CASTELL, EDMUND, eminent among the famous band of Oriental scholars which adorned our literature in the 17th century, was born in 1606 at Hatley, in Cambridgeshire. In 162r he became a pensioner of Emmanuel College, Cam bridge, from which he afterwards migrated to St. John's College, for the sake of its library, which was of great service to him in the preparation of his grand work, the Lexicon Heptaglatlon, or Dic tionary of Seven Languages, which cost him ' the drudgery,' as he called it, of 17 years, impaired health, and (as some have said) ruin of a compe tent fortune. The biographer of Dr. Lightfoot mentions the sum of £12,000, of his own estate, as spent by the toilsome scholar ; but this was not expended entirely on the Lexicon ; with his usual generosity in the prosecution of his favourite literature, he contributed moo to Walton's splendid undertaking, the great Polyglott Bible. Without believing that his costly sacrifice of time, and money, and health, extended to absolute ruin, we may yet be certain that his loss was very great. While preparing his Lexicon, Castell maintained in his own house and at his own expense seven Englishmen and seven foreigners as writers, all of whom died before the completion of the work, when the whole burthen,' says Strype ( Lift of Lightfoot) fell upon himself—though, by God's grace, he at last finished it, before it finished him.' He refers to his own desolate condition and ill-requited labours in his Preface, where also he mentions Beveridge (afterwards Bishop), Murray, and Wansleb, three eminent orientalists, as most persevering in their help, Dr. E. Pococke also assisted him—but to Dr. Lightfoot, the renowned Hebrew and Rabbinical scholar, he in his letters expresses the greatest acknowledgments ; With out him,' he said, his work could never have been so entire as it is.'* He received some prefer ments, which, however inadequate as a recompense for his services, were yet honourable. In the early part of his life, he had been vicar of Hatfield Peverell, in Essex, and afterwards rector of Wode ham Walter, in the same county, both of which he resigned at different periods. He was also rector of Higham Gobion, Bedfordshire, a bene fice which he retained till his death. He was ap pointed Professor of Arabic in the University of Cambridge in 1666, and Prebendary of Canterbury in 1667. He was also chaplain in ordinary to King Charles IL, and possessed of these honours he died in 1685, having bequeathed all his Oriental MSS. to the University which was his Alma Mater. His Lexicon was by no means his only work. He assisted Walton in his Polyglott. In the preface of that magnum opus the author ac knowledges Castell's labours upon the Samaritan, the Syriac, the Arabic, and the Ethiopic versions, with his notes upon all of them, as well as his Latin translation of the Ethiopic version of the Canticles. Moreover, in vol. vi. Walton acknow ledges his farther assistance of collation. Besides all this, he is said to have also translated several of the books of the N. T. and the Syriac version of Job, where differing from the Arabic. Amid all his discouragements he was ever on the watch to advance the progress of oriental and biblical learning. Though I perish,' he said, it comforts me not a little to see how Holy Writ flourishes.' He published in 166o a congratulatory work on the King's restoration, which does not pertain to our subject ; and in 1667 an important contribu tion to biblical learning, which we must not omit to mention, entitled °ratio izz Scholis Theologicis habita ab Edm. Castello S. T. D. et Lingua Ara
bica in Academia Cantabrtg, Prafessore, cunt Pew. !cations suns in secundum Canards Avicenna !thrum auspicarctur, quibus via prastruitur ex Scriptoribus Orientalibus ad clarizis ac dilucidihs enarrandam Botonologicam S.S. Scripture' par tem, opus a nentine adhuc tentatunt, 4to.
The title of his great work is LEXICON brepta :lotion ; fiebraicum, Chaldaicunt, Syriacum, Sa maritanum, "Ethiopkum, Arabicunt, ccmjunctim; el Persicum, separatim. In quo ontnes Hebraa, Chaldaa, Syra, Samaritana', ./Ethiopica, Arabica, et Persicce, tam in lifSS.tcs quanz Impressis libris, cum primis antem in Bibliis Polyclottir, adjectis Izinc bide Armenis, Turcicis, Indis, Yaponicis, &c., ordine Alphabetic°, sub singulis Radicibus continentur.' The copious title-page goes on to describe the ample and lucid arrangement and explication of the MEANINGS of all these words (especially of those which occur, be they but ibr4 Xey6iLeva in the Hebrew Scriptures), on a different plan from any pursued by modern lexicographers, whether Hebrew or Christian ; with materials de rived from the three Chaldee Targums ; and the two Talmuds—of Babylon and Jerusalem ; from the Commentators, Theologians, and Philosophers of the most ancient Rabbins ; from the various readings of the S. Scripture, Hebrew, Chaldee, etc. ; from three copies of the Syriac O. & N. Test ; three Ethiopic of the greatest portion of the same ; besides three Arabic copies and two Persian ; and three copies of the Samaritan Penta teuch ; furthermore, from innumerable Lexicons of all these languages ; from the Koran ; from Avi cenna, the Geographer of Nubia, etc. ; and from the Septuagint Version of the Scriptures. In addi tion to all this, difficult and discrepant opinions of different interpreters are compared and examined ; very many errata in other Lexicons, as well as in Polyglott Bibles and faulty translations, are often amended, and restored to their proper meaning.' And as if this enormous labour were not enough, the very learned author ' added a brief and (as fa: as could be compiled) a harmonized sketch of the Grammar of the afore-mentioned languages.' We know not how better to indicate the value of this work, than by saying, that subsequent scholars, who have been great in the several departments here combined, have agreed in doing honour to Castell's labours : thus J. D. Michaelis, in 1787, republished the Syriac portion in a quarto edition of two volumes, cunt annotationibus ;' and, three years afterwards, the Hebrew lexicon cum sup plementis,' in a similar form. The two volumes of Castell are generally found combined with the six volumes of Walton's Polyglott in the shape of an appendix. Some copies of the Lexicon have in the title, Londini, Scott, 1636,' but this proves nothing more than a reimpression of the title, for there never was a second edition of the work.' Home's Introduction (9th ed.), vol. v. p. 252. If Castell did not receive his recompense when living, posterity has awarded him constant praise. (The best account of Dr. Castell is to be found in The Life of Bishop Walton, by the Rev. H. J. Todd, M.A., F.S. A., (chap. v.), vol. i. pp. 163-1791.— P. H.