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Pica.

ing the misapplication of talents to such subjects, the Apologia exhibits a command of profound and well digested learning and keen argument, truly astonishing at the age of twenty-three. This work, and the discussions it contained of certain delicate points, added to some hints of the limit of pontifical controul in matters of faith, were so disagreeable to Pope Innocent VIII. that he interdicted the reading both of the Apology and the disputed questions. The love of glory, however, was not Mirandola's only passion: his youth, splendid accomplishments, and the graces of his person, for which he is said to have been remarkable, attracted the admiration and caresses of many distinguished Roman ladies, who united the love of letters to that of pleasure, a taste very common amongst the Italian ladies of that age. The young philosopher yielded to the force of these allurements, or rather, according to the account of his nephew and biographer, Francisco of Mirandola, eagerly followed the bent of his disposition, naturally inclined to obey the attractions of beauty.

But this life of pleasure, however suitable to his condition and inclinations, was of a short continuance. Irritated by the restless persecutions of his enemies, and obliged perpetually to defend himself against the impurtation of heresy, the most formidable calumny which in that age any man could have to contend with, he detached himself from vicious pleasures, and regulated his manner of life by rigidly observing the laws of abstinence imposed by Christianity; for being a firm adherent to the Christian doctrines, the charge of infidelity and the vigilance of his enemies made him the more solicitous to guard against the appearance of disobeying them. Becoming from this time wholly devoted to learning, he soon acquired such celebrity that the most eminent scholars from all parts of Italy came to visit bim for conversation or instruction. As a proof of the sincerity of his reformation, he committed to the flames five books of elegiae poetry which he had composed on the subject of his amours, together with numerous pieces in Tuscan verse, which had been addressed to his various mistresses. There is perhaps reason to lament that the zeal of a new convert would not be satisfied without this sacrifice. It must, however, be considered that the spirit of religion at that period exacted many sacrifices from the professors of Christianity, which the lenient temper of these times does not call for. An example of this severity is to be met with amongst the works that still remain of Mirandola; at the end of which, in the folio edition published by his nephew, we find a learned and entertaining comment, in the Italian language, upon a composition of his friend Girolamo Benivieni, entitled Una Canzona de Amore secundo la mente et openione de' Platonici, "A poetical treatise upon love, explaining the doctrines of the Platonists." The author, Girolamo, informs the reader, in a short preface, that he had determined to suppress this poem and comment out of regard to his friend's character and his own; deeming it unbecoming a profe sor of Christianity, in treating of celestial and divine love," to treat of it as a Platonist and not as a Christia;" but that having lent it to some of his friends for thir perusal, an imperfect and erroneous copy was printed, which obliged him, but not till after the death of Mirandola, to publish it correctly; and he takes care to allege, in excuse for himself, that he has apprized the reader of his plan by the title of the poem, and warned

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The first fruit of Mirandola's devotion to sacred literature was the Heptaplus, or Comment upon the Six Days of the first Chapter of Genesis, which was written in 1491. Two years afterwards he published a treatise in ten chapters, de Ente et Uno; the object of which was to reconcile the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle, and to demonstrate that, the disputes of their respective followers originated in a misconception of the opinions of these philosophers relative to the Ens and Unum, at that time a subject of mighty strife among the learned. This treatise was held in high esteem by both sides. It was the last work of consequence that the author lived to complete; but he had laid the plan of a vast and comprehensive work, which his early death prevented the execution of. This was no less than to confound the seven enemies of the Christian church, by examining and refuting all their errors. In the prosecution of this design, he had composed and perfected before his death twelve books against astrology, the most popular and the most pernicious superstition which then infested the world. Paulus Jovius, bishop of Nocera, has left a testimony to the merits of this work, which is above all other encomiums:-" "In this excellent though unfinished work, Mirandola attacked the astrologers with such erudition and keenness, and so ably exposed the absurdity and vanity of the whole art of divination, that he seems to have deterred the professors of the occult sciences from writing."

Pica

* Paul.

This great design, as well as many others which Mi-Jov. Elog randola had formed, particularly that of a more com- Doct. Vir. plete essay towards reconciling the opinions of Plato and P. 92. Aristotle, was frustrated by his death. From the time that he left Rome, which was soon after the publication of the Apologia, Mirandola generally resided either at Ferrara or at Florence. The friendship of the prince of Ferrara and its vicinity to his paternal seat attracted him to the former place; but Florence was the most agreeable to him, on account of the society of literary men which it afforded, and particularly of Politian and Lorenzo de Medici, with whom he entertained a close friendship. Besides these two illustrious men, his society was cultivated by other eminent scholars, among whom was the learned and unfortunate Hieronymus Savanarola, and Hermolaus Barbarus: Petrus Crinitus, the pupil of Politiant, mentions him as excelling all his + P. Crimi companions in the crudition and eloquence of his con- tusdehers versation. The same author has left us an account of ta Discip Pica's laborious studies; for when Politian had expressed lib. v. c. 1. in his presence high admiration of his great genius and & lib. i learning, Mirandola with singular modesty answered, c. 2. that he deserved no praise but for his assiduous application-"Gratulandum potius, intelligite, assiduis vigiliis atque lucubrationibus, quam nostro ingenio plaudendum."

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‡ Ib. lib. i

His library likewise is celebrated by the same writer, c. 2. and is said by Francisco de Mirandola to have cost 7000 pieces of gold. His accomplishments were not confined to subjects of abstruse literature; in his youth he was much attached to music, in which he acquired such skill,

that

Pica.

that some of his melodies were publicly received, and well as with the Greek and Hebrew classics, and a faci- Pica. held in great esteem. It might also be concluded, from lity of language and argument that could not be acquired an anecdote related by Petrus Crinitus, that he was not at that age without extraordinary powers of mind. It unacquainted with physic; for according to that author, would be worth while to transcribe the whole of this when Hermolaus Barbarus was seized at Rome with a curious piece for the amusement of such of our readers dangerous fever, Mirandola sent him from Florence a as may not have access to the original, but our limits do medicine prepared by himself. No man ever testified a not admit of it. more sincere devotion for learning and philosophy, to the contempt of all other qualifications, than the Prince of Mirandola. He possessed a very large estate, which he bestowed almost entirely upon works of charity, except what was spent in collecting books, and entertaining and providing for literary men. At length, how ever, about three years before his death, he made over to his nephew Francisco his principality and possessions in Mirandola, and obtained a confirmation of the grant from Maximilian, the Roman emperor, to whom that principality was subject. He reserved to himself only enough to purchase a small estate near Ferrara, where he spent the remainder of his life, except when he resided at Florence, in elegant and learned retirement, His mother, under whose care he received his education, had destined him for the church; and he was often urged by his friends to embrace the sacred profession, with the certainty of the highest honours and emoluments: but nothing could induce him to quit the life that he had chosen. He died of a fever at Florence, in the year 1494, in the 31st year of his age, on the same day that Charles IX. of France entered that city on his famous expedition into Italy. That monarch, hearing of Mirandola's illness, as he approached the city, sent two of his own physicians to his assistance; but in spite of their aid, the violence of his disorder pot an end to his existence in 13 days.

With respect to the works of this author, something has already been said, and little more remains to be observed. The Conclusiones afford a very complete specimen of the learning of the age, and of what were deemed the most valuable purposes to which learning could be applied. However nseless and unprofitable these purposes may appear to us, it will not be denied by any one, who has the curiosity to look through the Conclusiones, that the mass of learning, which must have been possessed by the proposer of them, is prodigious; when it is recollected that, at the time he proposed them, he was no more than 23 years of age. For there is not the least reason to suppose, that a person whose works prove him to have been a man of profound learning, and who, in an age and nation distinguished by some of the brightest scholars that ever appeared, was ranked by their own judgment amongst the first, should have challenged the discussion of any of the proposed subjects, without being well provided with the knowledge necessary for such a debate. The manner in which the questions were propounded leave little room to doubt that the author was deeply versed in the respective subjects of them; and the Apology for the accused propositions, partienlarly those de Salute Origenis and de Magiâ atque Cabalâ, discover familiarity with the writings of the Fathers, as

It is curious to observe how greatly the sudden growth
of learning outstripped that of solid science. No age,
perhaps, was ever so remarkable for the learning which
it produced as the period from the middle of the 15th-
century to the beginning of the 16th; yet, except the
inestimable obligations we owe to the learned men of
that time for their editions of the classics, later ages have
been little benefited by their works, which are either
lost or neglected, and even the sciences they treated of
exploded and ridiculed. School-divinity and metaphy-
sics, though the most attended to, were not the only
studies in which the vast erudition of that age was
wasted. The mysterious doctrines of the Cabala formed.
a favourite study of some of the most learned scholars.
The proposition which laid Pica open to the indignation
of the church, was that in which he asserted the ortho-
doxy of Origen; for Origen, notwithstanding his meri
torious labours in the cause of Christianity, his daring
zeal and self-martyrdom, and notwithstanding the de-
fence of Eusebius, was consigned by the sentence of the
church to inevitable damnation, on account of his errors
in the mysteries of the faith. To question his perdition,
therefore, was to deny that the church was the interpre-
ter of the divine intentions. The defence of this part of
the Conclusiones is written with a boldness that could
hardly be expected from an Italian of the 15th century.
But the hardiest of these propositions was that in which
it is asserted, that faith is not in a man's own power.
In defending this and the other propositions, which were
taxed with heresy, Pica probably relied less on the spi-
rit and ability of his justification, than on his own high
rank and station, together with the countenance and.
protection of his powerful friends, particularly the Me-
dici, whose liberality of sentiment in regard to religious
points was so notorious, that even Leo. X. has been di
rectly charged, not only with heresy, but infidelity *.
By the Cabala, a term at this time generally misap-
prehended, was understood sometimes a species of divine
magic operating by the agency of good spirits, as magien
commonly so called was supposed to do by that of evil
beings; but the true definition of it, as received by the
best of its professors, is given by Reuchlinus (A), in his
treatise addressed to Lorenzo de Medici, Divina Revela-
tionis ad salutiferam Dei et formarum separatarum con-
templationem traditæ symbolica receptio,—a symbolic ac-
ceptation of the Mosaic history (for that is meant by di-
vina revelatio) which produced a pure and perfect ac-
quaintance with the nature of the divinity and of spirits;
and according to the opinions of some, which seem to be
revived by the modern Swedenborgians, this knowledge,
when sublimed to the highest perfection it was capable
of, and accompanied with perfect purity, was believed

tou

* Milner's
Hist. of the..
Church,
vol. iv..

(A) This treatise, which contains the whole learning upon a subject once held in the highest veneration by men s of learning, is very curious, and is to be found in the folio edition of Mirandola's works, published at. Basil ina 1557

Pica.

Cabalist.

to raise the mind to an absolute familiarity with good angels, by whose assistance the possessors of the cabalic secrets were enabled to do miraculous things. This art was derived from the rabbinical doctors, who were at first called Thalmudists; and, about the middle of the *Reuchli 15th century, according to Pica de Mirandola *, its nus de Arte professors were denominated Cabalici, Cabalai, or Cabalistæ, according to their different degrees of perfecrion they afterwards, however, departed from their masters the Thalmudists; the latter, according to Reuch. linus, being chiefly intent upon the law and the explanation of it, while the former, paying less regard to what concerned human affairs, aimed chiefly at elevation of mind and thought. The ideas and doctrines of the Cabalists seem to have been well known to Milton, and perhaps suggested some passages in Paradise Lost. In Reuchlinus's Exposition of their mysteries there is a curious passage describing the speech of the Deity to the heavenly spirits after the fall of Adam, with the future prospect of redemption by the incarnation of the Messiah, whom the Cabalists recognised in the character of a celestial Adam (B); and, among the books relating to these doctrines, which are said to be lost, mention is made of Liber Bellorum Domini. The mysteries of the Pythagorean philosophy, which, according to Philolaus apud Reuchlinum, sprung from the same source, were also studied and taught with great fervency during this period. Mirandola and Paulus Riccius were the first who explained the Cabalistic mysteries in Latin, and the former in his Apology, has employed much labour and learning in defending them, as well as the science of natural magic, from the vulgar idea that necromancy was at the bottom of them. His writings, however, upon that subject were few, and we do not know whether they still exist; but it may be collected from the following proposition in his Conclusiones, and some others of a similar nature, that he, like all the scholars of his time, had bestowed much attention upon this useless learning: "Qui scierit quid sit denarius in Arithmetica formali, et cognoverit natura primi numeri sphærici, sciet secretum quinquaginta portarum intelligentiæ et magni jobelæi, et millesimæ generationis, et regnum omnium seculorum." Those who are well acquainted with the tenets of the modern millenarians will be able to tell whether there be any connection between them and the allusions in the concluding part of this proposition. Magic also entered deeply into the learning of this

era.

This comprises two distinct sciences, that of natural magic, and that of dæmonology: the first was concerned only in the properties of numbers and figures, and some of the more hidden properties of nature. This knowledge enabled its possessors to produce many effects from natural causes, which, when science was less diffused than at present, appeared to be the effect of something superior to the common limits of human power. Albertus, commonly called Magnus, the friend and tutor of Roger Bacon, was the most celebrated of those who excelled in this sort of knowledge. This science has been productive of many admirable discoveries in ma

P. Crin

tus de hones

ta

lib. ix. c.

thematics and chemistry. Magic, in its common signi- Fica. fication, or necromancy, was also eagerly studied at this time, as appears from Cornelius Agrippa's strange work upon that subject; and we may judge of the estimation in which it was held, by the confession that writer makes in his book De vanitate omnium Scientiarum, that while he professed that science, he derived more credit and profit from it, than from any other use he ever could make of his learning. The first master in this way was said to be * Solomon, whose magic ring and glass are still famous in eastern dæmonology. But the most dangerous, the most popular, and the to Discip most pernicious delusion which the darkness of the preceding ages had entailed upon mankind, was astrology, which will perhaps never be utterly exterminated from the minds of the vulgar, but which then possessed all ranks. When these considerations are taken into the account, it must be looked upon as no despicable application of learning and talents, to have exposed the fallacy and absurdity of this delusion; and when we recollect the great learning and credit of some of its upholders, among whom our countryman Roger Bacon was the most esteemed; the almost universal belief entertained of it, and the few lights which mankind then possessed, as to the real and constant laws obeyed by the celestial bodies; it cannot be denied that the twelve books written by Mirandola against astrology, the effect of which, in opening men's eyes upon that subject is testified by a respectable cotemporary author, were the work of a very superior and enlightened mind. When we congratulate ourselves upon our freedom from these superstitions, we ought not to forget, that we owe something to those who gave the first blow to them. Proud of the lights of the age we live in, when astrology and such like cheats are no longer in vogue, we are too apt to overlook the merit of those exertions which first exposed and refuted them; and to persuade ourselves, that in these days of genius and philosophy, such exertions would have been unnecessary; not recollecting that if we enjoy many superiorities of this kind, we are less indebted for them to our own genius than to the labours of those who first paved the way for the detection of superstitious errors; our merit is, that we do not shut our eyes to the light of science; but while we enjoy its blaze, we ought to be grateful to those who struck the first sparks.

John Pica of Mirandola has been represented by writers, whose ideas are taken from the encomiums of his cotemporaries, as a mighty prodigy of learning and genius. The distaste which the present times entertain towards those subjects upon which he wrote, renders it ve ry difficult, upon a review of his works, to think those encomiums justified. But making allowance for this change of opinion, and weighing the impartial testimony of his equals, and the early age at which he obtained their admiration, it may be fairly concluded, he was in reality, a man of very extraordinary powers. These memoirs are principally collected from his letters, and the account given of him by his nephew Francisco, bim

self

verbo

(c) Conjicimus sane, alterum esse Adam cælestem angelis in cœlo demonstratum, unum ex Deo, quem fecerat et alterum esse Adam terrenum, repulsum à Deo, quem ex luto manibus suis finxerat. Reuchli mus, p. 750.

Pica,

PICARDS, a religious sect which arose in Bohemia Picards. in the 15th century.

self an eminent scholar. Such a biographer might naPicard. turally be suspected of partiality; but the evidence of other writers fully confirms his account. Paulus Jovius, in his Elogia Doctorum Virorum, gives the following character of him*. "John Pica of Mirandola, has been justly styled the phoenix; for in him, the immortal. gods, besides the splendour of his family, assembled all the rarest gifts of body and mind."

P. 92.

Petrus Riccius, commonly called Petrus Crinitus, who was the pupil of Politian and the companion of Mirandola, laments the death of him and Politian, which happened in the same year, as a public misfortune, more severely felt at that particular time, when learning, obstructed by the incursion of the French into Italy, want+ Pet. Crin, ed the support and assistance of such men †. To these de honesta may be added the testimony of Hieronymus Savanarola, Discip. who, though afterwards put to death by Pope Alexander for a heretic, was a man of great consideration on account of his learning and talents. In a dispute which took place between him and Mirandola, concerning the philosophy of the ancients; the former, yielding to the superiority of his opponent, rose up and embracing him said, “Unus tu es, Pice, ætate nostra qui omnium veterum philosophiam ac religionis Christianæ præcepta et Ib. iii. c. 2. leges percalleas . The following epitaph, written by Hercules Strozza, is preserved by Paulus Jovius:

Joannes jacet hic Mirandola; cætera norunt.
Et Tagus et Ganges, forsan et Antipodes.

Dr Johnson in his Essay on Epitaphs, has taken notice of this pompous distich, as a warning to epitaph writers. "Thus, says he, have their expectations been disappointed, who honoured Picus of Mirandola with this pompous epitaph. His name, then celebrated in the remotest corners of the earth, is now almost forgot ten; and his works, then studied, admired, and applauded, are now mouldering in obscurity." Monthly Mag.

PICARD, a native of the Netherlands, who found ed a sect the professors of which were called Picards. See PICARDS.

PICARD, John, an able mathematician, and one of the most learned astronomers of the 17th century, was born at Fleche, and became priest and prior of Rillie in Anjou. Going to Paris, he was in 1666 received into the Academy of Sciences in quality of astronomer. In 1671, he was sent, by order of the king, to the castle of Uraniburg, built by Tycho Brahe in Denmark, to make astronomical observations there; and from thence he brought the original manuscripts wrote by Tycho Brabe, which are the more valuable as they differ in many places from the printed copies, and contain a book more than has yet appeared. He made important discoveries in astronomy; and was the first who travelled through several parts of France, to measure a degree of the meridian. His works are, 1. A trea. tise on levelling. 2. Fragments of dioptrics. 3. Experimenta circa aquas effluentes. 4. De mensuris. 5. De mensura liquidorum & aridorum. 6. A voyage to UFaniburg, or astronomical observations made in Denmark. 7. Astronomical observations made in several parts of France, &c. These, and some other of his works, which are much esteemed, are in the sixth and seven volumes of the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences.

Picard, the author of this sect, from whom it derived its name, drew after him, as has been generally said, a number of men and women, pretending he would restore them to the primitive state of innocence wherein man was created and accordingly he assumed the title of the New Adam. With this pretence he taught his followers to give themselves up to all impurity; saying that therein consisted the liberty of the sons of God; and that all those not of their sect were in bondage. He first published his notions in Germany and the Low Countries, and persuaded many people to go naked, and gave them the name of Adamites. After this he seized on an island in the river Lausnecz, some leagues from Thabor, the head quarters of Zisca, where he fixed himself and his followers. His women

were common, but none were allowed to enjoy them. without his permission: so that when any man desired a particular woman, he carried her to Picard, who gave him leave in these words, Go, increase, multiply, and fill the earth.

At length, however, Zisca, general of the Hussites,. (famous for his victories over the emperor Sigismund), hurt at their abominations, marched against them, made himself master of their island, and put them all to death except two; whom he spared, that he might learn their doctrine.

Such is the account which various writers, relying on the authorities of Eneas Sylvius and Varillas, have given of the Picards, who appear to have been a party of the Vaudois, that fled from persecution in their own country, and sought refuge in Bohemia. It is indeed. doubtful whether a sect of this denomination, chargeable with such wild principles and such licentious conduct, ever existed; and it is certainly astonishing that Mr Bayle, in his art. Picards, should adopt the reproachful representations of the writers just mentioned: for it appears probable at least that the whole is a calumny invented and propagated in order to disgrace the Picards, merely because they deserted the communion and protested against the errors of the church of Rome. Lasitius informs us, that Picard, together with 40 other persons, besides women and children, settled in Bohemia. in the year 1418. Balbinus the Jesuit, in his Epitome Rerum Bohemicarum, lib. ii. gives a similar account, and charges on the Pieards none of the extravagancies or crimes ascribed to them by Sylvius. Schlecta, secretary of Ladislaus, king of Bohemia, in his letters to Erasmus, in which he gives a particular account of the Picards, says that they considered the pope, cardinals, and bishops of Rome, as the true Antichrists, and the adorers of the consecrated elements in the eucharist as downright idolaters; that they denied the corporeal presence of Christ in this ordinance; that they condemned the worship of saints, prayers for the dead, auricular confession, the penance imposed by priests, the feasts and vigils observed in the Romish church; and that they confined themselves to the observance of the sabbath, and of the two great feasts of Christmas and Pentecost. From this account it would appear that they were no other than the Vaudois; and M. de Beausobre has shewn that they were both of the same sect, though under different denominations. Besides, it is certain that the Vaudois

were

Picards

ni.

were settled in Bohemia in the year 1178, where some ။ of them adopted the rites of the Greek, and others those Piccolomi- of the Latin church. The former were pretty generally adhered to till the middle of the 14th century, when the establishment of the Latin rites caused great distur bance. On the commencement of the national troubles in Bohemia, on account of the opposition to the papal power (see MORAVIANS), the Picards more publicly avowed and defended their religious opinions; and they formed a considerable body in an island by the river Launitz or Lausnecz, in the district of Bechin, and reGurring to arms, were defeated by Zisca. En yclop. art. Picards.

PICARDY, a province in France, is bounded on the north by Hainault, Artois, and the straits of Calais; on the east by Champagne; on the south by the Isle of France; and on the west by Normandy and the English channel (A). This province is long and narrow, being usually compared to a bent arm; and in this figure is nearly 150 miles in length, but not above 40 in breadth, and in many places not above 20. It is generally a level country; and produces wine, fruit of all kinds, plenty of corn, and great quantities of hay: but wood being scarce, most of the inhabitants burn turf. They have, however, some pit-coal, but it is not so good as that of England. It was united to the crown of France in the year 1643. It nearly corresponds with the present department of the Somme.

Its principal rivers are the Somme, the Oise, the Canche, the Lanthie, the Lys, the Aa, the Scarpe, and the Deule.

The situation of this province on the sea, its many navigable rivers and canals, with the industry of the inhabitants, render it the seat of a flourishing trade. In it are many beautiful silk stuffs, woollen stuffs, coarse linen, lawn, and soap; it also carries on a large trade in corn and pit coal. In the districts of Calais and Boulogne are annually bred 5000 or 6000 colts, which being afterwards turned loose in the pastures of Normandy, are sold for Norman horses. The fisheries on this coast are also very advantageous. This province was formerly divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower Picardy, and again subdivided into four deputy governThe principal town is Amiens.

ments.

PICCOLOMINI, ALEXANDER, archbishop of Patras, and a native of Sienna, where he was born about the year 1508, was of an illustrious and ancient family, which came originally from Rome, but afterwards settled at Sienna. He composed with success for the theatre; but he was not more distinguished by his genius, than by the purity of his manners, and his regard to virtue. His charity was very great; and was chiefly exerted in relieving the necessities of men of letters. He has left behind him a number of works in Italian ; the most remarkable of which are, 1. Various Dramatic pieces, which laid the first foundation of his character as a writer. 2. A Treatise on the Sphere. 3. A Theory of the Planets. 4. A Translation of Aristotle's

ni.

Art of Rhetoric and Poetry, in 4to. 5. A System of PiccoloadMorality published at Venice, 1575, in 4to; translated into French by Peter de Larivey in 4to; and printed →→ at Paris, 1581. These, with a variety of other works, prove his extensive knowledge in natural philosophy, mathematics, and theology. He was the first who made use of the Italian language in writing upon philosophical subjects. He died at Sienna the 12th of March 1578, aged 70. A particular catalogue of his works may be seen in the Typographical Dictionary. There is one performance ascribed to this author, entitled Dialogo della bella Creanta delle Donne, (printed at Milan, 1558, and at Venice, 1574, in 8vo.); which but ill suits the dignity of a prelate. It is filled with maxims which have an evident tendency to hurt the morals of young women. Piccolomini's name, indeed, is not in the title page; and it has all the appearance of being a juvenile production. It is very scarce; and the public would sustain no loss by its being entirely out of print. It was translated into French by F. d'Amboise, and published at Lyons, in 16mo, under the title of Instruction des jeunes dames. It was afterwards reprinted in 1583, under that of Dialogue et Devis des Demoiselles.

PICCOLOMINI, Francis, of the same family with the foregoing, was born in 1520, and taught philosophy with success for the space of 22 years, in the most celebrated universities of Italy, and afterwards retired to Sienna, where he died, in 1604, at the age of 84. This city went into mourning on his death. His works are, 1. Some Commentaries upon Aristotle, printed at Mayence, 16c8, in 4to. 2. Universa Philosophia de Moribus, printed at Venice, 1583, in folio. He laboured to revive the doctrine of Plato, and endeavoured also to imitate the manners of that philosopher. He had for his rival the famous James Zabarella, whom he excelled in facility of expression and neatness of discourse; but to whom he was much inferior in point of argument, because he did not examine matters to the bottom as the other did, but passed too rapidly from one proposition to another.

PICCOLOMINI of Arragon, Octavius, duke of Amalfi, prince of the empire, a general of the emperor's army, and knight of the order of the Golden Fleece, was born in 1599. He first bore arms among the Spanish troops in Italy. He afterwards served in the army of Ferdinand II. who sent him to the relief of Bohemia, and entrusted him with the command of the imperial troops in 1634. After having signalized himself at the battle of Nortlingue, he made Marshal de Chatillon raise the siege of St Omer. He had the good fortune to gain a victory over Marquis de Feuquieres in 1639 nor did the loss of the battle of Wolfenbut tle, in 1651, impair his glory. He died on the 10th of August 1656, being five years after, aged 57, without issue; and with the character of an able negotiator and an active general. The celebrated Caprara was his nephew. PICCOLOMINI,

(A) The origin of the name of this province does not date carlier than A. D. 1200. It was an academical joke; an epithet first applied to the quarrelsome humour of those students in the university of Paris who came from the frontier of France and Flanders, and hence to their country. Valesii Notitia Galliarum, p. 447. Lorguerac, Description de la France, p. 52.

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