EUSDEN

eusden, laurence (1688-1730), english poet, son of the rev. laurence eusden, rector of spofforth, yorkshire, was baptized on the 6th of september 1688. he was educated at st peter's school, york, and at trinity college, cambridge. he became a minor fellow of his college in 1711, and in the next year was admitted to a full fellowship. he was made poet laureate in 1718 by the lord chancellor, the duke of newcastle, as a reward for a flattering poem on his marriage. he was rector of coningsby, lincolnshire, where he died on the 27th of september 1730. his name is less remembered by his translations and gratulatory poems than by the numerous satirical allusions of pope, e.g. "know, eusden thirsts no more for sack or praise; he sleeps among the dull of ancient days." _dunciad_, bk. i. 11. 293-294. eusebius (gr. [greek: eusebios], from [greek: eusebes], pious, cf. the latin name pius), a name borne by a large number of bishops and others in the early ages of the christian church. of these the most important are separately noticed below. no less than 25 saints of this name (sometimes corrupted into eusoge, euruge, usoge, usuge, uruge and st sebis) are venerated in the roman catholic church, of whom 23 are included in the bollandist _acta sanctorum_; many are obscure martyrs, monks or anchorites, but two deserve at least a passing notice.