public transactions, in which he acquitted himself to the entire satisfaction of the government of his country. He died of a lingering disorder, Jan. 25, 1743. Mazzuchelli's list of his works, printed and manuscript, amounts to sixtyfour articles. The most esteemed of the printed works are, 1. "La Tirranide soggiogata," an oratorio for St. Anthony of Padua, Cremona, 1677, 4to, and he published three others in different years for the festival of that saint. 2. "Cremona litterata, seu in Cremonenses, doctrina et litterariis dignitatibus eminentiores, chronologicæ adnotationes," 3 vols. fol. The first two were published at Parma, 1702 and 1705, and the third at Cremona, 1741. 3. "Senatorum Mediolanensium ex collegio judicum Cremonæ ab ipso erecto, usque ad hæc tempora continuata series," &c. Cremona, 1705, fol. 4. "Rime per le sacre stimate del Santo Patriarca Francesco," &c. Cremona, 1713, 4to, an astonishing instance of superstitious poetry, containing no less than three hundred and twenty-five sonnets on the marks on the body of St. Francis. He published many other poems separately, and in collections.

ARISTÆNETUS was, according to the common opinion, a Greek pagan writer, who lived in the fourth century, but his existence has been doubted. If indeed he be the person mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus, who lived in that century, there is some foundation to believe that there was such a person. Some think, however, that the name prefixed to the first "Love Epistle" was taken by the publisher for that of the writer. His work, which consists of "Love Epistles," was never known, or certainly not generally known, till Sambucus published it in 1566; since which time there have been several editions of it printed at Paris, where the book seems to have been held in greater estimation than amongst us. As to the real date of its composition, we have nothing but conjecture to offer. By the twenty-sixth epistle it should appear that the author lived in the time of the later emperors, when Byzantium was called New Rome; and in that epistle mention is made of the pantomime actor Caramallus, who was contemporary with Sidonius Apollinaris. The Epistles are certainly terse, elegant, and very poetical, both in language and sentiment; yet they have scarcely any thing original in them, being a cento from the writings of Plato, Lucian, Philostratus, and almost all the ancient Greek authors, whose sentences are

Mazzuchelli-Biog. Universelle.

pleasingly woven together, and applied to every passion incident to love.

The best editions of Aristænetus are those of Pauw, printed at Utrecht, 12mo, 1736-7; and of Abresch, 8vo, Zwoll, 1749, a most excellent edition, not only on account of the learned editor's notes, but also for the emendations of Tollius, d'Orville, and Valckenaer. Abresch published a small volume of supplemental notes and observations at Amsterdam, 1752. About the beginning of the last century the facetious Tom Brown, as he is usually called, translated, or rather imitated, some select pieces of Aristæ netus, but without either fidelity, or poetic beauty. The first part of the epistles, however, were translated with more effect, and published in 1771, 12mo, by two young gentlemen who have since risen to high distinction in the literary and political world. But it is to be regretted that they imbibed rather too much of the licentious spirit of their author; and the offence taken at this by the critics of that time was probably the reason of their not being encouraged to proceed in translating the second part. Yet as the production of one of the first oriental scholars, and one of the first orators of the day, of Halhed and of Sheridan, this translation may be regarded as a literary curiosity.'

ARISTARCHUS, a celebrated grammarian, who flourished 160 years B. C. was born in Samothracia, but chose Alexandria for the place of his residence. He was highly esteemed by Ptolemy Philometor, who intrusted him with the education of his son. He applied himself much to criticism, and made a revisal of Homer's poems with great exactness, but without the equity or impartiality of criticism, for such verses as he did not like he treated as spurious. He marked these with the figure of a dart, CENE: whence obɛgy was used for to condemn in general. Some have said, that he never would publish any thing, for fear of giving the world an opportunity of retorting upon him; but others assure us that he published several works. Cicero and Horace have used his name to express a very rigid critic, and it is employed to this day for the same purpose, but not without opprobrium, derived partly from himself, and perhaps yet more from the manner of modern r verbal critics. Growing dropsical, he found no other remedy than to starve himself to death. Suidas relates, that

1 Fabr. Bibl. Græc.-Dict. Bibliograph.-Translation of 1771, preface.Spectator, No. 238.-Saxii Onomasticon.

he died in Cyprus, aged seventy-two. Villoison, in his edition of the Iliad, has afforded the moderns an opportu nity of appreciating the value of Aristarchus's criticisms on Homer, as well as those of the first editors of that immor→ tal bard.'

ARISTARCHUS, a celebrated Greek philosopher and astronomer, was a native of the city of Samos; but of what date is not exactly known; it must have been, however, before the time of Archimedes, as some parts of his writings and opinions are cited by that author, in his Arenarius: he probably, therefore, flourished about 420 years B. C. He held the opinion of Pythagoras as to the system of the world, but whether before or after him, is uncertain, teaching that the sun and stars were fixed in the heavens, and that the earth is moved in a circle about the sun, at the same time that it revolved about its own centre or axis. He taught also, that the annual orbit of the earth, compared with the distance of the fixed stars, is but as a point. On this head Archimedes says, "Aristarchus the Samian, confuting the notions of astrologers, laid down certain posi tions, from whence it follows, that the world is much larger than is generally imagined; for he lays it down, that the fixed stars and the sun are immoveable, and that the earth is carried round the sun in the circumference of a circle." On which account, although he did not suffer persecution and imprisonment, like Galileo, yet he did not escape censure for his supposed impiety; for it is said Cleanthus was of opinion, that Aristarchus ought to have been tried for his opinions respecting the heavenly bodies and the earth. Aristarchus invented a peculiar kind of sun-dial, mentioned by Vitruvius. There is extant of his works only a treatise upon the magnitude and distance of the sun and moon; this was translated into Latin, and commented upon by Commandine, who first published it with Pappus's explanations, in 1572, Pisaur, 4to. Dr. Wallis afterwards published it in Greek, with Commandine's Latin version, in 1688, at Oxford, and which he inserted again in the third volume of his mathematical works, printed in folio at Oxford, in 1699. In 1644 was published, at Paris, a work entitled "De Mundi Systemate, cum notis E. P. Roberval," 8vo, which goes under the name of Aristarchus; but it has been supposed to be a fiction. 2

1 Fabr. Bibl. Græc.-Gen. Dict.Saxii Onomasticon.

2 Bayle.-Hutton's Math, Dict,-Bailly's Hist. de l'Astronomie, 1779,

ARISTEAS, a prefect or officer under Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, who respected him on account of his moderation and wisdom, is said to have been of Jewish origin. Ptolemy is reported to have sent him to demand of the high priest Eleazar, some learned men to translate the Jewish laws from Hebrew into Greek, and Eleazar complied by choosing seventy-two persons, who made the translation known by the name of the Septuagint. Aristeas has the credit of having written the history of this translation; and there exists a work of the kind which bears his name, entitled "Historia de S. Scripturæ interpretibus," Oxon. 1692, 8vo, which was first published in the Bible printed at Rome in 1471, 2 vols. fol. But archdeacon Hody published it, with a confutation, in his work entitled "De Bibliorum Textibus Originalibus," Oxon. 1705, fol. Van Dale and others have taken the same side of the question, which is amply discussed in Hody, already mentioned, and in Van Dale, "Dissert. sup. Arist." Amst. 1704, 4to; Prideaux's "Connections;" Owen's "Inquiry into the Septuagint Version;" Blair's "Lectures on the Canon;" Dupin's "Preliminary Dissertation to the Bible;" Michaelis's "Introduction to the New Testament," &c. &c.'

ARISTEAS, the Proconnesian, an ancient Greek historian and poet, flourished in the time of Cyrus and of Crœsus, about 565 years B. C. He is said to have written an epic poem, in three books, on the war of the Arimaspes, or Scythian hyperboreans, which is now lost. Longinus quotes six verses from it in his treatise on the Sublime, and Tzetzes six others. He had also composed a book on Theogony, or the history of the gods, which is likewise lost. Herodotus, Pliny, Pausanias, and Suidas, relate the grossest absurdities about this author, as, that his soul could leave his body at pleasure, and that he wrote poems after he was dead, &c.*

ARISTIDES (ELIUS), the sophist, was a native of Adriani, a small town in Mysia, and was disciple of Polemon the rhetorician of Smyrna, son of Eudaimon, a philosopher and priest of Jupiter in his own country. He also heard Herod at Athens, and Aristocles at Pergamus. He is supposed to have flourished about the year 176 of the Christian era. He appears to have been a good writer and an able orator. He is credulous, indeed, and superstitious,

1 Gen. Dict.-Saxii Onomasticon.

? Gen. Dict,Fabr. Bibl. Graa

but there are many excellent passages in his writings in favour of truth and virtue, and he seems to have considered private virtue as indispensable to public character. A man of such eminence was no doubt an ornament to the heathen religion; and his eloquent hymns to the gods, and his other orations, must have had powerful attractions. To the city of Smyrna he was a great benefactor, for when it was almost destroyed by an earthquake, he so pathetically represented their calamities, in a letter to the emperor Marcus, that this prince could not forbear weeping at some parts of it, and presently promised to restore the city. Besides this letter, he published a monody, bewailing the unhappy circumstances of the people of Smyrna, and after that wrote an oration, or epistle, in the year 178, congra.. tulating them on their restoration. In this last he celebrates not only the favour and liberality of the emperor, but likewise the generous compassion of many others, among whom Tillemont thinks he glanced at the Christians. Lardner has produced several passages from him, among his "Testimonies of ancient Heathens." Aristides's constitution was infirm, yet it is supposed he reached his sixtieth or seventieth year. The best edition of his works was published by Dr. Jebb, 2 vols. 4to, Oxford, 1722-30.1

ARISTIDES, surnamed THE JUST, one of the most virtuous characters in ancient history, was the son of Lysimachus, and a native of Athens. He was educated in the principles of Lycurgus, the Lacedemonian legislator, and had Themistocles for his rival. These two celebrated men, although brought up from their infancy together, discovered very different qualities as they advanced in life. Aristides was all candour and concern for the public good: Themistocles was artful, deceitful, and ambitious. Aristides wished to remove such a character from any share in the government, but the intrigues of his enemy prevailed so far as to procure the banishment of Aristides about the year 483 B. C. The practice of ostracism was employed on this occasion, and it is said that a citizen who did not know Aristides came to him, and asked him to write the name of Aristides on his shell. Surprised at this, he asked the man, if Aristides had ever injured him,"Not at all," replied the other, "but I am weary of hear

Fabric. Bibl. Græc.-Basnag. Ann. 176.-Dr. Chapman's Charge, p. 91.Tillemont.-Lardner.-Saxii Onomasticon.