550 NOR 
NOROY le SEC', a town of France, in the department 
of the Mofelle : tlx miles wejft of Briey, and fifteen fouth- 
weft of Thioiiville. 
NOR'PUY, a town of Hindooftan, in Bahar: thirty- 
feven miles fouth-fouth-well of Patna. 
NORRA'LA, a town of Sweden, in Helfingland: five 
miles north-north-weft of Soderhamn. 
NORR'HO, a town-of Sweden, in Helfingland : fixteen 
miles nortrh-weft of Hudwickfwall. 
NORREN'T, a town of France, in the department of 
the Straits of Calais, and chief place of a canton, in the 
diftrift of Bethune ; containing 1184 inhabitants. 
NOR'RIDGEWOCK, a town of Maflachufetts, in the 
province of Maine, on the Kennebeck: fixty miles north 
of Portland. 
NOR'RIS (John), a learned Englifli platonic philofo- 
plier and myltic divine, was the fon of a clergyman who 
was firft minifter of Collingbourne-Kingfton, and after¬ 
wards reftor of Aldbourne in Wiltlhire; and born about 
the year 1657. He was educated at Winchefter fchool; 
whence he was lent, in 1676, to Exeter-college, Oxford. 
Such was the progrefs which he had already made in clafii- 
cal literature, that he w r as able to devote the greater por¬ 
tion of his time to the other departments of academical 
ftudy, and particularly to philofophy. Not contented, 
however, with the fyftems taught by the tutors of the 
univerfity, he went direftly to the fountain-head, and 
read attentively the works of Plato, Xenophon, and Arif- 
totle. Of thefe celebrated ancient philofophers, Plato 
was his favourite, whofe writings heftudied with extraor¬ 
dinary diligence, and whofe peculiar notions he eagerly 
imbibed. In 1680, he took the degree of B. A. and loon 
afterwards was elefted fellow of All-Souls. This fitua- 
tion perfeftly correfponded with his willies, and he here 
indulged his genius in purfuing Plato through all his molt 
abftrafted fpecifiations. Ashe was of a devout and me¬ 
lancholy temper, he was ealily led, from the principles of 
that philofophy, into the vifionary refinements of the 
myltic theology ; and, after reading Malebranche’s Search 
after Truth, he became a zealous difciple of that French 
philofopher, and commenced a profefled idealift. The 
firft thing which led his turn of thinking to be taken no¬ 
tice of in the univerfity, was his tranflation of Robert 
Warying’s Effigies Amor is, under the title of “ The Pic¬ 
ture of Love unveiled,” 1682, 121110. which is a philofo- 
pbical rhapfody, founded on the Platonic notion that 
love is the foie principle in nature. In the fame year he 
aifo publilhed a tranflation from the Greek of “ Hierocles 
upon the Golden Verfes of Pythagoras,” 8vo. His next 
piece was fent into the world in 1683, and entitled “ An 
Idea of Happinefs,” &rc. 4-to. In this treatife, which is 
itrongly tinftured with enthufialin, after laying down the 
pofition that happinefs confifts only in the fruition of 
God, he proceeds to explain the nature of that fruition ; 
and, aflerting the inl’ufficiency of a virtuous life to that 
purpofe, as the'word virtue is underftood by the ftoics, 
peripatetics, and other moralifts, he takes the word in 
that fenfe which frequently occurs in the Pythagorean 
and Platonic writings, in contemplation and the unitive 
way of religion.' This, in contradiction to moral virtue, 
they call divine virtue. According to their ideas, the 
former is a ftate of proficiency, the latter of perfection : in 
the former is a ftate of difficulty and contention, in the 
latter eafe and fecurity: the former is employed in maf- 
tering the pafiions, and regulating the aftions of com¬ 
mon life; the latter in divine meditation, and the extafies 
of feraphic love. This treatife was followed, in the lame 
year, by a Latin piece again ft the Calvinifts, entitled, 
“ Traftatus adverfus Reprobationis abfolutae Decretum, 
nova Methodo et fuccinftiflimo Compendio adornatus, et 
in duos Libros digellus;” 8vo. About the fame time, 
upon the pretended difeovery of the Rye-houfe plot, he 
thought proper to draw his pen in defence of party-po¬ 
litics, and publilhed a piece entitled, “ A Murnival of 
Knaves; or, Whiggifm plainly difplayed, and burlefqued 
R I S. 
out of Countenance;” 4to. In 1684, Mr. Norris was 
admitted to the degree of M. A. and foon afterwards en¬ 
tered into holy orders. I11 the year laft mentioned came 
out his volume of “ Poems and Difcourles occafionally 
written, &c.” which was afterwards enlarged with feve¬ 
red additional pieces, and has been repeatedly printed 
under the title of “ A Colleftion of Mifcellanies,” &c. 8vo. 
In the-year 1685, an Englifli verlion was publilhed of 
The Cyropaedia of Xenophon, in 8vo. of which the four 
firft books were tranflated by Mr. Francis Digby, and the 
four laft by Mr. Norris. In 1688, our author publilhed 
“ The Theory and Regulation of Love, a moral Eflay,” 
8vo. intended to demonftrate the reduftion of all virtue 
and vice to the various modifications of love. In the 
following year he was prefented to the reftory of Newton 
St. Loein Somerfetlhire, when he religned his fellowlhip 
at All-Souls college, and entered into the marriage-ftate. 
In the fame year he gave the public a treatife, entitled, 
“ Reafon and Religion ; or, the Grounds and Meafures 
of Devotion conlidered, from the Nature of God and the 
Nature of Man, in feveral Contemplations ; with Exer- 
ciles of Devotion applied to every Contemplation ;” 8vo. 
This was followed, in 1690, by his “ Reflections on the 
Conduft of human Life, with Reference to the Study of 
Learning and Knowledge, in a Letter to lady Maftiam ;” 
8vo. which contained fome expreflions that were confi- 
dered by the Quakers to be favourable to their opinions, 
and were reprefented by Mr. Vickeris, an eminent perfon 
of that denomination, to be a fort of confeflion of their 
truth. At the lame time lie rebuked our author for the 
cenfures which he caft oa the Quakers as a left. Piqued 
at the fuggeftion that any of his hypothefes ffiould be lb 
underftood, Mr. Norris publilhed two treatifes, with the 
defign of eftablilhing the contrail between them and the 
principles of Quakerifm. The firft of thefe was entitled, 
“ An Anfwer to a Letter of a learned Quaker, which he 
is pleafed to call A juft Reprehenfion of John Norris ;” See. 
8 vo. and thefecond, “ A Difcourfe concerning the Groff- 
nefs of the Quakers’ Notion of the Light Within, and 
their Confufion and l'nconliftency in explaining it;” 8vo. 
1692. Before the appearance of thefe pieces, he had pub¬ 
lilhed, towards the clofe of the year 1689, “ Chriftian 
Biefiednefs, or Dilcourfes upon the Beatitudes of our 
Lord and Saviour Jefus Clirift,” 8vo. in which he charged 
the non-conformills with being guilty of fchilin. That 
imputation having given fome offence, in 1691 he pub¬ 
lilhed, “ The Charge of Schifin continued ; being a Juf- 
tification of the Author of Chriftian Biefiednefs, for his 
charging the Separatifts with Schifm, notwithftanding the 
Toleration Afts;” 8vo. In the fame year he fent into the 
world a volume of “ Praftical Difcourfes upon feveral 
Subjefts;” 8vo. Soon after the publication of this vo¬ 
lume, he was prefented to the reftory of Bemerton, near 
Salilbury, a living of between two and three hundred 
pounds a year; which was the more acceptable to him 
from, the circumftance, that the parochial duty was fo 
eafy as to allow him ample leifure for employing him- 
felf on various praftical and philolbphical productions. 
In 1692, Mr. Norris prefented to the public a fecond 
volume of his “ Praftical Difcourfes;” in 1693 a third; 
and in 1698 a fourth ; which have undergone numerous 
impreflions. In the year 1694, he publilhed, “Spiritual 
Counfel, or the Father’s Advice to his Children,” 8vo. 
and in the following year, “ Letters concerning the Love 
of God, between the Author of the ‘ Propofal to the 
Ladies’ (Mrs. Mary Altell) and Mr. John Norris; wherein 
his late Dilcourfe, Ihowing that it ought to be entire, and 
exclufive of all other Loves, is further cleared and j uni¬ 
fied ;” 8vo. This opinion of Mr. Norris was attacked by 
lady Malham, in “ A Difcourfe concerning the Love of 
God,” printed in 1696 ; to whom our author publilhed a 
reply, under the title of “ An Admonition,” fubjoined 
to the fourth volume of his Praftical Difcourfes. In 
1697, Mr. Norris publilhed his “ Account of Reafon and 
Faith, in Relation to the Myfteries of Chrillianity 8vo. 
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