Andrewes, Lancelot

Andrewes, Lancelot bishop of Winchester, was born in London 1555, educated at Merchant- Tailors' School, whence he was removed to Pembroke, Hall, Cambridge. As divinity lecturer of Pembroke Hall, he delivered, in 1585, his well- known lectures on the Ten Commandments, which were first published in 1642, and a new and complete edition in 1650. He afterward had the living of Alton, in Hampshire; then that of St.Giles' — without, Cripplegate, in London, and was made canon residentiary of St. Paul's, prebendary, of Southwell, and master of Pembroke Hall. By King James I he was created, in 1605, bislhop of Chichester; then, in 1609, bishop of Ely; and lastly, in 1618, was translated to Winchester, which he held to the day of his death in 1626. His piety, learning, and acuteness are well known; and so charitable was he, that in the last six years of his life he is said to have given, in private charity alone, £1300, a very large sum in those days. He translated the authorized version of the historical books of the Old Testament from Joshua to Chronicles. Casaubon, Cluverius, Grotius, Vossius, and other eminent scholars of the time, have all highly eulogized the extensive erudition of Bishop Andrewes, which was wont, it appears, to overflow in his conversation, as well as in his writings. He was also celebrated for his talent at repartee. He united to the purest conscientiousness a considerable degree of courtly address, of which the following anecdote has been preserved as a curious instance. Neale, bishop of Durham, and he, being one day at dinner in the palace, James surprised them by suddenly putting this question, "My lords, cannot I take my subjects' money when I require it, without all the formality of a grant by Parliament?" Bishop Neale immediately replied, "God forbid, sire, but you should. You are the breath of our nostrils." "Well," said James, turning to the bishop of Winchester, "what do you say?" "Sire, I am not qualified to give an opinion in Parliamentary affairs," was the evasive reply. "Come, now, Andrewes, no escape, your opinion immediately," demanded the king. "Then, sire," answered he, "I think it perfectly lawful to take my brother Neale's, for he has offered it." Bishop Andrewes was indisputably the most learned of his English contemporaries, excepting Usher, in the Fathers, ecclesiastical antiquities, and canon law. He was the head of that school which began to rise in England in the 16th century, which appealed to antiquity and history in defense of the faith of the Church of England in its conflicts with Rome. To express his theological tenets briefly, he was of the school which is generally called the school of Laud. holding the doctrines of apostolic succession, that "the.. true and real body of Christ is in the Eucharist." He was strongly opposed to the Puritans, who in turn charged him with popery and superstition because of the ornaments of his chapel, and the ceremonies there. He was a man of the most fervent devotion. Five hours every day did he dedicate almost entirely to devotional exercises. Prayer might be said to be the very element he breathed. During the illness that laid him on a bed of languishing and death, his voice was almost constantly heard pouring forth ejaculatory prayers; and when, through failure of strength, he could no longer articulate, his uplifted hands and eyes indicated the channel in which his unexpressed thoughts continued to flow. He died September 25, 1626, at the age of seventy-one. His chief work is his Sermons, ninety-six in all, the best edition of which is that published in the Anglo-Catholic Library (Oxford, 5 vols. 8vo, 1841-43). He also wrote Tortura Torti (Lond. 1609), being an answer to Bellarmine on King James's Book concerning the Oath of Allegiance (Oxford, 1851, 8vo); Pieces Private (1648; and lately in English by the Rev. P. Hall, 1839); The Pattern of Catechistical Doctrine (Lond. 1650, fol.; Oxf. 1846, 8vo); Posthumous and Orphan Lectures, delivered at St. Paul's and St. Giles' (Lond. 1657, fol.); Opuscula quaedam posthuma (Lond. 1629, 4to; reprinted in Anglo Catholic Library, Oxford, 1851, 8vo). The Rev. C. Danbery published Seventeen Sermons of Andrewes, "modernized for general readers" (Lond. 1821, 8vo). See Isaacson, Life of Bishop Andrewes; Cassan, Lives of the Bishops of Winchester (London, 1827); Fuller, Church History of Britain; British Critic, 31, 169; Darling, Cyclopcedia Bibliographica, 1, 78; Allibone, Dict. of Authors, 1, 61.