1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Rous, Francis

ROUS, FRANCIS (1579–1659), English Puritan, was born at Dittisham in Devon in 1579, and educated at Oxford (Broadgates Hall, afterwards Pembroke College) and at Leiden, graduating at the former in January 1596-97, and at the latter thirteen months afterwards. For some years he lived in seclusion in Cornwall and occupied himself with theological studies, producing among other books The Arte of Happines (1619) and Testis Veritatis, a reply to Richard Montagu's Appello Caesarem. He entered parliament in 1625 as member for Truro, and continued to represent that or some neighbouring west country constituency in such parliaments as were summoned till his death. He obtained many offices under the Commonwealth, among them that of provost of Eton College. At first a Presbyterian, he afterwards joined the Independents. In 1657 he was made a lord of parliament. He died at Acton in January 1658-59. The subjective cast of his piety is reflected in his ''Mystical Marriage. . . betweene'' a Soule and her Saviour (1635), but he is best known by his metrical version of the Psalms (1643), which was approved by the Westminster Assembly and (in a revised form) is still used in the Scottish Presbyterian churches.