MANF 
MAN'FORT, a town of Africa, on the Gold Coaft, 
in the country of Fantin. 
MAN'FRED, or Mainfroy, king or ufurper of Na¬ 
ples and Sicily. See the article Naples, 
MAN'FREDI (Euftachio), a celebrated Italian mathe¬ 
matician and aftronomer, was the fon of a notary as Bo¬ 
logna, where he was born in the year 1674.. As he had 
given early indications of promifing abilities, his father 
was defirous that he fhould chiefly apply himfelf to the 
ftudy of the law, on account of its being a lucrative as well 
as an honourable profeflion. Accordingly, young Man¬ 
fredi direfted his attention to this department pf know¬ 
ledge 5 and with fuch fuccefs, that when he was only eigh¬ 
teen years of age he obtained the degree of doctor of civil 
and canon law. But, at the fame time, philofophy had 
for him fuperior charms, and his inclination led him to 
devote the g reate ft part of his application to mathema¬ 
tical purfuits. He applied in the firft place to the ftudy 
of geometry and geography, and afterwards to algebra, 
gnomonics, optics, and altronomy. But, while his days 
and nights were devoted to thefe purfuits, he found time 
to cultivate an acquaintance with the mufes, and cora- 
pofed a variety of fonnets, canzonets, &c. on fubjefts of 
gallantry, love, devotion, in praife of princes, generals, 
celebrated preachers, &c. which abound in beautiful fen- 
timents and noble thoughts, and do honour to his poeti¬ 
cal genius and tafte. They were collected together after 
the author’s death, and publilhed in an oftavo volume, 
which has undergone repeated imprelfions. 
In the year 1698, our author was nominated prpfeflbr 
of mathematics in the univerfity of Bologna 5 which 
proved a very feafonable appointment, as his father’s ruined 
circumftances obliged him about this time to defert his 
country, and to leave his family dependent on Euftachio. 
All the time which was not occupied by the duties of his 
profefforlhip he now devoted to the ftudy of aftronomy, 
to which little attention had been of late paid at Bologna, 
the famous meridian line of Caffini, which Guglielmini 
had affilted in repairing in 1695, being again fu tie red to 
fall into negleft. Feeling for the honour of his country, 
as well as the in t ere ft s of fcience, Manfredi determined 
that fuch a noble inftrument fhould not lie ufelefs for 
want of practical altronomers ; and agreed with Victor 
Stancari, an ingenious young man who had been his fel- 
low-ftudent, and was his intimate friend, to unite in car¬ 
rying on a regular feries of obfervations. Having fur- 
niflied themfelves with fome inftruments, and converted 
the upper part of Manfredi’s apartments into an obferva- 
tory, they began to fpend whole nights in contemplating 
the heavens, and obferving the motions and paffages of 
the ftars and planets. In this employment they received 
frequent affiftance from the celebrated John Baptift Mor¬ 
gagni, and not only from three brothers, but alfo from 
two lifters, of Euftachio. 
Of the obfervations made by our philofophers before 
the year 1703, when Manfredi removed to the houfe of 
Ferdinand Marfigli, he publilhed an account in his “ Vic- 
torii Stancarii Phil. Dofl. Bonon. & Schedas Mathema¬ 
tical,” &c. 1713, 4to. In the year 1703, our author pub¬ 
lifhed a treatife on the Solar Spots. In the fucceeding 
year he had a different direction given to his ftudies, by 
receiving from the fen ate of Bologna the appointment of 
fuperintendant-general of the rivers and waters of the 
Bolognefe. This office involved him in much trouble- 
fome bufinefs, which he conduced with a degree of (kill 
and prudence that proved highly beneficial to his coun¬ 
try, and gave him a firft-rate reputation as a practical hy- 
draulift. A few months before his appointment to this 
poft, he was elefted regent of the college of Monte-alto, 
founded by pope Sixtus V. at Bologna, for the education 
of young perfons of his province who were intended for 
the church ; a fituation which was certainly unworthy of 
his talents, and which was rendered the more arduous, 
by the total want of order and difeipline, and negleft of 
ftudy, which had been fuffered to prevail in it. By a. 
R£DI. 275 
mixture of firmnefs, lenity, and prudence, he gradually 
fucceeded, however, in producing a complete reform in 
that inftitution, which afterwards fent into the world 
many celebrated divines, and others who fultained a con- 
fpicuous rank in the republic of letters. In the midft of 
his various public labours, Manfredi found time to con¬ 
tinue his aftronamical ftudies, and to attend toother ma¬ 
thematical fubjefts. In the year 1705, he publilhed 
“ Epiftola ad Vir. clar. Dominicum Quartaronium, qua 
Anonymi Affertiones XVI. pro Reformatione Kalendarii 
ab illo impugnatse, vindicantur,” folio. Two years after¬ 
wards, he difeovered a comet in the conftellation Capri¬ 
corn, and diligently obferved its courfe, which he accu¬ 
rately deferibed, and determined the points in which it 
cut the ecliptic and the equator. With his affociates, he 
alfo determined the conjunftions and oppofitions of the 
planets, the conjunftion of Venus with the Sun in the me¬ 
ridian, and numerous occultations of the liars by the 
moon both by night and in the day-time. At the fame 
time he correfponded with men of fcience in different 
parts of Europe, with whom his opinions carried great 
weight. He now began the compofition of his famous 
Ephimerides, which were afterwards publilhed in four 
quarto volumes. Not long afterwards he wrote an accu¬ 
rate and elegant Life of Marcellus Malpighi, which is 
inferted in the firft volume of 46 The Lives of the illuf- 
trious Arcadians,” of which fociety he was defied a mem¬ 
ber, as he had been before of the Academy della Crufca* 
The next objefl which engaged his attention, was to 
form a colleftion of fpecimens of the produflions of the 
Italian lyric poets, from the fourteenth century to the 
lateft date, with criticifms by himfelf and others, which 
fhould affift the ftudents in Italian poetry in entering into 
the fenfe and fpirit of the moft celebrated authors, and 
exhibit a connected hiftory of the changes which the 
poetry of Italy has undergone. This work, which is faid 
to reflefl equal honour on his induftry, his judgment, and 
his tafte, con fills of four volumes in quarto, entitled, 
“ Scelta di Sonetti e Canzoni de’ piu eccellenti Rimatori 
d’ogni Secolo,” See. the firft volume of which made its 
appearance in 1709, and the others at fubfequent periods. 
The next circumftance which calls for our attention in 
the life of Manfredi, is the part which he tooJc in the for¬ 
mation of the Inftitute of Bologna. This patriotic fo¬ 
ciety originated in the zeal for the promotion of fcience 
which infpired Louis Ferdinand Marfigli, a noble and 
wealthy Bolognian, who formed a muleum, containing 
mathematical and philofophical inftruments of all kinds, 
books, metals, minerals, and whatever could contribute 
to facilitate inveftigations into the fecrets of nature. This 
noble colleftion Marfigli determined to confecrate to the 
ufe of the public; and, with the affiftance of Manfredi, 
who was his principal advifer both in his determination 
and the tneafures which he purfued, formed the plan of 
the Inftitute at Bologna. Being appointed aftronomer to 
the new academy, Manfredi refigned the regency of the 
college of Monte-alto, and took up his refidence in the 
houle of the Inftitute. He now prevailed upon Marfigli 
to take the neceffary fteps for uniting the Academy of 
the Inquieti to the Inftitute. This academy owed its rife 
to Manfredi, who, when he was a ftudent in the univer¬ 
fity, formed an intimacy with feveral young perfons about 
his own age and handing, who were accultomed to meet 
at his father’s houfe, and difeufs literary and fcientific 
topics. Thefe meetings foon affumed the form of an 
academy, for the government of which a code of laws 
was drawn up, and a prince annually defied. Having 
fixed upon the words Mens agitat for the motto of the 
fociety, in conformity with it they took the name of In¬ 
quieti\ Its union with the Inftitute was celebrated with 
public formalities in the year 1714,; on which occafion 
Manfredi delivered a memoir “ On a new Method of pre¬ 
dicting Eclipfes,” exemplified by one which was to take 
place in the following year. In the year 1717, Manfredi 
was fent to Rome, on the fubjeft of a difpute between the 
CltiGS 
