on the frontier between Brittany and Normandy. The streets are still rendered picturesque by the dark houses of the 14th and 15th centuries, which form deep arcades by the projection of their upper stories ; and, high above all, in spite of its five hundred years, rises the grey granite of the cathedral, which formerly ranked as the metropolitan church of all Brittany, and still keeps fresh the name of that old Bishop St Samson, who, having fled, as the legend tells, from the Saxon invaders of England, selected this spot as the site of his monastery. To the architect it is interesting for the English character of its design, and to the antiquarian for its stained glass windows of the 13th century, its tombs, and its carvings. The town was twice besieged by William the Conqueror, had thrice to defend itself during the wars of the League, and in 1793 witnessed the defeat of the republican forces by the Vendeans who had taken refuge within its walls. About a mile and a half from the town is the pierre du champ dolaut, a menhir about 30 feet above the x ground ; not far off stands the great granite rock of Mont Dol, about 200 feet in height,
and surmounted by the chapel of Notre Dame de 1 Esperance ; and about 10 miles to the south is the castlo of Combourg where Chateaubriand spent his early days. Population in 1875, 3356.DOLABELLA, Publius Cornelius, a Roman general notorious for his profligacy, was born about 70 B.C. His vicious character made itself apparent even in his early years. Before he attained his majority he is said to have been more than once guilty of capital crimes, from the punishment of which he was only delivered through the advocacy of Cicero. In the year 50 he forced his wife Fabia to leave him, and married Tullia, the daughter of Cicero, who strongly opposed the union. Dolabella's motive in establishing this connection was to prevent Cicero from giving evidence in favour of Appius Claudius, whom he had accused of having violated the sovereign rights of the people. In the following year, his numerous creditors having become clamorous, he was forced to quit Rome, and betook himself to the camp of Caesar, to the great regret of his father-in-law. During Caesar's absence in Spain, Dolabella commanded the fleet in the Adriatic, but he did not gain any distinction. He took part in the battle of Pharsalus (48), after which he returned to Rome, in the expectation, delusive as it proved, that Caesar would give him a substantial reward for his services, and so enable him to pay his debts. To gain immunity from the urgent demands of his creditors, he procured his election to the tribuneship, which he had no sooner done than he introduced a bill (rogallo) proposing that all debts should be cancelled. This was strongly resisted by his colleagues, and two parties were formed, between whom more than one bloody encounter took place in the streets of the city. On Caesar's return from Alexandria he saw the expediency of removing Dolabella from Rome, and accordingly took him as one of his generals in the expedition to Africa and Spain. Dolabella was ambitious of the consulship, and obtained a promise of it from Caesar for the year 44. The latter, however, influenced partly by the strong opposition of Antony, assumed the office himself, and deferred the fulfilment of his promise to Dolabella until he should set out on his expedition against the Parthians. The assassination of Caesar occurring before this arrangement could be carried out, Dolabella at once seized the insignia of the consulship, and, by making friends with Brutus and the other assassins, was confirmed in the office he had usurped. To ingratiate himself still further with the republican party, he caused an altar erected in honour of Caesar to be thrown down, and many of those who had sought to offer sacrifices on it to be crucified or thrown from the Tarpeian rock. He did not hesitate at once to change sides, however, when Antony made it his interest to do so by offering him the command of the expedition against the Parthians and the province of Syria. An unduly protracted and circuitous march was signalized by rapacious extortion, which became still more rapacious when at length Dolabella reached Syria. His crowning iniquity was the murder of Trebonius at Smyrna, which, according to Cicero's account, was preceded by two day's torture for the purpose of discovering the locality and amount of the treasure contained in the town. On hearing of this gross abuse of power, the senate outlawed Dolabella, and declared him a public enemy. Cassius was appointed to supersede him, proceeded to Asia Minor, and had taken Laodicea, when Dolabella in despair caused himself to be killed by one of his own soldiers, 43 B.C.
DOLCE, Ludovico, or Luigi (1508–1568 or 1569), one of the most laborious and multifarious writers of Italy in the 16th century, was a native of Venice, and belonged to a family of honourable tradition but decadent fortune. He received a good education, and early undertook the task of maintaining himself by his pen. His life, even more destitute of outward events than such a life usually is, may be briefly summed up in one word he wrote. Translations from Greek and Latin, epics, satires, histories, plays, and treatises on language and art followed each other in rapid succession, till the whole number amounted to upwards of 70 works. In his own day his industry was rewarded by no small amount of fame ; but he is now mainly memorable as the author of jMarianna, a tragedy from the life of Herod, which was recast in French by Tristan and by Voltaire, and still keeps a place on the stage. Four licentious comedies, II Ragazzo (1541), II Capitano (1545), II Marito (1560), II Ruffiano (1560), and seven of Seneca s tragedies complete the list of his dramatic efforts. In one epic to translate the title-page " he has marvellously re duced into ottava rima and united into one narrative the stories of the Iliad and the ^Eneid;" in another he devotes 39 cantos to a certain Primaleone, son of Palmerius ; in a third he celebrates the first exploits of Count Orlando ; and in a fourth he sings of the Paladin Sacripante. A life of the emperor Charles V. and a similar account of Ferdinand L, published respectively in 1560 and 1566, are his chief his torical productions ; and among his minor treatises it is enough to mention the Osservazioni sulla lingua vol- gare, 1550; the Dialogo ddla pittura, 1557; and the Dia- logo nel quale si rayiona del modo di accrescar la memoria, 1552.
See Tiraboschi, Storia, &c., vii.; Klein, Geschichte des Dramas, vol. v.
considerable celebrity, was born at Florence in May 1616. He was the grandson of a painter on the mother s side, and became a disciple of Jacopo Vignali ; and when only eleven years of age he attempted a whole figure of St John, and a head of the infant Christ, which received extraordinary approbation. He afterwards painted a portrait of his mother, and displayed a new and delicate style which brought him into notice, and procured him extensive employ ment at Florence (from which city he hardly ever moved) and in other parts of Italy. Dolci used bis pencil chiefly in sacred subjects, and bestowed much labour on his pictures. III his manner of working he was remarkably slow. It is said that his brain was affected by seeing Luca Giordano, in 1682, despatch more business in four or five hours than he could have executed in as many months, and that he hence fell into a state of hypochondria, which compelled him to relinquish his art, and soon brought him to the grave. His works are not very numerous. He generally painted in a small size, although there are a few pictures
by him as large as life. He died at Florence in January