day ol Spinoza and I ke and Bayle; " to justify the
ways "i i i" man," by explaining the wonder of the
universe in consonance with a lively and intelligent faith in a wise, beneficent, and sustaining Creator. De- spite of its imperfections, its disc tections, its disorder
a»<l it mpleteness, the study ol the poem may be ad-
msly renewed alter the lapse of a century, though other weapons may be required for the reno- vated conflict between faith and science than can thence be drawn, in consequence of the vast changes which made in till the implements of intellect- ual warfare.
1 the long neglect into which the Anti-Lucretius had fallen that the bibliogra- phy of the Bubjecl is exceedingly scanl and unsatisfac- tory. Tin- histories of philosophy pass it by with little
<.r n<> m.tiee; the editors of Lucretius, and the c men-
tators on the /'< Wutura Rerun, have scarcely bestowed more attention upon it. There is very little
ition which i- nol due to the contemporaries of Under these circumstances, th< ly refer-
ich it seems expedient to make are, Biogra- . . Polignac; De B Polignac, prononce dans VAcadi
des Belles-Lettres ; De Mairau, ' 1/. /. Cardinal d\ Polignac, prono
ie Royal des Sciences; Fancher, Hut. du Car- 1 ■ 1772,2 vols.); St.Simon, Me- \ntirLucreti
"d. 17 is. •_■ vols. 1 J,,,,,;.
1 Van l.auu.
nm« 3, has nol a
■" h has hia memory fallen i
• the important nts ol his time, gee Jcrvis, Bist.oftke Church -1. 224, and the art, Noailli -
b'. II.) Polish Brethren. St ■ Socixi w,.
Politeness Si et n,
Politi, Adriauo, an Italian writer, was hom at Si-
ena at the close of the 16th century. He chose the ec- clesia8tical career, and was attached as secretary to the cardinal- Capisucchi, San Giorgio, .and Serbelloni. He t the middle of the 17th century. Politi ed- ited (ij- Rome, 161 I, 4to), and another and more satisfactory edition (Venice, 1644, lu>):—Bi- zionario Toscano (ibid. l615,8vo): this work, an abridg- ment ol the Dizionario deUa Crusca, caused him some tribulations: he was accused of having wittingly intro- duced into it some errors and falsehoods, and was thrown into jail : — Ordo J,'", mine historia legenda (ibid. 1627, lto. and in vol. iii of Roberti's Miscellanea). — Hoefer, ' • rale, \1. 616.
Politi, Alessandro, an Italian writer, was horn July 10", 1679, at Florence. After studying under t lie Jesuits, he entered at the age of fifteen the Congrega- tion of the Regular Clerks of the Pious Scl 1-. and
was conspicuous among its members by his rare erudi- tion. He was called upon to teach rhetoric and peri- patetic philosophy at Florence in 17< n >. Barring a period of about three years, during which he was a pro- fessor of theology at Genoa (1716-18), he spent the greatest part of his life in his native city, availing him- self ol the manifold resources he could find there to im- prove his knowledge of Greek literature, his favorite study. Iii 17:;:; he was called to the chair of eloquence vacant in the University of Pisa. Accustomed to live among his hooks, aloof from the world, Politi was of an irritable disposition, and sensitive in the extreme to the lightest criticism. He was fond of displaying his eru- dition, and his useless digressions make the reading of his works a most harassing job. He died July 1'.".. 17.Y_\ He left, Philosophia Peripatetica, ex mente sancti Tho- mee (Florence, 1708, 12mo) : — De patrid m testamenUs condendis potestate, lib. iv (ibid. 171:.', 8vo) : — Eustathii Commentarii in Homeri Uiadem, vfith notes and Latin version (ibid. 1730 35,3 vols. foL) -.—Eustathii Commen- tarii in Dionysium Periegetem, Greek and Latin (Co- logne, 1742, 8vo): Orationes XII adAcademiam Pisa- iittm 1 1. ucca. 17 Id. %vd): — Martyrologium Romanum castigatum (vol. i. Florence, 1751, 8vo) ; and many un- published works. All his orations have been collected (Pisa, 1774, 8vo). See Fabroni, Vita Italic-rum, vol. viii; Tipaldo./iW/r. degli Kid. illustri, vol. iv.— Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generate, xl,616.
Politi, Giovanni, an Italian canonist, was horn June 8, 1738, at Pinzano (Frioul). Hestudiedal Padua, obtained in 1763 the diploma as ;t doctor of civil and canon law. and was a professor of literature al the Sem- inary of Portogruaro, and also of ecclesiastical jurispru- dence, in which he was remarkably proficient. In 1800 he repaired to Concordia, where the bishop provided him with a canonicate. lie published one considera- ble work. Jurisprudent ecclesiastica universe, libri ix (Venice, 17*7. :i \oK hoi. which was approved by a brief of Pius VI. Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generate, si, 617.
Politian or Poliziano, Am. it... a noted scholar of the Renaissance period, flourished in France and Italy, and was the favorite of the Medici at Flor- ence, lie was born at Montepulciano, in Tuscany, in 1 154, and was the son of Benedetto Ambrogini, a doctor ol law. In after-life he dropped his paternal name, and assumed that of Poliziano, from Ids native town Mons PolitiailUS. Lorenzo de .Medici took care of In- educa- tion, placed him uinler good preceptor-, and provided lor all his wants. He afterwards entered into clerical orders, took his degree of doctor of law. and was made by Lorenzo a canon of the cathedral of Florence. He was also intrusted with the education of the ducal chil- dren, as well as will, the care of the duke's library and collection of antiquities, and he was his guesl and com- panion for ii,,. remainder of ids life. Poliziano had studied Latin under Cristoforo 1. an. lino. Greek under Andronicus ol rhessalonica, and philosophy under l'i- irgyropulus of Constantinople. He was after- wards appointed professor, of Latin and Greek at Flor-