vaft and voluminous collection of all thofe lives that has already fwelled to eleven volumes in folio, in a small print, and yet being digested according to the kalender, they have yet but ended the month of April: the life of monfieur Renty is writ in another manner, where there are so many excellent paffages, that he is justly to be reckoned amongst the greatelt patterns that France. has afforded in this age. But while fome have nourished infidelity, and a scorn of all facred things by writing of thofe good men in, fuch a ftrain, as makes not only what is fo related to be disbelieved, but creates a distrust of the authentical writings of our most holy faith; others have fallen into another extreme in writing lives too jejunely, fwelling them up with trifling accounts of the childhood and education, and the domeftick or private affairs of those perfons of whom they write, in which the world is little concerned; by thefe they become fo flat, that few care to read them, for certainly those transactions are only fit to be delivered to pofterity, that may carry with them fome ufeful piece of knowlege to after, times. I have now an argument before me, which will afford indeed a fhort hiftory, but will contain in it as great a character, as perhaps can be given of any in this age; fince there are few inftances of more knowlege and greater virtues meeting in one perfon. I am upon one account (befides many more) unfit to undertake it, because I was not at all known to him, so I can fay nothing from my own obfervation; but upon fccond thoughts I do not know whether this may not qualify. me to write more impartially, though perhaps more defectively; for the knowlege of extraordinary perfons does most commonly bias thofe, who were much wrought on by the tenderness of their friendship for them, to raise their stile a little too high when they write concerning them: I confefs I knew him as much as the looking often upon him could amount to. The last year of his being in London, he came always on fundays (when he could : could go abroad) to the chappel of the Rolls, where 1 then preached In my life I never faw fo much gravity tempered with that fweetness, and fet off with fo much vivacity as appeared in his looks and behaviour, which difpofed me to a veneration for him, which I never had for any with whom I was not acquainted: I was feeking an opportunity of being admitted to his converfation; but I understood that between a great want of health, and a multiplicity of business, which his imployment brought upon him, he was master of fo little of his time, that I ftood in doubt whether I might prefume to rob him of any of it, and fo he left the town before I could refolve on defiring to be known to him. My ignorance of the law of England made me alfo unfit to write of a man, a great part of whofe charater, as to his learning, is to be taken from his skill in the common law, and his performance in that. But I fhall leave that to thofe of the fame robe: fince, if I engaged much in it, I must needs commit many errors, writing of a fubject that is foreign to me. The occafion of my undertaking this, was given me first by the earnest defires of fome that have great power over me, who having been much obliged by him, and holding his memory in high eftimation, thought I might do it fome right by writing his life: I was then engaged in writing the hiftory of the reformation, fo I promised that, as foon as that was over, I should make the beft ufe I could of fuch informations and memorials as should be brought to me. This I have now performed in the best manner I could, and have brought into method all the parcels of his life, or the branches of his character, which I could either gather from the informations that were brought me, or from thofe that were familiarly acquainted with him, or from his writings: I have not applied any of the falfe colours with which art, or fome forced eloquence might furnish me in writing concerning him, but have endeavoured to fet him out in the fame fimplicity in which he lived: I have faid little of his domestick concerns, concerns, fince, tho' in these he was a great example; yet it fignifies nothing to the world to know any par- · ticular exercises that might be given to his patience; and therefore I fhall draw a veil over all these, and shall avoid saying any thing of him, but what may afford the reader fome profitable inftruction: I am under no temptations of faying any thing, but what I am perfuaded is exactly true, for where there is fo much excellent truth to be told, it were an inexcufable fault to corrupt that, or prejudice the reader against it by the mixture of falfhoods with it. In short, he was a great example while he lived, fo I wish the fetting him thus out to pofterity in his own true and native colours, may have its due influence on all perfons, but more particularly on thofe of that pro-s feffion, whom it more immediately concerns, whether on the bench or at the bar. THE M ATTHEW HALE, was born at Alderly in Glocefterfhire the first of November, 1609. His grand-father was Robert Hale, an eminent clothi er in Wotton-under-edge, in that county, where he and his ancestors had lived for many defcents; and they had given feveral parcels of land for the use of the poor, which are enjoyed by them to this day. This Robert acquired an éftate of ten thousand pound which he divided almoft equally amongst his five fons; befides the portions he gave his daughters, from whom a numerous posterity has fprung. His fecond fon was Robert Hale, a Barrister of Lincolns-Inn; he married Joan, the daughter of Matthew Poyntz of Alderly, Efquire, who was defcended from that noble family of the Poyntz's of Acton: of this marriage there was no other iffue but this one fon. grand-father by his mother was his god-father; and gave him his own name at his baptifm. His father wast a man of that ftrictness of confcience, that he gave over the practice of the law, because he could not understand the reafon of giving colour in pleadings, which as he thought was to tell a lie, and that, with fome other things commonly practifed, feemed to him contrary to that exactness of truth and justice which became a Chriftian, fo that he withdrew himself from the inns of court to live on his estate in the country. Of this I was informed by an ancient gentleman, that lived in a friendship Hist with his fon for fifty years, and he heard judge Joans, that was Mr. Hale's contemporary, declared this in the king's-bench. But as the care he had to fave his foul, made him abandon a profeffion in which he might have raised his family much higher, fo his charity to his poor neighbours, made him not only deal his alms largely among them while he lived, but at his death he left (out of his fmall eftate which was but 100 /. a year) 207. a year to the poor of Wotton, which his fon confirmed to them with fome addition, and with this regulation, that it fhould be diftributed among fuch poor houfe-keepers, as did not receive the alms of the parish; for to give it to thofe, was only, as he used to say, to fave fo much money to the rich, who by law were bound to relieve the poor of the parish. Thus he was defcended rather from a good, than a noble family, and yet what was wanting in the infignificant titles of high birth, and noble blood, was more than made up in the true worth of his ancestors. But he was foon deprived of the happiness of his father's care and inftruction, for as he loft his mother before he was three years old, so his father died before he was five; fo early was he cast on the providence of God. But that unhappinefs was in a great measure made up to him: for after fome oppofition made by Mr. Thomas Poyntz, his uncle by his mother, he was committed to the care of Anthony Kingfcot, of Kingfcot, Efq; who was his next kinfman, after his uncles by his mother. Great care was taken of his education, and his guardian intended to breed him to be a divine, and being inclined to the way of thefe then called Puritans, put him to fome fchools that were taught by thofe of that party, and in the feventeenth year of his age, fent him to MagdalenHall in Oxford, where Obadiah Sedgwick was his tutor, He was an extraordinary proficient at fchool, and forfome time at Oxford. But the ftage-players coming thi ther, he was fo much corrupted by seeing many plays, that he almoft wholly forfook his ftudies. By this he not only loft much time, but found that his head came to be thereby filled with fuch vain images of things, that they were at beft unprofitable, if not hurtful to him; and being afterwards fenfible of the mifchief of this, he re |