Dury, John
, in Latin Duroeus, was a divine of Scotland, in the seventeenth century, who laboured with great
zeal to unite the Lutherans and Calvinists. He was bora
educated for the ministry in Scotland. In 1624 he
| came to Oxford for the sake of the public library. Hovr
long he remained there is uncertain; for his strong inclination for his great work, and his sanguine hopes of success
in it, induced him to let his superiors know, that he could
employ his talents better by travelling through the world,
than if he was confined to the care of one flock. They
agreed to his proposals, and permitted him to go from
place to place, to negociate an accommodation between
the protestant churches. He obtained likewise the approbation and recommendation of Laud archbishop of Canterbury; and was assisted by Bedell bishop of Kilmore, and
also by Dr. Joseph Hall, bishop of Exeter, as he acknowledges in the preface to his “Prodromus.” He began by
publishing his plan of union in 1634; and the same year
appeared at a famous assembly of the evangelical churches
in Germany at Francfort. The same year also the churches
of Transylvania sent him their advice and counsel. Afterwards he negociated with the divines of Sweden and Denmark: he turned himself every way: he consulted the universities; he communicated their answers, and was not
deterred by the ill success of his pains, even in 1661 *.
He appeared at that time as much possessed as ever with
hopes of succeeding in this wild and impracticable scheme;
and, going for Germany, desired of the divines of Utrecht
an authentic testimony of their good intentions, after having informed them of the state in which he had left the
affair with the king of Great Britain and the elector of
Brandenburgh; and of what had passed at the court of
Hesse, and the measures which were actually taken at
Geneva, Heidelberg, and Metz. He desired to have this
testimonial of the divines of Utrecht, in order to shew it to
the Germans; and having obtained it, he annexed it to the
end of a Latin work, which he published this year at Amsterdam, under the following title: “Johannis Dursei irenicorum tractatuum prodromus, &c.” The preface of this
book is dated at Amsterdam, October 1, 1661.
Being at Francfort in April 1662, he declared to some
gentlemen of Metz, that he longed extremely to see M.
Ferri, an enthusiast, like himself, for uniting discordancies.
| He resolved at length to go to
Metz, but met with two
difficulties: the first was, that he must consent to dress
after the French fashion, like a countryman: the second,
to have his great white and square beard shaved. He got
over these difficulties: and, upon his arrival, monsieur
Ferri was so surprised, so overjoyed, and so very eager to
salute this good doctor and fellow-labourer immediately,
that he went out to meet him in a complete undress.
They conferred much; and their subject was an universal
coalition of religions. In 1674, however, Dury began to
be much discouraged; nor had he any longer hopes of
serving the church by the methods he had hitherto taken.
He had therefore recourse to another expedient, as a sure
means of uniting not only
Lutherans and Calvinists, but
all Christians; and this was, by giving a new explication
of the Apocalypse. Accordingly he published it in a little
treatise in French, at Francfort in 1674, He now enjoyed
a quiet retreat in the country of
Hesse: where Hedwig
Sophia, princess of
Hesse, who had the regency of the
country, had assigned him a very commodious lodging,
with a table well furnished, and had given him free postage
for his letters. He returns her thanks for this in the epistle
dedicatory to the book above mentioned. It is not known
in what year he died. He was an honest man, full of zeal
and piety,but somewhat fanatical. Among his publications, the titles of some of which shew his cast of opinions,
in which he was by no means steady, we find, 1. “
Consultatio theologica super negocio Pacis Ecclesiast.” Lond.
1641, 4to. 2. “
A summary discourse concerning the work
of Peace Ecclesiastical,” Camb.
1641, 4to, which was presented in 1639 to sir
Thomas Rowe, ambassador at Hamburgh. 3. “
Petition to the house of commons for the preservation of true Religion,” Lond.
1642, 4to. 4. “
Certain considerations, shewing the necessity of a correspondency in spiritual matters betwixt all professed Churches,”
ibid.
1642, 4to. 5. “
Epistolary Discourse to Thomas
Godwin, Ph. Nye, and Sam. Hartlib,” ibid.
1644, 4to, a discourse against toleration, which was answered by
H. Robinson. 6. “
Of Presbytery, and Independency, &c.”
1646,
4to. 7. “
Model of the Church Government,”
1647, 4to.
8. “
Peace makes the Gospel way,”
164*, 4to. 9. “
Seasonable discourse for Reformation,”
1649, 4to, published
by Sam. Hartlib. 10. “
An epistolical Discourse to Mr.
Thos. Thorowgood, concerning his conjecture that the
| Americans are descended from the Israelites, &c.” 1649,
4to. 11. “
Considerations concerning the Engagement,”
1650, with two other pamphlets on the same subject, in
answer to an antagonist. 12. “
The Reformed School,”
1650, 12mo, published by Hartlib, with a supplement in
1651. 13. “
The reformed Library Keeper,”
1650, 12mo,
to which is added “
Bibliotheca ducis Brunovicensis et
Lunenburgi,” at Wolfenbuttle. 14. “
Conscience eased,
&c.” 165J, 4to. 15. “
Earnest plea for Gospel Communion,”
1654. 16. “
Summary platform of Divinity,”
1654. Hartlib wrote a defence of Dury against the presbyterians, Lond. 1650. In this we are told that he obtained an estate of 60
l. per ann. in the marshes of
Kent,
which came into the possession of
Henry Oldenburg, who
married his daughter.
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