prince and princess of Wales, afterwards George II. and queen Caroline.

From this time he published only five occasional sermons, till 1732, when the first volume of his "History of the Puritans" appeared; and continued to be published, the second volume in 1733, the third in 1736, and the fourth in 1738, in 8vo. Of the impartiality of this work various opinions were then and are still entertained. We have had repeated occasions to examine it, and we think it exhibits as much impartiality as could have been expected from a writer whose object was to elevate the character of the puritans and non-conformists, at the expence of the members of the established church. And when it was discovered that he represented the church of England as almost uniformly a persecuting church, it was not surprizing he should meet with answers from those who, in surveying the history of the puritans, when they became known by the name of non-conformists, considered that the ejected were at one time the ejectors; the right of the usurping powers in Cromwell's time to throw down the whole edifice of the church, being the main principle on which the controversy hinges. Mr. Neal's representation of that event, and of the sufferings of his brethren, first called forth the abilities of Dr. Maddox, bishop of St. Asaph, who published "A Vindication of the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Church of England, as established in the reign of queen Elizabeth, from the injurious reflections of Mr. Neal's first volume," &c. 8vo. To this Mr. Neal replied in "A Review of the Principal Facts objected to in the first volume of the History of the Puritans." The subject was then taken up by Dr. Zachary Grey, in "An Impartial Examination of the second volume of Mr. Daniel Neal's History of the Puritans. In which the reflections of that author, upon king James I. and king Charles I. are proved to be groundless; his misrepresentations of the conduct of the prelates of those times, fully detected; and his numerous mistakes in history, and unfair way of quoting his authorities, exposed to public view," 1736, 8vo. In 1737 and 1739, Dr. Grey published two more volumes, containing the same kind of examination of the third and fourth volumes of Neal's History. Although Mr. Neal lived seven years after the appearance of Dr. Grey's first volume in 1736, we are told that it was his declining state of health which prevented him from pub

lishing a vindication. This task has been since attempted by Dr. Joshua Toulmin of Birmingham, in a new edition of Neal begun in 1793, and completed in 1797, 5 vols. 8vo; but we may repeat the opinion given in our account of Dr. Grey, that his and bishop Maddox's volumes are still absolutely necessary to an impartial consideration of the subject.

During the interval that elapsed before the appearance of the remaining parts of his history, Mr. Neal was concerned in carrying on two courses of lectures, the one at the meeting in Berry-street, the other in that at Salter's Hall, which have been since printed in 2 vols. 8vo each. But so much application to his public duties and private studies, at length produced a chronic disorder, which obliged him, in 1742, to resign his pastoral charge; and he died, at Bath, April 4, 1743, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, to the great and lasting regret of his family and friends, by whom he was highly esteemed as a man of great probity, piety, and usefulness. His son, NATHANIEL Neal, an attorney, and secretary to the Million bank, was the author of "A free and serious remonstrance to Protestant Dissenting Ministers, on occasion of the Decay of Religion," and of some letters, in Dr. Doddridge's collection, published by Mr. Stedman.'

NEAL, or NELE (THOMAS), an Oxford divine, was born at Yeate, in Gloucestershire, in 1519, and was educated under the care of his uncle Alexander Belsire, who was afterwards first president of St. John's college, at Winchester school. From this be was removed to New college, Oxford, in 1538, and admitted fellow in 1540. He also took his degree of M. A. and six years afterwards was admitted into holy orders. He was reckoned an able divine, but was most noted for his skill in Greek and Hebrew, on which account sir Thomas White, the founder of St. John's college, encouraged him by a yearly pension of ten pounds. His adherence to the popish religion induced him to go to the university of Paris, during king Edward the Sixth's reign, where he took his degree of bachelor of divinity. On his return during Mary's reign, he held the rectory of Thenford in Northamptonshire, and became chaplain to bishop Bonner; but on the accession

1 Wilson's Hist. of Dissenting Churches.-Funeral Sermon, by Jennings.Prot. Diss. Magazine, vol. I.

of queen Elizabeth, according to Dodd, he suffered hinself to be deprived of his spiritualities, retired to Oxford, and entered himself a commoner in Hart-hall. He had not been long here before he professed conformity to the newly-established religion, and in 1559 was appointed Hebrew professor of the foundation of Henry VIII. in which office he remained until 1569. When first appointed he built lodgings opposite Hart-hall, joining to the westend of New college cloister, which were for some time known by the name of Neal's lodgings. During queen Elizabeth's visit to the university in 1566, he presented to her majesty, a MS. now in the British Museum, entitled "Rabbi Davidis Kimhi commentarii super Hoseam, Joellem, Amos, Abdiam, Jonam, Micheam, Nahum, Habacuc, et Sophonian; Latine redditi per Thomam Nelum, Heb. linguæ profess. Oxonii; et R. Elizabethæ inscripti." He presented also to her majesty a little book of Latin verses, containing the description of the colleges, halls, &c.; and a few days after exhibited a map of Oxford, with small views very neatly drawn with a pen by Bereblock. These views*, with the verses, were published by Hearne at the end of "Dodwell de parma equestri." The verses are in the form of a dialogue between the queen and the earl of Leicester, chancellor of the university, and are not wanting in that species of pedantic flattery so frequently offered to her majesty. Neal, however, was never a conformist in his heart, and in 1569 either resigned, or being known to be a Roman catholic, was ejected from his professorship, and then retired to the village of Cassington near Oxford, where he lived a private and studious life. Wood can trace him no further, but Dodd says that he was frequently disturbed while at Cassington on account of his religion, and being often obliged to conceal, or absent himself, went abroad. The records of Doway mention that one Thomas Neal, an ancient clergyman, who had suffered much in prison in England, arrived there June 1, 1578, and returned again to England January 7, 1580. long he lived afterwards is uncertain. He was certainly alive in 1590, as appears by an inscription he wrote for himself to be put upon his tomb-stone in Cassington church, which also states that he was then seventy-one

How

*They first were engraved as borders to Aggas's map of Oxford, but are considerably different from what they appear in Hearne's edition.

years old. In the British Museum, among the royal MSS. is another MS. of his, entitled "Rabbinicæ quædam Observationes ex prædictis commentariis." Wood speaks of one of his names, of Yeate in Gloucestershire, who dying in 1590, his widow had letters of administration granted, and adds, "whether it be meant of our author I cannot justly say, because I could never learn that he was married." But nothing can be more improbable than the marriage of a man who had suffered so much for a religion that prohibits the marriage of the clergy, and who was so inveterate against the reformed religion, that we are told the fable of the Nag's-head ordination was first propagated by him.'

́NEANDER (MICHAEL), one of the most learned men of the sixteenth century, was born at Soraw, a town in Lower Silesia, in 1525, where his father was a merchant. He received his early education under Henry Theodore, who was superintendant of the churches of the duchy of Lignitz. He then studied principally at Wittemberg, where, among other able men, he was instructed by Melanchthon, and became conspicuous for his critical acquaintance with Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and his knowledge of the eminent authors in these respective languages. In 1549, he was invited to Northusen, an imperial town of Thuringia; and being appointed regent of the school, acquired the esteem of the senate. He was of the reformed religion, and Thomas Stangius, the last abbot of Isfeld, who was of the same sentiments, having, by the advice of Luther and Melanchthon, turned his abbey into a college, Neander was appointed regent, and taught there with great reputation for forty-five years, producing many able scholars. He died at Isfeld, May 6, 1595, in the seventieth year of his age.

From his works he appears to have deserved the high character he enjoyed during his life-time, and which some critics of modern times have revived. He was one of the very few in those days who turned their thoughts to the history of literature. His first publication was "Erotema Græcæ Linguæ, cum præfatione Philippi Melanchthonis de utilitate Græcæ linguæ," Basil, 1553, and 1565, 8vo. In a subsequent edition Neander gives a list of the works he

1 Ath. Ox. vol. I.-Wood's Colleges and Halls, and Annals.-Dodd's Ch. Hist. vol. II.--Life prefixed to his verses by Hearne.-Gough's British Topography.

had published, or which he had projected, and among the latter was an universal history of authors, "Pandecta variorum auctorum et scriptorum." From the sketch he had given of the proposed contents of this work, there is great reason to regret that he did not complete it; in the second edition of his "Erotemata" he has given a specimen of what he could have done, in a dissertation on ancient libraries, on books that are lost, and on the libraries of his own time which contained the most valuable MSS. and an account of the principal Greek and Latin authors, whose works have been published, with a minuteness of description which would have reflected credit on a modern bibliographer. The last edition of his "Erotemata" was edited at Leipsic in 1589, 8vo, by his disciple, John Volland. Neander's other works are, 2. "Græca Linguæ Tabulæ," Basil, 1564, and Wittemberg, 1581, 8vo. 3. "Linguæ Hebreæ Erotemata, cum veterum Rabbinorum testimoniis de Christo, apophthegmatibus veterum Hebræorum et notitia de Talmude, Cabbala, &c." Basil, 1556, 8vo, often reprinted. The preface to this work is on the same plan with that to the "Erotemata Græcæ Linguæ," containing notices of the most eminent Oriental scholars, the writings of the rabbins, the editions of the Bible, &c. 4. "Aristologia Pindarica Græco-Latina, et Sententiæ novem Lyricorum," Basil, 1556, 8vo, with prolegomena on the life of Pindar, the Greek games, &c. 5. "Aristologia GræcoLatina Euripidis; argumenta quoque singulis tragœdiis præmissa sunt," ibid. 1559, 4to. 6. "Anthologicum Græco-Latinum," ibid. 1556, 8vo. This is a collection of sentences from Hesiod, Theognes, and other ancient poets, with three books of similar extracts from Plato, Xenophon, Plutarch, &c. but is by no means, as some bibliographers have called it, a new edition of the Greek Anthology. 7. "Gnomonologia Græco-Latina, sive insigniores sententiæ philosophorum, poetarum, oratorum, et historicorum, ex magno Anthologio Joannis Stobæi excerptæ, et in locos supra bis centum digestæ," ibid. 1558, 8vo. 8. "Opus aureum et Scholasticum," Leipsic, 1577, or, according to Fabricius, 1575, a collection somewhat like the former, but with some entire pieces, as the poem of Coluthus on the rape of Helen, that of Tryphiodorus on the destruction of Troy, and three books of Quintus Calaber, which last are translated into Latin prose by Lawrence Rhodoman, one of Neander's pupils. 9. "Sententiæ Theologicæ selec