PHOTIUS, patriarch of Constantinople, was one of the finest geniuses of his time, and his merit raised him to the patriarchate; for Bardas having driven Ignatius from the see, Photius was consecrated by Athanasius in 839. He condemned Ignatius in a synod, whereupon the pope excommunicated him, and he, to balance the account, anathematized the pope. Basilus of Macedon, the emperor whom Photius had reprov'd for the murder of Michael the late emperor, expelled him, and restored Ignatius; but afterwards re-established Photius, upon Ignatius's death, in 878. At last, being wrongfully accused of a conspiracy against the person of Leo the philosopher, son and successor to Basilus, he was expelled by him in 886, and is supposed to have died soon after. He wrote a Bibliotheca, which contains an examen of 280 authors: we have also 253 epistles of his; the Nomacanon under 14 titles; an abridgment of the acts of several councils, &c. This great man was born in Constantinople, and was descended from a very illustrious and noble family. His natural abilities were very great, and he cultivated them with the greatest assiduity. There was no branch of literature, whether sacred or profane, and scarcely any art or science, in which he was not deeply versed. Indeed he appears to have been by far the greatest man of the age in which he lived; and was so intimately concerned in the chief transactions of it, that ecclesiastical writers have on that account called it Seculum Photianum. He was first raised to the chief dignities of the empire, being made principal secretary of state, captain
(A) See particularly n° 904. In addition to what has been already said on the acid of phosphorus, we may just observe, that M. Pelletier has a memoir on this subject in the 14th volume of the Chemical Annals. This philosopher's method of preparing the phosphorous acid differs little from that which was some years ago proposed by M. Sage, and which, we believe, is now pretty generally known. The principal alterations made by the author of the present memoir consist in his putting each stick of phosphorus into a glass pipe, the lower part of which is shaped like a funnel, terminating in a very small opening; and in covering the apparatus with a tubulated receiver, which he can open at pleasure. By these means he can dissolve a greater quantity of phosphorus without danger of an explosion. His method of converting the phosphorus into the phosphoric acid, by the nitric or the oxygenated muriatic acid, is the same with that discovered by M. Laugier, which is described in his Elements of Chemistry.
Phrases
Phreatis captain of the guards, and a senator. In all these sta-
tions he acquitted himself with a distinction suitable to
his great abilities; for he was a refined statesman, as
well as a profound scholar. His rise to the patriarchate
was very quick; for when he was chosen to that
office he was only a layman: but that he might be as
it were gradually raised to that dignity, he was made
monk the first day, reader the next, and the following
days sub-deacon, deacon, and priest. So that in the
space of six days he attained to the highest office in
the church. On the whole, however, his ardent love
of glory and unbounded ambition made him commit
excesses which rendered him a scourge to those about
him.
Fabricius calls this Bibliotheca or library, non liber,
sed insignis thesaurus, "not a book, but an illustrious
treasure," in which are contained many curious things
relating to authors, and many fragments of works
which are no where else to be found. It was brought
to light by Andreas Schottus, and communicated by
him to David Hoechelius, who caused it to be printed
in 1601. Schottus, considering the great utility of
this work, translated it into Latin, and printed his
translation alone in 1606. The Greek text, together
with the translation, were afterwards printed at Gene-
va in 1611. The last edition of this work, the large-
st, and the fairest, was printed at Rouen in 1653,
folio.