But above all these, he seemed to have made the study of divinity the chief of all others; to which he not only directed every thing else, but also arrived at that pitch in it, that those who have read what he has written on these subjects, will think they must have had most of his time and thoughts. It may seem extravagant, and almost incredible, that one man, in no great compass of years, should have acquired such a variety of knowledge; and that, in sciences that require much leisure and application. But, as his parts were quick, and his apprehensions lively,.. his memory great, and his judgments strong, . . so his industry was almost indefatigable. He rose always betimes in the morning; was never idle; scarcely ever held any discourse about news, except with some few, in whom he confided entirely. He entered into no correspondence by letters, except about necessary business, or matters of learning; and spent very little time in eating and drinking: for, as he never went to public feasts, so, he gave no entertainments but to the poor; for he followed our Saviour's direction (of feasting none but these) literally: and in eating and drinking, he observed not only great plainness and moderation, but lived so philosophically, that he always ended his meal with, an appetite; so that he lost little time at it, (that being the only portion which he grudged himself,) and was disposed to any exercise of his mind, to

*

*This, Sir,' said an eminent physician to the present writer, is the true rule of temperance and health.' In a subsequent part of this volume, it is mentioned of the great ROBERT BOYLE, that, in a course of above thirty years, he neither ate nor drank, to gratify the desires of appetite,

which he thought fit to apply himself, immediately after he had dined. By these means he gained much time, that is otherwise unprofitably wasted.

He had, also, an admirable equality in the temper of his mind; which disposed him for whatever studies he thought fit to turn himself to; and some very uneasy things, which he lay under for many years, did rather engage him to, than distract him from his studies.

When he was called to the bar, and began to make a figure in the world, the late unhappy wars broke out; in which, it was no easy thing for a man to preserve his integrity, and to live securely, free from great danger and trouble. He had read the life of Pomponius Atticus, writ by Nepos ; and, having observed, that he had passed through a time of as much distraction, as ever was in any age or state, from the wars of Marius and Sylla, to the beginnings of Augustus's reign, without the least blemish on his reputation, and free from any considerable danger, being held in great esteem by all parties, and courted and favoured by them, . . he set him as a pattern to himself. And observing, that, besides those virtues which are necessary to all men, and at all times, there were two things that chiefly preserved Atticus, .. the one, was his engaging in no faction, and meddling in no public business; the other, was his constant favouring and relieving those that were lowest which was ascribed, by such as prevailed, to the generosity of his temper; and procured him much kindness, from those on whom he had exercised his bounty, when it came

their turn to govern; he resolved [therefore], to

guide himself by those rules, as much as was possible for him to do.*

He not only avoided all public employment, but the very talking of news; and was, always, both favourable, and charitable, to those who were depressed; and was sure never to provoke any in particular, by censuring or reflecting on their actions: for many that have conversed much with him, have told me they never heard him once speak ill of any person.

He was employed in his practice, by all the king's party he was assigned counsel to the earl of Strafford, and archbishop Laud, and afterwards to the blessed king himself, when brought to the infamous pageantry of a mock-trial; and offered to plead for him, with all the courage that so glorious a cause ought to have inspired him with; but was not suffered to appear, because, the king refusing, as he had good reason, to submit to the court, it was pretended none could be admitted to speak for him. He was also counsel for the duke of Hamilton, the earl of Holland, and the lord Capel: his plea for the former of these, I have published in the memoirs of that duke's life. Afterwards, also, being counsel for the lord Craven, he pleaded with that force of argument, that the then attorney-general threatened him for appearing against the government: to whom he answered, he was pleading in defence of those laws, which they declared they would maintain and preserve; and he was doing his duty to his client,

* He wrote an account of Atticus's life'; including, together with the narrative of Nepos, his own observations. It is given in the second volume of

so that he was not to be daunted with threaten

ings.'

Upon all these occasions, he had discharged himself with so much learning, fidelity, and courage, that he came to be generally employed for all that party: nor was he satisfied to appear for their just defence, in the way of his profession, but he also relieved them often in their necessities; which he did, in a way that was no less prudent, than charitable, considering the dangers of that time: for he did often deposit considerable sums, in the hands of a worthy gentleman of the king's party; who knew their necessities well, and was to distribute his charity according to his own discretion, without either letting them know from whence it came, or giving himself any account, to whom he had given it.

Cromwell, seeing him possessed of so much practice, (and he being one of the eminentest men of the law, who was not at all afraid of doing his duty in those critical times,) resolved to take him off from it, and raise him to the bench.

Mr. Hale saw, well enough, the snare laid for him; and, though he did not much consider the prejudice it would be to himself, to exchange the easy and safer profits he had by his practice, for a judge's place in the common pleas, which he was required to accept of, yet he did deliberate more on the lawfulness of taking a commission from usurpers: but, having considered well of this, he came to be of opinion, that, it being absolutely necessary to have justice and property kept up, at all times, it was no sin to take a commission from

usurpers, if he made no declaration of his acknowledging their authority; which he never did. He was much urged to accept of it, by some eminent men of his own profession, who were of the king's party, as sir Orlando Bridgeman, and sir Geoffrey Palmer; and was also satisfied concerning the lawfulness of it, by the resolution of some famous divines, in particular Dr. Sheldon, and Dr. Henchman, who were afterwards promoted to the sees of Canterbury and London.

To these, were added the importunities of all his friends; who thought, that, in a time of so much danger and oppression, it might be no small security to the nation, to have a man of his integrity and abilities on the bench: and the usurpers themselves held him in that estimation, that they were glad to have him give a countenance to their courts ; and, by promoting one, that was known to have different principles from them, affected the reputation of honouring and trusting men of eminent virtues, of what persuasion soever they might be, in relation to public matters.

But, he had greater scruples, concerning the proceeding against felons, and putting offenders to death by that commission; since he thought, the sword of justice belonging only by right to the lawful prince, it seemed not warrantable to proceed to a capital sentence, by an authority derived from usurpers. Yet, at first, he made distinction between common and ordinary felonies, and offences against the state: for the last, he would never meddle in them; for he thought these might be often legal and warrantable actions, and that