2nd S. VIII. July 23. '69.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



63 



Abp. Leighton," and his Defence of Moderate 

 Episcopacy . 



Some other time I may send some Notes on 

 these Lectures, but now one must suffice : — 



" The Holy Scriptures descend to the weakness of our 

 capacities, and, as the Hebrews express it, Lex Dei loqui- 

 tur Ungziam Jilioruni hominum, ' The Law of God speaks 

 the language of the children of men.' " — Lect. i. p. 9. 



Dr. H. More, in the above cited Introduction, 

 quotes the same aphorism — " Loquitur lex juxta 

 Unguium humanam., that the Law speaks according 

 to the language of the sons of men ; " and he 

 illustrates it at length — p. 102. Cf. also More's 

 Second Lash of Alazonomastix, Cambridge, 1651, 

 pp. 108 — 120., where he shows that "Scripture 

 speaks according to the outward appearance of 

 things to sense, and the vulgar opinions of men ;" 

 — i.e.KU,T ofX(pa(Tiv nal Kar avd pwizoirQ eiav. 

 • The Rules for a Holy Life, which may be called 

 the English a Kempis, was first printed by Joshua 

 Downing, London, 1708, 12mo. In the edition of 

 1763 occurs this passage : — 



" Ihiite thy heart from all things, and unite it only to 

 God." — Sect. vi. 



Is the original word Un-knit or Uu-unite ? 

 In Pearson it is Disunite. 



With regard to the Lost MSS. of Abp. Leigh- 

 ton, Mr. Pearson writes : — 



" It is greatly to be deplored that some of his produc- 

 tions, which came into the hands of his earlier editors, 

 are since irrecoverably lost. I allude particularly to his 

 Discourses on that master!}' summary of Christian doc- 

 trine and practice, composed for the Ephcsicais by St. Paul, 

 on which the powers of Leighton's congenial rnind could 

 not fail of being happily exerted. In an advertisement 

 prefixed to the 1" edn. of the 2"^ vol. of his Commentary 

 on Peter, published in London in 169J:, Dr. Fall says that 

 these Discourses are in his possession, and he holds out a 

 prospect of their being hereafter printed : and Mr. Wilson 

 in his preface to the edition of 1748 speaks of trying to 

 recover them. Mention is also made by Dr. Doddridge 

 in his preface to Wilson's edition, of a large collection of 

 the Abp.'s Letters, communicated by Dr. Latham of Derb}', 

 and by the Rev. Mr. William Arthur of Newcastle, which 

 were meant to be inserted in a future and more extended 

 life. But the hopes thus raised have melted away, as the 

 foam upon the water." — Pp. vi — vii. 



The Editor of the second edition, writing in 

 1745, says that he has seen some MS. Sermons, 

 and A Comment on the cxix"'' Psalm, by Leighton. 

 — p. xvii. 



It is worth while registering these losses in 

 " N. & Q.," as some of the MSS. might yet turn 

 up. 



Thirty-four years have elapsed since Mr. Pear- 

 son's book appeared, and meantime many much 

 improved editions of far less important works 

 have been published ; but Leighton, our Fenelon 

 and a Kempis, as well as one of the noblest of our 

 glorious School of English Platonists — Leighton 

 seems forgotten, at least as far as Editors are con- 

 cerned. Would that some congenial mind who 



had the necessary time and opportunities, could 

 be stirred up to the pleasant task of preparing a 

 new edition of the works of this great and good 

 man.* These few and imperfect notes and hints 

 of mine will not have been in vain, should they 

 induce some more competent hand to follow them 

 up, were it only so far as to assist in preparing- 

 the ivayfor a new and improved edition. I need 

 scarcely suggest, in conclusion, that without over- 

 loading this proposed edition with annotations, 

 some of the most striking and appropriate of 

 Coleridge's comments would doubtless be ap- 

 pended by a discerning Editor. 



Mr. Pearson seems to have devoted himself 

 chiefly to the Life, and taken less pains about 

 the Worhs. In the former the materials are in- 

 dustriously collected, and well worked up into a 

 very interesting whole. Two things, however, 

 will show Mr. Pearson's tone — viz. his elaborate 

 strictures on, and apologies for, the " blemish " 

 or " disease " of " Mysticism " in Leighton, es- 

 pecially as exhibited in his Rules for a Holy Life : 

 and his declaring that Leighton's conduct in re- 

 ceiving the Orders of Deacon and Priest from a 

 Bishop previous to being consecrated a Bishop 

 himself, and thereby Ignoring the Orders of the 

 Presbyterians, "is open to just exception." — See 

 the Life by Pearson, pp. vi. clxx. xlvi. 



With regard to Abp. Leighton's Library, Bp. 

 Burnet tells us that — 



" He had gathered a well chosen library of curious as 

 well as useful books; which he left to the diocese of 

 Dunblane, for the use of the clergy there, that country 

 being ill provided with books." 



And Mr. Pearson tells us that — 



" His French Bible, now in the Library of Dunblane, 

 is marked in numerous places ; and the blank leaves of it 

 are filled with extracts made by his own pen from Jerome, 

 Chrysostom, Gregory Nazianzen, and several other Fa- 

 thers. But the Bible which he had in daily use gave yet 

 stronger testimony to his intimate and delightful ac- 

 quaintance with its contents. With the Book of Psalms 

 he was particularly conversant . . . ' Scarce a line in. 

 that sacred Psalter (writes his nephew) that hath passed 

 without the stroke of his pencil.' " — P. cxx. 



Perhaps some one in the neighbourhood of 

 Dunblane, at once a lover of Leighton and a lover 

 of books, would give us a glimpse into this " li- 

 brary of curious and useful books," note some of" 

 the most remarkable, and glean up some of Leigh- 

 ton's stray annotations ? Perhaps, too, some future 

 Editor would find it worth while to publish the 

 Notes and Extracts from the Fathers in the two 

 Bibles referred to by Mr. Pearson. 



[ * Our correspondent will be glad to hear that a gen- 

 tleman of congenial mind," and well qualified for the task, 

 has been for some time engaged — if not in the prepara- 

 tion of a new edition of Leighton — at least in annotating 

 his Works, and tracing his authorities and allusions. 

 These are such important steps towards a new edition, 

 that we venture to hope they will eventually lead him to 

 undertake one. — Ed. " N. & Q."] 



