SALMASIUS, CLAUDIUS, the Latinized name of CLAUDE SAUMAISE (1588-1653), French classical scholar, born at Semur en-Auxois in Burgundy on April 15, 1588. He was educated at. Paris and Heidelberg, where he went over to Protestantism. In 1609 he brought out an edition of Florus. He then returned to Burgundy, and qualified for the succession to his father's post, which he eventually lost on account of his religion. In 162o he published Casaubon's notes on the Augustan History, with copious additions of his own. In 1623 he married Anne Mercier, a Pro testant lady of a distinguished family. In 1629 Salmasius pro duced his magnum opus as a critic, his commentary on Solinus's Polyhistor, or rather on Pliny, to whom Solinus is indebted for the most important part of his work. Salmasius learned Arabic to qualify himself for the botanical part of his task. In 1631 he went as professor to Leiden, where he composed for Frederick of Nassau his De Re Militari Romanorum, not published till 1657. He was persistently attacked by a clique led by Daniel Heinsius. His De primatu Papae (1645) excited a warm con troversy in France.
In November 1649 appeared his Defensio regid pro Carolo I. It does not appear who influenced him to write it but Charles II. defrayed the expense of printing, and presented the author with Lioo. The first edition was anonymous, but the author was universally known. This celebrated work, in our day princi pally famous for the reply it provoked from Milton (1651) even in its own time added little to the reputation of the author. His reply to Milton, which he left unfinished at his death, and which was published by his son in 166o, is insipid as well as abusive. Salmasius died on Sept. 3, 1653.
As a commentator and critic, Salmasius is entitled to very high rank. His notes on the Augustan History and Solinus display not only massive erudition but massive good sense as well ; his percep tion of the meaning of his author is commonly very acute, and his emendations are frequently felicitous.
The life of Salmasius was written by Philibert de la Mare, but never printed ; it was used by Papillon, whose account of Salmasius in his Bzbliotheque des auteurs de Bourgogne (Dijon, 1745) is by far the best extant, and contains an exhaustive list of his works, both printed and in ms. There is an eloge by A. Clement prefixed to his edition of Salmasius's Letters (Leiden, 1656), and another by C. B. Morisot, in his own Letters (Dijon, 1656). See also E. Haag, La France protes tante, (ix. ; and, for the Defensio regia, D. Masson's Life of Milton.