GREAVES. 
8 26 
GREAVES, f. [from^rsuM, Fr.] Armour for tlie 
legs ; a fort of boots. It wants the lingular number.— 
He liad greaves of brafs upon his legs, i Sam. xvii. 
A fhield mahe for him, and a helm, fair greaves, and 
curets Inch 
A,s may renown tliy workmanfiiip, and honour hirn as 
much. Chapman- 
Tite refufe or dregs of a foap-boiler.’s copper; now.dif- 
covered to be a ricli and valuable inanure. 
GREAVES (John), an eminent Englifli mathema¬ 
tician and antiquary, born at Colmoie, in Hamplhire, 
in 1602. His claflical education he received under the 
inllruClions of his father, who was reiTtor of that parifii. 
When fifteen years of age, he was fent to Baliol college, 
Oxford, w'ltere he applied with great aliiduity to his 
academic ftudies, and commenced bachelor of arts in 
1621. Three years after this he flood candidate for a 
fellowfliip of Merton college, when lie was the firft on 
the lid of five who were tlien elefted; on which occa- 
fion lie difeovered an uncommon proficiency in clalTical 
literature, and aH'o in philofopliy. In 1628 he took his 
degree of mader of arts; upon whicli he mure particu¬ 
larly diredted his attention to the dudy of the mathe¬ 
matics and oriental'learning, and made himfelf familiar 
with the. ancient Greek, Arabian, and Perfian, authors. 
In 1630 he was eledled profelfor of geometry in Grefliam 
college; but Mr.Greaves rather chofe to travel abroad 
for farther improvement. Accordingly, in 1635, he went 
to Holland, and, after he had attended for fomc time on 
the led'tures of the celebrated James Golius, protelTor 
of Arabic at Leyden, lie proceeded thence to Paris, 
where he conferred with the learned Claudius Hardy on 
the fubjedl of Perfian literature. From Paris he ex¬ 
tended his tour to Rome, in order to view the antiqui¬ 
ties of that city ; whence he afterwards went to Florence, 
Padua, and other parts of Italy. During this tour, he 
had very advantageous offers from the earl of Arundel, 
then in Italy, to accompany him on his travels into 
Greece; but he had come to a determination to take a 
voyage into Egypt, which obliged him to return to 
England, to make the necelfary preparations for viliting 
that country. As it was his defign not only to make 
himfelf acquainted with Inch remains of antiquity in 
Egypt as are interefting to curiofity, Und lerve to illuf- 
trate ancient literature, but alfo to make allroiiomical 
and geographical obfervations, he furnilhed himfelf 
with inllruments of every kind proper for that purpofe. 
Mr. Greaves embarked in 1637 for Leghorn, accom¬ 
panied by his friend Mr. Edward Pococke, and after a 
ibort fiay in Italy, arrived at Conftantinople in the fame 
year. Here he was received with great kindnefs by the 
Englilh ambaffador fir Peter Wyche, and became ac¬ 
quainted with the venerable Cyril-Lucar, the Greek 
patriarch, who afforded him much allilhince in purchaf- 
ing Greek manuferipts. Mr. Greaves’s fiay at Conftan- 
tinople was prolonged by his anxiety for the improve¬ 
ment of afironomical fcience. Knowing that witliin a 
few months there would be a large vilible eclipfe of the 
moon, lie furniflied proper perfons with convenient in- 
firuments for obferving it at Confiantinople, Bagdat, 
Smyrna, and Alexandria, and alfo gave them the necef- 
fary infiruilions for that purpofe. Dr. Halley obferves-, 
that a greater fervice could not be rendered to. the 
fcience of afironomy, than by taking the phafes of tlie 
moon’s eclipfes_ at thofe places, iij order to determine 
their longitudes. Mr. Greaves haying effefted this 
bufinels, lie took )eave of his fellow-traveller Mr. 
Pococke, and embraced an opportunity which offered 
of pairing in company with the annual Turkilh fleet to 
Alexandria, where, after touching at Rhodes, he arrived 
in September 1638. He had now readied tlie feene which 
opened a large field for the exercife of his curious and 
inquilitive genius. Nor did he omit any opportunity of 
reujTijr.king whatever feemed. any way uleful and worthy 
of notice; and for the extenfion of his enquiries he went 
twice from Alexo/udria to Grand Cairo, and from thence 
explored the (ieferts. Having thus highly gratified his 
curiofity, furniflicd liis mind I'ulh a l.irge ftock of ufe- 
ful knowledge, and colledcd fomc Greek, Arabic, and 
Perfian, nianulcripts, as well as .ancient coins, and other 
rarities, he embarked at Alexandria in April 1639, and 
arrived at Leghorn in June following. He now fpent 
nine niontlis in making a lecond tour of Italy, in order 
again to view' tlie principal remains of ancient art, and 
to examine more accurately into tire true ftate of the. 
Roman weights and rneafures. At Florence lie was re¬ 
ceived with particular marks of refpeef by the grand- 
duke of Tiifcany,-Ferdinand 11 . to whom he had ad- 
drefied a Latin poem fent from Alexandria ; and he alfo 
was permitted free accefs to the Medicean library, which 
had been refilled to him as a firanger when on his former 
tour. From Florence he went to Rome ; whence he 
returned to Leghorn, and embarked on-board a velfel 
for London, with a rich cargo of manuferipts, gems, 
coins, and other valuable antiquities. 
Upon his arrival in liis native country in 1640, Mr. 
Greaves found the kinguom diftraiited by the conteirs 
between the king and the parliament, and he joined the 
party which fupported the king and the epifcopal con- 
fiitution. Having made a fliort flay at Grelham-college, 
he went to Oxford, in order to digefi his papers, and to 
prepare for public infpebfion fuch as might be ufefiil to 
the world. In this defign he was afiifted by archbilhop 
Uflier, who had long known and efieemed him ; and he 
now drew a map of the Lefl’er Alia, at his grace’s re- 
queft, who was writing his dilTertation on that country, 
which was printed in 1641. In that year, archbilhop 
Laud having prefented a lecond collection of medals to 
the univerlity, the talk of arranging them was confided 
to Mr. Greaves, which he performed to the fatisfaCtioa 
of that celebrated prelate. He was now chol'en Saviliarr 
profeflbr of afironomy at Oxford, on the death of his 
friend Dr. Bainbridge, and alfo obtained a royal difpen- 
fation to hold his fellov.’lhip at Merton-college, on ac¬ 
count of the diminution of his ftipend as profelFor, arifing 
from the circumfiances of the civil war. As in thele 
circumltances his attention to the duties of his profellbr- 
fhip was necell'arily fufpended, he proceeded in his la¬ 
bours on his papers; and in 1644 tranllated into Latin 
The Lemmata of Archimedes, correcting the diagrams,, 
and fupplying what was found defective in the demon- 
ftration itielf. This piece was publilhed by Samuel 
Fofier, in his Mifcellanies, or Mathematical Lucubra¬ 
tions, 1659, folio. At the fame time he liad compiled 
A Perfian Lexicon, out of fuch words as could be met 
with in the Evangelifts, the Pfalms, and two or three 
Arabian and Perfian nomenclators. In 1^45, at the in¬ 
fiance of fome perfons of rank and fortune, he drew up 
a fcheme for gradually introducing the new or Grego¬ 
rian fiyle, by omitting the intercalary days of the leap- 
year for forty years; which was approved of by the king 
and council, and would probably have been carried into, 
execution, had the ftate of the times permitted it. In, 
1646 he pubfilhed Pyramidographia, or, a Defeription of 
the Pyramids in Egypt, 8vo. which does honour to hi& 
accuracy of obfevvation; and in the followdng year ire 
publilhed. his very valuable and learned Dilcourfe oa 
the Roman Foot and Denarius ; from whence, as from, 
two Principles, the Meafures and Weights ufgd by the 
Ancients may be reduced, Svo. In 1648 he publilhed 
Johannis Bainbriggii Canicnlaria ; to wiiich he added De- 
monjlratio Urlus Syrii heliaci pro Paralieio laferioris j^^gypti ; 
and alfo, Injigniorum alimwt Stellarum Longitudines & l.ati- 
tudincs ex ajlronomkis Objerva^iflnibus Uiug Beigi^ Tamerlanis. 
Magni Nepotis. 8vp. 
. About this time th.argeS; were preferred againft him 
by the parliamentary yifitors ; among which were accu- 
fations of having betrayed the interefts of the college, 
by making a dilbovery to the king’s agents of.the money 
that 
