518 Memoir $ of Don Jean Antoine Llorente. [July 1, 



I have dwelt the longer on these served; but, as it was customary in the 



points, as Captain Kennedy, In Ids oriental empires to respect hereditary 



tenth note, seems half inclined to descent in the dependent satrapies ; 



doubt whetlier the Cyrus of Isaiah, and, when a prince was deposed and 



and the Cyrus of Ezra, be the Cyrus of blinded for rebellion, still to educate 



Herodotus ; whereas, every mention liis minor son to allegiance, and only 



made in the Scriptures of Cyrus agrees 

 exactly witii the narration of Herodo- 

 tus, which tends to prove that Cyrus 

 and that Darius were of Jewish ex- 

 traction, and of Jewish religion, and 



to place a vice-roy over him, (as 

 Jeshua, son of Josedek, was a branch 

 of the stem of Jesse, and superintended 

 by Zerubbabel ;) it may be conjec- 

 tured, that Cyrus was the lineal de- 



probably descended from those clan- sccndant of Hosliea ; for his father was 



chieftains of the Jews who were trans 

 planted by Shalmeneser (2 Kings xviii. 

 11,) into some cities of the Medes 

 near the river Gozan, or Arra-chai, 

 which falls into the Caspian. The 

 pedigree of Cyrus has not been prc- 



thought worthy of becoming allied, by 

 marriage, to the sovereign of Media ; 

 and Cyrus seems to have overrun 

 Samaria without opposition, and by a 

 kind of acknowledged right. 

 (To be continued.) 



BIOGRAPHY OF EMINENT PERSONS. 



BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE relative to DON 



J. ANT. LLORENTE, AUTHOR q/'tAe HIS- 



TOUY of the INQUISITION, and One of 

 the coNnuCTORS of the revue ency- 

 CLOPEDIQUE, duriny the last FOUH 



YEARS. 



THOUGtl bred a Romish ecclesi- 

 astic, the selfish customs and pre- 

 judices of his cloth had no force on tiie 

 digniGed, the energetic, mind of this 

 valuable character, and most truly ex- 

 cellent writer. Through life, he was a 

 friend to toleration, and beyond all 

 praise as to his well-directed labours 

 and exertions in the cause of liberty. 

 In every sense of the word, he was well 

 qualified to exemplify the duties which 

 this commendation calls for, when ap- 

 plied justly. The secret views and par- 

 ticular motives that led to so much 

 harsh treatment, on the part of the 

 French administration, are not difficnit 

 to be gnessed at ; and, while the circum- 

 stance became pecnliiirly offensive to 

 the Spanish nation, it gav.; general dis- 

 gust to, and raised considerable dissa- 

 tisfaction among, the generous spirits of 

 France. 



Jean Antoine Llorente was born at 

 Rineon del Soto, near Calahorra, in 

 Arragon, March 30th, 1756. His pa- 

 rents were both of ancient and nohle 

 families, but their territorial possessions 

 were not extensive. A maternal uncle 

 of young Llorente, a beneficiary priest 

 of the town of Calahorra, undertook the 

 charge of his education. He first stu- 

 died a Course of Philosophy at Tarra- 

 gona; and received the clerical tonsure, 

 at the age of 14, from the hands of the 

 2 



Bishop of Calahorra, Dec. 21, 1770. 

 The three following years were devoted 

 to Courses of Logic, agreeably to the 

 ancient ecclesiastical usage ; after which 

 M. L. maintained a public act of Phy- 

 sics arid Metaphysics. These Courses 

 were held in a convent of Religious de 

 la Merci ; and the fathers, conformably 

 to an odd custom, celebrated the conclu- 

 sion of them by the representation of a 

 comedy, acted by their pupils and disci- 

 ples in the interior of their house. The 

 piece selected was entitled "The Pru- 

 dent Abigail ;" young Llorente, at the 

 age of 16, gifted with agreeable features, 

 was to assume the part of Abigail, first 

 the wife of Nabal, and afterwards of 

 King David. Tiie canons nf the catlie- 

 dral, the magistrates, and principal inha- 

 bitants of the city, were invited to the 

 spectacle; and the young actors weic 

 crowned with success, so that the repre- 

 sentation was several times repeated. 



In October, 1773, M. L. repaired to 

 Saragossa, applying himsell' to the study 

 of jurisprudence. Only the Roman 

 law was taught, though the Courses 

 took up four years. In the vacation of 

 1775, he took his first journey to Ma- 

 drid, where he frequented the theatres of 

 the Prince and the Cross, and took such 

 delight in the drama, that, after atten- 

 tively studying Aristotle's Poetics, trans- 

 lated into Spanish by Joseph Gnnzalis, 

 and Horace's E[>istle to the Pisos, 

 translated into Spanish verse by D. 

 Vincent Espinol, he attempted to com- 

 pose a comedy, which he himself, how- 

 ever, considered as but a very indifferent 

 production. It was entitled, " Dislike 

 to Matrimony." Both in Spain and 



Italy, 



