Baldi, Bernard

, born at Urbino in the year 1553, was made abbot of Guastalla in 1586, without any solicitation of his own. He began his studies with the mechanics of Aristotle, and a course of history he had also made verses but, on being appointed abbot, he applied himself entirely to the canon law, the fathers, the councils, and to the oriental languages. He died in 1617, with the reputation of a very laborious man, who understood sixteen several languages. We have by him a great number of tracts on mechanics, as “De tormentis bellicis et eorum inventoribus;” “Commentaria in mechanica Aristotelis,” 1582. “De Verborum Vitruvianorum significatione.” “Novæ Gnomonices, lib. V.” 1595. “Vitæ Mathematicorum, &c.” Some of these are to be seen in the Vitruvius of Amsterdam, 1649, folio. “Versi e Prose,” Venice, 1690, 4to. Crescembini put his fables into Italian verse, Rome, 1702, 12mo. He had begun an historical | and geographical description of the world, in all its parts; but he did not live to finish this great undertaking. ¹