Paley
WILLIAM, an English theologian; born in Peterborough, in 1743. He was appointed archdeacon of Carlisle, 1782; prebendary of St. Paul's, London, 1794; dean of Lincoln, 1795. His principal writings are: "Principles of Moral and Political Philosophy" (1785); "Horæ Paulinæ; or, "The Truth of the Scripture History of St. Paul Evinced," etc. (1791); "View of the Evidences of Christianity" (1794), his most celebrated work; "Natural Theology; or, Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity Collected from the Appearances of Nature" (1802), in some respects the most remarkable of all his writings. He died May 25, 1805.