made by every sect, in giving an account of this phænomenon? We thould have had the Epicurean fect, have told the by-ftanders according to their pre-conceived hypothefis, "That this was nothing else but an accidental "concretion of atoms, that, haply fallen together, had "made up the index, the wheels, and the balance, and "that being haply fallen into this pofture, they were put "into motion." Then the Cartesian falls in with him, as to the main of their fuppofition, but tells him, “That he doth not fufficiently explicate how the engine is "put into motion, and therefore to furnish this motion, "there is a certain materia fubtilis that pervades this

17

engine, and the moveable parts, confifting of feveral "globulat atoms apt for motion, they are thereby, and " by the mobility of the globular atoms put into motion." A third finding fault with the two former, because " those "motions are fo regular, and do exprefs the various phænomena of the diftribution of time, and of the heavenly motions;" therefore it feeins to him, that "this engine and motion also, so analogical to the moti"ons of the heavens, was wrought by fome admirable "conjunction of the heavenly bodies, which formed this “ instrument and its motions, in such an admirable cor"refpondency to its own existence." A fourth, difliking the fuppofitions of the three former, tells the rest, "That " he hath a more plain and evident folution of the phenomenon, namely, The univerfal foul of the world, * or spirit of nature, that formed fo many forts of infects "with fo many organs, faculties, and fuch congruity of "their whole compofition, and fuch curious and various

motions, as we may obferve in them, hath formed and fet "into motion this admirable automaton, and regulated

and ordered it, with all these congruities we fee in it." Then fteps in an Ariftotelian, and being dissatisfied with all the former folutions, tells them, "Gentlemen, you "are all mistaken, your folutions are inexplicable and

unfatisfactory, you have taken up certain precarious "hypothefes, and being prepoffeffed with these creatures "of your own fancies, and in love with them, right or wrong, you form all your conceptions of things accor ding to thofe fancied and pre-conceived imaginations. "The fhort of the bufinefs is, this machina is eternal,

" and fo are all the motions of it; and in as much as a "circular motion hath no beginning or end, this motion "that you fee, both in the wheels and index, and the "fucceffive indications of the celeftial motions, is eter"nal, and without beginning. And this is a ready and "expedite way of folving the phænomenon, without fo "much ado as you have made about it.

And whilst all the masters were thus contriving the folution of the phænomenon, in the hearing of the artist that made it, and when they had all spent their philofophifing upon it, the artist that made this engine, and all this while liftned to their admirable fancies, tells them, Gentlemen, you have discovered very much excellency of invention touching this piece of work that is "before you, but you are all miferably mistaken: for it "was I that made this watch, and brought it hither, and "I will thew you how I made it. First, I wrought the "fpring, and the fuffee, and the wheels and the balance, " and the cafe and table; I fitted them one to another, and placed the feveral axes that are to direct the motions "of the index, to discover the hour of the day; of the figure, that difcovers the phases of the moon, and the "other various motions that you fee; and then I put it

together, and wound up the spring, which hath given "all these motions, that you fee in this curious piece "of work; and that you may be fure I tell you true, I "will tell you the whole order and progrefs of my mak

ing, difpofing, and ordering of this piece of work, the "feveral materials of it, the manner of the forming of

every individual part of it, and how long I was about "it." This plain and evident difcovery renders all these excogitated hypothefes of thofe philofophical enthusiasts vain and ridiculous, without any great help of rhetorical flourishes, or logical confutations. And much of the fame nature is that disparity of the hypothefes of the learned philofophers in relation to the orgination of the world and man, after a great deal of duft raised, and fanciful explications and unintelligible hypothefes. The plain, but divine narrative by the hand of Mofes, full of sense and congruity, and clearness and reasonableness in itself, does at the fame moment give us a true and clear discovery of this great mystery, and renders all the effays of

the

the generality of the heathen philofophers to be vain, inevident, and indeed, inexplicable theories, the creatures of phantafy and imagination, and nothing else.]

As for his virtues, they have appeared fo confpicuous in all the feveral tranfactions and turns of his life, that it may feein needless to add any more of them, than has been already related, but there are many particular inftances which I knew not how to fit to the feveral years of his life, which will give us a clearer and better view of hima

He was a devout Christian, a fincere protestant, and a true fon of the church of England; moderate towards diffenters, and just even to thofe from whom he differed moft; which appeared signally in the care he took of preferving the Quakers, from that mifchief that was like to fall on them, by declaring their marriages void, and fo baftarding their children; but he confidered marriage and fucceffion as a right of nature, from which none ought to be barred, what miftake foever they might be under, in the points of revealed religion.

And therefore in a trial that was before him, when a Quaker was fued for fome debts owing by his wife before he married her; and the Quaker's council pretended,. "That it was no marriage that had past between them, "fince it was not folemnized according to the rules of "the church of England;" he declared, that he was not willing, on his own opinion, to make their children baftards, and give directions to the jury to find it fpeciał. It was a reflection on the whole party, that one of them, to avoid an inconvenience he had fallen in, thought to have preferved himself by a defence, that if it had been allowed in law, must have made their whole iffue baftards, and incapable of fucceffion; and for all their pretended friendship to one another, if this judge had not been more : their friend, than one of thofe they fo called, their pofterity had been little beholding to them. But he governed hinfelf indeed by the law of the gofpel, of" doing to "others what he would have others do to him;" and, therefore, because he would have thought it a hardship,, not without cruelty, if, among Papifts, all marriages were nulled which had not been made with all the ceremonies · in the Roman ritual, fo he applying this to the cafe

of the fectaries; he thought all marriages made, according to the feveral persuasions of men, ought to have their effects in law.

He used constantly to worship God in his family, performing it always himfelf, if there was no clergyman prefent: but as to his private exercises in devotion, he took that extraordinary care to keep what he did fecret, that this part of his character must be defective, except it be acknowleged, that humility in covering it, commends him much more, than the highest expreffion of devotion could have done.

From the first time that the impreffions of religion fettled deeply in his mind, he used great caution to conceal it, not only in obedience to the rules given by our Saviour, of fafting, praying, and giving alms in fecret, but from a particular diftruft he had of himself; for he faid, he was afraid, he should, at fome time or other, do some enormous thing, which, if he were look'd on as a very religious man, might caft a reproach on the profeffion of it, and give great advantages to impious men, to blafpheme the name of God: But a tree is known by its "fruits;" and he lived not only free of blemithes, or fcandal, but thined in all the parts of his converfation: and perhaps the distrust he was in of himself, contributed not a little to the purity of his life; for he being thereby obliged to be more watchful over himself, and to depend more on the aids of the Spirit of God, no wonder if that humble temper produced thofe excellent effects on him.

He had a foul enlarged and raised above that mean appetite of loving money, which is generally the root of all evil. He did not take the profits that he might have had by his practice; for in common cafes, when those who came to ask his counsel gave him a piece, he ufed to give back the half, and fo made ten fhillings his fee, in ordinary matters that did not require much time or study: if he faw a cause was unjust, he, for a great while, would not meddle further in it, but to give his advice that it was fo; if the parties after that would go on, they were to feck another counsellor, for he would affist none in acts of unjuice: if he found the caufe doubtful or weak m point of law, he always advised his clients to agree their bufinefs: yet afterwards he abated much of the fcru

pulofity

pulofity he had about caufes that appeared at first view unjuft: upon this occafion, there were two causes brought to him, which, by the ignorance of the party, or their attorney, were fo ill represented to him, that they feemed to be very bad; but he enquiring more narrowly into them, found they were really very good and juft: so after this he flackned much of his former ftrictness, of his refufing to meddle in causes, upon the ill circumstances that appeared in them at first.

He

In his pleading, he abhored those too common faults of mifreciting evidences, quoting precedents, or books falfly, or afferting things confidently; by which ignorant juries, or weak judges, are too often wrought on. pleaded with the fame fincerity that he used in the other parts of his life, and used to say, "It was as great a dishonour as a man was capable of, that, for a little money, "he was to be hired to say or do otherwise than as he thought:" All this he afcribed to the unmeasurable defire of heaping up wealth, which corrupted the fouls of fome that feemed to be otherwife born and made for great things.

When he was a practioner, differences were often referred to him, which he fettled, but would accept of no reward for his pains, though offered by both parties together, after the agreement was made; for he said,

"In

thofe cafes he was made a judge, and a judge ought "to take no money." If they told him, "He loft "much of his time in confidering their business, and fo

ought to be acknowleged for it;" his anfwer was (as one that heard it told me) "Can I spend my time better, "than to make people friends, muft I have no time "allowed me to do good in?"

He was naturally a quick man, yet by much practice on himself, he fubdued that to fuch a degree, that he would never run fuddenly into any conclufion concerning any matter of importance. Feftina lente was his beloved motto, which he ordered to be ingraven on the head of his staff, and was often heard fay," That he had "obferved many witty men run into great errors, be"cause they did not give themselves time to think, but "the heat of imagination making fome notions appear in good colours to them, they without ftaying till that cooled,