1021 



THEVENOT, MELCHISEDEC. 



TH&VENOT, JEAN. 



and places of resort of the Dutch and Portuguese ; a report from one 

 of the factors of the Dutch East India Company to the directors ; 

 and an extract of a letter from the governor-general of the East India 

 Company of France. The third volume was published in 1666, and 

 the fourth in 1672. In the preface to the fourth volume Thevenot 

 informs the reader that the constant discovery of travels which had 

 escaped his research has obliged him to abandon the attempt to 

 classify the voyages inserted in his collection, so that all relating to 

 one quarter of the world should appear together. These four volumes 

 were in folio ; and during the remainder of his life The'venot published 

 in the same form a number of separate accounts of voyages, which, 

 together with some left half printed at his death, were bulky enough 

 to form a fifth volume. The edition of hia collection printed after 

 his death at Paris, in 1696, professes to contain all these miscellanea, 

 but a complete copy is rarely to be met with. In 1 683 The'venot 

 published a small book in 12mo, entitled ' Recueil de Voyages de 

 M. Thevenot.' It contains ' A Discourse on the Art of Navigation, 

 with some Problems which may supply in part the deficiencies of this 

 useful art.' Among these problems he has inserted an account of the 

 level above alluded to. The same volume contains an account of the 

 museum of Swamrnerdam, with some memoirs by that naturalist, 

 said on the special title-page to be ' Extracted, together with the travels 

 wliich precede it, from the Transactions of the Society which met at 

 the house of M. Thevenot.' It will be advisable to conclude the 

 narrative of The'venot's life before attempting to pronounce judgment 

 on the merits of his publications. 



Colbert died in 1683, and Louvois succeeding to the office of super- 

 intendent of buildings, succeeded likewise to the management of the 

 royal library, which was regarded as belonging to that minister's 

 department. Louvois appointed his son, afterwards known as the 

 Abbe" Louvois, who was then only nine years of age, librarian. It was 

 necessary to find a deputy for so juvenile an officer : the Abbe" Tare's 

 was first appointed, but he dying in September, 1684, the office was 

 conferred upon Thevenot, on the understanding that such of his books 

 as were not already in the royal library were to be purchased for it. 

 The zeal which Colbert had manifested at the outset of his ministerial 

 career for the augmentation of the royal collection had abated for 

 some years before his death : from 1673 till his death no important 

 acquisitions had been made. Thevenot found the library extremely 

 deficient in English, German, and Dutch works, and he obtained per- 

 mission to make arrangements for procuring from those countries their 

 histories, laws, and accounts of their customs ; in short, everything 

 calculated to convey information regarding their governments and 

 transactions. The inquiry after Greek and Oriental MSS. in the 

 Levant, begun by Colbert, was continued by Louvois ; and The'venot, 

 by that minister's directions, prepared and transmitted instructions to 

 Messrs. Girardin and Galland and the Pere Besnier for the prosecution 

 of the search. It was also at his suggestion that a native of China, 

 who had brought some Chinese books to Rome, was induced to visit 

 Paris, and his books acquired for the king's library. On the death of 

 Louvois a new arrangement was made for the management of the 

 king's library, and about the same time Thevenot resigned or was dis- 

 missed from his appointment. There is reason to doubt whether he 

 had given satisfaction as librarian : the historical memoir in the first 

 volume of the printed catalogue of the king's library, which does 

 ample justice to other officials, merely notices his appointment and 

 resignation ; and the notice of his life found in his own writing among 

 his papers after his death, has very much the appearance of a defensive 

 statement of his own merits. 



The'venot did not long survive the termination of his connection 

 with the king's library : he died on the 29th of October 1692. 



The'venot, in addition to most European languages, was able to read 

 Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Turkish, and Persian. He commenced a 

 series of observations on the variation of the magnetic needle in 1663, 

 and prosecuted them with great perseverance till 1681. He suggested 

 in 1669 the measurement of several degrees of the meridian along the 

 Gulf of Bothnia : he invented his air-level about 1660, and recom- 

 mended its adoption to facilitate observations of the latitude at sea, 

 and he endeavoured to discover a natural unit of linear measurement 

 for all nations. He possessed however rather the taste than the talent 

 for strict scientific observation and reasoning, and this peculiarity was 

 the cause in the first place of his anxiety to have men of science for 

 habitual visitors, and of his eagerness to collect books of travels, 

 printed or in manuscript, such works being calculated to gratify a 

 mind which, without a capacity for severe labour, was fond of acquiring 

 knowledge. In books of travels he found information regarding statis- 

 tics, history, commerce, natural history, and science ; and he could 

 relish all these branches of knowledge and appreciate their importance, 

 though he could not task himself to master any one of them. He 

 undertook to publish a systematic collection of voyages and travels, as 

 the task best suited to his turn of mind ; but even this required more 

 continuous effort than he was capable of : in the fourth volume the 

 systematic arrangement was abandoned, and only some fragments of 

 the fifth part were published at long intervals. The'venot was one of 

 those who promote science by imparting a contagious spirit of activity 

 to others more than by anything they accomplish themselves. His 

 taste for collecting books has been the means of supplying the king's 

 library at Paris with some of its not least valuable MSS., some of 



which have yet to bo turned fully to account. His collection of 

 voyages too has been the means of preserving some curious and 

 valuable narratives. If bo did not make a good practical librarian, ha 

 at least pointed out the way in which the library might be rendered 

 more complete; and besides preserving materials for geographers to 

 work upon, he directed attention to the means of rendering the science 

 more perfect. Some of his suggestions mentioned above were not 

 without their influence in promoting the application of mathematics 

 and astronomy to geographical research; and he was the first, by 

 directing attention to the line of communication between the Caspian 

 and China, and to^the literature of China, to commence that series of 

 investigations which has been so brilliantly carried on by the Jesuits 

 of the 17th, and by the Remusats and Klaproths of the past and 

 present century. 



Sources from which this sketch has been compiled : 



1. ' Memoire sur la Collection des grands ct petits Voyages, et sur 

 la Collection des Voyages de Melchisedec The'venot/ par A. O. Camus, 

 Paris, 4to, 1802. Owing to the incomplete condition of most copies 

 of The'venot's collection, this work is necessary to enable the reader 

 to know what he has published. 2. 'Bibliotbeca Thevenotiana sive 

 Catalogus Impreseoruin et Manuscriptorum Librorum Bibliothecao viri 

 clarissimi D. Melchisedecis Th6venot,' Lutetiae Parisiorum, 12tno, 1694. 

 This volume contains the autobiographical sketch above referred to : 

 the catalogue of The'venot's library throws light upon his studies. 

 3. 'Recueil de Voyages de M. The'venot,' Paris 1681. This volume 

 contains the discourse on navigation, in which there are some incidental 

 notices of Thdvenot's pursuits. 4. 'Relations de divers Voyages 

 curieux qui n'ont point 6i6 publie'es ou qui ont <5tc" traduites de 

 Hakluyt,' &c., Paiis, 1663-1672. The 'Avis ' prefixed to the different 

 volumes of this edition contain matter for the biography of The'venot. 

 5. ' Histoire de 1'Academie des Sciences.' Tome i. contains a corro- 

 boration of The'venot's assertions regarding his share in the institution 

 of the Acade'mie deu Sciences. 6. ' Catalogue des Livres Imprimez de 

 la Bibliotheque du Roi : Thdologie, premiere partie,' a Paris, 1739 : 

 supplies the dates of The'venot's appointment as librarian, and of his 

 demission of the office. 7. Le Long et Fontette ; ' Bibliotheque His- 

 torique de la France,' iv. 66. 



THE'VENOT, JEAN, nephew of the preceding, was born at Paris 

 the 7th of June, 1633. In the dedication of the first volume of his 

 travels to his mother, he attributes to her exclusively the great care 

 bestowed upon his education ; and from this circumstance it may be 

 inferred that his father died while he was a child. The'venot distin- 

 guished himself as a student at the college of Navarre. The author 

 of the sketch of his life, prefixed to the second volume of his travels, 

 states that his attainments in the languages, physics, geometry, astro- 

 nomy, and all the mathematical sciences, were respectable, and that 

 he had studied with particular attention the philosophy of Descartes. 

 But it is doubtful whether all these are to be understood as having 

 been his college studies. 



He left the college of Navarre before he had completed his eigh- 

 teenth year. Possessing an independent fortune, his attention was for 

 some time afterwards engrossed by the manly exercises which were 

 then deemed indispensable accomplishments in a gentleman ; but 

 having contracted a taste for reading books of travels, he caught the 

 contagious spirit of adventure, and commenced travelling himself in 

 1652. He visited in succession England, Holland, Germany, and 

 Italy ; and, making a prolonged stay at Rome (1654-55), witnessed the 

 solemnities of the installation of Alexander VII. He had taken the 

 pains to prepare an account of his observations during this tour, but 

 judiciously resisted all persuasions to publish it, partly on account 

 of his youth and partly on account of the want of novelty in the 

 subject. 



At Rome he became acquainted with the celebrated Orientalist 

 d'Herbelot, who, being a good many years his senior, and already 

 distinguished for his learning, acquired considerable influence over 

 him. D'Herbelot freely communicated to his young friend the 

 information he had collected regarding the East and its inhabitants, 

 and the result of their conversations was that The'venot determined to 

 devote himself to exploring Asia. D'Herbelot proposed at one time 

 to accompany him, but being prevented by some family matters, 

 Thevenot set out alone. 



Thevenot began his first journey from Malta on the 1st of November, 

 1655 : he arrived at Leghorn, on his return, on the 8th of April, 1659. 

 Having reached Constantinople in the beginning of December, 1655, 

 he remained there till the end of August, 1666. Travelling through 

 Brusa and Smyrna, and visiting Chio, Samos, and Rhodes, he arrived 

 at Alexandria on the 29th of December. He proceeded without loss 

 of time to Cairo, which he made his head-quarters for two years, 

 making in the course of that time two excursions, the first to Suez 

 and Mount Sinai, the other to Jerusalem and some of the adjoining 

 districts of Syria. During his stay at Constantinople and Cairo he 

 made himself master of the Turkish and Arabic languages. On his 

 way from Egypt to Italy he touched at Tunis. 



From Leghorn The'venot visited several parts of Italy which he had 

 not previously seen, and in particular resided for a short time at the 

 court of Savoy, before he returned to France. The first volume of 

 his travels, he says, was prepared for the press to gratify his friends, 

 and especially his mother ; and these were not with him mere words 



