When these figures were considered, and when one contemplates the vastness of the works in progress during any decade of the century 1680-1780; and still more, when not only the quantity but the quality of the work, and the abiding value of most of it is realized, it will be recognized that the output was prodigious and unique in the history of letters, as coming from a single society. The qualities that have made Maurist work proverbial for sound learning are its fine critical tact and its thoroughness. The chief source of information on the Maurists and their work is Dom Tassin's _Histoire littéraire de la congregation de Saint-Maur_ (1770); it has been reduced to a bare bibliography and completed by de Lama, _Bibliothèque des écrivains de la congr. de S.-M._ (1882). The two works of de Broglie, _Mabillon_ (2 vols., 1888) and _Montfaucon_ (2 vols., 1891), give a charming picture of the inner life of the great Maurists of the earlier generation in the midst of their work and their friends. Sketches of the lives of a few of the chief Maurists will be found in McCarthy's _Principal Writers of the Congr. of S. M._ (1868). Useful information about their literary undertakings will be found in De Lisle's _Cabinet des MSS. de la Bibl. Nat. Fonds St Germain-des-Prés_. General information will be found in the standard authorities: Helyot, _Hist. des ordres religieux_ (1718), vi. c. 37; Heimbucher, _Orden und Kongregationen_ (1907) i. § 36; Wetzer und Welte, Kirchenlexicon (ed. 2) and Herzog-Hauck's _Realencyklopädie_ (ed. 3), the latter an interesting appreciation by the Protestant historian Otto Zöckler of the spirit and the merits of the work of the Maurists. (E. C. B.) FOOTNOTES: [1] His festival is kept on the 15th of January. He founded the monastery of Glanfeuil or St Maur-sur-Loire. [2] 14 vols. of materials collected for the continuation are at Paris. [3] The printing of vol. ii. was impeded by the Revolution. MAURITIUS, an island and British colony in the Indian Ocean (known whilst a French possession as the _Île de France_). It lies between 57° 18´ and 57° 49´ E., and 19° 58´ and 20° 32´ S., 550 m. E. of Madagascar, 2300 m. from the Cape of Good Hope, and 9500 m. from England via Suez. The island is irregularly elliptical--somewhat triangular--in shape, and is 36 m. long from N.N.E. to S.S.W., and about 23 m. broad. It is 130 m. in circumference, and its total area is about 710 sq. m. (For map see MADAGASCAR.) The island is surrounded by coral reefs, so that the ports are difficult of access.