lecturer at Newington-Green, he was appointed in 1651 vicar of St. Lawrence, Reading, and in 1659 became vicar of All Saints, Northampton. In 1665, he took the degree of doctor of divinity, and Charles II. made him one of his chaplains. In 1670 we find him minister of Bridewell chapel and rector of St. Mary, Aldermanbury. In 1677 he became rector of Old Swinford, near Stourbridge, and died in 1699. His theological writings and Latin poems are numerous. He assisted Christopher Fowler in the composition of his book against the quakers, which was severely animadverted upon by George Fox in his work entitled the Great Mystery, &c.—T. J.
FORD, Thomas, one of the musicians in the service of Prince Henry, the son of James I. He was the composer of the charming little part song, "Since first I saw your face," which is extracted from his work entitled, "Musicke of sundrie kinds," 1607. He was greatly patronized by two worthy knights of James' court. Sir Richard Weston and Sir Richard Tichborne, but no particulars of his life are known.—E. F. R.
FORDUN, John de, the author of the "Scotochronicon," was probably born about the middle of the fourteenth century, as he was engaged in the composition of his history in the reign of Richard III., which extended from 1387 to 1399. He is supposed to have derived his surname from his birthplace, a small village in Kincardineshire. He was a priest of the diocese of St. Andrews, and a chaplain of the church of Aberdeen. Scarcely anything is known of the events of his life. Fordun seems to have spared neither expense nor labour in the collection of materials for his history. The author of the preface to the ancient Chronicle of Cupar, tells us in quaint and bombastic terms, how the venerable priest not only traversed England and the adjacent provinces of his own country in search of information, but also "travelled on foot, like an unwearied and investigating bee, through the flowery meadows of Britain and into the oracular recesses of Ireland, taking his way through provinces and towns, through universities and colleges, through churches and monasteries, entering into conversation, and not unfrequently sharing at bed and board, with historians and chronologists, turning over their books, debating and disputing with them, and pricking down or intitulating in his descriptive tablets all that most pleased him." The materials thus collected were arranged by him in five books, and twenty-three chapters of a sixth. His narrative extends from the alleged emigration of the Scots from Greece, in the days of Moses, down to the death of David I. of Scotland in 1153, and embodies a general history of the world, along with the preposterous fictions respecting the origin of the Scots, which were current in Scotland in his day. In spite, however, of this credulity, and of the lengthened digressions in which the "Scotochronicon" abounds, it is a work of great value to the historian, and contains much important and authentic information, as well as many striking notices of contemporary manners. The "Scotochronicon" enjoyed high reputation even in the author's own day, and was afterwards copied in various monasteries, with a few alterations and additions, and has in consequence been handed down under the names of "The Book of Scone," "The Book of Paisley," &c., from the monasteries by whose superiors it had been transcribed. The work was continued by Bower down to the death of James I., principally from the materials collected by his predecessor. The "Scotochronicon" has been twice printed, first at Oxford, by Hearne, in 5 vols. 8vo, and afterwards at Edinburgh, in 1 vol. folio, with a preface by Goodal.—J. T.
FORDYCE, David, son of an eminent merchant, was born at Aberdeen in the year 1711. After receiving a preliminary education at the grammar-school of his native city, he entered Marischal college in 1724, and took his degree of M.A. in 1728. He afterwards studied theology in connection with the Church of Scotland, but though duly licensed as a preacher, was never ordained to a pastoral charge. In 1742 he became one of the professors of philosophy in the college in which he had been educated; and being a man of very general accomplishments, he proved himself well fitted for the office, and conducted his students successfully through an extensive and varied curriculum according to the system that then prevailed in the universities of Aberdeen. On the establishment of the Preceptor by Dodsley, he applied for assistance to Professor Fordyce, who contributed one of the divisions of the work, viz., that on moral philosophy, which was so well received that it was published separately, and came into extensive use as a text-book. Besides this book, Fordyce was the author of "Dialogues concerning Education;" "Theodorus, a dialogue concerning the art of preaching;" "The Temple of Virtue, a dream," &c. His death, which was occasioned by shipwreck on the coast of Holland in 1751, excited deep regret in the minds of many, who regarded his published works as only the promise of some more worthy and permanent product of his genius.—J. B. J.
FORDYCE, George, nephew of David, James, and Sir William Fordyce, was born at Aberdeen in 1736, and at the age of fourteen took his degree of M.A. at the university of that town. After residing for some time in England as a pupil of his uncle, a surgeon in Rutlandshire, he went to Edinburgh, and thence to Leyden, to complete his medical studies, and took his doctor's degree at the latter university in 1758. In 1759 he settled in London, and commenced a course of lectures on chemistry, which immediately brought him into notice. In 1768 he published, as the text-book of his lectures on the subject, his "Elements of the Practice of Physic;" previously to which, had appeared at Edinburgh his "Elements of Agriculture and Vegetation," a work of small compass, but of great scientific interest, which recommended to public favour all his subsequent publications. In 1770 Fordyce was chosen physician to St. Thomas' hospital; in 1776 fellow of the Royal Society; and in 1787 fellow of the College of Physicians. He died June 25, 1802. Besides the works above noticed, he published dissertations on fever; a "Treatise on the Digestion of Food;" and numerous papers in the Philosophical and the Medical and Chirurgical Transactions.—J. S., G.
FORDYCE, James, D.D., brother of David and Sir William, was born at Aberdeen in 1720, and educated at the grammar-school and Marischal college of his native city. After completing his literary and theological curriculum he was appointed to the pastoral charge of a congregation in Brechin, Forfarshire, whence he was translated to Alloa, where he acquired considerable reputation as a preacher, and was much esteemed on account of the diligent and affectionate manner in which he discharged his pastoral duties. Several of his sermons—particularly one on "The folly, infamy, and misery of unlawful pleasures," which was preached before the general assembly—were printed during his residence in Alloa, and gave their author, in point of popularity, perhaps the very first place among the pulpit orators of his day in Scotland. From Alloa Dr. Fordyce removed to London, and became co-pastor with Dr. Lawrence of the Scotch church in Monkwell Street. In the metropolis he soon became a most popular preacher, and great crowds, including not a few persons from aristocratic and literary circles, flocked to hear him. It is said that Garrick was occasionally among his auditors, and that he spoke of Dr. Fordyce's pulpit oratory with approbation. This popularity was not permanent, however; and, like many others, Dr. Fordyce, who had preached to eager crowds of listeners, ended by preaching to empty benches. A few years before his death, which took place in 1796, he retired to Hampshire, where he lived near Lord Bute, with whom he was intimate, and to whose fine library he had ready access. He published various works, the best known of which are his "Sermons to Young Women;" "Addresses to Young Men;" "Addresses to the Deity;" and a volume of poems, published in 1786. Respectable on the score of elegance of style, these works may be pronounced to have been without almost every other recommendation to public favour; and their value at the present day is what they possess as indications of the literary and theological barrenness of the period to which they belong.—J. B. J.
FORDYCE, Sir William, brother of the preceding, was born in 1724, and died in 1792. He studied at Marischal college, Aberdeen, of which he was lord-rector at the time of his death. Fordyce acquired his professional knowledge under an able practitioner. He then joined the army as a volunteer, and served as surgeon in France and Germany. Quitting the army, he settled in London, and soon rose to eminence as a medical practitioner. He was a great favourite in the circles of rank and fashion, to which his practice was chiefly confined. His death, which occurred at his house in Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, was widely and deeply lamented. He had received the honour of knighthood from George III. in 1787. Fordyce wrote several treatises—one on fevers, another on the ulcerated sore throat, &c.; and shortly before his death he published a small work, "The great importance and proper method of cultivating and curing Rhubarb in Britain, for medicinal uses."—R. M., A.
