PARMIGIANO
698
PARNASIM
Platn, in his dialogue entitled rarmenides, to have con- I versed with Parmenides and Zeno on the doctrine of ideas, which we can hardly suppose to have been the case, as Socrates at that time was only thirteen or four- teen. AthenKUS (xi, p. 505) accordingly has censured riato for saying that such a dialogue ever took place. But in reply to these objections it may be remarked, lirst, that little reliance can be placed upon the vague statement of such a careless writer as Diogenes; and, secondly, that though the dialogue which I'lato repre- sents Socrates to have had with Parmenides and Zeno is doubtless fictitious, yet it was founded on a fact that Socrates when a boy had heard Parmenides at Athens. Plato mentions, both in the T/wceMtis (p. 183) and in the Sopfiistes (p. 127), that Socrates was very young when he heard Parmenides. We have no other particulars respecting the life of Parmenides. He taught Empedo- cles and Zeno, and with the latter he lived on the most intimate terms (Plato, Parm. p. 127). He is always spoken of by the ancient writers with the greatest re- spect. In the Thmieius (p. 183) Plato compares him with Homer, and in the Sophisies (p. 237) he calls him " the Great" (comp. Aristot. Met. i, 5). Parmenides wrote a poem, which is usually cited by the title Of Nature— Yltpl <pv(j(ojQ (Sext. Empir. Ach: Mathem. vii, 111; Theophrastus, .-l^). Diof/. Laert. viii, 55), but which also bore otlier titles. Suidas (s. v.) calls it ^v<jio\o^ia ; and adds, on the authority of Plato, that he also wrote works in prose. The passage of Plato {Soph. p. 237) however, to which Suidas refers, periiaps only means an oral exposition of his system, which interpretation is rendered more probable by the foct that Sextus Em- piricus {Adv. Mathem. vii, 111) and Diogenes Laertius (i, IG) expressly state that Parmenides only wrote one work. Several fragments of this work {On Nature) have come down to us, principally in the writings of Sextus Empiricus and Simplieius. They were first published by Stephanus in his Poesis Philosophica (Par. 1573), and next by Ftilleborn, with a translation in verse (Ziillichau. 1795). Brandis, in his Commenta- iiones Ekaticm (Altona, 1815), also published the frag- ments of Parmenides, together with those of Xenopha- nes and ]\Ielissus ; but the most recent and most com- plete edition is by Karsten, in the second volume of his Phi'osophorum Gracorum veterum, prcesertim qui ante P'atonem floruerunt, Operum Peliquiw (Brux. 1835). The fragments of his work whicli have come down to us are sufficient to enable us to judge of its general method and subject. It opened with an allegory, which was intended to exhibit the soul's longing after truth. The soul is represented as drawn by steeds along an untrodden road to the residence of Justice (A/kj;), who promises to reveal everything to it. After this intro- duction the wo k is divided into two parts: the first part treats of the knowledge of truth, and the second explains the physiological system of the Eleatic school. Tiiat great search concerning the sul>stance of things occupied Parmenides; but, instead of finding unity in nature, he discovered it in mind alone. It is the rea- son which conceives and bestows unit}' on plurality; so that true reality is subjective. The scheme of Par- menides is pure idealism, and open to all the objections to which one-sided schemes are liable. He exercised much influence on the speculations of Plato. See Kiaux, Essai sur Parm'enide d' Elee (1840) ; Kitter, Hist, rf Philos. ; Lewis, Ilist. of Phi.'on. ; Ueberweg, Hist, of Philos. i, 40, 49, 54 sq., 247 ; Cocker, Christianity and Greek Philosophy, p. 307-309; Cudworth, Intellectual System (see Index in vol. iii) ; Butler, Ancient History, vol. ii ; Smith, Diet, of Class. Biog. s. v. ; Journal of Spec. Philos. Jan. 1870, art. i. See also Eleatics, and the literature there appended.
Paimigiano, Fkaxcksco JlAzztroLi, familiarly known as Parmif/ianiiio, a noted Italian painter, who devoted himself to the study of sacred art, was born at Parma Jan. 11, 1503. He studied under his uncles, who were artists of celebiity, and in his sixteenth
j'ear finished a picture of the Baptism of Christ. In 1521 Correggio"s visit to Parma aflbrdcd Parmigiano the opportunity to study the style of that great artist, and thereafter the eflbrts of Parmigiano betray that influence. In 1522 he painted, among other works, a Madonna irifh the Child, and St. Jerome, and St. Ber- nardin. In 1523 he went to Rome, and there studied the works of Ilaflfaelle. Parmigiano now aimed to combine with the grace of Raft'aelle the contrasts of Mi- chael x\ngelo and the grace and harmon}- of CoiTeggio. By I'armigiano's admirers it was said at this time that "the spirit of Eaft'aelle had passed into him." In 1727 he removed to Bologna, where, among other works, he painted for the church of St. Pctronius the Madonna della Rosa, now in the Dresden Gallery. He returned to Parma in 1531. Having engaged to exe- cute several extensive frescos in the church of S. Maria Steccata, after repeated delaj's, he was thrown into prison for breach of contract, and on being re- leased, instead of carrying out his undertaking, he fled to Casal Maggiore, in the territory of Cremona, where he died in 1540. Vasari, in his notice of Parmigiano, attributes his misfortunes and premature death to a passion for alchen\y ; but this oft-repeated stor}' has been disproved In' the researches of late biographers. Parmigiano executed several etchings, and some wood- cuts are attributed to him. His Avorks, especiallj' his easel-pieces, are very scarce. The prominent features of his stj'le are elegance of form, grace of countenance, contrast in the attitudes, perfect knowledge of the chia- roscuro, and the charm of color. Buthis figures are often characterized bj' excessive slenderness rather than real elegance of form, and his grace sometimes degenerates into aflectation, and his contrasts into extravagance, Parmigiano was celebrated for the ease and freedom with which he designed, and for those bold strokes of the pencil which Albano calls divine. There are a few altar-pieces bj' Parmigiano ; the most valued is that of St. Margaret in Bologna, a composition rich in figures. Guide preferred it to the St. Cecilia of Kaftaelle. See Afto, Vita di F. Mazzola (1784); Bellini, Cemii intomo alia Vita ed al'e Opere di Mazzuoli (1844) ; Mortara, Memoria della Vita di Mazzuoli (1846); 3Mrs. Jame- son, Memoirs of Early Palian Painters ; Spooner, Biog. Hist, of the Fine A rts, vol. ii, s. v. ; English Cycloj)CBdia, s. v.