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Biographical Memoirs of Eminent Persons. 



upon him for his exertions in the cause of 

 liberty ami of literature. In 180! lie dis- 

 tinguished himself by writing and delivering 

 a discourse at the Congress of Lyons. That 

 discourse, pronounced at the desire of his 

 own government, on occasion of the conven- 

 tion of the notables of the Cisalpine republics 

 by Buonaparte, was not less remarkable tor 

 its high-toned spirit of independence, than 

 for its energy of thought, feeling 1 , and energy 

 of expression. It was expected that the 

 orator would deliver a panegyric upon the 

 new government; instead of which, he drew 

 a strong and eloquent picture of its abuses 

 and oppression, and with rapid iind masterly 

 strokes of satire, flashed the follies and 

 crimes of the agents and ministers ot'a foreign 

 power, in the very face of the consular despot- 

 ism which employed thorn. Perfectly uncon- 

 strained with his bands resting upon the 

 back of his chair, he spoke for more than 

 three hours ; yet such was the rapidity, the 

 enthusiasm, and the authority of his man- 

 ner, as to disarm all parties of the power of 

 interruption or opposition. This oration, 

 afterwards published with a motto from 

 Sophocles, " My soul groans for my country, 

 for myself, and also for thee'' gave offence 

 to Buonaparte ; and, as Foscolo could riot 

 submit to be a slave, he withdrew from pub- 

 lic employments. 



For a long time literature seems to have 

 engrossed him wholly. In the year 1803, he 

 published an ironical and satirical commen- 

 tary on a poem of Callimachus. He appear?, 

 however, to have been again in the army. 

 He served some time in the capacity of Aid- 

 de-camp to General Cafifarelli ; and, in 1805, 

 he was stationed at Calais, with an Italian 

 regiment, which, it was understood, would 

 form a part of the grand invading army of 

 England. At that period he was engaged in 

 editing the celebrated commentaries and mili- 

 tary aphorisms of his countryman Montecu- 

 culi, which he published in 1808, with origi- 

 nal dissertations on military art subjoined to 

 each volume. This publication was dedicated 

 to General Cafi'urelli. 



In 1807, Foscolo printed, at Brescia, a 

 poem, called " I Sepolcri,'' The Tombs, in 

 which the natives of Milan were severely 

 abused. His next productions were a trans- 

 lation of the first two books of the Iliad, 

 and a tragedy, entitled Ajax. The tragedy 

 was acted in 1811, and gave offence to the 

 Viceroy, who conceived that some parts of 

 it were levelled against Buonaparte. Fos- 

 colo was on the point of being exiled, when 

 his friend, General Pino, averted the sentence, 

 by sending him to Mantua on a military 

 mission. From Mantua he proceeded to 

 Gascony, where he settled, and began to 

 study the English language with great per- 

 severance and success. He soon attained in it 

 such a proficiency, as to be enabled to give 

 to the world the best translation that had 

 ever been made of Sterne's Sentimental 

 Journey. It appeared under the feigned 

 name of Dedimo Chierico, Yorick's sup- 



posed clerk. It is accompanied by pungent 

 and satirical notes, and a life of the pretended 

 translator. 



When Italy was invaded by the Austrians, 

 in 1814, Foscolo, indignant that his country- 

 men should receive their yoke, revisited 

 Milan, and aided the government by his 

 counsels and his pen. He was the author of 

 numerous proclamations addressed to the 

 citizens and the army, to excite them to 

 combat for their independence. At Milan 

 he became acquainted with many English 

 officers, and he laboured strenuously, but 

 unsuccessfully, to interest the British Go- 

 vernment in favour of Italian freedom. He 

 remained at Milan till Mnrat declared war 

 against Austria; but, having then become 

 an object of suspicion to the Austrian Go- 

 vernment, he travelled into Switzerland, and 

 thence into Russia. 



Foscolo at length came over to England, 

 where he obtained much literary distinction. 

 In the spring of J 823, he published a volume, 

 eniitled Essays on Petrarch. The book, in 

 fact, contains three essays, on the Love, 

 Poetry, and Character of Petrarch ; a Paral- 

 lel between Dante and Petrarch ; and seven, 

 illustrative Appendices, as follows: Speci- 

 mens of Petrarch's Latin Poetry; Specimens 

 of Greek Amatory Poetry, (in translation,) 

 from Sappho down to the Writers of the 

 Lower Empire; a Theory of Platonic Love, 

 by Lorenzo de Medici ; Comparative De- 

 scription of Woman's Beauty, according to 

 Platonic Ides, and the early Italian Poets ; 

 Petrarch's Unpublished Letters, in Italian ; a 

 Letter, in Latin, of Dante's, lately disco- 

 vered ; Translations from Petrarch, by Bar- 

 barina, Lady Dacre. As the production of 

 an Italian, the volume reflects high credit 

 upon the writer for the skill which he has 

 acquired in English composition. Here 

 and there, indeed, we meet with a fo- 

 reign idiom ; but, upon the whole, the style 

 is respectable, elevated, and worthy of the 

 subject. The parallel between Dante and 

 Petrarch, is a fine, a noble piece of criticism. 

 During his residence amongst us, Foscolo 

 wrote much on miscellaneous subjects ; 

 and contributed essays, criticisms, cfec. to 

 some of our most eminent periodical publi- 

 cations. Besides the works already men- 

 tioned, he is the author of a tragedy, entitled 

 Ricciarda ; a few odes, and some other 

 poems. He is said to have left seven books 

 of Homer translated, and an edition of 

 Dante is now in the bauds of a publisher. 



The manners of Foscolo were very strik- 

 ing. In conversation and action he dis- 

 played a degree of vivacity and energy, 

 which, in our colder climate, and with our 

 more subdued feelings, seem to border on 

 restlessness and want of self-command. 

 The Countess Isabella Albrizzi, who knew 

 him well, has thus sketched his character : 

 " A warm friend, clear as the mirror itself, 

 that never deceives, and never conceals. 

 Ever kind, generous, grateful; though his 

 virtues appear those of savage nature, when 



