LYNDESAY, SIR D., (seeLINDSAY.)
LYTE, HENRY FRANCIS (1793-1847).—Hymn-writer,b.at Ednam, near Kelso, of an ancient Somersetshire family, anded.at Trinity Coll., Dublin, took orders, and was incumbent of Lower Brixham, Devonshire. Hepub.Poems: chiefly religious(1833). He is chiefly remembered for his hymns, one of which,Abide with Me, is universally known and loved.
LYTTELTON, GEORGE, 1ST LORD LYTTELTON (1709-1773).—Poet,s.of Sir Thomas L., of Hagley, Worcestershire,ed.at Eton and Oxf., was the patron of many literary men, including Thomson and Mallet, and was himself a somewhat voluminous author. Among his works areLetters from a Persian in England to his friend in Ispahan(1735), a treatiseOn the Conversion of St. Paul(1746),Dialogues of the Dead(1760), which had great popularity, and aHistory of the Reign of Henry II., well-informed, careful, and impartial, but tedious. He is chiefly remembered by hisMonodyon the death of his wife. The stanza inThe Castle of Indolencein which Thomson is playfully described (canto 1, st. lxviii.), is by L., who is himself referred to in lxv. He took some part in public affairs, and was Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1756.
LYTTON, EDWARD GEORGE EARLE LYTTON-BULWER, 1ST LORD (1803-1873).—Novelist and statesman, third son of General Earle Bulwer of Heydon and Dalling, Norfolk, and of Elizabeth Lytton, heiress of Knebworth, Herts, wasb.in London, anded.privately and at Camb. He began to write when still a boy, andpub., in 1820,Ismael and other Poems. His marriage in 1825 to Rosina Wheeler, an Irish beauty, caused a quarrel with his mother, and the loss of his income, and thus incidentally gave the impulse to his marvellous literary activity. The marriage proved an unhappy one, and was terminated by a separation in 1836. During its continuance, however, his life was a busy and productive one, its literary results includingFalkland(1827),Pelham(1828),Paul Clifford(1830),Eugene Aram(1832),The Pilgrims of the Rhine,Last Days of Pompeii,Rienzi(1835), besidesEngland and the English,Athens its Rise and Fall, and innumerable tales, essays, and articles in various reviews and magazines, including theNew Monthly, of which he became ed. in 1831. In the same year he entered Parliament as a Liberal, but gradually gravitated towards Conservatism, and held office in the second government of Lord Derby as Colonial Sec. 1858-59. As a politician he devoted himself largely to questions affecting authors, such as copyright and the removal of taxes upon literature. He continued his literary labours with almost unabated energy until the end of his life, his works later than those already mentioned including theLast of the Barons(1843),Harold(1848), the famous triad ofThe Caxtons(1850),My Novel(1853), andWhat will he do with it?(1859); and his studies in the supernatural,Zanoni(1842), andA Strange Story(1862). Later still wereThe Coming Race(1870) andKenelm Chillingly(1873). To the drama he contributed three plays which still enjoy popularity,The Lady of Lyons,Richelieu, both (1838), andMoney(1840). In poetry he was less successful.The New Timon, a satire, is the best remembered, largely, however, owing to the reply by Tennyson which it brought down upon the author, who had attacked him. In his works, numbering over 60, L. showed an amazing versatility, both in subject and treatment, but they have not, with perhaps the exception of the Caxton series, kept their original popularity. Their faults are artificiality, and forced brilliancy, and as a rule they rather dazzle by their cleverness than touch by their truth to nature. L. was raised to the peerage in 1866.
Life, Letters, etc., of Lord Lytton by his son, 2 vols., comes down to 1832 only. Political Memoir prefaced toSpeeches(2 vols., 1874).
LYTTON, EDWARD ROBERT BULWER, 1ST EARL OF LYTTON (1831-1891).—Poet and statesman,s.of the above, wased.at Harrow and Bonn, and thereafter was private sec. to his uncle,Sir H. Bulwer, afterwards Lord Dalling and Bulwer (q.v.), at Washington and Florence. Subsequently he held various diplomatic appointments at other European capitals. In 1873 he succeeded hisf.in the title, and in 1876 became Viceroy of India. He wascr.an Earl on his retirement in 1880, and was in 1887 appointed Ambassador at Paris, where hed.in 1891. He valued himself much more as a poet than as a man of affairs; but, though he had in a considerable degree some of the qualities of a poet, he never quite succeeded in commanding the recognition of either the public or the critics. His writings, usually appearing under the pseudonym of "Owen Meredith," includeClytemnestra(1855),The Wanderer(1857),Lucile(1860),Chronicles and Characters(1868),Orval, or the Fool of Time(1869),Fables in Song(1874), andKing Poppy(1892). As Viceroy of India he introduced important reforms, and his dispatches were remarkable for their fine literary form.
MACAULAY, MRS. CATHERINE (SAWBRIDGE) (1731-1791).—Dau.of a landed proprietor of Kent, was an advocate of republicanism, and a sympathiser with the French Revolution. She wrote aHistory of England from the Accession of James I. to the Elevation of the House of Hanover(8 vols., 1763-83), which had great popularity in its day, some critics,e.g.Horace Walpole, placing it above Hume.Though a work of no real research or authority, it is in the main well written.
MACAULAY, THOMAS BABINGTON, LORD (1800-1859).—Historian, essayist, and statesman,s.of Zachary M., a wealthy merchant, and one of the leaders of the anti-slavery party, wasb.at Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, anded.at a private school and at Trinity Coll., Camb., of which he became a Fellow in 1824, and where, though he gained distinction as a classical scholar and debater, he did not take a high degree, owing to his weakness in mathematics. About the time of his leaving the Univ. his prospects were entirely changed by the failure of his father's firm. He accordingly read law, and in 1826 was called to the Bar, which led to his appointment two years later as a Commissioner in Bankruptcy. He had by this time made his first appearance in print, inKnight's Quarterly Magazine, and in 1825 he formed the connection with theEdinburgh Reviewwhich redounded so greatly to the fame of both. His first contribution was the famous essay on Milton, which, although he afterwards said of it that "it contained scarcely a paragraph which his matured judgment approved," took the reading public by storm, and at once gave him access to the first society in London, in which his extraordinary conversational powers enabled him to take a leading place. He now began to turn his mind towards public life, and by favour of Lord Lansdowne sat in the House of Commons for his family borough of Calne. Entering the House in 1830 in the thick of the Reform struggle, M. at once leaped into a foremost place as a debater, and after the passage of the Reform Bill sat as one of the two members for the new borough of Leeds, and held office as Sec. to the Board of Control. The acquaintance with Indian affairs which he thus gained led to his appointment as a member of the Supreme Council of India, whither he went in 1834. Here his chief work was the codification of the criminal law, which he carried out with great ability, and by which he wrote his name on the history of the empire. By the regard for the rights of the natives which he showed, he incurred much ill-will in interested quarters. For this he consoled himself with the pleasures of literature, which gradually assumed the preponderance in his mind over political ambitions. In 1838 he returned to England. The next year he beganThe History of England, but for some time to come his energies were still divided between this task, the demands of theEdinburgh Review, and politics. He was elected for Edin., for which he sat until 1847, when he was thrown out on the Maynooth question, and from 1839-41 was Sec. for War. TheLays of Ancient Romewerepub.in 1842, and a collection of his essays inThe Edinburghthe following year. In 1846 he joined the government of Lord John Russell as Paymaster-General, an office with light duties, his retirement from which, however, followed the loss of his seat in the next year. He was now finally set free for his great work, which became thenceforth the leading interest of his life. The first and second vols. appeared in 1848, and were received with extraordinary applause. In 1852 he was offered, but declined, a seat in the coalition government of Lord Aberdeen, accepting, however, the seat in Parliament which Edin., now repentant, gave himunsolicited. His health began about this time to show symptoms of failure, and he spoke in the House only once or twice. In 1855 the third and fourth vols. of theHistorycame out, and meeting with a success both at home and in America unprecedented in the case of an historical work, were translated into various foreign languages. In 1857 M. was raised to the Peerage, a distinction which he appreciated and enjoyed. His last years were spent at Holly Lodge, Kensington, in comparative retirement, and there hed.on December 28, 1859. Though neverm., M. was a man of the warmest family affections. Outside of his family he was a steady friend and a generous opponent, disinterested and honourable in his public life. Possessed of an astonishing memory, knowledge of vast extent, and an unfailing flow of ready and effective speech, he shone alike as a parliamentary orator and a conversationalist. In his writings he spared no pains in the collection and arrangement of his materials, and he was incapable of deliberate unfairness. Nevertheless, his mind was strongly cast in the mould of the orator and the pleader: and the vivid contrasts, antitheses, and even paradoxes which were his natural forms of expression do not always tend to secure a judicial view of the matter in hand. Consequently he has been accused by some critics of party-spirit, inaccuracy, and prejudice. He has not often, however, been found mistaken on any important matter of fact, and in what he avowedly set himself to do, namely, to give a living picture of the period which he dealt with, he has been triumphantly successful. Unfortunately, strength and life failed before his great design was completed. He is probably most widely known by hisEssays, which retain an extraordinary popularity.
Lifeby his nephew, Sir G.O. Trevelyan.Seealso J.C. Monson'sLife(English Men of Letters).
MACCARTHY, DENIS FLORENCE (1817-1882).—Poet,b.at Dublin, anded.at Maynooth with a view to the priesthood, devoted himself, however, to literature, and contributed verses toThe Nation. Among his other writings areBallads, Poems, and Lyrics(1850),The Bell Founder(1857), andUnder-Glimpses. He also ed. a collection of Irish lyrics, translated Calderon, and wroteShelley's Early Life(1872).
M'COSH, JAMES (1811-1894).—Philosophical writer,s.of an Ayrshire farmer, was a minister first of the Church of Scotland, and afterwards of the Free Church. From 1851-68 he was Prof. of Logic at Queen's Coll., Belfast, and thereafter Pres. of Princeton Coll., New Jersey. He wrote several works on philosophy, includingMethod of the Divine Government(1850),Intuitions of the Mind inductively investigated(1860),Laws of Discursive Thought(1870),Scottish Philosophy(1874), andPsychology(1886).
M'CRIE, THOMAS (1772-1835).—Biographer and ecclesiastical historian,b.at Duns, anded.at the Univ. of Edin., became the leading minister of one of the Dissenting churches of Scotland. HisLife of Knox(1813) ranks high among biographies for the ability and learning which it displays, and was the means of vindicating the great Reformer from a cloud of prejudice and misunderstanding in which he had been enveloped. It was followed by aLife of AndrewMelville(1819), Knox's successor as the leader of the Reformers in Scotland, also a work of great merit. M'C. alsopub.histories of the Reformation in Italy and Spain. He received the degree of D.D. in 1813.
MACDONALD, GEORGE (1824-1905).—Poet and novelist,s.of a farmer, wasb.at Huntly, Aberdeenshire, anded.at the Univ. of Aberdeen, and at the Independent Coll., Highbury. He became minister of a congregation at Arundel, but after a few years retired, on account partly of theological considerations, partly of a threatened, breakdown of health. He then took to literature, andpub.his first book,Within and Without(1856), a dramatic poem,Poemsfollowed in 1857, andPhantasies, a Faerie Romance, in 1858. He then turned to fiction, and produced numerous novels, of whichDavid Elginbrod(1862),Alec Forbes(1865),Robert Falconer(1868),The Marquis of Lossie(1877), andSir Gibbie(1879), are perhaps the best. He also wrote stories for children of great charm and originality, includingThe Princess and the Goblin,At the Back of the North Wind, andRanald Bannerman's Boyhood. As a novelist he had considerable narrative and dramatic power, humour, tenderness, a genial view of life and character, tinged with mysticism, and within his limits was a true poet. On retiring from the ministry he attached himself to the Church of England, but frequently preached as a layman, never accepting any remuneration for his sermons.
MACKAY, CHARLES (1814-1889).—Poet and journalist,s.of a naval officer, wasb.at Perth, anded.at the Royal Caledonian Asylum, London, and at Brussels, but much of his early life was spent in France. Coming to London in 1834, he engaged in journalism,pub.Songs and Poems(1834), wrote aHistory of London,Popular Delusions, and a romance,Longbeard. His fame, however, chiefly rests upon his songs, some of which, includingCheer, Boys, Cheer, were in 1846 set to music by Henry Russell, and had an astonishing popularity. In 1852 he became ed. of theIllustrated London News, in the musical supplement to which other songs by him were set to old English music by Sir H.R. Bishop. M. acted asTimescorrespondent during the American Civil War, and in that capacity discovered and disclosed the Fenian conspiracy. He had the degree of LL.D. from Glasgow in 1846.
MACKENZIE, SIR GEORGE (1636-1691).—Lawyer and miscellaneous writer,s.of Sir Simon M., of Lochslin, a brother of the Earl of Seaforth, wased.at St. Andrews, Aberdeen, and Bourges, called to the Bar in 1659, in 1677 became Lord Advocate, in which capacity he was the subservient minister of the persecuting policy of Charles II. in Scotland, and the inhumanity and relentlessness of his persecution of the Covenanters gained for him the name of "Bloody Mackenzie." In private life, however, he was a cultivated and learned gentleman with literary tendencies, and is remembered as the author of various graceful essays, of which the best known isA Moral Essay preferring Solitude to Public Employment(1665). He also wrote legal, political, and antiquarian works of value, includingInstitutions of the Law of Scotland(1684),Antiquity of the Royal Line of Scotland(1686),Heraldry, andMemoirs of the Affairs of Scotlandfrom the Restoration of Charles II., a valuable work which was notpub.until 1821. M. was the founder of the Advocates' Library in Edin. He retired at the Revolution to Oxf., where hed.
MACKENZIE, HENRY (1745-1831).—Novelist and miscellaneous writer,s.of a physician in Edin., where he wasb.anded.He studied for the law, and became Controller of Taxes for Scotland. He was the author of three novels,The Man of Feeling(1771),The Man of the World(1773), andJulia de Roubigné(1777), all written in a strain of rather high-wrought sentimentalism, in which the influence of Sterne is to be seen. He was also a leading contributor toThe MirrorandThe Lounger, two periodicals somewhat in the style of theSpectator. In his later days he was one of the leading members of the literary society of Edinburgh.
MACKINTOSH, SIR JAMES (1765-1832).—Philosopher and historian, wasb.at Aldowrie, Inverness-shire,s.of an officer in the army and landowner,ed.at Aberdeen, whence he proceeded to Edinburgh to study medicine, in which hegrad.in 1787. In the following year he went to London, where he wrote for the press and studied law, and in 1791 hepub.Vindiciæ Gallicæin answer to Burke'sReflections on the French Revolution, which was well received by those who, in its earlier stages, sympathised with the Revolution, and procured for him the friendship of Fox, Sheridan, and other Whigs. Called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1795, he delivered before that society in 1799 a brilliant course of lectures onThe Law of Nature and Nations, which greatly increased his reputation. In 1804 he went out to India as Recorder of Bombay, and two years later was appointed a Judge of the Admiralty Court. He remained in India until 1811, discharging his official duties with great efficiency. After his return he entered Parliament in 1813 as member for Nairnshire, and attained a considerable reputation as a forcible and informing speaker on questions of criminal law and general politics. On the accession of the Whigs in 1830 he was made a member of the Board of Control for India. He also held from 1818-24 the Professorship of Law and General Politics at Haileybury. His true vocation, however, was to literature, and it is to be regretted that so much of his time and strength was withdrawn from it, his writings being confined to aDissertation on the Progress of Ethical Philosophyin theEncyclopædia Britannica, a sketch of the History of England for Lardner'sCabinet Cyclopædia, a Life of Sir Thomas More for the same, a fragment of a projectedHistory of the Revolution of 1688, and some articles in theEdinburgh Review.
MACKLIN, CHARLES (1697?-1797).—Actor and dramatist,b.in the north of Ireland, was one of the most distinguished actors of his day, shining equally in tragedy and comedy. Having killed another actor in a quarrel he was tried for murder, but acquitted, andd.a centenarian. He wrote, among other comedies,Love à la Mode(1759) andThe Man of the World(1781), which were the only ones printed. He was the creator of Sir Pertinax Macsycophant, a famous burlesque character.
M'LENNAN, JOHN FERGUSON (1827-1881).—Sociologist,b.at Inverness, anded.at Aberdeen and Camb., was in 1857 called to the Scottish Bar, and was subsequently Parliamentary Draftsman for Scotland. His main contribution to literature is his original and learned book,Primitive Marriage(1865). Another work,The Patriarchal Theory, left unfinished, was completed by his brother (1884). These works and other papers by M. gave a great impulse to the study of the problems with which they deal, and cognate questions. M. received the degree of LL.D. from Aberdeen in 1874.
"MACLEOD, FIONA," (seeSHARP, WILLIAM).
MACLEOD, NORMAN (1812-1872).—Scottish divine and miscellaneous writer,s.of the Rev. Norman M., D.D., a distinguished minister of the Scottish Church, studied at Edin., and was ordained in 1838. He became one of the most distinguished ministers, and most popular preachers of his Church, was made one of the Royal Chaplains in Scotland in 1857, and became a trusted friend of Queen Victoria. He was the first ed. ofGood Words, to which he contributed many articles and stories, includingWee Davie,The Starling, andThe Old Lieutenant and his Son.
MACNEILL, HECTOR (1746-1818).—Poet, was in the West Indies 1780-86, and clerk on a flagship. He wrote various political pamphlets, two novels, and several poems,The Harp(1789),The Carse of Forth, andScotland's Skaith, the last against drunkenness, but is best known for his songs, such asMy Boy Tammy,I lo'ed ne'er a Laddie but ane, andCome under my Plaidie.
MACPHERSON, JAMES (1736?-1796).—Alleged translator of the Ossianic poems,s.of a small farmer at Ruthven, Inverness-shire, studied for the Church at Aberdeen and Edin., became teacher of the school in his native parish, and afterwards tutor in a gentleman's family. In 1758 hepub.The Highlander, an ambitious poem in 6 cantos, which, however, attracted no attention. But in the following year he submitted toJohn Home(q.v.), the author ofDouglas, certain writings which he represented to be translations from ancient Gaelic poems. By the help of Home and some of his friends M. was enabled topub.a considerable number of hisFragments of Poetry translated from the Gaelic and Erse Languages. These were received with profound and widely-spread interest, and gave rise to a controversy which can hardly yet be said to be settled. While some authorities received them with enthusiastic admiration, others immediately called their genuineness in question. In the first instance, however, a subscription was raised to enable M. to make a journey in search of further poetic remains, the result of which was the production in 1761 ofFingal, an epic in 6 books, and in 1763 ofTemora, also an epic, in 8 books. The fame which these brought to their discoverer was great, and the sales enormous. In 1764 M. went as sec. to the Governor of Pensacola in Florida. Returning in 1766 he settled in London, became an energetic pamphleteer in support of the Government, and in 1780 entered Parliament, and was next year appointed to the lucrative post of Agent for the Nabob of Arcot. He retired in 1789, and bought an estate in his nativeparish, where hed.in 1796. Great doubt still rests upon the subject of the Ossianic poems: it is, however, generally admitted that M. took great liberties with the originals, even if they ever really existed in anything at all resembling the form given in the alleged translations. No manuscripts in the original have ever been forthcoming. Few, however, will deny that M. either discovered, or composed, a body of poetry unlike anything that has preceded it, of unequal merit, indeed, but containing many striking and beautiful passages, and which unquestionably contributed to break up the tyranny of the classical school and thus prepare the way for the romantic revival.
MAGINN, WILLIAM (1793-1842).—Journalist and miscellaneous writer,b.at Cork, became a contributor toBlackwood's Magazine, and afterwards foreign correspondent toThe Representative, a paper started by J. Murray, the publisher, and when its short career was run, one of the leading supporters ofFraser's Magazine. One of the most brilliant periodical writers of his time, he has left no permanent work behind him. In his later years he fell into intemperate habits, andd.in poverty.
MAHONY, FRANCIS SYLVESTER (FATHER PROUT) (1804-1866).—Humorist,b.at Cork, anded.at the Jesuit Coll. at Clongoweswood, Co. Kildare, at Amiens, and at Rome, becoming a member of the society, was Prof. of Rhetoric at Clongoweswood, but was soon after expelled from the order. He then came to London, and became a leading contributor toFraser's Magazine, under the signature of "Father Prout." He was witty and learned in many languages. One form which his humour took was the professed discovery of the originals in Latin, Greek, or mediæval French of popular modern poems and songs. Many of thesejeux d'espritwerecoll.asReliques of Father Prout. He wittily described himself as "an Irish potato seasoned with Attic salt." Latterly he acted as foreign correspondent to various newspapers, andd.at Paris reconciled to the Church.
MAINE, SIR HENRY JAMES SUMNER (1822-1888).—Jurist,ed.at Christ's Hospital and at Camb., where he became Regius Prof. of Civil Law 1847-54. Called to the Bar in 1850, he went in 1862 to India as legal member of the Government. On his return he was in 1870 appointed Prof. of Comparative Jurisprudence at Oxf., which office he held until his election in 1878 as Master of Trinity Hall. He became Whewell Prof. of International Law at Camb. in 1887, and was the author of many valuable works on law and the history of political institutions, and profoundly influenced the study of jurisprudence. Among his writings areAncient Law(1861),Village Communities(1871),Early History of Institutions(1875), andDissertations on Early Law and Customs(1883).
MAIR, or MAJOR, JOHN (1469?-1550).—Historian, studied at Camb. and Paris, was the teacher of John Knox and George Buchanan. In 1506 he was a Doctor of the Sorbonne, and in 1519 became Prof. of Divinity at St. Andrews. He wrote, in Latin, treatises on divinity and morals, and aHistory of Greater Britain, inwhich the separate histories of England and Scotland were brought together,pub.at Paris (1521). In his writings, while upholding the doctrinal teaching of Rome, he was outspoken in condemning the corruptions of the clergy.
MAITLAND, SIR RICHARD (1496-1586).—Poet,f.of M. of Lethington, Sec. of State to Mary Queen of Scots. In his later years he was blind, and occupied himself in composing aHistory of the House of Seaton, and by writing poems,e.g.On the New Year,On the Queene's Maryage, etc. He held various offices, chiefly legal, but appears to have kept as far as possible out of the fierce political struggles of his time, and to have been a genially satirical humorist.
MALCOLM, SIR JOHN (1769-1833).—Indian soldier, statesman, and historian,b.at Burnfoot, Dumfriesshire, went to India in 1782, studied Persian, was employed in many important negotiations and held various distinguished posts, being Ambassador to Persia and Governor of Bombay 1826-30. He was the author of several valuable works regarded as authorities, viz.,A History of Persia(1815),Memoir of Central India(1823),Political History of India from 1784 to 1823(1826), andLife of Lord Clive(1836).
MALLET, originally MALLOCH, DAVID (1705-1765).—Poet and miscellaneous writer,ed.at Crieff parish school and the Univ. of Edin., where he became acquainted with James Thomson, and in 1723 went to London as tutor in the family of the Duke of Montrose. In the following year appeared his ballad ofWilliam and Margaret, by which he is chiefly remembered, and which made him known to Pope, Young, and others. In 1726 he changed his name to Mallet to make it more pronounceable by Southern tongues. HisExcursion, an imitation of Thomson, waspub.in 1728. At the request of the Prince of Wales, whose sec. he had become, he wrote with Thomson a masque,Alfred(1740), in whichRule Britanniafirst appeared, which, although he claimed the authorship, is now generally attributed to Thomson. He also wrote aLife of Bacon; and on Bolingbroke bequeathing to him his manuscripts and library, hepub.an ed. of his works (1754). On the accession of George III., M. became a zealous supporter of Lord Bute, and was rewarded with a sinecure. In addition to the works above named M. wrote some indifferent dramas, includingEurydice,Mustapha, andElvira. Dr. Johnson said of him that he was "the only Scotsman whom Scotsmen did not commend."
MALONE, EDMUND (1741-1812).—Critic,s.of an Irish judge,b.in Dublin, anded.at Trinity Coll. there, studied for the law, but coming into a fortune, decided to follow a literary career. Acute, careful, and sensible, he was a useful contributor to the study of Shakespeare, of whose works hepub.a valuable ed. in 1790. He also aided in the detection of the Rowley forgeries of Chatterton, and the much less respectable Shakespeare ones of Ireland. At his death he was engaged upon another ed. of Shakespeare, which was brought out under the editorship ofJames Boswell(q.v.). M. also wrote Lives of Dryden and others, and was the friend of Johnson, Goldsmith, Reynolds, and Burke.
MALORY, SIR THOMAS (fl.1470).—Translator ofMorte d'Arthur. Very little is known of him. An endeavour has been made to identify him with a Sir Thomas Malory of Warwickshire, who fought successively on both sides in the Wars of the Roses, sat in Parliament 1444-45, andd.1471. In his book he strove to make a continuous story of the Arthurian legends, and showed judgment alike in what he included and omitted.
MALTHUS, THOMAS ROBERT (1766-1834).—Economist,s.of a landed proprietor, wasb.near Dorking, anded.. at Jesus Coll., Camb., of which he became a Fellow. Taking orders he became incumbent of Albury, Essex. He travelled much on the continent, collecting information as to the means of livelihood and mode of life of various peoples. In 1798 the first ed. of his famousEssay on Populationappeared, and in 1803 a second greatly enlarged. Its leading proposition, supported by much learning, is that while population increases approximately in a geometrical ratio, the means of subsistence do so in an arithmetical ratio only, which, of course, opened up an appalling prospect for the race. It necessarily failed to take into account the then undreamed-of developments whereby the produce of the whole world has been made available for all nations. The work gave rise to a great deal of controversy, much of it based on misunderstanding. M. was Prof. of Political Economy at Haileybury.
MANDEVILLE, BERNARD DE (1670-1733).—Satirist, a native of Dort in Holland, who having studied medicine at Leyden, came over to England to practise his profession. In 1705 hepub.a short poem,The Grumbling Hive, which in 1714 reappeared with a prose commentary, and various dissertations on the origin of moral virtue, etc., asThe Fable of the Bees, or Private Vices Public Benefits, and in 1729 was made the subject of a persecution for its immoral tendency. It was also vigorously combated by, among others, Bishop Berkeley and William Law, author ofThe Serious Call. While the author probably had no intention of subverting morality, his views of human nature were assuredly cynical and degrading in a high degree. Another of his works,A Search into the Nature of Society(1723), appended to the later versions of theFable, also startled the public mind, which his last works,Free Thoughts on ReligionandAn Enquiry into the Origin of Honour and the Usefulness of Christianitydid little to reassure.
MANDEVILLE, SIR JOHN.—Was the ostensible author only of a book of travels bearing his name, written about the middle of the 14th century, giving an account of journeys in the East, including India and the Holy Land. It appears to have been compiled from the writings of William of Boldensele, Oderic of Pordenone, and Vincent de Beauvais. The name of Mandeville was probably fictitious.
MANGAN, JAMES CLARENCE (1803-1849).—Poet,b.at Dublin,s.of a small grocer, was brought up in poverty, and received most of his education from a priest who instructed him in several modern languages. He then became a lawyer's clerk, and was later an assistant in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. He contributedverses of very various merit to a number of Irish newspapers, and translations from the German toThe Dublin University Magazine. By some critics his poetical powers were considered to be such as to have gained for him the first place among Irish poets; but his irregular and intemperate habits prevented him from attaining any sure excellence. His best work, generally inspired by the miseries of his country, often rises to a high level of tragic power, and had his strength of character been equal to his poetic gift it is difficult to say to what heights he might have attained. Hed.of cholera.
MANLEY, MRS. MARY DE LA RIVIERE (1663 or 1672-1724).—Novelist, dramatist, and political writer,dau.of Sir Roger Manley, was decoyed into a bigamous connection with her cousin, John M. Her subsequent career was one of highly dubious morality, but considerable literary success. Her principal works areThe New Atalantis(sic) (1709), a satire in which great liberties were taken with Whig notabilities,Memoirs of Europe(1710), andCourt Intrigues(1711). She also wrote three plays,The Royal Mischief,The Lost Lover, andLucius, and conducted theExaminer. In her writings she makes great havoc with classical names and even with spelling. She was a vivacious and effective political writer.
MANNING, ANNE (1807-1879).—Miscellaneous writer. Her best known works areMistress Mary Powell, which first appeared inSharpe's Magazinein 1849, andThe Household of Sir Thomas More, a delightful picture of More's home life told in the form of a diary written by his daughter Margaret. Her writings have much literary charm, and show a delicate historical imagination.
MANNING, HENRY EDWARD (1808-1892).—Cardinal and theologian.B.at Totteridge, Herts, anded.at Harrow and Oxf., where he became notable as an eloquent preacher, and as one of the ablest of the Tractarian party. He was rector of Woollavington-cum-Graffham 1833, and Archdeacon of Chichester 1840. In 1851 he entered the Church of Rome, in which he attached himself to the Ultramontane party. More even than Newman he was the leading spirit of the Roman Church in England. His writings consist of sermons, of which hepub.several vols. before his secession from the Church of England, and controversial works, includingPetri Privilegium(1871),The Vatican Decrees(1875), in answer to Gladstone'sVaticanism, andThe Eternal Priesthood(1883). He became Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster 1865, and Cardinal 1875.
MANNYNG, ROBERT, or ROBERT DE BRUNNE (fl.1288-1338).—Was a Canon of the Gilbertine Order. His work,Handlynge Sinne(c.1300), translated with original additions from theManuel des Péchés, a book written in French verse by William of Waddington, is practically a collection of tales and short stories on the Commandments, Seven Deadly Sins, Sacraments, etc., and is of value as giving a contemporary picture of the time. He also made (c.1335) a translation in verse of the FrenchChronicleof Peter Langtoft, the second and more interesting part of which covers the period from the death of Cadwallader to the end of the reign of Edward I.
MANSEL, HENRY LONGUEVILLE (1820-1871).—Metaphysician,s.of a clergyman, wasb.at Cosgrave, Northamptonshire,anded.at Merchant Taylors' School and Oxf. He took orders, was Reader in Theology at Magdalen Coll. 1855, Bampton Lecturer 1858, Prof. of Ecclesiastical History 1867, and Dean of St. Paul's 1869. Among his writings areProlegomena Logica(1851),The Limits of Demonstrative Science(1853),Man's Conception of Eternity(1854),Limits of Religious Thought(1858),Philosophy of the Conditioned(1866). He was also joint ed. of Sir. W. Hamilton'sLectures.
MAP, or MAPES, WALTER DE (fl.1200).—Ecclesiastical statesman and romancist. Most of the facts about him are gleaned from hisDe Nugis Curialium(Of the Trifles of the Courtiers), a miscellany of contemporary notes and anecdotes, throwing much light on the manners and opinions of the Court of Henry II. He wasb.probably in Herefordshire, and had Celtic blood in his veins, hisf.had rendered service to the King, and he had studied at Paris, and on his return attended the Court, where he found favour, and obtained preferment both in Church and State, and in 1173 was a travelling justice. Thereafter he attended the King, probably as chaplain, on his foreign wars, represented him at the French Court, and went to Rome to the Lateran Council of 1179. After the death of Henry II. he seems to have continued in favour under Richard I. and John, and was Archdeacon of Oxf. in 1196. M. is the reputed author of some at least of theGoliaspoems, rough satires on the vices of the clergy, but his great work, which has influenced the future of English literature, was his systematising and spiritualising the Arthurian legends with additions of his own, including the legends ofLauncelot, of theQuest of the Holy Grail, and of theMorte d' Arthur.
MARKHAM, GERVASE (1568?-1637).—Translator and miscellaneous writer, served as a soldier in the Low Countries and Ireland. Retiring into civil life about 1593 he displayed extraordinary industry as a translator, compiler, and original writer. Among his original writings are a poem on theRevenge(1595) (Sir R. Grenville's ship), a continuation of Sidney'sArcadia,The Discourse of Horsemanshippe(1593),The Young Sportsman's Instructor,Country Contentments(1611), and various books on agriculture; also plays and poems, some of the latter of which are religious.
MARLOWE, CHRISTOPHER (1564-1593).—Dramatist,s.of a shoemaker at Canterbury, where he wasb., wased.at the King's School there, and in 1581 went to Benet's (now Corpus Christi) Coll., Camb., where he graduated B.A. 1583, and M.A. in 1587. Of his life after he left the Univ. almost nothing is known. It has, however, been conjectured, partly on account of his familiarity with military matters, that he saw service, probably in the Low Countries. His first play,Tamburlaine, was acted in 1587 or 1588. The story is drawn from the Spanish Life of Timur by Pedro Mexia. Its resounding splendour, not seldom passing into bombast, won for it immediate popularity, and it long held the stage. It was followed in 1604 byFaustus, a great advance uponTamburlainein a dramatic sense. The absence of "material horror" in the treatment, so different in this respect from the original legend, has often been remarked upon. M.'s handling of the subject was greatly admired by Goethe, who, however, in his own version, makes the motive knowledge, while M. has power, and the mediæval legend pleasure.In his next play,The Jew of Malta, M. continues to show an advance in technical skill, but the work is unequal, and the Jew Barabas is to Shylock as a monster to a man. InEdward II., M. rises to his highest display of power. The rhodomontade ofTamburlaineand the piled-up horror ofThe Jeware replaced by a mature self-restraint, and in the whole workmanship he approaches more nearly to Shakespeare than any one else has ever done. Speaking of it Lamb says, "The death scene of Marlowe's King moves pity and terror beyond any scene, ancient or modern, with which I am acquainted." M. is now almost certainly believed to have had a large share in the three parts ofHenry VI., and perhaps also he may have collaborated inTitus Andronicus. His next plays,The Massacre of ParisandThe Tragedy of Dido(written withNash,q.v.), both show a marked falling off; and it seems likely that in his last years, perhaps, breaking down under the effects of a wild life, he became careless of fame as of all else. Greene, in hisGroat's Worth of Wit, written on his deathbed, reproaches him with his evil life and atheistic opinions, and a few days before his hapless death an information was laid against him for blasphemy. The informer was next year hanged for an outrageous offence, and his witness alone might not be conclusive, but M.'s life and opinions, which he made no secret of, were notorious. On the other hand, his friends, Shakespeare, Nash, Drayton, and Chapman, all make kindly reference to him. To escape the plague which was raging in London in 1593, he was living at Deptford, then a country village, and there in a tavern brawl he received a wound in the head, his own knife being turned against him by a serving man, upon whom he had drawn it. The quarrel was about a girl of the town. The parish record bears the entry, "Christopher Marlowe, slain by ffrancis Archer, the 1 of June 1593." M. is the father of the modern English drama, and the introducer of the modern form of blank verse. In imagination, richness of expression, originality, and general poetic and dramatic power he is inferior to Shakespeare alone among the Elizabethans. In addition to his plays he wrote some short poems (of which the best known isCome live with me and be my love), translations from Ovid'sAmoresand Lucan'sPharsalia, and a glowing paraphrase of Musaeus'Hero and Leander, a poem completed by Chapman.
Ed. ofWorksby Dyce, Cunningham, and Bullen; Ingram'sC. Marlowe and his Associates, etc.