COLLIER, JEREMY (1650-1726)

—Church historian and controversialist, b. at Stow, Cambridge shire, ed. at Ipswich and Camb., entered the Church, and became Rector of Ampton, Suffolk, lecturer of Gray's Inn, London, and ultimately a nonjuring bishop. He was a man of war from his youth, and was engaged in controversies almost until his death. His first important one was with Gilbert Burnet, and led to his being imprisoned in New gate. He was, however, a man of real learning. His chief writings are his Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain (1708-1714), and especially his Short View of the Immorality and Profanene of the English Stage (1699), on account of which he was attacked by Congreve and Farquhar, for whom, however, he showed himself more than a match. The work materially helped towards the subsequent purification of the stage. COLLINS, JOHN ( d. 1808). —Actor and writer, was a staymaker, but took to the stage, on which he was fairly succe ful. He also gave humorous entertainments and pub. Scripscrapologia , a book of verses. He is worthy of mention for the little piece, To-morrow , beginning "In the downhill of life when I find I'm declining," characterised by Palgrave as "a truly noble poem."