"Notwithstanding these imperfections, and fome others, "which are easily redreffed, it appears plainly, that this f Jefuit had bestowed abundance of pains upon that excel"lent work. He does not allow one difficulty to pass with"out examining it to the bottom. When a great num"ber of literal interpretations present themselves upon the "fame paffage, he ufes to fix upon the beft, without paying "too great a deference to the ancient commentators, or 66 even to the majority, regarding nothing but truth alone, "ftript of all authorities but her own." Cardinal Perron Perroniana. faid, that he "was a very great man, and a true divine; "that he had an excellent elocution as a speaker, understood "the learned languages well, was deeply versed in scholaftic "divinity and theology, and that he had thoroughly read "the fathers." His character has been as high among the Proteftants, for an interpreter of Scripture, as it was among the Papifts. Matthew Pole, in the preface to the fourth volume of his "Synopfis Criticorum," calls him a writer of great parts and learning. "He was," fays Dr. Jackon, vol. i. b. iii. ch. 13-15. Works, the most judicious expofitor among the Jefuits. His skill in expounding the Scriptures, fave only where doting love "unto their church hath made him blind, none of theirs, "few of our church, hath furpaffed." His "Commenta"ries upon Jeremiah, Baruch, Ezekiel, and Daniel," were printed at Lyons in 1609, and at Cologne in 1611. To these were added, his "Expofition of the çixth Pfalm," and "A letter concerning a celebrated dispute which he had with "above twenty Proteftant minifters at Sedan." His treatife "De fide" was printed at Maienne in 1600; and that upon "Angels and Demons" at Paris, in 1605. In 1677, they published at Paris fome pieces which had never appeared before; namely, his treatife "Of Grace," that upon "Original Sin," upon "Providence," upon "Justice," upon "Juftification," and that upon "The Merit of "Works;" befides "Prefaces, Harangues, and Letters,' one volume, folio. We will conclude our account of this celebrated Jefuit, with mentioning an high elogium of him, given by the imLib. lxxviii. partial and excellent Thuanus; who, after obferving how he had joined a fingular piety and purity of manners, and an "exquifite judgement, to an exact knowledge of philofophy "and divinity," adds, that "it was owing to him alone, "that the parliament of Paris, when they had the Jesuits un"der their confideration, did not pronounce any fentence to "their difadvantage, though they were become fufpected by the wifeft heads, and greatly hated by the univerfity.' Nothing can fet the importance of Maldonat in a stronger light, or better fhew the high opinion that was had of his merit. MALEBRANCHE (NICHOLAS), a French philofopher, was born at Paris, Aug. 6, 1638, and was the youngest of ten children. He had a domeftic tutor, who taught him Greek and Latin. He afterwards went through his courfe of philofophy at the college de la Marche, and that of divinity in the Sorbonne; and was admitted into the congregation of the Oratory at Paris, in 1660. After he had fpent fome time there, he confulted father le Cointe, in what manner he fhould pursue his ftudies; who advised him to apply himself to ecclefiaftical hiftory. Upon this he began to read Eufebius, Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret; but foon grew weary of this study, and next applied himself to father Simon, who talked to him of nothing but Hebrew, Arabic, Syriac, rabbinical learning, and critical enquiries into the fense of the fcriptures. But this kind of ftudy was not at all more fuitable to his genius, than the former. At last, in 1664, he met with Des Cartes's "Treatife upon Man," which he read over with great fatisfaction, and gave himself up immediately to the study of his philofophy; of which, in a few years, he became as perfect a maiter as Des Cartes himself. In 1699, he was admitted an honorary member of the royal academy of fciences. He died Oct. 13, 1715, being then feventy-feven years of age. From the time that he began to read Des Cartes, he ftudied only to enlighten his mind, and not to furnish his memory; fo that he knew a great deal, though he read but little. He avoided every thing that was mere erudition: an infect pleased him much more than all the Greek and Roman hiftory. He despised likewise that kind of learning, which confifts only in knowing the opinions of different philofophers; fince a perfon may easily know the hiftory of other men's thoughts, without ever thinking at all himself. He could never read ten verses together without difguft. He meditated with his windows fhút, in order to keep out the light, which he found to be a difturbance to him. His converfation turned upon the fame fubjects as his books, but was mixed with fo much modesty and deference to the judgement of others, that it was extremely and univerfally defired. There were fcarcely any foreigners, who were men of learning, but vifited him, when they came to Paris: and it is faid, that an English officer, C 4 who Reflections apon learning, ch. ix. i who was taken prifoner during the war between our Wil. liam III. and the king of France, declared his fatisfaction upon being brought to Paris, because he had always had a defire to fee Lewis XIV. and father Malebranche. 66 He wrote several works. The first and principal, as indeed it gave rife to almost all that followed, was his "De la Recherche de la Verité," or his Search after Truth," printed at Paris in 1674, and afterwards augmented in feveral fucceffive editions. His defign in this book is to point out to us the errors, into which we are daily led by our fenfes, imagination, and paffions; and to prescribe a method for discovering the truth, which he does, by starting the notion of seeing all things in God. And hence he is led to think and speak meanly of human knowledge, either as it lies in written books, or in the book of nature, compared with that light which difplays itself from the ideal world and by attending to which, with pure and defecate minds, he fuppofes knowledge to be moft eafily had. The fineness of this author's fentiments, together with his fine manner of expreffing them, made every body admire his genius and abilities; but he has generally paffed for a vifionary philofopher. Locke, in his Examination of Malebranche's opinion of feeing all things in God," ftyles him an "acute and ingenious author;" and tells us, that there are "a great έσ many very fine thoughts, judicious reafonings, and un"commmon reflections, in his Recherche: but in that piece, endeavours to refute the chief principles of his fyftem. * There can be no doubt," fays a certain author, but God can lead us into all truth, by difplaying himself to us, and perhaps may deal thus with us when we are in heaven; .. yet this way feems too fupernatural whilft on earth, and "too clear for frail and weak men, who are not yet to know bylon And it is withal fo like the inward light of a "new fect of men, as not to make it over reputable to from thefe people, yet thus much he owns, that if the Quakers understood their own nation, and knew how to "explain it, and into what principles to refolve it, it would not very much differ from his." The next thing he pub lifhed, lifhed, was his Converfations Chretiennes, dans lesquelles font juftifié la verité de la religion & de la morale de J. C. "Paris, 1676." He was moved, it is faid, to write this piece, at the defire of the duke de Chevreufe, to fhew the confiftency and agreement between his philofophy and religion. His Traité de la nature & de la grace, 1680," was occafioned by a conference he had with M. Arnaud, about those peculiar notions of grace which Malebranche's fyftem had led him into. This was followed by other pieces, which were all the refult of the philofophical and theological difpute our author had with M. Arnaud. In 1688, he published his Entretien fur la metaphyfique & la religion:" in which work he collected what he had written against M. Arnaud, but difengaged it from that air of difpute, which is not agreeable to every reader. In 1697, he published his "Traité de l'amour de Dieu." When the doctrine of the new myftics began to make a noise in France, father Lomy, a Benedictin, in his book "De la connoiffance de foi-même," cited fome paffages out of our author's "Recherche de la "verité," as favourable to that party; upon this Malebranche thought proper to defend himself, which he did in this book, by fhewing in what fenfe it may be faid, without clashing with the authority of the church and reason, that the love of God is difinterested. In 1708, he published his The Entretiens d'un philofophe Chrétien, & d'un philofophe "Chinois, fur l'existence & la nature de Dieu:" or, "Dia"logues between a Chriftian philofopher and a Chinese philofopher, upon the existence and nature of God." bishop of Rozalie having remarked some conformity between the opinions of the Chinese, and the notions laid down in the "Recherche de la verité," mentioned it to the author, who upon that account thought himself obliged to write this tract. Malebranche wrote many other pieces befides what we have mentioned, all tending fome way or other to confirm his main fyftem eftablished in the "Recherche,' and to clear it from the objections which were brought against it, or from the confequences which were, deduced from it: and, if he has not attained what he aimed at in thefe feveral productions, he has certainly fhewn great abili ties, and a vaft force of genius, MALHERBE (FRANCIS DE), a celebrated French poet, who has always been confideréd by his countrymen as the father of their poetry; fince, upon his appearance, all their former Note D. ver. 131.1 Dict. art. former poets fell into difgrace. Bayle looks upon him as one DES LOGES, of the firft and greatest mafters, who formed the tafte and judgement of that nation in matters relating to polite literature. Balzac fays, that the French poetry before Malherbe Art. of Poe- was perfectly Gothic; and Boileau obferves to the fame pur try, canti. pose, that he was the firft in France who taught the Muse harmonious numbers, a juft cadence, purity of language, regularity of compofition, and order; in fhort, who laid down all thofe rules for fine writing, which future poets were to follow, if they hoped to fucceed. The poetical works of Malherbe, though divided into fix books, yet make but a finall volume. They confift of paraphrases upon the Pfalms, odes, fonnets, and epigrams: and they were published in several forms, to the year 1666, when a very complete edition of them came out at Paris, with the notes and obfervations of Menage. Malherbe has tranflated alfo fome works of Seneca, and foine books of Livy; and if he was not successful in tranflation, yet he had the happinefs to be very well fatisfied with his labour. His principal bufinefs was to criticife upon the French language; in which he was fo well fkilled, that fome of his friends defired him one day to make a gramSorel, Bibl. mar for the tongue. Malherbe replied, that there was no "occafion for him to take that pains, for they might read his tranflation of the thirty-third book of Livy, and he "would have them write after that manner." Every body, Ib. p. 260. however, was not of his opinion. Madam de Gournay, a learned lady of that time, used to fay," that this book appeared to her like broth of fair water." And Huetius obterpretibus, ferves, "that the strong defire Malherbe had to please courlib. ii. verf. tiers, made him invert the method of his author; that he "neither followed his pointing, nor his words; and that he "ftudied only to purify and polifh his language." Franc. P. 259. edit. 1667. Declaris in fin. Malherbe was born at Caen, about 1555, of an ancient and illuftrious family, who had formerly borne arms in England, under Robert duke of Normandy. He lived to be old; and, about 1601, became known to Henry the Great, from a Life of Mal- very advantageous mention of him to that prince, by cardinal du Perron. The king afked the cardinal one day, "If he "had made any more verfes ?" To which the cardinal replied, that he had totally laid afide all fuch amusements, herbe, by Racan. fince his majesty had done him the honour to take him into his fervice; and added, that every body must now "throw away their pens for ever, fince a gentleman of Normandy, named Malherbe, had carried the French poetry to fuch a height, as none could hope to reach." About four |