great celebrity in his own country. He was a native of Udine, in the Friuli territory, and at an early age he turned his attention to the agriculture of that district, and by his instrumentality an Academy of Agriculture, Commerce, &c., was established at Udine, which set the example to many other places. He recommended and practised the cultivation of the Piccolito vine, which proved very profitable to his country. He next paid great attention to silk-worms, and the mulberry-tree became very common in that district. One of his most generally useful discoveries appears to have been that of a substitute for fuel-wood, which was very scarce in Friuli, in a kind of torba, (turf, or peat,) which, then unknown in Italy, he recommended in an essay, published in 1769. He also made known the medicinal virtues of the herb santonico (Artemisia cærulescens of Linnæus), which he considered superior to bark. In 1769 the senate of Venice decreed a medal to be struck in honour of his discovery of torba in Italy. See more in Tipaldo, i.

156.

ASSAD-ED-DEEN. See SHEER-KOH. ASSAD-ED-DOULAH, (Lion of the State,) the title assumed by Saleh Ibn Mardash, the chief of the Beni-Khelab tribe of Arabs, when he conquered Aleppo, A.D. 1024, A.H. 415, from the Fatimite khalif of Egypt, (who had seized it ten years before from the successors of the Hamdanites,) and founded there the petty dynasty of the Mardashites, or Khelabites. He also captured Balbec from the Egyptians, and made himself popular by the equity of his government; but he was overpowered and slain in a battle fought on the banks of the Jordan, A.D. 1029, A.н. 420; and his head sent into Egypt. His sons, however, Shabl-eddoulah and Moezz-ed-doulah, maintained themselves conjointly in the possession of their father's states; and their descendants continued to reign there till the conquest of Syria by Toutush the Seljukian, in 1078. (Elmakin. D'Herbelot.) ASSAD, or AZAD KHAN, was a native of one of the Affghan tribes, and born near Cabul, about the year 1715. From being a simple officer he became a leader of a large body of troops; obtained the government of the province of Aderbejan; and contested the kingdom of Persia with Kerreem Khan. At one time he had taken Ispahan, and driven Kerreem to the mountains; but having followed him, he was entangled in defiles, and was completely routed. From this time his

fortunes waned; and among other mishaps, he was plundered of all his jewels by his father-in-law, with whom he took refuge, and had to submit, too, to the insulting remark, that such finery was not suitable to his altered situation. Under these circumstances, he was persuaded to ask shelter of his rival Kerreem, who most liberally granted it to him; and from that time they became cordial friends. Assad lived at Shiraz in quiet and repose for the rest of his life. He survived Kerreem, and died at Shiraz in 1780. (Biog. Univ. Suppl. Malcolm's Hist. of Persia, ii. p. 59.)

ASSALECTUS, a sculptor, who appears to have exercised his art at Rome, after the christian era. A statue of Æsculapius by him remains, with the artist's name upon it; but Winckelman considers it of but inferior workmanship.

ASSAROTTI, (Ottavio Giovanni Battista, 1753-1829,) a native of Genoa, who became celebrated for his successful instruction of the deaf and dumb. His parents, having given him a good education, destined him for the law; but his turn of mind led him to enter into a religious order, and he chose the institution called Scuole Pie. He appears to have lectured on many subjects, and to have been in such reputation, that the archbishop of Genoa appointed him examiner of the clergy for his diocese. But in 1801, on hearing of the deaf and dumb institution in Paris, he immediately applied his energies to the instruction of this class of persons. He did this at first in private; but soon found the necessity of considerable funds, in order to be of any real assistance. The government gave some promises, which proved delusive; but in 1805, Napoleon gave orders to convert one of the suppressed religious houses into a deaf and dumb institution. Still nothing was done till 1811; nor was it till 1812 that this institution was fully set on foot. Assarotti appears to have been extremely beloved, and highly suc cessful in his method of giving instruction. Of his method it will only be necessary to say, that it seems to have consisted in having no invariable method at all; but he adapted his general principles to each particular case. For more on the subject see Tipaldo, Biog. i. 20-26.

ASSAS, (Nicholas, chevalier d',) celebrated only for the patriotic manner in which he sacrificed his life. He was an officer in the regiment of Auvergne, in the French army, when it was stationed near Gueldres, in 1760. On the 15th of

October, very early in the morning, as he was going his rounds, he fell into the hands of a party of the enemy, who were advancing in silence to surprise the French troops. He was told that instant death would follow the opening of his mouth; yet he shouted out, "A moi, Auvergne, voilà les ennemis;" and directly after fell covered with wounds. A pension was granted to his family, to be enjoyed by them for ever. This was suspended during the Revolution, but was afterwards restored. (Biog. Univ.)

ASSCHENBERGH, (Hermanus,) who died in 1793, at the age of 66, was a Dutch writer. His tales, and some other pieces in verse, do not indeed show much poetical talent, but have the merit of being amusing; and are preferable to his tragedies, which possess neither spirit nor dignity. (De Vries.)

ASSCHOONEBECK, (Adrian,) a Dutch engraver, who flourished about 1690. There are by him some slight incorrect etchings, lengthways, representing the flight of James II. from England. (Strutt's Dict. of Eng. Bryan's Dict.)

ASSEBURG, (Rosamund Juliana de,) an exalted person, in the fifteenth century, who, from her seventh year, pretended to have had extraordinary visions and revelations, which are recorded in the ecclesiastic history of Germany. Several pastors were dismissed, on account of their belief in the visions of Rosamund. (Treuss. Nation. Encycl.)

ASSEF-ED-DAULAH. See AsOPH. ASSELIN, (Gilles Thomas,) born in 1682, was the friend of the poet Thomas Corneille, the brother of the celebrated Pierre; and gained the prize of poetry at the French Academy, in 1709. He afterwards obtained some prizes at the floral games. He was appointed principal of the college of Harcourt. He died in 1767. He published, among other poems, an elegy on the death of Thomas Corneille. His poetical works were published at Paris in 1725. (Biog. Univ.)

ASSELINE, (Jean René,) was born at Paris in 1742, of an humble family, and became professor of Hebrew in the Sorbonne, and in 1790 was consecrated bishop of Boulogne. He was one of the first to oppose the innovations of the constituent assembly, and was afterwards obliged to fly from France. He had the credit of having converted by argument Count Stolberg, in 1800, from Lutheranism to Catholicism; the circumstances of which made much noise at the time. (See STOLBERG.) After

the death of the Abbé Edgeworth, Louis XVIII. sent for him; and he joined his sovereign in England, in 1808. He was appointed confessor to the king and to the duke and duchess of Angoulême; and he lived in England in great intimacy with the royal family, until his death, which took place in 1813. In 1823, the Abbé Prémord, his friend, published his works in 6 vols, (Biog. Univ. Suppl.)

ASSELYN, (John, 1610-1660,) a celebrated landscape painter, and a painter of battle pieces and of animals, was born at Antwerp, and was the scholar of Esaias Vandevelde. He went to Italy when young, and resided in Rome many years, studying the works of the great masters there; but he copied chiefly the manner of Bamboccio. On his return, he remained some time at Lyons, where his works, many of them representing views near that city, were greatly prized. He there married one of his own countrywomen; and went with her to Amsterdam, where he worked many years, and died there. He was denominated by the Flemish artists at Rome Crabatje, on account of the contraction of his fingers. Most of his pictures represent views in the vicinity of Rome, with figures and cattle introduced, and enriched with vestiges of Roman architecture, in the manner of N. Berghem. His touch is remarkably firm and neat; the trees and plants executed with great sharpness and spirit; and his skies and distances tenderly coloured; and in some of his works are the effect of sunshine, resembling the warmth of John Boll. Flor. le Comte calls him "le petit Jean de Hollande." His portrait is engraved by Houbracken, in his book of the Lives of the Painters. Several of his works are engraved. (Bryan's Dict. Biog. Univ. Heinecken, Dict. des Artistes.)

ASSEMANI, a learned Maronite family, originally of Mount Lebanon, who did much for oriental literature, and especially for the study of the Syriac tongue and its literature.

1. Joseph Simon, the most distinguished member of this family, who was born in Syria, 1687, and died 1768, was sent to be educated at Rome, where he attracted the notice of Clement XI., who made him one of the librarians in the Vatican, and commissioned him to go and examine the different libraries in Syria and Egypt. He returned in 1716, with a considerable collection of MSS., of which he afterwards published a catalogue in 4 vols, folio, entitled, Bibliotheca Ori

entalis Clementino-Vaticana, recensens manuscriptos codices Syriacos, Arabicos, Persicos, Turcicos, Hebraicos, Samaritanos, Armenicos, Ethiopicos, Græcos, Ægyptios, Ibericos, et Malabaricos; Rome, 1719-28. The work, however, was begun upon a scale that rendered its completion almost impossible; for the four volumes published comprise no more than the account of the Syriac MSS., with extracts from them translated into Latin, and notices of their authors, &c. He also published the works of St. Ephræm, one of the earliest fathers of the Syriac church, with a Latin version of the original S. Ephræm Syri Opera omnia quæ extant; Rome, 1732-46: likewise, the Kalendaria Ecclesiæ universæ, &c., 6 vols, Rome, 1762-4. He left several dissertations relative to the Copts, the Nestorians, and other sects of the eastern church, which have been since edited by the learned Abbate Mai.

2. Joseph Aloysius, brother to the preceding, was professor of the oriental languages at Rome; and died in 1782. Besides assisting his brother in his literary labours, he edited the Missale Alexandrinum S. Marci, in quo Eucharistiæ Liturgiæ omnes antiqua et recentes Ecclesiarum Ægypti, Græce, Coptice, Arabice, et Syriace, exhibentur, 4to, Rome, 1734; and Codex Liturgicus Ecclesiæ universalis, 13 vols, 4to, Rome, 1749-66.

3. Stephen Evodius, nephew to the two preceding, succeeded the first as librarian of the Vatican. He published Bibliothecæ Mediceo-Laurentianæ et Palatinæ Cod. MSS. Orientalium Catalogus, 2 vols, folio, Rome, 1742; and Acta SS. Martyrum Orient. et Occidentalium, fol. Rome, 1748. He also began a complete catalogue of the Vatican library, but did not carry it beyond the first volume; since which it has been continued by Mai, who has published seven others. Stephen had collected a great number of Arabic and Syriac MSS., which were purchased by Clement XIII. for the Vatican; and of the Syriac ones a catalogue has been published by Mai.

4. Simon, the grandson of Joseph Simon, by whom he was educated, was born in 1749. He was for some time librarian at Vienna, and afterwards professor of oriental languages in the university of Padua, where he died in 1821. His works consist of-Saggio sull' Origine, Culto, e Costumi degli Arabi avanti il Pseudo-Profeta Maometto, 8vo, Padua, 1787; Catalogo dei MSS. Orientali nelle Biblioteca Naniana, 4to, Padua, 1787-8,

comprising much biographical and antiquarian information; and Globus cœlestis Cufico-Arabicus, 4to, 1790. He exposed the literary forgery of Vella, a Maltese, who pretended to have discovered, in the convent of St. Martin at Palermo, an Arabian MS., which he translated and published, at the expense of the king of Naples, under the title of-Codice Diplomatico di Sicilia sotto il Governo degli Arabi, 5 vols, 4to, 1789-92; but, on examination, the Arabic text proved to be chiefly in the Maltese dialect; in consequence of which discovery the learned impostor was imprisoned.

ASSEN. The name of two artists. 1. John Walther van, one of the early engravers on wood, said to have been born in Holland, in the year 1490. He appears to have been the most eminent engraver of that period on wood, as Lucas, of Leyden, his contemporary, was on copper. His woodcuts are admirably executed, and are in great request with collectors. One of his prints, representing an armed figure on horseback, is inscribed St. Hadrianum and Amstelodamus, in ædibus Donardi Petri ad signe Castri Angelici; whence Mr. Strutt concludes he, at least for a time, resided at Amsterdam. There are by him a set of six prints on wood, in circles about nine inches diameter, representing the life and passion of the Redeemer, dated 1513 and 1514. That which represents Christ praying in the Garden, is particularly excellent. (Strutt's Dict. of Eng. Bryan's Dict.)

2. John van, (1635-1695,) a painter of landscapes and figures, after whom are engraved, by Beauvarlet, two upright compositions, entitled Le Jardinier and La Fruitière. (Heinecken, Dict. des Artistes.)

ASSENEDE, (Didier, or Thierri d',) lived about the middle of the fourteenth century, and translated the Romance of Floris and Blanchefleur, from French into Flemish verse. It has been published by Hoffmann von Fallersleben.

ASSER, a monk of the monastery of St. David's, in Wales, (Menevensis.) He had for a tutor one Johannes Patricius, reckoned one of the most celebrated scholars of his time. About the year 880, king Alfred invited Asser to his court. Asser went with the messengers who came to the monastery, to the town of Dene, (now Dean) in Wiltshire, to meet the king. Alfred used all his endeavours to persuade him to leave St. David's, and live with him as a friend

and fellow-student. Asser, considering it his duty not lightly to forsake the place where he had been educated, and where he had taken the vows of priesthood, modestly declined. Alfred then desired that he would give six months to the court, and six months to his monastery. Asser consulted his fellow monks on the subject, and they, proposing to themselves great advantages from the friendship of Alfred to one of their monastery, readily agreed. They, however, wished that the arrangement should be, that Asser should reside at the court, and the monastery by quarterly, instead of half-yearly turns. He then returned to the king, who received him with the greatest kindness, and conferred soon after upon him, among other benefits, four monasteries, a silk pall, and as much incense as a strong man could carry. To these was subsequently added the bishopric of Sherborne. This last was resigned afterwards by Asser, but he retained the title all his life. He died in 910. Asser drew up some memorials of the life of Alfred, which were preserved, and dedicated and presented them to the king in 893. In this work is a curious account of the manner in which they spent their time together.

The only work of which he is the undisputed author, is this Life of Alfred. It was first published at the end of Walsingham's History, in 1574, by archbishop Parker. It was reprinted by Camden in 1603, and at Oxford in 1722. A work was published by Dr. Gale, entitled Annales Britannica, which has been attributed to him, but it is uncertain whether he was the author. Some other pieces have also been attributed to him, but they are no longer in existence. (Biog. Brit. Turner's AngloSaxons. Asser's Life of Alfred.)

ASSERETO, (Giovacchino, 1600— 1649,) a Genoese, a painter of that school, and pupil of Ansaldo, though he had previously studied under Borgone. He profited much by studying the design of Ansaldo, but in general attempted the chiaroscuro of his former preceptor, as seen in his picture of S. Rosario, at S. Brigida in Genoa. (Lanzi, Stor. Pitt. V. 275.)

ASSEZAN, (Pader d',) an advocate and artist of Toulouse, was the author of two plays, Agamemnon, printed in 1680, and Antigone, in 1686, which were performed at Paris. He died about 1696. (Biog. Univ.)

ASSHETON, (William,) was born in

1641. He became fellow of Brazennose college, Oxford, in 1663, and was for some time chaplain to the duke of Ormond, who was chancellor of the university. He was the projector of a scheme for the maintenance of clergy men's widows and others; and he persuaded the Mercer's company to join him in carrying it out. A deed of settlement was executed in 1699. The plan, however, did not succeed as originally intended. The writer of his life gives him a high character for piety and probity, and inflexible adherence to the doctrines and interests of the Church of England. He was the author of, 1. Toleration Disapproved and Condemned, 1670. 2. Cases of Scandal and Persecution; in which he maintains that the execution of penal laws against Dissenters was not persecution. 3. A Country Parson's Admonition to his Parishioners against Popery; with Directions how to behave themselves when any one designs to seduce them from the Church of England. 4. The Possibility of Apparitions. 5. Many Moral, Theological, and Controversial Works. (Watt's Life of Assheton, 1714. Biog. Brit. Wood's Ath.)

ASSISI, (Andrea Luigi di, called l'Ingegno, about 1470-1556,) a native of Assisi, a painter of the Roman school, the fellow pupil and competitor of Raffaelle, under Petro Perugino, whom he assisted in the Sala del Cambio, and in other more important works. He was older than his illustrious fellow pupil, and for his promising genius was called l'Ingegno. Assisi was the first of the school of Perugino who enlarged its style while he softened its colouring, a circumstance particularly observable in his Sibyls, and the Prophets painted in fresco, in the church of Assisi. He was afflicted with blindness in the prime of life. (Lanzi, Stor. Pitt. ii. 27.)

ASSOUCY, (Charles Coypeau d', 1604 -1679,) was born at Paris. At the age of nine he ran away from his father's house, and went to Calais, where he gave himself out to be the son of Cæsar Nostradamus. In this character, by some quackery, he effected a cure that was deemed marvellous. The people took him for a sorcerer, and were near throwing him into the sea. This is a marvellous story, but it should be borne in mind that the only authority for it is d'Assoucy himself. If true, it was the commencement of the life of a vagabond and a profligate, whose time appears to have

been spent alternately in debauchery and confinement. He travestied some part of Ovid's Metamorphoses, which he entitled L'Ovide en Belle Humeur. He wrote his own adventures in three volumes, and some other works, of a character worthy of the man. Boileau, in his Art Poétique, wrote of him-

“Et jusqu'à d'Assoucy tout trouva des lecteurs," which drew tears from his eyes; not from the truth of the satire, but from a notion that it was cruelly and unjustly done to injure his reputation. He has been called the Ape of Scarron. He had but indifferent success in what, at the best, is bad, low buffoonery.

ASSUMPCAO, (D. Joachim de, 1753 -1793,) a very eminent Portuguese natural philosopher. He was a canon-regular of the congregation of Sta Croce, and published a few tracts on scientific subjects; but his early death, caused by his intense study, cut short the high hopes which were entertained of him, and caused him to leave several very important works unfinished. (Biog. Univ.)

ASTA, (Andrea dell',1673--1721,) born at Naples, and a painter of that school, who studied under Francesco Solymene. He afterwards went to Rome, and on his return engrafted on his native style some imitation of Raffaelle and the antique. Among his principal works are the two large pictures of the Nativity and the Adoration of the Magi, painted at Naples for the church of St. Agostino de' P. P. Scalzi. (Lanzi, Stor. Pitt. ii. 300.)

ASTARITA, (Gennaro,) a composer both of serious and comic music. His natural and agreeable style conciliated the applause of the public, though the opinion of the connoisseurs was not always equally favourable. He was the author of ten operas, but their style does not entitle him to a high rank in the classical school, though he is worthy to be placed at the head of the second class of musicians of Italy. (Dict. of Mus.)

ASTELL, (Mary,) a female writer, who enjoyed a large share of reputation in her own day, was the daughter of Mr. Astell, a merchant of Newcastle-uponTyne, at which place she was born about the year 1668. She received a better education than was usually bestowed on the ladies of that age, and possessing, as her biographer says, a piercing wit, a solid judgment, and tenacious memory," she made considerable progress in the languages, philosophy, mathematics, and

logic. She left Newcastle at about the age of twenty, settling in London; where, and in the neighbourhood, the remainder of her life was passed. She died in May 1731, and was buried at Chelsea. Mrs. Mary Astell appears to have been a person earnestly devoted to the improvement and intellectual elevation of her own sex, when means of improvement appeared to her to be at that time very inadequate to the reasonable demands which they might make. Her first publication was a treatise entitled, A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, for the Advancement of their true and greatest Interest; a second part of which soon followed, and both were printed together in 1697. This was followed, in 1695, by Letters concerning the Love of God, addressed to John Norris, the rector of Bemerton, who had just published discourses on that subject. In 1696, she wrote an essay in Defence of the Female Sex; and in 1700, appeared her Reflections on Marriage. În 1704, she published Moderation truly stated, in reference to the state of Opinion in the Church at that time and in the same year, A Fair Way with the Dissenters and their Patrons; and another treatise entitled, The Christian Religion as professed by a Daughter of the Church of England. She is also the author of An Impartial Inquiry into the Causes of Rebellion and Civil War in this Kingdom, 1703; and a Vindication of the Royal Martyr, 1704.

She was held in much esteem by many of the divines, and other eminent persons of the time. A large account is given of her by Ballard, in his Memoirs of British Ladies who have been celebrated for their works or skill, who calls her "a great ornament of her sex and country.'

ASTERIO, a statuary, the author of a statue of Chærea, the gladiator, of Sicyon. The date and country of this artist are unknown. He is mentioned by Pausanias, 6, 3, 1.

ASTERIUS, flourished in the fourth century. He was a sophist of Cappadocia, who renounced gentilism. He published some works in favour of Arianism, which were extant in the time of Socrates, the ecclesiastical historian. Jerome says, he wrote commentaries on the Epistle to the Romans, the Gospels, Psalms, &c. Nothing, however, of them remains, but some quotations in the works of Eusebius and Athanasius. The latter calls him a "cunning sophist and patron of heresy "