ich belonged to
any civil, studious, learned delinquent; unless it be the
much-neglected _commendam_ of some lordly prelate, condemned by
the known laws of the land, and the highest court of the kingdom, for
some offence of the first magnitude."

It is observable, that he declares himself to have almost forgot his
injuries and indignities, though he recounts them with an appearance
of acrimony, which is no proof that the impression is much weakened;
and insinuates his design of demanding, at a proper time, satisfaction
for them.

These vexations were the consequence rather of the abuse of learning,
than the want of it; no one that reads his works can doubt that he was
turbulent, obstinate, and petulant; and ready to instruct his
superiours, when he most needed instruction from them. Whatever he
believed (and the warmth of his imagination naturally made him
precipitate in forming his opinions) he thought himself obliged to
profess; and what he professed he was ready to defend, without that
modesty which is always prudent, and generally necessary, and which,
though it was not agreeable to Mr. Cheynel's temper, and, therefore,
readily condemned by him, is a very useful associate to truth, and
often introduces her, by degrees, where she never could have forced
her way by argument or declamation.

A temper of this kind is generally inconvenient and offensive in any
society, but in a place of education is least to be tolerated; for, as
authority is necessary to instruction, whoever endeavours to destroy
subordination, by weakening that reverence which is claimed by those
to whom the guardianship of youth is committed by their country,
defeats, at once, the institution; and may be justly driven from a
society, by which he thinks himself too wise to be governed, and in
which he is too young to teach, and too opinionative to learn.

This may be readily supposed to have been the case of Cheynel; and I
know not how those can be blamed for censuring his conduct, or
punishing his disobedience, who had a right to govern him, and who
might certainly act with equal sincerity, and with greater knowledge.

With regard to the visitation of Merton college, the account is
equally obscure. Visitors are well known to be generally called to
regulate the affairs of colleges, when the members disagree with their
head, or with one another; and the temper that Dr. Cheynel discovers
will easily incline his readers to suspect, that he could no