, a young man of great erudition, whom Baillet has enrolled among
, a young man of great erudition, whom Baillet has enrolled among his “Enfans celebres,
” and who would have proved one of the ablest critics
of his time, had he enjoyed a longer life, was born at
Wistock, in the march of Brandenburgh, in 1567. In his
seventeenth year he composed some poetical pieces in
Latin, which are not very highly esteemed. In 1589, he
went to Helmstadt to pursue his studies, and there published some of his poems, which were reprinted after his
death, at Leibnitz, in 1605, with those of Janus Lernutius and Janus Gulielmus. They are also inserted in the
first volume of the “Delicise Poetarum Germanorum;
”
and several of his pieces are in the second volume of Caspar Dornavius’ “Amphitheatrum sapientiae Socraticae Jocoseriue,
” Hanau, Animadversiones in Quintum
Curtium,
” 8vo; which have been adopted in the Francfort
edition of that author, 1597, and Snakenburg’s edition,
Leyden, 1724, 4to. His sudden death, May 25, 1595,
at the age of 28, put a stop to his useful labours. At that
time his observations on Plautus were in the press, and
were published the following year at Francfort, 8vo, and
again in 1607; and they are inserted in J. Gruter’s
“Lampas Critica.
” They conferred upon him a wellearned reptitation; and Barthius and Lipsius, with others,
bore testimony to his growing merit as a critic. His remarks on the Ancient Panegyrics and on Tacitus were
published in 1607, and the former were added to J. Gruter’s edition, Francfort, 1607, 12mo. They are, likewise,
examined and compared with those of other scholars, in
the fine edition of the Panegyrics published at Utrecht by
Arntzenius, in 1790, 4to. His notes on Tacitus are in
the edition of that author printed at Paris, 1608, fol.
(where he is by mistake called Acidalus); in that of Gronovius, Amsterdam, 1635, 4to, and 1673, 2 vols. 8vo.
We also owe to Acidalius, some notes on Ausonius, given
in Tollius’ edition of that author, Amsterdam, 1671, 8vo.
and notes on Quintilian’s dialogue de Oratoribus, added
to Gronovius’ edition of Tacitus, Utrecht, 1721, 4to. It
appears by his letters, that he had written observations on
Apuleius and Aulus Gellius, but these have not been
printed. His letters were published at Hanau, 1606, 8vo r
by his brother Christian, under the title of “Epistolarum
centuria una, cui accessemnt apologetica ad clariss. virum
Jac. Monavium, et Oratio de vera carminis elegiaci natura
et constitutione.
” In the preface, his brother vindicates
his character against the misrepresentations circulated in
consequence of his embracing the Roman Catholic religion, particularly with regard to the manner of his death.
Spme asserted that he became suddenly mad, and others
that he laid violent hands on himself. It appears, however, that he died of a fever, brought on by excess i&f
study. It still remains to be noticed, that he is said to
have been the author of a pamphlet, published in 1595,
entitled, “Mulieres non esse homines,
” “Women are not
men; i. e. not thinking and reasonable beings;
” but he
had no other hand in this work than in conveying it to his
bookseller, who was prosecuted for publishing it. It was,
in fact, a satire on the Socinian mode of interpreting the
Scriptures; and a French translation of it appeared in
1744, 12mo.