misfortunes. The gout, which he is said to have heightened by intemperance, tormented him so for the six or seven last years of his life, that, as he speaks of himself, he might be said rather to breathe than to live. He was such a cripple in his hands and feet, that he was incapable of moving himself. He made, however, what use he could of intervals of ease, to read, and even write: and many of his books were composed in those intervals. He died at length of this malady in 1552; and was interred in the cathedral of Ferrara, where an epitaph, composed by himself, was inscribed upon his tomb,

His works consist of seventeen productions, which were first printed separately; but afterwards collected and published in 2 vols. folio, at Basil 1580, and at Leyden 1696. The most valued pieces among them are, "Historia de Deis Gentium,' "Historiæ Poetarum tam Græcorum quam Latinorum Dialogi decem,"-and, "Dialogi duo de Poetis nostrorum." The first of these books is one of the last he composed, and full of profound erudition. The other two, which make up the history of the ancient and modern poets, are written with great exactness and judgment. Vossius speaks highly of this work, as the production of great judgment and learning, as well as industry, and observes, that though his professed design is to collect memoirs concerning their persons, characters, and writings in general, yet he has occasionally interspersed many things, regarding the art of poetry, which may be useful to those who intend to cultivate it. Joseph Scaliger, indeed, would persuade us, though not very consistently, that nothing can be more contemptible than the judgment he passes on the poets he treats of: for in another place he allows all the works of Giraldus to be very good, and that no man knew better how to temper learning with judgment.

There is a work also by Giraldus, "De annis & mensibus, cæterisque temporis partibus, una cum Kalendario Romano & Græco," written with a view to the reformation of the kalendar, which was afterwards effected by pope Gregory XIII. about 1582. There are likewise among his works a few poems, the principal of which is entitled, "Epistola in qua agitur de incommodis, quæ in direptione Urbana passus est; ubi item est quasi catalogus suorum, amicorum Poetarum, & defleatur interitus Herculis Cardinalis Rangonis." This poem is annexed to the Florentine edition of the two dialogues concerning his contemporary

poets; and contains a curious literary history of that time. To other praises bestowed upon Giraldus by authors of the first name, we may add that of Casaubon, who calls him, "vir solide doctus, & in scribendo accuratus," a man solidly learned and an accurate writer. Thuanus says, that "he was excellently skilled in the Greek and Latin tongues, in polite literature, and in antiquity, which he has illustrated in several works; and that, though highly deserving a better fate, he struggled all his life with illhealth and ill-fortune." His books he bequeathed to his relatives John Baptist Giraldi and Pasetius.1

GIRALDI (JOHN BAPTIST CINTIO), an Italian poet, of the same family with the preceding, was born at Ferrara in 1504. His father, being a man of letters, took great care of his education; and placed him under Cælio Calcagnini, to study the languages and philosophy. He made an uncommon progress, and then applied himself to the study of physic; in which faculty he was afterwards a doctor. At 21 years of age, he was employed to read public lectures at Ferrara upon physic and polite literature. In 1542, the duke of Ferrara made him his secretary; which office he held till the death of that prince in 1558. He was continued in it by his successor: but envy having done him some ill offices with his master, he was obliged to quit the court. He left the city at the same time, and removed with his family to Mondovi in Piedmont; where he taught the belles lettres publicly for three years. He then went to Turin; but the air there not agreeing with his constitution, he accepted the professorship of rhetoric at Pavia; which the senate of Milan, hearing of his being about to remove, and apprized of his great merit, freely offered him. This post he filled with great repute; and afterwards obtained a place in the academy of that town. It was here he got the name of Cintio, which he retained ever after, and put in the title-page of his books. The gout, which was hereditary in his family, beginning to attack him severely, he returned to Ferrara; thinking that his native air might afford him relief. But he was hardly settled there, when he grew extremely ill; and, after languishing about three months, died in 1573.

His works are all written in Italian, except some orations, spoken upon extraordinary occasions, in Latin. They 1 Moreri, Niceron, vol. XXIX. Roscoe's Leo.-Saxii Onom, in Gyraldus,

consist chiefly of tragedies: a collection of which was published at Venice 1583, in 8vo, by his son Celso Giraldi; who, in his dedication to the duke of Ferrara, takes occa sion to observe, that he was the youngest of five sons, and the only one who survived his father. There are also some prose works of Giraldi: one particularly upon comedy, tragedy, and other kinds of poetry, which was printed at Venice by himself in 1554, 4to. Some make no scruple to rank him among the best tragic writers that Italy has produced; but perhaps the work by which he now is best known is his "Hecatommiti," an hundred novels in the manner of Boccaccio, which have been frequently printed. There is a scarce volume of his poems printed at Ferrara in 1537, at the close of which is a treatise of Calio Calcagnini, "De Imitatione," addressed to Giraldi.'

GIRALDUS CAMBRENSIS. See BARRY.

GIRARD (GABRIEL), an ingenious French writer, was born at Clermont in Auvergne in 1678, and educated for the church. In his youth he had a canonry in the collegiate church of Notre Dame de Monferrand, but resigned it to one of his brothers, that he might be at liberty to go to Paris and devote his time to literary pursuits. There by the interest of some friends he was made almoner to the duchess of Berri, daughter of the regent, and also obtained the place of king's interpreter for the Sclavonian and Russian languages. In 1744 he was admitted a member of the French academy. He died Feb. 4, 1748. The work by which he is best known, and to which indeed he chiefly owed his reputation in France, is his "Synonymes Franças," 12mo, of which a new edition, with some posthumous pieces by Girard, was published by M. Beauzée in 1769, 2 vols. 12mo. No grammatical work was ever more popular in France, nor more useful in defining the precise meaning of words apparently synonymous; and the elegance and moral tendency of the examples he produces have been much admired. The abbé Roubaud has since published "Les Nouveaux Synonymes Français," 1786, 4 vols. 8vo, which may be considered as a supplement to Girard. Our author published also a grammar under the title of "Les vrais principes de la langue Français,” 2 vols. 12mo, far inferior in ingenuity to his former, and

1 Moreri.-Niceron, vol. XXIX.-Ginguenè Hist. Litt. d'Italie, vol. VI. p. 66, ➡Saxii Onomast. in Gyraldųs.

full of metaphysical whims on the theory of language, not unmixed with those infidel principles which were in his time beginning to be propagated.'

GIRTIN (THOMAS), an ingenious young landscapepainter, was born Feb. 18, 1773, and received his first instructions from Mr. Fisher, a drawing-master in Aldersgatestreet, and was, for a short time, the pupil of Mr. Dayes. He early made nature his model; but the first master that struck his attention forcibly was Canaletti, and, in the latter part of his life, he sedulously studied the colouring of Rubens. He was the first who introduced the custom of drawing upon cartridge-paper; by which means he avoided that spotty, glittering glare so common in drawings made on white paper; and some of his later productions have as forcible and spirited an effect as an oil-picture, and are more clear. In his first manner he made the outline with a pen, but afterwards did away that hard outline, which gives so edgy an effect to drawings that are not, in other respects, destitute of merit; and, having first given his general forms with Indian ink, finished his work by putting on his different tints. This, if judiciously managed, is certainly a great improvement in the art. It has been said, that he made great use of the rule, and produced some of his most forcible effects by trick, but this was not the case. His eye was peculiarly accurate; and by that he formed his judgment of proportions. Whoever inspected his pallet would find it covered with a greater variety of tints than almost any of his contemporaries employed. Mr. Moore was his first patron, and with him he went a tour into Scotland. The prospects he saw in that country gave that wildness of imagery to the scenery of his drawings by which they are so pre-eminently distinguished. He also went with Mr. Moore to Peterborough, Lichfield, and Lincoln; and, indeed, to many other places remarkable for their rich scenery, either in nature or architecture. That gentleman had a drawing that Girtin made of Exeter cathedral, which was principally coloured on the spot where it was drawn; for he was so uncommonly indefatigable, that, when he had made a sketch of any place, he never wished to quit it until he had given it all the proper tints. He was early noticed by lord Harewood, Mr. Lascelles, and Dr. Monro; in whose collections are some of

? Dict. Hist.

those fine specimens of the arts by the study of which he formed his taste. The doctor has in his possession some of his earliest, and many of his finest, drawings. He painted two pictures in oil; the first was a view in Wales, which was exhibited, and much noticed, in 1801; and the second, the panorama view of London, which was exhibited in Spring-gardens. About twelve months before his death he went to France, where he staid till May. His last, and indeed his best, drawings were the views of Paris, which were purchased by lord Essex, and from which aqua-tinta prints by other artists have since been made. This promising young artist died Nov. 9, 1802, of an asthmatic disorder, which Mr. Edwards seems to attribute to irregularity.'

GIRY (LEWIS), advocate to the parliament of Paris, and to the council, and member of the French academy, was born at Paris in 1596. His abilities and probity recommended him to some very honourable employments, and he particularly enjoyed the confidence of cardinal Mazarin. He was author of the following translations: "Dialogues des Orateurs," 4to.; "l'Apologie de Socrate;" "l'Hist. Sacrée de Sulpice Severe;" "l'Apologetique de Tertullien," for which he was received into the academy; “la Cité de Dieu, de St. Augustin," 1 vol, 4to.; "Epitres Choisies de St. Augustin," 5 vols. 12mo. He died in 1665, at Paris. His son, Francis, who was provincial of the Minim order, gained great reputation by some devotional works; but deserves little credit for his principal publication, "Les Vies des Saints," fol. which although esteemed for its piety, is full of fables, and far from accurate as to facts. P. Raffron, of the same order, has written his life, 12mo. 2

GLABER (RODOLPH), a Benedictine monk, first of St. Germaine d'Auxerre, and afterwards of Cluni, and a man of superstitious credulity, flourished in the eleventh century, and wrote a "Chronicle or History of France," in the Latin language. It consists of five books, of which the first relates to the events of the monarchy previously to Hugh Capet, and the four subsequent ones to those following it, as far down as 1046. This work is defective as a composition, and, at the same time, full of fabulous

1 Gent. Mag. LXXII. and LXXIII.-Pilkington.-Edwards's Sapplement to Walpole. 2 Moreri.-Dict. Hist.