Boze, Claude Gros De

, a French antiquary, was born at Lyons, Jan. 28, 1680, of parents who gave him | an excellent education. He attached himself at first to jurisprudence, but antiquities and medals soon occupied him entirely. The chancellor de Pontchartrain, the abbe Bignon, Vaillant, Haruouin, admired him for the amiableness of his manners, and the depth of his learning. In 1705 he published some ingenious dissertations upon medals and other monuments, which procured him to be admitted into the academy of inscriptions and belles-lettres, under the title of pupil; and the year following he became perpetual secretary. The French academy too admitted him of their society in 1715, as successor to M. Fenelon. He was made keeper of the royal cabinet of medals in 1719; and the year after he set out for Holland, with the view of augmenting that grand collection. On returning to Paris he devoted the whole of his time to the academy of belles-lettres, to which he contributed a great many memoirs, and the cabinet of medals. He had the inspection of the library in 1745, during the illness of M. Maboul, before which time he resigned the place of secretary to the academy. He died the 10th of September, 1753, aged seventy-four. He was as estimable for the sweetness of his temper as for the depth of his knowledge. Among his works, are: 1. The edition of the first 15 vols. of the “Memoires de l’academie des inscriptions et belleslettres.” The historical panegyrics which embellish these memoirs were printed separately in 2 vols. 12mo. They are ingenious and agreeable; they may contain fewer of those delicate strokes with which the éloges of Fontenelle abound, but perhaps they exceed them in elegance and taste! They are, however, unequal. 2. The second edition of the “Medallic history of Louis XIV.” brought down to his death, 1723, folio. He gives the drawings and impresses of many of them. 3. “The history of the emperor Tetricus illustrated by medals.” 4. Several dissertations on the ancient medals, dispersed for the most part throughout the “Memoires de l’academie des belles-lettres.” 5. He published the “Catalogue of his library,” 1745, fol. which was well chosen, and full of rare and curious books. This catalogue is very much in request among the bibliographers, and sells at a high price. Another was published after his death, Paris, 1753, 8vo. There is also attributed to him a work called the “Yellow Book,” “Livre jaune, contenant quelques conversations sur les logomachies, disputes de mots, abus de termes,” | &c. Bale, 1748, 8vo, of which only thirty copies were printed, on what is called vegetable paper. ¹