Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 09.djvu/449

 another called ‘Martyrs to the Catholic Faith’ was published in 2 vols. at Edinburgh, 1878, 4to. This is a valuable historical and biographical work, which may be regarded as an answer on the catholic side to Foxe's ‘Acts and Monuments.’
 * 1) ‘The Grounds of the Old Religion; or, some general arguments in favour of the Catholick, Apostolick, Roman Communion, collected from both ancient and modern controvertists, by a Convert,’ Augusta (Lond.?), 1742, 12mo; 5th edit. Lond. 1798, with a memoir of the author by Dr. Milner prefixed; Dublin, 1808. 12mo.
 * 2) ‘A Letter to a Friend concerning the Infallibility of the Church of Christ, in answer to a late pamphlet, entitled “An humble Address to the Jesuits, by a dissatisfied Roman Catholic” (Mr. J. R., a minister of the kirk)’ (anon.), Lond. 1743, 12mo.
 * 3) ‘Britannia Sancta; or, the Lives of the most celebrated British, English, Scottish, and Irish Saints who have flourished in these Islands, from the earliest times of Christianity down to the change of religion in the sixteenth century; faithfully collected from their ancient Acts and other records of British history’ (anon.), 2 vols. Lond. 1745, 4to.
 * 4) ‘The Rheims New Testament and the Douay Bible, with annotations,’ 5 vols. Lond. 1749–50, 12mo. Challoner undertook to revise and correct the language and orthography of the old version of Gregory Martin, to adopt the improvements of the Clementine edition of the Vulgate, and to add such notes as he judged necessary to clear up modern controversies. The New Testament was printed in 1749, having been diligently revised by the most able divines with whom he was acquainted, viz. Dr. William Green, afterwards president of Douay College, and Dr. Walton, afterwards vicar-apostolic of the northern district. The four volumes of the Old Testament were all published in 1750. In that year he also issued a second edition of the New Testament, revised. This differs from the former one of 1749 in about 124 passages of the text, but none of them are of material consequence. Two years afterwards he published a third edition, again revised, with most extensive alterations (, Rhemes and Doway, p. 49). This modernised version of the Douay bible is substantially that which has since been used by all English-speaking catholics. Cardinal Wiseman was of opinion that although Challoner did well to alter many too decided Latinisms, which the old translators retained, he weakened the language considerably by destroying inversion, where it was congenial at once to the genius of our language and the construction of the original, and by the insertion of particles where they were by no means necessary.
 * 5) ‘Remarks on Two Letters against Popery,’ 1751.
 * 6) ‘Instructions and Meditations on the Jubilee,’ 1751.
 * 7) ‘Considerations upon Christian Truths and Christian Duties, digested into Meditations for every Day in the Year,’ 1753, often reprinted.
 * 8) ‘The Wonders of God in the Wilderness; or, the Lives of the most celebrated Saints of the Oriental Desarts; faithfully collected out of the genuine works of the holy fathers, and other ancient ecclesiastical writers’ (anon.), Lond. 1755, 8vo.
 * 9) ‘The Life of St. Theresa,’ 1757.
 * 10) ‘A Manual of Prayers and other Christian Devotions, revised and corrected with large additions,’ 1758.
 * 11) ‘A Caveat against the Methodists,’ 1760.
 * 12) ‘The City of God, of the New Testament,’ 1760.
 * 13) ‘Memorial of Ancient British Piety,’ 1761.
 * 14) ‘The Morality of the Bible,’ 1762.
 * 15) ‘The Devotion of Catholicks to the Blessed Virgin, truly stated,’ 1764.
 * 16) ‘The Rules of a Holy Life,’ 1766.
 * 17) ‘Short Daily Exercises of the Devout Christian,’ 1767.
 * 18) ‘Pious Reflexions on Patient Suffering,’ 1767.
 * 19) ‘Abstract of the History of the Old and New Testament,’ 1767.
 * 20) ‘The Scripture Doctrine of the Church.’
 * 21) ‘Abridgment of Christian Doctrine; or, first Catechism.’



CHALMERS, ALEXANDER (1759–1834), biographer and miscellaneous writer, was born at Aberdeen on 29 March 1759, being the youngest son of James Chalmers, a learned printer, by his wife Susanna, daughter of the Rev. James Trail, minister at Montrose; and grandson of the Rev. James Chal-