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MACGILLIVRAY, WILLIAM. 



MACHIAVELLI, NICCOLO. 



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MACGILLIVRAY, WILLIAM, a distinguished Scotch naturalist 

 He was born in the lele of Harris, and early acquired a taste for 

 natural history, and having gone to reside in Edinburgh, became the 

 assistant of Professor Jameson in the Natural History and Geological 

 Museum of the University. He was afterwards appointed to the 

 position of Conservator of the Museum of the Koyal College of 

 Surgeons in Edinburgh. In these positions he had extensive oppor- 

 tunities of studying the specimens and preparations which were com- 

 mitted to his charge, and he seems to have neglected none of the rare 

 opportunities which presented themselves for adding to his store of 

 knowledge. He did not however confine himself to the museum, for 

 he was in the strict sense of the word a lover of nature, and studied 

 natural history extensively in the field. Nor did he confine himself 

 to one department minerals, plants, and animals, all laid claim to bia 

 attention, and he possessed a sufficient knowledge of each to make 

 considerable contributions to the branches of science which con- 

 template their study. On account of his extensive knowledge of 

 natural history the University of Aberdeen bestowed upon him the 

 degree of LL.D., and subsequently he was appointed Professor of 

 Civil and Natural History in Marisclial College, Aberdeen. Here he 

 cultivated natural history with great ardour, and wrote some of his 

 most valuable works. He died at Aberdeen on the 5th of September 

 1852. 



Dr. Macgillivray published various papers on natural history 

 subjects in the ' Memoirs of the Wernerian Society," the ' Edinburgh 

 New Philosophical Journal,' the ' Reports of the British Association,' 

 and the ' Magazine of Zoology and Botany.' He was also the author 

 of several substantive works of great value. 



His labours in botany were not so extensive as in other departments 

 of natural history, he nevertheless edited an edition of Withering's 

 ' Arrangement of British Plants,' and published several lists of plants 

 illustrative of the distribution of the British species. 



His geological papers were numerous, and he published in 1839 ' A 

 Manual of Geology, with a Glossary and Index.' 



Of his various works on zoology, his 'History of British Birds,' in 

 three volumes, two of which were published after his .death, is 

 undoubtedly the most important In this work he has displayed 

 great power of observation, with a skill in the description of the 

 habits of birds quite unrivalled. This work is illustrated with 

 sketches drawn by the author, which display very considerable artistic 

 skill. He is also the author of a ' History of British Quadrupeds,' in 

 Jarclinc's ' Naturalist's Library.' In 1843 he published 'A History of 

 the Molluscous Animals of the counties of Aberdeen, Kincardine, and 

 Baud'.' He also produced a ' Conchologist's Text-Book,' which has 

 gone through a large number of editions. 



At the time of bis death he had prepared for the press a volume 

 on the ' Natural History of Dee-Side,' which consisted of an account 

 of a personal tour up the valley and among the mountains of Dee- 

 Side. It also contained sketches of the geology, botany, and zoology 

 of the district, with lists of the minerals, plants, and animals of 

 Dee-Side. Aa this work could hardly be expected to meet with a 

 remunerative sale the family declined to publish it, and the existence 

 of the manuscript having b"en made known to the Queen of England 

 she generously purchased it of the family, and the work has since 

 been published by her Majesty's command. It forms a handsome 

 octavo volume, illustrated with several woodcuts of the scenery of 

 the district, and contains a carefully executed map of the district of 

 the river Die, in which the geology of the valley and mountains is 

 laid down. This work was printed for private circulation, and was 

 very liberally presented to the naturalists, natural history societies, 

 and public libraries of Great Britain by Ilia Koyal liighue.-s Prince 

 Albert. 



Dr. Macgillivray left behind him a large family. His eldest son, 

 Mr. John Macgillivray, accompanied Captain Stanley in the voyage of 

 the Rattlesnake, and published an account of the voyage on his return. 

 He has also published several papers on various departments of 

 natural history. 



The following estimate of his character appeared in a notice of his 

 ' British Birds ' in the ' Athenaeum ' for 1852 : 



" Dr. Macgillivray was a naturalist, and one of no mean order. 

 Had he confined his attention to a few of the subjects of the vast 

 field over which he laboured with unwearied industry through a long 

 life, he would perhaps have attained a yet higher position as a man of 

 science than that which he reached. Whilst in the fields, on the 

 mountains, or by the sea-shore, he had an eye to every natural object 

 that surrounded him, and the interest with which he regarded them 

 is expressed in the numerous papers and works which he has written 

 on botany, geology, and zoology. Though a list of Dr. Macgillivray's 

 works would alone occupy a large space, yet he was not a man of the 

 closet. Though one of the most diligent of compilers, he was a 

 laborious original investigator. Whilst he lived by natural history as 

 a profession, he pursued it as a science, and in return for the scanty 

 means which it afforded towards the necessities of existence, he ren- 

 dered a Urge amount of observation made with great labour and 

 Mlf sacrifice. Although naturally an amiable man, he has frequently 

 in Lis works as is often the case with self-educated men of an ardent 

 character expressed himself strongly on the views of others, and in 

 this way he made many enemies during his life. Now that the 



BIOO. mv. VOL. iv. 



grave has closed over him, even those with whom he most differed 

 will look back on his career only to a'lmire." 



MACHIAVE'LLI, NICCOLO', was born at Florence in 1469, of an 

 old though not wealthy family of that republic. Having received a 

 liberal education, he was employed in the office of Marcello Adrian!, 

 chancellor of the community of Florence, and afterwards, when twenty- 

 nine years of age, ho was made secretary of the "Ten," a board 

 entrusted with the management of foreign affairs and diplomatic 

 negociations. Machiavelli's abilities and penetration being soon per- 

 ceived by his superiors, he waa successively employed on many and 

 some very important missions. The first was in 1493, to Jacopo 

 Appiani, lord of Piombino, for the purpose of engaging him to join 

 the Florentine troops which were besieging Pisa, whilst their general 

 Vitelli was defending the Florentine territory against the Venetians, 

 who, joined to the emigrant partisans of the Medici, were making 

 incursions from the borders of Romagua. In the following year 1799, 

 Machiavelli was sent to Catherine Sibrza, countess of Forli, in order 

 to make arrangements with her son Ottaviano to engage as a con- 

 dottiero in the service of the republic. The instructions give.n by the 

 Ten to Machiavelli for each &f his missions, and his letters or reports 

 to them written during the course of his negociations, have been pub- 

 lished, at least in great part, and they occupy volumes iv. and v, of 

 the 4to edition of his works (Florence, 1782). They are most curious 

 and valuable documents for the history of the times, and they are 

 also most useful for the understanding of Machiavelli's political and 

 historical works which he wrote later in life. Many letters however, 

 and some of great importance, written to or by Machiavelli, remain 

 still iuedited. (Valdry, ' Voyages en Italic ; ' Aveuel, three articles on 

 the French translation of the works of Machiavelli by Peries, which 

 appeared in vols. 41 and 42 of the 'Revue Eucyclopddiquc.') 



In 1500 Machiavelli was sent as a commissioner to the Florentine 

 camp before Pisa. He was present ui the arrival of a body of French 

 and Swiss auxiliary troops under De Beaumont, sent by Louis XII., 

 who had just reconquered Lombardy and had formed an alliance with 

 Florence. Dissensions however arose between the allies concerning 

 the pay of the auxiliaries. The Swiss mutinied, aud insulted Luca 

 degli Albizzi, one of the Florentine commissioners ; and the French 

 abandoned the attack against Pisa, throwing all the blame upon the 

 Florentines, and took possession of Pietrasauta, of Massa aud Carrara, 

 and other districts belonging either to Florence or its allies. This 

 was an anxious period for Florence, which saw itself entirely at the 

 mercy of France, while it was threatened on the other side by Cesare 

 Borgia, then the terror of central Italy, who, supported by his father 

 Pope Alexander VL, and also by the French, was making himself master 

 of Romagua by force or treachery, and threatening Florence, where 

 he wished to re-establish the Medici. [BouoiA, CESARE.] In July 

 1500, Machiavelli was despatched to France in order to explain to 

 Louis XII. the untoward occurrences at Pisa, to endeavour to keep the 

 king, or rather his all-powerful minister Cardinal d'Amboise, arch- 

 bishop of Rouen, in a friendly disposition towards Florence, and thus 

 screen the republic from the ambition of Borgia. This was a very 

 delicate mission. The French king and minister were prejudiced 

 against the Florentines ; they had an interest in favouring the Borgiaa, 

 aud they were also instigated against Florence by Trivulzio, Beaumont, 

 and other persons of influence at the French court. Machiavelli's 

 mission to France laste 1 till January 1501. He followed the French 

 court to Melun, Blois, Nantes, and other places, and by dint of much 

 skilful management, of fair promises aud professions, and of timely 

 suggestions, he left Louis better disposed towards Florence than he had 

 found him, and made him watchful and jealous of the movements of 

 Cesare Borgia. This jealousy of the French king proved the salvation 

 of the republic a few mouths after, when the ferocious aud unprin- 

 cipled Borgia entered Tuscany with 8000 men, and encamped a few 

 miles from Florence. The citizens showed firmness, and in the mean- 

 time letters came from the French king forbidding Borgia from 

 molesting the republic. A convention was concluded in May 1501, 

 between Florence and Borgia, by which the latter, after receiving a 

 sum of money, went his way to Piombino, and left the Florentine 

 territory after committing many depredations. But in the following 

 year Borgia, having returned to Romagna, drove away Guidobaldo, 

 duke of Urbino, and took possession of Camerino, whose lord Giulio 

 Varano, he caused to be strangled with his three young sons, while 

 his subordinate Vitellozzo Vitelli supported the revolt of Arezzo, 

 Cortona, the Val di Chiana, and other districts against Florence, and 

 in favour of the Medici. Here again the French interfered, and 

 Vitelli, who began to be alariued at the cruelty of Borgia, entered 

 into an agreement with the French and with Florence, by which 

 Arezzo aud other towns were restored in August 1502. On this 

 occasion Machiavelli, being requested by the government, wrote his 

 opinion couc-rniug the manner in which the revolted districts ought 

 to be treated : " Sul mctodo di trattare i popoli di Val <ii Chiana." 

 Quoting the opinion of L. Furius Camillus after the subjugation of 

 Latium, and the conduct of the Roman senate towards the Latin 

 cities, he advised moderation in the present instance, except towards 

 Arezzo, which he compared to Velitne, and advised to be treated 

 accordingly. 



In September of the same year, 1502, the Florentines, alarmed at 

 the dangers by which they were encompassed, saw tho necessity of 



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