cepted, and now removed from Hoxton to the Mission CoUege at Gosport. In August, 1805, he commenced the study of Chinese under a native teacher. In January, 1807, he was ordained as a missionary, set out at once for China, and in September of the same year arrived at Canton. Before leaving England, Mr. Morrison had procured from the British IMuseum a Harmony of the Gospels and the Pauline Epistles, translated into Chi- nese by an unknown Roman Catholic missionarj' ; and the Royal Asiatic Society lent him a manuscript Latin and Chinese dictionarj'. His moderate knowledge of Chinese inclined him to mingle at once among the na- tives, and having perhaps studied the customs of Roman Catholic missionaries, adopted, like them, the prevail- ing usages of diet, dress, and manners. He handled chop-sticks, coUed up his hair in form, and let his nails grow. But lie soon saw the folly of this extreme con- formity, and assumed a distinctive European character and aspect. He rapidly acquired the mastery of the Chinese, and how greatly his knowledge of the language was esteemed is apparent in that, though a minister, he was in 1808 appointed translator to the East India Com- pany's factory at Canton. In 1810 the Acts of the Apostles in Chinese, which he had brought with him, were printed, after he had carefully revised and amend- ed the text. In 1811 a Chinese grammar, which he had prepared about three years before, was sent to Ben- gal to be printed ; but, after many delays, it did not issue from the press until 1815, when it was printed at Se- rampore, at the expense of the East India Company. In 1812 the Gospel of St. Luke in Chinese was printed ; and by the beginning of ISli, the whole of the New Testament being ready for the press, the East India Company sent out a press and materials and a printer to superintend the printing of the work. In 1813 the London Missionary Society had sent out the Rev. (af- terwards Dr.) Milne to assist Jlorrison, and together these two Christian scholars now proceeded -with the translation of the Old Testament. In 1815 the Book of Genesis and Psalms were printed, and by 1818 this great work of translating the Bible into Chinese was completed. The translation of the Scriptures, the great object of Dr. Morrison's life, was given to the world '-not as a perfect translation." Dr. Morrison says he studied " fidelity, perspicuity, and simplicity ;" " common -words being preferred to classical ones." The authorized Eng- lish version was followed. Dr. Morrison always ex- plicitly stated that the Chinese manuscript in the Brit- ish Museum was "the foundation of the New Testa- ment;" which, he says, "'I completed and edited." It is no disparagement of Dr. Morrison to assert that his work required revision ; it was a first version into the most difficult language in the world. The translators contemplated the improvement of their work at some future period, " expecting that they should be able to sit down together and revise the Avhole." This expectation was never reaUzed ; Dr. Milne died in 1822, and the cor- rection of errors and the verbal alterations made by Dr. Morrison were not of great importance. ToNvards the latter part of his life Dr. Morrison became more and more confirmed in the necessity of a thorough revision, and he anticipated the probability of this being effected by his son, who, however, on the death of his father, was selected to succeed him as the translator to the Superin- tendents of British Trade at Canton, and could not there- fore devote his time to tliis object. From 1810 to 1818 the British and Foreign Bible Society had voted the sum of £6000, at seven different times, to assist in the print- ing and publication. The Old Testament formed 21 vols. 12mo. The Book of Job and the historical books were translated by Dr. Milne, and the other portions by Dr. JMorrison. Of the New Testament, Dr. Morrison trans- lated the four Gospels, and from Hebrews to the end. Besides this great work, Dr. IMorrison was also engaged on a Chinese Dictionary, which he completed in 1816, and it was printed by the East India Company, at a cost of £15,000, in 1821. Nor must it be supposed
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that he ever lost sight of the great missionary work in- trusted to his charge while assuming so many other engagements. He constantly preached, and in every way possible sought out the native population, and in 1814 was gratified with his first convert, Tsae-ako, who died in 1S18. Believing that the Chinese could be reached better through educational channels, he caused an Anglo-Chinese college to be founded at Malacca; gave £1000 for the erection of buildings, and £100 an- nually for its support. In 1824 he visited England, and remained home nearly two years. He was received ev- erywhere with great distinction, and was even honored with a reception by king George IV, to whom Jlorrison presented a copy of the Scriptures in Chinese. He had brought home with him a Chinese library of 10,000 vol- umes, and labored earnestly to awaken an interest among his countrymen for Chinese literature. In this he mod- erately succeeded. In 1826 he again set sail for Cliina, and now even more assiduously devoted himself to the missionary work. His time he mainly occupied in preaching, translating, and superintending the distribu- tion of printed works for the conversion of the Chinese. In 1832 he felt so encouraged with the prospects of an early harvest for his many years of toil as to wTite to his friends in England : " I have been twenty-five years in China, and am beginning to see the work prosper. By the press we have been able to scatter knowledge far and wide." In the midst of these occupations Dr. Morrison died at Canton, Aug. 1, 1834, preserving unim- peached until death the consistency, efficiency, and be- nevolence of the Christian missionary.