Present Century, Including Biographical Notices of Translators and Other Eminent Biblical ScholarsIn offerting the present work to the American reader, the editor has thought a brief notice of the author would not be out of place. The following is taken from a Memoir published in the Wesleyan Methodist Magazine: -James Townley was born of respectable parents in Manchester, May 11th, 1774. His father, Mr. Thomas Townley, was in extensive business. His mother, a very sensible woman, was a regular attendant at the services of the established Church, and an occasional hearer at the evening services in the Methodist chapel.The care of his education was intrusted for some years to the late Rev. David Simpson, of Macclesfield: after his death he was continued at the school of his curate, where he was instructed in some departments of classical literature, and passed through the usual routine of an English education.In his twenty-second year Mr. Townley was received on probation as a travelling preacher by the Wesleyan Methodist conference. From this time till the year 1832, when by a failure of health he was compelled to retire, a period of six-and-thirty years, he continued, with uniform consistency and increasing honour, to fulfil his duties as a minister, and to occupy some of the most important offices of the connection to which he belonged.In addition to the advantages of education, Mr. Townley had received the impulse arising from early literary associations. While in Manchester he had become a member of a Philological Society, originated by the late Dr. Adam Clarke; and, in common with many other young men, was urged, by the example and exhortations of that celebrated scholar, to great diligence in the pursuit of knowledge, the fruits of which were seen throughout his future course. His first publication of note was a volume of "Biblical Anecdotes," which appeared in the year 1814. He had been desired by his children to preach them a sermon on the history of the Holy Scriptures, and on the early translations of them into different languages. As he found that they and others were delighted with the facts he had collected and arranged for their information, he yielded to the further request of his family, and prepared the volume already mentioned.The work which next proceeded from his pen was one which procured to him considerable celebrity in the literary and religious world.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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