MAY 
MAXIMUS (Tyrius), in biography, a 
celebrated philosopher and elegant writer 
in ihe second century, was a native of Tyre, 
in Phoenicia, whence he took his name. 
Suidas says,,that he lived under the Emperor 
Commodus, while Eusebius and Syncellus 
place him under Antoninus Pius. If we 
suppose that he flourished under Antouimis, 
and lived to the time of the first-mentioned 
Emperor, the accounts ol those chronologers 
may be reconciled. According to some 
writers, he came to Rome in the year 14(5, 
where the Emperor Marcus Aurelius gave 
him many tokens of his esteem, and placed 
himself under his instruction; but it is 
more probable, that the preceptor of whom 
that prince speaks, undei' the name of Maxi- 
mus, was some other philosopher, of the 
Stoical sect. Our Maximus appears, from 
his writings, to have adopted the principles 
of tl-.e Platonic scltool, with some tendency 
towards scepticism. Forty-one of his “ Dis- 
sertations” Oil various philosophical topics 
are still extant, and display the most capti- 
vating powers of eloquence. The first La- 
tin version of them was published at Basil, 
by Cosmo Pazzi, Archbishop of Florence, in 
1519, folio; and Henry Stevens first printed 
the original Greek, at Paris, in 1557, 8vo. to 
which he added Pazzi’s version, with nu- 
merous alterations and corrections. In 
1607, the learned Daniel Heinsius publish- 
ed an edition of them at Leyden, in Greek 
and Latin, 8vo.; the version being his own, 
and illustrated with notes. Of this edition 
oiir countryman. Dr. John Davies, gave a 
new impression from the Cambridge press, 
in 1703, 8vo. with corrections, additional 
notes, and two useful indexes. 
MAYER (Tobias), in biography, a very 
able German astronomer and mechanic in 
file eighteenth century, was born at Mars- 
pacU, in the duchy of Wirtemberg, in tlie 
year 1723. His father was an ingenious 
civU-engineer, who particularly excelled in 
hydraulics; and young Tobias, who was 
fond of observing him while at work, dis- 
played an early inquisitiveness concerning 
such ingenious pursuits, and from the age of 
four years began to design machines with 
the greatest dexterity and justness. The 
death of his father, iiowever, whom he lost 
wlien very young, proimbly prevented him 
from being educated to that employment. 
Possessing hut scanty means for obtaining 
assistance in his studies, he was obliged to 
rely on his own energies, by wliicli he made 
himself a proficient in niatliematical learn- 
ing, and became qualified to be an able in- 
structor of others. While thus occupied, 
MAY 
he also assiduously cultivated an acquaint- 
ance with classical and polite literature, and 
learned to write the Latin tongue with ele- 
gance. So well established was his reputa- 
tion when He had attained to his eight-and- 
twentieth year, that the university of Got- 
tingen nominated him to tlie chair of ma- 
thematical professor ; and not long after- 
wards he was admitted a member of the 
Royal Society in that town. Frotn this 
time, every year of his short, but glorious 
life, was distinguished by some considerable 
discoveries in geometry or astronomy. He 
invented several useful instruments for the 
more commodious and exact measurement 
of angles on a plane. He corrected many 
errors in practical geometry, tracing them 
to their origin, in the refractions occasioned 
by terrestrial objects. Afterwards he par- 
ticularly applied himself to study the tlieory 
of the moon, its appearances, the question 
of its atmosphere, and tlie reciprocal actions 
of the sun, earth, and moon upon each 
other. He then extended his observations 
to the planet Mars, and the fixed stars ; de- 
termining with greater exactness than be- 
fore the places of the latter, and ascertaining 
tliat, though commonly denominated fixed, 
they possess a certain degree of motion 
relative to their respective systems. To- 
wards the end of his life the magneticneedle 
engaged his attention, to which he assigned 
more certain laws than those before re- 
ceived. To these various enquiries and ob- 
servations he applied with such indefatigable 
assiduity, that he died exhausted and worn 
out by his labours in 1762, when only 39 
years of age. His table of refractions, de- 
duced from his astronomical observations, 
agrees very nicely with that of Dr. Bradley ; 
and his theory of the moon, and astronomi- 
cal tables and precepts, were so well re- 
ceived, tliat they were rewarded by the 
English Board of Longitude with tlie pre- 
mium of 3,0001. wliich sum was paid to his 
widow after his decease. These tables and 
prepepts were published by the board in the 
year 1770. The principal works wliicli he 
gave himself to the public were, “A New 
and General Method of resolving all Geo- 
metrical Problems, by means of Geometri- 
cal Lines,” 1741, 8vo. in German. “ A Mathe- 
matical Atlas, in which all the Malhematlcal 
Sciences are comprised in sixty Tables,” 
1748, folio, in German. “ A Description of 
a Lunar Globe, constructed by the Cosmo- 
grapliical Society of Nuremberg, from new 
Observations,” 1750, 4to. also in German. 
Several exact “ Maps and some valuable 
papers in the Memoirs of the Royal 
