is an anecdote related of her, which fets this modefty in a very strong light. It is cuftomary with the scholars in the northern parts of Europe, who vifit, when they travel, the learned in other countries, to carry with them a book, in which they defire such persons to write their names with some sentence or other. A learned German paid a vifit to madam Dacier, and requested her to write her name and fentence in his book. She feeing in it the names of the greatest scholars in Europe, told him, that the fhould be afhamed to put her name among thofe of so many illuftrious perfons; and that fuch prefumption would by no means become her. The gentleman infifting upon it, fhe was at laft prevailed upon; and taking her pen, wrote her name with this verfe of Sophocles, Γυναιξὶν ἡ σιγὴ φέρει κόσμον, that is « Silence is the "ornament of the female fex." So again, fhe was often follicited to publish a translation of fome books of scripture, with remarks upon them; but fhe always answered, that a woman ought to read, and meditate upon the fcriptures, "and regulate her conduct by them, and to keep filence, "agreeably to the command of St. Paul." We must not forget to obferve, that the academy of Ricovrati at Padua Memoires chofe her one of their body in the year 1684.

des Trevaux,

Janvier

1721.

DAILLÉ (JOHN), minister of the church of Paris, and one of the ableft advocates the proteftants ever had, was born at Chatelleraut upon the 6th of January, 1594: but Abrege de la carried foon after to Poitiers, where his father usually lived, Vie de monon account of the office which he bore of receiver of the fieur Daillé, confignations there. His father defigned him for business, P. 3. and proposed to leave him his office; but the prodigious inclination, which nature had given him for books, overruled that project, and he was fent, though not till he was eleven years of age, to S. Maixent in Poitou, to learn the firft rudiments of learning. He continued his ftudies at Poitiers, Ibid. p. 4. Chatelleraut, and Saumer; and, having finished his claffical learning in the last of those towns, he entered on logic at Poitiers, at the age of fixteen, and finifhed his courfe of philofophy at Saumur under the celebrated Duncan. He began his theological studies at Saumur in the year 1612; which, fays his fon, was indifputably one of the most lucky years in his whole life, because, in the October of it, he was admitted into the family of the illuftrious monfieur du Pleffis Mornay, who did him the honour to pitch upon him for a tutor to two of his grandfons. Here, though he discharged Ibid. p. 5,6.

the

Ibid. 7.

the truft he had undertaken very well, yet it is faid, that he received more inftruction from the grandfather, than he communicated to the grandfons. Mornay was extremely pleased with him, frequently read with him, and concealed from him nothing of whatever he knew so that some have been ready to impute the great figure mr. Daillé afterwards made, to the lectures he had listened to at the feet of this Gamaliel; and it is but reasonable to fuppofe, that they contributed not a little to it.

:

Mr. Daillé, having lived feven years with fo excellent a mafter, was now to travel with his two pupils. They fet out in the autumn of the year 1619, and went to Geneva; and from thence through Piedmont and Lombardy to Venice, Ibid. p. 9. where they spent the winter. During their abode in Italy, a melancholy affair happened, which perplexed mr. Daillé greatly. One of his pupils fell fick at Mantua; and he removed him with all speed to Padua, where thofe of the proteftant religion have a little more liberty. This young gentleman unfortunately died; and then the difficulty was, how to avoid the traverses of the inquifitors, and get him carried to France to the burial place of his ancestors. He thought at length, that the best way would be to fend him under the difguife of a bale of merchandize goods or a cargo of books; and in this manner his corps was conveyed to France, under the care of two of his fervants; not however without the neceflary fafe-conduct and paffports, which were procured Ibid. p. 10. for him from the republic by the celebrated father Paul. He continued to travel with his other pupil; and they faw Switzerland, Germany, Flanders, Holland, England; and returned to France towards the end of the year 1621. The fon relates, that he had often heard his father regret, those two years of travelling, which he reckoned as loft, because he could have spent them to better purpose in his closet; and, it feems, he would have regretted them ftill more, if he had not enjoyed the privilege at Venice of being familiarly acquainted with father Paul. "The only fruit, which he

faid he had reaped from that journey, was the acquain❝tance and converfation of father Paul.Mr. du Pleffis,

with whom that father correfponded by letters, had re ❝commended to him in a very particular manner both his

grandfons and their governor; fo that mr. Daillé was im"mediately admitted into his confidence, and there paffed "not a day but he visited him, and had fome hours dif❝ course with him. The good father even conceived fuch

an affection for mr. Daillé, that he used his utmost en"deavours with a French physician of our religion, and one " of his intimate friends, to prevail with him to stay at Ve- Ibid. p. 11. "nice." By the way, this circumftance of mr. Daille's life may furnish one argument among a thousand, to prove, that father Paul concealed, under the habit of a monk, a temper wholly devoted to protestantism and its profeffors.

Mr. Daillé was received minifter in the year 1623, and first exercised his office in the family of mr. du Pleffis Mornay but this did not laft long; for that lord fell fick a little after, and died in November the fame year, in the arms of the new paftor. Mr. Daillé spent the following year in digefting fome papers of his, which were afterwards published in two volumes, under the title of Memoirs. In 1625, he was appointed minister of the church of Saumur; and the year after removed to that of Paris. Here he spent the rest of his life, and diffused great light over the whole body, as well by his fermons, as by his books of controverfy. In the year 1628, he wrote his celebrated book, "De l'ufage des peres,

Ibid. p. 17.

or, Of the use of the fathers;" but, on account of some troubles, which feemed to be coming upon the proteftants in France, it was not published till the year 1631. Mr. Bayle has pronounced this work a mafter-piece; and does not know, whether it should not be esteemed Mr. Daillé's mafter-piece. "It is, fays he, a very ftrong chain of arguments, which form a moral demonftration against those, "who would have religious difputes decided by the autho"rity of the fathers;" and therefore very properly levelled Bayle's dict. against the papists, who, in their attempts to convert the proteftants, have always urged antiquity, and the general confent of all the fathers of the firft ages of christianity. Daillé's epif But as the epifcopal party in England have accustomed them- dedicat. felves, very impolitickly as well as improperly, in our humble opinion, to claim antiquity on their fide, in their disputes with the Romanifts, it has happened, that mr. Daillé's book, excellent as it is, has generally given offence to the churchmen here. It has even been written against with great feverity by fome, merely because it tends to take down the authority of the fathers; as if the cause of proteftantifm was to rife or fall, according as the fathers were more or less in credit. "Opinions, fays a certain author, are pretty much "divided concerning this work De ufu patrum. The pref"byterians efteem it highly; but thofe of the church of "England make no great account of it. Speaking one day

❝ of

Colomies
Biblioth.

"of this book to a learned man, who is now in epifcopal "orders, he told me, that in his opinion it was the leaft of "mr. Daillé's works; and that he wondered, how having "read the fathers pretty much, he should make use of that "reading, to darken the merit of the primitive church."

In the mean time there are now, and there always have Choif. p. 2. been, from the first publication of this book, good scholars and good churchmen too in England, who knew and acknowledged its high worth and merit and fo early as the year 1651, an English translation of it was published by the learned mr. Thomas Smith, B. D. Fellow of Christ's college in Cambridge. An advertisement is prefixed to it, which we transcribe a paffage or two from, because such a tranfcript will give the reader a juster notion of mr. Daille's book, and of the reception it met with among the difcerning part of mankind, than any thing we can fay." The trans"lation of this tract, fays mr. Smith, hath been often at"tempted, and oftener defired by many noble perfonages "of this and other nations; among others by Sir Lucius "Cary late lord viscount Falkland, who, with his dear "friend mr. Chillingworth, made very much ufe of it in all "their writings against the Romanists. But the papers of "that learned nobleman, wherein this tranflation was half "finished, were long fince involved in the common loss. "Thofe few, which have efcaped it and the prefs, make a "very honourable mention of this monfieur, whofe acquain"tance, the faid lord was wont to fay, was worth a voyage Falkland's to Paris. In page 202 of his reply, he hath thefe words: difcourfe of "This obfervation of mine hath been confirmed by coniniblity, fideration of what hath been fo temperately, learnedly, and fwer to it, judiciously written by monfieur Daillé, our proteftant Perand his lord-❝ron.-I fhall add but one lord's teftimony more, namely, fhip's reply, the lord George Digby's, in his late letters concerning re"ligion, in these words, p. 27, 28, The reasons prevalent "with me, whereon an enquiring and judicious perfon "fhould be obliged to rely and acquiefce, are so amply and "fo learnedly fet down by monfieur Daillé in his Employ "des Peres, that I think little, which is material and weigh"ty, can be faid on this fubject, that his rare and piercing "obfervation hath not anticipated. And for myself, I must ❝ingenuously profefs, that it was the reading of this rational "book, which first convinced me, that my ftudy in the "French language was not ill employed; which hath alfo "enabled me to commend this to the world, as faithfully

with an an

&c. Lond. 1651.

"tranf

tranflated by a judicious hand." It is neceffary to remember, that mr. Mettayer, who was minister of St. Quintin, published a Latin tranflation of this work; which translation was revised, and augmented here and there with new observations, by mr. Daillé himself. It was printed at Geneva in Abrege, &c. the year 1656.

P. 17.

In the year 1633, mr. Daillé published another work of general concern, intitled, "L'Apologie de nos Eglifes, or, "An apology for the reformed churches ;" in which he vindicates, with much learning and great force of argument, their feparation from the church of Rome, from the imputation of fchifm, which was ufually brought against them. This work was also tranflated into English by mr. Smith, in Ibid. p. 21. the year 1653; as it was into Latin the fame year by mr. Daillé himself, and printed at Amfterdam in 8vo. It was greatly complained of by the clergy of France, as foon as it was published, and fome were employed to write against it. Mr. Daillé wrote two or three little pieces in defence of it, which were afterwards printed with it in the Latin edition. Ibid. p. 22, We need not enumerate the feveral works of mr. Daillé; 23, 24. for being chiefly controverfial, and written on particular occafions, they are now of very little ufe. He wrote a great deal; which will not be wondered at, when it is confidered, that he lived long, was very laborious, enjoyed a good state of health, and was not burthened with a large family. Ibid. p. 66. He was endued with the qualifications of a writer in a moft 67. eminent degree; and had this fingular advantage, that his underftanding was not impaired with age for it is observable, that there is no lefs ftrength and fire in his two volumes De objecto cultus religiofi, the firft of which was published when he was feventy years old, than in any of his earlier works.

He affifted at the national fynod, which was held at Alenfon in the year 1737; and his authority and advice contributed much to quiet the difputes, which were then warmly agitated among the proteftants concerning univerfal grace. Ibid. p. 26. He declared ftrenuously for univerfal grace; and afterwards published at Amfterdam, in the year 1655, a Latin work against Frederick Spanheim, the divinity-profeffor at Leyden, intitled, "An apology for the fynods of Alenfon and Cha"renton." This work rekindled the war among the proteftant divines; yet mr. Daillé endeavoured to clear himself, by faying, that his book had been published without his knowledge. Nevertheless, he answered the celebrated Sa

muel