24 R E U 
writings of the Cardinal de Retz have been published rela¬ 
tive to the affairs of the time and party. A piece which he 
composed at 17 was characteristic of his disposition : it was 
“ The Conspiracy of the count of Fiesco,” partly translated 
Iron, the Italian of Mascardi. Moreri. 
RETZ, a town of the west of Germany, in Bavaria, on the 
S r hwarza, with 900 inhabitants; 26 miles north-north-east 
oi Ratisbon. 
RETZ, Reetz, or Reckau, a town of .Prussia, in the 
province of Brandenburgh, on the river Ihna. Population 
1400: 59 miles north-north-east of Custrin. 
RETZ, or Roetz, a well built town of Lower Austria, 
on the Theya. It contains, with the surrounding parish, 
2200 inhabitants; 44 miles north-north-west of Vienna, 
and 6 west-south-west of Znaym. 
RETZAT, the name of two rivers in the Bavarian do¬ 
minions to the north of the Danube, which, after uniting, 
take the name of Rednitz. They give name to the following 
circle. 
RETZAT, one of the circles into which the kingdom of 
Bavaria was divided in 1808. It lies to the north of the 
Danube, has an area of about 3400 square miles, and a 
population of 520,000, partly Catholics, but more Lutherans. 
The capital is Anspach, but the largest town is Nuremberg. 
Less mountainous than the provinces to the east and west, its 
products are abundant and various, consisting of wheat, 
barley, oats, flax, hemp, and in a small degree madder, 
tobacco, and wine. It has also considerable mines and 
quarries. The manufacturing towns, after Nuremberg, are 
Furth and Schwabach. 
RETZIA (so named by Thunberg, in honour of Ret- 
zius, professor of natural history in Sweden), in botany a 
genus of the class pentandria, order monogynia, natu¬ 
ral order of campanace®, convolvuli, (Juss.J Generic 
Character.—Calyx: perianth one-leafed, unguicular, five- 
parted: segments unequal, lanceolate, acute. Corolla, one- 
petalled, tubular, cylindrical, villose within and without, 
five-toothed: segments ovate, blunt, concave, erect, very 
hirsute at the tip. Stamina : filaments five, awl-shaped, 
shorter than the corolla. Anthers compressed, sagittate. 
Pistil: germ superior. Style filiform, longer than the co¬ 
rolla. Stigma bifid. Pericarp: capsule oblong, two-celled, 
two- w aIved, acute, two-grooved. Seeds several, minute. 
Essential Cftaracier .—Corolla cylindrical, villose on the 
outside. Stigma bifid. Capsule two-celled, many- 
seeded. 
]. Retzia spicata.—Frutescent, erect, four feet high, 
somewhat branched. Branches few, thickish, rigid, 
unequal, short, hairy. Leaves by fours in whorls, crouded, 
lanceolate-linear, approximating, sessile, blunt, upright, 
one-grooved above with impressed dots, two-grooved under¬ 
neath. Flowers lateral, towards the extremities sessile, 
crouded, upright, almost concealed among the leaves. 
Bractes lanceolate, wider below, acute, keeled, hirsute, 
longer than the calyx. Corollas rufescent, on the outside 
towards the tip hirsute. Stamens inserted below the throat 
of the tube. Native of the Cape of Good Hope, on the 
highest mountains. 
xlETZSTATT, a well built town of Bavaria, in the prin¬ 
cipality of Wurzburg, with 900 inhabitants; 5 miles south- 
south-east of Carlstadt. 
REU, or Nag v-Aranyos, a small town of Transylvania, 
in the county of Lower Weissenburg, containing no less 
than eight churches. In the neighbourhood is a waterfall. 
RE-VALUA'TION, s. A fresh valuation. Sherwood. 
REUCIILIN (John), a celebrated German philosopher, 
Hebraist, and assiduous contributor to the revival of learning 
in the 15th and early part of the 16th century, was de¬ 
scended from a respectable family, and born at Pforzheim, a 
town in Suabia, in the year 1454. That he might receive 
the advantages of a liberal education, he was removed 
from a good elementary school at his native place, to a 
seminary of a higher order at Baden, where he outstripped 
the rest of the scholars by his proficiency in grammar¬ 
learning, and was made class-fellow to the young Marquis of 
REU 
Baden. Some time afterwards he accompanied the Marquis 
to Paris, at that time one of the most famous seats of 
learning in Europe, where he studied grammar under John 
a Lapide, rhetoric under Robert Gaguin, Greek under 
Harmonymus of Sparta, and Hebrew under Wesselus of 
Gronigen. He also became thoroughly acquainted with 
the logic and philosophy of Aristotle, of which he con¬ 
tinued for some time a warm admirer. He was thus occupied 
till he was about 20 years old, when he returned to his 
native country : and not long afterwards he went to Basil, 
where he was admitted master of philosophy, and taught 
the Greek language to numerous pupils, both old and young, 
with great reputation. Here he had the opportunity of 
prosecuting still further his Hebrew studies under Wesselus, 
who had been expelled from Paris for taxing some divines 
with holding erroneous notions. At the same time he 
drew up and published a grammar, a lexicon, vocabularies, 
and other books, which, till they were superseded by more 
complete works, were found of great use in instructing 
youth. Having spent four years atBasil, he went to Orleans, 
for the purpose of studying jurisprudence; and he also 
taught the Greek language in that city, with the same 
applause as at Basil, receiving such generous presents from 
the nobility who attended his lectures, as fully defrayed all 
his expenses. From Orleans he went to Poitiers, where he 
likewise taught Greek, and wa3 admitted to the degree of 
doctor. Afterwards he returned to Germany, and went to 
the University of Tubingen; whence he was soon 
called to the court of Eberhard, Count of Wirtemberg. 
That prince having determined to take a tour through 
Italy, among other attendants was advised to select Reuchlin, 
chiefly because, during his residence in France, he had cor¬ 
rected his German pronunciation of the Latin tongue, 
which appeared barbarous to the Italians. During the course 
of this tour, our author was very favourably received at the 
court of Lorenzo de Medici at Floreuce, where he became 
acquainted with Ficinus, Politian, Picus, and other plato- 
nists, and was induced to embrace their opinions. In these 
opinions he was further confirmed at Rome, by the learned 
Greeks resident there ; one of whom, Hermolaus Barbaras, 
disliking the harshness of his German name, prevailed upon 
him to exchange it, after the common practice of the age, 
for that of Capnio, a Greek name, signifying, like his 
vernacular one, smoke; by which he was afterwards 
chiefly known among foreigners. 
Our author conducted himself with so much ability and 
address during this tour, that he secured the confidence and 
esteem of Count Eberhard; who, after his return to 
Germany, sent him in the character of his ambassador 
to the Emperor Frederic III. at Vienna. This employment 
he discharged to the entire satisfaction of his prince; and his 
merits procured for him high consideration at the Imperial 
court. During his residence at Vienna, he made a further 
progress in his acquaintance with the Hebrew language, 
under the instructions of one of the emperor’s physicians, 
who was a Jew. Through the address of this physician it 
was contrived, that, among the other presents which, 
according to custom, he was to receive as ambassador, 
should be included a beautiful and very valuable ancient 
manuscript Hebrew Bible, as a special compliment paid to 
him by the Emperor on account of his eminent literary 
attainments. Frederic dying in 1493, Reuchlin returned to 
the court of Wirtemberg, and was two years afterwards 
appointed Count Eberhard's deputy to the diet at Worms, 
in which that prince was elevated to the ducal dignity. 
Scarcely had he enjoyed this honour three months, when he 
died, leaving his dominions to his nephew Ulric. That 
prince’s possession of them, however, was contested by 
another of Frederic’s nephews, called Eberhard II. who 
made himself master of the duchy, and banished Reuchlin 
for his attachment to the interests of Prince Ulric. Our 
author now took refuge at Worms, where be wrote “An 
Epitome of the History of the four Empires,” for the use of 
the Prince Palatine. He also wrote two Latin “ Co¬ 
medies,” abounding in wit and pointed satire; one of which 
exposed 
