MARTYR MARY. 



703 



affairs, and created him counsellor of the Indies. 

 Charles V. also treated him with favour. He died in 

 1526, at the age of seventy-five years. His principal 

 works are De Rebus Oceaniciset Orbenovo Decades, 

 a history of the discoveries of Columbus and his suc- 

 cessors, from their own relations ; De Insults nuper 

 inventis (1521); De Legations Babylonica, an ac- 

 count of his embassy to Egypt, whitlier Ferdinand 

 had sent him, in 1501 ; and his Opus Epistolarium. 



MARTYR, PETER (whose family name was 

 Fermigli), one of the earliest Protestant divines, 

 distinguished for learning and abilities, was born at 

 Florence, in the year 1500, and entered, at the age 

 of sixteen, into the order of the regular canons of St 

 Augustine, at the monastery of Fiesole. In 1519, 

 he removed to Padua, where he studied Greek and 

 philosophy. In 1526, he commenced preacher, and 

 attracted great applause in several cities of Italy. 

 After receiving numerous important offices in his 

 order, his religious opinions were considered as 

 savouring too much of the doctrine "of the reformers, 

 and it became necessary for him to quit Italy, and, 

 at Zurich, in Switzerland, he was received in a 

 friendly manner by the Protestant clergy (1542). 

 Soon after, he became professor of divinity at Stras- 

 burg, and, in 1547, accompanied Bucer, Fagius, and 

 other learned reformers, on the invitation of arch- 

 bishop Cranmer, to England. Martyr had followed 

 the example of Luther, in marrying a nun, who had 

 renounced her vows. He was appointed to the 

 theological chair at Oxford, in 1549, and became 

 a very efficient assistant to the English reformed 

 clergy, in carrying on their plans of innovation in 

 the church. On the accession of queen Mary, being 

 commanded to quit the country, he returned to, 

 Strasburg, and resumed his former situation. In 

 1556, he removed to Zurich, to occupy the office of 

 theological professor. In 1561, he assisted at the 

 famous conference between the Catholics and Protes- 

 tants held at Poissy, in France ; and died at Zurich, 

 in the following year. Peter Martyr was the author 

 of many works on divinity, including commentaries 

 on some parts of the Old and New Testaments. He 

 is said to have excelled Calvin in erudition, and the 

 knowledge of languages., and his personal character 

 was extremely amiable. 



MARTYRS (from the Greek pa^ru^, a witness); 

 a name applied, by the Christian church, to those 

 persons, in particular, who, in the early ages of 

 Christianity, and during the great persecutions, suf- 

 fered ignominy and death, rather than renounce 

 their faith; and thus testified their unshaken confi- 

 dence in the truth and divine origin of the new doc- 

 trines. The animation which faith inspires in noble 

 minds, wherever it is opposed and oppressed, has 

 given to the Christian church many heroic examples 

 of this sort ; and, in all ages and countries, religious 

 tyranny lias aroused the spirit of martyrdom, which 

 leads to the sacrifice of life and worldly good for 

 faith. An account of the life, persecutions, and 

 death of the Christian martyrs, is called martyrology. 

 Clement I., bishop of Rome, was the first who 

 attempted a work of this kind. The Roman martyr- 

 ology is the most celebrated. On the worship of 

 martyrs, see the article Saints. 



Martyr, in a wider sense, is used for any innocent 

 person who suffers in a good cause, or in a cause 

 which he considers so ; thus we say, to be a martyr 

 to the truth, to a cause, &c. For further informa- 

 tion, see Persecutions. 



Martyrs, ^ra of. See Epoch. 



Martyrs, Festivals of the, seem to have been ob- 

 served as early as the second century. The Chris- 

 tians offered prayers at the tombs of the martyrs, 

 and thanked God for the example which they had 



given to the world. The rite was concluded with 

 the sacrament of the Lord's supper and the distribu- 

 tion of alms. Eulogies were also delivered, and 

 accounts of the lives and actions of the deceased 

 mid. These festivals were called the birth- days of 

 the martyrs, because on the day of their death they 

 were born to the joys of eternal life. The churches 

 or chapels consecrated to the martyrs were styled 

 martyria. They sometimes, though not always, 

 contained their bones, and sometimes were par- 

 ticular rooms in the great churches. 



MARVELL, ANDREW, was born at Kingston- 

 upon-Hull, in 1620, and sent to Trinity college, 

 Cambridge, whence he was inveigled away by some 

 Jesuitical emissaries, and was found by his father in 

 a bookseller's shop in London, and induced to return 

 to college. On the death of his father, in 1640, he 

 made the tour of Europe, and distinguished himself 

 by some humorous satires against Richard Flecknoe, 

 an English poetaster, resident at Rome, which cir- 

 cumstance induced Dryden to give the name of Mac 

 Flecknoe to his satire against Shadwell. He after- 

 wards acted as secretary to the English legation at 

 Constantinople, and, on his return, was appointed 

 assistant to Milton, in his office of Latin secretary. 

 In 1660, he was chosen member of parliament for 

 his native place, which he represented to the end of 

 iiis life, and obtained a high character for diligence, 

 ability, and integrity. In the reign of Charles II. 

 Marvell was in the opposition, and his whole efforts, 

 both in and out of parliament, were directed to the 

 preservation of civil and religious liberty. Although 

 he rarely spoke, his influence was great. The eavl 

 of Devonshire was intimate with him, and prince 

 Rupert often followed his advice. He had the 

 character of being the wittiest man of his time 

 and wrote a number of poetical effusions, of the 

 humorous and satirical kind, which were very effec- 

 tive as party pieces. Marvell was the author of 

 several tracts, one of which, entitled an Account of 

 the Growth of Popery and Arbitrary Power in Eng- 

 land, gave so much offence, that a reward was offered 

 for the printer and publisher. Notwithstanding the 

 earnestness with which he opposed the court, his 

 wit made him a favourite with Charles II., who 

 deputed the lord treasurer Danby to wait upon him, 

 with the offer of .1000, and a promise of future 

 favour. He rejected the bribe without hesitation ; 

 and was obliged, on the departure of the courtier, to 

 send to a friend for the loan of a guinea. The life 

 of Marvell was more than once threatened by his irri- 

 tated enemies ; and his death, which happened in 

 August, 1678, without much previous illness, has 

 been attributed, with no support from direct evidence, 

 to poison. He was buried at St Giles's in the Fields, 

 at the expense of his constituents, who voted a sum to 

 erect a monument to his memory ; but it was not 

 admitted by the rector. 1'he most complete edition 

 of his works is that by Thompson, with an account of 

 his life (3 vols. 4to, 1776). 



MARY is probably derived from the Hebrew 

 Miriam, (strife, disobedience). Mary, the mother 

 of Jesus, in the language of the church. Our Dear 

 Lady, or the Holy Virgin (in French, Notre-Dame ; 

 Italian, Madonna; English, Our Lady), is described 

 in the gospel history as a virgin in humble circum- 

 stances, but of the stem of David, who lived in ob- 

 scurity in Nazareth, a city of Galilee, and was 

 betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter. A heavenly mes- 

 senger broke in upon her solitude with a salutation 

 of the deepest veneration. The Virgin was aston- 

 ished at the appearance : her modest feelings could not 

 account for such a mark of distinction. The angel 

 saluted her as the highly-favoured of God, and 

 announced to her that she should bear a son, wuu 



