James's time, that organs would blow him out of the church.' He utterly disliked (what certainly no truly godly man could approve) the Book of Sports,' and told a minister, with whom he was acquainted, that if it should be sent down to his diocese, he would slight it, and urge none of his jurisdiction to read it. He was of a weak constitution of body, rather melancholic and lean, from being a hard student; he had a strong memory, and was a critic in the Hebrew; his recreation was usually vocal music, in which he himself always bore a part. He was the last Bishop that died as a member of the parliament, and was Bishop of Carlisle about fourteen years.

LEWIS DE DIEU.

THIS great man was minister of Leyden, and professor in the Walloon college of that city, was a scholar of great abilities, and uncommonly versed in the oriental languages. He was born upon the seventh of April, in the year 1590, at Flushing, where his father, Daniel de Dieu, was minister. Daniel was a man of great merit, and a native of Brussels, where he had been a minister two-and-twenty years. He removed from thence in 1585, to serve the church at Flushing, after the Duke of Parma had taken Brussels. 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 sent him, in 1588, over to Queen Elizabeth, to inform her of the designs of the Duke of Parma, who secretly made her proposals of peace, though the King of Spain was equipping a formidable fleet against England.

Lewis studied under Daniel Colonius, his uncle by his mother's side, who was professor at Leyden in the Walloon college. He was two years minister of the French church at Flushing; and might have been court-minister at the Hague, if his natural aversion to the manners of a court had not restrained him from accepting that place. There are some circumstances relating to that affair, which deserve to be remembered. Prince Maurice being in Zealand,

heard

heard Lewis de Dieu preach, who was yet but a student; and some time after sent for him to court. The young man modestly excused himself, declaring, that he designed to satisfy his conscience in the exercise of his ministry, and to censure freely what he should find deserved censure: A liberty, he said, which courts did not care to allow. Besides, he thought the post which was offered him more proper for a man in years than a student. The prince commended his modesty 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 post, which was offered him, of divinityprofessor in the new University of Utrecht; and, if he had lived long enough, he would have had the same post in that of Leyden. He married the daughter of a counsellor of Flushing, 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 versions of the Syriac New Testament, made by Tremellius and Guido Fabricius Boderianus; and that of St. Matthew's Gospel in Hebrew, made by Munster and Mercerus. He found a great many faults in these versions; which put him upon examining the vulgar translations, those of Erasmus and Theodore Beza, the Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic. He compared them with one another, and all of them with the Greek text. He published also the Revelation of St. John, which he printed both in Hebrew and Syriac characters, with a Latin version of his own. He published the History of the Life of Jesus Christ, written in the Persian tongue, by the jesuit Jerom Xavier, with learned notes; and he joined to the original a Latin translation. The History of St. Peter, written in the Persian language, was also published by him, with a Latin translation and notes. He drew up likewise rudiments of the Hebrew and Persian tongues, and a parallel of the grammar of the oriental tongues. Some things also of smaller note were published by his friends after his death. Father Simon speaks advantageously of the writings of Lewis de Dieu, in the thirty-fifth chapter of his Critical History of the Commentators on the New Testament.' The learned Constantine l'Empereur of him, That, whenever he had occasion to mensays tion his name, he was quite at a loss by what epithets

6

to praise him, for in practical godliness, and the knowledge of divinity, science of all kinds, and the languages, he was truly a star of the first magnitude.' What high esteem our great Archbishop Usher had for him, may be seen in the collection of the Archbishop's letters, published by Dr. Parr.

HENRY ALTING, D. D.

HENRY ALTING, professor of divinity at Heidelberg and at Groningen, was born at Embden the seventeenth of February 1583, of a very ancient and honourable family. His father, Menso Alting, was pastor of Embden; and his mother, Mary Biscof, was an excellent person. He was sent very early to school, and after having gone through his classical studies and a course of philosophy at Groningen, he was sent into Germany in 1602. He remained three years at Herborn, in which time he made such proficiency under the famous Piscator, Mathias Martinius, and William Zepperus, that he was allowed to teach philosophy and divinity. When he was preparing to set out upon his travels to Switzerland and France, he was chosen preceptor to the three young Counts of Nassau, Solmes, and Issenberg, who studied at the once protestant University 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 accompanied them to Heidelberg, where he continued to instruct his three noble pupils. He was also admitted to read some 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 preserved in the Vatican library, and shewn to travellers, as we are informed by Emmius, the author of Alting's life; who adds, that they are as much worth seeing as most of the reliques commonly shewn to the curious.' In this capacity, Alting accompanied him to Sedan, and instructed him so carefully, that the Prince, upon his

6

return

return to Heidelberg in 1610, being examined on all points of religion before the Duke of Deux Ponts, administrator of the electorate, and several other persons of distinction, answered very judiciously, and in Latin.

Alting was one of the persons 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 also the honour of conversing with King James. The marriage between the elector and the princess of England being solemnized at London, in February 1613, Alting left England, and arrived at Heidelberg on the first of April. In the following August, he was appointed professor of the commonplaces of divinity; and as he could not preside in the disputes without being a doctor of divinity, he took that degree in November, with the usual ceremonies. In 1616, he had a troublesome office conferred upon him, which was the direction of the collegium sapientia of Heidelberg. In 1618, he was offered the second professorship of divinity, vacant by the death of Coppenius, which he refused, but obtained it for Scultetus.

He greatly distinguished himself for his learning at the Synod of Dort, when he was sent there with two other deputies of the palatinate. It was at this time that the University of Leyden had the power of conferring the degree of doctor restored to them, which they had suffered to be extinguished. John Polyander, professor in Leyden, was first 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 successful beginning was soon followed by a dreadful change; Count Tilli took Heidelberg by storm, in September 1622, and allowed his soldiers to commit all manner of devastations. Alting had a miraculous escape; for being met by a soldier, he was stopped by him in this manner: I have killed with these hands ten men to-day; and doctor Alting should make the eleventh, if I could find him: Who are you?' Doctor Alting answered, "that "he was schoolmaster at the collegium sapientia." The soldier did not understand this, and so let him escape. He retired to his family, which he had removed some time before to Heilbron, and met them at Schorndoff, but he

was

3

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 instruct his eldest son, and would not allow him to accept of the church of Embden, the parish of which solicited him to be their minister; nor of the professorship of divinity, which the University of Franeker offered him, upon the death of Sibrant Lubbert. This prince, however, gave him leave, the year following, to accept of a professorship of divinity at Groningen, which he entered upon the sixteenth 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 States of Groningen gave their consent, which they refused to do. It is certain, likewise, that he listened to the proposals which Prince Lewis Philip offered him in 1834, of going to re-establish the University 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 imperialists, 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 last years of his life proved very painful, being afflicted with grief and bodily distempers. He was so affected with the death of his eldest 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 physicians had scarce removed this distemper by their utmost skill and art, when meeting with a fresh domestic affliction, it threw him into a worse state of health than ever; for he lost 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. Maresius visiting him, Alting, in the most friendly manner, congratulated him as his designed successor. "It much rejoices me, (said "he) that I shall leave to the church and university one, "who is studious of peace, orthodox in judgment, and "averse to novelties: And I require you, that, as you "have ever maintained friendship with myself, you "would do the like with mine, whom I shall leave "behind."

The