Ml 



RRABIDAS. 



BRAY, SIR REGINALD. 



11 



de Bourdeillse, lirantAm.'a elder brother. The letUn of Andrf to 

 IX.. Henri I1L, and their mother Oatharine de' Medid, with 

 sw*r*. form the fourteenth vuluuie of th collection ; and the 

 i u nll*l with a history of the family of BourdeilUa, princi- 

 pally Uken from IHnet's 'Theitre de la Noble*** Franeoisc.' aud 

 brought down to the time when the edition wa published. In the 

 OMUM of thu long genealogical detail there U given a life of 

 Brentome, which Oils about 80 page*. HU portrait U prefixed to 

 the volume. 



There is no English translation of Brantom*'* works. Thii U no 

 doubt to be accounted for from the comparatively late date at which 

 their appeared; had they been published tome fifty or sixty years 

 earlier, it ie probable that the extreme freedom of cxpreaeiou in which 

 they abound would not have abut out Brantomo from our literature, 

 any more than the Mune objection ha* deprived us of his equally 

 unscrupulous oonUmporariea, Rabelais and Montaigne. I n toil reepeot, 

 ai well ae in other*, hi* ' Memoir** ' afford u* undoubtedly the most 

 living picture that ha* been preserved of the age in which he lived, 

 and of the odd system of manners and morality then prevalent No 

 ere statement of fact* which may be gathered from more formal 

 historiee can convey the vivid impression which this writer's whole 

 style and tone of sentiment give us of the entirely different light in 

 which licentiousness in both sexes was then viewed from that in which 

 we now regard it. It seems never to enter Brautomes head that 

 either man or woman can be considered dishonoured, or to have 

 forfeited a character for virtue, by the most lavish indulgence in what 

 he calls gallantry. The most abandoned of the female worthies whose 

 lives he details are spoken of by him as both illustrious Indies and 

 mod Christians. So complete is his abstinence from every expression 

 Uut might denote a sense of there being any tiling to blame in the 

 indulgence* which he has recorded, that he has been suspected by 

 same critic* of composing his works with a determined purpose of 

 undermining the belief of his readers in the common distinctions 

 between virtue and vice. This however is probably an unfounded 

 hypothesis. It can hardly be said that Brantome's moral creed on the 

 subject of gallantry, strange as it appears to -us, is really different 

 from that which was generally in fashion when he wrote, and had 

 bean so for ages before. He is not more lax in his judgments upon 

 matters of this kind, for instance, than his predecessor r'roissart, or, 

 as we have already observed, than his contemporary Montaigne. In 

 his praises of beauty and of knightly prowess and courtesy, IJrantouie 

 writes with warm and eloquent enthusiasm. 



BRA'SIDAS. The first mention of this eminent Spartan occurs in 

 the fint year of the Peloponnesian war, in which be performed a very 

 gallant action in throwing himself at the head of a body of troops into 

 Methone when besieged by the Athenians, " aud for this exploit was 

 the first that was praised at Sparta in this war." (< Thueyd.,' ii. 25.) 

 In the third year of the war he was associated with Cnemua in the 

 command of the Peloponnesian fleet, was present in the second battle 

 iu which the Lacedsimonians were defeated by Phormion, and took 

 probably a leading part in a well-contrived scheme for surprising the 

 Athenian port of firsgut, which failed, asThucydidea intimates, chiefly 

 from tlie want of due energy in its execution (ii. 85-94). In the fifth 

 year he was associated with Alcidas in the command of the Pelopon- 

 iMsian fleet. In the seventh year he commanded a ship in the arma- 

 ment which attacked the fort of Pylos, newly erected by Demosthenes 

 on the mainland opposite the island of Sphacteria; distinguished 

 himself by superior bravery, and beiug severely wounded and fainting, 

 he drup|d his sbirld into the sea, which was picked up and mada 

 part of the Athenian trophy. This little incident is worth relating, 

 because the lues of the shield was considered disgraceful It does not 

 appear that Braaidas suffered in reputation from this accident (iv. 

 11,12). 



Soon after a request for help was preferred to Sparta from some 

 cities in the Chalcldian peninsula, which had thrown off their alliance, 

 or rather their allegiance, to Athens. Branidas was already so well 

 known, that the ChalcidUni requested that he might be the leader of 

 any force which should be sent to th- ir assistance ; and the text of 

 Tuucyriide* (iv. 80) teems to indicate that no one contested with him 

 the command of a distant and uncertain enterprise. The Lacedaemo- 

 nians Kate him 700 heavy-armed foot ; the rest of his army, consisting 

 of Peloponnessian mercenaries, he was collecting in the neighbourhood 

 of Sicyon, where he had the opportunity of protecting aud prexerviug 

 In the Peloponnatian alliance the city of Megara, attacked by an 

 Athenian army (iv. 70-74). This was early in the eighth year of the 

 war. In the same summer he led his army of 1700 heavy-armed foot 

 (containing altogether about 4000 soldiers) to Macedonia. A chief 

 difficulty of the undertaking was to reach tho scene of action. The 

 Athenians commanded the tea, and the land route lay through 

 Tbeataly, a difficult and unfriendly country; but by the assistance of 

 a few principal TbewJiaus, who acted at his guides, and by the 

 decision, rapidity, and address of his own movement*, he so managed 

 as to reach the Macedonian frontier in safety. 



We can only give an outline of this expedition, which is but an 

 JpUod U th* IMoponnenian war. Brasidas did not act with the 

 kaugbiiiM** and severity usually manifested by Spartan commander* 

 toward* their subject allies, and hi* character for equity and mildness 

 d th* Laoedmoonlans great Mi-vice, a* it induced many cities to go 



over to them ; and afterwards, even after the Sicilian war, the wisdom 

 and virtue of llnuidas, to tome known by experience, by other* 

 believed upon report, was the principal cause which made the 

 Athenian confederates affect the Lacedtemoni&na ; the Athenians 



probably supposing that his successors would be of nimilar character. 

 [' Thucyd.,' iv. 1 JM The first fruits of his appearanoe in Chalcidioe 

 were the revolt or Acanthus and Stagirus from Athens; and this 

 sucoets, before winter was completely set in, was followed by the 

 acquisition of Amphipolis on the Strymon. This was the heaviest 

 loss which could have befallen the Athenians, inasmuch as it was the 

 most important of their Thraoian dependencies, and they derived from 

 it a considerable revenue, and plenty of timber for ship-building, which 

 the soil of Attica did not supply. 



A fter the capture of Amphipolis, Brasidas meditated building a fleet 

 in the Stryinou, and he requested reinforcements from Sparta, which 

 were denied, partly because the leading men were jealous of him, 

 partly because the government was intent on concluding the war, and 

 ubtaiuing the freedom of the Lacedicmonians made prisoners in 

 Sphacteria. Accordingly in the following spring, in the ninth year of 

 the war, a truce was concluded, which provided that each party was 

 to retain what it then possessed. It became a question however to 

 which of them Scione, which hod surrendered to Brasidas just about 

 the ratification of the truce, belonged ; and Brasidat refused to give it 

 up to the Athenians, probably because he was ill pleased with the 

 negotiation, and reluctant to deliver up the city, by which he had 

 been eminently trusted and honoured, to the certain revenge of the 

 Athenians. This circumstance, and th revolt of Mende, a neighbouring 

 city, which he also received into the alliance of Sparta, alleging that 

 the Athenians had already infringed the terms of the truce, led to the 

 continuance of hostilities on the coast of Thrace. In the following 

 spring (H.C. 422) the Athenians sent out Cleon to assume the command, 

 who speedily undertook the siege of Amphipolis. Brasidas superin- 

 tended the defence. In the quality of his troops Cleou had the 

 advantage; the numbers were about equal. But Brasidas, who watched 

 Cleon's movements from the city, took at once advantage of a false 

 manoeuvre, and led his troops to battle, in which the Athenians were 

 completely defeated, but he himself received a mortal wound. He 

 was buried in the public place of AmphipolU at the public expense, 

 was worshipped aa a hero, aud, as a still higher mark of respect, it 

 was ordained that he, instead of Agnon the Athenian, should thence- 

 forward be honoured as the true founder of the city and colony. 



The military talents of Brasidas were great ; his temper was politic 

 and conciliatory ; his accomplishments were considerable, at least in 

 Sparta, for Thucydides pithily observes that, "for a Lacedemonian, he 

 was not unable to speak " (iv. 84). That he was held in high respect 

 throughout Greece may be gathered, not only from the testimony of 

 Thucydides, but from the expression put into the mouth of Alcibiades 

 by Plato in the 'Banquet/ that "such as Achilles was, we may 

 conjecture Braaidas to have been." 



1WAUWKR, or BROUWER, ADRIAN, was born, according to 

 some authors, at Oudenaarden, but, according to others, at Haarlem, 

 of poor parents. Ue was apprenticed to Frank Hals; who, it U said, 

 finding him uncommonly skilful, made money by his productions, 

 while he kept him confined and almost starving at home. Brauwer 

 excelled in painting such scenes as his irregular mode of living made 

 him most familiar with. The singular recklessness of hia conduct led 

 him into many ludicrous and disagreeable situations. It is related of 

 him that, being iu Antwerp during the won in the Low Countries, he 

 was imprisoned as a spy, and in prison met with the Duke d'Arcmbcrg, 

 who was intimate with Rubeua, and was frequently visited by him. 

 Discovering his fellow-captive to be an artist, the duke asked Rubens 

 to procure him material) for painting. As soon aa ho had them, 

 Brauwer set to work, taking for his subject a group of soldiers playing 

 at cards in the prison. D Aremberg showed the picture to Rubens, 

 who immediately recognised the work of Brauwer, aud offered 600 

 guilders for it The duke however presented the pointer with a larger 

 sum, and retained the picture for himself. Rubens exerted his interest, 

 aud procured the liberation of his brother artist, took him hom 

 him, clothed him, and maintained him for some time. But Brauwer 

 soon qi-itted Rubens again to plunge into excesses, which shortly after 

 terminated his existence in on hospital, at the age of thirty-two, iu the 

 year 1640. 



His subjects are taken from low life, of the most unpleasing claaa ; 

 but from the extraordinary skill displayed in the execution, the excel- 

 lent colouring, the correct drawing, aud the life and character of the 

 deiign, they fetch a high price. 



BRAY, SIR REGINALD, the reputed architect of Henry VIL's 

 Chapel at Westminster, was the second son of Sir Richard Bray, one 

 of Hi,, privy council to )|.-nr.v VI. All that has been ascertained of 

 hia personal history is that he was greatly attached to the study of 

 architecture, and atood in high favour with Henry VII. : therefore 

 that he should be employed by that king to design the sumptuous 

 structure intended for his own mausoleum was almost matter of 

 course. Nevertheless, Bray's claim to the honour of so Gne a work 

 has been disputed, on no better grounds than that he did not live to 

 see the building greatly advanced, the first stone being bud on the 

 loth of January 1602 (" by t.he hands of John I slip, abbot of West- 

 minster, Sir Reginald Braie, Kt of the Garter, and others"), and he 



