The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Sandys, Edwin

'''SANDYS. I. Sir Edwin,''' an English statesman, born in Worcester in 1561, died at Northborne, Kent, in 1629. He was the son of Dr. Edwin Sandys, then bishop of Worcester, afterward archbishop of York. He studied at Oxford, where he was the pupil of Richard Hooker, and afterward travelled extensively on the continent, and published “Europæ Speculum, or a Survey of the State of Religion in the Western Part of the World” (best ed., 4to, 1637). Having supported the succession of James I., he was knighted by that monarch in 1603. He was an influential member of the second London company for Virginia, in which he took the lead in measures of reform, and introduced the vote by ballot. In 1619, having been elected treasurer of the company, as its chief officer was then called, he established in the colony representative government, and was indefatigable in promoting public security and prosperity. Spanish influence was exerted against him, and in 1620 King James, in violation of the charter, forbade his reëlection; but his successor was his friend the earl of Southampton, who continued his policy. '''II. George,''' an English poet, brother of the preceding, born at Bishopsthorpe in 1577, died at Boxley abbey, Kent, in March, 1644. He was educated at Oxford, and published “A Relation of a Journey begun A. D. 1610, in Four Books, containing a Description of the

Empire, of Egypt, of the Holy Land, and of the Remote Parts of Italy and Islands adjoining” (fol., 1615; 7th ed., 1673), and a translation of the first five books of Ovid's “Metamorphoses” (2d ed., 1621). In 1621 he became colonial treasurer of Virginia, where he distinguished himself by his public zeal. He executed all orders concerning staple commodities; to him is due the building of the first water mill; he promoted the establishment of iron works in 1621, and in the following year introduced ship building. He translated the last ten books of the “Metamorphoses” while in Virginia. When the king broke up the Virginia company in 1624, he returned to England, where in 1626 he published the translation of the whole. He also wrote poetical versions of the Psalms (1636), of the book of Job, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, &amp;c. (1639), and of the Song of Solomon (1642). His life, by the Rev. H. J. Todd, is prefixed to “Selections from Sandys's Metrical Paraphrases” (London, 1839). A collective edition of his poetical works, with an introduction and notes, has been published by the Rev. R. Hooper (2 vols., London, 1872).