M O R I N. - S05 
/ 
them defei’ving of an anfwer'; and, when that was fol¬ 
lowed by additional objections from our author, conli- 
dered tjiem to be of fuflicient importance to merit his te¬ 
nons notice, and defired father Merfenne to convey his 
thanks to Morin for them, “ as being- very proper to 
make him learch for truth with greater application ad¬ 
ding, “ that he would not fail to anlwa-them in the molt 
punctual and civil manner, and as foon as poffible.” 
Morin died at Paris in 1656, about the age of feventy- 
three. He was the author of a great many books, among 
which were, x. Mundi Sublunaris Anatomia, 1619 ; the 
refult of his meteorological journey already mentioned. 
z. Altronomicarum Domorum Cabala deteCta, 1623. 3. 
Trigonometrias Canonicae Lib. III. 1633. 4. A book in- 
titled Quod DeusJit, written to reclaim one of his friends 
who had become a convert to atheifm, and publilhed in 
an enlarged form ifi 1655, under the title of Dc vera 
Cognitione Dei ex j'olo Naturce Lumine. 5. Famofi Proble- 
rnatis de Telluris Motu vel Quiete haCtenus optata So- 
lutio, 1631 ; followed by fome other pieces againlt the 
Copernican fyftem. 6. Ad Auftrafes et Boreales Altro- 
logos pro Aftrologia reftituenda Epiftolae, 1628. 7. A 
lingular and curious treatife, intitled, Rcfutatio compen- 
diofa Erronei ac detejiandi Libri in Pradamitis, 1656, &c. 
Al ter his death, his favourite work, intended to illuftrate 
the pretended fcience of judicial aftrology, which had 
employed his labours for thirty years, was publilhed at 
the Hague in 1661, intitled, AJlroIogia Gallica, in folio, 
with'two epiftles dedicatory ; one by the author, to Jefus 
Chrift, and the other by an anonymous hand, to Louifa 
Mary de Gonzague, queen of Poland. It feems that, 
when a marriage liad been talked of between that princefs 
and fome prince, Morin had declared that it would never 
take effeCl, and that Hie was deftined to marry a monarch. 
As flie had great faith in aftrology, and Morin’s lucky 
conjecture flattered her with a crown, which Jhc aflualii/ 
obtained, the was confirmed in her belief in the truth of 
that pretended fcience, and encouraged him to proceed 
with the compolition of this work. Upon the author's 
death, the queen, on the recommendation of one of her 
fecretaries, who was alfo a believer in aftrology, expended 
two thoufand crowns on its publication. In Moreri the 
reader may meet with an account of fome aftronomical 
Opufcula of Morin, which are yet in manufeript, and 
further particulars concerning him. Gen. Biog. 
MO'RIN (John); a learned French ecclefialtic and ori¬ 
ental fcholar, was the fon of proteftant parents, and born 
at Blois in the year 1591. After having been inltruCted 
in claflical learning and the belles lettres at Rochelle, he 
was lent into Holland, and entered a ftudent at the uni- 
verfity of Leyden. Here he went through courfes of phi- 
lofophy, mathematics, and law ; and afterwards particu¬ 
larly applied himfelf to the ftudy of divinity and the ori¬ 
ental languages, in which he arrived at diftinguilhed emi¬ 
nence. He alfo made himfelf intimately acquainted with 
the councils and the fathers. Upon his return to his na¬ 
tive country he went to Paris, where he became known to 
the learned cardinal du Perron, who made a convert of 
him to the catholic religion. For fome time he refided 
in the cardinal’s houfe, from which he removed to that of 
the bilhop of Langres $ and afterwards he became a mem¬ 
ber of the Congregation of the Oratory, which had been 
founded in France by cardinal de Berulle. In this retreat 
he applied with the greateft affiduity to the ftudy of eccle- 
flaftical and biblical literature, and from time to timepre- 
lented the world with various fruits of his labours, which 
entitle him to rank amonglt the moft learned men of his 
age. In 1726, he publilhed, “ Exercitationes de Patri- 
archarum et Primatum Origine, et Antiqua Cenfurarum 
in Cleros praxi,” in quarto, which he dedicated to pope 
Urban VIII. The next work on which he employed his 
labours was a new edition of the Septuagint, after the 
Vatican edition, publilhed at Rome by order of pope 
Sixtus V. in 1587, accompanied with the Latin verlion 
of Nobilius, and a preface, in which he treats of the 
VOL. XV. No. 1085. 
authority of the Septuagint, maintaining its fuperio- 
rity, in point of genuinenefs, to the prefent Hebrew 
text, which, he fays, has been corrupted by the Jews. 
This edition was publilhed in 1628, under the title 
of “ Biblia lacra LXX. Interpret. Greece et Latine ; cum 
Novo Teftamento Gra:co-Lat.” &c. in 3 vols. folio; and 
is now become fcarce and expenfive, efpecially the copies 
on large paper. In 1630, father Morin publilhed his 
“ Hiftory of the Deliverance of the Church by Conltan- 
tine, and of the Grandeur of temporal Sovereignty con¬ 
ferred on the Church of Rome by the Kings of France, in 
folio. This work excited difpleafure againlt the author 
at Rome, which he could, not appeafe till he had engaged 
to expunge or correCt the offenlive paffages ; though there 
were not wanting illuftrious men at that court, who be¬ 
llowed on it their unqualified approbation. In 1631, he 
publilhed “ Exercitationes in utrumque Pentateuchum 
Samaritanorum,” the principal objeCl of which is to prove 
the fuperior integrity of the Samaritan to that of the He¬ 
brew text. This was followed by his edition of the Sa¬ 
maritan Pentateuch, with a Latin verfion, in the Polyglot 
of Le Jay. In the year 1635, M. Morin publilhed the 
firft part of another work in fupport of the fuperior inte¬ 
grity of the Samaritan to the Hebrew text: the lecond 
part of this work did not make its appearance till after the 
death of the author. The reputation of this writer ftood 
fo high with the clergy of France, that the prelates in 
their affemblies wCre frequently determined by his advice, 
on fubjeCts of the greateft difficulty and importance. His 
fameextended toRome,and hewasinvited byUrban VIII. 
into that city, with a view of affording his affiftance in 
promoting an union between the Latin and Greek, as 
well as the other oriental, churches. He arrived at Rome 
in the year 1639, and met with a very friendly reception 
from cardinal Barberini, wdio introduced him to the 
learned men of the city, and particularly to Lucas Hol- 
ftenius, and Leo Allatius ; the former, keeper of the 
Vatican, and the latter of the Barberini, library. In 
thele valt repofitories of learning he met with ample ftores 
for the gratification of his literary curiofity ; but he had 
not been occupied more than nine months in the bufinefs 
for which he came, before cardinal Richelieu directed his 
fuperiors to recal him to France, for reafons of which we 
have no fatisfaCtory account. He returned to Paris in 
1640, and fpent the remainder of his life among his bre¬ 
thren of the Oratory, occupied in moft laborious ftudy, 
the publication of various learned w'orks, and a literary 
correfpondence with many of the molt eminent fcholars 
of his time. Among his other productions was his 
“ Defeats in the Government of the Oratory, publilhed 
with a View to the general Reformation of that Con¬ 
gregation,” 1653, 8vo. This piece is a levere fatirical 
treatife, refembling that of Mariana againlt the Jefuits ; 
and gave fuch offence, that it was fupprefled, and all 
the copies that could be found were committed to the 
flames. Father Morin died of a ftroke of apoplexy in 
1652, when about fixty-eight years of age, highly re- 
_ lpeCted for the qualities of his heart, as well as his great 
literary endowments, and the fubjeCt of warm panegyric 
in the writings of his moft diftinguilhed contemporaries. 
In the year 1682, father Simon cauled to be printed at 
London, in 8vo. a volume intitled, “ Antiquitates Ec- 
clefias Orientalis,” confifting of letters to and from Morin, 
which were found among the papers of father Amelot, 
and contain many curious particulars relating to hiftory, 
criticifm, and oriental literature. Prefixed to it is a life 
of Morin, generally fuppofed to be the production of 
father Simon, in which is inferteda lilt of his Opufcula, 
amounting to eighteen articles. A collection of his 
Polthumous Works, in Latin, was publilhed in 1703, 4to. 
Simon's Life of Morin. 
MO'RIN (Simon), a French fanatic, who excited much 
attention at Paris in the feventeenth century, was born 
aboutthe year 1623, at Richemont, near Aumale in Nor¬ 
mandy, of obfeure parents, who found means to procure 
9 T Lira 
