Project Canterbury
The Life of Ambrose Bonwicke,
by his Father.Cambridge: Deighton, Bell, and Co. 1870.
[pp 18-26]
Just before he left Headley, he had by his dear mother’s direction, transcribed into one of the spare leaves in his Officium Eucharisticum, a short prayer for a student, out of Dr. Patrick’s book of Devotions for Families, &c. And as soon as his books were arrived, he betook himself heartily to his studies, and pursued them in spight of the Sturbridge fair, which made most of the other students idle, and by that means deprived him (for want of auditors) of those lectures and instructions of his tutor, which would have been more grateful to him than any of the diversions of that season.
And from that time he followed his studies so close, that in the space of eleven months he had read over all Dionysius’s Periegesis, the Oxford edition; Virgil to the ninth book of the Aeneis; all Aelian’s Varia Historia, as it is printed for the use of the Eton school; all Terence, fifty Hebrew Psalms, a great part of Seneca the philosopher, all Burgersdicius’s Logic, all the Fasciculus praeceptorum logicorum, Oxon., and half another logic book; all Bussiere’s Flosculi historici, all Pindar’s Olympic odes, and the four first of the Pythian, the lives of the first three emperors in Suetonius, five books of Pliny’s epistles, the dialogue De Oratoribus, by some ascribed to Quintilian, by others to Tacitus; the first book of Ascham’s epistles, the first volume of Plutarch’s lives, the first volume of my lord Clarendon’s history, and some other books; and this not hastily or perfunctorily, but he made his observations as he read them, and transcribed excerpta out of several of them into his adversaria. Besides these, on holy-days he read books of piety, and on Sundays no other, having in the forementioned space of eleven months read all Thomas a Kempis de imitatione Christi, The Whole Duty of Man, some pieces of Kettlewell, Brome of Fasting, almost all Nelson’s Festivals and Fasts, a book that he had a great value for, and which he quickly purchased after his arrival at St. John’s; besides several chapters in the Greek Testament, and other parts of the Holy Bible.
He had moreover translated into English a Latin sermon of Doctor Henry Byam’s, preached before the clergy at Exeter, at the triennial visitation for Doctor Joseph Hall, Bishop of Exon; and Erpenius’s Epistle to the reader before his edition of Ringelbergius, and Erasmus de ratione studii; had made four and twenty Greek or Latin themes, eighteen copies of Latin verses, with some Greek, three Latin epistles, and three epitomes, one of which was of the first part of Eustatius’s Ethics, and transcribed into a paper book among his other exercises, but the other two do not appear. Besides all this, his practice was for his improvement in the Greek tongue, to take the Latin translation of an author, either prose or verse, and turn it himself into Greek, either prose or verse; and dividing his paper book into two columns, in one of them he writ his own version, and in the other the author, that so he might see wherein he fell short of the original. And thus had he in the aforesaid space of eleven months imitated a hundred verses of Theognis, four epigrams of Theocritus, and eleven dialogues of Mr. Leedes’s Lucian, from the beginning in order, omitting only the eighth and the tenth, (which he had done before he came to the university) and concluding with the thirteenth. And all this, notwithstanding his constant attendance on all the exercise of the house, and his tutor’s private lectures. But he was an excellent husband of his time, rising often at four o’ th’ clock, and sometimes earlier, very rarely exceeding six, and that only when the college prayers were later than ordinary; and never, if he was well, going to bed till near ten. Quickly after his settlement at St. John’s he fixed to himself a weekly course of study, as appears from a letter he writ to his father Sept. 14, of that year 1710.
"My tutor (says he) did not talk to me about a method, &c. as I hear is customary; but I have (thinking it convenient) proposed to my self one, viz. on Tuesdays and Thursdays all day, and Saturday mornings, which are our logic-lecture days, to read logic only, as being what I most need; Monday mornings Greek prose, chiefly Hierocles, as being read at lecture after dinner: when that’s done, the rest of the afternoon I intend to turn the translation of a Greek author, prose and verse, by turns into Greek; Wednesday morning Latin prose, afternoon Latin verse; Friday morning Greek verse, afternoon Hebrew; Saturday afternoon Hebrew, and holy duties. If you think fit to make any additions or alterations, pray send ’em. I think also to make what he calls a commonplace-book, in which to write observations."
Within less than a quarter of a year after his coming he was chosen scholar of he house, and the very worthy master, Doctor Gower, told him ’twas his regular and good behaviour that got him that preferment, and was the likeliest means to get him more. On this occasion a very worthy member of that house wrote thus to his father.
"Nov. 16, 1710.
"Rev. Sir,"I wish I had been in St. John’s to have received you when you brought your son, who I am glad gives us so very good hopes of his being a credit to the society. He brought me your kind letter the day after the election was over, and found me very ready to give him joy of his success, which was better than his tutor and I first expected. He is chosen into a scholarship, the value of which will be, while corn holds a good price, pretty considerable, and was this last year to his predecessor more than double the value of the exhibition he was to have had, which I presume Mr. Anstey told you was five pounds. Himself nor his tutor may have given you some account of it already, but might not be able to give you so exactly the value of it. His exhibition would have lasted no longer than till he is batchelor of arts, but his scholarship till master; and I pray God preserve him to enjoy this favour of the college till he both deserves and receives greater. I gave Mr. Roper your service, who joins in the return of his to you with,
Rev. Sir,
Your most faithful
Humble Servant,
THO. BROWNE.Upon this good success our pious youth did not sacrifice to his net, or burn incense to his drag, but gave the glory of it to God alone. For thus he prefaces the account he gave his father of it: "I have told you how God has delivered me from trouble: I am now to let you know with what great mercies he has bless’d me." And concludes all thus: "I doubt not but you’ll join with me in praying to God to enable me to keep the favour of the master, which by his blessing I have thus signally gain’d."
His first and greatest concern after this, was to keep the oath (of observing the statues of the college) which he had taken when he was admitted scholar. And understanding that some of these were grown into disuses, "so that it would be ridiculous to him, nay perhaps to the disturbance of the peace of the college, to pretend to observe them; I begun (says he) to doubt whether I could perform my oath, and at the same time comply with the customs of the college; and whether, to keep a good conscience though with the loss of all my preferment here, I was not immediately to quit my scholarship at least, if not the college. On the other hand I could not think that, if the governing part and whole college should annul a law by their practice, one single scholar was obliged to observe it."
"However I could not be free (considering the dreadful guilt of the most heinous sin of perjury) from some doubts and scruples, and therefore made haste to wait on my good friend Mr. R. that I might know his sentiments. He, I thank God, has settled my mind, and freed me pretty well from my scruples. But it being a matter of the greatest importance to have one’s conscience quiet and at ease, I would, when you have leisure and opportunity, beg your opinion of the case, whether being ready, whenever my superiors shall require it, to perform every article of the statutes that concerns me, or suffer the punishment they shall think fit to inflict; and performing to the best of my power, whatever I can presume they would have me do, or punish me for not doing; and avoiding whatever they would have me not do, or would punish me if they knew I did, and observing whatever else I conveniently can; and being also sorry that all required by the statutes is not to be performed, I faithfully perform my oath, and can with a good conscience acquit my self of perjury. And whether by the words (faciam ab aliis observari) which are part of the oath, I am obliged to tell lads continually their duty as far as I know it, and also to inform against transgressors."
To which I find this answer returned by his father: "I know not how to express my great obligations to Mr. R., particularly from his freeing you from your scruples about the statutes, which thing, no doubt, he has well consider’d, and therefore is best able to give you satisfaction. I herewith send you our university statutes, in the 195 page whereof you have this matter resolved. The resolution indeed has not the same authority in respect of your statutes that it has of ours, but I think the reason is the same for both. ’Tis the governing part of the college that must answer for the neglect of any statute, the main business of the juniors, and what I suppose is often enjoyn’d ’em in those very statutes; being obedience: and what you resolve upon in discharge of your oath, is I believe as much as the foundress her self, if she were alive, would require of you. It is out of your province to attempt a reformation, and would be an affront to your governors: and the [faciam ab aliis observari] can never be meant to oblige you to oppose them. I bless God for his extraordinary grace to you in giving you so conscientious a regard to oaths, which I doubt are generally too much disregarded in both universities; of which the sad affects are too visible all over the nation." In his next to his father he thus expresses himself: "I return you many thanks, and praise God that I am by yours, and good Mr. R.’s assistance, now so well satisfied in a matter of such importance."