to obferve, that a later edition of the "Reliquiæ Wottonianæ, namely that of 1685, is enriched with Sir Henry Wotton's Letters to Lord Zouch, who was eminent among his contemporaries as an able statesman and an accomplished fcholar.

"The Church Hiftory of Great Britain," compiled by Dr. Thomas Fuller, whofe writings, though far from being without blemish, are of inestimable value, was first published in 1655. A converfation, seasoned with much pleasantnefs and innocent jocularity, is faid to have passed between the author and his ever cheerful and friendly acquaintance, Mr. Ifaac Walton, upon the general character of this Work. Walton having paid him a visit, it was afked by Fuller, who knew how intimate he was with feveral of the bishops and ancient clergy, firft, What he thought of the history himself, and then, what reception it had met with among them. Walton answered, that he thought "it fhould be acceptable to all tempers; because there were fhades in it for the warm, and fun-fhine for those of a cold constitution; that with youthful readers the facetious parts would be profitable to make the ferious more palatable; while fome reverend old readers might fancy themfelves in his History of the Church, as in a flower garden, or one full of evergreens."—" And why not," faid Fuller, "the Church Hiftory fo decked as well as the Church itself at a most holy feafon, or the tabernacle of old at the Feast of Boughs?"-" That was but for a season," said Walton; "in your Feast of Boughs, they may conceive, we are so overshadowed throughout, that the parfon is more seen than his congregation, and this fometimes invisible to its old acquaintance, who may wander in the fearch, till they are loft in the labyrinth." "Oh!" says Fuller," the very Children of our Ifrael may find their way out of this wilderness." True," returned Walton, "as indeed they have here. fuch a Mofes to conduct them"."

chamber-fellows in Oxford divers years together.) This gentleman was employed by King James in embaffage to Venice; and indeed the kingdom afforded not a fitter man for matching the capaciousness of the Italian wits: A man of fo able dexterity with his pen, that he hath done himself much wrong, and the kingdom more, in leaving no more of his writings behind him." (Sir Richard Baker's Chronicle of the Kings of England, London, 1684.)

See "Biogr. Brit." p. 2061. [P]

His next work was "The Life of Mr. Richard Hooker"," which firft appeared in 1662. It was compofed at the earnest request of Dr. Sheldon, then Bishop of London; and with the express purpose of correcting fome errors committed by Dr. Gauden, from mere inadvertency and hafte, in his account of "that immortal man," as he has been emphatically ftyled, "who spoke no language but that of truth dictated by confcience." Gauden seems to have been extremely deficient in his information, and, dying foon afterward, had no opportunity of revifing and amending his very imperfect and inaccurate memoir. This was followed by "The Life of Mr. George Herbert," ufually called "the Divine Herbert'," in 1670. In 1678, he concluded his biographical labours with "The Life of Dr. Robert Sanderson." Previous to the publication of this laft work he received the following interefting letter from Dr. Thomas Barlow, then Bishop of Lincoln, who had been for many years the intimate friend of Dr. Sanderson during his refidence at Oxford, and after his retirement into the country.

MY

Sir John Hawkins, in his "Life of Mr. Ifaac Walton," inadvertently obferves, that Mr. Hooker was perfonally known to his biographer. The former died in 1600; the latter was then only feven years of age, being born in 1593.

r

The following letter is tranfcribed from a MS. in the library bequeathed to the corporation of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, by Dr. Tomlinfon, formerly Rector of Whickham, in the county of Durham.

"SIR,

"You fee I have not forgot my promise to you: Here are your two books: If you have "never read the preface to your beloved A Kempis,' I fancy, it will please you well; and, "if it do, fend up one tender thought for him, who conveys it to your hand. The Life of "good Mr. Herbert is full of discoveries of a fweet compofed harmonious mind, that it will not be un"grateful neither: One hour with fuch entertainment is better than a life of long enjoyment "of the pleasures of the Louvre. It is Sunday morning, and I am hafting to prayers. "So give me leave to beg a fhare in your prayers for myself, for your fervant my wife, and "for the babies.

MY WORTHY FRIEND MR. WALTON,

"I am heartily glad, that you have undertaken to write the Life of that "excellent perfon, and, both for learning and piety, eminent prelate, "Dr. Sanderson, late Bishop of Lincoln; because I know your ability to "know, and integrity to write truth: And fure I am, that the life and "actions of that pious and learned prelate will afford you matter enough "for his commendation, and the imitation of pofterity. In order to the "carrying on your intended good work, you defire my affiftance, that I "would communicate to you fuch particular passages of his life, as were "certainly known to me. I confess I had the happiness to be particularly "known to him for about the space of twenty years; and, in Oxon, to "enjoy his converfation, and his learned and pious inftructions while he was Regius Profeffor of Divinity there. Afterwards, when (in the time "of our late unhappy confusions) he left Oxon, and was retired into the country, I had the benefit of his letters; wherein, with great candour "and kindness, he answered those doubts I propofed, and gave me that "fatisfaction, which I neither had, nor expected from fome others of greater confidence, but lefs judgment and humility. Having in a letter "named two or three books writ (ex profeffo) against the being of any "original fin; and that Adam, by his fall, tranfmitted fome calamity "only, but no crime to his pofterity; the good old man was exceedingly "troubled, and bewailed the misery of those licentious times, and feemed to wonder (fave that the times were fuch) that any fhould write, or be "permitted to publish any error fo contradictory to truth, and the doctrine "of the Church of England, established (as he truly faid) by clear "evidence of fcripture, and the juft and fupreme power of this nation, "both facred and civil. I name not the books, nor their authors, which are not unknown to learned men (and I wish they had never been. "known), because both the doctrine, and the unadvised abettors of it are, "and fhall be, to me apocryphal'.

"Another little story I must not pass in filence, being an argument of "Dr. Sanderson's piety, great ability, and judgment, as a cafuift. Dif"courfing

The writer principally alluded to in this part of the Letter, was the excellent Dr. Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Donn and Clonner.

66

66 courfing with an honourable perfon' (whofe piety I value more than "his nobility and learning, though both be great,) about a case of confci"ence concerning oaths and vows, their nature and obligation; in which, "for fome particular reafons, he then defired more fully to be informed; I "commended to him Dr. Sanderson's book' De Juramento;' which hav"ing read, with great fatisfaction, he asked me,- If I thought the Doctor "could be induced to write Cafes of Confcience, if he might have an honorary penfion allowed him, to furnish him with books for that pur"pofe?" I told him I believed he would:" And, in a letter to the Doctor, "told him what great fatisfaction that honourable person, and many more, "had reaped by reading his book 'De Juramento;' and asked him,' whe"ther he would be pleafed, for the benefit of the Church, to write fome "tract of Cafes of Confcience?' He replied, That he was glad that any "had received any benefit by his books:' And added further, That if any future tract of his could bring fuch benefit to any, as we feemed to "fay his former had done, he would willingly, though without any pen"fion, fet about that work.' Having received this anfwer, that honour"able person, before mentioned, did, by my hands, return 50l. to the good "Doctor, whofe condition then (as moft good men's at that time were) "was but low; and he presently revifed, finifhed, and published that ex"cellent book, ' De Confcientiâ:' A book little in bulk, but not fo if we "confider the benefit an intelligent reader may receive by it. For there are so many general propofitions concerning conscience, the nature and "obligation of it explained, and proved with fuch firm confequence and " evidence of reason, that he who reads, remembers, and can with prudence "pertinently apply them hic et nunc to particular cafes, may, by their light "and help, rationally refolve a thousand particular doubts and fcruples of "confcience. Here you may see the charity of that honourable person in “promoting, and the piety and industry of the good Doctor, in performing "that excellent work.

"And here I fhall add the judgment of that learned and pious prelate "concerning a paffage very pertinent to our prefent purpose. When he

was

' Robert Boyle, Esq.

That a

"was in Oxon, and read his public lectures in the fchools as Regius Pro"feffor of Divinity, and by the truth of his pofitions, and evidences of his proofs, gave great content and fatisfaction to all his hearers, especially "in his clear refolutions of all difficult cafes which occurred in the expli"cation of the subject matter of his lectures; a perfon of quality (yet alive) privately asked him, 'What course a young divine should take in his "ftudies to enable him to be a good cafuift?' His anfwer was, "convenient understanding of the learned languages, at leaft of Hebrew, "Greek, and Latin, and a fufficient knowledge of arts and fciences prefuppofed: There were two things in human literature, a comprehenfion "of which would be of very great use, to enable a man to be a rational "and able casuist, which otherwife was very difficult, if not impoffible: 1. A convenient knowledge of moral philofophy; especially that part of "it which treats of the nature of human actions: To know, quid fit actus "bumanus (fpontaneus, invitus, mixtus) unde habent bonitatem et malitiam "moralem? an ex genere et objecto, vel ex circumftantiis? How the variety "of circumstances varies the goodness or evil of human actions? How far knowledge and ignorance may aggravate or excufe, increase or diminish "the goodness or evil of our actions? For every cafe of confcience being "only this-Is this action good or bad? May I do it, or may I not?—He "who, in thefe, knows not how and whence human actions become "morally good and evil, never can (in hypothesi) rationally and certainly "determine, whether this or that particular action be fo.-2. The second "thing, which,' he said, 'would be a great help and advantage to a cafuift, was a convenient knowledge of the nature and obligation of laws in general: to know what a law is; what a natural and positive law; what's "required to the Latio, difpenfatio, derogatio, vel abrogatio legis; what promulgation is antecedently required to the obligation of any positive law; "what ignorance takes off the obligation of a law, or does excufe, diminish, or aggravate the tranfgreffion: For every cafe of confcience being only "this-Is this lawful for me, or is it not? and the law the only rule and "measure by which I must judge of the lawfulness or unlawfulness of any action; it evidently follows, that he, who, in thefe, knows not the nature and obligation of laws, never can be a good cafuift, or rationally

"affure