114 



CAYMAN CECIL. 



CAYMAN. See Alligator. 



CAZOTTE, J.Mj'j K>, an autlior, distinguished by 

 facility and liveliness of style, born in 1720, at Dijon, 

 studied with the Jc-tiits, ami went, in 1747, to iMar- 

 tinico. ( )n his return to France, he lost above eleven 

 thousand pounds in letters of exchange upon the 

 order of the Jesuits, to whose superior, Lnvalette, 

 be liad sold his possessions in Mariinico. The law- 

 suit which he commenced, on this occasion, may be 

 considered as the begimiing of all the proceedings 

 against the Jesuits in France. Cazotte shorn- in 

 -ocicty among the beaux esprits. His romance of 

 chivalry, Olivier, published in 17(J3, and, subsequently, 

 his Diable amoureitx, the Lord Impromptu, and (Eu- 

 vres morales el badines, are proofs of his rich imagi- 

 nation, and his talent for writing with ease and pre- 

 cision. Being received into the order of Martines 

 de Pasqualis, Cazotte lost himself in cabalistic 

 dreams. With the assistance of Dom Chavis, an 

 Arabian monk, he translated four volumes of Arabian 

 Tales a continuation of the Arabian Nights, form- 

 ing the thirty-seventh and fourtieth volumes of the 

 Cabinet des Fees. Though at the age of seventy 

 years, he wrote them at midnight, after his return 

 from the circles in wluch he liad been visiting. Cha- 

 vis dictated the outlines, and Cazotte wrought up the 

 stories. He completed the task in two winters. The 

 comic opera Les Sabots he composed in one night. 

 In the revolution, which he opposed with all his 

 power, he was thrown into the prisons of die Abbaye, 

 with his daughter Elizabeth, in 1792. When the 

 massacre of the prisoners tooJc place, Sept. 2 and 3, 

 Cazotte being delivered into the hands of the assas- 

 sins, his daughter cast herself between him and the 

 murderers, and prevented the execution of their pur- 

 pose ; but he was again condemned to death, and 

 executed Sept. 25. From the scaffold he cried with 

 a firm voice to the multitude, " I die, as I have lived, 

 faithful to God and to my king." 



CAZWINI, ZACHARIA BEN MOHAMMED, an Ara- 

 bian naturalist, descended from a family of lawyers, 

 who derived their origin from Anas Ben Malek, a 

 companion of Mohammed, and had settled in Caswin, 

 a city in Persia. From that place this author receiv- 

 ed the surname under which he has become celebrat- 

 ed. Of the circumstances of his life, we know only 

 that he was cadi of Wazith and Hillah, and died in 

 the year of the hegira 682 (A. D. 1283). His most 

 important work is on natural history The Wonders 

 of Nature and the Peculiarities of Creation of which 

 Ideler, professor in the university of Berlin, has pub- 

 lished the chapter on the Constellations of the Ara- 

 bians, and of which there are fragments in Bochart's 

 Hierozoikon, in Ouseley's Oriental Collections, and 

 in Walil's, Jahn's, and De Sacy's Arab. Chrestoma- 

 thias. It was the object of Cazwini, like Pliny, to 

 describe the wonders of all nature. His work con- 

 tains a comprehensive view of all that had been writ- 

 ten before him, but in so grand and original a man- 

 ner, that it is of higher value than most of the origi- 

 nal works which treat of the same subjects. There 

 is an abridged translation of it in the Persian. 



CEBES of Thebes was a disciple of Socrates. He 

 is said to have saved Phajdon, a young slave, from 

 moral ruin. Nothing more is known of his life. 

 Three dialogues Hebdome, PhrynicAus, and Pinax, 

 or the Picture sore ascribed to him ; but most critics 

 regard the latter as the work of a later Cebes, or of 

 a Stoic philosopher under this assumed name. Since 

 the revival of learning, this interesting dialogue has 

 been often reprinted by itself, or in connexion with 

 the writings of Epictetus, Theognis, Pythagoras, &c. 

 Among the larger editions is that of Schweighauser 

 (strasburg, -1800). There are many school editions. 

 CECIL, WILLIAM (lord Burleigh). This eminent 



Knolish Matcsman was son to Ilicliard Cecil, master 

 i >f the rolws to I leiiry VIM.. ;m,l was lx>rn at I iourup, 

 in Lincolnshire, in 1520. He studied at St John's 

 college, Cambridge, whence he removed to Cray's 

 Inn, with a view to prepare himself for the practice 

 of the law. Having carried on a successful contro- 

 versy with two Irish priests on the subject, of the 

 pope's supremacy, he obtained the notice of the king , 

 and, being presented with the reversion of the oihce 

 of cttftos brevium, was encouraged to push his for- 

 tune at court. Having married the sister of Sir John 

 Cheke, he was, by his orother-in-law, recommended 

 to tlie earl of Hertford, afterwards the protect m- 

 Somerset. Having lost Ids first wife, he took for ;i 

 second the daughter of Sir Anthony Cooke, director 

 of the studies of Edward VI. ; and. by his alliance 

 with this lady, herself eminent for learning, still furth- 

 er increased his influence. He rose, in 1547, to the 

 post of master of requests, and, soon after, to that of 

 secretary. He endured, in this reign, some of the 

 vicissitudes which befell his patron Somerset, but 

 always recovered his standing, and, in 1551, was 

 knighted, and sworn a member of the privy council. 

 His declining to aid the proclamation of lady Jane 

 Grey, secured him a gracious reception from queen 

 Mary, although he forfeited his office because he 

 would not change his religion. In 1555, he attended 

 cardinal Pole and the other commissioners appointed 

 to treat for peace with France : and, on his return, 

 being chosen knight of the shire for the county of 

 Lincoln, distinguished himself by opposing a bill 

 brought in for the confiscation of estates on account 

 of religious principles. His foresight led him into a 

 timely correspondence with the princess Elizabeth, 

 previously to her accession ; to whom, in her critical 

 situation, his advice was exceedingly serviceable. 

 On her accession, in 1558, he was appointed privy 

 counsellor and secretary of state. One of the first 

 acts of her reign was the settlement of religion, which 

 Cecil conducted with great skill and prudence, con- 

 sidering the difficulties to be encountered. In foreign 

 affairs, ne showed much tact in guarding against the 

 danger arising from the Catholic powers, and very 

 judiciously lent support to the reformation in Scot- 

 land. The general tenor of Cecil's policy was cau- 

 tious, and rested upon an avoidance of open hostili- 

 ties, and a reliance on secret negotiation and intrigues 

 with opposing parties in the neighbouring countries 

 with a view to avert the dangers which threatened 

 his own. This, upon the whole, was a course almost 

 necessary, considering the situation of England, with 

 a powerful, dissatisfied party at home, much danger- 

 ous enmity on the part of Catholic Europe, and an 

 alliance existing between Scotland and France. On 

 the suppression of the northern rebellion, in 1571. 

 Elizabeth raised him to the peerage by the title of 

 baron Burleigh, and, the following year made him 

 a knight of the garter. He is charged with being 

 deeply engaged in fomenting the troubles which caus- 

 ed the flight of the imprudent and unhappy Mary 

 Stuart into England ; and, after the discovery of Bab- 

 ington's conspiracy, he never ceased urging her trial 

 and condemnation. He endured, for a short time, 

 the hypocritical resentment of Elizabeth at the ex- 

 ecution of the queen of Scots, but, after a while, re- 

 covered his former credit. At the time of the threat- 

 ened Spanish invasion, he drew up the plan for the 

 defence of the country with his usual care and abili- 

 ty ; but, soon after, losing his wife to whom he was 

 warmly attached, he became desirous of retiring from 

 public business, and of leaving the field open to his 

 son Robert, afterwards so celebrated as earl of Salis- 

 bury. He was persuaded, however, to keep his em- 

 ployment, and one of his latest efforts was to effectu- 

 ate a peace with Spain, in opposition to the more 



