8-57 



FABBRONI, ANGELO. 



FABIUS MAXIMUS. 



858 



"PABBRO'NI, A'NGELO, born at Florence in 1732, studied at Rome, 

 - where he distinguished himself for his ability in Latin composition, 

 through which he became acquainted with the learned Bottari, who 

 introduced him to the Papal Court. lu 1766 Fabbroni published the 

 first volume of his Latin biographies of the learned men of modern 

 Italy, ' Vitse Italorum Doctrina Illustrium ; ' a work which he after- 

 wards extended to twenty volumes 8vo, and for which he has been 

 styled by some the Plutarch of modern Italy. His patron Bottari not 

 being on friendly terms with the Jesuits, who had great influence at 

 Rome under Pope Clement XIII., and who accused Bottari of a bias 

 in favour of the Janeenists, Fabbroni found that he had little chance 

 of making his way at the Papal Court, and he returned to Florence in 

 1767, where the Grand-Duke Leopold appointed him President of the 

 Collegiate Church of San Lorenzo, and afterwards made him Prefect 

 of the University of Pica, and Prior of the military order of San 

 Stefano. After this Fabbroni travelled through Germany, France, and 

 England, and made the acquaintance of many learned men in those 

 countries. On his return to Tuscany in 1773, he devoted himself 

 entirely to literary pursuits. He continued his series of Latin biogra- 

 phies already mentioned ; wrote also some Italian biographies ; edited 

 the ' Giornale Pisano,' a literary magazine, which enjoyed considerable 

 reputation in the latter part of the 18th century ; and published an 

 interesting history of the University of Pisa, ' Historia Academies 

 Pisanse,' 3 vols. 4to, Pisa, 1791. Fabbroni died at Pisa in 1803. A 

 cenotaph was raised to his memory in the Campo Santo of that city. 

 Fabbroui wag considered one of the best Latin scholars and writers of 

 Italy in the 18th century. His Italian works are ' Elogj di alcuni 

 Illustri Italian!,' 2 vols. 8vo, Pisa, 1789 ; ' Elogj di Dante, di Poliziano, 

 di Ariosto, e di Taseo,' Svo, Parma, 1800 ; ' Dissertazione sulle Statue 

 appartenenti alia Favola di Niobe,' Florence, 1799. He also contri- 

 buted to the colleation of ' Memorie de' piii Illustri Pisaui,' 4 vols. 

 4to, Pisa, 1790. 



(Lombard!, Storia ddla Letteratura Italiana net Secolo XVIII. ; 

 Gamba, Serie di Tati di Lingua, ; Life of Fabbroni, written by him- 

 self, and inserted in the last volume of his ' Vita Italorum.') 



FABER, REV. GEORGE STANLEY, was bora on the 25th of 

 October 1773. He was the eldest son of the Rev. Thomas Faber, 

 who was descended from a French refugee who came over to England 

 after the revocation of the edict of Nantes. He was educated at the 

 grammar-school of Heppenholine, near Halifax in Yorkshire, where 

 he remained till 1789, when he was entered of University College, 

 Oxford. He took his degree of B.A. in 1792, and before he had reached 

 his twenty-first year was elected a Fellow and Tutor of Lincoln 

 College. He took his degree of M.A. in 1796, served the office of 

 Proctor in 1801, and in the same year, as Hampton Lecturer, preached 

 the discourses which he shortly afterwards published under the title 

 of ' Horn Mosaicao.' He took the degree of B.D. in 1803, and married 

 in the same year. Having by this step relinquished his fellowship, he 

 went to reside with his father at Calvcrley, near Bradford in York- 

 shire, where for two years he acted as curate. In 1805 he was collated 

 to the vicarage of Stockton-upon-Tees, in the county of Durham, 

 which he resigned in 1808 for that of Redmarshall, in the same 

 county. In 1811 he was collated to the vicarage of Long-Newton, 

 where he remained till 1831, when Bishop Burgess presented him to 

 a prebend in the cathedral of Salisbury. In 1832 Bishop Van Mildctt 

 gave him the mastership of Sherburu Hospital, near the city of 

 Durham, when he resigned the vicarage of Long-Newton. During his 

 mastership he considerably increased the value of the estates of the 

 Hospital. He rebuilt the chapel, the house, and the offices, and 

 greatly improved the grounds; he augmented the incomes of the 

 iucumtxnta of livings under his patronage, restored tbe chancels of 

 their churches, aud erected agricultural buildings on the farm*. He 

 died at his residence, Sherburn Hospital, on the 27th of January, 

 1854. 



The theological writings of Mr. Faber, particularly those on prophecy, 

 have had a very wide circulation. One of the principles fur the inter- 

 pretation of prophecy which he chiefly laboured to establish and 

 exemplify, was, that the delineations of events in prophecy are not 

 applicable to the destinies of individuals, but to those of governments 

 and nations. His writings are numerous, and we can only mention a 

 few of the most important : ' Horn; Mosaicie, or a View of the Mosaical 

 Records, with respect to their Coincidence with Profane Antiquity, 

 their internal Credibility, and their Connexion with Christianity,' 

 2 vols. Svo, 1801 ; ' A Dissertation on the Mysteries of the Cabyri, or 

 the great gods of Phoenicia, Samothrace, Egypt, Troas, Greece, Italy, 

 and Crete, 2 vola. Svo ; ' Dissertation on the Prophecies that have 

 been fulfilled, are now fulfilling, or will hereafter bo fulfilled, relative 

 to the great Period of 1260 Years,' 2 vols. Svo, 1806; 'A General and 

 Connected View of the Prophecies relating to the Conversion, Restora- 

 tion, Union, and future Glory of Judah an i Israel,' 2 vols. Svo, 1808 ; 

 'The Origin of Pagan Idolatry,' 3 vols. Svo, 1816; 'A Treatise on 

 the Genius and Object of the Patriarchal, the Levitica), and the 

 BIOO. BIT. VOL. ll. 



Christian Dispensation,' 2 vols. Svo, 1823; 'The Sacred Calendar of 

 Prophecy, or a Dissertation on the Prophecies which treat of the 

 Grand Period of Seven Times, 1 3 vols. Svo, 1828 ; ' Eight Dissertations 

 on certain connected Prophetical Passages of Holy Scriptures bearing 

 more or leas upon the Promise of a Mighty Deliverer,' 2 vols. Svo, 

 1845. 



FA'BIUS MA'XIMUS and the FABII FAMILY. The Fabll were 

 a numerous and powerful gens or patrician house of ancient Rome, 

 which became subdivided into several families or branches distinguished 

 by their respective cognomina, such as Fabii Maximi, Fabii Ambustj, 

 Fabii Vibulanii, &c. They were of Sabiue origin, and settled on the 

 Quirinal from the time of the earliest kings. After the expulsion of the 

 Tarquinii, the Fabii aa one of the older houses exercised considerable 

 influence in the senate. Caeso Fabius being Quaestor with L. Valerius, 

 impeached Spurius Cassius in the year of Rome 268 (B.C. 486), and 

 had him executed. It has been noted as a remarkable fact, that for 

 seven consecutive years from that time, one of the two annual consul- 

 ships was filled by three brothers Fabii in rotation. Niebuhr has 

 particularly investigated this period of Roman history, and speculated 

 on the causes of this long retention of office by the Fabii as con- 

 nected with the struggle then pending between the patricians and the 

 plebeians, and the attempt of the former to monopolise the elections. 

 (' History of Rome,' vol. ii., ' The Seven Consulships of the Fabii.') 

 One of the three brothers, Quiutus Fabius Vibulanus, fell in battle 

 against the Veientes, in the year 274 of Rome. In the following year, 

 under the consulship of Cxso Fabius and Titus Virginius, the whole 

 house of the Fabii proposed to leave Rome and settle on the borders 

 of the territory of Veii, in order to take the war against the Veientes 

 entirely into their hands. After performing solemn sacrifices, they 

 left Rome in a body, mustering 306 patricians, besides their families, 

 clients, and freedmen, and encamped on the banks of the Cremera in 

 sight of Veii. There they fortified themselves, nnd maintained for 

 nearly two years a harassing warfare against the Veieutes and other 

 people of Etruria. At last in one of their predatory incursions they 

 fell into an ambuscade, and fighting desperately, were all exterminated. 

 (Livy, it 48, 50; and Niebuhr's 'History,' on the Veientine War.) 

 One only of the house, Quiutus Fabius Vibulanus, who had remained 

 at Rome, escaped, and became the parent stock of all the subsequent 

 FabiL He was repeatedly consul, and was afterwards one of the 

 decemviri with Appius Claudius for two consecutive years, in which 

 office he disgraced himself by his connivance at the oppressions of 

 bis colleague, which caused the fall of the decemvirate. In subse- 

 quent years we find several Fabii filling the consulship, until wo come 

 to M. Fabius Ambustus, who was consul ju the year 393 of Rome, 

 and again several times after. He fought against the Hernici aud the 

 Tarquinians, and left several sons, one of whom, known by the name 

 of Quintus Fabius Maximus Rullianua, attacked and defeated the 

 Samuites (429 of Rome) in the absence and against the orders of his 

 commanding officer, the Dictator Papirius, who would ha>e brought 

 him to punishment for disobedience, but was prevented by the inter- 

 cession of the soldiers aud the people. This Fabius was five times 

 consul, and dictator twice. He triumphed over the Samnites, Marsi, 

 Gauls, and Tuscans. His son, Quiutus Fabius Gurges, was thrice 

 consul, and was the grandfather of QUINTUS FABIUS MAXIMUS VER- 

 RUCOSUS, one of the most celebrated generals of Rome. In his first 

 consulate he triumphed over the Ligurians. After the Thrasymenian 

 defeat he was named Prodictator by the unanimous voice of the 

 people, and was intrusted with the salvation of the Republic. The 

 system which he adopted to check the advance of Hannibal is well 

 known. By a succession of skilful movements, marches, and counter- 

 marches, always choosing good defensive positions, he harassed his 

 antagonist, who could never draw him into ground favourable for his 

 attack, while Fabius watched every opportunity of availing himself 

 of any error or negK-ct on the part of the Carthaginians. 



This mode of warfare, which was new to the Romans, acquired for 

 Fabius the name of Cuuctator, or ' temporiser," and was censured by 

 the young, the rash, aud the ignorant ; but it probably was the means 

 of saving Rome from ruin. Minucius, who shared with Fabius the 

 command of the army, having imprudently engaged Hannibal, was 

 saved from total destruction by the timely assistance of the dictator. 

 In the following year however, 536 of Rome, Fabius being recalled to 

 Rome, the command of the army was intrusted to the consul T. 

 Varro, who rushed imprudently to battle, when the defeat of Canniu 

 made manifest the wisdom of the dictator's previous caution. Fabius 

 was made consul in the next year, and was again employed in keeping 

 Hannibal in check. In 543 of Rome, being consul for the fifth time, 

 he re-took Tarentum by stratagem, after which he narrowly escaped 

 being caught himself in a snare by Hannibal near Metapontum. 

 (Livy, xxvii. 15, 16.) When some years after the question was dis- 

 cussed in the seuate of sending P. Scipio with an army into Africa, 

 Fabius opposed it, saying that Italy ought first to be rid of Haunibal. 

 Fabius died some time after at a very advanced age. His son, oallad 



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