, an ingenious and learned man of the sixteenth century, was born
, an ingenious and
learned man of the sixteenth century, was born at
Anghiari in Tuscany. He was educated in the Italian universities, where his genius and application carried him almost
through the whole circle of sciences; for, besides the belles
lettres and law, he applied to the study of war, and even
wrote books upon the subject. In this also he afterwards
distinguished himself: for he was sent by the Venetians to
the isle of Cyprus, with the commission of judge-martial
and when the Turks besieged Famagosta, he performed all
the services to the place that could have been expected
from a skilful engineer. He contrived a kind of mine and
fire-engines, by which he laid the labours of the Turks in
ruins: and he destroyed in a moment works which had
cost them no small time and pains. But they had too
good an opportunity of revenging themselves on him; for
the city falling at last into their hands, in 1571, Magius
became their slave, and was used very barbarously. His
comfort lay altogether in the stock of learning with which
he was provided; and so prodigious was his memory, that
he did not think himself unqualified, though deprived entirely of books, to compose treatises full of quotations. As,
he was obliged all the day to do the drudgery of the
meanest slave, he spent a great part of the night in writirjg. He wrote in prison a treatise upon bells, “De tintinnabulis,
” and another upon the wooden horse, “De
equuleo.
” He was determined to the first of these subjects by observing, that the Turks had no bells; and to
the second, by ruminating upon the various kinds of torture to which his dismal situation exposed him, which
brought to his reflection, that the equuleus had never been
thoroughly explained. He dedicated the first of these
treatises to the emperor’s ambassador at Constantinople, and
the other to the French ambassador at the same place.
He conjured these ambassadors to use their interest for his
liberty; which while they attempted to procure him, they
only hastened his death: for the bashaw Mahomet, who
had not forgot the mischief which Magius had done the
Turks at the siege of Famagosta, being informed that he
had been at the Imperial ambassador’s house, whither they
had indiscreetly carried him, caused him to be seized
again, and strangled that night in prison. This happened
in 1572, or 1573, it is not certain which.