46 M A C 
in his laborious undertakings for the illuftration of the 
Scriptures. Upon his return to Scotland, he was licenfed 
as a preacher by the prefbytery of Irvine, and chofen to 
officiate at the Gorbals, near Glafgow ; a fituation which 
could at that time be held by a licentiate, before ordina¬ 
tion to the paftoral function. From the Gorbals, Mr. 
Macknight removed to Kilwinning on the invitation of 
Mr. Fergufon, then minilter of that place; and afted for 
fome time as affiftant in the charge of the pariffi. In this 
capacity he conducted himfelf with fuch propriety, that 
his character as a judicious and ufeful minifter began to 
be eliabliffied ; and upon a vacancy taking place at May- 
bole he obtained that living, to the fatisfaftion of the he¬ 
ritors and people. Having been ordained pallor in May 
1758, he dilcharged the duties of that office during fixteen 
years, with fuch affiduity and kindnefs, that when he re- 
llgned it he carried with him the affeftions and regret of 
all his flock. It was at Maybole that, amidft his profef- 
fional occupations in a populous charge, he compofed his 
Harmony of theGofpels. It appears from his papers, that 
the plan had been conceived by him fo early as the third 
or fourth year of his attendance at the univerfity ; and 
from that time he began to collect materials for the pub¬ 
lication. The firft edition of this work made its ap¬ 
pearance in 1756, under the title of, “A Harmony of 
tire four Gofpels; in which the natural Order of each is 
preferved : with a Paraplirafe and Notes,” in one volume 
quarto. Although the plan of it differed confiderably 
from that of former harmonies, in fuppofing that the Evan- 
gelilts have not negle&ed the order of time in the narra¬ 
tion of events, the reception which it met with from the 
moll competent judges was fo favourable, that the author 
was encouraged to undertake a fecond edition in 1763,111 
2 vols. quarto, with confiderable improvements ; confining 
chiefly of fix difcourfes on Jewiffi antiquities, in addition 
to the preliminary obfervations and chronological dif- 
fertations which accompanied the firft edition. A third 
edition of it appeared in 1804, in two large odtavo volumes. 
In the year 1763, likewife, Mr. Macknight publifiied 
another work of great merit, entitled. The Truth of the 
Gofpei Hiftory, See. quarto; which was the fruit of his 
ltudies during the interval between the two editions of 
Iiis Harmony. Its object is, to illuitrate and confirm, 
both by argument and an appeal to the teftimony of an¬ 
cient authcTrs, what is commonly arranged under the three 
great heads of the internal, the collateral, and the diredl, 
evidences of the gofpei hiftory. By thefe publications 
our author acquired a high reputation for theological learn¬ 
ing; and the univerfity of Edinburgh, as a mark of re- 
fpetff for his merits, conferred on him the degree of doc¬ 
tor of divinity. In the year 1769, he was chofen mode¬ 
rator of the general affembly of the church of Scotland. 
Turing the courfe of the fame year, he was tranflated to 
the living of Jedburgh, which he retained about three 
years, and where he received from his people the moll flat¬ 
tering tokens of refpeftand kindnefs. In the year 177*, he 
■was elefted minilter of Lady Yefter’s pariffi in Edinburgh ; 
from which he was tranflated, in 1778, to the Old Church, 
where he continued during the remainder of his life. 
After he had taken up his refidence in Edinburgh, there 
were few occurrences in the life of Tr. Macknight which 
can be made the lubjeft of narration. He now devoted 
Iiis time and talents to the promotion of various ufeful 
inftitutions, as well as to the exemplary performance of 
his paftoral duties. He took a lead in the management of 
many different charitable inftitutions, and particularly of 
the fund eftablilhed by aft of parliament, for a provilion 
to the widows and fatherlefs children of minifters in the 
church of Scotland. But what chiefly engaged his mind 
was the execution of his laft and greatelt work on the 
Apoltolical Epiftles. This work was the refult of an ak 
molt unremitting labour during thirty years; and it is not 
unworthy of being recorded that, while compoiing it, not- 
withHanding his numerous profeffional avocations, hefel- 
dom employed lefs than eleven hours every day in ftudyj 
MAC 
and that, before it came to the prefs, the whole mannfcripS 
had been written no lefs than five times with his own 
hand. As a fpecimen of the work, in the year 1787 he 
publifiied his verfion of the Epiftles to the Theffalonians, 
which met with fo favourable a reception, that he was 
encouraged to commit the whole to the prefs. It was 
given to the public in 1795, in four large quarto volumes, 
under the title of “A new literal Tranflation, from the 
original Greek, of all the Apoltolical Epiftles ; with a Com¬ 
mentary and Notes philological, critical, explanatory, and 
practical.” Throughout the whole are interfperfed effays 
on feveral important fubje&s ; and to the fourth volume 
is added a life of St. Paul, which contains an excellent 
compendium of the apoltolical hiftory. After the publi¬ 
cation of this work, Dr. Macknight confidered himfelf as 
having accompliffied the greatelt objeft of his life ; and, 
as he wiffied to enjoy the remainder of his days exempt 
from the labour of ftudy, he refitted the repeated folicita- 
tions of his friends, who earneftly urged him to under¬ 
take, in the fame manner, an illuftration of the book of 
the Arts of the Apoftles. He probably felt the powers of 
his mind failing him, and had prudence and wifdom to 
obey the voice of reafon and nature; and in a very fliort 
time after the decline of his faculties became manifeft to 
his family. Towards the clofe of the year 1799 he caught 
a violent cold, which was the fore-runner of other com¬ 
plaints that put an end to his life in January 1800, in the 
80th year of his age. “ Dr. Macknight,” fays his bio¬ 
grapher, “ had acquired an early tafte for claffical litera¬ 
ture, and ftudied the writers of antiquity with much cri¬ 
tical fkill. He was deeply read in metaphyfical, moral, and 
mathematical, fcience. His piety was fincere,rational, and 
without oltentation ; and, to be ufeful in the caufe of truth 
and virtue was his highelt ambition. In that branch of 
the paftoral office which in Scotland is.called leEluring, and 
confifts in a familiar expofition of the facred writings, his 
learning and ability were much admired, and never failed 
to pleafe as well as to inftruft and edify in a degree which 
has feldoin been equalled. As a preacher, without preten- 
fions to the graces of elocution, he had a certain earneftnefs 
of manner evidently proceeding from the heart, and from 
a fincere anxiety to be ufeful, which always commanded 
the attention and excited the intereft of the hearers. 
Preface to the third edit, of the Harmony. 
MACKREDFPET, a town ofHindooftan, in Golcon- 
da : thirty miles fouth of Indelavoy. 
MACK'UM, a town of Holland, in the department of 
Friefland, on the Zuyder See : five miles weft of Bolfwaerf. 
MAC'LAS, a town of France, in the department of the 
Rhone and Loire: fifteen miles eaft of St. Etienne. 
MACLAU'RIN (Colin), a very eminent Scotch mathe¬ 
matician and philofopher, was thefonof a clergyman who 
was minilter of Glenderule, and born at Kilmoddanin the 
year 1698. Having the misfortune to lofe both his parents 
when very young, the care of his early education devolved 
on his uncle Mr. Daniel Maclaurin, minifter of Kilfinnan, 
who in the year 1709 fent him to the univerfity of Glafgow. 
Here he purfued his ltudies during five years, with the 
molt diligent and indefatigable application, particularly 
cultivating the mathematical fciences; and by his profi¬ 
ciency he fecured the efteein and encouragement of feve¬ 
ral gentlemen, diftinguilhed for their learning and worth, 
who readily opened to him their libraries, and admitted 
him into their molt intimate fociety and friend/hip. His 
genius for mathematical learning difeovered itfelf fo early 
as at twelve years of age ; when, having accidentally 
met with a copy of Euclid, in a few days he became mall 
ter of the firft fix books without any affiftance. From 
this time, following his natural bent, he made a rapid 
progrefs, and was ioort engaged in folving the mod cu¬ 
rious and difficult problems. When only in his fixteenth 
year, he had already invented many of the propoiitions 
which were afterwards publilhed as part of his work, en¬ 
titled Geometria Organica. In the fifteenth year of his 
age, he took the degree of M. A. with great applaufe ; on 
which, 
