235 



SACY, ANTOINE ISAAC SILVESTRE DE. 



SADLER, SIR RALPH. 



236 



ployed. This latter work, which is very common in manuscript, is 

 printed in Halliwell's 'Rara Mathematics,' pp. 1-26, and a nearly 

 contemporary English translation of it is preserved in manuscript in 

 the Ashmolean library at Oxford. 



SACY, AMT01NE ISAAC SILVESTRE DE, was born at Paris, on 

 the 21st of September 1758. His father, Jacques Abraham Silvestre, 

 practised as a notary in that capital. At the early age of seven De 

 Sacy lost bis father, but his mother took great care of his education, 

 which, owing to the delicate state of his health, was directed by a 

 tutor under his maternal roof. His progress in classical studies was 

 very rapid, as appears from his intimate acquaintance both with Latin 

 and Greek literature. At the age of twelve he became acquainted 

 with Dom Berthereau, a Benedictine of St. Germain-des-Prds, who was 

 then engaged in preparing a collection of such Arabian historians as 

 have written on the Crusades, and who inspired him with a taste for 

 Oriental languages. Having finished his classical studies, De Sacy 

 began the study of Hebrew. From Hebrew he proceeded to the 

 Syriac, Chaldee, and Samaritan, and thence to Arabic and Ethiopia. 

 With these laborious pursuits De Sacy combined the study of the 

 Italian, Spanish, English, and German languages, with all which he 

 made himself well acquainted. He soon added to his knowledge 

 of Arabic that of Persian and Turkish, two languages which, being 

 then very little known in Europe, required new investigations on 

 his part. 



De Sacy'a first literary labours were directed towards Biblical 

 researches. In 1780 at the age of twenty-three, he undertook the 

 examination of a Syriac manuscript in the Bibliotheque Royale, which 

 contained a translation of the Fourth Book of Kings, and he made 

 some notes on the subject which appeared in Eichhoru's 'Biblical and 

 Oriental Repertory ' (Leyden, vol. vii., p. 227, et seq.). In 1785 he was 

 elected a titular member of the Academy of .Inscriptions and Belles- 

 Lettres. Immediately upon his appointment he wrote two memoirs, 

 one upon the breaking of the dike of Irem in Arabia Felix, the other 

 on the original vestiges of Arabian literature (' Recueil de 1'Acad. des 

 Inscriptions,' vol. xlviii., old series; vol. x., new series). In the same 

 year De Sacy was nominated a member of a committee of the 

 Academy which was appointed to make analyses and extracts from 

 the most important inedited works in the Royal Library ; and there 

 is scarcely a volume of the collection entitled ' Notices et Extraits,' 

 &c., which does not contain some notice by him of a Persian or Arabic 

 work. Among his contributions the most remarkable are his 'Bio- 

 graphies of Persian Poets ' (vol. iv.), and a notice on four Arabic 

 works relative to the conquest of Yemen by the Othomans in the 16th 

 century (vol. iv.). Shortly after he wrote his admirable memoirs on 

 various antiquities of Persia, and deciphered the Pehlvi inscriptions of 

 Nakshi-Rostein, near the ruins of the ancient Persepolis. He also 

 gave the various readings on the medals of the Sassanian kings, 

 together with an abstract of their history translated from Mirkhond. 

 The whole was published in 1793, in 1 vol. 4to. 



During the revolutionary period De Sacy withdrew with his family 

 to a small country-house some leagues from Paris, and devoted hims-lf 

 entirely to the study of Oriental literature. Among his labours at 

 that time are his ' Researches into the Religious Tenets and Customs 

 of the Druses,' which however were not published till shortly before 

 his death. In 1795 a school for teaching living Oriental languages 

 being instituted by a decree of the Convention, De Sacy was appointed 

 professor of Arabic. He then gave all his attention to the composition 

 of an Arabic grammar, which he compiled chiefly from the works of 

 native grammarians ; and about the same time (1799) he published his 

 ' Principles of General Grammar,' of which a third edition appeared 

 in 1815, 12mo, Paris. In 1805 De Sacy was sent by the imperial 

 government to Genoa for the purpose of examining certain Arabic 

 manuscripts which were said to exist in the archives of the city ; and 

 on his return to Paris in 1806 he made a report to the Academy on 

 the historical documents which he had found there. In the same 

 year De Sacy was appointed professor of Persian, and he published his 

 ' Chrestoomthie Arabe,' or a selection of extracts from various Arabian 

 writers, both in prose and verse, by far the most valuable work for the 

 use of students that has yet appeared. In 1810 his Arabic Grammar, 

 the fruit of fifteen years' almost incessant labour, was published, as 

 well as his translation of Abd-al-latif 's account of Egypt (' Relation 

 de 1' Egypt,' &c., 4to, 1810). About the same time he published a 

 'Memoir on the Orthography and Manner of reciting the Kordn' 

 (' Not. et Ext.,' vol. viii.), and was likewise one of the most zealous 

 contributors to the ' Magaein Encyclopddique/ the ' Mines de 1'Orient,' 

 and the ' Annales des Voyages.' 



On the return of the Bourbons in 1814, De Sacy, who had received 

 from the imperial government the title of baron, became a member of 

 the Chamber of Deputies, and was also appointed a member of the 

 Council for Public Instruction. He took a prominent part in founding 

 the Asiatic Society of Par!.?, of which he was the nrst president. In 

 1816 he published, under the title of ' Calila et Dinna,' the Arabic 

 text of the Fables of Bidpai, and the Moallakah (or suspended poem) 

 of Lebid, with a French version and critical notes. In 1819 appeared 

 the ' Peud-Nameh ' (Book of Counsels), in Persian and French, with 

 copious notes. The whole of the ' Makamat ' (Sessions) of Hariri, in 

 Arabic, with a commentary also in Arabic, was his next publication, 

 the edition being made with so much care that it met with a ready 



sale even in eastern countries. In 1826-27 De Sacy published a new 

 dition of his ' Chrestomathie Arabe,' with corrections and consider- 

 able additions; and in 1829 he added a supplementary volume, entitled 

 ' Anthologie Grammaticale Arabe.' The second edition of his Arabic 

 Grammar appeared in 1831. In 1832 Louis-Philippe elevated De Sacy 

 to the peerage, and appointed him keeper of the Oriental manuscripts 

 in the King's Library, and perpetual secretary to the Academy of 

 Inscriptions. De Sacy'a last work was his ' Exposd de la Religion des 

 Druses,' which appeared at the beginning of 1838, in 2 vols. 8vo. On 

 the 19th of February of the same year, as De Sacy was returning 

 from the Chamber of Peers, where he had taken an active part in the 

 debate, he fell in the street in a fit of apoplexy. He was removed to 

 bis house, where he died on the following day, in the eightieth year 

 of his age. 



Oriental literature is greatly indebted to the labours of this dis- 

 tinguished scholar. He not only contributed to extend our knowledge 

 of every branch of Oriental literature, but it was on his recommenda- 

 tion -that professorships of Chinese, Sanskrit, and Hindostanee were 

 established in Paris ; and it was also under his direction that the 

 Russian and Prussian institutions for Oriental studies were raised to 

 their present eminence. A very able paper, giving an account of De 

 Sacy's life and writings, was read on the 23rd of June 1838 before the 

 Academy, by M. Reinaud, who was his personal friend. It has since 

 been published under the title of ' Notice Historique et Littdraire Bur 

 ~ ". le Baron Silvestre de Sacy.' 



SADI. [SAADI.] 



SADLER, SIR RALPH, the eldest son of Henry Sadler, Esq., was 

 born at Hackney in Middlesex, in 1507, where his family had been for 

 some time settled. In early life he gained a situation in the family 

 of Thomas Cromwell, earl of Essex, who introduced him to the notice 

 of Henry VIII., by whom he was employed in the dissolution of the 

 religious houses, and he had his full share of their spoil. In 1537 he 

 commenced a long series of diplomatic services in Scotland ; in the 

 first instance, chiefly with the view of detaching that country from 

 its close alliance with France, and persuading the king of Scotland to 

 imitate his uncle's conduct towards the see of Rome and the clergy. 

 In these objects however he failed. In 1540 he lost his patron Crom- 

 well, who was beheaded ; but he retained his favour with Henry, who 

 again sent him to Scotland in 1541. Upon the death of James V., 

 Sadler lent his aid to the match projected by Henry VIII. betweeu 

 his sou Edward and the young queen of Scotland, but this ended so 

 unsuccessfully, that in December 1543, Sadler was obliged to return 

 to England, and Henry declared war against Scotland. In the mean- 

 time Henry was so satisfied with Sadler's services, even in this last 

 negociation, that he included him by the title of Sir Ralph Sadler, 

 Knight, among the twelve persons whom he named as a privy-council 

 to the sixteen nobles to whom in his will he had bequeathed the care 

 of his son and of the kingdom. When this will was set aside by the 

 protector Somerset, and it became necessary to conciliate the king's 

 executors and privy-councillors by wealth and honours, Sir Ralph 

 Sadler received a confirmation of all the church lands formerly 

 assigned to him by Henry, with splendid additions. At the battle of 

 Pinkie, Sir Ralph Sadler greatly distinguished himself, and was raised 

 to the degree of knight-banneret on the field of battle ; but we hear 

 nothing more of him during the reign of Edward VI., except that in 

 the fourth year of that king we find him mentioned as master of the 

 great wardrobe. In Queen Mary's reign, although he appears to have 

 been in her favour, he retired to his estate at Hackney, and resigned 

 the office of clerk of the hanaper, which had been conferred upon him 

 by Henry VIII. 



On the accession of Elizabeth he again appeared at court, was called 

 to the privy-council, and retained to his death a large portion of the 

 esteem of that princess. He was a member of her first parliament as 

 one of the knights of the shire for the county of Hertford. When 

 Elizabeth thought proper to favour the cause of the Reformation in 

 Scotland, and to support the nobility who were for it against Mary, 

 Sir Ralph Sadler was her principal agent. He was also concerned ia 

 the subsequent measures which led to the death of Mary, and was 

 appointed her keeper in the castle of Tutbury : but such was Eliza- 

 beth's jealousy of this unfortunate princess, that even Sadler's watch- 

 fulness became liable to her suspicions, and on one occasion a heavy 

 complaint was made against him that he had permitted Mary to 

 accompany him to some distance from the castle of Tutbury, to enjoy 

 the sport of hawking. Sir Ralph Sadler expostulated upon the 

 miserable life which he passed at Tutbury, and upon the misconstruc- 

 tion put upon his actions, and Mary was finally committed to a new 

 keeper. Elizabeth however did not withdraw her confidence from Sir 

 Ralph Sadler in other matters, and, after the execution of Mary, 

 employed him to go to the court of James VI. to dissuade the Scotch 

 king from entertaining thoughts of a war with England on his mother's 

 account, to which, there was reason to think, he might have been 

 excited. In this Sir Ralph had little difficulty in succeeding, partly 

 perhaps from James's love of ease, and partly from the prospect he had 

 of peaceably succeeding to the throne of England. This was the last 

 time Sir Ralph Sadler was employed in the public service, for soou 

 after his return from Scotland he died, at his lordship of Standou iu 

 Hertfordshire, March 30, 1587, in the eightieth year of his age, and 

 was buried in the church of Standon, where his monument was 



