A L C 



wlien he calU the latter the orator tied T. lUed in law, and 

 thj forimr the lawyer who was the mod eloquent, is, bv 

 the confoiit of the loarncd, uniied in AlL-iati.'' His full 

 work was, " An Explauatioii and ..'onodion of tlic Greek 

 tennj whioli arc met with in the Digefts," firll pubiifhed in 

 Italy and afterward? at Stralburj, in 151 J. This was fol- 

 Km-cd bv " Paradoxes of the Civil L:iw," " Difpunaiones 

 et PnEtenuiffa," publillied about the year 1517. "His 

 trcatile " De Verboriun Sij^nilicatione," was printed at 

 IWrgea in 1529. Tliefe and many other works on junf- 

 pnidcnec, were piiblilhed in 1571, in fix folio volumes. He 

 alio wrote notes on 'Vacitus, of whofe (lyle he favs, that 

 energy of language contends with elegance. He alfo 

 wrote " Emblems" in verfe ; of whieli the elder Scaliger 

 fays, that " they arc cntertainiiig, chalte, and elegant, and 

 not without ftrength ;" and that " the fcntiments are fuch 

 as may be ufeful, even in civil life." Thefe were publillied 

 at Anglburg, in 8vo, in 153! ; and in 4to, at Padua, with 

 notes, in t66i : and they have been tranflated into various 

 lancruages. Other works of Alciati, not included in the 

 {tlfa edition, are " Rei'ponfa," Lugd. 1561 ; " Hilloria 

 Med'olanenfis," 8vo. r625 ; " De forma Roman! Imperii," 

 Svo. 1559; " Epigrammata," 8vo. 1629. A volume of 

 hi.-; letters was publiihed at Utrecht in 1697 ; and in 1695, 

 appeared a letter, which he wrote to a friend who had bc- 

 conu- a friar, reprefenting the imprudence of his condutl, 

 and expofing, with great fpirit, the abufes of monadic hfe. 

 Gen. Did. Gen. Biog. 



Alciati, John Paul, a native of Milan, diftinguifhed 

 himfelf in the i6th century, among thofe protedants who 

 receded to the greatcd didance from the Catholic faith, by 

 denying the doiitrine of the Trinity, and alTerting that Jefus 

 Chrid did not exid before he was born of the Virgin Mary. 

 AVith a view of indulging his fpeculations and profecuting 

 his inquiries without moledation, he removed to Geneva. 

 Here lie found protedants no lefs intolerant than papids. 

 From hence the zeal of Calvin in the perfecution of Scrvc- 

 tus, and the demand of fubfeription to the formulaiy of the 

 Italian church at Geneva, obliged him, and others denomi- 

 nated Socinians, to feek refuge in fome other country. Ac- 

 cordingly they iled to Poland, where Alciati and Clandrata 

 were very fuccefsful in diffeminating their opinions. To- 

 wards the clofe of his life, Alciati was reproached with 

 having renounced Chridianity, and becoming a Mahome- 

 tan ; but this is probably a calumny, iimilar to that which 

 has been allcdged againd others, becaufe they have concur- 

 red with the Mahometans in maintaining the fimple unity 

 of the divine nature. Calvin and Beza have been very fevere 

 in their charges againd Alciati, reprefenting him not only 

 as ignorant, but frantic ; this, however, is one of thofe in- 

 dances in which allowance fliould be made for that vehe- 

 mence and inveclive which are often the refult of diff^-rence 

 of opinion. Alciati clofcd his life at Dantzic. In 1564, 

 he publidied " Letters to Gregorio PauU" againd the pre- 

 exiilence of Chrid. Gen. Dift. 



ALCIBIADES, an Athenian general, was the fon of 

 Clinias, the nephew of Pericles, and hneally defcended 

 from Ajax ; and as much didinguidied by the comelinefs of 

 his perfon and the natural endowments of his underllanding, 

 as by his rank and fortune. In early life he manifeded thofe 

 talents and propenfities, which duly cultivated and direfted 

 would have rendered him eminent and illuftrious. Bat his 

 accompli(hments and connexions betrayed him into many 

 fnares and dangers, which he wanted refolution to avoid. 

 Nature, in him, fays Cornelius Nepos, had exerted her ut- 

 mod force ; dnce, whether we confider his virtues or his 

 vices, he was didinguidied from his fellow-citizens. He was 



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ftudioue and learned, eloquent, afpiring and indefatigable 

 in his purfuits; whatever were the objetts to which his views 

 were direiiled, liberal, magniticent niid affable ; and he knew 

 when to affunie thele virtues when tiicy luited his purpofe, 

 and to accommodate himfelf to tlic times ; but when he gave 

 a loofe to his pafiions, he was indolent, luxurious, diffolute, 

 addided to illicit amours, intemperate and profane. As 

 he entered into hfe with many advantages, that are adapted 

 to command attention and eilcem, he became a very general 

 objeft of that love, which among the Greeks was lometimes 

 a pure, fometimcs an ambiguous, and lometimes a fcandalous 

 attachment. It was his felicity to engage the honourable 

 regard and fricndfliip of Socrates ; and to his indruftion and 

 influence, he was much indebted; and though his preceptor 

 was lefs fuccefsful than he wiflicd, in redraining his vicious in- 

 clinations, implanting in his mind good principles, and guiding 

 him to laudable purfuits, his pupil iccms never to have to- 

 tally lod the benefit of his good counfel. Of his vivacity 

 and refolution, vvhun he was very young, the writers of his 

 life have recorded feveral indances, which indicate his cha- 

 rafteridic temper. When he wilhed to dop a waggon which 

 was paffing along the road, and interrupting a play in which 

 he was engaged, and his perfuafion had proved ineifcctual, 

 he threw himfelf direftly before it and challenged the driver 

 to proceed ; and this fudden difplay of refolution frightened 

 him and made him dop his horfes. On another occafion he 

 went into a grammar fchool, and allied for a volume of 

 Homer, which the mader was unable to produce ; he gave 

 him a box on the ear and departed; intimating by this aftion, 

 that a perfon who was not convcrfant with Homer was not 

 fit to be a teacher of youth. As an atl of frolic, and for 

 the gratification of his companions, he committed the fame 

 aft of infolence on Hipponicus, a refpectable man of rank 

 and fortune ; but early on the next morning he went to his 

 houfe, and being admitted into his prefence, dripped himfelf, 

 and offered his naked body to any ehadifement which Hip- 

 ponicus might think due to him. By this humiliation he 

 not only appeafed Hipponicus, but concihated his edeem, 

 and afterwards obtained hisdatighter Hipparete in marriage. 

 Alcibiades, as he advanced in years, addifted himfelf to the 

 chariot-races, and he is faid to have been the fird perfon 

 who fent feven chariots at one time to the Olympic games. 

 The magnificence which he difplay ed on thefe occafions, 

 rendered him popular in the Grecian dates ; and at Athens 

 in particular hisconduft in various refpefts became the topic 

 of vei"y general converfation. In order to divert their at- 

 tention from the more frivolous and faulty parts of his cha- 

 rafter, he is faid to have cut off the tail of a very beautifij 

 dog, which he much valued. The afpiring and aftive dif- 

 pofition of Alcibiades led him at an early period to mihtary 

 fcrvice. His fird campaign was in the war which Athens 

 carried on againd Potidasa ; Socrates attended him, and 

 preferved his life, when, after fighting vaHantly, he fell 

 wounded in the field. In the battle of Delium, fome years 

 afterwards, he returned the obligation, by guarding Socrates 

 in the retreat, and bringing him off fecurely. A treaty of 

 peace having been edabliihed between the Athenians and 

 Spartans, by the indrumentality of Nicias, who by this event 

 had acquired popularity and influence, the jealoufy of Al- 

 cibiades was excited, and his ambition led him to overturn 

 the pacific fydem which Nicias was anxious to preferve. 

 With this view he encouraged the people of Argos to break 

 with the Spartans, and promifed them the fuccour of the 

 Athenians ; and he exerted himfelf in widening the differ- 

 ence that dill fubfided between the Lacedemonians and the 

 latter. He alfo repreiented Nicias as more attached to 

 Sparta than Athens, and by his eloquence contributed to 

 I fubvert 



