(St) commander of the Theban legion, was a Christian, together with the officers and soldiers of that legion, amounting to 6600 men.—This legion received its name from the city Thebes in Egypt, where it was raised. It was sent by Diocletian to check the Bagaudae, who had excited some disturbances in Gaul. Maurice having carried his troops over the Alps, the emperor Maximilian commanded him to employ his utmost exertions to extirpate Christianity. This proposal was received with horror both by the commander and the soldiers.—The emperor, enraged at their opposition, commanded the legion to be decimated; and when they still declared that they would sooner die than do anything prejudicial to the Christian faith, every tenth man of those who remained was put to death. Their perseverance excited the emperor to still greater cruelty; for when he saw that nothing could make them relinquish their religion, he commanded his troops to surround them, and cut them to pieces. Maurice, the commander of these Christian heroes, and Exuperius and Candidus, officers of the legion, who had chiefly instigated the soldiers to this noble resistance, signalized themselves by their patience and their attachment to the doctrines of the Christian religion. They were massacred, it is believed, at Agaune, in Chablais, the 22d of September 286.—Notwithstanding many proofs which support this transaction, Dubordier, Hottinger, Moyle, Burnet, and Mosheim, are disposed to deny the fact. It is defended, on the other hand, by Hickes an English writer, and by Dom Joseph de Lisle a Benedictine monk de la congregation de Saint Vannes, in a work of his, intitled, Defence de la Verité du Martyre de la Legion Thebene, 1737. In defence of the same fact, the reader may consult Historia di S Mauritius, by P. Rosignole a Jesuit, and the Acta Sanctorum for the month of September. The martyrdom of this legion, written by St Eucherius bishop of Lyons, was transcribed to posterity in a very imperfect manner by Surius, P. Chifflet a Jesuit, discovered, and gave to the public, an exact copy of this work. Don Ruinart maintains, that it has every mark of authenticity. St Maurice is the patron of a celebrated order in the kingdom of Sardinia's dominions, created by Emmanuel Philibert duke of Savoy, to reward military merit, and approved by Gregory XIII. in 1572. The commander of the Theban legion must not be confounded with another St Maurice, mentioned by Theodoret, who suffered martyrdom at Apamea, in Syria.

(Mauritius Tiberius), was born at Arabissus in Cappadocia, A.D. 539. He was descended from an ancient and honourable Roman family.—After he had filled several offices in the court of Tiberius Constantine, he obtained the command of his armies against the Persians. His gallantry was so conspicuous, that the emperor gave him his daughter Constantina in marriage, and invested him with the purple the 13th August 582. The Persians still continued to make inroads on the Roman territories, and Maurice sent Philippicus, his brother-in-law, against them. This general conducted the war with various success. At first he gained several splendid victories, but he did not continue to have a decided superiority. As there was great use for soldiers in these unfortunate times, the emperor issued a mandate in 592, forbidding any soldier to become a monk till he had accomplished the term of his military service. Maurice acquired much glory in restoring Chosroes II. king of Persia, to the throne, after he had been deposed by his subjects. The empire was in his reign harassed by the frequent inroads of the Arabian tribes. He purchased peace from them by granting them a pension nearly equal to 100,000 crowns; but these barbarians took frequent opportunities to renew the war. In different engagements the Romans destroyed 10,000, and took 17,000 prisoners. These were restored, on condition that the king of the Abares should return all the Roman captives in his dominions. Regardless of his promise, he demanded a ransom of 10,000 crowns. Maurice, full of indignation, refused the sum; and the barbarian, equally enraged, put the captives to the sword. While the emperor, to revenge this cruelty, was making preparations against the Abares, Phocas, who from the rank of a centurion had attained the highest military preferment, assumed the purple, and was declared emperor. He pursued Maurice to Chalcedon, took him prisoner, and condemned him to die. The five sons of this unfortunate prince were massacred before his eyes; and Maurice, humbling himself under the hand of God, was heard to exclaim, Thou art just, O Lord, and thy judgments are without partiality." He was beheaded on the 26th November 602, in the 63rd year of his age and 20th of his reign. Many writers have estimated the character of this prince by his misfortunes instead of his actions. They believed him guilty without evidence, and condemned him without reason. It cannot be denied, however, that he allowed Italy to be harassed, but he was a father to the rest of the empire. He re- Maurice stored the military discipline, humbled the pride of his enemies, supported the Christian religion by his laws, and piety by his example. He loved the sciences, and was the patron of learned men.

Maurice, elector of Saxony, son of Henry le Pieux, was born A.D. 1521. He was early remarkable for his courage, and during his whole life he was engaged in warlike pursuits. He served under the emperor Charles V. in the campaign of 1544 against France; and in the year following against the league of Smalkalde; with which, although a Protestant, he would have no manner of connection. The emperor, as a reward for his services, in the year 1547, made him elector of Saxony, having deprived his cousin John Frederick of that electorate. Ambition had led him to second the views of Charles, in the hope of being elector, and ambition again detached him from that prince. In 1551 he entered into a league against the emperor, together with the elector of Brandenburgh, the Count Palatine, the duke of Wurtemburg, and many other princes. This league, encouraged by the young and enterprising Henry II. of France, was more dangerous than that of Smalkalde. The pretext for the association was the deliverance of the Landgrave of Hesse, whom the emperor kept prisoner. Maurice and the confederates marched, in 1552, to the defiles of Tirol, and put to flight the Imperial troops who guarded them. The emperor and his brother Ferdinand narrowly escaped, and fled from the conquerors in great disorder. Charles having retired into Passau, where he had collected an army, brought the princes of the league to terms of accommodation. By the famous peace of Passau, which was finally ratified the 12th of August 1552, the emperor granted an amnesty without exception to all those who had carried arms against him from the year 1546. The Protestants not only obtained the free exercise of their religion, but they were admitted into the imperial chamber, from which they had been excluded since the victory of Mulberg.—Maurice soon after united himself with the emperor against the Margrave of Brandenburg, who laid waste the German provinces. He engaged him in 1553, gained the battle of Silverhausen, and died of the wounds he had received in the engagement two days after. He was one of the greatest protectors of the Lutherans in Germany, and a prince equally brave and politic. After he had profited by the spoils of John Frederick, the chief of the Protestants, he became himself the leader of the party, and by these means maintained the balance of power against the emperor in Germany.

Maurice de Nassau, prince of Orange, succeeded to the government of the Low Countries after the death of his father William, who was killed in 1584 by the fanatic Gerard. The young prince was then only eighteen years of age, but his courage and abilities were above his years. He was appointed captain general of the United Provinces, and he reared that edifice of liberty of which his father had laid the foundation. Breda submitted to him in 1590; Zutphen, Deventer, Hulst, Nimeguen, in 1591. He gained several important advantages in 1592, and in the year following he made himself master of Gertrudenburg. When he had performed these splendid services, he returned to the Low Countries by the way of Zealand. His fleet was attacked by a dreadful tempest, in which he lost forty vessels, and he himself had very nearly perished. His death would have been considered by the Hollanders as a much greater calamity than the loss of their vessels. They watched over his safety with exceeding care. In 1594, one of his guards was accused of an intention to take away his life; and it was generally believed that he was bribed to this service by the enemies of the republic. He fell a sacrifice at Bruges, either to his own fanaticism or to the jealous anxiety of the friends of Maurice. The prince of Orange, increasing in reputation, defeated the troops of the archduke Albert in 1597, and drove the Spaniards entirely out of Holland. In 1600 he was obliged to raise the siege of Dunkirk; but he took ample vengeance on Albert, whom he again defeated in a pitched battle near Newport. Before the action, this great general sent back the ships which had brought his troops into Flanders: My brethren (said he to his army), we must conquer the enemy or drink up the waters of the sea. Determine for yourselves; I have determined I shall either conquer by your bravery, or I shall never survive the disgrace of being conquered by men in every respect our inferiors. This speech elevated the soldiers to the highest pitch of enthusiasm, and the victory was complete. Rhinberg, Grave, and Ecluse, cities in Flanders, submitted to the conqueror the following year. Maurice, however, not only laboured for the commonwealth, but also for himself. He coveted the sovereignty of Holland, and was opposed in the prosecution of his design by the pensioner Barneveldt. The zeal and activity of this wise republican cost him his life. He was an Arminian; and at this time Maurice defended Gomar against Arminius.—Taking advantage of the general odium under which the Arminians lay, he found means to get Barneveldt condemned in 1619. His death, wholly owing to the cruel ambition of the prince of Orange, made a deep impression on the minds of the Hollanders. The truce with Spain being expired, Spinola laid siege to Breda in 1624, and in six months, by the proper direction of his great talents, though with great slaughter of his troops, he took the place. The prince of Orange, unsuccessful in every attempt to raise the siege, died of vexation in 1625, aged 55 years, with the reputation of the greatest warrior of his time.—"The life of this Stadtholder (says the Abbé Raynal) was almost an uninterrupted series of battles, of sieges, and of victories. Of moderate abilities in every thing else, he shone conspicuous in his military capacity. His camp was the school of Europe, and those who received their military education in his armies augmented, perhaps, the glory of their master.—Like Montecuculi, he discovered inimitable skill in his marches and encampments; like Vauban, he possessed the talent of fortifying places, and of rendering them impregnable; like Eugene, the address of finding subsistence for great armies, in countries barren by nature, or ravaged by war; like Vendome, the happy talent of calling forth, in the moment they became necessary, greater exertions from his soldiers than could reasonably be expected; like Conde, that infallible quickness of eye which decides the fortune of battles; like Charles XII. the art of rendering his troops almost invincible to cold, hunger, and fatigue; like Turenne, the secret of making war with the least possible The Mauritanians, according to Ptolemy, were divided into several cantons or tribes. The Metogonites were feated near the straits of Hercules, now those of Gibraltar. The Saccophi, or Cocophi, occupied the coast of the Iberian sea. Under these two petty nations the Massae, Verrus, and Verbica or Vertica, were settled. The Salis, or Salinis, were situated lower towards the ocean; and, still more to the south, the Volubiliani. The Maurusii and Herpitidani possessed the eastern part of this country, which was terminated by the Mulucha. The Angauconi or Jangauconani, Nettiteres, Zagrenus, Baniuba, and Vacunae, extended themselves from the southern foot of Ptolemy’s Atlas Minor to his Atlas Major. Pliny mentions the Na- niure, whom Father Hardouin takes to be Ptolemy’s Baniuba; and Mela the Atlantes, whom he represents as possessed of the western parts of this district.

The earliest prince of Mauritania mentioned in history is Neptune; and next to him were Atlas and Antæus his two sons, both famous in the Grecian fables on account of their wars with Hercules. Antæus, in his contention with that hero, seems to have behaved with great bravery and resolution. Having received large reinforcements of Libyan troops, he cut off great numbers of Hercules’s men. But that celebrated commander, having at last intercepted a strong body of Libyans sent to the relief of Antæus, gave him a total overthrow, wherein both he and the best part of his forces were put to the sword. This decisive action put Hercules in possession of Libya and Mauritania, and consequently of the riches of all these kingdoms. Hence came the fable, that Hercules, finding Antæus, a giant of an enormous size with whom he was engaged in single combat, to receive fresh strength as often as he touched his mother earth when thrown upon her, at last lifted him up in the air and squeezed him to death. Hence likewise may be deduced the fable intimating that Hercules took the globe from Atlas upon his own shoulders, overcame the dragon that guarded the orchards of the Hesperides, and made himself master of all the golden fruit there. Bochart thinks that the fable alluded chiefly to naval engagements, wherein Hercules, for the most part, was victorious; though Antæus from time to time received succours by sea. But at last Hercules, coming up with one of his squadrons which had a strong reinforcement on board, made himself master of it, and thus rendered Antæus incapable for the future of making head against him. The same author likewise insinuates, that the notion of Antæus’s gigantic stature prevailing for so many centuries amongst the Tingitansians, pointed out the size of the vessels of which his fleets and squadrons were composed. As for the golden apples so frequently mentioned by the old mythologists, they were the treasures that fell into Hercules’s hands upon the defeat of Antæus; the Greeks giving the oriental word ἀργυρος, riches, the signification affixed to their own term ἀργυρος, apples.

With regard to the age in which Atlas and Antæus lived, the most probable supposition seems to be that of Sir Isaac Newton. According to that illustrious author, Ammon the father of Seba was the first king of Libya, or that vast tract extending from the borders of Egypt to the Atlantic ocean; the con-