(Dr John), an excellent poet and divine of the 17th century. His parents were of the Roman religion, and used their utmost efforts to keep him firm to it; but his early examination of the controversy between the church of Rome and the Protestants, at last determined him to choose the latter. He travelled into Italy and Spain; where he made many useful observations, and learned their languages to perfection. Soon after his return to England, Sir Thomas Egerton, keeper of the great seal, appointed him his secretary; in which post he continued five years. He marrying privately Anne the daughter of Sir George Moore then chancellor of the garter, and niece to the lord keeper's lady, was dismissed from his place, and thrown into prison. But he was reconciled to Sir George by the good offices of Sir Francis Wolley. In 1612, he accompanied Sir Robert Drury to Paris. During this time, many of the nobility solicited the king for some secular employment for him. But his majesty, who took pleasure in his conversation, had engaged him in writing his Pseudo Martyr, printed at London in 1610; and was so highly pleased with that work, that in 1614 he prevailed with him to enter into holy orders; appointed him one of his chaplains, and procured him the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the university of Oxford. In 1619, he attended the earl of Doncaster in his embassy into Germany. In 1621, he was made dean of St Paul's: Vol. VI. Part 1.

and the vicarage of St Dunstan in the west, in London, soon after fell to him; the advowson of it having been given to him long before by Richard earl of Dorset. By these and other preferments, he was enabled to be charitable to the poor, kind to his friends, and to make good provision for his children. He wrote, besides the above, 1. Devotions upon emergent occasions. 2. The Ancient History of the Septuagint, translated from the Greek of Arius, quarto. 3. Three volumes of sermons, folio. 4. A considerable number of poems; and other works. He died in 1631; and was interred in St Paul's cathedral, where a monument was erected to his memory. His writings show him to be a man of incomparable wit and learning; but his greatest excellence was satire. He had a prodigious richness of fancy, but his thoughts were much debased by his versification. He was, however, highly celebrated by all the great men of that age.