Thus far

Stevens's "charist," which were loft among other things. addit. vols. Wood: but another author mentions, 9. A Sermon on the Funeral of Queen Mary, on Ecclefiaftes iv. 2.

to the Monafticon,

edit. 1722.

vol. i. p.290. FEITHIUS (EVERARD), a learned German, was

born at Elburg, in the province of Guelderland, in the 17th century. He ftudied philofophy for fome time, and afterwards applied himself intirely to polite literature, in which he made a confiderable progrefs. He was quite a master of the Greek tongue, and even of the Hebrew: of which the profeffors of the Proteftant univerfity of Bearn, gave him a large teftimonial. Being returned to his own country, from which he had been long abfent, he was under great confternation, on account of the expedition of the Spaniards commanded by Spinola. This determined him to leave his native country; and he went to fettle in France, where he taught the Greek tongue, and was honoured with the friendship of Cafaubon, of meffieurs du Puy, and of the prefident Thuanus. When he was walking one day at Rochelle attended by a fervant, he was defired to enter into the house of a citizen: and after that day, it could never be discovered what became of him, notwithstanding all the ftricteft enquiries of the magiftrates. He was but young, at the time of this most myfterious disappearing," which, fays Mr. Bayle, is to be "lamented for if he had lived to grow old, he would have "wonderfully explained moft of the fubjects relating to po"lite letters." This judgment is grounded upon his manuscript works, one of which was published at Leyden in the year 1677, by Henry Bruman, principal of the college at Swol, and the author's grand-nephew. It is a book in 12mo. intitled, Antiquitatum Homericarum libri quatuor, is very learned, and abounds with curious and inftructive obfervations. There are other works of his in being, as, De Athenienfium Republica, De Antiquitatibus Atticis, &c. which the editor promised to collect and publifh; but we do not know that it was done.

FELIBIEN (ANDREW), Councellor and hiftoriographer to the king of France, was born at Chartres, in the year 1619. He finished his firft ftudies there at the age of fourteen years, and then was fent to Paris to improve himself in the fciences, and in the management of affairs: but his inclination foon made him devote himself intirely to the Mufes, and he gained a great reputation by his knowledge, in the fine arts. The marquis de Fontenay-Mareuil, being chosen for

the

the fecond time embaffador extraordinary to the court of Rome, in 1647, monfieur Felibien was made fecretary to the embaffy, and perfectly anfwered the hopes, which that minifter had conceived of him. During his ftay at Rome, his fondness for the liberal arts made him spend all the time he could fpare, in vifiting those who excelled in them; and especially the celebrated Pouffin, by whofe conversations he learned to understand all that is most beautiful in ftatues and pictures and it was according to the exalted notions, he then formed to himself of the excellency and perfection of painting, that he wrote fince thofe valuable works, which eftablished his reputation.

On his return from Italy, he went to Chartres; and, as he defigned to fettle himself, he married a lady of confiderable family. His friends introduced him afterwards to monfieur Fouquet, who would have done something for him, had he not foon after loft the king's favour: but monfieur Colbert, who loved the arts and sciences, did not fuffer him to be ufelefs. After he had defired him to make fome draughts for his majefty, in order to engage him to compleat the works he had begun, he procured him a commiffion of hiftoriographer to the king, fuperintendant of his buildings, and of the arts and manufactures in France: this commiffion was delivered to him upon the 10th of March, 1666. The royal academy of Architecture having been established in the year 1671, he was made fecretary to it. The king made him afterwards keeper of his cabinet of antiques, and gave him an apartment in the palace of Brion. He was alfo one of the firft members of the academy of Infcriptions and Medals. He became afterwards deputy comptroller general of the bridges and dykes of the kingdom. He died upon the 11th of June, 1695, aged 76; and left five children.

2.

His chief works are, 1. Entretiens fur les Vies et fur les Ouvrages des plus excellens Peintres anciens & modernes : that is, "Dialogues concerning the Lives and Works of the "moft excellent Painters, both ancient and modern." Les Principes de l' Architecture, de la Sculpture, & de la Peinture, avec un Dictionaire des termes propres de ces Arts: that is, "The Principles of Architecture, Sculpture, and "Painting, with a Dictionary of proper words relating to "those arts." 3. De l' Origine de la Peinture, avec plufieurs pieces detachées: that is, “Of the Origin of Paint❝ing, with feveral other pieces." 4. Several Defcriptions, as that of Versailles, of feveral entertainments given by the king, and of several pictures, collected into one volume

Siecle de

in 12mo. 5. The Conferences of the Royal Academy of Painting, in one volume in 4to. 6. The Defcription of the Abbey de la Trappe, in 12mo. He also left fome tranflations: viz." An Account of what paffed in Spain, when "the Count Duke of Olivares fell under the King's Difpleasure," tranflated out of Italian; "The Caftle of the "Soul," written by St. Terefa, tranflated from the Spanish; "The Life of Pope Pius the Vth," tranflated from the Italian.

In all that he has written, there appears a found judgment, an exquifite tafte, a great clearness and politeness: but his "Dialogues upon the lives of the Painters," is the work which has done him the greatest honour. It is elegant and profound; and the most excellent taste is every where fhewn throughout the whole. But he fays too little in too many words, and is abfolutely without method. This is Voltaire's criticism upon him; who informs us also, that he was the firft, who gave Lewis the XIV. the fur-name of Louis XIV, GREAT, in the infcriptions in the Hotel-de-Ville. It must be remembered alfo, that Felibien was a man of great virtues, not ambitious, or greedy of wealth, but moderate in his defires and contented. He was a man of probity, of honour, of piety. Though he was naturally grave and serious, and of a hafty, and fomewhat fevere temper, yet his converfation was always agreable, and even merry, when there was occafion for it. He was evermore an advocate for truth; and he used to encourage himself in it, by this motto, which he caused to be engraved on his feal, Bene facere et vera dicere, that is, "To do good and speak the truth.” He lived in a conftant practice of these two duties, which form the character of an honeft man and a perfect chriftian.

Oftav. fect, ii.

FELIX (MINUTIUS), a father of the primitive church, who flourished in the beginning of the third century, about the year 220. He was an African by birth, which we collect from his ftile, as well as from the ufe which he made of Tertullian's writings; and by profeffion a lawyer, as we learn not only from Lactantius and Jerome, who have expressly afferted it, but also from himself. Ad vindemiam feriæ judiciariam curam relaxaverant; the vacation of the vintage-time bad releafed him, he says, from the business of the bar: where we perceive, that he was not only a lawyer, but that he practiced at the bar, after he became a convert to chriftianity. He has written a very elegant dialogue in defence of the Christian Religion, intitled Octavius, from the name of his Chriftian

Christian speaker, who difputes with Cæcilius, while himfelf fuftains the part of a moderator. Cæcilius opens the conference, and urges all the topics he could think of, in defence of Paganism and against Christianity: Minutius Felix makes fome observations upon what Cæcilius had advanced; after which, Octavius enters upon a particular refutation of the Pagan, and concludes with fupporting and establishing the Chriftian religion: the result of all which is, that Cæcilius becomes a convert. The dialogue is fprightly, elegant, and instructive; and fhews us, as Lactantius fays, what an admirable defender of the truth Minutius Felix would have been, had he applied himself intirely to the study of it. We will quote his words. Minutius Felix non ignobilis inter caufidicos loci fuit. Hujus liber, cui Octavio titulus eft, declarat, quam idoneus veritatis affertor effe potuiffet, fi fe totum ad id ftudium contuliffet. We may obferve by the way, that fomething like this has been faid of Lactantius himself; and that, as elegant a writer as he is, he has been ranked by both ancients and moderns among the number of those, who have undertaken to defend chriftianity, before they understood it.

Lib. v. f. 1.

This dialogue of Minutius Felix paffed a long time for the eighth book of Arnobius's piece, adverfus gentes: for being found with the other feven, in an ancient manuscript of the Vatican, it was printed four times under his name, before any body fufpected its true author. At length Balduinus, a celebrated lawyer, caused it to be printed feparately at Heidelberg, in the year 1560, and prefixed to it a very learned differtation of his own, in which he detected the common error, and ascertained the book to it's genuine author: although Urfinus, whether he had not feen Balduinus's edition, or whether he envied him the honour of the discovery, printed it at Rome thirty years after, at the end of Arnobius, works again. However, it has fince been confidered by the critics, as the work of Minutius Felix, and accordingly printed feparately from Arnobius: as it is in the beft cdition that was given of it at Cambridge, by Dr. Davis, in the year 1712, to which the differtation of Balduin is prefixed.

St. Jerome tells us, that in his time another book, intitled, De Script. De fato, vel contra Mathematicos, went about under the namec. lxviii. of Minutius Felix; and that, though it was well written, yet from the diffimilarity of its ftile with that of the Octavius, he concluded it to be fpurious.

FELL (Dr. JoHN), an eminently learned and pious divine, was the fon of Dr. Samuel Fell, dean of Chrift-church

in Oxford, and born at Longworth in Berkshire, on the 23d of June, 1625. He was educated moftly at the free-school of Thame in Oxfordshire; and in 1636, when he was only eleven years of age, admitted ftudent of Chrift-church in Oxford. In October 1640, he took the degree of bachelor of arts, and that of master in June 1643; about which time he was in arms for king Charles I. within the garrison of Oxford, and afterwards became an enfign. In 1648, he was turned out of his place by the parliamentarian visitors, being then in holy orders; and from that time till the restoration of Charles II. lived in a retired and ftudious condi-, tion, partly in the lodgings of the famous physician Willis, who was his brother-in-law, and partly in his own house over against Merton-college, wherein he and others kept up the devotions and difcipline of the church of England.

After the Restoration he was made prebendary of Chichefter, and canon of Christ-church, into which last he was inftalled on the 27th of July, 1660; and on the 30th of November following, he was made dean of the faid church, being then doctor of divinity, and one of his majesty's chaplains in ordinary. As foon as he was fixed in that eminent ftation, he earnestly applied himself to purge the college of all remains of hypocrify and nonfenfe, which had every where prevailed in the late times of confufion, and to improve it in all forts of learning as well as true religion: laying those foundations, that have rendered it so famous to pofterity, and will continue to make it ever flourish. Nor was he more diligent in reftoring its difcipline, than in adorning it with magnificent buildings, towards which he contributed very great fums. Amongst other things, he built the ftately tower over the principal gate of the college; into which, in 1683, he caused to be removed out of the fteeple in the cathedral the bell, called "Great Tom of Chrift-church," faid to have been brought thither with the other bells from Ofeney-abbey. He took care to have it recaft with additional metal, fo that it is now by far the biggest bell in England. Round it is this infcription: Magnus Thomas Cufius Oxonienfis, renatus April viii. MDCLXXX, regnante Carolo Secundo, Decano Johanne Oxon. Epifcopo, Subdecano Gulietao Jane S. S. Theol. Profeffore, Thefaurario Henrico Smith S. S. Theol. Profeffare, cura & arte Chriftopheri Hodfon. The dimenfions of it are as follow: the diameter feven feet one inch; from the crown to the brim five feet nine inches; thickness of the ftriking place fix inches; weight near 17000 lb. weight of the clapper 342 lb. Six

teen