MAG 
Florence ; and on his arrival at that city, towards the clofe 
of the year 1674, was appointed ambaflador to the im¬ 
perial court. This was an appointment he had long 
wirtied for. At Vienna, whither his fame had long pre¬ 
ceded him, he was received in the mod: honourable man¬ 
ner by perfons of all ranks, and acquired the particular 
favour of the emperor, who readily affented to all the pro- 
pofitions with which he was charged on behalf of the 
court of Florence. Here he formed an intimate connec¬ 
tion with the men moft eminent for fcience and literature, 
and fpent his time agreeably in learned leifure, till he 
•was mortified by the delay of the necefi'ary pecuniary re¬ 
mittances from his court. The embarraffments to which 
this negleft expofed him, added to the intelligence that 
one of his brothers was dangeroully ill at Florence, de¬ 
termined him to return to that city, without leave, in the 
year 1678. The grand duke, however, gave him apart¬ 
ments in his palace, with a confiderable penfion. But, 
not conceiving that he poffeffed a due (hare of courtly 
favour, and being feverely afflicted by the death of one of 
his brothers in the year 1679, he withdrew into retire¬ 
ment, and gave himfelf up entirely to his itudies. In 
the year 1684, he compofed fifteen Italian odes, in which 
he has drawn the picture of a woman of noble birth, and 
exquifite beauty, diltinguifhed not only by every perfonal 
but mental charm, and yet rendering herfelf chiefly the 
objedt of admiration and delight by her manners and con- 
dudt. Not believing that fuch an original exifted in na¬ 
ture, he gave this piece the title of “ The Imaginary Lady.” 
On this produftion of our author’s pen his Italian critics 
bellow very high commendation, on account of the va¬ 
rious and extenfive knowledge, as well as poetical beau¬ 
ties, which it difplays. But they beflow (till higher praife 
on the next work which he compofed, confiding of thirty- 
nine familiar letters againft atheilts, in which his learn¬ 
ing, philofophy, and ingenuity, appear to eminent advan¬ 
tage; and he (bows at the fame time that he had formed 
no (light acquaintance with theology. In the year 1687, 
he was called to Rome by fome family-affairs and law- 
fuits, which detained him there nearly two years; and 
upon his return to Florence in 1689, he was appointed a 
counfellor of (late to the grand duke, who fent him his 
ambaflador into Spain, to negociate a marriage between 
one his daughters and king Charles II. In the year 1691, 
Magalotti went again to Rome, where he intimated an in¬ 
tention of embracing the ecclefiaftical life in the college 
of St. Philip Neri; but was difl’uaded from taking that 
Hep by the remonftrances of his friends. However, he 
funk into a temporary melancholy, which led him to fe- 
clude himfelf from all intercourfe with the world for nine 
months, at a country feat within a few miles of Florence ; 
till the intreaties of the grand duke prevailed upon him 
once more to return to his poll at court. 
Magalotti now refumed his philofophical ftudies, which 
he had for fome time neglefted, and drew up his valuable 
fcientific letters, which were not publilhed till after his 
death. He alfo tranflated into Italian feveral of the works 
of St. Evremond ; and into Italian verfe, part of Milton’s 
Paradife Loft, the Cyder and Splendid Shilling of John 
Phillips, and Waller’s Battle of the Summer Iflands. From 
an Engli(h verfion of a work originally Portuguefe, he 
likewi(e tranflated into Italian an account of the river 
Nile and its inundations, the empire of Ethiopia, the Red 
Sea, &c. and a volume of poems which he called Ana¬ 
creontic Canzonets, from the Arabic, Syriac, Turkifti, 
Spanifti, French, and Portuguefe, languages. Befides 
employing his pen on his own produftions, he contributed 
by it to the improvement of the works of his friends ; 
and Fabroni has given the names of feveral who were 
greatly indebted to his friendly afliftance. In the year 
J707, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society ; and 
lie had before been admitted a member of the Academy 
Be la Crufca at Florence, and of that of the Arcadi at 
Rome. Towards the latter part of his life he was much 
affli&ed with a pulmonary complaint, which baffled all re- 
VOL. XIV, No. 958. 
MAG ' 89 
medics, and proved the caufe of his death in 1711, when 
he was in the 75th year of his age. 
Magalotti was as eminent for his piety as he was for his 
literature, unimpeachable in his morals, liberal, benefi¬ 
cent, friendly, polite, and a lively and cheerful as well 
as inftruffive companion. His houfe at Florence was 
the refort of men of letters from all countries, whom 
he treated with the moll elegant hofpitality. With the 
writings of all the ancient philofophers he was intimately 
acquainted ; and followed the Platonic dodrine in his 
poems. In his inveftigations into nature, however, he 
difcarded all authority, and fubmitted to no other guide 
but experiment. Among modern philofophers, he was 
particularly attached to Galileo. After his death a me¬ 
dal was (truck in honour of his memory, with the figure 
of Apollo railed on the reverfe, and the infcription omnia 
lustrat. A long lift of the titles and fubjefts of his 
works, publiftied and unpublished, may be feen in Fabronii 
Vit. Italorum, vol. iii. 
MAG'AME, a town of the iflund of Ceylon, near the 
eaft coaft : ninety-fix miles fouth-eaft of Candy'. 
MAGAN', a town of Spain, in New Caftile : eight miles 
north-north-eaft of Toledo. 
MAGAN'JA, river of Africa, which runs into the 
Zambeze in lat. 16. 20. S. Ion. 33. 40. E. 
MAGAPERAM', a town of Hindooftan, in the circar 
of Cuddapa : fourteen miles north-north-eaft of Combam. 
MAGARA'BA, a mountain of Africa,.in Algiers, ex¬ 
tending about thirty miles along the coaft of the Medi¬ 
terranean ; inhabited by a people called Magarabas, de¬ 
fended from the Bereberes; they live in tents, feed a 
great many flocks, and pay a tribute to the dey of Algiers. 
MAGARZAN', an ifland in the Red Sea, near the^coaft 
of Nubia. It is very high land, and the largeft of three 
forming a triangle, about five miles in length. Lat. 21, 
10. N. 
MA'GAS, a king of Cyrene, in the age of Ptolemy 
Philadelphus. He reigned fifty years, and died B.C. 257, 
Poly anus. 
MA'GAS, f. in ancient mufic, the bridge of any in- 
ftrument. See Magadis, p. 87. 
MAGAS'SA, a town of the county of Tyrol : twenty- 
four miles weft-fouth-weft of Trent, and twenty-four welt- 
fouth-weft of Riva. 
MAGAT'TI, or Magatus (Csfar), an eminent fur- 
geon, was the Ion of a refpedable citizen of Scandiano, 
in the duchy of Reggio, where he was born in 1579. He 
diftinguilhed himfelf by his early proficiency in philofophy 
and medicine at Bologna, at which univerfity he received 
the degree of dodfor in both thefe fciences, in the 18th 
year of his age. He (till remained at that place, however, 
attending the public hofpitals, under the direction of the 
mod eminent phyficians, for fome time ; and afterwards 
went to Rome, where he united the ftudy of anatomy and 
furgery with that of medicine. Returning to his native 
country, he commenced the practice of his profeflion, 
where he foon acquired fo much reputation, that the 
marquis of Bentivoglio induced him to fettle at Ferrara, 
as profefidr of furgery in the univerfity of that city. 
Here, however, he met with confiderable oppofition and 
enmity from the eftabli(hed practitioners, who interdidfed 
him from pradtifing, unlefs he would fubmit to their exa¬ 
minations ; with which he at length complied, and gave 
abundant proofs of fuperior talents and acquirements. 
He foon attained the higheft profeflional reputation at 
Ferrara, and gained the greateft applaufe from numerous 
dalles of ftudents by his able condudt in the chair, until 
he was feized with a fevere illnefs, under the impreflion of 
which he was induced to enter into the fraternity of Ca¬ 
puchins, and afterwards affumed the habit of the order. 
He (till continued, however, to praclife medicine and fur¬ 
gery, in his new condition, with a fuccefs that acquired 
him the confidence of perfons of the firft rank, efpecially 
of Francis I. duke of Modena; till the feverity of his 
lufterings from the (tone induced him, in 1647, to repair 
A a to 
