BURNET. 



of the clergy : and in tlie following year, " Four Difcourft-s 

 to the Cl'rt;y of Ills Diocefe," on the "Truth of the Cluif- 

 tian Religion," the " Divinity and Death of Chrill," the 

 " Infaliibihty and Authority of the Church," and the 

 " Obligation to continue in the Communion of the Churcli." 

 In i6(;4, he preached the funeral fermon of archbifliop 

 Tillotfon, and vindicated his memory from the attacks of 

 his enemies ; and, in the follovvinjr year, he wrote in the 

 higheft l\rain of eulogy, an " Elfiy on tiie Charafter of 

 Qiieen Mary, on occafion of her death." Having loft his 

 wife in 1698, he foon fupplied the lofs by a marriage with 

 Mrs. Berkley, whom he entrufted v.ilh the care of his 

 children, and who feems to have been well qualilied for under- 

 taking this charge, as (lie was a lady of Jiftinguidied bene- 

 volence and piety. Her treatife, entitled, " A Method of 

 Devotion, or Rules for holy and devout Living, 5cc." 

 was publilhcd in S%'0. and well received. In the fame year, 

 biihop Burnet was appointed preceptor to his highnefs the 

 duke of Gloucefter, and he took great pains in the condiiiil 

 of his education till his death. In 1 699, he publifhed hij 

 " Expofilion of the 39 Articles of the Church of Eng- 

 land," which, notwithllanding the cenfure paiTed upon it 

 by the lower houfe of convocation, and feveral private at- 

 tacks, has been reckoned a learned and judicious perform- 

 ance. It was undertaken at the requeft of queen Mary, 

 revifed and correfted by archbifhop Tillotfon, and pernfed 

 and approved before publication, by the archbifhops Ttni- 

 fon and Sharp, and the bifliops Stillingfleet, Patrick, 

 Lloyd, Williams, and More. Bifliop Burnet had the ho- 

 nour of firft projefting the fcheme for the augmentation of 

 poor livings, which was fauftioned in i 704 by aCt of parlia- 

 ment. See Augmentation. During the remaining years 

 of his life, he was employed in the compofition and publi- 

 cation of feveral treatifes appropriate to his profelTion, 

 among which, we may reckon a coUeAion of " Sermons," 

 and " Pamphlets," 3 vols. 4to. 1706; an " Expofition of the 

 Church Catcchifm," 1710; and "Sermons on feveral Oc- 

 cafions," with an " EITay towards a new Book of Homi- 

 lies," and a " Preface," containing a judicious and elabo- 

 rate defence of the revolution. He was alfo the author of 

 a great variety of pieces, fome of which were publithed du- 

 ring his Hfe, and others after his death. A catalogue of 

 his works, drawn up by Dr. Flexman, is annexed to the 

 later editions of his " Hiftory of his own Time." To this 

 catalogue, fome few publications have been added in the 

 laft edition of the " Biographia Britannica ;" and particu- 

 larly " Thoughts on Education," printed at London in 

 1761, from an original MS., drawn up when the author 

 was not quite 25 years of age, and containing a variety of 

 obfervations which indicate much knowledge and refleflion. 

 The clofe of his life, which was terminated by a pleuritic 

 fever on the 17th of March, 1715, was fuitable to the 

 charafter which he had uniformly maintained, and mani- 

 fefted that tranquillity and firmnefs, which his rehgious prin- 

 ciples were adiipted to produce and juftify. His remains 

 were depofited in the parifli church of St. James's, Clerken- 

 well. By his lall will he left orders, that the " Hiftory of 

 his own Time" (hould not be printed till fix years after 

 hi.; death, and then faithfully, without adding, fupprefTuig, 

 or altering it in any particular. Accordingly, the firft vo- 

 lume was printed at London in 1723, and the fecond in 

 1734, with an " Acciuiut of the Author's Life" annexed 

 to it, in folio, by his fon, Thomas Burnet efq. This work 

 has given rife to a great number of ftriftures, and various 

 fentiments have been entertained concerning it. At its firft 

 appearance, a general clamour was excited againll it among 

 the lories and high church-men ; and many other perfons 

 Vol. V. 



were offendid by the freedom with which particular ch.nrac- 

 ters were diawn, and partieul.ir f;ifts repref'iitcd. The 

 wits too combuicd to cxpofe it to ridicule. The real merit 

 of this hillory fiems to be very candidly and imp.Trtlaliy ?.p- 

 prctiatcd in the laft edition of liie " Biographia J'lilannica." 

 Allowing for the errors and inaccuracies common to the 

 hiftorians of that period, for fome inftaucis of party preju- 

 dice and credulity, and for that dlfpofition to look on the 

 dark fide of a charafter, and to exaggerate the failings and 

 faults of public men, which in fome cafes may have given a 

 bias to the author's judgment ; admitting his integrity, and 

 his dtfire to ftalc the truth of fafts according to the btft of 

 his knowledge ; and lecollefting that when he appeals to 

 the teftimony of others, he hontftly refers us to his authori- 

 ties, and that feveral of the fafts which occur in his hiftory, 

 and wliieh were at firft difcredited or confidercd as dubious, 

 have, fince his time, been proved to be true ; this hiilory 

 may l)e Regarded as containing, upon the whole, a faithful 

 a:id interefting reprcfentation of times and manners. " In 

 fhort, it is written with a fpirit of integrity and liberty that 

 cannot fail of rccomn-endiug it to a judicious reader ; and 

 there are few hillories in our language which v ill be found 

 to convey more folid and ufeful information. Accordingly, 

 notwithllanding the various attacks to which it hath been 

 cxi:ofe<l, it feems to be rifing in re|)Utation ; and, in oui' 

 opinion, (Blog-. Brit.) it clearly dcftrves the encomium 

 which hath lately been bcftowed upon it by a very elegant 

 poet." 



" Yet Burnet's page may lafting glory hope, 

 Howe'er infulted by the fpleen of Pope. 

 Tlio' his rough language hafte and warmth denote, 

 Witii ardent hoiiefty of foul he wrote : 

 Tho' critic cenfures on his work may (liower. 

 Like faith, his freedom has a faving power." 



Hayley Ed", on Hift. p. yi. 



This teftimony defcrves the more to be regarded, as the 

 biftiop has fpokeii of poets in terms fomewhat difparaging, 

 and thus incurred the obloquy of perfons of tafte. Virgil 

 for his fancy, fays Burnet, in his " Thoughts on Educa- 

 tion," deferves not the name of a poet, but of an eloquent 

 verfifier. Dryden he reprefeuts, probably referring to his 

 plays, and not to his ptrlonal charafter, as a monfter of 

 immodefty, and of impurity of all fort^ : and Prior he ftyles, 

 one Prior, though he had long before dillingiiilhed himfelf 

 by his elegant poetical produftions. 



As a writer, though the bidiop ought not to be ranked 

 in the firft clafs of authors, he deferves the piaife of perfpi- 

 cuity, vigour, and variety of knowledge ; and we ought 

 therefore to allow for party-prtjudice, when we advert to 

 the afperity with which Dr. Swift has reprobated his ftyle. 

 What were his fentiments as a theologian, we may infer 

 from the publications already enumerated, and particularly 

 from the teftimony borne to his vindication of the 39 articles 

 by the principal dignitaries of the church. With his at- 

 tachment to the church, he blended a confidcrable degree 

 of moderation and liberality towards Proteftant difler.ters, 

 and others who differed from him: and with refj eft to po- 

 litical matters, although he has been reproached as a party- 

 man, he was candid in his judgment of perfons of diffeient 

 conueftions, and he even exercifed great kinduefs towards 

 fome who had engaged in defigus againll the government. 

 In his general chaiadcr, iie was pious and devout, condc- 

 fcending and comniunicative, benevolent and charitable; ex- 

 emplary in the diligence with which he performed all his cle- 

 rical and epilcopal fundions, difintertited as a patriot, and 

 eminently ardent and aftive in his profecution of every 

 4 B meafure 



