MAI
538
^An Account of the words spoken by Mr. Charlee Ma-
hony, an Irish Priest of the Holy Order of St. Francis,
who was Executed in his Habit at Ruthin in North
Wales, August IS, 1679.
Now God Almighty is pleased I should suffer Mar- tyrdom, his Holy Name b« praised, since I dye for mv Religion. But you have no Right to put me to death in this Country, though I confessed myself to be a Priest, for you seized me as I was going to my Native Country Ireland^ being driven at Sea on this Coast, for I never used my Function in England before I was taken, however God forgive you, as I do and shall always pray for you, especially for those that were so good to me in my distress, I pray God bless our King, and defend him from his Enemies, and convert him to the Holy Catholick Faith, Amen.
His Age was under Forty, He was tryed and Con- demned at Denby [i. e. Denbigh] Confessirvg himself to he a Priest,"
Bishop Challoner bases his account of our martyr on the above-mentioned single sheet, but appears to have had access to another authority now lost, for he writes: "He suffered with great constancy, being cut down alive and butchered according to the sentence, as I remember to have read in a manuscript, which I could not since recover." Subsequent writers add npthing to Bishop Challoner's narrative.
Challoner, Mernoirt of Missionary Priests, II, no. 206; QiLLOW, Bibl, Diet. Eng. Cath..lV, 392; Stanton, Menology of England and Walts (Loadon, 1887); Hope, Franciscan MaHi/rs in England (London, 1878), 240; Oliver. Collections illustrating the History of the Catholic Religion (London, 1857), 565; Thad- DEUS, Franciscans in England (London and Leamington, 1808), 82,71,101. , « „r
John B. Wainbwmght.
Mai, Angelo, Roman cardinal and celebrated phi- lologist, b. at Schilpario, in the Diocese of Bergamo, 7 March, 1782; d. at Albano, 9 September, 1854. At an early aee he entered the Society of Jesus (he was a novice in 1779), was sent to the residence in Naples (1804) and was also stationed at Orvieto and Rome. However, on account of his proficiency in palaeography he was appointed in 1811 to a position in the Ambro- sian Library, Milan. This lea to his initial discov- eries: Cicero's orations: "Pro Scauro", "Pro Tullio", "Pro Flacco", "In Clodium", and "In Curionem" (1814); the correspondence of Fronto, Marcus Aure- Uus, and Verus (1815); the speech of Isseus, "De h»- reditateCleonymi" (1815); a fragmentof the " Vidu- laria" of Plautus, and commentaries on Terence (1816); Philo, "De Virtute"; a discourse of Themis- tius; a fragment of Dionvsius of Halicamassus (1816); a Gothic version of St. raul; the "Itinerarium Alex- andri*'; a biography of Alexander by Julius Valerius (1817); and an Armenian version of the "Chronicle" of Eusebius (1818). So many new texts, almost all of which were found in palimpsests, not to mention some editions of already known texts, drew world- wide attention to Mai. In 1819, his superiors decided that he could render greater service in the ranks of the secular clergy; he therefore left the Society and was called by the pope to the Vatican Libranr. He then worked with increased zest in a richer field. His most brilliant find at this time was the " Republic" of Cicero (1822). To insure the regular publication of his dis- coveries, he began large series of Anecdota: "Scrip- torum veterum nova collectio" (10 vols., 1825- 38); "Classici auctores" (10 vols., 1825-38); "Spici- legium Romanum" (10 vols., 1839-44); "Nova Pa- trum bibliotheca" (7 vols., 1852-54), published by Mai hunself. The profane authors who profited by Mai's labours are: Diodorus of Sicily; Polybius; Oribasus; Procopius; Cicero (especially the Verrine orations), and the Roman jurisconsults. Important discov- eries were made likewise with regard to the works of the Fathers: Saints Augustine, Hilary, Cyprian, Jer- ome, Ambrose, Athanasius, Cyril, Basil, and Ori^n, Iroujeua, Eiisohiiis of Cirsarea, etc. To these ancient
writers must be added the Italian Humanists, the Latia
poets of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Poli-
ziano, Sannazaro, Bembo, Sadoleto, and others, whose
works he printed for the mist time in the " Spicile^um
Romanum". He gave to the world unpubushed
pages of more than 350 authors. Finally, he did not
overlook the Bible. After long delays, inspired by
timidity, he was as last authorized to make known one
of the most important Greek MS. of the Bible (Vetus
et Novum Testamentum ex antiauissimo codice Vati-
cano, 1 858) . It has been stated tnat the gall nut used
by Mai to revive the writing of the palunpsests half
destroyed them. The truth is that all reagents injure
parchment. Soon little will remain of the palimpsest
of Plautus in the Ambrosian Library. But the work
of Studemund, Mai's successor, will insure its perpet-
uitv. Mai's brilliant discoveries won him the homage
and affection of many. He was an intimate friend of
Leopardi, the poet of New Italv, a friendship equally
honourable to both. Mai was blamed for his great un-
willingness to allow the learned to share in the trea-
sures he guarded so jealously. He wished to enjoy
them all alone. In 1838, the pope named him cai^
dinal; but he continued his researches, and his publi-
cations were interrupted only by his death.
SoifMBRVOOEi., Bibliothique de la compagnie de J^sus, V, 323, till 1819; BoNNBTTY, Table aiphabHique analytique et raiscmnie de tous les atUeurs aacrls et profanes qui ont Hi adcouverts et fdiUM rAcemment dans les 4S voU publiSs par le cardinal Mai (Paris, 1850}; PoLBTTO, PRINA, and others. Net primo centenario da oardiriale Angela Mai, atti deUa solenne Accademia tenuiasi in suo * onore il 7 Marzo t88B (Bei]samo, 1882) \ Poletto, Del cardinals Angela Mai e d^ suoi stiuH e scoperte (Siena, 1886) \ Chatelain, Les palimpsestes latins in Annuaire de VEoole prtUique des hautes Hudes (1904), 5.
Paul Lejay.
.Jaignan, Emmanuel, French physicist and theo-
logian; d. at Toulouse, 17 July, 1601; d. at Toulouse, 29
October, 1676. His father was dean of the Chancery
of that city and his mother's father was professor of
medicine at the University of Toulouse. He studied
the humanities at the Jesuit college. At the age of
eighteen he joined the Order of Minims. His instruc-
tor in philosophy was a follower of Aristotle, but
Maignan soon o^an to dispute and oppose all that
seemed to him false in Aristotle's teachings, especially
of physics. He preferred Plato to Aristotle. He mas-
tered the mathematics of the day, practically without
aid from any one. At the end of a few vears his ability
was recognized by his superiors and he was given
chs^e of the instruction of novices. In 1636 he was
called to Rome by the general of the order to teach
mathematics at the convent of the Trinity dei Monti.
There he lived for fourteen years, engaged in mathe-
matics and in physical experiments, and publishing
his work on gnomonics ana perspective. In 1650 he
returned to Toulouse and was maae provincial. When
his three years were up, he was glad to devote himself
entirely to his studies. When Louis XIV, having seen
his machines and curiosities at Toulouse, invited him
to Paris, in 1660, through Cardinal Mazarin, he begged
to be allowed to pass his life in the seclusion of the
convent. His published works are: "Perspectiva
horaria, sive de horologiographia, turn teorica, tum
practica" (4 vols., Rome, 1848); "Cursus philoso-
phicus" (Ist ed., 4 vols., Toulouse, 1652; 2nd ed. with
changes and additions, Lyons, 1673); "Sacra philo-
sophia entis supematuralis" (Lyons, 1662, 1st vol.,
and 1672, 2nd vol.); "Dissertatio theologica de usu
licito pecuniae" (Lyons, 1673). This dissertation
seemedf to authorize usury and was therefore censured
by a number of bishops.
Saouens, De Vita, moribus et scriptis R. P. E. Maignani el e26- gtum (Toulouse, 1697); NicIjron, Mhnoires ... E. M., XXXI (Paria, 1736), 346-353.
William Fox.
MaiUa (Maillac), Joseph-Ann a-M.uue de Movria PB, Jesuit missionary; b. 16 Dec, 1669, at Chateau
