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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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roused by commiseration for the distressed , zeal for liberty and truth , or indignation at injustice and oppression , his whole soul expressed itself in his language ; the whole power of his
faculties came into action ; and he spoke with a warmth , an energy , and even an eloquence , of which those who saw him only through the precise exactness of his ordinary manners and conversation , might have supposed him wholly incapable .
His favourite pursuits , which were philological and rhetorical , perhaps too much iucreased the natural bias of his mind to verbal accuracy . Nevertheless , he always possessed the strongest relish for general knowledge : and had it not been for the kind of artificial constraint to which early circumstances had subjected the development of his mind , plain
and practical studies were those in which he would most naturally have delighted , and in which his native genius seemed best fitted to excel . His mind wanted the lightness and versatility and rapid power of association that are required iu literary criticism ; but was endued with a calmness and solidity of judgment , that were admirably adapted for graver
pursuits . He took a lively interest in the discoveries of natural philosophy ; and works on chemistry and physiology furnished him with a large share of entertain raeut in the latter years of his life . Still his chief and favourite pursuit always continued to be philology . Of the Greek and Latin languages he possessed an exact and solid knowledge . Their best authors he had read repeatedly with
care ; nor had he failed to study diligently the most approved writers on their grammatical structure , idiomatic peculiarities , and metrical laws . Had he been less verbally exact and scrupulous , he might perhaps have penetrated deeper into the spirit of ancient history and literature , and would certainly have made his attainments more available for the purposes of general reasoning and the embellishment of social converse . It
may be mentioned , in proof of the ardour of his miud , and of his undiminished thirst for knowledge , even under the sensible deeay of a failing constitution , that , during the few years of leisure and repose which he enjoyed after resigning his school , he resumed the study of Hebrew , which preceding occupations had compelled him to relinquish , and pursued it with bo much assiduity , that be * sides the Pentateuch and some of the
historical books , he read over the greater part of the prophetical Writings , and por-
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tions of them repeatedly . Having long felt prophecy to be the most difficult subject iu the interpretation of the Scriptures , he was desirous to form his own conclusions by a careful study of the original text . His opinion , as far as could be gathered from occasional conversations with him on the subject , seemed to
incline to the doctrine of a double sense ; at least so far as that doctrine may be said to consist in the acknowledgment of a primary and immediate application of the words of the prophecy to events either contemporaneous with , or shortly subsequent to , the period of its delivery ; and also of a derived and secondary fulfilment of them in Christ ' s person and
ministry . At the same period of life , he commenced the study of Anglo-Saxon ; a pursuit congenial with the philological habits of his mind , and which to him presented peculiar attractions from the opportunity which it afforded of examining the original structure and tracing the etymologies of his native tongue . The Saxon Chronicle was one of the last
books which engaged him in his study before increasing weakness compelled him to renounce all severer pursuits $ and of the curious lights winch this venerable document throws on the manners and institutions of our Saxon and Roman ancestors , he was accustomed to speak with the greatest interest .
Of his moral character , the strictest integrity , perfect stugleness of mind , and a most scrupulous and disinterested consideration of the claims and feelings of others , were the distinguishing features . No man ever delivered his opinions with more deliberateness and more eutire
sincerity . He might sometimes be mistaken ; he might sometimes give offence or excite misapprehension from the unsuspecting simplicity with which he uttered them ; but you saw at once that be spoke what he believed and felt , and were impressed with an irresistible conviction of bis integrity . More wary and
worldly men would often have calculated more nicely the effect of the expression of their opinions ; but Mr . Tayler looked habitually to what was right , and never considered what might be the impression of his language on others , or how he might / stand in consequence in the favour of the parties whom he addressed . No man was ever less tainted in his views of
life and principles of action by the influences of worldly pride and selfishness . He possessed a degree of reserve , with a certain formality of manner and peculiarity of language and pronunciation , thai to the stranger , perhaps , wore occasion *
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Obituary . —Rev . James Taylef . 563
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1831, page 563, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2600/page/59/
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