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ZINJAN, in Geography, a town of Perfia, in the province 

 of Irak, diftant 21 miles, and bearing about N.W. by 

 W. of Sultanee. This is a large and profperous town, capital 

 of the cxtenfive diftrift of Khumfeh, under the government 

 of one of the king's fons. From hence to the banks of the 

 Kizilozian, or golden ftream, the diflance is 71 miles over 

 an uneven country, full of deep ravines. 



ZOLLIKOFER, George Joachim, m Biography, an 

 eminent German divine and popular preacher, was born at 

 St. Gall in Switzerland, Auguft the 5th, 1730. His father, 

 who was a praftitioner in the law, much efteemed for his 

 integrity and piety, took great care of his education, and 

 by his own counfel and example directed the courfe of his 

 moral conduft ; nor were any of his efforts for the pro- 

 ficiency of his fon in knowledge and virtue unavailing. As 

 he was intended for the clerical profeffion, he was removed, 

 at an early age, from the gymnafiuni of his native town, 

 firft to Bremen, and afterwards to the univerfity of Utrecht, 

 where the theological profefTors were held in high eftima- 

 tion. Our young Undent, however, foon difcovered that 

 a college education was ill adapted to iiis afpiring mind ; as, 

 in his opinion, it was very unfavourable to all exertions of 

 genius and originality of thought, by levelling the diflinc- 

 tions of nature, by reftraining the intelleftual capacities to 

 a blind veneration for authorities, and prepofteroudy mif- 

 leading the judgment fo as to take the means of inflruAiou 

 for its end. Poffefling a native vigour of mind, which dif- 

 tinguifhcd him through the whole courfe of his life, he 

 refolvcd, whilft he attended the public leftures with the reft 

 of the fcholars, to cultivate his talents and to purfuc his 

 inquiries in his own way. Inftead of paying implicit de- 

 ference to fyftems and fummarics of theology, drawn up 

 in technical and fcholaftic phrafeology, he made fcripture 

 ajid reafon his guide, and, as he fays in a letter to a friend, 

 «' I privately applied myfelf to the Bible, together with a 

 clofe inveiligation of ecclefiaftical hiilory ; for I found it 

 impolTible for me to fubmit to the trammels of the fchools, 

 where derivative doftrines are uniformly tranfmitted, with- 

 out examination, by the fucceffive tutors from generation 

 to generation, &c." In the other fciences, as well as in 

 theology, he expreffes his dilTatisfaftion with the means of 

 inftruction that were then adopted and invariably pradifed 

 in the public fchools. "The little which I know," as 

 this modcft man was heard to fay, " I was obliged to teach 

 myfelf, chiefly after I arrived at years of maturity ; for 

 indeed I had but a miferable education." This is not the 

 language of pride and pedantry ; as liis attention was 



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direfted to a variety of refearches, which,, in his youth, the 

 ftate of education in Germany would furnifti him with no 

 extraordinary advantages ; and as he is known to have 

 excelled in various departments of general literature and 

 fcience, befidcs theology. His attainments in natural hif- 

 tory and natural philofophy were very confiderable ; with 

 the hiftories, ancient and modern, of the feveral nations of 

 the world he had cultnatcd an extenfive acquaintance, and 

 in the ancient and modern languages, particularly the 

 Latin, French, and Englirti, he was no ordinary proficient ; 

 having made the works of the beft poets, orators, and phi- 

 lofophers, the fubjefts of his particular ftudy. Of Cicero 

 he is faid to have been a great admirer ; and his eloquence 

 was formed upon the model of that of this celebrated 

 Roman orator. " Oh, my beloved Zollikofer!" fays Zim- 

 mermann (on Solitude), "what delightful experiences I am 

 conllantly feeling of the truth of thofe leflbns you delivered 

 at Leipfic ; thofe truly ufeful doftrines, which, dilregard- 

 ing a cold and barren theology, inculcate wife and virtuous 

 precepts, that warm and amend the heart. Oa quitting 

 your auditory, the man of bufinefs forgets his vexations, 

 pours his anxieties into the bofom of friendfhip, furrenders 

 his feelings to the charms of confolation, until his heart is 

 dilated with new hopes and his inquietudes are fo far fuf- 

 pended as to enable him to fuftaiu their return with forti- 

 tude, or to difpel them with courage. The ftudious man 

 abandons his recondite and laborious refearches, efcapes 

 from the labyrinth, and finds in the innocent and fimple 

 fatisfaftions of his family and dependants more real content 

 and happinefs than even art and icience could afford him." 

 — " Men, in fhort, of every call and charafter, here find by 

 degrees the mind's bleft calm, and learn to put on the pure 

 fpirit of the gofpel of Chrift." 



Soon after he had finifhcd his academical courfe, he 

 fettled, as a preacher, at Murten in the Pays de Vaud ; 

 and in a little while removed to a more confiderable place at 

 Monftein in the Grifons, and afterwards to Ifcnburg. But 

 neither of thefe places afforded fufficient range for hig 

 talents and zeal; and therefore in the year 1758, at the 

 age of twenty-eight, he accepted an invitation to be one of 

 the German preachers at the church of the evangelically 

 reformed at Leipfic. In this connexion he availed himfelf 

 of the opportunity which his moderate labours afforded 

 him, of giving that perfcftion to his difcourfes which was 

 the objedt of his wifhes. Accordingly, the univerfal appro- 

 bation which he received on the part of his numerous con- 

 gregation from his firll fettlement conftantly augmented 



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