112
RADCLIFFE.
Following the direction of the son of Sirach, "to honour a physician with the honour which is due to him," we shall speak of Radcliffe as he deserves; not extolling him for scholastic attainments which he did not possess, but giving him every credit for the strong good sense and natural sagacity with which he was really endowed, and without concealing the coarseness of his wit, or the imprudent levity of conduct, in which it was his humour occasionally to indulge. His munificent acts of bounty, his almost unexampled liberality, point him out as one of the most celebrated of a profession that has always been distinguished for its liberality; and fully explain to us the esteem in which he was held by his contemporaries, to whom, in spite of his infirmities of temper, the generosity of his disposition, and the sprightliness of his conversation, rendered him at all times a most agreeable companion.
The father of Dr. John Radcliffe possessed a moderate estate in Yorkshire; and though him self more addicted to the improvement of his paternal acres than to the cultivation of letters, he determined to listen to the advice of his neighbours and friends, and instead of bringing up his son (born in the year 1650) to trade or agriculture, sent him to the grammar-school of Wakefield. Here he made such
