to the loyal cause as they were aide to appre- ciate his works and his worth. He took his doctor of divinity's degree, and continued afterwards to discharge the duties of both his lectures, anil to give to the world.
to the end of his life, new proofs of his unrivalled skiil in < Iriental learning. He was consulted as a master by all the most learned men in Europe: by Hornius, Alt- ing, Hottinger, Golius, from abroad; and by Cudworth, Boyle, Hammond, Castel, al home. His next publica- tion, in 1661, was the Arabic poem by Abu Ismail Tho- grai, entitled Ldmiy-yalu-l-'ajem, with a Latin transla- tion, copious notes, and a learned preface by I <r. Samuel
But by far the mosl important as well as the mosl useful of Pocock's works was his translation id' the entire work of Abul-faraj, which, along with the text and a few excelli nt notes, was primed at ( Ixford in 1663 i - vols. Ito I, entitled Gregorii Abul Farajiihistoi ia Dy- nasiiarum. (This is a compendium of the general his- tory of the world from the creation to his own time. i.e. about the end of the 13th century, and i- di\ hi, d into ten dynasties.) Alter the publication of this work Po- cock seems to have devoted himself entirely to Biblical learning. In 1674 he published, at the expense of the university, his Arabic translation of the Church Cate- chism and the English Liturgy. Some time after, Fell, dean of Christchurch, having concerted a scheme for a commentary upon the < >ld Testament, to be written by some learned hands in that university, engaged our au-
ike a -hare. This gave occasion to his com- lu 1677 appeared his Commentary on the Prophecies of Micah and Malachi; in 1685 that on Hosea, and in 1691 that on ./"</. It was his intention to comment upon other- of the lesser prophets. In these commentaries, which are all in English, Pocock's skill iii his favorite subject of Biblical Hebrew i- very apparent The note-, no doubt ;ir*' too diffuse, hut i hey exhibit much profound learning in rabbinical as well as sacred Hebrew. In his critical principles he warmly defends the general purity of the Masoretic text againsl tie- aspersions of Isaac Vossius and the theory ofCapellus; hut. although hi- Masoretic predi- lections are excessive, he does not depredate the Septua- gint His scheme ever was to reconcili bj learned ex- planations the sacred original and the most venerable
POCOCK
311
POE
of its versions. This great and good man labored on. harassed by enemies and neglected by friends, but re- spected for his purity of life, and admired for his match- less learning, in his professional and pastoral pursuits, to the very end of his life, his only distemper being ex- treme old age. which yet hindered him not, even the night before he died, from his invariable custom of praying from the liturgy with his family. He expired Sept. 10, 1691, after a gradual decay of his constitution, and his remains were interred in the cathedral of Christ- church, where a monument with an inscription is erected to his memory. As to his person, he was of a middle stature, and slender; his hair and eyes black, his com- plexion fresh, his look lively and cheerful, and his con- stitution sound and healthy. In his conversation he was free, open, and affable, retaining even to the last the briskness and facetiousness of youth. His temper was modest, humble, sincere; and his charity brought such numbers of necessitous objects to him that dean Fell used to tell him complainingly " that he drew all the poor of Oxford into the college property." His the- ological works were collected in 2 vols. fol. in 1740 by Leonard T wells, who also wrote an account of the life and works of Pocock. Pocock's services to Oriental scholarship in Europe, especially in England, are well- nigh inestimable. Bishop Marsh says of him : " Should I begin to-speak of the rare endowments of this admira- ble man, I should not be able to end his character un- der a volume. His rare learning appears in his writ- ings." " Pocock," says Hallam, " was probably equal to any Oriental scholar whom Europe had hitherto pro- duced. ... No Englishman probably has ever contrib- uted so much to that province of [Arabic] learning." See Cattermole, Literature of the English Church, i, 175; Hook, Ecclesiastical Biography, vm, 98; Skeats, Hist, of (he English Free Church, p. 63 ; Orme, Biblio- theca Biblia, s. v. ; Perry, Hist. Ch. of Engl, (see Index in vol. iii) ; Stoughton, Eccles. Hist, of Engl, (since the Restoration), ii, 332 ; Kitto, Cyclopedia of British Lit- erature, iii, 553; Allibone, Diet, of British ami Ameri- can A uthors, vol. ii, s. v. ; Biblical Rejoositoi-y, x, 2 sq. (J. H. W.)
Pocock, Edward (2), an English Orientalist, son of the preceding, was born at Oxford in 1647, and edu- cated at the university of that place. He published, under his father's direction, a philosophical treatise of Ibn-Tofail, with a Latin version and notes, entitled Phi- losophies autodidactus (Oxford, 1671, 4to). The same treatise was translated into English by Ockley. He was on the point of publishing the Description of Egypt by Abdallatif 'in Arabic and in Latin when, being re- fused in 1691 the succession to the chair left vacant by his father's death, he renounced entirely his Oriental studies. This valuable work remained long unpub- lished : the Arabic text was printed at Tubingen at the close of last century, and was almost immediately trans- lated into German. White published in 1800 the orig- inal and Pocock's Latin version (Oxf. 4to), with notes of his own.