ANNE.
THE BEAUTIES OF BIOGRAPHY, A SELECTION OF THE LIVES OF EMINENT MEN, CAREFULLY DIGESTED FROM CORRECT AND APPROVED PVBLICATIONS; Amongst which are the Lives of
PETER ABELARD,
JOSEPH ADDISON,
ALFRED THE GREAT,
AECHYLUS,
MARK AIKENSIDE,
ALI BEY,
DR. AMORY,
BP. ATTERBURY,
DR. ARBUTHNOT,
ASHMOLE,
SIR GEORGE ASCUE, &c.
And many more Eminent for their Abilities, as Statesmen, Warriors, Poets, Philosophers, &c.
The whole forming a pleasing Assemblage of Entertainment and Instruction.
ILLUSTRATED WITH SEVERAL HEADS, ENGRAVED BY EMINENT ARTISTS.
London: PRINTED FOR G. RIEBAU, No. 439, STRAND.
1792.
PREFACE.
THE importance of History, as an object of studious attention, has been so frequently illustrated, and so generally admitted, that to attempt fresh arguments in support of its extensive utility, would be as superfluous, as it would be sceptical and ridiculous to bring it into question. But History, when employed in elucidating
Public Concerns,
and recording NATIONAL TRANSACTIONS, however important to the Statesman, or amusive to the Politician, does not come so immediately home to the concerns and feelings of mankind, as the particular branch of this literary science which develops the sources of individual action, and traces the footsteps of eminent Characters, from the vale of obscurity to the sublimities of Fame, or the splendid abodes of opulence and power. The fate of brave or injured nations, may, it is true, call forth our sympathetic feelings, and the exploits of heroic armies may warm the gratified soul with the enthusiasm of admiration; but he who devotes his labours to the narrative of facts like these, though he may claim a more unfading laurel as his reward, confers not an equal obligation on society, with him who, dedicating his attention to the minuter, but more philosophical branch of history, perpetuates the Conduct and Characters of Individuals, and preserves, in durable colours, the mental features of those with whom we might desire to assimulate, or whose example it should be our wish to shun. The former province of the Historian, it is true, fills the mind with more grand ideas, and better serves to produce the speculative pleasures, or awakens surprise and admiration; it is from the latter we are to seek for the instruction, which, in every department of life, may be found of practical importance.
Biography does not only rouse to emulation, by shewing the rewards of genius and application, pointing out the proper objects of patronage and renown, and holding up to our view the most splendid and attractive examples: it furnishes also the means of success, by putting us in possession of the experience of former candidates; and thus smoothing before us the thorny and intricate paths which conduct to the favoured goal. To speak by a more familiar figure, Biography unfolds the motives and sources of human conduct; it displays the minute springs which first set the grand machine in action; and traces, from wheel to wheel, the intricate movements by which the whole system is put in motion, and the important effects are produced: while general History affords only the representation of Facts; leaving the mind to wander in the regions of uncertainty, vaguely conjecturing by what means similar attainments are again to be expected. In short, Biography may be called the Key of the
Sanctum Sanctorum,
by means of which we are initiated among the secret mysteries of those apparent miracels which, in the grand sphere of human action, have contributed to surprise and ennoble mankind; while the History of Nations and Events, leaves us awe-struck without the Temple, gazing with wonder at the dazzling phoenomena.
The foregoing remarks are applicable to Biography in general; and would, in some respects, not only suit the present publication, but be equally pertinent as an introduction to the labours of the philosophic Plutarch, and the light sketches of the playful but penetrating Chesterfield. But the Biographia Addenda, with which we have enriched our work, makes it necessary we should particularly notice the superior advantages of
modern
Biography.
Man is at all times, and in all countries, the same; that is to say, as to the admixture of vices and virtues, powers and weakness; and, therefore, the HISTORY OF MAN, in every Age, in every Country, is a serious and instructive object for MAN'S ATTENTION. But those qualities and endowments, those blemishes and perfections, are differently called into action at different periods, and in different places, by means of the prevalence of climate and of habit, of customs, of accidents, and examples, so as to produce various and widely dissimilar modulations. Nay, with so much latitude is the general maxim of the uniformity of human nature, as a Mass, to be understood, that blind indeed, to rationality and experience, must be the pretended philosopher, who should not admit, that the different influences of external causes, at different times, and in different countries, produce, not only an infinite diversity of exterior deportment and appearances, but also the most material actual differences and changes in human character: so far as relates to the state and interests of Society, and to whatever endowments are necessary for the advancement and happiness of individuals.
Ages,
as well as
Nations,
have their
different complexions
; nor are the shades of
mind,
less curiously and progressively diversified, than those of cutaneous tint and physiognomical expression The same principle of human nature, therefore, which leads us rather to be delighted with the portraiture of a contemporary friend, than with the effigy of long mouldered ancestors, or the heroes of distant climes, will occasion us to peruse with more
pleasure
the lives of those who have become famous in our own days, and who have distinguished themselves within the sphere we ourselves are to move, than the recorded exploits of such as have, neither by age nor country, any hold upon our prejudices, or claim to our affections. Nor is this the only foundation of preference upon which this species of Biography rests. Pleasure, it is true, is a useful auxiliary to literature and study, whether considered as an object of allurement, or a consequent gratification. But useless above every rank and order of society, are the
tribe
of
writers,
if to amuse is the only object at which they aim. A principle like this would degrade the sons of Science to a level with the grasshopper that chirrips in the fields, or the fly that flutters his painted wings among the blossoms of the spring.
If it be
instructive
to con over the lessons of POLICY
and
VALOUR which our plain rough ancestors taught, when POLICY and VALOUR were in their infant state, and to note the rude manner in which these principles were by them exerted, how
indispensible
is it that we call in the aid of Biography to conduct us to the Camps and the Cabinets of those who have entered upon the scene of exertion but shortly before us, and who, consequently, are our more proper guides and our more able instructors.
Ancient and foreign Biography, may, it is true, shew us the general principles and grand traits of human nature, and tend to the formation of steady character; but they are the
minutiae
which secure a man's prosperity in life, and tend to stamp his reputation with the world; and he who should attempt the acquirement of these from any but his contemporaries and compatriots, would make no better figure in the season of bustle and action, than he who, with untutored and antiquated courage, should, twanging the Indian Bow in the face of an European phalanx, defend himself with a breast-plate and target, against the thunder of modern Artillery. Hence then it is evident, not only that "the proper
study
of
mankind
is man," but that the most important lesson in the course of this study, is that which teaches us to consider
man
under all the impressions which the
climate
and
age
we live in, have stamped upon his
character
This branch of study is equally essential, whether we consider it as the mean of diving into the hearts and characters of others, or of assisting and directing ourselves in the departments of life to which by chance or inclination we are attached. In the former case it enables us to detect the fallacy of habitual delusion, in the latter it points out the track which we ought, in prudence, to pursue.
As to the particular object to which the study of Biography should be directed, inclination and caprice may be the directors of many, while, with others, profession, or other circumstances of interest or attachment, must necessarily determine; And though this first volume presents but few examples of this modern cast, it is intended, in the prosecution of the work, to give so ample a collection, as to furnish abundance of argument, both for the amusement and instruction of the Reader, by whatever taste or profession he may be directed in his studies.
INTRODUCTION.
AMONG all the literary pursuits of life, none claim a greater attention than the instructive study of BIOGRAPHY.—It has advantages superior to general history; it represents great men detached from the crowd of other actors, and by descending into a detail of their actions and characters, it throws more light on human nature, excites more to imitation, and exhibits the human mind in all forms and situations. The striking facts of history, the rise of states, or the fall of kingdoms, affect the reader but for a moment; the monarch or the statesman alone find opportunities to reduce the knowledge gained from them to practice. But when BIOGRAPHY shews the effects of vice or folly in an individual; or when by the exertion of any virtue, we behold a shining character rising to honour, or enabled to drive misfortunes far from him—then each person naturally makes the application to himself, and, if he is possessed of common sense, will avoid the vice which may reduce him to the situation of the former, and carefully cherish that virtue which has befriended the latter.
In depicting the manners of a monarch, we may not only admire the shining traits of the character, but also learn to imitate him in his domestic virtues: in characters of a lower rank, we all find ourselves highly interested, and may from every recited fact draw some useful instruction.
A Select System of BIOGRAPHY therefore is and ought to be esteemed a most useful as well as entertaining publication. And it will be the study of the Editor to make choice of such Lives only as will instruct the Reader, without proving tedious.
BIOGRAPHY.
LIFE OF FRANCIS AARSENS.
FRANCIS AARSENS, Lord of Someldyck and Spyck, was one of the greatest ministers for negociation the United Provinces could ever boast of. His father, Cornelius Aarsens, was Register to the States; and being acquainted with Mr. Plessis Mornay, at the Court of William Prince of Orange, he prevailed upon him to take his son under him, with whom he continued some years. John Olden Barnevelt, who presided over the affairs of Holland and the United Provinces, sent him afterwards agent into France, where he learned to negociate under those profound politicians, Henry IV. Villeroy, Silleri, Rossie, Jaonnin, &c. and acquitted himself in such a manner as to attain their approbation. Soon after he was invested with the character of an ambassador, being the first who was recognized as such by the French court; at which time Henry IV. declared, that he should take precedence next to the Venetian minister. He resided in France fifteen years; during which time he received great marks of esteem from the king, who created him a knight and baron; and for this reason he was received amongst the nobles of the province of Holland. However, he became at length so odious to the French court, that they desired to have him recalled. He was afterwards deputed to Venice, and to several German and Italian princes, upon occasion of the troubles in Bohemia. He was the first of three extraordinary ambassadors sent to England in 1620, and the second in 1641; in which latter embassy he was accompanied by the Lord of Brederode as first ambassador, and Heemsvliet as third, to treat about the marriage of Prince William, son to the Prince of Orange. He was likewise ambassador extraordinary at the French court in 1624; and the Cardinal de Richlieu having just taken the administration of affairs into his hands, and knowing he was an able man, made use of him to serve his own purpose. He died in a very advanced age; and his son, who survived him, was reputed the wealthiest man in Holland.
ABARIS.
A CELEBRATED sage of antiquity, whose history and travels have been the subject of much learned discussion. Such a number of fabulous stories were told of him, that Herodotus himself seems to scruple to relate them. He tells us only, that this Barbarian was said to have travelled with an arrow, and to have taken no sustenance: but does not acquaint us with the marvellous properties which were attributed to that arrow; nor that it had been given him by the Hyperborean Apollo. With regard to the occasion of his leaving his native country, Harpocration tells us, that the whole earth being infested with a deadly plague, Apollo, upon being consulted, gave no other answer than that the Athenians should offer up prayers in behalf of all other nations: upon which, several countries deputed ambassadors to Athens, among whom was Abaris the Hyperborean. In this journey, he renewed the alliance between his countrymen and the inhabitants of the island of Delos. It appears that he also went to Lacedaemon; since, according to some writers, he there built a temple consecrated to Proserpine the Salutary. It is asserted, that he was capable of foretelling earthquakes, driving away plagues, laying storms, &c. He wrote several books, as Suidas informs us. Himerius the sophist applauds him for speaking pure Greek; which attainment will be no matter of wonder to such as consider the ancient intercourse there was between the Greeks and Hyperboreans. If the Hebrides, or Western Islands of Scotland (says Mr. Toland), were the Hyperboreans of Diodorus, then the celebrated Abaris was of that country; and likewise a Druid, having been the priest of Apollo. Suidas, who knew not the distinction of the insular Hyperboreans, makes him a Scythian; as do some others, misled by the same vulgar error; though Diodorus has truly fixed his country in an island, and not on the continent. Indeed the fictions and mistakes concerning our Abaris are infinite: however, it is by all agreed that he travelled quite over Greece, and from thence into Italy, where he conversed familiarly with Pythagoras, who favoured him beyond all his disciples, by instructing him in his doctrines (especially his thoughts of nature) in a more compendious method than he did any other. This distinction could not but be very advantageous to Abaris. The Hyperborean in return presented the Samian, as though he equalled Apollo himself in wisdom, with the sacred arrow, on which the Greeks have fabulously related that he sat astride, and flew upon it through the air, over rivers and lakes, forests and mountains; in like manner as our vulgar still believe, particularly those of the Hebrides, that wizards and witches fly whithersoever they please on their broomsticks. The orator Himerius abovementioned, though one of those who, from the equivocal sense of the word Hyperborean, seem to have mistaken Abaris for a Scythian, yet describes his person accurately, and gives him a very noble character.
"They relate (says he) that Abaris the sage was by nation an Hyperborean, appeared a Grecian in speech, and resembled a Scythian in his habit and appearance. He came to Athens, holding a bow in his hand, having a quiver hanging on his shoulders, his body wrapt up in a plaid, girt about the loins with a gilded belt, and wearing trowsers reaching from his waist downward."
By this it is evident (continues Mr. Toland) that he was not habited like the Scythians, who were always covered with skins; but appeared in the native garb of an Aboriginal Scot. As to what relates to his abilities, Himerius informs us, that
"he was affable and pleasant in conversation, in dispatching great affairs secret and industrious, quick-sighted in present exigencies, in preventing future dangers circumspect, a searcher after wisdom, desirous of friendship, trusting little to fortune, and having every thing trusted him for his prudence."
Neither the Academy nor the Lycaeum could have furnished a man with fitter qualities to travel so far abroad, and to such wise nations, about affairs no less arduous than important. And if we further attentively consider his moderation in eating, drinking, and the use of all those things which our natural appetites incessantly crave; joining the candour and simplicity of his manners with the solidity and wisdom of his answers, all which we find sufficiently attested; it must be owned, that the world at that time had few to compare with Abaris.
ABBADIE (JAMES).
AN eminent Protestant divine, born at Nay in Bern in 1654; first educated there under the famous John la Placette, and afterward at the university of Sedan. From thence he went into Holland and Germany, and was minister in the French church at Berlin. He left that place in 1690; came into England; was some time minister of the French church in the Savoy, London; and was made dean of Killaloe in Ireland. He died at St. Mary le Bonne, near London, in 1727, aged 73. He was strongly attached to the cause of King William, as appears in his elaborate defence of the revolution, and his history of the assassination-plot. He had great natural abilities, which he improved by true and useful learning. He was a most zealous defender of the primitive doctrine of the protestants, as appears by his writings; and that strong nervous eloquence, for which he was so remarkable, enabled him to enforce the doctrines of his profession from the pulpit with great spirit and energy. He published several works in French that were much esteemed; the principal of which are, A Treatise on the Truth of the Christian Religion; The Art of Knowing one's Self; A Defence of the British Nation; The Deity of Jesus Christ essential to the Christian Religion; The History of the last Conspiracy in England, written by order of King William III.; and the Triumph of Providence and Religion, or the opening the Seven Seals by the Son of God.
ABBOT (GEORGE).
WHO afterwards was elevated to the sea of Ca
erbury, possessed extraordinary abilities: his high rank in the church, and influence in public affairs, deserve that the circumstances of his life should be transmitted with accuracy to posterity. He was born October
1
62, at Guilford in Surry, of worthy parents, remarkably disti
by their steady zeal for the protestant religion. While his m
was pregnant with this son, she is said to have had a remarkable dream, which proved at once an omen and an instrument of his fortune. She dreamed she was told, if she would eat a jack or pike, the child she went with would prove a son, and rise to great preferment. Not long after, she accidentally caught a jack in a pail of water taken out of the river Way, and had an opportunity of fulfilling her dream. This story was much talked of; and coming to the ears of some persons of distinction, they offered to become sponsors to the child, which was accepted; and they afterwards shewed many testimonies of their affection to their godson while at school, and at the university. This is the account given by Mr. Aubrey in his Antiquities of Surry, who seems to have inquired much about it. When he was of a proper age, he was sent with his elder brother Robert to a free school, erected by King Edward VI. in their native town of Guilford; and having passed through the rudiments of literature, he was in 1578 removed to the university of Oxford, and entered a student in Baliol College.
ABBOT Arch Bishop
Canterbury.
It was but a short time that he possessed these bishopricks, and yet he so remarkably distinguished himself by the diligent performance of his function, by constant preaching, and by expressing the utmost readiness to promote learning and learned men, that he obtained a general good character.
While the bishop was thus employed, a new opportunity offered of the king's testifying his esteem of, and confidence in him, by the vacancy of the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury, on the 2d of November, 1610, on the death of Dr. Bancroft. The court bishops immediately cast their eyes upon the celebrated Dr. Andrews, then Bishop of Ely, and pointed him out to the king as one sufficiently qualified to undertake the government of the church. They thought this recommendation, joined to the king's known regard for this eminent man, enough to secure his promotion to the primacy; but without taking the advice of those prelates, his majesty preferred Bishop Abbot to the throne of Canterbury, on which he was seated on the 9th of April, 1611, and on the 23d of June following, was sworn of his majesty's most honourable privy council: thus we see him, before he had arrived at the age of fifty, exalted to the highest dignity in the church.
At this time he was in favour both with prince and people, and appears to have had a considerable hand in all the great transactions in church and state. He was never esteemed very fond of power, or desirous of carrying his prerogative to an extraordinary height, yet as soon as he had taken possession of the archbishoprick, he shewed a steady resolution in the maintenance of the rights of the high commission court, and would not submit to Lord Coke's prohibition: he likewise shewed his concern for the interest of the protestant religion abroad, by procuring his majesty's application to the States General against Conrade Vorstius, whom they called to the professorship of Leyden. In which affair Sir Ralph Winwood was employed; and when it was found difficult to obtain from the States that satisfaction which the king desired, his grace, in conjunction with the Lord Treasurer Salisbury, framed an expedient for contenting both parties. In all probability this alarmed some of the warm churchmen at home, who were by no means pleased with the king's discountenancing abroad those opinions which themselves favoured in both universities: but whatever their sentiments upon this matter might be, Archbishop Abbot seems to have had as great concern for the church as any one, when he thought it really in danger; this appears by a short and plain letter of his to Sir Ralph Winwood, about one Mr. Ammiot who had been appointed preacher in the congregation at the Hague; of whom the bishop says, that he was very capable to breed up the captains and soldiers there in mutiny and faction, and consequently very unfit for his office. His great concern for the true interest of religion made him a zealous promoter of the match between the Elector Palatine and the Princess Elizabeth; and that prince coming here in October 1612, his grace invited the nobility his attendants to an entertainment at his archiepiscopal palace at Lambeth, where, though unexpected, the Elector himself appeared, to shew his great respect for the archbishop; and was so well pleased with his welcome, that when he feasted the members of the privy council at Essex House, he shewed particular respect to the archbishop and those who attended him. The festivity occasioned by the arrival of the Elector Palatine, was interrupted for a time by the illness and death of Henry Prince of Wales, in the 19th year of his age: our prelate had the melancholy office of attending that accomplished prince in his dying moments, and of preaching his funeral sermon.
On the fourteenth of February following, the marriage of the Elector with the Princess Elizabeth was solemnized with great splendour, the archbishop performing the ceremony on a stage erected in the middle of the royal chapel; and his electoral Highness before his departure, made a present of plate to the archbishop as a proof of the just sense he had of the pains his grace had taken in accomplishing his marriage; and as an additional mark of his confidence, he wrote to him from Canterbury, relative to the causes of that discontent with which he left England.
The concern his majesty had shewn for removing Arminius and Vorstius, had given their followers in Holland so much uneasiness, that Hugo Grotius, the great champion of their cause, was sent over to England to endeavour to mitigate the king's displeasure, and if possible to give him a better opinion of the Remonstrants, as they began to be called; and we have a very singular account of the man and of his negociation from the pen of our archbishop.
In the spring of the year 1613, the affair of the Charter-house was settled; his grace and the rest of the trustees took possession of that place, pursuant to the will of Mr. Sutton. An affair happened about the same time, which disturbed the primate not a little:—This was the famous case of the divorce between the Lady Francis Howard, daughter to the Earl of Suffolk, and Robert Earl of Essex, her husband, which has been always considered as one of the greatest blemishes of King James's reign, though the part the archbishop of Canterbury acted, added much to his reputation. The circumstances that attended this affair might possibly lessen the king's favour to him in some respects, but he still retained a great share of it, as appears by the raising of his brother to the see of Salisbury, in the year 1615; but with Queen Anne he stood always on the best terms. He made use of his interest with her majesty, to engage her to recommend Mr. George Villiers, so well known afterwards, to his majesty's favour, for which at that time the young man was so grateful as to call him father, and desire his advice as to his behaviour, which the archbishop very freely gave him: happy would it have been for him if he had always followed those counsels.
Towards the close of the next year, the famous Antonio de Dominis, archbishop of Spalato, took shelter here from the persecution with which he was threatened by the pope, for discovering his dislike both of the doctrine and discipline of the church of Rome, and was very kindly received by his majesty, who was pleased to order the archbishop to entertain him till he was otherwise provided for by the king.
In the spring of the year 1618 our archbishop lost his brother the Bishop of Salisbury; and before his grief was well over for so near a relation, he met with fresh disturbance from the king's declaration, for permitting sports and pastimes on the Lord's day. This declaration was ordered to be read in church, and the archbishop being at Croydon when it came thither, had the courage to forbid it being read; which however the king winked at, notwithstanding there were some about him who let no opportunity slip of irritating him against this prelate: his grace did a great service this year to the protestant religion, by procuring the manuscript of Father Paul's excellent History of the Council of Trent. The person employed to negociate the affair was Mr. Nathaniel Brent, who, with no small hazard to himself, found means to convey the whole copy safe to England. The end of this year proved as disagreeable to the bishop as its beginning; in autumn the queen, his gracious mistress, fell ill of that distemper which brought her to her end. The archbishop himself began also to grow infirm; and finding himself less fit for the affairs of the world, resolved to enter upon a great and good design, which he had long meditated, as a testimony of his regard to his native town of Guilford, where, on the fifth of April, 1619, he was present when Sir Nicholas Kemp laid the first stone of his hospital, which the archbishop afterward nobly endowed. Towards the end of this year the Elector Palatine accepted the crown of Bohemia, which occasioned great disputes in the councils of King James; some desiring that his majesty should not interfere in this matter, from a foresight that it would produce a war in Germany; others again believing that both natural affection to his son and daughter, and a just concern for the protestant interest ought to have engaged him warmly to support the new election. The archbishop agreed in sentiment with the last mentioned party; and not being able at that time to attend the privy council, he wrote his mind with great plainness and freedom to the secretary of state. The next year was in a great measure spent in debates and negociations upon this subject. The archbishop's declining state of health making exercise necessary for him, he was accustomed to make a tour in summer into Hampshire, and being invited by the Lord Zouch to hunt in his park, he there met with the greatest misfortune that ever befel him; for while hunting, he let fly a barbed arrow from a crossbow, at one of the deer, and it unfortunately struck Peter Hawkins, Lord Zouch's keeper, in the left arm, who had been warned more than once to keep out of the way; by which wound a large blood vessel being pierced, he bled to death in an hour's time: this unforeseen accident threw the archbishop into a deep melancholy, though he was not conscious to himself of the least inadvertency or indiscretion; and throughout his whole life he observed a monthly fast on a Tuesday, the day on which this fatal accident happened: he also settled an annuity of twenty pounds on the widow.
This affair made a very great noise, and there wanted not some to represent it in a sinister light to King James; but his majesty gave his judgment of the matter in a short and clear sentence.—"An angel, " said he, "might have miscarried in this sort." When he was afterwards informed of the legal penalties which his grace had incurred by this accident, he wrote him a consolatory letter, in which, among other things, he told him that he would not add affliction to his sorrow, or take one farthing from his chattels, which were forfeited by law. The archbishop immediately retired to his hospital at Guilford, there to wait the decision of the great points, as to the irregularity which some imagined he had incurred; for it happened that at this juncture there were four bishops elected, but not consecrated, and all, except Dr. Davenant, scrupled the archbishop's capacity to lay hands upon them till he was declared free from all imputation as to this fact. The king being informed of this, directed a commission to consider and resolve the three following questions: 1.
Whether the archbishop was irregular by the fact of involuntary homicide?
The Bishop of Winchester, the two judges, and the two civilians, were very clear that he was not irregular, but the other five thought he was. 2.
Whether that act might tend to scandal in a churchman?
The Bishop of Winchester, the Lord Chief Justice Hobart, and Dr. Steward doubted, all the rest agreed that a scandal might be taken, though not given. 3.
How his grace should be restored in case the king should follow the decision of those commissioners who had found him irregular?
All agreed that could not be otherwise done than by restitution from the king; but they varied in the manner: some thought it should be done by the king, and by him alone, in the same patent with the pardon; others were for a commission from the king directed to some bishops; Judge Dodderidge and Sir Henry Martin were desirous it should be done both ways, for abundant caution. This return was made to his majesty; and accordingly a pardon and a dispensation passed the great seal, by which his majesty assoiled the archbishop from all irregularity, &c. (if any was incurred) and declared him capable of all metro-political authority. Such was the close of this business, after a great variety of proceedings and many arguments published on both sides. Yet all this could not satisfy the minds of those who had scrupled his power of laying on hands; they petitioned the king that they might not be compelled to wound their consciences by submitting to such consecration; and in compliance with their desire, the Bishop of Lincoln was consecrated in King Henry the Seventh's chapel, by the Bishops of London, Worcester, &c.; and the Bishop of Sarum, Exeter, and St. David's, in the chapel of the Bishop of London's palace, by the same.
It does not appear that his grace was at all lessened in the king's favour, or his courage in any degree abated, by the suggestions of his enemies; on the contrary we find him, in the year 1622, opposing the Spanish match (a thing the king had set his heart upon) with the greatest firmness, and even venturing to give his sentiments under his hand on that subject in terms vigorous and emphatic. The king however remained fixed in his resolution, and the articles agreed on for the said marriage were sworn to in the presence of the archbishop, and other great officers of state; notwithstanding which they never took effect. In the parliament that met on the 19th of February 1623-4 our prelate took an active part in the measures which were then pursued for persuading the king to dissolve his treaties with Spain, relating to the marriage and the palatinate. He delivered both the address and the remonstrance which were presented to his majesty from the two Houses on this occasion, and introduced the remonstrance with a preamble expressing the joy of the parliament that the king had shewn himself sensible of the insincerity of the Spaniards, and of the indignities offered by them to his son and daughter. This part of the preamble appears to have given some offence to James the First: indeed Dr. Abbot was remarkably zealous in every thing in which the protestant religion was concerned. The archbishop thenceforward assisted seldom at council, being hindered chiefly by his infirmities; but in the king's last sickness he was called, and attended with great constancy, received the highest marks of the king's confidence, and was near him when he expired.
At the coronation of King Charles the First, the archbishop set the crown upon his head, though he was extremely weak, and much troubled with the gout. But he visibly declined in that monarch's favour; and the Duke of Buckingham, who was his declared enemy, watched an opportunity to make him feel the weight of his displeasure. This was at last taken, on his refusing to licence a sermon preached by one Dr. Sibthorpe, to justify and promote a loan which the king had demanded. This sermon was preached at Northampton in the lent assizes 1627, before the judges, and was transmitted to the bishop, with the king's direction to licence it; which he refused to do, and assigned reasons for it. The sermon was licensed by the Bishop of London (Dr. Mountaigne) after many things had been corrected. It was resolved that he should suffer. Discourses of this nature were so loud at court, that some of his grace's friends reported them to him; upon which he thought fit to retire to his palace at Croydon a month before his usual time. On the 5th of July, Lord Conway, who was then secretary of state, made him a visit, and intimated to him that the king expected he would withdraw to Canterbury; which the archbishop declined, because he had a law-suit at that time with the city; and desired he might rather have leave to go to his house at Ford, five miles beyond Canterbury, which was yielded to. And on the 9th of October following, the king granted a commission to the Bishop of London, &c. to execute archiepiscopal authority: the cause assigned being, that the archbishop could not at that time in his own person attend those services which were proper for his cognizance and jurisdiction. Some writers have pretended that his supposed irregularity, occasioned by the death of Peter Hawkins, was revived; but the commission on record shews the contrary. But the archbishop did not remain long in this situation, for the necessities of the times rendering a parliament necessary, his grace was sent for about Christmas, and not only restored to his authority and jurisdiction; but on his coming to court from his palace at Lambeth, was received by the Archbishop of York and the Earl of Dorset, who conducted him to his majesty; where having kissed the king's hand, he was desired not to fail being at the council table twice a week. He sat in the parliament which began on the seventeenth of March following, and continued the full exercise of his office ever after; of which it may not be amiss to take notice in this singular instance:
On the twenty-fourth of August 1628, he consecrated Richard Montagu to the see of Chichester, a man who had been remarkably busy in supporting the pretence of his irregularity, and at this consecration Dr. Laud, then Bishop of London assisted, which is the clearest proof that no doubts longer remained as to his irregularity, even with those who loved him least. In parliament the archbishop maintained his credit in a high degree, and it is more than probable that the knowledge of this procured such marks of respect as were at this time afforded him by the court. When the petition of right, that great pillar of the English liberty was under consideration, the archbishop delivered the sense of the House of Lords thereupon at a conference with the House of Commons; and at the same time laid before them such propositions as their lordships had agreed upon; for which thanks were returned in a set speech by Sir Dudley Diggs.
When Dr. Manwaring was brought before the bar of the House of Lords by impeachment of the Commons, for having maintained in two sermons preached before his majesty, and afterwards published, that the king's royal will and command in imposing loans, taxes, and other aids upon his people without common consent in parliament, did so far bind the consciences of the subjects of this kingdom, that they could not refuse the same without peril of damnation, and that the authority of parliament is not necessary for the raising of aids and subsidies; the archbishop, by leave of the king, gave the doctor a severe but just admonition, and declared that he both disliked and abhorred his two sermons. The interest of Bishop Laud was now so great at court that he drew up a scheme of instructions, which having the king's name at the head of them, were in the month of December 1629 transmitted to his grace, under the pompous title of His Majesty's Instructions to the most Reverend George Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, containing certain orders to be observed and put in execution by the several bishops in his province. These instructions his grace communicated to his suffragan bishops, in which he acted ministerially; but to shew that he still meant to exercise his authority in his own diocese, he restored Mr. Palmer and Mr. Unday to their lectureships after the Dean and Archdeacon of Canterbury had suspended them, and in other respects softened the rigour of those instructions, which were contrived to enforce the particular notions of a prevailing party in the church. His conduct in this and other respects is said to have made his presence unwelcome at court; and so indeed it seems, for upon the birth of Charles Prince of Wales (afterwards King Charles II.) which happened on the 29th of of May 1630; Laud, then Bishop of London, had the honour to baptize him, as dean of the chapel, notwithstanding the archbishop of Canterbury is the ordinary of the court, and the king's houshold, wherever it is, are regarded as his parishioners, so that this was as much a slight upon the archbishop, as a favour towards his antagonist. The archbishop however went on doing his duty without fear or favour; and yet one of the last acts of his life plainly shews that he was very far from being so indifferent towards the discipline and ceremonies of the church of England as some have represented him: by an order of his dated the 3d of July, 1633, requiring the parishioners of Crayford in Kent to receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper on their knees at the steps ascending to the communion table. A month afterwards, viz. on the 4th of August in the same year he died at his palace of Croydon, worn out with cares and infirmities, at the age of seventy-one. He was buried, according to his own express direction, in the chapel of our Lady, within the church dedicated to the Holy Trinity, in his native town of Guilford. Soon after his decease a noble monument was erected, with the effigies of the archbishop in his robes, supported by six marble pillars of the Doric order, raised on pedestals of books piled. On his tomb there is a large Latin inscription to his honour.
The facts above related clearly evince that he was a man of great natural parts; and these sufficiently improved for the worthy performance of what ever his high station in the church required. He shewed himself in many circumstances of his life a man of great moderation towards all parties; a steady friend to the protestant religion; an honest though perhaps not an humble courtier; and one who was desirous that the clergy should have attracted the reverence and esteem of the laity by the sanctity of their manners, and the uprightness of their behaviour, rather than have claimed them as necessarily annexed to their function. These notions of his squaring little with the humours of some writers, have drawn upon him many reflections. A late writer, justly esteemed for his extensive knowledge of the English history, and not so much addicted to party, has done much more justice to the virtues and abilities of this great prelate. His charity and public spirit (says he) ought certainly to have been set in a clearer light than hitherto they have been by the friends to the church. In regard to his learning, succeeding ages may judge thereof from his writings upon various subjects. It may not be amiss to observe here, that there was another writer, of both his names, who flourished somewhat later. This George Abbot wrote a Paraphrase on Job, a Vindication of the Sabbath, and a Paraphrase on the Psalms. Also another George Abbot, who was the son of his brother Maurice Abbot.
ABBOT (MAURICE),
BROTHER to George, was bred to trade, and became an eminent merchant in the city of London; he more particularly distinguished himself by an application to the direction of the affairs of the East-India Company, and his earnest attention to whatever might promote the extensive commerce of this nation, or strengthen the foreign colonies. In this quality, we find him one of the commissioners employed in the negociation and conclusion of a treaty with the Dutch East-India company, by which the Molucca Islands and the commerce to them, is declared to be two-thirds belonging to the Dutch East-India company, and one to the English. This treaty was concluded at London on the 17th of July, 1619, and ratified by the king the 16th of the same month, and is as remarkable a transaction as any in that reign. It was in consequence of this treaty, and in order to recover the goods of some English merchants, that Sir Dudley Diggs and Maurice Abbot were sent over to Holland in the succeeding year 1620; but with what success does not appear. He was afterwards one of the farmers of the customs, as appears from a commission granted in 1623 to him and to many other persons, for administering the oaths to such persons as should either desire to pass the seas from this kingdom, or to enter it from foreign countries. In the succeeding year 1624, he was appointed one of the council for settling and establishing the colony of Virginia, with very full powers for the government of that colony, as by that commission appears.
On the accession of King Charles I. to the throne, Mr. Abbot was the first person upon whom he conferred the honour of knighthood; and so great was his interest at that time in the city, that we find him chosen to the first parliament called in that king's reign, viz. in 1625, in conjunction with Sir Thomas Middleton, Sir Heneage Finch, and Mr. Robert Bateman; in 1627 he was one of the sheriffs of London with Henry Garway, Sir Cuthbert Hacket being then mayor. About the year 1635, he erected a noble monument to the memory of his brother George, archbishop of Canterbury, in his native town of Guilford: in 1638 he was lord mayor of London; and died on the tenth of January 1640.—He was a great lover and encourager of trade, as well as very fortunate therein.
ABBOT (ROBERT),
BROTHER to the two former, was also born at Guilford, anno 1560, and bred up under the same school-master, from whence he was sent to Baliol College, Oxford, in 1575. He took his master's degree in 1582, and became a noted preacher there, also a constant lecturer at St. Martin's church in the Quadrivium, and sometimes at Abingdon. His preferment was chiefly owing to his excellence in preaching. Notwithstanding the distinction which some wish to make between the talents and tempers of these two brothers:—that George was the more plausible preacher, Robert the greater scholar; George the abler statesman, Robert the deeper divine; that gravity did frown in George and smile in Robert. Such were the qualities of this Robert, that upon the first sermon he preached at Worcester, he was made lecturer in that city, and soon after rector of All Saints there: and upon a sermon preached at Paul's-Cross, he was presented to the rich benefice of Bingham, in Nottinghamshire, by one of the auditors, John Stanhope, Esq. as Dr. Featly has observed in his life. In 1594 he became no less eminent for some of his writings, particularly against a certain papist on the Sacrament; he then took his degrees in divinity, that of doctor being completed in 1597. In the beginning of the reign of King James I. he was made chaplain in ordinary to him; and this king so much esteemed his writings, that when the second edition of Dr. Abbot's book De Antichristo was published in 1608, his majesty ordered his own Commentary upon part of the Apocalypse to be printed, an honour which that king did to no other of the great clerks in this kingdom: and in truth the doctor's pen had now brought him also into general esteem; for what he had hitherto published in defence of William Perkins's Reformed Catholic, against Dr. William Bishop, now a secular, but afterwards, in the pope's style, a titular bishop of the aërial diocese of Chalcedon. It is our author's assertion, that Dr. Abbot has herein given this William Bishop as great an overthrow as Jewell to Harding, Bilson to Allen, or Reynolds to Hart. At the end of this excellent work is added, a particular Treatise which he soon after wrote, intitled, The True Ancient Roman Catholic, which he dedicated to Prince Henry, to whom it was so acceptable that he returned him many thanks in a letter written with his own hand, and promised his assistance upon the next vacancy to advance him higher in the church; and though by that prince's untimely death, the doctor lost some hopes, yet in the course of time his deserts found other friends to do him that justice. In 1609 he was unanimously elected master of Baliol College; here it is observed of him, that he was careful and skilful to set in his nursery the best plants, and then took such care to water and prune them, that in no plat or knot throughout the university of Oxford there appeared more beautiful flowers, or grew sweeter fruit than in Baliol College, while he was master. His diligent reading to his scholars, and his continual presence at public exercises, both countenanced the readers and encouraged the hearers. These regulations and improvements he rendered effectual, by establishing piety, which had been much neglected, restoring peace, which had been long wanted, and making temperance more familiar among them, which had been too great a stranger in that society. In May 1610 we find him nominated by the king among the first fellows of his majesty's royal college at Chelsea, then newly founded, and designed as a kind of fortress for controversial divinity, being thus as it were engarrisoned with the most able and select champions for the protestant cause, against all assertors of popery. In November the same year, he was made prebendary of Normanton, in the church of Southwell. Upon his preaching a sermon before the king, during his month of waiting at court in 1612, when the news of Dr. Thomas Holland's death was brought from Oxford, his majesty named him successor in the theological chair, usually called the king's professor of divinity; but he modestly refused the same, till his brother procured a mandate from the king for him to hold it. Some remarkable circumstances we meet with of him in this station, and herein he has had the character given him of a profound divine, most admirably read in the fathers, councils, and schoolmen, and a more moderate Calvinist than either of his two predecessors in the divinity chair, Holland and Humphrey, which he expressed by countenancing the sublapsarian way of predestination. Lastly, upon the king's perusal of his Antilogia against the Apology for Garnet; and the same of his incomparable Lectures in the university, upon the king's supreme power against Bellarmine and Suarez (printed after his death), his majesty, when the see of Salisbury fell void, sent his congé d'elire for him to the dean and chapter:—thus, as he set forward one foot on the temple of honour, though indeed but leisurely, which is imputed to his own humility, the obstruction of his foes who traduced him for a puritan (though cordial to the doctrine of the church of England), and to the unwillingness of some friends to adorn the church with the spoil of the university, and mar a professor to make a bishop. He was consecrated by his own brother the archbishop on December 3, 1615, in his chapel at Lambeth; herein equalizing the felicity of Seffridus, some time Bishop of Chichester, who being a bishop himself, also saw his brother at the same time Archbishop of Canterbury. Other bishopricks were talked of for him, but the business of the nullity (before-mentioned in his brother's life), made a nullity for a time, says our author, in his grace's good intentions, insomuch that King James, when the doctor, who was newly consecrated Bishop of Sarum, came to do his homage, said pleasantly to him, Abbot, I have had very much to do to make thee a bishop, but I know no reason for it, unless it were because thou hast written against one, alluding to the papish priest beforementioned. In his way to Sarum he made a farewel oration at the university, with great applause. We have some fragments of it preserved in the original Latin by two authors, and a translation thereof or epitome in English, by a third. His brethren, the heads of houses, and other Oxford friends, parted with him on the edge of his diocese, with tears of grief; and the gentry of Sarum received him with those of joy. He observed the beautiful old cathedral to be much decayed through negligence, and the covetousness of those who filled their purses with that money which should have been applied to its repairs: he therefore used such means with the prebendaries as drew from them five hundred pounds, which he applied to the reparation of this church, and then laboured to amend the congregation both by doctrine and discipline, visiting his whole diocese in person, and preaching every Sabbath day, whilst his health would permit, which was not long, for that sedentary course to which he had accustomed himself, by close application to study, brought upon him the gravel and stone; but in all the bodily tortures of his last fit, his soul was at ease, and his heavenly hopes disposed him contentedly to resign all earthly enjoyments.—He was so far from needing the advice of patience to make the remainder of life supportable, that he gave it to others▪ even to the judges, who in their circuit came to visit him on his death bed, he spared not his christian admonitions; and besides his precepts, gave them an example of the comforts that flowed from a clear conscience. And for the inhabitants, he mourned less to leave the world than they to part with him, who had so much endeared himself to them, by diligence in his pastoral charge, by his hospitality and bounty to the poor, and humble carriage to all: having summoned his domestics, with desire to declare his faith, he was persuaded to refrain, it being manifest in his writings. Thus, being quite worn out with exhortations, benedictions, and the pains of disease, he lay a while in a slumbering state, and at length, with eyes and hands uplifted for some space, departed this life on March 2, 1617, (and not, as some have mistaken, the year after) in the 58th year of his age, and before he had completely filled this see two years and three months; being one of the five bishops which Salisbury saw in six years. He was buried opposite the bishop's seat in the cathedral. He was twice married, the last time with some displeasure to the archbishop, about half a year after his promotion to the said see. He left one son or more, also one daughter, named Martha, who was married to Sir Nathaniel Brent, warden of Merton College, in Oxford; their daughter Margaret married Dr. Edward Corbet, rector of Hasely, in Oxfordshire, who gave some of the bishop's MSS. to the Bodleian Library.
There was likewise another Robert Abbot, a minister, and author also of several devout pieces, who, though he was scarcely a writer before Bishop Abbot died, is yet here mentioned, that some readers may not confound him with this Bishop of Salisbury; as others have divided him into three distinct persons, because so many different livings are mentioned to his name in his books; never considering that one man might, by removal, successively enjoy them all, as was the case here; that Robert Abbot being first beneficed in Kent, afterwards in Hampshire, and lastly in London.
ABELARD (PETER).
One of the most famous doctors of the twelfth century, was born at Palais near Nantz, in Britany: he was well learned in divinity, philosophy, and the languages; but was particularly distinguished by his skill in logic, and fondness for disputations, which led him to travel into several provinces in order to give public proofs of his acuteness in that science.
After having baffled many antagonists, he read lectures in divinity with great applause at Paris; where he boarded with a canon whose name was Fulbert, and who had a very beautiful niece named Heloise. The canon ardently wished to see this young lady make a figure among the learned, and Abelard was made her preceptor: but instead of instructing her in the sciences, he taught her to love. Abelard now performed his public functions very coldly, and wrote nothing but amorous verses. Heloise proving with child, Abelard sent her to a sister of his in Britany, where she was delivered of a son. To soften the canon's anger, he offered to marry Heloise privately; and the old man was better pleased with the proposal than the niece; who, from a singular excess of passion, chose to be Abelard's mistrese rather than his wife. She married, however; but used often to protest upon oath that she was single, which provoked the canon to use her ill. Upon this, Abelard sent her to the monastery of Argenteuil; where she put on a religious habit, but did not take the veil. Heloise's relations considering this as a second treachery, hired ruffians who, forcing into his chamber in the dead of the night, emasculated him. This infamous treatment made him fly to the gloom of a cloister. He assumed the monastic habit in the abbey of St. Dennis; but the disorders of that house soon drove him from thence. He was afterwards charged with heresy; but after several persecutions for his religious sentiments, he settled in a solitude in the diocese of Troies, where he built an oratory, to which he gave the name of the Paraclet. He was afterwards chosen superior of the abbey of Ruis in the diocese of Vannes: when the nuns being expelled from the nunnery in which Heloise had been placed, he gave her his oratory; where she settled with some of her sister nuns, and became their prioress.
Abelard mixed the philosophy of Aristotle with his divinity, and in 1140 was condemned by the council of Rheims and Sens. Pope Innocent II. ordered him to be imprisoned, his books to be burnt, and forbade him ever teaching again. However, he was soon after pardoned, at the solicitation of Peter the Venerable, who received him into his abbey of Clugni, where he led an exemplary life. He died in the priory of Marcellus at Chalons, April 21, 1142, aged sixty-three. His corpse was sent to Heloise, who buried it in the Paraclet. He left several works: the most celebrated of which are those tender letters that passed between him and Heloise, with the account of their misfortunes prefixed; which have been translated into English, and immortalized by the harmony of Mr. Pope's numbers.
ABERNETHY (JOHN),
AN eminent dissenting minister, was the son of Mr. John Abernethy, a dissenting minister in Colraine, and was born on the 19th of October 1680. When about nine years of age, he was separated from his parents, his father being obliged to attend some public affairs in London; and his mother, to shelter herself from the mad fury of the Irish rebels, retiring to Derry, a relation who had him under his care, having no opportunity of conveying him to her, took him with him to Scotland; by which means he escaped the hardships he must have suffered at the siege of Derry, where Mrs. Abernethy lost all her other children. He afterwards studied at the university of Glasgow, till he took the degree of master of arts; and in 1708, he was chosen minister of a dissenting congregation at Antrim, where he continued above twenty years. About the time of the Bangorian controversy, a dissension arose among his brethren in the ministry at Belfast, on the subject of subscription to the Westminster confession; in which he became a leader on the negative side, and incurred the censure of a general synod. Being in consequence deserted by the greatest part of his congregation, he accepted an invitation to settle in Dublin, where his preaching was much admired. He was distinguished by his candid, free, and generous sentiments; and died of the gout in Dec. 1740, in the 60th year of his age. He published a volume of sermons on the Divine Attributes; after his death a second volume was published by his friends; and these were succeeded by four other volumes on different subjects; all of which have been greatly admired.
ABGARUS.
A NAME given to several of the kings of Edessa, in Syria. The most celebrated of them is one who, it is said, was cotemporary with Jesus Christ; and who having a distemper in his feet, and hearing of Jesus's miraculous cures, requested him, by letter, to come and cure him. Eusebius, who believed that this letter was genuine, and also an answer our Saviour is said to have returned to it, has translated them both from the Syriac, and asserts that they were taken out of the archives of the city of Edessa. The first is as follows:
"Abgarus, prince of Edessa, to Jesus the holy Saviour, who hath appeared in the flesh in the confines of Jerusalem, greeting. I have heard of thee, and of the cures thou hast wrought without medicines or herbs. For it is reported thou makest the blind to see, the lame to walk, lepers to be clean, devils and unclean spirits to be expelled, such as have been long diseased to be healed, and the dead to be raised; all which when I heard concerning thee, I concluded with myself, That either thou wast a God come down from heaven, or the son of God sent to do these things. I have therefore written to thee, beseeching thee to vouchsafe to come unto me, and cure my disease. For I have also heard that the Jews use thee ill, and lay snares to destroy thee. I have here a little city, pleasantly situated, and sufficient for us both. ABGARUS.
To this letter Jesus, it is said, returned an answer by Ananias, Abgarus's courier, which was as follows:
Blessed art thou, O Abgarus! who hast believed in me whom thou hast not seen; for the Scriptures say of me, They who have seen me have not believed in me, that they who have not seen, may, by believing, have life. But whereas thou writest to have me come to thee, it is of necessity that I fulfil all things here for which I am sent; and having finished them, to return to him that sent me: but when I am returned to him, I will then send one of my disciples to thee, who shall cure thy malady, and give life to thee and thine. JESUS."
After Jesus's ascension, Judas, who is also named Thomas, sent Thaddeus, one of the seventy, to Abgarus; who preached the gospel to him and his people, cured him of his disorder, and wrought many other miracles: which was done, says Eusebius, A. D. 43— Though the above letters are acknowledged to be spurious by the candid writers of the church of Rome; several Protestant authors, as Dr. Parker, Dr. Cave, and Dr. Grabe, have maintained that they are genuine, and ought not to be rejected.
ACCIUS.
A LATIN tragic poet, the son of a freedman, and, according to St. Jerom, born in the consulship of Hostilius Mancinus and Attilius Serranus, in the year of Rome 583; but there appears somewhat of confusion or perplexity in this chronology. He made himself known before the death of Pacuvius, a dramatic piece of his being exhibited the same year that Pacuvius brought one upon the stage, the latter being then eighty years of age, and Accius only thirty. We do not know the name of this piece of Accius's, but the titles of several of his tragedies are mentioned by various authors. He wrote on the most celebrated stories which had been represented on the Athenian stage; as Andromache, Andromeda, Atreus, Clytemnestra, Medea, Meleager, Philocletes, the civil wars of Thebes, Tereus, the Troades, &c. He did not always, however, take his subjects from the Grecian story; for he composed one dramatic piece wholly Roman: it was intitled Brutus, and related to the expulsion of the Tarquins. It is affirmed by some, that he also wrote comedies; which is not unlikely, if he was the author of two pieces, the Wedding and the Merchant, which have been ascribed to him. He did not confine himself to dramatic writing; for he left other productions, particularly his annals, mentioned by Macrobius, Priscian, Festus, and Nonius Marcellus. He has been censured for writing in too harsh a style. But in all other respects has been esteemed a very great poet. He was so much esteemed by the public, that a comedian was punished for only mentioning his name upon the stage. Cicero speaks in great derision of one Accius who had written a history; and, as our author had wrote annals, some insist that he is the person censured: but as Cicero himself, Horace, Quintilian, Ovid, and Paterculus, have spoken of our author with so much applause, we cannot think it is him whom the Roman orator censures with so much severity.
There was also in this age a pretty good orator of the same name, against whom Cicero defended Cluentius. He was born in Pisaurum, and perhaps was a relation of our poet.
ACHILLES,
ONE of the greatest heroes of ancient Greece, was the son of Peleus and Thetis. He was a native of Phthia, in Thessaly. His mother, it is said, in order to consume every mortal part of his body, used to lay him every night under live coals, anointing him with ambrosia, which preserved every part from burning but one of his lips, owing to his having licked it. She dipped him also in the waters of the river Styx; by which his whole body became invulnerable, except that part of his heel by which she held him. But this opinion is not universal, nor is it a part of his character as drawn by Homer; for in the Iliad (B. xxi. 161.) he is actually wounded in the right arm, by the lance of Asteropaus, in the battle near the Scamander. Thetis afterwards intrusted him to the care of the centaur Chiron, who, to give him the strength necessary for martial toil, fed him with honey and the marrow of lions and wild boars. To prevent his going to the siege of Troy, she disguised him in female apparel, and hid him among the maidens at the court of king Lycomedes: but Ulysses discovering him, persuaded him to follow the Greeks. Achilles distinguished himself by a number of heroic actions at the siege. Being disgusted, however, with Agamemnon for the loss of Briseis, he retired from the camp. But returning to avenge the death of his friend Patroclus, he slew Hector, fastened his corpse to his chariot, and dragged it round the walls of Troy. At last Paris, the brother of Hector, wounded him in the heel with an arrow, while he was in the temple treating about his marriage with Philoxena, daughter to king Priam. Of this wound he died, and was interred on the promontary of Sigaeum; and after Troy was taken, the Greeks sacrificed Philoxena on his tomb, in obedience to his desire, that he might enjoy her company in the Elysian fields. It is said that Alexander, seeing this tomb, honoured it by placing a crown upon it; at the same time crying out, that "Achilles was happy in having, during his life, such a friend at Patroclus, and after his death, a poet like Homer." Achilles is supposed to have died 1183 years before the Christian aera.
ACIDALIUS (VALENS),
WOULD, in all probability, have been one of the greatest critics in these latter ages, had he lived longer to perfect those talents which nature had given him. He was born at Witstock, in Brandenburg; and having visited several academies in Germany, Italy, and other countries, where he was greatly esteemed, he afterwards took up his residence at Breslaw, the metropolis of Silesia. Here he remained a considerable time, in expectation of some employment; but nothing offering, he turned Roman-catholic, and was chosen rector of a school at Niessa. It is related, that about four months after, as he was following a procession of the host, he was seized with a sudden phrenzy; and being carried home, expired in a very short time. But Thuanus tell us, that his excessive application to study was the occasion of his untimely death; and that his sitting up at night in composing his Conjectures on Plautus, brought upon him a distemper which carried him off in three days, on the 25th of May, 1595, being just turned of 28. He wrote a Commentary on Quintus Curtius, also Notes on Tacitus, on the Twelve Panegyrics; besides speeches, letters, and poems. His poetical pieces are inserted in the
Deliciae
of the German poets, and consist of epic verses, odes, and epigrams. A little piece, printed in 1595, under the title of
Mulieres non esse homines,
"That women were not of the human species," was falsely ascribed to him. But the fact was, that Acidalius happening to meet with the manuscript, and thinking it very whimsical, transcribed it, and give it to the bookseller, who printed it. The performance was highly exclaimed against, insomuch that the bookseller being seized, he discovered the person who gave him the manuscript, and a terrible outcry was made against Acidalius. A story goes, that being one day to dine at a friend's house, there happened to be several ladies at table; who supposing him to be the author, were moved with so much indignation, that they threatened to throw their plates at his head. Acidalius, however, ingeniously diverted their wrath. In his opinion, he said, the author was a judicious person, the ladies being certainly more of the species of
angels
than of
men.
—Mr. Baillet has given him a place among his
Enfans Celebres
; and says, that he wrote a comment upon Plautus when he was but 17 or 18 years old, and composed several Latin poems at the same age.
ACROPOLITA (GEORGE),
ONE of the writers of the Byzantine history, was born at Constantinople, in the year 1220, and brought up at the court of the emperor John Ducas, at Nice. He was employed in the most important affairs of the empire, being sent ambassador to Larissa, to establish a peace with Michael of Epirus; and was constituted judge to try Michael Comnenus, suspected of engaging in a conspiracy. Theodorus Lascaris, the son of John, whom he had taught logic, appointed him governor of all the western provinces in his empire. In 1255, he was taken prisoner in a war with Michael Angelus: but gaining his liberty in 1260, by means of the emperor Palaeologus, he was sent by him ambassador to Constantine, Prince of Bulgaria; and was employed in several other negociations. He wrote, A Continuation of the Greek History, from the taking of Constantinople by the Latins, till it was recovered by Michael Palaeologus in 1261, which makes part of the Byzantine history; A Treatise concerning Faith, Virtue, and the Soul; An Exposition of the Sermons of St. Gregory Nazianzen, and other pieces. Gregory Cyprian, patriarch of Constantinople, in his encomium upon him, prefixed to Acropolita's history, is perhaps somewhat extravagant in his praise; when he says he was equal to Aristotle in philosophy, and to Plato in the knowledge of divine things and Attic eloquence.
ACUNA (CHRISTOPHER DE).
A SPANISH Jesuit, born at Burgos. He was admitted into the society in 1612, being then but 15 years of age. After having devoted some years to study, he went to America, where he assisted in making converts in Chili and Peru. In 1640, he returned to Spain, and gave the king an account how far he had succeeded in the commission he had received to make discoveries on the river of the Amazons; and the year following he published a description of this river, at Madrid. Acuna was sent to Rome as procurator of his province. He returned to Spain with the title of Qualificator of the Inquisition; but soon after embarked again for the West Indies, and was at Lima in 1675, when father Southwell published at Rome the Bibliotheque of the Jesuit writers. Acuna's work is intitled,
Nuevo descubrimento del gran rio de las Amazonas; i. e.
"A new discovery of the great river of the Amazons." He was ten months upon this river, having had instructions to inquire into every thing with the greatest exactness, that his majesty might thereby be enabled to render the navigation more easy and commodious. He went aboard a ship at Quito, with Peter Texiera, who had already been far up the river, and was therefore thought a proper person to accompany him in this expedition. They embarked in February 1639, but did not arrive, at Para till the December following. It is thought that the revolutions of Portugal, by which the Spaniards lost Brazil, and the colony of Para at the mouth of the river of the Amazons, were the causes that the relation of this Jesuit was suppressed; for as it could not be of any advantage to the Spaniards, they were afraid it might prove of great service to the Portuguese. The copies of this work became extremely scarce, so that the publishers of the French translations at Paris asserted, that there was not one copy of the original extant, excepting that in the possession of the translator; and, perhaps, one in the Vatican library. M. de Gomberville was the author of this translation: it was published after his death, with a long dissertation. An account of the original may be seen in the Paris Journal, in that of Leipsic, and in Chevereau's History of the World.
ADAMS (THOMAS),
CITIZEN, and lord-mayor of London, was a man highly esteemed for his prudence and piety, his loyalty and sufferings, and his acts of munificence: he was born at Wem, in Shropshire, educated in the university of Cambridge, and (Fuller says) bred a draper in London. In 1609 he was chosen sheriff, when he gave a striking proof of his public spirit; he immediately gave up his business, and applied himself wholly to public affairs—This shews he must have been opulent. He made himself complete master of the customs and usages, rights and privileges, of the city of London, and succeeded to every honour his fellow-citizens had it in their power to bestow. He was chosen master of the drapers company, alderman, and president of Saint Thomas's hospital, which institution he probably saved from ruin, by discovering the frauds of a dishonest steward. He was often returned member of parliament; but the violent politics of the times would not permit him to sit there. In 1645 he was elected mayor of London, in which office he gave a shining example of disinterestedness, by declining the advantages usually made by the sale of places which become vacant. His loyalty to Charles I. was so well known, that his house was searched by the republican party to find the king there. Mr. Adams was the next year committed to the Tower by the same party, and detained there some time. However, at length he became the oldest alderman upon the bench, and was consequently dignified with the honourable title of Father of the City. His affection for his prince was so great, that during the exile of Charles II. he remitted him 10,000l.
When the restoration of the king was agreed on, Mr. Adams, then seventy-four years of age, was deputed by the city to accompany Gen. Monk to Breda in Holland, to congratulate and accompany the king home. For his signal services the king knighted him at the Hague; and soon after the restoration advanced him to the dignity of a baronet, on the 13th of June 1661.
His merit as a benefactor to the public is highly conspicuous: he gave the house of his nativity, at Wem, as a free-school to the town, and liberally endowed it; he founded an Arabic professorship at Cambridge; both which took place before his death. By desire of his friend, Mr. Wheelock, fellow of Clare-hall, he was at the expence of printing the Gospels in Persian, and sending them into the East. He was equally benevolent in private as in public life; his hands were open to all objects in want: and although he suffered great losses in his estate, he gave liberally in legacies to the poor of many parishes, to hospitals, and ministers' widows. He was particularly distinguished for his Christian patience and fortitude in adversity.
In his latter years he was much afflicted with the stone, which hastened his end; he died the 24th of Feb. 1667, at eighty-one years of age. The stone was taken from the body, and was of such extraordinary magnitude as to weigh twenty-five ounces, and is preserved in the laboratory at Cambridge. He felt no reluctance at the approach of his dissolution, and seemed perfectly prepared for death; often saying,
solum mihi supe
est sepulchrum.
All my business is to fit me for the grave.—His funeral sermon was preached at Saint Catharine Cree church, before his children and many of his relations. His descendants enjoyed the title down to the late Sir Thomas Adams, who died a captain in the royal navy.
ADAMSON (PATRICK),
ARCHBISHOP of St. Andrew's, was born March 15, 1543, in the town of Perth, of mean but honest parents, who gave him all the learning they were able, having him educated at a grammar-school where they dwelt, and sent him from thence to St. Andrew's, where he acquired the degree of master of arts. Their circumstances not permitting them to keep him longer there, he removed to a little village of Fife, where he taught a school with reputation, and continued four years; when he accompanied the son of Mr. M'Gill, of Rankellar, one of the senators of the college of justice, to Paris in 1566, to study the civil law. Here he published a congratulatory poem on the birth of a son to Mary queen of Scots, wherein he styles Henry Lord Darnley, king of Scotland, England, and France. The giving the title of king of France and England to his own prince so much alarmed the French court, that he was thrown into prison, and would not easily have escaped, had not his queen, and the first nobility of the kingdom, interested themselves in his behalf. As soon as he was at large, he retired with his pupil to Bourges, where they both entered students at law. He was in that city during the massacre of Paris; and as the same scene was transacting there, he was obliged to conceal himself at a public house for seven months. Here he wrote two excellent pieces in Latin verse, which are still extant. In 1573, he returned to Scotland, and married. Finding no encouragement in the law, he entered into holy orders, and became minister of Paisley.
In a general assembly, held the succeeding year at Edinburgh, he, with Mr. David Lindsay, were appointed to report their proceedings to the Earl of Morton, then regent; and was by that nobleman, in the same year, appointed one of his chaplains; who in the same year, on the death of Bishop Douglas, raised him to be archbishop of St. Andrew's, a dignity in which he experienced nothing but trouble and uneasiness.
On October 24, 1576, the general assembly sat, and required Mr. Adamson to submit himself to their examination, and to receive the office of bishop with such limitations as they thought fit. This he refused; and they forbad the chapter of St. Andrew's to proceed to any election. The chapter, however, after the assembly rose, elected Mr. Adamson. Next year the assembly appointed commissioners to summon the archbishop before them to examine the validity of the election, and to take cognizance of various charges brought against him. The presbyterian party ran high against him, and the unfortunate prelate, to soothe the passions of these angry men, composed a catechism in Latin verse. This they saw and approved, but still continued to persecute him. In 1578, he submitted himself to the general assembly; but next year a new commission was issued to inquire into fresh charges against him, when he retired to St. Andrew's, and continued disputing with them for some years, being preserved from destruction by the power of the court.
In 1582, he was seized with a distemper, which his physicians could not find out, and therefore could not afford him relief. He applied then to an old woman, who did him some service; but so infatuated were his enemies, that they accused the poor woman of witchcraft, who was committed to prison, but made her escape. Four years after she was taken at Edinburgh, and was absolutely burned for what she ought to have been rewarded, the saving the archbishop's life.
In 1583, he preached and disputed before King James when he went to St. Andrew's, and the king was so well satisfied with his wisdom and loyalty, that he sent him as his ambassador to London to Queen Elizabeth, in which quality he resided some years. His conduct, while there, has been variously spoken of. However, by his preaching, he drew such large congregations, and raised in the minds of the people such an idea of the young king his master, that Elizabeth prohibited his entering the pulpit. Two things he principally endeavoured to effect, to recommend the king his master to the nobility and gentry of England, and to procure some support for the episcopal party in Scotland; in both which he in some degree succeeded. But his want of economy prevented his full success. This drew on him the reflections of his enemies. As to his being concerned in Throgmorton's conspiracy, no substantial proof of it has been brought.
Soon after Gourie's conspiracy he was recalled, and sat in the parliament at Edinburgh in 1584. The act therein made for settling the peace of the kingdom, and establishing the king's authority in ecclesiastical affairs, had but little effect; the ministers refused obedience; and because the archbishop preached before the king, libels were published against him; and notwithstanding a declaration published by the king, setting forth the reasons which induced him to enact those laws, the kirk faction were so obstinate and indefatigable as to oblige the king to disavow his declaration.
At a provincial synod in 1586, the archbishop was accused and excommunicated. He appealed to the king and states of the kingdom, and in return excommunicated Mr. Melvil, the moderator. The mob were so enraged at this, that he dared not appear as moderator. At the next assembly in the same year he submitted, and was absolved.
In 1587, complaint was made to the general assembly, and he was actually
put to the horn,
that is, outlawed, because he did not pay his debts. In 1588. he was accused of marrying the Earl of Huntley without requiring him to subscribe a confession of faith. He published soon after the Lamentations of the prophet Jeremiah in Latin verse, and a translation of the Apocalypse also in Latin verse; but neither those, or a copy of verses written to the king when in deep distress, could procure him any favour. On the contrary, the king finding him no longer of use to him, granted the revenue of his see to the Duke of Lenox. This reduced him to greater distress, and the brethren taking advantage of it, procured his subscription to a most abject submission by giving him a poor collection for the immediate support of his family. In this state he lingered till 1591, when death put a period to his misfortunes.
ADDISON (LANCELOT),
WAS the son of a clergyman, and born at Mouldismeaburne, near Crosby Ravensworth in Westmoreland, in 1632. He received the first tincture of letters at the grammar-school at Appleby, and in 1650 was sent to Queen's college, Oxford, where he became first a poor child on the foundation; but quickly distinguishing himself by his lively parts and strict application to learning, in 1654 he was admitted bachelor, and in 1657 master of arts; and being then much noticed for his sprightly wit, was made choice of for one of the
Terrae Filii
for the act celebrated in 1658. But his loyalty getting the better of his prudence, in his oration he was so severe on the pride, hypocrisy, ignorance, and avarice of those in power, that he was compelled to make a recantation, and ask pardon on his knees. Shortly after he left the university: he chose for his retreat the village of Petworth, and spent his time in visiting gentlemen of known loyalty, who had seats in the county of Sussex, where he endeavoured to promote among the youth principles of loyalty.
On the restoration, the gentlemen of that county recommended him to Dr. King, bishop of Chichester, as a man of a sound head and honest heart, and one who had suffered much for the constitution in church and state. The bishop probably would have provided for him, if Mr. Addison had not accepted the post of chaplain to the garrison of Dunkirk contrary to his lordship's inclination. When that place was delivered up to the French in 1662, he returned to England, and was soon after made chaplain to the garrison of Tangier, whither he went in the next year. Here he resided seven years, and was in great favour with the famous Earl of Tiviot, the governor, and Col. Norwood, the deputy governor, and employed by them in matters of great importance. Having settled every thing relative to his garrison, he returned to England in 1670, and was well received.
Soon after his arrival, he was made chaplain in ordinary to King Charles II. but the chaplainship of Tangier was taken from him, and given to another, by which Mr. Addison's circumstances were much straitened. However, a knight of the county of Wilts bestowed on him the rectory of Milston in that county, worth about one hundred and twenty pounds per annum: he also obtained one of the prebendaries of Sarum; and in 1675 took the degrees of bachelor and doctor of divinity in Oxford. The preferments he now enjoyed enabled him to live decently and hospitably in the country, where he discharged his duty with a conscientious diligence, and lived on terms of friendship with the most eminent persons in the neighbourhood.
In 1683, the commissioners for ecclesiastical affairs, to reward his services at Tangier, and to make good some losses he sustained by fire at Milston, bestowed on him the deanery of Litchfield; and in 1684 he was collated to the archdeaconry of Coventry. He sat in the convocation in 1689, and enjoyed for the remainder of his days a just and general reputation, for the uprightness of his life, and the many learned treatises he had published. He departed this life April 20, 1703, at the age of seventy, having been twice married; first to a daughter of Nicholas Gulston, Esq. and secondly to a daughter of John Danvers, Esq. of Leicestershire, who survived him; by her he had no issue, but by the former he had several children; among them, Joseph Addison, Esq. the subject of the next article, one of the greatest ornaments to human nature and his country that ever existed.
Dr. Addison's works were, 1. An Account of West Barbary: 2. The present State of the Jews: 3. A seasonable Discourse on Catechizing: 4. A modest Defence of the Clergy: 5. The State of Mahometism: 6. An Introduction to the Catechism: 7. A Discourse of Tangier: 8. The Cathechumen: 9.
; or, An historical Account of the Heresy denying the Godhead of Christ: 10. The Christian's daily Sacrifice duty performed: and 11. An Account of the Millenium.
ADDISON (JOSEPH),
SON of Dean Addison, the subject of the last article. He was born at Milston, near Ambresbury, in Wiltshire, on the 11th of May 1672; and not being thought likely to live, was baptized the same day. He received the first rudiments of his education at the place of his nativity, under the reverend Mr. Naish; but was soon removed to Salisbury, under the care of Mr. Taylor; and from thence to the Charter-house, where he commenced his acquaintance with Sir Richard Steele. About fifteen, he was entered at Queen's college, Oxford, where he applied very closely to the study of classical learning, in which he made a surprizing proficiency.
In the year 1687, Dr. Lancaster, dean of Magdalen college, having by ch
e seen a Latin poem of Mr. Addison's, was so pleased with it, that he immediately got him elected into that house, where he took his degrees of bachelor and master of arts. His Latin pieces in the course of a few years were exceedingly admired in both universities; nor were they less esteemed abroad, particularly by the celebrated Boileau, who is reported to have said, that he would not have written against Perrault, had he before seen such excellent pieces by a modern hand. He published nothing in English before the twenty-second year of his age; when there appeared a short copy of verses written by him, and addressed to Mr. Dryden, which procured him great reputation from the best judges. This was soon followed by a translation of the Fourth Georgic of Virgil (omitting the story of Aristaeus), much commended by Mr. Dryden. He wrote also the Essay on the Georgics, prefixed to Mr. Dryden's translation. There are several other pieces written by him about this time; amongst the rest, one dated the 3d of April 1694, addressed to H. S. that is, Dr. Sacheverell, who became afterwards so famous, and with whom Mr. Addison lived once in the greatest friendship; but their intimacy was some time after broken off by their disagreement in political principles. In the year 1695, he wrote a poem to King William on one of his campaigns, addressed to Sir John Somers, lord keeper of the great seal. This gentleman received it with great pleasure, took the author into the number of his friends, and bestowed on him many marks of his favour.
Mr. Addison had been closely pressed, while at the university, to enter into holy orders; and had once resolved upon it: but his great modesty, his natural diffidence, and an uncommonly delicate sense of the importance of the sacred function, made him afterwards alter his resolution; and having expressed an inclination to travel, he was encouraged thereto by his patron abovementioned, who by his interest procured him from the crown a pension of 300l.
per annum
to support him in his travels. He accordingly made a tour to Italy in the year 1699; and, in 1701, he wrote a poetical epistle from Italy to the Earl of Halifax, which has been universally esteemed as a most excellent performance. It was translated into Italian verse by the Abbot Antonio Maria Salvini, Greek professor at Florence. In the year 1705, he published an account of his travels, dedicated to Lord Somers; which, though at first but indifferently received, yet in a little time met with its deserved applause.
In the year 1702, he was about to return to England, when he received advice of his being appointed to attend Prince Eugene, who then commanded for the emperor in Italy: but the death of king William happening soon after, put an end to this affair as well as his pension; and he remained for a considerable time unemployed. An unexpected incident at once raised him, and gave him an opportunity of exerting his fine talents to advantage: for in the year 1704, the lord treasurer Godolphin happened to complain to Lord Halifax, that the Duke of Marlborough's victory at Blenheim had not been celebrated in verse in the manner it deserved; and intimated, that he would take it kindly, if his lordship, who was the known patron of the poets, would name a gentleman capable of doing justice to so elevated a subject. Lord Halifax replied, somewhat hastily, that he did know such a person, but would not mention him; adding, that long had he seen, with indignation, men of no merit maintained in luxury at the public expence, whilst those of real worth and modesty were suffered to languish in obscurity. The treasurer answered very coolly, that he was sorry there should be occasion for such an observation, but that he would do his endeavour to wipe off such reproaches for the future; and he engaged his honour, that whoever his lordship named, as a person capable of celebrating this victory, should meet with a suitable recompence. Lord Halifax thereupon named Mr. Addison; insisting, however, that the treasurer himself should send to him; which he promised. Accordingly he prevailed on Mr. Boyle (afterwards Lord Carlton) then chancellor of the exchequer, to make the proposal to Mr. Addison; which he did in so polite a manner, that our author readily undertook the task. The lord treasurer had a sight of the piece, when it was carried no farther than the celebrated simile of the angel; and was so pleased with it, that he immediately appointed Mr. Addison a commissioner of appeals, vacant by the promotion of Mr. Locke, chosen one of the lords commissioners for trade. The Campaign is addressed to the Duke of Marlborough; it gives a short view of the military transactions in 1704, and contains a noble description of the two great actions at Schellemberg and Blenheim. In 1705, he attended Lord Halifax to Hanover; and the ensuing year was appointed under-secretary to Sir Charles Hedges, secretary of state; in which office he acquitted himself so well, that the Earl of Sunderland, who succeeded Sir Charles in December, continued Mr. Addison in his employment.
A taste for operas beginning at this time to prevail in England, and many persons having solicited Mr. Addison to write one, he complied with their request, and composed his Rosamond. This, however, whether from the defect of the music, or from the prejudices in favour of the Italian taste, did not succeed upon the stage; but the poetry of it has, and always will be, justly admired. About this time, Sir Richard Steele composed his comedy of the Tender Husband, to which Mr. Addison wrote a prologue. Sir Richard surprized him with a dedication of this play, and acquainted the public, that he was indebted to him for some of the most excellent strokes in the performance. The Marquis of Wharton, being appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland in 1709, took Mr. Addison with him as his secretary. Her Majesty also made him keeper of the records of Ireland, and, as a farther mark of her favour, considerably augmented the salary annexed to that place. Whilst he was in this kingdom, the Tatler was first published; and he discovered his friend Sir Richard Steele to be the author, by an observation on Virgil, which he had communicated to him. He afterwards assisted considerably in carrying on this paper, which the author acknowledges. The Tatler being laid down, the Spectator was set on foot, and Mr. Addison furnished great part of the most admired papers. The Spectator made its first appearance in March 1711, and was brought to a conclusion in September 1712.
His celebrated Cato appeared in 1713. He formed the design of a tragedy upon this subject when he was very young, and wrote it when on his travels: he retouched it in England, without any intention of bringing it on the stage; but his friends being persuaded it would serve the cause of liberty, he was prevailed on by their solicitations, and it was accordingly exhibited on the theatre, with a prologue by Mr. Pope, and an epilogue by Dr. Garth. It was received with the most uncommon applause, having run thirty-five nights without interruption. The Whigs applauded every line in which liberty was mentioned, as a satire on the Tories; and the Tories echoed every clap, to show that the satire was unfelt. When it was printed, notice was given that the queen would be pleased if it was dedicated to her; "but as he had designed that compliment elsewhere, he found himself obliged," says Tickell, "by his duty on the one hand, and his honour on the other, to send it into the world without any dedication." It was no less esteemed abroad, having been translated into French, Italian, and German; and was acted at Leghorn, and several other places, with vast applause. The Jesuits of St. Omers made a Latin version of it, and the students acted it with great magnificence.
About this time, another paper called the Guardian was published by Steele, to which Addis
n was a principal contributor. It was a continuation of the Spectator, and was distinguished by the same elegance and the same variety; but, in consequence of Steele's propensity to politics, was abruptly discontinued in order to write the Englishman.
The papers of Addison are marked in the Spectator by one of the letters in the name of
Clio,
and in the Guardian by a
Hand.
Many of these papers were written with powers truly comic, with nice discrimination of characters, and accurate observation of natural or accidental deviations from propriety: but it was not supposed that he had tried a comedy on the stage, till Steele, after his death, declared him the author of "The Drummer." This, however, he did not know to be true by any cogent testimony: for when Addison put the play into his hands, he only told him it was the work of a gentleman in the company; and when it was received, as is confessed, with cold disapprobation, he was probably less willing to claim it. Tickell omitted it in his collection; but the testimony of Steele, and the total silence of any other claimant, has determined the public to assign it to Addison, and it is now printed with his other poetry. Steele carried "The Drummer" to the playhouse, and afterwards to the press, and sold the copy for 50 guineas. To Steele's opinion may be added the proof supplied by the play itself, of which the characters are such as Addison would have delineated, and the tendency such as Addison would have promoted.
It is said that Mr. Addison intended to have composed an English dictionary upon the plan of the Italian (Della Crusca); but, upon the death of the queen, being appointed secretary to the lords justices, he had not leisure to carry on such a work. When the Earl of Sunderland was appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland, Mr. Addison was again made secretary for
affairs of that kingdom; and, upon the earl's being removed from the lieutenancy, he was chosen one of the lords of trade.
Not long afterwards an attempt was made to revive the Spectator, at a time indeed by no means favourable to literature, when the succession of a new family to the throne filled the nation with anxiety, discord, and confusion; and either the turbulence of the times, or the satiety of the readers, put a stop to the publication, after an experiment of 80 numbers, which were afterwards collected into an eighth volume, perhaps more valuable than any of those that went before it: Addison produced more than a fourth part.
In 1715, he began the Freeholder, a political paper, which was much admired, and proved of great use at that juncture. He published also, about this time, verses to Sir Godfrey Kneller upon the king's picture, and some to the Princess of Wales with the tragedy of Cato.
Before the arrival of King George he was made secretary to the regency, and was required by his office to send notice to Hanover that the queen was dead, and that the throne was vacant. To do this would not have been difficult to any man but Addison, who was so overwhelmed with the greatness of the event, and so distracted by choice of expression,
that the lords, who could not wait for the niceties of criticism, called Mr. Southwell, a clerk in the house, and ordered him to dispatch the message. Southwell readily told what was necessary, in the common style of business, and valued himself upon having done what was too hard for Addison.
In 1716, he married the Countess Dowager of Warwick, whom he had solicited by a very long and anxious courtship. He is said to have first known her by becoming tutor to her son. The marriage, if uncontradicted report can be credited, made no addition to his happiness; it neither found them nor made them equal. She always remembered her own rank, and thought herself intitled to treat with very little ceremony the tutor of her son. It is certain that Addison has left behind him no encouragement for ambitious love. The year after, 1717, he rose to his highest elevation, being made secretary of state; but is represented as having proved unequal to the duties of his place. In the house of commons he could not speak, and therefore was useless to the defence of the government. In the office he could not issue an order without losing his time in quest of fine expressions. At last, finding by experience his own inability for public business, he was forced to solicit his dismission, with a pension of 1500l. a year. Such was the account of those who were inclined to detract from his abilities; but by others his relinquishment was attributed to declining health, and the necessity of recess and quiet.
In his retirement, he wrote his Evidences of the Christian Religion, which he had begun long before; part of which, scarce finished, has been printed in his works. He intended also to have given an English paraphrase of some of David's psalms. But his ailments increased, and cut short his designs. He had for some time been oppressed by an asthmatic disorder, which was now aggravated by a dropsy, and he prepared to die conformably to his precepts and professions. He sent, as Mr. Pope relates, a message by the Earl of Warwick to Mr. Gay, desiring to see him: Gay, who had not visited him for some time before, obeyed the summons, and found himself received with great kindness. The purpose for which the interview had been solicited was then discovered: Addison told him, that he had injured him; but that, if he recovered, he would recompense him. What the injury was he did not explain, nor did Gay ever know; but supposed that some preferment designed for him had by Addison's inter
ention been withheld.—Another death-bed interview, of a more solemn nature, is recorded: Lord Warwick was a young man of ver
irregular life, and perhaps of loose opinions. Addison, for whom he did not want respect, had very diligently endeavoured to reclaim him; but his arguments and expostulations had no effect: one experiment, however, remained to be tried. When he found his life near its end, he directed the young lord to be called; and when he desired, with great tenderness, to hear his last injunctions, told him, "I have sent for you that you may see how a Christian can die.' What effect this aweful scene had on the earl's behaviour is not known; he died himself in a short time. Having given directions to Mr. Tickell for the publication of his works, and dedicated them on his death-bed to his friend Mr. Craggs, he died June 17, 1719, at Holland-house, leaving no child but a daughter who is still living.
Addison's course of life before his marriage has been detailed by Pope. He had in the house with him Budgell, and perhaps Philips. His chief companions were Steele, Budgell, Philips, Carey, D
ant, and Colonel Brett. With one or other of these he always breakfa
ed. He studied all morning; then dined at a tavern, and went afterwa
ds to Button's. From the coffee-house he went again to the tavern, where he often sat late, and drank too much wine.
Dr. Johnson, in delineating the character of Addison, observes with Tickell, that he employed wit on the side of virtue and religion. He not only made the proper use of wit himself, but taught it to others; and from his time it has been generally subservient to the cause of reason and truth. He has dissipated the prejudice that had long connected gaiety with vice, and easiness of manners with laxity of principles. He restored virtue to its dignity, and taught innocence not to be ashamed. This is an elevation of literary character, "above all Greek, above all Roman fame." No greater felicity can genius attain than that of having purified intellectual pleasure, separated mirth from indecency, and wit from licentiousness; of having taught a succession of writers to bring elegance and gaiety to the aid of goodness; and, to use expressions yet more aweful, "of having turned many to righteousness." As a delineator of life and manners, he must be allowed to stand perhaps the first of the first rank. His humour, which, as Steele observes, is peculiar to himself, is so happily diffused, as to give the grace of novelty to domestic scenes and daily occurrences. He never "outsteps the modesty of nature," nor raises merriment or wonder by the violation of truth. His figures neither divert by distortion, nor amaze by aggravation. He copies life with so much fidelity, that he can be hardly said to invent; yet his exhibitions have an air so much original, that it is difficult to suppose them not merely the product of imagination. As a teacher of wisdom he may be confidently followed. His religion has nothing in it enthusiastic or superstitious; he appears neither weakly credulous nor wantonly sceptical; his morality is neither dangerously lax nor impracticably rigid. All the enchantment of fancy and all the cogency of argument are employed to recommend to the reader his real interest, the care of pleasing the Author of his being. Truth is shown sometimes as the phantom of a vision, sometimes appears half-veiled in an allegory; sometimes attracts regard in the robes of fancy, and sometimes steps forth in the confidence of reason. She wears a thousand dresses, and in all is pleasing.
The Doctor, however, has related the following anecdote, which every admirer of Addison, every man of feeling, must be reluctant to believe. "Steele (says the Doctor), whose imprudence of generosity, or vanity of profusion, kept him always incurably necessitous, upon some pressing exigence, in an evil hour, borrowed an hundred pounds of his friend, probably without much purpose of repayment; but Addison, who seems to have had other notions of an hundred pounds, grew impatient of delay, and reclaimed his loan by an execution. Steele felt, with great sensibility, the obduracy of his creditor; but with emotions of sorrow rather than of anger." It is much to be wished, says Dr. Kippis, that Dr. Johnson had produced his authority for this narration. It is very possible, that it may be only a story the Doctor had somewhere heard in conversation, and which is entirely groundless: "and this I am rather inclined to believe, as I have been assured, by one of the most respectable characters in the kingdom, that the fact hath no foundation in truth." Mr. Potter, in a late publication, hath informed us, that he is told by the best authority, that the story is an absolute falsehood.
Mr. Tyers, in "An historical Essay on Mr. Addison," printed, but not published, has mentioned some facts concerning him, with which we were not before acquainted. These are, That he was laid out for dead as soon as he was born: that, when he addressed his verses on the English poets to Henry Sacheverell, he courted that gentleman's sister: that, whenever Jacob Tonson came to him for the Spectator, Bayle's French Historical and Critical Dictionary lay always open before him: that, upon his return to England, after his travels, he discharged some old debts he had contracted at Oxford, with the generosity of good interest: that he was put into plentiful circumstances by the death of a brother in the East Indies: that, having received encouragement from a married lady, of whom he had been formerly enamoured, he had the integrity to resist the temptation: that he refused a gratification of a three hundred pounds bank-note, and afterwards of a diamond-ring of the same value, from a Major Dunbar, whom he had endeavoured to serve in Ireland by his interest with Lord Sunderland: and that his daughter by Lady Warwick is still alive and unmarried, residing at Bilton near Rugby, and possessing an income of near twelve hundred a year.
The following letter, which probably relates to the case of Major Dunbar, reflects great honour on Mr. Addison's integrity. "
June
26, 1715. SIR, I find there is a very strong opposition formed against you; but I shall wait on my lord lieutenant this morning, and lay your case before him as advantageously as I can, if he is not engaged in other company. I am afraid what you say of his grace does not portend you any good. And now, Sir, believe me, when I assure you I never did, nor ever will, on any pretence whatsoever, take more than the stated and customary fees of my office. I might keep the contrary practice concealed from the world, were I capable of it, but I could not from myself; and I hope I shall always fear the reproaches of my own heart more than those of all mankind. In the mean time, if I can serve a gentleman of merit, and such a character as you bear in the world, the satisfaction I meet with on such an occasion is always a sufficient, and the only reward to, Sir, your most obedient, humble servant, J. ADDISON." —The anecdote which follows was told by the late Dr. Birch. Addison and Mr. Temple Stanyan were very intimate. In the familiar conversations which passed between them, they were accustomed freely to dispute each other's opinions. Upon some occasion, Mr. Addison lent Stanyan five hundred pounds. After this, Mr. Stanyan behaved with a timid reserve, deference, and respect; not conversing with the same freedom as formerly, or canvassing his friend's sentiments. This gave great uneasiness to Mr. Addison. One day they happened to fall upon a subject, on which Mr. Stanyan had always been used strenuously to oppose his opinion. But, even upon this occasion, he gave way to what his friend advanced, without interposing his own view of the matter. This hurt Mr. Addison so much, that he said to Mr. Stanyan, "Either contradict me, or pay me the money."
In Tickell's edition of Mr. Addison's works there are several pieces hitherto unmentioned, viz. The Dissertation on Medals; which, though not published till after his death, yet he had collected the materials, and began to put them in order, at Vienna, in 1702. A pamphlet, intitled, The present State of the War, and the Necessity of an Augmentation, considered. The late Trial and Conviction of Count Tariff. The Whig Examiner came out on the 14th of September 1716: there were five of these papers attributed to Mr. Addison, and they are the severest pieces he ever wrote. He is said also to have been the author of a performance intitled
Dissertatio de insignioribus Romanorum Poetis,
and of a Discourse on Ancient and Modern Learning.
ADRIAN, or HADRIAN, (PUBLIUS AELIUS),
THE Roman emperor; was born at Rome the 24th of January, in the 76th year of Christ. His father left him an orphan, at ten years of age, under the guardianship of Trajan, and Coelius Tatianus a Roman knight. He began to serve very early in the armies, having been tribune of a legion before the death of Domitian. He was the person chosen by the army of Lower Moesia, to carry the news of Nerva's death to Trajan, successor to the empire. He accompanied Trajan in most of his expeditions, and particularly distinguished himself in the second war against the Daci; and having before been quaestor, as well as tribune of the people, he was successively praetor, governor of Pannonia, and consul. After the siege of Atra in Arabia was raised, Trajan, who had already given him the government of Syria, left him the command of the army: and at length, when he found death approaching, it is said adopted him. Adrian, who was then in Antiochia, as soon as he received the news thereof, and of Trajan's death, declared himself emperor, on the 11th of August, 117. No sooner had he arrived at the imperial dignity, than he made peace with the Persians, to whom he yielded up great part of the conquests of his predecessors; and from generosity, or policy, he remitted the debts of the Roman people, which, according to the calculation of those who have reduced them to modern money, amounted to 22,500,000 golden crowns; and he burnt all the bonds and obligations relating to those debts, that the people might be under no apprehension of being called to an account for them afterwards. There are medals in commemoration of this fact, in which he is represented holding a flambeau in his hand; to set fire to all those bonds which he had made void. He went to visit all the provinces; and did not return to Rome till the year 118, when the senate decreed him a triumph, and honoured him with the title of Father of his Country; but he refused both, and desired that Trajan's image might triumph. No prince travelled more than Adrian; there being hardly one province in the empire which he did not visit. In 120 he went into Gaul; from thence he went to Britain, in order to subdue the Caledonians, who were making continual inroads into the provinces. Upon his arrival they retired towards the north: he advanced however as far as York, where he was diverted from his intended conquest by the description some old soldiers he found there, who had served under Agricola, gave him of the country. In hopes, therefore, of keeping them quiet by enlarging their bounds, he delivered up to the Caledonians all the lands lying between the two Friths and the Tyne; and at the same time, to secure the Roman province from their future incursions, built the famous wall which still bears his name. Having thus settled matters in Britain, he returned to Rome, where he was honoured with the title of Restorer of Britain, as appears by some medals. He soon after went into Spain, to Mauritania, and at length into the East, where he quieted the commotions raised by the Parthians. After having visited all the provinces of Asia, he returned to Athens in 125, where he passed the winter, and was initiated in the mysteries of Eleusinian Ceres. He went from thence to Sicily, chiefly to view mount Aetna, contemplate its phenomena, and enjoy the beautiful and extensive prospect afforded from its top. He returned to Rome the beginning of the year 129; and, according to some, went again the same year to Africa; and, after his return from thence, to the East. He was in Egypt in the year 132, revisited Syria the year following, returned to Athens in 134, and to Rome in 135. The persecution against the Christians was very violent under his reign; but it was at length suspended, in consequence of the remonstrances of Quadrat bishop of Athens, and Aristides, two Christian philosophers, who presented the emperor with some books in favour of the Christian religion. He conquered the Jews; and, by way of insult, erected a temple to Jupiter on Calvary, and placed a statue of Adonis in the manger of Bethlehem; he caused also the images of swine to be engraven on the gates of Jerusalem. At last he was seized with a dropsy, which tormented him to such a degree, that he became almost raving mad. A great number of physicians were sent for, and to the multitude of them he ascribed his death. He died at Baiae in the 63d year of his age, having reigned 21 years. The Latin verses he addressed to his soul have been much criticised and variously interpreted. There are some fragments of his Latin poems extant, and there are Greek verses of his in the Anthology. He also wrote the history of his own life: to which, however, he did not choose to put his name; but that of Phlegon, one of his freed-men, a very learned person, was prefixed to it. He had great wit, and an extensive memory. He understood the sciences perfectly well; but was very jealous of others who excelled in them. He was also cruel, envious, and lascivious. Antoninus, his successor, obtained his apotheosis; and prevented the rescission of his acts, which the senate once intended.
ADRIAN IV. (POPE),
THE only Englishman who ever had the honour of sitting in the papal chair. His name was Nicholas Brekespere; and he was born at Langley, near St. Alban's, in Hertfordshire. His father having left his family, and taken the habit of the monastery of St. Alban's, Nicholas was obliged to submit to the lowest offices in that house for daily support. After some time, he desired to take the habit in that monastery, but was rejected by the Abbot Richard. Upon this he resolved to try his fortune in another country, and accordingly went to Paris; where, though in very poor circumstances, he applied himself to his studies with great assiduity, and made a wonderful proficiency. But having still a strong inclination to a religious life, he left Paris, and removed to Provence, where he became a regular clerk in the monastery of St. Rufus. He was not immediately allowed to take the habit; but passed some time, by way of trial, in recommending himself to the monks by a strict attention to all their commands. This behaviour, together with the beauty of his person, and prudent conversation, rendered him so acceptable to those religious, that after some time they intreated him to take the habit of the canonical order. Here he distinguished himself so much by his learning and strict observance of the monastic discipline, that, upon the death of the abbot, he was chosen superior of that house; and we are told that he rebuilt that convent. Pope Eugenius III. being apprised of the great merit of Nicholas, and thinking he might be serviceable to the church in a higher station, created him cardinal-bishop of Alba in 1146. In 1148, his holiness sent him legate to Denmark and Norway; where, by his fervent preaching and diligent instructions, he converted those barbarous nations to the Christian faith; and erected Upsal into an archiepiscopal see. When he returned to Rome, he was received by the pope and cardinals with great marks of honour: and Pope Anastasius, who succeeded Eugenius, happening to die at this time, Nicholas was unanimously chosen to the holy see, in November 1154, and he took the name of
Adrian.
When the news of his promotion reached England, King Henry II. sent Robert, Abbot of St. Alban's, and three bishops, to Rome, to congratulate him on his election; upon which occasion Adrian granted very considerable privileges to the monastery of St. Alban's, particularly an exemption from all episcopal jurisdiction, excepting to the see of Rome. Adrian, in the beginning of his pontificate, boldly withstood the attempts of the Roman people to recover their ancient liberty under the consuls, and obliged those magistrates to abdicate their authority, and leave the government of the city to the pope. In 1155, he drove the heretic Arnaud of Bresse, and his followers, out of Rome. The same year he excommunicated William, king of Sicily, who ravaged the territories of the church, and absolved that prince's subjects from their allegiance. About the same time, Frederic king of the Romans having entered Italy with a powerful army, Adrian met him near Sutrium, and concluded a peace with him. At this interview, Frederic consented to hold the pope's stirrup whilst he mounted on horseback. After which, his holiness conducted that prince to Rome, and in St. Peter's church placed the imperial crown on his head, to the great mortification of the Roman people, who assembled in a tumultuous manner, and killed several of the Imperialists. The next year a reconciliation was brought about between the pope and the Sicilian king, that prince taking an oath to do nothing farther to the prejudice of the church, and Adrian granting him the title of
King of the Two Sicilies.
He built and fortified several castles, and left the papal dominions in a more flourishing condition than he found them. But notwithstanding all his success, he was extremely sensible of the disquietudes attending so high a station; and declared to his countryman, John of Salisbury, that all the former hardships of his life were mere amusement to the misfortunes of the popedom: that he looked upon St. Peter's chair to be the most uneasy seat in the world; and that his crown seemed to be clapped burning on his head. He died September 1, 1159, in the fourth year and tenth month of his pontificate; and was buried in St. Peter's church, near the tomb of his predecessor Eugenius, There are extant several letters, and some homilies, written by Pope Adrian.
AEACUS,
IN fabulous history, the son of Jupiter by Aegina. When the isle of Aegina was depopulated by a plague, his father, in compassion to his grief, changed all the ants upon it into men and women, who were called
Myrmidons,
from
,
an ant.
The foundation of the fable is said to be, that when the country had been depopulated by pirates, who forced the few that remained to take shelter in caves, Aeacus encouraged them to come out, and by commerce and industry recover what they had lost. His character for justice was such, that, in a time of universal drought, he was nominated by the Delphic oracle to intercede for Greece, and his prayer was answered. The Pagans also imagined that Aeacus, on account of his impartial justice, was chosen by Pluto one of the three judges of the dead: and that it was his province to judge the Europeans.
AEGEUS,
IN fabulous history, was king of Athens, and the father of Theseus. The Athenians having basely killed the son of Minos, king of Crete, for carrying away the prize from them, Minos made war upon the Athenians; and being victorious, imposed this severe condition on Aegeus, that he should annually send into Crete seven of the noblest of the Athenian youths, chosen by lot, to be devoured by the Minotaur. On the fourth year of this tribute, the choice fell on Theseus; or, as others say, he himself intreated to be sent. The king, at his son's departure, gave orders, that as the ship sailed with black sails, it should return with the same in case he perished; but, if he became victorious, he should change them into white. When Theseus returned from Crete, after killing the Minotaur, and forgot to change the sails in token of his victory, according to the agreement with his father; the latter, who watched the return of the vessel, supposing by the black sails that his son was dead, cast himself headlong into the sea, which afterwards obtained the name of the
Aegean Sea.
The Athenians decreed Aegeus divine honours; and sacrificed to him as a marine deity, the adopted son of Neptune.
AEGINETA (PAULUS),
A Celebrated surgeon of the Island of Aegina, from whence he derived his name. According to Mr. Le Clerc's calculation, he lived in the fourth century; but Abulpharagius, the Arabian, who is allowed to give the best account of those times, places him with more probability in the seventh. His knowledge in surgery was very great, and his works are deservedly famous. Fabricius ab Aquapendente has thought fit to transcribe him in a great variety of places. Indeed the doctrine of Paulus Aegineta, together with that of Celsus and Albucasis, make up the whole text of this author. He is the first writer who takes notice of the cathartic quality of rhubarb; and, according to Dr. Milward, is the first in all antiquity who deserves the title of a man-midwife.
AEGINHARD,
THE celebrated secretary and supposed son-in-law of Charlemagne. He is said to have been carried through the snow on the shoulders of the affectionate and ingenious Imma, to prevent his being tracked from her apartments by the emperor her father: a story which the elegant pen of Addison has copied and embellished from an old German chronicle, and inserted in the third volume of the Spectator.—This happy lover (supposing the story to be true) seems to have possessed a heart not unworthy of so enchanting a mistress, and to have returned her affection with the most faithful attachment; for there is a letter of Aeginhard's still extant, lamenting the death of his wife, which is written in the tenderest strain of connubial affliction;—it does not, however, express that this lady was the affectionate princess, and indeed some late critics have proved that Imma was not the daughter of Charlemagne.—But to return to our historian: he was a native of Germany, and educated by the munificence of his imperial master, of which he has left the most grateful testimony in his preface to the life of that monarch. Aeginhard, after the loss of his lamented wife, is supposed to have passed the remainder of his days in religious retirement, and to have died soon after the year 840. His life of Charlemagne, his annals from 741 to 889, and his letters, are all
ALFRED.
inserted in the second volume of Duchesne's Scriptores Francorum. But there is an improved edition of this valuable historian, with the annotations of Hermann Schmincke, in 4to, 1711.
AEGISTHUS,
IN ancient history, was the son of Thyestes by his own daughter Pilopeia, who, to conceal her shame, exposed him in the woods: some say he was taken up by a shepherd, and suckled by a goat, whence he was called
Aegisthus.
He corrupted Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon; and with her assistance slew her husband, and reigned seven years in Mycenae. He was, together with Clytemnestra, slain by Orestes. Pompey used to call Julius Cesar
Aegisthus,
on account of his having corrupted his wife Mutia, whom he afterwards put away, though he had three children by her.
AELFRID, OR ALFRED (THE GREAT),
BY some called Elfred, and by others Al
red, was the youngest son of Aethelwolf, king of the West Saxons. He was born anno 849. His father, a wise and religious prince, believing that he saw in him a brighter and a more promising genius than in his other children, sent him, when in his fifth year, to Rome, where he was adopted by Pope Leo IV. and anointed by him. This some conceive to have been a regal unction, others think he was only confirmed. His father, in the decline of life, paying a visit to the Holy See, took this favourite son with him, which afforded him an opportunity to make great improvement.
On his return to England, his parents were as fond of him as ever; but this tenderness was not of service to Aelfrid, since it estranged him from learning, and caused him to indulge idleness and a pursuit of youthful pleasures. On his father's death, he had an appanage left him by will; but his brothers, who succeeded to the throne, deluded him with fair promises, and limited his possessions. However, his grave and philosophic turn of mind induced him to think of recovering the time he had lost in his nonage, which made him the more readily admit these excuses, and he would have been well contented with his books and ease. But he was not long permitted to enjoy even these small comforts. For the Danes invading the kingdom, he was obligated to quit a contemplative life for an active one. He served his brothers, both with his advice and person, till their deaths, when he became king in his own right A. D. 871, at the age of twenty-two. He assumed this dignity with much reluctance, not only from his love of a retired life, but because he was well convinced that a crown, though adorned with jewels, was lined with cares, and often proved a heavy burthen to the wearer. He had scarcely buried his brothers, ere he was obliged to fight for that crown he had so unwillingly accepted. He engaged the Danish army at Wilton, and had the advantage on the first onset; but the Danes perceiving his weakness, rallied in the pursuit, and drove him out of the field. This cannot be wondered at▪ when we consider that, exclusive of their inferiority in numbers, the Saxons had fought eight or nine battles that year, and must have been harrassed excessively. Soon after this a treaty was concluded, which the Danes paid little attention to, as they continued roaming about the country, and plundering wherever they came. They at length destroyed the kingdom of Mercia, and forced its monarch to leave his dominions, and the island. The next year they acted in a manner that gave Aelfrid to understand he had nothing to trust to but arms: for this reason he fitted out a fleet to guard the coasts, and keep these rovers from landing. This design produced, in some degree, the desired effect; for a squadron of Danish ships coming on the coast, one was taken. But a large army of Danes, commanded by several of their kings, marched as far as Grant Bridge, and quartered there the best part of the year. The next summer they advanced to Werham, where king Aelfrid met them with all the forces he could raise; but finding himself too weak to encounter them, concluded a peace; which, if some historians are to be credited, was not done without the assistance of money. However, the peace was made, and the Danes swore never to invade his dominions. This oath, according to their usual custom, they broke in a very few months; and the year following, 876, committed fresh and great hostilities, which caused the king to march against them with all the forces he could get together. He found them at Exeter, where he kept them besieged for some time. In the mean while, his fleet successfully engaged the enemy at sea; for notwithstanding theirs consisted of an hundred and twenty sail, many were sunk, and the rest dispersed, which in attempting to gain some of the English ports, were driven by a storm on the coasts, and all perished The barbarians were so discouraged at this, that they made peace once more, and gave hostages. But in 877, having gained fresh supplies, they revisited Wiltshire in such numbers, that the Saxons could not be prevailed on to make head against them. Many, to avoid them, fled from the kingdom; others submitted themselves; and the rest, suffering their fear to supersede their duty, fled to the most likely place of security. Aelfrid no longer conceiving himself a king, laid aside all signs of royalty; and to secure his person, took shelter in the house of a peasant who kept his cattle. While he continued in this retreat, a trifling adventure occurred which is noticed by several historians. The good woman of the house having made some cakes, put them before the fire to toast, and seeing Aelfrid sitting by, trimming his bow and arrows, she made no doubt but he would take care of them; but he, it seems, intent on what he was about, let the cakes burn, which so enraged the woman, that she scolded him severely, telling him that he would be glad to eat them, and therefore ought to have looked after them. The king, however, did not long remain in this deplorable situation; for observing that a part of Somersetshire was so inclosed by the waters of the Perrot and the Thone, as to form a morass, which it was almost impracticable to force, he built a fort in the center, where there were about two acres of firm ground, for the security of himself, his family, and a few faithful servants who repaired thither to him. This place he named Aethelingey, or rather Aethelinga-igge, that is, the
Isle of Nobles,
now called Athelney. He continued there some months, frequently sallying out upon the Danes with incredible secresy and success. When he had spent almost a year in this manner, he learnt that some of his subjects had routed a great army of Danes, killed their chiefs or kings, and taken their magical standard. He then issued out letters to acquaint them with the place where he was, and to invite the nobility to come and consult with him. This they did, and were much, pleased when the king proposed taking the field with an army, and not to act any longer by stealth with the enemy. But before they came to a final resolution, Aelfrid, that his subjects might not hazard too much, exposed his own person in an extraordinary manner:—He went in the habit of a harper into the enemy's camp, and was admitted every where about it without suspicion; he even had the honour to play before their princes. Having furnished himself with an exact knowledge of their situation, he returned with great secresy to his friends, whom he directed to go to their several homes, and each of them to draw together as great a force as he possibly could; with which, on a day prefixed, he was to come to the great wood, now called Selwood, in Wiltshire. This they punctually performed; and the Danes were not a little surprised when they heard that king Aelfrid, whom they looked upon as a fugitive, was preparing to attack them with a royal army. The king took advantage of their confusion, fell upon, and totally defeated them at Aethendune, now called Eddington. Those who escaped took possession of a ruined castle in the neighbourhood, which they fortified, but they were soon besieged by the victorious Saxons. After a long and close siege, the Danes were obliged to surrender at discretion. Aelfrid behaved to them like a merciful prince, by giving up the kingdom of the East Angles to such as would embrace the Christian religion, on condition that they would oblige the rest of their countrymen to quit the island, and prevent, as far as was in their power, the landing of any more foreigners. For the performance of these articles he took hostages; and when, in pursuance of the treaty Guthrum, the Danish captain or king, came with thirty of his chief officers to Aelfrid, who then lay encamped at Aalre, now Auler, a small village in Somersetshire, to be baptized, the king answered for him at the fort, gave him the name of Aethelstan, and adopted him for his son. He then entertained him and his friends twelve days at his house at Wedmore, or Wetmore, and then dismissed them with noble presents. By the Danes turning Christians, the Saxons gained this great advantage, that they now kept their oaths, and for the present remained very quiet. Some time after this, a fresh set of Danes came up the river Thames, and wintered at Fulham; but finding Aelfrid well prepared to receive them, thought proper to go off and try their fortunes in France. The Saxon fleet being very successful at sea, the king spared neither pains nor expence to keep it in good order. In 884 the Danes landed in Kent, and laid siege to Rochester; but it was so bravely defended by the inhabitants, that the king came in time to relieve them, forced the enemy to raise the siege, and return once more to France. Soon after, his fleet had the good fortune to beat a very considerable one of the Danes, destroyed thirteen ships, and according to the king's orders, gave no quarter to any of the men on board. In a short time after this the Saxons themselves were defeated; but this was an advantage to them, as it caused them to be more vigilant for the future. Aelfrid having some leisure time now, resolved to repair, refortify, and repeople the city of London, which he had lately recovered from the Danes, and meant to keep as a frontier. Accordingly he reedified it, placed a garrison in it, and established Aethered as the governor. He created him Earl of Mercia, and gave him his daughter Aethelfleda in marriage. This earl was a gallant officer and great statesman; for which reason the Saxons that had submitted to the Danes, and the Danes that had began to learn the Saxon manners, were obedient to him, and settled in London, and the other places under his jurisdiction. After a peace of some years, Aelfrid was again called into the field; for the Danes, who had been severely beaten in the West of France, came with a fleet of two hundred and sixty sail on the East coast of Kent, and landing, fixed themselves at Appletree. Shortly after another fleet came up the Thames, consisting of eighty vessels; they landed the soldiers, and built a fort at Middleton. Aelfrid, on finding himself in this situation, drew together a considerable army; but before he marched against the enemy, he obliged the Danes that were settled in Northumberland and Essex, to give hostages for their good behaviour. He then moved towards the invaders, and very prudently chose a camp between their armies, by which means he prevented their junction. A great body of them moved into Essex, and from thence, crossing the river, came into Surrey. The king's forces met and defeated them at Farnham. In the midst of these confusions, the Danes who were settled in Northumberland broke their faith; and, notwithstanding the hostages they had given, equipped two fleets, the one of a hundred, and the other of forty vessels. After plundering the northern and southern coasts, they sailed round, came to Exeter, and besieged it. As soon as the king heard of their perfidious behaviour, he resolved to march immediately to Exeter, leaving behind him a great body of Welsh. The Danes had got possession of the place before he arrived; however he shut them up in it, and notwithstanding they made many desperate sallies, kept them effectually blocked up. The body of Welsh he had left behind him, thinking it neither their interest nor duty to be idle, marched to London and joined the citizens. They had not been long in London, before news came that Haesten, one of the Danish kings, with most of his forces, was marched out to forage, and had left his family and riches at Beamfleet, where he had built a fort. They resolved to attack it in his absence, and succeeded in their enterprise; not only taking the place, with his wife and children, but also all the riches they had collected by many years rapine. Haesten, when he received the news, was so much grieved, that he sent to Aelfrid, who was then before Exeter, to beg a peace, which the good king granted upon very reasonable terms; and which he, like a true Dane, broke as soon as it was concluded. He plundered the district belonging to Earl Aethered, though he had stood godfather to one of this prince's sons; and, after all, joining the other Danish army, marched with them to Shobury in Essex, where they built another castle. Then passing the Thames with those who joined them from Northumberland, and the territories of the East Angles, they marched on to the Severn, laying waste all in their way. On the banks of this river, viz. at the Buttington, in Montgomeryshire, Aelfrid's generals gave them a check; and on the opposite side of the river hindered them from passing for many weeks. In the mean time the king had kept such a close siege at Exeter, and drove the people to such extremities, that having eaten their horses, they were ready to devour one another. Rendered desperate by despair, they sallied on the king's forces, but were beaten, though with great loss on the king's side. The remains of this body of the Danes fled to their ships, and to their fort they had built in Essex. Before the king had time to recruit, another Danish leader, whose name was Laf, came with a great army out of Northumberland, and destroyed all before them, marching on to the city of Werheal, or Chester. There they remained the rest of that year; the next they invaded North Wales, which they plundered and destroyed; and when there was nothing more to be taken, they divided, one party returning into Northumberland, and the other into the territories of the East Angles; whence proceeding into Essex, they seized upon a small island, called Meresig. They parted soon after this, some sailing up the river Thames, and others up to Lee Road; where drawing up their ships, they built a fort twenty miles from London, which proved a great curb upon the citizens. The Londoners, unable to bear this restraint with any patience, went in a large body, and attacked the fort; but were repulsed with considerable loss: which obliged the king, about harvest-time, to encamp in the neighbourhood of that city, in order to cover the reapers from the incursions of the Danes. Aelfrid one day riding by the river Lee, formed an opinion, that by cutting certain trenches the Danish ships might be laid quite dry. This he attempted, and succeeded in so well, that the Danes abandoned their fort, and marched away to the banks of the Severn; where having built a fortress at a place called Quatbrig, they wintered there. Such of the Danish ships as could be got off, the Londoners carried in triumph into their own road, and destroyed the rest. During three years, the English were not only vexed with the continual irruptions of these barbarous people, but suffered greatly by a dreadful plague, which affected both people and cattle. The Danes, ever restless, began again to invade the territories of the West Saxons both by land and sea; having acquired the art of building long and large ships, they were in a manner masters of that element, and of course depopulated all the coast. Aelfrid having long ruminated on the best method to prevent those evils, contrived larger and better ships than the Danes, and sent them on the coasts of the Isle of Wight, and of Devonshire, which were at that time infested by pirates. Aelfrid's squadron succeeded as well as could be expected, driving two of their ships on shore, sinking three, and suffering only one to escape. This was not executed without great loss on the king's side, particularly among the officers. Such of the Danes as landed when their ships ran on shore, were taken prisoners, and brought to the king at Winchester; where he passed sentence upon them, to be hanged, as pirates and murderers. In the subsequent part of the king's life, viz. in the years 898 and 899, nothing remarkable happened, except that the king employed the peace and leisure he then enjoyed, in establishing effectually that government which he had been at such pains to frame, not more for the security of himself and successors, than for the benefit of his subjects in general.
Before the reign of Aelfrid, there were many kings who took the title, but none who could with propriety be called Monarch of the English nation. For though there always remained, after the time of Egbert, a prince who held a kind of pre-eminence over the rest, yet he had not the direct dominion over his subjects; this Aelfrid had, in the latter part of his reign; to him all parts of England, not in possession of the Danes, submitted, and a great part of Wales: this great power was attained more by his wisdom and mildness, than his sword, or ambition of ruling. We have already mentioned the laws he made; and though there are few remaining, which we can ascertain to be his, yet we are well informed, that to his regulations we owe many advantages, which render our constitution dear to us: for instance, trials by juries. His institutions were what is called the Common Law; so styled, says a great author, either on account of its being the common law of all the Saxons, without respect to the kingdoms where they lived, or because it was common both to the Saxons and Danes. It is, indeed, a disputed point, whether he was the first who divided the kingdom into shires; but that he settled those boundaries and lesser distinctions that remain to this day, admits of no doubt. On this subject he formed a book, which contained a survey of the kingdom, and of which the Doomesday Book is in some respect a second edition. He also made use of those divisions for the proper distribution of justice so happily, that though he found the kingdom in the utmost confusion, and the people in it so indigent and given to rapine, that it was equally difficult to acquire wealth, or to keep it when acquired. Yet by his prudent government he so effectually cured the covetous spirit which induces one man to take from another, that authors tell us, money and jewels might be left on the public roads, with the greatest safety. In the direction of state affairs he followed the customs of his ancestors, the kings of the West Saxons. He made use of the great council of the kingdom, consisting of bishops, earls, the king's aldermen, and his chief thanes, or barons, whom in the first part of his reign he convoked, as occasion required; but when things were better settled, he made a law, that twice in the year an assembly, or parliament, should be held at London, to provide for the well-governing of the commonwealth. As to extraordinary affairs, and such emergencies as would not admit of calling great councils, the king then acted by the advice of his bishops, earls, and officers of the army who happened to be near his person. With respect to military concerns, there has been so much said already, that it renders it almost unnecessary to add much here. Let it however be observed, that though this nation could never boast of a greater soldier, he was neither cruel, blood-thirsty, or ambitious; he never made war willingly with any, or refused to grant peace when it was desired: he fought fifty-six set battles by sea and land, eight of which happened in one year. By degrees he rendered his troops invincible, by a just and regular discipline; and appointed such methods of raising, recruiting, and distributing them in winter quarters, that his subjects and militia were synonymous terms; every man who could bear arms was a soldier, and no one served out of his turn. His coasts he secured by guardships; his frontiers were covered with castles, well fortified, which, before his time, the Saxons had never raised. Added to all this, his instructions and example raised numbers of abl
officers, whose abilities the king constantly cherished by proportionable rewards. In other affairs Aelfrid was equally great and industrious, as appears by his repairing the cities throughout his dominions which were demolished by the Danes, erecting new ones, and adorning and embellishing such as were in a mean and low condition. We may judge of the great things he per
ormed in this way, since it is affirmed that one sixth part of his clear revenu
s was applied to the payment of his workmen's wages. This prince was extremely remarkable for his piety with respect to religious foundations, and excelled most of his predecessors in this point: for besides re-edifying and restoring almost every monastery in his dominions, which the prevailing poverty of the times, or the sacrilegious fury of the Danes, had brought to ruin, he built many, and improved more; besides other acts of munificence towards the church. As to his founding the university of Oxford, it is a matter that has been so warmly disputed, that we shall only say what is certainly due to him on that head: he restored and settled it, endowed it with revenues, and placed there the most celebrated professors of several sciences. A king, who was so careful of his people, might well allow something to his royal magnificence, especially as he was ever mindful of his subjects' honour, and attentive to their ease. He repaired all the royal palaces, which the confusion of the times before his reign had brought to decay; adorned the houses of pleasure in the country, and built many from the ground, where the situation was tempting. He had always a very numerous court, and above all things took great pleasure in seeing his nobility about him. To do this without prejudice to the public, he fell upon a method which ought not to be forgotten; he framed three different housholds, each under a separate lord chamberlain: these waited in their turns a month every quarter; so that in the year each of the king's menial servants was four months at court, and eight at home. In all other respects he was extremely careful to keep up both the dignity and lustre of his court; but whether he made use of an imperial crown, enriched with jewels (as some affirm), is a point which may admit of dispute. To conclude his character as a king, and there is not a brighter in the English, or perhaps any chronicles, we shall take notice of the manner in which he settled his revenue, and to which he strictly adhered throughout his life: he first divided it equally, assigning one part to sacred, the other to civil uses. The former he divided into four parts; one to be bestowed in alms upon the poor in general; another he destined for the support of religious houses which he had founded; a third was given to the public schools; and the fourth employed in rebuilding or relieving monasteries, and other public foundations at home and abroad. The other moiety of his revenue was divided into three parts; one for the support of his houshold, another for the payment of his workmen, and a third for the entertainment and relief of strangers.
In his private life he was the most worthy, the most industrious, and the most amiable man in his dominions; of so equal a temper, that after he had once taken the crown, he never suffered either sadness or unbecoming gaiety to enter his mind; but appeared always of a calm, yet chearful disposition; familiar with his friends, and just, even to his enemies; kind and tender to all: he watched over his time with great care, and gave strong evidences of much learning. With all these qualifications, so many virtues, and so few vices, we need not wonder that he died universally lamented by his subjects. This happened, after a glorious reign of upwards of twenty-eight years, on the 20th of October, A. D. 900. This king had to wife Aelswith, or Aethelwith, daughter to Earl Aethelred; by whom he had two sons, and three daughters. Edward, the eldest, succeeded him on the throne; and is by most historians called Edward the Elder, to distinguish him from the Confessor. His second son was Aetheward, the youngest of all his children, and bred a scholar. His eldest daughter, Aethelfleda, was a woman of more than feminine spirit, and possessed such a share of her father's virtues, as enabled her to be very useful to her brother Edward, by giving him good advice. She married Aethered, Earl of Mercia, and, together with him, had the care of her nephew, Aethelstan. Aelfrid's second daughter was called Aethelgeow, or Aethelgora, and was abbess of her father's new foundation at Athelney. His youngest daughter, called Aelfreda, married Baldwin, Earl of Flanders. When we consider the fame of this great king, we need not be surprised, that all our historians have been particular in transmitting the memory of his exploits to posterity, or that many considerable persons should compose special memoirs of his life. Amongst these, the first was Asserius Menevensis, who wrote in the king's lifetime, and dedicated his book to Aelfrid himself. In later times, Sir John Spelman composed in English the life of this great prince, which he deposited in manuscript in the Bodleian library, where it remained a long time, before it was given to the public. At last it appeared in a Latin translation, by the ingenious Mr. Christopher Wise. This only served to raise a desire of seeing Sir John Spelman's life as he left it; which, after much expectation, was gratified by Mr. Thomas Hearne. Besides these, is a life, or rather a parallel between the life of Aelfrid and that of Charles I. written by a Mr. Powell, with great ingenuity and learning. It would be doing this nation infinite service, if a person equal to the task would, from these and other helps which might be met with, compose a new life of Aelfrid, inserting his laws and other things in their proper places, and illustrating them, as well as whatever passages might require it, with copious dissertations. This would place one of the most glorious periods of our history in a proper light, and give us a very pleasing view of our ancient constitution; which, the better it is understood, will appear to have been the best conducted for promoting the glory of the monarch and the good of the subject, that ever the world saw, or in all probability ever will, unless some future Aelfrid arise, and reform all the errors that time and accidents have brought into our system.
There was another Aelfrid, an illegitimate son of Oswy, king of Northumberland; and a third, whom we find distinguished in English history, viz.
AELFRED,
SON to King Aethelred, by Emma, of Normandy; was half-brother to King Edmund Ironside, and brother of the whole blood to Edward the Confessor. His father's misfortunes being heavy, it was judged proper, anno 1013, to send him and his brother Edward into Normandy, to be bred up at the court of their uncle, Duke Richard. The Norman historians say, that Aethelred himself was obliged to fly into Normandy from the fury of the Danes, and left his two sons there. After this king's death, his widow, Queen Emma, marrying the Danish king Canute, her sons remained there. Duke Robert was kind to them; and when they were grown up, he made such preparations for invading England, as alarmed the Danish monarch, and induced him to surrender a part of England to them. But their protector, Robert, going to the Holy Land, the Dane thought no more of the treaty. However, Aelfred resolved to venture something, to recover his birthright; and embarking with a considerable body of Norman troops, arrived in England. He probably would have succeeded against Harold Hatefoot, Canute's son, had he not been prevented by treachery.
Godwin, Earl of Kent, pretended to join him; but perfidiously drew him into an ambuscade, near Guilford; where, after a slight resistance, he and his Normans were made prisoners. His troops were decimated, and himself carried prisoner to the Isle of Ely. His eyes were put out, and he was committed to the care of the monks of that monastery; where he soon after died, some suspect by a violent death. His abilities are said by our historians to be very great. He had more spirit than his brother Edward, which was the cause of his ruin: for Earl Godwin having offered him his daughter, he rejected it with scorn, and shewed too great a confidence in the Normans. This the crafty earl took advantage of, to prejudice the English against him. Some suspicions respecting his sudden death fell on his mother, who was certainly too much in the interest of the Danes.
AELIAN (CLAUDIUS),
BORN at Praeneste in Italy. He taught rhetoric at Rome, according to Perizonius, under the emperor Alexander Severus. He was surnamed
,
Honey-mouth,
on account of the sweetness of his style. He was likewise honoured with the title of Sophist, an appellation in his days given only to men of learning and wisdom. He loved retirement, and devoted himself to study. He greatly admired and studied Plato, Aristotle, Isocrates, Plutarch, Homer, Anacreon, Archilochus, &c. and, though a Roman, gives the preference to the writers of the Greek nation. His two most celebrated works are, his Various History, and History of Animals. He composed likewise a book on Providence, mentioned by Eustathius; and another on Divine Appearances, or The Declarations of Providence. There have been several editions of his Various History.
AEMILIUS (PAULUS),
THE son of Lucius Paulus, who was killed at the battle of Canhae, was twice consul. In his first consulate he triumphed over the Ligurians; and in the second subdued Perseus, king of Macedonia, and reduced that country to a Roman province, on which he obtained the surname of Macedonicus, He returned to Rome loaded with glory, and triumphed for three days. He died 168 years before Christ.
AEMILIUS (PAULUS),
A Celebrated historian, born at Verona, who obtained such reputation in Italy, that he was invited into France by the cardinal of Bourbon, in the reign of Lewis XII. in order to write the history of the kings of France in Latin, and was given a canonry in the cathedral of Paris. He was near thirty years in writing that history, which has been greatly admired. He died at Paris on the 5th of May, 1529.
AENEAS,
A FAMOUS Trojan prince, the son of Anchises and Venus. At the destruction of Troy, he bore his aged father on his back, and saved him from the Greeks; but being too solicitous about his son and household gods, lost his wife Creüsa in the escape. Landing in Africa, he was kindly received by queen Dido: but quitting her coast, he arrived in Italy, where he married Lavinia the daughter of king Latinus, and defeated Turnus, to whom she had been contracted. After the death of his father-in-law, he was made king of the Latins, over whom he reigned three years: but joining with the Aborigines, was slain in a battle against the Tuscans. Virgil has rendered the name of this prince immortal, by making him the hero of his poem.
AESCHINES,
A SOCRATIC philosopher, the son of Charinus a sausage-maker. He was continually with Socrates; which occasioned this philosopher to say, that the sausage-maker's son was the only person who knew how to pay a due regard to him. It is said that poverty obliged him to go to Sicily to Dionysius the Tyrant; and that he met with great contempt from Plato, but was extremely well received by Aristippus; to whom he showed some of his dialogues, and received from him a handsome reward. He would not venture to profess philosophy at Athens, Plato and Aristippus being in such high esteem; but he set up a school to maintain himself. He afterwards wrote orations for the Forum. Phrynieus, in Photius, ranks him amongst the best orators, and mentions his orations as the standard of the pure Attic style. Hermogenes has also spoken very highly of him.—He also wrote several dialogues, of which there are only three extant: 1. Concerning Virtue, whether it can be taught. 2. Eryxias, or Erasistratus; concerning riches, whether they are good. 3. Axiocus; concerning death, whether it is to be feared. Mr. Le Clerc has given a Latin translation of them, with notes, and several dissertations intitled
Sylvae Philologicae.
AESCHYLUS,
THE tragic poet, was born at Athens. Authors differ in regard to the time of his birth, some placing it in the 65th, others in the 70th Olympiad; but according to Stanley, who relies on the Arundelian marbles, he was born in the 63d Olympiad. He was the son of Euphorion, and brother to Cynegirus and Aminias, who distinguished themselves in the battle of Marathon, and the sea-fight of Salamis, at which engagements Aeschylus was likewise present. In this last action, according to Diodorus Siculus, Aminias, the younger of the three brothers, commanded a squadron of ships, and behaved with so much conduct and bravery, that he sunk the admiral of the Persian fleet, and signalized himself above all the Athenians. To this brother our poet was, upon a particular occasion, obliged for saving his life: Aelian relates, that Aeschylus being charged by the Athenians with certain blasphemous expressions in some of his pieces, was accused of impiety, and condemned to be stoned to death: they were just going to put the sentence into execution, when Aminias, with a happy presence of mind, throwing aside his cloak, shewed his arm without a hand, which he had lost at the battle of Salamis in defence of his country. This sight made such an impression on the judges, that, touched with the remembrance of his valour, and with the friendship he showed for his brother, they pardoned Aeschylus. Our poet, however, resented the indignity of this prosecution, and resolved to leave a place where his life had been in danger. He became more determined in this resolution when he found his pieces less pleasing to the Athenians than those of Sophocles, though a much younger writer. Some affirm, that Aeschylus never sat down to compose but when he had drank liberally. He wrote a great number of tragedies, of which there are but seven remaining: and notwithstanding the sharp censures of some critics, he must be allowed to have been the father of the tragic art. In the time of Thespis, there was no public theatre to act upon; the strollers driving about from place to place in a cart. Aeschylus furnished his actors with masks, and dressed them suitably to their characters. He likewise introduced the buskin, to make them more like heroes.—The ancients gave Aeschylus also the praise of having been the first who removed murders and shocking sights from the eyes of the spectators. He is said likewise to have lessened the number of the chorus. M. Le Fevre has observed, that Aeschylus never represented women in love in his tragedies; which, he says, was not suited to his genius; but, in representing a woman transported with fury, he was incomparable. Longinus says, that Aeschylus has a noble boldness of expression; and that his imagination is lofty and heroic. It must be owned, however, that he affected pompous words, and that his sense is too often obscured by figures: this gave Salmasius occasion to say, that he was more difficult to be understood than the scripture itself. But notwithstanding these imperfections, this poet was held in great veneration by the Athenians, who made a public decree that his tragedies should be played after his death. He was killed in the 69th year of his age, by an eagle letting fall a tortoise upon his head as he was walking in the fields. He had the honour of a pompous funeral from the Sicilians, who buried him near the river Gela; and the tragedians of the country performed plays and theatrical exercises at his tomb.—The best edition of his plays is that of London, 1663, fol. with a Latin translation and a learned commentary by Thomas Stanly.
AESCULAPIUS,
IN the Heathen mythology, the god of physic, was the son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis. He was educated by the centaur Chiron, who taught him physic; by which means Aesculapius cured the most desperate diseases. But Jupiter, enraged at his restoring to life Hippolitus, who had been torn in pieces by his own horses, killed him with a thunderbolt. According to Cicero, there were three deities of this name: the first, the son of Apollo, worshipped in Arcadia, who invented the probe, and bandages for wounds; the second, the brother of Mercury, killed by lightning; and the third, the son of Arisippus and Arsinoe, who first taught the art of tooth-drawing and purging. At Epidaurus, Aesculapius's statue was of gold and ivory, with a long beard, his head surrounded with rays, holding in one hand a knotty stick, and the other entwined with a serpent; he was seated on a throne of the same materials as his statue, and had a dog lying at his feet. The Romans crowned him with laurel, to represent his descent from Apollo; and the Phaliasins represented him as beardless. The cock, the raven, and the goat, were sacred to this deity. His chief temples were at Pergamus, Smyrna, Trica a city in Ionia, and the isle of Coos; in all which, votive t
blets were hung up, showing the diseases cured by his assistance. But his most famous shrine was at Epidaurus; where, every five years, games were instituted to him, nine days after the Isthmian games at Corinth.
AESOP,
THE Phrygian, lived in the time of Solon, about the 50th Olympiad, under the reign of Croesus, the last king of Lydia. He was greatly indebted to nature for his genius and abilities, but little else, as he was born a slave, and very much deformed in his person
however, his great genius enabled him to support his misfortunes with patience. In the course of his servitude he composed those fables which are so generally and deservedly admired. He is supposed by many to have been the first writer of that kind; but this is contested by others, particularly by Quintilian, who seems to think Hesiod was the first author of fables. Aesop, however, excelled in this art to a very great degree.
The first master whom Aesop served, was one Carasius Demarehus, a
inhabitant of Athens, and in all probability he there acquired his purity in the Greek tongue. After serving many masters, he was enfranchised by a philosopher, named Idmon. When he had gained his liberty, he soon acquired great reputation among the Greeks. The report of hi
wisdom having reached Croesus, he sent after him, and engaged him i
his service. He travelled through Greece, and passed by Athens soon after Pisistratus had assumed the sovereign power: finding the Athenians very impatient under their yoke, he told them the fable of the frogs, who petitioned Jupiter for a king. Aesop was certainly happy in his inventions to instruct mankind: the images he makes use of are all that is necessary to perfect a precept, and are both useful and agreeable. He may be justly esteemed wise, since he wrote in an entertaining and persuasive style, which charms and captivates the human mind. Aesop suffered death at Delphi. Plutarch says he came thither with a large sum of money, sent by Croesus, to offer a sacrifice to Apollo, and to distribute among the inhabitants: but a quarrel arising between him and the inhabitants, he sent the money back to Croesus. For this they contrived an accusation of sacrilege against him; and pretending they had convicted him, threw him headlong from a rock. For this cruel action, we are told, they were visited by a famine and pestilence: and on consulting the oracle, they received for answer, that the god designed this as a punishment for the treatment of Aesop. They endeavoured to make an atonement, by erecting a pyramid to his honour.
AESOP (CLODIUS),
A Celebrated actor, cotemporary with Roscius; the first excelling in tragedy, the latter in comedy. Cicero put himself under their tuition, to perfect his action. The luxury and extravagance of the Romans were in his time so great, that this man, although an actor, lived in the most expensive manner. Yet did the folly of the age enable him to support such extravagance, and die immensely rich. When he was on the stage, he is said to have entered so warmly into his part, as to be seized almost with phrensy.
AETION,
A Celebrated painter, who has left us an excellent picture of Roxana and Alexander, which he exhibited at the Olympic Games: it represents a magnificent chamber, where Roxana is sitting on a bed of a most splendid appearance, which is rendered still more brilliant by her beauty. She looks downwards, in a kind of confusion, being struck with the presence of Alexander standing before her. A number of little Cupids flutter about, some holding up the curtain, as if to show Roxana to the prince, whilst others are busied in undressing the lady; some pull Alexander by the cloak, who appears like a young bashful bridegroom, and present him to his mistress: he lays his crown at her feet, being accompanied by Ephestion, who holds a torch in his hand, and leans upon a youth, who represents Hymen. Several other little Cupids are represented playing with his arms; some carry his lance, stooping under so heavy a weight; others bear along his buckler, upon which one of them is seated, whom the rest carry in triumph; another lies in ambush in his armour, waiting to frighten the rest as they pass by. This picture gained Aetion so much reputation, that the president of the games gave him his daughter in marriage.
AETIUS,
ONE of the most zealous defenders of Arianism, was born in Syria, and flourished about the year 336. After being servant to a grammarian, of whom he learned grammar and logic, he was ordained deacon, and at length bishop, by Eudoxus, patriarch of Constantinople. St. Epiphanius has preserved 47 of his propositions against the Trinity. His followers were called AETIANS.
AFER (DOMITIUS),
A Celebrated orator, born at Nismes, who flourished under the Emperor Tiberius and three of his successors. He is highly applauded by Quintilian; but disgraced his talents, by practising the infamous trade of an informer. Quintilian, in his youth, cultivated the friendship of Domitius; he tells us, that his pleadings abounded with pleasant allusions, and mentions two books of his "On Witnesses."
Domitius was a proof, how dangerous it is for a man to exercise his humour too constantly. He had put an inscription on a statue of Caligula, declaring him to have been a second time consul at the age of 27; this was intended as an encomium: but Caligula thinking it was meant by Domitius as a sarcasm on his youth, and his infringement of the laws, raising a process, pleaded against him himself. Domitius, instead of attempting a defence, repeated a part of the emperor's speech, with the highest degree of admiration; fell on his knees, implored pardon of the emperor, and declared he dreaded his eloquence more than his imperial power. This artful flattery succeeded so well, that he was not only pardoned, but raised to the consulate.
AFRANIUS,
A LATIN poet, who flourished about the 17th Olympiad. He wrote Latin comedies in imitation of Menander, which are much praised by Cicero and Quintilian.
AFRICANUS (JULIUS),
AN historian of repute, who wrote a chronicle which was much esteemed. The only remains of this work are to be found in Eusebius and which ended at the 221st year of the vulgar aera; his letter to Aristides, in which he reconciles the seeming contradictions in the two genealogies of our Saviour recorded by the apostles, Matthew and Luke.
AGAMEMNON,
THE son of Atreus, by Aërope, was commander in chief of the Grecian forces against Troy. His wife Clytemnestra proved unfaithful to him in his absence, and on his return he was slain by her lover, Aegistus, who by her means assumed the government.
AGARD (ARTHUR),
A LEARNED and industrious antiquary, was born 1540, and educated for the practice of the law. In process of time he became a clerk in the Exchequer office, and in 1570 deputy chamberlain of the Exchequer, under Sir Nicholas Throgmorton; which place he held forty-five years. The great love he had for English antiquities led him to make large and laborious collections; and the office he held, afforded him an opportunity to acquire great skill in the most intricate part of the antiquary's study. A conformity of studies brought him acquainted with the elder Sir Robert Cotton, with whom he ever had a strict friendship. Indeed, Anthony Wood tells us, he received all his knowledge in antiquities from him; which is not very probable; as he came into the Exchequer office the same year Sir Robert Cotton was born. Besides Sir Robert Cotton, Mr. Agard had the most learned and eminent men in the kingdom for his friends and acquaintance. There existed, in his time, a most illustrious assembly of learned persons, who styled themselves a Society of Antiquaries, Mr. Agard was one of the principal members, as appears from some discourses read in that society, and since printed and published by Mr. Hearne. Besides five discourses in this collection, and another of much older date, it is not known that our author had more in print. These, however, shew, that in antiquities he had few equals, and no superiors.
In the business of his office he was particularly expert, as is evident from his discovering
Richardus filius Nigelli
to be the author of The Dialogue of the Exchequer, which generally goes under the name of Giraldus Tilburiensis. Mr. Madox, who published the History of the Exchequer, owned that this had been discovered by our author, Agard, who communicated it to the famous Selden. The Doomesday Book our author had made his chief and particular study; and published a large and learned work on purpose to explain it; which was preserved in the Cotton library. He likewise employed three years in composing a book for the case of his successors; containing a catalogue of such records as were in the four treasuries, and an account of all leagues, treaties of peace, &c. with foreign nations. This treatise he deposited with the officers of the receipt, for the use of succeeding officers.
By his will he directed, that eleven other manuscript treatises, relative to Exchequer matters, should be delivered up to the office. All the rest of his valuable collections he bequeathed to his old friend, Sir Robert Cotton; in whose library as many as remain are still to be found. For, notwithstanding his making so much use of his pen, his modesty would not permit him to publish any thing. After having thus spent his days in learned tranquillity, he thought of death before it came, and caused a monument to be erected in the cloister, Westminster Abbey, near the chapel-door. He died August 20, 1615. Mr. Camden styles him a most excellent antiquary. Mr. Selden says, he was most painful and industrious in things of that nature. From these testimonies we must conceive a high opinion of Mr. Agard's merit.
AGATHO,
A Tragic poet; much applauded by Plato for his virtue and beauty. He obtained the prize at the Olympic games in the 4th year of the 90th Olympiad. We have nothing extant of his, except a few quotations, in Aristotle, Athenius, and some others.
AGATHOCLES,
THE celebrated tyrant of Sicily; who, from being the son of a potter, commenced thief; turned common soldier; was promoted to be a centurion; then a general; and afterwards turned a pirate; all in regular succession. He defeated the Carthaginians several times in Sicily; was made king, or tyrant, of Syracuse, and then of all Sicily; and made war, with success, on the above people, both in Sicily and Africa. But meeting with a reverse of fortune, and being in arrears with his soldiers, they mutinied, and compelled him to fly from his camp. They then cruelly destroyed his children, whom he left behind. Gaining strength again, he returned to Sicily, and put to death, first the wives and children of the soldiers who had murdered his, and afterwards the soldiers themselves. He was at length poisoned at the age of 72, having reigned 28 years.
AGELNOTH,
IN Latin
Achelnotus,
archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of Canute the Great. This prelate, surnamed the Good, was son of Earl Agilmer, and, at the time of his election, dean of Canterbury. After his promotion he went to Rome, and received his pall from Pope Benedict VIII. In his way thither he passed through Pavia, and there purchased for a hundred talents of silver, and one of gold, St. Augustin's arm, which was kept there as a relique, and sent it over to England as a present to Leofric, Earl of Coventry. On his return, he is said to have raised the see of Canterbury to its former lustre. He was much in favour with king Canute, and employed his interest with that monarch to good purposes. By his advice the king remitted large sums for the support of foreign churches, and was led by him to many other acts of charity. When Canute died, Agelnoth refused to crown Harold; alledging, that the late king had enjoined him to set the crown on the head of none but the issue of Queen Emma. After which declaration, he laid the crown upon the altar, with an imprecation against those bishops who should perform the ceremony. Harold endeavoured, both by menaces and offers, to prevail upon the archbishop, but in vain: and whether he was afterwards crowned by any other person, is uncertain. Agelnoth, after he had been sixteen years archbishop, died October 29, 1038.
AGRIPPA (HEROD),
THE son of Aristobolus, was grandson of Herod the Great, and born in the year of the world 3997. After the death of his father, Herod his grandfather completed his education, and sent him to Rome, to pay his court to Tiberius. The emperor professed a great regard for Agrippa. and placed him in a situation under his son Drusus, whose affection he soon gained. But the sudden death of Drusus caused all those who had been much esteemed by him to be removed from Rome, by the command of Tiberius, who was fearful their presence might add to his affliction. Agrippa, after having indulged his inclination almost to excess, found himself under the necessity of quitting Rome, involved in debt, and very indigent. He abandoned the idea of returning to Jerusalem, being conscious he could not make a figure there suitable to his birth. For this reason he retired to the castle of Massada, where he lived for some time, by the assistance of his uncle Herod, more like a prince, than what he really was. He made him principal magistrate of Tiberias, and gave him a large sum of money: but the expences of Agrippa were so enormous, that his uncle grew weary of assisting him, and reproached him with his extravagance. Agrippa took offence at this, and resolved to return to Rome. When he arrived there, he was received favourably by Tiberius, and commanded to attend the son of Drusus. But Agrippa preferring Caius, the son of Germanicus (and grandson of the Empress Antonia), whose favour he had formerly enioyed, attached himself to him with great assiduity. The behaviour and abilities of Agrippa made such an impression on this prince, that he kept him constantly about his person.
Eutyches, a slave, whom Agrippa had made free, overheard him one day express a wish for the death of Tiberius, and advancement of Caius, which he made known to the emperor. In consequence of this, Agrippa was committed to the custody of an officer, and loaded with fetters; but was soon released from his confinement by the death of Tiberius, who was succeeded by Caius Caligula. The new emperor bestowed many favours upon Agrippa, gave him a chain of gold in exchange for his iron fetters, placed a crown upon his head, and granted him the tetrarchy, which Philip, the son of Herod the Great, had possessed, that is, Batanaea and Trachonitis; and added to this that of Lysanias. Agrippa soon went to Judea, to take possession of his new kingdom.
Caius was soon after killed; and Agrippa being then at Rome, advised Claudius to keep possession of the imperial dignity, to which he had been advanced by the army. Agrippa in this affair shewed more cunning and address, than sincerity and honesty; for while he pretended to be in the interest of the senate, he secretly prevailed upon Claudius to be resolute, and not abandon his good fortune. For this advice the emperor gave him all Judea and the kingdom of Chalcis, which had been possessed by his brother Herod. Thus Agrippa became suddenly one of the greatest princes of the East, and possessed of as many territories, if not more, than Herod the Great had ever held. Agrippa now returned to Judea, and reigned with great satisfaction to the Jews. But through too great a desire of pleasing them, and a mistaken zeal for their religion, he committed an action, the injustice of which is related in Scripture, Acts xii. 1, 2, &c. For about the feast of passover, in the year of Jesus Christ 44, St. James Major, the son of Zebedee, and brother to St. John the Evangelist, was seized by his order, and put to death. He also laid hands on St. Peter, and imprisoned him, with an intent to execute him when the festival was over. But God having miraculously delivered St. Peter from his confinement, frustrated the designs of Agrippa. After the passover, this prince went to Cesarea, and had games performed there in honour of Claudius. The inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon waited on him here, to sue for peace. Agrippa came early in the morning to the theatre, with a design to give them audience; and seated himself on his throne, dressed in a robe of silver tissue, embroidered in an elegant style. The rays of the rising sun darting on it, gave it such a lustre, that the eyes of the spectators were dazzled with looking on it. And when the king spoke to the Tyrians or Sidonians, the parasites around said it was the voice of a god, and not that of a man. Instead of rejecting these impious flatteries, Agrippa received them with an air of complacency; but at the same time observed an owl above him on a cord. He had seen the same bird before, when he was in bonds by order of Tiberius; and it was then told him, that he should be soon set at liberty: but that whenever he saw the same thing a second time, he should not live above five days afterwards. He was therefore extremely terrified; and died at the end of five days, racked with tormenting pains in his bowels, and devoured with worms. Such was the death of Herod Agrippa, after a reign of seven years, in the year of Christ 44.
AGRIPPA (MARCUS VESPANIUS).
Son-in-law to Augustus, of low birth, but one of the greatest generals Rome ever had. The victory gained by Augustus over Pompey and Mark Anthony, was owing to his counsel; he adorned the city with the pantheon, baths, aqueducts, &c.
AGRIPPA (CORNELIUS).
A MAN of great learning, born at Cologne, in 1486, and reported to be a great magician by the monks of that time, who pronounced every thing which they did not understand to be sorcery or heresy. To ingratiate himself into the favour of Margaret of Austria, he composed his
Treatise on the Excellence of Women,
which did not fail in its effect, for that princess gave him the place of historiographer to the emperor. In 1530 he published the treatise of the
Vanity of the Sciences,
which greatly enraged his enemies, as did that of
Occult Philosophy,
which he printed soon after at Antwerp. He wrote something against Francis I.'s mother, which occasioned him to be imprisoned in France; but he was soon liberated, and went to Grenoble, where he died in 1534.
AGRIPPINA,
THE daughter of Gcrmanicus, and mother of Nero; a woman of great art and lewdness. She was married thrice; the last time to Claudius her uncle, whom she poisoned, to make way for her son Nero to ascend the throne. Nero afterwards caused her to be murdered.
AJAX,
THE son of Telamon, was, next to Achilles, the most valiant general among the Greeks at the siege of Troy: he commanded the troops of Salamis, and performed many great actions, of which we have an account in the Iliad. The Greeks paid great honours to him after his death, and erected a monument to his memory upon the promontory of Rhetium.
AIDAN.
SON of Goran, king of Scotland. His father was murdered by conspirators, in the year 535, at which time this prince was very young. Eugenius, nephew to the last king, succeeded to the throne. He was a good officer and a wise prince, having gained much experience in the service of the celebrated Arthur, king of the Britons, whom he long served under, but at the same time very artful. He laid aside all thoughts of revenging his uncle's murder, and even took into his favour Donald of Athol, who was chief promoter of it. The queen Dowager was so much alarmed at this, that notwithstanding his pretended friendship for her and her family, she took the first opportunity of quitting the kingdom, and retiring, with her two sons, Reginans and Aidan, into Ireland, the latter was then about seven years of age. They were very kindly received by Tauthalius the reigning king. The queen, and her eldest son, died there. Aidan continued there forty-eight years, great part of which time Eugenius reigned; and after him his brother Congallus. This last mentioned king being conscious of the wrong done to the right heir of the crown, ordered Aidan to be brought home, which was undertaken and performed by the celebrated St. Columb. But on their arrival in Scotland, they were informed the king was dead, and that his brother, Kennatillus, was by the Scots put in possession of the throne. After the burial of the deceased prince, Columb went to court with Aidan; and, to the surprise of all people, was received by the new king with much kindness and respect, he telling Aidan, he should assist him in governing the kingdom, which would become his very shortly, to whom of right it pertained. The king being old and infirm, died soon after, and was succeeded by Aidan, according to Boëtius, in the year 578. He was crowned king of Scotland by Columb, who, in an elegant oration, made for the occasion, excited the prince to justice, and the people to obedience. Aidan went into Galloway, immediately after his coronation, and suppressed certain robbers who had infested that country, and committed great outrages in it. He instituted annual assizes there, at Lochaber, and Caithness. But some of the young nobility quarrelling at a hunting match, suddenly interrupted these works of peace. This affray ending in bloodshed, caused several of them to retire into the dominions of the British king. Aidan, in virtue of a treaty with this prince, often demanded them, and was constantly refused. Incensed at this treatment, he entered his country, took a great number prisoners, and carried off a quantity of cattle. Brudeus resenting this, made an attack upon Galloway, and did much mischief. At length a general engagement ensued, the Picts were routed with great slaughter; the Scots lost a number of men, and amongst them Arthur, the king's son. St. Columb hearing of this war, came to the king, and charged him with shewing too much willingness to shed blood; this made so strong an impression on the mind of the prince, that he would not suffer this excellent man to depart till he undertook to negociate a peace, which he executed with great success. The Saxons, having driven the Britons into Wales, were now in possession of England. Ethelfrid, who then reigned in Northumberland, was an artful and ambitious prince. He wished to make a conquest of the Pictish kingdom; but finding himself too weak to accomplish it, prevailed on Brudeus to break the peace with the Scots, thinking by this means to weaken and obtain a victory over him. Aidan hearing of these negociations, concluded a treaty, offensive and defensive, with Maelgwyn, the British king. As soon as the Saxons were informed of this, they determined to invade the British territories, in order to draw the Scots from their own country. This manoeuvre succeeded, for Aidan instantly marched to assist his allies; and, joining the British army, offered battle to Ethelfrid and Brudeus, which, for two reasons, they chose to decline; first, that they were weary of the Scots; next, to give Ceuline, king of the West Saxons, an opportunity of joining them. Aidan, and his associates being apprised of their intention, resolved to attack Ceuline, before his junction should render them too powerful. They performed this with great bravery, and by forcing their camp, cut to pieces and destroyed a great number of their armies, and among them Cutha, son to the king of the West Saxons. Notwithstanding this, the remainder joined their friends, and offered battle a second time to Aidan, who behaved very gallantly in this engagement, but was so unfortunate as to lose his son Griffin, and his nephew Brennius, Earl of Man. The Saxons and Picts had a great number of private men killed, and both their princes wounded. Ethelfrid lost one of his eyes, and Brudeus received a deep wound on his hip. Ethelfrid joined the Picts early the next summer, and with a numerous army invaded Galloway. Aidan was better prepared to receive them than they had reason to suppose; and taking the advantage of their straggling about the country, he cut off several of their parties; but finding that these losses obliged them to keep close in camp, he resolved to march silently by it on a dark night, to join the Britons, and encamped in a narrow valley in Annandale, where the Saxons and Picts with a great army surrounded them, and flattered themselves that seizing all the passages, they should easily rout their enemies. But Aidan consulting his generals, they agreed to make great preparations, by fortifying their camp, and to appear as if they waited for an attack; when they had completed this, they lighted up a number of fires, and decamped in the night. By passing certain rivers, deemed not fordable by the Saxons, they entered Northumberland, destroying the country with fire and sword. This obliged the Saxons and Picts to follow them; a pitched battle ensued; the Saxons and Picts, after an obstinate engagement, were totally routed with prodigious slaughter. Ceuline, king of the West Saxons, was killed on the spot. Aidan having gained this great victory, caused all the spoil which they had brought out of Galloway to be restored to the right owners; a tenth of the remaining booty he gave to be distributed in alms, the rest was divided equally amongst the Scottish and British soldiers. All the trophies of this conquest he sent to St. Columb, in the island of Columb-Kill, to be deposited in his abbey.
He reigned quietly after this, for about eleven years, when Ethelfrid prevailed on the Picts to renew the war. Aidan, though very old, marched to the place where he expected the British army to have joined him; but his allies failing, gave his enemies such an advantage over him, that they cut to pieces the chief of his forces; the king himself had a narrow escape. The fall of Theobald, the king's brother, proves this to have been a hard-fought battle, the consequences of which, and the news of the death of St. Columb, hastened the end of the good old king, and brought him to the grave in the year 606. He reigned thirty-two years, and was, when he died, seventy-eight years old.
AIDAN,
IN the seventh century, was bishop of Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, and was originally a monk in the monastery of Hii, or Jona, one of the islands of the Hebrides. At the request of Oswald, king of Northumberland, he came into England in the year 634, and undertook to instruct that prince's subjects in the knowledge of the Christian religion. He prevailed upon the king to remove the episcopal see from York to Lindisfarne. He was very successful in his preaching, in which he was greatly assisted by the pious zeal of the king, who had lived a considerable time in Scotland, where he acquired a competent knowledge of the language; he undertook to be himself Aidan's interpreter, and explained his discourses to the nobility. Oswald was slain in battle, and Aidan continued to govern the church of Northumberland, under his successors, Oswin and Oswi, till Oswin was treacherously murdered, and Aidan survived him but twelve days; he sat sixteen years, and died in August, 651. He was buried in his church of Lindisfarne, and part of his relics were carried by his successor, Colman, into Scotland, in the year 664.
AILMER, or AETHELMARE,
EARL of Cornwall and Devonshire. He was great in authority and riches, and in his appearance of piety; it is not known of what family he was. He founded the abbey of Cerne, in Dorsetshire, and had so great an esteem for Eadwald, brother to St. Edmund the Martyr, that, with the assistance of Archbishop Dunstan, he removed his relics to the old church of Cernel. He founded the abbey of Eyresham, in Oxfordshire, and the priory of Bruton in Somersetshire, in 1005, both for the Bendictine monks. In 1013, when Swene, king of Denmark, infested England, and obliged Aethelred to shut himself up in Winchester, Ailmer submitted himself to the conqueror, and gave him hostages. When Canute, the son of Swene, invaded England in 1016, Earl Ailmer, with Eadric Streone, Earl of Mercia, and Earl of Algar, joined the Danes against their natural prince, which was one great cause of the Saxons' ruin. He died soon after this, and we find only one son of his mentioned in history, whose name was Aethelward, Earl of Cornwall: he followed his father's principles, and was properly rewarded for it by Canute, who, after reaping the benefit of their treason, and finding the traitors no longer useful, ordered Eadric Streone and Earl Aethelward both to be put to death.
AILRED.
ABBOT of Ravesby, was born of noble parents, in the year 1109, and educated in Scotland. Upon his return into England, he took the habit of the Cistertian monastery of Revesby, in Lincolnshire; his extraordinary piety and learning soon raised him to the dignity of abbot. His attachment to retirement and study induced him to decline all offers of ecclesiastical preferment. He was particularly fond of reading St. Austin's works, and a strict imitator of St. Bernard in his writings, words, and actions. He left behind him several monuments of his learning, in the writing of which he was assisted by Walter Daniel, a monk of the same convent.—He died January 12, 1166, aged fifty-seven years, and was buried in the monastery of Revesby, under a tomb adorned with gold and silver.
AINSWORTH (HENRY).
AN eminent nonconformist divine, who flourished in the latter end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century.
It is much to be regretted that it is not in our power to give a more minute detail of the origin of this great man, but we cannot so much as say when or where he was born: however, he distinguished himself about the year 1590, amongst the Brownists, and endured a share in their persecutions. His great knowledge of Hebrew, and his celebrate
Commentaries on the Holy Scriptures, gained him much reputation but his sect being at that time in discredit, it drew upon him suc
troubles, that after struggling with them some years, he quitted t
country, and retired into Holland, where most of the eminent nonconformists, who had incurred the displeasure of Queen Elizabeth, h
before resorted. Ainsworth, in conjunction with Mr. Johnson, erecte
a church at Amsterdam, of which the former was doctor. They afte
wards, jointly, published a Confession of Faith of the People calle
Brownists; but both being men of warm tempers, they differed i
opinion about some points of discipline, and divided into partie
Johnson, after having rejected the mediator of the Presbytery of A
sterdam, excommunicated his father and brother on some triflin
matters. This caused such a division in the congregation, that M
Ainsworth, with one half of them, excommunicated Mr. Johnso
who, a short time after, returned the compliment to Mr. Ainsworth the contest now grew so warm, that Johnson and his followers left A
sterdam, and removed to Embden, where he soon died, and his congregation were dissolved. Notwithstanding this, Mr. Ainsworth an
his followers did not live long in peace, which caused him to leav
them soon after, and retire to Ireland, where he remained some time but returned to Amsterdam when the spirits of the people were quieted and continued with them till his death, which by some historians i
strangely accounted for. His demise was sudden, and not withou
suspicion of violence; for it is reported, that having found a diamon
of considerable value in the streets of Amsterdam, he advertised it i
the public prints; it was claimed by a Jew, who, when he came t
demand it, offered him any acknowledgement he would desire. Ainsworth, though poor, would not accept any thing, but a conferenc
with some of his Rabbies, concerning the prophecies of the Old Testament relating to the Messiah, which the other promised; but no
having interest enough to obtain it, it is strongly suspected he was th
occasion of the death of Ainsworth by poison. His learned writing were received with respect, even by his adversaries, who, while they refuted his singularities, paid a proper regard to his abilities; particularly that worthy Bishop of Exeter, Dr. Hall, who wrote with great strength of reason against the Brownists. But nothing could reclaim him, or incline him to return home; for as he lived, so he died, in exile. It was certainly a misfortune, that the obstinacy of his own spirit, and the rigorous administration in the church, excluded so able a man from the public exercise of his ministry: he had a strong understanding, quick penetration, and wonderful diligence; but these qualities were somewhat allayed by the hastiness of his temper, his contempt for ecclesiastical governments, his proneness to maintain disputes about trifling things, and his rashness in separating from the church, and the nonconformists in Holland. Mr. Ainsworth was much esteemed in his lifetime, in his own country, and several of his books were more than once reprinted after his death; yet, through a prevailing contempt for men of his sentiment, and too cold a reception of that kind of learning, which rendered him famous, his works are more known and valued abroad than here: we seldom find an English author oftener quoted, or with greater testimonies of his merit, than Dr. Ainsworth. A higher character of the veneration he has acquired cannot well be expected, than that which occurs in all the late editions of Moreri's dictionary, when with great pains, and much gravity, they caution us to distinguish between Henry Ainsworth, the able commentator of the Scriptures, and Henry Ainsworth the Heresiarch, who was one of the chief Brownists in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; nevertheless, nothing is more certain than that these two were the same man.—There was another writer whose works bore some affinity to his, and are sometimes ascribed to him, whose christian name was William; and besides him, there was a Mr. Samuel Ainsworth, a nonconformist minister, in Northamptonshire.
AINSWORTH (ROBERT).
A NOTED grammarian, in the latter end of the seventeenth, and the beginning of the present century, was born in September, 1660, at Woodgate, in Lancashire, four miles from Manchester. He received his education at Bolton, in the same county; and afterwards taught a school in that town. From thence he removed to London, and was master of a considerable boarding-school at Bethnal-Green; during his residence at that place, he wrote and published
A short Treatise of Grammatical Institution.
After quitting Bethnal-Green, he carried on a school at Hackney, and successively at other villages in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, by which he acquired a moderate fortune, retired from business, and lived in a private manner. In the latter part of his life, he used to employ himself very much in ransacking the shops of obscure brokers, in order to pick up old coins, and other valuable curiosities, at a small expence. He died in the eighty-third year of his age, at London, on the 4th of April, 1743, and was buried at Poplar.
Mr. Ainsworth had a talent for Latin and English poetry; some of his poems have been printed, but as they have not fallen in our way, we cannot specify their character or merit, but it is certain they have never occasioned him to be ranked among the poets of this country. H
gained his reputation from his Thesaurus, an excellent performanc
which is in general use and estimation. About the year 1714, a pr
posal was made to some eminent book sellers, for compiling a Latin Di
tionary, and Mr. Ainsworth was easily prevailed upon to undertake th
laborious task; it went slowly on for a long time, and for some yea
was entirely suspended.
It however appeared, in 4to, in 1736, dedicated to Dr. Mead, unde
the title of "Thesaurus Linguae Latinae Compendiarius; or a Compe
dious Dictionary of the Latin Tongue, designed chiefly for the Use
the British Nations." There have been several editions published sinc
and there is a useful abridgement of the Thesaurus by Mr. Thomas, i
two large octavo volumes.
AIRAY (HENRY).
PROVOST of Queen's College in Oxford, was born in Westmoreland and educated in grammatical learning by the care of the celebrate Mr. Barnard Gilpin, and by him in 1575 sent to Saint Edmund's Hal
in Oxford. He was then nineteen years of age, and was maintained a
the university by Mr. Gilpin, who left him an handsome legacy at hi
decease, Mr. Airay soon removed to Queen's College, where he became
pauper puer serviens.
In 1583, he took his bachelor's degree, an
was made
tabardus.
Both these are servile offices in the university; th
former is a servitor, or poor lad, who waits upon the fellows at th
common halls at meals, and in their chambers. The
tabardi
are so calle
because they anciently wore coats, or upper garments, like heralds.
In 1586 he commenced master of arts and fellow. About this tim
he went into orders, and became a zealous preacher in the university. I
1594, he took the degree of bachelor of divinity, and four years after wa
chosen provost of his college. In 1600, he proceeded in divinity, and si
years after was elected vice-chancellor. He died in 1616, aged fifty seven, and was buried in the inner chapel of Queen's College. He wrot
the following pieces, which were published after his death. 1st.
Lecture on the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Philippians.
2d.
An Apology touching hi
Suit in Law for the Rectory of Charlton, in Oxfordshire;
and, 3d.
Treatise against Bowing at the Name of Jesus.
Airay was a zealous Calvinist, and a great supporter of his party, who gave him the character of a person of great holiness, becoming gravity, and assiduity in th
discharge of his ministerial function.
There was also an Airay who was vicar of Milford in Hampshire, who wrote a work called
Fasciculus praeceptorum Logicalium in gratiam Juventutis Academiae compositus,
or a Collection of the Rules of Logic, for the Use of Students in the Universities.
AKENSIDE (MARK).
AN eminent poet and physician, was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, on the 9th of November, 1721. He was the second son of a substantial butcher of that town.
At the free-school of Newcastle he received the first part of his grammatical education, and was afterwards put under the care of Mr. Wilson, a dissenting minister, who kept a private academy at Newcastle. At eighteen he was sent to the university of Edinburgh, with a view to be brought up for a dissenting minister, his parents and relations in general being of the Presbyterian persuasion. He prosecuted his studies on this plan for one year only, during which time he received some assistance from the funds which the English dissenters employ in educating young men of no fortune. But his views as to the ministry altering, he turned his thoughts to physic, and scrupulously repaid his benefactors the money they had advanced him; which having been contributed to a different purpose, he thought it dishonourable to retain. Whether in relinquishing his design to be a dissenting minister, he ceased to be a dissenter, is not certainly known.
His genius and taste for poetry displayed themselves when he was at the schools at Newcastle; and it is said that his "Pleasures of Imagination," and several other pieces, were first written by him at Morpeth, while he was upon a visit to his relations, before he went to the university of Edinburgh. At Edinburgh he distinguished himself by his poetical compositions. His Ode on the Winter Solstice was certainly composed at that place. After staying three years at Edinburgh, he removed to Leyden, where he studied two years; and there, in May 1744, took his degree of doctor in physic. In his inaugural dissertation, he is said to have displayed his medical sagacity, by attacking some opinions of Leuwenhoek, and other writers, at that time very generally received, but which have since been discarded by the best physicians and philosophers; and by proposing an hypothesis which is now considered as founded in truth.
The same year his poem "on the Pleasures of Imagination" appeared; which was, in general, received with great applause, and raised his reputation high in the poetical world. But Mr. Warburton, so much celebrated for his learning, and afterwards Bishop of Gloucester, being dissatisfied with a note in the third book, concerning the nature and objects of ridicule, thought proper, in a preface to certain remarks on his antagonist, to make some severe strictures on our author, in which he attacked him as a philosopher only, and not as a poet. Dr. Akenside in return was warmly vindicated by an anonymous friend, who was the late Jeremiah Dyson, Esq.
In this pamphlet, which is intitled "An Epistle to the Reverend Mr. Warburton," there are several sensible observations, but the style is unpleasant. The review of the controversy, whether ridicule be the touchstone of truth, will be more suitably introduced when we come to the life of Lord Shaftsbury, the noble author of the Characteristics. The poem "on the Pleasures of Imagination" was quickly followed by "An Epistle to Curio," containing a warm invective under that name against the right honourable William Pulteney, Earl of Bath, whom he stigmatizes as the betrayer of his country. Dr. Akenside was afterwards so dissatisfied with this piece, that he altered it greatly, changing it into the form of an ode, and reducing it to half the number of lines it then contained. In 1741, he published ten odes on different subjects; written, as he tells us, with a view to vary different manners of expression and versification. The merit which he chiefly pretended to, was that of being correct, and of carefully attending to the best models. These different productions appeared before he was twenty-four years of age; but he was afterwards more slow in his publications. His Ode to the Earl of Harrington came out in 1748, and in 1758 he expressed his desire of rouzing his countrymen by "An Ode to the Country Gentlemen of England." Few of his other poetical pieces were published separately, except "An Ode to Thomas Edwards, Esq." on the late edition of Mr. Pope's works, which had been written in 1751 (but was not printed till 1766); with a view to shew the author's dislike to Dr. Warburton. The rest of Dr. Akenside's poems have been printed in Dodsley's collection.
His principal work as a physician, was "A Treatise on the Dysentery," written in Latin, and published in 1764.
To return to the circumstances of Dr. Akenside's private life:—Soon after his quitting Leyden, he settled for some time in Northampton; while here, he carried on with Dr. Dodderidge an amicable debate, concerning the opinions of the ancient philosophers, with regard to a future state of rewards and punishments; in which Dr. Akenside supported the opinion of Cicero in this important article of natural religion. But he, either not meeting with sufficient encouragement, or being ambitious of moving in a larger field, removed to Hampstead, where he resided two years and an half, and then settled in London. He had but little practice when he first began, and in order to enable him to make a proper figure in the world, his generous and intimate friend, Mr. Dyson, allowed him three hundred pounds a year.
It is uncertain whether Mr. Dyson had any bond or security from him on this account, but it appears that this gentleman, at his decease possessed his effects, particularly his books and prints; the last he took great pleasure in collecting.
Dr. Akenside in a short time gained great reputation, came into full practice, and arrived at most of the honours incident to his profession. He was chosen fellow of the royal society, became physician to St. Thomas's hospital; was admitted, by mandamus, to the degree of doctor in physic in the university of Cambridge; and was elected a fellow of the royal college of physicians in London. Upon the settlement of the queen's houshold, he was appointed one of the physicians to her majesty. He died on the 23d of June, 1770, of a putrid fever, in the 49th year of his age, and was buried in the parish of St. James's, Westminster. Dr. Akenside was particularly attached to ancient literature, and was a great admirer of Plato, Cicero, and the best philosophers of antiquity. His taste and judgment in this respect are conspicuous in his poems, and in his notes and illustrations annexed to them. That he entertained a sincere reverence for the great and fundamental principles of religion, is strikingly apparent in several of his writings; especially in his Ode to the Author of the Memoirs of the House of Brandenburgh: in short, Dr. Akenside's high veneration for the Supreme Being, his noble sentiments of the wisdom of Divine Providence, and his love of virtue, shine through all his poems. In his Ode to William Hall, Esq. with the works of Chalieu, he justly condemns the licentiousness of that poet. His strong attachment to the cause of civil and religious liberty, bears a distinguished feature in the character of his poetical writings. He embraces every opportunity of displaying his zeal concerning this subject, two of his principal odes are devoted entirely to it, one of which is to the Earl of Huntingdon, the other to the Bishop of Winchester. He and his friend Mr. Dyson, in early life, were such strenuous advocates for liberty in its most extensive sense, that they were suspected to possess some tincture of republicanism; but Dr. Akenside's poems are by no means a sufficient proof of this, for when he celebrates the cause of freedom, with a reference to our own country, he doth it in no other light than that of a zealous whig, who was warmly attached to the revolution, and to the great men who effected it. He is remarkable in testifying his veneration and regard for William III.; and if there be any truth in the supposition that he and his friend possessed republican ideas in their youth, it is more than probable that they softened, if not quite relinquished, the rigour of their sentiments. The alteration of some lines in the Ode on leaving Holland, and in that to the Earl of Huntingdon, have been taken notice of in this light; Mr. Dyson, in 1772, published a beautiful and complete edition of Dr. Akenside's Poems, with his last corrections and amendments. The first poem in this collection, is "The Pleasures of Imagination," as it had originally appeared. We have before observed, that it in general met with great applause, and raised the author's reputation high in the poetical world. Mr. Cooper, in his fourth edition of Letters concerning Taste, has spoken of him in the following strain of commendation "For my part I am of opinion, that there is now living a poet of as genuine a genius, as this kingdom ever produced, Shakespeare alone excepted. The gentleman I mean is Dr. Akenside, the worthy author of "The Pleasures of Imagination," the most beautiful didactic poem that ever adorned the English language." Mr. Cooper, in the first edition of his work, carried his praise of the doctor to a ridiculous height of extravagance. On the other hand, the late eminent poet, Mr. Gray, in a letter to Dr. Wharton, treats this poem with great severity. "You desire to know," says he, "what character the poem of your young friend (Dr. Akenside) bears here? I wonder you ask the opinion of a nation, where those who pretend to judge, do not judge at all, and the rest (the wiser part) wait to catch the judgment of the world immediately above them, that is Dick's, and the Rainbow Coffee-houses. Your readier way would be to ask the ladies who keep the bars in those two theatres of criticism. However, to shew you that I am a judge as well as my countrymen, I will tell you, though I have only turned it over (any more than them), that it appears to me above the middling; and now and then, for a little while, equal to the best, particularly in description. It is often obscure, and often unintelligible; and too much infected with the Hutchinson jargon; in short, its great fault is, that it was published nine years too soon. And so methinks, in a few words, I have very pertly dispatched, what perhaps might for several years have employed a very ingenious man, worth fifty of myself." These observations being delivered before the poem had been maturely examined, we may be allowed to think them too severe, and steer a middling course between Mr. Gray and Mr. Cooper. The obscurity of "The Pleasures of Imagination," is most conspicuous in the allegory of the second book. It might, likewise, have been better, if the peculiar language of Hutchinson, or rather Shaftsbury, had sometimes been omitted. Nevertheless, we cannot but regard it as a noble and beautiful poem, displaying great genius and fancy, and holding out sublime views of nature, providence, and morality. We entirely agree with Mr. Gray in supposing it came out too early; the author himself, afterwards, entertained the same sentiments. He was convinced that the poem was defective in some respects, and redundant in others. "His editor" says he "was perfectly sensible that it wanted revision and correction;" but the demand was so quick for several successive re-publications, that it would have been impossible to have completed the whole of this correction; and to have gone on from time to time, making fresh improvements in every edition, would he thought have at least the appearance of abusing the favour of the public. On this account he continued to print it without alterations, for several years, with a view of giving at once his corrections and improvements complete to the public. He meant to review and correct this poem at his leisure, but he found the task grow so much upon his hands, that he abandoned the purpose of correcting, and determined to write it over again, upon a more enlarged, and somewhat different plan. Dr. Akenside did not live to finish his plan. He designed, at first, to comprise the whole of his subject in four books, but he afterwards changed his purpose, and resolved to distribute "The Pleasures of Imagination" into a greater number. It is impossible to say how far his scheme would have carried him, if he had lived to execute it; for at his death he had only finished his first and second books, a considerable part of the third, and the introduction to the last. The first book of the new edition bears a stronger resemblance to the first book of the former than any of the rest do. There are, however, perceptible corrections, alterations, and additions. Dr. Akenside has introduced a tribute of respect to his friend Mr. Dyson. He has referred "The Pleasures of Imagination" to two sources only, greatness and beauty. His delineation of beautiful objects is greatly enlarged, and his first book seems to have received much improvement. The second book differs essentially from the former editions, indeed so much, that they will not bear a comparison. The author enters into a display of truth, and its three classes; matter of fact, experimental or scientifical truth, and universal truth. He treats also of virtue, as exciting in the divine mind; of human virtue, of vice and its origin, of ridicule, and of the passions; what he says upon the subject of ridicule, is greatly reduced from what it was in the preceding copies. The allegorical vision, which constituted a principal part of the second book, in his first poem, is likewise omitted. The character of the second book as it now stands is, that it is correct, moral, and noble. The third book is an episode, in which Solon the Athenian lawgiver is the chief subject; this part is entirely new, and would have proved a beautiful addition to the poem, if Dr. Akenside had lived to finish it, it is greatly to be regreted that he died before he completed his design. We should, notwithstanding, have been sorry to have had the original poem entirely superseded, for whatever may be its faults, we find in it a certain brightness of imagination, and a degree of enthusiasm, which seem to have forsaken the doctor in the latter part of his life.
ALAN (WILLIAM).
A CARDINAL priest of the Roman church, was the son of John A
of Westby in Yorkshire, and was born at Rossal in Lancashire, in 153 His father was a gentleman of good family, and some fortune, who se
him to Oxford in his fifteenth year; where, in 1547, he was entered Oriel college, and had for his tutor Morgan Phillips, or Phillips Morgan very famous man, and a zealous Papist, under whom he studied wi
great success, attaching himself particularly to logic and philosophy, which he became so great a proficient, that he was unanimously elect fellow of his college in 1550, in which year he also took the degree bachelor of arts. In an act celebrated July the sixteenth, he went o
junior of the act, having completed his degree of master of arts wi
great reputation. He was esteemed an honour to the university, on a
count of his great abilities, learning, and eloquence. In 1556, he b
came principal of St. Mary's Hall, and in that and the following ye
one of the proctors of the university, being then but twenty-four years
age. In 1558, he was made canon of York, but in consequence of b
ing a zealous Catholic, he lost all hopes of preferment when Quee
Elizabeth came to the crown; in 1560, he withdrew out of his nativ
country, and retired to Louvain, in the Spanish Netherlands; where a
English college was erected, of which he became the chief support. A
this time several persons of great learning, and some of the bolde
champions of the popish cause, resided in this place, with whom Ala
associated. By his natural politeness, great strength of genius, and th
gracefulness of his person, he soon introduced himself into favour; fo
with a majestic presence, he possessed an easy, affable deportment, an
with the greatest severity of manners, a mildness of speech which dre
the affections of all whom he conversed with. Here he began to wri
in support of the Catholic cause, and his first piece was against a wo
written by the learned bishop Jewell, on the subject of purgatory an
prayers for the dead. The method he made use of in this wo
was very proper to captivate the judgment of the reader, and h
style, which was remarkably pure and flowing, made his performance th
more dangerous. The chiefs of the party, then abroad, had, as a ma
of their confidence, placed under his care a young man of an honou
able family, who was come to Louvain to study. His attention to th
young pupil, and a close application to his other studies, had so muc
impaired his health, that his physicians were of opinion that nothin
could restore it, but the enjoying for a season his native air. On th
account, our author ventured over about 1565, though his coming int
England was attended with great danger. He went first, as the doctors ha
advised, into Lancashire, where he was born; and there, without any regard to his own safety, exerted himself to the utmost in making converts, and dissuading such as were already Catholics from going to heretical conventicles. In order to carry his point the more effectually, he wrote, and distributed several little pieces, which were afterwards printed; but rendered himself so obnoxious to the government by these endeavours, that a strict search was made after him by the magistrates; which forced him to quit that country, and to seek an asylum in the neighbourhood of the city of Oxford, where he concealed himself for some time. In this retreat, he wrote a kind of apology for his party, under the title of "Brief Reasons concerning the Catholic Faith. Some indeed say, this was written at the house of the Duke of Norfolk, in Norfolk, where it is certain Alan was concealed some time, though he returned again into the neighbourhood of Oxford, where he distributed copies of the work, to fix the minds of those who wavered between the two religions; and to draw over such as already doubted their safety, while remaining in the established church. Such success attended his endeavours, that he refused to take the opportunity of a ship going to the Netherlands, and chose to stay in that dangerous situation, promoting as far as lay in his power the doctrine of popery, and the jurisdiction of his Holiness, and such as derived their authority from him. With this view, he ventured to establish a correspondence with some of his old friends in the university, and among the rest, with a person who was formerly a Papist, but then of the established church, and one of whose preferment his family had great hopes; our author, by his unwearied applications drew back this man to his former opinions, which exasperated his relations so much, that they persecuted Alan with unremitted diligence; this obliged him to fly towards London; and not long after, with some difficulty he made his escape into Flanders in 1568, having remained in England three years. It is more than probable he had some great friends here, who, in respect to their former acquaintance with him, were well pleased at his withdrawing a second time beyond sea. Amongst whom we may reckon Sir Christopher Hatton, afterwards chancellor, who received part of his education in St. Mary's Hall, at Oxford, while our author was principal thereof. On this account, Sir Christopher had a great regard for Alan; and Alan entertained so high an opinion of him, that he raised his reputation to the greatest height abroad, which caused some invidious reflections at home. After Alan came a second time into the Spanish low countries, he went to Mechlin, in the dutchy of Brabant, and read a divinity lecture in a monastery there, with great applause. He went from thence to Douay, where he became doctor in divinity, and took great pains to establish a seminary there, for the support of English scholars; this being looked upon with an evil eye by the government in England, caused him to write a book in defence of such institutions. While he was thus employed, he was made canon of Cambray, a very considerable and honourable preferment, conferred on him purely to reward his zeal for the catholic church. In this seminary of Douay, many books were wrote to justify the popish religion, and to answer the books wrote in defence of the church of England, which occasioned queen Elizabeth to issue a proclamation, forbidding such books to be either sold or read. In 1567, our author, Alan, appointed one Bristow, who became afterwards a very eminent man, moderator of studies at Douay; this Bristow, in all probability, was the man whom Alan drew over to his opinions when he was in England, as is before mentioned. Not long after, Dr. Alan was appointed canon of Rheims, through the interest of the Guises, and to this city he transferred the seminary which had been settled at Douay; his motive for making this alteration, was, because Don Lewis de Requesens, the then governor of the Netherlands, had obliged the English fugitives to withdraw out of his government. From this time Dr. Alan was esteemed the chief of his party; and indeed he laboured incessantly to do it service, by writing various treatises in defence of the doctrines, and several by way of apology for the practices of the Papists; by licensing and recommending many books written by others, and by journies into Spain and Italy. By his diligence he procured a seminary to be established at Rome, and two others in Spain, where English students were not only educated, but were also maintained, and provided for. At home, Dr. Alan was justly reputed a capital enemy of the state; all correspondence with him was looked upon as the highest kind of treason, and Thomas Alfield, a Jesuit, was actually executed for bringing certain books of his writing into England. The celebrated Robert Parsons, the Jesuit, was Dr. Alan's great friend and counsellor, and very probably put him upon that desperate project, which, if it had succeeded, would have overwhelmed the English; and which, as it miscarried, did in a manner enervate the Spanish monarchy. For many years there had been differences, discontents, and even actual injuries committed between the English and the Spaniards; but now Dr. Alan, and the fugitive noblemen from England prevailed upon King Philip the second openly to undertake the conquest of their native country. To facilitate this, Sixtus the fifth, who was then pope, was persuaded to renew the excommunication thundered against Queen Elizabeth by his predecessor Pope Pius V. While this was in agitation, Sir William Stanley, who commanded a considerable garrison of English and Irish in the important town of Daventer, basely betrayed it, and went with his whole regiment of twelve hundred men into that service. Rowland York, who had been likewise intrusted with a strong fort in the same country, acted in the like infamous manner, to the great astonishment of the states general of the United Provinces, and brought much scandal on the English nation. Dr. Alan wrote a treatise in defence of this base proceeding, and sent several priests to Stanley, in order to instruct those he had drawn over to the king of Spain's service. To add to the weight of those writings, the Dr. on the twenty-eighth of July, 1587, was created cardinal, by the title of St. Martin in Montibus, and soon after the king of Spain gave him an abbey of great value, in the kingdom of Naples, with strong assurances of much greater preferment, which was afterwards performed. In April 1588, he composed that work which rendered him famous abroad, and infamous at home. It consisted of two parts, the first explaining the pope's bull, for the excommunication and deprivation of Queen Elizabeth; the second exhorting the nobility, and people of England to desert her, and take up arms in favour of the Spaniards. Of this book it is sufficient to say, that it was by far the severest piece ever written against an English prince, and very capable of producing mischievous effects; many papists are inclined to believe that the cardinal was compelled to take this book upon himself, and that in reality it was either written or altered by Father Parsons and other Jesuits. Many thousand copies were printed at Antwerp, in order to have been put on board the Spanish armada, that they might have been distributed by the Papists all over England, upon the first landing of the Spaniards. But this enterprize failing, these books were so carefully destroyed, that very few were preserved. One of the printed copies was transmitted by some of the lord treasurer's spies, to the English council, and Queen Elizabeth sent Dr. Dale into the Low Countries, to make a complaint of such a proceeding to the Prince of Parma, who pretended to have much friendship for her majesty. He heard this account with a great deal of phlegm; and answered, that as he knew of no such book, he could not say any thing to its contents. After the armada was destroyed, Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, who had been three years in prison, under the charge of high treason, was brought to his trial, and the great charge upon him was, his corresponding with cardinal Alan, which being proved, he was found guilty by the peers. In the same year the king of Spain promoted the cardinal, as he had promised him, to the archbishopric of Mechlin, in Flanders, where he would have wished him to have constantly resided, in order to his more effectually cherishing the Popish and Spanish interests in England. But the pope entertained so high an opinion of the cardinal's merit, and found him of such great service in consistories, that he would not suffer him to leave Rome, where he continued to labour as earnestly as ever in the service of his countrymen, and the catholic faith. It has been asserted by some, that he and Sir Francis Englefield assisted Father Parsons in composing his traiterous book concerning the succession, which he published under the name of Doleman, and which was of such dangerous consequence, that it was made capital by law for any person to have it in his custody. Others affirm that he had no hand in it, and was greatly displeased with this treatise, as it tended to perpetuate those dissentions, which had for so many years torn and distracted his nativ
country. The remainder of his life he spent at Rome in great honour and reputation, living in much splendor, and using all his interest for the comfort and maintenance of such poor catholics as fled out of England. The administration here had many spies upon him, and it appeared by the papers of the treasurer Burleigh, that he had constantly very distinct accounts of every step the cardinal took. In the last years of his life, he is said to have changed his sentiments, as to government, and to hav
been heartily sorry for the pains he took in promoting the invasion of England by the Spaniards: and we are told by a very eminent Popis
writer, that when he perceived the Jesuits' intended nothing but desolating and destroying his native land, he wept bitterly, not knowing how to remedy it, much less to bridle their insolence. This conduc
drew upon him the ill-will of that powerful society, who, notwithstanding all the books he had written, all the reputation, and rewards he ha
acquired, gave out that he was a good simple man, but not of any esteem or use in state affairs; a man of weak judgment, shallow wit, and smal
advice; never consulted except for matters of learning, and that i
positive only, not in any school point. On his death-bed he was very desirous of speaking to the English students then in Rome, but was prevented by a Jesuit, who was father rector, and was fearful he shoul
have persuaded them to a loyal respect for their prince, and a tender regard for their country. He is generally said to have died of a retentio
of urine; but it was shrewdly suspected, that he was poisoned by th
Jesuits, which suspicion was attended with such probable circumstances that the reverend fathers themselves admitted it, and charged it o
his antagonist, the Bishop of Cassana, whom they had a great dislike to and who it was thought, on his demise, would have been made a cardinal
The death of our author happened on the sixth of October, 1595, i
the sixty-third year of his age. He was buried with great pomp, in th
chapel of the English college at Rome, where a monument is erecte
to his memory. Upon the death of this memorable person the Jesuit
as a priest of the church of Rome tells us, openly triumphed, and i
sulted over the dead corpse; giving out among other calumnies again him, that he was well gone, for if he had lived but a little longer, he would have disgraced himself, shamed his country, and lost the credit he had gained; yet they shortly after, for many reasons, altered their tone; and when they found how little credit these discourses met with, they magnified the cardinal's memory, as if he lived a saint, and died a confessor. But in order to give the reader a proper idea of this behaviour we must observe, that before the Spanish invasion, in 1582, it was thought necessary to have some Englishman promoted to the rank of cardinal. The candidates were Dr. Lewis, Bishop of Cassana, and Dr. Alan; and much interest was made on both sides. But the Jesuits being apprehensive of Bishop Lewis's coming to the honour, it was procured for him of whom we are writing; when they found he would not go these lengths, they treated him as ill as ever they had done any of their greatest enemies. They were still fearful that Bishop Lewis might put on that hat which Alan had left, and began to observe in all companies, that the cardinal was a perfect saint, that he was justly admired by several popes, respected by all the princes of Europe, who either knew, or heard of him; that his whole study was for the good of his country, and the maintenance of the catholic religion; that notwithstanding all this, the Bishop of Cassana had made it the business of his life to persecute and disturb this holy man. We shall, no doubt, find it a difficult task to give this eminent person his true character: however, since it is absolutely necessary, we shall attempt to do it with as much truth as possible, and from the best authority. If we consider him as an English subject, writing, advising, and acting against his prince, we must look upon him as a busy, enterprizing, and dangerous rebel, labouring continually the destruction of his prince, and her people, equally ready to persuade foreigners to invade, or subjects to rise up in arms: and if on the other hand, we look on him as a zealous papist, and as one convinced in his conscience, that what he did was agreeable to the doctrines of the church, we cannot then deny him the title of a learned, active, and industrious person; and far from being an enemy, in the latter part of his life particularly, either to his country or to his lawful sovereign Queen Elizabeth. Lastly, taking him merely as an author, he was unquestionably, for matter, method, wit, learning, and language, one of the most considerable writers of the age. It is strange, that many of our writers of controversy, and some not unlearned, have treated our author as a Jesuit; whereas, in all controversies between that order and the secular priests, the latter always gloried in Cardinal Alan, as a man to whom no Jesuit could be justly compared in any respect. Before we close this life, it will be necessary to remark, that at Rome, and every where abroad, Cardinal Alan was styled Cardinal of England, regarded as the protector of the nation, and honoured with extraordinary respect. He had about him several persons of some distinction, particularly Mr. Fitzherbert, who wrote a large account of his life, which was never printed. To maintain his magnificence, he had 15,000 crowns per annum, then computed 4,500 pounds of our money.
ALAND (SIR JOHN FORTESCUE). [Never before published.]
ALAND, Sir John Fortescue, LLD. R.S.S. baron of the Exchequer, puisne judge of both benches to king George the First, and a peer of Ireland in the subsequent reign; was born 7th March, A. D. 1670. Being second son to Edmund Fortescue, of London, Esq. by Sarah his wife.
Our judge was descended from Sir John Fortescue, lord chief justice, and lord high chancellor of England, under King Henry the Sixth. [See Greg. Pref. ap. Fortesc. de Laud. Leg. Angl. V. Hickes' Pref. ap. Thesaur. XLVI.] Sir John Fortescue Aland added his latter name of Aland in compliment to his lady, who was the eldest daughter to Henry Aland, Esq. of Waterford, in our sister kingdom; and sure it was a very great compliment indeed (whether the same was paid to mental accomplishments, personal charms, or large fortune) to suffer any name to supersede that of Fortescue, in the honour of his descent from which ancestor he seems to have gloried very much.
Whether our judge was educated at a public school, or privately at home, we have not been able to learn, but that he was at college, seems not to admit a doubt; because Oxford complimented him with the honorary degrees of doctor of laws, as a member of that university, if the following extract from the diploma (which may be seen prefixed to his volume of Reports) authorizes us in the assertion, viz. "mirâ semper in has musarum sedes benevolentiâ propendentem, nec minorem inde reportantem."
Sir John Fortescue Aland, as an Oxonian, greatly improved his natural endowments, and deservedly had the reputation of being a general scholar [See Greg. Pr. ap. Fortescue de Laud. Leg. Angl. V.] and as he was intended for the profession of the Law, upon leaving the university, he, Sir John, became a member of the Inner Temple, where he was chosen reader in the year 1716, 2 Geo. I. as appears by a subscription to his arms, ("azure, a bend engrailed argent, cottises or;" crest "a plain shield argent." Supporters "two greyhounds argent, collar and lined gules;" motto "Forte scutum salus ducum;" they are in the parliament chamber of that society, and in Guillim's heraldry; in allusion to the connection between the family name "Fortescue" and the first two words of the motto "Forte scutum." Sir Walter Raleigh hath styled our judge's ancestor, the
bulwark
of the law. See Sir Walter's preface to History of the World.
He was called to the bar about the happy aera of the glorious Revolution; this we assert from conjecture, made on the following calculation: Sir John Fortescue Aland was born in the year 1670, and the Revolution happened in 1690, so that our barrister was at that period twenty years old, the usual age at which young gentlemen are generally called to the bar. For his arguments as pleader in the courts of justice, the reader is referred to the following authorities, to take them in alphabetical order, viz. The Reports of Mr. Justice Fortescue Aland; Mr. Serjeant Carthew, See Wor. bibl. Leg. Angl. ap. Br. Cases concerning Settlements; Mr. Recorder Comberbach, See Wor. Bib. Leg. Angl. ap. Br. Lord Chief Baron Comyn; Lord Chancellor (of Ireland) Freeman, See Wor. Bib. Leg. Angl. ap. Br. Mr. Thomas Farresly, or VII. Mod. Rep. Lord Chief Baron Gilbert's Cases; Mr. Justice Levinz; Mr. Justice Lutwyche; Modern Reports, III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. X. XI. XII. See Wor. Bib. Leg. Angl. ap. Br. Lord Chief Justice Raymond; Reports Tempore Holt, Chief Justice; Mr. Serjeant Salkeld; Sessions Cases; Mr. Serjeant Skinner, and Mr. Justice Ventris.
We may presume our barrister shone as an advocate with meridian lu
re, since the celebrated Pope hath recorded his name, by prefixing it to his Imitation of Horace [Sat. II. 1.] and distinguished his legal abilities, by therein asking his opinion, as to libels, in the following immortalizing lines:
"Tim'rous by nature, of the rich in awe,
"I come to counsel learned in the law;
"You'll give me, like a friend both sage and free,
"Advice, and (as you use) without a fee."
The reader is informed in a note on the first line, that the delicacy of the address, does not so much lie in the ironical application to himself, as in seriously characterizing the person, for whose advice the poet applies.
On Friday 22 October 1714, 1 Geo. I. our barrister was appointed solicitor general to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, afterwards king George the Second, and grandfather to his present Majesty [Lord Raym. Rep. II. 1318, 1319.]; and on 21 December 1715, 2 Geo. I. or on 16 December 1716, 3 George I. he was constituted solicitor general to the king [Stra. Rep. Table of Barons, &c. at the end of Bunb. Rep.] In the room of Nicholas Lechmere, resigned; which arduous and important office, he executed so much to the satisfaction of his majesty, and the people, that he was pleased to think him deserving of an higher post; and accordingly promoted him the very next year, viz. 24 January, 1716-7, Hilary Term, 2 George I
by appointing him one of the barons of his Exchequer [Bunb. 7
10.] in which court he succeeded Sir Samuel Dodd, the late lord chie
baron there, deceased, and in the solicitorship to the king, by Sir William Thomson the recorder of London; the reader is referred to the reports of the lord chief baron Comyns, and of the lord chief baron Gilbert; [see Viner's preface to his Abridgement, vol. xviii.] Sir John Strange and Bunbury, for our baron's resolutions and opinions while he sat i
this court.
Though there does not seem to be any particular account now extan
of our baron's call to the state of a serjeant at law, yet he certainly was as that degree is necessary to be conferred, previous to the party's being made a judge. [See Co. preface to x. Rep.]
William Wynne, serjeant at law, and who published a treatise thereon intituled "Observations on the Antiquity and Dignity of the Degree o
a Serjeant at Law," which was edited from a manuscript of the said serjeant, by his son Edward Wynne, who did himself and the profession great honour by his writings. The treatise alluded to, was not intended for sale; the author having printed but a very few copies for particular friends [See Wor. Bib. Leg. Angl. ap. Br.] our apology we take leave to adduce from the above treatise, not being able to record any other ceremonies of the call in question, among which are—leaving the society, presen
therefrom, speech thereto, procession to Westminster-hall, robing, counting, rings, and feast; most of which are now nearly abolished The times of the several omissions will be noticed under their prope
articles in the course of this work.
"Perhaps nobody now living can ascertain with exactness, when the persons omitted in the lists of serjeants at law were called, and consequently their proper places cannot be assigned them. Some very probably took their degree as serjeants, merely as a qualification for (which the serjeant considers as a turnpike to) the bench; and in those cases, their respective promotions will point out the times of their calls with tolerable precision." See the above observation, &c. 150, 166.
It is surprizing that a lawyer should make use of the word
bench
as a general description of courts of justice, when it peculiarly and emphatically denotes the court of common pleas, Sir Co. Pr. to VIII. Rep. Hogarth's celebrated print of the
bench,
and our Article, Sir John Popham.
Our baron, on 15th May, 1718, Easter term, 4 Geo. I. being within two years and an half after that promotion, constituted on
of the justices of the court of king's-bench, in the place of Sir John Pratt, (father of the present Lord Camden) made lord chief justice, and our judge was succeeded in the baronship of the exchequer, by Sir Francis Page.
The learned serjeant, William Wynne, seems to have mistaken the appointment of Sir John Fortescue Aland, in the exchequer, for that in the king's-bench, if we may presume to make the observation from the date (viz. 1718), which by the concurrent testimony of respectable authorities, was the year our baron was promoted to the king's-bench, and not to the exchequer; for the resolutions and opinions of our judge, while he sat in this court, see Lord Raymond's Reports, his
own
Reports, those of Lucas, [or X. Mod.] of Sir John Strange, and Sessions Cases. [See Wor. Bib. Leg. Angl. ap. Br.]
On Monday the 9th of June, 1727, Trinity term, 13 Geo. I. Mr. Justice Aland, in a very serious speech, pronounced sentence for the execution of Major Oneby, convicted on a special verdict, found at the Old Bailey, in February sessions, 12 Geo. I. for the murder of Mr. W. Gower; all the judges of England being unanimously of opinion that the prisoner was guilty of murder; because when the deceased said to him, "Though we have had hot words, and you was the aggressor, yet I think we may pass it over," and at the same time offered his hand to the major: to which he answered "No, damn you, I will have your blood." This ought to be a caution to people, not to make use of such sort of expressions, as many are apt to do, in heat, anger, vexation, and passion.
Upon the morning of Monday, July 3d, being the day appointed for the execution of Major Oneby, he opened a vein and bled to death, to avoid the infamy of a public execution.
Upon the trial of an information, filed
ex officio
by the attorney general, in the court of king's-bench, against Edmund Curl, of notorious memory for infamous publications, Mr. Justice Aland differed from the other three judges, viz. Sir Robert Raymond, chief justice, James Reynolds, Esq. and Sir Edmund Probyn, on that prosecution.
Our judge owned the charge against Curl, (which was for printing and publishing "Venus in the Cloyster, or the Nun in her Smock," Stra. Rep. XI. 788.) to be a very great offence, but knew of no law by which the court could punish it, that common law is common usage, and where there is no law, there can be no transgression; he observed, that at common law, drunkenness, or cursing and swearing were not punishable, and yet he did not find the spiritual court take notice of them; that Curl's offence was but a general solicitation of charity, and
not inditable; that the Lady Purbeck's case was for procuring men and women to meet at her house, and held not inditable, unless there had been particular facts to make it a bawdyhouse; that to make it inditable, there should be a breach of the peace, or something tending to it, of which there was nothing in Curl's case; that libel is a technical word at common law; and he owned he much doubted of the case o
the King and Read, for there was a rule to arrest the judgment
nisi
; and in Sir Charles Sidley's case, was a force in throwing out the bottle upon people's heads. He thought the book was rather published o
purpose to expose the Romish priests, the fathers confessors, and the popish religion.
Perhaps if our judge had risen to the fur previous to Pope's publication of his imitations of Horace, the poet would not have paid that compliment to Aland's judicial capacity, which he did to his legal, as we have observed of Pope in the former part of this article, especially when the reader is informed, that the poet was of the Roman Catholic persuasion.
After the accession of his late majesty King George the Second, all the judges had new patents, [See Wynn. Serj. at Law, 102.] except Mr. Justice Fortescue Aland, whose commission was superseded. [Lord Raym. Rep. II. 1510.]
One Jewell was taken on an escape warrant, made by our judge, and the court of king's-bench was moved to discharge the defendant, and the warrant, because he was taken on 6 Jan. 1727-8, and Sir John Fortescue Aland was removed from his office of judge of the said court of king's-bench in October 1727, his patent being determined on the demise of the late King George the First, and accordingly the prisoner was discharged, and the warrant also. [R. Raym. II. 1513.]
Sir Francis Page was removed out of the court of common pleas, into that of the king's-bench, in the place of our judge.
Sir John Fortescue Aland was the only judge removed, and the reason generally assigned was, his opinion on the following grand question, viz.
"Whether the education and care of his majesty's (King George the First) grand-children in England, and of Prince Frederie (late father to his present majesty), eldest son of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, (late grand-father to King George the Third) when his majesty should think fit to cause him to come into England, and the ordering the places of abode, and appointing their governors, governesses, and other instructors, attendants, and servants, and the care and approbation of their marriages, when grown up, belonged of right to his majesty, as king of the realm, or not?"
Ten of the judges, viz. Thomas Lord Parker, Chief Justice of England, afterwards Lord Chancellor.
Sir Peter King, Chief Justice of the Bench, afterwards Lord Chan
ellor, and a peer.
Sir Thomas Bury, Lord Chief Baron.
Sir Littleton Powys, senior Judge of the King's-Bench.
Sir John Pratt, (late father of the present Lord Camden) puisne Justice there, afterwards one of the Commissioners of the Great-Seal, and Chief Justice.
The Hon. Robert Tracy, senior Judge of the Bench, and afterwards Commissioner of the Seal.
Robert Dormer, second Judge there.
Sir John Blencowe, puisne Judge of the same court.
Sir James Montague, second Baron of the Exchequer, afterwards one of the Commissioners of the Seal, and Chief Baron.
Sir John Fortescue Aland, puisne Baron, afterwards Justice of both Benches.
The two dissenting judges were, Sir Robert Eyre, second Justice of the King's-Bench, afterwards Lord Chief Baron, and Lord Chief Justice of the Bench, and
Robert Price, senior Baron, afterwards a Judge of the Bench.
The opinions of all the judges, with their reasons, are inserted at large, in our article of the last-mentioned judge, viz. Sir Robert Price.
Ten judges were of opinion (which, with the reasons at large, may be seen in our judge's Reports) that their education and the approbation of their marriages did belong to his majesty; but we very much doubt the authenticity of the said general assertion of the cause for removing Sir John Fortescue Aland, because his Majesty King George the Second hath immortalized his fame as the first magistrate of the world in three memorable instances, viz. of Major Oneby, above mentioned, Admiral Byng, and Earl Ferrers, names that will ever secure his majesty in full possession of that transcendant character; for though the king admired the valour of his army, honoured the bravery of his navy, and revered the exalted rank of the nobility, yet his majesty at the same time abhorred the cruelty of a soldier, in the person of Major Oneby; detested a dastard seaman, in that of Admiral Byng; and execrated the baseness of a peer, in the person of Earl Ferrers; and, therefore, the first was to have been executed, had he not committed suicide; the next was shot for cowardice; and the third, though a baron of the realm, hanged for murder at Tyburn. But yet, though his majesty was pleased to execute the law with Roman strictness, he did it also with Roman justice, for he gave the two honourable delinquents an opportunity, not only to vindicate their innocence, but also to avail themselves of every circumstance in point of law, and that too after judgment, condemnation, and sentence; for he respited the execution of the admiral, in order that he might have the opinion, not only of the twelve judges, but also of the high court of parliament, which he had. The judges were unanimous in confirming the sentence of the court-martial, and the parliament declined impeaching it, or otherwise to interfere in their public capacity on his behalf.
Earl Ferrers being tried before the House of Lords, where all the twelve judges attended during the whole trial, the justice, the integrity, the abilities, and the candor of the judicature, rendered it the most honourable and fairest trial that man could possibly have here on earth.
Nothing appearing on these very extraordinary proceedings in favour of either the illustrious prisoners, they were both executed in the manner above related; as to all private intercession, his majesty told the friends of the admiral, that he could shew him no mercy, as a king; and to the latter, none as a man; and asked, "Whether if the earl's steward had murdered his lordship, the servant would have found even a single friend at court?"
Could a prince thus eminent for his regard to public justice, remove a judge, merely for giving his opinion in his judicial capacity, for executing his office faithfully, impartially, honestly, and according to the best of his skill and knowledge, without fear or affection, prejudice or malice, because his opinion happened to counteract the wishes of the heir apparent to the crown? incredible! especially since his predecessor, Sir William Gascoigne, chief justice of England, hath been universally admired for his courage in committing such heir, in the time of King Henry the Fourth; besides, his royal highness well knew, that the point was a public matter, a national concern, and therefore that it would have been highly indecent in our judge to have suffered his own private personal satisfaction to have interfered; in that such conduct would militate against some of the most approved as well as ancient maxims of the law; such as, for instance, "Salus populi suprema lex esto;" "Privatum commodum publico cedat, ne respub. periat, aut quid detrimenti capiat;" "Lex citius tolerare vult privatum damnum, quam publicum incommodum," and the like: and this is not all, for the Prince of Wales could not but consider, that in time he might himself become king, and a grandfather in the lifetime of the father; so that taking our judge's opinion in this point of view, it was really asserting and supporting the prince's future authority, in a business of the very like nature.
If the prince, when sovereign, did supersede our judge actually for the reason assigned by the lord chief justice Raymond, he must, and deservedly too, have incurred the odium of an unjust, tyrannical despot; for it ought to be recollected, that Sir John Fortescue Aland was the youngest of the twelve judges at the time the opinion in question was given, which was in the year 1717, and that the prince did not accede to the throne till the year 1727, ten years after the supposed displeasure, for no abuse of language, no misconstruction of actions, can torture our judge's opinion into an offence.
George the Second was pleased not only to continue Sir Peter King (who was one of the ten judges that gave his opinion on the said question, which was called the grandest prerogative of the royal family), in favour of King George the First, in his office of chief justice of the bench, but also made him lord high chancellor.
So that George the Second must have conceived an insuperable personal antipathy to Sir John Fortescue Aland, and that too for ten years together,
tantaene animis coelestibus irae!
and have acted therein in direct opposition to the great example of his royal Sire, on the very same occasion of affront; it cannot be; for a king of the disposition of George the Second would, on the contrary, revere a judge of such Roman fortitude, and blessed with all the cardinal virtues of his office, courage, integrity, and abilities; and who gave so convincing a proof of his being possessed of every qualification requisite for forming the complete character of a judge. But be our arguments well founded or not, and whether his late majesty did act from the unjust motive above suggested, he soon satisfied mankind and the judge that all resentment had subsided, and that he was resolved to pay to our judge the tribute due to his merit; for, upon the death of Spencer Cowper, (which happened the very next year after Sir John Fortescue Aland's removal) his majesty was pleased to constitute him one of the justices of his court of common pleas, viz. 27 January 1728, Hilary Term, 2 Geo. II.; and what is rather a singular circumstance, he succeeded Spencer Cowper, who succeeded our judge, on being superseded in manner and for the cause abovementioned.
Viner hath inscribed the nineteenth volume of his Abridgement to Mr. justice Fortescue Aland, and his name appears to the imprimatur, in the professional rank of a judge of the court of common pleas.
We by no means approve of holding up characters in derision, by reason of natural or accidental corporeal defects, and therefore hope the humour of the bench and bar, in the story we are about to relate for the momentary smile of the reader, may be offered in apology: Sir John Fortescue Aland was remarkable for a very small, short, flat nose: a serjeant, who had the misfortune of having lost one of his arms, arguing a cause rather aukwardly before our judge, the former observed to the
latter, that he seemed to handle the cause somewhat lamely; whereupon the coifed advocate replied, "However lamely I may handle my client
cause, I trust I shall be able, by your Lordship's patience, to convinc
you before I have done, that it is as plain as the nose on your Lordship's face." Both these severe reflections, we have been assured, were mad
without any particular allusion, or malevolent intention, by either the
one or the other.
The above personal deformity in our judge escaped the notice of Si
Godfrey Kneller, the painter of his portrait, and consequently of Fabe
and Vertue: perhaps we should be rather more correct, in saying,
w
designedly omitted by,
instead of,
escaped the notice of;
for painters, as wel
as the rest of mankind, think it their duty, when it becomes their interest, to
misrepresent.
Sir John Strange's Reports are the only juridical annal
to which we can refer the reader for the resolutions and opinions of ou
judge while he sat in this court; and we fear he will find very few (
any) of them there.
Sir John Fortescue Aland continued on the bench of the court o
common pleas, from Michaelmas vacation, 2 Geo. II. 1728, until Trinity Term 19 and 20, A. D. 1746, when he resigned the same, [see table o
judges, &c. prefixed to Wils. Rep. 1st vol.] having sat in the superio
courts of Westminster for the long period of thirty years, and eightee
of them in the court alluded to; and, within a few months after hi
death, Sir John Fortescue Aland was succeeded in the last mentioned court of common pleas by Sir Thomas Birch.
His majesty, in further testimony of his conviction of the injustice h
had done our judge, and in honour to his judicial integrity and abilities was pleased to create him a peer of Ireland, by the style and title of Joh
Lord Fortescue Aland, Baron Fortescue of Credan, in the kingdom o
Ireland, by privy seal, dated at Kensington, 26 June 1746. 19 Geo. I
and by patent dated at Dublin, 15 August same year. See Lodge
Peerage of Ireland, Collins's Peerage of England, and Beats. Pol. Ind.
47. II. 117.
Character.
—The university of Oxford have declared to the world that our judge always had the happiness of imitating in every respect hi
ancestor, Sir John Fortescue, as well in commending as recommendin
the laws of England in his writings; as in preferring a limited to a
absolute monarchy; as in being a rare instance of possessing the cardina
virtues of a judge, patience to hear, knowledge to explain, and justice t
determine; he equalled him in industry and application, and, perhap
even exceeded him in learning; neither was he excelled by him in lov
for his country, and in his loyalty to his prince. He attained as muc
honour, in that he did not think it sufficient merely to maintain the glor
and private virtues of his ancestors, but considered it also his duty to ad
to the dignity of his own family. [See our judge's excellent and learned historical preface, prefixed to his Monarchy, and to his volume of Reports, in commendation of the laws and constitution of England; and see the above extract from the diploma granted our judge by the university of Oxford.]
The family and title of Sir John Fortescue Aland being now extinct, we think it enough to refer to those editions of Lodge and Collins, as were published previous to the present reign.
Francis Gregor, Esq. a late very able and professional writer, and the stupenduous Doctor George Hicks, have likewise declared, that our judge sat in the supreme courts of judicature with applause, and to general satisfaction; that he deservedly had the name of one perfectly read in the Northern and Saxon literature. [Sir Gregor's large historical preface ap. Fortesc. de Laud. Leg. Ang. V.; Hicks, Pref. ap. Thesaur.; and see Sir John Fortescue Al
d's preface abovementioned, wherein the author shews the necessity of the profession being intimately connected with the Saxon tongue.]
The juridical writings of Sir John Fortescue Aland.
I. The Difference between an absolute and limited Monarchy, as it more particularly regards the English constitution; being a treatise written by Sir John Fortescue, knight, lord chief justice, and lord high chancellor of England, under King Henry the Sixth; faithfully transcribed from the MS. copy in the Bodleian library, and collated with three other MSS. [See our judge's preface, xxxvi.] published with some remarks by John Fortescue Aland, of the Inner Temple, Esq. F. R. S. London, 1714. Four shillings, octavo. Reprinted, with amendments and an index, 1719. Six shillings, same size. This was published (both editions) under the inspection of the editor.
II. Reports of Select Cases in all the courts of Westminster Hall,
tempore
William the Third and Queen Anne; also the opinion of all the judges of England relating to the grandest prerogative of the royal family, and some observations relating to the prerogatives of a queen-consort. London, 1784, one guinea, folio. This is a posthumous publication.
III. The preface above mentioned. This is prefixed to each of the above forensic works.
ALBAN (SAINT),
FAMOUS for having been the first Christian who suffered martyrdom in Great-Britain, for which reason he is usually styled the Protomartyr, was born at Verulam, of Pagan parents, and flourished towards the end of the third century. In his youth he made a journey to Rome, and served seven years as a soldier, in the armies of the Emperor Diocletian. He then returned home, and settled in the town of Verulam, where he was highly esteemed by his countrymen, till the persecution under the emperor, through the example and instructions of Amphibalus, he renounced the errors of Paganism, in which he had been educated, and became a thorough convert to the Christian religion. He was put to death in the year of Christ 303, during the tenth, and last general persecution of the church. The story of his martyrdom, as related by Bede, is as follows:
The Roman governor being informed that he entertained in his house Amphibalus, who was a Christian, and not knowing that Alban had become one, sent a party of soldiers to apprehend his guest. But Alban putting on the habit of his visitor, presented himself to the officers in his stead, and was carried before the magistrate. The firmness with which he behaved, and the declaration he made of his conversion to Christianity, so enraged the judge, that he ordered him to be beheaded immediately. He had to pass over a bridge in his way to execution, which was so thronged with spectators, that his passage was impeded. The saint, impatient for the crown of martyrdom, approached the brink, (says the historian) and lifting up his eyes to heaven, the stream was miraculously divided, and afforded a passage for himself and a thousand people. This miracle converted the executioner, who threw away his drawn sword, and falling at St. Alban's feet, desired he might have the honour to die with him, or rather for him. This sudden conversion of the executioner, occasioning a delay in the execution, St. Alban walked up to a neighbouring hill, where praying for water to quench his thirst, a fountain sprung up under his feet. Here he received the crown of martyrdom, on the tenth of the kalends of July. The executioner was a signal example of divine vengeance; for, at the instant that the stroke was given to the saint, his eyes dropped out of his head. The behaviour of St. Alban at his death, and the miraculous circumstances attending it, were instrumental in converting many of the spectators to Christianity. Between four and five hundred years afterwards, Offa, king of the Mercians, built a very large and stately monastery to the memory of St. Alban, in the place where he suffered martyrdom.
ST. ALBAN'S, VISCOUNT; See BACON FRANCIS.
ALBUQUERQUE (ALPHONSO),
A NATIVE of Portugal.—Little is known of this great commander before he was appointed by his king, Emanuel, to the command of a squadron destined for India, where by his exploits he raised the arms of his country to the highest pitch of glory.
Emanuel, A.D. 1503, dispatched six ships to India, under the command of Albuquerque, and the same year three more under his cousin, Francis Albuquerque. The latter arrived in India some time before the other, with two ships only, the other having perished by the way. Arriving at the islands of Anchedive, he found some Portugueze officers, from whom he learned the distressed situation of their ally Trimumpar, King of Cochin, and sailed to Vipian, where the king then was. The arrival of the Portugueze so alarmed the garrison that then had possession of Cochin, that they precipitately left it. Here one of the ships that had sailed from Portugal with Alphonso, joined him. Francis restored Trimumpar to his capital, and subdued some islands near it.
Having rendered the king such essential service, he desired leave to build a fort as a mutual defence against their enemies; this was granted, and the fort immediately begun. Four days after it began, Alphonso joined him, and with the additional number of hands he brought with him it was soon completed.
A consultation was then held among the Portugueze officers, when it was resolved to attack some towns belonging to the Prince of Repelsin, about twenty miles distant from Cochin. The Portugueze set out in boats, and surprised the towns, but were soon after attacked by a large army, and obliged to retreat. They returned to Cochin, and the same night made an attack on some other villages. When Alphonso being advanced with a fresh party, was attacked by some of the enemy who lay in ambush, and in this dangerous situation signalized himself by his courage, having fought with great intrepidity till break of day, when his brother Francis came to his assistance. The Portugueze then put the enemy to flight, pursued, and slew a great number of them.
The fame of the Portugueze being spread every where, Alphonso Albuquerque sailed to Coulon to load three ships, which he completed without opposition, made an alliance with the people, and returned to Cochin. On his return, he found the Zamorin ready to enter into a a treaty of peace with him, which was concluded.
The two brothers soon after sailed to Cananor, and thence proceeded for Portugal. Alphonso arrived safe at Lisbon; but it is most probable Francis perished at sea, as he was never more heard of.
In 1508, Alphonso was appointed to succeed to the government of India, and dispatched with five ships; he sailed in company with Cugna, another Portugueze officer. Having plundered and taken some towns on the coast of Arabia, they sailed to Zocatora, and made themselves masters of the fort there. After which Cugna returned to Portugal, and Albuquerque began to act alone.
He immediately formed the design of attacking Ormuz island, situated at the mouth of the Persian Gulph, and subject to a king of its own, who had extended his dominions over several cities in Arabia. With small army of 470 men, he proceeded along the Arabian coast, too many towns, and proceeded to the island itself. He found several ship fitted for war in the harbour; these it was determined to burn. However, he first offered peace to the king, who entered into a treaty, wit
a view to gain time until a reinforcement arrived. The expected forc
came, and an engagement ensued, in which the Portugueze were victorious. Albuquerque then pressed the city, and the king finding no resource, solicited peace, on condition of becoming tributary to the Kin
of Portugal. This was agreed to. Albuquerque went on shore, ha
an interview with the king, and knowing the persidy of the Arabian began to build a fortress. While this was carrying on, some deputie arrived from the King of Persia to demand tribute of the King o
Ormuz. The latter consulted Albuquerque, who with great spirit tol
the deputies that his master paid no tribute, but arms. Albuquerque wa
however, forced to desist by the perfidy of his officers, and to repair o
board his fleet. He then renewed the war; but receiving a letter fro
the governor (Almeed) blaming his conduct, he proceeded for Indi
When, after some hesitation, Almeed resigned the government to him, an
sailed to Europe.
Being now invested with the supreme command, he prepared a fleet an
sailed against Calicut, where, in a desperate and imprudent attack, i
was dangerously wounded and forced to retreat.
Albuquerque being recovered, went to sea with twenty-three ship
two thousand Portugueze, and several Indian auxiliaries, designed fo
Ormuz; but, by the persuasion of Timoia, a pyratical prince, change his intention, and proceeded to attack Goa. The forts near it on th
continent were taken and destroyed; and learning that the city wa
in the greatest consternation, he sent deputies to offer the people his protection, and the enjoyment of their religion. The citizens accepted th
conditions, and Albuquerque entered Goa the following day, being th
16 February, 1510. This city has long been the head of the Portuguez dominions in India. Here Albuquerque fixed his winter quarters, an
behaved himself in such a manner as to merit the esteem of every on
But, while he was thus employed, some of the chief Portugueze began
murmur against him. However, by seizing and imprisoning the leader he quieted the disturbance. The enemy being informed of the dissertions among the Portugueze, made an attack upon the island, and landing men, laid siege to the city, pressing it hard. The situation of A
buquerque became now truly distressing, an enemy vastly superior without, discontent among his officers within, and his troops greatly dim
nished. These circumstances determined him to embark on board h
ships, and evacuate the city, which he effected after a fierce combat, having first set fire to the magazines.
He then steered to a place called Rapander to winter; but the enemy soon obliged him to remove, and take shelter between the continent and the island of Divar, where he was informed his enemies were also preparing to make an attack upon him. In this extremity, being also very scare of provisions, he determined to make a desperate effort on a strong castle, called Pangin. Accordingly, having stationed a force to prevent succours being sent to it, he proceeded under cover of the night, and succeeded in surprising both the fort and camp of the enemy, both which were taken without much resistance.
Such an unexpected turn of good fortune determined him not only to object to offers of peace, but also to make an attack on Goa. In this he succeeded, having in the attack killed 3000 of the enemy.
Such success induced him to aim at greater enterprizes. Having collected his forces, he sailed from Goa for the island of Sumatra, and in every voyage made many captures; there having concluded a treaty with the princes of this island, he proceeded to the city of Malacca, and made himself master of it. Having settled affairs there, he returned to Goa, laid seige to the city of Benastar, and having been unsuccessful, consented to a peace with the Zamorin. He then built a fort at Calicut, and sailed to Aden, in hopes of making himself master of it, but was disappointed, and obliged to return. Soon after he fell sick and died, having first had the mortification to hear of his being recalled by the king.
To this great man the Portugueze owe the foundation of the immense power they once possessed in India; and, had they pursued the maxims he laid down, might possibly have enjoyed to this day. He was a man of great humanity, dreaded for his bravery, and beloved for his benevolent disposition. His death was most sincerely felt by all the people of Goa, where he was buried with great funeral honours.
ALCIBIADES,
IN elevation of birth, yielded to none of the Greeks; he was the son of Clinias, nephew of Pericles, and lineally descended from Ajax; in his person, while a youth, he was beautiful, and when a man, remarkable for his comeliness: his fortune was large beyond most of the nobility of Athens. His abilities were so great, that an ancient author (C. Nepos) has asserted that nature in him had exerted her utmost force, since, whether we consider his virtues or his vices, he was distinguished from all his fellow citizens; he was learned, eloquent, indefatigable, liberal, magnificent, affable, and knew exactly how to comply with the times; that is, he could assume all those virtues when he thought proper; for, when he gave a loose to his passions, he was indolent, luxurious, dissolute, addicted to women, intemperate, and even inclined to profaneness. Socrates had a great friendship for him, corrected in some degree his manners, and brought him to the knowledge of many things of which he would otherwise have remained ignorant; he also prevented the Athenians from resenting many of those wanton acts of pride and vanity which he committed when a lad. His family had always been on good terms with the Lacedemonians; Clinias, his father, indeed, disclaimed their friendship, but Aleibiades renewed it, and affected to shew great respect to people of that country, until he observed the ambassadors of Lacedemon applied themselves wholly to Nicias, his rival, and his dependants; he then resented it very much, and used every influence to work on the minds of the Athenians to the prejudice of that people.
The first public affair of any material consequence in which he embarked, was soon after the peace for fifty years was concluded between the Athenians and Lacedemonians; some discontents still prevailed. The people of Athens had complied with the terms of the peace, but the Lacedemonians having got possession of and demolished the town of Panactus, made them uneasy; these discontents were heightened by Alcibiades, who began now to rival Nicias, who, with his party, at that time ruled in Athens. Alcibiades declaimed, that the Spartans were now taking measures for humbling Argos, that they might afterwards attack the Athenians; he artfully put them in mind of Nicias having declined making a descent on Spacteria, and drew conclusions from thence very much against him. When the ambassadors from Sparta
arrived, and were introduced into the senate by Nicias, as they retired, Alcibiades, as the old friend of their nation, invited them to his house, assured them of his friendship, and persuaded them to declare that they were not vested with full powers (although they had in the senate declared they were), to avoid making unreasonable concessions. When therefore, they first appeared in the forum, Alcibiades addressed himsel
to the people, saying,
You see, my countrymen, what credit ought to be give
to th
se Lacedemonians, who deny to you to-day what they affirmed yesterday.
The people actually refused to hear them.
Alcibiades next promoted a league with the Argives, in order to keep the war at a distance, in case the feuds between Sparta and Athens were revived. This happened in the twelfth year of the Peloponnesian war▪ The next summer he was invested with the command of a considerable army, passed into the territory of Argos and to Patrae; at both places he laboured to persuade them to build walls towards the sea, to enabl
them to receive succours from Athens; but jealousy of the Athenian power prevented them. No action took place this year.
Two years after, some dissensions taking place at Argos, Alcibiades sailed with a fleet of twenty ships into their territories, to assist his friends, and put an end to their disputes. To effect this, he caused three hundred of the inhabitants, who were suspected of favouring the Lacedemonians, to be seized and carried away. After this, he sailed to the island of Melos, which, although small and of inconsiderable force, had always acted with inflexible obstinacy against the Athenians. Alcibiades laid siege to it; but finding the siege attended with difficulties, he turned it into a blockade, and leaving a considerable body of forces there, returned to Athens: the place afterwards surrendered at discretion.
The Athenians, in the sixteenth year of the war, determined to send a fleet into Sicily, to the assistance of the Egistines; Nicias was appointed to command, Alcibiades and Lamachus as his colleagues. During the preparations for this expedition, an accident happened which put the whole city of Athens into confusion: the Hermae, or statues of Mercury, of which there were a multitude in the city and neighbourhood, were all defaced in one night, nor could the authors of this fact be discovered, notwithstanding a proclamation was issued, offering impunity and a reward for the informer; yet, in consequence of a clause therein, inviting any person of what condition soever to discover any former sacrileges, some servants and slaves deposed, that a long time before, certain young men, heated by wine, had ridiculed some religious mystery, and that Alcibiades was among them: his enemies caught at this, and commenced a prosecution against him, to which Alcibiades offered to answer, asserting his innocence, and protesting against accusations brought against him while he should be absent. His enemies, determined to attempt his destruction, procured others to move that he should have liberty to depart on his command, and that, after his return, a day of trial should be assigned him; to this proposition he was unwillingly obliged to consent.
The fleet sailed; but they had not been long in Sicily, before orders from Athens arrived, directing Alcibiades to return and take his trial; the whole city being in a confusion on the old affair of defacing the Hermae. This was a state trick played by the enemies of Alcibiades, to ruin his mighty interest, which his birth, fortune, and accomplishments had gained him in Athens: to effect their purpose, they also reported that he had entered into a conspiracy to betray the city to the
acedemonians, and that he had persuaded the Argives to undertake something to their prejudice. It was therefore determined to put him to death on his return; but it being apprehended, that the attempt to arrest him in fight of the army might produce great commotions, those who were sent to bring him home, were ordered to treat him with great decency, and not to discover by any means the severe resolution taken against him. They executed their commission very exactly, so that neither he nor his army, who were likewise accused, had any suspicion: but, in the course of the voyage, gathering from the seamen something of what was intended, and being informed that a person, out of fear of death, had acknowledged himself guilty, and impeached them, they wisely determined not to trust an enraged and superstitious multitude, but to provide for their own safety by withdrawing as soon as they had an opportunity: this offered quickly after; they gave their convoy the
ip, and retired to such parts of Greece as, out of hatred to Athens, were most likely to give them shelter.
Alcibiades went to Sparta, where he was well received. In the spring, when Agis King of Sparta invaded Attica, he gave him advice to seize and fortify Dicelea. This was a severe stroke on the Athenians; but their misfortunes fell much heavier on them in Sicily, and their allies began to waver. They afterwards had some slight successes at sea, which discouraged the Peloponnesians; but Alcibiades exerted his eloquence to persuade them to continue the war; he advised them to send a small fleet to Ionia, promising to engage the cities to revolt from the Athenians, and to negociate a league between Sparta and the King of Persia, the advantages of which he pointed out to them. The Lacedemonians entering into his measures, he passed over into Ionia, and there actually effected what he had promised. He also found means to draw Tissaphernes, the King of Persia's lieutenant, into a league with them. The Spartans, however, were displeased with the terms of it, and seeking to have them altered, the Persians likewise grew displeased. Alcibiades did not long continue in favour with the Spartans; and having debauched the wife of Agis, that prince conceived the most inveterate hatred against him, and persuaded the Lacedemonians to send orders to their general in Ionia to put the Athenian to death. Alcibiades gained some intelligence of this, retired to Tissaphernes, and laying aside the Lacedemonian, as he had before done the Athenian, became a perfect Persian. By the politeness of his address, he gained so much on Tissaphernes, although a professed enemy to all Greeks, that he gave his name to his gardens of pleasure, after he had spent immense sums in adorning them; they were afterwards called Alcibiades. When the Athenian saw that Tissaphernes placed a confidence in him, he gave him great information respecting the affairs of Greece; told him that it was not the interest of the Persian monarch that Athens should be destroyed, but that she and Sparta should be supported as rivals to each other, and that then the Greeks would never have an opportunity to turn their united arms against his master; but added, that if it should become necessary to rely on one of them, he advised him to trust to Athens, because she would be content with the dominion of the sea; but that the pride of the Spartans would always stimulate them to new conquests, and excite in them a desire of setting the Greek cities in Asia at liberty.
Tissaphernes approving of these councils, Alcibiades wrote privately to some officers of the Athenian army at Samos, intimating that he was treating with the Persian on their behalf; but would not return to his native country until the democratical form of government was abolished. The reasons he advanced for this measure were, that the Persian king hated a democracy, but would immediately assist Athens, if the government was put into the hands of a few. These fickle people, the Athenians, prone to novelty, dissolved the democracy, and sent deputies to treat with Alcibiades and Tissaphemes; and, in case the terms offered by the Persian were reasonable, they were to declare that the Athenians would vest the sovereignty in the hands of a few. Before the deputies arrived, Alcibiades had discovered that Tissaphernes did not incline to keep the Athenians on any terms; therefore, he set up such high terms in the name of the Persians, that the Athenians themselves broke off the treaty. The democracy of Athens was, however, destroyed, and a new form of government was set up. This did not give general satisfaction; the army at Samos declared for the democracy, and, at the request of their general Thrasybulus, recalled Alcibiades.
On his return, he made a most eloquent speech to the army, shewing them the true source of his misfortunes, the injustice of his countrymen, and the danger attending the state. The soldiers, pleased with his harangue, created him general, with full power, and proposed sailing immediately to Athens to restore the ancient form of government: Alcibiades opposed this extravagant measure, and told them, that since they had chosen him general, he must return to Tissaphernes to prepare things to make a speedy end of the war: accordingly, with the consent of the army, he departed. When he came to Tissaphernes, he extolled the great power of the Athenians; and, by this means, made himself formidable to the one party, and necessary to the other.
On his return to the army, the deputies from Athens were, by his request, received. The army declared to them they would not acknowledge the present government, but would fail to Athens and restore the democracy: this he opposed, and persuaded them to remain where they were; and told the deputies, to return and demand of the tyrants to resign their authority. On their return, every thing was in confusion at Athens; a new form of government was proposed, and Alcibiades recalled, and the favourers of an oligarchy withdrew to the enemy. Alcibiades mean time sailed with thirteen galleys to Arpendus, where he had frequent conferences with the Persian lieutenant. In his return, he took nine galleys belonging to the Peloponnesian fleet: with this addition to his own squadron, he constrained the Halicarnass
ans to pay a large sum of money, and fortified Cos. An engagement soon after took place between the Athenian and Peloponnesian fleets, and, while the event was doubtful, Alcibiades came in sight with twenty galleys, and secured the victory.
The Athenians, after this, dividing their fleet into three parts, Alcibiades, with his squadron, fell in with the enemy's fleet under Mindarus, and fled from them, till he came in fight of the other divisions, and then pursued them in his turn towards Claros, sinking and taking their ships. When the enemy approached the shore, they were joined by the Persians; a second battle ensued, and a second victory was obtained. Thus, to his immortal honour, Alcibiades gained two victories in one day.
His fame now rose high among his countrymen; they sent 1000 foot, 300 horse, and 30 galleys, to reinforce him. He sailed and did good service in the Hellespont; afterwards sat down before Byzantium, then well fortified and defended by a Lacedemonian garrison. Some of the inhabitants betrayed the city, and let in Alcibiades and his army; the garrison made so brave a defence, that he was on the point of being driven out; but, making a proclamation that the Byzantines should be safe in their persons and effects, they joined him; the garrison was almost all put to the sword.
Alcibiades, and his colleague Theramenes, returned in triumph to Athens; they brought with them such immense spoils as had not been seen at Athens since the Persian war. The people almost deserted the city to behold Alcibiades when he landed. After he had made his harangue in the assembly, they directed the record of his banishment to be thrown into the sea, ordered him to be absolved from the curses he lay under, created him general, and conferred many other favours upon him. The sweetness of his temper, his complacence, and his applying the riches he brought home to the discharge of taxes, made the most virtuous of the citizens confess he deserved the honours that were paid him. He did not long remain in a state of inactivity, but put to sea again with a fleet of one hundred ships for the Hellespont, to assist some cities which still kept firm to the Athenians: he left part of his fleet under Antiochus, with strict orders not to engage; but the latter disregarded his instructions, and was defeated. On this news, Alcibiades returned; but met with another stroke of ill fortune; for his enemies had found means to persuade the Athenians that the defeat was owing to his inattention, and that he held a correspondence with the Lacedemonians; they instantly deprived him of his command, and appointed ten new generals. To Conon, one of the ten, he delivered the fleet; but refused to return to Athens, and in his own ship passed into Thrace, built a castle there for his own security, and founded a little principality in the sight of his many and powerful enemies.
Alcibiades, though an exile, endeavoured to restore the power of his country; of which the Spartans having intelligence, procured him to be assassinated. He was a man of admirable accomplishments, but indifferently principled; of great parts; and of an amazing versatility of genius.
ALCOCK (JOHN),
BISHOP of Rochester, Worcester, and Ely successively in the latter end of the fifteenth century, was born at Beverly in Yorkshire, and educated at the university of Cambridge, where he took the degree of doctor of laws. In the year 1460, he was collated to the church of St. Margaret's, New Fish-street; and, in the same year, was advanced to the deanery of St. Stephen's college, Westminster. He was appointed master of the rolls in 1462. Six years after, he obtained two prebends, one in the church of Sarum, the other in that of St. Paul's, London. In 1470, he was made a privy counsellor, and one of the ambassadors to the King of Castile; and, the next year, was among the commissioners who treated with the commissioners of the King of Scotland. About the same time he was appointed, by Edward the Fourth, to be of the privy council to his son Edward Prince of Wales. In 1471, he was promoted to the bishoprick of Rochester; and, in 1472, constituted lord high chancellor of England, which great post he did not hold longer than ten months. In 1476, he was translated to the see of Worcester, and appointed lord president of Wales. While he was bishop of Worcester, he greatly enlarged the collegiate church of Westbury. The Protector, Richard Duke of York, removed him from his office of preceptor to Edward the Fifth, on account of his having incurred his displeasure, by his strong attachment to the prince. Soon after the accession of Henry the Seventh to the throne, he again held the great seal for a short time. In 1486, he was raised to the bishoprick of Ely, in the room of Dr. John Morton, translated to Canterbury. In 1488, he preached a sermon in St. Mary's church, at Cambridge, which lasted from one o'clock in the afternoon till past three. He was a prelate of great learning and piety, a considerable writer, and an excellent architect; which accounts for his being made comptroller of the royal works and buildings under Henry the Seventh. He founded a school at Kingston upon Hull, and a chapel on the south side of the church in which his parents were buried. He built the beautiful and spacious hall belonging to the episcopal palace at Ely, and made great improvements in all his other palaces. Lastly, he founded Jesus college in Cambridge, for a master, six fellows, and as many scholars. This prelate wrote several works, which have been published. He died the first of October, 1500, at his castle of Wisbich; and was buried in the middle of an elegant chapel, which he had built for himself, at the east end of the north isle of the presbytery of his cathedral church.
ALCRED, ALCREDUS, OR ALREDUS,
KING of Northumberland, was lineally descended from the King of Bernicia, and was born about the year 740. When he attained to man's estate, he found his country miserably distracted, partly by the vices of the kings, and partly through the madness of the people. Osulph, who was the lawful heir to the kingdom of Northumberland, perished by a conspiracy of his own family in 758. To him succeeded Aethelwold, otherwise called Moll, by a popular election. This displeased many of the great lords, who under the command of Oswin took arms against him; but with little success, their army being routed, and Oswin slain. Alcred then asserted his right to the throne, in which he proved successful. Aethelwold had reigned six years.
Alcred, soon after his accession, married Osgerna: he took pains to live on good terms with his neighbours, but was far from pleasing his subjects; for, in 774, they compelled him to fly from York with a small number of attendants. He retired to the strong city of Bebba, thought to be the town now called Bamborrough in Northumberland: and thinking himself not safe here, he sought protection of Cynoth king of the Picts, who treated him kindly. The historians affirm, that Alcred was deposed by the unanimous consent of all the princes of the royal family, and other great lords of the kingdom. This circumstance led the earl of Stamford, who was lord lieutenant of the county of Leicester in 1691, to introduce into a speech he made at Leicester, to prove the legality of the Revolution, the right the people of this country had to expel a king for mal-administration. It is not certain when he died.
ALCUINUS (FLACCUS),
AN ecclesiastic of the eighth century. Born, according to the most probable opinion, in Yorkshire. It is pretty certain he was educated at York, under the direction of archbishop Egbert, as we learn from his own letters, in which he frequently calls that great prelate his beloved master, and the clergy of York the companions of his youthful studies. As he survived venerable Bede about 70 years, it is hardly possible that he could have received any part of his education under him, as some writers of literary history have affirmed; and it is worthy of observation, that he never calls that great man his master, though he speaks of him with the highest veneration. It is not well known to what preferments he had attained in the church before he left England, though some say he was abbot of Canterbury. The occasion of his leaving his native country, was by his being sent on an embassy by Offa king of Mercia to the emperor Charlemagne; who contracted so great an esteem and friendship for him, that he earnestly solicited, and at length prevailed upon him, to settle in his court, and become his preceptor in the sciences. Alcuinus accordingly instructed that great prince in rhetoric, logic, mathematics, and divinity; which rendered him one of his greatest favourites. "He was treated with so much kindness and familiarity (says a cotemporary writer) by the emperor, that the other courtiers called him, by way of eminence,
the emperor's delight.
" Charlemagne employed his learned favourite to write several books against the heretical opinions of Felix bishop of Urgil in Catalonia, and to defend the orthodox faith against that heresiarch, in the council of Francfort, A. D. 894; which he performed to the entire satisfaction of the emperor and council, and even to the conviction of Felix and his followers, who abandoned their errors. The emperor consulted chiefly with Alcuinus on all things relating to religion and learning; and, by his advice, did many great things for the advancement of both. An academy was established in the imperial palace, over which Alcuinus presided, and in which the princes and prime nobility were educated; and other academies were established in the chief towns of Italy and France, at his instigation, and under his inspection. "France (says one of our best writers of literary history) is indebted to Alcuinus for all the polite learning it boasted of in that and the following ages. The universities of Paris, Tours, Fulden, Soissons, and many others, owe to him their origin and increase; those of whom he was not the superior and founder, being at least enlightened by his doctrine and example, and enriched by the benefits he procured for them from Charlemagne." After Alcuinus had spent many years in the most intimate familiarity with the greatest prince of his age, he at length, with great difficulty, obtained leave to retire from court to his abbey of St. Martin at Tours. Here he kept up a constant correspondence by letters with Charlemagne; from which it appears, that both the emperor and his learned friend were animated with the most ardent love to learning and religion, and constantly employed in contriving and executing the noblest designs for their advancement. He composed many treatises on a great variety of subjects, in a style much superior in purity and elegance to that of the generality of writers in the age in which he flourished. Charlemagne often solicited him, with all the warmth of an affectionate friend, to return to court, and favour him with his company and advice; but he still excused himself; and nothing could draw him from his retirement in the abbey of St. Martin at Tours, where he died A. D. 804. His works were collected and published by Andrew du Chesne in one volume folio, Paris, 1617. They consist of, 1. Tracts upon scripture. 2. Tracts upon doctrine, discipline, and morality. 3. Historical treatises, letters, and poems. Since that edition, there has been published an incredible number of tracts, poems, &c. ascribed to this author, most of which, in all probability, were not his.
ALCYONIUS (PETER),
A LEARNED Italian, who flourished in the sixteenth century. He was well versed in the Greek and Latin tongues, and wrote some pieces of eloquence which met with great approbation. He was corrector of the press a considerable time for Aldus Manutius, and is intitled to a share in the praises given to the editions of that learned printer. He published a treatise concerning banishment, which contained so many fine passages intermixed with others quite the reverse, that it was thought he had tacked to somewhat of his own, several fragments of a treatise of
Cicero de Gloria;
and that afterwards, in order to save himself from being detected in this theft, he burnt the manuscript of Cicero, the only one extant. Paulus Manutius, in his commentary upon these words of Cicero
Librum tibi celeriter mittam de Gloria,
" I will speedily send you my treatise on Glory;" has the following passage relating to the affair: "He means, says he, his two books on Glory, which were handed down to the age of our fathers for Bernard Justinian, in the index of his books, mentions
Cicero de Gloria.
This treatise, however, when Bernard had left his whole library to a nunnery, could not be found, though sought after with great care: nobody doubted but Peter Alcyonius, who, being physician to the nunnery, was intrusted with the library, had basely stole it. And truly, in his treatise of Banishment, some things are found interspersed here and there, which seem not to favour of Alcyonius, but of some higher author." The two orations he made after the taking of Rome, wherein he represented very strongly the injustice of Charles V. and the barbarity of his soldiers, were excellent pieces. There is also an oration ascribed to him, on the knights who died at the siege of Rhodes.
ALDHELM (SAINT),
BISHOP of Shereburn in the time of the Saxon heptarchy. He is said to have been the son of Kenred, brother to Ina, king of the West Saxons; but, in the opinion of William of Malmsbury, his father was no more than a distant relation to the king. Having received the first part of his education in the school which one Macduff, a learned Scot, had set up in the place where Malmsbury now stands, he travelled into France and Italy for his improvement. At his return home, he studied for some time under Adrian, abbot of St. Augustine's in Canterbury, the most learned professor of the sciences who had ever been in England. In these different seminaries he acquired an uncommon stock of knowledge; and became famous for his learning, not only in England, but in foreign countries: whence several learned men sent him their writings for his perusal and correction; particularly Prince Arcivil, a son of the king of Scotland, who wrote many pieces, which he sent to Aldhelm, "intreating him to give them the last polish, by rubbing off their Scots rust." He was the first Englishman who wrote in the Latin language both in prose and verse, and composed a book for the instruction of his countrymen in the prosody of that language. Besides this, he wrote several other treatises on various subjects; some of which are lost, and others published by Martin Delrio and Canisius. Venerable Bede, who flourished in the end of this and the beginning of the next century, gives the following character of Aldhelm: "He was a man of universal erudition, having an elegant style, and being wonderfully well acquainted with books, both on philosophical and religious subjects." In fact, considering the cloud of ignorance by which he was surrounded, and the great difficulty of obtaining knowledge without proper instruction, Aldhelm was a very extraordinary man. From one of his letters to Hedda bishop of Winchester, concerning the nature of his studies whilst at Canterbury, he appears to have been indefatigably determined to acquire every species of learning in his power. For a copy of this curious epistle, see Henry's History, vol. ii. p. 320. King Alfred the Great declared, that Aldhelm was the best of all the Saxon poets; and that a favourite song, which was universally sung in his time, near 200 years after its author's death, was of his composition. When he was abbot of Malmsbury, having a fine voice, and great skill in music as well as poetry, and observing the backwardness of his barbarous countrymen to listen to grave instructions, he composed a number of little poems, which he sung to them after mass in the sweetest manner; by which they were gradually instructed and civilized. After this excellent person had governed the monastery of Malmsbury, of which he was the founder, about 30 years, he was made bishop of Shereburn, where he died A. D. 709.—He wrote, 1.
De octo vitiis principalibus.
This treatise is extant in
Bibliotheca Patrum
of Canisius. 2.
Aenigmaticum versus mille.
This, with several others of his poems, was published by Martin Delrio at Mentz, 8vo. 1601. 3. A book addressed to a certain king of Northumberland, named Alfrid, on various subjects. 4.
De vita mona
horum.
5.
De laude sanctorum.
6.
De arithmetica.
7.
De astrologia.
8. A book against the mistake of the Britons concerning the celebration of Easter; printed by Sonius, 1576. 9.
De laude virginitatis.
Manuscript, in Bennet-college, Cambridge. Published among Bede's
Opuscula.
Besides many sonnets, epistles, and homilies in the Saxon language.
ALDRED,
ABBOT of Tavistock, was promoted to the bishopric of Worcester in the year 1046. He was so much in favour with King Edward the Confessor, and had so much power over his mind, that he obliged him to be reconciled with the worst of his enemies, particularly with Swane son of the Earl Goodwin, who had revolted against him, and came with an army to invade the kingdom. Aldred also restored the union and friendship between King Edward and Griffin King of Wales. He took afterwards a journey to Rome; and being returned into England, in the year 1054, he was sent ambassador to the Emperor Henry II.: he staid a whole year in Germany, and was very honourably entertained by Herman archbishop of Cologn, from whom he learned many things relative to ecclesiastical discipline, which on his return he established in his own diocess. In the year 1058, he went to Jerusalem, which no archbishop or bishop of England had ever done before him. Two years after, he returned to England; and Kinsius archbishop of York dying the 22d of December, 1060, Aldred was elected in his stead on Christmas day following, and thought fit to keep his bishopric of Worcester with the archbishopric of Canterbury, as some of his predecessors had done. Aldred went soon after to Rome, in order to receive the pallium from the pope: he was attended by Toston Earl of Northumberland, Giso bishop of Wells, and Walter bishop of Hereford. The pope received Toston very honourably, and made him sit by him in the synod which he held against the simonists. He granted to Giso and Walter their request, because they were tolerably well learned, and not accused of simony. But Aldred being by his answers found ignorant, and guilty of simony, the pope deprived him very severely of all honours and dignities; so that he was obliged to return without the pallium. On his way home, he and his fellow-travellers were attacked by some robbers, who took from them all that they had, though they did not offer to kill them. This obliged them to return to Rome; and the pope, either out of compassion, or by the threatenings of the Earl of Northumberland, gave Aldred the pallium; but he was obliged to resign his bishopric of Worcester. However, as the archbishop of York had been almost entirely ruined by the many invasions of foreigners, King Edward gave the new archbishop leave to keep twelve villages or manors which belonged to the bishoprick of Worcester. Edward the Confessor dying in 1066, Aldred crowned Harold his successor. He also crowned William the Conqueror, after he had made him take the following oath, viz. That he would protect the holy church of God and its leaders: that he would establish and observe righteous laws: that he would entirely prohibit and suppress all rapines and unjust judgments. He was so much in favour with the Conqueror, that this prince looked upon him as a father; and, though imperious in regard to every body else, he yet submitted to obey this archbishop; John Bromton gives us an instance of the king's submission, which at the same time shows the prelate's haughtiness. It happened one day, as the archbishop was at York, that the deputy-governor or lord-lieutenant going out of the city with a great number of people, met the archbishop's servants, who came to town with several carts and horses loaded with provisions. The governor asked to whom they belonged; and they having answered they were Aldred's servants, the governor ordered that all these provisions should be carried to the king's store-house. The archbishop sent immediately some of his clergy to the governor, commanding him to deliver the provisions, and to make satisfaction to St. Peter, and to him the saint's vicar, for the injury he had done them; adding, that if he refused to comply, the archbishop would make use of his apostolic authority against him, (intimating thereby that he would excommunicate him). The governor, offended at this proud message, used the persons whom the archbishop had sent him very ill, and returned an answer as haughty as the message was. Aldred thereupon went to London to make his complaint to the king; but in this very complaint he acted with his wonted insolence; for meeting the king in the church of St. Peter at Westminster, he spoke to him in these words: "Hearken, O William: when thou wast but a foreigner, and God, to punish the sins of this nation, permitted thee to become master of it, after having shed a great deal of blood, I consecrated thee, and put the crown upon thy head with blessings; but now, because thou hast deserved it, I pronounce a curse over thee, instead of a blessing, since thou art become the persecutor of God's church, and of his ministers, and hast broken the promises and oaths which thou madest to me before St. Peter's altar." The king terrified at this discourse, fell upon his knees, and humbly begged the prelate to tell him, by what crime he had deserved so severe a sentence. The noblemen, who were present, were enraged against the archbishop, and loudly cried out he deserved death, or at least banishment, for having offered such an injury to his sovereign, and they pressed him with threatenings to raise the king from the ground. But the prelate, unmoved at all this, answered calmly, "Good men, let him lie there, for he is not at Aldred's but at St. Peter's feet; let him feel St. Peter's power, since he dared to injure his vicegerent." Having thus reproved the nobles by his episcopal authority, he vouchsafed to take the king by the hand, and to tell him the ground of his complaint. The king humbly excused himself, by saying he had been ignorant of the whole matter; and begged of the noblemen to intreat the prelate, that he might take off the curse he had pronounced, and to change it into a blessing. Aldred was at last prevailed upon to favour the king thus far; but not without the promise of several presents and favours, and only after the king had granted him to take such a revenge on the governor as he thought fit. Since that time (adds the historian) none of the noblemen ever dared to offer the least injury. It may be questioned, which was more surprising here, whether the archbishop's haughtiness, who dared to treat his sovereign after so unbecoming a manner; or the king's stupidity, who suffered such insolence and audaciousness from a priest?—The Danes having made an invasion in the north of England in the year 1068, under the command of Harold and Canute the sons of King Swane, Aldred was so much afflicted at it, that he died of grief in the 11th of September in that same year, having besought God that he might not see the desolation of his church and country.
ALDRICH (DR. HENRY),
AN eminent English divine and philosopher, born at London in 1647, was educated at Westminster school under the famous Dr. Busby, and admitted of Christ-church college, Oxford. He had a great share in the controversy with the papists in the reign of James II. and bishop Burnet ranks him among those who examined all the points of popery with a solidity of judgment, clearness of argument, depth of learning, and vivacity of writing, far beyond any who had before that time written in our language. He rendered himself so conspicuous, that at the Revolution, when Massey the popish dean of Christ-church fled, his deanery was conferred on him. In this station he behaved in an exemplary manner, and that fabric owes much of its beauty to his ingenuity. It was Aldrich who designed the beautiful square called the
Peckwater-Quadrangle,
which is esteemed an excellent piece of architecture. In imitation of his predecessor Dr. Fell, he published yearly a piece of some ancient Greek author, as a present to the students of his house. He published
A System of Logic,
with some other pieces; and the revising Clarendon's History of the Rebellion was intrusted to him and bishop Spratt: but it doth not appear that they made any additions, or considerable alterations, as has been asserted by Mr. Oldmixon. Besides his preferments, above mentioned, Dr. Aldrich was also rector of Wem in Shropshire. He was chosen prolocutor of the convocation in 1702. This worthy person died at Christ-church, on the 14th of December 1710. As to his character, he was a most universal scholar, and had a taste for all sorts of learning, especially architecture. Sir John Hawkins has favoured the public with several particulars relative to Dr. Aldrich's skill in music; and, on account of the doctor's eminence in this respect, Sir John hath given his life, with his head prefixed. His abilities as a musician rank him, we are told, amongst the greatest masters of the science. He composed many services for the church, which are well known; as are also his anthems, nearly to the number of twenty. He adapted, with great skill and judgment, English words to many of the notes of Palestrina, Carissimi, Victoria, and other Italian composers for the church, some of which are frequently sung in our cathedrals as anthems. By the happy talent which Dr. Aldrich possessed, of naturalizing the compositions of the old Italian masters, and accommodating them to an English ear, he increased the stores of our own church. Though the doctor chiefly applied himself to the cultivation of sacred music, yet, being a man of humour, he could divert himself by producing pieces of a lighter kind. There are two catches of his; the one, "Hark, the bonny Christ-church Bells;" the other intitled, "a Smoking Catch," to be sung by four men smoking their pipes, which is not more difficult to sing than diverting to hear. His love of smoking was, it seems, so excessive as to be an entertaining topick of discourse in the university. Such was Dr. Aldrich's regard for the advancement of music, and the honour of its professors, that he had formed a design of writing a history of the science; and the materials from which he proposed to compile it are yet extant in the library of his own college. It appears from these materials, that he had marked down every thing he had met with concerning music and musicians; but that he had wrought no part of them into any kind of form.
Dr. Aldrich is of some note as a Latin poet. In the
Musae Anglica
ae,
we find two elegant copies of verses by him; one on the accession of King William III. and the other on the death of the Duke of Gloucester.
He was a man of a very chearful and pleasant turn of mind. Indeed, he is always spoken of as having been a man of wit; and as one who, to his great talents and virtues, joined those amiable qualities, which rendered him the object of general affection, as well as of general esteem and respect. Having never been married, he appropriated his income to works of hospitality and beneficence, and in encouraging learning to the utmost of his power, of which he was a mos
munificent patron, as well as one of the greatest men in England, i
considered as a Christian or a gentleman. He had always the interest of his college at heart, whereof he was an excellent governor. And, as he was remarkable for modesty and humility, concealing his name to those several learned tracts he published, so at his death he appointed to be buried without any memorial in the cathedral; which his thrifty nephew complied with, depositing him on the south side of bishop Fell's grave, December 22, eight days after his decease; which happened in the 63d or 64th year of his age.
There was also a Robert Aldrich, bishop of Carlisle, from the years 1537 to 1556, who wrote some Latin poems.
ALDULPH,
KING of Northumberland during the Saxon heptarchy, was inaugurated A. D. 796. Ethelred during his reign, to secure himself on the throne, banished several lords; among the rest Aldulph. But the party who were in opposition to the throne succeeding, Ethelred was assassinated, and Oswald elected in his room. In twenty-seven days he was driven out, and Aldulph placed on the throne. Two years after his accession, a conspiracy was formed against him, at the head of which was one Wada. The king engaged Wada's army and routed them. In 801, Aldulph led an army against Kenulph King of the Mercians, who had afforded shelter to his enemies; but through the interposition of the bishops and nobles on both sides, the monarchs were reconciled, and made a league of firm friendship. Notwithstanding two powerful factions then existed in Northumberland, Aldulph had the address to maintain himself on the throne. Yet many attempts were made by one of the parties, at the head of which was Alcmund son of Alcred, who had formerly reigned in that kingdom. This prince beginning to grow formidable, Aldulph who judged it necessary to sacrifice him to his own safety, procured him to be privately murdered. His death was looked on by some as a martyrdom, and under that pretence some of the king's enemies took up arms. They were overcome and slain. But soon after, the party in opposition to the king became so powerful, that he was forced to save himself by flight, and take refuge in the court of Charlemagne, where the English were always well received. Aldulph never after recovered his crown; for two years after, the kingdom of Northumberland submitted to the power of Egbert King of Wessex.
ALEMBERT (JOHN LE ROND D'),
AN eminent French philosopher, was born at Paris in 1717, He derived the name of John le Rond from that of the church near which, after his birth, he was exposed as a foundling. His father, informed of this circumstance, listened to the voice of nature and duty, took measures for the proper education of his child, and for his future subsistence in a state of ease and independence.
He received his first education in the college of the Four Nations, among the Jansenists, where he gave early marks of capacity and genius. In the first year of his philosophical studies, he composed a commentary on the epistle of St. Paul to the Romans. The Jansenists considered this production as an omen that portended to the party of Port-Royal a restoration to some part of their ancient splendor, and hoped to find one day in M. d'Alembert a second Pascal. To render this resemblance more complete, they engaged their rising pupil in the study of mathematics; but they soon perceived that his growing attachment to this science was likely to disappoint the hopes they had formed with respect to his future destination: they, therefore, endeavoured to divert him from this line; but their endeavours were fruitless.
At his leaving the college, he found himself alone and unconnected in the world; and sought an asylum in the house of his
nurse.
He comforted himself with the hope, that his fortune, though not ample, would better the condition and subsistence of that family, which was the only one that he could consider as his own: here, therefore, he took up his residence, resolving to apply himself entirely to the study of goemetry. And here he lived, during the space of forty years, with the greatest simplicity, discovering the augmentation of his means only by increasing displays of his beneficence, concealing his growing reputation and celebrity from these honest people, and making their plain and uncouth manners the subject of good-natured pleasantry and philosophical observation. His good nurse perceived his ardent activity; heard him mentioned as the writer of many books; but never took it into her head that he was a great man, and rather beheld him with a kind of compassion. "
You will never,
" said she to him one day, "
be any thing but a philosopher—and what is a philosopher?—a fool, who toils and plagues himself during his life, that people may talk of him when
HE IS NO MORE."
As M. d'Alembert's fortune did not far exceed the demands of necessity, his friends advised him to think of a profession that might enable him to augment it. He accordingly turned his views to the law, and took his degrees in that line; but soon abandoned this plan, and applied to the study of medicine. Geometry, however, was always drawing him back to his former pursuits, and after many ineffectual efforts to resist its attractions, he renounced all views of a lucrative profession, and gave himself over entirely to mathematics and poverty.
In the year 1741, he was admitted member of the academy of sciences; for which distinguished literary promotion, at such an early age, he had prepared the way by correcting the errors of a celebrated work, which was deemed
classical
in France in the line of geometry. He afterwards set himself to examine, with deep attention and assiduity, what must be the motion of a body which passes from one fluid into another more dense, in a direction not perpendicular to the surface separating the two fluids. Every one knows the phenomenon which happens in this case, and which amuses children under the denomination of
duck
and drakes
; but M. d'Alembert was the first who explained it in a satisfactory and philosophical manner.
Two years after his election to a place in the academy, he published his
Treatise on Dynamics.
The new principle developed in this treatise consisted in establishing equality, at each instant, between the changes that the motion of a body has undergone, and the forces or powers which have been employed to produce them; or to express them otherwise, in separating into
two parts
the action of the moving powers, and considering the
one
as producing alone the motion of the body, in the second instant, and the
other
as employed to destroy that which it had in the first.
So early as the year 1744, M. d'Alembert had applied this principle to the theory of the equilibrium, and the motion of fluids; and all the problems before solved by geometricians became, in some measure, in corollaries. The discovery of this new principle was followed by that of a new calculus, the first trials of which were published in a
Discourse on the general Theory of the Winds,
to which the prize-medal was adjudged by the academy of Berlin in the year 1746, and which was a new and brilliant addition to the fame of M. d'Alembert. This new calculus of partial differences he applied, the year following, to the problem of vibrating chords, whose solution, as well as the theory of the oscillation of the air and the propagation of sound, had been given but incompletely by the geometricians who preceded him, and these were hi
masters or his rivals.
In the year 1749, he furnished a method of applying his principle a
the motion of any body of a given figure; and he solved the problem o
the precession of the equinoxes, determined its
quantity,
and explaine
the phenomenon of the nutation of the terrestrial axis discovered by D
Bradley.
In 1752, M. d'Alembert published a treatise on the
Resistance of Fluid
to which he gave the modest title of an
Essay;
but which contains a multitude of original ideas and new observations. About the same time, he published, in the Memoirs of the Academy of Berlin,
Researches concerning the Integral Calculus,
which is greatly indebted to him for the rapid progress it has made in the present century.
While the studies of M. d'Alembert were confined to goemetry, he was little known or celebrated in his native country. His connections were limited to a small society of select friends: he had never seen any man in high office except Messrs d'Argenson. Satisfied with an income which furnished him with the necessaries of life, he did not aspire after opulence or honours, nor had they been hitherto bestowed upon him, as it is easier to confer them on those who solicit them, than to look out for men who deserve them. His chearful conversation, his smart and lively sallies, a happy knack at telling a story, a singular mixture of malice of speech with goodness of heart, and of delicacy of wit with simplicity of manners, rendered him a pleasing and interesting companion, and his company consequently was much sought after in the fashionable circles. His reputation, at length, made its way to the throne, and rendered him the object of royal attention and beneficence. He received also a pension from government, which he owed to the friendship of Count d'Argenson.
The tranquillity of M. d'Alembert was abated when his fame grew more extensive, and when it was known beyond the circle of his friends, that a fine and enlightened genius for literature and philosophy accompanied his mathematical genius. Our author's eulogist ascribes to envy, detraction, and to other motives nearly as ungenerous, all the disapprobation, opposition, and censure that M. d'Alembert met with on account of the publication of the famous Encyclopedical Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, in conjunction with Diderot. None surely will refuse the just tribute of applause to the eminent displays of genius, judgment, and true literary taste, with which M. d'Alembert has enriched the great work now mentioned. Among others, the Preliminary Discourse he has affixed to it, concerning the rise, progress, connections, and affinities of all the branches of human knowledge, is perhaps one of the most capital productions of which the philosophy of the present age can boast. Nor will it be disputed, that the master-builders of this new and stupendous temple of science, for the worship of Nature, had also really in view the advancement of human knowledge, and the improvement of the arts and sciences. This, no true, no candid philosopher, will call in question. But that in the
inner court
of this temple there was a confederacy formed against all those who looked higher than
nature,
for the principal object of their veneration and confidence, is a fact too palpable, nay too boldly avowed, to stand in need of any proof.
Some time after this, d'Alembert published his Philosophical, Historical, and Philological Miscellanies: these were followed by the Memoirs of Christina Queen of Sweden; in which M. d'Alembert showed that he was acquainted with the natural rights of mankind, and was bold enough to assert them. His
Essay on the Intercourse of Men of Letters with Persons high in Rank and Office,
wounded the former to the quick, as it exposed to the eyes of the public the ignominy of those servile chains, which they feared to shake off, or were proud to wear. A lady of the court hearing one day the author accused of having exaggerated the despotism of the great, and the submission they require, answered slyly,
If he had consulted me, I would have told him still more of the matter.
M. d'Alembert gave very elegant specimens of his literary abilities in his translations of some select pieces of Tacitus. But these occupations did not divert him from his mathematical studies; for about the same time he enriched the Encyclopédie with a multitude of excellent articles in that line, and composed his
Researches on several important Points of the System of the World,
in which he carried to a higher degree of perfection the solution of the problem of the perturbations of the planets, that had several years before been presented to the academy.
In 1759, he published his
Elements of Philosophy
; a work extolled as remarkable for its precision and perspicuity; in which, however, are some tenets relative both to metaphysics and moral science, that are far from being admissible.
The resentment that was kindled (and the disputes that followed it) by the article
Geneva,
inserted in the Encyclopédie, are well known. M. d'Alembert did not leave this field of controversy with flying colours. Voltaire was an auxiliary in the contest; but as, in point of candour and decency, he had no reputation to lose; and as he weakened the blows of his enemies, by throwing both them and the spectator into fits of laughter, the issue of the war gave him little uneasiness. I
fell more heavily on d'Alembert; and exposed him, even at home, to much contradiction and opposition.
It was on this occasion that the King of Prussia offered him an honourable asylum at his court, and the place of president of his academy; an
was not offended at his refusal of these distinctions, but cultivated an intimate friendship with him during the rest of his life. He had refused some time before this, a proposal made by the Empress of Russia to intrust him with the education of the Grand Duke; a proposal accompanied with all the flattering offers that could tempt a man, ambitious o
titles, or desirous of making an ample fortune: but the objects of his ambition were tranquillity and study.
In the year 1765, he published his
Dissertation on the Destruction of the Jesuists.
This piece drew upon him a swarm of adversaries, who confirmed the merit and credit of his work by their manner of attacking it.
Beside the works already mentioned, he published nine volumes of memoirs and treatises, under the title of
Opuscules
; in which he has solved a multitude of problems relative to astronomy, mathematics, and natural philosophy; of which our panegyrist gives a particular account, more especially of those which exhibit new subjects, or new methods of investigation.
He published also
Elements of Music
; and rendered, at length, the system of Rameau intelligible; but he did not think the mathematical theory of the sonorous body sufficient to account for the rules of that art. He was always fond of music; which, on the one hand, is connected with the most subtle and learned researches of rational mechanics; while, on the other, its power over the senses and the soul exhibits to philosophers phenomena no less singular, and still more inexplicable.
In the year 1772, he was chosen secretary to the French academy. He formed, soon after this preferment, the design of writing the lives of all the deceased academicians, from 1700 to 1772; and in the space three years he executed this design, by composing 70 eulogies.
M. d'Alembert died on the 29th of October, 1783. There were many amiable lines of candour, modesty, disinterestedness, and beneficence, in his moral character; which are described, with a diffusive detail, in his eulogium, by M. Condorcet, Hist. de l'Acad. Royale des Sciences, 1783.
ALEXANDER THE GREAT,
KING of Macedon. His father Philip laid the plan of that extensive empire, which his son afterwards executed. Philip, having made himself master of Greece, began to cast his eyes upon Persia, with a view to retaliate upon that haughty empire the injuries of former times. It was the popular topic of the day. But this prince was cut off in the midst of his enterprise. Such, however, was the influence of Alexander in the assembly of the Grecian states, that he was created general of their combined forces in the room of his father. Having made every needful preparation, at the head of a veteran army he invaded Asia. The lieutenants of Darius, who was then king of Persia, opposed him at the river Granicus, where Alexander obtained a complete victory, after which he pursued his march through Asia. At Issus, near Scanderoon, he was met by Darius in person, at the head of a prodigious army. Here he obtained a second victory; and took the camp of Darius, together with his family, whom he treated with the utmost humanity. Contrary to all the maxims of war, instead of pursuing Darius, he made an excursion into Egypt; and, as far as appears, through no better motives than those of vanity. Here he was acknowledged to be the son of Jupiter Ammon. In the mean time Darius recruited his strength, and got together an army superior to what he brought into the plain of Issus, Alexander having finished his Egyptian expedition, traversed Asia, and passed the Euphrates. At Arbella, a town in Assyria, he met Darius. Here a decisive battle was fought, which put all Persia into the hands of Alexander. His ambition not being satisfied with the conquest of that vast country, he projected an expedition into India. Here he met with great opposition from Porus, a gallant prince, whom in the end he reduced. Beyond the Ganges lay a country still unsubdued. He notified it to his army, that he proposed to pass the river. But these veterans, harassed with the fatigues, and seeing no end of their labour, mutinied, and refused to march further. The disappointed chief was therefore obliged to return. At Babylon he proposed to receive ambassadors, appoint governors, and settle his vast monarchy; but his excesses put an and to his life in the midst of his designs, and in the flower of his age.
The character of this hero is so familiar to every body, that it is almost needless labour to draw it. All the world knows, says Mr. Bayle, that it was equally composed of very great virtues and very great vices. He had no mediocrity in any thing but his stature: in his other properties, whether good or bad, he was all extremes. His ambition rose even to madness. His father was not at all mistaken in supposing the bounds of Macedon too small for his son: for how could Macedon bound the ambition of a man, who reckoned the world too small a dominion? He wept at hearing the philosopher Anaxarchus say, that there was an infinite number of worlds: his tears were owing to his despair of conquering them all, since he had not yet been able to conquer one. Livy, in a short digression, has attempted to inquire into the events which might have happened, if Alexander, after the conquest of Asia, had brought his arms into Italy? Doubtless things might have taken a very different turn with him; and all the grand projects, which succeeded so well against an effeminate Persian monarch, might easily have miscarried if he had to do with rough hardy Roman armies. And yet the vast aims of this mighty conqueror, if seen under another point of view, may appear to have been confined in a very narrow compass; since, as we are told, the utmost wish of that great heart, for which the whole earth was not big enough, was, after all, to be praised by the Athenians: for it is related, that the difficulties which he encountered in order to pass the Hydaspes, forced him to cry out,
"O Athenians, could you believe to what dangers I expose myself for the sake of being celebrated by you?"
But Bayle affirms, that this was quite consistent with the vast unbounded extent of his ambition, as he wanted to make all future time his own, and be an object of admiration to the latest posterity; yet did not expect this from the conquest of worlds, but from books.
"He was perfectly in the right; says Bayle; "for if Greece had not furnished him with good writers, he would long ago have been as much forgotten as the kings who reigned in Macedon before Amphitryon."
Alexander has been praised upon the score of continency, yet his life could not surely be quite regular in that respect. Indeed, the fire of his early youth appeared so cold towards women, that his mother suspected him to be impotent; and, to satisfy herself in this point, did, with the consent of Philip, procure a very handsome courtezan to lie with him, whose caresses, however, were all to no purpose. His behaviour afterwards to the Persian captives shows him to have had a great command over himself in this particular. The wife of Darius was a finished beauty; her daughters likewise were all beauties; yet this young prince, who had them in his power, not only bestowed on them all the honours due to their high rank, but managed their reputation with the utmost delicacy. They were kept as in a cloyster concealed from the world, and secured from the reach of every dishonourable (not only attack, but) imputation. He did not give the least handle to scandal, either by his visits, his looks, or his words: and for other Persian dames his prisoners, equally beautiful in face and shape, he contented himself with saying gaily, that they gave indeed much pain to his eyes. The amazon Thalestris could not obtain from him a compliance with her gallant request till after a delay of thirteen days. In the mean time, what are we to conclude from his causing his favourite mistress Pancaste to be drawn naked by Apelles, though it is true he gave her to the painter, who fell in love with her? What of that immoderate love of boys, which Athenaeus relates of him? What of that prodigious number of wives and concubines which he kept?
His excesses with regard to wine were notorious, and beyond all imagination; and he committed, when drunk, a thousand extravagancies. It was owing to wine, that he killed Clytus who saved his life, and burnt Persepolis, one of the most beautiful cities of the East: he did this last indeed at the instigation of the courtezan Thais; but this circumstance made it only the more heinous. It is generally believed, that he died by drinking immoderately: and even Plutarch, who affects to contradict it, owns that he did nothing but drink the whole day he was taken ill.
In short, to sum up the character of this prince, we cannot be of opinion, that his good qualities did in any wise compensate for his bad ones. Heroes make a noise: their actions glare, and strike the senses forcibly; while the infinite destruction and misery they occasion lies more in the shade, and out of sight. One good legislator is worth all the heroes that ever did or will exist.
ALEXANDER (NOEL),
AN indefatigable writer of the 17th century, born at Roan in Normandy, 1639. After finishing his studies at Roan, he entered into the order of Dominican friars, and was professed there in 1655. Soon after he went to Paris, to go through a course of philosophy and divinity in the great convent, where he distinguished himself so, that he was appointed to teach philosophy there, which he did for twelve years. Mr. Colbert showed him many marks of his esteem; and being determined to omit nothing to perfect the education of his son, afterwards archbishop of Roan, he formed an assembly of the most learned persons, whose conferences upon ecclesiastical history might be of advantage to him. Father Alexander was invited to this assembly, where he exerted himself with so much genius and ability, that he gained the particular friendship of young Colbert, who showed him the utmost regard as long as he lived. These conferences gave rise to Alexander's design of writing an ecclesiastical history; for, being desired to reduce what was material in these conferences to writing, he did it with so much accuracy, that the learned men who composed this assembly, advised him to undertake a complete body of church-history. This he executed with great assiduity, collecting and digesting the materials himself, and writing even the tables with his own hand. He at last completed his work in 1686. Towards the latter part of his life, he was afflicted with the loss of his fight; a most inexpressible misfortune to one whose whole pleasure was in study, yet he bore it with great patience and resignation. He died merely of a decay of nature, 1724, in the 86th year of his age.
ALEXANDER (SEVERUS),
EMPEROR of Rome, succeeded Heliogabalus about A. D. 222, when but 16 years of age. His mother's name was Mammaea, and by her advice he in a great measure regulated his conduct. He applied himself to the reformation of abuses, the state having been greatly disordered
by the vicious conduct of his predecessor; he was a most strict lover of justice, an encourager of learning and learned men, and favourable to the Christians. He made a successful expedition against the Persians; but endeavouring to reform his troops, which had grown very licentious under the late bad government, they murdered him at the instigation of Maximinus in the 29th year of his age, together with his mother, A. D. 235.
ALEXANDER,
BISHOP of Lincoln in the reigns of Henry I. and Stephen, was a Norman by birth, and nephew of the famous Roger, bishop of Salisbury, who first made him archdeacon of Salisbury, and afterwards, by his interest with the king, raised him to the mitre. Alexander was consecrated at Canterbury, July 22, 1123. Having received his education under his uncle the bishop of Salisbury, and been accustomed to a splendid way of living, he affected show and state more than was suitable to his character, or consistent with his fortunes. This failing excepted, he was a man of worth and honour, and every way qualified for his station. The year after his consecration, his cathedral church at Lincoln having been accidentally burnt down, he rebuilt it, and secured it against the like accident for the future by a stone roof. This prelate increased the number of prebends in his church, and augmented its revenues with several manors and estates. In imitation of the barons and some of the bishops, particularly his uncle the bishop of Salisbury, he built three castles; one at Banbury, another at Sleaford, and a third at Newark. He likewise founded two monasteries; one at Haverholm, for regular canons and nuns together, the other at Tame, for white-friars. He went twice to Rome in the years 1142 and 1144. The first time, he came back in quality of the Pope's legate, for the calling a synod, in which he published several wholesome and necessary canons. In August 1147, he took a third journey to the Pope, who was then in France; where he fell sick through the excessive heat of the weather, and returning with great difficulty to England, he died in the 24th year of his prelacy.
ALEXANDER (WILLIAM),
AN eminent statesman and poet of Scotland in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. His surname is said to have been taken from the proper name of his predecessor Alexander Macdonald, who, under the family of Argyle held the lands of Menstris. Andrew Alexander in the reign of James V. is the first of the name mentioned in the records of Scotland. From him our William is descended. He was born in 1580. He soon discovered conspicuous parts, which made his friends desirous to improve them to the utmost, by a liberal education, and was so much distinguished for both, that he was recommended as tutor, or rather companion to the Earl of Argyle. After some time spent in foreign parts he returned to Scotland, and betook himself a while to a rural retirement. Here he finished his poetical complaint of the unsuccessful address he had made to his first mistress, which he entitled
Aurora.
After his return this courtship was revived, and he wrote above an hundred sonnets upon it. The lady marrying soon after, he removed to the court of King James VI. and lived there in the capacity of a private gentleman, but with the character of a learned and accomplished one. Here he still found occasion to exercise his poetical talents, as they recommended him much to the King. The poetry Alexander now turned his mind to was of a more sublime kind than that which he had formerly wrote; he now held the mirror up to kings and princes, endeavoured to animate the precepts of philosophy, and to render its gravest lessons affecting. He formed his works on the plan of the Greek and Roman tragedies. And in 1600, he published at Edinburgh a tragedy upon the story of Darius. In this, and in his other plays, his measure is alternate rhyme: his style is not always sound, for which, in his preface he pleads his country. This was the year after reprinted at London, without the preface, but with two poems of our author's; one congratulating the King upon his entry into England, the other written after an inundation which happened at Dover, a place where his majesty used to amuse himself with hawking.
In the same year his Paraenesis to Prince Henry was also published. In this poem, he shews how the happiness of the prince depends on the choice of his counsellors. He shews also the use of history, and how the lives of great men are to be read with profit. Whether our author had yet arrived in England does not appear, or whether he published any thing more before the year 1609 we have not learned; but in that year came out his three other plays, which, with that before-mentioned, are entitled the Monarchie Tragedies: Croesus, Darius, the Alexandrian Julius Caesar; by William Alexander, gentleman of the prince's privy-chamber, and with them are bound the above-mentioned poems. They are dedicated to King James in a poem of thirteen stanzas. King James is said to have been delighted with these plays, and with our author's conversation. Many authors have spoken highly of these tragedies.
Not long after, Mr. Alexander published a supplement to Sir Philip Sidney's celebrated romance, which is to be found in the fourth, and subsequent editions of that work, with the initials of his name to it. This was a proper exercise for his muse. In the same year, 1613, we find him mentioned to have been sworn in one of the gentlemen ushers of the presence to Prince Charles.
His muse now laboured with a poem of a different kind. He brought forth a sacred poem, called Doomsday, or the Great Day of the Lord's Judgment; it was first printed at Edinburgh, in 4to, in 1614, and afterwards in the folio edition of his works. It is divided into twelve books, or hours, as the author calls them. The first book was repr
nted by a Mr. Johnstoun, who tells us the work had received the approbation of Mr. Addison. In the year above-mentioned, the King made him master of the requests, and conferred on him the honour of knighthood.
From this time he commenced a man of business, and became ambitious of possessing a spacious estate. He projected the settlement of a large c
lony in Nova Scotia, at the expence of such adventurers as should be engaged in the undertaking. His majesty made him a grant of that country, and intended to create an order of baronets for the encouragement and support of so great a work; but the jealousies which existed in the latter part of this reign, suspended the execution of it. King Charles I. on his coming to the crown, was very forward to countenance it; as it appeared from a pamphlet published by Sir William, entitled "An Encouragement to Colonies," to promise great advantages to the nation. The king made Sir William Alexander, Lieutenant of Nova Scotia, and founded in the first year of his reign the order of Knights Baronets of Scotland, whose aid was appropriated for the said plantation and settlement, upon consideration of each having a liberal portion of land allotted him there. Their number was not to exceed 150, and they were endowed with certain privileges, as that their title should be hereditary, that they should take place before all knights,
ll lesser barons, and all gentlemen, except Sir William Alexander, who,
nd his heir, have an express exemption. They are also entitled to
place in the armies near his majesty's standard, and their wives have
itle, and their children precedency. Before their creation, they were
o fulfil the condition designed for the good of the plantation. These
atents were ratified in parliament, and registered by the Lord Lyon
ing at arms, and the heralds: but after Sir William sold Nova Scotia to
he French, they were drawn up, and granted in more general terms. It is now an honourable title conferred at the king's pleasure, without
mitation of numbers.
Sir William had also bestowed on him a grant and privilege to coin
mall copper money, which, as well as most of Sir William's schemes, was
eighed against with great bitterness. The king, however, continued
encourage him, and was pleased in 1626 to make him secretary of state for Scotland, in the room of the Earl of Haddington; and afterwards in September 1630, a peer of that kingdom, by the title of Viscount Sterline or Stirling. In less than three years, viz. 14th June, 1633, he was raised to the dignity of Earl of Stirling, at the solemnity of the king's coronation at Holyrood House. He discharged the office of secretary of state, with great reputation for fifteen years, until hi
death, which happened on the 13th of February, 1640.
Three years before his death, he permitted an edition of his poetica
works to be published. He had by his wife Janet, the daughter of Si
William Erskine, 1st. William Lord Alexander, his eldest son, wh
died during his father's life time, whose son William succeeded hi
grand-father in the earldom, but died about a month after him; 2d. Henry Alexander, Esq. afterwards Earl of Stirling; 3d. Sir Anthony; 4th John, and two daughters.
The claimant to the title is now a general in the service of the United States of America, he assumes the title, although it has never been allowed by the British House of Peers.
ALEXANDER VI. See BORGIA.
ALEXANDER VII. See CHIGI.
ALEXANDER I. (ST.)
WHOM St. Ireneus reckons the fifth bishop of Rome, succeeded S
Evaristus in the year 109, and died in the year 119. There is no account of his life; and the epistles which are attributed to him are suppositious.
ALEXANDER II.
KING of Scotland, succeeded his father William in 1213, at 1
years of age. He made an expedition into England, to oppose the tyranny of king John; who returned the visit, and was offered battle b
Alexander, but refused it. He took the city of Carlisle from Henr
III. which was afterwards exchanged for Berwick. Alexander died i
1249, in the 51st year of his age, and 35th of his reign; and left fo
his successor, his son—
ALEXANDER III.
WHO was crowned king of Scotland in 1249. The Cumming lords of Scotland, took against him; and taking him prisoner, confin
him at Striveling: but he was afterwards released by his subjects.
married the daughter of Henry III. king of England; and was at leng
killed by a fall from his horse, on the 10th of April, 1290, after having reigned 42, or according to others 37, years.
ALEYN (CHARLES),
AN elegant historical poet, in the reign of Charles I. His works, though written above a century, still preserve a reputation. He was educated at Sidney College, Cambridge; and afterwards acted as usher to the celebrated grammarian and commentator Thomas Farnaby, at his school, near Redcross-street. Early in the reign of Charles, he exercised his genius on a very heroical subject, the two glorious victories obtained by the English in France, under the title of
"The Battailles of Crescey and Poictiers, under the Fortunes and Valour of King Edward, the Third of that Name, and his Sonne Edward Prince of Wales, named the Black.
These he published in 1631.
After he left Mr. Farnaby, he was recommended to Edward Shireborne, Esq. clerk of the ordnance, to be domestic tutor to his son, afterwards Sir Edward Shireborne, who succeeded his father in the ordnance, and was commissary of artillery to King Charles at the battle of Edgehill. How long our author continued in this situation we know not; but he during that time brought forth an elaborate poem in honour of Henry VII. and the important battle of Bosworth. This work was published in 1638. But few more of his publications appear in print, for he died soon after.
ALFRED. See AELFRID.
ALI BEY,
A MAN who has acted a most distinguished part against the Ottoman empire in this century, was born in Natolia in 1728, and received at his birth the name of Joseph. His father was a Greek priest, of a distinguished family, who educated him with great care, designing him to succeed him: but, at thirteen years of age, Joseph being hunting in a neighbouring forest, robbers fell on his company, and carried him off to Grand Cairo: here he was sold to Ibrahim, a lieutenant of the janisaries, who had him circumcised, clothed him in the dress of the Mamalukes, and called him Ali: he gave him masters in the Turkish and Arabic languages, and in horsemanship; and, by kind treatment, made him by degrees satisfied with his new station. In a course of years, he succeeded in these languages, shewed wonderful dexterity in the use of his arms, and became so dear to his master, that he raised him rapidly in his household, and created him a
cachef
or governor, at the age of twenty-two.
In this station, he manifested his equity and good administration of justice, improved the discipline of the Mamalukes, and laid the foundation of his future greatness. Here he gained the favour of the pacha Rahiph, who, discovering his merit, became his protector. He remained several years in this station, until his patron Ibrahim was elected emir al hagi, or prince of the caravan, who took him with him to escort the pilgrims: in their march they were attacked by the Arabs; Ali fell upon them at the head of the Mamalukes, repulsed the enemy, and killed a great number on the spot. On his return, several tribes being collected, were determined to avenge their defeat: the young cachef gave them battle, and obtained a signal victory. Ibrahim did justice to the services of his lieutenant in full council, and proposed to create him a sangiak. Ibrahim the Circassian opposed it with all his might; but the emir al hagi prevailed; Ali was nominated by the divan: the pacha confirmed this choice, clothed him with a caftan, and gave him the firmaun of bey.
Become now one of the members of the republic, he never forgot his obligations to his patron. In 1758, the emir al hagi was murdered by the party of Ibrahim the Circassian. From this moment, Ali meditated vengeance: he concealed his resentment, and employed all the resources of his mind to arrive at the post of scheik elbalad, the first dignity of the republic. In 1763, he attained that post; and soon after revenged the blood of his patron, by sacrificing Ibrahim the Circassian with his own hand. This action raised him up numerous enemies: the sangiaks, attached to the party of the Circassian, conspired against him; he was on the point of being murdered, but saved himself by flight, and repaired to Jerusalem. Having gained the esteem of the governor of that city, he thought himself in safety; but his enemies fearing him even in exile, wrote to the Porte to demand his death; and orders were immediately sent to the governor to strike off his head. Fortunately, Rahiph, his old friend, was one of the divan, and gave him notice to fly from
erusalem: Ali therefore anticipated the arrival of the capigi bachi, and took refuge with scheik Daker, prince of St. John of Acre.
This respectable old man received him with open arms: he was not long in discovering the merit of his new guest, and from that moment loaded him with caresses; he exhorted him to bear adversity with courage, flattered his hopes, soothed his sorrows, and made him taste of pleasures even in his disgrace. Ali Bey might have passed his days happily with scheik Daker; but ambition would not permit him to remain inactive; he carried on a secret correspondence with some of the sangiaks attached to his interest. The prince of Acre, on his part, wrote to his friends at Grand Cairo, and urged them to hasten the recal of the scheik elbalad. While this was going on, Rahiph, now grand vizier, procured him to be invited to return to Grand Cairo, and resume his dignity: he set off immediately, and was received with the acclamations of the people. On all sides the storm was gathering around him: all those who were offended at the murder of Ibrahim the Circassian were constantly laying snares for him; they only waited a favourable opportunity: the death of Rahiph, which happened in 1763, furnished them with it; they threw off the mask, and declared openly against him. He escaped into Arabia Felix, visited the coasts of the Red Sea, and once more took refuge with the scheik of Acre, who received him with the same tenderness. Whilst he was there, the sangiaks of the party of the Circassian persecuted those who were devoted to the interests of Ali. This imprudence opened the eyes of the majority; they perceived that they were the dupes of a few ambitious men; and, to strengthen their party, recalled the scheik elbalad, and promised to support him with all their power: he set off immediately. On his return to Grand Cairo, in 1766, Ali held a council: he represented to them that moderation had only excited the friends of Ibrahim to revenge; that nothing but flight would have saved him from their plots; and that, to secure the common safety, these turbulent spirits must be sacrificed. The whole assembly applauded this resolution; and, the next day, they took off the heads of four of them. This execution insured the tranquillity of Ali: he saw himself at the head of the government; and, in the space of six years, raised sixteen of his Mamalukes to the dignity of beys, and one of them to that of aga of the janisaries.
Supreme chief of the republic, he adopted every measure to render his power durable: not content with increasing his Mamalukes to six thousand, he took into pay ten thousand Mograbi: he caused his troops to observe the most rigid discipline, and, by continual exercise, made them good soldiers. He attached the young men of his household to him, by the paternal attention he paid to their education, and above all by bestowing favours and rewards on those who were the most worthy. His party became so powerful, that such of his colleagues as were not his friends dreaded his power, nor dared to thwart his projects. Believing his authority established on a solid basis, he turned his attention to the welfare of his people: the Arabs, dispersed over the desarts, and on the frontiers of Egypt, committed ravages not to be suppressed by a
ctuating government: he declared war, and sent against them bodies of cavalry, which beat them every where, and drove them back into the depth of their solitudes. Egypt began to respire, and agriculture, encouraged, flourished once more in that rich country. Having rendered the chief of each village responsible for the crimes of the inhabitants, he punished them until the authors of the offence were delivered into the hands of justice. In this manner, the principal citizens looked after the public safety; and, for the first time since the commencement of the Turkish empire, the traveller and merchant could pass through the whole extent of the kingdom without the apprehension of an insult.
The scheik elbalad unfortunately accumulated favours on Mahomed Abou Dahab, a traitor, who secretly aspired to the sovereign power. The sangiaks bribed him to put the scheik out of the way; but fearing for his own life, he deferred it, and kept the gold: to increase the confidence of his friend, he discovered the conspiracy.
In 1768, the Russians declared war against the Porte: the scheik sent twelve thousand men to serve in the Turkish army. Even this circumstance of duty was made use of to his disadvantage; and it was represented at Constantinople, that these troops were designed to serve in the Russian army: the calumny was credited, and a capigi, with four attendants, sent to take off his head. Ali had intelligence by his friends, and dispatched a confident, with twelve Mamalukes, who seized the capigi and his attendants, took from them their order, and put them to death. The whole will shew us by how precarious a tenure life is held in the Ottoman empire. The scheik, possessed of this order, assembled the chiefs, and laid before them the despotism of the Ottoman court. This had the desired effect; sixteen of the beys exclaimed, that war ought to be declared against the Grand Signior. The Turkish pacha was ordered to quit Egypt: and the scheik secured the assistance of the prince of Acre.
Ali levied two armies; of one he gave the command to his brother Abou Dahab, to attack Arabia Felix, and the interior provinces; the other, to Ismaël, to attack the maritime towns: he also equipped a good fleet for the Red Sea. Mean time, he remained at home, attentive to the internal police of the kingdom. He reformed the custom-house, granted immunities to the European merchants, encouraged commerce, protected the caravans, and the inland merchants. He was not long before he reaped the fruits of his wise administration; Egypt was relieved, the public safety established, and agriculture encouraged.
Mean time, Abou Dahab conquered Yemen, deposed the scheriff of Mecca, and substituted in his place emir Abdalla, who, to pay his court to Ali, gratified him with the title of Sultan of Egypt. Ismaël made himself master of all the towns on the eastern shore of the Arabian gulf.
In 1771, Ali sent Abou Dahab with forty thousand men to attempt the conquest of Syria, and wrote to Count Orlow, the Russian admiral, then at Leghorn, making him large offers to form an alliance with him. The Count in return thanked him, wished him success, and made him great promises, which were never realized. He also negociated with Venice, promising to assist her to retake her possessions from the Turks, but the Republic declined this bold enterprize.
Abou Dahab took some towns of Syria, and drove the Ottomans before him. This wretch had long meditated the ruin of Ali, his patron and his friend. He had accepted the command of the army, in order to gain it to his interest. Having secured them, he erected the standard of rebellion, withdrew the garrisons from the conquered places, and re-entered Egypt. Not daring to attack the capital, he kept along the Red Sea, crossed the Deserts, and entered Upper Egypt. His revolt was now manifest, he gained the beys who commanded there, and marched towards Cairo.
Ali repented his placing the command in the hands of a traitor. He collected an army, which he entrusted to Ismaël Bey, who likewise betrayed him and joined Abou Dahab.
Ali, by the advice of his friends, determined to retire to St. John of Acre. He wrote to Count Orlow for assistance; and in the middle of the night, accompanied by the beys his friends, and 7000 troops, he left Cairo, and fled across the Deserts. He reached Gaza, but from agitation of mind, was taken very ill: in this situation the venerable scheik Daher came to visit him, consoled him that his situation was not desperate, and that the Russian squadron was at hand. With this consolation, and the assistance of a Russian physician, in a few weeks he recovered.
A Russian squadron appearing before Acre, he wrote again to Count Orlow for assistance; and sent also an ambassador to the Empress. In August, 1772, Ali took Jaffa and Rama. These successes inspired him with the hope of returning to Cairo. The chiefs of the Janisaries in that capital also invited him to do so. Therefore collecting the garrisons of the conquered towns, he began his march with 2250 Mamalukes, 3400 Mograbi, and 650 horse.
Abou Dahab met him with 12,000 men, and was defeated. Abou, by instilling into the minds of the Mahomedans, that Ali designed to abolish their religion, and introduce Christianity, procured an army of 20,000 men. The Janisaries, however, refused to join him.
Ali was unprepared for this event, he abandoned himself to despair, and fell dangerously ill. His friends advised him to retire to St. John of Acre, but he declared he would sooner perish than retreat an inch.
On the 13th of April, 1773, the armies met. Both parties charged with fury, and notwithstanding the inferiority of Ali's troops, they had at first the advantage; but the Mograbi, corrupted by the promises of Abou Dahab, deserted, and the fortune of the day was changed. Most of Ali's friends fell round him; the survivors pressed him to retire, but he replied, that his hour was come. The Mamalukes bravely perished with their arms in their hands. Ali slew two soldiers who attempted to seize him; and the lieutenant of Abou Dahab advancing, Ali, though wounded with two balls, shot him with a pistol. He fought like a lion; but being beat down by the back stroke of a sabre, was seized and carried to the tent of the conqueror, where he died of his wounds eight days after.
Ali was of the middle size, his carriage noble, and his character open and generous: he possessed an insurmountable courage, and a lofty genius. He died the victim of an ill-placed friendship. Had Russia availed herself of his offers, she might have secured to herself the commerce of Arabia. He was only 45 years of age when he died. The Egyptians long mourned his loss; and saw themselves again plunged into all the miseries from which he had delivered them.
ALLAM (ANDREW),
A WRITER of the seventeenth century, son of Andrew Allam, a person of mean rank, and born at Garsingdon, near Oxford, in April, 1653, and had his education in grammar at a private school at Denton, near his native place. He was entered a bachelor of St. Edmund's Hall, in Easter term, 1671. After he had taken his degree in arts, he became a tutor, moderator, lecturer in the chapel, and at length, vice-principal of the house. In 1680, about Whitsuntide, he entered into holy orders. He died of the small-pox, the 17th of June, 1685.
His works now extant are, 1. A learned Preface and Epistle to the Reader, prefixed to the Epistle Congratulatory of Lysimachus Nicanor, &c. to the Covenanters of Scotland. Oxon, 1684. 2. An Epistle, containing an Account of Dr. Cosens's Life, prefixed to the Doctor's book intitled, "Ecclesiae Anglicanae Politica." Oxon, 1684. 3. A Preliminary Epistle, with a Review and Correction of the book intitled, "Some plain Discourses on the Lord's Supper," written by Dr. George Griffith, bishop of St. Asaph. Oxon, 1684. 4. Additions and Corrections to a book intitled, "Angliae Notitia, or the present State of England." 5. Additions to Helvicus's Historical and Chronological Theatre. 6. The Life of Isocrates, printed in the English edition o
Plutarch. He likewise assisted Mr. Wood in compiling his Athena Oxonienses. And laid the foundation of a work intitled "Notitia "Ecclesiae Anglicanae. But death prevented his compleating it.
ALLATIUS (LEO),
KEEPER of the Vatican library, a native of Scio, and a celebrated writer of the 17th century. He was of great service to the gentlemen of Port Royal in the controversy they had with M. Claude, touching the belief of the Greeks with regard to the eucharist. No Latin was ever more devoted to the see of Rome, or more inveterate against the Greek schismatics, than Allatius. He never engaged in matrimony, nor was he ever in orders; and Pope Alexander VII. having asked him one day, why he did not enter into orders; he answered,
"Because I would be free to marry."
The pope rejoined,
"If so, why do you not marey?"
—
"Because," replied Allatius, "I would be at liberty to take orders."
Thus, as Mr. Bayle observes, he passed his whole life, wavering betwixt a parish and a wife; sorry, perhaps, at his death, for having chosen neither of them; when, if he had fixed upon one, he might have repented his choice for 30 or 40 years.—If we believe John Patricius, Allatius had a very extraordinary pen, with which, and no other, he wrote Greek for 40 years; and we need not be surprised, that, when he lost it, he was so grieved, that he could scarce forbear crying. He published several manuscripts, several translations of Greek authors, and several pieces of his own composing. In his compositions he is thought to show more erudition than judgment: he used also to make frequent digressions from one subject to another. He died at Rome in 1669, aged 83.
ALLEGRI (ANTONIO),
CALLED
Corregio
from the place of his birth, an eminent historical painter, was born in the year 1494. Being descended of poor parents, and educated in an obscure village, he enjoyed none of those advantages which contributed to form the other great painters of that illustrious age. He saw none of the statues of ancient Greece or Rome; nor any of the works of the established schools of Rome and Venice. But Nature was his guide; and Corregio was one of her favourite pupils. To express the facility with which he painted, he used to say that he always had his thoughts ready at the end of his pencil.
The agreeable smile, and the profusion of graces which he gave to his madonas, saints, and children, have been taxed with being sometimes unnatural; but still they are amiable and seducing: an easy and flowing pencil, an union and harmony of colours, and a perfect intelligence of light and shade, give an astonishing relief to all his pictures, and have been the admiration both of his cotemporaries and successors. Annibal Caracci, who flourished 50 years after him, studied and adopted his manner in preference to that of any other master. In a letter to his cousin Louis, he expresses with great warmth the impression which was made on him by the first sight of Corregio's paintings:
"Every thing which I see here," says he, "astonishes
e; particularly the colouring and the beauty of the children. They live—they breathe—They smile with so much grace and so much reality, that it is impossible to refrain from smiling and partaking of their enjoyment. My heart is ready to break with grief when I think on the unhappy fate of poor Corregio—that so wonderful a man (if he ought not rather to be called an angel) should finish his days so miserably, in a country where his talents were never known!"
From want of curiosity or of resolution, or from want of patronage, Corregio never visited Rome, but remained his whole life at Parma, where the art of painting was little esteemed, and of consequence poorly rewarded. This concurrence of unfavourable circumstances occasioned at last his premature death, at the age of 40. He was employed to paint the cupola of the cathedral at Parma, the subject of which is an assumption of the Virgin; and having executed it in a manner that has long been the admiration of every person of good taste, for the grandeur of design, and especially for the boldness of the fore-shortenings (an art which he first and at once brought to the utmost perfection), he went to receive his payment. The canons of the church, either through ignorance or baseness, found fault with his work; and although the price originally agreed upon had been very moderate, they alledged that it was far above the merit of the artist, and forced him to accept of the paultry sum of 200 livres; which, to add to the indignity, they paid him in copper money. To carry home this unworthy load to his indigent wife and children, poor Corregio had to travel six or eight miles from Parma. The weight of his burden, the heat of the weather, and his chagrin at this villainous treatment, immediately threw him into a pleurisy, which in three days put an end to his life and his misfortunes.
For the preservation of this magnificent work the world is indebted to Titian. As he passed through Parma, in the
suite
of Charles V. he run instantly to see the
chef d'oeavre
of Corregio. While he was attentively viewing it, one of the principal canons of the church told him that such a grotesque performance did not merit his notice, and that they intended soon to have the whole defaced.
"Have a care of what you do," replied the other, "if I were not Titian, I would certainly wish to be Corregio."
Corregio's exclamation upon viewing a picture by Raphael is well known. Having long been accustomed to hear the most unbounded applause bestowed on the works of that divine painter, he by degrees became less desirous than afraid of seeing any of them. One, however, he at last had occasion to see. He examined it attentively for some minutes in profound silence; and then with an air of satisfaction exclaimed, "I am still a painter." Julio Romano, on seeing some of Corregio's pictures at Parma, declared they were superior to any thing in painting he had yet beheld. One of these no doubt would be the famous Virgin and Child, with Mary Magdalene and St. Jerom: but whether our readers are to depend upon his opinion, or upon that of Lady Millar, who in her Letters from Italy, gives a very unfavourable account of it, we shall not presume to determine. This lady, however, speaks in a very different style of the no less famous
Notte
or Night of Corregio, of which she saw only a copy in the Duke's palace at Modena, the original having been sold for a great sum of money to the king of Poland.
"It surprises me very much, says she, "to see how different the characters are in this picture from that which I already have described to you. The subject is a Nativity; and the extraordinary beauty of this picture proceeds from the
clair obscure:
there are two different lights introduced, by means of which the personages are visible; namely, the light proceeding from the body of the child, and the moon-light. These two are preserved distinct, and produce a most wonderful effect. The child's body is so luminous, that the superficies is nearly transparent, and the rays of light emitted by it are verified in the effect they produce upon the surrounding objects. They are not rays distinct and separate, like those round the face of a sun that indicates an insurance-office; nor linear, like those proceeding from the man in the almanack; but of a dazzling brightness: by their light you see clearly the face, neck, and hands, of the Virgin (the rest of the person being in strong shadow), the faces of the
pastori
who croud round the child, and particularly one woman, who holds her hand before her face, lest her eyes should be so dazzled as to prevent her from beholding the infant. This is a beautiful natural action, and is most ingeniously introduced. The straw on which the child is laid appears gilt, from the light of his body shining on it. The moon lights up the back-ground of the picture, which represents a landscape. Every object is distinct, as in a bright moon-light night; and there cannot be two lights in nature more different than those which appear in the same picture. The virgin and the child are of the most perfect beauty. There is a great variety of character in the different persons present, yet that uniformity common to all herdsmen and peasants. In short, this copy is so admirable, that I was quite sorry to be obliged to lose sight of it so soon; but I never shall forget it. The Duke of Modena, for whom Corregio did the original picture, gave him only 600 livres of France for it; a great sum in those days: but at present, what ought it to cost?"
This great painter's death happened in 1534.
ALLEIN (RICHARD),
THE son of a clergyman of the same name, rector of Ditchet, Somersetshire, for fifty years: his son Richard was born at that place in 1611; the first part of his education under his father, fitted him for the university in 1627. That year he entered a commoner of St. Alban's Hall, in Oxford, where he took the degree of bachelor of arts. Thence he removed to New Inn, where he took his master's degree, and entering into holy orders, became an assistant to his father. The old gentleman being inclined to puritanism, the son fell into the same opinions, and being a man of great zeal and learning, he was soon considered as a man fit to be followed. In March, 1641, he succeeded to the living of Batcomb, in Dorsetshire, the duty of which he performed with much industry and fidelity; and being a zealous covenanter, had some disturbances with the king's forces in those parts. He was, however, a great enemy to that enthusiastic spirit which prevailed in this country, on the ruin of the episcopal church; this appears by his subscribing a representation, intitled,
"The Testimony of the Ministry of Somersetshire to the Truth of Jesus Christ, and to the solemn League and Covenant,"
printed in 1648. His industry and affection to the cause, procured himself and his father to be constituted assistants to the commissioners appointed by parliament, for ejecting scandalous ministers. This was in 1654; and Mr. Wood tells us they acted with severity enough. However, on the Restoration Mr. Allein shewed a disposition to yield obedience to the government, but could not come up to the terms of conformity, which occasioned his being ejected from his living, after he had held it upwards of twenty years. After this, he continued to exercise his function privately, preaching sometimes in his own house, at others in the houses of gentlemen in the neighbourhood. He was once apprehended at the seat of Mr. Moore, who had been a member of parliament, and who had invited him thither to preach to his family and some of his neighbours. Mr. Moore paid the fine, which was five pounds, for him. He still went on in the way of his profession, notwithstanding he was often summoned to the quarter sessions, and severely reprimanded as the keeper of a conventicle. He, however, escaped imprisonment, as his great learning, piety, and exemplary life, had gained him so high a reputation, that it would have been very unpopular to have sent him to gaol. After the five miles act passed, he was obliged to leave Batcomb, and retire to Frome Selwood, where he continued in the constant exercise of his ministry, notwithstanding the dangers he was exposed to. He died the 22d of December, 1681, being upwards of sixty-four years of age. He was distinguished for his plain, practical manner of preaching, and for the delight he took in the pastoral office. His writings, which were mostly small tracts on religious subjects were much esteemed and often printed. Although a non-conformist, he was not tinctured either with spleen to the church, or disloyalty to his prince; on the contrary he lived in a fair correspondence with the clergy of his neighbourhood, and the gentry paid him great respect, although of opposite sentiments.
ALLEIN (JOSEPH),
WAS the son of Mr. Tobias Allein, and born at the Devizes, in Wiltshire, 1623. He discovered an extraordinary tincture of religion, even in his childhood; at eleven years of age he was much addicted to private prayer; and on the death of his brother Edward, who was a worthy minister of the gospel, he intreated his father that he might be educated for that profession. In four years he acquired a competent knowledge of Greek and Latin, and was declared by his master fit for the university. He was, however, kept some time longer at home, where he was instructed in logic, and at sixteen was sent to Lincoln College, Oxford. In 1651 he was removed to Corpus Christi College, a Wiltshire scholarship being there vacant. While at college he was remarkably assiduous in his studies, grave in his temper, but chearfully ready to assist others. He might in a short time have obtained a fellowship, which he declined for the sake of the office of chaplain, being pleased with the opportunity this gave him of exerting his gift in prayer. In July, 1653, he was admitted bachelor of arts, and became a tutor. In this arduous employment he behaved himself with equal skill and diligence; several of his pupils became very eminent non-conforming ministers, and not a few attained to good preferment in the established church. In 1655, he became assistant in the ministry to Mr. G. Newton, of Taunton, in Somersetshire, where he married the same year. His income was small, but that was assisted by the profits of a boarding-school, which Mrs. Allein kept. During seven years that he lived in this manner, he discharged his pastoral duty with incredible diligence; for besides preaching and catechising in the church, he spent several afternoons in a week in visiting the people of the town, and exhorting them to a religious life. These applications were at first far from being welcome to many families; but his meekness, moderation, and unaffected piety, made him by degrees the delight of his parishioners. He was deprived in 1662, for nonconformity. He preached, however, privately. His zeal and industry in this course, brought him at length into trouble; so that on the 26th day of May, 1663, he was committed to Ivelchester gaol, and was with seve
ministers, and fifty quakers, confined in one room, where they suffere
great hardships: however, they still continued to preach till the assize
These were held before Mr. Justice Foster, and at them, he was indite
for preaching on the 17th of May preceding; of which inditement h
was found guilty, and sentenced to pay a hundred marke
and to remain in prison till his fine was paid. At the time of his receiving sentence, h
said, that he was glad that it had appeared before his country, that whatever he was charged with, he was guilty of nothing but doing his duty; and all that did appear by the evidence was, that he had sung a psalm
and instructed his family, others being there, and both in his own house▪ He continued in prison a year, which broke his constitution. However when he was at liberty, he applied himself to his ministry as earnestly as ever, which brought him a grievous sickness. The five miles act taking place, he retired from Taunton to Wellington, where he continued but a short time, Mr. Mallack, a merchant, inviting him to lodge at a house of his some distance from Taunton. In the summer of 1665, he was advised to drink the waters near the Devizes, for his health. But before he left Mr. Mallack's house, viz. on the 10th of July in that year, some friends came to take their leaves of him; they were surprised praying together, and for this were sentenced to sixty days imprisonment, which himself, seven ministers, and forty private persons, suffered in the county gaol. This hindered his going to the waters; and his disease returning, he lost another summer. At length, in 1667, he went, but was far from receiving the benefit he expected. After some time he went to Dorchester, where he grew better; but applying himself again to preaching, catechising, and other duties, his distemper returned with such violence, that he lost the use of his limbs. His death was then daily expected; but by degrees he grew somewhat better, and at length went to Bath, where his health altered so much, that his friends were in hopes he would have held out several years; but growing suddenly worse again, he finished his life there, in the month of November, 1668, being somewhat above 35 years old. He was a man of great learning, and greater charity; zealous in his own way of worshipping God, but not in the least bitter towards any Christians who worshipped in another manner. He preserved a great respect for the church, notwithstanding all his sufferings; and was eminently loyal to his prince, notwithstanding the severities of the times. His writings breathe a true spirit of piety, for which they have been always and deservedly esteemed. Anthony Wood has treated his memory very rudely, and betrayed that spleen he had against the nonconformists, in speaking ill of one, who spake ill of no man. The body of our Allein lies in the chancel of the church of St. Magdalen, of Taunton, and on his grave-stone are the following lines—
Here Mr. Joseph Allein lies,
To God and you a sacrifice.
ALLEN (JOHN),
ARCHBISHOP of Dublin, in the reign of Henry VIII. was educated in the university of Oxford; from whence removing to Cambridge, he took the degree of bachelor of laws. Dr. Wareham, archbishop of Canterbury, sent him to the pope, about certain matters relating to the church. He continued at Rome nine years, and was created doctor of laws, either there or in some other university of Italy. After his return he was appointed chaplain to cardinal Wolsey, and was commissary and judge of his court as legate a latere; in the exercise of which office he was suspected of great dishonesty, and even purjury. He assisted the cardinal in visiting, and afterwards suppressing, forty of the smaller monasteries, for the erection of his colleges at Oxford and Ipswich. The cardinal procured him the living of Dalby, in Leicestershire, although it belonged to the masters and brethren of Burton-Lazars. He was incorporated doctor of laws in the university of Oxford; and on the 13th of March, 1528, was consecrated archbishop of Dublin, in the room of Hugh Inge, deceased. About the same time he was made chancellor of Ireland. He wrote some few pieces relating to the church. His death, in July, 1534, was very tragical. For being taken in a time of rebellion by the eldest son of the Earl of Kildare, he was most cruelly murdered, being brained like an ox, in the 58th year of his age.
ALLEN OR ALLEYN (THOMAS).
A FAMOUS mathematician of the sixteenth century, was born at Ut
oxeter, in Staffordshire, the 21st of December, 1542, being descended for six generations from Allen, the lord of the manor of Buckenhall in that county. He was admitted scholar of Trinity College, Oxford, the
th of June, 1561, fellow in 1565, and two years after master of arts. Being much inclined to a retired life, and averse from entering into
oly orders, he quitted the college and his fellowship, and retired to Gloucester Hall in 1570, where he pursued his studies many years, and
t length became an eminent antiquary, philosopher, and mathematician. Being thus accomplished, he was countenanced by the princes and nobles, not only of this country but of others. The earl of Leicester, favourite of queen Elizabeth, had a particular esteem for him, and would have procured him a bishopric, but his love of a retired life made him decline the offer. He was also highly respected by many other celebrated men of his time, whose names do honour to this country, as, Sir Thomas Bodley, Sir Henry Saville, Mr. Camden, Sir Robert Cotton, Sir Henry Spelman, Mr. Seldon, &c. His great skill in the mathematics made the ignorant and vulgar look upon him as a magician and conjuror. He was remarkably assiduous in collecting scattered MSS. relating to every faculty, particularly history, antiquity, astronomy, philosophy, and mathematics. These collections have been quoted by several learned authors, but are now lost. His work are, 1. Claudii, Ptolomaei Pelusiensis de astrorum judiciis, aut ut vulgo vocant, quadripartitae constructionis liber secundus, cum expositione Thomae Allen, Angli, Oxoniensis; or, The second book of Claudius Ptolemy of Pelusium concerning the stars, or as it is commonly called, of the quadriparti
construction, with the exposition of Thomas Allen, of Oxford. 2. Claudii Ptolomaei de astrorum judiciis lib. ter. cum expositione Thomae Alleyn. He likewise wrote notes on Lilly's book, and some on John Bale's book de Scriptoribus Magnae Britanniae. He lived to a great age, and died at Worcester Hall, September 30th, 1632. There was another Thomas Allen, born in 1573, a learned divine, who wrote observations on St. Chrysostom's book on Isaiah.
ALLEYN (EDWARD),
A CELEBRATED comedian in the reigns of Elizabeth and James I. and the founder of a college at Dulwich, in the county of Surrey, which flourishes to this day. He was of respectable parents, who lived in good fashion and credit; his father, who, it appears, was of the houshold to queen Elizabeth, is said to have possessed an estate in Yorkshire. Our Mr. Alleyn was born in the parish of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, London, September 1, 1566, as we learn from a memorandum in his own hand writing. Dr. Fuller expressly says, near Devonshire House, the spot where Devonshire Square now stands, where, in his time, was the sign of the Pye. The same author says he commenced stage player very young, which is not improbable, notwithstanding his father's easy circumstances, as he might be averse to any more serious course of life. He is said to have applied to the study of literature; but, by what he has left of his writing, it does not appear he ever engaged himself deeply in scholastic study. From various testimonies which have been given of him, it appears he was a man of excellent natural parts. He possessed a flexible genius, great corporal agility, a lively temper, faithful memory, and fluent elocution, and was in person, as appears by a picture preserved at Dulwich, of a stately mien and appearance: all this might induce a young man to engage himself in that gay and popular profession. And there are also some other authorities which affirm he applied early to that vocation. It appears from some of the papers of the lord keeper Pickering, still in being, that Alleyn acted in several of the tragedies of Christopher Marlow, the poet, and was arrived at great excellence therein. Now as Marlow died in 1592, he must have been on the stage before that time. He had then so captivated the town, and monopolized the favour of the public, by his ready command of voice, countenance, and gesture, and so judiciously adapted them to the characters he played, that he could animate and improve the most lifeless compositions, as wholly to engage his audience; so that in the perfection of the player they forgot the defects of the poet. Haywood, in his prologue to Marlow's Jew of Malta, calls him, Proteus for shapes, and Roscius for a tongue. His character we have in a little tract written by Mr. Nash, a celebrated satirist of those times. Thus we see Mr. Alleyn was early famous upon the stage; he usually played in the best dramatic pieces, and the most capital parts in them. He was certainly one of the original actors in the plays of our immortal Shakespeare, as also in some of Ben Jonson's; but what characters he performed is difficult now to ascertain, as the editors of those times did not distinguish the character each actor played. We find his celebrity as an actor mentioned not only in prose but in verse. Many writers for and concerning the stage have bestowed some fine general characters on him; and Sir Richard Baker says, he was as famous for his honesty as his acting. But any particulars of his own life, except what may be gleaned from detached notes and minutes he has left of his own affairs, we have none. It is strange, and rather an instance of ingratitude in his cotemporaries, that no one should have collected sufficient materials to have compiled some monument to his memory. However, by help of his papers still extant, and by other antiquities of his college, some part of the obscurity with which his actions have been hidden, has been done away: and his biographers have been enabled to discharge him of some misrepresentations with which he has been unjustly accused, and to shew him in a fairer and stronger light than has been hitherto done.
How he accumulated a fortune sufficient to lay the foundation, and endow such a large and commodious edifice, was naturally one of the first objects of inquiry. Besides his paternal inheritance, which would lay a foundation for his fortune, the advantages he must make by acting plays, to a man of his provident disposition would considerably improve it. He was not only an actor, but manager and owner of a theatre, and had a company of comedians of his own, by whom he is said to have amassed a good fortune. This was the Fortune playhouse, near Whitecross-street, Moor Fields. He was also keeper of the king's wild beasts, and master of the bear garden, situated at Bankside, Southwark; both which places were much resorted to, and must yield him a great profit, it is said not less than 500l. per annum. A little before his death he sold his share and patent. By marriages also, for he was twice, if not thrice, married, and into good families, he gained something handsome. Thus his riches were derived from various sources.
The motives which have been ascribed to Mr. Alleyn for founding his college, and which have been readily believed by many who should have had sense enough to reject them, are too ridiculous to need repetition; the story of the devil appearing in a dance, and frightening Mr. Alleyn so much as to induce him to quit his profession and build this college as an atonement, is sufficiently refuted by an entry in his own diary, by which it appears that he continued his connection with the stage some time after he had built his college. To ascribe such a motive to an action, which seems to have arisen only from a due sense of piety and benevolence, is highly reprehensible. A perusal of Mr. Alleyn's private papers, shew him to be a man habituated to devotion, for at the end of his quarterly account, he concludes with a pious ejaculation, acknowledging all he was possessed of to be from God; indeed the stage seems rather to have inspired him with a principle of goodness, from the lessons of virtue he had there imbibed. When Mr. Alleyn had resolved on his foundation, he did not like others postpone it until his death, but immediately set about the execution of it while in health and strength, and before he was forty-eight years of age. He began, therefore, to build his college at Dulwich in Surrey, about five miles from London, after a design of Mr. Inigo Jones, who was a witness to the deed of settlement; and it appears it was in good forwardness in 1614. He designed it for the residence of six poor men, six poor women, and twelve poor children, between the age of four and six, to be there kept, taught, and maintained, a schoolmaster to be provided for them, who was to have his diet, lodging, and a stipend; the children to be maintained there until they are fourteen or sixteen years of age. The edifice consists of the college and chapel, which, with the fitting up of the gardens, cost him betwixt 8 and 10,000l. It was finished in 1617, as appears by a diary which he kept of all his college accounts, proceedings, and occurrences, and which afford his successors an opportunity of seeing how this noble foundation was begun and carried on. After he had built the college, he found some difficulty to obtain a charter to settle his lands in mo
tmain, as he proposed to endow it with 800l. per annum, for the support of the above objects of charity, and of a master, warden, and four fellows, three of which were to be ecclesiastics, and the other a skilful organist. This obstruction arose from the lord chancellor Bacon; but at length he was allowed to settle his lands his own way, and obtained a patent in 1619, by virtue whereof, Mr. Alleyn, on the 1st of June that year, in the chapel of the college, called the Chapel of God's Gift, did execute a proper deed of settlement, in presence of many persons of distinction. His diary he kept for five years longer, we find no book of accounts of his kept after his wife lived with him until 1623, when she died, and in about a year or two after he married his last wife, who survived him. He died the 21st of November, 1626, in the 61st year of his age, and was buried in the chapel of his college, and has a tomb-stone over his grave, with an inscription.
By his will, dated November 13, 1626, he bequeathed his wife 1500l. chargeable on an inn in Southwark, and some tenements in St. Saviour's parish, and all his jewels. He also gave his seal ring with his arms, to be worn by the master and his successors to the college, and appointed a common seal to be made for it. He also wills, that his executors should build ten alms-houses in the parish of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, and the like number in the parish of St. Saviour, Southwark, for the poor of these respective parishes, to be likewise members of the said college.
Having said thus much of the founder, we must now enter further into the account of his college. By the deed he assigned several parcels of land, to the amount of 800l. per annum, for the maintenance of a master, a warden, (both which must be unmarried, and always of the name of Alleyn or Allen) and four fellows, in these the government of the college is invested; of six poor brethren and six poor sisters, and twelve poor children. In the deed is recited of what degree the fellows, brothers, and sisters, and of what condition the scholars are to be, the form of election and admittance, the oaths to be respectively taken, and the duties of each office. The master or fellows are not to be absent but by leave of all. The government is conducted with great decorum. The persons in the college assemble at prayers twice a day, in the chapel, by one of the clergymen belonging to the foundation. When the master dies the warden succeeds. The old men and women must be single, and of undoubted character. The front of the building is occupied by the chapel and the master's apartments; in the wings the inhabitants have apartments: the right wing was rebuilt in 1739; and by the care and attention of the present members of the college, money is now accumulating to rebuild the left wing, a part of which is at present occupied by
a gallery of pictures, among which are, the portraits of queen Elizabeth, Fair Rosamond, &c. &c.
Mr. Cartwright, whose portrait, and also some of his family, are in the gallery, has increased the library with a good collection of plays.
In addition to the above information, we have been favoured with the following particulars re
pecting the College of God's Gift, and its worthy founder; for which we are indebted to the kind communication of the gentleman who is now, and has been for thirty years, master.
In the letters patent granted by James I. that monarch styles Mr. Alleyn, "Our trustie and well beloved Edward Alleyn, Esq. of Dulwich, in our county of Surrey, chief master, ruler and overseer of all and singular our games of bears and bulls, and mastiff dogs and mastiff bitches." By this we may perceive that bull-baiting was in great vogue in those days, and may conclude as the mastiff was at that time in great repute, Mr. Alleyn must have made great profit by the sale of them.
The manor of Dulwich is given (among other things) to the master, warden, &c. and their successors for ever, and for no other intent or purpose whatsoever. Yet Mr. Alleyn before his death was so ill advised as to make an addition to the foundation by directing that there should be six chaunters for music and singing, and thirty members. But lord chancellor King, on its being heard before him, declared that Mr. Alleyn could not by his order or statute of 1626, add any persons to the corporation, or make any new members, he having, in 1619, conveyed all his effects to the sole and only use of the master, warden, &c. and their successors for ever.
ALLESTRY OR ALLESTREE (RICHARD),
PROVOST of Eton College, in the reign of king Charles I. was son of Mr. Richard Allestry, of an ancient family in Derbyshire, and born in March, 1619, at Uppington, in Shropshire. He was educated first at a country free-school in the neighbourhood, and afterwards at one of greater note at Coventry, where Philemon Holland the translato
taught. In 1636, being then seventeen years of age, he was carried by his father to Oxford, and entered a commoner in Christ Church, under the tuition of Mr. Richard Busby. Six months after his settlement in the university, Dr. Fell, dean of Christ Church, observing the parts and industry of young Allestry, made him a student of that college; where he applied himself to academical learning with uncommon success. After he had taken the degree of bachelor of arts, he was chosen moderator in philosophy; which office he continued to discharge, till the disturbances of the kingdom interrupted the studies and repose of the university. In 1641, Mr. Allestry, among other Oxford scholars engaged in the king's service, and continued therein till Sir John Biron, who was sent with a party of horse to countenance and support the scholars in arms, withdrew from Oxford; upon which he returned, with many others, to his gown and studies. Soon after a party of the rebels having entered Oxford, and plundered the colleges, Mr. Allestry narrowly escaped being severely handled by them. In October following he took arms again, and was present in the battle fought by king Charles, and the rebels under the command of the Earl of Essex, in Keinton Field, in Warwickshire; after which, understanding that the king designed immediately to march to Oxford, and to take up his residence at the deanery of Christ Church, he hastened thither to prepare for his majesty's reception; but, in his way, was taken prisoner by a party of horse from Broughton House, which was garrisoned by the Lord Say, for the parliament. His confinement was very short, the garrison surrendering itself to the king's forces, who summoned it in their march. And now Mr. Allestry settled himself again to his studies, and in the next spring took his degree of master of arts; and the same year his life was greatly endangered by a pestilential distemper, which raged in the garrison of Oxford. Soon after his recovery, he entered a third time into his majesty's service, in a regiment formed out of the Oxford
cholars. In this service he continued till the end of the war, and then went into holy orders, at a time when he had no prospect of worldly advantage. He was tutor to several young gentlemen and students, and discharged the office of censor of the college. He bore a part in that signal test of loyalty, which the university of Oxford gave, in their decree and judgment against the Solemn League and Covenant; for which, in July, 1648, he was proscribed and expelled the university by the parliament visiters. Being thus driven from Oxford, he retired into Shropshire, and was entertained as chaplain to the honourable Francis Newport, and upon the death of his father Lord Newport, he was sent over into France to take care of that nobleman's effects. Having dispatched this affair with good success, he came back to his employment, and continued in it till king Charles II. marched into England with his Scotch army, and until his wonderful escape at Worcester; at which time the managers of the king's affairs wanting an intelligent and faithful person to send over to his majesty, Mr. Allestry was desired to undertake the journey; which he did, and having attended the king at Rouen, and received his dispatches, he returned to England. Here he found his friends Mr. Dolben and Mr. Fell, who had likewise been banished the university, residing privately, and performing the offices of the church of England for the loyalists; upon which he joined them, and continued with them, till Sir Anthony Cope, a loyal gentleman of considerable quality and fortune, in Oxfordshire, prevailed upon him to live in his family; where he continued several years, with liberty of going or staying as occasion required; and by this means he was enabled, without being taken notice of, to convey messages to the king from his friends. After several difficult journies successfully performed, he was sent over in the winter before his majesty's restoration, into Flanders; from whence returning with letters, he was seized, upon his landing at Dover, by a party of soldiers; but had the address to secure his letters, by conveying them to a faithful hand. Being guarded up to London, he was examined by a committee of the council of safety, and sent prisoner to Lambeth House, where he contracted a dangerous sickness. After six or eight weeks confinement, he was set at liberty, and returned into Oxfordshire; from whence, after a short stay, he went into Shropshire to visit his relations. Soon after the restoration, Mr. Allestry was made a canon of Christ Church, and readily concurred in repairing the injuries and decays that church and college had suffered during the usurpation. At the same time he undertook one of the lectureships of the city of Oxford, with a view to instil principles of loyalty into the minds of the citizens; yet he never received any part of the profits, but constantly distributed it among the poor. He took the degree of doctor of divinity, on the 3d of October, 1660, and was appointed one of the king's chaplains in ordinary; and soon after, upon a vacancy of the divinity chair, he was chosen regis professor. In 1665, the king conferred upon Dr. Allestry the provostship of Eton college, which he held to his death. In 1679, finding his health, and particularly his sight, much impaired, he resigned the professorship of divinity, and had the satisfaction to be succeeded therein by Dr. Jane, of whose abilities he had perfect knowledge. And now the decay of his constitution terminating in a dropsy, he removed to London, to be nearer the advice of physicians; but medicines proving ineffectual, he died in January, 1680, and was buried in Eton chapel, under a monument of white marble. We shall give his character from the account of his life contained in the preface to his sermons. He was a considerable benefactor to Eton college, and raised the credit and reputation of the school, which he found in a very low condition. There are extant forty sermons of Dr. Allestry's, the greatest part of which were preached before the king, and upon solemn occasions. It is much to be regretted, that he could not be prevailed upon to publish his lectures, which, when first delivered, were heard with the greatest satisfaction and applause. Mr. Wood mentions a small tract written by Dr. Allestry, entitled, The Privileges of the University of Oxford in point of Visitation, in a Letter to an honourable personage.
There was also a Jacob Allestry; a poet of the last century, son of James Allestry, a bookseller, of London. He was educated at Westminster school, and went from thence to Christ Church, Oxford, in 1671, where he took the degree of master of arts, was music reader in 1679, and terrae filius in 1682, both which offices he executed with applause. He died October 15, 1686. His poems were printed in a book called Examen Poeticum.
ALLEY (WILLIAM),
BISHOP of Exeter, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, was a native of Wycomb, in Buckinghamshire. After being taught the languages at Eton, he was removed to King's College, Cambridge, where he took the degree of bachelor of arts. He studied at Oxford, some time afterwards married, was presented to a living, and became a zealous reformer. On queen Mary's accession he left his cure, and retired into the north of England, where he maintained himself by keeping a school and practising physic. On queen Elizabeth's accession, he happily saw a more pleasant prospect; he went to London, and was appointed to read the divinity lecture at St. Paul's, in which he acquired great reputation; and in July, 1560, was consecrated bishop of Exeter. He was not created doctor of divinity until November, 1561. He died April 15, 1570, and was buried at Exeter. He wrote, 1. The Poor Man's Library, 2 vol. folio. These volumes contain his twelve lectures at St. Paul's, on the first epistle of St. Peter. 2. A Hebrew Grammar, but it is uncertain whether it was ever published. He translated the Pentateuch in the version of the Bible undertaken by command of queen Elizabeth.
ALLIX (PETER).
A VERY learned and eminent divine of the church of England, although a native of France, and well known in the republic of letters for his many and excellent writings. He was born at Alençon, in the year 1641; and having received an excellent education, which highly improved his natural parts, he became minister to a reformed church at Rouen; where he published many learned and curious pieces, by which he acquired a great reputation. He was called from Rouen to Charenton, which was the principal reformed church in France, the village in which it stood lying a little more than a league from Paris; we must therefore consider this removal as the highest testimony of respect his brethren could shew him. Being now in the zenith of his preferment, and in a condition to do good service to the church, he applied himself to the task with the utmost zeal, and preached many excellent sermons in defence of the faith, against the archbishop of Meaux; who was then labouring to overturn the reformed religion, by seeming concessions to its professors. Some of his sermons were afterwards printed in Holland, and are deservedly commended by Bayle.
Upon the revocation of the edict of Nantz, Mr. Alfix found himself obliged to quit France, and prepared an affecting farewel discourse to his congregation, which he had not an opportunity to deliver; it was afterwards printed, and deservedly celebrated. This edict was revoked in 1685, and the reformed banished France; on which Mr. Allix, by advice of his friends, repaired to England. Here, on account of his extensive learning and great knowledge of ecclesiastical history, he met a very favourable reception. He applied himself closely to learn the English language; and soon attained to a surprising perfection, as appeared by a book he published in defence of the Christian religion, which he dedicated to King James, in very respectful terms; acknowledging at the same time, not only his personal obligations to that prince, but also his kindness to the distressed refugees in general. He was soon complimented with the degree of doctor in divinity, and in 1690, had the treasurership of the church of Salisbury bestowed on him. It was proposed he should have published an authentic history of the councils; but this miscarried for want of encouragement. He wrote however several treatises on ecclesiastical history, equally learned and entertaining, which were very useful to the protestant cause, and attacked warmly both by the Romish priests and princes. These pieces raised Dr. Allix's credit as high in this country as it was in France. In 1699, he wrote a very learned book in defence of the Trinity, which had considerable effect, and has always been looked upon as a piece of great value, with respect to Hebrew literature. He wrote likewise several other learned and ingenious treatises, on curious and important subjects. He continued, for upwards of thirty years, an active member of the republic of letters, and an able and affectionate defender of the established church. Some of his pieces have been severely censured, particularly by Mr. Bayle, and his orthodoxy has by many been called in question. Our author however continued steady in his principles and was so well known to be a zealous defender of the church of England, that Mr. Whiston thought proper to consult him when he firs
proposed writing in support of his opinions.
He enjoyed a very uncommon share of health and spirits. Those wh
knew him, found great pleasure in his conversation, as the learned wi
always find in his writings. He possessed great learning, a wonderful liveliness of temper; and expressed himself on all subjects with so much sprightliness, that it was impossible to flag in his company. He was consulted by the greatest men of the age, and acknowledged as a man of the first abilities by the most esteemed critics. His attention was given to the whole circle of sciences, which fall under the cognizance of a scholar or divine. All these he had well digested, and his sermons evince him to be an admirable orator, and a profound scholar. The ancient authors which he published testify his skill in criticism, and his perfect knowledge of antiquity. His treatises on ecclesiastical history discover a prodigious fund of reading, an exact comprehension of his subject, and his sincere zeal for the protestant religion. His thorough acquaintance with the Hebrew and Rabbinical learning, was displayed in his laborious performance respecting the Trinity. Our author continued his application to the last; and died at London, February 21, 1717, in the 73d year of his age; leaving behind him the character of a man equally assiduous in the discharge of his public as well as private duties.
ALLUTIUS.
A PRINCE of the Celtiberians in Spain, known in ancient history by the generous conduct of Scipio Africanus towards him, after he had conquered him. A lady of most exquisite beauty was brought to Scipio; but that young hero hearing she was affianced to his prisoner, said to him,
Allut
us, I have preserved this lady with the utmost care, that the present I now give, may be the more worthy both of you and me. Be hereafter a friend to the republic, it is all I require of you in return.
He had also the generosity to add to her portion, the same sum of money her parents had agreed to give him for her ransom.
ALMAGRO (DIEGO).
A SPANISH captain, whose extraction was so low, that his father is totally unknown; a man who possessed the greatest bravery, but of a cruel dispotion. He, among other adventurers, accompanied Pizarro to the discovery and conquest of Peru, in 1525. Almagro undertook a march to Cusco, through an innumerable quantity of Indians, whom he was obliged to disperse. He penetrated as far as Chili, beyond the tropic of capricorn; and every where signalized his courage and his cruelty. Some writers accuse him of being the only cause of the assassination of the unfortunate Indian prince, Atabalipa. He and Pizarro quarrelling, he assassinated him. His crime did not long remain unpunished. Vacca de Castro, the viceroy of Peru, having given him battle, took him prisoner, and cut off his head,
ALMAMOUN, ALMAIMOUN, OR ABDALLA II.
THE seventh caliph of the house of the Abassides, celebrated for the many victori
s he gained over the Greeks, by making himself master of a part of the island of Candia, but more particularly by his taste for letters. He caused the best works of the Greek philosophers to be translated into Arabic, and placed in his library, which he had collected at a prodigious expence. He loved learned men, rewarded them well, and was himself very learned. He established a kind of academy, at which he sometimes assisted himself. Whatever religion a man might profess, provided he possessed talents, Almamoun was his friend. This alarmed the narrow jealousy of the Mussulmen doctors, who for this liberality of disposition treated him as a heretic. Posterity however has done justice to his merit. He died in 833.
ALMANZOR.
THERE have been many Mahomedan princes of this name, but the three who have most distinguished themselves are the following. The first was king of Cordova, and died in 1002, after having taken Barcelona, and made the Christians in several rencounters feel the strength of his arms. The second, Joseph Almanzor, was king of Morocco, and was defeated by the Spaniards in 1158. The third, Jacob Almanzor, son of Joseph, made himself master of Morocco, Fez, Tremecen and Tunis, and gained the famous battle of Alarcos, in Castile. Pope Innocent III. addressed a brief to him in 1199, to facilitate the redemption of some Christian captives.
ALMEIDA (FRANCIS).
A PORTUGUEZE, and the first governor of India, to which place he was dispatched in 1505, by king Emanuel, with the high character of viceroy. His fleet had a bad passage out, and almost continual storm off the Cape of Good Hope, without being able to make it. At la
they reached Quiloa. The king of that place having given some cause to suspect his conduct, Almeida resolved to besiege the city. When it wa
high water, he landed five hundred men; on which the natives fled. Th
Portugueze entered and plundered it. The plunder was however deposited in one house, and shared among the soldiers; Almeida taking as hi
own share, only one arrow. Almeida then began to build a fort, an
offering the people the protection of the Portugueze, they accepted it and received a king from them; who promised to be obedient to kin
Emanuel.
From hence they sailed to Mombassa, and immediately attacked that place. A shot from the Portugueze set fire to the powder magazine, which so terrified the inhabitants that they abandoned the fort. Having caused the port to be sounded, and finding water sufficient, he entered the harbour, and then sent a message to require the king to submit himself to the king of Portugal; but the messenger was refused admittance. Almeida endeavoured to seize some of the natives, and took prisoner a domestic of the king, from whom he had intelligence that the king had received into his pay 4000 auxiliaries, and expected more. On this intelligence he resolved to besiege the place; and set fire to a part of the city. The natives attacked the Portugueze, although at the same time employed in extinguishing the flames; which however proved their best friends, and obliged the enemy to retire. Next day, when the flames abated, the Portugueze again entered the city, and were much annoyed by the narrowness of the streets, and the darts of the enemy flung from the houses. However, Almeida soon having secured the palace, the Portugueze joined their strength, and obliged the natives to seek their safety by flight, and make off to a wood, to which the king had retreated. The city was plundered, but most of the valuable effects had been carried away. The Portugueze writers tell us, they killed in this action 1500, and took 2000 prisoners, with the loss only of five men killed, and several wounded.
From hence he sailed with his fleet for Melinda, but by tempestuous weather, was driven three leagues beyond; from thence they proceeded to the island of Anchidive, where he built a fort, and sent some of his ships out to cruize. Here he received deputies from the king of Onor, to treat of peace, and also the submission of a pyratical chief, of the name of Timoia. However a circumstance soon happened to shew the former was not sincere; and the viceroy sailed to Onor, and burned some ships in the harbour. A day or two after, he sent his son to burn the other ships: a smart action ensued, and the Portugueze were obliged to retreat. Almeida sailed next day to Cananor, where he found it necessary to build a strong fort to protect his countrymen against the Arabians, who, jealous of the Portugueze, did them every injury in their power.
While Almeida remained here, he had the happiness to receive an embassy from the king of Narsinga, offering friendship, and his daughter as a wife for John the son of Emanuel. He had also a visit from the king of Cananor, from whom he obtained liberty to build his fort. From this place he dispatched his son on an expedition to Caulan.
On the arrival of Cugna with a reinforcement from Portugal, and
receiving intelligence of several Arabian ships richly laden being in the port of Panama (about 50 miles off) escorted by a fleet of ships of war of Calicut, he resolved to attack them in the harbour. He sailed for that purpose with twelve ships of war. On his passage he was informed that the ships were not yet afloat, but lay in the docks, under cover of a rampart, and a strong garrison of 4000 men. Almeida had only 700, and with these he resolved to attack the enemy. He attempted to land and burn the ships; and after a violent conflict succeeded. A strong proof of the superiority of the Portugueze at this time in war, for the enemy sought with desperate courage, there being many among them who had taken an oath to conquer or die. These devotees had all their heads shaven, and were destroyed to a man. Almeida having made good his landing, advanced to the city, and set it on fire, being fearful of the consequences of permitting his men to plunder it. The men murmured at being deprived of such a rich booty; but this the viceroy disregarded, and to keep them employed, dispatched his son with a squadron to cruize against the Arabians, who in an engagement with the enemy's fleet lost his life. Almeida, who had often shewn that he possessed great fortitude, now gave a striking proof of it; and those who lamented the death of young Almeida with too much sorrow, he told them, "That he had never wished a long, but a glorious life for his son; and for his part, he thanked God for honouring him with so glorious a death."
While he commanded in India, Albuquerque was making conquests for his country to the northward; but as he did not act under Almeida's instructions, the latter was offended, and even wrote to some of the enemy's Chiefs, that Albuquerque acted without his orders. However, the exploits of the latter drew the attention of the court of Portugal, and be was appointed to supersede Almeida in his viceroyship. When the order for the viceroy's return was brought, he was employed in fitting out a fleet to revenge the death of his son. This furnished him with an excuse for not delivering up his government; and he sailed on an expedition to Dabul, landed there, defeated the enemy, and made a most dreadful slaughter, not sparing even the infants. The next day the city was given up to be plundered, and afterwards burned. This was the fate of many other places on these coasts. He then cruized along the coast until he fell in with the enemy's fleet, engaged and totally defeated it, killing 4000 men. The sultan had taken great pains in fitting out this fleet, and it is supposed had engaged Europeans of several nation
to act on board it, as books in the Italian, German, French, and Spanish languages were found on board the captured ships. This victory procured a peace.
Mean while a set of men, who had their own advantage in vie
inflamed the animosity between Almeida and Albuquerque; and the former not only still refused to deliver up his government, but ordered Albuquerque to be confined; but Coutigna, another commander, arriving from Portugal, reconciled them to each other, and Almeida to the surrender of his government. The viceroy immediately embarked, and soon after sa
led for Portugal. Unfortunately stopping at a place not far from the Cape of Good Hope, a slight quarrel arose between the Portugueze and natives, and in an action with them, Almeida received a wound in his throat with a javelin, and died immediately. Thus expired this brave, honest, and renowned commander by his own imprudence. Before he went to India he had distinguished himself greatly in the wars of Granada. In India his exploits have been spoken of.
As soon as he fell, the rest of the Portugueze fled. Two officers who saw him fall endeavoured to persuade their countrymen to recover his body; but finding intreaties ineffectual, they rushed upon the enemy▪ were soon overpowered by numbers, and fell.
ALMEIDA (LAWRENCE),
SON of the former, and who, had he been blessed with longer life, would probably have equalled him in same. His first exploit was against C
ulan, in India, whither he was dispatched by his father to destroy all the ships in that harbour; he executed his orders with so much expedition, that he came in sight of the town before they were apprized of his arrival, and destroyed twenty-seven ships. Soon after he was sent on a cruize against the Maldive islands, to intercept all Arabian ships. The strength of the currents in those seas, drove him as far south as Cape Comorin, and the island of Ceylon, and he put into a port in the latter. The king hearing of his arrival, and having before heard of the fame of the Portugueze in those parts, treated him with great respect, and entered into a treaty, by which he agreed to pay a yearly tribute to the king of Portugal, on condition of receiving protection and defence. The tribute was to be 290,000 pounds weight of
innamon; and the first year's payment was immediately put on board. On his return, he was ordered to the Anchidive islands; when being informed of a large fleet fitting out at Calicut, Lawrence immediately sailed to that place, engaged it, and after a fierce conflict, gave them a total defeat. He then returned to Cananor, where he was received by the king of that place, who was a friend of the Portug
eze, with great honour: he afterwards continued with his father, until he sailed on the fatal expedition in which he lost his life. He was dispatched with eight ships to annoy the Arabians, and at first was successful. He put into the port of Chaul, a large and opulent
ity, adjoining to the kingdom of Cambaya. Here he received advice that the sultan of Egypt had fitted out a considerable force, manned with his bravest soldiers. It consisted of five large ships, and six galleys, to which the king of Cambaya joined thirty sloops of war. When they appeared off Chaul, the Portugueze concluded they were the ships of Albuquerque, and made no preparation to engage; the Egyptian admiral entered the river, but his allies remained out at sea.
The next day Lawrence Almeida weighed anchor and attacked the admiral's ship. In this action Almeida was wounded. His officers, finding they were becalmed, and could not come to close quarters with the enemy, advised him to return. This he declined, and soon received another desperate wound in the face with a dart. The action continued at a distance, Almeida not being able to get near his enemy. Other captains were more fortunate, they boarded and took two ships. The next day, the fleet from sea came in and joined the enemy. The Portugueze held a council, and were almost unanimously of opinion, that they ought to put to sea in the night; this they endeavoured to effect; but the enemy pursued and came up with the admiral's ship, which was in the rear, and surrounded her. An unfortunate shot rendering it impossible to steer her, she ran aground. The Portugueze captains had a strong desire to assist their admiral, but the violence of the tide prevented them. However they sent a boat to bring Almeida away; but he refused to quit his fellow soldiers in this distress. Hoping also that he should be able to defend himself until the tide returned. The enemy did not dare to board his vessel, but continued a fierce cannonade at a distance, which was returned with spirit. Almeida at last received another wound in his thigh, which quite disabled him; but being placed in a chair which was lashed to the mast, he still continued to animate his men, until a shot in the breast killed him. The Portugueze on board this unfortunate ship were now reduced to twenty, who still continued to defend themselves; but the enemy attempting to board her, succeeded. Much to their honour, they treated the few brave survivors with great humanity.
ALMELOVEEN (THOMAS JANSSON D').
There were two literati of this name; the first a Dutch physician, wh
flourished in the latter end of the last century, and has given a description of the plants on the coast of Malabar, in the Hortus Malabaricus, published at Amsterdam in 1676, and the following years, and also th
Flora Malabarica in 1696. The other was professor of history, the Greek language, and physic, at Harderwicke, and died at Amsterdam in 1742. He has left us some commentaries on many authors of Antiquity, and other works.
ALMARUS, ELMARUS, ELMERUS, or AELMERUS,
WAS Abbot of the monastery of Saint Austin in Canterbury, at the time when Alphage, the archbishop, was barbarously murdered by the Danes, in 1011. Almarus was suffered by those plunderers to go at liberty; and in the year 1022, was made bishop of Sherborne in Dorsetshire, which bishoprick was afterwards translated to Salisbury. Goodwin mentions him as a bishop, but declares that he knows nothing of him but his name. Almarus was not inclined either to leave his abbey, or to become a bishop; but was, however, at last prevailed on to take upon him that dignity, which he discharged with great constancy and vigour, until he became quite blind. On this he resigned his bishoprick with more alacrity than he had accepted it, returning back to his abbey, where he lived in a cell, in the infirmary, in great innocence and devotion to his last hour. When he was near his death, he directed that he should be buried not as a bishop, but as a monk, which was complied with. He was interred in the church of the monastery, before the altar of Saint John, and his memory held in great veneration.
ALOADIN,
COMMONLY called the Old Man of the Mountain, prince of the Arsacides, or Assassins, from whence our word assassin, or murderer, is said to be derived. He lived between Antioch and Damascus, in a castle, where he bred up a number of young people in all sorts of pleasures, telling them that, after their death, if they obeyed him in all he commanded them, they should be transported to the most delicious abodes. These unhappy beings were so much devoted to this wretch, that they blindly obeyed him, and went with the greatest alacrity to execute such sentences of death as he chose to pronounce against the princes who were his enemies. They seldom missed their blow, and the kings were very careful not to offend him. He and his subjects professed Mahomedanism.
ALPHERY (MIKIPHER).
BORN in Russia, and of the imperial line. When that country was torn to pieces by intestine quarrels in the latter end of the sixteenth century, and the royal house particularly was so severely persecuted by impostors, this gentleman and his two brothers were sent over to England, and recommended to the care of Mr. Biddell, a Russia merchant. When of age for the university, Mr. Biddell sent the three brothers to Oxford, where the small-pox unhappily prevailing, two of them died of it. We know not if this surviving brother took any degrees or not, but it is probable he did, since he entered into holy orders, and in the year 1618 had the rectory of Wooley in Huntingdonshire. Here he performed his duty with great chearfulness and alacrity; and notwithstanding he was twice invited back to his native country, by some who would have ventured their utmost to have placed him on the throne of Russia; yet he preferred remaining with his flock, and serving God in the humble station of a parish priest. Yet in 1643, he underwent the severest trials from the rage of the fanatics, who, not satisfied with depriving him of his living, insulted him in a most barbarous manner; and having sent a file of musketeers to pull him out of the pulpit, as he was preaching on Sunday, they turned his wife and children out of doors, and threw his goods into the street. In this distress, he raised a tent under some tree
in the church-yard near his house, where he and his family lived for a week. One day having procured a few eggs, and picked up some rotten wood and dried sticks, with which he made a fire in the church porch to boil them, his implacable adversaries came and kicked out his fire, and destroyed his eggs. After this, as he still possessed a little property, he made a small purchase in that neighbourhood, built a house, and lived there for some years. He was enabled to do this in some degree by the presbyterian minister who succeeded him, who honestly paid him a fifth part of the income of the living, (being the allowance made by parliament to ejected ministers,) treated him with great humanity, and did him all the services in his power. It is a pity this man's name is not preserved; his conduct in this respect being more laudable, as it was singular. Afterwards, probably on the death or removal of this gentleman, Mr. Alphery left Huntingdonshire, and resided at Hammersmith, until by the restoration he was restored to his living. He then returned to Huntingdonshire, where he did not remain long, for being then near eighty years of age, and very infirm, he could not perform the duty of his function. He therefore appointed a curate, and returned to his son's house at Hammersmith, where he shortly after died, full of years and honour. The life of this worthy man does not admit of variety to form a very entertaining article of biography; but the singular circumstance of a foreign prince being a country minister in England, is too remarkable an event to be omitted.
ALPHONSUS X.
KING of Leon and Castile, surnamed the Wife, was author of the astronomical tables called
Alpho
s
n
.
Reading of Quintus Curtius gave him such delight, that it recovered him out of a dangerous illness. He read the Bible fourteen times, with several comments on it. He is said to have found fault with the structure of the mundane system, and has been charged with impiety on that score; but unjustly, for he only found fault with the involved system of some astronomers. He was dethroned by his son Sancho; and soon afterwards died of grief, A. D. 1284.
ALPINI (PROSPERO),
A FAMOUS physician and botanist, born in the Venetian territory, in 1553. He travelled in Egypt to acquire a knowledge of exotic plants, and was the first who explained the fructisication and generation of plants by the sexual system. Upon his return to Venice, in 1586, Andrea Doria, prince of Melfi, appointed him his physician: and he distinguished himself so much in this capacity, that he was esteemed the first physician of his age. The republic of Venice began to be uneasy, that a subject of theirs, of so great merit as Alpini, should continue at Genoa, when he might be of so much service and honour to their state: they therefore recalled him in 1593, to fill the professorship of botany at Padua; and he had a salary of 200 florins, which was afterwards raised to 750. He discharged this office with great reputation: but his health became very precarious, having been much broke by the voyages he had made. According to the register of the university of Padua, he died the 5th of February 1617, in the 64th year of his age; and was buried the day after, without any funeral pomp, in the church of St. Anthony.—Alpini wrote the following works in Latin: 1. Of the physic of the Egyptians, in four books. Printed at Venice, 1591, in quarto. 2. A treatise concerning the plants of Egypt. Printed at Venice, 1592, in quarto. 3. A dialogue concerning balsams. Printed at Venice, 1592, in quarto. 4. Seven books concerning the method of forming a judgment of the life or death of patients. Printed at Venice, 1691, in quarto. 5. Thirteen books concerning methodical Physic. Padua, 1611, folio; Leyden, 1719, in quarto. 6. A Disputation held in the school at Padua, concerning the Raphonticum. Padua, 1612, and 1629, quarto. 7. Of exotic plants, in two books. Venice, 1699, in quarto. He left several other works, which have never been printed; particularly, 8. The fifth book concerning the physic of the Egyptians. 9. Five books concerning the natural history of things observed in Egypt, adorned with a variety of draughts of plants, stones, and animals.
ALREDUS, ALURED, or ALUREDUS,
of Beverly.
AN ancient English historian; he is said to have had his education in the university of Cambridge, where he acquired not only great skill in divinity, but also became a good philosopher and historian. He returned afterwards into his native country, Yorkshire; where he became a secular priest, one of the c
nons and treasurers of the church of St. John of Beverly. Some historians positively affirm, that he flourished under king Stephen, and continued his annals to the year 1136. But others, with more appearance of truth, tell us that he flourished under Henry I. and died in the year 1126, in which year they assert that he ended his annals. His history however contradicts this, as it is continued to the twenty-ninth of Henry I. consequently he died in 1128, or 9. His preface to his work informs us, that he was a man devoted to his studies, and rather in narrow circumstances. He intended at first no more than an abridgement of the history of the ancient Britons; but when he had gone thus far, a desire of pursuing the thread of his story, led him to add the Saxon, and then the Norman history, down to his own time. This was the only piece he wrote, notwithstanding the assertions of several great men. This abridgement of our history from Brutus to Henry I. is one of the most valuable pieces that has escaped the rage of time. It is written in a concise, elegant Latin style, with great perspicuity, and a more than ordinary attention to dates and authorities. He may with great propriety be called the English Florus; his plan being nearly the same, and equally happy in the execution. It seems wonderful that Leland does not give him a place among our English writers, as it is clear he had seen our author's history. The reason seems to have been, that Leland considered him only as the author of an abridgement of Jeffery of Monmouth's history. In this he was mistaken, for our author is by no means a mere transcriber of the British history, but went much further than the author he is said to have copied. Besides, it is doubtful whether he ever saw Jeffery of Monmouth's history; if he had, it is difficult to assign a reason why he did not mention the author, as he is very exact in other places. If he had really been Jeffery of Monmouth's translator, why should he have concealed it?
The MSS. of his work are very scarce, and very few who mention it, have seen it. Mr. Josselin, in his catalogue of English historians, assures us the MS. was in the hands of Mr. Nettleton. The MS. from whence Mr. Hearne published it at Oxford, in 1716, belonged to T. Rawlinson,
Esq
and Mr. Hearne acknowledges it was the only one he ever saw. He calls it the Annals of Alured of Beverly, which, as the dates are constantly preserved, it may with propriety be called. John Withamsted, a very ancient writer, speaking of our author, says, that he wrote a chronicle of what happened from the settlement of Brutus, to the time of the Normans. This authority is much to the honour of our historian, for Withamsted was a critic. This work therefore, and the history of St. John of Beverly, are all that fall from our author's pen. The history of St. John of Beverly is in being, in the Cotton library: but it appears by the title to be a collection of records, rather than a history.
Mr. Hearne has added some notes to his edition, and a preface, wherein he endeavours to vindicate our author from the charge of plagiarism. And we may affirm, that if any epitome of English history deserved well of the public in general, we would say this history of Altedus is it. For in point of accuracy and elegance, he is superior to Huntingdon, Hovedon, Malmsbury, and others.
ALSOP (ANTHONY),
WAS educated at Westminster-school, and from thence elected to Christ church, Oxford, where he took the degree of M. A. in March, 1690, and B. D. in December, 1706. On his coming to the university, he was soon distinguished by Dean Aldrich, and published
Fabularum Aesopicarum Delectus, Oxon
1698, 8vo, with a portrait, dedicated to Lord Viscount Scudamore, and a preface, in which he took part with Mr. Bently, in his dispute with Mr. Boyle. He passed through the usual offices in his college to that of censor, with considerable reputation, and had most of the principal noblemen and gentlemen belonging to the society committed to his care. His merit recommended him to Sir Jonathan Trelawney, bishop of Winchester, who appointed him his chaplain, and soon after made him a prebend in his own cathedral, and rector of Brightwell in the county of Berks: these promotions afforded him ample provision for a learned retirement, from which he could not be drawn by the repeated solicitations of those who judged him qualified for a more public character and a higher station. In 1717, an action was brought against him by Mrs. Astrey, of Oxford, for a breach of a marriage contract; and a verdict obtained against him for 2000l. which probably occasioned him to leave the kingdom for some time. His death, which happened June 10, 1726, was occasioned by falling into a ditch that led to his garden door. A quarto volume was published under the title of
Antourii Alsopi, Aedis Christi olim Alumni Odarum libri duo.
Four of his poems are in Dodsley's collection, one in Pearch's, several in the Gentleman's Magazine, and some in the Student. Mr. Alsop is respectfully mentioned by Dr. King, as having enriched the commonwealth of learning by a translation of fables from Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic.
ALSOP (VINCENT),
A NATIVE of Northamptonshire, and educated at Saint John's college, Cambridge, where he took the degree of master of arts. He afterwards received deacon's orders from a bishop, and settled at Oakham, in Rutlandshire, as assistant to the master of the free-school. Being a man who possessed a lively pleasant wit, he fell into indifferent company, but was reclaimed by the admonition of the Rev. Mr. King, whose daughter he afterwards married; and becoming a convert to his principles, he received ordination in the presbyterian way, not being satisfied with that of the bishop. He settled at Wilbee, in the county of Northampton, whence he was ejected in 1662, for non-conformity. After which he ventured to preach sometimes at Oakham and at Wellingborough, where he lived; and was once committed to prison for six months for praying with a sick person. A book he wrote against Dr. Sherlock, in a humorous style, made him known to the world, and induced Mr. Cawton, an eminent non-conformist in Westminster, to recommend him to his congregation, as his successor: on receiving this invitation, he quitted Northampton, and came to London, where he preached constantly, and wrote several pieces, which were extremely well received by the public. His living in the neighbourhood of the court exposed him to many inconveniences; however, he had the good fortune to escape imprisonment and fines, by an odd accident, the informers not knowing his christian name, which he studiously concealed. His sufferings, however, ended with the reign of Charles II. at least in the beginning of the next reign, when his son engaging in treasonable practices, was freely pardoned by king James. After this, Mr. Alsop went frequently to court, and is generally supposed to have been the person who drew up the presbyterians' address to that prince, for his general indulgence. After the revolution, Mr. Alsop gave very public testimonies of his affection for the government; but on all occasions spoke in the highest terms of respect and gratitude of king James, and retained a very high sense of his clemency, in sparing his only son. The remainder of his life he spent in the exercise of the ministry, preaching once every Lord's day; besides which, he had a Thursday lecture, and assisted at Pinner's hall. He lived to be a very old man, preserved his spirits to the last, and died May 8, 1703. On grave subjects, he wrote with a becoming seriousness; but, where wit might be shewn, he displayed it to great advantage. His funeral sermon was preached by Mr. Slater, and his memory will always be remembered by his own learned and elegant writings; the most remarkable of which are, 1.
Antisozzo
; in vindication of some great truths opposed by Dr. Sherlock, 8vo, 1675. 2.
Melius Inquirendum
; in answer Dr. Goodman's
Compassionate Inquiry,
8vo, 1679. 3.
The Mischief of Impositions;
in answer to Dr. Stillingfleet's
Mischief of Separation,
1680. 4.
Duty and Interest united in Praise and Prayer for Kings.
5.
Practical Godliness the Ornament of Religion,
1696; and several sermons.
ALSTEDIUS (JOHN HENRY)
A GERMAN Protestant divine, and one of the most indefatigable writers of the 17th century. He was some time professor of philosophy and divinity at Herborn in the county of Nassau: from thence he went into Transylvania, to be professor at Alba Julia; where he continued till his death, which happened in 1638, being then 50 years of age. His
Encyclopedia
has been much esteemed even by the Roman Catholics; it was printed at Lyons, and sold very well throughout all France. His
Thesaurus Chronologicus
is by some esteemed one of his best works, and has gone through several editions. He also wrote
Triumphus Biblicus,
to show that the principles of all arts and sciences are to be found in the Scriptures; but he gained very few to his opinion. He was a Millenarian▪ and published, in 1627, a treatise
De mille annis,
in which he asserted that the reign of the saints on earth was to begin in 1694.
ALTING.
THREE persons of this name have made themselves conspicuous. Henry Alting, was born at Embden, in 1583, preceptor to the prince Palatine, and director of the college of wisdom at Heidelberg, signalized himself by his eloquence and judgment, at the synod of Dordrecht, in which he disputed on the side of the Palatinate. When Heidelberg was taken in 1622, Alting was in danger of his life. As he was hastening to the house of the chancellor, to avoid the fury of the soldiers, a lieutenant-colonel stopped him, saying,
this ax has already finished nine men; doctor Alting should soon make the tenth, if I knew where he was.
Alting escaped by telling him, that he was regent of the college of wisdom. He afterwards occupied the theological chair at Groningen until his death, which happened in 1644. He left behind him many works both in print and manuscript, which are in no great esteem. The second, James Alting, son of the former, was born at Heidelberg, in 1618. He had some warm disputes with the minister, Sam. des Marets, a theologian who referred every thing to scholastic learning, and who could not bear that theology should be guided by the Holy Scriptures and the fathers. Alting died in the year 1679; and his works, which make five volumes in folio, were published at Amsterdam, in 1687. We may perceive by them, that our doctor had read all kinds of writers, and particularly the Rabbies. He has loaded his productions with many of their minutiae. His enemies used to say, that he differed from a Jew only by not being circumcised. There was a third of this name, Merson Alting, who died in 1713, and was the author of the
Sacred Chronicle,
and
Descriptio Germaniae Inferioris.
ALVARY.
THE name of three priests of the church of Rome. The first, a Dominican, native of Rio Seco in Old Castile, professor of theology both in Spain and at Rome; afterwards bishop of Trani, in the kingdom of Naples. He, with Lemos one of his brethren, supported the cause of the Thomists against the Molinists, in the Congregation de auxiliis. He died in 1635, having published many treatises in defence of the doctrines he had embraced. The second, Emanuel, was born in the island of Madeira, in 1526, entered into the society of Jesuits, and became rector of the colleges of Coimbra, Evora, and Lisbon. He died in the college of Evora, in 1584, with the reputation of a learned humanist. He left behind him an excellent grammar, entitled
De Institutione Grammatica,
in 4to, 1599. The third was named Francis, and was chaplain to Emanuel, king of Portugal; and went as almone
on the embassy which that prince sent to David king of Ethiopia, or Abyssinia. Having resided six years in that country, he returned with the character of ambassador from king David, and brought letters from that prince, to John king of Portugal, who had then succeeded his father Emanuel on the throne; and also for Pope Clement VII. He gave an account of his voyage to this pontiff, in presence of the Emperor Charles V. at Bologne, in 1533. He has left a relation of his voyage in Portugueze, printed at Lisbon in 1540, in folio. Damien Goez, a Portugueze gentleman, translated it into Latin, in a wo
which he dedicated to pope Paul III.
De fide, regione, moribusque Ethiop
There is a French Translation of it, entitled, a description of Ethiopia, printed at Anvers, in 1558. Alvary was the first who gave any authentic account of Ethiopia; but he had not seen all he relates; an
what he had seen, appeared to him either above or below what it really was. He died in 1540, with the character of a zealous priest, and
man of middling talents.
AMALTHEO, JEREMY, JOHN BAPTIST, and CORNELIUS
THREE brothers, who cultivated Latin poetry in the sixteent
century. The first was born in Odergo, near the Trivisan, in 1506 and joined the study of philosophy and physic to the art of verse.
Mu
prefers him before all the Latin poets. The second was secretary to the cardinals, deputies to the council of Trent. The third translated the catechism of this council into Latin. Their poetry was published at Amsterdam in 1689, by Graevius, and in 1728, in the Sannazar variorum. Jeremy died in 1574, in his 68th year. His fellow citizens gave him an epitaph, in which they call him another Apollo, equally able in physic and poetry. He left behind him two children, Attilio and Ottario, who followed their father's steps: Ottario was both physician and poet. The queen of Poland was desirous of having Jeremy for her physician; but a love of his country and of philosophy prevented him from accepting the offer. If authors are correct in their dates, the three brothers died the same year.
AMALARIC,
KING of Italy, who succeeded as king of the Wissigoths, by the death of Theodoric his maternal uncle, in 526. The conduct of this prince to his wife Clotilda, daughter of Clovis, king of the Franks, whom he endeavoured to compel to embrace Arianism, was the cause of his ruin. Childebert king of Paris determined to revenge his sister's cause, entered into his territories, and came to a battle with him, in which Amalaric was defeated, and obliged to fly into Spain; from whence returning to Narbonne, where he had kept his court, in order to carry away his treasures, he was killed near the gate of that city, by a soldier who did not know his person.
AMALASENTA,
DAUGHTER of Theodoric king of the Ostrogoths, and mother of Athalaric, whom she caused to be educated after the manner of the Romans, which gave great offence to the Goths. This woman, who was qualified to have reigned over a polished people, had every quality necessary to form a great princess. Possessed of genius and courage, she maintained her country in peace, caused the arts and sciences to flourish, and drew learned men about her, and preserved the Romans from the barbarity of the Goths. She was acquainted with the languages of the various nations who gained possession of the empire, and treated with them without an interpreter. After the death of her son in 534, she placed her cousin Theodatus on the throne, who had the barbarity to cause her to be strangled in a bath, under pretence of adultery. It is said that Theodatus put her to death at the instigation of the empress Theodora, who was stung with jealousy, on account of the attachment Justinian had for her. That emperor being informed of this cruel perfidy, declared war against the murderer, and chastised him by his general, the great Belisarius.
AMAND. See SAINT AMAND.
AMAURI,
The first of this name, king of Jerusalem in 1162, after the death of Baldwin III. his brother, when he succeeded him he was a young man of twenty-seven years of age, who possessed many good qualities, and some great faults. Avarice induced him to undertake a war against Egypt, which was fortunate in the beginning, but very destructive in the end. He drove Gyraco twice out of Egypt, took Damietta, and might have taken Cairo with the same facility, if the fear that his army would have taken to themselves the plunder of that city, had not induced him to attend to the sultan's proposals. The Mahomedan general informed of Amauri's mean passion, amused him so long under pretence of collecting two millions of gold for him, that he gained time for the army of Noradin to arrive, who forced him to raise the siege. Amauri was obliged to return home, with the shame of having lost his trouble, his honour, and the tribute the Egyptians had paid him. Saladin, successor and nephew to Gyraco, united with Noradin, and pressed the Christians vigorously. Amauri neglected nothing to break their measures, and supported by a powerful fleet belonging to the Greek emperor, he laid siege to Damietta; but heavy rains and a famine compelled him to raise the siege. Meantime Saladin entered Palestine, took Gaza, and committed horrible ravages, while Noradin was doing the same at Antioch. Amauri, who was opposing with an invincible courage the efforts of so many enemies, was taken out of the world the 11th July, 1173, in the 38th year of his age. The second Amauri de Lusignan, king of Cyprus, succeeded Guy his brother as king of Jerusalem, in 1194. Isabella, second daughter of Amauri I. disputed with him the title of king of Jerusalem, which her third husband, Henry II. Earl of Champagne assumed; but Henry dying in 1197, of a fall, Amauri II, who was a widower, espoused her, and was crowned king of Jerusalem. He fixed his residence at Acra. His projects against the Saracens, who were then in possession of the holy city, were abortive. He died in 1205, having in vain implored the succour of the princes of Europe.
AMAURI (DE CHARTRES),
A CLERGYMAN, a native of Bonne, a village in the diocese of Chartres, professed philosophy with distinction about the middle of the thirteenth century. Adopting the metaphysics of Aristotle, led him into dangerous errors. He formed to himself a new system of religion, which, according to the Abbé Pluguet, he thus explained. Aristotle supposes that all beings are composed of matter, which has in itself neither form nor shape, this he calls the
first matter.
This Amauri called God, because it is a necessary and infinite being. He acknowledged in God, three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to whom he attributed the empire of the world, and whom he regarded as the object of religious worship. But as this matter was endowed with a property of continual motion, it necessarily followed that this world must some time have an end, and that all the beings therein must return to that first matter, which was the supreme of all beings—the first existing, and the only one eternal. Religion, according to Amauri's opinion, had three epocha's, which bore a similitude to the reign of the three persons in the Trinity, the reign of God had existed as long as the law of Moses. The reign of the Son would not always last; the ceremonies and sacrifices, which according to Amauri constituted the essence of it, would not be eternal. A time would come when the sacraments should cease, and then the religion of the Holy Ghost would begin, in which men would have no need of sacraments, and would render a spiritual worship to the Supreme Being. This epocha was the reign of the Holy Ghost, which according to Amauri was foretold by the scripture, and which would succeed to the Christian religion, as the Christian religon had succeeded to that of Moses. The Christian religion therefore was the reign of Jesus Christ in the world, and every man under that law ought to look on himself as one of the members of Jesus Christ. Amauri had many proselytes, and his opinions were condemned by Pope Innocent III. His disciples added other extravagances, as that the sacraments were useless, and that no action dictated by charity could be bad. They were condemned by the council of Paris in 1209, and many of them burned. Amauri appealed to the pope, who also condemned his doctrines: for fear of a rigorous punishment he retracted his opinions, retired to
St. Martin des Champs,
and died there of chagrin and disappointment. Dizant was his chief disciple.
AMBOISE (GEORGE D')
OF the illustrious house of Amboise in France, so called from their possessing the seignory of that name, was born in 1460. Being destined at a very early age for the church, he was elected bishop of Montauban when only fourteen. He was afterwards made one of the almoners to Lewis XI. to whom he behaved with great prudence. After the death of this prince in 1480, he entered into some of the intrigues of the court with a design to favour the Duke of Orleans, with whom he was closely connected; but those intrigues being discovered, D'Amboise and his protector were both imprisoned. The Duke of Orleans was at last restored to his liberty; and this prince having negociated the marriage of the king with the princess Anne of Britanny, acquired great reputation and credit at court. Of this his favourite D'Amboise felt the happy effects, for soon after the archbishopric of Narbonne was bestowed on him. But as that was at too great a distance from the court, he changed it for that of Rouen, to which a chapter elected him in 1493. As soon as he had taken possession of his new see, the Duke of Orleans, who was governor of Normandy, made him lieutenant-general, with the same power as if he had been governor in chief. This province was at that time in great disorder: the noblesse oppressed the people, the judges were all corrupted or intimidated; the soldiers, who had been licentious since the late wars, infested the high ways, plundering and assassinating all travellers they met. But in less than a year, D'Amboise by his care and prudence, established public tranquillity in the province committed to his care. The king dying in 1498, the Duke of Orleans ascended the throne, by the name of Lewis XII. and D'Amboise became his prime minister. By his first operation in that office, he conciliated the affection of the whole nation. It had been a custom when a new monarch ascended the throne, to lay an extraordinary tax on the people, to defray the expences of the coronation, but by the counsel of D'Amboise, this tax was not levied; and the imposts were soon reduced one tenth. His virtues coinciding with his knowledge, he made the French nation happy, and endeavoured to preserve the glory they had acquired. By his advice Lewis XII. undertook the conquest of the Milanese in 1499. Lewis the Moor, uncle and vassal of Maximilian, was then in possession of that province. I
revolted soon after the conquest, but D'Amboise brought it back to its duty. Some time after he was received at Paris, with great magnificence, in quality of legate from the Pope. During his legation he laboured to reform many of the religious orders, as the Jacobins the Cor
eliers, and those of Saint Germain des Près. His disinterest edness was equal to his zeal. He never possessed more than one benefice, two thirds of which he employed for the relief of the poor, an
the support of the churches: contenting himself with his archbishopri
of Rouen and his cardinal's hat, he was not, like his cotemporarie
desirous to add abbies to it. A gentleman of Normandy having offered to sell him an estate at a very low price, in order to portion b
daughter, he made him a present of a sum sufficient for that purpos
nd left him the estate. He obtained the purple after the dissolution o
the marriage between Lewis XII. and Joan of France, to which he greatly contributed; and after he had procured for Caesar Borgia, son of pope Alexander the VI. the dutchy of Valentinois, with a considerable pension. His ambition was to be pope, but he said only with a view to labour at the reform of abuses, and the correction of manners. After the death of Pius III. he might have succeeded in his wishes, if he had possessed as much cunning as the Italian cardinals. He took measures to procure the tiara, but Cardinal Julian de Rovera (afterwards Julius II.) found means to circumvent him. The Venetians had contributed greatly to his exclusion; he therefore took the first opportunity to excite Lewis XII. to make war on them. This celebrated cardinal died in 1510, in the convent of the Celestines at Lyons, of the gout in his stomach, aged 50 years. They say that he often repeated to the friar who attended him in his illness, "
Brother John, why have I not during my whole life, been brother John?
" This minister has been greatly praised for having laboured for the happiness of France; but he has been much censured for having advised his master to sign the treaty of Blois, in 1504, by which France ran the risk of being dismembered. He governed both the king and the state; laborious, kind, honest, he possessed good sense, firmness, and experience: but he was not a great genius, nor were his views extensive. The desire he had to ease the people in their taxes, procured him during his life, but much more after his death, the title of Father of the People. He merited this title still more, by the care he took to reform the administration of justice. Most of the judges were venal, and permitted themselves either to be corrupted or intimidated; the poor, and those who had no support, could never obtain justice, when their opposers were either powerful or rich. Another evil not less enormous troubled the kingdom; law-suits were spun out to such a length, were so expensive, and accompanied by so much trick and chicanery, that most people rather chose to abandon their right, than engage in the recovery of them by suits which had no prospect of coming to an end. D'Amboise resolved to remedy this abuse. He called to his assistance many lawyers and civilians, the most learned and of the greatest integrity; and charged them to form a plan, by which justice might be administered without partiality, the duration of law-suits abridged and rendered less ruinous; and also to prevent the corruption of the judges. When these commissioners had made their report, D'Amboise undertook the laborious task of examining into the changes they had proposed in the old laws, and the new regulations they designed to establish; and after having made some changes, these new regulations were published throughout the kingdom. As he was governor of Normandy, he made a progress through that province for the express purpose of seeing his new code properly established.
There were several other distinguished men of this name, as Aimery D'Amboise, a brother of the former, who was grand master of the order of St. John of Jerusalem. The great naval victory he obtained over the Soldan of Egypt, near Montenegro, in 1510, made his name celebrated, not only among his own order, but throughout Europe. He died about two years after. Abbé Vertot, has drawn his character as, "a wise prince, able in government, and happy in all his enterprizes; who enriched his order with the spoils of the infidels, without appropriating any to himself.' 3. Francis D'Amboise, surgeon to Charles IX. of France, who died about the year 1620. He is said to have been the editor of Abelard's works, in quarto, in 1616, and the author of a lively comedy, called
Les Neapolitains.
4. Adrian D'Amboise, brother of the latter, who was author of a tragedy called
Holoferne.
5. James D'Amboise, a doctor of physic, and rector of the university of Paris, was brother to the two last. Under his rectorate, the university of Paris swore allegiance to Henry IV. 6. Michel D'Amboise, Sieur de Chevillon, a natural son of Michel D'Amboise, admiral of France, whose family reared and supported him. He was alive in 1543; and there are still many poems from his pen extant.
AMBROSE (ST).
ONE of the most eminent fathers of the Christian church in the fourth century, born in Gaul, while his father was
Praefectus praetorio
of that province. The birth of Saint Ambrose is said to have been followed with a remarkable presage of his future eloquence, for we are told that a swarm of bees came and settled upon his mouth, as he lay in his cradle. He soon made himself master of several parts of secular learning, and pleaded causes before Probus with so much eloquence, that he was appointed his successor, and soon after governor of the provinces of Liguria and Emilia. He settled at Milan, where, in the year 374, upon the death of Auxentius bishop of that city, there being a great contest between the Catholics and Arians concerning the choice of a new bishop, Ambrose thought it his duty as governor to go to church, in order to compose the tumult. He accordingly addressed himself to the people, in a gentle pathetic speech, exhorting them to proceed in their choice in a calm and friendly manner; while he was speaking to them, the whole assembly cried out "Let Ambrose be bishop." Such a sudden and unexpected incident surprised him exceedingly, so that he retired immediately, and used every method to divert them from their resolution of choosing him; but at last he was obliged to comply, and was baptized; being before only a catechumen, and ordained bishop towards the latter end of the year 374. About the year 377, the barbarous nations making an incursion into the Roman empire, he fled to Illyricum, and afterwards to Rome. In the year 384, he was sent to the tyrant Maximus, who had usurped the empire, and prevailed upon him not to pass into Italy. The heathens encouraged by these intestine commotions in the empire, attempted to restore their religion, and employed Aurelius Symmachus, a man of great eloquence to plead their cause. But Symmachus having lost his cause, was expelled the city, and commanded not to approach within an hundred miles of it. The petition which he presented to the Emperor Valentinian the younger, is still extant. St. Ambrose wrote a confutation of this petition. St. Ambrose met with great opposition from the Arians, against whom he acted with great spirit and intrepidity. Justinia, the empress, and mother of Valentinian, who was an Arian, and desirous to restore that religion in Milan, demanded of St. Ambrose one of the churches there, which he refused, and the people taking his part, she was obliged to desist, and even to ask his interest with the people to pacify them.
Ambrose was sent a second time to the tyrant Maximus; for Valentinian found no person so proper to negociate with him. He spoke to him with great courage and boldness, but could obtain nothing; for Maximus soon after marched into Italy, and made himself master of the western empire; so that Valentinian was obliged to retire with his mother Justinia and his sister Galla, to Thessalonica in Illyricum, in order to desire Theodosius's assistance, who defeated Maximus, and restored Valentinian to the empire.
While Theodosius continued in Italy, after the defeat of Maximus, an insurrection happened at Thessalonica, in which several of the magistrates were stoned, and their bodies dragged along the streets. Theodosius being informed of this, rashly commanded a certain number to be put to death promiscuously; by which means the city was filled with the blood of many innocent persons, and amongst the rest several strangers, who had but just come there: no regard was paid to any distinction of persons, no form of trial was observed, but they were cut down like corn in the harvest, as Theodoret expresses it, to the number of 7000. At this time an assembly of bishops was held at Milan, who all expressed an abhorrence of such cruelty in the emperor Ambrose wrote a letter to him, in which he represented the enormity of his crime, and exhorted him to make satisfaction, by a sincere submission and repentance. Some time after Theodosius coming to Milan, went to receive the sacrament at the great church; where Ambrose meeting him at the door, denied him entrance, and represented his guilt in the most forcible and pathetic terms. The emperor was struck with his words, and with great uneasiness of mind returned to his palace: but about a year after, Ambrose being convinced of the sincerity of his repentance, admitted him into the church. In 392, Valentinian the emperor being assassinated by the contrivance of Argobastes, and Eugenius usurping the empire, Ambrose was obliged to leave Milan, but he returned the year following, after Eugenius was defeated.
He died at Milan the 4th of April, 397; being 57 years of age, according to M. Du Pin, and some other writers; but Dr. Cave and Olearius say that he was 64 years old at his death. He was buried in the great church at Milan. He wrote several works, the most considerable of which is that De Officiis. He is concise and sententious in his manner of writing, and full of turns of wit; his terms are well chosen, and his expressions noble; he diversifies his subject by an admirable copiousness of thoughts and language: he is very ingenious in giving an easy and natural turn to every thing which he treats of, and is not without strength and pathos when there is occasion for it. This is the character which Du Pin gives him as a writer; but Erasmus observes, that he has many quaint and affected sentences, and frequently very obscure ones; and it is certain that his writings are intermixed with many strange and peculiar opinions. Paulinus wrote his life, and dedicated it to St. Augustin: this life is prefixed to St. Ambrose's works, the best edition of which is reckoned to be that published by the Benedictine monks, in two volumes in folio, at Paris, in 1686 and 1690.
AMBROSE (ISAAC).
A NOTED Presbyterian teacher in the times of the usurpation. He was son of a clergyman, and descended from the Ambroses of Ambrose-hall, in Lancashire. In the beginning of the year 1621 he was admitted a bachelor of Brazen-nose college in Oxford, where he took the degree of bachelor of arts. Afterwards he went into holy orders, and officiated in some little cure in his own county. Being in very low circumstances, he was often obliged to the bounty of William Earl of Bedford for the relief of himself and family. Mr. Wood thinks, that Lord procured him to be inserted in the list of his majesty's preachers, appointed for the county of Lancaster. Afterwards, when the times changed, in 1641, he left the church of England and went over to the Presbyterian party, took the covenant, and became a preacher at Garstang, and afterwards at Preston, in his own county. He was very zealous and very active against the clergy of the established church, especially after he was appointed assistant to the commissioners for ejecting such whom they called scandalous and ignorant ministers, and schoolmasters. It is said that he died of an apoplexy. He wrote several pieces; as, 1. Prima, Media, and Ultima, 2. Looking upon Jesus. 3. War with Angels.
AMBROSIUS (AURELIANUS OR AURELIUS),
A CELEBRATED general of the ancient Britons, and afterwards king, was of Roman extraction, and commonly supposed to be the son of one of their kings, elected by the Britons after the Romans had left the island. He was educated at the court of Aldroen, king of Armorica, who, at the request of the Britons, sent him with an army to assist against the Saxons, whom Vortigern their king had invited into Britain. Ambrosius's success against the Saxons was so considerable, that the Britons chose him for their king, obliging Vortigern to yield to him all the western part of the kingdom, divided by the Roman highway, called Watling-street. Some time after, the Britons being discontented with Vortigern, and having withdrawn their allegiance from him, that unhappy prince retired into Wales, where being besieged by Ambrosius, and the castle taking fire, he perished in the flames, and left his rival sole monarch of Britain. He now took upon him the Imperial purple, after the manner of the Roman emperors. Geoffrey of Monmouth asserts, that he built
Stone-henge
near Salisbury, in memory of three hundred British lords who were massacred by the Saxon general Hengist. Ambrosius distinguished himself highly by his valour and conduct against the enemies of his country, and took occasion to regulate the affairs of the church which were then in great disorder, occasioned by those wars. The Monmouth historian gives this prince a very advantageous character, and tells us, he was poisoned at Winchester, by one Eopa, a Saxon, disguised as a physician, and hired for that purpose by Pascentius, one of the sons of Vortigern; but the generally received opinion is, that he was killed in a battle, anno 508, against the Saxons. A modern antiquary (Mr. Whitaker) has shewn, and with a great degree of probability, that Ambrosius was the Pendragon, or Rex Maximus of the British provinces, and chief of the Damnarii.
AMES (WILLIAM),
A DIVINE in the reign of king James and king Charles I. famous for his casuistical and controversial writings; but much more abroad than in his native country; for he lived many years in foreign parts, and there ended his days. He was descended from the ancient family of that name, which remains in Norfolk and Somersetshire, and was born in the year 1576. He was educated at Christ's college, in Cambridge, under the famous Mr. William Perkins, from whom probably imbibing some Calvinistical tenets, he afterwards distinguished himself in maintaining the same, and gave great disgust to certain persons in that university. One instance of this is mentioned by Dr. Fuller, who informs us, that Mr. Ames preaching at St. Mary's, took occasion to inveigh against the liberty taken at that time, and proceeded to condemn all playing
t dice. His sermon gave much offence. It is not improbable but that upon archbishop Bancroft pressing conformity on the puritans, many of them retired into the Low Countries, where English churches were erected after the presbyterian model, and maintained by the states, according to the treaty with Queen Elizabeth, as the French and Dutch churches were in England. Mr. Ames soon after went to the Hague, and from thence was invited by the states of Friesland to the divinity chair in the university of Franeker, which he filled with reputation for many years. He was at the synod of Dort in 1618, and informed king James's ambassador from time to time of their debates. He resigned his professorship at Franeker, after having had it twelve years, and accepted an invitation to the English congregation at Rotterdam. During this time he was very popular, and published several things. After his removal to Rotterdam, he wrote a book called, A Fresh Suit against Ceremonies; but he lived not to publish it, for his constitution was so shattered, that the air of Holland did him no service. An asthma put an end to his life in the beginning of the winter, 1633, at Rotterdam. His wife and children embarked soon after for New England, and carried with them his library of books; a very valuable present to the colony.
AMERICUS VESPUTIUS,
BORN at Florence, of a very ancient family in 1451. He discovered very early a taste for philosophy, mathematics, and sea-voyages. As soon as he was informed of Columbus's return from the discovery of the West Indies, he burned with impatience to be partaker of his glory. He applied to Ferdinand king of Spain, who supplied him with four ships, with which he departed from Cadiz in 1497. He fell in with the coast of Paria, and ran along it, and also the coast of Terra Firma, as far as the gulph of Mexico, returning to Spain in about eighteen months. He did not dispute with Columbus the glory of having discovered the West India islands; but pretended that he first discovered the continent of America. For this the Spanish writers are very severe, and charge him with having falsified dates to support his claim. A year after his first voyage, Vesputius performed a second with six ships, still under the auspices of Ferdinand and Isabella. In this voyage he proceeded to the Antilla islands, and from thence to the coast of Guiana and Vennezuela, and returned safe to Cadiz, in the month of November 1500; bringing with him many valuable stones, and other commodities. He met with but a cool reception from the Spaniards for all his services, and their ingratitude sensibly affected him. Emanuel king of Portugal, jealous of the success of the catholic sovereign, had taken great pains to share in the new discoveries: and being informed of Vesputius's discon
nt, invited him to Portugal, and gave him the command of three ships to undertake a third voyage on discovery. Vesputius sailed from Lisbon in May 1501. He ran down the coast of Africa as far as Sierra Leon, and the coast of Angola. He then stood over for the coast of America, and fell in with Brazil, which he discovered entirely, south as far as Patagonia, and north to the river of Plata. This illustrious navigator then sailed back to Sierra Leon, and keeping along the coast of Guinea, returned to Portugal, arriving at Lisbon in September, 1502. King Emanuel highly satisfied with this success, equipped six ships, with which our navigator made a fourth voyage. In this voyage he designed to stand along the coast of America to the south, until he discovered a passage to the Molucca Islands to the westward. He ran along the coast, from the bay of All Saints, as far as the river of Curabado: but having only provisions for twenty months, and being detained on the coast he had discovered five months by contrary winds, he returned to Portugal. Americus died at the Island of Tercera, in 1514, leaving his name to half the globe. A celebrated author speaking of these voyages, says, that in the eighth and ninth centuries, the barbarians attacked the cultivated nations; but now the latter in their turn crossed the Atlantic to make war on the barbarians. Americus has left us relations of his four voyages, in which he has described the original inhabitants of America in lively colours. The king of Portugal caused some remains of his ship, the Victory, to be preserved in the metropolitan church of Lisbon.
AMELOT DE LA HENSAYE (ABR. NICHOLAS),
WAS born at Orleans in 1634, and died at Paris 1706, in a state but little above indigence. He was a man of a rough and austere temper, but is well known for his political talents. He was bred under the president of Saint André, who was the French ambassador at Venice, and took him as his secretary. We have still many of his works extant, among which the most distinguished are, 1. his Translation of Father Paul's history of the council of Trent, in great reputation before
Courayer's
appeared. This work made him many enemies, who propagated calumnies against him. 2. The Prince of Machiavel. In this he endeavours to clear his author from the reproaches which have been cast on him, as an encourager of assassination and poisoning. 3. A version of Balth. Gratian's Man of the Court, with moral and political remarks. 4. The Annals of Tacitus. Dry and plain, but esteemed for the political notes with which he has overwhelmed as it were his author. To these Fr. Bruyere has added six volumes, but very inferior to the former. 5. The history of the government of Venice; with an inquiry respecting the original liberty of Venice, translated from the Italian. This history, compiled with truth, gave offence to the state of Venice, who complained to the court of France, and it is said that the author was for some time shut up in the Bastile. 6. The Morality of Tacitus, extracted from his Annals. This work is still in much esteem. Amelot had meditated much on this writer; but if this study formed his genius to politics, it did not contribute to the smoothness of his style. Some other works of his are still extant, but of little note.
AMHURST (NICHOLAS).
A MAN who has been greatly distinguished as a poet, and a poetical writer of the present century, was so much talked of for a time, and so closely connected with the leaders of the grand opposition to Sir Robert Walpole's administration, that, although we have but few materials with regard to the circumstances of his life, he cannot be entirely omitted. He was born at Marden in Kent, but in what year is uncertain. Under the protection and care of his grandfather, who was a clergyman, he received his grammatical education at merchant-taylor's school, in London; and from thence was removed to St. John's college, Oxford, where his behaviour was such as occasioned his expulsion. What the particular and specific charges against him were, we are not informed; but in general, he is said to have been expelled for the libertinism of his principles, the irregularity of his conduct, and some offence which he had given to the heads of the college. From his own account of the matter, in the dedication of his poems to Dr. Delaune, president of St. John's, and in his Terrae Filius, we may collect that he wished to have it understood, he was solely persecuted for the liberality of his sentiments, and his attachment to the cause of the Revolution, and of the Hanover succession; but he had probably been guilty of real misbehaviour. Whatever were the causes of his expulsion, his resentment on the account of it was very great. He made it therefore his business to fatirize the learning and discipline of the university of Oxford, and to expose the characters of several gentlemen who were deemed a part of its most respectable members. This he did in a poem, which he called Oculus Britanniae, and again in his Terrae Filius, a work in which there is a considerable portion of wit, intermixed with much abuse and scurrility. Soon after Mr. Amhurst quitted Oxford, he seems to have settled in London as a writer by profession. He published a volume of miscellanies, which had principally been written at the university. The miscellanies are upon a variety of subjects, both sacred and profane. They are partly originals, and partly paraphrases, imitations, and translations; and consist of tales, epigrams, epistles, love verses, elegies, and satires. They begin with a beautiful paraphrase on the Mosaic account of the creation, and with a very humorous tale on the discovery of that useful utensil a bottle-screw. Mr. Amhurst was the author likewise of an epistle to Sir John Blount, Bart. one of the South-Sea company in 1720; of the British General, a poem sacred to the memory of his Grace John Duke of Marlborough; and of Strephon's revenge, a satire on the Oxford toasts. Our poet, who had a great enmity to the exorbitant demands and domineering spirit of the high church clergy, and who had early at Oxford displayed his zeal against priestly power, discovered this particularly in a poem, entitled the Convocation, in five cantos; which is a kind of satire against all the writers who had opposed the bishop Hoadley, in the famous Bangorian controversy. He translated also Mr. Addison's Resurrection, and some other of his Latin poems. But his principal literary undertaking, was conducting the celebrated political paper called the Craftsman, which was written against Sir Robert Walpole's ministry, and was carried on for a number of years with great spirit and success.
This paper was more read and attended to than any production of the kind which had hitherto been published in England. Ten or twelve thousand were sold in a day; and the effect which it had in raising the indignation of the people, and in controlling the power of administration, was very considerable. This effect was not entirely, or chiefly, owing to the abilities of Mr. Amhurst. He was assisted by Lord Bolinbroke, and Mr. Pulteney, and probably by other leaders of the opposition. Their fame, and their writings were the grand support of the Craftsman. Nevertheless Mr. Amhurst's own papers are allowed to have been composed with ability and spirit; and he conducted the Craftsman, in the very zenith of its prosperity, with no small reputation to himself. On the 2d of July 1737, there appeared in that publication an ironical letter, written in the name of Colley Cibber, the design of which was to ridicule the act which had just passed for licensing plays. In this letter the laureat proposes himself to the lord chamberlain to be made superintendant of the old plays, as standing equally in need of correction with the new ones; and produces several passages from Shakespeare, and other poets, in relation to kings, queens, princes, and ministers of state, which, he says, are now fit to be brought on the stage. The printer, &c. having been taken up, by order of government, Mr. Amhurst voluntarily surrendered himself in their stead, and after having been kept in custody ten days, was obliged to bring his habeas corpus for his liberty before he could obtain it, because he refused to give bail for his good behaviour, as well as his appearance. The ministry, we believe prudently, dropped the prosecution. Notwithstanding Mr. Amhurst's merit with his party, he was totally neglected by them, when they made their terms with the crown; and he died soon after, of a fever, at Twickenham. His death happened on the 27th of April, 1742; his disorder was probably occasioned, in a great measure, by the ill usage he had received. Mr. Ralph, in his Case of Authors, speaks with a just feeling and indignation upon the subject. "Poor Amhurst! after having been the drudge of his party, for the best part of twenty years, was as much forgotten in the famous compromise of 1742, as if he had never been born! and died of what is called a broken heart, which happened a few months afterwards; he was indebted to the charity of a bookseller for a grave; not to be traced now, because then no otherwise to be distinguished than by the freshness of a turf, borrowed from the next common to cover it." A very late writer, in the character of Mr. Pulteney, expresses himself concerning the treatment of Mr. Amhurst in the following terms. "But if the Earl of Bath had his list of pensioners, how comes it that Amhurst was forgotten? The fate of this poor man is singular. He was the able associate of Bolinbroke and Pulteney, in writing the celebrated weekly paper, called The Craftsman. His abilities were unquestionable: he had almost as much wit, learning, and various knowledge, as his two partners; and when these great masters chose not to appear in public themselves, he supplied their places so well, that his essays were often ascribed to them."
AMMIANUS (MARCELLINUS),
A GRECIAN, a soldier, as he calls himself, and an historian; was born at Antioch, and flourished under Constantius and the preceding emperors, as late as Theodosius. He served under Julian in the east, and wrote in Latin an interesting history from the reign of Nerva to the death of Valens, in thirty-one books, of which eighteen only remain. Though a Pagan, he speaks with candour and moderation of the Christian religion, and even praises it; his hero is the Emperor Julian. The best edition of his history is that of Gronovius, in 1693. Ammianus died about the year 390.
AMMON (ANDREAS),
AN excellent Latin poet, born at Lucca, in Italy; was sent by Pope Leo X. to England, in the characters of prothonotary of the apostolic see, and collector general of this kingdom. Being a man of singular genius and learning, he soon became acquainted with the principal literati of those times; particularly with Erasmus, Colet, Grocin, and others; for the sake of whose company he resided some time at Oxford. The advice which Erasmus gives him, in regard to pushing his fortune, has a good deal of humour in it, and was certainly intended as a satire on the artful methods generally practised by the selfish and ambitious part of mankind. "In the first place (says he), throw off all sense of shame, thrust yourself into every one's business, and elbow out whomsoever you can; neither love nor hate any one; measure every thing by your own advantage; let this be the scope and drift of all your actions. Give nothing but what is to be returned with usury, and be compliant with every body. Have always two strings to your bow. Feign that you are solicited by many from abroad, and get every thing ready for your departure. Show letters inviting you elsewhere, with great promises." —Ammon was Latin secretary to Henry VIII. but at what time he was appointed does not appear. In 1512, he was made canon and prebendary of the collegiate chapel of St. Stephen, in the palace of Westminster. He was likewise prebendary of Wells; and in 1514 was presented to the rectory of Dychial, in that diocese. About the same time, by the king's special recommendation, he was also made prebendary of Salisbury. He died in the year 1517, and was buried in St. Stephen's chapel, in the palace of Westminster. He was esteemed an elegant Latin writer, and an admirable poet. The Epistles of Erasmus to Ammon abound with encomiums on his genius and learning. —His Works are, 1. Epistolae ad Erasmum, lib. i. 2. Scotici Const. Historia, lib. i. 3. Bucolicae, vel Eclogae, lib. i. Basil, 1546, 8vo. 4. De Rebus Nihil, lib. i. 5. Panegyricus quidam, lib. i. 6. Varii Generis Epigrammata, lib. i. 7. Poemata diversa, lib. i.
AMORY (THOMAS),
A LEARNED divine of the present century, and a writer of some note among the dissenters of England. He drew his first breath at Taunton in Somersetshire, where his father was a grocer, and eminently conspicuous for piety and benevolence. The son early distinguished himself by a religious turn of mind, and by his inclination to literary pursuits. He learned the classics at his native town, under Mr. Chadwi
k, a dissenting clergyman, From Taunton he was removed to Exeter, for instruction in the French language, which when he had obtained, he returned again to Mr. Chadwick. At Lady-day 1717, he, with his school-fellow, Mr. Towgood, who has since made so distinguished a figure among the dissenters, were put under Mr. James and Mr. Grove, who had been long employed before the schism bill, in educating young men for the ministry, but had desisted from that employment, until George the First was firmly established on the throne. Under these gentlemen Mr. Amory went through his learning, and in 1722 was examined and approved of as a candidate for the ministry. The usual examination for the dissenting ministers, is to deliver a sermon, maintain a thesis, and submit to such other exercises as are thought proper. But our student being desirous of further improvement, removed to London, and attended a course of experimental philosophy. He afterwards returned to Taunton, and preached at several places in the neighbourhood, until upon the death of Mr. James, in 1724, Mr. Amory was fixed as an assistant preacher to the Rev. Mr. Darch, of Hall-bishops. He also assisted his uncle Mr. Grove, in the instruction of the pupils, in the room of Mr. James: this employment he discharged with the greatest ability and diligence. In 1730, he was ordained at the meeting-house in Taunton, and from this ti
he was united in the meeting-house at Taunton with Mr. Batson; but that gentlem
keeping the whole of the salary to himself, several of the congregation agreed to build another meeting-house, and to have Mr. Amory as their pastor. In 1738, on the death of Mr. Grove, he had the direction of the academy at Taunton, and conducted it with great applause. In the year 1741
e married the daughter of the Rev. Mr. Baker, a diffencing minister near London; a woman of an excellent disposition, with whom he lived in the greatest happiness. At Taunton he was greatly esteemed, not only by his own society, but by all his neighbours, even those of a different persuasion; and had the peculiar happiness to be particularly respected by the gentlemen and clergy of the established church. He was honoured when very young with the friendship of the celebrated Mrs. Rowe, and held a correspondence with her.
His conduct, in a dispute which the Baptist society in Taunton had with their pastor, reflects high honour upon him. They offered to quit their minister, and join Mr. Amory, but he dissuaded them from it, as it would bring a scandal upon them. In 1759, he was induced to quit Taunton, and remove to London, to assist as afternoon preacher at the meeting in the Old Jury, belonging to the learned Dr. Chandler. Hi
motive in quitting his old flock, was to have a better opportunity to provide for his children. In this station he did not shine as a preacher his sermons, although good, did not strike the generality of his hearers and he was too liberal in his sentiments to please the bigots and enthusiasts. He had, however, the happiness to possess the esteem of the most judicious part of the dissenters. In 1767, he was chosen one of the trustees to Dr. Williams' charities, and next year the university of Edinburgh conferred on him the degree of doctor in divinity; and the same year he was elected a lecturer at Salters Hall. He had been some time before chosen pastor of the society at the Old Jury, jointly with Mr. White. Here he continued until his decease. In 1770 he was made morning preacher at Newington-green, as colleague with th
present celebrated Dr.Rich. Price. In 1772, when the dissenting ministers had formed a design to procure an enlargement of the toleration act, Dr. Amory was one of the committee, and extremely zealous in the scheme, being convinced in his mind of the natural justice of the measure. He continued indefatigable in the service of the dissenters until the last, and expired on the 24th of July 1774, in the 74th year of his age.
Dr. Amory was an excellent man in every point of view.—A rational and fervent piety, and enlarged sentiments of the divine providence, eminently distinguished him; none could excel him as a master, a husband, a father, or a friend. As a companion, he was remarkably pleasing and engaging; and the whole of his private life was singularly amiable.
In public, as a clergyman, he was greatly respected; he conducted the public worship with admirable propriety. His discourses were solid and affectionate. He was peculiarly fond of dwelling on the providence and perfections of the Deity, the love and obedience we owe him, the evidences of a future state, the excellency of the Gospel, and the duties of a Christian life. He seldom entered on any disputed point, if he did, it was to expose Calvinism, of which he much disapproved. His sentiments of religion coincided with Dr. Samuel Clarke. His learning was solid and extensive. He diligently studied the scripture, and was well acquainted with theology, ethics, experimental philosophy, and the writings of the ancients. The following is an account of his works:—1. a Letter to a Friend, published in the Literary Journal, 1731.—2. A Dialogue on Devotion, after the manner of Xenophon.—3. Forms of Devotion for the closet, 8vo, 1763.— 4. An Account of the Life of Dr. Groves, from which the life in the Biographia Britannica is taken.—5. A preface to Dr. Groves's sermons. In 1747, he published a collection of Mr. Groves's sermons; and in 1749 he published, in two volumes 8vo, from an unfinished manuscript, Mr. Groves's System of Moral Philosophy. He also wrote the life of the Rev. George Benson, edited four volumes of Dr. Chandler's sermons, and was the author of some poetical pieces.—A volume of his sermons has been published since his death.
AMYOT (JAMES),
BISHOP of Auxerre and great almoner of France, one of the mo
celebrated men for learning of the sixteenth century. He was born at Melun, the 30th of October, 1514, and studied philosophy at Paris, in the college of cardinal Le Moine. He was naturally dull and heavy, but his diligence and application made amends for these natural defects. Having taken his degree of master of arts at the age of nineteen, he pursued his studies under the royal professors established by Francis I. viz. James Tusen, who explained the Greek poets; Peter Dones, professor of rhetoric; and O
once Finé, professor of mathematics. He left Paris at the age of twenty-three, and went to Bourges with the Sien
Colin, who had the abbey of St. Ambrose in that city. At the recommendation of this abbot, a secretary of state took Amyot into his house, to be tutor to his children. The great improvements they made under his direction, induced the secretary to recommend him to the princess Margaret, duchess of Berry, only sister of Francis I. and by means of this recommendation Amyot was made public professor of Greek and Latin in the university of Bourges: he read two lectures a day, for ten years, a Latin lecture in the morning, and a Greek one in the afternoon. It was during this time he translated into French the Amours of Theagenes and Chariclea, which Francis I. was so pleased with, that he conferred upon him the abbey of Bellosane. The death of this prince happening soon after, Amyot thought it would be better to try his fortune elsewhere, than to expect any preferment at the court of France; he therefore accompanied Morvillier to Venice, on his embassy from Henry II. to that republic. When Morvillier was recalled from hi
embassy, Amyot would not repass the Alps with him, choosing rather to go to Rome, where he was kindly received by the bishop of Mirepoix, at whose house he lived two years. It was here, that, looking over the manuscripts of the Vatican (whither he was allowed a free access by Romulus Amaseiis, keeper of that famous library), he discovered that Heliodorus, bishop of Tricca, was the author of the Amours of Theagenes. He found also a manuscript of this work, more correct and complete than that which he had translated, and took care to enable himself thereby to give a better edition of this work. His labours, however, in this way did not engage him so as to divert him from pushing his fortune: he insinuated himself so far into the favour of cardinal de Tournon, that the cardinal recommended him to the king, to to be preceptor to his two younger sons. While he was in this employment, he finished his translation of Plutarch's Lives, which he dedicated to the king: he afterwards undertook that of Plutarch's Morals, which he ended in the reign of Charles IX. and dedicated to that prince. Charles conferred upon him the abbey of St. Cornelius de Compiegne, and made him great almoner of France and bishop of Auxerre; and that of curator of the university of Paris happening to be vacant at the same time, he was also invested in both these employments, which Thuanus greatly complains of. Henry III. perhaps would have yielded to the pressing solicitations of the bishop of St. Flour, who had attended him on his journey into Poland, and made great interest for the post of great almoner; but the duchess of Savoy, the king's aunt, recommended Amyot so earnestly to him, when he passed through Turin, on his return from Poland, that he was not only continued in his employment, but a new honour was added to it for his sake, for when Henry III. named Amyot commander of the order of the Holy Ghost, he decreed at the same time, as a mark of respect to him, all the great almoners of France should be of course commanders of that order. Amyot did not neglect his studies in the midst of his honours, but revised all his translations with great care, compared them with the Greek text, and altered many passages: he designed to give a more complete edition of them, with the various readings of divers manuscripts, but died, before he had finished that work, the 6th of Feb. 1593, in his seventy-ninth year.
AMYRAUT (MOSES),
AN eminent French divine, minister and professor of divinity at Saumur. He was born in September 1596, at Bourgueil, a small town of Touraine, of an ancient family originally from Orleans. Having gone through his course of philosophy, he was sent to Poictiers, to read law, to which he applied himself with great assiduity, and is said to have spent fourteen hours a day in that study. At the end of his first year, he took his degree of licentiate. But Mr. Bouchereau, minister of Saumur, having advised him to study divinity, and the reading of Calvin's Institutions having strongly inclined him to follow this advice, he acquainted his father that he earnestly desired to be a clergyman, and obtained his assent, though not without a great deal of difficulty. He went to study at Saumur, where he continued a considerable time as student of divinity. Upon his admission into orders, he was presented to the church of St. Agnau, in the country of Mayne, where, after having lived eighteen months, he was invited to Saumur, to succeed Mr. Daille, appointed minister of Charenton. About the same time that the church of Saumur desired him for their minister, the academic council fixed upon him for professor of divinity. His admission to the professorship, with his previous examination, and his inaugural thesis De Sacerdotio Christi, redounded much to his reputation.
In 1613, Mr. Amyraut was sent deputy to the national council at Charenton; and by this assembly was appointed to address the king, and lay before his majesty their complaints concerning the infraction of the edicts: he was particularly charged not to deliver his speech upon his knees, as the deputies for the former national synod had done. He managed this affair with so much address, that he was introduced to the king according to the ancient custom, and in the manner that was agreeable to the assembly. It was on this occasion that he became acquainted with cardinal Richlieu, who conceived a great esteem for him. About this time he published a piece, wherein he explained the mystery of predestination and grace, according to the hypothesis of Camero, which occasioned a kind of civil war amongst the protestant divines of France. Those who disliked the hypothesis, derided it as a novelty, especially when they saw themselves joined by the great Du Moulin, who accused Amyraut of Arianism. The authority of this famous divine, to whom the people paid a great respect and veneration, on account of the many books of controversy he had published, made so deep an impression in the minds of many ministers, that, though Mr. Amyraut had published a piece, wherein he maintained that Calvin had held universal grace, yet many deputies at the national synod of Alencon came charged with instructions against him, and some were even for deposing him. The deputies of the provinces beyond the Loire were the most violent against him: however, the synod, after having heard Mr. Amyraut explain his opinion, in several sessions, and answer the objections made thereto, honourably acquitted him, and enjoined silence in respect to questions of this nature: but this was not justly observed by either side, for complaints were made against Mr. Amyraut, in the national synod of Charenton, for having acted contrary to the regulations concerning that silence; and he, in his turn, complained of infractions of the same nature. The assembly, by an holy amnesty, suppressed these mutual complaints, and having renewed the injunction of silence, sent back Amyraut to his employment, and permitted him to oppose foreigners who should attack him, in what manner the synod of Anjou should think proper. This synod allowed him to publish an answer to the three volumes of Spanhemius upon universal grace, which occasioned the writing of several others.
When the national synod was sitting in the year 1645, Mr. Amyraut was desired to enter into a conference with Mr. De la Milletiere, i
order to bring him over to his opinion: the conference continued several days, but they could no more agree in verbal disputation than in their writings. The doctrine of Mr. De la Place, concerning original sin, being attacked in this synod, Mr. Amyraut appeared before the assembly to plead the cause of his colleague; and he made it appear, that the doctrine complained of, was no ways dangerous. His conduct in this affair was highly commended on account of the excellent defence he made in favour of Mr. De la Place's opinion, and because he had no other motive than the interest of his colleague; his own opinion as to original sin being different from that of Mr. De la Place. Amyraut being a man well acquainted with the world, wa
very entertaining in conversation, which contributed no less than the reputation of his learning to render him esteemed by so many persons of quality, though of opposite principles in religious matters: among those who particularly distinguished him, were the marshals De Brezé and De la Meilleraic, Mr. Le Goux de la Berchere, first president of the parliament of Burgundy, and cardinal Mazarin. What gained him the favour of this cardinal, was, in all probability, his openly declaring in favour of the obedience due to sovereigns, which proved very advantageous to the court of France during the troubles of the league against cardinal Mazarin, called de la Fronde. In his apology, published in 1647, in behalf of the protestants, he excuses, as well as he can, the civil wars of France; but he declares at the same time, that he by no means intends to justify the taking up of arms against one's lawful sovereign upon any pretence whatsoever; and that he always looked upon it as more agreeable to the nature of the gospel, and the practice of the primitive church, to use no other arms but patience, tears, and prayers. But notwithstanding his attachment to this doctrine, he was not for obeying in matters of conscience, which plainly appeared, when the seneschal of Saumur imparted to him an order from the council of state, enjoining all those of the reformed religion to hang the outside of their houses on corpus Christi day. The seneschal notified this order to him the eve of this holiday, entreating him at the same time to persuade the protestants to comply with it. To this Mr. Amyraut made answer, that, on the contrary, he would go directly and exhort his parishioners not to comply with it, as he himself was resolved not to obey such orders; that in all his sermons he had endeavoured to inspire his hearers with obedience and submission to superior powers, but not when their consciences were concerned. Having thus acquainted the seneschal with his resolution, he went from house to house, laying before his parishioners the reasons why he thought they ought not to obey the order of the council. The king's lieutenant, however, not thinking it proper to support the seneschal, this prevented any tumult on that occasion. Amyraut was a man of such charity and compassion, that he bestowed on the poor his whole salary during the last ten years of his life, without distinction of catholic or protestant. He died the 8th of February, in 1664, and was interred with the usual ceremonies of the academy.
ANACREON.
A GREEK poet, born at Teos, a sea-port of Ionia. Madam Dacier endeavours to prove, from Plato, that he was a kinsman of Solon's, and consequently allied to the Codridae, the noblest family in Athens; but this is not sufficiently supported. The time when he flourished is uncertain; Eusebius placing it in the 62d, Suidas in the 52d, and Mr. Le Fevre in the 72d Olympiad. He is said to have been eighteen years of age when Harpagus, the general of Cyrus, came with an army against the confederate cities of the Ionians and Aeolians. The Milesians immediately submitted themselves; but the Phocaeans, when they found they were unable to withstand the enemy, chose rather to abandon their country than their liberty, and getting a fleet together, transported themselves and families to the coast of France, where being hospitably received by Nannus the king of the country, they built Marseilles. The Teians soon followed their example; for Harpagus having made himself master of their walls, they unanimously went on board their ships, and sailing to Thrace, fixed themselves in the city Abdera; where they had not been long, when the Thracians, jealous of their neighbours, endeavoured to give them disturbance; and in these conflicts it seems to be, that Anacreon lost those friends whom he celebrates in his epigrams. This poet had certainly a delicate wit, as may be judged from the many beauties which shine throughout his works; but he was rather too fond of pleasures, for love and wine had the disposal of all his hours.
Anacreon left Abdera, and went to the court of Polycrates at Samo
, where he was received with great marks of friendship; and it was here he became enamoured with the handsome Bathyllus.
He had another favourite, named Smerdias, the son of a Thracian prince, who had been given as a present to Polycrates by some Grecian pirates.
He is said to have been in love with the fair Cleobulus, whom he had like to have killed when a child, in the arms of his nurse, by rudely jostling her as he reeled one day through the streets, when he was in liquor; and not content with this, he abused the child with scurrilous language: the nurse w
hed he might one day commend him as much as he had the
abused him. Her wishes were fulfilled, for Cleobulus grew to be a beautiful youth, and Anacreon falling in love with him, wrote several verses in his praise. Aelian has endeavoured to clear Anacreon of the suspicion of entertaining any dishonourable passion for these youths; but the general charge against him in this respect is so strong that the imp
tation lies heavy upon his memory. How long Anacreon continued at Samos is uncertain, but it is probable he remained there during the greatest part of the reign of Polycrates, which seems to be confirmed by Herodotus, who assures us, that Anacreon was with that prince in his chamber when he received a message from Oraetes governor of Sardys, by whose treachery Polycrates was soon after betrayed and inhumanly crucified. It seems to have been a little before this that Anacreon left Samos and removed to Athens, having been invited thither by Hipparchus the eldest son of Pisistratus, one of the most virtuous and learned princes of his time, who, as Plato assures us, sent an obliging letter, with a vessel of fifty oars to convey him over the Aegean sea. After Hipparchus was slain by the conspiracy of Harmodius and Aristogiton, Anacreon returned to Teos, where he remained till the revolt of Histiaeus, when he was obliged once more to remove to Abdera, where he died. The manner of his death is said to have been very extraordinary, for they tell us that he was choaked with a grape-stone, which he swallowed as he was regaling on some new wine.
There is but a small part of Anacreon's works which remain. Besides his odes and epigrams, he composed elegies, hymns, and iambics. His poems which are extant consist chiefly of Bacchanalian songs and love-sonnets. How much he was the delight of both ancients and modern
appears from the praises they have bestowed upon him.
The verses of Anacreon, says Scaliger, are sweeter than Indian sugar. His beauty, says Madam Dacier, and chiefest excellence lay in imitating nature, and in following reason, so that he presented to the mind no images but what were noble and natural. The odes of Anacreon, says Rapin, are flowers, beauties, and perpetual graces; it is familiar to him to write what is natural, and to the life, he having an air so delicate, so easy, and so graceful, that among all the ancients there is nothing comparable to the method he took, nor to that kind of writing he followed. He flows soft and easy, every where diffusing the joy and indolence of his mind through his verse, and tuning his harp to the smooth and pleasant temper of his soul
ANCILLON (DAVID),
A MINISTER of the reformed church at Metz, where he was born the 17th of March, 1617. He studied from the ninth or tenth year of his age in the Jesuits college, where he gave such extraordinary and striking proofs of his genius, that the heads of the society tried every means to draw him over to their religion and party; but he continued firm against their attacks, and took a resolution of studying divinity. He went to Geneva in 1633, and went through a course of philosophy under Mr. Du Pan, and his divinity studies under Spanheim, Diodati, and Tronchin, who conceived a very great esteem for him. He left Geneva in April 1641, and offered himself to the synod of Charenton in order to take upon him the office of a minister: his abilities were greatly admited by the examiners, and the whole assembly was so highly pleased with him, that they gave him the church of Meaux, the most considerable then unprovided for. Here he acquired a vast reputation for his learning, eloquence, and virtue, and was even highly respected by those of the Roman catholic communion. He returned to his own country in the year 1653, where he remained till the revocation of the edict of Nantz in 1685. He retired to Francfort after this fatal blow; and having preached in the French church at Hanau, the whole assembly was so edified by it, that they immediately called together the heads of the families, in order to propose that he might be invited to accept of being minister there. The proposition was agreed to, and they sent deputies to him, who obtained what they desired. He began the exercise of his ministry in that church about the end of the yea
1685. His preaching made so great a noise at Hanau, that the professors of divinity, and the German and Dutch ministers attended his sermons frequently; the count of Hanau himself, who had never been seen in the French church, came thither to hear Mr. Ancillon: they came from the neighbouring parts, and even from Francfort; peopl
who understood nothing of French, flocked together with great eagerness, and said they loved to see him speak. This occasioned a jealousy in the two other ministers, who were piqued at the esteem and affection shewn to their new colleague; they were displeased at it, and obliged him, by a thousand uneasy circumstances, to abandon voluntarily a place which they could not force him from. He returned to Francfort▪ where he would have fixed, if the circumstances of his family, whic
was very numerous, had not obliged him to go to some other plac
where he might settle himself; he chose Berlin, where he received▪ kind reception from his highness the elector of Brandenburg: he wa
made minister of Berlin, and had the pleasure of seeing his eldest so
made judge and director of the French in that city, and his other son rewarded with a pension, and entertained at the university of Francfo
upon the Oder. He had likewise the satisfaction of seeing his brothe
made judge of all the French in the states of Brandenburg and M
Cayart, his son-in-law, engineer to his electoral highness. He enjoye
these agreeable circumstances and several others till his death, whic
happened at Berlin the 3d of September, 1692, when he was seventyfive years of age.
Mr. Ancillon having got a good deal of money by marriage, was enabled thereby to gratify his passion for books; his library was accordingly very curious and large, and he increased it every day with all that appeared new and important in the republic of letters, so that at last it was one of the noblest collections in the hands of any private person in the kingdom; such foreigners as were curious visited it, when they passed through the city of Metz, as the most valuable curiosity there. Mr. Ancillon published at Sedan a volume in quarto, in the year 1657, in which the whole dispute concerning traditions is amply and solidly examined. This is a faithful account of all that passed in the conference which he had with Mr. Bedacier, doctor of Sorbonne, bishop of Auguste, and suffragan of the bishop of Metz: he disputed with him before several persons, at first in his own house, and afterwards before a large audience in the bishop's palace. Mr. Bedacier thought proper to break off the dispute, alledging it was much better to continue the argument by writing than personal disputation: it was agreed however that neither party should publish the particulars of this conference. There was a monk, notwithstanding, who took upon him to print a false account of it, whose impudence was so flagrant, that although Mr. Ancillon had managed this contest with great honour to himself, yet he attempted to persuade the public that it was very fatal to him and to his party, and that he lost the victory in it irrecoverably. This occasioned Mr. Ancillon to publish the book abovementioned. When the Method of cardinal Richlieu appeared, Ancillon wrote a full and excellent answer to it; but he understood that Mr. Martel, professor at Montauban, had written one, which was ready to be published; and that Mr. Claude, who had the same design, had desisted from executing it for the same reason, as appears from the third letter of his collection of letters in the fifth tome of his posthumous works; he suppressed therefore what he had done, and published only some sheets, which contain an answer to the sixth chapter of that Method, or, an Apology for Luther, Zuinglius, Calvin, and Beza; which was the title of this piece in the edition published at Hanau in 1666. He published also the Life of William Farel, or the Idea of a faithful Minister of Jesus Christ. The famous Mr. Conrart, who was one of his intimate friends, read this, and approved it, and wrote with his own hands several remarks in the margin of the manuscript. Though Mr. Ancillon explained several entire books of the holy Scripture, and wrote all his sermons, yet he never could be persuaded to print them: all that we have of him of that kind is a sermon preached at Metz on a fast-day; the consistory used some sort of authority to make him print it, which was done at Paris in 1676. This sermon his upon the 18th and 19th verses of the third chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians, and is intitled the Tears of St. Paul. He wrote at last an excellent answer to the Pastoral Advice, the Circular Letters, and the Method, which the clergy addressed to the reformed of France, in the year 1682. We cannot form a truer idea of the variety of learning which enlivened his conversation, than from a book intitled Melange critique de Litterature recuilli des conversations de feu Mr. Ancillon: it was published at Basil in 1698, in two volumes in duodecimo, by Mr. Ancillon the advocate, the eldest son of the minister, a gentleman well known in the republic of letters.
ANCOURT (FLORENT-CARTON D')
AN eminent French actor and dramatic writer, born at Fontainble
October 1661. He studied in the Jesuits college at Paris, under father De la Rue, who, discovering in him a remarkable vivacity and capacity for learning, was extremely desirous of engaging him in their order; but Ancourt's aversion to a religious life rendered all his efforts ineffectual. After he had gone through a course of philosophy, he applied himself to the civil law, and was admitted advocate at seventeen years of age. But falling in love with an actress, this induced him to go upo
the stage, and, in 1680, he married this woman. As he had all the qualifications necessary for the theatre, he soon greatly distinguished himself: and not being satisfied with the applause only of an actor, he began to write pieces for the stage, many of which had such prodigious success, that most of the players grew rich from the profits of them. His merit in this way procured him a very favourable reception at court
and Lewis XIV. shewed him many marks of his favour. His sprightly conversation and polite behaviour made his company agreeable to all the men of figure both at court and in the city, and the most considerable persons were extremely pleased to have him at their houses. Having taken a journey to Dunkirk, to see his eldest daughter who lived there, he took the opportunity of paying his compliments to the Elector of Bavaria, who was then at Brussels: this prince received him with the utmost civility, and having retained him a considerable time dismissed him, with a present of a diamond valued at a thousand pistoles: he likewise rewarded him in a very generous manner, when, upon his coming to Paris, Ancourt composed an entertainment for his diversion. Ancourt began at length to grow weary of the theatre, which he quitted in Le
t 1718, and retired to his estate of Courcelles le Roy, i
erry, where he applied himself wholly to devotion, and composed a translation of David's Psalms in verse, and a sacred tragedy, which were never printed. He died the 6th of December, 1726, being sixty-five years of age.
ANDERSON. (SIR EDMUND).
A YOUNGER brother of a good family in Lincolnshire, descended originally from Scotland. He received the first part of his education in the country, and went afterwards to Lincoln college in Oxford: from thence he removed to the Inner Temple, where he read law with great assiduity, and in due time was called to the bar; and in the nineteenth year of the reign of queen Elizabeth, he was appointed one of the queen's serjeants at law. Some time after, he was made a judge; and, in 1581, being upon the Norfolk circuit, at Bury, he exerted himself against the famous Browne, who was the author of those opinions which were afterwards maintained by a sect called, from him, Brownists: for this conduct of judge Anderson, the bishop of Norwich wrote a letter to treasurer Burleigh, desiring the said judge might receive the queen's thanks. In 1582, he was made lord chief justice of the common pleas, and took his place the
e the 4th of May, with great formality and ceremony. The year following he received the honour of knighthood. In 1586, he was appointed one of the commissioners for trying Mary queen of Scots; on the 12th of October, the same year, he sat in judgment upon her, and on the 25th of the same month he sat again in the star-chamber, when sentence was pronounced against that unhappy queen. In 1587, he sat in the star-chamber, on secretary Davison, who was charged with issuing the warrant for the execution of the queen of Scots, contrary to queen Elizabeth's command, and without her knowledge: after the cause had been heard, Sir Roger Manwood, chief baron of the exchequer, gave his opinion first, wherein he extolled the queen's clemency, which he said Davison had prevented, and therefore he was for fining him ten thousand pounds, and imprisonment during the queen's pleasure. Chief justice Anderson spoke next: he said that Davison had done
Justum, non juste,
that is, he had done what was right not in a due manner.
In the proceedings against those who endeavoured to set up the Geneva discipline, lord
hief justice Anderson greatly distinguished himself; and as he shewed great zeal on these occasions, so in the case of Udal, a puritan minister, who was confined in the year 1589, and tried and condemned in the year following, we find this judge is severely censured by Mr. Pierce. It is highly probable the judge himself was sensible of the ill-will his proceedings against the dissenters from the established church drew upon him; but it does not appear that it gave him any great pain, since in 1596, we have an account of his going to the northern circuit, where he behaved with the same rigour, declaring in his charges, that such persons as opposed the established church, opposed her majesty's authority, and were in that light enemies to the state, and disturbers of the public peace; wherefore, of such he directed the grand juries to inquire, that they might be punished. He was indeed a very strict lawyer, who governed himself entirely by statutes: this he shewed on many occasions, particularly at the trial of Henry Cuffe, secretary to the Earl of Essex, where the attorney-general charging the prisoner syllogistically, and Cuffe answering him in the same style, lord chief justice Anderson said smartly, "I sit here to judge of law, and not of logic;" and directed Mr. attorney to press the statute of Edward III. on which Mr. Cuffe was indicted. He was reputed severe, and strict in the observation of what was taught in courts, and laid down as law by reports; but this ought to be considered a vulgar opinion, for we have his express declaration to the contrary, and that he neither expected precedents in all cases, nor would be bound by them where he saw they were not founded upon justice, but would act as if there were no such precedents. Of this we have a proof from the Reports in his time, published by Mr. Goldesborough: "The case of Resceit was moved again; and Shuttleworth said, that he cannot be received, because he is named in the writ; and said, that he had searched all the books, and there is not one case where he which is named in the writ, may be received." "What of that? (said judge Anderson) shall we not give judgment, because it is not adjudged in the books before? we will give judgment according to reason; and if there be no reason in the books, I will not regard them." His steadiness was so great, that he would not be driven from what he thought right, by any authority whatever, as appeared in the case of Cavendish, a creature of the Earl of Leicester's, who had procured, by his interest, the queen's letters patent for making out writs of supersedeas upon exigents in the court of common pleas, and a message was sent to the judges to admit him to that office; with which, as they conceived the queen had no right to grant any such patent, they did not comply. Upon this, Mr. Cavendish, by the assistance of his patron, obtained a letter from the queen to quicken them, which however did not produce what was expected from it. The courtier however pursued his point, and obtained another letter under the queen's signet and sign manual; this letter was delivered in presence of the lord chancellor and the Earl of Leicester, in the beginning of Easter term, and the judges desired time to consider it; and then answered, that they could not comply with the letter, because it was inconsistent with their duty and their oaths of office. The queen upon this appointed the chancellor, the lord chief justice of the queen's bench, and the master of the rolls, to hear this matter; and the queen's serjeant having set forth her prerogative, it was shewn by the judges, that they could not grant offices by virtue of the queen's letters, where it did not appear to them that she had a power to grant; that as the judges were bound by their oaths of office, so her majesty was restrained by her coronation-oath from such arbitrary interpositions: with which her majesty was satisfied. He concurred also with his brethren in remonstrating boldly against several acts of power practised in Elizabeth's reign, as appears in that memorable remonstrance recorded by him in his Reports. On the accession of King James I. he was continued in his office, which he held upwards of twenty-four years, to the time of his death, which happened at London, August 1, 1605: his body was interred on the 15th of September following, at Eyworth in Bedfordshire, with great funeral pomp. As to the writings of this great lawyer, besides his Readings, which are still in manuscript, his printed works are, 1. His Reports of many principal Cases argued and adjudged in the Time of Queen Elizabeth, in the Common Bench: London, 1644, folio. 2. Resolutions and Judgments on the Cases and Matters agitated in all the Courts of Westminster, in the latter End of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth: published by John Goldesborough,
Esq.
prothonotary of the Common Pleas, London, 1653, quarto.
ANDRADA, or ANDRADIUS, (DIEGO DE PAYVA D'),
A LEARNED Portuguese, born at Conimbria, who distinguished himself at the council of Trent, where king Sebastian sent him as one of his divines. He preached before the assembly the second Sunday after Easter, in 1562. Nor was he contented with the service he did in explaining those points upon which he was consulted, but he employed his pen in defence of the canons of the council, in a treatise intitled Orthodoxarum Explicationum lib. x. which is a reply to a book published by Chemnitius, against the doctrine of the Jesuits, before the close of the council of Trent; and as Chemnitius took this opportunity of writing a very large work, intitled Examen Concilii Tridentini, Andrada thought himself obliged to defend his first piece against this learned adversary. He composed therefore a book, which his two brothers published after his death, at Lisbon, in 1578, intitled Defensio Tridentinae Fidei Catholicae, quinque libris comprehensa, adversus Haereticorum Calumnias, et praesertim Martini Chemnitii. These pieces of Andrada have been printed several times, yet they are difficult to be met with. There is scarce any catholic author who has been more quoted by the protestants than he, because he maintained some opinions a little extravagant concerning the salvation of the heathens. Andrada was esteemed an excellent preacher; his sermons were published in three parts, the second of which was translated into Spanish by Benedict de Alarcon. The Bibliotheque of the Spanish writers does not mention all his works; the book he wrote concerning the pope's authority, during the council, in the year 1562, is omitted. The pope's legates being very well pleased with this work, sent it to cardinal Borromeo. The court of Rome liked it extremely, and the pope returned the author thanks in a very obliging manner. Many encomiums have been bestowed upon Andrada: Osorius, in his preface to the Orthodox Explanations of Andradius, gives him the character of a man of wit, vast application, great knowledge in the languages, with all the zeal and eloquence necessary to a good preacher; and Rosweidus says, that he brought to the council of Tre
the understanding of a most profound divine, and the eloquence of a consummate orator.
ANDREAS (JAMES),
A FAMOUS Lutheran divine, of the sixteenth century, born at Waibling, in the duchy of Wirtemberg, on the 25th of March, 1528. His parents being poor, intended to bring him up to some mechanical business, and had agreed with a carpenter for that purpose; but several persons of distinction having discovered in him the marks of a promising genius, contributed to support him in the prosecution of his studies: he was accordingly educated under Alexander Marcoleon, and in the space of two years made himself master of the Latin and Greek, and logic. In 1541, he was sent to Tubing, where he took his degree of bachelor of arts two years after; and having finished his course of philosophy in 1545, he became master of arts. In 1546, he was appointed minister of the church of Studgard, the metropolis of the duchy of Wi
emberg; but upon the publication of the Interim he was obliged to return to Tebing, where be performed the office of minister. In 1553, he took his degree of doctor in divinity, and was appointed pastor of the church of Gopping, and superintendant of the neighbouring churches. In 1557, he went to the diet of Ratisbon with Christopher Duke of Wirtemberg, and was appointed one of the secretaries at the conference at Worms between the papists and the divines of the August
n confession. The same year he published his first work, De Coena Domini, Of the Lord's Supper. In 1558, he wrote a reply to Staphylus's book against Luther. In 1559, he was sent to Augsburg, where the diet of the empire was held. In 1561, he was sent to Paris, to be present at the conference of Poissi, but it broke up before he came thither. Upon his return, he was appointed chancellor and rector of the university of T
bing. In 1565, he was invited to establish a church at Hagenaw, an imperial city, where he preached several sermons upon he principal points of the Christian religion, which were afterwards
rinted. In 1568, he assisted Julius Duke of Brunswick in reforming
is churches. In 1569, he took a journey to Heidelberg, Brunswick,
nd Denmark. In 1570, he went to Misnia and Prague, where the Emperor Maximilian II. had a conversation with him upon an agreement in religion. In 1573, he was sent to Memming, an imperial town, to stop the progress of the Zuingli
doctrine, propagated by Eusebius Cleber; who being admonished by Andreas, before the senate,
nd continuing inflexible, was removed from his ministry. He went
fterwards to Lindaw, an imperial town upon the Maine, where he had
conference with Tobias Rupius, minister of that church, who had embraced the tenets of Flacius Illyricus, and confuted him before the senate and all the people. In the beginning of the year 1576, he was sent for by Phillip Lewis, Count Palatine of the Rhine, to consult upon ecclesiastical affairs: and by the magistrates of Ratisbon, to determine a dispute between the ministers of that church and the senate, concerning excommunication. While he was absent upon these affairs, Augustus Elector of Saxony wrote letters to Lewis Duke of Wirtemberg, to desire the assistance of Andreas, because he found that the divines of Wirtemberg had introduced the Zuinglian doctrines, and propagated them among the youth: Andreas therefore went to Torga in April following, and was present at the assembly of divines held there, to settle a form of agreement, and put an end to the disputes which were raised in different parts. To this assembly the elector had likewise invited several other eminent divines, who wrote in conjunction a book, which was afterwards revised at Bergen. Andreas was sent by the Elector of Saxony, upon the same account, to Julius Duke of Brunswick, Lewis Landgrave of Hesse, and George Marquis of Brandenburg. In 1586, he was engaged in a conference, at Mompelgard, with Theodore Beza, concerning the Lord's supper, the person of Christ, predestination, baptism, the reformation of the popish churches, and other things; but this had the
sual event of all other conferences, which, though designed, as Thuanus observes, to put an end to disputes in divinity, are often the occasion of still greater. In 1587, he was sent to Nordling, on church-affairs; and on his return fell sick, and published his Confession of Faith, to obviate the imputations of his adversaries: but he afterwards recovered, and was sent for again to Ratisbon, and then to Onolsbach, by Frederick Marquis of Brandenburg. Upon the publication of the conference at Mompelgard abovementioned, he was accused of having falsely imputed some things to Beza, which the latter had never asserted; he therefore went to Bern, to clear himself of the charge. His last public act was a conference at Baden, in November 1589, with John Pistorius. When he found death drawing near, he made a declaration to several of his friends, of his constancy in the faith which he had asserted, and shewed the most undoubted signs of a sincere devotion till he expired, on the 7th of January, 1590, being sixty-one years and nine months old. The following character is given him by Melchior Adam: "He was (says this author) an excellent preacher, had an easy manner of instructing the people, and delivered the most obscure points in such a perspicuous style, that they were understood by the generality of the audience. When he exhorted them to the reformation of their lives, or
emonstrated against vice, he made use of great energy of language and elevation of voice, being extremely well qualified both by nature and art for moving the passions; and when there was occasion for it, his eloquence was forcible like thunder, and he spoke with such vehemence that he would sweat all over his body, even in the midst of winter. In executing the several branches of his duty, he spared no labour, and was deterred by no fatigue. He was perpetually engaged in composing some work or other, or in writing letters, upon various subjects, to persons of all ranks who consulted him: these things he dispatched with admirable quickness and success. There was hardly a day passed, but he gave advice to several persons; being always ready to gratify those who solicited his assistance. He was in great favour with princes and men of the highest rank, his conversation being very agreeable and facetious. He had a warm zeal for the religion which he professed, and was extremely sorry whenever he heard that any person had abandoned it." He wrote a great number of books, the most remarkable of which was his book on Concord, and some treatises he had wrote on the Ubiquity of Christ.
ANDREAS (JOHN),
A FAMOUS canonist of the fourteenth century, born at Mugello, near Florence. He was very young when he went to Bologna to pursue his studies. Here he would have found great difficulty to maintain himself had he not got a tutor's place, by which means he was enabled to apply himself to the study of the canon law, in which he mad
great progress under the professor Guy de Baïf. He had always a particular respect for this professor, paying as great deference to his glosses as the text itself. Guy de Baïf perceiving that Andreas, for want of money, could not demand his doctor's degree, procured it him gratis, which Andreas himself acknowledges. The same professor pushed him on to stand for a professorship, which he obtained. Andreas was professor at Padua about the year 1330; but he was recalled to Bologna, where he acquired the greatest reputation. We are told wonderful things concerning the austerity of his life, that he macerated his body with prayer and fasting, and lay upon the bare ground for twenty years together, covered only with a bear-skin: this is attested by very good authors; but if the story which Poggius tells of him, in his jests, be true, he must afterwards have relaxed much of this continency: "
Joannem Andream
(says he)
doctorem Bononiensem cujus fama admodum vulgata est, subagitantem ancillam domesticam uxor deprehendit: re insueta stupefacta mulier in virum versa, Ubi nunc, ait, Joannes, est sapientia vestra? ille nil amplius locutus. In vulva istius, respondit, loco admodum sapientiae accommodato.
Andreas had a beautiful daughter, named Novella, whom he loved extremely, and he is said to have instructed her so well in all parts of learning, that when he was engaged in any affair which hindered him from reading lectures to his scholars, he sent his daughter in his room; and lest her beauty should prevent the attention of the hearers, she had a little curtain drawn before her. To perpetuate the memory of his daughter, he intitled his Commentary upon the Decretals of Gregory IX. the Novellae. He married her to John Calderinus, a learned canonist. The first work of Andreas was his Gloss upon the sixth book of the Decretals, which he wrote when he was very young. He wrote also Glosses upon the Clementines, and a Commentary in Regulas Sexti, which he intitled Mercuriales, because he either engaged in it on Wednesdays, diebus Mercurii, or because he inserted his Wednesdays' disputes in it. He enlarged the Speculum of Durant, in the year 1347. This is all which Mr. Bayle mentions of his writings, though he wrote many more. Andreas died of the plague at Bologna, in 1348, after he had been a professor five-and-forty years, and was buried in the church of the Dominicans. Many eulogiums have been bestowed upon him, having been called archidoctor decretorum; in his epitaph he has the title of "
Rabbi doctorum, lux, censor, normaque morum:
rabbi of the doctors, the light, censor, and rule of manners." And it is said, that Pope Boniface called him
lumen mundi,
the light of the world. Mr. Bayle says it was pity Andreas followed the method of the Pyrrhonists so much; that he proved his own opinion very solidly when he had a mind to it, but this he seldom did, chusing rather to relate the sentiments of others, and to leave his readers in the midst of the dispute.
ANDREAS (TOBIAS),
PROFESSOR of history and Greek at Groningen, born at Braunfels, in the county of Solms, the 10th of August, 1604. He studied philosophy at Herborn under Alstedius; after which he went to Bremen, where he lived several years. He was one of the most constant auditors of Gerard de Neuville, a famous physician and philosopher; and as he had a desire to obtain a public professorship, he prepared himself for it by several lectures, which he read in philosophy. He returned to his own country in 1628, where he did not continue long, but went to Groningen, being sent for by Henry Alting. He read lectures upon all parts of philosophy for some time, after which Alting got him to be tutor to the son of a prince Palatine, in which employment he continued three years, part of which he spent at Leyden, and part at the Hague at the court of the Prince of Orange. He was called to Groningen in 1634, to succeed Janus Gebhardus, who had been professor of history and Greek. He discharged this trust in the most faithful manner till his death, which happened the 17th of October, 1676. Andreas was a great stickler for Mr. Des Cartes, which he shewed during the life and after the death of that philosopher: he wrote in defence of him against a professor of Leyden, whose name was Revius, and published an answer to him in 1653, intitled Methodi Cartesianae assertio opposita Jacobi Revii praef. Methodi Cartesianae considerationi theologicae. The second part of this answer appeared the year following. He wrote likewise, in 1653, against Mr. Regius, in defence of the remarks of Mr. Des Cartes upon a programma, which contained an explication of the human mind. He taught the Cartesian philosophy in his own house, though his professorship did not oblige him to that, and even when his age had quite weakened him. Mr. Des Marets acquaints us with these particulars, making mention of a Swiss student who dared not venture to attend upon the philosophical lectures of Tobias Andreas, for fear it should be known in his own country, where it might prove an obstacle to his promotion in the ministry.
ANDREINI (ISABELLA),
A NATIVE of Padua, and most celebrated actress towards the beginning of the seventeenth century. This was not her only perfection, for she was also admired as an excellent poetess: which appears from the eulogiums many learned men and great wits have bestowed upon her, and from the works she published. The Infanti of Pavia (so the academists of this city are styled) were of opinion they did their society an honour by admitting her a member of it; and she, in acknowledgment of this honour, never forgot to mention among her titles that of Academica Infanta; her titles were these, Isabella Andreini, comica gelosa, academica infanta, detta l'accessa. She had one advantage which is no
frequent among the most excellent actresses, that was an extraordinary beauty; this, added to a fine voice, made her charm both the eyes and ears of the audience. Under her picture the following inscription is written: "Hoc histricae eloquentiae caput lector admiraris, quid si auditor scies? if you admire, reader, this glory of the theatre, when you only see her, what would you do if you heard her?" In France she was kindly received by their majesties, and by all the highest quality at court: she wrote several sonnets in their praise, which are to be seen in the second part of her poems. She died of a miscarriage, at Lyons, the 10th of June, 1604, in the forty-second year of her age. Her husband, Francis Andreini, had her interred in the same city, and honoured her with the following epitaph:
Isabella Andreina Patavina, mulier magna virtute praedita, honestatis ornamentum, maritalisque pudicitiae decus, ore facunda, mente faecunda, religiosa, pia, musis amica, et artis scenicae caput, hic resurrectionem expectat. Ob abortum obiit
IV.
Id. Junii,
MDCIV.
annum agens
XLII.
Franciscus Andreinus moestissimus posuit.
That is, "Isabella Andreini, of Padua, a woman of great virtue and honour, the ornament of conjugal chastity, of an eloquent charming tongue, and an elegant mind, religious, pious, beloved of the muses, and the glory of the stage, here lies in expectation of the resurrection. She died of a miscarriage the 10th of June, 1604, in the forty-second year of her age. Francis Andreini, her sorrowful husband, erected this monument to her memory." The death of this actress being a matter of general concern and lamentation, there were many Latin and Italian elegies printed to her memory: several of these pieces were printed before her poems in the edition of Milan, in 1605. Besides her sonnets, madrigals, songs, and eclogues, there is a pastoral of hers intitled Mirtilla, and letters, printed at Venice in 1610. She sung extremely well, and played admirably on several instruments; nor was she unacquainted with philosophy, and she understood the French and Spanish languages.
ANDREWS (LANCELOT),
AN eminent English divine, bishop of Winchester, in the reigns of James I. and Charles I. born in London, in 1565. He had the rudiments of his education in the Coopers free-school at Radcliffe, and was afterwards sent to Merchant-taylors: here he made a great proficiency in the learned languages; and Dr. Watts, residentiary of St. Paul's and archdeacon of Middlesex, who had lately founded some scholarships at Pembroke hall in Cambridge, sent him to that college on the first of his exhibitions. After he had taken the degree of bachelor of arts, he was chosen fellow of the college: soon after having taken the degree of master of arts, he applied himself to the study of divinity; and being chosen catechist in the college, he read a lecture on the ten commandments every Saturday and Sunday, to which great numbers out of the other colleges of the university, and even out of the country, resorted as to a divinity lecture. His reputation increasing daily, he began to be taken notice of by Sir Francis Walsingham, secretary of state to queen Elizabeth, who being unwilling so fine a genius should be buried in the country, procured him the vicarage of St. Giles's Cripplegate, in London; and got him afterwards chosen a prebendary and residentiary of St. Paul's, and also prebendary of the collegiate church of Southwell. Being thus preferred, he distinguished himself as a diligent and excellent preacher, and read divinity lectures three times a week at St. Paul's, in term time. Upon the death of Dr. Fulke, he was chosen master of Pembroke hall, to which college he became a considerable benefactor. He was also appointed one of the chaplains in ordinary to queen Elizabeth, who took great delight in his preaching. He was in no less esteem with her successor James I. who gave him the preference above all other divines as a preacher, and made choice of him to vindicate his sovereignty. His majesty having, in his Defence of the Rights of Kings, asserted the authority of Christian princes over causes and persons ecclesiastical, Cardinal Bellarmine, under the name of Matthew Tortus, attacked him with great vehemency and bitterness. The king employed Andrews to answer the cardinal, who did it with great spirit and judgment, in a piece intitled Tortura Torti, etc. His majesty upon this promoted him to the bishopric of Chichester, to which he was consecrated November 3, 1605: and at the same time made him his almoner; in which place Dr. Andrews behaved with great honour and fidelity, not even making those advantages to himself which he might legally have done. Upon the vacancy of the bishopric of Ely, he was advanced to that see, and consecrated September 22, 1609. He was also nominated one of the king's privy counsellors of England, and afterwards of Scotland when he attended his majesty to that kingdom. When he had been nine years in the see of Ely, he was advanced to the bishopric of Winchester, and deanry of the king's chapel, which two last preferments he held till his death. There is a pleasant story related of him, while he was bishop of Winchester, in the life of Waller the poet: Waller going to see the king at dinner, overheard a very extraordinary conversation between his majesty, the bishop of Winchester, and Dr. Neale, bishop of Durham. These two prelates standing behind the king's chair, his majesty asked them, "My lords (said he) cannot I take my subjects money when I want it, without all this formality in parliament?" the bishop of Durham readily answered, "God forbid, Sir, but you should; you are the breath of our nostrils." Whereupon the king turned, and said to the bishop of Winchester,
"well, my lord, what say you?"
"Sir (replied the bishop) I have no skill to judge of parliamentary cases." The king answered, "No put-offs, my lord; answer me presently." "Then, Sir, (said he), I think it lawful for you to take my brother Neale's money, for he offers it." Mr. Waller says, the company was pleased with this answer, but the wit of i
seemed to affect the king, for a certain lord coming in soon after, his majesty cried out, "O, my lord, they say that you lig with my lady." "No, Sir, (says his lordship in confusion), but I like her company, because she has so much wit." "Why then (says the king) do not you lig with my lord of Winchester there." This great prelate was in no less reputation and esteem with king Charles I. than he had been with his predecessors. He died at Winchester-house in Southwark, September 27, 1626, in the seventy-first year of his age, and was buried in the parish church of St. Saviour's, where his executors erected to him a very fair monument of marble and alabaster, on which is an elegant inscription, written by one of his chaplains. Mr. Milton has wrote also a beautiful elegy on his death, in the same language. In the dedication of his sermons, published under the care and inspection of Dr. Laud, bishop of London, and the bishop of Ely above mentioned, we have the following character of this prelate: "The person whose works these are, was from his youth a man of extraordinary worth and note; a man as if he had been made up of learning and virtue, both of them so eminent in him, that it is hard to judge which had precedency. His virtue (which we must still judge the more worthy in any man) was comparable to that which was to be found in the primitive bishop
of the church; and had he lived amongst those ancient fathers, his virtues would have shined even amongst those virtuous men. And for his learning, it was as well, if not better, known abroad than respected at home: and take him in his latitude, we, which knew him well, knew not any sort of learning to which he was a stranger; but in his profession, admirable. None stronger than he, where he wrestled with an adversary; and that Bellarmine felt, who was as well able to shift for himself as any that stood up for the Roman party. None more exact, more judicious, than he, where he was to instruct and inform others; and that as they knew, who often heard him preach, so they may learn which will read this which he hath left behind him. And yet this fulness of his material learning left room enough in the temper of his brain for almost all languages, learned and modern, to seat themselves: so that his learning had all the helps language could afford, and his languages learning enough for the best of them to express; his judgment, in the mean time, so commanding over both, as that neither of them was suffered idly or curiously to start from or fall short of their intended scope: so that we may better say of him, than was sometimes said of Claudius Drusus. "He was of as many and as great virtues, as mortal nature could receive, or industry make perfect." Besides the Tortura Torti, already mentioned, bishop Andrews wrote a Manual of private Devotions and Meditations for every Day in the Week; and a Manual of Directions for the Visitation of the Sick: there were likewise several sermons and tracts in English and Latin of his, published after his death. He had had a share in the translation of the Pentateuch, and the historical books from Joshua to the first Book of Chronicles exclusively.
ANEAU, OR ANULUS (BARTHOLOMEW),
A LEARNED man of the sixteenth century, born at Bourges, in France, and educated under Melchior Volmar. He made great advances in polite literature, and imbibed the principles of the protestant religion, which Volmar professed. The reputation he had for his skill in the learned languages and poetry, induced the old echevins of Lyons to offer him a professorship of rhetoric in the college which they were going to erect in that city. Aneau cheerfully accepted this offer, and held the professorship above thirty years. He discharged his duty with great applause, and in 1542, was chosen principal of the college. He propagated the doctrines of the reformation among his scholars, but this he did very secretly for a long time; and when it was perceived, it was at first only complained of: but an accident which happened on the festival of the holy sacrament in the year 1565, put a final stop to all his attempts in favour of protestantism, by a very fatal catastrophe. Upon that day, which was the 21st of June, as the procession was passing towards the college, there was a large stone thrown from one of the windows upon the host and the priest that carried it. Whether Aneau was the author of this insult or not, is uncertain; the people however being enraged at it, broke into the college in a body and assassinated Aneau, whom they supposed to be the guilty person; and the college itself was shut up next day by order of the city.
ANGELIS (DOMINICO DE),
AUTHOR of several pieces relating to the history of literature, was born the 14th of October, 1675, at Lecce, the capital of Otranto, in the kingdom of Naples, of one of the noblest and most considerable families in that city. He began his studies at Lecce, and at seventeen years of age went to finish them at Naples, where he applied very closely to the Greek language and geometry. He went afterwards to Macerata, where he was admitted doctor of law. His desire of improvement induced him also to travel into France and Spain, where he acquired great reputation. Several academies of Italy were ambitious of procuring him as a member, accordingly we find his name not only amongst those of the Transformati and Spioni of Lecce, but also in that of the Investiganti of Naples, in the academy of Florence, and in that of the Arcadians at Rome, the last of which he was admitted into the 8th of August, 1698. He received holy orders very early, and was afterwards canon and grand penitentiary of the church of Lecce, vicar general of Niesti, Gallipoli, and Gragnano, first chaplain of the troops of the kingdom of Naples and of the pope, auditor of M. Nicholas Negroni, and afterwards of the cardinal his uncle. Whilst Philp V. of Spain was master of the kingdom of Naples, he was honoured with the title of principal historiographer, and afterwards became secretary to the Duke of Gravina. He died at Lecce the 9th of August, 1719, in the forty-third year of his age, and was interred in the cathedral of that city.
ANGELUS (CHRISTOPHER),
A LEARNED Greek of the seventeenth century, author of several works. He was born at Peloponnesus in Greece, and obliged by the Turks to abandon his country on account of his religion, after having suffered a variety of torments. He came afterwards to England, where he was supported by the bishop of Norwich and several of the clergy. By this prelate's recommendation, he went to Cambridge, and studied about three years in Trinity college. In Whitsuntide 1610, he removed to Oxford, and studied at Baliol college, where he did great service to the young scholars of the university, by instructing them in the Greek language, in which manner he employed himself till his death, which happened on the 1st of February, 1638.
ANGLUS (THOMAS),
AN English priest, well known for the singularity of his opinions, and several little tracts which he wrote in the seventeenth century. He was born of a good family, which he mentions in the title page of some of his works. He went by several names, but Mr. Baillet says his true name was White, but that h
used to disguise it under that of Candidus, Albius, Bianchi, and Richworth; but he was most known in France by the name of Thomas Anglus. Des Cartes generally called him Mr. Vitus. He passed some time in most countries in Europe; but his longest stay was at Rome and Paris. When he was in England, he lived a considerable time in the family of Sir Kenelm Digby, and seems to have had a great esteem for the opinions of this gentleman, as may be seen in his writings, particularly in the preface to his Latin work, concerning the Institutions of the Peripatetic Philosophy, according to the hypothesis of Sir Kenelm. He was a great advocate for the peripatetic philosophy. He attempted even to make the principles of Aristotle subservient to the explaining the most impenetrable mysteries of religion: and with this view he engaged in the discussion of predestination, free-will, and grace. Mr. Baillet says, "What he wrote upon this subject resembles the ancient oracles for obscurity." His answer to this accusation brought against him by several authors, may not perhaps be improperly mentioned here, as it gives an idea of the peculiarity of his temper and genius: "I value myself (says he) upon a brevity and conciseness, which is suitable to the teachers of science. The divines are the cause that my writings are obscure, for they refuse to give me any opportunity of explaining myself: in short, either the learned understand me, or they do not: if they do understand me, and find me in an error, it is easy for them to refute me; if they do not understand me, it is unreasonable for them to exclaim against my doctrines." In such abstruse points as we have mentioned he was much embarrassed, and by giving too great scope to his own thoughts, he pleased neither the Molinists nor Jansenists. He is allowed, however, to have been a man of an extensive and penetrating genius, but having no talent at distinguishing the ideas which should have served as the rule and foundation of his reasoning, he could not clear up the difficulties wherein he involved himself. On the 10th of June, 1658, the congregation of the Index expurgatorius at Rome, condemned some treatises of Thomas Anglus. The doctors of Douay censured also two-and-twenty propositions extracted from his Sacred Institutions. He published his Supplicatio postulativa Justitiae, in opposition to their censure, wherein he complains that they had given him a vague undetermined censure, without taxing any particular proposition. He died some time after the restoration of Charles II. but in what year is uncertain.
ANGRIANI, OR AYGNANI (MICHAEL),
COMMONLY called Michael of Bologna, a divine of distinguished learning in the fourteenth century. Born at Bologna in Italy, where he entered into the order of the Carmelites. He studied afterwards at the university of Paris, where he received his degree of doctor. In the general chapter of his order, held at Ferrara in 1354, in that of Bourdeaux in 1358, and in that of Treves in 1362, he was named regent of the convent at Paris. In the year 1372, he assisted at the general chapter held at Aix in Provence, under the character of definitor of the province of Bologna; and here he received the title of master, that is doctor of divinity, which was likewise given him in the general chapters held at Puy in Languedoc in 1375, and at Bruges in 1379, where he assisted as provincial of his province.
The great schism which divided the church after the death of pope Gregory IX. occasioned likewise a division amongst the religious orders, particularly that of the Carmelites. The convents of Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Prussia, Flanders, Friesland, and several other provinces contiguous to Germany, together with Tuscany, Lombardy, and the other countries of Italy, acknowledged pope Urban VI. but those of France, Spain, Scotland, and Naples, supported the party of pope Clement VII. which was joined also by Bernard Olensis, or Oleri, the seventeenth general of the order of the Carmelites, and for this reason he was deposed by pope Urban, who gave orders, in the general chapter held at Bruges in 1379, that another superior should be elected out of the countries which had submitted to his authority. The chapter obeyed the pope's directions, and chose Angriani under the title of vicar general, which was confirmed by a bull of that pope, dated the 19th of April, 1380; and the year following he was chosen general of the order by the chapter held at Verona; the provincials of the provinces who declared for Clement VII. not being present, their places were supplied by other monks named in their room; and in 1385, he had the same honour conferred on him by the general chapter held at Bamberge, in the province of Upper Germany. But the year following going to Genoa, to wait upon pope Urban VI. he was deposed from his office, without any cause alledged for it; some persons indeed supposed it might be oweing to his being an intimate friend and confident of certain cardinals whom the pope caused to be put to death about that time; others imagined it to be owing to some suspicions which the pope entertained against the archdeacon of Bruges, who had been Angriani's scholar. Angriani being discharged from his office, retired to the convent of Bologna. But notwithstanding his having been thus deposed from the generalship of his order by Urban, pope Boniface IX. made him vicar general of the province of Bologna, in 1394: and in 1396, he was present at the general chapter of Placentia, as definitor of the same province. He died at Bologna, the 16th of November, 1400, according to Father Lewis de Sainte Therese; or the 1st of December, 1416, according to Trithemius and Du Pi
ANNESLEY (ARTHUR),
EARL of Anglesey, and Lord Privy Seal in the reign of Charles II. He was the son of Sir Francis Annesley, Baronet, Lord Mount Norris, and Viscount Valentia, in Ireland; by his first wife Dorothy, daughter to Sir John Phillips of Picton castle, Pembrokeshire. He was born in Dublin, July 10th, 1614, and had his Christian name from his godfather, the Lord Chichester deputy of Ireland. He was removed to England when ten years old, was sent to the university of Oxford when sixteen, and becoming a fellow commoner in Magdalen college, was placed under an experienced tutor, in 1630. Here he pursued his studies for three or four years, esteemed as a youth whose hopeful genius was an honour to his college, and enjoying the friendship of the president, Dr. Frewen, (afterwards archbishop of York), and many eminent persons, among whom was the celebrated Dr. Hammond. In 1634, he was removed to Lincoln's-Inn, where he studied law with great success, till his father thought proper to send him on the tour of Europe; from which, after some stay at Rome, he returned to England in 1640. The same year he was elected knight of the shire for Radnor; but quickly lost his seat by a vote of the commons, which declared C. Price
Esq.
duly elected. In the beginning of the civil war he inclined to the royal cause; but afterwards so perfectly reconciled himself to the parliament, that he was sent by that body as commissioner into Ulster, in the year 1645. An arduous undertaking, considering to how low an ebb the English interest was brought by means of the Scotch forces, under General Monroe, having been long in possession of those parts. However Mr. Annesley conducted himself with such address, that the great rebel, Owen O'Neil was disappointed in his designs, both on this province and on that of Connaught. The popish archbishop of Tuam, who was the great oracle of his party, and whose councils had hitherto been very successful, was not only taken prisoner, but his papers seized, and his foreign correspondence discovered, by which all the designs of the rebels were broken, and vast advantages accrued to the protestant interest. Th
parliament had sent commissioners to treat with the Marquis of Ormond, for the delivering up of Dublin, though without success. But the state of affairs rendering it necessary to renew their correspondence with him, they made choice of a second commission, consisting of men, who in their judgment were more agreeable to him, and at the head of thi
commission Mr. Annesley was placed. These commissioners landed at Dublin on the 7th of June, 1647, and were so successful in their negociations, that in a few days a treaty was concluded between them and the lord-lieutenant: it was signed on the 19th of that month, and very soon after Dublin was put into the hands of the parliament. This was certainly a very signal service not only to those who employed him, but to the whole protestant interest in Ireland, which was then on the very point of being extinguished. However after the commissioners assumed the supreme power, he was not able to hinder them from doing many things against his judgment; and, therefore, ought not to be blamed f
r those irregularities, which were such as the times seemed to require, though they could not excuse. Mr. Annesley, not liking his situation, returned speedily home, where he found all things in confusion, the
overment being on the very point of dissolution, which however did not discourage him from doing all that lay in his power to serve his coun
ry; and though he did this without effect, yet sure it is very unju
t to charge him with it as an offence, as Wood does, who represents him as an absolute time s
rver, though he was one of the secluded members, and as eminent for opposing the illegal things done after the murder of the king, as any man in the nation, who had not borne arms in his service. After the death of Cromwell, when the rump resumed their old power, Mr. Annesley, though he doubted whether the parliament was not dissolved by the death of the king, resolved to get into the house if it were possible; in which good design he got several worthy gentlemen to concur with him, but with little success, though the scheme was managed with great wisdom and spirit, such as sufficiently declared what his real sentiments were, and how much he had the resettling the constitution at heart. In the confusions which followed he had little or no share, as being too well known to be trusted either by the rump or the army; and besides, he was shrewdly suspected of knowing at least of Sir George Booth's insurrection, if not of being concerned in it. But when things began to take a better turn, by the restoring of the secluded members to their seats, February 21, 1660, Mr. Annesley began again to make a figure, and to appear in his old character, that of a true patriot. In this he appeared with such lustre, that he was chosen president of the new council of state, having at that time a correspondence with his majesty King Charles II. then in exile; which cost him the life of his dear brother, who was drowned in stopping into a packet-boat with letters for his majesty. Soon after the restoration, viz. on the 20th of April, 1661, he was raised to the dignity of a baron of England, by the title of Lord Annesley of Newport Pagnel, in the county of Bucks; as also of an earl, by the style of * * * * * * which some little time after was changed for that of Anglesey. In the preamble of the patent, notice is expressly taken of the services rendered by him in the king's restoration: nay, some tell us, that his lordship might have been prime minister, if he had not declined it, to avoid envy. However he had always a considerable share in the king's favour; and was heard with great attention at council, and in the house of lords. He certainly showed his extreme detestation of the king's murder, by his sitting in judgment on the regicides at Hicks's hall, and the Old Bailey, though the Oxford historian reflects upon this, insinuating that he had been as deep in those matters as the persons then tried, which is a palpable falsity. Many reflections of this sort he bore in his life-time with great constancy, or rather indifference, being desirous of discharging his duty to his king and country without hurting others, and without being solicitous of making great advantages to himself; yet as he served a generous master, he received from him offices both of profit and trust. In 1667 he was made treasurer of the navy; and on the 4th of February, 1671-2, his majesty in council was pleased to appoint the Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Anglesey, the Lord Holles, the Lord Ashley, and Mr. Secretary Trevor, or any three of them, to be a committee, to peruse and revise all the papers and writings concerning the settlement of Ireland, from the first to the last, and to make an abstract of the state thereof in writing. And accordingly, on the 12th of June, 1672, they made their report at large, which was the foundation of a commission, dated the 1st of August, 1672, to Prince Rupert, the Dukes of Buckingham and Lauderdale, Earl of Anglesey, Lords Ashley and Holles, Sir John Trevor, and Sir Thomas Chichley, to inspect the settlement of Ireland, and all proceedings in order thereunto. And this was followed by another commission of the seventeenth of January, 1672-3, to Prince Rupert, &c. whereunto the Duke of Ormond, the Earl of Shaftsbury, and the lord treasurer Clifford, were added to inspect the affairs of Ireland, viz. the acts of settlement and explanation, and the execution of them, and the disposing the forfeited lands, and the state of his majesty's revenue, &c. After which, by reason of his singular prudence and fidelity the Earl of Anglesey had the great office of lord privy seal conferred on him, the 22d of April, 1673, and all this, notwithstanding a great variety of attempts made to prejudice him, as well in the king's as in the public opinion; all which he not only effectually defeated by clearly exposing them, and manifesting his own innocence, but also turned them to his advantage, so as to rise more by the intrigues of his enemies, than by any art of his own. The long experience his lordship had of men and things, rendered him so true a judge of merit, that he could discover it in men of all persuasions, and his freedom from prejudice was such, that he could hate it in none, how different soever from himself they might be in religious or political opinions. This noble disposition rendered him liable to a formidable attack, during the time of the popish plot; when to have behaved with decency towards the Roman Catholics of any rank, was sufficient to stigmatize the sincerest Protestant, with the dangerous character of being a favourer of Papists. One Danger-field, whose name will be transmitted to late posterity, as a discoverer of plots, true and false, on the 20th of Oct. 1680, charged his lordship, in an information delivered upon oath, at the bar of the house of commons, with endeavouring to stifle evidence, with relation to the popish plot, and to promote the belief of a Presbyterian one, with many other things alike probable, or rather alike improbable, yet so far credited at that time as to receive countenance from the house. The trouble he received from this base attack, did not hinder him from speaking his opinion freely upon those matters in the house of lords, particularly in relation to the Irish plot, of which he declared his absolute disbelief, when few durst own they suspected it, notwithstanding the apparent imposture in the accounts given of it. His charity for men of all religions did not, however, abate either his zeal for the protestant cause, or his affection for the true interest of his country. The Earl of Castlehaven thought fit, in the year 1680, to write his Memoirs, in which he took a great deal of pains to represent the general rebellion in Ireland, in the lightest colours possible, and as if it had been far from universal at first, and that it was made so, at least as much by the measures pursued by such as ought to have suppressed them, as by any ill intention of the Catholics concerned in it. The Earl of Anglesey having received these memoirs from their author, thought fit to write some animadversions upon them, which he did in a letter to the Earl of Castlehaven, wherein he takes notice of abundance of remarkable passages in those distracted times; and, as his subject led him, delivered his opinion freely in respect to the Duke of Ormond, and his management of affairs in that kingdom. This letter to the Earl of Castlehaven was written in August 1680, but was not published till 1681. The Duke of Ormond, about a year afterwards, expostulated with the lord privy seal, on this subject, by letter, to which the earl replied; and there the matter rested. In 1682, when the nation was in a high ferment, the earl drew up a very particular remonstrance, dated April the 27th, the same year, and presented it to his majesty. It was very warm and very loyal; and yet it was far from being well received. It was not, however, thought proper to remove him from his high office on this account; and therefore, in the month of June, 1682, the Duke of Ormond, then lord-lieutenant of Ireland, was prevailed upon to exhibit a charge against the lord privy seal, on account of his reflections on the Earl of Castlehaven's Memoirs. This produced a sharp dispute between those two peers, which ended in the Earl of Anglesey's losing his place of lord privy seal, though it certainly raised his reputation; his very enemies being forced to confess, that he was both hardly and unjustly treated. After this misfortune, which happened in August 1682, his lordship remained pretty much at his country-seat at Blechingdon, in Oxfordshire, where he devoted his time to his studies, and meddled very little with public affairs: yet did he not entirely abandon business, much less discover any pique or disrespect towards the royal family, on account of what he had suffered; but behaved with so much temper and duty, that without betraying or even dissembling his principles, he recovered the favour of king James II. so that it is generally believed he would very speedily have been declared lord chancellor of England, if this had not been prevented by his death, which happened April the 6th, 1686, at his house in Drury-lane, without any long sickness, by a quinsy, in the seventy-third year of his age. He left behind him a numerous posterity. It is not easy to say any thing worthy of so great a man's character, and yet something is necessary to complete the design of this life, and to give the reader some idea of his mind, as well as his fortune. As he had an excellent and universal education, becoming the heir of a noble family, so he was always remarkably prone to learning, and to the encouragement of learned men. He was well read in the Classics, and perfectly versed not only in the Greek and Roman history, but in the spirit and policy of these famous nations. His intercourse, however, with foreign writers, did not hinder him from retaining a superior passion for all the branches of learning, which had any respect to his own country. He had studied the laws with such diligence, as to be styled and esteemed a lawyer, even by the most conceited lawyers of his time. In history he was a very great critic; and with respect to records, and whatever else fell under the consideration of a judicious antiquary, no man of his time deserved greater reputation than he: he was also well versed in the civil and canon law, understood ehurch history perfectly, and was a great divine. His writings which are extant, will fully support all that has been hitherto said; and the world would have had still higher proofs of his lordship's great learning and abilities, if the largest and most valuable of all his works had not been unluckily lost, or, as some say, injuriously destroyed. However, as Anthony Wood, who never speaks well of this nobleman, but against his will, allows that he had a smooth, sharp, and keen pen, we presume that nobody will doubt it. As to the aspersions thrown on his memory, by a reverend prelate his contemporary, they would have deserved a more particular consideration, if it had been usual for that writer to have given good characters of his acquaintance, or to have avoided characterizing such as he had little or no acquaintance with. We will conclude our account of this noble person, with observing, that he was one of the first English peers who distinguished himself by collecting a fine library, which he performed with great care, as well as at a large expence; and as he was desirous that so valuable a collection might not quickly be dissipated, but remain in his family, he caused it to be disposed in a manner suitable to its worth, in a particular apartment in Anglesey house. But these precautions proved fruitless, as his lordship's good intentions likewise did; his books within a few months after his decease being exposed to public sale by Mr. Millington, a famous auctioneer. Yet this sale was attended with an accident, which will hinder its being ever forgotten. We mean the discovery of the Earl's famous Memorandum in the blank leaf of an
, or the pourtraiture of his sacred majesty in his solitudes and sufferings, in order to disabuse the world as to the true author of that book, who, according to that memorandum, was not king Charles I. but bishop Gauden, which produced a long controversy, managed by various hands, and in several books. James, the second Earl of Anglesey, who succeeded his father in 1686, died in 1690, and was succeeded by his son James, who married her grace the late Duchess of Buckinghamshire. He died in the beginning of the year 1702, and was succeeded by his brother John Earl of Anglesey, who was vice treasurer, receiver-general, and paymaster of the forces in Ireland. He was succeeded at his death, 1710, by his brother Arthur, who, while he sat in the house of commons in Ireland, distinguished himself by the weight and eloquence of hi
speeches, and was always heard, after his accession to the title of Earl of Anglesey, with the utmost attention in the British house of peers. On the death of queen Anne, he was appointed by king George I. one of the lords justices, till he arrived from Hanover; after which, he wa
sworn of his majesty's privy-council, and on the 3d of January, 1714-15, (with Henry Hyde, then Earl of Rochester) made joint-treasurer of Ireland, and treasurer at war. On the death of the Duke of Manchester, he was, on the 9th of February, 1721-22, in full senate,
nanimously elected high-steward of the university of Cambridge, where he had his education. He had been one of their representative
in three several parliaments, whilst he was a commoner. He died on the 31st of March, 1737, and was succeeded in his title by his cousin, Lord Altham, of the kingdom of Ireland. The state of this family for the last forty years, hath been very peculiar; having given rise to some remarkable events, and to several extraordinary claims and litigations, which have employed the courts of justice in Ireland, and demanded the attention of the houses of peers both in Ireland and in England. But a relation of these facts belongs more properly to a peerage than to the present work.
ANSELM.
ARCHBISHOP of Canterbury in the reign of William Rufus and Henry I. was an Italian by birth, being born in the year 1033, at Aost▪ a town at the foot of the Alps, belonging to the Duke of Savoy. He was descended of a considerable family: his father's name was Gundulphus, and his mother's Hemeberga. After he had gone through a course of studies, and travelled for some time in Burgundy and France, he took the monastic habit in the abbey of Becc, in Normandy, of which Lanfranc, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, was then prior. At that time Anselm was no more than 27 years of age. Three years after, when Lanfranc was made abbot of Caen, Anselm succeeded him in the priory of Becc; and when Herluin, abbot of that monastery, died, Anselm was promoted to the abbacy. About the year 1092, Anselm came over into England, being invited thither by Hugh Earl of Chester, who requested his assistance in his sickness. Soon after his arrival, William Rufus, falling sick at Gloucester, and being pressed to fill up the see of Canterbury, which had been vacant above four years, thought fit to nominate Anselm; who with much difficulty was prevailed upon to accept that dignity. Before his consecration, he gained a promise from the king for the restitution of all the lands, which were in the possession of that see in Lanfranc's time. And thus having secured the temporalities of the archbishopric, and done homage to the king, he was consecrated with great solemnity on the 4th of December, 1093. Soon after his consecration, the king intending to wrest the duchy of Normandy from his brother Robert, endeavouring to raise what money he could for that purpose, Anselm made him an offer of five hundred pounds; which the king thinking too little, refused to accept, and the archbishop thereby fell under the king's displeasure. About that time he had a dispute with the bishop of London, touching the right of consecrating churches in a foreign diocese. The next year the king being ready to embark for Normandy, Anselm waited upon him, and desired his leave to convene a national synod, in which the disorders of the church and state, and the general dissolution of manners, might be remedied: but the king refused his request, and even treated him very roughly; upon which the archbishop and his retinue withdrew from court. Another cause of discontent between the king and the archbishop, was, Anselm's desiring leave to go to Rome, to receive the pall from pope Urban II. whom the king of England did not acknowledge as pope, being more inclined to favour the party of his competitor Guibert. This misunderstanding occasioned great disputes; and to put an end to the controversy, a council or convention was held at Rockingham castle; the issue of which was, that the majority of the bishops, being either gained or overawed by the court, threw up their canonical obedience, and renounced Anselm for their archbishop. In consequence of this proceeding Anselm desired a passport, to go beyond the sea, till the present misunderstandings could be made up. But the king absolutely refused his request, and would only consent, that there should be a kind of truce or suspension of the affair from March to Whitsuntide, during which interval the difference was to sleep. But before the expiration of this term, the king broke through the agreement, banished several clergymen who were Anselm's favourites, and miserably harassed the tenants of his see. Whitsuntide being come, and the bishops having in vain endeavoured to soften Anselm into a compliance; the king, with the advice of his great men, received him into favour, upon his own terms; and because Anselm persisted in refusing to receive the pall from the king's hands, it was at last agreed, that the pope's nuncio, who had brought the pall into England, should carry it down to Canterbury, and lay it upon the altar of the cathedral; from whence Anselm was to receive it, as if it had been put into his hands by St. Peter himself. Things being thus adjusted, the archbishop went to Canterbury, and received the pall with great solemnity, the June following. And now it was generally hoped, that all occasion of difference between the king and the archbishop was removed: but it appeared soon after, that the reconciliation on the king's part was not sincere. For William having marched his forces into Wales, and brought that country to submission, took that opportunity to quarrel with Anselm, pretending he was not satisfied with the quota the archbishop had furnished for that expedition. Finding therefore his authority too weak to oppose the corruptions of the times, he resolved to go in person to Rome, and consult the pope. But the king, to whom he applied for leave to go out of the kingdom, seemed surprised at the request, and gave him a flat denial. Notwithstanding this the archbishop resolved upon the voyage, and accordingly embarked at Dover. But when the king heard that he had crossed the Channel, he seized upon the archbishopric, and made every thing void which Anselm had done. The archbishop got safe to Rome, and was honourably received by the pope. After a short stay in that city, he accompanied the pope to a country seat near Capua, whither his holiness retired on account of the unhealthiness of the town. And here Anselm wrote a book, in which he gave an account of the reason of our Saviour's Incarnation. The Pope wrote to the King of England in a strain of authority, enjoining him to reinstate Anselm in all the profits and privileges of his see. Anselm likewise wrote into England upon the same subject. As for the king, he endeavoured to get Anselm discountenanced abroad, and wrote to Roger Duke of Apulia, and others, to that purpose. But he had not credit enough it seems, to gain his point: for Anselm was treated with all imaginable respect wherever he came. This famous archbishop was very serviceable to the pope in the council of Ba
i, which was held to oppose the errors of the Greek church, with respect to the procession of the Holy Ghost. In this synod Anselm answered the objections of the Greeks, and managed the argument with so much judgment, learning, and penetration, that he silenc
d his adversaries, and gave general satisfaction to the Western church. This argument was afterwards digested by him into a tract, and is extant among his other works. In the same council Anselm ge
erously interpos
d, and prevented the pope from pronouncing sentence of excommunication against the king of England, for his frequent outrages on religion. After the synod of Ba
i was ended, the pope and Anselm returned to Rome, where an ambassador from the king of England was arrived, in order to disprove Anselm's allegations and complaints against his m
ster. And, the better to effect his purpose, he tried the interest of his purse; and partly by presents, and partly by promises, he bribed the court of Rome to desert Anselm. The archbishop, perceiving how matters went, would have returned to Lyons, but the pope would not part with him; and to sweeten him after his disappointment, lodged him in a noble palace, where his holiness made him frequent visits. About that time the pope having summoned a council to fit at Rome, Anselm had a very honourable seat assigned him and his successors; this being the first time of an archbishop of Canterbury's appearing at a Roman synod. When the council broke up, Anselm immediately left Rome, and returned to Lyons, where he was entertained for so
time by Hugo, the archbishop. He staid there till he heard the news of king William's and Pope Urban's death, which happened not long after. Henry I. the new king of England, having restored the s
of Canterbury, Winchester, and Salisbury, which had been seized by his predecessor, Anselm was solicited to return into England; and
ing come as far as Clugny, an agent from the king met him with a letter inviting him to return to his archbishopric. In this letter the king
s;ed himself for not staying till Anselm's return, and being crowned by another prelate. The archbishop being arrived in England, was received with extraordinary respect by the king and the people, and thus for matters went smoothly enough. But when it was required of Anselm, that he should be re-invested by the king, and do the customary homage of his predecessors, he refused to comply, alledging the canons of the late synod at Rome about investitures. The king was greatly disg
ed at Anselm's non-compliance: however, not being well settled on the throne, he was unwilling to come to a rupture. It was agreed, therefore, that the dispute should rest till the Easter following: and in
time both parties were to send their agents to Rome, to try if they could pers
de the pope to dispense with the canons of the late synod in relation to investitures. About this time Anselm summoned a synod to meet at Lambeth, on occasion of the king's intended marriage with Maud or Matilda, eldest daughter of Malcolm king of Scotland. In this synod it was determined, that the king might lawfully marry that princess, notwithstanding she was generally reported to be a nun, having worn the veil, and had her education in a religious house. Soon after this marriage, Anselm was of signal service to King Henry against his brother the Duke of Normandy, who invaded England, and landed with a formidable army at Portsmouth. For the archbishop not only furnished the king with a large body of men, but was very active, likewise, in preventing a revolt from him. The agents, sent by the king and the archbishop to Rome, being returned, brought with them a letter from Pope Paschal to the king, in which his holiness absolutely refused to dispense with the canons concerning investitures. The king, on his part, resolved not to give up what for some reigns had passed for part of the royal prerogative. And thus the difference was kept on foot between the king and Anselm. In this dispute the majority of the bishops and temporal nobility were on the court side: and some of them were very earnest with the king, to break entirely with the see of Rome. However, it was not thought adviseable to proceed to an open rupture, without trying a farther expedient; and therefore fresh agents were dispatched by the king to Rome, with instructions to offer the pope this alternative; either to depart from his former declaration, and relax in the point of investitures, or to be content with the banishment of Anselm, and to lose the obedience of the English, and the yearly profits accruing from that kingdom. At the same time, Anselm dispatched two monks, to inform the pope of the menaces of the English court. But the king's ambassadors could not prevail with the pope to recede from his declaration; his holiness protesting he would sooner lose his life than cancel the decrees of the holy fathers: which resolution he signified▪ by letters to the king and Anselm. Soon after the king, having convened the great men of the kingdom at London, sent Anselm word, that he must either comply with the usages of his father's reign, or quit England. But the agents disagreeing in their report of the pope's answer, Anselm thought proper not to return a positive answer, till farther information. And thus the controversy slept for the present. The next year a national synod was held under Anselm at St. Peter's, Westminster; at which the king and the principal nobility were present. The year following the king was pleased to relent, and desire Anselm to take a journey to Rome, to try if he could persuade the pope to relax. Anselm, at the request of the bishops and barons, undertook the voyage. At the same time, the king dispatched one William Warelwast to Rome. This agent, arriving there before Anselm, solicited for the king his master, but to no purpose; for the pope persisted in refusing to grant the king the right of investiture. But at the same time his holiness, wrote a very ceremonious letter to the king of England, entreating him to wave the contest, and promising all imaginable compliance in other matters. Anselm having taken leave of the court of Rome, returned to Lyons, where he received a sharp and reprimanding letter from a monk, acquainting him with the lamentable condition of the province of Canterbury. During the archbishop's stay at Lyons, the king sent another embassy to Rome, to try if he could prevail with the pope to being Anselm to a submission. But the pope, instead of being gained, excommunicated some of the English court, who had dissuaded the king from parting with the investitures. However, his holiness declined pronouncing any censure against the king. Anselm perceiving the court of Rome dilatory in its proceedings, removed from Lyons, and made a visit to the Countess Adela, the Conqueror's daughter, at her castle in Blois. This lady inquiring into the business of Anselm's journey, he told her that, after a great deal of patience and expectation, he
st now be forced to excommunicate the king of England. The countess was extremely concerned for her brother, and wrote to the pope to procure an accommodation. The king, who was come into Normandy, hearing that Anselm designed to excommunicate him, desired his sister to bring him with her into Normandy, with a promise of condescension in several articles. To this Anselm agreed, and waited upon the king at a castle called L'Aigle, where the king restored to him the revenues of the archbishopric, but would not permit him to come into England, unless he would comply in the affair of the investitures: which Anselm refusing to do, continued in France, till the matter was once more laid before the pope. And now the English bishops, who had taken part with the court against Anselm, began to change their minds, as appears by their letter to him in Normandy. In this letter, after having set forth the deplorable state of the church, they press him to come over with all speed, promising to stand by him, and pay him the regard due to his character: it is subscribed by Gerrard archbishop of York, Robert bishop of Chester, Herbert bishop of Norwich, Ralph bishop of Chichester, Sampson bishop of Worcester, and William elect of Winchester. Anselm expressed his satisfaction at this conduct of the bishops, but acquainted them that it was not in his power to return, till he was further informed of the proceedings of the court of Rome. In the mean time, being informed, that the king had fined some of the clergy for a late breach of the canons, he wrote to his highness to complain of that stretch of his prerogative. At length the ambassadors returned from Rome, and brought with them a decision more agreeable than the former: for now the pope thought fit to make some advances towards gratifying the king; and though he would not give up the point of investitures, yet he dispensed so far as to give the bishops and abbots leave to do homage for their temporalities. The king, who was highly pleased with this condescension in the pope, sent immediately to invite Anselm into England: but the messenger finding him sick, the king himself went over into Normandy, and made him a visit at the abbey of Becc; where all differences between them were perfectly adjusted. And now Anselm, being recovered from his sickness, embarked for England, and, landing at Dover, was received with extraordinary marks of welcome. To omit other circumstances of respect, the queen herself travelled before him upon the road, to provide for his better entertainment. From this time nothing remarkable happened in the life of this famous archbishop, excepting only his contest with Thomas elected archbishop of York, who endeavoured to disengage himself from a dependency upon the see of Canterbury. Before the termination of this dispute, Anselm died at Canterbury, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and the seventeenth of his prelacy, on the twenty-first of April, A. D. 1109. This great prelate was author of several pieces. The largest edition of his works is that published by Father Gerberon. It is divided into three parts. The first of these containing Dogmatical Tracts, is intitled Monologia. The second part contains practical and devotional tracts. The third part takes in Anselm's letters, in four books. As to the character of archbishop Anselm, it may be partly collected from the circumstances of his life above recited. He has been much praised for the resolution he shewed in the disputes he had with William Rufus and Henry I. Where he believed the rights of the church and the interest of religion concerned, no greatness, no menaces of princes, nor prospect of danger, could discourage him in the pursuit of his point. Malmesbury tells us, he was a person of great strictness and self-denial: his temper and sedateness were such, that, after he turned monk, he never was heard to utter the least reproachful word. This archbishop was the first who restrained the English clergy from marrying. He was canonized in the reign of Henry VII. at the instance of Cardinal Morton, then archbishop of Canterbury. Johannes Sarisburiensis, who wrote the life of archbishop Anselm, has recorded several miracles said to be wrought by him. Particularly he tells us, that a Flemish nobleman was cured of a leprosy by drinking the water, in which Anselm had washed his hands in celebrating the mass: that he extinguished fires, calmed tempests, and healed diseases only by making the sign of the cross: that he rescued a hare, which had taken refuge under his horse's feet, by commanding the dogs not to pursue her any more: that two soldiers were cured o
an ague, by tasting the crumbs of some bread he had been eating: tha
by praying to God, he produced a spring of excellent water at the very
op of a hill, for the relief of certain villagers; and that a ship, in which
e sailed, having a large hole in one of her planks, nevertheless took in no water, so long as the holy man was on board. The same author tells us, that this holy archbishop continued to work miracles after his death: particularly that a monk of the church of Canterbury
restored to health by paying his devotions at the tomb of St. Anselm; that one born blind, deaf, and dumb, received sight, hearing, and speech, by the same means: that a soldier was cured of a dropsy by winding the saint's girdle about his body; and that the same girdle was successfully applied
o the assistance of women in childbirth.
ANSON (GEORGE),
AN eminent sea commander, and distinguished nobleman of the eighteenth century, was descended from an ancient and respectable family, which had long been settled in Staffordshire. He was born at S
gborough manor, in the parish of Colwich, in that county, on the 23d of April, 1697; being the third son of William Anson,
Esq
by Elizabeth, eldest daughter and coheir of Richard Carrier,
Esq
of Wi
swo
th, in Derbyshire; another of whose daughters, by marrying Sir Thomas Parker, became afterwards Countess of Macclesfield, and was mother to the late, and grandmother to the present earl. The navy b
ing Mr. Anson's choice, he went early to sea; and on the 9th of May, 1716, was made second lieutenant of his Majesty's ship, the Hampshire, by Sir John Forris, commander in chief of a squadron to the Baltic; which promotion was confirmed by the board of admiralty. In the next year, he was again in the Baltic, in the fleet commanded by Sir George Byng; and at this time he had an opportunity, which pleased hi
much, of seeing, on the Danish shore, the illustrious Czar Peter of Russia, and the famous Catherine, who was afterwards publicly married by that prince, and crowned as his empress. On the 15th of March, 1717-18, Mr. Anson was appointed second lieutenant of the Montagu, one of the ships of Sir George Byng's squadron, in the expedition to Sicily; and he was present in the celebrated action near that island, by which the Spanish fleet was effectually destroyed, and the designs of the king of Spain against Sicily received a very considerable check. On the 19th of June, 1722, he was preferred to be master and commander of
e We
el
loop; and on the 1st of February, 1723-4, he was raised to the rank of po
captain, and to the command of the Scarborough
of war. Though it is possible he might derive some advantage, in these early and speedy promotions, from his connection with the Earl of Macclesfield, then lord chancellor of England, yet it can scarcely be supposed that they could have been so quickly attained, in a time of peace, if he had not given peculiar proofs of merit in his profession. Soon after his appointment to the Scarborough, he was ordered in her to South Carolina, in which station he continued for three years; and while he resided in that province, he erected a town, Anson Bourgh, and gave name to a county, which is still called Anson County. After his return from his settlement in South Carolina, he always spoke with satisfaction both of that country and its inhabitants. Being commanded home in October, 1727, he returned to England in the following spring, and was paid off in May, 1728. On the 11th of October in the same year, Mr. Anson was appointed captain of the Garland man of war, and went out in her to South Carolina; from whence he was ordered back, in December, 1729, and the ship was put out of commission at Sheerness. However, having the good fortune to be well with Lord Torringto
and Sir Charles Wager, successively first lords of the admiralty, he did not remain long out of employ; for on the 19th of May, 1731, the command of the Diamond, one of the Downs squadron, was bestowed upon him: which command he held but about three months, the Diamond being then paid off. On the 25th of January, 1731-2, he was again called into public service, and appointed captain of the Squirrel man of war; in which ship he was ordered, in the following April, for South Carolina. This was the third time of his being placed upon that station, and it was probably peculiarly agreeable to him, on account of the property he had acquired, and the settlement he had made in the province. Here he continued till the spring of the year 1735, when, in consequence of an order, given in December, 1734, he returned to England; and, in the month of June, was paid off at Woolwich. It appears from some original letters of Mr. Anson to the board of admiralty, with the fight of which we have been favoured, that he conducted himself, in these several employments, with an ability and discretion which gave general satisfaction. After his last return from South Carolina, we find that he had staid at home between two and three years; it being the 9th of December, 1737, when he was put into the command of the Centurion. In this ship, he was ordered in the February following, to the coast of Guinea; from which station he returned to his own country, by way of Barbadoes and South Carolina, on the 10th of July, 1739. It is evident from the journal of the Centurion, during this period, compared with the instructions given to Captain Anson, by the board of admiralty, that he executed, with great prudence and fidelity, the directions of government; and it is understood in the family, that he obliged the French to desist from their attempt to hinder our trade upo
that coast, without coming to any action, at a time when it would have been very inconvenient to the British court to have had an open rupture with the court of France.
Mr. Anson's conduct, in his various situations and employments, had produced so favourable a character of his capacity and spirit, that when, in the war which broke out with Spain in 1739, it was determined to attack the American settlements of the Spaniards in the great Pacific ocean, and by this means to affect them in their most sensible parts, he was from the beginning, fixed upon to be the commander of the fleet, which was designed for that purpose. As the history of this expedition, which laid the foundation of his future fortunes, hath in consequence of the excellent account that has been written of it by the late Mr. Robins, and the curious and interesting nature of the subject, been more read than almost any other which hath ever appeared, it is not necessary to give a detail of it in the present article. It is well known that he departed from St. Helen's on the 18th of September, 1740, at the head of a squadron of five men of war, a sloop of war, and two victualling ships; that he stopped first at Madeira, then on the coast of Brasil, and next at port St. Julian in Patagonia; that they encountered prodigious difficulties in doubling Cape Horn; that in this perilous passage, the remainder of his fleet was scattered from him, and part of it never joined him again; that, at length, he arrived at the island of Juan Fernandes; that from thence he proceeded to Peru, took the town of Paita, anchored a few days at Quibo, sailed to the coast of Mexico, and formed the design of intercepting the Acapulco ship; that, after stopping a while at the harbour of Chequetan, he determined to cross the Pacific ocean; that, at last, his squadron was reduced to his own single ship, the Centurion, that he made some stay at Tinian, one of the Ladrones or Marian islands, from which he immediately went to Macao; and that sailing back from Macao, in quest of the Manilla galleon, he had the good fortune of meeting with it and of taking it, on the 30th of June, 1743; that, after this enterprize, he returned to Canton, from whence he embarked to England by the Cape of Good Hope; that, having completed his voyage round the world, he came safe to an anchor at Spithead, on the 15th of June, 1744; and that he executed the whole of the undertaking with singular honour and advantage to himself, and the officers and people under him, though, from original errors and defects in the embarkation, and from causes in which he was in no wise concerned, the grand design of the expedition was not fully answered. If any of our readers should happen to be unacquainted with these transactions, they will have recourse to the account of them at large, that has been published under the name of Mr. Walter; it being only our intention to select such circumstances as have a more immediate relation to the personal character of Mr. Anson, and which indicate the turn of his mind. As before he set sail upon the expedition, he took care to furnish himself with the printed journals of the voyages to the South Seas, and the best manuscript accounts he could procure of all the Spanish settlements upon the coasts of Chili, Peru, and Mexico, which he afterwards carefully compared with the examinations of his prisoners, and the information of several intelligent persons, who fell into his hands; so, through the whole enterprize, he acted with a remarkable discretion, and with a calmness which particularly distinguishes his character. When he was ready to depart from St. Catharine's, and considered that his own ship might possibly be lost, or disabled from getting round Cape Horn, he gave such directions to the other commanders, as would have prevented the undertaking's being, even in that case, abandoned. His humanity was displayed at the island of Juan Fernandes, in his assisting with his own labour, and obliging the officers, without distinction, to give a helping hand, in carrying the sick sailors in their hammocks, to shore. At the same place he sowed lettuces, carrots, and other garden plants, and set, in the woods, a great variety of plumb, apricot and peach-stones, for the better accommodation of his countrymen who should hereafter touch there. From a like regard to future navigators, Commodore Anson was particularly industrious in directing the roads and coasts to be surveyed, and other observations to be made; for he well knew by his own experience of the want of these materials, of how great consequence they might prove to any British vessels, which, in succeeding times, might be employed in those seas. His integrity and generosity in the treatment of some female prisoners who had fallen into his hands, and his care to prevent their meeting with any degree of rudeness, from a set of sailors who had not seen a woman for near a twelvemonth, are greatly to his honour. By the wise and proper use which he made of the intelligence he had obtained from some Spanish captures, the Commodore was encouraged to form the design of attacking the town of Paita; and his conduct in that attack, added much to his reputation. Such was the excellent discipline to which he had accustomed his men, that, in the taking of the town, only one man was found, who was known to have so far neglected his duty as to get drunk. After the attack upon Paita, when a spirit of envy and jealousy arose concerning the distribution of the plunder, he manifested his prudence and equity in allaying this spirit, and his liberality in giving up his own share. But there was nothing from which Mr. Anson derived greater personal credit, or which reflected greater glory upon the English nation, than his behaviour to his prisoners in general, and especially to the women before mentioned. This behaviour was so honourable in itself, and so beneficent in its consequences, that it deserves to be particularly noticed. Though his force was rendered weak by the sickness and death of numbers of his men, and by the separation or loss of the larger part of his small squadron, we find that he was always intent upon contriving some scheme or other, by which, if possible, the design of his expedition might be answered. When no purpose was likely to be effectual, but the taking of the Acapulco ship, he pursued that plan with the greatest sagacity and perseverance. In no instance was the fortitude of his mind more tried, than when the Centurion was driven out to sea, from the uninhabited island of Tinian; himself, many of the officers, and part of the crew being left on shore. Nevertheless, in this gloomy and disconsolate situation, he preserved his usual composure and steadiness, though he could not be without his share of inward disquietude. He calmly applied to every measure which was likely to keep up the courage of his men, and to facilitate their departure from the island. He personally engaged in the most laborious part of the work which was necessary to the constructing of a vessel for this purpose; and it was only upon the pleasing and unexpected news of the return of the Centurion, that, throwing down his axe, he by his joy broke through, for the first time, the equable and unvaried character which he had hitherto preserved. Commodore Anson, when he was at Macao, exerted great spirit and address in procuring the necessary aid from the Chinese, for the resitting of his ship. In the scheme of taking the Manilla galleon, and in the actual taking of it, he displayed united wisdom and courage; nor did the accustomed calmness of his mind forsake him on a most trying and critical occasion; when, in the moment of victory, the Centurion was dangerously on fire near the powder-room. During his subsequent stay at Canton, he acted, in all respects, with the greatest spirit, and firmly maintained the privileges and honour of the British flag. The perils, with which he had so often been threatened, pursued him to the last; for on his arrival in England, he found that he had sailed through the midst of a French fleet then cruizing in the Channel; from which he had the whole time been concealed by a fog. Thus was his expedition finished, when it had lasted three years and nine months;
'after having by its event,' says the writer of his voyage, 'strongly evinced this important truth, That though prudence, intrepidity, and perseverance united, are not exempted from the blows of adverse fortune; yet, in a long series of transactions, they usually rise superior to its power, and in the end rarely fail of proving successful.'
Mr. Anson, a few days after his return to his own country, was made a rear admiral of the blue; and in a very short time, he was chosen member of parliament for Heydon in Yorkshire. On the 27th of December, 1744, when the Duke of Bedford was appointed first lord of the admiralty, he was appointed one of the commissioners; and on the 23d of April in the following year, he was made a rear admiral of the white. On the 14th of July, 1746, he was raised to the rank of vice-admiral. In the latter end of the year 1746, and the beginning of 1747, he commanded the squadron in the Channel service; and bore the inconveniences of a long and tempestuous winter navigation, with his usual perseverance. Nothing would have frustrated the success of this expedition, but the accidental intelligence which was given by the master of a Dutch vessel, to the Duke d'Anville's fleet, of Admiral Anson's station and intention. However, being employed again early in the ensuing spring, he had an opportunity of rendering a signal service to his country. Being then on board the Prince George of 90 guns, with rear admiral Warren, in the Devonshire, and twelve ships more under his command, he intercepted, on the 3d of May, 1747, off Cape Finisterre, a considerable fleet, bound from France to the East and West Indies, and laden with merchandis
, treasure, and warlike stores; and took six men of war, and four East Indiamen, not one of the enemy's ships of war escaping. By this great and successful exploit, he defeated the pernicious designs of two hostile expeditions, made a considerable addition to the force and the riches of our own kingdom, and thus converted into a public benefit, the intended means of a public calamity. M. St. George, Captain of the Invincible, in allusion to the names of the two ships which had been taken, and pointing to them at the same time, said, when he presented his sword to the conqueror;
Monsieur, vouz avez vaincu
l'invincible,
et
la gloire
vous suit.
On the 13th of June following, his Majesty king George the second, in consideration of Mr. Anson's eminent services, was pleased to raise him to the honour of an English peerage, by the style and title of Lord Anson, Baron of Soberton in the county of Southampton; and his Lordship made choice of a motto, very happily suited to the dangers he had gone through, and the successes he had met with,
Nil desperandum.
On the 25th of April, 1748, he married Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Philip Lord Hardwicke, at that time Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, which lady died without issue, on the first of June, 1760. He had frequently the honour of convoying the late king from England to Holland. The first time was in the year 1748; and ever after he constantly attended his majesty on his going abroad, and on his return to this kingdom. On the 12th of July, 1749, his lordship was made vice-admiral of Great Britain, an appointment that is more of a civil than a military nature; but which nevertheless, is always given to a military man. On the 12th of June, 1751, he was preferred to be first commissioner of the admiralty, in the room of the Earl of Sandwich; and in the years 1752 and 1755, he was one of the Lords Justices of the kingdom, during his Majesty's absence. The squadrons fitted out in the last mentioned year, on the prospect of a war with France, were got ready with singular dispatch, the officers sent to the ports exerting themselves in a remarkable manner. That more success did not attend them was owing to accidents. Mr. Boscawen commanded one division of the fleet, and Sir Edward Hawke the other; and both these gallant admirals always served with credit, often with the most brilliant success. It was the run of the times, inflamed by party writers, to blame Lord Anson, for not sending a fleet to relieve Minorca in time, when Port Mahon was besieged by the Duke of Richlieu; and it was alledged, that when he did send one, it was not strong enough. As to his not sending it sooner, this was occasioned in a great measure by Mr. Boscawen's squadron (on which we depended for a supply of seamen) not coming in, by several weeks, so early as was expected. And after that the government was kept in suspense, by the alarms of an invasion, founded on very particular intelligence. With regard to the strength of the fleet, the ablest sea-officers (men whose judgments no one could dispute) always thought that the force under Byng was quite sufficient. It was a match in numbers for the French admiral, and was a squadron remarkably well appointed. To this may be added, that neither the time of sending a fleet, nor the strength of it, depended solely upon the first lord of the admiralty, but must have had the concurrent opinion of the whole cabinet. On the 16th of November, 1756, Lord Anson, upon a change in the administration, resigned his post as first commissioner of the admiralty. A very accurate inquiry was made, in the next session of parliament, into the affair of Minorca; and the ministry of that time were, by several resolutions of the house of commons, acquitted of any blame or neglect of duty. On the 24th of February, 1757, he was made an admiral; and on the 2d of July, he was again placed at the head of the admiralty board, where he continued during the remainder of his life. He came in with his old friends, the Duke of Newcastle and the Earl of Hardwicke, and in the most honourable manner: for he renewed his seat with the concurrence of every individual in the ministry, Mr. Pitt resuming the seals as secretary of state, and with the particular approbation of king George the Second. All the rest of his conduct, as first commissioner of the admiralty, was crowned with success, under the most glorious administration which this country ever saw. The last time that Lord Anson commanded at sea, was in 1758, to cover the expedition against the coast of France. Being then admiral of the white, and having hoisted his flag on board the Royal George of 100 guns, he sailed from Spithead on the first of June, with a formidable fleet, Sir Edward Hawke serving under him; and by continually cruizing before Brest, he protected the several descents which were made that summer at St. Maloes, Cherburg, &c. The French fleet not venturing to come out, he kept his own squadron and seamen in constant exercise; a thing, which he thought, had been too much disregarded. On the 30th of July, 1761, his lordship was raised to the dignity of admiral and commander in chief of the fleet; and in a few days he sailed from Harwich, in the Charlotte yacht, to convoy her present majesty to England; whom he landed, after a rough and tedious passage, on the 7th of September. In February, 1762, he went to Portsmouth to accompany the Queen's brother, Prince Charles of Mecklenburgh, and to shew him the arsenal, and the fleet which was then upon the point of sailing, under the command of Sir George Pocock, for the Havanna. Lord Anson, in attending the Prince, caught a violent cold, that was accompanied with a gouty disorder, under which he languished two or three months. This cold, at length, settled upon his lungs, and was the immediate cause of his death. He died, at his seat at Moorpark, in Hertfordshire, on the 6th of June, 1762, and was buried in the family vault at Colwich. Besides the other honours we have mentioned, he was a member of his majesty's privy council, one of the elder brethren of Trinity-house, and a governor of the charter-house. He was very assiduous at the admiralty board, and remarkably quick in making naval dispositions of every kind, and in appropriating the proper strength and proper sort of ships to the different services. He liked to see his table filled with the gentlemen of the navy; and many eminent and valuable men of that profession frequently met there. Among the various services which will render the name of Anson illustrious, his discreet and successful choice of officers deserves particularly to be mentioned; as will be allowed by all who recollect, that some of the most distinguished, as Sir Charles Saunders, Captain Saumarez, Sir Percy Brett, Admiral Keppel, Sir Peter Denis, Admiral Campbell, and others, were either his lieutenants in the Centurion, or served under him on different occasions. He may, in general, be said to have been a true friend and patron to men of real merit and capacity in the service. In a late work, the editor of which hath taken very little pains to obtain authentic information concerning the persons treated of, it is asserted;
'that Lord Anson, at home, lessened his great reputation by a foolish attachment to gaming; that, having seen little of the polite world, he easily became the dupe of sharpers in high life, who eased him of a considerable share of his wealth: and that the ridicule he incurred upon these occasions, it is thought, affected his spirits, and contributed not a little, to bring on that decline which shortened his days.'
But we have the best authority for saying, that this representation of things is as false as it is injurious to his lordship's character. Upon the whole, he neither won nor lost by gaming; and he made it, like hundreds of others, who pass uncensured, his amusement rather than his business. To affirm, that any ridicule affected his spirits, is an absolutely groundless assertion. The great regard which was shewn him in all the companies he frequented, must put his memory above such an aspersion. Lord Anson left his whole fortune to his brother, Thomas Anson, Esq. who was member of parliament for Litchfield, and with whom he had always lived in the strictest friendship. This gentleman was well known for his liberal patronage of, and his exquisite skill in the fine arts. Upon his decease, the united fortunes of the family devolved to his nephew, by his eldest sister, George Adams, Esq. who hath assumed the name of Anson.
ANTHONY, OR ANTONY (DR. FRANCIS).
A very learned physician and chemist in the latter end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth centuries. His father was an eminent goldsmith in the city of London, and had an employment of considerable value in the jewel-office under the reign of Queen Elizabeth. This son of his was born April 16, 1550; and having been carefully instructed in the first rudiments of learning while at home, was, about the year 1569, sent to the university of Cambridge, where he studied with great diligence and success, and some time in the year 1574, took the degree of master of arts. It appears from his own writings, that he applied himself, for many years that he studied in that university, to the theory and practice of chemistry, with sedulous industry, and made no small progress. It is not at all clear from any memoirs that
ave reached our hands, when he left Cambridge and came up to London; but it seems highly probable, that it was not before he attained the age of forty. He began soon after his arrival to publish to the world
he effects of his chemical studies, and in the year 1598, sent abroad his first treatise, concerning the excellency of a medicine drawn from gold; but not having taken the necessary precautions of addressing himself to the college of physicians, for their licence, he fell under their displeasure, and being, some time in the year 1600, summoned before the pre
ent and censors, he co
fessed that he had practised physic in London for somewhat more than six months, and had cured twenty persons, or more, of several diseases, to whom he had given purging and vomiting physic, and to others, a diaphoretic medicine, prepared from gold and mercury, as their case required; but withal acknowledged that he had no licence, and being examined in several parts of physic, and found inexpert, he was interdicted practice. About a month after he was committed to the Counter-prison, and fined in the sum of five pounds,
propter illicitam Praxin,
that is, for prescribing physic against the statutes and privilege of the college; but upon his application to the lord chief justice, he was set at liberty, which gave so great an umbrage to the college, that the president and one of the censors waited on the chief justice, to request his favour in defending and preserving the college privileges; upon which Mr. Anthony submitted himself, promised to pay his fine, and was forbidden practice. But not long after he was accused again of practising physic, and, upon his own confession, was fined five pounds; which fine, on his refusing to pay it, was increased to twenty pounds, and he committed to prison till he paid it; neither were the college satisfied with this, but commenced a suit at law against him in the name of the Queen, as well as of the college, in which they prevailed, and obtained judgment against him; but after some time, were prevailed upon by the intreaties of his wife, to remit their share of the penalty, as appears by their warrant to the keeper of the prison for his discharge, dated under the college seal the 6th of August, 1602. After his release he seems to have met with considerable patrons, who were able to protect him from the authority of the college; and though Dr. Goodal tells us, that this learned society thought him weak and ignorant in physic, yet it seems there were other learned bodies of another opinion; since after all these censures, and being tossed about from prison to prison, he became doctor of physic in our own universities. This did not hinder new complaints being brought against him, by Dr. Taylor, and another physician, who grounded their proceedings chiefly on his giving a certain nostrum, which he called
Aurum potabile,
or potable gold, and which he represented to the world, as an universal medicine. There were at this time also several things written against him, and his manner of practice, insinuating that he was very inaccurate in his method of philosophising; that the virtues of metals, as to physical uses, were very uncertain; and that the boasted effects of this medicine were destitute of proof. Dr. Anthony, upon this, published a very learned and modest defence of himself and his
Aurum potabile,
in Latin, written with great decency, much skill in chemistry, and with an apparent knowledge in the theory and history of physic. This book, which he published in 1610, was printed at the university press of Cambridge, and had a very florid dedication to king James prefixed. He likewise annexed such certificates of cures, under the hands of several persons of distinction, and some too of the faculty, that it very plainly appeared, he did not by any means deserve to be treated as an ignorant empiric, or a mere pretender to chemistry. His book, however, was quickly answered, and the controversy about
Aurum potabile
grew so warm, that he was obliged to publish another apology in the English language, which was also translated into Latin, and is still in great esteem abroad; yet here at home it was far from answering the doctor's expectation, for it did not at all abate the opposition formed against his practice by the faculty, or allay that bitterness with which his opponents treated his argument, and writings. But, considered in another light, it proved very advantageous to him; for it procured the general good-will of ordinary readers, and contributed exceedingly to support and extend his practice, notwithstanding all the pains taken to decry it. Yet what chiefly contributed to maintain his own reputation, and thereby reflected credit on his medicine, was his unblemished character in private life. For our Dr. Anthony was a man of unaffected piety, untainted probity, of easy address, great modesty, and boundless charity; which procured him many friends, and left it not in the power of his enemies to attack any part of his conduct, except that of dispensing a medicine, of which they had no opinion. It is not either our inclination, or agreeable to the design of this work, to enter deeply into this controversy; but it may not be amiss to observe, that though much has been said to discredit the use of gold in medicine, yet some very able and ingenious men have written very plausibly in support of those principles on which Dr. Anthony's practice was founded. The age in which Dr. Anthony flourished was very favourable to his notion, since chemistry was then full as much admired, though perhaps not so well understood as at present. He had, therefore, a very extensive and beneficial practice, which enabled him to live hospitably at his house in Bartholomew-close, and to be very liberal in his alms to the poor. He died on the 26th of May, 1623, in the 74th year of his age, and was buried in the church of St. Bartholomew the great, i
the isle which joins to the north side of the chancel, where a handsome monument has been erected to his memory, with a suitable inscription. Our author was twice married, and by his last wife, whose name was Elizabeth, he had two sons, John and Charles, both physicians. The former sold his father's
Aurum potabile,
and lived by it very handsomely; the latter settled in the town of Bedford, where he attained the character of a learned, honest, and industrious man in his profession.
ANTINOUS.
THIS celebrated youth lived in the reign of Adrian, and has been universally celebrated for his unrivalled beauty. And indeed if the statues, intaglios, and other remains of antiquity, which were designed to perpetuate his memory, may be thought faithfully to represent his person, no one can dispute his claim to external loveliness. But Antinous lived in an age when beauty was more dangerous to male than to female youth. The emperor beheld his blooming graces with the eyes of infamous desire: and if nature could permit us to suppose reciprocity in such detestable attachments, it would seem that the youth returned the affection of his master with an equal ardour. The unbridled and extravagant passion of Adrian was as blasphemous as it was otherwise abhorrent; for at the death of this minion, he not only in his own person devoted to him that worship which was due to God, but caused divine honours to be paid him through all the regions of his extensive empire. It appears from divers authors that attributes of Mercury, of Apollo, and of Bacchus, were ascribed to him; and that learned antiquarian, Mr. Bowman, in his dissertation on an intaglio of Antinous under the figure of Mercury, gives us good reason to suppose he was honoured by the Egyptians as their Annubius. The manner of his death is variously related— some authors insisting that he offered his life a voluntary sacrifice for the emperor, upon the absurd pagan notion that by such means he might prolong the fated date of the friend who was dear to him; others relate, that from the same motive he yielded himself a ready victim for the completion of certain mysteries of magic in which Adrian was engaged; while a third class assert, that he drowned himself in the Nile, on account of Adrian's long stay in Egypt. Be this as it will, the emperor lamented him with tears and anguish; deified him; had temples erected to him; appointed priests and prophets to officiate in his worship, and deliver his supposed oracles; had the town in which he was reputed to have died, rebuilt and called by his name; and being told that a new star had made its appearance in the heavens, he affirmed it to be the soul of this favourite.
ANTONIDES VANDER GOES (JOHN),
AN eminent Dutch poet, born at Goes in Zealand, the 3d of April, 1647. His parents were anabaptists, people of good character, but of low circumstances. They went to live at Amsterdam when Antonides was about four years old; and in the ninth year of his age he began his studies, under the direction of Adrian Junius and James Cocceius. Antonides took great pleasure in reading the Latin poets, and carefully compared them with Grotius, Heinsius, &c. By this means he acquired a taste for poetry, and enriched his mind with noble ideas. He first attempted to translate some pieces of Ovid, Horace, and other ancients; and having formed his taste on these excellent models, he at length undertook one of the most difficult tasks in poetry, to write a tragedy; this was intitled Trazil, or The Invasion of China. Antonides however was so modest as not to permit it to be published. Vondel, who was then engaged in a dramatic piece, which was taken also from some event that happened in China, read Antonides's tragedy, and was so well pleased with it, that he declared, if the author would not print it, he would take some passages out of it, and make use of them in his own tragedy, which he did accordingly; and it was reckoned much to the honour of Antonides, to have written what might be adopted by so great a poet, as Vondel was acknowledged to be, by all good judges. Upon the conclusion of the peace betwixt Great Britain and Holland, in the year 1667, Antonides wrote a piece intitled Bellona aan band,
i. e.
Bellona chained, a very elegant poem, consisting of several hundred verses. The applause with which this piece was received, excited him to try his genius in something more considerable: he accordingly wrote an epic poem, which he intitled The River Y. The description of this river, or rather lake, is the subject of the poem, which is divided into four books; in the first the poet gives a very pompous description of all that is remarkable on that bank of the Y, on which Amsterdam is built. In the second he opens to himself a larger field; he begins with the praises of navigation, and describes the large fleets which cover the Y, as an immense forest, and thence go to every part of the world, to bring home whatever may satisfy the necessity, the luxury, or pride of men. The third book is an ingenious fiction; which supposes the poet all of a sudden carried to the bottom of the river Y, where he sees the deity of the river, with his demi-gods and nymphs, adorning and dressing themselves to go to a feast, which was to be celebrated at Neptune's court, upon the anniversary of the marriage of Thetis with Peleus. In the fourth book he describes the other bank of the Y, adorned with several cities of North Holland; and in the close of the work addresses himself to the magistrates of Amsterdam, to whose wisdom he ascribes the riches and flourishing condition of that powerful city.
Antonides's parents had bred him up an apothecary; but his remarkable genius for poetry soon gained him the esteem and friendship of several persons of distinction, and particularly of Mr. Buisero, one of the lords of the admiralty at Amsterdam, and a great lover of poetry who sent him at his expence to pursue his studies at Leyden, where h
remained till he took his degree of doctor of physic, and then his patro
gave him a place in the admiralty. In the year 1678, Antonides married Susanna Bermans, a minister's daughter, who had also a talent for poetry. His marriage was celebrated by several eminent poets, particularly by the celebrated Peter Francius, professor of eloquence, who composed some Latin verses on the occasion. Antonides, in the preface to his heroic poem, promised the life of the apostle Paul, which, like Virgil's Aeneid, was to be divided into twelve books; but he never finished that design, for only a few fragments of it have appeared, and the reason he gave for not bringing it to a conclusion, was, that he durst not meddle with theological subjects, being persuaded, whatever moderation he should observe, he must displease some party. After marriage, he did not much indulge his poetic genius; and within a few years he fell into a consumption, of which he died on the 18th of September, 1684, being then but thirty-seven years and a few months old. He is esteemed the most eminent Dutch poet, after Vondel, whom he studied to imitate, and is thought to have excelled in sweetness of expression, and smoothness of style; but in accuracy and loftiness he is greatly inferior to his original. His works have been printed several times, having been collected by his father, Anthony Tansz. The last edition was printed by Nicholas Ten Hoom, at Amsterdam, in the year 1714, in quarto, under the direction of David Van Hoogstraaten, one of the masters of the Latin school of that city, who added to it also the life of the poet.
ANTONINUS PHILOSOPHUS (MARCUS AURELIUS),
THE Roman emperor, born at Rome, the 26th of April, in the 121st year of the Christian aera. He was called by several names, till he was admitted into the Aurelian family, when he took the name of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. Hadrian, upon the death of Cejonius Commodus, turned his eyes upon Marcus Aurelius, but as he was not then eighteen years of age, and consequently too young for so important a station, he fixed upon Antoninus Pius, whom he adopted, upon condition that he should likewise adopt Marcus Aurelius. The year after this adoption, Hadrian appointed him questor, though he had not yet attained the age prescribed by the laws. After the death of Hadrian, Aurelius married Faustina, the daughter of Antoninus Pius, by whom he had several children. In the year 139, he was invested with new honours by the emperor Pius, in which he behaved in such a manner, as endeared him to that prince, and the whole people.
Upon the death of Pius, which happened in the year 161, he was obliged by the senate to take upon him the government, in the management of which he took Lucius Verus as his colleague. Dion Cassius says, that the reason of doing this, was that he might have leisure to pursue his studies, and on account of his ill state of health; Lucius being of a strong vigorous constitution, and consequently more fit for the fatigues of war. The same day he took upon him the name of Antoninus, which he gave likewise to Verus his colleague, and betrothed his daughter Lucilla to him. The two emperors went afterwards to the camp, where, after having performed the funeral rites of Pius, they pronounced each of them a panegyric to his memory. They discharged the government in a very amicable manner. It is said, that soon after Antoninus had performed the apotheosis of Pius, petitions were presented to him by the pagan priests, philosophers and governors of provinces, in order to excite him to persecute the Christians, which he rejected with indignation; and interposed his authority to their protection, by writing a letter to the common assembly of Asia, then held at Ephesus. The happiness which the empire began to enjoy under the two emperors, was interrupted in the year 162, by a dreadful inundation of the Tiber, which destroyed a vast number of cattle, and occasioned a famine at Rome. This calamity was followed by the Parthian war; and at the same time the Catti ravaged Germany and Rhaetia. Lucius Verus went in person to oppose the Parthians, and Antoninus continued at Rome, where his presence was necessary.
During this war with the Parthians, about the year 163 or 164, Antoninus sent his daughter Lucilla to Verus, she having been betrothed to him in marriage, and attended her as far as Brundusium; he intended to have conducted her to Syria; but it having been insinuated by some persons, that his design of going into the east, was to
the honour of having finished the Parthian war, he returned to Rome. The Romans having gained a victory over the Parthians, who were obliged to abandon Mesopotamia, the two emperors triumphed over them at Rome, in the year 166, and were honoured with the title of Fathers of their Country. This year was fatal, on account of a terrible pestilence which spread itself over the whole world, and a famine under which Rome laboured; it was likewise in this year that the Marcomanni, and many other people of Germany, took up arms against the Romans; but the two emperors having marched in person against them, obliged the Germans to sue for peace. The war, however, was renewed the year following, and the two emperors marched again in person; but Lucius Verus was seized with an apoplectic fit, and died at Altinum.
In the year 170, Antoninus made vast preparations against the Germans, and carried on the war with great vigour. During this war, in 174, a very extraordinary event is said to have happened, which, according to Dion Cassius, was as follows: Antoninus's army being blocked up by the Quadi, in a very disadvantageous place, where there was no possibility of procuring water; in this situation, being worn out with fatigue and wounds, oppressed with heat and thirst, and incapable of retiring or engaging the enemy, in an instant the sky was covered with clouds, and there fell a vast quantity of rain: the Roman army were about to quench their thirst, when the enemy came upon them with such fury, that they certainly must have been defeated, had it not been for a shower of hail, accompanied with a storm of thunder and lightning, which fell upon the enemy, without the least annoyance to the Romans, who by this means gained the victory. In 175, Antoninus made a treaty with several nations of Germany. Soon after, Avidius Cassius, governor of Syria, revolted from the emperor: this insurrection, however, was put an end to by the death of Cassius, who was killed by a centurion named Anthony. Antoninus behaved with great lenity towards those who had been engaged in Cassius's party: he would not put to death, nor imprison, nor even sit in judgment himself upon any of the senators engaged in this revolt; but he referred them to the senate, fixing a day for their appearance, as if it had been only a civil affair. He wrote also to the senate, desiring them to act with indulgence rather than severity; not to shed the blood of any senator or person of quality, or of any other person whatsoever, but to allow this honour to his reign, that even under the misfortune of a rebellion, none had lost their lives, except in the first heat of the tumult: "And I wish (said he) that I could even recall to life many of those who have been killed; for revenge in a prince hardly ever pleases, for even when just, it is considered too severe." In 176, Antoninus visited Syria and Egypt: the kings of those countries, and embassadors also from Parthia, came to visit him. He stayed several days at Smyrna; and after he had settled the affairs of the east, went to Athens, on which city he conferred several honours, and appointed public professors there. From thence he returned to Rome with his son Commodus, whom he chose consul for the year following, though he was then but sixteen years of age, having obtained a dispensation for that purpose. On the 27th of September, the same year, he gave him the title of Imperator; and on the 23d of December, he entered Rome in triumph, with Commodus, on account of the victories gained over the Germans. Dion Cassius tells us, that he remitted all the debts which were due to himself and the public treasury during forty-six years, from the time that Hadrian had granted the same favour, and burnt all the writings relating to those debts. He applied himself likewise to correct many enormities, and introduced several excellent regulations. In the year 178, he left Rome with his son Commodus, in order to go against the Marcomanni, and other barbarous nations; and the year following gained a considerable victory over them, and would, in all probability, have entirely subdued them in a very short time, had he not been taken with an illness, which carried him off on the 17th of March, 180, in the fifty-ninth year of his age, and nineteenth of his reign. The whole empire regretted the loss of so valuable a prince, and paid the greatest regard to his memory: he was ranked amongst the gods, and every person almost had a statue of him in their houses. His book of Meditations has been much admired by the best judges. It is wrote in Greek, and consists of twelve books: there have been several editions of it in Greek and Latin. "Of all books (says the learned Meric Casaubon, in his preface to the second edition of his translation of this work into English,) that have ever been written by any heathen, I know not any, which either in regard of itself (for the bulk thereof) or in regard of the author, deserves more respect than this of Marcus Antoninus. The chiefest subject of the book is the vanity of the world, and all worldly things, as wealth and honour, life, &c. and the end and scope of it, to teach a man how to submit himself wholly to God's providence, and to live content and thankful in what estate or calling soever. In the author of it, two main things I conceive very considerable; first, that he was a very great man, one that had good experience of what he spake: and secondly, that he was a very good man; one that had lived as he did write, and exactly (as far as was possible to a natural man) performed what he exhorted others to. Be it therefore spoken to the immortal praise and commendation of Antoninus, that as he did write, so he did live. Never did writings so conspire to give all possible testimony of goodness, uprightness, innocency, and whatever could, amongst heathens, be most commendable, as they have done to commend this one: they commend him, not as the best prince only, but absolutely as the best man and best philosopher that ever was. And it is his proper commendation, that being so commended, he is commended without exception. If any thing had ever been talked against him, the historians mention it but as a talk; not credited by them, nor by any that ever were of any credit. His Meditations were his actions: his deeds (if you consider him as a man and a heathen) did agree with his sentences."
ANTONIO (NICHOLAS),
KNIGHT of the order of St. James, and canon of Seville, did great honour to the Spanish nation by his Bibliotheque of their writers. He was born at Seville, in 1617, being the son of a gentleman, whom king Philip IV. made president of the admiralty established in that city in 1626. After having gone through a course of philosophy and divinity in his own country, he went to study law at Salamanca, where he closely attended the lectures of Francisco Ramos del Manzano, afterwards counsellor to the king, and preceptor to Charles II. Upon his return to Seville, after he had finished his law-studies at Salamanca, he shut himself up in the royal monastery of Benedictines, where he employed himsell several years in writing his Bibliotheca Hispanica, having the use of the books of Bennet de la Sana, abbot of that monastery, and dean of the faculty of divinity at Salamanca. In the year 1659, he was sent to Rome by king Philip IV. in the character of agent-general from this prince: he had also particular commissions from the inquisition of Spain, the viceroys of Naples and Sicily, and the governor of Milan, to negociate their affairs at Rome. The cardinal of Arragon procured him from pope Alexander VII. a canonry in the church of Seville, the income whereof he employed in charity and purchasing of books: he had above thirty thousand volumes in his library. By this help, joined to a continual labour and indefatigable application, he was at last enabled to finish his Bibliotheca Hispanica, in four volumes, in folio, two of which he published at Rome, in the year 1672. The work consists of two parts, the one containing the Spanish writers who flourished before the fifteenth century, and the other those since the end of that century. After the publication of these two volumes, he was recalled to Madrid by king Charles II. to take upon him the office of counsellor to the crusade, which he discharged with great integrity till his death, which happened in 1684. He left nothing at his death but his vast library, which he had brought from Rome to Madrid; and his two brothers and nephews, being unable to publish the remaining volumes of his Bibliotheca, sent them to cardinal d'Aguisne, who paid the charge of the impression, and committed the care thereof to Monsieur Marti, his librarian, who added notes to them in the name of the cardinal. Antonio had been also engaged in a work, intitled Trophaeum historico-ecclesiasticum Deo veritati erectum ex manubiis pseudo historicorum, qui, &c. He had projected several other works in his mind, but we must not omit that which he published at Antwerp in 1659, De Exilio, sive de poena exilii, exiliumque conditione et juribus, in folio.
ANTONIUS (MARCUS),
A FAMOUS Roman orator. At his first entrance into the service of the commonwealth, he gave a remarkable proof of his spirit and good sense, which deserves to be mentioned: he had obtained the questorship of the province of Asia, and had gone as far as Brundusium to embark, in order to take upon him his office, when his friends sent him word that he was accused of incest, and that his cause was to be heard before Cassius the pretor, a judge of such severity, that his tribunal was said to be the rock of the accused. Antonius might have taken the advantage of the law, which forbids any accusation to be admitted against those who were absent on the public service; but he chose rather to justify himself in form, and for this purpose returned to Rome, where he stood his trial, and was acquitted with great honour. Sicily fell to his lot during his pretorship, and he cleared the seas of the pirates which infested the coast. He was made consul with A. Posthumius Albinus, in the year of Rome 653, when he opposed the turbulent designs of Sextus Titus, tribune of the people, with great resolution and success. Some time after, he was made governor of Cilicia, in quality of proconsul, where he performed so many great exploits, that he obtained the honour of a triumph. We cannot omit observing, that in order to improve his great talent for eloquence, he became a scholar to the greatest men at Rhodes and Athens, in his way to Cilicia, and when on his return to Rome. Soon after he was appointed censor, which office he discharged with great reputation, having carried his cause before the people, against Marcus Duronius, who had preferred an accusation of bribery against him, in revenge for Antonius's having erazed his name out of the list of senators, which this wise censor had done, because Duronius, when tribune of the people, had abrogated a law, which restrained immoderate expence in feasts. He was one of the greatest orators ever known at Rome; and it was owing to him, according to the testimony of Cicero, that Rome might boast herself a rival even to Greece itself in the art of eloquence. He defended, amongst many others, Marcus Aquilius, and moved the judges in so sensible a manner, by the tears he shed and the scars he shewed upon the breast of his client, that he carried his cause. Cicero has given us the character of his eloquence, and of his action. He never would publish any of his pleadings, that he might not, as he said, be proved to say in one cause, what might be contrary to what he should advance in another. He affected to be a man of no learning. His modesty, and many other qualifications, rendered him no less dear to many persons of distinction, than his eloquence made him universally admired. He was unfortunately killed, during the fatal disturbances raised by Marius and Cinna: it was discovered where he had concealed himself, and soldiers were immediately sent to dispatch him. He spoke to them in such a manner that they were greatly affected, and there was none but the commander himself who had the cruelty to kill him, and he had not heard his discourse, but had just entered into the room, full of indignation that his soldiers had not executed his orders. This happened in the year of Rome 667.
APELLES.
ONE of the most celebrated painters of antiquity. He was born in the isle of Cos, and flourished in the time of Alexander the Great. He was in high favour with this prince, who made a law that no other person should draw his picture but Apelles: he accordingly drew him holding a thunderbolt in his hand; the piece was finished with so much skill and dexterity, that it used to be said there were two Alexanders, one invincible, the son of Philip, the other inimitable, the production of Apelles. Alexander gave him likewise another remarkable proof of his regard, for when he employed Apelles do draw Campaspe, one of his mistresses, having found that he had conceived an affection for her, he resigned her to him; and it was from her that Apelles is said to have drawn his Venus Anadyomene. This prince went often to see Apelles when at work, and one day, when he was overlooking him, we are told that he talked so absurdly in regard to painting, that Apelles desired him to hold his tongue, telling him, that the very boys who mixed the colours laughed at him. Mr. Freinshemius, however, thinks it incredible that Apelles would make use of such an expression to Alexander; or that the latter, who had so good an education, and so fine a genius, would talk so impertinently of painting: nor is it likely, perhaps, that Apelles would have expressed himself to this prince in the manner which he is reported to have done, upon another occasion. Alexander, as we are told, having seen his picture drawn by Apelles, did not commend it so much as it deserved; a little after, a horse happened to be brought, which neighed at sight of the horse painted in the same picture: upon this Apelles is said to have told Alexander, "Sir, it is plain this horse understands painting better than your majesty."
One of Apelles's chief excellencies was his making his pictures exactly resemble the persons represented, insomuch that the physiognomists are said to have been able to form a judgment as readily from his portraits as if they had seen the originals. His readiness and dexterity at taking a likeness was of great service to him, in extricating him from a difficulty in which he was involved at the court of Egypt: he had not the good fortune to be in favour with Ptolemy; a storm forced him, however, to take shelter at Alexandria, during the reign of this prince: a mischievous fellow, in order to do him an injury, went to him, and in the king's name invited him to dinner. Apelles went, and seeing the king in a prodigious passion, told him, by way of excuse, that he should not have come to his table but by his orders. He was commanded to shew the man who had invited him; this was impossible, the person who had put the trick upon him not being present: Apelles, however, drew a sketch of his picture on the wall with a coal, the first lines of which discovered him immediately to Ptolemy.
Apelles left many excellent pictures, which are mentioned with great honour by the ancients; but his Venus Anadyomene is reckoned his master-piece. His Antigonus has also been much celebrated; this was drawn with a side-face to hide the deformity of Antigonus, who had lost an eye. His picture of Calumny has also been much taken notice of.
APOLLONIUS RHODIUS,
A GREEK writer, born in Alexandria, under the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes, king of Egypt. He was a scholar of Callimachus, whom he is accused of having treated with ingratitude, whereby he drew upon himself the indignation of this poet, who gave him the name of Ibis, from a bird of Egypt, which used to purge itself with its bill. Apollonius wrote a poem upon the expedition of the Golden Fleece; the work is styled Argonautica, and consists of four books. Quintilian, in his Institutiones Oratoriae, says that this performance is wrote "aequali quadam mediocritate:" that the author observed an exact medium between the sublime and low style in writing. Longinus says also that Apollonius never sinks in his poem, but has kept it up in an uniform and equal manner: however, that he falls infinitely short of Homer, notwithstanding the faults of the latter; because the sublime, though subject to irregularities, is always preferable to every other kind of writing. Gyraldus, speaking of this poem, commends it as a work of great variety and labour; but says, however, that the style and manner of it are harsh in some places, though quite otherwise where this poet describes the passion of Medea. This he painted in such a manner, that Virgil himself was so pleased with it, that he made no scruple to copy it almost entirely in the story of Dido and Aeneas.
Apollonius not meeting at first with that encouragement which he expected at Alexandria, removed to Rhodes, where he set up a school for rhetoric, and gave lectures for a considerable time, thence he got the name of Rhodius. Here it was that he corrected and put the finishing hand to his Argonautics, which being publicly recited, met with universal applause, and the author was complimented with the freedom of the city. He is said to have written a book concerning Archilochus, a treatise of the Origin of Alexandria, Cnidos, and other works. He published his poem of the Argonautics at Alexandria, upon his return thither, when sent for by Ptolemy Euergetes, to succeed Eratosthenes as keeper of the public library. It is supposed that he died in this office, and that he was buried in the same tomb with his master Callimachus. The ancient scholia upon his Argonautics are still extant: they are thought to be written by Tarrhaeus, Theon, and others. Henry Stephens published an edition of this poem in Greek, in quarto, in 1574, with the Scholia and his own annotations. There was likewise an edition published in Greek and Latin, at Leyden, in 1641, by Jeremy Hoclzlin.
APOLLONIUS,
A PYTHAGOREAN philosopher, born at Tyana in Cappadocia, about the beginning of the first century. At sixteen years of age he became a strict observer of Pythagoras's rules, renouncing wine, women, and all sorts of flesh; not wearing shoes, letting his hair grow, and wearing nothing but linen. He soon after set up for a reformer of mankind, and chose his habitation in a temple of Aesculapius, where he is said to have performed many wonderful cures. Philostratus has wrote the Life of Apollonius, in which there are numberless fabulous stories recounted of him. We are told that he went five years without speaking; and yet during this time, that he stopped many seditions in Cilicia and Pamphilia: that he travelled, and set up for a legislator; and that he gave out he understood all languages, without having ever learned them; and that he could tell the thoughts of men, and understood the oracles which birds gave by their singing. The heathens were fond of opposing the pretended miracles of this man to those of our Saviour: and by a treatise which Eusebius wrote against one Hierocles, we find that the drift of the latter, in the treatise which Eusebius refutes, seems to have been to draw a parallel betwixt Jesus Christ and Apollonius, in which he gives the preference to this philosopher.
Mr. Du Pin has wrote a confutation of Philostratus's Life of Apollonius; in this he proves, 1. That the history of this philosopher is destitute of such proofs as can be credited. 2. That Philostratus has not wrote a history, but a romance. 3. That the miracles ascribed to Apollonius carry strong marks of falsehood; and there is not one which may not be imputed to chance or artifice. 4. That the doctrine of this philosopher is in many particulars opposite to right sense and reason.
Apollonius wrote some works, which are now lost.
APPIAN,
AN eminent historian, who wrote the Roman history in the Greek language. He flourished under the reigns of the emperors Trajan and Adrian; and he speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem as of an event which happened in his time. He was born of a good family in Alexandria, from whence he went to Rome, where he distinguished himself so much at the bar, that he was chosen one of the procurators of the emperor, and the government of a province was committed to him. He wrote the Roman history in a very peculiar method; he did not compile it in a continued series, after the manner of Livy, but wrote distinct histories of all the nations that had been conquered by the Romans, and placed every thing relating to those nations in their proper order of time. It was divided into three volumes, which contained twenty-four books, or twenty-two according to Charles Stephens, Volaterranus, and Sigonius. Photius tells, there were nine books concerning the civil wars, though there are but five now extant. This performance of his has been charged with many errors and imperfections, but Photius is of opinion, he wrote with the utmost regard to truth, and has shewn the greatest knowledge of military affairs of any of the historians; for while we read him, we in a manner see the battles which he describes. But his chief talent (continues that author) is displayed in his orations, in which he moves the passions as he thinks proper, either in reviving the resolution of the soldiers, or repressing the impetuosity of those who are too precipitate. In the preface of his work, Appian gives a general description of the Roman empire. Of all this voluminous work there remains only what treats of the Punic, Syrian, Parthian, Mithridatic, and Spanish wars, with those against Hannibal, the civil wars, and the wars in Illyricum, and some fragments of the Celtic or Gallic wars.
ARABELLA STUART,
COMMONLY called the Lady Arabella, so often talked of for a Queen, that custom seems to have given her a right to an article in this manner under her Christian name, as that by which our historians distinguish her. She was the daughter of Charles Stuart, Earl of Lenox; who was younger brother to Henry Lord Darnley, father to King James VI. of Scotland, and I. of England; by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Cavendish, knt. She was born, as near as can be computed, in the year 1577, and educated at London, under the eye of the old Countess of Lenox, her grand-mother. She was far from being eithe
beautiful in her person, or from being distinguished by any extraordinary qualities of mind, and yet she met with many admirers, on account of her royal descent, and near relation to the crown of England. Her father dying in the year 1579, and leaving her thereby sole heiress, as some understood, of the house of Lenox, several matches were thought of for her at home and abroad. Her cousin, King James, inclined to have married her to Lord Esme Stuart, whom he had created Duke of Lenox, and whom before his marriage he considered as his heir; but this match was prevented by Queen Elizabeth, though it was certainly a very fit one in all respects. As the English succession was at this time very problematical, the great powers on the Continent formed many designs about it, and thought of many husbands for the Lady Arabella: such as the Duke of Savoy, a prince of the house of Farnese, and others. In the mean time, this lady had some thoughts of marrying herself at home, as a celebrated writer informs us, to a son of the Earl of Northumberland's; but it is not credible that this took effect, though he says it did privately. The very attempt procured her Queen Elizabeth's displeasure, who confined her for it. In the mean time her title to the crown, such as it was, became the subject, amongst many others, of father Persons's famous book, wherein are all the arguments for and against her, and which served to divulge her name and descent all over Europe; and yet this book was not very favourable to her interest. On the death of the queen, some malecontents framed an odd design of disturbing the public peace, and amongst other branches of their dark scheme, one was to seize the Lady Arabella, and to cover their proceedings by the sanction of her title, intending also to have married her to some English nobleman, the more to increase their interest, and the better to please the people. But this conspiracy was fatal to none but its authors, and those who conversed with them; being speedily defeated, many taken, and some executed. As for the Lady Arabella, is does not appear that she had any knowledge of this engagement in her behalf, whatever it was; for domestic writers are perplexed, and foreign historians run into absurdities when they endeavour to explain it. She continued at liberty, and in some kind of favour at court, though her circumstances were narrow, till the latter end of the year 1608, when some way or other she drew upon her King James's displeasure. However, at Christmas, when there was much mirth and good humour at court, she was again taken into favour, and had a service of plate presented to her of the value of two hundred pounds, a thousand merks given her to pay her debts, and some addition made to her annual income. This seems to have been done, in order to have gained her to the interest of the court, and to put the notions of marriage she had entertained out of her head, all which however proved ineffectual; for in the beginning of the month of February, 1609, she was detected in an intrigue with Mr. William Seymour, son to Lord Beauchamp, and grandson to the Earl of Hertford, to whom, notwithstanding, she was privately married some time afterwards. Upon this discovery, they were both carried before the council, and severely reprimanded, and then dismissed. In the summer of the year 1610, the marriage broke out, whereupon the Lady was sent into close custody, at the house of Sir Thomas Parry, in Lambeth; and Mr. Seymour was committed to the Tower for his contempt, in marrying a lady of the royal family, without the king's leave. It does not appear that this confinement was attended with any great severity to either; for the Lady was allowed the use of Sir Thomas Parry's house and gardens, and the like gentleness, in regard to his high quality, was shewn to Mr. Seymour. Some intercourse they had by letters, was after a time discovered, and a resolution taken thereupon to send the Lady to Durham; a resolution which threw her into deep affliction. Upon this, by the interposition of friends, she and her husband concerted a scheme for their escape, which was successfully executed in the beginning, though it ended unluckily. The Lady, under the care of Sir James Crofts, was at the house of Mr. Conyers, at Highgate, from whence she was to have gone the next day to Durham, on which she put a fair countenance now, notwithstanding the trouble she had before shewn. This made her keepers the more easy, and gave her an opportunity of disguising herself, which she did on Monday the 3d of June, 1611, by drawing over her petticoats a pair of large French-fashioned hose, putting on a man's doublet, a peruke which covered her hair, a hat, a black cloak, russet boots with red tops, and a rapier by her side. Thus equipped, she walked out between three and four with Mr. Markham. They went a mile and a half to a little inn, where a person attended with their horses. The Lady, by that time she came thither, was so weak and faint, that the hostler, who held the stirrup when she mounted, said, that gentleman would hardly hold out to London. Riding, however, so raised her spirits, that by the time she came to Blackwall, she was pretty well recovered. There they found waiting for them two men, a gentlewoman, and a chambermaid, with one boat full of Mr. Seymour's and her trunks, and another boat for their persons, in which they hasted from thence towards Woolwich. Being come so far, they bade the watermen row on to Gravesend. There the poor fellows were desirous to land, but for a double freight were contented to go on to Lee yet being almost tired by the way, they were forced to lie still at Tilbury, whilst the rowers went on shore to refresh themselves; then they proceeded to Lee, and by that time the day appeared, and they discovered a ship at anchor a mile beyond them, which was the French bark that waited for them. Here the Lady would have lain at ancho
expecting Mr. Seymour, but through the importunity of her followers, they forthwith hoisted sail and put to sea. In the mean time Mr. Seymour, with a peruke and beard of black hair, and in a tawney cloth suit, walked alone without suspicion, from his lodging, out at the great west door of the Tower, following a cart that had brought him billets. From thence he walked along by the Tower-wharf, by the warders of the south gate, and so to the iron gate, where one Rodney was ready with a pair of oars to receive him. When they came to Lee, they found that the French ship was gone, the billows rising high, they hired a fisherman for twenty shillings, to put them on board a certain ship that they saw under sail. That ship they found not to be it they looked for, so they made forwards to the next under sail, which was a ship from Newcastle. This, with much ado, they hired for forty pounds, to carry them to Calais, and the master performed his bargain, by which means Mr. Seymour escaped, and continued in Flanders. On Tuesday in the afternoon, my Lord Treasurer being advertised that the Lady Arabella had made an escape, sent immediately to the lieutenant of the Tower, to set strict guard over Mr. Seymour, which he promised, after his
yare
manner
he would thoroughly do, that he would
; but coming to the prisoner's lodgings, he found, to his great amazement, that he was gone from thence one whole day before. A pink being dispatched from the Downs into Calais road, seized the French bark, and brought back the Lady and those with her. As soon as she was brought to town, she was, after examination, committed to the Tower, declaring that she was not so sorry for her own restraint, as she should be glad if Mr. Seymour escaped, for whose welfare, she affirmed, she was more concerned than for her own. Her aunt, the Countess of Shrewsbury, was likewise committed, on suspicion of having prompted the Lady Arabella, not only to her escape, but to other things, it being known that she had amassed upwards of twenty thousand pounds in ready money. The Earl of Shrewsbury was confined to his house, and the old Earl of Hertford sent for from his seat. By degrees things grew cooler, and though it was known that Mr. Seymour continued in the Netherlands, yet the court made no farther applications to the Arch-Duke about him. In the beginning of the year 1612, a new storm began to break out; for the Lady Arabella, either pressed at an examination, or of her own free will, made some extraordinary discoveries, upon which some quick steps would have been taken, had it not shortly after appeared, that her misfortunes had turned her head, and that, consequently, no use could be made of the evidence of a person out of her senses. However, the Countess of Shrewsbury, who before had leave to attend her husband in his sickness, was very closely shut up, and the court was amused with abundance of strange stories, which wore out by degrees, and the poor Lady Arabella languished in her confinement till the 27th of September, 1615, when her life and sorrows ended together. Even in her grave this poor lady was not at peace, a report being spread that she was poisoned, because she happened to die within two years of Sir Thomas Overbury. As for her husband, Sir William Seymour, he soon after her decease procured leave to return, distinguishing himself by loyally adhering to the king during the civil wars, and, surviving to the time of the restoration, was restored to his great-grandfather's title of Duke of Somerset, by an act of parliament, which entirely cancelled his attainder; and on the giving his royal assent to this act, King Charles II. was pleased to say in full parliament, what perhaps was as honourable for the family as the title to which they are restored. His words were these:
As this is an act of an extraordinary nature, so it is in favour of a person of no ordinary merit: he has deserved of my father, and of myself, as much as any subject possibly could do; and I hope this will stir no man's envy, because in doing it I do no more than what a good master should do for such a servant.
By his Lady Arabella this noble person had no issue; but that he still preserved a warm affection for her memory, appears from hence, that he called one of his daughters by his second wife, Frances, daughter and co-heiress of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, Arabella Seymour.
ARCHILOCHUS,
A GREEK poet, born in the isle of Paros. He was the son of Telesicles, and, according to Mr. Bayle, flourished in the 29th Olympiad. His poetry abounded with the most poignant satire. His satirical vein had such an effect on Lycambes, that he hanged himself on account of the severe satire which Archilochus wrote against him. The indignation of Archilochus against Lycambes arose from the latter's not keeping his word: Lycambes had promised him his daughter, and afterwards refused her to him. It is not unlikely that he attacked the whole family of Lycambes in his lampoon, for it is said that the daughter followed the example of her father; and there are some who affirm, that three of Lycambes's daughters died of despair at the same time. In this piece of Archilochus, many adventures are mentioned, full of defamation, and out of the knowledge of the public. There were likewise many loose indelicate passages in the poem; and it is said to have been on account of this satire, that the Lacedaemonians laid a prohibition on his verses; having considered the reading of such loose pieces as not agreeable to the rules of modesty. "The Lacedaemonians (says Valerius Maximus) commanded the book of Archilochus to be carried out of their city, because they thought the reading of them not to be very modest or chaste: for they were unwilling the minds of their children should be tinctured with them, lest they should do more harm to their manners than service to their genius. And so they banished the verses of the greatest, or at least next to the greatest poet, because he had attacked a family which he hated, with obscene abuse." It has been affirmed by some, that he himself was banished from Lacedaemon; and the maxim that he had inserted in one of his pieces, is assigned for the reason thereof, "That it was better to fling down one's arms, than to lose one's life:" he had written this in vindication of himself.
Archilochus was so much addicted to raillery and abuse, he did not even spare himself. He is said, however, to have been much in favour with Apollo; for when he had been killed in a combat, the oracle of Delphi drove the murderer out of the temple, and was not appeased without a multitude of excuses and prayers; and even after this, the oracle ordered him to a certain house, there to pacify the ghost of Archilochus. This poet excelled chiefly in iambic verses, and was the inventor of them. He is one of the three poets whom Aristarchus approved in this kind of poetry. Quintilian puts him, in some respects, below the other two. Aristophanes the grammarian thought, that the longer his iambic poems were, the finer they were: Cicero informs us of this particular; "The longest of your epistles (say he to Atticus) seems to me the best, as the iambics of Archilochus did to Aristophanes." The hymn which he wrote to Hercules and Iolus, was so much esteemed, that it used to be sung three times to the honour of those who had gained the victory at the Olympic games. There are few of his works extant; and this (says Mr. Bayle) is rather a gain than a lose, with regard to morality. Heraclides composed a dialogue upon the life of this poet; which, if it had remained, would in all probability have furnished us with many pariculars concerning Archilochus.
ARCHIMEDES,
A CELEBRATED geometrician, born at Syracuse, in the island of Sicily, and related to Hiero, king of Syracuse. He was remarkable for his extraordinary application to mathematical studies, in which he used to be so much engaged, that his servants were often obliged to take him from thence by force. He had such a surprising invention in mechanics, that he affirmed to Hiero, if he had another earth whereon to plant his machines, he could move this which we inhabit. He is said to have formed a glass sphere, of a most surprising workmanship, wherein the motions of the heavenly bodies were represented. He fell upon a curious method to discover the deceit which had been practised by a workman, employed by king Hiero to make a golden crown. But he became most famous by his curious contrivances, whereby the city of Syracuse was so long defended, when besieged by Marcellus. "The vigorous efforts made to carry the place, had certainly succeeded sooner (says Levy) had they not been frustrated by one man: this was Archimedes, a man famous for his skill in astronomy, but more so for his surprising invention of war-like machines, with which in an instant he destroyed what had cost the enemy vast labour to erect. Against the vessels, which came up close to the walls, he contrived a kind of crow, projected above the wall, with an iron grapple fastened to a strong chain; this was let down upon the prow of a ship, and by means of the weight of a heavy counterpoise of lead, raised up the the prow, and set the vessel upright upon her poop; then letting it down all of a sudden, as if the vessel had fallen from the walls, to the great terror of the seamen it sunk so far into the sea, that it let in a great deal of water, even when it fell directly on its keel." However, notwithstanding all his art, Syracuse was at length taken by Marcellus, who commanded his soldiers to have a particular regard to the safety of Archimedes; but this ingenious man was unfortunately slain by a soldier, who did not know him. "What gave Marcellus the greatest concern (says Plutarch) was the unhappy fate of Archimedes, who was at that time in his musaeum, and his mind, as well as eyes, so fixed and intent upon some geometrical figures, that he neither heard the noise and hurry of the Romans, nor perceived that the city was taken. In this transport of study and contemplation, a soldier came suddenly upon him, and commanded him to follow him to Marcellus; which he refusing to do till he had finished his problem, and fitted it for demonstration, the soldier, in a rage, drew his sword, and ran him through. Others write that Archimedes seeing a soldier coming with a drawn sword to kill him, entreated him to hold his hand one moment, that he might not die with the regret of having left his problem unfinished, and the demonstration imperfect; but that the soldier, without any regard either to his problem or demonstration, killed him immediately. Other
again write, that as Archimedes was carrying some mathematical instruments in a box to Marcellus, as sun-dials, spheres, and angles, wit
which the eye might measure the magnitude of the sun's body, som
soldiers met him, and believing there was gold in it, slew him." Liv
says he was slain by a soldier, who did not know who he was, whilst he was drawing schemes in the dust: that Marcellus was grieved at his death, and took care of his funeral; making his name at the same time a protection and honour to those who could claim being related to him. Archimedes is said to have been killed in the 143d Olympiad, and 546th year of Rome, about two hundred and eight years before the birth of Christ. We have several of his works still extent, but the greatest part of them are lost. When Cicero was quaestor for Sicily, he discovered the tomb of Archimedes, all over-grown with bushes and brambles: there was an inscription upon it, but the latter part of the verses was quite worn out.
ARDEN (EDWARD)
WAS descended of a most ancient and honourable family, seated at Parkhall, in Warwickshire. He was born in the year 1532, and his father dying when he was an infant of two years old, he became, before he inherited the estate of the family, the ward of Sir George Throkmorton, of Coughton, whose daughter Mary he afterwards married. In all probability, it was his engagement with this family, and being bred in it, that made him so firm a papist as he was. However that be, succeeding his grandfather, Thomas Arden, Esq. in 1562, in the family estate, he married Mary (Throkmorton) and settled in the country, his religion impeding his preferment, and his temper inclining him to a retired life. His being a near neighbour to the great Earl of Leicester, occasioned his having some jars with him, who affected to rule all things in that county. Some persons therein, though of good families, and possessed of considerable estates, thought it no discredit to wear that nobleman's livery, which Mr. Arden disdained. In the course of this fatal quarrel, excessive insolence on one side, produced some warm expressions on the other; insomuch that Mr. Arden openly taxed the Earl with his conversing criminally with the Countess of Essex, in that Earl's life time; and also inveighed against his pride as a thing the more inexcusable in a nobleman newly created. These taunts having exasperated that Minister, he projected, or at least forwarded, his destruction. Mr. Arden had married one of his daughters to John Somerville, Esq. a young gentleman of an old family, and good fortune, in the same county. This Mr. Somerville was a man of a hot rash temper, and by many thought a little crazy. He was drawn in a strange manner to plot (if it may be so called) against the Queen's life; and thus the treason is alledged to have been transacted. In the Whitsun-Holidays, 1583, he with his wife was at Mr. Arden's, where Hugh Hall, his father-in-law's Priest, persuaded him that Queen Elizabeth being an incorrigible heretic, and growing daily from bad to worse, it would be doing God and his country good service to take her life away. When the holidays were over, he returned to his own house with his wife, where he grew melancholy, and irresolute. Upon this▪ his wife writes to Hall, her father's Priest, to come and strengthen the man. Hall excuses his coming, but writes at large, to encourage Somerville to prosecute what he had undertaken. This letter had its effects; Somerville set out for London, but got no farther than Warwick, where, drawing his sword and wounding some Protestants, he was instantly seized. While he was going to Warwick, his wife went over to her father's, and shewed him and her mother Hall's treasonable letter, which her father threw into the fire; so that only the hearsay of this letter could be alledged against him and his wife, by Hall who wrote it, who was tried and condemned with them. But to return to Somerville. On his apprehension, he said somewhat of his father and mother-in-law, and immediately orders were sent into Warwickshire for their being seized and imprisoned. October 30, 1583, Mr. Somerville was committed to the Tower for high-treason. November 4, Hall, the Priest, was committed also; and on the seventh of the same month, Mr. Arden. On the sixteenth, Mary the wife of Mr. Arden, Margaret their daughter, wife to Mr. Somerville, and Elizabeth, the sister of Mr. Somerville, were committed. On the twenty-third Mr. Arden was racked in the Tower, and the next day Hugh Hall the Priest was tortured likewise. By these methods some kind of evidence being brought out, on the sixteenth of December Edward Arden, Esq. and Mary his wife, John Somerville, Esq. and Hugh Hall the Priest, were tried and convicted of high-treason at Guildhall, London; chiefly on Hall's confession, who yet received sentence with the rest. On the nineteenth of December, Mr. Arden and his son-in-law, Somerville, were removed from the Tower to Newgate, for a night's time only: In this space Somerville was strangled by his own hands, as it was given out; but, as the world believed, by such as desired to get him silently out of theirs. The next day, being December 20, 1583, Edward Arden was executed at Smithfield with the general pity of all spectators. He died with the same high spirit he had shewn throughout his life. After professing his innocence, he owned himself a Papist, and one who died for his religion, and want of flexibility, though under colour of conspiring against the State. He strenuously insisted, that Somerville was murdered, to prevent his shaming his prosecutors, and having thus extenuated things to such as heard him, he patiently submitted to an ignominious death. His execution was according to the rigour of the law, his head being set (as Somerville's also was) upon London bridge, and his quarters upon the city gates; but the body of his son-in-law was interred in Moorfields. As for Mrs. Arden, she was pardoned, but the Queen gave the estate which fell to her, by her's and her husband's attainder, to Mr. Darcy. As for Hugh Hall, the Priest, he was pardoned too, but Leicester doubting his secrecy, would have engaged Chancellor Hatton to have sent him abroad; which he refusing, new rumours, little to that proud Earl's honour, flew about. Hollinshed, Stowe, and such writers, treat Mr. Arden as a traitor fairly convicted, and so have others who knew much better; but Camden was too honest to write thus, and there is good authority to incline our belief, that he died for being a stout Englishman, rather than a bad subject. His son and heir Robert Arden, Esq. being bred in one of the Inns of Court, proved a very wise and fortunate person, insomuch that by various suits he wrung from Edward Darcy, Esq. the grantee, most of his father's estates, and by marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Reginald Corbet, Esq. one of the Justices of the King's Bench, he restored the credit and splendor of this ancient family, and was so happy to see Henry Arden, Esq. his eldest son, knighted by King James, and married to Dorothy, the daughter of Basil Fielding, of Newnham, Esq. whose son became Earl of Denbigh. The drawing this embarrassed account out of obscurity, cannot but be grateful to our curious readers, and will answer one great end of this work, the elucidating dark passages in English history, by a comparison of lights, a thing not to be expected in general collections, or even in the accounts of particular reigns.
ARETIN (PETER)
A NATIVE of Arezzo, who lived in the sixteenth century. He was famous for his satirical writings, and was so bold as to carry his invectives even against sovereigns, and from thence got the title of the Scourge of Princes. Francis I. the emperor Charles V. most of the princes of Italy, several cardinals, and many nob
emen courted his friendship by presents, either because they liked his compositions, or perhaps from an apprenension of falling under the lash of his satire. Aretin became thereupon so insolent, that he is said to have got a medal struck, on one side of which he is represented with these words, IL DIVINO ARETINO; and on the reverse, sitting upon a throne, receiving the presents of princes, with these words, I PRINCIPI TRIBUTATI DA POPOLI, TRIBUTANO IL SERVIDOR LORO. Some imagine he gave himself the title of Divine, signifying thereby that he performed the functions of a God upon earth by the thunderbolts with which he struck the heads of the highest personages. He used to boast, that his lampoons did more service to the world than sermons; and it was said of him, that he had subjected more princes by his pen, than the greatest had ever done by their arms. Aretin wrote many irreligious and obscene pieces; such are his dialogues, which were called Ragionamenti. We have also six volumes of Letters wrote by him, but they are not in much esteem: "I have read (says Mr. Menage) all Peter Aretin's letters, without finding any thing that I could insert in any of my books; there is nothing but the style of them worth regarding," Some say that Aretin changed his loose libertine principles; but however this may be, it is certain that he composed several pieces of devotion: he wrote a Paraphrase on the penitential Psalms, and another on Genesis; he wrote also the Life of the Virgin Mary, and that of St. Catherine of Sienna, and of St. Thomas Aquinas. He was author likewise of some comedies, which were esteemed pretty good of their kind. He died in the year 1556, being about sixty-five years old.
It is said by some, that he fell into such a fit of laughter, on hearing some smutty conversation, that he overturned the chair upon which he sat, and that in the fall he hurt his head and died upon the spot. Aretin wrote some verses against Peter Strozzi, but he heartily repented of this▪ for Strozzi, being a resolute man, threatned to have him stabbed in his bed; which so frightened the poet, that he durst not allow any body to come into his house, nor had he the courage to go out of it himself, as long as Strozzi staid in the state of Venice.
ARIOSTO (LODOVICO, OR LEWIS.
A CELEBRATED Italian poet, descended of a good fumily, and born at the castle of Reggio, in Lombardy, in the year 1474. He soon gave marks of his great genius, for when very young, he composed several excellent poetical pieces, one of the most remarkable of which is the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, which he formed into a play, and had it acted by his brothers and sisters. This performance gained him great applause, all who saw it presaging he would prove one of the greatest poets of the age. His father, however, being a man of no taste for learning, regarded more what study would be most profitable for his son to follow, than what suited his genius and inclination: he obliged him therefore to apply to the law, which he did for some years, though with great reluctance; but upon his father's death, he returned to the more agreeable pursuits of poetry. He was left but in indifferent circumstances, either because the estate was divided amongst all his brothers, or because his father's income consisted chiefly of places of profit, which determined at his death. When Ariosto was about thirty years of age, he was introduced to Hippolito cardinal of Est, a great patron of learned men, who entertained him in a very honourable manner. The success which he had hitherto had in the little poetical pieces which he had published, inspired him with the ambition of distinguishing himself by some nobler work. Sannazarius, Bembo, Nangerius, and Sadolet, had rendered themselves famous for the beauty of their Latin poems; Ariosto had likewise wrote some in this language, but finding, as sir John Harrington observes, that he could not raise himself to the highest rank amongst the Latin poets, which was already possessed by others, he applied himself chiefly to the cultivation of his native tongue, being desirous to enrich it with such works as would render it valuable and important to other nations. He read Homer and Virgil with critical assiduity, and having in view these great originals, he began a poem on the loves of Orlando, taking the subject from Bojardo's Orlando Inamorato upon whose model he proceeded. He began this poem when he was about thirty years of age; it is the most celebrated of all his works, though there have been many different opinions concerning it. But his attachment to poetry did not hinder him from engaging in public affairs, for he was employed in embassies and negociations in different parts of Italy. The cardinal of Est wanted to have carried him to Hungary, with some other illustrious persons who attended him, but Ariosto refusing to go, lost all his interest with his patron.
Upon the death of Hippolito he engaged in the service of Alfonso, duke of Ferrara, who treated him with great esteem and affection, and appointed him governor of Graffignana, which office he discharged with great honour and success. After his return home, he dedicated the rest of his life to retirement, prosecuting his studies in a house which he built for himself at Ferrara. He translated several pieces out of French and Spanish into Italian; and wrote also several satires, which, according to Mr. Menage, are esteemed by the best judges. There are likewise five comedies of his extant, which the duke of Ferrara was so pleased with, that he erected a magnificent stage in the hall of Ferrara, for the representation of them, and made the author several considerable presents. At his desire, Ariosto translated the Maenechmi of Plautus into Italian, which was exhibited with great success; and all his other comedies were frequently acted by persons of the first quality: and when his Lena was first represented, Ferdinand of Est, afterwards marquis of Massa, so far honoured the piece, as to speak the prologue. Ariosto used to read his verses to his friends and the ladies of his acquaintance. His manner of reading was excellent; so that he thereby gave a peculiar grace to every thing he pronounced. He was honoured with the laurel by the emperor Charles V. in the year 1533.
Ariosto was of an amorous disposition, and left two natural sons. He was affable, easy, and condescending in his temper. He enjoyed the friendship of the most eminent men of learning of his time, most of whom he mentions with great respect in the last canto of his Orlando Furioso His constitution was but weakly, so that he was obliged to have recourse to physicians the greatest part of his life. He bore his last sickness with great resolution ane serenity, and died at Ferrara the 8th of July, 1533, according to sir John Harrington, being then fifty-nine years of age. He was interred in the church of the Benedictine monks, who, contrary to their custom, attended his funeral. He had a bust erected to him, and an epitaph, written by himself, inscribed upon his tomb. His death was much regreted by all who knew him; and particularly by the men of letters, who honoured his memory by several Latin and Italian poems.
The following Article was omitted, by mistake of the compositor, in its proper place; but it appeared to the editor of too much importance to be sacrificed to alphabetical order.
ARBUTHNOT (JOHN.)
AN eminent physician, a distinguished Wit, and a polite Writer, in the latter end of the seventeenth, and the beginning of the present century, was descended from the noble family of his name in Scotland, and was the son of a Clergyman of the Episcopal Church in that country. He was born at Arbuthnot, in Kincardinshire, near Montrose, not long after the Restoration of King Charles the Second, but in what particular year is uncertain. Having been sent, at a proper age, to the university of Aberdeen, he applied himself diligently to all the academical studies, and particularly to that of physic, in which he took his Doctor's degree. The political principles of his father not suffering him to comply with the Revolution, he forfeited his Church preferment, and retired for support to a small estate of his own. The sons embraced the same political principles; on which account they were laid under a necessity of seeking their fortunes abroad. The Doctor, however, travelled no farther than to London, where he was entertained at the house of Mr. William Pate, a Woollen-draper; soon after which, he took up the business of teaching the mathematics, an undertaking for which he was very well qualified. He was probably engaged in this employment, when Dr. Woodward published, in 1695, his "Essay towards a natural History of the Earth." The account which Dr. Woodward, in his Essay, gave of the universal deluge, appeared to Dr. Arbuthnot to be irreconcileable with just philosophical reasoning upon mathematical principles; and, therefore, he drew up an answer to that part of the work, under the following title: "An Examination of Dr. Woodward's Account of the Deluge, &c. With a Comparison between Steno's Philosophy and the Doctor's, in the Case of Marine Bodies dug out of the Earth; by J.A. M.D. With a Letter to the Author, concerning
An Abstract of Agostino Scilla's Book
on the same subject; printed in the Philosophical Transactions, by W. W. F. R. S." This learned piece appeared in 1697, in 8vo. and laid the foundation of Dr. Arbuthnot's literary reputation; which, not long after, received a considerable and deserved increase by his "Essay on the Usefulness of Mathematical Learning:" In a Letter from a "Gentleman in the city to his Friend at Oxford." In the mean time, as physic was his profession, so the practice of it was what he principally had in view. At first, indeed, as is usual with regard to young physicians, he met with no great encouragement; but, after a while, his business so increased to produce a competency; and, by degrees, his skill in it, joined with his pleasing wit and extensive literature, introduced him into good esteem and favour with the polite part of the world. On St Andrew's day, 1704, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society; and on the 30th of October, in the following year, he was sworn Physician Extraordinary to Queen Anne, by her Majesty's especial command. This honour was conferred upon him, in consideration of his successful services to his Royal Highness Prince George of Denmark. That prince being taken suddenly ill at Epsom, was recommended to Dr. Arbuthnot, who happened to be upon the spot; and his Highness recovering by the Doctor's assistance, ever after employed him as his Physician. Upon the indisposition of Dr. Hannes, he was appointed, in November 1709, fourth Physician in Ordinary to the Queen; and, on the 27th of April 1710, he was admitted a Fellow of the College of Physicians. About this time, or a little after, Dr. Arbuthnot formed an intimate connection with the celebrated triumvirate, Swift, Pope, and Gay; and it was not long before he added a new lustre to that constellation of wits by the brightness of his own. Early in the year 1714, he engaged with Mr. Pope and Dr. Swift in a design of writing a satire on the abuses of human learning in every branch; which was to be executed in the manner of Cervantes (the original author of this species of satire) under the history of some feigned adventures. "They had observed," says the ingenious and learned Editor of Mr. Pope's works, "those abuses still kept their ground, against all that the gravest and ablest authors could say to discredit them: They concluded, therefore, the force of ridicule was wanting to quicken their disgrace; which was here in its place, when the abuses had already been detected by sober reasoning; and
truth
in no danger to suffer by the
premature
use of so powerful an instrument." But the prosecution of this noble design, at least in a regular way, was prevented by the Queen's death, which exceedingly disconcerted Pope, Swift, and Arbuthnot, who were all of them warmly attached to Lord Oxford's ministry; and a final period was afterwards put to the project, by the separation and growing infirmities of Dr. Swift, by the bad health of Dr. Arbuthnot, and other concurring causes. The imperfect Essay which was drawn out towards this design, under the title of the first Book of the Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus, is sufficient to make us greatly regret that it was not completed. A critical account of this undertaking, and of the share which Dr. Arbuthnot had in it, we here present to the reader. "Polite letters," adds the celebrated Editor before mentioned, "never lost more, than in the defeat of this scheme; in the execution of which, each of this illustrious triumvirate would have found exercise for his own peculiar talents; besides constant employment for those they all had in common. Dr. Arbuthnot was skilled in every thing which related to
Science:
Mr. Pope was a master in the
fine Arts
; and Dr. Swift excelled in the
Knowledge of the World.
WIT they had all in equal measure; and this so large, that no age perhaps ever produced three men to whom Nature had more bountifully bestowd it, or Art had brought it to higher perfection." We are told by the same writer, that the travels of Guliver were first intended as a part of Scriblerus's Memoirs. Queen Anne's death made so deep an impression upon Dr. Arbuthnot's spirits, that, to divert his melancholy, he went to Paris, where a brother of his resided. His stay there, however, was very short; for he returned to London in the beginning of September. During this time, he appears to have been in some suspence whether he should be permitted to hold his place at St. James's; but being at length told that he was to lose it, he philosophically observed to Dr. Swift, that "he hoped to be able to keep a little habitation warm in town." Indeed, considering his attrchment to former men and measures, it is not surprising that he should be deprived of his situation in the royal household; though it might have been to the honour of Government to have shewn a peculiar indulgence to a man of such distinguished genius and merit. Dr. Arbuthnot, having quitted St. James's, where he appears generally to have lived while he was physician to Queen Anne, took a house in Dover-Street. Some time after, in conjunction with Mr. Pope, he was engaged in giving assistance to Mr Gay in the Comedy, or rather the Farce, of
Three Hours after Marriage.
This play was brought upon the stage in 1717, and was ill received, being damned on the first night of its representation. At the Bath season, in the latter end of 1722, Dr. Arbuthnot went to that city, apparently for his health, being accompanied by one of his brothers, who was lately come to England, and whose singular and amiable character is well drawn by Mr. Pope, in a letter to Mr. Digby. On the 30th of September 1723, the Doctor was chosen second Censor of the Royal College of Physicians. In 1725 he was seized with a most unusual and dangerous distemper, an imposthume in the bowels; from which he speedily and happily recovered, to the great joy of his friends. He published, in 1727, in quarto, his work, intitled,
Tables of Ancient Coins, Weights and Measures, explained and exemplified, in several Dissertations.
In the same year, on the 5th of October, he was made an Elect of the College of Physicians: and, on the 18th of that month, he pronounced the Harveian Oration. During all this time, he continued the practice of his profession with good reputation; and, among other eminent persons whom he attended in his medical capacity, was the late Earl of Chesterfield, who was proud to have such a man for his friend, as well as for his Physician. Dr. Arbuthnot was not, however, so deeply engaged in business, but that he could find leisure to write several pieces of wit and humour, among which his Epitaph on the infamous Colonel Chartres, which came out in 1731, hath been particularly admired. Much about the same time, he wrote a very entertaining paper, concerning the
Altercation
or
scolding of the Ancients.
In 1732 he had an opportunity of contributing his endeavours towards detecting and punishing the scandalous frauds and abuses which had been carried on, under the specious name of
The Charitable Corporation.
In the same year, he published his treatise concerning the "Nature and Choice of Aliments;" which was followed, in 1733, by his essay on "The Effects of Air on human Bodies." A little before the last publication, he met with a severe domestic affliction, in the loss of his son Charles, hereafter mentioned, "whose life, he says, if it had so pleased God, he would willingly have redeemed with his own." Nevertheless, he added, with the greatest piety, "I thank God for a new lesson of submission to his will, and likewise for what he hath left me." Dr. Arbuthnot is thought to have been led to the medical subjects just mentioned, by the consideration of his own case. His disorder was an asthma, which, having gradually increased with his years, became, at length, desperate and incurable. Under this affliction, he retired, in 1734, with a view of obtaining some small relief, to Hampstead; from whence, in answer to a kind enquiry of Mr. Pope, he gave that friend a particular account of his distemper, and of his having no expectations of a recovery. In a letter, written two or three months after, to his other great friend, Dr. Swift, he displays the resignation, calmness, and piety of his mind. Though he met with a temporary relief at Hampstead, and especially from riding, yet, being sensible that an effectual cure of his disease was impossible, he thought proper to return to his own house in Cork-Street, Burlington-Gardens, where he departed this life, on the 27th of February 1734-5.
Dr. Arbuthnot appears, in every respect, to have been a most amiable and worthy man; and the justness of the following account of him, which comes from the ingenious pen of Lord Orrery, will be acknowledged by all who are acquainted with the Doctor's life and writings. His Lordship, speaking of that part of Swift's epistolary correspondence which only was then published, adds, "I should have been much pleased in finding some of Dr. Arbuthnot's letters among this collection. Although he was justly celebrated for wit and learning, there was an excellence in his character more amiable than all his other qualifications: I mean the excellence of his heart. He has shewn himself equal to any of his contemporaries in humour and vivacity; and he was superior to most men in acts of humanity and benevolence. His very sarcasms are the satyrical strokes of good nature: They are like slaps in the face given in jest, the effects of which may raise blushes, but no blackness will appear after the blows. He laughs as jovially as an attendant upon Bacchus, but continues as sober and considerate as a disciple of Socrates. He is seldom serious, except in his attacks upon vice; and then his spirit rises with a manly strength, and a noble indignation. His epitaph upon Chartres (allowing one small alteration, the word
permitted,
instead of
connived at
) is a complete and a masterly composition in its kind. No man exceeded him in the moral duties of life: a merit still more to his honour, as the ambitious powers of wit and genius are seldom submissive enough to confine themselves within the limitations of morality. In his letter to Mr. Pope, written, as it were, upon his death-bed, he discovers such a noble fortitude of mind at the approach of his dissolution, as could be inspired only by a clear conscience, and the calm retrospect of an uninterrupted series of virtue. The DEAN laments the loss of him with a pathetic sincerity.
The deaths of
Mr. Gay,
and the
Doctor, says he to Mr. Pope,
have been terrible wounds near my heart. Their living would have been a great comfort to me, although I should never have seen them: like a sum of money in a bank, from which I should receive at least annual interest, as I do from you, and have done from Bolingbroke.
" This testimony of Lord Orrery's, to the merit of Dr. Arbuthnot, is confirmed by that of Mr. Pope, who used to represent his morals as equal to any man's, and his wit and humour as superior to those of all mankind. So prolific was his wit, that in this quality Swift only held the second place. No adventure of any consequence ever occurred, on which the Doctor did not write a pleasant essay, in a great folio book, which used to lie in his parlour. Of these, however, he was so negligent, that while he was writing them at one end, he suffered his children to tear them out at the other, for their paper-kites. We learn, from Mr. George Arburthnot, that his father seldom related any thing of himself or his writings; which he neglected so much when finished, that he was sometimes at a loss to find them. The integrity of his character is well expressed in a letter to Dr. Swift: "I have not seen any thing as yet, to make me recant a certain inconvenient opinion I have, that one cannot pay too dear for peace of mind." Dr Arbuthnot always made it a point to stand up for the honour of religion. We are told, that he was often with Lord Chesterfield in the morning, and more than once declared himself, in his Lordship's presence, a patron of Christianity. But the Doctor's zeal and steadiness in this respect will best appear in one of his own letters. "My neighbour, the Proseman, is wiser, and more cowardly and despairing than ever. He talks me into a fit of vapours twice or thrice a week. I dream at night of a chain, and rowing in the gallies. But, thank God, he has not taken from me the freedom I have been accustomed to in my discourse (even with the greatest persons to whom I have access), in defending the cause of Liberty, Virtue, and Religion. For the last, I have the satisfaction of suffering some share of the ignominy that belonged to the first confessors. This has been my lot, from a steady resolution I have taken of giving these ignorant impudent fellows battle upon all occasions." There is nothing which more distinguishes Dr. Arbuthnot's character, than the cheerfulness of his temper. In a letter wretten to Dr. Swift, in 1723, he says, "As for your humble servant,
with a great stone in his right kidney,
and a family of men and women to provide for, he is as cheerful as ever in public affairs." It was not to public affairs only that this disposition was confined: for it evidently appears to have accompanied him in every situation, and every affliction of life; a circumstance which we the rather take notice of, as a reflection to the disadvantage of it hath been thrown out by a late writer. Upon the whole, we may conclude, after the most impartial survey of Dr. Arbuthnot's character, that his memory is intitled to distinguished honour, as a man of wit, a man of science and literature, and a man of religion and virtue. In saying this, we do not mean to assert, that we entirely approve, in every instance, of his choice of the objects against which his humour and satire were directed. In some of his political principles we greatly differ from him; and we think that cases might be mentioned, in which his ridicule was too severely pointed at men of real abilities and merit. The Doctor is said, but at what particular period we are not informed, to have been some time Steward to the Corporation of the Sons of the Clergy. He was a married man, and, besides other children, had two sons, George and Charles; the latter of whom was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford, and entered int
holy orders. Two daughters survived him, who are since dead, unmarried. George, who is still living,, is first Secondary in the Remembrance-Office, a place of very considerable profit. He is possessed of an ample fortune besides, and is a gentleman of known and acknowledged worth and character. Dr. Arbuthnot shared the same fate with his friends Pope and Swift, in having several literary brats illegitimately fathered upon him; and among the rest, the famous Romance of
Robinson Crusoe.
There came out, in 1751, in two volumes 12
mo. The Miscellaneous Works of the late Dr. Arbuthnot
; to which is prefixed the following advertisement: "The contents of these volumes, and what is inserted in Swift's Miscellanies, comprehend all the pieces of wit and humour of this admirable author." Although this collection, which hath gone through various editions, undoubtedly contains some of his genuine productions; yet every reader of taste and discernment will easily perceive, that many, if not most of the tracts here ascribed to him, cannot have proceeded from his excellent pen: and George Arbuthnot, Esq. upon the perusal of them, hath testified, that the greatest part of them were not written by his father.
ARISTOPHANES,
A CELEBRATED comic poet of Athens. His place of nativity, however, has been contested, for his enemies endeavoured to represent him as a stranger: but he fully confuted this suggestion, repeating on this occasion a verse of Telemachus in the Odyssey, thus translated:
My mother told me so: 'twas he, she said;
I know not: and, pray, who has more to plead?
He was contemporary with Plato, Socrates, and Euripides, and most of his plays were written during the Peloponnesian war. His imagination was warm and lively, and his genius particularly turned to raillery: he had also great spirit and resolution, and was a declared enemy to slavery, and to all those who wanted to oppress their country. The Athenians suffered themselves in his time to be governed by men, who had no other views than to make themselves masters of the commonwealth. Aristophanes exposed the designs of these men, with great wit and severity, upon the stage. Cleon was the first whom he attacked; in his comedy of the Equites; and as there was not one of the comedians who would venture to personate a man of his great authority, Aristophanes played the character himself, and with so much success, that the Athenians obliged Cleon to pay a fine of five talents, which were given to the poet. He described the affairs of the Athenians in so exact a manner, that his comedies are a faithful history of that people. For this reason, when Dionysius king of Syracuse desired to learn the state and language of Athens, Plato sent him the comedies of Aristophanes, telling him these were the best representation thereof. He wrote above fifty comedies, but there are only eleven extant which are perfect; these are Plutus, the Clouds, the Frogs, Equites, the Acharnenses, the Wasps, Peace, the Birds, the Ecclesiazusae or Female Orators, the Thesmophosiazusae or Priestesses of Ceres, and Lysistrata. The Clouds, which he wrote in ridicule to Socrates, is the most celebrated of all his comedies: Madam Dacier tells us, she was so much charmed with this performance, that after she had translated it, and read it over two hundred times, it did not become the least tedious to her, which she could not say of any other piece; and that the pleasure which she received from it, was so exquisite, that she forgot all the contempt and indignation which Aristophanes deserved for employing his wit to ruin a man, who was wisdom itself, and the greatest ornament of the city of Athens. Aristophanes having conceived some aversion to the poet Euripides, satirizes him in several of his plays, particularly in his Frogs and his Thesmophosiazusae. He wrote his Peace in the tenth year of the Peloponnesian war, when a treaty for fifty years was concluded between the Athenians and the Lacedemonians, though it continued but seven years. The Acharnenses was written after the death of Pericles, and the loss of the battle in Sicily, in order to dissuade the people from intrusting the safety of the commonwealth to such imprudent generals as Lamachus. Soon after, he represented his Aves, or Birds, by which he admonished the Athenians to fortify Decelaea, which he calls by a fictitious name Nepheloccoccygia. The Vespae or Wasps, was written after another loss in Sicily, which the Athenians suffered from the misconduct of Chares. He wrote the Lysistrata when all Greece was involved in a war; in which comedy the women are introduced debating upon the affairs of the commonwealth, when they came to a resolution, not to go to bed with their husbands till a peace should be concluded. His Plutus, and other comedies of that kind, were written after the magistrates had given orders, that no person should be exposed by name upon the stage. He invented a peculiar kind of verse, which was called by his name, and is mentioned by Cicero in his Brutus; and Suidas says, that he also was the inventor of the tetrameter and octometer verse.
Aristophanes was greatly admired amongst the ancients, especially for the true attic elegance of his style: "It is (says Madam Dacier) as agreeable as his wit; for besides its purity, force, and sweetness, it has a certain harmony, which sounds extremely pleasant to the ear: when he has occasion to use the common ordinary style, he does it without using any expression that is base and vulgar; and when he has a mind to express himself loftily, in his highest flight he is never obscure." "Let no man (says Scaliger) pretend to understand the attic dialect, who has not Aristophanes at his fingers ends; in him are to be found all the attic ornaments, which made St. Chrysostom so much admire him, that he always laid him under his pillow when he went to bed." Mr. Frichlin observes, that Plautus has a great affinity to Aristophanes in his manner of writing, and has imitated him in many parts of his plays. Frichlin has written a vindication of our poet, in answer to the objections urged against him by Plutarch. How great an opinion Plato had of Aristophanes is evident even from Plutarch's acknowledgment, who tells us, that this poet's Discourse upon Love was inserted by that philosopher in his Symposium: and Cicero, in his first book, De Legibus, styles him "the most witty poet of the old comedy." There have been several editions and translations of this poet. The time of his death is unknown; but it is certain he was living after the expulsion of the tyrants by Thrasybulus, whom he mentions in his Plutus and other comedies.
ARISTOTLE,
THE chief of the peripatetic philosophers, born at Stagyra, a small city in Macedon, in the 99th Olympiad, about three hundred and eighty-four years before the birth of Christ. He was the son of Nichomachus, physician to Amyntas, the grandfather of Alexander the Great. He lost his parents in his infancy; and Proxenes, a friend of his father's, who had the care of his education, taking but little notice of him, he quitted his studies, and gave himself up to the follies of youth. After he had spent most of his patrimony, he entered into the army; but not succeeding in this profession, he went to Delphos, to consult the oracle what course of life he should follow; when he was advised to go to Athens, and study philosophy. He accordingly went thither when about eighteen years of age, and studied under Plato till he was thirty-seven. By this time he had spent his whole fortune; and we are told that he got his living by selling powders, and some receipts in pharmacy. He followed his studies with most extraordinary dilligence, so that he soon surpassed all in Plato's school. He eat little, slept less; and that he might not over-sleep himself, Diogenes Laertius tells us, that he lay always with one hand out of the bed, having a ball of brass in it, which, by its falling into a bason of the same metal, awaked him. We are told, that Aristotle had several conferences with a learn-Jew at Athens, and that by this means he instructed himself in the sciences and religion of the Aegyptians, and that he thereby saved himself the trouble of travelling into Egypt. When he had studied about fifteen years under Plato, he began to form different tenets from those of his master, who became highly piqued at his behaviour. Upon the death of Plato, he quitted Athens, and retired to Atarnya, a little city of Mysia, where his old friend Hermias reigned. Here he married Pythias, the sister of this prince, whom he is said to have loved so passionately, that he offered sacrifice to her. Some time after, Hermias having been taken prisoner by Meranon, the king of Persia's general, Aristotle went to Mitylene, the capital of Lesbos, where he remained till Philip, king of Macedon, having heard of his great reputation, sent for him to be tutor to his son Alexander, then about fourteen years of age, Aristotle accepted the offer, and in eight years taught him rhetoric and natural philosophy, which, according to Plutarch, he taught nobody else. Philip erected statues in honour of Aristotle, and for his sake rebuilt Stagyra, which had been almost ruined by the wars.
Aristotle having lost the favour of Alexander by adhering to Calisthenes, his kinsman, who was accused of a conspiracy against Alexander's life, he removed to Athens, where he set up his new school. The magistrates received him very kindly, and gave him the Lycaeum, so famous afterwards for the concourse of his disciples: and here it was, according to some authors, that he composed his principal works. Plutarch, however, tells us, that he had already wrote his books of Physics, Morals, Metaphysics and Rhetoric. The same author says, that Aristotle being piqued at Alexander, because of the presents he had sent to Xenocrates, was moved with so much resentment, that he entered into Antipater's conspiracy against this prince. The advocates for Aristotle, however, maintain this charge to have been without foundation; that at least it made no impression on Alexander, since about the same time he ordered him to apply himself to the study of animals; and sent him, in order to defray his expences, eight hundred talents, which amounts to four hundred and eighty thousand crowns, besides a great number of fishers and huntsmen to bring him all sorts of animals. When Aristotle was accused of impiety by one Eurymedon, a priest of Ceres, he wrote a large apology for himself, addressed to the magistrates: but knowing the Athenians to be extremely jealous in regard to their religion, and remembering the fate of Socrates, he was so much alarmed, that he retired to Chalcis, a city of Eubaea, where he ended his days. Some say he poisoned himself, to avoid falling into the hands of his enemies: others affirm, that he threw himself into the Euripus, because he could not comprehend the reason of its ebbing and flowing; and there are some who tell us he died of a cholic, in the sixty-third year of his age, being the third of the 114th Olimpiad, two years after Alexander. The Stagyrites carried away his body, and erected altars to his memory.
Besides his treatises on philosophy, he wrote also on poetry, rhetoric, law, &c. to the number of four hundred treatises, according to Diogenes Laertius; or more, according to Francis Patricius of Venice. An account of such as are extant, and of those said to be lost, may be seen in Fabricius's Bibliotheca Graeca. He left his writings with Theophrastus, his beloved disciple, and successor in the Lycaeum, and forbad that they should ever be published. Theophrastus, at his death, trusted them to Neleus, his good friend and disciple, whose heirs buried them in the ground at Scepsis, a town of Troas, to secure them from the king of Pergamus, who made great search every where for books to adorn his library. Here they lay concealed one hundred and sixty years, until, being almost spoiled, they were sold to one Apellicon, a rich citizen of Athens. Sylla found them at this man's house, and ordered them to be carried to Rome. They were some time after purchased by Tyrannion a grammarian; and Andronicus of Rhodes having bought them of his heirs, was in a manner the first restorer of the works of this great philosopher; for he not only repaired what had been decayed by time and ill keeping, but also put them in a better order, and got them copied. There were many who followed the doctrine of Aristotle in the reigns of the twelve Caesars, and their numbers increased much under Adrian and Antoninus: Alexander Aphrodinus was the first professor of the Peripatetic philosophy at Rome, being appointed by the emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus; and in succeeding ages the doctrine of Aristotle prevailed almost amongst all men of letters, and many commentaries were wrote upon his works.
The first Doctors of the church disapproved of the doctrine of Aristotle, as allowing too much to reason and sense; but Anatolius, bishop of Laodicea, Didymus of Alexandria, St. Jerom, and St. Augustin, and several others, at length wrote and spoke in favour of it. In the sixth age, Boethius made him known in the west, and translated some of his pieces into Latin. But from the time of Boethus to the eighth age, Joannes Damascenus was the only man who made an abridgment of his philosophy, or wrote any thing concerning him. The Grecians, who took great pains to restore learning in the eleventh and following ages, applied much to the works of this philosopher, and many learned men wrote commentaries on his writings: amongst these were Alfarabius, Algazel, Avicenna, and Averroes. They taught his doctrine in Africa, and afterwards at Cordoya in Spain. The Spaniards introduced his doctrine into France, with the commentaries of Averroes and Avicenna; and it was taught in the university of Paris, until Amauri, having supported some particular tenets on the principles of this philosopher, was condemned of heresy, in a council held there in 1210, when all the works of Aristotle that could be found were burnt, and the reading them forbidden under pain of excommunication. This prohibition was confirmed, as to the Physics and Metaphysics, in 1215, by the Pope's legate; though at the same t
me he gave leave for his Logic to be read, instead of St. Augustin's, used at that time in the university. In the year 1265, Simon, cardinal of St. Cecil, and legate from the holy see, prohibited the reading of the Physics and Metaphysics of Aristotle. All these prohibitions, however, were taken off in 1366; for the cardinals of St. Mark and St. Martin, who were deputed by pope Urban V. to reform the university of Paris, permitted the reading of those books, which had been prohibited: and in the year 1448, pope Stephen approved of all his works, and took care to have a new translation of them into Latin.
ARIUS,
A DIVINE of the fourth century, the head and founder of the Arians, a sect which denied the eternal divinity and consubstantiality of the Word. He was born in Lybia, near Egypt. Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, a great favourite of Constantia, sister of the emperor Constantine, and wife of Licinius, became a zealous promoter of Arianism. He took Arius under his protection, and introduced him to Constantia; so that the sect increased, and several bishops embraced it openly. There arose, however, such disputes in the cities, that the emperor, in order to remedy these disorders, was obliged to assemble the council of Nice, where, in the year 325, the doctrine of Arius was condemned. Arius was banished by the emperor, and all his books were ordered to be burnt, and capital punishment was denounced against whoever dared to keep them. After five years banishment, he was recalled to Constantinople, where he presented to the emperor such a profession of faith as made him believe Arius quite orthodox. In the year 331, Arius went to Alexandria, where St. Athanasius refused to receive him, notwithstanding all his menaces and recommendatory letters. He came to this city again in 335; but though Athanasius had been sent into exile, yet the people of Alexandria rejected Arius, who began to raise disturbances in Egypt. Constantine being informed thereof, sent orders to him to come to Constantinople, where his friends intended that he should be received into the communion of that city. Constantine demanded of Arius, if he followed the Nicene faith? Arius assured him he did, by an oath; and the emperor having demanded a profession of his faith, he presented it to him in writing; but he had clothed his favourite tenets in the simplicity of Scripture expressions, and he took oath of his belief in the contents of the paper which he delivered. Constantine, being persuaded of the sincerity of Arius, ordered Alexandria to admit him again into the church. Arius was now conducted in triumph by Eusebius and his other adherents; but as they approached the great square of Constantinople, Arius being pressed by a natural necessity, retired to a house of convenience, where he died instantly on the spot, all his entrails bursting out with his liver and spleen. This happened in the year 336. Arius's sect however did not die with him, for it was supported by several bishops, and several others of great weight in the church. The Arians, by turns, persecuted, and were persecuted. There are several authors who find fault with Arius, for putting his sentiments into verse, that they might be sung by his disciples; and they particularly censure the matter and form of his Thalia.
ARMINIUS (JAMES,)
THE founder of the sect of Armenians, or Remonstrants, born at Oude-water, in Holland, in 1560. He lost his father in his infancy, and was indebted for the first part of his education to a good-natured clergyman, who had imbibed some of the opinions of the reformed, and who, in order to avoid being obliged to say mass, often changed his habitation. Arminius was a student at Utrecht when death deprived him of his patron; this loss would have embarrassed him greatly, but that he had the good fortune to be assisted by Rodolphus Snellius, his countryman, who took him with him to Marpurg in 1575. Soon after his arrival here, he had the news of his country having been sacked by the Spaniards: this plunged him into the most dreadful affliction, nor could he help returning to Holland, to be himself an eyewitness of the state to which things were reduced; but having found that his mother, his sisters, his brethren, and almost all the inhabitants of Oude-water had been murdered, he returned to Marpurg: his stay here was, however, but short, for he returned again to Holland, being informed of the foundation of the university of Leyden, and pursued his studies at this new academy with so much assiduity and success, that he acquired very great reputation. He was sent to Geneva, in 1583, at the expence of the magistrates of Amsterdam, to perfect his studies: and here he applied himself chiefly to the lectures of Theodore Beza, who was at this time explaining the Epistle to the Romans. Arminius had the misfortune to displease some of the leading men of the university, because he maintained the philosophy of Ramus in public with great warmth, and taught it in private: being obliged therefore to retire, he went to Basil, where he was received with great kindness. Here he acquired such great reputation, that the faculty of divinity offered him the degree of doctor without any expence; but he modestly excused himself from receiving this honour, and returned to Geneva; where having found the adversaries of Ramism less violent than formerly, he became also more moderate. He had a great desire to see Italy, and particularly to hear the philosophical lectures of the famous James Zabarella, at Padua. He satisfied this cariosity, and spent six or seven months in the journey: he then returned to Geneva, and afterwards to Amsterdam, where he found many calumnies had been raised against him, on account of his journey to Italy, which had somewhat cooled the affections of the magistrates of Amsterdam, his friends and patrons. He easily justified himself to men of sense, though many weak and superstitious persons remained prejudiced against him. He was ordained minister at Amsterdam, the 11th of August, 1588, and soon distinguished himself by his sermons, which were remarkable for their solidity and learning: so that he was extremely followed, and universally applauded. Martin Lydius, professor of divinity at Franeker, thought him a fit person to refute a writing, wherein the doctrine of Theodore Beza upon predestination, had been attacked by some ministers of Delft: Arminius accordingly, at his earnest entreaty, undertook to refute this work; but upon examining and weighing the arguments on both sides, he embraced the opinions he proposed to confute; and even went farther than the ministers of Delft. He was threatened with some trouble about this at Amsterdam, being accused of departing from the established doctrine; but the magistrates of Amsterdam interposing their authority, prevented any dissension. In 1603, he was called to the professorship of divinity at Leyden: he began his lectures with three elegant orations; the first, Of the object of divinity; the second, Of the author and End of it; and the third, Of the Certainty of it: and then proceeded to the exposition of the prophet Jonah. The disputes upon grace soon after kindled in the university, and the states of the province were forced to appoint conferences betwixt him and his adversaries. Gomarus was a great persecutor of Arminius; but the reputation of the latter was so well established, that he was continually attended by a numerous audience, who admired the strength of argument and solid learning which he shewed in all his lectures: this exposed him to the envy of his brethren, who treated him with great outrage. In the year 1607, he wrote an excellent letter to the embassador of the elector palatine, to vindicate his conduct with regard to the contests about religion, in which he was engaged: and the same year gave a full account to the States of Holland, of his sentiments with regard to the controverted points. These contests, however, his continual labour, and his uneasiness at seeing his reputation blasted by a number of slanders, threw him into a fit of sickness, of which he died the 19th of October, 1609. Dominic Baudius and Hugo Grotius wrote each of them a poem upon his death; and Daniel Heinsius did the same: but this poem was afterwards suppressed in the addition of his works.
Arminius was esteemed an excellent preacher; his voice was low, but very agreeable; and his pronunciation admirable: he was easy and affable to persons of all ranks, and facetious in his conversation amongst his friends. His great desire was, that Christians would bear with one another in all controversies, which did not affect the fundamentals of their religion; and when they persecuted each other for points of indifference, it gave him the utmost dissatisfaction. His enemies endeavoured to represent him in the most disadvantageous light, but his memory has been sufficiently vindicated by men of the greatest distinction. He left several works
ARPINAS, OR ARPINO.
(JOSEPH CAESAR) a famous painter, born in the year 1560, at the castle of Arpinas, in the kingdom of Naples. He lived in great intimacy with pope Clement VIII. who conferred upon him the honour of knighthood, and bestowed on him many other marks of his friendship. In the year 1600, he went to Paris with cardinal Aldobrandin, who was sent legate to the French court, on the marriage of Henry IV. with Mary of Medicis. His Christian majesty gave Arpinas many considerable presents, and created him a knight of St. Michael. The colouring of this painter is thought to be cold and inanimate; yet there is spirit in his designs, and his compositions have somewhat of fire and elevation. The touches of his pencil being free and bold, are therefore admired by connoisseurs in painting; but they are generally incorrect. What he painted of the Roman history is the most esteemed of all his works. The French king has in his collection the following pieces of this master, viz. the nativity of our Saviour, Diana and Acteon, the rape of Europa, and a Susana. He died at Rome in 1640.
ARRIAN,
A FAMOUS historian and philosopher, who lived under the emperor Hadrian and the two Antoninuses, born at Nicomedia in Bithynia. He was styled the second Xenophon, and was raised to the most considerable dignities of Rome. Mr. Tillemont takes him to be the same person with that Flaccus Arrianus, who, being governor of Cappadocia, stopped the incursions of the Alani, and sent an account of his voyage round the Euxine see to Hadrian. He is said to have been preceptor to the famous philosopher and emperor Marcus Antoninus. There are extant four books of his Diatribae, or Dissertations upon Epictetus, whose disciple he had been; and Photius tells us that he composed likewise twelve books of that philosopher's discourses. We are told by another author, that he wrote the Life and Death of Epictetus. The most celebrated of his works in his History, in Greek, of Alexander the Great, in seven books: a performance much esteemed by the best judges. Photius mentions also his history of Bithynia, another of the Alani, and a third of the Parthians in seventeen books, which he brought down to the war carried on by Trajan against them. He gives us likewise an abridgment of Arrian's ten books of the History of the Successors of Alexander the Great: and tells us also, that he wrote an account of the Indies in one book, which is still extant. The work which he first entered upon was the History of Bithynia, but wanting the proper memoirs and materials for it, he suspended the execution of this design till he had published some other performances. This history consisted of eight books, and was carried down till the time when Nicomedes resigned Bithynia to the Romans: but there is nothing of it remaining but what is quoted in Photius and Stephanus Byzantinus. Arrian is said to have written several other works: Lucian tells us, that he wrote the life of a robber, whose name was Tiliborus: this author, endeavouring to excuse himself for the pains he had taken in writing the Life of Alexander the Impostor, speaks in the following manner: "Let no person (says he) accuse me of having employed my labour upon too low and mean a subject, since Arrian, the worthy disciple of Epictetus, who is one of the greatest men amongst the Romans, and who has passed his whole life amongst the Muses, condescended to write the Life of Tiliborus." There is likewise, under the name of Arrian, a Periplus of the Red-sea, that is, of the eastern coasts of Africa and Asia, as far as the Indies; but authors are not agreed whether this is the production of the author of whom we write. There is likewise a book of Tactics under his name, the beginning of which is lost; to these is added the order which he gave for the marching of the Roman army against the Alani, and giving them battle, which may very properly be ascribed to our author, who was engaged in a war against that people.
There were several other persons of his name: Julius Capitolinus, in his Life of the Emperor Gordian, mentions a Greek historian of that name: this cannot be the Arrian of whom we write, since he lived an age before that emperor. Suetonius, in his Life of Tiberius, mentions a poet of the same name; but he was more ancient than the other two, since Tiberius endeavoured to imitate him in his Greek poems: he is very probably the same, who, according to Suidas, wrote the Alexandrias, an heroic poem in twenty-four book, upon the actions of Alexander the Great.
ARSENIUS,
A DEACON of the Roman church, of great learning and piety. He was pitched upon by the pope to go to the emperor Theodosius, as tutor to his son Arcadius. Arsenius arrived at Constantinople in the year 383. The emperor happening one day to go into the room where Arsenius was instructing Arcadius, he found his son seated and the preceptor standing; he reproached the latter for not supporting properly the dignity of his employment: Arsenius politely excused himself, alledging that having the honour to speak to an emperor (for Arcadius had been associated to the empire at eight years of age) he could not, with good manners, remain seated in his presence. But Theodosius not being satisfied with this answer, took from his son the imperial ornaments, made Arsenius fit in his place, and ordered Arcadius for the future to receive his lessons standing and uncovered. Arcadius, however, profited but little by his tutor's instructions; for some time after he formed a design of dispatching Arsenius. The officer to whom Arcadius had applied for this purpose, divulged the affair to Arsenius, who retired to the deserts of Scete, where he passed many years in the exercises of the most strict and fervent devotion. He died there at ninety-five years of age.
ARTALIS (JOSEPH,)
BORN at Mazara, in Sicily, in 1628. He had an early passion for poetry, and a strong inclination for arms. He finished his studies at fifteen years of age, about which tims he fought a duel, in which he mortally wounded his adversary. He saved himself by taking shelter in a church; and it was owing to this accident that he afterwards applied himself to the study of philosophy. His parents being dead, and himself much embarrassed in his circumstances, he resolved to quit his country, and to seek his fortune elsewhere. He accordingly went for Candia, at the time when this city was besieged by the Turks: he gave there so many proofs of his bravery, that he obtained the honour of knighthood in the military order of St. George. When he was upon his return for Italy, he was often obliged to draw his sword: he was sometimes wounded in these rencounters, but being an excellent swordsman, he had often the advantage of his antagonist. He rendered himself so formidable even in Germany, that they used to style him Chevalier de Sang. Ernest, duke of Burnswic and Lunenburg, appointed him captain of his guards; but this did not make him neglect the Muses, for he cultivated them amidst the noise of arms. He was member of several academies in Italy, and became highly in favour with many princes, especially the emperor Leopold. He died the 11th of February, 1679, at Naples, where he was interred in the church of the Dominicans with great magnificence: the academy De gl' Intricati attended his funeral, and Vincent Antonio Capoci made his funeral oration.
ARTEMIDORUS,
FAMOUS for his Treatise upon Dreams. He was born at Ephesus, but took upon him the surname of Daldianus in this book, by way of respect to the country of his mother: he styled himself the Ephesian in his other performances. He lived under the emperor Antoninus Pius, as he himself informs us, when he tells us that he knew a wrestler, who having dreamed he had lost his sight, carried the prize in the games celebrated by command of that emperor. He not only bought up all that had been wrote concerning the explication of dreams, which amounted to many volumes, but he likewise spent many years in travelling, in order to contract an acquaintance with fortune-tellers; he also carried on an extensive correspondence with all the people of this sort in the cities and assemblies of Greece, Italy, and the most populous islands, collecting at the same time all the old dreams, and the events which are said to have followed them. He despised the reproaches of those grave supercilious persons, who treat the foretellers of events as cheats, impostors, and jugglers; and frequented much the company of those diviners for several years. He was the more assiduous in his study and search after the interpretation of dreams, being moved thereto, as he fancied, by the advice,
, in some measure, by the command of Apollo. The work which
he wrote on dreams consisted of five books; the first three were ded
cated to one Cassius Maximus, and the last two to his son, whom
took a good deal of pains to instruct in the nature and interpretatio
of dreams. The work was first printed in Greek, at Venice, i
1518; and Rigaltius published an edition at Paris, in Greek an
Latin, in 1603, and added some notes. Artemidorus wrote also treatise upon Auguries, and another upon Chiromancy; but they a
not extant.
ARTHUR (King of the Britons),
OF whom, though the common opinion be, that nothing wi
certainty can be affirmed from his birth to his death, yet is it b
just, that what is related of him should be told. Here, therefore, w
shall report, chiefly from Geoffrey of Monmouth, the common sto
of Arthur and his exploits. As to his birth, he is said to ha
been the son of Uther Pendragon, King of the Britons, by Igern
the wife of Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall. This lady is held to ha
been in her time the greatest beauty in Britain; and we are tol
that Uther Pendragon enjoyed her by the help of Merlin's skill
magic, who gave this amorous Prince the form of Gorlois, so th
Igerna, taking him for her husband, received him readily to her be
and had by him Arthur. But though he was begotten in adulter
he was born in wedlock: for soon after this transaction, Uther Pe
dragon killed Gorlois, and married his widow Igerna, who w
brought to bed of Arthur in 501. This story is in itself very incr
dible; but if we admit the commentary of Buchanan, it becomes
clear, and as intelligible, as we could wish. He says, that the Ki
lay with the Duke of Cornwall's wife in the duke's life-time, a
marrying her after his decease, the story of the magical intervi
was invented to restore the splendour of the lady's honour, and ma
way for the king's owning Arthur for his son. Uther Pendrag
had also by the same lady a daughter called Anne; and dying in t
year 516, Arthur ascended the throne in his place, though he
then but fifteen, or, as Buchanan says, eighteen years old. At t
time the Saxons committed horrid devastations in Britain, under t
command of Colgrin their Duke; wherefore Dubricius, Archbish
of Caerleon, solemnly crowned Arthur, at the request of the Nob
and the people, who immediately prepared to take the field agai
the Saxons. His generosity, personal bravery, and great zeal
the glory of the Britons, procured him quickly a competent army, with which he routed Colgrin and all his forces, consisting of Saxons, Scots, and Picts, on the banks of the river Douglas, but not without very considerable loss on his own side. Upon this, Colgrin retired with the remains of his army into York, where Arthur besieged him, and while he lay before the place, Cador Duke of Cornwall defeated Baldulph the brother of Colgrin, who with six thousand men came to his relief. The King however could not take York; for Cheldric, or Cerdic, King of the Saxons, landing in Albania,
i.e.
Scotland, with a prodigious number of men, from on board a fleet of six hundred sail, marched towards the Britons; upon which, by the advice of his council, Arthur raised the siege of York, and marched to London. On his arrival in that city, he called a general assembly, wherein the state of affairs having been thoroughly debated, it was agreed to send ambassadors to Hoel King of Armorica,
i. e.
Britanny, who was Arthur's sister's son, to intreat his assistance; which being accordingly done, Hoel himself embarked with fifteen thousand men, and landing at Southampton, then called the Port of Hamo, quickly found his uncle, who received him with all the affection and respect imaginable. Immediately after this junction, Arthur and his kinsman marched to oblige the Saxons to raise the siege of Kaerlind coit, now called Lincoln. The Saxons, upon their approach, instantly rose from before the place, that with the greater conveniency they might fight the Britons. The battle was bloody and obstinate; but at last the Saxons were overthrown with the loss of six thousand men, part killed, and part drowned in the rivers. The remains of the army retired to the woods of Caledon, which most probably are Celidon woods in Lincolnshire, where they made a brave stand; but being surrounded by the Britons, were at last obliged to surrender up
articles,
viz.
That they should leave behind them all their booty, retire peaceably to their ships, and transport themselves back again into Germany. For the performance of these articles they gave hostages, and were then suffered to retire in order to embark quietly. But in their voyage repenting of what they had done, they landed at Totness, burnt all the country as far as the Severn sea, slaughtered the peasants, ruined the villages, and at length laid
ge to the city of Badon,
i.e.
Bath in Somersetshire. When this news was brought to King Arthur, who was on the point of marching against the Scots and Picts, he instantly ordered the Saxon hostages to be put to death, and then marched to the relief of the besieged city. When he drew near it, himself first made a speech to the army, and then the Archbishop Dubricius harangued them likewise, and gave them his blessing. On the day of battle, Arthur put on an excellent coat of mail, a golden helmet, with the figure of a dragon upon the top thereof: across his shoulder hung his shield, called Pridwen or Prywen, wherein was pictured the Virgin Mary, bearing the child Jesus in her arms: he had likewise by his side his sword called Calliburn, and in his right hand he bore his lance Rou. Thus equipped, he attacked the Saxons, who were drawn up in the form of a wedge. The battle lasted from morning till evening, when the Saxons withdrew to the top of a high hill, and there encamped. The next day Arthur attacked them again; but they made a gallant defence, till the greatest part of the day was worn out, which so enraged Arthur, that he threw himself among the foremost ranks, and, with great hazard of his person, performed there incredible feats of valour, for he slew with his own hand four hundred and seventy men. The Britons, encouraged by the example of their prince, forced the Saxon camp on all hands, and put many thousands of them to the sword, amongst whom fell Colgrin and Baldulph. But as for Cerdic he carried off the remains of his army, and endeavoured to recover his ships. After the important victory at Badon, Arthur received advice, that the Scots and Picts had besieged the city of Aclud, which is thought to be Dunbritton in Scotland, where he left his nephew Hoel sick, at the time he marched back against the Saxons. To his assistance, therefore, the generous British Prince marched with all the alacrity imaginable, leaving Cador Duke of Cornwall to pursue the Saxons. On his approach, the Scots and Picts not only raised the siege, but fled precipitately to Lough-Lomond, where they endeavoured to fortify themselves in the islands; but Arthur having quickly equipped a fleet, obliged them to surrender, and out of his great clemency pardoned them. In the mean time Cador, Duke of Cornwall, taking a circuit round the Saxons, and thereby giving them time to collect themselves into a body, and to refresh after their fatigues, suddenly seized and carried away their ships, and then marched in quest of them, who, perceiving their desperate condition, retired into the isle of Thanet, where Cador blocked them up with their own ships, and after killing their commander Cerdic in fight, forced them to surrender upon articles, and to give hostages once more for their departing out of the kingdom. This done, Cador rejoined the king, who kept his Christmas at York, where he destroyed the temples of the Pagans, restored the Christian churches and appointed Pyramus, his chaplain, Archbishop of this See. He also promoted Augusel to the sovereignty over the Scots, rewarded other persons of distinction, and took himself to wife Guanhumara, a lady descended from the Romans, of exquisite beauty, bred up in the family of Cador Duke of Cornwall. The next summer he fitted out a fleet, and therewith invaded Ireland, of which Guillamurius was the chief King, who, to oppose him, drew together a numerous army, which Arthur defeated, and made him prisoner: upon this all the petty princes in the island submitted. Then he sailed to Iceland, which he likewise subdued, and received the submissions of Doldavius King of Gothland, and Gunsasius King of the Orkneys, whom the very terror of his arms had reduced to obedience. After this he returned into Britain, and governed here twelve years in peace, with such magnificence and splendor, that all Europe was amazed at it, and the greatest potentates stood in fear of him. At length Sichelin, King of the Norwegians dying, and leaving his kingdom to Lot, Arthur's brother-in-law, the people of Norway, notwithstanding, set up Riculf. On this pretence, therefore, Arthur invaded that kingdom, defeated the Norwegians, killed Riculf, conquered Norway and Dacia, that is, Denmark, and having given the whole to Lot, proceeded with his victorious army to invade Gaul, then a province, as our historian tells us, of the Roman empire. The greatest part of the country he quickly subdued, blocked up the Roman governor in Paris, and reduced him to such straits there, that he was on the very point of starving. In this distress he challenged Arthur to a single combat, which he was too gallant a man to refuse; whereupon a bloody duel ensued, in which at first Arthur had the worst, but at length he conquered and killed Flollo, upon which Paris surrendered. He spent, however, nine years in conquering the rest of France, after which he returned to that city, and kept a royal court, bestowing Neustria, afterwards called Normandy, upon his butler, Bedver, and the rest of the provinces upon his domestics. Upon the approach of the feast of Pentecost, Arthur determined to to call a great assembly of the most noble of his subjects, which he appointed to be held at Caerleon in Montgomeryshire; because standing on the river Usk, near the Severn sea, it was both pleasant and commodious for the coming and going of those who were invited. Accordingly there assembled Augusel, King of Scotland, the King of North-Wales, the King of South-Wales, Cador, now called King of Cornwall, the Archbishops of London, York, and Caerleon, with a multitude of British Princes; there came likewise Guillamurius King of Ireland, Malvasius King of Iceland, Doldavius King of Gothland, Gunfasius King of the Orkneys, Lot King of Norway Aschillius King of the Dacians,
&c.
At this time he was solemnly crowned, the Kings of Scotland, Cornwall, North and South-Wales, carrying four golden swords before him. Not long after this, the Romans demanded tribute, which Arthur, by the advice of his council, not only refused, but resolved to make war upon them. A mighty army he gathered, and marched to Southampton where he embarked, leaving the government of Britain to his nephew Modred, the son of Lot, by his sister Anne, before mentioned. But while he was a coasting about the island, he had news brought him, that a Spanish giant had forcibly taken away Helena, the daughter of his nephew Hoel, Duke of Britanny, whom he had carried to mount St. Michael in Cornwall. Thither the King pursuing him, slew him in single combat, after which he proceeded in the war he had first designed, and having therein triumphed over all the forces of the Roman empire, and slain with his own hand Lucius Tiberius, their General, as he was passing the Alps in order to go to Rome, he received advice, that Modred his nephew had revolted, and had married Guanhumara his Queen. This, says our historian, obliged him to desist from his enterprize against Leo, King of the Romans: wherefore, sending Hoel, King of Britanny, with a great army to secure the peace of Gaul, he, with the rest of his forces, sailed for Britain. Modred, knowing the badness of his cause, endeavoured to fortify himself by many and great alliances. With this view he once more called in the Saxons, and also invited, by promising great sums of money, the Scots, Picts, and Irish, to fight under his banner. At length, having assembled eighty thousand men, he led them down into Kent, to oppose his uncle, who he knew intended to land there. He could not however prevent Arthur's coming on shore; but he presently engaged him, and after a bloody battle, in which many of the King's friends fell, was defeated and forced to fly to Winchester. As for the Queen, she retired to the city of Caerleon, and there became a Nun. King Arthur pursued his nephew to Winchester, and there a second time engaged him, beat him, and forced him to fly towards Cornwall. There, on the banks of the river Camel, Modred made a stand again with sixty thousand men, with whom Arthur fought a third battle, wherein, after thousands had been slain, and, amongst them, many of the most honourable persons on both sides, at length, Modred himself was killed, and his army totally routed. In this engagement, however, our hero Arthur received several wounds, which forced him to retire into the island of Avalon, where, feeling himself extremly weak, he resigned the crown to Constantine, the son of Cador Duke of Cornwall, and a few days after died, A. D. 542. It is necessary to add a little sober truth to this romantic story, and therefore let us conclude this article with observing, that Henry II. who was the first of the Plantagenet line, being, in the last year of his reign, at Pembroke, and hearing there a Welsh bard singing to his harp the story of our Arthur, concluding with an account of his death and burial, in the church-yard of Glastenbury, between two pyramids, the King instantly gave orders that the matter should be enquired into, and the body dug up. This was done as the King directed, and at the depth of seven feet, was found a vast stone, whereon was fastened a leaden cross, with this inscription on the inside: Hic Jacet Sepultus Inclytus Rex Arturius in Insula Avalonia;
Here lieth the famous King Arthur, buried in the Isle of Avalon.
Digging still lower, they found the King's body in the trunk of a tree, his beautiful Queen lying by him, with long flowing hair, in colour bright as gold, which however sunk into dust when touched. The King's bones were very large sized, and in his skull there were ten wounds or more all cicatrized, except that of which he died. This discovery was made in the year 1189, as Giraldus Cambrensis tells us, who saw these bones, and examined the whole matter carefully. There was also a table containing this story, set up in the monastery of Glastenbury, and the leaden cross, with the inscription, remained there till the dissolution of the monastery, where it was seen by the great antiquary, Leland; but what is become of it since, does not appear.
ARUNDEL (THOMAS),
ARCHBISHOP of Canterbury, in the reigns of Richard II. Henry IV. and Henry V. He was the second son of Robert earl of Arundel and Warren, and brother of Richard Earl of Arundel, who was beheaded. — At twenty two years of age, from being archdeacon of Taunton, he was raised to the bishopric of Ely, the 6th of April, 1375, in the reign of Edward III. He was a great benefactor to the church and palace of this see; among other donations, he gave a curious table of massy gold, adorned with precious stones, which had been given to prince Edward, by the King of Spain, and sold by the latter to bishop Arundel. In 1386, he was appointed Lord Chancellor of England; two years after, he was translated to the see of York; and in 1396, was advanced to the archiepiscopal see of Canterbury, when he resigned the chancellorship. This was the first instance of the translation of an archbishop of York to the see of Canterbury. Scarce was he fixed in this see, when he had a contest with the university of Oxford, about the righ
of visitation. The affair was referred to King Richard, who determined it in favour of the archbishop. At his visitation in London, he revived an old constitution, by which the inhabitants of the respective parishes were obliged to pay to their rector one half-penny in the pound of the rent of their houses. In the second year of his translation, a parliament being held at London, the commons, with the king's leave, impeached the archbishop, together with his brother the earl of Arundel, and the duke of Glocester, of high treason. The archbishop was sentenced to be banished, and within forty days to depart the kingdom on pain of death. He retired first to France, and then to the court of Rome, where pope Boniface IX. gave him a kind reception, and wrote a letter to King Richard in his favour; but this having no effect, his holiness resolved to interpose his authority: he accordingly nominated Arundel to the bishopric of St. Andrew's, and declared his intention of giving him several preferments in England. The king being informed of the pope's designs, wrote a letter to him in the following terms: "Thomas, for his treasonable conspiracy against our crown and royal dignity, has been sentenced only to perpetual banishment; whereas had he been dealt with, answerably to his demerits, he ought to have suffered the punishment of high treason; but in consideration of his character, and out of regard to religion, we have thought fit to grant him his life, and abated the rigor of the law. But since his going beyond sea, both ourself and our subjects are much surprized at the turn of his fortune; for we are informed he has been invited to your holiness's court, countenanced in his misbehaviour, taken into your protection, and put in hopes of recovering his see, or at least of being promoted in our kingdom to benefices of greater value than those he enjoyed before. How destructive such unaccountable favours as these must be to our dignity and government, and to what apparent danger it may expose us, is easy to imagine: for which reason we are resolved not to bear with such treatment, though the whole world were of a different opinion; for we are thoroughly acquainted with this man, we know him to be of a turbulent, seditious temper, who, if he were permitted to live in our dominions, would return to his old practices, poison our subjects with misreporting the administration, and endeavour to undermine our government; for it is probable he would use sufficient precaution not to fall under the lash of the law. We desire, therefore, that your Holiness would prevent these opportunities of mischief, and not shock our interests and inclinations by such favours; for should such measures be put in execution, it is possible they might create
such misunderstandings between the crown and the mitre, as it might prove difficult to remove: for, to speak plainly, we cannot take that person for our friend, who caresses our enemies, and takes them by the hand in so loving a manner. However, if you have a mind to provide for him otherwise, we have nothing to object; only we cannot allow him to dip in our dish. We heartily desire you would take the mat
er into serious consideration, as you tender our royal regards, and expect a compliance with any future request your holiness may make to us." This epistle had so good an effect upon his holiness, that he withheld his intended favours from Arundel; and, at the king's request, promoted Roger Walden to the see of Canterbury.
Next year Arundel returned to England with the Duke of Lancaster, afterwards Henry IV. upon whose accession to the throne, the pope
evoked the bull granted Walden, and restored Arundel to his see. In the first year of king Henry's reign, Arundel summoned a synod which sat at St. Paul's. The next year the commons moved, that
he revenues of the church might be applied to the service of the pub
ic; but Arundel opposed the motion with such vigour, that it was thrown aside. In the year 1408, Arundel began to exert himself against the Lollards, or Wickliffites: he summoned the bishops and clergy at Oxford, in order to stop the progress of this new sect, and prevent the university's being farther tinctured with their opinions. In 1411, being informed that this doctrine gained ground, notwith
tanding the condemnation thereof in a full congregation, at Oxford,
e resolved to visit the university, and apply some farther remedy.
e accordingly went thither, attended by the Earl of Arundel his nephew, and a splendid retinue: when he came near Oxford, he was
et by the principal members of the university, who told him, that
he came only to see the place, he was welcome; but if he came as
visitor, they refused to acknowledge his jurisdiction. The archbishop resented their behaviour in such a manner, that he left Oxford in a day or two, and wrote to the king concerning this affair. After
warm contest between the university and the archbishop, the dispute
as referred to king Henry, who, according to the example of his predecessors gave it in favour of the archbishop. Soon after a convo
tion being held at St. Paul's in London, the bishops and clergy
omplained of the growth of Wickliffism at Oxford, and pressed the
chbishop to put a stop to this evil. For this purpose he sent delegates to the university, who received them with respect, and appointed a committee to examine all heretical books, particularly those of Wickliffe. This committee having censured some passages extract
from his books, sent an account of their proceedings to the archbishop, who confirmed their censures, and sent an authority in writing to some eminent men of the university, to enquire into person suspected of heterodoxy, and oblige them to declare their opinions these rigorous proceedings rendered Arundel extremely odious to th
Wickliffites, and his zeal for suppressing that sect, carried him to several unjustifiable severi
ies against the heads of it, particularly against Sir John Oldcastle and Lord Cobham. This prelat
died at Canterbury, the 20th of February, 1413, having held th
archiepiscopal see seventeen years. He was buried in the cathedra
church of Canterbury, near the west end, under a monument erected by himself in his lifetime.
ARVIRAGUS,
AN antient British king, flourished in the time of the emperor Domitian, when Sallustius Lucullus was lieutenant for th
Romans in Britain. The British historians, especially Geoffrey o
Monmouth, place him in the reign of the emperor Claudius, wh
enterprize against Britain he is said to have opposed. The accou
we have of Arviragus in that author is generally esteemed to be fabulous: however the substance of it is as follows: Kymbelinus, whe
he had governed Britain ten years, begat two sons, the elder name Guiderius, and the younger Arviragus. Kymbelinus being dead Guiderius, who succeeded him, resolved to shake off the Roma
yoke, and began with refusing to pay the usual tribute: whereupo
the emperor Claudius undertook an expedition into Britain. In battle which ensued between the Romans and the Britons, Guideri
was treacherously killed by Leuis Hamo, a Roman: upon which A
viragus, putting on his brother's habiliments, and heading the Br
tons, gained a victory over Claudius. But being soon after besiege
by that prince in the city of Winchester, he made his submission to th
Romans, and, in consequence of the treaty, married the emperor
daughter Genuissa. Matters being thus accommodated, Claudi
returned to Rome, and left to Arviragus the government of the Briti
islands. After the departure of the Romans, Arviragus became very powerful prince; and this so elevated him with pride, that
disdained any longer subjection to the Romans, and assumed to himself an independent authority. Whereupon Vespasian was sent again
him into Britain; and upon the arrival of this general, a great batt
was fought, in which neither side got the victory: but, the mornin
after the fight, by the mediation of Queen Genuissa, the two leade
were reconciled: Vespasian returned to Rome, and Arviragus r
mained in Britain. This monarch lived to a good old age, gover
ing his kingdom in peace, confirming the old laws of his ancestors, enacting new ones, and liberally rewarding persons of merit: so that his fame spread all over Europe; and he was both loved and feared by
Roma
s, and b
came the subject of their discourse more than any king of his time. After his death he was buried at Gloucester, in a certain temple, which he had built and dedicated to the honour of the empe
or Claudius. This is the substance of Geoffrey of Monmouth's narrative. There is an old tradition, that, in the time of this British king, Joseph of Arimathea came over into Britain, and planted the Gospel here.
ASHMOLE, or ASMOLE,
A CELEBRATED English philosopher and antiquary, founder of the A
hmolean Musaeum at Oxford, born at Litchfield in Staffordshire, the 23d of May, 1617. He was educated at the grammar-scho
l there; and having a genius for music, he was instructed herein, and admitted a chorister of that cathedral. At the age of sixteen, being sent to London, he was taken into the family of James Paget, Esq. baron of the Exchequer, whose kindness he acknowledges with the utmost sense of gratitude. In June, 1634, he lost his father, whose bad oeconomy proved very injurious to himself and family. He continued for some years in the Paget family, during which time he applied to the law with great assiduity. In the year 1638, he became a solicitor in Chancery; and on the 11th of February, 1641, was sworn an attorney in the court of common pleas. In August, 1642, the city of London being then in great confusion, he retired to Cheshire; and towards the end of the year 1644, he went to Oxford, the chief residence of the king at that time, where he entered himself of Brazen Nose college, and applied with great vigour to the study of natural philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy. On the 9th of May, 1645, he became one of the gentlemen of the ordnance in the garrison at Oxford, from whence he removed to Worcester, where he was commissioner, receiver, and register of the excise; and soon after captain in Lord Ashley's regiment, as well as comptroller of the ordnance. On the 16th of October, 1646, he was elected a brother of the free and accepted masons; and in some of his manuscripts there are said to be many curious particulars relating to the history of this society. The king's affairs being now grown desperate, after the surrender of Worcester, Mr. Ashmole retired again to Cheshire, where he conti
ed till October, and then returned to London: upon his arrival in town, he became acquainted with the great astrologers Sir Jonas Moore, Mr. Lilly, and Mr. Booker, who received him into thei
fraternity, and elected him steward of their annual feast. In 1647, h
went down into Berkshire, where he lived an agreeable and retire
life, in the village of Englefield. It was here that he became acquainted with the lady Mainwaring, to whom he was married on th
16th of November, 1649. Soon after his marriage, he went an
settled in London, where his house was frequented by all the learne
and ingenious men of that time. Mr. Ashmole was a diligent an
curious collector of Manuscripts. In the year 1650, he published treatise written by Dr. Arthur Dee, relating to the philosopher'
stone; together with another tract on the same subject, by an unknow
author. About the same time he was busied in preparing for th
press a complete collection of the works of such English chemists as ha
till then remained in manuscript: this undertaking cost him great labour and expence; and at length the work appeared, towards th
close of the year 1652. He proposed at first to have carried it on t
several volumes; but he afterwards dropped this design, and seeme
to take a very different turn in his studies. He now applied himsel
to the study of antiquity and records: he was at great pains to trac
the Roman road, which in Antoninus's Itinerary, is called Benneva
na, from Weedon to Litchfield, of which he gave Mr. Dugdale a
account in a letter. In 1658, he began to collect materials for hi
History of the Order of the Garter, which he lived to finish, and there by did no less honour to the order than to himself. In Septembe
following, he made a journey to Oxford, where he set about givin
a full and particular description of the coins given to the public librar
by archbishop Laud.
Upon the restoration of king Charles II. Mr. Ashmole was intr
duced to his majesty, who received him very graciously, and on th
18th of June, 1660, bestowed on him the place of Windsor herald and a few days after, he appointed him to give a description of h
medals, which were accordingly delivered into his possession, and kin
Henry VIII.'s closet was assigned for his use: at the same time a commission was granted to him, to examine Hugh Peters about the co
tents of the king's library, which had fallen into his hands; whi
was carefully executed, but to little effect. On the 15th of Februar
Mr. Ashmole was admitted a fellow of the Royal Society; and on t
9th of February following, the king appointed him secretary of Su
nam, in the West Indies. On the 19th of July, 1669, the universi
of Oxford, in consideration of the many favours they had receiv
from Mr. Ashmole, created him doctor of physic by diploma, whi
was presented to him by Dr. Yates, principal of Brazen Nose College. On the 8th of May, 1672, he presented his Institution, Laws, and Ceremonies of the most noble Order of the Garter, to the king, who received it very graciously; and, as a mark of his approbation, granted him a privy seal for four hundred pounds, out of the custom of paper. On the 26th of January, 1679, a fire broke out in the Middle Temple, in the next chamber to Mr. Ashmole's, by which he lost a noble library, with a collection of nine thousand coins, ancient and modern, and a vast repository of seals, charters, and other antiquities and curiosities; but his manuscripts and his most valuable gold medals were luckily at his house at Lambeth. In 1683, the university of Oxford having finished a magnificent repository near the theatre, Mr. Ashmole sent thither his curious collection of rarities, which benefaction was considerably augmented by the addition of his manuscripts and library at his death, which happened at Lambeth, the 18th of May, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. He was interred in the church of Great Lambeth in Surry, on the 26th of May, 1692.
ASSER,
OF St. David's (Asserius Menevensis), author of the life of king Alfred, was born at St. David's, in Pembrokeshire, where he entered himself into the order of Benedictine monks. Being invited by king Alfred to his court, he gained so great a share in that prince's favour, that he gave him the bishopric of Shirburn, and made him abbot of the monasteries of Amersbury and Banwel, and, as Sir John Spelman tells us, of Exeter. According to Dr. Cave, it was he who persuaded Alfred to found the university of Oxford, and settle annual stipends upon the professors of the several sciences. We have a chronicle, or Annals, ascribed to him. He died in the year 909.
ATHELING (EDGAR),
THE son of Edward, the son of Edmond Ironside, king of England, by Agatha, daughter to Solomon, king of Hungary, or rather of the Emperor Henry II. In what year he was born is not certain; but he was very young in 1057, when his father and family were recalled into their native country, by their kinsman Edward the Confessor, then king thereof. His father died soon after his return, before the king had time to give him any essential marks of that kindness which he professed to him. Edgar was carefully bred up by him, who was his great uncle, and was undoubtedly intended for his successor, as the best authors assure us, and as his title Atheling, or Most Noble, implies, which is rightly noted by Mr. Selden, correcting in this respect Polydore Virgil, who mistook it for a sirname. But on king Edward's death, Edgar was deprived of his right, because of his youth, his being born abroad, and his having too little experience for a crowned head in such troublesome times. Harold, the son of Earl Godwin, chiefly through the intrigues of the clergy, was preferred before him, for which they are severely censured by some writers. This happened in the beginning of A. D. 1066, Harold, however, treated him with great respect, as long as he lived; after whose death and defeat in the fatal battle of Hastings, the nobles and people in general looked upon Edgar as king, and even acknowledged him as such. But William Duke of Normandy, awing them with his victorious army, was owned and crowned monarch of England, at Westminster, in the same year. To him, if we credit some of our ancient historians, Edgar immediately submitted, and was amongst the number of those, whom William carried with him as hostages into Normandy. Other authors are silent on this head, but all agree, that in 1067, Edgar, attended by many of the prime nobility, retired first into Northumberland, afterwards into Scotland. The persons who adhered to him, had so considerable an interest both at home and abroad, that they quickly drew together a numerous army, and therewith began to bid fair for unsettling the new establishment. In 1068, king William sent Robert Comyn into the north, in order to expel Edgar and his associates out of those parts, constituting him Earl of Northumberland. But this great man had but an ill fate, being slain by such forces as he had about him. The next year a great succo
r came to these malcontents from Denmark, and more English Lords reconciling themselves to Edgar, he made head against the Normans, and after several successful engagements, made himself master of the city of York, and wintered between the Ouse and Trent, notwithstanding all efforts of the Conqueror. In 1070, he was less fortunate. William found means, by money and promises, to draw off the Danes and some of the Lords of his party, and in the end, obliged him again to retire into Scotland. Malcolm king of that country, married this year his sister Margaret, so excellent a woman, that in her life-time she was styled the good, and after her decease, was regarded as a saint. This marriage enabled Edgar to make new attempts, in which he had mostly the better, the king of Scots openly assisting him, notwithstanding king William had demanded him, and threatened to invade Scotland in case of refusal. Some domestic troubles hindered that Prince from performing his threat for two years. In 1072, however, king William entered Scotland with an army, but with indifferent success. Upon this he readily made peace with Malcolm, and reg
lated, according to ancient treaties, the bounds of their respective dominions. In this peace, the Scots historians say Edgar Atheling was included, and, on his submission, received into king William's favour, which is very probable, since the war was on his account. In 1074 Edgar left Scotland, where he had been so kindly entertained, and where his sister was queen. He crossed the sea into Normandy, and was kindly received by king William, who gave him a grand allowance. Some of our authors say, it was a pound of silver a day, others twenty shillings. However, he was therewith contented, and lived quietly. William of Malmsbury, his cotemporary (and who expressly takes notice that he was living when he wrote), speaks of him in terms little to his advantage. He says he behaved meanly and foolishly in the king's court, and as an instance thereof, mentions his quitting his great allowance for a horse. But this is not very consistent with the testimonies of other authors, or with the general current of history. After this submission, our histories are silent concerning him for many years. This, however, is a plain proof, that he acted like a man of honour towards the Norman, since in that space there were many stirs, of which he might have made his advantage. In 1086, that is about twelve years after his submission, Edgar conceiving himself ill treated at court, retired f
m thence. This does not seem to speak him of quite so mean a spirit as Malmsbury would make him. Certain it is, that even now he had the hearts of the English nation; since in the old Abbey Chronicles, we meet with this prayer on the mention of his retreat,
May the Almighty give him honour,
alluding to the little respect shewn him at court. But this retreat, however, was not without the king's consent. On the contrary, Edgar obtained licence to sail with a certain number of ships, and two hundred soldiers on board, to Apulia. This therefore was no disgraceful flight, but rather an honourable exile. About the same time, his younger sister, Christina, became a nun in Ramsay abbey. How long Edgar continued in Apulia is uncertain; yet, when he returned from thence, he went into Normandy, where he was well received by Duke Robert, who gave him certain lands for his subsistence. Whether this was done to awe his brother William Rufus, who seized the kingdom of England, or purely to provide for an unhappy prince, cannot now be determined. But in 1091, on the conclusion of a solemn treaty between the brethren Robert and William, the latter procured Edgar Atheling's being dispossessed of his lands; upon which he withdrew out of Normandy, and went into Scotland, to his brother-in-law king Malcolm. In the same year, this last mentioned prince raised a puissant army, and therewith invaded England, and carried away much spoil; on the news whereof both brothers hastened out of Normandy, and sent a considerable force on board transports towards the North, that they might more speedily assemble an army in those parts; but being near Michaelmas, the weather proved stormy, and most of the men were lost. King William II. and Duke Robert, raised, however, an army, and though it was winter, advanced therewith towards Scotland. Upon this Edgar interposed, reconciled the two kings, and mediated a good peace. For this service he was restored to king William's favour, and came back with the brothers to London. However, when Duke Robert returned into Normandy, Edgar chose to accompany him, either because he loved him best, or feared him least. This was in the beginning of 1092. His stay in Normandy was but short, for the next year we find him again in England, attending on, and in favour with, William II. That prince resided at Gloucester about Easter, and was there so ill, that his death was expected. On the 24th of August, 1093, Malcolm king of Scots, importuned him by letters to regulate certain differences according to treaty, on which William summoned him to Gloucester, and sent Edgar to conduct him. This he performed; but after all, king William treated Malcolm very ill, who returning into Scotland, levied an army, entered Northumberland, and besieging the castle of Alnwick, which had been unjustly taken from him, he was there treacherously slain, together with his eldest son Edward. This unfortunate event could not but afflict Edgar exceedingly, especially when he saw his nephews deprived of their rights, the Scots setting up Donald Bane,
i. e.
Donald the White, whom the English writers call Dufenald, for their king, who was brother to Malcolm. Edgar sent for his five nephews into England, and carefully brought them up; but not without some danger to himself, if we credit the Scots historians. One Orgar reported to king William Rufus, that Edgar should say boastingly to his nephews, that the right to the English crown was in him and in them. Edgar denied the charge, and was allowed to justify himself by combat: that is, he chose a knight to enter into the lists for him, who was so happy as to conquer. Buchanan informs us, that the reason he did not fight in person, was because Edgar at this time was old and infirm: but in thi
he was mistaken, Edgar not exceeding forty-three, and as we shal
see, he went afterwards into Palestine. Two of Edgar's nephews died before they were of age, which hindered him from doing what he would otherwise have done for them. His third nephew, Edgar, growing towards man's estate, and the Scots inviting him when they were weary of his uncle, to accept the crown, he resolved to assist him in that undertaking. Applying therefore to king William, he procured a small assistance from him, and therewith marched to the borders of Scotland, where his forces quickly encreased, so as to enable him to look Donald in the face. It was in the winter of 1097, that he set forward on this expedition, and in the next spring, having defeated and taken Donald prisoner, he established his nephew on the throne, and then came back again into England. After this we meet with no account of him, till such time as with Robert the son of Godwin, a famous knight, he undertook a journey into the Holy Land. It is probable this was in 1099. He was with Baldwin II. king of Jerusalem, when besieged in Rama, and having, in their hazardous sally, wherein they escaped thence, lost his knight, he thought of returning. This was in 1102, and accordingly he came back soon after into Europe, received great civilities from the Greek and German emperors, who importuned him to remain in their courts, which he civilly excused, and continued his journey either into England or Normandy. Henry I. had now ascended the English throne, and espoused Maud, Edgar's niece; he had therefore all imaginable reason to expect a good reception at court, which, however, he either did not find, or else, it may be, declined. For we are certain, that he was some short time after his return from the East, in Normandy, with Duke Robert, for whom he had a great kindness. He even remained firm in his friendship to him, when king Henry invaded his dominions, and was taken prisoner fighting in his cause, as also was Duke Robert himself, at the fatal battle of Tenchebray, wherein the whole force of Normandy was routed; which fell out in the latter end of 1106. King Henry dealt very severely with the rest of the prisoners; but as for Edgar, he dismissed him freely. This is the last time he is mentioned in our histories, and after his return into England, he went to pass the remainder of his days in the country; where, according to Malmsbury, he was living in 1120, when he must have been seventy or thereabouts. In what year he died, appears not, nor do we read that he was ever married. He was born during his father's exile, lost him when his life would have secured him a crown, struggled, though to no purpose, against the Conqueror, was through his whole life, the sport of fortune, and died full of years in a dark obscurity. To which we add, that till now, his life was never written, from a supposed want of materials, and from a real want of inclination, to glean from our ancient historians, a multitude of little memorandums, concerning an injured unfortunate prince. This justice we have at length done to his memory, and the English History; which, from this article, we hope will not appear quite so barren, as some modern writers would represent it.
ATTERBURY (FRANCIS),
BISHOP of Rochester in the reigns of Queen Anne and king George I. was born the 6th of March, 1662, at Middleton, or Milton-Keynes, near Newport-Pagnel, in Buckinghamshire. He had his education in grammar learning at Westminster School: and from thence, in 1680, was elected a student of Christ-Church college in Oxford: where he soon distinguished himself for the politeness of his wit and learning; and gave early proofs of his poetical talents, in a latin version of Mr. Dryden's
Absalom and Achitophel,
An Epigram on a
Lady's Fan
; and a Translation of two
Odes of Horace.
He took the degree of Bachelor of Arts, June the thirteenth, 1684; and that of Master, April the twentieth, 1687. This year he made his first essay in controversial writing, in a piece, entitled,
An Answer to some Considerations on the Spirit of Martin Luther, and the Original of the Reformation.
During his stay in the university, he is generally thought to have borne no inconsiderable part in the famous controversy, between Dr. Bentley, and the Honourable Mr. Charles Boyle (afterwards Earl of Orrery), concerning the genuineness of
Phalaris's Epistles
; though Mr. Atterbury's name was not made use of on that occasion. At what time he entered into holy orders, is not certainly known: but, in 1693, upon the death of his father, he made application to the Earl of Nottingham, to succeed in the rectory of Milton▪ which he then called the height of his ambition and wishes, as being the place of his birth. But, being disappointed in his expectation of this preferment, and long since tired of a college life, Mr. Atterbury resolved to quit the university, and produce himself on a more active stage: and accordingly, making London his residence, he soon distinguished himself in such a manner, that he was appointed one of the chaplains in ordinary to King William and Queen Mary, and was elected preacher at Bridewell, and Lecturer of St. Bride's. In 1694, our young divine preached a remarkable sermon at Bridewell chapel, before the governors of that and Bethlehem hospital, on
the Power of Charity to cover Sin
; to which Mr. Benjamin Hoadly (since bishop of Winchester) published some
Exceptions.
The same year he was warmly attacked for his sermon, preached before the Queen at Whitehall; entitled,
The Scorner incapable of True Wisdom.
But the largest field of controversy, in which he ever engaged, was that which opened itself in the year 1700, and continued four years, between him, Dr. Wake (afterwards archbishop of Canterbury), and others, concerning
the Rights Powers, and Privileges of Convocations:
in which, however, the truth of the question may be supposed to lie, he displayed so much learning and ingenuity, as well as zeal for the interests of his order, that the Lower House of Convocation returned him their thanks, and the university of Oxford complimented him with the degree of Doctor in Divinity. January the twenty-ninth, 1700, he was installed Archdeacon of Totness, being promoted to that dignity by Sir Jonathan Trelawny, then bishop of Exeter. The same year he was engaged with some other learned divines, in revising an intended edition of the Greek Testament, with Greek Scholia, collected chiefly from the fathers, by Mr. Archdeacon Gregory. Upon the accession of Queen Anne, in 1702, Dr. Atterbury was appointed one of her Majesty's chaplains in ordinary; and, in October, 1704, he was advanced to the deanery of Carlisle. About two years after this, he was engaged in a dispute with Mr. Hoadly, concerning the advantages of
Virtue
with regard to the
present
life, occasioned by his sermon, preached the thirtieth of August, 1706, at the funeral of Mr. Thomas Bennet, a bookseller. In 1707, Sir Jonathan Trelawny, then bishop of Exeter, appointed him one of the canons residentiaries of that church; and, in 1709, Sir John Trevor, a great discerner of men and their abilities, was so struck with his fame, and charmed with his eloquence, that he made him preacher of the Rolls chapel. This year he was engaged in a fresh dispute with Mr. Hoadly, concerning passive obedience, occasioned by his Latin sermon, entitled
Concio ad Clerum Londinensem habita in Ecclesia S. Elphegi.
In 1710, came on the famous trial of Dr. Sacheverell, whose remarkable speech on that occasion, was generally supposed to have been drawn up by our author, in conjunction with Dr. Smaldridge and Dr. Friend. The same year Dr. Atterbury was unanimously chosen Prolocutor of the Lower House of Convocation, and had the chief management of affairs in that house. The eleventh of May 1711, he was appointed by the convocation, one of the committee for comparing Mr. Whiston's doctrines with those of the Church of England; and, in June following, he had the chief hand in drawing up
A Representation of the present State of Religion.
In 1712, Dr. Atterbury was made Dean of Christ-Church, notwithstanding the strong interest and warm application of several great men, in behalf of his competitor Dr. Smaldridge. The next year saw him at the top of his preferment, as well as of his reputation: for in the beginning of June, 1713, the Queen, at the recommendation of the Earl of Oxford, advanced him to the bishopric of Rochester, and deanery of Westminster; and he was consecrated at Lambeth the 4th of July following. It is said, he had in view the primacy of all England; and that his credit with the Queen and ministry was so considerable, and his schemes so well laid, as probably to have carried it, upon a vacancy, had not her Majesty's death, in August 1714, prevented him. At the beginning of the succeeding reign, his tide of prosperity began to turn; and he received a sensible mortification presently after the coronation of King George I. when, upon his offering to present his Majesty (with a view, no doubt, of standing better in his favour) with the chair of state and royal canopy, his own perquisites, as Dean of Westminster, the offer was rejected, not without some evident marks of dislike to his person. During the rebellion in Scotland, which broke out in the first year of this reign, Bishop Atterbury gave an instance of his growing disaffection to the established government, in refusing to sign the Declaration of the bishops. Besides which, he constantly opposed the measures of the Court in the House of Lords, and drew up some of the most violent protests with his own hand. Thus he went on till the year 1722, when the government having reason to suspect him of being concerned in a plot in favour of the Pretender; he was accordingly apprehended on the twenty-fourth of August, and committed prisoner to the Tower. This commitment of a bishop, upon a suspicion of high treason, as it was a thing rarely practised since the reformation, so it occasioned various speculations among the people. On the twenty-third of March, 1722-3, a bill was brought into the House of Commons, for
inflicting certain pains and penalties on Francis, Lord Bishop of Rochester
; a copy of which was sent to him, with notice that he had liberty of counsel, and solicitors for making his defence. Under these circumstances, the bishop applied by petition to the House of Lords, for their direction and advice, as to his conduct in this conjuncture; and, on the 4th of April, he acquainted the Speaker of the House of Commons, by a letter, that he was determined to give that House no trouble, in relation to the bill depending therein; but should be ready to make his defence against it, when it should be argued in another House, of which he had the honour to be a member. On the 9th, the bill passed the House of Commons, and was the same day sent up to the House of Lords for their concurrence. On the 6th of May, being the day appointed by the Lords for the first reading of the bill, Bishop Atterbury was brought to Westminster, to make his defence. The counsel for the Bishop were, Sir Constantine Phipps, and William Wynne, Esq. for the king, Mr. Reeve and Mr. Wearg. The proceedings continued above a week; and on Saturday May the eleventh, the Bishop was permitted to plead for himself; which he did in a very eloquent speech. On Monday the thirteenth, he was carried, for the last time, from the Tower, to hear the reply of the king's counsel to his defence▪ On the fifteenth, the bill was read the third time; and, after a very long and warm debate, passed on the sixteenth, by a majority of eighty-th
ee to forty-three. On the twenty-seventh the king came to the House, and confirmed it by his royal assent. It is said, his Majesty passed the bill with some regret, being much concerned, as he expressed it, that there should be just cause of dooming to perpetual banishment a bishop of the Church of England, and a man of such eminent parts and learning. To alleviate, however, in some measure, the severity of this sentence, the Bishop's daughter, Mrs. Morrice, was permitted to attend her father in his travels: and his son-in-law, Mr. Morrice, by virtue of his Majesty's sign manual, had leave to correspond with him. On the eighteenth of June 1723, this eminent prelate, having the day before taken leave of his friends, who, from the time of passing the bill against him, to the day of his departure, had free access to him in the Tower, embarked on board the Aldborough man of war, and landed the Friday following at Calais. From thence he went to Brussels; and afterwards to Paris, where he resided till his death; softening the rigours of his exile by study, and conversation with learned men; and by a constant epistolary correspondence with the most eminent scholars, particularly with M. Thiriot, an ingenious French gentleman, for whom he had a great esteem, and who has obliged the public with some of the bishop's original letters, which are chiefly
Critiques
on several French authors. Bishop Atterbury died at Paris the fifteenth of February, 1731. His body was brought over to England, and interred the twelfth of May following, in Westminster Abbey. Some time before his death, he published a vindication of himself, Bishop Smaldridge, and Dr. Aldrich, from a charge brought against them by Mr. Oldmixon, of having altered and interpolated the copy of Lord Clarendon's History of the Rebellion. Bishop Atterbury's Sermons are extant in four volumes in octavo: those contained in the two first were published by himself, and dedicated to his great patron Sir Jonathan Trelawny, bishop of Winchester; those in the two last were published after his death, by Dr. Thomas Moore, his Lordship's chaplain. His epistolary correspondence with Mr. Pope, is extant in the collection of that poet's letters. As to Bishop Atterbury's character, however, the moral and political part of it may have been differently represented by the opposite
parties, it is universally agreed that he was a man of great lear
ing and uncommon abilities, a fine writer, and a most excellent pre
cher.
AUDLEY (SIR THOMAS),
WAS descended of an ancient and honourable family in Essex, an
born in 1488. He had the advantage of an university education, an
afterwards studied the law in one of the inns of court. In 1526, h
was autumn-reader of the Inner-Temple. On the recommendatio
of the Duke of Suffolk, the king took notice of him, and finding him to be a man of great parts and good address, procured him to be chosen speaker of that parliament which met on the third of November, 1529. Audley's conduct in this station, fully answered the king's expectations. The next year he was made attorney of the duchy o
Lancaster; and May 20, 1532, upon the resignation of Sir Thomas Moore, the king delivered to him the great seal, with the title of lord keeper, and at the same time conferred on him the honour of knighthood. In January following, the king appointed him lord chancellor; and soon after granted him the scite of the priory of Christ Church near Aldgate, now called Duke's Place, with all the church-plate and lands belonging to that house. In this high office he was as diligent in the king's business, as he had been when speaker of the house of commons; for in July 1535, he sat in judgment, and pronounced sentence of death upon Sir Thomas Moore, indicted of high treason, for refusing to acknowledge the king's supremacy in the church. When sentence was past, Sir Thomas said, that he had for seven years bent his mind and study upon this cause, but as yet he found it no where writ by any approved doctor of the church, that a layman could be head of the ecclesiastical state. To which Audley returned, 'Sir, will you be reckoned wiser, or of a better conscience, than all the bishops, the nobility, and the whole kingdom?'
As Audley had been very active in the business of the divorce, so he had a large hand in the proceedings previous to the dissolution of such religious houses as had not two hundred pounds by the year. His persuasions, and the king's threats, having procured a bill to be passed for this purpose (by which the king not only obtained all the lands of the small monasteries, but also their jewels and rich moveables), the next step was to prevail with the abbots of larger foundations to surrender. Audley offered the abbot of Athelny a hundred marks per annum pension, which he refused, as too small a sum. With the abbot of St. Osithes in Essex, he was more successful: in a letter to Cromwell the visitor-general, after mentioning that he had by great solicitation prevailed with this ecclesiastic, he insinuates, that his place of lord chancellor being very chargeable, he wished th
king might be moved for an addition of some profitable offices. An upon making application for the great abbey of Walden in Essex, which with some difficulty he obtained, he extenuated its worth, and alleged that it would be but a reasonable recompence for the great damage and infamy he had suffered in serving the king.
On the twenty-ninth of November, 1538, he was created baron Audley, of Walden in Essex, and installed knight of the garter. A little before his death he obtained from the king, a licence to change the name of Buckingham college in Cambridge, into that of Magdalen, or Maudlin. To this college he was a great benefactor, bestowed on it his own arms, and is generally reputed its founder. He died on the last of April, 1544 (having held the seals upwards of twelve years), and in the fifty-sixth year of his life, as appears by the inscription on his tomb. Mr. Rapin says he was a man of sound judgment, and was serviceable to the reformers, whenever he could be so, without any hazard or danger to himself; but was too much a courtier to insist even upon what he judged reasonable, if disapproved of by the king. Lloyd says, that he was always in favour with the queen, who had no less interest in the king's heart, than the kingdom had in his head; and that he knew king Henry's temper better than himself, whom he surprised always to his own bent, never moving any of his suits to him, but when in haste, and most commonly amusing him with other matter until he passed his request.
By his lady Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dorset, he had two daughters, Margaret and Mary. The latter dying unmarried, Margaret became his sole heir, and married first, Lord Henry Dudley, a younger son of John Duke of Northumberland, and afterwards Thomas Duke of Norfolk, by whom she had a son Thomas, who, by act of parliament, 27 Eliz. was restored in blood; and in the 39th of the same reign was summoned to parliament by his grandfather's title, as baron of Walden. In the first of king James I. he was created Earl of Suffolk, and afterwards lord high treasurer of England. He built, on the ruins of the abbey of Walden, that noble palace, which, in honour of our chancellor, he called Audley-End.
AUGUSTIN, or AUSTIN, (St.)
THE first archbishop of Canterbury, was originally a monk in the convent of St. Andrew at Rome, and educated under St. Gregory, afterwards pope Gregory I. by whom he was dispatched into Britain, with forty other monks of the same order, about the year 596, to convert the English Saxons to Christianity. They landed in the isle of Thanet, and having sent some French interpreters to king Ethelbert with an account of their errand, the king gave them leave to convert as many of his subjects as they could, and assigned their place of residence at Dorovernum, since called Canterbury, to which they were confined till the king himself was converted, whose example had a powerful influence in promoting the conversion of his subjects, but though he was extremely pleased at their becoming Christians, he never attempted to compel them. He had learned (says the venerable Bede) from his instructors in the way of salvation, that force and dragooning was not the method of the Gospel; that the religion of Jesus Christ was to make its way by argument and persuasion, to be matter of choice and not of compulsion. Augustin, by direction of the pope, went afterwards to Arles in France, where he was consecrated archbishop and metropolitan of the English nation, by the archbishop of that place. On his return to Britain, he dispatched a priest and a monk to Rome, to acquaint the pope with the success of his mission and to desire his resolution of certain questions. These men brought back with them a pall, and several books, vestments, utensils, and ornaments for the churches. His holiness, by the same messengers, gave Augustin directions concerning the settling of episcopal sees in Britain, and ordered him not to pull down the idol temples, but to convert them into Christian churches, only destroying the idols, and sprinkling the place with holy water, that the natives, by frequenting the temples they had been always accustomed to, might be the less shocked at their entrance into Christianity. And whereas it had been their custom to sacrifice oxen to their false gods, he advised, that upon the anniversary of each church's consecration, the people should erect booths round about, and feast therein, not sacrificing their oxen to devils, but killing them for their own refreshment, and praising God for the blessing. He further cautioned him not to be puffed up with the miracles he was enabled to work in confirmation of his ministry; but to consider how much the English were the favourites of heaven, since God enabled him to alter the course of nature to promote their conversion.
Augustin fixed his see at Canterbury, and being supported by the interest of king Ethelbert, made an attempt to settle a correspondence with the British bishops, and to bring them to conformity with the Roman church. To this purpose a conference was held at a place in Worcestershire, since called Augustin's oak, but without success. A second conference was proposed, at which the appearance was more numerous than at the former, seven British bishops, attending at it, with a great many learned monks from the monastery of Bancornaburg, or Bangor, who were under the direction of their abbot Dinoth. These Britons, before they began their journey, applied to a certain hermit of eminent virtue and good sense, to know whether or not they should give up the usages and traditions of their church, and acknowledge the pretensions of Augustine. He told them, that if Augustine should prove to be a man of God, they ought to be governed by him. They asked him how they should know this. The hermit replied,
'Our Saviour says, "Take my yoke upon you, for I am meek and low in heart." If Augustin be affable and humble, he has probably taken Christ's yoke upon him, and offers you the same privilege: but if he be haughty and insolent, it is plain he is not commissioned from heaven, nor are his words to be regarded.'
The father asked, by what marks they were to discover his temper. The hermit desired them to manage it so, that Augustin and his company should be first at the place, and if he rose to salute them at their coming in, they might conclude he was sent from God; but if he neglected this civility, they might return his contempt, and have nothing to do with him. When the Britons came into the synod Augustin received them sitting; in resentment of which affront they warmly opposed every thing he offered. The articles insisted on by Augustin were, that they should celebrate Easter, and administer baptism, according to the practice of the Romish church; and that they should acknowledge the Pope's authority: if they would comply in these respects, and assist in the conversion of the Saxons, he would bear with the disagreement of their customs in other cases. But the Britons replied, they could yield none of the points contested.
This apostle of the English died at Canterbury in the year 604. The popish writers ascribe several miracles to him. The observation of the festival of St. Augustin was first enjoined in a synod held under Cuthbert archbishop of Canterbury, and afterwards by the pope's bull in the reign of king Edward III.
AXTEL (DANIEL).
A colonel in the service of the long parliament, and executed for the share he had in the murder of King Charles I. The particulars of this gentleman's life, before he engaged in the service of the Parliament, are so deeply buried in oblivion, that, notwithstanding all the industry we have used, a very few only, and those of less consequence than we could wish, can be brought to light. He was of a good family, and had a tolerable education, that is to say, such a one as might fit him for the course of life it was intended he should lead, being placed by his relations as an apprentice to a grocer in Watling-street. As he was of a very serious disposition, and had been very early tinctured with those principles, which were in that age styled puritanical, he became an eager follower of such ministers as distinguished themselves by their zealous preaching. His great attachment to these sort of people, and the natural warmth of his own temper, were the occasions of his quitting his own calling, and going into the army, to which he was principally determined, by keeping a day of fasting and prayer with Mr. Simeon Ash, Mr. Love, Mr. Woodcocke, and other ministers in Lawrence-lane, wherein, according to his judgment, they did so clearly state the cause of the parliament, that he was fully convinced of the justice of their cause, and resolved to venture his life for it. Such were the consequences of the professors of the Christian religion, converting their pulpits into schools of politics, to which it may truly be said, the civil wars owed its beginning, as most of the dismal consequences with which it was attended, flowed but too apparently from the same source. After having thus chosen his party, he behaved in the army with so much zeal, courage, and conduct, that he rose by degrees to the several commands, of Captain, Major, and Lieutenant Colonel, in a regiment of foot. It was in this last capacity, that he acted with great vehemence against all endeavours for a reconciliation with the King, and particularly concurred in exhibiting a charge of high treason, against eleven members of the House of Commons, for betraying the cause of the Parliament, endeavouring to break and destroy the army, with other particulars, which obliged those gentlemen to withdraw, which was the first force put upon that house of commons, and the remembrance of the concern C
lonel Axtel had therein, contributed not a little to his destruction. Upon several changes that afterwards happened, these members were again admitted, sat and voted in the house, and new schemes were entered upon, for restoring the constitution by settling the government, in order to which the house of commons, on the fifth of December, 1648, resolved,
'That his Majesty's concessions to the propositions upon the treaty of the Isle of Wight, were sufficient grounds for the houses to proceed upon for the settl
ment of the kingdom.'
But a great party in the army who thought otherwise, determined to prevent the effects of this; and accordingly placed one Colonel Pride with a guard at the door of the parliament house, having in his hands a list of those members who were to be excluded. Accordingly he prevented all of them from entering the house, and secured some of them who were most suspected, under a guard provided for that purpose; which act of his was supposed, by some of the wisest men in England, to dissolve and destroy the representatives of the Commons of England, and to leave those who remained and acted, without any legal authority. Yet this remnant of the House of Commons, on the thirteenth of December, revived the vote of non-addresses, and though they were but twenty-six in number, took upon them to issue a commission for trying the King, passing a vote on New-year's day,
That it was treason in the King, to levy war against the Parliament.
On the ninth of January, the trial of the King was proclaimed by sound of trumpet, and beat of drum, in Westminster-Hall, at the Old Exchange, and in Cheapside; and all people were summoned who had any thing to say against the King, to appear and be heard. On the twentieth of January, when the King was brought before the High Court of Justice, Colonel Stubberd, and Colonel Axtel, had the command of the soldiers below stairs. The King demanded of Serjeant Bradshaw, who was the President, by what authority they brought him there? And the President appealing to the charge, which was in the name of the Commons and People of England, Lady Fairfax, the General's wife, cried out,
It is a lie, it is false, not a half, not a quarter of the people,
Oliver Cromwell
is a rogue and a traitor
; which words were repeated by Mrs. Nelson. Upon this Colonel Axtel cried out,
Down with the whores, shoot them
; which vehemence of his made him be taken notice of. The people, at the time of his Majesty's passing to his trial, moved by the sadness of the sight, cried out,
God save the KING!
which obliged such as drove on his death, to procure another cry to countenance their design, and therefore Colonel Axtel beat the soldiers till they cried,
Justice! Justice!
And on the last day of the trial, when the common people cried,
God preserve your Majesty!
the soldiers were again taught, by the prevailing argument of the cane, to cry out,
Execution! Execution!
After the sentence was passed, the King was carried through the middle of King-street, in a common sedan, by two porters, who, out of reverence to his person, went bare-headed, till the soldiers, under Colonel Axtel's command, beat them, and forced them to put on their hats. After the murder of the King, when Cromwell was sent into Ireland, the regiment in which Colonel Axtel served, was drawn out by lot for that expedition, which occasioned his going over into that kingdom, where he made a considerable figure, was much esteemed and trusted by Cromwell, and raised, for his fidelity, courage, and conduct, as General Ludlow tells us, to the command of a regiment, and the government of Kilkenny and the adjacent precinct, which important trust, Ludlow farther tells us, he discharged with diligence and success, and in his station shewed a more than ordinary zeal in punishing those Irish who had been guilty of murdering the Protestants. Other writers represent this in quite a different light, and charge him with severities, not at all inferior in cruelty to those committed by the Irish rebels themselves. After Cromwell, on the twentieth of April, 1653, had turned the Long Parliament out of the House, things took another turn; and he having assumed the supreme power to himself, sent over his son, Henry, to Ireland, where he commanded at first as Major-General, and by his endeavours to establish the new government, so disgusted all the godly, but more particularly the Anabaptists, that on the twenty-eighth of November, 1656, they sent Major Jones, and one Mr. Doyley, to acquaint him, that Quarter-Master-General Vernon, Adjutant Allen, Colonel Barrowe, and Colonel Axtel, desired to speak with him; upon which he offered to confer with them immediately. As soon as they came into his presence, Colonel Barrowe, premising his and their many personal obligations received from the Major-General, told him, that finding themselves of late not made use of, they could not, with satisfaction to their consciences, receive pay from the public, without doing service for it, and, therefore, came to acquaint him, that they had, upon solemn seeking of God, and serious deliberation with themselves, represented to his Highness and the Lord Deputy, their resolutions to quit their commands, and had sent their reasons for doing it; signifying that they had reserved the delivering up of their commissions to the Major-General, as a particular mark of their respect for him; wherefore he did, in his own, and in the name of the rest of the officers, declare, that they were from thenceforward discharged from any public employment in the army; and at the same time they all of them tendered their commissions, which the Major-General however did not think fit to accept; but they having publicly declared, that they looked upon their offer as a sufficient discharge, he thought fit to appoint them another meeting, the next day, in the afternoon. He told them at this meeting, that he was very sorry to find they were so resolute in what they proposed the day before, as to giving up their commissions, and that it was no pleasant thing to him to receive them from persons who had so long served the public as they had done. If they quitted indeed upon a conscientious dissatisfaction, he knew not well what to reply, but that he hoped, when he parted with them the day before, that they would have given him time to have reasoned the matter with them, and not have put him upon giving so sudden an answer. But since considering how positive they had been, and that they had, contrary to his expectation, and that not in so decent a manner as he could have wished, made it the talk of the town, he thought himself concerned forthwith to declare his acceptance of their proposal; and that he should take care, since they insisted so earnestly upon it, without any provocation of his, and contrary to his desires, they should be fairly discharged the army, and satisfied what was due to each of them; and that since they were resolved to retire, he should wish them well in their private capacities, and shew them all respect befitting the place he stood in there; and hoped that they would mind the promise they made the day before, of serving God, and being always ready to serve the public in order thereto. Upon this they seemed to express great thankfulness, and very high satisfaction in the choice they had made; only Colonel Axtel having first premised, that he thought himself now on a level with the Major-General, complained in very rough and bitter language of the ill usage he had met with, and the slights that had been put upon him since the great Revolution in England, and the power of the Parliament had been devolved upon a single person, which Mr. Cromwell bore as patiently as he could; but it appears clearly enough from the letters he wrote to Secretary Thurloe, that he was extremely sensible of the usage he had met with, and looked upon these people, as absolutely disaffected both to the government in general, and to his family in particular. The condition of Colonel Axtel from this time was very unpleasant. He lived in a private condition upon the estate he had acquired in the service; but instead of that power and authority which he had exercised for six years together over the town and district of Kilkenny, he was now in the state of a disaffected man, and not only without trust and without authority, but also so much suspected by his superiors, that he could not take the slightest journey about his private affairs, without having spies set over him, and being frequently called to account. All this was occasioned by the wild principles and restless spirits of the Anabaptists, which as they had brought about the subversion, first of one government, and then of another, were now grown as turbulent under a third. Yet Henry Cromwell, when vested with the character of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, was contented to watch over them without persecuting them; and, except the great jealousy that he expressed of their motions, he kept his word with them very exactly, and treated them as well as they could expect. After the death of the Protector, Oliver, which happened on the third of September, 1658, things took a new turn, and his son Richard, who had assumed the title of Protector, immediately after his father's death, saw himself, in the beginning of the next year, reduced to the fatal necessity of dissolving, what he called a Parliament, with which ended his authority; and on the seventh of May, 1659, the remnant of the Long Parliament resumed the power of which they had been deprived by Cromwell; and his son Henry, who commanded as Lord Lieutenant in Ireland, having submitted, as well as his brother Richard, Lieutenant-General Edmund Ludlow was sent over to take the supreme authority there, and one of the first things he did, being to new-model the army, Colonel Axtel came again into play, had a regiment given him, and was one of the few persons, in whom Ludlow chiefly confided. It may not be amiss to remark, that though this gentleman changed his opinion with respect to church matters, and of a Presbyterian became an Anabaptist, yet, as to his notions of civil government he remained somewhat more steady, and was always looked upon as a zealous friend to a commonwealth. It was this disposition of his, and his clear reputation for courage and conduct, as an officer, that induced General Ludlow to make choice of him, to command one division of the Irish brigade, that was sent over to maintain the parliament in possession of their authority, and to keep out the king, which however they were so far from doing, that they contributed very much to his return. The rising of Sir George Booth, which happened in August the same year, was the occasion of their being transported to England; but they had no share in reducing him, which was performed before their arrival, by Major-General Lambert. Their coming, however, was esteemed of great service to the parliament, though it proved otherwise; for Colonel Zanchy, who commanded them, concurred with the army in putting a new force upon that assembly, which lasted till Christmas, and then the Rum
as it was called, was again restored by the terror of Monk's army, which was marching out of Scotland. As he at the beginning declared positively for the Parliament, Colonel Axtel, and the rest of the officers of the Irish brigade, kept that body of troops which were esteemed the best in the kingdom, from acting against him, which if they had done in conjunction with Lambert, his design in all probability had miscarried. But as Monk very well knew that those forces would never concur in restoring the king, while under the officers who then commanded them, he resolved to try whether it might not be possible, to engage them first to change their officers, and then to fall into his measures, which was the most critical point he had to manage. They were at that time quartered in Yorkshire, and thither he sent Colonel Redman, who commanded part of those troops in Ireland, under Henry Cromwell, and who was turned out by Ludlow. He carried with him some of his friends who had served under him, and on his first appearance, the best part of the Irish brigade very fairly told Colonel Zanchy, and Colonel Axtel, that they might take what measures they thought fit, but for themselves, they were determined to serve under Colonel Redman, and their old officers. This revolt gave the death's wound to the republic; for Colonel Redman, pursuant to the orders he had received from General Monk, immediately marched that body of old troops into Cheshire, which so weakened Lambert's army, that was before superior to Monk's, that it left him in no condition to oppose the march of that general to London, which Colonel Axtel perceiving, resolved to shift for himself, and being thenceforward deprived of all command, endeavoured to settle his private affairs, and secure himself the best way he could. But when a fresh opportunity offered of asserting the good old cause, Colonel Axtel shewed his affection to it, by venturing his life in a very desperate undertaking, and that too as a private man. The occasion was this: the Council of State had committed General Lambert to the Tower, in the beginning of the month of March; but on the ninth of April 1660, he made his escape from thence, and got down as far as Daventry in Northamptonshire, where, having assembled a considerable body of horse, he was joined by Colonel Okey, Colonel Axtel, Colonel Cobbet, Lieutenant Colonel Young, Major Creed, Captain Timothy Clare, Captain Gregory, Captain Spinage, besides divers soldiers that were Anabaptists. Colonel Richard Ingoldsby, and Colonel Streater, who were sent to reduce Lambert, followed him with such diligence, that on Easter-day, which was on that year on the twenty-second of April, they came up with him in a plain near Daventry, having only a brook between them. When the two bodies came near, just as Colonel Ingoldsby was going to charge, Streater commanded six files of musqueteers to advance. One file gave fire, and hurt one or two of Lambert's horse. His drums beat, and in good order he advanced, having given strict command, that his musqueteers should not fire, till they came as near as push of pike. But Lambert's men held the noses of their pistols towards the ground, and Nelthorp's troop came off to Ingoldsby, Haslerigg's troop having deserted him before. For Colonel Ingoldsby sending Captain Elsemore before him with a party, as he marched to find Lambert, met Captain Haslerigg, and took him prisoner, but released him upon his parole, to send his whole troop over to join Ingoldsby, which he faithfully performed, sending it to them by his quarter-master; but he retired himself. Colonel Ingoldsby told Lambert he was his prisoner; whereupon Creed and the rest earnestly intreated him to do what he pleased with them, but to let Lambert escape, acquainting him that his life could be of no advantage to him; which Ingoldsby absolutely refused, telling them, that he would not be treacherous to those that had commanded him, by such an ungenerous act. Lambert then turned about his horse, and attempted to make his escape; but Ingoldsby pursued him so close, that he came quickly up to him, and vowed to pistol him if he did not immediately yield. Lambert, in great depression of spirits, twice prayed him to let him escape; but when he saw he could not prevail, submitted as well as the rest did, except Okey, Axtel, and Clare, who escaped. This was the last struggle that was made in favour of the Commonwealth; and Axtel used his utmost industry afterwards to conceal himself, as foreseeing that it would not be long before he might be called to an account, for the large share he had taken in the trial of the king: but his care in this respect was to very little purpose, for before the close of the month, he was discovered and committed to prison. We are told by one of his friends, that he was betrayed by a royalist, who having engaged him to a meeting, on pretence of treating with him for the purchase of some lands, gave notice of the time and place, by which he was apprehended and committed to the Tower. After the King's Restoration, the bill of indemnity being then depending in the House of Commons, they, on the fourteenth of June, 1660, resolved,
That
Daniel Axtel
should be one of the
Twenty
excepted out of that bill.
On the twelfth of July following, a warrant was sent for his detention in the Tower, for high treason. On the twenty-ninth of August, the King passed the so long expected act, of free and general pardon, out of which only two and fifty persons were excepted, of which Colonel Daniel Axtel was the fiftieth, as also the two persons disguised in frocks and vizors, who appeared upon the scaffold at the murder of King Charles I. which persons were left to be proceeded against as traitors, according to the laws of England. On the tenth of October following, the grand jury for the county of Middlesex, having found bills against twenty-eight persons, for their concern in the king's murder, of which Mr. Axtel was the last, they were brought to the sessions house in the Old Bailey, where Colonel Axtel was the same day arraigned, upon an indictment for compassing and imagining the death of the late King; when for some time he refused to plead, alleging that what he had done was in pursuance of an Act of Parliament, and therefore he conceived no inferior court ought to judge of it; to which point he desired he might have counsel assigned. But the Court having reasoned with him, and told him, that in case of treason, it was the same thing to stand mute, as to confess the indictment he was prevailed upon to plead Not Guilty. When he was asked How he would be tried? and told that the proper answer was, By God and his country; he said that was not lawful,
God not being locally present:
however, he soon after made the usual answer, and put himsel
upon his trial. This did not come on till the 15th of October, 1660, when, after challenging ten of the jury, the indictment was opened, in which the Counsel for the Crown observed, That the High Court erected for the trial of the late King, had all the formalities of a court, such as their President, their Council, their Chaplain, and Guards; and as some of their Judges, one of their Counsel, and their Chaplain had been already tried, they had now brought this gentleman to the bar, as the Commander of the Guard, and then proceeded to call their evidence. Mr. Holland Simpson proved, that Colonel Axtel had the command of the soldiers below stairs, and threatened to shoot Lady Fairfax for disturbing the Court. Colonel Hercules Huncks deposed, that on the day the King died, himself, Colonel Phayre, Colonel Hacker, and Cromwell, being in a room together, Cromwell desired him to sign a warrant for the King's execution; which he having refused to do, and Cromwell having given him some harsh language on that account, Mr. Axtel said,
'Colonel Huncks, I am ashamed of you, the ship is now coming into the harbour, and will you strike sail before we come to an anchor.'
Mr. Axtel positively denied this, and told Colonel Huncks, that himself was named in the warrant for execution, and that he wished he did not make others a peace-offering to save himself. Sir Purbeck Temple swore, That Mr. Axtel beat the soldiers to make them cry,
Justice
and
Execution!
That he laughed and scoffed with them during the trial, and that he suffered, and, as the witness believed, procured the soldiers to fire powder in the palms of their hands, which threw such clouds of smoke into the King's face, that he was obliged to rise out of his chair, and beat it off with his hand. Mr. John Jeonar, who was one of the King's domestic servants, and attended him at the trial, gave positive evidence, that when the Court broke up the first day, Colonel Axtel ordered the Guards to cry,
Justice, Justice!
and the last day,
Execution, Execution!
And he farther deposed, that being very near the Colonel, he heard him lead that cry, by making use of the same words himself. One Samuel Burden, who had been a soldier in the King's army, but at the time of the trial in Colonel Axtel's regiment, swore, that himself and others were commanded by the Colonel to give evidence against the King, and for that purpose were sent to Mr. Cook, who managed the charge against the King, to have their examinations taken, which was accordingly done. This man likewise swore, that the Colonel sent one Elisha Axtel with a file of soldiers to take boat and go down to the common hangman, who lived beyond the Tower, in order to fetch him to execute the King. Lieutenant Colonel Nelson deposed, That in private conversation at Dublin, Colonel Axtel acknowledged to him, that he was concerned in the secret of managing the King's execution; and being desired by the witness to tell him who the persons were that appeared upon the scaffold in vizors, he told him they were two serjeants, well known both to him and to the witness, and that their names were Hewlet and Walker. Such was the evidence given to support the charge in the indictment, for compassing and imagining the death of the King. In his defence Colonel Axtel alledged, that he was a commissioned officer under the Lord Fairfax, as he had been before under the Earl of Essex, and by his commission was to obey his superior officer (who commanded him that day to Westminster-hall), according to the customs of war; so that if he had disobeyed his superior officer, then he had died, and now must die for obeying him. But the Court told him he might have refused without any danger as well as Colonel Huncks; and that
passive
as well as
active
obedience was required from every man, and that neither his nor his superiors commission bid him kill his father, much less the father of his country. As for the musquets, mounted towards the lady, he said, that if a lady grew uncivil to disturb the Court, he could do no less than check her: That his striking the soldiers for not crying
Justice!
was a mistake; for he said he struck them because they did it, saying,
I'll give you Justice
: That his inciting them at the sentence to cry
Execution, was the Execution of Justice,
and that could do no hurt. The court took a good deal of pains to shew him the insufficiency of these pretences, and how incompatible they were with the constitution of this kingdom, and the laws of the land, upon which subject we met with a very curious and instructive passage, in the Reports of a very learned Judge. The trial lasted, on account of the prisoner's long and large defence, for upwards of three hours; but the Jury, without going from the bar, found him guilty. On the sixteenth of October, he was brought up again to the Sessions-house, in order to receive sentence, at which time Mr. Axtel insisted, that there was no overt-act proved against him sufficient to support the indictment, and suggested, that he died only for want of words; upon which the Lord Chief Baron observed, that it was otherwise, that he was present in the Court, beating the soldiers, and sending for an executioner, which were all of them facts, and not words. Upon this Colonel Axtel appealed to God, that he did not find himself guilty of consulting, contriving, or having any hand in the death of the King; and concluded that he was innocent, and prayed God that his blood might not cry against them.
Then silence being commanded, the Lord Chief Baron made a long speech, in which he told Colonel Francis Hacker and Mr. Axtel, that they had no cause to hope for mercy, nor was there any room for mercy, and then pronounced that sentence which is usually given in cases of high-treason. After he was carried back to Newgate, he shewed himself very full of spirit and courage, spoke to every body that was about him with great vehemence and zeal for the cause in which he died, as appears very fully from the account of his behaviour, printed after his death, by the care of those of his party. In this disposition he continued, without the least alteration, or sinking of his spirits, which must be attributed to his notions of religion, that had made such an impression upon his mind, as entirely prevented his feeling any thing of that weakness and terror which is incident to human nature, at the near approach of death, and of a violent and shameful death especially. But the account before-mentioned shews us, that he remained firm to the last, and spoke with the same freedom that day he died, as on any other in his whole life. On Friday the nineteenth of October, about nine in the morning, Colonel Francis Hacker, and Colonel Daniel Axtel, were drawn on one hurdle, from Newgate to Tyburn, where they behaved with great boldness and resolution, more especially the latter, who was the better speaker of the two, and who did not fail to justify his conduct to the people, with the same sort of arguments he had used before his Judges. After the execution was performed, the head of Colonel Axtel was set up at the further end of Westminster-hall, and his quarters were in like manner disposed of so as to become spectacles, in other public places. But the body of Mr. Hacker was, by his Majesty's great favour, given entire to his friends, and by their care was decently interred. At the time of his death, the Colonel left behind him a widow and seven children, for whose subsistence he had made a competent provision in the time of his prosperity.
AYSCUE, AYSCOUGH, or ASKEW, (Sir GEORGE)
An eminent English Admiral in the last century. He was descended from a very good family in Lincolnshire, and entered early into the sea service, where he obtained the character of an able and experienced officer, and the honour of knighthood from King Charles I. This, however, did not prevent him from adhering to the Parliament, when, by a very singular intrigue, they got possession of the fleet, and so zealous he was in the service of his masters, that when, in 1648, the greatest part of the navy went over to the Prince of Wales, he, who then commanded the Lion, secured that ship for the Parliamient, which was by them esteemed both an acceptable service, and an action of great importance. As this was a sufficient proof of his fidelity, he had the command given him in a squadron, that was employed to watch the motions of the Prince of Wales; and accordingly sailed therewith to the coast of Ireland, where, by his vigilance, he prevented his Highness from doing what he would otherwise have done, and by his great interest with the seamen he drew many of them back to that service from which they had deserted. This recommended him strongly to the Parliament, who, the next year, sent him with a considerable number of ships, and the honourable title of Admiral in those seas, to the coast of Ireland, which commission he discharged with equal vigour and vigilance, supplying Dublin with provisions, attending the army upon all emergencies, and contributing in every respect so effectually to the reduction of Ireland, that the Parliament not only thought fit to continue him in his command for another year, but likewise ordered an immediate provision to be made for the payment of his arrears, and presented him with one hundred pounds, as a special mark of their favour, and the just reward of his services. After the war was finished in Ireland, and the Parliament had thereby time and opportunity, to think of the proper means of subduing the rest of the dominions of the crown of England to their obedience, Sir George Ayscue had orders to sail with a small squadron, to reduce the island of Barbadoes; but before he was in any readiness to sail, his orders were countermanded. The reason of this was, that the Parliament had received information, that the Dutch were treating with Sir John Grenville, in order to have the isles of Scilly put into their hands, and therefore it was thought necessary to reduce these islands first.
Blake and Ayscue were employed in this expedition, in the spring of the year 1651, and performed it with honour and success. They had but a small body of troops on board, and Sir John Grenville had a considerable force in the island of St. Mary, commanded by some of the best officers in the late King's army; so that if those disputes had been decided by the sword, the engagement must have been both bloody and doubtful. Sir John easily perceived that this must end fatally in respect to him, and the King's forces under his command, and, therefore, entered into a treaty with General Blake, and Admiral Ayscue, who used him very honourably, and gave him fair conditions; after which Blake returned to England, and Ayscue proceeded on his voyage to Barbadoes. The Parliament, when they heard of the reduction of Scilly, were extremely well pleased, as indeed they had reason, since privateers from thence did so much mischief, that scarcely any trade could be carried on with tolerable security. But when the conditions were known some great men changed their opinions, and gave Blake to understand, that he and his colleague had been too forward, so that it was doubted whether Parliament would ratify this agreement. Blake said, that if they had given Sir John Grenville good conditions, they had done it with good reason; that in the first place, it saved the effusion of English blood; and next, that there was a strong squadron of Dutch ships at no great distance, the commander of which had offered Sir John no less than 100,000 pounds, to put these islands into his hands; that if the Parliament did not approve of his conduct, he should be sorry for it, and should take care to prevent a mistake of that sort in future, by laying down his commission, as he was confident Sir George Ayscue would likewise do. Upon this there was no more said of the articles, which were honourably complied with, and Sir George received orders to sail immediately to the West-Indies, which he obeyed, never expecting to hear any more of these articles, which, as they were made with good reason, so he thought they would have met with a good reception; but he had afterwards cause given him to apprehend, that whatever benefit the Parliament might receive from the service itself, they were far enough from being satisfied with the manner in which it was done.
Sir George continued his voyage, without meeting with any cross accident, till his arrival at Barbadoes; which was on the 26th of October, 1651. He then found his enterprize would be attended with great difficulties, and such as had not been foreseen at home. The Lord Willoughby, of Parham, commanded there for the King, and had assembled a body of five thousand men for the defence of the island. He was a nobleman of great parts and great probity, one who had been extremely reverenced by the parliament before he quitted their party, and whose worth had so strongly recommended him, both to the esteem and affection of the inhabitants, that he had as absolute a disposal of their persons and properties, as it was necessary for a Governor to have, who was in such a situation; and the use he made of his power and influence, was as perfectly right in itself, as the critical circumstances of those times required. Sir George, though he fully apprehended how many and how great obstacles lay in his way, yet shewed no signs of concern, but boldly forced his passage into the harbour, and made himself matter of twelve sail of Dutch merchantmen that lay there, hoping that this might raise an insurrection in the island, in which, however, he was mistaken. The next morning he sent a summons to the Lord Willoughby, requiring him to submit to the authority of the Parliament of England; to which his Lordship answered, that he knew no such authority, that he had a commission from King Charles II. to be governor of that island, and that he would keep it for his Majesty's service at the hazard of his life. That he might be able to make good his word, he put the island and its inhabitants into the best posture of defence possible, and being much superior in strength, Sir George thought it not prudent to land the few troops he had, and thereby discover his weakness to so cautious an enemy. In the mean time, he received a letter by an advice-boat from England, with the news of the King's being defeated at Worcester, with one intercepted from Lady Willoughby, containing a very particular account of that unhappy affair. Upon this he summoned Lord Willoughby a second time, and accompanied his summons with Lady Willoughby's letter, which, however, made no impression upon his Lordship, who continued firm in his resolution, of holding out the island as long as he could. All this time, Sir George anchored in Speights bay, and stayed there till December, when the Virginia Merchant fleet arriving, he resolved to take that opportunity to land with the greater advantage; for he made as if they were a reinforcement that had been sent him, and he had only waited for them till then; whereas, the truth was, he had not above two thousand men, and the sight of the little army on shore, made him cautious of venturing his men, till he thought the inhabitants had conceived a greater idea of his strength, than they had done before. The Virginia ships were welcomed at their coming in, as a supply of men of war, and he presently ordered his men on shore: 150 Scotch servants aboard that fleet, were added to a regiment of 700 men, and some seamen, to make their number look more formidable. Sir George had on board his fleet one Colonel Allen, a gentleman of Barbadoes, who came from thence into England, to solicit from the Parliament, a force sufficient for the reduction of the island, and therefore he was thought the properest man to command the forces on shore. He accordingly landed with them on seventeenth of December, and found Lord Willoughby's torches well entrenched, near a fort which they had on the sea-coast. They attacked him, however, and, in a sharp dispute, wherein about sixty men were killed on both sides, had so much the advantage, that they drove them to the fort, notwithstanding that Colonel Allen, their commander, was killed by a muket shot, as he attempted to land. The soldiers and seamen, however, pushed on, and made themselves masters of the fort, and four pieces of cannon that were in it. After this, the sailors returned to their ships, which cruized up and down, to prevent any succours coming to the islanders, or any merchants trading with them. The soldiers posted themselves in the fort, and from thence made incursions into the country, upon which the chief of the inhabitants grew weary of the war; which Sir George understanding, by the correspondence he had in the island, he by the same means procured Colonel Moddiford, who was one of the most leading men in the place, to enter into a treaty with him, and this negociation succeeded so well, that Moddiford, declared publicly for a peace, and joined with Sir George to bring Lord Willoughby, the Governor, to
reason,
as they phrased it.
Sir George's men were now all on shore, and made up a body of two thousand foot, and an hundred horse, for many deserters had come over to him. If Colonel Moddiford had joined him with his party in attacking them, there was no hope of the Governor's escaping, who having before deserted the Parliament, could expect no mercy from them, if he was taken without a treaty. But perhaps all these considerations would scarcely have prevailed with that generous nobleman to have given up the island, if an accident had not happened, which put most of the gentlemen about him into such confusion, that he could no longer depend upon their advice or assistance. The thing happened thus: his Lordship perceiving his superiority lay chiefly in his horse, resolved to make a brisk push with the body under his immediate command; and having, previous to the execution of his design, called together his officers; while they were sitting in council, a cannon-ball beat open the door of the room, and took off the head of the centinel posted before it, which so frightened all the gentlemen of the island, that they not only compelled the Governor to lay aside his former design, but to retire to a place two miles farther from the harbour. Sir George Ayscue, taking advantage of this unexpected good fortune, immediately ordered all his forces on shore, which consisted, as was said, of two thousand foot, and one hundred horse, to advance under the command of Captain Morrice, as if he intended to have attacked them in their entrenchments, which struck such a terror into some of the principal persons about the Governor, that after mature deliberation on his own circumstances, and their disposition, he began to alter his mind; and thereupon, to avoid the effusion of Christian and English blood, both parties appointed commissaries to treat. Sir George named Captain Peck, Mr. Searl, Colonel Thomas Moddiford, and James Colliton, Esq. the Lord Willoughby, Sir Richard Peers, Charles Pim, Esq. Colonel Ellice, and Major Byham, who on the seventeenth of January agreed on articles of rendition, which were alike comprehensive and honourable. The Lord Willoughby had what he most desired, indemnity and freedom of estate and person, upon which, soon after, he returned to England. The islands of N
vis, Antig
a, and St. Christopher, were, by the same capitulation, surrendered to the Parliament, with a proviso, that Lord Willoughby, Colonel Walrond, and some other persons mentioned in that treaty, were restored to their estates, and the inhabitants were promised, not only indemnity but Protection, in the quiet enjoyment of their plantations, upon condition that they did nothing to the prejudice of the commonwealth. —This treaty being signed, Mr. Searl was appointed Governor of Barbadoes, and Mr. Rynell of Antigua and the Leeward Islands, in virtue of a commission, granted to Sir George Ayscue, for this purpose. The news of the reduction of these islands made such a noise in that part of the world, that Captain Dennis who was detached with a few ships to Virginia, reduced it without much trouble; after which, Sir George considering that he had fully executed his commission, and that his presence was no farther necessary in America, resolved to return with the squadron under his command to England, which he accordingly did, and arriving at Plymouth on the twenty-fifth of May, 1652, was received with all imaginable testimonies of joy and satisfaction by the people there, to whom he was well known before, as his late success also served not a little to raise and heighten his reputation. It was not long after his arrival, before he found himself again obliged to enter upon action; for the Dutch war which broke out in his absence, was then become extremely warm, and he was forced to take a share in it, though his ships were so extremely foul, that they were much fitter to be laid up, than to be employed in any farther service. On the twenty-first of June, 1652, Sir George Ayscue, in obedience to the orders he had received from London, came to Dover, with his eleven sail, and there joined his old friend, Admiral Blake, on board whose ship he dined, and was received with all imaginable marks of respect and kindness, by that famous commander. In the beginning of the next month, Blake having received orders to sail northward, and destroy the Dutch herring fishery, Sir George Ayscue was left to command the fleet in the Downs. Within a few days after Blake's departure, he took five sail of Dutch merchantmen, and had scarcely brought them in, before he received advice, that a fleet of forty sail had been seen not far from the coast, upon which he gave chace, fell in amongst them, took seven, sunk four, and ran twenty-four upon the French shose, all the rest being separated from their convoy, which, considering that Sir George had with him only the squadron he brought from Barbadoes, was very gallantly performed, as Whitelock judiciously informs us. In the account that Sir George gave of this action to the Parliament, he observed, that running Dutch ships upon the French shore, was the same thing as sinking or burning them; for though the French defended them vigorously from the English ships that pursued them, yet they afterwards went aboard the Dutch, and plundered them without mercy. The Dutch Admiral, Van Tromp, who was at sea with a great fleet, having information of the situation that Sir George Ayscue was in, resolved to take advantage of him, and with no less than one hundred sail, clapped in between him and the river, and resolved to surprise such ships as should attempt to go out; or, if that design failed, to go in and sink Sir George and his squadron. The English Admiral soon discovered their intention, and, causing a signal to be made from Dover castle for all ships to keep to sea, he thereby defeated the first part of their project. However, Van Tromp attempted the second part of his scheme, in hopes of better success, and on the eighth of July, when it was ebb, he began to sail towards the English Fleet; but the wind dying away, he was obliged to come to an anchor about a league off, in order to expect the next ebb. Sir George, in the mean time, caused a strong platform to be raised between Deal and Sandown castles, well furnished with artillery, so pointed, as to bear directly upon the Dutch as they came in. The militia of the county of Kent were also ordered down to the sea-shore, to entertain the enemy with their small shot; notwithstanding which preparation, the Dutch Admiral did not recede from his point, but at the next ebb weighed anchor, and would have stood into the port; but the wind coming about south-west, and blowing directly in his teeth, constrained him to keep out, and, being streightened for time, he was obliged to sail away, and leave Sir George safe in the harbour, with the small squadron he commanded. He was soon after ordered to Plymouth, to bring in under his convoy five East-India ships, which he did in the latter end of July; and in the first week of August, brought in four French and Dutch prizes, for which activity and vigilance in his command, he was universally commended. In a few days after this, intelligence was received, that Van Tromp's fleet was seen off the back of the Isle of Wight, and it was thereupon resolved, that Sir George, with his fleet of forty men of war, most of them hired merchantmen, except flag-ships, should stretch over to the coast of France to meet them. Accordingly, on the sixteenth of August, between one and two of the clock at noon, they got sight of the enemy, who quitted their merchantmen, being fifty in number. About four the fight began; the English Admiral, with nine others, charging through their fleet; his ships received most damage in the shrouds, masts, sails, and rigging, which was repaid the Dutch in their hulls. Sir George having thus passed through them, got the weather-gage, and charged them again; but all his fleet not coming up, and the night already entered, they parted with a drawn battle. Captain Peck, the Rear-Admiral, lost his leg, of which, soon after, he died. Several captains were wounded, but no ship lost, only some shattered and torn. Of the Dutch not one was said to be lost, though many were shot through and through, but so that they were able to proceed on their voyage, and anchored the next day after, being followed by the English to the isle of Bassa; but no farther attempt was made by our fleet, by reason, as it was pretended, of the danger of the French coasts; from whence they returned to Plymouth-Sound, to mend and repair their rigging. The truth of the matter was, some of Sir George's Captains were a little bashful in this affair, and the fleet was in so indifferent a condition, that it was absolutely necessary to refit, before they proceeded again to action. He proceeded next to join Blake in the Northern Seas, where he continued during the best part of the month of September, and took several prizes; and, towards the latter end of that month, Sir George returned with General Blake into the Downs, with one hundred and twenty sail of men of war. On the twenty-seventh of that month a great Dutch fleet appeared, after which Blake with his fleet sailed, and Sir George Ayscue, pursuant to the orders he had received, returned to Chatham with his own ship, and sent the rest of his squadron into several ports to be careened. It does not appear that parliament openly expressed any dislike, or distaste, at Sir George's behaviour upon his coming home, but, on the contrary, shewed him all the regard and respect imaginable, though he had some friends who informed him, that this was in appearance only; since they could not help expressing a dislike to the terms he had granted to Lord Willoughby at Barbadoes, which they considered as the second part of Sir John Grenville's busness, for which they had been so angry both with him and Blake. All this, however, Sir George bore without any visible signs of discontent, professing that he had done what he took to be his duty, and would continue to do so, as long as he commanded in the English fleet, without troubling himself about the humours of particular men, whom, after all his endeavours, he might find it impossible to please. But, while these jealousies and heart-burnings subsisted on both sides, an occasion offered which enabled all parties to satisfy themselves. It so fell out, that towards the end of November, 1652, the famous General Blake lying at the mouth of our river, began to think that the season of the year left no room to expect farther action, for which reason he detached twenty of his ships to bring up a fleet of colliers from Newcastle, twelve more he had sent to Plymouth, and our Admiral, as is before observed, with fifteen sail, had proceeded up the river in order to their being careened. Such was the situation of things, when Van Tromp appeared with a fleet of eighty-five sail. Upon this Blake sent for the most experienced officers on board his own ship, where, after a long consultation, it was agreed, that he should wait for, and fight the enemy, though he had but thirty-seven sail of men of war, and a few small ships. Accordingly, on the twenty-ninth of November a general engagement ensued, which lasted with great fury from one in the afternoon till it was dark. Blake in the Triumph, with his seconds, the Victory and the Vanguard, engaged, for a considerable time, near twenty sail of Dutch men of war, and they were in the utmost danger of being oppressed and destroyed by so unequal a force. This, however, did not hinder Blake forcing his way into a throng of enemies, to relieve the Garland and Bonadventure, in doing which he was attacked by many of their stoutest ships, which likewise boarded him; but after several times beating them off, he at last found an opportunity to rejoin his fleet. The loss sustained by the English consisted in five ships, either taken or sunk, and several others disabled. The Dutch confess, that one of their men of war was burnt towards the latter end of the fight, and the Captain and most of his men drowned, and also that the ships of Tromp and Evertson were much disabled. At last, night having parted the two fleets, Blake supposing he had sufficiently secured the nation's honour and his own, by waiting the attack of an enemy so much superior, and seeing no prospect of advantage by renewing the fight, retired up the river; but Sir George Ayscue, who inclined to the bolder, but less prudent counsel, was so disgusted at this retreat, that he laid down his commission. The services this great man had rendered to his country, were none of them more acceptable to the Parliament than this act of laying down his command. They had long wished, and waited, for an opportunity of dismissing him from their service, and were therefore extremely pleased that he had saved them this trouble: however, to shew their gratitude for past services, and to prevent his falling into absolute discontent, they voted him a present of three hundred pounds in money, and likewise bestowed upon him three hundred pounds
per annum
in Ireland. There is good reason to believe, that Cromwell and his faction were a well pleased with this gentleman's quitting the sea-service: for, as they were then meditating, what they soon afterwards put in execution, the turning the parliament out of doors, it could not but be agreeable to them, to see an officer who had so great credit in the navy, and who was so generally esteemed by the nation, laid aside in such a manner, both as it gave them an opportunity of insinuating the ingratitude of that assembly to so worthy a person, and as it freed them from the apprehension of his disturbing their measures, in case he had continued in the fleet; which is highly probable might have come to pass, considering that Blake was far enough from being of their party, and only submitted to serve the Protector, because he saw no other way left to serve his country, and did not think he had interest sufficient to preserve the fleet, after the defection of the army, which perhaps might have been the case, if Sir George Ayscue had continued in his command. This is so much the more probable, as it is very certain he never entered into the Protector's service, or shewed himself at all willing to concur in his measures; though there is no doubt that Cromwell would have been extremely glad of so experienced an officer in his Spanish war. He retired after this to his country seat in the county of Surrey, and lived there in great honour and splendour, visiting, and being visited, by persons of the greatest distinction, both natives and foreigners, and passing in the general opinion of both, for one of the ablest sea-captains of that age. Yet there is some reason to believe that he had a particular correspondence with the Protector's second son, Henry; since there is still a letter in being from him to Secretary Thurloe, which shews that he had very just notions of the worth of this gentleman, and of the expediency of consulting him in all such matters as had a relation to maritime power. The Protector, towards the latter end of his life, began to grow dissatisfied with the Dutch, the rather, because of the share they had taken in the affairs of the North, where they had espoused the cause of the King of Denmark to a degree of partiality, and were projecting the total suppression of the Swedish power. This did not by any means agree with the Protector's plan in regard to foreign affairs, and as it was not in his nature to bear with any disappointment in his views, so he resolved to destroy this system of the Dutch, and yet without entering immediately into a war with them. It was with this view, that he encouraged the Swedes to cultivate, with the utmost diligence, a maritime force, promising in due time to assist them with a sufficient number of able and experienced officers, and with an Admiral to command them, who, in point of reputation, was not inferior to any then living. It was upon this occasion, and for this service, that he cast his eyes upon Sir George Ayscue; but not caring to deal directly with a man who had declined acting under his government, and had never frequented his court, he resolved that the proposition should be made him by the Swedish Ambassador, and sent the Lord Keeper, Whitelock, to introduce him to the Admiral, at his country-seat. This interview had its effect: Sir George Ayscue from that time began to entertain favourable thoughts of the design, and brought himself by degrees to approve of the proposition that was made to him, so far as to think, at least, not only of quitting the retreat he had chosen, but even of accepting the offer made him, and of going over for that purpose to Sweden. But as great undertakings move slowly, and there is much time necessary for ripening such vast projects into execution; so we find that Sir George Ayscue had not brought himself to an absolute compliance in reference to this design, before the death of the Protector. Yet that did not hinder his closing at last with the proposals made him from Sweden, and putting every thing in order for his journey, towards the latter end of the year 1658. But as such a design as this was could not be put in execution without making some stir, and thereby raising public discourse about it; so this had such an effect upon the Danish minister then residing here, that he could not forbear writing to Mr. Secretary Thurloe, in pretty strong terms upon the occasion, insinuating, at the same time, some general reflections on the character of Sr George Ayscue. This, however, had no effect, either in procuring an interposition from the State to prevent Sir George from prosecuting his design, or in obliging him to alter his resolution. On the contrary, as soon as he had seen the officers embarked, and had dispatched some private business of his own, he prosecuted his voyage, though in the very depth of winter. This exposed him to great hardships, which, however, he endured with much constancy; and, on his arrival in Sweden, he was received with all imaginable demonstrations of civility and respect by the King, who was extremely well pleased with his coming, and might very probably have made good his promise, of promoting him to the rank of High-Admiral of Sweden, if he had not been taken off by an unexpected death. This put an end to his hopes in that country, and disposed Sir George Ayscue to return home, where a great change had been working in his absence, which was that of restoring King Charles II. It does not at all appear, that Sir George had any concern in this great affair; but the contrary may be rather presumed, from his former attachment to parliament, and his making it his choice to have remained in Sweden, if the death of the Monarch, who invited him thither, had not prevented him. On his return, however, he not only submitted to the government then established, but gave the strongest assurances to the administration, that he should be at all times ready to serve the Public, if ever there should be occasion; which was very kindly taken, and Sir George Ayscue had the honour to be introduced to his Majesty, and to kiss his hand. It was not long before he was called to the performance of his promise; for the Dutch war breaking out in 1664, he was immediately put into commission by the direction of the Duke of York, who then commanded the English fleet. In the spring of the year 1665, Sir George Ayscue hoisted his flag as Rear-Admiral of the Blue, under the Right Honourable the Earl of Sandwich, and in the great battle that was fought the third of June in the same year, that squadron had the honour to break through the Dutch fleet, and thereby made way for one of the most glorious victories ever obtained by this nation at sea: For, in this battle, the Dutch had ten of their largest ships sunk or burned, besides their Admiral Opdam's, which blew up in the midst of the engagement, by which the Admiral himself, and upwards of five hundred men perished. Eighteen men of war were taken, four fire-ships destroyed, thirteen Captains, and two thousand and fifty private men, made prisoners; and this with so inconsiderable a loss, as that of one ship only, and three hundred private men. As there was some time requisite for refitting and repairing the English navy, after so warm an action, the Duke of York, who commanded the fleet in that engagement, returned to London; but not till the king had visited the navy, where, going on board the Royal Charles, at the Buoy of the Nore, he knighted several of the officers who had distinguished themselves in the late battle, and made a grand naval promotion. The fleet being again in a condition to put to sea, was ordered to rendezvous at Southwold-Bay, from whence, to the number of sixty sail, they weighed on the fifth of July, and flood over to the coast of Holland. The standard was borne by the gallant Earl of Sandwich, to whom was Vice-Admiral Sir George Ayscue, and Sir Thomas Tyddiman Rear-Admiral; Sir William Penn was Admiral of the White, Sir William Berkley Vice-Admiral, and Sir Joseph Jordan Rear-Admiral. The Blue flag was carried by Sir Thomas Allen, whose Vice and Rear, were Sir Christopher Mimms, and Sir John Harman. The design they went on was, to intercept de Ruyter in his return, or, at least, to take and burn the Turkey and East-India fleets, of which they had certain intelligence. They succeeded in neither of these schemes; de Ruyter returned unexpectedly by the north of Scotland, and arrived safely in Holland, where he was immediate
y promoted to the chief command of the fleet. The Turkey and India fleets, consisting of twenty sail, under the command of Commodore Bitter, chose to take the same northern route, in hopes of avoiding the English navy; but having intelligence at sea, that this would prove very difficult, if not impossible, they took shelter in the port of Bergen in Norway. The Earl of Sandwich having detached Sir Thomas Tyddiman to attack them there, returned home, and had the good luck to take eight Dutch men of war, which served as convoys to their East and West India fleets, and several merchantmen richly laden, which finished the triumph of that year. The plain superiority of the English over the Dutch at sea, engaged the French, in order to keep up the war between the maritime powers, and make them do their business by destroying each other, to declare on the side of the weakest, as did the King of Denmark also, which, nevertheless, had no effect upon the English, who determined to carry on the war against the allies, with the same spirit they had done against the Dutch alone. In the spring, therefore, of the year 1666, the fleet was very early at sea, under the command of the joint Admirals; for a resolution having been taken at Court, not to expose the person of the Duke of York any more, and the Earl of Sandwich being then in Spain, in the character of Ambassador-Extraordinary, Prince Rupert, and old General Monk, now duke of Albermarle, were appointed to command the fleet; having under them as gallant and prudent officers as ever distinguished themselves in the English navy, and, amongst these, Sir William Berkley commanded the Blue, and Sir George Ayscue the White squadron. Prince Rupert, and the Duke of Albemarle, went on board the fleet the twenty-third of April, 1666, and sailed in the beginning of May. Towards the latter end of that month, the Court was informed, that the French fleet, under the command of the Duke of Beaufort, were coming out to the assistance of the Dutch. This rumour of their joining the Dutch was spread by France, in order to deceive us, and distress the Dutch; themselves, in reality, having no such intention. Upon the receiving this news, the Court sent orders to Prince Rupert to sail with the White squadron, the Admirals excepted, to look out and fight the French; which command that brave prince obeyed; but found it what many wise people thought, a mere groundless bravado, intended to raise the courage of their new allies, and thereby bring them into the greater danger. At the same time Prince Rupert sailed from the Downs, the Dutch put out to sea, the wind at north-east, and a fresh gale. This brought the Dutch fleet on the coast of Dunkirk, and carried his highness towards the Isle of Wight; but the wind suddenly shifting to the south-west, and blowing hard, brought the Dutch and the Duke to an anchor. Captain Bacon, in the Bristol, first discovered the enemy, and, by firing his guns, gave notice of it to the English fleet. Upon this a council of war was called, wherein it was resolved to fight the enemy, notwithstanding their great superiority. After the departure of prince Rupert, the Duke had with him only the Red and Blue squadrons, making about sixty sail, whereas the Dutch fleet consisted of ninety-one men of war, carrying 4716 guns, and 22,460 men. It was the first of June when they were discerned, and the Duke was so warm for engaging, that he attacked the enemy before they had time to weigh anchor, and, as de Ruyter himself says in his letter, they were obliged to cut their cables; and in the same letter he owns, that to the last the English were the aggressors, notwithstanding their inferiority and other disadvantages. This day's fight was very fierce and bloody; for the Dutch, confiding in their numbers, pressed furiously upon the English fleet, while the English officers, being men of determined resolution, fought with such courage and constancy, that they not only repulsed the Dutch, but renewed the attack, and forced the enemy to maintain the fight longer than they were inclined to do, so that it was ten in the evening before their cannon were silent. The following night was spent in repairing the damages suffered on both sides, and next morning the fight was renewed by the English with fresh vigour. Admiral Van Tromp, with Vice-Admiral Vander Hulst, being on board one ship, rashly engaged among the English, and were in the utmost danger, either of being taken or burnt. The Dutch affairs, according to their own account, were now in a desperate condition; but Admiral de Ruyter at last disengaged them, though not till his ship was disabled, and Vice-Admiral Vander Hulst killed. This only changed the scene; for de Ruyter was now as hard pushed as Van Tromp had been before; however, a reinforcement arriving, preserved him also, and so the second day's fight ended earlier than the first. The Duke, finding that the Dutch had received a reinforcement, and that his small fleet, on the contrary, was much weakened, through the damages sustained by some, and the loss and absence of others of his ships, took, towards the evening, the resolution to retire, and endeavour to join Prince Rupert, who was coming to his assistance. The retreat was performed in good order, twenty-six or twenty-eight men of war who had suffered least, brought up the rear, interposing between the enemy and the disabled ships, three of which, being ve
y much shattered, were burnt by the English themselves, and the men taken on board the other ships. The Dutch fleet followed, but at a distance. As they thus sailed on, it happened on the the third day that Sir George Ayscue, Admiral of the White, who commanded the Royal Prince (being the largest and heaviest ship of the whole fleet) unfortunately struck upon the sand called the Galloper, where, being threatened by the enemy's fire-ships, and hopeless of assistance from his friends (whose timely return, the near approach of the enemy, and the tide, had absolutely rendered impossible), he was forced to surrender. This was that famous engagement, which did equal honour to both the maritime powers, and in which both their officers and seamen are allowed to have performed as great things as were ever attempted on the watery element. Yet our historians have given very imperfect accounts of it, even those who ought to have made it their business to be more particularly acquainted with this transaction; so that, if we would learn any particulars relating to it, we must look for them in the works of strangers, and even of enemies, who, in this respect, have been both juster and kinder than the authors either of our general or naval histories. The Dutch Admiral, de Ruyter, in his letter to the States-General, says, in few words, That Sir George Ayscue, Admiral of the White, having run upon a sand bank, fell into their hands, and that after taking out the commanders and men that were left, they set the ship on fire. But the large relation, collected by order of the States, out of all the letters written to them upon that occasion, informs us, That Sir George Ayscue, in the Royal Prince, ran upon the Galloper, an unhappy accident, says that relation, for an officer who had behaved very gallantly gallantly during the whole engagement, and who only retired in obedience to the admiral's orders. The unfortunate Admiral made signals for assistance; but the English fleet continued their route; so that he was left quite alone, and without hope of succour; in which situation he was attacked by two Dutch fire-ships, by which, without doubt, he had been burnt, if Lieutenant-Admiral Tromp, who was on board the ship of Rear Admiral Sweers, had not made a signal to call off the fire-ships, perceiving that his flag was already struck, and a signal made for quarter; upon which Rear-Admiral Sweers, by order of Tromp, went on board the English ship, and brought off Sir George Ayscue, his officers, and some of his men, on board his own vessel, and the next morning Sir George was sent to the Dutch coast, in order to go to the Hague in a galliot, by order of General de Ruyter. The English ship was afterwards got off the sands, notwithstanding which, General de Ruyter ordered the rest of the crew to be taken out, and the vessel set on fire, that his fleet might be the less embarrassed; which was accordingly done. But in tie French relation, published by order of court, we have another circumstance which the Dutch have thought fit to omit, and it is this, That the crew gave up the ship against the Admiral's will, who had given orders for setting her on fire. There were some circumstances which made the loss of this ship, in this manner, very disagreeable to the English court, and perhaps this may be the reason that so little is said of it in our own relations. In all probability, General de Ruyter took this opportunity of sending Sir George Ayscue to the Dutch coast the next morning, from an apprehension that he might be retaken in the next day's fight. On his arrival at the Hague, he was very civilly treated; but to raise the spirits of their people, and to make the most of this dubious kind of victory, the States ordered Sir George to be carried, as it were in triumph, through the several towns of Holland, and then confined him in the castle of Louvestein, so famous in the Dutch histories for having been the prison of some of their most eminent patriots, and from whence the party, that opposed the Prince of Orange, were styled the Louvestein faction. As soon as Sir George Ayscue came to this castle, he wrote a letter to king Charles II. to acquaint him with the condition he was in. How long he remained there, or whether he continued a prisoner to the end of the war, is what we cannot determine from any lights that we have been able to procure; but it is said that he afterwards returned to England, and spent the remainder of his days in peace. It is a thing greatly to be regretted, that so little care has been taken, to do justice to the memories of so many great men as have served this nation, some at the expence of their lives, and others of their liberties. Their virtues surely deserve a better reward, and it is to be hoped, that the pains we have taken in this collection, will render the doing justice to such great and good men, so visibly necessary, that succeding generations will have no reason to make this complaint.
It is with a view to this, that even where we cannot render our memoirs of such illustrious persons so complete as we could wish, we labour with the utmost diligence to make them as perfect as we can, which observation will be sufficient to excuse us to our readers, for concluding this article somewhat abruptly, since it is done merely through want of materials, and not of inclination.
AYSSERIUS, or ASSERIUS (MENEVENSIS), by some called ASSER, by others ASKER, a learned Monk of St. David's, concerning whom, though much has been said, yet we find very little has been written with certainty, rather, as we apprehend, for want of considering the matter thoroughly, than from any want of materials, or from any real obscurity in which his story is involved. We shall, therefore, give as clear and distinct an account of him as may be, and remove most of the difficulties which have been hitherto thought too obscure in his history. He was of British extraction, probably of that part of South Wales called Pembrokeshire, and was bred up in the learning of those times, in the Monastery of St. David's (in Latin Menevia), whence he derived hit surname of Menevensis. There he is said to have had for his tutor Johannes Patricius, one of the most celebrated scholars of his age. Here he had also the countenance of Nobis, or Novis, Archbishop of that see, who was also his relation; but it does not appear that he was either his Secretary or his Chancellor, as some writers would have us believe. From St. David's he was invited to the Court of Aelfred the Great, merely from the reputation of his learning. This seems to have been about the year 880, or somewhat earlier. Those who had the charge of bringing him to Court, conducted him from St. David's to the town of Dene (Dean) in Wiltshire, where the King then was. He received him with great civility, and shewed him in a little time the strongest marks of favour and affection, insomuch that he condescended to persuade him not to think any more of returning to St. David's, but rather to continue with him as his Domestic Chaplain and assistant in his studies. Asserius, however, modestly declined this proposal, alleging, that it did not become him to desert that holy place where he had been educated, and received the order of Priesthood, for the sake of any preferment he could meet with elsewhere. King Aelfred then desired, that he would divide his time between the Court and the Monastery, that is to say, that he would spend six months at Court, and six at St. David's. Asserius would not lightly comply even with this request, but desired the King's leave to return to St. David's, to ask the advice of his brethren, which he obtained; but in his journey falling ill at Winchester of a fever, he lay there sick twelve months and a week, till the king, wondering at his long stay, wrote him letters, requiring his return to Court. But it seems he was too weak to ride, of which when King Aelfred was informed by his letter, he desisted from his request. As soon as he recovered, Asserius made a journey to St. David's, where, consulting with his brethren on the King's proposal, they unanimously agreed that he should accept it, promising themselves great advantages from his favour with the King, of which, at that time, it seems they had great need; one Hemeid, a petty Prince of South Wales, making them exceedingly uneasy, and sometimes compelling their Archbishop to quit the place of his residence. But, at the same time, they requested of Asserius, that he would prevail on the King to allow him to reside quarterly at Court and at St. Davids', rather than that he should remain absent six months at a time. When he came back he found the King at Leoneforde, who received him with great marks of distinction. He remained with him then eight months at once, reading and explaining to him whatever books were in his library, whereby he grew into so great credit with that generous Prince, that on Christmas-eve following, he gave him the monasteries of Amgresbyri, and Banuwille, that is, Ambrosbury in Wiltshire, and Banwell in Somersetshire, with a silk pall of great value, and as much incense as a man could carry, sending together with them this compliment,
That these were but small things, and by way of earnest of better that should follow them.
And, indeed, soon after, Asserius tells us, he had Exeter bestowed upon him, and not long after that, the bishopric of Sherburn, which, however, he seems to have quitted in 883, though he always retained the title, as Wilfred Archbishop of York was constantly so styled, though he accepted of another bishopric. Thenceforward he constantly attended the Court, in the manner before stipulated, and is named as a person, in whom he had a particular confidence, by King Aelfred in his Testament, which must have been written some time before the year 885; since mention is made therein of Esna, bishop of Hereford, who died that year. He is also mentioned by the King, in his prefatory epistle placed before his translation of Gregory's Pastoral, addressed to Wulffig, bishop of London; and therein the King does not call him bishop of Sherburn, but my bishop, acknowledging the help received from him and others in that translation. For, as we learn, both from the King and from Asserius himself, the method used by that Prince, in translating, was this: he had the sense of his author given him by one or other of the many learned men he had about him, and then he digested it into an easy flowing style (in which he had a peculiar excellency,) that men might thereby be invited to reading; for Aelfred did not translate as an author, to get reputation, but as a Prince, to promote the public good; neither did he design that the books which he published should pass for exact translations, but for good and useful treatises, from which such as understood none but their mother tongue, might reap profit and instruction. It seems to have been the near resemblance, which the genius of Asserius bore to that of the King, which gained him so great a share in his confidence; and very probably it was on this account, that Asserius drew up those memoirs o
the life of Aelfred which we still have, and which he dedicated and presented to the King in 893. In which work we have a very remarkable account of the manner wherein that Prince and our autho
spent their time together. Asserius tells us, that having one day being the feast of St. Martin, cited in conversation a passage of som
famous author, the King was mightily pleased therewith, and woul
have him write it down in the margin of a book he carried in hi
breast; but Asserius, finding no room to write any such thing there and yet being desirous to gratify his master, he asked King Aelfred whether he should not provide a few leaves, in which to set down such remarkable things, as occurred either in reading or conversation: the King was extremely pleased with this hint, and directed Asserius to put it immediately into execution, which he accordingly did. Pursuing this method constantly, their collection began to swell, till at length it became of the size of an ordinary
Psalter
; and this was what the King called his
Hand-book
or
Manual.
Asserius, however, calls it Enchiridion. In all probability Asserius continued at court during the whole reign of Aelfred, and, for aught we know, several years after: but where, or when he died, was matter of dispute, though the Saxon Chronicle positively fixes it to the year 910, to which, we think, no just objection can be made. The reader will observe, that we take Asser the Monk, and Asser bishop of Sherburn, for one and the same person, which some, however, have denied: yet we go farther still, and assert him to have been also Archbishop of St. David's. We do indeed admit, that if there was such a reader in the public schools at Oxford as Asser the Monk, he must have been some other person of the same name, and not our author: but we do not think this point so clearly made out, as to deserve much dispute about it, since it rests almost wholly on the authority of Harpsfield; for, though he cites the Annals of Winchester, yet we find no such thing in the annals that we have, nor is the account consistent with itself in several other respects besides this of Asser, as Sir John Spelman has justly observed. There is no less controversy about the works of Asserius, than about his preferments: for some allege that he never wrote any thing but the Annals of King Aelfred; whereas, Pits gives us the idea of no less than five other books of his writing, and adds, that he wrote many more. The first of these is a
Commentary on Boëtius,
which is mentioned by Leland, on the authority of the Chronicle of St. Neot's: the truth is, he explained this author to King Aelfred when he made his Saxon translation, whence the censure passed upon it, that though it was a work of great use in those times, yet it was, in a manner, ridiculous in in ours: the same thing may be said of any literal version. The second thing mentioned by Pits, is the annals of Aelfred's life and reign. The third he styles
Annales Britanniae,
or the
Annals of Britain,
in one book, mentioned also by Leland and Bale, and which hath been since published by the learned Dr. Gale, who inclined to think it genuine, which is certainly more than it deserved. The fourth piece, he calls
Aurearum Sententiarum Enchiridion, lib.
1. id est,
An Enchiridion of Golden Sayings, in one Book,
which is without question the
Manual
or
Common-Place-Book
made for King Aelfred, and reckoned among his works by this very Pits: It must be owned that Leland had also spoken of this Enchiridion, but more accurately, and in a manner becoming so great a writer; for he speaks of it as an instance of the learning and diligence of Asser, which it certainly was: and though the collections he made concerning this author, are much better and larger than those of Bale and Pits, yet he modestly, upon this subject, apologizes for speaking so little and so obscurely of so great a man. The next in Pits' catalogue, is a
Book
of
Homilies,
and the last, a
Book
of
Epistles:
he took it for granted, that Asser being a bishop, preached sometimes, and that having so many friends, he must needs write letters, which is all the foundation that can be in nature for these two volumes, no ancient author saying a word of them. Of the like stamp is Bishop Godwin's account, of his being buried in his cathedral church of Sherburn, which is mere guess-work, founded on his being bishop there; and, with equal probability, we might say he was buried at St. Davids, though there is not any authority for either. Thus we conclude the article of this most excellent person, who was, without question, one of the most pious, most learned, and, withal, one of the most modest Prelates of the age in which he lived.
ASSHETON (William) doctor of divinity, was the son of Mr. Assheton, rector of Middleton in Lancashire, and descended of the ancient family of the baronets of his name in that county. He was born in the year 1641, and being instructed in grammar-learning at a private country-school, was removed to Brazen Nose college at Oxford, July 3, 1658: and elected a fellow of his college in 1663. After taking both his degrees in arts, he went into orders, became chaplain to the duke of Ormond, chancellor of that university; and was admitted doctor in divinity in January, 1673. In the following month he was nominated to the prebend of Knaresburgh, in the church of York; and whilst he attended his patron in London, obtained the living of St Antholin. In 1676, by the duke's interest with the family of St. John's, he was presented to the rectory of Beckenham, in Kent; and was often unanimously chosen proctor for Rochester in convocation.
He was the projector of a scheme for providing a maintenance for clergymen's widows and others, by a jointure payable by the Mercers' Company. The bringing this project to perfection, took up his thoughts for many years; for, though encouraged by many judicious persons to prosecute it, he found much difculty in providing such a fund as might be a proper security to the subscribers. He first addressed himself to the Corporation of the clergy, who declared they were not in a capacity to accept the proposal. Meettng with no better success in his next application to the Royal Bank of England, the doctor applied himself to the Mercers Company, who agreed with him upon certain rules and orders, of which the following are the chief; That the company will not take in subscriptions beyond the sum of one hundred thousand pounds; that all married men of the age of thirty, or under, may subscribe any sum not exceeding one thousand pounds; that all married men not exceeding the age of forty, may subscribe any sum not exceeding five hundred pounds; and that all married men not exceeding the age of sixty years, may subscribe any sum not exceeding three hundred pounds; and that the widows of all persons subscribing according to these limitations, shall receive the benefit of thirty pounds per cent. per ann. free of all taxes and charges, at the two usual feasts of Lady-day and Michaelmas; and that the first of these payments shall be made at the first of the said feast-days, which shall happen four months or more after the decease of the subscriber; excepting such as voluntarily make away with themselves, or by any act of their's occasion their own death, either by duelling or committing any other crime: in any or either of those cases, the widow receives no annuity; but upon delivering up the company's bond, to have the subscription-money returned to them: That no sea-faring man may subscribe; nor others, that go farther than Holland, Ireland, or the coasts of England; and that any person may subscribe for others, whom he shall nominate in his last will, during the natural life of his wife, if she survive, and his intention to be declared in his subscription.
Dr. Assheton wrote several pieces against the papists and dissenters, and some practical and devotional tracts. A few years before his death, he was offered the headship of his college, which he declined. He died at Beckenham, in 1711, in the seventieth year of his age. To give his character, as drawn by the writer of his life, "He was very regular and assiduous in private devotion, meditation, and reading . . . . History and philosophy, he justly used as the proper handmaids to divinity, which was his business and delight . . . . He readily subscribed to all critical, learned and laborious works, by which means he completed one of the best libraries any clergyman can desire, laying out at least ten pounds per annum to improve and increase his first stock of books. Those of devotion were intermixed, or at hand, to begin and end with . . . . He preached twice every Sunday, to keep the people from straggling, and engage them to frequent the church: otherwise he knew, and lamented, that we have but too much preaching in the nation. Finding, at length, his labour too great for him, yet, rather than lessen it, (though in a small parish) he determined to keep an assistant; to whom he committed the catechising part, in his declining age, allowing him five shillings per Sunday over and above thirty pounds per annum, and the benefit of his table all church days, &c. with several gifts and advantages that made up the whole fifty pounds per annum . . . . He watched diligently over his flock, and would suffer none to perish for want of admonition or reproof, as well in the spirit of meekness as with all authority. Though he never sued, cited, or prosecuted the most injurious and obstinate offenders, yet he rebuked and avoided the unruly, and kept the impertinently censorious and perverse at a due distance. He so much the more deserved of his parish, as he was more generous and charitable among them, than just to himself, in disregarding often his small tythes and perquisites, taking quietly what some left him, and helping all; wherein, to make all just and easy too, he tried all possible fair ways, without contention, by letting out the whole, and letting every man his part; and, at last, taking all in kind, when they would not come near the value. He kept up the true moderate English hospitality, genteelly managed by an excellent virgin-sister, (who lived and died with him while he remained single) and some few years after by a truly virtuous wife, though sickly, for whom he set up his coach, being most tender of her, and sorrowful at her death. As he was a most affectionate, tender husband and brother, so he was a just, indulgent master, and had, generally, careful and honest servants, whom he took pains to make religious, peaceable, and sober. He daily observed the good old religious way of family-devotion. He sometimes used extempore sermons (having a body of divinity in his head) until he was disturbed and put into a consternation with his congregation, by a woman swooning away in the church, who was soon carried out and the people became silent; yet he could not recover his subject, or recollect any thing he had said before, which obliged him to make an apology, and come down. Though easy of access, and courteous and affable, he distinguished persons, times, and places▪ His table-talk was both delightful and improving; he diverted sad stories, and decried false ones: he would not willingly know a wicked person, nor suffer a liar or tale-bearer in his fight. He never looked so frowning, as when a certain gentleman was backbiting another and telling him a scandalous story; he started up, and with emotion asked him, if he could face the absent? which soon confounded th
whisperer.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.