Sir Matthew, Lord Chief-Justice of England, was born on the 1st of November 1609, at Alderley in Gloucestershire. His father had been a barrister, but having retired from practice, resided upon a small estate he had purchased there. His paternal ancestors appear to have been in the middle rank of life, his grandfather having been a clothier at Wotton-under-Edge; but on his mother's side he was connected with the noble family of the Poyntzses of Acton. The future chief-justice having had the misfortune to lose his parents when he was only in his fifth year, was placed by his guardian under the care of the Rev. Mr Staunton, vicar of Wotton-under-Edge, by whose tuition he became strongly imbued with the religious principles of the Puritans. At school he was distinguished by great diligence, and acquired, it is probable, those habits of sedulous application to study, which in subsequent years secured his reputation and advancement. Having acquired a considerable stock of classical learning he was sent to the University of Oxford at the age of sixteen, and became a student of Magdalen Hall under the tuition of Obadiah Sedgwick, a classical scholar of high attainments, and whose religious sentiments were in accordance with those of his former instructor. Here he devoted himself with great steadiness for several terms to the study of the philosophy of Aristotle and the theology of Calvin, with a view to holy orders. Suddenly, however, the diligent and devout student, of whose future eminence in the church his friends had formed the highest anticipations, became smitten with a love of military glory, and resolved to abandon the peaceable profession he had apparently chosen for that of arms. From this purpose he was happily diverted by an unexpected incident. Before proceeding to the Low Countries to take service under the Prince of Orange, he found himself involved in a legal action which threatened to deprive him of his patrimony. It became requisite for him to proceed to London, in order before his departure to give instructions for the defence of his rights. His leading counsel was the celebrated Sergeant Wilde, one of the ablest advocates then at the bar, and this great lawyer must have perceived in the acuteness and sagacity of his youthful client a peculiar fitness for the legal profession; for, understanding that he was bent upon a military career, he laboured with great earnestness to induce him to renounce his purpose and devote himself to the study of law. In this he was at length successful, and Hale became a member of the honourable society of Lincoln's-Inn on the 8th of November 1629.

No sooner did the future chief-justice make choice of the profession on which his talents and character were one day to reflect so great a lustre, than he resumed his habits of intense application. Day after day, month after month, for the long period of eight years he underwent an amount of intellectual labour almost incredible. The rules which he laid down for himself, and which are still extant in his handwriting, prescribe sixteen hours a-day of close application, and prove not only the great mental power, but the extraordinary physical strength he must have possessed, and for which, indeed, during his residence at the university, he had been remarkable. Some idea of his ardour in the acquisition of knowledge may be formed from the fact that, during the period allotted to his preliminary studies, he not only read over and over again all the year-books, reports, and law treatises in print, but at the Tower of London and other antiquarian repositories, examined and carefully studied the records from the earliest period to his own time, in order to acquire a familiar acquaintance with the history, the principles, and the practice of English jurisprudence during every reign since the foundation of the monarchy. Even the Common-place Book, which he composed as the result of his study and research, may, according to Lord Campbell, "be considered a corpus juris, embracing and methodizing all that an English lawyer on any emergency could desire to know." But Hale did not confine himself to the law alone, although the manner in which he devoted himself to that study might well have occupied his whole time. It was his maxim, that to be master in any profession is impossible without an acquaintance with other sciences. He dedicated, therefore, no small portion of his time to the study of pure mathematics, to investigations in physics and chemistry, and even to anatomy and architecture; and there can be no doubt that the value of many of his decisions arose not more from his legal knowledge than from his extraordinary proficiency in other departments of human learning.

The high character Hale acquired while a law student produced the result which was to be expected. No sooner was he called to the bar than he found himself in full practice; and so completely did he justify the expectations of his friends that in a very few years he was at the top of his profession. The period at which he entered on public life was to be in many respects the most eventful in the history of the English nation, and occurrences were to take place which should result in the establishment of those great political principles on which the liberty and prosperity of the people depend. Hale rose in reputation amid the struggle of parties whose obstinacy could not fail sooner or later to lead to a violent collision; and as he had not openly espoused either side, both were eager to obtain his support. He declared himself neutral, however, resolved to follow the example of Pomponius Atticus, by so acting as to retain the esteem of all parties without being exclusively devoted to any. This line of conduct has been censured by Hale's biographer, Lord Campbell, as "cowardly and selfish;" but a little consideration will readily prove that the censure is not merely too severe, but that it is undeserved. Hale felt that his strength lay not in being a political partisan, but an interpreter of the laws of his country. He was too good a historian, and too sagacious a philosopher not to foresee the necessary result of the impending conflict; and thus in becoming neutral, he probably felt that he adopted a course which enabled him to do the largest amount of good to his country, as well as escape a struggle wholly adverse to his favourite pursuits, and in which he could not engage so as to benefit the party he should attempt to support. Perhaps, too, it may have appeared to him that to keep free from those violent prejudices so apt to distort and confuse the judgment would render him more likely to be useful either as an advocate or a judge.

Hale was counsel in some of the most celebrated trials recorded in English history. It has been said—although not with certainty—that he was engaged for the Earl of Strafford; but he was certainly counsel for Archbishop Laud, Lord Maguire, Christopher Love, the Duke of Hamilton, and others. He was ready to plead on the side of Charles I. when that king was brought to trial before his people; but he was not called upon to do so—his majesty having, by Hale's advice, refused to submit to the court.

The parliament having gained the ascendancy, Hale signed the Solemn League and Covenant, and was a member of the famous Assembly of Divines at Westminster in 1644. His early education, it may be presumed, rendered the views of that assembly by no means disagreeable to him; but he was, nevertheless, moderate in his opinions as to church government; and although he would undoubtedly have preferred a Presbyterian form, he had no serious objection to the system of modified Episcopacy proposed by Archbishop Usher.

Consistently with his desire to remain neutral, Hale took the engagement to the Commonwealth as he had done to the king, and in 1653, having been already elevated to the rank of sergeant, became a judge in the Court of Common Pleas. Two years afterwards he sat in Cromwell's parliament as one of the members for Gloucestershire. After the death of the Protector, however, he declined to act as a judge under Richard Cromwell, although he represented Oxford in Richard's parliament.

Immediately upon the restoration of Charles II., Hale proceeded to Whitehall, and was graciously received by the king. Very soon afterwards he was appointed Chief Baron of the Exchequer; and, owing to his extreme humility, received, with great reluctance, the honour of knighthood at the hands of his sovereign. After holding the office of Chief Baron for eleven years, he was raised to the higher dignity of Lord Chief-Justice. Many interesting anecdotes are related of him which place his character in a most amiable light, and exhibit his marvellous fitness for the difficult office he so worthily filled. On an impartial review of his life, indeed, it is not surprising that Lord Campbell should thus refer to him—"He is certainly to be considered the most eminent judge who ever filled the office (of Chief Baron); and being promoted to be Chief-Justice of England, he gave new dignity to the supreme magistracy which had been illustrated by Gascoigne, by Fortescue, and by Coke." Nor are evidences wanting of the sterling piety by which he was animated. During his long laborious career he never forgot the duties of religion, or failed to illustrate, wherever he had an opportunity by his conduct and conversation, the great principles of Christianity. He was the intimate friend of those great ornaments of the Established Church, Barrow, Tillotson, Wilkins, and Stillingfleet, as well as of the venerable and learned Baxter, the great leader of the Nonconformists; while to all of them, and indeed to all the great and good men of his day, he was the object of love and veneration.

On attaining his sixty-seventh year, the venerable chief-justice found his health so indifferent that he resigned his office; and in Feb. 1676 had a final adieu to London, betaking himself to his native place, and making his progress thither by easy journeys. On arriving at Alderley, the air of the country and the scenes of his early life for a while revived him, but the relief was only temporary. His disease assumed an aggravated form, and he died on the 25th of Dec. in the same year, having endured his lingering illness with the faith and patience of a saint. He had been twice married, and had outlived all his children but his eldest daughter and his youngest son.

Lord Hale was the author of several works on philosophical and religious or devotional subjects, but (as is much to be regretted) not upon law—the subject on which he was above all his contemporaries capable of writing. In 1673 he published an essay on the Gravitation of Fluid Bodies; this was followed soon after by a treatise on the Torricellian Experiment and the Weight of the Air. He had likewise printed two volumes of Contemplations, consisting of a variety of papers of a religious character; and ultimately he sent to the press his work on The Origination of Mankind. This latter work was not published till after his death. He likewise attempted to write poetry, but, it must be admitted, with little success. The studies of a great lawyer are not those that favour the imaginative faculty, so valuable to the votary of the muses.