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four years after, he was called to court, and enrolled among the penfioners of that monarch. After the death of Henry, queen Mary of Medicis became his patronefs, and fettled upon him a very handfome penfion. This he enjoyed to the time of his death, which happened at Paris in 1628. It was the misfortune of this poet, that he had no great share in the affection of cardinal Richelieu. It was difcovered, that, instead of taking more than ordinary pains, as he should have done, to celebrate the glory of that great minifter, he had only patched together old fcraps, which he had found among his papers. This was not the way to please a perfon of fo delicate a taste, and fo haughty a fpirit; and therefore he received this homage from Malherbe very coldly, and not without difguft." I learned from M. Racan," fays, Me- Obfervat, nage, "that Malherbe wrote those two ftanzas above thirty fur le fragyears before Richelieu, to whom he addreffed them, was card. Riche"made a cardinal; and that he changed only the four firft lieu. "verses of the firft ftanza, to accommodate them to his fub"ject. I learned alfo from the fame Racan, that cardinal "Richelieu, who knew that these verses had not been made "for him, did not receive them well, when Malherbe prefented them to him." His indolence upon fuch an occafion may be imputed to that extreme difficulty with which he always wrote. It is incredible, as many authors tell us, how much watching and application it coft Malherbe to produce his poems. "They might," fays Bayle, "have compared Diet. art. "his Mufe to certain women, who are feven or eight hours MAL❝in hard labour, before they can bring forth a child upon "which account one is almoft ready to fay of him, what and art. "was faid of another; The fine things he publishes coft him GUARINI, "fo dear, that, were I in his cafe, I would pitch upon fome Note G. "other employment to ferve my neighbours, and fhould not "think that God required that from me."

This poet was a man of a very fingular humour; and many ftrange things are told of him by Racan, his friend, and the writer of his life. A gentleman of the law, and of some distinction, brought him one day fome indifferent commendatory verses on a lady; telling him at the same time, that some very particular confiderations had induced him to compofe them. Malherbe, having run them over with a fupercilious air, afked the gentleman bluntly, as his manner was, "whether he had been fentenced to be hanged, or to "make those verses?" His manner of punishing his fervant was pleafant enough. Befides twenty crowns a year, be allowed him ten-pence a day board wages, which in those

HERBE,

times was very confiderable; when therefore the fellow had done any thing amifs, and vexed him, Malherbe would very gravely fay: "My friend, an offence against your master is an offence against God, and muft he expiated by prayer, fasting, and giving of alms; wherefore I fhall now retrench five-pence out of your allowance, and give them to the poor on your account. Many anecdotes are to be found in this life of Malherbe by Racan, which make it probable that he had no religion. When the poor used to promife him that they would pray to God for him, he anfwered them, that he did not believe they could have any

great intereft in heaven, fince they were left in so bad a "condition upon earth, and that he should be better pleased "if the duke de Luyne, or fome other favourite, had made

him the fame promife." He would often fay, that "the "religion of gentlemen was that of their prince." During his laft fickness, he had much ado to refolve to confess to a prieft; for which he gave this facetious reason, that “he

never used to confefs but at Eafter." And fome few moments before his death, when he had been in a lethargy La vie de two hours, he awaked on a fudden to reprove his landlady Malherbe, who waited on him, for ufing a word that was not good par Racan, French: faying to his confeffor, who reprimanded him for prefixed to it, that he could not help it, and that he would defend the de Mal- "purity of the French language, to the last moment of his herbe, &c. life.

Les ouvres

Paris, 1723.

iv.

Johnson's MALLET (DAVID), or MALLOCH, an English poet, Lives of the but of Scotland, where he was born about 1700. By the Poets, vol. penury of his parents, he was compelled to be janitor of the high fchool at Edinburgh; but he furmounted the difadvan tages of his birth and fortune: for, when the duke of Montrofe applied to the college of Edinburgh, for a tutor to edu cats his fons, Malloch was recommended. When his pupils went abroad, they were entrusted to his care; and having conducted them through their travels, he returned with them to London. Here, refiding in their family, he naturally gained admiffion to perfons of high rank and character; to wits, nobles, and ftatefmen. In 1724, he began to give fpecimens of his poetical talents; which, however, were far from being of the first clafs. In 1733, he published a poem on Verbal Criticifm," on purpose to make his court to Pope; "a fubject which he either did not understand or wil lingly mifreprefented; and on which he has fhewn more pertness than wit, more confidence than knowledge.'

bid.

Some

Some time before this, having cleared his tongue from his hative pronunciation, fo as to be no longer diftinguished as a Scot, he took upon him to change his name from Scotch Malloch to English Mallet. What other proofs he gave of difrefpect to his native country, we know not: but it was Jahnfon's * remarkable of him, that he was the only Scot whom Lives, & "Scotchmen did not commend." In 1740, he wrote a Life of Lord Bacon, which was then prefixed to an edition of his works; but with so much more knowledge of history than of science, that, when he afterwards undertook the Life of Marlborough, fome were apprehenfive, left he should for get that Marlborough was a general, as he had forgotten that Bacon was a philofopher. The old duchefs of Marlborough affigned, in her will, this tafk to Glover and Mallet, with a reward of 1000 I. and a prohibition to infert any verfes. Glover is fuppofed to have rejected the legacy with difdain, fo that the work devolved upon Mallet: who had also a penfon from the late duke of Marlborough to promote his induftry, and who was continually talking of the difcoveries he made.

When the prince of Wales was driven from the palace, and kept a feparate court by way of oppofition, to increase his popularity by patronizing literature, he made Mallet his under-fecretary, with a falary of 2001. a year. Thomfon likewife had a penfion; and they were affociated in the compofition of the Mafque of Alfred," which in its original ftate was played at Cliefden in 1740. It was afterwards almoft wholly changed by Mallet, and brought upon the stage of Drury-Lane in 1751, but with no great fuccefs. The movements, however, previous to its introduction, are amufing enough. Mallet, according to my author, in a familiar converfation with Garrick, difcourfing of the diligence he was then exerting upon the Life of Marlborough,” let him know, that in the feries of great men, quickly to be exhibited, he should find a rich for the hero of the theatre. After wondering fome little time, how he could be introduced, Pray, Mr. Mallet," fays Garrick, "have you left "off to write for the ftage. ?" (for he had written a tragedy as well as a mafque.) Mallet then confeffed, that he had a drama in his hands. Garrick promifed to act it, and Al“ fred" was produced: though, alas! when Mallet died, in 1765, no nich, not a line of hiftory was left behind him.

The works of this author have been collected in three volumes 12mo. As a writer, he cannot be placed in

any

See Mal

pofthuma,

folio.

any high class; there being no fpecies of compofition in which he was eminent. Lord Bolingbroke left him the pro-. perty of his works, which he published in five vols. 4to.

MALPIGHI (MARCELLUS), an Italian phyfician and pighi's life, anatomift, was born March 10, 1628, at Crevalcuore, near written by himself, and Bologna, in Italy. He learned Latin and ftudied philofophy prefixed to in that city; and, in 1649, lofing his parents, and being pera obliged to choose his own method of life, he determined to Lond. 1697, apply himself to phyfic. The univerfity of Bologna was then fupplied with very learned profeffors in that fcience, the principal of whom were Bartholomew Maffari, and Andrew Mariano. Malpighi put himself under their conduct, and in a fhort time made a great progrefs in phyfic and anatomy. After he had finished the ufual courfe, he was admitted doctor of phyfic, April 6, 1653. In 1655, Maffari died, which was very grievous to Malpighi, as well because he had loft his mafter, as because he had married his fifter. In 1656, the fenate of Bologna gave him a professorship, which he did not hold long; for the fame year the grand duke of Tuscany fent for him to Pifa, to be profeffor of phyfic there. It was in this city that he contracted a ftrict friendship with Borelli, whom he afterwards owned for his master in philosophy, and to whom he afcribed all the difcoveries which he afterwards made. They diffected animals together, and it was in this employment that he found the heart to confist of spiral fibres; a difcovery, which has been ascribed to Borelli in his pofthumous works. The air of Pifa not agreeing with him, he continued there but three years: and, in 1659, returned to Bologna to refume his former pofts, notwithstanding the advantageous offers which were made him to stay at Pifa. Mariano dying in 1661, Malpighi was now left to himself to pursue the bent of his genius. In 1662, he was fent for to Meffina, in order to fucceed Peter Caftello, first profeffor of phyfic, who was just dead. It was with reluctance that he went thither, though the ftipend was great; but he was prevailed on at laft by his friend Borelli, and accepted it; nevertheless, he afterwards returned to Bologna. In 1669, he was elected a member of the royal fociety of London, with which he ever after kept a correfpondence by letters, and communicated his discoveries in anatomy. Cardinal Pignatelli, who had known him while he was legate at Bologna, being chofen pope in 1691, under the name of Innocent XII. immediately fent for him to Rome, and appointed him his

phyfician

phyfician. In 1694, he was admitted into the academy of the Arcadians at Rome. July the 25th, of the fame year, he had a fit, which struck half his body with a paralyfis and, Nov. the 29th following, he had another, of which he died the fame day, in his 67th year.

His works, with his life before them, written by himself, were first collected, and printed together at London, 1697, in folio; but they were reprinted more correctly at Amfterdam, 1698, in 4to. This author's difcoveries in anatomy were confiderable. With regard to the liver, he discovered its texture by his glaffes, and found out, 1. That the subftance of it is framed of innumerable lobules, which are very often of a cubical figure, and confift of several little glands, like the ftones of raifins, fo that they look like bunches of grapes, and are each of them cloathed with a diftinct membrane. 2. That the whole bulk of the liver confifts of thefe grape-ftone-like glands, and of divers forts of veffels. 3. That the fmall branches of the cava porta, and porus biliaris, run through all, even the least of these lobules, in an equal number; and that the branches of the porta are as arteries, which convey the blood to, and the branches of the cava are as veins, which carry the blood from, all these little grape-ftone-like glands. From whence it is plain, that the liver is a glandulous body, with its proper excretory veffels, which carry away the gall, that lay before in the mafs of the blood. As for the texture of the fpleen, he difcovered, that the fubftance of it, deducting from the numerous blood-veffels and nerves, as alfo the fibres, which arife from its fecond membrane, and which support the other parts, is made of innumerable little cells, like honeycombs, in which there are vaft numbers of fmall glandules, which resemble bunches of grapes; and that these hang upon the fibres, and are fed by twigs of arteries and nerves, and fend forth the blood there purged into the ramus fpleneticus, which carries it into the liver. The mechanifm of the reins was wholly unknown, till Malpighi found it out; for he discovered, that the kidneys are not one uniform fubftance, but confift of feveral fmall globules, which are all like fo many feveral kidneys, bound about with one common membrane, and that every globule has fmall twigs from the emulgent arteries, that carry blood to it; glands, through which the urine is ftrained from it; veins, by which the purified blood is carried off to the emulgent veins, thence to go into the cava; a pipe, to convey the urine into the great bafon in the middle of the kidney; and a nipple,