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272
Hereditary Genius
who are not mentioned as being vigorous in constitution. They are 3
or 4 in number, according as Trosse is omitted or included, 1. William.
Perkyns, d. aet. 43; a “cheerful, pleasant man;” was wild and a
spendthrift at Cambridge, and not converted till aet. 24. 2. Bunyan;
vicious in youth, was converted in a wild, irregular way, and had
many backslidings throughout his career. 3. Trosse, d. aet. 82. His
biography is deficient in particulars about which one would like to be
informed, but his long life, following a bad beginning, appears to be a
sign of an unusually strong constitution, and to qualify him for
insertion in my first category. He was sent to France to learn the
language, and he learnt also every kind of French rascality. The same
process was repeated in Portugal. The steps by which his character
became remarkably changed are not recorded, neither are his
personal characteristics. [4,] T. Jones, d. aet. 32, has already been
included among the invalids, having been wild in youth but rendered
pious by serious and lingering ill-health.
I now come to the relationships of the Divines. Recollecting that
there are only 196 of them altogether, that they are selected from the
whole of Protestant Europe at the average rate of 2 men in 3 years,
the following results are quite as remarkable as those met with in the
other groups.
17 out of the 196 are interrelated. Thus Simon Grynaeus is uncle of
Thomas, who is father of John James, and there are others of note in
this remarkable family of peasant origin. Whitaker's maternal uncle
was Dr. Nowell. Robert Abbot, Bishop of Salisbury, is brother to
Archbishop Abbot. Downe's maternal uncle was Bishop Jewell.
Dod's grandson (daughter's son) was Bishop Wilkins. William Gouge
was father of Thomas Gouge. Philip Henry was father to Matthew
Henry. Ebenezer Erskine was brother to Ralph Erskine.
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