admired author of Jerusalem Delivered, the favourite of princes, the boast of Italy; which surely could not have been, had he not, like many other men of genius, harboured in his mind something which defeated every friendly plan to render his circumstances prosperous. The latter years of his life passed partly in Rome, partly in Naples, with the exception of some months in 1590, when he was in Florence, invited and honourably entertained by the Grand Duke Ferdinand; but no treatment could fix his restless and mutable disposition. From some of his letters it appears that certain Neapolitan gentlemen had projected to unite in making a provision for the poet of 30 crowns a-month; but it is not known that this design was brought to effect. His last retreat was with Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini, at Rome, who obtained for him a pension from Pope Clement VIII., and had intended, as some compensation for his misfortunes, to procure him the honour of a solemn poetical coronation in the Capitol. But an illness with which the Cardinal was attacked caused the ceremony to be delayed; and in the mean time Tasso, who had long been in a declining state of health, was seized with symptoms which announced approaching dissolution. As he had always preserved a deep sense of religion, as soon as he became acquainted with his danger, he desired to be removed to the convent of St. Onofrio, where, with the consolation of every office of kindness paid him by the Cardinal, and with all the demonstrations of sincere piety, he closed his days in April 1595, at the age of 51. His remains were honoured with splendid obsequies, but it was long before any monument pointed out the tomb of this great At length this debt was paid to his memory by Cardinal Bonifacio Bevilacqua, in the church of St. Onofrio. The death of Tasso is attributed by one who well knew him, to that disordered imagination and morbid melancholy, under which, supposing that every day would be his last, he was induced continually to make use of strong remedies by way of preservative, which at length ruined his constitution. In person he was tall, active, and well-proportioned, naturally of a firm temperament, and fit for all bodily exercises. He was sparing of words, sedate and grave in manner, and in conversation displayed little of the fire that animates his works. He was kind and affectionate in all his social relations, and conducted himself with great propriety in company. man. The writings of Tasso are so numerous, that it is astonishing how a man of his moderate length of years, and his wandering and unfortunate life, could have composed so many; but it is to be observed, that even in the depth of his melancholy, and when confined as a lunatic, he retained full possession of his intellectual powers, and was probably led to employ them the more intensely, in order to obtain relief from his mental distresses. His works in prose consist of a great number of treatises, dialogues, and letters, on moral, literary, and familiar topics, in which he displays much ingenuity and profundity, but is occasionally too subtle and refined. Of his poetry, the "Gerusalemme Liberata" undoubtedly stands at the head, and is indeed at this day generally enumerated among the very few epics, ancient and modern, which rank as first-rate compositions in that first class of productions in the poetical art. Its subject is singularly happy, its characters well drawn and supported, its fictions strongly imagined, its style dignified, and its versification harmonious. It is marked with some faults of its age and country, but upon the whole, displays taste and judgment, as well as genius. When it first appeared, the Italian critics broke into parties respecting its merits, especially in comparison with the great national favourite, the Orlando Furioso; but, as Tiraboschi observes, it would be as reasonable to compare Virgil's Æneid and Ovid's Metamorphoses, as the performances of Tasso and Ariosto. Perhaps the Italians in general feel more enthusiasm for the latter poet, but this is a matter of liking, not of critical comparison. Tasso himself took a leading part in the controversies respecting his work, and he was at length so much moved by the technical objections made to the plan, on the principle of the supposed epic rules, that he in a manner recomposed it, and published it in 1593 under the title of "Gerusalemme Conquistata ;" but the public preferred it in its first form, in which alone it is now read. Of the "Aminta" it is unnecessary to add to what has already been said, more than that it continues the delight of all the lovers of Italian poetry, native and foreign. His "Rime," or occasional and miscellaneous pieces, are regarded, both in style and sentiment, as among the finest compositions of their kind. His "Sette Giornate," or Works of the Seven Days, and other pieces on sacred topics, written in his later and calamitous times, bear the stamp of the author's genius, but are probably little read at present. The editions of the Jerusalem and the Aminta are extremely numerous, and some of them richly ornamented. Tiraboschi.--- A. TASSONI, ALESSANDRO, an Italian poet and man of letters, was born at Modena in 1565, of an ancient and noble family. He lost both his parents when young, and was besides a sufferer from disease and the persecutions of foes, which, however, did not prevent him from cultivating with success Greek and Latin literature, poetry and eloquence. At the age of twenty he went for farther improvement to the University of Bologna; and among other sciences, he applied both there and at Ferrara, to the study of jurisprudence. The narrowness of his circumstances rendering it necessary for him to find some profitable employment for his talents, he repaired to Rome, where he made himself known by his writings, and at length he entered into the service of Cardinal Ascanio Colonna as secretary, and in 1600 accompanied him to Spain. In 1602, the Cardinal being offered the viceroyalty of Arragon, dispatched Tassoni to Italy to obtain the Pope's licence; and in the following year he was sent by the Cardinal to Rome in order to take care of his effects in that city. It is not known whether he voluntarily quitted or was dismissed from the service of that cardinal, who died in 1608: but it appears that he was some time domesticated with Cardinal Cesi, a great protector of letters, and that he became a member of the Academies degli Umoristi and de' Lincei, and stood high among the literati of Rome. A fruit of his frequenting these learned assemblies was his ten books of "Pensieri Diversi," (Thoughts on various Subjects,) of which a specimen was published in 1608 under the title of "Quesiti," and the whole in 1612. The freedom of literary opinion in this work, in which Homer, Aristotle, and other great names were submitted to censure, and the utility of letters themselves was called in question, scandalized many of his contemporaries, who raised an alarm, as if he had declared war against learning and the sciences. fact, several of the notions here published were In rather ingenious and sportive paradoxes, than the result of solid thinking; but intermixed with them were reflexions and elucidations highly useful to the readers of ancient and modern authors. He touched, however, a much more delicate nerve of literary opinion in Italy by his "Considerations on Petrarch," first printed in 1609. It appeared to him that the national idolatry of this author exceeded all reasonable bounds; but in attempting to restrain it, he went into the opposite extreme, of finding faults where none existed. A de fender of the favourite bard soon arose, and a controversy ensued, in which the limits of civility were soon exceeded. In the mean time it became necessary for Tassoni to obtain some other situation of profit, and in 1613 he entered into the service of Charles Emanuel Duke of Savoy, first as gentleman to his son, the Prince Cardinal, at Rome; and afterwards as private secretary to the Duke at Turin. In these posts he experienced much of the fluctuation attendant on courts, which seems to have chiefly proceeded from the frequent changes of the politics of Savoy with respect to Spain, the two courts being sometimes friendly and sometimes hostile. Tassoni was regarded as an enemy to the Spanish monarchy, and not without foundation, since he was the reputed author of certain " Philippics" against the Spaniards, and of a book entitled "Essequie della Monarchia di Spagna :" he, indeed, denied that they were of his composition, but there appears to be reason to believe that he was concerned in them. In 1623, wearied with a service in which he met with so much disquiet, he quitted his connection with the family of Savoy, and passed some time in the tranquil pursuit of his studies, and the cultivation of flowers, in which he took much delight. time that he employed himself in finishing a It was probably about this Compendium of the Annals of Baronius, which he had begun some years before, and of which some manuscript copies remain, in four volumes. His fortune again improved in 1626, when Cardinal Lodovisio, nephew of Gregory XV., took him into his service at an annual stipend, and with apartments in his palace. That Cardinal dying in 1632, Tassoni was invited to the court of his natural sovereign Francis I. Duke of Modena, who gave him the title of gentleman and counsellor, with a pension. He did not long enjoy this situation, dying in 1635, at the age of 70. He had a expression, was open in conversation, a good prepossessing countenance, with a cheerful speaker, serious or pleasant according to the occasion, of a lively imagination and sound judgment. The work by which the memory of Tassoni is chiefly preserved is his mock-heroic poem, "La Secchia Rapita." It takes its title and subject from a supposed petty war between the Modenese and Bolognese, which ended in the capture of a pail or bucket by the former from the latter; a fact in some measure authenticated by the preservation of an old bucket, fastened by a chain, in a chamber of the tower of the archives at Modena. This piece is the first in which the mock-heroic has been brought to perfection in the Italian language, unless the "Scherno degli Dei" of Francesco Bracciolini can claim the priority, which is a matter of controversy. It is supposed that Tassoni wrote his poem in 1611; at least it is certain that it was finished in 1615, except two cantos afterwards added, and that in 1616 he began to treat about printing it, in which he found such difficulties, that it was first brought to the press at Paris in 1622, and in the same year at Venice. Some expressions being objected to by the Pope, the author was obliged to make alterations, which appeared in an edition at Rome under his own name, with the date Ronciglione, in 1624; after which, editions were multiplied, and it has become one of the Italian classics. Of the merit of a work of this kind only the poet's countrymen are adequate judges, as being alone able to enter into all the local allusions, and peculiarities of language and dialect, in which much of the humour consists. In the "Secchia Rapita" may be discerned much comic incident not without some indecency, and occasional flights of fancy worthy of poetry of a higher order. To most of the editions are added a canto of an intended heroic poem on the discovery of America, entitled "L'Oceano." Another ALESSANDRO TASSONI of Modena, born in 1488, made a compilation of the different annals of that city, which was published in Muratori's collection of Italian historians. Tiraboschi. Vita di Tassoni, prefixed to an edition of the Secchia Rap. - A. TATIANUS, surnamed the Assyrian from his native country, an ecclesiastical writer of the second century, was a sophist by profession, and was brought up in the principles of the Grecian philosophy and theology. He was converted to Christianity, and became a disciple of Justin Martyr, whom he accompanied to Rome. After the death of that father, giving the reins to his fancy, and impressed with the notions which he had early imbibed, he framed a new system which has been termed the heresy of the Encratita, or the Continent, on account of the austerities which it inculcated. He condemned marriage; enjoined abstinence from animal food and wine, and even rejected the use of the latter in the holy mysteries; he adopted some of the errors of the Valentinians, and held that Adam and his immediate posterity were damned. Tatian propagated his doctrines for a time at Rome, and then returned into the East, where he opened a school in Mesopotamia about the year 172. He afterwards preached at Antioch and in other parts. The time and place of his death are not known. Tatian composed a great number of books, of which the only one preserved is a work in Greek, usually entitled, "Oratio ad Græcos," and which may be denominated either an apology for Christianity or an attack on Heathenism. Its title at length is, "The Discourse of Tatianus against the Gentiles, proving that the Greeks are not the Inventors of any of the Sciences, as they boast themselves to be, but that they were all invented by those whom they call Barbarians." In maintaining this position he displays a profusion of learning, but it is of more consequence to know his opinions concerning the Christian religion. This work (says Brucker), every where breathes the spirit of the Oriental philosophy. He teaches, that God, after having from eternity remained at rest in the plenitude of his own light, that he might manifest himself, sent forth from his simple nature, by an act of his will, the Logos, through whom he gave existence to the universe, the essence of which had eternally subsisted in himself. This first emanation which, after the Alexandrian Platonists he calls the Logos, he represents as proceeding from the divine nature, without being separated from it. He conceives matter to have been the production of the Logos, sent forth from his bosom; and that the mind of man is reason produced from a rational power, or an essential emanation from the divine Logos. He supposes the world to be animated by a subordinate spirit, of which all the parts of visible nature partake; he peoples the aerial regions with demons clothed in material vehicles, and imagines that above the stars, æons, or higher emanations from the divine nature, dwell in eternal light. After Plato, he held the imperfection of matter to be the cause of evil, whence he deduced the merit of rising above corporeal appetites and passions. He had not, however, when he wrote this work, proceeded so far as absolutely to condemn marriage, though, with other fathers, he held the superiority of celibacy. Jerom asserts that Tatian adopted the Gnostic opinion, that Christ had no real body; which is rendered probable by what is related of a work of his, which was a concordance or harmony of the Gospels. From this he retrenched the genealogy of Christ, with every thing referring to his human nature, and his extraction from the lineage of David. St. Clement, in his Stromata, cites a work of Ta tian's, entitled "Of Perfection according to The "Oratio ad Græcos" of Tatian was Moreri.-A. TAUBE, FREDERICK WILLIAM VON, University, he commenced author, and pub- army, under the name of Dove, which is a literal translation of his German name Taube. In 1766 he was recalled from London and returned to Vienna, where, in consequence of the knowledge he had acquired of the English commerce, he was made secretary to the council of trade; an office attended with much trouble, and which rendered it necessary for him to undertake fatiguing journeys on business relating to trade, sometimes to Trieste, Temeswar, and Transylvania, and sometimes to Brussels and Ostend. The college of commerce being abolished in 1776, Taube retired to Brussels. In the same year, however, he was ordered by the Emperor to proceed immediately to Sclavonia, and thence to Transylvania, to assist at the synod held at Carlowitz, for the purpose of settling some ecclesiastical affairs respecting the Greek religion in Illyria; after which he was to examine the disputed limits between Hermanstadt and Cronstadt, and, at any event, to continue his journey to Belgrade. Soon after his return to Vienna, in 1777, he was ennobled by the Emperor, and appointed a member of the government of Lower Austria. The close application rendered necessary by this new employment, impaired his health, and next year he was attacked with an inflammation in the lungs; but being unacquainted with the cause of his illness, he continued his ordinary mode of life, drank strong Hungarian wine, and pursued his usual occupations abroad. His disease thus increased, and at length terminated in his death, which took place in the month of June 1778, in the fiftieth year of his age. Taube was a man of great integrity; exceedingly zealous to promote the interest of his friends; and being of a liberal disposition, was always ready to serve those who applied to him for assistance. He possessed a considerable share of learning; and his literary labours afford sufficient proofs of his great diligence and acuteness in research. His principal works are: "De Differentiis Juris Civilis a Jure Naturæ," Gottinga, 1747; Thoughts on the present State of our Colonies in North America; on their Behaviour to the mother Country, and on the true Interest of the Nation in regard of the Colonies," London, 1766; the materials for this publication were obtained by the author from his friends in North America. "Historical and political Sketch of the present State of the English Manufactures, Trade, Navigation, and Colonies, composed partly from the Author's own Observations, and partly from the best and most authentic Communications, both oral and manuscript," 1774, 8vo.; "History of the English Trade, Manufactures, Colonies, and Navigation, from the earliest Periods till the Year 1776; with an authentic Account of the true Causes of the present War with North America," 1776, 8vo.; "J. J. Schatzen's Elements of Geography, improved and enlarged," 1786, 8vo. ; "Historical and Geographical Description of the Kingdom of Sclavonia, and the Duchy of Syrmia, both in regard to their natural state and their civil, ecclesiastical, and military Establishments; drawn up from the Author's own Observations and Remarks made on the spot," Parts I. and II., 1777; Part III., 1778, 8vo. Busching says that this work, though of great importance, as it contained much useful information in regard to two provinces very little known, was prohibited at Vienna; and as no bookseller in that city would put his name to it, it was printed at Jena. "An Account of various new Discoveries, made in the Year 1776 and 1777, in Sclavonia, Syrmia, and the neighbouring districts, in regard to Antiquities and Objects of Natural History, with engravings and maps," Leipsic, 1777, 4to. Between the years 1773 and 1778 Taube furnished Busching with many articles for his periodical publications, and sent him authentic materials for the description of Austria and England in his well known work on Geography. He communicated also to the Royal Society of London, "A short Account of a particular kind of Torpedo found in the river Danube, with several experiments on that fish," which was published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1775. Beyträge zu der Lebensgeschichte denkwurdiger Personen von A. F. Busching.-J. TAUSEN, JOHN, one of the first promoters of the Reformation in Denmark, and on that account styled the Danish Luther, was born in 1499, in the island of Fyen, where his parents resided in the humble sta tion of peasants. Having gone through his school education at Aarhuus and Odense, he embraced the monastic life, and entered into a convent of the order of St. John of Jerusalem at Antvorskow, where he became so great a favourite with his prior, that he was allowed a pension, to enable him to travel for his improvement into foreign countries, but on the express condition that he should not visit Wittenberg, which was considered at that time, as the focus of heresy. In consequence of this indulgence he proceeded to Louvain and Cologne, where he had an opportunity of |