He took his first degree in arts December 8th 1685, and thence proceeded regularly to that of Ma

"life in Laertius, for it is certain he was an exact courtier, and "the reft of the philofophers, the Grecians, were generally "averfe to him because he could endure to live in the court

of Dionyfius, whereas they were all for a democracy, and "could not endure to fee a Greek complaifant to a monarch, "being a thing, as they thought, below the dignity of his "birth. Pleasure was the thing he fought after; and the Hegeftacks, his followers, tell us there was nothing either plea"fant or unpleasant by nature; but that through fcarcity,

novelty, and fatiety, fome things were delightful, others *diftafteful; that wealth and poverty had no relation to plea"fure, for that the pleafures of the rich and the pleasures of "the poor were ftill the fame. They were of opinion that the "tranfgreffions of men were to be pardoned, for that no man "committed a voluntary sin but by the impulfe of fome na"tural paflion or other; that a man ought to propose to him"felf, as his chiefeft end, to live a life freeft from trouble and "pain, which happens to them who are not over eager in the "chafe and purfuit of pleasure. See in the life of Ariftippus "the notion of the Cyreniacks about friendship, and how they "thow the pleafure that is in it.-Theodorus the Atheist de"nied friendthip, as neither appearing really in fools nor "wife men; for in the firít as foon as the benefit ceafes the "friendthip dies; and wife men truft fo much to their own "abilities that they ftand in need of none.-Laertius has "made verfes on moft of the philofophers which are very "dull.-The Phrygians profufe in their tempers.---Menede"mus, when a kupid fellow talked impertinently to him, "faid, "Haft thou any lands?" The fellow anfwered, "Yes; "feveral farms." "Go, then," faid he, "and look after "them, left thou lofe thy wealth, and come to be a poor fool." "Timon, an inveterate enemy to theAcademick philofophers, "has written a fatire upon them all.There is a very fine "ode of Ariftotle's in Diogenes Laertius concerning virtue and

fter July 6th in the year of the Revolution, and the fame year commenced author. He had the happiness of being endued with a religious turn of mind †,

"friendship which wants to be translated from the Greek."Diogenes's fayings are most of them puns. He said oppo"fition was the ftudy of his whole life.-Hypparchia, a wo"man of a good birth and fortune, fell in love with Crates "the nafty Cynick, and would needs marry him, and live after "his fathion. Crates made her brother become his auditor by "letting a f―. These Cynicks were nafty brutes.--The logick "of the Stoicks feems to me, as far as I can make any thing "of Laertius, to be nothing but words. They held felfpre"fervation to be the first of all defires infufed into all crea"tures.-Erillus maintained there were things indifferent "between virtue and vice." From thefe Obfervations on Laertius the reader will be able to form a judgment of others. We need not take notice that this method of making remarks upon the authors he read is very far from being peculiar to the Doctor; it is the general way of every ftudent; but nothing difcovers the taste and temper of his genius more than the turn and nature of his Adverfaria: it is thefe that fhew how freely the Doctor ranged in the fields of polite learning, as well as what fort of flowers pleafed his fancy moft. None of the humorous kind seem to have escaped his notice, especially if dreffed up in verfe, of which the following may ferve for a specimen :

Mirth makes them not mad,

Nor fobriety fad,

For of that they are feldom in danger:

At Paris, at Rome,

At the Hague, they 're at home:

The good fellow is no where a stranger.

+ This was fo much his difpofition, that he would never enter upon any business of the day till he had performed his devotions, and read several portions of Scripture out of the Pfalms, the Prophets, and the New Testament, on which he would often make his remarks, taking a freth piece of paper

which being joined to the warmest regard for the honour of his country†, prompted him to rescue the

every morning in his hands, on which he always begun with Zuv O, By God's permission ; and this paper he kept at hand all day, to write down whatever occurred to his mind or pleafed his fancy; thefe he called Hints, which he could refer to at pleasure: accordingly we find several of these upon the fubject of religion and the church, as well as virtue and morality. Such, for inftance, are thefe: "The fecond of "Efdras feems to me full of tautologies and childish instan"ces of God's power and explanation of his fecret defigns. "Chryfoftome fpeaks exprefsly of Jefus Chrift.-See Bartolus "Agricola de Advocato. Having taught the advocate to be

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a good man, he proceeds to make him a good Chriftian."There is fuch an air of piety runs through all Hackluit's "difcoveries that makes it feem as if that alone made them "fuccefsful. What fignified all the Buccaneers' profperity "without virtue? to what authority did all their wars and "conquefts bring them but to make one another rich and vi "cious?"

In this fpirit, at the head of a very large number of his Adverfaria we find "Criticisms and remarks in poetry, &c. "as might tend to the honour of the British name and litera"ture," To encourage a collection of this kind our Author recommends a prodigious number of observations on books, manufcripts, and what else he had met with to promote the faid work. Thefe obfervations fill up above twenty pages in octavo, and are most of them exceeding curious. The great number of the valuable smaller poetical pieces referred to and mentioned in them are a confpicuous proof of our Author's judgment as well as diligence. Among other rare pieces he mentions the Polemo Middiano, a Macaronick poem by Drummond of Hawthornden, which, as he intimates, was published by Dr. Gibfon, late Bishop of London. He takes notice also of the Bishop of Litchfield's Technical verses for Chronology as a Atupendous work, comprehending that learning through many

character and name of Wicliffe, our first reformer, from the calumnies of Monf. Varillas: the thing had been publickly requested alfo as a proper undertaking for fuch as were at leifure and would take the trouble. Mr. King therefore deeming himself to be thus called forth to the charge, readily entered the lifts, and with a proper mixture of wit and learning handfomely exposed the blunders of that French

ages fo fhort, that nothing can be a greater inftance memoriam in artem poffe redire. In the fame view having afterwards mentioned the technical verses usually found in the little manuals of logick, he fays it were to be withed that the memorial verfes in all sciences were collected together and printed; and his judgment in this particular has been confirmed, and the defign here hinted actually put into execution by the learned Dr. Richard Gray, in his Memoria Technica, or Art of Memory. Our Poet is particularly inquifitive after many pieces of the author of Hudibras. "If that author," fays he," has " left any Latin behind him it would be the best in that kind: "his thoughts are so juft, his images fo lively, fuch a deep in"fight into the nature of mankind, and the humour of those "times, that no true hiftory could be wrote without ftudy"ing that author. It is pity," continues he, "that the finest "of our English poets, especially the divine Shakespeare, had "not communicated their beauties to the world fo as to be "understood in Latin, whereby foreigners have fuftained fo "great a lofs to this day, when all of them were inexcufable "but the most inimitable Shakefpeare. I am so far from be"ing envious and defirous to keep those treasures to our"felves, that I could with all our moft excellent poets tranf "lated into Latin that are not fo already." Accordingly this hint of the Doctor's was not loft; among other things we have fince feen not only a Latin translation of Prior's Solomon, but even of Milton's Paradise Loft, excellently performed in verle by Mr. Dobfon, Fellow of New College, Oxford.

author in a piece entitled Reflections upon Mr. Va◄ rillas his History of Heresy, book I. tome I. as far as relates to English Matters, more especially those of Wicliffe, London 1688†.

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+ Mr. Varillas had entitled his book Hiftoire des Revolutions arrivees en Europe en Matiere de Religion, Paris, 6 volumes 4to, 1636, and again in 1687, 12mo. It begins with the year 1 374, and ends in 1650. Dr. King made ufe of the Amfterdam edition, not being able to procure that of Paris. At the head of the first volume Varillas had put the following advertisement: "In compofing this work I have taken my materials indiffe"rently from Catholick and Proteftant writers, citing thefe "laft in their own words, as often as I found them ingenuous "enough not to fupprefs or difguife the most important truths; "and it is through their own fault that I have been obliged "to have recourfe to the Catholicks." In like manner Mr.King prefixed an advertisement, wherein he declares" that he was willing to contribute his share in expofing Mr. Varillas's "mistakes concerning Wicliffe, having formerly laid together "fome obfervations conducing to fuch a defign. Mr. Larroque "had, it is true, gone before him in the attempt, but that in"genious gentleman was not well advised to meddle in a "ftrange country, till time had inftructed him more fully in "the conftitutions and language of it. That he (Mr. King) "has given Mr. Varillas all the law imaginable, having made "no advantage of mistakes which with any reafon could be 'charged upon the printer, and has contradicted nothing "without exprefs proof on his fide, and in things highly im"probable, which feem to have no foundation in hiftory: un"lefs he can confront them with pofitive and authentick te"ftimonies he lets the author alone, and fuffers the boldness "of the affertion to be its own fecurity." In the Reflections "he obferves that "the enemies of the Reformation, as they "feem refolved never to leave off writing controverfies, and "being confuted by our divines, fo they are not wanting upon "occafion to turn their ftyle,andfurnith out matter oftriumph