COT 
of a man refolved to affaffinate me?” he anfwered, 
“ No ; but I would put my body between you and him.” 
The jefuit Santarelli having publifhed a work, in which 
he let up the power of the popes over that of kings ; fa¬ 
ther Cotton, then provincial of Paris, was called to the 
parliament, the 13th of March 1626, to give an account 
of the opinions of his brethren. He was afked whether he 
thought that the pope can excommunicate and difpoflefs 
a king of France? “Ah!” returned he, “the king is 
eldeft fon of the church ; and he will never do any 
thing to oblige the pope to proceed to that extremity.” 
“But,” faid the firft prefident, “are you not of the 
fame opinion with your pere general, who attributes that 
power to the pope ?” “ Ourpere general follows the opi¬ 
nions of Rome, where he is; and we, thofe of France, 
where we are.” The Severe things experienced by the 
pere Cotton on this occafion, gave him fo much uneafi- 
nefs that he fell lick, and died a few days afterwards, 
the 19th of March, 1626, at the age of fixty-three. He 
was then preaching the Lent-difcourfes at Paris, in the 
church of St. Paul. He wrote feveral books on contro- 
verlial fubjedfs, fermons, and a letter declaratory of the 
dodfrine of the jefuits, conformable to the dodfrine of 
the council of Trent: this gave occafion to the Anti- 
Cotton, 1610, odtavo, and is found at the end of the 
Hiftory of D. Inigo, 2 vols. 121110. This fatire, which 
betrays more malignity than wit, is attributed to Peter 
du Coignet. Pere d’Orleans and pere Rouvier wrote 
liis life, in 12mo. 
COT'TON (fir Robert Bruce), an eminent Englifii 
antiquary, “ whofe name, (fays Dr. Johnfon,) mult al¬ 
ways be mentioned with honour, and whole memory 
cannot fail of exciting the warmed fentiments of grati¬ 
tude, whilft the fmalleft regard for learning fubiifts 
among us,” was fon of Thomas Cotton, efq. dcfcended 
from an ancient family, and born at Denton in Hunting- 
donfliire, January 22, 1570 ; admitted of Trinity college, 
Cambridge, where he took the degree of bachelor of 
arts, 1585; and went to London, where he was foon ad¬ 
mitted into the fociety of antiquaries. Here he indulged 
his natural humour in the profecution of that Itudy, for 
which he afterwards became fo famous ; and in his 18th 
year began to collect ancient records, charters, and other 
manufcripts. In 1600 he accompanied Mr. Camden to 
Carlille, who acknowledges the fervices he did him in 
carrying on and perfecting his Britannia; and the fame 
year wrote a brief Abftradt of the Queftdon of Prece¬ 
dency between England and Spain. This was occalioned 
by queen Elizabeth’s defiring the thoughts of the fo¬ 
ciety of antiquaries upon that point, and is ftill extant 
in the Cotton library. Upon the acceffion of James I. 
he was created a knight; and during this reign was very 
much efteemed by the great men of the nation, and con- 
fulted by the privy counfellors and minifters of Hate, 
upon all difficult points relating to the conftitution. In 
1608 he was appointed one of the commiflioners to en¬ 
quire into the Hate of the navy, which had lain negledted 
fince the death of queen Elizabeth ; and he drew up a 
memorial of their proceedings, which is ftill in the Cot¬ 
ton library. In 1609 he wrote a Difcourfe of the Law- 
tulnefs of Combats to be performed in the Prefence of 
the King, or the Conftable and Marftial of England, 
which was printed in 1651 and in 1672. He drew up 
alfo, the fame year, an Anlwer to Inch Motives as were 
offered by certain Military Men to Prince Henry, to in¬ 
cite him to affedt Arms more than Peace. This was com- 
pofed by order of that prince, and the original manu. 
lcript remains in the Cotton library. New projects 
being contrived to repair the royal revenue, which had 
been prodigally fquandered, none pleafed the king lo much 
as the creating a new order of knights, called baronets ; 
and lir Robert Cotton, who had done great fervices in pro¬ 
jecting it, was in 1611 chofen to be one, being the thirty- 
iixth baronet created in England. His principal refidence 
was then at Great Conningtonj in Huiuingdonlhire; which 
' VoL# V, iSio. 2^1* 
TON. 265 
he foon exchanged for Hatley St. George, in the county 
of Cambridge. 
• He was afterwards employed by king James to vindi¬ 
cate the behaviour and aCtions of Mary queen of Scots, 
from the fuppofed mifreprefentations of Buchanan and 
Thuanus ; and what he wrote upon this fubjeCt is 
thought to be interwoven in Camden’s Annals of Queen 
Elizabeth, or elfe printed at the end of Camden’s- 
Epiftles. In 1616 the king ordered him to examine, 
whether the Roman catholics, whofe numbers then 
made the nation uneafy, ought by the laws of the land 
to be put to death, or to be imprifoned ? This talk he 
performed with great learning and moderation, and pro¬ 
duced upon that occafion twenty-four arguments, which 
were publifhed in 1672, among Cottoni Pofthuma. It 
was probably then that he contpofed a piece, ftill pre- 
ferved in manufcript in the royal library, intituled, 
Confiderations for the Repreflinge of the Encreafe of 
Pceefts, Jefuits, and Recufants, without drawinge of 
Blood. He was alfo employed by the houfe of commons, 
when the match betw-een prince Charles and the infanta 
of Spain was in agitation, to (hew, by a fhort examination 
of the treaties between England and the houfe of Auf- 
tria, the unfaithfulnefs and infincerity of the'latter; and 
to prove that in all their tranftiCtions they aimed at no¬ 
thing but univerfal monarchy. This piece is printed 
among Cottoni Pofthuma, under the title of a Remon- 
ftrance of the Treaties of Amity* See. He wrote like- 
wife a vindication of our ecclefiaftical conftitution ; and 
another tradf intituled, The Antiquity and Dignity of 
Parliaments. Being a member of the firft parliament of 
Charles I. he joined in complaining of the grievances, 
which the nation w-as faid in 1628 to groan under ; but 
was always for mild remedies, zealous for the honour 
and fafety of the king, and had no views but the nation’s 
advantage. 
In 1629 the remarkable tranfadfion happened, which 
gave rife to the following very curious particulars: 
Letter from Dr. Samuel Harfnet, archbifhop of York, to 
fir Henry Vane, ambalfador at the Hague, dated London, 
November 6, 1629. “ On Saturday in the evening there 
were font Mr. Vice-chamberlain and others to leal up fir 
Robert Cotton’s library, and to bring himfelf before the 
lords of his majefty’s council. There were found in his 
cuftodya peftilent tradfate? which he had foftered as his 
child, and had fent it abroad into divers hands ; contain¬ 
ing a projedt how a prince may make himfelf an abfolute 
tyrant. This pernicious advice he had communicated 
by copies to divers lords, who, upon his confefiion, are 
queftioned and reftrained ; my lord of Somerfet fent it 
to the bifhop of London ; the lord Clare to the bifhop 
of Winchefter; and the lord Bedford I know not well 
to whom. Cotton himfelf, with feveral others, are in 
cuftody. Yefterday his majefty was pleafed to fit in 
council with all the board, and commanded that devilifh 
projedt found upon fir Robert Cotton to be read over 
unto us. His majefty was pleafed to declare his royal 
pleafure touching the lords and others reftrained for 
communicating that projedt; which was, to proceed in 
a fair, moderate, mild, legal courfe with them, by a bill 
of information preferred into the ftar-chamber, where- 
unto they might make their anfwer by the help of the 
mod learned counfel they could procure.” It may be 
neceffary, in order to elucidate this matter ftill farther, 
to take notice, that one of the articles in the attorney., 
general’s information againft fir Robert Cotton was, that 
the difcourfe or projedt was framed and contrived within 
five or fix months paft, here in England; but fir David 
Foulis reftified upon oath, that it was contrived at Flo¬ 
rence, feventeen years before, by fir Robert Dudley „ 
upon which the parties were releafed, and fir Robert 
Cotton had his library reftored to him foon after. Be- 
fide the works already mentioned, fir Robert Cotton 
wrote upon a great number of fubjedts, many of which 
have been colledted and publifhed in the Cottoni Pofthu- 
