partialities in his history, and his style is considerably embarrassed with parentheses, but it is still a favourite with his countrymen. He also published "An Account of his second Ambassage into France in 1660," and composed other pieces, which are extant in manuscript only. Several authors have spoken advantageously of him.'

NANNI. See UDINO.

NANNI, or NANNIUS, or in his native language, NANNINGH (Peter), a very learned philologer, and general scholar, was born at Alcmaer, in Holland, in 1500; he studied at Louvain, and then was employed in the private education of some young men until the death of Conrad Goclenius, when the university unanimously appointed him to pronounce a funeral oration on that eminent teacher, and to succeed him as Latin professor. In this office he gave such satisfaction, that all his scholars, who were exceedingly numerous, ever preserved the highest respect for him, and acknowledged that the care he took was the foundation of their future advancement and fame. was also much esteemed by the cardinal de Granvelle, and by Nicholas Everard, president of the great council of Mechlin. The cardinal preferred him to a canonry in his church of Arras, and the president placed his children under his care, and rewarded him munificently. With the patronage of these two personages, he was so satisfied as to refuse many liberal offers to remove to Italy, and remained the whole of his life at Louvain. He was a most industrious writer, as well as teacher, and in the numerous list given by Foppen of his publications, we find commentaries on Cicero, on Virgil, and Horace's Art of Poetry; paraphrases on the Song of Solomon, and on the Proverbs; annotations on civil law, of which he acquired a profound knowledge; translations of some part of Demosthenes, Synesius, Apollonius, Plutarch, St. Athanasius, St. Basil, Chrysostom; prefaces introductory and illustrative of Homer, and Demosthenes, &c. He also translated the Psalms into Latin verse, and, in the opinion of his contemporaries, with equal elegance and fidelity. Among his separate publications his "Miscellaneorum decas," a collection of critical remarks on ancient authors, and his "Dialogismi Heroinarum,' were much esteemed. This eminent scholar died at Louvain, July 21, 1557, and was buried in the

Niceron, vol. XI.-Tiraboschi.

He

church of St. Peter, where one of his scholars, Sigismond Frederic Fugger, placed a monument to his memory. is mentioned in terms of the highest praise by Miræus, Thuanus, Melchior Adam, Gyraldus, Huet, and many other learned men.'

NANTUEIL (ROBERT), a celebrated engraver, was born in 1630, at Rheims, where his father kept a petty shop, suitable to his fortune, which was small, but sufficient to enable him to give his son a liberal education. Accordingly, Robert was put to the grammar-school at a proper age; and, as soon as he had made the necessary progress in classical learning, went through a course of philosophy. He had, from his childhood, a strong inclination to drawing; and he applied to it with such success, that being to maintain, according to custom, his philosophical thesis at the end of two years, he drew and engraved it himself. As he continued to cultivate his genius, his productions became the delight of the town. But finding more fame than profit at Rheims, and having married while young, he was under the necessity of seeking a situation where his talents might be more amply rewarded. With this view he left his wife and repaired to Paris, probably without introduction to any friends, as we are told he had no better way to make himself known, than the following device: Seeing several young abbés standing at the door of a victualiing-house, near the Sorbonne, he asked the mistress if there was not an ecclesiastic of Rheims there? telling her that he bad unfortunately forgot his name, but that she might easily know him by the picture that he had of him, shewing her at the same time a portrait, well drawn, and which had the air of being an exact likeness. This drew the attention of some of the abbés, who were profuse in their praises of the portrait. "If you please, messieurs," said Nantueil," I will draw all your pictures for a trifle, as highly finished as this is." The price which he asked was so moderate, that all the abbés sat to him one after another; and then bringing their friends, customers came in so fast, that he took courage to raise his price and having in a short time acquired a considerable sum, he returned to Rheims, disposed of his little property there, and brought his wife to Paris, where his character soon became established.

1 Bullart's Academie des Sciences, vol. 1.-Foppen's Bibl. Belg. where is the most complete list of his works. -Blount's Censura.-Saxii Onomast.

He applied himself particularly to drawing portraits in crayons, which he afterwards engraved for the use of the academical theses; and succeeded beyond all his predecessors in that branch. He never failed to catch the likeness; and even pretended that he had certain rules which ascertained it. His portrait of the king, as large as life, which he afterwards engraved, so pleased his majesty that he rewarded him with a present of a hundred louis d'ors, and made him designer and engraver to his cabinet, with a salary of 1000 livres per annum. Nantueil

afterwards did the portrait of the queen-mother in the same manner, as also that of cardinal Mazarine, the duke of Orleans, marshal Turenne, and others. The grand duke of Tuscany hearing of his fame, requested to have Nantueil's own portrait by himself, in crayons, in order to place it in his gallery. His works consist of 240 prints, including the portraits of almost all the persons of the first rank in France. Of his filial affection we have the following anecdote. As soon as he had made an easy fortune, his first object was to invite his father to share it; and the manner in which he received him, which happened to be before many witnesses, drew tears of joy from all. From this time the son's greatest happiness was to comfort the declining years, and supply the wants, of his father. Nantueil died at Paris, Dec. 18, 1678, aged forty-eight.

Carlo Dati, in the life of Zeuxis, speaking of our engraver's works, says, "These words of Apollonius remind us to contemplate the astonishing art of the prints of the modern gravers in France, where every thing is represented so naturally, the quality of the drapery, the colour of the flesh, the beard, the hair with the powder upon it, and, what is most important, the age, the air, and the lively resemblance of a person, though nothing is made use of besides the black of the ink and the white of the paper; which not only make the light and the shade, but do the office of all the colours. All this is seen and admired above all others, in the excellent portraits of the illustrious Nantueil." This artist was a mau of pleasing manners and address, had some share of learning and wit, and his conversation recommended him much to people of fashion. He was well respected at court; and Mazarine, then prime minister, retained him as his designer and engraver, and honoured him with the title of Monsieur.

he never was an economist; and of upwards of 500,000

crowns which he had gained, he left only 20,000 to his heirs. The portraits by this excellent artist are well known, and although Strutt has given a short list of the best, he allows that it is not easy to say with any degree of precision, among so many beautiful ones, which are the best.'

NANTIGNI (Louis Chazot de), a celebrated genealogist, was born in 1692, at Saulx le Duc in Burgundy. He studied at Dijon and Paris, and at the latter city he was entrusted with the education of some young men of rank. His general turn for history settled at last in the genealogical branch, and he employed all his leisure in drawing up genealogical tables. From 1736 to 1738 he published a work entitled "Genealogies Historiques des Rois, des Empereurs, et de toutes les Maisons Souveraignes," 4 vols. 4to. He also published " Tablettes Geographiques," 1725, 12mo; "Tablettes Historiques, Genealogiques, et Chronologiques," 1748, &c. 9 vols. 24to; and Tablettes de Themis," 1755, 12mo. He supplied many articles for the Supplement of Moreri of the edition of 1749, and during his latter years re-wrote the genealogical part of that dictionary, and of the Mercure. He died Dec. 29, 1755, after having been deprived of his sight for the three preceding years. 1

2

NAOGEORGE, or KIRCHMAER (THOMAS), a celebrated protestant divine, born in 1511, at Straubingue, in Bavaria, acquired considerable celebrity by his satirical Latin verses against several customs of the catholic church, and died in 1578. His most celebrated poem is entitled "Regnum papisticum," 1553, and 1559, Svo. The former is the most rare edition, but not so complete as that of 1559, which sometimes contains two other pieces, the "Sylva Carminum," and "Sylvula Carminum;" "Pamachius Tragedia," 1538, 8vo; "Incendia sive Pyrgopolinices Tragedia," 1538, 8vo; "Agricultura sacra," 1551, 8vo; "Hieremias Tragedia," 1551, 8vo; "Mercator Tragedia," 1560, 8vo. There are two editions of the French translation of the "Converted Merchant," 1558, 8vo, and 1561, 12mo, and a third 1591, 12mo, in which is Beza's "Comédie du Pape malade." All the above are scarce, and highly prized by collectors. Naogeorge also left commentaries on St. John's Epistles, and several other works. '

1 Perrault Les Hommes Illustres.-Strutt's Dict.-Basan.-Dict. Hist.

2 Moreri.-Dict. Hist.

3 Moreri.

Dict. Hist.-Saxii Onomast.-Brunet Manuel du Libraire.

3

NAPIER, or NEPER (JOHN), baron of Merchiston in Scotland, and the celebrated inventor of the Logarithms, was the eldest son of sir Archibald Napier of Merchiston, and born in 1550. After going through the ordinary course of education at the university of St. Andrew's, he made the tour of France, Italy, and Germany. On his return he applied himself chiefly to the study of mathematics, to which he joined that of the Scriptures; and in both discovered the most extensive knowledge and profound penetration. His "Essay upon the book of the Apocalypse" indicates the most acute investigation; though time has discovered that his calculations concerning particular events had proceeded upon fallacious data. But what his fame now solely rests upon is his great and fortunate discovery of logarithms in trigonometry, by which the ease and expedition in calculation have so wonderfully assisted the science of astronomy and the arts of practical geometry and navigation. Napier, having much attachment to astronomy and spherical trigonometry, had occasion to make many numeral calculations of such triangles, with sines, tangents, &c. which being expressed in large numbers, occasioned a great deal of labour and trouble: To spare themselves part of this labour, Napier, and other authors about his time, endeavoured to find out certain short modes of calculation, as is evident from many of their writings. To this necessity, and these endeavours it is, that we owe several ingenious contrivances; particularly the computation by Napier's Rods, or Bones, as they are called, and several other curious and short methods that are given in his "Rabdologia ;" and at length, after trials of many other means, the most complete one of logarithms, in the actual construction of a large table of numbers in arithmetical progression, adapted to a set of as many others in geometrical progression. The property of such numbers had been long known, viz. that the addition of the former answered to the multiplication of the latter, &c.; but it wanted the necessity of such very troublesome calculations as those abovementioned, joined to an ardent disposition, to make such a use of that property. Perhaps also this disposition was urged into action by certain attempts of this kind which it seems were made elsewhere; such as the following, related by Wood in his "Athenæ Oxonienses," under the article Briggs, on the authority of Oughtred and Wingate, viz. "That one Dr. Craig, a Scotchman, coming