MAI, ANGELO, Cardinal, and one of the most famous scholars of the Romish Church in the pre sent age, was born at Shilpario, in the province of Bergamo, 7th March 1782. He entered the order of Jesuits in 1799 ; and in 1804. he became classi cal teacher in the Jesuit College at Naples. Shar ing in the expulsion of the Jesuits from Naples by Joseph Bonaparte, he found refuge in the Collegium Romanum at Rome ; and having received priests' orders, he turned his attention to palaeographic studies, and especially to the deciphering of palimp sests. In 1813 he became custos of the Ambrosian library at Milan ; and from this time began to issue those publications which have made his name famous. These consist of editions of ancient MSS. discovered and deciphered by him, and which form invaluable additions to the stores of ancient literature previously possessed by scholars. To his persever ance and skill the learned world is indebted for the treatise of Cicero De Republica (with lacuna), an oration of Isocrates, some writings of Philo some fragments of the Gothic version of Paul's Epistles, also of the Roman Antiquities of Dionysius of Halicamassus, and many other remains of anti quity. The greater part of his discoveries have
been published in a collected form in the following works :—Scriptartim Vett. Nava Collecflo, so vols., Rom. 1825.38 ; Classici auctores a Vaticanis Codd. ed., so vols., Rom. 1828-38 ; Spicilegium Roman., 8 vols., Rom. 1839-41 ; Nova Patrum Biblioth., 7 vols., Rom. 1844-54. In recognition of his valuable labours, Mai was made librarian of the Vatican in 1819 ; and after obtaining several eccle siastical dignities, he was, in 1838, made Cardinal by Pope Gregory XVI. He continued his learned labours to the last, and in the midst of them was carried off by an inflammatory attack, 9th Feb. 1854 Some of his latest labours were spent on the preparation for the press of the famous Codex Vaticanus of the O. and N. T.—W. L. A.