as a confessor. If in some one of these particulars there were those who equalled him, in the whole, taken together, he was primus inter pares. We feel, therefore, encouraged to believe, that, in presenting some features of his character, some passages of his life, and some extracts from his works, we shall have the approbation and sympathy, not only of his descendants, but also of those who appreciate learning, who admire genius, and who reverence that self-sacrificing yet buoyant piety, which made him a moral martyr at Ware, and a triumphant saint at Cambridge, New England. HIS PREPARATION FOR THE UNIVERSITY. At the celebrated Westminster School, he received the training preparatory to his entrance into the University. It was here that his love of knowledge was developed, and his love of right strengthened. It was here that on the fifth of November, 1605, he, with the other members of the school, came near falling a victim to the famous "Gunpowder Plot," devised by the infamous Guy Fawkes. The edifice, where the school was kept, was in close proximity to the parliament-house. And if the diabolical design of Fawkes and his fellow-conspirators had succeeded, the parliament and the school would have been involved in one common fate. Upon a reflective mind like his, this event could hardly fail to produce a deep and lasting impression, awakening not only gratitude for his deliverance, but also abhorrence of that spirit which contrived the plot. And we can easily believe that associations, connected with this event in his youthful mind, must have contributed to give a certain shape to his opinions, and a certain tone to his feelings, for which he was distinguished. We can easily believe that the sentiments thus generated were, with his ardent temperament, transmitted to his immediate descendants, to be nourished and strengthened by every annual commemoration of the fifth of November, by every remembrance of the fires of Smithfield, and by every manifestation of ecclesiastical domination in the current events of the times. The following quotation from Dr. Charles Chauncy of Boston, his distinguished descendant of the fourth generation, shows his own pious appreciation of this event. "I particularly mention this fact, because it is emphatically an important one as relative to myself, and strongly points out the special obligation I am under, to set an asterism on the fifth of November, which, to this day, is commemorated in the colonies, as well as in the mother country, as I hope always will be, with joy and gratitude. My existence, with all its connections in this world and another, which were then only possible futurities, were absolutely dependent on this deliverance by an extraordinary interposition of God's all-governing providence." HIS CONNECTION WITH THE UNIVERSITY. Having completed his preparatory studies, he entered the University as a student of Trinity College, Cambridge, where he proceeded Bachelor in 1613, and Master of Arts in 1617. Here he prosecuted his studies with so much diligence that he became a Fellow of the College, and was honored, 1624, with the degree of Bachelor of Divinity. In consequence of his distinguished attainments in Oriental literature, he was chosen by the Heads of the Houses, Professor of Hebrew. But Dr. Williams, the Vice Chancellor, preferring a relative of his own, Mr. Chauncy resigned his pretensions, and was appointed to the Greek professorship. COLE, in his collections for an Athenæ Cantabrigienses, has the following note in respect to him :— "Charles Chauncy, A. M., a Fell. of Trinity Coll., Cambr., made an oration 27 Feb. 1622, 19 James I., at ye Departure of the Embassadors fr. ye k. of Spain & Archduchess of Austria, who had been entertained in Trin. Coll. during their stay in ye univ., where they were created A M.; in Latin printed among, 'True copies of all ye Latin Orations made at Cambr. by ye, Vice Chancellor and others, &c. Lond. 4°. 1623.'" The Oration is given below. As it could not be obtained in this country, the present writer procured a transcript of it from the Bodleian Library, in the University of Oxford, England. There is a translation into English of the oration; but whether it was made by the author, or by another, does not appear. The style as well as the date shows that it belongs to the epoch at which the original was delivered. Following this are certain Latin and Greek poems composed by Mr. Chauncy while residing in Cambridge, England. As these could not be obtained in this country, the present writer obtained transcripts of them from the British Museum in London. Oratio Valedictoria habita coram Dominis Legatis in Collegio Sanctæ et Individuæ Trinitatis, in presentia Doctorum, per CAROLUM CHAUNCY, Mag. Art. et Socium illius Collegii 27 Febr. 1622. Viri Illustrissimi. Summo cum studio, et perquàm gratâ recordatione nunquàm non agnoscemus humanitatem Vestram, quibus (ut ex adventu vestro etiam iterato conijcimus) pro judicii vestri candore placuit, nostras esse aliquid putare nugas: neque nostram verò lætitiam, quæ non arctissimis pectoris angustiis circumscribi potest, celare volumus qui in hisce Musarum ædibus, per se quidem si spectentur satis spatiosis, sed si cum vestrà Amplitudine conferantur sane perexiquis, in his inquam Musarum ædibus, quasi maxima quædam in minimo, tantos Heroes hospitio exceptimus: qui Senatum Populumque Musarum tali coronâ donatum et decoratum vidimus, vel Alexandri diademati præferendâ. Sed quid de coronâ verba facio? in cœlo profectò se quis esse suspicetur, qui tot luminibus, et quasi stellis Nobilitatis, sapientiæ, fortitudinis se undiquaque cinctum conspicetur. Et certè quàm hoc unum spectârunt modò cogitationes nostræ, ut concentu nostro, velut harmoniâ cælorum Pythagoricâ, quæ in aures vestras suavitèr influeret, ita animos vestros permulcere, ita sensus vestros καὶ ἰδίσμασι καὶ ἐδέσμασι pascere possemus, ut Vestra etiam Celsitudo in cœlo esse videretur? Verùm orbes illi cælestes, ut vlocissimè moveantur, tamen mensis saltem unius, aut anni, aut plurium annorum spatium requirunt, ut circulum suum et harmoniam possunt conficere: quantò minùs ab orbiculo (ut ita loquar) Academico in hoc vestræ apud nos commorationis biduo tantum negotium expectare potuistis? Quamobrem id à Vestris Clementiis summopere contendimus (Viri Inclytissimi) ut siquâ in re ingrato aliquo et injucundo sono vestras aures offendimus, errata saltem leviora velo humanitatis Vestræ contegatis: neque ex imberbis juventutis laboribus, quos persepistis, vel de Cantabrigiæ, vel de Collegii istius dignitate judicetis, sed cogitate potius quanta sit horum gravissimorum virorum facundia, et quasi Mada Medulla, quanta in suggestis et pulpitis fulminatio, quàm mira in disputationibus Theologicis subtilitas, et quam invictum robur! illos si audivissetis nulla hæc fuisset veniæ deprecatio, illos si audivissetis vel Autarchi ipsius judicium non detrectàssemus: verùm ut se res habent, humillimè coram indulgentiæ Vestræ genibus procumbit Oratio nostra. Sed et alia etiam nos urget infelicitas, quòd tam subitò tantorum virorum consortio, vel potius præsidio carendum sit: nam nihil mirum videatur, si, cum Vestras Excellentias, velut radios à sole in speculum transmissos recepimus, radiis tam fulgentibus ad Solem, id est, Regem Præclarrissimum recollectis, atra nos doloris caligio et obscuritas involvat; nihil mirum, inquam, videatur, si, cum Vestras Excellentias, velet sanguinem purissimum, et spiritus vitales diffusos à corde ad cerebrum, id est à Serenissimo Rege ad Academiam, intromissimus, si spiritibus ad cor ipsum remeantibus, nos in subitum pallorem, squalorem, et abuμiar incidamus. Sed unicum hoc nobis solatium superest, quòd relictâ Atheniensium arce pulcherrimâ radii ad Solem, id est, cœli, se recipiant; et quòd deserto cerebro spiritus vitales ad ipsum cor, et Solem hujus Microcosmi, Augustissimum nempe Jacobum, revertantur: illius Majestas verè Regia, incredibilis prudentia, et stupenda planè in Principe eruditio, facilè supplere possunt, si quid in Academiâ defuit : illi igitur, velut Academiarum omnium quotquot sunt in Christiano orbe epitome, et compendio, vel potiùs alteri Academiæ cuidam maximæ et florentissimæ vos jam restituendos esse, solidum gaudemus gaudium ; et quod superest (Heroes Nobilissimi) Vestræ Celsitudini iter faustum, cœlum propitium, fœlices nobis omnibus in Vestris tanti momenti negotiis comprecamur, Deumque impensi rogamus, ut Dominationes Vestras ad Reip. Christianæ emolumentum, et Ecclesiæ totius militantis incolumitatem et tutamentum benignè conservet, ac tueatur. SPECIMENS OF POETRY. GRATULATIO ACADEMIE CANTABRIGIENSIS IN REDITUM ILLUST. Caroli WALLIE PRINCIPIS. 4°. CANT. 1623. Æn. 6. En. 8. Geor. 4. Gratulor, haud cantare tuum volo, Carole Princeps, En. 5. Æn. 7. En. 6. En. 12. Æn. 12. Geor. 4. Ecl. 5. Quis dubitet? Nam *hinc ille avium concentus in agris. Geor. 1. Æn. 8. Æn. 1. 2. En. 1. Æn. 4. Ecl. 10. Æn. 5. Æn. 7. Æn. 6. Æn. 12. Æn. 12. En. 6. En. 7. En. 7. Æn. 3 Geor. 3. Carole *avis atavisque potens, *lumenque juventæ ; In the signature c. c. c. P. we have Charles Chauncy to prince Charles. |