Page:A new and general biographical dictionary; containing an historical and critical account of the lives and writings of the most eminent persons in every nation v1.djvu/356

 320 ARMINIUS. land, in 1560. He loft his father in his infancy, and was indebted for the firlt part of his education to a good-natured clergyman, who had imbibed fome opinions of the Reformed, and who, in order to avoid the being obliged to fay mafs, often changed his habitation. Arminius was a ftudent at Utrecht, when death deprived him of his patron, which lofs would have embarrafled him greatly, had he not had the good fortune to be affifted by Rodolphus Snellius, his countryman, who took him with him to Marpurg in 1575. Soon after his arrival here, he had the news of his country having been facked by the Spaniards: this plunged him into the moft dreadful affltdlion, nor could he help returning to Holland, to be himfelf an eye-witnefs of the ftate to which things were reduced ; but having found that his mother, his fitter, his brothers, and almoft all the inhabitants of Oude-water had been murdered, he returned to Marpurg. His ftay here was, however, but fiiort ; for, being informed of the foundation of the univerfity of Leyden, he went again to Holland, and purfued his ftudies at this new academy with fo much afli- duity and fuccef", that he acquired very great reputation. He was fcnt to Geneva in 1583, at the expence of the magi- Itrates of Amfterdam, to perfect his ftudies; and here he ap- plied himfelf chiefly to the lectures of Theodore Beza, who was at this time explaining the Epiftle to the Romans. Ar- minius had the misfortune to difpleafe fome of the leading men of the univerfity, becaufe he maintained the philofophy of Ramus in public with great warmth, and taught it in pri- vate: being; obliged therefore to retire, he went to Bafil, where he was received with great kindnefs [B]. Here be ac- quired fuch great reputation, that the faculty of divinity of- fered him the degree of doclor without any expence : he mo- deftly excufed himfelf from receiving this honour, and re- turned to Geneva ; where having found the adverfaries of Kamifm lefs violent than formely, he became alfo more mo- derate. He had a great defire to fee Italy, and particularly to hear the plv.lofophical lectures of the famous James Zaba- " guec! from the freedom of man's will, Bifliop Burnet has given a full ac- " which the do&rinc of irrefiftible count of the opinions of this fetl in his " manner, reprobation, in Scripture, [B] Profeflbr James Gryneus, when " lias no relation, they think, to any he was engaged in difputing, often de- " abfolute decree concerning man's puted Arminius to anfwer fuch objec- " riamnati' n, but only to fuch adlions tions a? appeared difficult: " Let my " of men as cannot i>ut be difapproved " Dutchman," he uied to fay ''anfwer ' by God." Brighton's Religion of " ror me." Bertius, in Orations fune- all Nation?, p. Sz. bri Arminii. rella,
 * grace abfulutely overthrows, in like Exp.-.f.tion of the leventeenth Article.