Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 8.djvu/291

Rh coincidence, the first part of the work, and the first volume of "Mitford's History of Greece"—two rival publications upon a common subject—were published during the same year.

The rest of the life of Dr. Gillies presents few incidents for the biographer. In 1793 he succeeded Dr. Robertson as historiographer royal for Scotland, a sinecure office, to which a salary of ₤200 per annum is attached. He was also elected a member of several societies in our own country, as also a corresponding member of the French Institute and of the Royal Society of Gottingen. In 1794 he married. His various publications continued to appear at distant intervals, until the debility of old age compelled him to lay aside his pen; and, having done enough for fame and fortune, he retired in 1830 to Clapham, near London, where the rest of his life was passed in tranquil enjoyment, until he died, at the age of ninety, without disease and without pain. This event occurred on the 15th of February, 1836.

Besides his writings which we have already specified, Dr. Gillies published:—


 * 1) "View of the Reign of Frederic II. of Prussia, with a Parallel between that Prince and Philip II. of Macedon," 1789, 8vo.
 * 2) "Aristotle's Ethics and Politics, comprising his Practical Philosophy, translated from the Greek; illustrated by Introductions and Notes, the Critical History of his Life, and a New Analysis of his Speculative Works," 1797, 2 vols. 4to.
 * 3) "Supplement to the Analysis of Aristotle's Speculative Works, containing an account of the Interpreters and Corrupters of Aristotle's Philosophy, in connection with the times in which they respectively flourished," 1804, 4to.
 * 4) "The History of the Ancient World, from the Dominion of Alexander to that of Augustus, with a Preliminary Survey of Preceding Periods," 1807–10, 2 vols. 4to. This was afterwards reprinted in 4 vols. 8vo, as the "History of Ancient Greece, its Colonies and Conquests, Part II.," 1820.
 * 5) "A New Translation of Aristotle's Rhetoric, with an Introduction and Appendix, explaining its relation to his Exact Philosophy, and vindicating that Philosophy by proofs that all departures from it have been deviations into Error," 1823, 8vo.

, D.D.—This acute original thinker and eloquent preacher was born in Glencairn, Dumfriesshire, on the 5th of May, 1786. His early opportunities for obtaining a superior education appeared certain, as his father, a man of considerable natural endowments, as well as high religious worth, was parochial schoolmaster at Kirkland of Glencairn. This prospect, however, was apparently extinguished when Robert was about six years old, by the death of his father; but it often happens that such a bereavement, instead of discouraging, only braces a mind of native energy, and fits it for future excellence by a stern apprenticeship of effort and self-reliance. Besides this, he still possessed an able guide, so far as his school-boy studies and the bias of his mind were concerned, in his surviving parent, of whom he was the only son; a woman characterized in her limited circle by strong intellect, as well as pious principles. How Robert availed himself of these advantages was well attested by the fact, that when he had scarcely reached his sixteenth year he was appointed by the heritors of Kirkland to the office of parish teacher, which his father had occupied. Not only the excellence of his scholarship, but also the steadiness and energy of his character, must have been well established, when they were allowed