J o 
frigued with the Lor rain princes in the court of France. 
He refembled his father in perfon, whom he equalled in 
activity and enterprife, and furpafled in generofity and 
humanity. See the article Spain. 
JOHN SOBIES'KY, king of Poland, born in 1624, was 
the foil of James Sobielky, caltellan of Cracow, a brave 
general and able ftatefman. John received a very liberal 
education, and vilitrd the politeft courts in Europe for 
improvement. He received a colonel’s commillion from 
king Calimir, who afterwards made him captain of his 
guards. He rofe through all the fubordinate Nations to 
the high polls of grand-marlhal and grand-general. He 
performed various exploits againft the rebellious Cofacks 
in the Ukraine, and the Tartars, and lignalized himfelf in 
the Turkilh war under king Michael Coribut. The 
greateft aftion in this war was the celebrated battle of 
Choczim, in 1673, in which, after fighting three days, he 
gave the Turks a total and bloody defeat. He was pre¬ 
vented from purfuing his fuccefs by the dilbandingof the 
polpolite or national army ; and foon after, the death of 
Michael left the throne "vacant. A very ltormy election 
enfued, in which Sobielky finally prevailed agarnft feveral 
competitors, and was proclaimed king in 1674. He im¬ 
mediately employed all the refources of his power and vi¬ 
gour of his character in the profecurion of the Turkifli 
war; and by a feries of brilliant fuccefles he induced the 
Porte to agree to a treaty in 1676, revoking the dilho- 
nourable terms of a former treaty made by Michael. His 
coronation followed the reltoration of peace, and he em¬ 
ployed the interval of tranquillity in the re-eftablifhment 
of the finances of the kingdom, and in preparations for a 
future war, which his own martial difpolition, and the 
neighbourhood in which Poland is placed, rendered no 
diftant event. The emperor of Germany having given 
difcontent to his fubjeils in Hungary, which occasioned a 
revolt, fupported by the Turks, Sobielky was induced in 
1683 to make an alliance offenfive and defenlive with the 
court of Vienna, and had interell enough with the diet to 
procure its confirmation. He immediately expended the 
treafures he had accumulated in levying troops apd put¬ 
ting his army into the belt poffible ftate ; and, the Turks, 
having laid fiege to Vienna, and reduced it to great ftraits, 
fie marched to its relief. Forming a junction with the 
imperial general, the duke of Lorraine, they attacked the 
Turkifli camp on September nth, 1683, entirely routed 
the grand-vizir, took poffeffion of all his cannon, warlike 
flores, &c. and broke up the fiege. The king of Poland 
was confidered by the people of- Vienna as their deli¬ 
verer, and all Europe has given him the glory of this ac¬ 
tion, fo important to Chriltendom ; but the pride of the 
emperor Leopold produced from him a cold and ungraci¬ 
ous acknowledgment of the fervice. Sobielky next at¬ 
tempted with his Poles alone to diflodge a Itrong body of 
janifaries polled at Barcan, but was repulfed, and nearly 
taken prifoner. Two days afterwards, in conjunction 
with the duke of Lorraine, he obliterated the dilgrace by 
an entire and bloody defeat of the fame enemy. The 
(capture of Gran followed, after which the Poles returned 
to their own country. A celfion of Wallacia and Mol¬ 
davia to John and his heirs by the emperor, provided he 
could recover them from the Turks, rouzed his ambition 
of perfonal aggrandizement ; and in 1686 he took the 
field with the finell army Poland had long witneffed, and 
marched into Moldavia. But the perfidy of the hofpodar, 
and the infurmountable hollility of the inhabitants of the 
province, defeated all his meafures ; and it was only by 
great exertions of military Ikill that he was able to bring 
fiack his army in fafety. 
This was the lalt warlike enterprife of John Sobielky, 
and the remainder of his life palled without glory in pro- 
jeCls for the advancement of his family by alliances, and 
efpecially for lecuring the crown to his fon, by which he 
was involved in many domeltic difquiets, and civil diffen- 
aipns. His attention to accumulate large funis for the 
execution of thefe fchemes fubjeCled him to the charge of 
H N. 
avarice and penurioufnefa j and he was in general accufed 
of confulting more the interefts of his own power and 
greatnels than thofe of his country. This was in part 
imputed to the intriguing fpirit of his queen, a French¬ 
woman, the daughter of de la Grange, marquis of Ar- 
quien, and widow of prince Radzivil, who had a conli- 
derable (hare in the public tranfaclions of the latter part 
of the reign. Such was its effect, that at his death, in 
June 1696, he was lefs regretted by his nation than from 
his great actions and qualities would naturally have been 
expected. See the article Poland. John Sobielky was 
not only a brave warrior and confummate commander, 
but polfelTed all the accomplilhments that are fitted to 
adorn a throne. He was eloquent, well informed, verfed 
in the Latin and feveral modern languages, and acquainted 
with fcience beyond moll of his countrymen. 
JOHN, fometimes furnamed ScholaJUcus, but more com¬ 
monly Climachus, from a work of his noticed below, a 
faint in the Greek and Roman calendars, was born in the 
year 525, but in what place is pot known. He embraced 
the afcetic life at the age of lixteen years, and fixed upon 
Mount Sinai for the place of his retreat from the world, 
where he praftifed the aullerities of a folitary under the 
inftrublions of a famous hermit named Martyrius, at fome 
dillance from the monaltery. He is faid to have diftin- 
guilhed himfelf by his proficiency in the different branches 
of human as well as facred knowledge, and to have at¬ 
tracted univerfal veneration by his profound piety, and 
tire extraordinary ftrictnels of his devotional obfervances. 
After leading the life of a hermit for forty years, the fame 
of his merits and fanClity occafioned his being chofen 
abbot of the monaltery of Mount Sinai, over which he 
prefided for many years with great vigilance and prudence. 
When he apprehended that he was approaching towards 
the clofe of life, he refigned the government of the rno- 
naftery, and retired again into folitude where he died at 
a very advanced age, in the early part of the feventh cen¬ 
tury. While he filled the poll of abbot, at the requell of 
John abbot of Raithu, he compofed his KXijxa|, or Scale 
of Paradife, intended for the inllruCtion of monks in the 
virtues and difcipline proper to their llation. For feveral 
ages it was held in efteem by the monaffic orders, at firft 
among the Greeks, and afterwards among the Latins, as 
the molt valuable diredory of their religious praftice. It 
has undergone a variety of impreffions, at different places; 
but the laft and belt edition of it was publilhed at Paris, 
in 1733, folio, with the original Greek collated with dif¬ 
ferent manufcripts, and the Latin verlion of the jefuit 
Matthew Rader, which was firlt printed in 1633. Dupin 
fays, that the thoughts of St. John Climachus are more 
fublime, more folid, and more juft, than thofe of the great¬ 
er part of afcetical authors; his ilyle is clofe and elegant; 
he writes with much brevity, and includes many thoughts 
in a few words ; he fpeaks by fentences and aphorilms ; 
he propofes his thoughts in a figurative way, and inferts 
many allufions, many paffages of fcripture, divers allego¬ 
ries from the Old Teftament, hiftory, &c. in his difcourfes. 
Hence his work has been thought to Hand in need of ex¬ 
plications. It was firft commented on by John abbot of 
Raithu, of whofe labours a Latin verlion was publilhed at 
Paris, in 1610, in the Bibl. Patr. and afterwards at Cologne 
and Lyons. In the year 787, Elias, metropolitan of Crete, 
performed a fimilar office, in a very voluminous work, of 
which extracts only have been publilhed in Rader’s edi¬ 
tion of Climachus. Climachus was alfo the author of. a 
Letter to the abbot Raithu, Concerning-the Qualifications 
and Difpofitions of a Pallor, of which a Latin verfion by 
Rader was publilhed at Auglburg, in 1606, 8vo. 
There was another John, alfo named ScholaJUcus, who 
flourilhed at the fame period. He was a Syrian by nation, 
-born in the territory of Antioch, and derived his furname 
from having followed for fome time the profeffion of the 
bar. Afterwards he embraced the ecclefiaiiical life, and 
was ordained prelbyter of the church of Antioch. Being 
commiffioned to refide at Conftantinople, in the capacity 
