BOS 



BOS 



iito Ruiri.i, if tlie agitation wliicli tliere prevnik-J, on tlie to fxcite tlie envy of ll\e fcavans, who confiJctcd hii 



J'uildtii di.ath of Peter, had not detfrred hiiu frmn cxecnting 

 the projeft. The diary of his journev, which he piihhflicd 

 in ItaUan and French, is but a poor book, fnll of pedantry, 

 and patched up of triflincr and infipid remarks. Yet fnch 

 were his pride and blind partiahty, that he regarded, with 

 contempt, the wliohfome critieifms to whicti it gave oeca- 



rewarded greatly beyond his true merit. The freedom of 

 his language gave offence, his perpetual tgotifm became 

 difijulling, and his repetition of barbarous Latin e])igrams 

 was moll grating to I'arillan cars, ncfides, the name of a 

 priejl: and a jchnt did not now command refpeCl ; and the 

 lentiments of aulKit devotion, which he publicly profifled, 



fion. Bolcovich began his travels at too late a period of liad grnwn unfafliionahic, arid were regarded as Vcarcely bt- 

 life to profit much by them. fitting tl\e character of a philofophcr. Mnabcau, in his let- 



At Rome his arrival was welcomed, and he was again ters from Prnlfia, mentions Bofcovich with a degree of llipht 



bordering on contempt, and warmlv recomm^-jids it to his 



confulted on various plans of public improvement. But in 

 tlie fprinr of 1764, he ^vas called by the Aullrian governor 

 of Milan, to fill the mathematical chair in the univerfitv of 

 Pavia. The honours uhich he received ]irovoked the jea- 

 lonfy of the other profeffbrs, who intrigued to tmdermiue 

 his fame. He took the mod effetlnal m ide, however, to 

 filcnce them, by p'jblifiiiiig his difTcrtations on optics, which 

 exhibit an elegant fynthclis and vvell-devifcd fet of experi- 

 ments. Thefe etTays excited the more atttnlion, as, at this 

 time, the ingenuity of men of fcience was particularly at- 

 tradtd to the fubjecl, by Dollond's valuable difcovery of 

 achromatic glaffco. 



The expulfion of the Jefuits from the dominions of 

 Spain prevented Bofcovich from going to California, to 



court to invite from J5eiliiithe cekbiattd l.a^^range, a ma- 

 thematician of the very highell order, and blcli'ed with the 

 mildetl diipofition. 



But the ge<mieter of Kagufa was not idle. lie applied 

 afTuhuiufly to the improvenuni of allronomy and optics ; and 

 his dihgtncc was evinced by a fLrii.3 of valuable memoirs. 

 He rcvifed and extended his former ideas, and ilruck out 

 new paths of difcovery. His folution of the problem to de- 

 termine the oH)it of a comet from three obfervations, is re- 

 markable for it» elegant fimplicity ; being derived from the 

 mere elementary principles of trigoiujmctry. Not lefs beau- 

 tiful are his memoirs on the micrometer, and on achromatic 

 telefcopes. But his fituation had become extremely irkfomc ; 



obferve the fecond tranfit of Venus, m 17^9, and which and in 1783, he defntd and obtained leave of abfcnce. Two 



expedition the Royal Society of I>ondon had llrongly foli- years he fpent at Bafl'ano, in the Venetian flate, where he 



cited him to undertake. And as his rivals began now to pnblilhed his opufculcs, in five volumes, 4to. compofed in 



ftir themfelves again, he fought to d'fpel the chagrin, by a I-atin, Italian, and French, and containing a variety of elc- 



fecond journey into France and the Netherlands. At Bruf- gant and ingenious diftinilitions connected with allronomical 



fels he met with a pcafant, famous for curing the gout, and and optical fcience. During that time he lived with his cdi- 



from whofe fingular ileill he received moil elTential benefit, tor Remondini, and occupied liimfelf in fuperintendin"- the 



On his return to Italy, he w<is transferred from the univer- prefs. After tiiiilhing his talk, he came to Tulcany, and 



fity of Pavia to the palatine fchools at Milan, and refidcd paffed fome months at the convent of Valombrofa. Thence 



with thofe of his order, at the college of Brera, v\'here he he went to Milan, and ifl'ued a Latin profpeftus, in which 



furninied, moftly at his own exptnce, an obfervatory, of he propofed to reprint the philofophical poem of Stay, en- 



which he got the direClion. But he was ftill doomed to riched with his annotations, and extended to ten books, 



experience mortification. Some young Jefuits, who afted But very few fnbfcribcrs appeared ; his opufculcs cxperi- 



as his affiftants, formed a confpiracy, and, by their artful cnced a ilow fale ; and the imperial miniller neither confulted 



reprefentations, prevailed with the government to exclude nor employed him in fome mathematical operations which 



his favourite pupil and friend from holding a charge of truft. were carrying on. livery thing but too keenly reminded 



This intelligence was communicated to him at the baths of him that he was no more a favourite of the Italian public. 



Albano, and filled him with grief and indignation. He com- The vifions of glory melted away. This mortifying reflexion 



plained to prince Kaunitz, but implored his protedlion in preyed upon his fpirits, and made the deeper imprefiion, 



vain. To the governor of Milan he wrote, that he would as his health was much difordered by an inflammation of the 



not return, unlefs things were retlored to their former foot- 

 ing. He retired to Venice, where, having llaid ten months 

 in fniitlefs expeftation of obtaining redrcfs, he meditated 

 fpcndlng the remainder of his days in honourable retirement 

 at his native city of Ragufa. But while he waited for the 

 opportunity of a velfel to convey him thither, he received 



lungs. He funk into a llupid, liillefs melancholy, and after 

 brooding many days, he emerged into a childifli infanity, 

 and at laft became furiouily mad. It was truly pitiable to 

 behold a man of his eminent talents reduced to fuch an hu- 

 miliating condition. Tlie Milanefe government provided 

 for his cullody. During the heat of delirium, he frequently 



the afflifting news of the fupprcffion of his order in Italy, exclaimed, that he would die poor and inglorious. His re 



He renounced his feheme, and feemed quite uncertain what ligious feelings acquired new force, and he feeined to look 



ftep he fliould take. Having cinne into the Tiifcan territory, forward with anxious hope for tiiat dillinction in a future 



lie lillened to the counfels and folieitation of Fabroni, who world, which he thought was unjullly denied him in this 



held forth the profjiefl of a handfnne appointment in the clouded llate of cxillence. In his (hurt lucid moments, or 



Lyceum of Pifa. In the mean time he accepted the invita- fits of exhauftion, that intervened, he regretted having fpent 



tion of I^a Bord, chamberlain to Louis XV. and accompanied his time in curious fpeculatioii, and conlidered the calaijyty 



him to Paris. Through the influence of that favourite, he w'ith which he was vifited as a kind of clialhfement of heaven 



obtained the moll liberal patronage from the French mo- for neglecting the fpiritual duties of his profeffion. In this 



narch ; he was naturalized, received two penlions, amount- temper of refignation, his impollhume burll, and he expired 



ing to 8000 livres, or ^'jjj, and had an office exprcfsly on the i ;th of February, 17H7. He was interred decently, 



created for him, with the title of " Direftor of optics for the but without pomp, in the parochial church of S. Maria Pe- 



marine." Bofcovich m'ght now appear to have attained the done. " Such was the exit," fays I'abroni, " of this fub- 



pinnacle of fortune and .glory ; but Paris was no longer for lime genius, whom Rome honoured as her mailer, whom all 



him the theatre of applaufe, and his ardent temper became Italy regarded as her ornament, and to whom Greece would 



foured by the malign breath of jealoufy and negleft. Such have ereCted a llatue, had (he for want of fpacc been obhged 



extraordinary favour bellowed on a foreigner, could not fail even to throw down fome of her heroes." 



■L i The 



