felicity of conjectural criticism, almost all the philofophers, orators, wits, and fcholars, of that age, whether in Britain or on the Continent. His Sermons against Atheism, which were preached at Boyle's Lecture, are abfolutely unequalled by any thing in the works of ancient or modern philofophers, whether confidered in regard to force, clearness, originality, and refinement of reatoning-in regard to beauty, fublimity, and impreffiveness of eloquence or in regard to the extent and matterly precifion of the phyfical and moral knowledge which their illustrations unfold. His book against Boyle on the Epiftles of Phalaris made him known as a master of Grecian literature, an emendatory critic, a wit, and a logician, tranfcending all the praise of the Scaligers, the Cafaubons, the Sylburgii, the Salimafii, the Lipfii, and whatever names were the moft eminent for the application of firftrate genius and univerfal knowledge to elucidate the obfcurities and folve the difficulties of claffical erudition. He was engaged, at the time of this correspondence with Hemfterhuis, in conducting his edition of Horace through the prefs; but from that task he tole repeatedly an hour or two, to gratify the folicitations of his young friend. Two of his letters, preferved by Hemfterhuis all his life as a precious treasure, have been fince publified. They evince in Bentley an amiable and candid fpirit, putting the highest estimate' on the labours of another, while they evince Hemfterhuis, where he failed in his attempts at emendation, to have chiefly failed from that want of nice skill in the profody of the Greek language, and the measures of its poetry, which was then the common fault of the fcholars on the Continent. Hemfterhuis being, as it thould feem, of a much more ingenuous temper of mind than Boyle, with his prompters, Atterbury, Friend, Aldrich, and the other wits of Christ's Church; Bentley's adverfaries on the fubject of Phalaris, at once perceived and owned that the emendations of the great English Critic on the fragments from the comic poets in Julius Pollux, were incomparably better than those which he had himself propofed. "Enimvero, lectis animadverfionibus Bentleianis, (fays Ruhnken, with admirable force and propriety of Latin expreffion,) videt inanem operam fuam fuiffe, alterum omnia divinitus expediffe." He felt fo much fhame and confufion, that he should, with fo much labour, have miffed what another had found fo eafily, and that fo evidently right, that for two months after he could

a new ar

not bear the fight of a Greek book, and had even for a time refolved to abandon Greek learning entirely, as a thing which he was not born to fucceed in. But thefe feelings were foon loft in dour to mafter all that was difficult in the language of ancient Greece, with all the knowledge which it contained. He ufed afterwards often to fpeak of this incident of his life among his friends, and to relate it to his pupils, as an example both to check the prefumption, and to encourage the defpondency, of young students."Nefcio quid alii fentiant, (lays Rhunken, excellently,) mibi nunquam major, quam cum hæc de fe ingenue fatebatur, vifus eft Hemfterhufius.

His first care, upon his return to his stu dies in Greek, was to follow Bentley's advice, to make himself familiarly and accurately acquainted with every princi ple and every anomalous exception in Greek profody, and to examine, even with minute care, all the varieties of measure ufed in the comic poetry of the Greeks.He fixed his emulation upon Bentley, as the model of confummate skill and ability in Greek erudition, to the excellence of which he might be fatisfied if he could attain. Of all the critics of the age, he confidered Bentley as incomparably the firft; nor throughout his fubfequent life would he ever fuffer any person to detract from Bentley's praise in his prefence.

The next step taken by Hemfterhuis to improve his skill in Greek learning, was to read over all the authors in the language, in chronological order, from Homer downwards. In this perusal he left no paffage without afcertaining its proper fenie, confidering the genuineness of its reading, examining the nature of its example in phrafeology and construction, marking what light it was adapted to throw on the customs, manners, and hif tory, of ancient times, and endeavouring deeply to inhale whatever moral or philo fophical wifdom it might happen to contain. Nor would he truft the refults of this ftudy to memory folely he made written extracts from every book which be thus read; including in these the parti culars which he was the most defirous to remember, with whatever was new and peculiar in the reflections they had fuggefted to him. By this courfe of ftudy he became fo much a master of all the earlier authors, as well as of the more modern ones, that there was in the latter hardly a thought or a phrafe imitated from any of the former, where he could not eafily dif cern the imitation, and refer it to its pro

per original. He could diftinguish, for inftance, every expreffion in which De mofthenes, Polybius, Dionyfius of Halicarnaffus, or Plutarch, had followed Thu cydides; and fo of other authors. He was not content with that fort of study which might have fatisfied any mere narrow-minded emendatory critic. The poets, orators, grammarians, and hiftorians of antiquity, might have been thought by fome to open a range fufficiently wide for a perfon ftudying folely or chiefly with a view to critical erudition. Not fo thought Hemfterhuis. He read the writers on mathematics and philofophy as carefully as the orators, hiftorians, grammarians, and poets. To be a mafter of emendatory criticifm for the Greek language, he thought no way fo fure as by himself first to become a master of all the fcience contained in it. He took incredible pains to overcome the difficulties of this courfe of ftudy. It was not till upon reading over Plato's Dialogue, entitled Parmenides, for the fourth time, that he could at all understand the doctrine of Ideas laid down in it. He traced the revival, or corruption, or improvement, of the philofophy of the ancients in the books of the moderns; and was familiarly converfant in the writings of Locke and Leibnitz, as well as in thofe of Ariftotle and Plato.

He studied with great taste and intelligence all thofe relics of Greek and Roman antiquity, which reprefent to us the aris and manners of the claffical ages with a power till more lively than that of books. Gems, medals, ftatues, emboffed works in metal, and other fimilar remains of the genius of the Grecian artiffs, excited often his curiofity and admiration. James Wilde, his father-in-law, had a confiderable mufcum of fuch`antiquities, which was, therefore, to Hemfterhuis a fçene of frequent ftudy. From the admiration of the works of ancien art, he proceeded to a fimilar rafte for whatever was excellent in the modern productions of the fine-arts. He was a judge of modern painting, fculpture, and architecture, and he was accustomed to advife the ftudents who at tended his lectures, to devote fome portion of their time to the ftudy of drawing,

In the year 1717, Hemfterhuis was called to the profefforship of the Greek language at Franeker; to which was afterwards added the task of giving lectures on the Hiftory of the United Provinces.

His fame as the most confummate mafter in Greek erudition of all the fcholars of that age, was eftablished throughout

Europe by his "Remarks upon Lucian." In variety and in accuracy of illuftrative knowledge, it was univerfally confeffed, even Salmafius hinfelf had produced nothing more truly excellent,

In the year 1740 he accepted the profefforfhip of the Greek language and of history in the University of Leyden. His celebrity in foreign countries was exalted and extended with this progress of his honours at home. He was refpected as the greatest proficient then living in Greek literature; ard ftudents afpiring to confummate skill in this branch of erudition, reforted from all parts of Europe to profit by his lectures. He took great delight in encouraging the ardour and in guiding the diligence of young men who had an ingenuous fondnefs for claffical ftudies He would even take particular pains to form them to emendatory criticifin.For this purpofe, his pract ce was, to put into the hands of a favourite ftudent, fome beautiful and difficult paffage of an ancient auth r, fuch as Livy's Preface to his Hiftory; then to examine whether, after due confideration, he were thoroughly mafter of its fenfe, and had a proper tafte of its beauties; then to point out fome part where there was a corruption of the text, and to require the student o find out the particular words in which the corruption exifted; when this difcovery was made, to require that he fhould fuggeft an emendation; and if any happy emendation were propofed, to ftimulate the genius of the young critic to higher efforts by the moft encouraging applaufe. He in this manner formed Valckenaer to that attonithing juftnefs and perfpicacity of critical erudition for which he became afterwards famous. Weffeling, though the colleague of Hemfterhuis at Franeker, acknowledged that he had never studied with accuracy and difcernment truly critical, till he was excited and inftructed by Hemiterhuis's converfation. Ruhnken was his favourite pupil; and, by following in his ftudies the claffical difcipline which his mafter recommended, became worthy to fucceed to his fame in emendatory criti cifm.

Hemfter huis had fomewhat of that qua lity which has been atcribed by Burnet to his learned contemporary Lloyd. His fondness of reading, and the timid and unwearied diligence with which he made preparation for great critical works, withheld him from writing and publishing to much as was to have been defired. Thofs critical animadverfions which he atually made public, were, befide what have been M m 2

already

controverfy in which he appeared, was that produced by Mr. Dodwell's celebrated Tract," Chriftianity not founded on Argument;" to which Mr. Mole replied in a Piece entitled, "The Grounds of the Chriftian Faith rational," 1743; a Piece which did honour to his ability, candour, and liberality.

Previously to this publication he had removed from Rotherhithe to Hackney, where he spent some years, till at length he returned to the neighbourhood of Uxbridge, where he died about the year 1780, in a very advanced age.

In an early period of his miniftry he was engaged, in conjunction with Mr. Lardner, Mr. Chandler, and several other Minifters, in carrying on a Courfe of Lectures, on a Tuesday evening, at the Old Jewry:

In 1745 he printed a Sermon, from Jonah, iii. 8, 9, preached at Court-yard, Southwark, on December 4.-He employed the latter part of his days in writing in Latin a Life of the celebrated Laurentius Valla, including the religious and literary hiftory of the time. The manyfcript of this work Mr. Mole's executors, with an inattention which, as Dr. Kippis justly obferves, "can never be juftified, permitted to be fold with his books at a common auction. Some other fruits of his retirement were not loft.

In 1768 he published a Sermon "On Repentance and Remiffion of Sins, with a Prayer adapted to the Subject;" a Dif course, in my opinion, well calculated to anfwer the views of the Societies formed to" promote Chriftian Knowledge, and the Practice of Piety and Virtue," by the diftribution of books. A larger and fuller Treatife on the fame fubject, entitled, "A Difcourfe on Repentance," came from his pen in 1776.

In 1782, after his deceafe, were publifed, as his compofitions, by an anony⚫ mous editor, two pieces, cne entitled, "Piety; or, the happy Mean between Profanenefs and Superftition;" the other with this title, "The Cafe of a Diffent and Separation from a civil Establishment of the Chriftian Religion, fairly flated."This last affords pleafing fpecimens of the author's learning. All his Tracts and Sermons evince a folid judgment, accuracy, and precision of thought, and a liberal fpirit. Dr. Kippis might with truth fay," that he was the author of fome valuable publications;" while he alfo ranks him, in point of learning, with Lardner, Benton, and Chandler. Dr. Lard. ner, in his Remarks on Dr. Ward's

"Differtations," has paid a juft tribute of respect to Mr. Mole, whom he calls his "much-efteemed friend," by adopting and incorporating with his own fome very correct and ingenious observations which he received in a Letter from him, on the case of the Dæmoniac who refided among the tombs on the coaft of Gadara.* I conclude from a Letter, with which I was favoured by him in the year 1773 that he was very converfant with the Polith Unitarian writers, "who, (speaking of them in the fpirit of true candour, he fays,) were men of eminent learning and piery, though their diftinguishing tenets, whatever be their merit, have undergone the feverest centure." p. 269, &c. The following fhort paragraphs, from one or two of his publications, may ferve to give the reader an idea of Mr. Moie's spirit, character, and views. "It were to be wifhed (fays he,) that all parties of Chriftians would ceafe to look upon themselves as parties, and confider themselves as engaged in common in the cause of God and virtue, and the Chriftian doctrine→ not in oppofition to one another, but to the ungodly and unbelieving world; for all the other marks of distinction are only fo many marks of the corruption of Chriftians; and could this fpirit of love and peace once prevail, how perfectly should we all be knit together in one; how amiable would this fpirit of union make the face of religion look in the world, which now looks fo deformed, through the oppofition and contention of fuch as profefs it." In another place he expreffes himfelf thus: "It is much to be wifhed, that, in all inquiries about the Chriftian religion, that only fhould be confidered as fuch, and come into the question, which lies originally in the facred writings of the New Teftament; for Chriftianity as it is there laid down, and as it has been fince eftablished in the various writings and laws of men, are different things, and very wide of one another. To intereft Chrif tianity, not in what Chrift, but in what men have made it, and to direct our inquiries and determine our fentiments about it from thefe later gloffes, is much the fame thing, as if we were to judge of the nature and meaning of the Law of Mofes from the falfe interpretations and fpurious additions with which the Pharifees had corrupted it; which, however they went under the name of the Jewish

Lardner's Works, 8vo ed. vol. xi. +Farewel Discourse, p. 22. Religion,