65 



AGRICOLA, RODOLPHUS. 



AGRIPPA, MARCUS VIPSANIUS. 



the suspicious Domitian, and Agricola was honourably recalled, under 

 the pretext of being sent as governor to Syria. By order of the 

 emperor he entered Rome at night, and, after a cold reception, retired 

 into private life. When his consular rs.nk a few years after entitled 

 him to the proconsulship of Asia or Africa, he wisely declined an 

 appointment which had been fatal to the previous possessor. He died 

 on August 23, A.D. 93, in the 56th year of his age, not without suspicion 

 of poison. The emperor could not endure the presence of one who was 

 universally regarded as the only man equal to the exigency of the 

 times. Dion Cassius asserts that he was killed by Domitian. His 

 property was left between his wife Domitia, his only child the wife of 

 Tacitus, and the emperor Domitian. All that we know of Agricola, 

 with the exception of a single chapter in Xiphilin (66, 20), which is 

 very inaccurate, is from the pen of Tacitus, whose interesting narrative 

 exhibits him in the character of a great, wise, and good man. 

 (Tacitus, Agricola.) 



AGRICOLA, RODOLPHUS, one of the most learned and remark- 

 able men of the 15th century, was born at a village variously written 

 Bafflon, Baffeln, Bafflen, Baffel, or Bafflo, two or three miles from 

 Groningen, in Friesland, about the end of August, 1443, not in 1442, 

 as often stated. (See the inscription on his tombstone as given in 

 SI. Adam's 'Apograph. Monument. Haidelburgens,' p. 22.) In a short 

 notice of Agricola by M. Guizot, in the ' Biographic Universelle," it is 

 said, but we do not know upon what authority, that his name was 

 properly Huesmann. His first master is also there said to have been 

 the famous Thomas h Kempis. After distinguishing himself at school 

 he proceeded to the college of Louvain, where he remained till he took 

 his degree of Master of Arts. He was then solicited to accept a professor- 

 ship in that college, which he declined, and set out on his travels. He 

 went to Paris, whence, after remaining some time, he proceeded to 

 Italy, and arrived in 1476 at Ferrara, where he resided during that 

 and the following year, and attended the prelections of Theodore Gaza 

 on the Greek language. He also extended his own reputation by giving 

 a similar course on the language and literature of Rome. The favour 

 of the duke, Hercules D'Este, and the admiration of the most famous 

 scholars of Italy, were liberally bestowed upon the accomplished 

 foreigner, who used to contend, we are told, in amicable rivalry with 

 the younger Guarino in writing Latin prose, and with the Strozzis in 

 verse. After visiting Rome and some of the other cities of Italy, he 

 left that country, probably in 1479. On hU return to Holland he 

 appears to have occupied a chair for a short time in the university of 

 Groningen, and he was also chosen a syndic of that city, in which 

 capacity he spent about half a year at the court of the emperor 

 Maximilian I. In the year 1482 he removed to Heidelberg on the 

 invitation of Joannes Dalburgius, the bishop of Worms, whom he 

 had taught Greek, and by whom he was appointed to one of the pro- 

 fessorships in the university of Heidelberg. The remainder of his life 

 seems to have been spent partly at Heidelberg and partly at Worms, 

 where he lodged in the house of his friend the bishop. At the request 

 of the Elector Palatine, who greatly delighted in his conversation, he 

 composed a course of lectures on ancient history, which he delivered 

 at Heidelberg, the Elector being one of his auditors. He also, after 

 coming to reside in the Palatinate, commenced the study of the Hebrew 

 tongue. In this new study Agricola had made great progress, when a 

 sudden attack of illness carried him off at Heidelberg on October 28, 

 1485, at the early age of 42. There was certainly no literary name out 

 of Italy BO celebrated as that of Agricola during his age ; and, if we 

 except Politian and Miranrlola, perhaps not even Italy could produce 

 a scholar equal to him. The most eminent cultivators of classical 

 learning in the next age have united in placing Agricola among the 

 first of his contemporaries. We need only mention Cardinal Bembo, 

 Ludovico Vives, the elder Scaliger, and, above all, Erasmus. Agricola 

 indeed may be regarded as the immediate forerunner of the last great 

 writer, and in gome degree as the model on which he was formed. 

 Agricola, in the same manner as Erasmus, appears to have clearly 

 discerned many of the ecclesiastical abuses of his time, and to have 

 anticipated the revolution in the opinions of men that was at hand, 

 although he refrained from doing anything to urge on the crisis. 

 I!csidia his skill in ancient learning, Agricola was a skilful practitioner 

 of the arts of music and painting. His collected works were published, 

 as it is commonly stated, in two volumes 4to at Cologne, in 1539, under 

 the title of ' R. Agricola) Lucubrationes aliquot,' &c. According to 

 Gesner's ' Bibliotheca Universalis," and the Bibliotheca Belgica ' of 

 Foppens, the principal contents of this collection are his three books 

 ' De Inventione Dialectica ;' some letters, orations, and poems ; and 

 some translations from Aphthonius, Lucian, Isocrates, and other 

 Greek authors. It does not appear to contain, as commonly stated, 

 his abridgment of ' Universal History. 1 The work ' De Inventione 

 Dialectica' is the most celebrated of Agricola's performances. It has 

 been repeatedly printed with ample scholia : in 1534 a compendium of 

 it, tiy Joannes Visorius, appeared at Paris ; and an Italian translation 

 of it was published in 4to at Venice, in 1567, by Oratio Toscanella. It 

 idered to have been one of the earliest treatises which attempted 

 to change the scholastic philosophy of the day. Morhof speaks of it 

 ;ng anticipated in several respects the ' Logic ' of Peter Ramus. 

 In th(s in junctions given by Henry VII I. to the University of Cambridge 

 in 1 S35, the ' Dialectics ' of Agricola and the genuine ' Logic ' of Aristotle 

 are ordered to be taught instead of the works of Scotus and Barlams ; 



BIOQ. DIV. VOL. I. 



and in the statutes of Trinity College, Oxford, founded some years: 

 later, we find a similar recommendation. 



(Besides the works already mentioned, the following authorities may 

 be referred to for further information respecting Agrieola : Bayle, 

 Dictionnaire ; Baillet, Jugemens des Sarans ; Vital Germanorum Philo- 

 sopkorum, a Melchiori Adamo; Vie d'Erasme, par Burigny, Paris, 

 1757, vol. i., p. 17 ; Vita R. Agricol/F, autore Ger. Geldenhaurio Novio- 

 mago, in Virorum Eruditione et Doctrina Illastrium Vitis, Francfort, 

 1536, p. 83, &c. See also an interesting letter on the habits and cha- 

 racter of Agricola, from Melancthon, dated Frankfort, March 28, 1539, 

 in the edition of Agricola's works published at Cologne.) 



AGRIPPA, HENRY CORNELIUS, a remarkable personage, who 

 may be ranked with his contemporaries, Paracelsus and Cardan, as at 

 once a man of learning and talent, and a quack. Agrippa was born 

 at Cologne, of a noble and ancient family, on September 14, I486. 

 HU first employment was as secretary at the court of the Emperor 

 Maximilian, after which he served in the wars in Italy, where, having 

 repeatedly signalised himself by his bravery, he obtained the honour 

 of knighthood. About his 20th year he seems to have assumed the 

 character of a scholar, and to have commenced a wandering life. The 

 profession which he took up was that of a physician ; but he allowed 

 himself also to be regarded as an alchemist, an astrologer, and even as 

 a practitioner of magical arts. Not satisfied with this extensive range, 

 he thought proper to set up likewise for a great theologian, as well as 

 to indulge himself with occasional excursions into other departments 

 of literature and science. The effect of all this pretension, supported 

 as it was by unquestionable talent and by real acquirements of great 

 extent, was to raise Agrippa, for a time at least, to high estimation 

 and importance. Pressing invitations were sent to him by several 

 monarchs that he would enter into their service by our Henry VIII. 

 among the rest. He appears to have visited England before this, one 

 of his pieces being dated from London in 1510. His excessive impru- 

 dence however was continually involving him in difficulties ; and 

 especially, having by some of the effusions of his satiric spirit pro- 

 voked the enmity of the monks of the church, he experienced the 

 consequences to the end of his days. After having led for many 

 years what may almost be called a fugitive life, he died at Grenoble, 

 in 1535. He had been thrice married, and had several children. Tho 

 works of Agrippa were published in two volumes, Svo., at Leyden, in 

 1550, and also at Lyon in 1600. The most remarkable of them, and 

 the only one which is now remembered, is his treatise ' On the Vanity 

 of the Sciences,' which is a caustic satire on the kinds of learning 

 most in fashion in that age. 



(Bnyle, Dictiannaire Jfistorique, art. Agrippa ; Gabriel Naud<5, 

 Apology for the Great Men who have been inspected of Magic.) 



AGRIPPA, HEROD. [HEBOD.] 



AGRIPPA, MARCUS VIPSANIUS, was born B.C. 63, within a 

 few months of Octavius, afterwards the Emperor Augustus, with 

 whom throughout life he was so intimately associated. They studied 

 together at Apollonia in Illyria. The death of Julius Cresar brought 

 them both to Rome, and Agrippa was charged by Octavius to receive 

 the oath of fidelity from the legions that were favourable. In B.C. 43 

 he was chosen consul, and conducted the prosecution of Cassius, one 

 of the murderers of C;esar. Two years later he had a command as 

 prator, in the war against Lucius Antonius, whom he besieged in 

 Perusia. In B.C. 40 the town was taken by him, and towards the close 

 of the same year he recovered Lipontum from M. Antonius. In 

 B.C. 38 he added to his reputation by a victory over the Aquitani, and 

 rivalled the glory of Julius Ctesar by leading a second Roman army 

 across the Rhine. Octavius, now Octavianus, offered him a triumph, 

 which he declined; but the consulship was conferred on him in B.C. 37. 

 Seztiis Pompeius, being at this time master of the sea, Agrippa was 

 charged with the construction of a fleet. By cutting a passage through 

 the barrier of Hercules, which separated the Lucrine Lake from the 

 sea, he converted that lake and the interior lake of the Avernus into 

 a serviceable harbour, giving it the name of Portus Julius. Having 

 there prepared a fleet and exercised his mariners, he, in B.C. 36, 

 defeated Sextus Pompeius at Mylrc, and completely broke his naval 

 supremacy at Naulochus, on the coast of Sicily. For these victories 

 he received a naval crown, and was most probably the first on whom 

 that honour was conferred. In the year B.C. 33, though of consular 

 rank, he accepted the office of ocdile, his administration of which was 

 distinguished by the restoration of the numerous aqueducts, and the 

 erection of fountains throughout the city. The victory of Actium, 

 B.c. 31, which left Augustus without a rival, was mainly owing to tho 

 skill of Agrippa as admiral of the fleet. In reward for his services, 

 he shared with Maecenas the confidence of Augustus, who associated 

 him with himself in the task of reviewing the senate ; and in B.C. 28 

 again raised him to the consulate, giving him, at the same time, in 

 marriage his own niece, the sister of the young Marcellus. Agrippa 

 had been previously married to tho daughter of Cicero's friend, 

 Atticus. Attica, by whom he had Vipsania, afterwards the wife of 

 Tiberius, may have been dead, or it is not improbable that he divorced 

 her to make room for Mnrcella. A third consulate awaited him tho 

 year following, in which he dedicated to Jupiter, in commemoration 

 of the victory near Actium, the celebrated Pantheon, which remains 

 to the present day, perhaps the most beautiful specimen of Roman 

 architecture. It is now called, from its form, Santa Maria della 



