r d'ERFE, Thomas, a celebrated orientalist, born at Gorcum in Holland, on the 7th September 1584. Observing his aptitude for learning, his father sent him to Leyden at the early age of ten; and it was in that city that he commenced his studies. At the end of several months, however, he went to Middelburg, but he soon after returned to Leyden. He was early admitted into the university of that city, and in 1608 took the degree of master of arts. By the advice of Scaliger he learned the oriental languages whilst taking his course of theology, and even then gave promise of great distinction in that department of learning. He afterwards travelled in England, France, Italy, and Germany, forming connections with learned men, and availing himself of the information which they communicated. During his stay at Paris, he contracted a friendship with Casaubon, which lasted during his life; and also took lessons in Arabic from Joseph Barbutus, otherwise called Abu-dakni. At Venice he perfected himself in the Turkish, Persian, and Ethiopic languages. After a long absence, Erpenius returned to his own country in 1612, rich in the learning which he had acquired during his travels, as well as beloved by all the learned whom he had visited. His acquirements being already known and appreciated, he was, on the 10th February 1613, appointed professor of Arabic and other oriental languages, Hebrew excepted, in the university of Leyden. From this period he devoted himself solely to the teaching of these languages; and animated by the example of Savary de Brèves, who had established an Arabic press at Paris at his own charge, he caused new Arabic characters to be cut at a great expense, and erected a press in his own house. In 1619 the curators of the university of Leyden instituted a second chair of Hebrew in his favour. In 1620 he was sent by the States of Holland to induce Pierre Dumoulin or André Rivet to settle in that country; and after a second journey he was successful in inducing Rivet to comply with their request. Some time after the return of Erpenius, the States appointed him their interpreter; and in this capacity he had the duty imposed upon him of translating and replying to the different letters of the Moslem princes of Asia and Africa. The reputation of Erpenius had now spread throughout all Europe; and several princes, the kings of England and Spain, and the archbishop of Seville, made him the most flattering offers; but he constantly refused to leave his native country, and died of a contagious distemper Nov. 13, 1624, at the early age of forty. Erpenius left several works, which are doubtless disfigured by imperfections; but if we consider that he lived in an age when pursuits like his were exceedingly rare, if not wholly new, and that he had little or no assistance of any kind; and if we judge him, not according to the present state of oriental literature, but by what he actually achieved under every disadvantage, we must conclude that, in the immensity and difficulty of his labours, he probably surpassed all the orientalists who have followed him; and that if his career had not been cut short by a premature death, he would have greatly enlarged the boundaries of that literature of which his name will always remain one of the greatest ornaments.

The following is a list of his works:—Oratio de Lingua Arabia, Leyden, 1613, in 4to; Annotationes in Lexic. Arab. Fr. Paphloglott, ibid. 1613, in 4to; Grammatica Arabica, quinque libris methodice explicata, ibid. 1613, in 4to; Proverbiorum Arabici et Graecorum variae, ad aliquod quadam Arabic collectae, ibid. 1614 and 1623, in 8vo; Locumani septemta Fabulae et selectae locumani Arabica, Adapta, cum interpretatione Latina, ibid. 1615, in 8vo; Pauli Apost. ad Romanos Aramaic, ibid. 1615, in 4to; Nouae D. N. J. C. Testamentum Arabicum, ibid. 1616, in 4to; Patentutus Medii, Arabice, ibid. 1622; Historia Joseph Patriarchae ex Alcorano, cum triplici versione Latina et scholiis Th. Erpenii, cuius praemissae Alphabetus Arabicae, ibid. 1617, in 4to; Grammatica Arabica dicta Giuramic et libellus centum regum cum versione Latina et Commentariis, ibid. 1617, in 4to; Canones de literarum Ali, Waw, et Ya apud Arabes notorio permutatione, ibid. 1618, in 4to; Rudimenta Linguae Arabicae; accedunt Praxis Grammatica et consuetudo studio Arabic feliciter instituendo, ibid. 1620, in 8vo; Orationes de linguarum Ebræorum et Arabicorum disputatae, ibid. 1621, in 12mo; Historia Saracenorum, ibid. 1625, in fol.; Grammatica Ebræorum Grammatica, ibid. 1621, in 8vo; Grammatica Syrae et Chaldæae, ibid. 1629; Paulini Davidis, Syriæ, ibid. 1628; Grammatica punctationis regulam et Oratio de novum Terribilimento; Vocab. et Notæ ad Arabicum Paraphrastum in Eccl. S. Joannis, Rotterd. 1626; De Perigrinatione Gallicæ utilitatis instituenda tractatus, ibid. 1631, in 12mo; Prosopæa de Lingua Graecorum communis, Leyden, 1662. Erpenius had projected several other works, particularly an addition of the Koran with notes, and an oriental library; and in the prefaces of his grammars he also speaks of a Thesaurus Grammaticus, which, however, has not seen the light. For further information respecting this celebrated orientalist, the learned reader may consult Vossius, Oratio in obit. Th. Erpenii, Leyden, 1625, in 4to, and Servius, Monas Erpini, quibus accedunt Epicedia veriorum, ibid. 1625.