Jean-Jacques, a celebrated French writer, born at Cassis, a little seaport on the shores of the Mediterranean, on the 20th January 1716. At twelve years of age he entered the college of the Oratory at Marseilles, under the care of Father Rénand, a person of taste and ability, who soon discovered similar qualities in his pupil, and became uncommonly attentive to his progress. M. de Visclède, a man of letters, and friend to the former, also concurred with him in his endeavours; and young Barthélemy's career soon became equally rapid and brilliant.

He had resolved to dedicate himself to the church; but, in order to qualify himself, it became necessary to change his place of residence, as M. de Belzunce, bishop of Marseilles, refused to admit to holy orders the students of the Oratory. Barthélemy, therefore, quitting his old masters with regret, found himself under the necessity of studying philosophy and theology under the Jesuits.

Following a plan of education independently of the professors, he was indefatigable in his study of the Greek, Hebrew, Chaldee, and Syriac languages. His passion for learning, however, nearly cost him his life; for he fell dangerously ill, and did not recover his strength until he had entered the seminary where he received the tonsure.

In this retreat he dedicated his leisure hours to the study of Arabic; and, with the assistance of a young Maronite who had been educated at Rome, he soon acquired a perfect knowledge of that language. By way of return, his new friend proposed to him to render all the services in his power to the Maronites, Armenians, and other Catholic Arabs, who were but slightly acquainted with the language of the country in which they resided; in other words, he expressed a wish that Barthélemy would announce the word of God to them in their native tongue, and with that view presented him with some Arabic sermons composed by a Jesuit who had belonged to the Propaganda. Accordingly Barthélemy got one or two of them by heart, and pronounced them in a spacious hall belonging to the seminary, to the entire satisfaction of his oriental auditors.

When Barthélemy had finished his education at the seminary, he retired to Aubagne, and spent some time in the bosom of his family. He made frequent visits, however, to Marseilles; and among the learned of that city to whom he attached himself in a particular manner was M. de Cary, the possessor of a fine cabinet of medals and a valuable library. They spent whole days together in conversing on literary subjects; after which Barthélemy, as if insatiable in his thirst for knowledge, would retire to the Minims, where Father Sigaloux, a correspondent of the Academy of Sciences, was employed in making astronomical observations; and in these labours the young abbé became his associate.

In 1744 he repaired to Paris, with the view of devoting himself entirely to literature, and carried with him a letter to M. de Boze, keeper of the medals, and perpetual secretary of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres.

The increasing age and declining health of De Boze rendered it necessary that he should have assistance; and Barthélemy was selected as his colleague. From that moment the abbé dedicated both his days and nights to the study of those medals which De Boze had been prevented by his infirmities from arranging.

On the death of M. de Boze in 1753, Barthélemy, who had been his colleague during eight years, was nominated his successor.

M. de Stainville, afterwards better known during his administration by the title of Duke de Choiseul, being appointed ambassador to Rome in 1754, Madame de Stainville, a lady of great personal beauty, and an enthusiastic admirer of learning and literary men, conceived a particular regard for the abbé; and it was proposed that he should occupy a place in their carriage on this occasion, and make the tour of Italy along with them. Such a proposition could not fail to be highly flattering; and having been accepted, he set out soon after, and in November arrived at Rome. Pope Benedict XIV, who then wore the tiara, and was a learned man himself, distinguished Barthélemy by the most courteous reception. But his stay at Rome was not of long duration; for he was desirous of visiting Naples, rendered at that period particularly interesting to an antiquary, by the recent discoveries made in its neighbourhood. During a whole month he and his fellow-travellers were occupied in admiring the curiosities of that capital, and in studying ancient literature; after which they took a journey of thirty leagues to examine the monuments of Grecian architecture still extant amidst the splendid ruins of the ancient city of Paestum.

As he was exceedingly desirous of presenting the learned men of France with a specimen of the ancient writing employed in the Greek manuscripts, he addressed himself on this subject to his friend Mazocchi, and also to M. Paderno, who superintended the collection of antiquities from Herculaneum and Pompeii in the palace of Portici; but both replied that they were expressly enjoined not to make any communication on the subject. On this he solicited permission to look, for a few minutes only, on a page of a manuscript which had been cut from top to bottom since its discovery. It contained twenty-eight lines, and Barthélemy read it over six different times with extreme attention, after which he transcribed the precious fragment on a piece of paper, from memory. On making a mental collation between the copy and the original, he corrected two or three trifling errors that had escaped his attention. Having thus rendered himself master of a fac-simile of the manuscript, which related to the persecution of the Greek philosophers during the time of Pericles, he transmitted the literary plunder in the course of that very day to the Academy of Belles-Lettres; strictly enjoining secrecy, however, that Mazocchi and Paderno might escape all manner of blame.

M. de Stainville having been appointed ambassador to the court of Vienna in 1757, the abbé accompanied his lady thither. On his arrival he found that his friend and protector had made certain engagements with the French ministry with the view of gratifying his passion for antiquities; and, in consequence, he received permission to visit, at the king's expense, Greece and the seaports of the Mediterranean, where he was to collect new treasures, and return with them to his native country by Marseilles. But notwithstanding all the attractions which this project presented, his scrupulous attachment to his duty prevailed over his passion for knowledge; and as he deemed it highly improper that the cabinet of medals should remain so long shut, he abandoned the scheme of visiting the Levant.

Towards the end of 1758, M. de Stainville, now become Duke de Choiseul, was nominated minister for foreign affairs, which enabled him to provide for his friend; and having requested him to state the sum which would make him easy for life, Barthélemy instantly mentioned 6000 livres a year, blushing at the same time at the largeness of the demand.

In 1759 the duke presented him with a pension on the archbishopric of Alby; in 1765 he conferred on him the treasurership of St Martin de Tours; and, in 1768, he made him secretary-general to the Swiss guards. In addition to these the abbé also enjoyed a pension of 5000 livres on the Mercure de France. By these means his income was now large; but he employed it nobly; for he distributed the surplus, which was considerable, among indigent men of letters.

In 1771 M. de Choiseul was superseded by the Duke d'Aiguillon, and exiled to his estate at Chanteloupe. On this occasion he was as usual forsaken by the courtiers who had basked in the sunshine of his favour. But he was not deserted by the grateful antiquary, who instantly repaired to Chanteloupe to pay his respects to the fallen minister.

Barthélemy was now in possession of more than L1200 sterling per annum, of which he distributed between L300 and L400 in assisting men of letters. He also educated and established in life three nephews, one of whom was successively an ambassador and a director; at the same time supporting the rest of his family in Provence, and collecting a noble library, which he disposed of some years before his death. But after having thus possessed an ample income during more than twenty years, Barthélemy at last, in consequence of the suppression of places and appointments occasioned by the Revolution, found himself reduced to live on a pittance barely adequate to furnish the necessaries of life. He was never heard to complain, however, nor, indeed, did he seem to perceive the change; and while age and infirmities permitted him to walk from one end of Paris to the other, in order to visit his kind friend Madame de Choiseul, his happiness suffered no apparent diminution.

In 1788 appeared his celebrated work, entitled *Voyage du jeune Anacharsis en Grèce, dans le milieu du quatrième siècle avant l'ère Chrétienne*. He had begun it in 1757; and, during an uninterrupted succession of thirty years, occupied his leisure hours in bringing it to maturity. His hero, a young Scythian, descended from the famous philosopher Anacharsis, whose name he bears, is supposed to repair to Greece for instruction in his early youth, and after making the tour of her republics, colonies, and islands, to return to his native country and write this book in his old age, after the Macedonian hero had overturned the Persian empire. In the manner of modern travellers, he gives an account of the customs, government, and antiquities of the country he is supposed to have visited; a copious introduction supplies whatever may be wanting in respect to historical details; whilst various dissertations on the music of the Greeks, on the literature of the Athenians, and on the economy, pursuits, ruling passions, manners, and customs, of the surrounding states, supply ample information on the subjects of which they treat. The author, indeed, is not profound; and the young Scythian seldom penetrates much below the surface. But his remarks are commonly judicious, and to respectable erudition he unites singular skill in the distribution of his materials, and a happy talent for presenting his subject in the most agreeable and attractive form. The assumed character is so admirably sustained throughout, that we can scarcely persuade ourselves we are not perusing a book of real travels, and communing with an actual personage who has recorded his observations and experience for the instruction and improvement of his countrymen.

In 1789 Barthélemy became a candidate for a chair in the French Academy; and was enrolled among its members by acclamation. The speech delivered by the abbé on his inauguration is equally remarkable for its simplicity and modesty.

In 1790 M. de St Priest, minister of the department of Paris, made him an offer of the situation of librarian to the king, then vacant by the resignation of M. le Noir; but this very flattering proposal was not accepted.

But while Barthélemy was thus refusing one of the most honourable offices which a man of letters could at that time aspire to, he did not neglect the department which had so long been confided to his charge. His ardour respecting everything that concerned the cabinet of medals remained unabated through life; and he now found means to have his nephew, Barthélemy Courcy, associated with him in his labours. This grand collection had received a considerable increase, and had been embellished with a number of fine specimens since it was first confided to his care. To enrich it still more, he carried on an extensive correspondence not only with the various provinces of France, but also with every part of Europe.

In the mean time the health of the learned medalist declined daily, and in 1792 his strength had so much failed him that, towards the close of the year, he became subject to fainting fits which deprived him of the exercise of his faculties for several hours together. Being naturally calm and courageous, he did not appear to be the least affected by these accidents; his friends, however, considered them as symptoms of approaching dissolution. He was now seventy-eight years of age, sixty of which had been spent in literary toils; and it might therefore have been expected that, even at that agitated period, the venerable veteran would have been suffered to die in peace. But it was not so. On the 30th of August 1793 this feeble old man was denounced as an aristocrat, and his nephew and several other young men employed about the library were included in the charge. The accusation proceeded from a person of the name of Duby, a clerk in the library, and it was conveyed in a letter written by him to a person of the name of Chrétiens, a pastrycook (who happened to be a member of the section before which it was first read), and then transmitted to the municipality. It was of no consequence that Duby did not know Chrétiens, nor Chrétiens Duby, and that Barthélemy was not acquainted with either. A warrant was immediately issued against the supposed culprits, and the fact was signified by the officers of justice, to the abbé, while at Madame de Choiseul's on the morning of the 2nd of September. On receiving the intimation he instantly rose, without discovering any symptoms of perturbation, and taking his leave of that lady, was conducted to the Magdeleinettes, where he found his nephew Courcy. Such, however, was the respect paid to his virtue and his talents, even within the walls of a prison, that he was received with every expression of regard by the inhabitants of that dreary mansion; even the jailer paid him the most respectful attention. He was lodged in a little apartment along with his relation; and in the course of that evening he received a visit from Madame de Choiseul, who had taken care to notify the event to the government. No sooner was the Committee of Public Safety informed that the Abbé Barthélemy had been included in the order, which was meant to extend only to some of the subalterns in the library, than orders were instantly issued for his release; and such zeal did the clerks in the public offices display in forwarding the necessary papers for his liberation, that he was awakened from his sleep at eleven o'clock at night, and conducted to the house of his fair friend. In a few weeks afterwards, the office of national librarian having become vacant by the death of Carra and the resignation of Chamfort, who had held it jointly, it was offered to the abbé, with the most flattering marks of respect. But his advanced age and increasing infirmities did not admit of his accepting the offer.

He expired without a struggle on the 30th April 1795, retaining to the last moment full possession of his faculties. In his person Barthélemy was above the middle size; and, if we are to credit his admirers, his countenance displayed an air of antiquity wonderfully corresponding with his studies. His bust, sculptured by Houdon, is allowed to be a masterpiece of art; and that able artist has contrived to infuse into the physiognomy a mixture of the mildness, simplicity, good-nature, and elevation of soul, so visible in the original.