Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/225

201 CLASSICAL LEARNING. — SCIENCE. 201 have surpassed him in an accurate knowledge of chapter XIX, the Greek, and poetical criticism. In the former, ^ indeed, he seems to have obtained a greater repute than any Spanish scholar of the time. He com- posed some valuable works, especially on ancient prosody. The unwearied assiduity and complete success of his academic labors have secured to him a high reputation among the restorers of ancient learning, and especially that of reviving a livelier relish for the study of the Greek, by conducting it on principles of pure criticism, in the same manner as Lebrija did with the Latin. ^^ The scope of the present work precludes the g^^^^|^^'"* possibility of a copious enumeration of the pioneers ^'='^°'^'^^- of ancient learning, to whom Spain owes so large a debt of gratitude. ^^ The Castilian scholars of the close of the fifteenth, and the beginning of the 26 Barbosa, Bibliotheca Lusita- tions of Cicero and other Latin na, (Lisboa Occidental, 1741,) torn, authors; and lastly Vives, whose i. pp. 76-78. — Signorelli, Col- fame rather belongs to Europe than, tura nelle Sicilie, torn. iv. pp. 315- his own country, who, when only 321. — Mayans y Siscar, Origenes, twenty-six years old, drew from torn. i. p. 173. — Lampillas, Let- Erasmus the encomium, that "there teratara Spagnuola, tom. ii. dis. 2, was scarcely any one of the age sect. 5. — Nic. Antonio, Bibliothe- whom he could venture to compare ca Nova, torn. i. pp. 170, 171. with him in philosophy, eloquence, 27 Among these are particularly and liberal learning." But the deserving of attention the brothers most unequivocal testimony to the John and Francis Vergara, profes- deep and various scholarship of the sors at Alcala, the latter of whom period is afforded by that stupen- was esteemed one of the most ac- dous literary work of Cardinal Xi- complished scholars of the age ; menes, the Polyglot Bible, whose Nufiez de Guzman, of the ancient versions in the Greek, Latin, and house of that name, professor for oriental tongues were collated, with many years at Salamanca and Al- a single exception, by Spanish cala, and the author of the Latin scholars. Erasmus, Epistolae, Kb. version in the famous Polyglot of 19, epist. 101. — Lampillas, Lette- Cardinal Ximenes ; he left behind latura Spagnuola, tom. ii. pp. 382 him numerous works, especially -384, 495, 792-794; tom. ii. p. commentaries on the classics ; Oli- 208 et seq. — Gomez, De Rebus vario, whose curious erudition was Gestis, fol. 37. abundantly exhibited in his illustra- VOL. II. 26