Chapter Maitland to Mangan of M by Biographical Dictionary of English Literature

Maitland to Mangan

Maitland, Sir Richard (1496-1586).—Poet, flourished of Maitland of Lethington, Sec. of State to Mary Queen of Scots. In his later years he was blind, and occupied himself in composing a History of the House of Seaton, and by writing poems, e.g. On the New Year, On the Queene’s Maryage, etc. He held various offices, chiefly legal, but appears to have kept as far as possible out of the fierce political struggles of his time, and to have been a genially satirical humorist.

Malcolm, Sir John (1769-1833).—Indian soldier, statesman, and historian, born at Burnfoot, Dumfriesshire, went to India in 1782, studied Persian, was employed in many important negotiations and held various distinguished posts, being Ambassador to Persia and Governor of Bombay 1826-30. He was the author of several valuable works regarded as authorities, viz., A History of Persia (1815), Memoir of Central India (1823), Political History of India from 1784 to 1823 (1826), and Life of Lord Clive (1836).

Mallet, Originally Malloch, David (1705-1765).—Poet and miscellaneous writer, educated at Crieff parish school and the University of Edinburgh, where he became acquainted with James Thomson, and in 1723 went to London as tutor in the family of the Duke of Montrose. In the following year appeared his ballad of William and Margaret, by which he is chiefly remembered, and which made him known to Pope, Young, and others. In 1726 he changed his name to Mallet to make it more pronounceable by Southern tongues. His Excursion, an imitation of Thomson, was published in 1728. At the request of the Prince of Wales, whose secretrayhe had become, he wrote with Thomson a masque, Alfred (1740), in which Rule Britannia first appeared, which, although he claimed the authorship, is now generally attributed to Thomson. He also wrote a Life of Bacon; and on Bolingbroke bequeathing to him his manuscripts and library, he published an edition of his works (1754). On the accession of George III., Mallet became a zealous supporter of Lord Bute, and was rewarded with a sinecure. In addition to the works above named Mallet wrote some indifferent dramas, including Eurydice, Mustapha, and Elvira. Dr. Johnson said of him that he was “the only Scotsman whom Scotsmen did not commend.”

Malone, Edmund (1741-1812).—Critic, son of an Irish judge, born in Dublin, and educated at Trinity College there, studied for the law, but coming into a fortune, decided to follow a literary career. Acute, careful, and sensible, he was a useful contributor to the study of Shakespeare, of whose works he published a valuable edition in 1790. He also aided in the detection of the Rowley forgeries of Chatterton, and the much less respectable Shakespeare ones of Ireland. At his death he was engaged upon another edition of Shakespeare, which was brought out under the editorship of James Boswell (q.v.). Malone also wrote Lives of Dryden and others, and was the friend of Johnson, Goldsmith, Reynolds, and Burke. Malory, Sir Thomas (flourished 1470).—Translator of Morte d’ Arthur. Very little is known of him. An endeavour has been made to identify him with a Sir Thomas Malory of Warwickshire, who fought successively on both sides in the Wars of the Roses, sat in Parliament 1444-45, and died 1471. In his book he strove to make a continuous story of the Arthurian legends, and showed judgment alike in what he included and omitted.

Malthus, Thomas Robert (1766-1834).—Economist, son of a landed proprietor, was born near Dorking, and educated at Jesus College, Cambridge, of which he became a Fellow. Taking orders he became incumbent of Albury, Essex. He travelled much on the continent, collecting information as to the means of livelihood and mode of life of various peoples. In 1798 the first edition of his famous Essay on Population appeared, and in 1803 a second greatly enlarged. Its leading proposition, supported by much learning, is that while population increases approximately in a geometrical ratio, the means of subsistence do so in an arithmetical ratio only, which, of course, opened up an apalling prospect for the race. It necessarily failed to take into account the then undreamed-of developments whereby the produce of the whole world has been made available for all nations. The work gave rise to a great deal of controversy, much of it based on misunderstanding. Malthus was Professor of Political Economy at Haileybury.

Mandeville, Bernard De (1670-1733).—Satirist, a native of Dort in Holland, who having studied medicine at Leyden, came over to England to practise his profession. In 1705 he published a short poem, The Grumbling Hive, which in 1714 reappeared with a prose commentary, and various dissertations on the origin of moral virtue, etc., as The Fable of the Bees, or Private Vices Public Benefits, and in 1729 was