AUBIGNAC
67
AUCH
tlie mission registers, were destroyed by fire in 1759.
He also wrote several memorials in opposition to the
claims of the English in Acadia, and sent them to
the French Government, urging that the boundaries
between the P'rench and English possessions should
be determined by mutual agreement. To these
memorials he added a map, giving the boundaries
as defined by the treaty of Utrecht. His plan, how-
ever, was not accepted. These valuable documents
are still preserved in the Paris archives. Chateau-
briand reproduces the life-storj' of Father Aubery
in the character of the missionary in his " Atala ".
Thwaites. Jesxiit Relations (Cleveland, 1900). LXVI, 344; RocHKMONTEix, Les J csuiUs (Paris, 1895-96); M-\UR.vrLT, HMoire dea AbenakU (Quebec, 1866); Bruns. Hiet. ColUs., I, 1890.
Edw.\hd p. Spillane.
Aubignac, FR.\NfOis Hedelin.Abbe d', grammari- an, poet, preacher, archaeologist, philologist, b. at Paris, 4 August, 1604; d. at Nemours, 27 July, 1676. He took his name from an abbey that was granted liim. After completing his classical and theological studies, he was appointed by Cardinal Richelieu instructor to the latter's nephew, the young Due de Fronsac, to whose gratitude he owed a pension of 4,000 livres. This appointment, as well as his own inclination, led him to devote his time to literary studies, especially to the classics. He was drawn into the contro- versy between the ancients under the leadership of Boileau, and the moderns under Perrault, his philological views being used by the latter for the support of their cause. The drama had a special at- traction for d'Aubignac, who wTOte not only a tragedy, ■• Z^nobie", but also a work entitled "Pratique du Theatre".
The abb§ interests modern scholars chiefly because of his attitude on what is known as the " Homeric Question ". He was one of the first to doubt the existence of Homer; he even propounded the theory that the Iliad is made up of a number of in- dependent ballads gathered and put together by a compiler not very much later than the supposed date of Homer, whom he took to be Lycurgus. This first compilation, however, was not final, as the poem continued to be handed down by the re>;itation of rhapsodists who again divided the work into sep- arate songs, Pisistratus making the final redaction. These views were based partly on statements in the Greek historians, partly on reasons drawn from the poem itself. D'Aubignac dwelt on the impossibility of transmitting so long a poem without the aid of writ- ing which he, as did Wolf, believed to be unknown to Homer. He drew arguments from the construction of the epic, its lack of unity audits multiplicity of themes, the quarrel of Achilles being treated of in only a few books. The name Iliad he considered a misno- mer, since Troy is not the subject of the story. The Iliad, he contended, has no suitable ending; the reader's curiosity remains uiLsatisfied. It contains many cantos that might be omitted, not only with- out "detriment but with positive advantage to the action of the storj-. Besides these general consid- erations, he adduced numerous details which consti- tute flaws in the poem as we possess it, but which would be entirely justified in separate ballads. In short, there are few objections made to the Iliad by modern scholars on iesthetical and rhetorical grounds which are not touched upon by the French humanist. The arguments against a single author, drawn from the character of the language, the in- termixture of the dialects and the like, d'Aubignac could not present, because linguistic studies in his day had not advanced sufficiently to enable him to appreciate the " Homeric Question " from this point of view. Though the abb^ had on many occasions set forth in writing his opinions on Homer, it was only shortly before his death that he wTote
an extended work on the theme, entitled "Conjec-
tures acad^raiques, on dissertation sur I'lliade". He
died before he was able to make the final revision,
and it was not published until 1715, forty years
after his death. The work was known to Wolf, and
though the French scholar anticipated many of his
own views he does him scant justice. A Ger-
man critic declares that d'Aubignac 's arguments are
substantially as strong as Wolf's, in some respects
stronger, and that if Wolf's " Prolegomena" produced
greater and more lasting results, this is due less to
the character of his arguments than to the greater
skill with which they are set forth.
FixSLER, Die Conjectures academiques des Abbe d'Aubignac in Neve Jahrbiicher fur das klassische AUertum und fur Pit- dagogik (Leipzig, 1905) XV.
Charles G. Herbermanx.
Aubigne, Je.vn-Henri Merle d'. See Reforma- tion.
Aubusson, Pierre d', Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, b. 1423; d. 1.503. He made his first campaigns against the Turks, and fought next under the French Dauphin in a war against the Swiss (1444). It was on his return from thi.' last expedition that he obtained from Charles VH permission to join the Hospitallers. The year 1460 found him Castellan of Rhodes, and he soon after became captain-general of the city, which had been the seat of the order since 1309, and was now the chief obstacle to Ottoman supremacy in the iledi- terranean. Mahomet II therefore resolved to snl> due it. D'Aubusson, who had been raised (1476) to the Grand Mastership, foresaw the sultan's design, and lost no time in making what preparations he could for the defence. A letter to the houses of his order brought him whatever men and money they could spare. Additional sums came from Sixtus IV and Louis XI, together with some of the bravest soldiers of Italy and France. Yet with all his exertions he was able to muster no more than 450 knights and 2,000 auxiliaries. The Turkish arma- ment, which appeared before Rhodes 23 May, 14S0, was overwhelmingly superior in numbers, and was furnished with the best artillerj- then obtainable. But the example of d'Aubusson's good right arm, and his omnipresence, made heroes of all the defenders. After three months of almost incessant fighting, which cost him 25,000 of his best warriors, the Turkish commander was forced to raise the siege. For this brilliant achievement d'Aubusson received a cardinal's hat, and was revered by all Christendom as "the Shield of the Church". In his subsequent efforts to form a league that would drive the Turks from Constantinople, he failed.
BouHOURS, Histoire de Pierre d'Aubusson (Paris, 1676; 3d ed., Hague. 1739; tr., London, 1679); Marulli, Lives of the Grand-MasUrs . . . of St. John . . . (Naples, 1636); B'landrin, History of the Knights of Rhodes (Paris, 1876). A. J. B. VUIBERT.
Auch (August.^ Auscorum), Archdiocese of, comprises the Department of Gers in France. Be- fore the Revolution it had ten suffragan sees: Acqs (Dax) and Aire, afterwards united as the Diocese of Aire; Lectoure, later reunited with the Archdiocese of Audi; Couserans, afterwards united with tlie Diocese of Pamiers; Oloron, Lescar, and Bayonne. united later as the Diocese of Bayonne; Bazas, after- wards united with the Archdioce-se of Bordeaux; Comminges, united later with the Archdiocese of Toulouse; and Tarbes. Up to 1789 the Arch- bishops of .\uch bore the title of Primate of Aqui- taine, though for centuries there had been no Aqui- taine. The .\rchdiocese of Auch, re-established in 1882, was made up of the former archdiocese of the same name and the former Dioceses of Lectoure, Condom, and Lombez. Condom was previously a suffragan of Bordeaux, and Lombez of Toulou.se; thenceforth the suffragans of Auch were Aire, Tarbes,
