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ftate, which he immediately embraced. Here he found the 

 means of ftudy exceedingly fcanty, and in the coiirfe of a few 

 months religned the Hving of Stone, and removed to Horn- 

 fey, near London, a fituation which he chofe, on account of 

 its vicinity to the metropohs, where the fourccs of learning 

 were very abundant. He was now a frequent attendant at 

 the hbrary of Sion-college, which afforded hini tlie moil 

 ample means of fuuplying all his literary wants. In 1629, 

 Mr. Lightfoot pubhihed his tirft piece, entitled " Erubhim ; 



being enfy of accefs, affable, communicative, hofpitable, and 

 charitable. Asa writer he was one of the moil ingenious, 

 as well as learned, of our Englifh commentators, and has 

 furniilied his luccciTors with very valuable materials in the 

 lame line of ftudies: he had few equals, and no fuperiorin rab- 

 binical literature; and in this branch of learning his celebrity 

 was fo great, that many foreigners came to him for aliiilance 

 in it. His works were coUeClcd and publiflicd in 16S4, in 

 two volumes folio. A new edition of them was publifticd in 



or Mifcellanies Chriilian and Judaical, and others, penned for Holland in 16S6, containing aU his writings that had been 



the recreation of vacant hours." In i6^c, he was prefcnted originally given to the world, in the Latins lauguage, and S 



by fir Rowland Cotton to the reftory of Afhly, in Stafford- Latin tranflation of thofe which he had written in Englidi : 



fhire, and immediately removed to his parifh, in which he anda thii-d edition was publiihed at Utrecht in 1699, by .lolrn 



lived twelve years, applying himfelf with indefatigable dih- Leufden : this imprefiiou contained fome poilhumoiis pieces. 



gence in fearching the fcriptures, and in the performance 

 of various duties attached to his office, as a confcientious 

 clergyman. He was next appointed by the Long Parliament 

 a member of the affembly of divines at Wellminller ; and 

 as he could no longer relide among his parifhioners he re- 

 ligned the reclory, but obtained the prefentation for a 



which were comprifed in a third volume. Thcie were, in the 

 following year, publifiied in an 8vo. volume by Mr. Strype, 

 under tlie title of " Some genuine Remains of the late 

 learned and pious Dr. John Lightfoot." The doctor was 

 not only indefatigable in his own purfuits, but an encourager 

 of other learned mt-n in their's. He gave great aJlidarce in 



younger brother. He arrived in London in 1642, and was completing the Englifh Polyglott bible, by drawing up a 

 almolt immediately chofen miniiler of St. Bartholomew's^ chorographical table prefixed to it, and by fuperintendin"- 



behind the Royal Exchange. In the afiembly of divines. 

 which met in June 1643, Mr. Lightfoot became diflinguiflied 

 for his eloquence in debate, and activity in bulinefs. He 

 was friendly to the Preioyterian form of church government, 

 which he declared in a fermon before the houfe of commons, 

 he verily believed was " according to the pattern in the 

 mount.". In 1643 he was appointed mailer of Catherine- 

 hall, m Cambridge, and in the fame year he was prefented 

 to the living of Much-munden, in Hertfordfliire. In 1644 

 he publiilied the tiril part of his " Harmony of the New 

 Tetlament," with a plan of his whole deiign, and conti- 

 nued afterwards to fend out, at different periods, the other 

 branches of the fame work. In i6j2, Mr. Lightfoot took 



the (heets of tlie Samaritan verfion, as tiiey were printed : 

 he atTorded much pecuniary alTiflance to Dr. Callcll in the 

 publifhing of his Heptaglott Lexicon, which would other- 

 w,fe have occaiioned Ins entire ruin for want of fupport 

 from the learned world : and Dr. Lightfoot v/as tiie perfon 

 who excited Mr. Fool to undertake his valuable work en- 

 titled " Synoplis Criticorum." Biog. Brit. Gen. Biog. 



LiGHTiooT, JoHX, a dillinguifhed Britifli botanift, 

 chiefly known as the author of the F/ira Scotica, was born 

 in 1735. He was educated at Oxford, where he took the 

 degree of Mailer of Arts, and having entered into holy 

 orders, became chaplain to the late duchefs dcuager of 

 Portland, " that great and intelhgent admirer and patronefs 



the degree of dodor of divinity, and went through all the of natural hiilory in general," as he jufily denominates her 

 regular exercifes, on that occafion, with great applaufe. in the dedication of his book. He was recommended to 



IniGjijhewas chofen vice-chancellor of the univerlity of 

 Cambridge, the duties of which important office he per- 

 formed with exemplary diligence and fidelity. Upon the 

 refloration of king Charles II. Dr. Lightfoot offered to re- 

 iign the maflerfhip of Catherine-hall iu favour of Dr. Spur- 

 ilovv, but upon his declining to accept it, our author ob- 

 tained a confirmation from the crown of that place, and of 

 his hving. For tliefe marks of royal favour he was chiefly 

 indebted to the kinduefs of archbifhop Sheldon, who, out of 

 pure refpe£l for his learning and talents, undertook to ferve 

 him. Soon after this he was collated, through the interell 

 of lord-keeper Bridgman, to a prebend in the cathedral 

 church of Ely. In 1661 he was appointed one of the alTill- 

 ants at the conference at the Savoy on the fubjeft of the 

 liturgy, but he attended only twice, on account of the violence 

 difplayed in the debates. He now gladly withdrew as much 

 as polfible from the world, in order that he might fpend his 

 time in fttidies to which he was attached, and which he piofe- 

 cuted with vigour to tlielall. His publications would have 

 been more numerous, but theexpetice of them was more than 



this illuilrious lady, whofe accomplifhments gave a lullre to 

 her high rank, by his tafte for botany and conchology, as 

 well as his courtly and afEduous manners, which, accompa- 

 nied by an habitual pleafantry and cheerfulnefs, rendered his 

 company generally acceptable. By her grace's influence, 

 we believe, he obtained the reclory of Gotham, in Notting- 

 hamfliire, and'fubfequently the hving of Cowley, is .Middle- 

 lex. 



In 1772, the late Mr. Pennant, fo well known as a 

 zoologilt, invited Mr. Lightfoot to be the companion of Ifis 

 fecQiid tour to Scotland and the Hibrides, advifing him to 

 undertake the "compilation," as he himfelf modeilly calls 

 it, of a Flora Scol'tca, which Mr. Pennant offered to ufher into 

 the world at his own expence. ' Tliefe generous and flatter- 

 ing offers Mr. Lightfoot gladly accepted, and m.ade the 

 mofl of tlie opportunity afforded him for " gratifying a fa- 

 vourite affedion he had long conceived for the fcience of 

 botany." He enjoyed " the enchanting profpecl," to ufe 

 his own words, " of examining a country whofe vegetable 

 produftions had been attended to by very few." Our 



lie c;iuid bear, and he never was fulTiciently patronized by the author v.'as jullly aware that a fingle fummer could by 



public to interell the bookfelLrs in his behalf. A fhort time no means be fulficient for the full Lccomplilhment of fuch 



before his death he was, however, requelled by them to col- an undertaking, nor would he perhaps have ventured upon 



iect and methodife his works, in order that they might be it, but for the afTiftance of " able and ingenious botaniils, 



prirttcd in an uniform manner. He died in December 1675, who had refided in that country their whole lives," who per- 



beforc he could accomphfh the talk required of him, in the mitted him " to examine their colledions, and freely com- 



"4th year of his age. Dr. Lightfoot was indefatigable in municated the obfervations of many years." Thefe were the 



ins purfuits, and extremely temperate in his mode of hving. late Dr. Hope, profeffor of botany at EJinbuvp-h ; the 



Jie .lived in the greateft harmony among bis parifhioners, Rev. Mr. (now Dr.) John Stuart of Lufs ; aud the Rev 



Df' 



