POTTER (Christopher), a learned English divi-
ne, was born in 1591, and bred at Oxford. In
1233, he published his "Answer to a late Popish
plot," intitled Charity mistaken, which he wrote by
special order of king Charles I. whose chaplain he
was. In 1634, he was promoted to the deanery of
Worcester; and, in 1640, was constituted vice-chan-
cellor of the university of Oxford, in the execution of
which office he met with some trouble from the mem-
bers of the long parliament. Upon breaking out of
the civil wars, he sent all his plate to the king, de-
claring, "that he would rather, like Diogenes, drink
in the hollow of his hand, than that his majesty
should want;" and he afterward suffered much for the
royal cause. In consideration of this he was nomina-
ted to the deanery of Durham in 1646, but was pre-
vented from being installed by his death, which hap-
pened about two months after. He was a person
learned and religious, exemplary in his conversation,
courteous in his carriage, of a sweet and obliging na-
ture, and of a comely presence. He was remarkable in
his charity to the poor.