his spirit unto GOD, December the 27th, 1603. aged sixty-eight years. Mr Dodd preached his funeral sermon. His WORKS. His Harmonia Evangelica is a very learned and able performance. A Comment upon the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. A Confutation of the Rhemist's Translation, Glosses, and Annotations. Reply to Archbishop Whitgift. Commentaria practica in totam historiam evan gelicam. And some other Works.

JOHN WHITGIFT,

ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

THIS great man might be called, the undaunted champion of the rites, discipline and revenues of the church of England. The greatest part of his life, which was a very active one, was employed in her service: And her establishment, under GOD, to this day may be in great measure ascribed to his zeal and abilities. He had not the mildness and deep erudition of an Usher, nor the spirituality and ascetic turn of a Leighton, who held the same rank in the church; but he seemed to be an instrument raised up to preserve its ecclesiastical state, which enters so deeply into our whole political constitution, that (as it was proved under Charles I.) the one could not subsist without the other.

He was the son of Henry Whitgift, merchant of Great Grimsby, in Lincolnshire, by Anne Dynewell, a young gentlewoman of good birth and reputation in that town, where he was born in the year 1530. He was descended of the ancient family of the Whitgifts of Whitgift in the West Riding of Yorkshire, some of whom had been considerable benefactors to the church. But his grandfather John Whitgift, Gent. having a numerous family, and placing his sons out in different ways of life, one of them [Robert] was bred to the church, and became abbot of the monastry of Wellow, near Grimsby. In this situation, as he applied himself to instruct young gentlemen in the first rudiments of learning, he took his nephew (the subject of our present article) under his care. Here our Author early imbibed an ill opinion of the Romish church

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from this uncle, who often declared in his hearing, That they and their religion could not long continue; because he had read the whole scripture over and over, and could never find therein that it was founded by God, which consequently (said he,) cannot stand, since these are our Saviour's words, Every plant that my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up, Matth. xv. 30. In the mean time, observing the promising genius of his nephew, he advised his father to send him to St Anthony's school at London. For this purpose he was lodged in St Paul's Church-yard at his aunt's who had married one of the vergers of that church. While he was here, his aunt often importuned him to go to mass, and procured also some of the canons of St Paul's to persuade him to it; but having already some relish of the doctrine of the Reformation, he constantly withstood all their endeavours. By this his conduct she grew at length so much exasperated, as to turn him out of doors, imputing all her losses and domestic misfortunes to her harbouring of such an heretic (as she called him) under her roof; and at parting told him, that she thought at first she had received a saint into her house, but now she perceived he was a devil.'

Thus rudely treated by his aunt, he repaired home to his father in Lincolnshire, where his uncle the abbot, finding upon examination that he had made a good progress in grammar learning, advised the sending of him to the university. Accordingly he was sent to Cambridge in the year 1548 or 1549, and placed first in Queen'scollege; but not liking the disposition of some there, he was removed soon after to Pembroke-hall, and put under the tuition of the celebrated John Bradford, the martyr, who was then lately chosen fellow of that society. He had not been long here before he was recommended by his tutor and Mr Grindall, then fellow, (afterwards archbishop of Canterbury) to the master, Nicholas Ridley; by which means he was made scholar of that house, and chosen bible-clerk. These advantages were the more acceptable to him, as his circumstances were then but indifferent, by reason of his father's great losses at sea. Mr Bradford leaving Cambridge in the year 1550, our Author fell under the care of Mr Gregory Garth, who continued his tutor while he staid at Pembroke-hall, from whence he went out bachelor of arts in 1553-4. But in 1555, being unanimously elected fellow of Peter-house, he was admitted there in that quality by Thirlby, bishop of Ely,

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the thirty-first of May the same year. He commenced master of arts in 1557.

About this time he had a severe fit of sickness; and soon after his recovery happened the remarkable visitation of this university by the authority of cardinal Pole, in order to purge out the heretics. To avoid the storm, our Author's first resolution was to go to Strasburg, Frankfort, or somewhere in Switzerland; but Dr Perne, the master of his college, though at that time a professed Papist, yet having a great esteem for him, undertook to skreen him from the commissioners, which prevailed on him not to leave the university. The master's promise was faithfully performed and notwithstanding the severity of that visitation, he escaped without any inquiry, by the connivance of his friend, who being then vice-chancellor, and shewing himself active in the present transactions, was the less suspected to favour any but thorough devotees of Rome.

In 1560, our Author entered into holy orders, and soon after preached his first sermon at St Mary's before the university, upon Rom. i. 16. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, &c. with general and great approbation. The same year he was appointed chaplain to Dr Richard Cox, bishop of Ely, who gave him the rectory of Teversham, in Cambridgeshire. In 1563, he proceeded bachelor of divinity; and Matthew Hutton, then fellow of Trinity-College, being appointed Regius professor of divinity, the same year, our Author succeeded him in the Margaret professorship. Soon after this he joined with his brother professor and several heads of colleges, in a petition to Sir William Cecil, their chancellor, for an order to regulate the election of public officers, the want of which created great disturbance in the university at that time. Two years after this he distinguished himself so eminently in the pulpit, that Sir Nicholas Bacon, then lord keeper, sent for him to court to preach before the queen, who heard him with great satisfaction, and gave orders presently to have him sworn her chaplain. The same year, 1565, being informed that some statutes were preparing above to enjoin an uniformity of habits, particularly to order the wearing of surplices in the university, he promoted the writing of a joint letter privately to Cecil, earnestly desiring him to stop (if possible) the sending down any such orders, which it was perceived would be very unacceptable to the university: But this address was taken so ill at court, that our Author was obliged afterwards to VOL. II. make

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make an apology for his conduct in it. However, he grew into so great esteem at Cambridge, as well under the character of a preacher as the restorer of order and discipline there, that the next year, June the tenth, the university granted him a licence under their common seal, to preach throughout the realm; and on the fifth of July following, the salary of his professorship was raised, out of respect to him, by that body, from twenty marks to twenty pounds.

He had the year before been a considerable benefactor to his college; where the next year, 1567, he held the president's place, but was called thence, April the twentyfirst, to Pembroke-hall, being chosen master there; and not long after he was likewise appointed Regius professor of divinity. In both these preferments he succeeded a second time his old friend Dr Hutton (now made dean of York), and to the first had the same recommendation which had been given to his predecessor, viz. that of Dr Edmund Grindal, then bishop of London. But his continuance here was very short; for in less than three months, upon the death of Dr Beauchamp, her majesty promoted him to the mastership of Trinity-College. This place was procured for him chiefly by the interest of Sir W. Cecil, who, notwithstanding some objections had been made to his age, got him sworn into it the fourth of July. The same year the university admitted him inceptor for the degree of doctor in divinity; and being appointed likewise to keep the commencement act, he chose for his thesis upon that occasion, Papa est ille antichristus; the pope is the antichrist. In 1570, having first applied to Cecil for the purpose, he compiled a new body of statutes for the university, which were of great service to that learned community.

This work he finished in August, and the same month he was the principal agent in procuring an order from the vice-chancellor and heads to prohibit Cartwright, who was now Margaret professor, from reading any more lectures without some satisfaction given to them of his principles and opinions. Our author informed the chancellor of this step, and at the same time acquainted him with Cartwright's principles, and the consequences of them, upon which he received the chancellor's approbation of what had been done. Upon which Cartwright, being convened, and refusing to renounce his principles, was deprived of his professorship; and as he gave out that his assertions were rather suppressed by authority, than

refuted