Athen. Oxon. king Stephen, Henry II, Richard I, king John, Henry III, "Edward I, II, and III. The author had a place at court in "the reign of king James I, and feems to have taken all the "refinement a court could give him. It is faid, he had a "good vein in poetry; and it is certain, he has fhewn great "judgment in keeping it, as he did, from infecting his profe, "and destroying that fimplicity, which is a principal beauty in the ftile of an hiftorian. His narration is fmooth and clear, and carries every where an air of good fense and juft "eloquence; and his English is much more modern than "Milton's, though he lived before him. But mr. Milton "chose to write, if the expreffion may be allowed, a hundred "years backwards; whereas it is particularly to be admired, show mr. Daniel could, fo long ago, exprefs himself with "the fame purity and grace, as our most fenfible writers "do now; though we flatter ourselves, that we have confi"derably improved the language." Mr. Wood informs us, that there was another Samuel Daniel, a mafter of arts, who publifhed, in the year 1642, a book intitled, "Archiepifcopal priority inftituted by Chrift " and another, if he is not mistaken, called, "The birth, life, "and death of the Jewish unction, But he does not pretend to know any more of him. DANIEL (GABRIEL) a very ingenious and learned Frenchman, was born at Roan, upon the 8th of February 1649; and, at eighteen years of age, admitted into the fociety of the jefuits. He read lectures upon polite literature, upon philosophy and theology, at feveral places, in the beginning of his life; but, afterwards dropping these fort of exercises, he affumed the author-character, and publifhed a great many books upon different fubjects. One of his earliest productions was his work, intitled, "Voyage du monde de Descartes, or, "A voyage to the world of Defcartes." This is a fatyrical confutation of the Cartefian philosophy, dressed under the up appearance of a romance: for the author tells us, in the view of this work prefixed to it, that, though his main point was to examine and difcufs the general fyftem of Descartes, yet he thought it neceffary to diverfify and enliven a subject naturally dry and melancholy, not only because it would be a great relief to the reader, but also because the method he had ufed would give him an opportunity of relating fome very extraordinary, and curious anecdotes in the hiftory of Cartehanifm. Two of our own countrymen have fpoken very highly of this work; and as their opinion is intirely ours, it ❝ had Chap. vii. Works, vol. v. § I. "had mixed true hiftory with falfe, fable with fact, too promifcuously; and none of them" he means, no general hiftory of France, written in the French language, "were "written in a tolerable ftile; in a ftile, that would not dif"gust a modern reader. Even Mercray's hiftory, the great "work as well as the abridgment, is, fays he, very badly "writ; and would not even be borne with, if it was not for "that air of fincerity and impartiality, which runs through the whole. Now father Daniel is happily free from all thefe faults. Inftead of tranfcribing from other authors, he has recurred to the original records, from which they "ought all to have drawn their materials. He has punctually "cited the authors on whom he depends; and has carefully 66 diftinguished in each, what is credible from what is not fo: "that is, as often as, by reason of the distance of time and "other circumstances, it was in his power to do it. And, ર laftly, his ftile is pure, perfpicuous, and abounding with "fuch ornaments, as are natural in history, and cannot fail "to engage every reader of tafte. Not that father Daniel is "abfolutely free from imperfections: for there are, fays rr mr. Le Clerc, three things in particular to be observed in his hiftory, which will not give entire fatisfaction to fo"reigners, and especially to proteftants. In the first place, " he has erred greatly in the orthographical part, where he "had occafion to use the names of foreign perfons and towns, as English, German, Flemish, Italian, &c. which, either through an ignorance of thofe languages in himfelf, or by "following the authority of thofe who did not understand "them, he has often mifpelt and mifufed. But these, says "he, are trifles, and may easily be corrected in a future "edition, Secondly, he has written with fome partiality "against the proteftants, whom he constantly calls hereticks; "and has acted a little unfairly, wherever he treats of matters ❝which concern them, or the leaders of their party. And, thirdly, he appears to have omitted, at leaft to have "touched in a very curfory manner, fome very remarkable facts, which an impartial historian would have drawn out "at length, and copiously enlarged upon. But notwith"ftanding all this, mr. Le Clerc owns, that father Daniel's * history has all the good qualities mentioned above; and the judicious may read it with advantage and with pleasure." For, as he goes on to obferve, every writer of hiftory, being of fome fect or party, muft of courfe hold certain principles, which will warp his understanding, and biafs his judgment, ແ at at least a little, in the relations of fome particular facts: and if this be an imperfection, father Daniel has it but in common with all the hiftorians, that ever were, or ever will be. But then this follows undeniably, that all hiftorians ought to be read, not only with caution, but even with some degree of fufpicion which yet may be done, and none of the benefits loft, which arise from the reading of hiftory. Father Daniel afterwards published at Paris, in 1722, in feven volumes 4to, a fecond edition of his hiftory, revised, corrected, augmented, and enriched with several authentic medals: and a very pompous edition of it has been lately published, with a continuation, but in the way of annals only, from the death of Henry IV, in 1610, where father Daniel ftopped, to the end of Lewis XIV th's reign. He was the author of fome other works: of an answer to the provincial letters, intitled, 1. " Dialogues between Cle❝ ander and Eudoxus." This book, in less than two years, run through twelve editions: it was tranflated into Latin by father Juvenci; and afterwards into Italian, English, and Spanish. 2." Two letters of m. Abbot to Eudoxus," by way of remarks upon the New apology for the provincial letters. 3. "Ten letters to father Alexander," where he draws a parallel between the doctrine of the Thomifts and the Jefuits upon the subjects of probability and grace. 4. "The "fyftem of Lewis de Leon concerning our bleffed Saviour's "laft paffover, with a differtation and notes upon the fenti"ments and practice of the Quarto-decimans." 5. A defence of St. Auguftin against a book fuppofed to be written by Lauroi. 6. Four letters, upon the argument of the book, intitled, "A defence of St. Auguftin." 7. A theological tract, touching the efficacy of grace," in two volumes. In the fecond volume, he anfwers Serry's book, intitled, "Schola Thomiftica vindicata; a remonftrance to the lord "archbishop of Rheims, occafioned by his order, published "the 15th of July 1697." This performance of father Daniel's was often printed, and also tranflated by Juvenci into Latin. He published fome other smaller works, which were all collected and printed in three volumes in 4to. 66 Father Daniel was fuperior of the maifon profeffe of the Jefuits at Paris, and died there on the 23d of June 1728. By his death, the Jefuits loft one of the greatest ornaments their order ever had, DAN Ibid. DANTE, an eminent Italian poet, was defcended from an ancient family, and born at Florence upon the 27th of Bayle's dict. May 1265. He difcovered an early inclination and genius for poetry; and as he fell in love very early in his youth, confecrated the firft labours of his mufe to Venus. Afterwards he undertook a more serious work, which he begun in Latin, and finished in Italian verfe. He excelled greatly in Tufcan poetry; and, as mr. Bayle fays, it would have been happy for him, had he never meddled with any thing elfe. But he was ambitious; and having attained fome of the most confiderable posts in the commonwealth, he was crushed by the ruins of the faction which he embraced. The city of Florence being divided into two factions, was become fo tumultuous, that pope Boniface VIII. fent Charles de Valois thither in the year 1301, to re-establish the public tranquillity. Dante's faction being the weakeft, it was expelled the city, and himself and other leaders fent into banishment. He did not bear this misfortune with conftancy: his refentment was exceffive. In the firft place, he took the strongest vengeance in his power againft Charles de Valois, who was brother to Philip the Fair of France, by railing at the kings of France, and fatyrizing them in his writings for the meanness of their extraction.. Thus he feigns, but very ridiculously, that Hugh Capet, the first of the third race of the kings of France, was the fon of a butcher ; and makes him own himself to be the root of a plant, which Purgatory. has done great mischief to Chriftendom. In the next Place, he canto 20. did all he could to expose his country to a bloody war, on ac Ibid. ban. lib.xxi. P. 771. count of the injuftices, which he thought he fuffered from it. He incited Can Della Scala, prince of Verona, to make war on the Florentines; and, as Volaterranus expreffes himself, Comm. Ur-led the emperor to the fiege of Florence. He took great pains to be recalled; but all his efforts were vain. He died in his exile at Ravenna, in the month of July 1321, when he was juft entered into his 57th year; and it is thought, that grief was the cause of his death. He enjoyed an honourable retreat in the court of Guy Polentano, prince of Ravenna; and when the republic of Venice prepared to make war on that prince, he was fent by him to Venice to negociate a peace there, The Venetians behaved arrogantly : they would neither receive Dante, nor hear him; and this contemptuous treatment is supposed to have touched him fo fenfibly, as to have occafioned the illness, upon his return to Volaterr, Ravenna, of which he died. It is remarkable, that a little Ibid, be |