Bosius, John Andrew

, an eminent philologer and historian, was born at Leipsic, June 17, 1626, and succeeded so rapidly in his first studies, that he was admitted to his bachelor’s degree in the college of his native city when he had scarcely attained his fifteenth year; and afterwards wrote and defended some theses, as is the custom at Leipsic. In 1643 he went to study at Wittemberg, lodging first with Balthasar Cellarius, and afterwards with J. C. Seldius, two learned men, by whose assistance he was enabled to improve what he heard from the public lecturers. In 1645 he returned to Leipsic, and again attended some of the able professors under whom he was first educated, particularly Muller and Rivinus; and the following year, after a public disputation, in which he acquitted himself with great applause, he was admitted to his master’s degree. In 1647 he went to Strasburgh, and studied divinity and ecclesiastical history, and the modern languages, until he was recalled to Leipsic, where, after two disputations on the solar spots, he was, in 1655, admitted assessor of philosophy. The following year he was invited to be professor of history at Jena, and acquired the greatest reputation as a teacher, while he employed his leisure ho-.irs in composing his own works, or editing some of those of the ancients, making considerable progress in an edition of Josephus, and some of the Byzantine historians. For five years he was dean, and, in 1661, rector of the college, and in 1672 he founded the society of inquirers, “Societas disquirentium,” at Jena. He died of repeated attacks of the gout, which had undermined his constitution, on April 29, 1674. Bosius was the particular friend of Heinsius and Graevius, both of whom speak highly of his talents. Among his works may be enumerated, 1. | “Dissertatio de veterum adoratione,” Leipsic, 1646, 4to. 2. His edition of “Cornelius Nepos,” 1657, and again at Jena, 1675, 8vo, which gave such general satisfaction to the learned men of his day, that few subsequent editors ventured to depart from his text. 3. “Dissertatio de Pontificatu Maximo Imperatorum præcipue Christianorum,” Jena, 1657, 4to, reprinted by Grævius in the fifth vol. of his Thesaurus. 4. “De ara ignoti Dei ad Act. 17,” Jena, 1659, 4to. 5. “De Tiberio,” ibid. 1661. 6. “Exercitatio historica de Clinicis Ecclesiae Teteris,” ibid. 1664, 4to. 7. An edition of Tacitus, “De Vita Agricolae, Jena, 1664, 8vo. 8.” Schediasma de comparanda notitia Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum,“ibid, 1673, 4to, reprinted by Crenius in his” Tractatus de eruditibne comparanda,“Leyden, 1699, 4to, and by J. G. Walch, Jena, 1723, 8vo. After his death were published, 9.” Introductio in notitiam rerum publicarum,“with his Essay on the stale of Europe, Jena, 1676, 4to. 10.” Dissertatio Isagogica de comparanda prudentia civili, deque scriptoribus et libris ad earn rem maxime aptis,“ibid. 1679, 4to, and reprinted by Crenius. 11.” Ejusdem et Reinesii Epistolae mutuse,“ibid. 1700, 12mo. 12.” Petronii Satyriconpuritatedonatum cum fragmento Traguriensi et Albas Graecas, &c.“ibid. 1701, 8vo. 13.” Hispaniæ, Ducatus Mediolanensis, et Regni Neapolitani Notitia," Helmstadt, 1702, 4to. ¹