orthodox doctrine. It might be traced back to Plato. It held that ideas or general notions have some sort of reality independent of the mind which harboured them, and of the language in which they were expressed—that they are the laws or conditions of all reason and of all intelligible existence, and that they may be said, in some sense, to precede all created things, inasmuch as they are the grounds on which alone these latter are possible and conceivable. Nominalism was a protest against this opinion. It held that the ideas in question—the genera and species—have no reality whatever—that the words which express them are mere sounds (flatus vocis), that all existences are particular, and that the particular alone can be thought of. Conceptualism held that the genera and species have no reality in nature: but neither are they mere words: there is something corresponding to them in the mind—some conception of which the general term is the expression. Conceptualism is little more than a developed nominalism. It explained the general notions as obtained from particular instances by means of generalization and abstraction. Roscellinus was a strenuous advocate of nominalism; indeed he is usually regarded as its author. His adoption of this opinion exposed him to the charge of heresy; for, it was argued, if all existence be strictly particular, how can the doctrine of the Trinity, which holds the common nature of the three divine persons, be maintained? He was condemned by the council of Soissons (1092), and sought refuge in England, where he was treated with such coldness or hostility by Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, and the other dignitaries of the church, that he very soon returned to France, where he died probably about 1122. None of his writings are extant, so that his opinions can be gathered only from the works of his opponents.—(For Roscellinus and scholasticism generally, see Rousselot, Etudes sur la Philosophie du Moyen Age, 3 vols., 1840. Haurean, de la Philosophie Scholastique, 2 vols., 1850. Cousin, Fragments Philosophiques, Philosophie Scholastique, 1840.)—J. F. F.
ROSCHID, Ibn. See Averroes.
ROSCIUS, Quintus, a celebrated comic actor of Rome, was the contemporary and friend of Cicero. He realized an immense fortune by the stage, and died 62 b.c. An oration of Cicero on his behalf, in a civil suit of no particular interest, has come down to us. He must not be confounded with Sextus Roscius of Ameria, who was also defended by Cicero in an oration still extant. The excellence of Quintus Roscius as an actor has made his name proverbial both in ancient and modern times, and our own Garrick delighted to be known as the British Roscius. His merit seems to have chiefly lain in what is now known as high comedy. The epithet "doctus Roscius" in Horace probably refers to the elaborate study he was accustomed to bestow on the parts which he represented.—G.
ROSCOE, Henry, the youngest son of William Roscoe, the historian of the Medici, was born in 1799, and educated for the profession of the law. He was called to the bar at the Inner temple in 1826, and went on the northern circuit. He was made assessor of the mayor's court at Liverpool, and one of the municipal corporation commissioners. In 1825 he published a "Treatise on the Law of Actions relating to Real Property," which was followed by several other law books, including "Reports of the Exchequer Court." In 1826 he edited North's Lives of the Lord Keeper Guildford, &c. To Lardner's Cyclopædia he contributed "Lives of Eminent British Lawyers," and in 1833 published an interesting life of his father, 2 vols., 8vo. The London Catalogue gives in the list of his works "Observations on Penal Jurisprudence." The amount of his literary labour is all the more remarkable from the circumstance that for several years he was aware of the fatal nature of the disease, consumption, with which he was afflicted, and of which he died in his thirty-seventh year at Gateacre, near Liverpool, on the 25th of March, 1836.—R. H.
ROSCOE, William, was born at Liverpool on the 8th of March, 1753. His father kept a public house called the Bowling Green, and also carried on the business of a market gardener. At an early age young Roscoe displayed a great fondness for reading, and made rapid progress in his education. He was removed from school at the age of twelve, to assist his father in his gardening business. In his sixteenth year he was articled to an attorney in Liverpool. In 1774 he was admitted an attorney of the court of king's bench and began to practise. During this period, however, he had found leisure to cultivate literary pursuits, and had acquired a knowledge of the Greek, Latin, Italian, and French languages. He also wrote several poems, which obtained the commendation of Sir Joshua Reynolds and Mr. Mason. Meanwhile he was assiduous in his attention to the duties of his profession, which yielded a comfortable and steadily-increasing income, and in 1781 he married a Miss Griffies, whose amiable disposition and admirable qualities of head and heart added greatly to his happiness. In 1784 Roscoe was elected honorary member of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. He took a deep interest in the abolition of the slave trade, wrote a poem depicting its evils, and several pamphlets recommending its abolition. When the French revolution commenced Roscoe hailed it with delight, and in the year 1796 published "Strictures" on Burke's Two Letters, reflecting in severe terms on the conduct of that great statesman. In the same year he published his most important work, on which his literary reputation principally rests, "The Life of Lorenzo di Medici, called the Magnificent," in 2 vols. 4to. The success of this publication exceeded the author's most sanguine expectations. It was translated into German, French, and Italian. Four editions were printed in this country in the short space of four years, and three in America; and it received the warm commendations of men of high rank and literary eminence. Some years later he published an octavo volume under the title of "Illustrations of the Life of Lorenzo di Medici," in which he refuted the objections brought against his former work, both by the republican and the papal parties. He now retired from the profession of attorney, made a purchase of waste land which he greatly improved, and became a partner in a banking house. In 1815 he published his "Life and Pontificate of Leo X.," in 4 vols. 4to—a work which, though less popular than its predecessor, is like it characterized by great research, learning, and candour, and by a remarkably pleasing and fluent style. In the following year Mr. Roscoe was returned to parliament for his native town, in the whig interest, after a keen contest. The banking house with which he was connected was obliged to suspend payment (June, 1816) in consequence of the commercial pressure at the close of the war, but ultimately all the claims against it were paid in full. Roscoe, however, was reduced from comparative affluence to poverty, and was obliged to part with his magnificent library, full of rare and precious works, the loss of which he felt very keenly. Amidst all his trials, which he bore with exemplary fortitude, his love of literature and the fine arts continued unabated. He wrote a number of pamphlets on various subjects, edited an edition of Pope's works in 10 vols. 8vo, and took part in the controversy with Mr. Bowles respecting the claims of that poet. He also exerted himself to promote the improvement of his native town; and the Royal Institution of Liverpool owes its origin to him. This pleasing and instructive writer and amiable and excellent man survived to a good old age, honoured and beloved by his friends and fellow-citizens. He died after a short illness in 1831, in his seventy-ninth year. Three of his sons—Henry, Robert, and Thomas—have secured an honourable name in literature. The first-named, who died at the age of thirty-seven, was the author of a Life of his father, and of the Lives of Eminent Lawyers in Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia. Thomas has written a great number of tales, tours, and translations.—J. T.
ROSCOMMON, Wentworth Dillon, Earl of, was the son of James Dillon, the third earl, and his wife Elizabeth Wentworth, sister to the earl of Strafford, who became godfather to the boy. The father having been a convert from the Romish faith was specially obnoxious to some of the fanatic Irish, and when the rebellion broke out Strafford had his godson sent to Wentworth in Yorkshire, where he was instructed in Latin by Dr. Hall. On Strafford's impeachment young Dillon was sent to Caen in Normandy, and continued his studies under the learned Bochart. While at Caen, being about ten years old, he is said to have had preternatural intelligence of his father's death. Aubrey relates the anecdote. On leaving Caen Roscommon travelled in Italy, examining its antiquities and collecting coins. At the Restoration he returned to England, and was made captain of the band of pensioners. In the gay court of Charles II. he addicted himself to gaming, squandered his means, and became engaged in frequent quarrels. A dispute about his property took him over to Ireland, where he was made captain of the guards by the duke of Ormond. He narrowly escaped with his life from an attack made on him in the streets of Dublin by three ruffians, as he returned by night from the gaming table. He killed one of his assailants, while another was disarmed by a stranger, who proved
