937 



FLORIAN, JEAN-PIERRE-CLARIS DE. 



VOIX, COUNT DE. 



938 



1850). His 'Medallas de las Colonias de Espaua' (3 vols. 4to, Madrl 

 1757-73), treats of the period of ancient history only when Spain wa 

 occupied with Roman colonies. There are two portraits of the autho 

 one bearing the date of 1760, and the other of 1773, which an 

 usually inserted in the first and last volumes. 



FLORIAN, JEAN-PIERRE-CLARIS DE, was born of a nobl 

 family in the Cbateau-Florian, in the Cevennes, in 1755. His edu 

 cation was superintended by his grandfather; but, on his dyin 

 deeply in debt, Florian was obliged to look around him for som 

 means of support The Marquis de Florian, his uncle, who had mar 

 ried a niece of Voltaire's, took young Florian to Ferney, where th 

 philosopher spoke encouragingly of his talents. In 176S he becam 

 page of the Due de Penthievre, and finding that he had a passion fo 

 the army, that nobleman gave him a company of the dragoons d 

 Penthievre. He shortly afterwards retired from active service, anc 

 accepted the place of gentleman in ordinary to the duke, who treatec 

 him as a friend. Having now an opportunity of devoting himself t 

 literature, he produced in 1783 the romance of 'Galatea,' in imitation 

 of the novels of Cervantes. His mother being a Castilian, he was 

 perfectly familiar with the Spanish language. ' Galatee ' was followec 

 by the well-known ' Numa Pompilius,' published in 1786. The pas- 

 toral romance of ' Estelle,' which was produced two years afterwards 

 and was reckoned by critics his best production, caused but smal 

 sensation at the time. He also brought out a collection of fables am 

 a number of little comedies, in the Italian style, with Arlechino fo: 

 their hero, which were very successful. In 1791 he published hi 

 romance ' Gonzalve de Cordoue,' which was preceded by an historica 

 notice of the Moor". In 1793 he was banished from Paris by the 

 decree published against the nobility, and retired to Sceaux, th< 

 inhabitants of which received him with cordiality, a?, in conjunction 

 with the Due de Penthievre, he had always been their benefactor 

 He was afterwards arrested, and confined in the prison called For 

 Libre, but was soon liberated. His health was so affected by anxiety 

 that he died in 1794, having, during his incarceration, written th 

 romance of ' Guillauine Tell.' 



Florian seems to have been a writer who did little else than imitate 

 in an inferior manner, the authors who had preceded him. ' Galate'e 

 is an imitation of Cervantes; 'Numa' of Fenelou's 'Telemaque; 

 and the fables, of t'uose of La Fontaine. His fables, which are wel 

 spoken of by La Harpe, contain some very neat and accurate descrip 

 tious ; indeed, as a fabulist, La Fontaine is alone his superior. The 

 translation of ' Don Quixote,' which is a posthumous work, is ceu 

 sure.l for iU want of humour. 



FLORIS, FRANS, or FRANS DE VIUEND, a celebrated 

 Flemish painter, whom Vasari terms the Flemish Raffaelle, was born 

 of a good family at Antwerp, in 1520. His father, Cornells de Vriend, 

 was a sculptor, and Frans in his earlier years followed his father's 

 profession. He learnt painting under Lambert Lombardus at Liege, 

 and studied afterwards the works of Raffaelle, Michel Angelo, and the 

 antique, for some years at Rome. He returned with a great reputation 

 to Antwerp, and formed a numerous school there. He was the most 

 distinguished painter in the Netherlands in the time of Charles V. and 

 Philip II. ; but he injured his prospects by his notorious love of wine, 

 which he habitually took to excess ; in fact, he had the reputation of 

 being as great a drunkard as a painter. He died at Antwerp in 1570. 

 Van Mander and Descamps mentions several works by Floris which 

 are now lot ; but there arc still some excellent works by him in the 

 Netherlands, and there are others in the galleries of Vienna, Dresden, 

 and Berlin. One of his best works is a Nativity, in the cathedral at 

 Antwerp. It is described by Sir Joshua Reynolds as well composed, 

 well drawn, and well coloured; Sir Joshua admired also his 'Cruci- 

 fixion,' at the Recollets. Floris etched a few plates, and some of his 

 designs were engraved and published by Jerome Cock. 



(Van Mander, Leven der Schilders; Descamps, Vie des Peintret 

 Flamandt, <kc.) 



FLORUS, LUCIUS ANN^EUS, a native of Spain, or, according to 

 others, of Gaul, lived under Trajan and Hadrian. Some have sup- 

 posed him to be the same as Lucius Julius Florus, who lived under 

 Augustus, and to whom Horace has addressed two of his Epistles; 

 but ae, in the proemium to his history, Florus speaks of Trajan, he 

 cannot be the sime person as Lucius Julius, unless we suppose the 

 passage to be interpolated. This question has been discussed by 

 Tit/.e, 'De Epitome Rerum Romanorum,' 1804. Others ha\e sup- 

 posed Florus the historian to be the same as Julius Florus or Floridus, 

 who lived under Hadrian, and wrote the 'Pervigilium Veneris,' a 

 pretty poem in imitation of Horace's 'Carmen Seculars ;' but the 

 identity of the two writers is very doubtful. Lucius Aunseus Florus 

 wrote a small work entitled ' Epitome de Gestis Romanorum,' in four 

 books, from the foundation of the city to the closing of the Temple of 

 Janus by Augustus. The author compiled his epitome from Livy and 

 from other historians whose works are lost. It is meagre and declama- 

 tory, and is less a history than a panegyric of the Roman people. 

 Florus is also incorrect in his chronology and geography. It must be 

 observed however that the text, as we have it, is corrupt and interpo- 

 lated. The work is of some use as a kind of substitute, however poor, 

 for tho.<e books of Livy which are lost. Some manuscripts attribute 

 to Floni.4 also the Epitomaj, or heads of contents, of the books of Livy. 

 FO-III, the name of the first emperor of China, is said to have been 

 tiou. Div. VOL. II. 



born in the province of Shensy, and to have reigned B.C. 2952. 

 According to the Chinese historians, Fo-lii reclaimed the inhabitants 

 of China from barbarism, established social order, instituted marriage, 

 and taught them the use of writing. Fo-hi and his two successors 

 Shin-noong and Hoang-ti, who are usually termed the ' Three 

 Emperors,' must be considered as belonging to the fabulous part of 

 Chinese history. He is said to have been the author of one of the 

 canonical books of the Chinese, called 'Ye-king.' (Du Halde, 

 Description de I' Empire de la Chine, voL i. p. 266-269; vol. ii. p. 344- 

 353.) 



FOHR, CARL PHILIPP, a landscape painter of great ability and 

 greater promise, was born at Heidelberg in 1795. In 1816 he visited 

 Rome, and made the acquaintance of Cornelius, Veit, Overbeck, and 

 Koch the landscape painter, and he shortly painted two large pictures 

 there, which ranked him among the first painters of his class, and 

 procured him the notice, patronage, and friendship of Ludwig I., the 

 late king of Bavaria, then crown-prince. This ardent friend of German 

 artists was strongly impressed with Fohr's ability ; on taking leave of 

 him at Rome, he pressed his hand, saying, ' Wir sehen uns wieder; 

 wir gehbren uns na'her an ' (We shall see each other again, we belong 

 nearer to each other). It was not so, however ; Fohr was drowned in 

 the Tiber while bathing, on June the 29th, 1818, in the sight of three 

 friends, who could afford him no assistance. Several of his early 

 landscapes are in the museum at Darmstadt; a Life of him was 

 published at that place in 1823 : his portrait has been engraved by 

 Amsler, one of the friends who witnessed his death. 



FOIX, GASTON III., COUNT DE, Viscount de Bdarn, was born 

 in 1331. He was the son of Gaston II., by Eleanor, daughter of 

 Bernard V., count de Cominges. From his personal beauty, or his 

 fondness for the chase, he was called Phoobus, on which account, 

 agreeably to the fashion of his day, he took the sun for a device. His 

 father died when he was twelve years old, leaving him under the 

 guardianship of his mother. lu 1345 he made his first essay in arms 

 against the English in Guienne, and served afterwards in Languedoc, 

 where, and in Gascony, he subsequently became the king's lieutenant. 

 In 1349 he married Agnes, daughter of Philip III. king of Navarre. 

 In 1356, being suspected of holding criminal intelligence with his 

 brother-in-law Charles the Bad, he was arrested by order of King John, 

 and ent to the prison of the Chatelet, at Paris ; but, being released 

 soon afterwards, he went to Prussia to serve against the infidels. In 

 1358, during the revolt called the Jacquerb, he aided in the rescue of 

 the Dauphiu, whom the Parisians had shut up in the market-place o:' 

 Meaux, and in the same year made war upon his relative the Count 

 d'Armagnac, who had set up pretensions to the viscounty of Be"arn , 

 and whom he afterwards took prisoner, in 1372, at the batth of 

 Launac. Gaston, who had become discontented with his wife, upon a 

 dispute about her dower, parted from her in 1373. In 1380, tho 

 government of Languedoc becoming vacant by the recall of the Duke 

 }( Aujou, it was bestowed by Charles V. on the Count de Foix. He 

 neld it however but a few months. Charles V. dying oil September 10th 

 of that year, Charles VL revoked the appointment, and gave it to the 

 Due de Berri. The Count de Foix appealed to arms, and finally 

 fielded up tho government only on negociation. By his marriage the 

 Jount de Foix had but one son. ThU youth, in 1382, paying a visit 

 ,o his mother, who had retired to the court of her brother, Charles 

 ;he Bad, received from that king (to whom crime was familiar) whal 

 10 pretended was a bag of love-powder, which that king told him to 

 conceal, at the same time informing him that the sprinkling of a Email 

 juantity of it on any food his father might eat, would have the effect 

 of reconciling the count to his wife. The powder turned out to be a 

 strong poison, and Gaston ordered his son to be arrested. The young 

 n-ince, deceived but not guilty, refused all nourishment, and died in 

 us prison ; the father, as Froisaart relates, haviug hastened his death 

 when going to remonstrate with him, by accidentally striking the 

 loint of a knife into his son's throat as he pushed aside the tapestry 

 which covered the entrance to his dungeon. 



In 1390 Gaston received Charles VI. and his whole court at his 

 :astle of Mazcres, in the diocese of Mirepoix, where he not only 

 utertaiued them with great magnificence, but made the king the heir 

 a his domains. He died of apoplexy ia the beginning of August 

 391, as bis attendants were pouring water on his hands at his return 

 rom a bear-chase. 



Historians, especially Froissart, have painted Gaaton as an accom- 

 lished, brave, affable, and maguidceut prince : they cannot however 

 euy that he was violent to excess. His conduct towards his son, and 

 o Do Berne, the governor of the castle of Lourde, whom he wished to 

 orce to deliver the place to the French, and whom, on his refusal, he 

 truck several times with his poniard, are incontestable proofs. His 

 avourite passion was hunting. He carried it to such extreme, that if 

 ie may believe Saint- Yon, he did not keep fewer than sixteen hundred 

 ogs. He also composed a work on what constituted the object of his 

 flection, entitled ' Phebus des deduitz de la Chasse des Bestes sau- 

 aigea et des Oyseaulx de proye,' three or fjur editions of which are 

 nowu ; viz., fol. Par. by Verard, without date ; another by J. Trepercl, 

 to, by Phil, le Noir, without date; and 1515, and 15:20. The book of 

 Phebus ' is also included in several of the early editions of tho 

 'realise ou Hunting by Jaquea de Fouilloux. 



It was in tho castle of Orthes, Gallon's principal residence, that 



3 P 



