French Tongue, he fubjoined to the one a Poem in Heroick, and to the other fome Epigrams in Elegiack Verfe, de Anglia Liberatâ ; whereby the Reader may perceive, that, even at that time, his Poetick Faculty had not deserted him. The truth is, in his younger Years, he read the Clafficks with great Care and Attention; that even while he was at School, he made himself a kind of Epitomy of the feveral Commentators on Terence and Plautus, and was not a little affifted by his Father in his Study of Homer and several Profe Authors in the Greek Tongue.

WHEN he was about fixteen Years old, he was removed from the Grammar-School, and placed under Mr. Chouët, a very learned Man, and who was afterwards one of the Syndicks of the Republick, to ftudy Philofophy: but while he was in a Courfe of Logick, he was taken with a violent Fever, which, for fix days, made him delirious, and very much endangered his Life: for after his Fever was removed, an Ague hung long upon him, fo that his Recovery was very flow, in which time he amufed himself with reading the Critical Letters of Tanaquillus Faber; and, tho' in many things he admired the Sagacity of that great Man, yet in fome Points he adventured to diffent from him, and accordingly wrote fome short Differtations hereupon; which in his more mature Years he thought proper to fupprefs, tho' in his Ars Critica there are fome Remarks of the like nature to be found. this, he applied himself to the Study of Natural Philofophy, and held a Thefis, in the publick Schools, de Materie Natura; and because there was no Profeffor of the Hebrew Tongue in the Academy of Geneva, he was inftructed therein by his Uncle James Gallatin, under whofe Eye

After

it was that he ftudied fo hard, and treasured up fuch a Stock of Materials, as afterwards enabled him to be the Author of fo many Volumes.

BEING thus furnished with a fufficient Knowledge of Philofophy and Languages, he betook himself to the Study of Divinity, in the nineteenth Year of his Age, under Francis Turrettin, Lewis Tronchin, and fome other eminent Doctors of that Academy, Some Years before, great Difputes had arofe at Geneva concerning the Univerfality of Grace, and the Extent of the Efficacy of Chrift's Death. Several Profeffors held the Affirmative, which our Author afterwards allowed to be true; but, as the Inftitution of the Academy was, that no one should enter into the Ministry without figning the Helvetick Confenfus (as it was commonly called) which contained a contrary Doctrine; few young People entered deep into the Controverfy, for fear of falling intoOpinions, that might exclude them from the Sacred Function.

He began his Theological Studies with reading fome of the common Syftems, and afterwards the Thefes Salmurienfes (as they are called) to which he wrote part of a Supplement, but never thought proper to finifh it. He read the Old Teftament in Hebrew, and the New in Greek, with the best Annotations upon them, and Samuel Bochart's Geographia Sacra, and Hierozoïcon, tọ his great pleasure and advantage; with many other Books, both in Latin and French, that were conducive to his Improvement in the Knowledge of Divinity.

AFTER he had gone through the ufual Forms of Study in Geneva, and had loft his Father in 1676, he was determined for fome time to go into France on purpofe to improve himself in a Language which was not spoken with fo much

Purity

Purity in his own Country; and upon his return home, was admitted into Holy Orders, with the general Applaufe of all his Examiners. But, not long after, the Works of Steph. Curcellaus being published by Phil. Limburg; our Author, upon reading them, foon perceived, that in the Controverfies between Remonftrants and other Proteftants, the former had by much the better of the Argument; and thereupon refolved to leave both his own Country and France, where the contrary Principles were profeffed, and too eagerly maintained.

IN the latter End of the Year 1680, he went to Saumur (a Proteftant Academy of great Repute, but then funk and gone to decay) not fo much for the advancement of his Learning, as for his farther Improvement in the French Tongue, because there it was spoken in the greateft Elegance and Purity. Here it was that he first read the Works of Simon Epifcopius, with whofe Learning and Eloquence, and wonderful Sagacity, he was not a little delighted; and began to make his Notes and Obfervations upon the Old Testament from the Polyglot, which laid the Foundation for the Commentaries which he has fince published.

DURING his ftay here, there came out a Book, intitled, Liberij de Santo Amore Epiftola Theologica, favouring not a little the Doctrine of the Remonftrants; which moft People imputed to our Author, tho' fome were of opinion, there was too much Learning in it for a Man of his Years, who was then but twenty-four; however, he was the true Author of it.

In the Year 1682, our Author, intending to go to England, took his way through Paris, and arrived in London about the latter end of May.

His Business was to learn the English Tongues and, to that purpose, he applied himself to the reading of Dr. Hammond's Practical Catechifm, and his Annotations upon the New Testament; which he afterwards published in Latin, with fuch Animadverfions as he thought proper.

HE preached feveral times in French in the Walloon, Savoy, and Greek Churches, vifited feveral Bishops, and other Men of Learning; but as few of them fpake French or Latin with ease, and himself was not fo perfect in English, as to hold discourse therein, he could not enter into any great Familiarity with them, nor did he indeed stay long enough to do it: for being very subject to a Cough while he abode in London, occafioned, as he thought, by the Thick-. ness of the Air, and the burning fo much Coal in that City, he began to apprehend some danger of his Lungs, and thereupon refolved to remove into Holland; where as foon as he arrived, he went to vifit Phil. Limburg, and from himlearned (what he came on purpose to know) the State and Condition of the Remonftrants in the United Provinces.

He had not however been long in Holland, before his Friends and Relations intreated him to return to Geneva, which accordingly he did; but when he came thither, he told them plainly, "that, tho' he blamed none, who were of

contrary Opinions, yet he thought himself "obliged in Confcience, to profefs and main-<tain what he took to be Truth; which as he "could not do in his own Country without find

ing Moleftation, he chofe to return to Hol«land, where that Liberty was indulged toMen of all Profeffions:" And fo taking leave of his Friends, came to Amfterdam in the latter

End

End of the Year, where for fome time he preached in French to a Congregation of Remontrants, but afterwards betook himself to the fole Bufinefs of teaching Philofophy, the Hebrew Language, and all kinds of polite Literature; in which Condition he has lived ever fince he was feven and twenty Years of Age, and by having no other Avocation, has been enabled to oblige the World with that Multitude of Books, which we now come to give an account of.

As foon as he was well fettled in Amfterdam, 1684. in the Year 1684, he published a Book entitled, Davidis, et Stephani Clerici, Quæftiones Sacræ : which are Critical Difcourfes on certain Subjects, for the most part taken from Holy Writ; to which he added fome Notes of his own, wherein he makes no fcruple to differ from his Uncle and Father, wherever he thinks they are miftaken; as being of opinion, that Truth is 'always to be preferred before the ftricteft Ties of Confanguinity. Two Years after, another Volume of these two Brothers was published, containing fome Speeches and Poems, and a Computus Ecclefiafticus, by David le Clerc, and fome Philological Differtations by Stephen; to which our Author added a Preface, as he did to the former Volume the Lives of the two Brothers.

TOWARDS the latter End of this Year [1684] he published a Book of a Friend of his, viz. Charles le Cene, a French Minifter, entitled, Entretiens fur diverfes Matieres de Theologie; and because it was too fmall a Volume of itself, he added a fecond Part to it, made up of five Dialogues: The three firft of which treat of the Extent of our Metaphyfical Knowledge, and its Ufe in Religion, containing feveral Examples, whereby it appears that Metaphyficians have often ob

fcured