78 



CASAUBON CASEMATES. 



nists. Las Casas, by a singular inconsistency, in his 

 zeal for the Indians, became the author of the slave 

 trade, by proposing to purchase Negroes from the 

 Portuguese m Africa, to supply the planters with la- 

 bourers, of the want of whom they complained ; and 

 this was unfortunately put into execution. He next 

 applied for a grant of an unoccupied tract, in order 

 to try his own plan \vith a new colony. This he at 

 length obtained, and, with 200 persons, whom he 

 persuaded to accompany him, landed at Porto Rico 

 in 1521, but found tliat an expedition was advancing 

 to ravage this very tract, and convey its inhabitants 

 to Hispaniola as slaves. He endeavoured in vain to 

 prevent the threatened danger, and, with the few 

 who still adhered to him, returned to Hispaniola to 

 solicit succour. During his absence, the natives at- 

 tacked the colonists witli such success, that, in a short 

 time, not a Spaniard remained in that part of South 

 America. Las Casas, in despair at the failure of his 

 ^project, retired to the Dominican convent at St Do- 

 mingo, and assiuned the habit of the order. Not- 

 withstanding his retirement, his zeal in the cause of 

 the Indians did not abate ; and, being sent on a mis- 

 sion to Spain, by a chapter of his order at Cliiapa, in 

 1542, he pleaded their cause with his pristine 

 warmth, and composed lus famous treatise Brevissima 

 Relation de la Destrttccion des hides, in which he ex- 

 posed the cruelties practised by the Spaniards. His 

 unremitting perseverance at length obtained a new 

 set of laws and regulations, by which the natives 

 were greatly relieved. In 1544, he returned to Ame- 

 rica as bishop of Chiapa, and continued there until 

 1551, when he resigned his bishopric, and again re- 

 turned to Spain. He died at Madrid 1556, in the ninety- 

 second year of his age. Besides the treatise above- 

 named, he was also the author of a treatise in Latin, 

 on the question" Whether sovereigns may in con- 

 science, by virtue of any right, alienate their sub- 

 jects from their crown, and transfer them to the do- 

 minion of any other lord ?" which difficult question 

 he treats with great freedom, spirit, and delicacy. 

 He also composed several works which have never 

 l>een published, among which is a General History 

 of the Indies, which was a great assistance to An- 

 tonio de Herrera in his history. All his works 

 evince profound learning, and solid judgment and 

 piety ; and, notwithstanding his great inconsistency 

 in regard to the Negroes, he must be regarded as a 

 very benevolent man, and a lover of mankind. 



CASAUBON, ISAAC DE (commonly called Casait- 

 bonv*), bom Feb. 18, 1559, at Geneva, of a family 

 from Dauphiny, was educated by his father, a clergy- 

 man. In his ninth year, he spoke Latin fluently. 

 In his nineteenth year, he entered the university at 

 Geneva, where he studied jurisprudence, theology, 

 and the Oriental languages, and in 1582, succeeded 

 Portus as professor of the Greek language. He here 

 married the daughter of Henry Stephens, and pub- 

 linhed, every year, editions of Greek and Latin au- 

 thors, with critical notes and translations. In 1596, 

 he accepted a professorship of Greek and belles-let- 

 tres at Montpellier, but held it only two years. 

 Henry IV. invited him to Paris. His religious prin- 

 ciples (the same as those for which his father had left 

 his country), the jealousy of the other professors, 

 and perhaps his rather unyielding character, were 

 the occasion of many unpleasant occurrences, for 

 which, however, he was indemnified by the office of 

 royal librarian. After the death of Henry IV., he 

 followed Sir Henry Wotton, envoy extraordinary from 

 James I., to England, where he was received with 

 distinction, had two benefices and a pension conferred 

 on him, and died at London, July 1, 1614. He was 

 luiried in Westminster abbey. Casaubon was a li- 

 U ral theologian, a man of extensive learning, a good 



translator, and an excellent critic. As a critic, lie 

 has commented on Diogenes Laertius, Aristotle, 

 Theophrastus, Suetonius, Persius, Polybius, Theo- 

 critus, Strabo, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Athenams, 

 Pliny the Younger, &r. Nearly all the ancient clas- 

 sics are indebted to his valuable researches. His 

 profound dissertation on the satirical poetry of the 

 Greeks and the satire of the Romans (De Satyrica 

 Gracorum Poesi et Romanorum Satyra) deserves par- 

 ticular praise. His theological writings are of It -s 

 value. 



CASAUBON, MKRIC, son of the preceding, born 

 at Geneva, 1599, likewise distinguished himself by 

 his learning. He followed his rather to England, 

 and was made doctor of divinity at Oxford. He 

 filled successively several offices in the church, when 

 the revolution, which brought Charles I. to the scaf- 

 fold, deprived him of his income. Still he rejected 

 the proposal of Cromwell to write the history of his 

 tune, as also the invitation of queen Christina to live 

 in Sweden. On the return of the Stuarts, he was re- 

 warded for his loyalty by restoration to his office in 

 the church, which he held till his death, 1671. His 

 learning was various and extensive, but not so pro- 

 found as his father's. He published, besides his the- 

 ological works, observations on several classic au- 

 thors; e. g., Terence, Epictetus, Florus, Polybius, 

 &c. 



CASCO BAY; a bay in Maine, between cape 

 Elizabeth on W. S. W. and cape Small Point on 

 E. N. E. Within these capes, which are about 20 

 miles apart, there are about 300 small islands ; most 

 of which are cultivated, and are much more produc- 

 tive than the main land on the coast of Maine. 

 Portland harbour is on the W. side of the bay. 



CASE, ACTION UPON THE. Actio super cau- 

 sam is a general action, given for the redress of a 

 wrong done any man without force, and not espe- 

 cially provided for by law, in order to have satisfac- 

 tion for damage. This is called an action on the case, 

 because the whole cause or case is set down in the 

 writ ; and there is no other action given in the case, 

 except where the plaintiff has his choice to bring 

 this or another action. This action lies in a variety 

 of instances ; as for words spoken or written, which 

 affect a person's life, reputation, office, or trade, or 

 tend to his loss of preferment in marriage or service, 

 or to his disinheritance, or which occasion him any 

 particular damage. Action on the case likewise lies 

 upon an assumpsit (q. v.). It lies, also, in all in- 

 stances wherein no general action could be framed : 

 e. g., against carriers ; against a common innkeeper, 

 for goods stolen in his house ; for deceit in contracts, 

 bargains, and sales ; for neglect or malfeasance ; for 

 injuries done in commons ; for malicious prosecution 

 and false arrests ; against sheriffs, for default in exe- 

 cuting writs, permitting escapes, &c.; for conspiracy, 

 nuisances, &c. c. 



CASE, in grammar. See Language. 



CASE-HARDENING is a process by which iron 

 is superficially converted into steel, in such articles 

 as require the toughness of the former, conjointly 

 with the hardness of the latter substance. The ar- 

 ticles intended for case-hardening are first manufac- 

 tured in iron, and are then placed in an iron box, 

 with vegetable or animal coals in powder, to undergo 

 cementation. Immersion of the heated pieces into 

 water hardens the surface, which is afterwards pol- 

 ished. Coarse files and gun-barrels are among the 

 articles most commonly case-hardened. 



CASEMATES (from the Spanish cam, a house 

 and mature, to kill), in fortification; vaults wlu'ch 

 are proof against bombs, under the main wall, parti- 

 cularly in bastions, for the purpose of defending the 

 moat of a fortification, also for making countermines. 



