1806.] Account of the late Dr. Samuel Horsley, 



402 



progrefs through the diocefe, he frequently 

 preached in tlie puri'h churches, efpecially 

 vn the days when the facrament was admi- 

 nirtered, and befto*ed confidcrable largeli'es 

 Upon the poor. He kept a mo't holpitable 

 taijle, at i is e|)ifcopal palace, at Abcr^uiUy 

 near Caeimarthen, to which the neighbour- 

 ing gentry and clergy were always welcome. 

 In Ihort, he was a bleffins; to his people j and 

 they ibllowed him with grate. ul hearts, and 

 .parted rroni him with infinite reluftance. 

 On January oOth, 1793, the Bi(hop of St. 

 David's was appo.nted to preach before tile 

 Houfe ot' Lords ; and as the recent execution 

 of the King of France was the general topic 

 of ciinverf.ition and pity, the Abbey was 

 greatly crowded 1 hat difcourlc is in print ; 

 and whatever may be thought of the notions 

 on government, .i.i.h dilt.nguilh it, there 

 can oe but ont o~.;u.in concerning its very 

 beautiful and pathetic peroration. When 

 publilhed, the Biihop appended to his fermon 

 a long vindication oi the chara^iter of Calvin, 

 Irom the charge of being a friend to rebellion 

 and regicide. The tollovvii\g year he was 

 tranllated, on the death oi tnhop Thomas, 

 from St. David's to Roc!ie:;er, and to the 

 deanry of Weftininfter, on v.hich he refigned 

 all his other church preferments. When he 

 entered upon his oflice, as Dean of Weft- 

 minller, he found many things in the con- 

 dition of that church which (tood in great 

 need of reformation ; and, with his ufual 

 aftiviiy, he inltantly let about the work. In 

 particular, the lalaries of the minor-canons 

 and officers were extremely low, and by no 

 means proportion .te With a moft commen- 

 dable Ipint oi liberality, theie.'oie, ne ob- 

 tained an inltant advance, and then began to 

 regulate the conduct and duty of the perlons 

 whom. he had fo materially ailifted. In 1796, 

 he primed, without his name, a moft pro- 

 found and elegant d.flertation on " the Latin 

 »nd Greek. Profodies," dedicated to Lord 

 Tiiurlow. In this learned performance he 

 ftev.s an uncommon depth ot penetfation 

 into, and atijuaintance with, the nature and 

 cnnllrudion ot the ancient languages j and 

 approves himf^lf a moft powerful, though, 

 perhaps, not an invincible advocate for the 

 ufe of the deck accents. In the year 1800 

 was publilhed, " The bubftance of the Biihop 

 of Rochefter's Speech in the Houfe of Peers, 

 May the '23d, in the Debate on the tliird 

 reaaing of the B 11 for the Punifhment, and 

 jno'.e etfeilual I'revention, of the crime of 

 Adultery," wnich combines all t'.ie energy 

 of diftion and vigorous turn of thought that 

 charatlerizes the reft of liis produflions ; but 

 many ot his arguments are ioundsd on doubt- 

 ful conftrutiions. Jn the fan.e year appeared 

 ill quarto his '' Critical Dilcjuifirions on the 

 lii^httenth Chapter o; Ilaiali, in a Letter to 

 Edv.'.n-a King, Lfq." This ch..pter has i ten 

 taiikdl among the obfcure pr.flages of ancient 

 prupiiccy, and various have been the ciiJcu- 

 VOvr» uf biblical fcholais co iUuitracc it, 



Difcarding all previous airumptions ajncern- 

 ing tlie defign of thia prophecy, th? people 

 to whom it is addrelTed, and tue hi.lory of 

 the times to which it belongs, Dr HorOey 

 propofed to eiter into a critical examination 

 of every word of which the meaning is at all 

 doubt.ful, Icrutinizing etymologies, exploring 

 ufages, and tonfulting tranflatior.s j and he 

 conceived that every word fliould be confidered 

 of doubt ul meaning, which has been tal<en 

 in different fenfes by different interpreters of 

 note. He likewife publilhed, i.i the year 

 1300, a charge to the clergy of his diocei'e, 

 delivered at his fecond cjeneral vifitation, ia 

 which he indignantly reprobated the princi- 

 ples (if the French philofophcrs and German 

 illuminati ; and, proceeding to notice the 

 ftate of religion in ti'is country, he exprert'ed 

 fume .appreher;!ibn concerning the pr.jgrefs of 

 methodifm. In 1301, the Biihop of :<oche.rer 

 publiihtdan octavo volume, entitled •' Elemen» 

 tary Treatifes on the Fundamental Principles 

 of Prailical Mathematics, for the ufe of 

 Students." Although publi.Oied firft, this is 

 the laft in order of tliree volumes of Ele- 

 mentary Geometry, which this prelate fent 

 forth from the Clarendon Prels. The other 

 two volumes were in Latin, and the laft of 

 them made its appearance in 1U03. The ' 

 firft volume contains the tuelve books of 

 Euclid, with the aathor's corre-^.ioj-.s j the 

 fecond, Euclid's data, a book on the proper- 

 ties of the fphcre, Archimedes on the di« 

 menfions of the circle, and Dr. Keil's ele- 

 gant treatlfe on the nature and ufe of loga- 

 rithms j and the third, in Engliih, confifted, 

 according to the t'tle, of Elementary Trea- 

 tifes. In 1&0-3, this indcfatigaule prelate 

 publifhed a new tranllation of the Prophet 

 Hol'ea, with notes critical and explanatory, 

 which evince profound erudition and patient 

 perfeverance. He was, in tlie fairie year, 

 on the demife of the Honourable Dr. Bagut, 

 tranllated to the more lucrative fee of St. 

 Afiph. In 1804 was pubhfhed, the Sub- 

 ftance of his Speech on the ■■^■kl July, on 

 the bill for the relief of cert.iin incumbents 

 of livings in London. In behalf of this mea- 

 fure, the Biihop argued v/ith fairncfs and 

 ability. Soon afterwards appeared his fermon 

 on " C'.r.ft s Delccnt into Hell, and the in- 

 termediate State," rrom Peter ill. 1(1, 19, L'O, 

 which was intended to have formed part of 

 the appendix to the feco.-.d' edition of his 

 tranllation o.' Hofea. In liiO'i, Or. Horfiey 

 printed a critical clTay " On Vitfiil's two 

 Seafons of Honey, and his Seafon of lowing 

 Wheat; with a new and compendious Me- 

 thod of invelligating the i<.iiing5 and Settings 

 of the Fixed htars ;" and nn t.ie .Sth of De- 

 cember, in the fame ye.tr, he preached, in 

 the cathedral of St. 'Ataph, a icrmon, which 

 he a terwards publilhed, under the title of 

 " The 'Aatchers and the Holy Ones." I'his 

 lift literary performance of the learned pre- 

 hite was conipoled' of two pares, thcolo-ical 

 txpyfitiun and political retkction, wd brc.ithos 

 o ii.2 the 



