In the catalogues of Worcester, Pembroke, Oriel, Merton, Jesus, St. John's, Hertford, Lincoln, Trinity, Brasen Nose, Magdalen Hall, and Edmund Hall, there is no reference to any work of Bellendenus. Corpus has only his book de tribus luminibus, fol. Par. 1633. All Souls has both this edition and that of 1634, whose title runs thus, "Gulielmi Bellendeni, Scoti, Magistri supplicum libellorum augusti Regis Magnæ Britanniæ, de iii. luminibus Romanorum libri xvi. Par. 1634. apud Tussanum du Bray," &c. In All Souls' Library I also find the following, “Gulielmi Bellendeni De Statu libri tres. I. De statu prisci orbis in religione, re politica, et literis. II. Ciceronis Princeps, sive de statu principis et imperii. III. Ciceronis Consul, Senator, Senatusque Romanus; sive de statu reipublicæ, et urbis imperantis orbi. Primus nunc primum editus, cæteri, cum tractatu de processu et scriptoribus rei politicæ, ab autore aucti, et illustrati. Parisiis, 1615. I will now transcribe the title-page of the Ciceronis princeps in the Bodleian: "Ciceronis princeps rationes et consilia bene gerendi firmandique imperii; ex iis repetita quæ ex Ciceronianis defluxere fontibus in libros xvI. de statu rerum Romanarum, qui nondum lucem acceperunt. Parisiis, apud Carolum Chappelain, via amygdalina, sub signo beatæ Mariæ. This, Sir, is the whole of the information which I have been able to obtain at the several Libraries, all of which have now been carefully examined. But, perhaps, it may not be improper to send you the following extract, which I made the other day, from page 193 of the first Vol, of the Supplement to the Bibliotheca librorum rariorum universalis, 4 vols. 8vo. Nuremberg, 1770. The Supplement consists of two volumes, Bellendeni (Guil.) Ciceronis Consul, Senator, Senatusque Romanus. Paris. 1612, 8vo.-de Statu Libri iii. videlicet, (1.) de statu prisci orbis in religione, re politica, et literis. (2.) Ciceronis princeps, seu de statu principis et imperii. (3.) Ciceronis Consul, Senator, &c. Libri rari. Widekind, p. 363. In the Bibliotheca itself, Vol. I. p. 63, there is a reference only to Bellendenus de tribus luminibus, &c. Par. 1633. I must now do the Professor the justice to say, that with respect to regularity, and, I believe, economy, he is certainly much altered for the better. He has almost totally declined going out into company, and is constant in his attendance on Chapel and Hall. Abdollatiph is printing, though slowly. With respect to the Preface and Notes, I am not without great apprehensions, and, I suspect, that he spends more time on new, and perhaps impracticable projects, than in preparations for finishing that accursed book, which, if published, will, I fear do him, and Arabic literature, but little credit; and, if suffered to remain unpublished, must inevitably overwhelm him with disgrace and ruin. And now, believe me, dear Sir, I do not use the language of unmeaning compliment, when I assure you that I am, with the warmest wishes for your happiness through the year on which we have just entered, and through a long succession of years, your most faithful and obedient servant, J. PARSONS. DEAR SIR, Balliol College, June 25, 1787. The Professor has given me the most solemn assurances that he has written to secure a place in the Critical Review; and that he has at last answered your letters satisfactorily. The book to which you allude came safe to hand; I am greatly obliged to you for so valuable a present, for most highly have I been delighted with the elegance of expression, the unrivalled fertility of allusion, and depth of erudition displayed in every page of the preface. Mr. White has communicated to me the papers which you sent him relative to this subject; the present month is, I fear, too far advanced, but I pledge myself to take care that an account of the work be drawn up and forwarded in due time for insertion next month. This morning I called on Mr. Kett; he desires his best respects to you, and begs me to inform you, that he has delayed sending the papers about which you inquire, only because he intended to deliver them to you in person at Hatton. He promises, however, now to send you, as soon as possible, a transcript of Uri's manuscript preface, of the French letter, and of the state of his case. I have desired White to send me his copy of the Catalogue; and will, in a short time, trans mit to you a copy of the Delegates' preface, an account of the mechanical part of the work, and of the number of manuscripts, together with some specimens of the manner in which the work is executed. In the mean time I remain, with great respect, dear Sir, Your most faithful and obedient servant, J. PARSONS. SIR, All Saints', Colchester, Dec. 5, 1798. If I have too long delayed to acknowledge your obliging letter, you will not, I hope, think me insensible to the very kind and flattering sentiments it expresses in my favour; the truth is, that my time has, for the last fortnight, been much occupied, and it is not till since my return hither that I have enjoyed any thing like an hour's leisure. Most sincerely do I thank you for your congratulations on an event of the utmost importance to my interests, and fortunate beyond my most sanguine expectations. My advancement to so respectable a situation cannot but be highly gratifying to me, especially as it recalls me to Oxford, a place strongly endeared to me both by habit and by reflection; by the influence of early prejudice and the recollection of many valuable friendships, which my removal from it had necessarily interrupted. I am, Sir, very truly your most obliged and obedient servant, J. PARSONS. DEAR SIR, Balliol College, Dec. 4, 1813. On my return hither last night from our audit at Bristol, I found your obliging letter of November 23d lying on my table. I beg leave to assure you, therefore, that I now embrace the earliest opportunity in my power to thank you very sincerely for your kind congratulations and very friendly wishes on the occasion of my late promotion. I know not at present how soon I shall be sufficiently invested with my new character to give legal effect to any act of episcopal authority. I am thoroughly aware that the circumstances of the present moment render it peculiarly necessary, that the functions of my office should be suspended only for as short a period as possible; and I am doing every thing, which depends on myself, to accelerate the completion of the business. In the mean time, I shall be happy to receive from you the necessary documents required by law on such occasions, and to give the earliest attention to the subject. I am, dear Sir, your obliged and faithful humble servant, J. PETERBOROUGH. E. MY DEAR SIR, Balliol College, Nov. 15, 1817. I thank you very sincerely for your very kind and obliging offer of a copy of Mr. O'Callaghan's work, which I have never yet had the good fortune to see, though I have more than once heard it spoken of in terms of approbation, exactly according with those employed in your letter. You say nothing respecting your own health; I trust, therefore, that I may safely infer it to be at least tolerably good. I am too frequently annoyed by the attacks of my old enemy, and I awoke but yesterday morning with one hand completely disabled; luckily, however, it was the left hand. Believe me to be very truly, my dear Sir, your much obliged and faithful humble servant, J. PETERBOROUGH. Dr. Bathurst, Bishop of Norwich, to Dr. Parr. DEAR DR. PARR, Norwich, Nov. 2, 1812. The verses delight me; in addition to an uncommon portion of classical taste, the "acer spiritus et vis" of a genuine Poet, breathe through every line. A mind like yours will very readily believe, that the reception I met with in Ireland gave me a more heartfelt pleasure than that which the mere gratification of vanity can afford, because, "non plausum illum, sed judicium putat ;" and I am the more disposed to think so in consequence of the sentiments which you are so good as to express upon the subject. If so just a cause, advocated by such men as Lord Grey and Lord Grenville, do not succeed at the next meeting of Parliament, I am at a loss to say whether my surprise or my vexation will be greater. Adieu! Believe me, dear Sir, sincerely yours, H. NORWICH. DEAR DR. PARR, London, Feb. 8, 1815. I consider a request from you as equivalent to a command; and though an application from two Whigs to so incorrigible a Tory as Lord S-, is not likely to be received with any particular partiality, yet, he cannot but feel disposed to admire and encourage your praiseworthy zeal in the cause of literature, whatever opinion he may entertain of your still more laudable zeal in defence of civil and religious liberty. Convinced of this, I will not fail to mention the subject of your letter to him as soon as ever he comes to town. Adieu! Believe me with real respect and affection, yours, &c. &c. H. NORWICH. Dr. C. J. Blomfield, Bishop of Chester, MY DEAR SIR, to Dr. Parr. Chesterford, Nov. 12, 1819. Your letter dated October 28th having been directed to Chesterfield, did not reach me until yesterday; I need hardly say with how much pleasure I received so flattering a testimony of your good opinion. If the approbation of one real scholar and critic has been at all times an ample recompence for the labour which I have bestowed on the investigation of truth, whether in theology or classical literature, I must of course experience a more than ordinary degree of satisfaction, in receiving so honourable and so cordial an expression of commendation from the profoundest scholar, and most sagacious critic of the age. With regard to my Dissertation, I aimed at no other praise than that of setting the question in a clear point of view, and of bringing forward some features of the case, which had been altogether unnoticed, or but slightly adverted to, by former writers. Where so much of the discussion necessarily depends upon inductive reasoning, I would neither lay too great a stress upon the position itself, nor upon the arguments by which I have endeavoured to maintain it; especially as the decision does not |