1 8 1 6.] Life of Professor Barton. 233 



f1iroiig:li the version or corrcclioDS, all tite universities, or country, for tlicir 



the ilivi.sion was to meet, examine their juiifrnient upon the text, 

 respcetivc perlbrniauces, anti eome to a "J'hc directors in each company were 



resolution, wliich parts of them should to be the Deans of Westminster and 



stand. Chester, and the King's Professors of 



When any di\ision iiad finished a Hebrew and Greek in eacli uuiversify. 



book ill this manner, tiiey were to Ihc translafions of Tindul, j\!at- 



tran.smit it to the rest, to be further con- thews, Covcrihile, Wliitchurch, and Ge- 



sidcred. 



If any of the respcclive divisions 

 shall doubt or dissent npo;i the review 

 of llie book Irausmitted, they were to 

 mark the places, and send back the rea- 

 sons of tl'cir disagreetnent. If they 

 Lappen to differ a!)out the amendments, 

 the dispute nas to be rtferred to a ge- 

 neral committee, coiisi ting of the best 

 distinguished persons drawn out of each 

 division. However, the decision was 

 not to he made till they had gone through 

 the work. 



When any place is found remarkably 

 obscure, letteis were to be diieeted by 

 aathority to the most learned persons in 



neva, to be used, when they came closer 

 to tiie original tlian the Bisiiops' Bible. 



Lastly, Tiirec or four of the most 

 eminent divines, in each of the univer- 

 sities, though not of the liumbcr of the 

 translators, were to be assigned by the 

 Vice-chancellor, to consult with other 

 heads of houses for reviewing the whole 

 translation. 



Diathehe literally means set-apart; 

 and what fitter name for the canon of 

 Scripture, for the books set-apart to be 

 read in synagogues ? AVhy employ the 

 nitftaphoric sense of the word, and ren- 

 der bequest, testament, or covenant .' 



COLLECTIONS FROM A:MER1CxVN LITERATURE. 



LJFE of BENJA^MIN S. BARTON, 



M.D. Jnte PROFESSOR of </;« THEORY 

 ond PRACTICE of MEDICINE ill the 

 t'MVERSITVr/PENNSVLVAM.A. — Read 

 to f//e PHILADELPHIA MEDICAL SOCIE- 

 TY, hy W. P. C. BARTON, M.D. 



BENJAMIN Smith Barton, a younger 

 son of the late reverend Thomas 

 Ballon, a learned episro|)al clergyman, 

 long resident at Lanca:-.ter in Penns^lva- 

 iiia, was born on the 10th day of Tebru- 

 ary, 17C6. His motlier was a sister of the 

 celebrated Ritlenhonse. Both his pa- 

 rents were eminently cinalified to infuse 

 into the minds of their cliildren, the rudi- 

 ments of knowledge, and tie principles 

 of virtue; but, unfortunately, their 

 younger children were loo soon deprived 

 ♦)f these advantages. The subject of 

 this memoir lost his mother when he was 

 little more than eight years of age ; and 

 though his father's death did not happen 

 till he had attained his fourteenth year, 

 lie was bereaved of tlie parental care and 

 instruction of one of the best of parents, 

 about a year and a half before that event. 

 His father left Pennsylvania early in the 

 autumn of 1778, intending to proceed to 

 Kiirope; but he was arrested by sickness 

 heiore he could, with convenience, em- 

 bark, and never returned. 'Phus at the 

 age of fourteen was his son Benjamin 

 Id'l an or|jhan. 



In the year 1782 Uic elder brother of 

 lloNiHLY .Mao. .No. 2Sy. 



the subject of this memoir, took him 

 into his family in Pennsylvania, in which 

 situation he continued between four and 

 five years. During this period he pro- 

 secuted his coliegiate and medical stu- 

 dies ; the first in the college of Philadel- 

 phia, where however he did not take the 

 degree of bachelor of arts, and the latter 

 under the celebrated anatomical profes- 

 sor Dr. William Shippen, with whom he 

 commenced the study of medicine, ia 

 the beginning of his eighteenth year. 



While he was yet a ])npil of Dr. Ship- 

 pen, he aeconi|>anied his uncle, Mr. Bit- 

 tcnliou.se, and the otiier commissioners 

 appointed for that purpose, in running 

 the western boinidary line of Pennsyl- 

 vania. On this occasion he was absent 

 from Philadelphia about five months, 

 having set out with the commissioners ia 

 May, 1785, andrriuincd in October fol- 

 lowing. He was then only between nine- 

 teen and twenty years of age, but from 

 his scientific acfpiirements he was an 

 useful associate of the commissioners. 

 It was ill this- excursion that he first had 

 an opportunity of mixing with the sa- 

 vage natives of this conntry — then he 

 first turned his attention to their man- 

 ners, their history, tfieir medicines and 

 j-alhology, and to otherinteresting points 

 of incpiiry, all of which he pursued w ithi 

 great zeal for the remainder of iiis life, 

 ilis researches on these subjects, >n« 

 U li amuu£ 



