A NEW AND GENERAL BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY, P. “ Plus, have fourlified under the emperor Theodofius APPUS, an emirent philofopher of Alexandria, is faid by the Great, who reigned from A. D; 379 to 395. His writings fhew him to have been confummate in the science of mathematics. Many of his works are loft, and the greater part of thofe that are extant continued long in manufcript. Of his books of Mathematical Collections," which are extant in Greek, from the middle of the fecond to the end of the eighth book, nothing had been published, except fome "Lemmata" of the feventh book, by Marcus Meibomius, in his Dialogue upon proportions, printed in 1655; the twelve laft " Propofitions" of the fecond book, by Dr. Wallis, at the end of his Ariftarchus Samius, 1688, 8vo; part of the "Preface" to the feventh book, by David Gregory, in the Prolegomena to his Euclid, 1703; the entire "Preface," by Edmund Halley, before his Apollonius, 1706, 8vo. The third, fourth, fifth, fixth, feventh, and eighth books of thefe Mathematical Collections had only been published in a Latin verfion made by Fr. Commandinus. Merfennus exhibited a kind of abridgement of them in his Synopfis Mathematica, Paris, 1644, in 4to: but this contains only fuch propofitions as could be understood without figures. At length, the whole works of Pappus were published at Bologna, in 1660, in folio, by Carolus Manoleflius, who feems to have used all proper means to make his edition complete and excellent: for he tells us, that he confulted and employed, as well thofe who excelled in the Greek tongue, as thofe who were deep in mathematical knowledge; and it is. certain that, without an uncommon skill in both, no good edition of Pappus could be prepared. : VOL. XII. [A] Fabric. Bibl. Græc. vol. viii. Suidas Suidas relates, that Pappus wrote a "Commentary upon "four books of Ptolemy's Magna Conftructio;" but what we have remaining under his name, which may be found in the Bafil edition of 1538, is only a Commentary upon part of the fifth book. PAPYRIUS MASSON. See MASSON. PARABOSCO (GIROLAMO), an Italian comic writer, born at Placentia, in the beginning of the fixteenth century, was an author of fome eminence in his time. His comedies have a certain character of originality, which ftill, in fome degree, fupports their credit. They are fix in number, and entitled, 1. La Notte." 2. "Il Villuppo." 3. "I Contenti." 4. "L'Hermafrodito." 5. "Il Pellegrino." 6. "Il Marinaio." Of thefe," Il Pellegrino" is in verfe, the rest are in profe. The best edition is that of Giolito de' Ferrari, at Venice, in 1560, in two small volumes, duodecimo. There is alfo a volume of letters by him, entitled, Lettere Amorofe di M. Girolamo Parabofco," printed by the fame Giolito, in the year 1545. Thefe were republifhed in 1548, "con alcune Novelle e Rime." We have feen alfo, in catalogues, a volume of "Rime" alone, published by Giolito at Venice, in 1547, 8vo. He compofed alfe, novels in the tyle of Boccacio and Bandelli, which were publilhed at Venice in 1558, under the title of "I Diporti di M. Girolamo Parabofco." This, however, was not the earliest edition; for the title fays, "novamente ristampati, et diligentiflimamente revifti." There are editions alfo of 1586 and 1607. It confifts of three days, or "Giornate," the first and fecond of which comprise fixteen tales, and four curious queftions. The third contains feveral "Motti," or bon-mots, with a few madrigals, and other short poems. There is alfo a volume by him entitled, "Oracolo," the oracle, in 4to, published at Venice, in 1551. In this the author gives anfwers to twelve questions propofed in the beginning of the book; which answers are given and varied according to fome rules laid down in the preface [B]. It appears that Parabofco lived chiefly, if not entirely, at Venice, as all his books were published there. His "Diporti," or Sports, open with a panegyric upon that city. PARACELSUS (AUREOLUS PHILIPPUS THEOPHRASTUS BOMBAST DE HOHENHEIM), a famous physician, was the fon of Wilhelmus Hohenheim, a learned man, and licentiate in phyfic, though a flender practitioner, but poffeffed of a noble library, being himself the natural fon of a master of the Teutonic order. He was born in 1493, at a village called Einfidlen in Switzerland, about two German miles from Zurich. At three [] Crefcimbeni. Hist. della Volg Poef. vol. lib. iii. cap. 25. years years of age he is faid to have been mutilated, and made an eunuch, by a fow: accordingly we always find him a bitter enemy to women; though his picture, as taken from the life, reprefents him with a beard. He was inftructed by his father in phyfic and furgery, wherein he made great proficiency; but as he grew up, he was captivated with the study of alchemy, which occafioned his father to put him under the care of Trithemius, abbot of Spanheim, a man at that time of great fame. Having learned many secrets from Trithemius, he removed to Sigifmund Faggerus of Schwatz, a famous German chemift; who at that time, partly by his own industry, and partly by a multitude of fervants and operators retained for the purpofe, made daily improvements in the art. And here he affures us he learned fpagyric operations effectually; after which he applied to all the most eminent mafters in the alchemical philofophy, who concealed nothing from him, and from whom, as he himself relates, he learned his fecrets. But not content with this, he vifited all the universities of Germany, Italy, France, and Spain, in order to learn phyfic; and then he took a journey to Pruffia, Lithuania, Poland, Wa lachia, Tranfilvania, Croatia, Portugal, Illyria, and the other countries of Europe, where he applied indifferently to phy ficians, barbers, old women, conjurers, and chemifts, both good and bad; from all which he gladly picked up any thing that might be useful, and then enlarged his ftock of fure and approved remedies. He alfo learned from Bafil Valentine's writings, the doctrine of the three elements, which, conceal ing the author's name, he adopted as his own, and published under the appellation of "Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury." In the twentieth year of his age, making a vifit to the mines in Germany, he travelled into Ruffia, where being taken pri foner on the frontiers by the Tartars, he was carried before the Cham, and afterwards fent with that prince's fon on an ema baffy to Conftantinople; where, in his twenty-eighth year, as he tells us, he was let into the fecret of the philofopher's ftone. He was also retained frequently as furgeon and phyfician to armies, in battles, and fieges. He fet a high value on Hippocrates and the ancient phyficians; but defpifed the fcholaftic doctors, and above all the Arabs. He made great ufe of remedies prepared of mercury and opium, wherewith he cured the leprofy, venereal difeafe, itch, flight dropfies, and other infirmities, which to the phyficians of thofe times (who were ignorant of mercury, and afraid of opium, as cold in the fourth degree) were utterly incurable. By thefe cures he grew daily more celebrated, and more daring, especially after recovering the famous printer Frobenius of Bafil, whofe cafe appears to have been a violent pain in his heel, which upon Paracelfus's treatment removed into his toes, fo that the patient could never ftir them afterwards, though he felt no pain, and in other refpects grew well; but foon after died of an apoplexy. By this cure he became acquainted with Erafmus, and was well efteemed by the magiftracy of Bafil, who, giving him a plentiful falary, made him profeffor in 1527. There he continued to teach philofophical phyfic two hours every day, fometimes in Latin, but more frequently in German. He read lectures to explain his own books, "De compofitionibus," "De gradibus," et " De Tartaro;" which, according to Helmont, abounded in idle drollery, and contained little folid fenfe. Here, in a folemn manner feated in the chair, he burned the writings of Galen and Avicenna, declaring to his audience that he would even confult the devil if God would not affift him; and this is agreeable to his exprefs declaration in feveral places of his works, that no one need fcruple confulting the devil to get fecrets of phyfic out of him. He had many difciples, with whom he lived in great intimacy. Three of thefe he maintained in diet and clothes, and inftructed in feveral fecrets; though they afterwards ungratefully deferted their mafter, and even wrote fcandalous things of him, adminiftring with much indifcretion the medicines he had taught them, to the great disadvantage of those who employed them. He alfo retained furgeons and barbers in his family, to whom he communicated ufeful fecrets; but all of them left him foon after, and turned his enemies. His only faithful difciples were the doctors Peter, Cornelius, Andrew, Urfinus, the licentiate Pangratius, and Mr. Raphael, whom he speaks of with commendation. During his two years refidence in this city, he cured a noble canon of Liechtemfels, who had been given over by the phyficians, of a violent pain in his stomach, with only three pills of his laudanum. The fick canon had promifed him 100 French crowns for the cure; but finding it fo easily effected, refused to pay, alledging with a jeft, that Paracelfus had given him but three moufe-turds. Upon this the physician cited his patient before a court of juftice; where a judge, not confidering fo much the excellence of the art, as the quantity of labour and coft, decreed him only a trifling gratification.. With this Paracelfus was fo exafperated, that, loading them with reproaches of ignorance and injustice, he rendered himfelf in fome measure guilty of treason, and thus thought beft to quit the court, and make hafte home; from whence, by the advice of his friends, he privately withdrew out of the city, leaving his whole chemical apparatus to John Oporinus. After this he continued rambling two years through the neighbouring parts of Alfatia, accompanied by Oporinus; and in the the courfe of a diffolute life, wrought many extraordinary cures, as we find related by Zwinger, who lived at the same time at Bafil, and often heard the account from Oporinus himself [c]. It happened one evening that Paracelfus was called upon to vifit a countryman dangerously ill near Colmar in Alface; but, being fet in for a drinking-bout [D] with ordinary com pany, he deferred vifiting the patient till next morning; when entering the house with a furious look, he afked if the fick perfon had taken any phyfic? as intending to administer fome of his laudanum. The by-ftanders anfwered, that he had taken nothing but the facrament, as being at the point of death; at which Paracelfus in a rage replied, "If he has had recourse to another phyfician, he has no occafion for me," and ran immediately out of doors. Oporinus, ftruck with this piece of impiety, bid Paracelfus the laft adieu; fearing left the barbarity of his otherwise beloved master fhould fome time fall on his own head. From this time he continued wandering from place to place, always intoxicated, and never changing his clothes, nor fo much as going into bed. In Sept. 1541, being taken ill at a public inn at Saltsburg, he died after a few days fickness, in his forty-eighth year; though he had promised himself, that, by the. ufe of his elixir, he fhould live to the age of Methufalem. He was buried in the hofpital of St. Sebaftian at Saltsburg, with an epitaph inferted below [E]. It is probable, that the bulk of the pieces published in his works are not his, but that his followers chofe to u her in their performances under his name. In effect, they are so many, and fo different from each other, that it is next to impoffible they fhould all come from the fame hand; yet, befides the three books already mentioned, upon which he lectured in public, there are fome others which feem to be genuine, whose titles are therefore inferted below [F]. With wife, and quitting Paracelfus, returned to Bafil. [c] This Oporinus, who had been for fome time his fervant and amanuenfis, was a perfon of much learning, well skilled in Greek and Latin; who, poffeffed with the vain expectation of attaining his fecrets, left his own family, and travelled with him for two whole years, without learning any one thing; till wearied out, he grew them. [D] He was much addicted to drunk- * enneís. Walterus tells us, that when be was in his cups, which often happened, he would threaten to summon a million of fouls, in order to fhew his power over [E] Conditur hic Philippus Theophraftus, Ac bona fua in pauperes diftribuendo collocandoque honoravit. [r] Thefe are, "De Pefte;" "De "Archidoxa Medicinæ ;" "De ortu remineralibus ;""De vita longa," and the rum naturalium;" "De transformatione B3 rerum |