year in which Bacon died; and as Hughs (Spectator, No. 554) remarks, " was the person designed by nature to succeed to the labours, and enquiries of that extraordinary genius."

BARROW.

DR. ISAAC BARROW, an eminent divine and mathematician, was born at London in 1630. He received the early part of his education at the Charter-House, and afterwards at Felstead in Essex, whence, in 1643, at the age of fourteen, he was removed to Cambridge, where he became a pensioner at Peter-House. Here he was placed under the tuition of his uncle, Mr. Isaac Barrow, then fellow of that college, and afterwards bishop of St. Asaph. Two years after he entered a pensioner of Trinity College; and in 1647 was chosen scholar of

the house.

At this period, though he was by no means negligent of general literature, his most ardent attention was paid to the physical sciences. Disgusted, however, with the perplexing and

ap

unprofitable philosophy of the schools, he plied himself to the study of the writings of Bacon, Des Cartes, Galileo, &c. and thus laid the foundation of his philosophic fame.

In 1648, he proceeded batchelor of arts, and the year following was elected fellow of his college. Barrow was a royalist; and conceiving the chances of preferment, either in church or state, much against men of his sentiments, he resolved to study physic, and accordingly made considerable' progress in the sciences of anatomy, botany, and chemistry; though at the instance of his uncle he afterwards resumed theology. In 1652, he took the degree of master, and the year following was incorporated in that degree at Oxford.

Disappointed in an expectation of obtaining the Greek professorship, he determined to travel; and in 1655, set out for France, whence he proceeded to Italy, stopping some time at Florence, where he had an opportunity of perusing several books in the great duke's library. In November 1656, he took ship at Leghorn for Smyrna, whence he proceeded to Constantinople. Here he read the works of St. Chrysostom, once bishop of that

shadow to mark, from time to time, the hour of the day, it would be no more a presumption than an error in him to conclude, that, (whatever other uses the instrument is fit or was designed for) it is a sundial, that was meant to shew the hour of the day.

He afterwards says:

I readily admit, that in physics, we should indeed ground all things upon as solid reasons as may be had; but I see no necessity, that those reasons should be always precisely physical; especially if we be treating, not of any particular phenomenon that is produced according to the course of nature established in the world, already constituted as this of ours is; but of the first and general causes of the world itself; from which causes, I see not why the final causes or uses, that appear manifestly enough to have been designed, should be excluded. And to me, it is not very material, whether or no in physics, or any other discipline, a thing be proved by the peculiar principles of that science or discipline, provided it be firmly proved by the common grounds of reason. And on this occasion, let me observe, that the fundamental tenets of Des Cartes's own philosophy are not by himself proved by arguments strictly physical, but either by metaphysical ones, or the more catholic dictates of reason, or the particular testimonies of experience. For, when for

instance, he truly ascribes to God all the motion that is found in matter, and consequently all the variety of phenomena that occur in the world; he proves not, by an argument precisely physical, that God, who is an immaterial agent, is the efficient cause of motion in matter; but only by this, that since motion does not belong to the essence and nature of matter, matter must owe the motion it has to some other being; and then it is most agreeable to common reason to infer, that since matter cannot move itself, but it must be moved by some other being, that being must be immaterial, since otherwise some matter must be able to move itself, contrary to the hypothesis.

38. Medicina Hydrostatica; or, Hydrostatics applied to the Materia Medica; shewing low, by the weight that divers bodies used in physic have in water, one may discover whether they be genuine or adulterate. To which is subjoined, a previous hydrostatical way of estimating ores, 1690.

39. The Christian Virtuoso; shewing that by being addicted to experimental philosophy, D d

VOL. III.