John Smith was one of the most important second- generation Cambridge Platonists to teach at that university during the Interregnum period. It is unfortunate that he died at an early age, for his one, posthumously published work reveals a keen discerning intellect.

Little is known about his life. Smith was born in 1618 near Oundle in Northhamptonshire. In the funeral sermon that Simon Patrick preached for Smith he remarks that Smith's parents were elderly and had long been childless before his birth. In April 1636 he entered as a pensioner at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he studied under the tutorship of Benjamin Whichcote, who not only directed his studies but also apparently supported him financially. Although Emmanuel was the leading Puritan college at the time, Smith was encouraged by Whichcote to develop a nonauthoritarian, philosophical theology. After proceeding B.A. in 1640 and M.A. in 1644 Smith was approved by the...