Bessarion

Bessarion, JOHANNES (or Basilius), born at Trebizond, on the Black Sea, in 1395, was one of the earliest of those scholars who in the 15th century transplanted Greek literature and philosophy into the West, and rescued the mind of Christendom from the trammels of scholasticism. As Bishop of Nicæa, he accompanied the Greek emperor, John Palæologus, to Italy in 1439 in order to effect a union between the Greek and the Roman churches. Soon afterwards joining the Roman Church, he was made cardinal by Pope Eugene IV. Ten years later, Nicholas V. created him Bishop of Frascati. For five years also he discharged the duties of papal legate at Bologna. After the fall of Constantinople, of which he had been titular patriarch, he visited Germany, and endeavoured to promote a crusade against the Turks. In philosophy, he professed to be a follower of Plato, but without depreciation of Aristotle. Twice he was nearly elected pope; but his partiality for the heathen philosophy, or his Greek birth, disqualified him with the sacred college. He died at Ravenna in 1472, leaving his collection of 600 valuable Greek MSS. to the St Mark's Library, Venice.