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He left also several other writings. There is ftill extant his Funeral Oration on the death of his brother Nicetas, printed with Nicetas's works at Paris, in 1566. His treatise of the cross is in the king's library at Paris, and his Oration, wherein he proves the city of Athens to be very different from what it was anciently. There are also feveral manufcripts of his in the Bodleian library (a).

(a) They are all in Latin, and confift of the following particulars : 1. A Reply to thofe who found fault with him, for not publishing his works.

2. An Elogium upon Nicetas Choniata.

3. An Oration made at Athens. 4. The first Catechism,

5. A Sermon preached in the middle of Lent.

6. A Sermon preached on Palm Sunday.

9. Various Letters.

10. An Homily on the Creation of

man,

11, A Lamentation on the Death of Adyephus.

12. A judicial Controverfy betwixt the Soul and Body.

13. Letters to the Archbishop of Naupactum.

14. An Oration on Ifaacius Angelus the emperor, who afcended the throne in 1185.

15. A Funeral Oration on Neo

7, The Speech of Nicephorus the phytus, the Archi-mandrite of the Pretor. Monks of Athens.

8, A Sermon preached when he first visited Euripus in Eubea.

16. A monody to Euftathius of Theffalonica.

ACOMINATUS (Nicetas) Choniata, brother to the preceding, to whom he went at nine years of age, and was educated under him at Conftantinople. When he grew up, he lived at court, was first secretary to Alexius Commenus, and afterwards to Ifaacius Angelus. He rofe by degrees to the dignity of a fenator, great logothete, fecretary of ftate, and grand chamberlain to the emperor. But fortune proved at length unkind to him; for the Latins having taken Conftantinople, in the year 1204, he was obliged to fly, with his family, his wife being then big with child. He took up his refidence at Nice, in Bithynia, where he remained till his death. The particular time when he died is not known; Oudin in but it is reckoned to have been some time after the year 1206, and his funeral oration was pronounced by the archbishop fæc. 12 tom. his brother. He wrote a history in one-and-twenty books, II. from the death of Alexis Commenus, in 1118, where that of Zonaras ended, to the year 1203. There have been many editions of this work (a), and it has been highly com

(a) It was printed in Greek, with the Latin verfion and notes, by Hieronymus Wolfius at Bafil, in 1557, at Paris in 1566, at Francfort in

mended

1568, at Geneva in 1593. In the
year 1702 and 1705, Boivin pub-
lished, in two folio volumes, the
Bizantine History of Nicephoras Gre-

goras

Com, de fcript. ecclef.

mended by fome of the greatest critics (b). He composed

also several other pieces (c).

goras; and at the end of the second
volume, he added, in Greek and La-
tin, from a manufcript in the king's
library, Nicetas's Account of the
Statues of Conftantinople; which
the Latins, having taken the city,
melted down, and coined into mo-
ney. Oudin, ibid.

(b) Lipfius obferves, that amongst
the later Græcian writers, there
are two who are far from being de-
fpicable. (Politicorum, lib. i c. 9.
fec. 12.) "The firft, fays he, is
Nicetus Choniates, an author, who,
though at present but little known,
is highly worthy of perufal. He
was a man of a fine genius and fo-
lid understanding above any writer
of his age. His ftyle is fomewhat
laboured, having endeavoured to
imitate the poets, particularly Ho-
mer. His manner of writing is dis-

tinct, clear, and without impertinence; it is concife and exact. He makes many excellent observations, and the judgment he passes on things is equally just and candid.

(c) 1. The Treatife of the Orthodox Faith, in twenty-feven books. Dr. Cave fays, that he faw a copy of this work in Greek in the Bodleian library. Cod. 4753.

2. A Confutation of the Mahumetan Law, which is extant in Greek amongst the manuscripts in the Colbertine library.

3. A Comparison betwixt Winter and Summer; endeavouring to fhew that Winter is more eligible.

4. Six Epiftles in Greek, amongst the Baroccian manufcripts in the Bodleian library at Oxford, numb. cxxxi.

ACONTIUS (James) a famous philofopher, civilian, and divine, born at Trent in the fixteenth century. He embraced the Proteftant religion, and going over to England in the reign of Elizabeth, he met with a very friendly reception' from this princefs, as he himself has teftified in a work dedicated to her (a). This work is his celebrated Collection of the Stratagems of Satan, which has been fo often tranflated, and gone through fo many different impreffions. It was first printed at Bafil, in 1565, and the author died Grafferus in foon after in England. James Grafferus published another Epift. ad edition of it in 1610, at the fame city. In this we meet initio Strata- with Acontius's letter De ratione edendorum librorum, wherein he gives moft excellent advice to authors; but his trea

lectorem

gematum Satana.

"To

(a) He gives her the following
title: Divinæ Elizabethæ, Anglica,
Franciæ, Hiberniæ Reginæ.
the divine Elizabeth, queen of Eng-
land, France, and Ireland." He
declares that he dedicates it to her
as a mark of his gratitude: In fig-
num memoriamque grati animi ob
partum ejus liberalitate, quum in An
gliam propter evangelie veritatis

profeffionem extorris appuliffet, humaniffimeque exceptus effet, literarium otium. "As a teftimonial and memorial of his gratiude, for the happy literary leifure he enjoyed from her liberality; when, being banished for profeffing the true religion of the gospel, he fled into England, where he was received with the utmost humanity.

Wolfium,

P. 410.

59

tife of Method (b), a valuable piece, and published as an effay, is not inferted. He wrote also a work in Italian, on the Manner of fortifying Cities, which he tranflated into Latin during his refidence in England; but we believe it was Acontius never published. He was alfo about a Treatife of Logic; Epift. ad but death prevented his bringing it to a conclufion, which was certainly a public lofs; for being a man of a juft ap- Ibid. p. 411. prehenfion, and endowed with great penetration, he had formed the moft rational idea of this work, and thought he was obliged to be the more careful in writing it, as he faw the fucceeding age would be more enlightened than that wherein he lived (c). His religious principles differed in fome particulars from thofe of Calvin; for he was a great friend to toleration, and maintained certain maxims, which drew upon him the odium of feveral Proteftant divines (d). We meet with few particulars relating to his life. He himself informs us tranfiently, that he had spent a confiderable part of his time in studying Bartolus, Baldus, and fuch like barbarous authors, and that he had been several years at court. His letter, published in 1696, fhews that he had an Ibid. acute genius, and that he was a great master in true logic. It is dated from London, June 5, 1565, and serves to clear up an affertion of his, which had been cenfured, in regard to Sabellius. It must be obferved, that notwithstanding moft

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(c) Our author, after having, in his epiftles, touched upon the other reafons which rendered the execution of his plan vastly difficult, goes on to the following purport: "I am fenfible (fays he) that I live in a more than ufual inlightened age; yet I do not fo much as dread the judgment of those who are now the reigning critics, as the rifing light of a more refined age than the present. For though the age we now live in has produced, and still continues to produce many great men; yet methinks I perceive fomewhat greater

will arife." Acon.Ep. ad Wolf.p.412.

(d) A Proteftant minifter at the Hague, (Saldenus de Libris, &c. p. 337.) fpeaking of Acontius, affirms, that what was faid of Origen may be justly applied to him, viz. "where he is right, no body better; and where he is wrong, no body worfe: That he was a truly learned man, of a quick genius, but of too much boldness and freedom: That he was too much inclined to introduce a kind of fcepticism into divinity itself, as appears evident from his Treatife of the Stratagems of Satan, which, according to Simon Goular, (Trigland, Hift. Ecclef. p. 232.) is the worst of all bad books that ever were written. And Voetius declares, (Polit. Ecclef. part. iii. in indice & p. 31. 398.) that he ignorantly or designedly attempted a confeffion of faith, which the very Arians might have subscribed."

Proteftant

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Proteftant divines hold him in the utmost deteftation, yet by fome he has been highly applauded (e).

(e) Ifaac Junius, minifter of Delft, looked upon Acontius as in the fame clafs with Socinus and the remonftrants: he confidered him as a man who was for reducing all fects into one, and including them in one ark, as Noah fhut up all fort of animals in his, where they were preserved, tho' they lived on different food. (In Examine Apologie Remonftrantium, p. 45.) Peltius faid (in Dedicatione Harmonie) that Acontius, by reducing the points neceffary for falvation to fo fmall a number, thereby opened a door to every herefy.

He has, however, been highly

commended, not only by Arminius and Grevinchovius, but also by Amefius and George Pauli. Aminius fays, Acontius eft divinum prudentiæ ac moderationis lumen. "Acontius is a divine luminary of prudence and moderation." Amefius fpeaks of him in these words: Idem Acontius eft duraTaTaTos Ev Tals ypes qui fementem ecclefiæ Anglicanæ calore et rore cælefti fovit fedulo. "The fame Acontius is very mighty in the Scriptures, and he diligently cherished the feed-plot of the church of England with heat and heavenly dew."

ACOSTA (Uriel) a Portugueze, born at Oporto towards the clofe of the fixteenth century. He was educated in the Romih religion, which his father alfo fincerely profeffed, tho' defcended from one of those Jewish families who had been in a manner forced to receive baptifm. Uriel had a liberal education, having been inftructed in feveral fciences, and at laft he ftudied the law. He had by nature a good temper and difpofition, and religion had made fo deep an impreffion on his mind, that he ardently defired to conform to all the precepts of the church, in order to avoid eternal death, which he greatly feared. He applied with great affiduity to reading the Scriptures and other fpiritual books, carefully confulting alfo the creed of the confeffors; but the more he dived into thefe matters, the more difficulties occured, which perplexed him at length to fuch a degree, that, being unable to folve them, he fell into the moft terrible agonies of mind. He looked upon it as impoffible to fulfil his duty, with regard to the conditions required for abfolution, according to good cafuifts; fo that he despaired of falvation, if he could find no other means of attaining it but it proved difficult to abandon a religion in which he had been bred up from his infancy, and which had been deeply rooted in his mind by the force of perfuafion. However he began to enquire whether feveral particulars mentioned about the other life were agreeable to reason; and, upon enquiry and deliberation, he imagined that reason suggefted many arguments against them. Acofta was about two and twenty when he was thus perplexed with doubts, and the

refult

refult of his reflections was, that he could not be faved by the religion which he had imbibed in his infancy. Nevertheless he profecuted his ftudies in the law, and at the age of five and twenty, was made treasurer in a collegiate church. Being naturally of a religious difpofition, and the popifh doctrines rendering him uneafy, he now began to ftudy Mofes and the prophets, where he thought he found more satis faction than in the gofpel, and at length became convinced that Judaism was the true religion; and, as he could not profefs it in Portugal, he rofolved to leave the country. He accordingly refigned his place, and embarked for Amfterdam with his mother and brothers, whom he had ventured to inftruct in the principles of the Jewish religion, even when in Portugal (a). Soon after their arrival in this city they became members of the fynagogue, and were circumcifed according. to cuftom; and he changed his name of Gabriel for that of Uriel. A little time was fufficient to fhew him that the Jews did neither, in their rites nor morals, conform to the law of Mofes, of which he could not but declare his difapprobation: but the chiefs of the fynagogue gave him to understand, that he muft exactly obferve their tenets and cuftoms; for he would be excommunicated, if he deviated ever so little from them. This threat, however, did not in the least deter him; for he thought it would be a most mean behaviour in him, who had left the fweets of his native country purely for liberty of confcience, to fubmit to a fet of Rabbis without any proper jurifdiction; and that it would fhew both want of courage and piety, if he should ftifle his fentiments on this occafion (b). He therefore perfifted in his invectives. Upon this he was excommunicated, and fuch was the effect thereof, that

(a) He himself tells us, that he gave up an honourable and profitable employment, and a fine house which his father had built in the best part of the city. (Acosta in Exemplari Vitæ Humanæ, p. 346). He mentions the danger of his embarkation, no oneof Jewish extraction being permitted to leave the kingdom without the king's fpecial leave. "Navem Afcendimus non fine magno periculo (non licet illis qui ab Hebræis originem ducunt a regno difcedere, fine fpeciali regis facultate).” (lb. p. 347.) He fays, had it been known he difcourfed with his mother and brother in favour of the Jewish religion, it

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