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locke "When they had cited a text to prove their doctrines, he would say, 'Perhaps in your little pocket Bibles, with gilt leaves, the translation may be thus, but the Greek and Hebrew signify thus and thus;' and so would silence them."

He took the covenant with the other members of the Parliament, and Assembly; and about this time was appointed keeper of the records in the tower. In 1644, he was elected one of the twelve commissioners of the admiralty; and the same year was nominated to the mastership of Trinity College, in Cambridge, which he did not think proper to accept. He was never in favour of any violent measures, but seemed to aim at nothing so much, in these troubled times, as to keep quiet and out of danger. When the Eixwv Baoiλixn came out, Cromwell solicited Selden to take up his pen in answer to it, but he declined the task with firmness. In 1654, Selden's health began sensibly to decline; and on the 30th of November in this year, he breathed his last. He died at White Friars, at the residence of Elizabeth, Countess of Kent, with whom he had lived for many years, in the habits of great intimacy. He was buried in the Temple Church, where a monument was erected to his memory. Archbishop Usher preached his funeral sermon. He left his library, which was very rare and valuable, to his executors, Matthew Hale, John Vaughan, and Rowland Jenes, Esquires, and they would have bestowed it on the Society of the Inner Temple if they had had a suitable place to deposit it, but in want of this it was granted to the University of Oxford.

Concerning the learning of Selden, there never has been any dispute. In Hebrew, and oriental literature, he excelled all men of his day. Grotius styles him, "the glory of the English nation." He was eminently skilled in all laws, human and Divine, but entered very little into practice; he very seldom appeared at the bar, but sometimes gave counsel at his chamber. Whitlock says of Selden, "that his

mind was as great as his learning; he was as hospitable and generous as any man, and as good company to those he liked." Wilkins testifies, "that he was of uncommon gravity and greatness of soul, averse to flattery, liberal to scholars, and charitable to the poor; and that, though he had a great latitude in his principles, in regard to ecclesiastical power, he had a sincere regard for the Church of England." Richard Baxter observes, "that he was a resolved, serious Christian, and a great adversary, particularly to Hobbes' errors." But the noblest testimony to his worth left on record, is by his friend Clarendon. "Mr. Selden," says he, "was a person whom no character can flatter, or transmit in any expressions equal to his merit. He was of such stupendous learning in all kinds, and in all languages, as may appear from his excellent and transcendent writings, that a man would have thought he had been entirely conversant with books, and had never spent an hour in reading or writing; but yet his courtesy and affability was such, that he would have been thought to have been bred in the best courts, but that his good nature, charity, and delight in doing good, and in communicating all he knew, exceeded that breeding. His style, in all his writings, seems harsh, and sometimes obscure, which is not wholly to be attributed to the abstruse subjects of which he treated; but, in part, to an under valuing the beauties of style, and too much propensity to the language of antiquity; but in his conversation, he was the most clear discourser, and had the best faculty in making hard things easy, and present to the understanding, of any man that hath been known." Mr. Hyde used to say, that he valued himself upon nothing more, than having had Mr. Selden's acquaintance from the time he was very young, and held it with great delight as long as they were allowed to continue together in London. His works were collected by Dr. Wilkins, and were published, at first, in three folio volumes, but have more commonly been bound up in six, and sometimes in nine volumes.

SIR MATTHEW HALE, was born at Aldersly, in Gloucestershire, November 1, 1600. His father was a barrister at Lincoln's Inn, and being inclined to Puritanism, placed his son under the tuition of Mr. Staunton, an eminent Puritan minister. In 1626, he was admitted into Magdalen College, Oxford, where he laid the foundation of that learning and knowledge on which he afterwards raised so great a superstructure. But while in College he fell into many levities and extravagances, and had formed the resolution of abandoning his studies and going into the low countries, to join the army of the Prince of Orange, from which mad scheme he was preserved by a lawsuit with Sir William Whitmore, who had laid claim to a part of his estate. Afterwards by the persuasion of Sergant Glanville, he commenced the study of the law, and was admitted of Lincoln's Inn, in November, 1629. Mr. Hale now became as grave as he had before been gay, studied at the rate of sixteen hours a day, and laid aside all appearance of vanity in his dress. Indeed he seems, in this respect, to have gone to the other extreme, for being a stout, well built man, he was on a certain occasion seized by a press-gang as a person fit for sea service. This incident led him afterwards to be more observant of the decencies of dress, although he never went to any superfluity or appearance of vanity.

Another incident of a more solemn kind, is thought to have produced no inconsiderable effect on Mr. Hale's mind to confirm him in his serious habits. He and several of his young companions, being invited one day out of town, one of them drank so much wine, notwithstanding every effort of his companions to prevent it, that he dropped down apparently dead before them. Upon this, Hale withdrawing into another room, fell down upon his knees, prayed earnestly to God for the recovery of his friend, and also for forgiveness for himself, for being present and countenancing so much excess. And he now made a solemn vow to God that he would never again keep such company, nor drink a health as long as he lived.

His prayer in behalf of his friend was answered, for he recovered, and henceforth Hale devoted all his time to his studies and to the exercises of religion. Not content with reading the law books in common use, he searched into the ancient records and made valuable collections, from which, and other materials which he had in his reading accumulated, he made a very valuable common-place book. He was early noticed and esteemed by the Attorney-general Noy, who admitted him to great intimacy with himself, and was beneficial to him in directing his studies. He also had the happiness to be received into the friendship of Mr. Selden, who put him upon a more enlarged pursuit of learning, for he had confined his studies very much to his own profession. And this great man manifested his confidence in Hale by appointing him one of his executors at his death. Although he now embraced many branches of knowledge in the circle of his studies, theology was next to those of his own profession, his favourite pursuit.

He was called to the bar shortly before the civil wars broke out; and observing how difficult it would be to preserve integrity in such times, he resolved to act upon those two maxims of Atticus, "to engage in no faction, and not to meddle in public business; and constantly to favour and relieve the oppressed." In many instances he rendered important services to the royalists, so that in all important causes in which they were concerned, he was employed. He was one of the counsel to the earl of Stafford, archbishop Laud, and to King Charles himself. So he was also, to the Duke of Hamilton, the Earl of Holland, the Lord Capel, and the Lord Craven. Being esteemed a sincere and honest man, he was held in esteem and employed by both parties; for of his profound knowledge of the law, none entertained any doubt.

In 1643, Mr. Hale was appointed by Parliament to sit in the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, and sometimes appeared in that venerable body. About this time he took the covenant; and was in great favour with the long Parliament, and employed by

them in some of their negociations with the king. Though greatly grieved on account of the death of the monarch, yet he took the oath called the "engagement," and was appointed, in January, 1651, one of those to whom was committed the reformation of the laws. Cromwell, who was well acquainted with his integrity, and profound legal knowledge, would not let him rest until he consented to act as one of the justices of the common bench, as it was called; in which station he acted with great integrity and courage. He seems, however, never to have been well satisfied of the authority under which he acted; and in several instances, gave such opinions on the bench, as made the ruling powers very willing for him to withdraw from criminal trials. instance, when a soldier was on trial for killing a citizen, Colonel Whaley, who commanded the garrison, came into court, and insisted that the soldier had only done his duty, and that the man was killed for disobeying the Protector's orders, the judge paid no regard to his reasonings or his threats; and not only gave sentence against the soldier, but ordered the execution so quickly to be done, that there might be no possibility of obtaining a reprieve.

In one

When Cromwell died, Judge Hale not only declined to receive the mourning which was sent to him, but refused the new commission offered him by Richard, alleging, "that he could act no longer under such authority." He did not sit in Cromwell's Parliament of 1655, but was a member from Oxford in the Parliament called by Richard, which met in January, 1659. He was also a member of the Parliament of 1660, which recalled Charles II., and moved for a committee to consider the propositions which had been made, and the concessions which had been granted by Charles I. during the late war, that thence such proposals might be drawn and digested, as would be proper to be offered to king Charles II. at Breda.

Upon the restoration, Hale was appointed by the king, chief baron of the exchequer; and when Clarendon delivered him his commission, he said, "If the

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