FORDYCE, DAVID, an elegant and learned writer, was born at Aberdeen in the year 1711. Having received the early part of his education at the grammar school, at the age of 13 he was entered at the Greek class in Marischal college, Aberdeen; in 1728 he took the degree of A. M. and was afterwards, in 1742, admitted professor of philosophy in the same college. He was originally designed for the ministry; to prepare himself for which was the whole object of his ambition, and for a course of years the whole purpose of his studies. How well he was qualified to appear in that character, appears from his "Theodorus, a dialogue concerning the art of preaching." Having finished this work, he went abroad in 1750 on his travels, in order to obtain fresh stores of knowledge: but after a successful tour through several parts of Europe, he was, on his return home, unfortunately cast way in a storm on the coast of Holland, in the 41st year of his age. Besides the above work, he wrote Dialogues on Education, &c, and a Treatise of Moral Philosophy, published in the Preceptor. The third edition of his Theodorus was published in London, in 1751, after his death, by his brother James, the subject of the following article.