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 TASMANIA

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TASSO

pnori Conroy, Smeulders, and Merry del Val. In 1871 he was himself charged with the office of papal dele- gate in a very important matter concerning IMontreal. His theological ability and literary gifts were of a high order. Though obliged to give most of his time to administrative matters, he left a manuscript "History of the Seminary of Quebec"; his published discourses, and pastoral and other letters fill six folio volumes of 900 pages each. Cardinal Taschereau was of a silent disjiosition, but his speech was always pointed and effective. He was venerated by his clergy and people, who admired his Christian piety and dignified bearing.

TtTu, Lcs Ei-eques de Quebec (Quebec, 1SS9); Ide.m. A'o/icf 6i(7. 5. E. lecard. Taschcreati (Quebec, 1891); Anon.. Leprcmier Cardinal Canadien (Quebec, 1886); .\non.. JubiK Sacerdotal de S. E. le cardinal E. A. Taschereau (Quebec, 1892).

H. Tetu. Tasmania. See Hobart, Abchdiocese of.

Tassach, Saint, Irish saint, b. in the first decade of the fifth oentury; d. about 497. He was one of St. Patrick's artificers, ^^■hen .St. Patrick founded the Church of Raholp he placed St. Tassach over it as first bishop. This ancient monastic .see (Rath-colpa), a couple of miles north-east of Saul, County Down, ultimately merged into the Diocese of Down. Tas- sach's rule is for ever memorable for the fact that he was selected by the national .\postle to be with him in his last moments and to administer the Holy Viati- cum to him. This event is thus chronicled in "The Rlartyrology of DonegaU": "Tassach of Raholp gave the Body of Christ to Saint Patrick before his death in the monastery of Saul". His feast is on 14 April.

STOKEa, Tripartite Life o/ St. Patrick (London, 1887); O'L.wer- TY, Doum and Connor (Dublin, 1878-95); 0'H.*nlon, Ures of Irish Saints. IV (Dublin, s. d.); He.vly, Life and Wrilinrjs of St. Patrick (Dublin, 1905).

W. H. G rattan-Flood. Ta3S§, Joseph, writer and journalist, b. at Mon- treal, 2.3 Oct., 1S4S; d. 17 .Ian., l,S95;son of Joseph, and .\deline Daoust. He received a classical educa- tion at Bourget College, Rigaud, Province of Quebec, and began his literary career at nineteen, as chief edi- tor of "Le Canada", a tri-weekly, thendailj-, news- paper at Ottawa. In 1S69 he became editor of "La Minerve", Montreal, the foremost Conservative or- gan, resigning in 1872. In 1S7S he was elected mem- ber of the Hou.se of Commons for the City of Ottawa, and re-elected in 1.SS2. He was appointed to the Sen- ate in 1S91. Besides contributing over a hundred articles to "La Revue canadicnne", and presenting several valuable historical articles to the Royal So- ciety of Canada, he wrote the following highly-aiipre- ciated works: "Philemon Wright ou colonization et commerce de bois" (1871); "Le chemin de fer cana- dien du Pacifique" (1873); " La Vallee de I'Outaouais" (1873); "Le38' fauteuil" (1891). His most impor- tant work is: "Les Canadiens de I'Ouest" (1878). Tasse lectured frequent ly and effect ivelj- in Canada and the United States. His style is characterized by clearness and warmth.

McLean'-Rose. .4 cyclopedia of Canadian Biography (Toronto, 1886); La .Minerve (Montreal, 17 Jan., 1895); LeCourrierdu Can- ada (Quebec, 18 Jan., 1895).

Lionel Lindsay.

Tassin, RenS-Prosper, French historian, belong- ing to the Benedictine Congregation of Saint-Maur, b. at I>onlay, in the Diocese of Le Mans, in 1697; d. at Paris, 1777. Ho was professed at the Abbey of Jumif^ges in 1718. United in close friendship with his brother-religious, Dom Toust.ain, he collaborated with him on a new edition of the works of Theodore the Studite, which t;usk led them to visit Rome to- gether. Their work was interrupt i-d by a dispute be- tween the Benedictine Abbey of St. Ouen and the ch.ipter of Rouen which was supijorted by the ermlite Saas. T.TSsin and his friend wrote against Saaa in defence of their brethren. ^ They then resided at the

Abbey of Rouen where they remained till 1747, when they were summoned to the convent of Saint-Ger- main-des-Pres, at Paris, by their general. To defend the autlienticity of the deeds of their abbey they were obliged to make a deep study of diplomacy, a science dealing with diplomas, charters, and other official documents, which Mabillon had already set forth in his celebrated Latin work, ' ' De re diplo- matica". As a result of their researches they wrote the "Nouveau trait6 de diplomatique", six quarto volumes, which appeared between the years 1750 and 1765. Toustain having died before the second volume was entirely printed, Tassin completed the great work alone, but he wished the name of his friend to be asso- ciated with all the volumes; these, consequently, are known like the first two as the work of "two Bene- dictines ". Later Tassin wrote hia " Histoire litteraire de la Congr(^gation de Saint-Maur" (Paris and Brus- sels, 1770, in quarto), a model history containing the lives and list of works, printed or in MS., of all the learned authors of the Congregation, from its formation (1618) till thetime when Tiissin wrote, together with a Ust of their works, printed or in MS. Several MS. works of Tassin are in the National Library at Paris.

Haur^au, Hist, litteraire'jlu Maine (Paris, 1870-77).

Georges Bertrin.

Tasso, ToRQUATo, Italian poet, b. at Sorrento near Naples in 1544; d. at Rome, in 1.595; son of Bernardo Tasso, who was also an author and of noble family, and of Porzia de Rossi. He enriched the Italian litera- ture of the Renaissance with an epic glorifying the Crusades. The depth of his Cath- olic feeling ac- cords well with the growing re- sistance to the Reformation (1(>- veloped at Rome in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Edu- cated at the Court of the Dukes f)f Urbino and later at Venice and the LIniversity of Pa- dua, and soon car- ried away by the whirl of frivoliius society, he miiiii- fested great \>rc- cocity, composing his poem "Ri- naldo" before reaching the age of twenty. Already he had determined to celebrate in verse the prowess of Godfrey de Bouillon, and had composed the entire first canto. When he had settled at Ferrara in the suite of Cardinal Louis d'Este, he re- sumed the work. In 1570 he accompanied the cardinal on a voyage to France, and returned in time to hear at Rome the news of the victory of Lepanto. The atmosphere was suitable for the composition of the " Gerusalemme liberata", on which Tasso cont inued to work after liis return to the Court of Duke .Mphonso II at F'errara. Moreover he composed an excellent pas- toral idyl, "Aminta" (1573). The poet had now adopted the practice of consulting some learned friends, among others Mgr. Sc^ipio (lonzaga, on the definitive form of his great work, anil was very careful not to violate the rules of good literature then com- monly accepted.

After 1 575, in .addition to his literary anxieties, Ta.sso suffered from intense religious scruples. His life had not been free from reproach; he had frequently beeu

ToRQUATO Ta»

Portrait by Ale.ssandrn the Uffiii