John Hales (theologian)

After passing through the Bath grammar school, Hales went on 16 April 1597 as a scholar of Corpus Christi College, Oxford and graduated B.A.

At Merton he distinguished himself as lecturer in Greek; he is said by Clarendon to have been largely responsible for Savile's edition of Chrysostom (1610–13).

According to Hales's own letter (19 January 1619) it was Matthias Martinius of Bremen, who took a middle position, who employed this text.

It is not clear that Hales became an Arminian, but in any case he came away less sectarian, and he was impressed by the debate on schism, which he reported on 1 December 1618.

To this house Henry King also retreated, with some members of his family, and they lived a sort of a collegiate life, with Hales acting as chaplain.

It is said that John Pearson was asked to take up Farindon's task; but he contented himself by prefixing to the Remains a few pages of eulogy.

now first collected, &c., were edited by Sir David Dalrymple, Lord Hailes, and printed at Glasgow by Foulis, 1765, in 3 vols.

Hales describes it as 'a letter,' and 'for the use of a private friend,' probably William Chillingworth, then working on his Religion of Protestants (1637).

Those two works, with the Discourse of Infallibility (1645) of Lucius Cary, 2nd Viscount Falkland, have been identified as key texts of the Great Tew Circle to which Hales belonged.

Des Maizeaux mentions the story that Hales assisted Laud in the second edition (1639) of his Conference with John Percy.