M A G 
M A G 
whom the former has tranfcribed this part of his hiftory,) 
is from being exaft in his account of tilde affairs, we 
B<sed no better evidence than the copy he gives us of the 
charter of king John, which is effentially different from the 
originals in the Britifh Mufeum and at Salifbury, and from 
the°entry in the Red Book of the Exchequer. No hypo¬ 
thecs, therefore, can reafonably be built on this paffage 
5n that writer; though fome have been induced to infer 
from it, that the charter of Henry I. became obfolete al- 
moft as foon as it was given, and was fo totally neglefted 
as to be in a manner forgotten.” 
To return from this digreffion : the fucceffors of Henry I. 
king Stephen, Henry II. and king John, confirmed or re- 
enatfled the fame charter ; but, the laft prince violating 
his oath, the barons took up arms, and his reign ended in 
blood. Henry III. who fucceeded him, after having pro¬ 
cured an inqtiifition to be made by twelve men in each 
county, what the liberties of England were in the time 
of Henry I. confirmed, with fome alterations, the charter, 
obtained fword in hand from king John in 1215, being 
the prefent Magna Charta ; which he feveral times con¬ 
firmed and as often broke again ; till, in the thirty-feventh 
year of his reign, he came to Weftminfter-hall, where, in 
the prefence of the nobility and bifhops, with lighted can¬ 
dles in their hands, Magna Charta was read, the king all 
the while laying his hand on his bread:, and at laft fo- 
lemnly fwearing faithfully and inviolably to obferve all 
the things therein contained, as he was a man, a Chriftian, 
a foldier, and a king. Then the bifhops extinguifhed 
their candles, throwing them on the ground, crying, 
“ Thus let him be extinguifhed and dink in hell who 
violates this charter.” 
.Neverthelefs, king Henry in the next year invaded the 
rights of his people, till the barons levied war againft 
him; and, after various fuccefs, he confirmed this charter 
and the charter of the forefts, in the parliament of Marl- 
bridge, and in the fifty-fecond year of his reign. After¬ 
wards, by ftatute^s Edw. I. called Conjirmatio Chartarum, 
whereby the Great Charter is directed to be allowed as 
the common law ; all judgments contrary to it are declared 
void ; copies of it are ordered to be fent to all cathedral 
Churches, and read twice a-year to the people ; and fen- 
tence of excommunication is directed to be as conflantly 
denounced againft all thofe that by word, deed, or coun- 
fel, add contrary thereto, or in any degree infringe it. Sir 
Edward Coke obferves, that it was confirmed no lefs than 
thirty-two times, from the firft Edward to Henry IV. 
Then, after a long interval, by the Petition of Right, by 
many falutary laws, particularly the Habeas Corpus aft 
of Charles II. by the Bill of Rights, and laftly, by the 
Act of Settlement. 
Magna Charta is ftill confidered the bafis of the Englifli 
laws and liberties; for its particular enactments, fee the 
article Law, vol. xii. p. 380. 
MAG'NA MATER, in mythology, one of the names 
of Cybele. 
MAG'NAC, a town of France, in the department of the 
Upper Vienne: fifteen miles fouth-fouth-eaft of Limoges. 
MAG'NAC-LAVAL', a town of France, in the depart¬ 
ment of the Upper Vienne; twenty-four miles north of 
Limoges. 
MAGNAL'ITY, /. [ magnolia , Lat] A great thing ; 
fomething above the common rate. Not ufed. —Too greedy 
of magnalities, we make but favourable experiments con¬ 
cerning welcome truths. Brown. 
MAGNANIM'ITY,/ [ magnanimite , Fr. magnanimus, 
Lat.J Greatnefs of mind ; bravery ; elevation of foul.— 
Let but the adds of the ancient Jews be but indifferently 
weighed, from whofe magnanimity , in caufes of molt ex¬ 
treme hazard, thofe ftrange and unwonted refolutions have 
grown, which, for all circumftances, no people under the 
roof of heaven did ever hitherto ma,tch. Hooker, 
They had enough reveng’d, having reduc’d 
Their -foe to mifery beneath their fears 3 
VOL. XIV. No. 960. 
105 
The reft was magnanimity to remit, 
If fome convenient ranfom was propos’d, Milton. 
Magnanimity, it has been juftly obferved, is the good 
fenfe of pride, and the nobleft way of acquiring applaufe. 
It renders the foul fuperior to the trouble, diforder, and 
emotion, which the appearance of great danger might ex¬ 
cite ; and it is by this quality that heroes maintain their 
tranquillity, and prelerve the free life of their reafon, in 
the 1110ft furprifing and dreadful accidents. It admires 
the fame quality in its enemy ; and fame, glory, conqueft, 
delire of opportunities to pardon and oblige their oppo- 
fers, are what glow in the minds of the brave. Magna¬ 
nimity and courage are infeparable. We fiiall give a feiv 
examples from Stretch’s Beauties of Hiftory; many others 
will be found in the hiftorical and biographical articles in 
different parts of this work. 
1. The inhabitants of Privernum being fubdued and 
taken prifoners after a revolt, one of them being afked by 
a Roman fenator, who was for putting them all to death, 
what puniffunent he and his fellow captives deferved ? an- 
fwered with great intrepidity, “ We deferve that punifh- 
inent which is due to men who are jealous of their liberty, 
and think themfelves worthy of it.” Plautinus, perceiv¬ 
ing that his anfwer exafperated fome of the fenators, en¬ 
deavoured to prevent the ill effects of it, by putting a 
milder queftion to the prifoner: “ How would you behave 
(fays he) if Rome ftiould pardon you ?” “ Our conduct 
(replied the generous captive) depends upon your’s. If 
the peace you grant be an honourable one, you may de¬ 
pend on a conltant fidelity on our parts: if the terms of 
it be hard and difhonourable, lay no ltrefs on our adhe¬ 
rence to you.” Some of the judges conftrued thefe words 
as menaces ; but the wifer part, finding in them a great 
deal of magnanimity, cried out, that a nation whofe only 
deiire was liberty, and their only fear that of lofing it, 
was worthy to become Roman. Accordingly, a decree 
palled in favour of the prifoners, and Privernum was de¬ 
clared a municipium. Thus the bold lincerity of one man 
faved his country, and gained it the privilege of being in¬ 
corporated into the Roman ffate. 
2. Subrius Flavius the Roman tribune, being impeached 
for having confpired againft tfte life of the emperor Nero, t 
not only owned the charge, but gloried in it. Upon the 
emperor’s alking him what provocation he had given him 
to plot his death ? “Becaufe I abhorred thee (laid Flavius ;) 
though there was not in the whole army one more zea- 
loufly attached to thee than I, fo long as thou did ft merit 
affection ; but I began to hate thee when thou becameft 
the murderer of thy mother, the murderer of thy brother 
and wife, a charioteer, a comedian, an incendiary, and a 
tyrant.” Tacitus tells us, that the whole confpiracy af¬ 
forded nothing which proved fo bitter and pungent to 
Nero as this reproach. He ordered Flavius to be imme¬ 
diately put to death, which he fuffered with amazing in¬ 
trepidity. When the executioner defired him to ftretch 
out his neck valiantly, “ I wifh (replied he) thou mayeffc 
Itrike as valiantly.” 
3. When the Scythian ambaffadors waited on Alex¬ 
ander the Great, they gazed attentively upon him for a 
long time without fpeaking a word, being very probably 
furprifed, as they formed a judgment of men from their air 
and ftature, to find that his did not anfwer the high idea 
they entertained of him from his fame; for Alexander was a 
little man, with his head inclined to one fide. At laft, 
the oldeft of the ambaffadors (according to Quintus Cur- 
tius) addreffed him thus •. “ Had the gods given thee a 
body proportionable to thy ambition, the whole univerfe 
would have been too little for thee. With one hand thoQ 
wouldeft touch the eaft, and with the other the weft ; and, 
not fatisfied with this, thou wouldeft follow the fun, and 
know where he hides himfeif But what have we to do 
with thee ? we never fee foot in thy country. May not 
thofe who inhabit woods be allowed to live, without 
knowing who thou art, and whence thou coined ? We 
will neither comtmyid over, nor fubmit to, any man. 
3 J e And, 
