by fatal necessity; that God could not make the world otherwise than it is made; and that God cannot do any thing which he doth not do." Other less unguarded expressions have been laid to his charge, of which Fuller observes, that were all his works extant, we might read the occasion, intention, and connection of what he spake, together with the limitations, restrictions, distinctions, and qualifications, of what he maintained. There we might see what was the overplus of his passion, and what the just measure of his judgment." He maintained, with the church in after-times, the doctrine of pardon and justification by the alone death and righteousness of Christ. The several points in which he differed from the then established popery were these; the reading of the bible in the vulgar tongue, and making them the sole rule of a Christian's faith and practice, without faith in tradition, or any human authority; his opposing the pope's supremacy and infallibility; his rejecting and condemning transubstantiation, indulgences, confession, and absolution, extreme unction; the celibacy of the clergy; forced vows of chastity; prayers to, and worship of saints, shrines and pilgrimages. But the opinions which rendered him most obnoxious in his day, were those which struck at the temporal dominion of the pope, and which occasioned many of his followers to be persecuted in the subsequent reigns of Richard II. Henry IV. and Henry V.

His works are very voluminous, yet he seems not to have engaged in any great work. They are, more properly speaking, tracts, some of which were written in Latin, and some in English; some were on school-questions; others on subjects of more general knowledge; but the greatest part on divinity. Mr. Gilpin has given a list of the more remarkable. Bale has a more particular account. Some are preserved in Trinity and Corpus colleges, Cambridge, a few in Trinity college, Dublin, in the Bodleian, and in the British museum. Mr. Baber, in his late edition of the New Testament, has given the fullest and most accurate account of these. The following list comprises all that have been printed: 1. "Trialogus," a dialogue in Latin, between Truth, Falsehood, and Wisdom," printed somewhere in Germany, about 1525, 4to, pp. 175. This is very scarce, having been mostly destroyed by the Romanists *, but a new edition of it was printed at Frank

*See Ames Topog. Antiq. p. 1535. Mr. Ames purchased a copy at Dr. Evans's sale for 31. 14s.

fort, 1753,4to. 2."Wicklif's Wicket, or, a learned and godly treatise of the Sacrament," Norimberg, 1546, 8vo, and Oxford, 1612, 4to. 3. "The pathway to perfect knowledge, or Wickliffe's Prologue to the Bible," published by Robert Crowley, 1550, 12mo. 4. "The dore of the Holy Scripture," 1540, 8vo. 5." De Christianorum villicatione," in English, published in 1582, under the name of R. Wimbledon. 6. "A Complaint of John Wickliffe, exhibited to the king and parliament." 7. "A Treatise of John Wickliffe against the order of Friars." These two were published together at Oxford in 1608, 4to, by Dr. James, from two MS copies, one in Bene't college, Cambridge, the other in the Bodleian library. 8. "Why poor Priests have no Benefices," published by Mr. Lewis in his life of Wickliffe, who has also published there, his Determination, Confessions, and large extracts from his works remaining in MS. together with his New Testament. His opinions are also particularly detailed in Dr. Thomas James's "Apologie for John Wickliffe, shewing his conformitie with the new Church of England;" collected chiefly out of his MS works in the Bodleian library, and printed at Oxford, 1608, 4to, now very scarce.

We have mentioned Lewis's edition of Wickliffe's New Testament. Of this a new, elegant, and very correct second edition was published in 1810 by the rev, Henry Hervey Baber, M. A. F. R. S. librarian of printed books in the British museum, in a 4to volume. To this are prefixed "Memoirs of the Life, opinions, and writings" of Wickliffe, to which we would refer our readers for much original information and ingenious research; and a very learned "Historical account of the Saxon and English versions of the Scriptures, previous to the opening of the fifteenth century." It was the intention of this excellent editor to have attempted an edition of Wickliffe's translation of the Old Testament, but no sufficient encouragement, we add with surprize and shame, has yet been offered to so important an addition to our translations of the Holy Scriptures. '

WICQUEFORT (ABRAHAM DE), famous for his embassies and his writings, was a Hollander, and born in 1598; but it is not certain at what place, though some have mentioned Amsterdam. He left his country very young, and

1 Lewis's Life of Wickliffe.-Baber's Life prefixed to the New Testament.Biog. Brit.-Fuller's Ch. History.-Gilpin's Life of Wickliffe.-Wood's Anpals.

went and settled in France, where he applied himself diligently to political studies, and sought to advance himself by political services. Having made himself known to the elector of Brandenburg, this prince appointed him his resident at the court of France, about 1626; and he preserved this post two-and-thirty years, that is, till 1658. Then he fell into disgrace with cardinal Mazarin, who never had much esteem for him, and particularly disliked his attachment to the house of Condé. The cardinal accused him of having sent secret intelligence to Holland and other places; and he was ordered to leave the court and the kingdom but, before he set out, he was seized and sent to the Bastille. M. le Tellier wrote at the same time to the elector of Brandenburg, to justify the action; which he did by assuring him that his minister was an intelligencer in the pay of several princes. The year after, however (1659), he was set at liberty, and escorted by a guard to Calais; whence he passed over to England, and thence to Holland. There De Witt, the pensionary, received him affectionately, and protected him powerfully: he had indeed been the victim of De Witt, with whom he had carried on a secret correspondence, which was discovered by intercepted letters. He reconciled himself afterwards to France, and heartily espoused its interests; whether out of spite to the prince of Orange, or from some other motive; and the count d'Estrades reposed the utmost confidence in him. For the present, the duke of Brunswic-Lunenburg made him his resident at the Hague; and he was appointed, besides this, secretary-interpreter of the States General for foreign dispatches,

The ministry of De Witt being charged with great events, the honour of the commonwealth, as well as of the pensionary, required that they should be written; and Wicquefort was selected as the properest person for such a work. He wrote this history under the inspection, as well as protection, of the pensionary, who furnished him with such memoirs as he wanted, and he had begun the printing of it when, being accused of holding secret correspondence with the enemies of the States, he was made prisoner at the Hague in March 1676; and, November following, condemned to perpetual imprisonment, and to the forfeiture of all his effects. His son published this sentence in Germany the year after, with remarks, which he addressed to the plenipotentiaries assembled then at Nimeguen to treat

of peace but these powers did not think proper to meddle with the affair. Wicquefort amused himself with continuing his history of the United Provinces, which he interspersed, as was natural for a man in his situation, with satirical strokes, not only against the prince of Orange, whom he personally hated, but also against the government and the court of justice who had condemned him. This work was published at the Hague in 1719, with this title, L'Histoire des Provinces Unies des Pays-Bas, depuis le parfait établissement de cet Etat par la Paix de Munster:" it contains 1174 pages in folio, 246 of which were printed off when the author was thrown into prison.

He continued under restraint till 1679, and then contrived to escape by the assistance of one of his daughters, who ran the risk of her own liberty in order to procure his. By exchanging clothes with the lady, he went out, and took refuge at the court of the duke of Zell; from which he withdrew in 1681, disgusted, because that prince would not act with more zeal in procuring his sentence to be reversed at the Hague. It is not known what became of him after; but he is said to have died in 1682. His "L'Am. bassadeur et ses Fonctions," printed at the Hague, 1681, in 2 vols. 4to, is his principal work, and is a very curious miscellany of facts and remarks, the latter not always profound, but often useful. He published also in 1677, during his imprisonment, "Mémoires touchant les Ambassadeurs et les Ministres publics." He translated some books of travels from the German into French; and also from the Spanish, "L'Ambassade de D. Garcias de Silva Figueroa en Perse, contenant la Politique de ce grand Empire," &c. These works, which Wicquefort was at the pains to translate, are said to contain many curious and interesting things.'

WIDDRINGTON (Sir THOMAS), an eminent lawyer, and speaker of the House of Commons, during the usurpation, was of an ancient family in Northumberland, and was educated partly at Oxford and partly at Cambridge. He afterwards entered of Gray's-inn, to study the law, in which he advanced with considerable rapidity, and was chosen recorder, first of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and secondly of York. He was knighted by Charles I. in 1639 at York, and, as recorder, congratulated his majesty both

1 Niceron, vol. XXXIII.-Moreri.—Dict. Hist.

at York and Berwick, when he was on his way to be crowned king of Scotland. Both his addresses on this occasion are said to have been perfectly courtly and even fulsome, but he was soon to change his style as well as his opinions. Being returned member of parliament for Berwick, he became a warm advocate for the liberty then contested; avowed himself in religion, one of the independent sect, and took the covenant. In June 1647, he was so much a favourite with the parliament that they appointed him one of the commissioners of the great seal, which office he was to retain for one year, but held it till the king's death. The parliament also named him, in Oct. 1648, one in their call of serjeants, and soon after declared him king's serjeant. But far as he had gone with the usurping powers, he was by no means pleased with the commonwealth form of government, and immediately after the king's death, surrendered his office of keeper of the great seal, first upon the plea of bad health, and when that was not allowed, he set up some scruples of conscience. The parliament, however, as he continued to allow their authority, in requital of his former services, ordered that he should practice within the bar, and gave him a quarter's salary more than was due. His merit also recommended him to Cromwell, who heaped honours and great employments upon him. In April 1654, he was appointed a commissioner of the great seal and a commissioner of the treasury, for which he received a salary of 1000/.; and all his conscientious scruples seemed now at an end. In August of the same year, he was elected member of parliament for the city of York; and in the following year, became a committee-man for ejecting scandalous ministers in the north riding of that county.

In 1656, he represented both Northumberland and the city of York in parliament, and being chosen Speaker, was approved by Cromwell. His salary as speaker was 18297. besides 57. for every private act, and the like sum for every stranger made a free denizen; when ill he appointed Whitelock for his deputy, as we noticed in the life of that statesIn June 1658 he was appointed lord chief baron of the exchequer, and in Jan. 1660, one of the council of state and a commissioner of the great seal. He was returned both for Berwick and York in the parliament called in this year, and by some interest in the court of the restored king, Charles II. he was included in the call of serjeants, June 1, 1660. It was thought somewhat singular, and even mean

man.