THE 



ENGLISH CYCLOPEDIA. 



BIOGRAPHY. 



The namti of thou living at the lime of the eantinvout publication of the ' Englith Cyclopedia of BiografTiy,' are preceded by an atteriik. 



MAAS, NICOLAS. 



MABLY, ABBfi DE. 



Tl/TAAS, or MAES, NICOLAS, a celebrated Dutch painter, was born 

 L at Dort in 1632. He was a scholar of Rembrandt, whose manner he 

 imitated with so much skill that it was thought difficult to distinguish 

 the works of the pupil from those of the master. But a visit to 

 Antwerp, where he diligently studied the productions of Rubens and 

 Jordaeos, led Maas to adopt a new and more independent style ; and 

 one in which, while retaining bis former neatness and delicacy of 

 touch, and breadth of chiaroscuro, there was more freedom of handling 

 and variety of colour. His early celebrity was acquired by bis genre 

 pictures, chiefly domestic interiors, but be eventually devoted himself 

 to portrait painting, especially after his removal to Amsterdam, where 

 he settled in 1678 ; and where be rose into high reputation as a 

 portrait painter, and acquired a considerable fortune by the practice 

 of that lucrative branch of art. He died at Amsterdam in 1693. 

 Bartach mentions several plates etched by him. In the National 

 Gallery there are three paintings by him like most of his genre 

 pictures, of small size, but elaborately finished' The Cradle,' ' The 

 Dutch Housewife,' and ' The Idle Servant.' 



MABILLON, JEAN, born in 1632, studied at the college of 

 Rheims. He took vowa in the congregation of St Maur, belong- 

 ing to the Benedictines, in 1654. He afterwards assisted Father 

 D Achery in his collection entitled ' Spicilegium,' and also edited the 

 works of St. Bernard. In 1668 he published the first volume of his 

 ' Acta Sanctorum Ordinis H. Benedict!,' being the Fasti of his order, 

 preceded by a learned introduction, ' Prxfationes in Acta Sanctorum.' 

 Mabillon was afterwards sent to Italy by Louis XIV. to make a collec- 

 tion of books and manuscripts for the royal library. On bis return 

 he published hi* ' Museum Italicum,' 1689, a kind of literary and 

 antiquarian itinerary of Italy, in which he briefly describes the towns 

 that he visited, and more at length the churches and convents, 

 especially those of his order, such as Monte-Casino, Vallombrosa, &c , 

 the libraries and colleges, the rare manuscripts, inscriptions, and 

 other curiosities. This work is followed by learned dissertations 

 upon subjects of ecclesiastical history and palaeography. The second 

 volume of the ' Museum Italicum ' is occupied by a ' Commentarius 

 in Ordinem Romanum,' or Commentary on the ritual of the various 

 cervices, or liturgy, and ceremonies of the Roman Church, which are 

 there exhibited at full length. He had previously published 'De 

 Liturgia Uallicana libri tres,' 1685, in which he compares the Gallican 

 with the Mozarabic liturgy. 



Mabillon wrote also the ' Iter Germanicum,' being a similar tour 

 through part of Germany, namely, Suabia, Helvetia, and Bavaria, 

 whi^h he likewie undertook by order of Louis XIV. In this journey 

 ha visited the abbeys and libraries of St. Gall, Augsburg, &c., and 

 among others the secluded Benedictine convent of Tegern See, where 

 he and his companion met with a very scurvy reception from the 

 librarian, a rough Bavarian, who hated them as being Frenchmen, and 

 the more so as they caused him to be called out of the refectory to 

 attend upon them. He also wrote an ' Iter Burgundicum,' which is 

 among his posthumous works : ' Ouvrages Postbumesde Jean Mabillon 

 et de Thierri Ruinart, BeneViictins de la Congregation de St. Maur,' 

 3 voU. 4to, Paris, 1724. This interesting collection contains, among 

 other valuable matter, Mabillon 's correspondence, and his ' Reflexions 

 UP le* Prisons des Ordres Religieux,' in which he censures the 

 cruelties practised in several monastic houses against the monks who 

 tranngremeil the rules of their order, and speaks among others of 

 the famous "Vade in Pace," or subterraneous dungeons in which 



BIOO. DIV. VOL. IV. 



some were confined till they died. This strange authority exercised 

 by communities over the liberty and life of individuals, uncontrolled 

 by, and unknown to the state, is one of the most repulsive features 

 of the monastic system. 



In the above collection of Ouvrages posthumes are : ' Discours sur 

 les Ancienues Sepultures de nos Rois,' ' Remorques sur les Autiquitda 

 de 1'Abbaye de St. Denis,' ' Histoire de la Contestation sur 1'Auteur 

 de 1'Imitation de Jesus Christ ' [Kr.Mris, THOMAS A], ' Lettres et 

 Ecrits sur les Etudes Monastiques.' These last contain a curious 

 controversy between the Abbe de Rancc*, the founder of the order of 

 the Trappists, and the Benedictines. De Ranee*, in hia ascetic 

 enthusiasm, had forbidden his monks all scientific studies, and indeed 

 all reading except the Breviary and a few monastic tracts. The rest 

 of the clergy, both secular and regular, took the alarm, and Mabillon 

 was requested to defend monastic studies and learning as perfectly 

 compatible with piety and religious discipline, as the Benedictine 

 order had fully proved. Mabillon accordingly wrote his ' Traitu des 

 Etudes Monastiques,' in 1691, which was received with great applause, 

 and was translated into Latin and other languages. This led to a 

 controversy with Ranee", who had the worst of it : ' Reflexions sur la 

 Rc'ponse de I'Abbe' de la Trappe,' 1692. Another controversy which 

 Mabillon had with Rome concerning the worship of relics of unknown 

 persons whose bones were found in the catacombs fills part of the 

 posthumous works : ' Lettrca et Ecrits surle Culte des Saints inconuus.' 

 They contain also a ' Votum D. lo. Mabillonia de quibusdam Isaacii 

 Vossii OpuBculis.' While Mabillon was at Rome, he was asked his 

 opinion by the Congregation of the Index concerning some writings 

 of Uaae Vossius, in which that scholar gave the preference to the 

 chronology of the Septuagint over that of the Hebrew text, and in 

 another place maintained that the deluge had not been universal. 

 Mabillon said that although he believed the opinions of Vossius, 

 especially the latter, were not correct, yet he did not think that they 

 constituted heterodoxy, and accordingly the Congregation did not 

 place Vossius in the Index. 



Mabillon wrote also 'De Re Diplomatic/I libri sex, accedit Commen- 

 tarius de antiquia Regum Fruncoruiu Palatiia ; ' ' Vetcrum Scriptura- 

 rum varia Specimina, &c., a work much esteemed. In 1701 he was 

 chosen member of the Academy of Inscriptions, and in 1703 he pub- 

 lished the first volume of his ' Annales Ordinia S. Benedict!,' which 

 he brought down to the year 1157, 6 vola. folio. He died at Paris, in 

 1707. Mabillon was one of the most learned men of hia age, and his 

 liberal and candid disposition is clearly exhibited in hia 'Corres- 

 pondence,' and in his other posthumous writings. 



MABLY, ABBfi DE, was born at Grenoble in 1709. He studied 

 at Lyon in the Jesuit College, and afterwards went to Paris, where 

 he was introduced to the Cardinal de Tencin, who was then minister. 

 In 1740 ho wrote his 'Parallele des Romania et des Fraucais,' which 

 acquired him a kind of popularity. He was employed by the cardinal 

 as hia secretary, and while in that office he compiled his ' Droit public 

 de 1'Europe, fonde" sur les TraiteJe,' a useful work derived from good 

 sources. Mably was employed in several secret negociations between 

 1743-46, after which he appears to have quarrelled with the cardinal, 

 in consequence of which he gave up his official prospects for a studious 

 retirement. Hia historical works are : 1, 'De la maniero d'e'crire 

 1'Histoire ; ' 2. ' De 1'6'tude de 1'Histoire ; ' 3. ' Observations sur 1'His- 

 toire do la Grece ; ' 4. ' Obaervations aur lea Romaina ; ' 5. ' Observa- 

 tions aur VHistoire de France,' 2 vols. 12mo, 1765, with a posthumous 



