A briefe view of the state of the Church of England as it stood in Q. Elizabeths and King James his reigne, to the yeere 1608 being a character and history of the bishops of those times ... / written ... by Sir John Harington ..., Knight.

Bishop Vaughan.

Mr. Richard Vaughan is the next I have to speak of, being the last man nam'd in my Authors Book, and of him he hath but two lines, onely declaring him to have been the Bishop of Chichester.

Upon the remove of my Lord of Can∣terbury that now is•• he succeeded him in London, as is not unknown to your High∣nesse.

His beginning of preferment was under the Lord Keeper Puckering, being his exa∣miner, of such as sued for the benefices in my Lords gift; in which, though some complaine he was too precise, yet for my part I ascribe to that one of his greatest praises. For this I know, that a Preacher being a Noblemans Chaplaine, and there∣fore qualified for two Benefices, came to him ••recommended in good sort, and brought with him a Gentleman of both their acquaintance, that sometime had

been an University man, to speak for his approbation. Mr. Vaughan examined him of no very deep points, and found him but shallow, and not very ready in the Roman Tongue, his friend having been fain to help him up in two or three foule stumbles, both of language and mat∣ter; whereupon he dismist him, without all hope of the Benefice, and after told the Gentleman seriously, that if he would have it himselfe, he would allow him suf∣ficient, but the suitor by no means. He was in those daies very prompt, and ready in speech, and withall factious; he was an enemy to all supposed miracles, inso∣much as one arguing with him in the Closet at Greenwich, in defence of them, and alledging the Queens healing of the Evil for an instance, asking him what he could say against it, he answered, that he was loth to answer arguments taken from the Topick place of the Cloth of estate; but if they would urge hi•• to answer, he said his opinion was, she did it by vertue of some precious stone in possession of the Crown of England, that had such a na∣turall quality. But had Queen Elizabeth been told, that he had ascribed more ver∣tue to her Jewels (though she loved them

wel) then to her person, she would never have made him Bishop of Chester. He grew heavy and corpulent of a sudden, not so much with too much ease, as with too little exercise. Corpus quod corrum∣pitur aggravat animam, soon after his re∣move to London he fell into that drousie diseas••, of which he afte died, growing thereby unfit for the place, that requires a Vigilantius, and not a Dormitantius. He was held a milde man, and was well spo∣ken of in the City, which sometime hap∣neth not to them that deserve the best. To conclude, being taken with an Apo∣plexie, he may be properly said to have slept with his forefathers.