1808.] 
bishop who had completed his studies. 
He afterwards resigned his bishoprick. 
He lived to the great age of ninety- 
one. By this time his memory had failed 
him, But his biographer relates, that 
two or three days before his death his 
» wit suddenly revived, and his memory 
returned. He employed those precious 
moments in preparing for eternity. 
+ SIRMOND—1559-1651, 
Of the Society of Jesuits, and confessor 
of Louis the Thirteenth. He was in his 
time a very. respectable author, though 
his writings being chiefly polemical, and 
all in the Latin language, are now little 
known, and Jess read. Though of a mild 
and amiable character in private life, in 
his controversial treatises he is very se- 
vere in his remarks upon his antagonists. 
He was much admired for his profound 
knowledge in ancient ecclesiastical his- 
~ tory. He died at the advanced age of 
ninety-three. 
SALMASIUS—1588-1651, 
In his own time called the Hero of Li- 
terature, has considerably fallen from the 
high reputation he once enjoyed. His 
erudition was certainly great, and he was 
‘at the same time conspicuous for general 
knowledge; but as a critic, he was capri- 
, cious, intemperate, and arrogant. Such 
was his pride, and high opinion of his 
own talents, that when: advised by a 
friend to compose in future with greater 
care, he answered, “ I throw ink on pa- 
per as others throw dice or cards upona 
table—writing to me is a mere amuse- 
ment.” 
ELIAS SAURIN—16389-1703, 
Born in the province of Dauphiné, 
was compelled to leave his country, be- 
cause he neglected to pull off his hat 
while a priest was passing by with the 
Wiaticum. He is chiefly noted for having 
written against Jurvicu and Bayle, 
REGNIER—1575-1613, 
Early shewed a violent propensity to 
gatire. This he excercised so indiscri- 
_—-minately upon such of his friends and 
relations who had offended him, that his 
father was often under the necessity of 
punishing hjm, 
He led a most debauched life, and 
g papa ruined his constitution long before 
his death, which happened when he was 
nly forty years old, 
‘ n his satires, he resembles Juvenal jn 
“4 the strength and energy of some of his 
lines, and ‘surpasses the Latin poct in tlie 
_grossness of his allusions, which made 
Boileau observe that his poctry sayoured 
aa 
Extracts from the Port-folio of a Man of Letters. 
14] 
of the places which he was known to fre« 
quent, F 
Ile composed the following curious. 
epitaph for himself, when on his death- 
bed :— 
Jai vécu sans nul pensement 
Me laissant aller tout doucement 
A la bonne Loi naturelle ; 
Et je m’étonne fort pourquot 
La Mort daigne songer a moi 
Qui ne songeai jamais a elle. 
GALILEO. 
A curious observation has been made, 
that this great man was born the same 
year in which Michael Angelo died, and 
himself died in the same year which gave 
birth to Sir Isaac Newton.. 
DU CANGE, 
A number of Academicians offered 
M. Du Cange their votes for a meme 
ber, if he would make a step towards 
it. Du Cange thanked them for their 
offer.. The English, says Menage, could 
not conceive that Du Cange wrote his 
dictionary, for they said, that one man, 
during the period of human life, could not 
compile that work; but he did, and took 
only thirty years to do it! Thus Menage, | 
but John Bull is sometimes as deep as 
Garrick. Du Cange laa assistance; un- 
der the word Index, ina passage respect- 
ing clocks, he bas given a definition 
founded upon one half of a passage, the 
remaming half.of which confutes the de- 
finition! Under the word Cloister, he 
has misquoted Peter of Blois. - There are 
books, which unless by index-reading 
only, one man could not execute. The 
Benedictine edition of Du Cange, is per- 
haps the first compilation in the world: 
but what will Dr. Gisborne say, to the 
effects of emulation, when it produced 
Charpentier ? yet Dr, G. is right, bad _ 
qualities in the individual are certainly 
generated by rivalry: the public often 
gains. 
CUJACIUS. 
Cujacius had a very pretty daughter, a 
spice of the coguette, who did not dis- 
ike the men. The pupils used to leave 
the father’s lectures to cajole the girl, 
and this they styled “ Commenting on 
the works of Cujacius.” She nearly 
broke her father’s heart, at last! and 
became notorious—Poor Cujacius! “The 
fanaticism of literary men, which con- 
fines them to’ their hobbies, has* been -as- 
signed to want of common sense, but we 
all know the story of the philosopher, 
and his speculation in olives. 
Cujacius never wrote his lectures, but 
delivered 
