10 M ACCABEE5. 
quent opportunities of wifnefling the attacks of fcurvy, 
which a fea-faring life afforded him, to inveltigate the belt 
method of cure for that difeafe, upon which he afterwards 
publiflied a treatife. After the peace of Aix, Mr. Mac- 
bride went to Edinburgh and London, where he ftudied 
anatomy under thofe celebrated teachers Doftors Monro 
and Hunter, and midwifery under Smellie. About the 
end of 174-9, ' le fettled in Dublin as a furgeon andaccou- 
cber; but his youth and remarkable bafhfulnefs occa- 
fioned him to remain a number of years in obfcurity, lit¬ 
tle employed. In 1764., he publiflied his “Experimental 
Effays,” which were every where received with great ap- 
plaufe, and were foon tranflated into different languages ; 
and the merit of this performance induced the univerfity 
of Glafgow to confer the degree of M. D. on its author. 
The improvement introduced by Dr. Macbride in the art 
of tanning, by fubflituting lime-water for common water 
in preparing ooze, procured him the honour of a filver 
medal from the Dublin Society in the year 1768, and of 
a gold medal of confiderable value from the Society of 
Arts and Commerce in London. 
For feveral years after Dr. Macbride obtained his de¬ 
gree, he employed part of his time in the duties of a me¬ 
dical teacher, and delivered, at his own houfe, a courfe 
of lectures on the theory and praftice of phyfic. Thefe 
lectures were publiflied, in 1772, in 1 vol. 4to. under the 
title of “ An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of 
Medicineand a fecond edition appeared in 1777. It 
was tranflated into Latin, and publifhed at Utrecht, in 
a vols. 8vo. in 1774. This work difplayed great acute- 
nefs of obfervation, and very philofophical views of pa¬ 
thology, and contained a new arrangement of difeafes, 
which was deemed of fo much merit by Dr. Cullen, that 
an outline of it was given by that celebrated profeffor, in 
his Compendium of Nofology. Of the five dalles, how¬ 
ever, into which Dr. Macbride diftributed difeafes, the ge¬ 
nera and fpecies of the firft only were detailed. 
The talents of Dr. Macbride were now univerfally 
known, his character was duly appreciated, and his pro- 
feflional emoluments increafed rapidly 5 for the public, as 
if to make amends for former negleCt, threw more occu¬ 
pation into his hands than he could accomplifh either 
with eafe or fafety. Although much haraffed both in 
body and mind, fo as to have fuffered, for fome time, an 
almoft total incapacity for fleep, he continued in aCtivity 
and good fpirits until the end of December 1778, when an 
accidental cold brought on a fever and delirium, which 
terminated his life on the t 3th of that month, in the 53d 
year of his age ; his death was fincerely lamented by per- 
fons of alL ranks. 
MACCABEE'S, two apocryphal books of Scripture, 
containing the hiftory of Judas and his brothers, and 
their wars againft the Syrian kings in defence of their re¬ 
ligion and liberties; fo called from Judas, the fon of Mat- 
tathias, furnamed Maccabaus, a word very varioufly de¬ 
rived 5 as, 1. From the Hebrew word caba , I extinguifii ; 
q. d. one that deftroys, one that extirpates,' the enemies 
of the Lord. 2. From maachi-bi, the wound is in me ; 
God has (truck me ; humbled me. See Ila. liii. 3, 4. 
where the Meffiah is called Ifh Macoboth, a man of forrow; 
and Mucca Elohim, fmitten of God. See alfo 1 Chron. xii. 
33. where Machbanai is a proper name. 3. From 
Macca~ba-jak, one that Unites in the name of the Lord. 4. 
From macabeth, hidden ; as' in 1 Sam. xiv. 22. or from the 
root-word, which alfo fignifies to dig, to make hollow ; 
and is ufed for a l'ubterraneous cell or cave ; for the Mac¬ 
cabees at firft hid themfelves in caverns to avoid perfecu- 
tion ; but afterwards they came forth, and withftood their 
perfecntors. 5. From nakab, to pierce; makkebah is taken 
for an hammer. 6. From akab , to fupplant or undermine. 
7. Laftly, the molt popular opinion is, that they infcribed 
on their enfigns, or on their bucklers, thefe four Hebrew 
letters, Mem, Caph, Beth, Jod, making up the word \ 2 D 13 > 
formed of the initials of PHIT CONI PQDD ’D, q. d. 
Who is like unto thee, 0 Lord , among the gods 5 (Exod, xv. 11.) 
whence thofe who fought under the ftandard of Mans,* 
thias, and afterwards of his Tons, were called Maccabeesj 
and the name was generally applied to all who fuffered in 
the caufe of the true religion, under the Egyptian or Sw 
rian kings. This name, formed by abbreviation accord¬ 
ing to the common practice of the Jews, diftinguilhed Ju¬ 
das Maccabasus by way of eminence, as he fucceeded his 
father, B.C. 166, in the command of thofe forces which 
he had with him at his death ; and, being joined by his 
brothers, and all others that were zealous for the law, he 
ereCted his ftandard, on which he infcribed the above, 
mentioned motto. Thofe alfo who fuffered under Pto¬ 
lemy Philopater of Alexandria, fifty years before this pe¬ 
riod, were afterwards called Maccabees ; and fo were Elea- 
zar, and the mother and her (even fons, though they fhf- 
fered before judas ereCted his ftandard with the "motto 
from which the appellation originated. And therefore 
as thefe books which contain the hiftory ofjndas and his 
brothers, and their wars againft the Syrian kings, in de¬ 
fence of their religion and liberties, are called the firft and 
fecond books of the Maccabees ; fo that book which gives 
us the hiftory of thofe, who, in the like caufe, under Pto¬ 
lemy Philopater, were expofed to his elephants at Alex¬ 
andria, is called the third book of the Maccabees ; and that 
which is written by Jofephus of the martyrdom of Elea- 
zar, and the feven brothers and their mother, is called the 
fourth book of the Maccabees. 
The Firft Book of the Maccabees is an excellent hif¬ 
tory, and comes neareft to the ftyle and manner of the 
(acred hiftorians of any extant. It was written originally 
in the Chaldee language, of the Jerufalem dialed!, and 
was extant in this language in the time of Jerome, who 
had feen it. From the Chaldee it was tranflated into 
Greek, from the Greek into Latin, and alfo into Englifh. 
Theodotion is conjectured to have tranflated it into 
Greek j but it was probably more ancient, as we may in¬ 
fer from its ufe by ancient authors, as Tertullian, Origen, 
and others. It is fuppofed to have been written by John 
Hyrcanus, the fon of Simon, who was prince and high 
pried of the Jews near thirty years, and began his govern¬ 
ment at the time where this hiftory ends. It contains 
the hiftory of forty years, from the reign of Antiochus 
Epiphanes to the death of Simon the high prieft j that is 
from the year of the world 3829 to the year 3869; 13/ 
years before Chrift. The author is unknown ; but lie 
mufthave lived afterthe pontificate of Johannes Hircanus'" 
becaufe he quotes the memoirs of his government. In 
his chronological computation, he ufes the Hebrew man-- 
ner of reckoning, beginning at the month Nijan, March, 
the firft month of the holy year; whereas the Syrians, or 
the Greeks who reigned in Syria, began it fix months 
later, namely, at Tizri, or September. 
The Second Book of the Maccabees begins with two 
letters ; one from the Jews of Jerufalem to thofe of Alex¬ 
andria, to inform them of the celebration of the feaft of 
purification, and of the dedication of the temple of Jeru¬ 
falem, by Judas Maccabaeus ; the other from the lenate 
of Jerufalem, and from Judas to Ariftobulus preceptor to 
king Ptolemy on the fame fubjedl. This laft letter bein°- 
written A. M. 3880, there is reafon to believe that the 
book itfelf was compofed about the fame time, under the 
pontificate of Hircanus. The elegance of ftyle in this 
piece has induced fome toafcribe it to Jofephus or Philo • 
Serrarius believed it was the work of Judas the Effenian* 
mentioned by Jofephus; Leo Allatius conjectures, that 
Simon Maccabaeus, brother of Judas, might be the author 
of it. But all this is very uncertain. After thefe epiftles 
follows the preface of the author to his hiftory, which is 
an abridgment of a larger work, compofed by one Jafon 
a Jew of Gyrene, who wrote in Greek the hiftory of Judas 
Maccabteus and his brethren, and the wars againft Antio¬ 
chus Epiphanes, and Eupator this fon. In this book the 
Syrian method of computation is adopted, beginning the 
year on the 29th of September. The two laft chapters 
contain events under the reign of Demetrius Soter, the 
iucceffor 
