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ham in January 1645-6; but was prevented from being inftalled by his death, which happened at his college the third of March following. He was learned, and of exemplary life and converfation. Dr. Gerard Langbaine, who fucceeded him in the provoftship of Queen's college, married his widow.

POTTER (Dr. JOHN) archbishop of Canterbury, and a very learned man, was fon of Mr. Thomas Potter, á linnen-draper at Wakefield in Yorkshire: where he was born about 1674. Being put to fchool there, he made an uncommon progrefs in the Greek tongue; and at fourteen years of age, was fent to Univerfity-college in Oxford. At nineteen, he published Variantes Lectiones & Notæ ad Plutarchi librum de audiendis poetis; & ad Bafilii magni orationem ad Juvenes, quomodo cum fructu legere poffint Græcorum libros, 1693, Svo. The year after, he was chosen fellow of Lincoln college; and, proceeding mafter of arts, he took pupils, and went into orders. In 1697, came out his edition of Lycophron in folio: it was reprinted in 1702, and is reckoned the beft of that obfcure writer. The fame year, 1697, he published likewife the first volume of his"Antiquities of Greece:" which was followed by the fecond, the year after. Several additions were made by him in the fubfequent editions of this ufeful and learned work, of which the feventh edition was published in 1751.

Thefe works established his fame in the literary republic both at home and abroad, and engaged him in a correfpondence with Grævius and other learned foreigners. In 1704, he commenced bachelor of divinity, and became chaplain to archbishop Tenifon, with whom he went to refide at Lambeth; was made doctor in 1706, and foon after chaplain to the queen. In 1707, he published in 8vo. "A "Difcourfe upon Church Government ;" and, the year after, fucceeded Dr. Jane as regius profeffor of divinity, and canon of Chrift-church, in Oxford. In 1715, he was made bishop of Oxford; and, the fame year, published an edition of the works of Clemens Alexandrinus, in two volumes folio. In January 1736-7, he fucceeded Dr. William Wake in the archbishopric of Canterbury: which high

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and important office he supported with much dignity for ten years, dying in 1747. He was a learned and exemplary churchman, but of a character by no means amiable; being ftrongly tinctured with that fort of pride, haughtiness, and severity of manners, which usually accompanies a rigid orthodoxy. It may be added too, though not to his credit, that he difinherited his eldeft fon, because he mortified hist ambition, by marrying below his dignity. His "Tacolo"gical Works, containing Sermons, Charges, Difcourfe of "Church Government, and Divinity Lectures," were publifhed at Oxford 1753, in three volumes, 8vo.

POUR BUS (PETER and FRANCIS) father and fon, two good Flemish painters, the former of whom being born at Goude, and the latter at Bruges. They flourished in the 15th century; and each of them in the place of his birth did a great many fine pieces, which are yet in the churches, and remain fufficient proofs of their skill. Francis having been. for fome time his father's difciple, removed to Frans Floris, whom he excelled in colouring. He was a better painter than his father, and there are admirable pictures of his drawing in the town houfe at Paris. The father died in the year De Piles. .1583, and the fon anno 1622.

POUSSIN (NICOLAS) an eminent French painter, was born at Andel, a little city in Normandy, in the year 1594. His family however were originally of Soiffons; in which city there were fome of his relations officers in the Prefidial court. John Pouffin, his father, was of noble extraction, but born to a very small eftate. His fon feeing the narrowness of his circumftances, determined to fet up for himself as foon as poffible, and chofe painting for his profeffion, having naturally a frong inclination to that art. At eighteen years of age he went to Paris to learn the rudiments of it. A Poictovin lord, who had taken a liking to him, put him to Ferdinand, a face-painter, whom Pouffin left in three months to place himself with Lallemant, with whom he ftaid but a month; he faw he fhould never learn any thing from fuch masters, and he refolved not to lose his time with them, believing he should profit more by studying the B 3 works

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works of great mafters, than by the difcipline of ordinary painters.

He worked a while in diftemper, and did it with extraordinary facility. The cavalier Marino being at that time in Paris, and knowing Pouffin's genius was above the small performances he was employed about, persuaded him to go in his company to Italy: Pouffin had before made two vain attempts to undertake that journey, yet by fome means or o→ ther he was hindered from accepting the advantage of this opportunity. However, he promised to follow in a fhort time. And he was as good as his promife, though not till he had drawn feveral other pictures in Paris, among which was the death of the virgin for the church of Notre-Dame. Having finished his business, he fet out for Rome in the thirtieth year of his age.

He there met with his friend, the cavalier Marino, who was mighty glad to fee him; and, to be as ferviceable as he could, recommended him to cardinal Barberini, who defired to be acquainted with him; having no opportunity for it, Pouffin had no body to affist and encourage him. He could fcarce maintain himself. He was forced to give away his works for fo little, as would hardly pay for his colours: this was his last shift. However, his courage did not fail him ; he minded his studies affiduously, refolving, whatever came of it, to make himself master of his profeffion he had little money to spend, and that hinder'd him from converfing with any one, which gave him an opportunity to retire by himself, and defign the beautiful things that are in Rome, as well antiquities as the works of the famous Roman painters.

Though, when he left France, he refolved to copy the pictures of the greatest mafters, yet he exercised himself very little that way. He thought it enough to examine them well, to make his reflections upon them, and that which he should do more, would be fo much time loft; but he had another opinion of the antique figures. He defigned them with care, and formed fo high an idea of them in his mind, that they were his principal objects, and he employed himself intirely to the study of them. He was convinced that the fource of every beauty and every grace rofe from thofe excellent pieces, and that the antient fculptors had drained nature to render

their figures the admiration of pofterity. His clofe friendship with two sculptors, l'Algarde and Francis Flamand, in whose house he lodged, ftrengthened, and perhaps begat his inclination: be it as it will, he never left it, and it encreased in him as he grew older, which may be feen by his works.

It is faid, he at firft copied fome of Titian's pieces, with whofe colouring and the touches of his landskips, he was infinitely pleased, and endeavoured to imitate them, to fet off the good gufto of defign, which he had contracted by his ftudy of the antique. Indeed, it is obfervable, that his first pieces are painted with a better goût of colours than his laft. But he foon fhewed, by his performances, that, generally Speaking, he did not much value the part of colouring, or thought he knew enough of it, to make his pictures as perfect as he intended. He had ftudied the beauties of the antique, the elegance, the grand gufto, the correctnefs, the variety of proportions, the adjuftments, the order of the draperies, the nobleness, the fine air and boldnefs of the heads; the manners, cuftoms of times and places, and every thing that was beautiful in the remains of the antique fculpture, to fuch a degree, that one can never enough admire the exactness with which he has enriched his painting in all those parts of it [A].

He ufed frequently to examine the ancient fculptures in the vineyards about Rome, and this confirmed him more and more in the love of thofe antiquities. He would spend feveral days together in making reflections upon them by himself. It was in these retirements that he confidered the extraordinary effects of nature with respect to landskips, that

[A] He might, if he had so pleased, have deceived the judgment of the public, as well as Michael Angelo did, who, having made a statue of Cupid, broke off an arm, which he kept by him, and buried the rest of the figure in a place which he knew was to be dug up. The ftatue being found, every body took it for antique, till Michael Angelo, applying the arm he had by him to the body of the figure, convinced the critics that they were all mistaken, though they of all men are the hardest to be convinced of an error.

We may with as much reafon believe, that if Pouffin had painted in fresco on the ruins of an old wall, and kept any part of it by him, the world might as eafily have been perfuaded, that his painting had been the work of fome famous antique painter, as they were fatisfied that Michael Angelo's Cupid was a piece of antiquity, there was fuch a conformity between Pouffin's paintings, and what have been really difcovered in that manner, and are certainly antiques.

he defigned his animals, his diftances, his trees, and every thing excellent that was agreeable to his gusto.

Befides that, Pouffin ftudied the antique exactly, he alfo made curious obfervations on the works of Raphael and Domenichino, who of all painters, in his opinion, invented beft, defigned moft correctly, and expreffed the paffions most vigorously, three things which Pouffin efteemed the most efsential parts of painting. He neglected nothing that could render his knowledge in thefe three parts perfect he was altogether as curious about the general expreffion of his fubjects, which he has adorned with every thing that he thought would excite the attention of the learned.

He left no grand compofitions behind him, and all the reafon we can give for it is, that he had no opportunity to do them; for we cannot imagine but it was chance only that made him apply himself wholly to eafel pieces, of a bigness proper for a cabinet, fuch as the curious required of him.

Lewis XIII, and monfieur de Noyers, minister of state and fuperintendant of the buildings, wrote to him at Rome to oblige him to return to France he confented to it with a great reluctance. He had a penfion affigned him, and a lodging ready furnished at the Tuilleries. He drew the picture of the Lord's fupper for the chapel of the caftle of St. 'Germain, and that which is in the Jefuit's novitiate at Paris. He began the labours of Hercules in the gallery of the Louvre but the faction of Vouet's fchool railing at him and his works, put him out of humour with his own country. He was also weary of the tumultuous way of living at Paris, which never agreed with him; wherefore he fecretly refolved to return to Rome, pretending he went to settle his domeftic affairs and fetch his wife: but when he got there, whether or no he found himself as in his center, or was quite put off from any thought of returning to France by the deaths of cardinal Richelieu and the king, which happened about that time, he never left Italy afterwards.

He continued working on his eafel-pieces, and sent them from Rome to Paris, the French buying them every where as faft as they laid hands on them, if they were to be bought for money, valuing his productions as much as Raphael's. Pouffin having lived happily to his threescore and eleventh

year,

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