BURNET. 



on; of t!iO mofl valunblc hiflorics in our own or any other 

 ) ir:;inc^i- ; a!;d that tlic publication of it was of moft fea- 

 fiinibtc fcrvice to tlic natiiin, aniidll the alarms of popery. 

 J)r. /\pthor|)calfo fays (fee Letters on llie Prevalence of 

 C'livKliiinily), tlint BiHiop Ijiirnel, in his immortal hillory 

 of the Rtft)rniati(>n, has fixed tiie proteilant relif;ion in this 

 I oi>"trv, KS lonjj as a:iy r^ii^i.m remains aisorg us ; and the 

 II li-'i wrircr calls him the Kngiilh Euftbius. An in- 

 ■ Hcnned about this tiinc which led to an interview 

 hilueen Dr. Kiirnet and ihc earl of Rochefttr, whofe cha- 

 lacTer ai a perfon of wit and profligacy is well known. 

 Having been rcc;i:cred to vilit the unhappy female with 

 whom the earl had liad a cri.rtiual connexion, in a dangerous 

 i'lnef;-., lie treated her in a manner which rendered this lord 

 dcfirouf of forming an acquaintance with him. Accordingly 

 alarmed by his fituation and profpefts in the clofing fcene of 

 life, he invited and encounigcd the vifits of Dr. Burnet, 

 and (he rcf;ilt of many conferences that pafled between them 

 on r,':-ious fubjeAs was the earl's converfion to the Chrif- 

 tiu . ::i'th, and his iincen: repentance. Of their mutual 

 intcr^ourfc, a;;d the eft.'fts produced by it, we have an 

 ititcrclling relation, in an " xiccount of the Life and Death 

 of the earl of Rojhefter," publifiud by Dr. Burnet in 1680; 

 a very popular work, which was perufcd with great fatisfac- 

 tivU by all th.e frienJs of religion. Of this book, Dr. John- 

 fonray3(Piefaces, &c. to the Works of the Poets, vol. iV.) 

 that it ou;;lit to bs read by the " critic for its eloquence, 

 tlie philol'-.pher for its arguments, and the iaint for its 

 piety." During the alarm of the popifli plot. Dr. Burnet 

 w.is frequently confulted by king Charles concerning the 

 ftate of the nation, and allured tofupport the court intereft 

 by the offer of the bifiiopric of Chichefter, which he rc- 

 fufed ; but he availed himfelf of an inducement which 

 attendance at t!ie deatii-bed ot Mr5. Roberts, one of the 

 kind's niillrefles, fuggeded, for writing a letter to his 

 Majefty, in which he nfed great freedom in reprehending the 

 vices ar^d errors both of his private life and public adminif- 

 iration. When the king had perufed it twice he threv/ it 

 into the fire, and fpoke of the writer with difpleafure. Dr. 

 Burnet at this time recommended moderate raeafures ; and 

 iiidead of the exchifion of the Duke of York, he propofed 

 the fchcme of a prince regent; and yet he maintained a 

 ileady adherence to his friends, nor did any profpeft of pre- 

 ferment ind'ice him to abandon them. The fpeech delivered 

 by lord R'.iflcl on the fcaftuld, is faid to have been penned 

 by Dr. Burnet. In iCiiz he publKhed iiis " Life of St 

 Matthew Hale," and his « Hiftory of the Rights of 

 Princes in difpofing of Ecclefiaftical Benefices and Church 

 Land..," togrther with an " Anfwer" to the animadveifions 

 of an anonymous writer on the latter performance. In the 

 following year, perceiving the llorm that was gathering, he 

 retired to Pjris, where he was well received ; and at this 

 time appeared his •' Tranflntion and Examination of a Let- 

 f^r, written by the laft general Alfembly of the Clergy of 

 France to the Proteftants inviting them to return to their 

 Communion, .&c." and alfo his " Tranllation of Sir Tho- 

 mas More's Utopia," with a preface concerning the nature 

 of tranflations. In 16S4, he was fo much the obj^ict of 

 court-refentmcnt, that he was difcharjed from the office of 

 leciurer U St. Clement's by the king's mandate to the 

 reiSor; and, by an order tranfmittcd from the lord-keeper 

 North to Sir Harbottle Grimtton, MaRcrof the Rolls, for. 

 bidden to 

 low 



^' 



king James he left the kingdom, and lived in .. very retired 



maTiner at Paris, that lie might incur no fufpicion of being 



L>ii):i:i 10 oir riaroottie (jnmlton, Mallcrot the Kolls, tor- 

 Mddento pre;-.ch any mere at the Rolls chapel. In the tol- 

 owing year he publiHied hi,s " I,ife of Dr. William Btdell, 

 Jifhop of Kilmure, in Ireland." Ui,.,n the acedlion of 



concerned in any confpiracies in favour of the duke of Mon- 

 mouth ; and fiom Paris he travelled into Italy, and was 

 agreeably received both at Rome and Geneva. At the 

 latterplace he re :ron(l rated againil the fubfcr^plionsto thefor- 

 mulary, comraonlycalled " Confenfus," a cori^nt of doftrine 

 that was impofed upon thofe who were admittt I into orders ; 

 and fucceedtd in releafirg the clergy of Gen; a from fuch 

 fnbfcriptions. After a tour I'^rough the foutV^; ;n parts of 

 France, Italy, Switzerland, a' d many parts ci ■Germany, 

 of which he has given an accoui t in his " Tra\ b" pub» 

 liHied in 1687, (in which year alio, appeared his '= Tranfla- 

 tion of Laflantius, concerning the .leath of the perfecutors,") 

 he was invited to the Hague by tie Prince and Princefs of 

 Orange, and had a great (ha -• n the councils relating to 

 England. However, to gratify 'iing James, and in com- 

 pliance w-ith an earneft requeft toMimunicated bv his ambaf- 

 fador at the Hague, he was :.ifm:fred from the court, 

 though he fliil retained his inluei'ce. This exprefllou of 

 royal difpleafure was followed by a profecution for high 

 treafon, inftitutcd agaii>ft him bo;h in S^'otl-md and 

 England; and as the States rc-i ■ " to deliver him up at 

 the demand of the Engliih cor , . u figns were formed for 

 feizing his perfon, and even I '• foying him. About 

 thio time Dr. Burnet mariied >. lar/ Scott, a Dutch 



lady of large fortune, noble (■■ tr.u.ion, from a branch of 

 the family of Buccleugh in Scolland, and very diftinguifh- 

 ing acconiphflimcnts. 



In the whole condnft of the revolution in 168*3, Dr. 

 Burnet took a very aftive par' ; and having notified the 

 projeft at an early pcri.id to the houfe of Hanover, he ac- 

 companied the prince of Orange in his expedition to Eng- 

 land, as his chapla n : upon his landing near Exeter, he 

 drew up the affociation for purfuing the ends of the prince's 

 declaration ; and as foon as king William was advanced to 

 the throne, his attachment and fervices were recompenfed 

 by promotion to the fee of Salifbury, to which he was con- 

 fecrated in 1689. Having taken his feat in the houfe of 

 lords, he recommended moderate meafures with regard to 

 the clergy who fcrupled to take the oaths, and a toleration 

 of the Proteftant diffenters : and upon occafion of fettling 

 the f'.iccellion of the crown, he was appointed by the king 

 to propofe in parliament the duchefs (afterwards eleftrefs) 

 of Brunfwick, as next in fuccefTion after the princefs of 

 Denmark and her itfue. He was thus engaged in an epifto- 

 lary correfpondence with princefs Sophia, which lafted till 

 her death. In this year, he addreffed to the clergy of his 

 diocefe a " Pafloral Letter," concerning the oaths of alle- 

 giance and fupremacy to king William and queen Mary, in 

 which he grounded the title of their majcfties to the crown 

 upon the right of " conquefl ;" and in fo doing, he gave fuch 

 offence to feveral members of parliament, that they pro- 

 cured an order for burning the book by the hands of the 

 common executioner. A fimilar offence was committed by 

 Cliarles Blount efq. (See Blount), and it incurred tlie 

 fame cenfure and ignominy. As foon as the bifliop was re- 

 leafed from his parliamentary duty, he withdrew to his di- 

 ocefe, and applied with exemplary diligence to his epifcopal 

 functions, which l;e performed in a manner that engaged 

 univerfd refpeci and efteem. Befides being indefatigable in 

 f reaching, lecturing, catechifing, confirming, and examin- 

 ing for holy onhrs, he inftituted at Salifhu'ry a fmall iiur- 

 fery of ten If udents in divinity, to each of whom he allowed 

 a falary of 30I. a year. But when he found that this infti- 

 tution gave offence, and was confidercd as a kind of tacit 

 cenfure upon tlie method of education at the univerfities, 

 he laid it afide. In 1692, he publilhed his treatife, entitled 

 " The Pafloral Care," illuftrating and enforcing the duties 



of 



