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438 MAR 
which he had juft begu#i to put to the prefs when he died 
in 1639, 
MAR'TIN (David), a learned French proteftant di¬ 
vine, was born at Revel, in the diocefe of Lavaur, in the 
year 1639. Having paffed through his academic ftudies 
with credit and applaufe, he was admitted M. A. and 
doftor of philofophy in the year 1659. After this, heap- 
plied himfelf to the fttidy of divinity ; to that of the fa- 
cred fcriptures, the oriental languages, ecclefiaftical hif- 
tory, and the different branches of profane as well as fa- 
cred literature. In 1663, he fettled as paltor, and offi¬ 
ciated in the miniftry till the revocation of the edift of 
Nantes in 1685. After this, and the demolition of his 
place of worth ip, he narrowly efcaped an arreft, and with¬ 
drew to Holland. In 1686, he was invited to become 
profeffor of divinity, and pallor of the Walloon church 
in Deventer ; but the regency of Utrecht, where he had 
taken up his refidence, prevailed upon him to accept the 
office of paltor in their city. He afterwards received in¬ 
vitations from feveral other churches, both in the republic 
and abroad, and particularly from that of the Hague, 
which he declined. He now employed himfelf in giving 
lectures in philofophy and divinity, and acquired lo high 
a reputation by his fuccefsful manner of inltrufling his 
pupils, that young perfons of high rank, and even the 
ions of fovereign princes, were placed under his tuition. 
He had deeply ftudied the nature and genius of his own 
language, and when the French Academy was about to 
publilh the fecond edition of their Dictionary, he fent 
them remarks and obfervations, of which they availed 
themfelves, with polite acknowledgments to the author. 
He died in 1731, having completed his eighty-fecond year. 
He was author of many learned works, among which are 
—1. An edition of the New Teftarnent, according to the 
Geneva Verfion, with Corrections, Notes, New Prefaces, 
&c. 1696, 4-to. 2. A Hiftory of the Old and New Tefta- 
ment, 2 vols. folio, embellilhed with upwards of 400 en¬ 
gravings. 3. A Treatife on Natural Religion, 1715, 8vo. 
4. A Treatife on Revealed Religion, in 2 vols. 8vo. his 
laft work, the fecond edition of which bears the date 1723. 
Moreri. 
MAR'TIN (James), a learned French Benedictine 
monk of the congregation of St. Maur, born at Fanjaux, 
a fmall town in Upper Languedoc, in the year 1694. He 
entered the order in 1709; and, after being employed as 
a teacher of claffical learning for fome years in his native 
province, went to Paris in 1727. Here he dillinguilhed 
himfelf both by his erudition and by his Angularities, dif- 
covering an overbearing virulent temper in all his writ¬ 
ings, a high opinion of his own merits, and great injuftic# 
towards thole of others. In the year hi which he arrived 
at the capital, he publifhed “ A Treatife on the Religion 
of the ancient Gauls,” in 2 vols. 4to. which abounds in 
learned, curious, and novel, refearches, intermixed with 
an ample portion of ftrange notions and opinions. One 
great object of it is to prove, that the religion of the Gauls 
was derived from that of the patriarchs ; and that, confe- 
quently, an illuftration of their religious ceremonies mull 
tend to throw light on many dark paffages in the fcriptures. 
In the year 1730, he publilhed “An Explication of fe¬ 
veral difficult Texts of Scripture,” 2 vols. 4to. This 
work affords evidence of the erudition and ingenuity 
which he could foinetitnes fuccelsfuily apply in elucidat¬ 
ing paffages which had baffled the enquiries of preceding 
labourers in facred criticiftn ; but its value is diminifhed 
by a multitude of difcuffions on trifling fubjeCts ; and it 
is difgraced by indecent prints, and the frequent intro¬ 
duction of unbecoming ludicrous fatire ; on which ac¬ 
count the fale of it was prohibited. In 1739, he publiffi- 
ed “ An Explanation of various Monuments, illuftrative 
of the Religion of the earlieft Nations, with an Exami¬ 
nation of the lalt edition of the Works of Sr. Jerome, and 
a Treatife on judicial Altrology,” 4to. This work re¬ 
commends itfelf, not only by the profound erudition 
which it difplays., but alfo by many lively traits, and an 
T I N. 
animated ftyle. For fome of the monuments which kex<- 
plains, the author was indebted to the communications of 
the duke of Sully, who honoured him with hisefteem artd 
confidence. The n»xt production of his pen was enti¬ 
tled, “ Literary Hints relative to a Project for an alpha¬ 
betical Library,” which form a ftrange compound of 
learning and mifplaced witticifms. In the year 1741, he 
publifhed a French verfion of “The Confellions of St. 
Auguftine,” in oCtavo, accompanied with judicious notes. 
In his latter years, he was much afflicted with the gravel 
and the gout, which terminated his life in 1751, when he 
was in the fifty-feventh year of his age. After his death, 
his nephew D. deBrezilac publilhed from his manufcripts, 
“ A Hiftory of the Gauls, and their Conquelts, from their 
Origin to the Foundation of the French Monarchy,” 1754, 
in 2 vols. 4to. continued by the editor; which is enriched 
with antiquarian refearches, and learned differtations, re¬ 
flecting honour both on the uncle and nephew. With 
all his faults, Martin was one of the molt learned and able 
writers produced by the congregation of St. Maur ; and 
wanted only a judicious and enlightened friend to correCt 
the eccentricities of his tafte and imagination, Nouv. Di£l. 
Hift. 
MAR'TIN (Benjamin), a celebrated Englifh mathema¬ 
tician and optician in the eighteenth century, was born 
in the year 1704. He is laid to have been the fon of a 
farmer, and to have filled the office of fchoolmafter at 
Chichefter inSuffex, when his earlieft treatifes were given 
to the public. Procuring by degrees a good apparatus of 
philofophica! inftruments, he commenced leClurer in ex¬ 
perimental philofophy, and travelled for fome time in that 
charafter through different parts of the kingdom. After¬ 
wards he came to London, where he delivered his lectures 
with great luccefs for many years, and carried on a very 
extenfive trade as an optician and globe-maker in Fleet- 
(ireet. Compelled at length, by the growing infirmities 
of age, to quit the aCtive part of bufinefs, and confiding 
too fecurely in what he thought to be the integrity of 
others, his affairs became embarraffed, and he was reduced 
to the neceflity of being made a bankrupt, though his ef¬ 
fects were more than lufficient to difcharge all his debts. 
This unexpected event gave fuch a (hock to his mind, 
that in a moment of defperation he attempted to deftroy 
himfelf; and, though his purpofe did not prove immedi¬ 
ately fatal, yet it haftened his death, which took place in 
February 1782, when he was about feventy-eight years of 
age. He had formed a valuable collection of foffils and 
curiofities of almoft every fpecies, which alter his death 
were difpofed of by auction for a comparative trifle. As 
an artift, he was induftriousand ingenious; and, as a writer, 
he poffeffed a happy method of explaining his lubjeCt, and 
wrote with peripicuity, and even confiderable elegance. 
He was chiefly eminent in the fcience of optics ; but he 
was well fkilled in the whole circle of mathematical and 
philofophical fciences, and wrote ufeful books on almoft 
all of them, though he was not dillinguilhed by any re¬ 
markable inventions or difcoveries. The following is a 
lift of the principal of his numerous publications : 1. The 
Philofophical Grammar, being a view of the prefent State 
of experimental Phyfiology, or natural Philofophy, 1735, 
8vo. 2. A new complete and univerfal Syftem or Body 
of decimal Arithmetic, 1735, 8vo. 3. The young Stu¬ 
dent’s Memorial Book, or Pocket Library, 1735, 8vo. 4. 
Defcription and Ufe of both the Globes, the Armillary 
Sphere and Orrery, See. 1736, 2 vols. 8vo. 5. The young 
Trigonometer’s complete Guide, &c. 1736, 2 vols. 8vo. 
6. Bibliotheca technological or a Philofophical Library of 
literary Arts and Sciences, 1737, 8vo. 7. Uavysai^ET^ia, 
or the Elements of all Geometry, &c. 1739, 8vo. 8. Lo- 
garithmologia, or the whole DoCtrine of Logarithms com¬ 
mon and logiflical, &c. 1740, 8vo. 9. Memoirs of the 
Academy of Sciences at Paris, 1740, 5 vols. 8vo. 10. 
Syltem of the Newtonian Philofophy, 1759, 3 vols. 8vo. 
11. New Elements of Optics, 1759, 8vo. 12, Natural 
Hiftory of England, with a Map of each County, 1739, 
