218 LIVES OF TIIE PURITANS. productions of his pen. The first of these is entitled, " De BaptismatisInfantilis vi & efficaciaDisceptatio privatimhabita inter V. C. Dom. Samuelem Wardum, theologize sacr docto- rem, & in academia Cantabrigiensi Professorem, &Ptomain Gatakerum," 1651. The other is entitled, " StricturaJ ad Epistolam Joannis Davenantii de Baptism° Infantum," 1654. In the year 7.652, he favoured the world with his admirable edition of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus's Meditations, to which he prefixed a preliminary discourse on the philosophy of the. Stoics, which, in the opinion of the ablest critics, both at home and abroad, is allowed to be a most complete and correct treatise, as well as a most useful compendium of morality. He added also an exact translation, together with a commentary. In some of his former works he had given occasional specimens of his perfect acquaintance with the works of this imperial philosopher, whose celebrity has always been as high among the learned as his station was in the world ; therefore, when the work was published, men's expectations were highly raised, and abundantly gratified. It had been published in Greek by Conrad Gesner, with a Latin translation by William Hylander, and had passed through several editions. Mr. Gataker found both the text and the translation exceedingly faulty, and spent nearly forty years in considering how the former might be amended, and a new translation made, which might do justice to so exquisite a production. He found prodigious difficulties in the arduous undertaking, being able to meet with very few manuscript copies, and receiving very Slender :helps from those learned persons, whose assistance he solicited in the progress of his endeavours. He sent indeed a list of Isis principal difficul- ties to the celebrated Salmasius, who, in his answer, very gratefully acknowledged, and warmly commended his under- taking ; but gave him) at the same time, a dismal pro- spect of the obstacles he had to overcome : as, innumerable corruptions, frequent chasms, snore frequent transpositions, and many, other misfortunes, for the removal of which he promised his assistance; which, however, his frequentjournies and other occurrences prevented. Mr. Gataker, nevertheless, persevered in the arduous work, and, with the few helps he enjoyed, his own sagacity, and the comparing of various copies, at length completed his design, and, to the great satis faction of the learned world, published his admirable edition of this valuable work about two years before his death, under the following title : " Marci Antonini Imperatoris de rebus suis sive de us quze ad se pertinere censebat Lebri xii. curia
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