perfection, confesses that he learned much from Patru: and Boileau applied to him to review his works, and used to profit by his opinion. Patru was an extremely rigid censor, though just; and when Racine made some observations: upon the works of Boileau a little too subtle and refined, Boileau, instead of the Latin proverb, "Ne sis mihi patruus,” “Do not treat me with the severity of an uncle," replied, "Ne sis mihi Patru," "Do not treat me with the severity of Patru."

Patru was in his personal character honest, generous, sincere; and preserved a gaiety of temper which no adversity could affect: for this famous advocate, in spite of all his talents, lived almost in a state of indigence. The love of the belles lettres made him neglect the law; and the barren glory of being an oracle to the best French writers had more charms for him, than all the profits of the bar. Hence he became so poor, as to be reduced to the necessity of selling his books, which seemed dearer to him than his life; and would actually have sold them for an underprice, if Boileau had not generously advanced him a larger sum, with this further privilege, that he should have the use of them as long as he lived *. His death was preceded by a tedious illness, during which he received a present of five hundred crowns from the statesman Colbert, as a mark of the esteem which the king had for him. He died Jan. 16, 1681. He had been elected a member of the French academy in 1640, by the interest of cardinal RicheJieu, and made a speech of thanks on his reception, with which the academicians were so much pleased, as to order that every new member should in future make one of a similar kind on being admitted; and this rule has been observed ever since. When M. Conrart, a member of the French academy died, one of the first noblemen at court, but whose mind was very moderately cultivated, having offered for the vacant place, Patru opened the meeting with the following apologue: "Gentlemen, an ancient Grecian had an admirable Lyre; a string broke, but instead of replacing it with one of catgut, he would have a silver one, and the Lyre with its silver string was no longer harmonious." The fastidious care with which he retouched and finished every thing he wrote, did not permit him to

*This act of generosity was dramatised at Paris in 1802, in a piece entitled "La Bibliotheque de Patru," in which Boileau is made to give 30,000 livres for the library, which really cost him only 4000.

publish much. His miscellaneous works were printed at Paris in 1670, 4to; the third edition of which, in 1714, was augmented with several pieces. They consist of "Pleadings," "Orations," "Letters," "Lives of some of his Friends," "Remarks upon the French Language," &c. A very ingenious tract by him was published at Paris in 1651, 4to, with this title, " Reponse du Curé a la Lettre du Marguillier sur la conduite de M. le Coadjuteur."1 PATTEN. See WAYNFLETE.

PATTISON (WILLIAM), an unfortunate poet, was born at Peasmarsh, in the county of Sussex, in 1706, and was the son of a farmer at that place, who rented a considerable estate of the earl of Thanet. He discovered excellent parts, with a strong propensity to learning; and his father, not being in circumstances to give him a proper education, applied to his noble landlord, who took him under his pro-tection, and placed him at Appleby school in Westmoreland. Here he became acquainted with Mr. Noble, a clergyman of great learning and fine taste, who promoted his studies and directed his taste. Upon his leaving Appleby, he went to Sidney college in Cambridge, where he pursued the plan Mr. Noble had given him, and went through the classics, as well as all our English poets, with great advantage. Of these last, Spenser's "Fairy Queen" and Brown's "Britannia's Pastorals" are said to have given him the greatest delight. He had, however, unfortunately contracted a habit of desultory reading, and had no relish for academical studies. His temper could not brook restraint; and his tutor, he thought, treated him with great rigour. A quarrel ensued; and, to avoid the scandal of expulsion, with which he was threatened, he took his name out of the college book, and went to London. Even now his friends would have forgiven him, and procured his readmission; but the pleasures of the town, the desire of being known, and his romantic expectations of meeting with some generous patron to reward his merit, rendered him deaf to all advice. He led a pleasurable life, frequented Button's, and became acquainted with some of the most eminent wits of the time. As he had no fortune, nor any means of subsistence, but what arose from the subscriptions for the poems he proposed to publish; and, as he wanted even common prudence to manage this pre

Chaufepie. Niceron, vol. VL-Perrault's " Les Hommes Illustres."

carious income, he was soon involved in the deepest distress and most deplorable wretchedness. In a poem, entitled "Effigies Authoris," addressed to lord Burlington, he describes himself as destitute of friends, of money; a prey to hunger; and passing his nights on a bench in St. James's park. In a private letter to a gentleman, he thus expressed himself: "Spare my blushes; I have not enjoyed the common necessaries of life these two days, and can hardly hold to subscribe myself," &c. Curll, the bookseller, finding some of his compositions well received, and going through several impressions, took him into his house; and, as Pope affirms in one of his letters, starved him to death. But this does not appear to be strictly true; and his death is more justly attributed to the small-pox, which carried him off in 1727, in his 21st year. His biographer says, that he had a surprising genius, and had raised hopes in all that knew him, that he would become one of the most eminent poets of the age; but such of his poems as we find in the collection published in 2 vols. 8vo, in 1728, would not in our days be thought calculated to support such high expectations.

PAUL OF BURGOS, a learned Jew, born in that city, in 1353, embraced Christianity, and entered the ecclesiastical profession after his wife's decease. He was appointed preceptor to John II. king of Castille; afterwards archdeacon of Trevigno, bishop of Carthagena, bishop of Burgos, and is said to have died patriarch of Aquileia, August 29, 1435, aged 82. He has left additions to Nicholas de Lyra's "Postills;" a treatise, entitled " Scrutinium Scripturarum," Mant. 1474, fol. reprinted several times; and other learned works, abounding, according to Dupin, in useful biblical criticism. His three sons were baptized with him, and recommended themselves by their merit. ALPHONSO was bishop of Burgos, and wrote an abridgment of the Spanish History, which is in the "Hispania illustrata," 4 vols. fol. GONSALVO, the second son, was bishop of Placentia; and ALVAREZ, the third, published a History of John II. king of Castille.'

PAUL, the DEACON, or PAULUS DIACONUS, so called because he had been a deacon of the church of Friuli," though some call him by his father's name Warnafridus, and others, from the profession he took up in his latter

1 Life prefixed to his Poems.

? Dupin.Moreri.-Dict. Hist.

years PAULUS MONACHUS, was originally a Lombard, born in the city of Friuli, in the eighth century, and educated in the court of the Lombard kings at Pavia. After Desiderius, the last king of the Lombards, was taken prisoner by Charlemagne, and carried to France, tired of the tumult of the public world, he retired from the busy scenes he had been engaged in, and became a monk in the famous monastery of Monte Casino, where he wrote his history of the Lombards, in six books, from their first origin down. to the reign of Luitprandus, who was their eighteenth king that reigned in Italy, and died in the year 743. He was an eye-witness of many of the transactions he relates; and as he was a Lombard, we may suppose him well informed of the affairs of his own nation, and had read the history of the Lombards, written in the same century in which they began to reign in Italy, by Secundus Tridentinus, originally a Lombard, but a native of the city of Trent, who flourished, according to Baronius, in the year 615; but his history is now lost. He often quotes his authority, and though he sometimes falls into trivial mistakes, about foreign affairs, and such as happened long before his time, as Grotius learnedly evinces, yet, in the transactions of his own nation, he is, generally speaking, very exact. He died in the year 799. His history was printed at Hamburgh in 1611, and is besides to be found in the eighteenth volume of Muratori's Rerum Italic. Scriptores.

1

PAUL of SAMOSATA, so named from the place of his birth, flourished in the third century, and was among the first who entertained the opinions since known by the name of Socinian, or Unitarian. In the year 260 he was chosen bishop of Antioch, and having begun to preach against the divinity of Jesus Christ, he was admonished, in a council assembled at Antioch, in the year 264: but, in another, held in the year 269 or 270, sentence of deposition was passed. To this he refused to submit, and was supported in his disobedience by Zenobia the consort of Odenatus. At length, when this queen was driven from Antioch, the emperor Aurelian expelled Paul in the year 272 or 273. It is not known what became of him afterwards; nor are any of his writings extant. His morals appear to have been as obnoxious as his doctrines. Dr. Lardner has endeavoured to defend both, yet it appears evident that he

1 Dupin. Moreri.

had the whole Christian world against him, and queer Zenobia only for him. His wealth, says Gibbon, was a sufficient evidence, of his guilt, since it was neither derived from the inheritance of his fathers, nor acquired by the arts of honest industry. His followers were for a considerable time called Paulianists, but have since been known by many other names, according to the shades of difference in their opinions. 1

1

PAUL DE VINCENT (ST.), a worthy ecclesiastic of the Romish church, was born April 24, 1576, and studied at Toulouse, where he was ordained a priest in 1600. On his return to Narbonne from Marseilles, his ship was taken by the Turks, and he remained for a considerable time in slavery, under three masters, the last of whom he converted. Returning at length to France, Louis XIII. made him abbot of St. Leonard de Chaulme, and he had afterwards the care of the parish church of Clichy, which he completely repaired and furnished at his own expence. Towards the end of 1609, he went to reside in the house of Emmanuel de Goudy, as tutor to his children, but does not appear to have remained here long. He then obtained the curacy of Châtillon-les-Dombes, which he kept only five months. Compelled by the solicitations of numberless persons of the highest distinction, to return to the Goudy family, he resigned himself wholly to his natural desire of relieving the poor and afflicted. Louis XIII. being made acquainted with his zeal, appointed him almonergeneral of the gallies, 1619; and the following year, St. Francis de Sales, because, as he says, he "knew not a worthier priest in the church," made him superintendant of the nuns of the visitation. On madame de Goudy's decease, M. Vincent retired to the college des Bon Enfans, of which he was principal, and which he never quitted, but to perform the office of a missionary. Some years after, he accepted the house de St. Lazare, though with great reluctance. His life was a continued series of good works, and it is scarcely to be conceived how one man could plan so many, still less, how he could execute them. Among these were missions in all parts of France, as well as in Italy, Scotland, Barbary, Madagascar, &c.; ecclesiastical conferences, at which the most eminent bishops of the kingdom were present; spiritual retirements, as they

1 Lardner.-Milner's Church Hist.-Gibbon's Hist.-Cave, vol. I.