ess 



FOX, JOHN. 



FOY, MAXIMILIAN SEBASTIAN. 



966 



in 1671 made a voyage to our American colonies. Wherever he weut 

 he seems to have left permanent traces of his preaching and presence. 

 Quaker meetiug-houses were first established in Lancashire and the 

 parts adjacent in 1652, and in 1667 the congregations were organised 

 into one body for purposes of correspondence, charity, aud the main- 

 tenance of uniform discipline. The term ' Quaker ' arose at Derby in 

 1650, on occasion of Fox being brought before one Justice Bennet, 

 " who was the first that called us ' Quaker?,' because I bid them 

 ' Tremble at the Word of the Lord.' " In 1677, and again in 1681, he 

 visited the Netherlands, where his tenets had taken deep root. . After 

 his return from the latter journey, his constitution being broken by 

 the labours and hardships of nearly forty years, he desisted from 

 travelling, but continued to preach occasionally in London till within 

 a few days of his death, which took place January 13, 1691. 



To Fox, and others among bis associates [BARCLAY; PEXN], the 

 praise of zeal, patience, self-denial, courage, are amply due ; and their 

 sufferings under colour of law are a disgraceful evidence of the tyranny 

 of the government and the intolerance of the people. But there was 

 one point in Fox's early conduct which justly exposed him to censure 

 and punishment his frequent interruption of divine worship as per- 

 formed by others. From this practice, in the latter part of his minis- 

 try, he seems to have abstained. His moral excellence and the 

 genuineness of his devotion are unquestioned. Fox's writings were 

 for the most part short ; they are however very numerous, and in the 

 collective edition fill three volumes folio. 



(Fox's Journal ; Neal, Hittory of Puritan! ; Sewell, Hiitory of 

 Quakert, &c.) 



FOX, JOHN, commonly called the Martyrologist, from the work 

 by which he is principally kuown, was born at Boston, in Lincoln- 

 shire, in 1517, was entered at Brazenose College, Oxford, in 1531, and 

 elect' (1 a fellow of Magdalen College iu 1543. Before this he had 

 been chiefly distinguished for the cultivation of Latin poetry ; but he 

 had lately applied himself with great earnestness to the study of 

 divinity, the result of which was that he became a convert to Pro- 

 testantism, aud on a charge of heresy being brought against him, was 

 deprived of his fellowship iu 1545. His father bad left him some 

 property, but this was also now withheld from him, on the same 

 ground, by a second husband whom his mother had married, and be was 

 in consequence reduced to great distress. At last he obtained the 

 situation of tutor in the family of Sir Thomas Lucy, of Cliarlecot, in 

 Warwickshire, the Dame whose deer-park Shakspero is accused of 

 robbing. This place however he left after some time, and was again 

 subjected to many disappointments aud hardships. At length he was 

 taken into the house of Mnry duchess of Richmond, to instruct the 

 children of her brother the Earl of Surrey, who was then confined on 

 the charges for which he soon after suffered death. After the acces- 

 sion of Edward VI. Fox was restored to his fellowship ; but he fell 

 again into danger in the time of Mary, iu consequence of which he 

 weut abroad, aud after wandering through different parts of Germany 

 was taken into employment as a corrector of the press by Oporinus, 

 the eminent printer at Basel. On the death of Mary be returned 

 to England, where his former pupil, the eldest sou of the unfortunate 

 Earl of Surrey, who was now duke of Norfolk, received him with 

 great kindness, aud settled a pension on him for life. A prebend in 

 the church of Canterbury was also given to him by Cecil. Although 

 however be retained this preferment till his death, Fox never would 

 subscribe to the articles of religion as finally settled, and this pre- 

 vented his ever attaining any higher dignity iu the church. He may 

 be considered as having belonged properly to the sect of the Puritans. 

 He died in 1587. 



Fox was the author of numerous works, a list of which is given in 

 the ' Biographia Britauuica ; ' but the only one that is now remem- 

 bered is his ' History of the Acts and Monuments of the Church ' 

 (commonly called his 'Book of Martyrs'), which was first printed in 

 one volume folio, in 1553, but was afterwards divided into three 

 volumes, and lias been repeatedly reprinted both entire, aud in an 

 abridged, modernised, or otherwise mutilated form. The trust- 

 worthiness of this great record of the sufferings of the early English 

 reformers has been bitterly assailed by many Roman Catholic writers, 

 and of late years by some writers belonging to the " high church " 

 party. But nothing beyond a few comparatively unimportant mistakes, 

 luining from some degree of credulity, and a natural though exagge- 

 rated /.e.il, seems to be established ugainst it : the veracity and honesty 

 of the venerable author may be affirmed to be quite undamaged. 

 Fox's work has pieservtd many facts, some of greater, some of 

 less importance, that are nowhere t-lse to be found. 1 ought al-o to 

 be noted to the. credit of the author, that he. showed himself through- 

 out his life, if not a friend to toleration in the largest view, yet a 

 decided enemy to persecution aud severity iu the suppression of 

 religious errors. In this sentiment he was a considerable way ahead 

 of the general, it may almost be said, the universally prevalent 

 notions tf his age. Hit mind was certainly not u very capacious one, 

 nor had he any pretensions to great depth or accuracy of learning ; 

 but for the consistency and excellence of his moral character no man 

 of hi* time was held in higher regard. Fox was a frequent preacher, 

 as well as a voluminous writer. One of his early performances in 

 Latin poetry, a comedy (as it is called) entitled ' l3e Christo 1'rium- 

 phante,' bai been translated into English by Kichard Daye, a son of 

 BIOO. DIV. VOL. II. 



John Daye, the printer, from whose press the first edition of the 

 ' Acts and Monuments ' proceeded, and who indeed would seem to 

 have suggested that work. Daye's epitaph on his tombstone in the 

 chancel of the church of Little Bradley-juxta-Thurlow, Suffolk, says 

 that he 



" Set a Fox to write how mavtyrs run 

 By death to life. Fox ventured pains and health 

 To give them light ; Daye spent in print his -wealth." 



(See Nichols, vlii. 5SO ; also 673.) 



There is also a French translation of the above-mentioned comedy 

 under the title of 'Le Triomphe de J. C.,' by Jacques Bienvenu, 

 citizen of Geneva, 4to, Geneva, 1562 ; a very scarce work. 



FOX, RICHARD, bishop of Winchester, an eminent statesman, 

 and minister of Henry VII. and VIII., was born of poor parents, 

 towards the middle of the 15th century, at Ropedley, near Grantham, 

 in Lincolnshire, studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, and Pembroke 

 College, Cambridge, and finally went to the University of Paris for 

 his further improvement in divinity and the canon law. There he 

 laid the foundation of his fortunes, by gaining the friendship of 

 Morton, bishop of Ely, a zealous Lancastrian, who had fled from 

 England in 14S3 upon the failure of the Duke of Buckingham's insur- 

 rection against Kichard III. Through Morton's introduction, Fox 

 was taken into the Earl of Richmond's service ; and having been of 

 material use in the negociatious witli the French court preparatory to 

 the descent upon England, continued to enjoy the carl's confidence 

 after his accession to the throne l>y the title of Henry VII. He was 

 successively made privy councillor, bishop of Exeter, keeper of the 

 privy seal, secretary of state, bishop of Bath and Wells, Durham, and 

 Winchester, and was frequently employed in important embassies. 

 Indeed no one stood higher in favour, or had more weight with the 

 king, who appointed him one of the executors of his will, and recom- 

 mended him strongly to the notice and confidence of Henry VIII. 

 He was also executor to Margaret countess of Richmond [BEAUFORT], 

 and in that capacity had a great share in settling the foundation of 

 St. John's College, Cambridge. Henry VI II. no doubt appreciated his 

 talents and integrity, for he continued him in his offices ; but the 

 habits of the aged minister, trained to frugality under a moat parsi- 

 monious master, were ill suited to retain the favour of a young, gay, 

 ostentatious monarch, aud he was thrown into the back-ground t>y the 

 Earl of Surrey, lord treasurer. In hope of supplanting that nobleman 

 by one qualified to win Henry's regurd as a companion, yet too 

 humble to aspire to the first place, iu the state, Fox introduced 

 Wolsey, then his chaplain, to the king's society, in 1513. The result 

 is well known. Wolsey Boon engrossed the king's confidence ; and 

 in 1515 the bishop of Winchester, disappointed aud disgusted, retired 

 to his diocese, aud spent the rest of his life in works of munificence 

 aud piety, and the discharge of the duties of his . office. Corpus 

 College, Oxford, and the free-schools of Grantliam and Tauntou, in 

 Somersetshire, are of his foundation. He became blind about ten 

 years before bis death, which took place September 14, 1528. He 

 was buried in a chapel of his own building, on the south side of the 

 high altar of Winchester cathedral. 



*FOX, WILLIAM JOHNSON, M.P., is the sou of a small fanner 

 near Wrentham, Suffolk, where he was born in 1736. He was edu- 

 cated for the ministry at Homerton Independent College, but adopted 

 Unitarian opinions, aud exercised his ministry at the Unitarian 

 Chapel, Finsbury. At the same time he lent the aid of his pen to the 

 liberal party iu politics. He afterwards became a frequent writer and 

 speaker during the agitation for repeal of the Corn Laws. In 1847 

 he was elected M.P. for Oldliam, aud though unsuccessful at the 

 general election in 1852, he regained his seat a few mouths subse- 

 quently. He is an able lecturer and political writer. He is the 

 author of a volume on ' Religious Ideas ; ' ' Lectures to the Working 

 Classes;' of various 'Essays;' .and of able contributions to the 

 ' Weekly Dispatch,' and the ' Westminster Review,' with the latter 

 of which he was connected from its first foundation. 



FOY, MAXIMILIAN SEBASTIAN, one of the best of the political 

 orators that have appeared in Francn since tbe establishment of 

 a constitutional charter, was born in 1775, at Ham, iu Picardy. His 

 father, an old military officer, died when Foy was only five years old, 

 and tbe educatiou of his five children devolved on their mother, Eliza- 

 beth Wisbeck, who was a woman of English extraction, and of a 

 superior character. Foy displayed from his earliest boyhood remark- 

 able talents aud great application. At fourteen he complete! liis course 

 of studies at the coll ge of Soissous, alt r which he passed to the 

 military school of Lafere, anil, at tile end of 17UO, entered the army 

 as a second lieuteua .t of artillery. He served with great credit in 

 Flanders during tire beginning ot the war of thu devolution. Having 

 however frankly expressed his opinions abjut the horrors perpetrated 

 at Paris, he was imprisoned at (Jambray, but was released from his 

 Confinement by the events of the 9ch Therruidor. Hu now re-entered 

 the army, made two campaigns under Moreau, aud rose to the rank of 

 a chef d'escadron, when the treaty of Campo Formio suspended his 

 military career. He took advantage of the short peace which followed 

 that treaty to study public law under the celebrated Prof ssor Koch, 

 at Strasbourg. In 179ci he again join- d the army, and served in Italy, 

 Switzerland, and on the Rhine, lilt the peac* of Ami p.-. when he 

 returned to Franco with the rank of colonel Foy was at Paris during 



