General Reference Glossaries

Of Interest to Theosophists

 

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A Dictionary of Philosophers,

Theologians and

Political Commentators

 

Reference Work

 

 

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Abælardus (Petrus), b. 1079. A teacher of philosophy at Paris, renowned

for being loved by the celebrated Eloise. He was accused of teaching

erroneous opinions, chiefly about the Creation and the Trinity, and was

condemned by a council at Soissons in 1121 and by that of Sens 1140,

at the instigation of St. Bernard. He was hunted about, but spent

his last days as a monk at Cluni. He died 21 April, 1142. "Abelard,"

observes Hallam, "was almost the first who awakened mankind, in the

age of darkness, to a sympathy with intellectual excellence."

 

Abano (Petrus de). See Petrus, de Abano.

 

Abauzit (Firmin), a French writer, descended from an Arabian family

which settled in the South of France early in the ninth century,

b. Uzes, 11 Nov. 1679. He travelled in Holland and became acquainted

with Bayle, attained a reputation for philosophy, and was consulted by

Voltaire and Rousseau. Among his works are, Reflections on the Gospels,

and an essay on the Apocalypse, in which he questions the authority

of that work. Died at Geneva 20 March, 1767. His Miscellanies were

translated in English by E. Harwood, 1774.

 

Abbot (Francis Ellingwood). American Freethinker, b. Boston, 6

Nov. 1836. He graduated at Harvard University 1859, began life as a

Unitarian minister, but becoming too broad for that Church, resigned

in 1869. He started the Index, a journal of free religious inquiry

and anti-supernaturalism, at Toledo, but since 1874 at Boston. This he

edited 1870-80. In 1872 appeared his Impeachment of Christianity. In

addition to his work on the Index, Mr. Abbot has lectured a great

deal, and has contributed to the North American Review and other

periodicals. He was the first president of the American National

Liberal League. Mr. Abbot is an evolutionist and Theist, and defends

his views in Scientific Theism, 1886.

 

Ablaing van Giessenburg (R.C.) See Giessenburg.

 

Abu Bakr Ibn Al-Tufail (Abu J'afar) Al Isbili. Spanish Arabian

philosopher, b. at Guadys, wrote a philosophical romance of pantheistic

tendency Hai Ibn Yakdan, translated into Latin by Pocock, Oxford 1671,

and into English by S. Ockley, 1711, under the title of The Improvement

of Human Reason. Died at Morocco 1185.

 

Abu-Fazil (Abu al Fadhl ibn Mubarak, called Al Hindi), vizier to

the great Emperor Akbar from 1572. Although by birth a Muhammadan,

his investigations into the religions of India made him see equal

worth in all, and, like his master, Akbar, he was tolerant of all

sects. His chief work is the Ayin Akbary, a statistical account of

the Indian Empire. It was translated by F. Gladwin, 1777. He was

assassinated 1604.

 

Abul-Abbas-Abdallah III. (Al Mamoun), the seventh Abbasside, caliph,

son of Haroun al Rashid, was b. at Bagdad 16 Sept. 786. He was a patron of science and literature, collected Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, and invited the scholars of all nations to his capital. He wrote several treatises and poems. Died in war near Tarsus, 9 Aug. 833.

 

Abul-Ola (Ahmad ibn Abd Allah ibn Sulaiman), celebrated Arabian poet,

b. at Maari, in Syria, Dec., 973. His free opinions gave much scandal

to devout Moslems. He was blind through small-pox from the age of

four years, but his poems exhibit much knowledge. He called himself

"the doubly imprisoned captive," in allusion to his seclusion and

loss of sight. He took no pains to conceal that he believed in no

revealed religion. Died May, 1057, and ordered the following verse

to be written on his tomb:--"I owe this to the fault of my father:

none owe the like to mine."

 

Abu Tahir (al Karmatti), the chief of a freethinking sect at Bahrein,

on the Persian Gulf, who with a comparatively small number of followers

captured Mecca (930), and took away the black stone. He suddenly

attacked, defeated, and took prisoner Abissaj whom, at the head of

thirty thousand men, the caliph had sent against him. Died in 943.

 

Achillini (Alessandro), Italian physician and philosopher b. Bologna 29

Oct. 1463. He expounded the doctrines of Averroes, and wrote largely

upon anatomy. Died 2 Aug. 1512. His collected works were published

at Venice, 1545.

 

Ackermann (Louise-Victorine, née Choquet), French poetess, b. Paris 30

Nov. 1813. She travelled to Germany and there married (1853) a young

theologian, Paul Ackerman, who in preparing for the ministry lost his

Christian faith, and who, after becoming teacher to Prince Frederick

William (afterwards Frederick III.), died at the age of thirty-four

(1846). Both were friends of Proudhon. Madame Ackermann's poems

(Paris 1863-74 and 85) exhibit her as a philosophic pessimist and

Atheist. "God is dethroned," says M. Caro of her poems (Revue des

Deux Mondes, 15 May, 1874). She professes hatred of Christianity

and its interested professors. She has also published Thoughts of a

Solitary. Sainte Beuve calls her "the learned solitary of Nice."

 

Acollas (Pierre Antoine René Paul Emile), French jurisconsult and

political writer, b. La Châtre 25 June, 1826, studied law at Paris. For

participating in the Geneva congress of the International Society

in 1867 he was condemned to one year's imprisonment. In 1871 he was

appointed head of the law faculty by the Commune. He has published

several manuals popularising the legal rights of the people, and has

written on Marriage its Past, Present, and Future, 1880. Mrs. Besant

has translated his monograph on The Idea of God in the Revolution,

published in the Droits de l'Homme.

 

Acontius (Jacobus--Italian, Giacomo Aconzio). Born at Trent early

in sixteenth century. After receiving ordination in the Church of

Rome he relinquished that faith and fled to Switzerland in 1557. He

subsequently came to England and served Queen Elizabeth as a military

engineer. To her he dedicated his Strategems of Satan, published at

Basle 1565. This was one of the earliest latitudinarian works, and

was placed upon the Index. It was also bitterly assailed by Protestant

divines, both in England and on the Continent. An English translation

appeared in 1648. Some proceedings were taken against Acontius before

Bishop Grindall, of the result of which no account is given. Some

passages of Milton's Areopagitica may be traced to Acontius, who,

Cheynell informs us, lived till 1623. Stephen's Dictionary of National

Biography says he is believed to have died shortly after 1566.

 

Acosta (Uriel). Born at Oporto 1597, the son of a Christianised Jew;

he was brought up as a Christian, but on reaching maturity, rejected

that faith. He went to Holland, where he published a work equally

criticising Moses and Jesus. For this he was excommunicated by the

Synagogue, fined and put in prison by the Amsterdam authorities,

and his work suppressed. After suffering many indignities from both

Jews and Christians, he committed suicide 1647.

 

Adams (George), of Bristol, sentenced in 1842 to one month's

imprisonment for selling the Oracle of Reason.

 

Adams (Robert C.), Canadian Freethought writer and lecturer. Author

of Travels in Faith from Tradition to Reason (New York, 1884), also

Evolution, a Summary of Evidence.

 

Adler (Felix) Ph. D. American Freethinker, the son of a Jewish rabbi,

was b. in Alzey, Germany, 13 Aug. 1851. He graduated at Columbia

College, 1870, was professor of Hebrew and Oriental literature

at Cornell University from '74 to May '76, when he established in

New York the Society of Ethical Culture, to which he discourses on

Sundays. In 1877 he published a volume entitled Creed and Deed, in

which he rejects supernatural religion. Dr. Adler has also contributed

many papers to the Radical literature of America.

 

Ænesidemus. A Cretan sceptical philosopher of the first century. He

adopted the principle of Heraclitus, that all things were in course

of change, and argued against our knowledge of ultimate causes.

 

Airy (Sir George Biddell). English Astronomer Royal, b. Alnwick

27 July, 1801. Educated at Cambridge, where he became senior

wrangler 1823. During a long life Professor Airy did much to advance

astronomical science. His Notes on the Earlier Hebrew Scriptures 1876,

proves him to have been a thorough-going Freethinker.

 

Aitkenhead (Thomas), an Edinburgh student aged eighteen, who was

indicted for blasphemy, by order of the Privy Council, for having

called the Old Testament "Ezra's Fables," and having maintained

that God and nature were the same. He was found guilty 24 Dec. 1696,

and hanged for blasphemy, 8 Jan. 1697.

 

Aitzema (Lieuwe van), a nobleman of Friesland, b. at Dorckum 19

Nov. 1600, author of a suppressed History of the Netherlands, between

1621-68. Is classed by Reimmann as an Atheist. Died at the Hague 23

Feb. 1669.

 

Akbar (Jalal-ed-din Muhammad), the greatest of the emperors of

Hindostan, b. 15 Oct. 1542, was famous for his wide administration and

improvement of the empire. Akbar showed toleration alike to Christians,

Muhammadans, and to all forms of the Hindu faith. He had the Christian

gospels and several Brahmanical treatises translated into Persian. The

result of his many conferences on religion between learned men of

all sects, are collected in the Dabistan. Akbar was brought up as a

Muhammadan, but became a Theist, acknowledging one God, but rejecting

all other dogmas. Died Sept. 1605.

 

Alberger (John). American author of Monks, Popes, and their Political

Intrigues (Baltimore, 1871) and Antiquity of Christianity (New York,

1874).

 

Albini (Giuseppe). Italian physiologist, b. Milan. In 1845 he

studied medicine in Paris. He has written on embryology and many

other physiological subjects.

 

Alchindus. Yakub ibn Is'hak ibn Subbah (Abú Yúsuf) called Al Kindi,

Arab physician and philosopher, the great grandson of one of the

companions of Muhammad, the prophet, flourished from 814 to about

840. He was a rationalist in religion, and for his scientific studies

he was set down as a magician.

 

Alciati (Giovanni Paolo). A Milanese of noble family. At first

a Romanist, he resigned that faith for Calvinism, but gradually

advanced to Anti-trinitarianism, which he defends in two letters

to Gregorio Pauli, dated Austerlitz 1564 and 1565. Beza says that

Alciati deserted the Christian faith and became a Muhammadan, but

Bayle takes pains to disprove this. Died at Dantzic about 1570.

 

Aleardi (Gaetano). Italian poet, known as Aleardo Aleardi, b. Verona, 4

Nov. 1812. He was engaged in a life-long struggle against the Austrian

dominion, and his patriotic poems were much admired. In 1859 he was

elected deputy to Parliament for Brescia. Died Verona, 16 July, 1878.

 

Alembert (Jean le Rond d'), mathematician and philosopher, b. at

Paris 16 Nov. 1717. He was an illegitimate son of Canon Destouches

and Mme. Tencin, and received his Christian name from a church

near which he was exposed as a foundling. He afterwards resided

for forty years with his nurse, nor would he leave her for the most

tempting offers. In 1741, he was admitted a member of the Academy of

Sciences. In 1749, he obtained the prize medal from the Academy of

Berlin, for a discourse on the theory of winds. In 1749, he solved the

problem of the procession of the equinoxes and explained the mutation

of the earth's axis. He next engaged with Diderot, with whose opinions

he was in complete accord, in compiling the famous Encyclopédie, for

which he wrote the preliminary discourse. In addition to this great

work he published many historical, philosophical and scientific essays,

and largely corresponded with Voltaire. His work on the Destruction

of the Jesuits is a caustic and far-reaching production. In a letter

to Frederick the Great, he says: "As for the existence of a supreme

intelligence, I think that those who deny it advance more than they

can prove, and scepticism is the only reasonable course." He goes on

to say, however, that experience invincibly proves the materiality of

the "soul." Died 29 Oct. 1783. In 1799 two volumes of his posthumous

essays were printed in Paris. His works prove d'Alembert to have been

of broad spirit and of most extensive knowledge.

 

Alfieri (Vittorio), Count. Famous Italian poet and dramatist, b. Asti,

Piedmont, 17 Jan. 1749, of a noble family. His tragedies are justly

celebrated, and in his Essay on Tyranny he shows himself as favorable

to religious as to political liberty. Written in his youth, this work

was revised at a more advanced age, the author remarking that if he

had no longer the courage, or rather the fire, necessary to compose

it, he nevertheless retained intelligence, independence and judgment

enough to approve it, and to let it stand as the last of his literary

productions. His attack is chiefly directed against Catholicism,

but he does not spare Christianity. "Born among a people," he says,

"slavish, ignorant, and already entirely subjugated by priests, the

Christian religion knows only how to enjoin the blindest obedience,

and is unacquainted even with the name of liberty." Alfieri's tragedy

of Saul has been prohibited on the English stage. Died Florence,

8 Oct. 1803.

 

Alfonso X., surnamed the Wise, King of Castillo and of Leon; b. in

1223, crowned 1252. A patron of science and lover of astronomy. He

compiled a complete digest of Roman, feudal and canon law, and

had drawn up the astronomical tables called Alfonsine Tables. By

his liberality and example he gave a great impulse to Spanish

literature. For his intercourse with Jews and Arabians, his

independence towards the Pope and his free disposal of the clerical

revenues, he has been stigmatised as an Atheist. To him is attributed

the well-known remark that had he been present at the creation of the

world he would have proposed some improvements. Father Lenfant adds

the pious lie that "The king had scarcely pronounced this blasphemy

when a thunderbolt fell and reduced his wife and two children to

ashes." Alfonso X. died 4 April, 1284.

 

Algarotti (Francesco), Count. Italian writer and art critic, b. at

Venice, 11 Dec. 1712. A visit to England led him to write Newtonianism

for the Ladies. He afterwards visited Berlin and became the friend

both of Voltaire and of Frederick the Great, who appointed him his

Chamberlain. Died with philosophical composure at Pisa, 3 May, 1764.

 

Alger (William Rounseville), b. at Freetown, Massachusetts, 30

Dec. 1822, educated at Harvard, became a Unitarian preacher of the

advanced type. His Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future

Life, with a complete bibliography of the subject by Ezra Abbot,

is a standard work, written from the Universalist point of view.

 

Allen (Charles Grant Blairfindie), naturalist and author, b. in

Kingston, Canada, 24 Feb. 1848. He studied at Merton College, Oxford,

and graduated with honors 1871. In 1873 appointed Professor of Logic

in Queen's College, Spanish town, Jamaica; from 1874 to '77 he was

its principal. Since then he has resided in England, and become

known by his popular expositions of Darwinism. His published works

include Physiological Æsthetics (1877), The Evolutionist at Large

(1881), Nature Studies (1883), Charles Darwin (1885), and several

novels. Grant Allen has also edited the miscellaneous works of Buckle,

and has written on Force and Energy (1888).

 

Allen (Ethan) Col., American soldier, b. at Litchfield, Connecticut,

10 Jan. 1737. One of the most active of the revolutionary heroes,

he raised a company of volunteers known as the "Green Mountain Boys,"

and took by surprise the British fortress of Ticonderoga, capturing

100 guns, 10 May, 1775. He was declared an outlaw and £100 offered

for his arrest by Gov. Tryon of New York. Afterwards he was taken

prisoner and sent to England. At first treated with cruelty, he was

eventually exchanged for another officer, 6 May, 1778. He was a member

of the state legislature, and succeeded in obtaining the recognition

of Vermont as an independent state. He published in 1784 Reason

the only Oracle of Man, the first publication in the United States

openly directed against the Christian religion. It has been frequently

reprinted and is still popular in America. Died Burlington, Vermont,

13 Feb. 1789. A statue is erected to him at Montpelier, Vermont.

 

Allsop (Thomas). "The favorite disciple of Coleridge," b. 10 April,

1794, near Wirksworth, Derbyshire, he lived till 1880. A friend

of Robert Owen and the Chartists. He was implicated in the attempt

of Orsini against Napoleon III. In his Letters, Conversations and

Recollections of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, he has imported many of

his Freethought views.

 

Alm (Richard von der). See Ghillany (F. W.)

 

Alpharabius (Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan) (Abu Nasr), called

Al Farabi, Turkish philosopher, termed by Ibn Khallikan the greatest

philosopher the Moslems ever had, travelled to Bagdad, mastered

the works of Aristotle, and became master of Avicenna. Al Farabi is

said to have taught the eternity of the world and to have denied the

permanent individuality of the soul. His principal work is a sort

of encyclopædia. Rénan says he expressly rejected all supernatural

revelation. Died at Damascus Dec. 950, aged upwards of eighty.

 

Amaury or Amalric de Chartres, a heretic of the thirteenth century,

was a native of Bene, near Chartres, and lived at Paris, where he gave

lessons in logic. In a work bearing the title of Physion, condemned

by a bull of Pope Innocent III. (1204), he is said to have taught a

kind of Pantheism, and that the reign of the Father and Son must give

place to that of the Holy Spirit. Ten of his disciples were burnt at

Paris 20 Dec. 1210, and the bones of Amaury were exhumed and placed

in the flames.

 

Amberley (John Russell) Viscount, eldest son of Earl Russell,

b. 1843. Educated at Harrow, Edinburgh and Trinity College,

Cambridge, where ill-health prevented him reading for honors. He

entered Parliament in 1866 as Radical member for Nottingham. Lord

Amberley contributed thoughtful articles to the North British,

the Fortnightly and Theological Reviews, and will be remembered by

his bold Analysis of Religious Belief (1876), in which he examines,

compares and criticises the various faiths of the world. Lord Amberley

left his son to be brought up by Mr. Spalding, a self-taught man of

great ability and force of character; but the will was set aside, on

appeal to the Court of Chancery, in consideration of Mr. Spalding's

heretical views. Died 8 Jan. 1876.

 

Amman (Hans Jacob), German surgeon and traveller, b. Lake Zurich

1586. In 1612 he went to Constantinople, Palestine and Egypt, and

afterwards published a curious book called Voyage in the Promised

Land. Died at Zurich, 1658.

 

Ammianus (Marcellinus). Roman soldier-historian of the fourth century,

b. at Antioch. He wrote the Roman history from the reign of Nerva to

the death of Valens in thirty-one books, of which the first thirteen

are lost. His history is esteemed impartial and trustworthy. He served

under Julian, and compares the rancor of the Christians of the period

to that of wild beasts. Gibbon calls him "an accurate and faithful

guide." Died about 395 A.D.

 

Ammonius, surnamed Saccas or the Porter, from his having been obliged

in the early part of his life to adopt that calling, was born of

Christian parents in Alexandria during the second century. He,

however, turned Pagan and opened a school of philosophy. Among his

pupils were Origen, Longinus and Plotinus. He undoubtedly originated

the Neo-Platonic movement, which formed the most serious opposition

to Christianity in its early career. Ammonius died A.D. 243, aged

over eighty years.

 

Anaxagoras, a Greek philosopher of the Ionic school, b. about 499 B.C.,

lived at Athens and enjoyed the friendship of Pericles. In 450 B.C. he

was accused of Atheism for maintaining the eternity of matter and was

banished to Lampsacus, where he died in 428 B.C. It is related that,

being asked how he desired to be honored after death, he replied,

"Only let the day of my death be observed as a holiday by the boys

in the schools." He taught that generation and destruction are only

the union and separation of elements which can neither be created

nor annihilated.

 

Andre-Nuytz (Louis), author of Positivism for All, an elementary

exposition of Positive philosophy, to which Littré wrote a preface,

1868.

 

Andrews (Stephen Pearl). American Sociologist, b. Templeton, Mass.,

22 March, 1812. He was an ardent Abolitionist, an eloquent speaker,

and the inventor of a universal language called Alwato. His principle

work is entitled The Basic Outline of Universology (N. Y., 1872). He

also wrote The Church and Religion of the Future (1886). He was a

prominent member and vice-president of the Liberal Club of New York,

a contributor to the London Times, the New York Truthseeker, and many

other journals. Died at New York, 21 May, 1886.

 

Andrieux (Louis). French deputy, b. Trévoux 20 July, 1840. Was

called to the bar at Lyons, where he became famous for his political

pleading. He took part in the Freethought Congress at Naples in 1869,

and in June of the following year he was imprisoned for three months

for his attack on the Empire. On the establishment of the Republic he

was nominated procureur at Lyons. He was on the municipal council of

that city, which he has also represented in the Chamber of Deputies. In

1879 he became Prefect of Police at Paris, but retired in 1881 and was

elected deputy by his constituents at Lyons. He has written Souvenirs

of a Prefect of Police (1885).

 

Angelucci (Teodoro). Italian poet and philosopher, b. near Tolentino

1549. He advocated Aristotle against F. Patrizi, and was banished

from Rome. One of the first emancipators of modern thought in Italy,

he also made an excellent translation of the Æneid of Virgil. Died

Montagnana, 1600.

 

Angiulli (Andrea). Italian Positivist, b. Castellana 12 Feb. 1837,

author of a work on philosophy and Positive research, Naples 1868. He

became professor of Anthropology at Naples in 1876, and edits a

philosophical review published in that city since 1881.

 

Annet (Peter). One of the most forcible writers among the English

Deists, b. at Liverpool in 1693. He was at one time a schoolmaster

and invented a system of shorthand. Priestley learnt it at school

and corresponded with Annet. In 1739 he published a pamphlet on

Freethinking the Great Duty of Religion, by P. A., minister of

religion. This was followed by the Conception of Jesus as the

Foundation of the Christian Religion, in which he boldly attacks

the doctrine of the Incarnation as "a legend of the Romanists,"

and The Resurrection of Jesus Considered (1744) in answer to Bishop

Sherlock's Trial of the Witnesses. This controversy was continued in

The Resurrection Reconsidered and The Resurrection Defenders Stript

of all Defence. In An Examination of the History and Character of

St. Paul he attacks the sincerity of the apostle to the Gentiles and

even questions the authenticity of his epistles. In Supernaturals

Examined (1747) he argues that all miracles are incredible. In 1761

he issued nine numbers of the Free Inquirer, in which he attacked

the authenticity and credibility of the Pentateuch. For this he was

brought before the King's Bench and sentenced to suffer one month's

imprisonment in Newgate, to stand twice in the pillory, once at

Charing Cross and once at the Exchange, with a label "For Blasphemy,"

then to have a year's hard labor in Bridewell and to find sureties

for good behavior during the rest of his life. It is related that

a woman seeing Annet in the pillory said, "Gracious! pilloried for

blasphemy. Why, don't we blaspheme every day!" After his release Annet

set up a school at Lambeth. Being asked his views on a future life

he replied by this apologue: "One of my friends in Italy, seeing the

sign of an inn, asked if that was the Angel." "No," was the reply,

"do you not see it is the sign of a dragon." "Ah," said my friend,

"as I have never seen either angel or dragon, how can I tell whether

it is one or the other?" Died 18 Jan. 1769. The History of the Man

after God's Own Heart (1761) ascribed to Annet, was more probably

written by Archibald Campbell. The View of the Life of King David

(1765) by W. Skilton, Horologist, is also falsely attributed to Annet.

 

Anthero de Quental, Portuguese writer, b. San Miguel 1843. Educated

for the law at the University of Coimbra, he has published both poetry

and prose, showing him to be a student of Hartmann, Proudhon and Rénan,

and one of the most advanced minds in Portugal.

 

Anthony (Susan Brownell). American reformer, b. of a Quaker family

at South Adams, Massachusetts, 15 Feb. 1820. She became a teacher,

a temperance reformer, an opponent of slavery, and an ardent advocate

of women's rights. Of the last movement she became secretary. In

conjunction with Mrs. E. C. Stanton and Parker Pillsbury she conducted

The Revolutionist founded in New York in 1868, and with Mrs. Stanton

and Matilda Joslyn Gage she has edited the History of Woman's Suffrage,

1881. Miss Anthony is a declared Agnostic.

 

Antoine (Nicolas). Martyr. Denied the Messiahship and divinity of

Jesus, and was strangled and burnt at Geneva, 20 April, 1632.

 

Antonelle (Pierre Antoine) Marquis d', French political economist,

b. Arles 1747. He embraced the revolution with ardor, and his article

in the Journal des Hommes Libres occasioned his arrest with Baboeuf. He

was, however, acquitted. Died at Arles, 26 Nov. 1817.

 

Antoninus (Marcus Aurelius). See Aurelius.

 

Apelt (Ernst Friedrich), German philosopher, b. Reichenau 3 March,

1812. He criticised the philosophy of religion from the standpoint

of reason, and wrote many works on metaphysics. Died near Gorlitz,

27 Oct. 1859.

 

Aquila, a Jew of Pontus, who became a proselyte to Christianity, but

afterwards left that religion. He published a Greek version of the

Hebrew scriptures to show that the prophecies did not apply to Jesus

(A.D. 128). The work is lost. He has been identified by E. Deutsch

with the author of the Targum of Onkelos.

 

Arago (Dominique François Jean), French academician, politician,

physicist and astronomer, b. Estagel, 26 Feb. 1786. He was elected to

the French Academy of Sciences at the age of twenty-three. He made

several optical and electro-magnetic discoveries, and advocated

the undulatory theory of light. He was an ardent Republican and

Freethinker, and took part in the provisional Government of 1848. He

opposed the election of Louis Napoleon, and refused to take the

oath of allegiance after the coup d'état of December, 1851. Died 2

Oct. 1853. Humboldt calls him a "zealous defender of the interests

of Reason."

 

Ardigo (Roberto), Italian philosopher, b. at Casteldidone (Cremona)

28 Jan. 1828, was intended for the Church, but took to philosophy. In

1869 he published a discourse on Peitro Pomponazzi, followed next year

by Psychology as a Positive Science. Signor Ardigo has also written on

the formation of the solar system and on the historical formation of

the ideas of God and the soul. An edition of his philosophical works

was commenced at Mantua in 1882. Ardigo is one of the leaders of the

Italian Positivists. His Positivist Morals appeared in Padua 1885.

 

Argens (Jean Baptiste de Boyer) Marquis d', French writer, b. at

Aix, in Provence, 24 June 1704. He adopted a military life and

served with distinction. On the accession of Frederick the Great

he invited d'Argens to his court at Berlin, and made him one of his

chamberlains. Here he resided twenty-five years and then returned to

Aix, where he resided till his death 11 June, 1771. His works were

published in 1768 in twenty-four volumes. Among them are Lettres

Juives, Lettres Chinoises and Lettres Cabalistiques, which were

joined to La Philosophie du bon sens. He also translated Julian's

discourse against Christianity and Ocellus Lucanus on the Eternity

of the World. Argens took Bayle as his model, but he was inferior to

that philosopher.

 

Argental (Charles Augustin de Ferriol) Count d', French diplomat,

b. Paris 20 Dec. 1700, was a nephew of Mme. de Tencin, the mother

of D'Alembert. He is known for his long and enthusiastic friendship

for Voltaire. He was said to be the author of Mémoires du Comte de

Comminge and Anecdotes de la cour d'Edouard. Died 5 Jan. 1788.

 

Aristophanes, great Athenian comic poet, contemporary with Socrates,

Plato, and Euripides, b. about 444 B.C. Little is known of his life. He

wrote fifty-four plays, of which only eleven remain, and was crowned

in a public assembly for his attacks on the oligarchs. With the utmost

boldness he satirised not only the the political and social evils

of the age, but also the philosophers, the gods, and the theology

of the period. Plato is said to have died with Aristophanes' works

under his pillow. Died about 380 B.C.

 

Aristotle, the most illustrious of ancient philosophers, was born at

Stagyra, in Thrace, 384 B.C. He was employed by Philip of Macedon

to instruct his son Alexander. His inculcation of ethics as apart

from all theology, justifies his place in this list. After the death

of Alexander, he was accused of impiety and withdrew to Chalcis,

where he died B.C. 322. Grote says: "In the published writings of

Aristotle the accusers found various heretical doctrines suitable for

sustaining their indictment; as, for example, the declaration that

prayer and sacrifices to the gods were of no avail." His influence

was predominant upon philosophy for nearly two thousand years. Dante

speaks of him as "the master of those that know."

 

Arnold of Brescia, a pupil of Abelard. He preached against the papal

authority and the temporal power, and the vices of the clergy. He

was condemned for heresy by a Lateran Council in 1139, and retired

from Italy. He afterwards returned to Rome and renewed his exertions

against sacerdotal oppression, and was eventually seized and burnt at

Rome in 1155. Baronius calls him "the patriarch of political heretics."

 

Arnold (Matthew), LL.D. poet and critic, son of Dr. Arnold of Rugby,

b. at Laleham 24 Dec. 1822. Educated at Winchester, Rugby, and Oxford,

where he won the Newdigate prize. In 1848 he published the Strayed

Reveller, and other Poems, signed A. In 1851 he married and became

an inspector of schools. In 1853 appeared Empedocles on Etna, a poem

in which, under the guise of ancient teaching he gives much secular

philosophy. In 1857 he was elected Professor of Poetry at Oxford. In

1871 he published an essay entitled St. Paul and Protestantism; in 1873

Literature and Dogma, which, from its rejection of supernaturalism,

occasioned much stir and was followed by God and the Bible. In 1877

Mr. Arnold published Last Essays on Church and State. Mr. Arnold

has a lucid style and is abreast of the thought of his age, but he

curiously unites rejection of supernaturalism, including a personal

God, with a fond regard for the Church of England. He may be said

in his own words to wander "between two worlds, one dead, the other

powerless to be born." Died 15 April, 1888.

 

Arnould (Arthur), French writer, b. Dieuze 7 April, 1833. As

journalist he wrote on l'Opinion Nationale, the Rappel, Reforme and

other papers. In 1864 he published a work on Beranger, and in '69 a

History of the Inquisition. In Jan. 1870 he founded La Marseillaise

with H. Rochefort, and afterwards the Journal du Peuple with Jules

Valles. He was elected to the National Assembly and was member of

the Commune, of which he has written a history in three volumes. He

has also written many novels and dramas.

 

Arnould (Victor), Belgian Freethinker, b. Maestricht, 7 Nov. 1838,

advocate at the Court of Appeal, Brussels. Author of a History of the

Church 1874, and a little work on the Philosophy of Liberalism 1877.

 

Arouet (François Marie). See Voltaire.

 

Arpe (Peter Friedrich). Philosopher, b. Kiel, Holstein, 10 May,

1682. Wrote an apology for Vanini dated Cosmopolis (i.e., Rotterdam,

1712). A reply to La Monnoye's treatise on the book De Tribus

Impostoribus is attributed to him. Died, Hamburg, 4 Nov. 1740.

 

Arthur (John) is inserted in Maréchal's Dictionnaire des Athées

as a mechanic from near Birmingham, who took a prize at Paris and

republished the Invocation to Nature in the last pages of the System

of Nature. Julian Hibbert inserted his name in his Chronological

Tables of Anti-Superstitionists, with the date of death 1792.

 

Asseline (Louis). French writer, b. at Versailles in 1829, became an

advocate in 1851. In 1866 he established La Libre Pensée, a weekly

journal of scientific materialism, and when that was suppressed

La Pensée Nouvelle. He was one of the founders of the Encyclopédie

Générale. He wrote Diderot and the Nineteenth Century, and contributed

to many journals. After the revolution of 4 Sept. 1870 he was elected

mayor of the fourteenth arrondissement of Paris, and was afterwards

one of the Municipal Council of that city. Died 6 April, 1878.

 

Assezat (Jules). French writer, b. at Paris 21 Jan. 1832 was a son

of a compositor on the Journal des Debats, on which Jules obtained a

position and worked his way to the editorial chair. He was secretary of

the Paris Society of Anthropology, contributed to La Pensée Nouvelle,

edited the Man Machine of Lamettrie, and edited the complete works

of Diderot in twenty volumes. Died 24 June, 1876.

 

Assollant (Jean, Baptiste Alfred). French novelist, b. 20 March,

1827. Larousse says he has all the scepticism of Voltaire.

 

Ast (Georg Anton Friedrich). German Platonist, b. Gotha 29

Dec. 1778. Was professor of classical literature at Landshut and

Munich. Wrote Elements of Philosophy, 1809, etc. Died Munich 31

Dec. 1841.

 

Atkinson (Henry George). Philosophic writer, b. in 1818. Was educated

at the Charterhouse, gave attention to mesmerism, and wrote in

the Zoist. In 1851 he issued Letters on the Laws of Man's Nature

and Development, in conjunction with Harriet Martineau, to whom he

served as philosophic guide. This work occasioned a considerable

outcry. Mr. Atkinson was a frequent contributor to the National

Reformer and other Secular journals. He died 28 Dec. 1884, at Boulogne,

where he had resided since 1870.

 

Aubert de Verse (Noel). A French advocate of the seventeenth century,

who wrote a history of the Papacy (1685) and was accused of blasphemy.

 

Audebert (Louise). French authoress of the Romance of a Freethinker

and of an able Reply of a Mother to the Bishop of Orleans, 1868.

 

Audifferent (Georges). Positivist and executor to Auguste Comte,

was born at Saint Pierre (Martinque) in 1823, settled at Marseilles,

and is the author of several medical and scientific works.

 

Aurelius (Marcus Antoninus). Roman Emperor and Stoic philosopher, b. at

Rome 26 April, 121. Was carefully educated, and lived a laborious,

abstemious life. On the death of his uncle Antoninus Pius, 161, the

Senate obliged him to take the government, but he associated with

himself L. Verus. On the death of Verus in 169 Antoninus possessed

sole authority, which he exercised with wise discretion and great

glory. Much of his time was employed in defending the northern

frontiers of the empire against Teutonic barbarians. He had no

high opinion of Christians, speaking of their obstinacy, and it is

pretended many were put to death in the reign of one of the best

emperors that ever ruled. If so we may be assured it was for their

crimes. Ecclesiastical historians have invented another pious miracle

in a victory gained through the prayers of the Christians. Antoninus

held that duty was indispensable even were there no gods. His

Meditations, written in the midst of a most active life, breathe a

lofty morality, and are a standing refutation of the view that pure

ethics depend upon Christian belief. Died 17 March, 180.

 

Austin (Charles), lawyer and disciple of Bentham, b. Suffolk 1799. At

Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1824 and M.A. in 1827, he won,

much to the amazement of his friends, who knew his heterodox opinions,

the Hulsean prize for an essay on Christian evidences. For this he

was sorry afterwards, and told Lord Stanley of Alderley "I could

have written a much better essay on the other side." He afterwards

wrote on the other side in the Westminster Review. Successful as a

lawyer, he retired in ill-health. J. S. Mill writes highly of his

influence. The Hon. L. A. Tollemache gives a full account of his

heretical opinions. He says "He inclined to Darwinism, because as he

said, it is so antecedently probable; but, long before this theory

broke the back of final causes, he himself had given them up." Died

21 Dec. 1874.

 

Austin (John), jurist, brother of above, was born 3 March, 1790. A

friend of James Mill, Grote and Bentham, whose opinions he shared,

he is chiefly known by his profound works on jurisprudence. Died 17

Dec. 1859.

 

Avempace, i.e., Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Bajjat (Abu Bekr), called

Ibn al-Saigh (the son of the goldsmith), Arabian philosopher and

poet, b. at Saragossa, practised medicine at Seville 1118, which he

quitted about 1120, and became vizier at the court of Fez, where he

died about 1138. An admirer of Aristotle, he was one of the teachers

of Averroes. Al-Fath Ibn Khâkân represents him as an infidel and

Atheist, and says: "Faith disappeared from his heart and left not a

trace behind; his tongue forgot the Merciful, neither did [the holy]

name cross his lips." He is said to have suffered imprisonment for

his heterodoxy.

 

Avenel (Georges), French writer, b. at Chaumont 31 Dec. 1828. One of

the promoters of the Encyclopédie Générale. His vindication of Cloots

(1865) is a solid work of erudition. He became editor of la République

Française and edited the edition of Voltaire published by Le Siècle

(1867-70). Died at Bougival, near Paris, 1 July, 1876, and was,

by his express wish, buried without religious ceremony.

 

Averroes (Muhammad Ibn-Ahmad Ibn Rushd), Abu al Walid, Arabian

philosopher, b. at Cordova in 1126, and died at Morocco 10

Dec. 1198. He translated and commented upon the works of Aristotle,

and resolutely placed the claims of science above those of theology. He

was prosecuted for his heretical opinions by the Muhammadan doctors,

was spat upon by all who entered the mosque at the hour of prayer,

and afterwards banished. His philosophical opinions, which incline

towards materialism and pantheism, had the honor of being condemned

by the University of Paris in 1240. They were opposed by St. Thomas

Aquinas, and when profoundly influencing Europe at the Renaissance

through the Paduan school were again condemned by Pope Leo X. in 1513.

 

Avicenna (Husain Ibn Abdallah, called Ibn Sina), Arabian physician and

philosopher, b. Aug. 980 in the district of Bokhara. From his early

youth he was a wonderful student, and at his death 15 June, 1037,

he left behind him above a hundred treatises. He was the sovereign

authority in medical science until the days of Harvey. His philosophy

was pantheistic in tone, with an attempt at compromise with theology.

 

Aymon (Jean), French writer, b. Dauphiné 1661. Brought up in the

Church, he abjured Catholicism at Geneva, and married at the Hague. He

published Metamorphoses of the Romish Religion, and is said to have

put forward a version of the Esprit de Spinoza under the famous title

Treatise of Three Impostors. Died about 1734.

 

Bagehot (Walter), economist and journalist, b. of Unitarian parents,

Langport, Somersetshire, 3 Feb. 1826; he died at the same place 24

March, 1877. He was educated at London University, of which he became

a fellow. For the last seventeen years of his life he edited the

Economist newspaper. His best-known works are The English Constitution,

Lombard Street and Literary Studies. In Physics and Politics (1872),

a series of essays on the Evolution of Society, he applies Darwinism

to politics. Bagehot was a bold, clear, and very original thinker,

who rejected historic Christianity.

 

Baggesen (Jens Immanuel), Danish poet, b. Kösor, Zealand. 15

Feb. 1764. In 1789 he visited Germany, France, and Switzerland; at

Berne he married the grand-daughter of Haller. He wrote popular poems

both in Danish and German, among others Adam and Eve, a humorous mock

epic (1826). He was an admirer of Voltaire. Died Hamburg, 3 Oct. 1826.

 

Bahnsen (Julius Friedrich August), pessimist, b. Tondern,

Schleswig-Holstein, 30 Mar. 1830. Studied philosophy at Keil,

1847. He fought against the Danes in '49, and afterwards studied at

Tübingen. Bahnsen is an independent follower of Schopenhauer and

Hartmann, joining monism to the idealism of Hegel. He has written

several works, among which we mention The Philosophy of History,

Berlin, 1872, and The Contradiction between the Knowledge and the

Nature of the World (2 vols), Berlin 1880-82.

 

Bahrdt (Karl Friedrich), German deist, b. in Saxony, 25

Aug. 1741. Educated for the Church, in 1766 he was made professor

of biblical philology. He was condemned for heresy, and wandered

from place to place. He published a kind of expurgated Bible, called

New Revelations of God: A System of Moral Religion for Doubters and

Thinkers, Berlin, 1787, and a Catechism of Natural Religion, Halle,

1790. Died near Halle, 23 April, 1792.

 

Bailey (James Napier), Socialist, edited the Model Republic, 1843, the

Torch, and the Monthly Messenger. He published Gehenna: its Monarch

and Inhabitants; Sophistry Unmasked, and several other tracts in the

"Social Reformer's Cabinet Library," and some interesting Essays on

Miscellaneous Subjects, at Leeds, 1842.

 

Bailey (Samuel), philosophical writer, of Sheffield, b. in 1791. His

essay on the Formation and Publication of Opinions appeared in 1821. He

vigorously contends that man is not responsible for his opinions

because they are independent of his will, and that opinions should

not be the subject of punishment. Another anonymous Freethought work

was Letters from an Egyptian Kaffir on a Visit to England in Search

of Religion. This was at first issued privately 1839, but afterwards

printed as a Reasoner tract. He also wrote The Pursuit of Truth,

1829, and a Theory of Reasoning, 1851. He was acquainted with both

James and John Stuart Mill, and shared in most of the views of the

philosophical Radicals of the period. Died 18 Jan. 1870, leaving

£90,000 to his native town.

 

Bailey (William S.), editor of the Liberal, published in Nashville,

Tennessee, was an Atheist up till the day of death, March, 1886. In

a slave-holding State, he was the earnest advocate of abolition.

 

Baillie (George), of Garnet Hill, Glasgow. Had been a sheriff in one

of the Scotch counties. He was a liberal subscriber to the Glasgow

Eclectic Institute. In 1854 he offered a prize for the best essay on

Christianity and Infidelity, which was gained by Miss Sara Hennell. In

1857 another prize was restricted to the question whether Jesus

prophesied the coming of the end of the world in the life-time of his

followers. It was gained by Mr. E. P. Meredith, and is incorporated

in his Prophet of Nazareth. In 1863 Mr. Baillie divested himself

of his fortune (£18,000) which was to be applied to the erection

and endowment of an institution to aid the culture of the operative

classes by means of free libraries and unsectarian schools, retaining

only the interest for himself as curator. He only survived a few years.

 

Baillière (Gustave-Germer), French scientific publisher, b. at Paris

26 Dec. 1837. Studied medicine, but devoted himself to bringing out

scientific publications such as the Library of Contemporary Philosophy,

and the International Scientific Series. He was elected 29 Nov. 1874 as

Republican and anti-clerical member of the Municipal Council of Paris.

 

Bain (Alexander) LL.D. Scotch philosopher, b. at Aberdeen in 1818. He

began life as a weaver but studied at Marischal College 1836-40, and

graduated M.A. in 1840. He then began to contribute to the Westminster

Review, and became acquainted with John Stuart Mill, whose Logic

he discussed in manuscript. In 1855 he published The Senses and

The Intellect, and in 1859 The Emotions and the Will, constituting

together a systematic exposition of the human mind. From 1860 to

1880 he occupied the Chair of Logic in the University of Aberdeen,

his accession being most obnoxious to the orthodox, and provoking

disorder among the students. In 1869 he received the degree of

LL.D. In addition to numerous educational works Dr. Bain published a

Compendium of Mental and Moral Science (1868), Mind and Body (1875),

and Education as a Science (1879), for the International Scientific

Series. In 1882 he published James Mill, a Biography, and John Stuart

Mill: a Criticism, with Personal Recollections. In 1881 he was elected

Lord Rector of the University of Aberdeen, and this honor was renewed

in 1884, in which year he published Practical Essays.

 

Bainham (James), martyr. He married the widow of Simon Fish, author

of the Supplycacion of Beggars, an attack upon the clergy of the

period. In 1531 he was accused of heresy, having among other things

denied transubstantiation, the confessional, and "the power of the

keys." It was asserted that he had said that he would as lief pray

to his wife as to "our lady," and that Christ was but a man. This

he denied, but admitted holding the salvation of unbelievers. He was

burnt 30 April, 1532.

 

Baissac (Jules), French littérateur, b. Vans, 1827, author of several

studies in philology and mythology. In 1878 he published Les Origines

de la Religion in three volumes, which have the honor of being put

upon the Roman Index. This was followed by l'Age de Dieu, a study

of cosmical periods and the feast of Easter. In 1882 he began to

publish Histoire de la Diablerie Chrétienne, the first part of which

is devoted to the person and "personnel" of the devil.

 

Bakunin (Mikhail Aleksandrovich), Russian Nihilist, b. Torshok

(Tver) 1814, of an ancient aristocratic family. He was educated at

St. Petersburg, and entered as an ensign in the artillery. Here he

became embued with revolutionary ideas. He went to Berlin in 1841,

studied the Hegelian philosophy, and published some philosophical

writings under the name of Jules Elisard. In '43 he visited Paris and

became a disciple of Proudhon. In '48 he was expelled from France

at the demand of Russia, whose government set the price of 10,000

silver roubles on his head, went to Dresden and became a member of the

insurrectionary government. He was arrested and condemned to death,

May '50, but his sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life. He

escaped into Austria, was again captured and sentenced to death,

but was handed over to Russia and deported to Siberia. After several

years' penal servitude he escaped, travelled over a thousand miles

under extreme hardship, reached the sea and sailed to Japan. Thence he

sailed to California, thence to New York and London, where with Herzen

he published the Kolokol. He took part in the establishment of the

International Society, but being at issue with Karl Marx abandoned

that body in 1873. He died at Berne 1 July 1876, leaving behind a

work on God and the State, both being vigorously attacked. Laveleye

writes of him as "the apostle of universal destruction."

 

Ball (William Platt), b. at Birmingham 28 Nov. 1844. Educated at

Birkbeck School, London. Became schoolmaster but retired rather

than teach religious doctrines. Matriculated at London University

1866. Taught pyrotechny in the Sultan's service 1870-71. Received

the order of the Medjidieh after narrow escape from death by the

bursting of a mortar. Upon his return published Poems from Turkey

(1872). Mr. Ball has contributed to the National Reformer since 1878

and since 1884 has been on the staff of the Freethinker. He has

published pamphlets on Religion in Schools, the Ten Commandments

and Mrs Besant's Socialism, and has compiled with Mr. Foote the

Bible Handbook. Mr. Ball is a close thinker and a firm supporter of

Evolutional Malthusianism, which he has ably defended in the pages

of Progress. He has of late been engaged upon the question: Are the

Effects of Use and Disuse Inherited?

 

Ballance (John), New Zealand statesman, b. Glenary, Antrim, Ireland,

March 1839. Going out to New Zealand he became a journalist and started

the Wanganui Herald. He entered Parliament in 1875 and became Colonial

Treasurer in '78. With Sir Robert Stout he has been a great support

to the Freethought cause in New Zealand.

 

Baltzer (Wilhelm Eduard). German rationalist, b. 24 Oct. 1814, at

Hohenleine in Saxony. He was educated as a Protestant minister, but

resigned and founded at Nordhausen in 1847 a free community. He took

part in the Parliament of Frankfort in '48; has translated the life

of Apollonius of Tyana, and is the author of a history of religion

and numerous other works. Died 24 June, 1887.

 

Bancel (François Désiré). French politician, b. Le Mastre,

2 Feb. 1822. Became an advocate. In 1849, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly. After the coup d'état he retired to Brussels,

where he became Professor at the University. In 1869 he was elected

deputy at Paris in opposition to M. Ollivier. He translated the work

on Rationalism by Ausonio Franchi, and wrote on Mysteries, 1871,

besides many political works. Died 23 June, 1871.

 

Barbier (Edmond). French translator of the works of Darwin, Lubbock,

and Tylor. Died 1883.

 

Barbier d'Aucour (Jean). French critic and academician, b. Langres,

1642. Most of his writings are directed against the Jesuits. Died

Paris, 13 Sept. 1694.

 

Barlow (George). Poet, b. in London, 19 June, 1847. In his volumes,

Under the Dawn and Poems, Real and Ideal, he gives utterance to many

Freethought sentiments.

 

Barlow (Joel). American statesman, writer and poet, b. Reading,

Connecticut, 24 March, 1754. Served as a volunteer in the

revolutionary war, became a chaplain, but resigned that profession,

taking to literature. In England, in 1791, he published Advice to the

Privileged Orders. In France he translated Volney's Ruins of Empires,

and contributed to the political literature of the Revolution. Paine

entrusted him with the MS. of the first part of the Age of Reason. His

chief work is entitled the Columbiad, 1808. He was sent as minister

to France, 1811, and being involved in the misfortunes following the

retreat from Moscow, died near Cracow, Poland, 24 Dec. 1812.

 

Barni (Jules Romain). French philosophic writer, b. Lille, 1 June,

1818. He became secretary to Victor Cousin, and translated the works

of Kant into French. He contributed to La Liberté de Penser (1847-51)

and to l'Avenir (1855). During the Empire he lived in Switzerland

and published Martyrs de la Libre Pensée (1862), La Morale dans

la Démocratie (1864), and a work on the French Moralists of the

Eighteenth Century (1873). He was elected to the National Assembly,

1872; and to the Chamber of Deputies, 1876. Died at Mers, 4 July,

1878. A statue is erected to him at Amiens.

 

Barnout (Hippolyte). French architect and writer, b. Paris 1816,

published a Rational Calendar 1859 and 1860. In May 1870 he established

a journal entitled L'Athée, the Atheist, which the clerical journals

declared drew God's vengeance upon France. He is also author of a

work on aerial navigation.

 

Barot (François Odysse). French writer, b. at Mirabeau 1830. He

has been a journalist on several Radical papers, was secretary to

Gustave Flourens, and has written on the Birth of Jesus (1864) and

Contemporary Literature in England (1874).

 

Barrett (Thomas Squire). Born 9 Sept. 1842, of Quaker parents, both

grandfathers being ministers of that body; educated at Queenwood

College, obtained diploma of Associate in Arts from Oxford with honors

in Natural Science and Mathematics, contributed to the National

Reformer between 1865 and 1870, published an acute examination of

Gillespie's argument, à priori, for the existence of God (1869),

which in 1871 reached a second edition. He also wrote A New View

of Causation (1871), and an Introduction to Logic and Metyphysics

(1877). Mr. Barrett has been hon. sec. of the London Dialectical

Society, and edited a short-lived publication, The Present Day, 1886.

 

Barrier (F. M.). French Fourierist, b. Saint Etienne 1815, became

professor of medicine at Lyons, wrote A Sketch of the Analogy of Man

and Humanity (Lyons 1846), and Principles of Sociology (Paris 1867),

and an abridgment of this entitled Catechism of Liberal and Rational

Socialism. Died Montfort-L'Amaury 1870.

 

Barrillot (François). French author, b. of poor parents at Lyons in

1818. An orphan at seven years of age, he learnt to read from shop

signs, and became a printer and journalist. Many of his songs and

satires acquired popularity. He has also wrote a letter to Pope Pius

IX. on the OEcumenical Council (1871), signed Jean Populus, and a

philosophical work entitled Love is God. Died at Paris, 11 Dec. 1874.

 

Barthez (Paul Joseph), French physician, b. Montpelier 11 Dec. 1734. A

friend of D'Alembert, he became associate editor of the Journal des

Savants and Encyclopédie Méthodique. He was made consulting physician

to the king and a councillor of State. Shown by the Archbishop of

Sens a number of works relating to the rites of his see he said,

"These are the ceremonies of Sens, but can you show me the sense

[Sens] of ceremonies." His principal work is New Elements of the

Science of Man. Died 15 Oct. 1806.

 

Basedow (Johann Bernhard), German Rationalist and educational reformer,

b. at Hamburg 11 Sept. 1723. He studied theology at Leipsic, became

professor at the Academy of Sora, in Denmark, 1753-1761, and at

Altona, 1761-1768. While here he published Philalethea, the Grounds of

Religion, and other heterodox works, which excited so much prejudice

that he was in danger of being stoned. He devoted much attention to

improving methods of teaching. Died at Magdeburg 25 July, 1790.

 

Baskerville (John), famous printer, b. Sion Hill, Wolverley,

Worcestershire, 28 Jan. 1706. Lived at Birmingham. He was at

first a stone-mason, then made money as an artistic japanner, and

devoted it to perfecting the art of type-founding and printing. As

a printer-publisher he produced at his own risk beautiful editions

of Milton, Addison, Shaftesbury, Congreve, Virgil, Horace, Lucretius,

Terence, etc. He was made printer to Cambridge University 1758. Wilkes

once visited him and was "shocked at his infidelity" (!) He died

8 Jan. 1775, and was buried in a tomb in his own garden. He had

designed a monumental urn with this inscription: "Stranger, beneath

this cone in unconsecrated ground a friend to the liberties of

mankind directed his body to be inurned. May the example contribute

to emancipate thy mind from the idle fears of superstition and the

wicked arts of priesthood." His will expresses the utmost contempt

for Christianity. His type was appropriately purchased to produce a

complete edition of Voltaire.

 

Bassus (Aufidus). An Epicurean philosopher and friend of Seneca in

the time of Nero. Seneca praises his patience and courage in the

presence of death.

 

Bate (Frederick), Socialist, author of The Student 1842, a drama

in which the author's sceptical views are put forward. Mr. Bate

was one of the founders of the social experiment at New Harmony,

now Queenswood College, Hants, and engraved a view representing the

Owenite scheme of community.

 

Baudelaire (Charles Pierre), French poet, b. Paris, 9 April 1821,

the son of a distinguished friend of Cabanis and Condorcet. He

first became famous by the publication of Fleurs du Mal, 1857, in

which appeared Les Litanies de Satan. The work was prosecuted and

suppressed. Baudelaire translated some of the writings of E. A. Poe,

a poet whom he resembled much in life and character. The divine

beauty of his face has been celebrated by the French poet, Théodore

de Banville, and his genius in some magnificent stanzas by the English

poet, Algernon Swinburne. Died Paris 31 Aug. 1867.

 

Baudon (P. L.), French author of a work on the Christian Superstition,

published at Brussels in 1862 and dedicated to Bishop Dupanloup under

the pseudonym of "Aristide."

 

Bauer (Bruno), one of the boldest biblical critics of Germany,

b. Eisenberg, 6 Sept. 1809. Educated at the University of Berlin,

in 1834 he received a professorship of theology. He first attained

celebrity by a review of the Life of Jesus by Strauss (1835). This

was followed by his Journal of Speculative Theology and Critical

Exposition of the Religion of the Old Testament. He then proceeded

to a Review of the Gospel History, upon the publication of which

(1840) he was deprived of his professorship at Bonn. To this followed

Christianity Unveiled (1843), which was destroyed at Zurich before

its publication. This work continued his opposition to religion,

which was carried still further in ironical style in his Proclamation

of the Day of Judgement concerning Hegel the Atheist. Bauer's heresy

deepened with age, and in his Review of the Gospels and History of

their Origin (1850), to which Apostolical History is a supplement,

he attacked the historical truth of the New Testament narratives. In

his Review of the Epistles attributed to St. Paul (1852) he tries to

show that the first four epistles, which had hardly ever before been

questioned, were not written by Paul, but are the production of the

second century. In his Christ and the Cæsars he shows the influence

of Seneca and Greco-Roman thought upon early Christianity. He died

near Berlin, 13 April, 1882.

 

Bauer (Edgar), b. Charlottenburg, 7 Oct. 1820, brother of the

preceding, collaborated in some of his works. His brochure entitled

Bruno Bauer and his Opponents (1842) was seized by the police. For

his next publication, The Strife of Criticism with Church and State

(1843), he was imprisoned for four years. He has also written on

English freedom, Capital, etc.

 

Baume-Desdossat (Jacques François, de la), b. 1705, a Canon of

Avignon who wrote La Christiade (1753), a satire on the gospels,

in which Jesus is tempted by Mary Magdalene. It was suppressed by

the French Parliament and the author fined. He died 30 April, 1756.

 

Baur (Ferdinand Christian von), distinguished theological critic, b. 21

June, 1792, near Stuttgart. His father was a clergyman. He was educated

at Tübingen, where in 1826 he became professor of Church history. Baur

is the author of numerous works on dogmatic and historic theology, in

which he subverts all the fundamental positions of Christianity. He was

an Hegelian Pantheist. Among his more important works are Christianity

and the Church in the First Three Centuries and Paul: His Life and

Works. These are translated into English. He acknowledges only four

of the epistles of Paul and the Revelation as genuine products of

the apostolic age, and shows how very far from simplicity were the

times and doctrines of primitive Christianity. After a life of great

literary activity he died at Tübingen, 2 Dec. 1860.

 

Bayle (Pierre), learned French writer, b. 18 Nov. 1647, at Carlat,

France, where his father was a Protestant minister. He was converted

to Romanism while studying at the Jesuit College, Toulouse, 1669. His

Romanism only lasted seventeen months. He abjured, and fled to

Switzerland, becoming a sceptic, as is evident from Thoughts on the

Comet, in which he compares the supposed mischiefs of Atheism with

those of fanaticism, and from many articles in his famous Dictionnaire

Critique, a work still of value for its curious learning and shrewd

observation. In his journal Nouvelles de la République des Lettres

he advocates religious toleration on the ground of the difficulty of

distinguishing truth from error. His criticism of Maimbourg's History

of Calvinism was ordered to be burnt by the hangman. Jurieu persecuted

him, and he was ordered to be more careful in preparing the second

edition of his dictionary. He died at Rotterdam, 28 Dec. 1706. Bayle

has been called the father of free discussion in modern times.

 

Bayrhoffer (Karl Theodor), German philosopher, b. Marburg, 14 Oct.,

1812, wrote The Idea and History of Philosophy (1838), took part in

the revolution of '48, emigrated to America, and wrote many polemical

works. Died near Monroe, Wisconsin, 3 Feb. 1888.

 

Beauchamp (Philip). See Bentham and Grote.

 

Beausobre (Louis de), b. at Berlin, 22 Aug. 1730, was adopted by

Frederick the Great out of esteem for his father, Isaac Beausobre,

the author of the History of Manicheanism. He was educated first at

Frankfort-on-Oder, then at Paris. He wrote on the scepticism of the

wise (Pyrrhonisme du Sage, Berlin, 1754), a work condemned to be burnt

by the Parliament of Paris. He also wrote anonymously The Dreams of

Epicurus, and an essay on Happiness (Berlin, 1758), reprinted with

the Social System of Holbach in 1795. Died at Berlin, 3 Dec. 1783.

 

Bebel (Ferdinand August). German Socialist, b. Cologne, 22

Feb. 1840. Brought up as a turner in Leipsic. Since '63, he became

distinguished as an exponent of social democracy, and was elected to

the German Reichstag in '71. In the following year he was condemned (6

March) to two years' imprisonment for high treason. He was re-elected

in '74. His principal work is Woman in the Past, Present and Future

which is translated by H. B. A. Walther, 1885. He has also written on

the Mohammedan Culture Period (1884) and on Christianity and Socialism.

 

Beccaria (Bonesana Cesare), an Italian marquis and writer, b. at Milan,

15 March, 1738. A friend of Voltaire, who praised his treatise on

Crimes and Punishments (1769), a work which did much to improve the

criminal codes of Europe. Died Milan, 28 Nov. 1794.

 

Beesly (Edward Spencer), Positivist, b. Feckenham, Worcestershire,

1831. Educated at Wadham College, Oxford, where he took B.A. in 1854,

and M.A. in '57. Appointed Professor of History, University College,

London, in 1860. He is one of the translators of Comte's System of

Positive Polity, and has published several pamphlets on political

and social questions.

 

Beethoven (Ludwig van), one of the greatest of musical composers,

b. Bonn 16 Dec. 1770. His genius early displayed itself, and at the

age of five he was set to study the works of Handel and Bach. His many

compositions are the glory of music. They include an opera "Fidelio,"

two masses, oratorios, symphonies, concertos, overtures and sonatas,

and are characterised by penetrating power, rich imagination, intense

passion, and tenderness. When about the age of forty he became totally

deaf, but continued to compose till his death at Vienna, 26 March,

1827. He regarded Goethe with much the same esteem as Wagner showed

for Schopenhauer, but he disliked his courtliness. His Republican

sentiments are well known, and Sir George Macfarren, in his life in

the Imperial Dictionary of Universal Biography, speaks of him as a

"Freethinker," and says the remarkable mass in C. "might scarcely

have proceeded from an entirely orthodox thinker." Sir George Grove,

in his Dictionary of Music and Musicians, says: "Formal religion he

apparently had none," and "the Bible does not appear to have been one

of his favorite books." At the end of his arrangement of "Fidelio"

Moscheles had written, "Fine. With God's help." To this Beethoven

added, "O man, help thyself."

 

Bekker (Balthasar), Dutch Rationalist, b. Metslawier (Friesland)

20 March, 1634. He studied at Gronigen, became a doctor of divinity,

and lived at Francker, but was accused of Socinianism, and had to fly

to Amsterdam, where he raised another storm by his World Bewitched

(1691), a work in which witchcraft and the power of demons are

denied. His book, which contains much curious information, raised

a host of adversaries, and he was deposed from his place in the

Church. It appeared in English in 1695. Died, Amsterdam, 11 June,

1698. Bekker was remarkably ugly, and he is said to have "looked like

the devil, though he did not believe in him."

 

Belinsky (Vissarion Grigorevich), Russian critic, b. Pensa 1811,

educated at Pensa and Moscow, adopted the Pantheistic philosophy of

Hegel and Schelling. Died St. Petersburg, 28 May, 1848. His works

were issued in 12 volumes, 1857-61.

 

Bell (Thomas Evans), Major in Madras Army, which he entered in 1842. He

was employed in the suppression of Thugee. He wrote the Task of To-Day,

1852, and assisted the Reasoner, both with pen and purse, writing over

the signature "Undecimus." He contemplated selling his commission to

devote himself to Freethought propaganda, but by the advice of his

friends was deterred. He returned to India at the Mutiny. In January,

1861, he became Deputy-Commissioner of Police at Madras. He retired

in July, 1865, and has written many works on Indian affairs. Died 12

Sept. 1887.

 

Bell (William S.), b. in Allegheny city, Pennsylvania, 10

Feb. 1832. Brought up as a Methodist minister, was denounced for

mixing politics with religion, and for his anti-slavery views. In

1873 he preached in the Universalist Church of New Bedford, but in

Dec. '74, renounced Christianity and has since been a Freethought

lecturer. He has published a little book on the French Revolution,

and some pamphlets.

 

Bender (Wilhelm), German Rationalist, professor of theology at Bonn,

b. 15 Jan. 1845, who created a sensation at the Luther centenary,

1883, by declaring that the work of the Reformation was incompleted

and must be carried on by the Rationalists.

 

Bennett (De Robigne Mortimer), founder and editor of the New York

Truthseeker, b. of poor parents, Springfield (N.Y.), 23 Dec. 1818. At

the age of fifteen he joined the Shaker Society in New Lebanon. Here

he stayed thirteen years and then married. Having lost faith in the

Shaker creed, he went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he started a

drug store. The perusal of Paine, Volney, and similar works made him

a Freethinker. In 1873, his letters to a local journal in answer to

some ministers having been refused, he resolved to start a paper of

his own. The result was the Truthseeker, which in January, 1876 became

a weekly, and has since become one of the principal Freethought organs

in America. In 1879 he was sentenced to thirteen months' imprisonment

for sending through the post a pamphlet by Ezra H. Heywood on the

marriage question. A tract, entitled An Open Letter to Jesus Christ,

was read in court to bias the jury. A petition bearing 200,000

names was presented to President Hayes asking his release, but was

not acceded to. Upon his release his admirers sent him for a voyage

round the world. He wrote A Truthseeker's Voyage Round the World,

Letters from Albany Penitentiary, Answers to Christian Questions and

Arguments, two large volumes on The Gods, another on the World's Sages,Infidels and Thinkers, and published his discussions with Humphrey, Mair, and Teed, and numerous tracts. He died 6 Dec. 1882.

 

Bentham (Jeremy), writer on ethics, jurisprudence, and political

economy, b. 15 Feb. 1748. A grand uncle named Woodward was the

publisher of Tindal's Christianity as Old as the Creation. Was educated

at Westminster and Oxford, where he graduated M.A. 1767. Bentham

is justly regarded as the father of the school of philosophical

Radicalism. In philosophy he is the great teacher of Utilitarianism;

as a jurist he did much to disclose the defects of and improve our

system of law. Macaulay says he "found jurisprudence a gibberish and

left it a science." His most pronounced Freethought work was that

written in conjunction with Grote, published as An Analysis of the

Influence of Natural Religion, by Philip Beauchamp, 1822. Among his

numerous other works we can only mention Deontology, or the Science

of Mortality, an exposition of utilitarianism; Church of Englandism

and its Catechism Examined; Not Paul, but Jesus, published under the

pseudonym of Gamaliel Smith. Died 6 June, 1832, leaving his body for

the purposes of science.

 

Béranger (Jean Pierre de), celebrated French lyrical poet,

b. Paris, 19 Aug. 1780. His satire on the Bourbons twice ensured

for him imprisonment. He was elected to the Constituant Assembly

1848. Béranger has been compared not inaptly to Burns. All his songs

breathe the spirit of liberty, and several have been characterised

as impious. He died 16 July, 1857.

 

Bergel (Joseph), Jewish Rationalist, author of Heaven and Its Wonders,

Leipsic, 1881, and Mythology of the Ancient Hebrews, 1882.

 

Berger (Moriz), author of a work on Materialism in Conflict with

Spiritualism and Idealism, Trieste, 1883.

 

Bergerac de (Savinien Cyrano). See Cyrano.

 

Bergk (Johann Adam), German philosopher, b. Hainechen, Zeitz, 27 June,

1769; became a private teacher at Leipsic and wrote many works, both

under his own name and pseudonyms. He published the Art of Thinking,

Leipsic, 1802, conducted the Asiatic Magazine, 1806, and wrote under

the name of Frey the True Religion, "recommended to rationalists

and destined for the Radical cure of supernaturalists, mystics,

etc." Died Leipsic, 27 Oct. 1834.

 

Bergk (Theodor), German humanist, son of the above, b. Leipsic,

22 May, 1812, author of a good History of Greek Literature, 1872.

 

Berigardus (Claudius), or Beauregard (Claude Guillermet), French

physician and philosopher, b. at Moulins about 1591. He became a

professor at Pisa from 1628 till 1640, and then went to Padua. His

Circulus Pisanus, published in 1643, was considered an Atheistic

work. In the form of a dialogue he exhibits the various hypotheses

of the formation of the world. The work was forbidden and is very

rare. His book entitled Dubitationes in Dialogum Galilæi, also brought

on him a charge of scepticism. Died in 1664.

 

Berkenhout (Dr. John), physician and miscellaneous writer, b. 1731,

the son of a Dutch merchant who settled at Leeds. In early life he

had been a captain both in the Prussian and English service, and

in 1765 took his M.D. degree at Leyden. He published many books on

medical science, a synopsis of the natural history of Great Britain

and Ireland, and several humorous pieces, anonymously. His principal

work is entitled Biographia Literaria, a biographical history of

English literature, 1777. Throughout the work he loses no opportunity

of displaying his hostility to the theologians, and is loud in his

praises of Voltaire. Died 3 April, 1791.

 

Berlioz (Louis Hector). The most original of French musical composers,

b. Isère, 11 Dec. 1803. He obtained fame by his dramatic symphony

of Romeo and Juliet (1839), and was made chevalier of the Legion

of Honor. Among his works is one on the Infancy of Christ. In his

Memoirs he relates how he scandalised Mendelssohn "by laughing at

the Bible." Died Paris, 9 March, 1869.

 

Bernard (Claude), French physiologist, b. Saint Julien 12 July,

1813. Went to Paris 1832, studied medicine, became member of the

Institute and professor at the Museum of Natural History, wrote

La Science Experimentale, and other works on physiology. Died 10

Feb. 1878, and was buried at the expense of the Republic. Paul Bert

calls him the introducer of determinism in the domain of physiology.

 

Bernier (Abbé). See Holbach.

 

Bernier (François), French physician and traveller, b. Angers about

1625. He was a pupil of Gassendi, whose works he abridged, and he

defended Descartes against the theologians. He is known as le joli

philsophe. In 1654 he went to Syria and Egypt, and from thence to

India, where he became physician to Aurungzebe. On his return he

published an account of his travels and of the Empire of the Great

Mogul, and died at Paris 22 Sept. 1688.

 

Bernstein (Aaron), a rationalist, b. of Jewish parents Dantzic

1812. His first work was a translation of the Song of Songs, published

under the pseudonym of A. Rebenstein (1834). He devoted himself

to natural science and published works on The Rotation of Planets,

Humboldt and the Spirit of the Time, etc. His essay on The Origin of

the Legends of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was translated by a German

lady and published by Thomas Scott of Ramsgate (1872). Died Berlin,

12 Feb. 1884.

 

Berquin (Louis de), French martyr, b. in Artois, 1489. Erasmus,

his friend, says his great crime was openly professing hatred of

the monks. In 1523 his works were ordered to be burnt, and he was

commanded to abjure his heresies. Sentence of perpetual banishment

was pronounced on him on April 16, 1529. He immediately appealed to

the Parliament. His appeal was heard and rejected on the morning of

the 17th. The Parliament reformed the judgment and condemned him to

be burnt alive, and the sentence was carried out on the same afternoon

at the Place de la Grève. He died with great constancy and resolution.

 

Bert (Paul), French scientist and statesman, b. at Auxerre, 17

Oct. 1833. In Paris he studied both law and medicine, and after

being Professor in the Faculty of Science at Bordeaux, he in 1869

obtained the chair of physiology in the Faculty of Science at Paris,

and distinguished himself by his scientific experiments. In '70 he

offered his services to the Government of National Defence, and in

'72 was elected to the National Assembly, where he signalised himself

by his Radical opinions. Gambetta recognised his worth and made him

Minister of Public Instruction, in which capacity he organised French

education on a Secular basis. His First Year of Scientific Instruction

is almost universally used in the French primary schools. It has been

translated into English by Josephine Clayton (Madame Paul Bert). His

strong anti-clerical views induced much opposition. He published

several scientific and educational works and attacked The Morality of

the Jesuits, '80. In '86 he was appointed French Resident Minister at

Tonquin, where he died 11 Nov. '86. His body was brought over to France

and given a State funeral, a pension being also accorded to his widow.

 

Bertani (Agostino), Italian patriot, b. 19 Oct. 1812, became a

physician at Genoa, took part with Garibaldi and Mazzini, organising

the ambulance services. A declared Freethinker, he was elected deputy

to the Italian Parliament. Died Rome 30 April, '86.

 

Berti (Antonio), Italian physician, b. Venice 20 June, 1816. Author

of many scientific works, member of the Venice Municipal Council and

of the Italian Senate. Died Venice 24 March, 1879.

 

Bertillon (Louis Adolphe), French Anthropologist and physician,

b. Paris 1 April, 1821. His principal work is a statistical study

of the French population, Paris '74. He edits in conjunction with

A. Hovelacque and others, the Dictionary of the Anthropological

Sciences ('83 etc.) His sons, Jacques (b. '51) and Alphonse (b. '53),

prosecute similar studies.

 

Bertrand de Saint-Germain (Guillaume Scipion), French physician,

b. Puy-en-Velay 25 Oct. 1810. Became M.D. 1840, wrote on The

Original Diversity of Human Races (1847), and a materialistic work

on Manifestation of Life and Intelligence through Organisation,

1848. Has also written on Descartes as a Physiologist, 1869.

 

Berwick (George J.) M.D., appointed surgeon to the East India Company

in 1828, retired in '52. Author of Awas-i-hind, or a Voice from the

Ganges; being a solution of the true source of Christianity. By an

Indian Officer; London, 1861. Also of a work on The Forces of the

Universe, '70. Died about 1872.

 

Besant (Annie) née Wood. B. London, 1 Oct. 1847. Educated in

Evangelicalism by Miss Marryat, sister of novelist, but turned

to the High Church by reading Pusey and others. In "Holy Week"

of 1866 she resolved to write the story of the week from the

gospel. Their contradictions startled her but she regarded her doubts

as sin. In Dec. '67 she married the Rev. F. Besant, and read and

wrote extensively. The torment a child underwent in whooping-cough

caused doubts as to the goodness of God. A study of Greg's Creed

of Christendom and Arnold's Literature and Dogma increased her

scepticism. She became acquainted with the Rev. C. Voysey and Thomas

Scott, for whom she wrote an Essay on the Deity of Jesus of Nazareth,

"by the wife of a beneficed clergyman." This led to her husband

insisting on her taking communion or leaving. She chose the latter

course, taking by agreement her daughter with her. Thrown on her own

resources, she wrote further tracts for Mr. Scott, reprinted in My Path

to Atheism ('77). Joined the National Secular Society, and in '74 wrote

in the National Reformer over the signature of "Ajax." Next year she

took to the platform and being naturally eloquent soon won her way to

the front rank as a Freethought lecturess, and became joint editor

of the National Reformer. Some lectures on the French Revolution

were republished in book form. In April, '77, she was arrested

with Mr. Bradlaugh for publishing the Fruits of Philosophy. After a

brilliant defence, the jury exonerated the defendants from any corrupt

motives, and although they were sentenced the indictment was quashed

in Feb. '78, and the case was not renewed. In May, '78, a petition

in Chancery was presented to deprive Mrs. Besant of her child on the

ground of her Atheistic and Malthusian views. Sir G. Jessell granted

the petition. In '80 Mrs. Besant matriculated at the London University

and took 1st B.Sc. with honors in '82. She has debated much and issued

many pamphlets to be found in Theological Essays and Debates. She

wrote the second part of the Freethinkers' Text Book dealing with

Christian evidence; has written on the Sins of the Church, 1886, and

the Evolution of Society. She has translated Jules Soury's Religion

of Israel, and Jesus of the Gospels; Dr. L. Büchner on the Influence

of Heredity and Mind in Animals, and from the fifteenth edition of

Force and Matter. From '83 to '88 she edited Our Corner, and since

'85 has given much time to Socialist propaganda, and has written many

Socialist pamphlets. In Dec. '88, Mrs. Besant was elected a member

of the London School Board.

 

Beverland (Hadrianus), Dutch classical scholar and nephew of Isaac

Vossius, b. Middleburg 1654. He took the degree of doctor of law and

became an advocate, but devoted himself to literature. He was at the

university of Oxford in 1672. His treatise on Original Sin, Peccatum

Originale (Eleutheropoli, 1678), in which he contends that the sin

of Adam and Eve was sexual inclination, caused a great outcry. It

was burnt, Beverland was imprisoned and his name struck from the

rolls of Leyden University. He wrote some other curious works and

died about 1712.

 

Bevington (Louisa S.), afterwards Guggenberger; English poetess and

authoress of Key Notes, 1879; Poems, Lyrics and Sonnets, '82; wrote

"Modern Atheism and Mr. Mallock" in the Nineteenth Century (Oct. and

Dec. '79), and on "The Moral Demerits of Orthodoxy" in Progress,

Sept. '84.

 

Beyle (Marie Henri), French man of letters, famous under the

name of de Stendhal, b. Grenoble, 23 Jan. 1783. Painter, soldier,

merchant and consul, he travelled largely, a wandering life being

congenial to his broad and sceptical spirit. His book, De l'Amour

is his most notable work. He was an original and gifted critic and

romancer. Balzac esteemed him highly. He died at Paris, 23 March,

1842. Prosper Merimée has published his correspondence. One of his

sayings was "Ce qui excuse Dieu, c'est qu'il n'existe pas"--God's

excuse is that he does not exist.

 

Bianchi (Angelo), known as Bianchi-Giovini (Aurelio) Italian man

of letters, b. of poor parents at Como, 25 Nov. 1799. He conducted

several papers in various parts of Piedmont and Switzerland. His Life

of Father Paoli Sarpi, 1836, was put on the Index, and thenceforward

he was in constant strife with the Roman Church. For his attacks on

the clergy in Il Republicano, at Lugano, he was proscribed, and had to

seek refuge at Zurich, 1839. He went thence to Milan and there wrote

a History of the Hebrews, a monograph on Pope Joan, and an account

of the Revolution. His principal works are the History of the Popes

until the great schism of the West (Turin, 1850-64) and a Criticism

of the Gospels, 1853, which has gone through several editions. Died

16 May, 1862.

 

Biandrata or Blandrata (Giorgio), Italian anti-trinitarian reformer,

b. Saluzzo about 1515. Graduated in arts and medicine at Montpellier,

1533. He was thrown into the prison of the Inquisition at Pavia,

but contrived to escape to Geneva, where he become obnoxious to

Calvin. He left Geneva in 1558 and went to Poland where he became a

leader of the Socinian party. He was assassinated 1591.

 

Bichat (Marie François Xavier), a famous French anatomist and

physiologist, b. Thoirette (Jura), 11 Nov. 1771. His work on the

Physiology of Life and Death was translated into English. He died a

martyr to his zeal for science, 22 July, 1802.

 

Biddle or Bidle (John), called the father of English Unitarianism,

b. Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, 14 Jan. 1615. He took his

M.A. degree at Oxford, 1641, and became master of the Gloucester

Grammar School, but lost the situation for denying the Trinity. He

was also imprisoned there for some time, and afterwards cited at

Westminster. He appealed to the public in defence, and his pamphlet

was ordered to be burnt by the hangman, 6 Sept. 1647. He was detained

in prison till 1652, after which he published several pamphlets, and

was again imprisoned in 1654. In Oct. 1655, Cromwell banished him to

the Scilly Isles, making him an allowance. He returned to London 1658,

but after the publication of the Acts of Uniformity was again seized,

and died in prison 22 Sept. 1662.

 

Bierce (M. H.) see Grile (Dod).

 

Billaud-Varenne (Jean Nicolas), French conventionalist b. La Rochelle,

23 April, 1756. About 1785 became advocate to Parliament; denounced

the government and clergy 1789. Proposed abolition of the monarchy

1 July, 1791, and wrote Elements of Republicanism, 1793. Withdrew

from Robespierre after the feast of the Supreme Being, saying "Thou

beginnest to sicken me with thy Supreme Being." Was exiled 1 April,

1795, and died at St. Domingo, 3 June, 1819.

 

Bion, of Borysthenes, near the mouth of the Dneiper. A Scythian

philosopher who flourished about 250 B.C. He was sold as a slave

to a rhetorician, who afterwards gave him freedom and made him his

heir. Upon this he went to Athens and applied himself to the study

of philosophy. He had several teachers, but attached himself to

Theodorus the Atheist. He was famous for his knowledge of music,

poetry, and philosophy. Some shrewd sayings of his are preserved,

as that "only the votive tablets of the preserved are seen in the

temples, not those of the drowned" and "it is useless to tear our

hair when in grief since sorrow is not cured by baldness."

 

Birch (William John), English Freethinker, b. London 4

Jan. 1811. Educated at Baliol College, Oxford, graduated M.A. at

New Inn Hall. Author of An Inquiry into the Philosophy and Religion

of Shakespeare, 1848; An Inquiry into the Philosophy and Religion

of the Bible, 1856; this work was translated into Dutch by "Rudolf

Charles;" Paul an Idea, not a Fact; and the Real and Ideal. In the

stormy time of '42 Mr. Birch did much to support the prosecuted

publications. He brought out the Library of Reason and supported

The Reasoner and Investigator with both pen and purse. Mr. Birch has

resided much in Italy and proved himself a friend to Italian unity

and Freedom. He is a member of the Italian Asiatic Society. Mr. Birch

has been a contributor to Notes and Queries and other journals,

and has devoted much attention to the early days of Christianity,

having many manuscripts upon the subject.

 

Bithell (Richard), Agnostic, b. Lewes, Sussex, 22 March 1821, of pious

parents. Became teacher of mathematics and chemistry. Is Ph.D. of

Gottingen and B.Sc. of London University. In '65 he entered the

service of the Rothschilds. Has written Creed of a Modern Agnostic,

1883; and Agnostic Problems, 1887.

 

Björnson (Björnstjerne), Norwegian writer, b. Quickne 8 Dec. 1832. His

father was a Lutheran clergyman. Has done much to create a national

literature for Norway. For his freethinking opinions he was obliged

to leave his country and reside in Paris. Many of his tales have been

translated into English. In 1882 Björnson published at Christiania,

with a short introduction, a resumé of C. B. Waite's History of the

Christian Religion, under the title of Whence come the Miracles of the

New Testament? This was the first attack upon dogmatic Christianity

published in Norway, and created much discussion. The following year

he published a translation of Colonel Ingersoll's article in the North

American Review upon the "Christian Religion," with a long preface,

in which he attacks the State Church and Monarchy. The translation

was entitled Think for Yourself. The first edition rapidly sold out

and a second one appeared. He has since, both in speech and writing,

repeatedly avowed his Freethought, and has had several controversies

with the clergy.

 

Blagosvyetlov (Grigorevich E.), Russian author, b. in the Caucasus,

1826. Has written on Shelley, Buckle, and Mill, whose Subjection

of Women he translated into Russian. He edited a magazine Djelo

(Cause). Died about 1885.

 

Blanqui (Louis Auguste), French politician, b. near Nice, 7 Feb. 1805,

a younger brother of Jerome Adolphe Blanqui, the economist. Becoming

a Communist, his life was spent in conspiracy and imprisonment

under successive governments. In '39 he was condemned to death, but

his sentence commuted to imprisonment for life, and was subject to

brutal treatment till the revolution of '48 set him at liberty. He

was soon again imprisoned. In '65 he wrote some remarkable articles

on Monotheism in Le Candide. After the revolution of 4 Sept. '70,

Blanqui demanded the suppression of worship. He was again imprisoned,

but was liberated and elected member of the Commune, and arrested by

Thiers. In his last imprisonment he wrote a curious book, Eternity

and the Stars, in which he argues from the eternity and infinity of

matter. Died Paris, 31 Dec. 1880. Blanqui took as his motto "Ni Dieu

ni maître"--Neither God nor master.

 

Blasche (Bernhard Heinrich), German Pantheist, b. Jena 9 April,

1776. His father was a professor of theology and philosophy. He wrote

Kritik des Modernen Geisterglaubens (Criticism of Modern Ghost Belief),

Philosophische Unsterblichkeitslehre (Teaching of Philosophical

Immortality), and other works. Died near Gotha 26 Nov. 1832.

 

Blignieres (Célestin de), French Positivist, of the Polytechnic

school. Has written a popular exposition of Positive philosophy and

religion, Paris 1857; The Positive Doctrine, 1867; Studies of Positive

Morality, 1868; and other works.

 

Blind (Karl), German Republican, b. Mannheim, 4 Sept. 1826. Studied

at Heidelberg and Bonn. In 1848 he became a revolutionary leader

among the students and populace, was wounded at Frankfort, and

proscribed. In Sept. '48 he led the second republican revolution in

the Black Forest. He was made prisoner and sentenced to eight year's

imprisonment. In the spring of '49 he was liberated by the people

breaking open his prison. Being sent on a mission to Louis Napoleon,

then president of the French Republic at Paris, he was arrested and

banished from France. He went to Brussels, but since '52 has lived

in in England, where he has written largely on politics, history,

and mythology. His daughter Mathilde, b. at Mannheim, opened her

literary career by publishing a volume of poems in 1867 under the

name of Claude Lake. She has since translated Straus's Old Faith and

the New, and written the volumes on George Eliot and Madame Roland

in the Eminent Women series.

 

Blount (Charles), English Deist of noble family, b. at Holloway 27

April, 1654. His father, Sir Henry Blount, probably shared in his

opinions, and helped him in his anti-religious work, Anima Mundi,

1678. This work Bishop Compton desired to see suppressed. In 1680 he

published Great is Diana of the Ephesians, or the Origin of Idolatry,

and the two first books of Apollonius Tyanius, with notes, in which

he attacks priestcraft and superstition. This work was condemned and

suppressed. Blount also published The Oracles of Reason, a number

of Freethought Essays. By his Vindication of Learning and Liberty

of the Press, and still more by his hoax on Bohun entitled William

and Mary Conquerors, he was largely instrumental in doing away with

the censorship of the press. He shot himself, it is said, because

he could not marry his deceased wife's sister (August, 1693). His

miscellaneous works were printed in one volume, 1695.

 

Blumenfeld (J. C.), wrote The New Ecce Homo or the Self Redemption of

Man, 1839. He is also credited with the authorship of The Existence of

Christ Disproved in a series of Letters by "A German Jew," London,

1841.

 

Boerne (Ludwig), German man of letters and politician, b. Frankfort

22 May, 1786. In 1818 he gave up the Jewish religion, in which he had

been bred, nominally for Protestantism, but really he had, like his

friend Heine, become a Freethinker. He wrote many works in favor of

political liberty and translated Lammenais' Paroles d'un Croyant. Died

12 Feb. 1837.

 

Bodin (Jean), French political writer, b. Angers 1530. He studied

at Toulouse and is said to have been a monk but turned to the law,

and became secretary to the Duc d'Alençon. His book De la Republique

is highly praised by Hallam, and is said to have contained the germ of

Montesquieu's "Spirit of the Laws." He wrote a work on demonomania, in

which he seems to have believed, but in his Colloquium Heptaplomeron

coloquies of seven persons: a Catholic, a Lutheran, a Calvinist, a

Pagan, a Muhammadan, a Jew, and a Deist, which he left in manuscript,

he put some severe attacks on Christianity. Died of the plague at

Laon in 1596.

 

Boggis (John) is mentioned by Edwards in his Gangrena, 1645, as an

Atheist and disbeliever in the Bible.

 

Boichot (Jean Baptiste), b. Villier sur Suize 20 Aug. 1820, entered

the army. In '49 he was chosen representative of the people. After

the coup d'état he came to England, returned to France in '54,

was arrested and imprisoned at Belle Isle. Since then he has lived

at Brussels, where he has written several works and is one of the

council of International Freethinkers.

 

Boindin (Nicolas) French litterateur, wit, playwright and academician,

b. Paris 29 May, 1676. He publicly professed Atheism, and resorted

with other Freethinkers to the famous café Procope. There, in order to

speak freely, they called the soul Margot, religion Javotte, liberty

Jeanneton, and God M. de l'Etre. One day a spy asked Boindin, "Who

is this M. de l'Etre with whom you seem so displeased?" "Monsieur,"

replied Boindin, "he is a police spy." Died 30 Nov. 1751. His corpse

was refused "Christian burial."

 

Boissiere (Jean Baptiste Prudence), French writer, b. Valognes

Dec. 1806, was for a time teacher in England. He compiled an analogical

dictionary of the French language. Under the name of Sièrebois he

has published the Autopsy of the Soul and a work on the foundations

of morality, which he traces to interest. He has also written a book

entitled The Mechanism of Thought, '84.

 

Boissonade (J. A.), author of The Bible Unveiled, Paris, 1871.

 

Boito (Arrigo), Italian poet and musician, b. at Padua, whose opera

"Mefistofele," has created considerable sensation by its boldness.

 

Bolingbroke (Henry Saint John) Lord, English statesman and philosopher,

b. at Battersea, 1 Oct. 1672. His political life was a stormy

one. He was the friend of Swift and of Pope, who in his Essay on Man

avowedly puts forward the views of Saint John. He died at Battersea

12 Dec. 1751, leaving by will his MSS. to David Mallet, who in 1754

published his works, which included Essays Written to A. Pope, Esq.,

on Religion and Philosophy, in which he attacks Christianity with

both wit and eloquence. Bolingbroke was a Deist, believing in God

but scornfully rejecting revelation. He much influenced Voltaire,

who regarded him with esteem.

 

Bonavino (Francesco Cristoforo) see Franchi (Ausonio).

 

Boni (Filippo de), Italian man of letters, b. Feltre, 1820. Editor of

a standard Biography of Artists, published at Venice, 1840. He also

wrote on the Roman Church and Italy and on Reason and Dogma, Siena,

'66, and contributed to Stefanoni's Libero Pensiero. De Boni was

elected deputy to the Italian Parliament. He has written on "Italian

Unbelief in the Middle Ages" in the Annuario Filosofico del Libero

Pensiero, '68.

 

Boniface VIII., Pope (Benedetto Gaetano), elected head of Christendom,

24 Dec. 1294. During his quarrel with Philip the Fair of France charges

were sworn on oath against Pope Boniface that he neither believed in

the Trinity nor in the life to come, that he said the Virgin Mary

"was no more a virgin than my mother"; that he did not observe the

fasts of the Church, and that he spoke of the cardinals, monks,

and friars as hypocrites. It was in evidence that the Pope had said

"God may do the worst with me that he pleases in the future life; I

believe as every educated man does, the vulgar believe otherwise. We

have to speak as they do, but we must believe and think with the

few." Died 11 Oct. 1303.

 

Bonnycastle (John), mathematician, b. Whitchurch, Bucks, about

1750. He wrote several works on elementary mathematics and became

Professor of mathematics at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich,

where he died 15 May, 1821. He was a friend of Fuseli, and private

information assures me he was a Freethinker.

 

Booms (Marinus Adriaansz), Dutch Spinozist, a shoemaker by trade,

who wrote early in the eighteenth century, and on 1 Jan. 1714,

was banished.

 

Bonnot de Condillac (Etienne) see Condillac.

 

Bonstetten (Karl Victor von), Swiss Deist, b. Berne, 3 Sept

1745. Acquainted with Voltaire and Rousseau he went to Leyden and

England to finish his education. Among his works are Researches on

the Nature and Laws of the Imagination, 1807; and Studies on Man,

1821. Died Geneva, 3 Feb. 1832.

 

Borde (Frédéric), editor of La Philosophie de l'Avenir, Paris, 1875,

etc. Born La Rochelle 1841. Has written on Liberty of Instruction, etc.

 

Born (Ignaz von) baron, b. Carlsruhe, 26 Dec. 1742. Bred by the

Jesuits, he became an ardent scientist and a favorite of the

Empress Marie Theresa, under whose patronage he published works

on Mineralogy. He was active as a Freemason, and Illuminati, and

published with the name Joannes Physiophilus a stinging illustrated

satire entitled Monchalogia, or the natural history of monks.

 

Bosc (Louis Augustin Guillaume), French naturalist, b. Paris, 29

Jan. 1759; was tutor and friend to Madame Roland whose Memoirs he

published. He wrote many works on natural history. Died 10 July, 1828.

 

Boucher (E. Martin), French writer, b. Beaulieu, 1809; contributed to

the Rationalist of Geneva, where he died 1882. Author of a work on

Revelation and Rationalism, entitled Search for the Truth, Avignon,

1884.

 

Bougainville (Louis Antoine de) Count, the first French voyager

who made the tour around the world; b. Paris, 11 Nov. 1729. Died 31

Aug. 1811. He wrote an interesting account of his travels.

 

Bouillier (Francisque), French philosopher, b. Lyons 12 July 1813, has

written several works on psychology, and contributed to la Liberté de

Penser. His principal work is a History of the Cartesian Philosophy. He

is a member of the Institute and writes in the leading reviews.

 

Bouis (Casimir), French journalist, b. Toulon 1848, edited La Libre

Pensée and wrote a satire on the Jesuits entitled Calottes et Soutanes,

1870. Sent to New Caledonia for his participation in the Commune, he

has since his return published a volume of political verses entitled

Après le Naufrage, After the Shipwreck, 1880.

 

Boulainvilliers (Henri de), Comte de St. Saire, French historian and

philosopher, b. 11 Oct. 1658. His principal historical work is an

account of the ancient French Parliaments. He also wrote a defence of

Spinozism under pretence of a refutation of Spinoza, an analysis of

Spinoza's Tractus Theologico-Politicus, printed at the end of Doubts

upon Religion, Londres, 1767. A Life of Muhammad, the first European

work doing justice to Islam, and a History of the Arabs also proceeded

from his pen, and he is one of those to whom is attributed the treatise

with the title of the Three Impostors, 1755. Died 23 Jan. 1722.

 

Boulanger (Nicolas-Antoine), French Deist, b. 11 Nov. 1722. Died

16 Sept. 1759. He was for some time in the army as engineer, and

afterwards became surveyor of public works. After his death his works

were published by D'Holbach who rewrote them. His principal works

are Antiquity Unveiled and Researches on the Origin of Oriental

Despotism. Christianity Unveiled, attributed to him and said by

Voltaire to have been by Damilavile, was probably written by D'Holbach,

perhaps with some assistance from Naigeon. It was burnt by order of

the French Parliament 18 Aug. 1770. A Critical Examination of the

Life and Works of St. Paul, attributed to Boulanger, was really made

up by d'Holbach from the work of Annet. Boulanger wrote dissertations

on Elisha, Enoch and St. Peter, and some articles for the Encyclopédie.

 

Bourdet (Dr.) Eugene, French Positivist, b. Paris, 1818. Author of

several works on medicine and Positivist philosophy and education.

 

Boureau-Deslands (A. F.) See Deslandes.

 

Bourget (Paul), French littérateur, b. at Amiens in 1852. Has made

himself famous by his novels, essays on contemporary psychology,

studies of M. Rénan, etc. He belongs to the Naturalist School, but

his methods are less crude than those of some of his colleagues. His

insight is most subtle, and his style is exquisite.

 

Boutteville (Marc Lucien), French writer, professor at the Lycée

Bonaparte; has made translations from Lessing and published an

able work on the Morality of the Church and Natural Morality, 1866,

for which the clergy turned him out of a professorship he held at

Sainte-Barbe.

 

Bovio (Giovanni), Professor of Political Economy in the University

of Naples and deputy to the Italian parliament; is an ardent

Freethinker. Both in his writings and in parliament Prof. Bovio

opposes the power of the Vatican and the reconciliation between

Church and State. He has constantly advocated liberty of conscience

and has promoted the institution of a Dante chair in the University

of Rome. He has written a work on The History of Law, a copy of which

he presented to the International Congress of Freethinkers, 1887.

 

Bowring (Sir John, K.B., LL D.), politician, linguist and writer,

b. Exeter, 17 Oct., 1792. In early life a pupil of Dr. Lant

Carpenter and later a disciple of Jeremy Bentham, whose principles

he maintained in the Westminster Review, of which he was editor,

1825. Arrested in France in 1822, after a fortnight's imprisonment

he was released without trial. He published Bentham's Deontology

(1834), and nine years after edited a complete collection of the

works of Bentham. Returned to Parliament in '35, and afterwards was

employed in important government missions. In '55 he visited Siam,

and two years later published an account of The Kingdom and People

of Siam. He translated Goethe, Schiller, Heine, and the poems of

many countries; was an active member of the British Association and

of the Social Science Association, and did much to promote rational

views on the Sunday question. Died 23 Nov. 1872.

 

Boyle (Humphrey), one of the men who left Leeds for the purpose of

serving in R. Carlile's shop when the right of free publication was

attacked in 1821. Boyle gave no name, and was indicted and tried as

"a man with name unknown" for publishing a blasphemous and seditious

libel. In his defence he ably asserted his right to hold and publish

his opinions. He read portions of the Bible in court to prove he was

justified in calling it obscene. Upon being sentenced, 27 May, 1822,

to eighteen months' imprisonment and to find sureties for five years,

he remarked "I have a mind, my lord, that can bear such a sentence

with fortitude."

 

Bradlaugh (Charles). Born East London, 26 Sept. 1833. Educated

in Bethnal Green and Hackney. He was turned from his Sunday-school

teachership and from his first situation through the influence of the

Rev. J. G. Packer, and found refuge with the widow of R. Carlile. In

Dec. 1850 he entered the Dragoon Guards and proceeded to Dublin. Here

he met James Thomson, the poet, and contracted a friendship which

lasted for many years. He got his discharge, and in '53 returned to

London and became a solicitor's clerk. He began to write and lecture

under the nom de guerre of "Iconoclast," edited the Investigator, '59;

and had numerous debates with ministers and others. In 1860 he began

editing the National Reformer, which in '68-9 he successfully defended

against a prosecution of the Attorney General, who wished securities

against blasphemy. In '68 he began his efforts to enter Parliament,

and in 1880 was returned for Northampton. After a long struggle

with the House, which would not admit the Atheist, he at length took

his seat in 1885. He was four times re-elected, and the litigation

into which he was plunged will become as historic as that of John

Wilkes. Prosecuted in '76 for publishing The Fruits of Philosophy, he

succeeded in quashing the indictment. Mr. Bradlaugh has had numerous

debates, several of which are published. He has also written many

pamphlets, of which we mention New Lives of Abraham, David, and

other saints, Who was Jesus Christ? What did Jesus Teach? Has Man

a Soul, Is there a God? etc. His Plea for Atheism reached its 20th

thousand in 1880. Mr. Bradlaugh has also published When were our

Gospels Written?, 1867; Heresy, its Utility and Morality, 1870;

The Inspiration of the Bible, 1873; The Freethinker's Text Book,

part i., dealing with natural religion, 1876; The Laws Relating to

Blasphemy and Heresy, 1878; Supernatural and Rational Morality,

1886. In 1857 Mr. Bradlaugh commenced a commentary on the Bible,

entitled The Bible, What is it? In 1865 this appeared in enlarged form,

dealing only with the Pentateuch. In 1882 he published Genesis, Its

Authorship and Authenticity. In Parliament Mr. Bradlaugh has become

a conspicuous figure, and has introduced many important measures. In

1888 he succeeded in passing an Oaths Bill, making affirmations

permissible instead of oaths. His elder daughter, Alice, b. 30

April, 1856, has written on Mind Considered as a Bodily Function,

1884. Died 2 Dec. 1888. His second daughter, Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner,

b. 31 March, 1858, has written "Princess Vera" and other stories,

"Chemistry of Home," etc.

 

Brækstad (Hans Lien), b. Throndhjem, Norway, 7 Sept. 1845. Has made

English translations from Björnson, Asbjörnsen, Andersen, etc., and

has contributed to Harper's Magazine and other periodical literature.

 

Brandes (Georg Morris Cohen), Danish writer, by birth a Jew,

b. Copenhagen, 4 Feb. 1842. In 1869 he translated J. S. Mills'

Subjection of Women, and in the following year took a doctor's

degree for a philosophical treatise. His chief work is entitled the

Main Current of Literature in the Nineteenth Century. His brother,

Dr. Edvard Brandes, was elected to the Danish Parliament in 1881,

despite his declaration that he did not believe either in the God of

the Christians or of the Jews.

 

Bray (Charles), philosophic writer, b. Coventry, 31 Jan. 1811. He was

brought up as an Evangelical, but found his way to Freethought. Early

in life he took an active part in promoting unsectarian education. His

first work (1835) was on The Education of the Body. This was followed

by The Education of the Feelings, of which there were several

editions. In 1836 he married Miss Hennell, sister of C. C. Hennell,

and took the System of Nature and Volney's Ruins of Empires "to

enliven the honeymoon." Among his friends was Mary Ann Evans ("George

Eliot"), who accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Bray to Italy. His works on

The Philosophy of Necessity (1841) and Cerebral Psychology (1875)

give the key to all his thought. He wrote a number of Thomas Scott's

series of tracts: Illusion and Delusion, The Reign of Law in Mind as

in Matter, Toleration with remarks on Professor Tyndall's "Address,"

and a little book, Christianity in the Light of our Present Knowledge

and Moral Sense (1876). He also wrote A Manual of Anthropology and

similar works. In a postscript to his last volume, Phases of Opinion

and Experience During a Long Life, dated 18 Sept. 1884, he stated

that he has no hope or expectation or belief even in the possibility

of continued individuality after death, and that as his opinions have

done to live by "they will do to die by." He died 5 Oct. 1884.

 

Bresson (Léopold), French Positivist, b. Lamarche, 1817. Educated at

the Polytechnic School, which he left in 1840 and served on public

works. For seventeen years was director of an Austrian Railway

Company. Wrote Idées Modernes, 1880.

 

Bridges (John Henry), M.D. English Positivist, b. 1833, graduated

B.A. at Oxford 1855, and B.M. 1859; has written on Religion and

Progress, contributed to the Fortnightly Review, and translated Comte's

General View of Positivism (1865) and System of Positive Polity (1873).

 

Bril (Jakob), Dutch mystical Pantheist, b. Leyden, 21 Jan. 1639. Died

1700. His works were published at Amsterdam, 1705.

 

Brissot (Jean Pierre) de Warville, active French revolutionist,

b. Chartres, 14 Jan. 1754. He was bred to the law, but took to

literature. He wrote for the Courier de l'Europe, a revolutionary

paper suppressed for its boldness, published a treatise on Truth,

and edited a Philosophical Law Library, 1782-85. He wrote against the

legal authority of Rome, and is credited with Philosophical Letters

upon St. Paul and the Christian Religion, Neufchatel, 1783. In 1784

he was imprisoned in the Bastille for his writings. To avoid a second

imprisonment he went to England and America, returning to France

at the outbreak of the Revolution. He wrote many political works,

became member of the Legislative Assembly, formed the Girondist party,

protested against the execution of Louis XVI., and upon the triumph

of the Mountain was executed with twenty-one of his colleagues,

31 Oct., 1793. Brissot was a voluminous writer, honest, unselfish,

and an earnest lover of freedom in every form.

 

Bristol (Augusta), née Cooper, American educator, b. Croydon, New

Haven, 17 April, 1835. In 1850 became teacher and gained repute by

her Poems. In Sept. 1880, she represented American Freethinkers at

the International Conference at Brussels. She has written on Science

and its Relations to Human Character and other works.

 

Broca (Pierre Paul), French anthropologist, b. 28 June, 1824. A

hard-working scientist, he paid special attention to craniology. In

1875 he founded the School of Anthropology and had among his pupils

Gratiolet, Topinard, Hovelacque and Dr. Carter Blake, who translated

his treatise on Hybridity. He established The Review of Anthropology,

published numerous scientific works and was made a member of the

Legion of Honor. In philosophy he inclined to Positivism. Died Paris,

9 July, 1880.

 

Brooksbank (William), b. Nottingham 6 Dec. 1801. In 1824 he wrote

in Carlile's Lion, and has since contributed to the Reasoner, the

Pathfinder, and the National Reformer. He was an intimate friend

of James Watson. He wrote A Sketch of the Religions of the Earth,

Revelation Tested by Astronomy, Geography, Geology, etc., 1856, and

some other pamphlets. Mr. Brooksbank is still living in honored age

at Nottingham.

 

Brothier (Léon), author of a Popular History of Philosophy, 1861,

and other works in the Bibliothèque Utile. He contributed to the

Rationalist of Geneva.

 

Broussais (François Joseph Victor), French physician and philosopher,

b. Saint Malo, 17 Dec. 1772. Educated at Dinan, in 1792 he served

as volunteer in the army of the Republic. He studied medicine at

St. Malo and Brest, and became a naval surgeon. A disciple of Bichat,

he did much to reform medical science by his Examination of Received

Medical Doctrines and to find a basis for mental and moral science in

physiology by his many scientific works. Despite his bold opinions, he

was made Commander of the Legion of Honor. He died poor at St. Malo 17

Nov. 1838, leaving behind a profession of faith, in which he declares

his disbelief in a creator and his being "without hope or fear of

another life."

 

Brown (George William), Dr., of Rockford, Illinois, b. in Essex Co.,

N.Y., Oct. 1820, of Baptist parents. At 17 years of age he was expelled

the church for repudiating the dogma of an endless hell. Dr. Brown

edited the Herald of Freedom, Kansas. In 1856 his office was destroyed

by a pro-slavery mob, his type thrown into the river, and himself

and others arrested but was released without trial. Dr. Brown has

contributed largely to the Ironclad Age and other American Freethought

papers, and is bringing out a work on the Origin of Christianity.

 

Brown (Titus L.), Dr., b. 16 Oct. 1823, at Hillside (N.Y.). Studied

at the Medical College of New York and graduated at the Homoeopathic

College, Philadelphia. He settled at Binghamton where he had a large

practice. He contributed to the Boston Investigator and in 1877 was

elected President of the Freethinkers Association. Died 17 Aug. 1887.

 

Browne (Sir Thomas), physician and writer, b. London, 19 Oct. 1605. He

studied medicine and travelled on the Continent, taking his doctor's

degree at Leyden (1633). He finally settled at Norwich, where he had

a good practice. His treatise Religio Medici, famous for its fine

style and curious mixture of faith and scepticism, was surreptitiously

published in 1642. It ran through several editions and was placed on

the Roman Index. His Pseudodoxia Epidemica; Enquiries into Vulgar

and Common Errors, appeared in 1646. While disputing many popular

superstitions he showed he partook of others. This curious work

was followed by Hydriotaphia, or Urn-Burial, in which he treats

of cremation among the ancients. To this was added The Garden of

Cyrus. He died 19 Oct. 1682.

 

Bruno (Giordano), Freethought martyr, b. at Nola, near Naples, about

1548. He was christened Filippo which he changed to Filoteo, taking

the name of Giordano when he entered the Dominican order. Religious

doubts and bold strictures on the monks obliged him to quit Italy,

probably in 1580. He went to Geneva but soon found it no safe abiding

place, and quitted it for Paris, where he taught, but refused to attend

mass. In 1583 he visited England, living with the French ambassador

Castelnau. Having formed a friendship with Sir Philip Sidney, he

dedicated to him his Spaccio della Bestia Triomfante, a satire on all

mythologies. In 1585 he took part in a logical tournament, sustaining

the Copernican theory against the doctors of Oxford. The following year

he returned to Paris, where he again attacked the Aristotelians. He

then travelled to various cities in Germany, everywhere preaching

the broadest heresy. He published several Pantheistic, scientific and

philosophical works. He was however induced to return to Italy, and

arrested as an heresiarch and apostate at Venice, Sept. 1592. After

being confined for seven years by the Inquisitors, he was tried,

and burnt at Rome 17 Feb. 1600. At his last moments a crucifix was

offered him, which he nobly rejected. Bruno was vastly before his age

in his conception of the universe and his rejection of theological

dogmas. A statue of this heroic apostle of liberty and light, executed

by one of the first sculptors of Italy, is to be erected on the spot

where he perished, the Municipal Council of Rome having granted the

site in face of the bitterest opposition of the Catholic party. The

list of subscribers to this memorial comprises the principal advanced

thinkers in Europe and America.

 

Brzesky (Casimir Liszynsky Podsedek). See Liszinski.

 

Bucali or Busali (Leonardo), a Calabrian abbot of Spanish descent,

who became a follower of Servetus in the sixteenth century, and had

to seek among the Turks the safety denied him in Christendom. He died

at Damascus.

 

Buchanan (George), Scotch historian and scholar, b. Killearn,

Feb. 1506. Evincing an early love of study, he was sent to

Paris at the age of fourteen. He returned to Scotland and became

distinguished for his learning. James V. appointed him tutor to his

natural son. He composed his Franciscanus et Fratres, a satire on the

monks, which hastened the Scottish reformation. This exposed him to

the vengeance of the clergy. Not content with calling him Atheist,

Archbishop Beaton had him arrested and confined in St. Andrew's

Castle, from whence he escaped and fled to England. Here he found,

as he said, Henry VIII. burning men of opposite opinions at the same

stake for religion. He returned to Paris, but was again subjected to

the persecution of Beaton, the Scottish Ambassador. On the death of

a patron at Bordeaux, in 1548, he was seized by the Inquisition and

immured for a year and a half in a monastery, where he translated

the Psalms into Latin. He eventually returned to Scotland, where he

espoused the party of Moray. After a most active life, he died 28

Sept. 1582, leaving a History of Scotland, besides numerous poems,

satires, and political writings, the most important of which is a

work of republican tendency, De Jure Regni, the Rights of Kings.

 

Buchanan (Robert), Socialist, b. Ayr, 1813. He was successively a

schoolmaster, a Socialist missionary and a journalist. He settled in

Manchester, where he published works on the Religion of The Past and

Present, 1839; the Origin and Nature of Ghosts, 1840. An Exposure

of Joseph Barker, and a Concise History of Modern Priestcraft also

bear the latter date. At this time the Socialists were prosecuted for

lecturing on Sunday, and Buchanan was fined for refusing to take the

oath of supremacy, etc. After the decline of Owenism, he wrote for

the Northern Star, and edited the Glasgow Sentinel. He died at the

home of his son, the poet, at Bexhill, Sussex, 4 March, 1866.

 

Buchanan (Joseph Rhodes), American physician, b. Frankfort, Kentucky,

11 Dec. 1814. He graduated M.D. at Louisville University, 1842, and

has been the teacher of physiology at several colleges. From 1849-56

he published Buchanan's Journal of Man, and has written several works

on Anthropology.

 

Buchner (Ludwig). See Buechner.

 

Buckle (Henry Thomas), philosophical historian, b. Lee, Kent, 24

Nov. 1821. In consequence of his delicate health he was educated at

home. His mother was a strict Calvinist, his father a strong Tory,

but a visit to the Continent made him a Freethinker and Radical. He

ever afterwards held travelling to be the best education. It was his

ambition to write a History of Civilisation in England, but so vast was

his design that his three notable volumes with that title form only

part of the introduction. The first appeared in 1858, and created a

great sensation by its boldness. In the following year he championed

the cause of Pooley, who was condemned for blasphemy, and dared the

prosecution of infidels of standing. In 1861 he visited the East,

in the hope of improving his health, but died at Damascus, 29 May,

1862. Much of the material collected for his History has been published

in his Miscellaneous and Posthumous Works, edited by Helen Taylor,

1872. An abridged edition, edited by Grant Allen, appeared in 1886.

 

Buechner (Friedrich Karl Christian Ludwig), German materialist,

b. Darmstadt, 29 March, 1824. Studied medicine in Geissen, Strassburg

and Vienna. In '55 he startled the world with his bold work on

Force and Matter, which has gone through numerous editions and been

translated into nearly all the European languages. This work lost

him the place of professor which he held at Tübingen, and he has

since practised in his native town. Büchner has developed his ideas

in many other works such as Nature and Spirit (1857), Physiological

Sketches, '61; Nature and Science, '62; Conferences on Darwinism,

'69; Man in the Past, Present and Future, '69; Materialism its History

and Influence on Society, '73; The Idea of God, '74; Mind in Animals,

'80; and Light and Life, '82. He also contributes to the Freidenker,

the Dageraad, and other journals.

 

Buffon (Georges Louis Leclerc), Count de, French naturalist,

b. Montford, Burgundy, 7 Sept. 1707. An incessant worker. His Natural

History in 36 volumes bears witness to the fertility of his mind

and his capacity for making science attractive. Buffon lived much in

seclusion, and attached himself to no sect or religion. Some of his

sentences were attacked by the Sorbonne. Hérault de Sêchelles says

that Buffon said: "I have named the Creator, but it is only necessary

to take out the word and substitute the power of nature." Died at

Paris 16 April, 1788.

 

Buitendijk or Buytendyck (Gosuinus van), Dutch Spinozist, who wrote an

Apology at the beginning of the eighteenth century and was banished

1716.

 

Bufalini (Maurizio), Italian doctor, b. Cesena 2 June, 1787. In 1813 he

published an essay on the Doctrine of Life in opposition to vitalism,

and henceforward his life was a conflict with the upholders of that

doctrine. He was accused of materialism, but became a professor at

Florence and a member of the Italian Senate in 1860. Died at Florence

31 March, 1875.

 

Burdach (Karl Friedrich), German physiologist, b. Leipsic 12 June,

1776. He occupied a chair at the University of Breslau. His works on

physiology and anthropology did much to popularise those sciences,

and the former is placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum for its

materialistic tendency. He died at Konigsberg, 16 July, 1847.

 

Burdon (William), M.A., writer, b. Newcastle, 11 Sept. 1764. Graduated

at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 1788. He was intended for a clergyman,

but want of faith made him decline that profession. His principal work

is entitled Materials for Thinking. Colton largely availed himself of

this work in his Lacon. It went through five editions in his lifetime,

and portions were reprinted in the Library of Reason. He also addressed

Three Letters to the Bishop of Llandaff, wrote a Life and Character of

Bonaparte, translated an account of the Revolution in Spain, edited the

Memoirs of Count Boruwlaski, and wrote some objections to the annual

subscription to the Sons of the Clergy. Died in London, 30 May, 1818.

 

Burigny (Jean Levesque de), French writer, b. Rheims, 1692. He became

a member of the French Academy, wrote a treatise on the Authority

of the Pope, a History of Pagan Philosophy and other works, and

is credited with the Critical Examination of the Apologists of the

Christian Religion, published under the name of Freret by Naigeon,

1766. Levesque de Burigny wrote a letter in answer to Bergier's

Proofs of Christianity, which is published in Naigeon's Recueil

Philosophique. Died at Paris, 8 Oct. 1785.

 

Burmeister (Hermann), German naturalist, b. Stralsund, 15 Jan. 1807. In

1827 he became a doctor at Halle. In '48 he was elected to the National

Assembly. In 1850 he went to Brazil. His principal work is The History

of Creation, 1843.

 

Burmeister or Baurmeister (Johann Peter Theodor) a German Rationalist

and colleague of Ronge. Born at Flensburg, 1805. He resided in

Hamburg, and wrote in the middle of the present century under the

name of J. P. Lyser.

 

Burnet (Thomas), b. about 1635 at Croft, Yorkshire. Through the

interest of a pupil, the Duke of Ormonde, he obtained the mastership

of the Charterhouse, 1685. In 1681 the first part of his Telluris

Theoria Sacra, or Sacred Theory of the Earth, appeared in Latin, and

was translated and modified in 1684. In 1692 Burnet published, both

in English and in Latin, his Archæologiæ Philosophicæ, or the Ancient

Doctrine of the Origin of Things. He professes in this to reconcile

his theory with Genesis, which receives a figurative interpretation;

and a ludicrous dialogue between Eve and the serpent gave great

offence. In a popular ballad Burnet is represented as saying--

 

 

                That all the books of Moses

                Were nothing but supposes.

 

 

He had to resign a position at court. In later life he wrote De Fide

et Officiis Christianorum (on Christian Faith and Duties), in which

he regards historical religions as based on the religion of nature,

and rejects original sin and the "magical" theory of sacraments;

and De Statu Mortuorum et Resurgentium, on the State of the Dead and

Resurrected, in which he opposed the doctrine of eternal punishment

and shadowed forth a scheme of Deism. These books he kept to himself

to avoid a prosecution for heresy, but had a few copies printed for

private friends. He died in the Charterhouse 27 Sept. 1715. A tract

entitled Hell Torments not Eternal was published in 1739.

 

Burnett (James), Lord Monboddo, a learned Scotch writer and judge,

was b. Monboddo, Oct. 1714. He adopted the law as his profession,

became a celebrated advocate, and was made a judge in 1767. His

work on the Origin and Progress of Language (published anonymously

1773-92), excited much derision by his studying man as one of the

animals and collecting facts about savage tribes to throw light on

civilisation. He first maintained that the orang-outang was allied

to the human species. He also wrote on Ancient Metaphysics. He was

a keen debater and discussed with Hume, Adam Smith, Robertson, and

Lord Kames. Died in Edinburgh, 26 May, 1799.

 

Burnouf (Emile Louis), French writer, b. Valonges, 25 Aug. 1821. He

became professor of ancient literature to the faculty of Nancy. Author

of many works, including a translation of selections from the Novum

Organum of Bacon, the Bhagvat-Gita, an Introduction to the Vedas,

a history of Greek Literature, Studies in Japanese, and articles

in the Revue des deux Mondes. His heresy is pronounced in his work

on the Science of Religions, 1878, in his Contemporary Catholicism,

and Life and Thought, 1886.

 

Burnouf (Eugène), French Orientalist, cousin of the preceding;

b. Paris, 12 Aug. 1801. He opened up to the Western world the Pali

language, and with it the treasures of Buddhism, whose essentially

Atheistic character he maintained. To him also we are largely indebted

for a knowledge of Zend and of the Avesta of the Zoroastrians. He

translated numerous Oriental works and wrote a valuable Introduction

to the History of Indian Buddhism. Died at Paris, 28 May, 1852.

 

Burns (Robert), Scotland's greatest poet, b. near Ayr, 25

Jan. 1759. His father was a small farmer, of enlightened views. The

life and works of Burns are known throughout the world. His

Freethought is evident from such productions as the "Holy Fair,"

"The Kirk's Alarm," and "Holy Willie's Prayer," and many passages in

private letters to his most familiar male friends. Died at Dumfries,

21 July, 1796.

 

Burr (William Henry), American author, b. 1819, Gloversville, N.Y.,

graduated at Union College, Schenectady, became a shorthand reporter

to the Senate. In 1869 he retired and devoted himself to literary

research. He is the anonymous author of Revelations of Antichrist, a

learned book which exposes the obscurity of the origin of Christianity,

and seeks to show that the historical Jesus lived almost a century

before the Christian era. He has also written several pamphlets:

Thomas Paine was Junius, 1880: Self Contradictions of the Bible;

Is the Bible a Lying Humbug? A Roman Catholic Canard, etc. He has

also frequently contributed to the Boston Investigator, the New York

Truthseeker, and the Ironclad Age of Indianapolis.

 

Burton (Sir Richard Francis), traveller, linguist, and author,

b. Barham House, Herts, 19 March, 1821. Intended for the Church,

he matriculated at Oxford, but in 1842 entered the East India

Company's service, served on the staff of Sir C. Napier, and soon

acquired reputation as an intrepid explorer. In '51 he returned to

England and started for Mecca and Medina, visiting those shrines

unsuspected, as a Moslem pilgrim. He was chief of the staff of the

Osmanli cavalry in the Crimean war, and has made many remarkable and

dangerous expeditions in unknown lands; he discovered and opened

the lake regions in Central Africa and explored the highlands of

Brazil. He has been consul at Fernando Po, Santos, Damascus, and

since 1872 at Trieste, and speaks over thirty languages. His latest

work is a new translation of The Thousand Nights and a Night in 10

vols. Being threatened with a prosecution, he intended justifying

"literal naturalism" from the Bible. Burton's knowledge of Arabic is

so perfect that when he used to read the tales to Arabs, they would

roll on the ground in fits of laughter.

 

Butler (Samuel), poet, b. in Strensham, Worcestershire, Feb. 1612. In

early life he came under the influence of Selden. He studied painting,

and is said to have painted a head of Cromwell from life. He became

clerk to Sir Samuel Luke, one of Cromwell's Generals, whom he has

satirised as Hudibras. This celebrated burlesque poem appeared in 1663

and became famous, but, although the king and court were charmed with

its wit, the author was allowed to remain in poverty and obscurity

till he died at Covent Garden, London, 25 Sept. 1680. Butler expressed

the opinion that

 

 

        "Religion is the interest of churches

        That sell in other worlds in this to purchase."

 

 

Buttmann (Philipp Karl), German philologist, b. Frankfort, 5

Dec. 1764. Became librarian of the Royal Library at Berlin. He edited

many of the Greek Classics, wrote on the Myth of the Deluge, 1819,

and a learned work on Mythology, 1828. Died Berlin, 21 June, 1829.

 

Buzot (François Léonard Nicolas), French Girondin, distinguished as

an ardent Republican and a friend and lover of Madame Roland. Born

at Evreux, 1 March, 1760; he died from starvation when hiding after

the suppression of his party June, 1793.

 

Byelinsky (Vissarion G.) See Belinsky.

 

Byron (George Gordon Noel) Lord, b. London, 22 Jan. 1788. He succeeded

his grand-uncle William in 1798; was sent to Harrow and Cambridge. In

1807 he published his Hours of Idleness, and awoke one morning to find

himself famous. His power was, however, first shown in his English

Bards and Scotch Reviewers, in which he satirised his critics, 1809. He

then travelled on the Continent, the result of which was seen in his

Childe Harold's Pilgrimage and other works. He married 2 Jan. 1815,

but a separation took place in the following year. Lord Byron then

resided in Italy, where he made the acquaintance of Shelley. In 1823

he devoted his name and fortune to the cause of the Greek revolution,

but was seized with fever and died at Missolonghi, 19 April, 1824. His

drama of Cain: a Mystery, 1822, is his most serious utterance,

and it shows a profound contempt for religious dogma. This feeling

is also exhibited in his magnificent burlesque poem, The Vision

of Judgment, which places him at the head of English satirists. In

his letters to the Rev. Francis Hodgson, 1811, he distinctly says:

"I do not believe in any revealed religion.... I will have nothing

to do with your immortality; we are miserable enough in this life,

without the absurdity of speculating upon another.... The basis of

your religion is injustice; the Son of God, the pure, the immaculate,

the innocent, is sacrificed for the guilty," etc.

 

Cabanis (Pierre Jean George), called by Lange "the father of the

materialistic physiology," b. Conac, 5 June, 1757. Became pupil

of Condillac and friend of Mirabeau, whom he attended in his last

illness, of which he published an account 1791. He was also intimate

with Turgot, Condorcet, Holbach, Diderot, and other distinguished

Freethinkers, and was elected member of the Institute and of the

Council of Five Hundred in the Revolution. His works are mostly

medical, the chief being Des Rapports du Physique et du Morale de

l'Homme, in which he contends that thoughts are a secretion of the

brain. Died Rueil, near Paris, 5 May, 1808.

 

Cæsalpinus (Andreas), Italian philosopher of the Renaissance,

b. Arezzo, Tuscany, 1519. He became Professor of Botany at Pisa, and

Linnæus admits his obligations to his work, De Plantis, 1583. He also

wrote works on metals and medicine, and showed acquaintance with the

circulation of the blood. In a work entitled Demonum Investigatio,

he contends that "possession" by devils is amenable to medical

treatment. His Quæstionum Peripateticarum, in five books, Geneva,

1568, was condemned as teaching a Pantheistic doctrine similar to

that of Spinoza. Bishop Parker denounced him. Died 23 Feb. 1603.

 

Cæsar (Caius Julius), the "foremost man of all this world," equally

renowned as soldier, statesman, orator, and writer, b. 12 July,

100 B.C., of noble family. His life, the particulars of which are

well known, was an extraordinary display of versatility, energy,

courage, and magnanimity. He justified the well-known line of Pope,

"Cæsar the world's great master and his own." His military talents

elevated him to the post of dictator, but this served to raise against

him a band of aristocratic conspirators, by whom he was assassinated,

15 March, 44 B.C. His Commentaries are a model of insight and clear

expression. Sallust relates that he questioned the existence of

a future state in the presence of the Roman senate. Froude says:

"His own writings contain nothing to indicate that he himself had any

religious belief at all. He saw no evidence that the gods practically

interfered in human affairs.... He held to the facts of this life and

to his own convictions; and as he found no reason for supposing that

there was a life beyond the grave he did not pretend to expect it."

 

Cahuac (John), bookseller, revised an edition of Palmer's Principles

of Nature, 1819. For this he was prosecuted at the instance of the

"Vice Society," but the matter was compromised. He was also prosecuted

for selling the Republican, 1820.

 

Calderino (Domizio), a learned writer of the Renaissance, b. in 1445,

in the territory of Verona, and lived at Rome, where he was professor

of literature, in 1477. He edited and commented upon many of the

Latin poets. Bayle says he was without religion. Died in 1478.

 

Calenzio (Eliseo), an Italian writer, b. in the kingdom of Naples about

1440. He was preceptor to Prince Frederic, the son of Ferdinand, the

King of Naples. He died in 1503, leaving behind a number of satires,

fables and epigrams, some of which are directed against the Church.

 

Call (Wathen Mark Wilks), English author, b. 7 June, 1817. Educated at

Cambridge, entered the ministry in 1843, but resigned his curacy about

1856 on account of his change of opinions, which he recounts in his

preface to Reverberations, 1876. Mr. Call is of the Positivist school,

and has contributed largely to the Fortnightly and Westminster Reviews.

 

Callet (Pierre Auguste), French politician, b. St. Etienne, 27

Oct. 1812; became editor of the Gazette of France till 1840. In 1848

he was nominated Republican representative. At the coup d'état of 2

Dec. 1851, he took refuge in Belgium. He returned to France, but was

imprisoned for writing against the Empire. In 1871, Callet was again

elected representative for the department of the Loire. His chief

Freethought work is L'Enfer, an attack upon the Christian doctrine

of hell, 1861.

 

Camisani (Gregorio), Italian writer, b. at Venice, 1810. A Professor

of Languages in Milan. He has translated the Upas of Captain R. H. Dyas

and other works.

 

Campanella (Tommaso), Italian philosopher, b. Stilo, Calabria,

5 Sept. 1568. He entered the Dominican order, but was too much

attracted by the works of Telesio to please his superiors. In 1590

his Philosophia Sensibus Demonstratio was printed at Naples. Being

prosecuted, he fled to Rome, and thence to Florence, Venice,

and Padua. At Bologna some of his MS. fell into the hands of the

Inquisition, and he was arrested. He ably defended himself and was

acquitted. Returning to Calabria in 1599, he was arrested on charges

of heresy and conspiracy against the Spanish Government of Naples,

and having appealed to Rome, was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment

in the prison of the Holy Office. He was put to the torture seven

times, his torments on one occasion extending over forty hours, but

he refused to confess. He was dragged from one prison to another for

twenty-seven years, during which he wrote some sonnets, a history of

the Spanish monarchy, and several philosophical works. On 15 May,

1626, he was released by the intervention of Pope Urban VIII. He

was obliged to fly from Rome to France, where he met Gassendi. He

also visited Descartes in Holland. Julian Hibbert remarked that

his Atheismus Triumphatus--Atheism Subdued, 1631, would be better

entitled Atheismus Triumphans--Atheism Triumphant--as the author puts

his strongest arguments on the heterodox side. In his City of the Sun,

Campanella follows Plato and More in depicting an ideal republic and a

time when a new era of earthly felicity should begin. Hallam says "The

strength of Campanella's genius lay in his imagination." His "Sonnets"

have been translated by J. A. Symonds. Died Paris, 21 May, 1639.

 

Campbell (Alexander), Socialist of Glasgow, b. about the beginning

of the century. He early became a Socialist, and was manager at

the experiment at Orbiston under Abram Combe, of whom he wrote

a memoir. Upon the death of Combe, 1827, he became a Socialist

missionary in England. He took an active part in the co-operative

movement, and in the agitation for an unstamped press, for which he

was tried and imprisoned at Edinburgh, 1833-4. About 1849 he returned

to Glasgow and wrote on the Sentinel. In 1867 he was presented with

a testimonial and purse of 90 sovereigns by admirers of his exertions

in the cause of progress. Died about 1873.

 

Campion (William), a shoemaker, who became one of R. Carlile's

shopmen; tried 8 June, 1824, for selling Paine's Age of Reason. After

a spirited defence he was found guilty and sentenced to three years'

imprisonment. In prison he edited, in conjunction with J. Clarke,

E. Hassell, and T. R. Perry, the Newgate Monthly Magazine, to which

he contributed some thoughtful papers, from Sept. 1824, to Aug. 1826,

when he was removed to the Compter.

 

Canestrini (Giovanni), Italian naturalist, b. Rerò, 1835. He studied

at Vienna, and in '60 was nominated Professor of Natural History at

Geneva. Signor Canestrini contributed to the Annuario Filosofico del

Libero Pensiero, and is known for his popularisation of the works

of Darwin, which he has translated into Italian. He has written

upon the Origin of Man, which has gone through two editions, Milan,

'66-'70, and on the Theory of Evolution, Turin, '77. He was appointed

Professor of Zoology, Anatomy and Comparative Physiology at Padua,

where he has published a Memoir of Charles Darwin, '82.

 

Cardano (Girolamo), better known as Jerome Cardan, Italian

mathematician, and physician, b. Pavia, 24 Sept. 1501. He studied

medicine, but was excluded from the Milan College of Physicians on

account of illegitimate birth. He and his young wife were at one time

compelled to take refuge in the workhouse. It is not strange that his

first work was an exposure of the fallacies of the faculty. A fortunate

cure brought him into notice and he journeyed to Scotland as the

medical adviser of the Archbishop of St. Andrews, 1551. In 1563 he was

arrested at Bologna for heresy, but was released, although deprived of

his professorship. He died at Rome, 20 Sept. 1576, having, it is said,

starved himself to verify his own prediction of his death. Despite

some superstition, Cardano did much to forward science, especially

by his work on Algebra, and in his works De Subtilitate Rerum and De

Varietate Rerum, amid much that is fanciful, perceived the universality

of natural law and the progressive evolution of life. Scaliger accused

him of Atheism. Pünjer says "Cardanus deserves to be named along with

Telesius as one of the principal founders of Natural Philosophy."

 

Carducci (Giosuè), Italian poet and Professor of Italian Literature at

the University of Bologna, b. Pietrasantra, in the province of Lucca,

27 July, 1836. As early as '49 he cried, Abasso tutti i re! viva la

republica--Down with all kings! Long live the republic! Sprung into

fame by his Hymn to Satan, '69, by which he intended the spirit of

resistance. He has written many poems and satires in which he exhibits

himself an ardent Freethinker and Republican. At the end of '57 he

wrote his famous verse "Il secoletto vil che cristianeggia"--"This

vile christianising century." In '60 he became professor of Greek

in Bologna University, being suspended for a short while in '67 for

an address to Mazzini. In '76 he was elected as republican deputy to

the Italian Parliament for Lugo di Romagna.

 

Carlile (Eliza Sharples), second wife of Richard Carlile, came from

Lancashire during the imprisonment of Carlile and Taylor, 1831,

delivered discourses at the Rotunda, and started a journal, the Isis,

which lasted from 11 Feb. to 15 Dec. 1832. The Isis was dedicated

to the young women of England "until superstition is extinct,"

and contained Frances Wright's discourses, in addition to those

by Mrs. Carlile, who survived till '61. Mr. Bradlaugh lodged with

Mrs. Carlile at the Warner Place Institute, in 1849. She had three

children, Hypatia, Theophila and Julian, of whom the second is

still living.

 

Carlile (Jane), first wife of R. Carlile, who carried on his business

during his imprisonment, was proceeded against, and sentenced to two

years' imprisonment, 1821. She had three children, Richard, Alfred,

and Thomas Paine Carlile, the last of whom edited the Regenerator,

a Chartist paper published at Manchester, 1839.

 

Carlile (Richard), foremost among the brave upholders of an English

free press, b. Ashburton, Devon, 8 Dec. 1790. He was apprenticed to a

tin-plate worker, and followed that business till he was twenty-six,

when, having read the works of Paine, he began selling works like

Wooler's Black Dwarf, which Government endeavored to suppress. Sherwin

offered him the dangerous post of publisher of the Republican, which

he accepted. He then published Southey's Wat Tyler, reprinted the

political works of Paine and the parodies for which Hone was tried, but

which cost Carlile eighteen weeks' imprisonment. In 1818 he published

Paine's Theological Works. The prosecution instituted induced him to

go on printing similar works, such as Palmer's Principles of Nature,

Watson Refuted, Jehovah Unveiled, etc. By Oct. 1819, he had six

indictments to answer, on two of which he was tried from 12 to 16

October. He read the whole of the Age of Reason in his defence, in

order to have it in the report of the trial. He was found guilty and

sentenced (16 Nov.) to fifteen hundred pounds fine and three years'

imprisonment in Dorchester Gaol. During his imprisonment his business

was kept on by a succession of shopmen. Refusing to find securities

not to publish, he was kept in prison till 18 Nov. 1835, when he

was liberated unconditionally. During his imprisonment he edited

the Republican, which extended to fourteen volumes. He also edited

the Deist, the Moralist, the Lion (four volumes), the Prompter (for

No. 3 of which he again suffered thirty-two months' imprisonment),

and the Gauntlet. Amongst his writings are An Address to Men of

Science, The Gospel according to R. Carlile, What is God? Every

Woman's Book, etc. He published Doubts of Infidels, Janus on Sion,

Sepher Toldoth Jeshu, D'Holbach's Good Sense, Volney's Ruins, and

many other Freethought works. He died 10 Feb. 1843, bequeathing his

body to Dr. Lawrence for scientific purposes.

 

Carlyle (Thomas), one of the most gifted and original writers of the

century, b. 4 Dec. 1795, at Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire, where his

father, a man of intellect and piety, held a small farm. Showing early

ability he was intended for the Kirk, and educated at the University

of Edinburgh. He, however, became a tutor, and occupied his leisure

in translating from the German. He married Jane Welsh 17 Oct. 1826,

and wrote in the London Magazine and Edinburgh Review many masterly

critical articles, notably on Voltaire, Diderot, Burns, and German

literature. In 1833-4 his Sartor Resartus appeared in Fraser's

Magazine. In '34 he removed to London and began writing the French

Revolution, the MS. of the first vol. of which he confided to Mill,

with whom it was accidentally burnt. He re-wrote the work without

complaint, and it was published in '37. He then delivered a course

of lectures on "German Literature" and on "Heroes, Hero-Worship, and

the Heroic in History," in which he treats Mahomet as the prophet

"we are freest to speak of." His Past and Present was published in

'43. In '45 appeared Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches. In

'50 he published Latter-Day Pamphlets, which contains his most

distinctive political and social doctrines, and in the following year

his Life of John Sterling, in which his heresy clearly appears. His

largest work is his History of the Life and Times of Frederick the

Great, in 10 vols. He was elected rector of Edinburgh University in

'65. Died 5 Feb. 1881. Mr. Froude, in his Biography of Carlyle, says,

"We have seen him confessing to Irving that he did not believe as his

friend did in the Christian religion." ... "the special miraculous

occurrences of sacred history were not credible to him."

 

Carneades, sceptical philosopher, b. Cyrene about B.C. 213. He went

early to Athens, and attended the lectures of the Stoics, learning

logic from Diogenes. In the year 155, he was chosen with other

deputies to go to Rome to deprecate a fine which had been placed on

the Athenians. During his stay at Rome he attracted great attention

by his philosophical orations. Carneades attacked the very idea of

a God at once infinite and an individual. He denied providence and

design. Many of his arguments are preserved in Cicero's Academics

and De Natura Deorum. Carneades left no written works; his views

seem to have been systematised by his follower Clitomachus. He died

B.C. 129. Carneades is described as a man of unwearied industry. His

ethics were of elevated character.

 

Carneri (Bartholomäus von), German writer, b. Trieste, 3

Nov. 1821. Educated at Vienna. In 1870 he sat in the Austrian

Parliament with the Liberals. Author of an able work on Morality and

Darwinism, Vienna, 1871. Has also written Der Mensch als Selbstweck,

"Humanity as its own proper object," 1877; Grundlegung der Ethik,

Foundation of Morals, 1881; and Ethical Essays on Evolution and

Happiness, Stuttgart, 1886.

 

Carra (Jean Louis), French man of letters and Republican, b. 1743 at

Pont de Veyle. He travelled in Germany, Italy, Turkey, Russia, and

Moldavia, where he became secretary to the hospodar. On returning to

France he became employed in the King's library and wrote a History

of Moldavia and an Essay on Aerial Navigation. He warmly espoused

the revolution and was one of the most ardent orators of the Jacobin

club. In the National Assembly he voted for the death of Louis XVI.,

but was executed with the Girondins, 31 Oct. 1793. His Freethought

sentiments are evident from his System of Reason, 1773; his Spirit

of Morality and Philosophy, 1777; New Principles of Physic, 1782-3,

and other works.

 

Carrel (Jean Baptiste Nicolas Armand), called by Saint Beuve "the

Junius of the French press," b. Rouen, 8 May, 1800. He became a

soldier, but, being a Republican, fought on behalf of the Spanish

revolution. Being taken prisoner, he was condemned to death, but

escaped through some informality. He became secretary to Thierry,

edited the works of P. L. Courier, and established the Nation in

conjunction with Thiers and Mignet. J. S. Mill writes of him in terms

of high praise. The leading journalist of his time, his slashing

articles led to several duels, and in an encounter with Emile de

Girardin (22 July, 1836) he was fatally wounded. On his death-bed,

says M. Littré, he said "Point de prêtres, point d'église"--no

priests nor church. Died 24 July, 1836. He wrote a History of the

Counter-Revolution in England, with an eye to events in his own

country.

 

Carus (Julius Viktor), German zoologist, b. Leipsic, 25 Aug. 1825. Has

been keeper of anatomical museum at Oxford, and has translated Darwin's

works and the philosophy of G. H. Lewes.

 

Carus (Karl Gustav), German physiologist and Pantheist, b. Leipsic,

3 Jan. 1789. He taught comparative anatomy at the university of that

town, and published a standard introduction to that subject. He also

wrote Psyche, a history of the development of the human soul, 1846,

and Nature and Idea, 1861. Died at Dresden, 28 July, 1869.

 

Castelar y Ripoll (Emilio), Spanish statesman, b. Cadiz,

8 Sept. 1832. He began as a journalist, and became known by his

novel Ernesto, 1855. As professor of history and philosophy, he

delivered lectures on "Civilisation during the first three centuries of

Christendom." La Formula del Progresso contains a sketch of democratic

principles. On the outbreak of the revolution of '68 he advocated

a Federal Republic in a magnificent oration. The Crown was however

offered to Amadeus of Savoy. "Glass, with care," was Castelar's verdict

on the new dynasty, and in Feb. '73 Castelar drew up a Republican

Constitution; and for a year was Dictator of Spain. Upon his retirement

to France he wrote a sketchy History of the Republican Movement in

Europe. In '76 he returned to Spain and took part in the Cortes,

where he has continued to advocate Republican views. His Old Rome and

New Italy, and Life of Lord Byron have been translated into English.

 

Castelli (David), Italian writer, b. Livorno, 30 Dec. 1836. Since

1873 he has held the chair of Hebrew in the Institute of Superior

Studies at Florence. He has translated the book of Ecclesiastes with

notes, and written rationalistic works on Talmudic Legends, 1869;

The Messiah According to the Hebrews, '74; the Bible Prophets, '82;

and The History of the Israelites, 1887.

 

Castilhon (Jean Louis), French man of letters, b. at Toulouse in

1720. He wrote in numerous publications, and edited the Journal of

Jurisprudence. His history of dogmas and philosophical opinions had

some celebrity, and he shows himself a Freethinker in his Essay

on Ancient and Modern Errors and Superstitions, Amsterdam, 1765;

his Philosophical Almanack, 1767; and his History of Philosophical

Opinions, 1769. Died 1793.

 

Cattell (Christopher Charles), writer in English Secular journals,

author of Search for the First Man; Against Christianity; The Religion

of this Life, etc.

 

Caumont (Georges), French writer of genius, b. about 1845. Suffering

from consumption, he wrote Judgment of a Dying Man upon Life,

and humorous and familiar Conversations of a Sick Person with the

Divinity. Died at Madeira, 1875.

 

Cavalcante (Guido), noble Italian poet and philosopher, b. Florence,

1230. A friend of Dante, and a leader of the Ghibbelin party. He

married a daughter of Farinata delgi Uberti. Bayle says, "it is said

his speculation has as their aim to prove there is no God. Dante places

his father in the hell of Epicureans, who denied the immortality of

the soul." Guido died in 1300. An edition of his poems was published

in 1813.

 

Cavallotti (Felice Carlo Emanuel), Italian poet and journalist,

b. Milan, 6 Nov. 1842, celebrated for his patriotic poems; is a

pronounced Atheist. He was elected member of the Italian parliament

in 1873.

 

Cayla (Jean Mamert), French man of letters and politician b. Vigan

(Lot) 1812. Became in '37 editor of the Emancipator of Toulouse,

a city of which he wrote the history. At Paris he wrote to the

Siècle, the République Française and other journals, and published

European Celebrities and numerous anti-clerical brochures, such as

The Clerical Conspiracy, '61; The Devil, his Grandeur and Decay,

'64; Hell Demolished, '65; Suppression of Religious Orders, '70;

and The History of the Mass,'74. He died 2 May, 1877.

 

Cazelles (Emile), French translator of Bentham's Influence of Natural

Religion, Paris, 1875. Has also translated Mill's Subjection of Women

and his Autobiography and Essays on Religion.

 

Cecco d'Ascoli, i.e., Stabili (Francesco degli), Italian poet,

b. Ascoli, 1257. He taught astrology and philosophy at Bologna. In

1324 he was arrested by the Inquisition for having spoken against the

faith, and was condemned to fine and penitence. He was again accused

at Florence, and was publicly burnt as an heretic 16 Sept. 1327. His

best known work is entitled Acerba, a sort of encyclopædia in rhyme.

 

Cellarius (Martin), Anabaptist, who deserves mention as the first

avowed Protestant Anti-trinitarian. He studied Oriental languages

with Reuchlin and Melancthon, but having discussed with Anabaptists

acknowledged himself converted, 1522, and afterwards gave up the deity

of Christ. He was imprisoned, and on his release went to Switzerland,

where he died 11 Oct. 1564.

 

Celsus, a Pagan philosopher, who lived in the second century. He was

a friend of Lucian, who dedicated to him his treatise on the False

Prophet. He wrote an attack on Christianity, called The True Word. The

work was destroyed by the early Christians. The passages given by

his opponent, Origen, suffice to show that he was a man of high

attainments, well acquainted with the religion he attacked, and that

his power of logic and irony was most damaging to the Christian faith.

 

Cerutti (Giuseppe Antonio Gioachino), poet, converted Jesuit,

b. Turin, 13 June, 1738. He became a Jesuit, and wrote a defence of

the Society. He afterwards became a friend of Mirabeau, adopted the

principles of 1789, wrote in defence of the Revolution, and wrote

and published a Philosophical Breviary, or history of Judaism,

Christianity, and Deism, which he attributed to Frederick of

Prussia. His opinions may also be gathered from his poem, Les Jardins

de Betz, 1792. Died Paris, 3 Feb. 1792.

 

Chaho (J. Augustin), Basque man of letters, b. Tardets,

Basses-Pyrénées, 10 Oct. 1811. His principal works are a Philosophy of

Comparative Religion, and a Basque dictionary. At Bayonne he edited

the Ariel. In 1852 this was suppressed and he was exiled. Died 23

Oct. 1858.

 

Chaloner (Thomas), M.P., Regicide, b. Steeple Claydon, Bucks,

1595. Educated at Oxford, he became member for Richmond (Yorks),

1645. Was a witness against Archbishop Laud, and one of King Charles's

Judges. In 1651 he was made Councillor of State. Wood says he "was as

far from being a Puritan as the east is from the west," and that he

"was of the natural religion." He wrote a pretended True and Exact

Relation of the Finding of Moses His Tomb, 1657, being a satire

directed against the Presbyterians. Upon the Restoration he fled to

the Low Countries, and died at Middelburg, Zeeland, in 1661.

 

Chambers (Ephraim), originator of the Cyclopædia of Arts and Sciences,

b. Kendal about 1680. The first edition of his work appeared in 1728,

and procured him admission to the Royal Society. A French translation

gave rise to Diderot and D'Alembert's Encyclopédie. Chambers also

edited the Literary Magazine, 1836, etc. His infidel opinions were

well known, and the Cyclopædia was placed upon the Index, but he was

buried in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey. Died 15 May, 1740.

 

Chamfort (Sébastien Roch Nicolas), French man of letters, b. in

Auvergne, near Clermont, 1741. He knew no parent but his mother,

a peasant girl, to supply whose wants he often denied himself

necessaries. At Paris he gained a prize from the Academy for his

eulogy on Molière. About 1776 he published a Dramatic Dictionary

and wrote several plays. In 1781 he obtained a seat in the Academy,

being patronised by Mme. Helvetius. He became a friend of Mirabeau,

who called him une tête électrique. In 1790 he commenced a work called

Pictures of the Revolution. In the following year he became secretary

of the Jacobin Club and National Librarian. Arrested by Robespierre,

he desperately, but vainly, endeavored to commit suicide. He died 13

April, 1794, leaving behind numerous works and a collection of Maxims,

Thoughts, Characters, and Anecdotes, which show profound genius and

knowledge of human nature.

 

Chapman (John), M.R.C.S., b. 1839. Has written largely in the

Westminster Review, of which he is proprietor.

 

Chappellsmith (Margaret), née Reynolds, b. Aldgate, 22 Feb. 1806. Early

in life she read the writings of Cobbett. In '36 she began writing

political articles in the Dispatch, and afterwards became a Socialist

and Freethought lecturess. She married John Chappellsmith in '39,

and in '42 she began business as a bookseller. In '37 she expressed

a preference for the development theory before that of creation. In

'50 they emigrated to the United States, where Mrs. Chappellsmith

contributed many articles to the Boston Investigator.

 

Charles (Rudolf). See Giessenburg.

 

Charma (Antoine), French philosopher, b. 15 Jan. 1801. In '30 he was

nominated to the Chair of Philosophy at Caen. He was denounced for

his impiety by the Count de Montalembert in the Chamber of peers,

and an endeavor was made to unseat him. He wrote many philosophical

works, and an account of Didron's Histoire de Dieu. Died 5 Aug. 1869.

 

Charron (Pierre), French priest and sceptic, b. Paris, 1513. He was

an intimate friend of Montaigne. His principal work is a Treatise on

Wisdom, 1601, which was censured as irreligious by the Jesuits. Franck

says "the scepticism of Charron inclines visibly to 'sensualisme'

and even to materialism." Died Paris, 16 Nov. 1603.

 

Chasseboeuf de Volney (Constantin François). See Volney.

 

Chastelet du or Chatelet Lomont (Gabrielle Emilie le Tonnelier de

Breteuil), Marquise, French savante, b. Paris, 17 Dec 1706. She was

learned in mathematics and other sciences, and in Latin, English

and Italian. In 1740 she published a work on physical philosophy

entitled Institutions de Physique. She afterwards made a good French

translation of Newton's Principia. She lived some years with Voltaire

at Cirey between 1735 and 1747, and addressed to him Doubts on Revealed

Religions, published in 1792. She also wrote a Treatise on Happiness,

which was praised by Condorcet.

 

Chastellux (François Jean de), Marquis. A soldier, traveller and

writer, b. Paris 1734. Wrote On Public Happiness (2 vols., Amst. 1776),

a work Voltaire esteemed highly. He contributed to the Encyclopédie;

one article on "Happiness," being suppressed by the censor because

it did not mention God. Died Paris, 28 Oct. 1788.

 

Chatterton (Thomas), the marvellous boy poet, b. Bristol, 20 Nov,

1752. His poems, which he pretended were written by one Thomas Rowley

in the fourteenth century and discovered by him in an old chest in

Redcliffe Church, attracted much attention. In 1769 he visited London

in hopes of rising by his talents, but after a bitter experience of

writing for the magazines, destroyed himself in a fit of despair 25

Aug. 1770. Several of his poems betray deistic opinions.

 

Chaucer (Geoffrey), the morning star of English poetry and first

English Humanist, b. London about 1340. In 1357 he was attached to

the household of Lionel, third son of Edward III. He accompanied the

expedition to France 1359-60, was captured by the French, and ransomed

by the king. He was patronised by John of Gaunt, and some foreign

missions were entrusted to him, one of them being to Italy, where he

met Petrarch. All his writings show the influence of the Renaissance,

and in his Canterbury Pilgrims he boldly attacks the vices of the

ecclesiastics. Died 25 Oct. 1400, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

 

Chaumette (Pierre Gaspard), afterwards Anaxagoras, French

revolutionary, b. Nevers, 24 May, 1763. The son of a shoemaker, he was

in turn cabin boy, steersman, and attorney's clerk. In early youth he

received lessons in botany from Rousseau. He embraced the revolution

with ardor, was the first to assume the tri-color cockade, became

popular orator at the club of the Cordeliers, and was associated with

Proudhomme in the journal Les Revolutions de Paris. Nominated member

of the Commune 10 Aug. 1792, he took the name of Anaxagoras to show

his little regard for his baptismal saints. He was elected Procureur

Syndic, in which capacity he displayed great activity. He abolished

the rod in schools, suppressed lotteries, instituted workshops for

fallen women, established the first lying-in-hospital, had books

sent to the hospitals, separated the insane from the sick, founded

the Conservatory of Music, opened the public libraries every day

(under the ancien régime they were only open two hours per week),

replaced books of superstition by works of morality and reason, put

a graduated tax on the rich to provide for the burial of the poor,

and was the principal mover in the feasts of Reason and closing of

the churches. He was accused by Robespierre of conspiring with Cloots

"to efface all idea of the Deity," and was guillotined 13 April, 1794.

 

Chaussard (Pierre Jean Baptiste), French man of letters, b. Paris,

8 Oct. 1766. At the Revolution he took the name of Publicola, and

published patriotic odes, Esprit de Mirabeau, and other works. He was

preacher to the Theophilanthropists, and became professor of belles

lettres at Orleans. Died 9 Jan. 1823.

 

Chemin-Dupontes (Jean Baptiste), b. 1761. One of the founders of

French Theophilanthropy; published many writings, the best known of

which is entitled What is Theophilanthropy?

 

Chenier (Marie André de), French poet, b. Constantinople, 29

Oct. 1762. His mother, a Greek, inspired him with a love for ancient

Greek literature. Sent to college at Paris, he soon manifested his

genius by writing eclogues and elegies of antique simplicity and

sensibility. In 1787 he came to England as Secretary of Legation. He

took part in the legal defence of Louis XVI., eulogised Charlotte

Corday, and gave further offence by some letters in the Journal de

Paris. He was committed to prison, and here met his ideal in the

Comtesse de Coigny. Confined in the same prison, to her he addressed

the touching verses, The Young Captive (La jeune Captive). He was

executed 25 July, 1794, leaving behind, among other poems, an imitation

of Lucretius, entitled Hermes, which warrants the affirmation of de

Chênedolle, that "André Chénier était athée avec délices."

 

Chenier (Marie Joseph de), French poet and miscellaneous writer,

brother of the preceding, b. Constantinople, 28 Aug. 1764. He served

two years in the army, and then applied himself to literature. His

first successful drama, "Charles IX.," was produced in 1789, and was

followed by others. He wrote many patriotic songs, and was made member

of the Convention. He was a Voltairean, and in his Nouveaux Saints

(1801) satirised those who returned to the old faith. He wrote many

poems and an account of French literature. Died Paris, 10 Jan. 1811.

 

Chernuishevsky or Tchernycheiosky (Nikolai Gerasimovich),

Russian Nihilist, b. Saratof, 1829. Educated at the University of

St. Petersburg, translated Mill's Political Economy, and wrote on

Superstition and the Principles of Logic, '59. His bold romance,

What is to be Done? was published '63. In the following year he was

sentenced to the Siberian mines, where, after heartrending cruelties,

he has become insane.

 

Chesneau Du Marsais (César). See Dumarsais.

 

Chevalier (Joseph Philippe), French chemist, b. Saint Pol, 21 March,

1806, is the author of an able book on "The Soul from the standpoint

of Reason and Science," Paris, '61. He died at Amiens in 1865.

 

Chies y Gomez (Ramon), Spanish Freethinker, b. Medina de Pomar,

Burgos, 13 Oct. 1845. His father, a distinguished Republican,

educated him without religion. In '65 Chies went to Madrid, and

followed a course of law and philosophy at the University, and soon

after wrote for a Madrid paper La Discusion. He took an active part

in the Revolution of '65, and at the proclamation of the Republic,

'73, became civil governor of Valencia. In '81 he founded a newspaper

El Voto Nacional, and since '83 has edited Las Dominicales del Libre

Pensamiento, which he also founded. Ramon Chies is one of the foremost

Freethought champions in Spain and lectures as well as writes.

 

Child (Lydia Maria) née Francis, American authoress, b. Medford, Mass.,

11 Feb. 1802. She early commenced writing, publishing Hobomok, a Tale

of Early Times, in '21. From '25 she kept a private school in Watertown

until '28, when she married David Lee Child, a Boston lawyer. She, with

him, edited the Anti-Slavery Standard, '41, etc., and by her numerous

writings did much to form the opinion which ultimately prevailed. She

was, however, long subjected to public odium, her heterodoxy being well

known. Her principal work is The Progress of Religious Ideas, 3 vols.;

'55. Died Wayland, Mass., 20 Oct. 1880. She was highly eulogised by

Wendell Phillips.

 

Chilton (William), of Bristol, was born in 1815. In early life he was

a bricklayer, but in '41 he was concerned with Charles Southwell in

starting the Oracle of Reason, which he set up in type, and of which

he became one of the editors. He contributed some thoughtful articles

on the Theory of Development to the Library of Reason, and wrote in

the Movement and the Reasoner. Died at Bristol, 28 May, 1855.

 

Chubb (Thomas), English Deist, b. East Harnham, near Salisbury, 29

Sept. 1679, was one of the first to show Rationalism among the common

people. Beginning by contending for the Supremacy of the Father, he

gradually relinquished supernatural religion, and considered that Jesus

Christ was of the religion of Thomas Chubb. Died 8 Feb. 1747, leaving

behind two vols. which he calls A Farewell to his Readers, from which

it appears that he rejected both revelation and special providence.

 

Church (Henry Tyrell), lecturer and writer, edited Tallis's

Shakespeare, wrote Woman and her Failings, 1858, and contributed to

the Investigator when edited by Mr. Bradlaugh. Died 19 July, 1859.

 

Clapiers (Luc de). See Vauvenargues.

 

Claretie (Jules Armand Arsène), French writer, b. Limoges, 3

Dec. 1840. A prolific writer, of whose works we only cite Free Speech,

'68; his biographies of contemporary celebrities; and his work Camille

Desmoulins, '75.

 

Clarke (John), brought up in the Methodist connection, changed his

opinion by studying the Bible, and became one of Carlile's shopmen. He

was tried 10 June, 1824, for selling a blasphemous libel in number 17,

vol. ix., of The Republican, and after a spirited defence, in which

he read many of the worst passages in the Bible, was sentenced to

three years' imprisonment, and to find securities for good behavior

during life. He wrote while in prison, A Critical Review of the Life,

Character, and Miracles of Jesus, a work showing with some bitterness

much bold criticism and Biblical knowledge. It first appeared in the

Newgate Magazine and was afterwards published in book form, 1825 and

'39.

 

Clarke (Marcus), Australian writer, b. Kensington, 1847. Went to

Victoria, '63; joined the staff of Melbourne Argus. In '76 was made

assistant librarian of the Public Library. He has compiled a history of

Australia, and written The Peripatetic Philosopher (a series of clever

sketches), His Natural Life (a powerful novel), and some poems. An able

Freethought paper, "Civilisation without Delusion," in the Victoria

Review, Nov. '79, was replied to by Bishop Moorhouse. The reply, with

Clarke's answer, which was suppressed, was published in '80. Died 1884.

 

Claude-Constant, author of a Freethinkers' Catechism published at

Paris in 1875.

 

Clavel (Adolphe), French Positivist and physician, b. Grenoble,

1815. He has written on the Principles of 1789, on those of the

nineteenth century, on Positive Morality, and some educational works.

 

Clavel (F. T. B.), French author of a Picturesque History of

Freemasonry, and also a Picturesque History of Religions, 1844,

in which Christianity takes a subordinate place.

 

Clayton (Robert), successively Bishop of Killala, Cork, and Clogher,

b. Dublin, 1695. By his benevolence attracted the friendship of

Samuel Clarke, and adopted Arianism, which he maintained in several

publications. In 1756 he proposed, in the Irish House of Lords, the

omission of the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds from the Liturgy, and

stated that he then felt more relieved in his mind than for twenty

years before. A legal prosecution was instituted, but he died, it

is said, from nervous agitation (26 Feb. 1758) before the matter

was decided.

 

Cleave (John), bookseller, and one of the pioneers of a cheap

political press. Started the London Satirist, and Cleave's Penny

Gazette of Variety, Oct. 14, 1837, to Jan. 20, '44. He published

many Chartist and Socialistic works, and an abridgment of Howitt's

History of Priestcraft. In May, '40, he was sentenced to four months'

imprisonment for selling Haslam's Letters to the Clergy.

 

Clemenceau (Georges Benjamin Eugene), French politician,

b. Moulleron-en-Pareds, 28 Sept. 1841. Educated at Nantes and Paris,

he took his doctor's degree in '65. His activity as Republican

ensured him a taste of gaol. He visited the United States and acted

as correspondent on the Temps. He returned at the time of the war

and was elected deputy to the Assembly. In Jan. 1880 he founded La

Justice, having as collaborateurs M. C. Pelletan, Prof. Acollas and

Dr. C. Letourneau. As one of the chiefs of the Radical party he was

largely instrumental in getting M. Carnot elected President.

 

Clemetshaw (C.), French writer, using the name Cilwa. B. 14 Sept. 1864

of English parents; has contributed to many journals, was delegate to

the International Congress, London, of '87, and is editor of Le Danton.

 

Clemens (Samuel Langhorne), American humorist, better known as

"Mark Twain," b. Florida, Missouri, 30 Nov. 1835. In '55 he served

as Mississippi pilot, and takes his pen name from the phrase used

in sounding. In Innocents Abroad, or the New Pilgrim's Progress,

'69, by which he made his name, there is much jesting with "sacred"

subjects. Mr. Clemens is an Agnostic.

 

Clifford (Martin), English Rationalist. Was Master of the Charterhouse,

1671, and published anonymously a treatise of Human Reason, London,

'74, which was reprinted in the following year with the author's

name. A short while after its publication Laney, Bishop of Ely, was

dining in Charterhouse and remarked, not knowing the author, "'twas no

matter if all the copies were burnt and the author with them, because

it made every man's private fancy judge of religion." Clifford died 10

Dec. 1677. In the Nouvelle Biographie Générale Clifford is amusingly

described as an "English theologian of the order des Chartreux," who,

it is added, was "prior of his order."

 

Clifford (William Kingdon), mathematician, philosopher, and moralist,

of rare originality and boldness, b. Exeter 4 May, 1845. At the age

of fifteen he was sent to King's College, London, where he showed an

early genius for mathematics, publishing the Analogues of Pascal's

Theorem at the age of eighteen. Entered Trinity College, Cambridge,

in '63. In '67 he was second wrangler. Elected fellow of his college,

he remained at Cambridge till 1870, when he accompanied the eclipse

expedition to the Mediterranean. The next year he was appointed

Professor of mathematics at London University, a post he held till

his death. He was chosen F.R.S. '74. Married Miss Lucy Lane in April,

'75. In the following year symptoms of consumption appeared, and he

visited Algeria and Spain. He resumed work, but in '79 took a voyage to

Madeira, where he died 3 March. Not long before his death appeared the

first volume of his great mathematical work, Elements of Dynamic. Since

his death have been published The Common Sense of the Exact Sciences,

and Lectures and Essays, in two volumes, edited by Leslie Stephen and

Mr. F. Pollock. These volumes include his most striking Freethought

lectures and contributions to the Fortnightly and other reviews. He

intended to form them into a volume on The Creed of Science. Clifford

was an outspoken Atheist, and he wrote of Christianity as a religion

which wrecked one civilisation and very nearly wrecked another.

 

Cloots or Clootz (Johann Baptist, afterwards Anacharsis) Baron du Val

de Grâce, Prussian enthusiast, b. near Cleves, 24 June, 1755, was a

nephew of Cornelius de Pauw. In 1780 he published the The Certainty

of the Proofs of Mohammedanism, under the pseudonym of Ali-gier-ber,

an anagram of Bergier, whose Certainty of the Proofs of Christianity

he parodies. He travelled widely, but became a resident of Paris

and a warm partisan of the Revolution, to which he devoted his large

fortune. He wrote a reply to Burke, and continually wrote and spoke

in favor of a Universal Republic. On 19 June, 1790, he, at the head

of men of all countries, asked a place at the feast of Federation,

and henceforward was styled "orator of the human race." He was, with

Paine, Priestley, Washington and Klopstock, made a French citizen,

and in 1792 was elected to the Convention by two departments. He

debaptised himself, taking the name Anacharsis, was a prime mover

in the Anti-Catholic party, and induced Bishop Gobel to resign. He

declared there was no other God but Nature. Incurring the enmity of

Robespierre, he and Paine were arrested as foreigners. After two

and a half months' imprisonment at St. Lazare, he was brought to

the scaffold with the Hébertistes, 24 March, 1794. He died calmly,

uttering materialist sentiments to the last.

 

Clough (Arthur Hugh), poet, b. Liverpool, 1 Jan. 1819. He was

educated at Rugby, under Dr. Arnold, and at Oxford, where he showed

himself of the Broad School. Leslie Stephen says, "He never became

bitter against the Church of his childhood, but he came to regard its

dogmas as imperfect and untenable." In '48 he visited Paris, and the

same year produced his Bothie of Toper-na-Fuosich: a Long-Vacation

Pastoral. Between '49 and '52 he was professor of English literature

in London University. In '52 he visited the United States, where

he gained the friendship of Emerson and Longfellow, and revised

the Dryden translation of Plutarch's Lives. Died at Florence, 13

Nov. 1861. His Remains are published in two volumes, and include

an essay on Religious Tradition and some notable poems. He is the

Thyrsis of Matthew Arnold's exquisite Monody.

 

Cnuzius (Matthias). See Knutzen.

 

Coke (Henry), author of Creeds of the Day, or collated opinions of

reputable thinkers, in 2 vols, London, 1883.

 

Cole (Peter), a tanner of Ipswich, was burnt for blasphemy in the

castle ditch, Norwich, 1587. A Dr. Beamond preached to him before the

mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen, "but he would not recant." See Hamont.

 

Colenso (John William), b. 24 Jan. 1814. Was educated at St. John's,

Cambridge, and became a master at Harrow. After acquiring fame by his

valuable Treatise on Algebra, '49, he became first Bishop of Natal,

'54. Besides other works, he published The Pentateuch and Book of

Joshua Critically Examined, 1862-79, which made a great stir, and

was condemned by both Houses of Convocation and its author declared

deposed. The Privy Council, March '65, declared this deposition

"null and void in law." Colenso pleaded the cause of the natives at

the time of the Zulu War. He died 20 June, 1883.

 

Colins (Jean Guillaume César Alexandre Hippolyte) Baron de,

Belgian Socialist and founder of "Collectivism," b. Brussels, 24

Dec. 1783. Author of nineteen volumes on Social Science. He denied

alike Monotheism and Pantheism, but taught the natural immortality of

the soul. Died at Paris, 12 Nov. 1859. A number of disciples propagate

his opinions in the Philosophie de l'Avenir.

 

Collins (Anthony), English Deist, b. Heston, Middlesex, 21 June,

1676. He studied at Cambridge and afterwards at the Temple, and

became Justice of the Peace and Treasurer of the County of Essex. He

was an intimate friend of Locke, who highly esteemed him and made

him his executor. He wrote an Essay on Reason, 1707; Priestcraft

in Perfection, 1710; a Vindication of the Divine Attributes, and a

Discourse on Freethinking, 1713. This last occasioned a great outcry,

as it argued that all belief must be based on free inquiry, and

that the use of reason would involve the abandonment of supernatural

revelation. In 1719 he published An Inquiry Concerning Human Liberty,

a brief, pithy defence of necessitarianism, and in 1729 A Discourse

on Liberty and Necessity. In 1724 appeared his Discourse on the

Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion, and this was followed

by The Scheme of Literal Prophecy Considered, 1726. He was a skilful

disputant, and wrote with great ability. He is also credited with A

Discourse Concerning Ridicule and Irony in Writing. Died at London,

13 Dec. 1729. Collins, says Mr. Leslie Stephen, "appears to have been

an amiable and upright man, and to have made all readers welcome to

the use of a free library." Professor Fraser calls him "a remarkable

man," praises his "love of truth and moral courage," and allows that in

answering Dr. Samuel Clarke on the question of liberty and necessity

he "states the arguments against human freedom with a logical force

unsurpassed by any necessitarian." A similar testimony to Collins as

a thinker and dialectician is borne by Professor Huxley.

 

Colman (Lucy N.), American reformer, b. 26 July, 1817, has spent

most of her life advocating the abolition of slavery, women's rights,

and Freethought. She has lectured widely, written Reminisences in the

Life of a Reformer of Fifty Years, and contributed to the Truthseeker

and Boston Investigator.

 

Colotes, of Lampsacus, a hearer and disciple of Epicurus, with whom he

was a favorite. He wrote a work in favor of his master's teachings. He

held it was unworthy of a philosopher to use fables.

 

Combe (Abram), one of a noted Scotch family of seventeen, b. Edinburgh,

15 Jan. 1785. He traded as a tanner, but, becoming acquainted with

Robert Owen, founded a community at Orbiston upon the principle of

Owen's New Lanark, devoting nearly the whole of his large fortune

to the scheme. But his health gave way and he died 11 Aug. 1827. He

wrote Metaphysical Sketches of the Old and New Systems and other

works advocating Owenism.

 

Combe (Andrew), physician, brother of the above, b. Edinburgh,

27 Oct. 1797; studied there and in Paris; aided his brother George

in founding the Phrenological Society; wrote popular works on the

Principles of Physiology and the Management of Infancy. Died near

Edinburgh, 9 Aug. 1847.

 

Combe (George), phrenologist and educationalist, b. Edinburgh,

21 Oct. 1788. He was educated for the law. Became acquainted with

Spurzheim, and published Essays on Phrenology, 1819, and founded the

Phrenological Journal. In '28 he published the Constitution of Man,

which excited great controversy especially for removing the chimeras of

special providence and efficacy of prayer. In '33 he married a daughter

of Mrs. Siddons. He visited the United States and lectured on Moral

Philosophy and Secular Education. His last work was The Relations

between Science and Religion, '57, in which he continued to uphold

Secular Theism. He also published many lectures and essays. Among his

friends were Miss Evans (George Eliot), who spent a fortnight with him

in '52. He did more than any man of his time, save Robert Owen, for the

cause of Secular education. Died at Moor Park, Surrey, 14 Aug. 1858.

 

Combes (Paul), French writer, b. Paris, 13 June, 1856. Has written

on Darwinism, '83, and other works popularising science.

 

Commazzi (Gian-Battista), Count author of Politica e religione trovate

insieme nella persona di Giesù Cristo, Nicopoli [Vienna] 4 vols.,

1706-7, in which he makes Jesus to be a political impostor. It was

rigorously confiscated at Rome and Vienna.

 

Comparetti (Domenico), Italian philologist, b. Rome in 1835. Signor

Comparetti is Professor at the Institute of Superior Studies, Rome,

and has written many works on the classic writers, in which he evinces

his Pagan partialities.

 

Comte (Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier), French philosopher,

mathematician and reformer, b. at Montpelier, 12 Jan. 1798. Educated at

Paris in the Polytechnic School, where he distinguished himself by his

mathematical talent. In 1817 he made the acquaintance of St. Simon,

agreeing with him as to the necessity of a Social renovation based

upon a mental revolution. On the death of St. Simon ('25) Comte

devoted himself to the elaboration of an original system of scientific

thought, which, in the opinion of some able judges, entitles him to

be called the Bacon of the nineteenth century. Mill speaks of him as

the superior of Descartes and Leibniz. In '25 he married, but the

union proved unhappy. In the following year he lectured, but broke

down under an attack of brain fever, which occasioned his detention

in an asylum. He speedily recovered, and in '28 resumed his lectures,

which were attended by men like Humboldt, Ducrotay, Broussais, Carnot,

etc. In '30 he put forward the first volumes of his Course of Positive

Philosophy, which in '42 was completed by the publication of the sixth

volume. A condensed English version of this work was made by Harriet

Martineau, '53. In '45 Comte formed a passionate Platonic attachement

to Mme. Clotilde de Vaux, who died in the following year, having

profoundely influenced Comte's life. In consequence of his opinions,

he lost his professorship, and was supported by his disciples--Mill,

Molesworth and Grote, in England, assisting. Among other works, Comte

published A General View of Positivism, '48, translated by Dr. Bridges,

'65; A System of Positive Polity, '51, translated by Drs. Bridges,

Beesley, F. Harrison, etc., '75-79; and A Positive Catechism, '54,

translated by Dr. Congreve, '58. He also wrote on Positive Logic,

which he intended to follow with Positive Morality and Positive

Industrialism. Comte was a profound and suggestive thinker. He

resolutely sets aside all theology and metaphysics, coordinates

the sciences and substitutes the service of man for the worship of

God. Mr. J. Cotter Morison says "He belonged to that small class

of rare minds, whose errors are often more valuable and stimulating

than other men's truths." He died of cancer in the stomach at Paris,

5 Sept. 1857.

 

Condillac (Etienne Bonnot de), French philosopher, b. Grenoble,

about 1715. His life was very retired, but his works show much

acuteness. They are in 23 vols., the principal being A Treatise on the

Sensations, 1764; A Treatise on Animals, and An Essay on the Origin

of Human Knowledge. In the first-named he shows that all mental life

is gradually built up out of simple sensations. Died 3 Aug. 1780.

 

Condorcet (Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat, Marquis de),

French philosopher and politician, b. Ribemont, Picardy, 17

Sept. 1743. Dedicated to the Virgin by a pious mother, he was kept

in girl's clothes until the age of 11. Sent to a Jesuit's school,

he soon gave up religion. At sixteen he maintained a mathematical

thesis in the presence of Alembert. In the next year he dedicated

to Turgot a Profession of Faith. After some mathematical works, he

was made member of the Academy, of which he was appointed perpetual

secretary, 1773. In 1776 he published his atheistic Letters of a

Theologian. He also wrote biographies of Turgot and Voltaire, and

in favor of American independence and against negro slavery. In

1791 he represented Paris in the National Assembly, of which he

became Secretary. It was on his motion that, in the following year,

all orders of nobility were abolished. Voting against the death of

the king and siding with the Gironde drew on him the vengeance of

the extreme party. He took shelter with Madame Vernet, but fearing to

bring into trouble her and his wife, at whose instigation he wrote his

fine Sketch of the Progress of the Human Mind while in hiding, he left,

but, being arrested, died of exhaustion or by poison self-administered,

at Bourg la Reine, 27 March, 1794.

 

Condorcet (Sophie de Grouchy Caritat, Marquise de), wife of above,

and sister of General Grouchy and of Mme. Cabanis, b. 1765. She

married Condorcet 1786, and was considered one of the most beautiful

women of her time. She shared her husband's sentiments and opinions

and, while he was proscribed, supported herself by portrait

painting. She was arrested, and only came out of prison after the

fall of Robespierre. She translated Adam Smith's Theory of the Moral

Sentiments, which she accompanied with eight letters on Sympathy,

addressed to Cabanis. She died 8 Sept. 1822. Her only daughter married

Gen. Arthur O'Connor.

 

Confucius (Kung Kew) or Kung-foo-tsze, the philosopher Kung, a

Chinese sage, b. in the State of Loo, now part of Shantung, about

B.C. 551. He was distinguished by filial piety and learning. In his

nineteenth year he married, and three years after began as a teacher,

rejecting none who came to him. He travelled through many states. When

past middle age he was appointed chief minister of Loo, but finding

the Duke desired the renown of his name without adopting his counsel,

he retired, and devoted his old age to editing the sacred classics

of China. He died about B.C. 478. His teaching, chiefly found in the

Lun-Yu, or Confucian Analects, was of a practical moral character,

and did not include any religious dogmas.

 

Congreve (Richard), English Positivist, born in 1819. Educated at

Rugby under T. Arnold, and Oxford 1840, M.A. 1843; was fellow of

Wadham College 1844-54. In '55 he published his edition of Aristotle

Politics. He became a follower of Comte and influenced many to embrace

Positivism. Translated Comte's Catechism of Positive Philosophy, 1858,

and has written many brochures. Dr. Congreve is considered the head

of the strict or English Comtists, and has long conducted a small

"Church of Humanity."

 

Connor (Bernard), a physician, b. Co. Kerry, of Catholic family,

1666. He travelled widely, and was made court physician to John

Sobieski, King of Poland. He wrote a work entitled Evangelium Medici

(1697), in which he attempts to account for the Christian miracles

on natural principles. For this he was accused of Atheism. He died

in London 27 Oct. 1698.

 

Constant de Rebecque (Henri Benjamin), Swiss writer, b. Lausanne,

25 Oct. 1767, and educated at Oxford, Erlangen and Edinburgh. In

1795 he entered Paris as a protégé of Mme. de Stael, and in 1799

became a member of the Tribunal. He opposed Buonaparte and wrote

on Roman Polytheism and an important work on Religion Considered in

its Source, its Forms and its Developments (6 vols.; 1824-32). Died

8 Dec. 1830. Constant professed Protestantism, but was at heart a

sceptic, and has been called a second Voltaire. A son was executor

to Auguste Comte.

 

Conta (Basil), Roumanian philosopher, b. Neamtza 27 Nov. 1845. Studied

in Italy and Belgium, and became professor in the University of Jassy,

Moldavia. In '77 he published in Brussels, in French, a theory of

fatalism, which created some stir by its boldness of thought.

 

Conway (Moncure Daniel), author, b. in Fredericksburg, Stafford

co. Virginia, 17 March, 1832. He entered the Methodist ministry '50,

but changing his convictions through the influence of Emerson and

Hicksite Quakers, entered the divinity school at Cambridge, where

he graduated in '54 and became pastor of a Unitarian church until

dismissed for his anti-slavery discourses. In '57 he preached in

Cincinnati and there published The Natural History of the Devil, and

other pamphlets. In '63 Mr. Conway came to England and was minister

of South Place from the close of '63 until his return to the States

in '84. Mr. Conway is a frequent contributor to the press. He has

also published The Earthward Pilgrimage, 1870, a theory reversing

Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress; collected a Sacred Anthology from the

various sacred books of the world 1873, which he used in his pulpit;

has written on Human Sacrifices, 1876, and Idols and Ideals, 1877. His

principal work is Demonology and Devil Lore, 1878, containing much

information on mythology. He also issued his sermons under the title of

Lessons for the Day, two vols., 1883, and has published a monograph on

the Wandering Jew, a biography of Emerson, and is at present engaged

on a life of Thomas Paine.

 

Cook (Kenningale Robert), LL.D., b. in Lancashire 26 Sept. 1845, son

of the vicar of Stallbridge. When a boy he used to puzzle his mother

by such questions as, "If God was omnipotent could he make what had

happened not have happened." He was intended for the Church, but

declined to subscribe the articles. Graduated at Dublin in '66, and

took LL.D. in '75. In '77 he became editor of the Dublin University

Magazine, in which appeared some studies of the lineage of Christian

doctrine and traditions afterwards published under the title of The

Fathers of Jesus. Dr. Cook wrote several volumes of choice poems. Died

July, 1886.

 

Cooper (Anthony Ashley), see Shaftesbury.

 

Cooper (Henry), barrister, b. Norwich about 1784. He was a schoolfellow

of Wm. Taylor of Norwich. He served as midshipman at the battle of the

Nile, but disliking the service became a barrister, and acquired some

fame by his spirited defence of Mary Ann Carlile, 21 July, 1821, for

which the report of the trial was dedicated to him by R. Carlile. He

was a friend of Lord Erskine, whose biography he commenced. Died 19

Sept. 1824.

 

Cooper (John Gilbert), poet, b. Thurgaton Priory, Notts, 1723. Educated

at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. An enthusiastic

disciple of Lord Shaftesbury. Under the name of "Philaretes" he

contributed to Dodsley's Museum. In 1749 he published a Life of

Socrates, for which he was coarsely attacked by Warburton. He wrote

some poems under the signature of Aristippus. Died Mayfair, London,

14 April, 1769.

 

Cooper (Peter), a benevolent manufacturer, b. N. York, 12 Feb. 1791. He

devoted over half a million dollars to the Cooper Institute, for

the secular instruction and elevation of the working classes. Died

4 April, 1883.

 

Cooper (Robert), Secularist writer and lecturer, b. 29 Dec. 1819,

at Barton-on-Irwell, near Manchester. He had the advantage of being

brought up in a Freethought family. At fourteen he became teacher

in the Co-operative Schools, Salford, lectured at fifteen, and

by seventeen became an acknowledged advocate of Owenism, holding a

public discussion with the Rev. J. Bromley. Some of his lectures were

published--one on Original Sin sold twelve thousand copies--when he was

scarcely eighteen. The Holy Scriptures Analysed (1832) was denounced

by the Bishop of Exeter in the House of Lords. Cooper was dismissed

from a situation he had held ten years, and in 1841 became a Socialist

missionary in the North of England and Scotland. At Edinburgh (1845)

he wrote Free Agency and Orthodoxy, and compiled the Infidel's Text

Book. About '50 he came to London, lecturing with success at John

Street Institution. In '54 he started the London Investigator, which

he edited for three years. In it appears his lectures on "Science

v. Theology," "Admissions of Distinguished Men," etc. Failing health

obliged him to retire leaving the Investigator to "Anthony Collins"

(W. H. Johnson), and afterwards to "Iconoclast" (C. Bradlaugh). At

his last lecture he fainted on the platform. In 1858 he remodelled

his Infidel Text-Book into a work on The Bible and Its Evidences. He

devoted himself to political reform until his death, 3 May, 1868.

 

Cooper (Thomas), M.D., LL.D., natural philosopher, politician,

jurist and author, b. London, 22 Oct. 1759. Educated at Oxford, he

afterwards studied law and medicine; was admitted to the bar and lived

at Manchester, where he wrote a number of tracts on "Materialism,"

"Whether Deity be a Free Agent," etc., 1789. Deputed with James

Watt, the inventor, by the Constitutional clubs to congratulate

the Democrats of France (April, 1792), he was attacked by Burke

and replied in a vigorous pamphlet. In '94 he published Information

Concerning America, and in the next year followed his friend Priestly

to Philadelphia, established himself as a lawyer and was made judge. He

also conducted the Emporium of Arts and Sciences in that city. He was

Professor of Medicine at Carlisle College, '12, and afterwards held

the chairs both of Chemistry and Political Economy in South Carolina

College, of which he became President, 1820-34. This position he was

forced to resign on account of his religious views. He translated

from Justinian and Broussais, and digested the Statutes of South

Carolina. In philosophy a Materialist, in religion a Freethinker,

in politics a Democrat, he urged his views in many pamphlets. One on

The Right of Free Discussion, and a little book on Geology and the

Pentateuch, in reply to Prof. Silliman, were republished in London

by James Watson. Died at Columbia, 11 May, 1840. [1]

 

[1] So varied was the activity of T. Cooper during his long life that

his works in the British Museum were catalogued as by six different

persons of the same name. I pointed this out, and the six single

gentlemen will be rolled into one.

 

Coornhert (Dirk Volkertszoon), Dutch humanist, poet and writer,

b. Amsterdam, 1522. He travelled in his youth through Spain

and Portugal. He set up as an engraver at Haarlem, and became

thereafter notary and secretary of the city of Haarlem. He had a

profound horror of intolerance, and defended liberty against Beza and

Calvin. The clergy vituperated him as a Judas and as instigated by

Satan, etc. Bayle, who writes of him as Theodore Koornhert, says he

communed neither with Protestants nor Catholics. The magistrates of

Delft drove him out of their city. He translated Cicero's De Officiis,

and other works. Died at Gouda, 20 Oct. 1590.

 

Cordonnier de Saint Hyacinthe. See Saint-Hyacinthe (Themiseuil de).

 

Corvin-Wiersbitski (Otto Julius Bernhard von), Prussian Pole of noble

family, who traced their descent from the Roman Corvinii, b. Gumbinnen,

12 Oct. 1812. He served in the Prussian army, where he met his friend

Friedrich von Sallet; retired into the Landwehr 1835, went to Leipsic

and entered upon a literary career, wrote the History of the Dutch

Revolution, 1841; the History of Christian Fanaticism, 1845, which

was suppressed in Austria. He took part with the democrats in '48;

was condemned to be shot 15 Sept. '49, but the sentence was commuted;

spent six years' solitary confinement in prison; came to London,

became correspondent to the Times; went through American Civil War,

and afterwards Franco-Prussian War, as a special correspondent. He

has written a History of the New Time, 1848-71. Died since 1886.

 

Cotta (Bernhard), German geologist, b. Little Zillbach, Thuringia,

24 Oct. 1808. He studied at the Academy of Mining, in Freiberg,

where he was appointed professor in '42. His first production, The

Dendroliths, '32, proved him a diligent investigator. It was followed

by many geological treatises. Cotta did much to support the nebular

hypothesis and the law of natural development without miraculous

agency. He also wrote on phrenology. Died at Freiburg, 13 Sept 1879.

 

Cotta (C. Aurelius), Roman philosopher, orator and statesman,

b. B.C. 124. In '75 he became Consul. On the expiration of his

office he obtained Gaul as a province. Cicero had a high opinion of

him and gives his sceptical arguments in the third book of his De

Natura Deorum.

 

Courier (Paul Louis), French writer, b. Paris, 4 Jan. 1772. He entered

the army and became an officer of artillery, serving with distinction

in the Army of the Republic. He wrote many pamphlets, directed against

the clerical restoration, which place him foremost among the literary

men of the generation. His writings are now classics, but they brought

him nothing but imprisonment, and he was apparently assassinated,

10 April, 1825. He had a presentiment that the bigots would kill him.

 

Coventry (Henry), a native of Cambridgeshire, b. about 1710, Fellow

of Magdalene College, author of Letters of Philemon to Hydaspus on

False Religion (1736). Died 29 Dec. 1752.

 

Coward (William), M.D., b. Winchester, 1656. Graduated at Wadham

College, Oxford, 1677. Settled first at Northampton, afterwards

at London. Published, besides some medical works, Second Thoughts

Concerning Human Soul, which excited much indignation by denying

natural immortality. The House of Commons (17 March, 1704) ordered

his work to be burnt. He died in 1725.

 

Cox (the Right Rev. Sir George William), b. 1827, was educated at

Rugby and Oxford, where he took B.C.L. in 1849. Entered the Church,

but has devoted himself to history and mythology. His most pretentious

work is Mythology of the Aryan Nations (1870). He has also written

an Introduction to Comparative Mythology and several historical

works. In 1886 he became Bishop of Bloemfontein. He is credited with

the authorship of the English Life of Jesus, published under the name

of Thomas Scott. At the Church Congress of 1888 he read an heretical

paper on Biblical Eschatology. His last production is a Life of Bishop

Colenso, 2 vols, 1888.

 

Coyteux (Fernand), French writer, b. Ruffec, 1800. Author of a

materialistic system of philosophy, Brussels, 1853 Studies on

physiology, Paris, 1875, etc.

 

Craig (Edward Thomas), social reformer, b. at Manchester 4

Aug. 1804. He was present at the Peterloo massacre '19; helped to form

the Salford Social Institute and became a pioneer of co-operation. In

'31 he became editor of the Lancashire Co-operator. In Nov. of the same

year he undertook the management of a co-operative farm at Rahaline,

co. Clare. Of this experiment he has written an history, '72. Mr. Craig

has edited several journals and contributed largely to Radical and

co-operative literature. He has published a memoir of Dr. Travis and

at the age of 84 he wrote on The Science of Prolonging Life.

 

Cramer (Johan Nicolai), Swedish writer, b. Wisby, Gottland, 18

Feb. 1812. He studied at Upsala and became Doctor of Philosophy

'36; ordained priest in '42; he resigned in '58. In religion he

denies revelation and insists on the separation of Church and

State. Among his works we mention Separation from the Church, a

Freethinker's annotations on the reading of the Bible, Stockholm,

1859. A Confession of Faith; Forward or Back? (1862). He has also

written on the Punishment of Death (1868), and other topics.

 

Cranbrook (Rev. James.) Born of strict Calvinistic parents about

1817. Mr. Cranbrook gradually emancipated himself from dogmas, became

a teacher, and for sixteen years was minister of an Independent Church

at Liscard, Cheshire. He also was professor at the Ladies' College,

Liverpool, some of his lectures there being published '57. In Jan. '65,

he went to Albany Church, Edinburgh, but his views being too broad

for that congregation, he left in Feb. '67 but continued to give

Sunday lectures until his death, 6 June, 1869. In '66 he published

Credibilia: an Inquiry into the grounds of Christian faith and two

years later The Founders of Christianity, discourses on the origin of

Christianity. Other lectures on Human Depravity, Positive Religion,

etc., were published by Thomas Scott.

 

Cranch (Christopher Pearse), American painter and poet, b. Alexandria,

Virginia, 8 March, 1813, graduated at divinity school, Cambridge,

Mass. '35, but left the ministry in '42. He shows his Freethought

sentiments in Satan, a Libretto, Boston, '74, and other works.

 

Craven (M. B.), American, author of a critical work on the Bible

entitled Triumph of Criticism, published at Philadelphia, 1869.

 

Cremonini (Cesare), Italian philosopher, b. Cento, Ferrara, 1550, was

professor of philosophy at Padua from 1591 to 1631, when he died. A

follower of Aristotle, he excited suspicion by his want of religion and

his teaching the mortality of the soul. He was frequently ordered by

the Jesuits and the Inquisition to refute the errors he gave currency

to, but he was protected by the Venetian State, and refused. Like most

of the philosophers of his time, he distinguished between religious

and philosophic truth. Bayle says. "Il a passé pour un esprit fort,

qui ne croyait point l'immortalité de l'âme." Larousse says, "On peut

dire qu'il n'était pas chrétien." Ladvocat says his works "contain

many things contrary to religion."

 

Cross (Mary Ann). See Eliot (George).

 

Crousse (Louis D.), French Pantheistic philosopher, author of

Principles, or First Philosophy, 1839, and Thoughts, 1845.

 

Curtis (S. E.), English Freethinker, author of Theology Displayed,

1842. He has been credited with The Protestant's Progress to

Infidelity. See Griffith (Rees). Died 1847.

 

Croly (David Goodman), American Positivist, b. New York, 3

Nov. 1829. He graduated at New York University in '54, and was

subsequently a reporter on the New York Herald. He became editor of

the New York World until '72. From '71 to '73 he edited The Modern

Thinker, an organ of the most advanced thought, and afterwards the

New York Graphic. Mr. Croly has written a Primer of Positivism, '76,

and has contributed many articles to periodicals. His wife, Jane

Cunningham, who calls herself "Jennie June," b. 1831, also wrote in

The Modern Thinker.

 

Cross (Mary Ann), see Eliot (George).

 

Crozier (John Beattie), English writer of Scottish border parentage,

b. Galt, Ontario, Canada, 23 April, 1849. In youth he won a scholarship

to the grammar school of the town, and thence won another scholarship

to the Toronto University, where he graduated '72, taking the

University and Starr medals. He then came to London determined to study

the great problems of religion and civilisation. He took his diploma

from the London College of Physicians in '73. In '77 he wrote his first

essay, "God or Force," which, being rejected by all the magazines, he

published as a pamphlet. Other essays on the Constitution of the World,

Carlyle, Emerson, and Spencer being also rejected, he published them in

a book entitled The Religion of the Future, '80, which fell flat. He

then started his work Civilisation and Progress, which appeared in

'85, and was also unsuccessful until republished with a few notices

in '87, when it received a chorus of applause, for its clear and

original thoughts. Mr. Crozier is now engaged on his Autobiography,

after which he proposes to deal with the Social question.

 

Cuffeler (Abraham Johann), a Dutch philosopher and doctor of law,

who was one of the first partizans of Spinoza. He lived at Utrecht

towards the end of the seventeenth century, and wrote a work on

logic in three parts entitled Specimen Artis Ratiocinandi, etc.,

published ostensibly at Hamburg, but really at Amsterdam or Utrecht,

1684. It was without name but with the author's portrait.

 

Cuper (Frans), Dutch writer, b. Rotterdam. Cuper is suspected to have

been one of those followers of Spinoza, who under pretence of refuting

him, set forth and sustained his arguments by feeble opposition. His

work entitled Arcana Atheismi Revelata, Rotterdam 1676, was denounced

as written in bad faith. Cuper maintained that the existence of God

could not be proved by the light of reason.

 

Cyrano de Bergerac (Savinien), French comic writer, b. Paris 6 March,

1619. After finishing his studies and serving in the army in his youth

he devoted himself to literature. His tragedy "Agrippine" is full of

what a bookseller called "belles impiétés," and La Monnoye relates that

at its performance the pit shouted "Oh, the wretch! The Atheist! How

he mocks at holy things!" Cyrano knew personally Campanella, Gassendi,

Lamothe Le Vayer, Linière, Rohault, etc. His other works consist of

a short fragment on Physic, a collection of Letters, and a Comic

History of the States and Empires of the Moon and the Sun. Cyrano

took the idea of this book from F. Godwin's Man in the Moon, 1583,

and it in turn gave rise to Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Voltaire's

Micromegas. Died Paris, 1655.

 

Czolbe (Heinrich), German Materialist, b. near Dantzic, 30 Dec. 1819,

studied medicine at Berlin, writing an inaugural dissertation on

the Principles of Physiology, '44. In '55 he published his New

Exposition of Sensationalism, in which everything is resolved into

matter and motion, and in '65 a work on The Limits and Origin of Human

Knowledge. He was an intimate friend of Ueberweg. Died at Königsberg,

19 Feb. 1873. Lange says "his life was marked by a deep and genuine

morality."

 

D'Ablaing. See Giessenburg.

 

Dale (Antonius van), Dutch writer, b. Haarlem, 8 Nov. 1638. His work

on oracles was erudite but lumbersome, and to it Fontenelle gave the

charm of style. It was translated into English by Mrs. Aphra Behn,

under the title of The History of Oracles and the Cheats of Pagan

Priests, 1699. Van Dale, in another work on The Origin and Progress

of Idolatry and Superstition, applied the historical method to his

subject, and showed that the belief in demons was as old and as

extensive as the human race. He died at Haarlem, 28 Nov. 1708.

 

Damilaville (Etienne Noël), French writer, b. at Bordeaux, 1721. At

first a soldier, then a clerk, he did some service for Voltaire, who

became his friend. He also made the friendship Diderot, d'Alembert,

Grimm, and d'Holbach. He contributed to the Encyclopédie, and in

1767 published an attack on the theologians, entitled Theological

Honesty. The book entitled Christianity Unveiled [see Boulanger and

Holbach] was attributed by Voltaire, who called it Impiety Unveiled,

and by La Harpe and Lalande to Damilaville. Voltaire called him

"one of our most learned writers." Larousse says "he was an ardent

enemy of Christianity." He has also been credited with a share in

the System of Nature. Died 15 Dec. 1768.

 

Dandolo (Vincenzo) Count, Italian chemist, b. Venice, 26 Oct. 1758,

wrote Principles of Physical Chemistry, a work in French on The New

Men, in which he shows his antagonism to religion, and many useful

works on vine, timber, and silk culture. Died Varessa, 13 Dec. 1819.

 

Danton (Georges Jacques), French revolutionist, b. Arcis sur Aube, 28

Oct. 1759. An uncle wished him to enter into orders, but he preferred

to study law. During the Revolution his eloquence made him conspicuous

at the Club of Cordeliers, and in Feb. 1791, he became one of the

administrators of Paris. One of the first to see that after the flight

of Louis XVI. he could no longer be king, he demanded his suspension,

and became one of the chief organisers of the Republic. In the alarm

caused by the invasion he urged a bold and resolute policy. He was a

member of the Convention and of the Committee of Public Safety. At the

crisis of the struggle with Robespierre, Danton declined to strike

the first blow and disdained to fly. Arrested March, 1794, he said

when interrogated by the judge, "My name is Danton, my dwelling will

soon be in annihilation; but my name will live in the Pantheon of

history." He maintained his lofty bearing on the scaffold, where he

perished 5 April, 1794. For his known scepticism Danton was called

fils de Diderot. Carlyle calls him "a very Man."

 

Dapper (Olfert), Dutch physician, who occupied himself with history and

geography, on which he produced important works. He had no religion

and was suspected of Atheism. He travelled through Syria, Babylonia,

etc., in 1650. He translated Herodotus (1664) and the orations of

the late Prof. Caspar v. Baerli (1663), and wrote a History of the

City of Amsterdam, 1663. Died at Amsterdam 1690.

 

Darget (Etienne), b. Paris, 1712; went to Berlin in 1744 and became

reader and private secretary to Frederick the Great (1745-52), who

corresponded with him afterwards. Died 1778.

 

Darwin (Charles Robert), English naturalist, b. Shrewsbury,

12 Feb. 1809. Educated at Shrewsbury, Edinburgh University, and

Cambridge. He early evinced a taste for collecting and observing

natural objects. He was intended for a clergyman, but, incited by

Humboldt's Personal Narrative, resolved to travel. He accompanied

Captain Fitzroy in the "Beagle" on a voyage of exploration, '31-36,

which he narrated in his Voyage of a Naturalist Round the World, which

obtained great popularity. In '39 he married, and in '42 left London

and settled at Down, Kent. His studies, combined with the reading of

Lamarck and Malthus, led to his great work on The Origin of Species

by means of Natural Selection, '59, which made a great outcry and

marked an epoch. Darwin took no part in the controversy raised by the

theologians, but followed his work with The Fertilisation of Orchids,

'62; Cross and Self Fertilisation of Plants, '67; Variations of

Plants and Animals under Domestication, '65; and in '71 The Descent

of Man and Selection in relation to Sex, which caused yet greater

consternation in orthodox circles. The following year he issued The

Expression of the Emotions of Men and Animals. He also published

works on the Movements of Plants, Insectivorous Plants, the Forms of

Flowers, and Earthworms. He died 19 April, 1882, and was buried in

Westminster Abbey, despite his expressed unbelief in revelation. To

a German student he wrote, in '79, "Science has nothing to do with

Christ, except in so far as the habit of scientific research makes

a man cautious in admitting evidence. For myself I do not believe

that there ever has been any revelation." In his Life and Letters

he relates that between 1836 and 1842 he had come to see "that the

Old Testament was no more to be trusted than the sacred books of the

Hindoos." He rejected design and said "I for one must be content to

remain an Agnostic."

 

Darwin (Erasmus), Dr., poet, physiologist and philosopher, grandfather

of the above, was born at Elston, near Newark, 12 Dec. 1731. Educated

at Chesterfield and Cambridge he became a physician, first at Lichfield

and afterwards at Derby. He was acquainted with Rousseau, Watt and

Wedgwood. His principal poem, The Botanic Garden was published in 1791,

and The Temple of Nature in 1803. His principal work is Zoomania,

or the laws of organic life (1794), for which he was accused of

Atheism. He was actually a Deist. He also wrote on female education

and some papers in the Philosophical Transactions. Died at Derby,

18 April, 1802.

 

Daubermesnil (François Antoine), French conventionalist. Elected

deputy of Tarn in 1792. Afterwards became a member of the Council of

Five Hundred. He was one of the founders of Theophilanthropy. Died

at Perpignan 1802.

 

Daudet (Alphonse), French novelist, b. at Nîmes, 13 May 1840, author

of many popular romances, of which we mention L'Evangeliste, '82,

which has been translated into English under the title Port Salvation.

 

Daunou (Pierre Claude François), French politician and historian,

b. Boulogne, 18 Aug. 1761. His father entered him in the congregation

of the Fathers of the Oratory, which he left at the Revolution. The

department of Calais elected him with Carnot and Thomas Paine to

the Convention. After the Revolution he became librarian at the

Pantheon. He was a friend of Garat, Cabanis, Chenier, Destutt Tracy,

Ginguené and Benj. Constant. Wrote Historical Essay on the Temporal

Power of the Popes, 1810. Died at Paris, 20 June, 1840, noted for

his benevolence.

 

Davenport (Allen), social reformer, b. 1773. He contributed to

Carlile's Republican; wrote an account of the Life, Writings and

Principles of Thomas Spence, the reformer (1826); and published a

volume of verse, entitled The Muses' Wreath (1827). Died at Highbury,

London, 1846.

 

Davenport (John), Deist, b. London, 8 June, 1789, became a teacher. He

wrote An Apology for Mohammed and the Koran, 1869; Curiositates

Eroticoe Physiologæ, or Tabooed Subjects Freely Treated, and several

educational works. Died in poverty 11 May, 1877.

 

David of Dinant, in Belgium, Pantheistic philosopher of the twelfth

century. He is said to have visited the Papal Court of Innocent

III. He shared in the heresies of Amalric of Chârtres, and his work

Quaterini was condemned and burnt (1209). He only escaped the stake

by rapid flight. According to Albert the Great he was the author of

a philosophical work De Tomis, "Of Subdivisions," in which he taught

that all things were one. His system was similar to that of Spinoza.

 

David (Jacques Louis), French painter, born at Paris, 31 Aug. 1748,

was made painter to the king, but joined the Jacobin Club, became

a member of the Convention, voted for the king's death and for the

civic festivals, for which he made designs. On the restoration he

was banished. Died at Brussels, 29 Dec. 1825. David was an honest

enthusiast and a thorough Freethinker.

 

Davidis or David (Ferencz), a Transylvanian divine, b. about

1510. He was successively a Roman Catholic, a Lutheran and an

Antitrinitarian. He went further than F. Socinus and declared there

was "as much foundation for praying to the Virgin Mary and other

dead saints as to Jesus Christ." He was in consequence accused of

Judaising and thrown into prison at Deva, where he died 6 June, 1579.

 

Davies (John C.), of Stockport, an English Jacobin, who in 1797

published a list of contradictions of the Bible under the title of The

Scripturian's Creed, for which he was prosecuted and imprisoned. The

work was republished by Carlile, 1822, and also at Manchester, 1839.

 

Davidson (Thomas), bookseller and publisher, was prosecuted by the Vice

Society in Oct. 1820, for selling the Republican and a publication

of his own, called the Deist's Magazine. For observations made in

his defence he was summoned and fined £100, and he was sentenced to

two years' imprisonment in Oakham Gaol. He died 16 Dec. 1826.

 

Debierre (Charles), French writer, author of Man Before History, 1888.

 

De Dominicis. See Dominicis.

 

De Felice (Francesco), Italian writer, b. Catania, Sicily, 1821,

took part in the revolution of '43, and when Garibaldi landed in

Sicily was appointed president of the provisional council of war. Has

written on the reformation of elementary schools.

 

De Greef (Guillaume Joseph), advocate at Brussels Court of Appeal,

b. at Brussels, 9 Oct. 1842. Author of an important Introduction to

Sociology, 1886. Wrote in La Liberté, 1867-73, and now writes in La

Societé Nouvelle.

 

De Gubernatis (Angelo), Italian Orientalist and writer, b. Turin,

7 April, 1840; studied at Turin University and became doctor of

philosophy. He studied Sanskrit under Bopp and Weber at Berlin. Sig. de

Gubernatis has adorned Italian literature with many important

works, of which we mention his volumes on Zoological Mythology,

which has been translated into English, '72: and on the Mythology of

Plants. He has compiled and in large part written a Universal History

of Literature, 18 vols. '82-85; edited La Revista Europea and the

Revue Internationale, and contributed to many publications. He is a

brilliant writer and a versatile scholar.

 

De Harven (Emile Jean Alexandre), b. Antwerp, 23 Sept. 1837, the

anonymous author of a work on The Soul: its Origin and Destiny

(Antwerp, 1879).

 

Dekker (Eduard Douwes), the greatest Dutch writer and Freethinker of

this century, b. Amsterdam, 2 March, 1820. In '39 he accompanied his

father, a ship's captain, to the Malayan Archipelago. He became officer

under the Dutch government in Sumatra, Amboina, and Assistant-Resident

at Lebac, Java. He desired to free the Javanese from the oppression of

their princes, but the government would not help him and he resigned

and returned to Holland, '56. The next four years he spent, in poverty,

vainly seeking justice for the Javanese. In '60 he published under the

pen name of "Multatuli" Max Havelaar, a masterly indictment of the

Dutch rule in India, which has been translated into German, French

and English. Then follow his choice Minnebrieven (Love Letters),

'61; Vorstenschool (A School for Princes), and Millioenen Studiën

(Studies on Millions). His Ideën, 7 vols. '62-79, are full of the

boldest heresy. In most of his works religion is attacked, but in the

Ideas faith is criticised with much more pungency and satire. He wrote

"Faith is the voluntary prison-cell of reason." He was an honorary

member of the Freethought Society, De Dageraad, and contributed to its

organ. During the latter years of his life he lived at Wiesbaden, where

he died 19 Feb. 1887. His corpse was burned in the crematory at Gotha.

 

De Lalande (see Lalande).

 

Delambre (Jean Baptiste Joseph), French astronomer, b. Amiens,

19 Sept. 1749, studied under Lalande and became, like his master,

an Atheist. His Tables of the Orbit of Uranus were crowned by the

Academy, 1790. In 1807 he succeeded Lalande as Professor of Astronomy

at the Collége de France. He is the author of a History of Astronomy

in five volumes, and of a number of astronomical tables and other

scientific works He was appointed perpetual secretary of the Academy of

Sciences. Died 19 Aug. 1822, and was buried at Père la Chaise. Cuvier

pronouncing a discourse over his grave.

 

De la Ramee. See Ramée.

 

Delboeuf (Joseph Remi Léopold), Belgian writer, b. Liège, 30

Sept. 1831; is Professor at the University of Liège, and has

written Psychology as a Natural Science, its Present and its Future;

Application of the Experimental Method to the Phenomena of the Soul,

'73, and other works. In his Philosophical Prolegomena to Geometry

he suggests that even mathematical axioms may have an empirical origin.

 

Delbos (Léon), linguist, b. 20 Sept. 1849 of Spanish father and Scotch

mother. Educated in Paris, Lycée Charlemagne. Is an M.A. of Paris and

officier d'Académie. Speaks many languages, and is a good Arabic and

Sanskrit scholar. Has travelled widely and served in the Franco-German

War. Besides many educational works, M. Delbos has written L'Athée,

the Atheist, a Freethought romance '79, and in English The Faith in

Jesus not a New Faith, '85. He has contributed to the Agnostic Annual,

and is a decided Agnostic.

 

Delepierre (Joseph Octave), Belgian bibliophile, b. Bruges, 12 March,

1802. Was for thirty-five years secretary of Legation to England. His

daughter married N. Truebner, who published his work L'Enfer, 1876,

and many other bibliographical studies. Died London, 18 Aug. 1879.

 

Delescluze (Louis Charles), French journalist and revolutionary,

b. Dreux, 2 Oct. 1809, was arrested in '34 for sedition. Implicated in

a plot in '35, he took refuge in Belgium. In '48 he issued at Paris La

Revolution Démocratique et Sociale, but was soon again in prison. He

was banished, came to England with Ledru Rollin, but returning to

France in '53 was arrested. In '68 he published the Réveil, for

which he was again fined and sentenced to prison for ten years. In

'59 he was amnestied and imprisoned. He became head of the Commune

Committee of Public Safety, and died at the barricade, 25 May, 1871.

 

Deleyre (Alexandre), French writer, b. Porbats, near Bordeaux, 6

Jan. 1726. Early in life he entered the order of Jesuits, but changed

his faith and became the friend of Rousseau and Diderot. He contributed

to the Encyclopédie, notably the article "Fanatisme," and published

an analysis of Bacon and works on the genius of Montesquieu and Saint

Evremond, and a History of Voyages. He embraced the Revolution with

ardor, was made deputy to the Convention, and in 1795 was made member

of the Institute. Died at Paris, 27 March, 1797.

 

Delisle de Sales. See Isoard Delisle (J. B. C.)

 

Dell (John Henry), artist and poet, b. 11 Aug. 1832. Contributed

to Progress, wrote Nature Pictures, '71, and The Dawning Grey, '85,

a volume of vigorous verse, imbued with the spirit of democracy and

freethought. Died 31 Jan. 1888.

 

Deluc (Adolphe), Professor of Chemistry at Brussels, b. Paris,

1 Sept. 1811. Collaborated on La Libre Recherche.

 

De Maillet. See Maillet (Benoît de).

 

Democritus, a wealthy Atheistic philosopher, b. Abdera, Thrace,

B.C. 460. He travelled to Egypt and over a great part of Asia,

and is also said to have visited India. He is supposed to have

been acquainted with Leucippus, and sixty works were ascribed to

him. Died B.C. 357. He taught that all existence consisted of atoms,

and made the discovery of causes the object of scientific inquiry. He

is said to have laughed at life in general, which Montaigne says

is better than to imitate Heraclitus and weep, since mankind are

not so unhappy as vain. Democritus was the forerunner of Epicurus,

who improved his system.

 

Demonax, a cynical philosopher who lived in the second century of

the Christian era and rejected all religion. An account of him was

written by Lucian.

 

Demora (Gianbattista), director of the Libero Pensatore of Milan,

and author of some dramatic works.

 

Denis (Hector), Belgian advocate and professor of political economy

and philosophy at Brussels University, b. Braine-le-Comte, 29 April,

1842. Has written largely on social questions and contributed to La

Liberté, la Philosophie Positive, etc. Is one of the Council of the

International Federation of Freethinkers.

 

Denslow (Van Buren), American writer, author of essays on Modern

Thinkers, 1880, to which Colonel Ingersoll wrote an introduction. He

contributed a paper on the value of irreligion to the Religio

Philosophic journal of America, Jan. '78, and has written in the

Truthseeker and other journals.

 

Denton (William F.), poet, geologist, and lecturer, b. Darlington,

Durham, 8 Jan. 1823. After attaining manhood he emigrated to the

United States, '48, and in '56 published Poems for Reformers. He was

a prolific writer, and constant lecturer on temperance, psychology,

geology, and Freethought. In '72 he published Radical Discourses

on Religious Subjects (Boston, '72), and Radical Rhymes, '79. He

travelled to Australasia, and died of a fever while conducting

scientific explorations in New Guinea 26 Aug. 1883.

 

De Paepe (César) Dr., Belgian Socialist, b. Ostend, 12 July, 1842. He

was sent to the college of St. Michel, Brussels. He obtained the

Diploma of Candidate of Philosophy, but on the death of his father

became a printer with Désiré Brismée (founder of Les Solidaires,

a Rationalist society). Proudhon confided to him the correction of

his works. He became a physician and is popular with the workmen's

societies. He was one of the foremost members of the International and

attended all its congresses, as well as those of the International

Federation of Freethinkers. He has written much on public hygiene,

political economy, and psychology, collaborating in a great number of

the most advanced journals. Dr. De Paepe is a short, fair, energetic

man, capable both as a speaker and writer.

 

Depasse (Hector), French writer, b. at Armentières in 1843, is

editor of La République Française, and member of the Paris Municipal

Council. He has written a striking work on Clericalism, in which he

urges the separation of Church and State, 1877; and is author of many

little books on Contemporary Celebrities, among them are Gambetta,

Bert, Ranc, etc.

 

De Ponnat. See Ponnat (--de), Baron.

 

De Pontan. See Ponnat.

 

De Potter (Agathon Louis), Belgian economist, b. Brussels, 11

Nov. 1827. Has written many works on Social Science, and has

collaborated to La Ragione (Reason), '56, and La Philosophie de

l'Avenir.

 

De Potter (Louis Antoine Joseph), Belgian politician and writer,

father of the above, b. of noble family, Bruges, 26 April, 1786. In

1811 he went to Italy and lived ten years at Rome. In '21 he wrote the

Spirit of the Church, in 6 vols., which are put on the Roman Index. A

strong upholder of secular education in Belgium, he was arrested

more than once for his radicalism, being imprisoned for eighteen

months in '28. In Sept. '30 he became a member of the provisional

government. He was afterwards exiled and lived in Paris, where he wrote

a philosophical and anti-clerical History of Christianity, in 8 vols.,

1836-37. He also wrote a Rational Catechism, 1854, and a Rational

Dictionary, 1859, and numerous brochures. Died Bruges, 22 July, 1859.

 

Deraismes (Maria), French writer and lecturer, b. Paris, 15

Aug. 1835. She first made her name as a writer of comedies. She wrote

an appeal on behalf of her sex, Aux Femmes Riches, '65. The Masonic

Lodge of Le Pecq, near Paris, invited her to become a member, and she

was duly installed under the Grand Orient of France. The first female

Freemason, was president of the Paris Anti-clerical Congress of 1881,

and has written much in her journal, Le Républicain de Seine et Oise.

 

De Roberty (Eugene). See Roberty.

 

Desbarreaux (Jacques Vallée), Seigneur, French poet and sceptic,

b. Paris, 1602, great-nephew of Geoffrey Vallée, who was burnt in

1574. Many stories are related of his impiety, e.g. the well-known

one of his having a feast of eggs and bacon. It thundered, and Des

Barreaux, throwing the plate out of window, exclaimed, "What an amount

of noise over an omelette." It was said he recanted and wrote a poem

beginning, "Great God, how just are thy chastisements." Voltaire,

however, assigns this poem to the Abbé Levau. Died at Chalons,

9 May, 1673.

 

Descartes (René), French philosopher, b. at La Haye, 31 March,

1596. After leaving college he entered the army in '16, and fought

in the battle of Prague. He travelled in France and Italy, and in

'29 settled in Holland. In '37 he produced his famous Discourses upon

the Method of Reasoning Well, etc., and in '41 his Meditations upon

First Philosophy. This work gave such offence to the clergy that he

was forced to fly his country "parce qu'il y fait trop chaud pour

lui." He burnt his Traite du Monde (Treatise on the World) lest

he should incur the fate of Gallilei. Though a Theist, like Bacon,

he puts aside final causes. He was offered an asylum by Christina,

Queen of Sweden, and died at Stockholm 11 Feb. 1650.

 

Deschamps (Léger-Marie), known also as Dom Deschamps, a French

philosopher, b. Rennes, Poitiers, 10 Jan. 1716. He entered the Order

of Benedictines, but lost his faith by reading an abridgment of

the Old Testament. He became correspondent of Voltaire, Rousseau,

d'Alembert, Helvetius, and other philosophers. "Ce prêtre athée,"

as Ad. Franck calls him, was the author of a treatise entitled La

Vérité, ou le Vrai Système, in which he appears to have anticipated

all the leading ideas of Hegel. God, he says, as separated from

existing things, is pure nothingness. An analysis of his remarkable

work, which remained in manuscript for three-quarters of a century,

has been published by Professor Beaussire (Paris, 1855). Died at

Montreuil-Bellay, 19 April 1774.

 

Deslandes (André François Boureau), b. Pondichery, 1690. Became member

of the Berlin Academy and wrote numerous works, mostly under the veil

of anonymity, the principal being A Critical History of Philosophy,

3 vols(1737). His Pygmalion, a philosophical romance, was condemned by

the parliament of Dijon, 1742. His Reflexions sur les grands hommes

qui sont mort en Plaisantant (Amsterdam, 1732) was translated into

English and published in 1745 under the title, Dying Merrily. Another

work directed against religion was On the certainty of Human Knowledge,

a philosophical examination of the different prerogatives of reason

and faith (London, 1741). Died Paris, 11 April, 1757.

 

Des Maizeaux (Pierre), miscellaneous writer, b. Auvergne, 1673. He

studied at Berne and Geneva, and became known to Bayle who introduced

him to Lord Shaftesbury, with whom he came to London, 1699. He edited

the works of Bayle, Saint Evremond and Toland, whose lives he wrote,

as well as those of Hales and Chillingworth. Anthony Collins was his

friend, and at his death left him his manuscripts. These he transferred

to Collins's widow and they were burnt. He repented and returned the

money, 6 Jan. 1730, as the wages of iniquity. He became Secretary of

the Royal Society of London, where he died, 11 July, 1745.

 

Desmoulins (Lucié Simplice Camille Benôit), French revolutionary

writer, b. Guise, 2 March, 1760. He was a fellow-student of Robespierre

at Paris, and became an advocate and an enthusiastic reformer. In

July '89 he incited the people to the siege of the Bastille,

and thus began the Revolution. On 29 Dec. 1790 he married Lucile

Laridon-Duplessis. He edited Le Vieux Cordelier and the Révolutions

de France et de Brabant, in which he stated that Mohammedanism was

as credible as Christianity. He was a Deist, preferring Paganism to

Christianity. Both creeds were more or less unreasonable; but, folly

for folly, he said, I prefer Hercules slaying the Erymanthean boar

to Jesus of Nazareth drowning two thousand pigs. He was executed

with Danton, 5 April 1794. His amiable wife, Lucile, who was an

Atheist (b. 1770), in a few days shared his fate (April 13). Carlyle

calls Desmoulins a man of genius, "a fellow of infinite shrewdness,

wit--nay, humor."

 

Des Periers (Jean Bonaventure), French poet and sceptic,

b. Arnay le Duc, about 1510. He was brought up in a convent,

only to detest the vices of the monks. In 1535 he lived in Lyons

and assisted Dolet. He probably knew Rabelais, whom he mentions as

"Francoys Insigne." Attached to the court of Marguerite of Valois,

he defended Clement Marot when persecuted for making a French version

of the Psalms. He wrote the Cymbalum Mundi, a satire upon religion,

published under the name of Thomas de Clenier à Pierre Tryocan,

i.e., Thomas Incrédule à Pierre Croyant, 1537. It was suppressed

and the printer, Jehan Morin, imprisoned. Des Periers fled and

died (probably by suicide, to escape persecution) 1544. An English

version of Cymbalum Mundi was published in 1712. P. G. Brunet, the

bibliographer, conjectures that Des Periers was the author of the

famous Atheistic treatise, The Three Impostors.

 

Destriveaux (Pierre Joseph), Belgian lawyer and politician, b. Liége,

13 March, 1780. Author of several works on public right. Died

Schaerbeck (Brussels), 3 Feb. 1853.

 

Destutt de Tracy (Antoine Louis de Claude) Count, French materialist

philosopher, b. 20 July, 1754. His family was of Scotch origin. At

first a soldier, he was one of the first noblemen at the Revolution

to despoil himself of his title. A friend of Lafayette, Condorcet,

and Cabanis, he was a complete sceptic in religion; made an analysis

of Dupuis' Origine de tous les Cultes (1804), edited Montesquieu and

Cabanis, was made a member of the French Academy (1808), and wrote

several philosophical works, of which the principal is Elements of

Ideology. He was a great admirer of Hobbes. Died Paris, 9 March, 1836.

 

Des Vignes (Pietro), secretary to Frederick II. (1245-49). Mazzuchelli

attributes to him the treatise De Tribus Impostoribus.

 

Detrosier (Rowland), social reformer and lecturer, b. 1796, the

illegitimate son of a Manchester man named Morris and a Frenchwoman. In

his early years he was "for whole days without food." Self-educated,

he established the first Mechanics' Institute in England at Hulme,

gave Sunday scientific lectures, and published several discourses

in favor of secular education. He became secretary of the National

Political Union. He was a Deist. Like Bentham, who became his friend,

he bequeathed his body for scientific purposes. Died in London,

23 Nov. 1834.

 

Deubler (Konrad). The son of poor parents, b. Goisern, near Ischl,

Upper Austria, 26 Nov. 1814. Self-taught amid difficulties,

he became the friend of Feuerbach and Strauss, and was known as

"the Peasant Philosopher." In 1854 he was indicted for blasphemy,

and was sentenced to two years' hard labor and imprisonment during

pleasure. He was incarcerated from 7 Dec. '54, till Nov. '56 at Brünn,

and afterwards at Olmutz, where he was released 24 March, 1857. He

returned to his native place, and was visited by Feuerbach. In '70

he was made Burgomaster by his fellow-townsmen. Died 30 March, 1884.

 

Deurhoff (Willem), Dutch writer, b. Amsterdam, March 1650. Educated

for the Church, he gave himself to philosophy, translated the works of

Descartes, and was accused of being a follower of Spinoza. Forced to

leave his country, he took refuge in Brabant, but returned to Holland,

where he died 10 Oct. 1717. He left some followers.

 

De Wette. (See Wette M. L. de).

 

D'Holbach. See Holbach (P. H. D. von), Baron.

 

Diagoras, Greek poet, philosopher, and orator, known as "the Atheist,"

b. Melos. A pupil of Democritus, who is said to have freed him from

slavery. A doubtful tradition reports that he became an Atheist after

being the victim of an unpunished perjury. He was accused (B.C. 411)

of impiety, and had to fly from Athens to Corinth, where he died. A

price was put upon the Atheist's head. His works are not extant,

but several anecdotes are related of him, as that he threw a wooden

statue of Hercules into the fire to cook a dish of lentils, saying the

god had a thirteenth task to perform; and that, being on his flight

by sea overtaken by a storm, hearing his fellow-passengers say it

was because an Atheist was on board, he pointed to other vessels

struggling in the same storm without being laden with a Diagoras.

 

Di Cagno Politi (Niccola Annibale), Italian Positivist, b. Bari,

1857. Studied at Naples under Angiulli, has written on modern culture

and on experimental philosophy in Italy, and contributed articles on

Positivism to the Rivista Europea.

 

Diderot (Denis), French philosopher, b. Langres, 6 Oct. 1713. His

father, a cutler, intended him for the Church. Educated by Jesuits,

at the age of twelve he received the tonsure. He had a passion for

books, but, instead of becoming a Jesuit, went to Paris, where he

supported himself by teaching and translating. In 1746 he published

Philosophic Thoughts, which was condemned to be burnt. It did much

to advance freedom of opinion. Three years later his Letters on the

Blind occasioned his imprisonment at Vincennes for its materialistic

Atheism. Rousseau, who called him "a transcendent genius," visited

Diderot in prison, where he remained three years. Diderot projected the

famous Encyclopédie, which he edited with Alembert, and he contributed

some of the most important articles. With very inadequate recompense,

and amidst difficulties that would have appalled an ordinary editor,

Diderot superintended the undertaking for many years (1751-65). He also

contributed to other important works, such as Raynal's Philosophic

History, L'Esprit, by Helvetius, and The System of Nature and other

works of his friend D'Holbach. Diderot's fertile mind also produced

dramas, essays, sketches, and novels. Died 30 July, 1784. Comte calls

Diderot "the greatest thinker of the eighteenth century."

 

Diercks (Gustav), German author of able works on the History of the

Development of Human Spirit (Berlin, 1881-2) and on Arabian Culture

in Spain, 1887. Is a member of the German Freethinkers' Union.

 

Dilke (Ashton Wentworth), b. 1850. Educated at Cambridge, travelled

in Russia and Central Asia, and published a translation of Turgenev's

Virgin Soil. He purchased and edited the Weekly Dispatch; was returned

as M.P. for Newcastle in 1880, but, owing to ill health, resigned in

favor of John Morley, and died at Algiers 12 March, 1883.

 

Dinter (Gustav Friedrich), German educationalist, b. Borna, near

Leipsic, 29 Feb. 1760. His Bible for Schoolmasters is his best-known

work. It sought to give rational notes and explanations of the Jew

books, and excited much controversy. Died at Konigsberg, 29 May, 1831.

 

Dippel (Johann Konrad), German alchemist and physician, b. 10

Aug. 1672, at Frankenstein, near Darmstadt. His Papismus vapulans

Protestantium (1698) drew on him the wrath of the theologians of

Giessen, and he had to flee for his life. Attempting to find out the

philosopher's stone, he discovered Prussian blue. In 1705 he published

his satires against the Protestant Church, Hirt und eine Heerde,

under the name of Christianus Democritos. He denied the inspiration

of the Bible, and after an adventurous life in many countries died

25 April, 1734.

 

Dobrolyubov (Nikolai Aleksandrovich), Russian author, b. 1836, at

Nijni Novgorod, the son of a priest. Educated at St. Petersburg, he

became a radical journalist. His works were edited in four vols. by

Chernuishevsky. Died 17 Nov. 1861.

 

Dodel-Port (Prof. Arnold), Swiss scientist, b. Affeltrangen, Thurgau,

16 Oct. 1843. Educated at Kreuzlingen, he became in '63 teacher in

the Oberschule in Hauptweil; then studied from '64-'69 at Geneva,

Zürich, and Munich, becoming privat docent in the University of

Zürich, '70. In '75 he published The New History of Creation. In

'78 he issued his world-famous Botanical Atlas, and was in '80 made

Professor of Botany in the Zürich University and Director of the

Botanical Laboratory. He has also written Biological Fragments (1885),

the Life and Letters of Konrad Deubler, "the peasant philosopher"

(1886), and has just published Moses or Darwin? a School Question,

1889. Dr. Dodel-Port is an hon. member of the London Royal Society

and Vice-President of the German Freethinkers' Union.

 

Dodwell (Henry), eldest son of the theologian of that name, was

b. Shottesbrooke, Berkshire, about the beginning of the eighteenth

century. He was educated at Magdalen Hall, when he proceeded B.A.,

9 Feb. 1726. In '42 he published a pamphlet entitled Christianity

not Founded on Argument, which in a tone of grave irony contends that

Christianity can only be accepted by faith. He was brought up to the

law and was a zealous friend of the Society for the Promotion of Arts,

Manufactures, and Commerce. Died 1784.

 

Doebereiner (Johann Wolfgang), German chemist, b. Bavaria, 15

Dec. 1780. In 1810 he became Professor of Chemistry at Jena, where

he added much to science. Died 24 March, 1849. He was friend and

instructor to Goethe.

 

Dolet (Etienne), a learned French humanist, b. Orleans 3 Aug. 1509. He

studied in Paris, Padua and Venice. For his heresy he had to fly

from Toulouse and lived for some time at Lyons, where he established

a printing-press and published some of his works, for which he was

imprisoned. He was acquainted with Rabelais, Des Periers, and other

advanced men of the time. In 1543 the Parliament condemned his books

to be burnt, and in the next year he was arrested on a charge of

Atheism. After being kept two years in prison he was strangled and

burnt, 3 Aug. 1546. It is related that seeing the sorrow of the crowd,

he said: "Non dolet ipe Dolet, sed pia turba dolet."--Dolet grieves

not, but the generous crowd grieves. His goods being confiscated,

his widow and children were left to beggary. "The French language,"

says A. F. Didot, "owes him much for his treatises, translations,

and poesies." Dolet's biographer, M. Joseph Boulmier, calls him "le

Christ de la pensée libre." Philosophy has alone the right, says

Henri Martin, to claim Dolet on its side. His English biographer,

R. C. Christie, says he was "neither a Catholic nor a Protestant."

 

Dominicis (Saverio Fausto de), Italian Positivist philosopher,

b. Buonalbergo, 1846. Is Professor of Philosophy at Bari, and has

written on Education and Darwinism.

 

Dondorf (Dr. A.), See Anderson (Marie) in Supplement.

 

Doray de Longrais (Jean Paul), French man of letters. b. Manvieux,

1736. Author of a Freethought romance, Faustin, or the Philosophical

Age. Died at Paris, 1800.

 

Dorsch (Eduard), German American Freethinker, b. Warzburg 10

Jan. 1822. He studied at Munich and Vienna. In '49 he went to America

and settled in Monroe, Michigan, where he published a volume of poems,

some being translations from Swinburne. Died 10 Jan. 1887.

 

Dorsey (J. M.), author of the The True History of Moses, and others,

an attack on the Bible, published at Boston in 1855.

 

Draparnaud (Jacques Philippe Raymond), French doctor, b. 3 June, 1772,

at Montpelier, where he became Professor of Natural History. His

discourses on Life and Vital Functions, and on the Philosophy of

the Sciences and Christianity (1801), show his scepticism. Died 1

Feb. 1805.

 

Draper (John William), scientist and historian, b. St. Helens,

near Liverpool, 5 May 1811. The son of a Wesleyan minister, he was

educated at London University. In '32 he emigrated to America,

where he was Professor of Chemistry and Natural History in New

York University. He was one of the inventors of photography and the

first who applied it to astronomy. He wrote many scientific works,

notably on Human Physiology. His history of the American Civil War

is an important work, but he is chiefly known by his History of the

Intellectual Development of Europe and History of the Conflict of

Religion and Science, which last has gone through many editions and

been translated into all the principal languages. Died 4 Jan. 1882.

 

Dreyfus (Ferdinand Camille), author of an able work on the Evolution

of Worlds and Societies, 1888.

 

Droysen (Johann Gustav), German historian, b. Treptoir, 6 July,

1808. Studied at Berlin; wrote in the Hallische Jahrbücher; was

Professor of History at Keil, 1840; Jena '51 and Berlin '59. Has edited

Frederick the Great's Correspondence, and written other important

works, some in conjunction with his friend Max Duncker. Died 15

June, 1882.

 

Drummond (Sir William), of Logie Almond, antiquary and author,

b. about 1770; entered Parliament as member for St. Mawes, Cornwall,

1795. In the following year he became envoy to the court of Naples,

and in 1801 ambassador to Constantinople. His principal work is

Origines, or Remarks on the Origin of several Empires, States,

and Cities (4 vols. 1824-29). He also printed privately The OEdipus

Judaicus, 1811. It calls in question, with much boldness and learning,

many legends of the Old Testament, to which it gave an astronomical

signification. It was reprinted in '66. Sir William Drummond also

wrote anonymously Philosophical Sketches of the Principles of Society,

1795. Died at Rome, 29 March, 1828.

 

Duboc (Julius) German writer and doctor of philosophy b. Hamburg, 10

Oct. 1829. Educated at Frankfurt and Giessen, is a clever journalist,

and has translated the History of the English Press. Has written

an Atheistic work, Das Leben Ohne Gott (Life without God), with the

motto from Feuerbach "No religion is my religion, no philosophy my

philosophy," 1875. He has also written on the Psychology of Love,

and other important works.

 

Dubois (Pierre), a French sceptic, who in 1835 published The True

Catechism of Believers--a work ordered by the Court of Assizes to

be suppressed, and for which the author (Sept. '35) was condemned to

six months' imprisonment and a fine of one thousand francs. He also

wrote The Believer Undeceived, or Evident Proofs of the Falsity and

Absurdity of Christianity; a work put on the Index in '36.

 

Du Bois-Reymond (Emil), biologist, of Swiss father and French

mother, b. Berlin, 7 Nov. 1818. He studied at Berlin and Bonn for

the Church, but left it to follow science, '37. Has become famous as

a physiologist, especially by his Researches in Animal Electricity,

'48-60. With Helmholtz he has done much to establish the new era

of positive science, wrongly called by opponents Materialism. Du

Bois-Reymond holds that thought is a function of the brain and nervous

system, and that "soul" has arisen as the gradual results of natural

combinations, but in his Limits of the Knowledge of Nature, '72, he

contends that we must always come to an ultimate incomprehensible. Du

Bois-Reymond has written on Voltaire and Natural Science, '68; La

Mettrie, '75; Darwin versus Galiani, '78; and Frederick II. and

Rousseau, '79. Since '67 he has been perpetual secretary of the

Academy of Sciences, Berlin.

 

Dubuisson (Paul Ulrich), French dramatist and revolutionary, b. Lauat,

1746. A friend of Cloots he suffered with him on the scaffold, 24

March, 1794.

 

Dubuisson (Paul), living French Positivist, author of Grand Types

of Humanity.

 

Du Chatelet Lomont. See Chastelet.

 

Duclos (Charles Pinot), witty French writer, b. Dinan, 12 Feb. 1704. He

was admitted into the French Academy, 1747 and became its secretary,

1755. A friend of Diderot and d'Alembert. His Considerations sur les

Moeurs is still a readable work. Died 27 March, 1772.

 

Ducos (Jean François), French Girondist, b. Bordeaux in 1765. Elected

to the Legislative Assembly, he, on the 26th Oct. 1791, demanded

the complete separation of the State from religion. He shared the

fate of the Girondins, 31 Oct. 1793, crying with his last breath,

"Vive la Republique!"

 

Du Deffand (Marie), Marchioness, witty literary Frenchwoman,

b. 1697. Chamfort relates that when young and in a convent she preached

irreligion to her young comrades. The abbess called in Massillon, to

whom the little sceptic gave her reasons. He went away saying "She

is charming." Her house in Paris was for fifty years the resort of

eminent authors and statesmen. She corresponded for many years with

Horace Walpole, D'Alembert and Voltaire. Many anecdotes are told of

her; thus, to the Cardinal de Polignac, who spoke of the miracle of

St. Denis walking when beheaded, she said "Il n'y a que le premier

pas qui coûte." Died 24 Sept. 1780. To the curé of Saint Sulpice,

who came to her death-bed, she said "Ni questions, ni raisons, ni

sermons." Larousse calls her "Belle, instruite, spirituelle mais

sceptique et materialiste."

 

Dudgeon (William), a Berwickshire Deist, whose works were published

(privately printed at Edinburgh) in 1765.

 

Dudnevant (A. L. A. Dupin), Baroness. See Sand (Georges).

 

Duehring (Eugen Karl), German writer, b. Berlin, 12 Jan. 1833; studied

law. He has, though blind, written many works on science and political

economy, also a Critical History of Philosophy, '69-78, and Science

Revolutionized, '78. In Oct. 1879, his death was maliciously reported.

 

Dulaure (Jacques Antoine), French archæologist and historian,

b. Clermont-Ferrand, 3 Dec. 1755. In 1788-90 he published six volumes

of a description of France. He wrote many pamphlets, including one

on the private lives of ecclesiastics. Elected to the Convention in

1792, he voted for the death of the King. Proscribed as a Girondist,

Sept. 1793, he fled to Switzerland. He was one of the Council of Five

Hundred, 1796-98. Dulaure wrote a learned Treatise on Superstitions,

but he is best known by his History of Paris, and his Short History

of Different Worships, 1825, in which he deals with ancient fetishism

and phallic worship. Died Paris, 9 Aug. 1835.

 

Dulaurens (Henri Joseph). French satirist, b. Douay, 27 March, 1719. He

was brought up in a convent, and made a priest 12 Nov. 1727. Published

a satire against the Jesuits, 1761, he was compelled to fly to

Holland, where he lived in poverty. He edited L'Evangile de la Raison,

a collection of anti-Christian tracts by Voltaire and others, and

wrote L'Antipapisme révelé in 1767. He was in that year condemned

to perpetual imprisonment for heresy, and shut in the convent of

Mariabaum, where he died 1797. Dulaurens was caustic, cynical and

vivacious. He is also credited with the Portfolios of a Philosopher,

mostly taken from the Analysis of Bayle, Cologne, 1770.

 

Dulk (Albert Friedrich Benno), German poet and writer, b. Konigsberg,

17 June, 1819; he became a physician, but was expelled for aiding

in the Revolution of '48. He travelled in Italy and Egypt. In '65

he published Jesus der Christ, embodying rationalism in prose and

verse. He has also written Stimme der Menschheit, 2 vols., '76,

'80, and Der Irrgang des Lebens Jesu, '84, besides numerous plays

and pamphlets. Died 29 Oct. 1884.

 

Dumont (Léon), French writer, b. Valenciennes, 1837. Studied for

the bar, but took to philosophy and literature. He early embraced

Darwinism, and wrote on Hæckel and the Theory of Evolution, '73. He

wrote in La Revue Philosophique, and other journals. Died Valenciennes,

17 Jan. 1877.

 

Dumarsais (César Chesneau), French grammarian and philosopher,

b. Marseilles, 17 July, 1676. When young he entered the congregation

of the oratory. This society he soon quitted, and went to Paris,

where he married. A friend of Boindin and Alembert, he wrote against

the pretensions of Rome and contributed to the Encyclopédie. He is

credited with An Analysis of the Christian Religion and with the

celebrated Essai sur les Préjugés, par Mr. D. M., but the latter was

probably written by Holbach, with notes by Naigeon. Le Philosophe,

published in L'Evangile de la Raison by Dulaurens, was written by

Voltaire. Died 11 June, 1756. Dumarsais was very simple in character,

and was styled by D'Alembert the La Fontaine of philosophers.

 

Dumont (Pierre Etienne Louis), Swiss writer, b. Geneva, 18 July,

1759. Was brought up as a minister, but went to France and became

secretary to Mirabeau. After the Revolution he came to England, where

he became acquainted with Bentham, whose works he translated. Died

Milan, 29 Sept. 1829.

 

Duncker (Maximilian Wolfgang), German historian, b. Berlin, 15

Oct. 1811. His chief work, the History of Antiquity, 1852-57,

thoroughly abolishes the old distinction of sacred and profane

history, and freely criticises the Jewish records. A translation in

six volumes has been made by E. Abbot. Duncker took an active part

in the events of '48 and '50, and was appointed Director-General of

the State Archives. Died 24 July, 1886.

 

Dupont (Jacob Louis), a French mathematician and member of the

National Convention, known as the Abbé Dupont, who, 14 Dec. 1792,

declared himself an Atheist from the tribune of the Convention. Died

at Paris in 1813.

 

Dupont de Nemours (Pierre Samuel), French economist, b. Paris, 14

Dec. 1739. He became President of the Constituent Assembly, and was

a Theophilantrophist. Died Delaware, U.S.A., 6 Aug. 1817.

 

Dupuis (Charles François), French astronomer and philosopher,

b. Trie-le-Chateau, 16 Oct. 1742. He was educated for the Church, which

he left, and married in 1775. He studied under Lalande, and wrote on

the origin of the constellations, 1781. In 1788 he became a member of

the Academy of Inscriptions. At the Revolution he was chosen a member

of the Convention. During the Reign of Terror he saved many lives at

his own risk. He was afterwards one of the Council of Five Hundred, and

president of the legislative body. His chief work is on the Origin of

Religions, 7 vols., 1795, in which he traces solar worship in various

faiths, including Christianity. This has been described as "a monument

of the erudition of unbelief." Dupuis died near Dijon, 29 Sept. 1809.

 

Dutrieux (Pierre Joseph), Belgian physician, b. Tournai, 19 July,

1848. Went to Cairo and became a Bey. Died 1 Jan. 1889.

 

Dutton (Thomas), M.A., theatrical critic, b. London, 1767. Educated

by the Moravians. In 1795 he published a Vindication of the Age of

Reason by Thomas Paine. He translated Kotzebue's Pizarro in Peru,

1799, and edited the Dramatic Censor, 1800, and the Monthly Theatrical

Reporter, 1815.

 

Duvernet (Théophile Imarigeon), French writer, b. at Ambert

1730. He was brought up a Jesuit, became an Abbé, but mocked at

religion. Duvernet became tutor to Saint Simon. For a political

pamphlet he was imprisoned in the Bastille. While here he wrote a

curious and rare romance, Les Devotions de Mme. de Bethzamooth. He

wrote on Religious Intolerance, 1780, and a History of the Sorbonne,

1790, but is best known by his Life of Voltaire (1787). In 1793

he wrote a letter to the Convention, in which he declares that

he renounces the religion "born in a stable between an ox and an

ass." Died in 1796.

 

Dyas (Richard H.), captain in the army. Author of The Upas. He resided

long in Italy and translated several of the works of C. Voysey.

 

Eaton (Daniel Isaac), bookseller, b. about 1752, was educated at the

Jesuits' College, St. Omer. Being advised to study the Bible, he did

so, with the result of discarding it as a revelation. In 1792 he was

prosecuted for publishing Paine's Rights of Man, but the prosecution

fell through. He afterwards published Politics for the People, which

was also prosecuted, 1793, as was his Political Dictionary, 1796. To

escape punishment, he fled to America, and lived there for three years

and a half. Upon returning to England, his person and property were

seized. Books to the value of £2,800 were burnt, and he was imprisoned

for fifteen months. He translated from Helvetius and sold at his

"Rationcinatory or Magazine for Truths and Good Sense," 8 Cornhill,

in 1810, The True Sense and Meaning of the System of Nature. The Law

of Nature had been previously translated by him. In '11 he issued

the first and second parts of Paine's Age of Reason, and on 6 March,

'12, was tried before Lord Ellenborough on a charge of blasphemy

for issuing the third and last part. He was sentenced to eighteen

months' imprisonment and to stand in the pillory. The sentence evoked

Shelley's spirited Letter to Lord Ellenborough. Eaton translated and

published Freret's Preservative against Religious Prejudices, 1812,

and shortly before his death, at Deptford, 22 Aug. 1814, he was again

prosecuted for publishing George Houston's Ecce Homo.

 

Eberhard (Johann August), German Deist, b. Halberstadt, 31 Aug. 1739,

was brought up in the church, but persecuted for heresy in his New

Apology for Socrates, 1772, was patronised by Frederick the Great,

and appointed Professor of Philosophy at Halle, where he opposed

the idealism of Kant and Fichte. He wrote a History of Philosophy,

1788. Died Halle, 7 Jan. 1809.

 

Eberty (Gustav), German Freethinker, b. 2 July, 1806. Author of some

controversial works. Died Berlin, 10 Feb. 1887.

 

Echtermeyer (Ernst Theodor), German critic, b. Liebenwerda, 1805. He

studied at Halle and Berlin, and founded, with A. Ruge, the Hallische

Jahrbücher, which contained many Freethought articles, 1837-42. He

taught at Halle and Dresden, where he died, 6 May, 1844.

 

Edelmann (Johann Christian), German Deist, b. Weissenfels, Saxony,

9 July, 1698; studied theology in Jena, joined the Moravians,

but left them and every form of Christianity, becoming an adherent

of Spinozism. His principal works are his Unschuldige Wahrheiten,

1735 (Innocent Truths), in which he argues that no religion is of

importance, and Moses mit Aufgedecktem Angesicht (Moses Unmasked),

1740, an attack on the Old Testament, which, he believed, proceeded

from Ezra; Die Göttlichkeit der Vernunft (The Divinity of Reason),

1741, and Christ and Belial. His works excited much controversy, and

were publicly burnt at Frankfort, 9 May, 1750. Edelmann was chased

from Brunswick and Hamburg, but was protected by Frederick the Great,

and died at Berlin, 15 Feb. 1767. Mirabeau praised him, and Guizot

calls him a "fameux esprit fort."

 

Edison (Thomas Alva), American inventor, b. Milan, Ohio, 10

Feb. 1847. As a boy he sold fruit and papers at the trains. He read,

however, Gibbon, Hume and other important works before he was ten. He

afterwards set up a paper of his own, then became telegraph operator,

studied electricity, invented electric light, the electric pen,

the telephone, microphone, phonograph, etc. Edison is known to be an

Agnostic and to pay no attention to religion.

 

Eenens (Ferdinand), Belgian writer, b. Brussels, 7 Dec. 1811. Eenens

was an officer in the Belgian army, and wrote many political and

anti-clerical pamphlets. He also wrote La Vérité, a work on the

Christian faith, 1859; Le Paradis Terrestre, '60, an examination of

the legend of Eden, and Du Dieu Thaumaturge, '76. He used the pen

names "Le Père Nicaise," "Nicodème Polycarpe" and "Timon III." Died

at Brussels in 1883.

 

Effen (Justus van), Dutch writer, b. Utrecht, 11 Feb. 1684. Edited the

Misanthrope, Amsterdam, 1712-16; translated Robinson Crusoe, Swift's

Tale of a Tub, and Mandeville's Thoughts on Religion, 1722; published

the Dutch Spectator, 1731-35. Died at Bois-le-Duc, 18 Sept. 1735.

 

Eichhorn (Johann Gottfried), German Orientalist and rationalist, b. 16

Oct. 1752, became Professor of Oriental Literature and afterwards

Professor of Theology at Gottingen. He published Introductions to

the Old and New Testaments and A Commentary on the Apocalypse, in

which his criticism tends to uproot belief in the Bible as a divine

revelation. He lectured every day for fifty-two years. Died 25 June,

1827.

 

"Elborch (Conrad von)," the pseudonym of a living learned Dutch writer,

whose position does not permit him to reveal his true name. Born

14 Jan. 1865, he has contributed to De Dageraad (The Daybreak),

under various pen-names, as "Fra Diavolo," "Denis Bontemps," "J. Van

den Ende," etc. He has given, in '88, a translation of the rare and

famous Latin treatise, De Tribus Impostoribus (On Three Impostors)

[Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad], with an important bibliographic and

historical introduction.

 

"Eliot (George)," the pen-name of Mary Ann Lewes (née Evans) one of

the greatest novelists of the century, b. at Arbury Farm, near Griff,

Warwickshire, 22 Nov. 1819. In '41 the family removed to Foleshill,

near Coventry. Here she made the friendship of the household of

Charles Bray, and changed her views from Evangelical Christianity

to philosophical scepticism. Influenced by The Inquiry into the

Origin of Christianity, by C. C. Hennell (Bray's brother-in-law),

she made an analysis of that work. Her first literary venture was

translating Strauss' Leben Jesu, published in 1846. After the death

of her father ('49) she travelled with the Brays upon the Continent,

and upon her return assisted Dr. Chapman in the editorship of the

Westminster Review, to which she contributed several articles. She

translated Feuerbach's Essence of Christianity, '54, the only work

published with her real name, and also translated from Spinoza's

Ethics. Introduced by Herbert Spencer to George Henry Lewes, she

linked her life with his in defiance of the conventions of society,

July, '54. Both were poor, but by his advice she turned to fiction,

in which she soon achieved success. Her Scenes of Clerical Life, Adam

Bede, Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Romola, Felix Holt, Middlemarch,

Daniel Deronda, and Theophrastus Such have become classics. As a poet,

"George Eliot" does not rank so high, but her little piece, "Oh,

may I join the choir invisible," well expresses the emotion of the

Religion of Humanity, and her Spanish Gipsy she allowed was "a mass

of Positivism." Lewes died in 1878, and within two years she married

his friend, J. W. Cross. Her new happiness was short-lived. She died

22 Dec. 1880, and is buried with Lewes at Highgate.

 

Ellero (Pietro) Italian jurisconsult, b. Pordenone, 8 Oct. 1833,

Counsellor of the High Court of Rome, has been Professor of Criminal

Law in the University of Bologna. Author of many works on legal and

social questions. His Scritti Minori, Scritti Politici and La Question

Sociale have the honor of a place on the Roman Index.

 

Elliotson (John, M.D., F.R.S.), an eminent medical man, b. London,

1791. He became physician at St. Thomas's Hospital in 1822, and made

many contributions to medical science. By new prescriptions of quinine,

creasote, etc., he excited much hostility in the profession. He was

the first in this country to advocate the use of the stethoscope. He

was also the first physician to discard knee-breeches and silk

stockings, and to wear a beard. In '31 he was chosen Professor at

University College, but, becoming an advocate of curative mesmerism,

he resigned his appointments, '38. He was founder and President of the

London Phrenological Society, and, in addition to many medical works,

edited the Zoist (thirteen vols.), translated Blumenbach's Physiology,

and wrote an introduction to Engledue's Cerebral Physiology, defending

materialism. Thackeray dedicated Pendennis to him, '50, and he received

a tribute of praise from Dickens. Died at London, 29 July, 1868.

 

Eichthal (Gustave d'), French writer, b. of Jewish family, Nancy,

22 March, 1804. He became a follower of Saint Simon, was one of the

founders of the Société d'Ethnologie, and published Les Evangiles, a

critical analysis of the gospels, 2 vols, Paris, '63. This he followed

by The Three Great Mediterranean Nations and Christianity and Socrates

and our Time, '84. He died at Paris, April, 1886, and his son published

his Mélanges de Critique Biblique (Miscellanies of Biblical Criticism),

in which there is an able study on the name and character of "Jahveh."

 

Emerson (Ralph Waldo), American essayist, poet, and philosopher,

b. Boston 25 May, 1803. He came of a line of ministers, and was

brought up like his father, educated at Harvard College, and ordained

as a Unitarian minister, 1829. Becoming too broad for the Church,

he resigned in '32. In the next year he came to Europe, visiting

Carlyle. On his return he settled at Concord, giving occasional

lectures, most of which have been published. He wrote to the Dial, a

transcendentalist paper. Tending to idealistic pantheism, but without

systematic philosophy, all his writings are most suggestive, and he

is always the champion of mental freedom, self-reliance, and the free

pursuit of science. Died at Concord, 27 April, 1882. Matthew Arnold

has pronounced his essays "the most important work done in prose"

in this century.

 

Emerson (William), English mathematician, b. Hurworth, near Darlington,

14 May, 1701. He conducted a school and wrote numerous works on

Mathematics. His vigorous, if eccentric, individuality attracted

Carlyle, who said to Mrs. Gilchrist, "Emerson was a Freethinker who

looked on his neighbor, the parson, as a humbug. He seems to have

defended himself in silence the best way he could against the noisy

clamor and unreal stuff going on around him." Died 21 May, 1782. He

compiled a list of Bible contradictions.

 

Emmet (Robert), Irish revolutionist, b. in Dublin 1778, was educated

as a barrister. Expelled from Dublin University for his sympathy with

the National Cause in 1798; he went to the Continent, but returned in

1802 to plan an ill-starred insurrection, for which he was executed 20

Sept. 1803. Emmet made a thrilling speech before receiving sentence,

and on the scaffold refused the services of a priest. It is well

known that his desire to see once more his sweetheart, the daughter

of Curran, was the cause of his capture and execution.

 

Engledue (William Collins), M.D., b. Portsea 1813. After taking his

degree at Edinburgh, he became assistant to Dr. Lizars and was elected

President of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. He returned

to Portsmouth in 1835; originated the Royal Portsmouth Hospital and

established public baths and washhouses. He contributed to the Zoist

and published an exposition of materialism under the title of Cerebral

Physiology, 1842, republished by J. Watson, 1857. Died Jan. 1859.

 

English (George Bethune), American writer and linguist, b. Cambridge,

Mass., 7 March, 1787. He studied law and divinity, and graduated

at Harvard, 1807, but becoming sceptical published Grounds of

Christianity Examined, 1813. The work excited some controversy,

and has been reprinted at Toronto, 1839. He joined the Egyptian

service and became General of Artillery. He had a variable genius

and a gift of languages. At Marseilles he passed for a Turk with

a Turkish ambassador; and at Washington he surprised a delegation

of Cherokees by disputing with them in their own tongue. He wrote a

reply to his critics, entitled Five Smooth Stones out of the Brook,

and two letters to Channing on his sermons against infidelity. Died

at Washington, 20 Sept. 1828.

 

Ense (Varnhagen von). See Varnhagen.

 

Ensor (George), an Irish writer, b. Loughgall, 1769. Educated at

Trinity College; he became B.A. 1790. He travelled largely, and was

a friend of liberty in every country. Besides other political works

he published, The Independent Man, 1806; On National Government,

1810; A Review of the Miracles, Prophecies and Mysteries of the

Old and New Testaments, first printed as Janus on Sion, 1816, and

republished 1835; and Natural Theology Examined, 1836, the last being

republished in The Library of Reason. Bentham described him as clever

but impracticable. Died Ardress, Co. Armagh, 3 Dec. 1843.

 

Epicurus, Greek philosopher, b. Samos, B.C. 342. He repaired to

Athens, B.C. 323. Influenced by the works of Demokritos, he occupied

himself with philosophy. He purchased a garden in Athens, in which he

established his school. Although much calumniated, he is now admitted

to have been a man of blameless life. According to Cicero, he had no

belief in the gods, but did not attack their existence, in order not

to offend the prejudices of the Athenians. In physics he adopted the

atomic theory, and denied immortality. He taught that pleasure is the

sovereign good; but by pleasure he meant no transient sensation, but

permanent tranquility of mind. He wrote largely, but his works are

lost. His principles are expounded in the great poem of Lucretius,

De Rerum Natura. Died B.C. 270, leaving many followers.

 

"Erdan (Alexandre)," the pen-name of Alexandre Andre Jacob, a French

writer, b. Angles 1826. He was the natural son of a distinguished

prelate. Educated at Saint Sulpice for the Church, he read Proudhon,

and refused to take holy orders. He became a journalist and an advocate

of phonography. His work, La France Mystique (1855), in which he

gives an account of French religious eccentricities, was condemned

for its scepticism which appears on every page. Sentenced to a year's

imprisonment and a fine of three thousand francs, he took refuge in

Italy. Died at Frascati, near Rome, 24 Sept. 1878.

 

Ernesti (Johann August), German critic, b. Tennstadt, 4

Aug. 1707. Studied at Wittenberg and Leipsic, where he was appointed

professor of classical literature. Renowned as a philologist, he

insisted that the Bible must be interpreted like any other book. Died

Leipsic, 11 Sept. 1781.

 

Escherny (François Louis d') Count, Swiss litterateur, b. Neufchatel,

24 Nov. 1733. He spent much of his life in travel. At Paris he became

the associate of Helvetius, Diderot, and particularly Rousseau, whom he

much admired. He wrote Lacunes de la Philosophie (Amsterdam, 1783) and

a work on Equality (1795), in which he displays his Freethought. Died

at Paris, 15 July, 1815.

 

Espinas (Alfred), French philosopher, b. Saint-Florentin, 1844. Has

translated, with Th. Ribot, H. Spencer's Principles of Psychology,

and has written studies on Experimental Philosophy in Italy, and on

Animal Societies (1877).

 

Espronceda (José), popular Spanish poet, b. Almendralejo (Estremadura)

in 1810. After the War of Independence he went to Madrid and studied

under Alberto Lista, the poet and mathematician. He became so obnoxious

to the government by his radical principles that he was imprisoned

about the age of fifteen, and banished a few years later. He passed

several years in London and Paris, and was brought under the influence

of Byron and Hugo. He fought with the people in the Paris Revolution

of July, 1830. On the death of the Spanish King in '33 he returned

to Madrid, but was again banished for too free expression of his

opinions. He returned and took part in the revolutionary contest of

'35-36. He was elected to the Cortes in '41, and appointed secretary

of embassy to The Hague. Died 23 May, 1842. Among his works are

lyrical poems, which often remind us of Heine; an unfinished epic,

El Pelayo; and El Diablo-Mundo (the Devil-World), a fine poem, due

to the inspiration of Faust and Don Juan. Espronceda was a thorough

sceptic. In his Song of the Pirate he asks, "Who is my God?--Liberty";

and in his concluding lines to a star he says:

 

 

                I unheedingly follow my path,

                At the mercy of winds and of waves.

                Wrapt thus within the arms of Fate,

                What care I if lost or saved.

 

 

Estienne (Henri), the ablest of a family of learned French printers,

known in England as Stephens; b. Paris, 1528. At the age of

eighteen he assisted his father in collating the MSS. of Dionysius

of Halicarnassus. In 1557 he established a printing office of his

own, and issued many Greek authors; and in 1572 the Thesaurus Linguæ

Græcæ. His Apologie pour Herodote (Englished as a World of Wonders)

is designed as a satire on Christian legends, and directed against

priests and priestcraft. He was driven from place to place. Sir

Philip Sidney highly esteemed him, and "kindly entertained him in

his travaile." Died 1598. Garasse classes him with Atheists.

 

Esteve (Pierre), French writer, b. Montpelier at the beginning of the

eighteenth century. He wrote a History of Astronomy and an anonymous

work on the Origin of the Universe explained from a Principle of

Matter; Berlin, 1748.

 

Ettel (Konrad), Austrian Freethinker, b. 17 Jan. 1847, at Neuhof,

Sternberg. Studied at the Gymnasium Kremsier, and at the wish of his

parents at the Theological Seminary Olmütz, which he left to study

philosophy at Vienna. He has written many poems and dramas. His

Grundzuge der Natürlichen Weltanschauung (Sketch of a Natural View

of the World), a Freethinker's catechism, 1886, has reached a fourth

edition.

 

Evans (George Henry), b. at Bromyard, Herefordshire, 25 March,

1803. While a child, his parents emigrated to New York. He set up

as a printer, and published the Correspondent, the first American

Freethought paper. He also published the Working Man's Advocate, Man,

Young America, and the Radical. He labored for the transportation

of mails on Sundays, the limitation of the right to hold lands,

the abolition of slavery, and other reforms. His brother became one

of the chief elders of the Shakers. Died in Granville, New Jersey,

2 Feb. 1855.

 

Evans (William), b. Swansea, 1816, became a follower of Robert

Owen. He established The Potter's Examiner and Workman's Advocate,

'43, and wrote in the Co-operative journals under the anagram of

"Millway Vanes." Died 14 March, 1887.

 

Evanson (Edward), theological critic, b. Warrington, Lancashire,

21 April, 1731. He graduated at Cambridge, became vicar of South

Mimms, and afterwards rector of Tewkesbury. Entertaining doubts

on the Trinity, he submitted them to the Archbishop of Canterbury

without obtaining satisfaction. He made some changes in reading the

Litany, and for expressing heretical opinions in a sermon in 1771,

he was prosecuted, but escaped in consequence of some irregularity

in the proceedings. In 1772 he published an anonymous tract on the

Trinity. In 1797 he addressed a letter to the Bishop of Lichfield

on the Prophecies of the New Testament, in which he tried to show

that either Christianity was false or the orthodox churches. In the

following year he resigned both his livings and took pupils. In

1792 he published his principal work, The Dissonance of the Four

Generally-Received Evangelists, in which he rejected all the gospels,

except Luke, as unauthentic. This work involved him in a controversy

with Dr. Priestley, and brought a considerable share of obloquy and

persecution from the orthodox. Died 25 Sept. 1805.

 

Eve'merus or Euhemerus, a Sicilian author of the time of Alexander

the Great, who sought to rationalise religion, and treated the gods

as dead heroes. He is usually represented as an Atheist.

 

Eudes (Emile François Désiré), French Communist, b. Roncey, 1844. He

became a chemist, and was condemned, with Régnard, to three months'

imprisonment for writing in La Libre Pensée, '67, of which he was

director. He joined the ranks of the Commune and became a general. When

the Versailles troops entered Paris he escaped to Switzerland. On

his return after the Amnesty, he wrote with Blanqui. Died at a public

meeting in Paris, 5 Aug. 1888.

 

Ewerbeck (August Hermann), Dr., b. Dantzic. After the events of 1848,

he lived at Paris. He translated into German Cabet's Voyage en Icarie,

and in an important work entitled Qu'est ce que La Religion? (What

is Religion), '50, translated into French Feuerbach's "Essence of

Religion," "Essence of Christianity," and "Death and Immortality." In

a succeeding volume What is the Bible? he translated from Daumer,

Ghillany, Luetzelberger and B. Bauer. Ewerbeck also wrote in French

an historical work on Germany and the Germans; Paris, 1851.

 

Fabre D'Eglantine (Philippe François Nazaire), French revolutionist and

playwriter, b. Carcassonne, 28 Dec. 1755. After some success as a poet

and playwright he was chosen as deputy to the National Convention. He

voted for the death of Louis XVI., and proposed the substitution of

the republican for the Christian calendar, Sept. 1793. He was executed

with his friend Danton, 5 April, 1794.

 

Fabricatore (Bruto), Italian writer, b. Sarno, Naples, 1824. His father

Antonio had the honor of having a political work placed on the Index,

1821. He took part in the anti-papal Freethought Council of 1869,

and has written works on Dante, etc.

 

Farinata. See Uberti (Farinata degli).

 

Fauche (Hippolyte), French Orientalist, b. Auxerre, 22 May,

1797. Translations of the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the plays

of Kalidasa, attest his industry and erudition. He contributed to La

Liberté de Penser. Died at Juilly, 28 Feb. 1869.

 

Fausto (Sebastiano), Da Longiano, Italian of the beginning of the 16th

century, who is said to have projected a work The Temple of Truth,

with the intention of overturning all religions. He translated the

Meditations of Antoninus, also wrote observations on Cicero, 1566.

 

Feer (Henri Léon), French Orientalist, b. Rouen, 27 Nov. 1830, is

chiefly known by his Buddhistic Studies, 1871-75.

 

Fellens (Jean Baptiste), Professor of History, b. Bar-sur-Aube,

1794. Author of a work on Pantheism, Paris, 1873.

 

Fellowes (Robert), LL.D., b. Norfolk 1771, educated at Oxford. He

took orders in 1795, and wrote many books, but gradually quitted the

doctrines of the Church and adopted the Deistic opinions maintained in

his work entitled The Religion of the Universe (1836). Dr. Fellowes

was proprietor of the Examiner and a great supporter of the London

University. Died 5 Feb. 1847.

 

Fenzi (Sebastiano), Italian writer, b. Florence, 22 Oct. 1822. Educated

by the Jesuits in Vienna, England and Paris. Founded in '49 the Revista

Britannica, writer on the journal L'Italiano, and has written a credo

which is a non-credo.

 

Feringa (Frederik), Dutch writer, b. Groningen, 16 April, 1840. Studied

mathematics. A contributor to De Dageraad (The Daybreak) over the

signature, "Muricatus"; he has written important studies, entitled

Democratie en Wetenschap (Democracy and Science), 1871, also wrote

in De Vrije Gedachte (Freethought).

 

Fernau (Rudolf), Dr., German author of Christianity and Practical

Life, Leipsic, 1868; The Alpha and Omega of Reason, Leipsic, 1870;

Zoologica Humoristica, 1882; and a recent work on Religion as Ghost

and God Worship.

 

Feron (Emile), Belgian advocate, b. Brussels, 11 July, 1841. Councillor

of the International Freethought Federation.

 

Ferrari (Giuseppe), Italian philosopher, b. Milan 7 March, 1811. A

disciple of Romagnosi, a study of whose philosophical writings he

published '35. He also published the works of Vico, and in '39 a work

entitled Vico and Italy, and in the following year another on the

Religious Opinions of Campanella. Attacked by the Catholic party,

he was exiled, living in Paris, where he became a collaborator with

Proudhon and a contributor to the Revue de Deux Mondes. In '42 he

was made Professor of Philosophy at Strasbourg, but appointment was

soon cancelled on account of his opinions. He wrote a History of the

Revolution of Italy, '55, and a work on China and Europe. His history

of the Reason of the State, '60, is his most pronounced work. In '59,

he was elected to the Italian Parliament, where he remained one of

the most radical members until his death at Rome 1 July, 1876.

 

Ferri (Enrico), Member of the Italian Parliament, formerly professor

of criminal law at the University of Siena, studied at Mantua under

Professor Ardigo. Has written a large work on the Non-Existence of

Free Will, and is with Professor Lombroso, leader of the new Italian

school of criminal law reform.

 

Ferri (Luigi), Italian philosopher, b. Bologna, 15 June 1826. Studied

in Paris and became licentiate of letters in 1850. Author of History

of Philosophy in Italy, Paris 1868; The Psychology of Pomponazzi, etc.

 

Ferrière (Emile), French writer and licentiate of letters, b. Paris,

1830; author of Literature and Philosophy, 1865; Darwinism, 1872,

which has gone through several editions; The Apostles, a work

challenging early Christian Morality, 1879; The Soul the Function

of the Brain, a scientific work of popular character in two vols.,

1883; and Paganism of the Hebrews until the Babylonian Captivity,

1884. All these are works of pronounced Freethought. M. Ferrière has

also announced a work Jesus bar Joseph.

 

Feuerbach (Friedrich Heinrich), son of a famous German jurist, was

b. at Ansbach 29 Sept. 1806. He studied philology, but set himself to

preach what his brother Ludwig taught. He wrote Theanthropos, a series

of Aphorisms (Zurich, '38), and an able work on the Religion of the

Future, '43-47; and Thoughts and Facts, Hamburg, '62. Died Nurenberg,

24 Jan. 1880.

 

Feuerbach (Ludwig Andreas), brother of the preceding, b. Landshut,

Bavaria, 28 July 1804. He studied theology with a view to the Church,

but under the influence of Hegel abandoned it for philosophy. In '28

he was made professor at Erlangen, but was dismissed in consequence

of his first published work, Thoughts upon Death and Immortality,

'30, in which he limited immortality to personal influence on the

human race. After a wandering life he married in '37, and settled

near Anspach. He published there a history of modern philosophy from

Bacon to Spinoza. This was followed by a work on Peter Bayle. In '38

he wrote on philosophy and Christianity, and in '41 his work called

the The Essence of Christianity, in which he resolves theology

into anthropology. This book was translated by Mary Ann Evans,

'53. He also wrote Principles of the Philosophy of the Future. After

the revolution of '48 he was invited to lecture by the students of

Heidelberg, and gave his course on The Essence of Religion, published

in '51. In '57 he published Theogony from the Sources of Classical,

Hebrew, and Christian Antiquity, and in '66 Theism, Freedom, and

Immortality from the Standpoint of Anthropology. Died at Rechenberg,

near Nurenberg, 13 Sept. 1872. His complete works were published at

Leipsic in 1876. He was a deep thinker and lucid writer.

 

Fichte (Johann Gottlieb), one of the greatest German thinkers,

b. 19 May, 1762. He studied at the Universities of Jena, Leipsic,

and Wittenberg, embraced "determinism," became acquainted with Kant,

and published anonymously, A Criticism of all Revelation. He obtained

a chair of philosophy at Jena, where he developed his doctrines

of science, asserting that the problem of philosophy is to seek

on what foundations knowledge rests. He gave moral discourses in

the lecture-room on Sunday, and was accused of holding atheistical

opinions. He was in consequence banished from Saxony, 1799. He appears

to have held that God was not a personal being, but a system of

intellectual, moral, and spiritual laws. Fichte took deep interest in

the cause of German independence, and did much to rouse his countrymen

against the domination of the French during the conquest which led to

the fall of Napoleon. Besides many publications, in which he expounds

his philosophy, he wrote eloquent treatises on The Vocation of Man,

The Nature and Vocation of the Scholar, The Way Towards the Blessed

Life, etc. Died Berlin 27 Jan. 1814.

 

"Figaro." See Larra (Mariano José de).

 

Figuiera (Guillem), Provençal troubadour and precursor of the

Renaissance, b. Toulouse about 1190. His poems were directed against

the priests and Court of Rome.

 

Filangieri (Gaetano), an Italian writer on legislation, b. Naples,

18 Aug. 1752. He was professor at that city. His principal work is

La Scienza della Legislazione, 1780. In the fifth volume he deals

with pre-Christian religions. The work was put on the Index. Died 21

July, 1788.

 

Fiorentino (Francesco), Italian philosopher, b. Sambiasa, Nicastro,

1 May, 1834. In 1860 he became Professor of Philosophy at Spoletto,

in '62 at Bologna, and in '71 at Naples. He was elected deputy

to Parliament, Nov. '70. A disciple of Felice Tocco, he paid

special attention to the early Italian Freethinkers, writing upon

The Pantheism of Giordano Bruno, Naples, '61; Pietro Pomponazzi,

Florence, '68; Bernardius Telesio, Florence, 2 vols., '72-74. He

has also written on Strauss and Spinoza. In the Nuova Antologia he

wrote on J. C. Vanini, and on Cæsalpinus, Campanella, and Bruno. A

friend of Bertrando Spaventa, he succeeded to his chair at Naples in

'83. Died 22 Dec. 1884.

 

Fischart (Johann), German satirist called Mentzer, b. Strasbourg about

1545. His satires in prose and verse remind one of Rabelais, whom he

in part translated, and are often directed against the Church. Died

at Forbach in 1614.

 

Fischer (J. C.), German materialist, author of a work on the freedom of

the will 1858, a criticism of Hartmann's Philosophy of the Unconscious,

'72; Das Bewusstsein, '74. Died 1888.

 

Fischer (Kuno), German philosopher, b. 23 July, 1824, at Sandewald,

Silesia. Educated at Leipsic and Halle, in 1856 he was appointed

Professor of Philosophy at Jena. His chief works are History of Modern

Philosophy, '52-72; Life and Character of Spinoza; Francis Bacon,

'56; and Lessing, '81.

 

Fiske (John), American author, b. Hartford, Connecticut, 30 March,

1842. Graduated at Harvard, '63. In '69-71 was Lecturer on Philosophy

at that University, and from '72-9 Librarian. Mr. Fiske has lectured

largely, and has written Myths and Mythmakers, '72; Outlines of

Cosmic Philosophy, 2 vols. '74; Darwinism, and other essays, '79;

Excursions of an Evolutionist, '83; The Idea of God as Affected by

Modern Knowledge, '85.

 

Flaubert (Gustave), French novelist, b. Rouen, 12 Dec. 1821. The son

of a distinguished surgeon, he abandoned his father's profession for

literature. His masterpiece, Madame Bovary, published in '56 in the

Revue de Paris, drew a prosecution upon that journal which ended

in a triumph for the author. For his next great work, Salammbô,

'62, an epic of Carthage, he prepared himself by long antiquarian

studies. His intellectual tendencies are displayed in The Temptation

of Saint Anthony. He stands eminent among the naturalist school for

his artistic fidelity. He was a friend of Théophile Gautier, Ivan

Turgenev, Emile Zola and "George Sand." His correspondence with the

last of these has been published. He distinctly states therein that

on subjects like immortality men cheat themselves with words. Died

at Rouen, 9 May, 1880.

 

Flourens (Marie Jean Pierre), French scientist, b. near Béziers, 15

April, 1794. In 1828 he was admitted into the Academy of Sciences,

after having published a work on the nervous system of vertebrates;

he became perpetual secretary in '33. A work on Human Longevity and

the Quantity of Life on the Globe was very popular. Died near Paris,

6 Dec. 1867.

 

Flourens (Gustave), eldest son of the preceding, b. Paris,

4 Aug. 1838. In '63 he took his father's chair at the College of

France, and his course on "Ethnography" attracted much attention. In

the following year he published his work on The Science of Man. His

bold heresy lost him his chair, and he collaborated on Larousse's

Grand Dictionnaire. In '65 he left France for Crete, where for three

years he fought in the mountains against the Turkish troops. Upon

his return he was arrested for presiding at a political meeting. He

showed himself an ardent Revolutionist, and was killed in a skirmish

near Nanterre, 3 April, 1871.

 

Fonblanque (Albany William), English journalist, b. London, 1793;

the son of an eminent lawyer. In 1820 he was on the staff of the

Times, and contributed to the Westminster Review. In '30 he became

editor of the Examiner, and retained his post until '47. His caustic

wit and literary attainments did much to forward advanced liberal

views. A selection of his editorials was published under the title,

England under Seven Administrations. Died 13 Oct. 1872.

 

Fontanier (Jean), French writer, who was burnt at the Place

de Grève, 1621, for blasphemies in a book entitled Le Tresor

Inestimable. Garasse, with little reason, calls him an Atheist.

 

Fontenelle (Bernard le Bovier de), nephew of Corneille, called

by Voltaire the most universal genius of the reign of Louis XIV.,

b. Rouen, 11 Feb. 1657. Dedicated to the Virgin and St. Bernard,

he was educated at the Jesuits' College. He went to Paris in 1674;

wrote some plays and Dialogues of the Dead, 1683. In 1686 appeared

his Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds, and in the following

year his History of Oracles, based on the work of Van Dale, for which

he was warmly attacked by the Jesuit Baltus, as impugning the Church

Fathers. He was made secretary to the Academy of Sciences in 1699,

a post he held forty-two years. He wrote Doubts on the Physical

System of Occasional Causes, and is also credited with a letter

on the Resurrection of the Body, a piece on The Infinite, and a

Treatise on Liberty; "but," says l'Abbé Ladvocat, "as these books

contain many things contrary to religion, it is to be hoped they are

not his." Fontenelle nearly reached the age of one hundred. A short

time before he died (9 Jan. 1757), being asked if he felt any pain,

"I only feel," he replied, "a difficulty of existing."

 

Foote (George William), writer and orator, b. Plymouth, 11

Jan. 1850. Was "converted" in youth, but became a Freethinker by

reading and independent thought. Came to London in 1868, and was soon a

leading member of the Young Men's Secular Association. He taught in the

Hall of Science Sunday School, and became secretary of the Republican

League. Devoting his time to propagating his principles, he wrote

in the Secular Chronicle and National Reformer, and in '76 started

the Secularist in conjunction with Mr. G. J. Holyoake, and after

the ninth number conducting it alone. This afterwards merged in the

Secular Review. In '79 Mr. Foote edited the Liberal, and in Sept. '81,

started the Freethinker, which he still edits. In the following year

a prosecution was commenced by the Public Prosecutor, who attempted

to connect Mr. Bradlaugh with it. Undaunted, Mr. Foote issued a

Christmas number with an illustrated "Comic Life of Christ." For

this a prosecution was started by the City authorities against him

and his publisher and printer, and the trial came on first in March,

'83. The jury disagreed, but Judge North refused to discharge the

prisoners, and they were tried again on the 5th March; Judge North

directing that a verdict of guilty must be returned, and sentencing

Mr. Foote to one year's imprisonment as an ordinary criminal subject

to the same "discipline" as burglars. "I thank you, my lord; your

sentence is worthy of your creed," he remarked. On 24 April, '83,

Mr. Foote was brought from prison before Lord Coleridge and a special

jury on the first charge, and after a splendid defence, upon which

he was highly complimented by the judge, the jury disagreed. He has

debated with Dr. McCann, Rev. A. J. Harrison, the Rev. W. Howard,

the Rev. H. Chapman, and others. Mr. Foote has written much,

and lectures continually. Among his works we mention Heroes and

Martyrs of Freethought (1876); God, the Soul, and a Future State;

Secularism the True Philosophy of Life (1879); Atheism and Morality;

The Futility of Prayer; Bible Romances; Death's Test, afterwards

enlarged into Infidel Death-Beds; The God Christians Swear by; Was

Jesus Insane? Blasphemy No Crime; Arrows of Freethought; Prisoner

for Blasphemy (1884); Letters to Jesus Christ; What Was Christ? Bible

Heroes; and has edited The Bible Hand-book with Mr. W. P. Ball, and

the Jewish Life of Christ with the present writer, in conjunction

with whom he has written The Crimes of Christianity. From 1883-87

he edited Progress, in which appeared many important articles from

his pen. Mr. Foote is President of the London Secular Federation,

and a Vice-President of the National Secular Society.

 

Fouillee (Alfred), French philosopher, b. La Pouëze, near Angers,

18 Oct. 1838. Has been teacher at several lyceums, notably at

Bordeaux. He was crowned by the Academy of Moral Sciences for two

works on the Philosophy of Plato and Socrates. Elected Professor

of Philosophy at the Superior Normal School, Paris, he sustained

a thesis at the Sorbonne on Liberty and Determinism, which was

violently attacked by the Catholics. This work has gone through

several editions. M. Fonillée has also written an able History of

Philosophy, 1875, Contemporary Social Science, and an important

Critique of Contemporary Moral Systems (1883). He has written much

in the Revue des Deux Mondes, and is considered, with Taine, Ribot,

and Renan, the principal representative of French philosophy. His

system is known as that of idèes-forces, as he holds that ideas are

themselves forces. His latest work expounds the views of M. Guyau.

 

Forberg (Friedrich Karl), German philosopher, b. Meuselwitz, 30

Aug. 1770, studied theology at Leipsic, and became private docent

at Jena. Becoming attached to Fichte's philosophy, he wrote with

Fichte in Niethammer's Philosophical Journal on "The Development

of Religious Ideas," and an article on "The Ground of our Faith in

Divine Providence," which brought on them a charge of Atheism, and

the journal was confiscated by the Electorate of Saxony. Forberg held

religion to consist in devotion to morality, and wrote An Apology

for Alleged Atheism, 1799. In 1807 he became librarian at Coburg,

and devoted himself to the classics, issuing a Manuel d'Erotologie

Classique. Died Hildburghausen 1 Jan. 1848.

 

Forder (Robert), b. Yarmouth, 14 Oct. 1844. Coming to to Woolwich,

he became known as a political and Freethought lecturer. He took part

in the movement to save Plumstead Common from the enclosers, and was

sent to trial for riotous proceedings, but was acquitted. In '77 he

was appointed paid secretary to the National Secular Society, a post

he has ever since occupied. During the imprisonment of Messrs. Foote,

Ramsey, and Kemp, in '83, Mr. Forder undertook charge of the publishing

business. He has lectured largely, and written some pamphlets.

 

Forlong (James George Roche). Major General, H.B.A., b. Lanarkshire,

Scotland, Nov. 1824. Educated as an engineer, joined the Indian

army '43, fought in the S. Mahrata campaign '45-6, and in the second

Burmese war. On the annexation of Barma he became head of the Survey,

Roads and canal branches. In '58-9 he travelled extensively through

Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, etc. From '61-71 was

a superintending engineer of Calcutta, and in Upper Bengal, North-west

Provinces, and Rajputana, and '72-76 was Secretary and Chief Engineer

to the Government of Oudh. He retired in '77 after an active service of

33 years, during which he frequently received the thanks of the Indian

and Home Governments. In his youth he was an active Evangelical,

preaching to the natives in their own tongues. He has, however,

given his testimony that during his long experience he has known no

one converted solely by force of reasoning or "Christian evidences." A

great student of Eastern religions, archæology, and languages, he has

written in various periodicals of the East and West, and has embodied

the result of many years researches in two illustrated quarto volumes

called Rivers of Life, setting forth the evolution of all religions

from their radical objective basis to their present spiritualised

developments. In an elaborate chart he shows by streams of color the

movements of thought from 10,000 B.C. to the present time.

 

Fourier (François Marie Charles), French socialist, b. Besançon, 7

April, 1772. He passed some of the early years of his life as a common

soldier. His numerous works amid much that is visionary have valuable

criticisms upon society, and suggestions for its amelioration. He

believed in the transmigration of souls. Died at Paris, 8 Oct. 1837.

 

Fox (William Johnson), orator and political writer, b. near Wrentham,

Suffolk, 1786. Intended for the Congregational Ministry, he became

a Unitarian, and for many years preached at South Place, Finsbury,

where he introduced the plan of taking texts from other books

besides the Bible. One of his first published sermons was on behalf of

toleration for Deists at the time of the Carlile prosecutions 1819. He

gradually advanced from the acceptance of miracles to their complete

rejection. During the Anti-Corn Law agitation he was a frequent

and able speaker. In 1847 he became M.P. for Oldham, and retained

his seat until his retirement in '61. He was a prominent worker for

Radicalism, contributing to the Westminster Review, Weekly Dispatch,

and Daily News. For some years he edited the Monthly Repository. His

works, which include spirited Lectures to the Working Classes, and a

philosophical statement of Religions Ideas, were published in twelve

volumes, '65-68. Died 3 June, 1864.

 

"Franchi (Ausonio)," the pen name of Francesco Cristoforo Bonavino,

Italian ex-priest, b. Pegli, 24 Feb. 1821. Brought up in the Church

and ordained priest in '44, the practice of the confessional made

him sceptical and he quitted it for philosophy, having ceased to

believe in its dogmas, '49. In '52 he published his principal work,

entitled The Philosophy of the Italian Schools. The following year

he published The Religion of the Nineteenth Century. He established

La Razione (Reason) and Il Libero Pensiero at Turin, '54-57; wrote

on the Rationalism of the People, Geneva, '56, and became an active

organiser of anti-clerical societies. In '66 he published a criticism

of Positivism, and has since written Critical and Polemical Essays,

3 vols. Milan, '70-72. In '68 was appointed Professor of Philosophy

in the Academy of Milan by Terenzio Mamiani.

 

Francis (Samuel), M.D., author of Watson Refuted, published by

Carlile, 1819.

 

Francois de Neufchateau (Nicolas Louis), Count, French statesman,

poet, and academician, b. Lorraine, 17 April, 1750. In his youth he

became secretary to Voltaire, who regarded him as his successor. He

favored the Revolution, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly

in '91. As Member of the Directory, '97, he circulated d'Holbach's

Contagion Sacrée. He became President of the Senate, '14-16. He wrote

numerous pieces. Died at Paris 10 Jan. 1828.

 

Franklin (Benjamin), American patriot and philosopher, b. Boston 17

Jan. 1706. He was apprenticed to his uncle as a printer, came to

England and worked at his trade '24-26; returned to Philadelphia,

where he published a paper and became known by his Poor Richard's

Almanack. He founded the public library at Philadelphia, and

made the discovery of the identity of lightning with the electric

fluid. He became member of the Provincial Assembly and was sent to

England as agent. When examined before the House of Commons he spoke

boldly against the Stamp Act. He was active during the war with this

country, and was elected member of Congress. Became envoy to France,

and effected the treaty of alliance with that country, 6 Feb. '78,

which secured the independence of the American colonies. Turgot summed

up his services in the fine line Eripuit cælo fulmen, sceptrumque

tyrannis. "He wrested the thunderbolt from heaven and the sceptre

from kings." Died at Philadelphia, 17 April, 1790.

 

Fransham (John), a native of Norwich, b. 1730, became a teacher of

mathematics, renounced the Christian religion, and professed Paganism,

writing several treatises in favor of disbelief. Died 1810.

 

Frauenstaedt (Christian Martin Julius), Dr., philosopher and disciple

of Schopenhauer, b. 17 April, 1813, at Bojanowo, Posen. He studied

philosophy and theology at Berlin, but meeting Schopenhauer at

Frankfort in '47 he adopted the views of the pessimist, who made

him his literary executor. Among Frauenstädt's works are Letters on

Natural Religion, '58, The Liberty of Men and the Personality of God,

'38; Letters on the Philosophy of Schopenhauer, '54, etc. Died at

Berlin, 13 Jan. 1879.

 

Frederick II. (Emperor of Germany), the greatest man of the thirteenth

century and founder of the Renaissance, b. 26 Dec. 1194. Was elected

to the throne in 1210. He promoted learning, science, and art, founded

the Universities of Vienna and Naples, had the works of Aristotle

and Averroes translated, and was the patron of all the able men of

his time. For his resistance to the tyranny of the Church he was

twice excommunicated. He answered by a letter attacking the Pope

(Gregory IX.), whom he expelled from Rome in '28. He made a treaty

with the Sultan of Egypt, by which he became master of Jerusalem. For

some heretical words in his letter, in which he associates the names

of Christ, Moses, and Mohammed, he was reported author of the famous

work De Tribus Impostoribus. He addressed a series of philosophical

questions to Ibn Sabin, a Moslem doctor. He is said to have called

the Eucharist truffa ista, and is credited also with the saying

"Ignorance is the mother of devotion." Died at Florence, 13 Dec. 1250.

 

Frederick the Great (King of Prussia), b. 24 Jan. 1712, was educated in

a very rigid fashion by his father, Frederick William I. He ascended

the throne and soon displayed his political and military ability. By

a war with Austria he acquired Silesia. He wrote several deistical

pieces, and tolerated all religions and no religion saying "every man

must get to heaven his own way." He attracted to his court men like

Lamettrie, D'Argens, Maupertuis, and Voltaire, who, says Carlyle,

continued all his days Friedrich's chief thinker. In 1756 France,

Austria, Sweden, and Russia united against him, but he held his own

against "a world in arms." After a most active life Frederick died

at Potsdam, 17 Aug. 1786. The Philosophical Breviary attributed to

him was really written by Cérutti.

 

Fredin (Nils Edvard), Swedish writer, b. 1857. Has published

translation of modern poets, and also of Col. Ingersoll's writings. In

'80 he was awarded first prize by the Swedish Academy for an original

poem.

 

Freeke (William), b. about 1663, wrote A Brief but Clear Confutation

of the Trinity, which being brought before the notice of the House of

Lords it was on 3 Jan. 1693 ordered to be burnt by the common hangman,

and the author being prosecuted by the Attorney General was fined £500.

 

Freiligrath (Ferdinand) German poet, b. Detmold 17 June, 1810. In

'35 he acquired notice by some poems. In '44 he published his

profession of faith Mein Glaubensbekenntniss, and was forced to

fly the country. In '48 he returned and joined Karl Marx on the

Neue Rheinische Zeitung. Again prosecuted he took refuge in London,

devoting his leisure to poetry and translation. Freiligrath holds a

high place among the poets of his time. Died Kannstadt, near Stuttgart,

18 March 1876.

 

Fréret (Nicolas), French historical critic, b. 15 Feb. 1688. He was a

pupil of Rollin, and was patronised by Boulainvilliers. Distinguished

by his attainments in ancient history, philosophy and chronology,

he became member of the Academy of Inscriptions 1714. For a Discourse

on the "Origin of the Franks," he was incarcerated for four months in

the Bastille. While here he read Bayle so often that he could repeat

much from memory. He was an unbeliever, and the author of the atheistic

Letters from Thrasybulus to Leucippe on Natural and Revealed Religion,

and perhaps of La Moisade, a criticism of the Pentateuch, translated

by D. I. Eaton, as A Preservative against Religious Prejudices. The

Letters to Eugenie, attributed to Fréret, were written by D'Holbach,

and the Critical Examination of the Apologists of the Christian

Religion by J. Levesque de Burigny. A Critical Examination of the New

Testament, 1777 which long circulated in MS. has also been wrongly

attributed to Fréret. Died at Paris, 8 March, 1749.

 

Frey (William), the adopted name of a Russian Positivist

and philanthropist, b. of noble family, the son of a general,

1839. Educated at the higher military school, St. Petersburg, he

became teacher in a Government High School, and disgusted with the

oppression and degradation of his country he went to New York in

1866 where he established co-operative communities and also Russian

colonies in Kansas and Oregon. In 1884 he came to London in order to

influence his countrymen. In '87 he revisited Russia. Died 6 Nov. 1888.

 

Fries (Jacob Friedrich), German philosopher, b. Barby, 23

Aug. 1773. Brought up as a Moravian, he became a Deist. Fries is of

the Neo-Kantian rationalistic school. Among his writings are a System

of Metaphysics, 1824; a Manual of the Philosophy of Religion and

Philosophical Æsthetics, Heidelberg '32; in which he resolves religion

into poetry. He criticised Kant's proofs of God and immortality,

and wrote a History of Philosophy. Died Jena, 10 Aug. 1843.

 

Frothingham (Octavius Brooks), American author, b. Boston, 26

Nov. 1822. Graduated at Harvard, '43, and became Unitarian minister. In

'60 he became pastor of the most radical Unitarian congregation in

New York. In '67 he became first president of the Free Religious

Association, but, becoming too advanced, resigned in '79 and came

to Europe. Since his return to Boston, '81, he has devoted himself

to literature. He has published The Religion of Humanity, N.Y.,

'73; Life of Theodore Parker, '74; The Cradle of the Christ, '77;

Life of Gerrit Smith, 78; and numerous sermons.

 

Froude (James Anthony), man of letters and historian, the son of an

Archdeacon of Totnes, was b. Dartington, Devon, 23 April, 1818, and

educated at Westminster and Oxford, where he took his degree in '40,

was elected fellow of Exeter College and received deacon's orders. At

first, under the influence of the Romanising movement, he became

a rationalist and abandoned his fellowship and clerical life. His

Nemesis of Faith, '48, showed the nature of his objections. Mr. Froude

devoted his abilities to a literary career, and fell under the

influence of Carlyle. For many years he edited Fraser's Magazine,

in which he wrote largely. His essays are collected under the title

of Short Studies on Great Subjects, '71-83. His largest work is the

History of England, from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the

Spanish Armada, '56-76. His Life of Carlyle, '82, and publication

of Carlyle's Reminiscenses provoked much controversy. His magical

translation of Lucian's most characteristic Dialogue of the Gods

is done with too much verve to allow of the supposition that the

translator is not in sympathy with his author.

 

Fry (John), a colonel in the Parliamentary army. In 1640 he was

elected one of the burgesses of Shaftesbury, but his return was

declared void. After serving with distinction in the army, he was

called to the House of Commons by the Independents in 1648. He voted

for Charles I. being put on trial; and sat in judgment when sentence

was passed on him. He was charged with blasphemy and wrote The Accuser

Shamed, 1649, which was ordered to be burnt for speaking against

"that chaffie and absurd opinion of three persons in the Godhead." He

also wrote The Clergy in their Colors, 1650.

 

Fuller (Sarah Margaret), American authoress, b. Cambridgeport,

Massachusetts, 23 May, 1810. In '40-42 she edited the Dial. She

also published Woman in the Nineteenth Century, '44. Among friends

she counted Emerson, Hawthorne, Channing, and Mazzini. She visited

Europe and married at Rome the Marquis D'Ossoli. Returning she was

shipwrecked and drowned off the coast of New Jersey, 16 July, 1850.

 

Furnemont (Léon), Belgian advocate, b. Charleroi, 17 April,

1861. Entered the school of Mines Liége in '76, and founded the Circle

of Progressive Students. Became president of International Congress

of Students, '84, and represented Young Belgium at the funeral of

Victor Hugo. Radical candidate at the Brussels municipal elections,

he obtained 3,500 votes, but was not elected. He is a Councillor

of the International Federation of Freethinkers and director of a

monthly journal, La Raison, 1889.

 

Gabarro (Bartolomé) Dr., Spanish writer, b. Ygualade, Barcelona,

27 Sept. 1846, was educated in a clerical college with a view to

taking the clerical habit, he refused and went to America. After

travelling much, he established a day school in Barcelona and founded

an Anti-clerical League of Freethinkers pledged to live without

priests. This induced much clerical wrath, especially when Dr. Gabarro

founded some 200 Anti-clerical groups and over 100 lay schools. For

denouncing the assassins of a Freethinker he was pursued for libel,

sentenced to four years' imprisonment, and forced to fly to Cerbere

on the frontier, where he continues his anti-clerical journal La

Tronada. He has written many anti-clerical brochures and an important

work on Pius IX. and History.

 

Gabelli (Aristide), Italian writer, b. Belluno, 22 March, 1830. Author

of The Religious Question in Italy, '64, Man and the Moral Sciences,

'69, in which he rejects all metaphysics and supernaturalism, and

Thoughts, 1886.

 

Gage (Matilda Joslyn), American reformer, b. Cicero, New

York, 24 March, 1826. Her father, Dr. H. Joslyn, was an active

abolitionist. Educated at De Peyster and Hamilton, N.Y., in '45 she

married Henry H. Gage. From '52 till '61 she wrote and spoke against

slavery. In '72 she was made President of the National Woman's

Suffrage Association. She is joint author of The History of Woman

Suffrage with Miss Anthony and Mrs. Stanton, and with them considers

the Church the great obstacle to woman's progress.

 

Gagern (Carlos von), b. Rehdorf, Neumark, 12 Dec. 1826. Educated at

Berlin, travelled in '47 to Paris where he became acquainted with

Humboldt. He went to Spain and studied Basque life in the Pyrenees;

served in the Prussian army, became a friend of Wislicenus and the

free-religious movement. In '52 he went to Mexico; here he had an

appointment under General Miramon. In the French-Mexican expedition

he was taken prisoner in '63; released in '65 he went to New York. He

was afterwards military attaché for Mexico at Berlin. His freethought

appears in his memoirs entitled Dead and Living, 1884, and in his

volume Sword and Trowel, 1888. Died Madrid 19 Dec. 1885.

 

Gall (Franz Joseph), founder of phrenology, b. Baden, 6 March, 1758. He

practised as a physician in Vienna, devoting much time to the study of

the brain, and began to lecture on craniology in that city. In 1802 he

was prohibited from lecturing. He joined Dr. Spurzheim and they taught

their system in various cities of Europe. Died at Paris, 22 Aug. 1828.

 

Galton (Francis), grandson of Erasmus Darwin, was born in

1822. Educated at Birmingham, he studied medicine at King's College,

London, and graduated at Cambridge, '24. In '48 and '50 he travelled in

Africa. He wrote a popular Art of Travel, and has distinguished himself

by many writings bearing on heredity, of which we name Hereditary

Genius, '69, English Men of Science, '70. In his Inquiries into Human

Faculty and Developement, '83, he gives statistical refutation of the

theory of prayer. Mr. Galton was Secretary of the British Association

from '63-68, President of the Geographical Section in '62 and '72,

and of the Anthropological Section in '77 and '85. He is President

of the Anthropological Institute.

 

Gambetta (Léon Michel), French orator and statesman, b. Cahors, 30

Oct. 1838. His uncle was a priest and his father wished him to become

one. Educated at a clerical seminary, he decided to study for the

law. In '59 he was enrolled at the bar. His defence of Delescluze

(14 Nov. 1868), in which he vigorously attacked the Empire, made

him famous. Elected to the Assembly by both Paris and Marseilles, he

became the life and leader of the Opposition. After Sedan he proclaimed

the Republic and organised the national defences, leaving Paris, then

invested by the Germans, in a balloon. From Tours he invigorated every

department, and was the inspiration of the few successes won by the

French. Gambetta preserved the Republic against all machinations,

and compelled MacMahon to accept the second of the alternatives,

"Se soumettre ou se demettre." He founded the Republique Française,

and became President of the Chamber. Gambetta was a professed

disciple of Voltaire, an admirer of Comte, and an open opponent of

clericalism. All the members of his Cabinet were Freethinkers. Died

31 Dec. 1882. His public secular funeral was one of the largest

gatherings ever witnessed.

 

Gambon (Ferdinand Charles), French Communist, b. Bourges, 19 March,

1820. In 1839 he became an Advocate, and he founded the Journal des

Ecoles. In '48 he was elected representative. The Empire drove him

into exile, he returned at amnesty of '59. In '69 he refused to pay

taxes. In '71 was elected deputy at Paris, and was one of the last

defenders of the Commune. Imprisoned, he was released in '82. Formed

a League for abolishing standing army. Died 17 Sept. 1887.

 

Garat (Dominique Joseph), Count, French revolutionist, orator and

writer, b. near Bayonne, 8 September, 1749. He became a friend of

d'Alembert, Diderot and Condercet, and in 1789 was elected to the

Assembly, where he spoke in favor of the abolition of religion. As

minister of justice he had to notify to Louis XVI his condemnation. He

afterwards taught at the Normal School, and became a senator, count,

and president of the Institute. Died at Urdains 9 December, 1833.

 

Garborg (Arne), b. Western Coast of Norway, 25 Jan. 1851. Brought

up as a teacher at the public schools, he entered the University of

Christiania in 1875. Founded a weekly paper Fedraheimen, written in

the dialect of the peasantry. Held an appointment for some years

in the Government Audit Office. In '81 he published a powerfully

written tale, A Freethinker, which created a deal of attention. Since

he has published Peasant Students, Tales and Legends, Youth, Men,

etc. He is one of the wittiest and cleverest controversialists on

the Norwegian press.

 

Garcia-Vao (Antonio Rodriguez), Spanish poet and miscellaneous

writer, b. Manzanares, 1862. Educated at the institute of Cardinal

Cisneros, where he made brilliant studies. He afterwards studied

at the Madrid University and became a lawyer. After editing several

papers, he attached himself to the staff of Las Dominicales del Libre

Pensiamento. Among his numerous works are a volume of poems, Echoes

of a Free Mind, Love and the Monks, a satire, a study of Greco-Roman

philosophy, etc. This promising student was stabbed in the back at

Madrid, 18 December, 1886.

 

Garde (Jehan de la), bookseller, burnt together with four little

blasphemous books at Paris in 1537.

 

Garibaldi (Guiseppe), Italian patriot and general, b. Nice, 4

July, 1807. His father, a small shipmaster, hoped he would become a

priest. Young Garibaldi objected, preferring a sailor's life. A trip to

Rome made him long to free his country. He joined Mazzini's movement,

"Young Italy," and being implicated in the Genoese revolt of '33,

he fled at risk of his life to Marseilles, where he learnt he was

sentenced to death. He went to South America and fought on behalf of

the republic of Uruguay. Here he met Anita Rivera, his beautiful and

brave wife, who accompanied him in numerous adventures. Returning to

Italy he fought against the Austrians in '48, and next year was the

soul of resistance to the French troops, who came to restore Papal

authority. Garibaldi had to retire; his wife died, and he escaped

with difficulty to Genoa, whence he went to New York, working for

an Italian soap and candlemaker at Staten Island. In '54 he returned

and bought a farm on the isle of Caprera. In '59 he again fought the

Austrians, and in May, '60, landed at Marsala, Sicily, took Palermo,

and drove Francis II. from Naples. Though a Republican he saluted

Victor Emanuel as King of Italy. Vexed by the cessation of Nice to

France, he marched to Rome, but was wounded by Victor Emanuel's

troops, and taken prisoner to Varignaro. Here he wrote his Rule

of the Monk, a work exhibiting his love of liberty and hatred of

the priesthood. In '64 he visited England, and was enthusiastically

received. In '67 he again took part in an attempt to free Rome from

the Papal government. In '71 he placed his sword at the service of

the French Republic, and the only standard taken from the Germans was

captured by his men. Elected Member of the Italian Parliament in his

later years he did much to improve the city of Rome. In one of his

laconic letters of '80, he says "Dear Friend,--Man has created God,

not God man,--Yours ever, Garibaldi." He died 2 June, '82, and directed

in his will that he should be cremated without any religious ceremony.

 

Garrison (H. D.), Dr. of Chicago. Author of an able pamphlet on The

Absence of Design in Nature, 1876.

 

Garth (Sir Samuel), English poet, wit, and physician, b. Yorkshire,

1672, and educated at Cambridge. He helped to establish dispensaries,

and lashed the opposition in his poem The Dispensary. He was made

physician to King George I. Died 18 June 1719.

 

Gaston (H.), French author of a brochure with the title Dieu, voila,

l'ennemi, God the enemy, 1882.

 

Gattina (F. P. della). See Petruccelli.

 

Gautama (called also Gotama, Buddha, and Sakyamuni), great Hindu

reformer and founder of Buddhism, b. Kapilavastu, 624 B.C. Many

legends are told of his birth and life. He is said to have been a

prince, who, pained with human misery, left his home to dedicate

himself to emancipation. His system was rather a moral discipline

than a religion. Though he did not deny the Hindu gods he asserted

that all beings were subject to "Karma," the result of previous

actions. He said, "If a man for a hundred years worship Agni in the

forest, and if he but for one moment pay homage to a man whose soul

is grounded in true knowledge, better is that homage than sacrifice

for a hundred years." According to Ceylonese writers Gautama Buddha

died at Kusinagara, B.C. 543.

 

Gautier (Théophile), exquisite French poet and prose writer, b. Tarbes,

31 Aug. 1811. He wrote no definite work against priestcraft or

superstition, but the whole tendency of his writings is Pagan. His

romanticism is not Christian, and he made merry with "sacred themes"

as well as conventional morality. Baudelaire called him an impeccable

master of French literature, and Balzac said that of the two men who

could write French, one was Théophile Gautier. Died 22 Oct. 1872.

 

Geijer (Erik Gustaf), eminent Swedish historian, poet, and critic,

b. Wermland, 12 Jan. 1783. At the age of 20 he was awarded the Swedish

Academy's first prize for a patriotical poem. At first a Conservative

in religious, philosophical, and political matters he became through

his historical researches an ardent adherent of the principles of the

French revolution. His historical work and indictment against "The

Protestant creed" was published in 1820 in a philosophical treatise,

Thorild, which was prosecuted. His acquittal by an enlightened jury

stayed religious prosecutions in Sweden for over sixty years. He

died 23 April 1847. A monument was erected to him last year at the

University of Upsala, where he was professor of history. His works

have been republished.

 

Geijerstam (Gustaf), Swedish novelist, b. 1858. Is one of the

Freethinking group of Young Sweden.

 

Geismar (Martin von), editor of a Library of German Rationalists of

the eighteenth century, in five parts, including some of the works

of Bahrdt, Eberhardt, Knoblauch, etc, 1846-7. He also added pamphlets

entitled Germany in the Eighteenth Century.

 

Gellion-Danglar (Eugène), French writer, b. Paris, 1829. Became

Professor of Languages at Cairo, wrote in La Pensée Nouvelle, was

made sous préfect of Compiègne, '71, wrote History of the Revolution

of 1830, and A Study of the Semites, '82.

 

Gemistos (Georgios), surnamed Plethon, a philosophic reviver of Pagan

learning, b. of noble parents at Byzantium about 1355. He early lost

his faith in Christianity, and was attracted to the Moslem court

at Brusa. He went to Italy in the train of John Palælogus in 1438,

where he attracted much attention to the Platonic philosophy, by

which he sought to reform the religious, political and moral life of

the time. Gennadius, the patriarch of Constantinople, roundly accused

him of Paganism. Died 1450.

 

Genard (François), French satirist, b. Paris about 1722. He wrote

an irreligious work called A Parallel of the Portraits of the Age,

with the Pictures of the Holy Scriptures, for which he was placed in

the Bastille, where it is believed he finished his days.

 

Gendre (Barbe), Russian writer in French, b. Cronstadt, 15

Dec. 1842. She was well educated at Kief, where she obtained a

gold medal. By reading the works of Büchner, Buckle, and Darwin

she became a Freethinker. Settling in Paris, she contributed

to the Revue Internationale des Sciences, to La Justice and the

Nouvelle Revue, etc. Some of her pieces have been reprinted under

the title Etudes Sociales (Social Studies, Paris, 1886), edited by

Dr. C. Letourneau. Died Dec. 1884.

 

Gener (Pompeyo), Spanish philosopher, b. Barcelona, 1849, is a member

of the Society of Anthropology, and author of a study of the evolution

of ideas entitled Death and the Devil, Paris, '80. This able work is

dedicated to Renan and has a preface by Littré. The author has since

translated it into Spanish.

 

Genestet (Petrus Augustus de), Dutch poet and Agnostic, b. Amsterdam,

21 Nov. 1829. He studied theology, and for some years was a Protestant

minister. His verses show him to be a Freethinker. Died at Rozendaal,

2 July, 1861.

 

Genin (François), French philologist, b. Amiens, 16 Feb. 1803. He

became one of the editors of the National, of Paris, about '37, and

wrote for it spirited articles against the Jesuits. He published works

on The Jesuits and the Universities, The Church or the State, etc. In

'45 the French Academy awarded a prize to his Lexicon of the Language

of Molière. He edited Diderot, '47, and is known for his researches

into the origin of the French language and literature. Died Paris,

20 Dec. 1856.

 

Genovesi (Antonio), Italian philosopher, b. Castiglione, 1

Nov. 1712. He read lectures in philosophy at Naples, but by his

substitution of doubt for traditional belief he drew upon himself

many attacks from the clergy. The book by which he is best known is

his Italian Morality. Died at Naples, 20 Sept. 1769.

 

Gensonne (Armand), French lawyer and one of the leaders of the

Girondists, b. Bordeaux, 10 Aug. 1758. He was elected to the

Legislative Assembly in 1791, and to the Convention in 1792. In the

struggle with the Jacobins, Gensonné was one of the most active and

eloquent champions of his party. He was executed with his colleagues

31 Oct. 1793.

 

Gentilis (Giovanni Valentino), Italian heretic, b. Consenza, Naples,

about 1520. He fled to avoid persecution to Geneva, where in 1558

he was thrown into prison at the instigation of Calvin. Fear of

sharing the fate of Servetus made him recant. He wandered to Poland,

where he joined Alciati and Biandrata, but he was banished for his

innovations. Upon the death of Calvin he returned to Switzerland,

where he was arrested for heresy, 11 June, 1566. After a long trial

he was condemned for attacking the Trinity, and beheaded at Berne,

26 (?) Sept. 1566. Ladvocat says "He died very impiously, saying he

thought himself honored in being martyred for the glory of the Father,

whereas the apostles and other martyrs only died for the glory of

the Son."

 

Geoffrin (Marie Therèse, neé Rodet), a French lady distinguished as a

patroness of learning and the fine arts, b. Paris, 2 June, 1699. She

was a friend of Alembert, Voltaire, Marmontel, Montesquieu, Diderot,

and the encyclopædists, and was noted for her benevolence. Died at

Paris, 6 Oct. 1777.

 

Gerhard (H.), Dutch socialist, b. Delft, 11 June, 1829. Educated at

an orphanage he became a tailor, travelled through France, Italy,

and Switzerland, and in '61 returned to Amsterdam. He wrote for De

Dageraad, and was correspondent of the Internationale. Died 5 July,

1886.

 

Gerhard (A. H.), son of foregoing, b. Lausanne, Switzerland, 7 April,

1858. Is headmaster of a public school, and one of the editors of

De Dageraad.

 

Germond (J. B. L.), editor of Marèchal's Dictionnaire des Athées,

Brussels, 1833.

 

Gertsen (Aleksandr Ivanovich). See Herzen.

 

Ghillany (Friedrich Wilhelm), German critic, b. at Erlangan, 18

April, 1807. In '35 he became Professor of History at Nurenberg. His

principal work is on Human Sacrifices among the Ancient Jews, Nurnberg,

'42. He also wrote on the Pagan and Christian writers of the first

four centuries. Under the pseudonym of "Richard von der Alm" he wrote

Theological Letters, 1862; Jesus of Nazareth, 1868; and a collection of

the opinions of heathen and Jewish writers of the first four centuries

upon Jesus and Christianity. Died 25 June, 1876.

 

Giannone (Pietro), Italian historian, b. Ischitella, Naples, 7 May,

1676. He devoted many years to a History of the Kingdom of Naples,

in which he attacked the papal power. He was excommunicated and fled

to Vienna, where he received a pension from the Emperor, which was

removed on his avowal of heterodox opinions. He was driven from Austria

and took refuge in Venice: here also was an Inquisition. Giannone

was seized by night and cast before sunrise on the papal shore. He

found means, however, of escaping to Geneva. Having been enticed

into Savoy in 1736, he was arrested by order of the King of Sardinia,

and confined in prison until his death, 7 March, 1748.

 

Gibbon (Edward), probably the greatest of historians, b. Putney,

27 April 1737. At Oxford be became a Romanist, but being sent to a

Calvinist at Lausanne, was brought back to Protestantism. When visiting

the ruins of the Capitol at Rome, he conceived the idea of writing

the Decline and Fall of that empire. For twenty-two years before the

appearance of his first volume he was a prodigy of arduous application,

his investigations extending over the whole range of intellectual and

political activity for nearly fifteen hundred years. His monumental

work, bridging the old world and the new, is an historic exposure

of the crimes and futility of Christianity. Gibbon was elected to

Parliament in '74, but did not distinguish himself. He died of dropsy,

in London, 16 Jan. 1794.

 

Gibson (Ellen Elvira), American lecturess, b. Winchenden, Mass. 8 May,

1821, and became a public school teacher. Study of the Bible brought

her to the Freethought platform. At the outbreak of the American Civil

War she organised Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Societies, and was elected

chaplain to the 1st Wisconsin Volunteer Artillery. President Lincoln

endorsed the appointment, which was questioned. She has written

anonymously Godly Women of the Bible, and has contributed to the

Truthseeker, Boston Investigator, and Ironclad Age, under her own

signature and that of "Lilian."

 

Giessenburg (Rudolf Charles d'Ablaing van), one of the most notable of

Dutch Freethinkers, b. of noble family, 26 April, 1826. An unbeliever

in youth, in '47 he went to Batavia, and upon his return set up as a

bookseller under the name of R. C. Meijer. With Junghuhn and Günst,

he started de Dageraad, and from '56-68 was one of the contributors,

usually under his name "Rudolf Charles." He is a man of great

erudition, has written Het verbond der vrije gedachte (The Alliance of

Freethought); de Tydgenoot op het gebied der Rede (The Contemporary

in the Field of Reason); De Regtbank des Onderzoeks (The Tribunal

of Inquiry); Zedekunde en Christendom (Ethics and Christianity);

Curiositeiten van allerlei aard (Curiosities of Various Kinds). He has

also published the Religion and Philosophy of the Bible by W. J. Birch

and Brooksbank's work on Revelation. He was the first who published

a complete edition of the famous Testament du Curé Jean Meslier in

three parts ('64), has published the works of Douwes Dekker and other

writers, and also Curieuse Gebruiken.

 

Gilbert (Claude), French advocate, b. Dijon, 7 June, 1652. He had

printed at Dijon, in 1700, Histoire de Calejava, ou de l'isle

des hommes raisonables, avec le paralelle de leur Morale et du

Christianisme. The book has neither the name of author or printer. It

was suppressed, and only one copy escaped destruction, which was bought

in 1784 by the Duc de La Vallière for 120 livres. It was in form of a

dialogue (329 pp.), and attacked both Judaism and Christianity. Gilbert

married in 1700, and died at Dijon 18 Feb. 1720.

 

Gill (Charles), b. Dublin, 8 Oct. 1824, was educated at the University

of that city. In '83 he published anonymously a work on The Evolution

of Christianity. It was quoted by Mr. Foote in his defences before

Judge North and Lord Coleridge, and in the following year he put his

name to a second edition. Mr. Gill has also written a pamphlet on

the Blasphemy Laws, and has edited, with an introduction, Archbishop

Laurence's Book of Enoch, 1883.

 

Giles (Rev. John Allen, D.Ph.), b. Mark, Somersetshire, 26

Oct. 1808. Educated at the Charterhouse and Oxford, where he

graduated B.A. as a double first-class in '28. He was appointed

head-master of the City of London School, which post he left for

the Church. The author of over 150 volumes of educational works,

including the Keys to the Classics; privately he was a confirmed

Freethinker, intimate with Birch, Scott, etc. His works bearing on

theology show his heresy, the principal being Hebrew Records 1850,

Christian Records 1854. These two were published together in amended

form in 1877. He also wrote Codex Apocryphus Novi Testamenti 1852,

Writings of the Early Christians of the Second Century 1857, and

Apostolic Records, published posthumously in 1886. Died 24 Sept 1884.

 

Ginguene (Pierre Louis), French historian b. Rennes, 25 April,

1748. Educated, with Parny, by Jesuits. At Paris he became a

teacher, embraced the Revolution, wrote on Rousseau and Rabelais,

and collaborated with Chamfort in the Historic Pictures of the French

Revolution. Thrown into prison during the Terror, he escaped on the

fall of Robespierre, and became Director of Public Instruction. His

principal work is a Literary History of Italy. Died Paris, 11

Nov. 1816.

 

Gilliland (M. S.) Miss, b. Londonderry 1853, authoress of a little

work on The Future of Morality, from the Agnostic standpoint, 1888.

 

Gioja (Melchiorre), Italian political economist, b. Piazenza, 20

Sept. 1767. He advocated republicanism, and was appointed head of a

bureau of statistics. For his brochure La Scienza del Povero Diavolo

he was expelled from Italy in 1809. He published works on Merit and

Rewards and The Philosophy of Statistics. Died at Milan 2 Jan. 1829.

 

Girard (Stephen), American philanthropist, b. near Bordeaux France,

24 May, 1750. He sailed as cabin boy to the West Indies about 1760;

rose to be master of a coasting vessel and earned enough to settle

in business in Philadelphia in 1769. He became one of the richest

merchants in America, and during the war of 1812 he took the whole

of a Government loan of five million dollars. He called his vessels

after the names of the philosophers Helvetius, Montesquieu, Voltaire,

Rousseau, etc. He contributed liberally to all public improvements

and radical movements. On his death he left large bequests to

Philadelphia, the principal being a munificent endowment of a college

for orphans. By a provision of his will, no ecclesiastic or minister

of any sect whatever is to hold any connection with the college, or

even be admitted to the premises as a visitor; but the officers of the

institution are required to instruct the pupils in secular morality

and leave them to adopt their own religious opinions. This will has

been most shamefully perverted. Died Philadelphia, 26 Dec. 1831.

 

Glain (D. de Saint). See Saint Glain.

 

Glennie (John Stuart Stuart), living English barrister and

writer, author of In the Morningland, or the law of the origin and

transformation of Christianity, 1873, the most important chapter

of which was reprinted by Thomas Scott, under the title, Christ and

Osiris. He has also written Pilgrim Memories, or travel and discussion

in the birth-countries of Christianity with the late H. T. Buckle,

1875.

 

Glisson (Francis), English anatomist and physician, b. Rampisham,

Dorsetshire, 1597. He took his degree at Cambridge, and was there

appointed Regius Professor of Physic, an office he held forty years. He

discovered Glisson's capsule in the liver, and was the first to

attribute irritability to muscular fibre. In his Tractatus de natura

substantiæ energetica, 1672, he anticipates the natural school in

considering matter endowed with native energy sufficient to account

for the operations of nature. Dr. Glisson was eulogised by Harvey,

and Boerhaave called him "the most accurate of all anatomists that

ever lived." Died in 1677.

 

Godwin (Mary). See Wollstonecraft.

 

Godwin (William), English historian, political writer and novelist,

b. Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire, 3 March, 1756. The son of a Dissenting

minister, he was designed for the same calling. He studied at Hoxton

College, and came out, as he entered, a Tory and Calvinist; but making

the acquaintance of Holcroft, Paine, and the English Jacobins, his

views developed from the Unitarianism of Priestley to the rejection

of the supernatural. In '93 he published his republican work on

Political Justice. In the following year he issued his powerful

novel of Caleb Williams. He married Mary Wollstonecraft, '96; wrote,

in addition to several novels and educational works, On Population,

in answer to Malthus, 1820; a History of the Commonwealth, '24-28;

Thoughts on Man, '31; Lives of the Necromancers, '34. Some Freethought

essays, which he had intended to form into a book entitled The Genius

of Christianity Unveiled, were first published in '73. They comprise

papers on such subjects as future retribution, the atonement, miracles,

and character of Jesus, and the history and effects of the Christian

religion. Died 7 April, 1836.

 

Goethe (Johann Wolfgang von), Germany's greatest poet,

b. Frankfort-on-Main, 28 Aug. 1749. He records that early in his

seventh year (1 Nov. 1758) the great Lisbon earthquake filled his

mind with religious doubt. Before he was nine he could write several

languages. Educated at home until sixteen, he then went to Leipsic

University. At Strasburg he became acquainted with Herder, who directed

his attention to Shakespeare. He took the degree of doctor in 1771,

and in the same year composed his drama "Goetz von Berlichingen." He

went to Wetzlar, where he wrote Sorrows of Werther, 1774, which at

once made him famous. He was invited to the court of the Duke of

Saxe-Weimar and loaded with honors, becoming the centre of a galaxy

of distinguished men. Here he brought out the works of Schiller and

his own dramas, of which Faust is the greatest. His chief prose work

is Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship. His works are voluminous. He

declared himself "decidedly non-Christian," and said his objects of

hate were "the cross and bugs." He was averse to abstractions and

refused to recognise a Deity distinct from the world. In philosophy

he followed Spinoza, and he disliked and discountenanced the popular

creed. Writing to Lavater in 1772 he said: "You look upon the gospel as

it stands as the divinest truth: but even a voice from heaven would not

convince me that water burns and fire quenches, that a woman conceives

without a man, and that a dead man can rise again. To you, nothing is

more beautiful than the Gospel; to me, a thousand written pages of

ancient and modern inspired men are equally beautiful." Goethe was

opposed to asceticism, and Pfleiderer admits "stood in opposition

to Christianity not merely on points of theological form, but to

a certain extent on points of substance too." Goethe devoted much

attention to science, and he attempted to explain the metamorphosis

of plants on evolutionary principles in 1790. Died 22 March, 1832.

 

Goldstuecker (Theodor), Sanskrit scholar, of Jewish birth, but a

Freethinker by conviction, b. Konigsberg 18 Jan. 1821; studied at Bonn

under Schlegel and Lassen, and at Paris under Burnouf. Establishing

himself at Berlin, he was engaged as tutor in the University and

assisted Humboldt in the matter of Hindu philosophy in the Cosmos. A

democrat in politics, he left Berlin at the reaction of '49 and came

to England, where he assisted Professor Wilson in preparing his

Sanskrit-English Dictionary. He contributed important articles on

Indian literature to the Westminster Review, the Reader, the Athenæum

and Chambers' Encyclopædia. Died in London, 6 March, 1872.

 

Goldziher (Ignacz), Hungarian Orientalist, b. Stuhlweissenburg,

1850. Is since 1876 Doctor of Semitic Philology in Buda-pesth; is

author of Mythology Among the Hebrews, which has been translated

by Russell Martineau, '77, and has written many studies on Semitic

theology and literature.

 

Gordon (Thomas), Scotch Deist and political reformer, was b. Kells,

Kirkcudbright, about 1684, but settled early in London, where he

supported himself as a teacher and writer. He first distinguished

himself by two pamphlets in the Bangorian controversy, which

recommended him to Trenchard, to whom he became amanuensis, and

with whom he published Cato's Letters and a periodical entitled The

Independent Whig, which he continued some years after Trenchard's

death, marrying that writer's widow. He wrote many pamphlets, and

translated from Barbeyrac The Spirit of the Ecclesiastics of All

Ages. He also translated the histories of Tacitus and Sallust. He died

28 July, 1750, leaving behind him posthumous works entitled A Cordial

for Low Spirits and The Pillars of Priestcraft and Orthodoxy Shaken.

 

Gorlæus (David), a Dutch philosopher, b. at Utrecht, towards the end

of the sixteenth century, has been accused of Atheism on account

of his speculations in a work published after his death entitled

Exercitationes Philosophicæ, Leyden 1620.

 

Govea or Gouvea [Latin Goveanus] (Antonio), Portugese jurist and poet,

b. 1505, studied in France and gained great reputation by his legal

writings. Calvin classes him with Dolet, Rabelais, and Des Periers,

as an Atheist and mocker. He wrote elegant Latin poems. Died at Turin,

5 March, 1565.

 

Gratiolet (Louis-Pierre), French naturalist, b. Sainte Foy, 6 July

1815, noted for his researches on the comparative anatomy of the

brain. Died at Paris 15 Feb. 1865.

 

Graves (Kersey), American, author of The Biography of Satan, 1865,

and The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors, 1876. Works of some vogue,

but little value.

 

Gray (Asa), American naturalist, b. 18 Nov. 1810, Paris, Oneida Co.,

New York. Studied at Fairfield and became physician 1831. Wrote

Elements of Botany, 1836, became Professor of Nat. Hist. at Harvard,

and was the first to introduce Darwinism to America. Wrote an

Examination of Darwin's Treatise 1861. Succeeded Agassiz as Governor of

Smithsonian Institute, and worked on American Flora. Died at Cambridge,

Mass., 30 Jan. 1888.

 

Green (H. L.), American Freethinker, b. 18 Feb. 1828. Edits the

Freethinker's Magazine published at Buffalo, New York.

 

Greg (William Rathbone), English Writer, b. Manchester 1809. Educated

at Edinburgh university, he became attracted to economic studies

and literary pursuits. He was one of the founders of the Manchester

Statistical Society, a warm supporter of the Anti-Corn Law League,

and author of one of its prize essays. In '40 he wrote on Efforts for

the Extinction of the African Slave Trade. In '50 he published his

Creed of Christendom, which has gone through eight editions, and in

1872 his Enigmas of Life, of which there were thirteen editions in

his life. He published also Essays on Political and Social Science,

and was a regular contributor to the Pall Mall Gazette. His works

exhibit a careful yet bold thinker and close reasoner. Died at

Wimbledon 15 Nov. 1881.

 

Grenier (Pierre Jules), French Positivist, b. Beaumont, Perigord,

1838, author of a medical examination of the doctrine of free will,

'68, which drew out letter from Mgr. Dupanloup, Bishop of Orleans,

imploring him to repudiate his impious doctrines. Also author of

Aphorisms on the First Principles of Sociology, 1873.

 

"Grile (Dod)," pen name of Ambrose Bierce, American humorist, who

wrote on the San Francisco News-Letter. His Nuggets and Dust and

Fiend's Delight, were blasphemous; has also written in Fun, and

published Cobwebs from an Empty Skull, 1873.

 

Grimm (Friedrich Melchior von), Baron. German philosophic writer in

French, b. Ratisbon, 26 Dec. 1723. Going to France he became acquainted

with D'Holbach and with Rousseau, who was at first his friend, but

afterwards his enemy. He became secretary to the Duke of Orleans,

and wrote in conjunction with Diderot and Raynal caustic literary

bulletins containing criticisms on French literature and art. In

1776 he was envoy from the Duke of Saxe Gotha to the French Court,

and after the French Revolution was appointed by Catherine of Russia

her minister at Hamburg. Grimm died at Gotha, 19 Dec. 1807. He is

chiefly known by his literary correspondence with Diderot published

in seventeen vols. 1812-1813.

 

Gringore (Pierre), French poet and dramatist, b. about 1475, satirised

the pope and clergy as well as the early reformers. Died about 1544.

 

Grisebach (Eduard), German writer, b. Gottingen 9 Oct. 1845. Studied

law, but entered the service of the State and became Consul at

Bucharest, Petersburg, Milan and Hayti. Has written many poems, of

which the best known is The New Tanhäuser, first published anonymously

in '69, and followed by Tanhäuser in Rome, '75. Has also translated

Kin Ku Ki Kuan, Chinese novels. Is a follower of Schopenhauer, whose

bibliography he has compiled, 1888.

 

Grote (George), the historian of Greece, b. near Beckenham, Kent,

17 Nov. 1794. Descended from a Dutch family. He was educated for

the employment of a banker and was put to business at the age of

sixteen. He was however addicted to literary pursuits, and became

a friend and disciple of James Mill and Jeremy Bentham. In 1820 he

married a cultured lady, Harriet Lewin, and in '22 his Analysis of

the Influence of Natural Religion was published by Carlile, under

the pen name of Philip Beauchamp. He also wrote in the Westminster

Review. In '33 he was elected as Radical M.P. for the City of London

and retained his seat till '41. He was chiefly known in Parliament

for his advocacy of the ballot. In '46-'56 he published his famous

History of Greece, which cost him the best years of his life; this was

followed by Plato and the other Companions of Socrates. His review

of J. S. Mill's Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy,

'61, showed he retained his Freethought until the end of his life. He

died 18 June '71, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

 

Grote (Harriet) nee Lewin, wife of the above, b. 1792, shared in his

opinions and wrote his life. Died 29 Dec. 1878.

 

Gruen (Karl) German author, b. 30 Sept. 1817, Lüdenschied, Westphalia,

studied at Bonn and Berlin. In '44 he came to Paris, was a friend

to Proudhon and translated his Philosophy of Misery, was arrested in

'49 and condemned to exile; lived at Brussels till '62, when he was

made professor at Frankfort. He became professor of English at the

College of Colmar, established a Radical journal the Mannheim Evening

News and he wrote Biographical Studies of Schiller, '44, and Feuerbach,

'71. A Culture History of the 16th-17th Centuries, and The Philosophy

of the Present, '76. Died at Vienna 17 February, 1887.

 

Gruet (Jacques), Swiss Freethinker, tortured and put to death for

blasphemy by order of Calvin at Geneva, 26 July, 1547. After his death

papers were found in his possession directed against religion. They

were burnt by the common hangman, April, 1550.

 

Gruyer (Louis Auguste Jean François-Philippe), Belgian philosopher,

b. Brussels, 15 Nov. 1778. He wrote an Essay of Physical Philosophy,

1828, Tablettès Philosophiques, '42. Principles of Physical

Philosophy, '45, etc. He held the atomic doctrine, and that matter

was eternal. Died Brussels 15 Oct. 1866.

 

Guadet (Marguerite Elie), Girondin, b. Saint Emilion (Gironde),

20 July, 1758. He studied at Bordeaux, and became an advocate in

'81. He threw himself enthusiastically into the Revolution, and was

elected Deputy for the Gironde. His vehement attacks on the Jacobins

contributed to the destruction of his party, after which he took

refuge, but was arrested and beheaded at Bordeaux, 15 June, 1794.

 

Gubernatis (Angelo de), see De Gubernatis.

 

Guépin (Ange), French physician, b. Pontivy, 30 Aug. 1805. He became

M.D. in '28. After the revolution of July, '30, Dr. Guépin was made

Professor at the School of Medicine at Nantes. He formed the first

scientific and philosophical congress, held there in '33. In '48 he

became Commissaire of the Republic at Nantes, and in '50 was deprived

of his situation. In '54 he published his Philosophy of the Nineteenth

Century. After the fall of the Empire, M. Guépin became Prefet of La

Loire Inférieure, but had to resign from ill-health. Died at Nantes,

21 May, 1873, and was buried without any religious ceremony.

 

Gueroult (Adolphe), French author, b. Radepont (Eure), 29

Jan. 1810. Early in life he became a follower of Saint Simon. He wrote

to the Journal des Debats, the Republique, Credit and Industrie, and

founded l'Opinion National. He was elected to the Legislature in '63,

when he advocated the separation of Church and State. Died at Vichy,

21 July, 1872.

 

Guerra Junqueiro. Portuguese poet, b. 1850. His principal work is a

poem on The Death of Don Juan, but he has also written The Death of

Jehovah, an assault upon the Catholic faith from the standpoint of

Pantheism. Portuguese critics speak highly of his powers.

 

Guerrini (Olindo), Italian poet, b. Forli, 4 Oct. 1845. Educated

at Ravenna, Turin, and Bologna University; he has written many fine

poems under the name of Lorenzo Stecchetti. In the preface to Nova

Polemica he declares "Primo di tutto dice, non credo in Dio" ("First

of all I say do not believe in God.")

 

Gueudeville (Nicolas), French writer, b. Rouen, 1654. He became a

Benedictine monk, and was distinguished as a preacher, but the boldness

of his opinions drew on him the punishment of his superiors. He escaped

to Holland, and publicly abjured Catholicism. He taught literature

and philosophy at Rotterdam, wrote the Dialogue of the Baron de la

Hontan with an American Savage Amst. 1704, appended to the Travels

of La Hontan, 1724, edited by Gueudeville. This dialogue is a bitter

criticism of Christian usages. He translated Erasmus's Praise of Folly

(1713), More's Utopia (1715), and C. Agrippa, Of the Uncertainty and

Vanity of Sciences (1726). Died at the Hague, 1720.

 

Guichard (Victor), French writer, b. Paris, 15 Aug. 1803. He became

Mayor of Sens, and was elected deputy for the Yonne department. He

was exiled in '52, but again elected in '71. His principal work is

La Liberté de Penser, fin du Pouvoir Spirituel (1868). Died at Paris,

11th Nov. 1884.

 

Guild (E. E.), b. in Connecticut, 6 May, 1811. In '35 he became

a Christian minister, but after numerous debates became turned

Universalist. In '44 he published The Universalist Book of Reference,

which went through several editions. It was followed by Pro and Con,

in which he gives the arguments for and against Christianity.

 

Guirlando (Giulio) di Treviso. Italian heretic, put to death at Venice

for anti-trinitarian heresy, 19 Oct. 1562.

 

Gundling (Nicolaus Hieronymus), German scholar and Deistic philosopher,

b. near Nuremberg, 25 Feb. 1671. He wrote a History of the Philosophy

of Morals, 1706, and The Way to Truth, 1713. One of the first German

eclectics, he took much from Hobbes and Locke, with whom he derived

all ideas from experience. Died at Halle, 16 Dec. 1729.

 

Gunning (William D.), American scientific professor, b. Bloomingburg,

Ohio. Graduated at Oberlin and studied under Agassiz. He wrote Life

History of our Planet, Chicago, 1876, and contributed to The Open

Court. Died Greeley, Colorado, 8 March, 1888.

 

Günst (Dr. Frans Christiaan), Dutch writer and publisher, b. Amsterdam,

19 Aug. 1823. He was intended for a Catholic clergyman; studied

at Berne, where he was promoted '47. Returning to Holland he became

bookseller and editor at Amsterdam. He was for many years secretary of

the City Theatre. Günst contributed to many periodicals, and became

a friend of Junghuhn, with whom he started De Dageraad, the organ of

the Dutch Freethinkers, which he edited from '55 to '67. He usually

contributed under pseudonyms as "Mephistho" or ([therefore]). He was

for many years President of the Independent Lodge of Freemasons,

"Post Nubila Lux," and wrote on Adon Hiram, the oldest legend of

the Freemasons. He also wrote Wijwater voor Roomsch Katholieken

(Holy Water for the Roman Catholics); De Bloedgetuigen der Spaansche

Inquisitie (The Martyrs of the Spanish Inquisition, '63); and Heidenen

en Jezuieten, eene vergelijking van hunne zedeleer (Pagans and Jesuits,

a comparison of their morals, '67). In his life and conversation he

was frater gaudens. Died 29 Dec. 1886.

 

Guyau (Marie Jean), French philosopher, b. 1854, was crowned at the

age of 19 by the Institute of France for a monograph on Utilitarian

morality. In the following year he had charge of a course of philosophy

at the Condorcet lycée at Paris. Ill health, brought on by excess of

work, obliged him to retire to Mentone, where he occupied himself

with literature. His principal works are La Morale d'Epicure (the

morality of Epicurus), in relation to present day doctrines, 1878,

La Morale Anglaise Contemporaine (Contemporary English Ethics), '79,

crowned by the Academy of Moral Sciences. Verses of a philosopher,

'81. Esquisse d'une morale sans obligation ni sanction (Sketch of

morality without obligation or sanction,) '84, and L'Irreligion de

l'Avenir (the Irreligion of the Future) '87. M. Guyau was a follower of

M. Fouillée, but all his works bear the impress of profound thought and

originality. A chief doctrine is the expansion of life. Died Mentone,

31 March, 1888.

 

Guyot (Yves), French writer and statesman, b. Dinan, 1843. He wrote

with Sigismond Lacroix a Study of the Social Doctrines of Christianity,

'73, and a work on morality in the Bibliothèque Matérialiste. Elected

on the Municipal Council of Paris '74-78, he has since been a deputy

to the Chamber, and is now a member of the government. He has written

the Principles of Social Economy, '84, and many works on that topic;

has edited Diderot's La Religieuse and the journals Droits de l'homme

and le Bien public.

 

Gwynne (George), Freethought writer in the Reasoner and National

Reformer, under the pen-name of "Aliquis." His reply to J. H. Newman's

Grammar of Assent shewed much acuteness. He served the cause both by

pen and purse. Died 25 Sept. 1873.

 

Gyllenborg (Gustaf Fredrik), Count. Swedish poet, b. 6 Dec. 1731, was

one of the first members of the Academy of Stockholm and Chancellor

of Upsala University. He published satires, fables, odes, etc.,

among which may be named The Passage of the Belt. His opinions were

Deistic. Died 30 March, 1808.

 

Haeckel (Ernst Heinrich Philipp August), German scientist, b. Potsdam,

16 Feb. 1834; studied medicine and science at Würzburg, Berlin,

and Vienna. In '59 he went to Italy and studied zoology at Naples,

and two years later was made Professor of Zoology at Jena. Between

'66 and '75 he travelled over Europe besides visiting Syria and Egypt,

and later he visited India and Ceylon, writing an interesting account

of his travels. He is the foremost German supporter of evolution; his

Natural History of Creation, '68, having gone through many editions,

and been translated into English '76, as have also his Evolution

of Man, 2 vols. '79, and Pedigree of Man, '83. Besides numerous

monographs and an able work on Cellular Psychology, Professor Haeckel

has published important Popular Lectures on Evolution, '78, and on

Freedom in Science and Teaching, published with a prefatory note by

Professor Huxley, '79.

 

Hagen (Benjamin Olive), Socialist, b. 25 June, 1791. About the year

1841 his attention was attracted to the Socialists by the abuse they

received. Led thus to inquire, he embraced the views of Robert Owen,

and was their chief upholder for many years in the town of Derby,

where he lived to be upwards of seventy years of age. His wife also

deserves mention as an able lady of Freethought views.

 

Halley (Edmund), eminent English astronomer, known in his lifetime

as "the Infidel Mathematician," b. Haggerston, London, 29 Oct. 1656;

educated at Oxford. At twenty he had made observations of the planets

and of the spots on the sun. In Nov. '76 he went to St. Helena

where he prepared his Catalogue of Southern Stars, '79. He also

found how to take the sun's parallax by means of the transits of

Mercury or Venus. In '78 he was elected a F.R.S. Two years later

he made observation on "Halley's comet," and in '83 published his

theory of the variation of the magnet. He became a friend of Sir

Isaac Newton, whom he persuaded to publish his Principia. In '98 he

commanded a scientific expedition to the South Atlantic. In 1713 he

was made sec. of the Royal Society and in 1720 Astronomer-royal. He

then undertook a task which required nineteen years to perform, viz:

to observe the moon throughout an entire revolution of her nodes. He

lived to finish this task. Died 14 Jan. 1742. Halley was the first who

conceived that fixed stars had a proper motion in space. Chalmers in

his Biographical Dictionary says, "It must be deeply regretted that

he cannot be numbered with those illustrious characters who thought

it not beneath them to be Christians."

 

Hammon (W.), pseudonym of Turner William, q. v.

 

Hamond or Hamont (Matthew), English heretic, by trade a ploughwright,

of Hethersett, Norfolk, burnt at Norwich, May 1579, for holding

"that the New Testament and the Gospel of Christ were pure folly,

a human invention, a mere fable." He had previously been set in the

pillory and had both his ears cut off.

 

Hannotin (Emile), French Deist, b. Bar le Duc in 1812, and some

time editor of the Journal de la Meuse. Author of New Philosophical

Theology, '46; Great Questions, '67; Ten Years of Philosophical

Studies, '72; and an Essay on Man, in which he seeks to explain life

by sensibility.

 

Hanson (Sir Richard Davies), Chief Justice of South Australia,

b. London, 5 Dec. 1805. He practised as attorney for a short time in

London, and wrote for the Globe and Morning Chronicle. In 1830 he took

part in the attempt to found a colony in South Australia. In 1851 he

became Advocate-General of the colony, and subsequently in 1861 Chief

Justice. In 1869 he was knighted. He wrote on Law in Nature 1865,

The Jesus of History 1869, and St. Paul 1875. Hanson wrote Letters

to and from Rome A.D. 61, 62 and 63. Selected and translated by

C.V.S. 1873. Died at Adelaide 10 Mar. 1876.

 

Hardwicke (Edward Arthur), M.D., eldest son of Junius Hardwicke,

F.R.C.S., of Rotherham, Yorks. In '75 he qualified as a surveyor, and

in '86 as a physician. For twelve years he was Surgeon Superintendent

of the Government Emigration Service. He is an Agnostic of the school

of Herbert Spencer, and has contributed to Freethought and scientific

periodicals.

 

Hardwicke (Herbert Junius), M.D., brother of above, b. Sheffield, 26

Jan. 1850. Studied at London, Edinburgh and Paris. In '78 he became a

member of the Edinburgh College of Physicians. Next year he was the

principal agent in establishing the Sheffield Public Hospital for

Skin Diseases. Besides numerous medical works, Dr. Hardwicke set up

a press of his own in order to print The Popular Faith Unveiled, the

publishers requiring guarantee in consequence of the prosecution of

Mr. Foote ('84), and Evolution and Creation ('87). He has contributed

to the Agnostic Annual, and has recently written Rambles in Spain,

Italy and Morocco ('89).

 

Harriot (Thomas), English mathematician, b. Oxford, 1560, accompanied

Raleigh to Virginia and published an account of the expedition. He was

noted for his skill in algebra, and A. Wood says "He was a Deist." Died

21 July 1621.

 

Harrison (Frederic), M.A., English Positivist, b. London 18 Oct. 1831,

educated at London and Oxford, when he was 1st class in classics. He

was called to the bar in '58. He has since been appointed Professor

of Jurisprudence and International Law. He has written many important

articles in the high-class reviews, and has published The Meaning

of History, Order and Progress, and on The Choice of Books and Other

Literary Pieces, '86, and has translated vol. ii of Comte's Positive

Polity. He was one of the founders of the Positivist school, '70,

and of Newton Hall in '81. A fine stylist, his addresses and magazine

articles bear the stamp of a cultured man of letters.

 

Hartmann (Karl Robert Eduard), German pantheistic pessimist

philosopher, b. Berlin, 23 Feb. 1842. In '58 he entered the Prussian

army, but an affection of the knee made him resign in '65. By the

publication of his Philosophy of the Unconscious in '69, he became

famous, though it was not translated into English until '84. He

has since written numerous works of which we name Self-Dissolution

of Christianity and The Religion of the Future, '75, The Crisis of

Christianity in Modern Theology, '80, The Religious Consciousness of

Mankind, '81, and Modern Problems, '86. Latterly Hartmann has turned

his attention to the philosophy of politics.

 

Hartogh Heys van Zouteveen (Dr. Herman), a learned Dutch writer,

b. Delft 13 Feb. 1841. He studied law and natural philosophy at Leyden,

and graduated doctor of law in '64 and doctor of natural philosophy in

'66. In '66 he received a gold medal from the king of Holland for a

treatise on the synthesis of organic bodies. Dr. Hartogh was some time

professor of chemistry and natural history at the Hague, but lived at

Delft, where he was made city councillor and in '69 and '70 travelled

through Egypt and Nubia as correspondent of Het Vaderland and was the

guest of the Khedive. He translated into Dutch Darwin's Descent of

Man and Expressions of the Emotions, both with valuable annotations

of his own. He has also translated and annotated some of the works

of Ludwig Büchner and "Carus Sterne," from the German, and works from

the French, besides writing several original essays on anthropology,

natural history, geology, and allied sciences, contributing largely

to the spread of Darwinian ideas in Holland. In '72 he visited the

United States and the Pacific coast. Since '73 he has resided at

Assen, of which he was named member of the city council, but could

not take his seat because he refused the oath. He is a director of

the Provincial Archæological Museum at Assen, and a member of the

Dutch Literary Society the Royal Institution of Netherlands, India,

and other scientific associations. For a long while he was a member

of the Dutch Freethinkers' Society, De Dageraad, of which he became

president. To the organ De Dageraad he contributed important works,

such as Jewish Reports Concerning Jesus of Nazareth and the Origin

of Religious Ideas, the last of which has been published separately.

 

Haslam (Charles Junius), b. Widdington, Northumberland, 24 April,

1811. He spent most of his life near Manchester, where he became a

Socialist and published Letters to the Clergy of all Denominations,

showing the errors, absurdities, and irrationalities of their

doctrines, '38. This work went through several editions, and the

publishers were prosecuted for blasphemy. He followed it by Letters to

the Bishop of Exeter, containing materials for deciding the question

whether or not the Bible is the word of God, '41, and a pamphlet Who

are the Infidels? In '61 he removed to Benton, where he has since

lived. In '85 he issued a pamphlet entitled The Suppression of War.

 

Hassell (Richard), one of Carlile's shopmen, sentenced to two years

imprisonment in Newgate for selling Paine's Age of Reason, 28 May,

1824. He died in October 1826.

 

Hattem (Pontiaam van), Dutch writer, b. Bergen 1641. He was a

follower of Spinoza, inclined to Pantheistic mysticism, and had

several followers. Died 1706.

 

Haureau (Jean Barthelemy), French historian, b. Paris 1812. At the

age of twenty he showed his sympathy with the Revolution by a work

on The Mountain. In turn journalist and librarian he has produced

many important works, of which we name his Manual of the Clergy,

'44, which drew on him attacks from the clericals, and his erudite

Critical Examination of the Scholastic Philosophy, '50.

 

Hauy (Valentine), French philanthropist, b. Saint-Just 13 Nov. 1745. He

devoted much attention to enabling the blind to read and founded the

institute for the young blind in 1784. He was one of the founders

of Theophilantropy. In 1807 he went to Russia, where he stayed till

1817, devoting himself to the blind and to telegraphy. Died at Paris

18 March, 1822.

 

Havet (Ernest August Eugène), French scholar and critic, b. Paris,

11 April, 1813. In '40 he was appointed professor of Greek literature

at the Normal School. In '55 he was made professor of Latin eloquence

at the Collége de France. In '63 an article on Renan's Vie de Jesus in

the Revue des Deux Mondes excited much attention, and was afterwards

published separately. His work on Christianity and its Origins,

4 vols. 1872-84, is a masterpiece of rational criticism.

 

Hawkesworth (John), English essayist and novelist, b. in London about

1715. Became contributor to the Gentleman's Magazine and editor of

the Adventurer. In '61 he edited Swift's works with a life of that

author. He compiled an account of the voyages of Byron, Wallis,

Carteret, and Cook for government, for which he received £6,000;

but the work was censured as incidentally attacking the doctrine of

Providence. His novel Almoran and Hamet was very popular. Died at

Bromley, Kent, 17 Nov. 1773.

 

Hawley (Henry), a Scotch major-general, who died in 1765, and by the

terms of his will prohibited Christian burial.

 

Hebert (Jacques René), French revolutionist, b. Alençon 15 Nov. 1757,

published the notorious Père Duchêsne, and with Chaumette instituted

the Feasts of Reason. He was denounced by Saint Just, and guillotined

2 March 1794. His widow, who had been a nun, was executed a few

days later.

 

Hegel (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich), German metaphysician b. Stuttgart,

27 Aug. 1770. He studied theology at Tübingen, but, becoming acquainted

with Schelling, devoted his attention to philosophy. His Encyclopædia

of the Philosophical Sciences made a deep impression in Germany, and

two schools sprang up, one claiming it as a philosophical statement

of Christianity, the other as Pantheism hostile to revelation. Hegel

said students of philosophy must begin with Spinozism. He is said to

have remarked that of all his many disciples only one understood him,

and he understood him falsely. He was professor at Jena, Heidelberg,

and Berlin, in which last city he died 14 Nov. 1831, and was buried

beside Fichte.

 

Heine (Heinrich), German poet and littérateur, b. of Jewish parents

at Dusseldorf, 31 Dec. 1797. He studied law at Bonn, Berlin, and

Göttingen; became acquainted with the philosophy of Spinoza and

Hegel; graduated LL.D., and in June 1825 renounced Judaism and

was baptised. The change was only formal. He satirised all forms

of religious faith. His fine Pictures of Travel was received with

favor and translated by himself into French. His other principal

works are the Book of Songs, History of Recent Literature in Germany,

The Romantic School, The Women of Shakespeare, Atta Troll and other

poems. In 1835 he married a French lady, having settled in Paris,

where "the Voltaire of Germany" became more French than German. About

1848 he became paralysed and lost his eyesight, but he still employed

himself in literary composition with the aid of an amanuensis. After

an illness of eight years, mostly passed in extreme suffering on his

"mattress grave," he died 17 Feb. 1856. Heine was the greatest and

most influential German writer since Goethe. He called himself a

Soldier of Freedom, and his far-flashing sword played havoc with the

forces of reaction.

 

Heinzen (Karl Peter) German-American poet, orator and politician,

b. near Dusseldorf, 22 Feb. 1809. He studied medicine at Bonn,

and travelled to Batavia, an account of which he published (Cologne

1842). A staunch democrat, in 1845 he published at Darmstadt a work

on the Prussian Bureaucracy, for which he was prosecuted and had to

seek shelter in Switzerland. At Zurich he edited the German Tribune

and the Democrat. At the beginning of '48 he visited New York but

returned to participate in the attempted German Revolution. Again

"the regicide" had to fly and in August '50 returned to New York. He

wrote on many papers and established the Pioneer (now Freidenker),

first in Louisville, then in Cincinnati, then in New York, and from

'59 in Boston. He wrote many works, including Letters on Atheism,

which appeared in The Reasoner 1856, Poems, German Revolution, The

Heroes of German Communism, The Rights of Women, Mankind the Criminal,

Six Letters to a Pious Man (Boston 1869), Lessons of a Century,

and What is Humanity? (1877.) Died Boston 12 Nov. 1880.

 

Hellwald (Friedrich von), German geographer, b. Padua 29 March 1842,

and in addition to many works on various countries has written an

able Culture History, 1875.

 

Helmholtz (Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von) German scientist, b. Potsdam

31 Aug. 1821. Distinguished for his discoveries in acoustics, optics

and electricity, he is of the foremost rank among natural philosophers

in Europe. Among his works we mention The Conservation of Force (1847),

and Popular Scientific Lectures (1865-76.) Professor Helmholtz rejects

the design hypothesis.

 

Helvetius (Claude Adrien) French philosopher, b. Paris 18

Jan. 1715. Descended from a line of celebrated physicians, he had a

large fortune which he dispensed in works of benevolence. Attracted

by reading Locke he resigned a lucrative situation as farmer-general

to devote himself to philosophy. In August 1758 he published a work

On the Mind (De L'Esprit) which was condemned by Pope Clement XIII,

31 Jan. 1759, and burnt by the order of Parliament 6 Feb. 1759 for the

hardihood of his materialistic opinions. Mme. Du Deffand said "he told

everybody's secret." It was republished at Amsterdam and London. He

also wrote a poem On Happiness and a work on Man his Faculties and

Education. He visited England and Prussia and became an honored guest

of Frederick the Great. Died 26 Dec. 1771. His wife, née Anne Catherine

De Lingville, b. 1719, after his death retired to Auteuil, where her

house was the rendezvous of Condillac, Turgot, d'Holbach, Morellet,

Cabanis, Destutt de Tracy, etc. This re-union of Freethinkers was

known as the Société d'Auteuil. Madame Helvetius died 12 August 1800.

 

Henault, or Hesnault (Jean), French Epicurean poet of the 17th century,

son of a Paris baker, was a pupil of Gassendi, and went to Holland to

see Spinoza. Bayle says he professed Atheism, and had composed three

different systems of the mortality of the soul. His most famous sonnet

is on The Abortion. Died Paris, 1682.

 

Henin de Cuvillers (Etienne Felix), Baron, French general and writer,

b. Balloy, 27 April, 1755. He served as diplomatist in England, Venice,

and Constantinople. Employed in the army of Italy, he was wounded at

Arcola, 26 Sept. '96. He was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in

1811. He wrote much, particularly on magnetism. In the 8th vol. of

his Archives du Magnétisme Animal, he suggests that the miracles of

Jesus were not supernatural, but wrought by means of magnetism learnt

in Egypt. In other writings, especially in reflections on the crimes

committed in the name of religion, '22, he shows himself the enemy

of fanaticism and intolerance. Died 2 August, 1841.

 

Hennell (Charles Christian), English Freethinker, b. 9 March, 1809,

author of an able Inquiry concerning the Origin of Christianity,

first published in '38, a work which powerfully influenced "George

Eliot," and a translation of which was introduced to German readers

by Dr. D. F. Strauss. It was Hennell who induced "George Eliot"

to translate Strauss's Life of Jesus. He also wrote on Christian

Theism. Hennell lived most of his time in Coventry. He was married

at London in '39, and died 2 Sept. 1850.

 

Herault de Sechelles (Marie Jean), French revolutionist, b. of

noble family, Paris, 1760. Brought up as a friend of Buffon and

Mirabeau, he gained distinction as a lawyer and orator before the

Revolution. Elected to the Legislative Assembly in '91, he was made

President of the Convention, 2 Nov. 92. He edited the document known

as the Constitution of 1793, and was president and chief speaker at

the national festival, 10 Aug. '93. He drew on himself the enmity

of Robespierre, and was executed with Danton and Camille Desmoulins,

5 April, 1794.

 

Herbart (Johann Friedrich), b. Oldenburg 4 May 1776. In 1805 he was

made professor of philosophy at Göttingen, and in 1808 became Kant's

successor at Königsberg and opposed his philosophy. Though religiously

disposed, his philosophy has no room for the notion of a God. He was

recalled to Göttingen, where he died 14 Aug. 1841.

 

Herbert (Edward), Lord of Cherbury, in Shropshire, b. Montgomery

Castle, 1581. Educated at Oxford, after which he went on his

travels. On his return he was made one of the king's counsellors,

and soon after sent as ambassador to France to intercede for the

Protestants. He served in the Netherlands, and distinguished himself

by romantic bravery. In 1625 he was made a peer of Ireland, and in

'31 an English peer. During the civil wars he espoused the side of

Parliament. His principal work is entitled De Veritate, the object of

which was to assert the sufficiency of natural religion apart from

revelation. He also wrote Lay Religion, his own Memoirs, a History

of Henry VIII., etc. Died 20 Aug. 1648.

 

Hertell (Thomas), judge of the Marine Court of New York, and for some

years Member of the Legislature of his State. He wrote two or three

small works criticising Christian Theology, and exerted his influence

in favour of State secularization.

 

Hertzen or Gertsen (Aleksandr Ivanovich), Russian patriot, chief of

the revolutionary party, b. Moscow, 25 March, 1812. He studied at

Moscow University, where he obtained a high degree. In '34 he was

arrested for Saint Simonian opinions and soon afterwards banished

to Viatka, whence he was permitted to return in '37. He was expelled

from Russia in '42, visited Italy, joined the "Reds" at Paris in '48,

took refuge at Geneva, and soon after came to England. In '57 he set

up in London a Russian printing press for the publication of works

prohibited in Russia, and his publications passed into that country in

large numbers. Among his writings are Dilettantism in Science, '42;

Letters on the Study of Nature, '45-46; Who's to Blame? '57; Memoirs

of the Empress Catherine, and My Exile, '55. In '57 Herzen started the

magazine the Kolokol or Bell. Died at Paris, 21 Jan. 1870. His son,

Alessandro Herzen, b. Wladimar, 1839, followed his father's fortunes,

learnt most of the European languages and settled at Florence, where

he did much to popularise physiological science. He has translated

Maudsley's Physiology of Mind, and published a physiological analysis

of human free will.

 

Herwegh (Georg), German Radical and poet, b. Stuttgart, 31

May, 1817. Intended for the Church, he left that business for

Literature. His Gedichte eines Lebendigen (Poems of a Living Man)

aroused attention by their boldness. In '48 he raised a troop

and invaded Baden, but failed, and took refuge in Switzerland and

Paris. Died at Baden-Baden, 7 April, 1875.

 

Hetherington (Henry), English upholder of a free press, b. Soho,

London, 1792. He became a printer, and was one of the most energetic

of working men engaged in the foundation of mechanics' institutes. He

also founded the Metropolitan Political Union in March, 1830, which

was the germ both of trades' unionism and of the Chartist movement. He

resisted the "taxes upon knowledge" by issuing unstamped The Poor Man's

Guardian, a weekly newspaper for the people, established, contrary to

"law," to try the power of "might" against "right," '31-35. For this

he twice suffered sentences of six months' imprisonment. He afterwards

published The Unstamped, and his persistency had much to do in removing

the taxes. While in prison he wrote his Cheap Salvation in consequence

of conversation with the chaplain of Clerkenwell Gaol. On Dec. 8, '40,

he was tried for "blasphemous libel" for publishing Haslam's Letters

to the Clergy, and received four month's imprisonment. Hetherington

published A Few Hundred Bible Contradictions, and other Freethought

works. Much of his life was devoted to the propaganda of Chartism. He

died 24 Aug. 1849, leaving a will declaring himself an Atheist.

 

Hetzer (Ludwig), anti-Trinitarian martyr, b. Bischopzell, Switzerland;

was an Anabaptist minister at Zurich. He openly denied the doctrine of

the Trinity, and was condemned to death by the magistrates of Constance

on a charge of blasphemy. The sentence was carried out 4 Feb. 1529.

 

Heusden (C. J. van), Dutch writer in De Dageraad. Has written several

works, Thoughts on a Coming More Universal Doctrine, by a Believer,

etc.

 

Hibbert (Julian), Freethought philanthropist, b. 1801. During the

imprisonment of Richard Carlile he was active in sustaining his

publications. Learning that a distinguished political prisoner had

received a gift of £1,000, he remarked that a Freethinking prisoner

should not want equal friends, and gave Carlile a cheque for the same

amount. Julian Hibbert spent nearly £1,000 in fitting up Carlile's

shop in Fleet Street. He contributed "Theological Dialogues" to the

Republican, and also contributed to the Poor Man's Guardian. Hibbert

set up a private press and printed in uncial Greek the Orphic Hymns,

'27, and also Plutarch and Theophrastus on Superstition, to which

he wrote a life of Plutarch and appended valuable essays "on the

supposed necessity of deceiving the vulgar"; "various definitions

of an important word" [God], and a catalogue of the principal

modern works against Atheism. He also commenced a Dictionary

of Anti-Superstitionists, and Chronological Tables of British

Freethinkers. He wrote a short life of Holbach, published by James

Watson, to whom, and to Henry Hetherington, he left £500 each. Died

December 1834.

 

Hedin (Sven Adolph), Swedish member of the "Andra Kammaren" [House

of Commons], b. 1834. Studied at Upsala and became philosophical

candidate, '61. Edited the Aftonbladet, '74-76. Has written many

radical works.

 

Higgins (Godfrey), English archæologist, b. Skellow Grange, near

Doncaster, 1771. Educated at Cambridge and studied for the bar,

but never practised. Being the only son he inherited his father's

property, married, and acted as magistrate, in which capacity he

reformed the treatment of lunatics in York Asylum. His first work was

entitled Horæ Sabbaticæ, 1813, a manual on the Sunday Question. In

'29 he published An Apology for the Life and Character of Mohammed and

Celtic Druids, which occasioned some stir on account of the exposure

of priestcraft. He died 9 Aug. 1833, leaving behind a work on the

origin of religions, to the study of which he devoted ten hours daily

for about twenty years. The work was published in two volumes in 1826,

under the title of "Anacalypsis, an attempt to draw aside the veil of

the Saitic Isis; or an Inquiry into the Origin of Languages, Nations,

and Religions."

 

Hillebrand (Karl), cosmopolitan writer, b. 17 Sept. 1829, at

Giessen. His father, Joseph Hillebrand, succeeded Hegel as professor

at Heidelberg. Involved in the revolutionary movement in Germany,

Karl was imprisoned in the fortress of Rastadt, whence he escaped to

France. He taught at Strasbourg and Paris, where he became secretary

to Heine. On the poet's death he removed to Bordeaux, where he became a

naturalised Frenchman. He became professor of letters at Douay. During

the Franco-Prussian war he was correspondent to the Times, and was

taken for a Prussian spy. In 1871 he settled at Florence, where he

translated the poems of Carducci. Hillebrand was a contributor to

the Fortnightly Review, Nineteenth Century, Revue des deux Mondes,

North American Review, etc. His best known work is on France and the

French in the second half of the nineteenth century. Died at Florence,

18 Oct. 1884.

 

Hins (Eugène), Belgian writer, Dr. of Philosophy, Professor at Royal

Athenæum, Charleroi, b. St. Trond, 1842. As general secretary of the

International, he edited L'Internationale, in which he laid stress

on anti-religious teaching. He contributed to La Liberté, and was

one of the prominent lecturers of the Societies Les Solidaires, and

La Libre-pensée of Brussels. He has written La Russie dé voilée au

moyen de sa littérature populaire, 1883, and other works.

 

Hippel (Theodor Gottlieb von), German humoristic poet, b. Gerdauen,

Prussia, 31 Jan. 1741. He studied theology, but resigned it for law,

and became in 1780 burgomaster of Königsberg. His writings, which were

published anonymously, betray his advanced opinions. Died Bromberg,

23 April, 1796.

 

Hittell (John S.), American Freethinker, author of the Evidences

against Christianity (New York, 1857): has also written A Plea for

Pantheism, A New System of Phrenology, The Resources of California,

a History of San Francisco, A Brief History of Culture (New York,

1875), and St. Peter's Catechism (Geneva, 1883).

 

Hoadley (George), American jurist, b. New Haven, Conn., 31 July,

1836. He studied at Harvard, and in '47 was admitted to the bar,

and in '51 was elected judge of the superior court of Cincinnati. He

afterwards resigned his place and established a law firm. He was one

of the counsel that successfully opposed compulsory Bible reading in

the public schools.

 

Hobbes (Thomas), English philosopher, b. Malmesbury, 5 April,

1588. In 1608 he became tutor to a son of the Earl of Devonshire,

with whom he made the tour of Europe. At Pisa in 1628 he made the

acquaintance of Galileo. In 1642 he printed his work De Cive. In 1650

appeared in English his work on Human Nature, and in the following

year his famous Leviathan. At the Restoration he received a pension,

but in 1666 Parliament, in a Bill against Atheism and profaneness,

passed a censure on his writings, which much alarmed him. The latter

years of his life were spent at the seat of the Duke of Devonshire,

Chatsworth, where he died 4 Dec. 1679.

 

Hodgson (William, M.D.), English Jacobin, translator of d'Holbach's

System of Nature (1795). In 1794 he was confined in Newgate for two

years for drinking to the success of the French Republic. In prison

he wrote The Commonwealth of Reason.

 

Hoelderlin (Johann Christian Friedrich), German pantheistic poet,

b. Laufen, 20 March, 1770. Entered as a theological student at

Tübingen, but never took to the business. He wrote Hyperion, a

fine romance (1797-99), and Lyric Poems, admired for their depth of

thought. Died Tübingen, 7 June, 1843.

 

Hoijer (Benjamin Carl Henrik), Swedish philosopher, b. Great Skedvi,

Delecarlia, 1 June, 1767. Was student at Upsala University '83,

and teacher of philosophy '98. His promotion was hindered by his

liberal opinions. By his personal influence and published treatises he

contributed much to Swedish emancipation. In 1808 he became Professor

of Philosophy at Upsala. Died 8 June, 1812.

 

Holbach (Paul Heinrich Dietrich von) Baron, b. Heidelsheim

Jan. 1723. Brought up at Paris where he spent most of his life. Rich

and generous he was the patron of the Encyclopædists. Buffon, Diderot,

d'Alembert, Helvetius, Rousseau, Grimm, Raynal, Marmontel, Condillac,

and other authors often met at his table. Hume, Garrick, Franklin,

and Priestley were also among his visitors. He translated from the

German several works on chemistry and mineralogy, and from the English,

Mark Akenside's Pleasures of the Imagination. He contributed many

articles to the Encyclopédie. In 1765 he visited England, and from

this time was untiring in his issue of Freethought works, usually put

out under pseudonyms. Thus he wrote and had published at Amsterdam

Christianity Unveiled, attributed to Boulanger. The Spirit of the

Clergy, translated, from the English of Trenchard and Gordon, was

partly rewritten by d'Holbach, 1767. His Sacred Contagion or Natural

History of Superstition, was also wrongly attributed to Trenchard

and Gordon. This work was condemned to be burnt by a decree of the

French parliament, 8 Aug. 1770. D'Holbach also wrote and published

The History of David, 1768, The Critical History of Jesus Christ,

Letters to Eugenia, attributed to Freret, Portable Theology, attributed

to Bernier, an Essay on Prejudices, attributed to M. Du M [arsais],

Religious Cruelty, Hell Destroyed, and other works, said to be from

the English. He also translated the Philosophical Letters of Toland,

and Collins's Discourses on Prophecy, and attributed to the latter a

work with the title The Spirit of Judaism. These works were mostly

conveyed to the printer, M. Rey, at Amsterdam, by Naigeon, and the

secret of their authorship was carefully preserved. Hence d'Holbach

escaped persecution. In 1770 he published his principal work The

System of Nature, or The Laws of the Physical and Moral World. This

text-book of atheistic philosophy, in which d'Holbach was assisted

by Diderot, professed to be the posthumous work of Mirabaud. It made

a great sensation. Within two years he published a sort of summary

under the title of Good Sense, attributed to the curé Meslier. In

1773 he wrote on Natural Politics and the Social System. His last

important work was Universal Morality; or the Duties of Man founded

upon Nature. D'Holbach, whose personal good qualities were testified to

by many, was depicted in Rousseau's Nouvelle Héloise as the benevolent

Atheist Wolmar. Died 21 Jan. 1789.

 

Holcroft (Thomas), English author, b. 10 Dec. 1745, was successively

a groom, shoemaker, schoolmaster, actor and author. His comedies

"Duplicity," 1781, and "The Road to Ruin," 1792, were very

successful. He translated the Posthumous Works of Frederick the

Great, 1789. For his active sympathy with the French Republicans he

was indicted for high treason with Hardy and Horne Tooke in 1794,

but was discharged without a trial. Died 23 March, 1809.

 

Holland (Frederic May), American author, b. Boston, 2 May, 1836,

graduated at Harvard in '49, and in '63 was ordained Unitarian minister

at Rockford, Ill. Becoming broader in his views, he resigned, and has

since written in the Truthseeker, the Freethinkers' Magazine, etc. His

principal work is entitled The Rise of Intellectual Liberty, 1885.

 

Hollick (Dr. Frederick), Socialist, b. Birmingham, 22 Dec. 1813. He was

educated at the Mechanics' Institute of that town, and became one of

the Socialist lecturers under Robert Owen. He held a public discussion

with J. Brindley at Liverpool, in 1840, on "What is Christianity?" On

the failure of Owenism he went to America, where some of his works

popularising medical science have had a large circulation.

 

Hollis (John), English sceptic, b. 1757. Author of Sober and Serious

Reasons for Scepticism, 1796; An Apology for Disbelief in Revealed

Religion, 1799; and Free Thoughts, 1812. Died at High Wycombe, Bucks

26 Nov. 1824. Hollis, who came of an opulent dissenting family, was

distinguished by his love of truth, his zeal in the cause of freedom,

and by his beneficence.

 

Holmes (William Vamplew), one of Carlile's brave shopmen who came up

from Leeds to uphold the right of free publication. He was sentenced

to two years' imprisonment, 1 March, '22, for selling blasphemous

and seditious libels in An Address to the Reformers of Great Britain,

and when in prison was told that "if hard labor was not expressed in

his sentence, it was implied." On his release Holmes went to Sheffield

and commenced the open sale of all the prohibited publications.

 

Holwell (John Zephaniah), noted as one of the survivors of the Black

Hole of Calcutta, b. Dublin, 7 Sept. 1711. He practised as a surgeon,

went to India as a clerk, defended a fort at Calcutta against Surajah

Dowlah, was imprisoned with one hundred and forty-five others in the

"Black Hole," 20th June, 1756, of which he published a Narrative. He

succeeded Clive as governor of Bengal. On returning to England

he published a dissertation directed against belief in a special

providence, and advocating the application of church endowments to

the exigencies of the State (Bath, 1786). Died 5 Nov. 1798.

 

Holyoake (Austin), English Freethinker, b. Birmingham, 27

Oct. 1826. His mental emancipation came from hearing the lectures of

Robert Owen and his disciples. He took part in the agitation for the

abolition of the newspaper stamp--assisting when risk and danger had

to be met--and he co-operated with his brother in the production of

the Reasoner and other publications from '45 till '62. Soon after

this he printed and sub-edited the National Reformer, in which

many of his Freethought articles appeared. Among his pamphlets may

be mentioned Heaven and Hell, Ludicrous Aspects of Christianity,

Thoughts on Atheism, the Book of Esther, and Daniel the Dreamer. He

also composed a Secular Burial Service. Austin Holyoake took pride

in the character of Freethought, and was ever zealous in promoting

its welfare. His amiable spirit endeared him to all who knew him. He

died 10 April, 1874, leaving behind thoughts written on his deathbed,

in which he repudiated all belief in theology.

 

Holyoake (George Jacob), b. Birmingham, 13 April 1817. Became

mathematical teacher of the Mechanics' Institution. Influenced by Combe

and Owen he became a Freethinker, and in '40 a Socialist missionary. In

'42, when Southwell was imprisoned for writing in the Oracle of Reason,

Mr. Holyoake took charge of that journal, and wrote The Spirit of

Bonner in the Disciples of Jesus. He was soon arrested for a speech

at Cheltenham, having said, in answer to a question, that he would put

the Deity on half-pay. Tried Aug. '42, he was sentenced to six months

imprisonment, of which he gave a full account in his Last Trial by

Jury for Atheism in England. In Dec. '43 he edited with M. Q. Ryall

the Movement, bearing the motto from Bentham, "Maximise morals,

minimise religion." The same policy was pursued in The Reasoner,

which he edited from 1846 till 1861. Among his many pamphlets we must

notice the Logic of Death, '50, which went through numerous editions,

and was included in his most important Freethought work, The Trial

of Theism. In '49 he published a brief memoir of R. Carlile. In

'51 he first used the term "Secularist," and in Oct. '52 the first

Secular Conference was held at Manchester Mr. Holyoake presiding. In

Jan. '53 he held a six nights discussion with the Rev. Brewin Grant,

and again in Oct. '54. He purchased the business of James Watson,

and issued many Freethought works, notably The Library of Reason--a

series, The Cabinet of Reason, his own Secularism, The Philosophy of

the People, etc. In '60 he was Secretary to the British Legion sent out

to Garibaldi. Mr. Holyoake did much to remove the taxes upon knowledge,

and has devoted much attention to Co-operation, having written a

history of the movement and contributed to most of its journals.

 

Home (Henry), Scottish judge, was b. 1696. His legal ability was

made known by his publication of Remarkable Decisions of the Court of

Session, 1728. In 1752 he was raised to the bench as Lord Kames. He

published Essays on the Principles of Morality and Natural Religion

(1751), Elements of Criticism (1762), and Sketches of the History

of Man, in which he proved himself in advance of his age. Died 27

Dec. 1782.

 

Hon, Le (Henri). See Le Hon.

 

Hooker (Sir Joseph Dalton), English naturalist, b. 1817. He

studied medicine at Glasgow, graduating M.D '39. In '55 he

became assistant-director of Kew Gardens, and from '65-85 sole

director. Renowned as a botanist, he was the first eminent man of

science to proclaim his adoption of Darwinism.

 

Hope (Thomas), novelist and antiquarian, b. 1770. Famous for his

anonymous Anastasius, or Memories of a Modern Greek, he also wrote an

original work on The Origin and Prospects of Man '31. Died at London

3 Feb. 1831.

 

Houten (Samuel van), Dutch Freethinker, b. Groningen. 17 Feb. 1837;

he studied law and became a lawyer in that city. In '69 he was

chosen member of the Dutch Parliament. Has published many writings on

political economy. In '88 he wrote a book entitled Das Causalitätgesetz

(The Law of Causality).

 

Houston (George). Was the translator of d'Holbach's Ecce Homo, first

published in Edinburgh in 1799, and sometimes ascribed to Joseph

Webb. A second edition was issued in 1813. Houston was prosecuted and

was imprisoned two years in Newgate, with a fine of £200. He afterwards

went to New York, where he edited the Minerva (1822). In Jan. 1827,

he started The Correspondence, which, we believe, was the first weekly

Freethought journal published in America. It lasted till July 1828. He

also republished Ecce Homo. Houston helped to establish in America a

"Free Press Association" and a Society of Free Inquirers.

 

Hovelacque (Abel), French scientist, b. Paris 14 Nov. 1843. He studied

law and made part of the groupe of la Pensée Nouvelle, with Asseline,

Letourneau, Lefevre, etc. He also studied anthropology under Broca

and published many articles in the Revue d'Anthropologie. He founded

with Letourneau, Thulié, Asseline, etc. The "Bibliothèque des sciences

contemporains" and published therein La Linguistique. He also founded

with the same the library of anthropological science and published in

collaboration with G. Hervé a prècis of Anthropology and a study of

the Negroes of Africa. He has also contributed to the Dictionary of

Anthropology. For the "Bibliothèque Materialiste" he wrote a work on

Primitive man. He has also published choice extracts from the works

of Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau, a grammar of the Zend language,

and a work on the Avesta Zoroaster and Mazdaism. In '78 he was made a

member of the municipal council of Paris, and in '81 was elected deputy

to the chamber where he sits with the autonomist socialist group.

 

Howdon (John), author of A Rational Investigation of the Principles

of Natural Philosophy, Physical and Moral, printed at Haddington,

1840, in which he attacks belief in the Bible.

 

Huber (Marie), Swiss Deist, b. of Protestant parents, Geneva,

1694. In a work on the System of Theologians, 1731, she opposed

the dogma of eternal punishment. In '38 published Letters on the

Religion essential to Man. This was translated into English in the

same year. Other works show English reading. She translated selections

from the Spectator. Died at Lyons, 13 June, 1753.

 

Hudail (Abul). See Muhammad ibn Hudail (Al Allaf.)

 

Huet (Coenraad Busken), Dutch writer, b. the Hague, 28 Dec. 1826. He

became minister of the Walloon Church at Haarlem, but through his

Freethought left the church in '63, and became editor of various

newspapers, afterwards living in Paris. He wrote many works of literary

value, and published Letters on the Bible, '57, etc. Died 1887.

 

Hugo (Victor Marie), French poet and novelist, b. Besançon, 26

Feb. 1802. Was first noted for his Odes, published in '21. His dramas

"Hernani," '30, and "Marion Delorme," '31, were highly successful. He

was admitted into the French Academy in '41, and made a peer in

'45. He gave his cordial adhesion to the Republic of '48, and was

elected to the Assembly by the voters of Paris. He attacked Louis

Napoleon, and after the coup d'état was proscribed. He first went to

Brussels, where he published Napoleon the Little, a biting satire. He

afterwards settled at Guernsey, where he remained until the fall of

the Empire, producing The Legend of the Ages, '59, Les Miserables, '62,

Toilers of the Sea, '69, and other works. After his return to Paris he

produced a new series of the Legend of the Ages, The Pope, Religions

and Religion, Torquemada, and other poems. He died 22 May, 1885,

and it being decided he should have a national funeral, the Pantheon

was secularised for that purpose, the cross being removed. Since his

death a poem entitled The End of Satan has been published.

 

Hugues (Clovis), French Socialist, poet, and deputy, b. Menerbes,

3 Nov. 1850. In youth he desired to become a priest, but under the

influence of Hugo left the black business. In '71 he became head

of the Communist movement at Marseilles. He was sentenced to three

years' imprisonment. In '81 he was elected deputy, and sits on the

extreme left.

 

Humboldt (Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von), illustrious German

naturalist and traveller, b. Berlin, 14 Sept. 1769. He studied under

Heyne and Blumenbach, travelled in Holland, France and England

with George Forster, the naturalist, and became director-general

of mines. In 1799 he set out to explore South America and Mexico,

and in 1804 returned with a rich collection of animals, plants and

minerals. Humboldt became a resident of Paris, where he enjoyed

the friendship of Lalande, Delambre, Arago, and all the living

distinguished French scientists. After numerous important contributions

to scientific knowledge, at the age of seventy-four he composed his

celebrated Cosmos, the first volume of which appeared in '45 and the

fourth in '58. To Varnhagen von Ense he wrote in 1841: "Bruno Bauer

has found me pre-adamatically converted. Many years ago I wrote,

'Toutes les réligions positives offrent trois parties distinctes;

un traité de moeurs partout le même et très pur, un rève géologique,

et un mythe ou petit roman historique; le dernier élément obtient

le plus d'importance.'" Later on he says that Strauss disposes of

"the Christian myths." Humboldt was an unwearied student of science,

paying no attention to religion, and opposed his brother in regard to

his essay On the Province of the Historian, because he considered it

to acknowledge the belief in the divine government of the world, which

seemed to him as complete a delusion as the hypothesis of a principle

of life. He died in Berlin, 6 May, 1859, in his ninetieth year.

 

Humboldt (Karl Wilhelm von), Prussian statesman and philosopher,

b. Potsdam, 22 June, 1767. He was educated by Campe. Went to Paris in

1789, and hailed the revolution with enthusiasm. In '92 he published

Ideas on the Organization of the State. He became a friend of Schiller

and Goethe, and in 1809 was Minister of Public Instruction. He took

part in founding the University of Berlin. He represented Prussia at

the Congress of Vienna, '14. He advocated a liberal constitution, but

finding the King averse, retired at the end of '19, and devoted himself

to the study of comparative philology. He said there were three things

he could not comprehend--orthodox piety, romantic love, and music. He

died 8 April, 1835. His works were collected and edited by his brother.

 

Hume (David), philosopher and historian, b. Edinburgh, 26 April,

1711. In 1735 he went to France to study, and there wrote his Treatise

on Human Nature, published in 1739. This work then excited no interest

friendly or hostile. Hume's Essays Moral and Political appeared in

1742, and in 1752 his Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals which

of all his writings he considered the best. In 1755 he published his

Natural History of Religion, which was furiously attacked by Warburton

in an anonymous tract. In 1754 he published the first volume of his

History of England, which he did not complete till 1761. He became

secretary to the Earl of Hertford, ambassador at Paris, where he was

cordially welcomed by the philosophers. He returned in 1766, bringing

Rousseau with him. Hume became Under Secretary of State in 1767,

and in 1769 retired to Edinburgh, where he died 25 Aug. 1776. After

his death his Dialogues on Natural Religion were published, and also

some unpublished essays on Suicide, the Immortality of the Soul,

etc. Hume's last days were singularly cheerful. His friend, the famous

Dr. Adam Smith, considered him "as approaching as nearly to the idea

of a perfectly wise and virtuous man as perhaps the nature of human

frailty will permit."

 

Hunt (James), Ph.D., physiologist, b. 1833, was the founder of the

Anthropological Society, of which he was the first president, '63. He

was the author of the Negro's Place in Nature, a work on Stammering,

etc. Died 28 Aug. 1869.

 

Hunt (James Henry Leigh), poet, essayist and critic, b. Southgate,

Middlesex, 19 Oct. 1784. was educated with Lamb and Coleridge at

Christ's Hospital, London. He joined his brother John in editing

first the Sunday News, 1805, and then the Examiner, 1808. They were

condemned to pay a fine, each of £500, and to be imprisoned for

two years, 1812-14, for a satirical article, in which the prince

regent was called an "Adonis of fifty." This imprisonment procured

him the friendship of Shelley and Byron, with whom, after editing

the Indicator he was associated in editing the Liberal. He wrote many

choice books of poems and criticisms, and in his Religion of the Heart,

'53, repudiates orthodoxy. Died 28 Aug. 1859.

 

Hutten (Ulrich von), German poet and reformer, b. of noble family

Steckelberg, Hesse Cassel, 22 April 1488. He was sent to Fulda

to become a monk, but fled in 1504 to Erfurt, where he studied

humaniora. After some wild adventures he went to Wittenberg in 1510,

and Vienna 1512, and also studied at Pavia and Bologna. He returned to

Germany in 1517 as a common soldier in the army of Maximilian. His

great object was to free his country from sacerdotalism, and

most of his writings are satires against the Pope, monks and

clergy. Persecution drove him to Switzerland, but the Council of

Zurich drove him out of their territory and he died on the isle of

Ufnau, Lake Zürich, 29 Aug. 1523.

 

Hutton (James), Scotch geologist and philosopher, b. at Edinburgh 3

June, 1736. He graduated as M.D. at Leyden in 1749, and investigated

the strata of the north of Scotland. He published a dissertation

on Light, Heat, and Fire, and in his Theory of the World, 1795,

attributes geological phenomena to the action of fire. He also wrote

a work entitled An Investigation of the Principles of Knowledge,

the opinions of which, says Chalmers, "abound in sceptical boldness

and philosophical infidelity." Died 26 March 1797.

 

Huxley (Thomas Henry), LL.D., Ph.D., F.R.S., b. Ealing, 4 May, 1825. He

studied medicine, and in '46 took M.R.C.S., and was appointed assistant

naval surgeon. His cruises afforded opportunities for his studies of

natural history. In '51 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, and

in '54 was made Professor at the School of Mines. In '60 he lectured on

"The Relation of Man to the Lower Animals," and afterwards published

Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature (1863). In addition to numerous

scientific works, Professor Huxley has written numerous forcible

articles, addresses, etc., collected in Lay Sermons, '70; Critiques

and Addresses, '73; and American Addresses, '79. A vigorous writer,

his Hume in the "English Men of Letters" series is a model of clear

exposition. In his controversies with Mr. Gladstone, in his articles

on the Evolution of Theology, and in his recent polemic with the

Rev. Mr. Wace in the Nineteenth Century, Professor Huxley shows all

his freshness, and proves himself as ready in demolishing theological

fictions as in demonstrating scientific facts. He states as his own

life aims "The popularising of science and untiring opposition to

that ecclesiastical spirit, that clericalism, which in England,

as everywhere else, and to whatever denomination it may belong,

is the deadly enemy of science."

 

Hypatia, Pagan philosopher and martyr, b. Alexandria early in

the second half of the fourth century. She became a distinguished

lecturer and head of the Neo-Platonic school (c. 400). The charms of

her eloquence brought many disciples. By a Christian mob, incited by

St. Cyril, she was in Lent 415 torn from her chariot, stripped naked,

cut with oyster-shells and finally burnt piecemeal. This true story

of Christian persecution has been disguised into a legend related of

St. Catherine in the Roman breviary (Nov. 25).

 

Ibn Bajjat. See Avenpace.

 

Ibn Massara. See Massara in Supplement.

 

Ibn Rushd. See Averroes.

 

Ibn Sabîn. See Sabin.

 

Ibn Sina. See Avicenna.

 

Ibn Tofail. See Abu Bakr.

 

Ibsen (Henrik), an eminent Norwegian dramatist and poet, b. Skien,

20 March, 1828. At first he studied medicine, but he turned his

attention to literature. In '52, through the influence of Ole Bull,

he became director of the theatre at Bergen, for which he wrote a

great deal. From '57 to '63 he directed the theatre at Christiania. In

the following year he went to Rome. The Storthing accorded him an

annual pension for his services to literature. His dramas, Brand,

(Peer Gynt), Kejser og Galilær (Cæsar [Julian] and the Galilean),

Nora, and Samfundets Stotler (the Pillars of Society), and Ghosts

exhibit his unconventional spirit. Ibsen is an open unbeliever in

Christianity. He looks forward to social regeneration through liberty,

individuality, and education without superstition.

 

Ilive (Jacob), English printer and letter founder, b. Bristol about

1710. He published a pretended translation of the Book of Jasher, 1751,

and some other curious works. He was prosecuted for blasphemy in Some

Modest Remarks on the late Bishop Sherlock's Sermons, and sentenced to

two years' imprisonment, 15 June, 1756-10 June, 1758. He was confined

in the Clerkenwell House of Correction and published some pamphlets

exposing the bad condition of the prison and suggesting means for

its improvement. He died in 1768.

 

Imray (I. W.), author, b. 1802. Wrote in Carlile's Republican and Lion,

and published "Altamont," an atheistic drama, in 1828.

 

Ingersoll (Robert Green), American orator, b. Dresden, New York,

11 Aug. 1833. His father was a Congregationalist clergyman. He

studied law, and opened an office in Shawneetown, Illinois. In '62 he

became colonel of the 11th Illinois Cavalry, and served in the war,

being taken prisoner. In '66 he was appointed attorney-general for

Illinois. At the National Republican Convention, '76, he proposed

Blaine for President in a speech that attracted much attention. In

'77 he refused the post of Minister to Germany. He has conducted

many important cases, and defended C. B. Reynolds when tried for

blasphemy in '86. Col. Ingersoll is the most popular speaker in

America. Eloquence, humor, and pathos are alike at his command. He is

well known by his books, pamphlets, and speeches directed against

Christianity. He had published the Gods, Ghosts, Some Mistakes

of Moses, and a collection of his Lectures, '83, and Prose Poems

and Extracts, '84. Most of his lectures have been republished in

England. We mention What must I do to be Saved? Hell, The Dying Creed,

Myth and Miracle, Do I Blaspheme? Real Blasphemy. In the pages of the

North American Review Col. Ingersoll has defended Freethought against

Judge Black, the Rev. H. Field, Mr. Gladstone, and Cardinal Manning.

 

Inman (Thomas), B.A., physician and archæologist, b. 1820. Educated

at London University, he settled at Liverpool, being connected with

the well-known shipping family of that port. He is chiefly known by

his work on Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names, in which he

deals with the evidences of phallic worship amongst Jews and other

nations. It was first published in '69. A second edition appeared in

'73. He also wrote Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism Exposed

and Explained, '69, and a controversial Freethought work, entitled

Ancient Faiths and Modern, published at New York '76. Dr. Inman was

for some time President of the Liverpool Literary and Philosophical

Society, and was physician to the Royal Infirmary of that city. His

professional life was one of untiring industry. He wrote several

medical works, including two volumes on the Preservation and

Restoration of Health. Died at Clifton, 3 May. 1876.

 

Iron (Ralph), pseudonym of Olive Schreiner, q.v.

 

Isnard (Felix), French physician, b. Grasse 1829. Author of a work

on Spiritualism and Materialism, 1879.

 

Isnard (Maximin), Girondin revolutionist, b. Grasse 16 Feb. 1751. He

was made a member of the Assembly, in which he declared, "The Law,

behold my God. I know no other." He voted for the death of the

King, and was nominated president of the Convention. On the fall of

the Girondins he made his escape, and reappeared after the fall of

Robespierre. In 1796 he was one of the Council of Five Hundred. Died

1830.

 

Isoard (Eric Michel Antoine), French writer, b. Paris, 1826. Was naval

officer in '48 but arrested as socialist in '49. In '70 he was made

sous-prefet of Cambrai and wrote Guerre aux Jésuites.

 

Isoard Delisle (Jean Baptiste Claude), called also Delisle de Sales,

French man of letters, b. Lyons 1743. When young he entered the

Congregation of the Oratory, but left theology for literature. In 1769

he published the Philosophy of Nature, which in 1771 was discovered to

be irreligious, and he was condemned to perpetual banishment. While in

prison he was visited by many of the philosophers, and a subscription

was opened for him, to which Voltaire gave five hundred francs. He

went to the court of Frederick the Great, and subsequently published

many works of little importance. Died at Paris 22 Sept. 1816.

 

Jacob (Andre Alexandre). See Erdan (A.)

 

Jacobson (Augustus), American, author of Why I do not Believe,

Chicago 1881, and The Bible Inquirer.

 

"Jacobus (Dom)" Pseudonym of Potvin (Charles) q.v.

 

Jacoby (Leopold) German author of The Idea of Development. 2

vols. Berlin 1874-76.

 

Jacolliot (Louis), French orientalist, b. Saint Etienne, 1806. Brought

up to the law, in '43 he was made judge at Pondichery. He first aroused

attention by his work, The Bible in India, '70. He also has written

on Genesis of Humanity, '76. The Religions Legislators, Moses, Manu

and Muhammad, '80, and The Natural and Social History of Humanity,

'84, and several works of travel.

 

Jantet (Charles and Hector), two doctors of Lyons, b. the first

in 1826, the second in '28, have published together able Aperçus

Philosophiques on Rènan's Life of Jesus, '64, and Doctrine Medicale

Matérialiste, 1866.

 

Jaucourt (Louis de), Chevalier, French scholar and member of the

Royal Society of London and of the academies of Berlin and Stockholm,

b. Paris 27 Sept. 1704. He studied at Geneva, Cambridge, and Leyden,

furnished the Encyclopédie with many articles, and conducted the

Bibliothèque Raisonnée. Died at Compiègne, 3 Feb. 1779.

 

Jefferies (Richard), English writer, b. 1848, famous for his

descriptions of nature in The Gamekeeper at Home, Wild Life in a

Southern Country, etc. In his autobiographical Story of My Heart

(1883) Mr. Jefferies shows himself a thorough Freethinker. Died

Goring-on-Thames, 14 Aug. 1887.

 

Jefferson (Thomas), American statesman, b. Shadwell, Virginia, 2 April

1743. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1767. He became

a member of the House of Burgesses, 1769-75. In 1774 he published

his Summary Views of the Rights of British-Americans. He drafted

and reported to Congress the "Declaration of Independence" which

was unanimously adopted, 4 July 1766. He was Governor of Virginia

from 1719 to 1781, and originated a system of education in the

State. He was Ambassador to Paris from 1785-89, secretary of state

from 1789-93, vice-president 1791-1801 and third president of the

United States 1801-9. In '19 he founded the University of Virginia, of

which he was rector till his death, 4 July 1826. Dr. J. Thomas in his

Dictionary of Biography says "In religion he was what is denominated a

freethinker." He spoke in old age of "the hocus-pocus phantom of God,

which like another Cerberus had one body and three heads." See his

life by J. Parton.

 

Johnson (Richard Mentor), Colonel, American soldier and statesman,

b. Bryant's Station, Kentucky, 17 Oct. 1781. Was educated at Lexington,

studied law, and practiced with success. Became member of the Kentucky

Legislature in 1805, and raised a regiment of cavalry '12. Fought

with distinction against British and Indians. Was member of Congress

from 1807-19, and from '29-37; a United States Senator from '19-29,

and Vice-President of the United States, '37-40. Is remembered by his

report against the suspension of Sunday mails and his speeches in favor

of rights of conscience. Died at Frankfort, Kentucky, 19 Nov. 1850.

 

Johnson (Samuel), American author, b. Salem, Massachusetts, 10

Oct. 1822. He was educated at Harvard, and became pastor of a "Free

Church" at Lynn in '53. He never attached himself to any denomination,

although in some points his views were like those of the Unitarians

and Universalists. About '46 he published, in conjunction with

S. Longfellow, brother of the poet, Hymns of the Spirit, Oriental

Religions in relation to Universal Religion, of which the volume

on India appeared in '72, China '77, and Persia '84. Died Andover,

19 Feb. 1882.

 

Jones (Ernest Charles), barrister and political orator, b. Berlin,

25 Jan. 1819. His father was in the service of the King of Hanover,

who became his godfather. Called to the bar in '44 in the following

year he joined the Chartist movement, editing the People's Paper, Notes

to the People, and other Chartist periodicals. In '48 he was tried for

making a seditious speech, and condemned to two years' imprisonment,

during which he wrote Beldagon Church and other poems. He stood for

Halifax in '47, and Nottingham in '53 and '57, without success. He

was much esteemed by the working classes in Manchester, where he died

26 Jan. 1869.

 

Jones (John Gale), Political orator, b. 1771. At the time of the French

Revolution he became a leading member of the London Corresponding

Society. Arrested at Birmingham for sedition, he obtained a verdict of

acquittal. He was subsequently committed to Newgate in Feb. 1810, for

impugning the proceedings of the House of Commons, and there remained

till his liberation was effected by the prorogation of Parliament,

June 21. On 26 Dec. '11 he was again convicted for "a seditious and

blasphemous libel." He was a resolute advocate of the rights of free

publication during the trials of Carlile and his shopmen. Died Somers

Town, 4 April, 1838.

 

Jones (Lloyd), Socialist, b. of Catholic parents at Brandon, co. Cork,

Ireland, in March, 1811. In '27 he came over to Manchester, and

in '32 joined the followers of Robert Owen. He became "a social

missionary," and had numerous debates with ministers, notably one on

"The Influence of Christianity" with J. Barker, then a Methodist, at

Manchester, in '39. Lloyd Jones was an active supporter of co-operation

and trades-unionism, and frequently acted as arbitrator in disputes

between masters and men. He contributed to the New Moral World, Spirit

of the Age, Glasgow Sentinel, Leeds Express, North British Daily Mail,

Newcastle Chronicle, and Co-operative News. Died at Stockwell, 22 May,

1886, leaving behind a Life of Robert Owen.

 

Joseph II., Emperor of Germany, son of Francis I. and Maria Theresa,

b. Vienna 13 March 1741. In 1764 he was elected king of the Romans, and

in the following year succeeded to the throne of Germany. He wrought

many reforms, suppressed the Jesuits 1773, travelled in France as Count

Falkenstein, saw d'Alembert but did not visit Voltaire. He abolished

serfdom, allowed liberty of conscience, suppressed several convents,

regulated others, abridged the power of the pope and the clergy,

and mitigated the condition of the Jews. Carlyle says "a mighty

reformer he had been, the greatest of his day. Austria gazed on him,

its admiration not unmixed with terror. He rushed incessantly about,

hardy as a Charles Twelfth; slept on his bearskin on the floor of any

inn or hut;--flew at the throat of every absurdity, however broad

and based or dangerously armed. 'Disappear I say.' A most prompt,

severe, and yet beneficent and charitable kind of man. Immensely

ambitious, that must be said withal. A great admirer of Friedrich;

bent to imitate him with profit. 'Very clever indeed' says Friedrich,

'but has the fault (a terribly grave one!) of generally taking the

second step without having taken the first.'" Died Vienna 20 Feb. 1790.

 

Jouy (Victor Joseph Etienne de), French author b. Jouy near Versailles

1764. He served as soldier in India and afterwards in the wars of

the Republic. A disciple of Voltaire to whom he erected a temple,

he was a prolific writer, his plays being much esteemed in his own

day. Died 4 Sept. 1846.

 

Julianus (Flavius Claudius), Roman Emperor, b. Constantinople 17

Nov. 331. In the massacre of his family by the sons of Constantine

he escaped. He was educated in the tenets of Christianity but

returned to an eclectic Paganism. In 354 he was declared Cæsar. He

made successful campaigns against the Germans who had overrun Gaul

and in 361 was made Emperor. He proclaimed liberty of conscience

and sought to uproot the Christian superstition by his writings, of

which only fragments remain. As Emperor he exhibited great talent,

tact, industry, and skill. He was one of the most gifted and learned

of the Roman Emperors, and his short reign (Dec. 361--26 June, 363),

comprehended the plans of a life-long administration. He died while

seeking to repel a Persian invasion, and his death was followed by

the triumph of Christianity and the long night of the dark ages.

 

Junghuhn (Franz Wilhelm), traveller and naturalist, b. Mansfeld,

Prussia 29 Oct 1812. His father was a barber and surgeon. Franz

studied at Halle and Berlin. He distinguished himself by love for

botany and geology. In a duel with another student he killed him and

was sentenced to imprisonment at Ehrenbreitster for 20 years. There

he simulated madness and was removed to the asylum at Coblentz,

whence he escaped to Algiers. In '34 he joined the Dutch Army in the

Malay Archipelago. He travelled through the island of Java making

a botanical and geological survey. In '54 he published his Licht

en Schaduwbeelden uit de binnenlanden van Java (Light and Shadow

pictures from the interior of Java), which contains his ideas of God,

religion and science, together with sketches of nature and of the

manners of the inhabitants. This book aroused much indignation from

the pious, but also much agreement among freethinkers, and led to

the establishment of De Dageraad (The Daybreak,) the organ of the

Dutch Freethinkers Union. Junghuhn afterwards returned to Java and

died 21 April, '64 at Lemberg, Preanges, Regentsch. His Light and

Shadow pictures have been several times reprinted.

 

Kalisch (Moritz Marcus), Ph.D., b. of Jewish parents in Pomerania,

16 May, 1828. Educated at the University of Berlin, where he

studied under Vatke and others. Early in '49 he came to England as a

political refugee, and found employment as tutor to the Rothschild

family. His critical Commentary on the Pentateuch commenced with a

volume on Exodus, '55, Genesis '58, Leviticus in two vols. in '67

and '72 respectively. His rational criticism anticipated the school

of Wellhausen. He published Bible Studies on Balaam and Jonah '77,

and discussions on philosophy and religion in a very able and learned

work entitled Path and Goal, '80. Kalisch also contributed to Scott's

series of Freethought tracts. Died at Baslow, Derbyshire, 23 Aug. 1885.

 

Kames (Lord). See Home (Henry).

 

Kant (Immanuel), German critical philosopher, b. Königsberg, 22

April, 1724. He became professor of mathematics in 1770. In 1781 he

published his great work, The Critick of Pure Reason, which denied

all knowledge of the "Thing itself," and overthrew the dogmatism of

earlier metaphysics. In 1792 the philosopher fell under the royal

censorship for his Religion within the Limits of Pure Reason. Kant

effected a complete revolution in philosophy, and his immediate

influence is not yet exhausted. Died at Königsberg, 12 Feb. 1804.

 

Kapila. One of the earliest Hindu thinkers. His system is known as

the Atheistic philosophy. It is expounded in the Sankhya Karika, an

important relic of bold rationalistic Indian thought. His aphorisms

have been translated by J. R. Ballantyne.

 

Karneades. See Carneades.

 

Keeler (Bronson C.) American author of an able Short History of the

Bible, being a popular account of the formation and development of

the canon, published at Chicago 1881.

 

Keim (Karl Theodor), German rationalist, b. Stuttgart,

17 Dec. 1825. Was educated at Tübingen, and became professor of

theology at Zürich. Is chiefly known by his History of Jesus of Nazara

('67-'72). He also wrote a striking work on Primitive Christianity

('78), and endeavored to reproduce the lost work of Celsus. His

rationalism hindered his promotion, and he was an invalid most of

his days. Died at Giessen, where he was professor, 17 Nov. 1878.

 

Keith (George), Lord Marshall, Scotch soldier, b. Kincardine 1685,

was appointed by Queen Anne captain of Guard. His property being

confiscated for aiding the Pretender, he went to the Continent, and

like his brother, was in high favor with Frederick the Great. Died

Berlin, 25 May, 1778.

 

Keith (James Francis Edward), eminent military commander, b. Inverugie,

Scotland, 11 June, 1696. Joined the army of the Pretender and was

wounded at Sheriffmuir, 1715. He afterwards served with distinction

in Spain and in Russia, where he rose to high favor under the

Empress Elizabeth. In 1747 he took service with Frederick the Great

as field-marshal, and became Governor of Berlin. Carlyle calls him

"a very clear-eyed, sound observer of men and things. Frederick, the

more he knows him, likes him the better." From their correspondence

it is evident Keith shared the sceptical opinions of Frederick. After

brilliant exploits in the seven years' war at Prague, Rossbach, and

Olmutz, Marshal Keith fell in the battle of Hochkirch, 14 Oct. 1758.

 

Kenrick (William), LL.D., English author, b. near Watford, Herts,

about 1720. In 1751 he published, at Dublin, under the pen-name of

Ontologos, an essay to prove that the soul is not immortal. His first

poetic production was a volume of Epistles, Philosophical and Moral

(1759), addressed to Lorenzo; an avowed defence of scepticism. In

1775 he commenced the London Review, and the following year attacked

Soame Jenyns's work on Christianity. He translated some of the works

of Buffon, Rousseau, and Voltaire. Died 10 June 1779.

 

Kerr (Michael Crawford) American statesman, b. Titusville, Western

Pennsylvania, 15 March 1827. He was member of the Indiana Legislature

'56, and elected to Congress in '74 and endeavoured to revise the

tariff in the direction of free-trade. Died Rockbridge, Virginia,

19 Aug. 1876, a confirmed Freethinker and Materialist.

 

Ket, Kett, or Knight (Francis), of Norfolk, a relative of the

rebellious tanner. He was of Windham and was an M.A. He was prosecuted

for heresy and burnt in the castle ditch, Norwich, 14 Jan. 1588. Stowe

says he was burnt for "divers detestable opinions against Christ

our Saviour."

 

Khayyam (Omar) or Umar Khaiyam, Persian astronomer, poet, b. Naishapur

Khorassan, in the second half of the eleventh century, and was

distinguished by his reformation of the calendar as well as by his

verses (Rubiyat), which E. Fitzgerald has so finely rendered in

English. He alarmed his contemporaries and made himself obnoxious to

the Sufis. Died about 1123. Omar laughed at the prophets and priests,

and told men to be happy instead of worrying themselves about God and

the Hereafter. He makes his soul say, "I myself am Heaven and Hell."

 

Kielland (Alexander Lange), Norwegian novelist, b. Stavanger, 18

Feb. 1849. He studied law at Christiania, but never practised. His

stories, Workpeople, Skipper Worse, Poison, and Snow exhibit his

bold opinions.

 

Kleanthes. See Cleanthes.

 

Klinger (Friedrich Maximilian von), German writer, b. Frankfort, 19

Feb. 1753. Went to Russia in 1780, and became reader to the Grand

Duke Paul. Published poems, dramas, and romances, exhibiting the

revolt of nature against conventionality. Goethe called him "a true

apostle of the Gospel of nature." Died at Petersburg, 25 Feb. 1831.

 

Kneeland (Abner), American writer, b. Gardner, Mass., 7 April, 1774,

became a Baptist and afterwards a Universalist minister. He invented

a new system of orthography, published a translation of the New

Testament, 1823, The Deist (2 Vols.), '22, edited the Olive Branch

and the Christian Inquirer. He wrote The Fourth Epistle of Peter,

'29, and a Review of the Evidences of Christianity, being a series

of lectures delivered in New York in '29. In that year he removed to

Boston, and in April '31 commenced the Boston Investigator, the oldest

Freethought journal. In '33 he was indicted and tried for blasphemy

for saying that he "did not believe in the God which Universalists

did." He was sentenced 21 Jan. '34, to two months' imprisonment and

fine of five hundred dollars. The verdict was confirmed in the Courts

of Appeal in '36, and he received two months' imprisonment. Kneeland

was a Pantheist. He took Frances Wright as an associate editor, and

soon after left the Boston Investigator in the hands of P. Mendum and

Seaver, and retired to a farm at Salubria, where he died 27 August,

1844. His edition, with notes, of Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary,

was published in two volumes in 1852.

 

Knoblauch (Karl von), German author, b. Dillenburg, 3 Nov. 1757. He

was a friend of Mauvillon and published several works directed against

supernaturalism and superstition. Died at Bernburg, 6 Sept. 1794.

 

Knowlton (Charles) Dr., American physician and author, b. Templeton,

Mass., 10 May, 1800. He published the Fruits of Philosophy, for which

he was imprisoned in '32. He was a frequent correspondent of the Boston

Investigator, and held a discussion on the Bible and Christianity with

the Rev. Mr. Thacher of Harley. About '29 he published The Elements

of Modern Materialism. Died in Winchester, Mass., 20 Feb. 1850.

 

Knutzen (Matthias), b. Oldensworth, in Holstein, 1645. He early lost

his parents, and was brought to an uncle at Königsberg, where he

studied philosophy. He took to the adventurous life of a wandering

scholar and propagated his principles in many places. In 1674 he

preached Atheism publicly at Jena, in Germany, and had followers who

were called "Gewissener," from their acknowledging no other authority

but conscience. It is said there were seven hundred in Jena alone. What

became of him and them is unknown. A letter dated from Rome gives his

principles. He denied the existence of either God or Devil, deemed

churches and priests useless, and held that there is no life beyond

the present, for which conscience is a sufficient guide, taking the

place of the Bible, which contains great contradictions. He also

wrote two dialogues.

 

Koerbagh (Adriaan), Dutch martyr, b. Amsterdam, 1632 or 1633. He became

a doctor of law and medicine. In 1668 he published A Flower Garden

of all Loveliness, a dictionary of definitions in which he gave bold

explanations. The work was rigidly suppressed, and the writer fled

to Culemborg. There he translated a book De Trinitate, and began a

work entitled A Light Shining in Dark Places, to illuminate the chief

things of theology and religion by Vrederijk Waarmond, inquisitor of

truth. Betrayed for a sum of money, Koerbagh was tried for blasphemy,

heavily fined and sentenced to be imprisoned for ten years, to be

followed by ten years banishment. He died in prison, Oct. 1669.

 

Kolb (Georg Friedrich), German statistician and author, b. Spires 14

Sept. 1808, author of an able History of Culture, 1869-70. Died at

Munich 15 May, 1884.

 

Koornhert (Theodore). See Coornhert (Dirk Volkertszoon.)

 

Korn (Selig), learned German Orientalist of Jewish birth, b. Prague,

26 April, 1804. A convert to Freethought, under the name of "F. Nork,"

he wrote many works on mythology which may still be consulted with

profit. A list is given in Fuerst's Bibliotheca Judaica. We mention

Christmas and Easter Explained by Oriental Sun Worship, Leipsic, '36;

Brahmins and Rabbins, Weissen, '36; The Prophet Elijah as a Sun Myth,

'37; The Gods of the Syrians, '42; Biblical Mythology of the Old and

New Testament, 2 vols. Stuttgart, '42-'43. Died at Teplitz, Bohemia,

16 Oct. 1850.

 

Krause (Ernst H. Ludwig), German scientific writer, b. Zielenzig

22 Nov. 1839. He studied science and contributed to the Vossische

Zeitung and Gartenlaube. In '63 he published, under the pen-name of

"Carus Sterne," a work on The Natural History of Ghosts, and in

'76 a work on Growth and Decay, a history of evolution. In '77 he

established with Hæckel, Dr. Otto Caspari, and Professor Gustav Jaeger,

the monthly magazine Kosmos, devoted to the spread of Darwinism. This

he conducted till '82. In Kosmos appeared the germ of his little book

on Erasmus Darwin, '79, to which Charles Darwin wrote a preliminary

notice. As "Carus Sterne" he has also written essays entitled Prattle

from Paradise, The Crown of Creation, '84, and an illustrated work

in parts on Ancient and Modern Ideas of the World, '87, etc.

 

Krekel (Arnold), American judge, b. Langenfield, Prussia 14 March,

1815. Went with parents to America in '32 and settled in Missouri. In

'42 he was elected Justice of the Peace and afterwards county

attorney. In '52 he was elected to the Missouri State Legislature. He

served in the civil war being elected colonel, was president of

the constitutional convention of '65 and signed the ordinance of

emancipation by which the slaves of Missouri were set free. He was

appointed judge by President Lincoln 9 March, '65. A pronounced

Agnostic, when he realized he was about to die he requested his wife

not to wear mourning, saying that death was as natural as birth. Died

at Kansas 14 July, 1888.

 

Krekel (Mattie H. Hulett), b. of freethinking parents, Elkhart Indiana

13 April, 1840. Educated at Rockford, Illinois, in her 16th year became

a teacher. Married Judge Krekel, after whose death, she devoted her

services to the Freethought platform.

 

Kropotkin (Petr Aleksyeevich) Prince, Russian anarchist, b. Moscow

9 Dec 1842. After studying at the Royal College of Pages he went to

Siberia for five years to pursue geological researches. In '71 he went

to Belgium and Switzerland and joined the International. Arrested

in Russia, he was condemned to three years imprisonment, escaped

'76 and came to England. In '79 he founded at Geneva, Le Révolté was

expelled. Accused in France in '83 of complicity in the outrage at

Lyons, he was condemned to five years imprisonment, but was released in

'86, since which he has lived in England. A brother who translated

Herbert Spencer's "Biology" into Russian, died in Siberia in the

autumn of 1886.

 

Laas (Ernst) German writer, b. Furstenwalde, 16 June, 1837. He has

written three volumes on Idealism and Positivism, 1879-'84, and also

on Kant's Place in the History of the Conflict between Faith and

Science, Berlin, 1882. He was professor of philosophy at Strassburg,

where he died 25 July, 1885.

 

Labanca (Baldassarre), professor of moral philosophy in the University

of Pisa, b. Agnone, 1829. He took part in the national movement of

'48, and in '51 was imprisoned and afterwards expelled from Naples. He

has written on progress in philosophy and also a study on primitive

Christianity, dedicated to Giordano Bruno, the martyr of Freethought,

'86.

 

Lachatre (Maurice), French writer, b. Issoudun 1814, edits a "Library

of Progress," in which has appeared his own History of the Inquisition,

and History of the Popes, '83.

 

Lacroix (Sigismund), the pen name of Sigismund Julien Adolph

Krzyzanowski, b. Warsaw 26 May, 1845. His father was a refugee. He

wrote with Yves Guyot The Social Doctrines of Christianity. In '74 he

was elected a municipal councillor of Paris. In '77 he was sentenced

to three months' imprisonment for calling Jesus "enfant adulterin"

in Le Radical. In Feb. '81 he was elected president of the municipal

council, and in '83 deputy to the French parliament.

 

Laffitte (Pierre), French Positivist philosopher, b. 21 Feb. 1823

at Beguey (Gironde), became a disciple of Comte and one of his

executors. He was professor of mathematics, but since the death of

his master has given a weekly course of instruction in the former

apartment of Comte. M. Laffitte has published discourses on The

General History of Humanity, '59, and The Great Types of Humanity,

'75-6. In '78 he founded La Revue Occidentale.

 

Lagrange (Joseph Louis), Count, eminent mathematician, b. Turin, 25

Jan. 1736. He published in 1788 his Analytical Mechanics, which is

considered one of the masterpieces of the human intellect. He became

a friend of D'Alembert, Diderot, Condorcet, and Delambre. He said he

believed it impossible to prove there was a God. Died 10 April 1813.

 

La Hontan (Jean), early French traveller in Canada, b. 1666. In

his account of Dialogues with an American Savage, 1704, which was

translated into English, he states objections to religion. Died in

Hanover, 1715.

 

Lainez (Alexandre), French poet, b. Chimay, Hainault, 1650, of the same

family with the general of the Jesuits. He lived a wandering Bohemian

life and went to Holland to see Bayle. Died at Paris 18 April, 1710.

 

Laing (Samuel), politician and writer, b. Edinburgh 1812, the son of

S. Laing of Orkney. Educated at Cambridge, where he took his degree

'32; called to the bar '42; became secretary of the railway department

of the Board of Trade; returned as Liberal M.P. for Kirkwall '52;

helped repeal duty on advertisements in newspapers. In '60 he became

finance minister for India. His Modern Science and Modern Thought,

'85, is a plain exposition of the incompatibility of the old and

new view of the universe. In the Modern Zoroastrian, '87, he gives

the philosophy of polarity, in which, however, he was anticipated by

Mr. Crozier, who in turn was anticipated by Emerson. In '88 he entered

into a friendly correspondence with Mr. Gladstone on the subject of

Agnosticism his portion of which has been published.

 

Lakanal (Joseph), French educator, b. Serres, 14 July, 1762. Studied

for priesthood, but gave up that career. He entered with ardor into the

Revolution, was a member of the Convention 1792-5, and there protected

the interests of science. At the restoration in 1814 he retired to

America, and was welcomed by Jefferson and became president of the

University of Louisiana. He returned to France after the Revolution of

'30, and died in Paris 14 Feb. 1845.

 

Lalande (Joseph Jèrome le Francais de), distinguished French

astronomer, b. Bourg en Bresse, 11 July 1732. Educated by the Jesuits,

he was made a member of the Academy of Sciences in his 20th year. In

1762 he became Professor of Astronomy at the College of France. In

1764 he published his Treatise of Astronomy, to which Dupuis subjoined

a memoir, which formed the basis of his Origin of all Religions, the

idea of which he had taken from Lalande. In Aug 1793 Lalande hazarded

his own life to save Dupont de Nemours, and some priests whom he

concealed in the observatory of Mazarin college. It was upon Lalande's

observations that the Republican calender was drawn up. At Lalande's

instigation Sylvain Maréchal published his Dictionary of Atheists,

to which the astronomer contributed supplements after Maréchal's

death. Lalande professed himself prouder of being an Atheist than

of being an astronomer. His Bibliographie Astronomique is called by

Prof. de Morgan "a perfect model of scientific bibliography." It was

said that never did a young man address himself to Lalande without

receiving proof of his generosity. He died at Paris 4 April, 1807.

 

Lamarck (Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet) French naturalist,

b. Picardy 1 Aug. 1744, educated for the Church, but entered the army

in 1761, and fought with distinction. Having been disabled, he went

to Paris, studied Botany, and published French Flora in 1788, which

opened to him the Academy of Sciences. He became assistant at the

Museum of Natural History, and in 1809 propounded, in his Zoological

Philosophy, a theory of transmutation of species. His Natural History

of Invertebrate Animals (1815-22) was justly celebrated. He became

blind several years before his death, 18 Dec. 1829.

 

Lamborelle (Louis). Belgian author of books on The Good Old Times,

Brussels, 1874; The Apostles and Martyrs of Liberty of Conscience,

Antwerp, 1882, and other anti-clerical works. Lamborelle lost a post

under government through his anticlerical views, and is one of the

council of the Belgian Freethought party.

 

Lamettrie (Julian Offray de). French physician and philosopher,

b. St. Malo, 25 Dec. 1709. Destined for the Church, he was educated

under the Jesuits at Caen. He, however, became a physician, studying

under Boerhaave, at Leyden. Returning to France, he became surgeon

to the French Guard, and served at the battles of Fontenoy and

Dettingen. Falling ill, he noticed that his faculties fluctuated with

his physical state, and drew therefrom materialistic conclusions. The

boldness with which he made his ideas known lost him his place, and he

took refuge in Holland. Here he published The Natural History of the

Soul, under the pretence of its being a translation from the English

of Charp [Sharp], 1745. This was followed by Man a Machine (1748),

a work which was publicly burnt at Leyden, and orders given for the

author's arrest. It was translated into English, and reached a second

edition (London, 1750). It was often attributed to D'Argens. Lamettrie

held that the senses are the only avenues to knowledge, and that it

is absurd to assume a god to explain motion. Only under Atheism will

religious strife cease. Lamettrie found an asylum with Frederick the

Great, to whom he became physician and reader (Feb. 1748). Here he

published Philosophical Reflections on the Origin of Animals (1750),

translated Seneca on Happiness, etc. He died 11 Nov. 1751, and desired

by his will to be buried in the garden of Lord Tyrconnel. The great

king thought so well of him that he composed his funeral eulogy.

 

La Mothe Le Vayer (François de). French sceptical philosopher,

b. Paris, 1588, was patronised by Louis XIV., and was preceptor to

the Duke of Anjou. Published The Virtue of Pagans and Dialogues

after the Manner of the Ancients, in which he gave scope to his

scepticism. Two editions of his collected works appeared, but neither

of these contains The Dialogues of Orasius Tubero (Frankfort 1606,

probably a false date). Died 1672.

 

Lancelin (Pierre F.), French materialist, b. about 1770. Became a

constructive engineer in the French navy, wrote an able Introduction

to the Analysis of Science, 3 vols. 1801-3, and a physico-mathematical

theory of the organisation of worlds, 1805. Died Paris, 1809.

 

Land (Jan Pieter Nicolaus), Dutch writer, b. Delft, 23 April, 1834. Has

written critical studies on Spinoza, and brought out an edition of

the philosopher's works in conjunction with J. van Vloten.

 

Landesmann (Heinrich). See Lorm.

 

Landor (Walter Savage), English poet, b. Ipsley Court, Warwickshire,

30 Jan. 1775. He was educated at Rugby and Oxford, and, inheriting

a fortune, could indulge his tastes as an author. He published a

volume of poems in 1795, and Gebir in 1798. An ardent Republican, he

served as a volunteer colonel in the Spanish Army against Napoleon

from 1808 to 1814, besides devoting a considerable sum of money to

the Spanish cause. He became a resident of Florence about 1816. His

reputation chiefly rests on his great Imaginary Conversations, in

which many bold ideas are presented in beautiful language. Landor

was unquestionably the greatest English writer of his age. While

nominally a Christian, he has scattered many Freethought sentiments

over his various works. Died at Florence, 17 Sept. 1864.

 

Lanessan (Jean Louis de), French naturalist, b. at Saint André de

Cubzac (Gironde), 13 July, 1843. At 19 he became a naval physician, and

M.D. in '68. He was elected in '79 as Radical member of the Municipal

Council of Paris, and re-elected in '81. In August of the same year

he was elected Deputy for the Department of the Seine. He founded

Le Reveil, edited the Marseillaise, and started the International

Biological Library, to which he contributed a study on the doctrine

of Darwin. He has written a standard work on botany, and has written

vol. iii. of the "Materialists' Library," on the Evolution of Matter.

 

Lanfrey (Pierre), French author and senator, b. Chambéry, 26 Oct. 1828,

became known by a book on The Church and the Philosophers of the

Eighteenth Century, '55, and celebrated by his History of Napoleon

I. '67-75. M. Lanfrey also wrote The Political History of the Popes,

a work placed on the Index. Died at Pau, 15 Nov. 1877.

 

Lang (Andrew), man of letters, b. Selkirk, 31 March, 1844. Educated

at St. Andrews and Oxford. Mr. Lang made his name by his translation

of the Odyssey with Mr. Butcher, and by his graceful poems and

ballads. He has written In the Wrong Paradise, and many other

pleasant sketches. More serious work is shown in Custom and Myth,

'84, and Myth, Ritual and Religion, '87. A disciple of E. B. Tylor,

Mr. Lang successfully upholds the evolutionary view of mythology.

 

Lang (Heinrich), German Rationalist, b. 14 Nov. 1826. Studied theology

under Baur at Tübingen, and became teacher at Zürich, where he died,

13 Jan. 1876.

 

Lange (Friedrich Albert), German philosopher and writer, b. Wald,

near Solix, 28 Sept. 1828. He studied at Bonn, and became teacher in

the gymnasium of Cologne, '52. In '53 he returned to Bonn as teacher

of philosophy, and there enjoyed the friendship of Ueberweg. He became

proprietor and editor of the democratic Landbote, and filled various

municipal offices. In '70 he was called to the chair of philosophy at

Zürich, but resigned in '72 and accepted a similar post at Marburg,

where he died 21 Nov. 1875. His fame rests on his important History

of Materialism, which has been translated into English.

 

Langsdorf (Karl Christian), German Deist, b. 18 May, 1757, author

of God and Nature, a work on the immortality of the soul, and some

mathematical books. Died Heidelberg, 10 June, 1834.

 

Lankester (Edwin Ray), F.R.S., LL.D., English scientist, b. London, 15

May, 1847, and educated at St. Paul's School and Oxford. Has published

many scientific memoirs, revised the translation of Haeckel's History

of Creation, and has done much to forward evolutionary ideas. In 1876

he exposed the spiritist medium Slade, and procured his conviction. He

is Professor of Zoology and Natural History in the University of

London.

 

La Place (Pierre Simon). One of the greatest astronomers,

b. Beaumont-en-Auge, 23 March, 1749. His father was a poor

peasant. Through the influence of D'Alembert, La Place became professor

of mathematics in the military school, 1768. By his extraordinary

abilities he became in 1785 member of the Academy of Science, which

he enriched with many memoirs. In 1796 he published his Exposition

of the System of the Universe, a popularisation of his greater work

on Celestial Mechanics, 1799-1825. Among his sayings were, "What we

know is but little, what we know not is immense." "There is no need

for the hypothesis of a God." Died Paris, 5 March, 1827.

 

Larevelliere-Lepaux (Louis Marie DE), French politician, b. Montaigu

25 Aug. 1753. Attached from youth to the ideas of Rousseau, he was

elected with Volney to represent Angers in the national assembly. He

was a moderate Republican, defended the proscribed Girondins, was

doomed himself but escaped by concealment, and distinguished himself

by seeking to replace Catholicism with theophilanthropy or natural

religion. He wrote Reflections on Worship and the National Fêtes. He

became President of the Directory, and after the 18 Brumaire retired,

refusing to swear fealty to the empire though offered a pension by

Napoleon. Died Paris, 27 March, 1824.

 

Larousse (Pierre Athanase), French lexicographer, b. of poor parents,

23 Oct. 1817, at Toucy, Yonne, where he became teacher. He edited

many school books and founded the Grand Dictionnaire Universel du

XIXe. Siecle, 1864-77. This is a collection of dictionaries, and may

be called the Encyclopedie of this century. Most of M. Larousse's

colleagues were also Freethinkers. Died at Paris, 3 Jan. 1875.

 

Larra (Mariano José de), distinguished Spanish author, b. Madrid,

4 March, 1809. He went with his family to France and completed his

education. He returned to Spain in '22. At eighteen he published

a collection of poems, which was followed by El Duende Satirico

(The Satirical Goblin). In '31 appeared his Pobrecito Hablador (Poor

Gossip), a paper in which he unmercifully satirised the public affairs

and men of Spain. It was suppressed after its fourteenth number. He

edited in the following year the Revista Española, signing his articles

"Figaro." He travelled through Europe, and on his return to Madrid

edited El Mundo. Larra wrote also some dramas and translated Lamennais'

Paroles d'un Croyant. Being disappointed in love he shot himself,

13 April, 1837. Ch. de Mazade, after speaking of Larra's scepticism,

adds, "Larra could see too deep to possess any faith whatever. All

the truths of this world, he was wont to say, can be wrapped in a

cigarette paper!"

 

Larroque (Patrice), French philosopher, b. Beaume, 27 March, 1801. He

became a teacher and was inspector of the academy of Toulouse, 1830-36,

and rector of the academies of Cahors, Limoges, and Lyons, 1836-49. In

the latter year he was denounced for his opposition to clerical ideas

and lost his place. Among his numerous works we mention De l'Esclavage

chez les Nations Chrétiennes, '57, in which he proves that Christianity

did not abolish slavery. This was followed by an Critical Examination

of the Christian Religion, '59, and a work on Religious Renovation,

'59, which proposes a moral system founded upon pure deism. Both were

for a while prohibited in France. M. Larroque also wrote on Religion

and Politics, '78. Died at Paris, 15 June, 1879.

 

Lassalle (Ferdinand Johann Gottlieb), founder of German Social

Democratic party, b. of Jewish parents, 11 April, 1825, in Breslau,

studied philosophy and law at Breslau and Berlin. He became a

follower of Hegel and Feuerbach. Heine, at Paris, '46, was charmed

with him. Humboldt called him "Wunderkind." In 1858 he published

a profound work on the philosophy of Heraclitus. For planning an

insurrection against the Prussian Government he was arrested, but

won his acquittal. Died through a duel, 31 Aug. 1864.

 

Lastarria (José Victorino), Chilian statesman and Positivist,

b. Rancagua, 1812. From youth he applied himself to teaching

and journalism, and in '38 was appointed teacher of civil law and

literature in the National Institute. He has founded several journals

and literary societies. From '43 he has been at different times deputy

to the legislature and secretary to the republic of Chili. He has

also served as minister to Peru and Brazil. In '73 he founded the

Santiago Academy of Science and Literature; has written many works,

and his Lecciones de Politicia Positiva has been translated into

French by E. de Rivière and others, 1879.

 

Lau (Theodor Ludwig), German philosopher, b. at Königsberg, 15 June

1670, studied at Königsberg and Halle, and about 1695 travelled

through Holland, England, and France. In 1717 he published in Latin,

at Frankfort, Philosophical Meditations on God, the World, and Man,

which excited an outcry for its materialistic tendency and was

suppressed. He was a follower of Spinoza, and held several official

positions from which he was deposed on account of his presumed

atheism. Died at Altona, 8 Feb. 1740.

 

Laurent (François), Belgian jurisconsult, b. Luxembourg, 8 July,

1810. Studied law and became an advocate. In '35 he was made

Professor of Civil Law in the University of Ghent, a post he held,

despite clerical protests, till his retirement in '80. A voluminous

author on civil and international law, his principal work is entitled

Studies in the History of Humanity. He was a strong advocate of the

separation of Church and State, upon which he wrote, 1858-60. He also

wrote Letters on the Jesuits, '65. Died in 1887.

 

Law (Harriet), English lecturess, who for many years occupied the

secular platform, and engaged in numerous debates. She edited the

Secular Chronicle, 1876-1879.

 

Lawrence (James), Knight of Malta, b. Fairfield, Jamaica, 1773, of good

Lancashire family. Educated at Eton and Gottingen; became acquainted

with Schiller and Goethe at Stuttgart and Weimar, was detained with

English prisoners at Verdun. In 1807 he published his The Empire of

the Nairs, or the Rights of Women, a free-love romance which he wrote

in German, French, and English. He also wrote in French and English,

a curious booklet The Children of God, London, 1853. He addressed a

poem on Tolerance to Mr. Owen, on the occasion of his denouncing the

religions of the world. It appears in The Etonian Out of Bounds. Died

at London 26 Sept. 1841.

 

Lawrence (Sir William), surgeon, b. Cirencester, 1783. Admitted

M.R.C.S., 1805, in '13 he was chosen, F.R.S., and two years later

was named Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at the Royal College of

Surgeons. While he held that chair he delivered his Lectures on Man,

which on their publication in 1819 roused a storm of bigotry. In his

early manhood, Lawrence was an earnest advocate of radical reform;

but notwithstanding his early unpopularity, he acquired a lucrative

practice. Died London, 5 July, 1867.

 

Layton (Henry), educated at Oxford, and studied at Gray's Inn, being

called to the bar. He wrote anonymously observations on Dr. Bentley's

Confutation of Atheism (1693), and a Search After Souls, and Spiritual

Observations in Man (1700).

 

Leblais (Alphonse), French professor of mathematics, b. Mans,

1820. Author of a study in Positivist philosophy entitled Materialism

and Spiritualism (1865), to which Littré contributed a preface.

 

Le Bovier de Fontenelle. See Fontenelle.

 

Lecky (William Edward Hartpole), historian, b. near Dublin, 26 March,

1838. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin. His works, which are

characterised by great boldness and originality of thought, are

A History of the Rise and Spirit of Rationalism in Europe ('65),

A History of European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne ('69),

and A History of England in the Eighteenth Century (1878-87).

 

Leclerc (Georges Louis). See Buffon.

 

Leclerc de Septchenes (N.), b. at Paris. Became secretary to Louis

XVI., translated the first three vols. of Gibbon, and wrote an essay

on the religion of the ancient Greeks (1787). A friend of Lalande,

he prepared an edition of Freret, published after his death. Died at

Plombieres, 9 June, 1788.

 

Leconte de Lisle (Charles Marie René), French poet, b. Isle of Bourbon,

23 Oct. 1818. After travelling in India, returned to Paris, and took

part in the revolution of '48, but has since devoted himself mainly

to poetry, though he has written also A Republican Catechism and A

Popular History of Christianity ('71). One of his finest poems is

Kain. On being elevated to the seat of Victor Hugo at the Academy in

'87, he gave umbrage to Jews and Catholics by incidentally speaking

of Moses as "the chief of a horde of ferocious nomads."

 

Lecount (Peter), lieutenant in the French navy. He was engaged in

the battle of Navarino. Came to England as a mathematician in the

construction of the London and Birmingham Railway, of which he wrote

a history (1839). He wrote a curious book in three volumes entitled A

Few Hundred Bible Contradictions; A Hunt After the Devil and other Old

Matters, by John P. Y., M.D.; published by H. Hetherington ('43). The

author's name occurs on p. 144, vol i., as "the Rev. Peter Lecount."

 

Leenhof (Frederick van), b. Middelburg (Zealand), Aug. 1647. Became

a minister of Zwolle, where he published a work entitled Heaven on

Earth (1703), which subjected him to accusations of Atheism. It was

translated into German in 1706.

 

Lefevre (André), French writer, b. Provins, 9 Nov. 1834. He became,

at the age of twenty-three, one of the editors of the Magasin

Pittoresque. He wrote much in La Libre Pensée and La Pensée Nouvelle;

has translated Lucretius in verse ('76), and written Religions and

Mythologies Compared ('77); contributed a sketchy History of Philosophy

to the Library of Contemporary Science ('78); has written Man Across

the Ages ('80) and the Renaissance of Materialism ('81). He has also

edited the Lettres Persanes of Montesquieu, some Dialogues of Voltaire,

and Diderot's La Religieuse ('86).

 

Lefort (César), disciple of Comte. Has published a work on the method

of modern science (Paris, 1864).

 

Lefrancais de Lalande. See Lalande.

 

Legate (Bartholomew), Antitrinitarian native of Essex, b. about 1572,

was thrown into prison on a charge of heresy, 1611. King James had

many personal interviews with him. On one occasion the king asked him

if he did not pray to Jesus Christ. He replied that he had done so in

the days of his ignorance, but not for the last seven years. "Away,

base fellow!" said His Majesty, "It shall never be said that one

stayeth in my presence who hath never prayed to the Savior for seven

years together." He was burnt at Smithfield by the King's writ, De

Hæretico Comburendo, 18 March, 1612, being one of the last persons

so punished in England.

 

Leguay de Premontval. See Premontval.

 

Le Hon (Henri) Belgian scientist, b. Ville-Pommeroeul (Hainault) 1809,

was captain in the Belgian army, professor at the military school of

Brussels, and Chevalier of the Order of Leopold. Author of L'Homme

Fossile en Europe, '66. Translated Professor Omboni's exposition of

Darwinism. Died at San Remo, 1872.

 

Leidy (Joseph), M.D., American naturalist, b. Philadelphia, 9

Sept. 1823. He became professor of biology at the University of

Philadelphia, and is eminent for his contributions to American

palæontology.

 

Leigh (Henry Stone), English author of a Deistic work on the Religions

of the World, 1869.

 

Leland (Theron C.), American journalist, b. 9 April, 1821. He edited

with Wakeman the journal Man. Died 2 June, 1885.

 

Lemaire (Charles), member of the Academical Society of Saint Quentin,

author of an atheistic philosophical work, in two vols., entitled

Initiation to the Philosophy of Liberty, Paris, 1842.

 

Lemonnier (Camille), Belgian writer, b. Ixel les Bruxelles, 1845,

author of stories and works on Hysteria, Death, etc., in which he

evinces his freethought sentiments.

 

Lenau (Nicolaus), i.e. Nicolaus Franz Niembsch von Strehlenau,

Hungarian poet, b. Czatad, 15 Aug. 1802. His poems, written in German,

are pessimistic, and his constitutional melancholy deepened into

insanity. Died Ober-Döbling, near Vienna, 22 Aug. 1850.

 

Lennstrand (Viktor E.), Swedish writer and orator, b. Gefle,

30 Jan. 1861. Educated at Upsala University. Founded the Swedish

Utilitarian Society, March '88, and in May was sentenced to a fine of

250 crowns for denial of the Christian religion. On the 29th Nov. he

was imprisoned for three months for the same offence. Has written

several pamphlets and has incurred several fresh prosecutions. In

company with A. Lindkvist he has founded the Fritankaren as the organ

of Swedish freethought.

 

Leontium, Athenian Hetæra, disciple and mistress of Epicurus (q.v.) She

acquired distinction as a philosopher, and wrote a treatise against

Theophrastus, which is praised by Cicero as written in a skilful and

elegant manner.

 

Leopardi (Giacomo), count, Italian pessimist poet, b. Recanati

(Ancona), 29 June, 1798. In 1818 he won a high place among poets by

his lines addressed To Italy. His Canti, '31, are distinguished by

eloquence and pathos, while his prose essays, Operette Morali, '27, are

esteemed the finest models of Italian prose of this century. Leopardi's

short life was one long disease, but it was full of work of the

highest character. As a poet, philologist, and philosopher, he is

among the greatest of modern Italians. Died at Naples, 14 July, 1837.

 

Lequinio (Joseph Marie), French writer and Conventionnel, b. Sarzeau,

1740. Elected Mayor of Rennes, 1790, and Deputy from Morbihar to

the Legislative Assembly. He then professed Atheism. He voted the

death of Louis XVI. "regretting that the safety of the state did not

permit his being condemned to penal servitude for life." In 1792 he

published Prejudices Destroyed, signed "Citizen of the World," in

which he considered religion as a political chain. He took part in the

Feasts of Reason, and wrote Philosophy of the People, 1796. Died 1813.

 

Lermina (Jules Hippolyte), French writer, b. 27 March, 1839. Founded

the Corsair and Satan, and has published an illustrated biographical

dictionary of contemporary France, 1884-5.

 

Lermontov (Mikhail Yur'evich), Russian poet and novelist, b. Moscow,

3 Oct. 1814. Said to have come of a Scotch family, he studied at Moscow

University, from which he was expelled. In '32 he entered the Military

Academy at St. Petersburg, and afterwards joined the Hussars. In

'37 some verses on the death of Pushkin occasioned his being sent to

the Caucasus, which he describes in a work translated into English,

'53. His poems are much admired. The Demon, exhibiting Satan in love,

has been translated into English, and so has his romance entitled A

Hero of Our Times. He fell in a duel in the Caucasus, 15 July, 1840.

 

Leroux (Pierre), French Socialist and philosophic writer, b. Bercy,

near Paris, 6 April, 1797. At first a mason, then a typographer, he

invented an early composing machine which he called the pianotype. In

1824 he became editor of the Globe. Becoming a Saint Simonian,

he made this paper the organ of the sect. He started with Reynaud

L'Encyclopédie Nouvelle, and afterwards with L. Viardot and Mme. George

Sand the Revue Indépendante ('41), which became noted for its pungent

attacks on Catholicism. His principal work is De l'Humanite ('40). In

June '48 M. Leroux was elected to the Assembly. After the coup d'état

he returned to London and Jersey. Died at Paris, 12 April, 1871.

 

Leroy (Charles Georges), lieutenant ranger of the park of Versailles,

b. 1723, one of the writers on the Encyclopédie. He defended the work

of Helvetius on the Mind against Voltaire, and wrote Philosophical

Letters on the Intelligence and Perfectibility of Animals (1768),

a work translated into English in 1870. Died at Paris 1789.

 

Lespinasse (Adolf Frederik Henri de). Dutch writer, b. Delft, 14 May,

1819. Studied medicine, and established himself first at Deventer and

afterwards at Zwartsluis, Vaassen, and Hasselt. In the Dageraad he

wrote many interesting studies under the pen-name of "Titus," and

translated the work of Dupuis into Dutch. In 1870 he emigrated to

America and became director of a large farm in Iowa. Died in Orange

City (Iowa) 1881.

 

L'Espinasse (Julie Jeanne Eléonore de). French beauty and wit,

b. Lyons, 9 Nov. 1732. She became the protégé of Madame du Deffand, and

gained the favor of D'Alembert. Her letters are models of sensibility

and spirit. Died Paris, 23 May, 1776.

 

Lessing (Gotthold Ephraim). German critic and dramatic poet, b. Kamenz,

22 Jan. 1729. He studied at Leipsic, and at Berlin became acquainted

with Voltaire and Mendelssohn. Made librarian at Wolfenbüttel he

published Fragments of an Unknown (1777), really the Vindication of

Rational Worshippers of God, by Reimarus, in which it was contended

that Christian evidences are so clad in superstition as to be unworthy

credence. Among his writings were The Freethinker and Nathan the

Wise, his noblest play, in which he enforces lessons of toleration

and charity to all faiths. The effect of his writings was decidedly

sceptical. Heine calls Lessing, after Luther, the greatest German

emancipator. Died at Brunswick 15 Feb. 1781.

 

Lessona (Michele). Italian naturalist, b. 20 Sept., 1823; has

translated some of the works of Darwin.

 

Leucippus. Greek founder of the atomic philosophy.

 

L'Estrange (Thomas), writer, b. 17 Jan. 1822. With a view to entering

the Church he graduated at Trinity College, Dublin, 26 Feb. '44,

but became an attorney. Having read F. A. Paley's Introduction to the

Iliad, he became convinced that the "cooking" process there described,

has been undergone by all sacred books now extant. He wrote for Thomas

Scott's series valuable tracts on Our First Century, Primitive Church

History, Irenæus, Order, The Eucharist. He also edited Hume's Dialogues

on Natural Religion, and wrote The First Ten Alleged Persecutions.

 

Levallois (Jules), French writer, b. Rouen 18 May, 1829. In '55 he

became secretary to Sainte Beuve. Wrote Déisme et Christianisme, 1866.

 

Lewes (George Henry), English man of letters, b. in London, 18

April, 1817, he became a journalist and dramatic critic. In 1845-6

appeared his Biographical History of Philosophy, which showed higher

power. This has been republished as History of Philosophy from Thales

to Comte. Lewes was one of the first to introduce English readers to

Comte in his account of Comte's Philosophy of the Sciences, '47. In

'49 he became one of the founders of the Leader, for which he wrote

till '54. In that year he began his association with "George Eliot"

(q.v.). His Life of Goethe appeared in '55, and from this time he

began to give his attention to scientific, especially biological,

studies. In '64 he published an important essay on Aristotle. On

the foundation of the Fortnightly Review, '65, Lewes was appointed

editor. His last work, Problems of Life and Mind, 5 vols. '74-79,

was never completed owing to his death, 28 Nov. 1878. He bequeathed

his books to Dr. Williams's library.

 

Lichtenberg (Georg Christoph), German satirical writer and scientist,

b. Ober-Ramstädt, 1 July, 1742; a friend of G. Forster, he left many

thoughts showing his advanced opinions. Died Göttingen, 24 Feb. 1799.

 

Lick (James), American philanthropist, b. Fredericksburg, Pa., 25

Aug. 1796. In 1847 he settled in California and made a large fortune

by investing in real estate. He was a Materialist and bequeathed

large sums to the Lick Observatory, Mount Hamilton, and for other

philanthropic purposes. Died San Francisco, 1 Oct. 1876.

 

Lilja (Nicolai), Swedish writer, b. Rostanga, 18 Oct. 1808. Studied

at Lund and became parish clerk in the Lund diocese. He wrote, on Man;

his Life and Destiny. Died Lund 1870.

 

Lincoln (Abraham), sixteenth President of the United States,

b. Kentucky, 12 Feb. 1809. An uncompromising opponent of slavery,

his election (Nov. '60) led to the civil war and the emancipation

of slaves. Ward H. Lamon, who knew him well, says he "read Volney

and Paine and then wrote a deliberate and labored essay, wherein

he reached conclusions similar to theirs. The essay was burnt, but

he never denied or regretted its composition." Mrs. Lincoln said,

"Mr. Lincoln had no hope and no faith in the usual acceptance of those

words." Assassinated 14 April, 1865, he expired the following morning.

 

Lindet (Robert Thomas), "apostate" French bishop, b. Bernay, 1743. Was

elected to the States-General by the clergy of his district. He

embraced Republican principles, and in March, 1791, was made Bishop

of L'Eure. In Nov. 1792 he publicly married. On 7 Nov. 1793, renounced

his bishopric. He proposed that civil festivals should take the place

of religious ones. He became member of the Conseil des Anciens. Died

Bernay, 10 Aug. 1823, and was buried without religious service.

 

Lindh (Theodor Anders), b. Borgo (Finland), 13 Jan. 1833. Studied

at Helsingfors University, '51-57; became lawyer in '71, and is

now a member of the Municipal Council of Borgo. He has written many

poems in Swedish, and also translated from the English poets, and has

published Freethought essays, which have brought him into controversy

with the clergy.

 

Lindkvist (Alfred), Swedish writer, b. Gefle, 21 Oct. 1860, of

pious parents. At the University of Upsala he studied European

literature, and became acquainted with the works of Mill, Darwin,

and Spencer. He has published two volumes of poems, Snow Drops and

April Days, and lost a stipend at the University by translating

from the Danish a rationalistic life of Jesus entitled The Reformer

from Galilee. Mr. Lindkvist has visited Paris, and collaborated on

a Stockholm daily paper. In '88 he joined his friend Lennstrand in

propagating Freethought, and in Nov. received a month's imprisonment

for having translated one of J. Symes's anti-Christian pamphlets. He

now edits Fritankaren in conjunction with Mr. Lennstrand.

 

Lindner (Ernst Otto Timotheus), German physician, b. Breslau, 28

Nov. 1820. A friend of Schopenhauer, whose philosophy he maintained

in several works on music. He edited the Vossische Zeitung from

'63. Died at Berlin, 7 Aug. 1867.

 

Liniere (François Payot de), French satiric poet, b. Paris, 1628;

known as the Atheist of Senlis. Boileau says the only act of piety

he ever did was drinking holy water because his mistress dipped her

finger in it. Wrote many songs and smart epigrams, and is said to have

undertaken a criticism of the New Testament. Died at Paris in 1704.

 

Linton (Eliza, née Lynn) novelist and journalist, daughter of vicar

of Crosthwaite, Cumberland, b. Keswick, 1822. Has contributed largely

to the leading Radical journals, and has written numerous works of

fiction, of which we must mention Under which Lord? and The Rebel of

the Family. In '72 she published The True History of Joshua Davidson,

Christian and Communist, and in '85 the Autobiography of Christopher

Kirkland. She has also written on the woman question, and contributed

largely to periodical literature.

 

Linton (William James), poet, engraver, and author, b. at London,

1812. A Chartist in early life, he was intimately associated with

the chief political refugees. He contributed to the democratic press,

and also, we believe, to the Oracle of Reason. He wrote the Reasoner

tract on "The Worth of Christianity." He was one of the founders of

the Leader, has edited the Truthseeker, the National and the English

Republic, and has published Famine a Masque, a Life of Paine, and a

memoir of James Watson and some volumes of poems. In '67 he went to

America, but has recently returned.

 

Liscow (Christian Ludwig), one of the greatest German satirists,

b. Wittenberg, 29 April, 1701. He studied law in Jena, and became

acquainted with Hagedorn in Hamburg. In 1745 he was Councillor of War

at Dresden. This post he abandoned, occupying himself with literature

until his death, 30 Oct. 1760. Liscow's principal satires are The

Uselessness of Good Works for our Salvation and The Excellence and

Utility of Bad Writers. He has been called the German Swift, and his

works show him to have been an outspoken Freethinker.

 

Lisle (Lionel), author of The Two Tests: the Supernatural Claims of

Christianity Tried by Two of its own Rules (London, 1877).

 

Liszinski (Casimir), Polish martyr of noble birth. Denounced as an

Atheist in 1688 by the Bishop of Wilna and Posnovia, he was decapitated

and burnt at Grodno 30 March, 1689. His ashes were placed in a cannon

and scattered abroad. Among the statements in Liszinski's papers was

that man was the creator of God, whom he had formed out of nothing.

 

Littre (Maximilian Paul Emile), French philologist and philosopher,

b. Paris, 1 Feb. 1801. He studied medicine, literature and most of

the sciences. An advanced Republican, he was one of the editors of

the National. His edition of the works of Hippocrates (1839-61) proved

the thoroughness of his learning. He embraced the doctrines of Comte,

and in '45 published a lucid analysis of the Positive Philosophy. He

translated the Life of Jesus, by Strauss, and wrote the Literary

History of France. His Dictionary of the French Language, in which he

applied the historical method to philology, is one of the most colossal

works ever performed by one man. He wrote on Comte and Positive

Philosophy, Comte and Mill, etc., but refused to follow Comte in his

later vagaries. From '67 till his death he conducted La Philosophie

Positive. Littré also wrote Science from the Standpoint of Philosophy,

'73; Literature and History, '75; Fragments of Positive Philosophy

and Contemporary Sociology, '76. He was proposed for the Academy in

'63, but was bitterly opposed by Bishop Dupanloup, and was elected in

'71. In the same year he was elected to the National Assembly, and in

'75 was chosen senator. Under the Empire he twice refused the Legion

of Honor. After a long life of incessant labor, he died at Paris,

2 June 1881.

 

Lloyd (John William), American poet and writer, b. of Welsh-English

stock at Westfield, New Jersey, 4 June, 1857. Is mostly

self-educated. After serving apprenticeship as a carpenter, became

assistant to Dr. Trall. Brought up as an orthodox Christian he became

an Agnostic and Anarchist, and has written much in Liberty and Lucifer.

 

Lohmann (Hartwic), a native of Holstein, who in 1616 occupied a

good position in Flensburg. He was accused of Atheism. In 1635 he

practised medicine at Copenhagen. He wrote a work called the Mirror

of Faith. Died 1642.

 

Lollard (Walter), heretic and martyr, b. England, towards end of

thirteenth century, began to preach in Germany in 1315. He rejected

the sacraments and ceremonies of the Church. It is said he chose

twelve apostles to propagate his doctrines and that he had many

followers. Arrested at Cologne in 1322, he was burnt to death, dying

with great courage.

 

Loman (Abraham Dirk), Dutch rationalist, b. The Hague 16 Sep. 1823. He

holds the entire New Testament to be unhistorical, and the Pauline

Epistles to belong to the second century, and has written many

critical works.

 

Lombroso (Cesare). Italian writer and scientist, b. Nov. 1836,

has been a soldier and military physician. Introduced Darwinism to

Italy. Has written several works, mostly in relation to the physiology

of criminals.

 

Longet (François Achille), French physiologist, b. St. Germain-en-Laye,

1811, published a Treatise on Physiology in 3 vols. and several

medical works. Died Bordeaux, 20 April, 1871.

 

Longiano (Sebastiano). See Fausto.

 

Longue (Louis Pierre de), French Deist, writer in the service of

the house of Conti; wrote Les Princesses de Malabares, Adrianople,

1734, in which he satirised religion. It was condemned to be burnt

31 Dec. 1734, and a new edition published in Holland with the imprint

Tranquebar, 1735.

 

Lorand (Georges), Belgian journalist, b. Namur, 1851, studied

law at Bologna (Italy) and soon became an active propagator of

Atheistic doctrines among the youth of the University and in workmen

associations. He edits La Réforme at Brussels, the ablest daily

exponent of Freethought and Democratic doctrines in Belgium. He has

lately headed an association for the suppression of the standing army.

 

"Lorm (Hieronymus)," the pen name of Heinrich Landesmann. German

pessimistic poet, b. Nikolsberg, 9 Aug. 1821. In addition to many

philosophical poems, he has written essays entitled Nature and Spirit,

Vienna, '84.

 

Lozano (Fernando), Spanish writer in Las Dominicales dal Libre

Pensamiento, where he uses the signature "Demofilo." He has written

Battles of Freethought, Possessed by the Devil, The Church and

Galeote, etc.

 

Lubbock (Sir John), banker, archæologist, scientist and statesman,

b. in London, 30 April, 1834. Educated at Eton, he was taken into

his father's bank at the age of fourteen, and became a partner in

'56. By his archæological works he has most distinguished himself. He

has written Prehistoric Times as Illustrated by Ancient Remains,

and the Manners and Customs of Modern Savages ('65), and The Origin

of Civilisation and the Primitive Condition of Man ('70).

 

Lucretius Carus (Titus). Roman philosophical poet, b. about

B.C. 99. Little is known of his life, but his name is immortalised

by his atheistic work, De Rerum Natura, in six books, which is the

finest didactic poem in any language. Lucretius has been said to

have believed in one god, Epicurus, whose system he expounds. Full

of animation, dignity, and sublimity, he invests philosophy with the

grace of genius. Is said to have died by his own hand B.C. 55.

 

Luetzelberger (Ernst Karl Julius), German controversialist

b. Ditterswind, 19 Oct. 1802. He was a friend of the Feuerbachs. He

wrote on The Church Tradition of the Apostle John. He also wrote a

work on Jesus, translated in Ewerbeck's Qu'est ce que la Religion. In

'56 he was appointed town librarian at Nuremberg.

 

Lunn (Edwin), Owenite lecturer. Published pamphlets On Prayer, its

Folly, Inutility, etc. 1839, and Divine Revelation Examined, 1841.

 

Luys (Jules Bernard), French alienist, b. Paris, 1828. Is physician

at l'Hopital de la Charité, Paris, and author of a work on The Brain

and its Functions in the "International Scientific Series."

 

Lyell (Sir Charles), geologist, b. Kinnordy, Forfarshire, 14

Nov. 1797. Was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, and devoted himself

to geology. In 1830-33 appeared his great work, The Principles of

Geology, which went through numerous editions. His last important

work was Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man, in which he

accepts the Darwinian theory. Died 22 Feb. 1875.

 

Maccall (William), writer, b. Largs. Scotland, 1812. Educated at

Glasgow, he found his way to the Unitarian Church which he left

as insufficiently broad. He wrote Elements of Individualism ('47),

translated Spinoza's Treatise on Politics ('54), wrote to the Critic as

"Atticus," contributed to the National Reformer, Secular Review, etc.,

published Foreign Biographies ('73), and translated Dr. Letourneau's

Biology and other works. Maccall was an idealistic Pantheist of strong

individual character. Died at Bexley, 19 Nov. 1888.

 

Macchi (Mauro), Italian writer, b. Milan, 1 July, 1818. Became

professor of rhetoric at the age of twenty-four, when, becoming

obnoxious to the Austrians by the liberty of his opinions, he was

deprived of his position. He betook himself to radical journalism,

founded l'Italia, a Republican journal, for which he was exiled. He

was associated with Ausonio Franchi and Luigi Stefanoni in the Libero

Pensiero and the Libero Pensatore, and founded an Italian Association

of Freethinkers. In '61 he was elected deputy to Parliament for

Cremona, and in '79 was elevated to the Senate. Died at Rome, 24

Dec. 1880. One of his principal works is on the Council of Ten.

 

Macdonald (Eugene Montague), editor of the New York Truthseeker,

b. Chelsea, Maine, 4 Feb. 1855. He learned the printer's trade in

New York, where he became foreman to D. M. Bennett, and contributed

to the paper, which he has conducted since Mr. Bennett's death.

 

Macdonald (George), brother of the preceding. Wrote on the Truthseeker,

and now conducts Freethought, of San Francisco, in company with

S. P. Putnam. George Macdonald is a genuine humorist and a sound

Freethinker.

 

McDonnell (William), American novelist, b. 15 Sept. 1824. Author of The

Heathens of the Heath and Exeter Hall, '73, both Freethought romances.

 

Mackay (Robert William), author of The Progress of the Intellect,

1850, Sketch of the Rise and Progress of Christianity, '53, and The

Tubingen School, '63.

 

Mackey (Sampson Arnold), astronomer and shoemaker, of Norwich,

who is said to have constructed an orrery out of leather. He wrote

The Mythological Astronomy of the Ancients, Norwich, 1822-24,

Pious Frauds, '26, A Lecture on Astronomy and Geology, edited by

W. D. Saull, '32, Urania's Key to the Revelation, '33, and The Age

of Mental Emancipation, '36-39. Mackey also wrote the Sphinxiad,

a rare book. Died 1846.

 

Mackintosh (Thomas Simmons), author of The Electrical Theory of the

Universe, 1848, and An Inquiry into the Nature of Responsibility. Died

1850.

 

MacSweeney (Myles), mythologist, b. at Enniskillen 1814. He came to

London, and hearing Robert Taylor at the Rotunda in 1830, adopted his

views. He held that Jesus never existed, and wrote in the National

Reformer, Secular Chronicle, and other papers. He published a pamphlet

on Moses and Bacchus in 1874. Died Jan. 1881.

 

Madach (Imré), Hungarian patriot and poet, b. 21 Jan. 1823, at

Sztregova, studied at the University of Buda Pesth, and afterwards

lived at Cseszlova. He was in '52 incarcerated for a year for having

given asylum at his castle to a political refugee. He became in '61

delegate at Pesth. In this year he published his fine poem Az Ember

Tragédiája (The Human Tragedy), in which mankind is personified as

Adam, with Lucifer in his company. Many Freethought views occur in

this poem. Died 5 Oct. 1864. His works were published in 3 vols., 1880.

 

Maier (Lodewyk). See Meyer.

 

Maillet (Benôit de). French author, b. Saint Michiel, 12 April,

1656. He was successively consul in Egypt and at Leghorn; and died at

Marseilles, 30 Jan. 1738. After his death was published "Telliamed"

(the anagram of his name), in which he maintained that all land

was originally covered with water and that every species of animal,

man included, owes its origin to the sea.

 

"Mainlaender" (Philipp), pseudonym of Philipp Batz, German pessimist,

author of a profound work entitled the Philosophy of Redemption,

the first part of which was published in 1876. It was said that

"Mainländer" committed suicide in that year, but the second part of

his work has come out 1882-86. He holds that Polytheism gives place

to Monotheism and Pantheism, and these again to Atheism. "God is dead,

and his death was the life of the world."

 

Malherbe (François de). French poet, b. Caen, 1555. He served in

the civil wars of the League, and enjoyed the patronage of Henry

IV. He was called the prince of poets and the poet of princes. Many

stories are told illustrating his sceptical raillery. When told upon

his death-bed of paradise and hell he said he had lived like others

and would go where others went. Died Paris, 16 Oct. 1628.

 

Mallet (Mme. Josephine). French authoress of a work on The Bible,

its origin, errors and contradictions (1882).

 

Malon (Benoît). French Socialist, b. near St. Etienne, 1841. One

of the founders of the International; he has written a work on that

organisation, its history and principles (Lyons, 1872). He is editor

on L'Intransigeant, conducted the Revue Socialiste, and has written

on the religion and morality of the Socialists and other works.

 

Malvezin (Pierre). French journalist, b. Junhac, 26 June 1841. Author

of La Bible Farce (Brussels, 1879.) This work was condemned

and suppressed, 1880, and the author sentenced to three month's

imprisonment. He conducts the review La Fraternité.

 

Mandeville (Bernhard), b. Dort. 1670. He studied medicine, was made

a doctor in Holland, and emigrated to London. In 1705 he published

a poetical satire, The Grumbling Hive, or Knaves Turned Honest. In

1709, he published The Virgin Unmasked, and in 1723, Free Thoughts on

Religion the Church and National Happiness. In the same year appeared

his Fables of the Bees or Private Vices, Public Benefits. This work

was presented by the grand jury of Middlesex, 1723 and 1728. It was

attacked by Law, Berkeley, and others. Mandeville replied to Berkeley

in A Letter to Dion, occasioned by a book called Alciphron, or the

Minute Philosopher, 1732. He also wrote An Inquiry of Honor, and

Usefulness of Christianity in War, 1731. Died, London, 19 Jan. 1733.

 

Mantegazza (Paolo), Italian anthropologist, b. Monza, 31

Oct. 1831. Studied medicine at Milan, Pisa, and Paria, and travelled

considerably through Europe, and produced at Paris in 1854 his first

book The Physiology of Pleasure. He has also written on the physiology

of pain, spontaneous generation, anthropological works on Ecstacy,

Love and other topics, and a fine romance Il Dio Ignoto, the unknown

god (1876). Mantegazza is one of the most popular and able of Italian

writers.

 

Manzoni (Romeo), Dr. Italian physician, b. Arogno, 1847, studied

philosophy at Milan, and graduated at Naples. He has written on the

doctrine of love of Bruno and Schopenhauer A Life of Jesus, also Il

Prete, a work translated into German with the title Religion as a

Pathological Phenomenon, etc.

 

Marchena (José), Spanish writer, b. Utrera, Andalusia, 1768. Brought

up for the church, reading the writings of the French philosophers

brought on him the Inquisition. He fled to France where he became

a friend of Brissot and the Girondins. He wrote a pronounced Essai

de Théologie, 1797, and translated into Spanish Molière's Tartufe,

and some works of Voltaire. He translated Dupuis' Origine de tous

les Cultes, became secretary to Murat, and died 10 Jan. 1821.

 

Marechal (Pierre Sylvain), French author, b. Paris, 15 Aug. 1750;

was brought up to the Bar, which he quitted for the pursuit of

literature. He was librarian to the Mazarin College, but lost his

place by his Book Escaped from the Deluge, Psalms, by S. Ar. Lamech

(anagram), 1784. This was a parody of the style of the prophets. In

1781 he wrote Le Nouveau Lucrece. In 1788 appeared his Almanack of

Honest People, in which the name of Jesus Christ was found beside

that of Epicurus. The work was denounced to Parliament, burnt at the

hands of the hangman, and Maréchal imprisoned for four months. He

welcomed the Revolution, and published a republican almanack, 1793. In

1797 and 1798 he published his Code of a Society of Men without God,

and Free Thoughts on the Priests. In 1799 appeared his most learned

work, Travels of Pythagoras in Egypt, Chaldea, India, Rome, Carthage,

Gaul, etc. 6 vols. Into this fiction Maréchal puts a host of bold

philosophical, political, and social doctrines. In 1800 he published

his famous Dictionary of Atheists, which the Government prohibited and

interdicted journals from noticing. In the following year appeared

his For and Against the Bible. Died at Montrouge, 18 Jan. 1803. His

beneficence is highly spoken of by Lalande.

 

Maret (Henry), French journalist and deputy, b. Santerre, 4 March,

1838. He ably combatted against the Empire, and edits Le Radical;

was elected deputy in '81.

 

Marguerite, of Valois, Queen of Navarre, sister to Francis I. b. at

Angouleme, 11 April, 1492. Deserves place for her protection to

religious reformers. Died 21 Dec. 1549.

 

Marguetel de Saint Denis. See Saint Evremond (C.)

 

Mario (Alberto), Italian patriot, b. 3 June, 1825. He edited the

Tribune and Free Italy, became aide-de-camp to Garibaldi and married

Jessie White, an English lady. In '60 he wrote a polemic against the

papacy entitled Slavery and Thought. Died 2 June, 1883.

 

Marlow (Christopher), English poet and dramatist, b. Canterbury,

8 Feb. 1564. Educated at Benet College, Cambridge, where he took his

degree in 1587. He devoted himself to dramatic writing and according

to some became an actor. He was killed in a brawl at Deptford, 1 June,

1593, in time to escape being tried on an information laid against him

for Atheism and blasphemy. The audacity of his genius is displayed in

Tamburlaine and Dr. Faustus. Of the latter, Goethe said "How greatly

is it all planned." Swinburne says "He is the greatest discoverer,

the most daring and inspired pioneer in all our poetic literature."

 

Marr (Wilhelm), German socialist, author of Religious Excursions,

1876, and several anti-Semitic tracts.

 

Marsais (Cesar Chesneau du). See Du Marsais.

 

Marselli (Niccola), Italian writer, b. Naples, 5 Nov. 1832. Author

of advanced works on the Science of History, Nature and Civilisation,

the Origin of Humanity, the Great Races of Humanity, etc.

 

Marston (Philip Bourke), English poet, b. London, 13 Aug. 1850. He

became blind in childhood, and devoted to poetry. A friend of

D. G. Rossetti, Swinburne, and Thomson, his poems are sad and

sincere. Died 14 Feb. 1887, and was buried in accordance with his

own wishes in unconsecrated ground at Highgate, and without religious

service.

 

Marsy (François Marie de), b. Paris, 1714, educated as a Jesuit. He

brought out an analysis of Bayle, 1755, for which he was confined in

the Bastile. Died 16 Dec. 1763.

 

Marten (Henry), regicide, b. Oxford, 1602. Educated at Oxford, where

he proceeded B.A., 1619. He was elected to Parliament in 1640, and

expelled for his republican sentiments in 1643. He resumed his seat

6 Jan. 1646, took part in the civil war, sat as one of King Charles's

judges, and became one of the Council of State. He proposed the repeal

of the statute of banishment against the Jews, and when it was sought

to expel all profane persons, proposed to add the words "and all

fools." Tried for regicide 10 Oct. 1660, he was kept in Chepstow

Castle till his death, Sep. 1680. Carlyle calls him "sworn foe of

Cant in all its figures; an indomitable little Pagan if not better."

 

Martin (Emma), English writer and lecturess, b. Bristol, 1812. Brought

up as a Baptist, she, for a time, edited the Bristol Magazine. She

wrote the Exiles of Piedmont and translated from the Italian the Maxims

of Guicciardini. The trials of Holyoake and Southwell for blasphemy

led her to inquire and embrace the Freethought cause. While Holyoake

and Paterson were in gaol, Mrs. Martin went about committing the

"crime" for which they were imprisoned. In '43 she published Baptism A

Pagan Rite. This was followed by Tracts for the People on the Bible no

Revelation, Religion Superseded, Prayer, God's Gifts and Men's Duties,

a conversation on the being of God, etc. She also lectured and wrote

on the Punishment of Death, to which she was earnestly opposed. Died

Oct. 1851.

 

Martin (Bon Louis Henri), French historian, b. St. Quentin, 20

Feb. 1810. He was sent to Paris to study law, but abandoned it for

history. His History of France, in nineteen vols. (1838-53), is

a monumental work of erudition. A confirmed Republican, he warmly

opposed the Second Empire and after its fall became member of the

National Assembly, '71, and senator, '76. He was elected member of

the Academy, '78. In addition to his historical works he contributed

to le Siecle, la Liberté de penser, and l'Encyclopédie Nouvelle,

etc. Died 14 Dec. 1883.

 

Martin (Louis), author of Les Evangiles Sans Dieu (called by Victor

Hugo cette noble page), Paris, 1887, describes himself as an Atheist

Socialist.

 

Martin (Louis Auguste). French writer, b. Paris, 25 April, 1811,

editor of the Morale Independante and member of the Institute of

Geneva. For his True and False Catholics ('58), he was fined three

thousand francs and imprisoned for six months. He published the

Annuaire Philosophique. Several of his works are placed on the Roman

Index. Died Paris, 6 April, 1875.

 

Martinaud (M.), an ex-abbé who refused ordination, and wrote Letters

of a young priest, who is an Atheist and Materialist, to his bishop,

Paris, 1868, in which he says, "Religion is the infancy of peoples,

Atheism their maturity."

 

Martineau (Harriet), b. Norwich 12 June, 1803, descended from

a Huguenot family. Brought up as a Unitarian, she began writing

Devotional Exercises for Young Persons, and, taking to literature

as a means of living, distinguished herself by popularisations

of political economy. The Letters on the Laws of Man's Nature and

Development, which passed between her and H. G. Atkinson, appeared in

'51, and disclosed her advance to the Positivist school of Thought. In

'53 she issued a condensed account of Comte's philosophy. She wrote

a History of England during the Thirty Years' Peace, and numerous

other works. Died at Ambleside 27 June, 1876. Her Autobiography,

published after her death, shows the full extent of her unbelief.

 

Masquerier (Lewis), American land reformer of Huguenot descent, b. 1

March, 1802. Wrote The Sataniad, established Greenpoint Gazette,

and contributed to the Boston Investigator. Died 7 Jan. 1888.

 

Massenet (Jules Emile Fréderic), French musical composer, b. Montard,

12 May, 1842. Has written a daring and popular oratorio on Marie

Magdeleine, and an opera, Herodiade.

 

Massey (Gerald), poet and archæologist, b. of poor parents at

Tring, in Herts, 29 May, 1828. At eight years of age he was sent

to a factory to earn a miserable pittance. At the age of fifteen

he came to London as an errand boy, read all that came in his way,

and became a Freethinker and political reformer. Inspired by the

men of '48, he started The Spirit of Freedom, '49. It cost him five

situations in eleven months. In '53 his Ballad of Babe Christabel,

with other Lyrical Poems at once gave him position as a poet of fine

taste and sensibility. Mr. Massey devoted himself to the study of

Egyptology, the result of which is seen in his Book of Beginnings

and Natural Genesis, '81-83, in which he shows the mythical nature of

Christianity. Mr. Massey has also lectured widely on such subjects as

Why Don't God Kill the Devil? The Historical Jesus and the Mythical

Christ, The Devil of Darkness in the Light of Evolution, The Coming

Religion, etc. His poems are being re-published under the title My

Lyrical Life.

 

Massey (James). See Tyssot. (S.)

 

Massol (Marie Alexandre), French writer, b. Beziers, 18 March,

1805. He studied under Raspail, went to Paris in '30 and became a Saint

Simonian. In '48 he wrote on Lamennais' La Réforme, and on the Voix

du Peuple with his friend Proudhon, to whom he became executor. In

'65 he established La Morale Independante with the object of showing

morality had nothing to do with theology. Died at Paris 20 April, 1875.

 

Maubert de Gouvest (Jean Henri), French writer, b. Rouen, 20

Nov. 1721. Brought up as a monk, he fled and took service in the Saxon

army. He was thrown into prison by the King of Poland, but the Papal

nuncio procured his release on condition of retaking his habit. This

he did and went to Rome to be relieved of his vows. Failing this

he went to Switzerland and England, where he was well received by

Lord Bolingbroke. He published Lettres Iroquoises, Irocopolis, 1752,

and other anonymous works. At Frankfort in 1764 he was arrested as

a fugitive monk and vagabond, and was imprisoned eleven months. Died

at Altona, 21 Nov. 1767.

 

Maudsley (Henry), M.D., b. near Giggleswick, Yorkshire, 5

Feb. 1835. Educated at London University, where he graduated

M.D. in 1857. Taking mental pathology as his speciality, he soon

reached eminence in his profession. From '69-'79 he was professor

of medical jurisprudence at University College, London. His works on

The Physiology and Pathology of the Mind ('67), Body and Mind ('70),

Responsibility in Mental Disease ('73), and Body and Will ('83) have

attracted much attention. His Natural Laws and Supernatural Seemings

('80) is a powerful exposure of the essence of all superstition.

 

Mauvillon (Jakob von), b. Leipzig, 8 March, 1743. Though feeble in

body, he had a penchant for the army, and joined the engineer corps of

Hanover, and afterwards became lieutenant-colonel in the service of the

Duke of Brunswick. A friend and admirer of Mirabeau, he defended the

French Revolution in Germany. He wrote anonymously Paradoxes Moraux

(Amsterdam, 1768) and The Only True System of the Christian Religion

(Berlin, 1787), at first composed under the title of False Reasonings

of the Christian Religion. Died in Brunswick, 11 Jan. 1794.

 

Mazzini (Giuseppe), Italian patriot, b. Genoa, 28 June 1808. In '26 he

graduated LL.D., in the University of Genoa, and plunged into politics,

becoming the leader of Young Italy, with the object of uniting the

nation. Condemned to death in '33, he went to Switzerland and was

expelled, then came to England in '37. In '48 he returned, and in March

'49 was made triumvir of Rome with Saffi and Armellini. Compelled,

after a desperate resistance, to retire, he returned to London. He

wrote in the Westminster Review and other periodicals and his works are

numerous though mostly of a political character. They are distinguished

by highmindedness, love of toleration and eloquence. Carlyle called

Mazzini "a man of genius and virtue, a man of sterling veracity,

humanity and nobleness of mind." Died at Pisa 10 March, 1872. He was

a Deist.

 

Meissner (Alfred), German poet, b. Teplitz, 15 Oct. 1822. Has written

Ziska, an epic poem, The Son of Atta Troll, Recollections of Heine,

etc. Died Teplitz, 20 May, 1885.

 

Meister (Jacques Henri), Swiss writer, b. Bückeburg, 6

Aug. 1744. Intended for a religious career, he went to France, and

became acquainted with D'Holbach and Diderot, of whom he wrote a short

life, and was secretary to Grimm. He wrote the Origin of Religious

Principles, 1762, and Natural Morality, 1787.

 

Menard (Louis), French author and painter, b. Paris, 1822. In

'48-'49 he wrote Prologue of a Revolution, for which he was obliged

to leave France. Has written on Morality before the Philosophers,

'60, Studies on the Origin of Christianity, '67, and Freethinkers'

Religious Catechism, '75.

 

Mendoza (Diego Hurtado de), famous and learned Spanish author, b. of

distinguished family, Granada, 1503. Intended for the church, he

studied Latin, Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew, but on leaving the university

he joined the army. At school he wrote his well known comic novel,

Lazarillo de Tormes, which was condemned by the Inquisition. Sent

on an embassy to Pope Paul III., the latter was greatly shocked at

his audacity and vehemence of speech. His chief work is his History

of the Moorish Wars, which remained unprinted thirty years, through

the intolerant policy of Philip II. Mendoza's satires and burlesques

were also prohibited by the Inquisition. He commented Aristotle and

translated his Mechanics. Died at Valladolid, April, 1575.

 

Mendum (Josiah P.), publisher and proprietor of the Boston

Investigator, b. Kennebunk, Maine, 7 July, 1811. He became a printer,

and in 1833 became acquainted with Abner Kneeland and after his

imprisonment engaged to print the Investigator, and when Kneeland

left Boston for the West to recruit his health, he carried on the

paper together with Mr. Horace Seaver. Mr. Mendum was one of the

founders of the Paine Memorial Hall, Boston, and a chief support of

Freethought in that city.

 

Mentelle (Edme), French geographer and historian, b. Paris, 11

Oct. 1730. Studied at the College de Beauvais under Crévier. His

Précis de l'Histoire des Hébreux (1798), and Précis de l'Histoire

Universelle are thoroughly anti-Christian. He doubted if Jesus ever

existed. He was a member of the Institute and Chevalier of the Legion

of Honor. Died at Paris, 28 Dec. 1815.

 

Mercier (L. A.), author of La Libre Pensée, Brussels, 1879.

 

Meredith (Evan Powell), Welsh writer, author of The Prophet of Nazareth

(1864), an able work exposing the prophecies of Jesus, and Amphilogia,

a reply in to the Bishop of Landaff and the Rev. J. F. Francklin, '67.

 

Meredith (George), philosophical poet and novelist, b. Hampshire,

1828, and educated partly on the Continent. Intended for the law,

he adopted literature in preference. He first appeared as a poet

with Poems ('51). Of his powerful novels we mention the Ordeal of

Richard Feveril ('59), Emilia in England ('64), now Sandra Belloni,

with Vittoria ('66) for a sequel. Rhoda Fleming, Beauchamp's Career

('76), The Egoist ('79), The Tragic Comedians ('81) and Diana of

the Crossways ('85). Deep thought and fine grace characterise his

writings. As a poet Mr. Meredith is not popular, but his volumes of

verse are marked by the highest qualities, and give him a place apart

from the throng of contemporary singers.

 

Merimee (Prosper), learned French writer, b. Paris, 28 Sept. 1808,

author of numerous essays and romances. Was made Inspector General

of Historic Monuments and was admitted to the Academy in '44. In his

anonymous brochure on H(enri) B(eyle), Eleutheropolis (Brussels), '64,

there is an open profession of Atheism. Died at Cannes, 23 Sept. 1870.

 

Merritt (Henry), English painter and writer, b. Oxford, 8 June,

1822. On coming to London he lived with Mr. Holyoake, and contributed

to the Reasoner, using the signature "Christopher." He wrote on Dirt

and Pictures and Robert Dalby and his World of Troubles, etc. Died

in London, 10 July, 1877.

 

Meslier or Mellier (Jean), curé of Etrepigny, Champagne, b. Mazerny,

Rethelois, 15 June, 1664. Died in 1729. After his death a will was

discovered of which he had made three copies, in which he repudiated

Christianity and requested to be buried in his own garden. His

property he left to his parishioners. Voltaire published it under

the title of Extract from the sentiments of Jean Meslier. To Meslier

has been attributed the work entitled Le Bon Sens, written by Baron

D'Holbach. Le Testament de Jean Meslier has been published in three

volumes at Amsterdam, 1864, preceded by a study by Rudolf Charles

(R. C. d'Ablaing van Giessenburg). It calls in question all the dogmas

of Christianity. Anacharsis Clootz proposed to the National Convention

to erect a statue to this "honest priest."

 

Metchnikov (Léon), Russian writer in French; author of a work on

Japan and of able articles, notably one on Christian Communion in

the Revue Internationale des Sciences Biologiques, tome 12.

 

Metrodorus of Lampsacus. Greek philosopher, b. 330 B.C., a disciple

and intimate friend of Epicurus. He wrote numerous works, the titles

of which are preserved by Diogenes Laertius. Died B.C. 277.

 

Mettrie, see La Mettrie.

 

Meunier (Amédée Victor), French writer, b. Paris, 2 May, 1817. Has

done much to popularise science by his Scientific Essays, 1851-58,

the Ancestors of Adam, '75, etc.

 

Meyer (Lodewijk), a Dutch physician, a friend and follower of

Spinoza, who published Exercitatio Paradoxa on the philosophical

interpretation of scripture, Eleutheropoli (Amst.), 1666. This has

been wrongly attributed to Spinoza. It was translated into Dutch

in 1667. He is also credited with Lucii Antistic Constantes, de

jure ecclesiasticorum. Alethopoli (Amst.), 1665. This work is also

attributed to another writer, viz. P. de la Court.

 

Mialhe (Hippolyte), French writer, b. Roquecourbe (Tarn), 1834. From

'60-62 he was with the French army of occupation at Rome. He has

organised federations of Freethinkers in France, edited L'Union

des Libres-Penseurs, and has written Mémoires d'un libre Penseur

(Nevers, 1888).

 

Michelet (Jules), French historian, b. Paris, 21 Aug. 1798. Became

a Professor of History in 1821. Has written a History of France and

of the French Revolution; The Jesuits, with his friend Quinet, '43;

The Priest, Woman and the Family, '44; The Sorceress, dealing with

witchcraft in the Middle Ages, '62; The Bible of Humanity, '64. His

lectures were interdicted by the Government of Louis Phillippe, and

after the coup d'état he was deprived of his chair. All Michelet's

works glow with eloquence and imagination. He never forgot that he

was a republican and Freethinker of the nineteenth century. Died at

Hyères, 9 Feb. 1874.

 

Michelet (Karl Ludwig), German philosopher of French family, b. Berlin,

4 Dec. 1801. In '29 he became Professor of Philosophy. A disciple

of Hegel, he edited his master's works, '32. His principle work is A

System of Philosophy as an Exact Science, '76-81. He has also written

on the relation of Herbert Spencer to German philosophy.

 

Middleton (Conyers), Freethinking clergyman, b. York 1683. His Letters

from Rome, 1729, showed how much Roman Christianity had borrowed from

Paganism, and his Free Inquiry into the Miraculous Powers supposed

to have subsisted in the Christian Church, 1749, was a severe blow

to hitherto received "Christian Evidences." He also wrote a classic

Life of Cicero. Died at Hildersham near Cambridge, 28 July, 1750.

 

Mignardi (G.), Italian writer, who in 1884 published Memorie di un

Nuovo Credente (Memoirs of a New Believer).

 

Milelli (Domenico), Italian poet, b. Catanzaro, Feb. 1841. His family

intended to make him a priest, but he turned out a rank Pagan, as

may be seen in his Odi Pagane, '79, Canzonieri, '84, and other works.

 

Mill (James), philosopher and historian, b. Northwaterbridge, Montrose,

6 April, 1773. Studied at Edinburgh, and distinguished himself by his

attainments in Greek and moral philosophy. He was licensed as preacher

in the Scotch Church, but removed to London in 1800, and became editor

of the Literary Review, and contributed to the reviews. He published,

'17-'19, his History of British India. He contributed many articles to

the fifth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. A friend of Bentham,

he wrote largely in the Westminster Review, and did much to forward

the views of Philosophic Radicalism. His Analysis of the Human Mind,

'39, is a profound work. In religion he was a complete sceptic. Reading

Bishop Butler's Analogy made him an Atheist. Died 23 June, 1836.

 

Mill (John Stuart), eminent English writer, son of the preceding,

b. London, 20 May, 1806. Educated by his father without religion, he

became clerk in the East India House, and early in life contributed to

the Westminster and Edinburgh Reviews. Of the first he became joint

editor in '35. His System of Logic, '43, first made him generally

known. This was followed by his Principles of Political Economy. In

'59 appeared his small but valuable treatise On Liberty, in which he

defends the unrestricted free discussion of religion. Among subsequent

works were Utilitarianism, '63; Auguste Comte and Positivism, '67;

Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy '65; Dissertations

and Discussions, '59-'75; and the Subjection of Women, '69. In '65

he was elected to Parliament for Westminster, but lost his seat in

'68. In '67 he was chosen Rector of St. Andrews, and delivered the

students an able address. Prof. Bain says "in everything characteristic

of the creed of Christendom he was a thorough-going negationist. He

admitted neither its truth nor its utility." Died at Avignon, 8 May,

1873, leaving behind his interesting Autobiography and three essays on

"Nature," "Theism," and "Religion."

 

Mille (Constantin), Roumanian writer, b. at Bucharest, educated at

Paris. He lectured at Jassy and Bucharest on the History of Philosophy,

from a Materialistic point of view. He was also active with Codreano,

and after the latter's death ('77), in spreading Socialism. Millé

contributes to the Rivista Sociala and the Vütorul, edited by

C. Pilitis.

 

Milliere (Jean Baptiste), Socialist, b. of poor parents, Lamarche

(Côte d'Or), 13 Dec. 1817. He became an advocate, and founded the

Proletaire at Clermont Ferrand. For writing Revolutionary Studies he

was, after the coup d'état, banished to Algeria until the amnesty of

'59. In '69 Millière started, with Rochefort, the Marseillaise, of

which he became one of the principal directors. At the election for the

National Assembly he was elected for Paris by 73,000 votes. Although

he took no part in the Commune, but sought to act as an intermediary,

he was arrested and summarily shot near the Pantheon, Paris, 26 May,

1871. He died crying "Vive l'Humanité."

 

Mirabaud (Jean Baptiste de), French writer, b. Paris, 1675. He

translated Tasso and Ariosto, and became perpetual secretary to the

French Academy. He wrote Opinions of the Ancients on the Jews, a

Critical Examination of the New Testament, (published under the name

of Fréret), The World: its Origin and Antiquity, 1751, Sentiments of

a Philosopher on the Nature of the Soul inserted in the collection

entitled Nouvelle libertés de Penser, Amst. (Paris) 1743. The System

of Nature, attributed to Mirabaud, was written by d'Holbach. Mirabaud

died 24 June, 1760.

 

Mirabeau (Honoré Gabriel Riquetti Comte de), French statesman

and orator, b. at the Chateau de Bignon (Loiret) 9 March, 1749. He

inherited a passionate nature, a frank strong will, generous temper,

and a mind of prodigious activity. He entered the army in 1767,

but by an amorous intrigue provoked the ire of his father, by whom

he was more than once imprisoned. In 1776 he went to Amsterdam and

employed himself in literary work. In 1783 appeared anonymously his

Erotika Biblion, dealing with the obscenity of the Bible. In 1786 he

was sent to Berlin, where he met Frederick and collected materials

for his work on The Prussian Monarchy. He returned to the opening of

the States General and soon became leader of the Revolution, being

in Jan. 1791 chosen President of the National Assembly. He advocated

the abolition of the double aristocracy of Lords and bishops, the

spoliation of the Church and the National Guard. Carlyle calls him

"far the strongest, best practical intellect of that time." He died

2 April, 1791. Among his last words were, "Envelop me with perfumes

and crown me with flowers that I may pass away into everlasting sleep."

 

Miranda (Don Francisco). South American patriot and general, b. Caracas

1750, aided the Americans in their War of Independence, tried to free

Guatimalaus from the Spanish, allied himself to the Girondins and

became second in command in the army of Dumouriez. He was a friend

of Thomas Paine. In 1806-11 he was engaged seeking to free Peru from

the Spaniards, by whom he was made prisoner, and died in a dungeon

at Cadiz, 16 Jan. 1816. It was said General Miranda made a sceptic

of James Mill.

 

Miron. See Morin (André Saturnin.)

 

Mitchell (J. Barr), Dr., anonymous author of Dates and Data (1876)

and Chrestos; a Religious Epithet (1880). Dr. Mitchell has also

written in the National Reformer, using his initials only.

 

Mitchell (Logan), author of Lectures published as The Christian

Mythology Unveiled. This work was also issued under the title

Superstition Besieged. It is said that Mitchell committed suicide in

Nov. 1841. He left by his will a sum of £500 to any bookseller who had

the courage to publish his book. It was first published by B. Cousens,

and was republished in '81.

 

Mittermaier (Karl Josef Anton von), German jurisconsult, b. Munich,

5 Aug. 1787. Studied law and medicine at Landshut, where he became

professor. His works on Law gained him a high reputation. He obtained

a chair at the Heidelberg University. In 1831 he represented Baden in

Parliament. He advocated the unity of Germany and took an active part

in the Radical movement of '48. His writings are all in the direction

of freedom. Died 28 Aug. 1867.

 

Mittie (Stanilas), in 1789 proposed the taking of church bells to make

money and cannon, and during the revolution distinguished himself by

other anti-clerical suggestions. Died 1816.

 

Mocenicus (Philippus), Archbishop of Nicosia, Cyprus, a Venetian

philosopher, whose heretical Contemplations were printed at Geneva,

1588, with the Peripatetic Question of Cæsalpinus and the books of

Telesio on The Nature of Things in the volume entitled Tractationum

Philosophicarum.

 

Moleschott (Jacob), scientific Materialist, b. of Dutch parents at 's

Hertogenbosch, 9 Aug. 1822; studied at Heidelburg where he graduated

M.D. Became Professor of Physiology at Zurich and afterwards at

Turin. Becoming a naturalised Italian he was in '76 made a senator,

and in '78 Professor of Physiology at the University of Rome. He has

written Circulation of Life, Light and Life, Physiological Sketches,

and other medical and scientific works. Lange calls him "the father

of the modern Materialistic movement."

 

Molesworth (Sir William), statesman and man of letters, the eighth

baronet of his family, b. Cornwall, 23 May, 1810. In '32 he was

returned M.P. for East Cornwall, and from '37-41 sat for Leeds. In

'53 he was First Commissioner of Public Works, and in '55 was Secretary

for the Colonies. He was for some time proprietor and conductor of the

Westminster Review, in which he wrote many articles. A noble edition

of Hobbes was produced at his expense, '39-45, and he contributed to

the support of Auguste Comte. Died 22 Oct. 1855.

 

Mommsen (Theodor), historian, b. Garding (Schleswig), 30

Nov. 1817. Studied at Kiel, and travelled from '44 to 47. He became

Professor of Law of Leipsic, Zürich and Berlin. Is best known by his

History of Rome, '53-85, a work of great research and suggestiveness

in which he expresses the opinion that it is doubtful if the world

was improved by Christianity.

 

Monboddo (Lord). See Burnett (James).

 

Monge (Gaspard), French scientist, b. at Beaume, 10 May 1746. Taught

physics and mathematics at the military school of Mezieres, became a

member of the Academy of Sciences in 1780, and through the influence

of Condorcet was made Minister of the Marine in 1792. He was one of

the founders of the Polytechnic School. Napoleon made him a senator,

created him Count of Pelusium, and gave him an estate for his many

services to the French nation. On the return of the Bourbons he was

deprived of all his emoluments. Died 28 July, 1818. Maréchal and

Lalande insert his name in their list of Atheists.

 

Mongez (Antoine), French archæologist, b. Lyons, 30 June

1747. Distinguished by his studies, he became a member of the Academy

of Inscriptions and of the Institute, before which he said "he had

the honor to be an Atheist." He was one of the most ardent members of

the Convention, and wrote many memoirs. Died at Paris, 30 July, 1835.

 

Monroe (J. R.), Dr., editor and proprietor of the Ironclad Age,

b. Monmouth, co. New Jersey, about 1825. In '50 he went to Rochford,

where he had a good practice as a doctor. In '55 he started the

Rochford Herald, and in July, '57, the Seymour Times. During the Civil

War he was appointed surgeon to the 150th regiment, and after some

hard service his own health broke down. In '75 Dr. Monroe published

his dramas and poems in a volume. From this time his paper became

more Freethought and less political. In April, '82, he removed to

Indianapolis, Indiana, and changed the name to The Age, afterwards

Monroe's Ironclad Age. Dr. Monroe is a clever writer and a modest man,

with a remarkable fund of natural humor. Among his publications are

poems on The Origin of Man, etc., Genesis Revised, and Holy Bible

Stories.

 

Montaigne (Michel de), French philosophic essayist, b. at the family

castle in Perigord, 28 Feb. 1533. He studied law and became a judge

at Bordeaux about 1554. In 1580 he produced his famous "Essays,"

which indicate a sprightly humor allied to a most independent

spirit. The Essays, Hallam says, make in several respects an epoch in

literature. Emerson says, "Montaigne is the frankest and honestest

of all writers." Montaigne took as his motto: Que sçais-je? [What

know I?] and said that all religious opinions are the result of

custom. Buckle says, "Under the guise of a mere man of the world,

expressing natural thoughts in common language, Montaigne concealed a

spirit of lofty and audacious inquiry." Montaigne seems to have been

the first man in Europe who doubted the sense and justice of burning

people for a difference of opinion. His denunciation of the conduct of

the Christians in America does him infinite honor. Died 13 Sept. 1592.

 

Monteil (Charles François Louis Edgar), French journalist, b. Vire,

26 Jan. 1845. Fought against the Empire, writing in Le Rappel. During

the Commune he was secretary to Delescluze. For his Histoire d'un

Frère Ignorantin, '74, he was prosecuted by the Christian Brothers,

and condemned to one year's imprisonment, 2,000 francs fine, and 10,000

francs damages. In '77 he wrote a Freethinker's Catechism, published

at Antwerp, and in '79 an edition of La République Française. In '80

he was made a member of the Municipal Council of Paris, and re-elected

in '84. In '83 he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He has

compiled an excellent secular Manual of Instruction for schools.

 

Montesquieu (Charles de Secondat), Baron, eminent French writer,

b. near Bordeaux, 18 Jan. 1689. His first literary performance was

entitled Persian Letters, 1721. In 1728 he was admitted a member of

the French Academy, though opposed by Cardinal Fleury on the ground

that his writings were dangerous to religion. His chief work is the

Spirit of Laws, 1748. This work was one of the first-fruits of the

positive spirit in history and jurisprudence. The chapters on Slavery

are written in a vein of masterly irony, which Voltaire pronounced

to be worthy of Molière. Died 10 Feb. 1755.

 

Montgomery (Edmund), Dr. philosopher, b. of Scotch parents, Edinburgh

1835. In youth he lived at Frankfort, where he saw Schopenhauer,

and afterwards attended at Heidelberg the lectures of Moleschott and

Kuno Fischer. He became a friend of Feuerbach. He wrote in German and

published at Munich in '71, The Kantian Theory of Knowledge refuted

from the Empirical Standpoint. In '67 he published a small book On

the Formation of so-called Cells in Animal Bodies. In '71 he went to

Texas and prosecuted his scientific studies on life. He has written

in the Popular Science Monthly, The Index, and The Open Court and

Mind. Dr. Montgomery holds not only that there is no evidence of a God,

but that there is evidence to the contrary.

 

Montgolfier (Michel Joseph), aeronaut, b. Aug. 1740. He was the first

to ascend in an air balloon, 5 June 1783. A friend of Delambre and

La Lalande, he was on the testimony of this last an atheist. Died 26

June 1810.

 

Mook (Friedrich) German writer, b. Bergzabern, 29 Sept. 1844, studied

philosophy and theology at Tübingen, but gave up the latter to study

medicine. He lived as a writer at Heidelberg and became lecturer to

a free congregation at Nürenburg, and wrote a popular Life of Jesus,

published at Zürich, '72-3. He travelled abroad and was drowned in

the river Jordan, 13 Dec. 1880. His brother Kurt, b. 12 Feb. 1847,

is a physician who has published some poems.

 

Moor (Edmund), Major in the East Indian Company, author of the Hindu

Pantheon, 1810 and Oriental Fragments, '34. Died 1840.

 

Moreau (Hégésippe), French poet, b. Paris 9, April 1810. A radical

and freethinker, he fought in the barricades in '30. Wrote songs and

satires of considerable merit, and a prose work entitled The Mistletoe

and the Oak. His life, which was a continual struggle with misery,

terminated in a hospital, 20 Dec. 1838. His works have been collected,

with an introduction by Sainte-Beuve.

 

Moreau (Jacques Joseph), Dr. of Tours, b. Montresor, 1804. He became a

distinguished alienist of the materialist school, and wrote on Moral

Faculties from a medical point of view, '36, and many physiological

works.

 

Morelly, French socialist of the eighteenth century,

b. Vitry-le-Français, author of a work called Code de la Nature,

sometimes attributed to Diderot. It was published in 1755, and urges

that man should find circumstances in which depravity is minimised.

 

Morgan (Thomas), Welsh Deist, known by the title of his book as The

Moral Philosopher, 1737. Was a Presbyterian, but was deposed for

Arianism about 1723, and practised medicine at Bristol. He edited

Radicati's Dissertation on Death, 1731. His Moral Philosopher seeks

to substitute morality for religion. He calls Moses "a more fabulous

romantic writer than Homer or Ovid," and attacks the evidence of

miracles and prophecy. This was supplemented by A Further Vindication

of Moral Truth and Reason, 1739, and Superstition and Tyranny

Inconsistent with Theocracy, 1740. He replied to his opponents over

the signature "Philalethes." His last work was on Physico-Theology,

1741. Lechler calls Morgan "the modern Marcion." Died at London,

14 Jan. 1743.

 

Morgan (Sir Thomas Charles), M.D., b. 1783. Educated at Cambridge. In

1811 he was made a baronet, and married Miss Sidney Owensen. A warm

friend of civil and religious liberty and a sceptic, he is author of

Sketches of the Philosophy of Life, '18, and the Philosophy of Morals,

'19. The Examiner says, "He was never at a loss for a witty or wise

passage from Rabelais or Bayle." Died 28 Aug. 1843.

 

Morin (André Saturnin), French writer, b. Chatres, 28

Nov. 1807. Brought up to the law, and became an advocate. In '30

he wrote defending the revolution against the restoration. In '48

he was made sous-prefet of Nogent. During the Empire he combated

vigorously for Republicanism and Freethought, writing under the

signature "Miron," in the Rationaliste of Geneva, the Libre Pensée

of Paris, the Libero-pensiero of Milan, and other papers. He was

intimately associated with Ausonio Franchi, Trezza, Stefanoni,

and the Italian Freethinkers. His principal work is an Examination

of Christianity, in three volumes, '62. His Jesus Reduced to his

True Value has gone through several editions. His Essai de Critique

Religieuse, '85, is an able work. M. Morin was one of the founders

of the Bibliothèque Démocratique, to which he contributed several

anti-clerical volumes, the one on Confession being translated into

English by Dr. J. R. Beard. In '76 he was elected on the Municipal

Council of Paris, where he brought forward the question of establishing

a crematorium. Died at Paris, 5 July, 1888, and was cremated at Milan.

 

Morison (James Augustus Cotter), English Positivist and man of letters,

b. London, 1831. Graduated at Lincoln Coll. Oxford, M.A., '59. In

'63 he published the Life and Times of Saint Bernard. He was one of

the founders of the Fortnightly Review, in which he wrote, as well as

in the Athenæum. He contributed monographs on Gibbon and Macaulay to

Morley's "Men of Letters" Series. In '86 he published his striking work

The Service of Man, an Essay towards the Religion of the Future, which

shows that the benefits of Christianity have been much exaggerated and

its evils palpable. All his writings are earnest and thoughtful. He

collected books and studied to write a History of France, which would

have been a noble contribution to literature; but the possession of

a competence seems to have weakened his industry, and he never did

justice to his powers. Even the Service of Man was postponed until

he was no longer able to complete it as he intended. Morison was a

brilliant talker, and the centre of a wide circle of friends. George

Meredith dedicated to him a volume of poems. Died at Hampstead,

26 Feb. 1888.

 

Morley (John), English writer and statesman, b. Blackburn,

24 Dec. 1838, educated at Oxford. Among his fellow students was

J.C. Morison. He contributed to The Leader and the Saturday Review,

edited the Morning Star, and the Fortnightly Review, '67-82, in which

appeared the germs of most of his works, such as On Compromise,

Voltaire, '72; Rousseau, '73; Diderot and the Encyclopædists

'78. During his editorship important Freethought papers appeared in

that review. From May, '80 till Aug. '83 he edited the Pall Mall

Gazette. Upon the death of Ashton Dilke, M.P., he was elected

to Parliament for Newcastle, and in Feb. '86 was appointed by

Mr. Gladstone Chief Secretary for Ireland.

 

Morselli (Enrico Agostino), Italian doctor and scientist, b. Modena,

1852. Has written many anthropological works, notably one on Suicide

in the International Scientific Series, and a study on "The Religion

of Mazzini." He edits the Rivista di Filosofia Scientifica, and has

translated Herbert Spencer on the past and future of religion.

 

Mortillet (Louis Laurent Gabriel de), French scientist, b. Meylan

(Isère), 29 Aug. 1821, and was educated by Jesuits. Condemned in

'49 for his political writings he took refuge in Switzerland. He

has done much to promote prehistoric studies in France. Has written

Materials to serve for the positive and philosophical history of man,

'64. The Sign of the Cross before Christianity, '66, Contribution

to the History of Superstition, and Prehistoric Antiquity of Man,

'82. He contributed to the Revue Indépendante, Pensée Nouvelle,

etc. M. de Mortillet is curator of the Museum of St. Germain and was

elected Deputy in 1885.

 

Moss (Arthur B.), lecturer and writer, b. 8 May, 1855. Has written

numerous pamphlets, a number of which are collected in Waves of

Freethought, '85. Others are Nature and the Gods, Man and the Lower

Animals, Two Revelations, etc. Mr. Moss has been a contributor to

the Secular Chronicle, Secular Review, Freethinker, Truthseeker,

and other journals, and has had a written debate on "Was Jesus God

or Man." A School Board officer, he was for a time prohibited from

lecturing on Sunday. A collection of his Lectures and Essays has been

published, 1889.

 

Mothe Le Vayer. See La Mothe Le Vayer.

 

Mott (Lucretia), American reformer, nee Coffin, b. Nantucket, 3

Jan. 1793. She was a Quakeress, but on the division of the Society

in 1827 went with the party who preferred conscience to revelation. A

strong opponent of slavery, she took an active part in the abolitionist

movement. She was delegated to the World's Anti-slavery Convention

in London in 1840, but excluded on account of her sex. A friend of

Mrs. Rose and Mrs. Stanton. Took an active part in Women's Rights

conventions. Died at Philadelphia, 11 Nov. 1880.

 

Muhammad ibn al Hudail al Basri, philosopher of Asia Minor, founder

of the Muhammadan Freethinking sect of Mutazilah, b. about 757. Died

about 849.

 

Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Tarkhan (Abu Nasr.) See Alpharabius.

 

Muhammad Ibn Yahya Ibn Bajjat. See Avempace.

 

Muhammad Jalal ed din. See Akbar.

 

Muller (Dr. H. C.) Dutch writer, b. 31 Oct. 1855. Has contributed

good articles to de Dageraad (the Daybreak), and is now teacher of

modern Greek at the University of Amsterdam.

 

Murger (Henri), French author, b. Paris, 1822, contributed to the Revue

des Deux Mondes, tales poems and dramas. In his poem Le Testament in

"Winter Nights" he says in answer to the inquiring priest "Reponds

lui que j'ai lu Voltaire." His most popular work is entitled Scenes

of Bohemian Life. Died Paris, 28 Jan. 1861.

 

Musset (Louis Charles Alfred de), French poet, b. Paris, 11

Nov. 1810. Before the age of twenty he became one of the leaders of the

Romantic school. His prose romance, Confession d'un Enfant du Siècle,

'36, exhibits his intellectual development and pessimistic moods. Among

his finest works are four poems entitled Nuits. He contributed to

the Revue des Deux Mondes, and was admitted into the Academy in

'52. Died at Paris 1 May, 1857.

 

Naber (Samuel Adriaan), learned Dutch writer, b. Gravenhage, 16 July,

1828. Studied at Leyden and became rector of the Haarlem gymnasium,

and head teacher at the Amsterdam Athenæum. He has edited a journal

of literature, and is joint author with Dr. A. Pierson of Verisimilia

(1886), a Latin work showing the fragmentary and disjointed character

of the Epistles attributed to Paul.

 

Nachtigal (Gustav.), Dr., German traveller, b. Eichstadt, 23

Feb. 1834. He studied medicine, went to Algiers and Tunis, became

private physician to the Bey of Tunis, explored North Africa, and

wrote an account thereof, Sahara und Sudan. He became German Consul

General at Tunis, and died 20 April, 1885.

 

Naigeon (Jacques André), French atheist, b. Dijon 1728. At first an

art student, he became a disciple and imitator of Diderot. He became

copyist to and collaborator with Holbach and conveyed his works to

Amsterdam to be printed. He contributed to the Encyclopédie, notably

the articles Ame and Unitaires and composed the Militaire Philosophe,

or difficulties on religion proposed to Father Malebranche, 1768. This

was his first work, the last chapter being written by Holbach. He

took some share in several of the works of that writer, notably in the

Theologie Portative. He published the Recuéil Philosophique, 2 vols.,

Londres (Amst.), 1770; edited Holbach's Essay on Prejudices and his

Morale Universelle. He also edited the works of Diderot, the essays

of Montaigne and a translation of Toland's philosophical letters. His

principal work is the Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Philosophy in

the Encyclopédie Méthodique (Paris 1791-94.) He addressed the National

Assembly on Liberty of Opinion, 1790, and asked them to withhold

the name of God and religion from their declaration of the rights of

man. Naigeon was of estimable character. Died at Paris, 28 Feb. 1810.

 

Naquet (Joseph Alfred). French materialist, b. Carpentras, 6 Oct. 1834,

became M.D. in '59. In '67 he received fifteen months imprisonment for

belonging to a secret society. He founded, with M. Regnard, the Revue

Encyclopédique, which was suppressed at once for containing an attack

on theism. In '69 he issued a work on Religion, Property, and Family,

which was seized and the author condemned to four months imprisonment,

a fine of five hundred francs, and the perpetual interdict of civil

rights. He represented Vaucluse in the National Assembly, where he

has voted with the extreme left. He was re-elected in '81. The new

law of divorce in France has been passed chiefly through M. Naquet's

energetic advocacy. In '83 he was elected to the Senate, and of late

has distinguished himself by his advocacy of General Boulanger.

 

Nascimento (Francisco Manuel do). Portuguese poet, b. Lisbon, 23

Dec, 1734. He entered the Church, but having translated Molière's

Tartuffe, was accused of heresy (1778), and had to fly for his life

from the Inquisition. He wrote many poems and satires under the name of

"Filinto Elysio." Died 25 Feb. 1819.

 

Navez (Napoleon), Belgian Freethinker, president of La Libre Pensée,

of Antwerp, and active member of the Council of the International

Federation of Freethinkers.

 

Nelson (Gustave), a writer in the New York Truthseeker, conjectured to

be the author of Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions,

a large and learned work, showing how much of Christianity has been

taken from Paganism.

 

Newcomb (Simon), LL.D., American astronomer, b. Wallace, (Nova

Scotia), 12 March, 1835. Went to the United States in '53, and was

appointed computor on the Nautical Almanack. In '77 he became senior

professor of mathematics in the U. S. navy. He has been associated

with the equipment of the Lick observatory, and has written many

works on mathematics and astronomy, as well as Principles of Political

Economy, 1885.

 

Newman (Francis William) brother of Cardinal Newman, b. London

1805. Educated at Oxford, he was elected to a fellowship at Balliol

College '26, but resigned in '30, being unable conscientiously to

comply with the regulations of the Test Act then in force. He then

went to Bagdad with the object of assisting in a Christian mission,

but his further studies convinced him he could not conscientiously

undertake the work. He returned to England and became classical

teacher in Bristol College, and subsequently Latin Professor at

London University. In The Soul: its Sorrows and Aspirations, '49,

he states his Theistic position, and in Phases of Faith, '50, he

explains how he came to give up Christianity. He has also written A

History of the Hebrew Monarchy, '47, Theism: Doctrinal and Practical,

'58, and a number of Scott's tracts on the Defective Morality of

the New Testament, the Historical Depravation of Christianity, the

Religious Weakness of Protestantism, etc. Also Religion not History,

'77; What is Christianity without Christ? '81; Christianity in its

Cradle, '84; and Life after Death, '86.

 

Neymann (Clara), German American Freethought lecturess, friend and

colleague of Frau Hedwig Henrich Wilhelmi.

 

Nicholson (William), English writer on chemistry and natural

philosophy, b. London 1753. He went to India at an early age, and upon

returning settled at London as a Mathematical teacher. He published

useful introductions to chemistry and natural philosophy. Conducted

the British Encyclopedia, and the Journal of Natural Philosophy. He

also wrote The Doubts of the Infidels, submitted to the Bench of

Bishops by a weak Christian, 1781, a work republished by Carlile and

also by Watson. He died in poor circumstances 21 May, 1815.

 

Nicolai (Christoph Friedrich), German writer, b. Berlin, 18 March,

1733. A friend of Lessing, and Moses Mendelssohn; he was noted

for founding "The Universal German Library." He wrote anecdotes of

Friedrich II., and many other works. Died at Berlin, 8 Jan. 1811.

 

Nietzsche (Friedrich Wilhelm), German writer, b. Lutzen, 15 Oct. 1844,

author of sketches of Strauss, Schopenhauer, and Wagner, and of

Morgenröthe, and other philosophical works. Died 1889.

 

Nieuwenhuis (Ferdinand Jakob Domela), Dutch publicist, b. Utrecht,

3 May, 1848. At first a minister of the Lutheran church, on Nov. 25,

'77, he told his congregation that he had ceased to believe in

Christianity, and as an honest man resigned. He then contributed

to De Banier (Banner) de Dageraad (Dawn) and de Vragen des Tijds

(Questions of the time.) On 1st March, '79 he started a Socialist

paper Recht voor Allen, now an important daily organ of Socialism and

Freethought. His principle writings are--With Jesus, For or against

Socialism, The Religious Oath Question, The Religion of Reason,

The Religion of Humanity. On Jan. 19, '87, he was sentenced to one

years' solitary confinement for an article he had not written, and

was harshly treated till upon pressure of public opinion, he was

liberated 30 Aug. 1887. He is now member of the Dutch Parliament.

 

Noeldeke (Theodor), German Orientalist, b. Harburg, 2 March,

1836. Studied at Gottingen, Vienna, Leyden, and Berlin, and has been

professor of oriental studies at Gottingen, Kiel, and Strasburg. He

has written a History of the Koran, '56; a Life of Mahomet, '63; and

a Literary History of the Old Testament, which has been translated

into French by MM. Derembourg and J. Soury, '73.

 

Noire (Ludwig), German monist, b. 26 March, 1829. Studied at Geissen,

and became a teacher at Mainz. His works show the influence of

Spinoza and Schopenhauer. He is the author of Aphorisms on the Monist

philosophy, '77, and a work on the Origin of Speech, '77. He contends

that language originates in instinctive sounds accompanying will in

associative actions. Died 26 March, 1889.

 

Noorthouck (John), author of a History of London, 1773, and an

Historical and Classical Dictionary, 1776. Has been credited with

the Life of the Man After God's Own Heart. See Annet.

 

Nordau (Max Simon), b. of Jewish parents at Pesth, 29 July, 1849. He

became a physician in '73. He has written several books of travels

and made some noise by his trenchant work on Convential Lies of our

Civilisation. He has since written on The Sickness of the Century.

 

Nork (Felix). See Korn (Selig).

 

Nott (Josiah Clark), Dr., American ethnologist, b. Columbia, South

Carolina, 24 March, 1804. He wrote The Physical History of the Jewish

Race, Types of Mankind, '54, and Indigenous Races of the Earth, '55;

the last two conjointly with G. R. Gliddon, and with the object of

disproving the theory of the unity of the human race. Died at Mobile,

31 March, 1873.

 

Noun (Paul), French author of The Scientific Errors of the Bible, 1881.

 

Noyes (Thomas Herbert), author of Hymns of Modern Man, 1870.

 

Nunez (Rafael), President of Columbia, b. Carthagena, 28 Sept. 1825. He

has written many poems and political articles, and in philosophy is

a follower of Mill and Spencer.

 

Nuytz (Louis André). See Andre-Nuytz.

 

Nystrom (Anton Christen), Dr. Swedish Positivist, b. 15

Feb. 1842. Studied at Upsala and became a medical doctor in Lund,

'68. He served as assistant and field doctor in the Dano-Prussian

war of '67, and now practises an alienist in Stockholm, where he has

established a Positivist Society and Workmen's Institute. Has written

a History of Civilisation.

 

Ocellus Lucanus, early Greek philosopher, who maintained the

eternity of the cosmos. An edition of his work was published with a

translation by the Marquis d'Argens, and Thomas Taylor published an

English version.

 

Ochino (Bernardino Tommasini), Italian reformer, b. Sienna, 1487. A

popular preacher, he was chosen general of the Capuchins. Converted to

the Reformation by Jean Valdez, he had to fly to Geneva, 1542. Invited

to England by Cranmer, he became prebend of Canterbury and preached

in London until the accession of Mary, when he was expelled and went

to Zurich. Here he became an Antitrinitarian, and was banished about

1562 for Thirty Dialogues, in one of which he shows that neither in the

Bible nor the Fathers is there any express prohibition of polygamy. He

went to Poland and joined the Socinians, was banished thence also,

and died Slaukau, Moravia, in 1564. Beza ascribes the misfortunes of

Ochinus, and particularly the accidental death of his wife, to the

special interposition of God on account of his erroneous opinions.

 

O'Connor (Arthur, afterwards Condorcet), General, b. Mitchells, near

Bandon (Cork), 4 July, 1768. Joined the United Irishmen and went

to France to negotiate for military aid. In May 1798 he was tried

for treason and acquitted. He entered the French service and rose to

distinction. In 1807 he married Elisa, the only daughter of Condorcet,

whose name he took, and whose works he edited. He also edited the

Journal of Religious Freedom. Died at Bignon, 25 April, 1852.

 

O'Donoghue (Alfred H.) Irish American counsellor at law, b. about

1840. Educated for the Episcopal ministry at Trinity College, Dublin,

but became a sceptic and published Theology and Mythology, an inquiry

into the claims of Biblical inspiration and the supernatural element

in religion, at New York, 1880.

 

Oest (Johann Heinrich) German poet, b. Cassel 1727. Wrote poems

published at Hamburg, 1751, and was accused of materialism.

 

Offen (Benjamin), American Freethinker, b. in England, 1772. He

emigrated to New York, where he became lecturer to the Society of

Moral Philantropists at Tammany Hall. He wrote Biblical Criticism

and A Legacy to the Friends of Free Discussion, and supported the

Correspondent, Free Inquirer, and Boston Investigator. Died New York,

12 May, 1848.

 

Offray de la Mettrie (Julian). See Lamettrie.

 

O'Keefe (J. A.), M.D. Educated in Germany; author of an essay On

the Progress of the Human Understanding, 1795, in which he speaks

disparagingly of Christianity. He was a follower of Kant, and was

classed with Living Authors of Great Britain in 1816.

 

O'Kelly (Edmund de Pentheny), a descendant of the O'Kelly's; author

of Consciousness, or the Age of Reason, 1853; Theological Papers,

published by Holyoake; and Theology for the People, '55, a series of

short papers suggestive of religious Theism.

 

Oken (Lorenz), German morphologist and philosopher, b. Offenburg,

2 Aug. 1779. He studied at Göttingen and became a privat-docent in

that university. In a remarkable Sketch of Natural Philosophy, 1802,

he advanced a scheme of evolution. He developed his system in a work

on Generation, 1805, and a Manual of Natural Philosophy, 1809. He

was professor at Jena, but dismissed for his liberal views. From

'17 till '48 he edited the scientific journal Isis. In '32 he became

a professor at Zürich, where he died, 11 Aug. 1851.

 

Oliver (William), M.D., of Bath, who was accused of Atheism. Died 1764.

 

Omar Khayyam. See Khayyam.

 

Omboni (Giovanni), Lombard naturalist, b. Abbiategrasso, 29 June,

1829. Is professor of geology at Padua, and author of many scientific

works.

 

Onimus (Ernest Nicolas Joseph), Dr., French Positivist, b. near

Mulhouse, 6 Dec. 1840. Studied medicine at Strasburg and Paris,

and wrote a treatise on The Dynamical Theory of Heat in Biological

Sciences, 1866. In '73 he was one of the jury of the Vienna Exhibition,

and obtained the Cross of the Legion of Honor. Is author of the

Psychology in the Plays of Shakespere, '78, and has written in the

Revue Positive and other periodicals.

 

Oort (Henricus), Dutch rationalist, b. Eemnes, 27 Dec. 1836. Studied

theology at Leyden, and became teacher at Amsterdam. Has written many

works, of which we mention The Worship of Baalim in Israel, translated

by Bp. Colenso, 1865, and The Bible for Young People, written with

Drs. Hooykaas and Kuenen, and translated by P. H. Wickstead, 1873-79.

 

Orelli (Johann Kaspar von), learned Swiss critic, b. Zürich,

13 Feb. 1789. Edited many classics, and wrote a letter in favor of

Strauss at the time when there was an outcry at his being appointed

Professor at Zürich. Died 6 Jan. 1849.

 

Osborne (Francis), English writer, b. Clucksand, Beds. 1589. Was an

adherent of Cromwell in the Civil War. His Advice to a Son, 1656, was

popular though much censured by the Puritans who drew up a complaint

against his works and proposed to have them burnt, and an order was

passed 27 July, 1658, forbidding them to be sold. Died 1659.

 

Oscar (L.), Swiss writer, author of Religion Traced Back to its

Source, Basel, 1874. He considers religion "a belief in conflict

with experience and resting on exaggerated fancies" of animism and

mythology. One of his chapters is entitled "The Crucifixion of the

Son of God as Christian mythology."

 

Ossoli (Countess d'). See Fuller (Margaret).

 

Oswald (Eugen), German teacher in England. Author of many popular

school books, and a Study of Positivism in England, 1884.

 

Oswald (Felix Leopold), American writer, b. Belgium, 1845. Educated

as a physician, he has devoted his attention to natural history,

and in pursuit of his studies has travelled extensively. He has

contributed to the Popular Science Monthly, The Truthseeker and other

journals, and has published Summerland Sketches, or Rambles in the

Backwoods of Mexico and Central America, '81; Physical Education,

'82; The Secrets of the East, '83, which argues that Christianity

is derived from Buddhism, and The Bible of Nature or the Principles

of Secularism, '88. Dr. Oswald is now employed as Curator of Natural

History in Brazil.

 

O'Toole (Adam Duff), Irish Freethought martyr, burnt to death at

Hogging (now College) Green, Dublin, in 1327. Holinshed says he

"denied obstinatelie the incarnation of our savior, the trinitie

of persons in the vnitie of the Godhead and the resurrection of the

flesh; as for the Holie Scripture, he said it was but a fable; the

Virgin Marie he affirmed to be a woman of dissolute life, and the

Apostolic see erronious."

 

"Ouida," See Ramée (Louise de la).

 

Ouvry (Henry Aimé), Col., translator of Feuchterslebens, Dietetics

of the Soul and Rau's Unsectarian Catechism, and author of several

works on the land question.

 

Overton (Richard), English Republican, who wrote a satire on relics,

1642, and a treatise on Man's Mortality (London, 1643, Amsterdam,

1644) a work designed to show man is naturally mortal.

 

Owen (Robert), social reformer, b. Newton, Montgomeryshire, Wales, 14

March, 1771. At 18 he was so distinguished by his business talents that

he became partner in a cotton mill. In 1797 he married the daughter

of David Dale, and soon afterwards became partner and sole manager

at New Lanark Mills, where he built the first infant schools and

improved the dwellings of the workmen. From 1810-15 he published New

Views on Society, or, Essays on the Formation of Character. In '17 he

caused much excitement by proclaiming that the religions of the world

were all false, and that man was the creature of circumstances. In

'24 he went to America and purchased New Harmony, Indiana, from the

Rappists to found a new community, but the experiment was a failure,

as were also others at Orbiston, Laner, and Queenswood, Hants. In

'28 he debated at Cincinatti with Alex. Campbell on the Evidences of

Christianity. He published a numerous series of tracts, Robert Owen's

Journal, and The New Moral World, '35. He debated on his Social

System with the Rev. J. H. Roebuck, R. Brindley, etc. As his mind

began to fail he accepted the teachings of Spiritism. Died Newton,

17 Nov. 1858. Owen profoundly influenced the thought of his time in

the direction of social amelioration, and he is justly respected for

his energy, integrity and disinterested philanthropy.

 

Owen (Robert Dale), son of the above, b. Glasgow 9 Nov. 1800. Was

educated by his father till 1820, when he was sent to Fellenberg's

school, near Berne, Switzerland. In '25 he went to America to aid

in the efforts to found a colony at New Harmony, Indiana. On the

failure of that experiment he began with Frances Wright, in Nov. '28,

the publication of the Free Inquirer, which was continued till

'32. In that year he had a written discussion with O. Bachelor on

the existence of God, and the authenticity of the Bible, in which he

ably championed the Freethought cause. He wrote a number of tracts

of which we mention Situations, 1839; Address on Free Inquiry, 1840;

Prossimo's Experience, Consistency, Galileo and the Inquisition. He

was elected to Congress in '43. After fifteen years of labor he

secured the women of Indiana independent rights of property. He

became charge d'affaires at Naples in '53. During the civil war he

strongly advocated slave emancipation. Like his father he became a

Spiritualist. Died at Lake George, 17 June, 1877.

 

Paalzow (Christian Ludwig), German jurist, b. Osterburg (Altmark),

26 Nov. 1753, translated Voltaire's commentaries on The Spirit of

the Laws and Burigny's Examination of the Apologists of Christianity

(Leipzic, 1793), and wrote a History of Religious Cruelty (Mainz,

1800). Died 20 May, 1824.

 

Paepe (Cesar de). See De Paepe.

 

Pagano (Francisco Mario Saverio Antonio Carlo Pasquale). Italian

jurist, philosopher and patriot, b. Brienza, 1748. He studied at

Naples, and became the friend of Filangieri. Was made professor

of criminal law in 1787. For his Political Essays in three volumes

(1783-92) he was accused of Atheism and impiety. He wrote on Criminal

Process and a work on God and Nature. Taking part in the Provisional

Government of the Neapolitan Republic in 1791, he was taken prisoner

by the royalists and executed 6 Oct. 1800.

 

Page (David). Scotch geologist, b. 29 Aug. 1814. Author of

introductory and advanced text-books of geology, which went through

many editions. He gave advanced lectures in Edinburgh, and edited

Life Lights of Song, '64. His Man Where, Whence, and Whither?,

'67, advocating Darwinian views, made some stir in Scotland. He

became professor of geology at Durham University. A friend of Robert

Chambers, he was for some time credited with that writer's Vestiges

of Creation, in the scientific details of which he assisted. Died at

Newcastle-on-Tyne, 9 March, 1879.

 

Paget (Violet). English authoress, who, under the pen-name of "Vernon

Lee," has written Studies of the Eighteenth Century in Italy and

Baldwin, dialogues on views and aspirations 1886. Since '71 she has

lived chiefly in Florence, and contributes to the principal reviews,

an article in the Contemporary (May '83) on "Responsibilities of

Unbelief" being particularly noticeable. Miss Paget's writings show

a cultivated mind and true literary instinct.

 

Pageze (L.) French Socialist; has written on the Concordat and the

Budget des Cultes, '86, Separation of Church and State, '87, etc.

 

Paine (Thomas), Deist, b. Thetford, Norfolk, 29 Jan., 1737. His father

was a Quaker and staymaker, and Paine was brought up to the trade. He

left home while still young, went to London and Sandwich, where he

married the daughter of an exciseman, and entered the excise. He

was selected by his official associates to embody their wants in a

paper, and on this work he displayed such talent that Franklin, then

in London, suggested America as a good field for his abilities. Paine

went in 1774, and soon found work for his pen. He became editor of the

Pennsylvanian Magazine and contributed to the Pennsylvanian journal

a strong anti-slavery essay. Common Sense, published early in 1776,

advocating absolute independence for America, did more than anything

else to precipitate the great events of that year. Each number of

the Crisis, which appeared during the war, was read by Washington's

order to each regiment in the service. Paine subscribed largely

to the army, and served for a short time himself. After peace was

declared, congress voted him three thousand dollars, and the state

of New York gave him a large farm. Paine turned his attention to

mechanics, and invented the tubular iron bridge, which he endeavored

to introduce in Europe. Reaching France during the Revolution,

he published a pamphlet advocating the abolition of royalty. In

1791 he published his Rights of Man, in reply to Burke. For this

he was outlawed. Escaping from England, he went to France, where he

was elected to the Convention. He stoutly opposed the execution of

the king, and was thrown by Robespierre into the Luxembourg prison,

where for nearly a year he awaited the guillotine. During this time

he wrote the first part of the Age of Reason, which he completed

on his release. This famous book, though vulnerable in some minor

points of criticism, throws a flood of light on Christian dogmas,

and has had a more extended sale than any other Freethought work. As

a natural consequence, Paine has been an object of incessant slander

by the clergy. Paine died at New York 8 June, 1809, and, by his own

direction was buried on his farm at New Rochelle. Cobbett is said to

have disinterred him and brought his bones to England.

 

Pajot (François). See Liniere.

 

Paleario (Aonio), i.e., Antonio, della Paglia, Italian humanist and

martyr, b. about 1500 at Véroli in the Roman Campagna. In 1520 he

went to Rome and took place among the brilliant men of letters of

court of Leo X. After the taking of Rome by Charles V. he retired

to Sienna. In 1536 he published at Lyons an elegant Latin poem on

the Mortality of the Soul--modeled on Lucretius. He was Professor

of Eloquence at Milan for ten years, but was accused of heresy. He

had called the Inquisition a poignard directed against all men of

letters. On 3 July, 1570, he was hung and his body thrown into the

flames. A work on the Benefit of Christ's Death has been attributed to

him on insufficient grounds. It is attributed to Benedetto da Mantova.

 

Pallas (Peter Simon), German naturalist and traveller, b. Berlin,

22 Sept. 1741. Educated as a physician at Gottingen and Leyden,

he was invited by Catherine II. to become Professor of Natural

History at St. Petersburg. He travelled through Siberia and settled

in the Crimea. In 1810 he returned to Berlin, where he died 8

Sept. 1811. Lalande spoke highly of him, and Cuvier considered him

the founder of modern geology.

 

Pallavicino (Ferrante), Italian poet and wit, b. Piacenza 1616. He

became a canon of the Lateran congregation, but for composing some

satirical pieces against Pope Urban VIII. had a price set on his

head. He fled to Venice, but a false friend betrayed him to the

Inquisition, and he was beheaded at Avignon, 5 March, 1644.

 

Palmer (Courtlandt), American reformer, b. New York, 25 March,

1843, graduated at the Columbia law-school in '69. He was brought

up in the Dutch Reformed Church, but became a Freethinker while

still young. Mr. Palmer did much to promote Liberal ideas. In '80

he established and became President of the Nineteenth Century Club,

for the utmost liberty of public discussion. He contributed to the

Freethinker's Magazine, Truthseeker, etc. A sister married Prof. Draper

with whom he was intimate. Died at New York, 23 July, 1888, and was

cremated at Fresh Pond, his friend Col. R. G. Ingersoll delivering

an eulogium.

 

Palmer (Elihu), American author, b. Canterbury, Connecticut,

1764. He graduated at Dartmouth in 1787, and studied divinity but

became a deist in 1791. In 1793 he became totally blind from an

attack of yellow fever. In 1797 he lectured to a Deistical Society

in New York. After this he dictated his Principles of Nature, 1802,

a powerful anti-Christian work, reprinted by Carlile in '19. He also

wrote Prospect or View of the Moral World from the year 1804. Palmer

was the head of the Society of Columbian Illuminati founded in New

York in 1801. He died in Philadelphia, 7 April, 1806.

 

Panaetius, Stoic philosopher, b. Rhodes, a pupil of Diogenes the Stoic,

and perhaps of Carneades. About 150 B.C. he visited Rome and taught a

moderate stoicism, denying the doctrine of the conflagration of the

world, and placing physics before dialectics. He wrote a work On

Duties, to which Cicero expresses his indebtedness in his De Officiis.

Died in Athens 111 B.C.

 

Pancoucke (Charles Joseph), eminent French publisher, b. Lille, 26

Nov. 1736. He settled at Paris and became acquainted with d'Alembert,

Garat, etc., and was a correspondent of Rousseau, Buffon and Voltaire,

whose works he brought out. He translated Lucretius, 1768, brought out

the Mercure de France, projected in 1781 the important Encyclopédie

Méthodique, of which there are 166 vols., and founded the Moniteur,

1789. Died at Paris, 19 Dec. 1798.

 

Pantano (Eduardo), Italian author of a little book on the Sicilian

Vespers and the Commune, Catania, 1882.

 

Papillon (J. Henri Fernand), French philosophic writer, b. Belfort,

5 June, 1847. He wrote an Introduction to Chemical Philosophy,

'65; contributed to the Revue de Philosophie Positive and the Revue

des Deux Mondes. His principal work is entitled Nature and Life,

'73. Died at Paris 31 Dec. 1873.

 

Paquet (Henri Remi René), French writer, b. Charleville, 29

Sep. 1845. After studying under the Jesuits he went to Paris,

where he became an advocate, but devoted his main attention to

literature. Under the anagram of "Nérée Quépat" he has published La

Lorgnette Philosophique, '72, a dictionary of the great and little

philosophers of our time, a study of La Mettrie entitled Materialist

Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century and other works.

 

Pare (William), Owenite Social reformer, b. Birmingham, 11

Aug. 1805. Wrote an abridgment of Thompson's Distribution of Wealth,

also works on Capital and Labor '54, Co-operative Agriculture, at

Rahaline, '70, etc. He compiled vol. 1 of the Biography of Robert

Owen. Died at Croydon, 18 June, 1873.

 

Parfait (Noel), French writer and politician, b. Chartres, 30

Nov. 1814. Took part in the revolution of '30, and wrote many radical

brochures. After the coup d'état he took refuge in Belgium. In '71

was elected deputy and sat on the extreme left.

 

Parfait (Paul), son of the foregoing, b. Paris, 1841. Author of

L'Arsenal de la Dévotion, '76, Notes to serve for a history of

superstition, and a supplement Le Dossier des Pélerinages, '77,

and other pieces. Died 1881.

 

Parisot (Jean Patrocle), a Frenchman who wrote La Foy devoilée par

la raison, 1681 [Faith Unveiled by Reason], a work whose title seems

to have occasioned its suppression.

 

Parker (Theodore), American rationalist, b. Lexington, Mass., 24

Aug. 1810. From his father--a Unitarian--he inherited independence

of mind, courage, and love of speculation. Brought up in poverty he

studied hard, and acquired a University education while laboring on the

farm. In March, '31, he became an assistant teacher at Boston. In June,

'37, he was ordained Unitarian minister. Parker gradually became known

as an iconoclast, and study of the German critics made him a complete

rationalist, so that even the Unitarian body rejected him. A society

was established to give him a hearing in Boston, and soon his fame

was established. His Discourse on Matters Pertaining to Religion,

'47, exhibited his fundamental views. He translated and enlarged

De Wette's Critical Introduction to the Old Testament. A fearless

opponent of the Fugitive Slave Law, he sheltered slaves in his own

house. Early in '59 failing health compelled him to relinquish his

duties. Died at Florence, 10 May, 1860. He bequeathed his library of

13,000 volumes to the Boston Public Library.

 

Parmenides, a Greek philosopher, b. Elea, Italy, 518 B.C. Is said

to have been a disciple of Xenophanes. He developed his philosophy

about 470 B.C. in a didactic poem On Nature, fragments of which are

preserved by Sextus Empiricus. He held to Reason as our guide, and

considered nature eternal.

 

Parny (Évariste Désiré de Forges de), Viscount. French poet,

b. St. Paul, Isle of Bourbon, 6 Feb. 1753. Educated in France, he

chose the military profession. A disappointed passion for a creole

inspired his "Amatory Poems," and he afterwards wrote the audacious

War of the Gods, Paradise Lost, and The Gallantries of the Bible. His

poems, though erotic, are full of elegant charm, and he has been

named the French Tibullus. He was admitted into the French Academy

in 1803. Died at Paris, 5 Dec. 1814.

 

Parton (James), author, b. Canterbury, England, 9 Feb. 1822. Was taken

to the United States when a child and educated at New York. He married

Miss Willis, "Fannie Fern," and has written many biographies, including

Lives of Thomas Jefferson, '74, and of Voltaire, '81. He has also

written on Topics of the Time, '71, and Church Taxation. He resided

in New York till '75 when he removed to Newburyport, Massachusetts.

 

Parvish (Samuel), Deistic author of An Inquiry into the Jewish and

Christian Revelation (London, 1739), of which a second edition was

issued in 1746.

 

Pasquier (Étienne). French journalist, b. 7 April, 1529, at

Paris. Brought up to the bar he became a successful pleader. He

defended the Universities against the Jesuits, whom he also attacked

in a bitter satire, Catéchisme des Jésuites. Died Paris, 30 Aug. 1615.

 

Passerano (Alberto Radicati di) count. Italian philosopher of last

century, attached to the court of Victor Amedée II. For some pamphlets

written against the Papal power he was pursued by the Inquisition and

his goods seized. He lived in England and made the acquaintance of

Collins, also in France and Holland, where he died about 1736, leaving

his goods to the poor. In that year he published at Rotterdam Recueil

de Pièces curieuses sur les matieres les plus íntéressantes, etc.,

which contains a Parallel between Mahomet and Sosem (anagram of Moses),

an abridged history of the Sacerdotal Profession, and a Faithful and

comic recital of the religion of modern cannibals, by Zelin Moslem;

also a Dissertation upon Death, which was published separately in

1733. The Recueil was republished at London in 1749. He also wrote a

pretended translation from an Arabic work on Mohammedanism, satirising

the Bible, and a pretended sermon by Elwall the Quaker.

 

Pasteur (Louis). French scientist b. Dôle, 27 Dec 1822, became doctor

in '47 and professor of physic at Strassburg in '48. He received

the Rumford medal of the Royal Society in '56 for his discoveries

in polarisation and molecular chemistry. Decorated with the Legion

of honor in '53, he was made commander '68 and grand officer '78. His

researches into innoculation have been much contested, but his admirers

have raised a large institute for the prosecution of his treatment. He

was elected to the Academy as successor of Littré. He gave his name

as Vice-President of the British Secular Union.

 

Pastoret (Claude Emmanuel Joseph Pierre de), Marquis, French statesman

and writer, b. of noble family at Marseilles, 25 Oct. 1756. Educated by

the Oratorians at Lyons, in 1779 he published an Elege de Voltaire. By

his works on Zoroaster, Confucius and Mahomet (1787) and on Moses

Considered as Legislator and Moralist (1788) he did something for the

infant science of comparative religion. His principal work is a learned

History of Legislation, in 11 vols. (1817-37), in which he passes in

review all the ancient codes. He embraced the Revolution, and became

President of the Legislative Assembly (3 Oct. 1791). He proposed the

erection of the Column of July on the Place of the Bastille, and the

conversion of the church of Ste Geneviève into the Pantheon. On the

19th June, 1792, he presented a motion for the complete separation of

the state from religion. He fled during the Terror, but returned as

deputy in 1795. In 1820 he succeeded his friend Volney as member of

the French Academy, in '23 received the cross of the Legion of Honor,

and in '29 became Chancellor of France. Died at Paris, 28 Sept. 1840.

 

Pater (Walter Horatio), English writer, b. London, 4 Aug. 1839. B.A. at

Oxford in '62, M.A. in '65. Has written charming essays in the

Westminster Review, Macmillan, and the Fortnightly Review. In '73

he published The Renaissance, and in '85 Marius the Epicurean, His

Sensations and Ideas.

 

Paterson (Thomas), b. near Lanark early in this century. After

the imprisonment of Southwell and Holyoake he edited the Oracle of

Reason. For exhibiting profane placards he was arrested and sentenced

27 Jan. 1843 to three months' imprisonment. His trial was reported

under the title God v. Paterson ('43.) He insisted on considering

God as the plaintiff and in quoting from "the Jew book" to show

the plaintiff's bad character. When released he went to Scotland to

uphold the right of free publication, and was sentenced 8 Nov. '43 to

fifteen months' imprisonment for selling "blasphemous" publications

at Edinburgh. On his release he was presented with a testimonial 6

April, 1845, H. Hetherington presiding. Paterson went to America.

 

Patin (Gui), French physician, writer, and wit, b. near Beauvais

31 Aug. 1602. He became professor at the college of France. His

reputation is chiefly founded on his Letters, in which he attacked

superstition. Larousse says "C'était un libre penseur de la famille

de Rabelais." Died at Paris 30 Aug. 1672.

 

Patot. See Tyssot de Patot (S.)

 

Pauw (Cornelius), learned Dutch writer, b. Amsterdam, 1739. He wrote

philosophical researches on the Americans, and also on the Egyptians,

Chinese, and Greeks. Was esteemed by Frederick the Great for his

ingenuity and penetration. Died at Xanten, 7 July, 1799. He was the

uncle of Anacharsis Clootz.

 

Peacock (John Macleay), Scotch poet, b. 21 March, 1817. He wrote

many poems in the National Reformer, and in '67 published Hours of

Reverie. Died 4 May, 1877.

 

Peacock or Pecock (Reginald), the father of English rationalism,

b. about 1390, and educated at Oriel College Oxford, of which he

was chosen fellow in 1417. Was successively Bishop of St Asaph,

1444, and Chichester, 1450, by the favor of Humphrey, the good

Duke of Gloster. He declared that Scripture must in all cases be

accommodated to "the doom of reason." He questioned the genuineness

of the Apostles' Creed. In 1457 he was accused of heresy, recanted

from fear of martyrdom, was deprived of his bishopric, and imprisoned

in a monastery at Canterbury, where he used to repeat to those who

visited him,

 

 

            "Wit hath wonder, that reason cannot skan,

            How a Moder is Mayd, and God is Man."

 

 

His books were publicly burnt at Oxford. He died in 1460. His influence

doubtless contributed to the Reformation.

 

Pearson (Karl), author of a volume of essays entitled The Ethic of

Freethought, 1888. Educated at Cambridge; B.A. '79, M.A. '82.

 

Pechmeja (Jean de), French writer. A friend of Raynal, he wrote a

socialistic romance in 12 books in the style of Telemachus, called

Télèphe, 1784. Died 1785.

 

Peck (John), American writer in the Truthseeker. Has published Miracles

and Miracle Workers, etc.

 

Pecqueur (A.), contributor to the Rationaliste of Geneva, 1864.

 

Pelin (Gabriel), French author of works on Spiritism Explained and

Destroyed, 1864, and God or Science, '67.

 

Pelletan (Charles Camille), French journalist and deputy, son of

the following; b. Paris, 23 June, 1846. Studied at the Lycée Louis

le Grand. He wrote in La Tribune Française, and Le Rappel, and since

'80 has conducted La Justice with his friend Clémenceau, of whom he

has written a sketch.

 

Pelletan (Pierre Clement Eugène), French writer,

b. Saint-Palais-sur-Meir, 20 Oct. 1813. As a journalist he wrote in

La Presse, under the name of "Un Inconnu," articles distinguished

by their love of liberty and progress. He also contributed to the

Revue des Deux Mondes. In '52 he published his Profession of Faith

of the Nineteenth Century, and in '57 The Law of Progress and The

Philosophical Kings. From '53-'55 he opposed Napoleon in the Siècle,

and afterwards established La Tribune Française. In '63 he was

elected deputy, but his election being annulled, he was re-elected in

'64. He took distinguished rank among the democratic opposition. After

the battle of Sedan he was made member of the Committee of National

Defence, and in '76 of the Senate, of which he became vice-president

in '79. In '78 he wrote a study on Frederick the Great entitled Un

Roi Philosophe, and in '83 Is God Dead? Died at Paris, 14 Dec. 1884.

 

Pemberton (Charles Reece). English actor and author, b. Pontypool,

S. Wales, 23 Jan. 1790. He travelled over most of the world and

wrote The Autobiography of Pel Verjuice, which with other remains

was published in 1843. Died 3 March, 1840.

 

Pennetier (Georges), Dr., b. Rouen, 1836, Director of the Museum of

Natural History at Rouen. Author of a work on the Origin of Life,

'68, in which he contends for spontaneous generation. To this work

F. A. Pouchet contributed a preface.

 

Perfitt (Philip William), Theist, b. 1820, edited the Pathfinder,

'59-61. Preached at South Place Chapel. Wrote Life and Teachings of

Jesus of Nazareth, '61.

 

Periers (Bonaventure des). See Desperiers.

 

Perot (Jean Marie Albert), French banker, author of a work on Man

and God, which has been translated into English, 1881, and Moral and

Philosophical Allegories (Paris, 1883).

 

Perrier (Edmond), French zoologist, Curator at Museum of Natural

History, Paris, b. Tulle, 1844. Author of numerous works on Natural

History, and one on Transformisme, '88.

 

Perrin (Raymond S.), American author of a bulky work on The Religion

of Philosophy, or the Unification of Knowledge: a comparison of the

chief philosophical and religious systems of the world, 1885.

 

Perry (Thomas Ryley), one of Carlile's shopmen, sentenced 1824 to

three years' imprisonment in Newgate for selling Palmer's Principles

of Nature. He became a chemist at Leicester and in 1844 petitioned

Parliament for the prisoners for blasphemy, Paterson and Roalfe,

stating that his own imprisonment had not fulfilled the judge's hope

of his recantation.

 

Petit (Claude), French poet, burnt on the Place de Grève in 1665 as

the author of some impious pieces.

 

Petronius, called Arbiter (Titus), Roman Epicurean poet at the Court

of Nero, in order to avoid whose resentment he opened his veins and

bled to death in A.D. 66, conversing meanwhile with his friends on the

gossip of the day. To him we owe the lines on superstition, beginning

"Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor." Petronius is famous for his "pure

Latinity." He is as plain-spoken as Juvenal, and with the same excuse,

his romance being a satire on Nero and his court.

 

Petruccelli della Gattina (Ferdinando) Italian writer, b. Naples,

1816, has travelled much and written many works. He was deputy to

the Naples Parliament in '48, and exiled after the reaction.

 

Petrus de Abano. A learned Italian physician, b. Abano 1250. He

studied at Paris and became professor of medicine at Padua. He wrote

many works and had a great reputation. He is said to have denied the

existence of spirits, and to have ascribed all miracles to natural

causes. Cited before the Inquisition in 1306 as a heretic, a magician

and an Atheist, he ably defended himself and was acquitted. He was

accused a second time but dying (1320) while the trial was preparing,

he was condemned after death, his body disinterred and burnt, and he

was also burnt in effigy in the public square of Padua.

 

Peypers (H. F. A.), Dutch writer, b. De Rijp, 2 Jan. 1856, studied

medicine, and is now M.D. at Amsterdam. He is a man of erudition and

good natured though satirical turn of mind. He has contributed much

to De Dageraad, and is at present one of the five editors of that

Freethought monthly.

 

Peyrard (François), French mathematician, b. Vial (Haute Loire)

1760. A warm partisan of the revolution, he was one of those who (7

Nov. 1793) incited Bishop Gobel to abjure his religion. An intimate

friend of Sylvian Maréchal, Peyrard furnished him with notes for

his Dictionnaire des Athées. He wrote a work on Nature and its Laws,

1793-4, and proposed the piercing of the Isthmus of Suez. He translated

the works of Euclid and Archimedes. Died at Paris 3 Oct. 1822.

 

Peyrat (Alphonse), French writer, b. Toulouse, 21 June, 1812. He

wrote in the National and la Presse, and combated against the Second

Empire. In '65 he founded l'Avenir National, which was several

times condemned. In Feb. '71, he was elected deputy of the Seine,

and proposed the proclamation of the Republic. In '76 he was chosen

senator. He wrote a History of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception,

'55; History and Religion, '58; Historical and Religious Studies, '58;

and an able and scholarly Elementary and Critical History of Jesus,

'64.

 

Peyrere (Isaac de la), French writer, b. Bordeaux, 1594, and brought up

as a Protestant. He entered into the service of the house of Condé, and

became intimate with La Mothe de Vayer and Gassendi. His work entitled

Præadamitæ, 1653, in which he maintained that men lived before Adam,

made a great sensation, and was burnt by the hangman at Paris. The

bishop of Namur censured it, and la Peyrère was arrested at Brussels,

1656, by order of the Archbishop of Malines, but escaped by favor of

the Prince of Condé on condition of retracting his book at Rome. The

following epitaph was nevertheless made on him:

 

 

            La Peyrere ici gît, ce bon Israelite,

            Hugenot, Catholique, enfin Pre-adamite:

            Quatre religions lui plurent à la fois:

              Et son indifférence était si peu commune

            Qu'après 80 ans qu'il eut à faire un choix

              Le bon homme partit, et n'en choisit pas une.

 

 

Died near Paris, 30 Jan. 1676.

 

Pfeiff (Johan Gustaf Viktor), Swedish baron, b. Upland, 1829. Editor

of the free religious periodical, The Truthseeker, since 1882. He has

also translated into Swedish some of the writings of Herbert Spencer.

 

Pharmacopulo (A.P.) Greek translator of Büchner's Force and Matter, and

corresponding member of the International Federation of Freethinkers.

 

Phillips (Sir Richard), industrious English writer, b. London, 1767. He

was hosier, bookseller, printer, publisher, republican, Sheriff of

London (1807-8), and Knight. He compiled many schoolbooks, chiefly

under pseudonyms, of which the most popular were the Rev. J. Goldsmith

and Rev. D. Blair. His own opinions are seen most in his Million of

Facts. Died at Brighton 2 April, 1840.

 

Phillippo (William Skinner), farmer, of Wood Norton, near Thetford,

Norfolk. A deist who wrote an Essay on Political and Religious

Meditations, 1868.

 

Pi-y Margall (Francisco), Spanish philosopher and Republican statesman,

b. Barcelona, 1820. The first book he learnt to read was the Ruins

of Volney. Studied law and became an advocate. He has written many

political works, and translated Proudhon, for whom he has much

admiration, into Spanish. He has also introduced the writings and

philosophy of Comte into his own country. He was associated with

Castelar and Figueras in the attempt to establish a Spanish Republic,

being Minister of the Interior, and afterwards President in 1873.

 

Pichard (Prosper). French Positivist, author of Doctrine of Reality,

"a catechism for the use of people who do not pay themselves with

words," to which Littré wrote a preface, 1873.

 

Pierson (Allard). Dutch rationalist critic, b. Amsterdam 8 April,

1831. Educated in theology, he was minister to the Evangelical

congregation at Leuven, afterwards at Rotterdam and finally professor

at Heidelberg. He resigned his connection with the Church in '64. He

has written many works of theological and literary value of which we

mention his Poems '82, New Studies on Calvin, '83, and Verisimilia,

written in conjunction with S. A. Naber, '86.

 

Pigault-Lebrun (Guillaume Charles Antoine), witty French author,

b. Calais, 8 April, 1753. He studied under the Oratorians of

Boulogne. He wrote numerous comedies and romances, and Le Citateur,

1803, a collection of objections to Christianity, borrowed in part

from Voltaire, whose spirit he largely shared. In 1811 Napoleon

threatened the priests he would issue this work wholesale. It

was suppressed under the Restoration, but has been frequently

reprinted. Pigault-Lebrun became secretary to King Jerome Napoleon,

and died at La Celle-Saint-Cloud, 24 July, 1835.

 

Pike (J. W.) American lecturer, b. Concord (Ohio), 27 June, 1826,

wrote My Religious Experience and What I found in the Bible, 1867.

 

Pillsbury (Parker), American reformer, b. Hamilton, Mass., 22

Sep. 1809. Was employed in farm work till '35, when he entered

Gilmerton theological seminary. He graduated in '38, studied a year

at Andover, was congregational minister for one year, and then,

perceiving the churches were the bulwark of slavery, abandoned the

ministry. He became an abolitionist lecturer, edited the Herald

of Freedom, National Anti-Slavery Standard, and the Revolution. He

also preached for free religious societies, wrote Pious Frauds, and

contributed to the Boston Investigator and Freethinkers' Magazine. His

principal work is Acts of the Anti-Slavery Apostles, 1883.

 

Piron (Alexis), French comic poet, b. Dijon, 9 July, 1689. His

pieces were full of wit and gaiety, and many anecdotes are told of

his profanity. Among his sallies was his reply to a reproof for being

drunk on Good Friday, that failing must be excused on a day when even

deity succumbed. Being blind in his old age he affected piety. Worried

by his confessor about a Bible in the margin of which he had written

parodies and epigrams as the best commentary, he threw the whole book

in the fire. Asked on his death-bed if he believed in God he answered

"Parbleu, I believe even in the Virgin." Died at Paris, 21 Jan. 1773.

 

Pisarev (Dmitri Ivanovich) Russian critic, journalist, and materialist,

b. 1840. He first became known by his criticism on the Scholastics of

the nineteenth century. Died Baden, near Riga, July 1868. His works

are published in ten vols. Petersburg, 1870.

 

Pitt (William). Earl of Chatham, an illustrious English statesman

and orator, b. Boconnoc, Cornwall, 15 Nov. 1708. The services to his

country of "the Great Commoner," as he was called, are well known,

but it is not so generally recognised that his Letter on Superstition,

first printed in the London Journal in 1733, entitles him to be ranked

with the Deists. He says that "the more superstitious people are,

always the more vicious; and the more they believe, the less they

practice." Atheism furnishes no man with arguments to be vicious;

but superstition, or what the world made by religion, is the greatest

possible encouragement to vice, by setting up something as religion,

which shall atone and commute for the want of virtue. This remarkable

letter ends with the words "Remember that the only true divinity

is humanity."

 

Place (Francis), English Radical reformer and tailor; b. 1779 at

Charing Cross. He early became a member of the London, Corresponding

Society. He wrote to Carlile's Republican and Lion. A friend of

T. Hardy, H. Tooke, James Mill, Bentham, Roebuck, Hetherington, and

Hibbert (who puts him in his list of English Freethinkers). He was

connected with all the advanced movements of his time and has left

many manuscripts illustrating the politics of that period, which are

now in the British Museum. He always professed to be an Atheist--see

Reasoner, 26 March, '54. Died at Kensington, 1 Jan. 1854.

 

Platt (James), F.S.S., a woolen merchant and Deistic author of

popular works on Business, '75; Morality, '78; Progress, '80; Life,

'81; God and Mammon, etc.

 

Pliny (Caius Plinius Secundus), the elder, Roman naturalist, b. Verona,

A.D. 22. He distinguished himself in the army, was admitted into the

college of Augurs, appointed procurator in Spain, and honored with

the esteem of Vespasian and Titus. He wrote the history of his own

time in 31 books, now lost, and a Natural History in 37 books, one

of the most precious monuments of antiquity, in which his Epicurean

Atheism appears. Being with the fleet at Misenum, 24 Aug. A.D. 79,

he observed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and landing to assist

the inhabitants was himself suffocated by the noxious vapors.

 

Plumacher (Olga), German pessimist, follower of Hartmann, and authoress

of a work on Pessimism in the Past and Future, Heidelberg, 1884. She

has also defended her views in Mind.

 

Plumer (William) American senator, b. Newburyport, Mass. 25 June,

1759. In 1780 he became a Baptist preacher, but resigned on account

of scepticism. He remained a deist. He served in the Legislature

eight terms, during two of which he was Speaker. He was governor

of New Hampshire, 1812-18, wrote to the press over the signature

"Cincinnatus," and published an Address to the Clergy, '14. He lived

till 22 June, 1850.

 

Plutarch. Greek philosopher and historian, b. Cheronæa in Boetia, about

A.D. 50. He visited Delphi and Rome, where he lived in the reign of

Trajan. His Parallel Lives of forty-six Greeks and Romans have made

him immortal. He wrote numerous other anecdotal and ethical works,

including a treatise on Superstition. He condemned the vulgar notions

of Deity, and remarked, in connection with the deeds popularly ascribed

to the gods, that he would rather men said there was no Plutarch than

traduce his character. In other words, superstition is more impious

than Atheism. Died about A.D. 120.

 

Poe (Edgar Allan), American poet, grandson of General Poe, who figured

in the war of independence, b. Boston, 19 Jan. 1809. His mother was

an actress. Early left an orphan. After publishing Tamerlane and other

Poems, '27, he enlisted in the United States Army, but was cashiered in

'31. He then took to literary employment in Baltimore and wrote many

stories, collected as the Tales of Mystery, Imagination, and Humor. In

'45 appeared The Raven and other Poems, which proved him the most

musical and dextrous of American poets. In '48 he published Eureka,

a Prose Poem, which, though comparatively little known, he esteemed

his greatest work. It indicates pantheistic views of the universe. His

personal appearance was striking and one of his portraits is not

unlike that of James Thomson. Died in Baltimore, 7 Oct. 1849.

 

Poey (Andrés), Cuban meteorologist and Positivist of French and Spanish

descent, b. Havana, 1826. Wrote in the Modern Thinker, and is author

of many scientific memoirs and a popular exposition of Positivism

(Paris, 1876), in which he has a chapter on Darwinism and Comtism.

 

Pompery (Edouard), French publicist, b. Courcelles, 1812. A follower

of Fourier, he has written on Blanquism and opportunism, '79, and a

Life of Voltaire, '80.

 

Pomponazzi (Pietro) [Lat. Pomponatius], Italian philosopher,

b. Mantua, of noble family, 16 Sept. 1462. He studied at Padua,

where he graduated 1487 as laureate of medicine. Next year he was

appointed professor of philosophy at Padua, teaching in concurrence

with Achillini. He afterwards taught the doctrines of Aristotle at

Ferrara and Bologna. His treatise De Immortalitate Animæ, 1516, gave

great offence by denying the philosophical foundation of the doctrine

of the immortality of the soul. The work was burnt by the hangman at

Venice, and it is said Cardinal Bembo's intercession with Pope Leo

X. only saved Pomponazzi from ecclesiastical procedure. Among his works

is a treatise on Fate, Free Will, etc. Pomponazzi was a diminutive

man, and was nicknamed "Peretto." He held that doubt was necessary

for the development of knowledge, and left an unsullied reputation

for upright conduct and sweet temper. Died at Bologna, 18 May, 1525,

and was buried at Mantua, where a monument was erected to his memory.

 

Ponnat (de), Baron, French writer, b. about 1810. Educated by

Jesuits, he became a thorough Freethinker and democrat and a friend

of A. S. Morin, with whom he collaborated on the Rationaliste of

Geneva. He wrote many notable articles in La Libre Pensée, Le Critique,

and Le Candide, for writing in which last he was sentenced to one

year's imprisonment. He published, under the anagram of De Pontan,

The Cross or Death, a discourse to the bishops who assisted at the

Ecumenical Council at Rome (Brussels, '62). His principal work is

a history of the variations and contradictions of the Roman Church

(Paris, '82). Died in 1884.

 

Porphyry, Greek philosoper of the New Platonic school, b. Sinia,

233 A.D. His original name was Malchus or Melech--a "King." He was

a pupil of Longinus and perhaps of Origen. Some have supposed that

he was of Jewish faith, and first embraced and then afterwards

rejected Christianity. It is certain he was a man of learning and

intelligence; the friend as well as the disciple of Plotinus. He wrote

(in Greek) a famous work in fifteen books against the Christians, some

fragments of which alone remain in the writings of his opponents. It

is certain he showed acquaintance with the Jewish and Christian

writings, exposed their contradictions, pointed out the dispute between

Peter and Paul, and referred Daniel to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes.

He wrote many other works, among which are lives of Plotinus and

Pythagorus. Died at Rome about 305.

 

Porzio (Simone), a disciple of Pomponazzi, to whom, when lecturing

at Pisa, the students cried "What of the soul?" He frankly professed

his belief that the human soul differed in no essential point from

the soul of a lion or plant, and that those who thought otherwise

were prompted by pity for our mean estate. These assertions are in

his treatise De Mente Humanâ.

 

"Posos (Juan de)," an undiscovered author using this pen-name,

expressed atheistic opinions in a book of imaginary travels, published

in Dutch at Amsterdam in 1708, and translated into German at Leipsic,

1721.

 

Post (Amy), American reformer, b. 1803. From '28 she was a leading

advocate of slavery abolition, temperance, woman's suffrage and

religious reform. Died Rochester, New York, 29 Jan. 1889.

 

Potter (Agathon Louis de). See De Potter (A. L.)

 

Potter (Louis Antoine Joseph de). See De Potter (L. A. J.)

 

Potvin (Charles), Belgian writer b. Mons. 2 Dec. 1818, is member of the

Royal Academy of Letters, and professor of the history of literature

at Brussels. He wrote anonymously Poesie et Amour '58, and Rome and

the Family. Under the name of "Dom Jacobus" he has written an able

work in two volumes on The Church and Morality, and also Tablets of

a Freethinker. He was president of "La Libre Pensée" of Brussels from

'78 to '83, is director of the Revue de Belgique and has collaborated

on the National and other papers.

 

Pouchet (Felix Archimède), French naturalist, b. Rouen 26

Aug. 1800. Studied medicine under Dr. Flaubert, father of the author

of Mme. Bovary, and became doctor in '27. He was made professor of

natural history at the Museum of Rouen, and by his experiments enriched

science with many discoveries. He defended spontaneous generation and

wrote many monographs and books of which the principal is entitled

The Universe, '65. Died at Rouen, 6 Dec. 1872.

 

Pouchet (Henri Charles George), French naturalist, son of the

proceeding, b. Rouen, 1833, made M.D. in '64, and in '79 professor

of comparative anatomy in the museum of Natural History at Paris. In

'80 he was decorated with the Legion of Honor. He has written on The

Plurality of the Human Race, '58, and collaborated on the Siècle,

and the Revue des Deux Mondes and to la Philosophie Positive.

 

Pouchkine (A.), see Pushkin.

 

Pougens (Marie Charles Joseph de), French author, a natural son of the

Prince de Conti, b. Paris, 15 Aug. 1755. About the age of 24 he was

blinded by small pox. He became an intimate friend of the philosophers,

and, sharing their views, embraced the revolution with ardor, though

it ruined his fortunes. He wrote Philosophical Researches, 1786, edited

the posthumous works of D'Alembert, 1799, and worked at a dictionary of

the French language. His Jocko, a tale of a monkey, exhibits his keen

sympathy with animal intelligence, and in his Philosophical Letters,

1826, he gives anecdotes of Voltaire, Rousseau, D'Alembert, Pechmeja,

Franklin, etc. Died at Vauxbuin, near Soissons, 19 Dec. 1833.

 

Poulin (Paul), Belgian follower of Baron Colins and author of What

is God? What is Man? a scientific solution of the religious problem

(Brussels, 1865), and re-issued as God According to Science, '75,

in which he maintains that man and God exclude each other, and that

the only divinity is moral harmony.

 

Poultier D'Elmolte (François Martin), b. Montreuil-sur-Mer, 31

Oct. 1753. Became a Benedictine monk, but cast aside his frock

at the Revolution, married, and became chief of a battalion of

volunteers. Elected to the Convention he voted for the death of

the King. He conducted the journal, L'Ami des lois, and became

one of the Council of Ancients. Exiled in 1816, he died at Tournay

in Belgium, 16 Feb. 1827. He wrote Morceaux Philosophiques in the

Journal Encyclopédique; Victoire, or the Confessions of a Benedictine;

Discours Décadaires, for the use of Theophilantropists, and Conjectures

on the Nature and Origin of Things, Tournay, 1821.

 

Powell (B. F.), compiler of the Bible of Reason, or Scriptures of

Ancient Moralists; published by Hetherington in 1837.

 

Prades (Jean Martin de), French theologian b. Castel-Sarrasin, about

1720. Brought up for the church, he nevertheless became intimate with

Diderot and contributed the article Certitude to the Encyclopédie. On

the 18th Nov. 1751 he presented to the Sorbonne a thesis for the

doctorate, remarkable as the first open attack on Christianity by

a French theologian. He maintained many propositions on the soul,

the origin of society, the laws of Moses, miracles, etc., contrary

to the dogmas of the Church, and compared the cures recorded in the

Gospels to those attributed to Esculapius. The thesis made a great

scandal. His opinions were condemned by Pope Benedict XIV., and he

fled to Holland for safety. Recommended to Frederick the Great by

d'Alembert he was received with favor at Berlin, and became reader to

that monarch, who wrote a very anti-Christian preface to de Prades'

work on ecclesiastical history, published as Abrége de l'Histoire

ecclesiastique de Fleury, Berne (Berlin) 1766. He retired to a benefice

at Glogau (Silesia), given him by Frederick, and died there in 1782.

 

Prater (Horatio), a gentleman of some fortune who devoted himself to

the propagation of Freethought ideas. Born early in the century, he

wrote on the Physiology of the Blood, 1832. He published Letters to

the American People, and Literary Essays, '56. Died 20 July, 1885. He

left the bulk of his money to benevolent objects, and ordered a deep

wound to be made in his arm to insure that he was dead.

 

Preda (Pietro), Italian writer of Milan, author of a work on Revelation

and Reason, published at Geneva, 1865, under the pseudonym of

"Padre Pietro."

 

Premontval (Andre Pierre Le Guay de), French writer, b. Charenton, 16

Feb. 1716. At nineteen years of age, while in the college of Plessis

Sorbonne, he composed a work against the dogma of the Eucharist. He

studied mathematics and became member of the Academy of Sciences

at Berlin. He wrote Le Diogene de D'Alembert, or Freethoughts on

Man, 1754, Panangiana Panurgica, or the false Evangelist, and Vues

Philosophiques, Amst., 2 vols., 1757. He also wrote De la Théologie

de L'Etre, in which he denies many of the ordinary proofs of the

existence of a God. Died Berlin, 1767.

 

Priestley (Joseph), LL.D., English philosopher, b. Fieldhead, near

Leeds, 18 March, 1733. Brought up as a Calvinist, he found his way

to broad Unitarianism. Famous as a pneumatic chemist, he defended the

doctrine of philosophical necessity, and in a dissertation annexed to

his edition of Hartley expressed doubts of the immateriality of the

sentient principal in man. This doctrine he forcibly supported in

his Disquisitions on Matter and Spirit, 1777. Through the obloquy

these works produced, he lost his position as librarian to Lord

Shelburne. He then removed to Birmingham, and became minister of

an independent Unitarian congregation, and occupied himself on his

History of the Corruptions of Christianity and History of the Early

Opinions Concerning Jesus Christ, which involved him in controversy

with Bishop Horsley and others. In consequence of his sympathy with

the French Revolution, his house was burnt and sacked in a riot,

14 July, 1791. After this he removed to Hackney, and was finally

goaded to seek an asylum in the United States, which he reached in

1794. Even in America he endured some uneasiness on account of his

opinions until Jefferson became president. Died 6 Feb. 1804.

 

Pringle (Allen), Canadian Freethinker, author of Ingersoll in Canada,

1880.

 

Proctor (Richard Anthony), English astronomer, b. Chelsea, 23 March,

1837. Educated at King's College, London, and at St. John's, Cambridge,

where he became B.A. in '60. In '66 he became Fellow of the Royal

Astronomical Society, of which he afterwards became hon. sec. He

maintained in '69 the since-established theory of the solar corona. He

wrote, lectured, and edited, far and wide, and left nearly fifty

volumes, chiefly popularising science. Attracted by Newman, he was for

a while a Catholic, but thought out the question of Catholicism and

science, and in a letter to the New York Tribune, Nov. '75, formally

renounced that religion as irreconcilable with scientific facts. His

remarks on the so-called Star of Bethlehem in The Universe of Suns,

and other Science Gleanings, and his Sunday lectures, indicated his

heresy. In '81 he started Knowledge, in which appeared many valuable

papers, notably one (Jan. '87), "The Beginning of Christianity." He

entirely rejected the miraculous elements of the gospels, which he

considered largely a rechauffé of solar myths. In other articles

in the Freethinkers' Magazine and the Open Court he pointed out the

coincidence between the Christian stories and solar myths, and also

with stories found in Josephus. The very last article he published

before his untimely death was a vindication of Colonel Ingersoll

in his controversy with Gladstone in the North American Review. In

'84 he settled at St. Josephs, Mobille, where he contracted yellow

fever and died at New York, 12 Sep. 1888.

 

Proudhon (Pierre Joseph), French anarchist and political thinker,

b. Besançon, 15 Jan. 1809. Self-educated he became a printer,

and won a prize of 1,500 francs for the person "best fitted for a

literary or scientific career." In '40 appears his memoir, What is

Property? in which he made the celebrated answer "C'est le vol." In

'43 the Creation of Order in Humanity appeared, treating of religion,

philosophy and logic. In '46 he published his System of Economical

Contradictions, in which appeared his famous aphorism, "Dieu,

c'est le mal." In '48 he introduced his scheme of the organisation

of credit in a Bank of the People, which failed, though Proudhon

saw that no one lost anything. He attacked Louis Bonaparte when

President, and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment and a fine

of 10,000 francs. On 2 Jan. '50 he married by private contract while

in prison. For his work on Justice in the Revolution and in the Church

he was condemned to three years' imprisonment and 4,000 francs fine in

'58. He took refuge in Belgium and returned in '63. Died at Passy,

19 Jan. 1865. Among his posthumous works was The Gospels Annotated,

'66. Proudhon was a bold and profound thinker of noble aspirations,

but he lacked the sense of art and practicability. His complete works

have been published in 26 vols.

 

Protagoras, Greek philosopher, b. Abdera, about 480 B.C. Is said to

have been a disciple of Democritus, and to have been a porter before

he studied philosophy. He was the first to call himself a sophist. He

wrote in a book on the gods, "Respecting the gods, I am unable to

know whether they exist or do not exist." For this he was impeached

and banished, and his book burnt. He went to Epirus and the Greek

Islands, and died about 411. He believed all things were in flux,

and summed up his conclusions in the proposition that "man is the

measure of all things, both of that which exists and that which does

not exist." Grote, who defends the Sophists, says his philosophy "had

the merit of bringing into forcible relief the essentially relative

nature of cognition."

 

Prudhomme (Sully). See Sully Prudhomme.

 

Pückler Muskau (Hermann Ludwig Heinrich), Prince, a German writer,

b. Muskau, 30 Oct. 1785. He travelled widely and wrote his observations

in a work entitled Letters of a Defunct, 1830; this was followed by

Tutti Frutti, '32; Semilasso in Africa, '36, and other works. Died

4 Feb. 1871.

 

Pushkin (Aleksandr Sergyeevich), eminent Russian poet, often

called the Russian Byron, b. Pskow, 26 May, 1799. From youth he

was remarkable for his turbulent spirit, and his first work, which

circulated only in manuscript, was founded on Parny's Guerre des

Dieux, and entitled the Gabrielade, the archangel being the hero. He

was exiled by the Emperor, but, inspired largely by reading Voltaire

and Byron, put forward numerous poems and romances, of which the most

popular is Eugene Onéguine, an imitation of Don Juan. He also wrote

some histories and founded the Sovremennik (Contemporary), 1836. In

Jan. 1837 he was mortally wounded in a duel.

 

Putnam (Samuel P.), American writer and lecturer, brought up as a

minister. He left that profession for Freethought, and became secretary

to the American Secular Union, of which he was elected president in

Oct. 1887. In '88 he started Freethought at San Francisco in company

with G. Macdonald. Has written poems, Prometheus, Ingersoll and Jesus,

Adami and Heva; romances entitled Golden Throne, Waifs and Wanderings,

and Gottlieb, and pamphlets on the Problem of the Universe, The New

God, and The Glory of Infidelity.

 

Putsage (Jules), Belgian follower of Baron Colins, founder of the

Colins Philosophical Society at Mons; has written on Determinism and

Rational Science, Brussels 1885, besides many essays in La Philosophie

de L'Avenir of Paris and La Societe Nouvelle of Brussels.

 

Pyat (Felix) French socialist, writer and orator, b. Vierzon, 4

Oct. 1810. His father was religious and sent him to a Jesuit college

at Bourges, but he here secretly read the writings of Beranger and

Courier. He studied law, but abandoned it for literature, writing in

many papers. He also wrote popular dramas, as The Rag-picker of Paris,

'47. After '52 he lived in England, where he wrote an apology for

the attempt of Orsini, published by Truelove, '58. In '71 he founded

the journal le Combat. Elected to the National Assembly he protested

against the treaty of peace, was named member of the Commune and

condemned to death in '73. He returned to France after the armistice,

and has sat as deputy for Marseilles. Died, Saint Gerainte near Nice,

3 Aug. 1889.

 

Pyrrho. Greek philosopher, a native of Elis, in Peloponesus, founder of

a sceptical school about the time of Epicurus; is said to have been

attracted to philosophy by the books of Democritus. He attached himself

to Anaxarchus, and joined her in the expedition of Alexander the Great,

and became acquainted with the philosophy of the Magi and the Indian

Gymnosophists. He taught the wisdom of doubt, the uncertainty of all

things, and the rejection of speculation. His disciples extolled his

equanimity and independence of externals. It is related that he kept

house with his sister, and shared with her in all domestic duties. He

reached the age of ninety years, and after his death the Athenians

honored him with a statue. He left no writings, but the tenets of his

school, which were much misrepresented, may be gathered from Sextus

and Empiricus.

 

Quental. See Anthero de Quental.

 

"Quepat (Nérée.") See Paquet (René).

 

Quesnay (François), French economist, b. Mérey, 4 June 1694. Self

educated he became a physician, but is chiefly noted for his Tableau

Economique, 1708, and his doctrine of Laissez Faire. He derived moral

and social rules from physical laws. Died Versailles, 16 Dec. 1774.

 

Quinet (Edgar), French writer, b. Bourgen Bresse, 17 Feb. 1803. He

attracted the notice of Cousin by a translation of Herder's The

Philosophy of History. With his friend Michelet he made many attacks

on Catholicism, the Jesuits being their joint work. He fought in

the Revolution of '48, and opposed the Second Empire. His work on

The Genius of Religion, '42, is profound, though mystical, and his

historical work on The Revolution, '65 is a masterpiece. Died at

Versailles, 27 March, 1875.

 

Quintin (Jean), Heretic of Picardy, and alleged founder of the

Libertines. He is said to have preached in Holland and Brabant in

1525, that religion was a human invention. Quintin was arrested and

burnt at Tournay in 1530.

 

Quris (Charles), French advocate of Angers, who has published some

works on law and La Défense Catholique et la Critique, Paris, 1864.

 

Rabelais (François), famous and witty French satirist and philosopher,

b. Chinon, Touraine, 7 Jan. 1495. At an early age he joined the order

of Franciscans, but finding monastic life incompatible with his genial

temper, quitted the convent without the leave of his superior. He

studied medicine at Montpelier about 1530, after which he practised

at Lyons. His great humorous work, published anonymously in 1535, was

denounced as heretical by the clergy for its satires, not only on their

order but their creed. The author was protected by Francis I. and was

appointed curé of Meudon. Died at Paris, 9 April, 1553. His writings

show surprising fertility of mind, and Coleridge says, "Beyond a

doubt he was among the deepest as well as boldest thinkers of his age."

 

Radenhausen (Christian), German philosopher, b. Friedrichstadt, 3

Dec. 1813. At first a merchant and then a lithographer, he resided

at Hamburg, where he published Isis, Mankind and the World (4 vols.),

'70-72; Osiris, '74; The New Faith, '77; Christianity is Heathenism,

'81; The True Bible and the False, '87; Esther, '87.

 

Radicati (Alberto di), Count. See Passerano.

 

Ragon (Jean Marie de), French Freemason, b. Bray-sur-Seine, 1781. By

profession a civil engineer at Nancy, afterwards Chief of Bureau to

the Minister of the Interior. Author of many works on Freemasonry,

and The Mass and its Mysteries Compared with the Ancient Mysteries,

1844. Died at Paris, 1862.

 

Ram (Joachim Gerhard), Holstein philosopher of the seventeenth century,

who was accused of Atheism.

 

Ramaer (Anton Gerard Willem), Dutch writer b. Jever, East Friesland,

2 Aug. 1812. From '29 he served as officer in the Dutch army. He

afterwards became a tax collector, and in '60 was pensioned. He wrote

on Schopenhauer and other able works, and also contributed largely

to De Dageraad, often under the pseudonym of "Laçhmé." He had a noble

mind and sacrificed much for his friends and the good cause. Died 16

Feb. 1867.

 

Ramee (Louise de la), English novelist, b., of French extraction,

Bury St. Edmunds, 1840. Under the name of "Ouida," a little sister's

mispronunciation of Louisa, she has published many popular novels,

exhibiting her free and pessimistic opinions. We mention Tricotin,

Folle Farine, Signa, Moths and A Village Commune. She has lived much

in Italy, where the scenes of several novels are placed.

 

Ramee (Pierre de la) called Ramus, French humanist, b. Cuth

(Vermandois) 1515. He attacked the doctrines of Aristotle, was accused

of impiety, and his work suppressed 1543. He lost his life in the

massacre of St. Bartholomew, 26 Aug. 1572.

 

Ramsey (William James), b. London, 8 June, 1844. Becoming a Freethinker

early in life, he for some time sold literature at the Hall of Science

and became manager of the Freethought Publishing Co. Starting in

business for himself he published the Freethinker, for which in '82

he was prosecuted with Mr. Foote and Mr. Kemp. Tried in March '83,

after a good defence, he was sentenced to nine months' imprisonment,

and on Mr. Foote's release acted as printer of the paper.

 

Ranc (Arthur), French writer and deputy, b. Poitiers, 10 Dec. 1831,

and was brought up a Freethinker and Republican by his parents. He

took the prize for philosophy at the College of Poitiers, and studied

law at Paris. He conspired with C. Delescluze against the Second

Empire and was imprisoned, but escaped to Geneva. He collaborated on

La Marseillaise, was elected on the Municipal Council of Paris in

'71, and Deputy, '73. Has written Under the Empire and many other

political works.

 

Randello (Cosimo), Italian author of The Simple Story of a Great

Fraud, being a criticism of the origin of Christianity, directed

against Pauline theology, published at Milan, 1882.

 

Rapisardi (Mario), Italian poet, b. Catania, Sicily, 1843. Has

translated Lucretius, '80, and published poems on Lucifer, and The

Last Prayer of Pius IX., '71, etc.

 

Raspail (François Vincent), French chemist and politician b. Carpentras

24 Jan. 1794, was brought up by ecclesiastics and intended for the

Church. He became, while quite young, professor of philosophy at the

theological seminary of Avignon but an examination of theological

dogmas led to their rejection. He went to Paris, and from 1815-24 gave

lessons, and afterwards became a scientific lecturer. He took part

in the Revolution of '30. Louis Philippe offered him the Legion of

Honor but he refused. Taking part in all the revolutionary outbreaks

he was frequently imprisoned. Elected to the chamber in '69 and sat

on the extreme left. Died at Arcueil 6 Jan. 1878.

 

Rau (Herbert), German rationalist b. Frankfort 11 Feb. 1813. He studied

theology and became preacher to free congregations in Stuttgart and

Mannheim. He wrote Gospel of Nature, A Catechism of the Religion of

the Future, and other works. Died Frankfort 26 Sept. 1876.

 

Rawson (Albert Leighton) LL.D. American traveller and author,

b. Chester, Vermont 15 Oct. 1829. After studying law, theology, and

art, he made four visits to the East, and made in '51-2 a pilgrimage

from Cairo to Mecca, disguised as a Mohammedan student of medicine. He

has published many maps and typographical and philological works,

and illustrated Beecher's Life of Jesus. Has also written on

the Antiquities of the Orient, New York, '70, and Chorography of

Palestine, London, '80. Has written in the Freethinkers' Magazine,

maintaining that the Bible account of the twelve tribes of Israel

is non-historical.

 

Raynal (Guillaume Thomas François) l'abbé, French historian and

philosopher, b. Saint Geniez, 12 April, 1713. He was brought up as a

priest but renounced that profession soon after his removal to Paris,

1747, where he became intimate with Helvetius, Holbach, etc. With

the assistance of these, and Diderot, Pechmeja, etc., he compiled a

philosophical History of European establishments in the two Indies

(4 vols. 1770 and 1780), a work full of reflections on the religious

and political institutions of France. It made a great outcry, was

censured by the Sorbonne, and was burnt by order of Parliament 29 May,

1781. Raynal escaped and passed about six years in exile. Died near

Paris, 6 March, 1796.

 

Reade (William Winwood), English traveller and writer, nephew of

Charles Reade the novelist, b. Murrayfield, near Crieff, Scotland,

26 Dec. 1824. He studied at Oxford, then travelled much in the heart

of Africa, and wrote Savage Africa, '63, The African Sketch Book,

and in '73, The Story of the Ashantee Campaign; which he accompanied

as Times correspondent. In the Martyrdom of Man ('72), he rejects

the doctrine of a personal creator. It went through several editions

and is still worth reading. He also wrote Liberty Hall, a novel,

'60; The Veil of Isis, '61, and See Saw, a novel, '65. He wrote his

last work The Outcast, a Freethought novel, with the hand of death

upon him. Died 24 April, 1875.

 

Reber (George), American author of The Christ of Paul, or the Enigmas

of Christianity (New York, 1876), a work in which he exposes the

frauds and follies of the early fathers.

 

Reclus (Jean Jacques Elisée), French geographer and socialist, the

son of a Protestant minister, b. Sainte-Foy-la-Grande (Gironde), 15

March, 1830, and educated by the Moravian brethren, and afterwards at

Berlin. He early distinguished himself by his love for liberty, and

left France after the coup d'état of 2 Dec. '51, and travelled till '57

in England, Ireland, and the North and South America, devoting himself

to studying the social and political as well as physical condition of

the countries he visited, the results being published in the Tour du

monde, and Revue des Deux Mondes, in which he upheld the cause of the

North during the American war. In '71 he supported the Commune and was

taken prisoner and sentenced to transportation for life. Many eminent

men in England and America interceded and his sentence was commuted

to banishment. At the amnesty of March '79, he returned to Paris,

and has devoted himself to the publication of a standard Universal

Geography in 13 vols. In '82 he gave two of his daughters in marriage

without either religious or civil ceremony. He has written a preface

to Bakounin's God and the State, and many other works.

 

Reddalls (George Holland), English Secularist, b. Birmingham,

Nov. 1846. He became a compositor on the Birmingham Daily Post, but

wishing to conduct a Freethought paper started in business for himself,

and issued the Secular Chronicle, '73, which was contributed to by

Francis Neale, H. V. Mayer, G. Standring, etc. He died 13 Oct. 1875.

 

Reghillini de Schio (M.), Professor of Chemistry and Mathematics,

b. of Venetian parents at Schio in 1760. He wrote in French an

able exposition of Masonry, 1833, which he traced to Egypt; and an

Examination of Mosaism and Christianity, '34. He was mixed in the

troubles of Venice in '48, and fled to Belgium, dying in poverty at

Brussels Aug. 1853.

 

Regnard (Albert Adrien), French doctor and publicist, b. Lachante

(Nièvre), 20 March, 1836, author of Essais d'Histoire et de

Critique Scientifique (Paris, '65)--a work for which he could

find no publisher, and had to issue himself--in which he proclaimed

scientific materialism. Losing his situation, he started, with Naquet

and Clemenceau, the Revue Encyclopédique, which being suppressed

on its first number, he started La Libre Pensée with Asseline,

Condereau, etc. His articles in this journal drew on him and Eudes

a condemnation of four months' imprisonment. He wrote New Researches

on Cerebral Congestion, '68, and was one of the French delegates to

the anti-Council of Naples, '69. Has published Atheism, studies of

political science, dated Londres, '78; a History of England since 1815;

and has translated Büchner's Force and Matter, '84. He was delegate

to the Freethinkers' International Congress at Antwerp, '85.

 

Regnard (Jean François), French comic poet, b. Paris. 8 Feb. 1655. He

went to Italy about 1676, and on returning home was captured by an

Algerian corsair and sold as a slave. Being caught in an intrigue

with one of the women, he was required to turn Muhammadan. The French

consul paid his ransom and he returned to France about 1681. He wrote

a number of successful comedies and poems, and was made a treasurer

of France. He died as an Epicurean, 4 Sept. 1709.

 

Regnier (Mathurin), French satirical poet, b. Chartres, 21

Dec. 1573. Brought up for the Church, he showed little inclination for

its austerities, and was in fact a complete Pagan, though he obtained

a canonry in the cathedral of his native place. Died at Rouen, 22

Oct. 1613.

 

Reich (Eduard) Dr., German physician and anthropologist of Sclav

descent on his father's side, b. Olmütz, 6 March 1839. He studied at

Jena and has travelled much, and published over thirty volumes besides

editing the Athenæum of Jena '75, and Universities of Grossenbain,

'83. Of his works we mention Man and the Soul, '72; The Church of

Humanity, '74; Life of Man as an Individual, '81; History of the Soul,

'84; The Emancipation of Women, '84.

 

Reil (Johann Christian), German physician, b. Rauden, East Friesland,

20 Feb. 1758. Intended for the Church, he took instead to medicine;

after practising some years in his native town he went in 1787

to Halle, and in 1810 he was made Professor of Medicine at Berlin

University. He wrote many medical works, and much advanced medical

science, displacing the old ideas in a way which brought on him the

accusation of pantheism. Attending a case of typhus fever at Halle

he was attacked by the malady, and succumbed 22 Nov. 1813.

 

Reimarus (Hermann Samuel), German philologist, b. Hamburg, 22

Dec. 1694. He was a son-in-law of J. A. Fabricus. Studied at Jena and

Wittenberg; travelled in Holland and England; and was appointed rector

of the gymnasium in Weimar, 1723, and in Hamburg, 1729. He was one of

the most radical among German rationalists. He published a work on

The Principle Truths of Natural Religion, 1754, and left behind the

Wolfenbüttel Fragments, published by Lessing in 1777. Died at Hamburg,

1 March, 1768. Strauss has written an account of his services, 1862.

 

Reitzel (Robert), German American revolutionary, b. Baden, 1849. Named

after Blum, studied theology, went to America, walked from New

York to Baltimore, and was minister to an independent Protestant

church. Studied biology and resigned as a minister, and became speaker

of a Freethought congregation at Washington for seven years. Is now

editor of Der Arme Teufel of Detroit, and says he "shall be a poor

man and a Revolutionaire all my life."

 

Remsburg (John E.), American lecturer and writer, b. 1848. Has

written a series of pamphlets entitled The Image Breaker, False

Claims of the Christian Church, '83, Sabbath Breaking, Thomas Paine,

and a vigorous onslaught on Bible Morals, instancing twenty crimes

and vices sanctioned by scripture, '85.

 

Renan (Joseph Ernest), learned French writer, b. Tréguier (Brittany)

27 Feb. 1823. Was intended for the Church and went to Paris to

study. He became noted for his linguistic attainment, but his

studies and independence of thought did not accord with his intended

profession. My faith, he says was destroyed not by metaphysics

nor philosophy but by historical criticism. In '45 he gave up all

thoughts of an ecclesiastic career and became a teacher. In '48

he gained the Volney prize, for a memoir on the Semitic Languages,

afterwards amplified into a work on that subject. In '52 he published

his work on Averroës and Averroïsm. In '56 was elected member of

the Academy of Inscriptions, and in '60 sent on a mission to Syria;

having in the meantime published a translation of Job and Song of

Songs. Here he wrote his long contemplated Vie de Jesus, '63. In

'61 he had been appointed Professor of Hebrew in the Institute of

France, but denounced by bishops and clergy he was deprived of his

chair, which was, however, restored in '70. The Pope did not disdain

to attack him personally as a "French blasphemer." The Vie de Jesus

is part of a comprehensive History of the Origin of Christianity, in

8 vols., '63-83, which includes The Apostles, St Paul, Anti-Christ,

The Gospels, The Christian Church, and Marcus Aurelius, and the end

of the Antique World. Among his other works we must mention Studies on

Religious History ('58), Philosophical Dialogues and Fragments ('76),

Spinoza ('77), Caliban, a satirical drama ('80), the Hibbert Lecture

on the Influence of Rome on Christians, Souvenirs, '84; New Studies

of Religious History,'84; The Abbess of Jouarre, a drama which made

a great sensation in '86; and The History of the People of Israel,

'87-89.

 

Renand (Paul), Belgian author of a work entitled Nouvelle Symbolique,

on the identity of Christianity and Paganism, published at Brussels

in 1861.

 

Rengart (Karl Fr.), of Berlin, b. 1803, democrat and freethought

friend of C. Deubler. Died about 1879.

 

Renard (Georges), French professor of the Academie of Lausanne;

author of Man, is he Free? 1881, and a Life of Voltaire, '83.

 

Renouvier (Charles Bernard), French philosopher, b. Montpellier,

1815. An ardent Radical and follower of the critical philosophy. Among

his works are Manual of Ancient Philosophy (2 vols., '44); Republican

Manual, '48; Essays of General Criticism, '54; Science of Morals, '69;

a translation, made with F. Pillon, of Hume's Psychology, '78; and A

Sketch of a Systematic Classification of Philosophical Doctrines, '85.

 

Renton (William), English writer, b. Edinburgh, 1852. Educated in

Germany. Wrote poems entitled Oil and Water Colors, and a work on The

Logic of Style, '74. At Keswick he published Jesus, a psychological

estimate of that hero, '76. Has since published a romance of the last

generation called Bishopspool, '83.

 

Rethore (François), French professor of philosophy at the Lyceum of

Marseilles, b. Amiens, 1822. Author of a work entitled Condillac,

or Empiricism and Rationalism, '64. Has translated H. Spencer's

Classification of Sciences.

 

Reuschle (Karl Gustav), German geographer, b. Mehrstetten, 12

Dec. 1812. He wrote on Kepler and Astronomy, '71, and Philosophy and

Natural Science, '74, dedicated to the memory of D. F. Strauss. Died

at Stuttgart, 22 May, 1875.

 

Revillon (Antoine, called Tony), French journalist and deputy,

b. Saint-Laurent-les Mâcon (Ain), 29 Dec. 1832. At first a lawyer in

'57, he went to Paris, where he has written on many journals, and

published many romances and brochures. In '81 he was elected deputy.

 

Rey (Marc Michel), printer and bookseller of Amsterdam. He printed

all the works of d'Holbach and Rousseau and some of Voltaire's,

and conducted the Journal des Savans.

 

Reynaud (Antoine Andre Louis), Baron, French mathematician, b. Paris,

12 Sept. 1777. In 1790 he became one of the National Guard of Paris. He

was teacher and examiner for about thirty years in the Polytechnic

School. A friend of Lalande. Died Paris, 24 Feb. 1844.

 

Reynaud (Jean Ernest), French philosopher, b. Lyons, 14 Feb. 1806. For

a time he was a Saint Simonian. In '36 he edited with P. Leroux the

Encyclopédie Nouvelle. He was a moderate Democrat in the Assembly

of '48. His chief work, entitled Earth and Heaven, '54, had great

success. It was formally condemned by a clerical council held at

Périgueux. Died Paris, 28 June, 1863.

 

Reynolds (Charles B.), American lecturer, b. 4 Aug. 1832. Was

brought up religiously, and became a Seventh Day Baptist preacher,

but was converted to Freethought. He was prosecuted for blasphemy

at Morristown, New Jersey, May 19, 20, 1887, and was defended by

Col. Ingersoll. The verdict was one of guilty, and the sentence was

a paltry fine of 25 dollars. Has written in the Boston Investigator,

Truthseeker, and Ironclad Age.

 

Reynolds (George William MacArthur), English writer; author of many

novels. Wrote Errors of the Christian Religion, 1832.

 

Rialle (J. Girard de), French anthropologist, b. Paris 1841. He

wrote in La Pensée Nouvelle, conducted the Revue de Linguistique et

de Philologie comparée, and has written on Comparative Mythology,

dealing with fetishism, etc., '78, and works on Ethnology.

 

Ribelt (Léonce), French publicist, b. Bordeaux 1824, author of several

political works and collaborator on La Morale Indépendante.

 

Ribeyrolles (Charles de), French politician, b. near Martel (Lot)

1812. Intended for the Church, he became a social democrat; edited the

Emancipation of Toulouse, and La Réforme in '48. A friend of V. Hugo,

he shared in his exile at Jersey. Died at Rio-Janeiro, 13 June, 1861.

 

Ribot (Théodule), French philosopher, b. Guingamp (Côtes du-Nord)

1839; has written Contemporary English Psychology '70, a resume of

the views of Mill, Bain, and Spencer, whose Principles of Psychology

he has translated. Has also written on Heredity, '73; The Philosophy

of Schopenhauer, '74; The maladies of Memory, personality and Will,

3 vols.; and Contemporary German Psychology. He conducts the Revue

Philosophique.

 

Ricciardi (Giuseppe Napoleone), Count, Italian patriot, b. Capodimonte

(Naples), 19 July, 1808, son of Francesco Ricciardi, Count of

Camaldoli, 1758-1842. Early in life he published patriotic poems. He

says that never after he was nineteen did he kneel before a priest. In

'32 he founded at Naples Il Progresso, a review of science, literature,

and art. Arrested in '34 as a Republican conspirator, he was imprisoned

eight months and then lived in exile in France until '48. Here he

wrote in the Revue Indépendante, pointing out that the Papacy from

its very essence was incompatible with liberty. Elected deputy to the

Neapolitan Parliament, he sat on the extreme left. He wrote a History

of the Revolution of Italy in '48 (Paris '49). Condemned to death in

'53, his fortune was seized. He wrote an Italian Martyrology from

1792-1847 (Turin '56), and The Pope and Italy, '62. At the time of the

Ecumenical Council he called an Anti-council of Freethinkers at Naples,

'69. This was dissolved by the Italian government, but it led to the

International Federation of Freethinkers. Count Ricciardi published

an account of the congress. His last work was a life of his friend

Mauro Macchi, '82. Died 1884.

 

Richepin (Jean), French poet, novelist, and dramatist, b. Médéah

(Algeria) in 1849. He began life as a doctor, and during the

Franco-German war took to journalism. In '76 he published the Song

of the Beggars, which was suppressed. In '84 appeared Les Blasphèmes,

which has gone through several editions.

 

Richer (Léon), French Deist and journalist, b. Laigh, 1824. He was

with A. Guéroult editor of l'Opinion Nationale, and in '69 founded and

edits L'Avenir des Femmes. In '68 he published Letters of a Freethinker

to a Village Priest, and has written many volumes in favor of the

emancipation of women, collaborating with Mdlle. Desraismes in the

Women's Rights congresses held in Paris.

 

Rickman (Thomas Clio), English Radical. He published several volumes

of poems and a life of his friend Thomas Paine, 1819, of whom he

also published an excellent portrait painted by Romney and engraved

by Sharpe.

 

Riem (Andreas), German rationalist b. Frankenthal 1749. He became

a preacher, and was appointed by Frederick the Great chaplain of a

hospital at Berlin. This he quitted in order to become secretary of the

Academy of Painting. He wrote anonymously on the Aufklaring. Died 1807.

 

Ritter (Charles), Swiss writer b. Geneva 1838, and has translated into

French Strauss's Essay of Religious History, George Eliot's Fragments

and Thoughts, and Zeller's Christian Baur and the Tübingen School.

 

Roalfe (Matilda), a brave woman, b. 1813. At the time of the blasphemy

prosecutions in 1843, she went from London to Edinburgh to uphold

the right of free publication. She opened a shop and circulated a

manifesto setting forth her determination to sell works she deemed

useful "whether they did or did not bring into contempt the Holy

Scriptures and the Christian Religion." When prosecuted for selling The

Age of Reason, The Oracle of Reason, etc., she expressed her intention

of continuing her offence as soon as liberated. She was sentenced to

two months imprisonment 23 Jan. '44, and on her liberation continued

the sale of the prosecuted works. She afterwards married Mr. Walter

Sanderson and settled at Galashiels, where she died 29 Nov. 1880.

 

Robert (Pierre François Joseph), French conventionnel and friend of

Brissot and Danton, b. Gimnée (Ardennes) 21 Jan. 1763. Brought up

to the law he became professor of public law to the philosophical

society. He was nominated deputy for Paris, and wrote Republicanism

adapted to France, 1790, became secretary to Danton, and voted for the

death of the king. He wrote in Prudhomme's Révolutions de Paris. Died

at Brussels 1826.

 

Robertson (A. D.), editor of the Free Enquirer, published at New

York, 1835.

 

Robertson (John Mackinnon), Scotch critic, b. Arran, 14 Nov. 1856. He

became journalist on the Edinburgh Evening News, and afterwards on

the National Reformer. Mr. Robertson has published a study of Walt

Whitman in the "Round Table Series." Essays towards a Critical Method,

'89, and has contributed to Our Corner, Time, notably an article on

Mithraism, March, '89, The Westminster Review, etc. He has also issued

pamphlets on Socialism and Malthusianism, and Toryism and Barbarism,

'85, and edited Hume's Essay on Natural Religion, '89.

 

Roberty (Eugène de), French positivist writer, of Russian birth,

b. Podolia (Russia), 1843; author of works on Sociology, Paris, '81,

and The Old and the New Philosophy, an essay on the general laws of

philosophic development, '87. He has recently written a work entitled

The Unknowable, '89.

 

Robin (Charles Philippe), French physician, senator member of the

Institute and of the Academy of Medecine, b. Jasseron (Aix), 4 June,

1821. Became M.D. in '46, and D.Sc. '47. In company with Littré he

refounded Nysten's Dictionary of Medicine, and he has written many

important medical works, and one on Instruction. In '72 his name was

struck out of the list of jurors on the ground of his unbelief in God,

and it thus remained despite many protests until '76. In the same

year he was elected Senator, and sits with the Republican Left. He

has been decorated with the Legion of Honor.

 

Robinet (Jean Baptiste René), French philosopher, b. Rennes, 23 June,

1735. He became a Jesuit, but gave it up and went to Holland to publish

his curious work, De la Nature, 1776, by some attributed to Toussaint

and to Diderot. He continued Marsy's Analysis of Bayle, edited the

Secret Letters of Voltaire, translated Hume's Moral Essays, and took

part in the Recueil Philosophique, published by J. L. Castilhon. Died

at Rennes, 24 March, 1820.

 

Robinet (Jean Eugène François), French physician and publicist,

b. Vic-sur-Seille, 1825. He early attached himself to the person

and doctrine of Auguste Comte, and became his physician and one of

his executors. During the war of '70 he was made Mayor of the Sixth

Arrondissement of Paris. He has written a Notice of the Work and

Life of A. Comte, '60, a memoir of the private life of Danton, '65,

The Trial of the Dantonists, '79, and contributed an account of the

Positive Philosophy of A. Comte and P. Lafitte to the "Bibliothèque

Utile," vol. 66, '81.

 

Roell (Hermann Alexander), German theologian, b. 1653, author of a

Deistic dissertation on natural religion, published at Frankfort in

1700. Died Amsterdam, 12 July, 1718.

 

Rogeard (Louis Auguste), French publicist, b. Chartres, 25 April,

1820. Became a teacher but was dismissed for refusing to attend

mass. In '49 he moved to Paris and took part in the revolutionary

movement. He was several times imprisoned under the Empire, and in

'65 was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for writing Les Propos

de Labienus (London, i.e. Zürich), '65. He fled to Belgium and wrote

some excellent criticism on the Bible in the Rive Gauche. In '71

he assisted Pyat on Le Vengeur, and was elected on the Commune but

declined to sit. An incisive writer, he signed himself "Atheist." Is

still living in Paris.

 

Rokitansky (Karl), German physician and scientist, founder of the

Viennese school in medicine, b. Königgrätz (Bohemia) 11 Feb. 1804,

studied medicine at Prague and Vienna, and received his degree of

Doctor in '28. His principal work is a Manual of Practical Anatomy,

'42-6. Died Vienna, 23 July, 1878.

 

Roland (Marie Jeanne), née Phlipon, French patriot, b. Paris, 17 March,

1754. Fond of reading, Plutarch's Lives influenced her greatly. At

a convent she noted the names of sceptics attached and read their

writings, being, she says, in turn Jansenist, stoic, sceptic, atheist,

and deist. The last she remained, though Miss Blind classes her with

Agnostics. After her marriage in 1779 with Jean Marie Roland de la

Platiêre (b. Lyons, 1732), Madame Roland shared the tasks and studies

of her husband, and the Revolution found her an ardent consort. On

the appointment of her husband to the ministry, she became the centre

of a Girondist circle. Carlyle calls her "the creature of Simplicity

and Nature, in an age of Artificiality, Pollution, and Cant," and

"the noblest of all living Frenchwomen." On the fall of her party

she was imprisoned, and finally executed, 8 Nov. 1793. Her husband,

then in hiding, hearing of her death, deliberately stabbed himself,

15 Nov. 1793.

 

Rolph (William Henry), German philosopher, b. of English father,

Berlin, 26 Aug. 1847. He became privat-docent of Zoology in the

University of Leipsic, and wrote an able work on Biological Problems,

'84, in which he accepts evolution, discards theology, and places

ethics on a natural basis. Died 1 Aug. 1883.

 

Romagnosi (Giovanni Domenico), Italian philosopher and jurist,

b. Salso Maggiore, 13 Dec. 1761. He published in 1791 an able work

on penal legislation, Genesis of Penal Law, many pages of which are

borrowed from d'Holbach's System of Nature. He became Professor of

Law in Parma, Milan, and Pavia. A member of the Italian Academy,

he was named professor at Corfu, where he died 8 June, 1835. In

'21 he wrote Elements of Philosophy, followed by What is a Sound

Mind? ('27) and Ancient Moral Philosophy, '32. A somewhat obscure

writer, he nevertheless contributed to the positive study of sociology.

 

Romiti (Guglielmo), Italian Positivist. Professor of Anatomy in the

University of Siena. Has published Anatomical Notes, and a Discourse

which excited some commotion among the theologians.

 

Romme (Gilbert), French Mathematician, b. Riou, 1750, became deputy

to the Legislative Assembly in 1791, and to the Convention in 1792. In

Sept. 1793 he introduced the new Republican Calendar, the plan of which

was drawn by Lalande, and the names assigned by Fabre d'Eglantine. He

advocated the Fêtes of Reason. Being condemned to death, he committed

suicide, 18 June, 1795. His brother Charles, b. 1744, was also an

eminent geometrician, and a friend of Laland. He died 15 June, 1805.

 

Ronge (Johannes), German religious reformer, b. Bischopwalde

(Silesia), 16 Oct. 1813. He entered the seminary of Breslau,

and became a Catholic priest in '40. His liberal views and bold

preaching soon led to his suspension. In '44 his letter denouncing the

worship of "the holy coat," exhibited by Arnoldi, Bishop of Treves,

made much clamor. Excommunicated by the Church, he found many free

congregations, but was proscribed after the revolution of '49 and took

refuge in England. In '51 he issued a revolutionary manifesto. In

'61 he returned to Frankfort, and in '73 settled at Darmstadt. Died

at Vienna, 25 Oct. 1887.

 

Ronsard (Pierre), French poet, b. of noble family 11 Sept. 1524. He

became page to the Duke of Orleans, and afterwards to James V. of

Scotland. Returning to France, he was a great favorite at the French

Court. Died 27 Dec. 1585.

 

Roorda van Eysinga (Sicco Ernst Willem), Dutch positivist, b. Batavia

(Java), 8 Aug. 1825. He served as engineer at Java, and was expelled

about '64 for writing on behalf of the Javanese. He contributed

to the De Dageraad and Revue Positive. Died Clarens (Switzerland),

23 Oct. 1887.

 

Roquetaillade (Jean de la), also known as Rupescina, early French

reformer of Auvillac (Auvergne), who entered the order of the

Franciscans. His bold discourses led to his imprisonment at Avignon

1356, by order of Innocent VI., when he wrote an apology. Accused

of Magic, Nostradamus says he was burnt at Avignon in 1362, but this

has been disputed.

 

Rose (Charles H.), formerly of Adelaide, Australia, author of A Light

to Lighten the Gentiles, 1881.

 

Rose (Ernestine Louise) née Süsmond Potowsky, Radical reformer

and orator, b. Peterkov (Poland), 13 Jan. 1810. Her father was

a Jewish Rabbi. From early life she was of a bold and inquiring

disposition. At the age of 17 she went to Berlin. She was in Paris

during the Revolution of '30. Soon after she came to England where she

embraced the views of Robert Owen, who called her his daughter. Here

she married Mr. William E. Rose, a gentleman of broad Liberal views. In

May '36, they went to the United States and became citizens of the

Republic. Mrs. Rose lectured in all the states on the social system,

the formation of character, priestcraft, etc. She lectured against

slavery in the slave-owning states and sent in '38 the first petition

to give married women the right to hold real estate. She was one

of the inaugurators of the Woman's Rights Movement, and a constant

champion of Freethought. An eloquent speaker, some of her addresses

have been published. Defence of Atheism, Women's Rights and Speech

at the Hartford Bible Convention in '54. About '73 she returned to

England where she still lives. One of her last appearances at public

was at the Conference of Liberal Thinkers at South Place Chapel in

'76, where she delivered a pointed speech. Mrs. Rose has a fine face

and head, and though aged and suffering, retains the utmost interest

in the Freethought cause.

 

Roskoff (Georg Gustav), German rationalist, b. Presburg, Hungary, 30

Aug. 1814. He studied theology and philosophy at Halle, and has written

works on Hebrew Antiquity, '57. The Samson legend and Herakles myth,

'60, and a standard History of the Devil in 2 vols., Leipzig, '69.

 

Ross (William Stewart), Scotch writer, b. 20 Mar. 1844. Author of

poems and educational works, and editor of Secular Review, now The

Agnostic Journal. Wrote God and his Book, '87, and several brochures

published under the pen name of "Saladin."

 

Rosseau (Leon), French writer in the Rationalist of Geneva under the

name of L. Russelli. He published separately the Female Followers of

Jesus, founded the Horizon, contributed to la Libre Pensée, and was

editor of l'Athée. Died 1870.

 

Rossetti (Dante Gabriel), poet and painter, b. of Italian parents,

London, 12 May, 1828. Educated at King's College, he became a student

at the Royal Academy and joined the pre-Raphaelites. As a poet

artist he exhibited the richest gifts of originality, earnestness,

and splendour of expression. Died at Westgate on Sea, 9 April, 1882.

 

Rossetti (William Michael) critic and man of letters, brother of

the preceding, b. London, 25 Sep. 1829. Educated at King's College,

he became assistant secretary in the Inland Revenue Office. He has

acted as critic for many papers and edited many works, the chief being

an edition of Shelley, '70, with a memoir and numerous notes. He is

Chairman of the Committee of the Shelley Society.

 

Rossmaessler (Emil Adolf), German naturalist b. Leipsic 3 March,

1806. Studied theology, but abandoned it for science, and wrote many

scientific works of repute. In '48 he was elected to Parliament. Among

his writings are Man in the Mirror of Nature. '49-55. The History of

the Earth, '68. Died as a philosopher 8 April, 1867.

 

Roth (Julius), Dr., German author of Religion and Priestcraft, Leipzig,

1869; Jesuitism, '71.

 

Rothenbuecher (Adolph), Dr., German author of an able little Handbook

of Morals, written from the Secular standpoint, Cottbus, 1884.

 

Rotteck (Karl Wenceslaus von), German historian and statesman

b. Freiburg 18 July, 1775. Studied in his native town, where in

1798 be became Professor of History. In 1819 he represented his

University in the States of Baden, where he distinguished himself by

his liberal views. He was forbidden by government to edit any paper

and was deprived of his chair. This persecution hastened his death,

which occurred 26 Nov 1840. Rotteck's General History of the World

(9 vols., 1827) was very popular and gave one of the broadest views

of history which had then appeared.

 

Rousseau (Jean Jacques), Swiss philosopher, b. Geneva, 28 June,

1712. After a varied career he went to Paris in 1741 and supported

himself. In 1751 he obtained a prize from the academy of Dijon for

negative answer to the question "whether the re-establishment of the

arts and sciences has conduced to the purity of morals." This success

prompted further literary efforts. He published a dictionary of music,

the New Heloise (1759), a love story in the form of letters, which

had great success, and Emilius (May 1762), a moral romance, in which

he condemns other education than that of following nature. In this

work occurs his Confession of Faith of a Savoyard Vicar, discarding

the supernatural element in Christianity. The French parliament

condemned the book 9 June, 1762, and prosecuted the writer, who fled

to Switzerland. Pope Clement XVIII fulminated against Emile, and

Rousseau received so many insults on account of his principles that

he returned to Paris and on the invitation of Hume came to England

in Jan. 1766. He knew little English and soon took offence with

Hume, and asked permission to return to Paris, which he obtained on

condition of never publishing anything more. He however completed his

Confessions, of which he had previously composed the first six books

in England. Rousseau was a sincere sentimentalist, an independent

and eloquent, but not deep thinker. His captious temper spoiled his

own life, but his influence has been profound and far-reaching. Died

near Paris, 2 July, 1778.

 

Rouzade (Leonie) Madame, French Freethought lecturess. Has written

several brochures and novels, notably Le Monde Renversé, 1872,

and Ci et ca, ca et la, ideas upon moral philosophy and social

progress. Writes in Malon's Revue Socialiste, and is one of the

editors of Les Droits des Femmes.

 

Roy (Joseph), French translator of Feuerbach's Essence of Christianity,

1864, and Religion, Death, Immortality, '66. Has also translated

Marx's Capital.

 

Royer (Clemence Auguste), French authoress, b. Nantes, 24 April, 1830,

of Catholic royalist family. Visiting England in '54, she studied our

language and literature. Going to Switzerland, in '59 she opened at

Lausanne a course of logic and philosophy for women. In '60 she shared

with Proudhon in a prize competition on the subject of taxation. In

'62 she translated Darwin's Origin of Species, with a bold preface

and notes. In '64 her philosophical romance The Twins of Hellas

appeared at Brussels, and was interdicted in France. Her ablest work

is on The Origin of Man and of Societies, '69. In this she states

the scientific view of human evolution, and challenges the Christian

creed. This was followed by many memoirs, Pre-historic Funeral Rites,

'76; Two Hypotheses of Heredity, '77; The Good and the Moral Law,

'81. Mdlle. Royer has contributed to the Revue Moderne, Revue de

Philosophie, Positive, Revue d'Anthropologie, etc., and has assisted

and spoken at many political, social, and scientific meetings.

 

Rüdt (P. A.), Ph. D., German lecturer and "apostle of unbelief,"

b. Mannheim, 8 Dec. 1844. Educated at Mannheim and Carlsruhe, he

studied philosophy, philology, and jurisprudence at Heidelberg

University, '65-69. Dr. Rüdt became acquainted with Lassalle,

and started a paper, Die Waffe, and in '70 was imprisoned for

participation in social democratic agitation. From '74 to '86 he

lived in St. Petersburg as teacher, and has since devoted himself to

Freethought propaganda. Several of his addresses have been published.

 

Ruelle (Charles Claude), French writer, b. Savigny, 1810. Author of

The History of Christianity, '66, and La Schmita, '69.

 

Ruge (Arnold), German reformer, b. Bergen (Isle Rügen), 13

Sept. 1802. Studied at Halle, Jena, and Heidelberg, and as a member of

the Tugenbund was imprisoned for six years. After his liberation in

'30 he became professor at Halle, and with Echtermeyer founded the

Hallische Jahrbücher, '38, which opposed Church and State. In '48 he

started Die Reform. Elected to the Frankfort Assembly, he sat on the

Extreme Left. When compelled to fly he came to England, where he wrote

New Germany in "Cabinet of Reason" series, and translated Buckle's

History of Civilisation. He acted as visiting tutor at Brighton,

where he died 30 Dec. 1880.

 

Ruggieri (Cosmo), Florentine philosopher and astrologer, patronised

by Catherine de Medicis. He began to publish Almanachs in 1604, which

he issued annually. He died at Paris in 1615, declaring himself an

Atheist, and his corpse was in consequence denied Christian burial.

 

Rumpf (Johann Wilhelm), Swiss author of Church, Faith, and Progress,

and The Bible and Christ, a criticism (Strasburg, 1858). Edited Das

Freire Wort (Basle, '56).

 

Russell (John). See Amberley.

 

Ryall (Malthus Questell), was secretary of the Anti-Persecution Union,

1842, and assisted his friend Mr. Holyoake on The Oracle of Reason

and The Movement. Died 1846.

 

Rydberg (Abraham Viktor), Swedish man of Letters, b. Jönköping, 18

Dec. 1829. He has written many works of which we mention The Last

Athenian Roman Days, and The Magic of the Middle Ages, which have

been translated into English.

 

Rystwick (Herman van), early Dutch heretic who denied hell and

taught that the soul was not immortal, but the elements of all

matter eternal. He was sent to prison in 1499, and set at liberty

upon abjuring his opinion, but having published them a second time,

he was arrested at the Hague, and burnt to death in 1511.

 

Sabin (Ibn), Al Mursi, Spanish Arabian philosopher, b. Murcia about

1218 of noble family. About 1249 he corresponded with Frederick II.,

replying to his philosophical questions. Committed suicide about 1271.

 

Sadoc, a learned Jewish doctor in the third century B.C. He denied

the resurrection, the existence of angels, and the doctrine

of predestination, and opposed the idea of future rewards and

punishments. His followers were named after him, Sadducees.

 

Saga (Francesco) de Rovigo, Italian heretic, put to death for

Anti-Trinitarianism at Venice, 25 Feb. 1566.

 

Saigey (Emile), French inspector of telegraph wires. Wrote Modern

Physics, 1867, and The Sciences in the Eighteenth Century: Physics

of Voltaire, '74. Died 1875.

 

Saillard (F.), French author of The Revolution and the Church (Paris,

'69), and The Organisation of the Republic, '83.

 

Sainte Beuve (Charles Augustin), French critic and man of letters

b. Boulogne, 23 Dec. 1804. Educated in Paris, he studied medicine,

which he practised several years. A favorable review of V. Hugo's

Odes and Ballades gained him the intimacy of the Romantic school. As

a critic he made his mark in '28 with his Historical and Critical

Picture of French Poetry in the Sixteenth Century. His other principal

works are his History of Port Royal, '40-62; Literary Portraits,

'32-39; and Causeries du Lundi, '51-57. In '45 he was elected to the

Academy, and in '65 was made a senator. As a critic he was penetrative,

comprehensive, and impartial.

 

Saint Evremond (Charles de Marguetel de Saint Denis) seigneur de,

French man of letters, b. St. Denys-le-Guast (Normandy), 1 April,

1713. He studied law, but subsequently entered the army and became

major-general. He was confined in the Bastile for satirising Cardinal

Mazarin. In England he was well received at the court of Charles

II. He died in London, 20 Sept. 1703, and was buried in Westminster

Abbey. Asked on his death-bed if he wished to reconcile himself to God,

he replied, he desired to reconcile himself to appetite. His works,

consisting of essays, letters, poems, and dramas, were published in

3 vols. 1705.

 

Saint-Glain (Dominique de), French Spinozist, b. Limoges, about

1620. He went into Holland that he might profess the Protestant

religion more freely; was captain in the service of the States,

and assisted on the Rotterdam Gazette. Reading Spinoza, he espoused

his system, and translated the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus into

French, under the title of La Clef du Sanctuaire, 1678. This making

much noise, and being in danger of prosecution, he changed the title to

Ceremonies Superstitieuses des Juifs, and also to Reflexions Curieuses

d'un Esprit Desintéressé, 1678.

 

Saint-Hyacinthe (Themiseul de Cordonnier de), French writer,

b. Orleans, 24 Sept. 1684. Author of Philosophical Researches,

published at Rotterdam, 1743. Died near Breda (Holland), 1746. Voltaire

published his Diner Du Comte de Boulainvilliers under the name of

St. Hyacinthe.

 

Saint John (Henry). See Bolingbroke, Lord.

 

Saint Lambert (Charles, or rather Jean François de), French writer,

b. Nancy, 16 Dec. 1717. After being educated among the Jesuits he

entered the army, and was admired for his wit and gallantry. He became

a devoted adherent of Voltaire and an admirer of Madame du Chatelet. He

wrote some articles in the Encyclopédie, and many fugitive pieces and

poems in the literary journals. His poem, the Seasons, 1769 procured

him admission to the Academy. He published essays on Helvetius and

Bolingbroke, and Le Catéchisme Universel. His Philosophical Works

were published in 1801. Died Paris, 9 Feb. 1803.

 

Sale (George), English Oriental scholar, b. Kent, 1680, educated

at Canterbury. He was one of a society which undertook to publish a

Universal History, and was also one of the compilers of the General

Dictionary. His most important work was a translation of the Koran,

with a preliminary discourse and explanatory notes, 1734. He was one

of the founders of the Society for the Encouragement of Learning. Died

14 Nov. 1736.

 

Salieres (A.), contributor to l'Athée, 1870. Has written a work on

Patriotism, 1881.

 

Sallet (Friedrich von), German pantheist poet of French descent,

b. Neisse (Silesia), 20 April, 1812. An officer in the army, he was

imprisoned for writing a satire on the life of a trooper. In '34 he

attended Hegel's lectures at Berlin, and in '38 quitted the army. He

wrote a curious long poem entitled the Layman's Gospel, in which he

takes New Testament texts and expounds them pantheistically--the God

who is made flesh is replaced by the man who becomes God. Died Reichau

(Silesia), 21 Feb. 1843.

 

Salmeron y Alonso (Nicolas), Spanish statesman, b. Alhama lo Seco,

1838. Studied law, and became a Democratic journalist; a deputy to the

Cortes in 1871, and became President thereof during the Republic of

'73. He wrote a prologue to the work of Giner on Philosophy and Arts,

'78, and his own works were issued in 1881.

 

Salt (Henry Stephens), English writer, b. India, 20 Sept. 1851;

educated at Eton, where he became assistant master. A contributor

to Progress, he has written Literary Sketches, '88. A monograph on

Shelley, and a Life of James Thomson, "B.V.", 1889.

 

Saltus (Edgar Evertson), American author, b. New York 8 June

1858. Studied at Concord, Paris, Heidelberg and Munich. In '84 he

published a sketch of Balzac. Next year appeared The Philosophy of

Disenchantment, appreciative and well written views of Schopenhauer

and Hartmann. This was followed by The Anatomy of Negation, a sketchy

account of some atheists and sceptics from Kapila to Leconte de Lisle,

'86. Has also written several novels, and Eden, an episode, '89. His

brother Francis is the author of Honey and Gall, a book of poems

(Philadelphia, '73.)

 

Salverte (Anne Joseph Eusèbe Baconniere de), French philosopher,

b. Paris, 18 July, 1771. He studied among the Oratorians. Wrote Epistle

to a Reasonable Woman, an Essay on What should be Believed, 1793,

contributed to Maréchal's Dictionnaire des Athées, published an eloge

on Diderot, 1801, and many brochures, among others a tragedy on the

Death of Jesus Christ. Elected deputy in '28, he was one of the warm

partisans of liberty, and in '30, demanded that Catholicism should not

be recognised as the state religion. He is chiefly remembered by his

work on The Occult Sciences, '29, which was translated into English,

'46. To the French edition of '56 Littré wrote a Preface. He died 27

Oct. 1839. On his death bed he refused religious offices.

 

Sand (George), the pen name of Amandine Lucile Aurore Dupin, afterwards

baroness Dudnevant, French novelist, b. Paris, 1 July, 1804, and

brought up by her grandmother at the Château de Nohant. Reading

Rousseau and the philosophers divorced her from Catholicism. She

remained a Humanitarian. Married Sept. 1822, Baron Dudnevant, an

elderly man who both neglected and ill-treated her, and from whom

after some years she was glad to separate at the sacrifice of her

whole fortune. Her novels are too many to enumerate. The Revolution of

'48 drew her into politics, and she started a journal and translated

Mazzini's Republic and Royalty in Italy, Died at her Chateau of Nohant,

8 June, 1876. Her name was long obnoxious in England, where she was

thought of as an assailant of marriage and religion, but a better

appreciation of her work and genius is making way.

 

Sarcey (Franscique), French critic, b. Dourdan, 8 Oct. 1828, editor

of Le XIXe. Siècle, has written plays, novels, and many anti-clerical

articles.

 

"Sarrasi," pseudonym of A. de C....; French Orientalist b. Department

of Tarn, 1837, author of L'Orient Devoilé, '80, in which he shows

the mythical elements in Christianity.

 

Saull (William Devonshire), English geologist, b. 1783. He established

a free geological museum, contributed to the erection of the John

Street Institute, and was principally instrumental in opening the

old Hall of Science, City Road. He wrote on the connection between

astronomy, geology, etc. He died 26 April, 1855, and is buried in

Kensal Green, near his friends, Allen Davenport and Henry Hetherington.

 

Saunderson (Nicholas), English mathematician b. Thurleston (Yorkshire),

2 Jan. 1682. He lost both his eyes and his sight by small pox when

but a year old, yet he became conversant with Euclid, Archimedes,

and Diophantus, when read to him in Greek. He lectured at Cambridge

University, explaining Newton's Mathematical Principles of Natural

Philosophy, and even his works on light and color. It was said,

"They have turned out Whiston for believing in but one God, and put

in Saunderson, who believes in no God at all." Saunderson said that

to believe in God he must first touch him. Died 19 April, 1739.

 

Sauvestre (Charles), French journalist, b. Mans. 1818, one of

the editors of L'Opinion Nationale. Has written on The Clergy and

Education ('61), Monita Secreta Societatis Jesu; Secret Instructions

of the Jesuits ('65), On the Knees of the Church ('68), Religious

Congregations Unveiled ('70), and other anti-clerical works. He died

at Paris in 1883.

 

Saville (Sir George), Marquis of Halifax, English statesman,

b. Yorkshire, 1630. He became President of the Council in the reign

of James II., but was dismissed for opposing the repeal of the Test

Acts. He wrote several pieces and memoirs. Burnet gives a curious

account of his opinions, which he probably tones down.

 

Sawtelle (C. M.), American author of Reflections on the Science of

Ignorance, or the art of teaching others what you don't know yourself,

Salem, Oregon, 1868.

 

Sbarbaro (Pietro), Italian publicist and reformer, b. Savona, 1838;

studied jurisprudence. He published a work on The Philosophy of

Research, '66. In '70 he dedicated to Mauro Macchi a book on The Task

of the Nineteenth Century, and presided at a congress of Freethinkers

held at Loreto. Has written popular works on the Conditions of Human

Progress, the Ideal of Democracy, and an essay entitled From Socino

to Mazzini, '86.

 

Schade (Georg), German Deist, b. Apenrade, 1712. He believed in the

immortality of brutes. In 1770 he was imprisoned for his opinions

on the Isle of Christiansoe. He settled at Kiel, Holstein, in 1775,

where he died in 1795.

 

Scherer (Edmond), French critic and publicist, b. Paris 8 April,

1815. Of Protestant family, he became professor of exegesis at Geneva,

but his views becoming too free, he resigned his chair and went to

Strasburg, where he became chief of the School of Liberal Protestants,

and in the Revue de Théologie et de Philosophie Chrétienne, '50-60,

put forward views which drew down a tempest from the orthodox. He also

wrote in the Bibliotheque Universelle and Revue des Deux-Mondes. Some

of his articles have been collected as Mélanges de Critique Religieuse,

'60; and Mélanges d'Histoire Religieuse, '64. He was elected deputy in

'71, and sat with the Republicans of the Left. Died 1889.

 

Scherr (Johannes), German author, b. Hohenrechberg, 3

Oct. 1817. Educated at Zürich and Tübingen, he wrote in '43 with his

brother Thomas a Popular History of Religious and Philosophical Ideas,

and in '57 a History of Religion, in three parts. In '60 he became

Professor of History and Literature at Zürich, and has written many

able literary studies, including histories of German and English

literature. Died at Zürich, 21 Nov. 1887.

 

Schiff (Johan Moriz), German physiologist, b. Frankfort, 1823. Educated

at Berlin and Gottingen, he became Professor of Comparative Anatomy at

Berne, '54-63; of Physiology at Florence, '63-76, and at Genoa. Has

written many physiological treatises, which have been attacked as

materialistic.

 

Schiller (Johann Christoph Friedrich von), eminent German poet and

historian, b. Marbech, 10 Nov. 1759. His mother wished him to become a

minister, but his tastes led him in a different direction. A friend of

Goethe, he enriched German literature with numerous plays and poems,

a History of the Netherlands Revolt, and of the Thirty Years' War. He

died in the prime of mental life at Weimar, 9 May, 1805.

 

Schmidt (Eduard Oskar), German zoologist, b. Torgau, 21 Feb. 1823. He

travelled widely, and became professor of natural history at

Jena. Among the first of Germans to accept Darwinism, he has

illustrated its application in many directions, and published an able

work on The Doctrine of Descent and Darwinism in the "International

Scientific Series." Died at Strasburg, 17 Jan. 1886.

 

Schmidt (Kaspar), German philosopher, b. Bayreuth,

25 Oct. 1806. Studied at Berlin, Erlangen, and Königsberg, first

theology, then philosophy. Under the pseudonym of "Max Stirner"

he wrote a system of individualism The Only One, and His Possession

(Der Einzige und sein Eigenthum), '45. He also wrote a History of

Reaction in two parts (Berlin, '52), and translated Smith's Wealth

of Nations and Say's Text-book of Political Economy. Died at Berlin,

25 June, 1856.

 

Schneeberger (F. J.), Austrian writer, b. Vienna, 7 Sept, 1827. Has

written some popular novels under the name of "Arthur Storch," and

was one of the founders of the German Freethinkers' Union.

 

Schoelcher ( Victor), French philosophist, b. Paris, 21 July

1804. While still young he joined the secret society Aide-toi, le ciel

t'aidera, and studied social questions. He devoted himself from about

'26 to advocating the abolition of slavery, and wrote many works

on the subject. On 3 March, '48, he was made Under Secretary of the

Navy, and caused a decree to be issued by the Provisional Government

enfranchising all slaves on French territory. He was elected Deputy for

Martinique '48 and '49. After 2 Dec. '51, he came to London, where he

wrote occasionally in the Reasoner and National Reformer. He returned

to France during the war, and took part in the defence of Paris. In

'71 he was again returned for Martinique, and in '75 he was elected

a life senator.

 

Scholl (Aurélien), French journalist, b. Bordeaux, 14 July, 1833. He

began life as a writer on the Corsaire, founded Satan, Le Nain Jaune,

etc., and writes on l'Evénement. Has written several novels, and le

Procès de Jésus Christ, '77.

 

Scholl (Karl), German writer and preacher to the Free religious bodies

of Mannheim and Heidelberg, b. Karlsruhe, 17 Aug. 1820. He became

a minister '44, but was suspended for his free opinions in '45. His

first important work was on the Messiah Legend of the East (Hamburg,

'52), and in '61 he published a volume on Free Speech, a collection

of extracts from French, English, and American Freethinkers. In '70

he started a monthly journal of the Religion of Humanity, Es Werde

Licht! which continued for many years. Has published many discourses,

and written Truth from Ruins, '73, and on Judaism and the Religion

of Humanity, '79.

 

Schopenhauer (Arthur), German pessimist philosopher, b. Danzig,

22 Feb. 1788. The son of a wealthy and well-educated merchant and a

vivacious lady, he was educated in French and English, and studied

at Göttingen science, history, and the religions and philosophies of

the East. After two visits to Italy, and an unsuccessful attempt to

obtain pupils at Berlin, he took up his abode at Frankfort. In 1815

he wrote his chief work, The World as Will and Idea, translated into

English in '83. His philosophy is expressed in the title, will is

the one reality, all else appearance. He also wrote The Two Ground

Problems of Ethics, '61, On the Freedom of Will, and a collection

of essays entitled Parega and Paralipomena ('51). Died at Frankfort,

21 Sept. 1860. Schopenhauer was a pronounced Atheist, and an enemy of

every form of superstition. He said that religions are like glow-worms;

they require darkness to shine in.

 

Schroeter (Eduard), German American writer, b. Hannover, 4 June,

1810, studied theology at Jena; entered the Free-religious communion

in '45. In '50, he went to America, living since '53 in Sauk City,

and frequently lecturing there. In '81, he attended the International

Conference of Freethinkers at Brussels. He was a constant contributor

to the Freidenker, of Milwaukee, until his death 2 April, 1888.

 

Schroot (A.), German author of Visions and Ideas (Berlin, 1865),

Natural Law and Human Will; Creation and Man, and Science and Life

(Hamburg, 1873).

 

Schuenemann Pott (Friedrich), German American, b. Hamburg, 3 April,

1826. He joined the "Freie Gemeinde," and was expelled from Prussia

in '48. After the Revolution he returned to Berlin and took part

in democratic agitation, for which he was tried for high treason,

but acquitted. In '54 he removed to America, where he made lecturing

tours over the States settling at San Francisco.

 

Schultze (Karl August Julius Fritz), German writer, b. Celle, 7 May,

1846, studied at Jena, Göttingen and Münich, has written an able study

on Fetishism, Leipzig '71, a pamphlet on Religion in German Schools,

'72, a History of the Philosophy of the Renaissance, '74, and Kant

and Darwin, '75. In '76, he was appointed Professor of Philosophy in

Jena, since which he has written The Elements of Materialism, '80,

Philosophy of the Natural Sciences, 2 vols. '81-82, and Elements of

Spiritualism, 1883.

 

Schumann (Robert Alexander), German musical composer, b. Nekau, 8

July, 1810. He studied law at Leipsic, but forsook it for music. He

started a musical journal '34, which he edited for some years. His

lyrical compositions are unsurpassed, and he also composed a "profane"

oratorio, Paradise and the Peri ('40). His character and opinions

are illustrated by his Letters. Died 29 July, 1856.

 

Schweichel (Georg Julius Robert), German writer, b. Königsberg, 12

July, 1821. He studied jurisprudence, but took to literature. Taking

part in the events of '48, after the reaction he went to

Switzerland. Has written several novels dealing with Swiss life,

also a Life of Auerbach. He wrote the preface to Dulk's Irrgang des

Leben's Jesu, 1884.

 

Schweitzer (Jean Baptista von), German Socialist poet, b. Frankfort,

12 July, 1833. He studied law in Berlin and Heidelberg; became after

Lassalle's death president of the German Workmen's Union, and was

sent to Parliament in '67. He wrote the Zeitgeist and Christianity,

'62, The Darwinians, '75, and several other works. Died 28 July, 1875.

 

Scot (Reginald), English rationalist, author of The Discoverie of

Witchcraft, 1584, the first English work to question the existence of

witches. It was burnt by order of King James I, and was republished

in 1886. Scot died in 1599.

 

Scott (Thomas), English scholar, b. 28 April 1808. In early life he

travelled widely, lived with Indians and had been page to Chas. X,

of France. Having investigated Christianity, he in later life devoted

himself to Freethought propaganda by sending scholarly pamphlets among

the clergy and cultured classes. From '62-77, he issued from Mount

Pleasant, Ramsgate, over a hundred different pamphlets by Bp. Hinds,

F. W. Newman, Kalisch, Lestrange, Willis, Strange, etc., most of which

were given away. He issued a challenge to the Christian Evidence

Society, and wrote with Sir G. W. Cox, The English Life of Jesus

'71. Altogether his publications extend to twenty volumes. Little

known outside his own circle, Thomas Scott did a work which should

secure him lasting honor. Died at Norwood, 30 Dec. 1878.

 

Seaver (Horace Holley), American journalist, b. Boston, 25

Aug. 1810. In '37 he became a compositor on the Boston Investigator,

and during Kneeland's imprisonment took the editorship, which

he continued for upwards of fifty years during which he battled

strenuously for Freethought in America. His articles were always

very plain and to the point. A selection of them has been published

with the title Occasional Thoughts (Boston, '88). With Mr. Mendum, he

helped the erection of the Paine Memorial Hall, and won the esteem of

all Freethinkers in America. Died, 21 Aug. 1889. His funeral oration

was delivered by Colonel Ingersoll.

 

Sebille (Adolphe), French writer, who, under the pseudonym

of "Dr. Fabricus," published God, Man, and his latter end, a

medico-psychological study, 1868, and Letters from a Materialist to

Mgr. Dupanloup, 1868-9.

 

Sechenov or Setchenoff (Ivan), Russian philosopher, who, in 1863,

published Psychological Studies, explaining the mind by physiology. The

work made a great impression in Russia, and has been translated into

French by Victor Derély, and published in '84 with an introduction

by M. G. Wyrouboff.

 

Secondat (Charles de). See Montesquieu.

 

Seeley (John Robert), English historian and man of letters, b. London,

1834, educated at City of London School and Cambridge, where he

graduated in '57. In '63, he was appointed Professor of Latin in

London University. In '66, appeared his Ecce Homo, a survey of the

Life and Work of Jesus Christ, published anonymously, and which Lord

Shaftesbury denounced in unmeasured terms as vomitted from the pit of

hell. In '69, he became professor of modern history at Cambridge, and

has since written some important historical works as well as Natural

Religion ('82). Prof. Seeley is president of the Ethical Society.

 

Segond (Louis August), French physician and Positivist, author of

a plan of a positivist school to regenerate medicine, 1849, and of

several medical works.

 

Seidel (Martin), Silesian Deist, of Olhau, lived at the end of the

sixteenth century. He held that Jesus was not the predicted Messiah,

and endeavored to propagate his opinion among the Polish Socinians. He

wrote three Letters on the Messiah, The Foundations of the Christian

Religion, in which he considered the quotation from the Old Testament

in the new, and pointed out the errors of the latter.

 

Sellon (Edward), English archæologist, author of The Monolithic

Temples of India; Annotations on the Sacred Writings of the Hindus,

1865, and other scarce works, privately printed.

 

Semerie (Eugène), French Positivist, b. Aix, 6 Jan. 1832. Becoming

physician at Charenton, he studied mental maladies, and in '67

published a work on Intellectual Symptoms of Madness, in which

he maintained that the disordered mind went back from Positivism

to metaphysics, theology, and then to fetishism. This work was

denounced by the Bishop of Orleans. Dr. Semerie wrote A Simple Reply

to M. Dupanloup, '68. During the sieges of Paris he acted as surgeon

and director of the ambulance. A friend of Pierre Lafitte, he edited

the Politique Positive, and wrote Positivists and Catholics, '73,

and The Law of the Three States, '75. Died at Grasse, May, 1884.

 

Semler (Johann Salomo), German critic, b. Saalfeld, 18 Dec. 1725. He

was professor of theology at Halle and founder of historical Biblical

criticism there. He translated Simon's Critical History of the New

Testament, and by asserting the right of free discussion drew down

the wrath of the orthodox. Died at Halle, 4 March, 1791.

 

Serafini (Maria Alimonda), Italian authoress of a Catechism for

Female Freethinkers (Geneva, 1869), and a work on Marriage and Divorce

(Salerno, '73).

 

Serveto y Reves (Miguel), better known as Michael Servetus, Spanish

martyr, b. Villanova (Aragon), 1509. Intended for the Church, he

left it for law, which he studied at Toulouse. He afterward studied

medicine at Paris, and corresponded with Calvin on the subject

of the Trinity, against which he wrote De Trinitatis Erroribus

and Christianismi Restitutio, which excited the hatred of both

Catholics and Protestants. To Calvin Servetus sent a copy of his

last work. Calvin, through one Trie, denounced him to the Catholic

authorities at Lyons. He was imprisoned, but escaped, and to get to

Naples passed through Geneva, where he was seized at the instance of

Calvin, tried for blasphemy and heresy, and burnt alive at a slow fire,

26 Oct. 1553.

 

Seume (Johann Gottfried), German poet, b. near Weissenfels, 29

Jan. 1763. He was sent to Leipsic, and intended for a theologian,

but the dogmas disgusted him, and he left for Paris. He lived an

adventurous life, travelled extensively, and wrote Promenade to

Syracuse, 1802, and other works. Died at Teplitz, 13 June, 1810.

 

Sextus Empiricus, Greek sceptical philosopher and physician, who

probably lived early in the third century of the Christian era. He

left two works, one a summary of the doctrines of the sceptics in

three books; the other an attack on all positive philosophy.

 

Shadwell (Thomas), English dramatist, b. Straton Hall, Norfolk,

1640. Although damned by Dryden in his Mac Flecknoe, Shadwell's plays

are not without merit, and illustrate the days of Charles II. Died

6 Dec. 1692.

 

Shaftesbury (Anthony Ashley Cooper), third Earl, b. London, 26

Feb. 1671. Educated by Locke, in 1693 he was elected M.P. for Poole,

and proposed granting counsel to prisoners in case of treason. His

health suffering, he resigned and went to Holland, where he made the

acquaintance of Bayle. The excitement induced by the French Prophets

occasioned his Letters upon Enthusiasm, 1708. This was followed,

by his Moralists and Sensus Communis. In 1711 he removed to Naples,

where he died 4 Feb. 1713. His collected works were published under

the title of Characteristics, 1732. They went through several editions,

and did much to raise the character of English Deism.

 

Shakespeare (William). The greatest of all dramatists,

b. Stratford-on-Avon, 23 April, 1564. The materials for writing his

life are slender. He married in his 19th year, went to London, where he

became an actor and produced his marvellous plays, the eternal honor

of English literature. Shakespeare gained wealth and reputation and

retired to his native town, where he died April 23, 1616. His dramas

warrant the inference that he was a Freethinker. Prof. J. R. Green

says, "Often as his questionings turned to the riddle of life

and death, and leaves it a riddle to the last without heeding the

common theological solutions around him." His comprehensive mind

disdained endorsement of religious dogmas and his wit delighted in

what the Puritans call profanity. Mr. Birch in his Inquiry into the

Philosophy and Religion of Shakespeare, sustains the position that

he was an Atheist.

 

Shaw (James Dickson), American writer, b. Texas, 27 Dec. 1841. Brought

up on a cattle farm, at the Civil War he joined the Southern Army,

took part in some battles, and was wounded. He afterwards entered the

Methodist Episcopal ministry, '70; studied biblical criticism to answer

sceptics, and his own faith gave way. He left the Church in March,

'83, and started the Independent Pulpit at Waco, Texas, in which he

publishes bold Freethought articles. He rejects all supernaturalism,

and has written The Bible, What Is It?, Studies in Theology, The

Bible Against Itself, etc.

 

Shelley (Percy Bysshe), English poet, b. Field Place (Sussex), 4

Aug. 1792. From Eton, where he refused to fag, he went to Oxford. Here

he published a pamphlet on the necessity of Atheism, for which he

was expelled from the University. His father, Sir Timothy Shelley,

also forbade him his house. He went to London, wrote Queen Mab, and

met Miss Westbrook, whom, in 1811, he married. After two children

had been born, they separated. In '16 Shelley learned that his wife

had drowned herself. He now claimed the custody of his children,

but, in March, '17, Lord Eldon decided against him, largely on

account of his opinions. Shelley had previously written A Letter

to Lord Ellenborough, indignantly attacking the sentence the judge

passed on D. I. Eaton for publishing Paine's Age of Reason. On 30

Dec. '16, Shelley married Mary, daughter of William Godwin and Mary

Wollstonecraft. In '18, fearing their son might also be taken from him,

he left England never to return. He went to Italy, where he met Byron,

composed The Cenci, the Witch of Atlas, Prometheus Unbound, Adonais,

Epipsychidion, Hellas, and many minor poems of exquisite beauty,

the glory of our literature. He was drowned in the Bay of Spezzia,

8 July, 1822. Shelley never wavered in his Freethought. Trelawny,

who knew him well, says he was an Atheist to the last.

 

Siciliani (Pietro), Professor in the University of Bologna b. Galatina,

19 Sep. 1835, author of works on Positive Philosophy, Socialism,

Darwinism, and Modern Sociology, '79; and Modern Psychogeny, with a

preface by J. Soury, '82. Died 28 Dec. '85.

 

Sidney (Algernon), English Republican, and second son of Robert, Earl

of Leicester, b. 1617. He became a colonel in the Army of Parliament,

and a member of the House of Commons. On the Restoration he remained

abroad till 1677, but being implicated in the Rye House Plot, was

condemned by Judge Jeffreys to be executed on Tower Hill, 7 Dec. 1678.

 

Sierebois (P.). See Boissière.

 

Siffle (Alexander François), Dutch writer, b. Middleburg, 11 May,

1801. Studied law at Leyden, and became notary at Middleburg. He

wrote several poems and works of literary value, and contributed

to de Dageraad. He was a man of wide reading. Died at Middleburg,

7 Oct. 1872.

 

Sigward (M.), b. St. Leger-sur-Dhume, France, 15 April, 1817. An

active French democrat and Freethinker, and compiler of a Republican

calendar. He took part in the International Congress at Paris '89,

and is one of the editors of Le Danton.

 

Simcox (Edith), author of Natural Law in the English and Foreign

Philosophical Library; also wrote on the Design Argument in the

Fortnightly Review, 1872, under the signature "H. Lawrenny."

 

Simon de Tournai, a Professor at Paris University early in the XIIIth

century. He said that "Three seducers," Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad,

"have mystified mankind with their doctrines." He was said to have

been punished by God for his impiety.

 

Simon (Richard), learned French theological critic, b. Dieppe, 15 May,

1638. Brought up by the Congregation of the Oratory, he distinguished

himself by bold erudition. His Critical History of the Old Testament,

1678, was suppressed by Parliament. He followed it with a Critical

History of the New Testament, which was also condemned. Died at Dieppe,

11 April, 1712.

 

Simonis.--A physician, b. at Lucques and persecuted in Poland for

his opinions given in an Atheistic work, entitled Simonis Religio,

published at Cracow, 1588.

 

Simpson (George), of the Glasgow Zetetic Society, who in 1838 put

forward a Refutation of the Argument a priori for the being and

attributes of God, in reply to Clarke and Gillespie. He used the

signature "Antitheos." Died about 1844.

 

Sjoberg (Walter), b. 24 May, 1865, at Borgo (Finland), lives near

Helsingfors, and took part in founding the Utilistiska Samfundet

there. During the imprisonment of Mr. Lennstrand he gave bold lectures

at Stockholm.

 

Skinner (William), of Kirkcaldy, Deist, author of Thoughts on

Superstition or an attempt to Discover Truth (Cupar, 1822), was

credited also with Jehovah Unveiled or the God of the Jews, published

by Carlile in 1819.

 

Slater (Thomas), English lecturer, b. 15 Sept. 1820. Has for many

years been an advocate of Secularism and Co-operation. He was on the

Town Council of Bury, and now resides at Leicester.

 

Slenker (Elmina), née Drake, American reformer, b. of Quaker parents,

23 Dec. 1827. At fourteen, she began notes for her work, Studying

the Bible, afterwards published at Boston, '70; she conducts the

Children's Corner in the Boston Investigator, and has contributed

to most of the American Freethought papers. Has written John's Way

('78), Mary Jones, The Infidel Teacher ('85), The Darwins ('79),

Freethought stories. Resides at Snowville, Virginia.

 

Smith (Geritt), American reformer, b. Utica (N.Y.), 6 March, 1799,

graduated at Hamilton's College. He was elected to Congress in 1850,

but only served one Session. Though of a wealthy slaveholding family,

he largely devoted his fortune to the Anti-Slavery cause. In religion,

originally a Presbyterian, he came to give up all dogmas, and wrote

The Religion of Reason, '64, and Nature the base of a Free Theology,

'67. Died, New York, 28 Dec. 1874.

 

Snoilsky (Karl Johan Gustav), Count, Swedish poet, b. Stockholm,

8 Sept. 1841. Studied at Upsala, '60. Displays his Freethought in

his poems published under the name of "Sventröst."

 

Socinus [Ital. Sozzini] (Fausto), anti-trinitarian, b. Siena, 5

Dec. 1539. He adopted the views of his uncle, Laelio, (1525-1562),

and taught them with more boldness. In 1574 he went to Switzerland,

and afterwards to Poland, where he made many converts, and died 3

March, 1604.

 

Sohlman (Per August Ferdinand), Swedish publicist, b. Nerika, 1824. He

edited the Aftonbladet, of Stockholm, from '57, and was a distinguished

Liberal politician. Died at Stockholm, 1874.

 

Somerby (Charles Pomeroy), American publisher, b. 1843. Has issued

many important Freethought works, and is business manager of the

Truthseeker.

 

Somerset (Edward Adolphus Saint Maur), 12th Duke of, b. 20

Dec. 1804. Educated at Eton and Oxford. He married a daughter of

Thomas Sheridan. Sat as M.P. for Totnes, '34-35, and was Lord of the

Treasury, '35-39, and First Lord of the Admiralty, '59-66. In '72 he

startled the aristocratic world by a trenchant attack on orthodoxy

entitled Christian Theology and Modern Scepticism. He also wrote on

mathematics and on Monarchy and Democracy. Died 28 Nov. 1885.

 

Soury (Auguste Jules), French philosopher, b. Paris, 1842. In '65 he

became librarian at the Bibliothèque Nationale. He has contributed

to the Revue des Deux Mondes, Revue Nouvelle, and other journals,

and has published important works on The Bible and Archæology, '72;

Historical Studies on Religions, '77; Essays of Religious Criticism,

'78; Jesus and the Gospels, '78, a work in which he maintains that

Jesus suffered from cerebral affection, and which has been translated

into English, together with an essay on The Religion of Israel from

his Historical Studies. Studies of Psychology, '79, indicated a new

direction in M. Soury's Freethought. He has since written A Breviary

of the History of Materialism, '80; Naturalist Theories of the World

and of Life in Antiquity, '81; Natural Philosophy, '82; Contemporary

Psychological Doctrines, '83. He has translated Noeldeke's Literary

History of the Old Testament, 73; Haeckel's Proofs of Evolution,

'79; and Preyer's Elements of General Physiology, '84.

 

Southwell (Charles), English orator, b. London, 1814. He served

with the British Legion in Spain, and became an actor and social

missionary. In Nov. '41 he started The Oracle of Reason at Bristol,

for an article in which on "The Jew Book" he was tried for blasphemy

14 Jan. '42, and after an able defence sentenced to twelve months'

imprisonment, and a fine of one hundred pounds. After coming out he

edited the Lancashire Beacon. He also lectured and debated both in

England and Scotland; wrote Christianity Proved Idolatry, '44; Apology

for Atheism, '46; Difficulties of Christianity, '48; Superstition

Unveiled; The Impossibility of Atheism which he held on the ground

that Theism was unproved, and Another Fourpenny Wilderness, in answer

to G. J. Holyoake's criticism of the same. He also wrote about '45,

Confessions of a Freethinker, an account of his own life. In '56 he

went to New Zealand, and died at Auckland 7 Aug. 1860.

 

Souverain (N.), French author of Platonism Unveiled 1700, a posthumous

work. He had been a minister in Poitou and was deposed on account of

his opinions.

 

Sozzini. See Socinus.

 

Spaink (Pierre François), Dutch physician, b. Amsterdam, 13 Dec. 1862,

and studied at the city, wrote for a time on De Dageraad, with the pen

names "A. Th. Eist." and "F.R.S." Has translated Romanes' Scientific

Evidences of Organic Evolution.

 

Spaventa (Bertrando), Italian philosopher, b. 1817. Since '61 he

has been professor of philosophy at Naples. Has written upon the

Philosophy of Kant, Gioberti, Spinoza, Hegel, etc. Died 1888.

 

Specht (Karl August), Dr. German writer, b. Lhweina, 2 July,

1845. Has been for many years editor of Menschenthum at Gotha, and

has written on Brain and Soul, Theology and Science and a Popular

History of the World's Development, which has gone through several

editions. Dr. Specht is a leading member of the German Freethinkers'

Union.

 

Spencer (Herbert), English philosopher, b. Derby, 1820. He was

articled to a civil engineer, but drifted into literature. He

wrote in the Westminster Review, and at the house of Dr. Chapman

met Mill, Lewes and "George Eliot." His first important work was

Social Statistics, '51. Four years later appeared his Principles of

Psychology, which with First Principles, '62; Principles of Biology,

'64; Principles of Sociology, '76-85, and Data of Ethics, '79, form

part of his "Synthetic Philosophy" in which he applies the doctrines

of evolution to the phenomena of mind and society no less than to

animal life. He has also published Essays, 3 vols, '58-74; a work on

Education '61; Recent Discussions on Science, Philosophy and Morals,

'71; The Study of Sociology, '72; Descriptive Sociology, '72-86,

an immense work compiled under his direction. Also papers directed

against Socialism; The Coming Slavery, '84; and Man and the State,

'85, and has contributed many articles to the best reviews.

 

Spinoza (Baruch), Pantheistic philosopher, b. of Jewish parents,

Amsterdam, 24 Nov. 1632. He early engaged in the study of theology and

philosophy, and, making no secret of his doubts, was excommunicated

by the Synagogue, 27 July, 1656. About the same time he narrowly

escaped death by a fanatic's dagger. To avoid persecution, he retired

to Rhinsburg, and devoted himself to philosophy, earning his living by

polishing lenses. About 1670 he settled at the Hague, where he remained

until his death. In 1670 he issued his Tractatus Theologico-politicus,

which made a great outcry; and for more than a century this great

thinker, whose life was gentle and self-denying, was stigmatized as

an atheist, a monster, and a blasphemer. A re-action followed, with

Lessing and Goethe, upon whom he had great influence. Though formerly

stigmatized as an atheist, Spinoza is now generally recognised as

among the greatest philosophers. He died in poverty at the Hague,

21 Feb. 1677. His Ethics was published with his Opera Posthuma. The

bi-centenary of his death was celebrated there by an eloquent address

from M. Rénan.

 

Spooner (Lysander), American writer, b. Athol (Mass.), 19

Jan. 1808. His first pamphlet was A Deist's Reply to the alleged

Supernatural Evidences of Christianity. He started letter-carrying from

Boston to New York, but was overwhelmed with prosecutions. He published

many works against slavery, and in favor of Individualism. Died at

Boston, 14 May, 1887.

 

Stabili (Francesco), see Cecco' d'Ascoli.

 

Stamm (August Theodor), German Humanist, wrote The Religion of Action,

translated into English, 1860. After the events of '48, he came to

England, went to America, Aug. '54.

 

Standring (George), English lecturer and writer, b. 18 Oct. 1855,

was for some years chorister at a Ritualistic Church, but discarded

theology after independent inquiry in '73. He became hon. sec. of the

National Secular Society about '75, resigning on appointment of paid

sec., was auditor and subsequently vice-president. Started Republican

Chronicle, April, 1875, this was afterwards called The Republican, and

in Sept. '88 The Radical. He is sec. of the London Secular Federation,

and has contributed to the National Reformer, Freethinker, Progress,

Our Corner, Reynolds's and Pall Mall Gazette. His brother, Sam.,

b. 27 July, 1853, is also an active Freethinker.

 

Stanley (F. Lloyd), American author of An Outline of the Future

Religion of the World (New York and London, 1884), a Deistic work in

which he criticises preceding religions.

 

Stanton (Elizabeth, née Cady), American reformer, b. Johnstone, New

York, 12 Nov. 1815. A friend of Ernestine Rose and Lucretia Mott, she

was associated with them in the Anti-Slavery and the Woman's Rights

crusades, of which last the first convention was held at her home in

Seneca Falls, July '48. She edited with her friends, Susan Anthony

and Parker Pilsbury, The Revolution, and is joint author of History

of Woman's Suffrage ('80-86). She has written in the North American

Review notably on "Has Christianity Benefited Woman," May, 1885.

 

Stap (A.), author of Historic Studies on the origins of

Christianity. Bruxelles, 1864, and The Immaculate Conception, 1869.

 

Starcke (Carl Nicolay), Dr. and teacher of philosophy in the

University of Copenhagen, b. 29 March, 1858. A decided disciple

of Feuerbach on whom he published a dissertation in '83. This able

Monograph on the whole doctrine of the German philosopher was in '85,

published in a German edition. Prof. Starcke has since published in

the "International Scientific Series," a work on The Primitive Family,

in which he critically surveys the views of Lubbock, Maine, McLennan,

etc. He is now engaged on a work on Ethics based on the doctrines of

Ludwig Feuerbach.

 

Stecchetti (Lorenzo). See Guerrini (O.)

 

Stefanoni (Luigi). Italian writer and publicist, b. Milan, 1842. In

'59, his first Romance, The Spanish in Italy was suppressed by

the Austrians. He joined Garibaldi's volunteers and contributed

to Unita Italiana. In '66, he founded at Milan the Society of

Freethinkers and the organ Il Libero Pensiero, in which he wrote A

critical History of Superstition, afterwards published separately

2 vols. '69. He also compiled a Philosophical Dictionary, '73-75;

and wrote several romances as L'Inferno, The Red and Black of Rome,

etc. He translated Büchner's Force and Matter, Morin's Jesus réduit,

La Mettrie's Man-machine, Letourneau's Physiology of the Passions,

and Feuerbach's Essence of Religion.

 

Steinbart (Gotthelf, Samuel), German rationalist, b. Züllichau, 21

Sept. 1738. Brought up in a pietist school, he became a Freethinker

through reading Voltaire. In '74, he became Prof. of Philosophy

at Frankfurt-on-the-Oder, and wrote a System of Pure Philosophy,

'78. Died, 3 Feb. 1809.

 

Steinthal (Hajjim), German philologist, b. Gröbzig, 16 May, 1823,

has written many works on language and mythology.

 

Steller (Johann), Advocate at Leipsic, published an heretical work,

Pilatus liberatoris Jesu subsidio defensus, Dresden, 1674.

 

"Stendhal (M. de)," Pseud, see Beyle (M. H.)

 

Stephen (Sir James FitzJames), English judge and writer, b. London, 3

March, 1829. Studied at Cambridge, graduated B.A. '52, and was called

to the bar in '54. He was counsel for the Rev. Rowland Williams when

tried for heresy for writing in Essays and Reviews, and his speech

was reprinted in '62. He wrote in the Saturday Review, and reprinted

Essays by a Barrister. From Dec. '69, to April, '72, he was Legal

Member of the Indian Council, and in '79 was appointed judge. He is

author of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity, '73, and some valuable

legal works. He has written much in the Nineteenth Century, notably

on the Blasphemy Law '83, and Modern Catholicism, Oct. '87.

 

Stephen (Leslie), English man of letters, brother of preceding,

b. London, 28 Nov. 1832. Educated at Cambridge where he graduated M.A.,

'57. He married a daughter of Thackeray, and became editor of the

Cornhill Magazine from '71-82, when he resigned to edit the Dictionary

of National Biography. Mr. Stephen also contributed to Macmillan, the

Fortnightly, and other reviews. Some of his boldest writing is found

in Essays on Freethinking and Plainspeaking, '73. He has also written

an important History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century,

'76, dealing with the Deistic movement, and The Science of Ethics,

'82, besides many literary works.

 

Stern (J)., Rabbiner, German writer, b. of Jewish parents,

Liederstetten (Wurtemburg), his father being Rabbi of the town. In

'58 he went to the Talmud High School, Presburg and studied the

Kabbalah, which he intended to translate into German. To do this he

studied Spinoza, whose philosophy converted him. In '63 he graduated at

Stuttgart. He founded a society, to which he gave discourses collected

in his first book, Gottesflamme, '72. His Old and New Faith Among the

Jews, '78, was much attacked by the orthodox Jews. In Women in the

Talmud, '79, he pleaded for mixed marriages. He has also written Jesus

as a Jewish Reformer, The Egyptian Religion and Positivism, and Is the

Pentateuch by Moses? In '81 he went to live at Stuttgart, where he has

translated Spinoza's Ethics, and is engaged on a history of Spinozism.

 

"Sterne (Carus)"; pseud. See Krause (E).

 

Stevens (E. A.), of Chicago, late secretary of American Secular Union,

b. 8 June, 1846. Author of God in the State, and contributor to the

American Freethought journals.

 

Stewart (John), commonly called Walking Stewart, b. London before

1750. Was sent out in 1763 as a writer to Madras. He walked through

India, Africa, and America. He was a Materialist. Died in London,

20 Feb. 1822.

 

"Stirner (Max)." See Schmidt (Kaspar).

 

Stosch (Friedrich Wilhelm), called also Stoss (Johann Friedrich),

b. Berlin, 1646, and studied at Frankfort-on-the-Oder. In 1692 he

published a little book, Concordia rationis et fidei, Amst. [or rather

Berlin]. It was rigorously suppressed, and the possession of the work

was threatened with a penalty of five hundred thalers. Lange classes

him with German Spinozists, and says "Stosch curtly denies not only

the immateriality, but also the immortality of the soul." Died 1704.

 

Stout (Sir Robert), New Zealand statesman, b. Lerwick (Shetland Isles),

1845. He became a pupil teacher, and in '63 left for New Zealand. In

'67 he began the study of the law, was elected to the General Assembly

in '75, and became Attorney-General in March, '78. He has since been

Minister of Education of the Colony.

 

Strange (Thomas Lumsden), late Madras Civil Service, and for many

years a judge of the High Court, Madras. A highly religious man, and

long an Evangelical Christian, he joined the Plymouth Brethren, and

ended in being a strong, and then weak Theist, and always an earnest

advocate of practical piety in life and conduct, and a diligent

student and writer. When judge, he sentenced a Brahmin to death,

and sought to bring the prisoner "to Jesus." He professed himself

influenced, but at the gallows "he proclaimed his trust to be in

Rama and not in Christ." This set the judge thinking. He investigated

Christianity's claims, and has embodied the result in his works. The

Bible, Is it the Word of God? '71; The Speaker's Commentary Reviewed,

'71; The Development of Creation on the Earth, '74; The Legends of the

Old Testament, '74; and The Sources and Development of Christianity,

'75. A friend of T. Scott and General Forlong, he died at Norwood,

4 Sept. 1884.

 

Strauss (David Friedrich), German critic, b. Ludwigsburg (Wurtemburg),

27 Jan. 1808. He studied Theology at Tübengen, was ordained in '30, and

in '32 became assistant-teacher. His Life of Jesus Critically Treated,

'35, in which he shows the mythical character of the Gospels, aroused

much controversy, and he was deprived of his position. In '39 the

Zürich Government appointed him professor of church history, but they

were obliged to repeal their decision before the storm of Christian

indignation. His next important work was on the Christian Doctrines

(2 vols.), '40. In '47 he wrote on Julian the Apostle, and in '58 an

account of the Life and Time of Ulrich von Hutten. He prepared a New

Life of Christ for the German People, '64, followed by the Christ of

the Creeds and the Jesus of History. In '70 he published his lectures

on Voltaire, and two years later his last work The Old Faith and the

New, in which he entirely breaks not only with Christianity but with

the belief in a personal God and immortality. A devoted servant of

truth, his mind was always advancing. He died at his native place,

8 Feb. 1874.

 

Strindberg (Johan August), Swedish writer, known as the Scandinavian

Rousseau, b. Stockholm, 22 Jan. 1849. He has published many prominent

rationalistic works, as The Red Chamber and Marriage. The latter

was confiscated. He is one of the most popular poets and novelists

in Sweden.

 

Stromer (Hjalmar), Swedish astronomer, b. 1849. He lectured on

astronomy and published several works thereon, and also wrote

Confessions of a Freethinker. Died 1887.

 

Strozzi (Piero), Italian general in the service of France, b. of

noble Florentine family 1500. Intended for the Church he abandoned

it for a military career, and was created marshal of France by Henry

II. about 1555. He was killed at the siege of Thionville, 20 June

1558, and being exhorted by the Duc de Guise to think of Jesus,

he calmly declared himself an Atheist.

 

Suard (Jean Baptiste Antione), French writer, b. Besançon, 15 Jan,

1734. He became a devoted friend of Baron d'Holbach and of Garat,

and corresponded with Hume and Walpole. He wrote Miscellanies of

Literature, etc. He had the post of censor of theatres. Died at Paris

20 July, 1817.

 

Sue (Marie Joseph, called Eugène), French novelist, b. Paris, 10

Dec. 1804. He wrote many romances, of which The Mysteries of Paris

and The Wandering Jew, '42-45, were the most popular. In '50 he was

elected deputy and sat at the extreme left, but was exiled by the

coup d'etat. He died as a Freethinker at Annecy (Savoy), 3 July 1857.

 

Sullivan (J.), author of Search for Deity, an inquiry as to the origin

of the conception of God (London, 1859).

 

Sully Prudhomme (Renè François Armand), French poet, b. Paris, 16

March 1839. He studied law but took to poetry and has published many

volumes. In '78 he was made Chevalier of Honor, and in '82 member of

the Academy. His poems are of pessimistic cast, and full of delicacy

of philosophical suggestion.

 

Sunderland (La Roy), American author and orator, b. Exeter (Rhode

Island), 18 May, 1803. He became a Methodist preacher and was prominent

in the temperance and anti-slavery movements. He came out of the Church

as the great bulwark of slavery and opposed Christianity during the

forty years preceding his death. He wrote many works against slavery

and Pathetism, '47; Book of Human Nature, '53, and Ideology, 3 vols.,

'86-9. Died in Quincy (Mass.) 15 May, 1885.

 

Suttner (Bertha von), Baroness, Austrian author of Inventory of a Soul,

1886, and of several novels.

 

Sutton (Henry S.), anonymous author of Quinquenergia; or, Proposals

for a New Practical Theology, and Letters from a Father to a Son on

Revealed Religion.

 

Swinburne (Algernon Charles), English poet and critic, b. London,

5 April, 1837, educated at Oxford, and went to Florence, where he

spent some time with W. S. Landor. Atalanta in Calydon, a splendid

reproduction of Greek tragedy, first showed his genius. Poems and

Ballads, 1866, evinced his unconventional lyrical passion and power,

and provoked some outcry. In his Songs before Sunrise, 1871, he

glorifies Freethought and Republicanism, with unsurpassed wealth

of diction and rhythm. Mr. Swinburne has put forward many other

volumes of melodious and dramatic poems, and also essays, studies,

and prose miscellanies.

 

Symes (Joseph), English lecturer and writer, b. Portland, 29 Jan. 1841,

of pious Methodist parents. In '64 he offered himself as candidate for

the ministry, and was sent to the Wesleyan College, Richmond, and in

'67 went on circuit as preacher. Having come to doubt orthodoxy,

he resigned in '72, preached his first open Freethought lecture

at Newcastle, 17 Dec. '76. Had several debates, wrote Philosophic

Atheism, Man's Place in Nature, Hospitals not of Christian Origin,

Christianity a Persecuting Religion, Blows at the Bible, etc. He

contributed to the Freethinker, and was ready to conduct it during

Mr. Foote's imprisonment. He went to Melbourne, Dec. '83, and there

established the Liberator, and has written Life and Death of My

Religion, '84; Christianity and Slavery, Phallic Worship, etc.

 

Symonds (John Addington), English poet and author, b. Bristol,

5 Oct. 1840, educated at Harrow and Oxford, and was elected in

'62 to a Fellowship at Magdalen College, which he vacated on his

marriage. His chief work is on the Renaissance in Italy, 7 vols.,

completed in '86. He has also written critical sketches, studies,

and poems. Ill health compels his living abroad.

 

Taine (Hippolyte Adolphe), D.C.L., brilliant French man of letters,

b. Vouziers, 21 April, 1828. Educated at the College Bourbon (now the

Condorcet Lyceum), in '53 he took the degree of Doctor of Letters. In

'56 appears his French Philosophers of the Nineteenth Century, in which

he sharply criticised the spiritualist and religious school. He came

to England and studied English Literature; his Hand History of which

was sent in for the Academy prize, '63, but rejected on the motion of

Bishop Dupanloup on account of its materialist opinions. Also wrote

on English Positivism, a study of J. S. Mill. In '71 Oxford made

him D.C.L., and in Nov. '78, he was elected to the French Academy;

his latest work is The Origins of Contemporary France.

 

Talandier (Alfred), French publicist, b. Limoges, 7 Sept. 1828. After

entering the bar, he became a socialist and took part in the revolution

of '48. Proscribed after 12 Dec. he came to England, started trades

unions and co-operation, translated Smiles's Self-Help, and wrote in

the National Reformer. Returned to Paris in '70 and became professor at

the Lycée Henri IV. In '74 he was deprived of his chair, but elected on

the Municipal council of Paris, and two years later chosen as deputy,

and was re-elected in '81. In '83 he published a Popular Rabelais

and has written in Our Corner on that great Freethinker.

 

Taubert (A.), the maiden name of Dr. Hartmann's first wife. She wrote

The Pessimists and their Opponents, 1873.

 

Taule (Ferdinand), M.D., of Strassburg, author of Notions on the

Nature and Properties of Organised Matter. Paris, 1866.

 

Taurellus (Nicolaus), German physician and philosopher, b. Montbéhard,

26 Nov. 1547, studied medicine at Tübingen and Basle. For daring to

think for himself, and asking how the Aristotelian doctrine of the

eternity of the world could be reconciled with the dogma of creation,

he was stigmatised as an atheist. Wrote many works in Latin, the

principal of which is Philosophiæ Triumphans, 1573. He died of the

plague 28 Sept. 1606.

 

Taylor (Robert), ex-minister, orator, and critic, b. Edmonton,

18 Aug. 1784. In 1805 he walked Guy's and St. Thomas's Hospital,

and became M.R.C.S., 1807. Persuaded to join the Church, he entered

St. John's, Cambridge, Oct. 1809, in Jan. '13 graduated B.A., and

soon after took holy orders. He was curate at Midhurst till '18, when

he first became sceptical through discussions with a tradesman. He

preached a sermon on Jonah which astonished his flock, and resigned. He

then went to Dublin and published The Clerical Review and started

"The Society of Universal Benevolence." In '24 he came to London and

started "The Christian Evidence Society," and delivered discourses with

discussion; also edited the Philalethian. In '27 he was indicted for

blasphemy, tried Oct. 24, after an able defence he was found guilty,

and on 7 Feb. '28 sentenced to one year's imprisonment in Oakham

Gaol. Here he wrote his Syntagma on the Evidences of Christianity,

and his chief work, The Diegesis, being a discovery of the origins,

evidences, and early history of Christianity. He also contributed a

weekly letter to The Lion, which R. Carlile started on his behalf. On

his liberation they both went on "an infidel mission" about the

country, and on May 30 the Rotunda, Blackfriars, was taken, where

Taylor attired in canonicals delivered the discourses published in

The Devil's Pulpit. He was again prosecuted, and on 4 July, '31, was

sentenced to two year's imprisonment. He was badly treated in gaol,

and soon after coming out married a wealthy lady and retired. Died

at Jersey, 5 June, 1844.

 

Taylor (Thomas), known as "The Platonist," b. London, 1758. He

devoted his life to the elucidation and propagation of the Platonic

philosophy. He translated the works of Plato, Aristotle, Porphyry, five

books of Plotinus, six books of Proclus, Gamblichus on the Mysteries,

Arguments of Celsus taken from Origen, Arguments of Julian against

the Christians, Orations of Julian, etc. He is said to have been so

thorough a Pagan that he sacrificed a bull to Zeus. Died in Walworth,

1 Nov. 1835.

 

Taylor (William), of Norwich, b. 7 Nov. 1765. He formed an acquaintance

with Southey, with whom he corresponded. His translations from

the German, notably Lessing's Nathan the Wise, brought him some

repute. He also wrote a Survey of German Poetry and English Synonyms,

1830. He edited the Norwich Iris, 1802, which he made the organ of his

political and religions views. In '10 he published anonymously A Letter

Concerning the Two First Chapters of Luke, also entitled Who was the

Father of Jesus Christ? 1810, in which he argues that Zacharias was

the father of Jesus Christ. Also wrote largely in the Monthly Review,

replying therein to the Abbé Barruel; and the Critical Review when

edited by Fellowes, in which he gave an account of the rationalism

of Paulus. Died at Norwich, 5 March, 1836.

 

Tchernychewsky (N. G.) See Chernuishevsky.

 

"Tela (Josephus)," the Latinised name of Joseph Webbe who in 1818

edited the Philosophical Library, containing the Life and Morals of

Confucius, Epicurus, Isoscrates, Mahomet, etc., and other pieces. Webbe

is also thought to have been concerned in the production of Ecce Homo,

'13. Cushing, in his Initials and Pseudonyms, refers Tela to "Joseph

Webb," 1735-87; an American writer; Grand Master of Freemasons in

America; died in Boston." I am not satisfied that this is the same

person.

 

Telesio (Bernardino), Italian philosopher, b. of noble family at

Cosenza, 1509. He studied at Padua, and became famous for his learning,

optical discoveries, and new opinions in philosophy. He wrote in

Latin On the Nature of Things according to Proper Principles, 1565. He

opposed the Aristotelian doctrine in physics, and employed mathematical

principles in explaining nature, for which he was prosecuted by the

clergy. He died Oct. 1588. His works were placed in the Index, but

this did not prevent their publication at Venice, 1590.

 

Telle (Reinier), or Regnerus Vitellius, Dutch Humanist, b. Zierikzee,

1578. He translated Servetus On the Errors of the Trinity, published

1620. Died at Amsterdam, 1618.

 

Testa (Giacinto), of Messina, Italian author of a curious Storia di

Gesù di Nazareth, 1870, in which he maintains that Jesus was the son

of Giuseppe Pandera, a Calabrian of Brindisi.

 

Thaer (Albrecht Daniel). German agriculturist, b. Celle, 14 May,

1752. Studied at Gottingen, and is said to have inspired Lessing's

work on The Education of the Human Race. Died 28 Oct. 1828.

 

Theodorus of Cyrene, a Greek philosopher, whose opinions resembled

those of Epicurus. He was banished for Atheism from his native city. He

resided at Athens about 312 B.C. When threatened with crucifixion, he

said it mattered little whether he rotted in the ground or in the air.

 

Theophile de Viau, French satiric poet, b. Clerac, 1590. For the

alleged publication of Le Parnasse Satyriques, he was accused of

Atheism, condemned to death, and burnt in effigy. He fled, and was

received by the Duc de Montmorency at Chantilly, where he died,

25 Sept. 1626.

 

Thompson (Daniel Greenleaf), American author of works on The Problem

of Evil, '87; The Religious Sentiments, etc. He is President of the

Nineteenth Century Club.

 

Thomson (Charles Otto), Captain, b. Stockholm, 3 Jan. 1833. Went to

sea in '49 and became a merchant captain in '57, and was subsequently

manager of the Eskilstuna gas works. At Eskilstuna he started a

Utilitarian Society in '88, of which he is president. He has done

much to support Mr. Lennstrand in his Freethought work in Sweden; has

translated articles by Ingersoll, Foote and others, and has lectured

on behalf of the movement. He shares in the conduct of Fritänkaren.

 

Thomson (James), Pessimistic poet, b. Port Glasgow, 23

Nov. 1834. Educated at the Caledonian Asylum, London, he became

a schoolmaster in the army, where he met Mr. Bradlaugh, whom he

afterwards assisted on the National Reformer. To this paper he

contributed many valuable essays, translations, and poems, including

his famous "City of Dreadful Night," the most powerful pessimistic

poem in the English language, (April, '74, afterwards published with

other poems in '80). "Vane's Story" with other poems was issued in

'81, and "A Voice from the Nile," and "Shelley" (privately printed in

'84). Thomson also contributed to the Secularist and Liberal, edited

by his friend Foote, who has published many of his articles in a

volume entitled Satires and Profanities, which includes "The Story of

a Famous Old Jewish Firm," also published separately. Thomson employed

much of his genius in the service of Freethought. Died 3 June, 1882.

 

Thomson (William), of Cork. A disciple of Bentham, and author of The

Distribution of Wealth, 1824; Appeal for Women, '25; Labor Reward,

'27, and in the Co-operative Magazine.

 

Thorild (Thomas), or Thoren, Swedish writer, b. Bohuslau, 18 April,

1759. In 1775 he studied at Lund, and in 1779 went to Stockholm,

and published many poems and miscellaneous pieces in Swedish, Latin,

German, and English, in which he wrote Cromwell, an epic poem. In

1786 he wrote Common Sense on Liberty, with a view of extending the

liberty of the press. He was a partisan of the French Revolution,

and for a political work was imprisoned and exiled. He also wrote a

Sermon of Sermons, attacking the clergy, and a work maintaining the

rights of women. Died at Greifswald; 1 Oct. 1808. He was a man far

in advance of his time, and is now becoming appreciated.

 

Thulie (Jean Baptiste Henri), French physician and anthropologist,

b. Bordeaux, 1832. In '56 he founded a journal, "Realism." In '66 he

published a work on Madness and the Law. He contributed to La Pensée

Nouvelle, defending the views of Büchner. He has written an able study,

La Femme, Woman, published in '85. M. Thulie has been President of

the Paris Municipal Council.

 

Tiele (Cornelis Petrus), Dutch scholar, b. Leyden, 16

Dec. 1830. Although brought up in the Church, his works all tell in

the service of Freethought, and he has shown his liberality of views

in editing the poems of Genestet together with his life, '68. He has

written many articles on comparative religion, and two of his works

have been translated into English, viz., Outlines of the History of

Religion, a valuable sketch of the old faiths, fourth ed. '88; and

Comparative History of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian Religions, '82.

 

Tillier (Claude), French writer, b. of poor parents, Clamecy,

11 April, 1801. He served as a conscript, and wrote some telling

pamphlets directed against tyranny and superstition, and some novels,

of which we note My Uncle Benjamin. Died at Nevers, 12 Oct. 1844. His

works were edited by F. Pyat.

 

Tindal (Matthew), LL.D., English Deist, b. Beer-ferris, Devon,

1657. Educated at Oxford, and at first a High Churchman, he was

induced to turn Romanist in the reign of James II., but returned to

Protestantism and wrote The Rights of the Christian Church. This work

was much attacked by the clergy, who even indicted the vendors. A

defence which he published was ordered to be burnt by the House of

Commons. In 1730 he published Christianity as Old as the Creation, to

which no less than 150 answers were published. He died 16 Aug. 1733,

and a second volume, which he left in MS., was destroyed by order of

Gibson, Bishop of London.

 

Toland (John), Irish writer, b. Redcastle, near Londonderry, 30

Nov. 1669. Educated as a Catholic, he renounced that faith in early

youth, went to Edinburgh University, where he became M.A. in 1690,

and proceeded to Leyden, studying under Spanheim, and becoming a

sceptic. He also studied at Oxford, reading deeply in the Bodleian

Library, and became the correspondent of Le Clerc and Bayle. In

1696 he startled the orthodox with his Christianity not Mysterious,

which was "presented" by the Grand Jury of Middlesex and condemned by

the Lower House of Convocation. The work was also burnt at Dublin,

Sept. 1697. He wrote a Life of Milton (1698), in which, mentioning

Eikon Basilike, he referred to the "suppositious pieces under the

name of Christ, his apostles and other great persons." For this he was

denounced by Dr. Blackhall before Parliament. He replied with Amytor,

in which he gives a catalogue of such pieces. He went abroad and

was well received by the Queen of Prussia, to whom he wrote Letters

to Serena (1704), which, says Lange, "handles the kernel of the

whole question of Materialism." In 1709 he published Adeisidænon and

Origines Judaicæ. In 1718 Nazarenus, on Jewish, Gentile and Mahommedan

Christianity, in which he gave an account of the Gospel of Barnabus. He

also wrote four pieces entitled Tetradymus and Pantheisticon, which

described a society of Pantheists with a liturgy burlesquing that

of the Catholics. Toland died with the calmness of a philosopher,

at Putney, 11 March, 1722. Lange praises him highly.

 

Tollemache (Hon. Lionel Arthur), b. 1838, son of Baron Tollemache,

a friend of C. Austin, of whom he has written. Wrote many articles

in Fortnightly Review, reprinted (privately) as Stones of Stumbling,

'84. Has also written Safe Studies, '84; Recollections of Pallison,

'85; and Mr. Romanes's Catechism, '87.

 

Tone (Theobald Wolfe), Irish patriot, b. Dublin, 20 June,

1763. Educated at Trinity College in 1784, he obtained a scholarship

in 1786, B.A. He founded the Society of United Irishmen, 1791. Kept

relations with the French revolutionists, and in 1796 induced the

French Directory to send an expedition against England. He was taken

prisoner and committed suicide in prison, dying 19 Nov. 1798.

 

Topinard (Paul), M.D., French anthropologist, b. Isle-Adam 1830. Editor

of the Revue d'Anthropologie, and author of a standard work on that

subject published in the Library of Contemporary Science.

 

Toulmin (George Hoggart), M.D., of Wolverhampton. Author of The

Antiquity and Duration of the World, 1785; The Eternity of the

Universe, 1789; the last being republished in 1825.

 

Tournai (Simon de). See Simon.

 

Traina (Tommaso), Italian jurist. Author of a work on The Ethics of

Herbert Spencer, Turin, 1881.

 

Travis (Henry), Dr., b. Scarborough, 1807. He interested himself

in the socialistic aspect of co-operation, and became a friend and

literary executor to Robert Owen. In '51-53 he edited Robert Owen's

Journal. He also wrote on Effectual Reform, Free Will and Law, Moral

Freedom and Causation, and A Manual of Social Science, and contributed

to the National Reformer. Died 4 Feb. 1884.

 

Trelawny (Edward John), b. Cornwall, Nov. 1792. Became intimate in

Italy with Shelley, whose body he recovered and cremated in August,

1822. He accompanied Byron on his Greek expedition, and married a

daughter of a Greek chief. He wrote Adventures of a Younger Son,

'31; and Records of Shelley, Byron, and the Author, '78. He died 13

Aug. 1881, and was cremated at Gotha, his ashes being afterwards placed

beside those of Shelley. Trelawny was a vehement Pagan despising the

creeds and conventions of society. Swinburne calls him "World-wide

liberty's lifelong lover."

 

Trenchard (John), English Deist and political writer, b. Somersetshire,

1669. He studied law, but abandoned it, and was appointed Commissioner

of Forfeited Estates in Ireland. In conjunction with Gordon he

wrote Cato's Letters on civil and religious liberty, and conducted

The Independent Whig. He sat in the House of Commons as M.P. for

Taunton; he also wrote the Natural History of Superstition, 1709; but

La Contagion Sacree, attributed to him, is really by d'Holbach. Died

17 Dec. 1723.

 

Trevelyan (Arthur), of Tyneholm, Tranent, N.B., a writer in the

Reasoner and National Reformer. Published The Insanity of Mankind

(Edinburgh, 1850), and some tracts. He was a Vice-President of the

National Secular Society. Died at Tyneholm, 6 Feb. 1878.

 

Trezza (Gaetano), Italian writer, b. Verona, Dec. 1828. Was brought

up and ordained a priest, and was an eloquent preacher. Study led him

to resign the clerical profession. He has published Confessions of a

Sceptic, '78; Critical Studies, '78; New Critical Studies, '81. He is

Professor of Literature at the Institute of High Studies, Florence. To

the first number of the Revue Internationale '83, he contributed Les

Dieux s'en vont. He also wrote Religion and Religions, '84; and a work

on St. Paul. A study on Lucretius has reached its third edition, '87.

 

Tridon (Edme Marie, Gustave), French publicist, b. Chatillon sur

Seine, Burgundy, 5 June, 1841. Educated by his parents who were rich,

he became a doctor of law but never practised. In '64 he published in

Le Journal des Ecoles, his remarkable study of revolutionary history

Les Hébertistes. In May, '65 he founded with Blanqui, etc., Le Candide,

the precursor of La Libre Pensée, '66, in both of which the doctrines

of materialism were expounded. Delegated in '65 to the International

Students Congress at Liége his speech was furiously denounced by Bishop

Dupanloup; he got more than two years' imprisonment for articles in

Le Candide and La Libre Pensée, and in Ste Pelagie contracted the

malady which killed him. While in prison he wrote the greater part

of his work Du Molochisme Juif, critical and philosophical studies

of the Jewish religion, only published in '84. After 4 Sept. '70,

he founded La Patrie en Danger. In Feb. '71 he was elected deputy to

the Bordeaux Assembly, but resigned after voting against declaration

of peace. He then became a member of the Paris Commune, retiring after

the collapse to Brussels where he died 29 Aug. 1871. He received the

most splendid Freethinker's funeral witnessed in Belgium.

 

Truebner (Nicolas), publisher, b. Heidelberg, 17 June, 1817. After

serving with Longman and Co., he set up in business, and distinguished

himself by publishing works on Freethought, religions, philosophy

and Oriental literature. Died London, 30 March, 1884.

 

Truelove (Edward), English publisher, b. 29 Oct. 1809. Early in

life he embraced the views of Robert Owen, and for nine years was

secretary of the John Street Institution. In '44 and '45 he threw

in his lot with the New Harmony Community, Hampshire. In '52 he

took a shop in the Strand, where he sold advanced literature. He

published Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary and Romances, Paine's

complete works, D'Holbach's System of Nature, and Taylor's Syntagma

and Diegesis. In '58 he was prosecuted for publishing a pamphlet on

Tyrannicide, by W. E. Adams, but the prosecution was abandoned. In

'78 he was, after two trials, sentenced to four months' imprisonment

for publishing R. D. Owen's Moral Physiology. Upon his release he

was presented with a testimonial and purse of 200 sovereigns.

 

Trumbull (Matthew M.), American general, a native of London,

b. 1826. About the age of twenty he went to America, served in the

army in Mexico, and afterwards in the Civil War. General Grant made

him Collector of Revenue for Iowa. He held that office eight years,

and then visited England. In 1882 he went to Chicago, where he exerted

himself on behalf of a fair trial for the Anarchists.

 

Tschirnhausen (Walthier Ehrenfried), German Count, b. 1651. He was a

friend of Leibniz and Wolff, and in philosophy a follower of Spinoza,

though he does not mention him. Died 1708.

 

Tucker (Benjamin R.), American writer, b. Dartmouth, Mass., 17 April,

1854. Edits Liberty, of Boston.

 

Turbiglio (Sebastiano), Italian philosopher, b. Chiusa, 7 July, 1842,

author of a work on Spinoza and the Transformation of his Thoughts,

1875.

 

Turgenev (Ivan Sergyeevich), Russian novelist, b. Orel, 28

Oct. 1818. In his novels, Fathers and Sons and Virgin Soil he has

depicted characters of the Nihilist movement. Died at Bougival,

near Paris, 3 Sept. 1883.

 

Turner (William), a surgeon of Liverpool, who, under the name of

William Hammon, published an Answer to Dr. Priestley's Letters to a

Philosophical Unbeliever, 1782, in which he avows himself an Atheist.

 

Tuuk (Titia, Van der), Dutch lady, b. Zandt, 27 Nov. 1854. Was

converted to Freethought by reading Dekker, and is now one of the

editors of De Dageraad.

 

Twesten (Karl), German publicist and writer, b. Kiel, 22 April,

1820. Studied law, '38-41, in Berlin and Heidelberg, and became

magistrate in Berlin and one of the founders of the National Liberal

Party. Wrote on the religious, political, and social ideas of Asiatics

and Egyptians (2 vols.), '72. Died Berlin, 14 Oct. 1870.

 

Tylor (Edward Burnet), D.C.L., F.R.S., English anthropologist,

b. Camberwell, 2 Oct. 1832. He has devoted himself to the study

of the races of mankind, and is the first living authority upon

the subject. He has wrote Anahuac, or Mexico and the Mexicans, '61;

Researches into the Early History of Mankind, '65; Primitive Culture;

being researches into the development of mythology, philosophy,

religion, art, and custom (2 vols.), '71. In this splendid work he

traces religion to animism, the belief in spirits. He has also written

an excellent handbook of Anthropology, an introduction to the Study

of Man and Civilisation, '81; and contributed to the Encyclopædia

Britannica, as well as to periodical literature. He is President of

the Anthropological Society.

 

Tyndall (John), LL.D., F.R.S., Irish scientist, b. near Carlow,

1820. In '47 he became a teacher in Queenswood College (Hants), and

afterwards went to Germany to study. In '56 he went to Switzerland

with Professor Huxley, and they wrote a joint work on glaciers. He

contributed to the Fortnightly Review, notably an article on Miracles

and Special Providence, '66. In '72 he went on a lecturing tour in

the United States, and two years later was president of the British

Association. His address at Belfast made a great stir, and has been

published. In addition to other scientific works he has published

popular Fragments of Science, which has gone through several editions.

 

Tyrell (Henry). See Church.

 

Tyssot de Patot (Simon), b. of French family in Delft, 1655. He

became professor of mathematics at Deventer. Under the pen name of

"Jacques Massé" he published Voyages and Adventures, Bordeaux, 1710,

a work termed atheistic and scandalous by Reimmann. It was translated

into English by S. Whatley, 1733, and has been attributed to Bayle.

 

Ueberweg (Friedrich), German philosopher, b. Leichlingen 22 Jan. 1826;

studied at Göttingen and Berlin, and became Professor of Philosophy at

Königsberg, where he died 9 June, 1871. His chief work is a History

of Philosophy. Lange cites Czolbe as saying "He was in every way

distinctly an Atheist and Materialist."

 

Uhlich (Johann Jacob Marcus Lebericht), German religious reformer,

b. Köthen 27 Feb. 1799. He studied at Halle and became a preacher. For

his rationalistic views he was suspended in 1847, and founded the

Free Congregation at Magdeburg. He wrote numerous brochures defending

his opinions. His Religion of Common Sense has been translated and

published in America. Died at Magdeburg, 23 March, 1872.

 

Ule (Otto), German scientific writer, b. Lossow 22 Jan. 1820. Studied

at Halle and Berlin. In '52 he started the journal Die Natur, and

wrote many works popularising science. Died at Halle 6 Aug. 1876.

 

Underwood (Benjamin F.). American lecturer and writer, b. New York

6 July, 1839. Has been a student and a soldier in the Civil War. He

fought at Ball's Bluff, Virginia, 21 Oct. '61, was wounded and held

prisoner in Richmond for nine months. In '81 he edited the Index in

conjunction with Mr. Potter, and in '87 started The Open Court at

Chicago. He has had numerous debates; those with the Rev. J. Marples

and O. A. Burgess being published. He has also published Essays and

Lectures, The Religion of Materialism, Influence of Christianity

on Civilisation, etc. His sister, Sara A., has written Heroines of

Freethought, New York, 1876.

 

Vacherot (Etienne), French writer, b. Langres, 29 July, 1809. In '39 he

replaced Victor Cousin in the Chair of Philosophy at the Sorbonne. For

his free opinions expressed in his Critical History of the School

of Alexandria, a work in three vols. crowned by the Institute,

'46-51, he was much attacked by the clergy and at the Empire lost

his position. He afterwards wrote Essays of Critical Philosophy,

'64, and La Religion, '69.

 

Vacquerie (Auguste), French writer, b. Villequier, 1819. A friend of

Victor Hugo. He has written many dramas and novels of merit, and was

director of Le Rappel.

 

Vaillant (Edouard Marie), French publicist, b. Vierzon, 26

Jan. 1840. Educated at Paris and Germany. A friend of Tridon he

took part in the Commune, and in '84 was elected Muncipal Councillor

of Paris.

 

Vairasse (Denis) d'Alais, French writer of the seventeenth century. He

became both soldier and lawyer. Author of Histoire des Sevarambes,

1677; imaginary travels in which he introduced free opinions and

satirised Christianity.

 

Vale (Gilbert) author, b. London, 1788. He was intended for the church,

but abandoned the profession and went to New York, where he edited

the Citizen of the World and the Beacon. He published Fanaticism;

its Source and Influence, N.Y. 1835, and a Life of Paine, '41. Died

Brooklyn, N.Y. 17 Aug. 1866.

 

Valk (T. A. F. van der), Dutch Freethinker, who, after being a

Christian missionary in Java, changed his opinions, and wrote in De

Dageraad between 1860-70, using the pen name of "Thomas."

 

Valla (Lorenzo), Italian critic, b. Piacenza, 1415. Having hazarded

some free opinions respecting Catholic doctrines, he was condemned to

be burnt, but was saved by Alphonsus, King of Naples. Valla was then

confined in a monastery, but Pope Nicholas V. called him to Rome and

gave him a pension. He died there, 1 Aug. 1457.

 

Vallee (Geoffrey), French martyr, b. Orleans, 1556. He wrote La

Béatitude des Chréstiens ou le Fléo de la Foy, for which he was accused

of blasphemy, and hanged on the Place de Gréve, Paris, 9 Feb. 1574.

 

Valliss (Rudolph), German author of works on The Natural History

of Gods (Leip., 1875); The Eternity of the World, '75; Catechism of

Human Duty, '76, etc.

 

Van Cauberg (Adolphe), Belgian advocate. One of the founders and

president of the International Federation of Freethinkers. Died 1886.

 

Van Effen. See Effen.

 

Vanini (Lucilio, afterwards Julius Cæsar), Italian philosopher and

martyr, b. Taurisano (Otranto), 1585. At Rome and Padua he studied

Averroism, entered the Carmelite order, and travelled in Switzerland,

Germany, Holland and France making himself admired and respected by

his rationalistic opinions. He returned to Italy in 1611, but the

Inquisition was on his track and he took refuge at Venice. In 1612 he

visited England, and in 1614 got lodged in the Tower. When released

he went to Paris and published a Pantheistic work in Latin On the

Admirable Secrets of Nature, the Queen and Goddess of Mortals. It was

condemned by the Sorbonne and burnt, and he fled to Toulouse in 1617;

but there was no repose for Freethought. He was accused of instilling

Atheism into his scholars, tried and condemned to have his tongue cut

out, his body burned and his ashes scattered to the four winds. This

was done 19 Feb. 1619. President Gramond, author of History of France

under Louis XIII., writes "I saw him in the tumbril as they led him

to execution, mocking the Cordelier who had been sent to exhort him

to repentance, and insulting our Savior by these impious words. 'He

sweated with fear and weakness, and I die undaunted.'"

 

Vapereau (Louis Gustave), French man of letters, b. Orleans 4 April,

1819. In '41 he became the secretary of Victor Cousin. He collaborated

on the Dictionnaire des Sciences Philosophiques and the Liberté

de Penser, but is best known by his useful Dictionnaire Universel

des Contemporains. In '70 he was nominated prefect of Cantal, but

on account of the violent attacks of the clericals was suspended in

'73 and resumed his literary labors, compiling a Universal Dictionary

of Writers, '76, and Elements of the History of French Literature,

1883-85.

 

Varnhagen von Ense (Earl August Ludwig Philipp), German author,

b. Dusseldorf, 21 Feb. 1785. He studied medicine and philosophy,

entered the Austrian and Russian armies, and served in the Prussian

diplomatic service. He was an intimate friend of Alex. von Humboldt,

and shared his Freethinking opinions. Died in Berlin, 10 Oct. 1858. He

vividly depicts the men and events of his time in his Diary.

 

Vauvenargues (Luc de Clapiers), Marquis; French moralist, b. Aix,

6 Aug. 1715. At eighteen he entered the army, and left the service

with ruined health in 1743. He published in 1746 an Introduction to

the Knowledge of the Human Mind, followed by Reflections and Maxims,

which was deservedly praised by his friend Voltaire. Died at Paris 28

May, 1747. His work, which though but mildly deistic, was rigorously

suppressed, and was reprinted about 1770.

 

Velthuysen (Lambert), Dutch physician, b. Utrecht, 1622. He wrote

many works on theology and philosophy in Latin. His works, De Officio

Pastorum and De Idolatria et Superstitione were proceeded against in

1668, but he was let off with a fine. Died 1685.

 

Venetianer (Moritz), German Pantheist, author of Der Allgeist, 1874,

and a work on Schopenhauer as a Scholastic.

 

Vereschagin (Vasily), Russian painter, b. Novgorod, 1842. He studied

at Paris under Gerome, took part in the Russo-Turkish war, and has

travelled widely. The realistic and anti-religious conceptions of his

Holy Family and Resurrection were the cause of their being withdrawn

from the Vienna Exhibition in Oct. '85, by order of the archbishop. In

his Autobiographical Sketches, translated into English, '87, he shows

his free opinions.

 

Vergniaud (Pierre Victurnien), French Girondist orator, b. Limoges,

31 May, 1759. He studied law, and became an advocate. Elected to

the Legislative Assembly in 1791, he also became President of the

Convention. At the trial of the King he voted for the appeal to

the people, but that being rejected, voted death. With Gensonné

and Guadet, he opposed the sanguinary measures of Robespierre, and,

being beaten in the struggle, was executed with the Girondins, 31

Oct. 1793. Vergniaud was a brilliant speaker. He said: "Reason thinks,

Religion dreams." He had prepared poison for himself, but as there

was not enough for his comrades, he resolved to suffer with them.

 

Verlet (Henri), French founder and editor of a journal, La Libre

Pensée, 1871, and author of a pamphlet on Atheism and the Supreme

Being.

 

Verliere (Alfred), French author of a Guide du Libre-Penseur (Paris,

1869); collaborated La Libre Pensée, Rationaliste, etc. To Bishop

Dupanloup's Athéisme et Peril Social he replied with Deisme et Peril

Social, for which he was condemned to several months' imprisonment.

 

Vermersch (Eugène), French journalist, b. Lille about 1840. Took part

in the Commune, and has written on many Radical papers.

 

Vernes (Maurice), French critic, b. Mauroy, 1845. Has published

Melanges de Critique Religieuse, and translated from Kuenen and Tiele.

 

Veron (Eugène), French writer and publicist, b. Paris, 29 May, 1825. He

wrote on many journals, founded La France Republicaine at Lyons, and

l'Art at Paris. Besides historical works he has written L'Esthetique

in the "Library of Contemporary Science," '78; The Natural History

of Religions, 2 vols., in the Bibliothèque Materialiste, '84; and La

Morale, '84.

 

Viardot (Louis), French writer, b. Dijon, 31 July, 1800. He came

to Paris and became an advocate, but after a voyage in Spain, left

the bar for literature, writing on the Globe National and Siècle. In

'41 he founded the Revue Independante with "George Sand," and Pierre

Leroux. He made translations from the Russian, and in addition to many

works on art he wrote The Jesuits, '57; Apology of an Unbeliever,

translated into English, '69, and republished as Libre Examen,

'71. Died 1883.

 

Vico (Giovanni Battista), Italian philosopher, b. Naples 1668. He

became Professor of Rhetoric in the University of that city, and

published a New Science of the Common Nature of Nations, 1725, in

which he argues that the events of history are determined by immutable

laws. It presents many original thoughts. Died Naples, 21 Jan. 1743.

 

Virchow (Rudolf), German anthropologist, b. Schivelbein Pomerania,

13 Oct. 1821. Studied medicine at Berlin and became lecturer, member

of the National Assembly of '48, and Professor of Pathological

Anatomy at Berlin. His Cellular Pathology, '58, established his

reputation. He was chosen deputy and rose to the leadership of the

Liberal opposition. His scientific views are advanced although he

opposed the Haeckel in regard to absolute teaching of evolution.

 

Vischer (Friedrich Theodor), German art critic, b. Ludwigsburg,

30 June, 1807. Was educated for the Church, became a minister, but

renounced theology and became professor of  and is Jahrbücher der

Gegenwart, '44, was accused of blasphemy and for his Freethinking

opinions he was suspended two years. At the revolution of '48 he

was elected to the National Assembly. In '55 he became Professor

at Zürich. His work on Æsthetic, or the Science of the Beautiful,

'46-54, is considered classic. He has also written, Old and New,

'81, and several anonymous works. Died Gmunden, 14 Sept. 1887.

 

Vitry (Guarin de) French author of a Rapid Examination of Christian

Dogma, addressed to the Council of 1869.

 

Vloten (Johannes van), Dutch writer, b. Kampen, 18 Jan. 1818; studied

theology at Leiden and graduated D.D. in '43. He has, however, devoted

himself to literature, and produced many works, translating plays of

Shakespeare, editing Spinoza, and writing his life--translated into

English by A. Menzies. He edited also De Levensbode, 1865, etc.

 

Voelkel (Titus), Dr., German lecturer and writer, b. Wirsitz (Prussian

Poland) 14 Dec. 1841. Studied ('59-65) theology, natural philosophy,

and mathematics, and spent some years in France. He returned '70,

and was for ten years employed as teacher at higher schools. Since

'80 has been "sprecher" of Freethought associations and since '85

editor of the Neues Freireligiöses Sonntags-Blatt, at Magdeburg. In

'88 he was several times prosecuted for blasphemy and each time

acquitted. He represented several German societies at the Paris

Congress of Freethinkers, '89.

 

Voglet (Prosper), Belgian singer, b. Brussels, 1825. He was blinded

through his baptism by a Catholic priest, and has in consequence to

earn his living as a street singer. His songs, of his own composition,

are anti-religious. Many have appeared in La Tribune du Peuple,

which he edited.

 

Vogt (Karl), German scientist, b. Giessen, 5 July, 1817, the

son of a distinguished naturalist. He studied medicine and became

acquainted with Agassiz. In '48 he was elected deputy to the National

Assembly. Deprived of his chair and exiled, he became professor

of Natural History at Geneva. His lectures on Man, His Position in

Creation and in the History of the Earth, '63, made a sensation by

their endorsement of Darwinism. They were translated into English

and published by the Anthropological Society. He has also written

a Manual of Geology, Physiological Letters, Zoological Letters,

Blind Faith and Science, etc., and has contributed to the leading

Freethought journals of Germany and Switzerland.

 

Volkmar (Gustav), Swiss critic, b. Hersfeld, 11 Jan. 1809. Studied at

Marburg '29-32; became privat docent at Zurich, '53, and professor

'63. He has written rationalist works on the Gospel of Marcion,

'52; Justin Martyr, '53; the Origin of the Gospels, '66; Jesus and

the first Christian Ages, '82, etc.

 

Volney (Constantin François Chassebouf de), Count, French philosopher,

b. Craon (Anjou) 3 Feb. 1757. Having studied at Ancenis and Angers,

he went to Paris in 1774. Here he met D'Holbach and others. In 1783

he started for Egypt and Syria, and in 1787 published an account of

his travels. Made Director of Commerce in Corsica, he resigned on

being elected to the Assembly. Though a wealthy landlord, he wrote

and spoke for division of landed property. In 1791 his eloquent Ruins

appeared. During the Terror he was imprisoned for ten months. In '95

he visited America. Returning to France, Napoleon asked him to become

colleague in the consulship but Volney declined. He remonstrated

with Napoleon when he re-established Christianity by the Concordat,

April 1802. Among his other works was a History of Samuel and the

Law of Nature. Died 25 April, 1820.

 

Voltaire (François Marie. Arouet de), French poet, historian and

philosopher, b. Paris 21 Nov. 1694. Educated by the Jesuits, he

early distinguished himself by his wit. For a satirical pamphlet on

the death of Louis XIV he was sent to the Bastille for a year and

was afterwards committed again for a quarrel with the Chevalier de

Rohan. On his liberation he came to England at the invitation of Lord

Bolingbroke, and became acquainted with the English Freethinkers. His

Lettres Philosophiques translated as "Letters on the English," 1732,

gave great offence to the clergy and was condemned to be burnt. About

1735 he retired to the estate of the Marquise de Châtelet at Cirey,

where he produced many plays. We may mention Mahomet, dedicated

to the Pope, who was unable to see that its shafts were aimed at

the pretences of the church. In 1750 he accepted the invitation

of Frederick II. to reside at his court. But he could not help

laughing at the great king's poetry. The last twenty years of his

life was passed at Ferney near the Genevan territory, which through

his exertions became a thriving village. He did more than any other

man of his century to abolish torture and other relics of barbarism,

and to give just notions of history. To the last he continued to wage

war against intolerance and superstition. His works comprise over a

thousand pieces in seventy volumes. Over fifty works were condemned

by the Index, and Voltaire used no less than one hundred and thirty

different pen-names. His name has risen above the clouds of detraction

made by his clerical enemies. Died 30 May, 1778.

 

Voo (G. W. van der), Dutch writer, b. 6 April, 1806. For more than

half a century he was schoolmaster and teacher of the French language

at Rotterdam, where he still lives. He contributed many articles to

De Dageraad.

 

Vosmaer (Carel), Dutch writer, b. the Hague 20 March, 1826. Studied law

at Leyden. He edited the Tydstroom (1858-9) and Spectator (1860-73),

and wrote several works on Dutch art and other subjects. Died at

Montreux (Switzerland), 12 June, 1888.

 

Voysey (Charles), English Theist, b. London 18 March, 1828. Graduated

B.A. at Oxford, '51, was vicar of Healaugh, Yorkshire, '64-71, and

deprived 11 Feb. '71 for heresy in sermons published in The Sling

and the Stone. He has since established a Theistic Church in Swallow

Street, Piccadilly, and his sermons are regularly published. He has

also issued Fragments from Reimarus, '79, edited The Langham Magazine

and published Lectures on the Bible and the Theistic Faith, etc.

 

Vulpian (Edme Felix Alfred), French physician, b. 5 Jan. 1826. Wrote

several medical works and upon being appointed lecturer at the School

of Medicine, '69, was violently opposed on account of his Atheism. He

was afterwards elected to the Academy of Sciences. Died 17 May, 1887.

 

Wagner (Wilhelm Richard), German musical composer and poet, b. Leipsic,

22 May, 1813. From '42-49 he was conductor of the Royal Opera, Dresden,

but his revolutionary sentiments caused his exile to Switzerland, where

he produced his "Lohengrin." In '64 he was patronised by Ludwig II. of

Bavaria, and produced many fine operas, in which he sought that poetry,

scenery, and music should aid each other in making opera dramatic. In

philosophy he expressed himself a follower of Schopenhauer. Died at

Venice, 13 Feb. 1883.

 

Waite (Charles Burlingame), American judge, b. Wayne county, N.Y. 29

Jan. 1824. Educated at Knox College, Illinois, he was admitted to the

Bar in '47. After successful practice in Chicago, he was appointed

by President Lincoln Justice of the Supreme Court of Utah. In '81 he

issued his History of the Christian Religion to the year A.D. 200,

a rationalistic work, which explodes the evangelical narratives.

 

Wakeman (Thaddeus B.), American lawyer and Positivist, b. 29 Dec. 1834,

was one of the editors of Man and a president of the New York Liberal

Club. A contributor to the Freethinkers' Magazine.

 

Walferdin (François-Hippolyte), b. Langres, 8 June, 1795. A friend

of Arago he contributed with him to the enlargement of science, and

was decorated with the Legion of Honor in 1844. He published a fine

edition of the works of Diderot in '57, and left the bust of that

philosopher to the Louvre. Died 25 Jan. 1880.

 

Walker (E.), of Worcester. Owenite author of Is the Bible True? and

What is Blasphemy? 1843.

 

Walker (Edwin C.), editor of Lucifer and Fair Play, Valley Falls,

Kansas.

 

Walker (Thomas), orator, b. Preston, Lancashire, 5 Feb. 1858. Went

to America and at the age of sixteen took to the platform. In

'77 he went to Australia, and for a while lectured at the Opera,

Melbourne. In '82 he started the Australian Secular Association, of

which he was president for two years when he went to Sydney. In '85

he was convicted for lecturing on Malthusianism, but the conviction

was quashed by the Supreme Court. In '87 he was elected M.P. for

Northumberland district. Is President of Australian Freethought Union.

 

Walser (George H.), American reformer, b. Dearborn Co. Indiana,

26 May, 1834. Became a lawyer, and a member of the legislature

of his State. He founded the town of Liberal Barton Co. Missouri,

to try the experiment of a town without any priest, church, chapel

or drinking saloon. Mr. Walser has also sought to establish there a

Freethought University.

 

Ward (Lester Frank). American botanist, b. Joliet, Illinois, 18

June, 1841. He served in the National Army during the civil war and

was wounded. In '65 he settled at Washington and became librarian

of the U.S. bureau of statistics. He is now curator of botany and

fossil plants in the U.S. national museum. Has written many works

on paleo-botany, and two volumes of sociological studies entitled

Dynamic Sociology. He has contributed to the Popular Science Monthly.

 

Ward (Mary A.), translator of Amiel's Journal, and authoress of a

popular novel Robert Elsmere, 1888.

 

Warren (Josiah). American reformer, b. 26 June, 1798. He took an

active part in Robert Owen's communistic experiment at New Harmony,

Indiana, in '25-6. His own ideas he illustrated by establishing a

"time store" at Cincinnati. His views are given in a work entitled

True Civilisation. Died Boston, Mass. 14 April, 1874.

 

Washburn (L. K.), American lecturer and writer, b. Wareham, Plymouth,

Mass., 25 March, 1846. In '57 he went to Barre. Was sent to a Unitarian

school for ministers, and was ordained in Ipswich, Feb. '70. He read

from the pulpit extracts from Parker, Emerson, and others instead

of the Bible. He went to Minneapolis, where he organised the first

Freethought Society in the State. He afterwards resided at Revere,

and delivered many Freethought lectures, of which several have been

published. He now edits the Boston Investigator.

 

Waters (Nathaniel Ramsey), American author of Rome v. Reason, a memoir

of Christian and extra Christian experience.

 

Watson (James), English upholder of a free press, b. Malton (Yorks),

21 Sept. 1799. During the prosecution of Carlile and his shopmen in

1822 he volunteered to come from London to Leeds. In Feb. '23 he was

arrested for selling Palmer's Principles of Nature, tried 23 April,

and sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment, during which he read

Gibbon, Hume, and Mosheim. When liberated he became a compositor on the

Republican. In '31 Julian Hibbert gave him his type and presses, and he

issued Volney's Lectures on History. In Feb. '33 he was sentenced to

six months' imprisonment for selling The Poor Man's Guardian. Hibbert

left him £450, which he used in printing d'Holbach's System of Nature,

Volney's Ruins, F. Wright's Lectures, R. D. Owen's pamphlets, Paine's

works, and other volumes. Died at Norwood, 29 Nov. 1874.

 

Watson (Thomas), author of The Mystagogue, Leeds, 1847.

 

Watts (Charles), Secularist orator, b. Bristol, 28 Feb. 1835. Converted

to Freethought by hearing Charles Southwell, he became a lecturer

and assistant editor on the National Reformer. Mr. Watts has had

numerous debates, both in England and America, with Dr. Sexton,

Rev. Mr. Harrison, Brewin Grant, and others. He started the Secular

Review with G. W. Foote, and afterwards Secular Thought of Toronto. He

wrote a portion of The Freethinker's Text Book, and has published

Christianity: its Origin, Nature and Influence; The Teachings of

Secularism compared with Orthodox Christianity, and other brochures.

 

Watts (Charles A.), a son of above, b. 27 May, 1858. Conducts Watts's

Literary Gazette and edits the Agnostic Annual.

 

Watts (John), brother of Charles, b. Bedminster, Bristol, 2

Oct. 1834. His father was a Wesleyan preacher, and he was converted

to Freethought by his brother Charles. He became sub-editor of the

Reasoner, and afterwards for a time edited the National Reformer. He

edited Half Hours With Freethinkers with "Iconoclast," and published

several pamphlets, Logic and Philosophy of Atheism, Origin of Man,

Is Man Immortal? The Devil, Who were the Writers of the New Testament,

etc. Died 31 Oct. 1866.

 

Watts (of Lewes, Sussex), author of the Yahoo, a satire in verse

(first published in 1833), also The Great Dragon Cast Out.

 

Webber (Zacharias), Dutch painter, who in the seventeenth century

wrote heretical works On the Temptation of Christ and The Seduction

of Adam and Eve, etc. He defended Bekker, whom he surpassed in

boldness. Under the pen name J. Adolphs he wrote The True Origin,

Continuance and Destruction of Satan. Died in 1679.

 

Weber (Karl Julius), German author, b. Langenburg, 16 April,

1767. Studied law at Erlangen and Göttingen. He lived for a while

in Switzerland and studied French philosophy, which suited his

satirical turn of mind. He wrote a history of Monkery, 1818-20;

Letters of Germans Travelling in Germany, '26-28; and Demokritos,

or the Posthumous Papers of a Laughing Philosopher, '32-36. Died

Kupferzell, 19 July, 1832.

 

Weitling (Wilhelm), German social democrat, b. Magdeburg, 1808. He

was a leader of "Der Bund der Gerechten," the League of the Just,

and published at Zürich The Gospel of Poor Sinners. He also wrote

Humanity, As It Is and As It Should Be. He emigrated to America,

where he died 25 Jan. 1871.

 

Wellhausen (Julius), German critic, b. Hameln 17 May, 1844, studied

theology at Göttingen, and became professor in Griefswald, Halle,

and Marburg. Is renowned for his History of Israel in progress, '78,

etc., and his Prolegomena to the same, and his contributions to the

Encyclopædia Britannica.

 

Westbrook (Richard Brodhead), Dr., American author, b. Pike co.,

Pennsylvania, 8 Feb. 1820. He became a Methodist preacher in '40,

and afterwards joined the Presbyterians, but withdrew about '60,

and has since written The Bible: Whence and What? and Man: Whence and

Whither? In '88 Dr. Westbrook was elected President of the American

Secular Union, and has since offered a prize for the best essay on

teaching morality apart from religion.

 

Westerman (W. B.) During many years, from 1856-68, an active

co-operator on De Dageraad.

 

Westra (P.), Dutch Freethinker, b. 16 March, 1851. Has for some years

been active secretary of the Dutch Freethought society, "De Dageraad."

 

Wettstein (Otto), German American materialist, b. Barmen, 7 April,

1838. About '48 his parents emigrated. In '58 he set up in business as

a jeweller at Rochelle. He contributed to the Freethinkers' Magazine,

The Ironclad Age, and other journals, and is treasurer of the National

Secular Union.

 

White (Andrew Dickson), American educator, b. Homer, N.Y., 7

Nov. 1832. He studied at Yale, where he graduated in '53; travelled

in Europe, and in '57 was elected professor of history and English

literature in the University of Michigan. He was elected to the State

Senate, and in '67 became first president of Cornell, a university

which he has largely endowed. Among his works we must mention The

Warfare of Science (N.Y., '76) and Studies in General History and in

the History of Civilisation, '85.

 

Whitman (Walt), American poet, b. West Hills, Long Island, N.Y.,

31 May, 1819. Educated in public schools, he became a printer,

and travelled much through the States. In the civil war he served

as a volunteer army nurse. His chief work, Leaves of Grass, with

its noble preface, appeared in '55, and was acclaimed by Emerson as

"the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet

contributed." It was followed by Drum Taps, November Boughs and Sands

at Seventy. This "good gray poet" has also written prose essays called

Democratic Vietas and Specimen Days and Collect.

 

Wicksell (Knut), Swedish author and lecturer, b. Stockholm, 30

Dec. 1851, studied at Upsala, and became licentiate of philosophy in

'85. Has written brochures on Population, Emigration, Prostitution,

etc., and anonymously a satirical work on Bible Stories, as by Tante

Malin. Represented Sweden at the Paris Conference of '89.

 

Wieland (Christopher Martin), German poet and novelist, b. near

Biberach, 5 Sept. 1733. A voluminous writer, he was called the

Voltaire of Germany. Among his works we notice Dialogues of the

Gods, Agathon, a novel, and Euthanasia, in which he argues against

immortality. He translated Horace, Lucian and Shakespeare. Died Weimer,

20 Jan. 1813. His last words were "To be or not to be."

 

Wiener (Christian), Dr., German author of a materialistic work on

the Elements of Natural Laws, 1863.

 

Wiessner (Alexander), German writer, author of an examination of

spiritualism (Leipsic, 1875).

 

Wigand (Otto Friedrich), German publisher, b. Göttingen, 10

Aug. 1795. In 1832 he established himself in Leipsic, where he

issued the works of Ruge, Bauer, Feuerbach, Scherr, and other

Freethinkers. Died 31 Aug. 1870.

 

Wightman (Edward), English anti-Trinitarian martyr of

Burton-on-Trent. Was burnt at Lichfield 11 April, 1612, being the

last person burnt for heresy in England.

 

Wihl (Ludwig), German poet, b. 24 Oct. 1807. Died Brussels, 16

Jan. 1882.

 

Wilbrandt (Adolf), German author, b. Rosbock, 24 Aug. 1837. Has

written on Heinrich von Kleist, Hölderlin, the poet of Pantheism,

and published many plays, of which we may mention Giordano Bruno,

1874, and also some novels.

 

Wilhelmi (Hedwig Henrich), German lecturess and author of Vortrage,

published at Milwaukee, 1889. She attended the Paris Congress of '89.

 

Wilkinson (Christopher), of Bradford, b. 1803. Wrote with Squire Farrah

an able Examination of Dr. Godwin's Arguments for the Existence of God,

published at Bradford, 1853.

 

Williams (David), Welsh deist, b. Cardiganshire, 1738. He became a

dissenting minister but after publishing two volumes of Sermons on

Religious Hypocrisy, 1774, dissolved the connections. In conjunction

with Franklin and others he founded a club and drew up a Liturgy on

the Universal Principles of Religion and Morality, which he used at a

Deistic chapel opened in Margaret Street, Cavendish Square, 7 April,

1776. He wrote various political and educational works, and established

the literary fund in 1789. Died Soho, London, 29 June, 1816.

 

Willis (Robert), physician and writer, b. Edinburgh, 1799. He studied

at the University and became M.D. in 1819. He soon after came to

London, and in '23 became M.R.C.S. He became librarian to the College

of Surgeons. Besides many medical works he wrote a Life of Spinoza,

'70, and Servetus and Calvin, '77. He also wrote on The Pentateuch and

Book of Joshua in the face of the Science and Moral Senses of our Age,

and A Dialogue by Way of Catechism, both published by T. Scott. Died

at Barnes, 21 Sept. 1878.

 

Wilson (John), M.A., of Trin. Coll., Dublin, author of Thoughts on

Science, Theology and Ethics, 1885.

 

Wirmarsius (Henrik), Dutch author of Den Ingebeelde Chaos, 1710.

 

Wislicenus (Gustav Adolf), German rationalist, b. Saxony, 20

Nov. 1803. He studied theology at Halle, and became a minister,

but in consequence of his work Letter or Spirit (1845) was suspended

and founded the Free Congregation. For his work on The Bible in the

Light of Modern Culture he was, in Sept. '53, sentenced to prison

for two years. He went to America, and lectured in Boston and New

York. He returned to Europe in '56, and stayed in Zürich, where he

died 14 Oct. 1785. His chief work, The Bible for Thinking Readers,

was published at Leipsic in '63.

 

Wittichius (Jacobus), Dutch Spinozist, b. Aken, 11 Jan. 1671. Wrote

on the Nature of God, 1711. Died 18 Oct. 1739.

 

Wixon (Susan H.), American writer and editor of the "Children's Corner"

in the Truthseeker, has for many years been an advocate of Freethought,

temperance, and women's rights. She was a school teacher and member

of the Board of Education of the City of Fall River, Mass., where

she resides. She contributes to the Boston Investigator.

 

Wollny (Dr. F.), German author of Principles of Psychology (Leipsic,

1887), in the preface to which he professes himself an Atheist.

 

Wollstonecraft (Mary), English authoress, b. Hoxton, 27 April,

1759. She became a governess. In 1796 she settled in London, and began

her literary labors with Thoughts on the Education of Daughters. She

also wrote a Vindication of the Rights of Man, in answer to Burke,

and Vindication of the Rights of Woman. In 1797 she married William

Godwin, and died in childbirth.

 

Wooley (Milton), Dr., American author of Science of the Bible 1877;

Career of Jesus Christ, '77; and a pamphlet on the name God. Died

Aug. 1885.

 

Woolston (Thomas), Rev. English deist, b. Northampton, 1669. He studied

at Cambridge, and became a Fellow at Sydney College and a minister. He

published in 1705 The Old Apology, which was followed by other works in

favor of an allegorical interpretation of Scripture. In 1726 he began

his Six Discourses upon the Miracles, which were assailed in forcible,

homely language. Thirty thousand copies are said to have been sold,

and sixty pamphlets were written in opposition. Woolston was tried for

blasphemy and sentenced (March, 1729) to one year's imprisonment and

a fine of £100. This he could not pay, and died in prison 29 Jan. 1733.

 

Wright (Elizur), American reformer, b. South Canaan, Litchfield

Co., Connecticut, 12 Feb. 1804. He graduated at Yale College,

'26. Having warmly embraced the principles of the Abolitionists,

he became secretary of the American Anti-Slavery Society,

and edited the Abolitionist and Commonwealth. He was a firm and

uncompromising Atheist, and a contributor to the Boston Investigator,

the Freethinker's Magazine, etc. Died at Boston, 21 Dec. '85. His

funeral oration was delivered by Col. Ingersoll.

 

Wright (Frances), afterwards D'Arusmont, writer and lecturess,

b. Dundee, 6 Sept. 1795. At the age of eighteen she wrote A Few Days in

Athens, in which she expounds and defends the Epicurean philosophy. She

visited the United States, and wrote Views on Society and Manners

in America, 1820. She bought 2,000 acres in Tennessee, and peopled

it with slave families she purchased and redeemed. She afterwards

joined Owen's experiment; in part edited the New Harmony Gazette,

and afterwards the Free Inquirer. A Course of Popular Lectures was

published at New York in '29, in which she boldly gives her views on

religion. She also wrote a number of fables and tracts, and assisted

in founding the Boston Investigator. Died at Cincinnati, 14 Dec. 1852.

 

Wright (Henry Clarke), American reformer, b. Sharon, Litchfield

co. Connecticut, 29 Aug. 1797. A conspicuous anti-slavery orator,

he was a friend of Ernestine Rose, Lucretia Mott, etc. He wrote The

Living, Present and the Dead Past. Died Pawtucket, Rhode Island,

16 Aug. 1870.

 

Wright (Susannah), one of Carlile's shopwomen. Tried 14 Nov. 1822,

for selling pamphlets by Carlile. She made a good defence, in the

course of which she was continually interrupted.

 

Wundt (Wilhelm Max), German scientist, b. Neckaran (Baden),

16 Aug. 1832. His father was a clergyman. He studied medicine at

Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Berlin, and became professor of physiology at

Heidelberg in '64, and has since held chairs at Zurich and Leipsic. His

principal works are Principles of Physiological Psychology, '74;

Manual of Human Physiology; Logic, '83; Essays, '85; Ethik, '86.

 

Wuensch (Christian Ernest), German physician, b. Hohenstein, 1744. Was

Professor of Mathematics and Physics in Frankfort on the Oder, 1828.

 

Wyrouboff (Gr.), Count; Russian Positivist, who established the

Revue de Philosophie Positive with Littré, and edited it with him

from 1867-83.

 

Xenophanes, Greek philosopher, b. Colophon, about 600 B.C. He founded

the Eleatic school, and wrote a poem on Nature and Eleaticism, in

which he ridiculed man making gods in his own image.

 

Ximines (Augustin Louis), Marquis de, French writer, b. Paris, 26

Feb. 1726. Was an intimate friend of Voltaire, and wrote several

plays. Died Paris, 31 May, 1817.

 

York (J. L.), American lecturer, b. New York, 1830. He became a

blacksmith, then a Methodist minister, then Unitarian, and finally

Freethought advocate. He was for some years member of the California

Legislature, and has made lecturing tours in Australia and through

the States.

 

Yorke (J. F.), author of able Notes on Evolution and Christianity,

London, 1882.

 

Youmans (Edward Livingstone), American scientist, b. Coeymans, N.Y.,

3 June, 1821. Though partially blind he was a great student. He became

M.D. about 1851, and began to lecture on science, popularly expounding

the doctrines of the conservation of energy and evolution. He

popularised Herbert Spencer, planned the "International Scientific

Series," and in '72 established the Popular Science Monthly, in which

he wrote largely. Died at New York, 18 Jan. 1887.

 

Zaborowski Moindrin (Sigismond), French scientific writer, b. La

Créche, 1851. Has written on The Antiquity of Man, '74; Pre-historic

Man, '78; Origin of Languages, '79; The Great Apes, '81; Scientific

Curiosities, '83.

 

Zambrini (Francesco), Italian writer, b. Faenza, 25 Jan. 1810. Educated

at Ravenna and Bologna. He devoted himself to literature and produced

a great number of works. Died 9 July, 1887.

 

Zarco (Francisco), Mexican journalist, b. Durango, 4 Dec. 1829. Edited

El Siglo XIX and La Ilustracion, in which he used the pen-name of

"Fortun." He was elected to Congress in '55, and imprisoned by the

reactionaries in '60. Juarez made him Secretary of State and President

of Council. He was a friend of Gagern. Died Mexico, 29 Dec. 1869.

 

Zeller (Eduard), German critic, b. Kleinbottwar (Würtemberg), 22

Jan. 1814. Studied theology at Tübingen and Berlin, became professor

at Berne, '47. He married a daughter of Baur; gave up theology for

philosophy, of which he has been professor at Berlin since '72. Has

written a memoir of Strauss, '74; Outlines of the History of Greek

Philosophy, '83; Frederick the Great as a Philosopher, '86; and other

important works.

 

Zijde (Karel van der), Dutch writer, b. Overschie, 13 July, 1838. Has

been teacher at Rotterdam. Under the pen-name of M. F. ten Bergen

he wrote The Devil's Burial, 1874. Besides this he has written many

literary articles, and is now teacher of Dutch and German at Zaandam.

 

Zimmern (Helen), b. Hamburg, 25 March, 1846. Has lived in England

since '50, and is naturalised. She has written lives of Schopenhauer

and Lessing, and a paraphrase of Firdusi's Shah Nahmeh.

 

Zola (Emile), French novelist, b. of Italian father, Paris, 2 April,

1840. By his powerful collection of romances known as Les Rougon

Macquart, he made himself the leader of the "naturalist" school,

which claims to treat fiction scientifically, representing life as

it is without the ideal.

 

Zorrilla (Manuel Ruiz), Spanish statesman, b. Burgo-de-Osma, 1834,

became a lawyer, and in '56 was returned to the Cortes by the

Progressive party. For a brochure against the Neo-Catholics he was

prosecuted. In '70 he became President of the Cortes, and has since

been exiled for his Republicanism.

 

Zouteveen (H. H. H. van). See Hartogh.

 

Zuppetta (Luigi), Italian jurist and patriot, b. Castelnuovo, 21 June,

1810. He studied at Naples, took part in the democratic movement of

'48, was exiled and returned in 1860, and has been Professor of Penal

Law in the University of Pavia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUPPLEMENT.

 

 

Those which have already appeared are marked *

 

 

Abd al Hakk ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sabin. See Sabin.

 

Abu Abd'allah Muhammad ibn Massara al Jabali. Arabian pantheist

b. 881. He lived at Cordova in Spain and studied the works of

Empedocles and other Greek philosophers. Accused of impiety, he

left Spain and travelled through the East. Returned to Spain and

collected disciples whom he led to scepticism. He was the most eminent

predecessor of Ibn Rushd or Averroes. Died Oct. 931. His works were

publicly burned at Seville.

 

* Acosta (Uriel), the name of his work was Examen Traditorum

Philosophicarum ad legem Scriptam.

 

Acuna (Rosario de), Spanish writer and lecturess, b. Madrid about

1854. Contributes to Las Dominicales of Madrid. Has written The Doll's

House, and other educational works.

 

* Adams (Robert C.), American Freethought writer and lecturer,

the son of the Rev. Needham Adams, b. Boston 1839. He became a

sea-captain, and was afterwards shipper at Montreal. Has written

in Secular Thought, the Truthseeker and the Freethinker's Magazine,

and published rational lectures under the title Pioneer Pith, '89. In

'89 he was elected President of the Canadian Secular Union.

 

Admiraal (Aart), Dutch writer, b. Goedereede, 13 Oct. 1833. At first

a schoolmaster, he became in '60 director of the telegraph bureau at

Schoonhoven. He wrote from '56 for many years in De Dageraad over

the anagram "Aramaldi." In '67 he published The Religion of the

People under the pseudonym "Bato van der Maas," a name he used in

writing to many periodicals. A good mind and heart with but feeble

constitution. He died 12 Nov. 1878.

 

Airoldi (J.) Italian lawyer, b. Lugano (Switzerland), 1829; a poet

and writer of talent.

 

Albaida (Don Jose M. Orense), Spanish nobleman (marquis), one of the

founders of the Republican party. Was expelled for his principles;

returned to Spain, and was president of the Cortes in 1869.

 

* Alchindus. Died about 864.

 

* Aleardi had better be deleted. I am now told he was a Christian.

 

Alfarabi. See Alpharabius.

 

Algeri (Pomponio), a youth of Nola. Studied at Padua, and was accused

of heresy and Atheism, and burnt alive in a cauldron of boiling oil,

pitch, and turpentine at Rome in 1566.

 

Alkemade (A. de Mey van), Dutch nobleman, who contributed to

De Dageraad, and also published a work containing many Bible

contradictions, 1862; and in '59 a work on the Bible under the pen name

"Alexander de M."

 

Allais (Denis de). See Vairasse.

 

Allais (Giovanni), Italian doctor, b. Casteldelfino, 1847.

 

Almquist (Herman), Swedish, b. 1839, orientalist; professor of

philology at the University of Upsala. An active defender of new

ideas and Freethought.

 

Altmeyer (Jean Jacques), Belgian author, b. Luxembourg, 20

Jan. 1804. Was professor at the University of Brussels. He wrote an

Introduction to the Philosophical Study of the History of Humanity,

'36, and other historical works. Died 15 Sept. 1877.

 

Amari (Michele), Sicilian historian and orientalist, b. Palmero, 7

July, 1806. In '32 he produced a version of Scott's Marmion. He wrote

a standard History of the Musulmen in Sicily. After the landing of

Garibaldi, he was made head of public instruction in the island. He

took part in the anti-clerical council of '69. Died at Florence,

July 1889.

 

* Amaury de Chartres. According to L'Abbè Ladvocat his disciples

maintained that the sacraments were useless, and that there was no

other heaven than the satisfaction of doing right, nor any other hell

than ignorance and sin.

 

Anderson (Marie), Dutch lady Freethinker, b. the Hague, 2

Aug. 1842. She has written many good articles in de Dageraad, and

was for some time editress of a periodical De Twintigste Eeuw (the

twentieth century). She has also written some novels. She resides now

at Würzburg, Germany, and contributes still to de Dageraad. As pen-name

she formerly used that of "Mevrouw Quarlès" and now "Dr. Al. Dondorf."

 

* Anthero de Quental. This name would be better under Quental.

 

Apono. See Petrus de Abano. This would probably be best under Abano.

 

* Aquila. Justinian forbade the Jews to read Aquila's version of

the Scriptures.

 

Aranda (Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea), Count, Spanish statesman,

b. of illustrious family, Saragossa, 18 Dec. 1718. Was soldier and

ambassador to Poland. He imbibed the ideas of the Encyclopædists,

and contributed to the expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain in 1767. He

also disarmed the Inquisition. In 1792 he was elected Spanish minister

to France. He was recalled and exiled to Aragon, where he died in 1799.

 

Argilleres (Antoine), at first a Jacobin monk and afterwards a

Protestant preacher, was tortured several times, then decapitated and

his head nailed to a gibbet at Geneva, 1561-2, for having eight years

previously taken the part of Servetus against Calvin at Pont-de-Veyle

in Bresse.

 

* Arnould (Victor). Has continued his Tableau in the Positivist

Revue and La Societé Nouvelle. From 1868 to '73 he edited La Liberté,

in which many a battle for Freethought has been fought.

 

Ascarate (Gumezindo de), Spanish professor of law at the University of

Madrid and Republican deputy, b. Leon about 1844. One of the ablest

Radical parliamentary orators; in philosophy, he is a follower of

Krause. He has written Social Studies, Self-Government and Monarchy,

and other political works.

 

Aszo y Del Rio (Ignacio Jordan de), Spanish jurist and naturalist,

b. Saragossa, 1742. Was professor at Madrid, and left many important

works on various branches of science. In his political works he

advocated the abolition of ecclesiastical power. Died 1814.

 

* Aubert de Verse (Noel) had probably better be omitted, although

accused of blasphemy himself, I find he wrote an answer to Spinoza,

which I have not been able to see.

 

Auerbach (Berthold), German novelist of Jewish extraction,

b. Nordstetten, 28 Feb. 1812. Devoted to Spinoza, in '41 he published

a life of the philosopher and a translation of his works, having

previously published an historical romance on the same subject. Died

Cannes, 8 Feb. 1882.

 

* Aymon (Jean). La vie et L'Esprit de M. Benoit Spinoza (La Haye,

1719) was afterwards issued under the famous title Treatise of Three

Impostors.

 

* Bahrdt (Karl Friedrich). The writings of this enfant terrible of

the German Aufklarung fill 120 volumes.

 

* Bailey (William Shreeve) was born 10 Feb. 1806. He suffered much

on account of his opinions. Died Nashville, 20 Feb 1886. Photius Fisk

erected a monument to his memory.

 

* Bancel (Francis Désiré). In his work Les Harangues de l'Exil, 3

vols., 1863, his Freethought views are displayed. He also wrote in

La Revue Critique.

 

Barnaud (Nicolas), of Crest in Dauphiné. Lived during the latter half

of the sixteenth century. He travelled in France, Spain, and Germany,

and to him is attributed the authorship of a curious work entitled Le

Cabinet du Roy de France, which is largely directed against the clergy.

 

Barreaux. See des Barreaux.

 

Barth (Ferdinand), b. Mureck, Steyermark Austria, 1828. In '48 he

attained reputation as orator to working men and took part in the

revolution. When Vienna was retaken he went to Leipzig and Zurich,

where he died in 1850, leaving a profession of his freethought.

 

Bartrina, Spanish Atheistic poet, b. Barcelona, 1852, where he died

in 1880.

 

Bedingfield (Richard, W. T.), Pantheistic writer, b. May, 1823,

wrote in National Reformer as B.T.W.R., established Freelight,

'70. Died 14 Feb. 1876.

 

* Berigardus (Claudius), b. 15 Aug. 1578.

 

* Bertillon (Louis Adolphe). In a letter to Bp. Dupanloup, April, '68,

he said, You hope to die a Catholic, I hope to die a Freethinker. Died

1883.

 

* Berwick (George J.) M.D., Dr. Berwick, I am informed, was the author

of the tracts issued by Thomas Scott of Ramsgate with the signature of

"Presbyter Anglicanus."

 

Blein (F. A. A.), Baron, French author of Essais Philosophiques,

Paris, 1843.

 

Blum (Robert), German patriot and orator, b. Cologne, 10 Nov. 1807. He

took an active part in progressive political and religious movements,

and published the Christmas Tree and other publications. In '48 he

became deputy to the Frankfort Parliament and head of the Republican

party. He was one of the promoters at the insurrection of Vienna,

and showed great bravery in the fights of the students with the

troops. Shot at Vienna, 9 Nov. 1848.

 

* Blumenfleld (J. C.), this name I suspect to be a pseudonym.

 

Bolin (A. W.), a philosophic writer of Finland, b. 2 Aug. 1835. Studied

at Helsingford, '52, and became Doctor of Philosophy in '66, and

Professor in '73. He has written on the Freedom of the Will, The

Political Doctrines of Philosophy, etc. A subject of Russian Finland;

he has been repeatedly troubled by the authorities for his radical

views on religious questions.

 

Bolivar (Ignacio), Spanish professor of natural history at the

University of Madrid, and one of the introducers of Darwinian ideas.

 

Boppe (Herman C.), editor of Freidenker of Milwaukee, U.S.A.

 

Borsari (Ferdinand), Italian geographer, b. Naples, author of a work

of the literature of American aborigines, and a zealous propagator

of Freethought.

 

Bostrom (Christopher Jacob), Swedish Professor at Upsala, b. 4

Jan. 1797. Besides many philosophical works, published trenchant

criticism of the Christian hell creed. Died 22 March, 1866.

 

Boucher (E. Martin), b. Beaulieu 1809. Conducted the Rationaliste

at Geneva, where he died 1882. His work Search for the Truth was

published at Avignon, 1884.

 

Bourneville (Magloire Désir), French deputy and physician,

b. Garancières, 21 Oct. 1840. Studied medicine at Paris, and in '79

was appointed physician to the asylum of Bicêtre. He was Municipal

Councillor of Paris from '76 to '83. On the death of Louis Blanc he

was elected deputy in his place. Wrote Science and Miracle, '75;

Hysteria in History, '76; and a discourse on Etienne Dolet at the

erection of the statue to that martyr, 18 May 1889.

 

Boutteville (Marc Lucien), French writer, professor at the Lycee

Bonaparte. Wrote to Dupanloup on his pamphlet against Atheism, 1867;

wrote in La Pensée Nouvelle, '68; is author of a large and able work

on the Morality of the Church and Natural Morality, '66; and has

edited the posthumous works of Proudhon, 1870.

 

* Bovio (Giovanni), b. Trani, 1838, Dr. of law and advocate. Author

of a dramatic piece, Cristo alla festa di Purim, and of a History

of Law in Italy. Signor Bovio delivered the address at unveiling the

monument to Bruno at Rome, 9 June, 1889.

 

Boyer. See Argens.

 

* Bradlaugh (Charles), M.P. In April, 1889, he introduced a Bill to

repeal the Blasphemy Laws.

 

Braga (Teofilo), Portuguese Positivist, b. 24 Feb. 1843. Educated

at Coimbra. Has written many poems, and a History of Portuguese

Literature. Is one of the Republican leaders.

 

Branting (Hjalmar), Swedish Socialist, b. 1860. Sentenced in '88

to three months' imprisonment for blasphemy in his paper Social

Democraten.

 

Braun (Eugen), Dr. See F. W. Ghillany.

 

Braun (Wilhelm von), Swedish humoristic poet, b. 1813. He satirised

many of the Bible stories. Died 1860.

 

Brewer (Ebenezer Cobham), English author. Has written numerous school

books, and compiled a Dictionary of Miracles, 1884.

 

Brismee (Desiré), Belgian printer, b. Ghent, 27 July, 1822. As editor

of Le Drapeau he underwent eighteen months' imprisonment. The principle

founder of Les Solidaires, he was the life-long secretary of that

society, and his annual reports are a valuable contribution towards

the history of Freethought in Belgium. An eloquent speaker, many of

his Freethought orations were printed in La Tribune du Peuple. Died

at Brussels 18 Feb. 1888.

 

* Brothier (Léon). Died about 1874.

 

* Brown (G. W.) Dr. Brown's new work is published at Rockford,

Illinois, and entitled Researches in Jewish History, including the rise

and development of Zoroastrianism and the derivation of Christianity.

 

* Bruno (Giordano), b. Nola, 21 March, 1548. The Avisso di Roma

of 19 Feb. 1600, records the fact of his being burnt, and that he

died impenitent. Signor Mariotti, State Secretary to the Minister

of Public Instruction, has found a document proving that Bruno was

stripped naked, bound to a pole, and burnt alive, and that he bore

his martyrdom with great fortitude.

 

Buen (Odon de), Spanish writer on Las Dominicales, of Madrid,

b. Aragon, 1884. Professor of Natural History at the University of

Barcelona. Has written an account of a scientific expedition From

Christiania to Treggurt, has translated Memoirs of Garibaldi. He

married civilly the daughter of F. Lozano, and was delegate to the

Paris Freethought Conference, 1889.

 

Calderon (Alfredo), Spanish journalist and lawyer, b. 1852. He edits

La Justicia. Has written several books on law.

 

Calderon (Lauresmo), Professor of Chemistry in the University of

Madrid, b. 1848. Is a propagator of Darwinian ideas.

 

Calderon (Salvador), Spanish geologist and naturalist, b. 1846;

professor at the University of Seville. Has made scientific travels

in Central America, and written largely on geological subjects.

 

Calvo (Rafael), Spanish actor and dramatic author, b. 1852. A

pronounced Republican and Freethinker.

 

* Canestrini (Giovanni), b. Revo (Trente), 26 Dec. 1835.

 

Cassels (Walter Richard), a nephew of Dr. Pusey, is the author of

Supernatural Religion, a critical examination of the worth of the

Gospels (two vols. 1874 and three '79). Has written under his own name

Eidolon and other poems, 1850, and Poems, '56. In '89 he published

A Reply to Dr. Lightfoot's Essays.

 

Castro (Fernando), Spanish philosopher and historian. He was a

priest, and on his death-bed confessed himself a Freethinker, and

had a secular burial. Died about 1874, aged 60 years.

 

Cavia (Mariano), Spanish journalist and critic, b. 1859, editor of

the Liberal of Madrid.

 

* Coke (Henry), author of Creeds of the Day, is the third son of the

first Earl of Leicester, and was born 3 Jan. 1827. He served in the

navy during the first China War, 1840-42. Published accounts of the

siege of Vienna, '48, at which he was present, also "Ride over Rocky

Mountains," which he accomplished with great hardships in '50. Was

private secretary to Mr. Horsman when Chief Secretary for Ireland in

'54-'58. Married Lady K. Egerton, 1861.

 

Cornette (Henri Arthur Marie), Belgian professor of Flemish literature

at Antwerp, b. Bruges, 27 March, 1852. A writer in L'Avenir of

Brussels and the Revue Socialite, he has published separate works

on Freemasonry, 1878; Pessimism and Socialism, '80; Freethought

Darwinism, etc.

 

Curros (Enriquez), living Spanish poet, who was prosecuted by the

Bishop of Santiago, of Galicia, for his collection of poems entitled

Airs of my Country, but he was acquitted by the jury.

 

Czerski (Johannes), German reformer, b. Warlubien, West Prussia, 12

May, 1813. He became a Catholic priest in '44, broke with the Church,

associated himself with Ronge, married, and was excommunicated. Has

written several works against Roman Catholicism, and is still living

at Schneidemükl-Posen.

 

D'Ercole (Pasquale), Italian professor of philosophy in the University

of Turin, author of a work on Christian Theism, in which he holds

that the principles of philosophic Theism are undemonstrated and at

variance both with reality and with themselves.

 

Deschanel (Emile Auguste), French senator, b. Paris, 19 Nov. 1819. He

wrote in the Revue Independante, Revue des Deux Mondes and Liberté de

Penser; for writing against clericalism in the last he was deprived

of his chair. After 2 Dec. he went to Belgium. He has been Professor

of Modern Literature at the College of France, and written many

important works.

 

Desnoiresterres (Gustave le Brisoys), Frenchman of letters,

b. Bayeux, 20 June, 1817, author of Epicurienes et Lettres XVII. and

XVIII. Siècles, 1881, and Voltaire et la Société Française au

XVIII. Siècle, an important work in eight vols.

 

* Desraimes (Maria), b. 15 Aug. 1835.

 

Diogenes (Apolloinates), a Cretan, natural philosopher, who lived

in the fifth century B.C. He is supposed to have got into trouble at

Athens through his philosophical opinions being considered dangerous to

the State. He held that nothing was produced from nothing or reduced

to nothing; that the earth was round and had received its shape from

whirling. He made no distinction between mind and matter.

 

Donius (Augustinus), a Materialist, referred to by Bacon. His work,

De Natura Dominis, in two books, 1581, refers the power of the spirit,

to motion. The title of his second book is "Omnes operationes spiritus

esse motum et semum."

 

Dosamantes (Jesus Ceballos), Mexican philosopher; author of works on

Absolute Perfection, Mexico, 1888, and Modern Pharisees and Sadducees

(mystics and materialists), '89.

 

Druskowitz (Helene), Dr., b. Vienna, 2 May, 1858. Miss Druskowitz is

Doctor of philosophy at Dresden, and has written a life of Shelley,

Berlin, '84; a little book on Freewill, and The New Doctrines, '83.

 

Dufay (Henri), author of La Legende du Christ, 1880.

 

Duller (Eduard), German poet and historian, b. Vienna, 18 Nov. 1809. He

wrote a History of the Jesuits (Leipsic, '40) and The Men of the People

(Frankfort, '47-'50). Died at Wiesbaden, 24 July, 1853.

 

* Du Marsais (César Chesneau). He edited Mirabaud's anonymous work

on The World and its Antiquity and The Soul and its Immortality,

Londres, 1751.

 

* Fellowes (R.) Graduated B.A. at Oxford 1796, M.A. 1801. Died 6

Feb. 1847.

 

Figueras-y-Moracas (Estanilas), Spanish statesman and orator,

b. Barcelona, 13 Nov. 1810. Studied law and soon manifested Republican

opinions. In '51 he was elected to the Cortes, was exiled in '66, but

returned in '68. He fought the candidature of the Duc de Montpensiér in

'69, and became President of the Spanish Republic 12 Feb. '73. Died

poor in 1879, and was buried without religious ceremony, according

to his wish.

 

Fitzgerald (Edward), English poet and translator, b. near Woodbridge,

Suffolk, 31 March, 1809. Educated at Cambridge and took his degree in

'30. He lived the life of a recluse, and produced a fine translation

of Calderon. His fame rests securely on his fine rendering of the

Quatrains of Omar Khayyam. Died 14 June, 1883.

 

Galletti (Baldassare), cavalier Pantheist of Palermo. Has translated

Feuerbach on Death and Immortality, and also translated from

Morin. Died Rome, 18 Feb. 1887.

 

Ganeval (Louis), French professor in Egypt, b. Veziat, 1815, author

of a work on Egypt and Jesus devant l'histoire n'a jamais vécu. The

first part, published in '74, was prohibited in France, and the second

part was published at Geneva in '79.

 

Garrido (Fernando), Spanish writer, author of Memoirs of a Sceptic,

Cadiz 1843, a work on Contemporary Spain, published at Brussels in

'62, The Jesuits, and a large History of Political and Religious

Persecutions, a work rendered into English in conjunction with

C. B. Cayley. Died at Cordova in 1884.

 

Gerling (Fr. Wilhelm), German author of Letter of a Materialist

to an Idealist, Berlin 1888, to which Frau Hedwig Henrich Wilhelmi

contributes a preface.

 

Geroult de Pival, French librarian at Rouen; probably the author of

Doutes sur la Religion, Londres, 1767. Died at Paris about 1772.

 

Goffin (Nicolas), founder of the Society La Libre of Liége and

President of La Libre Pensée of Brussels, and one of the General

Council of the International Federation of Freethinkers. Died 23

May, 1884.

 

Goldhawke (J. H.), author of the Solar Allegories, proving that the

greater number of personages mentioned in the Old and New Testaments

are allegorical beings, Calcutta 1853.

 

Gorani (Giuseppe), count, b. Milan, 1744. He was intimate with

Beccaria, D'Holbach, and Diderot. He wrote a treatise on Despotism,

published anonymously, 1770; defended the French Revolution and was

made a French citizen. Died poor at Geneva, 12 Dec. 1819.

 

Govett (Frank), author of the Pains of Life, 1889, a pessimistic

reply to Sir J. Lubbock's Pleasures of Life. Mr. Govett rejects the

consolations of religion.

 

Guimet (Etienne Emile), French traveller, musician, anthropologist

and philanthropist, b. Lyons, 2 June, 1836, the son of the inventor

of ultramarine, whose business he continued. He has visited most

parts of the world and formed a collection of objects illustrating

religions. These he formed into a museum in his native town, where he

also founded a library and a school for Oriental languages. This fine

museum which cost several million francs, he presented to his country,

and it is now at Paris, where M. Guimet acts as curator. In 1880 he

began publishing Annales du Musée Guimet, in which original articles

appear on Oriental Religions. He has also written many works upon his

travels. He attended the banquet in connection with the International

Congress of Freethinkers at Paris, 1889.

 

Guynemer (A. M. A. de), French author of a dictionary of astronomy,

1852, and an anonymous unbelievers' dictionary, '69, in which many

points of theology are discussed in alphabetical order.

 

Hamerling (Robert), German poet, b. Kirchberg am Wald, 24 March,

1830. Author of many fine poems, of which we mention Ahasuerus in Rome'66. The King of Sion; Danton and Robespierre a tragedy. He translatedLeopardis' poems '86. Died at Gratz, 13 July, 1889.

 

Heyse (Paul Johann Ludwig), German poet and novelist, b. Berlin,

15 March, 1830. Educated at the University, after travelling to

Switzerland and Italy he settled at Munich in '54. Has produced many

popular plays and romances, of which we specially mention The Children

of the World, '73, a novel describing social and religious life of

Germany at the present day, and In Paradise, 1875.

 

Hicks (L. E.) American geologist, author of A Critique of Design

Arguments. Boston, 1883.

 

Hitchman (William), English physician, b. Northleach, Gloucestershire,

1819, became M.R.C.S. in '41, M.D. at Erlangen, Bavaria. He established Freelight, and wrote a pamphlet, Fifty Years of Freethought. Died 1888.

 

Hoeffding (Harald), Dr., Professor of Philosophy at the University of

Copenhagen, b. Copenhagen, 1843. Has been professor since '83. Is

absolutely free in his opinion and has published works on the newer

philosophy in Germany, '72, and in England, '74. In the latter work

special attention is devoted to the works of Mill and Spencer. German

editions have been published of his works Grundlage der humanen

Ethik (Basis of Human Ethics '80), Psychologie im Umriss (Outlines

of Psychology '87), and Ethik 1888.

 

Holst (Nils Olaf), Swedish geologist, b. 1846. Chairman of the Swedish

Society for Religious Liberty.

 

Ignell (Nils), Swedish rationalist, b. 12 July, 1806. Brought

up as a priest, his free views gave great offence. He translated

Renan's Life of Jesus, and did much to arouse opposition to orthodox

Christianity. Died at Stockholm, 3 June, 1864.

 

Jacobsen (Jens Peter), Danish novelist and botanist, b. Thistede,

7 April, 1847. He did much to spread Darwinian views in Scandinavia,

translating the Origin of Species and Descent of Man. Among his

novels we may name Fru Marie Grubbe, scenes from the XVII. century,

and Niels Lyhne, in which he develops the philosophy of Atheism. This

able young writer died at his birth place, 3 April 1885.

 

Kleist (Heinrich von), German poet, b. Frankfurt-on-Oder, 18

Oct. 1777. Left an orphan at eleven, he enlisted in the army in 1795,

quitted it in four years and took to study. Kant's Philosophy made

him a complete sceptic. In 1800 he went to Paris to teach Kantian

philosophy, but the results were not encouraging. Committed suicide

together with a lady, near Potsdam, 21 Nov. 1811. Kleist is chiefly

known by his dramas and a collection of tales.

 

Letourneau (Charles Jean Marie), French scientist, b. Auray

(Morbihan), 1831. Educated as physician. He wrote in La Pensée

Nouvelle, and has published Physiology of the Passions, '68; Biology,

'75, translated into English by W. Maccall; Science and Materialism,

'79; Sociology based on Ethnography, '80; and the Evolution of

Marriage and the Family, '85. He has also translated Büchner's Man

According to Science, Light and Life and Mental Life of Animals,

Haeckel's History of Creation, Letters of a Traveller in India,

and Herzen's Physiology of the Will.

 

Lippert (Julius), learned German author of works on Soul Worship,

Berlin, 1881; The Universal History of Priesthoods, '83; and an

important Culture History of Mankind, '86-7.

 

Lloyd (William Watkiss), author of Christianity in the Cartoons,

London 1865, in which he criticises Rafael and the New Testament side

by side. He has also written The Age of Pericles, and several works

on Shakespeare.

 

Lucian, witty Greek writer, b. of poor parents, Samosata, on

the Euphrates, and flourished in the reign of Marcus Aurelius and

Commodus. He was made a sculptor, but applied himself to rhetoric. He

travelled much, and at Athens was intimate with Demonax. His principal

works are dialogues, full of wit, humor, and satire, often directed

against the gods. According to Suidas he was named the Blasphemer,

and torn to pieces by dogs for his impiety, but on this no reliance

can be placed. On the ground of the dialogue Philopatris, he has

been supposed an apostate Christian, but it is uncertain if that

piece is genuine. It is certain that he was sceptical, truth-loving,

and an enemy of the superstition of the time which he depicts in his

account of Alexander, the false prophet.

 

Maglia (Adolfo de), Spanish journalist, b. Valencia, 3 June,

1859, began writing in La Tronada at Barcelona, and afterwards

published L'Union Republicana. He founded the Freethinking group

"El Independiente" and edits El Clamor Setabense and El Pueblo

Soberano. Was secretary for Spain at the Anticlerical Congress at Rome

in '85, and in '89 at Paris. During this year he has been condemned

to six years' imprisonment and a fine of 4,000 francs for attacking

Leo XIII. and the Catholic dogmas.

 

disciples, whom he conducted from faith to scepticism. He was the most

eminent predecessor of Ibn Roschd or Averroës. Died Oct.-Nov. 931. His works were publicly burned at Seville.

 

Mata (Pedro), Spanish physician, professor at the University of

Madrid. Author of a poem, Glory and Martyrdom, 1851; a Treatise on

Human Reason, '58-64; and on Moral Liberty and Free Will, '68.

 

Mendizabal (Juan Alvarez), Spanish Liberal statesman, b. Cadiz,

1790. Was minister during the reign of Cristina, and contributed

to the subjugation of the clerical party. He abolished the religious

orders and proclaimed their goods as national property. Died at Madrid,

3 Nov. 1853.

 

* Meredith (Evan Powell), b. 1811. Educated at Pontypool College, he

became a Baptist minister, and was an eloquent preacher in the Welsh

tongue. He translated the Bible into Welsh. Investigation into the

claims of Christianity made him resign his ministry. In his Prophet

of Nazareth he mentioned a purpose of writing a work on the gospels,

but it never appeared. He died at Monmouth 23 July, 1889.

 

Miralta (Constancio), the pen name of a popular Spanish writer,

b. about 1849. Has been a priest and doctor of theology, and is one

of the writers on Las Dominicales. His most notable works are Memoirs

of a Poor Clerical, The Secrets of Confession, and The Sacrament

Exposed. His work on The Doctrine of Catholicism upon Matrimony has

greatly encouraged civil marriages.

 

Moraita (Miguel), Spanish historian, b. about 1845. Is Professor

of History at Madrid, and one of the most ardent enemies of

clericalism. Has written many works, including a voluminous History

of Spain. In '84 he made a discourse at the University against

the pretended antiquity of the Mosaic legends, which caused his

excommunication by several bishops. He was supported by the students,

against whom the military were employed. He is Grand Master of the

Spanish Freemasons.

 

Moya (Francisco Xavier), Spanish statistician, b. about 1825. Was

deputy to the Cortes of 1869, and has written several works on the

infallibility of the Pope and on the temporal power.

 

Nakens (José), Spanish journalist, b. 1846. Founder and editor of El

Motin, a Republican and Freethought paper of Madrid, in connection

with which there is a library, in which he has written La Piqueta--the

Pick-axe.

 

Nees Von Esenbeck (Christian Gottfried), German naturalist,

b. Odenwald, 14 Feb. 1776. He became a doctor of medicine, and was

Professor of Botany at Bohn, 1819, and Breslau, '31. He was leader of

the free religious movement in Silesia, and in '48, took part in the

political agitations, and was deprived of his chair. Wrote several

works on natural philosophy. Died at Breslau, 16 March, 1858.

 

Nyblaus (Claes Gudmund), Swedish bookseller, b. 1817, has published

some anti-Christian pamphlets.

 

Offen (Benjamin), American lecturer, b. England, 1772. He emigrated to

America and became lecturer to the Society of Moral Philanthropists at

Tammany Hall, New York, and was connected With the Free Discussion

Society. He wrote A Legacy to the Friends of Free Discussion, a

critical review of the Bible. Died at New York, 12 May, 1848.

 

Palmaer (Bernhard Henrik), Swedish satirist, b. 21 Aug. 1801. Author of The Last Judgment in the Crow Corner. Died at Linkoping, 7 July, 1854.

 

Panizza (Mario). Italian physiologist and philosopher; author of a

materialist work on The Philosophy of the Nervous System, Rome, 1887.

 

Perez Galdos (Benito), eminent living Spanish novelist, b. Canary

Islands, lived since his youth in Madrid. Of his novels we mention

Gloria, which has been translated into English, and La Familia

de Leon Roch, 1878, in which he stoutly attacks clericalism and

religious intolerance. He has also written Episodes nacionales,

and many historical novels.

 

Regenbrecht (Michael Eduard), German rationalist, b. Brannsberg,

1792. He left the Church with Ronge, and became leader of the free

religious movement at Breslau, where he died 9 June, 1849.

 

Robert (Roberto). Spanish anti-clerical satirist, b. 1817. Became

famous by his mordant style, his most celebrated works being The

Rogues of Antonio, The Times of Mari Casania, The Skimmer of the

Centuries. Died in 1870.

 

Rupp (Julius), German reformer, b. Königsberg, 13 Aug. 1809. Studied

philosophy and theology, and became in '42 a minister. He protested

against the creeds, and became leader of the Free-religious movement

in East Prussia.

 

Ryberg (Y. E.), Swedish merchant captain, b. 16 Oct. 1828. He has

translated several of Mr. Bradlaugh's pamphlets and other secular

literature.

 

Sachse (Heinrich Ernst), German atheist, b. 1812. At Magdeburg he

did much to demolish the remains of theism in the Free-religious

communities. Died 1883.

 

Sales y Ferre (Manuel), Spanish scientist, b. about 1839. Professor

at the University of Seville. Has published several works on geology

and prehistoric times.

 

Schneider (Georg Heinrich), German naturalist, b. Mannheim,

1854. Author of The Human Will from the standpoint of the New

Development Theory (Berlin, 1882), and other works.

 

Schreiner (Olive), the daughter of a German missionary in South

Africa. Authoress of "The Story of an African Farm," 1883.

 

Serre (... de la), author of an Examination of Religion, attributed to

Saint Evremond, 1745. It was condemned to be burnt by the Parliament

of Paris.

 

Suner y Capderila. Spanish physician of Barcelona, b. 1828. Became

deputy to the Cortes in 1829, and is famous for his discourses

against Catholicism.

 

Tocco (Felice), Italian philosopher and anthropologist, b. Catanzaro,

12 Sept. 1845, and studied at the University of Naples and Bologna,

and became Professor of Philosophy at Pisa. He wrote in the

Rivista Bolognese on Leopardi, and on "Positivism" in the Rivista

Contemporanea. He has published works on A. Bain's Theory of Sensation,'72; Thoughts on the History of Philosophy, '77; The Heresy of the Middle Ages, '84; and Giordano Bruno, '86.

 

Tommasi (Salvatore), Italian evolutionist, author of a work on

Evolution, Science, and Naturalism, Naples 1877, and a little pamphlet

in commemoration of Darwin, '82.

 

Tubino (Francisco Maria), Spanish positivist, b. Seville, 1838, took

part in Garibaldi's campaign in Sicily, and has contributed to the

Rivista Europea.

 

Tuthill (Charles A. H.), author of The Origin and Development of

Christian Dogma, London, 1889.

 

Vernial (Paul), French doctor and member of the Anthropological

Society of Paris, author of a work on the Origin of Man, 1881.

 

Wheeler (Joseph Mazzini), atheist, b. London, 24 Jan., 1850. Converted

from Christianity by reading Newman, Mill, Darwin, Spencer, etc. Has

contributed to the National Reformer Secularist, Secular Chronicle,

Liberal, Progress, and Freethinker which he has sub-edited since

1882, using occasionally the signatures "Laon," "Lucianus" and other

pseudonyms. Has published Frauds and Follies of the Fathers '88,

Footsteps of the Past, a collection of essays in anthropology and

comparative religion '86; and Crimes of Christianity, written in

conjunction with G. W. Foote, with whom he has also edited Sepher

Toldoth Jeshu. The compiler of the present work is a willing drudge

in the cause he loves, and hopes to empty many an inkstand in the

service of Freethought.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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______________________

 

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H P Blavatsky’s Heavy Duty

Theosophical Glossary

Published 1892

A B C D EFG H IJ KL M N OP QR S T UV WXYZ

 

Complete Theosophical Glossary in Plain Text Format

1.22MB

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The Ocean of Theosophy

William Quan Judge

 

Preface    Theosophy and the Masters    General Principles

 

The Earth Chain    Body and Astral Body    Kama – Desire

 

Manas    Of Reincarnation    Reincarnation Continued

 

Karma    Kama Loka    Devachan    Cycles

 

Septenary Constitution Of Man

 

Arguments Supporting Reincarnation

 

Differentiation Of Species Missing Links

 

Psychic Laws, Forces, and Phenomena

 

Psychic Phenomena and Spiritualism

 

Instant Guide to Theosophy

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What is Theosophy ?  Theosophy Defined (More Detail)

 

Three Fundamental Propositions  Key Concepts of Theosophy

 

Cosmogenesis  Anthropogenesis  Root Races

 

Ascended Masters  After Death States

 

The Seven Principles of Man  Karma

 

Reincarnation   Helena Petrovna Blavatsky

 

Colonel Henry Steel Olcott  William Quan Judge

 

The Start of the Theosophical Society

 

History of the Theosophical Society

 

Theosophical Society Presidents

 

History of the Theosophical Society in Wales

 

The Three Objectives of the Theosophical Society

 

Explanation of the Theosophical Society Emblem

 

The Theosophical Order of Service (TOS)

 

Ocean of Theosophy

William Quan Judge

 

Glossaries of Theosophical Terms

 

Worldwide Theosophical Links

 

 

 

Index of Searchable

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Definitive

Theosophical Works

 

 

H P Blavatsky’s Secret Doctrine

 

Isis Unveiled by H P Blavatsky

 

H P Blavatsky’s Esoteric Glossary

 

Mahatma Letters to A P Sinnett 1 - 25

 

A Modern Revival of Ancient Wisdom

Alvin Boyd Kuhn

 

Studies in Occultism

(Selection of Articles by H P Blavatsky)

 

The Conquest of Illusion

J J van der Leeuw

 

The Secret Doctrine – Volume 3

A compilation of H P Blavatsky’s

writings published after her death

 

Esoteric Christianity or the Lesser Mysteries

Annie Besant

 

The Ancient Wisdom

Annie Besant

 

Reincarnation

Annie Besant

 

The Early Teachings of The Masters

1881-1883

Edited by

C. Jinarajadasa

 

Study in Consciousness

Annie Besant

 

 

A Textbook of Theosophy

C W Leadbeater

 

A Modern Panarion

A Collection of Fugitive Fragments

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H P Blavatsky

 

The Perfect Way or,

The Finding of Christ

Anna Bonus Kingsford

& Edward Maitland

Part1

 

The Perfect Way or,

The Finding of Christ

Anna Bonus Kingsford

& Edward Maitland

Part2

 

Pistis Sophia

A Gnostic Gospel

Foreword by G R S Mead

 

The Devachanic Plane.

Its Characteristics

and Inhabitants

C. W. Leadbeater

 

Theosophy

Annie Besant

 

The

Bhagavad Gita

Translated from the Sanskrit

By

William Quan Judge

 

Psychic Glossary

 

Sanskrit Dictionary

 

Fundamentals of the Esoteric Philosophy

G de Purucker

 

In The Outer Court

Annie Besant

 

Dreams and

Dream-Stories

Anna Kingsford

 

My Path to Atheism

Annie Besant

 

From the Caves and

Jungles of Hindostan

H P Blavatsky

 

The Hidden Side

Of Things

C W Leadbeater

 

Glimpses of

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C W Leadbeater

 

Five Years Of

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Various Theosophical

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Mystical, Philosophical, Theosophical, Historical

and Scientific Essays Selected from "The Theosophist"

Edited by George Robert Stow Mead

 

Spiritualism and Theosophy

C W Leadbeater

 

Commentary on

The Voice of the Silence

Annie Besant and

C W Leadbeater

From Talks on the Path of Occultism - Vol. II

 

Is This Theosophy?

Ernest Egerton Wood

 

In The Twilight

Annie Besant

In the Twilight” Series of Articles

The In the Twilight” series appeared during

1898 in The Theosophical Review and

from 1909-1913 in The Theosophist.

 

Incidents in the Life

of Madame Blavatsky

compiled from information supplied by

her relatives and friends and edited by A P Sinnett

 

The Friendly Philosopher

Robert Crosbie

Letters and Talks on Theosophy and the Theosophical Life

 

 

Obras Teosoficas En Espanol

 

La Sabiduria Antigua

Annie Besant

 

Glosario Teosofico

1892

H P Blavatsky

 

 

Theosophische Schriften Auf Deutsch

 

Die Geheimlehre

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H P Blavatsky

 

 

 

Elementary Theosophy

An Outstanding Introduction to Theosophy

By a student of Katherine Tingley

 

Elementary Theosophy Who is the Man?  Body and Soul   

 

Body, Soul and Spirit  Reincarnation  Karma

 

The Seven in Man and Nature

 

The Meaning of Death

 

 

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THEOSOPHY

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Cardiff Theosophical Society in Wales

Theosophy House

206 Newport Road, Cardiff, Wales, UK. CF24 -1DL