TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE PETER LORD KING, BARON OF OCKHAM, MY LORD, Ir is my good fortune in this address to your Lordship, that I am under no necessity of making the excuses and apologies usual on such occasions. The esteem which men have for the writings of an author naturally inspires them with a desire of being informed of what relates to his person; I therefore presumed that this performance, such as it is, would not be unacceptable to your Lordship, since it concerns that eminent assertor of the Protestant cause, Mr. Chillingworth. You will find here, my Lord, besides the history of his life, a true representation of his sentiments; his sincere, unbiassed love of truth, and the anxious, indefatigable inquiries he made after it; his changes of religion, or rather, his constancy in following that way to heaven which for the present seemed to him the most probable; his charitable, friendly attempts to reclaim such as he thought were in a wrong way; and his generous and truly Christian resolution not to comply with anything which he judged erroneous or unlawful, but steadfastly to profess and maintain what he esteemed to be just and true, even at the expense of what was dearest to him in this world: you will see, at the same time, the odious imputations cast upon him, not only by those "without," who hate A 2 the light, lest it should reprove them, or make them manifest; but also by some among us, who, being too fond of their own notions, could not come up to that degree of freedom, impartiality, and moderation which was so remarkable in him. These noble dispositions of mind will, I conceive, make him more particularly amiable to your Lordship, who have so just an idea of the purity of the Christian religion, and of the sense of primitive antiquity; who are so distinguished for your candour and moderation, so conspicuous for your uprightness, justice, and equity, that your advancement to the high station you are now in was no less agreeable to the unanimous wishes and desires of the nation, than to his Majesty's tender concern for the welfare of his people. I have the honour to be, with profound respect, My Lord, Your Lordship's most humble and most obedient servant, P. DES MAIZEAUX. THE PREFACE. SOME time ago I published the life of the evermemorable Mr. Hales, as a specimen of an Historical and Critical English Dictionary, in which an account will be given of such persons as have made themselves famous by their writings or other actions in Great Britain, and Ireland. But as a work of that nature requires an uncommon labour and diligence, and consequently a considerable time, I have been desired by some persons, who have a particular esteem for Mr. Chillingworth, to select, out of my materials, what concerned that excellent man, and to print it by itself. This hath given me the liberty of enlarging that article beyond the bounds required in a Dictionary. For in such a work there ought to be a suitable proportion in the several articles, with reference to the whole, which must be brought within as narrow a compass as possible. As to the method I have followed, it is the same with that of Mr. Bayle in his Historical and Critical Dictionary. This piece consists of two parts: the first is the Text, which includes the most material circumstances of the subject, and might, in some measure, be read without interruption: the second is the Remarks, which contain several additions, illustrations, and proofs relating to what is said in the text. The marks in the text direct the reader to the remarks |