MENILITE MENSCH1KOFF. 



773 



assistance in the preparation of them. See Goethe's 

 Winckelmann und sein Jaltrhundert. 



MENILITE. See Opal. 



MENINSKI, or MENIN, FRANCIS (Francis a 

 Mesgnieri), a celebrated Orientalist, was born in Lor- 

 raine, in 1623, and studied at Rome, under the 

 learned Jesuit Grattini. At the age of thirty, he ac- 

 companied the Polish ambassador to Constantinople, 

 and, applying himself to the study of the Turkish 

 language, became first interpreter to the Polish em- 

 bassy at the Porte, and, soon after, was appointed 

 ambassador plenipotentiary to that court. He was 

 naturalized in Poland, and added the termination ski 

 to his family name of Menin. In 1661, he became 

 interpreter of the Oriental languages at Vienna, and 

 was intrusted with several important commissions. 

 In 1669, going to visit the holy sepulchre of Jerusa- 

 lem, he was created a knight of that order, and, on 

 his return to Vienna, was created one of the emper- 

 or's council of war. His principal work was his 

 . Thesaurus Linguarum Orientalium, published at 

 Vienna in 1680. A new edition of this valuable work 

 was begun in 1780, but remains still unfinished. Me- 

 ninski died at Vienna in 1698. 



MENIPPUS, a cynic, and disciple of the second 

 Menedemus, was a native of Gadara, in Palestine. 

 His writings were chiefly of a satirical kind, insomuch 

 that Lucian styles him "the most snarling of cynics," 

 and, in two or three of his dialogues, introduces him 

 as the vehicle of his own sarcasms. It appears that 

 his satires were composed in prose ; on which account 

 those of Varro were denominated Menippean ; and, 

 for the same reason, that of satire Menippee was 

 given, in France, to the celebrated piece written 

 against the league.* Menippus is said to have 

 hanged himself, in consequence of being robbed of a 

 large sum of money. He had been originally a slave, 

 but purchased his freedom, and was made a citizen of 

 Thebes. None of his works is now extant. 



MENNO, SIMONIS (i. e. the son of Simon), born 

 in Friesland, in 1505, joined the Anabaptists in 1537, 

 having been previously a Roman Catholic priest. 

 After the suppression of the disturbances at Miinster, 

 Menno collected the scattered remnants of the sect, 

 and organized societies, for which he secured the 

 toleration of the government. His peregrinations 

 for many years, in Holland and the north of Germany, 

 as far as Livonia, contributed to increase the number 

 of his followers, and to disseminate his doctrines 

 among those who were not satisfied with the progress 

 of the Protestant churches in reform. Except in 

 some opinions concerning the incarnation of Christ, 

 to which he was probably led by the controversy con- 

 cerning the bodily presence of Christ in the eucharist, 

 and in the administration of baptism to adults only, 

 his tenets agreed, in general, with those of the Cal- 

 vinists. Menno died at Oldeslohe, in Holstein, 1561. 

 His followers are called Mennonites, an account of 

 whom has been given in the article Anabaptists. 



MENOLOGIUM (from ftf.t, the moon, and \oytt, 

 discourse, report, &c.), in the Greek church, has 

 about the same signiBcation as martyrologium (q. v.) 

 in the Roman church. The Menologium is a book in 

 which the festivals of every month are recorded, with 

 the names and biographies of the saints and martyrs, 

 iii the order in which they are read in the masses, the 

 ceremonies of the day, &c. 



MENOMONIES, MENOMENIES; a tribe of 



The title of this ingenious and amusing satire is Satyre 

 Menippe de la I'ertu du Catholicon d'Espagne, ou <ie la Tenue 

 lift Etatt a Parit en 1593, par MM. de la Ste. Union (Paris, 

 1594). The title is a satire on Philip II., king of Spain, head of 

 the league, who masked his projects under pretext of zeal for 

 the Catholic religion. It is the work of several hands, and was, 

 according- to Voltaire, of not less advantage to Henry IV. than 

 the battlo of Ivry. 



Indians, residing in the North- West Territory, to the 

 south of lake Superior and west of Green bay, called 

 by the French Mangeurs de Folle-Avoine (or Eaters 

 of Wild Oats). They belong to the great Chippe- 

 way family. See Indians, American. 



MENOU, JACQUES FRANOIS, baron de, born in 

 Touraine in 1750, entered the military service at an 

 early age, and rose rapidly to a high rank. In 1789, 

 the noblesse of Touraine chose him their deputy to 

 the states-general, where he was one of the earliest 

 to unite with the third estate. Menou turned his 

 attention particularly to the new organization of the 

 army, and proposed to substitute a general conscrip- 

 tion of the young men, in the room of the old manner 

 of recruiting. His subsequent votes and propositions, 

 in favour of vesting the declaration of war in the 

 nation, of arming the national guard (1791), &c., 

 were generally on the revolutionary side ; but when 

 the more violent opinions began to prevail, he joined 

 those who endeavoured to moderate the excitement. 

 In 1792, he resumed his military duties, and was 

 second in command of the troops of the line, stationed 

 near Paris. In this capacity, he accompanied the 

 king to the assembly, and was afterwards repeatedly 

 denounced to the convention as an enemy to the re- 

 volution. He, however, escaped condemnation, and, 

 in May (2 prairial), 1795, commanded the troops 

 who defended the convention against the insurgents 

 of the faubourg St Antoine. On the 13th Vende- 

 miaire, he was likewise in command, but would not 

 allow his troops to attack the section opposed to the 

 convention, and Bonaparte first gained celebrity by 

 undertaking that attack. Menou afterwards accom- 

 panied general Bonaparte to Egypt, and distinguished 

 himself by his courage on several occasions. After 

 the return of Bonaparte, he married the daughter of 

 a rich bath-keeper of Rosetta, submitting to all the 

 ceremonies of the laws of Mahomet, and adopting 

 the name of Abdallah. On the death of KJeber 

 (q. v.), he took the chief command, and, after a gal- 

 lant defence in Alexandria, was obliged to capitulate 

 to the English. Bonaparte received him favourably, 

 on his arrival in France, and appointed him governor 

 of Piedmont. Menou was afterwards sent to Venice 

 in the same capacity, and died there in 1810. 



MENSCHIKOFF, ALEXANDER, the son of a pea- 

 sant, born near Moscow, in 1674, was employed by 

 a pastry-cook to sell pastry in the streets of Moscow. 

 Different accounts are given of the first cause of his 

 rise. According to some statements, he overheard 

 the project of a conspiracy by the Strelitz, and com- 

 municated it to the czar; other accounts represent 

 him as having attracted the notice of Lefort (q. v.), 

 who took him into his service, and, discerning his 

 great powers, determined to educate him for public 

 affairs. Lefort took the young Menschikoff with 

 him on the great embassy in 1697, pointed out to 

 him whatever was worthy of his attention, and in- 

 structed him in military affairs, and in the maxims of 

 politics and government. On the death of Lefort, 

 Menschikoff succeeded him in the favour of the czar, 

 who placed such entire confidence in him, that lie 

 undertook nothing without his advice ; yet his pas- 

 sion for money was the cause of many abuses, and he 

 was three times subjected to a severe examination, 

 and was once also condemned to a fine. The emper- 

 or punished him for smaller offences on the spot ; but 

 much of his selfishness and faithlessness was unknown 

 to his sovereign. He was much indebted for support, 

 to tiie empress Catharine. He became first minister 

 and general field-marshal, baron and prince of the 

 German empire, and received orders from the courts 

 of Copenhagen, Dresden, and Berlin. Peter also 

 conferred on him the title of duke of Ingria. On 

 the death of Peter, it was chiefly through the in- 



