"De Linguæ Etruriæ Regalis vernacula Dissertatio," Oxon. 1738, 4to, 19 pages. 2. "A critical essay concerning the words Δαίμων and Δαιμονιον, occasioned by two late inquiries into the meaning of the Demoniacks in the New Testament," London, 1739, 8vo. 3. "De priscis Romanorum literis dissertatio," Oxon. 1746, 4to, 20 pages. 4. "De primogenio Etruscorum alphabeto, dissertatio,' Oxon. 1746. 5. "Inscriptiones Citieæ: sive in binas Inscriptiones Phoenicias, inter rudera Citii nuper repertas, conjecturæ. Accedit de nummis quibusdam Samaritanis et Phoeniciis, vel insolitam præ se literaturam ferentibus, vel in lucem hactenus non editis, dissertatio," Oxford, 1750, 4to, 87 pages. 6. "Inscriptiones Citieæ: sive in binas alias inscriptiones Phoenicias, inter rudera Citii nuper repertas, conjecturæ," 4to, 19 pages. 7. " De nummis quibusdam Samaritanis et Phoeniciis, vel insolitam præ se literaturam ferentibus, vel in lucem hactenus non editis, dissertatio secunda," 4to, 36 pages. 8. "Metilia: sive de quinario Gentis Metiliæ, è nummis vetustis cæteroquin minimum notæ, dissertatio," Oxon. 1750, 4to, 22 pages. 9. Several dissertations published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. As, "A dissertation upon a Parthian coin; with characters on the reverse resembling those of the Palmyrenes," vol. xlix. p. 593. "Some remarks on a Parthian coin, with a Greek and Parthian legend, never before published," vol. i. p. 16. "A dissertation upon the Phoenician numeral characters, anciently used at Sidon," vol. i. p. 791. "In nummum Parthicum hactenus ineditum conjecturæ, vol. li. p. 683. "A dissertation upon a Samnite Denarius, never before published, vol. lii. p. 28., "An account of a subærated Denarius of the Plætorian family, adorned with an Etruscan inscription on the reverse, never before published or explained," vol. lxii. p. 60. 60. "Observations upon five ancient Persian coins, struck in Palestine or Phoenicia, before the dissolution of the Persian empire, vol. Ixii. p. 345. Other papers by him may be found in the general index to the Philosophical Transactions. 10. A part of the ancient universal history, contained in the sixth and seventh volumes of that great work. The particulars of this piece of literary history were communicated by Dr. Johnson to Mr. Nichols, in a paper printed in the Gentleman's Magazine for December 1784, p. 892. The original of that paper, which affords a strong proof of the steady attachment of Johnson to the

interests of literature, has been, according to his desire, deposited in the British Museum. The letter is as follows:

"To Mr. Nichols.

"The late learned Mr. Swinton of Oxford having one day remarked, that one man, meaning, I suppose, no man but himself, could assign all the parts of the Universal History to their proper authors, at the request of sir Robert Chambers, or of myself, gave the account which I now transmit to you in his own hand, being willing that of so great a work the history should be known, and that each writer should receive his due proportion of praise from posterity. I recommend to you to preserve this scrap of literary intelligence, in Mr. Swinton's own hand, or to deposit it in the Museum, that the veracity of the account may never be doubted. I am, sir, your most humble servant, SAM. JOHNSON."

Dec. 6, 1784. The paper alluded to, besides specifying some parts written by other persons, assigns the following divisions of the history to Mr. Swinton himself. "The history of the Carthaginians, Numidians, Mauritanians, Gætulians, Garamantes, Melano-Gætulians, Nigritæ, Cyrenaica, Marmarica, the Regio Syrtica, Turks, Tartars, and Moguls, Indians, and Chinese, a dissertation on the peopling of America, and one on the independency of the Arabs."*

In 1740 Mr. Swinton was involved in a law-suit, in consequence of a letter he had published. It appears from one of the newspapers of the time, that a letter from the Rev. Mr. Swinton, highly reflecting on Mr. George Baker, having fallen into the hands of the latter, the court of King's Bench made the rule absolute for an information against Mr. Swinton. These two gentlemen were also engaged for some time in a controversy at Oxford; which took its rise from a matter relative to Dr. Thistlethwaite, some time warden of Wadham, which then attracted much attention. Mr. Swinton had the manners, and some of the peculiarities often seen in very recluse scholars, which gave rise to many whimsical stories. Among the rest, there is one mentioned by Mr. Boswell, in the Life of Johnson, as

*This list is given in Peshall's History of the city of Oxford, p. 171, and very probably from the author's authority; but it is added that he wrote in

the Modern Universal History the Life of Mohammed and the History of the Arabs.

having happened in 1754. the university of Oxford. "there bad been an execution of two or three criminals at Oxford, on a Monday. Soon afterwards, one day at dinner, I was saying that Mr. Swinton, the chaplain of the gaol, and also a frequent preacher before the university, a learned man, but often thoughtless and absent, preached the condemnation sermon on repentance, before the convicts on the preceding day, Sunday; and that, in the close, he told his audience that he should give them the remainder of what he had to say on the subject, the next Lord's-day. Upon which, one of our company, a doctor of divinity, and a plain matter-of-fact man, by way of offering an apology for Mr. Swinton, gravely remarked, that he had probably preached the same sermon before the university: "Yes, sir, (says Johnson,) but the university were not to be hanged the next morning

Johnson was then on a visit in "About this time," he says,

ויי!

SYBRECHT (JOHN), a landscape painter, was born at Antwerp, about 1630, and brought up in that city under his father. He was a close imitator of nature in all his landscapes; and in his younger days went upon the Rhine and other adjacent places, where he drew several pleasant views in water-colours. Having spent more of his life in that way, than in painting, his drawings were more valued than his pictures. The duke of Buckingham; passing through the Netherlands, in his way home from his embassy into France, stayed some time at Antwerp; where, meeting with some of this master's works, he was so well pleased with them, that he invited him over to England, and employed him at Cliefden. Sybrecht continued in his service three or four years, and then worked for the nobility and gentry of England, continuing in vogue a long time. He drew several sorts of cattle remarkably well, and usually contrived to place some of them in his landscapes. He died in London about 1703, and was buried in St. James's church. There are some of his pictures at Newstede-abbey, lord Byron's, and in other houses belonging to the nobility. In 1686 he made several views of Chatsworth.

SYDENHAM (FLOYER), deserves a fuller account than can now be given of a learned and diligent man, unfortunately altogether unpatronized, who undertook, and in 1 Preceding edit of this Dict.

2 Pilkington.-Walpole's Anecdotes.

part executed, a translation of the works of Plato. His proposals for this great undertaking were published in a quarto tract in 1759; and he produced successively, between that time and 1767, translation of the " Io, a discourse on poetry," of "The Greater Hippias," "The Lesser Hippias," "The Banquet, Part I." and "The Banquet, Part II." He is said to have lived for some years, and finally to have died, in great indigence. The Gentleman's Magazine places his death on April the 1st, 1787, and adds, that he was born in 1710, and educated at Wadham college, Oxford, where he took the degree of M. A. April 30, 1734. In an account published by the society called the Literary Fund, the following narrative of his death is given: "During the summer recess of the year 1788, an event took place, which tarnished the character of English opulence and humanity, and afflicted the votaries of knowledge. Floyer Sydenham, the well-known translator of Plato, one of the most useful, if not one of the most competent Greek scholars of his age; a man revered for his knowledge, and beloved for the candour of his temper and the gentleness of his manners, died in consequence of having been arrested, and detained, for a debt to a victualler, who had, for some time, furnished his frugal dinner. At the news of that event, every friend of literature felt a mixture of sorrow and shame; and one of the members of a club at the prince of Wales's coffeehouse proposed, that it should adopt, as its object and purpose, some means to prevent similar afflictions, and to assist deserving authors and their families in distress." Whether the account reported to these gentlemen, of the time and manner of Sydenham's death was accurate or not, the friends of literature and humanity will feel great consolation in finding that it gave occasion to a society so benévolent in its designs; which arose, after a few changes and modifications, out of the proposal above-mentioned. The society is now in a flourishing and improving state, and has given very timely and important assistance to many deserving authors.1

SYDENHAM (THOMAS), a very eminent physician, and one of the most eminent as an improver of the art that England has produced, was born in 1624 at Winford Eagle in Dorsetshire, where his father William Sydenham, esq.

1 Preceding edition of this Dictionary.

had a large fortune. Under whose care he was educated, or in what manner he passed his childhood, is not known. At the age of eighteen, in 1642, he entered as a commoner of Magdalen-hall, Oxford, where it is not probable that he continued long; for he informs us himself, that he was withheld from the university by the commencement of the war; nor is it very clearly known in what state of life he engaged, or where he resided during that long series of public commotion. It is indeed reported, that he had a commission in the king's army*, but no particular account is given of his military conduct; nor are we told what rank he obtained (unless that of a captain), when he entered into the army, or when or on what occasion he retired from it. It is certain, however, that if ever he took upon him the profession of arms, he spent but few years in the camp; for in 1648 he obtained at Oxford the degree of bachelor of physic, for which, as some medical knowledge is necessary, it may be imagined that he spent some time in qualifying himself.

His application to the study of physic was, as he himself relates, produced by an accidental acquaintance with Dr. Cox, a physician eminent at that time in London, who in some sickness prescribed to his brother, and, attending him frequently on that occasion, inquired of him what profession he designed to follow. The young man answering that he was undetermined, the doctor recommended physic to him, and Sydenham having determined to follow his advice, retired to Oxford for leisure and opportunity to pursue his studies.

It is evident, says his biographer, that this conversation must have happened before his promotion to any degree in physic, because he himself fixes it in the interval of his absence from the university, a circumstance which will enable us to confute many false reports relating to Dr. Sydenhamn, which have been confidently inculcated, and implicitly believed. It is the general opinion, that he was made a physician by accident and necessity; and sir Richard Blackmore reports in plain terms (in the preface to his "Treatise on the Small-Pox"), that he engaged in practice without any preparatory study, or previous knowledge,

*Surely not in the king's army. This is contrary to all authority. His commission, if he had any, must have been in the parliamentary army, in

which he had a brother, an officer of high rank mentioned hereafter. This is in some measure confirmed by Wood, our earliest authority.