BOS 



tioHS OK the fubitft of antiqiiitict, two of which were print- 

 ed, ami the rcll circulated in manufcript. His zeal, adivily, 

 and fondiicfs of npplaufe, rendered him at all times accefiible, 

 and in a imiltilude of cafes, his advice was ardentlj- (ought 

 by individuals, licncdict XIV. a jjrcat patron of learned 

 men, and his enlightened niiniller, cardinal \''alenti, con- 

 fvilied him on various important objeds of public economy, 

 the clearing; of harbours, and the conlliuiting of roads and 

 canals. On one occiifion, he was joined in a eommifiiun 

 with other mathematicians and architccils, invited from dif- 

 ferent parts of Italy, to iiifped the cupola of St. Peter's, m 

 which a crack had been dilcovered. They were divided in 

 opinion; but the fentlmc;;ts of IJofcovich.and of the Mavijiiis 

 Poleni, prevailed, la llatiiig, however, the refnlt of the 

 coiifultation, wiiicli was to apply a circle of iron round the 

 bnildiiij;, Poleni forgot to refer the idea to its real author, 

 and this umiflton gricvoudy oHendtd the Kagufan peometcr. 

 Other incidents liad concurred to mortify his pride: he 

 bccjnie at lall dif;,'uiled with his fitu-.ition, and only looked 

 for a convenient opportunity of quitting Roiiu. Wliile in 

 this temper of mind, an applic.uion was made by the court 

 of Porlusial to the general of the Jefnits, for ten mathema- 

 ticians of the f.iciety to go out to Brazil, for the purpofe 

 of fiirvcying that fettlcment, and afcertainiug the boundaries 

 which divide it from the Spaniili don.inions in America. 

 U'ilhing to combine with that objeit the menfuiation of a 

 degree of latitude, liofcovich offered to embark in the ex- 

 pedition, and his propol'ition was readily accepted. But 

 cardinal V'alenti, unwilling lo forego the lullre reflcded by 

 a man of fuch dillinguilhed abilities, commanded him, in the 

 name of the pope, to difmifs the projed, and perfuaded him 

 to undertake the fame fervice at home in the Papal territory. 

 In this fatiguing, and often perilous operation, he was 

 aflilUd by the Englilb Jcfuit, Mayer, an excellent mathe- 

 matician, and was amply provided with the requifite inllru- 

 ments and attendants. They began the woik about the 

 clofe of the year 1750, in the neighbourhood of Rome, and 

 extended the meridian line northwards, acrofs the chain of 

 the Appcnniiies as far as Rimini. Two whole years were 

 fpent in completing the various meafurements, which were 

 performed with the motl fcrnpulous accuracy. In the in- 

 tervals, while this great work was carrying on, the adive 

 difpofition of Bofcovich fought aniufement and occupation 

 in other purfuits. At night he was bufy in drawing out 

 his Elements of Coiuc Sedions ; and in the mornings and 

 evenings, during hifi excurfions to and from the remote 11a- 

 tions among the mountains, he compofed on horfebaciv the 

 greater part of his elegant Latin poem on ecl'ipfcs. This 

 fingular fad reminds us of what is reported of the late 

 Dr. Darwio, who is faid to have framed, in his mind, the 

 beautiful and harmonious epifodes of the Botanic Garden, 

 while driving in his chariot, on vifits to his counli'v pa- 

 tients. 



This important operation of meafuring two degrees on 

 the furfacc of Italy, is elaborately defcnbed by Bofcovich, 

 in a quarto volume, written in liis ufual diffufe manner, and 

 full of illuftration and minute details. But the book is 

 rendered the more valuable by the addition of ftvcral opiif- 

 cules, or detached clfays, relating to the fubjed, and which 

 djfplay great ingenuity, conjoined with the iineft g..'onictric 

 ta(ie. We may inilance, in particular, the difcourfe on the 

 redification of inilruments, the elegant lynthetical inveftiga- 

 tion of the figure of the earth, deduced both from the law 

 of attradiciu and from the adual meafurement of dexrecs, 

 and the nice remarks concerning the curvf and the condi- 

 tions of permanent liability. This lalt trad gave occafion, 

 however, to fomellridurcsfrom D'Alenibert, lo which Bof- 



BOS 



covich replied, m a note annexed to the French edition of 

 his works. 



The arduous fervice which Bofcovich had now performed 

 was but poorlv rewarded. Trom the pope he received only 

 a hundred fequins, or about forty-five iJounds llerliiig, a 

 gold box, and abiinJancf of finii/e. He now rcfumed the 

 charge of the mathematical' fchool, and befides difcharged 

 faithfully the public duties of religion, which are enjoined 

 his order. A trifling circumllance will mark the warmth 

 of his temper, and his love of precedence. He had recourfe 

 to the authority of cardinal Valenti, to obtain admifTion 

 into the oratoiy of Caravita, from which his abfence excluded 

 him, and which yet did aflord only the benefit of a tree, 

 but fingal fupper. In prefnling at that focial rcpall, the 

 phih)fo'ijlier relaxed from the fcverity of his Ihidies, and 

 Ihone by his varied, his lively, and fluent converfation. He 

 lived in habits of intimacy with his colleagues, and efptcially 

 with his compatriot, I'leiiedid Stay, known to the learned 

 worid bv an excellent didad'C poem, entitled " Philofophia 

 Receiitior," and which he elucidated by notes, containing, in 

 a very neat cinnpreffcd forni; the elements of mechanics. 



At this lime a difpute arofe between tlie little republic 

 of Lucca, and the government of Tnlcany, on the fubjed of 

 draining a lake. A congrefs of mathematicians was called, 

 and Bofcovich repaired to the fcene of contention, in order 

 to dcfe;id the rights of the petty Hate. Having waited 

 three months in vain, expeding the commilHoners, and 

 amufed with repeated hollow promifes, he thought it better 

 for the iiiterell of his conlliluents, to proceed at once to the 

 court of Vienna, whicii then fupremely direded the affairs 

 of Italy. The flames of war had been recently kindled on 

 the continent of Europe, and Bofcovich, like a true couiticr, 

 took occafion to celebrate the tirll fuccefles of the Aullrian 

 arms, in a poem, of which the fiill book was prefented to 

 the Eniprefs Thercfa ; but the military genius of Frederic 

 the Great of PrulVia loon turned the fcale of fortune, and our 

 poet was reduced to lileiice. Mure honourably did he em- 

 ploy fome leifure in the compofition of his immortal work, 

 " Theoria philofophi-.e iiaturalis reduda ad unicam legem 

 virium in natura exillciitiiui)," printed at Vienna, in the year 

 I 75S. This he drew up, it is alleged, in the very fhort fpacc 

 of thirty days, having c-,illeded the materials a confiderable 

 time before ; yet we mull regret the appearance of halle and 

 dlforder, which deforms a produdioii of fuch rare and in- 

 trinfic excellence. 



After a fuccefsful fuit of eleven months at Vienna, Bof- 

 covich returned to Rome, and received from the fenate of 

 Lucca, for his zealous fervices, the handfome prefent of a 

 thouland feqnins, or about _^."45o. Thus provided with the 

 means of gratifying his curioljty, he dclired and obtained 

 leave to travel. At Paris he fpent fix months, in the fociety 

 of the eminent men, who then adorned the French capital ; 

 and, during his ilay in London, he was elee'led, in 1760, a 

 fellow of the Royal Society, and he dedicated to that learned 

 body his poem on f.7/yy(-,f, which contains a neat compendium 

 of allronomy. The expcdation of the fcientific world was 

 then turned to the tranlit of Venus, calculated to happen in 

 the following year. Bofcovich, eager to obferve it, returned 

 through Holland and Flandeis to Italy, and joined his 

 illuUrions friend, Correr, at Venice, from whence they failed 

 to Condantiiiople, having, on their way, vilited the famous 

 plain of Troy. In Turkey, he fcarcely enjoyed one day of 

 vgood health, and his life was repeatedly defpaired of by the 

 phyhcians. After fpending half a year in this miferable 

 ilate, he returned in the train of Sir James Porter, our am- 

 baffador at the Porte ; and having traverfed Bulgaria, Mol- 

 davia, and part of Poland, his intention was to penetrate 



I into 



