patron, who had no regard for Mr. Owen, presented the living to another; whereupon the people at Coggeshall, about five miles distant, invited him to be their minister, and the earl of Warwick, the patron, readily gave him the living; where he preached to a more judicious and more numerous congres tion, (seldom fewer than 2000) with great success. Hitherto he had been a Presbyterian; but upon further inquiry he was convinced that the Congregational plan was most agreeable to the New Testament; he accordingly formed a church upon it, which subsisted and flourished many years after his death.

So great a man could not be concealed. He was sent for to preach before the parliament, which he did, Ap. 29, 1646, on Acts xvi. 2. and several times afterwards on special occasions, particularly the very day after the death of Charles I. His discourse was on Jer. xv. 19, 20. which deserves to be recorded as a perpetual monument of his integrity, wisdom, and modesty. Soon after, calling upon General Fairfax, (with whom he became acquainted at the siege of Colchester) he met with Cromwell, who laying his hands upon his shoulders, said to him, "Sir, you are the person I must be acquainted with;" and from this time contracted an intimate friendship with him, which continued to his death. He informed Mr. Owen of his intended expedition into Ireland, and insisted upon his company there to preside in the college at Dublin. With great reluctance, and after much delibera. tion, he complied, and continued there about a year and a half, preaching and overseeing the affairs of the college. He then returned to Coggeshall, but was soon called to preach at Whitehall.

In Sept. 1650, Cromwell required him to go with him into Scotland, and he being averse to go, procured an order of parliament. He staid at Edinburgh about half a year, and once more returned to his people at Coggeshall, with whom he hoped to have spent the remainder of his days. But he was soon afterwards called by the House of Commons to the deanry of Christ-Church, Oxford, which, with the consent of his church, he accepted; and in the following year (when he was also diplomated D. D.) he was chosen Vice-chancellor of the university, in which office he continued about five years. This honourable trust he managed with singular prudence. He took care to restrain the vicious, to encourage the pious, to prefer men of learning and industry, and under his administration the whole body of that university was visi

bly

bly reduced to good order, and furnished with a number of excellent scholars, and persons of distinguished piety. He discovered great moderation both towards Presbyterians and Episcopalians, to the former of whom he gave several vacant livings at his disposal, and the latter he was ever ready to oblige. A large congregation of them, statedly celebrated divine service very near him, according to the liturgy of the church of England, and he never gave them the least disturbance, though he was often urged to it. He was hospitable in his house, generous in his favours, and charitable to the poor, especially to poor scholars, some of whom he took into his own family and maintained at his own charge, giving them academical education. He still redeemed time for his studies, preaching every other Lord's day at St. Mary's, and often at Stadham, and other adjacent places, and writing some excellent books. In 1657 he gave place to Dr. Conant as vice-chancellor, and in 1659 he was cast out of his deanry, not long after Richard's being made protector. It has been said, that he had a principal hand in deposing him*, but this he himself and his friends solemnly denied.

After the Dr. had quitted his public station, he retired to Stadham, where he possessed a good estate, and lived privately, till the persecution grew so hot that he was obliged to remove from place to place, and at length came to London, where he preached as he had opportunity, and continued writing. His animadversions on a popish book, called Fiat lux (for which Sir E. Nichols procured him the Bp. of London's licence) recommended him to the esteem of lord chancellor Hyde, who assured him, that " He had deserved the best of any English protestant of late years, and that the church was bound to own and advance him;" at the same time offering him preferment, if he would accept it: but expressed his surprize that so learned a man should embrace the

* Mr. Baxter says in his Life, "Dr. Owen and his assistants did the main work." In the Memoirs of Dr. Owen this is contradicted, with some degree of asperity. Dr. Calamy as warmly maintains it, by relating what Dr. Manton had declared to several then living, that' at Wallingford-house, he heard Dr. Owen say with vehemence, "He must come down, and he shall come down.” (See the account of Dr. Manton, p. 178.) But this is no decisive evidence, as the Dr. might not then be speaking of the protector; and it is confessed that Dr Manton did not so understand him till after the event. Mr. Baxter however stands exculpated from any intention to propagate falsehood concerning Dr. Owen, by what Mr. Sylvester relates in his preface, viz. "That he wrote to Mrs. Owen in a most affectionate and respectiul manner, to desire her to send him what she could in favour of the Dr. that he might insert it, or expunge the above passage; but that his offer was rejected with contempt."

novel opinion of Independency. The Dr. offered to prove that it was practised for several hundred years after Christ, against any bishop his lordship should please to appoint. They had further discourse about Liberty of conscience, &c. But notwithstanding all the good service the Dr. had done the church of England, he was persecuted from place to place, and once very narrowly escaped being seized by some troopers at Oxford, who came in pursuit of him to the house where he was, but rode off on being told by the mistress that he was gone carly that morning, which she really thought had been the case. When laid aside here, he had thoughts of going into New-England, where he was invited to the government of their university, but he was stopped by particular orders from the king. He was afterwards invited to be professor of divinity in the United Provinces; but he felt such a love for his native country, that he could not quit it so long as there was any opportunity of being serviceable

in it.

During Charles's Indulgence he was assiduous in preaching, and set up a lecture, to which many persons of quality and eminent citizens resorted. The writings which he still continued to produce drew upon him the admiration and respect of several persons of honour, who were much delighted in his conversation, particularly the earl of Orrery, the earl of Anglesea, lord Willoughby of Parham, lord Wharton, loid Berkley, and Sir John Trevor. When he was at Tunbridge the duke of York sent for him, and several times discoursed with him concerning the Dissenters, &c. and after his return to London he was sent for by king Charles himself, who discoursed with him two hours, assuring him of his favour and respect, telling him he might have access to him when he would. At the same time he assured the Dr. he. was for liberty of conscience, and was sensible of the wrong that had been done to the Dissenters: as a testimony of which he

the

gave him 1000 guineas to distribute among those who had suffered the most. The Dr. had some friends also among Bishops, particularly Dr. Wilkins, Bp. of Chester, and Dr. Barlow, Bp. of Lincoln, formerly his tutor, who (when he applied to him in behalf of John Bunyan) promised to " deny him nothing that he could legally do;" though in this case he hardly fulfilled his word. This Bp. once asked the Dr. "What can you object to our liturgical worship which I cannot answer? The Dr.'s answer occasioned the Bp. to make a pause; on which the Dr. said, "Don't answer sud

denly

denly, but take time till our next meeting," which never happened.

His great worth procured him the esteem of many strangers who resorted to him from foreign parts; and many foreign divines having read his Latin works, learned English for the benefit of the rest. His correspondence with the learned abroad was great, and several travelled into England to see and converse with him. His many labours brought upon him frequent infirmities, whereby he was greatly taken off from his public service, though not rendered useless, for he was continually writing whenever he was able to sit up. At length he retired to Kensington. As he was once coming from thence to London, two informers seized upon his carriage, but he was discharged by the interposition of Sir Edmund Godfrey, a justice of the peace, who happened to come by at that instant. The Dr. afterwards removed to a house of his own at Ealing, where he finished his course. He there employed his thoughts on the other world as one who was drawing near it, which produced his Meditations on the Glory of Christ, in which he breathed out the devotion of a soul continually growing in the temper of the heavenly state. Mr. Wood's ill-natured reflection, "that he did very unwillingly lay down his head and die," needs no other answer than the following extract from a letter which he dictated to a particular friend but two days before his death.

"I am going to him whom my soul has loved, or rather who has loved me with an everlasting love, which is the whole ground of all my consolation. The passage is very irksome and wearisome, through strong pains of various sorts, which are all issued in an intermitting fever. All things were provided to carry me to London to-day, according to the advice of my physicians; but we are all disappointed by my utter disability to undertake the journey. I am leaving the ship of the church in a storm; but whilst the great Pi lot is in it, the loss of a poor under-rower will be inconsiderable. Live, and pray, and hope, and wait patiently, and do not despond: the promise stands invincible, that he will never leave us nor forsake us," &c.

He died on Bartholomew-day, 1683, aged 67. His character (which is drawn at length in his Memoirs) may be briefly summed up as follows: As to his person, his stature was tall; his visage grave, majestic, and comely; his aspect and deportment, genteel; his mental abilities, incomparable; his temper, affable and courteous; his common discourse, moderately

moderately facetious. He was a great master of his passions, especially that of anger; and possessed great serenity of mind, neither elated with honour or estate, nor depressed with difficulties. Of great moderation in his judgment, and of a charitable spirit, willing to think the best of all men as far as he could, not confining Christianity to a party. A friend of peace, and a diligent promoter of it among Christians. In point of learning, he was one of the brightest ornaments of the university of Oxford. Mr. Wood, after some base reflections, thinks fit to own, that " He was a person well skilled in the tongues, Rabinical learning, and Jewish rites; that he had a great command of his English pen, and was one of the fairest and genteelest writers that appeared against the church of England." His Christian temper in managing controversy was indeed admirable. He was well acquainted with men and things, and would shrewdly guess a man's temper and designs on the first acquaintance. His labours as a minister of the gospel were incredible. He was an excellent preacher, having a good elocution, graceful and affectionate. He could, on all occasions, without any premeditation, express himself pertinently on any subject; yet his sermons were mostly well studied and digested, though he generally used no notes in the pulpit. His piety and devotion were eminent, and his experimental knowledge of spiritual things very great. In all relations he behaved himself like a great Christian.

[It ought to be mentioned (as Dr. Savage, one of his successors observes) to Dr. Owen's honour," that he seems to have been one of the first of our countrymen who entertained just and liberal notions of the right of private judgment, and of Toleration; which he was honest and zealous enough to maintain in his writings, when the times were the least encouraging, for he not only published two Pleas for indulgence and toleration in 1677, when the Dissenters were suffering persecution under Charles II. but took the same side much earlier, pleading very cogently against intolerance, in an Essay for the practice of church-government, and a Discourse on Toleration,* both which are printed in the Collection of his sermons and tracts; and clearly appear to have been written, and were probably first published, about the beginning of 1647, when the parliament was arrived at full power, and he was much in repute.]

He went, says Mr. Orton, on as large and generous principles as Mr. Locke afterwards did. See a Note in Dr. Doddridge's Sermon on Persecution.

§ The