Erpenius

Erpenius (Thomas van Erpen), Orientalist, was born at Gorkum, in Holland, 7th September 1584, studied at Leyden, and at Paris learned Arabic from an Egyptian. In 1613 he became professor of Oriental Languages at Leyden, where he erected an Arabic press in his own house. As oriental interpreter to the government, he read and wrote replies to all official documents coming from the East. He died of the plague, 13th November 1624. Arabic studies owe much to his labours. In spite of his poverty of materials, his famous grammar (Grammatica Arabica, Leyden, 1613) enjoyed undisputed supremacy for two hundred years; his Rudimenta (1620, often re-edited) had an even longer vogue. He also edited Lokman (q.v.); Proverbiorum Arabicorum Centuriae Duæ (1614); and El-Mekin's Historia Saracenica (1625).