pleasure however to inform our reader, that Davila had a fon with him of about 18 years of age; who had spirit enough to revenge the death of his father upon the murderer, whom he fell upon directly, and cut to pieces.

When Davila was come to Venice, he wrote his "History "of the civil wars of France." It is divided into fifteen books, and contains every thing worth notice that paffed, from the death of Henry II, 1559, to the peace of Vervins 1598. This hiftory has always been reckoned a fine one. Lord Bolingbroke calls it a Noble one, and fays, that he "fhould not "fcruple to confess it in many respects equal to that of Livy." Davila has indeed been fufpected and accused of too much refinement and fubtilty, in developing the secret motives of actions, in laying the causes of events too deep, and deducing them often through a series of progreffion too complicated, and too artistly wrought. But yet, as the noble lord abovementioned obferves," the fufpicious perfon, who should re<< ject this hiftorian upon fuch general inducements as these, "would have no grace to oppofe his fufpicions to the authohistory, 1.v.rity of the firft duke of Epernon, who had been an actor, " and a principal actor too, in many of the scenes that Davila "recites. Girard, fecretary to this duke, and no contempti"ble biographer, relates, that this history came down to the "place, where the old man refided in Gafcony, a little be"fore his death; that he read it to him; that the duke con"firmed the truth of the narrations in it; and feemed only "furprized, by what means the author could be fo well in"formed of the most fecret councils and measures of those "times."

Bolingbroke's

Letters on

the study of

Bail'et,
Jugemens

des Syavans.

tom. iv.
P. 472.
Bayle's dict.

DAURAT (JOHN) an eminent French poet, was born near the head of the Vienne about the year 1507. Going to the capital of the kingdom to finish his ftudies, he there made an extraordinary progrefs, and distinguished himself in such a manner by his skill in Greek, and his talent at poetry, that he became one of the profeflors of the univerfity of Paris. In the year 1560, as it is faid, he fucceeded John Stracellus in the post of the king's reader and profeffor of the Greek tongue; but before this he had been principal of the college of Coqueret, after having been tutor to John Antony de Baïf, in the houfe of his father Lazarus de Baïf, who was mafter of the requests. He continued to inftruct this young pupil in the college of Coqueret; and he had alfo the famous Ronfard for his fcholar there, during the space of seven years. One of the

moft

moft obfervable and glorious elogies of Daurat is, that his school produced a great number of able men. His generosity and want of management made him extremely poor, and procured him a place in the lift of those learned men who have been very near ftarving. In the reign of Henry II, he had been preceptor to the king's pages; and Charles IX. honoured him with the title of his poet, and took great delight in converfing with him. Confidering the age in which he lived, we ought to forgive him the tafte he had for anagrams, of which he was the first restorer. It is pretended, that he found the model of them in Lycophron; at least he brought them into fo much vogue, that every body would needs be trying at them; and he passed for fuch a conjurer in the way, that feveral illuftrious perfons gave him their names to anagrammatife. He undertook alfo to explain the centuries of Noftradamus, which he was thought by fome to do with fuch fuccefs, that he seemed to be invefted with the character of his interpreter or fub-prophet. In his extreme old age, when he was near fourscore, having loft his first wife, he married a young girl; and by her had a fon, for whom he fhewed his fondness by a thousand ridiculous actions. He ufed to fay, by way of excufe for this marriage, that "it was a poetic licence; and "that, being to die by the thrust of a fword, he chose to per"form the execution with a bright fword, rather than a rusty "one." He had by his firft wife, among other children, a fon, who was the author of fome French verfes, which have been printed in a collection of his own poems; and a daughter, whom he married to a learned man, named Nicolas Goulu, in whose favour he refigned his place of regius profeffor of the Greek tongue. He made a great many verfes in Latin, Greek, and French: and indeed it was his disease to make too many; for no book was printed, nor did any person of confequence die, but Daurat made fome verfes on the subject; as if he had been poet in ordinary to the kingdom, or his mufe had been an hired mourner. Some have faid that the odes, epigrams, hymns, and other poems in Greek and Latin, compofed by Daurat, amount to above fifty thousand verses; and make what abatement we will from this prodigious number, it is certain, that he compofed a great many poems in those two languages, befides what he wrote in French. He was fo good a critic, that Scaliger, as he said, knew none but him and Cujacius, who had abilities fufficient to reftore ancient authors; but he has prefented the public with very little of that kind, fome remarks of the Sibylline verfes in Opfopaus's

E 4

edition

Preface to

his works in

edition being all we can recollect at prefent. Scaliger tells us, and he laughs at him for it, that he spent the latter part of his life in endeavouring to find all the bible in Homer. He died at Paris upon the first of November 1588, above fourfcore years of age; and fince his death there have been pub

lifhed collections of his verses, but not good ones.

DAWES (SIR WILLIAM) an eminent prelate of the church of England, was the youngest son of fir John Dawes, bart. and born at Lyons near Braintree in Effex, upon the 12th of September 1671. He was educated at MerchantTaylors fchool in London, where he made a great proficiency in claffical learning; and was alfo tolerably verfed in the Hebrew tongue, even before he was fifteen years of age; which was chiefly owing to the additional care that dr. Kidder, afterwards bishop of Bath and Wells, but then rector of Rayne Ibid. p. 8, 9. near Braintree, was pleased to take of his education.

3 vol. 8vo. pag. 1.

In

1687, he was fent to St. John's college in Oxford; but his father's title and eftate defcending to him, upon the death of his two elder brothers, about two years after, he left Oxford, and entered himself a nobleman in Catharine hall Cambridge. He took poffeffion of his eldest brother's chambers, who died there juft before of a fever, at the fame time that his other Ibid. p. 12, brother, who was lieutenant of a ship, was unhappily drowned. After he had taken his master of arts degree, he vifited his eftate in Effex, and intended to make a fhort tour into fome other parts of the kingdom, which he had not feen; but his progrefs was ftopped by his happening to meet with Frances, the eldest daughter of fir Thomas Darcy, of Braxstead Lodge in Effex, a fine and accomplished woman, whom he made his Ibid. p. 16. addreffes to and soon after married.

13.

As foon as he arrived at the proper age, he was ordained deacon and prieft by dr. Compton, bishop of London. He intended, from the very firft, to enter into holy orders; and is faid to have prepared himself for this, by making fome of the moft eminent English divines his ftudy, while he was very young. Shortly after, he was created doctor in divinity by a royal mandate, in order to be qualified for the maftership of Ibid. p. 21. Catharine hall, to which he was unanimously elected in the year 1696, upon the death of dr. John Eachard. He did feveral beneficial acts to his college: particularly, he contributed liberally towards the finishing a chapel, which his predeceffor had begun; and, by his intereft at court, procured the firft vacant prebend of Norwich to be annexed, by act of

par

manner.

parliament, to the mastership of Catharine hall for ever. In Ibid. p. 26. the year 1696, he was made a chaplain in ordinary to king William; and fhortly after, was presented by his majesty to a prebend in the church of Worcefter. Sir William, it feems, had pleased the king so well in a fermon, preached at Whitehall upon the 5th of November 1696, that his majefty fent for him, and without any follicitation gave him this prebend; telling him at the fame time, that "the thing indeed was but "fmall, and not otherwife worth his acceptance, but as it was "an earnest of his future favour, and a pledge of what he in- Ibid. p. 20. "tended for him." On the 10th of November 1698, he was collated by archbishop Tenifon to the rectory, and on the 19th of December following, to the deanery of Bocking in Effex; where he behaved in a very charitable and exemplary His hiftorian tells us, that by way preferving an harmony and good understanding with his people, he used, every Sunday, to invite a certain number of the better fort to dine with him; which, it must be confeffed, was no bad fcheme. He used alfo to preach conftantly himself, while he continued rector of that parifh. "His difcourfes, fays the "fame author, were plain and familiar, and fuch as were best "adapted to a country audience; yet under his management "and manner of expreffion, they far furpaffed the most ela"borate compofitions of other men. For fuch was the com"linefs of his perfon, the melody of his voice, the decency of "his action, and the majefty of his whole appearance, that "he might well be pronounced the most compleat pulpit"orator of his age.' And this indeed conveys a true and Ibid. 23, juft idea of this celebrated prelate, who owed his advancement 36. chiefly to the popular qualities abovementioned, and not to any uncommon fized abilities, of which he does not appear to have been poffeffed: fo that when these fame fermons at court and in the country came to be printed and read, it was a matter of great wonder with many, who did not confider what it is that fets off a fermon from the pulpit, how they happened to be fo extravagantly admired when they were preached.

After queen Anne's acceffion to the crown, fir William was made one of her chaplains, and was in a fair way for fome of the highest dignities in the church. Accordingly, though he miffed the bishopric of Lincoln, which was vacant in the year 1705, yet her majefty, of her own accord, named him to the fee of Chester in 1707. The reafon of his Ibid. p. 29. miffing Lincoln was his having, in a fermon upon the 30th of January, uttered fome bold truths, which were not agreeable

to

to certain perfons in power; who took occafion from thence to perfuade the queen, contrary to her inclination, to give it to dr. Wake, late archbishop of Canterbury. This however made no impreffion upon fir William; and therefore, when he was told by a certain nobleman, that he had loft a bishopric by his preaching, his reply was, that "as to that he had 66 no manner of concern upon him, because his intention was Ibid. p. 30. ❝ never to gain one by it." In the year 1713-14, he was tranflated to the archiepifcopal fee of York; at which time he was also made a privy-counsellor of ftate. He continued above ten years in this high station, much honoured and respected; and then a diarrhea, to which he had been fubject afore-time, coming to be attended with a fever, and ending in an inflammation of his bowels, put a period to his life upon Ibid. p. 32. the 30th of April 1724, in the 53d year of his age. He was buried in the chapel of Catharine hall Cambridge, near his lady, who died upon the 22d of December 1705, in the 29th year of her age. He had feven children, three of which Ibid. p. 51. only, namely, Elizabeth, Jane, and Darcy, furvived him.

He was the author of feveral things, fome of which were published by himself, and others after his decease, under the title of his "Whole works, with a preface, giving some ac"count of the life, writings, and character of the author." Lond. 1733, in three volumes 8vo. Those published by himself were, 1. "An anatomy of atheism." Lond. 1693, 4to. This is a poem, confifting of five fheets, and was writIbid. p. 11. ten by the author, before he was eighteen years of age. It is more remarkable for its argument and eafinefs of diction, than for any brifkness and force of imagination. 2. "The duties "of the clofet," &c. written by him, before he was twentyIbid. p. 13. one years of age. 3. "The duty of communicating ex"plained and enforced," &c. This was compofed for the ufe of his parishioners at Bocking. 4. "Sermons preached "upon feveral occafions before king William and queen "Anne." Lond. 1707, 8vo. dedicated to that queén. 5. A preface to the works of bishop Blackhall published in 1723. The character of this prelate is that of a good, rather than a great man. He was not wanting in parts and learning, but he had no share of either above the ordinary rate; and his intellectual accomplishments were rather flashy and popular, than calculated to excite any great admiration in those who were really judges. However, his moral character was an extremely good one; and there were few qualities, that could adorn a man either in private or public life, as a layman or

eccle