Nicolopoulo, Constantin

Nicolopoulo, Constantin a Greek philologist of note, was born at Smyrna in 1786, of a family originally from Andrizena, in the Morea. He commenced his studies in Smyrna and finished them in Bucharest, under the skillful Hellenist Lampros Photiades. Nicolopoulo early made himself known by his poems in modern Greek. He went to France while young, and earned his living by private lessons; he afterwards taught Greek literature in the Athenaeum of Paris, and finally became attached to the library of the Institute. He had, through economy, and by imposing upon himself great privations, made a rich collection of books, which he designed for the city of Andrizena. In 1840 he obtained a pension, and, preparing to retire to Greece, he sent to that country several boxes.of books; but in beating the volumes upon his arm to remove the dust from them, he inflicted upon himself a wound which soon became aggravated in an alarming manner. Nicolopoulo was carried to the hospital named L'Hotel Dieu, Paris, where he died, June 15, 1841. He had made no will, and left no heirs. The Domaine caused the rest of his library to be sold at a villainous price. The masterpiece of Nicolopoulo is an Ode sur le'printemps (Greek, with a French translation, Paris, 1817, 8vo). He was the collaborator of several literary journals, and of the Revue encyclopedique; to which he furnished, among other articles, a "Notice sur la vie et les ecrits de Rhigas." He undertook himself a periodical review in modern Greek, entitled L'Abeille, which had three numbers, 1819-21; later he published at his own expense, and to be distributed gratis to the students of Athens and Egina, another philological review, entitled Jupiter Pan-hellenien-one number appeared (Paris, 1835, 8vo). He placed at the head of the Dialogue sur la revolution Greagiue of Greg. Zalik a "Discours addresse a tons les jeunes Grecs sur 'importancee dla litterature et de la philosophie Grecques" (in Greek). He revised the Greek text of the Euclide of F. Peyrard (Paris, 1814-18), and of the Almageste of Ptolemetis published by the abbe Halma (1817). A musical amateur and pupil of Fdtis, Nicolopoulo was the editor of the Introduction a la theorie et a la ratique de la musique ecclisiastique of Chrysanthe de Medyte, and of the Doxastika, a collection of noted hymns of the Greek Church collected and arranged by Gregoire Lampadarios (1821, 8vo). He was corresponding member of the Archaeological Institute of Rome. See La Presse, Dec. 13, 1841; Querard, France Litter. s.v.; Fetis, Biographie Universelle des Musiciens, s.v.