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Another writer relates this more particularly. Sir Edward, while he was in France, had private inftructions from England to mediate a peace for the Proteftants in France; and, in case of a refufal, to use certain menaces. Accordingly being referred to de Luines, he delivered to him the meffage, referving his threatnings till he faw how the maťter was relished. De Luines had concealed behind the curtain a gentleman of the Reformed religion; who, being an ear-witness of what paffed, might relate to his friends what little expectations they ought to entertain of the king of England's interceffion. De Luines was very haughty, and would needs know what our king had to do in this affair. Sir Edward replied, "It is not to you, to whom the king my master oweth an account of his actions; and for me "it is enough that I obey him. In the mean time I must "maintain, that my mafter hath more reason to do what he "doth, than you to afk why he doth it. Nevertheless, if you defire me in a gentle fashion, I fhall acquaint you "farther." Upon this de Luines bowing a little, faid, "Very well." The ambaffador then gave him fome reafons; to which de Luines faid, "We will have none of your advices." The ambaflador replied, "that he took "that for an answer, and was forry only, that the affection and good-will of the king his mafter was not fufficiently "understood; and that, fince it was rejected in that manner, " he could do no less than say, that the king his mafter knew "well enough what to do." De Luines answered, “We are not afraid of you." The ambaffador fmiling a little, replied, "If you had faid you had not loved us, I fhould "have believed you, and given you another anfwer. In "the mean time all that I will tell you more is, that we "know very well what we have to do." De Luines upon this, rifing from his chair with a fashion and countenance a little difcompofed, faid, " By God, if you were not Monfieur "the ambaffador, I know very well how I would ufe you." Sir Edward Herbert rifing alfo from his chair, faid, that "as he was the king of Great-Britain's ambaffador, so he "was alfo a gentleman; and that his fword, whereon he "laid his hand, fhould give him fatisfaction, if he had taken 66 any offence." After which, de Luines making no reply, the ambaffador went on towards the door; and de Luines feeming to accompany him, Sir Edward told him, that "there was no occafion to ufe fuch ceremony after such "language," and fo departed, expecting to hear farther from him. But no meffage being brought from de Luines, he

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had, in pursuance of his inftructions, a more civil audience from the king at Coignac; where the marfhal of St. Geran told him, that " he had offended the conftable, and was not "in a place of fecurity there :" to which he answered, that "he thought himself to be in a place of fecurity, wherefo"ever he had his fword by him." De Luines refenting the affront, procured Cadinet his brother, duke of Chaun, with a train of officers, of whom there was not one, as he told king James, but had killed his man, to go as an ambassador extraordinary: who mifreprefented the affair fo much to the difadvantage of Sir Edward, that the earl of Carlisle, who was fent to accommodate the misunderstanding which might arife between the two crowns, got him recalled; until the gentleman who had stood behind the curtain, out of a regard to truth and honour, related all the circumftances fo, as to make it appear, that though de Luines gave the first affront, yet Sir Edward had kept himself within the bounds of his inftructions and honour. He afterwards fell on his knees to king James before the duke of Buckingham, requesting, that a trumpeter, if not an herald, might be fent to de Luines, to tell him, that he had made a falfe relation of the whole affair; and that Sir Edward Herbert would demand fatisfaction of him fword in hand. The king anfwered, that he would take it into confideration; but de Luines died Lloyd, &c. foon after, and Sir Edward was fent again ambassador to France.

p. 1018.

In 1625, Sir Edward was advanced to the dignity of a baron of the kingdom of Ireland by the title of lord Herbert of Caftle-Ifland; and, in 1631, to that of lord Herbert of Cherbury in Shropshire. After the breaking out of the civil wars, he adhered to the parliament; and, Feb. 25, 1644, Memorials had an allowance granted him for his livelihood, having of the Eng-been fpoiled by the king's forces," as Whitelocke fays; lish Affairs, or as Wood relates it," received fatisfaction from the mem"bers of that houfe, for their caufing Montgomery caftle Ath. Oxon." to be demolished." He died at his houfe in Queen-ftreet,

p. 104.

London, Aug. 20, 1648; and was buried in the chancel of St. Giles's in the Fields, with this infcription upon a flat marble stone over his grave: "Heic inhumatur corpus Ed"vardi Herbert equitis Balnei, baronis de Cherbury & "Caftle-Ifland, auctoris libri, cui titulus eft, De Veritate. "Reddor ut herbæ, vicefimo die Augufti anno Domini "1648."

This noble lord was the author of fome very fingular and memorable works; the first of which was his book "De "Veritate,"

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"Veritate," which we have feen just mentioned in his epitaph. It was printed at Paris in 1624, and reprinted there in 1633; after which it was printed in London, in 1645, under this title; "De Veritate, prout diftinguitur à revela❝tione, à verifimili, à poffibili, à falfo. Cui operi additi "funt duo alii tractatus: primus de caufis errorum; alter "de Religione Laici." The defign of it to affert the sufficiency, univerfality, and abfolute perfection of natural religion, with a view to difcard all extraordinary revelation as needlefs; and on this account it is, that his lordship, though he did not write directly against revelation, has ufually been ranked among the Deifts. A learned and candid author, however, has lately published a most extraordinary anecdote relating to him, which, if true, fhews him to have been a "moft confcientious Deift: and true this writer feems to fuppofe it, fince he does not appear to doubt it, but tells us, that it is taken " from a MS. life of lord Herbert drawn up "from memorials penned by himself, and which is now in "the poffeflion of a gentleman of diftinction." His book Leland's "De Veritate" was, it feems, his favourite work; yet as Deiftical it was written in a manner fo very different from what had Writers, been heretofore written on that fubject, his lordfhip had great Vol. I. p. doubts within himfelf, whether he should publish or rather fupprefs it. This the MS. life, we are told, fets forth in his lordship's own words; after which it represents him relating the following furprising incident,' as he calls it. "Being "thus doubtful in my chamber," fays lord Herbert, "one "fair day in the fummer, my cafement being open towards "the fouth, the fun fhining clear, and no wind ftirring, I "took my book, De Veritate,' in my hands, and kneeling

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on my knees, devoutly faid thefe words: O thou eternal "God, author of this light, which now fhines upon me, " and giver of all inward illuminations, I do befeech thee, "of thine infinite goodnefs, to pardon a greater request than finner ought to make. I am not fatisfied enough, whe"ther I fhall publish this book: if it be for thy glory, I be"feech thee give me fome fign from heaven; if not, I shall fupprefs it. I had no fooner spoken these words, but a "loud, though yet gentle noife, came forth from the heavens, for it was like nothing on earth, which did fo chear "and comfort me, that I took my petition as granted, and “that I had the fign I demanded; whereupon alfo I refolved "to print my book. This, how ftrange foever it may seem, "I proteft before the eternal God, is true: neither am I any way fuperftitiously deceived herein, fince I did not

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"only clearly hear the noife, but in the fereneft fky that "ever I faw, being without all cloud, did, to my thinking, Leland, &c. "fee the place from whence it came." The celebrated

P. 470.

& Voffii

Gaffendi wrote a confutation of this book "De Veritate,' at the defire of Peirefcius and Elias Diodati, and finished it at Aix, without publishing it: and when lord Herbert paid him a vifit in Sept. 1647, Gaffendi was furprized to find, that this piece had not been delivered to him, for he had fent him a copy upon which he ordered another copy to be taken of it, which that nobleman carried with him to England. It was afterwards published in Gaffendi's works, under the title of "Ad librum D. Edvardi Herberti Angli de Veritate "epiftola," but is imperfect, fome fheets of the original being loft.

His "Hiftory of the Life and Reign of Henry VIII." was published in 1649, a year after his death, and is a work which has always been much admired. Nicolfon, in his Parti. p. English "Hiftorical Library," fays, that lord Herbert "ac226. 1696. « quitted himself in this hiftory with the like reputation, as "the lord chancellor Bacon gained by that of Henry VIIth. "For in the public and martial part this honourable author "has been admirably particular and exact from the best re"cords that were extant; though as to the ecclefiaftical, "he feems to have looked upon it as a thing out of his pro"vince, and an undertaking more proper for men of ang"ther profeffion." In 1663, appeared his book "De ReClarorum "ligione Gentilium, errorumque apud eos caufis." The Virorum ad first part was printed at London, in 1645; and that year he Voff. Epift. fent the MS. of it to Gerard Voffius, as appears from a letEpiftolæ. ter of his lordfhip's, and Voffius's answer. An English tranflation of this work was published in 1705, under this title: "The ancient Religion of the Gentiles, and Caufes "of their Errors confidered. The Miftakes and Failures "of the Heathen Priefts and wife Men, in their Notions of "the Deity and Matters of Divine Worfhip, are examined "with regard to their being destitute of Divine Revelation." Lord Herbert wrote alfo in 1630, "Expeditio Buckinghami "ducis in Ream infulam," which was published in 1656; and "Occafional Verfes" published in 1665 by his fon Henry Herbert, and dedicated to Edward lord Herbert, his grandAth. Oxon. fon. He was, upon the whole, as Wood tells 66 us, a per"fon well ftudied in the arts and languages, a good philo"fopher and hiftorian, and understood men as well as books," let Chriftian Kortholt fay what he will; who, on account of his book "De Veritate," has ranked him with Hobbes and

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Spinofa,

Spinofa, in his differtation, intituled, "De tribus impoftori"bus magnis, Edvardo Herbert, Thoma Hobbes, & Be❝nedicto Spinofa Liber," printed at Kilon in 1680.

HERBERT (GEORGE), an English poet and divine, was Walton's brother of the preceding, and born at Montgomery-caftle in Life of flerbert, with Wales, Apr. 3, 1593. He was educated at Westminster- the Lives of fchool; and being king's fcholar, was elected to Trinity- Donne, &c. college in Cambridge, about 1608. He took both the de- p. 262. Lond. 1675. grees in arts, and became fellow of his college: and in 1619, he was chofen orator of the univerfity, which office he held eight years. During that time he had learned the Italian, Spanish, and French tongues very perfectly: hoping, fays his biographer, that he might in time, as his predeceffors Sir Robert Naunton and Sir Francis Netherfole had done, obtain the place of fecretary of state; for he was at that time highly efteemed by the king and the most eminent of the nobility, This and the love of a court-converfation, "mixed "with a laudable ambition to be fomewhat more than he "then was," drew him often from Cambridge to attend his majefty, wherever the court was: who gave him a finecure, which queen Elizabeth had formerly conferred on Sir Philip Sidney, worth about 1201. per ann. His biographer, we see, makes no fcruple to call this fort of ambition laudable, though it is commonly the fource of all the mischiefs which infeft fociety, and the very oppofite to that happy frame and turn of temper, which makes a man content with whatsoever state he fhall happen to be placed in. This laudable ambition however was unfortunately disappointed: for upon the deaths of the duke of Richmond and the marquis of Hamilton, his hopes of preferment were at an end, and he entered into orders. July 1626, he was collated to a prebend in the church of Lincoln; and about 1630, he married a lady, who was nearly related to the earl of Danby. The fame year, he was inducted into the rectory of Bemerton near Sarum; where he discharged the duties of his function in a moft exemplary manner. We have no exact account of the time of his death; but it is fuppofed to have happened about 1635. His poems, intituled, "The Temple," were printed at London in 1635, 12mo: and his " Prieft to the Temple, or, "The Country Parson's Character and Rules of holy Life,” was published in 1652. His works have fince been published together in a volume, 12mo, but are now little read. Nevertheless, he was highly valued by the most eminent perfons of his age. Dr. Donne infcribed to him a copy of Latin VOL. VII,

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