R I C 
RICCI (Bartolomeo),, a learned Italian, was bom in 
1490, at Lugo, in Romagna, He studied under Amaseo, in 
Bologna, and for further improvement visited Padua and 
Venice, in which last city he received instructions in Greek 
from Musuro. He passed some years in the house of 
Giovanni Comaro, as preceptor to his son. Returning to his 
native place, he married in 1534, and for some time kept a 
school at Ravenna. Through the recommendation of 
Calcagnini he was invited, in 1539, to the court of Duke 
Hercules II. of Ferrara, to undertake the education of the 
Princes Alfonso and Luigi. He there acquired the affection 
of his pupils, and the' esteem of the learned, though his 
high conceit of his own merits, and his critical severity, in¬ 
volved him in some warm controversies. It is said even, 
that an attempt was made to poison him; he however reached 
the age of 79, and died in 1569. The principal works of 
Ricci are Orations and Epistles, the Latin style of which has 
been much applauded as a happy imitation of that of Cicero : 
it is, however, unequal, and betrays a want of good taste. 
His three books “ De Imitatione” contain many valuable 
precepts and observations, but his censures are occasionally 
exorbitant, as when he condemns all the poems of Ovid to 
the flames. The most laborious of his works is entitled 
“ Apparatus- Latin® Locutionis,” being a Latin lexicon in 
two parts, the first containing the verbs, and the second the 
nouns with which they are joined. It was printed at Venice 
in 1533, but had little success, probably on account of its 
plan. Ricci also wrote a comedy in Italian prose, entitled 
“ Le Balie,” which is well spoken of; and some Italian 
poems which have appeared in collections. Tiraboschi. 
RICCI (Matthew), an eminent Jesuit missionary, was 
bom of a good family at Macerata in J 552. He was sent to 
study the law at Rome, where, at the age of 19, he entered 
into the society of Jesuits. He had not completed his the¬ 
ological studies, when he followed to the East Indies his 
preceptor, Father Valignan. During his abode at Goa he 
applied assiduously to the language of China, to which 
country he was destined. He was furnished with another 
branch of knowledge necessary in that mission, that of 
mathematics, which he had acquired at Rome under the cele¬ 
brated Clavius. In 1583 he arrived at Caoquin, in the pro¬ 
vince of Canton, where he settled with some brethren. 
To ingratiate himself with the Chinese, he made a map of 
the world, in which, whilst he corrected their prejudices 
with respect to the relative dimensions of their country, he 
complied with them by altering the meridian so as to place 
it in the centre. With a similar spirit of compliance, he 
drew up a Chinese catechism, containing only the precepts 
of morality and natural religion; judging, perhaps rightly, 
that to present to them the mysteries of the Catholic faith 
without previous preparation, would only serve to inspire 
them with repugnance. His policy, however, did not pre¬ 
vent him from undergoing some persecutions in consequence 
of Chinese suspicion; and it was not till 1600 that he was 
able to gain access to the Emperor at Pekin, employing 
the pretext of bringing him a present of curiosities from 
Europe. He was well received, and permitted to settle in 
that capital, where his mathematical skill rendered him 
acceptable to the court and men of letters. He purchased 
a house there, and built a church ; and the progress, such 
as it was, which Christianity made in the metropolis of 
China, was greatly owing to his exertions. He died there 
in 1610, leaving curious memoirs on China, of which 
Father Trigault made use in his work “ De Christiana expe- 
ditione apud Sinas.” In the “ Lettres Edifiantes” is a dia¬ 
logue by Ricci between a lettered Chinese and an European, 
on the necessity of a first cause. Father Orleans, in a life 
of this missionary, speaks of him as an apostle, a saint, 
another Xavier. He seems, indeed, to have possessed all 
the indefatigable zeal of his profession, joined to the pecu¬ 
liar policy of his order. Moreri. Nouv. Diet. Hist . 
RICCI (Sebastian,) an eminent painter, was born in 
1659 at Belluno, in the Venetian territory. He was placed 
at an early age with a painter at Venice, and afterwards vi¬ 
sited Bologna and other cities for improvement. His repu- 
Vol. XXII. No. 1485. 
R I C 77 
tation procured for him the patronage of Rannuccio II., 
Duke of Parma, who maintained him liberally at Rome, 
where he 'completed his studies. By the exercise of his art 
at Milan and Venice he rendered himself so advantageously 
known, that he was invited by the court of Vienna for the 
purpose of decorating the palace of Schoenbrun. The 
Duke of Tuscany next drew him to Florence; and he was 
afterwards induced (by the persuasion of his nephew Marco, 
says Mr. Walpole; others say, by invitation of the Queen,) 
to visit England, where he continued ten years, much em¬ 
ployed by the court and nobility. Among his works in 
this country are the chapel at Chelsea-college, and the stair¬ 
case at Montague-house. He then returned to Venice, 
where he passed the remainder of his days, executing a great 
number of pictures which were bespoken from different 
countries. He acquired wealth and distinction, and was 
regarded as an honour to his profession. In his latter years 
he was afflicted with the stone, and submitted to the oper¬ 
ation of lithotomy, shortly after which he died, in 1734, at 
the age of 75. This master was grand in his ideas, fertile 
in invention, and ready in execution : his compositions are well 
studied, and his colouring is agreeable, though somewhat too 
dark. The great number of works he undertook obliged 
him to consult his imagination rather than nature, so that 
he is deficient in correctness. Many of his principal per¬ 
formances are in the churches of Venice. Several of his 
Scripture-pieces have been engraved. D'Argenvitie, Fil¬ 
ling ton. Walpole's Anecd. 
RICCI (Michael-Angelo), an Italian cardinal, and able 
mathematician in the 17th century, was descended from a 
noble family originally from Bergamo, and bom at Rome in 
the year 1619. His studies in the mathematics, were directed 
by Torricelli, during the temporary residence of that philoso¬ 
pher at Rome. After Torricelli left Rome, he maintained a 
regular correspondence with Ricci, who proved and illustra¬ 
ted in a happy manner several of his new theorems. In the 
year 1666, Ricci published a little work, entitled, “ Exerci- 
tatio Geometrica,” &c., in which he determined, in a purely 
geometrical manner, the tangents, and the maxima and mi¬ 
nima of curves, chiefly compared with conic sections of the 
first order. This piece was reprinted by the Royal Society 
of London, as a treatise of the greatest utility; and it was 
warmly applauded by some of the most distinguished mathe¬ 
maticians of the age. The author announced his intention of 
pursuing his enquiries on the subject of these curves, and of 
other essential points in geometry; but, having been induced 
to enter into the church, he relinquished his mathematical 
pursuits, and wholly devoted his attention to the assiduous 
study of divinity, and the duties of his new profession. He 
filled several ecclesiastical stations. At length, in the year 
1681, Pope Innocent XI. raised him to the purple: an 
honour which he sincerely wished to decline, but was com¬ 
pelled to accept by the Pontiff’s absolute command. He 
possessed it, however, only fpr a short period, as he died in 
1682, at the age of 64, highly respected for his learning, his 
virtue, and unaffected modesty. One of his “ Dissertations” 
is preserved in “ Cardinal Brancaccio’s Works;” another in 
Charles Dati’s “ Epistola ad Philalethosand one of his 
“ Letters” in the first vol. of the collection entitled, “ Lettere 
memorabili.” Landi's Hist, de Lit. de I'ltalie. 
Boyle. 
RICCIA, a town of Naples, in the province of Molise, with 
4300 inhabitants. 
RICCIA (so named in honour of one Pietro Riccio), in 
botany, a genus of the class cryptogamia, order hepatic®.— 
Generic Character.—Male flowers sessile on the surface of 
the frond. Calyx and corolla none. Stamina: anthers 
conical, truncate, sessile, opening at the top. Female flowers 
on the same, or according to Micheli, on a distinct plant. 
Calyx none, except a vesicular cavity, within the substance 
of the leaf. Corolla none. Pistil: germ turbinate. Style 
filiform, erect, reaching the surface of the frond or exceeding 
it. Stigma simple. Pericarp: capsule sessile, globular, 
one-cel!ed, at the apex of the leaf, crowned with the style. 
Seeds very many (twenty to thirty) hemispherical.—The 
X little 
