[]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 Wil⯑liam Prince of Orange, he prevailed upon him to take his ſon under him, with whom he continued ſome years. John Olden Barnevelt, who pre⯑ſided 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 Vene⯑tian 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 [4] 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 tra⯑velled 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, Harpo⯑cration 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 Hy⯑perboreans. 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 con⯑verſed 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 Hyper⯑borean in return preſented the Samian, as though he equalled Apollo himſelf in wiſdom, with the ſacred arrow, on which the Greeks have [5] 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 vul⯑gar ſtill believe, particularly thoſe of the Hebrides, that wizards and witches fly whitherſoever they pleaſe on their broomſticks. The ora⯑tor 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 down⯑ward."’ 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 in⯑duſtrious, quick-ſighted in preſent exigencies, in preventing future dangers circumſpect, a ſearcher after wiſdom, deſirous of friend⯑ſhip, 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 Ire⯑land. 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 doc⯑trine [6] of the proteſtants, as appears by his writings; and that ſtrong ner⯑vous 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 Reli⯑gion; The Art of Knowing one's Self; A Defence of the Britiſh Na⯑tion; 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, poſ⯑ſeſſed extraordinary abilities: his high rank in the church, and influ⯑ence 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 diſtinc⯑tion, 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 in⯑quired 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 rudi⯑ments of literature, he was in 1578 removed to the univerſity of Ox⯑ford, and entered a ſtudent in Baliol College.

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 vacan⯑cy 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 under⯑take the government of the church. They thought this recommendation, joined to the king's known regard for this eminent man, enough to ſe⯑cure his promotion to the primacy; but without taking the advice of thoſe prelates, his majeſty preferred Biſhop Abbot to the throne of Can⯑terbury, 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 ap⯑pears to have had a conſiderable hand in all the great tranſactions in church and ſtate. He was never eſteemed very fond of power, or de⯑ſirous 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 [9] court, and would not ſubmit to Lord Coke's prohibition: he likewiſe ſhewed his concern for the intereſt of the proteſtant religion abroad, by pro⯑curing his majeſty's application to the States General againſt Conrade Vor⯑ſtius, 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 Canter⯑bury, 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 Eng⯑land [10] 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 call⯑ed; and we have a very ſingular account of the man and of his negocia⯑tion 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 repu⯑tation. 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 Saliſ⯑bury, 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 rela⯑tion, he met with freſh diſturbance from the king's declaration, for per⯑mitting 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, [11] 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 na⯑tive 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 nego⯑ciations 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 croſs⯑bow, 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 after⯑wards 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 ima⯑gined he had incurred; for it happened that at this juncture there were four biſhops elected, but not conſecrated, and all, except Dr. Davenant, [12] ſcrupled the archbiſhop's capacity to lay hands upon them till he was de⯑clared free from all imputation as to this fact. The king being informed of this, directed a commiſſion to conſider and reſolve the three follow⯑ing queſtions: 1. Whether the archbiſhop was irregular by the fact of invo⯑luntary 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 church⯑man? 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 fol⯑low 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 ma⯑jeſty; and accordingly a pardon and a diſpenſation paſſed the great ſeal, by which his majeſty aſſoiled the archbiſhop from all irregula⯑rity, &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 con⯑ſecration; 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 fa⯑vour, 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 diſ⯑ſolve his treaties with Spain, relating to the marriage and the palatinate. He delivered both the addreſs and the remonſtrance which were preſent⯑ed [13] 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 Spa⯑niards, 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 thence⯑forward aſſiſted ſeldom at council, being hindered chiefly by his infirmi⯑ties; 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, be⯑fore the judges, and was tranſmitted to the biſhop, with the king's di⯑rection to licence it; which he refuſed to do, and aſſigned reaſons for it. The ſermon was licenſed by the Biſhop of London (Dr. Moun⯑taigne) 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 fol⯑lowing, 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, [14] 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 follow⯑ing, 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 Mon⯑tagu 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 Eng⯑liſh 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 cer⯑tain 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 Arch⯑deacon of Canterbury had ſuſpended them, and in other reſpects ſoften⯑ed the rigour of thoſe inſtructions, which were contrived to enforce the [15] 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 bap⯑tize 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 arch⯑biſhop 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 erect⯑ed, 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 ex⯑tenſive 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, [16] who flouriſhed ſomewhat later. This George Abbot wrote a Para⯑phraſe 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 com⯑pany, by which the Molucca Iſlands and the commerce to them, is de⯑clared 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 ſuc⯑ceſs 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 lec⯑turer 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 Stan⯑hope, Eſq. as Dr. Featly has obſerved in his life. In 1594 he be⯑came no leſs eminent for ſome of his writings, particularly againſt a cer⯑tain 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 or⯑dered 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 Wil⯑liam 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 dedi⯑cated 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 ſkil⯑ful [18] to ſet in his nurſery the beſt plants, and then took ſuch care to wa⯑ter 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 read⯑ing to his ſcholars, and his continual preſence at public exerciſes, both countenanced the readers and encouraged the hearers. Theſe re⯑gulations 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 for⯑treſs 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 preben⯑dary 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 Ox⯑ford, 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 ad⯑mirably read in the fathers, councils, and ſchoolmen, and a more mode⯑rate Calviniſt than either of his two predeceſſors in the divinity chair, Holland and Humphrey, which he expreſſed by countenancing the ſub⯑lapſarian way of predeſtination. Laſtly, upon the king's peruſal of his Antilogia againſt the Apology for Garnet; and the ſame of his incom⯑parable Lectures in the univerſity, upon the king's ſupreme power againſt Bellarmine and Suarez (printed after his death), his ma⯑jeſty, 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 puri⯑tan (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 Bi⯑ſhop 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 bro⯑ther's life), made a nullity for a time, ſays our author, in his grace's [19] 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 prebenda⯑ries as drew from them five hundred pounds, which he applied to the reparation of this church, and then laboured to amend the congrega⯑tion both by doctrine and diſcipline, viſiting his whole dioceſe in per⯑ſon, and preaching every Sabbath day, whilſt his health would permit, which was not long, for that ſedentary courſe to which he had ac⯑cuſtomed 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 pa⯑tience 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 pre⯑cepts, 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, benedic⯑tions, 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 cathe⯑dral. 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 [20] married to Sir Nathaniel Brent, warden of Merton College, in Ox⯑ford; 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, philo⯑ſophy, 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 in⯑ſtructing her in the ſciences, he taught her to love. Abelard now per⯑formed 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 bet⯑ter 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 ſeve⯑ral [21] 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 ora⯑tory; 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 Inno⯑cent 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 pre⯑fixed; 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, re⯑tiring to Derry, a relation who had him under his care, having no op⯑portunity 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 after⯑wards 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 con⯑gregation at Antrim, where he continued above twenty years. About the time of the Bangorian controverſy, a diſſenſion aroſe among his bre⯑thren 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 invita⯑tion 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 [22] volume was publiſhed by his friends; and theſe were ſucceeded by four other volumes on different ſubjects; all of which have been greatly ad⯑mired.

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 con⯑fines 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, de⯑vils 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 con⯑cerning 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 cou⯑rier, 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 goſ⯑pel 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. Par⯑ker, 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 Andro⯑mache, Andromeda, Atreus, Clytemneſtra, Medea, Meleager, Philo⯑cletes, the civil wars of Thebes, Tereus, the Troades, &c. He did not always, however, take his ſubjects from the Grecian ſtory; for he com⯑poſed 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 [24] 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 Ly⯑comedes: 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 pro⯑montary 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 cry⯑ing 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 na⯑ture 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 exceſ⯑ſive 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 Com⯑mentary on Quintus Curtius, alſo Notes on Tacitus, on the Twelve [25] 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 per⯑formance 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 Conſtan⯑tinople, 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 Laſ⯑caris, 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 am⯑baſſador to Conſtantine, Prince of Bulgaria; and was employed in ſeve⯑ral other negociations. He wrote, A Continuation of the Greek Hiſ⯑tory, from the taking of Conſtantinople by the Latins, till it was re⯑covered by Michael Palaeologus in 1261, which makes part of the By⯑zantine 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 enco⯑mium upon him, prefixed to Acropolita's hiſtory, is perhaps ſomewhat extravagant in his praiſe; when he ſays he was equal to Ariſtotle in phi⯑loſophy, 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 accom⯑pany 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 ex⯑tremely 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 eſteem⯑ed 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 [27] 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 com⯑pany, alderman, and preſident of Saint Thomas's hoſpital, which in⯑ſtitution he probably ſaved from ruin, by diſcovering the frauds of a diſ⯑honeſt 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 dig⯑nified 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 Cam⯑bridge; 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 ob⯑jects 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 mi⯑niſters' widows. He was particularly diſtinguiſhed for his Chriſtian pa⯑tience 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 magni⯑tude 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 [28] 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 ac⯑companied 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, Eng⯑land, 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 maſ⯑ſacre of Paris; and as the ſame ſcene was tranſacting there, he was ob⯑liged 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 encourage⯑ment 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 re⯑fuſed; 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 preſby⯑terian [29] 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 Eliza⯑beth, 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 recom⯑mend 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 par⯑liament at Edinburgh in 1584. The act therein made for ſettling the peace of the kingdom, and eſtabliſhing the king's authority in eccleſi⯑aſtical 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 diſ⯑avow his declaration.

At a provincial ſynod in 1586, the archbiſhop was accuſed and ex⯑communicated. 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.

[30]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 with⯑out 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 viſit⯑ing 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. Ad⯑diſon 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. Hav⯑ing [31] 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 prebenda⯑ries 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 ſer⯑vices 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 convoca⯑tion in 1689, and enjoyed for the remainder of his days a juſt and ge⯑neral 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 hu⯑man 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, un⯑der the care of Mr. Taylor; and from thence to the Charter-houſe, [32] 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 ſur⯑prizing 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 friend⯑ſhip; but their intimacy was ſome time after broken off by their diſ⯑agreement 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 en⯑ter into holy orders; and had once reſolved upon it: but his great mo⯑deſty, his natural diffidence, and an uncommonly delicate ſenſe of the importance of the ſacred function, made him afterwards alter his reſo⯑lution; 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 in⯑differently received, yet in a little time met with its deſerved applauſe.

[33]In the year 1702, he was about to return to England, when he re⯑ceived 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 in⯑dignation, men of no merit maintained in luxury at the public expence, whilſt thoſe of real worth and modeſty were ſuffered to languiſh in ob⯑ſcurity. 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 ce⯑lebrating 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, va⯑cant by the promotion of Mr. Locke, choſen one of the lords commiſ⯑ſioners for trade. The Campaign is addreſſed to the Duke of Marlbo⯑rough; 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, whe⯑ther from the defect of the muſic, or from the prejudices in favour of [34] 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. Ad⯑diſon 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, conſi⯑derably 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 conſidera⯑bly 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 uncom⯑mon 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 conti⯑nuation of the Spectator, and was diſtinguiſhed by the ſame elegance and the ſame variety; but, in conſequence of Steele's propenſity to poli⯑tics, was abruptly diſcontinued in order to write the Engliſhman.

[35]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 diſcrimi⯑nation 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 au⯑thor 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 com⯑pany; and when it was received, as is confeſſed, with cold diſappro⯑bation, 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 de⯑lineated, 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 re⯑moved 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, per⯑haps more valuable than any of thoſe that went before it: Addiſon pro⯑duced 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 re⯑gency, 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, [34] [...] [35] [...] [36] 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 un⯑contradicted 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 cere⯑mony 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 repre⯑ſented 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 experi⯑ence 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 con⯑formably 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 ſum⯑mons, and found himſelf received with great kindneſs. The purpoſe for which the interview had been ſolicited was then diſcovered: Addi⯑ſon 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 in⯑terview, of a more ſolemn nature, is recorded: Lord Warwick was a young man of ver [...] irregular life, and perhaps of looſe opinions. Addi⯑ſon, for whom he did not want reſpect, had very diligently endeavoured to reclaim him; but his arguments and expoſtulations had no effect: [37] 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 rea⯑ſon 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 inde⯑cency, 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 pe⯑culiar to himſelf, is ſo happily diffuſed, as to give the grace of novelty to domeſtic ſcenes and daily occurrences. He never "outſteps the mo⯑deſty of nature," nor raiſes merriment or wonder by the violation of truth. His figures neither divert by diſtortion, nor amaze by aggrava⯑tion. 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 [38] 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 ſome⯑times 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 be⯑lieve. "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 impa⯑tient 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 [39] 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 gen⯑tleman of merit, and ſuch a character as you bear in the world, the ſa⯑tisfaction 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 converſa⯑tions 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 re⯑ſerve, deference, and reſpect; not converſing with the ſame freedom as formerly, or canvaſſing his friend's ſentiments. This gave great uneaſi⯑neſs 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 per⯑formance 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 [40] of age, under the guardianſhip of Trajan, and Coelius Tatianus a Ro⯑man 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 ap⯑proaching, it is ſaid adopted him. Adrian, who was then in Antio⯑chia, 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 Per⯑ſians, to whom he yielded up great part of the conqueſts of his prede⯑ceſſors; and from generoſity, or policy, he remitted the debts of the Ro⯑man people, which, according to the calculation of thoſe who have re⯑duced 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 pro⯑vinces; 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 Ca⯑ledonians, 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 de⯑ſcription ſome old ſoldiers he found there, who had ſerved under Agri⯑cola, 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 mat⯑ters 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 [41] 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 vio⯑lent 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 ra⯑ving 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 Phle⯑gon, one of his freed-men, a very learned perſon, was prefixed to it. He had great wit, and an extenſive memory. He underſtood the ſci⯑ences perfectly well; but was very jealous of others who excelled in them. He was alſo cruel, envious, and laſcivious. Antoninus, his ſuc⯑ceſſor, 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 ſup⯑port. 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 [42] great aſſiduity, and made a wonderful proficiency. But having ſtill a ſtrong inclination to a religious life, he left Paris, and removed to Pro⯑vence, 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 accep⯑table 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 ſer⯑viceable 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 promo⯑tion reached England, King Henry II. ſent Robert, Abbot of St. Alban's, and three biſhops, to Rome, to congratulate him on his elec⯑tion; 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 excommu⯑nicated 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 con⯑ducted that prince to Rome, and in St. Peter's church placed the impe⯑rial crown on his head, to the great mortification of the Roman people, who aſſembled in a tumultuous manner, and killed ſeveral of the Impe⯑rialiſts. [43] 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 pon⯑tificate; and was buried in St. Peter's church, near the tomb of his predeceſſor Eugenius, There are extant ſeveral letters, and ſome ho⯑milies, 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 ac⯑count 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 Euro⯑peans.

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 de⯑parture, 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, [44] 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 ho⯑nours; 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 de⯑rived 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 (ſup⯑poſing 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 hiſ⯑torian: 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 []

[45] inſerted in the ſecond volume of Ducheſne's Scriptores Francorum. But there is an improved edition of this valuable hiſtorian, with the anno⯑tations 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. Pom⯑pey uſed to call Julius Ceſar Aegiſthus, on account of his having cor⯑rupted 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 youth⯑ful 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 contem⯑plative 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 be⯑cauſe he was well convinced that a crown, though adorned with jewels, was lined with cares, and often proved a heavy burthen to the wearer. [46] 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 per⯑ceiving 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 hiſto⯑rians 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 them⯑ſelves; 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 con⯑tinued 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 [47] 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 him⯑ſelf, 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 pur⯑ſuance [48] 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 con⯑ſiderable 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 fu⯑ture. Aelfrid having ſome leiſure time now, reſolved to repair, refor⯑tify, and repeople the city of London, which he had lately recovered from the Danes, and meant to keep as a frontier. Accordingly he re⯑edified it, placed a garriſon in it, and eſtabliſhed Aethered as the gover⯑nor. He created him Earl of Mercia, and gave him his daughter Aethel⯑fleda 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 ſitua⯑tion, 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 [49] Surrey. The king's forces met and defeated them at Farnham. In the midſt of theſe confuſions, the Danes who were ſettled in Northumber⯑land 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 poſſeſ⯑ſion 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 ſuc⯑ceeded 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, march⯑ed with them to Shobury in Eſſex, where they built another caſtle. Then paſſing the Thames with thoſe who joined them from Northumber⯑land, 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 deſpe⯑rate 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. Be⯑fore 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, [50] 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 tri⯑umph 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 af⯑fected 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, con⯑trived 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 ex⯑pected, driving two of their ſhips on ſhore, ſinking three, and ſuffer⯑ing 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 eſta⯑bliſhing 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 [51] 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 in⯑ſtitutions 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 ambi⯑tious; 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 [52] 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 for⯑tified, 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 reli⯑gious foundations, and excelled moſt of his predeceſſors in this point: for beſides re-edifying and reſtoring almoſt every monaſtery in his do⯑minions, 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 nu⯑merous court, and above all things took great pleaſure in ſeeing his no⯑bility about him. To do this without prejudice to the public, he fell upon a method which ought not to be forgotten; he framed three dif⯑ferent 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 ſa⯑cred, 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 [53] deſtined for the ſupport of religious houſes which he had founded; a third was given to the public ſchools; and the fourth employed in re⯑building 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 unbe⯑coming gaiety to enter his mind; but appeared always of a calm, yet chearful diſpoſition; familiar with his friends, and juſt, even to his ene⯑mies; kind and tender to all: he watched over his time with great care, and gave ſtrong evidences of much learning. With all theſe qua⯑lifications, 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 Octo⯑ber, A. D. 900. This king had to wife Aelſwith, or Aethelwith, daugh⯑ter to Earl Aethelred; by whom he had two ſons, and three daughters. Edward, the eldeſt, ſucceeded him on the throne; and is by moſt hiſtori⯑ans 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 poſ⯑terity, or that many conſiderable perſons ſhould compoſe ſpecial me⯑moirs 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 pub⯑lic. 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 be⯑tween the life of Aelfrid and that of Charles I. written by a Mr. [54] Powell, with great ingenuity and learning. It would be doing this na⯑tion 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, in⯑ſerting his laws and other things in their proper places, and illuſtrating them, as well as whatever paſſages might require it, with copious diſſer⯑tations. This would place one of the moſt glorious periods of our hiſ⯑tory 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 Nor⯑thumberland; and a third, whom we find diſtinguiſhed in Engliſh hiſ⯑tory, 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 Nor⯑mandy, 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 in⯑vading England, as alarmed the Daniſh monarch, and induced him to ſurrender a part of England to them. But their protector, Robert, go⯑ing to the Holy Land, the Dane thought no more of the treaty. How⯑ever, 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 Hate⯑foot, 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 abili⯑ties 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 [55] 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 ſuſpi⯑cions 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, ac⯑cording 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 appella⯑tion 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, Archi⯑lochus, &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 Appear⯑ances, 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 Ligu⯑rians; 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 reputa⯑tion in Italy, that he was invited into France by the cardinal of Bour⯑bon, 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 houſe⯑hold gods, loſt his wife Creüſa in the eſcape. Landing in Africa, he [56] 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 reign⯑ed three years: but joining with the Aborigines, was ſlain in a bat⯑tle 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 mar⯑bles, 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 engage⯑ments Aeſchylus was likewiſe preſent. In this laſt action, according to Diodorus Siculus, Aminias, the younger of the three brothers, com⯑manded 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 [57] Aeſchylus being charged by the Athenians with certain blaſphemous ex⯑preſſions 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 va⯑lour, and with the friendſhip he ſhowed for his brother, they pardoned Aeſchylus. Our poet, however, reſented the indignity of this proſecu⯑tion, 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 trage⯑dies, of which there are but ſeven remaining: and notwithſtanding the ſharp cenſures of ſome critics, he muſt be allowed to have been the fa⯑ther of the tragic art. In the time of Theſpis, there was no public thea⯑tre 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 not⯑withſtanding 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, Aeſcula⯑pius's ſtatue was of gold and ivory, with a long beard, his head ſur⯑rounded 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 Olym⯑piad, 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 ge⯑nerally 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 [...] [59] 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 per⯑ſuaſive ſtyle, which charms and captivates the human mind. Aeſop ſuf⯑fered 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 diſtri⯑bute 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 repre⯑ſents 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 Alex⯑ander by the cloak, who appears like a young baſhful bridegroom, and preſent him to his miſtreſs: he lays his crown at her feet, being accom⯑panied by Epheſtion, who holds a torch in his hand, and leans upon a youth, who repreſents Hymen. Several other little Cupids are repre⯑ſented [60] 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. Epi⯑phanius 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 Em⯑peror 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 allu⯑ſions, 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 Cali⯑gula, 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, in⯑ſtead of attempting a defence, repeated a part of the emperor's ſpeech, with the higheſt degree of admiration; fell on his knees, implored par⯑don 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 [61] 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 Gre⯑cian 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 edu⯑cated 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 Exche⯑quer, 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 anti⯑quary'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 anti⯑quities from him; which is not very probable; as he came into the Ex⯑chequer 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 them⯑ſelves 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 Di⯑alogue of the Exchequer, which generally goes under the name of Gi⯑raldus Tilburienſis. Mr. Madox, who publiſhed the Hiſtory of the Ex⯑chequer, 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 [62] a book for the caſe of his ſucceſſors; containing a catalogue of ſuch re⯑cords as were in the four treaſuries, and an account of all leagues, trea⯑ties 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 in⯑duſtrious in things of that nature. From theſe teſtimonies we muſt con⯑ceive 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 quotati⯑ons, in Ariſtotle, Athenius, and ſome others.

AGATHOCLES,

THE celebrated tyrant of Sicily; who, from being the ſon of a pot⯑ter, commenced thief; turned common ſoldier; was promoted to be a centurion; then a general; and afterwards turned a pirate; all in regu⯑lar 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 ſol⯑diers, 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, hav⯑ing reigned 28 years.

AGELNOTH,

IN Latin Achelnotus, archbiſhop of Canterbury in the reign of Ca⯑nute the Great. This prelate, ſurnamed the Good, was ſon of Earl Agilmer, and, at the time of his election, dean of Canterbury. After [63] his promotion he went to Rome, and received his pall from Pope Bene⯑dict VIII. In his way thither he paſſed through Pavia, and there pur⯑chaſed 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 fa⯑vour with king Canute, and employed his intereſt with that monarch to good purpoſes. By his advice the king remitted large ſums for the ſup⯑port of foreign churches, and was led by him to many other acts of cha⯑rity. When Canute died, Agelnoth refuſed to crown Harold; alledg⯑ing, 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, He⯑rod 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 af⯑fection 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 ex⯑ceſs, found himſelf under the neceſſity of quitting Rome, involved in debt, and very indigent. He abandoned the idea of returning to Jeru⯑ſalem, 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 en⯑ioyed, attached himſelf to him with great aſſiduity. The behaviour and [64] 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 Ti⯑berius, who was ſucceeded by Caius Caligula. The new emperor be⯑ſtowed many favours upon Agrippa, gave him a chain of gold in ex⯑change 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, ad⯑viſed 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 territo⯑ries, 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 bro⯑ther 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 mi⯑raculouſly delivered St. Peter from his confinement, fruſtrated the de⯑ſigns 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 audi⯑ence; 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 Sido⯑nians, the paraſites around ſaid it was the voice of a god, and not that [65] of a man. Inſtead of rejecting theſe impious flatteries, Agrippa re⯑ceived 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, rack⯑ed 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 ingra⯑tiate 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 libe⯑rated, 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 Clau⯑dius 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 gene⯑ral 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 con⯑ſpirators, 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 friend⯑ſhip 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 un⯑dertaken and performed by the celebrated St. Columb. But on their ar⯑rival 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 ele⯑gant 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 no⯑bility 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 re⯑fuſed. Incenſed at this treatment, he entered his country, took a great number priſoners, and carried off a quantity of cattle. Brudeus reſent⯑ing this, made an attack upon Galloway, and did much miſchief. At length a general engagement enſued, the Picts were routed with great [67] 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, con⯑cluded 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 coun⯑try. 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 aſſo⯑ciates 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 be⯑haved 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 [68] 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 prodi⯑gious 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 Nor⯑thumberland, 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 conſider⯑able time in Scotland, where he acquired a competent knowledge of the language; he undertook to be himſelf Aidan's interpreter, and explain⯑ed 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 Ox⯑fordſhire, and the priory of Bruton in Somerſetſhire, in 1005, both for the Bendictine monks. In 1013, when Swene, king of Denmark, in⯑feſted England, and obliged Aethelred to ſhut himſelf up in Win⯑cheſter, Ailmer ſubmitted himſelf to the conqueror, and gave him hoſta⯑ges. 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 extra⯑ordinary 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 learn⯑ing, 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 [70] 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 noncon⯑formiſts, 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 con⯑gregation 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. Ainſ⯑worth, though poor, would not accept any thing, but a conferenc [...] with ſome of his Rabbies, concerning the prophecies of the Old Teſ⯑tament 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; particu⯑larly 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 under⯑ſtanding, quick penetration, and wonderful diligence; but theſe quali⯑ties [71] 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 re⯑ceived 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 ranſack⯑ing 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 [72] 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 be⯑came 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 Cal⯑viniſt, 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 Ju⯑ventutis 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 ſubſtan⯑tial butcher of that town.

At the free-ſchool of Newcaſtle he received the firſt part of his gram⯑matical education, and was afterwards put under the care of Mr. Wil⯑ſon, 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 ge⯑neral 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 edu⯑cating young men of no fortune. But his views as to the miniſtry al⯑tering, he turned his thoughts to phyſic, and ſcrupulouſly repaid his benefactors the money they had advanced him; which having been con⯑tributed 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 Imagina⯑tion," 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 univer⯑ſity of Edinburgh. At Edinburgh he diſtinguiſhed himſelf by his poeti⯑cal compoſitions. His Ode on the Winter Solſtice was certainly com⯑poſed 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 receiv⯑ed, but which have ſince been diſcarded by the beſt phyſicians and phi⯑loſophers; 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 repu⯑tation high in the poetical world. But Mr. Warburton, ſo much cele⯑brated for his learning, and afterwards Biſhop of Glouceſter, being diſ⯑ſatisfied with a note in the third book, concerning the nature and objects of ridicule, thought proper, in a preface to certain remarks on his antago⯑niſt, 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.

[74]In this pamphlet, which is intitled "An Epiſtle to the Reverend Mr. Warburton," there are ſeveral ſenſible obſervations, but the ſtyle is un⯑pleaſant. The review of the controverſy, whether ridicule be the touch⯑ſtone 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 be⯑ing correct, and of carefully attending to the beſt models. Theſe dif⯑ferent 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, con⯑cerning 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 plea⯑ſure in collecting.

[75]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 ſettle⯑ment 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 en⯑tertained 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 advo⯑cates 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 free⯑dom, 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 re⯑linquiſhed, 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 [76] 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 un⯑intelligible; 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 per⯑haps 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 conſpi⯑cuous 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 hold⯑ing out ſublime views of nature, providence, and morality. We en⯑tirely 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 ſuc⯑ceſſive re-publications, that it would have been impoſſible to have com⯑pleted the whole of this correction; and to have gone on from time to time, making freſh improvements in every edition, would he thought [77] 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 delinea⯑tion 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 hu⯑man 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 [...] [79] adviſed, into Lancaſhire, where he was born; and there, without any re⯑gard to his own ſafety, exerted himſelf to the utmoſt in making con⯑verts, 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 ex⯑aſperated his relations ſo much, that they perſecuted Alan with unre⯑mitted 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 proba⯑ble he had ſome great friends here, who, in reſpect to their former ac⯑quaintance 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 en⯑tertained 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 [80] 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 em⯑ployed, he was made canon of Cambray, a very conſiderable and honour⯑able 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 Reque⯑ſens, 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 cer⯑tain 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 excom⯑munication thundered againſt Queen Elizabeth by his predeceſſor Pope Pius V. While this was in agitation, Sir William Stanley, who com⯑manded a conſiderable garriſon of Engliſh and Iriſh in the important town of Daventer, baſely betrayed it, and went with his whole regi⯑ment [81] 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 effec⯑tually 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 [82] 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 danger⯑ous 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 deſo⯑lating 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, notwithſtand⯑ing 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 pre⯑vented 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 re⯑gard 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 [83] 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 mag⯑nified the cardinal's memory, as if he lived a ſaint, and died a confeſ⯑ſor. 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 abſo⯑lutely neceſſary, we ſhall attempt to do it with as much truth as poſſi⯑ble, 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 con⯑tinually 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 con⯑vinced 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 un⯑queſtionably, 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 [84] 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 Exche⯑quer, 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 ho⯑norary 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 ſem⯑per in has muſarum ſedes benevolentiâ propendentem, nec minorem inde reportantem."

Sir John Forteſcue Aland, as an Oxonian, greatly improved his na⯑tural 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 par⯑liament chamber of that ſociety, and in Guillim's heraldry; in alluſion [85] 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 Revo⯑lution; this we aſſert from conjecture, made on the following calculation: Sir John Forteſcue Aland was born in the year 1670, and the Re⯑volution happened in 1690, ſo that our barriſter was at that period twenty years old, the uſual age at which young gentlemen are gene⯑rally 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 con⯑cerning 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 Ray⯑mond; 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 abili⯑ties, by therein aſking his opinion, as to libels, in the following im⯑mortalizing lines:

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 ap⯑plies.

On Friday 22 October 1714, 1 Geo. I. our barriſter was appointed ſolicitor general to his Royal Highneſs the Prince of Wales, after⯑wards king George the Second, and grandfather to his preſent Majeſty [Lord Raym. Rep. II. 1318, 1319.]; and on 21 Decem⯑ber 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, re⯑ſigned; [86] 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 Wil⯑liam Thomſon the recorder of London; the reader is referred to the reports of the lord chief baron Comyns, and of the lord chief baron Gil⯑bert; [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 be⯑ing 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 ſer⯑jeant, 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 ad⯑duce 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 conſe⯑quently their proper places cannot be aſſigned them. Some very pro⯑bably 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 em⯑phatically 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 [87] 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 ap⯑pointment 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 notori⯑ous 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 [86] [...] [87] [...] [88] 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 in⯑ditable, 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 publi⯑cation 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?"

[89]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 [90] honourable delinquents an opportunity, not only to vindicate their inno⯑cence, 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 impeach⯑ing 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 ho⯑nourable 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 man⯑ner 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 exe⯑cuting 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 there⯑fore that it would have been highly indecent in our judge to have ſuf⯑fered 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 ſu⯑prema lex eſto;" "Privatum commodum publico cedat, ne reſpub. periat, aut quid detrimenti capiat;" "Lex citius tolerare vult privatum dam⯑num, 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 de⯑ſervedly [91] 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 fa⯑vour 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 per⯑ſonal 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 oc⯑caſion 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 forti⯑tude, 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 ſin⯑gular 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 rea⯑ſon of natural or accidental corporeal defects, and therefore hope the hu⯑mour 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 ſer⯑jeant, 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 [92] 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 [...] [93] 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 Re⯑ports, in commendation of the laws and conſtitution of England; and ſee the above extract from the diploma granted our judge by the uni⯑verſity 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.]

ALBAN (SAINT),

FAMOUS for having been the firſt Chriſtian who ſuffered mar⯑tyrdom 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 Empe⯑ror [94] 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 be⯑come 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 con⯑verſion 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 ſqua⯑dron deſtined for India, where by his exploits he raiſed the arms of his country to the higheſt pitch of glory.

[95]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 Albu⯑querque 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, [96] 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. How⯑ever, 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 victo⯑rious. Albuquerque then preſſed the city, and the king finding no re⯑ſource, 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 pro⯑tection, 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 diſſer⯑tions among the Portugueze, made an attack upon the iſland, and land⯑ing men, laid ſiege to the city, preſſing it hard. The ſituation of A [...] ⯑buquerque became now truly diſtreſſing, an enemy vaſtly ſuperior with⯑out, diſcontent among his officers within, and his troops greatly dim [...] ⯑niſhed. Theſe circumſtances determined him to embark on board h [...] [97] 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 pre⯑paring 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 col⯑lected 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, con⯑ſented 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 diſap⯑pointed, 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 benevo⯑lent 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, remark⯑able for his comelineſs: his fortune was large beyond moſt of the nobi⯑lity 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 pro⯑per; [98] for, when he gave a looſe to his paſſions, he was indolent, luxu⯑rious, 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 al⯑ways 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 ob⯑ſerved the ambaſſadors of Lacedemon applied themſelves wholly to Ni⯑cias, 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 pre⯑judice of that people.

The firſt public affair of any material conſequence in which he em⯑barked, 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 after⯑wards 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 de⯑clared 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 [...] [99] 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 diffi⯑culties, 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 ap⯑pointed to command, Alcibiades and Lamachus as his colleagues. Dur⯑ing 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 neighbour⯑hood, were all defaced in one night, nor could the authors of this fact be diſcovered, notwithſtanding a proclamation was iſſued, offering im⯑punity 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 religi⯑ous 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 accu⯑ſations 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 re⯑turn, 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 [...]acede⯑monians, and that he had perſuaded the Argives to undertake ſomething to their prejudice. It was therefore determined to put him to death on [100] 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 in⯑tended, and being informed that a perſon, out of fear of death, had acknowledged himſelf guilty, and impeached them, they wiſely deter⯑mined not to truſt an enraged and ſuperſtitious multitude, but to pro⯑vide for their own ſafety by withdrawing as ſoon as they had an oppor⯑tunity: 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 elo⯑quence 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 Lacede⯑monians 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 ſeek⯑ing to have them altered, the Perſians likewiſe grew diſpleaſed. Alci⯑biades 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 Tiſſa⯑phernes, 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 [101] 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 govern⯑ment was put into the hands of a few. Theſe fickle people, the Athe⯑nians, 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 ha⯑rangue, created him general, with full power, and propoſed ſailing im⯑mediately to Athens to reſtore the ancient form of government: Alci⯑biades 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 formi⯑dable to the one party, and neceſſary to the other.

On his return to the army, the deputies from Athens were, by his re⯑queſt, received. The army declared to them they would not acknow⯑ledge 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 re⯑ſign their authority. On their return, every thing was in confuſion at [102] Athens; a new form of government was propoſed, and Alcibiades re⯑called, and the favourers of an oligarchy withdrew to the enemy. Al⯑cibiades 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 ad⯑dition 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, Alci⯑biades, with his ſquadron, fell in with the enemy's fleet under Minda⯑rus, 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 al⯑moſt 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 ha⯑rangue 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 diſre⯑garded his inſtructions, and was defeated. On this news, Alcibiades re⯑turned; [103] 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 ge⯑nerals. 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 indif⯑ferently 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 commiſſion⯑ers 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 Wor⯑ceſter, 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 ac⯑ceſſion 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 archi⯑tect; [104] which accounts for his being made comptroller of the royal works and buildings under Henry the Seventh. He founded a ſchool at King⯑ſton 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 be⯑longing 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 Octo⯑ber, 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 diſ⯑pleaſed many of the great lords, who under the command of Oſ⯑win 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 Al⯑cred 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 obſerva⯑tion, 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 prefer⯑ments he had attained in the church before he left England, though ſome ſay he was abbot of Canterbury. The occaſion of his leaving his na⯑tive 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 fa⯑vourites. "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 em⯑ployed his learned favourite to write ſeveral books againſt the heretical opinions of Felix biſhop of Urgil in Catalonia, and to defend the ortho⯑dox 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 eſta⯑bliſhed in the imperial palace, over which Alcuinus preſided, and in which the princes and prime nobility were educated; and other acade⯑mies were eſtabliſhed in the chief towns of Italy and France, at his inſti⯑gation, 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 bene⯑fits 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 [106] 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 edi⯑tion, 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, men⯑tions 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 phy⯑ſician to the nunnery, was intruſted with the library, had baſely ſtole it. And truly, in his treatiſe of Baniſhment, ſome things are found inter⯑ſperſed 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 know⯑ledge; 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 ſe⯑veral 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 eru⯑dition, having an elegant ſtyle, and being wonderfully well acquainted with books, both on philoſophical and religious ſubjects." In fact, con⯑ſidering the cloud of ignorance by which he was ſurrounded, and the great difficulty of obtaining knowledge without proper inſtruction, Ald⯑helm 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 ac⯑quire every ſpecies of learning in his power. For a copy of this curi⯑ous 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, [108] 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 Northum⯑berland, 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. Manu⯑ſcript, in Bennet-college, Cambridge. Publiſhed among Bede's Opuſ⯑cula. 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 re⯑lative 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 re⯑queſt, 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 dig⯑nities; 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 be⯑longed 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 ſub⯑mitted to obey this archbiſhop; John Bromton gives us an inſtance of the king's ſubmiſſion, which at the ſame time ſhows the prelate's haugh⯑tineſs. 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, (inti⯑mating 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 conſe⯑crated 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 diſ⯑courſe, 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, an⯑ſwered 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 epiſ⯑copal 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 pre⯑vailed 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 Re⯑volution, when Maſſey the popiſh dean of Chriſt-church fled, his deanery was conferred on him. In this ſtation he behaved in an exem⯑plary 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 imi⯑tation of his predeceſſor Dr. Fell, he publiſhed yearly a piece of ſome anci⯑ent 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 [111] Hiſtory of the Rebellion was intruſted to him and biſhop Spratt: but it doth not appear that they made any additions, or conſiderable altera⯑tions, 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 com⯑poſed 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 compoſi⯑tions 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 ma⯑terials, that he had marked down every thing he had met with con⯑cerning 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 Glou⯑ceſter.

He was a man of a very chearful and pleaſant turn of mind. In⯑deed, 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 [112] 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 [...] munifi⯑cent patron, as well as one of the greateſt men in England, i [...] conſider⯑ed 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 ne⯑phew 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 inau⯑gurated 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 ene⯑mies took up arms. They were overcome and ſlain. But ſoon af⯑ter, 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 Charle⯑magne, where the Engliſh were always well received. Aldulph never after recovered his crown; for two years after, the kingdom of Nor⯑thumberland 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 mea⯑ſures 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 mathe⯑matics; 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 goe⯑metry. 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 un⯑couth 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 compaſ⯑ſion. "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 neceſ⯑ſity, 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 [114] 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 ſci⯑ences; 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 af⯑terwards 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 ſatis⯑factory 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 other⯑wiſe, 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 vi⯑brating chords, whoſe ſolution, as well as the theory of the oſcillation of the air and the propagation of ſound, had been given but incom⯑pletely 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 [115] 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 con⯑cerning the Integral Calculus, which is greatly indebted to him for the ra⯑pid 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 compa⯑nion, 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 accom⯑panied his mathematical genius. Our author's eulogiſt aſcribes to envy, detraction, and to other motives nearly as ungenerous, all the diſappro⯑bation, 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 af⯑fixed 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 [116] 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, Hiſto⯑rical, and Philological Miſcellanies: theſe were followed by the Me⯑moirs 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 Let⯑ters 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 ſer⯑vile 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 occupa⯑tions 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 pla⯑nets, 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 co⯑lours. Voltaire was an auxiliary in the conteſt; but as, in point of candour and decency, he had no reputation to loſe; and as he weaken⯑ed 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 honour⯑able 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 in⯑timate 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 in⯑truſt him with the education of the Grand Duke; a propoſal accompa⯑nied with all the flattering offers that could tempt a man, ambitious o [...] [117] 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 con⯑firmed 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 ac⯑count, more eſpecially of thoſe which exhibit new ſubjects, or new me⯑thods 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 con⯑nected with the moſt ſubtle and learned reſearches of rational mecha⯑nics; while, on the other, its power over the ſenſes and the ſoul exhi⯑bits to philoſophers phenomena no leſs ſingular, and ſtill more inexpli⯑cable.

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 benefi⯑cence, in his moral character; which are deſcribed, with a diffuſive de⯑tail, 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 exten⯑ſive 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 [118] 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, toge⯑ther with his family, whom he treated with the utmoſt humanity. Con⯑trary 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 Ju⯑piter 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 re⯑duced. 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 al⯑moſt 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 proper⯑ties, 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 infi⯑nite number of worlds: his tears were owing to his deſpair of conquer⯑ing 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 ap⯑pear 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 [119] 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 fur⯑niſhed him with good writers, he would long ago have been as much forgotten as the kings who reigned in Macedon before Amphi⯑tryon."’

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 after⯑wards 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 Tha⯑leſtris 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 con⯑clude 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 re⯑lates 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 ima⯑gination; 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 [120] by drinking immoderately: and even Plutarch, who affects to contra⯑dict 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 opi⯑nion, 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 Nor⯑mandy, 1639. After finiſhing his ſtudies at Roan, he entered into the order of Dominican friars, and was profeſſed there in 1655. Soon af⯑ter 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 ap⯑pointed 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 archbi⯑ſhop 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 eccle⯑ſiaſtical hiſtory; for, being deſired to reduce what was material in theſe conferences to writing, he did it with ſo much accuracy, that the learn⯑ed men who compoſed this aſſembly, adviſed him to undertake a com⯑plete 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 diſ⯑ordered [120] [...] [121] by the vicious conduct of his predeceſſor; he was a moſt ſtrict lover of juſtice, an encourager of learning and learned men, and favour⯑able 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 in⯑ſtigation 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 after⯑wards, 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 ca⯑thedral church at Lincoln having been accidentally burnt down, he re⯑built 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 call⯑ing 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 wea⯑ther, 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 [122] 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 re⯑tirement. 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 hun⯑dred 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 re⯑commended him much to the King. The poetry Alexander now turned his mind to was of a more ſublime kind than that which he had for⯑merly wrote; he now held the mirror up to kings and princes, endea⯑voured 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 pre⯑face he pleads his country. This was the year after reprinted at London, without the preface, but with two poems of our author's; one congratu⯑lating 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 [123] 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 ambi⯑tious 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 encourage⯑ment 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 counte⯑nance 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 li⯑beral portion of land allotted him there. Their number was not to ex⯑ceed 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 [124] ſtate for Scotland, in the room of the Earl of Haddington; and after⯑wards in September 1630, a peer of that kingdom, by the title of Viſ⯑count 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 al⯑lowed 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 ac⯑count of his life; and the epiſtles which are attributed to him are ſup⯑poſitious.

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 ty⯑ranny 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 [...] [125] 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 Shire⯑borne, Eſq. clerk of the ordnance, to be domeſtic tutor to his ſon, af⯑terwards Sir Edward Shireborne, who ſucceeded his father in the ord⯑nance, 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 Otto⯑man 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 jani⯑ſaries, who had him circumciſed, clothed him in the dreſs of the Ma⯑malukes, 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.

[126]In this ſtation, he manifeſted his equity and good adminiſtration of juſtice, improved the diſcipline of the Mamalukes, and laid the founda⯑tion of his future greatneſs. Here he gained the favour of the pacha Rahiph, who, diſcovering his merit, became his protector. He remain⯑ed 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 up⯑on them at the head of the Mamalukes, repulſed the enemy, and killed a great number on the ſpot. On his return, ſeveral tribes being col⯑lected, 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 con⯑firmed 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, at⯑tached 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 [...]eru⯑ſalem: 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 cou⯑rage, flattered his hopes, ſoothed his ſorrows, and made him taſte of pleaſures even in his diſgrace. Ali Bey might have paſſed his days hap⯑pily 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 [127] elbalad. While this was going on, Rahiph, now grand vizier, pro⯑cured him to be invited to return to Grand Cairo, and reſume his dig⯑nity: 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 con⯑ſtantly laying ſnares for him; they only waited a favourable opportu⯑nity: 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. Be⯑lieving 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 ren⯑dered the chief of each village reſponſible for the crimes of the inhabi⯑tants, [128] 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 circum⯑ſtance of duty was made uſe of to his diſadvantage; and it was repre⯑ſented at Conſtantinople, that theſe troops were deſigned to ſerve in the Ruſſian army: the calumny was credited, and a capigi, with four at⯑tendants, 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 or⯑dered 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 be⯑fore 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. [129] 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 be⯑fore 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-en⯑tered 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 be⯑trayed 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 agita⯑tion of mind, was taken very ill: in this ſituation the venerable ſcheik Daher came to viſit him, conſoled him that his ſituation was not deſpe⯑rate, 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 garri⯑ſons 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 abo⯑liſh 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 [130] 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 wound⯑ed 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 ge⯑nius. 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 Cor⯑rections 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 mar⯑ey?"’ —‘"Becauſe," replied Allatius, "I would be at liberty to take orders."’ Thus, as Mr. Bayle obſerves, he paſſed his whole life, wa⯑vering 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 un⯑natural; 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 [132] 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 colour⯑ing 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 aſſump⯑tion 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 baſe⯑neſs, 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 atten⯑tively 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 ap⯑plauſe [133] beſtowed on the works of that divine painter, he by degrees be⯑came 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 charac⯑ters 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 tranſpa⯑rent, 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 in⯑ſurance-office; nor linear, like thoſe proceeding from the man in the almanack; but of a dazzling brightneſs: by their light you ſee clear⯑ly the face, neck, and hands, of the Virgin (the reſt of the perſon be⯑ing 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 behold⯑ing the infant. This is a beautiful natural action, and is moſt inge⯑niouſly 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 beau⯑ty. There is a great variety of character in the different perſons pre⯑ſent, 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 [134] 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, Somer⯑ſetſhire, 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 univer⯑ſity 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 re⯑moved 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 be⯑ing 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 Bat⯑comb, in Dorſetſhire, the duty of which he performed with much in⯑duſtry and fidelity; and being a zealous covenanter, had ſome diſtur⯑bances 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 repreſen⯑tation, 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 him⯑ſelf and his father to be conſtituted aſſiſtants to the commiſſioners ap⯑pointed by parliament, for ejecting ſcandalous miniſters. This was in 1654; and Mr. Wood tells us they acted with ſeverity enough. How⯑ever, on the Reſtoration Mr. Allein ſhewed a diſpoſition to yield obe⯑dience to the government, but could not come up to the terms of con⯑formity, 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 appre⯑hended at the ſeat of Mr. Moore, who had been a member of parlia⯑ment, 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 exer⯑ciſe [135] 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 preach⯑ing, 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 con⯑trary he lived in a fair correſpondence with the clergy of his neighbour⯑hood, and the gentry paid him great reſpect, although of oppoſite ſenti⯑ments.

ALLEIN (JOSEPH),

WAS the ſon of Mr. Tobias Allein, and born at the Devizes, in Wilt⯑ſhire, 1623. He diſcovered an extraordinary tincture of religion, even in his childhood; at eleven years of age he was much addicted to pri⯑vate 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 in⯑ſtructed in logic, and at ſixteen was ſent to Lincoln College, Oxford. In 1651 he was removed to Corpus Chriſti College, a Wiltſhire ſcholar⯑ſhip 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 ad⯑mitted bachelor of arts, and became a tutor. In this arduous employ⯑ment he behaved himſelf with equal ſkill and diligence; ſeveral of his pupils became very eminent non-conforming miniſters, and not a few at⯑tained to good preferment in the eſtabliſhed church. In 1655, he be⯑came aſſiſtant in the miniſtry to Mr. G. Newton, of Taunton, in Somer⯑ſetſhire, 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 paſ⯑toral duty with incredible diligence; for beſides preaching and catechiſ⯑ing 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 appli⯑cations 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 noncon⯑formity. He preached, however, privately. His zeal and induſtry in [136] 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 what⯑ever 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 tak⯑ing 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 impriſon⯑ment, which himſelf, ſeven miniſters, and forty private perſons, ſuffered in the county gaol. This hindered his going to the waters; and his diſ⯑eaſe 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, be⯑ing 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 [137] 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—

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 Canter⯑bury, 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 ap⯑pointed chaplain to cardinal Wolſey, and was commiſſary and judge of his court as legate a latere; in the exerciſe of which office he was ſuſpect⯑ed 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 pro⯑cured him the living of Dalby, in Leiceſterſhire, although it belonged to the maſters and brethren of Burton-Lazars. He was incorporated doc⯑tor 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 no⯑bles, not only of this country but of others. The earl of Leiceſter, fa⯑vourite [138] 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 celebrat⯑ed men of his time, whoſe names do honour to this country, as, Sir Tho⯑mas 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 learn⯑ed authors, but are now loſt. His work are, 1. Claudii, Ptolomaei Pe⯑luſienſis de aſtrorum judiciis, aut ut vulgo vocant, quadripartitae con⯑ſtructionis liber ſecundus, cum expoſitione Thomae Allen, Angli, Ox⯑onienſis; or, The ſecond book of Claudius Ptolemy of Peluſium con⯑cerning 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 York⯑ſhire. Our Mr. Alleyn was born in the pariſh of St. Botolph, Biſhopſ⯑gate, 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, [139] and fluent elocution, and was in perſon, as appears by a picture preſerv⯑ed 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 there⯑in. Now as Marlow died in 1592, he muſt have been on the ſtage be⯑fore 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 ac⯑tions 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 [140] 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 hand⯑ſome. 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 repeti⯑tion; 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 mo⯑tive to an action, which ſeems to have ariſen only from a due ſenſe of piety and benevolence, is highly reprehenſible. A peruſal of Mr. Al⯑leyn'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 ejacu⯑lation, 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, there⯑fore, 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 main⯑tained there until they are fourteen or ſixteen years of age. The edi⯑fice 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, proceed⯑ings, 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 [141] 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 chan⯑cellor 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 ap⯑pointed a common ſeal to be made for it. He alſo wills, that his execu⯑tors ſhould build ten alms-houſes in the pariſh of St. Botolph, Biſhopſ⯑gate, 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 in⯑to 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 col⯑lege is inveſted; of ſix poor brethren and ſix poor ſiſters, and twelve poor children. In the deed is recited of what degree the fellows, bro⯑thers, 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 accumu⯑lating to rebuild the left wing, a part of which is at preſent occupied by [140] [...] [141] [...] [142] 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 com⯑munication 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. Al⯑leyn, "Our truſtie and well beloved Edward Alleyn, Eſq. of Dulwich, in our county of Surrey, chief maſter, ruler and overſeer of all and ſin⯑gular 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. Al⯑leyn 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. Af⯑ter he had taken the degree of bachelor of arts, he was choſen mode⯑rator in philoſophy; which office he continued to diſcharge, till the diſ⯑turbances [143] of the kingdom interrupted the ſtudies and repoſe of the uni⯑verſity. 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 hav⯑ing 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 ma⯑jeſty'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 ſurrender⯑ing 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 gar⯑riſon 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 en⯑tertained 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 ma⯑jeſty, 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, [144] 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 Oxford⯑ſhire, prevailed upon him to live in his family; where he continued ſe⯑veral 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 majeſ⯑ty'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 con⯑tracted 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 under⯑took 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 profeſ⯑ſor. 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 mo⯑nument of white marble. We ſhall give his character from the account of his life contained in the preface to his ſermons. He was a conſider⯑able 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. [145] Mr. Wood mentions a ſmall tract written by Dr. Alleſtry, entitled, The Privileges of the Univerſity of Oxford in point of Viſitation, in a Let⯑ter 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 Weſtmin⯑ſter 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 after⯑wards 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, al⯑though 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 Charen⯑ton, 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 [146] 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 Hol⯑land, 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; acknow⯑ledging 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 raiſ⯑ed 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 mem⯑ber 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 Eng⯑land, 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 [...] [147] 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 ſcho⯑lar 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 ac⯑quaintance with the Hebrew and Rabbinical learning, was diſplayed in his laborious performance reſpecting the Trinity. Our author con⯑tinued 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 genero⯑ſity 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 Pi⯑zarro 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 tranſ⯑lated 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 Alman⯑zor, 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 redemp⯑tion 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 depo⯑ſited 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.

[149]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. Hav⯑ing 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 ene⯑my 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 proceed⯑ed 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 Por⯑tugueze were obliged to retreat. Almeida ſailed next day to Cananor, where he found it neceſſary to build a ſtrong fort to protect his country⯑men 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 [150] 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 in⯑formed 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 attempt⯑ed 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 ene⯑my'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 or⯑der 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 ex⯑pedition 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 Spa⯑niſh 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 [...] [151] inflamed the animoſity between Almeida and Albuquerque; and the former not only ſtill refuſed to deliver up his government, but ordered Al⯑buquerque to be confined; but Coutigna, another commander, arriving from Portugal, reconciled them to each other, and Almeida to the ſur⯑render 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 ex⯑pired this brave, honeſt, and renowned commander by his own impru⯑dence. 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 pro⯑tection 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 imme⯑diately ſailed to that place, engaged it, and after a fierce conflict, gave them a total defeat. He then returned to Cananor, where he was receiv⯑ed 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 king⯑dom [152] 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 Cam⯑baya 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, find⯑ing they were becalmed, and could not come to cloſe quarters with the enemy, adviſed him to return. This he declined, and ſoon receiv⯑ed another deſperate wound in the face with a dart. The action con⯑tinued 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 opi⯑nion, 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 ren⯑dering 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. Hop⯑ing 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 Portu⯑gueze 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 ſurvi⯑vors 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, pub⯑liſhed 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 [153] in 1742. He has left us ſome commentaries on many authors of An⯑tiquity, 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 Dorſet⯑ſhire, which biſhoprick was afterwards tranſlated to Saliſbury. Good⯑win 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 plea⯑ſures, 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, [154] 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 pro⯑bable 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 gentle⯑man, 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 circum⯑ſtance 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 ill⯑neſs. [155] He read the Bible fourteen times, with ſeveral comments on it. He is ſaid to have found fault with the ſtructure of the mundane ſyſ⯑tem, 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 un⯑eaſy, that a ſubject of theirs, of ſo great merit as Alpini, ſhould con⯑tinue at Genoa, when he might be of ſo much ſervice and honour to their ſtate: they therefore recalled him in 1593, to fill the profeſſor⯑ſhip of botany at Padua; and he had a ſalary of 200 florins, which was afterwards raiſed to 750. He diſcharged this office with great reputa⯑tion: but his health became very precarious, having been much broke by the voyages he had made. According to the regiſter of the uni⯑verſity 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 concern⯑ing 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, concern⯑ing the Raphonticum. Padua, 1612, and 1629, quarto. 7. Of exotic plants, in two books. Venice, 1699, in quarto. He left ſe⯑veral 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 [156] divinity, but alſo became a good philoſopher and hiſtorian. He return⯑ed 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 perſpi⯑cuity, 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 won⯑derful 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 au⯑thor, 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 [157] 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 pla⯑giariſm. And we may affirm, that if any epitome of Engliſh hiſtory deſerved well of the public in general, we would ſay this hiſtory of Al⯑tedus 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 ſo⯑ciety committed to his care. His merit recommended him to Sir Jo⯑nathan Trelawney, biſhop of Wincheſter, who appointed him his chap⯑lain, 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 mar⯑riage contract; and a verdict obtained againſt him for 2000l. which pro⯑bably 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 reſpect⯑fully 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 Oak⯑ham, in Rutlandſhire, as aſſiſtant to the maſter of the free-ſchool. Be⯑ing 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 ſa⯑tisfied 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 Wel⯑lingborough, 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 in⯑duced Mr. Cawton, an eminent non-conformiſt in Weſtminſter, to re⯑commend 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 in⯑formers 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 pub⯑lic teſtimonies of his affection for the government; but on all oc⯑caſions 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 mi⯑niſtry, 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 ſer⯑mon was preached by Mr. Slater, and his memory will always be re⯑membered by his own learned and elegant writings; the moſt remark⯑able of which are, 1. Antiſozzo; in vindication of ſome great truths [159] 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 Millena⯑rian▪ 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, ſig⯑nalized himſelf by his eloquence and judgment, at the ſynod of Dor⯑drecht, in which he diſputed on the ſide of the Palatinate. When Hei⯑delberg 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 pub⯑liſhed at Amſterdam, in 1687. We may perceive by them, that [160] our doctor had read all kinds of writers, and particularly the Rabbies. He has loaded his productions with many of their minutiae. His ene⯑mies uſed to ſay, that he differed from a Jew only by not being circum⯑ciſed. There was a third of this name, Merſon Alting, who died in 1713, and was the author of the Sacred Chronicle, and Deſcriptio Ger⯑maniae Inferioris.

ALVARY.

THE name of three prieſts of the church of Rome. The firſt, a Do⯑minican, 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 doc⯑trines he had embraced. The ſecond, Emanuel, was born in the iſland of Madeira, in 1526, entered into the ſociety of Jeſuits, and be⯑came 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 In⯑ſtitutione 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 fa⯑ther Emanuel on the throne; and alſo for Pope Clement VII. He gave an account of his voyage to this pontiff, in preſence of the Empe⯑ror 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 Ethio⯑pia, 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 [...] [161] 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 vario⯑rum. 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 phy⯑ſician and poet. The queen of Poland was deſirous of having Jeremy for her phyſician; but a love of his country and of philoſophy pre⯑vented 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 [162] 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 fa⯑mine 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 [163] 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 acknow⯑ledged 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 exiſt⯑ing, 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 ſacra⯑ments 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 Chriſ⯑tian 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 diſap⯑pointment. 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 [164] 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 mar⯑riage 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'Am⯑boiſe 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 im⯑poſts were ſoon reduced one tenth. His virtues coinciding with his knowledge, he made the French nation happy, and endeavoured to pre⯑ſerve the glory they had acquired. By his advice Lewis XII. under⯑took 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 mag⯑nificence, 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 bene⯑fice, 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 of⯑fered 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 [...] [165] 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 conſider⯑able 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 mea⯑ſures 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 op⯑portunity 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 diſ⯑membered. 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 king⯑dom; 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 commiſ⯑ſioners 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 king⯑dom. As he was governor of Normandy, he made a progreſs through that [166] province for the expreſs purpoſe of ſeeing his new code properly eſ⯑tabliſhed.

There were ſeveral other diſtinguiſhed men of this name, as Aimery D'Amboiſe, a brother of the former, who was grand maſter of the or⯑der 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 enter⯑prizes; 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 live⯑ly comedy, called Les Neapolitains. 4. Adrian D'Amboiſe, brother of the latter, who was author of a tragedy called Holoferne. 5. James D'Am⯑boiſe, 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 fol⯑lowed 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, exhort⯑ing 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 ſur⯑priſed him exceedingly, ſo that he retired immediately, and uſed every method to divert them from their reſolution of chooſing him; but at laſt [167] he was obliged to comply, and was baptized; being before only a ca⯑techumen, 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 op⯑poſition 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 in⯑tereſt with the people to pacify them.

Ambroſe was ſent a ſecond time to the tyrant Maximus; for Va⯑lentinian 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 ma⯑giſtrates were ſtoned, and their bodies dragged along the ſtreets. Theo⯑doſius 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 diſ⯑tinction 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 re⯑pentance. Some time after Theodoſius coming to Milan, went to re⯑ceive the ſacrament at the great church; where Ambroſe meeting him at [168] 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, ac⯑cording 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 con⯑ſiderable 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 co⯑piouſneſs 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 with⯑out 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. Au⯑guſtin: 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 ad⯑mitted 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 cir⯑cumſtances, he was often obliged to the bounty of William Earl of Bed⯑ford 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, ap⯑pointed 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 Gar⯑ſtang, and afterwards at Preſton, in his own county. He was very zealous and very active againſt the clergy of the eſtabliſhed church, eſ⯑pecially after he was appointed aſſiſtant to the commiſſioners for ejecting ſuch whom they called ſcandalous and ignorant miniſters, and ſchool⯑maſters. [169] 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 Bri⯑tons 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 un⯑happy 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 aſ⯑ſerts, that he built Stone-henge near Saliſbury, in memory of three hun⯑dred 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, diſ⯑guiſed 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 pro⯑bably [170] imbibing ſome Calviniſtical tenets, he afterwards diſtinguiſhed himſelf in maintaining the ſame, and gave great diſguſt to certain per⯑ſons in that univerſity. One inſtance of this is mentioned by Dr. Fuller, who informs us, that Mr. Ames preaching at St. Mary's, took oc⯑caſion 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 reputa⯑tion for many years. He was at the ſynod of Dort in 1618, and in⯑formed 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 Rot⯑terdam. 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 va⯑luable 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 [171] 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 diſ⯑covered 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 ſpeak⯑ing 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. Ameri⯑cus 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 [172] author from the reproaches which have been caſt on him, as an en⯑courager 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 hiſ⯑tory, 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, ex⯑tracted 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 poeti⯑cal 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 Ro⯑bert Walpole's adminiſtration, that, although we have but few materials with regard to the circumſtances of his life, he cannot be entirely omit⯑ted. 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 par⯑ticular 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 ſenti⯑ments, and his attachment to the cauſe of the Revolution, and of the Hanover ſucceſſion; but he had probably been guilty of real miſbeha⯑viour. 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 [173] 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 uni⯑verſity. The miſcellanies are upon a variety of ſubjects, both ſacred and profane. They are partly originals, and partly paraphraſes, imi⯑tations, 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, en⯑titled 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 under⯑taking, was conducting the celebrated political paper called the Craftſ⯑man, 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 adminiſtra⯑tion, was very conſiderable. This effect was not entirely, or chiefly, owing to the abilities of Mr. Amhurſt. He was aſſiſted by Lord Bolin⯑broke, and Mr. Pulteney, and probably by other leaders of the oppoſi⯑tion. 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 publica⯑tion 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, [174] 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 mi⯑niſtry, we believe prudently, dropped the proſecution. Notwithſtand⯑ing 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, bor⯑rowed 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 re⯑main. 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 pre⯑bendary 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 Eraſ⯑mus 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. Chad⯑wi [...]k, a diſſenting clergyman, From Taunton he was removed to Exeter, [176] 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 ſub⯑mit to ſuch other exerciſes as are thought proper. But our ſtudent be⯑ing deſirous of further improvement, removed to London, and attended a courſe of experimental philoſophy. He afterwards returned to Taun⯑ton, 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 con⯑ducted 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 gen⯑tlemen 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 [177] and he was too liberal in his ſentiments to pleaſe the bigots and en⯑thuſiaſts. 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 mi⯑niſters had formed a deſign to procure an enlargement of the tolera⯑tion 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 ratio⯑nal 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, experi⯑mental 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, [178] and was the author of ſome poetical pieces.—A volume of his ſer⯑mons 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 recom⯑mendation 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 Thea⯑genes 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 for⯑tune 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 Thea⯑genes. 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 la⯑bours, 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 car⯑dinal de Tournon, that the cardinal recommended him to the king, to to be preceptor to his two younger ſons. While he was in this employ⯑ment, he finiſhed his tranſlation of Plutarch's Lives, which he dedicated to [179] 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, recommend⯑ed 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 neg⯑lect 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 fi⯑niſhed 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. Hav⯑ing 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 con⯑ſiderable 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 admiſ⯑ſion to the profeſſorſhip, with his previous examination, and his in⯑augural theſis De Sacerdotio Chriſti, redounded much to his reputation.

[180]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 ac⯑quainted 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 con⯑trary 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 renew⯑ed 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 Span⯑hemius 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 [181] original ſin, being attacked in this ſynod, Mr. Amyraut appeared be⯑fore 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 de⯑claring 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 doc⯑trine, 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 ſeneſ⯑chal 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 en⯑deavoured 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 [182] 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 inter⯑red 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 to⯑gether, 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 Har⯑pagus 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 ſcur⯑rilous language: the nurſe w [...]hed he might one day commend him as much as he had the [...] abuſed him. Her wiſhes were fulfilled, for Cleo⯑bulus grew to be a beautiful youth, and Anacreon falling in love with [183] 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 remain⯑ed 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 be⯑trayed 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 vir⯑tuous 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 re⯑volt 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 ex⯑traordinary, 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 [184] he continued firm againſt their attacks, and took a reſolution of ſtudy⯑ing divinity. He went to Geneva in 1633, and went through a courſe of philoſophy under Mr. Du Pan, and his divinity ſtudies under Span⯑heim, 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 abi⯑lities 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 re⯑putation 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 profeſ⯑ſors of divinity, and the German and Dutch miniſters attended his ſer⯑mons 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 eager⯑neſs, 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 [...] [185] happened at Berlin the 3d of September, 1692, when he was ſeventy⯑five 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 accord⯑ingly 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 curio⯑ſity 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 con⯑tinue the argument by writing than perſonal diſputation: it was agreed however that neither party ſhould publiſh the particulars of this confer⯑ence. 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 oc⯑caſioned 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 there⯑fore 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 [186] 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 ad⯑dreſſed to the reformed of France, in the year 1682. We cannot form a truer idea of the variety of learning which enlivened his conver⯑ſation, than from a book intitled Melange critique de Litterature recuil⯑li 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 capa⯑city for learning, was extremely deſirous of engaging him in their order; but Ancourt's averſion to a religious life rendered all his efforts ineffec⯑tual. 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 com⯑ing to Paris, Ancourt compoſed an entertainment for his diverſion. Ancourt began at length to grow weary of the theatre, which he quit⯑ted 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 [187] 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 nine⯑teenth 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 opi⯑nions 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 Man⯑wood, 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 impriſon⯑ment 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 Ge⯑neva diſcipline, lord [...]hief juſtice Anderſon greatly diſtinguiſhed him⯑ſelf; 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 [188] 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 in⯑deed 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 charg⯑ing 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 Re⯑ports in his time, publiſhed by Mr. Goldeſborough: "The caſe of Reſceit was moved again; and Shuttleworth ſaid, that he cannot be re⯑ceived, 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. Caven⯑diſh, 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 let⯑ter 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 begin⯑ning 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 [189] 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 re⯑monſtrating 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 Bedford⯑ſhire, with great funeral pomp. As to the writings of this great law⯑yer, 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. prothono⯑tary 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 employ⯑ed 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 publiſh⯑ed by Chemnitius, againſt the doctrine of the Jeſuits, before the cloſe of the council of Trent; and as Chemnitius took this opportunity of writ⯑ing a very large work, intitled Examen Concilii Tridentini, Andrada thought himſelf obliged to defend his firſt piece againſt this learned ad⯑verſary. He compoſed therefore a book, which his two brothers pub⯑liſhed after his death, at Liſbon, in 1578, intitled Defenſio Tridentinae Fidei Catholicae, quinque libris comprehenſa, adverſus Haereticorum Ca⯑lumnias, 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 proteſ⯑tants than he, becauſe he maintained ſome opinions a little extravagant concerning the ſalvation of the heathens. Andrada was eſteemed an [196] excellent preacher; his ſermons were publiſhed in three parts, the ſe⯑cond 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: Oſo⯑rius, 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 philo⯑ſophy 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 paſ⯑tor 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 Auguſ⯑t [...]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 Staphy⯑lus'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 thi⯑ther. 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 [191] 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 agree⯑ment 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 em⯑braced the tenets of Flacius Illyricus, and confuted him before the ſe⯑nate 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 Wirtem⯑berg 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 dif⯑ferent parts. To this aſſembly the elector had likewiſe invited ſeveral other eminent divines, who wrote in conjunction a book, which was af⯑terwards 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 enga⯑ged 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 [192] 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 aſſert⯑ed, 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 faceti⯑ous. 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 Ubi⯑quity 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 pur⯑ſue 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 par⯑ticular 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 pro⯑feſſor at Padua about the year 1330; but he was recalled to Bologna, [193] 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: "Jo⯑annem Andream (ſays he) doctorem Bononienſem cujus fama admodum vul⯑gata eſt, ſubagitantem ancillam domeſticam uxor deprehendit: re inſueta ſtu⯑pefacta 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 No⯑vella, 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 af⯑fair which hindered him from reading lectures to his ſcholars, he ſent his daughter in his room; and leſt her beauty ſhould prevent the at⯑tention 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 eulo⯑giums have been beſtowed upon him, having been called archidoctor decretorum; in his epitaph he has the title of "Rabbi doctorum, lux, cen⯑ſor, 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 philo⯑ſophy at Herborn under Alſtedius; after which he went to Bremen, [194] 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 conti⯑nued 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 ob⯑ſtacle to his promotion in the miniſtry.

ANDREINI (ISABELLA),

A NATIVE of Padua, and moſt celebrated actreſs towards the be⯑ginning 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 acknowledg⯑ment of this honour, never forgot to mention among her titles that of Aca⯑demica 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 [195] ears of the audience. Under her picture the following inſcription is written: "Hoc hiſtricae eloquentiae caput lector admiraris, quid ſi au⯑ditor 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 qua⯑lity 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 ho⯑nour, 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 mat⯑ter 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 rudi⯑ments 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 ſcholar⯑ſhips 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 [196] 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 Crip⯑plegate, 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 dili⯑gent 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 conſi⯑derable 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, over⯑heard 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, [197] 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. Wal⯑ler 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, Septem⯑ber 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 them⯑ſelves: 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 [198] 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 like⯑wiſe 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 advan⯑ces 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 paſſ⯑ing 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 how⯑ever 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 fa⯑milies 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 im⯑provement [199] 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 aca⯑demy 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 un⯑cle. Whilſt Philp V. of Spain was maſter of the kingdom of Naples, he was honoured with the title of principal hiſtoriographer, and after⯑wards 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 [200] 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 peripa⯑tetic philoſophy. He attempted even to make the principles of Ariſ⯑totle ſubſervient to the explaining the moſt impenetrable myſteries of religion: and with this view he engaged in the diſcuſſion of predeſtina⯑tion, 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 pecu⯑liarity of his temper and genius: "I value myſelf (ſays he) upon a bre⯑vity 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 learn⯑ed 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 un⯑derſtand me, it is unreaſonable for them to exclaim againſt my doc⯑trines." 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, how⯑ever, 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 cen⯑ſure, wherein he complains that they had given him a vague undeter⯑mined cenſure, without taxing any particular propoſition. He died ſome time after the reſtoration of Charles II. but in what year is un⯑certain.

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 Bour⯑deaux 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 [201] 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, Hun⯑gary, Bohemia, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Pruſſia, Flan⯑ders, Frieſland, and ſeveral other provinces contiguous to Germany, together with Tuſcany, Lombardy, and the other countries of Italy, ac⯑knowledged 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 ano⯑ther 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 pro⯑vincials of the provinces who declared for Clement VII. not being pre⯑ſent, 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 hav⯑ing 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, [202] 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 god⯑father, the Lord Chicheſter deputy of Ireland. He was removed to Eng⯑land 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 af⯑terwards 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 ſucceſs⯑ful, 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 nego⯑ciations, 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 [203] aſſumed the ſupreme power, he was not able to hinder them from doing many things againſt his judgment; and, therefore, ought not to be blam⯑ed f [...]r thoſe irregularities, which were ſuch as the times ſeemed to re⯑quire, 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 repre⯑ſents 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 parlia⯑ment 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 wor⯑thy 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 re⯑ſettling 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 know⯑ing 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 correſ⯑pondence 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 ba⯑ron 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 [204] 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 diſcharg⯑ing his duty to his king and country without hurting others, and with⯑out 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 Fe⯑bruary, 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 Buck⯑ingham 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 follow⯑ed by another commiſſion of the ſeventeenth of January, 1672-3, to Prince Rupert, &c. whereunto the Duke of Ormond, the Earl of Shafts⯑bury, and the lord treaſurer Clifford, were added to inſpect the affairs of Ireland, viz. the acts of ſettlement and explanation, and the exe⯑cution of them, and the diſpoſing the forfeited lands, and the ſtate of his majeſty's revenue, &c. After which, by reaſon of his ſingular pru⯑dence 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, notwithſtand⯑ing 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 him⯑ſelf they might be in religious or political opinions. This noble diſ⯑poſition 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 [205] an information delivered upon oath, at the bar of the houſe of com⯑mons, 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 im⯑poſture 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 animadver⯑ſions 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 ene⯑mies 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 Oxford⯑ſhire, where he devoted his time to his ſtudies, and meddled very little [206] with public affairs: yet did he not entirely abandon buſineſs, much leſs diſcover any pique or diſreſpect towards the royal family, on ac⯑count of what he had ſuffered; but behaved with ſo much temper and duty, that without betraying or even diſſembling his principles, he re⯑covered 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 wri⯑ters, 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 conſide⯑ration, 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 per⯑formed 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, [207] but remain in his family, he cauſed it to be diſpoſed in a manner ſuit⯑able 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 Memo⯑randum 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 fa⯑ther 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 pay⯑maſter 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-trea⯑ſurer 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 liti⯑gations, which have employed the courts of juſtice in Ireland, and de⯑manded the attention of the houſes of peers both in Ireland and in Eng⯑land. 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▪ [208] 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 Gundul⯑phus, 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 af⯑ter, 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 pre⯑vailed 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 ſecu⯑red 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 mo⯑ney he could for that purpoſe, Anſelm made him an offer of five hun⯑dred 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 con⯑ſecrating 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 reme⯑died: but the king refuſed his requeſt, and even treated him very roughly; upon which the archbiſhop and his retinue withdrew from court. Ano⯑ther 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 pre⯑ſent [209] miſunderſtandings could be made up. But the king abſolutely re⯑fuſed 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 cler⯑gymen who were Anſelm's favourites, and miſerably haraſſed the te⯑nants 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. Notwith⯑ſtanding 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 [210] 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 argu⯑ment with ſo much judgment, learning, and penetration, that he ſilen⯑c [...]d his adverſaries, and gave general ſatisfaction to the Weſtern church. This argument was afterwards digeſted by him into a tract, and is ex⯑tant among his other works. In the ſame council Anſelm ge [...]erouſly interpoſ [...]d, and prevented the pope from pronouncing ſentence of ex⯑communication 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, per⯑ceiving 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 ſucceſ⯑ſors; this being the firſt time of an archbiſhop of Canterbury's appear⯑ing at a Roman ſynod. When the council broke up, Anſelm immedi⯑ately 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 re⯑ceived with extraordinary reſpect by the king and the people, and thus for matters went ſmoothly enough. But when it was required of An⯑ſelm, 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 [211] 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, hav⯑ing 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, like⯑wiſe, 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 ſig⯑nified▪ 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. [212] 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 jour⯑ney, 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 Nor⯑mandy, hearing that Anſelm deſigned to excommunicate him, deſired his ſiſter to bring him with her into Normandy, with a promiſe of con⯑deſcenſion 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 com⯑plain of that ſtretch of his prerogative. At length the ambaſſadors re⯑turned [213] 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 entertain⯑ment. 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 de⯑pendency 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 arch⯑biſhop 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 [214] 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 mar⯑ried 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 [215] 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 com⯑mand of the Diamond, one of the Downs ſquadron, was beſtowed upon him: which command he held but about three months, the Diamond be⯑ing then paid off. On the 25th of January, 1731-2, he was again call⯑ed 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 pro⯑perty he had acquired, and the ſettlement he had made in the province. Here he continued till the ſpring of the year 1735, when, in conſe⯑quence 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 di⯑rections of government; and it is underſtood in the family, that he [216] 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 de⯑parted 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 diffi⯑culties in doubling Cape Horn; that in this perilous paſſage, the re⯑mainder 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, anchor⯑ed 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 Cen⯑turion, 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 embark⯑ed 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 under⯑taking 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 [217] 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 care⯑fully compared with the examinations of his priſoners, and the informa⯑tion of ſeveral intelligent perſons, who fell into his hands; ſo, through the whole enterprize, he acted with a remarkable diſcretion, and with a calm⯑neſs 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 huma⯑nity 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 na⯑vigators, 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 [218] glory upon the Engliſh nation, than his behaviour to his priſoners in general, and eſpecially to the women before mentioned. This beha⯑viour was ſo honourable in itſelf, and ſo beneficent in its conſequences, that it deſerves to be particularly noticed. Though his force was ren⯑dered 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 Aca⯑pulco ſhip, he purſued that plan with the greateſt ſagacity and perſe⯑verance. 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 con⯑ſtructing 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 re⯑ſitting 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 Cen⯑turion 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, pur⯑ſued 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, intre⯑pidity, 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.'’

[219]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 win⯑ter 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'An⯑ville's fleet, of Admiral Anſon's ſtation and intention. However, being employed again early in the enſuing ſpring, he had an opportu⯑nity of rendering a ſignal ſervice to his country. Being then on board the Prince George of 90 guns, with rear admiral Warren, in the De⯑vonſhire, 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 mer⯑chandiſ [...], 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 de⯑ſigns 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; Mon⯑ſieur, vouz avez vaincu l'invincible, et la gloire vous ſuit. On the 13th of June following, his Majeſty king George the ſecond, in conſidera⯑tion 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 con⯑ſtantly attended his majeſty on his going abroad, and on his return to [220] 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 ex⯑erting 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 bril⯑liant 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 add⯑ed, that neither the time of ſending a fleet, nor the ſtrength of it, de⯑pended ſolely upon the firſt lord of the admiralty, but muſt have had the concurrent opinion of the whole cabinet. On the 16th of Novem⯑ber, 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 [221] admiralty, was crowned with ſucceſs, under the moſt glorious admini⯑ſtration 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 Spit⯑head on the firſt of June, with a formidable fleet, Sir Edward Hawke ſerving under him; and by continually cruizing before Breſt, he pro⯑tected 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 Char⯑lotte yacht, to convoy her preſent majeſty to England; whom he land⯑ed, after a rough and tedious paſſage, on the 7th of September. In Fe⯑bruary, 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 gover⯑nor 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 dif⯑ferent 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 [222] 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 in⯑curred 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 repreſen⯑tation 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, Tho⯑mas Anſon, Eſq. who was member of parliament for Litchfield, and with whom he had always lived in the ſtricteſt friendſhip. This gentle⯑man 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 de⯑volved 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 conſider⯑able 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 Lon⯑don; 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 diſplea⯑ſure, 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 [223] 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 com⯑mitted 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 col⯑lege 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 ig⯑norant 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. Tay⯑lor, 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 [224] 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 an⯑ſwered, 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 or⯑dinary 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. An⯑thony's practice was founded. The age in which Dr. Anthony flouriſh⯑ed 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 Bed⯑ford, where he attained the character of a learned, honeſt, and induſ⯑trious 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 ſta⯑tues, intaglios, and other remains of antiquity, which were deſigned to perpetuate his memory, may be thought faithfully to repreſent his per⯑ſon, 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 in⯑famous 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 extra⯑vagant paſſion of Adrian was as blaſphemous as it was otherwiſe abhor⯑rent; 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 re⯑lated— 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 [226] 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 un⯑dertook one of the moſt difficult taſks in poetry, to write a tragedy; this was intitled Trazil, or The Invaſion of China. Antonides how⯑ever 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 dreſſ⯑ing 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 ſe⯑veral 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 remark⯑able 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 [...] [227] gave him a place in the admiralty. In the year 1678, Antonides mar⯑ried Suſanna Bermans, a miniſter's daughter, who had alſo a talent for poetry. His marriage was celebrated by ſeveral eminent poets, parti⯑cularly by the celebrated Peter Francius, profeſſor of eloquence, who compoſed ſome Latin verſes on the occaſion. Antonides, in the pre⯑face 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 mode⯑ration he ſhould obſerve, he muſt diſpleaſe ſome party. After mar⯑riage, 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 Sep⯑tember, 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 ex⯑preſſion, 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 ſe⯑veral 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 manage⯑ment of which he took Lucius Verus as his colleague. Dion Caſſius [228] 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 be⯑ing of a ſtrong vigorous conſtitution, and conſequently more fit for the fatigues of war. The ſame day he took upon him the name of Anto⯑ninus, 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 pro⯑nounced 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, An⯑toninus 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 Ro⯑mans 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 Fa⯑thers 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 Marco⯑manni, 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 Ger⯑mans, and carried on the war with great vigour. During this war, in 174, a very extraordinary event is ſaid to have happened, which, ac⯑cording to Dion Caſſius, was as follows: Antoninus's army being block⯑ed [229] 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, Antoni⯑nus made a treaty with ſeveral nations of Germany. Soon after, Avi⯑dius Caſſius, governor of Syria, revolted from the emperor: this inſur⯑rection, 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 in⯑dulgence 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 Commo⯑dus, on account of the victories gained over the Germans. Dion Caſ⯑ſius 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 Ha⯑drian had granted the ſame favour, and burnt all the writings relating to thoſe debts. He applied himſelf likewiſe to correct many enormi⯑ties, and introduced ſeveral excellent regulations. In the year 178, he left Rome with his ſon Commodus, in order to go againſt the Marco⯑manni, [230] and other barbarous nations; and the year following gained a conſiderable victory over them, and would, in all probability, have en⯑tirely 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 al⯑moſt 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 con⯑ſiſts 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 Eng⯑liſh,) 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 au⯑thor 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) perform⯑ed 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 commen⯑dation, 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 [231] in his own country, he went to ſtudy law at Salamanca, where he cloſely attended the lectures of Franciſco Ramos del Manzano, afterwards coun⯑ſellor to the king, and preceptor to Charles II. Upon his return to Seville, after he had finiſhed his law-ſtudies at Salamanca, he ſhut him⯑ſelf up in the royal monaſtery of Benedictines, where he employed him⯑ſell 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 nego⯑ciate their affairs at Rome. The cardinal of Arragon procured him from pope Alexander VII. a canonry in the church of Seville, the in⯑come 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 cru⯑ſade, 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 Biblio⯑theca, ſent them to cardinal d'Aguiſne, who paid the charge of the im⯑preſſion, 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-eccleſiaſti⯑cum 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 Brundu⯑ſium 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 [232] 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 ad⯑mitted 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. Poſthu⯑mius Albinus, in the year of Rome 653, when he oppoſed the turbu⯑lent 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, accord⯑ing 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 unfortu⯑nately 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 diſ⯑courſe, 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 incre⯑dible 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 com⯑mend 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 ex⯑actly reſemble the perſons repreſented, inſomuch that the phyſiogno⯑miſts 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 ex⯑cuſe, 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 im⯑poſſible, the perſon who had put the trick upon him not being preſent: [234] 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. Apol⯑lonius 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 fi⯑niſhing 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 ſuc⯑ceed 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 under⯑ſtood 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 Hie⯑rocles, we find that the drift of the latter, in the treatiſe which Euſe⯑bius 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 Apol⯑lonius; 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 [236] 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 Alex⯑andria, from whence he went to Rome, where he diſtinguiſhed him⯑ſelf 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 con⯑tained twenty-four books, or twenty-two according to Charles Ste⯑phens, 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 imper⯑fections, 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 re⯑preſſing the impetuoſity of thoſe who are too precipitate. In the pre⯑face 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 diſ⯑tinguiſh 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 comput⯑ed, 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 there⯑by [237] 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 con⯑ſidered 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 huſ⯑bands 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 in⯑forms us, to a ſon of the Earl of Northumberland's; but it is not cre⯑dible 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 ab⯑ſurdities 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 [238] 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 diſ⯑miſſed. 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, with⯑out the king's leave. It does not appear that this confinement was at⯑tended with any great ſeverity to either; for the Lady was allowed the uſe of Sir Thomas Parry's houſe and gardens, and the like gentle⯑neſs, 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 un⯑luckily. 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 her⯑ſelf, 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 gentle⯑man 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 gentle⯑woman, 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 deſir⯑ous 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 Til⯑bury, whilſt the rowers went on ſhore to refreſh themſelves; then they proceeded to Lee, and by that time the day appeared, and they diſco⯑vered 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 [...] [239] 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 look⯑ed 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 hav⯑ing prompted the Lady Arabella, not only to her eſcape, but to other things, it being known that ſhe had amaſſed upwards of twenty thou⯑ſand 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. Sey⯑mour continued in the Netherlands, yet the court made no farther ap⯑plications 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 extra⯑ordinary diſcoveries, upon which ſome quick ſteps would have been taken, had it not ſhortly after appeared, that her misfortunes had turn⯑ed her head, and that, conſequently, no uſe could be made of the evi⯑dence of a perſon out of her ſenſes. However, the Counteſs of Shrewſ⯑bury, who before had leave to attend her huſband in his ſickneſs, was [240] 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, be⯑cauſe 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 reſto⯑ration, 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 ordi⯑nary 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 Te⯑leſicles, 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 indigna⯑tion of Archilochus againſt Lycambes aroſe from the latter's not keep⯑ing his word: Lycambes had promiſed him his daughter, and after⯑wards 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 fol⯑lowed 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 de⯑famation, and out of the knowledge of the public. There were like⯑wiſe many looſe indelicate paſſages in the poem; and it is ſaid to have been on account of this ſatire, that the Lacedaemonians laid a prohi⯑bition on his verſes; having conſidered the reading of ſuch looſe pieces as not agreeable to the rules of modeſty. "The Lacedaemo⯑nians (ſays Valerius Maximus) commanded the book of Archilochus to [241] 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 him⯑ſelf.

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 Ar⯑chilochus. This poet excelled chiefly in iambic verſes, and was the inventor of them. He is one of the three poets whom Ariſtarchus ap⯑proved 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 Ariſto⯑phanes." 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 Archi⯑lochus.

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 where⯑on [242] 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 ſuc⯑ceeded 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 ſol⯑dier, who did not know him. "What gave Marcellus the greateſt con⯑cern (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 tranſ⯑port 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 in⯑ſtruments 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 [...] [243] 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 fa⯑mily, 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 diſ⯑dained. 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 daugh⯑ters 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 Eli⯑zabeth [244] 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. Up⯑on 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 trea⯑ſonable 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 War⯑wickſhire for their being ſeized and impriſoned. October 30, 1583, Mr. Somerville was committed to the Tower for high-treaſon. No⯑vember 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 Eli⯑zabeth, 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 de⯑ſired 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 pro⯑ſecutors, and having thus extenuated things to ſuch as heard him, he patiently ſubmitted to an ignominious death. His execution was ac⯑cording to the rigour of the law, his head being ſet (as Somerville's [245] 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 ſe⯑crecy, 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 au⯑thority to incline our belief, that he died for being a ſtout Engliſhman, rather than a bad ſubject. His ſon and heir Robert Arden, Eſq. be⯑ing 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 Eliza⯑beth, 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 elu⯑cidating 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 me⯑dal ſtruck, on one ſide of which he is repreſented with theſe words, IL DIVINO ARETINO; and on the reverſe, ſitting upon a throne, re⯑ceiving the preſents of princes, with theſe words, I PRINCIPI TRIBU⯑TATI DA POPOLI, TRIBUTANO IL SERVIDOR LORO. Some im⯑agine 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, [246] 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 irreligi⯑ous and obſcene pieces; ſuch are his dialogues, which were called Ra⯑gionamenti. 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 regard⯑ing," 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 pro⯑fitable 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 [247] 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 ho⯑nourable 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 origi⯑nals, 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 in⯑tereſt 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. [248] 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 ſa⯑crificed 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 Mon⯑troſe, 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 [249] 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, in⯑troduced 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 con⯑ſideration 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 af⯑ter 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 ad⯑mitted a Fellow of the College of Phyſicians. About this time, or a little after, Dr. Arbuthnot formed an intimate connection with the ce⯑lebrated triumvirate, Swift, Pope, and Gay; and it was not long be⯑fore he added a new luſtre to that conſtellation of wits by the bright⯑neſs 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 hiſ⯑tory of ſome feigned adventures. "They had obſerved," ſays the in⯑genious and learned Editor of Mr. Pope's works, "thoſe abuſes ſtill kept their ground, againſt all that the graveſt and ableſt authors [250] 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 re⯑gular 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 concur⯑ring 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 com⯑pleted. 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 re⯑lated 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. Du⯑ring 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 Govern⯑ment to have ſhewn a peculiar indulgence to a man of ſuch diſtinguiſh⯑ed 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 con⯑junction with Mr. Pope, he was engaged in giving aſſiſtance to Mr [251] Gay in the Comedy, or rather the Farce, of Three Hours after Mar⯑riage. This play was brought upon the ſtage in 1717, and was ill re⯑ceived, 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 bro⯑thers, 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 Diſſer⯑tations. 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 con⯑tinued 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, how⯑ever, 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 to⯑wards detecting and puniſhing the ſcandalous frauds and abuſes which had been carried on, under the ſpecious name of The Charitable Corpo⯑ration. 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 be⯑fore 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 af⯑fliction, he retired, in 1734, with a view of obtaining ſome ſmall re⯑lief, 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 [252] 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 acknow⯑ledged 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 qualifica⯑tions: I mean the excellence of his heart. He has ſhewn himſelf equal to any of his contemporaries in humour and vivacity; and he was ſu⯑perior to moſt men in acts of humanity and benevolence. His very ſar⯑caſms 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 at⯑tendant upon Bacchus, but continues as ſober and conſiderate as a diſ⯑ciple of Socrates. He is ſeldom ſerious, except in his attacks upon vice; and then his ſpirit riſes with a manly ſtrength, and a noble indig⯑nation. 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 ter⯑rible 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 hu⯑mour [253] 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 gal⯑lies. 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 fa⯑mily 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 in⯑ſtance, of his choice of the objects againſt which his humour and ſatire were directed. In ſome of his political principles we greatly differ from [254] him; and we think that caſes might be mentioned, in which his ridi⯑cule 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 up⯑on 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 advertiſe⯑ment: "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 per⯑ceive, that many, if not moſt of the tracts here aſcribed to him, can⯑not 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:

He was contemporary with Plato, Socrates, and Euripides, and moſt of his plays were written during the Peloponneſian war. His imagina⯑tion 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 common⯑wealth. [255] 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 come⯑dians 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 cele⯑brated 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 plea⯑ſure which ſhe received from it, was ſo exquiſite, that ſhe forgot all the contempt and indignation which Ariſtophanes deſerved for employ⯑ing his wit to ruin a man, who was wiſdom itſelf, and the greateſt or⯑nament 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 Lacedemo⯑nians, though it continued but ſeven years. The Acharnenſes was writ⯑ten 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 common⯑wealth to ſuch imprudent generals as Lamachus. Soon after, he re⯑preſented his Aves, or Birds, by which he admoniſhed the Athenians to fortify Decelaea, which he calls by a fictitious name Nepheloccoccy⯑gia. 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 [256] 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 with⯑out 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 ob⯑ſcure." "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 Ari⯑ſtophanes in his manner of writing, and has imitated him in many parts of his plays. Frichlin has written a vindication of our poet, in an⯑ſwer to the objections urged againſt him by Plutarch. How great an opinion Plato had of Ariſtophanes is evident even from Plutarch's ac⯑knowledgment, 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 Plu⯑tus 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 Nicho⯑machus, 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 no⯑tice 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 [257] 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 ſci⯑ences and religion of the Aegyptians, and that he thereby ſaved himſelf the trouble of travelling into Egypt. When he had ſtudied about fif⯑teen 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 re⯑putation, 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 Ca⯑liſthenes, his kinſman, who was accuſed of a conſpiracy againſt Alex⯑ander'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 hun⯑dred 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 Eu⯑rymedon, [258] a prieſt of Ceres, he wrote a large apology for himſelf, ad⯑dreſſed 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 fal⯑ling into the hands of his enemies: others affirm, that he threw him⯑ſelf 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 Dioge⯑nes 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 Theo⯑phraſtus, 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 hun⯑dred 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 Antoni⯑nus: 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 Ari⯑ſtotle, 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 [259] 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 ſupport⯑ed 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 read⯑ing 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 Ari⯑aniſm. 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 let⯑ters. [260] 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 de⯑manded a profeſſion of his faith, he preſented it to him in writing; but he had clothed his favourite tenets in the ſimplicity of Scrip⯑ture expreſſions, and he took oath of his belief in the contents of the paper which he delivered. Conſtantine, being perſuaded of the ſin⯑cerity of Arius, ordered Alexandria to admit him again into the church. Arius was now conducted in triumph by Euſebius and his other adhe⯑rents; but as they approached the great ſquare of Conſtantinople, Arius being preſſed by a natural neceſſity, retired to a houſe of con⯑venience, 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 de⯑prived 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 af⯑fliction, nor could he help returning to Holland, to be himſelf an eye⯑witneſs 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 [261] 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 univer⯑ſity, becauſe he maintained the philoſophy of Ramus in public with great warmth, and taught it in private: being obliged therefore to re⯑tire, 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 for⯑merly, 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 af⯑terwards to Amſterdam, where he found many calumnies had been raiſed againſt him, on account of his journey to Italy, which had ſome⯑what 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 Fra⯑neker, 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 con⯑fute; 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 Am⯑ſterdam 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 Cer⯑tainty 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 [262] and his adverſaries. Gomarus was a great perſecutor of Arminius; but the reputation of the latter was ſo well eſtabliſhed, that he was con⯑tinually 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 em⯑baſſador 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 funda⯑mentals 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 con⯑ſiderable 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 there⯑fore admired by connoiſſeurs in painting; but they are generally in⯑correct. What he painted of the Roman hiſtory is the moſt eſteemed of all his works. The French king has in his collection the following [263] 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 em⯑peror Hadrian and the two Antoninuſes, born at Nicomedia in Bithynia. He was ſtyled the ſecond Xenophon, and was raiſed to the moſt con⯑ſiderable 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 like⯑wiſe 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 Ni⯑comedes 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 up⯑on 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 Af⯑rica 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 like⯑wiſe [264] 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 Ro⯑man 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 Alexan⯑drias, an heroic poem in twenty-four book, upon the actions of Alex⯑ander 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 pre⯑ceptor ſtanding; he reproached the latter for not ſupporting properly the dignity of his employment: Arſenius politely excuſed himſelf, al⯑ledging 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 or⯑naments, made Arſenius fit in his place, and ordered Arcadius for the future to receive his leſſons ſtanding and uncovered. Arcadius, how⯑ever, profited but little by his tutor's inſtructions; for ſome time after he formed a deſign of diſpatching Arſenius. The officer to whom Ar⯑cadius had applied for this purpoſe, divulged the affair to Arſenius, who retired to the deſerts of Scete, where he paſſed many years in the ex⯑erciſes 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 ap⯑plied [265] 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 ob⯑tained 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 be⯑ing an excellent ſwordſman, he had often the advantage of his anta⯑goniſt. 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 inter⯑red 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 Ephe⯑ſus, 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 An⯑toninus 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 interpre⯑tation of dreams, being moved thereto, as he fancied, by the advice, [...], in ſome meaſure, by the command of Apollo. The work which [264] [...] [265] [...] [266] 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 [...] [267] 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 Lon⯑don. 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 kinſ⯑man 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 Celi⯑don 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, [268] and then the Archbiſhop Dubricius harangued them likewiſe, and gave them his bleſſing. On the day of battle, Arthur put on an ex⯑cellent 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 en⯑raged 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 con⯑dition, 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. [269] He alſo promoted Auguſel to the ſovereignty over the Scots, reward⯑ed other perſons of diſtinction, and took himſelf to wife Guanhu⯑mara, 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 Guilla⯑murius 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 ſail⯑ed to Iceland, which he likewiſe ſubdued, and received the ſubmiſ⯑ſions of Doldavius King of Gothland, and Gunſaſius King of the Orkneys, whom the very terror of his arms had reduced to obedi⯑ence. 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 chal⯑lenged 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 invit⯑ed. 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 Caer⯑leon, with a multitude of Britiſh Princes; there came likewiſe Guilla⯑murius King of Ireland, Malvaſius King of Iceland, Doldavius King [270] 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 receiv⯑ed 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: where⯑fore, 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 pre⯑ſently 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 be⯑came 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, Mo⯑dred made a ſtand again with ſixty thouſand men, with whom Ar⯑thur 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, [271] 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, conclud⯑ing 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 in⯑ſcription 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 Gi⯑raldus 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 be⯑ing 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 dona⯑tions, 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 chancellor⯑ſhip. 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, [272] when he had a conteſt with the univerſity of Oxford, about the righ [...] of viſitation. The affair was referred to King Richard, who deter⯑mined it in favour of the archbiſhop. At his viſitation in London, he revived an old conſtitution, by which the inhabitants of the re⯑ſpective 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 autho⯑rity: he accordingly nominated Arundel to the biſhopric of St. An⯑drew'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 treaſona⯑ble conſpiracy againſt our crown and royal dignity, has been ſenten⯑ced 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 in⯑formed he has been invited to your holineſs's court, countenanced in his miſbehaviour, taken into your protection, and put in hopes of re⯑covering his ſee, or at leaſt of being promoted in our kingdom to be⯑nefices of greater value than thoſe he enjoyed before. How deſtruc⯑tive 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 pre⯑caution 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 [...] [273] 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 pro⯑vide 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 ex⯑pect 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, pro⯑moted 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 arch⯑biſhop 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 dele⯑gates to the univerſity, who received them with reſpect, and ap⯑pointed 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 arch⯑biſhop, [274] who confirmed their cenſures, and ſent an authority in wri⯑ting 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, parti⯑cularly 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 em⯑peror 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 fa⯑bulous: 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 him⯑ſelf 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 [275] 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 Stafford⯑ſhire, the 23d of May, 1617. He was educated at the grammar-ſcho [...]l there; and having a genius for muſic, he was inſtructed here⯑in, and admitted a choriſter of that cathedral. At the age of ſix⯑teen, 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 fa⯑ther, whoſe bad oeconomy proved very injurious to himſelf and fa⯑mily. 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 Febru⯑ary, 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, mathema⯑tics, 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 [276] 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 ac⯑quainted 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 la⯑bour 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 com⯑miſſion 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 [...] [277] 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 curio⯑ſities; 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 be⯑nefaction was conſiderably augmented by the addition of his manu⯑ſcripts 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, [278] or Moſt Noble, implies, which is rightly noted by Mr. Selden, cor⯑recting in this reſpect Polydore Virgil, who miſtook it for a ſirname. But on king Edward's death, Edgar was deprived of his right, be⯑cauſe 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, Ha⯑rold, 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 acknow⯑ledged him as ſuch. But William Duke of Normandy, awing them with his victorious army, was owned and crowned monarch of Eng⯑land, 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 excel⯑lent 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 demand⯑ed 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 [279] 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 hiſto⯑ries 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 Apu⯑lia. 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 diſ⯑poſſeſſed of his lands; upon which he withdrew out of Normandy, and went into Scotland, to his brother-in-law king Malcolm. In the [280] 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 con⯑ſiderable 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 accom⯑pany 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 Northum⯑berland, 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 bro⯑ther 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 per⯑ſon, 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 [281] 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 de⯑feated 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 God⯑win, 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 Ger⯑man 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 men⯑tioned 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 [282] 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 Mil⯑ton-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 Con⯑ſiderations on the Spirit of Martin Luther, and the Original of the Re⯑formation. During his ſtay in the univerſity, he is generally thought to have borne no inconſiderable part in the famous controverſy, be⯑tween Dr. Bentley, and the Honourable Mr. Charles Boyle (after⯑wards Earl of Orrery), concerning the genuineneſs of Phalaris's Epiſ⯑tles; though Mr. Atterbury's name was not made uſe of on that occa⯑ſion. At what time he entered into holy orders, is not certainly known: but, in 1693, upon the death of his father, he made appli⯑cation 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 diſ⯑tinguiſhed 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 it⯑ſelf [283] 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, how⯑ever, 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 in⯑ſtalled 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 chief⯑ly from the fathers, by Mr. Archdeacon Gregory. Upon the acceſ⯑ſion of Queen Anne, in 1702, Dr. Atterbury was appointed one of her Majeſty's chaplains in ordinary; and, in October, 1704, he was ad⯑vanced to the deanery of Carliſle. About two years after this, he was engaged in a diſpute with Mr. Hoadly, concerning the advan⯑tages of Virtue with regard to the preſent life, occaſioned by his ſer⯑mon, 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, concern⯑ing 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 af⯑fairs in that houſe. The eleventh of May 1711, he was appointed by the convocation, one of the committee for comparing Mr. Whiſ⯑ton'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 appli⯑cation of ſeveral great men, in behalf of his competitor Dr. Smal⯑dridge. 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 [284] biſhopric of Rocheſter, and deanery of Weſtminſter; and he was con⯑ſecrated 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 be⯑gan to turn; and he received a ſenſible mortification preſently after the coronation of King George I. when, upon his offering to pre⯑ſent his Majeſty (with a view, no doubt, of ſtanding better in his fa⯑vour) with the chair of ſtate and royal canopy, his own perquiſites, as Dean of Weſtminſter, the offer was rejected, not without ſome evi⯑dent 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 com⯑mitment 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 rela⯑tion to the bill depending therein; but ſhould be ready to make his de⯑fence 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 ap⯑pointed 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 [285] 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 emi⯑nent 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 emi⯑nent 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 depar⯑ture, 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 corre⯑ſpondence 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 Atter⯑bury 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 Rebelli⯑on. 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 cor⯑reſpondence 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 oppo⯑ſite [284] [...] [285] [...] [286] 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 cho⯑ſen 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 knight⯑hood. In January following, the king appointed him lord chancel⯑lor; 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 dili⯑gent 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 ſen⯑tence 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 paſ⯑ſed for this purpoſe (by which the king not only obtained all the lands of the ſmall monaſteries, but alſo their jewels and rich move⯑ables), the next ſtep was to prevail with the abbots of larger founda⯑tions 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 [287] 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 Magda⯑len, or Maudlin. To this college he was a great benefactor, beſtow⯑ed 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 in⯑ſcription on his tomb. Mr. Rapin ſays he was a man of ſound judg⯑ment, and was ſerviceable to the reformers, whenever he could be ſo, without any hazard or danger to himſelf; but was too much a cour⯑tier 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 king⯑dom had in his head; and that he knew king Henry's temper bet⯑ter than himſelf, whom he ſurpriſed always to his own bent, never moving any of his ſuits to him, but when in haſte, and moſt common⯑ly amuſing him with other matter until he paſſed his requeſt.

By his lady Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Grey, Marquis of Dor⯑ſet, 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 Tho⯑mas, 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 grand⯑father'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, [288] with forty other monks of the ſame order, about the year 596, to con⯑vert 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 reſi⯑dence 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 arch⯑biſhop 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 miſ⯑ſion 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 epiſ⯑copal 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 ſa⯑crificing their oxen to devils, but killing them for their own refreſh⯑ment, and praiſing God for the bleſſing. He further cautioned him not to be puffed up with the miracles he was enabled to work in con⯑firmation 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, [289] with a great many learned monks from the monaſtery of Bancorna⯑burg, 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 com⯑pany 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 no⯑thing to do with him. When the Britons came into the ſynod Auguſ⯑tin received them ſitting; in reſentment of which affront they warmly oppoſed every thing he offered. The articles inſiſted on by Auguſ⯑tin 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 re⯑plied, 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 obſerva⯑tion 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 Par⯑liament, are ſo deeply buried in oblivion, that, notwithſtanding all the induſtry we have uſed, a very few only, and thoſe of leſs conſe⯑quence 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, [290] being placed by his relations as an apprentice to a grocer in Wat⯑ling-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 at⯑tachment 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, accord⯑ing to his judgment, they did ſo clearly ſtate the cauſe of the parlia⯑ment, 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 ſe⯑veral 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 trea⯑ſon, 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 with⯑draw, which was the firſt force put upon that houſe of commons, and the remembrance of the concern C [...]lonel Axtel had therein, contri⯑buted not a little to his deſtruction. Upon ſeveral changes that after⯑wards happened, theſe members were again admitted, ſat and voted in the houſe, and new ſchemes were entered upon, for reſtoring the con⯑ſtitution by ſettling the government, in order to which the houſe of commons, on the fifth of December, 1648, reſolved, ‘'That his Ma⯑jeſty'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, [291] by ſome of the wiſeſt men in England, to diſſolve and deſtroy the re⯑preſentatives of the Commons of England, and to leave thoſe who re⯑mained 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 be⯑low 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 Ax⯑tel 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 con⯑duct, 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 [292] 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 govern⯑ment, 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, de⯑ſired 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 [293] 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 ſer⯑vice; 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 diſ⯑ſolving, what he called a Parliament, with which ended his authority; and on the ſeventh of May, 1659, the remnant of the Long Parlia⯑ment reſumed the power of which they had been deprived by Crom⯑well; and his ſon Henry, who commanded as Lord Lieutenant in [294] 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 con⯑fided. It may not be amiſs to remark, that though this gentleman changed his opinion with reſpect to church matters, and of a Preſby⯑terian 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 in⯑duced General Ludlow to make choice of him, to command one di⯑viſion of the Iriſh brigade, that was ſent over to maintain the parlia⯑ment 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 per⯑formed 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 aſ⯑ſembly, 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 poſi⯑tively 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 mea⯑ſures they thought fit, but for themſelves, they were determined to ſerve under Colonel Redman, and their old officers. This revolt gave [295] the death's wound to the republic; for Colonel Redman, purſuant to the orders he had received from General Monk, immediately march⯑ed that body of old troops into Cheſhire, which ſo weakened Lam⯑bert'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 aſ⯑ſembled 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 In⯑goldſby, 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 In⯑goldſby 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 advan⯑tage 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 at⯑tempted [296] 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 im⯑mediately yield. Lambert, in great depreſſion of ſpirits, twice prayed him to let him eſcape; but when he ſaw he could not pre⯑vail, ſubmitted as well as the reſt did, except Okey, Axtel, and Clare, who eſcaped. This was the laſt ſtruggle that was made in fa⯑vour of the Commonwealth; and Axtel uſed his utmoſt induſtry af⯑terwards 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 com⯑mitted to the Tower. After the King's Reſtoration, the bill of indem⯑nity 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 fol⯑lowing, 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 follow⯑ing, 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 trea⯑ſon, 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 pre⯑ſent: however, he ſoon after made the uſual anſwer, and put himſel [...] [297] 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 pro⯑ceeded to call their evidence. Mr. Holland Simpſon proved, that Colonel Axtel had the command of the ſoldiers below ſtairs, and threa⯑tened to ſhoot Lady Fairfax for diſturbing the Court. Colonel Her⯑cules Huncks depoſed, that on the day the King died, himſelf, Colo⯑nel 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 poſi⯑tively 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 Execu⯑tion! 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 exami⯑nations 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 Colo⯑nel Nelſon depoſed, That in private converſation at Dublin, Colonel Axtel acknowledged to him, that he was concerned in the ſecret of [298] 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 fa⯑ther, much leſs the father of his country. As for the muſquets, mounted towards the lady, he ſaid, that if a lady grew uncivil to diſ⯑turb 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 in⯑compatible 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 [299] 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 diſ⯑poſition 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 feel⯑ing 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 Co⯑lonel Daniel Axtel, were drawn on one hurdle, from Newgate to Ty⯑burn, 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 per⯑formed, 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 ſub⯑ſiſtence he had made a competent proviſion in the time of his pro⯑ſperity.

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 expe⯑rienced officer, and the honour of knighthood from King Charles I. This, however, did not prevent him from adhering to the Parlia⯑ment, 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 [300] employed to watch the motions of the Prince of Wales; and accord⯑ingly 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 re⯑commended 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 commiſ⯑ſion he diſcharged with equal vigour and vigilance, ſupplying Dublin with proviſions, attending the army upon all emergencies, and con⯑tributing in every reſpect ſo effectually to the reduction of Ireland, that the Parliament not only thought fit to continue him in his com⯑mand 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 re⯑ward 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 Eng⯑land 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 ne⯑ceſſary 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 con⯑ſiderable 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 fa⯑tally in reſpect to him, and the King's forces under his command, and, therefore, entered into a treaty with General Blake, and Admiral Ayſ⯑cue, 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 re⯑duction 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 for⯑ward, ſo that it was doubted whether Parliament would ratify this [301] 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 man⯑ner 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 Oc⯑tober, 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 neceſ⯑ſary 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 paſ⯑ſage into the harbour, and made himſelf matter of twelve ſail of Dutch merchantmen that lay there, hoping that this might raiſe an inſurrec⯑tion 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 [302] 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 de⯑feated 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 con⯑ceived 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 Bar⯑badoes, who came from thence into England, to ſolicit from the Par⯑liament, a force ſufficient for the reduction of the iſland, and there⯑fore he was thought the propereſt man to command the forces on ſhore. He accordingly landed with them on ſeventeenth of Decem⯑ber, 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 incur⯑ſions into the country, upon which the chief of the inhabitants grew weary of the war; which Sir George underſtanding, by the correſpon⯑dence 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 [303] 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 conſide⯑rations 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 com⯑mand; and having, previous to the execution of his deſign, called to⯑gether 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 de⯑ſign, 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 comprehen⯑ſive and honourable. The Lord Willoughby had what he moſt de⯑ſired, 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 condi⯑tion [304] 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 pur⯑poſe. 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 re⯑putation. 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 ſer⯑vice. On the twenty-firſt of June, 1652, Sir George Ayſcue, in obe⯑dience 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 com⯑mand the fleet in the Downs. Within a few days after Blake's depar⯑ture, 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 [305] 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. How⯑ever, 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 fur⯑niſhed with artillery, ſo pointed, as to bear directly upon the Dutch as they came in. The militia of the county of Kent were alſo order⯑ed 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, be⯑ing 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 for⯑ty men of war, moſt of them hired merchantmen, except flag-ſhips, ſhould ſtretch over to the coaſt of France to meet them. According⯑ly, 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 Ad⯑miral, with nine others, charging through their fleet; his ſhips receiv⯑ed 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 part⯑ed with a drawn battle. Captain Peck, the Rear-Admiral, loſt his leg, of which, ſoon after, he died. Several captains were wound⯑ed, 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, [306] 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 Cap⯑tains were a little baſhful in this affair, and the fleet was in ſo in⯑different 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 ap⯑pearance 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 Ge⯑neral 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 Ad⯑miral, 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 [307] ſail of men of war, and a few ſmall ſhips. Accordingly, on the twenty-ninth of November a general engagement enſued, which laſt⯑ed 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 de⯑ſtroyed 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 beat⯑ing 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 re⯑treat, 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 vo⯑ted 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 execu⯑tion, 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 na⯑vy, 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 [308] ſaw no other way left to ſerve his country, and did not think he had in⯑tereſt 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 ex⯑perienced 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 opi⯑nion 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 be⯑ing 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 fo⯑reign affairs, and as it was not in his nature to bear with any diſap⯑pointment 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 reputa⯑tion, 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 re⯑ſolved that the propoſition ſhould be made him by the Swediſh Am⯑baſſador, 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 pro⯑poſition 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 [309] 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 refe⯑rence to this deſign, before the death of the Protector. Yet that did not hinder his cloſing at laſt with the propoſals made him from Swe⯑den, 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 rai⯑ſing public diſcourſe about it; ſo this had ſuch an effect upon the Da⯑niſh 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 cha⯑racter 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 reſolu⯑tion. 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 con⯑ſtancy; 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 com⯑miſſion by the direction of the Duke of York, who then commanded the Engliſh fleet. In the ſpring of the year 1665, Sir George Ayſ⯑cue hoiſted his flag as Rear-Admiral of the Blue, under the Right [310] 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 ho⯑nour 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 up⯑wards of five hundred men periſhed. Eighteen men of war were ta⯑ken, four fire-ſhips deſtroyed, thirteen Captains, and two thouſand and fifty private men, made priſoners; and this with ſo inconſidera⯑ble a loſs, as that of one ſhip only, and three hundred private men. As there was ſome time requiſite for refitting and repairing the Eng⯑liſh navy, after ſo warm an action, the Duke of York, who com⯑manded 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 offi⯑cers 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 un⯑expectedly 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 intelli⯑gence 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 [311] Dutch at ſea, engaged the French, in order to keep up the war be⯑tween the maritime powers, and make them do their buſineſs by de⯑ſtroying 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 cha⯑racter of Ambaſſador-Extraordinary, Prince Rupert, and old Ge⯑neral 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 or⯑der 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 Ad⯑mirals 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 to⯑wards the Iſle of Wight; but the wind ſuddenly ſhifting to the ſouth-weſt, and blowing hard, brought the Dutch and the Duke to an an⯑chor. 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 de⯑parture 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 [312] 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, notwith⯑ſtanding their inferiority and other diſadvantages. This day's fight was very fierce and bloody; for the Dutch, confiding in their num⯑bers, preſſed furiouſly upon the Engliſh fleet, while the Engliſh offi⯑cers, 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 repair⯑ing 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 ac⯑count, 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 ſuſtain⯑ed by ſome, and the loſs and abſence of others of his ſhips, took, to⯑wards 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 ſhat⯑tered, 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) unfor⯑tunately ſtruck upon the ſand called the Galloper, where, being threat⯑ened 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 ſur⯑render. This was that famous engagement, which did equal ho⯑nour to both the maritime powers, and in which both their officers and ſeamen are allowed to have performed as great things as [313] 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 ene⯑mies, who, in this reſpect, have been both juſter and kinder than the authors either of our general or naval hiſtories. The Dutch Admi⯑ral, 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 Admi⯑ral 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 circum⯑ſtances which made the loſs of this ſhip, in this manner, very diſa⯑greeable 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, Ge⯑neral 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 [314] 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 pri⯑ſon 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 re⯑turned 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 li⯑berties. 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 com⯑plaint.

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, con⯑cerning 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 mate⯑rials, 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 Bri⯑tiſh 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 [315] 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 ap⯑pear that he was either his Secretary or his Chancellor, as ſome wri⯑ters would have us believe. From St. David's he was invited to the Court of Aelfred the Great, merely from the reputation of his learn⯑ing. This ſeems to have been about the year 880, or ſomewhat ear⯑lier. Thoſe who had the charge of bringing him to Court, conduct⯑ed 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, howe⯑ver, modeſtly declined this propoſal, alleging, that it did not be⯑come 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. Aſ⯑ſerius 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 bre⯑thren, 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 advanta⯑ges 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 al⯑low 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 li⯑brary, whereby he grew into ſo great credit with that generous [316] Prince, that on Chriſtmas-eve following, he gave him the monaſte⯑ries of Amgreſbyri, and Banuwille, that is, Ambroſbury in Wilt⯑ſhire, 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 Teſta⯑ment, 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 Wulf⯑fig, 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 digeſt⯑ed 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 pub⯑liſhed ſhould paſs for exact tranſlations, but for good and uſeful trea⯑tiſes, from which ſuch as underſtood none but their mother tongue, might reap profit and inſtruction. It ſeems to have been the near re⯑ſemblance, which the genius of Aſſerius bore to that of the King, which gained him ſo great a ſhare in his confidence; and very proba⯑bly 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 re⯑markable 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 [317] whether he ſhould not provide a few leaves, in which to ſet down ſuch remarkable things, as occurred either in reading or con⯑verſation: the King was extremely pleaſed with this hint, and di⯑rected Aſſerius to put it immediately into execution, which he accord⯑ingly 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. Aſſe⯑rius, however, calls it Enchiridion. In all probability Aſſerius con⯑tinued 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 Sher⯑burn, for one and the ſame perſon, which ſome, however, have de⯑nied: yet we go farther ſtill, and aſſert him to have been alſo Arch⯑biſhop 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 au⯑thor: 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 au⯑thority 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 ac⯑count conſistent with itſelf in ſeveral other reſpects beſides this of Aſ⯑ſer, as Sir John Spelman has juſtly obſerved. There is no leſs con⯑troverſy 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 tran⯑ſlation, 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 ſe⯑cond thing mentioned by Pits, is the annals of Aelfred's life and reign. The third he ſtyles Annales Britanniae, or the Annals of Bri⯑tain, 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 queſ⯑tion [318] 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 in⯑ſtance 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 probabili⯑ty, 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 fa⯑mily of St. John's, he was preſented to the rectory of Beckenham, in Kent; and was often unanimouſly choſen proctor for Rocheſter in con⯑vocation.

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 dif⯑culty [319] 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 Compa⯑ny, who agreed with him upon certain rules and orders, of which the following are the chief; That the company will not take in ſub⯑ſcriptions 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 exceed⯑ing the age of forty, may ſubſcribe any ſum not exceeding five hun⯑dred 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 limi⯑tations, 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 deli⯑vering up the company's bond, to have the ſubſcription-money re⯑turned 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 read⯑ing . . . . Hiſtory and philoſophy, he juſtly uſed as the proper hand⯑maids to divinity, which was his buſineſs and delight . . . . He rea⯑dily ſubſcribed to all critical, learned and laborious works, by which means he completed one of the beſt libraries any clergyman can de⯑ſire, 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 [320] 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 deter⯑mined 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 poſſi⯑ble fair ways, without contention, by letting out the whole, and let⯑ting 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 Eng⯑liſh 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 ſer⯑vants, 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 con⯑gregation, 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 wick⯑ed perſon, nor ſuffer a liar or tale-bearer in his fight. He never look⯑ed 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.