Cumberland. I. Richard, an English divine, born in London, July 13, 1632, died Oct. 9, 1718. He studied medicine a short time, but abandoned" it for theology, and in 1658 became rector of Brampton in Northamptonshire, where he remained till 1667, when Sir Orlando Bridgman appointed him his chaplain, and soon after bestowed on him the living of Allhallows in Stamford. In 1692 he was appointed bishop of Peterborough. He was remarkable for purity of private life, for diligence in the discharge of his duties, and for extent and variety of learning. When 83 years of age he commenced the study of Coptic. In 1672 he published in Latin Be Legibus Naturm Disquisitio Philosophica, etc, a philosophical disquisition on the laws of nature, in which their form, chief heads, order, promulgation, and obligation are investigated from the nature of things, and the elements of the philosophy of Hobbes, both moral and political, are considered and refuted. It is upon this work that the reputation of Cumberland principally rests. In style and arrangement it is very defective; it was printed in a most slovenly manner, and the numberless issues have not been corrected in subsequent reprints. Cumberland left an interleaved copy with some corrections and additions, which came into the possession of Bentley, who revised the whole.

This copy was presented to the library of Trinity college, Cambridge, by the great-grandson of the author. In 1701 an abridged translation by James Tyrrel was published, and in 1727 a translation with some original dissertations by Maxwell. In 1744 M. Bar-bey rac published a French translation of Bent-ley's copy. In 1750 appeared a third English translation by the Rev. John Towers, D. 1). In this work Cumberland maintains that the tendency to effect the general good is the standard of morality and politics, and the endeavor to promote that good is the highest duty of man and the best means of pleasing God. In 1686 he published a work on Jewish weights and measures. Two works of his were edited and published after his death by his chaplain, Mr. Payne: one a translation of the fragments of Sanchoniathon's history, a work now believed to be a forgery, but which Cumberland defended and explained in a series of dissertations; and the other Origines Gentium Antiqiiissima!, or " Attempts for Discovering the Times of the first Planting of Nations." The former appeared in 1720, the latter in 1724. Though written with great learning, modern critical scholarship has rendered them of little value.

II. Richard, an English dramatist, great-grandson of the preceding, born in Cambridge, Feb. 19, 1732, died in London, May 7, 1811. His connections procured him an early introduction into political life; and after having filled the office of secretary to Lord Halifax, with other minor appointments, he was in 1775 made secretary of the board of trade, an office which was abolished in 1782, when he received a compensation allowance. He published "The Observer," a series of essays, largely based on the manuscripts of his maternal grandfather Dr. Richard Bentley, in which was displayed considerable classical learning, with much wit and elegant composition. The most successful of his numerous dramatic pieces were "The West Indian" and " The Wheel of Fortune." He was a copious writer on a great variety of subjects, and among his works are several novels and a collection of anecdotes of Spanish painters. He published his memoirs in 1806.