The University Press supplied Prideaux with gossip. They printed "a
book against Hobs," written by Clarendon. Hobbes was the heresiarch
of the time, and when an unhappy fellow of Merton hanged himself, the
doctrines of Hobbes were said to have prompted him to the deed. To
return to the Press. "Our Christmas book will be Cornelius Nepos . .
. Our marbles are now printing." Prideaux, as has been said, took no
interest in his own work.
"I coat (quote) a multitude of authors; if people think the better of
me for that, I will think the worse of them for their judgement. It
beeing soe easyly a thinge to make this specious show, he must be a
fool that cannot gain whatsoever repute is to be gotten by it. If
people will admire him for this, they may; I shall admire such for
nothing else but their good indexs. As long as books have these, on
what subject may we not coat as many others as we please, and never
have read one of them?"
It is not easy to gather from this confession whether Prideaux had or
had not read the books he "coated." It is certain that Dean Aldrich
(and here again we recognise the eternal criticism of modern Oxford)
held a poor opinion of Humphrey Prideaux. Aldrich said Prideaux was
"incorrect," "muddy-headed," "he would do little or nothing besides
heaping up notes"; "as for MSS. he would not trouble himself about
any, but rest wholly upon what had been done to his hands by former
editors.
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