A NEW AND GENERAL BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY. R 20 AMSAY (ANDREW MICHAEL), frequently styled the chevalier Ramfay, a polite writer, was a Scotfman of an ancient family; and was born at Ayre in that kingdom, June 9, 1686. He received the first part of his education at Ayre, and was then removed to Edinburgh, where, diftinguifhing himself by good parts and uncommon proficiency, he was fent for to St. Andrew's, in order to attend a fon of the earl of Weems in that univerfity. After this. he travelled to Holland, and went to Leyden: where falling into the acquaintance of Poiret, a celebrated myftic divine, he became tinctured with his doctrines; and refolved for farther fatisfaction to confult Fenelon, the famed archbishop of Cam-bray, who had long imbibed the fundamental principles of that theology. Before he left Scotland, he had conceived a difguft to the religion in which he was bred; and in that ill humour, cafting his eye upon other Chriftian churches, and feeing none to his liking, he became difpleafed with all, and gave into Deifm. During his abode in Holland, he grew more confirmed in that way of thinking; yet without coming to any fixed determination. In this unfettled ftate of mind, he arrived at Cambray in 1710, and was received with great kindness by the archbishop, who took him into his family, heard with patience and attention the hiftory of his religious principles, entered heartily with him into a difcuffion of them, and, to he short, in fix months time made him as good a Catholic as himself. The fubfequent courfe of his life received its direction from his friendship and connections with this prelate. Fenelon had been preceptor to the duke of Burgundy, heir-apparent, after the death of his father the dauphin, to the crown of France; yet neither of them came to the poffeflion of it, VOL. XIII. B being *Miss being furvived by Lewis XIV, who was fucceeded by his great grandfon, fon to the duke of Burgundy, and now Lewis XV. Ramfay, having been first governor to the duke de Charteau-Thiery and the prince de Turenne, was made knight of the order of St. Lazarus; and afterwards fent for to Rome by the chevalier de St. George, ftyled there James III. king of Great Britain, to take the charge of educating his children. He went accordingly to that court in 1724; but the intrigues and diffentions, which he found on his arri- val there, gave him fo much uneafiness, that, with the Pretender's leave, he presently returned to Paris. Then he croffed the water to his own country, and was kindly received by the duke of Argyle and Greenwich; in whofe family he refided fome years, and employed his leifure there in writing feveral ingenious pieces. We are told. that in the mean time he had the degree of doctor of law conferred on him at Oxford; that he was admitted for this purpofe of St. Mary Hall in April, 1730; and that he was prefented to his degree by Dr. King, the principal of that houfe. After his return to France, he refided fome, tine at Pontoife, feat of the prince de Turenne, duke de Bouillon, with whom he continued in the post of intendant till his death... This happened on the 6th of May, 1743, at St. Germaine Laie, where his body was interred; but his heart was depofited in the nunnery of St. Sacrament at Paris. His works are, i. Difcours fur le Poëme Epique;" prefixed to the later editions of Telemachus. 2. "La Vie de Mr. Fenelon." 3. Effai fur le Gouvernment Civil." 4: Le Pfychometre, ou Reflexions fur les différens characteres de l'efprit, par un Milord Anglois." Thete are remarks upon lord Shaftesbury's Characteristics. 5. "Les Voyages de Cyrus," in French; and, in English, "The Travels of Cyrus." This is his Chef d'Oeuvre, and hath gone through feveral editions in both languages. 6" L'Hiftoire de M. de Turenne, in French and English." 7. Several fmall pieces of poetry, in English." 8. "Two Letters in French, to M. Racine the fon, upon the true fentiments of Mr. Pope, in his Effay on Man." Thele were printed after his decease, in 66 Les Oeuvres de M Racine le fils," tom. II. 1747. In the former of thefe, he calls Locke génie fuperficiel, a fuperficial genius and has fhewn by this, that, whatever ingenuity and polite literature he might poffels (and he poffeffed a very confiderable portion of both), he was not qualified in any degree to judge of philofophers. Two pofthumous works of his were alfo printed at Glafgow. 9." A plan of education:" and, 19: Philofophical Principles of natural and revealed 66 Religion, Religion, explained and unfolded in a geometrical Order, 1749," in 2 vols. 4to. RAMSAY (CHARLES LEWIS), a Scotch gentleman. He was author of a tract on short-hand, which he wrote in Latin, and dedicated to Louis XIV. It was tranflated into French, and published at Paris in 1681. RAMSAY (ALLEN). He was born at Peebles, 1696; and ferved his apprenticeship to a barber in Edinburgh. In his early youth he addicted himself to reading during his leifure-hours; and wrote fe eral poems which were juftly eftecmed by gentlemen of taste and education. But his capital work was the "Gentle Shepherd," first acted at Edinburgh, 1719. This is, perhaps, the most beautiful paftoral comedy that ever was acted on any ftage in the univerfe. It is a perfect imitation of the manners of the people of Scotland; and it is no difhonour to the ingenious author to mention, that, previous to its first publication, it was perufed by Sir Gilbert Elliot, Sir Williamri Bennet, Duncan Forbes, efq. and other learned gentlemen. A fubfcription was fet on foot for the author; and he opened a bookfeller's fhop in Edinburgh, which was much frequented. In his advanced years he retired to live privately, and died, 1763, aged 67. His poems have been printed in 2 vols. 12mo.; and his fongs in 4 vols. and in one vol. RAMUS (PETER), a most famous profeffor of France, was born in 1515, in a village of Vermandois in Picardy. His family was good, but had fuffered great hardships and injuries from the wars. His grandfather, having loft all his poffeffions, was obliged to turn collier for a livelihood. His father followed hufbandry; and himfelf was not happier than his father and grandfather, his life being, fays Bayle, the fport of fortune, or one continued viciffitude of good and ill fortune. He was fcarcely out of the cradle, when he was twice attacked with the plague. At eight years of age, a thirst after learning prompted him to go to Paris; but poverty forced him to leave that city. He returned to it as foon as he could; but, being unable to fupport himfelf, he left it a fecond time: yet his paffion for ftudy was fo violent, that, notwithstanding his ill fortune in two journeys, he ventured upon a third, He was maintained there fome months by one of his uncles; after which he was obliged to be a feryant in the college of Navarre. He spent the day in waiting upon his mafters, and the greateft part of the night in ftudy. What is related in the firft Scaligerana, of his living to nineteen without learning to read, and of his being very dull and ftupid, is not credible. After having finished claffical learning and rhetoric, he went through a courfe of philofophy, which took him up three years and a half in the fchools. The thefis, which he made for his mafter of arts degree, offended all the world: for he maintained in it, that "all which Aristotle had advanced was falfe;" and he anfwered extremely well the objections of the profeffors. This fuccefs inclined him to examine the doctrine of Ariftotle more clofely, and to combat it vigorously but he confined himfelf principally to his Logic. The two first books he published, the one intituled "Inftitutiones Dialectica," the other, "Ariftotelicæ Animadverfiones," occafioned great disturbances in the university of Paris. The profeffors there, who were adorers of Aristotle, ought to have refuted Ramus's books by writings and lectures; but, inftead of confining themfelves within the just bounds of academical wars, they profecuted this anti-peripatetic before the civil magiftrate, as a man who was going to fap the foundations of religion. They raifed fuch clamours, that the cause was carried before the parliament of Paris: but, the moment they perceived it would be examined equitably, and according to the ufual forms, they by their intrigues took it from that tribunal, and brought it before the king's council; and Francis I. was obliged to interfere in it. The king ordered, that Ramus, and Antony Govea who was his principal adverfary, fhould chufe two judges each, to pronounce on the controverfv, after they fhould have ended their difputation; while he himself appointed a deputy. Ramus, in obedience to the king's orders, appeared before the five judges, though three of them were his declared enemies. The dispute lafted two days; and Govea had all the advantages he could defire, Ramus's books being prohibited in all parts of the kingdom, and their author fentenced not to teach philofophy any longer. His enemies difcovered a moft furprifing joy on that account: they made a greater noife, in proportion, than the proudest princes for the taking of a confiderable city, or the winning of a very important victory. The fentence of the three judges was published in Latin and French in all the streets of Paris, and in all parts of Europe, whither it could be fent, Plays were acted with great pomp, in which Ramus was mocked and abused a thousand ways, in the midst of the applaufes and acclamations of the Ariftotelians. This happened în 1543: The year after, the plague made great havoc in Paris, and forced molt of the ftudents in the College of Prele to quit it; but Ramus, being prevailed upon to teach in it, foon drew together a great number of auditors. The Sorbonne attempted to drive m from that college, but to no purpole; for he held the the headship of that house by arret of parliament. Through the patronage and protection of the cardinal of Lorrain, he obtained, in 1547, from Henry II. the liberty of fpeaking and writing, and the royal profefforfhip of philofophy and eloquence in 1551. The parliament of Paris had, before this, maintained him in the liberty of joining philofophical lectures to thofe of eloquence; and this arret or decree had put an end to feveral profecutions, which Ramus and his pupils had fuffered for they had been profecuted feveral ways, both before the univerfity-judges and the civil magiftrates. As foon as he was made regius profeffor, he was fired with a new zeal for improving the fciences; and was extremely laborious and active on this occafion, notwithstanding the hatred of his enemies, who were never at reft. He bore at that time a part in a very fingular affair, which deferves to be mentioned. About 1550, the royal profeffors corrected, among other abuses, that which had crept into the pronunciation of the Latin tongue. Some of the clergy followed this regulation; but the Sorbonnifts were much offended at it as an innovation, and defended the old pronunciation with great zeal. Things at length were carried fo far, that a minifter, who had a good living, was very ill-treated by them; and caufed to be ejected from his benefice for having pronounced Quifquis, Quamquam, according to the new way, inftead of Kiskis, Kankam, according to the old. The minifter applied to the parliament; and the royal profeffors with Ramus among them, fearing he would fall a victim to the credit and authority of the faculty of divines, for presuming to pronounce the Latin tongue according to their regulations, thought it incumbent on thein to affift him. Accordingly, they went to the court of justice; and represented in fuch strong terms the indignity of the profecution, that the perfon accused was cleared, and every body had the liberty of pronouncing as they pleased. Ramus was bred up in the Catholic religion, but afterwards deferted it. He began to discover his new principles, by removing the images from the chapel of his college of Prele. This was in 1552; when fuch a profecution was raised against him by the Religionifts, as well as Ariftotelians, that he was not only driven out of his profefforfhip, but obliged to conceal himself. For that purpofe, he went with the king's leave to Fontainbleau; where, by the help of books in the king's library, he purfued geometrical and aftronomical ftudies. As foon as his enemies knew where he was, he found himself no where fafe: fo that he was forced to go and conceal himself in feveral other places. During this interval, his excellent and curious collection of books in the college of Prele was plundered; but, after a peace was concluded in B 3 1563, |