New and General Biographical Dictionary (V. 3) (Paperback) - Livres de poche

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: C ALAMY (benjamin) an eminent divine and excellent preacher, was fon of the preceding by a fecond wife. From St. Paul's fchool in London, where he was placed when very young, he was fent to Catherine-hall, Cambridge, and fucceflively took the degrees of bachelor and mafter of arts. He became alfo fellow of that hall, and an (eminent tutor. April 25, 1677, he was chofen minifter of St. Mary Aldermanbury, and foon after appointed one of his majefty's chaplains in ordinary. In 1680 he took his degree of doctor in divinity. In .1683, he preached, in his own church, his famous fermon on Luke xi. 41. which he afterwards publifhed under the title of A difcourfe about a fcnipTilous confcience. ' It was dedicated to fir George Jef- feries, chief juftice of Chefter, afterwards lord Jefferies and high chancellor of England. " For my own part, fays the doAor in this dedication, no one is more favourable to a " truly tender confcience than myfelf; let it be as fcrupulous " and nice, -as it can well, fo it be about the fubftantial mat- " ters of piety towards God, juftice between man and man, due obedience to fuperiors, and when it makes us more ex- " aStly careful of our undoubted duty in all inftances: but ' when men are fcrupulous only on one fide, about things " commanded by lawful authority, and make no fcruple of ' difobedience, fchifm, faction, and divifion; when men fet w up their private humour, fancy, or opinion, in oppofition " to eftablimed laws; when they become peevifh, pragmati- " cal, and ungovernable; nay, when mens confciences prove " fo generally tender and fcrupulous as to doubt of, and fuf- " pect the rights of the crown .... fuch wayward, flittilh " confciences ought to be well bridled and reftrained, or elfe " they will be not only intolerably troublefome, but extrcm...