and of the inspired narrative of those miracles, defending them against the arguments of scepticism, and in particular against the scepticism of Hume. The Natural Theology deduces the existence and the benevolence of God from the evidence afforded by the phenomena of nature in favor of design, power, and beneficence: and to supply himself with materials, Paley studied physiology, and has described the structure and functions of animated beings with a vivacity and a knowledge that give him a very honorable place among writers on anatomy. For clearness, animation, and easy grace, the style of Paley has rarely been equalled. § 14. If the palm of merit is to be awarded less to the pretension of a literary work than to a universal popularity arising from a consummate charm of execution, then the fame of GILBERT White (1720-1793) is to be coveted little less eagerly than that of Izaak Walton. The greater portion of his life was passed in the sequestered village of Selborne, in Hampshire, which he has immortalized in one of the most enchanting books in the world. White was educated at Oxford, where he became a student of Christ Church, but succeeding to the living of Selborne, which had been held by his father, he devoted his happy and tranquil life to the observation of nature. In a series of letters to Pennant and Daines Barrington, he has registered every phenomenon both of animal and vegetable life as well as of scenery and meteorology which came under the eye of a most curious, patient, and loving observer, and a thousand details so slight or so familiar as to escape the attention of previous naturalists, have been chronicled with exquisite grace, and form valuable contributions to science. Every change of weather, every circumstance in the habits of birds, beasts, and insects, were noted by him with an interest and enthusiasm that captivates the dullest reader; and the Natural History of Selborne has made at least as many naturalists as Robinson Crusoe has made sailors. The benevolent playfulness which overflows in White's remarks, the pleasant touches of credulity, as in his obstinate desire to find proofs that swallows hibernate under water, the intense personality with which he is associated with the beautiful scenes he loved so well, the ardent fondness for natural objects - every feature of his character heightens the charm of this most fascinating book. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. THEOLOGICAL WRITERS. DR. HUMPHREY PRIDEAUX (1648-1724), one of the best known and most valuable theological writers, author of the Connection of the Old and New Testaments, 1715-17. He was a scholar of great research, and professor of Hebrew at Oxford. DR. WILLIAM NICHOLSON (1655-1727), an Irish prelate and learned antiquary, wrote on Border Laws, Laws of Anglo-Saxons. In 1706 he produced a catalogue of books and MSS., the Historical Libraries of England, Scotland, and Ireland. DR. BENJAMIN HOADLEY (1670-1761) occupied successively the sees of Bangor, Hereford, Salisbury, and Winchester. He espoused the cause of the Whigs, and was a great controversialist on the more liberal side both in the Church and in politics. His chief works were On the Nature of the Kingdom or Church of Christ, which gave rise to the celebrated Bangorian controversy; Reasonableness of Conformity; Terms of Acceptance; Treatise on the Sacrament. CHARLES LESLIE (1650-1722), a clergyman and controversialist, chiefly known for A Short and Easy Method with the Deists. The whole of his works were published at Oxford in 1832. WILLIAM WHISTON (1667–1752), a mathematician of the school of Newton, whom he succeeded as professor at Cambridge. He was at first a clergyman, but was expelled the Church on account of his Arian opinions, became lecturer on astronomy in London, and before his death held the principles of the Baptist body, and the millenarian doctrines. His chief works are- Theory of the Earth, 1696; Essay on the Revelation of St. John, 1706; Sermons, 1708; Primitive Christianity Revived, 1712; Memoirs, 1749-50. BISHOP WARBURTON (1698-1779), one of the celebrated writers of his day; but the value of his works was ephemeral, and, with the exception of his Divine Legation of Moses, they are almost forgotten. He was born at Newark, received no education for the Church, yet, by assiduous and brilliant | use of the pen, obtained presentations to livings, and at last was raised to the See of Gloucester. He enjoyed the friendship and assistance of the leading men of the day; but his love of paradox and startling hypotheses did much to lessen the lasting value and influence of his writings. Warburton was a man of force and genius, but spoiled his efforts for real success by his display and arrogance. A modern critic applies Gibbon's epithet of the Legation to the life and works of the author: "A splendid ruin "-" not venerable from cherished associations, but great, unsightly, and incongruous." DR. ROBERT LOWTH (1710-1787), successively Bishop of St. David's, Oxford, and London, was a man of great learning. His chief works arcTranslation of Isaiah and Prelections on Hebrew Poetry, the latter being in Latin, delivered by him when he was Professor of Hebrew at Oxford. REV. WILLIAM LAW (1686-1761), a Jacobite Nonconformist, whose Serious Call to a Higher Life deserves mention, not only from its being popular, but also because the reading of it is said by Dr. Johnson to have been "the first occasion of his thinking in earnest of religion after he became capable of rational inquiry." DR. RICHARD WATSON (1737-1816), Bishop of Llandaff, and author of replies to Paine and Gibbon. The Apologies for Christianity and the Bible are well known. DR. SAMUEL HORSLEY (1733-1806), Secretary of the Royal Society, and successively Bishop of St. David's, Rochester, and St. Asaph. His principal works are translations of the Psalms, and his controversial writings with Priestley. DR. JOHN JORTIN (1698-1770), Prebendary of St. Paul's and Archdeacon of London, author of works on Ecclesiastical History, 1751-4; Life of Erasmus, 1758; which are written in a striking, lively style. DR. RICHARD HURD (1720-1808), successively Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, and of Worcester, a great friend of Warburton, and an elegant scholar, wrote, among other things, Discourses on the Prophecies, and a Life of Warburton. DR. GEORGE HORNE (1730-1792), Bishop of Norwich, wrote the well-known Commentary on the Psalms, 1776. DR. NATHANIEL LARDNER (1684-1768), a Presbyterian divine, the author of a very learned work on The Credibility of the Gospel History, 1730-57. He also wrote a work similar to the above entitled A Large Collection of Ancient, Jewish and Heathen Testimonies to the Truth of the Christian Religion. DR. PHILIP DODDRIDGE (1702-1751), one of the most distinguished Nonconformist divines. He was born in London, was educated among the Dissenters, became minister at Northampton, and died at Lisbon, whither he had departed for the benefit of his health. Doddridge was a man of learning and earnest piety. He was beloved and admired by all the religious bodies of the country. His style is plain, simple, and forcible. He was a critic of some acumen, and a preacher of great distinction. But his name lives from his practical works and expository writings, the chief of which are- Discourses on Regeneration, 1741; Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, 1745; and his greatest and most extensive work, The Family Expositor, one of the most widely circulated works of its class. DR. GEORGE CAMPBELL (1709-1796), Professor of Divinity at Aberdeen, was one of the most celebrated of the clergymen of the Scotch Church. His Dissertation on Miracles was in reply to Hume. The Philosophy of Rhetoric is one of the ablest works that has appeared on that subject. He also wrote A Translation of the Four Gospels, and Lectures on Ecclesiastical History. Few men have shown greater skill in polemical writing, combined with a gentleness and regard for the opponent; and a modern critic places him next to Robertson the historian at the head of the clergy of the Scottish | consist in the fitness of things, or a "congruity of Church. The following are authors of works of no high literary value, but yet have been of great service in shaping the moral and religious thought of the country. GEORGE WHITEFIELD (1714-1770). JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791), the founder of the sect of Wesleyan Methodists, and author of several practical works, chiefly homiletic. relations," and neglects the distinction and prior discernment of good ends from bad, has been condemned by the Butlerian school and modern moralists as too limited and confined. Dr. Clarke's style is simple, and free from meretricious adornment, vigorous, and at times really eloquent, a model of philosophical and controversial writing. DR. ADAM FERGUSON (1724-1816), a native of Perthshire, educated at St. Andrew's, Professor of JAMES HERVEY (1714-1758), author of The Medi- Natural and Moral Philosophy in the University tations, Theron and Aspasia, &c. of Edinburgh, author of several works on philoso EBENEZER ERSKINE (1680-1754); and RALPH phy and history, the chief of which are- A History ERSKINE (1685-1752). PHILOSOPHICAL WRITERS. of the Roman Republic, 1783; Principles of Moral and Political Science, 1792. JAMES BURNET, LORD MONBODDO (1714-1799), a Scotch Judge, and an eccentric but learned writer, author of an Essay on the Origin and Progress of Language, 1771-3, and a Work on Ancient Metaphysics, 1779. Monboddo is best known for his theory of mankind having at one time possessed tails like other monkeys, but which by a long course of sitting have been worn away. DAVID HARTLEY (1705-1757), was educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, and practised medicine. He was the founder of a school embracing at one time a large number of English thinkers. He explained the various states of the mind by the principle of association. His chief work was Observations on Man, &c., which appeared in 1749. DR. FRANCIS HUTCHESON (1694-1747), a native of Ireland, studied at Glasgow, and became Professor of Moral Philosophy in that University. He did much to restore the study of philosophy in Scotland, and is considered as the founder of the Scotch School of Metaphysics. In 1726 he published an Inquiry into Beauty and Virtue. His chief work was A System of Moral Philosophy, which was given to the world by his son after his death. DR. MATTHEW TINDAL (1657-1733) turned Roman Catholic under James II., but afterwards became an unbeliever, and is well known for his attack on Christianity, entitled Christianity as old as the Creation. Dr. Tindal's nephew, NICHOLAS TINDAL (1687-1774), was the continuer of the History of England left incomplete by Rapin. HENRY HOME, LORD KAMES (1696-1782), a law-culties in Morals, 1758, to revive the Cudworth yer, judge, and mental philosopher, resided in Edinburgh, and there drew round him many of the leading thinkers and writers. His chief works were -Essays on the Principles of Morality and Religion; Introduction to the Art of Thinking; The Elements of Criticism; Sketches of the History of Man; the last of which works is a collection of anecdotes and miscellaneous facts picked up in the course of his reading. DR. SAMUEL CLARKE (1675-1729), one of the ablest metaphysicians that England has produced. IIe was a native of Norwich, was educated at Caius College, Cambridge, and became chaplain to Bishop Moore of Norwich. In 1704 he delivered the Boyle Lectures, in which he brought forward his celebrated argument a priori for the being of a God, grand in conception, but, like all arguments of that class, really resting on the à posteriori expressed or implied. He wrote on the Immateriality and Immortality of the Soul, and translated Newton's Optics into Latin. In 1709 he was presented to the rectory of St. James's, and was appointed one of the Queen's chaplains. His controversies with the Trinitarians arose from his espousal of the Arian doctrine in his treatise on the Trinity. He defended the Newtonian philosophy against Leibnitz, and in 1717 the papers were published. In 1724 he published seventeen sermons, partly metaphysical and partly practical. He refused the offer of the Mastership of the Mint in 1727. He died on the 17th of May, 1729. He has not the extensive grasp and original views of Locke, but he exhibits more of the accuracy of the dialectician. Many of his speculations are too refined. His moral system, which makes the rule of virtue DR. RICHARD PRICE (1723–1791), a Nonconformist minister and writer on morals, who endeavored in his Review of the Principal Questions and Diffi school, which traced moral obligation to the perceptions of the understanding. He wrote several able works on financial subjects, and was invited by the United States, in 1778, to settle in America, in order to assist them in regulating their finances. He was a warm advocate of civil and religious liberty, and is best known in the history of literature by the attack made upon him by Burke, in his Reflections on the Revolution in France. ABRAHAM TUCKER (1705-1774), an English country-gentleman, who devoted himself to metaphysical studies. He held for the most part the Hartleian doctrines, and received the praise of Paley and Mackintosh. His celebrated work was entitled The Light of Nature Pursued, 1768. DR. JOSEPH PRIESTLEY (1733-1804), an eminent Nonconformist minister, who went over from the Calvinistic school of theology to the Unitarian. He was settled in Birmingham for some time, and it was there that the rioters set fire to his house at the time of the French Revolution in 1791. His philosophical opinions were opposed to the Scotch school. In Matter and Spirit (1777) he inclined to materialism and necessity. A large number of tracts issued from his pen, which was ever kept at work from the assiduity of his opposers. Priestley shines most, however, in experimental physics. He was one of the fathers of chemistry, and made several discoveries in relation to light and color. He left England for America in 1794, and died in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, in 1804. DR. THOMAS REID (1710-1796), one of the founders of the Scotch School of Metaphysics, was a Presbyterian clergyman, and Professor of Moral Philosophy, first at King's College, Aberdeen, and afterwards at Glasgow, where he succeeded Adam Smith. His Inquiry into the Human Mind (1764) was directed against the ideal system, and the scepticism of Hume. In 1785 he published his Essays on the Intellectual Powers, and in 1788 his Essays on the Active Power of the Human Mind. DUGALD STEWART (1753-1828), a pupil of Reid, whose philosophical system he adopted and taught with great elegance of style, was Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh from 1785 to 1810. His Elements of the Philosophy of the Human Mind appeared in 1792, and his Philosophical Essays, on which his fame chiefly rests, in 1810. Sir James Mackintosh remarks that "it is in Essays of this kind that Stewart has most surpassed other cultivators of mental philosophy. His remarks on the effect of casual associations may be quoted as a specimen of the most original and just thoughts conveyed in the best manner." DR. THOMAS BROWN (1778-1820), who properly belongs to the next century, is mentioned here on account of his close connection with Reid and Stewart. He succeeded the latter in the chair of Modern Philosophy at Edinburgh in 1810. As a philosopher he was distinguished by the power of analysis. He was also the author of several poems which are now forgotten. HISTORIANS AND SCHOLARS. LORD LYTTELTON (1709-1773), the first lord of this title, and Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1756, is the author of a History of Henry II. (1764–1767), a work of learning and research, but is perhaps best known by his Observations on the Conversion of St. Paul. His poetry has gained for him a place in Johnson's Lives, but it is of slender merit. THOMAS CARTE (1686-1754), the author of a History of England, coming down to 1654, and a Life of the Duke of Ormond, was a strong Jacobite in politics. DR. CONYERS MIDDLETON (1683-1750), librarian of the University of Cambridge, and one of the opponents of the celebrated Bentley. Indeed, he is said to have been the only adversary whom Bentley really feared. When the latter was deprived of his degree by the University, Middleton addressed to him a letter entitled "The Rev. Richard Bentley, late D. D." Middleton is now best known for his Life of Cicero - a work of research, and written in an elegant and perspicuous style; but he also wrote several works on ecclesiastical history. His Free Inquiry into the Miraculous Powers possessed by the Christian Church advocates many of the views adopted by what is called the school of the modern Rationalists. LORD HERVEY (1696-1743), the author of Memoirs of the Reign of George II., published first in 1848, under the editorship of Mr. Croker. Hervey was in constant attendance upon Queen Caroline, the wife of George II., was a friend of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and the object of Pope's severest satire, by the name of Sporus. The Universal History, in 23 vols., was completed in 1760, under the care of Bower, Campbell, William Guthrie, and Psalmanazar. Goldsmith wrote a preface for it, and received three guincas for the task. WILLIAM TYTLER (1711-1792), the father of Alexander Fraser Tytler, the author of Elements of General History, was himself the author of an Inquiry into the Evidence against Mary Queen of Scots, and an Examination into the Histories of Robertson and Hume. DR. THOMAS BIRCH (1705-1766), a clergyman, was the author of many laborious historical works, relating to modern history. He also published a General Dictionary, Historical and Critical, and edited Thurloe's State Papers. DR. ROBERT HENRY (1718-1790), a native of Stirlingshire, and clergyman in Edinburgh, published a History of Great Britain, which was popular in its day. It extended to the reign of Henry VIII., and treated at some extent, with the internal events, the manners and customs of the people. DR. POTTER (1674-1747), born at Wakefield in Yorkshire, educated at University College, Oxford, Archbishop of Canterbury, best known for his work on the Antiquities of Greece, which was for a long time the chief' authority on the subject. BASIL KENNETT (1674-1714) was educated at Oxford, and became English chaplain at Leghorn; is known for his work on Roman Antiquities. RICHARD PORSON (1759-1808), was born in Norfolk, of humble parents, but became one of the greatest Greek scholars of the country, and in 1790 was appointed Greek Professor at Cambridge. Besides his well-known contributions to classical literature, Porson deserves a place in English literature, on account of the admirable style of his Letters to Archdeacon Travis (1790) upon the disputed verse in 1 John v. 7. His Adversaria were published after his death by Monk and Blomfield. JOHN LOUIS DE LOLME (1740-1806), published in 1775 a work on the Constitution of England. It was of value and an authority in its day, but is now supplanted by more modern works. Its interest to the student of English literature arises from the ease and skill with which a native of Geneva wrote our language. MRS. CATHARINE MACAULAY (1733-1791), the wife of a physician, called by Walpole "the henbrood of faction," was the authoress of the celebrated Republican History of England during the Stuart Dynasty. This work received considerable attention at the time. It is of no great historical value, but the style is vigorous and popular. Mrs. Macaulay crossed the Atlantic and had an interview with George Washington. She even ventured to measure her strength against Burke, and attacked his work on the French Revolution. WILLIAM ROSCOE (1753-1831) was born in Liverpool, and spent his early years at the desk of an attorney. In 1806 he was chosen member of Parliament, but soon retired from public life, and steadily refused all applications which were made him to return. In 1796 he published The Life of Lorenzo de Medici, which was one of the most popular works of the day. The style was easy, graceful, and pleasing. Leo X., which was published in 1805, did not attain the same popularity. There were questions of a most delicate nature to be discussed; the reformation presented points of deepest interest to Papist and to Protestant, and the historian had to guard against offending either party. NATHANIEL HOOKE (d. 1764), a Roman Cath olic, and a friend of Pope, the author of a Roman | of England, to the Union of the Kingdoms in the History, which was for a long time the standard reign of Queen Anne. work on the subject, but is deficient in criticism, and is now entirely superseded. Hooke was a warm partisan of the plebeians in their struggles with the patricians. JACOB BRYANT (1715-1804), secretary to the Duke of Marlborough, who gave him a lucrative place in the Ordnance Office, was the author of several works on classical and mythological subjects. His fancy carried him often too far in paradox and speculation, but he established and defended his theories with great ingenuity and research. His leading works were A New System or Analysis of Ancient Mythology, 1774-76; On the Plain of Troy, 1795; and On the Trojan War, 1796. GILBERT WAKEFIELD (1756–1801), a well-known writer on divinity, and a classical scholar. He left the church from Unitarian views, and published a translation of the New Testament, and a work on the Evidences of Christianity, in answer to Paine. He was found guilty of libel in his reply to the Bishop of Llandaff in defence of the revolution in France, and imprisoned for two years. He was a hasty but honest man, "as violent against Greek accents as he was against the Trinity, and anathematized the final v as strongly as episcopacy." DR. GILBERT STUART (1742-1786), born in Edinburgh, was an active writer in the Reviews, in which he attacked many of his contemporaries with extreme bitterness. He wrote a History of the Reformation of Religion in Scotland, and a History of Scotland, in which he vehemently attacks Robertson. DR. WARNER (d. 1767) and Dr. LELAND (17221785) published histories of Ireland. The latter was author of the well-known translation of Demosthenes. The History of Manchester, and Vindication of Mary Queen of Scots, by JOHN WHITAKER (17351808), deserve a passing mention. REV. JAMES GRANGER'S (d. 1776) Biographical History of England, which was continued by Noble, may still be consulted with advantage. JAMES MACPHERSON (1738-1796), mentioned in the next chapter in connection with the poems of Ossian (p. 394), appeared as an historian and defender of the Tories in his History of Great Britain from the Restoration to the Accession of the House of Hanover, 1775, a work of some value from the private history which it reveals. LORD HAILES, SIR DAVID DALRYMPLE (17261792), was a well-known lawyer and judge, a man of great erudition, and author of Annals of Scotland, published in 1776, and other legal and historical works. Robertson's History of Charles V. was continued by ROBERT WATSON (d. 1780), Professor of Logic at St. Andrew's, in a History of Philip II., a work of no merit. DR. WILLIAM RUSSELL (1741-1793), born at Selkirk, the author of a history of Modern Europe, which is now superseded by Mr. Dyer's. MALCOLM LAING (1762-1818), born in Orkney, which he represented for some time in Parliament, wrote a History of Scotland, from the Union of the Crowns on the accession of James VI. to the throne JOHN PINKERTON (1758-1826), born in Edinburgh, a laborious and learned writer, the author of numerous works, among which may be mentioned a History of Scotland, Modern Geography, Voyages and Travels, &c. MISCELLANEOUS WRITERS. PHILIP DORMER STANHOPE, EARL OF CHESTERFIELD (1694-1773), was one of the most accomplished men in the Court of the Georges, but his only lasting contribution to literature is his Letters containing advice to his son. The style is agreeable, but the moral tone is low; Dr. Johnson said it taught the morals of a courtesan and the manners of a dancing-master; but something of this severity must be set down to the relation which subsisted between Johnson and Chesterfield. The speeches, essays, &c., with memoir of Chesterfield, were published by Dr. Maty, in 1774. The copyright of Chesterfield's Letters realized 15007., and in the year succeeding their publication five editions were distributed. THOMAS AMORY (1692-1789), a native of Ireland, was educated as a physician, and resided in Westminster. As a writer he is humorous, but pedantic. His chief works were-Memoirs, containing the Lives of several Ladies of Great Britain, 1755; and the Life of John Buncle, Esq., 1756-66. This last is in the form of an autobiography, full of humor, quotation, and thought, reminding the reader of Burton's quaint work. SIR WILLIAM JONES (1746-1794), a celebrated Oriental scholar, and the author of many works in various branches of literature, was the son of a mathematician of some eminence. He was educated at Harrow, and University College, Oxford, was called to the bar in 1774, and was appointed in 1783 a judge of the Supreme Court at Calcutta, where he died in 1794, after a residence of eleven years. He was one of the first Europeans who studied Sanskrit, and he contributed many valuable papers to the "Asiatic Researches." While in India he translated from the Sanskrit Sacuntalâ, a dramatic poem by Kalidasa, and the Hitopadesa, a collection of fables. He has obtained a place among the English poets on account of two small volumes of poems, containing a few original pieces, and several translations from the Eastern writers. JOHN HORNE TOOKE (1736-1812) was born in London, son of a poulterer named Horne. He received his education at Westminster, Eton, and St. John's, Cambridge. He entered the church, but threw himself into the great political struggles of those days, and wrote in 1765 in favor of Wilkes. In 1773 he resigned his preferment in the church, in order to study for the bar, but the benchers refused to call him because he was a clergyman. Mr. Tooke, of Purley, whose name he afterwards adopted, left him his fortune. In 1794 he was tried for high treason, and was defended by Erskine. In 1796 he was returned to Parliament as member for Westminster, and again in 1801 for Sarum. The declining years of his life were passed at Wimbledon, a literary retreat, whither friends often resorted to enjoy the hospitality, humor, and philosophy of |