Geronymo, a learned ecclesiastic, called from the purity and elegance of his Latinity "the Cicero of Portugal," was sprung from a noble family, and was born at Lisbon in 1506. He studied languages at Salamanca, philosophy at Paris, and theology at Bologna. Having secured the patronage of royalty on his return to Portugal, he was raised through successive dignities to the bishopric of Sylves. At the request of the notorious Cardinal Henry, Osorio undertook his De Rebus Emmanuelis Regis Lusitaniae, virtute et auspicio gestis, libri XII. This work appeared at Lisbon in 1571, and Os Lusitanae of Camoens in 1572. Thus, while the sublime daring of Vasco de Gama was moving the elegant pen of the good bishop, the same grand exploits were melting into noblest music the heart of the much-suffering poet. Yet the historian was admitted to the friendship of kings, while the poet wandered a beggar through the streets of Lisbon. Both lived to witness the calamitous disasters of King Sebastian's African expedition; but patriotism was too strong in each to outlive it long. Osorio died in 1580, a year after Camoens. After his History, the most noted book of Osorio is the De Gloria, libri V., written with such singular elevation of spirit and felicity of diction that D'Alembert asserted it to be a production of Cicero's palmed off upon the world by the learned bishop as his own. A curious admonition to Queen Elizabeth, exhorting her to return to the bosom of the Church of Rome, is also to be found among the writings of Osorio. In addition to paraphrases and commentaries on various books of Scripture, he also wrote De Nobilitate Civili et de Nobilitate Christiana (1552); De Regis Institutione (1572); De Justitia Caelsti (1580); De Sapientia, &c. (See Jocher's Lexicon.) His entire works were collected and published at Rome, in 4 vols. 4to, with a Life of the author, in 1592, by his nephew of the same name. The more popular writings of Osorio have been translated into English, French, and Portuguese.