MEMOIR OF RAY. 
19 
to the sacred profession of the church, for which he 
was destined. But a predilection for the study of 
nature must have been manifested when he was very 
young, as we find him mentioned, shortly after en- 
tering the university, in terms of high commenda^ 
tion, not only for his knowledge of Latin and Greek, 
but also for his skill in Natural History. 
His removal to the university of Cambridge took 
place when he was sixteen years of age, for it ap- 
pears that he was entered at Catherine Hall on 28th 
June, 1644. He continued there a year and three 
quarters, under the tuition of Mr Duckfield, when 
he removed to Trinity College. Here lie found the 
subjects of study greatly more congenial to his taste, 
as they consisted chiefly of the physical sciences and 
the more elegant departments of polite learning. 
He had also the benefit to enjoy the instructions of 
Dr Duport, an individual of considerable celebrity 
at that time for his extensive acquaintance with 
Greek literature. Availing himself to the utmost 
of these advantages, and extending his enquiries 
into some departments of learning then very little 
cultivated, Ray soon acquired a high reputation both 
for his scholarship and philosophical attainments. At 
a time when all scientific works, and frequently even 
the private correspondence of friends, were written 
in Latin, a facility in the use of that language was 
not a rare attainment ; but a nicer perception of pe- 
culiarities of idiom, and a higher tone of classical 
elegance, are observable in Ray’s Latin composi- 
