M O R 
E A U. 
Sanguinis in Plenritide, cum vita Petri Briffoti, Paris, 
1622. 2. Schola Salernitana, hoc eft, de valetudine tu- 
enda, &c. 1625. 3. Vita et Icon Jacobi Sylvii, Geneva, 
1635, prefixed to an edition of the work's of that author. 
4. Epillola exegetica ad Cl. V. Baldum de aifeCto loco in 
Plenritide, Paris, 1641-. 5. Epiftola de Laryngotomia, 
Paris, 1646, publilhed with the Exercitationes de Angina 
of Thomas Bartholin. 6. Tabulae Method! Univerialis 
curandorum Morborum, 1647. 7. He tranflated from tlie 
Spaniih, Colinenero’s work, Du Chocolate, Difcours cu- 
rieux, divife en quatre parties. Efoy Did. Hifi. de la Me¬ 
dicine. 
MOREAU' (Jacob Nicholas), counfclior of the court 
of aids, hiftoriographer of France, librarian to the queen, 
and cenfor royai, was born at St. Florentine in 1717. He 
wrote feveral works, the chief of which are, 1. Memoires 
pour fervir a l’Hiltoire des Cacouaepts, 12100. 2. Me¬ 
moires pour fervir a l'Hiftoire de not re Terns, 2 vols. 12100. 
3. Obfervateur Holiandois ; quatre Principes de Morale, 
de Politique, et de droit Publique, ou Difcours fur PHif- 
toire de France, 21 vol. He was guillotined in 1794. 
JSonv. Did. Hifi. 
MOREAU' (-), a celebrated French military offi¬ 
cer, was born in the year 1761, at Morlaix, in Lower 
Brittany. His father was a refpe&able and refpe&ed ad¬ 
vocate in that town, a profeffion which it appears had 
been followed by the family for generations. Young 
Moreau was alfo intended for the law, and, after the ufual 
ltudies, was lent to the univerfity of Rennes, to take his 
degrees. In the year 1788, he was Prevot de Droit, or 
head of the ftudents in law at Rennes, a body of young 
men at all times remarkable for their turbulence and pub¬ 
lic fpirit, and over whom he had a well known and marked 
influence. In the petty fquabbles, which at that period 
took-place between the court of France and the parlia¬ 
ments, Moreau was, in confequence, appointed their 
leader, and ftyled the General of the Parliament, whole 
eaufe was at that time confidered as that of public li¬ 
berty. In the winter following, however, Moreau afted at 
head of his youthful band againft that very parliament 
and the Hates of Brittany, who were then proceeding 
againft the orders of the court, and the willies of the peo¬ 
ple, in refilling the convocation of the General States of 
the kingdom ; for, even in his early career, Moreau’s lead¬ 
ing principle appears to have been a iincere love for na¬ 
tional liberty. On thofc occaiions Moreau evinced an 
equal degree of prudence and courage ; and his gentle- 
nian-like manners and graceful perfon added not a little 
to his popularity. In January 1790, he afted as prefident 
of the confederation of the youth of Brittany alfembled 
at Pontivy ; and on the formation of the national guards, 
was named commandant of one of the battalions of that 
province. Moreau had then for the firft time an oppor¬ 
tunity of embracing permanently a profeffion fo congenial 
to his feelings; for he has been heard often to declare, 
that he found nothing butdilguil in the ftudy of the law, 
which hefollowed merely in compliance with the willies 
of his family ; and even his father’s offer, to give him 
one half of his bufinels, could not divert him from liis fa-, 
vourite purfuit. 
His labours in the new career he had entered were in- 
ceftant. His friends lay, according to the biographer of 
bis youth, that he devoured , in four months, military 
works, treatiles, and memoirs, that had been compoled 
in four centuries ; and went, in three months, through 
more military manoeuvres and evolutions than many 
officers in thirty years. He continued in this fituation 
till 1793, when his battalion was thelaft to accept the fa¬ 
mous conftitution of that year, at a time when hefitation 
was punilhed with inftant death. The convention, how¬ 
ever, were in want of good officers ; and, in July 1793, he 
was promoted to the rank of general of brigade, by the 
committee of public fafety. His firft aftion, as a com¬ 
mander, was on the 14th of September, when, with adi-, 
vjfion of the army of the Mofelle, he attacked the Prufiiun 
army commanded by the duke of Branfvvicfc. He was 
defeated; but the duke of Brunfwick, that excellent 
judge of military merit, duly praifed the conduct of the 
young general, in his report to the king of Pruffia, of the 
15th of September, 1793, by faying, that “ his able plan 
of attack was furpafied only by his yet abler difpolitions 
for retreat; and that the corps he commanded was nei¬ 
ther difperled nor diftionoured.” Thus this debut, al¬ 
though not ominous, gave an earneft of his future glory. 
In the.autumn of 1793, Moreau became acquainted with 
Pichegru, who, having difcovered in him thole precious 
germs of military talents which only required the fofter- 
ing hand of an experienced friend to be matured-into ex¬ 
cellence, obtained for him the command of a divilion in 
the army of the North, to which he had been appointed. 
Moreau commanded theleft divilion of this army through¬ 
out the fummer of 1794, and directed the operations which 
led fuceeffively to the capture of Menin, Ypres, Offend* 
Bruges, Cadfant, and Sluys. During this time, the fury 1 
of Jacobinifm and the ravage of the guillotine were at! 
their height; even the warriors, who expofed their lives 
daily in the eaufe of their country, being defined to ex¬ 
perience fufferings of the molt poignant nature. It was 
early in the month of July, that general Moreau firft fet 
down before Sluys, at which period he was aflailed by an 
affliction of a domeftic nature, dreadful as unexpected. 
Fie was on the point of mounting his horfe to hazard his 
life in the fervice and for the glory of his countrymen*- 
when intelligence was brought to him, that his venerable 
and relbeCted father had fullered by the fummary courfe 
of republican juftice. His parent had undertaken to ma¬ 
nage the property of feveral emigrants ,; and this furnilhed 
his enemies with an excufe to deftroy him. He was ac- 
cufed of being an ariftocrat, or a friend of the ariftocrats* 
and under this charge was led to the fcaffold. Moreau 
felt the barbarous decree, but, yielding to the exigency 
of the time, he ftifled the bell and warmeft feelings of his. 
nature, mounted his charger, and executed the duties of 
his fituation. So much however was he exafperated 
againft the monfters in whofe fervice he was fighting, that 
he tendered his refignatjon to Pichegru. “ What do you 
intend to do ?” inquired the latter. “ To quit the army 
and France,” was the reply. “To quit the army and 
France!” repeated Pichegru: “ do you not then fee the 
manner in which the emigres are treated by the foreign 
powers ? I do not accept of your refignation. I beg of 
you, as a friend, to reflect on tlie Hep you intend to take: 
come to me again to to-morrow. It is not thus that you 
ftiould pretend to avenge the death of your father; you 
mull think of acquiring a glory and an importance which 
may one day put you in a fituation to avenge it. I fliall 
foon furnilh you with an opportunity of dillinguifhing 
yourfelf.” Pichegru was faithful to his promile, and loll 
no opportunity of calling forth the fervices of Moreau; 
who diftinguilhed himfelf, during the remainder of the 
campaign, at the liege of Nimeguen, and in other opera¬ 
tions againft the forces charged with the defence of Hol¬ 
land. The elforts of the French were, as we well know, 
effectually feconded by . the extraordinary rigour of the 
winter; and, in the courfe of January 1795, the whole 
of the United Provinces were over-run, with the excep¬ 
tion of Zealand ; where the prefence of lome British fhips 
of war, and the difficulty of approach from the floating, 
maffes of ice, enabled the local government to withhold 
their furrender for fome weeks. During this interval of. 
fulpence, Moreau was fent by his commander from the 
Hague to Middleburg, to quicken the decifion of the- 
Zealand government;, a million of little importance com¬ 
pared to the events of his fubfequent career, but which 
Ihows that he had already excited a Itrong impreffion of- 
his ability fqr diplomatic as well as for military fervices. 
The exploits of Moreau in the fubfequent campaigns- 
have been already detailed under-the article France, 
vol. vii. p. 807-850. but we cannot avoid obl'erving, that, 
thrice he had the honour of laving the French armies 
3 from 
