MEMOIR OF RAY. 19 



to the sacred profession of the church, for which he 

 was destined. But a predilection for the study of 

 nature must have been manifested when he was very 

 young, as we find him mentioned, shortly after en- 

 tering the university, in terms of high commenda- 

 tion, not only for his knowledge of Latin and Greek, 

 but also for his skill in Natural History. 



His removal to the university of Cambridge took 

 place when he was sixteen years of age, for it ap- 

 pears that he was entered at Catherine Hall on 28th 

 June, 1644. He continued there a year and three 

 quarters, under the tuition of Mr Duckfield, when 

 he removed to Trinity College. Here he found the 

 subjects of study greatly more congenial to his taste, 

 as they consisted chiefly of the physical sciences and 

 the more elegant departments of polite learning. 

 He had also the benefit to enjoy the instructions of 

 Dr Duport, an individual of considerable celebrity 

 at that time for his extensive acquaintance with 

 Greek literature. Availing himself to the utmost 

 of these advantages, and extending his enquiries 

 into some departments of learning then very little 

 cultivated, Ray soon acquired a high reputation both 

 for his scholarship and philosophical attainments. At 

 a time when all scientific works, and frequently even 

 the private correspondence of friends, were written 

 in Latin, a facility in the use of that language was 

 not a rare attainment ; but a nicer perception of pe- 

 culiarities of idiom, and a higher tone of classical 

 elegance, are observable in Ray's Latin composi- 



