Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/119

 F E R- F E R 109 FERREIRA, ANTONIO (1528-1569), Portuguese poet, was born at Lisbon in 1528. He was of a noble family, and completed his education at the university of Coimbra. Destined for the public service, he applied himself to the study of the law ; but although he obtained the degree of doctor, and held a high legal office at Lisbon, he was far more deeply interested in literature than in jurisprudence. The poetry of Horace especially fascinated him ; and, resolv ing to write in the Portuguese tongue alone, he set before him as his special task to give to Portuguese poetry a classi cal purity, precision, and elegance of style. While still at the university he composed most of his Sonnets, in which the influence of Petrarch appears, without, however, his passion or his grace. At the same period he produced his comedy of Jlristo, which he is supposed to have afterwards retouched and perfected. His chief dramatic work is the tragedy of Inez de Castro, the first Portuguese tragedy, and the second in modern European literature, the only one of earlier date being the Italian tragedy of Sofonisba by Trissino. Ferreira s elegies are numerous, but few of them bear the impress of sincerity of feeling. One of the most admired is that on &quot; May &quot; and the return of spring. The Epistles of Ferreira, forming the largest portion of his works, were the first of their kind in Portuguese literature. They were addressed to many illustrious persons during his residence at court, in the maturity of his powers and knowledge of the world. Usually didactic and serious in tone, studious of correctness and classical elegance of form, the poetry of Ferreira lacked the inspiration of genuine passion and the power to touch the hearts of his countrymen. It never became popiilar. He was looked up to, however, as an oracle by the critics of his own day, en joyed the special favour of King John III. and two of his successors, and had reason to hope for a long and honourable career. But he was carried off suddenly in the prime of life, by the plague which raged in 1569. His Poemas Lusitanos were published in 1598, and a complete collection of his works appeared at Lisbon in 1771. FERRET (Mustela furo), an albino variety of weasel, regarded by some as the descendant of a wild species originally brought from Africa, and now only known in the domesticated state, and by others, as a variety of the polecat (Jfustela putorins), which it closely resembles in size, form, and habits, and with which it is said to inter breed freely. It differs, however, from the polecat in the colour of its fur, which is usually yellowish-white, and of its eyes which are pinky-red. A more important difference, as bearing on the question of its specific distinctness, lies in the fact that while the polecat thrives in the severe climate of northern Europe, the ferret is peculiarly intoler ant of cold, and only survives the English winter by means of the artificial warmth to which, under domestication, it is accustomed. The ferret attains a length of about fourteen inches, exclusive of the tail, which measures about five inches. Although exhibiting considerable tameness, it seems incapable of attachment, and when not properly fed or when otherwise irritated is apt to give painful evidence of its native ferocity. Tempted by the opportunity of the mother s absence it has been known to attack the child in the cradle, and having once tasted blood it seems to lose all its acquired shyness, and will then boldly attack any one interfering with the gratification of its bloodthirsty pro pensity. It is chiefly employed in destroying rats and other vermin, and in driving rabbits from their burrows into nets spread for their reception. For the latter purpose it is usually muzzled, to prevent it devouring its prey and there after going to sleep at the bottom of a burrow until roused by hunger to renewed exertion. The ferret is remark ably prolific, the female bringing forth two broods annually, each numbering from six to nine young. It is said to devour its young occasionally immediately after birth, and in this case it produces another brood soon after. The ferret was well known to the Romans, Strabo stating that it was brought from Africa into Spain, and Pliny that it was employed in his time in rabbit hunting, under the name Viverra, of which the English name is probably a corruption. FERRI, CIRO (1634-1689), a Roman painter, the chief disciple and successor of Pietro da Cortona. He was born in the Roman territory, studied under Pietro, to whom he became warmly attached, and, at an age a little past thirty, completed the painting of the ceilings and other internal decorations begun by his instructor in the Pitti Palace, Florence. He also co-operated in or finished several other works by Pietro, both in Florence and in Rome, approaching near to his style and his particular merits, but with less grace of design and native vigour, and in especial falling short of him in colour. Of his own independent productions, the chief is an extensive series of scriptural frescoes in the church of S. Maria Maggiore in Bergamo ; also a painting of St Ambrose, the principal altarpiece in the church of St Ambrogio della Massima in Rome. The paintings of the cupola of St Agnese in the same capital might rank even higher than these ; but this labour remained uncompleted at the death of Ferri, and was marred by the performances of his successor Corbellini. He executed also a large amount of miscellaneous designs, such as etchings and frontispieces from books ; and he was an architect besides. Ferri was appointed to direct the Florentine students in Rome, and Gabbiani was one of his leading pupils. As regards style, Ferri ranks as chief of the so-called Machinists, as opposed to the school founded by Sacchi, and continued by Carlo Maratta. He died in Rome his end being hastened, as it is said, by mortifica tion at his recognized inferiority to Bacciccia in colour. FERRIER, JAMES FREDERICK (1808-1864), metaphysi cian, was born in Edinburgh on 1 6th June 1 808. His father was a writer to the signet, and his grandfather was an intimate friend of Sir Walter Scott. His mother was sister of Professor John Wilson. In his early youth he lived in the family of the Rev. Dr Duncan, in the manse of Ruthwell, Dumfriesshire, and under Dr Duncan s tuition he acquired a strong liking for the Latin poets, which remained with him all his days. After attending Edinburgh High School he studied under Dr Burney at Greenwich, and was a student of Edinburgh University in sessions 1825-26 and 1826-27. He took the B.A. degree at Oxford in 1831. In 1832 he passed as an advocate at Edinburgh. Probably it was his metaphysical tastes which led him to Heidelberg in 1 834. These tastes were fostered by his intercourse with Sir William Hamilton, which was always most cordial, not withstanding their wide differences of opinion. Ferrier himself has recorded the warm friendship which subsisted between himself and Hamilton. &quot;For years together,&quot; he wrote, &quot; scarcely a day passed in which I was not in his company for hours, and never on this earth may I expect to live such happy hours again.&quot; His admiration for his uncle, John Wilson, whose daughter he married, was un bounded, and he had many opportunities of meeting politi cal and literary celebrities in Wilson s house. In 1842 he was appointed professor of civil history in Edinburgh University. In session 1844-45 he acted as Sir William Hamilton s substitute in the chair of logic and metaphysics, and in 1845 he was elected professor of moral philosophy and political economy at St Andrews. He was twice an unsuc cessful candidate for chairs in Edinburgh, for that of moral philosophy on the resignation of Professor Wilson in 1852, and for that of logic and metaphysics in 1856, after Hamil ton s death. As a professor Ferrier had immense influence over his students, and was warmly beloved by them, lie