218 FAR 
village. Mr. Coward was a gentleman who is entitled 
to the grateful remembrance of the proteflant diffenters, 
on account of the large bequeds which he made for the 
education of young men to the minidry among them, and 
other beneficent purpofes. To the aid of his funds, many 
of their moll refpeCtable minifters, and fome who now 
fudain no mean rank in the literary world, have been in- 
debted for their liberal initruCtion. Mr. Farmer’s fird 
production from the prefs was a difcourfe preached on the 
day appointed for public thankfgiving on account of the 
fupprellion of the rebellion of 1745, printed in 1746. His 
next publication appeared in 1761, entitled An Enquiry 
into the Nature and Defign of our Lord’s Temptation in 
the. Wildernefs, 8vo. The. intention of it is to (hew that 
the evangelical narrative contains the representation of a 
divine vilion, the Several Scenes of which offered to our 
Lord .Symbolical predictions of the difficulties and offices 
of his .future miniftry. The learning, abilities, and no¬ 
velty of interpretation, which the work difplayed, Soon 
gave it a wide circulation among biblical Scholars, and 
occafioned the appearance of Several controversial publi¬ 
cations, in which different hypothefes were maintained. 
In 1771, Mr. Farmer publifhed his work entitled A Dif- 
fertation on Miracles, dedgned to fhew that they are Argu¬ 
ments of a divine Interpofition, and absolute Proofs of the 
Million and DoCtrine of a Prophet, 8vo. His next pub¬ 
lication made its appearance in 1775, and was entitled An 
E.lfay on the Demoniacs of the New Tefhunent. This 
work embraces a di feu (lion neceflary to complete the de¬ 
fign of the author’s'treatife on miracles. Its objeCt is to 
Shew-, that the disorders imputed to Supernatural poS- 
fefTions proceed from natural caufes, not from the agency 
of any evil Spirits.” This hypothefis had formerly been 
Supported by Mr. Jofeph Mede, Dr. Sykes, Dr. Lardner, 
and Dr. Mead ; but they did not leave the (abject unin¬ 
cumbered with difficulties, which Mr. Fanner’s learn¬ 
ing, ingenuity, and critical (kill, endeavoured to remove. 
His 1 aft performance appeared in 1783, under the title of 
The general Prevalence of the Worlhip of Human Spirits 
in, the ancient Heathen Nations aflerted and proved, 8vo. 
After he had remained (ole minider at Walthamftow for 
Several years, in 1761 he accepted of the Situation of af¬ 
ternoon preacher to the congregation of Salter’s-liul 1 , in 
the city of London ; and was foon afterwards chofen one 
of the Tuefday lecturers at the fame place. He was alfo 
elected a member of one of the molt honourable fruits 
among the proteflant diffenters, that of Dr. Daniel Wil¬ 
liams’s various bequeds ; and was appointed one of the 
trudees of Mr. Coward’s funds. He departed this life in 
17S7, in the 73d year of his age. Upon the whole, Mr. 
Farmer is entitled to a high rank among the diflenting- 
minidersof his time, and Supported an honourable Station 
ih the literature of the age. 
FAR'MER (Richard, D. D.) a polite fcholar and 
critic, foil of a holier at Leiceder, where he was born in 
1735. He received his education at Cambridge, where he 
was entered a pendoner of Emanuel college. He took 
the degree of B. A. in 1757, and of M. A. in 1760, in w hich 
latter vear he was appointed clafiical tutorof his college. He 
took the degree of B, D. in 1767, and about that period be¬ 
came one ot the preachers at Whitehall. He refided much 
tn London with Dr. Afkew, a phyfician, well known for his 
curious and valuable library, of which Mr. f armer was 
well able to avail himfelf. He had already, befides his 
Study of the authors of Greece and Rome, engaged in a 
courfe of reading the black-letter books of his own lan¬ 
guage, which he rendered the foundation of a work to 
which he was. indebted for the principal part of his lite¬ 
rary reputation. This was An E(fay on the Learning of 
'Shakefpear-e, firft publiffied in 1766. A controverfy had 
long preyajled concerning the extent of-book-learning 
peddled by’our great dramatift, with a reference to the 
farther qued-io-n of the originality of his genius. It was 
eafy to litew .from many parts of his works that he was 
not. unacquainted with the mythology and hi (lory of the 
FAR 
ancients, but the Sources whence he derived this acquain¬ 
tance were a matter of difpute. Mr. Farmer was able, 
from his knowledge of books, to fliew that in the time of 
Shakefpeare Englifh trandations exided of mod of the 
clafiical writers; and by .tracing even the individual ex- 
preflions and midakes of the mandators in thofe padages 
of his plays which allude to the fubjects treated by thefe 
writers, he irrefragably proved that the untutored bard 
had read the trandations indead of the originals. His Ef- 
fay, which went through three editions, and was alfo 
printed in the edition of Shakefpeare by Stevens and Reed, 
in 1793, was admired as a piece of iprightly compofition, 
and was generally conlidered as decilive of the point. 
The notice Mr. Farmer acquired by this performance w’as 
favourable to his profedional advancement. On the pre- 
fentation of bidiop Hurd, he obtained the chancellorfhip 
and a prebendal dall in the cathedral of Litchdeld. In 
1775 he was chofen mader of Emanuel-college, on which 
occafion he took the degree of D. D. He afterwards ob¬ 
tained the place of principal librarian to the univerlity, 
and ferved in his turn the office of vice-chancellor. Lord 
North conferred upon him a prebend of Canterbury. He 
had twice the offer of a bifhopric from Mr. Pitt; but the 
folemnity and conftraint of the epifcopal character was 
not fuitable to his temper; and he gladly accepted indead, 
a reddentiarydiip of St. Paul’s, which he exchanged for 
his prebend. Though he warmly oppofed certain acade¬ 
mical reforms, yet he was the principal promoter of im¬ 
provements in the police of Cambridge, particularly thofe 
of paving and lighting the dreets. It was alfo in great 
meafure owing to his exertions, that the cathedral of St. 
Paul’s was permitted to receive thofe decorations of mo¬ 
numental fculpture, which, while they afford a fuitable 
difplay of the national gratitude and progrefs in fine fculp¬ 
ture, will gradually clothe the nakednefs of the edifice. 
After a long and painful illnefs, Dr. Farmer died in Sep¬ 
tember, 1797, at Emanuel-college, Cambridge, and an 
epitaph to his memory by the clafiical pen of Dr. Parr 
was inferibed upon his tomb in the cloiders. 
FARM'ING, part . Letting out at a certain rent, occn- 
pying a farm. 
FARM'ING, J. The aft or procefs of cultivating 
lands. 
FAR'MINGTON, a flourifhing towndiip of the Ame¬ 
rican States, in Lincoln county, didriift of Maine, on 
Sandy river, thirty.five miles north-wed of Hallowed, 
thirty from Harrington, and 204 north-north-ead of-Bol¬ 
ton. Number of inhabitants, about 1200. A few years 
fince this tovvnfhip was a wildernefs. 
FAR'MINGTON, a large, pleafant, and wealthy, town 
of the American States, in Hartford county, Connecticut, 
ten miles fouth-wed of Hartford city, thirty-two north-eaft 
of Newhaven, and twenty-two ead of Litchfield. Farming- 
ton river, a water of Connecticut, meanders delightfully 
through the vales which beautify and enrich this town. 
The houfes, in the compact part, dand chiefly in a dreet 
which runs north and fouth, along the gentle declivity of 
a hill, which afeends ead of the intervales ; about the 
centre of the dreet (lands a large and handfome congrega¬ 
tional church. This town was fettled as early as 1645, 
and its limits then were very extendve. Several towns 
have been fince taken from it. 
FAR'MINGTON, a river of North America, in Con¬ 
necticut, which palfes through the town of Farmington, 
where it receives Cambridge or Poquabock river from the 
fouth-wed, when it acquires the naine of Windfor river, 
and falls into Connecticut river in the town of Windfor, 
about four miles above Hartford city. 
FAR'MOST, f. [fuperlative of far. 3 Mod didant;_ 
remoted : 
A fpaciotts cave, within its farmojl part, 
Was hew’d and fadiipn’d by laborious art, 
Through the hill’s'hollow (ides. D.ryden. , 
FARN ISLANDS, a cinder, or rather two'groups,' of* 
fmali 
