BRA 



ttrf unier ftven pontiffs, hnd nevtr been promoted to any 

 i>( lilt iup'.Ti' r d.partnunti of tl>e Roman clianccry. But 

 »htii N'lcol.* V. afcciiJtd tSc pontifical tlironc, liis prof- 

 pet^ were origlitf ned ; and lie tiidulfjcd the hope of fpeuJ- 

 lag the r.maiiiJer of Wu days iii ii tlaie of indepeiiJeuce, if 

 nn of affluence. With a view of improving his intcrcil wnth 

 the ni* pimtiff, lie addrcfled to him a congratulalory Dic- 

 tion, vihicli was lecompcnfeJ by very liberal prcfeiits. This 

 was I'uccecdtd by a dedicatory cpilUe, iiUioducin^r to his 

 Tmrunit^e a dialogue " On the viciflitudes of foilime," the 

 moll interelliiijj of Pogjfio's works, and inculcating maxims 

 of fublime p'.iilofophv, enforced by a detail of fplcndid and 

 UrikiiiK eventi. Con'.idinT in the pontiff, he alfo publilhcd 

 the diJo^iie " On hypocrify," already mentioned. At 

 the ncj.ie'.l, and under tiie patron.ige of Nicolas, he alfo 

 contributed to the illulliation of Grecian literature, by a 

 L^itin trandation of llie works of Diodorus Siculuf, and 

 the C:yrop(rciia of Xc-iiophon. Diiii'ig the ph^ue, which 

 raged in various parts of Italy in 1450, PogRio yifited the 

 place of hio nativity ; and availing himfelf of this interval of 

 relaxation from the duties of liis ofiice, he publifhcd his 

 " Libsr Facetiarum," or cjlle<f\ioii of jocofe tales, coutaiii- 

 \rsr anecdotes of fevcral eminent pcrfons who flouiiflied 

 dun:i)j the IJ'h and I ',lh centuries. Tliis work acquired a 

 r .nliderable dij::ree of popularity, and wjs read, not only in 

 the native country of its author, but aUo in France, Spaiii, 

 Crcmiany, and Britain. In 1451 he dv-dicated to the caidi- 

 pal, Prol'pero Coloniia, his "Killorla difceptaliva conW- 

 vialis." In 1453 Pognio «as elevated to the chancellor- 

 fliip of Flore: ce : and, at the fsme time, his was cholen one 

 of the '-Prion dtgliarti," or prelidciits of the'trading com- 

 pan'cs. Thcle eftcet. he held till Kia death, which happenid 

 .en the 30th of October, ! + •;(;. Kotwilhllandiug tiie mul- 

 tiplicity of his bufincfs, and the advances of age, he profe- 

 •uled his lludiei with his acciiHomed avdoiir ; and publilhed 

 a dialogue " De n-.ifcrii humanK condilioiiis," and a vcrfion 

 rf I.'ician's '• Afs," with a vitiv of ellablidiing a point of 

 litcniy biftory, which fccms to have been till that tune un. 

 kno.v.i, namely, that Apukius was indebted to Lucian for 

 the tlan.ina of his " Afinus aureus." The lall literary 

 work in which he engaged, was his " Hiftor)- of Florence," 

 div;4ed into tight books, and comprehending; the events in 

 *hich the Florentines were concerned from the year I 3 jO, 

 to the peace of Naples in 1455- This hiftory was tranf- 

 htcd into Italian by 3?.copo, the ton of Poggio ; but the 

 onginal was pubbdii-d liy Recaiiati, and lus been repubhflied 

 in the collections of Gnevins and Muratori. Poggio con- 

 •rluded his career in the poiftlTjon of nniverfal refpetl, and in 

 the tranquil enjoyment of focial and domcftic comforts. 

 His remains were interred with lolemn magnificence in the 

 rluirch of Santa Crocc at Florence ; and his fellow citizens 

 t.-!titied their rcfpeft for hi? talents and virtues, by erefting 

 n I'tat'ie to his memory on the front of the church of Santa 

 Maria del Fiore. As the citiif.<-n of a free iUte, which he 

 deemed a hifh honour, he improved every opportunity that 

 occurred for increafing and <iiiplaying the glory of the Tuf- 

 can republic. Alti<ough he was honoured by the favour of 

 the great, he never facriiiced his independence at the (hrine 

 f.f power, b'.it uniformly iriHintained the ingenuous fi-nti- 

 ni.-nts of freedom. 'J lie licentioufnefs which dif^iaced the 

 early period of his hfe, ar.d the indecent levity which occurs 

 ia fome of hi»- writings, were rather the vices of the times 

 than of the man ; nor did they deprive him of the counte- 

 nance of the greatell ecclefialtical dignitaries, or caufe him 

 >) forfeit the favour of the pious Kugenius, or of the moral 

 and accomphfhed Nicolas V. 'J'o thofe with whom he main- 

 faused a perlonal iotercourfe, h: recommended LImfeJf by 



BRA 



the urbanity of his manners, the {Irength of his judgmen(, 

 and the fportivencfs of his wit. As a icholar, Poggio is 

 entitled to diftinguiflicd praife. By afiiJuous ftudy, he be- 

 came a confiderablc proficient in the Greek language, and 

 intimately couvcrfant with the works of the Roman clafiic . 

 authors. In fclefting as his exemplar in Latin compoCtion, 

 the llyle of Cicero, he mainfel'ted the difcernmcnt of true 

 tallc. When compared with the works of his immediate 

 pred'ecedoTS, the writings of Poggio are truly aftonilhing. 

 " Rifing to a degree of' elegance, to be fought for in vain in 

 the rugged Latii-iity of Ptliarca and Cokiccio Salutati, he 

 prepared the way for the correctnefs of Pohliano, and of 

 the other etrineiit fcholars whofe gratitude has refieftcd fuch 

 fplcndid ludrt on the charafter of Lorenzo de' Medici." 

 Shepherd's life of Pogc^io Bracciolini. 4to. 1802. 



11RACF, IS commonly taken for a couple, or pair; and 

 in this fcnfe i.s apphed by huntfmen to feveral beafts of game ; 

 as a brace of bucks, foxes, hares, &c. — They alfo fay., a 

 brace of greyhounds. 



Brack, in ylnhik-Sure, denotes a piece of timber framed 

 in with bevel-joints ; ferving to keep the building from fwerv. 

 ini either way. When a brace is framed into a king-piece, 

 or principal rafter, it is called by fome a_/?ru/. 



Brace, Br.\cchio, or Brasse, in Men/uration, ienotet 

 a foreign long mcafurc, anfwering to our fathom. 



Brace is alfo ufcd for a meafure taken from the length 

 of the arm when extended , and is ul'ed in divers cities of 

 Italy, in lieu of the foot or yard. Its length is various ; 

 the brace of Bergamo, accordmg to Scamozzi, is nineteen 

 Paris royalinches, and a half ; according to M. Petit, fix- 

 teen inches two-thirds ; the brace of Bologna is fourteen 

 inches ; that of Creffe, feventten inches feven lines and a 

 half, according to Scamozzi ; and according to M. Fttit, 

 feventeen inches five lines ; the Mantuan brace is fcventeea 

 inches four lines ; that of Milan, tweuty-two inches ; thole 

 of Parma, twenty inches one-third ; of Sienna, twtnty-one 

 inches two-thirds ; of Florence, twenty inches two-thirds, 

 according to Maggi ; twenty-one inc!ies four lines and a 

 half, according to I.orini ; twenty-two inches two-thiidi, 

 according to Scamozzi, and twenty-one inches one-third. 

 Recording to Picart. 



Brace, in T/ritlng, a term ufed to f?gnify a crooked line, 



(as > ) made at the end of two or more articles in an ac- 

 count, the amount of which is ufually placed in the centre 

 of the brace. It is alfo ufed in printing, to enclofe an entire 

 paffage, as in a triplet, &c. 



Brace the yards !o, in Sea-lar^vage, fignifies to move 

 them, by means of the braces, to any diredtion required. To 

 brace about, is to brace the yards round for a contrary tack. 

 To brace Jharp, is to brace the yards in a pofition, in which 

 they will make the lead pofiible angle with the keel, for the 

 fhip to have head-way. To brace to, is to eafe off the lee- 

 braces, and round-in the weather braces, to alTid the motion 

 of the ihip's head in tacking. See the next article. 



Brace, a rope at each extremity of all the yards of a 

 (hip, except the mizen yard, which is provided with 

 ropes called -vanrs, for the purpofe of bringing the 

 yard in a proper polition, that the fail mav be full, v.he- 

 ther the fliip is failing by, or large. All braces ought, if 

 poffiblc, to lead aft, for the greater fccurity of the mails; 

 in fliips, therefore, the braces of the yards belonging to the 

 fore and main-mads lead aft ; but in fquare-rigged veficls 

 with two malls, thofe, only, of the yards belonging to i^.ie 

 fore-mail, lead aft. The braces of the yards of the after- 

 mail of a fquare rigged vefTcl, lead forward. The bracas 

 of the principal yards are double, being reeved through 



blocks. 



