifoner, was legally arraigned and con- demned, and loft his life : So did the Duke of Suffolk, and divers others ; Y efpecially "> This account feems to be confirmed by Speed. " Among many diflikers of the Queen's ** marriage, it chanced one for fome other offence to be committed to the Fleet, by the Councel, luho, " being an inward acquaintance of Sir Thomas Wyati's, ivas fuppofed by him to have revealed the " confpiracie, "whereupon he put himfelf in aclion, before the enterprize ivas altogether ripe." (Speed's Hyi. of Great Britain, p. 11 12.) The author of the "Account of the Deans of Canterbury," has ingenioufly conjeftured that this dream of the good Dean was a mere poHtical contrivance, the refult of deep deliberation, to preferve the life of his nephew, whofe intimacy with Sir Thomas Wyat would probably have induced him to engage in the confpiracy. See alfo Biogr. Brit, in the Article Wotton [[E]. ' It was generally fuppofed at this time, that, under the femblance of introducing the Romifti religion into England, the fecret defign of Philip was to fecure to himfelf the pof* feffion of the Imperial Crown of England, and to make the Engliih vaflals to the power of Spain. (Rennet's Hifl. of England, Vol. III. p. 339.) 3 30 THE LIFE OF efpecially many of the gentry of Kent, who were there hi fever al places executed as Wyat's afhftants'. And of this number, in all probability, had Mr. Wotton been, if he had not been confined. For, though he could not be ignorant that " Another " man's treafon makes it mine by concealing it," yet he durft confefs to his uncle, when he returned into England, and then came to vifit him in prifon, " That he had more than an intimation of Wyat's intentions," and thought he had not continued adtually innocent, if his uncle had not fo happily dreamed him into a prifon ; out of which place, when he was de- livered by the fame hand that caufcd his commitment, they both con- fidered the dream more ferioufly, and both then joined in praifmg God for it ; " That God, who ties himfelf to no rules, either in preventing of evil, *' or in {hewing of mercy to thofe whom of good pleafure he hath chofen « to loveV And ' Of this Rebellion fee " Kennet's complete Hiilory of England," vol. II. p. 340. The fol- lowing anecdote affords an example of loyalty and zeal at this time : " Ralph Rokeby, Serjeant .it the Common Law» and of the anticnt family of Rokeby, of •• Rokeby, near Greta-bridge, Yorkfliire, was fo eminent in his profeffion, that he refufcd the " ofRce of Lord Chief Juftice, when offered to him on the ceffion of Juftice Morgan, Sir *' Tho. Wiatt the rebell of Kent, againft King Philip, Q^Mary, and the Spaniards, being " noifed to be coming towards London, this Ralph Rokeby went to Weftminfter in his Scr- " jeant's robes to plead, and under them a good coat-armour, and hearing att Charing- ** Crofs, the near approach of the rebells, he haftned him to the Queen's Court at White- ** hall, ftrung and fetled an Archer of the Livery Guards' bow, that (lood there unflrung, " threw down the Serjeant's robes for that time, and went to the Gate-houfe to ferve there ** with a bow and a flieaf of arrows, and there tarried till the enemy yielded, and thus in the *' time of need he was ready to fight with his body for his Prince againfl rebells, on whom •' he had jurifdiclion in time of peace in the circuit of Northampton, Warwick, Coventre, ** Leceifter, Derby, Nottingham, Lincoln, and Rutland, to adjudge of their lives, lands, and *' goods, for there he was Jurtice of Albfc and Goale Delivery." (MS. Memoirs of the Jtokebys, in the pojfcjfion of Francis Smyth, Ej'q. of New-buildings, Torkjhire.) * This fentiment happily illuflrates the beneficence of Providence accomplifhing its gracious purpofes in a manner belt fuited to its own difpenfations, in promoting the happinefe of gool >ven. Sir henry wotton. 131 And this dream was the more confidcrable, becaufe that God, who in the days of old did ufe to fpeak to his people in vilions, did feem to fpeak to many of this family in dreams; of which I will alfo give the reader one fliort particular of this Thomas Wotton, whofe dream.s did ufually prove true, both in foretelling things to come, and difcovering things part : And the particular is this. This Thomas, a little before his death, dreamed that the Univerfity Treafury was robbed by tovvnfmenand poor fcholars"; and that the number was five ; and being that day to write to his fon Henry at Oxford, he thought it worth fo much pains, as by a poftfcript in his letter, to make a flight inquiry of it. The letter (which was writ out of Kent, and dated three days before) came to his fon's hands the very morn- ing after the night in which the robbery was committed; and when the city and univerfity were both in a perplexed inqueft of the thieves, then did Sir Henry Wotton iliew his father's letter, and by it fuch light was given of this work of darknefs, that the five guilty perfons were prefently difcovered and apprehended, without putting the univerfity to fo much trouble as the cafting of a figure*. And it may yet be more confidcrable, that this Nicholas and Thomas Wotton fhould both (being men of holy lives, of even tempers, and much given to fafting and prayer) forefee and foretel the very days of their own death. Nicholas did fo, being then feventy years of age, and in perfect health'. Thomas did the like in the fixty-fifth year of his age; who, being then in London (where he died), and forefeeing his death there, gave di- Y 2 redion ' Of the robbery here mentioned, no account whatever is recorded in the annals of the Univerfity. * Judicial Aftrology was much in ufe long after this time. Its predictions were received with reverential awe ; and men, even of the mofl enlightened underftandings, were inclined to believe that the conjunftions and oppofitions of the planets had no little influence in the affairs of the world. Even the excellent Jofeph Mede difdained not to apply himfelf to the ftudy of Aftrology. ' This is intimated in the infcription on his monument, erected in the Cathedral Church of Canterbury. " Hkc ille ante mortem et ante morbum quafi fatalem diem prasfentiens ct •• cygncam cantioncm prophetice canens fua manu in Mufseo fcripta reliquit." 132 THE LIFE OF re(3:ion in what manner his body fliould be carried to Boclon; and, though he thought his uncle Nicholas worthy of that noble monument which he built for him in the Cathedral Church of Canterbury, yet this humble man gave direction concerning himfelf, to be buried privately, and efpecially without any pomp at his funeral. This is fome account of this family, which feenicd to be beloved of God. BUT it may now feem more than time that I return to Sir Henry Wbt- ton at Oxford, where, after his optic lefture, he was taken into fuch a bofom friendlhip with the learned Albericus Gentilis* (whom I formerly named), that, if it had been poffible, Gentilis would have breathed all his excellent knowledge, both of the mathematics and law% into the breaft of his * This noted Civilian having left Italy along with his father, Matthew GentiliS) who had embraced the reformed religion^ came into England and died at London in 1608, aged 58 years. He publifhed three books, " De Jure Belli;" which proved very ufeful to Grotius, in his great work, " De Jure Belli et Pacis," and alfo a tradate " Dc Latinitate veteris Biblio- rum Verfionis," with other works. ( DiBiormiri: HiJIorique, isfc.J The following high encomium is given of him by Mr. Thomas Savile, in a letter to Mr. Camden. " Albericum primarium olim in Italia Judicem, ChriftianK Religionis ergo nunc in *' Anglii exulem, Oxonii ProfelTorem publicum, et tuo et meo nomine dignum, Virum re- *' peries non unum e Tricaffinis, fed ipfam Humanitatem, mcrura Candorem, alterum denique " Camd«num." (Camdeni Epijl.p. 8.) Bayle mentions with much difapprobation a method obfcrved by Albericus Genlilis, whofe eagernefs in the acquifition of knowledge impelled him to feek inftruction not lefs from con- verfation than from reading. This circumftance is noticed by himfelf. " Quid deOxonien- •' Cbus meis? Vel repertoria mea teftantur fatis quantum ego capiam frudlus ex eorum " virorum et juvcnum colloquiis, nam in illis ego defcripfi non pauca qua;, dum minus id '• ipfi cogitant, difco tamen et affervo ex fermonibus familiaribus." (Dial. HI. de Juris Suterp.p. 26. J • Civil Law. In fcveral parts of his writings he has frequent allufions to the procefles and pradices obferved in the ecclefiaftical courts^ " A Ubel, whofc fubltance cannot be changed " after it is once given into a civil or ecclefiaftical court, may in fome fort be declared or " amended before a replication be made thercuuto. A witnefs, &c." (Fre/aee to h'u Zupplt-- ment to the Hijlory of Ckri/lendom.J SIR HENRY WOTTON. 133 hrs dear Harry; for fo Gentiiis ufed to call him; And though he was not able to do that, yet there was in Sir Henry fuch a propenfity and con- naturalnefs to the Italian language and thofe ftudles whereof Gentiiis was a great mafter, that his friendfhip between them did daily incrcafe, and proved daily advanrageous to Sir Henry, for the improvement of him in feveral fciences, during his ftay in the univerfity: From which place, before I (hall invite the reader to follow him into a. foreign nation, though I muft omit to mention divers pcrfons that were then in Oxford, of memorable note for learning, and friends to Sir Henry Wotton, yet I mud not omit the mention of a love that was there begun betwixt him and Dr. Donne'', fometime Dean of St. Paul's, a man of whofe abilities I fhall forbear to fay any thing; bccaufe he who is of this nation, and pretends to learning or ingenuity, and is ignorant of Dr. Donne,, de- ferves not to know him. The friendflilp of thefe two I muft not omit to mention, being fuch a friendfhip as was generoully elemented; and as it was begun in their youth, and in an univerfity, and there maintained by cor- refpondent inclinations and fludies, fo it lafted till age and death forced a feparation. In Oxford he flayed till about two years after his father's death, at which time he was about the twenty-fecond year of his age: And having to his great wit added the ballaft of learning and knowledge of the arts, he then laid afide his books, and betqok himfelf to the ufeful library of travel, and a more general converfation with mankind ; employing the remaining part of his youth, his induftry, and fortune, to adorn his mind, and to pur- chafe the rich treafure of foreign knowledge: Of which, both for the fe- crets of Nature, the difpofitions of many nations, their feveral laws and languages, he was the poffeflbr in a very large meafure, as I fhall faithfully make *In Dr. Donne's letters, publiflied in 1651, are feveral addrefled " To the beft knight, SiE H. Wotton." Dr. Donne has thus exprefled his great regard for this his friend. " Whom free from German fcliifmes; and lightneflc " Of France and faire Italie's faitlileffnefTe, " Having from tliefe fuck'd all they had of worth, " And brought home that faith you carried forth: " I thoroughly love. (Dckkc'i Toms, 1653. f. 6j,) 134 "THE LIFE OF make to appear, before I lake my pen from the follo"wing narration of his life. In his travels, which was ahnofl: nine years' before his return into Eng- land, he flayed but one year in France, and moft of that in Geneva, where he became acquainted with Theodore Beza"* (then very aged) and with Ifaac Cafaubon', in whofe houfe (if I be rightly informed) Sir Henry Wotton was lodged, and there contracted a moft worthy friendlhip with that man of rare learning and ingenuity. Three ' Or radier, fix years. The ■a-rlters of the Blographia Brltannica explain the miftakc by fuppofing that the tail of the 9 fliould be turned upwards to make it 6. It appears from a letter to Lord Zouch, dated July 10, 1592, that he had been abroad three years. He probably returned in 1595, as' he was appointed Secretary to the Earl of EiTex, after his return, in 1596, vhen he was in the 27th or 28th year of his age. In his letters to the above nobleman he has given an entertaining account of his travels, under the difguife of a Dutchman, and particu- larly of his journey to Rome, where he diftinguifhed himfelf by wearing a large blue feather in a black hat. At Sienna he learned of Sciplo Alberti the maxim which he recommended to Milton, " Ifenfierijlretti et il v'lfo fcioltc." * Theodore Beza died at Geneva, Ocl. 13, 1605, ngcd 86 years. This learned foreigner encouraged the Puritans in England, and in 1566 wrote with much confidence to Bilhop Grindal in their behalf. Yet however attached he might be to the difcipline of his own church at Geneva, ajid he was very zealous for a Prefbyterian government, and by no means fo moderate as Calvin in that refpe£t, it appears from fcveral of his letters to Arclibifliop Whitgift, that he retained the highefl regard and veneration for the Church of England. His Biographer, Melchior Adam, has given this chara£ter of him. " Ingenio fummo, judicio " accurate, memoria tenaciffima, facundia fingulari, aftabilitate et comitate nulli fecundus, " adeo ut, propter, commemoratas dotes, adjunfta illis vitse longsevitate (quae tamen omnia " erant inferiorafummatloftrina et pktate)quidam vocarent Bezam atatis/ua Phoenicem." • " Here I am placed to my very great contentment in the houfe of Mr. Ifaac Cafaubon, a •* perfon of fober condition among tbe French, and this is all I can fignifie of myfelf, my •' little affairs not allowing me mudi to fpcak of." (Letter to my Lord Zouch, Aug. 22, 1593, Geneva.) This illuftrious fcholar, pronounced by Jofeph Scaligcr to be the befl Grecian of his time, was born at Geneva in 1559. He read lectures on the Belles Lettres, firft at his native place, ,2ud afterward at Paris. Henry IV. of France appointed him his Librarian, and in vain at- tempted SIR HENRY WOTTON. ^3S Three of the remaining eight years were fpent in Germany, the other five in Italy (the ftage on which God appointed he fhould ad: a great part of his life); where both in Rome', Venice, and Florence, he became ac- quainted with the moft eminent men for learning, and all manner of arts; as Piilure, Sculpture, Chymiftry, Architecture, and other manual arts, even arts of inferior nature ; of all which he was a moft dear lover, and a moft excellent judge. He tempted to withdraw him from his profefTion of the reformed religion. After the untimely death of that Monarch, having obtained permlffion from the Queen Regent of France to leave the kingdom for a limited time, he came in Odlobcr 1610, along witli Sir Henry Wotton into England, where he was received by James I. with marks of peculiar kiudnefs, rewarded with an annual penfion of three hundred pounds, and with' valuable church-preferment. He was efteemed not more for his learned works than for his fingular affability and moderation. He approved Epifcopacy. In his works he calls himfelf " Hortibonus," a good garden : Cafauy in the language of Dauphin?, fignifying a gprden, and bon good. It is well known that Ifaac Cafaubon and Grotius, extremely anxious to form an union between the Popifli and Pro- teftant churches, had communicated their fentiments to each other upon this matter with great freedom. Morton, Bifiiop of Durham, caufcd a momiment at his own expcncc to b» creeled to tke memory of this learned man. " Qui noffe vu!t Cafaubonum •• Non faxa fed chartas legat •• Superfuturas marmori " Et profuturas pofteris." When Lord Herbert of Cherbury went to Paris in the earlier period of his life, he wa», by the recommendation of tlie Englifh Ambaffador, received into the houfe of that incom- parable fcholar, Ifiac Cafaubon, by whofe learned converfation he much benefited him- felf. (Lifi of Lord Herbert, printed at Strawberry Hill, p. 6g.j * " The very feat and fink of all corruption, to which," as he writes In a letter to King James, " my wandering curiofity carried me no lefs than four times in my younger years, "where I fixed my fludies moft upon the hiftorical part in the politic managcmci: of r'i- *• ligion ; which I found plainly converted from a rule of confcicuce to nn inflrument of ftate^, ♦' and from the miftrefs of all fcicnces into the very handmaid of Ambition," T36 THE LIFE OF He returned out of Italy into England about the thirtieth year of his age, being then noted by many both for his pcrfon and comportment : For indeed he was of a choice fhape, tall of ftature, and of a moft perfuafive be- haviour ; which was fo mixed with fweet difcourfe and civilities, as^gaiired him much love from all pcrfons with whom he entered into an acquaint- ance. And whereas he was noted in his youth to have a fharp wit, and apt to jeft; that, by time, travel, and converfation, was fo poliflied, and made fo ufeful, that his company feemed to be one of the delights of mankind; in- fomuch as Robert Earl of EfTex' (then one of the <3arlings of Fortune, and in greateft favour with Queen Elizabeth) invited him firftinto a friend- fhip, and, after a knowledge of his great abilities, to be one of his Secre- taries, the other being Mr. Henry Cuffe", fometime of Merton College in Oxford ^ See Sir Henry "Wotton's " Parallel betwixt Robert Earl of Eflex and George T)ukc of Buckingham." ( Reliq. Wotton, p. 161.) ^Thls parallel was animadverted upon by Lord Clarendon. ' * The unfortunate Secretary of Robert Devereux, Earl of Eflex. He is generally fuppofcS to have advifed ihofe violent meafurcs which ended in the deftruftion of his noble patron. His charafter as a fcholar was eftabliflied by the tra£l, " De rebus geftis in fanclo Concilio .*' Nicoeno," a tranflation from Greek into Latin. He fufFered for the fame offence with his mafter. Sir Henry Wotton defcribes Cuffe as " A man of fecret ambitious ends of his own, " and of proportionate counfels, fmothered under the habit of a fcholar, and flubbered over *• with a certain rude and clownifh fafliion that had the femblance of integrity." (Reliq. Wotton. p. \Zo.) He is called by Camden, " Vir cxquifitiffima doQrind ingenioque acer- " rimo, fed turbido et tortuofo," Owen, the Epigrammatifl, wrote the following lines upon bim: ■ " Do(5Vus eras Grssce, felixque tibi fuit Alpha, " At fuit infclix Omega, Cufte, tuum." ' In the beginning 6f his account of " The State of Chriftendom," he pathetically laments his voluntary banifliment. " That day fliould have been more joyful unto me than the day of •*' my birth and nativity, wherein I might have feen a letter from any of my friends with " affurance of my pardon to call me home. But I find m^^'elf fo much inferior to Coriola- *' mis in good fortune, as I come behind him in manly valour, and other laudable qualities." Ti; TO s7if!o-Qai TrarpiJos n xaxon juiytC} SIR HENRY WOTTON. 137 Oxford (and there'alfo the acquaintance of Sir Henry Wotton in his youth) ; Mr. Cuffe being then a man of no common note in the univerfity for his learning, nor after his removal from that place, for the great abilities of his mind, nor indeed for the fatalnefs of his end. Sir Henry Wotton, being now taken into a ferviceable friendfhip with the Earl of Eflex, did perfonally attend his councils and employments in two voyages at fea againfl the Spaniards, and alfo in that (which was the Earl's laft) into Ireland : That voyage wherein he then did fo much pro- voke the Queen to anger, and worfe at his return into England ; upon whofe immoveable favour the Earl had built fuch fandy hopes, as encou- raged him to thofe undertakings ; which, with the help of a contrary fadlion, fuddenly caufed his commitment to the Tower. Sir Henry Wotton obferving this, though he was not of that fadion (for the Earl's followers were alfo divided into their feveral interefts) which encouraged the Earl to thofe undertakings which proved fo fatal to him and divers of his confederation ; yet knowing treafon to be fo comprehen- five, as to take in even circumftances, and out of them to make fuch pofi- tive conclufions as fubtle ftatefmen fhall J)rojedt, either for their revenge or fafety : Confidering this, he thought prevention by abfence out of Eng- land', a better fecurity than to ftay in it, and there plead his innocency in a prifon. Therefore did he, fo loon as the Earl was apprehended, very quickly, and as privately glide through Kent to Dover, without fo much as looking toward his native and beloved Bodlon ; and was by the help of favourable winds and liberal payment of the mariners, within fixteen hours after his departure from London, fet upon the French fhore ; where he heard fhortly after, that the Earl was arraigned, condemned, and beheaded; and that his friend Mr. Cuffe was hanged, and divers other perfons of emi- nent quality executed. The times did not look fo favourable upon Sir Henry Wotton, as to in- vite his return into England ; Having therefore procured of Sir Edward Wotton, his elder brother, an afllirance that his annuity Ihould be paid him in Italy, thither he went ; happily renewing his intermitted friendfliip and intereft, and indeed his great content in a new converfation with his old Z acquaintance ' See the cppcfite page for the note here ref erred to. 1 33 THE LIFE OF acqualiitance in that nation, and more paiticulaily in Bloicncc (which city is not more eminent for the Great Duke's Court, tlian for the great re- courfe of men of choiceft note for learning and arts), in which number lie there met with his old friend, Signior Vietta, a gentleman of Venice, and then taken to be Secretary to fhc Great Duke of Tuilany. After foine flay in Florence", he went, the fourth time, to vifit Rome; where in the Englifh college he had very many friends ^tlicir humanity made them really fo^ though they knew him to be a diflenter from many of their principles of religion), and having enjoyed their company, and fatisfied himfelf concerning fome curiofities that did partly occallon his journey thither, he returned back to Florence, where a mofl: notable acci- dent befell him: An accident that did not only find new employment for his choice abilities, but did introduce him to a knowledge and an interetl with our King James, then King of Scotland ; which I lliall proceed to rehite. But firft, I am to tell the reader, that though Queen Elizabeth (or ihe and her council) were never v.illing to declare her fucceflbr ; yet James, then King of the Scots, was confidently believed by moft to be the man upon whom the fweet trouble of kingly government would be impofed : And the Queen declining very faft, both by age and vifible infirmities, thofe that were of the Romiih pcrfuafion in point of religion (even Rome itfelf, aiul thofe of this nation,) knowing that the death of the Queen, and the eftablifliing ^ Hurc he compofcd his great work, "The State of Chriftendom ; or a mod Exa£l and Cu- rious Dil'covery of many Secret Paflages and Hidden Myfleries of the Times," 1657. foho. — A fecond edition appeared in 1677, with feveral additions. The defign of the Author feems to have been to ingratiate himfelf with Queen Elizabeth ; on the tranfaclions of whofe reign he expatiates in all the language of panegyric. That men of learning fliould fix their refidence at Florence we need not wonder, wlicn we rellecl that this city has been long celebrated for its many excellent libraries, and principally for the ducal palace, which contains the greatefl and moft valuable colleftion made hy one family, and within one roof, of ancient and modern fculpturc, paintings and curiofities of every kind, both natural and artlficicl. Yet Sir Henry Wotton has given a very unfavourable account of this place. " I live here in a Paradife inhabited by devils. Venice hath fcarce " heard of thofe vices whicli arc here pradlifcd. My heft commodity is the converfation of " certain gentlemen, and their vulgar very pure and corredt. So that here we have good " means to learn to fpeak well and to do ill." (Letter to Lord Zoiich, Florence, Jiaie 25, 1 592. _^ SIR HENRY VVOTTON. log ellablifhing of her fucceffbr, were taken to be critical days for deflroylriT or eftablifliing the Proteftant religion in this nation, did therefore improve all opportunities for preventing a Proteftant prince to fucceed her. And as the Pope's excommunication of Queen Elizabeth' had, both by ihe judgment and pradtice of the Jefuited Papift, expofed her to be warrantably deftroyed ; fo (if we may believe an angry adversary "", " a Secular Prieft againft a Jefuit,") you may believe, thai about that time there were many endeavours, firft to excommunicate, and then to fhorten the life of King James. Immediately after Sir Henry Wotton's return from Rome to Florence (which was about a year before the death of Qiieen Elizabeth), Ferdinand, Z 2 • the ' Pope Pius V. without any previous admonition or citation, had pafTed a private fentence of excommunication upon Queen Elizabeth ; which, in 1576, he caufed to be publilhed, and to be fixed upon the Bifhop of London's palace-gate. By this exertion of his authority, he depofed her from her kingdom, and enjoined all her fubjefts to throw off their allegiance to her. . This Bull was completely anfwered by a foreign divine, Henry Bullinger, a minifter of the Reformed Church at Zurich. On this Bull BifJiop Jewell addrefled his congregation in ani- mated language, telling them, — That he had read it and weighed it thoroughly, and found it to be a matter of great blafphemy againft God, and a practice to work much unquietnefs > fedition, and treafon againft our blefied ^nd profperous government: " For it depofed the " Queen's Majefty from her royal feat, and tore the crown from lier head. It difcharged all " her natural fubjetls from all due obedience. It armed one fide of them againft another. " It emboldened them to burn, to fpoil, to rob, to kill, to cut one another's throats • like *' Pandora's box fent to Epimetheus, full of hurtful and unwholefome evils." ( Byhop Jewell's Worh.) ■" William Watfon, a fecular prieft, compofed a book, \vTitten with great acrimony in the fcolaftic method ufually obfen-cd at that time, confifting of ten quodlibets; each of which is fubdivided into as many articles. It difclofeth the character and conduct of the Jefuitsj ex- hibiting in proper colours dieir arts of equivocation and mental refcr%'ation. Yet this man, fo acute in difcerning the errors of others, was hanged in 1603, for High Treafon, along with William Clark, a Popifti prieft, and George Brook, brother to Lord Cobham, in confpiring the death of James I. He had deceived his accomplices by inftrudling them, " That the " King, before his coronation, was not an actual but a political king, and therefore no treafou ".could be committed againft him." (See the State Trials.) I40 tTHE LIFE OF the Great Duke of Florence", had intercepted certain letters that difcovered a defign to take away the life of James the then King of Scots. The Duke abhorring the faft, and refolving to endeavour a prevention of it, advifed with his Secretary Victta, by vrhat means a caution might be befl: given to that king ; and after confideration, it was refolved to be done by Sir Henry Wotton, whom Vietta firft commended to the Duke, and tJie Duke had noted and approved of above all the Englifli that frequented his court. Sir Henry was gladly called by his friend Vietta to the Duke, who, after much profeflion of truft and friendfliip, acquainted him with the fecret ; and being well inftrucSled, dcfpatched him into Scotlatid with letters to the King, and, with thofe letters, fuch Italian antidotes againft poifon" as the Scots till then had been ftrangers to. Having parted from the Duke, he took up the name and language of an Italian ; and thinking it beft to avoid the line of Englilh intelligence and danger, he ported into Norway, and through that country towards Scotland, where he found the King at Stirling : Being there, he ufed means by Bernard Lindfcy, one of the King's bed-chamber, to procure him " Ferdinand I. of the houfe of Medici, who in 1589 fucceeded his brother Francis I. was educated for the church, and advanced to the dignity of a cardinal. He rcfigned his hat when he was 52 years of age. A wife and excellent prince, he applied himfelf to domeftic affairs and governed his fubjedls with great mildnefs. He died in 1609. His character is drawn by Sir Henry Wotton in the "Reliquix Wottonianx," p. 243. He is dcfcribed by a foreign hiftorian in thefe words : " Princeps animo excelfo, et omnibus, politicis artibus in " tantum inftruttus, ut in multis feculis vix xqualcm habuerit." " " This Duke," fays Sir Henry Wotton, in an addrefs to Charles I. " wJiile I was a pri- vate traveller in Florence, and went fomctime by chance (fure I am without any defign) to his court, was plcafed out of fomc gracious conceit which he took of my fidelity (for nothing elfe could move it), to employ me into Scotland, with a cafkct of antidotes and prefcrvatives (wherein he did excel all the princes of the world), and -with a defpatch of high and fecret importance, which he had intercepted touching feme practice upon the fucceffion to this crown ; fo as I am much obliged to his memory, though it was a painful journey, for that honour, and other favours and beneficences; and efpecially becaufe I came thereby firft into the notice of the king your father of ever blefled memory, when your Majcfty was but a blooming rofe." — (Reliq. Wottfii. p. 246.) SIR HENRY WOTTON. 141 him a fpeedy and private conference with his Majefty ; afluring him, " That " the bufmefs which he was to negociate was of fuch confequence, as had *' caufed the Great Duke of Tufcany to enjoin him fuddcnly to leave his " native country of Italy, to impart it to his king." This being by Bernard Lindfey made known to the King, the King, after a little wonder (mixed with jealoufy) to hear of an Italian ambaifa- dor or mclTenger, required his name (which was faid to be 0£lavio Baldi"), and appointed him to be heard privately at a fixed hour that evening. When Odavio Baldi came to the prefence-chamber door, he was re- quefted to lay afide his long rapier (which Italian-like he then wore), and being entered the chamber, he found there with the King three or four Scotch lords {landing diftant in feveral corners of the chamber, at the fight of whom he made a (land ; which the King obferving, " bade him " be bold, and deliver his meffage ; for he would undertake for the fecrecy " of all that were prefent.'' Then did Odlavio Baldi deliver his letters and his melliige to the King in Italian : which when the King had gracioufly received, after a little paufe, Odtavio Baldi fteps to the table, and whifpers to the King in his own language, that he was an Englifliman, befeeching him for a more private conference with his Majefty, and that he might be concealed during his ftay in that nation ; which was promifed, and really performed by the King during all his abode there, which was about three months : all which time was fpent with much pleafantnefs to the King, and with as much to Oftavio Baldi himfelf as that country could afford ; from which he departed as true an Italian as he came thither. To the Duke at Florence he returned with a fair and grateful account of his employment ; and within fome few months after his return, there came certain P In a letter to the king, dated Dec. 9, 1622, Sir Henry Wotton ftyles himfelf, " Tour Majefty's faithful vaffal, and long devoted poor fervant Oclavio Baldi." ( Rcliq. Wottoti. p. 24-.) And in a letter to Henry Prince of Wales, dated from Venice, April 14, 1608, he alludes to this circumflance of his life, calling himfelf " a poor counterfeit Italian." He probably aflumed this name out of regard to the memory of Barnardino Baldi, Abbot of Guaflalla, a great mafter in his favourite fcience of architecture, and quoted by him as a commentator on Ariftotle's Mechanics. 1^2 THE LIFE OF certain news to Florence, that Queen Elizabeth was dead, and James, King of the Scots, proclaimed King of England. The Duke knowing travel and bufmefs to be the beft fchools of wifdom, and that Sir Henry Wotton had been tutored in both, advifed him to return prefently to England, and there joy the King with his new and better title, and wait there upon Fortune- for a better employment. When King Ja' :!es came into England, he found, amongft other of the late Queen's officers, Sir Edward, who was, after Lord Wotton, Compt- roller of the Houfe, of whom he demanded, " If he knew one Henry *' Wotton, that had fpent much time in foreign travel ?" The lord replied, he knew him well, and that he was his brother : Then the King, afking ■where he then was, was anfwered, at Venice or Florence ; but by late letters from thence he underftood he would fuddenly be at Paris. " Send *' for him," faid the King; " and when he fhall come into England, bid " him repair privately to me." The Lord Wotton, after a little wonder, afkcd the King, " If he knew him?" to which the King anfwered, " You " mufl: rell unfatisfied of that till you bring the gentleman to me." Not many months after this difcourfe, the Lord Wotton brought his brother to attend the King, who took him in his arms, and bade him wel- come, by the name of 06lavio Baldi; faying he was the moft honefl, and therefore the beft diflembler that ever he met with : And faid, " Seeing I " know you neither want learning, travel, nor experience, and that I " have had fo real a teftimony of your faithfulnefs and abilities to manage *' an ambaflage, I have fent for you to declare my purpofe ; which is, to *' make ufe of you in that kind hereafter." And ifideed the/ King did fo moft of thofe two-and-twenty years of his reign ; but before he difmiffed Odavio Baldi from his prcfent attendance upon him, he rcftorcd him to his old name of Henry Wotton, by which he then knighted him''* Not long after this, the King having refolved, according to his motto " BE ATI PACiFici"' to have a friendfliip with his neighbour kingdoms of France ' James I. was as liberal in the dlftribution of honours, as his predeceflbr Queen Elizabeth •was fparing. In 1C03 he conferred knighthood on more than five hundred perfons. ' James I. heard with great pleafure the epfthet of the " pacific" monarch applied to him- felf. " I know not by what fortune the diBon of pacific was added to my title at my coming into SIR HENRY WOTTON. 143 France and Spain ; and alfo for divers weighty rcafons, to enter into an alliance with the ftate of Venice, and to that end to fend ambafTadors to thofe feveral places, did propofe the choice of thefe employments to Sir Henry Wotton ; who confidering the fmallnefs of his own eftate (which he never took care to augment), and knowing the courts of gixat princes to be fumptuous, and necelfarily expenfive, inclined moft to that of Venice, as being a place of more retirement, and beft fuiting with his genius, who did ever love to join with bufmcfs, ftudy, and a trial of natural experi- ments : for both which, fruitful Italy, that darling of Nature, and cheriflier of all arts, is fo juftly famed in all parts of the Chriftian world. Sir Henry having after fome fhort time and confideration refolved upon Venice, and a large allowance being appointed by the King for his voyage thither, and a fettled maintenance during his flay there, he left England', nobly accompanied through France to Venice by gentlemen of the befl families and breeding that this nation afforded : they were too many to name, but thefe two, for the following reafons, may not be omitted. Sir Albertus Morton his nephew, who went his fecreiary; and William' Bedel, a man of choice learning, and fandlified wifdom, who went his chaplain. And though his dear friend Dr. Donne (then a private gentleman) was not one of the number that did perfonally accompany him in this voyage, yet the reading of the following letter fent by him to Sir Henry Wotton, the morning before he- left England, may teftify he wanted not his friend's befl wiflies to attend him. LETTER. " into England, that of the /yon exprelTing true fortitude having been my di^o>i before : But I " am not afhanied of this addition; for King Solomon was a figure of Chrifl, in that, that " he was a King of Peace. The greatcft gift that our Saviour gave his apollles immediately " before his afcenfion was, that he left his peace with them, he himfelf having prayed for his " perfecutors and forgiven his own death, as the proverb is." (King Jameses ff^aris, p. 590.) • In 1604. 144 THE LIFE OF LETTER. After thofe reverend pnpers, whofe foul is Our good and great King's lov'd hand and fear'J name: By which to you he derives much of his, And how he may makes you almoft the fame ; A taper of his torch ; a copy writ From his original, and a fair beam Of the fmie warm and dazzling fun, though it Mud in another fphere his virtue ftream : After thofe learned papers which your hand Hath ftored with notes of ufe andpleafure too ; From which rich treafury you may command Fit matter whether you will write or do. After thofe loving papers which friends fend With glad grief to your feaward ftcps farewcJ, And thicken on you now, as prayers afcend To heaven on troops at a good man's pafhng-bell' : Admit this honeft paper ; and allow It fuch an audience as yourfelf would aflc ; What you would fay at Venice, this fays now. And has for nature what you have for talk. To fwcar much love ; nor to be chang'd before Honour alone will to your fortune fit ; Nor fhall I then honour your fortune more, Than I have done your honour-wanting-wit. But • The foul-bell was tolled before the departure of a perfon out of life, as a fignal for good men to offer up their prayers for the dfmg. Hence the abufe commenced of praying for the dead. " Aliquo mor'iente campan^e debent pulfari, ut populus hoc audiens oret pro illo." (Durandi Rationale.) SIR HENRY WOTTON. 145; But 'tis an eafier load (though both opprefs) To want, than govern greatnefs ; for we are. In that our own and only bufinefs i In this, we muft for others' vices care. 'Tis therefore well your fpirits now arc plac'd In their lafl furnace, in adlivity, "Which fits them : fchools, and courts, and wars o'er-paft To touch and tafte in any bed degree. For me ! (if there be fuch a thing as I) Fortune (if there be fuch a thing as flic) Finds that I bear fo well her tyranny. That flie thinks nothing elfe fo fit for me". But though flie part us, to hear my oft prayers For your increafe, God is as near me here : And, to fend you what I fliall beg, his ftairs In length and cafe aj:e alike every where. J. DONNE. Sir Henry Wotton was received by the State of Venice with much honour and gladnefs, both for that he deUvered his Ambafliige moft elegantly in the Italian language, and came alfo in fuch a juncture of time, as his matter's friendfhip feemed ufeful for that republic. The time of his com- ing thither was about the year 1604. Leonardo Donate being then Duke, a wife and refolved man, and to all purpofes fuch (Sir Henry Wotton would often fay it) as the State of Venice could not then have wanted, there having been formerly in the time of Pope Clement VIII. fome con- tefts about the privileges of churchmen, and the power of the civil ma- giflrate ; of which, for the information of common readers, I fliall fay a httle, becaufe it may give light to fome palfages that follow.. A a About " The author of thcfe lines was then ftruggling with poverty and domeftic diftrefs. 146 THE LIFE OF About the year 1603, the republic of Venice made feveral injundions agaiall lay perfons giving lands or goods to the church, without licence from fhe civil magiftrate"; and in that inhibition, they exprelTed their rea- fons to be, ' For that when any goods or land once came into the hands " of th:; ecci^^iaflics, it was not fubje£t to alienation, by reafon whereof *' (the ' ly piople being at theii ''cath charitabL even to excefs) the clergy *' g"'. every day more numerous, and pretended an exemption from all ** public fervice and taxes, and from all fecular jud^^ment ; fo that the bur- *' den grew thereby too heavy to be borne by the laity.'' Another occafiorj of difference wns, that about this time complaints were juftly made by the Venetians againfl: two clergymen, the Abbot of Nervefa, and a Canon of Vicenza, for committing fuch fins, as I think not lit to name: Nor aic thefe mentioned with an intent to fix afcandal upon any calling. For holinefs is not tied to ecclefiailical orders, and Italy is ob- ferved to breed the moft virtuous and moll vicious men of any nation. — Thefe two having been long complained of at Rome, in the name of the" State of Venice, and ho fatisfadtion being given to the Venetians, they feized the perfons of this abbot and canon, and committed theni to prifon. The juftice or injuflice of fuch, or the like power then ufcd by the Ve- netians, had formerly had foine calm debates betwixt the former Pope Clement VIII. and that republic": I fay calm, for he did not excommuni- cate them ; confidering, as I conceive, that in the late council of Trent it was at " Tiiey alfo made injurKflions " Againfl the unneccffliry iiicreafe of new churches, convents, *' and other religious buildings within their dominions," * Clement VIII. the admirer of Mr. Richard Hooker's vaR erudition was a munificent patron of learning, having promoted to the purple, Bcllarmine, Baronius, and many other emrnent fcholars. Sir Henry Wotton in a letter to Lord Zouch, from Florence, July 25, 1592, gives us the following anecdote of this Pope. " The Pope (Clement VIII.) in this laft general examina- " tion of the clergy In St. John Lateran hath depofed four,canonifts of that church, the one for *' having ' Plutarch's Lives' found on hio table, the reft for failing in declining of. nouns and *' verbs." He has drawn his character in another letter to the fame nobleman, Florence, May f, 1592I; and in a letter from Florence, July 27> 1592, he declares, that Clement had " la " fantita i SIR HENRY WOTTON. ^ 147 at laft (after many politic difturbances and delays, and endeavours to pre- ferve the Pope's prefent power) in order to a general reformation of thofe many errors, which were in time crept into the church, declared by the council, " That though difcipline, and efpecial excommunication, be one " of the chief fmews of church-government, and intended to keep men in " obedience to it ; for which end it was declared to be very profitable : "' Yet it was alfo declared, and advifed to be ufed with great fobriety and *' care ; becaufe experience had informed them, that when' it was pro- " nounced unadvifedly or rafhiy, it became more contemned than feared'." And, though this was the advice of that council at the conclufion of it, which was not many years before this quarrel with the Venetians, yet this prudent patient Pope Clement dying. Pope Paul V. who fucceedcd him (though not immediately, yet in the fame year), being a man of a much hotter temper, brought this difference with the Venetians to a much higher con- tention ; objecting thofe late afts of that State, to be a diminution of his juft, power, and limited a time of twenty-four days for their revocation ; threatening, if he were not obeyed, to proceed to the excommunication of the republic, who ftill offered to fhew both reafon and ancient cuftom to warrant their aftions. But this Pope, contrary to his predeceffor's modera- tion, required abfolute obedience wicl^out difputes. Thus it condnued for about a year : the Pope ftill threatening excom- munication, and the Venetians ftill anfwering him with fair fpeeches, and no compliance; till at laft the Pope's zeal to the Apoftolic fee did make him to excommunicate the Duke, the whole fenate, and all their domini- A a 2 ons : " f jiuita di Pio quarto, la prudentia di Gregorli Kill, et la fcverita di Sifto V."; Leo XI. the immediate fucceflbr of Clement VIII. died on the 29th day of his pontificate. Upon his death, Paul V. was advanced to the Papal dignity, in preference to two learned Antagonifts, Bellar- mlue and Baronius a pontiiFof a haughty, vindictive, and violent fpirit, who, as hath already been obferved, difgraced his character by an exprefs approbation of the dotlrineof SUAREZ the Jcfuit, in defence of " The Murder of Kings." 1 " "When it is denounced raflily for a fmall caufe." ( Hijlory of the Cotincil of Trent, iranjlaitd by Sir Nathaniel Brent, p. 754.) But fee Father Courayer's remark on tlus paflage in his ele- gant French verfiou. 14S THE LIFE OF ons ; and that done to flint up all tlicir churches : charging the whole clergy to forbear all facrcd ofEccs to the Venetians, till their obedience fliould render them capable of abfolution. But this aO. of the Pope's did but the more confirm the Venetians in their refolution not to obey him. And to that end, upon the hearing of the Pope's interdid, they prefently publiflxed, by found of trumpet, a pro- clamation to this cffedt : — " That whofoevcr hath received from Rome any copy of a papal inter- *' didt, piiblifl^ed there, as well againft the law of God as agaiuft the honour *' of this nation, fliall prefently render it to the Council of Ten upon pain " of death^ And made it lofs of^ftate and nobility but to fpeak in behalf " of the Jefuits." Then was Duado, their ambaffador, called home from Rome, and the In- quifition prefently fufpended by order of the (late : And the floodgates being thus fet open, any man that had a pleafant or fcofling wit might fafely vent it againft the pope, either by free fpeaking or by libels in print ; and both became very pleafant to the people. Matters thus heightened, the flate advifed with father Paul', a holy and learned friar, the author of*' The Hiftory of the Council of Trent," whofc advice was, " Neither to provoke the Pope, nor lofe their own right ;" he declaring publicly in print, in the name of the flate, " That the Pope was ** trufled to keep two keys, one of prudence and the other of power ; and *' that ^ The Venetians had at this time banifhed the Jefuits from their territories, becaufe they had rendered thcmfclvcs peculiarly obnoxious by their implicit adherence to the papal power. ' "We have already had occafion to name this venerable eccleiladic. The Hiftory of tlic Council of Trent was publiflied as the work of Pietro Soave Polano, the anagram of his name. His principal adverfarics in the Venetian caufe were Bellarminc and Caronius, the two great champions of their church. It was faid of Father Paul, that " He not only knew more than " other men, but that he knew better;" and that *' he feemed to have wifdom by habit." Attempts have been recently made by fome modern writers timong the high Catholics, as they are denominated, to depreciate the fame and invalidate the authority of this great man. Thefe attempts are vain. His works will be held in veneration lonj after the names of his adverfa* ties are funk into oblivion. SIR HENRY WOTTON. 145 '• that if they ^vere not both ufed together, power alone Is not effedual in " an excommunication." And thus thcfc difcontents and oppofitions continued, till a report ■was blown abroad that the Venetians were all turned Proteflants ; which was believed by many : for tliat it was obferved that the Englilh ambaf- fador was fo often in conference with the fenate ; and his chaplain, Mr. Bedel'', more often with Father Paul, whom the people did not take to be his friend : And alfo, for that the republic of Venice was known to give tommiflion to Gregory Juftiniano, then their ambaflador in England, to make all thefe proceedings known to the King of England, and to crave a promifc of his affiilance, if need fhould require ; and In the mean time they required the King's advice and judgment; which was the fame that he gave to Pope Clement, at his hrft coming to the crown of England — (that pope then moving him to an union with the Roman church); — namely, " To " endeavour the calling of a free council for the fettlement of peace in Chri- " ftendom ; and that he doubted not but that the French king, and divers *' other princes, would join to afFift in fo good a v^oik; and in the mean time " the fin of this breach, both with his and the Venetian dominions, muft *' of neceffity lie at the Pope's door." In tliis contention, which lafted almoft two years, the Pope grew ftlU higher, and the Venetians more and more refolved and carelefs ; ftill ac- quainting King James with their proceedings, which was done by the help of Sir Henry Wotton, Mr. Bedel, and Padre Paulo, whom the Venetians did then call to be one of their confulters of ftate, and vvnth his pen to de- fend their juft caufe : Which was by him fo performed, that the Pope iiiw plainly he had weakened his power by exceeding It, and offered the Ve- netians abfolution upon very eafy terms ; which the Venetians ftlU flight- ing, did at laft obtain by that which was fcarce fo much as a fliew of ac- knowledging it. For they made an order, that In that day in which they were •* Afterward Bifl-.op of Kllmore, in Irelandi liuring his refklence at Venice for eiglit years, he contraifted an intimate acquaintance with Father Paul, who taught him the Italian language, and who was much afHicled when Mr. Bedel returned to England, to whom at his departure he prefcnted his pifture, the MSS. of his HiPtory of the Council of Trent, his Hiflory of the InterditT: and Inquifition, with other literary doiiationsj I.O THE LIFE OF were abfolved, there fliould be no public rejoicing, nor any bonfires that night, left the common people might judge that they defired an abfolution, or were abfolved for committing a fault"". Thefe contcfts were the occalion of Padre Paulo's knowledge and intcreft with King James ; for whofe fake principally Padre Paulo compiled that eminent hiftory of the remarkable council of Trent ; which hillory was, as faft as it was written, feat in feveral fheets in letters by Sir Henry Wot- ton, Mr. Bedel, and others, unto King James and the then Biihop of Can- terbury, into England ; and there tirft made public both in Englifh and in the univerfal language. For eight years after Sir Henry Wotton's going into Italy, he ftood fair and highly valued in the King's opinion, but at laft became much clouded by an accident which I fhall proceed to relate. At his firft going ambalfador into Italy, as he pafled through Germany, he ftayed fome days at Augufta, where having been, in his former travels, well known by many of the heft note for learning and ingenioulnefs (thofe that are efteemed the virtuofi of that nation) with whom he, pafling an even- ing in merriments, was requefted by Chriftopher Flecamore to write fome fentence in his Albo i,a book of white paper which the German gentry •fually carry about them for that purpofe) ; and Sir Henry Wotton, con- fenting to the motion, took an occafion, from fome accidental difcourfe of the ' King James had w-ritten " A Premonition to all Chriftian Princes and States," in the Latin language. Sir Henry Wotton is much csnfured for having delayed to prcfent it to the Senate of Venice, as there was no doubt but that it would have tended much to feparate them entirely from the papal power. It was his intention to have produced it on St. James's day. Before that day came, the difTerencc between the Pope and the ReJDublic was made up ; fo that when he had his audience, all the anfwer he got was, " That they thanked the King of " England for his good will, but that they were now reconciled to the Pope, and that there- " fore they were rcfolved ndt to admit any change in their religion, according to their agree- " ment with the court of Rome." — [Burnefs Life of Bedel, p. ly, 14.) — It mull be remembered that the above account is exprefsly contradicled by Dr. Hickcs, who aflerts, that the King's book, of which Bifliop Burnet fpeaks, was not then extant. " The Pope and the Venetians •' were reconciled in Aprili6o7, and the King's Premonition came not out till 1609." SIR HENRY WOTTON. 151 the prerent company, to write a pleafant definition of an ambafTador, in tliefc very words : " Legatus efl vir bonus pcrcgre mifTus ad mentiendum reipublicsc caufa." Which Sir Henry Wotton could have been content fhould have beea thus Englifhed : " An ambaflador is an honefl; man, fent to lie abroad for the good of his country." But the word for He, being the hinge upon which the conceit w^as to turn, was not fo exprefled in Latin, as would admit (in the hands of an enemy efpecially) fo fair a conftruftion as Sir Henry thought in Englifh''. Yet as it was, it flept quietly among other fentences in this Albo, almoft eight years, till by accident it fell into the hands of Jafper Scioppius% a Ro- manift, a man of a reftlefs fpirit and a malicious pen; who, with books againll * This paflage reminds m© of a juvenile epigram written by Dr. Donne : " A LAME BEGGAR. " I am unable, yonder beggar ciies, " To ftand or move j if he fay true, he lies. ' A perfon much celebrated for his intenfe application to ftudy, the quicknefs of his parts, his memory, his eloquence, and the multitude of books which he compofed. His great qua- lities were debafed by a want of probity and moderation. He was born at Neumark, in the higher palatinate, in 1576. On reading the Annals of Cardinal Baronius, he abjured the Pro- teftant religion in 1599, and was admitted into the community of the Church of Rome. He wrote with much afperity of language againfl the Jefuits, againll Jofeph Scaliger, Cafaubon, and other learned men, not fparing even Cicero and the beft writers of antiquity. He attacked James I. of England. To truth he paid little regard, being more inclined to calumniate his adverfary, by the mod difgraceful«arts of defamation, than to refute him by juft and folid rea- foning. The very titles of his books dlfcover the acrimony of his temper. " Scorpiacum five " temedium contra Proteflantium hierefes ex ipforum fcriptis petitum, adverfum Jacobum " Regem Britannise Magnet," 1612. — " Collyrium regium Britannia; Regi graviter ex oculis *' laboranti muneri mitTum, 161 1." His writings excited fuch refeiitment againil him that he was alarm'=d for his perfonal fafety, and fled to Padua, where he died in 1649. — \_Dinionnaire Hifloriqiu-^. — In the prologue to " Ignoramus," fpoken before James I. at Cambridge, May 6, 1615, Scioppius is ccnfured with great fevcrity of language for his treatment of Sir Henry Wotton. !52 THE LIFE OF againft King James, prints this as a principle of that religion profcfTed by the King, and his ambafliidor Sir Henry Wotton, then at Venice : and in Venice it was prcfently after written in feveral glafs-windows, and fpite- fully declared to be Sir Henry Wotton's. This coming to the knowledge of King James, he apprehended it to be fuch an overfight, fuch a weaknefs, or worfe, in Sir Henry Wotton, as caufed the King to exprefs much wrath againft him ; and this caufcd Sir Henry Wotton to write two Apologies, one to Velfcrus^ (one of the Chiefs of Augufta) in the univerfal language, which he caufed to be printed, and given and fcattered in the moft remarkable places both of Germany and Italy, as an antidote^ againft the venomous books of Scioppius ; and ano- ther Apology to King James: Which were both fo ingenious, fo clear, and fo choicely eloquent, that his Majefty (who was a pure judge of it) could not forbear, at the receipt thereof, to declare publicly, that " Sir Henry *' Wotton had commuted fufhciently for a greater offence''.'' And now, as broken bones, well fet, become ftronger ; fo Sir Henry Wotton did not only recover, but was much more confirmed in his Ma- jefty's eftimation and favour than formerly he had been. And as that man of great wit and ufeful fancy (his friend Dr. Donne) gave in a will of his, (a will of conceits) his reputation to his friends, and his induftry to his foes, becaufe from thence he received both : So thofe friends, f Mark VelL-r, or Welfer, was born at Aufburg, June 20, 1558, of a noble and ancient German family. He purfued his ftudies at Rome under the celebrated Muretus, and upon his return into his native city, having acquired great reputation at the bar, became one of its firft magiilrates, and was very learned himfelf, and a great patron of learned men. ( Dic- t'wnaire Hi/loriqite, 1777.) s In this letter, written with truly claflic elegance, Scioppius is treated with a harfhnefs, which, though probably deferved by him, does not pcrfcclly quadrate with the charafler of a fcholar. " Cum famelicus, transfuga, & Romanx Curix lutulentus circulator fcriptitat " folum ut prandere poflit ; cum femico^us grammaticafter, &c. 5cc." '' After his firft return from Venice he remained without any employment for five years. It may be inferred from a letter to Sir Edmund Bacon, dated June 8, 1614, and printed in the " ReliquiK Wottonianx," p. 431. that Sir Henry Wotton was at that time a member of the Houfe of Commons. SIR HENRY WOTTON-. 153 that in this time of trial laboured to excufe this facetious freedom of Sir Henry Wotton's were to him more dear, and by him more highly valued. And thofe acquaintance, that urged this as an advantage againft him, caufed him by this error to grow both more wife, and (which is the bed fruit error can bring forth), for the future, to become more indullrioufly watchful over his tongue and pen'. I have told you a part of his employment in Italy; where, notwithftand- ing the death of his favourer, the Duke Leonardo Donato, who had an undiflembled affe£lion for him, and the malicious accufation of Scioppius; yet his intereft, as though it had been an intailed love, was ftill found to live and increafe in all the fucceeding dukes, during his employment to that ftate, which was almoft twenty years: all which time he ftudied the difpofitions of thofe dukes, and the other confulters of ftate ; well knowing that he who negociates a continued bufmefs, and neglefts the ftudy of difpofitions, ufually fails in his propofed ends. But in this Sir Henry Wotton did not fail ; for by a fine forting of fit prefents, curious and not coftly entertainments, always fweetened by various and plealant difcourfe — with which, and his choice application of ftories, and his elegant delivery of all thefe, even in their Italian language, he firft got, and ftill preferved, fuch intereft in the ftate of Vtnice, that it was obferved (fuch was either ~ his merit or his modefty) they never denied him any requeft. Bb But ' The meaning of this obfcure pafllige may probably be elucidated by the following para- Iihrafi-. " And as Sir Henry Wotton's friend, Dr. Donne, gave in a will of his (a ^will *' replete with facetioufuefs) his reputation to his friends, and his induflry to his foes; becaufe " from thence (that is, from them, from his friends and foes), he received both, namely, " reputation from his friends, and induflry from his foes ; fo thofe friends, who in this time " of trial laboured to excufe this inftance of Sir Henry Wotton's facetious freedom, became " more dear to Sir Henry, and by him more highly valued, and thofe acquaintance, who " cenfured him for the fcntence which he had infertcd in the Album, malignantly urged that " circumftance to his difadvantage, by fuch enmity taught him wifdom, caufed him by this *' error or indifcretion to grow more wife ; and, which is the beft fruit error can bring forth, , " for the future to become more indufhioufly watchful over his tongue and pen." Whether I am praifed or blamed, fays a Chinefe fage, I make it of ufe to my advancement in virtue. Thofe who commend me I conceive to point out the way I ought to go ; thofe ■ Ivho blame me, as telling me the dangers I have run. •154- THE LIFE OF But all this flicws but his abilities and his fitnefs for that employment; It will therefore be needful to tell the reader, what ufe he made of that interefl which thefe procured him. And that indeed was rather to oblige others than to enrich himfelf ; he ftill endeavouring that the reputation of the Englifli might be maintained, both in the German Empire and in Italy : where many gentlemen, whom travel had invited into that nation, received from him cheerful entertainments, advice for their behaviour ; and by his intereft, fhelter or deliverance from thofe accidental ftorms of adverfity which ufually attend upon travel. And becaufe thefe things may appear to the reader to be but generals, I fliall acquaint him with two particular examples ; one of his merciful difpofition, and one of the noblenefs of his mind; which fhall follow. There had been many Englifl\ foldiers brought by commanders of their own country to ferve the Venetians for pay againft the Turks : And thofe Englifli having by irregularities or improvidence brought themfelves into feveral galleys and prifons, Sir Henry Wotton became a petitioner to that ftate for their lives and enlargement ; and his requeft was granted : fo that thofe (which were many hundreds, and there made the fad examples of human mifery, by hard imprifonment and unpitied poverty in a ftrange nation) were by his means relcafed, relieved, and in a comfortable condition fent to thank God and him for their lives and liberty in their own country. And this I have obferved as one teftimony of the compaffionate nature of him, who was, during his flay in thofe parts, as a city of refuge for the diftrelfed of this and other nations. And for that which I offer as a teftimony of the noblenefs of his mind, I fhall make way to the reader's clearer underftanding of it, by telling him, that befide feveral other foreign employments^. Sir Elenry Wotton was fent thrice Ambaffador to the Republic of Venice'. And at his laft going thither he was employed Ambaffador to feveral of the German princes, and more particularly to the Emperor Ferdinando II.; and that his employment " In 1615 he was Ambaflador to the United Provinces ( Reliq. Wcttoii. p. 428.) ' In 1604, 161 1;, and 1621. SIR HENRY WOTTON. 155 employment to him, and thofe princes, was to incline them to equitable conditions, for the reftoration of the Queen of Bohemia, and her defcen- dants, to their patrimonial inh.eritance of the Palatinate. This was by his eight months' conftant endeavours and attendance upon the Emperor, his court and council, brought to a probability of a fuc- cefsful conclufion without bloodflied. But there was at that time two oppofite armies in the field, and as they were treating, there was a battle fought"; in the managery whereof, there v/ere fo many miferable errors on the one fide — (fo Sir Henry Wotton expreffes it in a defpatch to the King), — and fo advantageous events to the Emperor, as put an end to all prefent hopes of a fuccefsful treaty. So that Sir Henry, feeing the face of a peace altered by that vidlory, prepared for a removal from that court ; and at his departure from the Emperor, was fo bold as to remember him, " That the events of every battle move on the unfeen wheels of " Fortune, which are this moment up, and down the next; and therefore " humbly advifed him to ufe his vidtory fo foberly, as ftill to put on " thoughts of peace." Which advice, though it feemed to be fpoken with fome paffion (his dear miftrefs the Queen of Bohemia" being concerned in B b 2 it), "" The fatal. battle near Prague in November 1620, when the Prince of Anhault, General to the King of Bohemia, was, with his whole army, totally defeated. " The following verfes were wrote by Sir Henry Wotton " on his Miftrefs, the Qiieen ci *' Bohemia :" ♦' You meaner beauties of the night, " Tliat poorly fatisfy our ejes " More by your number than your light, " You common people of the Ikies, ^ " What are you when the fun fliall rife ? " You curious chanters of the wood, " That warble forth dame Nature's lays, " Thinking your voices underftood '< By your weak accents; what's your praife, " When Pbilamel her voice fliall raife ? •' Vou -violets that firft appear, " By yoVLT pure purple mantles known, " Like the proud -virgins of ihejear, " As if the/pring were all your own, " What are you when the ro/e is blo-ivn? 156 THE LIFE OF it), was yet taken in good part by the Emperor, \vho replied, " That he *' would coniider his advice. And though he looked on the King his " mafter as an abettor of his enemy the, Paulfgrave ; yet, for Sir Henry " himfelf, his behaviour had been fuch during the manage of the treaty, " that he took him to be a perfon of mueh honour and merit, and did " therefore defire him to accept of that jewel, as a teftimony of his good " opinion of him :" Which was a jewel of diamonds of more value than a thouHind pounds. This jewel was received with all outward circumftances and terms of honour by Sir Henry Wotton. But the next morning, at his departing from Vienna, he, at his taking leave of the Countefs of Sabrina, an Italian lady, in whofe houfc the Emperor had appointed him to be lodged and honourably entertained, acknowledged her merits, and befought her to accept of that jewel, as a tellimony of his gratitude for her civilities ; prcfent- ing her with the fame that was given him by the Emperor. Which being fuddenly difcovered, and told to the Emperor, was by him taken for a high affront, and Sir Henry Wotton told fo by a mellenger. To which he replied, " that though he received it with thankfulnefs, yet he found in *' himfelf an indifpoiition to be the better for any gift that came from an *' enemy to his Royal Miftrefs, the Queen of Bohemia j" for fo flie was pleafed he fhould always call her. Many other of his ferviccs to his prince and this nation might be infifted upon; as namely, his procurations of privileges and courtelies with the German princes and the republic of Venice, for the Englifli merchants ; and what he did by diredion of King James with the Venetian State, concerning the Bilhop of Spalato's" return to the Church of Rome. But for " So, when my mifrefs fliall be feen, " In form and beauty of her mind, " By virtue firft, tlien choice a S^ueeii, " Tell me, \i Jhe were not defign'd " The eclipfc- and ^tory of her kind." II. W. ' Marcus Anloniuo tie Dominls, Archbifliop of Spalato in tlie territory of Venice, to whom we are obliged for tlie introduction of the celebrated " Hiftory of the Council of Trent" into this kingdom. Having abandoned the religion in which he was educated, he came into England SIR- HENRY WOTTON. ij- the particulars of thefe, and many more that I meant to make known, I want a view of fome papers that might inform me, (his late Majefty's letter- England in the beginning of the reign of James I. and continued there to the year 1622. The Univerfity of Cambridge, at their commencement in 161 7, paid the mofl flattering attention to him, while he experienced many fignal inftances of kindnefs from the King. Yet the ficklenefs of his difpofition, and, as fome have affirmed, his vanity and avarice, fooii loll him all credit. Upon the promotion of Gregory XV. his friend and relation, to the Popedom, he was artfully perfuadcd by Gondamar, the Spanifli Ambaflador, to return to Rome, where he publicly renounced his errors, and M'as again admitted into the bofom of the church. He is faid alfo to have left England with a view to convoke a general council, having entertained hopes of compofing matters of religion by fuch a meafure. The Pope at firfl treated him with refpeft : He was liowever foon delivered to the Inquifition, and imprifoned in the Caftle of Angclo, on fufpicion of herefy ; and it is fuggefted that he was there poifoned. Different accounts indeed are given of the miferable exit of this irrefolute man on his return to Rome ; yet moft writers agree, that by an order of the Inquifition he was declared to be a vclapfed heretic, and that, after his death, his body was publicly burnt. "In 1617 the Archbifliop of Spalato, a convert, came into England, and preached, wrote, " and railed againfl Rome, untill he was made Dean of Windfor, and Mailer of the Savoy : " Afterward he returned to Rome, and recanted there; as bitterly reproaching the Proteftant " dodrine, as here he had extolled it : And his end was in a prifon." (TVelivood's Alemoria/s, Sec. p. 296.) He hurt the caufe of Rome more by his pen, than by the defedion of his perfon : His learned books entitled, " De Republica Ecclefiaftica" being Rill unanfwered. Of the zeal which he once difplayed againfl Popery, we may form fome opinion from the flory related by Lord Bacon. BiOiop Andrews being afked at the firfl coming over of the Archbifliop of Spalato, whether he was a Proteftant or no .'' anfwered, " Truly I know not; but I think he is " Detejlant, viz. of moft of the opinions of Rome." And in a print of this prelate engraved by Sparke, is an infcription, exprefTive of his flrong averfion to the dodrines of that church wh'ch he had abjured. " Welcome, grave primate, from th' erroneous Iioldc •< Of Romilh Babel into Chrift his folde -. " Thy learned workes the beaft (hall deadly wound, " Confute his errors, and his pride confound. " Therefore converted (under Faith's defender) " Strengthen thy brethren, and confirm the tender." Bifliop Burnet in his " Life of Bedel" has obferved, that De Dominis was utterly ignorant of tlie Greek Tongue, and that Mr. Bedel, when Chaplain to Sir Henr)- Wotton at Venice, corredeil ijS THE LIFE OF letter-ofEce liaving now fufFered a ftrange alienation), and indeed I want time too; for the prifiter's prel's ftays for what is written: fo that I muft hafte to bring Sir Henry Wotton in an inflant from Venice to London ; leaving the reader to make up what is defective in this phice, by the fmall fupplement of the infcription under his arms, which he left at all thofe houfes where he refted, or lodged, when he returned from his laft Embafly into England. *' Henricus Wottonius Anglo-Cantianus, ThomcE optimi viri filius natu " minimus, a foreniffimo Jacobo L Mag. Brit. Rege, in equeftrem titulum " adfcitus, ejufdemque ter ad rempublicam Venetam Legatus Ordinarius, " femel ad confoederatarum provinciarum ordines in Juliacenh negotio. *' Bis ad Carolum Emanuel, Sabaudia; Ducem ; femel ad unitos fuperioris *' Germanise principes in Conventu Heilbrunenfi, poftremo ad Archidu- " cem Leopoldum, Ducem Wittembergenfem, civitates imperiales, Argen- *' tinam, Ulmamque, et ipfum Romanorum Imperatorem Ferdinandum " Secundum, Legatus Extraordinarus, tandem hoc didicit, " Animas fieri fapientiorcs quiefccndo." To London he came the year before King James died; who having, for the reward of his foreign fervice, promifed him the reverfion of an office which was lit to be turned into prefent money, which he wanted, for a fupply of his prefent neceffities, and alfo granted him the reverfion of the Mafter of the Rolls place, if he outlived charitable Sir Julius Csefar '', who then corre(n:ed many ill applications of texts of fcripture and quotations of fathers, in his work, " De Rcpublica Ecclefiaftica. It fhould never be forgotten that he acquired confulerable reputation in the philofophical world, by his explanation of the phenomena of the rainbow, In his book, " De Radiis Vifus et Lucis." •> Sir Julius Cxfar, alias Adelmare, the eldeft fon of Csefar Dalmarius, an Italian phyfician to Queen Mary and to Queen Elizabeth. His bounty was fo extenfive, that he might be called " The Almoner General of the Nation." lie printed a catalogue of the books, parchments. SIR HENRY WOTTON. 159 then poflefied it, and then grown fo old that he was faid to be kept alive beyond Nature's courfe by the prayers of thofe many poor which he daily relieved. But thefe were but in hope, and his condition required a prefent fupport : For in the beginning ofthel'c employments he fold to his elder brother, the Lord Wotton, the rent-charge left by his good father, and, which is worfe, was now at his return indebted to feveral perfons, whom he was not able to flitisfy but by the King's payment of his arrears due for his foreign em^ ploynients. He had brought into England many fervants, of which fome were German and Italian artifts ; this was part of his condition, who had many times hardly fufficient to fupply the cccafions of the day : For it may by no means be faid of his providence, as himfelf faid of Sir Philip Sidney's wit, " That it was the very meafure of congruity," he being al- ways fo carelcfs of money, as though our Saviour's words " Care not for " to-morrow" were to be literally underftood. But it pleafed the God of Providence that in this juncture of time the provoftfliip of his Majefty's college of Eton'' became void by the death of Mr. Thomas Murray", for which there were (as the place deferved) many ear- neft parchments, and papers belonging to the Court of Requefts, in quarto, of fingular ufe to an- tiquaries, but now ahnofl: as fcarce as tlie MSS. themfelves. (Peck's Defid. Cur. lib. xW. p. 17.) " It %vas not," fays Lloyd in his State Worthies, p. 93;, " without a profperous omen tliat " his chief houfe in Hertfordflaire was called Benington, that is vi/L: benigna, as one author " will have it, or as another, villa baieficii, the Town of Good Turns, from the river fo named " running by it." This venerable lawyer died April 28, 1639, in the 79th year of his age. He lies buried in great St. Helen's church, London, under a monument, having an infcription in the form of a deed with a feal to it, importing " That he was willing to pay his debt to nature whenever « God pleafed." ( Biogr. Brit.) ■i Archbilhop Laud, in the account of his province of Canterbury, fent to the King for the year 1624, gives this honourable teftimony to Sir Henry Wotton's condu<£l in the govern- ment of liis college :' — " For Eaton college within that diocefe (of Lincoln), I do not find but " th.^t tlic provolt, Sir Henry Wotton, hath carried himfelf vcrj' worthily." ' The fuccefTor of Sir Henry Savile in the provoftfliip of Eton college. He was a native of Scotland, tutor and fecretary to Prince Charles. His zeal in oppofing the marriage of tJie Prince with the Infanta of Spain, occafioned his iniprifonmcnt for fome time, along with Dr. George i6o THE LIFE OF nefl: and powerful fuitors' to the King. And Sir Henry, who had fcr many years (like Sifyphus) rolled the relllel's ftone of a ftate employment, knowing experimentally that the great blefling of fwcet content was not to be found in multitudes of men or bufinefs, and that a college was the fitteft place to nourifli holy thoughts and to afford reft both to his body and mind, which his age (being now almoft threefcore years) feemed to require, did therefore ufe his own and the intereft of all his friends to procure that place. By which means, and quitting the King of his promifcd reverfionary oflices, and a piece of honeft policy (which I have not time to relate) he got a grant' of it from his Majefty. And George Hackwell, Archdeacon of Surry, die author of " A Difcourfe againfl; the Spanifli *• Match." He died April i, 1623. In the Cabala is a letter from Williams, Bifhop of Lin- coln, on tlie appointment of Murray to the ProvolHhip of Eton. In this letter he complains of " The difpenfation given to him, who was a mere layman, to hold a place which was a " living witli cure of fouls," and hints a fufpicion of his being averfe to the church govern- ment, as eftabliflied in England. ' Among other unfuccefsful candidates at this time was the great Lord Bacon, as appears from a letter written by him to Mr. Secretary Conway, dated Grey's-Inn, March 25, 1623. And Dr. Birch has given the following extradl from an unpubliflied letter of the Lord Keeper Williams to the Marquis of Buckingham, dated April 1 1, 1623. " Mr. Murray, the Provoft of " Eton, is now dead : The place flayed by the fellows and myfelf, until your lordfliip's plca- " fure be known. Whomfoever your Lordfliip fliall name I fliall like of, though it be Sir " William Becker, though this provoflfliip never defcended fo low. The King named unto " me yeilerday morning Sir Albertus Morton, Sir Dudley Carlton, and Sir Robert Ayton, our " late Queen's Secretary. But m my opinion, though he named him lad, his Majefty inclined " to this Ayton moft. It will reft wholly upon your lordfhip to name the man. It is fome- '• what necefTary he be a good fcholar, but more that he be a good hufband, and a careful " manager, and a flayed man, which no man can be tliat is fo much indebted as the Lord St. " Albans." (Bacoti's Works, vol. \i\. p. 636.) ' He was inftituted to the provoftfliip July 26, 1624, having obtained the appointment by furrendering a grant of the reverGon of the Mafterfliip of the Rolls, and of another ofHce. The value of this preferment in the reign of Henry VIII. is known from the following ftory : Sir Thomas Wyat one day told the King, that he had found out a living of one hundred pounds in the year more than enough, and prayed him to beftow it on him. " Truly," faid the King, " We have no fuch in England." " Yes, Sir," faid Sir Thomas, " The Provoftfliip of Eton, " where a man has his diet, his lodging, his horfe-meat, his fervants' wages, his riding charges, *' and a lool. per annum befidcs." (Lloyd's State }Fort}:ies, p. 79.) SIR HENRY WOTTON. i6r And this was a fair fatisfa£tion to his mind : But money was wanting" to furniih him with thofe necefTaries which attend removes and a fettlement in fuch a place ; and to procure that, he wrote to his old friend Mr. Nicholas Pey" for his afliftance. Of which Nicholas Pey I fhall here fay a little for the clearing of fome pafTages that I fliall mention hereafter. He was in his youth a clerk, or in fome fuch way a fervant to the Lord Wotton, Sir Henry's brother ; and by him, when he was Comptroller of the King's houfehold, was made a great officer" in his Majefty's houfe. This and other favours being conferred upon Mr. Pey, in -whom there was a radical ho- neji)\ were always thankfully acknowledged by him, and his gratitude ex- prelfed by a willing and unwearied ferviceablenefs to that family even till his death. To him Sir Henry Wotton wrote'' to ufe all his intereft at court, to procure five hundred pounds of his arrears (for lefs would not fettle him in Co the " When he went to the eleflion at Eton, foon after he was made Provofl) he was fo ill provided that the fellows of his college were obliged to furnlfli his bare walls, and whatever elfe was wanting. In a letter to the Duke of Buckingham, after his return from his lad am- baflage to Venice, he thus writes : " I am left utterly deflitute of all poflibility to fubfifl; at " home : Much like thofe fcal-fifhes, which fometimes, as they fay, overfleeping themfclves in " an ebbing water, feel nothing about them in a dry Ihore when they are awake." (Reliq. Wotton. p. 320.) ^ Of whom Sir Henry Wotton writes in a letter to the Duke of Buckingham from Venice : *' That he is his friend of trull to him at home in all his occafions." In other letters he al- ways mentions him in language full of refpe£t. The name of this faithful fervant, thus tranf- mitted to pofterity in the page of Ifaac Walton, will ever be remembered with honour. " Oh good Old man ! how well in thee appears " The conftant fervice of the antique world, " When fervants fweat for duty, not for meed. " Thou art not for the failiion of thefe times " Wheie none will fweat but for promotion, •' And having that, do choke their fervice up " Even with the having. It is not fo with thee." (Sbakejpear-s As You Like It, ad 11. fane III.) ''' One of the clerks of the King's kitchen. * See this letter in " Reliqui* Wottonian.x-," p. 2S9- iG2 THE LIFE OF the college), and the want of fuch a fum ivrinkledJjisfLice 'with care — (it was his own exprefllon) ; — and that money being procured, he Ihould the next day after find him in his college, and " Invidix* remedium" written over his fludy-door*. This money, being part of his arrears, was by his own, and the help of honeft Nicholas Pey's intereft in court, quickly procured him, and he as quickly in the college: the place where indeed his happinefs then feemed to have its beginning. The college being to his mind as a quiet harbour to a feafaring-man after a tempeftuous voyage ; where, by the bounty of the pious founder, his very food and raiment were plentifully provided for him in kind, and more money than enough ; where he was freed from all corroding cares, and fcated on fuch a rock, as the waves of want could not probably fliake ; where he might fit in a calm, and, looking down, behold the bufy multitude turmoiled and toffed in a tempeftuous fea of trouble and dangers" ; and, as Sir William Davenant' has happily expreffed the like of another perfon, " Laugh at the graver bufniefs of the (late, *' Which fpeaks men rather wife than fortunate." Being • Yet, in a letter to the King in 1628, he rcquefts that, when the rolls are difpofed of, his Majelly would be pleafed to referve for him feme fmall proportion towards the difcharge of fuch debts as he had contrafted in public fervice, and next to promife him the next good deanery that fliall be vacant by death or remove. ( Rellq. Ifott. p. 563.) And we find him in 1637, as a poor fuppliant unto the King to confer upon him the ^lafterfliip of the Savoy, in cafe Dr. Bekanquel his good friend fliall be removed to the Deirnery of Durham. (Ibid. p. 340.) i" " Suave maii magno turbantibiis xquora ventis " E terra alterius magnum fpettare laborem." Lucret. « Sir William Darenant, born at Oxford in 1605, and called by Anthony Wood " The " fwcet Swan of Ifis," was chofen poet-laureat on the death of Ben Jonfon. He attached himfelf to the royal caufe, and entering upon a military life received the honour of knighthood for his behaviour at the ficge of Gloucefter in 1641. Having embarked on board a (hip to go to Virginia, he was captured by a man of war belonging to the Parliament, and carried prifoner to the Ille of Wight. During his confinement he retained his natural vivacity of temper, and employed his time in completing his epic poem of Gondiberc. It is generally fuppofcd that SIR HENRY WOTTON. 165 Being thus fettled according to the defires of his heart, his firft ftudy " was the ftatutes of the college, by which he conceived himfelf bound' to enter into holy orders, which he did, being made Deacon with all convenient fpeed. Shortly after which time, as he came in his furplice from the church-fervice, an old friend, a perfon of quality, met him fo attired, and joyed him of his new habit: to whom Sir Henry Wotton replied, " I thank " God and the King by whofe goodncfs I now am in this condition ; — a " condition which that Emperor Charles V. feemed to approve ; who after *' fo many remarkable vid:ories, when his glory was great in the eyes of all " men, freely gave up his crown, and the many cares that attended it, to " Philip his fon, making a holy retreat to a cloifteral life, where he might " by devout meditations confult with God," — which the rich or bufy men feldom do, — " and have leifurc both to examine the errors of his life part, " and prepare for that great day wherein all flefli mud make an account of C c 2 " their he owed the prefervation of his life to the kind interference of Milton. He had afterward an opportunity of conferring the fame favour on our immortal bard. At the reftoration he exerted himfelf in improving the fcenery and decorations of the ftage. His dramatic works are numerous. He died in April 1668, and was interred in Weftminfter Abbey, near the poet May, who was his rival for the laurel. ■^ Previous to thib he publiflied his " Elements of Archlte£lure ;" a work of very great merit, and in reality the bcft upon tliat fubjecl that had then appeared in the Englifh Ianeua"-e. ' Though the King had aQually granted a difpenfation to hold the provoftfliip without going into orders, Sir Henry Wotton was ordained Deacon in 1627. 'f" 'he " Reliq. Wotto- iiianx," p. 323, 327, are two letters to the King — one to make known his intention of entering into orders; the other to inform his Majefly that he had taktn the degree of Deacon. Sir Henry Savile and Mr. Murray, the predeceflbrs of Sir Henry Wotton, were both laymen. And it is well known, that upon the death of Dr. John Meredith, the great and good Mr. Boyle was in 1665 nominated to the provoftfliip of this college, but that his objedion to entering into holy orders was a principal motive that induced him to decline the honour. Mr Edmund Waller was more than once a candidate for this office. The King, Charles II. referred his petition to the Council, " Who, after hearing the queftion argued by lawyers for three days, deter- " mined that the office could be held only by a clergyman, according to the ad of uniformity; " fince the provofts had always received inftitution, as foi a parfonage, from the Bifliop of " Lincoln." (Dr. Johifin's Works, vol. IX. p. 256.) 1 64 THE LIFE OF " their ad'ions. And after a kind of tempeftuous life I now have the like " advantage from him, ''^tbat makes the outgoings oj the mornhig to pra'tfc him; " even from my God, whom I daily magnify for this particular mercy of " an exemption from buiinefs, a quiet mind and a liberal maintenance, " even in this part of my life, when my age and infnmities feem to found " me a retreat from the pleafures of this world, and invite me to contem- " plation, in which I have ever taken the greateft felicity." And now to fpeak a little of the employment of his time in the college. After his cuftomary public devotions, his ufe was to retire into his ftudy, and there to fpend fome hours in reading the bible and authors in divinity, doling up his meditations wiih private prayer. This was, for the moft part, his employment in the forenoon. But when he was once fat to dinner, then nothing but cheerful thoughts pofTefled his mind, and thofe ftill increafed by conftant company at his table of fuch perfons as brought thither addi- tions both of learning and pleafurc; but fome part of moft days was ufually fpent in philofophical conclulions. Nor did he forget his innate pleafure of angling', which he would ufually call " His idle time not idly fpent;" faying often, " He would rather live five May months than forty Decem- *' bers." He was a great lover of his neighbours, and a bountiful entertainer of them very often at his table ; where his meat was choice, and his difcourfe better. He was a conltant cherifher of all thofe youths in that fchool, in whom he found either a conftant diligence or a genius that prompted them to learning. For whofe encouragement he was (befules many other things of neceflity and beauty) at the charge of fetting up in it two rows of pillars, on which he caufcd to be choicely drawn the pictures of divers of the moft famous Greek and Latin hiftorians, poets, and orators: perfuading them not to neglect rhetoric, becaufe " Almighty God has left mankind affec- '' tions f Angling was the favourite diverfion of Mr. Ifaac Walton, who, from his fuperior (kill in the art, was called " the i-ather of Anglers." His treatifeof " The Complete Angler," will be always read with pleafure even by thofe who have no relifh for " the fly and the cork." In his preface to this work he informs us, " That Sir Henry Wotton had declared to him his in- " tentions cf writing a Difcourfe of the Art, and in praife of Angling." This he doubtlefs would have done, if death had not prevented him. SIR HENRY WOTTON. 165 " tions to be wrought upon." And he would often fay, " That none de- " fpifed eloquence but fuch dull fouls as were not capable of it," He would alfo often make choice of fome obfervations out of thofe hlltorians and poets; and would never leave the fchool without dropping lome choice Greek or Latin apothegm or fentence that might be worthy of a room in the memory of a growing fcholar^ He was pleafed conflantly to breed up one or more hopeful youths, which he picked out of the fchool and took into his own domeilic care, and to at- tend him at his meals ; out of whofe difcourfe and behaviour he gathered obfervations for the better completing of his intended work of education : of which, by his ftill ftriving to make the whole better, he lived to leave but part to pofterity\ He was a great enemy to wrangling difputes of religion': concerning which I {hall fay a little, both to teftify that, and to fhew the readinefs of his wit. Having at his being in Rome made acquaintance with a pleafant prieft, who invited him one evening to hear their vefper-mufic at church: The prieft feeing Sir Henry ftand obfcurely in a corner, fends to him by a boy of the choir this queftion, written ia a fmall piece of paper, " Where was " your religion to be found before Luther ?" To which queftion Sir Henry prefently s His fihgular attention to the education of the young nobility and gentry, who were fent to Eton, tended much to recommend the fchool. Mr. Boyle, who wrote the hlftory of the ear- lier period of his own life, under the ficlitious name of " Philaretus," tells us, that he and his elder brother were fent " To be bred up at Eton college near Windfor, whofe provoft at that " time was Sir Henry Wotton, a perfon that was not only a fine gentleman himfelf, but very " well (killed in the art of making others fo ; betwixt whom and the Earl of Corke, an ancient " friendfhip had been conftantly cultivated by reciprocal civilities." (Birch's Life of the Hc- iwiirable Robert Boyle, Efq. p. 23.) •> A fmall fragment of this work, under the title of " A Philofophical Survey of Education " or Moral Architedlure," is extant in the Rcliquix Wottonianx. ' The propofition infcribed on his monument, " Difputandi pruritus ecclefiarum fcabies," is too ftrongly verified in the annals of hillory. 1 66 THE LIFE OF prefently underwrit, " My religion was to be found then, where yours Is " not to be found now, in the written word of God''." The next vefpcr, Sir Henry went purpofely to the icime church, and fent one of the choir-boys with this queftion to his honeft plcafant friend the prieft : " Do you believe all thofe many thoufands of poor Chriftians were " damned that were excommunicated becaufe the Pope and the Duke of " Venice could not agree about their temporal power ? even thofe poor " Chriftians that knew not why they quarrelled. Speak your confcience." To which he underwrit in French, " Monfieur, excufez-moi" To one that afked him, " Whether a Papift may be faved?" he replied, " You may be faved without knowing that: — Look to yourfelf". To another whofe earneftnefs exceeded his knowledge, and was ftill railing agalnft the Papift^s, he gave this advice; " Pray, Sir, forbear till you " have ftudied the points better : for the wife Italians have this proverb , " He that underftands amifs concludes worfe. And take heed of thinking, " The farther you go from the Cliurch of Rome, the nearer you are to " God." And to another that fpake indifcreet and bitter words agalnft; Arminius, I heard him reply to this purpofc : " In my travel towards Venice, as I pafled through Germany, I reft;ed " almofl: a year at Leyden, where I entered into an acquaintance with " Arminius", then the Profeflbr of Divinity in that univerlity; a man much ^ When this queftion was propofcJ to the learned Mr. Jofcph Mede, he anfwered with his ufualfeftivity by another queftion, "Where was tlie fine flour when the wheat went to the mill?" And fometimes thus, " Where was the meal before the corn was ground?" (See Dr. Clerk's Sermons, vol. 111. p. 323.) Biftiop Bedel wrote a very long trcatife on thefe two queflions — " Where was the reformed " church before Luther's time ?" and " What was the fate of thofe who died in the bofom of " the church before the reformation?" Archbiftiop Uflier often urged him to publifli this work, which was loft in that fcene of confufion which attended the Irifli rebellion. ' " Chi mal intende, peggio decide." • ° How difTerent is the language of Kinpf James, who hefitates not to pronounce Arminius " A fpi'.itious and heretical preacher, an infedlor of Leyden with herefy, and an enemy of *' God." The condemnation of Arminianifm at the Synod of Dort, is principally to be attributed SIR HENRY WOTTON. 167 *' much talked of in this age, which is made up of oppofition and contro- *' verfy. And indeed, if I miftake not Arminius in his expreflions (as fo " weak a brain as mine is may eafily do), then I know 1 differ from him in " fome points: Yet I profefs my judgment of him to be, that he was a " man of mod rare learning, and 1 knew him to be of a moft fl;ri£t life, " and of a moft meek fpirit. And that he was fo mild, appears by his " propofals to our Mafter i'erkins" of Cambridge, from whofe book, ' Of the " Order attributed to James, whilfl: with an inconfiRency, which it will be difficult to defend, he protected the Arminian party in his own kingdom. Of Arminius and his opinions, fee " Brandt's Hiftory of the Reformation abridged," p. 267. How much the Arminians were favoured, appears from the following incident. Mr. Morley, afterward Bifliop of Winchefter, remarkable for his facetioufncfs and jocular fayings, being alkcd by a grave country gentleman, who was defirous to be inibufled what their tenets and opinions were, " What the Arminians held .'" pleafantly anfwcred, " That " they held all tlie befh Biflioprics and Deaneries in England :" Which was quickly reported abroad, as Mr. Morley's definition of the Arminian tenets." (Life of Ed-ward Earl of Clarendon. Oxford, p. 26.) " Mr. William Perkins, of Chriit College in the Univcrfity of Cambridge, where he died in 1602. He was minifter of St. Andrew's parilh, in Cambridge, and had the chaiacler of a learned, pious, and laborious preacher. " His life," fays Fuller, " was fo pious, fo fpotlefs, " that malice was afraid to bite at his credit, into which flie knew her teeth could not enter." Dr. Richard Montague, his fellow collegian, and afterwards Bifhop of Winchefter, preached his funeral fcrmon, taking for his text, " Mofes my Servant is dead," It was the wifli of Archbifliop Ufher, that he might die like Mr. Perkins, who expired crying for mercy and forgivenefs. His works, which were difperfed through Great Britain, France, Germany, the Low Countries, and Spain, many of them being tranflated into the French, German, and Italian tongues, are declared to be equal in point of language, to thofe of the beft authors. His humility, as a preacher, was eminent, in condcfcending to the capacity of his meancfh auditors. His church at Cambridge, confilting of the univerfity and town, " The fcholar " could hear no learneder, or the townfman plainer fermon." See a Portrait of this good man in ruller's Abel Redivivus, p. 431. " That worthy pair of our late divines, Greenham and Perkins ; whereof the one excelled ifr^perimental divinity, and knew well how to rtay a weak confcience, how to raife a fallen, how to flrike a remorfelcfs j the other in a diflinci judgment, and a rare dexterity in clearing the obfcure fubtilities of the fchool, and eafy explication of tlie moft perplexed difcourfcs." ( Bilhop Hall's Firfi Decad of Epiflles. Ep. 7.) r6H IHE LIFE OF *' Ord-T aad CauTes of Salvalion' (which was inli wrhteii la Latin), Arml- " nius took the occafion of writing fomc queries to him concerning ths con- " lequences of his dodlrine ; intending them, it is find, to come privately to " Mr. Perkin's own hands; and to receive from him a like private and a " like loving anfwcr. But Mr. Perkins died before thofe queries came to " him, and it is thought Arminius meant them to die with him. For " though he lived long after, I have heard he forbore to publifh them— but " fnice his death his fons did not. And it is a pity, if God had been fo *' pleafed, that Mr. Perkins did not live to fee, confider, and anfwer thofe " propofals himfelf ; for he was alfo of a moft meek fpirit, and of great " and fandtified learning. And though fince their deaths, many of high " parts and piety have undertaken to clear the controverfy ; yet for the " mod part they have rather fatisfied themfelves, than convinced the " dilfenting party. And, doubtleis, many middle-witted men, which yet " may mean well, many fcholars that are not in the higheft form for *' learning, which yet may preach well, men that are but preachers, and " fliall never know, until they come to heaven, where the queftions flick " betwixt Arminius and the Church of England (if there be any), will yet *' in this world be tampering with, and thereby perplexing the contro- " verfy, and do therefore juftly fall under the reproof of St. Jade", for " being bufy-bodics, and for meddling with things they underftand not''." And * Rather, St. Peter, i Pe/. iv. 15, and 2 Pcf. ii. 12. f In England Arminianifm was hoftile to civil liberty, and Calvinifm favourable to it. It has been already j-emarked that James, however he pretended to promote the condemnation of Arminius and his doctrines at the Synod of Dort, encouraged the Arminians at home. He promoted Laud, Howfon, Corbet and Neil, wlio were all zealous Arminians. There is reafon to fuppofe that they abetted his arbitrary meafures, and by that means recommended themfelves. " The Puritans, who will allow no free-will at all, but God does all, yet will allow the fubjeft his liberty to do or not to do, notwithftanding the King, the God upon earth. The Arminians, who hold we have free-will, yet fay, when we come to the King, there mufl be all obedience, and no liberty to be (tood for." (Sehkn's Table Talh, under- the ArticU Free-will.) SIR HENRY WOTTON. 165 And here it offers itfelf (I think not unfitly) to tell the reader, that a friefld of Sir Henry Wotton's, being defigned for the employment of an ambaffador, came to Eton, and requefted from him fome experimental rules for his prudent and fafe carriage in his negociations : To whom he fmilingly gave this for an infallible aphorifm ; " That, to be in fafety him- " felf, and ferviceable to his country, he (hould always, and upon all occa- " lions, fpeak the truth." It feems a ftate paradox: " For," fays Sir Henry Wotton, " you fhall never be believed : And by this means your truth *' will fecure yourfelf if you fhall ever be called to any account ; and it " will alfo put your adverfarics, who will ftill hunt counter, to a lols in all *' their difquifitions and undertakings'"." Many more of this nature might be obferved, but they muil be laid afide ; for I fhall here make a little ftop, and invite the reader to look back with me whilft, according to my promife, I fhall fiiy a little of Sir Albertus Morton' and Mr. William Bedel, whom I formerly mentioned. I have told you that are my reader, that at Sir Henry Wotton's firfl going ambaffador into Italy, his coufm, Sir Albertus Morton, went his fecretary : And I am next to tell you that Sir Albertus died Secretary of State to our late King ; but cannot, am not able to exprefs the forrow that poffeffcd D d Sir " When Sir Henry Wotton gives this flirewd advice to his friend, he feems really to have held that unfavourable opinion of the function of an ambalTador, which he had once declared in his celebrated definition. ' " He died in the vernality of his employments and fortunes, under the bcfl king and mafter in the world." ( Reliq. Wotton. p. 477.) Sir Henry Wotton's epigram on the death of Sir Albertus Morton's wife is well kijov/ji. " lie firft deceafed: She for a little tried " To live without him : lik'd it not, and died." Albertus Morton was eledted fcholar of King's College, Cambridge, in 1602. He went to Venice as Sv.'cretary to his uncle Sir Henry Wotton, and was afterward agent for King James at the court of Savoy, and with the Princes of the Union in Germany, Secretary to the Queen of Bohemia in 1616, one of the Clerks of the Council, and knighted in Sept. 1617, and at laft Secretary of State, in which pofl he died in November, 1625. (Dr. Birch's Life of Henry Prince of Wales.) 170 THE LIFE OF Sir Henry Wotton at his firft hearing the news that Sir Albertus was by- death loft to him and this world. And yet the reader may partly gucfs by thele following exprefllons : The firft in a letter to his Nicholas Pey, of which this that followeth is a part : " And, my dear Nick, when I had been here almoft a fortnight, " in the midft of my great contentment, 1 received notice of Sir Albertus " Morton's departure out of this world, who was dearer to me than mine " own being in it. What a wound it is to my heart, you that knew him " and know me, will eafily believe : But our Creator's will be done and un- " repiningly received by his own creatures, who is the Lord of all nature and " of all fortune, when he taketh to himfelf now one and then another, till that •' expedled day wherein it ftiall pleafe him to diflblve the whole and wrap " up even the heaven itfclf as a fcrolP of parchment. This is the laft phi- " lofophy that we muft ftudy upon earth. Let us, therefore, that yet re- *' main here, as our days and friends wafte, reinforce our love to each other ; " which of all virtues, both fpiritual and moral, hath the higheft privilege, " becaufe death itfelf cannot end it'. And my good Nick," &c. This is a part of his forrow thus exprefTed to his Nick Pey : The other part is in this following elegy, of which the reader may fafely conclude it was too hearty to be difiembled. TEARS ** Ifaiah, xxxir. 4. * Thefe are noble and exalted fentimentSj fuch as Chriflianity alone inculcates. SIR HENRY WOTTON. 171 TEARS WEPT AT THE CRAVE OF SIR ALBERTUS MORTON, BY HENRT WOTTON. Silence, in truth, would fpeak my forrow beft. For deepcft wounds can lead their feelings tell": Yet let me borrow from mine own unreft A time to bid him, whom I lov'd, farewcL Oh, my unhappy lines! you that before Have ferv'd my youth to vent fome wanton cries. And now, congeal'd with grief, can fcarce implore: Strength to accent — " Here my Albertus lies 1" This is that fable (lone, this is the cave And womb of earth that doth his corps embrace £ While others fing his praife, let me engrave Thefe bleeding numbers to adorn the place. Here will I paint the charafters of wo ; Here will I pay my tribute to the dead ; And here my faithful tears in fhowers (hall flow. To humanize the flints on which I tread''. D d 2 "Where " Agreeable to that more ancient obfervation, " Curse leves loquuntur, ingentes ftupent." ( Seueca.) * This curious line reminds us of part of an extravagant elegy to the memory of a pleafant poet of the laft century. Colonel Lovelace, in which the author, E. Revett, fays, " Why fliould fome rude hand carve thy facred ftone, " And there intife a cheap infcription, " When we can ftied the tribute of our tear* " So long, till the relenting marble wears ? " Which fliall fuch order in their cadence keep» " That they a native epitaph (liail weep j " Until each letter fptit diftinflly lies, " Cut by the mylUe droppings of our eyes," /* THE LIFE OF Where, though I mourn my matchlefs lofs alone, And none between my weakncfs judge and me; Yet even thefe penfive walls allow my moan, Whofe doleful echoes to my plaints aoree^. But is he gone ? and live I rhyming here As if feme mufe would liften to my lay ? When all diftun'd fit waiting for their dear. And bathe the banks where he was wont to play. Dwell then in endlcfs blifs with happy fouls, Difcharg'd from Nature's and from Fortune's truft; Wliilll on this fluid globe my hour-glafs rolls. And runs the re 11 of my remaining dull^. H. W. This concerning his Sir Albertus Morton. And for \Yhat I fhall fay concerning Mr. William Bedel, I muft prepare the reader by telling him, that when King James fent Sir Henry Wotton ambaflador to the State of Venice^ he fent alio an ambafTador* to the King of France, and another to the King of Spain. With the ambaffador of France went Jofeph Hall, iate Bifhop of Norwich, whofe many and ufeful works fpeak his great merit : xvith the ambaffador of Spain went James Wadlworth ; and Vv'ith Sir Henry W^otton went William Bedel. Thefe three chaplains to thefe three ambafladors were all bred in one univerfity, all of one college (Emanuel College in Cambridge), all bene- ficed ^ Thus in the beautiful " Lycldas" of Milton——. " Now t'.iou art gone, and never muft return : " Thee, fliepherd, tliee the woods and deftrt caves, " with wild thyme and the gadding vine o'ergrown, •' And all their echoes mourn." ' An ingenious modern critic has juftly remarked, that " the poetical compofitions of Sir " Henry "Wotton, when confidcred in their proper light, namely as the cffufions of one who . " merely fcribbled for his amufement, will be found deferving of praife." » James Hay, Vifcount Doncaftcr. SIR HENRY WOTTON. 17^ ficed In one dlocefe, and all mod dear and entire friends. But in Spain Mr. Wadfworth" met with temptations, or reafons,fuch as were fo powerful as to perfuade him (who of the three was formerly obferved to be the moft averfe to that religion that calls itfelf Catholic) to dlfclaim himfclf a member of the church of England, and declare himfelf for the church of Rome ; dif- charging himfelf of his attendance on the ambaffador, and betaking himfelf to a monaftic life, in which he lived very regularly, and fo died. When Dr. Hall, the late Bifhop of Norwich, came into England, he wrote to Mr. Wadfworth (it is the firft epiflle in his printed decades), to perfuade his return, or to (hew the reafon of his apoftacy. The letter feemed to have in it many fweet expreflions of love; and yet there was in it fome expreffion, that was fo unpleafant to Mr. Wadfworth, that he rather chofe to acquaint his old friend Mr. Bedel with his motives ; by which means there pafled betwixt Mr. Bedel and Mr. Wadfworth divers letters, which be extant in print and did well deferve it : For in them there feems to be a controverfy, not of religion only, but who fhould anfwer each other with moft love and meekncfs. Which I mention the rather, becaufe it too feldom falls out to be fo in a book war% There '' Mr. James Waddefworth, who died a penfioner of the hol7 inquifition in Sevillcy was edu- cated ViX. Emanuel CoWtgt in Cambridge, being a fellow-ftudent and a chamber-fellow with Mr. Bedel. Tliey were alfo beneficed in the fame diocefe ; and they both left England at the fame time. When Sir Charles Cornwallis, Treafurer to Henry Prince of Wales, went ambaf- fador to Spain, he took with him Mr. Waddejivorth as his chaplain, who was prevailed on to change his religion, and entirely to abandon his native country, and was afterward appointed to teach the Infanta the Englijh tongue, when the match betwixt Prince Charles and her was believed to be concluded. " It appears," fays Bifhop Burnet, " as if in thefe two, Mr. Bedel " and Mr. IVaddefivorth, thofe words of our Saviour had been to be verified — * There Jhall be t-wo " ' in one bed, the one JJjall be taken and the other left.' For as ihe one of thefe was wrought on to. " forfake his religion, the other was very near the being an inftrument of a great and happy •' change in the Republic of Venice." ' The colleftion of thefe letters forms a very valuable appendix to Bi(hop Burnet's Life of Bifliop Bcdch Thofe which pafled between Mr. Bedel and Mr. Waddcfworth, on the conver- fion of the latter to Popery, difcover that mlldncfs and benignity of temper on the part of the former, which fliould hz preferved in all controverfies. On the contrary, the acrimony and harflmefs of Mr. Jofeph Hall, writing on the fame fubjeft, are truly reprehenfible. 174 THE LIFE OF There Is yet a little more to be faid of Mr. Bedel; for the greateft part of which the reader is referred to this following letter of Sir Henry Wotton's, written to our late King Charles I. " MAY IT PLEASE YOUR MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY, " Having been informed that certain perfons have, by the good wifhes " of the Archbifliop of Armagh, been directed hither with a moft humble " petition unto your Majefty, that you will be pleafed to make Mr. William " Bedel, now reiident upon a fmall benefice in Suffolk'*, Governor of your " college at Dublin, for the good of that fociety : And myfelf being re- *' quired to render unto your Majefty fome teftimony of the faid William " Bedel, who was long my chaplain at Venice in the time of my firft em- " ployment there, I am bound in all confcience and truth (fo far as your *' Majefty will vouchfafe to accept my poor judgment) to affirm of him, " that I think hardly a fitter man for that charge could have been pro- " pounded unto your Majefty in your whole kingdom for fingular erudi- " tion and piety, conformity to the rites of the church, and zeal to advance " the caufe of God ; wherein his travels abroad were not obfcure in the " time of the excommunication of the Venetians. " For it may pleafe your Majefty to know, that this is the man whom " Padre Paulo took, I may fay, into his very foul; with whom hedidcommu- " nicate the inwardeft thoughts of his heart ; from whom he profefled to have " received more knowledge in all divinity, both fcholaftical and politive,than " from any that he had ever pradifed in his days : of which all the paflages *' were well known to the king your father, of moft blefled memory. *' And fo, with your Majefty's good favour, I will end this needlefs office ; *' for the general fame of his learning, his life and Chriftian temper, and " thofe religious labours which himfelf hath dedicated to your Majefty, do ** better defcribe him than I am able. " Your Majefty's moft humble and faithful fervant, " H. WOTTON." • Mr. Bedel had been prefentcd by Sir Thomas Jermyn to the living of Horing(beath, in SuflFolk. SIR HENRY WOTTON. 1 75 To this letter I fliall add this, that he was, to the great joy of Sir Henry Wotton, made Governor of the faid college (Auguft 1627); and that after a fair dlfcharge of his duty and trufl; there, he was thence removed to be Billiop of Kilmore (September 3, 1629). In both which places his life was fo holy, as fecmed to equal the primitive Chriftians. For as they, fo he kept all the Ember weeks, obferved (beiides his private devotions) the canonical hours of prayer very ftridlly, and fo he did all the feafts and fall- days of his mother, the Church of England. To which I may add, that his patience and charity were both fuch as fliewed his affedions were fet upon " things that are above ;" for indeed his whole life brought forth the " fruits " of the fpirit ;" there being in him fuch a remarkable meeknefs that, as St. Paul advifed his Timothy in the cledion of a bilhop, i Tim. iii. 7. " That he have a good report of thofe that be without;" fo had he : For thofe that were without, even thofe that in point of religion were of the Roman perfuafion (of which there were very many in his diocefe), did yet (fuch is the power of vifible piety) ever look upon him with refpedt and reverence, and teftified it by a concealing and fafe proteding him from death in the late horrid rebellion in Ireland, when the fury of the wild Irilh knew no diftindlion of perfons : and yet there and then he was protected and cheriftied by thofe of a contrary perfuafion ; and there and then he died, not by violence or mifufage, but by grief in a quiet prifon" (1629), And with him was loft many of his learned writings, which were thought worthy of prefervation ; and among the reft was loft the Bible, which by many years' labour, and conference, and ftudy, he had tranflatcd into the Irifh tongue', with an intent to have it printed for public ufe. More * Burnet's Life of Bedel, p. i8o, 209. ^ This zealous prelate, defirous that the free ufe of the Scriptures fliould difleminate a know- ledge of the true religion among the Irifh, fele£led one King, a convert from Popery, who was fuppofed to be the mofl; elegant writer of his native language then alive, whether in profe or verfe. Though he was much advanced in years, the Bifliop thought him not only capable of undertaking an Irifli verfion of the Bible, but qualified for a higher charadcr : He or- dained him, gave him a benefice in his own diocefe, and employed him in this ufeful work, direding him to found his verfion on the Englifli tranflation. The good Bifliop revifed the whole : And it was his ufual cuftom after dinner and fupper to read over a chapter, and to compare it with the original Hebrew, the LXXII, and Diodati's Italian verfion. Sec Burnet's " Life of Bifliop Bedel," p. 118, 119. 6 THE LIFE OF More might be faid of Mr. Bedel, who, 1 told the reader, was Sir Henry Wotton's firft chaplain, and much of his fecond chaplain Ifaac BargraveS Do£lor in Divinity, and the late learned and hofpitable Dean of Canterbury ; as alfo of the merits of many others that had the happinefs to attend Sir Henry in his foreign employments : But the reader may think that in this digreflion I have already carried him too far from Eton college; and there- fore I fhall lead him back as gently and as orderly as I may to that place, for a further conference concerning Sir Henry Wotton. Sir Henry Wotton had propofed to himfelf, before he entered into his collegiate life, to write the life of Martin Luther'", and in it the hiflory of the reformation as it was carried on in Germany. For the doing of which he had many advantages by his feveral embaflies into thofe parts, and his intereft in the feveral princes of the empire : By whofe means he had ac- cefs to the records of all the Hans towns, and the knowledge of many fecret pafTages that fell not under common view ; and in thefe he had made a happy progrefs, as is well known to his worthy friend Dr. Duppa, the late Reverend Bilhop of Salifbury. But in the midft of this defign, his late Majefty, King Charles I. that knew the value of Sir Henry Wotton's pen, did, by a perlualive loving violence, to which may be added a promife of five hundred pounds a year, force him to lay Luther afide, and betake him- felf to write the hiftory of England : In which he proceeded to write fome fhort characters of a few kings, as a foundation upon which he meant to build ; but for the prefent meant to be more large in the ftory of Henry VL the founder of that college, in which he then enjoyed all the worldly happi- nefs, 8 Of this excellent divine, and the cruel treatment he and his family received from Colonel Sandys, fee Mr. Todd's " Deans of Canterbury,'' p. loo. His learning and his hofpitality are particularly noticed in the infcription on his monument : " Amxno ingenio pietatem et eru- " ditionem ornavit ;— gentibus exteris domique nobilibus gratiffimus hofpes hofpitio gencro- " ClTiino rcpofuit." ' A life of this reformer, written with candour and impartiality, has long been a defuleratum in the republic of letters. That which is extant in the Englifh language, entitled " The Life " and Death of Dr. Marter, the PafTages whereof have bin taken out of his owne and other " godly and moft learned Mtrn's Writings who lived in his time, I Theff. v. 12, 13," was printed in 1641, and is a mere literal tranflation from Melchior Adam. SIR HENRY WOTTON. 177 nefs of his prefent being. But Sir Henry died in the midfl: of this under- taking; and the footfteps of his labours are not recoverable by a more than common diligence'. This is feme account both of his inclination, and the employment both of his time in the college, where he feemed to have his youth renewed by a continual convcrfation with that learned focicty, and a daily recourfe of other friends of choicefl: breeding and parts ; by which- that great blefTmg of a cheerful heart was ftill maintained : He being always free, even to the laft of his days, from that peevifhnefs which ufually attends age. And yet his mirth was fometimes damped by the rememberance of divers old debts", partly contraded in his foreign employments; for which his juft arrears due from the King would have made fatis- fadtion. But being ftill delayed with court-pr-omifes, and finding fom© decays of health, he did, about two years before his death, out of a Chriftian defire, that none fhould be a lofer by him, make his Laft Will. Concerning which, a doubt ftill remains, namely, whether it dif- covered more holy wit, or confcionable policy ? But there is no doubt, but that his chief defign was a Chriftian endeavour that his debts might be fatisfied. And that it may remain as fuch a teftimony, and a legacy to thofe that loved him, I (hall here impart it to the reader, as it was found written with his own hand. Ee 3IJI3 "' Of this hiftorical work a very fmall fragment is extant, written in the Latin language, ■with great elegance, and entitled " Hcnrici VI Anglix et Galliarum Regis, Hibcrnijc " Domini, Etonensis ad Tamefin Collegii Conditoris vita et exceflus." Upon the King's return from Scotland, in 1633, Sir Henry Wotton wrote a Latin panegyric, printed in the " Reliquire Wottonianx," with this title, " Ad Regem c Scotia reducem Henrici Wotton " Plaufus et Vota." * " Sir Henry Wotton is at this time under arreft for three hundred pounds, upon execu- tion, and lies by it He was taken coming from the Lord Trcafurer's, foliciting a debt of four thoufand pounds, due to him from the King." (Mr. Garrard to the Lord Deputy. Straf- ford's Letters, Vol. L p. 338.) 178 THE LIFE OF 31 J^ tf)c nnm? of (Sod almig&tp anD all^mcrciful, ■ 31 I'penrp caotton, ]LC>?oUoa of f)i3 0@a)cftg'0 Collesc by €aton, being minDfiil of mine oUiii moitafitp, tofjicf) tijc fin of our ficft parents DiD bjing upon all flcfl), Do bg tf)i0 lafl CQill anQ Ccflamcnt, tijiis Difpofc of mufelf, ano tbc poor tbings 31 fljaU leatic in tbis too^IO. a^i^ foul 31 bcqueatfj to tfjc immortal (J5oD m^ Q9a&cr, iFatbcc of our Lo?!) 31cfiis Cf)?ift, mv bleflcD JReocemcr anD QfjcDiator, tf)?ougf) f)is all^fole fufScicnt fatisfaftion for tbe fins of tlje lobclc U)0?ID, ano efficient for t)i0 cleft, in tfjc number of tobom 31 am one bp Us mere grace, anu tljereof moS unremoticablp aflureo bg bis bolg Spirit, tbe true OCternal Comfoiter. Q5g boop 3 bequeatb to tbc eartb, if 31 fljali cnD mp tranfito?j) Daps at, or near <£aton, to be burieD in tbe Cbapel of tbe faiD College, as tbe iFcllotos Iball Difpofe tbercof, toitb tobom 31 baue liueD, mp (25oD fenoUJS, in all lotting affeftiun ; cr, if 31 ftall Die near TBofton a^albcrb, in tbe countp of iKent, tbcn 3 toilb to be JaiD in tbat l?ari(b=Cburcb, as near as map be to tbc %epulcb?c of mp gooD JFatbet, crpefting a jopful refurrcftion toitb bim in tbe Dap of ?ap:r'-office, afier tbcp Ijati: been p:rafeD anD (oricQ tp ar:r. ^ecr'-targ CQinDebanS, imtf) teljom 31 btitic f)eietofo?e, as 31 remember, fonferreD abou: tijem. Cbcp lucre committed to mg Difpofal bg ^ir artDur Cf)?05mo?ton bsfon\ to Vobofc tDO?t^p mcmo;p 31 cannot better Dif- cljarge mg faitb, tfjan bj? a%ning tbcm to tbc bigbe r place of trufi. Item, 3 lca\)e to our moft gracious anD tiirtuous Ciiicen a^arp, 2r)iofco^itie0, toitb tbe plant© naturally colouriD, anD tbc tert tranftatcD bp a3attbio:o in tbe beft language of Cufcanp, lobencc fccr faiD ^ajcftp ig lincallp DcfccnDeD, for a poor tofeen of mp tbanfeful Dctiotion for tbc bonour ftc Ixjas once pleafeD to co mp p?it)ate ftuDp \Diti) ber Piefence. 3i leaue to tbe moft bopeful Piince, tbe picture of tbe eletteD anD crotoneD Ciueen of T5obemia, bi0 aimt, of clear anD refplenoent tiirtucs 1 Sir N':Lholas Throgmorton was eminent for his abilities in ftatc a/Tairs, and often fent by Queen Elizabeth ambaflador to foreign courts. Of him Sir Francis Walfinghani, lamenting the lofs fuftained by his death, writes thus in a letter to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicefter. " Be it fpoken without offence of any, for counfel in peace, and conduct in war, Jie hath not " left of like fufficiency his fucceffor that I know of." f Supplement to CoHins's Peerage, p. 90. See alfo Ken/iet's Complete Hi/fory, Isfc. Vol. 11. p. 430.) ' Thomas Lord Wotton, fon of Edward, the firft; Lord Wotton, and nephew to Sir Henry Wotton, married Mary the daughter and one of the coheirs of Sir Arthur Throgmorton of Pauler Perry in Northamptonfliire. '' A phyfician of the i6th century, who publiflied his commentaries on Diofcorides, adorned with large wooden prints. Of the great value fet upon this work, fee " Strypc's Life of Sir Thomas Smith," p. 213. SIR HENRY WOTTON. 18;, tiirtueg t!)?oug;b tf)e clouss of bet fouune. Co m? Logo's erace of eantcctjurg' note being;, 31 leaue m? pitture of Diipine Lotjc, ratelp copien from one in tf)C lining s gaUene0, of my pcefcntation to his ^ajcftpj bcfeccbing Dim to receive it as a plcDge of my bumble reference to t:is great uifcom. Zm to tbe mofl too^tby Lo^D 16i(|)op of LonDon', Lo^D ipigb Crcafurcr of Otnslano, in ttue anmiration of l}i& Cb^aian ampUcity anD contempt of cartbly pomp, 3\ lca\)c a pic^ turc of rpecaclitus bctoaiUng, anD Democritus laugbing at, tbe Uio^iD: Cfeofl bumbly befeecbmg ibc faiD LojD arcbbiibop bis i^race, anD tbc JLo?D 'L3iiiop of iLonDon, of botb tobofe fauours 3i baue taacD in my life-time, to intercene toiib cut mofl gracious ^cDereign after my Deatb, m tbe botoeis of 3!efU3 €\)iiQy tbat out of companionate me^ mojy of my long fertiices iuutco perron, i em, 31 l.\.tie to ^ir jr. nc s (LcTiincebanfe, one of DiS cgajcnp's principal ^ecrctarirg of ^tatc to cm J fjunT5 mg gicr, DjuU cf