and in 1766 one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state; but he resigned not long after, and continued in opposition till 1782, when he again came into power as the head of the Shelburne party, and introduced Mr. Pitt as chancellor of the exchequer. This administration concluded a long and unpopular war; but their stay in office was but short, giving way to the coalition of North and Fox, with their respective friends. From that time his lordship has continued perfectly independent of all parties, though generally voting against mi nisters. About the time of his resignation he was created Marquis of Lansdowne. He was accounted a man of deep talents, but very reserved in his disposition, His first lady was the daughter of the late, Earl Granville, by whom he had one son, who succeeds him in the title. By his second wife, Lady Louisa Fitzpatrick, he had another son, Lord Henry Petty, now a member of parliament. At Sunderland, in the 62d year of his age, the Rev. WILLIAM PALEY, D. D. archdeacon of Carlisle, subdean of Lincoln, and rector of Bishop Wearmouth, Durham. The works of this divine are so well known in the literary world, and their merit so universally acknowleged, that it is unnecessary for us to enumerate them. As a preacher, whatever was the subject he selected, he never failed to place it in a new point of view. His sermons were not recommended by a splendid and oratorical style, and his manner of delivering them, though impressive, was not graceful; but they contained something so original and terse, so satisfactory and instructive, that they never failed to engage the attention and excite the admiration of his hearers. He did not preach to men of learn ing alone; he had the happy art of familiarizing the most difficult points, and presenting his ideas in a form which was interesting to the highest capacity, and intelligible to the meanest. He was born at Pe terborough in 1742, and his remains will be interred at Carlisle. Aged 76, the Rev. John Hoskyns Abraham, thirty-four years rector of Compton Martin cum Nemphett, Somersetshire. The Rev. Richard Watkins, rector of Rock, in Worcestershire. The Rev. Thomas Clark, prebendary of Exeter. In Lamb's Conduit Street, the Rev. John Skynner, rector of Easton, Northamptonshire. At Grayrigg, near Kendal, in Westmoreland, aged 90, the Rev. John Hastewell, who had been sixty years incumbent of that parish. The Rev. John Waller, above forty years curate of Ingleton, in Yorkshire. Near Benares, in the East Indies, the Rev. Donald M'Kinnon, D. D, vicar of Claybrook,in Leicestershire. Aged 95, the Rev. Daniel Hill, vicar of East Malling, in Kent. At his house in Hamilton Street, Piccadilly, in his 90th year, Richard Smallbroke, L.L. D. The duties of his office as chancellor of the diocese of Lichfield, which he held for the long period of sixtyfour years, he discharged with sound judgment, and inflexible integrity. He was the son of Dr. Smallbroke, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, well known for his de fence of the miracles of our Saviour against Woolston. Dr. Smallbroke is succeeded in the chancel lorship by his nephew, Dr. Vyse, canon residentiary of Lichfield. TO CORRESPONDENTS. The favours of our Correspondents in the west signed "A Trinitarian," &c. will appear in our next. The Biographical article promised by " A Kentish Curate," will be very acceptable. We are persuaded that to confine our Obituary exclusively to the deaths of Clergymen, would not be generally satisfac tory to our readers; and we think it would be unjust to omit mentioning persons of distinction, merely because they were laymen. Philalethes; the Essay on the Natural History of the Bible, Ecclesias tical preferments and other articles are necessarily deferred for want of room. THE ORTHODOX CHURCHMAN'S MAGAZINE AND REVIEW, FOR JUNE 1805. To what purpose did God institute a Government, if the resolutions there. of must be suspended, till every one is satisfied with them; or if its State must be altered so often as any man cun pick in it matter of offence or dislike; or if the proceedings thereof must be shaped according to the numberless varieties of different and repugnant fancies. BIOGRAPHY. Dr. I. BARROW. THE LIFE OF ST. ATHANASIUS. T. ATHANASIUS, surnamed the GREAT, was born St Alexandria about the end of the third century, of parents who are said to have been eminently remarkable on account of their piety and virtue. His extraordinary abilities, even in his early days caused him to be taken so much notice of by Alexander, bishop of the place above-mentioned, that he first made him one of his own family, appointed him his secretary, and afterwards ordained him to be one of his deacons. : On the rise of the Arian controversy he displayed the greatness of his capacity in the various conflicts which he had with the abettors of those impious notions, and particularly when they came to be examined in the famous council of Nice, where the superiority of his genius appeared so manifest, that it drew upon him the irreconcileable enmity of the leaders of that party, and caused them to study every method to disquiet him, even to his dying day. On the death of Alexander, he was, by the unanimous consent of the people, appointed his successor in the see abovementioned, in which station he behaved with great prudence and fidelity, carefully attending to the concerns of those committed to his charge. But the restless malice of the Arian faction continually pursuing Vol. VIII. Churchm. Mag. June 1805. 3-F him, him, they accused him to the emperor of sundry pretended misdemeanors, and particularly of treason, as having, according to them, sent a cabinet full of gold to a person named Philumenus, on purpose to enable him to usurp the government. In consequence of these calumnies he was obliged to appear at Psammathia, in or der to justify himself; which he did so effectually, that his enemies were put to shame, and himself was honourably dismissed by the emperor, who gave him a letter to his own people, in testimony of his innocence. His adversaries being thus disappointed, and yet unwilling to desist from the prosecution of their malicious designs, they next combined together to charge him, among other particulars, with murdering a Melitian bishop, named Arsenius, and cutting off one of his hands; and to make this appear with the greater shew of reason, they first prevailed upon the said Arsenius to secrete himself in Egypt, and then procured a dead man's hand, in order to produce as evidence against Athanasius at a synod, which they had caused to be packed at Tyre. But, by the good providence of God, it came to pass, that some of the friends of this good bishop having discovered that Arse nius was come to Tyre (being tempted thither by curiosity) they procured him to be seized, and kept in secret custody till the trial came on, at which time, when the charge abovementioned was exhibited against Athanasius with great confidence, he ordered Arsenius to be brought into court, and asked the judges, whether any of them knew the person of whose murder he stood accused of? This being answered in the affirmative, he immediately compelled him to appear, and shew them both his hands, to the utter confusion of his enemies, "Is this, said he, the man whom I stand charged with murdering, and afterwards cutting off one of his hands? See, he has them both, and where the third was, which I cut off, I leave to my accusers to discover." The council having met again to consider of other matters, and Athanasius finding that his adversaries were determined, if possible, to wreak their malice upon him, either by an unjust sentence or private murder, he departed privately from Tyre, and went to Constantinople; which the synod being informed of, they immediately deprived him of his bishopric, and restored the Arians again to communion. The emperor Constantine being made acquainted with their proceedings, he summoned the the members of this synod to appear before him, who perceiving that their perfidious dealings were discovered, in order to screen themselves from the emperor's displeasure, they exhibited a fresh accusation against Athanasius, namely, that he had threatened to stop the trans portation of corn from Egypt to Constantinople. This was intirely false, though it had its desired effect, for the emperor being highly incensed hereat, according to some,, he banished him to Triers in France, though others assert (and among them the emperor Constantine the younger) that his real motive for so doing was to prevent his falling a sacrifice to the malice of his enemies. After Athanasius had continued about a year and a half at the lastmentioned place, the emperor Constantine departed this life, whereupon his eldest son, who governed the western part of the empire, immediately restored this venerable sufferer to the possession of his bishopric, of which he had been so unjustly deprived, and at his departure for Alexandria, he gave him a letter to the fol lowing purport: 56 . Constantine Cæsar to the people of Alexandria. " [ suppose you are not ignorant that Athanasius was sent into Gaul for a time, lest the fierceness of his bloody enemies might bring incurable mischief upon him, to prevent which he was sent out of the reach of those who had designs upon his life, and was commanded to remain under my jurisdiction, that so in this city he might be furnished with all necessary accommodations; though such is his incomparable virtue, that he made light of his afflicted fortune: now, for as much as our father was fully resolved to restore him to his bishopric, but was prevented by death from so doing; I thought myself concerned to fulfil such his intention, and with how much respect and reverence he has been treated by us, himself at his arrival among you will particularly declare. Dated at Triers, the 15th of the calends of June." Athanasius being furnished with this letter, he returned to Alexandria, and entered immediately on the discharge of his duty. He was received by his people, of all ranks and degrees, with every imaginable expression of joy and gladness, which gave no small mortification to his Arian adversaries, who did not suffer him to be long at peace. Having gained over to their opinion the enperor Constantius, the empress, and several great men of the court, they raised fresh tumults, and insinnated to the emperor, that, notwithstanding he had been synodically deposed, he had taken upon him to return to the exercise of his office, without a sentence of absolution, which he ought first to have obtained: they charged him moreover with having been the cause of much slaughter' and bloodshed, and, having convened another synod of their confederates at Antioch, they deposed him once more, and appointed one Gregory, an Arian, to supply his place. Athanasius being made acquainted with their proceedings; departed from Alexandria, and went to Rome, where Julius, who was then bishop of that city, assembled a council, in order to examine his case. The members of this assembly pronounced him innocent of the crimes laid against him, and ordered him to be again restored to his charge. But, notwithstanding this, the Arians having the civil power on their side at Alexandria, He was obliged to continue at Rome for some years, and, daring the time of his absence, the Arian faction at the place beforementioned exercised their cruelty on their opposers in a most dreadful manner, killing, wounding, whipping, and imprisoning, all who came in their way, without any respect either to sex or age; and this for no other reason, but because they would not join with them in their impious communion. Things being in this confusion, the emperor Constans was prevailed upon by Athanasius to call a general council, which accordingly met at Sardica, a city of Illyricum, in the year 347. This synod entered on a very careful examination of the affairs of Athanasius, whom they pronounced intirely innocent of all the pretended crimes which had been alledged against him, and appointed him, once more, to the possession of his bishopric, of which they declared him unjustly deprived; and Constans warmly espousing his cause, he informed his brother Constantins, that unless he would permit him, and such other bishops as the Arians had deposed, to return to their respective sees, he would employ the whole force of his government in order to put them in possession of what they had been so inju riously deprived of. Constantius being intimidated with this threatening, he sent three several letters to Athanasius, in each of which he kindly invited him to return to Alexandra, and granted him, at the same time, the use of the public carriages, in order to his more speedy conveyance to Antioch, where that emperor then kept |