B E M 



208 



B E M 



doing during the iDMncc of the female Bembex : cntorinj 

 willi the tail foremost, it deposits an e<;g. winch hatches 

 in the following spring : the larva of the Bembex then be- 

 comes f KM! fur that of tin- Panorpes. 



BKMlil UI'IIXK. among c,.lco|)terous insects, a family of 

 the division Hfodfjifuga of MacLeay. These are minute 

 carnivorous beetles, which generally frequent damp situ- 

 ations, such as the margins of rivers, ponds, and d 1 .- 

 they are usually of a bright blue or green metallic colour. 

 having two or four pale yellow spots on the elytra. Il i 

 doubtful whether this family can hold the same rank in the 

 Geodephaga as those of the Carabido). Ilarpalidn. &c. : 

 the species, howover, may be easily distinguished by the 

 minute terminal joint to the palpi. The characters of the 

 several genera contained in this group arc as follows : 



A. Body depressed and linear. 



a. Antennas with the third and fourth 



joints equal Lymrueum. 



b. Antenna) with the fourth joint 



longer than the third. . . Cillenum. 



B. Body rather ovate. 



a. Thorax transverse, not truncate, 



heart-shaped : 



a. Posteriorly rounded : 



1. Whole.' .... Tatfiys. 



2. Emareinate. . . . Philacthut. 



b. Posteriorly acute. . . . Ocyt. 



b. Thorax truncated, heart-shape : 



a. The posterior angles very acute 

 and prominent: . 



1. Antennas with the third, fourth, 



and fifth joints long. . . Peryphut. 



2. Antennsewiththethird.fourth, 



and fifth joints short. . . Notaphut. 



b. The |H)sterior angles slightly 

 acute-dcHexed : 



1. Eyes moderate. 



"Thorax rather remote from the 

 abdomen at the base. . 



**Thorax closely united to the 

 abdomen 



2. Eyes large 



Lapha. 



Tachypus. 

 Bemiiulium. 



CD 



1 HnA of me of ihr Hirhhlii<1*. ihuwliig the form of the palpi *. tho 

 Urmintl joint ; 2. Thorax of Tuhvf ; 3. Thurx of 1'hiloothui ; 4. Thorax of 

 Ocyt . ft. Thorax of I'eryphui ; 6. Thorax of LopUa ; 7. Thorax of Tachypns. 



BE'MBO, PIETRO, was born at Venice in 1470. His 

 father was a patrician of Venice, and a man of considerable 

 taste for elegant literature. Being sent by the senate in 

 1483 as praetor or governor of Ravenna, he restored and 

 embellished the sepulchral monument erected in that city to 

 the memory of Dante, by Guido delta Polentn. His son. 

 who showed an early disposition for learning, studied at 

 Padua and at Ferrura, and afterwards went to Sicily, where 

 he learned Greek from Agostino Lascaris at Messina. On 

 his return to hi* native country, he repaired t > Ilic li'llc town 

 of Asolo, near Treviso, which had become the residence of 

 Cnterinn Cornaro. tin; widow of Jamm Lusignano. the last 

 king of Cyprus, who having re-i^iud her kingdom to the 



Venetian senate, was enjoying a splendid income, with the 

 title of queen, ami holding a sort u| little court in that plea- 

 sant retirement. She was a woman of elegant taste and 

 refined education. In September. 1-190, she r:ive some 

 splendid entertainments on the HCC.IMOU ul the marriage of 

 her favouritejady in waiting, to w Ineh 



sons of distinction, and Mnoagothfn young lieinl><>, \\jn,.,' 

 family was related to hers. According I" the usages of chi- 

 valry still in fashion in that age, some of the hours of leisure 

 between the banquets, tournaments, and either pageants, 

 were employed in learned or witty conversations, umi 

 cuilly in speculative discussions on the Mi'.jeet of love, some 

 praising it as the source of human happiness, others blannii- 

 it as the cause of much misery, See. l'rom these di|u --. - 

 tiom Bembo derived the plan of a work, which he ktvlrd 

 (ili Asnlani, from the name of the place. It is. or rather 

 pretends to be, a collection of what was said in those enter- 

 tainments by the several disputants on the nature, quali- 

 ties, and effects of love, distinguishing the pure sentiment 

 from the grossness of the passion that goes by that name, 

 and ending in a moral strain on the contemplation of divine 

 live, or the love between the Creator and his creature*. 

 The metaphysical part of the reasoning is derived from 

 Plato's philosophy, which was in high favour at that time 

 among the learned of Italy. This work of Bembo w.. 

 ceivcd with considerable applause, and the book is still 

 esteemed as a specimen of good Italian prose. 



Bembo's father wished him to devote himself to the 

 civil service of his country, by entering on some official 

 employment, in which his noble birth and connexions 

 would have enabled him to aspire in course of time to the 

 highest dignities of the republic. Bembo, however, pre- 

 ferred going to Rome, and becoming a candidate there for 

 ecclesiastical preferment, as better suited to his taste for 

 study. His father opposing his design, Bembo resolved to 

 devote himself to the monastic life, and he cast his eyes on 

 the abbey of la Croce dell' Avellana, situated in the moun- 

 tains near Urbino. Having repaired to the town of Urhino 

 previous to shutting himself up in his intended retirement, 

 lie was so kindly received by the then Duke Guidobaldo di 

 Montcfeltro and Klizabetha Gonzaga, his consort, that he 

 changed his mind, and took up his residence at their court, 

 which was distinguish*! both for the personal character of 

 the sovereigns and for the encouragement which they gave 

 to the learned. At Urbino Bembo began to write Italian 

 poetry, in which he imitated the style and the hannrny of 

 Petrarch : and here also he became intimately acquainted 

 with Giuliano de Medici, third son of the great Lorenzo, and 

 afterwards Duke of Nemours, who was then residing at 

 Urbino. After the death of Duke Guidobaldo, which 

 soon followed by that of his duchess, Bembo and Giuliano 

 agreed to proceed to Rome ; but previous to his departure 

 from Urbino, Bembo left a token of his gratitude for the two 

 amiable sovereigns in an affectionate eulogium: De Gtiido- 

 balda Feltrio, deque Elisabetha Gonzaga, Urbini Duciiius. 

 It is in the form of a conversation between Bembo, Sad 

 Bcroaldo, and Sigismondo da Koligno, and is reall- 

 in;: from being written with sincerity and true feeling, and in 

 praise of two deserving persons. The sketch of the Duchess 

 Elizabeth is a touching specimen of real pathos. Like her 

 relative Lucrezia Gonzaga. Elizabeth was a bright speci- 

 men of Italian female character in the midst of a most 

 corrupt age. 



Soon after Betnbo had arrived at Rome, Cardinal de" 

 Medici, brother to his friend Giuliano, was raised to the 

 pontifical chair under the name of I.t X. This was to 

 Bembo a most fortunate event. Leo appointed him his se- 

 cretary, together with the learned Sadoleto. The b. 

 letters, and other official acts which the two secretaries 

 wrote in the name of the pontifi', were distinguished for 

 their classical style, carried almost to fa-t : .<li'>uMiess. Rome 



.' that time the seat of dissipation and licentious-, 

 as well as of learning. Bembo shared in the common pro- 

 |H!iisity. and several of the Latin verses which he then 

 wrote are stained by indecent images and expressions. His 

 deny mi (! ilatea is one of the best specimens of his Latin 

 (Kietry. After Leo's death in I5'J1, he went to Padua, 

 where he fixed his residence. \jea had amply provided 

 him with ecclesiastical benefices; and Bembo, who was 

 now enabled to gratify his taste for literature and the arts. 

 became a munificent patron of learning, and collected a 

 rich hhrarv and a cabinet of rare merlals. At Padua he 

 completed his work on the Italian language, at which be 



