sift himself among the other competitors; but they had
difficulty to overcome his modesty. They at last prevailed upon him to
declare his willingness to undertake the dispute before the masters.
Among others, there were other two candidates, one of whom had the
advantage of great interest with Dr. Strang principal of the college at
that time, and the other a scholar of great abilities, yet Mr. Binning
so managed the dispute, and acquitted himself in all parts of his trial,
that to the conviction of the judges, he darkened his rivals. But the
doctor and some of the faculty who joined him, though they could not
pretend the person they inclined to prefer, had an equality, much less a
superiority in the dispute, yet they argued, _caeteris paribus_, that
this person they intended was a citizen's son, of a competency of
learning, and a person of more years, and by that means had greater
experience than what Mr. Binning, who was in a manner but of yesterday,
could be supposed to have.----But to this it was replied, That Mr.
Binning was such a pregnant scholar, so wise and sedate, as to be above
all the follies and vanities of youth, and what was wanting in years was
made up sufficiently by his more than ordinary and singular endowments.
Whereupon a member of the faculty, perceiving the struggle to be great,
(as indeed there were plausible reasons on both sides), proposed a
dispute between the two candidates _ex tempore_, upon any subject they
should be pleased to prescribe. This being considered, soon put a period
to the division amongst them, and those who had opposed him not being
willing to engage their friend with such an able antagonist a second
time, Mr. Binning was elected.

Mr. Binning was not quite 19 years of age when he commenced regent and
professor of philosophy, and, though he had not time to prepare a system
of any part of his profession, as he had instantly to begin his class,
yet such was the quickness and fertility of his invention, the
tenaciousness of his memory and the solidity of his judgment, that his
dictates to his scholars had a depth of learning and perspicuity of
expression, and was among the first in Scotland, that began to reform
philosophy from the barbarous terms and unintelligible jargon of the
school-men.

He continued in this profession three years, and discharged his trust so
as to gain the general applause of the university for academical
exercises:--And this was the more remarkable, that