, a noble Genoese, the greatest mariner of his age, was born in
, a noble Genoese, the greatest mariner of his age, was born in 1468, at Oneille, a small town on the coast of Genoa, of which Ceva Doria, his father, was joint lord. He adopted the military profession, and distinguished himself for several years in the service of different princes of Italy. On his return to his native country, he was twice employed in Corsica, where he fought against the rebels with so much success, that the whole island was reduced to the obedience of the republic. In consequence of the reputation for valour and prudence which Doria had acquired, he was appointed, about 1513, captain-general of the gallies of Genoa; and it is to be remarked, that he was upwards of forty-four years of age when he took up the profession of a maritime warrior. The African pirates, who at that time infested the Mediterranean, gave him the first opportunities for acquiring fame. He pursued them with unremitted ardour, and in a short time enriched himself with so many captures, that the produce, joined to the assistance of his friends, enabled him to purchase four gallics. The revolutions that soon happened in the government of Genoa, determined Doria to enter into the service of Francis I.; but after that prince was taken prisoner at Pavia, he became dissatisfied with the ministry of France, and yielding to the solicitations of Clement VII. he attached himself to that pontiff, who made him his admiral. Rome being taken by the constable of Bourbon, in 1527, the pope was no longer able to continue Doria in his pay, and persuaded him to go back into the service of France, the sovereign of which, Francis I. received him with open arms, and appointed him general of his gallies, with a salary of 36,000 crowns, to which he afterwards added the title of admiral of the seas of the Levant. Doria was then proprietor of eight well-armed gallies. It was to him that the French were indebted for the reduction of Genoa, from whence the Adorni were expelled that same year, 1527. The year following, Philippino Doria, his nephew and his lieutenant, whom he had dispatched with eight gallies to the coasts of the kingdom of Naples, in order to favour the operations of the French army there, commanded by Lautrec, gained a complete victory over the naval armament of the emperor at Capo-d'Orso, near the gulf of Salerno. The imperial fleet being now destroyed, Naples, besieged by Lautrec, could no longer receive succours by sea, and was on the point of surrendering, which would infallibly have brought on the conquest of the whole kingdom, when suddenly Doria abandoned France to serve the emperor. This defection frustrated the enterprise against Naples, and effected the total failure of the French affairs in Italy. As to the motives that led him to this sudden change, it should seem as if the ministers of Francis I. jealous of the influence of this foreigner, who besides treated them with the haughtiness of a republican, and the bluntness of a sailor, had endeavoured to ruin him in the king’s opinion, and had partly succeeded in their attempt. Doria, soured and angry, only waited for a pretext to give vent to his indignation, which his enemies soon gave him. They persuaded the king to appropriate to himself the town of Savona, belonging to the Genoese; to enlarge the port, and make it a rival of the metropolis. In vain did Doria make remonstrances to him in behalf of the republic, to turn him from his purpose; they were not only ill received, but were misinterpreted; and he was represented to the king as a man that openly resisted his will. Nor did they stop here; they persuaded the king to arrest him; and twelve gallies, under the command of Barbezieux, received orders to go first to Genoa to take possession of his person, and then to proceed to Naples to seize upon his gallies, commanded by Philippino his nephew. But Doria, having foreseen the blow, had retired to Lerica, in the gulph of La Spezia, whence he dispatched a brigantine to his nephew, with orders to join him without delay, and thought himself authorised to act in this manner, because the term of his engagement to the king was just expired. From this moment Doria made it his chief business to conclude his agreement with the emperor, who had been soliciting it for a long time. It will not appear surprizing that Francis T. now sought by all means in his power to regain Doria; but neither the most magnificent promises, nor even the mediation of pope Clement VII. could induce him to alter his resolution. What must, however, reflect still greater honour on the memory of Doria, was his refusal, on this occasion, of the sovereignty of Genoa, which was offered him by the emperor. Preferring the title of restorer to that of master, he stipulated that Genoa should remain free under the imperial protection, provided she should succeed in throwing off the yoke of the French. He thought nothing now was wanting to his glory, but to be the deliverer of his country; and the failure of the expedition against Naples emboldened him the same year, 1528, to hazard the attempt. Accordingly, presenting himself before Genoa with 13 gallies, and about 500 men, he made himself master of it in one night, without shedding a drop of blood. This expedition procured him the
with in Italy determined him to settle there, at Padua, where he resided, first with Stephen Sauli, a noble Genoese, and on his departure, with Reginald Pole, afterwards
In the mean time, it is certain that his attachment to
other studies soon diverted him from his law practice. He
appears in particular to have considered Pliny as an author
meriting his most assiduous application, and whose works
would furnish him with employment for many years. With
this view he not only studied Pliny’s “Natural History,
”
with the greatest care, as well as every author who had
treated on the same subject, but determined also to travel
in pursuit of farther information, as well as to inspect the
productions of nature, wherever found. But before this
it became necessary for him to learn Greek, with which
he had hitherto been unacquainted, and he is said to have
made such progress, as to be able, within a year, to read
the best Greek authors, on whom he found employment
for about five years. Besides selecting from these works
whatever might serve to illustrate his favourite Pliny, he
now determined to commence his travels, and accordingly
went to England, Germany, and Italy, and would have
travelled to the East had not the war with the Turks prevented him. In England, in which he appears to have
been in 1518, he became very intimate with Pace and Linacre. He encountered many dangers, however, in his
continental tour. As he was travelling, with two friends,
through Switzerland, the natives of that country, who,
after the battle of Marignan, regarded the French with
horror, conceived that Longueil and his party were spies,
and pursued them as far as the banks of the Rhone. One
was killed, the other made his escape by swimming; but
Longueil, being wounded in the arm, was taken prisoner,
and treated with great severity for about a month, at the
end of which he was released by the interposition of the
bishop of Sion, who furnished him with money and a horse,
to convey him to France. At Rome he was afterwards honoured with the rank of citizen, and received with kindness by Leo X. who had a great opinion of his talents and
eloquence, made him his secretary, and employed him to
write against Luther. He visited France once more after
this, but the rec<*ption he met with in Italy determined
him to settle there, at Padua, where he resided, first with
Stephen Sauli, a noble Genoese, and on his departure,
with Reginald Pole, afterwards the celebrated cardinal, to
whom we are indebted for a life of Longueil. Here he
died Sept. 11, 1522, in the thirty-third year of his age,
and was interred in the church of the Franciscans, in the
habit of that order, as he had desired. He was honoured
with a Latin epitaph by Bembo, who was one of his principal friends, and recommended to him the writings of
Cicero, as a model of style. Longueil became so captivated with Cicero, as to be justly censured by Erasmus on
this account. Longueil, however, was not to be diverted
by this, but declared himself so dissatisfied with what he
ha4 written before he knew the beauties of Cicero’s style,
*s to order all his Mss. written previous to that period, to
be destroyed. We have, therefore, but little of Longueil
left. Among the Mss. destroyed was probably his commentary on Pliny, which some think was published, but
this is very doubtful. We can with more certainty attribute to him, 1. “Oratio de laudibus D. Ludovici Francorum regis, &c.
” Paris, Christ. Longolii, civis Roman ae perduellionis rei defensiones duae,
” Venice, 8vo. This is a vindication of himself against a charge preferred against him,
when at Rome, that he had advanced sentiments dishonourable to the character of the Romans in the preceding oration. 3. “Ad Lutheranos jam damnatos Oratio,
” Cologn,
Christ. Longolii Orationes,
Epistolcc, et Vita, necnon Bembi et Sadoleti epistolse,
”
the first edition, at Paris,
e formed, and well compared by Thuanus to Pomponius Atticus, was born at Naples, in 1533, the son of a noble Genoese. After having received an excellent education,
, an Italian nobleman, celebrated for his love of letters, and the library he formed, and well compared by Thuanus to Pomponius Atticus, was born at Naples, in 1533, the son of a noble Genoese. After having received an excellent education, he went and settled at Padua, at the age of twenty-four, and early in life began to form his library, which he collected from all parts with incredible diligence. Lipsius, Jos. Scaliger, Sigonius, Pancirollus, Pithou, and all the most learned men of his time, corresponded with him, and have celebrated him for erudition. His whole mind was occupied with the love of knowledge, which embraced history, medals, antiquities, natural history, and botany; and it is said, that in forty -three years he never was out of Padua, except twice, one of which times his removal was occasioned by the plague. He died in 1601. At his death, his library was removed to his heirs at Naples, in 130 cases, fourteen of which were full of manuscripts. Two hundred volumes were retained by the republic of Venice, as treating of affairs pertaining to that state. In 1790, this noble library, augmented considerably by the descendants of this Pinelli, was purchased by Messrs. Edwards and llobson, two eminent booksellers, and sold by auction in London; and thus in a few weeks was dissipated, what it had been the labour of near two centuries to collect.