Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/641

Rh TSIDORUS. Jesuit Andreas Schott, Antwerp, 1G23, 8vo. ; re- printed with Latin version and notes, at Frank- ibrt-on-the-Main, 1629, fol. ; finally, these editions were combined into a complete one, Paris, 1638, fol. (Schrockh, Christlielie Kircliengesdiichte, vol. xvii. pp. 520 — 529 ; Hermann, Dissert, de Isidoro Pelusiota., ejusque ejnstolisy Gotting. 1737, 4to. ; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. pp. 480— 494.) 7. Of Pergamus, a rhetorician, of whom nothing more is knovn than the mention of him by Dio- genes Laertius (vii. 34), and a single quotation from him by Rutilius Lupus. {De Fig. Sent, et Eloc.n.Q.) 8. ScHOLASTicus, of the town of Bolbotine, in the Delta of Egypt, the author of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. (Brunck, Anai. vol. ii. p. 474 ; Jacobs, Aiith. Graec. vol. ii. p. 179; vol. xiii. p. 905.) 9. Metropolitan of Thessalonica, about A. d. 1401, was the author of four homilies on the Virgin Mary, published in Latin, with notes, by Hippolytus Maraccius, Rome, 1651, 8vo. ; and of other homilies, commentaries, and epistles, which exist in MS. in various libraries. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. x. p. -498.) [P. S.] ISIDO'RUS. We read of three Spanish eccle- siastics who bore this name, and who must be care- fully distinguished from each other — Isidorus, bishop of Cordova {Corduhe7isis), who is said to have flourished about the end of the fourth cen- tury, but whose very existence has been called in question by Nicolas Antonio in the Bihliotheca Hispana vetus ; Isidorus, bishop of Sevilla i^His- palensis who flourished at the beginning of the seventh century ; and, finally, Isidorus, bishop of Badajos Pacensis), who flourished in the middle of the eiglith century. Of these by far the most re- markable was Isidorus Hispalknsis, whose merits are but imperfectly acknowledged when he is pronounced to have been the most eloquent speaker, the most profound scholar, and the most able prelate of the barbarous age and country to which he belonged. Descended from an honourable Gothic stock, his father, Severianus, was governor, and his elder brother, Fulgentius, bishop of Cartagena, while an- other brother, Leander, also his senior, presided over the see of Sevilla. In the palace of the latter Isidorus passed his youth devoted to study and to religious exercises, labouring at the same time with zeal and success in the conversion of the Arian Visigoths. Upon the death of Leander, in A. D. 600 or 601, he succeeded to his episcopal charge. One of his first acts was to establish a college for the education of youth ; soon after he repaired to Rome for the purpose of holding personal communi- cation with the great Gregory, in 616 (or 617), he presided at the second council of Sevilla, and in December, a. d. 633, at the great council of To- ledo, manifesting at all times the most eager anxiety for the extension of the orthodox faith, and for the maintenance of order and strict disci- pline among the clergy. He died in the church of St. Vincentius on the 4th of April, a.d. 636. The esteem in which he was held by his contemporaries and immediate successors is sufficiently attested by the tribute to his memory in the Acts of the eighth coxincil of Toledo, held fourteen years after his death : " Nostri seculi doctor egregius, ecclesiae Catliolicae novissimum decus, praecedentibus ae- tate postremus, doctrinae comparatione non iuHmus, ISIDORUS. 62t et, quod majus est, in saeculorum fine doctissimus atque cum reverentia nominandus, Isidorus." His numercus Avorks display an extent of know- ledge which, although at once superficial and inac- curate, must have caused them to be regarded ag absolutely marvellous at the period when they were given to the world, exhibiting as they do a certain degree of familiarity with almost every branch of learning known even by name in those times. The fruits of this unremitting industry are even in the present day not altogether destitute of value, since considerable portions of the facts are derived from sources no longer accessible, although it may be doubted whether the ancient authorities were consulted directly or only through the me- dium of previous compilations drawn up during the fifth and sixth centuries. In giving a catalogue of the works of Isidorus, without attempting any regular or formal classification, which is scarcely practicable, we shall endeavour to ranlt those to- gether which approach most nearly in the nature of their subjects, assigning the first place to the most important of all, namely, — I. Oriyi7ium s. Etymologiarum Lihri XX. An Encyclopaedia of Arts and Sciences belonging to the same class with the medley of Martianus Ca- pella [Capella], but far superior to it both in matter and manner. From this book Ave can form a very distinct idea of the state of mental culture at the epoch of its publication, when the study of the ancient authors was almost entirely superseded by meagre abridgments and confused condensa- tions, and it is of high importance in so far as the history of education and literature during the middle ages is concerned, since it was one of the very few manuals by means of which some acquaintance with the Greek and Roman clas- sics was kept alive during six hundred years. Prefixed is a correspondence between Isidorus and his pupil Braulio, bishop of Saragossa, to whom we are indebted for a " Praenotatio libro- rum Isidori," and who, together with another pupil, Ildefonsus, bishop of Toledo, revised the production now before us. The first book treats of grammar, with four chapters at the end, upon the nature, advantages, and different species of his- toi-y ; the second, of rhetoric and dialectics ; the third, of the four great departments of mathema- tical science, arithmetic, geometry, music, and as- tronomy ; the fourth," of medicine ; the fifth, of law, to which is subjoined a dissertation on the different measures of time, together with a short chronicle, extending from the creation of the world to the reign of Heraclius ; the sixth, of the canon of Scripture, of libraries, of books in general, book- binding, and writing materials, and of the determi- nation of Easter, concluding with an explanation of sundry sacred words and technicalities ; the seventh, of God, of angels, and of the various orders of holy men from patriarchs, prophets, and apostles down to monks ; the eighth, of the Jews and their sects, of the Christian church and its he- resies, of the gods, soothsayers, priests, and magi- cians of the pagans ; the ninth of languages, of the names of nations, of various political combinations, of the titles of magistrates and military authorities ; and of the various grades of relationship ; the tenth, of topics purely etymological, expounding the derivation of a number of words arranged in alphabetical order ; the eleventh, of man and of monsters ; the twelfth, of domestic animals, and ss 2