genius was in
poetry; and that he composed some Latin comedies, which are still
extant. But he soon directed his thoughts to a more serious subject, the
study of the sacred scriptures: to divinity, indeed, he applied himself
with more fervency than circumspection, and discovered his partiality to
the reformation, which had then commenced, before he was known to its
supporters, or to those who protected them; a circumstance which proved
to him the source of his first troubles.

He is said to have often affirmed, that the first matter which
occasioned his search into the popish doctrine, was, that he saw divers
things, most repugnant in their nature to one another, forced upon men
at the same time; upon this foundation his resolution and intended
obedience to that church were somewhat shaken, and by degrees a dislike
to the rest took place.

His first care was to look into both the ancient and modern history of
the church; to ascertain its beginning and progress; to consider the
causes of all those controversies which in the meantime had sprung up,
and diligently to weigh their effects, solidity, infirmities, &c.

Before he had attained his thirtieth year, he had studied the Greek and
Latin fathers, and other learned authors, the transactions of the
councils, and decrees of the consistories, and had acquired a very
competent skill in the Hebrew language. In these occupations, he
frequently spent a considerable part, or even the whole of the night,
and in order to unbend his mind after such incessant study, he would
resort to a grove near the college, a place much frequented by the
students in the evening, on account of its sequestered gloominess. In
these solitary walks, he has been heard to ejaculate heavy sobs and
sighs, and with tears to pour forth his prayers to God. These nightly
retirements, in the sequel, gave rise to the first suspicion of his
alienation from the church of Rome. Being pressed for an explanation of
this alteration in his conduct, he scorned to call in fiction to his
excuse; he stated his opinions; and was, by the sentence of the college
_convicted, condemned as a heretic, and expelled_.

His friends, upon the report of this circumstance, were highly offended,
and especially his father-in-law, who was now grown altogether
implacable, either through a real hatred conceived against him for this
cause, or pretending himself aggrieved, that he might now, with more
show of justice, or at least with