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James's time, that organs would blow him out of the church.' He utterly difliked (what certainly no truly godly man could approve) the Book of Sports,' and told a minifter, with whom he was acquainted, that if it fhould be fent down to his diocefe, he would flight it, and urge none of his jurifdiction to read it. He was of a weak conftitution of body, rather melancholic and lean from being a hard ftudent; he had a ftrong memory, and was a critic in the Hebrew; his recreation was ufually vocal mufic, in which he himself always bore a part. He was the laft Bishop that dyed as a member of the parliament, and was Bishop of Carlisle about fourteen years.

LEWIS DE DIE U.

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HIS great man was minifter of Leyden, and profeffor in the Walloon-college of that city, was a scholar of great abilities, and uncommonly. verfed in the oriental languages. He was born upon the feventh of April, in the year 1590, at Flushing, where his father, Daniel de Dieu, was minifter. Daniel was a man of great merit, and a native of Bruffels, where he had been a minister two and twenty years. He removed from thence in 1585, to ferve the church at Flushing, after the duke of Parma had taken Bruffels. He understood Greek and the oriental languages; and he could preach with the applause of his auditors in German, Italian, French, and English. The churches of the Netherlands fent him, in 1588, over to Q. Elizabeth, to inform her of the defigns of the duke of Parma, who fecretly made her propofals of peace, though the K. of Spain was equipping a formidable fleet against England.

Lewis ftudied under Daniel Colonius, his uncle by his mother's fide, who was profeffor at Leyden in the Walloon-" college. He was two years minifter of the French church at Flushing; and might have been court-minifter at the Hague, if his natural averfion to the manners of a court had not reftrained him from accepting that place. There are fome circumftances relating to that affair, which deferve to be remembered. Prince Maurice being in Zealand,

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heard Lewis de Dieu preach, who was yet but a ftudent; and fome time after fent for him to court. The young

man modeftly excufed himself, declaring, that he defigned to fatisfy his confcience in the exercife of his miniftry, and to cenfure freely what he should find deTerved cenfure: A liberty, he faid, which courts did not care to allow. Befides, he thought the poft which was offered him more proper for a man in years than a ftudent. The prince commended his modefty and prudence.

He was called to Leyden in the year 1619, to teach, with his uncle Colonius, in the Walloon-college; and he discharged the duty of that employment with great diligence till his death, which happened in the year 1642. He refused the poft, which was offered him, of divinityprofeffor in the new univerfity of Utrecht; and, if he had lived long enough, he would have had the fame post in that of Leyden. He married the daughter of a counfellor of Flufbing, by whom he had eleven children.

He PUBLISHED, in the year 1631, a commentary on the four Gospels, and notes on the Acts of the apostles. His first care had been to examine the Latin verfions of the Syriac New Teftament, made by Tremellius and Guido Fabricius Boderianus; and that of St. Matthew's gofpel in Hebrew, made by Munfter and Mercerus. He found a great many faults in thefe verfions; which put him upon examining the vulgar tranflations, those of Erafmus and Theodore Beza, the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethipic. He compared them with one another, and all of them with the Greek text. He publifhed alfo the Revelations of St. John, which he printed both in Hebrew and Syriac characters, with a Latin verfion of his own. He publifhed the hiftory of the life of Jefus Chrift, written in the Perfian tongue by the jefuit ferom Xavier, with learned notes; and he joined to the original a Latin tranflation. The hiftory of St. Peter, written in the Perfian language, was alfo published by him, with a Latin tranflation and notes. He drew up likewife rudiments of the Hebrew and Perfian tongues, and a parallel of the grammar of the oriental tongues. Some things also of finaller note were published by his friends after his death. Father Simon fpeaks advantageously of the writings of Lewis de Dieu, in the thirty-fifth chapter of his Critical Hiftory of the Commentators on the New Tefta⚫ment. The learned Conftantine l'Empereur fays of him, that, whenever he had occafion to mention his name,

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he was quite at a lofs by what epithets to praise him, for in practical godlinefs, and the knowledge of divinity, fcience of all kinds, and the languages, he was truly a ftar of the firft magnitude.' What high efteem our great archbishop Ufher had for him, may be seen in the collection of the archbishop's letters published by Dr. Parr.

HENRY ALTING, D. D.

ENRY ALTING, profeffor of divinity at Heidelberg and at Groningen, was born at Embden the the feventeenth of February, 1583, of a very antient and honorable family. His father, Menfo Alting, was pastor of Embden; and his mother, Mary Bifcof, was an excellent perfon. He was fent very early to fchool, and after having gone through his claffical ftudies and a courfe of philofophy at Groningen, he was fent into Germany in 1602. He remained three years at Herborn, in which time he made fuch proficiency under the famous Pifcator, Mathias Martinius, and William Zepperus, that he was allowed to teach philofophy and divinity. When he was preparing to fet out upon his travels to Switzerland and France, he was chofen preceptor to the three young counts of Naffau, Solmes, and Iffenberg, who ftudied at the once proteftant univerfity of Sedan with the electoral prince, palatine: He took upon him this charge in the beginning of September, 1605. The electoral prince left Sedan, with the three young noblemen in 1606, and Alting acom panied them to Heidelberg, where he continued to inftruct his three noble pupils. He was alfo admitted to read fome lectures in geography and history to the electoral prince till the year 1608, when he was appointed his preceptor: The prince's exercises, corrected by Alting, are preferved in the vatican library, and fhewn to travellers, as we are informed by Emmius the author of Alting's life; who adds, that they are as much worth feeing as moft of the reliques commonly fhewn to the curious. In this capacity, Alting accompanied him to Sedan, and inftructed him fo carefully, that he prince, upon his

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return to Heidelberg in 1610, being examined on all points of religion, before the duke of Deux Ponts, administrator of the electorate, and feveral other perfons of diftinction, anfwered very judiciously, and in Latin.

Alting was one of the perfons appointed to attend the young elector into England in 1612; where he became acquainted with George Abbot archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. King bishop of London, and Dr. Hackwell preceptor to the prince of Wales, and had alfo the honor of converfing with K. James. The marriage between the elector and the princefs of England being folemnized at London in February, 1613, Alting left England, and arrived at Heidelberg on the first of April. In the following August, he was appointed profeffor of the common-places of divinity; and as he could not prefide in the difputes, without being a doctor of divinity, he took that degree in November, with the ufual ceremonies. In 1616, he had a troublefome office conferred upon him, which was the direction of the collegium fapientia of Heidelberg. In 1618, he was offered the fecond profefforfhip of divinity vacant by the death of Coppenius, which he refufed, but obtained it for

Scultetus.

He greatly diftinguifhed himself for his learning at the fynod of Dort, when he was fent there with two other deputies of the palatinate. It was at this time, that the univerfity of Leyden had the power of conferring the degree of doctor reftored to them, which they had fuffered to be extinguished. John Polyander, profeffor in Leyden, was firft created licentiate in divinity by Alting, and afterwards doctor by Scultetus; by which means he became invested with the power of conferring the degree of doctor upon his colleagues. Alting entertained great expectations upon his return to Heidelberg, the elector palatine having gained a crown by the troubles of Bohemia; but this fuccefsful beginning was foon followed by a dreadful change, count Tilli took Heidelberg by storm, in September, 1622, and allowed his foldiers to commit all manner of devaftations. Alting had a miraculous efcape; for being met by a foldier, he was ftopped by him in this manner; I have killed with thefe hands ten men to-day; and doctor Alting fhould make the eleventh, if I could find. him: Who are you?' Doctor Alting answered, "that. "he was schoolmaster at the collegium fapientia." The foldier did not understand this, and fo let him escape. He retired to his family, which he had removed fometime. before to Heilbron, and met them at Schorndoff, but he.

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was allowed to stay there only a few months. He went with his family to Embden, in 1623, and from thence to wait upon the king of Bohemia at the Hague, who retained him to inftruct his eldest fon, and would not allow him to accept of the church of Embden, the parish of which folicited him to be their minifter; nor of the profefforfhip of divinity, which the univerfity of Franeker offered him, upon the death of Sibrant Lubbert. This prince however gave him leave, the year following, to accept of a profefforship of divinity at Groningen, which he entered upon the fixteenth of June, 1627, and kept it till his death. He did indeed intend, in 1633, to quit Groningen for Leyden, but it was upon condition, that the ftates of Groningen gave their confent,. which they refused to do. It is certain likewife that he liftened to the propofals which prince Lewis Philip offered him in 1634, of going to re-establish the univerfity of Heidelberg, and the churches of the palatinate; he went as far as Francfort, amidst a thousand dangers, but the battle of Norlingen, gained by the imperialifts, having rendered this undertaking abortive, he was obliged to return through many bye roads to Groningen; and it does not appear that he had afterwards any thoughts of removing to any other place.

The laft years of his life proved very painful, being afflicted with grief and bodily distempers. He was fo affected with the death of his eldeft daughter in 1639, that he fell into a deep melancholy, which threw him into a quartan ague; of this he was cured with great difficulty, but not perfectly, for the remains of it turned to a dangerous lethargy in 1641. The phyficians had scarce removed this diftemper by their utmoft fkill and art, when meeting with a fresh domeftic affliction, it threw him into a worfe ftate of health than ever; for he loft his wife in 1643, and never after could get the better of his melancholy. From this time to the day of his death, his infirmities continued to increase.

In his last sickness, the excellent Dr. Marcfius vifiting him, Alting, in the moft friendly manner, congratulated him as his defigned fucceffor. " It much rejoices me (faid "It "he) that I hall leave to the church and univerfity one, "who is ftudious of peace, orthodox in judgement, and "averfe to novelties: And I require you, that, as you "have ever maintained friendfhip, with myfelf, you "would do the like with mine, whom I shall leave "behind."..

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