Barthélemy D', a celebrated French orientalist, eminent for his oriental learning, was born at Paris on the 24th of December 1625. He travelled several times into Italy, where he obtained the esteem of some of the most learned men of the age. Ferdinand II., grand duke of Tuscany, showed him many marks of favour. A library being exposed to sale at Florence, the duke desired him to examine the manuscripts in the oriental languages, to select the best of them, and to mark the price; and this being done, that generous prince purchased the whole, and made him a present of them. Colbert, informed of D'Herbelot's merit, recalled him to Paris, and obtained for him a pension of 1500 livres; and he afterwards became secretary and interpreter of the oriental languages, and royal professor of the Syriac tongue. He died at Paris in 1695. His principal work is the Bibliothèque Orientale, ou Dictionnaire Universel, contenant généralement tout ce qui regarde la Connaissance des Peuples de l'Orient, Paris, 1697, in folio. The Bibliothèque Orientale, considered in its details, occupied the same rank in the seventeenth, as the Histoire des Huns did in the eighteenth century; but with this difference, that D'Herbelot cleared the road, and was often copied by De Guignes. Both these celebrated orientalists were men of prodigious erudition; and in fact we can hardly persuade ourselves that the most laborious life could be sufficient for collecting the treasures which are to be found in this collection. If we reflect on the number of Arabic, Turkish, and Persian chronicles of which the Bibliothèque Orientale contains extracts; attend to the immense extent of the biography of Hadgi Khalifa, of which it presents an abridged translation; and consider the amount of accessory knowledge necessary in such an undertaking, some idea may be formed of the erudition, perseverance, and activity of D'Herbelot. M. d'Herbelot's modesty was equal to his erudition; and his uncommon abilities were accompanied and adorned with probity, piety, and charity, which he practised throughout the whole course of his life.