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NEW AND GENERAL

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY.

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OLINÆUS (CAROLUS), or CHARLES DU MOULIN, a famous lawyer, was born at Paris in 1500. family was noble, and Papyrius mentions a thing very fingular, viz. that those of the family of Moulin were related to Elizabeth queen of England;" which the acknowledged herself in 1572, fpeaking with Francis duke of Montmorency, marshal of France and embaffador to England. This relation probably came by Thomas Bulloigne, vifcount of Rochefort, the queen's grandfather by the mother's fide; for Sanderus and others fay, "that this Rochefort being embassador to France, gave his daughter Anne of Bulloigne to a gentleman of Brie, a friend and relation of his, to take care of her educa. tion; and this gentleman is fupposed to be the lord of Fontenay in Brie, of the family of du Moulin." This branch came from Denys du Moulin, lord of Fontenay in Brie, archbishop of Thouloufe, patriarch of Antioch, and bishop of Paris, where he died in 1447. Charles du Moulin was a very learned man, and compofed feveral works, which were collected into three volumes in folio. He was called, "the French Papinian, the French and German lawyer ;" and died at Paris in 1566, a Roman catholic, as it is faid, though a proteftant before.

MOLINÆUS (PETER), or PETER DU MOULIN, a celebrated French proteftant minifter, and of the fame family with Charles du Moulin, was born at Vexin in 1568. He imbibed the rudiments of literature at Sedan; and, when he arrived at twenty years of age, was fent to finish his education VOL. XI.

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in England, where he became a member of Chrift-college in Cambridge. After four years' ftay in England, he went to Holland in the retinue of duke of Wirtemberg, and had the ill-luck to be fhip-wrecked in his paffage, when he lost all his books and baggage. This gave occafion to his writing an elegant poem, intituled, "Votiva Tabula," which did him. great credit, and procured him many friends. The French embaffador countenanced him greatly, (for, Henry IV. at that time fent proteftant embaffadors into proteftant countries,) and recommended him to the queen-mother; by whose interest he obtained the profefforfhip of philofophy at Leyden, then vacant. This he held for five or fix years, and had feveral difciples, who afterwards became famous; among the reft Hugo Grotius. He read lectures upon Ariftotle, and difciplined his scholars in the art of difputing; of which he made himself fo great a mafter, that he was always the fcourge and terror of the papifts. Scaliger was very much his patron; and when du Moulin published his Logic at Leyden in 1596, was so gracious as to fay of the epiftle prefatory, "hæc epiftola non eft hujus ævi." He taught Greek alfo in the divinity-fchools, in which he was extremely well fkilled, as appears from his book, intituled, "Novitas Papifmi," where he expofes cardinal Perron's ignorance of that language.

In 1599, he went to Paris, to be minifter at Charenton, and chaplain to Catharine of Bourbon, the king's fifter, who was then married to Henry of Lorrain, duke of Bar. This lady continued a determined proteftant in fpite of all attempts to convert her. The pope applied to Henry IV. about the converfion of his fifter, and Henry fet his divines upon her; but du Moulin preferved her found and orthodox in the faith against all their artifices. Perron and Cotton were the men chiefly employed, with whom du Moulin had frequent conflicts; and Henry begged of her limfelf, only to hear his chaplains preach. She confented to hear father Cotton, who was immediately ordered to preach before the king and his fifter in the very place where du Moulin had preached before. However, to fecure herfelf the better against the wiles of this jefuit, the contrived to have du Moulin fo placed, that he might hear all that Cotton faid.

Though Henry IV. was very angry at du Moulin for baffling the jefuit, and defeating his endeavours to convert his fifter; yet the king had always a great regard for him, which du Moulin well knew, and of which he ever retained a very grateful remembrance. After the death of Henry, therefore, which happened in 1610, du Moulin publifhed a book, in which he charged the murder of that monarch upon Cotton, and the whole order of jefuits. It had been faid, that Ravillac

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was excited to that defperate act by fome notions, which he had picked up in the writings of the jefuits, of Mariana in particular, touching the perfons and authority of kings: upon which account father Cotton published an Apologetical Piece," to fhew that the doctrine of the jefuits was exactly conformable to the decrees of the council of Trent. This was anfwered by du Moulin in a book intituled, "Anticotton; or, A Refutation of Father Cotton:" wherein is proved, that the jefuits were the real authors of that execrable parricide: though fome indeed have doubted whether he was the author of that book. In 1615, James I. who had long correfponded with du Moulin by letters, fent to invite him to England; which invitation his church at Paris would not fuffer him to accept of, till he had given a folemn promife, in the face of his congregation, that he would return to them at the end of three months. The king received him with great affection; took him to Cambridge at the time of the commencement, where he was honoured with a doctor's degree; and, at his departure from England, prefented him vith a prebend in the church of Canterbury. Du Moulin had afterwards innumerable difputes with the jefuits; and, when they found that nothing was to be done with him this way, they made ufe of others. They tried to bring him over to them by the promife of great rewards; and they attempted more than once his life, fo that he was obliged at length always to have a guard. In 1617, when the United Provinces defired the reformed churches of England, France, and Germany, to fend fome of their minifters to the fynod of Dort, du Moulin and three others. were deputed by the Gallican church; but were forbidden to go by the king upon pain of death. In 1618, he had an invitation from Levden to fill their divinity-chair, which was vacant, but refufed to accept of it. In 1620, when he was preparing to go to the national fynod of the Gallican church, baren Herbert of herbury, then embaffador from Britain at the court of France, afked him to write to king James, and to urge him, if poffible, to undertake the defence of his fon-inlaw the king of Bohemia, who then stood in need of it. Du Moulin declined the office; but the embaffador, knowing his intereft with James, would not admit of any excufe. This brought him into trouble; for it was foon after decreed by an order of parliament, that he should be feized and imprifoned, for having folicited a foreign prince to take up arms for the proteftant churches. Apprifed of this, he fecretly betook. himfelf to the embafador Herbert, who fufpected that his letters to the king were intercepted; and who advised him to fly, as the only means of providing for his fafery. He went to Sedan, where he accepted the divinity-profefforfhip and the miniftry

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miniftry of the church; both which he held to the time of his death, which happened March 10, 1658, in his 90th year. He took a journey into England in 1623, when cardinal Perron's book was published against king James: and, at that king's inftigation, undertook to anfwer it. This answer was published at Sedan, after the death of James, under the title of "Novitas Papifmi, five Perronii confutatio, regifque Jacobi, fed magis facræ veritatis defenfio." He was the author of many other learned works.

MOLINET (JOHN), librarian to Margaret of Auftria, and author of various compofitions in profe and verse. His poems were reprinted at Paris in 1723. He was alfo author of "A moral Paraphrafe of The Romance of the Rofe." Molinet died in 1607.

MOLINET (CLAUD DU), a learned Frenchman, born at Chalons in 1620. He was author of various performances on the fubject of antiquities, which contain many curious things. He died in 1687.

MOLINOS (MICHAEL), a Spanish ecclefiaftic, born at Saragoffa in 1527, of an opulent and refpectable family. He is memorable for exciting controverfies in the church, and for giving the name to a new fect. He published a book called "The Spiritual Guide," which gave the doctors of the church univerfal alarm. It was firft published in Spanish, but was afterwards tranflated into all the languages of Europe. The principle it inculcated was, that men ought to annihilate themfelves, as it were, in order to be united with the Deity. A violent perfecution was excited against him, and, in 1685, he was thrown into prifon. Two years afterwards he was cbliged to renounce his errors, and his folemn recantation was followed by a fentence of perpetual imprisonment, from which he was delivered by death in 1696. He was an enthusiast, but, it is alfo certain, that his opinions and expreffions were perfidiously mifreprefented and perverted. His fyftem, however, was justly chargeable with the greatest part of the reproaches which have been heaped upon the mystics, and favoured the illufions and follies of thofe fanatics who would make the crude vifions of their difordered fancies pass for communications from the Deity.

MOLLER (DANIEL WILLIAM), a native of Presbourg, and a celebrated traveller. He was profeffor of history and metaphyfics at the univerfity of Altorf, where alfo he had the office of public librarian. He died at Altorf in 1712. He was author of different works, all of which proved him to have been a man of profound erudition.

MOLLER (JOHN), born at Fleinfbourg in the duchy of Slefwic in 1661. He was a man of a very philofophic turn,

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