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268
Hereditary Genius
was less work for sickness to do.” 7. Baily, d. aet. 54, who was so
holy and conscientious, “that if he had been at any time but innocently
pleasant in the company of his friends, it cost him afterwards some
sad reflections” (preserve me from the privilege of such
companions!); lost his health early in life, 8. Clarke, d. aet. 62, was
too laborious, and had in consequence a fever aet. 43, which
extremely weakened his constitution. 9. Ulrich, d. aet. 48, had an “ill
habit of body, contracted by a sedentary life and the overstraining of
his voice in preaching.” 10. Isaac Watts, d. aet. 74, a proficient child,
but not strong; fell very ill aet. 24, and again aet. 38, and from this he
never recovered, but passed the rest of his life in congenial seclusion,
an inmate of the house of Sir T. Abney, and afterwards of his widow.
11. Davies, d. aet. 37, a sprightly boy and keen rider; grew into a
religious man of so sedentary a disposition, that after he was made
President of Yale College in America, he took hardly any exercise.
He was there killed by a simple cold, followed by some imprudence in
sermon-writing, his vital powers being too low to support any physical
strain. 12. T. Jones, d. aet. 32: “Before the Lord was pleased to call
him, he was walking in the error of his ways;” then he was afflicted
“with a disorder that kept him very low and brought him to death's
door, during all which time his growth in grace was great and
remarkable.”
This concludes my list of those Divines, 26 in number, who were
specially noted by Middleton as invalids. It will be seen that about
one-half of them were infirm from the first, and that the other half
became broken down early in life. It must not be supposed that the
remainder of the 196 were invariably healthy men. These biographies
dwell little on personal characteristics, and therefore their silence on
the matter of health must not be interpreted as necessarily meaning
that the health was good. On the contrary,
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