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Of the body of Hindu theology comprised in the Vedas there is an ancient extract called the Vedant, or the Resolution of all the Veds,' written in Sanskrit. Rammohun Roy translated it into Bengalee and Hindustanee, and afterwards published an abridgment of it for gratuitous circulation; of this abridgment he published an English translation in 1816. He afterwards published some of the principal chapters of the Vedas in Bengalee and English. He was at different times the proprietor or publisher of newspapers in the native languages, in which he expressed his opinion freely against abuses, political as well as religious, especially the burning of widows. In conjunction with Dwarkanath Tagore and Neel Rutton Holdar, he was proprietor of the Bengal Herald,' an English newspaper. Dwarkanath Tagore, an enlightened Hindoo, of liberal opinions, very rich, and a munificent benefactor to schools and charities, was born in 1795, in or near Calcutta, and died in London, on the 1st of August 1846. In 1820 Rammohun Roy published, in English, Sanskrit, and Bengalee, a series of selections from the New Testament, entitled 'The Precepts of Jesus the Guide to Peace and Happiness.' In this selection he omits the miracles and doctrinal parts, and confines himself to the simple religious and moral precepts. In 1830 he was engaged by the King of Delhi to make a representation of grievances to the British government, for which purpose the king conferred on him by firman the title of Rajah, and appointed him ambassador to the British court. He arrived at London in April 1831. The British ministers recognised his embassy and title, though the Court of East India Directors objected to both. His negociation was successful, and added 30,000l. a year to the income of the king. He intended to return to India in 1834, but he was taken ill when on a visit at Stapleton Grove, near Bristol, where be died on the 27th of September 1833. He was buried in a shrubbery of Stapleton Grove, without a pall over the coffin and in silence. The Christian observances were carefully avoided at his own request, lest it should be made an accusation against him by the Brahmins, and, by causing him to lose caste, deprive his children of their inheritance.

Rammohun Roy was acquainted more or less with ten languagesSanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Hindustanee, Bengalee, English, French, Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. Sanskrit and Arabic he knew critically, and as a scholar; Persian, Hindustanee, Bengalee, and English he spoke and wrote fluently; of the other languages his knowledge was less perfect. He associated a good deal with the Unitarians in this country, and frequently attended their chapels. He was a believer in the divine mission of Christ, and seems to have considered the acceptance of the doctrines of Christ to be quite consistent with a belief in the Brahminical religion as it is in the ancient Sanskrit authorities. (Review of the Labours, Opinions, and Character of Rajah Rammohun Roy, by Lant Carpenter, LL.D.) RAMSAY, ALLAN, was born in 1685, of parents of the humblest class, at a small hamlet or settlement of a few cottages on the banks of the Glangonar, a tributary of the Clyde, among the hills that divide Clydesdale and Annandale. His father is said to have been a workman in Lord Hopeton's lead-mines, and he himself to have been employed when a child as a washer of ore. When he made his first appearance in Edinburgh, about the beginning of the last century, Allan was apprenticed to a barber; and he appears to have followed that trade for some years. In course of time however he exchanged it for that of a bookseller, led probably by a taste for reading which he had acquired. He seems to have early in life enjoyed considerable popularity as a boon companion, and we may presume that it was in this character that he first gave proof of his poetic talents. He gradually however obtained the acquaintance of many of the most distinguished persons both in the literary and fashionable circles of the Scottish capital; and in 1721 he published a volume of his poems, which was very favourably received by his countrymen. In 1724 he published in two small volumes 'The Evergreen, being a Collection of Scots Poems, wrote by the Ingenious before 1600.' The materials of this collection were chiefly obtained from the volume called the Bannatyne Manuscript, preserved in the Advocates' Library; but Ramsay, who had little scholarship, and who lived in a very uncritical age as to such matters, has paid no attention to fidelity in making his transcripts, patching and renovating the old verses throughout to suit his own fancy. The Evergreen' was followed the same year by "The Tea-Table Miscellany, or a Collection of Choice Songs, Scots and English,' in 4 vols., which has been often reprinted. This collection, besides many new verses contributed by Ramsay himself and some of his friends, contains numerous old Scottish songs, which, he observes in his preface, "have been done time out of mind, and only wanted to be cleared from the dross of blundering transcribers and printers." His scouring however went the length in many cases of rubbing away the old song altogether; and his substitutions are by no means always a compensation for what he thus destroyed, though most of them are clever and spirited, and have acquired general currency among Scottish song-singers. Ramsay afterwards wrote many more verses in his native dialect; but his only two original performances of any considerable pretension are his comic pastoral, the 'Gentle Shepherd,' published in 1729, and his continuation of the old Scottish poem of Christ's Kirk on the Green.' There is a good deal of rather effective though coarse

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merriment in the latter attempt. The 'Gentle Shepherd' is, as a whole, not very like anything else that Ramsay has written; but there seems to be no evidence for the notion which has been suggested, that in this instance he fathered the production of some other writer. The poem, although more careful and elaborate than anything else that Ramsay has left us, is not without the wonted qualities of his manner, both good and bad. It has no more elevation and refinement than any of Ramsay's other works, though less that is offensively coarse or boisterous than some of them; both in the diction and the thought it flows easily and smoothly; and though there are not many happy touches, and no daring strokes, there is a general truth of painting about it in a quiet tone which is very soothing and agreeable. It has also some humour, which however is rather elaborate and constrained.

Ramsay died in 1758, leaving a son, the subject of the following article, who acquired distinction as a portrait-painter.

RAMSAY, ALLAN, the son of Allan Ramsay the poet, was born in 1713, at Edinburgh. Although in the first instance self-taught, he afterwards studied for a short time in Italy with Solimena and F. Fernandi, called Imperiali. After practising a short time in Edinburgh he settled in London, where he was introduced by Lord Bute to George III. when prince of Wales. He painted two portraits of the prince, which were engraved, one by Ryland and the other by Woollett. At the death of Mr. Shakelton, in 1767, Ramsay succeeded him as principal painter to the king: he retained the place until his death, when he was succeeded by Sir Joshua Reynolds. He died at Dover, August 10, 1784, on his return from Rome. He had a daughter, who was born in Rome. Ramsay, though not a good portrait-painter, was superior to the generality of the painters before Reynolds. Edwards says that Ramsay was not devoted to his art; he allowed literature to divide much of his time with it. He was acquainted with Latin, French, and Italian; and in his latter days acquired some knowledge of Greek. He was the author of some political papers. He was twice married: his second wife was a daughter of Sir David Lindsay. His son and daughter survived him: the son became a general in the British army; the daughter was married to Sir Archibald Campbell.

RAMSAY, ANDREW MICHAEL, generally known as the Chevalier Ramsay, was born at Ayr, in Scotland, in 1686. He was educated at Edinburgh, where he chiefly devoted himself to the study of mathematics and theology. The distinction he obtained as a scholar procured for him the appointment of tutor to the son of the Earl of Wemys at the University of St. Andrews. Having entertained some doubts respecting the tenets of the Protestant faith, he went to Holland for the purpose of visiting a Protestant divine of the name of Poiret, who had obtained a certain celebrity as one of the leaders of the Quietist party. With him Ramsay entered into a religious controversy, the fruits of which were an increase of his doubts and even an inclination to general scepticism on the great doctrines of the Christian religion. In this state of mind he determined on having recourse to Fénélon, who was at that time residing in his diocese of Cambray. Fénélon in a short time made him a convert to the Roman faith. He soon became the disciple of Fénélon, not only in religious matters, but also in his literary taste and opinions. His writings were formed on the style and after the manner of his great master, and he rapidly acquired so perfect a knowledge of the French language as to become an excellent writer. Some of his earlier productions were the means of obtaining for him the situation of tutor to the Duke of Château Thierry and afterwards to the Prince of Turenne; he was also created a knight of the order of St. Lazarus. His reputation induced the Pretender, in 1724, to invite him to Rome, and to entrust him with the education of his children. He remained however only a year in that city, and left it in disgust with the petty intrigues which he found to form the principal occupation of the miniature court of the son of the exiled king. The next year he revisited Scotland, where he remained a considerable time, which he employed in literary labour. On visiting England he obtained, through the influence of Dr. King, the degree of Doctor of Civil Law in the University of Oxford; he was also admitted a member of the Royal Society of London. After his return to France he was appointed intendant to the Prince of Turenne, who afterwards became the Duke of Bouillon: he held this situation till his death, which took place at St. Germain-en-laye, May 6, 1743. The writings of the Chevalier Ramsay are more remarkable for the purity of their style and the perfect knowledge which they manifest of the French language, than for their depth or originality of thought. As a theologian he was visionary in the extreme, and his orthodoxy, even according to the principles of the church he had adopted, is open to considerable suspicion. It is said to be fortunate for his religious reputation that he did not live to publish some philosophical works which he was preparing, such as his answer to Spinosa, and a treatise on the Progress of Human Understanding. The work by which he is best known, is his 'Voyages de Cyrus,' a somewhat feeble imitation of the Telemachus of Fénélon. The character of Zarina gave consi derable offence to the Princess de Conti, one of the most learned ladies of the age, who imagined that she was pourtrayed in it. There is an excellent translation of that work, by Hooke, though said to have been accomplished in the short space of twenty days [HOOKE, NATHANIEL]; it was for a long time mistaken for an original,

RAMSDEN, JESSE.

the general belief respecting it being that Ramsay had written the Voyages of Cyrus in English as well as in French. The best edition of the French is that of Paris et Londres,' 2 vols. 8vo, 1727. The work however for which posterity is most indebted to him is that entitled 'L'Histoire de la Vie de François de Salignac de la Motte Fénélon,' Hague, 1723; published also in London the same year. His great intimacy with Fénélon has made us acquainted with many interesting facts of his private life, and it contains a valuable record of his opinions. His other published writings are-1. Discours sur le Poème Épique,' originally forming the preface of his edition of Telemachus, in 1717. 2. Essai Philosophique sur le Gouvernement Civil,' London, 1721; it was afterwards reprinted under the title Essai de Politique.' 3. 'Histoire de Turenne,' Paris, 1735, 2 vols. 8vo, and 4 vols. 12mo. redundancy of reflections, this history possesses much merit from the With some affectation in the style, and a precision of its facts and the lively portraiture of its characters. 4. Le Psychomêtre, ou Reflexions sur les différens Caractères de l'Esprit, par un Mylord Anglais.' 5. A posthumous work published at Glasgow in 1749, 2 vols. 12mo, in English, entitled 'Philosophical Principles of Natural and Revealed Religion explained and unfolded in a Geometrical Order.'

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RAMSDEN, JESSE, was born at Salterhebble, near Halifax, Yorkshire, 1735. He was the son of an innkeeper. When nine years old he was admitted into the free grammar-school of Halifax; and after attending there for about three years, he was placed under the protection of an uncle, who resided in the north of Yorkshire. By him he was sent to a school conducted by Mr. Hall, a clergyman, who was in repute as a teacher of the mathematics, and under whom he attained to some proficiency in geometry and algebra. His studies were interrupted by his father apprenticing him to a cloth worker at Halifax. At the age of twenty we find him engaged as a clerk in a cloth warehouse in London, in which capacity he continued till 1757-58, when his predilection for other pursuits led him to bind himself for four years to a working mathematical and philosophical instrument maker, named Barton, in Denmark Court, Strand. Upon the completion of his term, he engaged himself as assistant to a workman, named Cole, at a salary of twelve shillings a week; but this connection was of short duration. He then commenced working on his own account, and his skill as an engraver and divider gradually recommended him to the employ of the leading instrument makers, more particularly Nairne, Sisson, Adams, and Dollond. Ramsden subsequently married Dollond's daughter, and he received with her a part of Mr. Dollond's patent right in achromatic telescopes. His occupation afforded him frequent opportunities of observing the defective construction of the sextants then in use, the indications of which, as had been pointed out by Lalande, could not be relied on within five minutes of a degree, and might therefore leave a doubt in the determination of the longitude amounting to fifty nautical leagues. The improvements introduced by Ramsden are said by Piazzi to have reduced the limits of error to thirty seconds. ('Account of the Life and Labours of Ramsden' in a Letter addressed to Lalande, and published by him in 'Journal des Sçavans,' November 1788, p. 744.) This circumstance, added to the cheapness of his instruments, which were sold for about two-thirds the price charged by other makers, soon produced a demand which, even with the assistance of numerous hands, he found difficulty in supplying. In his workshops the principle of the division of labour was carried out to a considerable extent, and a proportionate dexterity was acquired by the workmen ; but it is asserted that in none of these, even the most subordinate, and least of all in the higher departments, did the skill of the workmen surpass that of Ramsden himself. His attention was incessantly directed to new improvements and further simplification, the result of which was the invention of a dividingmachine, for the graduation of mathematical and astronomical instruments. The date of this invention is prior to the year 1766. At first it had many imperfections; but by repeated efforts of ingenuity throughout a period of ten years they were successfully removed. In 1777 it was brought under the notice of the Commissioners of the Board of Longitude, by Dr. Shepherd, and by them a premium of 615. was paid to the author, upon his engaging to divide 'sextants at six, and octants at three shillings, for other mathematical instrument makers. A description of the machine was immediately published, by order of the Board, under the supervision of Dr. Maskelyne (Lond., 1777, 4to.), and was shortly after translated into French by Lalande. A duplicate of the machine itself is said to have been purchased by the president, Bochard de Saron, and introduced into France concealed in the support of a table made for that purpose. (Weiss, Biog. Univers.') As early as 1788 no less than 983 sextants and octants had issued from Ramsden's workshop. In 1799 the description of another machine constructed by Ramsden for dividing straight lines by means of a screw was also published by order of the Board: but this invention does not appear to have been of much practical use. It was however in the construction of many of a larger class of astronomical instruments that Ramsden acquired most reputation, though they were probably least productive of pecuniary gain. The theodolite employed by General Roy in the English Survey was made by Ramsden, and no instrument of the kind that had been previously made would bear comparison with it. A similar remark is applicable to the equatorial constructed for Sir George Schuckburgh, which was

RAMUS, PETER.

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also the largest that had then been attempted. Ramsden took out a patent for his new equatorial, and a description of it was published by the Hon. Stewart Mackenzie, brother to the Earl of Bute; but his inventive genius seldom permitted him to construct two instruments alike. Mannheim, Dublin, Paris, and Gotha, were remarkable for the superiority of their object-glasses; and in his mural quadrants, furnished His telescopes, erected at the observatories of Blenheim, to the observatories of Padua and Vilna, Dr. Maskelyne was unable to accuracy which was then a matter of admiration among astronomers. Ramsden however always recommended that the mural quadrant detect an error amounting to two seconds and a half, a degree of should be superseded by a mural circle; and the circles erected in the observatories of Palermo and Dublin, the first of which was of five accordance with this recommendation. and the latter of twelve feet diameter, were constructed by him in enumerated his catoptric and dioptric micrometers (described in the Phil. Trans.,' 1779), the former of which was an improvement upon Among Ramsden's minor inventions and improvements may be that of Bougier; optigraph; dynamometer (for measuring the magnifying powers of telescopes); barometer; electrical machine; manoby him for correcting the aberrations of sphericity and refrangibility in compound eye-glasses. (Phil. Trans.,' 1783.) meter; assay-balance; level; pyrometer; and the method introduced 1794 a similar compliment was paid him by the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg; and the following year the Copley medal was awarded Ramsden was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1786. In various inventions. By this time his health had become much impaired by his ardent devotion to his profession. In 1800 he was advised to to him by the Royal Society, in testimony of the importance of his From 1766 to 1774 his shop and residence was in the Haymarket; but in the latter year he removed to Piccadilly, where his business convisit Brighton, where he died, on the 5th of November of that year. tinued to be conducted after his decease.

and that for many years he restricted himself to very few hours of repose. Most of the time that he could spare from the immediate In his habits we are told that he was temperate to abstemiousness, science and literature. His memory was remarkably retentive, and at duties of his profession was devoted to the perusal of the works of language to read Molière and Boileau. The fortune of which he died possessed was not considerable, and a large portion of it was directed an advanced age he made himself sufficiently master of the French by his will to be distributed among his workmen.

village in Picardy, in 1502 according to one account, and in 1515
according to another. His parents were extremely poor, and the future
RAMUS, PETER (PIERRE DE LA RAMÉE), was born in a
philosopher was set when a boy to tend sheep. Disgusted with this
employment, he ran away from his parents to Paris. After some time,
and after he had encountered much misery, one of his uncles offered
some pecuniary assistance, and Ramus now entered the College of
Navarre as a servant.
very little assistance from masters. At the completion of his course,
when he presented himself for the degree of master of arts, he under-
He made great progress in all studies, with
took as an exercise what then seemed the almost impious task of
showing that Aristotle was not infallible. The exercise was adjudged
successful, and Ramus henceforth devoted himself to the study of the
works of Aristotle as to the object of his life. In 1543 he published
his new system of logic, with strictures on the logic of Aristotle. The
publication of this work exposed him to great obloquy. He was
charged with impiety and sedition, and with a desire to overthrow
all science and religion through the medium of an attack on Aristotle.
On the report of an irregular tribunal appointed to consider the charges
made against him, the king ordered his works to be suppressed, and
forbade his teaching or writing against Aristotle on pain of corporal
punishment. Ramus now turned to the study of mathematics, and to
prepare an edition of Euclid. Shortly afterwards he began a course of
lectures on rhetoric at the College of Presles, the plague having driven
away numbers of students from Paris. He was named principal of
this college, and the Sorbonne ineffectually endeavoured to eject him
cancelled in 1545 through the influence of the Cardinal de Lorraine,
to whom he had dedicated his edition of Euclid. He now began a
on the ground of the royal prohibitory decrce. This decree was
course of mathematics in Paris. In 1551 he was named by the king
(Henri II.) professor of philosophy and eloquence in the College of
France. During the next ten years he published a Greek, Latin, and
French grammar, and several treatises on mathematics, logic, and
rhetoric. Ramus had embraced Protestantism, and now shortly again
brought upon himself great trouble by the zeal with which he advo-
cated the new doctrines. Charles IX. offered him an asylum at
Fontainebleau; but, while he was absent from home, his house was
pillaged and his library destroyed. He returned to Paris in 1563, and
resumed possession of his royal chair.
away from Paris, and in 1568 he asked permission to travel. He went
to Germany, and was received everywhere with honour. He gave
lectures on mathematics at Heidelberg, and while in this town he
Civil troubles again drove him
made public profession of Protestantism. Shortly after his return to
Paris he fell a victim in the massacre of St. Bartholomew, 1572.

good by his opposition to the Aristotelian philosophy which then
Although Ramus had many merits as a philosopher, and did much

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held men's minds in bondage, he was wanting in depth and caution, and his strictures on Aristotle are by no means altogether just. He had many followers. The influence of Melanchthon, on the other side, did not prevent the progress of his system of logic in the German universities. France, England, and particularly Scotland, were full of Ramists. Andrew Melville introduced the logic of Ramus at Glasgow. The following is a list of the principal works of Ramus:-1, 'Institutiones Dialecticæ Tribus Libris distinctæ;' 2, 'Animadversiones in Dialecticam Aristotelis;', 3, 'Rhetorica Distinctiones in Quintilianum;' 4, Arithmetica Libri Tres;' 5, In Quatuor Libros Georgicorum et in Bucolica Virgili Prælectiones;' 6, 'Ciceronianus' (a life of Cicero, interspersed with many philological remarks on the Latin language, and strictures on the state of education in France); 7, Scholæ Grammatica Libri Duo;' 8, 'Grammatica Latina;' 9, 'Grammatica Græca quatenus à Latina differet;' 10, Gramère Fransoeze;' 11, Liber de Moribus Veterum Gallorum;' 12, Liber de Militia Julii Cæsaris;' 13, Commentarius de Religione Christiana, Libri Quatuor;' 14, 'Præfationes, Epistolæ, Orationes' (Paris, 1599, and Marburg, 1599). The Greek grammar of Ramus received considerable additions from Sylburgius. For a complete list of the works of Ramus the reader is referred to Niceron ('Mém.,' tom. xiii.).

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RAMU'SIO, GIAMBATTISTA, was born at Treviso in the Venetian State, in 1485, of a family originally from Rimini, which produced several men of learning. He filled several offices under the republic, and became secretary to the Council of Ten. Having undertaken a collection of the most important narratives of voyages and travels performed in distant countries both in ancient and modern times, he translated into Italian those that had been written in other languages, and added his own remarks and several dissertations, which show that he possessed very extensive general information for the age in which he lived. He was a friend of Bembo, Fracastoro, and other learned contemporaries. His work is entitled Raccolta di Navigazioni e Viaggi, 3 vols. fol. The first volume was printed by Giunti at Venice in 1550, another volume appeared in 1556, and a third in 1559, after Ramusio's death, which took place at Padua in July 1557. Subsequent editions appeared with the addition of several travels which had not appeared in the first. The most complete edition is that of 1606. The following list of contents will convey an idea of the value of the work :

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Vol. i.: "Leo Africanus's Description of Africa; Cadamosto, a Venetian navigator, preceded by a Discourse by Ramusio; Sintra, a Portuguese narrative; Hanno's Periplus; Navigation from Lisbon to St. Thomé, by a Portuguese pilot; Ramusio, a Discourse on the Navigation of the Portuguese to the East Indies; Voyage of Vasco de Gama in 1497, written by a Florentine; Pedro Cabral Alvarez, voyage from Lisbon to Calicut in 1500, written by a Portuguese pilot; Amerigo Vespucci, two letters to Pietro Soderini; a Summary of Vespucci's Voyages; Thomas Lopez, a Portuguese, Voyage to the East Indies; Giovanni da Empoli, a Florentine, Journey to India; Ludovico Barthema of Bologna, Itinerary, preceded by a Discourse by Ramusio; Iambolus, Voyage extracted from Diodorus, with a Discourse by Ramusio; Andrea Corsali, a Florentine, Two Letters to Julian and Lorenzo de' Medici; Alvarez, Travels to Ethiopia, with the submission of Prester John to Pope Clement VII.; Ramusio, Discourse on the Rise of the Nile, with a reply by Fracastoro; the Voyage of Nearchus translated from Arrian's text; Journey of a Venetian from Alexandria to Diu in India in 1538; Arrian's Navigation from the Red Sea to India; Barbosa, a book of travels to the East Indies; a brief account of Kingdoms and towns between the Red Sea and China, translated from the Portuguese; Antonio Conti, a Venetian, Journey to India, written by Poggio Bracciolini; Jeronimo da San Stefano, a Genoese, his letter written from Tripoli in 1499; Ramusio, Discourse on the Voyage round the World by the Spaniards; Maximilian of Transylvania, Epistle concerning the Navigation of the Spaniards; a short account of the Voyage of Magalhaens; Pigafetta, Voyage round the World; the Navigation of a Portuguese who accompanied Edward Barbosa in 1519; Ramusio, a Discourse concerning the Voyages to the Spice Countries; Juan Gaetan, a Castilian pilot, Discovery of the Moluccas; Information concerning Japan, by the Portuguese Jesuits; João de Barros, Chapters extracted from his History."

Vol. ii. contains "Marco Polo's Travels, with a preface by Ramusio; Hayton, an Armenian, Discourse on the origin of the Great Khan and the condition of the Tartars; Angiolelli, Life and Actions of Hussan Cassan; the Travels of a Merchant into Persia in the years 1517-20; Giosafat Barbaro, a Venetian, Journey to the Tana (the river Tanais) and into Persia; Ambrosio Contarini, Journey into Persia; Alberto Campense, Letters to Clement VII. concerning the affairs of Muscovy; Paul Giovio, Reports on the affairs of Muscovy, by him collected; Herbestein, Commentaries on Muscovy and Russia; Arrian's Letter to Hadrian concerning the Euxine; Interiano, a Genoese, on the Habits and Manners of the Zythi, called Circassians; Hippocrates, extract of his Treatise on Air and Water, in which he speaks of the Scythians; Piero Quirino, a Venetian, account of his Voyage and Shipwreck; Sebastian Cabota, Navigation in the Northern Seas; Caterino Zeno, a Venetian, Travels to Persia; Nicolo and Antonio Zeno on the Discovery of Iceland; Travels into Tartary by some Dominican Monks; Olderico da Udine, Two Journeys into Tartary; Guagnini, a Venetian,

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Description of European Sarmatia; Matthew Micheow of Cracow, Description of the Two Sarmatias." Vol iii. :-"Pietro Martire of Angleria, extract from his History of the New World; Oviedo, extract from his History of the West Indies; Herman Cortez, Narrative of his Conquest of Mexico; Pedro de Alvarado, two letters to Herman Cortez; Diego Godoy, a letter from New Spain; Narrative of one of Cortez's companions concerning Mexico, with two maps, one of the Great Temple, and another of the Lake; Alvaro Nuñez, Narrative of the Indies and of New Galicia in 1527-36; Guzman on the Conquest of New Spain; Francisco Ulloa, Voyage in the Mar Vermejo, or Sea of California; Vasquez de Coronado, Narrative of a Journey to Cevole, or the Kingdom of the Seven Cities; Alarcon, Voyage to discover the Kingdom of the Seven Cities in 1540; Ramusio, Discourse on the Conquest of Peru; Narrative of a Spanish Captain concerning the Conquest of Peru; Francisco Xeres, Narrative of the Conquest of Peru and New Castile; Narrative of a Secretary of Francisco Pizarro concerning the Conquest of Peru; Gonzalo de Oviedo, Navigation of the river Marañon; Ramusio, Discourse concerning New France; Giovanni da Verazzano, a Florentine, Narrative written from Dieppe, in July 1524; Discourse of a great Naval Captain concerning the Navigation of the West Indies; Jacques Cartier, First and Second Narrative of Voyages to New France; Cesare de Federici, Voyage to the East Indies and beyond India; Three Voyages of Hollanders and Zealanders to China, New Zembla, and Greenland."

Among the above series are several curious narratives which are not found in any other collection. Ramusio left materials for a fourth volume, which unfortunately were destroyed in a fire which broke out in the printing-press of Giunti, in November 1557.

RANDOLPH, THOMAS, an English poet, was born in 1605, at Badby in Northamptonshire. He was educated at Westminster School, and thence elected scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge, in the year 1623; was afterwards made Fellow on the same foundation, and was admitted to an ad eundem degree at Oxford in 1631. After some stay at Cambridge he came to London, where he was much noticed by Ben Jonson, who called him son.' He became intimate also with many of the other wits of that day. The promise of his youth was marred by a career of dissipation and extravagance, which shortened his life prematurely. He died while on a visit to a friend at Blatherwick in Northamptonshire, where he was buried, on the 17th of March 1634-35, and his memory honoured by a monument erected by Sir Christopher (afterwards Lord) Hatton of Kirby.

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Randolph's Poems, Translations, and Plays,' were published in London, 4to, 1634; and his Poems, with the Muses' Looking Glass and Amyntas,' at Oxford, 4to, 1638. There have been several other editions published since, both in London and at Oxford. His plays are-Aristippus,' and 'The Conceited Pedlar,' published together in 1630, 4to; Jealous Lovers,' 4to, 1632; The Muses' Looking-Glass,' 4to, Lond., 1638; Amyntas,' Oxford, 1638; Hey for Honesty, Down with Knavery,' a comedy, The Prodigal Scholar,' a comedy, and 'The Cornelianum Dolium,' a Latin play in the style of Plautus, have been attributed to him. Authority for the ed. of 1634, Harl. Cat., No. 6043. Randolph's writings are the production of a mind well imbued with classical literature, and he has in many passages not unskilfully interwoven the language and imagery of the best authors of antiquity. He wrote Latin verse with ease and fluency, and translated from Claudian with considerable elegance; but his English compositions are not free from the faults imputed to most of his contemporaries, and are often disfigured by licentiousness, obscurity, and strained conceits, exhibiting more learning and ingenuity than good taste. They consist of addresses to different friends, epigrams, translations, and amatory pieces. His dramas present few attractions to modern readers. The characters are either mere impersonations of virtues and vices, or feeble and pedantic travesties from Greek and Roman comedy. The plots are perplexed and devoid of interest, and the dialogue seldom rises above mediocrity. The most popular of his plays is the Muses' LookingGlass,' which was re-acted in the last century.

RANGABÉ, A. R. [RIZO RANGABE.]

RAN'GONE, a noble family of Modena, which became illustrious in the middle ages, not only for the part which it took in the political and military vicissitudes of Italy, but more particularly for the patronage which it gave to learning and to the learned. Count Nicolò Rangone, who lived in the latter part of the 15th century, was the father of eight sons and two daughters, whom he caused to be instructed with great care, and all of whom became distinguished for their love of science and literature. The learned Visdomini, who was preceptor to several of them, has left an interesting memorial of the care bestowed on their education in his dialogues entitled 'Antonii Mariæ Visdomini de Ocio et Sybilis.' One of his pupils, Count Guido Rangone, figured as a distinguished general in the Venetian service, and afterwards in the service of King Francis I. Filelfo, in his book 'De Optima Hominum Felicitate,' which he addressed to Count Guido, enumerates the feats he had performed in his military career, and praises him likewise for the liberal encouragement which he afforded to the learned. Bernardo Tasso, father of the great poet, was for a long time secretary to Count Guido. Guido died at Venice in 1537. His brother, Cardinal Ercole Rangone, who died young during the pillage of Rome in 1627, is likewise extolled for his love of learning

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by Giglio Giraldi, and also by Vida, in his second book, 'De Arte Poetica.' Costanza Rangone, sister of the preceding, took for her second husband Cesare Fregoso, a well-known Genoese emigrant in the service of Francis I., who was murdered in 1541 by the emissaries of the Marquis del Vasto, governor of Milan for Charles V. She then retired to France, together with Bandello, the celebrated novelist, who wrote many of his tales for her entertainment. Ginevra Rangone, sister of Costanza, married first a nobleman of the Correggio family, and afterwards Luigi Gonzaga, marquis of Castiglione. She has been praised by Scaligero for her intellectual accomplishments. Her nephew, Count Fulvio Rangone, a pupil of Carlo Sigonio, was employed by Alfonso II. of Este in a diplomatic capacity; and his sister Claudia fixed her residence at Rome, where she enjoyed considerable interest at the Papal court, and was even consulted on matters of state. *RANKE, LEOPOLD, one of the most distinguished of the historians produced in modern times by Germany, was born on December 21, 1795, at Wiehe, on the Unstrutt, near Naumburg in Prussian-Saxony. Early in life he became a teacher, and in 1818 was appointed upper-master of the gymnasium at Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, but devoted all his leisure to the study of history. The first fruits of his labours were a History of the Roman and German People, from 1494 to 1535,' and a 'Critique on modern Historical Writers,' both published in 1824. These, especially the latter, a clear and discriminating essay on the qualities to be desired in a historian, attracted so much attention that he was appointed professor extraordinary of history in the University of Berlin in 1825. Soon after entering on the duties of his new office, he visited, at the expense of the government, Vienna, Venice, and Rome, where he found abundant materials both in public and private collections, among which the ambassadorial despatches to the Venetian senate were of peculiar value. From those materials he produced in 1827 Fürsten und Völker von Süd-Europa im 16 und 17 Jahrhundert' ('Princes and Nations of South-Europe in the 16th and 17th Centuries'); and the 'Verschwörung gegen Venedig im Jahr 1688' ('the Conspiracy against Venice in 1688') published in 1831. Both works were of distinguished excellence, containing the results of zealous industry, much of novelty in the relations of the Spanish and Turkish governments with the affairs of Italy, a remarkable and original talent for the development of individual character and for the grouping of events, an integrity that could be thoroughly relied upon, and a lucid and easy style. His reputation was even increased by his next work, The Popes of Rome; their Church and State,' which was published in 3 vols. in 1834-36; more than half of the last volume consisting of original documents. Of this work an excellent translation has been given to the English public by Mrs. Austin, in 1840, another by E. Foster, in 1848, and a third by Mr. Scott, with an introductory essay by Merle d'Aubigné, in a less impartial spirit than that in which the author writes, appeared in 1846,

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"more adapted for extensive circulation." In 1832 he had commenced as editor the 'Historical and Political Gazette,' ('Historische Politische Zeitschrift'), which, as containing too liberal views of the necessity of continued progress, he was forced to discontinue in 1836, when only two volumes had been completed. In 1837 he read and afterwards published a discourse to the Royal Scientific Academy at Berlin on the History of Italian Poetry. Between 1837 and 1840 he published three volumes of Annals of the German Monarchy under the House of Saxony.' In 1884 he had been promoted to be ordinary professor of history in the University of Berlin, and in 1841 he was created historiographer of Prussia. He has since issued Neun Bücher Preussische Geschichte,' which has been translated by Sir A. and Lady Duff Gordon, under the title of 'Memoirs of the house of Brandenburg, and History of Prussia during the 17th and 18th Century,' as have like wise a History of Servia and the Servian Revolution, with a Sketch of the Insurrection in Bosnia,' ('Die letzten Unruhen in Bosnien') 'Civil Wars and Monarchy in the 16th and 17th Centuries; a History of France principally during that period;' 'Ferdinand I. and Maximilian II. of Austria; an essay on the political and religious state of Germany, immediately after the Reformation,' this last being a short essay, published in the Zeitschrift,' and 'the Ottoman and the Spanish Empires,' which formed a part of the 'Princes and Nations of South-Europe. In Germany the work most highly praised is however his Deutsche Geschichte im Zeitalter der Reformation,' of which three volumes were issued between 1839 and 1843, and which have been translated by Mre. Austin, under the title of 'History of Germany during the Reformation.'

RANZANI, CAMILLO, ABBATE, an eminent naturalist, was born at Bologna, June 22, 1775. Being of a very humble family, he received his first education in the charity-school of the Brethren of the Scuole Pie in that city, where his talents attracted the notice of a benevolent priest of the Oratory, Father Respighi, to whom literature owes a similar debt for the discovery and patronage of the youthful linguist, Mezzofanti. Ranzani having through the assistance of Respighi entered the University of his native city, distinguished himself so much in his philosophical course that, even before he had completed his studies, he was occasionally employed by the professor Giuseppe Vogli as his substitute; and when he was but twenty two years of age he was selected to fill the chair of philosophy at Fano. There, having received holy orders, he taught with reputation until in 1798 the

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political disturbances of the Legations compelled him to return to Bologna, where he was appointed keeper of the botanical gardens of that city. Some of his papers on botany, which were read at the Institute, having attracted notice, he was named professor of natural history in the university in 1803. He himself confessed that, at the time of his appointment, his general attainments in natural history were far from complete; but from that moment he devoted himself to the study with so much zeal and assiduity that Baron Cuvier, during a visit to Bologna in 1810, was so struck by his ability in that branch of science as to procure for him, on his return to Paris, an authorisation to repair to Paris for the purpose of enjoying the advantages for study, and for the acquisition of specimens, presented by the matchless collections of that city. After a residence of somewhat more than a year, Ranzani returned to Bologna with a considerable collection of books, minerals, fossils, and other appliances of natural history. During the early part of his professorship he had been a frequent contributor to the scientific journals of Italy, France, and Germany, and taken an active part in the proceedings of most of the Italian scientific and literary societies; but it was not till 1819 that he commenced the publication of his great work, 'Elementi di Zoologia.' The first volume, published in that year, contains the general introduction to zoology; the second, on the mammiferous animals, was published in 1820; and was followed in 1821 and the succeeding years by the successive volumes as far as the tenth, at which unhappily the work was interrupted, partly by the ill-health of the author, partly by his occupations as rector of the university, to which office he was named in 1824 by the pope, Leo XII. Though he had already prepared great part of the materials necessary for its completion, and although the many articles contributed by him to various journals of natural history amply demonstrate the extent and accuracy of his knowledge, the work has unfortunately been left in the same incomplete state. In 1836 Ranzani undertook a course of Lectures on Geology, a science which up to that time was regarded with much suspicion in the Italian universities. He had the honour of first introducing to his countrymen the discoveries of Buckland, Lyell, De la Beche, and the other members of the English school; and as he had early made himself familiar with the study of comparative anatomy, he was able to speak, upon the questions which most interested the students of biblical geology, with a degree of authority which a lecturer unacquainted with that subject would not have ventured to assume. His ability in this branch of science had been recognised even at an early period by Cuvier, who freely confessed his obligations to Ranzani for some important information of which he availed himself in his great work, and Ranzani was engaged in preparing for the press a treatise on geology, containing the substance of his lectures during the five years from 1836 till 1841, when he was unexpectedly carried off by illness, April 23, 1841, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. A catalogue of his miscellaneous essays, lectures, dissertations, and contributions to periodical literature, will be found in the Memorie di Religione, di Morale, e di Litteratura,' published at Modena, 1843. (Continua zione, vol. xv., pp. 401, 402.)

RAOUL-ROCHETTE, DÉSIRÉ, an eminent French archeologist, was born at St. Arnaud in the department of Cher, on the 9th of March, 1789. Educated at Bourges, he was called to Paris when little more than twenty-two, to fill the chair of history in the Lyceum; and in 1815 he supplied the place of Guizot as lecturer on Modern History in the University of Paris. In 1815 appeared the work which first gained him a more than local celebrity, Histoire Critique de l'étab lissement des Colonies Grecques,' 4 vols. 8vo. The following year he was made member of the Académie des Inscriptions, and one of the editors of the 'Journal des Savants;' and in 1818 he was appointed keeper of the medals, &c., in the Royal Library. His attention having been directed to modern Swiss history be, during the following years, made several exploratory journeys in Switzerland, of which he published ample particulars under the title of Lettres sur la Suisse écrites en 1819-21,' 3 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1823-26, and 'Voyage Pittoresque dans la Vallée de Chamouni et autour du Mont Blanc,' 4to, 1826. His 'Histoire de la Révolution Helvétique de 1797 à 1803, appeared in 1823. But whilst thus engaged on topography and modern history, he was still diligently prosecuting the study of classical antiquity, to which he thenceforward devoted himself, making various journeys to Greece and Sicily, Italy, Germany, Holland, &c., in order to familiarise himself with particular localities and to examine the treasures collected in museums. In 1822 appeared his 'Antiquités Grecques du Bosphore Cimmérien.' He had already come to be looked upon as the legitimate successor of Quatremère de Quincy, before the delivery of his lectures in 1826 on his appointment as professor of archæology, which considerably added to his celebrity. These lectures were published in 1828, under the title of 'Cours d'Archéologie,' and again in 1836.

From this time M. Raoul-Rochette was one of the most active and most widely known of the French writers on ancient art, communicating numerous papers to the Memoirs of the Académie, as well as to the journals of other learned societies, and frequently appearing before the public in distinct works. In 1828 he published Monuments inédits d'Antiquité figurées Grecques, Étrusques, et Romaines,' 2 vols. fol. His Peintures Antiques inédites' appeared in 1836. In 1839 he was appointed perpetual secretary to the Académie des Beaux

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RAPHAEL.

RASK, RASMUS CHRISTIAN.

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Arts, the post previously held by Quatremère de Quincy; and, like his predecessor, he composed a large number of official éloges and resumés. In 1840 appeared his Mémoires de Numismatique et d'Antiquité,' 4to; in the same year 'Lettres Archéologiques sur la Peinture des Grecs; and in 1846, Choix de Peintures de Pompei.' His last work of importance-one which he describes in the introduction as having for its object "to direct the investigations of the mythographists and antiquaries of the present day to the only course which, I believe, will prove fruitful in new discoveries-the relationship between Greece and Asia"-was entitled Mémoires d'Archéologie comparée Asiatique, Grecque, et Étrusque,' but only one part was published (in 1848), and that, though a bulky 4to volume of 404 pages, is wholly occupied with the Premier Mémoire sur l'Hercule Assyrien et Phenicien considéré dans ses Rapports avec l'Hercule Grec.' Except some controversial letters directed to M. Carnot, referring to some charges brought against him in respect of his official conduct, he does not appear to have issued subsequently any separate publications. He died on the 6th of July 1854. An English translation of his 'Lectures-is apocryphal; but there can be no doubt that the work, though on Ancient Art,' by H. M. Westropp, was published in 1854. RAPHAEL. [RAFFAELLE.]

RAPI'N, PAUL DE, a younger son of Jacques de Rapin, Sieur of Thoyras, was born at Castres, in 1661, of a Protestant family, which came originally from Savoy. He studied in the Protestant college of Saumur, and afterwards entered the profession of the law. But the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. in 1686 drove him from his native country, and he went first to England, and afterwards to Holland, where he entered the service of William of Nassau as a volunteer. He accompanied William to England in 1688, was made an officer in an English regiment, served in Ireland under General Douglas, and was wounded at Limerick. Not long after he was appointed travelling tutor to the young Duke of Portland, with whom he spent several years. Having completed his engagement, he retired with his wife first to the Hague, and afterwards, for the sake of economy, to Wesel, where he commenced his great work, the 'History of England,' which occupied him for seventeen years. The application requisite for this undertaking is said to have exhausted his frame, and he died at Wesel in 1725. His work is entitled Histoire d'Angleterre depuis l'Establissement des Romains jusqu'à la Mort de Charles I.,' 8 vols. 4to, La Haye, 1724, and foll. It was continued by others down to the accession of George II. The work was translated into English by Nicholas Tindal. This translation went through various editions; that of 1757-59 consists of 21 vols. 8vo, and is enriched with additional notes and a biography of Rapin. Rapin writes with spirit and ease: he quotes his authorities; and his work was the only complete history of England existing at the time of its appearance. Rapin wrote also a 'Dissertation sur les Whigs et les Torys.'

RAʼSARIUS, or, more properly, GIAMBATTISTA RASARIO, an Italian physician, was born of a noble family in 1517, in the province of Novara, in the Sardinian territories. After having studied at Milan and Pavia, he took the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the University of Padua. Upon his return to Milan his learning soon gained him so great a reputation that the republic of Venice invited him to their city, where he was professor of rhetoric and the Greek languago for two-and-twenty years. Here he distinguished himself by his eloquence, particularly on occasion of the battle of Lepanto, 1571, when, at the command of the doge, and with a very short time for preparation, he pronounced in the church of St. Mark a public oration that has been several times printed. He afterwards went to Rome, where the pope, Pius IV., made him the offer of some good appointments; but he chose rather to accept the office of professor of rhetoric at Pavia, where he died about four years after, in 1578, at the age of sixty-one. His works consisted principally of editions and translations of various Greek writers, such as, Galeni Comment. in Hippocr. libr. ii. et vi. Morb. Popular., De Alimentis, et De Humoribus,' Caesaraugusta (Saragossa), 4to, 1567; Oribasii quæ restant Omnia, Tribus Tomis digesta,' 8vo, Basil., 1557; Georgii Pachymeris Epitome Logica Aristotelis, 8vo, Paris, 1547; G. Pachym. in Univ. Aristot. Disserend. Artem Epitome,' with 'Ammonius in Porphyr. Inst.,' fol., Lugd., 1547; Xenocrates de Alimento ex Aquatilibus,' in Fabricii Bibl. Gr.,' tom. ix., pp. 454-474; Joannis Grammatici (sive Philoponi), Comment. in primos iv. Aristot. de Naturali Auscult. Libros,' fol., Venet., 1558.

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RASIS, or rather AR-RAʼZI', is the patronymic of a celebrated Arabian writer, whose entire name was Ahmed Ibn Mohammed IbnMúsa. He was denominated Ar-rází because his family was from Ray, a province of Persia. He was born at Cordova about the middle of the third century of the Hejira (A.D. 864-870). His father, Mohammed Ibn-Musa, who was a native of Persia and a wealthy merchant, was in the habit of travelling yearly to Spain with drugs and other produce of the East. Being a man of some learning and ability, he met with great favour and protection from the sultans of the house of Merwan, who then reigned in Cordova; and in one of his visits was prevailed upon to settle in that capital, where he filled offices of trust, being employed in various embassies. He died in the month of Rabi-l-akhar, A.H. 273 (October, A.D. 886). His son Ahmed when still young wrote some poems, which he dedicated to Abdu-r-rahman III., sultan of Cordova. He also distinguished himself by his early acquirements in theology and jurisprudence, on which sciences he is said to have left

several excellent treatises: but it is in his capacity of royal historiographer that Ar-rází gained most renown. Besides many historical works, the titles of which have not reached us, he wrote a very voluminous history of the conquest of Spain by the Arabs, together with a geographical description of that country, and a few interesting details on its natural productions, industry, commerce, &c. He wrote likewise a history of Mohammedan Spain under the dynasty of the Beni-Umeyyah, and a topographical description of Cordova, the seat of their empire. There is also a genealogical history by him of all the Arabian tribes who settled in Spain at the time of the conquest of soon after it. A portion of the first-mentioned historical work was translated into Spanish about the end of the 13th century by a converted Moor named Mohammed, and by Gil Perez, a chaplain to King Dinis of Portugal, by whose orders the version was inade. Both Casiri (Bib. Ar. Hisp. Esc.,' vol. ii., p. 329) and Conde ('Hist. de la Dom.,' vol. i., p. 9) have asserted, without the least foundation, that the 'Historia del Moro Rasis'-for such is the title of the Spanish version containing numerous interpolations and abounding with blunders, like most translations from eastern languages made during the middle ages, is an authentic one. There is a manuscript of the history of Ar-rází in the library of the British Museum. The year of Ar-rázi's death is not known; but as his history falls rather short of the reign of Abdu-r-rahmán, whose historiographer he was, we may safely conclude that he died before A.H. 350 (A.D. 961), the date of that sovereign's death.

RASK, RASMUS CHRISTIAN, one of the most distinguished linguists of modern times, was born on the 2nd of November 1787, at Brendekilde, near Odense, in the island of Fyen, or Funen, in the kingdom of Denmark. His parents were very poor people, but the boy's talents and inclinations procured him friends who afforded him the means of prosecuting his favourite studies in the University of Copenhagen. He afterwards spent some time in Iceland, and also made journeys to Sweden, Finland, and Russia for the purpose of increasing his knowledge of languages, for which he had a very extraordinary talent. In 1808 he obtained a situation connected with the university library at Copenhagen, and he availed himself of the opportunity by making himself acquainted with the most ancient documents of northern history and literature. His knowledge of languages led him to devote himself to comparative philology, to search after the connecting links and trace them to their common origin; and in order to complete this branch of study, he undertook in 1817, with the support of the Danish government, a journey to Russia, whence he proceeded in 1819 to Persia. He made some stay at Teheran, Persepolis, and Shiras, and in 1820 went to India, whence he returned in 1822 to his native country. In this expedition he had purchased for the Copenhagen library 113 ancient and rare oriental manuscripts, among which those in the Pali language were the most valuable. Soon after his return he was invited to a professorship in the University of Edinburgh, but as he declined the offer, he was appointed professor of the history of literature in the University of Copenhagen. The king had promised him his support, if Rask would prosecute his oriental studies, but for some time he neglected them, and devoted his time to an analysis of the Danish language. In 1827, however, he returned to his oriental pursuits, and wrote on Egyptian and Hebrew chronology, and on the age and authenticity of the Zend a Vesta. In the meantime he had become president of the Icelandic society of literature, and of the society for the investigation of northern antiquities, and he took an active part in the management and editorship of the journals of these societies. At the same time he was engaged in the preparation of an Armenian Dictionary, an Italian, Low German, and English Grammar. In 1829 he was appointed professor of oriental languages and chief librarian of the university library. Henceforth his attention was engaged almost exclusively by the eastern languages, but his edition of Lockman's Fables,' Copenhagen, 1832, shows that his knowledge of Arabic was very deficient; and it may be said in general that, as far as the oriental languages are concerned, he had more skill in general comparisons and investigations of their grammatical structure than an exact knowledge of any particular language. His works show that there was scarcely a language worth studying of which he had not some knowledge and all the civilised languages of Europe were almost as familiar to him as his own mothertongue, and his knowledge of the northern languages is unrivalled. He died at Copenhagen on the 14th of November 1832, and his numerous manuscripts relating to philology were given up by his relatives to the king's library at Copenhagen.

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The principal works of Rask are-1, An Introduction to the Study of the Icelandic and Ancient Northern Languages,' Copenhagen, 1811; 2, an Anglo-Saxon Grammar,' Stockholm, 1817, one of his best works, has been translated into German and English; 3, Investigations concerning the Origin of the Ancient Northern or Icelandic Language,' Copenhagen, 1814; 4, An edition of Bjorn Haldorsen's Icelandic Dictionary,' Copenhagen, 1814; 5, A 'Spanish Grammar,' Copenhagen, 1824; 6, A Frisian Grammar,' Copenhagen, 1825; 7, 'An Attempt to reduce the Orthography of the Danish Language to Principles,' Copenhagen, 1826, is a strange work, in which Rask attempted to introduce a complete reform in Danish orthography. He did not succeed in his attempt, but the work is full of the most extraordinary linguistic learning.

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