Table of Contents

• COMMENTARY.
  • THE END OF THE NOTES ON THE ART OF POETRY.
    • COMMENTARY.
    • CONCLUSION.
    • THE END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
    • Academy, the ancient, compared with a modern university, iv. 214.
    • Accommodation, of one’s-self, a great art, in public life, iii. 82.
    • Addison, Mr., his contemplation in the ruins of Kenelworth Castle, iii. 172.
    • Admiralty Court, the imperial law still obtains there, iii. 375.
    • Allodial estates, in France, what, iii. 318.
    • Amadis de Gaule, remarkable passage in a preface to, iv. 347.
    • Arbuthnot, Dr. discourses with Mr. Addison and Mr. Digby on the age of Queen Elizabeth, iii. 168.
    • Ariosto, why considered inferior to Tasso by the French critics, iv. 310.
    • Arthur, a subject to the writers of romance, iv. 241.
    • Ascham, his remark on the pernicious tendency of books of chivalry, iii. 192. n.
    • Atheism, imported by our travelling gentry, iv. 99.
    • Athens, its manly character corrupted by Asiatic manners, iv. 201.
    • Bacchus, a knight errant, iv. 266.
    • Bacon, Lord, his remark on retirement, iii. 137.
    • Bacon, Nat. character of his discourses on government, iii. 307.
    • Barons, their contests with the king, whence arising, iii. 332.
    • Bashfulness in young persons, whence arising, iv. 161.
    • Bastards, how legitimated by the imperial and canon laws, iii. 362.
    • Bear-baiting practised in the reign of Elizabeth, iii. 186. n.
    • Beneficiary Estates, in France, what, iii. 318.
    • Berkeley, Bishop, his “Minute Philosopher” excellent as a specimen of modern dialogue, iii. 24.
    • Boileau, a word of his overturned the reputation of the Italian poetry, iv. 314.
    • Bracton, his notion of a free government, iii. 370.
    • Breeding, forms of, a primary concern in foreign travel, iv. 147.
    • Bribery, common in Elizabeth’s reign, iii. 267.
    • Burghley, Lord, practised on the fears of Queen Elizabeth, iii. 257.
    • Burnet, Bishop, his notion of the danger to be apprehended from the Pretender, iii. 293.
    • Butler, ridicules the circumstance of women warriors in romance, iv. 317.
    • Cæsar, tribute to, misapplication of that precept by our reformers, iv. 74.
    • Camden, Mr. his opinion of the Irish rebellion in the reign of Elizabeth, iii. 232. n.
    • Canon law, introduction of, discountenanced by our Kings, iii. 355, 358.
    • Capet, Hugh, the nobles had become independent on his accession, iii. 321.
    • Cervantes, his ridicule destroyed the remains of Spanish prowess, iii. 199.
    • Chace, the favourite passion of our home-bred gentry, iv. 116.
    • Challenge, accepted, through deference to the opinion of the ladies, iv. 168.
    • Charlemagne, a subject to the writers of romance, iv. 241.
    • Charles I. arguments of the lawyers in his time, for divine right, iv. 78. n.
    • Charles II. how far his court benefited by foreign travel, iv. 100.
    • Charms, in romance, often metaphorical, iv. 268.
    • Charters, Great, by some considered as usurpations on the Prince, iii. 298.
    • Chaucer, has left an unfinished story on the Gothic model, iv. 294.
    • Chivalry, its tendency to refine the manners, iii. 189.
    • Church, its revenues dilapidated by queen Elizabeth, iii. 273.
    • Cicero, introduced the writing of Dialogue among the Romans, iii. 20.
    • Citizens and Burgesses, whence originating, iii. 338.
    • Clarendon, Lord, his character of Lord Falkland, iii. 67. n.
    • Clergy, justified in attending the courts of princes, iii. 145.
    • Combat, a mode of deciding questions of right and property, iii. 200.
    • Comnena, Manuel, a crusade in his time attended by women-warriors, iv. 317.
    • Constitution, English, enquiry into, iii. 284.
    • Court, but two sorts of men that should live in one, iii. 124.
    • Cowley, Mr. his motives for retiring from the world, iii. 101.
    • Craig, his opinion of the feudal law, iii. 328.
    • Criticism, bad, arises from abuse of terms, iv. 324.
    • Cromwell, his design for setting up a Protestant Council, iv. 14.
    • Crusades, state of things when they were set on foot, iv. 252.
    • Cutter of Coleman Street, origin and purpose of that comedy, iii. 122. n.
    • Davenant, Sir W. a new sort of criticism in his preface to Gondibert, iv. 311.
    • Declaration of rights, a barrier against future encroachments of the crown, iii. 293.
    • Decretals, of the popes, against the civil law, iii. 355.
    • Dialogue, a favourite form of instruction with the ancients, iii. 19.
    • Disparity, a passage from a tract so called, iii. 235. n.
    • Dispensing power of the Crown, iv. 52.
    • Dissipation of mind, caused by travel, iv. 145.
    • Divine right, doctrine of, why preached up, iv. 62.
    • Drama, a particular precept for, mistaken for a general maxim, iv. 326.
    • Dutch towns, accomplished scholars sometimes met within them, iv. 121.
    • Education, that commonly called liberal, wherein defective, iv. 117, 118.
    • Edward the Confessor, formed a digest of the Saxon laws, iii. 349.
    • Edward I. dispute concerning the succession to the crown of Scotland in his reign, iii. 367.
    • Edward III. a house of commons originating in his reign, iii. 340, 344.
    • Elizabeth, Queen, dialogue on the age of, iii. 167.
    • Empson and Dudley, how enabled to violate the constitution, iii. 379.
    • England, a constitutional history of, highly desirable, iii. 286, 288.
    • Epic narration, less restricted to truth than the drama, iv. 327.
    • Erasmus, improved on the dialogue of Lucian, iii. 28.
    • Erudition, present state of, iv. 132.
    • Esprit, De l’, remark on a work so called, iv. 89. n.
    • Europe, why not fit for an Englishman to travel in, iv. 200.
    • Faery Court, means the reign of chivalry, iv. 248.
    • Fairies, more engaging than the rabble of Pagan divinities, iv. 283.
    • Fairy Queen of Spenser, to be criticized as a Gothic, and not a classical poem, 292, 296.
    • Fairy way of writing, vindicated, iv. 316.
    • Falkland, Lord, his scruples on accepting the office of Secretary of State, iii. 67.
    • Feugregeois, wonders told of it in the history of the crusades, iv. 320.
    • Feudal law, instituted by William the Conqueror, iii. 313.
    • Feudal constitution, the origin of chivalry, iv. 242.
    • Foreigners, their disputes with British subjects, by what laws decided, iii. 376.
    • Fortescue, his distinction between regal and political forms of government, iii. 388. n.
    • Fortune, the making of one, an indefinite expression, iii. 131.
    • Franc-almoign, a particular tenure in the Saxon times, iii. 327.
    • France, its lands, under the Carlovingian line, of two kinds, iii. 318.
    • Freedom, English, best supported by the ancient nobility, iii. 184.
    • Free men, persons holding allodial estates in France, so called, iii. 318.
    • French critics, preferred the Gierusalemme Liberata to the Orlando Furioso, iv. 309.
    • Fynes Moryson, his remark on the condition of the English people, iii. 183. n.
    • Gardening, Gothic method of design in, iv. 301.
    • Genius, men of, infelicities attending the sensibility of their gratitude, iii. 140.
    • Gentleman, what his chief object, iv. 123.
    • German nations, foundation of gallantry in their ancient manners, iv. 250.
    • Giants of Romance, were oppressive feudal lords, iv. 263.
    • Gothic romance, incorporated with pagan fable, in a pageant given to Queen Elizabeth at Kenelworth, iii. 203.
    • Greeks, a sort of chivalry prevailed among them, iv. 273.
    • Grotius, his character of the English in Elizabeth’s reign, iii. 242. n.
    • Guarini, his Pastor Fido, for what admirable, iv. 315.
    • Guy, earl of warwick, his return from the wars, compared with that of Ulysses, iv. 278.
    • Habits, low and immoral, how far likely to be corrected by foreign travel, iv. 157.
    • Hale’s case, afforded an alarming proof of the influence of the dispensing power, iv. 55.
    • Hampden, Mr. his allegation in the great cause of ship-money, 78. n.
    • Harrington, Sir James, his opinion on the statutes against retainers, in Henry VII.’s reign, 184. n.
    • Harrison, his account of the progress of learning in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, iii. 237. n.
    • Helmet, used as a signal of hospitality in the ages of chivalry, iii. 182.
    • Henriade, why not long-lived, iv. 331.
    • Henry III. issued a prohibition against the teachers of the Roman law in London, iii. 357, 358.
    • Henry VII. his character, iv. 19.
    • Henry VIII. favoured the study of the civil law, though constrained to abolish it, iii. 380.
    • Helvidius, Priscus, a fine trait in his character, as given by Tacitus, iii. 142.
    • Hentznerus, Paulus, praises Queen Elizabeth’s skill in languages, iii. 257. n.
    • Herbert, Mr. George, commended king James as a greater orator than any of the ancients, iii. 240. n.
    • Hercules, a knight errant, iv. 266.
    • Heroic poetry, why it has survived the Gothic, iv. 333.
    • History, English, study of it essential to a young senator, iv. 142.
    • Hobbes, Mr. assisted in establishing a new sort of criticism, iv. 311.
    • Homer, correspondence of his descriptions with those of Gothic romance, iv. 266.
    • Hospitality, much practised by the great, in former times, iii. 181.
    • House of Commons, its origin, iii. 340.
    • Human nature, how to be studied, iv. 197.
    • Hume, ground of his apology for the House of Stuart, iii. 391. n.
    • James I. favoured the study of the civil law, iii. 381.
    • Jesuits, their expedient to justify the pope in deposing kings, iv. 61.
    • Ignorance, the parent of many vices, iv. 108.
    • Interest, of men in office, how connected with duty, iii. 139.
    • Jonson, Ben, praised by Lord Clarendon, iii. 140. n.
    • Ireland, distractions in, during the reign of Elizabeth, iii. 231.
    • Irish, savage, in the reign of Elizabeth, held their rhymers in principal estimation, iv. 271.
    • Italian Poetry, a short history of, 309 to 315.
    • Italy, the theatre of politeness in the age of Elizabeth, iv. 99.
    • Jury, trial by, when disgraced and rejected, iii. 379, 382.
    • Justices of Peace, in Queen Elizabeth’s reign, notoriously corrupt, iii. 270.
    • Justinian Law, when introduced into England, iii. 354.
    • Justs and Turnaments, their origin, iv. 243.
    • Kenelworth Castle, contemplations in the ruins of, iii. 170.
    • Knights of Shire, whence originating, iii. 337, 338.
    • Ladies, attach a high degree of merit to good breeding, iv. 168.
    • “Lady of the Lake,” a pageant at Kenelworth Castle, iii. 203.
    • Laga, or Leaga, the Saxon word for law, its extensive import, iii. 308.
    • Language, English, at what period most favourable to poetry, iii. 210.
    • Languages, time sometimes wasted in studying, iv. 147.
    • Laws, how rendered necessary, iv. 108.
    • Learning, revival of, began first by poetry, iii. 206.
    • Legislators, ancient, why required to travel for instruction, iv. 95.
    • Legislature, their right to settle the government, unquestionable, iii. 302.
    • Leicester, Earl of, his splendid monument in the great church of Warwick, iii. 168.
    • Letters, the cultivation of, its own reward, iii. 130.
    • Liberal Arts, of late growth in England, iv. 127.
    • Liberty, a right understanding of its principles necessary to the security of the British government, iii. 295.
    • Life-guard, instituted by Henry VII. iv. 25.
    • Livy, his dialogues, if preserved, would have suffered by comparison with those of Cicero, iii. 41.
    • Locke, Mr. Lord Shaftesbury’s opinion of him as a philosopher, iv. 88.
    • Lollardism, spreading in the reign of Henry VII. iv. 27.
    • London, a fit scene for seeing the world, iv. 190.
    • Lucan, his magic scenes excelled by those of Apuleius, iv. 283, 284.
    • Lucian, created a new species of dialogue, iii. 28.
    • Manners, best acquired by early travel, iv. 119.
    • Masks and Shows, their origin and design, iii. 207.
    • Matthew Paris, his remark on the subjection of the ecclesiastical to the secular power at the Conquest, iii. 327. n.
    • Maynard, Sir John, one of the most accomplished lawyers of his time, iii. 289. n.
    • Melvil, Sir James, his frank reply to Queen Elizabeth touching her celibacy, iii. 271. n.
    • Milton, recommends gymnastics in his Tractate of Education, iii. 188.
    • Modesty, in young persons, a grace and ornament, iv. 162.
    • Montesquieu, his observation on the Gothic government, iii. 341. n.
    • More, Dr. Henry, his dialogue with Mr. Waller on sincerity, iii. 53.
    • Mountjoy, Lord, how reprimanded by Queen Elizabeth, iii. 249.
    • Nations, improved by intercourse with each other, iv. 109.
    • Nature, how to be followed in poetry, iv. 324.
    • Neutrality, why another name for insincerity, iii. 66.
    • Norham, great Council of, rejected the Cæsarean law, iii. 367.
    • Pagan superstitions, fall short of the Gothic, iv. 284.
    • Pandects, when and by whom introduced into England, iii. 354.
    • Papal Supremacy, its extent in this kingdom, iv. 42.
    • Parliaments, their authority acknowledged even under our most despotic Princes, iv. 37.
    • Personification, why frequent in old poetry, iii. 211, 212.
    • Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy, a festival given by him, for a crusade, iv. 298.
    • Philosophers, ancient, considered travel as a necessary part of their studies, iv. 95.
    • Philosophy, how at present degraded, iv. 131.
    • Plato, the model, if not the inventor, of the Greek dialogue, iii. 20.
    • Plot, of Mr. Waller, its failure, iii. 71, 72.
    • Plutarch, his life of Theseus reads like a modern romance, iv. 266.
    • Poetry, what point in the revolutions of taste and language most favourable to it, iii. 210.
    • Poets, generally enamoured of solitude, iii. 113, 114.
    • Pole, Cardinal, violent in his invectives against Henry VIII. iv. 60.
    • Politeness, not attainable by great men, iv. 166.
    • Prejudices, of home-bred gentlemen, iv. 114.
    • Prerogative, of English monarchs, controuled by law, iii. 287.
    • Protestant Council, projected by Cromwell, iv. 14. n.
    • Protestantism, had made considerable progress on the accession of Elizabeth, iii. 224.
    • Protestants, French, persecution of, iv. 12. n.
    • Puritanism, growth of, iv. 63.
    • Puritans, how managed by Queen Elizabeth, iii. 227.
    • Raleigh, Sir Walter, his opinion on the conduct of the Spanish war, iii. 252.
    • Reason, best exercised in society, iii. 106.
    • Recreant, why a term of disgrace for a vanquished knight, iv. 251.
    • Reformation, established in the reign of Elizabeth, iv. 31, 32.
    • Religious Houses, suppression of, favoured the extension of prerogative, iv. 20.
    • Representation, Dramatic, requires stricter adherence to truth than narration, iv. 326.
    • Retainers, laws of Henry VII. against, iv. 25.
    • Retirement, foundation of the dialogue concerning, iii. 97. n.
    • Revolution of 1688, why justifiable, iii. 283.
    • Rhetorician, one who taught the art of not speaking, iv. 121.
    • Richard II. the wonder-working parliament in his reign rejected the Roman civil law, iii. 367.
    • Robert the Norman, his wife fought by his side in battle, iv. 317.
    • Roman Emperors, their policy in assuming the title of Pontifex Maximus, iv. 47.
    • Rome, Court of, its authority rejected by Henry VIII. iv. 29.
    • Romance, Spirit of, whence originating, iv. 239.
    • Rousseau, his observation on the use of the marvellous in epic and dramatic compositions, iv. 327. n.
    • Royal Society, much talked of, before it was instituted, iii. 143. n.
    • Ryswick, treaty of, wherein defective, iv. 12.
    • St. Alban’s, Lord, the patron of Cowley, iii. 97, 99, 102.
    • Saxons, the principles of their policy still maintained in our government, iii. 307.
    • Savages of Romance, dependants of feudal lords, iv. 263.
    • Selden, his character of Ben Jonson, iii. 209.
    • Self-love, when uncontrouled, engenders vices, iv. 108.
    • Senator, English, requisite qualifications of one, iv. 140.
    • Sidney, Sir Philip, the flower of knighthood, iii. 197.
    • Sincerity in the commerce of the world, a dialogue on, iii. 53.
    • Shaftesbury, Lord, eminent as a writer of dialogue, iii. 24.
    • Shakespear, remark of his best critic on the witch-scenes in Macbeth, iv. 286.
    • Socrates, whence he took his name of Ironist, iii. 28.
    • Somers, Mr. his fears that the principles of liberty are not thoroughly established in the minds of the people, iii. 295, 297.
    • Spain, Queen Elizabeth’s triumph over, to what owing, iii. 274.
    • Spenser, had talent for business as well as for poetry, iii. 243.
    • Sprat, the Rev. Mr. his account of a conversation with Mr. Cowley on retirement, iii. 99.
    • Star-Chamber, iii. 381.
    • Stephen, the Justinian laws introduced into England during his reign, iii. 354.
    • Stillingfleet, Dr. his remark on the dispensing power, iv. 54.
    • Stuart, House of, part of their difficulties ascribed to the bad policy of their predecessor, iii. 228.
    • Tacitus, bears testimony to the free spirit of the German constitutions, iii. 309.
    • Tasso, his Gierusalemme Liberata planned on the model of the Iliad, iv. 279.
    • Terence, his characters all express themselves with equal elegance, iii. 39.
    • Theobald, Archbishop, favoured the reading of the Justinian laws in England, iii. 354.
    • Third Estate in France, their deputies how stigmatized by one of the popes, iv. 59. n.
    • Thuanus, his remark on the romantic spirit of Queen Elizabeth, iii. 196.
    • Thurkeby, Judge, exclaims against the dispensing power, iv. 53. n.
    • Tilt Yard, a school of fortitude and honour to our forefathers, iii. 185.
    • Toleration-act, when passed, iv. 11. n.
    • Topaz, Sir, of Chaucer, a prelude to Don Quixote, iv. 336.
    • Tour of Europe, too limited for a philosophic traveller, iv. 198.
    • Travel, foreign, dialogue on the uses of, iv. 87.
    • Tudor Line, government of England more despotic under them than in the preceding reigns, iii. 390.
    • Tutor, Travelling, how to be chosen, iv. 106.
    • Vacarius taught the civil law in England, iii. 355.
    • Virtue, exists most in the offices of social life, iii. 106.
    • Virtuosoship, one of the objects of foreign travel, iv. 146.
    • Ulysses, his return afforded an exception to the domestic licence of the time, iv. 278.
    • Unity of design in Gothic poems, iv. 300.
    • Universities, the Imperial law still obtains in them, iii. 375.
    • Waller, Mr. Edmund, represented in dialogue with Dr. More, on sincerity in the commerce of the world, iii. 53.
    • Walls of Fire, mentioned in romance, what in reality, iv. 320.
    • Walsingham, Secretary, recounts the ill effects of Queen Elizabeth’s frugality, iii. 263. n.
    • Warwick, Great Church of, famous for its monuments, iii. 168.
    • William I. his Conquest by some considered as the foundation of absolute monarchy in England, iii. 298, 309.
    • William III. King, his character, iv. 14.
    • Wolsey, Cardinal, charged with subjecting the laws of the land to the imperial laws, iii. 380.
    • Women-Warriors, in times of chivalry, iv. 317.
    • World, the Commerce of, how to be prepared for, iv. 138.
    • Yorke, the late Right Hon. Charles, extract from a letter of his, on the origin of chivalry, iv. 254.
    • Youth, the season for acquiring right propensities and virtuous habits, iv. 113.
• THE WORKS OF RICHARD HURD, D. D. LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER. VOL. V.
• THE WORKS OF RICHARD HURD, D.D. LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER. VOL. VI.
  • SERMON I. PREACHED FEBRUARY 3, 1771.
  • SERMON II. PREACHED NOVEMBER 8, 1767.
  • SERMON III. PREACHED MAY 17, 1767.
  • SERMON IV. PREACHED MAY 24, 1767.
  • SERMON V. PREACHED MAY 1, 1768.
  • SERMON VI. PREACHED NOVEMBER 16, 1766.
  • SERMON VIII. PREACHED APRIL 29, 1770.
  • SERMON IX. PREACHED NOVEMBER 9, 1766.
  • SERMON X. PREACHED MAY 6, 1770.
  • SERMON XII. PREACHED FEBRUARY 9, 1766.
  • SERMON XIII. PREACHED MAY 16, 1773.
  • SERMON XIV. PREACHED APRIL 27, 1766.
  • SERMON XVI. PREACHED DECEMBER 1, 1765.
  • SERMON XVII. PREACHED NOVEMBER 22, 1772.
  • SERMON XVIII. PREACHED APRIL 23, 1769.
  • SERMON XX. PREACHED NOVEMBER 19, 1769.
  • SERMON XXI. PREACHED MAY 10, 1767.
  • SERMON XXII. PREACHED FEBRUARY 6, 1774.
  • SERMON XXIV. PREACHED APRIL 30, 1769.
  • SERMON XXV. PREACHED JUNE 25, 1775.
  • SERMON XXVI. PREACHED FEBRUARY 21, 1773.
  • SERMON XXVIII. PREACHED MAY 28, 1769.

THE WORKS OF RICHARD HURD, D.D. LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER. VOL. I.

The Right Reverend RICHARD HURD, D. D. Lord Bishop of Worcester.

From the Original Picture in the Possession of her Majesty.

THE WORKS OF RICHARD HURD, D. D. LORD BISHOP OF WORCESTER. IN EIGHT VOLUMES.
VOL. I.

DATES OF SOME OCCURRENCES IN THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

The following Particulars, in the Author’s own hand-writing, and endorsed by him—“Some Occurrences in my Life. R. W.”—were found amongst his papers after his decease.

DATES Of some Occurrences in my own Life.

Richard Hurd was born at Congreve, in the Parish of Penkrich, in the County of Stafford, January 13, 1719-20.

He was the second of three children, all sons, of John and Hannah Hurd; plain, honest, and good people; of whom he can truly say with the poet—

Si natura juberet, &c.

They rented a considerable farm at Congreve, when he was born; but soon after removed to a larger at Penford, about half way between Brewood and Wolverhampton in the same County.

There being a good Grammar School at Brewood, he was educated there under the Reverend Mr. Hillman, and, upon his death, under his successor, the Reverend Mr. Budworth—both well qualified for their office, and both very kind to him.

Mr. Budworth had been Master of the School at Rudgely; where he continued two years after his election to Brewood, while the School-house, which had been much neglected, was repairing. He was therefore sent to Rudgely immediately on Mr. Budworth’s appointment to Brewood, returned with him to this place, and continued under his care, till he went to the University.

He must add one word more of his second Master. He knew him well, when he afterwards was of an age to judge of his merits. He had been a scholar of the famous Mr. Blackwell of Derby, and afterwards bred at Christ’s College in Cambridge, where he resided till he had taken his M. A.’s degree. He understood Greek and Latin well, and had a true taste of the best writers in those languages. He was, besides, a polite, well-bred man, and singularly attentive to the manners, in every sense of the word, of his scholars. He had a warm sense of virtue and religion, and enforced both with a natural and taking eloquence. How happy, to have had such a man, first, for his school-master, and then for his friend.

Under so good direction, he was thought fit for the University, and was accordingly admitted in Emanuel College, in Cambridge, October 3, 1733, but did not go to reside there till a year or two afterwards.

In this college, he was happy in receiving the countenance, and in being permitted to attend the Lectures, of that excellent Tutor, Mr. Henry Hubbard, although he had been admitted under another person.

1738-9

He took his B. A.’s degree in 1738-9.

1742

He took his M. A.’s degree, and was elected fellow in 1742.

Was ordained Deacon, 13th of June that year in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, by Dr. Jos. Butler, Bishop of Bristol and Dean of St. Paul’s, on Letters Dimissory from Dr. Gooch, Bishop of Norwich.

1744

Was ordained Priest, 20 May 1744 in the Chapel of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, by the Bishop of Norwich, Dr. Gooch.

1749

He took his B. D.’s degree in 1749.

1750

He published the same year Remarks on Mr. Weston’s book on the Rejection of Heathen Miracles, and his Commentary on Horace’s Ars Poetica; which last book introduced him to the acquaintance of Mr. Warburton, by whose recommendation to the Bishop of London, Dr. Sherlock, he was appointed Whitehall Preacher in May 1750.

1751

He published the Commentary on the Epistle to Augustus in 1751.

1753

—the new edition of both Comments, with Dedication to Mr. Warburton, in 1753.

1755

—the Dissertation on the Delicacy of Friendship in 1755.

His Father died Nov. 27 this year, æt. 70.

1757

He published the Remarks on Hume’s Natural History of Religion in 1757.

Was instituted this year, Feb. 16, to the Rectory of Thurcaston, in the County of Leicester, on the presentation of Emanuel College.

1759

He published Moral and Political Dialogues 1759.

1762

He had the Sine-cure Rectory of Folkton, near Bridlington, Yorkshire, given him by the Lord Chancellor (Earl of Northington) on the recommendation of Mr. Allen, of Prior Park, near Bath, November 2, 1762.

He published the Letters on Chivalry and Romance this year.

1763

—Dialogues on Foreign Travel in 1763.

1764

And Letter to Dr. Leland of Dublin in 1964.

1765

He was made Preacher of Lincoln’s Inn, on the recommendation of Mr. Charles Yorke, &c. November 6, 1765.

1767

Was collated to the Archdeaconry of Gloucester, on the death of Dr. Geekie, by the Bishop, August 27, 1767.

1768

Was appointed to open the Lecture of Bishop Warburton on Prophecy in 1768.

He took the degree of D. D. at Cambridge Commencement this year.

1772

He published the Sermons on Prophecy in 1772.

1773

His Mother died Feb. 27, 1773, æt. 88.

1775

He was consecrated Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, the 12th of February 1775.

1776

He published the 1st Volume of Sermons preached at Lincoln’s Inn, 1776.

And was made Preceptor to the Prince of Wales and his brother Prince Frederick, the 5th of June the same year.

Preached before the Lords, December 13, 1776, first Fast for the war.

1779

He lost his old and best friend, Bishop Warburton, June 7th, 1779.

1780

He published the 2d and 3d Volumes of Sermons in 1780.

These three Volumes were published at the desire of the Bench of Lincoln’s Inn.

1781

He was elected Member of the Royal Society of Gottingen, January 11, 1781.

The Bishop of Winchester [Dr. Thomas] died Tuesday, May 1, 1781. Received a gracious letter from his Majesty the next morning, by a special messenger from Windsor, with the offer of the See of Worcester, in the room of Bishop North, to be translated to Winchester, and of the Clerkship of the Closet, in the room of the late Bishop of Winchester.

On his arrival at Hartlebury Castle in July that year, resolved to put the Castle into complete order, and to build a Library, which was much wanted.

The Library was finished in 1782 1782 and furnished with a collection of books, late Bishop Warburton’s, and ordered by his Will to be sold, and the value given to the Infirmary at Gloucester 1783

To these, other considerable additions have been since made.

Archbishop Cornwallis died in 1783.

Had the offer of the Archbishoprick from his Majesty, with many gracious expressions, and pressed to accept it; but humbly begged leave to decline it, as a charge not suited to his temper and talents, and much too heavy for him to sustain, especially in these times.

The King was pleased not to take offence at this freedom, and then to enter with him into some confidential conversation on the subject. It was offered to the Bishop of London, Dr. Lowth, and refused by him, as was foreseen, on account of his ill health. It was then given to Dr. Moore, Bishop of Bangor.

1784

Added a considerable number of books to the new Library at Hartlebury in 1784.

1785

Confirmed Prince Edward [their Majesties’ 4th son] in the Chapel of Windsor Castle, May 14th, 1785.

Added more books to the Library this year. And put the last hand (at least he thinks so) to the Bishop of Gloucester’s Life, to be prefixed to the new edition of his works now in the press.

Confirmed Princess Augusta [their Majesties’ second daughter] in the Chapel of Windsor Castle, Dec. the 24th this year.

Preached in the Chapel the next day (Christmas day) and administered the Sacrament to their Majesties and the Princess Royal and Princess Augusta.

1786

Preached before the Lords the 30th of January 1786.

His Majesty was pleased this year to bestow a prebend of Worcester [vacant by the death of Dr. Young] on my Chaplain, Mr. Kilvert.

Preached before their Majesties and Royal Family in the Chapel of Windsor Castle, and administered the Sacrament to them, on Christmas day 1786.

1788

In the end of February this year, 1788, was published in seven volumes 4to a complete edition of the works of Bishop Warburton. The Life is omitted for the present.

March 13, 1788, a fine gold Medal was this day given me by his Majesty at the Queen’s House.

The King’s head on one side. The Reverse was taken from a Seal of mine¹, which his Majesty chanced to see, and approved.

The Die was cut by Mr. Burch, and the Medal designed for the annual Prize-Dissertation on Theological Subjects in the University of Gottingen.

July 12.

This summer the King came to Cheltenham to drink the waters, and was attended by the Queen, the Princess Royal, and the Princesses Augusta and Elizabeth. They arrived at Cheltenham in the evening of Saturday July the 12th, and resided in a house of Earl Falconberg. From Cheltenham they made excursions to several places in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, and were every where received with joy by all ranks of people.

Aug. 2

On Saturday, August the second, They were pleased to visit Hartlebury, at the distance of thirty-three miles, or more. The Duke of York came from London to Cheltenham the day before, and was pleased to come with them. They arrived at Hartlebury at half an hour past eleven. Lord Courtoun, Mr. Digby (the Queen’s Vice-Chamberlain), Col. Gwin (one of the King’s Equerries), the Countesses of Harcourt and Courtoun, composed the suite. Their Majesties, after seeing the House, breakfasted in the Library; and, when they had reposed themselves some time, walked into the Garden, and took several turns on the Terrases, especially the Green Terras in the Chapel Garden. Here they shewed themselves to an immense croud of people, who flocked in from the neighbourhood, and standing on the rising grounds in the Park, saw, and were seen, to great advantage. The day being extremely bright, the shew was agreeable and striking. About two o’clock, their Majesties, &c. returned to Cheltenham.

Aug. 5.

On the Tuesday following, August the fifth, their Majesties, with the three Princesses, arrived at 8 o’clock in the evening at the Bishop’s Palace in Worcester, to attend the charitable meeting of the three Quires of Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester, for the benefit of the widows and orphans of the poorer Clergy of those Dioceses; which had been fixed, in consequence of the signification of the King’s intention to honour that solemnity with his presence, for the 6th, 7th, and 8th of that month.

The next morning a little before 10 o’clock, the King was pleased to receive the compliments of the Clergy. The Bishop, in the name of himself, Dean and Chapter and Clergy of the Church and Diocese, addressed the King in the Great Hall, in a short speech², to which his Majesty was pleased to return a gracious answer. He had then the honour to address the Queen in a few words, to which a gracious reply was made; and they had all the honour to kiss the King’s and Queen’s hand.

Soon after 10, the Corporation, by their Recorder, the Earl of Coventry, addressed and went through the same ceremony of kissing the King’s hand. Then the King had a Levée in the Great Hall, which lasted till 11, when their Majesties, &c. walked through the Court of the Palace to the Cathedral, to attend divine Service and a Sermon. The Apparitor General, 2 Sextons, 2 Virgers, and 8 Beadsmen, walked before the King (as on great occasions they usually do before the Bishop); the Lord in waiting (Earl of Oxford) on the King’s right hand, and the Bishop in his lawn on the left. After the King, came the Queen and Princesses, attended by the Countesses of Pembroke and Harcourt (Ladies of the Bed-chamber), and the Countess of Courtown, and the rest of their Suite. At the entrance of the Cathedral, their Majesties were received by the Dean and Chapter in their Surplices and hoods, and conducted to the foot of the stairs leading to their seat in a Gallery prepared and richly furnished by the Stewards³ for their use, at the bottom of the Church near the West window.

The same ceremony was observed the two following days, on which they heard sacred music, but without prayers or a sermon. On the last day Aug. 8th, the King was pleased to give £.200 to the charity: and in the evening attended a concert in the College Hall for the benefit of the Stewards.

Aug. 9

On Saturday morning, Aug. 9th, the King and Queen, &c. returned to Cheltenham.

During their Majesties’ stay at the Palace, they attended prayers in the Chapel of the Palace every morning (except the first, when the service was performed in the Church) which were read by the Bishop.

The King at parting was pleased to put into my hands for the poor of the City £.50, and the Queen £.50 more; which I desired the Mayor (Mr. Davis) to see distributed amongst them in a proper manner.

The King also left £.300 in my hands towards releasing the Debtors in the County and City Jails.

During the three days at Worcester, the concourse of people of all ranks was immense, and the joy universal. The weather was uncommonly fine. And no accident of any kind interrupted the mutual satisfaction, which was given, and received, on this occasion.

Aug. 16

On Saturday, August 16, the King and Royal Family left Cheltenham, and returned that evening to Windsor.

Nov. 1

In the beginning of November following, the King was seized with that illness, which was so much lamented. It continued 1789 ^{Feb. 28} till the end of February 1789, when his Majesty happily recovered.

Mar. 15

Soon after I had his Majesty’s command to attend him at Kew; and on March 15, I administered the Sacrament to his Majesty at Windsor in the Chapel of the Castle, as also on Easter Sunday, April 12, ^{April 12} and preached both days.

At the Sacrament of March 15, the King was attended only by three or four of his Gentlemen: On Easter-day, the Queen, Princess Royal, and Princesses Augusta and Elizabeth, with several Lords and Gentlemen and Ladies of the Court, attended the King to the Chapel, and received the Sacrament with him.

April 23

On April 23 [St. George’s Day] a public thanksgiving for the King’s recovery was appointed. His Majesty, the Queen, and Royal Family, with the two Houses of Parliament, &c. went in procession to St. Paul’s. The Bishop of London preached. I was not well enough to be there.

1790 May 28

May 28, 1790, the Duke of Montagu died. He was a nobleman of singular worth and virtue; of an exemplary life; and of the best principles in Church and State. As Governor to the Prince of Wales and Prince Frederick, he was very attentive to his charge, and executed that trust with great propriety and dignity. The Preceptor was honoured with his confidence: and there never was the least misunderstanding between them; or so much as a difference of opinion as to the manner in which the education of the Princes should be conducted.

In October 1790, I had the honour to receive from the King the present of two fine full-length pictures of his Majesty and the Queen, copied from those at the Queen’s House, St. James’s Park, painted by the late Mr. Gainsborough.

These pictures are put up in the great Drawing-room at the Palace in Worcester, and betwixt them, over the fire-place, is fixed an oval tablet of white marble with the following Inscription in Gold Letters.

“Hospes,
Imagines, quas contemplaris,
Augustorum Principum,
Georgii III, et Charlottæ Conjugis,
Rex ipse
Richardo Episcopo Vigorniensi
Donavit,
1790.”

1791 Sept. 17

My younger Brother, Mr. Thomas Hurd, of Birmingham, died on Saturday, Sept. 17, 1791.

1792 Dec. 6

My elder Brother, Mr. John Hurd, of Hatton, near Shifnal, died on Thursday, December 6, 1792.

1793 March 20

My noble and honoured friend, the Earl of Mansfield, died March 20, 1793.

1795 Jan. 19

My old and much esteemed friend, Dr. Balguy, Prebendary and Archdeacon of Winchester, died January 19, 1795.

Feb. 24

The Life of Bishop Warburton, which was sent to the press in Autumn last, was not printed off till the end of January, nor published till towards the end of February this year.

Dec. 1

Printed in the course of this year at the Kidderminster press a Collection of Bishop Warburton’s Letters to me, to be published after my death for the benefit of the Worcester Infirmary.—The edition consisted of 250 Copies, 4to—was finished at the press in the beginning of December.

1796 June 17 to 30

In the Summer of 1796 visited my Diocese in person, I have great reason to suppose for the last time; being in the 77th year of my age—fiat voluntas Dei!

Sept. 1

Mrs. Stafford Smith, late Mrs. Warburton, died at Fladbury, September 1, 1796.

1797 April 5

Mr. Mason died at Aston, April 5, 1797. He was one of my oldest and most respected friends. How few of this description now remain!

1799 Jan. 24

By God’s great mercy enter this day [24 Jan. 1799] into my 80th year. Ps. xc. 10. But see, 1 Cor. xv. 22. Rom. viii. 18. 1 Pet. i. 3-5. Χάρις τῷ Θεῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀνεκδιηγητῳ ἀυτοῦ δωρεᾷ. 2 Cor. ix. 15.

May 27 to
June 14

It pleased God that I was able this Summer to confirm over all parts of my Diocese.

1800 June 6 to 17

And to visit my Diocese in person once more in June 1800.—L. D.

1801 May 16

Lost my old and worthy friend Dr. Heberden, in the 91st or 92nd year of his age, May 16, 1801.

1802 June 15

Consecrated, on Tuesday the 15th of June, 1802, the new Church and Church-yard of Lower Eatington, near Shipston, in Warwickshire.

Aug. 5

My most deserving, unhappy, friend, Dr. William Arnald, died at Leicester, August 5, 1802.

1803 May 31 to
June 3

Visited my Diocese by Commission—Commissioners, Dr. Arnold, my Chancellor, and Dr. Evans, Archdeacon.

1804 July 25

St. James’ day, July 25, 1804, held an Ordination in Hartlebury Chapel—3 Deacons, 5 Priests—the last I can expect to undertake.

1805

Confirmations by the Bishop of Chester (Dr. Majendie.)
March 27, Stratford.March 27 28, Bromsgrove.28 29, Hales Owen.29

—by the Bishop of Hereford (Dr. Cornwall.)
June 14, Worcester June 14 15, Pershore15 17, Kidderminster17

1806

Visited my Diocese this year by Commission—

1807

1807, Sept. 26. The Prince of Wales visited Lady Downshire, at Ombersley Court this month. I was too infirm to wait upon him either at Ombersley or Worcester; but his Royal Highness was pleased to call at Hartlebury, on Saturday the 26th of Sept. 26 this month, attended by his brother the Duke of Sussex, and Lord Lake, and staid with me above an hour.

1808

1808, April 23. Granted a Commission to the Bishop of Chester, (Dr. Majendie,) to consecrate the new Chapel and burying-ground at Red-Ditch, in the parish of Tardebig; which was performed this day, Thursday, April 21, 1808, the proper officers of the Court, and two of my Chaplains attending.

To this short narrative (the last paragraph of which was written by the Author only five weeks before his death) little more will be added.

So late as the first Sunday in February before his death, though then declining in health and strength, he was able to attend his Parish Church, and to receive the Sacrament. Free from any painful or acute disorder, he gradually became weaker, but his faculties continued perfect. After a few days confinement to his bed, he expired in his sleep, on Saturday morning, May 28, 1808; having completed four months beyond his eighty-eighth year. He was buried in Hartlebury Church-yard, according to his own directions.

He had been Bishop of Worcester for almost twenty-seven years: a longer period than any Bishop of that See since the Reformation.

GENERAL CONTENTS.

CRITICAL WORKS. VOL. I.

Q. HORATII FLACCI
EPISTOLAE AD PISONES, ET AUGUSTUM: WITH AN ENGLISH COMMENTARY AND NOTES: TO WHICH ARE ADDED CRITICAL DISSERTATIONS.

CONTENTS.

CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

TO SIR EDWARD LITTLETON, Bart.

^{Dear Sir},

Having reviewed these Sheets with some care, I beg leave to put them into your hands, as a testimony of the respect I bear you; and, for the time that such things may have the fortune to live, as a monument of our friendship.

You see, by the turn of this address, you have nothing to fear from that offensive adulation, which has so much dishonoured Letters. You and I have lived together on other terms. And I should be ashamed to offer you even such a trifle as this, in a manner that would give you a right to think meanly of its author.

Your extreme delicacy allows me to say nothing of my obligations, which otherwise would demand my warmest acknowledgements. For your constant favour has followed me in all ways, in which you could contrive to express it. And indeed I have never known any man more sensible to the good offices of his friends, and even to their good intentions, or more disposed, by every proper method, to acknowledge them. But you much over-rate the little services, which it has been in my power to render to you. I had the honour to be intrusted with a part of your education, and it was my duty to contribute all I could to the success of it. But the task was easy and pleasant. I had only to cultivate that good sense, and those generous virtues, which you brought with you to the University, and which had already grown up to some maturity under the care of a man, to whom we had both of us been extremely obliged; and who possessed every talent of a perfect institutor of youth in a degree, which, I believe, has been rarely found in any of that profession, since the days of Quinctilian.

I wish this small tribute of respect, in which I know how cordially you join with me, could be any honour to the memory of an excellent person⁴, who loved us both, and was less known, in his life-time, from that obscure situation to which the caprice of fortune oft condemns the most accomplished characters, than his highest merit deserved.

It was to cherish and improve that taste of polite letters, which his early care had instilled into you, that you required me to explain to you the following exquisite piece of the best poet. I recollect with pleasure how welcome this slight essay then was to you; and am secure of the kind reception you will now give to it; improved, as I think it is, in some respects, and presented to you in this public way.—I was going to say, how much you benefited by this poet (the fittest of all others, for the study of a gentleman) in your acquaintance with his moral, as well as critical writings; and how successfully you applied yourself to every other part of learning, which was thought proper for you—But I remember my engagements with you, and will not hazard your displeasure by saying too much. It is enough for me to add, that I truly respect and honour you; and that, for the rest, I indulge in those hopes, which every one, who knows you, entertains from the excellence of your nature, from the hereditary honour of your family, and from an education in which you have been trained to the study of the best things.

I am, ^{Dear Sir},
Your most faithful and
most obedient Servant, R. Hurd. Eman. Coll. Camb. June 21, 1757.

INTRODUCTION.

It is agreed on all hands, that the antients are our masters in the art of composition. Such of their writings, therefore, as deliver instructions for the exercise of this art, must be of the highest value. And, if any of them hath acquired a credit, in this respect, superior to the rest, it is, perhaps, the following work: which the learned have long since considered as a kind of summary of the rules of good writing; to be gotten by heart by every young student; and to whose decisive authority the greatest masters in taste and composition must finally submit.

But the more unquestioned the credit of this poem is, the more it will concern the public, that it be justly and accurately understood. The writer of these sheets then believed it might be of use, if he took some pains to clear the sense, connect the method, and ascertain the scope and purpose, of this admired epistle. Others, he knew indeed, and some of the first fame for critical learning, had been before him in this attempt. Yet he did not find himself prevented by their labours; in which, besides innumerable lesser faults, he, more especially, observed two inveterate errors, of such a sort, as must needs perplex the genius, and distress the learning of any commentator. The one of these respects the ^SUBJECT; the other, the ^METHOD of the Art of poetry. It will be necessary to say something upon each.

1. That the Art of poetry, at large, is not the proper subject of this piece, is so apparent, that it hath not escaped the dullest and least attentive of its critics. For, however all the different kinds of poetry might appear to enter into it, yet every one saw, that some at least were very slightly considered: whence the frequent attempts, the artes et institutiones poeticæ, of writers both at home and abroad, to supply its deficiencies. But, though this truth was seen and confessed, it unluckily happened, that the sagacity of his numerous commentators went no further. They still considered this famous epistle as a collection, though not a system, of criticisms on poetry in general; with this concession however, that the stage had evidently the largest share in it⁵. Under the influence of this prejudice, several writers of name took upon them to comment and explain it: and with the success, which was to be expected from so fatal a mistake on setting out, as the not seeing, “that the proper and sole purpose of the author, was, not to abridge the Greek critics, whom he probably never thought of; nor to amuse himself with composing a short critical system, for the general use of poets, which every line of it absolutely confutes; but, simply to criticize the Roman drama.” For to this end, not the tenor of the work only, but, as will appear, every single precept in it, ultimately refers. The mischiefs of this original error have been long felt. It hath occasioned a constant perplexity in defining the general method, and in fixing the import of particular rules. Nay its effects have reached still further. For, conceiving as they did, that the whole had been composed out of the Greek critics, the labour and ingenuity of its interpreters have been misemployed in picking out authorities, which were not wanted, and in producing, or, more properly, by their studied refinements in creating, conformities, which were never designed. Whence it hath come to pass, that, instead of investigating the order of the poet’s own reflexions, and scrutinizing the peculiar state of the Roman stage (the methods, which common sense and common criticism would prescribe) the world hath been nauseated with insipid lectures on Aristotle and Phalereus; whose solid sense hath been so attenuated and subtilized by the delicate operation of French criticism, as hath even gone some way towards bringing the art itself into disrepute.