STEPHANUS Byzantinus, a learned grammarian, who flourished about the close of the fifth century. He wrote a large work, in which he made a great number of observations, borrowed from mythology and history, which showed the origin of cities and colonies; of which we have little remaining but an abridgement by Hermolaus the grammarian. Even in this state, it has been found a work of no inconsiderable value. It is alphabetically arranged, and bears the inscription ∏εϑl ∏0όλεωv, or “Concerning Cities.” The first edition was printed by Aldus, Venet. 1502, fol. This was followed by an edition printed by the heirs of P. Junta, Florent. 1521, fol. The text received many emendations in the edition of Xylander, Basil. 1568, fol. All these editions contain the Greek text, without any Latin version. An edition, with a translation, and copious annotations, was published by Thomas de Pinedo, Amst. 1678, fol. Another edition, with a translation and a commentary, was prepared by Berkelius, and after his death was completed by J. Gronovius, Lugd. Bat. 1688, fol. Nor must we here omit the posthumous “Notae et Castigationes” of Holstenius, Lugd. Bat. 1684, fol.

Stephanus, Henry, the founder of a most remarkable and meritorious family of printers, was born at Paris in the year 1470. The French name is Estienne, which is frequently transformed into the English Stephens, although the correct translation would be Stephen. He began the business of a printer about the year 1503. This is the date of Boethius’s treatise on arithmetic, the first book that is known to have issued from his press. A great proportion of the books which he published were Latin. They are printed in the Roman letter, and are not inelegant, though some of them abound rather too much in contractions. He died about the year 1520, and left behind him three sons, Francis, Robert, and Charles. His widow married Simeon de Colines (Colinceus in Latin), who thus got possession of Henry’s printing-office, and continued the business till his death.

Of Francis, the eldest son, little more is known than that he carried on business along with Colinaeus, and that he died at Paris in 1550.

Robert Stephanus, the second son, was born at Paris in 1503. In his youth he made great proficiency in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, and at the age of nineteen had acquired so much knowledge that his step-father intrusted him with the management of his press. He soon afterwards began business himself, and married Perrete, the daughter of Jodocus Badius, a printer and an author. She was a woman of learning, and understood Latin, which indeed was the necessary consequence of her situation. Her husband always entertained a number of learned men as correctors of the press. Being foreigners, and of different nations, they made use of no other language but Latin; which Perrete being accustomed to hear, was able in a short time not only to understand, but even to speak with tolerable ease.

In 1531 he published his “Thesaurus Linguae Latins ;” a work of great labour, and of great value. The device which he exhibited in all his books was a tree branched, with a man looking upon it, and these words Noli altum sapere, to which he sometimes added sed time. In 1539, Francis I. made him his printer, and ordered a new set of elegant types to be founded for him. His frequent editions of the New Testament gave great offence to the doctors of the Sorbonne, who accused him of heresy for his annotations, and insisted upon the suppression of some of his books. Although Henry, the French king, in some measure protected him, the persecution of these divines rendered him so unhappy, not to mention the expense and loss of time which an almost constant attendance at court unavoidably occasioned, that in 1552 he abandoned his country and settled[7:20:720] at Geneva. Here he embraced the Protestant religion, and thus justified in some measure the suspicions of his theological enemies. It has been affirmed by several writers that he carried along with him the royal types, and the moulds in which they were cast; but it is certain that he never afterwards made use of those types. Besides, is it possible that the author of so daring a theft could have been not only protected in Geneva, but even courted and honoured by the most eminent men of the age? Is it credible that such a crime could have been concealed for sixty years; or that Henry, the son and heir of the perpetrator, would have enjoyed the favour of the French king, if Robert Stephanus had acted such a shameful part? If he was burnt in effigy at Paris, it was not for theft, but for having renounced the popish faith. After his arrival at Geneva, he published an account of the dispute between him and the Paris divines, which does as much honour to his abilities as his Thesaurus does to his learning. He died in 1559, after a life of the most extraordinary industry. The books of which he was the editor were not fewer than 360. Many of them were ancient classics in different languages. Several were accompanied with annotations which he collected, and all of them were corrected by the collation of manuscripts. He was so anxious to obtain perfect accuracy, that he used to expose his proofs in public, and reward those who discovered a mistake. His books consequently were very correct. It is said that his New Testament, called O Mirificam (because the preface begins with these words), has not a single fault. It was Robert Stephanus who first divided the New Testament into verses, during a journey between Paris and Lyon. The advantages of this improvement are fully counterbalanced by its defects. It has destroyed the unity of the books, and induced many commentators to consider every verse as a distinct and independent aphorism. By his last will his estate was left exclusively to such of his children as should settle at Geneva. He left behind hint three sons, Henry, Robert, and Francis.

Charles Stephanus, the third son of Henry, was, like the rest of his family, familiarly acquainted with the learned languages. This recommenaed him to Lazarus de Baif, who made him tutor to his son, and in 1540 carried him along with him to Germany. He studied medicine, and took his doctor’s degree at Paris. He did not however forsake the profession of his family, but exercised it at Paris, where he became the editor of many books remarkable for neatness and elegance. He wrote above thirty treatises on different subjects, particularly on botany, anatomy, and history. Having been unsuccessful in business, he was imprisoned for debt in the Chatelet in 1561, and died there in 1564.

Robert Stephanus, the son of Robert the first of that name, did not accompany his father to Geneva, but continued to profess the Romish religion, and to reside at Paris. His letter was remarkably beautiful. He was made king’s printer, and died about 1589. His brother Francis, who was also a printer, embraced the Protestant religion, and resided at Geneva.

Henry Stephanus, the eldest brother, was born at Paris in 1528. He became the most learned and most celebrated of all his family. From a very early age he gave proofs of uncommon abilities, and displayed an ardent passion for knowledge. The Medea of Euripides, which he saw acted while at school, first kindled his love for poetry, and inspired him with the desire of acquiring the language in which that tragedy is written. He entreated his father not to condemn him to study Latin, which he already understood from conversation, but to initiate him at once in the knowledge of Greek. His lather willingly acceded to his request; and Henry applied with such vigour, that in a short time he could repeat the Medea by heart. He afterwards studied Greek under Danesius, who was tutor to the Dauphin, and finally heard the lectures of Tusanus and Turnebus. At an early age he became eager to understand astrology, and accordingly attended a professor of that mysterious art; but he was not Jong in discovering its absurdity. At the age of nineteen he began his travels, which he undertook in order to examine foreign libraries, and to become acquainted with learned men. He spent two years in Italy, and returned into France completely master of Italian, and bringing along with him copies of several scarce authors, particularly a part of' Anacreon, which previously was supposed to be lost. He found his father publishing an edition of the New Testament, to which he prefixed some Greek verses. Soon after, he visited England and the Netherlands, where he met with John Clement, an Englishman, to whom he was indebted for the remaining odes of Anacreon. During this journey he learned the Spanish language, which was very much spoken at that time in the Low Countries.

Whether Henry accompanied his father to Geneva, is uncertain: if he did, he must have returned immediately to France, for we find him soon after established at Paris, and publishing the odes of Anacreon. In 1554 he went to Rome, and thence to Naples. This journey was undertaken at the request, and in the service, of the French government. He was discovered, and would have been arrested as a spy, had he not by his address and skill in the language of the country been able to pass himself for a native of Italy. On his return to France, he assumed the title of printer to Ulric Fugger, a very rich and learned German nobleman, who allowed him a considerable pension.

In 1560 he married a relation, ns is generally supposed, of Henry Scrimger, a Scotish scholar and civilian, with whom he was intimately acquainted. She was a woman, as he himself informs us, endowed with the noblest spirit and the most amiable disposition. Her death, which happened in 1586, brought on a disease that had twice attacked him before. It was a disgust at all those pursuits which had formerly charmed him, an aversion to reading and the sight of books. It was probably occasioned by too constant and severe an application to literary pursuits. In 1572 he published, in four vols. folio, his Thesaurus Lingua: Graecae, one of the greatest works, perhaps, that ever was executed by one man, if we consider the wretched materials which more ancient dictionaries could furnish, the size and perfection of the work, and the immense labour and learning which must have been employed in the compilation. In 1573, he added Glossaria duo, e situ vetustatis cruta. This work had been carried on at a greater expense than he could well bear. He expected to be reimbursed by the sale of the book, but he was unfortunately disappointed. Scapula, one of his own correctors, extracted from it whatever he thought would be most serviceable to students, and published it beforehand in quarto. By this act of treachery Henry was reduced to poverty.

About this time he was much beloved by Henry III. of France, who treated him so kindly, and made him stich flattering promises, that he resided frequently at court. But these promises were never fulfilled, owing to the civil wars which soon after distracted France, and the unfortunate death of Henry himself. During the remainder of his life, his situation was very unsettled. We find him sometimes at Paris, sometimes at Geneva, in Germany, and even in Hungary. He died at Lyon in 1598, at the age of seventy. His temper during the latter part of his life is represented as haughty and severe, owing probably to his disappointments. He was twice married, and by his first wife had a son and two daughters, one of whom was married to the learned Isaac Casaubon.

This most erudite printer was fond of poetry from his very infancy. It was his practice to compose verses on[7:20:721] horseback, and even to write them, though he generally rode a very mettlesome steed. His Thesaurus was his great work, but he was also the author of many other treatises in the French and Latin languages. His poems are numerous. His “Apologie pour Herodote” is a very singular performance. It has been illustrated by the annotations of Duchat. The number of books which he published, though fewer than his father, was great, and they were superior in elegance to any thing which the world had then seen. A great proportion of them were Greek. He was the editor, however, of many Latin and even of some oriental writings. His Greek classics are remarkably correct; and many of his editions are accompanied by most learned notes. His Thesaurus still maintains an unrivalled reputation. An edition, with very ample additions, was recently published by Barker and Valpy; and another elaborate edition is now in progress at Paris.

Paul Stephanus, the son of Henry, continued his father’s profession at Geneva. He was a man of learning, executed translations of several books, and published a considerable number of the ancient classics; but his editions possess little of his father’s elegance. He died in 1627, at the age of sixty, after selling his types to one Chouet, a printer. His son Antony, the last printer of the family, abandoned the Protestant religion, and returned to France, the country of his ancestors. He received letters of naturalization in 1612, and was made printer to the king; but managing his affairs ill, he was reduced to poverty, and obliged to retire into an hospital, where he died in 1674, miserable and blind, at the age of eighty.^[1. Almeloveen de Vitis Stephanorum Amst. 1683, 8vo. Maktaire, Historia Stephanorum. Loud. 1709, 8vo. Biographie Universelle, tom. xiii. p. 380. ] Stephen’s Island, in Torres Strait, north of Darnley’s Island. Long. 143. E. Lat. 9. 0. S.

Stephen’s Islands, two small islands in the Eastern Seas, the one about three miles long, and the other about six. The passage between them is three miles broad. Long. 138. 39. E. Lat. 0. 22. S.