Humphrey, Lawrence

Humphrey, Lawrence an English Protestant divine and philologian, was born at Newport-Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, about 1527. He was educated at Cambridge, where lie applied himself especially to the classics. After becoming fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and professor of Greek in the university, he entered the Church. In 1555 he left England in consequence of the persecutions to which Protestants were subject, and remained a while in Zurich. After the death of queen Mary he returned home and resumed his professorship. He became successively professor of theology at Queen's College in 1560, president of Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1561, dean of Gloucester in 1570, and dean of Winchester in 1580. He died February 1, 1589. He was a man of conciliatory manners, and of great piety and learning; of great purity of character, moderate and conscientious, and to this he owed his last preferments lie was a good linguist, and a very skilful controvertist. He wrote Epistola de Graecis literis et Homeri lectione et imitatione (printed in the first part of Junius's Cornucopiae, Basle, 1558, fol.): — De religionis conservatione et reformatione, deque Primatu Regum (Basle, 1559, 8vo): — Obadias Propheta, Hebraice et Latine, et Philo "De Judice," Graece et Latine, at the end of the preceding treatise: — Optimates, sive de nobilitate ejusque antiqua origine, natura, offciis, disciplina (Basle, 1561, 8vo, with a Latin translation of Philo's treatise De N'obilitate): — Joannis Juelli, episcopi Salisburiensis, Vita et Mors (London, 1573, 4to): — Jesuitismi pars prima, sive praxis Romance curice contra respublicas et principes (Lond. 1582, 8vo): — Jesuitisnzi pars secunda, Puritano Papismli seu doctrince Jesuiticae aliquot rationibus ab Edni. Campiatno comprehensce et a Johanne Durceo defenses Confutatio (London, 1584, 8vo), etc. See Wood, Athenoe Oxonienses (vol. 1); Chalmers, Genesis Biog. Dictionary; Chauffepid, Dict. Hist.; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Géneralé, 25, 543; Allibone, Dict. of Authors, 1, 918; Neal. History of the Puritans (see Index); Hook, Eccles. Biography, 6:207 sq. (J. N. P.)