AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF
John Philip Barretier,
Who was Master of Five LANGUAGES at the Age of Nine YEARS.
Compiled from his Father's LETTERS,
&c.
LONDON:
Printed for
J. Roberts
in
Warwick-lane.
1744. [Price Sixpence.]
(Just Published,)
AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF Mr RICHARD SAVAGE, Son of the Earl RIVERS.
From the
CHAMPION, February 21.
This Pamphlet is, without Flattery to its Author, as just and well written a Piece, as, of its King, I ever saw; so that at the same Time that it highly deserves, it certainly stands very little in need of this Recommendation.—As to the History of the unfortunate Person who
e Memoirs compose this Work, it is certainly penned with equal Accuracy and Spirit, of which I am so much the better Judge, as I know many of the Facts mentioned in it to be strictly true, and very fairly related. Besides, it is not only the Story of Mr
Savage,
but innumerable Incidents relating to other Persons and other Affairs, which render this a very amusing, and withal, a very instructive and valuable Performance.—The Author's Observations are short, significant, and just, as his Narrative is remarkably smooth, and well disposed. His Reflections open to us all the Recesses of the human Heart, and in a Word, a more just or pleasant, a more engaging or a more improving Treatise on the Excellencies and Defects of human Nature, is scarce to be found in our own, or perhaps in any other Language.
LONDON:
Printed for
J. Roberts
in
Warwick-lane.
1744.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF
JOHN PHILIP BARRETIER,
Compiled from his Father's LETTERS,
&c.
J OHN PHILIP BARRETIER
was born at
Schwabach, Jan.
19, 1720-21.
His Father was
Francis Barretier,
Pastor of the
Calvinist
Church of that Place, who took upon himself the Care of his Education, for which he formed a Scheme, that seems to be sufficiently vindicated by its Success from the Censures to which new Attempts are generally exposed, and therefore requires a very particular Account; for if M.
Le Fevre
thought the Method in which he taught his Children, worthy to be communicated to the learned World, how justly may M.
Barretier
claim the universal Attention of Mankind to this new Scheme that has produced such a stupendous Progress! The Authors, who have endeavoured to teach Rules for obtaining a long Life, however they have failed in their Attempts, are universally confessed to have, at least, the Merit of a great and noble Design, and to have deserved Gratitude and Honour. How much more then is due to M.
Barretier,
who has succeeded in what they have only attempted? For to prolong Life, and improve it, are nearly the same. If to have all that Riches can purchase is to be rich, to do all that can be done in a long Time, is to live long, and he is equally a Benefactor to Mankind, who teaches them to protract the Duration, or shorten the Business of Life.
That there are therefore few Things more worthy our Curiosity than this Method, by which the Father assisted the Genius of the Son, every Man will be convinced, who shall hear the early Proficiency at which it enabled him to arrive, such as no one has yet reached at the same Age, and to which it is therefore probable that every advantageous Circumstance concurred.
French,
which was the native Language of his Mother, was that which he learned first, mixed, by living in
Germany,
with some Words of the Language of the Country. After some Time his Father took Care to introduce, in his Conversation with him, some Words of
Latin,
in such a Manner that he might discover the Meaning of them by the Connexion of the Sentence, or the Occasion on which they were used, without observing, that he had any Intention of instructing him, or that any new Attainment was proposed.
By this Method of Conversation, in which new Words were every Day introduced, when his Ear had been somewhat accustomed to the Inflections and Variations of the
Latin
Tongue, he began to attempt to speak like his Father, and was in a short Time drawn on by imperceptible Degrees to speak
Latin,
intermixed with any other Language.
Thus, when he was but four Years old, he spoke, every Day,
French
to his Mother,
Latin
to his Father, and
High Dutch
to the Maid, without any Perplexity to himself, or any Confusion of one Language with another.
While he was thus learning Languages without Study, and almost without perceiving that he was learning, his Father took care to teach him to read and write, of which he perform'd one without Books, and the other without Paper; but by what Methods we are not informed. It is indeed easy to conceive many that might be used, nor does it seem, with respect to the Art of Writing, of any Importance, whether he made his first Essays with Paper, or any other Materials, as the Operation must be nearly the same. These Methods, whatever they were, succeeded so well, that he was able to read currently at the Age of three Years, and soon after was taught to write.
When he had thus learned to read, his Father put some Books into his Hands, chiefly such as were filled with Pictures accompanied with Explanations. With these the young Student was wonderfully delighted, when he perceived, says the Author of his Life, that they talked and reasoned like himself, and from that Time might be dated his wonderful Fondness for Books which became greater every Day.
The other Languages of which he was Master, he learned by a Method yet more uncommon. The only Book that he made use of was the Bible, which his Father laid before him in the Language he then proposed to learn, accompanied with a Translation, being taught by Degrees the Inflections of Nouns and Verbs. This Method, says his Father, made the
Latin
more familiar to him in his fourth Year than any other Language.
When he was near the End of his sixth Year, he entered upon the Study of the Old Testament in its original Language, beginning with the Book of
Genesis,
to which his Father confined him for six Months, after which he read cursorily over the rest of the Historical Books in which he found very little Difficulty, and then applied himself to the Study of the poetical Writers, and the Prophets, which he read over so often, with so close an Attention, and so happy a Memory, that he could not only translate them without a Moment's Hesitation into
Latin
or
French,
but turn, with the same Facility, the Translations into the original Language in his tenth Year.
When he was only eight Years old, he could repeat not only all the Psalms in
Hebrew,
but all that Collection of Texts which
Henricus Opitius
has published under the Title of
Biblia Parva;
this Collection he transcribed, and added to it a new Translation. He drew up likewise in 400 Pages in
Quarto,
a Dictionary of the most rare and difficult Words of the
Hebrew
Language, in which be interspersed a great Number of curious Remarks and critical Observations.
Having now gained such a Degree of Skill in the
Hebrew
Language as to be able to compose in it both in Prose and Verse, he was extremely desirous of reading the
Rabbins;
and having borrowed of the neighbouring Clergy, and the Jews of
Schwabach,
all the Books with which they could supply him, he prevailed on his Father to buy him the great
Rabinical
Bible, published at
Amsterdam
in 4
Tomes,
Folio, 1728, and read it with that Accuracy and Attention which appears by the Account of it written by him to his Favourite M.
Le Maitre,
inserted in the Beginning of the 26th Volume of the
Bibliotheque Germanique.
These Writers were read by him, as other young Persons peruse Romances or Novels, only from a puerile Desire of Amusement; for he had so little Veneration for them, even while he studied them with most Eagerness, that he often diverted his Parents with recounting their Fables and Chimeras.
At the Age of nine Years, he not only was Master of five Languages, an Attainment in itself almost incredible, but understood, says his
In a Letter which was communicated to the Author of this Account.
Father, the holy Writers, better in their original Tongues, than in his own. If he means by this Assertion, that he knew the Sense of many Passages in the Original, which were obscure in the Translation, the Account, however wonderful, may be admitted; but if he intends to tell his Correspondent, that his Son was better acquainted with the two Languages of the Bible, than with his own, he must be supposed to speak hyperbolically, or to admit that his Son had somewhat neglected the Study of his native Language: Or we must own, that the Fondness of a Parent has transported him into some natural Exaggerations.
Part of this Letter I am tempted to suppress, being unwilling to demand the Belief of others to that which appears incredible to myself; but as my Incredulity may, perhaps, be the Product rather of Prejudice than Reason, as Envy may beget a Disinclination to admit so immense a Superiority, and as an Account is not to be immediately censured as false, merely because it is wonderful, I shall proceed to give the rest of his Father's Relation, from his Letter of the 3d of
March,
1729-30. He speaks, continues he,
German, Latin
and
French
equally well. He, can by laying before him a Translation, read any of the Books of the Old or New Testament in its original Language, without Hesitation or Perplexity. He is no Stranger to Biblical Criticism or Philosophy, nor unacquainted with antient or modern Geography, and is qualified to support a Conversation with learned Men, who frequently visit and correspond with him.
In his eleventh Year, he not only published a learned Letter in
Latin,
but translated the Travels of
Rabbi Benjamin
from the
Hebrew
into
French,
which he illustrated with Notes, and accompanied with Dissertations; a Work in which his Father, as he himself declares, could give him little Assistance, as he did not understand the Rabbinical Dialect.
The Reason for which his Father engaged him in this Work, was only to prevail upon him to write a fairer Hand than he had hitherto accustomed himself to do, by giving him Hopes, that if he should translate some little Author, and offer a fair Copy of his Version to some Bookseller, he might in Return for it, have other Books which he wanted and could not afford to purchase.
Incited by this Expectation, he fixed upon the
Travels of Rabbi Benjamin,
as most proper for his Purpose, being a Book neither bulky nor common, and in one Month compleated his Translation, applying only one or two Hours a Day to that particular Task. In another Month, he drew up the principal Notes; and in the third, wrote some Dissertations upon particular Passages which seemed to require a larger Examination.
These Notes contain so many curious Remarks, and Enquiries out of the common Road of Learning, and afford so many Instances of Penetration, Judgment, and Accuracy, that the Reader finds in every Page some Reason to persuade him that they cannot possibly be the Work of a Child, but of a Man long accustomed to these Studies, enlightened by Reflection, and dextrous, by long Practice, in the Use of Books. Yet, that it is the Performance of a Boy thus young, is not only proved by the Testimony of his Father, but by the concurrent Evidence of M.
Le Maitre,
his Associate in the Church of
Schwobach,
who not only asserts his Claim to this Work, but affirms, that he heard him, at six Years of Age, explain the
Hebrew
Text as if it had been his native Language; so that the Fact is not to be doubted, without a Degree of Incredulity which it will not be very easy to defend.
This Copy was however far from being written with the Neatness which his Father desired, nor did the Booksellers, to whom it was offered, make Proposals agreeable to the Expectation of the young Translator; but after having examined the Performance in their ner, and determined to print it upon Conditions not very advantageous, returned it to be transcribed, that the Printers might not be embarrassed with a Copy so difficult to read.
Barretier
was now advanced to the latter End of his twelfth Year, and had made great Advances in his Studies, notwithstanding an obstinate Tumour in his left Hand, which gave him great Pain, and obliged him to a tedious and troublesome Method of Cure; and reading over his Performance, was so far from contenting himself with barely transcribing it, that he altered the greatest Part of the Notes, new-modelled the Differtations, and augmented the Book to twice its former Bulk.
What Applauses are due to an old Age, wasted in a scrupulous Attention to Particles, Accents and Etymologies, may appear, says his Father, by seeing how little Time is required to arrive at such an Eminence in these Studies as many even of these venerable Doctors, have not attained, for want of rational Methods and regular Application.
This Censure is doubtless just, upon those who spend too much of their Lives upon useless Niceties, or who appear to labour without making any Progress. But as the Knowledge of Languages is necessary, and a minute Accuracy sometimes requisite, they are by no Means to be blamed, who, in Compliance with the particular Benefit of their own Minds, make the Difficulties of dead Languages their chief Study, and arrive at Excellence proportionate to their Application, since it was to the Labour of such Men that his Son was indebted for his own Learning.
Thus he continued his Studies, neither drawn aside by Pleasures, nor discouraged by Difficulties. The greatest Obstacle to his Improvement was want of Books, with which his narrow Fortune could not liberally supply him; so that he was obliged to borrow the greatest Part of those which his Studies required, and to return them when he had read them, without being able to consult them occasionally, or to recur to them, when his Memory should fail him.
It is observable, that neither his Diligence, unintermitted as it was, nor his Want of Books, a Want of which he was in the highest Degree sensible, ever produced in him that Asperity, which a long and recluse Life, without any Circumstance of Disquiet, frequently create. He was always gay, lively, and facetious, a Temper which contributed much to recommend his Learning, and of which some Students much superior in Age would consult their Ease, their Reputation and their Interest by copying from him.
His Father being somewhat uneasy to observe so much Time spent by him on Rabinical Trifles, thought it necessary now to recall him to the Study of the
Greek
Language, which he had of late neglected; but to which he returned with so much Ardour, that in a short Time he was able to read
Greek
with the same Facility as
French
or
Latin.
In his twelfth Year he applied more particularly to the Study of the Fathers and Councils of the first six Centuries, and began to make a regular Collection of their Canons. He read every Author in the Original, having discovered so much Negligence or Ignorance in most Translations, that he paid no Regard to their Authority.
Soon after he undertook, at his Father's Desire, to confute a Treatise of
Samuel Crellius,
in which, under the Name of
Artemonius,
he has endeavoured to substitute in the Beginning of St
John
's Gospel, a Reading different from that which is at present received, and less favourable to the orthodox Doctrine of the Divinity of our Saviour.
This Task was undertaken by
Barretier
with great Ardour, and prosecuted by him with suitable Application, for he not only drew up a formal Confutation of
Artemonius,
but made large Collections from the earliest Writers, relating to the History of Heresies, which he proposed at first to have published as Preliminaries to his Book; but finding the Introduction grew at last to a greater Bulk than the Book itself, he determined to print it apart.
While he was engrossed by these Enquiries, Accident threw a Pair of Globes into his Hands, in
Oct.
1734. by which his Curiosity was so much exalted, that he laid aside his
Artemonius,
and applied himself to Geography and Astronomy. In ten Days he was able to solve all the Problems in the Doctrine of the Globes, and had attained Ideas so clear and strong of all the Systems, as well ancient as modern, that he began to think of making new Discoveries; and for that Purpose, laying aside for a Time all Searches into Antiquity, he employed his utmost Interest to procure Books of Astronomy and of Mathematicks, and made such a Progress in three or four Months, that he seemed to have spent his whole Life upon that Study; for he not only made an Astrolabe, and drew up astronomical Tables; but invented new Methods of Calculation, or such at least as appeared new to him, because they were not mentioned in the Books which he had then an Opportunity of Reading, and it is a sufficient Proof both of the Rapidity of his Progress, and the Extent of his Views, that in three Months after his first Sight of a Pair of Globes, he formed Schemes for finding the Longitude, which he sent, in
Jan.
1735, to the Royal Society at
London.
His Scheme, being recommended to the Society by the Queen, was considered by them with a Degree of Attention which, perhaps, would not have been bestowed upon the Attempt of a Mathematician so young, had he not been dignified with so illustrious a Patronage. But it was soon found, that for want of Books, he had imagined himself the Inventor of Methods already in common Use, and that he proposed no Means of discovering the Longitude, but such as had been already tried and found insufficient. Such will be very frequently the Fate of those whose Fortune either condemns them to study, without the necessary Assistance from Libraries, or who, in too much Haste, publish their Discoveries.
This Attempt exhibited, however, such a Specimen of his Capacity for mathematical Learning, and such a Proof of an early Proficiency, that, in 1735, the Royal Society of
Berlin
admitted him as one of their Members.
Notwithstanding these Avocations and Amusements, he published, in 1735, Anti-Artemonius,
seu Initium Evangelii S. Johannis Apostoli, adversus iniquissimam
L. M. Artemonij
Neo-Photiniani Criticam vindicatum atq, illustratum, quâ Occasione etiam multa alia S. Scripturae Veterumque Loca vindicantur, et multis Antiquitatis Monumentis Lux affunditur, cui in Fine accedit Dissertatio de Dialogis tribus
Theodoreto
vulgo tributis.
Auctore
J. P. Barreterio, SS. Theologiae
aliarumque bonarum Artium Cultore.
Norimbergae.
8vo.
This Work is divided into five Parts. In the first of which
Barretier
proves, that the Text was always read as it now stands. In the Second he shews, that
Artemonius
's Notion of the Method by which it was changed, is groundless. In the Third, he examines the internal Evidence brought by
Artemonius
to prove that St
John
could not write the Words as they are now read. In the Fourth, he refutes the Opinion of
Socinus,
that St
John
saying, that
by the Word all Things were made,
speaks of a new Creation. In the Fifth, he proves the Divinity of our Saviour from other Parts of the holy Writings, and concludes with a Paraphrase of the first Verses of St
John
's Gospel. To the whole is added an Essay to prove, that the Dialogues ascribed to
Theodoret,
are the Work of another Writer.
He had now attained such a Degree of Reputation, that not only the Public, but Princes, who are commonly the last by whom Merit is distinguished, began to interest themselves in his Success; for the same Year the King of
Prussia,
who had heard of his early Advances in Literature, on Account of a Scheme for discovering the Longitude, which had been sent to the Royal Society of
Berlin,
and which was transmitted afterwards by him to
Paris
and
London,
engaged to take care of his Fortune, having received further Proofs of his Abilities at his own Court, to which he was introduced in the following Manner.
M.
Barretier,
being promoted to the Cure of the Church of
Stetin,
was obliged to travel with his Son thither from
Schwobach,
thro'
Leipsic
and
Berlin,
a Journey very agreaable to his Son, as it would furnish him with new Opportunities of improving his Knowledge, and extending his Acquaintance among Men of Letters. For this Purpose they staid some time at
Leipsic,
and then travelled to
Hall,
where young
Barretier
so distinguished himself in his Conversation with the Professors of the University, that they offered him his Degree of Doctor in Philosophy, a Dignity correspondent to that of Master of Arts among us.
Barretier
drew up that Night fourteen Positions in Philosophy and the Mathematicks, which he sent immediately to the Press, and defended the next Day in a crowded Auditory, with so much Wit, Spirit, Presence of Thought, and Strength of Reason, that the whole University was delighted and amaz'd; he was then admitted to his Degree, and attended by the whole Concourse to his Lodgings, with Compliments and Acclamations.
His
Theses,
or philosophical Positions, which he printed in Compliance with the Practice of that University, ran through several Editions in a few Weeks, and no Testimony of Regard was wanting that could contribute to animate him in his Progress.
When they arrived at
Berlin,
the King ordered him to be brought into his Presence, and was so much pleased with his Conversation, that he sent for him almost every Day, during his stay at
Berlin;
and diverted himself with engaging him in Conversations on a Multitude of Subjects, and in Disputes with learned Men, on all which Occasions he acquitted himself so happily, that the King formed the highest Ideas of his Capacity and future Eminence. And thinking perhaps with Reason, that active Life was the noblest Sphere of a great Genius, he recommended to him the Study of Modern History, the Customs of Nations, and those Parts of Learning, that are of Use in publick Transactions and civil Employments, declaring that such Abilities properly cultivated, might exalt him, in ten Years, to be the greatest Minister of State in
Europe. Barretier,
whether we attribute it to his Moderation or Inexperience, was not dazzled by the Prospect of such high Promotion, but answered, that he was too much pleased with Science and Quiet, to leave them for such inextricable Studies, or such harrassing Fatigues. A Resolution so unpleasing to the King, that his Father attributes to it, the Delay of those Favours which they had Hopes of receiving, the King having, as he observes, determined to employ him in the Ministry.
The Science that withheld him from complying with such flattering Proposals, was Astronomy, which was always his Favourite Study, and so much engrossed his Thoughts that he did not willingly converse on any other Subject; nor was he so well pleased with the Civilities of the greatest Persons, as with the Conversation of the Mathematicians. An Astronomical Observation was sufficient to with-hold him from Court, or to call him away abruptly from the most illustrious Assemblies; none could hope to enjoy his Company long without inviting some Professor to keep him in Temper, and engage him in Discourse; nor was it possible, without this Expedient, to prevail upon him to sit for his Picture.
It is not unlikely, that paternal Affection might suggest to M.
Barretier
some false Conceptions of the King's Designs; for he infers from the Introduction of his Son to the young Princes, and the Caresses which he received from them, that the King intended him for their Preceptor, a Scheme, says he, which some other Resolution happily destroyed.
Whatever was originally intended, and by whatever Means these Intentions were frustrated;
Barretier,
after having been treated with the highest Regard by the whole Royal Family, was dismissed with a Present of two hundred Crowns, and his Father, instead of being fixed at
Stetin,
was made Pastor of the
French
Church at
Hall;
a Place more commodious for Study, to which they retired;
Barretier
being recommended by the King to the University.
As the Scene of M.
Barretier
's Life was now changed, it seems not improper to recur to some of the former Parts of it, and to recount some Honours conferred upon him, which, if Distinctions are to be rated by the Knowledge of those who bestow them, may be considered as more valuable than those which he received from Princes.
In
June
1731, He was initiated in the University of
Altdorft,
and at the End of the Year 1732, the Synod of the Reformed Churches, held at
Christian Erlang,
admitted him to be present at their Consultations, and, to preserve the Memory of so extraordinary a Transaction, as the Reception of a Boy of eleven Years into an Ecclesiastical Council, recorded it in a particular Article of the Acts of the Synod.
Barretier
had been distinguished much more early by the Margravine of
Anspach,
who in 1726, sent for his Father and Mother to the Court, where their Son, whom they carried with them, presented her with a Letter in
French,
and addressed another in
Latin
to the young Prince; who afterwards, in 1743, granted him the Privilege of borrowing Books from the Libraries of
Anspach,
together with an annual Pension of fifty Florins, which he enjoyed for four Years.
M.
Barretier
returned on the 28th of
April,
1735, to
Hall,
where he continued the remaining Part of his Life, of which it may not be improper to give a more particular Account.
At his Settlement in the University, he determined to exert his Privileges as Master of Arts, and to read publick Lectures to the Students, a Design from which his Father could not dissuade him, tho' he did not approve it; so certainly do Honours or Preferments, too soon conferred, infatuate the greatest Capacities. He published an Invitation to three Lectures, one Critical on the Book of
Job,
another on Astronomy, and a third upon ancient Ecclesiastical History. But of this Employment he was soon made weary by the Petulance of his Auditors, the Fatigue which it occasioned, and the Interruption of his Studies which it produced; and therefore, in a Fortnight, he desisted wholly from his Lectures, and never afterwards resumed them.
He then applied himself to the Study of the Law, almost against his own Inclination, which, however, he conquered so far as to become a regular Attendant on the Lectures in that Faculty, but spent all his other Time upon different Studies.
The first Year of his Residence at
Hall
was spent upon Natural Philosophy and Mathematicks; and scarcely any Author, ancient or modern, that has treated on those Parts of Learning was neglected by him, nor was he satisfied with the Knowledge of what had been discovered by others, but made new Observations, and drew up immense Calculations for his own Use.
He then returned to Ecclesiastical History, and began to retouch his
Account of Heresies,
which he had begun at
Schwobach;
on this Occasion he read the Primitive Writers with great Accuracy, and formed a Project of regulating the Chronology of those Ages; which produced a
Chronological Dissertation on the Succession of the Bishops of
Rome,
from St
Peter
to
Victor; printed in
Latin
at
Utrecht,
1740.
He afterwards was wholly absorbed in Application to polite Literature, and read not only a Multitude of Writers in the
Greek
and
Latin,
but in the
German, Dutch, French, Italian, English,
and
Arabick
Languages, and, in the last Year of his Life, he was engrossed by the Study of Inscriptions, Medals, and Antiquities of all Nations.
In 1737, he resumed his Design of finding a certain Method of discovering the Longitude, which he imagined himself to have attained by exact Observations of the Declination and Inclination of the Needle, and sent to the Academy of Sciences, and to the Royal Society of
London
at the same Time, an Account of his Schemes; to which it was first answered by the Royal Society, that it appear'd the same with one that Mr.
Whiston
had laid before them; and afterwards by the Academy of Sciences, that his Method was but very little different from one that had been proposed by M.
de la Croix,
and which was ingenious, but ineffectual.
M.
Barretier
finding his Invention already in the Possession of two Men eminent for mathematical Knowledge, desisted from all Enquiries after the Longitude, and engaged in an Examination of the
Egyptian
Antiquities, which he proposed to free from their present Obscurity, by deciphering their Hierogliphicks, and explaining their Astronomy, but this Design was interrupted by his Death.
This Design he had proposed to himself, to execute in such a Manner, as should establish his Reputation; and, indeed, it appears from the Scheme which he sent to M.
Le
Maitre,
De Doctrina Temporum secundum Rationes priscorum Aegyptiorum Libri V.
Primus, De Anni forma apud Aegyptios agit. Ibi de variis eorum annis, de anno Aegyptiaco vago, proprie sic dicto, cujos natura fuse expenditur; De magna Periodo caniculari, quâ revolutio istius anni peragitur; De Caniculae principio scil, hujus anni & de ejus motibus; De Oris, & quid sint; De mensibus Aegyptiorum; De quatuor anni cardinibus, & Festis tunc celebratis; De tribus anni tempestatibus & Festis tunc quoque actis; De Festorum revolutionibus; De characteribus Anni Aegyptiaci, &c. Multa alia digrediendo passim illustrantur.
Secundus, Coelum Aegyptiacum sistit. De Planetarum nominibus & ordine; De Hebdomadibus; De Sphaera Aegyptiaca ejusque figuris; De Hypothesibus Aegyptiorum circa motus tam errantium quam fixarum; De Astrologiae ortu ex Astronomia Aegyptiaca; De Decanis, Periodis Planetarum, Climacteribus, aliisque Astrologiae inventis, quorum verus sensus eruitur. Ex hisce omnibus demonstrantur Epochae primarum observationum apud Aegyptios, aliarumque quas deinde paulatim addiderunt, quod primum & certissimum fundamentum est Chronologiae Aegyptiacae. Agitur hic quoque de Cyclis Aegyptiorum, eorum Calendariis, &c.
Tertius, Periodos Aegyptiorum exponit. Non unica Periodus Canicularis. Aliae nataee Festorum annuorum revolutione. Earum recensio. Sphingis allegoria plenissime enucleata. Epochae illae celebres Nabonassari aliaeque Aegyptiis debitae. Astronomi Alexandrini & Cyciographi Christiani ab Aegyptiis hauserunt. Canon Astronomicus Regum i
dem debitus. Eorum annales, Annalium forma, Characteres Chronologici,
lidem Annales continuati diu post mortem Christi, res quoque exoticas referebant. Methodus in numerandis Principum annis; unde lux affunditur Num is Aegyptiacis Ptolomaeorum & Imperatorum. Historia anni Aegyptiaci & Periodi Caniculatis ex praecedentibus colligitur.
Quartus, Fundamenta generalia Historiae Aegyptiaeae firmiter collocat, tum ex characteribus Astronomicis, tum ex Epochis historicis indubiis.
Quintus, eandem Historiam explet, & appendicis loco Canon Chronologicus subjungitur. In hisce duobus ultimis, mole superioribus multa historica monumenta illustrantur, Synchronismi vicinarum gentium, praecipue rerum Graecarum antiquissimarum ante Bellum Trojanum recensentur, Mythologiae Aegyptiorum fax accenditur; De immanibus annorum Summis, quas Aegyptii jactabant, disseritur, ut & de Diis, Semideis, Heroibus, &c. Regum series exhibetur, quam vis non plena, quoniam nihil nisi certum & indubitatum in hoc opere admittitur. Ubi igitur monumenta desiciunt, lacunae apparent; at maxima pars vacuo caret, & ea quidem quae nostra maxime interest ut integra habeatur.
that the Work was not unworthy of such Abilities, and it is to be lamented that, since he could not finish it, he has not left such Materials as might enable others to persue his Ideas. It is indeed not to be related without some Degree of Wonder, that there were found in his Collections but a few Sheets relating to this great Work; for which he informs his Friend that he has collected all the Materials, and declares that the greatest Part of the Labour being performed, he shall be able to write it without any Impediment.
He continued to add new Acquisitions to his Learning, and to encrease his Reputation by new Performances, till in the Beginning of his nineteenth Year, his Health began to decline, and his Indisposition, which being not alarming, or violent, was perhaps not at first sufficiently regarded, increased by slow Degrees for eighteen Months, during which he spent Days among his Books, and neither neglected his Studies, nor lost his Gaiety, till his Distemper, ten Days before his Death, deprived him of the Use of his Limbs, he then prepared himself for his End, without Fear or Emotion, and on the 5th of
October,
1740, resigned his Soul into the Hands of his Saviour, with Confidence and Tranquillity.
Thus died
Barretier,
in the 20th Year of his Age, having given a Proof how much may be performed in so short a Time by indefatigable Diligence. He was not only Master of many Languages, but skilled almost in every Science, and capable of distinguishing himself in every Profession, except that of Physick, from which he had been discouraged by remarking the Diversity of Opinions among those who had been consulted concerning his own Disorders.
His Learning, however vast, had not depressed or over-burthen'd his natural Faculties, for his Genius appeared always predominant; and when he enquired into the various Opinions of the Writers of all Ages, he reasoned and determined for himself, having a Mind at once comprehensive and delicate, active and attentive. He was able to reason with the Metaphysicians on the most abstruse Questions, or to enliven the most unpleasing Subjects by the Gaiety of his Fancy. He wrote with great Elegance and Dignity of Stile, and had the peculiar Felicity of Readiness and Facility in every Thing that he undertook, being able without Premeditation to translate one Language into another. He was no Imitator, but struck out new Tracts, and formed original Systems. He had a Quickness of Apprehension, and Firmness of Memory, which enabled him to read with incredible Rapidity, and at the same Time to retain what he had read, so as to be able to recollect and apply it. He turned over Volumes in an Instant, and selected what was useful for his Purpose. He seldom made Extracts, except of Books which he could not procure, when he might want them a second Time, being always able to find in any Author, with great Expedition, what he had once read. He read over, in one Winter, twenty vast Folio's; and the catalogue of Books which he had borrow'd, comprised 41 Pages in Quarto, the Writing close, and the Titles abridged. He was a constant Reader of Literary Journals.
With regard to common Life, he had some Peculiarities. He could not bear Musick, and if he was ever engaged at Play, could not attend to it. He neither loved Wine nor Entertainments, nor Dancing, nor the Sports of the Field, nor relieved his Studies with any other Diversion than that of Walking and Conversation. He eat little Flesh, and lived almost wholly upon Milk, Tea, Bread, Fruits, and Sweetmeats.
He had great Vivacity in his Imagination, and Ardour in his Desires, which the easy Method of his Education had never repressed, he therefore conversed among those who had gained his Confidence with great Freedom; but his Favourites were not numerous, and to others he was always reserved and silent, without the least Inclination to discover his Sentiments, or display his Learning. He never fixed his Choice upon any Employment, nor confined his Views to any Profession, being desirous of nothing but Knowledge, and entirely untainted with Avarice or Ambition. He preserved himself always independent, and was never known to be guilty of a Lie. His constant Application to Learning suppressed those Passions which betray others of his Age to Irregularities, and excluded all those Temptations to which Men are exposed by Idleness, or common Amusements.
FINIS.