(Ambrose), an English poet, was descended from a very ancient and considerable family of that name in Leicestershire. He received his education at St John's college, Cambridge; during his stay at which university, he wrote his pastorals, which acquired him at the time so high a reputation. His next performance was, The life of Archbishop Williams, written, according to Mr Cibber, to make known his political principles, which, in the course of it he had a free opportunity of doing, as the archbishop, who is the hero of his work, was a strong opponent to the high-church measures.

When he quitted the university, and came to London, he became a constant attendant at, and one of the wits of, Button's coffee-house; where he obtained the friendship and intimacy of many of the celebrated geniuses of that age, more particularly of Sir Richard Steele, who, in the first volume of his Tatler, has inserted a little poem of Mr Philips's, which he calls a Winter Piece, dated from Copenhagen, and addressed to the earl of Dorset, on which he bestows the highest encomiums; and, indeed, so much justice is there in these his commendations, that even Mr Pope himself, who had a fixed aversion for the author, while he affected to despise his other works, used always to except this from the number.

The first dislike Mr Pope conceived against Mr Philips, proceeded from that jealousy of fame which was so conspicuous in the character of that great poet; for Sir Richard Steele had taken so strong a liking to the pastorals of the latter, as to have formed a design for a critical comparison of them with those of Pope, in the conclusion of which the preference was to have been given to Philips. This design, however, coming to Mr Pope's knowledge, that gentleman, who could not bear a rival near the throne, determined to ward off this stroke by a stratagem of the most artful kind; which was no other than taking the same talk on himself; and, in a paper in the Guardian, by drawing the like comparison, and giving a like preference, but on principles of criticism apparently fallacious, to point out the absurdity of such a judgment. However, notwithstanding the ridicule that was drawn on him in consequence of his standing as it were in competition with so powerful an antagonist, it is allowed, that there are, in some parts of Philip's pastorals, certain strokes of nature, and a degree of simplicity, that are much better suited to the purposes of pastoral, than the more correctly turned periods of Mr Pope's versification. Mr Philips and Mr Pope being of different political principles, was another cause of enmity between them; which arose at length to so great a height, that the former, finding his antagonist too hard for him at the weapon of wit, had even determined on making use of a rougher kind of argument; for which purpose he even went so far as to hang up a rod at Button's for the chastisement of his adversary whenever he should come thither; which, however, Mr Pope declining to do, avoided the argumentum baculinum, in which he would, no doubt, have found himself on the weakest side of the question. Our author also wrote several dramatical pieces; The Briton, Distressed mother, and Humphrey duke of Glocester; all of which met with success, and one of them is at this time a standard of entertainment at the theatres, being generally repeated several times in every season. Mr Philips's circumstances were in general, through his life, not only easy, but rather affluent, in consequence of his being connected, by his political principles, with persons of great rank and consequence. He was concerned with Dr Hugh Boulter, afterwards archbishop of Armagh, the right honourable Richard West, esq.; lord chancellor of Ireland, the reverend Mr Gilbert Burnet, and the reverend Mr Henry Stevens, in writing a series of papers called the Free Thinker, which were all published together by Mr Philips, in three volumes in 12mo.

In the latter part of queen Anne's reign, he was secretary to the Hanover club, who were a set of noblemen and gentlemen who had formed an association in honour of that succession, and for the support of its interests, and who used particularly to distinguish in their toasts such of the fair sex as were most zealously attached to the illustrious House of Brunswick. Mr Philips's station in this club, together with the zeal shown in his writings, recommending him to the notice and favour of the new government, he was soon after the accession of king George I. put into the commission of the peace, and appointed one of the commissioners of the lottery. And, on his friend Dr Boulter's being made primate of Ireland, he accompanied that prelate across St George's channel, where he had considerable preferments bestowed on him, and was elected a member of the House of Commons there, as representative for the county of Armagh. At length, having purchased an annuity for life of 400l. per annum, he came over to England some time in the year 1748; but having a very bad state of health, and being moreover of an advanced age, he died soon after, at his lodgings near Vauxhall, in Surry.

(Catherine), a very ingenious lady, the daughter of Mr John Fowler merchant; was born at London, in January 1631, and educated at a school at Hackney. She married James Philips of the priory of Cardigan, esq. and went with the viscountess of Dungannon into Ireland, where she translated Corneille's tragedy of Pompey into English, which was several times acted there with great applause. Her poems were first printed in the year 1664, tho' without her consent; and after her death a small volume of her letters to Sir Charles Cotterel, was published under the title of Letters from Orinda to Poliarchus. She died of the small-pox in London, in June 1664. Besides the above, she translated from the French of Corneille, part of the tragedy called Horace, which Sir John Denham completed by adding the fifth act; and soon after her death, her poems and translations were published in a folio volume. This lady, who had few per- personal graces, was greatly admired for her abilities and many virtues; and was particularly esteemed by several persons of quality and distinction, amongst whom were those illustrious peers, the duke of Ormond, the earls of Orrery and Roscommon, and Dr Taylor bishop of Downe and Connor. Mr Dryden more than once mentions her with honour; and Mr Cowley wrote an excellent ode upon her death.

(John), an eminent English poet, was born in 1676. He was educated at Winchester and Oxford, where he became acquainted with Milton, whom he studied with great application, and traced in all his successful translations from the ancients. The first poem which distinguished our author, was his Splendid Shilling, which is in the Tatler styled the finest burlesque poem in the English language. He wrote also a poem upon Cyder, founded on the model of Virgil's Georgics; which is an excellent performance in its kind; with several other pieces. He was beloved by all who knew him; somewhat reserved and silent amongst strangers, but free, familiar, and easy with his friends. He died young, in 1708.