eighteen years of age he was called by Demetrius, bishop of Alexandria,

to fill the office of catechete. Henceforward he occupied himself constantly in the study and exposition of the holy scriptures, on which he wrote many commentaries and homilies. At first he followed the grammatical principle of interpretation, but from this he was seduced by the taste then prevailing at Alexandria, to adopt the allegorical method, in which he indulged to a pernicious extent. His critical labours on the sacred text at this time were abundant and well directed; the fruit of which was contained in his Hexapla or more properly Octapla—a work, the result of twenty-eight years' labour, and in which the author gave in separate columns six different Greek versions of the Old Testament, the Hebrew text, and the Hebrew in Greek letters, with various readings, prolegomena, and annotations. Of this great work only fragments remain, the best edition of which is that of Montfaucon, 2 vols., folio, Paris, 1713. We are indebted to Origen also for a most valuable defence of christianity against the heathen philosopher Celsus—a work which has preserved to us all that we know of that writer's arguments and cavils, and which has been a mine whence both infidels and christians have drawn their materials ever since. In these labours Origen found little favour with the general christian community. It was not till the year 227 that he was raised to the presbyterate over a congregation in Palestine; and such was the tumult excited by this that it continued to disturb his peace for the remainder of his life. The cruelties he suffered in the Decian persecution hastened his decease. He died in 254, leaving behind him the reputation of being the most learned of the fathers, and one whose labours have conferred the most permanent benefits on the church. On some points he ventured to depart from the prevailing doctrines of the church; and while this caused him trouble during his life, it has continued to obelize ever since, so that he is the only one of the Greek church fathers whom the church of Rome has refused to canonize. His works, however, remain to a great extent, and they have secured for him a higher honour. The best edition is that of the Benedictine De la Rue, 4 vols., folio, Paris, 1733-59.—W. L. A. ORIGEN, a Platonic philosopher, the disciple and friend of Porphyry, and a contemporary of the other Origen. He studied under Ammonius, and was succeeded in the philosophic chair by Plotinus. He wrote on demons, the Demiurgus, and a panegyric on Galienus. Although often mentioned by ancient writers, little is known of him.—B. H. C. ORLEANS, House of: the title of a branch of the royal family of France, in three great successive offshoots, which we thus note in their consecutive order. The earliest house of the name originated with—
Louis, the second surviving son of Charles V., and who seems to have been the first prince that bore the title of duke of Orleans. His assassination at Paris in 1407 by the duke of Burgundy, gave rise to the conflicts of the two factions styled Burgundians and Armagnacs, which deluged the capital with blood and inflicted fearful injuries on the whole kingdom. The first duke of Orleans married the daughter of the duke of Milan, which involved the Orleans family in Italian affairs, and ultimately produced the war of Louis XII. for the acquirement of the Milanese dominions. Charles, the second duke of Orleans, was taken prisoner by the English at the battle of Agincourt, and long retained in captivity. A more celebrated personage, Dunois, the "Bastard of Orleans," was the illegitimate brother of this second duke. The third duke, Louis, the son of Charles, who had been compelled to espouse the deformed daughter of Louis XI., eventually succeeded to the sceptre in 1498, and reigned under the title of Louis XII. In that year, by the death of the childless Charles VIII., the direct line of Valois came to a close, and Louis of Orleans, therefore, as heir of the collateral branch of Valois, inherited the sovereignty. He too, having no male offspring, was followed on the throne by his cousin, the count of Angoulême, who had married Claude, daughter of Louis, and who now became Francis I. This was in the year 1515.—The history of the second house of Orleans is summed up in that of a single individual—
Gaston, the younger son of Henry IV., born in 1608, and created Duke of Orleans in 1626. Like too many of the Orleans family, both in ancient and more modern times, he was devoid of both heart and principle, the victim of his own vanity, and perpetually plunged in trouble and disgrace. Intrigue was the element in which Gaston revelled, and he never seemed happy except when playing the part of a plotter. Against the life of Richelieu he frequently schemed, and was deeply implicated in the noted conspiracy of Cinq-Mars, shortly before the decease of the great cardinal. Adding a coward's to a traitor's guilt, he saved his own existence on this memorable occasion by the betrayal of his accomplices, and escaped with the loss of his chief domains, and banishment from the court. But matters changed in his favour at the death of Richelieu and Louis XIII.; and during the minority of Louis XIV. the duke of Orleans was recalled and made lieutenant-general of the kingdom. For a time he remained comparatively quiet. The civil commotions of the Fronde, however, proved too great a temptation for his turbulent and vacillating spirit, and he foolishly espoused a position of direct hostility to Mazarin. That wily successor of Richelieu triumphed in the end; and in 1652 Gaston was banished from the court to Blois, where he died eight years afterwards in mortifying exile. He had no sons, but was father by his first wife of the famous Louise de Montpensier, or "La Grande Mademoiselle," who figured so prominently in the later history of France, who aspired to the hand of Louis XIV., finally married the Count de Lauzun, and ended in 1693 her miserable life of blighted affection and disappointed ambition.—The third and existing house of Orleans springs from—
Philip, second son of Louis XIII., who was born in 1640. The title of duke of Orleans was conferred upon him at the death of his uncle Gaston, as above recorded, in 1660. This prince's career was in no way remarkable. He to some extent cultivated literature, and served with credit in the campaigns of Louis XIV. By his first wife, Henrietta of England, he had two daughters; by his second, Elizabeth of Bavaria, he had a daughter and two sons. Of the sons only one was living at the time of his father's death in 1701, who, therefore, succeeded him in his titles. This duke, Philip II., better known as the Regent Orleans, was a man of utterly unprincipled character, and notorious for his profligacy, alike personal and political—a bad distinction he doubtless partly owed to the early lessons of his tutor, the infamous Dubois. But his intellect was endowed with rare powers, and his graces and accomplishments were manifold. At the decease of Louis XIV. in 1715, the regency devolved on Philip of Orleans during the minority of the young heir to the throne. His rule was, in some respects, better than might have been expected from his antecedents, and ambition never misled him to abuse the rights of the youthful sovereign. He died suddenly in 1723, leaving a son and several daughters.—Louis, born in 1703, who succeeded him, led a life of dissipation in his early years; but after his wife's premature decease in 1726, he renounced his former course and devoted himself to works of charity, the pursuits of science, and the study of religion. Choosing for his retreat the abbey of St. Genevieve, he spent there the tranquil existence of a recluse until his death in 1742. The history of his son, Louis Philippe, presents nothing worthy of note. He fought at Dettingen and Fontenoy, and shared in other military service of importance. Dying in 1785 he was succeeded by his only son, Louis Philippe Joseph, born at St. Cloud in 1747, and who, during the lifetime of his father, was known by the title of Duke de Chartres. This was the prince who afterwards gained such an unenviable notoriety as the "Egalité" of the French revolution. Like his great grandfather, the Regent Orleans, he had been favoured by nature with superior advantages, both of mind and person; but such gifts were prostituted to the basest ends, and his youth was wasted in revolting debauchery. In 1778 he served on board the fleet commanded by Count d'Orvilliers, and during the action with Admiral Keppel off Cape Ushant, displayed a cowardice that covered him with the ridicule of the court, where, on account of his evil reputation, he was already held in abhorrence. For that abhorrence he resolved to take deadly revenge, and at the outbreak of the Revolution eagerly espoused the cause of the people in their opposition to the royal authority. He became the willing ally of the jacobins, and encouraged all the popular excesses, and, finally, after having voted for the death of Louis XVI., was himself brought to the scaffold on the 6th November, 1773. By his wife, Louise de Penthièvre, he left a son—the ex-king of the French—and a daughter, Mademoiselle d'Orleans.—(See Louis Philippe.)—J. J. ORLEY, Bernard van, called also Bernard of Brussels, was born there in 1470-71. Few of the circumstances of his life are known; but he went to Italy and lived many years at home, where he acquired the friendship of Raphael. When he