Page:Cousins's Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature.djvu/268

 256 Dictionary of English Literature

MALORY, SIR THOMAS (ft. 1470). Translator of Morte

<T 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, and d. 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, was b. near Dorking, and ed. 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 famous Essay on Population appeared, and in 1803 a second greatly enlarged. Its leading proposition, supported by much learning, is that while popu lation increases approximately in a geometrical ratio, the means of subsistence do so in an arithmetical ratio only, which, of course, opened up an apalling 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 he pub. a short poem, The Grumbling Hive, which in 1714 reappeared with a prose commentary, and various dissertations on the origin of mora virtue, etc., as The Fable of the Bees, or Private Vices Public Benefits, and in 1729 was made the subject of a persecution for its immora tendency. It was also vigorously combated by, among others, Bishop Berkeley and William Law, author of The 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 Society (1723), appended to the later versions of the Fable, alsc startled the public mind, which his last works, Free Thoughts Religion and An Enquiry into the Origin of Honour and the Usefulness of Christianity did little to reassure.

MANDEVILLE, SIR JOHN. Was the ostensible authoi

only of a book of travels bearing his name, written about the middle of the 1 4th century, giving an account of journeys in the East, includ ing India and the Holy Land. It appears to have been compil from the writings of William of Boldensele, Oderic of Pordenone and Vincent de Beauvais. The name of Mandeville was probabl] fictitious.

MANGAN, JAMES CLARENCE (1803-1849). Poet, b. a

Dublin, s. of a small grocer, was brought up in poverty, and receivet most of his education from a priest who instructed him in severa modern languages. He then became a lawyer's clerk, and was late an assistant in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. He contri