MEURSIUS, John, one of the most laborious of antiquaries, was born in the year 1579, at Losdun, a town near the Hague. It appears that the name of his family was De Meurs, which he latinized, according to the usage of the learned of his time. His father, a regular canon of the house of the Twelve Apostles at Utrecht, having embraced the reform of Calvin, took refuge in 1569 at the Hague, and some time afterwards obtained the pastoral charge of Losdun. He taught his son the principles of the Latin language, and then sent him to study at Leyden, where he made so rapid progress, that, at the age of twelve, he composed harangues in Latin, and, at thirteen, verses in Greek. His taste led him to cultivate philology; he particularly directed his attention to Lycophron, the most obscure of all the Greek authors, whom he undertook to illustrate; and, at the age of sixteen, he completed bis commentary on that difficult writer, a work which astonished the greatest scholars and critics of the time. When he had finished his course of study, the grand pensionary Barneveld confided to him the education of his sons; and he was also appointed to accompany them to the different courts of Europe. He turned his travels to account, by availing himself of the opportunities which they afforded for extending his knowledge; and, in passing through Orleans in 1608, he was admitted doctor of Jaws. On his return to Holland, he was, in 1610, appointed professor of history in the academy of Leyden; and the following year he was promoted to the chair of Greek, which he filled with great distinction. The states of Holland conferred on him the title of historiographer to their high mightinesses, and honoured him with other marks of their esteem; but after the execution of the unfortunate Barneveld in 1619, the persecution soon extended itself to all who had been in any degree connected with him; and Meursius, the most gentle of human beings, who, from his habits, was an entire stranger to the disputes which then agitated his unfortunate country, did not escape molestation. As his simple and retired life did not afford his enemies any pretext for accusing him, they attempted to drive him from his professorship by insults, which were daily repeated, even in the apartment where he delivered his prelections; they reproached him with writing too many books, and alleged that, in consequence, the university did not reap any benefit from his studies. The interests of his family, which depended entirely on the emoluments of his office, forced him to submit in silence to these affronts; but the king of Denmark having, in 1625, offered him the chair of history in the university of Sora, together with the place of historiographer, he at once accepted the situation, and fully justified the high opinion which foreigners had conceived of his talents. The remainder of his life was divided between his official duties and literary pursuits; and he died of the stone, on the 20th of September 1639, at the age of sixty. He was buried in the principal church of Sora, in a tomb adorned with an epitaph, which may be found in the Bibliotheca Belgica of Foppens, and also in the work of Niceron.

Meursius rendered an unappreciable service to letters by the numerous editions which he published of the Greek authors, with corrections, critical remarks, and Latin versions. The principal works which he edited are, the Poems of Lycophron; the Tactics of the Emperor Leo; the Opuscula of Hesychius; the Elements of Music by Aristoxenes; the Letters of Philostratus; the Historia Lausiacaoi Pal-lades; the Annals of Manasses; the History of Theodosius Metochites; the Tactics of Constantine Porphyrogennetes; the Marvellous Histories of Phlegon Trallianus, Antigonus Carystius, and Apollonius Dyscoles; and the works of Porphyry, Procopius, Gaza, and others. The works of Meursius were collected by Lami, Florence, 1741-1763, in twelve volumes folio. This collection is rare and much prized. In the Mémoires of Niceron (tom. xii. and xx.) will be found a list of all the productions of this indefati [7:14:756]gable writer, in number sixty-seven; but we shall here only indicate those which are most deserving of the attention of the curious. I. Glossarium Graeco-Barbarum, Leyden, 1614, in 4to; a work which, in regard to the Greek writers of the Lower Empire, holds the same place as the Glossary of Du Cange does for the writers of the corresponding age of Latinity. II. De Funare liber singularis, in quo Graeci et Romani ritus explicantur; De Puerperio Syntagma, Hague, 1604, in 8vo; Roma Luxurians, sive de Luxu Romanorum, Leyden, 1631, in 4to; De Populis Atticae liber, 1616, in 4to; Atticarum Lectionum libri vi. 1617, in 4to; Orchestra, sive de Saltationibus Veterum, 1618; Graecia Feriata, sive de Festis Graecorum, 1619; Panathenaea, sive de Minervae Festo genuino, 1619; Eleusinia, sive de Cereris Eleusinae sacro et festo, 1619; De Tragoediis Graecis, 1619, in 4to; Archontes Athenienses, 1622; Fortuna Attica, seu de Athenarum origine, 1622; Cecropia, seu de Athenarum Arce, 1622; Graecia Ludibunda, sive de Ludis Graecorum, 1622, in 8vo; Pisistratus, sive de ejus liberorumque Vita et Tyrannide, 1623; Areopagus, sive de Senatu Areopagitico 1624; Athenae Atticae, sive de praecipuis Atheniensium Antiquitatibus, 1624; Denarius Pythagoricus, 1631, in 4to; Solon, sive de ejus Vita, Copenhagen, 1632, in 4to; Regnum Atticum, Amsterdam, 1633; Theophrastus, sive de illius libris qui injuria temporis interciderunt, Leyden, 1640, in 12mo; Miscellanea Laconica, Amsterdam, 1641, in 4to; Ceramicus Geminus, sive de Ceramici Atheniensis utriusque antiquitatibus, Utrecht, 1662, in 4to; Creta, Cyprus, Rhodus, sive de Insularum rebus et antiquitatibus, Amsterdam, 1675, in 4to; Theseus, sive de ejus Vita, Utrecht, 1684; Themis Attica, sive de Legibus Atticis, 1685; De Regno Laconico 1687. III. Rerum Belgicarum liber primus, de Induciis belli Belgici, 1612, in 4to, very rare. IV. Athenae Batavae, sive de urbe Leydensi et academia, Leyden, 1625. V. Historia Danica, usque ad annum 1523, Copenhagen, 1630, in 4to. The historical works of Meursius were collected and published at Amsterdam, 1638, in folio.

The memory of Meursius has suffered by his being sometimes represented as the author of the infamous dialogues De Arcanis Amoris et Veneris. This licentious work, it is now well known, was the production of one Chorier, an advocate of Grenoble, who probably prefixed to it the name of Meursius for the purpose of throwing ridicule on the grave and learned professor. His son John was a scholar of considerable eminence, and produced some works evincing erudition and research. (a.)