Page:A biographical dictionary of modern rationalists.djvu/273

 MAGELLAN

MALLET

issuing the series of works which, by their beauty of style no less than their elevation of moral sentiment, have earned for him a high place in the world s literature. His views are, perhaps, best seen in Le tresor des humbles (1896), La saqesse et la destinee (1898), and Le temple enseveli (1902). He is mystical in his conception of ethics, but not a Theist, and certainly not a Christian. In his work on Spiritualism (La mort, 1913) he leaves the question of survival open. Maeterlinck was awarded the Nobel prize for literature in 1911.

MAGELLAN, Jean Hyacinthe de,

F.R.S., writer. B. 1723. Joao Jacinte de Magalhaes, as he was originally named, was a Portuguese, a descendant of the famous explorer, w y ho entered the monastic order of St. Augustine. He devoted him self, however, to the study of science, and in 1763 he left the Order and the Church of Eome, without entering any other branch of Christianity. In the following year he found refuge in England, and he was highly esteemed by contemporary scholars. He had a special distinction in the making of astronomical and other scientific instru ments, and wrote on them. He was admitted to the Eoyal Society (1774), and was a corresponding member of the Aca demies of Science of Paris and Madrid. D. Feb. 7, 1790.

MAITLAND, Professor Frederick William, M.A., LL.D., D.C.L., jurist. B. May 28, 1850. Ed. Eton and Cambridge (Trinity College). In 1873 he was Whewell International Law Scholar. He entered Lincoln s Inn in 1872, and was called to the Bar in 1876. In 1884 he was appointed reader in English law at Cambridge, and in 1888 he became Downing Professor of English law. He founded the Selden Society (1887), and initiated a very impor tant investigation of the law of England. The chief of his many works is his History of English Law before the Time of Edward I (2 vols., 1895). He was Ford Lecturer at Oxford in 1897 and Rede Lecturer at Cam- 473

bridge in 1901 ; and he was a Fellow of the British Academy (1902) and corre sponding member of the Royal Prussian Academy and the Royal Bavarian Academy. Maitland was the secretary of the &quot; Sunday Tramps,&quot; a distinguished group of Ration alists who gathered about Sir L. Stephen, and he wrote a very sympathetic life of Stephen (Life and Letters of Leslie Stephen, 1906). &quot; Then, as always, he was a dis senter from all the Churches,&quot; says Mr. H. A. L. Fisher in his biography (F. W. Maitland, 1910, p. 100). He was an Agnostic. D. Dec. 19, 1906.

MAILLOT, Arthur Frangois Eve,

French dramatist. B. May 21, 1747. He served in the army in his early years, and then became an actor. Embracing the Revolution with enthusiasm, he was nomi nated a Commissary of the Convention. In 1797 he brought out a very successful comedy, and continued in that branch of art. Maillot clung firmly to the advanced ideas of the Revolutionists, and he was several times imprisoned under Napoleon I. D. July 18, 1814.

MALHERBE, Franc, ois de, French poet. B. 1555. Ed. Caen, and Heidelberg and Basle Universities. He was trained in law and lived at Aix as secretary of the Grand Prior of France ; but his poetry won the favour of Henri IV, and he was installed at the Court. His fine lyrics greatly helped the advancement of French poetry. The best edition of his works is that of 1862-69 (5 vols.). Malherbe was so outspoken a sceptic that contemporary literature ascribes many pungent sayings to him. D. Oct. 6, 1628.

MALLET, David, M.A., poet and drama tist. B. 1705. Ed. Crieff parish school and Edinburgh University. He began to publish poetry in 1720, and in the course of the next ten years he attained a high position in literary and dramatic circles at London. In 1742 he was appointed under secretary to the Prince of Wales. He 474