The unjust and obstinate hostility which he suffer ed on account of this theological works diverted him, for some time, from thia dangerous path of inquiry, and brought him back to that of philosophy. He published a continuation of his Elements of Meta physics, but, with every new volume he continued to experience the censures and opposition of the parti zans of the scholastic routine. Among these were the Cardinal Spinelli, Archbishop of Naples, and an Abbe Magli, whom Genovesi covered with ridicule in his work entitled Lettere a en Amico Provin. dale. In spite of these continual jarring, Geno.. vesi obtained the approbation and esteem of Pope Benedict XIV., of several Cardinals, and of most of the learned men who at that period flourished in Italy. Of this number was Intieri, a Florentine, who having spent a long time at Naples, became much attached to that country. This man, as dis tinguished for his philanthropical qualities, as for the extent and solidity of his acquirements, was still more estimable on account of the use which he made of his fortune. It is to him that Italy is in debted for her first Chair of Political Economy ; he founded it, at his own expence, with the sanction of government, in the University of Naples, under three conditibns, viz, that the lectures should be given in Italian ; that Genovesi should be the first professor; 'and that, after his death, no ecclesiastic should suc ceed him.
Genovesi opened his first course of lectures on the 5th of November 1754, with great success. The novelty and the interest of the subject, the eloquent style and agreeable manner of the pro fessor, attracted a crowd of auditors, and made a deep and lively impression. Nothing was talked of but agriculture and commerce. To gratify the taste of the public for these new inquiries, he afterwards published his Lectures on Commerce, and Carey's Account of the Trade of England, translated into Italian by his brother, and enriched with Notes by himself. His Lectures on Commerce was indisput• ably the most interesting work he had hitherto pub lished. There are some errors, indeed, in his me thod, and even in his doctrines; but the work con tains many important truths relative to every de partment of public administration, and a good ap plication of analysis to subjects which had not hither to been sufficiently investigated. Finally, it had the merit of being the first work which introduced into Italy, and particularly into the kingdom of Naples, a taste for the study of political economy..
The great success of these lectures, which were delivered in Italian, induced Gem:Tres' to draw up a complete code of philosophy in that language. It was at this time the custom in Italy, and particu larly at Naples, to teach every thing in Latin ; a practice which prevented knowledge from spread ing among those classes to whom that language was not familiar; and the Neapolitans, at that period, wanted education perhaps more than any other peo ple. He had published, in Italian, his Meditazioxi Filosqfiche, on religion and morale, and his Lettere Accademiche, on the utility of the arts and sciences; a treatise written in opposition to the well known work of Rousseau on that subject. Following out his
plan, he began to recast all his Latin works, to im prove their form, and to give them a more interesting character. The first which he published was his treatise on Logic; a work which went through se veral editions. He afterwards published his Meta physics, divided into three parts ; the first containing an essay on cosmology, the second on theology, and the third on anthropology. In 1767, he pub fished part of a work on the Science of the Rights and Duties of Man; but this work was never com pleted. In all his writings, and particularly in his Meditations and Letters, the style is somewhat affect ed ; at the same time, they present us with a good ex position of the ideas and systems of the most ce lebrated philosophers.
After the suppression of the order of the Jesuits, when it became a question with the government, whether they ought to be reinstated in their superin tendence of public instruction, Genovesi was consult ed, and his advice was, to replace the scholastic chairs, by schools of mathematics, physics, and history; and he proposed one chair for the illustration of Cicero's Offices.
From the commencement of the year 1763, Ge novesi had felt the symptoms of a dangerous ma lady ; but he continued to teach and to write to the last day of his life ; and before his death, he had the satisfaction of witnessing the great success of his labours. Since the days of Telesius and Cam panella, no School had more credit and celebrity at Naples than that of Genovesi. Pupils, some of them men of the most illustrious rank, flocked to his lee. tures ; and those who heard him generally adopted his ideas and followed his maxims. He handled the most abstruse subjects in the most agreeable manner, and in a style almost poetical ; a circumstance which gave him a great command over the attention, as well as over the judgment, of his pupils. Indeed, all that Italy has since produced in philosophical and eco nomical science may be said to have originated in the School which he founded. He died of an attack of dropsy, on the 22d of September 1769, aged about fifty-seven.
Such is the account of Genovesi given in the Bio graphic Universelle. (Tome XVII. p. 86.) The fol lowing list of his works is taken from Fabroni • I. Disciplinarum metaphysicarum Elenzenta mathemati cum to morem adornata, 4 vols. 8vo. 2. Elementorum artis kgico-criticce libri Naples, 1745. 3. Discorso sopra alcuni trattati d' A gricoltura, Ibid. 1753. 4. Lettere Accademiche, Ibid. 1764. 5. Scoria del Commercio della Gran Brettagna, &c. 1757. 6. Delk Lezioni di Commer cio. 7. Discorso sopra l'Agricoltura, with a transla tion of Tull's Husbandry. 8. Discorso sul volgariz zamento del Saggio Francese sail' Economia de' grain, Naples, 1765. 9. Meditazioni Filosqfiche sulla rcli gione e sulla morale, Ibid. 1766. 10. Della Diceo Silta o sia della .filosolza del giusto e onesto, 1766-1776, 8 vols. 11. Universes Christiance Theo logies. ekmenta dogmatica, historica, critica, a posthu mous work, Venice, 1771, 2 vols.4to.