WATSON. 



lime in which he undertook this charge he was employed 

 for thirty years, and as long as his health lafted, in inftruft- 

 ing others, without much inftrufting himfelf, as he fuggeils, 

 and in prefiding at dii'putations in philofophy or theology, 

 from which, after a certain time, he derived little intelleftiial 

 improvement. Addifted, whilil: an under-graduate, to aflo- 

 ciate with thofe wiiom collegians call the beft company, fuch 

 as idle fellow-commoners, and other perfons of fortune : he 

 foon perceived that he was purfuing a millaken courfe : and 

 this conviftion was more fcnfibly felt, when he often faw, on 

 ' his return home at one or two in the morning, from fonie of 

 1 his evening feftivities, a light in the chamber of a fellow- 

 ftudent of tlie fame (landing with himfelf. His jealoufy 

 was thus excited, and the fucceeding day was always de- 

 voted to hard ftudy ; nor would he allow himfelf the leifure 

 for dinner. In his folitary walks he profecuted the ftudy of 

 mathematics and philofophy without book, or pen and 

 ' paper ; and went through tedious and intricate demonftra- 

 • tions by the mere exercife of his mental powers. Thefe 

 walks were fo frequent, that among thofe who did not know 

 how he was employed, he incurred the charge of being 

 a lounger ; but the fequel of his hiflory fufficiently proves 

 , the injuftice of the charge. 



I Whilft abftradt ftudies occupied his chief attention, he did 

 i not negleft other purfuits. Every day he impofed upon 

 I: himfelf the taflc of compofing a theme in Latin or Englilh. 

 |i Among the firft of his compofitions of this kind, the fub- 

 !' jeft of that written in Englifh was " Let tribunes be granted 

 to the Roman people," and that of the Latin was " Soeiis 

 Italicis datus Civitas :" the fubjecls of both were fiiggefted 

 to him by a perufal of Vertot's " Roman Revolutions ;" 

 and to his account of this incident he adds, " Were books 

 j of fuch kind put into the hands of kings during their boy- 

 hood, and Tory-trafli at no age recommended to them, kings 

 in their manhood would fcorii to aim at arbitrary power 

 througli corrupted parliaments." He alfo introduces this 

 refleftion on the choice of his Inbjcfts : " They Ihew that a 

 long commerce in the public world has only tended to con- 

 firm that political bent of my mind in favour of civil liberty, 

 which was formed in it before I knew of wtiat felfilh and 

 low-minded materials the public world was made." In the 

 courfe of Mr. W.'s clafTical reading, to which he devoted 

 the afternoon, whilft the morning was occupied by mathe- 

 matics, he informs us, that Demoftheiies was the orator, 

 Tacitus the hiltorian, and Perfius the fatirift, whom he mofl 

 admired. At an early period of his life, Mr. W. inclined to 

 the opinion which has in later times been more prevalent, 

 ' that the foul is not a diftinft fubftance from the body ; 

 I though he proftfTes not to have troubled himfelf much with 

 perplexing difquifitions concerning hberty and neceffity, 

 matter and fpirit ; (hewing, however, on all occafions, his 

 faith in Chrillianity, as founded on teftimony, and more efpe- 

 cially on the teltimony concerning the refurreftion of its di- 

 vine founder ; and his belief of a future ftate of retribution 

 and immortality. His fpeculations on matter and fpirit are 

 hot likely, in our judgment, to illumine the darkncfs, and 

 to refolve the difficulties that involve this (ubjeft. As to the 

 ftory, recorded in the French Encyclopa:dia (art. Mort),o{ 

 a man who came to life after having been fix weeks under 

 water, we cannot help confidering it as fabulous ; but whe- 

 ther it be true or falfe, it appears to us to aftord little fatif- 

 faftion with regard to the queftion in difpute. Nor does 

 his reafoning about the tfTeiitial properties of cxtenfion, fo- 

 Hdity, mobihty, divifibility, and inaftivity, as common 

 properties, belonging equally to a table, tree, oyfter, and 

 man, and the addition of life to the matter of the tree, of 

 Jife and perceptivity to that of the oyfter, and to that of 



the man, life, perceptivity, and thought, feem to have 

 given very great fatisfaftion to himfelf. " Whether hfe can 

 exift without perceptivity," he fays, " or perceptivity with- 

 out thought, are fubtle queftions, not admitting perhaps, in 

 our prefent ftate, a pofitive and clear decition either way. 

 Phylical and metaphyfical difficulties prefent theinfelves on 

 every fubjeft, and ultimately baffle all our attempts to pene- 

 trate the darknefs in which the divine mind envelopes his ope- 

 rations of nature and grace." 



In January 1759, Mr. W. took his degree of bachelor 

 of arts. In the firft year of his being moderator, he intro- 

 duced an alteration in the mode of obtaining this degree, 

 which has been continued ever fince. " At the time of 

 taking it, the young men are examined in clades, and the 

 clalfes are now formed according to the abilities (liewn by 

 individuals in the fchools. By this arrangement, perfons of 

 nearly equal merits are examined in the prefence of each 

 other, and flagrant afts of partiality cannot take place. Be- 

 fore this alteration was made, they were examined in clalfes, 

 but the clalfes confifted of members of the fame college, and 

 the beft and the worft were often examined together." In the 

 firft year of his being moderator, Mr. Paley, afterwards fo 

 well known, and a Mr. Frere of Norfolk, were examined 

 together ; and Mr. Paley, being Mr. Frere's fuperior, was 

 made fenior wrangler, though it was reported that the 

 grandfather of Mr. Frere had propofed to give 1000/. if he 

 were admitted to this honour. This gentleman afterwards 

 candidly acknowledged that he deferved only the fecond 

 place ; and this declaration was obvioudy the refult of their 

 having been examined together. One of the queftions pro- 

 pofed by Mr. Paley for his aft was " jEternitas poenarum 

 contradicit Divinis attributis." This queilion, tlioufjh ac- 

 cepted by Mr. W., occafioned an alarm ; but in order to 

 allay all difquieting appreheiifions, Mr. P. was allowed to 

 put in non before coiitraJicit, and the alarm fublided. This, 

 however, fays Mr. W., is a fubjeft of great difficulty. 

 " It is obfervcd, on all hands, that the happinefs of the 

 righteous will be, ftriftly fpeaking, everlafting ; and I 

 cannot fee the jullnefs of that criticilm which would inter- 

 pret the fame word in the fame verfe in a different fenfe. 

 (Matt. XXV. 46. ) On the other hand, reafoii is (hocked at 

 the idea of God being confidered as a relentlefs tyrant, in- 

 flifting everlafting punilhment which anfwers no benevolent 

 end. But how is it proved that the everlafting punilhment 

 of the wicked may not anfwer a benevolent end, may not 

 be the means of keeping the righteous in everlafting holi- 

 nefs and obedience ? How is it proved, that it may rot an- 

 fwer, in fome other way unknown to us, a benevolent end 

 in promoting God's moral government of the Univer/e'^" 



In Odober 1760, Mr. W. was elefted a fellow of Tri- 

 nity college, although by that appointment he was put over 

 two of his feniors of the fame year ; and in the following 

 November became afliftant tutor to Mr. Bajkhoufe. Soon 

 after this he declined accepting the curacy of Clermont ; 

 and he alfo relinquifhed his defign of going out as chaplain 

 to the faftory at Bencoolen. " You are far too good," 

 faid the mafter of the college to him, " to die of drinking 

 punch in the torrid zone." Afterwards he reflefted with 

 gratitude and felf-complacency on his difappointment of an 

 opportunity of becoming an Afiatic plunderer. " I might 

 not," he fays, " iiave been able to reiift the temptation of 

 wealth and power, to which io many of my countrymen have 

 yielded in India." 



At the commencement of 1762 he took his degree of 

 M.A., and in the following Ottober was made moderator 

 for Trinity college. In his " Memoirs," he recites the quef- 

 tions which were at that time the ftibjefls of fcholallic ex- 



ercifes. 



