PICCOLOMINI (Alexander)

, archbishop of Patras, and a native of Sienna, where he was born about the year 1508. He was of an illustrious and ancient family, which came originally from Rome, but afterwards settled at Sienna. He composed with success for the theatre; but he was not more distinguished by his genius, than by the purity of his manners, and his regard to virtue. His charity was great; and was chiefly exerted in relieving the necessities of men of letters. He was the first who made use of the Italian language in writing upon philosophical subjects. He died at Sienna the 12th of March 1578, at 70 years of age, leaving behind him a number of works in Italian, on a variety of subjects. A particular catalogue of them may be seen in the Typographical Dictionary; the principal of which are the following:

1. Various Dramatical pieces.

2. A treatise on the Sphere.

3. A Theory of the Planets.

4. Translation of Aristotle's Art of Rhetoric and Poetry.

5. A System of Morality, published at Venice, 1575, in 4to; translated into French by Peter de Larivey, and printed at Paris, 1581, in 4to.

These, with a variety of other works, prove his extensive knowledge in natural philosophy, mathematics, and theology.

Piccolomini (Francis), of the same family with the foregoing, was born in 1520, and taught philosophy with success, for the space of 22 years, in the most celebrated universities of Italy, and afterwards retired to Sienna, where he died, in 1604, at 84 years of age. He was so much and so generally respected, that the city went into mourning on his death.

Piccolomini laboured to revive the doctrine of Plato, and endeavoured also to imitate the manners of that philosopher. He had for his rival the famous James Zabar Alla, whom he excelled in facility of expression and neatness of diction; but to whom he was much inferior in point of argument, because he did not examine matters to the bottom as the other did; but passed too rapidly from one proposition to another.