murdered by his servant tor his money. This happened in 1543. Polidqro's principal work was done at Messina, and represented Christ bearing hi* Cross. This, with several small pictures of sacred Subjects, is now in the Studj Gallery al Naples. His works have power, life,
and passion, and he may he said to have originated the style which in later time formed the basis of the Nea- politan scl 1. See Spooner, Biog. Hist, ofth Fine
Arts, s. v.; Mrs. Clement. Handbook of Painters, etc. p. 171,172. (J.H.W.)
Polieia (UoXleia), a festival anciently observed at Thebi -. in < Ireece, in honor of Apollo, when a bull was wont to be sacrificed.
Polieus (IIoXih'c). a surname oi Zeus, or Jupiter, under which he was worshipped at Athens, as the pro- tector of the city. The god had an altar on the Acrop- olis, on which a hull was sacrificed.
Polignac, Melchior de, Cardinal, was one oi
the m08l illustrious scholars and courtiers of Prance in the latter years of Louis XIV. and iu the early reign of Louis XV; an ecclesiastic and high dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church: a distinguished diplomatist, archaeologist, philosopher, and poet. It is in the last of these characters that his reputation ha- survived, and is likely to survive, though with continually fading lustre. The elegant Latiuist, whose name was for
half a century in the mouths of the fashionable ladies
of the conn, and of the learned in their studious re- treats; whose verses passed current in the gay world for years before they were committed to the pre—, and continued in circulation for half a century after the death of their author and the oblivion of their source; furnishing to America an inscription in honor of Frank- lin—
" Eripnit ralmenque Jovl Phoehoqne Bagittae ;*' who-,- poem was anxiously and frequently desired by Leibnitz, but who died without seeing it. thirty yean before it saw the light this elegant Latinisl isnowre- membered only by a few, and the w ork w hich gave him his un i- known to still fewer, being almost as in- accessible as ii i- unsought ¥el Polignac can never be entirely forgotten, for he linked himself by his poetic labors with Lucretius; and so lone; a- the pro- found but dreamy philosophy, and the exquisite bul un l.m. lnd\ graces of the greatest of Roman poets are admire, i. bo long will Polignac shine in the radiance reflected from the great luminary with which be i- in opposition.
Life. Melchior de Polignac, the descendant of one of the oldest houses of Vuvergne, was horn i let. 1 1, 1661, at Puy-en-Velay, now Le Puy, the capital of the present department ol Haute-Loire, in France. Puy is in the
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heart of the mountainous region of Middle France, the I region of which Puy-de-DGme is the centre. It lies at the foot of Mount Anis, in a rugged valley between the great arras of the Cevennes. It is on the left bank of the Upper Loire, and is watered also by its two small tributaries, the Borne and Dolaison. The situation is wild and romantic, and is consecrated by romantic associations. The ground on which the city stands is so ragged and broken that the streets in the higher town are unfit for wheels, and are often mere stairs, like those of Yaletta. The cathedral is escaladed by an ap- proach of 118 steep steps. Within is a miraculous im- age of the Virgin Man-, carved by resident Christians of Lebanon from the cedars of that mountain, though sceptically suspected to have been an idol of the Egyp- tian Isis. In the suburb of L' Aiguille, the church of St. Michel crowns a basaltic rock 285 feet in height, and is gained by a flight of 216 steps hewn out of the rock. In the Dominican church of St. Laurent are the tomb and part of the remains of Bertrand Duguesclin, the great constable of Trance. Near by, and close to the village of Expailly, are the ruins of the ancient castle of Polignac, supposed to have been erected on the site of the temple of the Celtic Apollo. From this circumstance — the Templum Apolliniacum — the family of Polignac claimed to have derived its appellation. The tremendous forces of volcanic action are manifest in the country round about, and the streets of Le Puy are partly paved with the volcanic breccia. The race and the birthplace of the future cardinal were thus encom- passed with the evidences on which were founded legends and traditions, pagan and Christian — antiquarian, clas- sical, ecclesiastical, chivalrous, and poetic — which might well inspire the quick fancy of the descendant of an ancient family in that marvellous land; and they were enclosed in scenes of natural beauty or sublimity which might feed his imagination in those years of youth which are susceptible to all external influences. Who shall tell to what extent and in what modes the young mind is moulded by the circumstances in which infancy and boyhood are passed — in that impressible period of ex- j tilting life when it is facile to all impressions'? There are no interesting recollections of Poliguac's boyhood. As the cadet of a noble house, he was destined for the Church, and was educated at Paris in the colleges of Clermont and Harcourt. He completed his courses by the study of theology at the Sorbonne, and was early provided with a living through the intervention of his family. The young abbe soon attracted attention by the extent of his acquirements, the vivacity of his dis- position, the polish of his conversation, and the elegance of his manners. He is said to have added to "a distin- guished address and personal appearance a sweet and winning eloquence, which became masculine and pow- erful in the close of his harangues." Madame de Sevigne described him in her Letters as " a man of the world, of fascinating sprightliness, knowing all things and meditating all things; yet with all the gentleness, brill- iancy, and complaisance which could be desired in the intercourse of life" (March 18, 1690). Equally flatter- ing commendations were bestowed on him about the same time by Louis XIV and pope Alexander VIII. This pope was elected in a conclave attended by the cardinal de Bourbon, who had carried with him to Rome the young abbe, fresh from his theological studies. On this visit Polignac was charged with the discussion of the four articles of 1682 which asserted the liberties of the Gallican Church. He returned to France to report to Louis XIV the favorable results of the effort at con- ciliation between the French and Roman courts. In 1691 he accompanied the cardinal de Bourbon a second time to Rome, on the occasion of the election of Inno- cent XII to the pontificate. On his return to France, he shut himself up in the monastery of" Bons Enfants" to continue his studies. He was not suffered to remain long in this learned seclusion. The previous experi- ence of his adroitness recommended him as a suitable