CALASIO, MARIO DI (1550-162o), Italian Franciscan, was born at Calasio, in the Abruzzi. Joining the Franciscans at an early age, he devoted himself to Oriental languages and be came an authority on Hebrew. He was appointed by Paul V., whose confessor he was, to the chair of Scripture at Ara Coeli, where he died on Feb. I, 1620. Calasio is known by his Concord antiae sacrorum Bibliorurn hebraicorum (1622) , a work which is based on Nathan's Hebrew Concordance (Venice, 1523), and evinces great care and accuracy. All root-words are treated alpha betically, and the whole Bible has been collated for every passage containing the word, so as to explain the original idea, which is illustrated from the cognate usages of the Chaldee, Syrian, Rab binical Hebrew and Arabic. Calasio gives under each Hebrew word the literal Latin translation, and notes any existing differ ences from the Vulgate and Septuagint readings. An incomplete English translation was published in London by Romaine in Calasio also wrote a Hebrew grammar, Canones generales linguae sanctatae 0616), and the Dictionarium hebraicum (1617) .