to his expositions of the Scriptures an extensive knowl- edge of classical literature, and, imitating Grotius's method, frequently illustrated by profane authors, es- pecially the Greek and Roman. See Orme, Bibl. Bibli- ca, s. v. ; C'rit. Sacri, vol. v ; Allibone, Diet, of Brit, and Amer. A uth. s. v. : Kitto, iii, 568. (J. H. W.)
Price, John (2), D.D., an English clergyman, flourished in the second half of the 17th century, and was chaplain to general Monk during the civil wars. Dr. Price published, Serm. of Thanksgiving for the Suc- cess of General Monk (Lond. 1660, 4to) : — Serm. on Matt, v, 47 (Oxon. 1661, 8vo) : — Serm. on Gal. iv, 16 (1661, 8vo):— Serm. on Eccles. x, 17 (1661, 8vo) :—Serm. on Neb. xiii, 16 (1661, 8vo) -.—Serm. on Phil, iv, 5 (1663, 4to) : — The Mystery and Method of his Majesty's Happy Restauration laid open to Publick View (Lond. 1660, 8vo).
Price, Jonathan D., a physician and missionary to Burmah in the first half of this century, was ordained in Philadelphia May 20, 1821, and immediately after set out for his field of labor. He arrived early in the next year at Rangoon. When his medical knowledge became known at. court, he was ordered to repair to Ava, the capital, where he was introduced to the king, who gave him a house. When the British invaded Burmah, he and Mr. Judson were thrown into prison June 8, 1824. He was confined and subjected to dreadful sufferings till February or March, 1826, when he was released and em- ployed to negotiate a treaty with the British, who had advanced near to the capital. After the war he resided at Ava, and was in favor with the emperor. Price taught several native scholars, and by his lectures hoped to shake the foundation of Buddhism. He fell a victim to pulmonary consumption Feb. 14, 1828, dying in the hope of that precious Gospel he wished to impart to the heathen. See A met: Bapt. Mag. ; Memoir of Mrs. Jud- son ; Allen, Biog. Diet. s. v.
Price, Rice. See Price. Thomas.
Price, Richard, D.D., an eminent English divine, noted for his scholarly attainments, his philosophical and mathematical contributions, his general devotion to truth in its highest forms, and a most consistent life, was born at Tynton, Glamorganshire, Wales, Feb. 23, 1723. His father, of whose second marriage Rich- ard was the sole offspring, was a rigid Calvinistic minister, remarkable for his intolerance, who spared no pains to imbue his son with sound Calvinistic doc- trine. Richard, however, began early to claim the priv- ilege of free opinion, and by his scruples often incurred the anger of his parent. The latter died in 1739, and by his will the bulk of the property, which appears to have been considerable, came into the possession of one son; the widow and six other children being left in straitened circumstances to provide for their own main- tenance. The widow and her eldest son lived, however, only a few months longer, and shortly after their death Richard, then in his eighteenth year, set out for Lon- don in the hope of qualifying himself for the clerical profession. The heir of his father's fortune provided him with both horse and servant as far as Cardiff, but left him without the means of performing the rest of the journey except on foot or in a wagon. He chose the former as the most ready means, and thus made his way to the metropolis of England. His education during his father's lifetime had been superintended by several Dissenting ministers, and on reaching London he ob- tained, through the kindness of a paternal uncle, admis- sion to a Presbyterian academy, where he pursued stud- ies in mathematics, philosophy, and theology. In 1743 he was engaged as chaplain and companion to the fam- ily of Mr. Sfreathrield, of Stoke-Newington, where he resided for thirteen years, the death of his employer only terminating the engagement, but not without a recognition of faithful service rendered. In the dis- position of Mr. Streathfield's property Price came in for a share, and by this aid and his appointment as morn- ing preacher of the chapel at Newington-Green, he was
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placed in independent circumstances. He had pre- viously been made pastor of a congregation at Hack- ney, but he preferred the appointment at Newington- Green, married in 17.">7. and lived there until the death of his wife (in 1786), when he removed again to Hackney. Meanwhile hi- liic had been one of considerable liter- ary and scientific actii ity. His /.'■ vu a ofifo Principal and Difficulties in Morals (Lond. 1758), though somewhat heavy, and designated by Brown as ''very elaborate, very tedious, and not very clear," Beems to have established his reputation as a metaphy- sician and a moralist, it is i aidered the ablest de- fence of the system of Cudworth and Clarke. It is an attempt to revive the intellectual theory of moral ob- ligation, which seemed to have fallen under the attacks of Butler, Hutcheson, and Hume, and was made before that of Smith. Sir. I.. Mackintosh ha- briefly noticed it in his Preliminary Dissertation to Encyclop. Brit, (re- published in his Works [ed. 1854]', i, 158, 159). In 1769 Price published his Treatist on Reversionary Pay- ments; this was followed by the compilation and pub- lication of the celebrated Northampton Mortality Ta- bles, and various other works relating to life-assurance and annuities, forming most valuable contribution- to the branch of science to which they refer. In 1776 appeared bis Observations on Civil Liberty and tht Justice and Policy of the War with America. Of this work G0,000 copies are said to have been sold in a few months. So greatly was it admired in the United States that, in 1778, the American Congress, through Franklin, communicated to him their desire to consider him a fellow-citizen, and to receive his assistance in regulating their finances— an offer declined principally on the ground of age. On the termination of the war with the colonies, Mr. Pitt sought Mr. Price's advice as to the best mode of liquidating the British national debt, the result of which, it is said, was the adoption of the sinking fund. When the French revolution broke out, the doctor distinguished himself by a sermon, "On the Love of Country." in which he hailed that event as the commencemenl of a glorious a?ra. This drew upon the pre'. her some strong animadversions from Mr. Burke in bis celebrated Reflections. Besides many papers in the Transactions of th Royal Society, of which lie was a fellow, be published sermons and pamphlets, which established hi- character as a sound advocate for civil liberty and a profound master of finan- cial calculation. He died April 19, 1791. One other of his publications of interest to our readers is his Four Dissertations on Providence, Prayer, the Statt of Virtu- ous Men after Death, and Christianity ( 1766-68). His views respecting the Son of God were what was called Low or semi-Arian. .Mr. Price was a believer in the immateriality of the soul, holding that, according to the teaching of the Sacred Scriptures, it remains in a dor- mant state between death and resurrection ; and because of these opinions he was led into a controversy of some Celebrity with his friend Dr. Priestley, maintained by Correspondence in 177s. and given to the public by the latter under the title of .1 Free Discussion of the Doc- trim of Materialism and Philosophical Necessity. This friendly controversy shows how decided were his views