[Mark Antony de Dominis, born about 1561, was educated among the
Jesuits, and was Bishop of Segni, and afterwards Archbishop of
Spalatro. Bishop Bedell met with him at Venice, and corrected,
previous to publication, his celebrated work _De Republica
Ecclesiastica_. When Bedell returned to England, Dominis came over
with him. Here he preached and wrote against the Romanists, and
the king gave him the Deanery of Windsor, the Mastership of the
Savoy, and the rich living of West Ildesley in Berkshire. De
Dominis's wish seems to have been to re-unite the Romish and
English churches. He returned to Rome in 1622, where he abjured
his errors, but on the discovery of a correspondence which he held
with some Protestants, he was thrown into prison, where he died in
1625. He was a man of great abilities and learning, although
remarkable for a fickleness in religious matters. He was author of
a work entitled _De Radiis Visus et Lucis in Vitris Perspectivis
et Iride Tractatus_, and was the first person, according to Sir
Isaac Newton, who had explained the phenomena of the colours of
the rainbow. We are also indebted to him for Father Paul's
_History of the Council of Trent_, the manuscript of which he
procured for Archbishop Abbot.--See Chalmers's _Biographical
Dictionary_, _s.v._ DOMINIS.]
_Play of "The Spaniards in Peru."--John Heywood._--Who was the author of
_The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru, expresst by Instrumentall and
Vocall Musick, and by Art of Perspective in Scenes_, &c., said to have
been represented in the Cock Pit, in Drury Lane, at three in the
afternoon punctually, 1658? Thus it stands in Jacob, but is not
mentioned by Langbaine. The author of the _British Theatre_, however,
mentions a remarkable circumstance in regard to it, which is, that
Oliver Cromwell, who had prohibited all theatrical representations, not
only allowed this piece to be performed, but even himself actually read
and approved of it.
Also, what are the exact dates of the birth and death of John Heywood,
in Henry VIII.'s time?