TWISS (WILLIAM), a very learned nonconformist divine, was descended from German ancestors, of whom his grandfather is said to have been the first who settled in England. He was born about 1575. His father, who was a clothier at Newbury in Berkshire, perceiving this his son to be well qualified for a learned education, sent him to Winchester-school, whence he was in 1596 elected probationer fellow of New-college, Oxford, and two years after became actual fellow. According to Wood, he studied divinity for sixteen years together. In 1604 he proceeded in arts, and about that time taking orders, was a frequent and diligent preacher, " noted to the academicians for his subtile wit, exact judgment, exemplary life and conversation, and for the endowment of such qualities that were befitting men of his function." He was not less esteemed as a logician and philosopher, and his learning appeared not only in his public lectures and disputations, but in the accuracy with which he corrected the works of the celebrated Bradwardine, published by sir Henry Savile. Besides his catechistical lectures, which he read every Thursday in term-time in the college chapel, he preached every Sunday at St. Aldate's church; and at length his fame reaching the court, king James appointed him chaplain to his daughter Elizabeth, afterwards the unfortunate queen of Bohemia, who was then about to leave her native country and go to the Palatinate. On this he was admitted to his degree of D. D.

His stay abroad, however, was not long. In about two months he was called back to England, but on his arrival took a final leave of the court, and devoted himself to a learned retirement at Newbury, the place of his birth, of which he obtained the curacy. Here, such was his attachment to the quiet enjoyment of his studies, and the discharge of his parochial duties, that he refused some valuable preferments offered him entirely on the score of merit; among these were the wardenship of Winchester college, a prebend of Winchester, and a valuable living. This last he had some thoughts of accepting, provided the people of Newbury could be furnished with a suitable successor. With this view he waited upon the archbishop of Canterbury, who received him very kindly, granted his request, and added, that he would mention him to the king as a pious and learned divine, and no puritan. Twiss seems to have been alarmed at this last compliment, which he

knew he did not deserve, and upon more mature consideration, remained at Newbury. About the same time he refused a professor's chair at Oxford, and another in the university of Franeker.

Upon the publication of the " Book of Sports," which did so much mischief to the royal cause, Dr. Twiss decidedly declared his opinion against it, and refused to read it, yet he was still such a favourite with king James that he forbade his being molested on this account. During the rebellion he suffered considerably by the violence of the soldiery; but when prince Rupert came to Newbury he entertained Dr. Twiss very courteously, wishing him to forsake the parliamentary cause, and write in defence of the king, which he refused. In 1640 he was chosen one of the sub-committee, to assist the committee of accommodation appointed by the House of Lords to consider the innovations introduced into the church, and to promote a more pure reformation. In 1643 he was nominated, by an order of the parliament, prolocutor to the assembly of divines. This appointment he repeatedly declined, but having at length been prevailed upon to accept it, he preached (the assembly opening on July 1.) before both Houses of parliament, in Henry VIIIth's chapel. "In his sermon," says Fuller, "he exhorted his auditory to a faithful discharge of their duty, and to promote the glory of God and the honour of his church; but he was sorry that they wanted the royal assent. He hoped, however, that in due time it might be obtained, and that a happy union would be obtained between the king and parliament." He appears to have been dissatisfied with the conduct of both of the great contending parties: "whilst some would have nothing reformed, others would have all things changed, and turned upside down." These melancholy prospects gradually impaired his health, and some time after he sunk down in the pulpit while preaching, and being carried home, languished until July 20, 1646, when he expired, in the seventieth year of his age. During his illness the parliament voted him 100l. as he had lost all his property while at Newbury, and had in London only one of the lectureships of St. Andrew's, Holborn; and after his death 1000l. to his family; but this, it is said, they never received *. Respecting his

* Dr. Twiss was buried in Westminster-abbey, but at the restoration his remains, together with those of some others, were dug up and thrown into a pit, in St. Margaret's church-yard.

This, we presume, must have been in consequence of a general order (by no means indeed to be vindicated), as there was nothing in Dr. Twiss's conduct to render his memory particularly obnoxious.

personal character, there seems no difference of opinion among historians. Fuller denominates him "a divine of great abilities, learning, piety, and moderation;" and Wood says, "his plain preaching was esteemed good; his solid disputations were accounted better; but his pious life was reckoned best of all." Nor less favourably does bishop Sanderson speak of him, even while differing greatly from some of his opinions. Mr. Clark says, that he "had his infirmities, whereof the most visible was this: that he was of a facile nature, and too prone to be deceived by giving too much credit to those, whom, by information from others, or in his own opinion, he judged to be godly. Whence it came to pass that he was often imposed upon, especially by certain crafty heads, who solemnly professed that their chiefest care was the preservation of the purity of doctrine, and reformation of discipline, whereas, in deed and truth, they sought the utter subversion of both."

His writings are all controversial, and more or less directed against Arminianism, of which, it seems to be agreed, even by his adversaries, be was the ablest and most successful opponent of his time. The authors against whom he wrote were, principally, Dr. Thomas Jackson, Mr. Henry Mason, Dr. Thomas Godwin, Mr. John Godwin, Mr. John Cotton, Dr. Potter, Dr. Heylin, and Dr. Hammond. His works were, 1. "Vindiciæ gratiæ," Amst. 1632 and 1648, fol. against Arminius. 2. "A discovery of Dr. Jackson's Vanity," &c. 1631, 4to, printed abroad. 8. "Dissertatio de scientia media tribus libris absoluta," &c. Arnheim, 1639, fol. 4. "Of the Morality of the Fourth Commandment,” Lond. 1641, 4to. 5. "Treatise of Reprobation," ibid. 1646, 4to, with some other works printed after his death. There are fifteen of his letters in Mr. Joseph Mede's Works, and he left many MSS. in the hands of his son, who, Wood says, was a minister, but these are probably lost. '

TWYNE (JOHN), one of a family of Oxford antiquaries, was the grandson of sir Brian Twyne, of Long Parish, in Hampshire, knight, and was born at Bolingdon, in the same county. He was educated at New Inn hall, Oxford, and admitted to the reading of the institutions in 1524, at a time when that society could boast of many excellent civilians. After he left the university he was appointed head master of the free-school at Canterbury, and in 1553 rose

Ath. Ox, vol. II.-Clark's Lives, 1684, fol.-Fuller's Church History and Worthies. Wordsworth's Eccl. Biography, vol. V. p. 546,

to be mayor of the city, in the time of Wyat's rebellion. By the school he became so rich as to be able to purchase lands at Preston and Hardacre, in Kent, which he left to his posterity. He was a good Greek and Latin scholar, and devoted much of his time to the study of history and antiquities. He was held in great esteem by men able to judge of his talents, particularly by Leland, who introduces him among the worthies of his time in his "Encomia," and by Camden, who speaks of him in his "Britannia" as a learned old man. Holinshed also mentions him as a learned antiquary, in the first edition of his "Chronicle;" but this notice is for some reason omitted in the edition of 1587. It is said he was a violent papist, but Tanner has produced evidence of a charge more disgraceful to his character as a tutor and magistrate. This appears in a MS. in Bene't college library, Cambridge, No. CXX. "Anno 1560, Mr. Twyne, school-master, was ordered to abstain from riot and drunkenness, and not to intermeddle with any public office in the town." He died in an advanced age, Nov. 24, 1581, and was buried in the chancel of the church of St. Paul, Canterbury, with an inscription, in which he is styled armiger. His only publication, which, however, did not appear until after his death, was his work " De rebus Albionicis, Britannicis atque Anglicis commentariorum libri duo," Lond. 1590, 8vo. His MSS. which are on subjects of history and antiquities, were given by his grandson, Brian Twyne, to the library of Corpus Christi college, Oxford. Mr. Gough mentions his collections for a history of Canterbury, as being lost. Bishop Kennet says that he wrote an epistle prefixed to the "History of king Boccus and Sydracke," 1510, 4to, a very rare book, of which there is a copy in St. John's library, Oxford.

By his wife Alice, daughter of William Piper of Canterbury, whom he married in 1524, which, according to Wood, must have been when he was at Oxford, he had three sons. The first, LAWRENCE, was a fellow of All Souls college, and bachelor of civil law, and an ingenious poet, but ventured no farther than some encomiastic verses prefixed to books. He lived and probably died on his father's estate at Hardacre in Kent. He had a brother JOHN, who also wrote verses prefixed to books; and a third, THOMAS, of whom Wood has given us some farther particulars, although perhaps they are not very interesting. He was born in Canterbury, and admitted scholar of Corpus Christi college,

Oxford, in 1560, and probationer fellow in 1564, being then bachelor of arts. He afterwards proceeded in arts, and then studied medicine, and in 1581 took his doctor's degree, and practised at Lewes in Sussex, under the patronage of Thomas lord Buckhurst. He died in 1613,

aged seventy, and was buried in the chancel of St. Anne's church, Lewes. He wrote and translated many tracts, enumerated by Wood, but of very little value. He was an admirer of the mysterious philosophy of John Dee. Among his other publications he completed Phaer's translation of the Eneid, with Maphæus's thirteenth book, in 1583; translated Lhuyde's "Breviary of Britayne, &c.;" and was editor of his father's work "De rebus Albionicis," which he dedicated to lord Buckhurst. He also wrote some contemptible rhimes, then called poetry.'

TWYNE (BRIAN), son of Thomas, and grandson of John Twyne, was born in 1579, and admitted a scholar of Corpus Christi college in December 1594. After he had taken the degrees in arts, he was admitted probationer fellow in 1605, and entering into holy orders took the degree of bachelor of divinity in 1610. In 1614 he was made Greek reader of his college, in which office he acquitted himself with credit, but about 1623 left college to avoid being involved in some dispute between the president and fellows; because in this affair, Wood informs us, he could not vote on either side without the hazard of expulsion, having entered college on a Surrey scholarship, which, it seems, was irregular. He was afterwards presented to the vicarage of Rye in Sussex by the earl of Dorset, but seldom resided, passing most of his time in Oxford, where he had lodgings in Penverthing or Penny farthing street, in the parish of St. Aldate. He lived here in a kind of retirement, being, as Wood says, of a melancholy temper, and wholly given to reading, writing, and contemplation. Laud had a great regard for him, and employed him in drawing up the university statutes, all of which he transcribed with his own hand, and was rewarded with the place of custos archivorum, founded in 1634. He died at his lodgings in St. Aldate's, July 4, 1644, aged sixty-five, and was buried in Corpus chapel.

Twyne, who was an indefatigable collector of every document or information respecting the history and antiquities of Oxford, produced the first regular account of it, which

1 Ath. Ox. vol. I, new edit.-Warton's Hist, of Poetry.-Gough's Topography.