GATAKER, THOMAS, born in London in 1574, studied at Cambridge, where he took his degrees, was afterwards chaplain to Sir William Cook, and also preacher to the Society of Lincoln's Inn. He applied himself especially to the study of the Scriptures in the Hebrew and Greek text, and wrote several works in illustration of the Old Testament. He also wrote Of the Nature and Use of Lots,' a treatise historical and theological, in which he distinguishes between innocent and lawful games of chance and those which are unlawful or repre hensible. His arguments having been misrepresented, he had to sustain a polemical correspondence in his own justification. In 1611 he was appointed rector of Rotherhitho. In 1624 ho wrote a treatise against Transubstantiation. In 1642 he was chosen to sit in the Assembly of Divine's at Westminster, where in several instances he differed from the majority. He afterwards wrote with others the Annotations on the Bible,' which were published by the same Assembly; the Notes on Isaiah and Jeremiah are by him. In 1648 ()stakes, with other
London clergymen, to the number of forty-seven, remonstrated against the measures taken by the Long Parliament with respect to Kiug Charles, and be became in consequence an object of suspicion to the ruling powers, but by his mild and open conduct he escaped personal annoyance. In 1652 he published a Latin translation of M. Aurelius'e Meditations,' with valuable notes, tables of reference, and a prelimi nary discourse on the philosophy of the Stoics. In the latter part of his life he had to sustain a controversy against the pretended astrologer William Lilly. He died above eighty years of ago. His son Charles published his' Opera Critic); 2 vole. folio, Utrecht, 1698, which contain, besides the 'Meditations.' his Cinnue ' and 'Adverearia Miscellanea; being disquisitions on biblical subjects, and 'De Novi Testamenti Style,' a philological treatise on the ancient languages.