BRA 



394 



BRA 



Bracciolini. cine and civil law, both of which he holds up to ri- 



In the April of 1453, the death of Carlo Aretino 

 produced a vacancy in the chancellorship of the Tus- 

 can republic, to which Poggio was elected by the 

 unanimous suffrage of his fellow. citizens. He accord- 

 jngly quitted the Roman chancery, in which, for 

 fifty-one years, he had held situations of confidence 

 and dignity, and removed his family to the Tuscan 

 capital, where he applied himself, with uncommon as- 

 siduity, to the duties of his new office. As an addi- 

 tional proof of the esteem of his countrymen, he was 

 elected, soon after his arrival in Florence, one of the 

 Priori tlegli arli, or presidents of the trading compa- 

 nies ; associations similar to those into which the citi- 

 zens of London are at present subdivided. Neither 

 his advanced age, nor the dignity of his exalted sta- 

 tion, could raise the mind of Poggio above that ten- 

 dency to low and indecent abuse, which had already 

 thrown so deep a shade over the splendour of his ta- 

 lents and his learning. At the time of his removal 

 from Rome, he was engaged in a violent quarrel with 

 Lorenzo Valla, a scholar of distinguished eminence. 

 A young Catalonian nobleman, who had been Val- 

 la's pupil, happened to possess a copy of Poggio's 

 epistles. Having got this book, by some means, in- 

 to his hands, he found on its margin several animad- 

 versions on alleged barbarisms in his style. Taking 

 it for granted that Valla must have been the author 

 of these animadversions, he immediately resented the 

 fancied insult in a fierce invective. This attack Val- 

 la endeavoured to repel by an equally violent philip- 

 pic, which he addressed to Nicholas V. under the ti- 

 tle of Antidotus in Poggium. Poggio replied, and 

 the contest was carried on for some time, on both 

 sides, with all the coarse weapons of falsehood and vul- 

 garity. This disgraceful quarrel, however, did not 

 o completely occupy the mind of Poggio, as to 

 prevent him from devoting a considerable portion of 

 his time to studies of a more agreeable and useful na- 

 ture. Soon after his final establishment in Florence, 

 he published a dialogue, De miseria huwanee eoiidi- 

 iionis; which was immediately followed by his ver- 

 sion of Lucian's Ass, his object in publishing which, 

 was to establish a point of literary history till then 

 unknown, that Apuleius was indebted to Lucian for 

 the idea of his Asinus Aureiis. His last literary 

 work was his History of Florence, divided into eight 

 books, and comprehending the transactions of the 

 Florentines, from the year 1350, to the peace of 

 Naples in 1455. His son Jacopo translated this his- 

 tory into Italian, and the translation almost superse- 

 ded the original, till it was republished in a splendid 

 form by Recanati, and afterwards found a place in 

 the magniiicent historical collections of Grsevius and 

 Muratori. He had not given the last polish to this 

 valuable work, when death terminated his labours on 

 the 30th of October 1459. The Florentines testi- 

 fied their respect for his memory, by having his por- 

 trait hung up in their public hall, and by erecting 

 his statue on the front of the church of Santa Maria 

 del Fiore. 



The character of Poggio, though clouded with 

 considerable stains, is upon the whole respectable and 

 amiable. His violent quarrels with some of his literary 



contemporaries, evince a heart susceptible of kee* Bra< 

 resentment, yet it was equally susceptible of the more ^ 

 generous feelings of warm and enthusiastic attach- 

 ment ; nor did any spirit of jealousy ever prevent 

 him from proclaiming the merits of his literary 

 friends. The politeness of his manner, the extent of 

 his information, the strength of his judgment, and 

 the playfulness of his fancy, rendered his conversa- 

 tion extremely engaging; and his company was 

 courted by the most distinguished of his countrymen. 

 For the laxity of his morals, and the licentiousness 

 of his conduct, it is but a poor apology, that, in the 

 general depravity of the age, his vices attracted little 

 notice, and gave little offence. His literary accom- 

 plishments entitle him to distinguished praise. Is 

 the Greek language he acquired considerable profi- 

 ciency, and with all the Roman classics he was inti- 

 mately conversant. His Latin composition, though 

 not entirely free from barbarisms, is flowing and 

 graceful; and, when compared with the works of the 

 preceding age, its purity is truly astonishing. See 

 Shepherd's Life of Posgio. (ft) 



BRACELET, (ti~rachia(e, Braccletum, Lat. 

 Bracelet, Fr.), an ornament worn round the wrist. 

 This ornament was worn al first as the badge of royal- 

 ty. It was after wards used by persons of inferior power, 

 till it at last became a decoration for all ranks, (j) 



BRACHMANS, BRAMINS, or BRAHMINS, called 

 f>fa,YjfnMiat:i by the Greeks, constitute the first of the 

 Hindoo casts. The Hn.dooshave, from all antiquity, 

 been divided into four great tribes, or casts, which do 

 not intermarry, eat, drink, orassociate witheachother, 

 exc'.-pt when they worship at the great temple of Jug- 

 gernaut, in Onssa, where they reckon it a crime to 

 make any distinction. The lowest of these casts i 

 that of the Soodra, who, in allusion to their degra- 

 ded situation and menial occupations, are said to have 

 been produced from the feet of Brimha, when he 

 created the world. The next cast in the ascending 

 scale, is that of the Byse, consisting of merchants, 

 bankers, and shopkeepers. They are called Banians, 

 from their occupation, and being those with whom 

 Europeans are chiefly conversant. This latter appel- 

 lation was, by the early writers on Indian affairs, 

 sometimes understood as applying to all who profes- 

 sed the Hindoo religion. The Byse were said to 

 have been produced from the belly of Brimha, in al- 

 lusion to the nourishment and provision which com- 

 merce diffuses through the state. The next in or- 

 der of precedence, is the Ketri tribe, or military cast. 

 This may also be called the royal cast, for all their 

 kings and rulers should belong to it. It was pro- 

 duced from the heart of Brimha, as indicative of the 

 prudence and courage which should distinguish states- 

 men and soldiers. The highest of all the casts is that 

 of the Bramins, who were said to have been produ- 

 ced from the head of Brimha, to vindicate their supe- 

 riority over all the other tribes. 



Like the Levites amongst the Jews, the Bramins 

 alone can officiate in the priesthood ; and the judge- 

 ments denounced by the Mosaical law, against in- 

 truders into the sacred office, are not more terrible 

 than those which the Bramins fulminate against any 

 one who may seem to invade the privileges of their 

 order. They alone have permission to read the Ve- 



