usually called Crypto-Calvinists, from being somewhat tacit and moderate in their principles. He was a man of great learning, and an eloquent preacher. The only works mentioned by his biographers are: "Expositio Evangelior. Dominicalium;" "Calendarium Historicum," Wittem. 1550, 8vo, reprinted at Basil the same year; "Historia populi Judaici à reditu Babylonico ad Hierosolymæ excidium ;" and "Hymni sacri vernaculè editi," for the use of his church, where they long continued to be sung.'

EBION, from whom the sect of the Ebionites are called, lived about the year 72, and against him, as some say, St. John wrote his gospel. Others are of opinion, that they did not derive their name from the head of their sect, but from the Hebrew word ebion, which signifies a poor despicable man; either because they were poor themselves, or because they had low and dishonourable sentiments of Jesus Christ. Irenæus, in describing the heresy of the Ebionites, takes no notice of Ebion: and the silence of this father, together with the testimonies of Eusebius and Origen, make it probable that Ebion is only an imaginary name, or might possibly belong to Cerinthus. For Epipha nius, speaking of Ebion, tells the same story of him that is told of Cerinthus, viz. that of St. John's hastening out of the bath when Cerinthus came in, for fear the building should fall upon him; and assures us also of his preaching in Palestine and Asia, which likewise agrees with Cerinthus's history.

The Ebionites maintained, that Jesus Christ was only a mere man, descended from Joseph and Mary. They received no other gospel than that of St. Matthew, which they had in Hebrew, but very maimed and interpolated; and this they called the Gospel according to the Hebrews. They rejected the rest of the New Testament, and especially the epistles of Paul, looking upon this apostle as an apostate from the law for they held, that every body was obliged to observe the Mosaic law. They made Saturday and Sunday equal holidays: they bathed themselves every day like the Jews, and worshipped Jerusalem as the house of God. They called their meetings synagogues, and not churches; and celebrated their mysteries every year with unleavened bread. They received the Pentateuch for canonical scripture, but not all of it. They had a venera

1 Melchior Adam.-Freheri Theatrum.-Moreri,

tion for the old patriarchs, but despised the prophets. They made use of forged Acts of the Apostles, as St. Peter's travels, and many other apocryphal books. They held also the superstitions of their ancestors, and the ceremonies and traditions which the Pharisees presumptuously added to the law. The learned Mr. Jones looked upon the Ebionites and Nazarenes as differing very little from one another. He attributes to them both much the same doctrines, and alleges, that the Ebionites had only made some small additions to the old Nazarene system. 1

ECCARD, or ECKHARD (JOHN GEORGE), a German historian and antiquary, was born at Duingen in the duchy of Brunswick, Sept. 7, 1674. After studying for some time at Brunswick and Helmstadt, where he made very distinguished progress in the belles lettres and history, he became secretary to the count de Flemming in Poland; and there became acquainted with the celebrated Leibnitz, by whose interest he was appointed professor of history at Helmstadt. After Leibnitz's death, he was appointed professor at Hanover, where he published some of his works. Although this place was lucrative, he here contracted debts, and his creditors having laid hold of a part of his salary to liquidate some of these, he privately quitted Hanover in 1723, where he left his family, and the following year embraced the religion of popery at Cologne. He then passed some time in the monastery of Corvey in Westphalia; and the Jesuits being very proud of their convert, sent him advantageous offers to settle at Vienna, Passau, or Wurtzbourg. He chose the latter, and was appointed the bishop's counsel, historiographer, and keeper of the archives and library, and the emperor afterwards granted him letters of nobility. Pope Innocent XIII. seems also to have been delighted with his conversion, although his embarrassed circumstances appear to have been the chief cause of it. He died in the month of February 1730; and whatever may be thought of his religious principles, no doubt can be entertained of his extensive learning and knowledge of history. He wrote, 1. "Historia studii etymologici linguæ Germanicæ," Hanover, 1711, 8vo. "De usu et præstantia studii etymologici linguæ Germanicæ." 3. " 3. Corpus historicum medii ævi," Leipsic, 1723, 2 vols. fol. a work on which the abbé Lenglet be

Lardner's Works.Mosheim's Ch. Hist. &c.

2.

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stows high praise, as very curious and well-digested. 4. Origines Habsburgo-Austriacæ," Leipsic, 1721, folio. 5. "Leges Francorum et Ripuariorum," &c. ibid. 1730, fol. 6. "Historia genealogica principum Saxoniæ superioris, necnon origines Anhaltinæ et Sabaudicæ," ibid. 1722, fol. 7. "Cathechesis theotisca monachi Weissenburgensis, interpretatione illustrata." 8. "Leibnitzii collectanea etymologica." 9. "Brevis ad historiam Germaniæ introductio." 10. "Programma de antiquissimo Helmstadii statu," Helmstadt, 1709. 11. "De diplomate Caroli magni pro scholis Osnaburgensibus Græcis et Latinis." 12. "Animadversiones historicæ et criticæ in Joannis Frederici Schannati diœcesim et hierarchiam Fuldensem." 13. "Annales Franciæ orientalis et episcopatus Wurceburgensis," 2 vols. 1731. 14. "De origine Germanorum," Gottingen, 1750, 4to. He wrote also some. numismatical tracts, &c.1

ECCHELLENSIS (ABRAHAM), a learned Maronite of the seventeenth century, was professor of Syriac and Arabic in the royal college at Paris, to which city he had been invited from Rome by M. le Jay, that he might supply the place of Gabriel Sionita, another Maronite, whom he had employed in his edition of the Polyglot Bible. Gabriel Sionita complained to the parliament, abused his countryman, and involved him in difficulties, which made much noise. The abilities of Ecchellensis were also attacked by M. de Flavigny, a learned doctor of the house and society of the Sorbonne, and they wrote with much unbecoming warmth against each other. There is, however, no doubt but that Ecchellensis was well acquainted with the Arabic and Syriac languages. The congregation de propaganda Fidei associated him, 1636, with those whom they employed to translate the Bible into Arabic; and, recalling him from Paris, appointed him professor of Oriental languages at Rome. It was at that time that the grand duke, Ferdinand II. engaged Ecchellensis to translate the 5th, 6th, and 7th books of the Conics of Apollonius from Arabic into Latin, in which he was assisted by the celebrated John Alphonso Borelli, who added commentaries to them. The whole is printed with Archimedes "De Assumptis," Florence, 1661, fol. Abraham Ecchellensis died at Rome, 1664, leaving many other works, in which he combines the

Moreri.-Saxii Onomasticon.

sentiments of the Orientals with those of the church of Rome against the Protestants; "Euthychius vindicatus," against Selden and Hottinger, Rome, 1661, 4to; "Remarks on the Catalogue of Chaldee Writers composed by Ebed-jesu, and published at Rome," 1653; "Chronicon Orientale," printed at the Louvre, 1651, fol. which is joined to the Byzantine; "Institutio ling. Syriacæ," Rome, 1628, 12mo; "Synopsis Philosophiæ Orientalium," Paris, 1641, 4to; "Versio Durrhamani de medicis virtutibus Animalium, Plantarum, et Gemmarum," Paris, 1647, 8vo.1

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ECCLES (SOLOMON), an English musician, was much admired for many years for his surprising skill on several instruments, but while in the zenith of his fame, became a quaker, and practised so many follies in this new profession that he was the ridicule of the whole town. He burnt his lute and his violins, and by meditation found out a new expedient for ascertaining the true religion; this was, to collect under one roof the most virtuous men of the several sects that divide Christianity; who should unanimously fall to prayer for seven days without taking any nourishment. Then," said he, "those on whom the spirit of God shall manifest itself in a sensible manner, that is to say, by the trembling of the limbs, and interior illuminations, may oblige the rest to subscribe to their decisions." found, however, none that would put this strange conceit to the trial; and while he persisted in propagating his folly, his prophecies, his invectives, his pretended miracles, only served to pass him from one prison into another: till at length, by this sort of discipline he was brought to confess the vanity of his prophecies, and he finished his life in tranquillity, but without religion. He died about the close of the seventeenth century. 2

ECCLES (JOHN) was the son of the preceding, and from the instructions of his father became an eminent and popular composer for the theatre, furnishing it with act tunes, dance tunes, and incidental songs, in most of the new comedies, after the death of Purcell. The air which he set to "A Soldier and a Sailor," sung by Ben, in Congreve's comedy of "Love for Love," is so truly original and characteristic, that it can never be superseded for any other air. He set an ode, written by Congreve for St.

Moreri.-Gen. Dict.-Saxii Onomast. 2 Preceding edit. of this Dict.

Cecilia's day in 1701. He likewise set Congreve's "Judgment of Paris," when there was a contention for prizes, and gained the second, of 50 guineas. Several of his single songs were the best of the time, and have still the merit of originality. In his slightest compositions, whether catch, ballad, or rope-dancing tune, there is some mark of genius. Upon the death of Dr. Staggins, about 1698, Eccles, at a very early period of his professional life, was appointed master of queen Anne's band; and after the decease of Dr. Crofts, in 1727, he seems only to have set the odes, and to have retired from all other professional employments to Kingston, for the convenience of angling, in which amusement he appears to have been as much delighted as Walton. He died in 1735, and was succeeded as master of the king's band, and composer to his majesty, by Dr. Green.

Eccles had two brothers: HENRY, a performer on the violin, said to have been in the king of France's band, and to have been the author of twelve excellent solos for his own instrument, printed at Paris, 1720; and THOMAS, who had been taught the violin by Henry, and had the character of a very fine player, but preferred the life of a strolling fidler at taverns to that of a regular professor, and was more fond of drinking than either of good company or clean linen. He seems to have been one of the last vagrant bards, who used to inquire at taverns if there were any gentlemen in the house who wished to hear music? Since smoking has been discontinued, few evenings are spent in taverns, which has diminished the number of modern minstrels, particularly such as are as well qualified to amuse good company and lovers of music as Tom Eccles, who used to regale his hearers with Corelli's solos and Handel's best opera songs, which he executed with precision and sweetness of tone, equal to the most eminent performers of the time. He survived his brother, John, more than twenty years; and continued to officiate as a priest of Bacchus to the last.

1

ECHARD (JAMES), an useful French biographer, was born at Rouen, Sept. 22, 1644, and entered among the Dominicans in 1660, whose order he has celebrated to posterity by writing the lives of their authors, under the title "Scriptores ordinis Prædicatorum recensiti, notisque