not his only studies. He was well acquainted with theology, particularly the writings of our elder divines, and was himself a man of a devout habit, and unremitting in religious duties. One of his latest works was the composing of a " Harmony of the Gospels," divided into short sections; but he never considered these works as more than the amusements of retired life, and they were consequently seen only by his friends, among whom were Drs. Winchester and Townson, and the present worthy archdeacon Churton, to whose pen we owe the most valuable part of this sketch.

To the university of Oxford he was a steady friend and frequent benefactor. The admired cast of the Florentine boar in Queen's college library, the Florentine museum, and other books in the library of University college, Piranesi's works in the Bodleian, and those exquisite spe cimens of ancient sculpture, the Candelabra in the Radcliffe library (which cost 1800l.) were some of his donations. In 1755 he was honoured by the countess dowager of Pomfret (who was aunt to the first lady Newdigate) with a commission to intimate to the university her ladyship's intention of presenting them with what are now called the Arundelian marbles. In 1805 sir Roger made an offer to the university of the sum of 2000l. for the purpose of removing them to the Radcliffe library, but some unexpected difficulties were started at that time, which prevented the plan from being executed, although it is to be hoped, it is not finally abandoned. He gave also 1000l. to be vested in the public funds, in the name of the vice-chancellor and the master of University college, for the time being, in trust, part of it to go for an annual prize for English verses on ancient sculpture, painting, and architecture, and the remainder to accumulate as a fund towards the amendment of the lodgings of the master of University college. His charitable benefactions in the neighbourhood of his estate were extensive, and have proved highly advanta geous, in ameliorating the state of the poor, and furnishing them with education and the means of industry. But we must refer to our authority for these and other interesting particulars of this worthy baronet.'

NEWLAND (PETER), a Dutch author, was the son of a carpenter at Dimmermeer, near Amsterdam, and was

Life by Mr. Archdeacon Churton in Gent. Mag. vol. LXXVII,—Betham's Baronetage, corrected by Beatson's Index to the House of Commons.

born in 1764. In his childhood he evinced extraordinary proofs of genius, and at the age of ten years produced some excellent pieces of poetry, and was, even then, able to solve problems in mathematics without having had any instruction from a master. The Batavian government appointed him one of the commissioners of longitude, and he was successively professor of mathematics and philosophy at Utrecht and Amsterdam. He died in 1794. He was author of several works, among which may be mentioned the following: 1. Poems in the Dutch language; 2. A tract on the means of enlightening a People; 3. On the general utility of the Mathematics; 4. Of the System of Lavoisier; and 5. A treatise on Navigation. To these may be added treatises on the form of the globe; on the course of comets, and the uncertainty of their return; and on the method of ascertaining the latitude at sea.1

NEWTON (JOHN), an eminent English mathematician and divine, the grandson of John Newton, of Axmouth, in Devonshire, and the son of Humphrey Newton of Oundle, in Northamptonshire, was born at Oundle in 1622, and was entered a commoner of St. Edmund's hall, Oxford, in 1637. He took the degree of B. A. in 1641; and the year following, was created master, in precedence to several gentlemen that belonged to the king and court, then residing in the university, on account of his distinguished talents in the higher branches of science. His genius being inclined to astronomy and the mathematics, he made great proficiency in these sciences, which he found of service during the times of the usurpation, when he continued stedfast to his legal sovereign. After the restoration he was created D. D. at Oxford, Sept. 1661, was made one of the king's chaplains, and rector of Ross, in Herefordshire, in the place of Mr. John Toombes, ejected for non-conformity. He held this living till his death, which happened at Ross, Dec. 25, 1678. Mr. Wood gives him the character of a capricious and humoursome person; but whatever may be in this, his writings are sufficient monuments of his genius and skill in the mathematics. These are, 1. "Astronomia Britannica, &c. in three parts," 1656, 4to. 2. "Help to Calculation; with tables of declination, ascension, &c." 1657, 4to. 3. "Trigonometria Britannica, in two books," 1658, folio; one composed by our

Dict. Hist.-Rees's Cyclopædia.

author, and the other translated from the Latin of Henry Gellibrand. 4. "Chiliades centum Logarithmorum," printed with, 5. "Geometrical Trigonometry," 1659. 6. "Ma thematical Elements, three parts," 1660, 4to. 7. "A perpetual Diary, or Almanac," 1662. 8. "Description of the use of the Carpenter's Rule," 1667. 9. "Ephemerides, shewing the Interest and Rate of Money at six per cent.” &c. 1667. 10. Chiliades centum Logarithmorum, et ta bula partium proportionalium," 1667. 11. "The Rule of Interest, or the case of Decimal Fractions, &c. part II" 1668, 8vo. 12. "School-Pastime for young Children," &c. 1669, 8vo. 13. "Art of practical Gauging," &q. 1669. 14. "Introduction to the art of Rhetoric," 1671. 15. "The art of Natural Arithmetic, in whole numbers, and fractions vulgar and decimal," 1671, 8vo. 16. "The English Academy," 1677, 8vo. 17. "Cosmography." 18. "Introduc tion to Astronomy." 19. "Introduction to Geography," 1678, 8vo.'

NEWTON (JOHN), an English clergyman, whose ex traordinary history has long been before the public, was born in London, July 24, 1725. His father was many, years master of a ship in the Mediterranean trade, and in 1748 went out as governor of York Fort, in Hudson's Bay, where he died in 1750. His mother, who died when he was only seven years old, had given him such religious instruction as suited his capacity, which was apt and good, By school education he profited little. He appears indeed to have been at a school at Stratford, in Essex, about two years, and acquired some knowledge of the Latin, but his master's method being too precipitate, he soon lost all he had learned. At the age of eleven he was taken to sea by his father, and before 1742 had made several voyages, at considerable intervals, which were chiefly spent in the country, excepting a few months in his fifteenth year, when he was placed with a very advantageous prospect at Alicant, where, as he says, " he might have done well, if he had behaved well." For about two years something like religious reformation appeared in him, but he adds, "it was a poor religion, and only tended to make him gloomy, stupid, unsocial, and useless;" and from this he was seduced into the contrary extreme, by perusing some of the writings of Shaftesbury, which he found in a petty shop at Middleburgh, in Holland.

Ath. Ox. vol. II.-Martin's Biog. Phil.

In 1742, when his father proposed to leave off going to sea, he endeavoured to provide his son with a situation, and an eligible one occurred of his going to Jamaica; but happening to meet with the lady who became afterwards his wife, he abhorred the thought of living from her at such a distance as Jamaica, and that perhaps for four or five years, and therefore absented himself on a visit to Kent, until the ship sailed without him. His father, though highly displeased, became reconciled, and in a little time Mr. Newton sailed with a friend of his father's to Venice. In this voyage, being a common sailor, and exposed to the company of some profligate comrades, he began to relax from the regularity which he had preserved in a certain degree, for more than two years; and in this and his subsequent voyages, represents himself as extremely thoughtless, vicious, and abandoned. The consequences of this conduct led to those adventures which he has so interestingly detailed in his life, published in 1764, and to which we must refer as to a work that does not admit of a satisfactory abridgment. If his vices were great, his sufferings seem also to have amounted to the extremes of misery and disgrace; but at length, about 1747, he was rescued by his father from this state of wretchedness, and in 1748, appears to have been for the first time awakened to a proper sense of his past life, which gradually improved into a real reformation. After this he was employed in ships concerned in the African slave-trade, and acquired that knowledge which many years afterwards enabled him to contribute, by his evidence before parliament, to the abo lition of that detestable traffic.

It is remarkable, that in all his miseries and wretchedness, and even when most profligate and apparently thoughtless in his conduct on board of ship, he preserved an anxiety to learn, and at his leisure hours, acquired a considerable knowledge of the mathematics. In his later voyages, he endeavoured to revive his acquaintance with the Latin language. How scanty his means were, appears from his own account. "He had seen an imitation of one of Horace's odes in a magazine, and wished to be able to read that poet, but had no other help than an old English translation, with Castalio's Latin Bible. He had the Delphin edition of Horace, and by comparing the odes with the interpretation, and tracing such words as he under-. stood from place to place by the index, together with what

NEWTON.

121

He not only

assistance he could get from the Latin Bible, he thus, by
dint of hard industry, made some progress.
understood the sense of many odes, and some of the
epistles, but "I began," he says, "to relish the beauties
of the composition; acquired a spice of what Mr. Law calls
classical enthusiasm; and, indeed, by this means, I had
Horace more ad unguem, than some who are masters of
the Latin tongue. For my helps were so few, that I ge-
nerally had the passage fixed in my memory before I could
fully understand its meaning." In a future voyage, which
he commenced from Liverpool in August 1750, as com-
mander, he made still greater progress in Latin; providing
himself with a dictionary, and adding to Horace, Juvenal,
His conduct in all respects was now
Livy, Cæsar, &c.
become regular. He allotted about eight hours for sleep
and meals, eight hours for exercise and devotion, and eight
hours to his books. In a Guinea trader, such a life per-
haps has no parallel.

At length a variety of circumstances concurred to wean him from the sea, and after having been for some time placed in a situation as tidewaiter at Liverpool, he applied with great diligence to his studies, and acquired a competent knowledge of the sacred languages, with a view to take orders in the church. In 1758 he had received a title to a curacy, but on application to the archbishop of York, Dr. Gilbert, was refused ordination, as it appeared that he had been guilty of some irregularities, such as preaching in dissenting meetings, or other places, without ordination of any kind. In April 1764, however, by dint of strong recommendation, and a professed attachment, which he ever most carefully preserved, to the doctrines and discipline of the church, he was ordained by Dr. Green, bishop of Lincoln, to the curacy of Olney, and admitted into priest's orders in June 1765. The living of Olney was at this time held by the celebrated angler, Moses Brown (see his article), a man who maintained the same evangelical sentiments as Mr. Newton, but had been under pecuniary difficulties, and was glad to accept the chaplaincy of Morden college, Blackheath, leaving the charge of his flock at Olney to Mr. Newton, who remained here for sixteen years.

At Olney Mr. Newton became acquainted with two gentlemen whose friendship gave an important interest to his future life, the benevolent John Thornton, esq. and Wil