ever, thought at the time that no man understood bet- ter than he the points in dispute between the Church I of England and the Church of Rome, as well as the | dissenters of all denominations. Atterbury has been ■ somewhat absurdly charged, on the strength of an im- ! probable anecdote which Dr. Maty says Lord Chester- I field related to him, with having been, at least in early , life, a sceptic ; but the whole tenor of his conduct, and 1 every reference in his private as well as public writ- | ings, contradict such a supposition. He was a worldly- minded and ambitious man, but that he firmly believed the religious truths which he so eloquently defended i there can be no reasonable doubt. (See a refutation of this story, in detail, in the New and General Bio- graphical D ctionary, 1784, i, 389.) The conduct of Atterbury with reference to the Stuart dynasty is the i great blot on his public career, and though perhaps | illegally' convicted, he was undoubtedly guilty of the i treason for which he was condemned. But it was for no selfish ends that he adhered to its desperate for- I tunes, nor was his conduct wholly inconsistent with : his position as a prelate of the English Church. The • plan on which he had fixed his hope of securing the 1 restoration of the Stuarts was that of inducing James ! to educate his son in the Protestant faith ; an absurd j expectation undoubtedly, but it was characteristic of 1 Atterbury to overlook obstacles when he had set his j heart on accomplishing a great purpose. Hook (Ec- cles. Biography, i, 374) calls him " an ecclesiastical politician and intriguer, devoting himself, not to the establishment of a principle, but to the mere triumph | of a party. Great principles were injured by his advo- ! cacy of them, since he gave to them a party coloring, j and made what was heavenly appear earthly." In pri- vate life the haughtiness and asperity of the politician ! and controversialist wholly disappeared, and no man | ever succeeded in winning a more affectionate attach- ment from friends as well as relatives. As a preacher, a speaker, and a writer, he had few rivals ; and Lord Mahon (Hist, of Eng. c. xii) hardly exaggerates his I literary merits when he says that "few men have at- ] tained a more complete mastery over the English lan- guage than Atterbury ; and all his compositions are \ marked with peculiar force, elegance, and dignity of 1 style" (English Cyclopaedia'). Doddridge (Lectures on ! Preaching, iv, 18) calls him the " glory of English pul- I pit orators." Wesley (Works, vii, 420) says that in ' Atterbury "all the qualities of a good writer meet." The Taller (No. 66), having observed that the Eng- ! lish clergy too much neglect the art of speaking, ! makes a particular exception with regard to Atter- I bury, who "has so particular a regard to his congre- gation that he commits to his memory what he has to say to them, and has so soft and graceful a behavior that it must attract your attention. His person," continues this author, "it is to lie confessed, is no small recommendation ; but he is to be highly com- ' mended for not losing that advantage, and adding to propriety of speech (which might pass the criticism of Longinus) an action which would have been ap- i proved by Demosthenes. He has a peculiar force in his way, and has many of his audience who could not be intelligent hearers of his discourse were there no explanation as well as grace in his action. This art j of his is used with the most exact and honest skill. He never attempts your passions till lie lias convinced ! your reason. All the objections which you can form ! are laid open and dispersed before he uses the least j vehemence in his sermon ; but when he thinks he has \ your head, he very soon wins your heart, and never pretends to show the beauty of holiness till he has convinced you of the truth of it." His writings in- clude Sermons (Lond. 1740, 4 vols. 8vo, 5th ed.) •.—Cor- respondence and Charges (bond. 1783-87, 4 vols. 8vo); besides many controversial tracts and pamphlets of temporary interest. See Stackhouse, Memoirs of At- terbury, 1727, 8vo; Burnet, History of his Onn Times;
ATTEKUriJY
52i
Allibone, Dictionary of Authors, i, SO; Hook, Eccled- ! Biography, i, 350 sq. Atterbury, Lewis, father of Bishop Atterbury, was horn about the year 1631. He was the son of Francis Atterbury, rector of Milton, Northampton- shire, who. among other ministers, subscribed the Sol- emn League and Covenant in 1048. Lewis was enter- ed a student of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1647, took the degree of bachelor of arts February 23, 1649, and was created M.A. by a dispensation from Oliver Crom- well March 1, 1051. He was one of those who sub- mitted to the authority of the visitors appointed by the Parliament. In 1654 he became rector of Great or Broad Rissington, in Gloucestershire, and, after the R( storation, took a presentation for that benefice un- der the great seal, and was instituted again, to confirm his title to it. On the 11th of September,- 1657, he was admitted rector of Middleton or Middleton Keynes, in Bucks, and at the return of Charles II took the same prudent method to corroborate his title to this living. July 25, 1660, he was made chaplain extraor- dinary to Henry, duke of Gloucester, and on the 1st of December, in the same year, was created doctor in divinity. Returning from London, whither the law- suits he was frequently involved in had brought him, he was drowned near his own house in the beginning of December, 1693. He published three occasional sermons, the titles of which may he seen in Wood's Athen. Oxon. vol. ii, col. 911. — New Gen. Biog. Diet. i, 377.