Page:Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography Volume 1.pdf/982

CAS and of Constance of Austria, born in 1609; died in 1672. His brother, Wladislas V., succeeding to the crown on the death of his father in 1633, Casimir undertook in 1638 the hazardous task of assisting, by a naval armament collected at Genoa, the designs of Philip III. of Spain against the commerce of the French on the Mediterranean. His fleet being driven by contrary winds on the coast of Provence, he was taken prisoner, and confined by order of Richelieu at Vincennes. After two years' imprisonment he was allowed to return to Poland. He was at Rome, where he had entered the church, and been promoted to the rank of cardinal, when the news of his election to the sovereignty of Poland, following the tidings of his brother's death, reached him, and necessitated an appeal to the pontiff for a dispensation from his clerical vows. With this, which was readily granted, and with a license to marry his brother's widow, he returned to Poland, and commenced his long wars with the Tartars and Cossacks, the evils of which were shortly to be increased by an incursion of Swedes under the formidable Charles Gustavus. Charles overran the greater part of Poland, and defeated the Polish army in a great battle, near Warsaw. By the treaty of Oliva in 1660, Casimir gave up Livonia to the Swedes, and Smolensk and Kiew to the Russians. In 1667 he abdicated the crown and retired to France, where the abbacy of St. Germain-des-Prés and other benefices were conferred upon him by Louis XIV. His death occurred at Nevers.—J. S., G.  CASLEY,, an English bibliographer of the first half of the eighteenth century. He was subkeeper of the Cottonian library; published "Report of Committee on the Cottonian Library, &c., with an Appendix," 1732; and compiled a catalogue of the MSS. of the king's library, and of the Harleian MSS. from 2405 to 5709.  CASLON,, a distinguished letter-founder, was born in Shropshire in 1692. His original occupation was that of an engraver of ornaments on gun-barrels, with which he combined the making of tools for bookbinders, and the chasing of silver plate. Mr. Bowyer, the printer, having seen the lettering on the back of a book, which was executed with peculiar neatness, inquired who had furnished the letters. Finding that it was Mr. Caslon, he waited on him, and persuaded him to devote himself to letter-founding, for which he soon showed peculiar aptitude. He was first employed to cut the letters for an edition of the New Testament and Psalter, printed in Arabic by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. After this he began to cut pica, and in 1722 furnished the fount for printing an edition of Selden. Encouraged by Mr. Bowyer he opened a foundry, and soon, by his peculiar excellence in the art, made the importation of types from Holland unnecessary. Indeed, ere long, the productions of his foundry began to be exported to the continent. Mr. Caslon realized a considerable fortune, and died at his country seat at Bethnal-green in 1766.—J. B.  CASMANN,, a German divine of the sixteenth century, known as one of the earliest of the so-called scriptural philosophers, who formed a system of philosophy founded entirely on the records and doctrine of the bible. He died in 1607. Among other works he wrote a treatise named "Cosmopœia," in which he derives a system of natural philosophy from scripture; and "Modesta Assertio Philosophiæ et Christianæ et Veræ," in which he professes to write the christian institutes of grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, &c.—J. B.  * CASS,, General, an American statesman of considerable notoriety, was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, about the close of the last century. He was originally intended for the legal profession, but quitted it for the army. His military career, however, gained him no laurels, for his only service in the field appears to have been in the luckless expedition against Canada in 1812, which terminated in the surrender to the British of the American army under General Hall. On the return of peace, General Cass was elected governor of Michigan. In 1831 he received the appointment of secretary of war from General Jackson, and subsequently became United States minister plenipotentiary at the court of France, where he was noted for his cordial approbation of the policy of Louis Philippe. He resigned his office and returned home, in consequence of a difference of opinion with President Harrison respecting his foreign policy. Since that time he has taken a leading part in political affairs; and in 1844 was an unsuccessful candidate for the office of president. Cass is now a senator for the state of Michigan, and a member of President Buchanan's cabinet. He is a violent and factious partisan of the democratic party, a zealous supporter of slavery and of a high protection tariff; and has always shown himself an unscrupulous advocate of the annexation of Texas, the war with Mexico, and the other aggressive measures of the American government against their neighbours.—J. T.  CASSAGNES,, a French writer, born at Nismes in 1633. Early known as a poet, he was admitted at the age of twenty-seven into the French Academy, and rose in court favour, till, when preparing to become a court preacher, he was satirized by Boileau, which so affected his spirits that he became insane. He died in 1679, leaving odes, and some translations.—J. B.  CASSANA,, called : this painter, the younger brother of Nicolletto, was born at Genoa in 1658, and was instructed by his father. He painted portraits successfully, but is more celebrated for his quadruped likenesses. His animal and fruit pieces have been very highly considered, and follow the style of Benedetto Castiglione. He died in 1720.—W. T.  CASSANA,, a painter, born at Genoa in 1611. He studied under Bernardo Strozzi. He excelled most as a portrait painter, but he executed a St. Girolamo in the dome of the church of the Mirandola with great credit. He died in 1691. He was the progenitor of a group of painters. <section end="982H" /> <section begin="982I" />CASSANA,, the second son of Giovanni Francesco Cassana, born at Venice in 1659. He was surnamed. He studied under his father, and aided him in many of his works. He excelled as a painter of portraits. He visited the court of Tuscany, and earned great fame by his portraits of the grand duke and his wife. The Tuscan aristocracy, of course, followed the suit of the court, and had their illustrious faces limned by the favourite painter. He practised historical painting in the intervals of his more profitable labours. His large picture at Florence of the "Conspiracy of Catiline" is not without merit. He visited England, and had a great success. "Queen Anne's" refined features figured on his canvass, and her majesty bestowed great favour upon him. The British nobility also patronized him. But his career in England was not long. He died in 1713.—W. T. <section end="982I" /> <section begin="982J" />CASSANDER, king of Macedonia, was born about 354. His father Antipater had Macedonia allotted to him on the division of the empire after the death of Alexander the Great. When Antipater died,. 318, he appointed Polysperchon, one of the oldest of Alexander's captains, to succeed him. Cassander, enraged at his exclusion, repaired to Asia, and obtained assistance from Antigonus to enforce his claims upon the Macedonian throne. In the end Polysperchon was overthrown, and Olympias, the mother of Alexander, whom he had associated with himself in the government, was blockaded in Pydna by Cassander, and on the capitulation of the town,. 315, was put to death through his agency, in express violation of the terms of surrender. He then, in the hope of strengthening his dominion, married Thessalonice, the half sister of Alexander the Great, and soon after founded the flourishing city of Cassandria in Pallene, and began the restoration of Thebes, which Alexander had destroyed. He formed an alliance with Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Seleucus against Antigonus. Peace was concluded in 311 ., on condition that Cassander should be military governor of the European provinces till the son of Alexander by Roxana should attain his majority. But two years after this, both the young prince and his mother were put to death by his orders. Polysperchon then set up against him Hercules, the son of Alexander by Barsine, the daughter of Darius, but he agreed to put Hercules to death at the instigation of Cassander, and thus the line of Alexander the Great became totally extinct. Cassander now assumed the regal title as he had long enjoyed the power. He became a party to a new combination against Antigonus, who was signally defeated at Ipsus. 301, and died of his wounds. But Cassander did not long survive the removal of his most formidable enemy, having died. 296. He was succeeded by Philip, his eldest son.—J. T. <section end="982J" /> <section begin="982Zcontin" />CASSANDER,, a Roman catholic divine, born in Cadsand, near Bruges, in 1515. Distinguished as a scholar, he latterly devoted himself exclusively to theology, and to the endeavour to effect a reconciliation between his own church and protestantism. With this view he wrote, in 1562, his work "De officio viri pii," &c., which involved him in a controversy with Calvin. Afterwards encouraged as a mediator by the German princes, he published his "Consultatio Cassandri," in <section end="982Zcontin" />