THE LIFE OF THE Right Reverend Father in God SETH Lord Bishop of SALISBURY And CHANCELLOR of the Most Noble Order of the GARTER With a Brief Account of Bishop Wilkins Mr. Lawrence Rooke Dr. Isaac Barrow Dr. Turbervile And others Written by Dr. WALTER POPE Fellow of the ROYAL SOCIETY Quid foret Iliae Mavortisque Gener si Taciturnitas Obstaret meritis Invida Romuli Hor. LONDON Printed for William Keblewhite at the Swan in St. Paul's Church-yard 1697. To the Honourable Colonel JOHN WYNDHAM of DORSETSHIRE SIR I Might easily bring into the Field and Muster a Brigade if not an Army of Motives which compelld me to Dedicate this Book to you but because I know you love Brevity I shall content my self to declare to the World only one of them viz. Amongst the few Friends I have for Old Men generally out-live their Friends I could not pitch upon any Patron so fit as your Self For you were intimately acquainted with the deceased Bishop the Subject of this Treatise lovd him and was intirely belovd by him I appeal therefore to you as Competent Iudge and an Eye witness whether what I have said concerning his Hospitality his humble and obliging Conversation in Salisbury be not rather less than more than it deservd You also as I find by Experience bear no small Affection to me which I humbly beg you to continue as long as I shall approve my self SIR Your most humble obliged and Grateful Servant Walter Pope ERRATA PAGE 17. Line 23. Read London p. 44. l. 5. for Town r. College p. 45. l. 19. r. Protector p. 76. l. 11. r. is our p. 80. l. 8. r. Chaplain p. 82. l. 18. r. ten pounds p. 145. l. 3. r. omnium or panfarmacon p. 151. l. antep r. Multum p. 156. l. penult r. Absentem THE LIFE OF THE Right Reverend Father in God SETH Lord Bishop of Salisbury c. CHAP. I. The Introduction THE Motives that incouraged me to write this ensuing Treatise were such as these viz. 1. The deceas'd Bishop had conferred many Favours upon me and I thought this was a fit opportunity to publish my Gratitude for them 2. That his Life was worthy to be transmitted to Posterity and that it would be more acceptable to the Learned that it should be done by me as well as I could than not at all for I have not yet heard of any person who has designed or attempted it tho there are more than eight years past since he died 3. I am not altogether unprovided for such a Work having during my long Acquaintance with Him and his Friends inform'd my self of most of the considerable Circumstances of his Life 4. And in the fourth and last place because I shall run no risque in so doing for tho some may blame my Performance yet even they cannot but approve my pious Intention and the worst that can be said against me if I do not attain my end will have more of Praise in it than Reproach 't is what Ovid says of Faeton Magnis tamen excidit ausis i. e. 'T was a noble Attempt but the Success was not answerable I at first design'd to have written it in a continual Narration without breaking it into Chapters making any Reflections or adding any Digressions but upon second thoughts which usually are the best I steer'd another Course I have cut it into Chapters which may serve as Benches in a long Walk whereupon the weary Reader may repose himself till he has recovered Breath and then readily proceed in his way I have also interwoven some Digressions which if they are not too frequent forein impertinent and dull will afford some Divertisement to the Reader But I fear the Gate is too great for this little City CHAP. II. Of the Bishops Parentage Birth and Education till he was sent to Cambridge I Think it not worth my pains to play the Herald and blazon the Arms belonging to the numerous Family of the WARDS or to tell the World the Antiquity of it that that Name came into England with William the Conqueror that there is at present one Lord and very many Knights and Gentlemen of very considerable Estates who are so called For supposing this to be true as it is it makes little if any thing to the Praise of the the Person whose Life I am now writing Vix ea nostra voco Vertuous Actions not great Names are the best Ensigns of Nobility There are now always were and ever will be some bad Men even of the best Families I shall therefore go no further back than to his Grandfather who lived near Ipswich in Suffolk and had the misfortune to lose a considerable hereditary Estate whereupon the Bishops Father whose Name was Iohn settled himself at Buntingford in Hertfordshire following the Employment of an Attorney and was of good Reputation for his fair Practice but not rich His Mothers Maiden Name was Dalton I have often heard him commend her extraordinarily for her Vertue Piety and Wisdom to whose good Instructions and Counsels he used to say he ow'd whatever was good in him And that this Character was due to her I have the testimony of that worthy Gentleman Ralph Freeman Esq of Aspenden in Hertfordshire who has faithfully served his Country as Knight of the Shire for that County in several Parliaments this Mr. Freeman liv'd in the same Parish and well remembers the Bishops Mother I never heard the Bishop speak of his Father possibly he died before his Son came to years of Discretion on the contrary I find Horace never mentions his Mother but is very frequently praising his Father but to proceed Iohn Ward left three Sons and as many Daughters the Sons were Iohn Seth and Clement Iohn died a Batchelour Clement left three Sons and several Daughters to the Care of his Brother Seth who had then no other Preferment or Income than the Place of the Savilian Professor of Astronomy in Oxford and even then he gave two hundred pounds to one of his Sisters in Marriage which Summ he borrowed of a Friend of his whom I knew who lent it him upon his own Bond without any other Security 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which let me thus translate since 't is not è Cathedra nothing doubting or not despairing to be repaid as he was in a short time with Thanks and Interest This Friend of his perceived evident signs of a rising Man in Mr. Ward which must infallibly advance him if Merit alone can elevate as it has often without Friends under some Kings and some Archbishops and it will certainly at long run if as the Saying is The Horse does not die before the Grass is grown For all these Male and Female Children and Relations before mentioned he provided more than a competent Maintenance binding some of them Apprentices breeding others at Schools and Universities till they were fit for the Ministry and then placed them in good Benefices whereof he had the Presentation He also took
Exon. Longas suavesque Amicitias Hoc Saxo prosecutus est Obiit Iunii 27. Anno Dom. MDCLXII AEtatis suae XL. In English thus To the Pious Memory Of that Excellent Person Laurence Rooke Who either sleeps or meditates under this Stone Who was born in Kent and successively Enjoyd the Professors Place of Astronomy and Geometry In Gresham-College Of both those Sciences being Ornament and greatest Hope In his Life-time he had measurd and comprehended What ever is in Life or Death He was highly esteemd by all good and Learned Men For the admirable Temper of his Mind Universal Erudition sweet and transparent Manners Exact and consummate Vertue easie and profitable Conversation Being full of Knowledge but not puft up By his Piety Virtue and exalted Reason He had subdued and trod under his Feet All Worldly Desires and Fears But lest he whom a most unjust Modesty Obscurd so much in his Life Should be unknown to all after his Death Seth Ward Bishop of Exeter In return for their long and most sweet Friendship Has endeavourd to perpetuate his Memory by this Monument He died Iune the 27. in the Year of our Lord 1662. in the Fourtieth Year of his Age. Doctor Barrow did not only succeed Mr. Rooke in his Place at Gresham-College but also in his intimate Friendship with Bishop Ward and as such I shall treat of him in the ensuing Chapter CHAP. XIX Of Doctor Barrow IT is not my design to write Dr. Barrows Life and if it were I am not furnished with sufficient Materials for that undertaking It is already done tho with too much brevity by a better hand dedicated to the Reverend Dr. Tillotson then Dean and afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury by my worthy learned and ingenious Friend Abraham Hill Esq out of whose Account I shall take what I before was ignorant of concerning his Birth and Education before he arrivd to be so Eminent at Cambridge adding thereunto several particular Accidents which happened during my intimate acquaintance with him and sometimes going out of the way for a season to make the Narration more delightful I may possibly insert some particulars which will seem trivial tho in my opinion the less considerable Words and Actions and Circumstances of great Men amongst whom he has a just title to be inrolld are worthy to be transmitted to Posterity Mr. Hill fixes Dr. Barrows Birth in the Month of October A. D. 1630. But I hope he will not be offended if I dissent from him both as to the Year and Month and produce Reason for so doing t is this I have often heard Dr. Barrow say that he was born upon the Twenty-ninth of February and if he said true it could not be either in October or in 1630 that not being a Leap-Year I would not have asserted this merely upon the credit of my Memory had it been any other Day of any other Month it being told me so long since had I not this remarkable Circumstance to confirm it He used to say it is in one respect the best Day in the Year to be born upon for it afforded me this advantage over my Fellow Collegiates who used to keep Feasts upon their Birth-day I was treated by them once every Year and I entertaind them once in four Years when February had nine and twenty Days Dr. Barrow was born in London and well descended his Great Grandfather was Fillip Barrow who published a Method of Fysic whose Brother Isaac was a Doctor of Fysic and a Benefactor to Trinity College in Cambridge as also a Tutor therein to Robert Cecill Earl of Salisbury and Lord-Treasurer of England His Grandfather was Isaac Barrow Esquire of Spiney-Abbey in Cambridge-shire a Person of a good Estate and a Justice of Peace during the space of fourty Years His Fathers Name was Thomas a reputable Citizen of London and Linnen-Draper to King Charles the First to whose Interests he adherd following him first to Oxford and after his Execrable Murder he went to his Son Charles the Second then in Exile there with great patience expecting the Kings Restoration which at last happened when t was almost despaird of I remember Mr. Abraham Cowley who also was beyond Sea with the King told me at our first coming into France we expected every Post would bring us News of our being recalld but having been frustrated for so many Years we could not believe it when the happy News arrivd This Thomas had a Brother whose Name was Isaac afterwards Bishop of St. Asaf whose Consecration Sermon his Nevew and Name-sake our Dr. Barrow preachd at Westminster-Abbey His Mother was Ann Daughter of William Buggins Esq of North-Cray in Kent This Genealogy tho short has quite tird my patience it so little concerns him for it is certainly the least of his Praises if it be any at all To be Nobly or Royally extracted is the gift of blind Fortune A Principibus nasci fortuitum est This may happen to an ill and ignorant Person but to be eminently Learned and Pious cannot be obtaind without indefatigable Industry and a sincere love and constant practise of Vertue He was first put to the Charterhouse School where he made little or no progress there appearing in him an inclination rather to be a Soldier than a Scholar his chief delight being in Fighting himself and encouraging his Play-fellows to it and he was indeed of an undaunted Courage as we shall make evident in its place His Father finding no good was to be hopd for there removd him to Felstead in Essex where contrary to his expectation and even beyond his hopes his Son on a sudden became so great a proficient in Learning and all other praise-worthy Qualifications that his Master appointed him Tutor to the Lord Viscount Fairfax of Emely in Ireland who was then his Scholar During his stay at Felstead he was admitted into Peter-House of which College his Uncle the Bishop had formerly been a Member When he was fit for the University he went to Cambridge and was admitted in Trinity in Febr. A. D. 1645. He was there kindly treated by Dr. Hill whom the Parliament had put in to that Mastership in the place of Dr. Comber ejected for adhering to the King This Dr. Hill I say one day laying his Hand upon young Isaacs Head Thou art a good Lad said he t is pity thou art a Cavalier and afterwards when he had made an Oration upon the Gun-powder Treason wherein he had so celebrated the former Times as to reflect much on the present Some of the Fellows movd for his Expulsion but the Master silencd them with these word Barrow is a better Man than any of us This is very remarkable and an evident Testimony of our young Scholars irresistible Merits which could as the Poets feign of Orfeus Lenire Tigres rapidesque Leones that is Tame Savage Tigers and fierce Lions make a Presbyterian kind to a Cavalier and Malignant which Names the adherers to the King Church and
Reader not to diminish their Reputation It cannot be denied they were both great Men especially Ovid his Metamorfosis is a Noble Piece the Language Lofty and Elegant it contains many excellent Descriptions and pathetical Orations and the Connexion of the Fables is admirable yet I would not have him equalizd much less preferrd to the Divine Virgil. Ovid I confess says that he intended to have mended his Metamorfosis but he deferrd it till it was too late It should have been done whilst he was in Rome and Prosperity had he done it then he might have been a formidable Competitor with Virgil for the Crown of Bays but when he went into Exile he left his Wit behind as appears by his Book De Tristibus This was the difference betwixt these two Poets Ovid could never begin and Virgil make an end of Correcting as appears by his ordering his Eneads to be burnt So that t is evident they did not please him tho then brought to the perfection wherein we now have them and they had been consumd to Ashes to the irreparable loss of the Learned World had not Augustus opportunely interposd his Soveraign Authority and dispensed with the Testamental Laws as appears by those Verses Quin percat potius legum vencranda potestas c. Ovid says he burnt his Metamorfosis when he left Rome but finding he could not wholly stifle it there being many Copies thereof in several hands he was willing it should live and have six Verses which he mentions prefixd before it they are in the First Book De Tristibus but hear him speak in his own words Hos quoque sex Versus in prima Fronte Libelli Si proponendos esse putabis habe That is All you who have my Book if you think fit I' th Front cause these six Verses to be writ The Verses are these Orba Parente suo Quicunque volumina Cernis His saltem vestra detur in Urbe locus Quoque magis faveas non sunt haec edita ab ipso Sed quasi de domino funcre rapta sui Quicquid in his igitur vitii rude carmen habebit Emendaturus si licuisset eram Which may be thus made English If these poor Orfan Books at Rome appear Make them a hearty Welcome and good Chear They much impatience to get loose exprest And would not stay till they were better drest Till I at least their greater faults had mâ—nded Which had I livd I faithfully intended Or these out of the Third Book which will serve as well Sunt quoque mutatae ter quinque volumina formae Carmina de Domini funere rapta sui Illud opus poluit si non prius ipse perissem Certius à summa nomen habere manu Nunc incorrectum Populi pervenit in ora In Populi quicquam si tamen ore mei est In English thus Stories of Men and Gods into strange shapes Transformd the better to conceal their Rapes Which I at Rome in fifteen Books compild Whilst Fortune and Augustus on me smild Now uncorrect through many hands they move If many yet poor banisht Ovid Love Both which Copies are indifferent so much does Adversity depress the Spirits of those who stand not upon the sure basis of Vertue To conclude this long but I hope not tedious Chapter All Ages and Countries even ours might produce excellent Poets Si non offenderit unum Quemque Poetarum limae labor mora That is If every one of them were not terrified and discouragd by the prospect of the great labour which they must undergo and the length of time which must be employd in filing and polishing CHAP. XXII Of Doctor Barrow ANno Domini 1672 Doctor Wilkins Bishop of Chester departed this Life and that eminently Learned Divine Doctor Pearson succeeded him by which Promotion the Mastership of Trinity-College in Cambridge became vacant this King Charles conferrd upon Dr Barrow and speaking of it afterwards he said he had given it to the best Scholar in England Dr. Barrow was then the Kings Chaplain in Ordinary and much in favour with the Duke of Buckingham then Chancellor of the University of Cambridge as also of Gilbert Lord Archbishop of Canterbury both which were ready if there had been any need to have given him their assistance to obtain this Place When the Patent for the Mastership was brought him wherein there was a clause permitting him to Marry as it had been made before for some of his Predecessors he causd the Grant to be alterd judging it not agreeable to the Statutes from which he neither desird nor would accept any Dispensation Nay he chose rather to be at the expence of double Fees and procure a new Patent without the Marrying Clause than perpetually to stand upon his Guard against the Sieges Batteries and Importunities which he foresaw that honourable and profitable Preferment would expose him to Imitatus Castora qui se Eunuchum ipse facit c. in this wisely imitating the Beaver who knows for what he is hunted Thus making Matrimony a forfeiture of his Preferment it was as effectual a way to secure him from all dangers of that kind as Castration it self could have been for Women in this Age like Hens desire only to Lay where they see Nest-Eggs To shew his Humility and care of the College Revenue he remitted to them the charge of keeping a Coach for his time which they had done a long while before for other Masters This Preferment so well bestowd gladded the hearts not only of the Members of that College but of the University and all lovers of Learning Upon this he left the Bishop of Salisbury and was then so kind to me that he earnestly invited me to spend one Winter with him at Cambridge few Arguments were sufficient to make me yield my consent The last time he was in London whither he came as it is customary to the Election of Westminster he went to Knightsbridge to give the Bishop of Salisbury a visit and then made me engage my word to come to him at Trinity-College immediately after the Michaelmas ensuing I cannot express the rapture of the joy I was in having as I thought so near a prospect of his charming and instructive Conversation I fancied it would be a Heaven upon Earth for he was immensly rich in Learning and very liberal and communicative of it delighting in nothing more than to impart to others if they desired it whatever he had attaind by much time and study but of a sudden all my hopes vanisht and were melted like Snow before the Sun Some few days after he came again to Knightsbridge and sate down to Dinner but I observed he did not eat Whereupon I askd him how it was with him He answerd that he had a slight Indisposition hanging upon him with which he had struggled two or three days and that he hopd by Fasting and Opium to get it off as he had removd another and more dangerous Sickness at Constantinople some
morto that is It will appear at his death whether he be or not Ovid not without reason enlarges the time in these words Dicique beatus Ante obitum nemo supremaque funera debet That is No Man ought to be accounted happy bâ—fore he is dead and buried So Petrarch Il Giorno la sera la vita loda il Fine That is Call not the day fair wherein it rains before Sun-set Nor that life happy which does not end well I should have accounted this Bishop of Salisbury invidiously happy had his Exit been answerable to his glorious Acting upon the Stage of the World Had he either died sooner or lived longer I mean had he died before that great I may say Total decay of his Senses and Reason befel him or livd with them intire Integra cum mente to have born his share and added one more to the number of those Faithful Bishops whose Imprisonment Tryal and Deliverance ought never to be forgotten had he livd to have seen those Clouds blown over the Church and Civil Rights of England restord and securd Iamque Opus exegi Altho I do not pretend to what follows quod nec Iovis Ira nec Ignis Nec poterit ferrum nec Edax abolere vetustas Yet I believe this Book will be longer livd than the Author and that I shall be consumd by Worms before the Moths shall have devoured it I have I say finisht the Task I imposd upon my Self as to the Performance the Readers will be Judges according to their Capacities and Inclinations but if they pronounce Sentence against me I have this to hold up my Spirits that I am certain No Man could have written this Life better or so well without my assistance Now one word to thee my little Book if the Fanatics rise up in Arms and assault thee Tu ne cede malis sed contra Audentior ito That is Let not thy noble Courage be cast down Fight it out to the last drop of Blood never yield never beg Quarter for they will give thee none for having spoken well of a Bishop Let this be thy comfort the more they rail against thee the more despitefully they use thee thou shalt be so much the more in my favour and I shall think it a sufficient reason to believe that there is something good in thee whereat they are so much offended And now I have no more to say of the Bishop of Salisbury and only this concerning my Self I thank God for prolonging my days till I have given the World this public Testimony of my Gratitude and here without begging the Reader to be Courteous or making Apologies for my Stile for my long frequent and as they will be thought by some impertinent Digressions I shall conclude with those Verses of Imperiale Meglio Amo Al mondo tutto Dicitor mal saggio E scarso d' Arte è d' alto Stil mendico Che à te solo parer non grato Amico Which may be thus Translated I had rather the whole World should say of me My Stile is flat and trivial there 's no Wit Nor one grain of good Sense in all I have writ Then seem ungrateful blessed Saint to thee Liberavi Animam meam Domine nunc dimittis I have disingaged my Soul I have paid my Debt to my deceased Friend I am I thank God arrivd to a good Old Age without Gout or Stone with my External Senses but little decayd and my Intellectuals tho none of the best yet as good as ever they were Lord now dismiss thy Servant in Peace according to thy Word FINIS Books Printed for W. Keblewhite at the Swan in St. Paul's Church-yard FIght Chirurgical Treatises on these following Heads 1. Of Tumours 2. Of Ulcers 3. Of Diseases of the Anus 4. Of the Kings-Evil 5. Of Wounds 6. Of Gunshot Wounds 7. Of Fractures and Luxations 8. Of the Lues Venerea By Richard Wiseman Serjeant-Chirurgeon to King Charles the Second The Third Edition Folio The Condemnation of Mons. Du Pin's History of Ecclesiastical Authors by the Archbishop of Paris Also his own Retractation from the French Quarto A Letter of Advice to a Friend upon the Modern Argument of the Lawfulness of Simple Fornication half Adultery and Poligamy Quarto An Enquiry into the Nature Necessity and Evidence of Christian Faith in several Essays Part I. Of Faith in General and of the belief of a Deity Part II. Of Faith with respect to Divine Providence By Iohn Cockburn D. D. Octavo Nomenclator Classicus sire Dictionariolum Trilingue By I. Ray Fellow of the Royal Society For the use of Schools Octavo A Discourse concerning the Inventions of Men in the Worship of God By the Right Reverend Dr. William King Lord Bishop of London-Derry Octavo his Admonition to the Dissenters of his Diocese Octavo Mr. Clutterbuck's Vindication of the Liturgy of the Church of England explaining the Terms Order and Usefulness of it Octavo Fifteen Sermons preached upon several Occasions and on various Subjects by Iohn Cockburn D. D. Octavo Dr. Lluellyn
Man and a good Governour but in his latter time peevish and froward and had never any great stock of Learning When Oxford was a Garrison for King Charles the Martyr he would stand at the College Gate and observe what Persons came to walk in Trinity Grove for that was then the Oxford Hide-Park the Rendesyous of the Nobility and Gentry I say he took notice of all and usually had a Saying to every one of them which instead of vexing them made them laugh then would tell the next of the Fellows he chanc'd to see I met some Iack Lords going into my Grove but I think I have nettled them I gave them such entertainment they little look'd for At my first coming to the University of Oxford there were innumerable Bulls and Blunders father'd upon him as afterwards upon Dr. Boldero of Cambridge Upon Dr. Kettles death the Fellows proceeded to an Election of a President and it lay betwixt Mr. Chillingworth a Person justly of great Fame for his Learning and Dr. Potter Mr. Chillingworth had the majority of Votes but being then at a considerable distance from Oxford and not able to come suddenly and take Possession Dr. Potter laid hold upon this advantage and was admitted in a short time after when the University was Visited Dr. Potter was Ejected and Dr. Harris Rector of Hanwell in Oxfordshire put into his place This Dr. Harris was a very eminent Preacher his Hair rather white than gray his Speech Grave Natural and Pathetical I never heard any Sermons which became the Persons who pronounc'd them so well as his did him After Dr. Harris's decease the Fellows chose Mr. Hawes a Loyal Learned and Modest Person but of an infirm constitution of Health he enjoy'd this Headship but a little time and some days before his death resign'd it whereupon Dr. Ward to the great contentment and joy of the Moral Sober Party was elected President which he accepted and accordingly took possession of it He us'd great diligence and care to put all things in order and settle the troubled Affairs of it governing with great Prudence and Reputation but he continued in that Station a very little while only till 1660 that memorable Year for the happy Return of King Charles the Second when he resign'd it to Dr. Potter 't is true he left Trinity College and Oxford 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with an unwilling willingness for he was contented with his Condition and so pleas'd with a Collegial Life and the Charms of that sweet place that he would willingly have remain'd there the rest of his days and in order to that proffer'd Dr. Potter an Equivalent which was refus'd but yet had he resolv'd to have kept it he had not wanted sufficient ground to dispute the Title at Law for tho' it must be confess'd Dr. Potter was illegally turn'd out yet he never had a Statutable right to that place as is before made manifest But Dr. Ward not being willing to contend lest it and also resign'd his Savilian Professors Place and retir'd to London what he did there shall be the Subject of the next Chapter CHAP. VIII Of Dr. Wards being in London WE have observ'd before that all Disappointments which happened to Dr. Ward even since his first ejection out of Cambridge have prov'd to his advantage but this last of not retaining the Presidentship of Trinity College turn'd more notoriously not only to his private Emolument but to the public good also For had he kept that Headship I mean been buried alive in Trinity College hiding his glorious Light under that Bushel Exeter and Salisbury could not have boasted of so good a Bishop and Benefactor the Church of England had wanted such a Pillar and Asserter of its Rights and the Poor the Houses and Benefactions he has provided for them he might have publish'd more Treatises in Divinity and Mathematics but he could not possibly have done so much good On May the 29 th since made a perpetual Holiday by Act of Parliament King Charles return'd in Glory to his Kingdoms from which he had been unjustly Exil'd for many Years He was no sooner fix'd in his Throne but he resolv'd to settle the Church as by the Ancient Laws Establish'd to restore and to confirm it all its Lands Rights and Privileges of which it had been Sacrilegiously robb'd and despoil'd To this end several new Bishops were Consecrated who together with those who out liv'd the Storm of the Persecution were commission'd by the King to do it effectually Those Ministers who were ejected out of their Livings for adhering to the King's Cause were restor'd and notice was given to all who had any pretension to any Ecclesiastical Places or Dignities at or before such a day nominated to appear and enter their Claims for after that day the Commissioners intended to fill all the Vacancies in the Churches You may remember what I said in the Fourth Chapter that Bishop Brounrig had conferr'd the Precentorship of the Church of Exeter upon Dr. Ward many Years before And now that Title which had lain so long dormant and as to outward appearance dead awak'd reviv'd and took place and was accepted by the Commissioners by whose order he was admitted Precentor not long after he was chosen Dean and in the same Year consecrated Bishop of Exeter During these Transactions Dr. Ward had frequent occasion to ride betwixt London and Oxford which Journey he always perform'd in one day upon a high-mettled dancing I might say a run-away Mare for almost any body besides him would have found her so but he was indeed a good Horseman and valu'd himself upon it I have heard him say when he was a young Scholar in Cambridge and us'd to ride in company of others to London or elsewhere he frequently chang'd Horses with those who could not make theirs go and with those tir'd Jades lead the way but this is to be reckon'd amongst the least of his Accomplishments By so often taking this Journey in the heat of the Year he threw himself into a dangerous Fever and lay long sick of it in Gresham-College which not being well Cur'd by reason that Dr. Goddard his Fysician was then very full of Employment and could not give him due attendance I say it was not well Cur'd he having not Purg'd after it as it was necessary it left in him an ill constitution of Health during the rest of his Life and tho' he wrestled with it and bore up against it for many Years yet he could never subdue it Morbum tolerare potuit superare vero non potuit Upon the promotion of Dr. Reynolds to the Bishopric of Norwich the Church of St. Laurence Iewry became Vacant and it being in the Kings Gift was conferr'd upon Dr. Ward who kept it till he was nominated Bishop of Exeter and upon his resignation procur'd it for his Friend Dr. Wilkins who was at that time wholly destitute of all Employment and Preferment for upon the Kings
in great esteem and treated him with intimate Familiarity I remember when we were at Astrop Wells he sent the Bishop a pleasant Letter by his youngest Son wherein amongst other things he strictly enjoyns not to infuse any Mathematics into him for fear they should render him unfit to be a Politician To which the Bishop return'd in answer That he would obey his Lordships Commands and principally because De Wit was a famous Instance That a good Mathematician could not be an able Statesman The Gentleman who brought this Letter together with my Lord Faulkland my Lord Roxborough and several other of the Nobility of England and Scotland perished in the memorable Shipwrack of the Gloucester which was then carrying the Duke of York to Scotland upon the Lemane Ore on Friday May 5. 1682. This Story is so wonderful and honourable for the English Seamen that I cannot forbear telling it here 't is an amazing thing that Mariners who are usually as rough as the Element they converse in when inevitable Death was before their eyes and to be incurred within a very few minutes that Mariners I say should have that presence of Mind that inestimable value and deference for the Duke of York as being of the Blood-Royal and Brother to their King as to take care of his safety and neglect their own to put him into a Boat and permit no other Persons to enter into it but those he called out of the sinking Ship for fear of over-lading it and as soon as they perceiv'd the Boat clear of the Ship and the Prince out of danger that they all of them should throw up their Caps and make loud Acclamations and Huzzas of Joy as if they had obtained some signal Victory over their Enemies and in this rapture sink to the bottom immediately at the same instant concluding their Lives and their Jubilation Many Reflections may be made upon this remarkable Story but I being in haste leave that work to others I cannot positively determine whether my Lord Clarendon was in earnest and believed that Mathematics would render those who understood them unfit to manage State Affairs but if he did I put into the Scale against him another great Man and Politician I mean the late Duke of Lauderdale who has often declard in the presence of divers Persons of Quality from some of which I had it that in his opinion the Bishop of Salisbury was the best Speaker in the House of Lords I will muster but one more that shall be Anthony Earl of Shaftsbury who was for a considerable time a great Friend to our Bishop they enterchanged many Visits as they might conveniently do their Houses in the Country being but at a small distance one from the other and often consulted about Public Affairs nay after they went several ways in Parliament tho their Intimacy was at end yet their mutual Esteem continued I have seen a printed Speech of the Earls wherein he Treats the Bishop very honourably preferring his Speeches before the rest of his Opponents as having more of Argument in them and being closer to the purpose CHAP. XIV A Continuation of the former IF I should persist in this way of enumerating the Bishops Friends There 's one there 's two and so on like Faggots I should tire the Reader and my Self therefore as to those that remain I shall serve them up in Clusters excepting two or three concerning whom I intend to treat more at large The Bench of Bishops had that esteem for him that they selected him to observe and reply to the Earl of Shaftsbury if he should move any thing to the detriment of the Church for this Earl was a Person of great Ability and had a peculiar Talent to promote or hinder any thing passing the House of Peers To mount a step higher our Bishops Probity Wisdom and Ability to manage the great and Arduous Affairs of State was in so great esteem for a considerable while that he was spoke of both at Court and in the City as the fittest Person to supply the place of the Archbishop of Canterbury Lord-Keeper or Lord-Treasurer if any of them should become vacant And I am confident it pleased him more to be esteemd worthy of such Trusts than to have enjoyd the best of them I well remember the time when he told me he had the proffer of the Bishopric of Durham after Bishop Cousins death Pray my Lord said I accept it we shall have brave Horses there and the long Journey betwixt Bishops-Auclands and London will conduce much to the meliorating of your Health He replied I just now enterd it in my blue Book that this day I refusd it I replied and pray my Lord why did you so Because said he I did not like the Conditions but what they were it would have been unmannerly for me to inquire and he did not think it convenient to tell me This is refusing so rich a Bishopric is so great an Act of Self-denial that I have reason to fear 't will not be credited upon my single Testimony I shall therefore call in another Witness against whom there can be no Exception to corroborate mine he shall be no lesser a Person than the present Bishop of Durham whom not long after I met at Reading being then there with the Bishop of Salisbury in his Visitation I having had the honour to have been acquainted with the Bishop of Durham even from his first admission into Lincoln College in Oxford laid hold on this occasion to felicitate his promotion to Durham He replied 'T was proffered to your Bishop meaning the Bishop of Salisbury but he did not think fit to accept of it And here now I should add the Nobility and Gentry of Wiltshire Berkshire Devonshire and Cornwal whose Diocesan he had been but I remember my promise to ease both the Reader and my Self I proceed to the greatest of his Friends situated in high Places He was very much in favour with the King and the Duke of York before he declared himself of the Romish Perswasion whom he Treated magnificently at Salisbury and also with the Archbishop of Canterbury who used to entertain him with the greatest kindness and familiarity imaginable in his common discourse to him he used to call him Old Sarum And I have heard the Archbishop speak of him more than once as the Person whom he wished might succeed him About this time as it is notoriously known there were Intrigues carried on by a Party at Court to introduce the Romish Religion and make the Power of the King Unlimited and Arbitrary whereunto all Persons were to obey without reserve which words were in one of the Proclamations sent to Scotland But the Bishop of Salisbury not swimming with the Stream he lost at least one of his great Friends and with him his favour at Court the Effects whereof appeared not long after the manner thus The Revenue belonging to the Order of the Garter was usually received by
sunt novem That is Were there not Ten cleansed but what 's become of Nine of them not any returning Thanks besides this one There are yet two other good Friends of the Bishops and mine also who must not be passd over in silence Persons of that Eminency for Learning Piety and Vertue that I never thought my self worthy to unloose their Shâ—o-latchets tho' they did not make that figure in the World as those great ones mentiond in the last Chapter These were Mr. Laurence Rooke Professor of Geometry in Gresham-College and Dr. Isaac Barrow of whom we shall treat in order in the ensuing Chapters only begging leave for a small digression between concerning Dr. Turbervile CHAP. XVI Of Doctor Turbervile HAving casually mentiond Dr. Turbervile in the precedent Chapter I should esteem my self unpardonable as guilty of the greatest Ingratitude to dismiss him in so few words him to whom under God I owe my Sight a blessing in my opinion equal if not preferable to Life it self without it It was he who twice rescued me from Blindness which without his aid had been unavoidable when both my Eyes were so bad that with the best I could not perceive a Letter in a Book nor my Hand with the other and grew worse and worse every day Therefore tho I might treat of him as a Friend to the Bishop I chose rather to introduce him as mine because I was more intimately acquainted with him and as it appears by what has been said before infinitely obliged to him Dr. Turbervile was born at Wayford in Somerset-shire Anno. Dom 1612 of an ancient Equestrian Family there being in the Church of Beer only the Tombs of no less than fifteen Knights of that Name as I am credibly informd for I confess I have not seen them By his Mothers side he was Nobly extracted from the Family of the Daâ—bignies which has afforded this Kingdom many Peers this Name did his Mothers Father who was also his Godfather give him when he was Baptized Upon his going to the University his Mother advisd him to make the Diseases of the Eyes his principal study assuring him he would find it turn to a good account He was admitted in Oriel College in Oxford and there took the Degree of Dr. of Fysic When the Civil Wars broke out he left the University and bore Arms in defence of the King Church and the Establisht Laws he was in Exeter when it was besiegd and till it was surrendred to the Parliament Forces Whilst he was shut up therein he and his Comrade run in Debt a hundred pounds each in Chalk behind the Door he told me that his Landlord came into their Chamber leading his Daughter by the hand and courteously profferd to Cancel the Debts of either of them who should Marry her The Dr. valiantly resisted this Temptation and chose rather to pay his Debts in ready Money which he did shortly after the other accepted the Terms and had his Wifes Portion presently paid him viz. His Scores wiped out with a wet Dishclout By the Articles the Garison might return to their Dwellings and live there unmolested he accordingly went to Wayford and Married his only Wife by whom he had no Children and who died a few Months before him At his own House and at Crâ—okhorn the next aâ—jacent Market-Town he practisd some time but finding those Places not capable to entertain the multitude that resorted to him he removd to London with an intent to reside there but the Air of that City not agreeing with his Constitution he left it and fixd his abode in Salisbury whence he made several Journeys to London either upon his own occasion or calld thither by some Persons of Quality wanting his Advice Once he was sent for by the Dutchess of York to Cure the Princess of Denmark then a Child labouring under a dangerous Inflammation in her Eyes and a breaking out in her Face the Cure of which had been attempted in vain by the Court Fysicians These despisd Dr. Turbervile looking on him as a Country Quack and demanded what Method he would use and to see approve or reject his Medicaments before he applyd them which he refusd telling her Royal Highness that if she pleasd to commit her Daughter to his sole management he would use his utmost endeavour to Cure her but he would have nothing to do with the Fysicians He told me he expected to learn something of those Court Doctors but to his amazement he found them only Spies upon his Practice and wholly ignorant as to the Ladys Case nay farther that he knew several Midwives and Old Women whose Advice he would rather follow than theirs The Dutchess yielded the Surgeons and Fysicians were dismissd and he alone intrusted with the Lady whom to his great reputation and some profit in few months fewer than could be expected he perfectly cured of both those Distempers I said some profit for tho the Duke orderd him six hundred pound he could never receive more than half of it which considering the Quality of the Patient the Expence of the Doctors Journey to and from London and for Lodging and Diet there his long attendance at Court and neglecting other Patients cannot be esteemd a competent Gratuity Many Years after he was calld up again by one of the greatest and ancientest Peers of this Kingdom to whom after having attentively inspected his Eye he spoke after this manner My Lord I might bear you in hand a Western Frase signifying to delay or keep in expectation and feed you with promises or at least hopes that I should Cure you in some competent time and so cause your Lordship to be at great expence to no purpose I cannot Cure you and I believe no Man in England can The Earl answerd Such and such will undertake it for a hundred pound To which the Dr. replied I have so great an Honour for your Lordship and so much wish your Welfare that I will joyfully give a hundred Guineas out of my own Purse to the Person who shall restore your Sight in that Eye I confess I am not able to Cure it but I can reduce it to a better figure Thus they parted this Nobleman is living and in a very Eminent Station at my writing this but has not recoverd that Eye nor is in any hopes of it being long since convincd it is incurable Dr. Turbervile was no boaster nor would he promise to Cure any Distemper but when Patients came he would first look into their Eyes then tell them their Diseases and his opinion concerning thâ—m to some he would say you 're Incurable and would not meddle with them to others that he had often Cured such a Malady and sometimes faild of it but if they would make use of him he would do his best He generally prescribd to all shaving their Heads and taking Tobacco which he had often known to do much good and never any harm to the Eyes He did not rely upon
two or three Waters or Powders as most do for he throughy understood all the Simples and Ingredients conducing to the Cure of Eyes compounding Medicaments out of them with the manner and season of applying them He has often said to me during my long being under his hand after inspecting my Eyes I know what to give you now but cannot tell what I shall to morrow this Water would make others blind but your Eyes will bear it Hence it follows that it is at best but by Chance if such Maladies are cured at a distance I mean when the diseased are so far removd from the Artist that he cannot visit them often and observe the Operation of his Medicaments I have said before that the Doctor was Loyal I will add he was also a Pious Man and a good Christian that he constantly frequented the Public Prayers and Sermons and often receivd the Holy Sacrament with exemplary Piety and Devotion Add to this He was far from being Covetous he Curd the Poor Gratis and receivd from others what they pleasd to give him never that I knew making any Bargain for so much in hand and the rest when the Cure is perfected as some do I could not force any thing upon him for his Medicines and extraordinary Care unless it were a Cane a Tobacco-Box or some new Book tho I was indebted to him for all the Comforts of my Life He has curd several who were born blind but I do not look upon that as so great a thing for the cure of such if curable for there are several sorts of Cataracts uncurable consists wholly in this viz. In knowing when the connate Cataract is fit to be Couchd in having a steady Hand and skill to perform that Operation to be able to prevent or at least remove the pains which usually follow and sometimes kill the Patient But to reduce fallen and inverted Eye-lids to their proper place and Tone to cure inveterate Ulcers and Inflammations of a blackish colour requires a consummate Artist Hic Labor hoc opus est To proceed his Fame brought multitudes to him from all parts of this and the neighbouring Kingdoms and even from America whereof take this Instance I met casually a Friend upon the Exchange who told me as he was walking upon Tower-Wharf that morning he saw a young Woman coming out of a Boat who as soon as she had set foot on Land kneeld down and said these words which he being near overheard Oh Lord God I pray thee that I may find Dr. Turbervile living and not make this long Voyage in vain To whom he replied Madam be of good comfort he is alive and in good health I have receivd a Letter from him very lately Your News she answerd is more acceptable to me than if you had given me a thousand pounds What follows I had from the Doctors own mouth She went to Salisbury and by Gods blessing on the Doctors endeavours was perfectly cured but her Joy did not last long for in her return to Iamaica of which Island her Husband was one of the principal Inhabitants she died of the Small-Pox in London This Concourse forementioned was very beneficial to the Inns and private Houses in Salisbury being dispersd thro' all the quarters of the City insomuch that one could scarce peep out of doors but he had a prospect of some led by Boys or Women others with Bandages over one or both Eyes and yet a greater number wearing green Silk upon their Faces which if a Stranger should see without knowing the reason of that Fenomenon I should not wonder if he believd and reported the Air of Salisbury to be as pernicious to the Eyes as that of Orleans is to the Nerves where almost one third of the Inhabitants are Lame The Rendevouz of these Hood-winkt People was at the Doctors House whither I frequently resorted either to be dressd my self or see others I saw many remarkable Passages whereof I shall relate but two The first is of a Country-man whose Eye was Blood-shot who spoke thus to the Doctor I am a little troubled with a sore Eye which I am come to thee to mend Which Eye is it said the Doctor This he replyed pointing to it The Doctor answerd That is your best Eye I see as well with that replied the Country Fellow as thee dost or any Man in England Whereupon the Doctor claps his Hand before that Eye he complaind of and askd What see you now At which he cried out I see nothing I am blind tho to all the rest who were there that seemed a good Eye The other is of such another Person who came to the Doctor upon the like account his Eye was Protuberant and could not be containd within the Lids and seemd like a piece of raw Flesh the Doctor placd him in a Chair and with a pair of Scissors cut large Gobbets the blood trickling down his Cheeks in abundance and yet he seemd no more concernd than if it had been a Barber cutting his Hair I was surprizd at his behaviour and said to one of the by-standers Without doubt this is a Married Man otherwise 't were impossible he should be so patient Which he over-hearing in the midst of his Torment burst out into a loud laughter and replied No indeed I am but a Batchelor To conclude this long Chapter Dr. Turbervile died at Salisbury the 21 st of April in the Year of our Lord 1696 and of his Age the 85 th and left a considerable Estate in Money betwixt a Neice of his Wifes and his Sister Mrs. Mary Turbervile who now practises in London with good Reputation and Success She has all her Brothers Receipts and having seen his Practise during many Years knows how to use them For my part I have so good an opinion of her Skill that should I again be afflicted with sore Eyes which God forbid I would rely upon her Advice rather than upon any Pretenders or Professors in London or elsewhere He is Buried in the Cathedral Church in Salisbury ADIEU my dear Friend à rivederci till we meet and see one another again with Eyes which will never stand in need of a COLLYRIUM His EPITAF M. S. NEar this Place lies Interrd the most Expert and Successful Oculist that ever was perhaps that ever will be Doctor Dawbigny Turbervile Descended from two Families of those Names than which there are few more Ancient and Noble During the Civil Wars he bore Arms for the King After the Surrender of Exeter he livd at Wayford and Crookhorn but those Towns not affording Convenience to his numerous Patients he removd to London intending to settle there but not having his health he left it and livd in Salisbury more than Thirty Years doing Good to all and being belovd by all His great Fame causd multitudes to flock to him not only from all parts of this Kingdom but also from Scotland Ireland France and America He died April 21st 1696 in the