Cicero in Bruto. Nonius Varro, Au &c. Voffius de Rome 583; but there appears fomewhat of confufion and perplexity in this chronology. He made himself known before the death of Pacuvius, a dramatic piece of his being exhibited the fame year that Pacuvius brought one upon the flage, the latter being then eighty years of age, and Accius only thirty. We do not know the name of this piece of Accius, but the titles of feveral of his tragedies are mentioned by various authors. He wrote on the most celebrated ftories Marcellus, which had been reprefented on the Athenian ftage, as Anlus Gellius, dromache, Andromeda, Atreus, Clytemneftra, Medea, Meleager, Philocletes, the civil wars of Thebes, Tereus, the Troades, &c. He did not always, however, take his fubjects from the Grecian ftory; for he compofed one dramatic piece wholly Roman: it was intituled Brutus, and related to the expulfion of the Tarquins. It is affirmed by fome, that he wrote alfo comedies, which is not unlikely, if he was the author of two pieces, the Wedding, and the Merchant, which have been ascribed to him. He did not confine himself to poet. Latin. dramatic writing, for he left other productions, particularly his Annals, mentioned by Macrobius, Prifcian, Feftus, and Nonius Marcellus. Decimus Brutus, who was conful in the year of Rome 615, and had the honour of a triumph for feveral victories gained in Spain, was his particular friend and patron. This general was fo highly pleafed with the verses which Accius wrote in his praife, that he had them infcribed at the entrance of the temples and monuments raised out of the fpoils of the vanquished. Though this might proceed from a principle of vanity, and may not be fo much a proof of his affection for the poet as his love of applaufe; yet it is thereby evident, that Brutus had an opinion of Accius's poetry, and Brutus was far from being a contemptible judge. He has been cenfured for writing in too harsh a ftyle, but in all other respects esteemed a very great poet. Aulus Gellius tells us, Attic. xiii. that Accius, being in his way to Afia, paffed through Tarentum, where he paid a vifit to Pacuvius, and read to him his play of Atreus; that Pacuvius told him his verfe was lofty and fonorous, but fomewhat harsh and crude. "It is as P. 7. Noctes 2. . you obferve," faid Accius," nor am I forry for it, fince my future productions will be better upon this account; for 66 as in fruit fo in geniuses, those which are at first harsh and "four, become mellow and agreeable; but fuch as are at first "foft and fweet, grow in a fhort time not ripe, but rotten.' Accius was fo much efteemed by the public, that a comedian was punifhed for only mentioning his name on the ftage. toric, lib. ii. Cicero fpeaks with great derifion of one Accius who had written Cic. Rhe a history, a hiftory, and, as our author had wrote annals, fome infift that he is the perfon cenfured; but as Cicero himself, Horace, Quintilian, Ovid, and Paterculus, have spoken of our author with so much applaufe, we cannot think it is he whom the Roman Orator cenfures with fo much feverity. There was alfo in this age a good orator of the fame name, against whom Cicero defended Cluentius. He was born in Pifaurum, and perhaps was a relation of our poet. ACCORDS (STEPHEN TABOUROT, feigneur des), advocate in the parliament of Dijon in France, and king's advocate in the bailiwic and chancery of that city, born in the year 1549. He was a man of genius and learning, but too much addicted to trifles, as appears from his piece, entitled, "Les Bigar"rures," printed at Paris in 1582 [A]. This was not his firft production, for he had before printed fome fonnets. His work, intituled, "Les Touches," was published at Paris in 1585 [B]; which is indeed a collection of witty poems, but moft of them upon obscene subjects; and worked up rather in too loose a manner, according to the licentious taste of that age. His Bigarrures are written in the fame strain. He was cenfured for this way of writing, which obliged him to pub- Bibliothelifh an apology. La Croix du Maine fays in one place, that que FranAccords wrote a dictionary of French rhimes; but he after- soife, p.156. wards corrected himself, having found that John le Fevre of Dijon, fecretary to cardinal De Givre, and canon of Langres, Ib. p. 22. was the author thereof. Accords himself mentions him as the author, and declares his intention of compiling a fupplement to his uncle Le Fevre's work; but, if he did, it never appeared in print. The lordship of Accords is an imaginary fief or title from the device of his ancestors, which was a drum, [A] The first book of the "Bigar"rures" is divided into twenty-two chapters, which treat, amongst other things, of the rebus's of Picardy, of double entendres, of antiftrophes, of retrograde verses, or fuch as read the fame backward and forward, of allufions, of acroftics, of the echo, of leonine verfes, of other forts of verfe waggifhly and ingeniously contrived, of epitaphs, &c. concludes with a difcourfe on wizards [B] This piece is divided into three books; the first being dedicated to Pontus de Tyard, lord of Biffy, and bishop of Chalons. The author boafts he wrote it in two months at Verdun upon the Soane in 1585. It confifts chiefly of epigrams, which may with propriety be called Touches: "Becaufe," fays the The fourth book is of a more ferious author, "it is a flight kind of fencing, turn than the three firft, and is divided "in which, by parrying with the file, into three chapters: the firft contains "I give fuch a touch or thruft as scarce ufeful inftructions for the education of "raifes the fkin, and cannot pierce deep children; the second relates to altering" into the flesh." Dedication to the one's furname; the third, feveral obfer- Touches. vations on French verfe; and the work Grafferus in matum Sa with the motto à tous accords, chiming with all [c]. He died July 24, 1561, in the 46th year of his age. [c] He had fent a fonnet to a daughter of Mr. Begat, the great and learned prefident of Burgundy," who, " fays he, "did me the honour to love me. And "inasmuch," continues he, " I had "fubfcribed my fonnet with only my "device, à tous accords, this lady first "nicknamed me, in her anfwer, Seig "neur des Accords; by which title her "father alfo called me feveral times. "For this reafon I chose this furname, "not only in all my writings compofed "at that time, but even in these books." 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 that 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 so many different impreffions. It was first printed at Bafil, in 1565; and the author died foon after in Epift. ad England. James Grallerus publifhed another edition of it in lectorem ini- 1610, at the fame city. In this we meet with Acontius's lettio Stratage- ter "De ratione edendorum librorum," wherein he gives most excellent advice to authors; but his treatise of Method [B], a valuable piece, and publifhed as an effay, is not inferted. He wrote alfo 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 never published. He was also Acontius Epift. ad about a Treatife of Logic; but death prevented his bringing Wolfium, it to a conclufion, which was certainly a public lofs; for, being a man of a juft apprehenfion, and endowed with great penetration, he had formed the most 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 dif tanæ. P. 410. Ibid. p. 411. [A] He gives her the following titles: "Divinæ Elizabethæ, Angliæ, Franciæ, "Hiberniæ, Reginæ." He declares, that he dedicates it to her as a mark of his gratitude: "In fignum memoriamque grati animi ob partum ejus liberalitate, quum in Angliam propter evan"gelicæ veritatis profeffionem extorris appuliffet, humaniffimeque exceptus "effet, literarium' otium." [B] This piece, which is intitled, "Methodus five recta inveftigandarum "tradendarumque Artium & Scienti"arum ratio," was inferted in a collection of differtations, "De ftudiis bene "inftituendis," printed at Utrecht in 1658. [c] Our author, after having, in his epiftles, touched upon the other reasons which rendered the execution of his plan vaftly difficult, goes on to the following purport: "I am fenfible," fays he, "that "I live in a more than usually enlight"ened age; yet I do not fo much "dread the judgment of thofe who are now the reigning critics, as the rifing light of a more refined age than the "prefent. For though the age we now "live in has produced, and ftill continues to produce, many great men : yet methinks I perceive fomewhat "greater will arife." Acon. Ep, ad Wolf. p. 412. fered fered 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 several Proteftant divines [D]. We meet with few particulars relating to his life. He himself informs us tranfiently, that he had fpent a confiderable part of his time in ftudying Bartolus, Baldus, and such like harbarous authors; and that he had been several years at court. His letter, publifhed in 1696, fhews that he had an acute ge nius, 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 observed, that notwithstanding moft Proteftant di vines hold him in the utmost deteftation, yet by fome he has been highly applauded [E]. [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, nobody "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 produce a kind of fcepticism into divinity itself, as appears evident from his Treatife of the Stratagems of Satan, which, accord- He has, however, been highly coming to Simon Goular, (Trigland, Hist. mended, not only by Arminius and GreEcclef. p. 232.) is the worst of all bad vinchovius, but also by Amefius and books that ever were written, And Voe- George Pauli. Arminius fays, "Acontius declares, (Polit. Ecclef. part. iii, in "tius eft divinum prudentiæ ac moderaindice & p. 31. 398.) that he ignorantly" tionis lumen." Amefius fpeaks of or defignedly attempted a confeffion of faith, which the very Arians might have fubfcribed. 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 shut up all fort of animals in his, where they were preferved, though they lived on different food. (In Examine Apologiæ Remonftrantium, p. 45.) Peltius faid (in Dedicatione Harmoniæ) that Acontius, by reducing the points neceffary for falvation to fo fmall a number, thereby opened a door to every heresy. [] Ifaac Junius, minifter of Delft, looked upon Acontius as in the fame him in these words: "Idem Acontius " eft δυνατώτατος ἐν ταῖς γραφαῖς, qui "fementem ecclefiæ Anglicanæ calore "et rore cælefti fovit fedulo," ACOSTA (URIEL), a Portugueze, born at Oporto towards the clofe of the fixteenth century. He was educated in the Romish religion, which his father alfo fincerely profeffed," though defcended from one of thofe 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 D 3 Scriptures and other spiritual books, carefully confulting also the creed of the confeffors; but the more he dived into these matters, the more difficulties occurred, 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; so that he defpaired of falvation, if he could find no other means of attaining it; and 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 several particulars mentioned about the other life were agreeable to reafon; and, upon enquiry and deliberation, he imagined that reafon suggefted many arguments against them. Acofta was about two and twenty, when he was thus perplexed with doubts; and the refult of his reflections was, that he could not be faved by the religion which he had imbibed in his infancy. Neverthelefs 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 now made uneasy by the popifh doctrines, he began to ftudy Mofes and the prophets; where he thought he found more fatisfaction than in the gospel, and at length became convinced that Judaism was the true religion: and, as he could not profefs it in Portugal, he refolved 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 observe their tenets and cuftoms; and that he would be excommunicated, if he deviated ever fo little from them. This threat, however, did not in the leaft deter him; for he thought it would be a moft mean behaviour in him, who had left the [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. (Acofta in Exemplari Vitæ Humanæ, p. 346). He mentions the danger of his embarkation, no one of Jewish extrac tion being permitted to leave the kingdom without the king's fpecial leave. (Ib. p. 347). He fays, had it been known he difcourfed with his mother and brother in favour of the Jewish religion, it must have proved his ruin. fweets |