Feithius, Everard

, a learned German, was born at Elburg in Guelderland, in the sixteenth century. He studied philosophy for some time, and afterwards applied himself entirely to polite literature, in which he made a considerable progress. He was a master of the Greek tongue, and even of the Hebrew; of which the professors of the protestant university of Bern gave him an ample testimonial. Being returned to his own country, from which he had been long absent, he was under great consternation, on account of the expedition of the Spaniards commanded by Spinola. This determined him to leave his native country; and he went to settle in France, where he taught the Greek language, and was honoured with the friendship of Casaubon, of M. Du Puy, and of the president Thuanus. When he was walking one day at Rochelle, attended by a servant, he was desired to enter into the | house of a citizen: and after that day it could never be discovered what became of him, notwithstanding all thf strictest inquiries of the magistrates. He was but young at the time of this most mysterious disappearing, “which,” says Bayle, “is to be lamented; for if he had lived to grow old, he would have wonderfully explained most of the subjects relating to polite letters.” This judgement is grounded upon his manuscript works, one of which was published at Leyden in 1677, by Henry Brunaan, principal of the college at Swol, and the author’s grand nephew, entitled “Antiqnitatum Homericarum libri quatuor,” 12mo. It is very learned, and abounds with curious and instructive observations. An edition of it was published in 1743, with notes, by Elias Stoeber, 8vo, at Strasburgh. There are other works of his in being, as, “De Atheniensium republica, De antiquitatibus Atticis,” &c. which the editor promised to collect and publish; but we do not know that it was done. ¹