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 FORNOVO

144

FORSTER

piipstliche Poenitentiarie bis Eugen IV." (Rome, 1907).

Previously, Lea had published " A Formulary of the Papal Penitentiary in the Thirteenth Century" (Phila- delphia, 1S92), probably the work of Cardinal Thoma- sius of Capua (d. 1243). We must mention the "Summa de absolutionibus et dispensationibus " of Nicholas IV; of particular value also is the formulary of Benedict XII (1336 at the latest), made by order of that pope and long in use. It contains five hundred and seventy letters of which more than two hundred are taken from the collection of Thomasius. Atten- tion is also directed to the list of " faculties " conferred, in 1357, on Cardinal Albornoz, first edited by Leca- cheux in "M(?langes d'Arch^ologie et d'Histoire des ecoles frangaises de Rome et d'Athenes", in 1898; and to later te.xts in GoUer. It will suffice if we make a bare mention of the taxce or "taxes" in use at the Poenitentiaria, to which were occasionally joined those imposed by the Cancellaria; in the opinion of the writer, they are not in any way related to the formu- laries.

Besides the works mentioned above see Giry, Manuel de diplomatique (Paris, 1894), Bk. IV, ch. i, Formulaires et manuels; Bk. V, Les Chancelleries; from this work we have largely drawn; Kober in Kirchenlex., s. w. Formelbiicher, and Liber diurnus.

A. BOUDINHON.

Fornovo. See Sabina, Diocese of.

Forrest, William, priest and poet; dates of birth and death imcertain. Few personal details are known of him. He is thought to have been related to John Forest, the Franciscan martyr, and was connected with Christ Church, Oxford, though in what capacity is not clear; probably he was a student there. It is cer- tain that he was present when the university, in 1530, discussed the question of Henry VIII's divorce; he also gives a long account in his poem on Catherine of Aragon of the rebuilding of the college when it was remodelled, and we find him in receipt of a pension from it in 1555. vSoon after the accession of Mary he was made a royal chaplain, but nothing is known of what became of him after her death. An interesting entry occurs in the State papers (domestic) of Eliza- beth, under the date 23 Dec, 1592, to the effect that A certain Robert Faux being examined, confessed that " 3 or 4 years since he had given a gray nag with a sad- dle and bridle to Forrest, a priest, at an ale house in Stoke, Northampton". This may have been William Forrest, and points perhaps to his being a fugitive at the time. He was a skilful musician and collected the manuscripts of some of the best contemporary Eng- lish composers. This collection is now preserved in Oxford. The greater part of his poems are still in MS. None of them are of great poetical merit, but some are extremely interesting from the light they throw upon certain political, religious, and social events of his time. There are some enlightened suggestions in his work concerning points of social reform. Warton, in his " History of English Poetry", remarks that Forrest seems to have been able to "accommodate his faith to the reigning powers", and the statement rests upon the fact that he dedicated two of his works to the pro- tector Somerset. Otherwise he seems to have been a loyal Catholic. Forrest's works are : " History of Joseph the Chaste" (in MS., Oxford and British Muse- um); "The Pleasant Poesie of Princely Practice" (in MS., British Museum) — a long extract from this poem is given in "Starkey's Life and Letters" (see below); A metrical version of certain Psalms and Canticles (in MS); "A New Ballad of the Marigold", in praise of Queen Mary, printed in the "Harleian Miscellany", vol. X; "The History of Grisild the Second", a long poem upon Catherine of Aragon and her divorce, published entire by the Roxburghe Club (London, 1875), with memoir by the Rev. W. H. Macray; "The Life of the Virgin Mary", and other poems (Harleian MS., 170.3).

Cooper in Diet, Nat. Biog.. a. v.; Starkey's Life and Letters (Early Eng. Text See, London, 1878); Warton, Hist. Eng. Poetry, ed. Hazlitt (London, 1871), IV; Wood, Athence Ozon., ed. Buss (London, 1812), I; Giixow, Bibl. Diet. Eng. Calh.,

s. V. K. M. Warren.

Fbrster, Arnold, German entomologist; b. at Aachen, 20 Jan., ISIO; d. in the same city, 12 Aug., 1884. His father died while he was quite young, and it was only by strict economy and by tutoring that he was able to complete his gymnasium course, which he began in 1824. He was an apt student, and showed a decided preference for natural history. The entomol- ogist Meigen, who resided in the neighbourhood, fos- tered and directed this preference and his influence may be traced throughout Forster's subsequent work in entomology. Forster began the study of medicine at Bonn in 1832, but soon abandoned it to devote him- self entirely to natural science. He made rapid pro- gress, and, while still a student, became assistant to Goldfuss and tutor in his family. In 1836 he was ap- pointed instructor in the high school — known to-day as the Realgynmasium — of his native city, with which he was connected until his death.

Forster was a conscientious teacher, and endeavoured to awaken in his pupils a love of and interest in the won- ders of nature. His wealth of knowledge and his un- tiring spirit of research would, however, have found a wider and more suitable field in the university than in the gymnasium. Most of his leisure was devoted to his studies in entomology, though botany also claimed part of his attention. He was regarded in particular as an authority in the "microhymenoptera". He was an indefatigable collector and a keen observer, but was inclined to magnify minute differences, and so multiply species and divisions. Forster belonged to a number of societies of natural history, and carried on an extensive correspondence with entomologists both at home and abroad. In 1853 he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy honoris causa at Bonn, and in 1855 the title of professor from the Minister of Instruction. He was abstemious in his habits, and a devout and practical Catholic, conspicuous for his charity towards the poor. Among his papers on en- tomology are " Beitrage zur Monographic der Ptero- malinen " ; " Einige neuen Arten aus der Faniilie der Blattwespen"; " Hymenopterologische Studien"; " Monographic der Gattungen Campoplex u. Hylaeus"; "Flora Excursoria des Regierungsbezirks Aachen".

Wackerzapp, Verhandl. d. Naturhistorisehen Vereins d. prettS' sischen Rheinlande, WestfaleTis und d. Regierungsbezirks Osna- briick (Bonn, 1886), Correspondenzblatt. p. 38.

Henry M. Bhock.

Forster, Frobenius, Prince- Abbot of St. Emmeram at Ratisbon, b. 30 Aug., 1709, at Konigsfeld in Upper Bavaria; d. 11 Oct., 1791, at Ratisbon. After studying the humanities and philosophy at Freising and Ingol- stadt, he entered the Benedictine monastery of St. Emmeram at Ratisbon where he took vows on 8 Dec, 1728. He made his theological studies partly at his monastery and partly at Rott, where the Bavarian Benedictines had their common study house. Shortly after his elevation to the priesthood, in 1733, he became professor of philosophy and theology at St. Emmeram and for some time held the office of master of novices. In 1745 he was sent to the Benedictine university at Salzburg to teach philosophy and physics. Two years later he returned to his monastery where he taught philosophy and Holy Scripture until he became libra- rian and prior in 1750. He had gained an enviable reputation as a philosopher and scientist, and was one of the first religious who endeavoured to reconcile Scholastic philosophy with the Cartesian and the Leibniz- Wolffian school. Though leaning towards the Leibniz- Wolffian philosophy, he rejected many of its teachings, such as the cosmological optimism of Leib- niz and the mechanism of Wolff, and was rather an eclectic than a slavish follower of any one system. In