LEIGHTON, ROBERT, was born in the year 1611, and probably in London, where his father resided. Being of Scottish descent, he was edu cated at Edinburgh, and took his degiee of M. A. at the nniversity there in 1631. After leaving the university he spent some years on the Continent, chiefly in France. On his return to Scotland he was licensed by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, and became in 1641 minister of the parish of New battle, where he remained till 1653. Of events during his incumbency some curious notices, from the records of the Presbytery of Dalkeith and the kirk-session books of Newbattle, have been published in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. iv. p. 463, ff. In 1653, Leighton became principal of the Uni versity of Glasgow, which office he held till after the Restoration. On the re-establishment of Episcopacy in Scotland, he became Bishop of Dunblane, to which office he was consecrated at Westminster, 15th December 1661; and in 1669 lie became Archbishop of Glasgow. In 1674 he re
signed this office and retired to England, where lie resided for seveml years, and died at London 25th June 1684. Leighton's great work is his Practkal Commentaly upon the First General Epistle of St. Peter. This is not a learned exposition ; the writer hardly notices questions of philology at all ; but perhaps no more remarkable instance is extant of the power which sympathy with the writer gives in enabling an expositor to bring out and elucidate his meaning. Leighton wrote also Prcelectiones Theologiar, of which an edition was published a few years ago by the late Prof. Scholefield of Cambridge ; also some sermons and charges. There is an edition of his work in 4 vols. 8vo, Lond. 1819 ; but the best edition is that of Pear son, Lond. 1828.—W. L. A.