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•obleman wndfr li'i'i care. In 1643 ''* '^" admitted a pen- 

 fioner of Pcter-boufe in Cambridge, under hi;i uncle Mr. 

 Ifaac Barrow, afterwards b!(hop of St. Afaph, mid t'icn 

 fellow of tliat college ; and in 1645 he was entered a pcn- 

 fioncr of Trinity college, as his uncle had been eje6ted 

 to;^cther with otlicrs w!;o had written aE^ainlt the covenant. 

 The ejr-ftlon of his uncle, and the lofles fuilaired by his 

 father on account of liis attachment to the royal caufe, iu- 

 Tolved our young ftudent in difiiculties ; and he was in- 

 debted to t!ie liberality of Dr. Hammond for his chief fnp- 

 port. S-.;ch were the fwcetn.'fs of his difpofition and his 

 rclpedlful conduct towards his fuperiors, that he prefcrscd 

 their eflcem and <fcjod-wi!l, though he fteadily adhered to the 

 caufe for which his family hid fuffered and rcf-.ifed to take 

 tlie covtnant. His proficiency in all branches of llttrnture, 

 and particnh-rly in natural pliilofophy, was fo confiderabie, 

 and his merit fo trenenvily acknowl-d^^cd, that he was tlcfted, 

 notwilhil^ndin^r tbe obnoxioufncfs of the party to which 

 he belonged, fellow of his co'.lesre in the year 11549; ^''•*^ 

 now perceiving that the circumtiaiiccs of the times were 

 unfavourable to peifons of his opinions in matters of 

 church and ftatc, he determined to devote himfvlf to the 

 mcd'cal prorcffion. With this view he directed his at- 

 tention to anatomy, botany, and cliemiftry, and made 

 fome proTrt-fs in thcfe preparatory ihidies : however, upon 

 further confideration, aided bv his uncle's advice, he relutr.ed 

 the lludy of divinity in connexion with that of mathematics 

 and aftronomy. With tliefe feverer (Indies healfo blended 

 the amufements of poetry, to which he had a llronT propen- 

 fity. In 1652 he commenced mailer of rrts, and was in- 

 coi-porated in that degree at Oxford. Difappointed with 

 regard to the Greek proftflbrlhip at Cambridge (^to which 

 he was recommended) on account of a fufpicion of his Ar- 

 minian principles, and perhaps influenced by the afpeft of 

 public affairs, he rcfolvcd to travel abroad ; and in order to 

 obtain a neceffary fupply for this purpofe, he fold his books. 

 Accordingly he fet out in the year 1655 ; and in this rear 

 his (irll work, which was an edition of " Euclid's Elements," 

 ^vas publirtied during hia abfence. He viiited France aiiu 

 Italy ; and in 1656 he fet fail from Leghorn to Smyrna ; 

 and in the courle of his voyage he had an opportunity 

 of manifefling his naturi! intrepidity by ftanding to Ins 

 gun, and defending the fhip on which he had embarked, 

 againft the attnck of an Algerine coriair, and of beating off 

 the enemy. Of liis intrepidity, as well as bodily ftrength, 

 another inl\ancc occurred on a very different occaiion. As 

 lie was once leavi-.-g the honie of a friend early in the morn- 

 ing before a firrce maRiff was chained up, the dog f5ew 

 at him with violence ; but he had the refolution to feize 

 the dog by the throat, and after much ftrus-gliiig to over- 

 power him, and to hold him fsft on the ground till iome 

 of the domeflics rofe and parted them. From Smyrna he 

 proceeded to Conftantinoplc, where he read over with pecu- 

 liar fatisfaftion the works of St. Chryfoftom, the biTiop of 

 thai fee ; ; r.d having remained a year in I'urkey, he re- 

 turned to Venice, and in 1659 he paffed through Gennar.y 

 and Holland into England. Soon after his return he was 

 ord?.ined by billiop Browmig ; and when the king was 

 reftored, his friends expected that his attachment to the 

 royal caufe would have been rewarded by fome confidera- 

 bie preferment : but their expcftations were difappointed. 

 On this occatlon Barrow wittily remarked in one of his 

 poems, 



" Te magis optavit reditunim, Carole, nemo, 



Et nemo fenfit te ri'diiffe minus." 

 " Thy reltoration. Royal Charles, I fee, 

 By none more wiili'd, by none lefs fclt^tUan me." 

 Vol, in. 



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However, he wrote aa ode on his majefty's rellor.ition, in 

 which he introduces Britannia congratulativg the king 

 upon his return. In this fame year, 1660, he was ch.ofen 

 Greek profelTor at Cambridge ; and in confequence of this 

 appointment, he read Icftures on the Rhetoric of Anilotle. 

 In 1662 he was recommended by Dr. Wilkins, and ele<3ed 

 to the profeficirHiip of geometry in Gtcfliam college ; and he 

 alio diCchargcd tiie duty of the ailronomical profeffor, 

 who was ablent. About this time he declined a valuable 

 prefern-e.it v.hich was ofiered him, from fcrnples of con- 

 fcicnce ; b-caufe it was annexed to the cond'tion of educa- 

 ting the patron's fon, which Barrow conf:dcrcd as a kind of 

 fin;oniacal contraft. In 1663 he was included in the firfl: 

 choice of members made by the Royr.l Society after re- 

 ceivmg their charter: and in the fan'.e year he was ap- 

 pointed Lucf.fian profeffor of mathematics at Cambridge, on 

 which occafioii he delivered an CKCcllnt oration on the ex- 

 cellence and ufeof mathfmatical fcience. At this time he re- 

 figncd both !iis Greek andGrcfham profefTorftips. Although 

 the flation to which he had attained was pecidiar'v adapted 

 to his diftinouilhcd talents and acfj'iirenieiits as a ni?.thema- 

 tician, he determined in iCGg to exchange liis mathc n.atical 

 lludies for thofe of divinity ; and accordingly, as foon as he 

 had pjblilhcd his " Leciiones Optics," he rtCgnid hi& 

 profcifor's chair to t!:e iihuliious Newton. In 1670 he 

 wascreated doctor in divinity by mandate; and in 16-2 be 

 was nominated to the mafterlhip of Trinity college by the 

 king, who obfcrved " that he had bellowed it on the beft 

 Icholar in England." To the patent of his appoi-tment 

 was annexed a claufc whxh allowed him to mairy ; but as 

 this privilege was inconfiftent with the ilatutes of the col- 

 lege, he intlfted on the claufe being crafcd. On this oc- 

 cafion he reilgned the preferments of a fmall linecure in 

 Wales, and of a prebend in the cathedral of Salifbury, wh'ch 

 he had previoufly enjoyed and the profits of which he had 

 diilributed to charitable ufes. In 1675 he was chofen vice- 

 chancellor of the univerlity ; but his fervices in this hio-h 

 and honourable flation were fpeedily terminated by his 

 death, occalioned by a fever, in London, May 1677, in the 

 47lh year of his age. His remains were interred in Weft- 

 minfter Abbey ; and a monument, with an appropriate epi- 

 taph, Wis erefled for him at the expence of his friends. 

 Dr. Barrow had nothing in his perfon or external appc-arance, 

 that was likely to command any degree of attention and 

 refpett. He was of a low llature, and of a meagre, pale 

 afpecl ; and he was fingularly negligent with regard to his 

 drefs. Pope, his biographer, mentions a circumftance to 

 this purpofe, \^ iiich fliews the cffcft of his inattention to 

 outward appearance. Being engaged to preach for Dr. 

 Wilkins at St. Lawrence Jury in London, his iiovenly and 

 Ewkward gait and meagre afpecl prepofTelTed the audience 

 fo much againfl him, that, when he mounted tlie pulpit, 

 the congregation withdrew and he was left almoft alone in 

 the chureh. Mr. P\.ichard Baxter, the nonconforn.iil di- 

 vine, however, was one of thofe few that remained ; and 

 his teftimony was highly honourable to the preacher, for he 

 declared that he had never heard a better fcrmon, and that 

 he couid witli plcafure have liilened all day to fuch preach- 

 ing ; upon which thole pcrluns wlio complained to i'r. 

 Wilkins of his fubHitutc were ailiamed of their conducTt in 

 deferting the church, and reduced to the neccfRty of ac- 

 knowledging that their prejudice was ftdely the refult of 

 his uncouth appearance. His fericons were diilinguifhcd 

 not only by their excellence, but by their length. He t jok 

 great pains in conipcCiig them, and in tranfcribing them 

 three or four times, as he found it extremely difheuk to 

 pleafe himfclf. M. Ic Clerc (Bibiioih. Univ. i. iii. p. 325) 

 4 X^ £*y* 



