thority and pretensions of his own church, and to strengthen the opinions of its adversaries.'

SIMONIDES, a Grecian poet, wit, and somewhat of a philosopher, was born in the 55th olympiad, or 558 B. C. and is said to have died in his ninetieth year. He was a native of Ceos, one of the Cyclades, in the neighbourhood of Attica, and became the preceptor of Pindar. Both Plato and Cicero speak of him, not only as a good poet and musician, but also as a man of wisdom and virtue. His lengthened life gave him an opportunity of knowing a great number of the first characters in antiquity, with whom he was in some measure connected. Fabricius informs us that he was contemporary, and in friendship with Pittacus of Mitylene, Hipparchus, tyrant of Athens, Pausanias, king of Sparta; Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse: also with Themistocles, and with Aleuades, king of Thessaly. Xenophon, in his dialogue upon tyranny, makes him one of the interlocutors. His famous answer to Hiero, as recorded by Cicero, has been often quoted as a proof, not only of his wisdom, but his piety. When Hiero asked of him a definition of God, he requested a day to consider of it; when this was expired, he doubled the time, and thus he did repeatedly, till the monarch desired to know his reason for this proceeding: "It is," said he, "because the longer I reflect on the question, the more difficult it appears to be."

In his old age, perhaps from seeing the respect which money procured to such as had lost the charms of youth, and the power of attaching mankind by other means, he became somewhat mercenary and avaricious. He was frequently employed by the victors at the games to write panegyrics and odes in their praise, before his pupil Pindar had exercised his talents in their behalf; but Simonides would never gratify their vanity in this particular, till he had first tied them down to a stipulated sum for his trouble: and, upon being upbraided for his meanness, he said that he had two coffers, in one of which he had, for many years, put his pecuniary rewards; the other was for honours, verbal thanks, and promises; that the first was pretty well filled, but the last remained always empty. And he made no scruple to confess, in his old age, that of all the enjoyments of life, the love of money was the only one of which time had not deprived him. He was of course frequently reproached with this vice, but always defended himself

1 Moreri.-Niceron, vol. I.-Dict. Hist.

with good humour. Upon being asked by Hiero's queen, whether it was most desirable to be learned or nich, be answered that it was far better to be rich; for the learned were always dependent on the rich, and waiting at their doors; whereas he never saw rich men at the doors of the learned. When he was accused of being so sordid as to sell part of the provisions with which his table was furnished by Hiero, he said he had done it, in order, "to display to the world the magnificence of that prince, and his own frugality." To others he said, that his reason for accumulating wealth was, that "he would rather leave money to his enemies, after death, than be troublesome to his friends when living."

He obtained the prize in poetry at the public games when he was eighty years old. According to Suidas, he added four letters to the Greek alphabet: and Pliny assigns to him the eighth string of the lyre; but these claims are disputed by the learned. Among the numerous poetical productions, of which, according to Fabricius, antiquity has made him the author, were his many songs of victory and triumph, for athletic conquerors at the public games. He is likewise said to have gained there, himself, the prize in elegiac poetry, when Eschylus was his competitor. His poetry was so tender and plaintive, that he acquired the cognomen of Meliceutes, i. e. sweet as honey, and the tearful eye of his muse was proverbial. Dr. Warton, who has an elegant paper in the ADVENTURER (No. 89) partly on the merits of this poet, remarks that he was celebrated by the ancients for the sweetness, correctness, and purity of his style, and his irresistible skill in moving the passions. Dionysius places him among those polished writers, who excel in a smooth volubility, and flow on, like plenteous and perennial rivers, in a course of even and uninterrupted harmony. Addison has an ingenious paper on Simonides' "Characters of Women," in the Spectator (No. 209). This considerable fragment of Simonides, preserved by Stobæus, was published in Greek by Kobler, at Gottingen, 1781, 8vo, and he also published the Latin only, in 1789, to which professor Heyne prefixed a letter on the condition of women in ancient Greece. Simonides's fragments of poetry are in Stephens's Pindar, 1560, and other editions of the ancient lyric poets.'

1 Fabric. Bibl. Græc.-Burney's Hist. of Music, vol. I.-Hist. de Simonide, by M. de Boissy, 1755, 8vo.-Saxii Onomast.

SIMPLICIUS, an ancient philosopher of the sixth century, was a native of Cilicia, a disciple of Ammonius, the peripatetic, and endeavoured to unite the Platonic and Stoic doctrines with the peripatetic. Distrusting his situation under the emperor Justinian, he went to Cosroes king of the Persians: but returned to Athens, after it had been stipulated in a truce between the Persians and the Romans, A. D. 549, that he and his friends should live quietly and securely upon what was their own, and not be compelled by the Christians to depart from the religion of their ancestors. From his wish to unite discordant sects, he is called by a modern (Peter Petit)" omnium veterum philosophorum coagulum." He wrote commentaries upon several of Aristotle's works, once thought to be valuable in themselves, but now consulted only for some curious fragments of ancient philosophers preserved in them. Of these there are three Aldine editions, 1526 and 1527. But, of all his productions, some of which are lost, at least unpublished, his "Commentary upon Epictetus" has obtained most reputation. Fabricius is of opinion, that there is nothing in Pagan antiquity better calculated to form the manners, or to give juster ideas of a Divine Providence. It has been several times printed in Greek and Latin, particularly at Leyden, 1639, in 4to, and at London, in 1670, in 8vo. Dacier published a French translation of it at Paris, 1715, 12mo; and Dr. George Stanhope an English one at London, 1704, 8vo.1

SIMPSON (EDWARD), a learned English divine, the son of Edward Simpson, rector of Tottenham, was born there in May 1578. His father taught him the rudiments of Latin, and when he had attained the age of fourteen, placed him at Westminster school, where he was under the celebrated Camden for four years, at the expiration of which, in 1596, he was elected to Trinity-college, Cambridge. In 1600 he took his degree of A. B. and next year was admitted fellow of his college. In 1603 he was admitted to his master's degree, and in 1610 to that of bachelor of divinity. In 1611 he went into the family of sir Moyle Finch, kut. of Kent, as chaplain, and remained four years in that station, until the death of his patron, whose funeral sermon he preached. He then returned to the university, and had a church in Cambridge for three years,

1 Fabric. Bibl. Græc.-Brucker.-Saxii Onomast.

and in 1618, by the interest of the viscountess Maidstone, relict of sir Moyle Finch, he was presented to the rectory of Eastling. He then took his degree of doctor of divinity, and was made prebendary of Coringham. Being now at his ease, he devoted much of his time to study, and published at Cambridge, his "Mosaica; sive Chronici historiam Catholicam complectentis, Pars Prima, in qua res antiquissimæ ab orbe condito ad Mosis obitum chronologicè digestæ continentur," 1636, 4to. This, although his first, is the least polished of all his works. Afterwards he undertook his "Chronicon Catholicum ab exordio mundi,"

but did not live to publish it. He died in 1651, aged seventy-three, without any apparent disorder, his departure more resembling the quietness of falling asleep. He is represented as a man of an erect and comely appearance, and of a healthful, though not robust constitution. He was twice married.

His "Chronicon, &c." was published at Oxford in 1652, with a Latin life prefixed, and was reprinted by the eminent critic Peter Wesseling. Dr. Reynolds, afterwards bishop of Norwich, in his license for the press, speaks of it as "egregium et absolutissimum opus, summa industria, omnigena eruditione, magno judicio, et multorum annorum vigiliis productum." His other works were, 1. "Positive divinity in three parts, containing an exposition of the Creed, Lord's Prayer, and decalogue, &c." 2. "The knowledge of Christ, in two Treatises." 3. "A Treatise concerning God's Providence in regard of Evil or Sin." 4. "The Doctrine of Regeneration, delivered in a Sermon on John iii. 6," and defended in a "Declaration." 5. "Tractatus de Justificatione." 6. "Notæ selectiores in Horatium." 7. "Prælectiones in Persii Satyras." 8. "Anglicanæ linguæ vocabularium Etymologicum." 9. "Sanctæ linguæ soboles." 10." Dii gentium, sive nominum, quibus deos suos Ethnici appellabant explicatio."

SIMPSON (THOMAS), professor of mathematics in the king's academy at Woolwich, fellow of the Royal Society, and member of the royal academy at Stockholm, was born at Market-Bosworth, in Leicestershire, Aug. 20, 1710. His father was a stuff-weaver in that town: and, though in tolerable circumstances, yet, intending to bring up his son to his own business, he took so little care of his edu

Life as above.-Cole's MS Athenæ in Brit. Mus.-Lloyd's Memoirs, fol.Plume's Life of Hacket, p. vi.

cation, that he was only taught English. But nature had furnished him with talents and a genius for far other pursuits, which led him afterwards to the highest rank in the mathematical and philosophical sciences.

Young Simpson very soon gave indications of his turn for study in general, by eagerly reading all books he could meet with, teaching himself to write, and embracing every opportunity he could find of deriving knowledge from other persons. His father observing him thus to neglect his business, by spending his time in reading what he thought useless books, and following other such like pursuits, used all his endeavours to check his proceedings, and to induce him to follow his profession with steadiness and better effect. But after many struggles for this purpose, the differences thus produced between them at length rose to such a height, that our author quitted his father's house entirely.

Upon this occasion he repaired to Nuneaton, a town at a small distance from Bosworth, where he went to lodge at the house of a taylor's widow, of the name of Swinfield, who had been left with two children, a daughter and a son, by her husband, of whom the son, who was the younger, being but about two years older than Simpson, had become his intimate friend and companion. And here he continued some time, working at his trade, and improving his knowledge by reading such books as he could procure.

Among several other circumstances which, long before this, gave occasion to shew our author's early thirst for knowledge, as well as proving a fresh incitement to acquire it, was that of a large solar eclipse, which took place on the 11th day of May, 1724. This phenomenon, so awful to many who are ignorant of the cause of it, struck the mind of young Simpson with a strong curiosity to discover the reason of it, and to be able to predict the like surprising events. It was, however, several years before he could obtain his desire, which at length was gratified by the following accident. After he been some time at Mrs. Swinfield's, at Nuneaton, a travelling pedlar came that way, and took a lodging at the same house, according to his usual custom. This man, to his profession of an itinerant merchant, had joined the more profitable one of a fortuneteller, which he performed by means of judicial astrology. Every one knows with what regard persons of such a cast are treated by the inhabitants of country villages; it can