Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 08.djvu/51

 The other half was undertaken by Butler, and published in 1787. The merits of this edition of Lord Coke's first institute have been proved by numerous reprints, and Butler's notes have been universally considered the most valuable part of the work. In 1809 he brought out the sixth edition of Fearne's ‘Essay on Contingent Remainders.’

His ‘Philological and Biographical Works,’ published in 5 vols. in 1817, comprise: In vol. i. ‘Horæ Biblicæ,’ being a connected series of notes on the text and literary history of the bibles or sacred books of the Jews and christians; and on the bibles or books accounted sacred by the Mahometans, Hindus, Parsees, Chinese, and Scandinavians. This work, published first in 1797, has been translated into French. In vol. ii., ‘History of the Geographical and Political Revolutions of the Empire of Germany,’ originally published in 1806. ‘Horæ Juridicæ Subsecivæ,’ or notes on the Grecian, Roman, Feudal, and Canon Law, published first in 1804. In vol. iii., ‘Lives of Fénelon, Bossuet, Boudon, De Rancé, Kempis, and Alban Butler.’ In vol. iv., ‘An Historical and Literary Account of the Formularies, Confessions of Faith, or Symbolic Books of the Roman Catholic, Greek, and principal Protestant Churches,’ published originally in 1816; and various essays. In vol. v., ‘Historical Memoirs of the Church of France.’

Among his works not included in the above collection are: To these Butler rejoined in the two following publications:
 * 1) ‘Biographical Account of the Chancellor l'Hôpital and of the Chancellor d'Aguesseau, with a short historical notice of the Mississippi scheme,’ 1814.
 * 2) ‘Historical Memoirs of the English, Irish, and Scottish Catholics since the Reformation; with a succinct account of the principal events in the ecclesiastical history of this country antecedent to that period, and in the histories of the established church and the dissenting congregations,’ 4 vols., London, 1819–21, 8vo; 3rd edit., considerably augmented, 4 vols., London, 1822, 8vo. This book contains much useful information, but Butler's statements should be received with caution. Some of them are corrected in Bishop Milner's ‘Supplementary Memoirs of English Catholics,’ 1820.
 * 3) ‘Continuation of the Rev. Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints to the Present Time,’ with some biographical accounts of the Holy Family, Pope Pius VI, Cardinal Ximenes, Cardinal Bellarmine, Bartholomew de Martyribus, and St. Vincent of Paul; with a republication of his historical memoirs of the Society of Jesus, 1823.
 * 4) ‘Reminiscences,’ 4th ed., 2 vols., 1824.
 * 5) ‘The Book of the Roman Catholic Church,’ in a series of letters addressed to Robert Southey, Esq., on his ‘Book of the Church,’ 1825. Southey's rejoinder was entitled ‘Vindiciæ Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ,’ 1826, and Dr. Phillpotts, afterwards bishop of Exeter, answered the theological part of Butler's book. Altogether ten replies appeared on the protestant side; another reply was composed by the Rev. Richard Garnett, but this still remains in manuscript.
 * 1) ‘A Letter to the Right Rev. C. J. Blomfield, bishop of Chester, in vindication of a passage in the Book of the Roman Catholic Church, censured in a Letter addressed to the Author, by his lordship,’ 1825.
 * 2) ‘Vindication of the Book of the Roman Catholic Church,’ 1826. After the appearance of the ‘Vindication,’ six additional replies were published by the writers on the protestant side of the question, in reference to which Butler added an Appendix to his ‘Vindication.’
 * 3) ‘The Life of Erasmus, with Historical Remarks on the state of Literature between the tenth and sixteenth Centuries,’ 1825.
 * 4) ‘The Life of Hugo Grotius, with brief Minutes of the Civil, Ecclesiastical, and Literary History of the Netherlands,’ 1826.
 * 5) ‘Memoir of the Life of Henry Francis d'Aguesseau, with an account of the Roman and Canon Law,’ 1830.

His letter-books, containing transcripts of his correspondence between 1808 and 1818, are preserved in the British Museum (Addit. MSS. 25127–25129). These valuable volumes were presented to the museum by Mr. William Heslop, who rescued them from destruction as waste paper.



BUTLER, EDMUND (d. 1551), archbishop of Cashel, illegitimate son of Piers, 