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Article REVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS. ← Page 2 of 6 →
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Reviews Of New Books.
by those ancient seats of learning where the solemn church , the stately hall , and the embellished depositories of the wisdom of past ages , have been reared with pious feeling , and endowed by the gratitude of those who became , walking in the paths of duty and honour , rich in this world ' s wealth . How much of England ' s greatness has been nurtured in these magnificent seats of academic glory , and matured amidst the congenial repose of their groves and gardens !
" The second section of the work is devoted to Anecdote Biographies , or sketches of the early lives — the school and college days —of eminent men who , by their genius , learning , and character , have shed lustre upon their name and country . In these brief memoirs I have recorded the incidents of their birth , boyhood , and education , until they have entered upon the worldwide field of action .
'' That by narrating the circumstances Trader which these eminent men have severally reached their excellence — that the number and variety of suggestive points in this volume may exercise a beneficial influence , and not only interest the reader ,, but induce him to emulate their examples , —is the sincere wish of the author . " We can bear a willing and ^ trathful testimony to the conscientiousness with which Mr . Timbs has discharged his seijWniposed duty , and we cordially recommend the work to the attention of all our readers . As a specimen of Mr . Timbs ' s " Anecdote Biographies " as he styles them , we subjoin two relating to Brethren , who , in opposite spheres have each cast a lustre upon our Craft , though we by no means consider them the best in the volume : —
"• SIB CHRISTOPHEE WEEN AT WESTMINSTER AND OXFORD . "Thousands of the indwellers of the capital which Sir Christopher Wren has adorned with no fewer than forty public buildings , are , probably , unacquainted with the extent and variety of the abilities and acquirements of this great architect and excellent man . Seldom has the promise of youth been well redeemed as in Wren . He was born in 1632 , at East Knoyle , in Wiltshire , of which parish his father was then rector . He was a small and weakly child , whose rearing required much care . He was educated at home by his father
and a private tutor , Until he was placed under the special care of Dr . Busby . at Westminster School , having at the same time Dr . Holder as a mathematical tutor . Aubrey describes young Wren as ' a youth of prodigious inventive wit , ' of whom Holder ' was as tender as if he had been his own child , who gave him his first introduction into geometry and arithmetic ; and when he was a young scholar at the University of Oxford , was a very necessary and kind friend . ' The first-fruits of young Wren ' s inventive faculty was put forth in 1645 , in his thirteenth year , by the production of a new astronomical instrument , which he dedicated to his father with a dutiful Latin address , and eighteen hexameter verses . This invention was followed up by an exercise in physics , on the origin of rivers , and by the invention of a pneumatic engine , and a peculiar instrument in gnomonics . His mind ripened early into maturity and strength ; he loved the classics ; but mathematics and astronomy were from the first his favourite pursuits .
" In his fourteenth year , Wren was admitted as a gentleman commoner at Wadham College , Oxford , where , by his acquirements and inventions , he gained the friendship of Dr . Willdns , Seth Ward ( Bishop of Salisbury ) , Hooke , whom he assisted in his ' Micrographia , ' and other eminent scientific men , whose meeting * laid the foundation of the Royal Society . In his fifteenth year , he translated Oughtred ' s ' Geometrical Dialling' into Latin ; and about this time he made a reflecting dial for the ceiling of a room , embellished with figures representing astronomy and geometry , with their attributes , tastefully drawn with a pen . He next took out a patent for an instrument to write with two pens at the same time ; and he invented a weather-clock , and an instrument wherewith to write in the dark . " In 1654 , Evelyn visited Oxford , and went to All ^ Souls , where he says , ' I saw
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews Of New Books.
by those ancient seats of learning where the solemn church , the stately hall , and the embellished depositories of the wisdom of past ages , have been reared with pious feeling , and endowed by the gratitude of those who became , walking in the paths of duty and honour , rich in this world ' s wealth . How much of England ' s greatness has been nurtured in these magnificent seats of academic glory , and matured amidst the congenial repose of their groves and gardens !
" The second section of the work is devoted to Anecdote Biographies , or sketches of the early lives — the school and college days —of eminent men who , by their genius , learning , and character , have shed lustre upon their name and country . In these brief memoirs I have recorded the incidents of their birth , boyhood , and education , until they have entered upon the worldwide field of action .
'' That by narrating the circumstances Trader which these eminent men have severally reached their excellence — that the number and variety of suggestive points in this volume may exercise a beneficial influence , and not only interest the reader ,, but induce him to emulate their examples , —is the sincere wish of the author . " We can bear a willing and ^ trathful testimony to the conscientiousness with which Mr . Timbs has discharged his seijWniposed duty , and we cordially recommend the work to the attention of all our readers . As a specimen of Mr . Timbs ' s " Anecdote Biographies " as he styles them , we subjoin two relating to Brethren , who , in opposite spheres have each cast a lustre upon our Craft , though we by no means consider them the best in the volume : —
"• SIB CHRISTOPHEE WEEN AT WESTMINSTER AND OXFORD . "Thousands of the indwellers of the capital which Sir Christopher Wren has adorned with no fewer than forty public buildings , are , probably , unacquainted with the extent and variety of the abilities and acquirements of this great architect and excellent man . Seldom has the promise of youth been well redeemed as in Wren . He was born in 1632 , at East Knoyle , in Wiltshire , of which parish his father was then rector . He was a small and weakly child , whose rearing required much care . He was educated at home by his father
and a private tutor , Until he was placed under the special care of Dr . Busby . at Westminster School , having at the same time Dr . Holder as a mathematical tutor . Aubrey describes young Wren as ' a youth of prodigious inventive wit , ' of whom Holder ' was as tender as if he had been his own child , who gave him his first introduction into geometry and arithmetic ; and when he was a young scholar at the University of Oxford , was a very necessary and kind friend . ' The first-fruits of young Wren ' s inventive faculty was put forth in 1645 , in his thirteenth year , by the production of a new astronomical instrument , which he dedicated to his father with a dutiful Latin address , and eighteen hexameter verses . This invention was followed up by an exercise in physics , on the origin of rivers , and by the invention of a pneumatic engine , and a peculiar instrument in gnomonics . His mind ripened early into maturity and strength ; he loved the classics ; but mathematics and astronomy were from the first his favourite pursuits .
" In his fourteenth year , Wren was admitted as a gentleman commoner at Wadham College , Oxford , where , by his acquirements and inventions , he gained the friendship of Dr . Willdns , Seth Ward ( Bishop of Salisbury ) , Hooke , whom he assisted in his ' Micrographia , ' and other eminent scientific men , whose meeting * laid the foundation of the Royal Society . In his fifteenth year , he translated Oughtred ' s ' Geometrical Dialling' into Latin ; and about this time he made a reflecting dial for the ceiling of a room , embellished with figures representing astronomy and geometry , with their attributes , tastefully drawn with a pen . He next took out a patent for an instrument to write with two pens at the same time ; and he invented a weather-clock , and an instrument wherewith to write in the dark . " In 1654 , Evelyn visited Oxford , and went to All ^ Souls , where he says , ' I saw