FELL, JOHN, was the son of Dr. Samuel Fell, Dean of Christ Church, Oxcord, and was born at Longworth, in Berkshire, in 1625. He was re moved at the early age of eleven from Thame school to a stadentship ot Christ Church, where, while his father was Dean, lie took his degrees of B.A. in i640, and of M.A. in 1643. Like his father Ile was an ardent royalist during the troubles of that time. After the Restoration he was made prebendary of Chichester and canon of Christ's Church in 1660 ; in the November of the same year he succeeded to the deanery of which his father had been deprived a dozen years before, being then D.D. and chaplain in ordinary to the king. Between 1666-1669 he was Vice-Chancellor of the University, and in 1676 was advanced to the bishopric of Oxford, retaining the deanery in conz nzendam. He was also master of St. Oswald's fi os pi t al. Worcester. He died in 1686. He was extremely munificent and vigorous in every one 3f his eminent offices. He was also (as Antony a Wood said of him, in Athos. Oxon.) 'a learned divine, and excellently skilled in the Latin and Greek Languages.' We must pass over his miscellaneous works, in biography (such as the life of Dr. 11,, Hammond, and that of Dr. Richd. Allestree) ; in logic and philosophy (such as his Institutio Logica, and 2//cinoi in Platonicanz Plailosophiam introduc tio); and in patristic divinity (such as his edition of St. Clement's two Epistles to the Corinthians, in Greek anti Latin, with notes ; and of St. Cy prian's works, with notes) ; and confine our notice to two works of some name—the one in criti cal, and the other in exegetical divinity. The former had for its title : rijs Kauls 8/a.94/ins dtravra—Novi Testanzenti libri miles ; accesserunt Parallelez Scripturze loca, necnon variantes lectiones ex plus 100 IIISS. codicibus et zintiquis versionibus collectee,' 1675, Svo. This work, which was an ad vance in critical editing of the N. T. on every pre vious publication, was twice reprinted at Leipsic, in 1697, and again in 1702 (` Oxoniensi accuratior ac prmfatione Augusti Hernzanni Franckii copiosa ac perutili ornata ') ; it was also reproduced at Ox ford in 17o3, by John Gregory, in splendid folio. [GREGoRv.] This edition is more valuable for the impulse it gave to subsequent investigators than for the richness of its own stores of fresh materials ; notwithstanding the statement of its title-page. Bishop Fell did not give extracts from the Fathers or cite them as authorities, because he undervalued their authority Testimony ?1,' not apprehending how they might, by the union of their evidence with that of MSS. and versions, be of the greatest use, shewing as they often do, what the reading is in whose favour the evidence preponderates. The
use of versions, indeed, Fell clearly perceived ; yet of those which were available at that time, Ile only attends to the Gothic and Coptic as revised by Dr. T. llilarshall, Rector of Lincoln College ; his list of hitherto untouched MSS. is very scanty. To those which Walton had hitherto used in the last vol. of his Polyglot, we can add only R, the Bar berini readings, then just published ; B, twelve Bodleian codices, quorum plerique intacti in nowise described, and cited only by the num ber of them which may countenance each variation; U, the two Usher MSS., Evang. 63, 64, as collated by II. Dodwell ; three copies from the library of Petavius (P. Act. 3S7 397 40) ; a fourth from St. Germain's (Ger. Paul. E), the readings of which four were furnished by J. Gachon' (Tregelles, Printed 7'ext., p. 4o ; and Scrivener, introduction to the Crit. zy` N. T., pp. 314, 315). This edition of Bishop Fell, and the encouragement which he gave to the more extensive critical labours of Dr. John Mill, were of great importance in fur thering sacred criticism. This latter scholar was liberally assisted by the munificent Bishop, whose intention of defraying the entire cost of Mill's Tes tament was frustrated by his unexpected death, when the publication had advanced DO further than the 24th chap. of St. Matthew. [MILL.] The exegetical work with which the name of Bishop Fell is associated, is entitled : paraphrase and annotations upon ail the Epistles of St. Paul.' This work was first printed in 1675. The title-page of the fourth edition of 17oS revealed the names of tbe contributors and editor, thus : A paraphrase, etc. [as above], by Abraham Woodhead, Richd.
Allestrey, and Obadiah Walker. Corrected and improved by the late Right Rev. and learned Dr. John Fell, Bishop of Oxford.' It is doubtful whether Fell had any actual share in the work ; yet his influence as editor over the contributors was likely to be very great from his commanding character : he was very fond of short notes, and has imparted his taste to his fellow-labourers in this paraphrase. Nor is their brevity the only recommendation of these 'annotations ;' ma.ny difficult passages of the holy Apostle have re ceived a careful elucidation at the hands of these competent scholars ; and Dr. Doddridge has more over commended the collection of parallel passages as judicious, and the amended translation as in many instances elucidating the sense of the origi nal. This valuable work was handsomely reprinted in 1852 at the Oxford University Press, under the careful supervision of the present Regius Professor of Divinity, Dr. Jacobson.—P. H.