51.
JOHN HALES.
‘The Ever Memorable Mr. John Hales, of Eaton-Colledge.’
Born 1584. Died 1656.
By CLARENDON.
M’r John Hales, had bene Greeke Professor in the University of Oxforde, and had borne all[1] the labour of that excellent edition and impressyon of S’t Chrisostomes workes, sett out by S’r Harry Savill, who was then Warden of Merton Colledge, when the other was fellow of that house. He was Chaplyne in the house with S’r Dudly Carleton Ambassador at the Hague in Hollande, at the tyme when the Synod of Dorte was held, and so had liberty to be present at the consultations in that assembly, and hath left the best memoriall behinde him, of the ignorance and passyon and animosity and injustice of that Convention, of which he often made very pleasant relations, though at that tyme it receaved to much countenance from Englande. Beinge a person of the greatest eminency for learninge and other abilityes, from which he might have promised himselfe any preferment in the Church, he withdrew himselfe from all pursuites of that kinde into a private fellowshipp in the Colledge of Eton, wher his frende S’r Harry Savill was Provost, wher he lyved amongst his bookes, and the most separated from the worlde of any man then livinge, though he was not in the least degree inclined to melancholique, but on the contrary of a very open and pleasant conversation, and therfore was very well pleased with the resorte of his frends to him, who were such as he had chosen, and in whose company he delighted, and for whose sake he would sometymes, once in a yeere, resorte to London, only to injoy ther cheerefull conversation.