him a letter of credit, dated Sept. 1, 1557. Two years after, Languet attended Adolphus count of Nassau and prince of Orange, into Italy; and at his return passed through Paris, to visit the celebrated Turnebus; but it was a great deduction from the pleasure of this interview, that he heard at this time of the death of his friend Melancthon.

In 1565, Augustus elector of Saxony invited him to his court, and appointed him envoy to that of France the same year, after which he sent him as his deputy to the diet of the empire, which was called by the emperor Maximilian in 1568, at Augsburg. Thence the same master dispatched him to Heidelberg, to negotiate some business with the elector palatine; and from Heidelberg he went to Cologne, where he acquired the esteem and confidence of Charlotte de Bourbon, princess of Orange. The elector of Saxony sent him also to the diet of Spires; and in 1570 to Stetin, in quality of plenipotentiary, for mediating a peace between the Swedes and the Muscovites, who had chosen this elector for their mediator. This prince the same year sent Languet a second time into France, to Charles IX. and the queen-mother Catharine of Medicis, in the execution of which commission he made a remarkably bold speech to the French monarch, in the name of the protestant princes in Germany. He was at Paris upon the memorable bloody feast of St. Bartholomew, in 1572, when he saved the life of Andrew Wechelius, the famous printer, in whose house he lodged; and he was also very instrumental in procuring the escape of Philip de Mornay count de Plessis; but, trusting too much to the respect due to his character of envoy, was obliged for his own safety to the good offices of John de Morvillier, who had been keeper of the seals. Upon his recal from Paris, he received orders to go to Vienna, where he was in 1574; and in 1575 he was appointed one the principal arbitrators for determining of the disputes, which had lasted for thirty years, between the houses of Longueville and Baden, concerning the succession of Rothelin.

At length, in the controversy which arose in Saxony between the Lutherans and Zuinglians, respecting the eucharist, Languet was suspected to favour the latter, and in consequence was obliged to beg leave of the elector, being then one of his chief ministers, to retire; which was granted, with a liberty to go where he pleased. He chose Prague for the place of his residence, where he was in

1577; and in this situation applied himself to John Casimir, count Palatine, and attended him to Ghent, in Flanders, the inhabitants of which city had chosen the count for their governor. On his quitting the government, Languet accepted an invitation from William prince of Orange, and remained with him until the bad state of his health obliged him to go in 1579 to the wells of Baden; and there he became acquainted with Thuanus, who was much struck with his conversation, probity, and judgment, not only in the sciences, but in public affairs. Thuanus tells us that Languet was so well acquainted with the affairs of Germany, that he could instruct the Germans themselves in the affairs of their own country. After Thuanus had left that place, they appear to have corresponded, and Thuanus speaks of some memoirs then in his possession, which Languet sent to him, containing an account of the present state of Germany, of the right of the diets, of the number of the circles, and of the order or rank of the different councils of that country.

Languet returned to Antwerp in 1580; and in 1581 the prince of Orange sent him to France to negociate a reconciliation between Charlotte of Bourbon, his consort, and her brother Louis, duke of Montpensier; which he effected. He died at Antwerp, Sept. 20, 1581, and was interred with great funeral solemnity, the prince of Orange going at the head of the train. During his illness he was visited by madam Du Plessis, who, though sick herself, attended him to his last moment. His dying words were, that "the only thing which grieved him was, that he had not been able to see mons. Du Plessis again before he died, to whom he would have left his very heart, had it been in his power that he had wished to live to see the world reformed; but, since it became daily worse, he had no longer any business in it: that the princes of these times were strange men: that virtue had much to suffer, and little to get: that he pitied mons. Du Plessis very much, to whose share a great part of the misfortunes of the time would fall, and who would see many unhappy days; but that he must take courage, for God would assist him. For the rest, he begged one thing of him in his last farewell, namely, that he would mention something of their friendship in the first book he should publish." This request was performed by Du Plessis, soon after, in a short preface to his treatise "Of the Truth of the Christian religion;" where he makes

the following eloge of this friend in a few comprehensive words: "Is fuit qualis multi videri volunt: is vixit qualiter optimi mori cupiunt."

2.

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Of this eminent statesman we have some works not wholly unknown in this country. The first mentioned is a history in Latin of the siege of Gotha, which Schardius has inserted in his History of Germany during the reign of Ferdinand I. but without mentioning Languet's name. "Epistolæ ad principem suum Augustum Saxoniæ ducem,' Halle, 1699, 4to. 3. "Epistolæ Politica et historicæ ad Philippum Sydnæum," 12mo. Of this collection of letters to our sir Philip Sydney, the late lord Hailes published a correct edition in 1775, 8vo. They are 97 in number, dated from 1573 to 1580, and are remarkable for purity of language and excellence of sentiment. 4. "Epistolæ ad Joachim Camerarium, &c." and other learned men, 12mo. Carpzovius published a new edition of these at Leipsic, with additions. 5. "Hist. descriptio susceptæ à Cæsarea majestate executionis Augusto Saxoniæ duce contra S. Romani imperii rebelles," &c. 1568, 4to. 6. "Vindiciae contra Tyrannos, sive de principis in populum, populique in principem legitima potestate," 1579, 12mo. This bears the name of Stephanus Junius Brutus, and the place Edinburgh, but the place was Basil, and it never was doubted that Languet was the author of this spirited attack on tyranny. It was often reprinted and translated into French. There are are a few other tracts attributed to Languet, but upon more questionable authority.1

LANGUET (JOHN BAPTIST JOSEPH), great grand nephew of the preceding, doctor of the Sorbonne, the celebrated vicar of St. Sulpice, at Paris, and a man of extraordinary benevolence, was born at Dijon, June 6, 1675. His father was Denis Languet, procurator-general of that city. After having made some progress in his studies at Dijon, he continued them at Paris, and resided in the seminary of St. Sulpice. He was received in the Sorbonne, Dec. 31, 1698, and took his degree with applause. He was ordained priest at Vienne, in Dauphiny; after which he returned to Paris, and took the degree of doctor Jan. 15, 1703. He attached himself from that time to the community of St. Sulpice; and la Chetardie, who was vicar there, chose him for his curate. Languet

1 Gen. Dict-Niceron, vol. III.-Moreri.-Saxii Onomast.

continued in that office near ten years, and sold his patrimony to relieve the poor. During this period, St. Valier, bishop of Quebec, being prisoner in England, requested of the king that Languet might be his assistant in North America. Languet was about to accept of the place, prompted to it by his zeal for the conversion of infidels; but his patrons and friends advised him to decline the voyage, as his constitution was by no means strong. He succeeded la Chetardie, as vicar of St. Sulpice, in June

1714.

His parish-church being out of repair, and scarce fit to hold 1200 or 1500 persons out of a parish which contained 125,000 inhabitants, he conceived a design to build a church in some degree proportionable to them; and undertook this great work without any greater fund to begin with than the sum of one hundred crowns, which had been left him for this design by a pious and benevolent lady. He laid out this money in stones, which he caused to be carried through all the streets, to shew his design to the public. He soon obtained considerable donations from all parts; and the duke of Orleans, regent of the kingdom, granted him a lottery. That prince likewise laid the first stone of the porch in 1718; and Languet spared neither labour nor expence during his life, to make the church one of the finest in the kingdom, both for architecture and ornaments. It was consecrated in 1745, with so much splendour, that Frederic II. of Prussia wrote the vicar a congratulatory letter, in which he not only praises the building, but even the piety of the founder, a quality which Frederic knew how to notice when it served to point a compliment.

Another work, which does no less honour to Languet, is the house de l'enfans Jésus. The nature of this establishment, as originally constituted, will best evince his piety and talents. It consisted of two parts; the first composed of thirty-five poor ladies, descended from families illustrious from 1535 to the present time; the second, of more than four hundred poor women and children of town and country. Those young ladies whose ancestors had been in the king's service, were preferred to all others, and an education given them suited to the dignity of their birth. They were employed, by turns, in inspecting the bake-house, the poultry-yard, the dairies, the laundries, the gardens, the laboratory, the linen-warehouses, the

spinning-rooms, and other places belonging to the house. By these means they became good housewives, and able to relieve their poor relations in the country; and it was also part of the duty to succour by a thousand little kind offices, the poor women and girls who worked there, and to acquire those habits of condescension and benevolence which are of great service to society.

Languet used besides to grant great sums of money to such ladies as were examples of economy, virtue, and piety, in those religious houses which he superintended. The poor women and children who formed the second part, were provided with food every day, and work at the spinning-wheel. They made a great quantity of linen and cotton. Different rooms were assigned to them, and they were arranged under different classes. In each room were two ladies of the society of St. Thomas, of Ville Neuve, of which Languet was superior-general. These ladies were placed there to oversee the work, and to give such instructions as they thought proper. The women and the girls who found employment in this house, had in a former period of their lives been licentious and dissolute, but were generally reformed by the example of virtue before their eyes, and by the salutary advice given to them, and had the amount of their work paid them in money when they left the house. By these means they became industrious and exemplary, and were restored to the community. There were in the house de l'enfans Jésus, in 1741, more than 1400 women and girls of this sort; and the vicar of St. Sulpice employed all the means in his power to make their situation agreeable. Although the land to the house measured only 17 arpens (about 100 perches square, each perch 18 feet), it had a large dairy, which gave milk to 2000 children belonging to the parish, a menagery, poultry of all sorts, a bake-house, spinning-rooms, a very neat and well cultivated garden, and a magnificent laboratory, where all sorts of medicines were made. The order and œconomy observed in this house in the education, instruction, and employment of so many people, were so admirable, and gave so great an idea of the vicar of St. Sulpice, that cardinal Fleury proposed to make him superintendant-general of all the hospitals in the kingdom; but Languet used to answer him with a smile, "I have always said, my lord, that it was the bounty of your highness led me to the hospital." The expence of this establishment