found at Rome and parts adjacent. Alexander VIII. whom Fabretti had ferved as auditor when cardinal, made him fecre tary of the memorials, when he was advanced to the pontificate; and had fo great a value and affection for him, that he would certainly have raised him to higher dignities, if he had lived a little longer.

Upon the death of Alexander, Fabretti retired from bufinefs, and devoted himfelf entirely to his favourite amusement. He went to search antiquities in the country about Rome, without any other companion than his horfe, and without any regard to the heat or inclemency of the weather. As he always made ufe of the fame horfe, his friends gave that animal, by way of jeft, the name of Marco Polo, the famous traveller; and faid, that this horfe ufed to discover ancient monuments by the fmell, and to ftop of himself immediately, when he came to any ruins of an old building. Fabretti was fo well pleafed with the name given to his horfe, that he ufed it to write a letter to one of his friends in an ironical ftrain, yet full of learning, upon the ftudy of antiquity: but this letter was never printed. Innocent XII. obliged him to quit his retirement, and made him keeper of the archives of the caftle of St. Angelo; a poft, which is never given but to men of the moft approved integrity, fince he who enjoys that place is master of all the fecrets of the pope's temporal eftate. All thefe different employments never interrupted his researches into antiquity; and he collected enough to adorn his paternal houfe at Urbino, as well as that which he had built at Rome after the death of Alexander VIII. Neither could old age divert him from his ftudies, nor hinder him from labouring at the edition of his works, which he printed at his own houfe. He died Jan. 7, 1700. He was a member of the academy of the Afforditi at Urbino, and the Arcadi at Rome [A].

He was the author of the following works: 1. "De Aquis & "Aquæ-ductibus Veteris Roma Differtationes tres. Romæ,

1680," 4to. His book may ferve to give great light to Frontinus, who has treated of the aqueducts of Rome, as they were in his time under the emperor Trajan. It is inferted in the fourth volume of Grævius's "Thefaurus Antiquitatum "Romanarum." 2. De Columna Trajana Syntagma. "Accefferunt explicatio Veteris Tabellæ Anaglyphæ Homeri Iliadem, atque ex Stefichoro, Archino, et Lafche Ilii excidium continentis, et emiffarii lacus Fucini defcriptio. Ro mæ, 1683." folio. 3. "Jafithei ad Gronovium Apologema, in ejufque Titivilitia, five de Tito Livio fomnia, "animadverfiones. Neapol. 1686," 4to. This work is an

[^] See his elogium by Dominice Riviera in Vite Degli Arcadia, tom. i.

anfwer

anfwer to James Gronovius's "Refponfio ad Cavillationes R. "Fabretti," printed at Leyden, 1685. Fabretti had given occafion to this difpute, by cenfuring in his book, "De "Aquæ-ductibus," fome corrections of Gronovius; and thus had drawn upon himself an adverfary, who treated him, as he did every body elfe, with very little ceremony. Fabretti replied to him here, under the name Jafitheus, and treated him with as little; Gronovius called him, Faber Rufticus, which he retorted by ftiling his antagonist, Grunnovius. 4. "Infcriptionum Antiquarum, quæ in ædibus paternis affervan"tur, explicatio et additamentum. Romæ, 1699," folio. Fabretti had an admirable talent in decyphering the most difficult infcriptions, and discovered a method of making fomething out of thofe which feemed entirely disfigured through age, and the letters of which were effaced in fuch a manner as not to be difcernible. He cleaned the furface of the ftone, without touching those places where the letters had been engraven. He then laid upon it a piece of thick paper well moistened, and preffed it with a fpunge, or wooden pin covered with linen; by which means the paper entered into the cavity of the letters, and, taking up the duft there, discovered the traces of the letters. M. Baudelot, in his book "De "l'Utilité des Voyages," informs us of a fecret very like this, in order to read upon medals thofe letters which are difficult to be decyphered. 5. "A Letter to the abbé Nicaife," containing an infcription remarkable for the elegance of its style, inferted in the "Journal des Savans" of Dec. 1691. Fabretti discovers in his writings a lively genius, a clear and eafy conception, and a great deal of learning.

FABRI (HONORE'), a learned and laborious jefuit, born in 1607 at Bellay near Lyons, fucceffively profeffor of philofophy at Lyons, and penitentiary at Rome, where he died in 1688. His weighty works in theology and philofophy are now little known, except by name; and the chief thing worth recording of him feems to be, that it has been faid, though probably with little foundation, that he had discovered the circulation of the blood before Harvey.

FABRICIUS (CAIUS), firnamed Lufcinus, an illuftrious Roman, much and juftly celebrated for his inflexible integrity, and contempt of riches. He was twice conful, firft in the year before Chrift 282, when he obtained a triumph for his victories over the Samnites, Lucani and Bruttii. Two years after this, Pyrrhus invaded Italy; and, after the defeat of the Romans near Tarentum, Fabricius was fent to that monarch to treat of the ransom and exchange of prifoners, on which occafion he manifefted a noble contempt of every endeavour that could be made, in any shape, to shake his fidelity, and exVOL. VI.

cited

cited the admiration of Pyrrhus. His fecond confulfhip was in the year 278, when his refined generosity yet further fecured the esteem of the royal enemy, whom he informed of the trea cherous design of his physician to give him poifon. Accord ing to fome authors, he again triumphed this year over the allies of Pyrrhus. It was remarked, that when the comitia were held for the enfuing confuls, Cornelius Rufinus, a man of notorious avarice, and detefted by Fabricius for that vice, but an excellent general, obtained the confulfhip chiefly by his intereft. Being asked the reafon of this unexpected proceeding, he faid, "In times of danger it is better that the public "purfe fhould be plundered, than the ftate betrayed to the

enemy." But when he became cenfor in the year 275, he proved his fixed diflike to that man's character, by removing him from the fenate, for poffeffing an unlawful amount of filver plate. The war with Pyrrhus was then concluded. St. Evremond, with the contemptible fneer of a man who has no conception of difinterested virtue, infinuates that his poverty was ambitious, and his feverity envious; but it is not for a French epicurean to judge the motives of a Fabricius. His frugality and poverty became almost proverbial; and Virgil has characterized him in very few words:

"Fabricium.

66 parvoque potentem

The ftate paid a glorious tribute to his memory by portioning his daughters after his death.

FABRICIUS (GEORGE), a learned German, and celebrated for a talent at Latin poetry, was born at Chemnitz in Mifnia, a province of Upper Saxony, 1516. After a liberal education, he went to Italy and Rome, in quality of tutor to a nobleman; where he spent his time in a manner fuitable to his parts and learning. He did not content himself with barely looking on, and blindly admiring; but he examined with great accuracy and minutenefs, all the remains of antiquity, and compared them with the defcriptions which the Latin writers have given of them. The refult of these observations was his work entitled, ROMA, published in 1550, containing a defcription of that city. From Rome he returned to his native country, and was appointed mafter of the great fchool at Meiffen, over which he prefided twenty-fix years, and died in that station, in 1571. He was the author of numerous Latin poems, and had the strongest paffion for verse that can be conceived. His poems appeared at Bale in 1567 [B], in two volumes 8vo; and, befides this collection, there are allo Hymns, Odes against the Turks, the Art of Poetry, Comparisons of the Latin Poets,

&c. He is faid to have had the laurel from the emperor Maximilian, a fhort time before his death.

His poems are written with great purity and elegance. He was particularly careful in the choice of his words; and he carried his fcruples in this refpect so far, that he would not on any account make use of a word in his "Sacred Poems” which favoured the leaft of Paganifm. He condemned fome liberties of this fort, which he had taken in his youth; and he exceedingly blamed those Chriftians who applied themselves for matter to the divinities of Parnaffus, and the fables of the ancients. He wrote alfo in profe, the Roma, already mentioned; the "Annals of Meffein," in feven books; "Origines "Saxonicæ," in two volumes, folio; the fame quantity on the affairs of Germany and Saxony, &c. His "Roma" has been greatly admired by fome, by Barthius in particular: and there is this fingularity in it, that he has fo adapted to his descriptions the language of the Latin writers who have defcribed the fame kind of things, as to make fome Germans fancy it an ancient work.

FABRICIUS (JEROME), an Italian, ufually called Aquapendente, from the place of his nativity, was a phyfician of vaft repute in his day. He laid the foundation of his acquifitions at Padua, where he made himself master of the Latin and Greek tongues, and went through a course of philofophy. Then he applied himself to phyfic, under the famous Fallopius; and made a wonderful progrefs by the directions of fo excellent a master. He applied himself principally to furgery and anatomy, which he profeffed with high reputation at Padua for forty years. Fame, and not intereft, is faid to have been his principal point in view. He had many good qualities of the heart, as well as great ones of the head, which procured him numerous friends; from whom he should feem to have received presents, instead of fees: for the cabinet, which he fet apart for the reception of these prefents, had this re markable inscription on it," Lucri neglecti lucrum," that is, "The lucre of neglected lucre." The republic of Venice fettled upon him a yearly ftipend of a thousand crowns in gold, and honoured him with a ftatue and a gold chain. He died about 1603. The writings he left form two volumes in folio, the one of works in furgery, published collectively in Holland in 1723; the other of anatomical works, published at Leyden in 1738.

FABRICIUS (JOHN ALBERT), a most learned and laborious man, was born at Leipfic, Nov. 11, 1668. Having loft his parents at eleven years of age, he was fent by his guardians to tudy at Quedlinburg; where, we are told, he was infpired with an incredible ardor for letters, by the accidental reading E 2

of Barthius's Adverfaria. Upon his return from Leipfic, in 1686, he applied himself attentively to the reading of ancient authors, facred and profane. He went to Hamburgh in 1693, where John Frederic Mayer offered him apartments in his houfe, and the care of his library. He accepted the offer, and spent five years with Mr. Mayer in a very agreeable manner, dividing his time betwixt preaching and study. He was chofen, profeffor of eloquence in this city 1699; and made doctor in divinity at Kiel. In 1719, the landgrave of Heffe Caffel offered him the first profefforfhip of divinity at Gieffen, and the place of fuperintendant over the churches of the Augfburg confeffion; which offer he was very ready to accept. But the magiftrates of Hamburgh augmented his falary very confiderably, for the fake of keeping him there; and of this he ever after retained fo grateful a fenfe, that no offers of preferment could tempt him to leave them. He died at Hamburgh the 3d of April, 1736, after a life fpent in the feverest application; for it is almoft incredible what labours he underwent, in order to benefit, as he did in an eminent degree, the republic of letters.

Among a great number of works, thefe following are the principal and most useful: 1." Bibliotheca Latina, five No

titia Auctorum Veterum Latinorum, quorumcunque fcripta "ad nos pervenerunt." This work was afterwards enlarged; and the best edition of it is that in two vols. 4to. It has fince been republifhed, in three vols. 8vo, by Ernefti. 2. "Bibli"otheca Græca, five Notitia Scriptorum Veterum Græcorum, "quorumcunque Monumenta integra aut fragmenta edita ex"tant: tum plerorumque ex Manufcriptis ac Deperditis." This confifts of 14 vols. in 4to, and gives an exact account of the Greek authors, their different editions, and of all those who have commented, or written notes upon them. Thefe two works may be faid to fet forth a very complete hiftory of Greek and Latin learning. 3. "Codex Apocryphus Novi "Teftamenti, collectus, caftigatus, cenfuris et animadverfioni

bus illuftratus." The belt 'edition is that of Hamburgh, 1719, in 3 vols. 8vo. 4. "Codex Pfeudepigraphus Veteris "Teftamenti," 2 vols. 8vo, 1722, and 1723, giving the fame illuftration to the Old Teftament, as the former work to the New. 5. CC Bibliographia Antiquaria, five Introductio in "Notitiam Scriptorum, qui Antiquitates Hebraicas, Græcas, "Romanas, et Chriftianas fcriptis illuftraverunt." The best edition is that of Hamburgh and Leipfic, in 1716, 4to. "Delectus Argumentorum et Syllabus fcriptorum, qui veri"tatem Religionis Chriftianæ adverfus Atheos, Epicureos, "Deiftas feu Naturaliftas, Idolatras, Judæos, et Mohammedanos lucubrationibus fuis afferuerunt. Hamb. 1725," 4to.

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