telian Digby shows little
originality and followed the methods of the schoolmen. His Roman
Catholic orthodoxy mixed with rationalism, and his political opinions,
according to which any existing authority should receive support, were
evidently derived from Thomas White (1582-1676), the Roman Catholic
philosopher, who lived with him in France. White published in 1651
_Institutionum Peripateticorum libri quinque_, purporting to expound
Digby's "peripatetic philosophy," but going far beyond Digby's published
treatises. Digby's _Memoirs_ are composed in the high-flown fantastic
manner then usual when recounting incidents of love and adventure, but
the style of his more sober works is excellent. In 1632 he presented to
the Bodleian library a collection of 236 MSS., bequeathed to him by his
former tutor Thomas Allen, and described in _Catalogi codicum
manuscriptorum bibliothecae Bodleianae_, by W. D. Macray, part ix.
Besides the works already mentioned Digby translated _A Treatise of
adhering to God written by Albert the Great, Bishop of Ratisbon_ (1653);
and he was the author of _Private Memoirs_, published by Sir N. H.
Nicholas from _Harleian MS. 6758_ with introduction (1827); _Journal of
the Scanderoon Voyage in 1628_, printed by J. Bruce with preface (Camden
Society, 1868); _Poems from Sir Kenelm Digby's Papers_... with preface
and notes (Roxburghe Club, 1877); in the _Add. MSS._ 34,362 f. 66 is a
poem _Of the Miserys of Man_, probably by Digby; _Choice of Experimental
Receipts in Physick and Chirurgery_ ... _collected by Sir K. Digby_
(1668), and _Chymical Secrets and Rare Experiments_ (1683), were
published by G. Hartman, who describes himself as Digby's steward and
laboratory assistant.

See the _Life of Sir Kenelm Digby by one of his Descendants_ (T.
Longueville), 1896. (P. C. Y.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] _Letters by Eminent Persons_ (Aubrey's Lives), ii. 324.

[2] _Life and Continuation._

[3] Strafford's _Letters_, i. 474.

[4] Laud's _Works_, vi. 447.

[5] _Thomason Tracts_, Brit. Mus. E 164 (15).

[6] _Archaeologia Cantiana_, ii. 190.

[7] _Dict. of Nat. Biog._ sub "Digby." See also Robert Boyle's _Works_
(1744), v. 302.

DIGBY, KENELM HENRY (1800-1880), English writer, youngest son of William
Digby, dean of Clonfert, was born at Clonfert, Ireland, in 1800. He was
educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and soon after taking his B.A.
degree there in 1819 became a Roman Cathol