A Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers.

A Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers.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). SeePetrus,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. HisMiscellanieswere 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 theIndex, a journal of free religious inquiry and anti-supernaturalism, at Toledo, but since 1874 at Boston. This he edited 1870–80. In 1872 appeared hisImpeachment ofChristianity. In addition to his work on theIndex, Mr. Abbot has lectured a great deal, and has contributed to theNorth American Reviewand other periodicals.He was the first president of the American National Liberal League. Mr. Abbot is an evolutionist and Theist, and defends his views inScientific Theism, 1886.Ablaing van Giessenburg(R.C.) SeeGiessenburg.Abu Bakr Ibn Al-Tufail(Abu J’afar)Al Isbili. Spanish Arabian philosopher, b. at Guadys, wrote a philosophical romance of pantheistic tendencyHai Ibn Yakdan, translated into Latin by Pocock, Oxford 1671, and into English by S. Ockley, 1711, under the title ofThe Improvement of Human Reason. Died at Morocco 1185.Abu-Fazil(Abu al Fadhl ibn Mubarak, calledAl 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 theAyin Akbary, a statistical account of the Indian Empire. It wastranslatedby 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, néeChoquet), 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 publishedThoughts 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 onMarriage its Past, Present, and Future, 1880. Mrs. Besant has translated his monograph onThe Idea of God in the Revolution, published in theDroits 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 hisStrategems of Satan, published at Basle 1565. This was one of the earliest latitudinarian works, and was placed upon theIndex. 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’sAreopagiticamay be traced to Acontius, who, Cheynell informs us, lived till 1623. Stephen’sDictionary of National Biographysays 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 theOracle of Reason.Adams(Robert C.), Canadian Freethought writer and lecturer. Author ofTravels in Faith from Tradition to Reason(New York, 1884), alsoEvolution, 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 entitledCreed 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. HisNotes on the Earlier Hebrew Scriptures1876, 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 theDabistan. 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 ofMonks, Popes, and their Political Intrigues(Baltimore, 1871) andAntiquity 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) calledAl 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 famousEncyclopédie, 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 hisEssay on Tyrannyhe 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 ofSaulhas 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 someimprovements. 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 writeNewtonianism 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. HisCritical 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 includePhysiological 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 onForce and Energy(1888).Allen(Ethan)Col., American soldier, b. atLitchfield, 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 1784Reason 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 hisLetters, Conversations and Recollections of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, he has imported many of his Freethought views.Alm(Richard von der). SeeGhillany (F. W.)Alpharabius(Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan) (Abu Nasr), calledAl 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.AmauryorAmalric 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 ofPhysion, condemned by a bull of PopeInnocent 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(JohnRussell) 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 theNorth British, theFortnightlyandTheological Reviews, and will be remembered by his boldAnalysis 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 calledVoyage 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 395A.D.Ammonius, surnamedSaccasor 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 diedA.D.243, aged over eighty years.Anaxagoras, a Greek philosopher of the Ionic school, b. about 499B.C., lived at Athens and enjoyed the friendship of Pericles. In 450B.C.he was accused of Atheism for maintaining the eternity of matter and was banished to Lampsacus, where he died in 428B.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 ofPositivism 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 entitledThe Basic Outline of Universology(N. Y., 1872). He also wroteThe 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 LondonTimes, the New YorkTruthseeker, 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 writtenSouvenirs 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 onFreethinking the Great Duty of Religion, by P. A., minister of religion. This was followed bythe 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,” andThe Resurrection of Jesus Considered(1744) in answer to Bishop Sherlock’sTrial of the Witnesses. This controversy was continued inThe Resurrection ReconsideredandThe Resurrection Defenders Stript of all Defence. InAn Examination of the History and Character of St. Paulhe attacks the sincerity of the apostle to the Gentiles and even questions the authenticity of his epistles. InSupernaturals Examined(1747) he argues that all miracles are incredible. In 1761 he issued nine numbers of theFree 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 conductedThe Revolutionistfounded in New York in 1868, and with Mrs. Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage she has edited theHistory 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 theJournal des Hommes Libresoccasioned his arrest with Babœuf. He was, however, acquitted. Died at Arles, 26 Nov. 1817.Antoninus(Marcus Aurelius). SeeAurelius.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 inthe provisional Government of 1848. He opposed the election of Louis Napoleon, and refused to take the oath of allegiance after thecoup d’étatof 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 byPsychology 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. HisPositivist Moralsappeared in Padua 1885.Argens(Jean Baptiste deBoyer)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 areLettres Juives, Lettres ChinoisesandLettres Cabalistiques, which were joined toLa 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 deFerriol)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 ofMémoires 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 444B.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 satirisednot 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 380B.C.Aristotle, the most illustrious of ancient philosophers, was born at Stagyra, in Thrace, 384B.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 diedB.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.”Arnoldof 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 theStrayed Reveller, and other Poems, signed A. In 1851 he married and became an inspector of schools. In 1853 appearedEmpedocles 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 entitledSt. Paul and Protestantism; in 1873Literature and Dogma, which, from its rejection of supernaturalism, occasioned much stir and was followed byGod and the Bible. In 1877 Mr. Arnold publishedLast 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 onl’Opinion Nationale, theRappel,Reformeand other papers. In 1864 he published a work on Beranger, and in ’69 aHistory of the Inquisition. In Jan. 1870 he foundedLa Marseillaisewith H. Rochefort, and afterwards theJournal du Peuplewith 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 aHistory of the Church1874, and a little work on thePhilosophy of Liberalism1877.Arouet(François Marie). SeeVoltaire.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 bookDe Tribus Impostoribusis attributed to him. Died,Hamburg, 4 Nov. 1740.Arthur(John) is inserted in Maréchal’sDictionnaire des Athéesas a mechanic from near Birmingham, who took a prize at Paris and republished theInvocation to Naturein the last pages of theSystem of Nature. Julian Hibbert inserted his name in hisChronological 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 establishedLa Libre Pensée, a weekly journal of scientific materialism, and when that was suppressedLa Pensée Nouvelle. He was one of the founders of theEncyclopédie Générale. He wroteDiderot 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 theJournal 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 toLa Pensée Nouvelle, edited theMan Machineof 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. WroteElements 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 theZoist. In 1851 he issuedLetters 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 theNational Reformerand 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 theRomance of a Freethinkerand of an ableReply 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. HisMeditations, 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 ofBentham, 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 theWestminster 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), calledIbn 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 theEncyclopédie Générale. His vindication of Cloots (1865) is a solid work of erudition. He became editor ofla République Françaiseand edited the edition of Voltaire published byLe 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 theRenaissancethrough the Paduan school were again condemned by Pope Leo X. in 1513.Avicenna(Husain Ibn Abdallah, calledIbn 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 publishedMetamorphoses of the Romish Religion, and is said to have put forward a version of theEsprit de Spinozaunder the famous titleTreatise of Three Impostors. Died about 1734.Bagehot(Walter), economist and journalist, b. of Unitarian parents, Langport, Somersetshire, 3 Feb. 1826; he diedat 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 theEconomistnewspaper. His best-known works areThe English Constitution,Lombard StreetandLiterary Studies. InPhysics 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 othersAdam 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 mentionThe Philosophy of History, Berlin, 1872, andThe 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, calledNew Revelations of God: A System of Moral Religion for Doubters and Thinkers, Berlin, 1787, and aCatechism of Natural Religion, Halle, 1790. Died near Halle, 23 April, 1792.Bailey(James Napier), Socialist, edited theModel Republic, 1843, theTorch, and theMonthly Messenger. He publishedGehenna: its Monarch and Inhabitants; Sophistry Unmasked, and several other tracts in the “Social Reformer’s Cabinet Library,” and some interestingEssays on Miscellaneous Subjects, at Leeds, 1842.Bailey(Samuel), philosophical writer, of Sheffield, b. in 1791. His essay on theFormation and Publication of Opinionsappearedin 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 wasLetters from an Egyptian Kaffir on a Visit to England in Search of Religion. This was at first issued privately 1839, but afterwards printed as aReasonertract. He also wroteThe Pursuit of Truth, 1829, and aTheory 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 theLiberal, 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 hisProphet 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 theLibrary of Contemporary Philosophy, and theInternational 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 tocontribute to theWestminster Review, and became acquainted with John Stuart Mill, whoseLogiche discussed in manuscript. In 1855 he publishedThe Senses and The Intellect, and in 1859The 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 ofLL.D. Inadditionto numerous educational works Dr. Bain published aCompendium of Mental and Moral Science(1868),Mind and Body(1875), andEducation as a Science(1879), for the International Scientific Series. In 1882 he publishedJames Mill, a Biography, andJohn 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 publishedPractical Essays.Bainham(James), martyr. He married the widow of Simon Fish, author of theSupplycacion 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), Frenchlittérateur, b. Vans, 1827, author of several studies in philology and mythology. In 1878 he publishedLes Origines de la Religionin three volumes, which have the honor of being put upon the RomanIndex. This was followed byl’Age de Dieu, a study of cosmical periods and the feast of Easter. In 1882 he began to publishHistoire 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 ofProudhon. 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 theKolokol. 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 onGod 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 publishedPoems from Turkey(1872). Mr. Ball has contributed to theNational Reformersince 1878 and since 1884 has been on the staff of theFreethinker. He has published pamphlets onReligion in Schools, theTen CommandmentsandMrs Besant’s Socialism, and has compiled with Mr. Foote theBible Handbook. Mr. Ball is a close thinker and a firm supporter of Evolutional Malthusianism, which he has ably defended in the pages ofProgress. 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 theWanganui 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 thecoup d’étathe 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 onMysteries, 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 DawnandPoems, 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 publishedAdvice to the Privileged Orders. In France he translated Volney’sRuins of Empires, and contributed to the political literature of the Revolution. Paine entrusted him with the MS. of the first part of theAge of Reason. His chief work is entitled theColumbiad, 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 toLa Liberté de Penser(1847–51) and tol’Avenir(1855). During the Empire he lived in Switzerland and publishedMartyrs dela 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 aRational Calendar1859 and 1860. In May 1870 he established a journal entitledL’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) andContemporary 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 inNaturalScience and Mathematics, contributed to theNational Reformerbetween 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 wroteA New View of Causation(1871), and anIntroduction 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, wroteA Sketch of the Analogy of Man and Humanity(Lyons 1846), andPrinciples of Sociology(Paris 1867), and an abridgment of this entitledCatechism 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 Œcumenical Council (1871), signed Jean Populus, and a philosophical work entitledLove 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 theJournal des SavantsandEncyclopédie 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 isNew 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 publishedPhilalethea, theGrounds 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 ofThe Student1842,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 ofFleurs du Mal, 1857, in which appearedLes 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 theChristian 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 theLife of Jesusby Strauss (1835). This was followed by hisJournal of Speculative TheologyandCritical Exposition of the Religion of the Old Testament. He then proceeded to aReview of the Gospel History, upon the publication of which (1840) he was deprived of his professorship at Bonn. To this followedChristianity 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 hisProclamation of the Day of Judgement concerning Hegel the Atheist. Bauer’s heresy deepened with age, and in hisReview of the Gospels and History of their Origin(1850), to whichApostolical Historyis a supplement, he attacked the historical truth of the New Testament narratives. In hisReview 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 hisChrist and the Cæsarshe 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 entitledBruno 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 wroteLa 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 areChristianity and the Church in the First Three CenturiesandPaul: 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 fromThoughts on the Comet, in which he compares the supposed mischiefs of Atheism with those of fanaticism, and from many articles in his famousDictionnaire Critique, a work still of value for its curious learning and shrewd observation. In his journalNouvelles de la République des Lettreshe advocates religious toleration on the ground of the difficulty of distinguishing truth from error. His criticism of Maimbourg’sHistory of Calvinismwas 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 diedat 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, wroteThe 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). SeeBenthamandGrote.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 anonymouslyThe Dreams of Epicurus, and an essay on Happiness (Berlin, 1758), reprinted with theSocial Systemof 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 isWoman in the Past, Present and Futurewhich is translated by H. B. A. Walther, 1885. He has also written on theMohammedan Culture Period(1884) and onChristianity and Socialism.Beccaria(Bonesana Cesare), an Italian marquis and writer, b. at Milan, 15 March, 1738. A friend of Voltaire, who praised his treatise onCrimes 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’sSystem 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 theImperial 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 hisDictionary 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 hisWorld 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 ofThugee. He wrote theTask of To-Day, 1852, and assisted theReasoner, 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.

A Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers.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). SeePetrus,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. HisMiscellanieswere 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 theIndex, a journal of free religious inquiry and anti-supernaturalism, at Toledo, but since 1874 at Boston. This he edited 1870–80. In 1872 appeared hisImpeachment ofChristianity. In addition to his work on theIndex, Mr. Abbot has lectured a great deal, and has contributed to theNorth American Reviewand other periodicals.He was the first president of the American National Liberal League. Mr. Abbot is an evolutionist and Theist, and defends his views inScientific Theism, 1886.Ablaing van Giessenburg(R.C.) SeeGiessenburg.Abu Bakr Ibn Al-Tufail(Abu J’afar)Al Isbili. Spanish Arabian philosopher, b. at Guadys, wrote a philosophical romance of pantheistic tendencyHai Ibn Yakdan, translated into Latin by Pocock, Oxford 1671, and into English by S. Ockley, 1711, under the title ofThe Improvement of Human Reason. Died at Morocco 1185.Abu-Fazil(Abu al Fadhl ibn Mubarak, calledAl 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 theAyin Akbary, a statistical account of the Indian Empire. It wastranslatedby 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, néeChoquet), 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 publishedThoughts 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 onMarriage its Past, Present, and Future, 1880. Mrs. Besant has translated his monograph onThe Idea of God in the Revolution, published in theDroits 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 hisStrategems of Satan, published at Basle 1565. This was one of the earliest latitudinarian works, and was placed upon theIndex. 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’sAreopagiticamay be traced to Acontius, who, Cheynell informs us, lived till 1623. Stephen’sDictionary of National Biographysays 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 theOracle of Reason.Adams(Robert C.), Canadian Freethought writer and lecturer. Author ofTravels in Faith from Tradition to Reason(New York, 1884), alsoEvolution, 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 entitledCreed 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. HisNotes on the Earlier Hebrew Scriptures1876, 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 theDabistan. 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 ofMonks, Popes, and their Political Intrigues(Baltimore, 1871) andAntiquity 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) calledAl 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 famousEncyclopédie, 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 hisEssay on Tyrannyhe 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 ofSaulhas 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 someimprovements. 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 writeNewtonianism 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. HisCritical 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 includePhysiological 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 onForce and Energy(1888).Allen(Ethan)Col., American soldier, b. atLitchfield, 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 1784Reason 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 hisLetters, Conversations and Recollections of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, he has imported many of his Freethought views.Alm(Richard von der). SeeGhillany (F. W.)Alpharabius(Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan) (Abu Nasr), calledAl 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.AmauryorAmalric 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 ofPhysion, condemned by a bull of PopeInnocent 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(JohnRussell) 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 theNorth British, theFortnightlyandTheological Reviews, and will be remembered by his boldAnalysis 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 calledVoyage 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 395A.D.Ammonius, surnamedSaccasor 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 diedA.D.243, aged over eighty years.Anaxagoras, a Greek philosopher of the Ionic school, b. about 499B.C., lived at Athens and enjoyed the friendship of Pericles. In 450B.C.he was accused of Atheism for maintaining the eternity of matter and was banished to Lampsacus, where he died in 428B.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 ofPositivism 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 entitledThe Basic Outline of Universology(N. Y., 1872). He also wroteThe 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 LondonTimes, the New YorkTruthseeker, 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 writtenSouvenirs 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 onFreethinking the Great Duty of Religion, by P. A., minister of religion. This was followed bythe 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,” andThe Resurrection of Jesus Considered(1744) in answer to Bishop Sherlock’sTrial of the Witnesses. This controversy was continued inThe Resurrection ReconsideredandThe Resurrection Defenders Stript of all Defence. InAn Examination of the History and Character of St. Paulhe attacks the sincerity of the apostle to the Gentiles and even questions the authenticity of his epistles. InSupernaturals Examined(1747) he argues that all miracles are incredible. In 1761 he issued nine numbers of theFree 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 conductedThe Revolutionistfounded in New York in 1868, and with Mrs. Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage she has edited theHistory 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 theJournal des Hommes Libresoccasioned his arrest with Babœuf. He was, however, acquitted. Died at Arles, 26 Nov. 1817.Antoninus(Marcus Aurelius). SeeAurelius.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 inthe provisional Government of 1848. He opposed the election of Louis Napoleon, and refused to take the oath of allegiance after thecoup d’étatof 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 byPsychology 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. HisPositivist Moralsappeared in Padua 1885.Argens(Jean Baptiste deBoyer)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 areLettres Juives, Lettres ChinoisesandLettres Cabalistiques, which were joined toLa 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 deFerriol)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 ofMémoires 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 444B.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 satirisednot 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 380B.C.Aristotle, the most illustrious of ancient philosophers, was born at Stagyra, in Thrace, 384B.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 diedB.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.”Arnoldof 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 theStrayed Reveller, and other Poems, signed A. In 1851 he married and became an inspector of schools. In 1853 appearedEmpedocles 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 entitledSt. Paul and Protestantism; in 1873Literature and Dogma, which, from its rejection of supernaturalism, occasioned much stir and was followed byGod and the Bible. In 1877 Mr. Arnold publishedLast 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 onl’Opinion Nationale, theRappel,Reformeand other papers. In 1864 he published a work on Beranger, and in ’69 aHistory of the Inquisition. In Jan. 1870 he foundedLa Marseillaisewith H. Rochefort, and afterwards theJournal du Peuplewith 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 aHistory of the Church1874, and a little work on thePhilosophy of Liberalism1877.Arouet(François Marie). SeeVoltaire.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 bookDe Tribus Impostoribusis attributed to him. Died,Hamburg, 4 Nov. 1740.Arthur(John) is inserted in Maréchal’sDictionnaire des Athéesas a mechanic from near Birmingham, who took a prize at Paris and republished theInvocation to Naturein the last pages of theSystem of Nature. Julian Hibbert inserted his name in hisChronological 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 establishedLa Libre Pensée, a weekly journal of scientific materialism, and when that was suppressedLa Pensée Nouvelle. He was one of the founders of theEncyclopédie Générale. He wroteDiderot 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 theJournal 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 toLa Pensée Nouvelle, edited theMan Machineof 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. WroteElements 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 theZoist. In 1851 he issuedLetters 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 theNational Reformerand 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 theRomance of a Freethinkerand of an ableReply 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. HisMeditations, 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 ofBentham, 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 theWestminster 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), calledIbn 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 theEncyclopédie Générale. His vindication of Cloots (1865) is a solid work of erudition. He became editor ofla République Françaiseand edited the edition of Voltaire published byLe 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 theRenaissancethrough the Paduan school were again condemned by Pope Leo X. in 1513.Avicenna(Husain Ibn Abdallah, calledIbn 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 publishedMetamorphoses of the Romish Religion, and is said to have put forward a version of theEsprit de Spinozaunder the famous titleTreatise of Three Impostors. Died about 1734.Bagehot(Walter), economist and journalist, b. of Unitarian parents, Langport, Somersetshire, 3 Feb. 1826; he diedat 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 theEconomistnewspaper. His best-known works areThe English Constitution,Lombard StreetandLiterary Studies. InPhysics 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 othersAdam 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 mentionThe Philosophy of History, Berlin, 1872, andThe 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, calledNew Revelations of God: A System of Moral Religion for Doubters and Thinkers, Berlin, 1787, and aCatechism of Natural Religion, Halle, 1790. Died near Halle, 23 April, 1792.Bailey(James Napier), Socialist, edited theModel Republic, 1843, theTorch, and theMonthly Messenger. He publishedGehenna: its Monarch and Inhabitants; Sophistry Unmasked, and several other tracts in the “Social Reformer’s Cabinet Library,” and some interestingEssays on Miscellaneous Subjects, at Leeds, 1842.Bailey(Samuel), philosophical writer, of Sheffield, b. in 1791. His essay on theFormation and Publication of Opinionsappearedin 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 wasLetters from an Egyptian Kaffir on a Visit to England in Search of Religion. This was at first issued privately 1839, but afterwards printed as aReasonertract. He also wroteThe Pursuit of Truth, 1829, and aTheory 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 theLiberal, 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 hisProphet 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 theLibrary of Contemporary Philosophy, and theInternational 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 tocontribute to theWestminster Review, and became acquainted with John Stuart Mill, whoseLogiche discussed in manuscript. In 1855 he publishedThe Senses and The Intellect, and in 1859The 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 ofLL.D. Inadditionto numerous educational works Dr. Bain published aCompendium of Mental and Moral Science(1868),Mind and Body(1875), andEducation as a Science(1879), for the International Scientific Series. In 1882 he publishedJames Mill, a Biography, andJohn 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 publishedPractical Essays.Bainham(James), martyr. He married the widow of Simon Fish, author of theSupplycacion 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), Frenchlittérateur, b. Vans, 1827, author of several studies in philology and mythology. In 1878 he publishedLes Origines de la Religionin three volumes, which have the honor of being put upon the RomanIndex. This was followed byl’Age de Dieu, a study of cosmical periods and the feast of Easter. In 1882 he began to publishHistoire 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 ofProudhon. 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 theKolokol. 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 onGod 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 publishedPoems from Turkey(1872). Mr. Ball has contributed to theNational Reformersince 1878 and since 1884 has been on the staff of theFreethinker. He has published pamphlets onReligion in Schools, theTen CommandmentsandMrs Besant’s Socialism, and has compiled with Mr. Foote theBible Handbook. Mr. Ball is a close thinker and a firm supporter of Evolutional Malthusianism, which he has ably defended in the pages ofProgress. 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 theWanganui 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 thecoup d’étathe 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 onMysteries, 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 DawnandPoems, 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 publishedAdvice to the Privileged Orders. In France he translated Volney’sRuins of Empires, and contributed to the political literature of the Revolution. Paine entrusted him with the MS. of the first part of theAge of Reason. His chief work is entitled theColumbiad, 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 toLa Liberté de Penser(1847–51) and tol’Avenir(1855). During the Empire he lived in Switzerland and publishedMartyrs dela 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 aRational Calendar1859 and 1860. In May 1870 he established a journal entitledL’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) andContemporary 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 inNaturalScience and Mathematics, contributed to theNational Reformerbetween 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 wroteA New View of Causation(1871), and anIntroduction 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, wroteA Sketch of the Analogy of Man and Humanity(Lyons 1846), andPrinciples of Sociology(Paris 1867), and an abridgment of this entitledCatechism 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 Œcumenical Council (1871), signed Jean Populus, and a philosophical work entitledLove 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 theJournal des SavantsandEncyclopédie 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 isNew 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 publishedPhilalethea, theGrounds 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 ofThe Student1842,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 ofFleurs du Mal, 1857, in which appearedLes 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 theChristian 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 theLife of Jesusby Strauss (1835). This was followed by hisJournal of Speculative TheologyandCritical Exposition of the Religion of the Old Testament. He then proceeded to aReview of the Gospel History, upon the publication of which (1840) he was deprived of his professorship at Bonn. To this followedChristianity 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 hisProclamation of the Day of Judgement concerning Hegel the Atheist. Bauer’s heresy deepened with age, and in hisReview of the Gospels and History of their Origin(1850), to whichApostolical Historyis a supplement, he attacked the historical truth of the New Testament narratives. In hisReview 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 hisChrist and the Cæsarshe 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 entitledBruno 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 wroteLa 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 areChristianity and the Church in the First Three CenturiesandPaul: 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 fromThoughts on the Comet, in which he compares the supposed mischiefs of Atheism with those of fanaticism, and from many articles in his famousDictionnaire Critique, a work still of value for its curious learning and shrewd observation. In his journalNouvelles de la République des Lettreshe advocates religious toleration on the ground of the difficulty of distinguishing truth from error. His criticism of Maimbourg’sHistory of Calvinismwas 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 diedat 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, wroteThe 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). SeeBenthamandGrote.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 anonymouslyThe Dreams of Epicurus, and an essay on Happiness (Berlin, 1758), reprinted with theSocial Systemof 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 isWoman in the Past, Present and Futurewhich is translated by H. B. A. Walther, 1885. He has also written on theMohammedan Culture Period(1884) and onChristianity and Socialism.Beccaria(Bonesana Cesare), an Italian marquis and writer, b. at Milan, 15 March, 1738. A friend of Voltaire, who praised his treatise onCrimes 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’sSystem 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 theImperial 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 hisDictionary 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 hisWorld 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 ofThugee. He wrote theTask of To-Day, 1852, and assisted theReasoner, 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.

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). SeePetrus,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. HisMiscellanieswere 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 theIndex, a journal of free religious inquiry and anti-supernaturalism, at Toledo, but since 1874 at Boston. This he edited 1870–80. In 1872 appeared hisImpeachment ofChristianity. In addition to his work on theIndex, Mr. Abbot has lectured a great deal, and has contributed to theNorth American Reviewand other periodicals.He was the first president of the American National Liberal League. Mr. Abbot is an evolutionist and Theist, and defends his views inScientific Theism, 1886.

Ablaing van Giessenburg(R.C.) SeeGiessenburg.

Abu Bakr Ibn Al-Tufail(Abu J’afar)Al Isbili. Spanish Arabian philosopher, b. at Guadys, wrote a philosophical romance of pantheistic tendencyHai Ibn Yakdan, translated into Latin by Pocock, Oxford 1671, and into English by S. Ockley, 1711, under the title ofThe Improvement of Human Reason. Died at Morocco 1185.

Abu-Fazil(Abu al Fadhl ibn Mubarak, calledAl 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 theAyin Akbary, a statistical account of the Indian Empire. It wastranslatedby 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, néeChoquet), 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 publishedThoughts 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 onMarriage its Past, Present, and Future, 1880. Mrs. Besant has translated his monograph onThe Idea of God in the Revolution, published in theDroits 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 hisStrategems of Satan, published at Basle 1565. This was one of the earliest latitudinarian works, and was placed upon theIndex. 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’sAreopagiticamay be traced to Acontius, who, Cheynell informs us, lived till 1623. Stephen’sDictionary of National Biographysays 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 theOracle of Reason.

Adams(Robert C.), Canadian Freethought writer and lecturer. Author ofTravels in Faith from Tradition to Reason(New York, 1884), alsoEvolution, 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 entitledCreed 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. HisNotes on the Earlier Hebrew Scriptures1876, 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 theDabistan. 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 ofMonks, Popes, and their Political Intrigues(Baltimore, 1871) andAntiquity 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) calledAl 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 famousEncyclopédie, 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 hisEssay on Tyrannyhe 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 ofSaulhas 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 someimprovements. 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 writeNewtonianism 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. HisCritical 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 includePhysiological 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 onForce and Energy(1888).

Allen(Ethan)Col., American soldier, b. atLitchfield, 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 1784Reason 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 hisLetters, Conversations and Recollections of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, he has imported many of his Freethought views.

Alm(Richard von der). SeeGhillany (F. W.)

Alpharabius(Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Tarkhan) (Abu Nasr), calledAl 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.

AmauryorAmalric 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 ofPhysion, condemned by a bull of PopeInnocent 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(JohnRussell) 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 theNorth British, theFortnightlyandTheological Reviews, and will be remembered by his boldAnalysis 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 calledVoyage 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 395A.D.

Ammonius, surnamedSaccasor 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 diedA.D.243, aged over eighty years.

Anaxagoras, a Greek philosopher of the Ionic school, b. about 499B.C., lived at Athens and enjoyed the friendship of Pericles. In 450B.C.he was accused of Atheism for maintaining the eternity of matter and was banished to Lampsacus, where he died in 428B.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 ofPositivism 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 entitledThe Basic Outline of Universology(N. Y., 1872). He also wroteThe 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 LondonTimes, the New YorkTruthseeker, 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 writtenSouvenirs 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 onFreethinking the Great Duty of Religion, by P. A., minister of religion. This was followed bythe 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,” andThe Resurrection of Jesus Considered(1744) in answer to Bishop Sherlock’sTrial of the Witnesses. This controversy was continued inThe Resurrection ReconsideredandThe Resurrection Defenders Stript of all Defence. InAn Examination of the History and Character of St. Paulhe attacks the sincerity of the apostle to the Gentiles and even questions the authenticity of his epistles. InSupernaturals Examined(1747) he argues that all miracles are incredible. In 1761 he issued nine numbers of theFree 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 conductedThe Revolutionistfounded in New York in 1868, and with Mrs. Stanton and Matilda Joslyn Gage she has edited theHistory 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 theJournal des Hommes Libresoccasioned his arrest with Babœuf. He was, however, acquitted. Died at Arles, 26 Nov. 1817.

Antoninus(Marcus Aurelius). SeeAurelius.

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 inthe provisional Government of 1848. He opposed the election of Louis Napoleon, and refused to take the oath of allegiance after thecoup d’étatof 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 byPsychology 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. HisPositivist Moralsappeared in Padua 1885.

Argens(Jean Baptiste deBoyer)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 areLettres Juives, Lettres ChinoisesandLettres Cabalistiques, which were joined toLa 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 deFerriol)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 ofMémoires 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 444B.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 satirisednot 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 380B.C.

Aristotle, the most illustrious of ancient philosophers, was born at Stagyra, in Thrace, 384B.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 diedB.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.”

Arnoldof 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 theStrayed Reveller, and other Poems, signed A. In 1851 he married and became an inspector of schools. In 1853 appearedEmpedocles 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 entitledSt. Paul and Protestantism; in 1873Literature and Dogma, which, from its rejection of supernaturalism, occasioned much stir and was followed byGod and the Bible. In 1877 Mr. Arnold publishedLast 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 onl’Opinion Nationale, theRappel,Reformeand other papers. In 1864 he published a work on Beranger, and in ’69 aHistory of the Inquisition. In Jan. 1870 he foundedLa Marseillaisewith H. Rochefort, and afterwards theJournal du Peuplewith 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 aHistory of the Church1874, and a little work on thePhilosophy of Liberalism1877.

Arouet(François Marie). SeeVoltaire.

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 bookDe Tribus Impostoribusis attributed to him. Died,Hamburg, 4 Nov. 1740.

Arthur(John) is inserted in Maréchal’sDictionnaire des Athéesas a mechanic from near Birmingham, who took a prize at Paris and republished theInvocation to Naturein the last pages of theSystem of Nature. Julian Hibbert inserted his name in hisChronological 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 establishedLa Libre Pensée, a weekly journal of scientific materialism, and when that was suppressedLa Pensée Nouvelle. He was one of the founders of theEncyclopédie Générale. He wroteDiderot 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 theJournal 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 toLa Pensée Nouvelle, edited theMan Machineof 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. WroteElements 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 theZoist. In 1851 he issuedLetters 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 theNational Reformerand 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 theRomance of a Freethinkerand of an ableReply 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. HisMeditations, 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 ofBentham, 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 theWestminster 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), calledIbn 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 theEncyclopédie Générale. His vindication of Cloots (1865) is a solid work of erudition. He became editor ofla République Françaiseand edited the edition of Voltaire published byLe 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 theRenaissancethrough the Paduan school were again condemned by Pope Leo X. in 1513.

Avicenna(Husain Ibn Abdallah, calledIbn 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 publishedMetamorphoses of the Romish Religion, and is said to have put forward a version of theEsprit de Spinozaunder the famous titleTreatise of Three Impostors. Died about 1734.

Bagehot(Walter), economist and journalist, b. of Unitarian parents, Langport, Somersetshire, 3 Feb. 1826; he diedat 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 theEconomistnewspaper. His best-known works areThe English Constitution,Lombard StreetandLiterary Studies. InPhysics 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 othersAdam 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 mentionThe Philosophy of History, Berlin, 1872, andThe 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, calledNew Revelations of God: A System of Moral Religion for Doubters and Thinkers, Berlin, 1787, and aCatechism of Natural Religion, Halle, 1790. Died near Halle, 23 April, 1792.

Bailey(James Napier), Socialist, edited theModel Republic, 1843, theTorch, and theMonthly Messenger. He publishedGehenna: its Monarch and Inhabitants; Sophistry Unmasked, and several other tracts in the “Social Reformer’s Cabinet Library,” and some interestingEssays on Miscellaneous Subjects, at Leeds, 1842.

Bailey(Samuel), philosophical writer, of Sheffield, b. in 1791. His essay on theFormation and Publication of Opinionsappearedin 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 wasLetters from an Egyptian Kaffir on a Visit to England in Search of Religion. This was at first issued privately 1839, but afterwards printed as aReasonertract. He also wroteThe Pursuit of Truth, 1829, and aTheory 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 theLiberal, 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 hisProphet 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 theLibrary of Contemporary Philosophy, and theInternational 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 tocontribute to theWestminster Review, and became acquainted with John Stuart Mill, whoseLogiche discussed in manuscript. In 1855 he publishedThe Senses and The Intellect, and in 1859The 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 ofLL.D. Inadditionto numerous educational works Dr. Bain published aCompendium of Mental and Moral Science(1868),Mind and Body(1875), andEducation as a Science(1879), for the International Scientific Series. In 1882 he publishedJames Mill, a Biography, andJohn 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 publishedPractical Essays.

Bainham(James), martyr. He married the widow of Simon Fish, author of theSupplycacion 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), Frenchlittérateur, b. Vans, 1827, author of several studies in philology and mythology. In 1878 he publishedLes Origines de la Religionin three volumes, which have the honor of being put upon the RomanIndex. This was followed byl’Age de Dieu, a study of cosmical periods and the feast of Easter. In 1882 he began to publishHistoire 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 ofProudhon. 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 theKolokol. 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 onGod 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 publishedPoems from Turkey(1872). Mr. Ball has contributed to theNational Reformersince 1878 and since 1884 has been on the staff of theFreethinker. He has published pamphlets onReligion in Schools, theTen CommandmentsandMrs Besant’s Socialism, and has compiled with Mr. Foote theBible Handbook. Mr. Ball is a close thinker and a firm supporter of Evolutional Malthusianism, which he has ably defended in the pages ofProgress. 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 theWanganui 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 thecoup d’étathe 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 onMysteries, 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 DawnandPoems, 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 publishedAdvice to the Privileged Orders. In France he translated Volney’sRuins of Empires, and contributed to the political literature of the Revolution. Paine entrusted him with the MS. of the first part of theAge of Reason. His chief work is entitled theColumbiad, 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 toLa Liberté de Penser(1847–51) and tol’Avenir(1855). During the Empire he lived in Switzerland and publishedMartyrs dela 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 aRational Calendar1859 and 1860. In May 1870 he established a journal entitledL’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) andContemporary 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 inNaturalScience and Mathematics, contributed to theNational Reformerbetween 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 wroteA New View of Causation(1871), and anIntroduction 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, wroteA Sketch of the Analogy of Man and Humanity(Lyons 1846), andPrinciples of Sociology(Paris 1867), and an abridgment of this entitledCatechism 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 Œcumenical Council (1871), signed Jean Populus, and a philosophical work entitledLove 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 theJournal des SavantsandEncyclopédie 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 isNew 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 publishedPhilalethea, theGrounds 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 ofThe Student1842,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 ofFleurs du Mal, 1857, in which appearedLes 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 theChristian 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 theLife of Jesusby Strauss (1835). This was followed by hisJournal of Speculative TheologyandCritical Exposition of the Religion of the Old Testament. He then proceeded to aReview of the Gospel History, upon the publication of which (1840) he was deprived of his professorship at Bonn. To this followedChristianity 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 hisProclamation of the Day of Judgement concerning Hegel the Atheist. Bauer’s heresy deepened with age, and in hisReview of the Gospels and History of their Origin(1850), to whichApostolical Historyis a supplement, he attacked the historical truth of the New Testament narratives. In hisReview 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 hisChrist and the Cæsarshe 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 entitledBruno 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 wroteLa 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 areChristianity and the Church in the First Three CenturiesandPaul: 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 fromThoughts on the Comet, in which he compares the supposed mischiefs of Atheism with those of fanaticism, and from many articles in his famousDictionnaire Critique, a work still of value for its curious learning and shrewd observation. In his journalNouvelles de la République des Lettreshe advocates religious toleration on the ground of the difficulty of distinguishing truth from error. His criticism of Maimbourg’sHistory of Calvinismwas 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 diedat 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, wroteThe 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). SeeBenthamandGrote.

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 anonymouslyThe Dreams of Epicurus, and an essay on Happiness (Berlin, 1758), reprinted with theSocial Systemof 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 isWoman in the Past, Present and Futurewhich is translated by H. B. A. Walther, 1885. He has also written on theMohammedan Culture Period(1884) and onChristianity and Socialism.

Beccaria(Bonesana Cesare), an Italian marquis and writer, b. at Milan, 15 March, 1738. A friend of Voltaire, who praised his treatise onCrimes 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’sSystem 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 theImperial 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 hisDictionary 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 hisWorld 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 ofThugee. He wrote theTask of To-Day, 1852, and assisted theReasoner, 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.

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