POLL JOSEPH XAVIRR. 



POLIZIANO, ANOELO. 



M 



founded. Polevoy's translation of ' Hamlet,' which was produced at 

 Moscow in January 1837, i unusually cloM to Shakspero ; not OTCD 

 tbe scene 1 of the grmrediKgen in omitted, and the dialogue passes from 

 blank Terse to prose, in imitation of the original, but tbe vilification 

 Minis to b far from successful. His ' Life of SuTorov,' or Suwarrow, 

 Ma Tery popular book in Russia. Hit 'Life of Peter the Great' 

 (4 Tola., 1843), is the best biography of that wonderful man the 

 Kuuiani yet poetess, and superior beyond all companion to the 

 tcdioua compilation of tbe author** kinaman Qolikov. His ' Life of 

 Napoleon ' (5 Tola.) waa only brought by himself to a point a little 

 beyond the conflagration of Moscow, and waa finished after hia death 

 by hit brother Xenopbont. Hia ' Stolietie Koaaii ' (' Century of 

 Russia '), or an historical picture of Russia from 1745 to 1845 (2 Tola,, 

 1845), U perhaps the least satisfactory of hia historical works, but it 

 contains passages of interest to a European reader. 



Though the "Moscow Telegraph" was suppressed in Polevoy ' hands, 

 and its author ia spoken of by Hertzen [HERTZES] as having the 

 reputation of a decided liberal, his patriotism as a Russian ia one of 

 the qualities which most forcibly strike the attention of a foreigner. 

 " Russia," he exclaims at the conclusion of this work, " is not a shape- 

 less mas* like the Roman empire, not violently put together like the 

 dominions of Napoleon, not scattered over the whole world like the 

 British sovereignty, the three examples of vast empires composed of 

 different and various parts, brought together in one mass. .... Russia 

 like tbe ocean dashes on the shores that surround it, and what its 

 waves have covered becomes its incontestable dominion no human 

 force shall tear from it its subject provinces." "Assuming the title of 

 Emperor in place of that of Tzar, moving the capital from Moscow 

 to St. Petersburg, shaving beards and shortening caftans, altering 

 manners, customs, and laws, it was after all from the original elements 

 of the Russian empire, from the Russian mind and tbe Russian soil 

 that I'eter the Great reconstructed Russia. He still remained a Russian 

 sovereign, and his subject, though fraternising with the German, 

 remained a Russian man. With his decided tendencies towards 

 western Europe, it was impossible that something superfluous should 

 not find admUsion, that traces of it should not remain till even now, 

 but they are perishing and will perish, as the Gallicisms die out of our 

 RuB-iau tongue." . . . " And sixty millions of a nation like this, fastened 

 together by one power and inspired with faith in that power, are 

 directed by a single will, and acknowledge that will as sacred. What 

 will not these sixty millions do ? The future belongs to us. Whence 

 otherwise comes the fear with which we inspire Europe and the West, 

 the fear from which it strives to reassure itself by calumnies against us. 

 ThU fear takes its rise from a consciousness which is not the conscious- 

 ness of strength, from a feeling different from that of hope in the 

 future, on which we Russians look with such boldness and such faith." 



* POLKTOT, XEHOPHOHT ALEXIEVICH, a younger brother of Nikolay, 

 is, we believe still living, a bookseller at Moscow. He is the author of 

 some works of which the most interesting is 'Michael Viudlevicb 

 Ixnnouoaov' (2 Tola. Moscow, 1886), a novel founded on the biography 

 of the Russian author whose name it bears. [LOMONOBOV.] The book 

 is reviewed at some length by his brother in the ' Ocherki.' 



POLI, JOSEPH XAVIER, was born at Molfetta in tbe kingdom of 

 Naples in 1746. He was educated at the University of Padua, under 

 the celebrated Facciolati ; he was also the pupil and friend of Mor- 

 gagui, and fellow-student with Scarpa, with whom he studied anatomy 

 and medicine. On the termination of his education he entered the 

 army, and his scientific and literary acquirements becoming known to 

 Ferdinand I., he appointed him in 1776 professor of military geography 

 at Naples. Tbe king also sent him into France, Germany, England, 

 and Holland, to visit the different foreign military academies. During 

 his travels he became acquainted with many eminent scientific men in 

 the countries which he passed through. In England he met with 

 Herschrl, Banks, and John Hunter, and be acquired much information 

 from Hunter on comparative anatomy and on the mode of preparing 

 specimens hi natural history. While in London he was elected a 

 member of the Royal Society. On bis return home he was appointed 

 professor of experimental philosophy at Naples, and he afterwards 

 undertook the office of tutor to the hereditary prince, and became 

 director of tbe military academy at Naples. He always highly 

 enjoyed the confidence and favour of the royal family, and be accom- 

 panied them to Sicily during the French revolutionary war. He died 

 at Naples in 1825. 



Though he successfully cultivated other branches of science and 

 literature, Poll owoa his celebrity to bis researches in comparative 

 anatomy and natural history : his attention was particularly directed 

 to tbe study of the testaceous Molltuca. While travelling in Italy 

 and abroad he formed a very fine collection of shells, which was 

 purchased of him by the Neapolitan government. He determined 

 however to be something more than a simple conchologiat, and dili- 

 gently investigated the structure and habits of the animals that 

 inhabit the shell*, which had hitherto almost escaped attention. The 

 iMtilts of bis labours were published in a splendid work denominated 

 'Testacca utriusquo Siciliw eorumque Uistoria t Anatou.e,' lolm, 

 Parma. Two volumes appeared in 1702-95, illustrated with 39 beauti- 

 ful plates engraved on steel. These contain the multivalvod and 

 Uvalved Tcttacta, and cost the author twelve yean of research. The 

 third volume, embracing the univalves, waa delayed by the political 



troubles with which the country was agitated; and though nearly 

 completed, wan not published until 1826, after the death of the author: 

 it contains 18 plates, making 57 in all. This sumptuous work is as 

 remarkable for the value of the text as the beauty of the plate*. Tbe 

 structure, habits, locality, and mode of capture of the different 

 molluscs inhabiting the southern coasts of Italy are accurately 

 described ; as well as the form, colour, and other peculiarities of the 

 shells in which they are contained. Poli discovered many new and 

 interesting anatomical and physiological fact*, as well as new genera 

 and species ; and bis descriptions are mostly very accurate. He fell 

 however into some errors, the principal of which was that of mistaking 

 the nerves of these animals for lymphatics. The first discovery of 

 tbe nervous system of tbe Tatacea is due however to Poli, though he 

 mistook its nature. He also wrote several works on geography, and 

 some Italian poems. 



POL1DORO. [CABAVAGGIO, PoLioono DA.] 



POL1QNAC, MELCHIOR, CARDINAL DE, was born at Puy in 

 Languedoc in 1661, of an illustrious family, studied at Paris, and took 

 holy orders in 1689. He accompanied Cardinal de Bouillon to Rome, 

 and waa employed as a ncgociator to settle some differences between 

 Franco and the court of Rome. He was sent by Louis XIV. in 1693 

 as ambassador to Poland, where, after the death of John Sobieaki in 

 1696, he contrived to have FranfoU Louis de Bourbon, prince of Conti, 

 proclaimed King of Poland by the majority of the electors. I'.ut 

 another party proclaimed Frederic Augustus, elector of Saxony, who 

 waa at length acknowledged by the whole nation. [AlKiMTs 11. | 

 Louis XIV., being displeased, recalled the Abbe" de Polignac, and 

 banished him to his abbacy at Bonport, where he employed himself in 

 writing his poem in refutation of Lucretius. Being recalled to court 

 after some years, ho was appointed by Louis XIV., in 1706, auditor of 

 the rota at Rome. In 1709 he returned to France, and in 1710 he 

 was sent to Holland to negociate the general peace, lie was one of 

 the French plenipotentiaries at the congress of Utrecht. In 1713 he 

 was named cardinal. In 1724 he went to Rome as minister of France. 

 In 1732 he returned, and he died in 1741, at a very advanced age. 

 Cardinal Poligunc was a member of tbe French Academy, of the 

 Academy of Sciences, and of that of Inscriptions and Belles Lettreg. 

 ('Eloge du Cardinal de Polignac,' Paris, 1742.) His Latin poem, 

 'Anti-Lucretius, sive de Deo et Naturu libri novem,' Paris, 1754, is a 

 refutation of the system of Lucretius, and intended as a demonstration, 

 from evidence afforded by the works of the creation, of the existence 

 of a Supreme Being, the maker and regulator of all things. Some of 

 the descriptions are very fine. The ninth book was left unfinished by 

 the author, and the whole poem was not published till after his death. 

 The 'Anti-Lucretius' has been translated into French and Italian. 



POLIZIA'NO, or POLITIA'NUS, ANGELO, born at Montepul- 

 ciano in Tuscany, in 1454, was the son of Benedetto Ambrogiui, a 

 doctor of law. In after-life he dropped his paternal name, and 

 assumed that of Poliziano, from his native town MOMS Politiauua. 

 Lorenzo de Medici took care of his education, placed him under good 

 preceptors, and provided for all his wants. He afterwards entered 

 into clerical orders, took his degree of Doctor of Law, and was made 

 a canon of the cathedral of Florence. He was entrusted by Lorenzo 

 with the education of Us children, as well as with the care of his 

 library and collection of antiquities, and he was bis guest and com- 

 panion for the remainder of his life. Poliziano had studied Latin 

 under Cristoforo Lancliuo, Greek under Andronicus of Thessalouica, 

 and philosophy under r'icino and Argyropulus of Constantinople. Ha 

 was afterwards appointed professor of Latin and Greek at Florence, a 

 chair which he filled with great reputation. Ho wrote scholia and 

 notes to many ancient authors Ovid, Catullus, Statius, Suetonius, 

 Pliny the Younger, and the ' Scriptores Historian Augusta; ; ' he trans- 

 lated into Latin the history of Herodian, the manual of Epictetus, 

 the aphorisms of Hippocrates, some dialogues of Plato, and other 

 works from the Greek. The ' Miscellanea ' of Poliziano, published at 

 Florence in 1489, consist chiefly of observations he had made on the 

 ancient authors, which he arranged for the press at the request of 

 Lorenzo. Merula made an attempt to depreciate this work, which led 

 to an angry controversy between the two scholars, in the midst of 

 which Merula died. Politianus had also a violent controversy with 

 Bartolomeo Scala, in which the two disputants abused each other in 

 Latin, according to the custom of scholars in those times. 



Poliziano was conceited and vain, and very irritable, and his temper 

 led him into an unbecoming altercation with Madonna Clarice, 

 Lorenzo's wife, because she interfered in the education of her child- 

 ren, a thing which Poliziano seemed to think preposterous in a 

 woman ; and at last bis behaviour to her was so impertinent that 

 she turned bun out of her house in the country, and she wrote to 

 her husband at Florence to inform him of what she had done. 

 Lorenzo, perceiving that a reconciliation between the offended woman 

 and the irascible scholar was impracticable, gave Poliziauo apartments 

 in one of bis houses at Fiesole, where be wrote his Latin poem ' Rus- 

 ticus.' During Lorenzo's last illness, Poliziauo attended the death- 

 bed of his patron, who gave him tokens of his laxtiug uBection. 

 Poliziauo wrote an affecting monody on Lorenzo's death, and not long 

 after died himself, in September 1494, at the age of forty, and was 

 buried in the church of San Marco, agreeably to his request. Jovius 

 and others have told several improbable stories as to the immediate 



