AST, GEORQ ANTON FRIEDIUCH, 



ASTOLPHUS. 



Bate and PiU fire the titles of six work* ascribed to our Asser. 

 One U of counw ' The Life of Alfred :' the others are 1, ' A Com- 

 mrnlary on Boethins,' but the existence of luoh a work U Tery doubt- 

 ful ; !, 'Annales Britannia,' only known by it* having been mentioned 

 by Brouiptoa ; 3, ' Aurearum Seotentiarum Enchiridion,' no doubt the 

 aort of commonplace book mentioned in the ' Anna]*' at having been 

 compile.) for Alfred's use, and termed by him his ' Manual ;' 4, ' A 

 Book of Homiliea;' and 5, ' A Volume of Letter*.' Tho existence of 

 the ' Hoinilie* ' and ' Letters ' is however unsupported by any other 

 authority. 



AST, OEORO ANTON FRIEDRICH, an eminent German scholar, 

 wms born in 1778 at Qotha, at the gymnasium of which place and 

 subsequently at the University of Jena be was educated. In 1802 be 

 bscsn hii career as an academical lecturer in the University of Jena ; 

 and in 1805 he was appointed professor of ancient literature in the 

 University of Landnhut, where ho remained until the transfer of that 

 institution to Munich, in 1812. He spent the remainder of his life at 

 Munich, where he died on the 30th of December, 1841. 



At was one of the best and most industrious of modern scholars, 

 and a very excellent teacher. During the latter period of his life, 

 he devotrd himself almost exclusively to the study of Plato, for 

 the elucidation of whose works he had done more than any other 

 scholar. His numerous works may be divided into two classes, 

 philosophical and philological. Among the former we must notice 

 especially his ' Han ibuch der Aesthetik,' Landshut, 1807, 8vo; 

 ' Orundlinien der Philoloftie,' Landshut, 1808, 8vo, an excellent intro- 

 duction to the study of antiquity; Qrundlinien der Oratninatik, 

 Hermeneutik und Kritik,' Laudnhut, 1808, 8vo ; 'Orundlinien der 

 Philosophic,' 2nd edit, Landshut, 1825, 8vo ; 'Hauptmomente der 

 Qeachicbte der Philosophie,' Miinchen, 1829, 8vo; ' Platonis Leben 

 and Schrifen,' Leipzig, 1816, 8vo, a very useful introduction to the 

 study of that philosopher. Among his philological works tho chief is 

 a complete edition of Plato's works (Leipzig, 1810-32), in 11 vols. 8vo, 

 with a Latin translation, and a commentary which occupies the last 

 two volumes. This work he followed by a 'Lexicon Platonicum,' 

 Leipzig, 1834-39, 3 vols. Svo., which is one of the best special dic- 

 tionaries that we have. In a critical point of view, his edition of 

 Plato is greatly surpassed by some of the more recent editions of that 

 philosopher. 



(Abridged from the Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the 

 D'ftuin f V it fid Knowledge ; Convertationt Lexiton.) 



ASTBURY, J., one of the great improver* in the manufacture of 

 pottery in thU country, was born about 1678 ; but we have no infor- 

 mation as to his early history, or even as to his Christian name. 



Among the earliest improvers of this important branch of industry 

 were two brothers of the name of Elers, who came to England from 

 Niirnberg about 1690, and settled at Brail well, near Burslem, in tho 

 Staffordshire Potteries, where they introduced a fine new red ware, 

 and made many improvements in other branches of the art. Their 

 operations were kept for some time strictly secret; but at length 

 Asthury, by assuming the garb and manner of an idiot, obtained 

 admission to the works, and employment in some mean capacity. He 

 thus obtained free access to their machinery, and a full knowledge of 

 their processes, and during a period of nearly two years he remained 

 in the works, making models an. I memoranda during hi* intervals of 

 absence. Having accomplished his purpose, he quitted the Elera' 

 works and established himself at Shelton, in the Potteries, where he 

 commenced the manufacture of red, white, and other wares, and 

 introduced, for the first time, the use of Bideford pipeclay for lining 

 culinary ven.U, by which they were made very superior to those 

 glazed with lead or salt He likewise made numerous improvements, 

 one of the most important of which was the use of calcined flint, which 

 he bad been ac-ciilenUlly led to try, from observing the ostler at an inn 

 where he put up, burn a flint-stone till red-hot, then pulverite it, and 

 blow the fine powder into the eyes of the horse. Astbury's attention 

 was excited by the whiteness of the calcined flint, the ease with which 

 it was pulverined, and the clayey nature which it assumed when 

 moistened ; and, reasoning upon these circumstances, he produced, by 

 its employment, a very superior kind of ware. Astbury wss eminently 

 noeessfut in bis business, and succeeded in realising a considerable 

 property by his improvements. He died in 1743, leaving a son 

 Thomas, who alo made some valuable itnprpvemenU in pottery. 



(Abridged from the HuyraphiccU Itictionary of the Society for the 

 Difiuion ,.f V.,j.l Knoulcdgf.) 



ASTELL, MARY, wss tue daughter of a merchant at Newcastle- 

 upon Tyne, where >be was born about the year 1868. Her father aave 

 her a good education, and an uncle, a clergyman of the Cburch of 

 Knglan.l, prmiving her aptitude for learning, instructed her himself 

 in philosophy, mathematics, and logic, and to these acquisitions she 

 afterwards added the Latin language. She removed to London about 

 the time of the Revolution, and for the rest of her life resided either 

 there or at Chelsea. She assiduously continued her studies, especially 

 of th* great writers of antiquity, and produced a considerable number 

 of wurks, several of which attracted attention. She died on the llth 

 of May, 1731. 



Mrs. Astoll wrote a great number of religious and controversial 

 works, of which the principal were as follows : ' A serious Proposal 

 to the Ladies, for the advancement of their true and greatest interest,' 



12mo., London, 1697. In this she proposes the establishment of a 

 kind of college for the education of females, as well as for their retire- 

 ment from the dangers of the world. The plan was highly admired 

 by many, among others by Queen Anne, who manifested an intention 

 of presenting 10.000/. toward* the foundation of the college. Bishop 

 But-net however represented to her so strongly the great resemblance 

 of the proposed establishment to a nunnery, that the " queen Rave up 

 her intention, and the plan fell to the ground. Some of the writers in 

 the 'Taller' held up Mrs. Astell to derision, under the name of 

 Madonella. ' Letters concerning tho Love of God, between the Author 

 of the Proposal to the Ladies and Mr. John Norrin,' London, 1695, 

 Svo. Both Mrs. Astell and Mr. Norris were attacked by Lady Mashain, 

 in ' A Discourse concerning the Love of God,' for a great portion of 

 which the authoress was said to have been indebted to the assistance 

 of Locke. Mrs. Astell replied in ' The Christian Religion as professed 

 by a Daughter of the Church of England,' Svo, 1705. Thin is her 

 most elaborate work, and whatever its defects, it was universally 

 allowed that the work did great credit to the reasoning; powers of the 

 author. 'Reflections on Marriage,' Svo., 1705. Besides these larger 

 works, Mrs. Astell produced a number of controversial tracts. 



(Abridged from the Biographical Dictionary of the Society for tlit 

 Di/tttion of Utcfal K totaled </e.) 



ASTLE, THOMAS, was the son of Daniel Astle, keeper of Needwood 

 Forest, and was bom at Yoxall, in Staffordshire, in 1734. He was 

 sent to the office of an attorney in his native town, but his taste 

 inclining him to the study of general antiquities, he came to London ; 

 where, about the year 1763, he became known to Mr. Qrenville, then 

 First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer, and 

 was employed by him in the arrangement of papers, and other business 

 which required a knowledge of ancient band-writing : in 1765 Mr. 

 Grenville gave him the office of receiver-general on the civil list. Soon 

 after this, Mr. Astle married the only daughter of the Reverend Philip 

 Moraut, the author of the ' History of Esaex,' and by this connection 

 he eventually inherited the property of his father in-law, which was 

 considerable. In 1770, on the death of Mr. Moraut, who had till then 

 superintended the printing of the Ancient Record* of Parliament 

 begun five years before, Astle was appointed by the House of Lords to 

 take his place, and be presided over the publication till its completion 

 in 1775. He was then made chief clerk in the Record Office in the 

 Tower ; and some years after he succeeded to the place of Keeper. 

 He was, besides, a Fellow of the Royal and Antiquarian Societies, and, 

 till his death, one of the Trustees of the British Museum. He died on 

 the 1st of December, 1803. Mr. Astle is the author of a nun. 

 articles in the ' Archicologia,' and several separate antiquarian publi- 

 cations. But the work by which he is best known is hu ' Origin and 

 Progress of Writing,' first published in quarto in 1784, an 1 again iu 

 1803. Mr. Astle inherited, with the estates of Dr. Moraut, his library, 

 which he grvatly extended. Tho printed books were purchased soon 

 after Mr. Astle's death for 10002. by the Royal Institution, of whose 

 library they now form a very important part. HU immense collection 

 of manuscripts he left by will, in token of hi* gratitude to the Grenville 

 family, to the Marquis of Buckingham, on payment of the almost 

 nominal sum of 5002. Combined with the collection of ancient Irish 

 manuscripts formed by Charles O'Conor, and others added by Mr. 

 Grenville, they formed an assemblage of original materials for the 

 history of the three kingdoms, unequalled in any private collection. 

 They were announced for sale with the rest of the Stowe library in 

 1849, but were previously purchased by Lord Ashburnham. 



ASTOLPHUS succeeded his brother Ratchis as king of the Longo- 

 bards, A.D. 750, Ratchis having voluntarily abdicated, and retired into 

 the monastery of Monte Casino. Astolpbus early formed the resolu- 

 tion to aim at driving away the Greeks from Itily, and with this view 

 broke the treaty made by his predecessor with the Byzantines. In 

 752 he took Ravenna, expelled the Exarch, and conquered the Penta- 

 polis, which comprised part of the present March of Ancouo. He then 

 turned his arms against the duchy of Rome, which still acknowledged, 

 at least nominally, tho authority of the eastern empire. The pope, 

 Stephen IL, sent ambassadors to Astolphus with splendid gifts, and 

 obtained a truce for forty years. Four months after however, Astol- 

 phus broke the truce, and the pope, despairing of assistance from the 

 indolent Hyzuntine court, had recourse to Pepin, king of the Franks. 

 Stephen himself repaired to ParU in 753, where he crowned I'epin, 

 and bestowed on his two sons, Carlomann and Charles (aftvrw..r<U 

 Charlemagne), the title of Patricians of Rome. Pepin soon after 

 marched an army into Italy, defeated Astolphus, and besieged him in 

 the city of Pavia. A treaty was concluded, which Astolphus failed to 

 observe, and in 755 Pepin crossed the Alps a second time, and again 

 besieged Astolphus iu Pavia. Aittolphus now sued for peace ; he paid 

 a large sum to Pepin for the expenses of the war, and gave up the 

 Exarchate, including Comacchio, as well as the Pentapolis, which were 

 bestowed by Pepin on the see of St. Peter. Pepin sent the abbot of 

 St. Denis, who received the keys of the various towns from Astol- 

 phus's commissioners, and deposited them with Pepiu's act of dona- 

 tion on the altar of St. Peter at Rome. This was the origin of the 

 temporal power of the popes, as independent sovereigns. The terri- 

 tory thus given up included the country of Ravenna and the province 

 since called Rotnagna. The duchy of Rome was not included in it. 

 Astolphus died in 766, owing to a fall from bis horse. Astolphus, 



