Meursius

Meursius, JOHANNES, the elder (properly Jan de Meurs), a learned scholar, was born at Loozduinen near the Hague, 9th February 1579, studied philology at Leyden, next travelled through Europe with the son of the Grand-pensionary Barneveldt, and became in 1610 professor of History, and next year of Greek, at Leyden, and afterwards Historiographer to the States-general. In 1625 he became professor of History in the academy at Sorö in Denmark, and here he died, 20th September 1639. His industry was portentous, and his works are a storehouse of materials for students, especially in Greek antiquities. He edited Cato's De Re Rustica, Plato's Timæus, the Characters of Theophrastus, and a long series of the writings of the later Greek writers, as Lycophon, Constantinus Porphyrogenitus, Philostratus, Aristoxenus, Constantinus Manasses, Theophylact, Theodorus Metochites, Antigonus Carystius, Apollonius Dyskolus, and Phlegon. Other works are the useful Glossarium Græco-Barbarum (1614), Res Belgicæ (1612), Athenæ Batavæ (1625), Historia Danica (1630), and a long series of monographs on questions of Greek antiquities which may be found in the Thesaurus Antiquitatum Græcarum of Gronovius. A collected edition of his works was prepared by Lami (12 vols. Flor. 1741-63).—His son, JOHANNES MEURSIUS, the younger, was born at Leyden in 1613, and died in Denmark in 1654. He wrote several antiquarian works of value, but his name by a singular misfortune survives in connection with the filthy Elegantiae linguae Latineæ (best ed. Leyden, 1757), with which it is certain that he had nothing to do. The original edition bears neither place nor date, but was most probably printed about 1680 at Lyon or Grenoble. It contains a little poem by Chorier (1609-92), hence his name has been too easily connected with the book, the origin of which still remains an unsolved puzzle.