M A C 



tieatife. After the peace of Aix, Mr. Macbride went to 

 Edinburgh and London, where he ftudied anatomy under 

 thofe celebrated teachers Doftors Monro and Hunter, and 

 midwitery under Smellie. About the end of 1749, he fettled 

 in Dublin as a furgeon and accoucheur ; but his youth and 

 remarkable bathfulnefs occalioned him to remain a number 

 of years in obfcurity, little employed ; although he was en- 

 deared to a fmall circle of friends by his great abilities, 

 amiable difpofitions, and his general knowledge in all the 

 branches of polite literature and the arts. In 1764, he 

 publiihed his " Experimental EITays," which were every 

 where received with great applaufe, and were foon tranf- 

 latcd into different languages; and the lingular merit of 

 this performance induced thS-univerfity ofGlafgow to con- 

 fer the degree of doftor of phyfic on its author. The 

 improvement introduced by Dr. Macbride in the art of tan- 

 ning, by fubllitnting lime-water for common water in pre- 

 paring ooze, procured him the honour of a filver medal from 

 the Dublin Society, in the year 1768, and of a gold medal 

 of confiderable value from the Society of Arts and Com- 

 merce in London. 



For feveral years after Dr. Macbride obtained his degree, 

 he employed part of his time in the duties of a medical 

 teacher, and delivered, at his own houfe, a courfe of lec- 

 tures on the theory and praAice of phyfic. Thefe leftures 

 were publifhed, in 1772, in one vol. 4to., under the title 

 of " An Introduction to the Theory and Praftice of Medi- 

 cine," and a fecond edition appeared in 1 777. It was tranf- 

 lated into Latin, and publilhtd at Utrecht, in 2 vols. 8vo. 

 in 1774. Tiiis work difplayed great acatenefs of oblerva- 

 tion, and very philofophical views of pathology, and con- 

 tained a new arrangement of difeafes, which was deemed of 

 fo much merit by Dr. CuUen, that an outline of it was given 

 by that celebrated profefTor, in his Compendium of Nofology. 

 Of the five clafles, however, into which Dr. Macbride dif- 

 tributed difeafes, the genera and fpecies of the firft only were 

 detailed. 



The talents of Dr. Macbride were now univerfa'Iy 

 known, his charafler was duly appreciated, and his pro- 

 iefllonal emoluments increafed rapidly ; for the pubhc, as 

 if to make amends for former ncgleft, threw more occupa- 

 tion into his hands, tlian he could accomplifli either with eafe 

 or fafety. Although much haraffed both in body and mind, 

 fo as to have fuffered, for fome time, an almoft total inca- 

 pacity for fleep, he continued in aftivity and good fpirits 

 until the end of December 1778, when an accidental cold 

 brought on a fever and delirium, which terminated his life 

 on the ijlh of that month, in the 53d year of his age : 

 his death was fincerely lamented by perfons of all ranks. 

 See Edin. Med. Commentaries, vol. vii. p. 105. CuUen, 

 Synops. Nofoi. Method, vol. i. 



MACCABiEUS, Judas, a valiant leader of the Jews, 

 was the third fon of Mattathias of the Afmonaean family, 

 whom he fuccecded as general of his nation in the year 

 166 B.C. At this period the Jews were in a Hate of 

 revolt againft Antiochus Epiphanes, and Judas, with a fmall 

 body of men, haraffed the Syrians, Samaritans, and apoftate 

 Jews, and filled the country with the terror of his name. 

 After fome important fuccetTes, and being left mafter of 

 the fi.ld, Judas marched to Jerufalem, where he purified the 

 city and' temple, the latter of which wa.'v again dedicated, 

 and a commemiratory feilival, on this occafion, was inlli- 

 tuted, which was oidcred to be perpetual. The death of 

 Anti 'chus gave t'ae Jews fome refpite, but hoftilities were 

 foon renewed, and Judas difplayed his ufual vigour and mi- 

 litary prowefs. Lyfias, the commander of the Syrians, was 

 now his chief antagonill ; him lie defeated and obliged to 



M A C 



feek terms of peace. After this the Syrian general in- 

 vaded Judea a fecond time, and obliged Judas to take refuge 

 in Jerufalem. He befieged the city, which would, pro- 

 bably, notwithllaiiding the valour of its defender, have been 

 obliged to furrcnder for want of provifions, had not the 

 holtile army been liaftily recalled by a rebellion in their own 

 country. After Demetrius Soter had obtained th.e crown 

 of Syria, the war with the Jews was renewed : Bacchides, 

 marching with the flower of his army, furprifed Judas at 

 the head of a fmall body of men, of whom, all but eiu-ht 

 hundred, deferted at the approach of the enemy. With 

 thefe he made a defperate rcliflance, till he fell upon a heap 

 of flaughteied enemies. This was in the year 161 B.C. : 

 the news of his death caufed the utmoft grief and confterna- 

 tion at .Terufalem, where a general mourning was made for 

 him, and he was celebrated in fongs, as one of the greatelt 

 heroes of the nation. His body was recovered, and interred 

 in the fepulchre of his father at Modin. Books of Macca- 

 bees. Jofephus. 



MACCaBEES, two apocryphal books of Scripture, 

 containing the hillory of Judas and his brothers, and their 

 wars againft the Syrian kings in defence of their religion 

 and liberties, fo called from Judas, the fon of Mattalhias, 

 (lee Mattatiuas,) furnamed Maccabeus, as fome fay from 

 the word '''2'!^':ji formed of the initials of niH^ "','Vj^!3 

 n"''.3D 'C' ■ 1- ^- ^^^° " ^'^- ""'" ^^"^'^■> Lord, among the 

 Gods (Exod XV. II.) ; which was the motto of his iland- 

 ard : whence thofe who fought under his ftandard were 

 called Maccabees, and the name was generally applied to all 

 who fuffered in the caufe of the true religion, under the 

 Egyptian or Syrian kings. This name, formed by abbre- 

 viation according to the common praftice of the Jews, dif- 

 tinguifhed Judas Maccabxus by way of eminence, as he 

 fucceeded his father B.C. 166 in the comm;;nd of thole 

 forces, which he had with him at his death, and being joined 

 by his brothers, and all others that were zealous for the law, 

 he eredVed his ilandard, on which he infcribed the above- 

 mentioned motto. Thofe alfo who fuffered under Ptolemy 

 Pliilopater of Alexandria, fifty years before this period, 

 were afterwards called Maccabees; and fo were Eleazar, 

 and the mother and her feven fons, though they fuffered 

 before Judas eredled his ftandard with the motto, from which 

 the appellation originated. And therefore, as thefe books 

 which contain the hiftory of Judas and his brothers, and their 

 wars againft the Syrian kings, in defence of their religion 

 and liberties, are called the Jirji and fecond books of the 

 Maccabees ; fo that book which gives us the hiftory of 

 thofe, who, in the like caufe, under Ptolemy Philopater, 

 were expofed to his elephants at Alexandria, is called the 

 third book of the Maccabees, and that which is written by 

 Jolephus of the martyrdom of Eleazar, and the feven bro- 

 thers and their mother, is called the fourth book of the 

 Maccabees. 



The ^/r/? book of the Maccabees is an excellent hiftory, 

 and comes nearelt to the ttyle and manner of the facred 

 hiftorians of any extant. It was written originally in the 

 Chnldee language, of the Jerufalem dialed, and was extant 

 in this lant;uage in the time of Jerom, who had feen it. 

 From the Chaldee it was tranfla'ed into Greek, from the 

 Greek into Latin, and <iKo iino Englifh. Theodotion is 

 conjeftured to have tranflated it into Greek ; but it was 

 probably more ancient, as we may ir.fer trom its ufe by 

 ancient authors, as Tertuiliar, Origen, and others. It is 

 fiippofed to have been written by Juhii Hyrcanus, the fon 

 of Simon, who was prince and high prieft of the Jews near 

 thirty years, and began his government at the time where 

 this hiftory ends. It contains the hiftory of forty years, 



frora 



