NICOLAUS DAMASCENES. 



MCOLE, PIEIinE. 



Davbon, descendant of the family of the secretary. Ha bad entered 

 himself t the Middle Tempi-, and in 1825 he was called to the bar, 

 but hi practice wai almost entirely confined to claim* of peerage 

 before the House of Lords. About the same time he became a Fellow 

 of the Society of Antiquaries, a member of the council, and a frequent 

 contributor to the 'Arcbieologia,' but be eoon disagreed with them, 

 and wrote several pamphlet* against the administration of the affiirs of 

 the socjetv, and alto pointing out defects in the proceedings of the 

 Reword Communion. His industry was extraordinary, and though 

 many of the works he published were those of others, such as ' The 

 Poetical Rhapsody, and other poems by Francis Davison,' reprinted 

 from the edition of 160S ; ' The Literary Remains of Lady Jane Grey;' 

 ' Journal of the Embassy of Thomas Beckinsrton to France in 1442 ; ' 

 ' The Siege of Carlaverock ; ' The History of the Battle of Agincourt ;' 

 'The Privy Purse Expenses of Henry VIII. from November 1529 to 

 December 1552 ;' ' A Chronicle of London from 1089 to 1483 ;' from 

 manuscripts in the British Museum ; ' Memoirs of Lady Fanshaw, 

 written by herself;' and others; they were all BO enriched with 

 memoirs of the persons mentioned, with annotations and other mat- 

 ten, as to aMume the character of original works, and are all highly 

 valuable to the historical student. In 1826 he became joint editor 

 with Henry Southern of the new series of the ' Retrospective Review,' 

 of which however only six numbers were published. 



Among his most generally useful historical works are ' Xotitia 

 Historic^, containing Table*, Calendars, and Miscellaneous Information 

 for the Use of Historians, Antiquaries, and the Legal Profession,' Svo, 

 1824; afterwards remodelled for ' Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia,' 

 under the title of ' The Chronology of History ; containing Tables, 

 Calculations, and Statements indispensable for Ascertaining the Dates 

 of Historical Events, and of Public and Private Document*, from the 

 earliest period to the present time,' 1635, a most valuable work, which 

 has been more than once reprinted. In his ' Controversy between Sir 

 Robert Orosvenor and Sir Richard Scrope in the Courts of Chivalry, 

 A.D. 1385-1389,' a magnificent work in 2 vola. 8vo, but which was 

 never completed, he had given a memoir of Geoffrey Chaucer ; this he 

 afterwards extended to a life, to accompany Pickering's Aldine edition 

 of Chaucer's ' Works,' by far the best life which had hitherto appeared. 

 For the same work he also furnished lives of the Karl of Surrey, Sir 

 Thomas Wyatt, Collins, Cowper, Thomson, Burns, and Henry Kirke 

 Whit--. In 1844 he published ' The Despatches and Letters of 

 Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson,' in 7 vols. 8vo. He had also com- 

 menced ' The History of the British Navy,' of which he only lived to 

 complete two volumes. Among his numerous other works were several 

 on the statutes of various orders of knighthood, for which in 1831 be 

 was made a knight of the Hanoverian Guelphic Order, and in 1832 

 chancellor of the Ionian Order of St. Michael and St. George. After 

 a life of indefatigable industry, spent in producing works nearly every 

 one of which baa great historical or professional merit, he died at 

 Cape Curt, near Boulogne, on August 3, 1848. 



MCOLA'US DAMASI KM S. [DAJIASCEHC8,NlCOtAU&] 



NICOLA 'US MYREPSUS (Or., t tuift^s, 'the ointment maker'), 

 author of a work, 'De Compositione Medicamentorutn,' written in 

 Greek, but of which hitherto only a Latin translation baa been pub- 

 lished. Very little is known of the events of his life, and of this little 

 the greater part is to be gleaned from hints and expressions scattered 

 up and down in bis own work. He is generally considered to be the 

 last of the Greek medical writers (if indeed, as Friend cays, bis 

 barbarous language deserves to be called Greek), and his date can be 

 ascertained with tolerable precision. Hia work wan probably compiled 

 towards the end of the 13th century, A.D., as he is quoted by 1'etrus 

 de Abano, who died in 1316, and also by Mattbams Sykaticus and 

 Franciscns de Pede Montium, both of whom were physicians to Robert 

 king of Naples, and wrote very early in his reign, which began in 

 1809. He himself mentions Mrsne (sec. xxxii cup. 117), who lived in 

 the 12th century ; Michael Angelus, who is probably the first emperor 

 of tie PaUcologi, and began to reign in 1260 (sec. i. cap. 295) ; Pope 

 Nicolas (sec. ii. cap. 9), who seems to be the third of that name, and 

 who died in 1280; and Joannes Actuarius (called ' Dominus' Joannes, 

 sec. x. cap. 103 ; and ' Magiiter' Joannes, sec. xxxii. cap. 99), who is 

 generally supposed to have flourished in the 13th century. He appears 

 to have visited or lived at Nicsea (sec. xxiv. cap. 12) and Alexandria 

 (sec. i. cap. 241 ; sec. xvii. cap. 17; sec. xxiv. cap. 85), whence he is 

 sometimes called Nicolaua 'Alexandrinus;' he afterwards settled at 

 Constantinople, where he attained the dignity of Actuarius (Qeorg. 

 Acropol.). Several pssssgns in his work prove that he practised as a 

 physician (sec. i. cap. 66; sec. xvii. op. 17, Ice.), and Georgius Aero- 

 polita, his contemporary, mentions him (' Hist. Hyz.' ed. Paris, foL 

 1651, cap. 89, p. 34) as eminent in his profession, but as very ignorant 

 of natural philosophy. 



He was evidently a person of great piety, as appears throughout the 

 whole of his work, though in many pUcca it deserves rather to be 

 called the most absurd superstition. He orders the patient in some 

 places (sec. i. cap. 4)9, and sec. i. cap. 405) to repeat three " Patera, 

 Credos, and Avcs ;" he often prescribes the baptismal .water (sec. vii. 

 cap. 6 ; stc. xiv. cap. 8, Ac.) as a powerful medicine ; he directs a 

 verse oat of the Psalms (sec. i. cap. 405) to be " written on paper on 

 the first day of the week before sunrise, and to be tied on the right 

 arm," as a remedy against menorrhi ; and many other examples of 



the like or even greater absurdity might be given (sec. xxxvii. caps. 

 66 and 67 ; sec. i. cap. 405, Ac,). Though a great part of the work is 

 sensible enough, yet upon the whole it is not of much value. It con- 

 sists of an immense number of medical formulae, arranged alpha- 

 betically, and divided into forty-eight sections ; it is almost entirely a 

 compilation from other works, especially from Nicolaus Prsjposttus ; 

 the names of the medicines are often very much corrupted, and the 

 author now and then falls into great mistakes from ignorance of the 

 language of the writers whom he quotes. It was translated from the 

 Greek by Leonhardus Fuchsius, and first published, Basil., fol., 1549; 

 it is inserted in the second volume of the 'Medics) Artis Principe*,' 

 Paris, ap. H. Stephanum, fol., 1567; the best edition is that published, 

 Norimb., Svo, 1668. 



NICOLAUS PR.r.PO'sm'S, called also ' Salernitanus,' was at the 

 head of the famous medical school at Salerno about the beginning of 

 the 12th century, and has left behind him a treatise on the composition 

 of medicines under the title of ' Antidotarium.' Thii has very often 

 been confounded with a work on the same subject by Nicolaus Myrep- 

 sus, who indeed must either have copied a great portion of his book 

 from Nicolaus Pncpositus, or else they both drew their materials 

 from some common source. It may be useful to mention the marks 

 by which the two works may be distinguished. The treatise of 

 Nicolaus Pncpositus is much shorter than that of Nicolaus Myrepsus, 

 and contains only about 140 or 150 formula:, in alphabetical order ; 

 whereas the other consists of more than 1000, and is divided into 

 forty-eight sections. Nicolaus Prccpositus has prefixed a short preface 

 to his work ; in Nicolnus Myrepsus there is none. Nicolaus Myrepsus 

 often quotes several prescriptions for the same remedy; Nicolaus 

 Pnr posit us never more than one. Both works begin with the ' A urea 

 Alexandria*,' but the formulae are often very different This work is 

 of very little value, and contains many absurdities, though with the 

 exception of Mesue, perhaps no work of the kind enjoyed a higher 

 reputation during the middle ages. It has been several times re- 

 printed; the first edition was published, Venct., 1471, fol., in the 

 editio princcps of Mesue, to whose works it has generally been 

 appended. (Choulant, Jfimdb. dtr Stltherltinde fur die Atlt. JUeilicin.) 



N1COLAY, BARON LUDWIG HEINRICH, born at Strasbourg 

 December 29th, 1737, was, thougli not of first-rate talent, one of the 

 most pleasing among the minor poets of Germany. His style is easy 

 nnd natural, his versification flowing, and his narrative interesting. 

 All these qualities display themselves in his 'Romantic Tales,' which, 

 although their subjects are chiefly derived from Ariosto and Bojardo, 

 are remodelled and treated with much originality, and manifest con- 

 siderable fancy, skill in the management of the Rtory, and truth of 

 expression, both in the comic and serious parts. Of his abilities, both 

 as a didactic and satiric writer, proof is afforded by his ' Poetical 

 Epistles,' which have much of the spirit and gracefulness of \Virhn.l. 

 with not a little of his manner. His ' Fables ' too, and minor ' Tales,' 

 though not always of his own invention, show genuine talent, and 

 frequently no small power of humour. Nicolay resided for the 

 greater part of his life at St. Petersburg, where he was invited in 

 1769 to undertake the office of preceptor to the Grand-Duke (after- 

 wards Emperor) Paul. Besides being honoured with several Russian 

 orders, he was mode Director of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 

 1798, which office however he afterwards resigned, and in 1801 was 

 raised to the rank of imperial privy-councillor. He died in 1820. 



NICOLE, P1KRRK, one of the distinguished recluses of Port- 

 Royal, was born at Chartres on the 19th of October 1625. At the ago 

 of fourteen, when he is said to have had an ample command over Greek 

 and Latin, lie was sent to study at Paris, where he was persuaded to 

 join the community of the Port-Royal. Then' he occupied himself in 

 instructing the pupils confided to the institution. He formed an 

 intimate acquaintance and a species of alliance with Anthony AruauU. 

 with whose fiery zeal and restless energy his placid disposition and 

 clear systematic mind afforded a strong contrast. [ AHN.VUI.D, A.] The 

 angry disputes regarding the five points of the Jansenists prompted 

 him to remain for several years a simple clerk, but in 1076 he was 

 induced to seek holy orders. He was refused the necessary consent 

 however of the Bishop of Chartres, who disliked bis opinions; and he 

 was evidently rather rejoiced than saddened by an excuse for remaining 

 in a po.-ition where he was not too near the van in the battle of con- 

 troversy. In his own province however of a clerical or polemical 

 logician, he was bold and uncompromising; and it was not from the 

 defence of his principles, but their too conspicuous championship, that 

 be shrunk. He was obliged in 1C79 to retire from France, but returning 

 soon afterwards, ho entered with some keenness into two of the cele- 

 brated disputes of his age that of the studies suited to monistic 

 institutions, where he joined Mabillon in defending a devotion to 

 science and learning in place of pure asceticism ; and the discussion 

 regarding quietism, in which he opposed the devotees of that mental 

 epidemic, lie was a man of simple habits and candid mind, and borne 

 ludicrous incidents have been told as arising out of his absent habits. 

 He died on the llth of November 1695. 



Nicole's works are many and voluminous. He wu the principal 

 author of ' La Logique, ou 1'Art de Peuser ' (1C68), known as the Port- 

 Royal Logic. Of the first three volumes of ' La Perpf'tuito de la 

 Foi de 1'Eglise Catholique touchant I'EucbarUtie,' which is generally 

 associated with the name of Arnauld, he is known to have been the 



