Dyas(Richard H.), captain in the army. Author ofThe Upas. He resided long in Italy and translated several of the works of C. Voysey.Eaton(Daniel Isaac), bookseller, b. about 1752, was educated at the Jesuits’ College, St. Omer. Being advised to study the Bible, he did so, with the result of discarding it as a revelation. In 1792 he was prosecuted for publishing Paine’sRights of Man, but the prosecution fell through. He afterwards publishedPolitics for the People, which was also prosecuted, 1793, as was hisPolitical Dictionary, 1796. To escape punishment, he fled to America, and lived there for three years and a half. Upon returning to England, his person and property were seized. Books to the value of£2,800 were burnt, and he was imprisoned for fifteen months. He translated from Helvetius and sold at his “Rationcinatoryor Magazine for Truths and Good Sense,” 8 Cornhill, in 1810,The True Sense and Meaning of the System of Nature. TheLaw of Naturehad been previously translated by him. In ’11 he issued the first and second parts of Paine’sAge of Reason, and on 6 March, ’12, was tried before Lord Ellenborough on a charge of blasphemy for issuing the third and last part. He was sentenced to eighteen months’ imprisonment and to stand in the pillory. The sentence evoked Shelley’s spiritedLetter to Lord Ellenborough. Eaton translated and published Freret’sPreservative against Religious Prejudices, 1812, and shortly before his death, at Deptford, 22 Aug. 1814, he was again prosecuted for publishing George Houston’sEcce Homo.Eberhard(Johann August), German Deist, b. Halberstadt, 31 Aug. 1739, was brought up in the church, but persecuted for heresy in hisNew Apology for Socrates, 1772, was patronised by Frederick the Great, and appointed Professor of Philosophy at Halle, where he opposed the idealism of Kant and Fichte. He wrote aHistory of Philosophy, 1788. Died Halle, 7 Jan. 1809.Eberty(Gustav), German Freethinker, b. 2 July, 1806. Author of some controversial works. Died Berlin, 10 Feb. 1887.Echtermeyer(Ernst Theodor), German critic, b. Liebenwerda, 1805. He studied at Halle and Berlin, and founded, with A. Ruge, theHallische Jahrbücher, which contained many Freethought articles, 1837–42. He taught at Halle and Dresden, where he died, 6 May, 1844.Edelmann(Johann Christian), German Deist, b. Weissenfels, Saxony, 9 July, 1698; studied theology in Jena, joined the Moravians, but left them and every form of Christianity, becoming an adherent of Spinozism. His principal works are hisUnschuldige Wahrheiten, 1735 (Innocent Truths), in which he argues that no religion is of importance, andMoses mit Aufgedecktem Angesicht(Moses Unmasked), 1740, an attack on the Old Testament, which, he believed, proceeded from Ezra;DieGöttlichkeitder Vernunft(The Divinity of Reason), 1741, andChrist and Belial. His works excited much controversy, and were publicly burnt at Frankfort, 9 May, 1750. Edelmann was chased from Brunswick andHamburg, but was protected byFrederick the Great, and died at Berlin, 15 Feb. 1767. Mirabeau praised him, and Guizot calls him a “fameux esprit fort.”Edison(Thomas Alva), American inventor, b. Milan, Ohio, 10 Feb. 1847. As a boy he sold fruit and papers at the trains. He read, however, Gibbon, Hume and other important works before he was ten. He afterwards set up a paper of his own, then became telegraph operator, studied electricity, invented electric light, the electric pen, the telephone, microphone, phonograph, etc. Edison is known to be an Agnostic and to pay no attention to religion.Eenens(Ferdinand), Belgian writer, b. Brussels, 7 Dec. 1811. Eenens was an officer in the Belgian army, and wrote many political and anti-clerical pamphlets. He also wroteLa Vérité, a work on the Christian faith, 1859;Le Paradis Terrestre, ’60, an examination of the legend of Eden, andDu Dieu Thaumaturge, ’76. He used the pen names “Le Père Nicaise,” “Nicodème Polycarpe” and “Timon III.” Died at Brussels in 1883.Effen(Justus van), Dutch writer, b. Utrecht, 11 Feb. 1684. Edited theMisanthrope, Amsterdam, 1712–16; translatedRobinson Crusoe, Swift’sTale of a Tub, and Mandeville’sThoughts on Religion, 1722; published theDutch Spectator, 1731–35. Died at Bois-le-Duc, 18 Sept. 1735.Eichhorn(Johann Gottfried), German Orientalist and rationalist, b. 16 Oct. 1752, became Professor of Oriental Literature and afterwards Professor of Theology at Gottingen. He publishedIntroductions to the Old and New TestamentsandA Commentary on the Apocalypse, in which his criticism tends to uproot belief in the Bible as a divine revelation. He lectured every dayforfifty-two years. Died 25 June, 1827.“Elborch(Conrad von),” the pseudonym of a living learned Dutch writer, whose position does not permit him to reveal his true name. Born 14 Jan. 1865, he has contributed toDe Dageraad(The Daybreak), under various pen-names, as “Fra Diavolo,” “Denis Bontemps,” “J. Van den Ende,” etc. He has given, in ’88, a translation of the rare and famous Latin treatise,De Tribus Impostoribus(On Three Impostors) [Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad], with an important bibliographic and historical introduction.“Eliot(George),” the pen-name of Mary Ann Lewes (néeEvans) one of the greatest novelists of the century, b. at Arbury Farm, near Griff, Warwickshire, 22 Nov. 1819. In ’41 the family removed to Foleshill, near Coventry. Here she made the friendship of the household of Charles Bray, and changed her views from Evangelical Christianity to philosophical scepticism. Influenced byThe Inquiry into the Origin of Christianity, by C. C. Hennell (Bray’s brother-in-law), she made an analysis of that work. Her first literary venture was translating Strauss’Leben Jesu, published in 1846. After the death of her father (’49) she travelled with the Brays upon the Continent, and upon her return assisted Dr. Chapman in the editorship of theWestminster Review, to which she contributed several articles. She translated Feuerbach’sEssence of Christianity, ’54, the only work published with her real name, and also translated from Spinoza’s Ethics. Introduced by Herbert Spencer to George Henry Lewes, she linked her life with his in defiance of the conventions of society, July, ’54. Both were poor, but by his advice she turned to fiction, in which she soon achieved success. HerScenes of Clerical Life,Adam Bede,Mill on the Floss,Silas Marner,Romola,Felix Holt,Middlemarch,Daniel Deronda, andTheophrastus Suchhave become classics. As a poet, “George Eliot” does not rank so high, but her little piece, “Oh, may I join the choir invisible,” well expresses the emotion of the Religion of Humanity, and herSpanish Gipsyshe allowed was “a mass of Positivism.” Lewes died in 1878, and within two years she married his friend, J. W. Cross. Her new happiness was short-lived. She died 22 Dec. 1880, and is buried with Lewes at Highgate.Ellero(Pietro) Italian jurisconsult, b. Pordenone, 8 Oct. 1833, Counsellor of the High Court of Rome, has been Professor of Criminal Law in the University of Bologna. Author of many works on legal and social questions. HisScritti Minori,Scritti PoliticiandLa Question Socialehave the honor of a place on the RomanIndex.Elliotson(John, M.D., F.R.S.), an eminent medical man, b. London, 1791. He became physician at St. Thomas’s Hospital in 1822, and made many contributions to medical science. By new prescriptions of quinine, creasote, etc., he excited muchhostility in the profession. He was the first in this country to advocate the use of the stethoscope. He was also the first physician to discard knee-breeches and silk stockings, and to wear a beard. In ’31 he was chosenProfessorat University College, but, becoming an advocate of curative mesmerism, he resigned his appointments, ’38. He was founder and President of the London Phrenological Society, and, in addition to many medical works, edited theZoist(thirteen vols.), translated Blumenbach’sPhysiology, and wrote an introduction to Engledue’sCerebral Physiology, defending materialism. Thackeray dedicatedPendennisto him, ’50, and he received a tribute of praise from Dickens. Died at London, 29 July, 1868.Eichthal(Gustave d’), French writer, b. of Jewish family, Nancy, 22 March, 1804. He became a follower of Saint Simon, was one of the founders of the Société d’Ethnologie, and publishedLes Evangiles, a critical analysis of the gospels, 2 vols, Paris, ’63. This he followed byThe Three Great Mediterranean Nations and ChristianityandSocrates and our Time, ’84. He died at Paris, April, 1886, and his son published hisMélanges de Critique Biblique(Miscellanies of Biblical Criticism), in which there is an able study on the name and character of “Jahveh.”Emerson(Ralph Waldo), American essayist, poet, and philosopher, b. Boston 25 May, 1803. He came of a line of ministers, and was brought up like his father, educated at Harvard College, and ordained as a Unitarian minister, 1829. Becoming too broad for the Church, he resigned in ’32. In the next year he came to Europe, visiting Carlyle. On his return he settled at Concord, giving occasional lectures, most of which have been published. He wrote to theDial, a transcendentalist paper. Tending to idealistic pantheism, but without systematic philosophy, all his writings are most suggestive, and he is always the champion of mental freedom, self-reliance, and the free pursuit of science. Died at Concord, 27 April, 1882. Matthew Arnold has pronounced his essays “the most important work done in prose” in this century.Emerson(William), English mathematician, b. Hurworth, near Darlington, 14 May, 1701. He conducted a school and wrote numerous works on Mathematics. His vigorous, if eccentric, individuality attracted Carlyle, who said to Mrs.Gilchrist, “Emerson was a Freethinker who looked on his neighbor, the parson, as a humbug. He seems to have defended himself in silence the best way he could against the noisy clamor and unreal stuff going on around him.” Died 21 May, 1782. He compiled a list of Bible contradictions.Emmet(Robert), Irish revolutionist, b. in Dublin 1778, was educated as a barrister. Expelled from Dublin University for his sympathy with the National Cause in 1798; he went to the Continent, but returned in 1802 to plan an ill-starred insurrection, for which he was executed 20 Sept. 1803. Emmet made a thrilling speech before receiving sentence, and on the scaffold refused the services of a priest. It is well known that his desire to see once more his sweetheart, the daughter of Curran, was the cause of his capture and execution.Engledue(William Collins), M.D., b. Portsea 1813. After taking his degree at Edinburgh, he became assistant to Dr. Lizars and was elected President of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. He returned to Portsmouth in 1835; originated the Royal Portsmouth Hospital and established public baths and washhouses. He contributed to theZoistand published an exposition of materialism under the title ofCerebral Physiology, 1842, republished by J. Watson, 1857. Died Jan. 1859.English(George Bethune), American writer and linguist, b. Cambridge, Mass., 7 March, 1787. He studied law and divinity, and graduated at Harvard, 1807, but becoming sceptical publishedGrounds of Christianity Examined, 1813. The work excited some controversy, and has been reprinted at Toronto, 1839. He joined the Egyptian service and became General of Artillery. He had a variable genius and a gift of languages. At Marseilles he passed for a Turk with a Turkish ambassador; and at Washington he surprised a delegation of Cherokees by disputing with them in their own tongue. He wrote a reply to his critics, entitledFive Smooth Stones out of the Brook, and two letters to Channing on his sermons against infidelity. Died at Washington, 20 Sept. 1828.Ense(Varnhagen von). SeeVarnhagen.Ensor(George), an Irish writer, b. Loughgall, 1769. Educated at Trinity College; he became B.A. 1790. He travelled largely, and was a friend of liberty in every country. Besidesother political works he published,The Independent Man, 1806;On National Government, 1810;A Review of the Miracles, Prophecies and Mysteries of the Old and New Testaments, first printed asJanus on Sion, 1816, and republished 1835; andNatural Theology Examined, 1836, the last being republished inThe Library of Reason. Bentham described him as clever but impracticable. Died Ardress, Co. Armagh, 3 Dec. 1843.Epicurus, Greek philosopher, b. Samos,B.C.342. He repaired to Athens,B.C.323. Influenced by the works of Demokritos, he occupied himself with philosophy. He purchased a garden in Athens, in which he established his school. Although muchcalumniated, he is now admitted to have been a man of blameless life. According to Cicero, he had no belief in the gods, but did not attack their existence, in order not to offend the prejudices of the Athenians. In physics he adopted the atomic theory, and denied immortality. He taught that pleasure is the sovereign good; but by pleasure he meant no transient sensation, but permanent tranquility of mind. He wrote largely, but his works are lost. His principles are expounded in the great poem of Lucretius,De Rerum Natura. DiedB.C.270, leaving many followers.“Erdan(Alexandre),” the pen-name of Alexandre AndreJacob, a French writer, b. Angles 1826. He was the natural son of a distinguished prelate. Educated at Saint Sulpice for the Church, he read Proudhon, and refused to take holy orders. He became a journalist and an advocate of phonography. His work,La France Mystique(1855), in which he gives an account of French religious eccentricities, was condemned for its scepticism which appears on every page. Sentenced to a year’s imprisonment and a fine of three thousand francs, he took refuge in Italy. Died at Frascati, near Rome, 24 Sept. 1878.Ernesti(Johann August), German critic, b. Tennstadt, 4 Aug. 1707. Studied at Wittenberg and Leipsic, where he was appointed professor of classical literature. Renowned as a philologist, he insisted that the Bible must be interpreted like any other book. Died Leipsic, 11 Sept. 1781.Escherny(François Louis d’)Count, Swiss litterateur, b. Neufchatel, 24 Nov. 1733. He spent much of his life in travel. At Paris he became the associate of Helvetius, Diderot, andparticularly Rousseau, whom he much admired. He wroteLacunes de la Philosophie(Amsterdam, 1783) and a work onEquality(1795), in which he displays his Freethought. Died at Paris, 15 July, 1815.Espinas(Alfred), French philosopher, b. Saint-Florentin, 1844. Has translated, with Th. Ribot, H. Spencer’sPrinciples of Psychology, and has written studies onExperimental Philosophy in Italy, and onAnimal Societies(1877).Espronceda(José), popular Spanish poet, b. Almendralejo (Estremadura) in 1810. After the War of Independence he went to Madrid and studied under Alberto Lista, the poet and mathematician. He became so obnoxious to the government by his radical principles that he was imprisoned about the age of fifteen, and banished a few years later. He passed several years in London and Paris, and was brought under the influence of Byron and Hugo. He fought with the people in the Paris Revolution of July, 1830. On the death of the Spanish King in ’33 he returned to Madrid, but was again banished for too free expression of his opinions. He returned and took part in the revolutionary contest of ’35–36. He was elected to the Cortes in ’41, and appointed secretary of embassy to The Hague. Died 23 May, 1842. Among his works are lyrical poems, which often remind us of Heine; an unfinished epic,El Pelayo; andEl Diablo-Mundo(the Devil-World), a fine poem, due to the inspiration of Faust and Don Juan.Esproncedawas a thorough sceptic. In hisSong of the Piratehe asks, “Who is my God?—Liberty”; and in his concluding lines to a star he says:I unheedingly follow my path,At the mercy of winds and of waves.Wrapt thus within the arms of Fate,What care I if lost or saved.Estienne(Henri), the ablest of a family of learned French printers, known in England as Stephens; b. Paris, 1528. At the age of eighteen he assisted his father in collating the MSS. of DionysiusofHalicarnassus. In 1557 he established a printing office of his own, and issued many Greek authors; and in 1572 theThesaurus Linguæ Græcæ. HisApologie pour Herodote(Englished as a World of Wonders) is designed as a satire on Christian legends, and directed against priests andpriestcraft. He was driven from place to place. Sir Philip Sidney highly esteemed him, and “kindly entertained him in his travaile.” Died 1598. Garasse classes him with Atheists.Esteve(Pierre), French writer, b. Montpelier at the beginning of the eighteenth century. He wrote a History of Astronomy and an anonymous work on theOrigin of the Universe explained from a Principle of Matter; Berlin, 1748.Ettel(Konrad), Austrian Freethinker, b. 17 Jan. 1847, at Neuhof, Sternberg. Studied at the Gymnasium Kremsier, and at the wish of his parents at the Theological Seminary Olmütz, which he left to study philosophy at Vienna. He has written many poems and dramas. HisGrundzuge derNatürlichenWeltanschauung(Sketch of a Natural View of the World), a Freethinker’s catechism, 1886, has reached a fourth edition.Evans(George Henry), b. at Bromyard, Herefordshire, 25 March, 1803. While a child, his parents emigrated to New York. He set up as a printer, and published theCorrespondent, the first American Freethought paper. He also published theWorking Man’s Advocate,Man,Young America, and theRadical. He labored for the transportation of mails on Sundays, the limitation of the right to hold lands, the abolition of slavery, and other reforms. His brother became one of the chief elders of the Shakers. Died in Granville, New Jersey, 2 Feb. 1855.Evans(William), b. Swansea, 1816, became a follower of Robert Owen. He establishedThe Potter’s Examiner and Workman’s Advocate, ’43, and wrote in the Co-operative journals under the anagram of “Millway Vanes.” Died 14 March, 1887.Evanson(Edward), theological critic, b. Warrington, Lancashire, 21 April, 1731. He graduated at Cambridge, became vicar of South Mimms, and afterwards rector of Tewkesbury. Entertaining doubts on the Trinity, he submitted them to the Archbishop of Canterbury without obtaining satisfaction. He made some changes in reading the Litany, and for expressing heretical opinions in a sermon in 1771, he was prosecuted, but escaped in consequence of some irregularity in the proceedings. In 1772 he published an anonymous tract on the Trinity. In 1797 he addressed a letter to the Bishop of Lichfield on the Prophecies of the New Testament, in which he tried to show that either Christianity was false or the orthodox churches. Inthe following year he resigned both his livings and took pupils. In 1792 he published his principal work,The Dissonance of the Four Generally-Received Evangelists, in which he rejected all the gospels, except Luke, as unauthentic. This work involved him in a controversy with Dr. Priestley, and brought a considerable share ofobloquyand persecution from the orthodox. Died 25 Sept. 1805.Eve’merusorEuhemerus(Εὐήμερος), a Sicilian author of the time of Alexander the Great, who sought to rationalise religion, and treated the gods as dead heroes. He is usually represented as an Atheist.Eudes(Emile François Désiré), French Communist, b. Roncey, 1844. He became a chemist, and was condemned, with Régnard, to three months’ imprisonment for writing inLa Libre Pensée, ’67, of which he was director. He joined the ranks of the Commune and became a general. When the Versailles troops entered Paris he escaped to Switzerland. On his return after the Amnesty, he wrote with Blanqui. Died at a public meeting in Paris, 5 Aug. 1888.Ewerbeck(August Hermann), Dr., b. Dantzic. After the events of 1848, he lived at Paris. He translated into German Cabet’sVoyage en Icarie, and in an important work entitledQu’est ce que La Religion?(What is Religion), ’50, translated into French Feuerbach’s “Essence of Religion,” “Essence of Christianity,” and “Death and Immortality.” In a succeeding volumeWhat is the Bible?he translated from Daumer, Ghillany, Luetzelberger and B. Bauer. Ewerbeck also wrote in French an historical work on Germany and the Germans; Paris, 1851.Fabre D’Eglantine(Philippe François Nazaire), French revolutionist and playwriter, b. Carcassonne, 28 Dec. 1755. After some success as a poet and playwright he was chosen as deputy to the National Convention. He voted for the death of Louis XVI., and proposed the substitution of the republican for the Christian calendar, Sept. 1793. He was executed with his friend Danton, 5 April, 1794.Fabricatore(Bruto), Italian writer, b. Sarno, Naples, 1824. His father Antonio had the honor of having a political work placed on theIndex, 1821. He took part in the anti-papal FreethoughtCouncilof 1869, and haswrittenworks on Dante, etc.Farinata. SeeUberti(Farinata degli).Fauche(Hippolyte), French Orientalist, b. Auxerre, 22 May, 1797. Translations of the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the plays of Kalidasa, attest his industry and erudition. He contributed toLa Liberté de Penser. Died at Juilly, 28 Feb. 1869.Fausto(Sebastiano),Da Longiano, Italian of the beginning of the 16th century, who is said to have projected a workThe Temple of Truth, with the intention of overturning all religions. He translated theMeditations of Antoninus, also wrote observations on Cicero, 1566.Feer(Henri Léon), French Orientalist, b. Rouen, 27 Nov. 1830, is chiefly known by his Buddhistic Studies, 1871–75.Fellens(Jean Baptiste), Professor of History, b. Bar-sur-Aube, 1794. Author of a work on Pantheism, Paris, 1873.Fellowes(Robert), LL.D., b. Norfolk 1771, educated at Oxford. He took orders in 1795, and wrote many books, but gradually quitted the doctrines of the Church and adopted the Deistic opinions maintained in his work entitledThe Religion of the Universe(1836). Dr. Fellowes was proprietor of theExaminerand a great supporter of the London University. Died 5 Feb. 1847.Fenzi(Sebastiano), Italian writer, b. Florence, 22 Oct. 1822. Educated by the Jesuits in Vienna, England and Paris. Founded in ’49 theRevista Britannica, writer on the journalL’Italiano, and has written a credo which is a non-credo.Feringa(Frederik), Dutch writer, b. Groningen, 16 April, 1840. Studied mathematics. A contributor toDe Dageraad(The Daybreak) over the signature, “Muricatus”; he has written important studies, entitledDemocratie en Wetenschap(Democracy and Science), 1871, also wrote inDeVrijeGedachte(Freethought).Fernau(Rudolf), Dr., German author ofChristianity and Practical Life, Leipsic, 1868;The Alpha and Omega of Reason, Leipsic, 1870;Zoologica Humoristica, 1882; and a recent work onReligion as Ghost and God Worship.Feron(Emile), Belgian advocate, b. Brussels, 11 July, 1841. Councillor of the International Freethought Federation.Ferrari(Giuseppe), Italian philosopher, b. Milan 7 March,1811. A disciple of Romagnosi, a study of whose philosophical writings he published ’35. He also published the works of Vico, and in ’39 a work entitledVico and Italy, and in the following year another on theReligious Opinions of Campanella. Attacked by the Catholic party, he was exiled, living in Paris, where he became a collaborator with Proudhon and a contributor to theRevue de Deux Mondes. In ’42 he was made Professor of Philosophy at Strasbourg, but appointment was soon cancelled on account of his opinions. He wrote aHistory of the Revolution of Italy, ’55, and a work onChina and Europe. His history of theReason of the State, ’60, is his most pronounced work. In ’59, he was elected to the Italian Parliament, where he remained one of the most radical members until his death at Rome 1 July, 1876.Ferri(Enrico), Member of the Italian Parliament, formerly professor of criminal law at the University of Siena, studied at Mantua under Professor Ardigo. Has written a large work on the Non-Existence of Free Will, and is with Professor Lombroso, leader of the new Italian school of criminal law reform.Ferri(Luigi), Italian philosopher, b. Bologna, 15 June 1826. Studied in Paris and became licentiate of letters in 1850. Author ofHistory of Philosophy in Italy, Paris 1868;The Psychology of Pomponazzi, etc.Ferrière(Emile), French writer and licentiate of letters, b. Paris, 1830; author ofLiterature and Philosophy, 1865;Darwinism, 1872, which has gone through several editions;The Apostles, a work challenging early Christian Morality, 1879;The Soul the Function of the Brain, a scientific work of popular character in two vols., 1883; andPaganism of the Hebrews until the Babylonian Captivity, 1884. All these are works of pronounced Freethought. M. Ferrière has also announced a workJesus bar Joseph.Feuerbach(Friedrich Heinrich), son of a famous German jurist, was b. at Ansbach 29 Sept. 1806. He studied philology, but set himself to preach what his brother Ludwig taught. He wroteTheanthropos, a series of Aphorisms (Zurich, ’38), and an able work on theReligion of the Future, ’43–47; andThoughts and Facts, Hamburg, ’62. Died Nurenberg, 24 Jan. 1880.Feuerbach(Ludwig Andreas), brother of thepreceding, b. Landshut, Bavaria, 28 July 1804. He studied theology with a view to the Church, but under the influence of Hegel abandoned it for philosophy. In ’28 he was made professor at Erlangen, but was dismissed in consequence of his first published work,Thoughts upon Death and Immortality, ’30, in which he limited immortality to personal influence on the human race. After a wandering life he married in ’37, and settled near Anspach. He published there a history of modern philosophy from Bacon to Spinoza. This was followed by a work on Peter Bayle. In ’38 he wrote on philosophy and Christianity, and in ’41 his work called theThe Essence of Christianity, in which he resolves theology into anthropology. This book was translated by Mary Ann Evans, ’53. He also wrotePrinciples of the Philosophy of the Future. After the revolution of ’48 he was invited to lecture by the students of Heidelberg, and gave his course onThe Essence of Religion, published in ’51. In ’57 he publishedTheogony from the Sources of Classical, Hebrew, and Christian Antiquity, and in ’66Theism, Freedom, and Immortality from the Standpoint of Anthropology. Died at Rechenberg, near Nurenberg, 13 Sept. 1872. His complete works were published at Leipsic in 1876. He was a deep thinker and lucid writer.Fichte(Johann Gottlieb), one of the greatest German thinkers, b. 19 May, 1762. He studied at the Universities of Jena, Leipsic, and Wittenberg, embraced “determinism,” became acquainted with Kant, and published anonymously,A Criticism of all Revelation. He obtained a chair of philosophy at Jena, where he developed his doctrines of science, asserting that the problem of philosophy is to seek on what foundations knowledge rests. He gave moral discourses in the lecture-room on Sunday, and was accused of holding atheistical opinions. He was in consequence banished from Saxony, 1799. He appears to have held that God was not a personal being, but a system of intellectual, moral, and spiritual laws. Fichte took deep interest in the cause of German independence, and did much to rouse his countrymen against the domination of the French during the conquest which led to the fall of Napoleon. Besides many publications, in which he expounds his philosophy, he wrote eloquent treatises onThe Vocation of Man,The Natureand Vocation of the Scholar,The Way Towards the Blessed Life, etc. Died Berlin 27 Jan. 1814.“Figaro.” SeeLarra(Mariano José de).Figuiera(Guillem), Provençal troubadour and precursor of the Renaissance, b. Toulouse about 1190. His poems were directed against the priests and Court of Rome.Filangieri(Gaetano), an Italian writer on legislation, b. Naples, 18 Aug. 1752. He was professor at that city. His principal work isLa Scienza della Legislazione, 1780. In the fifth volume he deals with pre-Christian religions. The work was put on theIndex. Died 21 July, 1788.Fiorentino(Francesco), Italian philosopher, b. Sambiasa, Nicastro, 1 May, 1834. In 1860 he became Professor of Philosophy at Spoletto, in ’62 at Bologna, and in ’71 at Naples. He was elected deputy to Parliament, Nov. ’70. A disciple of Felice Tocco, he paid special attention to the early Italian Freethinkers, writing uponThe Pantheism of Giordano Bruno, Naples, ’61; Pietro Pomponazzi, Florence, ’68; Bernardius Telesio, Florence, 2 vols., ’72–74. He has also written on Strauss and Spinoza. In theNuova Antologiahe wrote on J. C. Vanini, and on Cæsalpinus, Campanella, and Bruno. A friend of Bertrando Spaventa, he succeeded to his chair at Naples in ’83. Died 22 Dec. 1884.Fischart(Johann), German satirist calledMentzer, b. Strasbourg about 1545. His satires in prose and verse remind one of Rabelais, whom he in part translated, and are often directed against the Church. Died at Forbach in 1614.Fischer(J. C.), German materialist, author of a work on the freedom of the will 1858, a criticism of Hartmann’sPhilosophy of the Unconscious, ’72;DasBewusstsein, ’74. Died 1888.Fischer(Kuno), German philosopher, b. 23 July, 1824, at Sandewald, Silesia. Educated at Leipsic and Halle, in 1856 he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at Jena. His chief works areHistory of Modern Philosophy, ’52–72;Life and Character of Spinoza;Francis Bacon, ’56; andLessing, ’81.Fiske(John), American author, b. Hartford, Connecticut, 30 March, 1842. Graduated at Harvard, ’63. In ’69–71 was Lecturer on Philosophy at that University, and from ’72–9Librarian. Mr. Fiske has lectured largely, and has writtenMyths and Mythmakers, ’72;Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy, 2 vols. ’74;Darwinism, and other essays, ’79;Excursions of an Evolutionist, ’83;The Idea of God as Affected by Modern Knowledge, ’85.Flaubert(Gustave), French novelist, b. Rouen, 12 Dec. 1821. The son of a distinguished surgeon, he abandoned his father’s profession for literature. His masterpiece,Madame Bovary, published in ’56 in theRevue de Paris, drew a prosecution upon that journal which ended in a triumph for the author. For his next great work,Salammbô, ’62, an epic of Carthage, he prepared himself by long antiquarian studies. His intellectual tendencies are displayed inThe Temptation of Saint Anthony. He stands eminent among the naturalist school for his artistic fidelity. He was a friend of Théophile Gautier, Ivan Turgenev, Emile Zola and “George Sand.” His correspondence with the last of these has been published. He distinctly states therein that on subjects like immortality men cheat themselves with words. Died at Rouen, 9 May, 1880.Flourens(Marie Jean Pierre), French scientist, b. near Béziers, 15 April, 1794. In 1828 he was admitted into the Academy of Sciences, after having published a work on the nervous system of vertebrates; he became perpetual secretary in ’33. A work onHuman Longevity and the Quantity of Life on the Globewas very popular. Died near Paris, 6 Dec. 1867.Flourens(Gustave), eldest son of the preceding, b. Paris, 4 Aug. 1838. In ’63 he took his father’s chair at the College of France, and his course on “Ethnography” attracted much attention. In the following year he published his work onThe Science of Man. His bold heresy lost him his chair, and he collaborated on Larousse’sGrand Dictionnaire. In ’65 he left France for Crete, where for three years he fought in the mountains against the Turkish troops. Upon his return he was arrested for presiding at a political meeting. He showed himself an ardent Revolutionist, and was killed in a skirmish near Nanterre, 3 April, 1871.Fonblanque(Albany William), English journalist, b. London, 1793; the son of an eminent lawyer. In 1820 he was on the staff of theTimes, and contributed to theWestminster Review. In ’30 he became editor of theExaminer, and retained his postuntil ’47. His caustic wit and literary attainments did much to forward advanced liberal views. A selection of his editorials was published under the title,England under Seven Administrations. Died 13 Oct. 1872.Fontanier(Jean), French writer, who was burnt at the Place de Grève, 1621, for blasphemies in a book entitledLe Tresor Inestimable. Garasse, with little reason, calls him an Atheist.Fontenelle(Bernardle Bovier de), nephew of Corneille, called by Voltaire the most universal genius of the reign of Louis XIV., b. Rouen, 11 Feb. 1657. Dedicated to the Virgin and St. Bernard, he was educated at the Jesuits’ College. He went to Paris in 1674; wrote some plays andDialogues of the Dead, 1683. In 1686 appeared hisConversations on the Plurality of Worlds, and in the following year hisHistory of Oracles, based on the work of Van Dale, for which he was warmly attacked by the Jesuit Baltus, as impugning the Church Fathers. He was made secretary to the Academy of Sciences in 1699, a post he held forty-two years. He wroteDoubts on the Physical System of Occasional Causes, and is also credited with a letter on theResurrection of the Body, a piece onThe Infinite, and aTreatise on Liberty; “but,”says l’Abbé Ladvocat, “as these books contain many things contrary to religion, it is to be hoped they are not his.” Fontenelle nearly reached the age of one hundred. A short time before he died (9 Jan. 1757), being asked if he felt any pain, “I only feel,” he replied, “a difficulty of existing.”Foote(George William), writer and orator, b. Plymouth, 11 Jan. 1850. Was “converted” in youth, but became a Freethinker by reading and independent thought. Came to London in 1868, and was soon a leading member of the Young Men’s Secular Association. He taught in the Hall of Science Sunday School, and became secretary of the Republican League. Devoting his time to propagating his principles, he wrote in theSecular ChronicleandNational Reformer, and in ’76 started theSecularistin conjunction with Mr. G. J. Holyoake, and after the ninth number conducting it alone. This afterwards merged in theSecular Review. In ’79 Mr. Foote edited theLiberal, and in Sept. ’81, started theFreethinker, which he stilledits. In the following year a prosecution was commenced by the Public Prosecutor, who attempted to connect Mr. Bradlaugh with it. Undaunted, Mr. Foote issued a Christmas number with an illustrated “Comic Life of Christ.” For this a prosecution was started by the City authorities against him and his publisher and printer, and the trial came on first in March, ’83. The jury disagreed, but Judge North refused to discharge the prisoners, and they were tried again on the 5th March; Judge North directing that a verdict of guilty must be returned, and sentencing Mr. Foote to one year’s imprisonment as an ordinary criminal subject to the same “discipline” as burglars. “I thank you, my lord; your sentence is worthy of your creed,” he remarked. On 24 April, ’83, Mr. Foote was brought from prison before Lord Coleridge and a special jury on the first charge, and after a splendid defence, upon which he was highly complimented by the judge, the jury disagreed. He has debated with Dr. McCann, Rev. A. J. Harrison, the Rev. W. Howard, the Rev. H. Chapman, and others. Mr. Foote has written much, and lectures continually. Among his works we mentionHeroes and Martyrs of Freethought(1876);God, the Soul, and a Future State;Secularism the True Philosophy of Life(1879);Atheism and Morality;The Futility of Prayer;Bible Romances;Death’s Test, afterwards enlarged intoInfidel Death-Beds;The God Christians Swear by;Was Jesus Insane? Blasphemy No Crime;Arrows of Freethought;Prisoner for Blasphemy(1884);Letters to Jesus Christ;What Was Christ? Bible Heroes; and has editedThe Bible Hand-bookwith Mr. W. P. Ball, and theJewish Life of Christwith the present writer, in conjunction with whom he has writtenThe Crimes of Christianity. From 1883–87 he editedProgress, in which appeared many important articles from his pen. Mr. Foote is President of the London Secular Federation, and a Vice-President of the National Secular Society.Fouillee(Alfred), French philosopher, b. La Pouëze, near Angers, 18 Oct. 1838. Has been teacher at several lyceums, notably at Bordeaux. He was crowned by the Academy of Moral Sciences for two works on the Philosophy of Plato and Socrates. Elected Professor of Philosophy at the Superior Normal School, Paris, he sustained a thesis at the Sorbonne onLiberty and Determinism, which was violently attacked bythe Catholics. This work has gone through several editions. M. Fonillée has also written an ableHistory of Philosophy, 1875,Contemporary Social Science, and an importantCritique of Contemporary Moral Systems(1883). He has written much in theRevue des Deux Mondes, and is considered, with Taine, Ribot, and Renan, the principal representative of French philosophy. His system is known as that ofidèes-forces, as he holds that ideas are themselves forces. His latest work expounds the views of M. Guyau.Forberg(Friedrich Karl), German philosopher, b. Meuselwitz, 30 Aug. 1770, studied theology at Leipsic, and became private docent at Jena. Becoming attached to Fichte’s philosophy, he wrote with Fichte in Niethammer’sPhilosophical Journalon “The Development of Religious Ideas,” and an article on “The Ground of our Faith in Divine Providence,” which brought on them a charge of Atheism, and the journal was confiscated by the Electorate of Saxony. Forberg held religion to consist in devotion to morality, and wroteAn Apology for Alleged Atheism, 1799. In 1807 he became librarian at Coburg, and devoted himself to the classics, issuing aManuel d’Erotologie Classique. Died Hildburghausen 1 Jan. 1848.Forder(Robert), b. Yarmouth, 14 Oct. 1844. Coming to to Woolwich, he became known as a political and Freethought lecturer. He took part in the movement to save Plumstead Common from the enclosers, and was sent to trial for riotous proceedings, but was acquitted. In ’77 he was appointed paid secretary to the National Secular Society, a post he has ever since occupied. During the imprisonment of Messrs. Foote, Ramsey, and Kemp, in ’83, Mr. Forder undertook charge of the publishing business. He has lectured largely, and written some pamphlets.Forlong(James George Roche). Major General, H.B.A., b. Lanarkshire, Scotland, Nov. 1824. Educated as an engineer, joined the Indian army ’43, fought in the S. Mahrata campaign ’45–6, and in the secondBurmesewar. On the annexation of Barma he became head of the Survey, Roads and canal branches. In ’58–9 he travelled extensively through Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, etc. From ’61–71 was a superintending engineer of Calcutta, and in Upper Bengal,North-west Provinces, and Rajputana, and ’72–76 was Secretary and Chief Engineer to the Government of Oudh.He retired in ’77 after an active service of 33 years, during which he frequently received the thanks of the Indian and Home Governments. In his youth he was an active Evangelical, preaching to the natives in their own tongues. He has, however, given his testimony that during his long experience he has known no one converted solely by force of reasoning or “Christian evidences.” A great student of Eastern religions, archæology, and languages, he has written in various periodicals of the East and West, and has embodied the result of many years researches in two illustrated quarto volumes calledRivers of Life, setting forth the evolution of all religions from their radical objective basis to their present spiritualised developments. In an elaborate chart he shows by streams of color the movements of thought from 10,000B.C.to the present time.Fourier(François Marie Charles), French socialist, b. Besançon, 7 April, 1772. He passed some of the early years of his life as a common soldier. His numerous works amid much that is visionary have valuable criticisms upon society, and suggestions for its amelioration. He believed in the transmigration of souls. Died at Paris, 8 Oct. 1837.Fox(William Johnson), orator and political writer, b. near Wrentham, Suffolk, 1786. Intended for the Congregational Ministry, he became a Unitarian, and for many years preached at South Place, Finsbury, where he introduced the plan of taking texts from other books besides the Bible. One of his first published sermons was on behalf of toleration for Deists at the time of the Carlile prosecutions 1819. He gradually advanced from the acceptance of miracles to their complete rejection. During the Anti-Corn Law agitation he was a frequent and able speaker. In 1847 he became M.P. for Oldham, and retained his seat until his retirement in ’61. He was a prominent worker for Radicalism, contributing to theWestminster Review,Weekly Dispatch, andDaily News. For some years he edited theMonthly Repository. His works, which include spiritedLectures to the Working Classes, and a philosophical statement ofReligions Ideas, were published in twelve volumes, ’65–68. Died 3 June, 1864.“Franchi(Ausonio),” the pen name of Francesco CristoforoBonavino, Italian ex-priest, b. Pegli, 24 Feb. 1821. Brought up in the Church and ordained priest in ’44, the practice of the confessional made him sceptical and he quitted it for philosophy, having ceased to believe in its dogmas, ’49. In ’52 he published hisprincipalwork, entitledThe Philosophy of the Italian Schools. The following year he publishedThe Religion of the Nineteenth Century. He establishedLa Razione(Reason) andIl Libero Pensieroat Turin, ’54–57; wrote on theRationalism of the People, Geneva, ’56, and became an active organiser of anti-clerical societies. In ’66 he published a criticism of Positivism, and has since writtenCritical and Polemical Essays, 3 vols. Milan, ’70–72. In ’68 was appointed Professor of Philosophy in the Academy of Milan by Terenzio Mamiani.Francis(Samuel), M.D., author ofWatson Refuted, published by Carlile, 1819.Francois de Neufchateau(Nicolas Louis),Count, French statesman, poet, and academician, b. Lorraine, 17 April, 1750. In his youth he became secretary to Voltaire, who regarded him as his successor. He favored the Revolution, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly in ’91. As Member of the Directory, ’97, he circulated d’Holbach’sContagion Sacrée. He became President of the Senate, ’14–16. He wrote numerous pieces. Died at Paris 10 Jan. 1828.Franklin(Benjamin), American patriot and philosopher, b. Boston 17 Jan. 1706. He was apprenticed to his uncle as a printer, came to England and worked at his trade ’24–26; returned to Philadelphia, where he published a paper and became known by hisPoor Richard’s Almanack. He founded the public library at Philadelphia, and made the discovery of the identity of lightning with the electric fluid. He became member of the Provincial Assembly and was sent to England as agent. When examined before the House of Commons he spoke boldly against the Stamp Act. He was active during the war with this country, and was elected member of Congress. Became envoy to France, and effected the treaty of alliance with that country, 6 Feb. ’78, which secured the independence of the American colonies. Turgot summed up his services in the fine lineEripuit cælo fulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis. “He wrested thethunderbolt from heaven and the sceptre from kings.” Died at Philadelphia, 17 April, 1790.Fransham(John), a native of Norwich, b. 1730, became a teacher of mathematics, renounced the Christian religion, and professed Paganism, writing several treatises in favor of disbelief. Died 1810.Frauenstaedt(Christian Martin Julius), Dr., philosopher and disciple of Schopenhauer, b. 17 April, 1813, at Bojanowo, Posen. He studied philosophy and theology at Berlin, but meeting Schopenhauer at Frankfort in ’47 he adopted the views of the pessimist, who made him his literary executor. Among Frauenstädt’s works areLetters on Natural Religion, ’58,The Liberty of Men and the Personality of God, ’38;Letters on the Philosophy of Schopenhauer, ’54, etc. Died at Berlin, 13 Jan. 1879.Frederick II.(Emperor of Germany), the greatest man of the thirteenth century and founder of the Renaissance, b. 26 Dec. 1194. Was elected to the throne in 1210. He promoted learning, science, and art, founded the Universities of Vienna and Naples, had the works of Aristotle and Averroes translated, and was the patron of all the able men of his time. For his resistance to the tyranny of the Church he was twice excommunicated. He answered by a letter attacking the Pope (Gregory IX.), whom he expelled from Rome in ’28. He made a treaty with the Sultan of Egypt, by which he became master of Jerusalem. For some heretical words in his letter, in which he associates the names of Christ, Moses, and Mohammed, he was reported author of the famous workDe Tribus Impostoribus. He addressed a series of philosophical questions to Ibn Sabin, a Moslem doctor. He is said to have called the Eucharisttruffa ista, and is credited also with the saying “Ignorance is the mother of devotion.” Died at Florence, 13 Dec. 1250.Frederick the Great(King of Prussia), b. 24 Jan. 1712, was educated in a very rigid fashion by his father, Frederick William I. He ascended the throne and soon displayed his political and military ability. By a war with Austria he acquired Silesia. He wrote several deistical pieces, and tolerated all religions and no religion saying “every man must get to heaven his own way.” He attracted to his courtmen like Lamettrie, D’Argens, Maupertuis, and Voltaire, who, says Carlyle, continued all his days Friedrich’s chief thinker. In 1756 France, Austria, Sweden, and Russia united against him, but he held his own against “a world in arms.” After a most active life Frederick died at Potsdam, 17 Aug. 1786. ThePhilosophical Breviaryattributed to him was really written by Cérutti.Fredin(Nils Edvard), Swedish writer, b. 1857. Has published translation of modern poets, and also of Col. Ingersoll’s writings. In ’80 he was awarded first prize by the Swedish Academy for an original poem.Freeke(William), b. about 1663, wroteA Brief but Clear Confutation of the Trinity, which being brought before the notice of the House of Lords it was on 3 Jan. 1693 ordered to be burnt by the common hangman, and the author being prosecuted by the Attorney General was fined £500.Freiligrath(Ferdinand) German poet, b. Detmold 17 June, 1810. In ’35 he acquired notice by some poems. In ’44 he published his profession of faithMein Glaubensbekenntniss, and was forced to fly the country. In ’48 he returned and joined Karl Marx on theNeue Rheinische Zeitung. Again prosecuted he took refuge in London, devoting his leisure to poetry and translation. Freiligrath holds a high place among the poets of his time. Died Kannstadt, near Stuttgart, 18 March 1876.Fréret(Nicolas), French historical critic, b. 15 Feb. 1688. He was a pupil of Rollin, and was patronised by Boulainvilliers. Distinguished by his attainments in ancient history,philosophyand chronology, he became member of the Academy of Inscriptions 1714. For a Discourse on the “Origin of the Franks,” he was incarcerated for four months in the Bastille. While here he read Bayle so often that he could repeat much from memory. He was an unbeliever, and the author of the atheisticLetters from Thrasybulus to Leucippeon Natural and Revealed Religion, and perhaps ofLa Moisade, a criticism of the Pentateuch, translated by D. I. Eaton, asA Preservative againstReligiousPrejudices. TheLetters to Eugenie, attributed toFréret, were written by D’Holbach, and theCritical Examination of the Apologists of the Christian Religionby J. Levesque deBurigny.A Critical Examination of the New Testament, 1777 which long circulated in MS. has also been wrongly attributed to Fréret. Died at Paris, 8 March, 1749.Frey(William), the adopted name of a Russian Positivist and philanthropist, b. of noble family, the son of a general, 1839. Educated at the higher military school, St. Petersburg, he became teacher in a Government High School, and disgusted with the oppression and degradation of his country he went to New York in 1866 where he established co-operative communities and also Russian colonies in Kansas and Oregon. In 1884 he came to London in order to influence his countrymen. In ’87 he revisited Russia. Died 6 Nov. 1888.Fries(Jacob Friedrich), German philosopher, b. Barby, 23 Aug. 1773. Brought up as a Moravian, he became a Deist. Fries is of the Neo-Kantian rationalistic school. Among his writings are aSystem of Metaphysics, 1824; aManual of the Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Æsthetics, Heidelberg ’32; in which he resolves religion into poetry. He criticised Kant’s proofs of God and immortality, and wrote aHistory of Philosophy. Died Jena, 10 Aug. 1843.Frothingham(Octavius Brooks), American author, b. Boston, 26 Nov. 1822. Graduated at Harvard, ’43, and became Unitarian minister. In ’60 he became pastor of the most radical Unitarian congregation in New York. In ’67 he became first president of the Free Religious Association, but, becoming too advanced, resigned in ’79 and came to Europe. Since his return to Boston, ’81, he has devoted himself to literature. He has publishedThe Religion of Humanity, N.Y., ’73;Life of Theodore Parker, ’74;The Cradle of the Christ, ’77;Life of Gerrit Smith, 78; and numerous sermons.Froude(James Anthony), man of letters and historian, the son of an Archdeacon of Totnes, was b. Dartington, Devon, 23 April, 1818, and educated at Westminster and Oxford, where he took his degree in ’40, was elected fellow of Exeter College and received deacon’s orders. At first, under the influence of the Romanising movement, he became a rationalist and abandoned his fellowship and clerical life. HisNemesis of Faith, ’48, showed the nature of his objections. Mr. Froude devotedhis abilities to a literary career, and fell under the influence of Carlyle. For many years he editedFraser’s Magazine, in which he wrote largely. His essays are collected under the title ofShort Studies on Great Subjects, ’71–83. His largest work is theHistory of England, from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, ’56–76. HisLife of Carlyle, ’82, and publication ofCarlyle’s Reminiscensesprovoked much controversy. His magical translation of Lucian’s most characteristic Dialogue of the Gods is done with too muchverveto allow of the supposition that the translator is not in sympathy with his author.Fry(John), a colonel in the Parliamentary army. In 1640 he was elected one of the burgesses of Shaftesbury, but his return was declared void. After serving with distinction in the army, he was called to the House of Commons by the Independents in 1648. He voted for Charles I. being put on trial; and sat in judgment when sentence was passed on him. He was charged with blasphemy and wroteThe Accuser Shamed, 1649, which was ordered to be burnt for speaking against “that chaffie and absurd opinion of three persons in the Godhead.” He also wroteThe Clergy in their Colors, 1650.Fuller(Sarah Margaret), American authoress, b. Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, 23 May, 1810. In ’40–42 she edited theDial. She also publishedWoman in the Nineteenth Century, ’44. Among friends she counted Emerson, Hawthorne, Channing, and Mazzini. She visited Europe and married at Rome the Marquis D’Ossoli. Returning she was shipwrecked and drowned off the coast of New Jersey, 16 July, 1850.Furnemont(Léon), Belgian advocate, b. Charleroi, 17 April, 1861. Entered the school of Mines Liége in ’76, and founded theCircle of Progressive Students. Became president of International Congress of Students, ’84, and represented Young Belgium at the funeral of Victor Hugo. Radical candidate at the Brussels municipal elections, he obtained 3,500 votes, but was not elected. He is a Councillor of the International Federation of Freethinkers and director of a monthly journal,La Raison, 1889.Gabarro(Bartolomé) Dr., Spanish writer, b. Ygualade, Barcelona, 27 Sept. 1846, was educated in a clerical collegewith a view to taking the clerical habit, he refused and went to America. After travelling much, he established a day school in Barcelona and founded an Anti-clerical League of Freethinkers pledged to live without priests. This induced much clericalwrath, especially when Dr. Gabarro founded some 200 Anti-clerical groups and over 100 lay schools. For denouncing the assassins of a Freethinker he was pursued for libel, sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, and forced to fly to Cerbere on the frontier, where he continues his anti-clerical journalLa Tronada. He has written many anti-clerical brochures and an important work on Pius IX. and History.Gabelli(Aristide), Italian writer, b. Belluno, 22 March, 1830. Author ofThe Religious Question in Italy, ’64,Man and the Moral Sciences, ’69, in which he rejects all metaphysics and supernaturalism, andThoughts, 1886.Gage(Matilda Joslyn), American reformer, b. Cicero, New York, 24 March, 1826. Her father, Dr. H. Joslyn, was an active abolitionist. Educated at De Peyster and Hamilton, N.Y., in ’45 she married Henry H. Gage. From ’52 till ’61 she wrote and spoke against slavery. In ’72 she was made President of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association. She is joint author ofThe History of Woman Suffragewith Miss Anthony and Mrs. Stanton, and with them considers the Church the great obstacle to woman’s progress.Gagern(Carlos von), b. Rehdorf, Neumark, 12 Dec. 1826. Educated at Berlin, travelled in ’47 to Paris where he became acquainted with Humboldt. He went to Spain and studied Basque life in the Pyrenees; served in the Prussian army, became a friend of Wislicenus and the free-religious movement. In ’52 he went to Mexico; here he had an appointment under General Miramon. In the French-Mexican expedition he was taken prisoner in ’63; released in ’65 he went to New York. He was afterwards military attaché for Mexico at Berlin. His freethought appears in his memoirs entitledDead and Living, 1884, and in his volumeSword and Trowel, 1888. Died Madrid 19 Dec. 1885.Gall(Franz Joseph), founder of phrenology, b. Baden, 6 March, 1758. He practised as a physician in Vienna, devotingmuch time to the study of the brain, and began to lecture on craniology in that city. In 1802 he was prohibited from lecturing. He joined Dr. Spurzheim and they taught their system in various cities of Europe. Died at Paris, 22 Aug. 1828.Galton(Francis), grandson of Erasmus Darwin, was born in 1822. Educated at Birmingham, he studied medicine at King’s College, London, and graduated at Cambridge, ’24. In ’48 and ’50 he travelled in Africa. He wrote a popularArt of Travel, and has distinguished himself by many writings bearing on heredity, of which we nameHereditary Genius, ’69,English Men of Science, ’70. In hisInquiries into Human Faculty and Developement, ’83, he gives statistical refutation of the theory of prayer. Mr. Galton was Secretary of the British Association from ’63–68, President of the Geographical Section in ’62 and ’72, and of the Anthropological Section in ’77 and ’85. He is President of the Anthropological Institute.Gambetta(Léon Michel), French orator and statesman, b. Cahors, 30 Oct. 1838. His uncle was a priest and his father wished him to become one. Educated at a clerical seminary, he decided to study for the law. In ’59 he was enrolled at the bar. His defence of Delescluze (14 Nov. 1868), in which he vigorously attacked the Empire, made him famous. Elected to the Assembly by both Paris and Marseilles, he became the life and leader of the Opposition. After Sedan he proclaimed the Republic and organised the national defences, leaving Paris, then invested by the Germans, in a balloon. From Tours he invigorated every department, and was the inspiration of the few successes won by the French. Gambetta preserved the Republic against all machinations, and compelled MacMahon to accept the second of the alternatives, “Se soumettre ou se demettre.” He founded theRepublique Française, and became President of the Chamber. Gambetta was a professed disciple of Voltaire, an admirer of Comte, and an open opponent of clericalism. All the members of his Cabinet were Freethinkers. Died 31 Dec. 1882. His public secular funeral was one of the largest gatherings ever witnessed.Gambon(Ferdinand Charles), French Communist, b. Bourges, 19 March, 1820. In 1839 he became an Advocate, and he founded theJournal des Ecoles. In ’48 he was electedrepresentative. The Empire drove him into exile, he returned at amnesty of ’59. In ’69 he refused to pay taxes. In ’71 was elected deputy at Paris, and was one of the last defenders of the Commune. Imprisoned, he was released in ’82. Formed a League for abolishing standing army. Died 17 Sept. 1887.Garat(Dominique Joseph), Count, French revolutionist, orator and writer, b. near Bayonne, 8 September, 1749. He became a friend of d’Alembert, Diderot and Condercet, and in 1789 was elected to the Assembly, where he spoke in favor of the abolition of religion. As minister of justice he had to notify to Louis XVI his condemnation. He afterwards taught at the Normal School, and became a senator, count, and president of the Institute. Died at Urdains 9 December, 1833.Garborg(Arne), b. Western Coast of Norway, 25 Jan. 1851. Brought up as a teacher at the public schools, he entered the University of Christiania in 1875. Founded a weekly paperFedraheimen, written in the dialect of the peasantry. Held an appointment for some years in the Government Audit Office. In ’81 he published a powerfully written tale,A Freethinker, which created a deal of attention. Since he has publishedPeasant Students,Tales and Legends,Youth,Men, etc. He is one of the wittiest and cleverest controversialists on the Norwegian press.Garcia-Vao(Antonio Rodriguez), Spanish poet and miscellaneous writer, b. Manzanares, 1862. Educated at the institute of Cardinal Cisneros, where he made brilliant studies. He afterwards studied at the Madrid University and became a lawyer. After editing several papers, he attached himself to the staff ofLas Dominicales del Libre Pensiamento. Among his numerous works are a volume of poems,Echoes of a Free Mind,Love and the Monks, a satire, a study of Greco-Roman philosophy, etc. This promising student was stabbed in the back at Madrid, 18 December, 1886.Garde(Jehan de la), bookseller, burnt together with four little blasphemous books at Paris in 1537.Garibaldi(Guiseppe), Italian patriot and general, b. Nice, 4 July, 1807. His father, a small shipmaster, hoped he would become a priest. Young Garibaldi objected, preferring asailor’s life. A trip to Rome made him long to free his country. He joined Mazzini’s movement, “Young Italy,” and being implicated in the Genoese revolt of ’33, he fled at risk of his life to Marseilles, where he learnt he was sentenced to death. He went to South America and fought on behalf of the republic of Uruguay. Here he met Anita Rivera, his beautiful and brave wife, who accompanied him in numerous adventures. Returning to Italy he fought against the Austrians in ’48, and next year was the soul of resistance to the French troops, who came to restore Papal authority. Garibaldi had to retire; his wife died, and he escaped with difficulty to Genoa, whence he went to New York, working for an Italian soap and candlemaker at Staten Island. In ’54 he returned and bought a farm on the isle of Caprera. In ’59 he again fought the Austrians, and in May, ’60, landed at Marsala, Sicily, took Palermo, and drove Francis II. from Naples. Though a Republican he saluted Victor Emanuel as King of Italy. Vexed by the cessation of Nice to France, he marched to Rome, but was wounded by Victor Emanuel’s troops, and taken prisoner to Varignaro. Here he wrote hisRule of the Monk, a work exhibiting his love of liberty and hatred of the priesthood. In ’64 he visited England, and was enthusiastically received. In ’67 he again took part in an attempt to free Rome from the Papal government. In ’71 he placed his sword at the service of the French Republic, and the only standard taken from the Germans was captured by his men. Elected Member of the Italian Parliament in his later years he did much to improve the city of Rome. In one of his laconic letters of ’80, he says “Dear Friend,—Man has created God, not God man,—Yours ever, Garibaldi.” He died 2 June, ’82, and directed in his will that he should be cremated without any religious ceremony.Garrison(H. D.), Dr. of Chicago. Author of an able pamphlet onThe Absence of Design in Nature, 1876.Garth(Sir Samuel), English poet, wit, and physician, b. Yorkshire, 1672, and educated at Cambridge. He helped to establish dispensaries, and lashed the opposition in his poemThe Dispensary. He was made physician to King George I. Died 18 June 1719.Gaston(H.), French author of a brochure with the titleDieu, voila, l’ennemi, God the enemy, 1882.Gattina(F. P. della). SeePetruccelli.Gautama(called alsoGotama,Buddha, andSakyamuni), great Hindu reformer and founder of Buddhism, b. Kapilavastu, 624B.C.Many legends are told of his birth and life. He is said to have been a prince, who, pained with human misery, left his home to dedicate himself to emancipation. His system was rather a moral discipline than a religion. Though he did not deny the Hindu gods he asserted that all beings were subject to “Karma,” the result of previous actions. He said, “If a man for a hundred years worship Agni in the forest, and if he but for one moment pay homage to a man whose soul is grounded in true knowledge, better is that homage than sacrifice for a hundred years.” According to Ceylonese writers Gautama Buddha died at Kusinagara,B.C.543.Gautier(Théophile), exquisite French poet and prose writer, b. Tarbes, 31 Aug. 1811. He wrote no definite work against priestcraft or superstition, but the whole tendency of his writings is Pagan. His romanticism is not Christian, and he made merry with “sacred themes” as well as conventional morality. Baudelaire called him an impeccable master of French literature, and Balzac said that of the two men who could write French, one was Théophile Gautier. Died 22 Oct. 1872.Geijer(Erik Gustaf), eminent Swedish historian, poet, and critic, b. Wermland, 12 Jan. 1783. At the age of 20 he was awarded the Swedish Academy’s first prize for a patriotical poem. At first a Conservative in religious, philosophical, and political matters he became through his historical researches an ardent adherent of the principles of the French revolution. His historical work and indictment against “The Protestant creed” was published in 1820 in a philosophical treatise,Thorild, which was prosecuted. His acquittal by an enlightened jury stayed religious prosecutions in Sweden for over sixty years. He died 23 April 1847. A monument was erected to him last year at the University of Upsala, where he was professor of history. His works have been republished.Geijerstam(Gustaf), Swedish novelist, b. 1858. Is one of the Freethinking group ofYoung Sweden.
Dyas(Richard H.), captain in the army. Author ofThe Upas. He resided long in Italy and translated several of the works of C. Voysey.Eaton(Daniel Isaac), bookseller, b. about 1752, was educated at the Jesuits’ College, St. Omer. Being advised to study the Bible, he did so, with the result of discarding it as a revelation. In 1792 he was prosecuted for publishing Paine’sRights of Man, but the prosecution fell through. He afterwards publishedPolitics for the People, which was also prosecuted, 1793, as was hisPolitical Dictionary, 1796. To escape punishment, he fled to America, and lived there for three years and a half. Upon returning to England, his person and property were seized. Books to the value of£2,800 were burnt, and he was imprisoned for fifteen months. He translated from Helvetius and sold at his “Rationcinatoryor Magazine for Truths and Good Sense,” 8 Cornhill, in 1810,The True Sense and Meaning of the System of Nature. TheLaw of Naturehad been previously translated by him. In ’11 he issued the first and second parts of Paine’sAge of Reason, and on 6 March, ’12, was tried before Lord Ellenborough on a charge of blasphemy for issuing the third and last part. He was sentenced to eighteen months’ imprisonment and to stand in the pillory. The sentence evoked Shelley’s spiritedLetter to Lord Ellenborough. Eaton translated and published Freret’sPreservative against Religious Prejudices, 1812, and shortly before his death, at Deptford, 22 Aug. 1814, he was again prosecuted for publishing George Houston’sEcce Homo.Eberhard(Johann August), German Deist, b. Halberstadt, 31 Aug. 1739, was brought up in the church, but persecuted for heresy in hisNew Apology for Socrates, 1772, was patronised by Frederick the Great, and appointed Professor of Philosophy at Halle, where he opposed the idealism of Kant and Fichte. He wrote aHistory of Philosophy, 1788. Died Halle, 7 Jan. 1809.Eberty(Gustav), German Freethinker, b. 2 July, 1806. Author of some controversial works. Died Berlin, 10 Feb. 1887.Echtermeyer(Ernst Theodor), German critic, b. Liebenwerda, 1805. He studied at Halle and Berlin, and founded, with A. Ruge, theHallische Jahrbücher, which contained many Freethought articles, 1837–42. He taught at Halle and Dresden, where he died, 6 May, 1844.Edelmann(Johann Christian), German Deist, b. Weissenfels, Saxony, 9 July, 1698; studied theology in Jena, joined the Moravians, but left them and every form of Christianity, becoming an adherent of Spinozism. His principal works are hisUnschuldige Wahrheiten, 1735 (Innocent Truths), in which he argues that no religion is of importance, andMoses mit Aufgedecktem Angesicht(Moses Unmasked), 1740, an attack on the Old Testament, which, he believed, proceeded from Ezra;DieGöttlichkeitder Vernunft(The Divinity of Reason), 1741, andChrist and Belial. His works excited much controversy, and were publicly burnt at Frankfort, 9 May, 1750. Edelmann was chased from Brunswick andHamburg, but was protected byFrederick the Great, and died at Berlin, 15 Feb. 1767. Mirabeau praised him, and Guizot calls him a “fameux esprit fort.”Edison(Thomas Alva), American inventor, b. Milan, Ohio, 10 Feb. 1847. As a boy he sold fruit and papers at the trains. He read, however, Gibbon, Hume and other important works before he was ten. He afterwards set up a paper of his own, then became telegraph operator, studied electricity, invented electric light, the electric pen, the telephone, microphone, phonograph, etc. Edison is known to be an Agnostic and to pay no attention to religion.Eenens(Ferdinand), Belgian writer, b. Brussels, 7 Dec. 1811. Eenens was an officer in the Belgian army, and wrote many political and anti-clerical pamphlets. He also wroteLa Vérité, a work on the Christian faith, 1859;Le Paradis Terrestre, ’60, an examination of the legend of Eden, andDu Dieu Thaumaturge, ’76. He used the pen names “Le Père Nicaise,” “Nicodème Polycarpe” and “Timon III.” Died at Brussels in 1883.Effen(Justus van), Dutch writer, b. Utrecht, 11 Feb. 1684. Edited theMisanthrope, Amsterdam, 1712–16; translatedRobinson Crusoe, Swift’sTale of a Tub, and Mandeville’sThoughts on Religion, 1722; published theDutch Spectator, 1731–35. Died at Bois-le-Duc, 18 Sept. 1735.Eichhorn(Johann Gottfried), German Orientalist and rationalist, b. 16 Oct. 1752, became Professor of Oriental Literature and afterwards Professor of Theology at Gottingen. He publishedIntroductions to the Old and New TestamentsandA Commentary on the Apocalypse, in which his criticism tends to uproot belief in the Bible as a divine revelation. He lectured every dayforfifty-two years. Died 25 June, 1827.“Elborch(Conrad von),” the pseudonym of a living learned Dutch writer, whose position does not permit him to reveal his true name. Born 14 Jan. 1865, he has contributed toDe Dageraad(The Daybreak), under various pen-names, as “Fra Diavolo,” “Denis Bontemps,” “J. Van den Ende,” etc. He has given, in ’88, a translation of the rare and famous Latin treatise,De Tribus Impostoribus(On Three Impostors) [Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad], with an important bibliographic and historical introduction.“Eliot(George),” the pen-name of Mary Ann Lewes (néeEvans) one of the greatest novelists of the century, b. at Arbury Farm, near Griff, Warwickshire, 22 Nov. 1819. In ’41 the family removed to Foleshill, near Coventry. Here she made the friendship of the household of Charles Bray, and changed her views from Evangelical Christianity to philosophical scepticism. Influenced byThe Inquiry into the Origin of Christianity, by C. C. Hennell (Bray’s brother-in-law), she made an analysis of that work. Her first literary venture was translating Strauss’Leben Jesu, published in 1846. After the death of her father (’49) she travelled with the Brays upon the Continent, and upon her return assisted Dr. Chapman in the editorship of theWestminster Review, to which she contributed several articles. She translated Feuerbach’sEssence of Christianity, ’54, the only work published with her real name, and also translated from Spinoza’s Ethics. Introduced by Herbert Spencer to George Henry Lewes, she linked her life with his in defiance of the conventions of society, July, ’54. Both were poor, but by his advice she turned to fiction, in which she soon achieved success. HerScenes of Clerical Life,Adam Bede,Mill on the Floss,Silas Marner,Romola,Felix Holt,Middlemarch,Daniel Deronda, andTheophrastus Suchhave become classics. As a poet, “George Eliot” does not rank so high, but her little piece, “Oh, may I join the choir invisible,” well expresses the emotion of the Religion of Humanity, and herSpanish Gipsyshe allowed was “a mass of Positivism.” Lewes died in 1878, and within two years she married his friend, J. W. Cross. Her new happiness was short-lived. She died 22 Dec. 1880, and is buried with Lewes at Highgate.Ellero(Pietro) Italian jurisconsult, b. Pordenone, 8 Oct. 1833, Counsellor of the High Court of Rome, has been Professor of Criminal Law in the University of Bologna. Author of many works on legal and social questions. HisScritti Minori,Scritti PoliticiandLa Question Socialehave the honor of a place on the RomanIndex.Elliotson(John, M.D., F.R.S.), an eminent medical man, b. London, 1791. He became physician at St. Thomas’s Hospital in 1822, and made many contributions to medical science. By new prescriptions of quinine, creasote, etc., he excited muchhostility in the profession. He was the first in this country to advocate the use of the stethoscope. He was also the first physician to discard knee-breeches and silk stockings, and to wear a beard. In ’31 he was chosenProfessorat University College, but, becoming an advocate of curative mesmerism, he resigned his appointments, ’38. He was founder and President of the London Phrenological Society, and, in addition to many medical works, edited theZoist(thirteen vols.), translated Blumenbach’sPhysiology, and wrote an introduction to Engledue’sCerebral Physiology, defending materialism. Thackeray dedicatedPendennisto him, ’50, and he received a tribute of praise from Dickens. Died at London, 29 July, 1868.Eichthal(Gustave d’), French writer, b. of Jewish family, Nancy, 22 March, 1804. He became a follower of Saint Simon, was one of the founders of the Société d’Ethnologie, and publishedLes Evangiles, a critical analysis of the gospels, 2 vols, Paris, ’63. This he followed byThe Three Great Mediterranean Nations and ChristianityandSocrates and our Time, ’84. He died at Paris, April, 1886, and his son published hisMélanges de Critique Biblique(Miscellanies of Biblical Criticism), in which there is an able study on the name and character of “Jahveh.”Emerson(Ralph Waldo), American essayist, poet, and philosopher, b. Boston 25 May, 1803. He came of a line of ministers, and was brought up like his father, educated at Harvard College, and ordained as a Unitarian minister, 1829. Becoming too broad for the Church, he resigned in ’32. In the next year he came to Europe, visiting Carlyle. On his return he settled at Concord, giving occasional lectures, most of which have been published. He wrote to theDial, a transcendentalist paper. Tending to idealistic pantheism, but without systematic philosophy, all his writings are most suggestive, and he is always the champion of mental freedom, self-reliance, and the free pursuit of science. Died at Concord, 27 April, 1882. Matthew Arnold has pronounced his essays “the most important work done in prose” in this century.Emerson(William), English mathematician, b. Hurworth, near Darlington, 14 May, 1701. He conducted a school and wrote numerous works on Mathematics. His vigorous, if eccentric, individuality attracted Carlyle, who said to Mrs.Gilchrist, “Emerson was a Freethinker who looked on his neighbor, the parson, as a humbug. He seems to have defended himself in silence the best way he could against the noisy clamor and unreal stuff going on around him.” Died 21 May, 1782. He compiled a list of Bible contradictions.Emmet(Robert), Irish revolutionist, b. in Dublin 1778, was educated as a barrister. Expelled from Dublin University for his sympathy with the National Cause in 1798; he went to the Continent, but returned in 1802 to plan an ill-starred insurrection, for which he was executed 20 Sept. 1803. Emmet made a thrilling speech before receiving sentence, and on the scaffold refused the services of a priest. It is well known that his desire to see once more his sweetheart, the daughter of Curran, was the cause of his capture and execution.Engledue(William Collins), M.D., b. Portsea 1813. After taking his degree at Edinburgh, he became assistant to Dr. Lizars and was elected President of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. He returned to Portsmouth in 1835; originated the Royal Portsmouth Hospital and established public baths and washhouses. He contributed to theZoistand published an exposition of materialism under the title ofCerebral Physiology, 1842, republished by J. Watson, 1857. Died Jan. 1859.English(George Bethune), American writer and linguist, b. Cambridge, Mass., 7 March, 1787. He studied law and divinity, and graduated at Harvard, 1807, but becoming sceptical publishedGrounds of Christianity Examined, 1813. The work excited some controversy, and has been reprinted at Toronto, 1839. He joined the Egyptian service and became General of Artillery. He had a variable genius and a gift of languages. At Marseilles he passed for a Turk with a Turkish ambassador; and at Washington he surprised a delegation of Cherokees by disputing with them in their own tongue. He wrote a reply to his critics, entitledFive Smooth Stones out of the Brook, and two letters to Channing on his sermons against infidelity. Died at Washington, 20 Sept. 1828.Ense(Varnhagen von). SeeVarnhagen.Ensor(George), an Irish writer, b. Loughgall, 1769. Educated at Trinity College; he became B.A. 1790. He travelled largely, and was a friend of liberty in every country. Besidesother political works he published,The Independent Man, 1806;On National Government, 1810;A Review of the Miracles, Prophecies and Mysteries of the Old and New Testaments, first printed asJanus on Sion, 1816, and republished 1835; andNatural Theology Examined, 1836, the last being republished inThe Library of Reason. Bentham described him as clever but impracticable. Died Ardress, Co. Armagh, 3 Dec. 1843.Epicurus, Greek philosopher, b. Samos,B.C.342. He repaired to Athens,B.C.323. Influenced by the works of Demokritos, he occupied himself with philosophy. He purchased a garden in Athens, in which he established his school. Although muchcalumniated, he is now admitted to have been a man of blameless life. According to Cicero, he had no belief in the gods, but did not attack their existence, in order not to offend the prejudices of the Athenians. In physics he adopted the atomic theory, and denied immortality. He taught that pleasure is the sovereign good; but by pleasure he meant no transient sensation, but permanent tranquility of mind. He wrote largely, but his works are lost. His principles are expounded in the great poem of Lucretius,De Rerum Natura. DiedB.C.270, leaving many followers.“Erdan(Alexandre),” the pen-name of Alexandre AndreJacob, a French writer, b. Angles 1826. He was the natural son of a distinguished prelate. Educated at Saint Sulpice for the Church, he read Proudhon, and refused to take holy orders. He became a journalist and an advocate of phonography. His work,La France Mystique(1855), in which he gives an account of French religious eccentricities, was condemned for its scepticism which appears on every page. Sentenced to a year’s imprisonment and a fine of three thousand francs, he took refuge in Italy. Died at Frascati, near Rome, 24 Sept. 1878.Ernesti(Johann August), German critic, b. Tennstadt, 4 Aug. 1707. Studied at Wittenberg and Leipsic, where he was appointed professor of classical literature. Renowned as a philologist, he insisted that the Bible must be interpreted like any other book. Died Leipsic, 11 Sept. 1781.Escherny(François Louis d’)Count, Swiss litterateur, b. Neufchatel, 24 Nov. 1733. He spent much of his life in travel. At Paris he became the associate of Helvetius, Diderot, andparticularly Rousseau, whom he much admired. He wroteLacunes de la Philosophie(Amsterdam, 1783) and a work onEquality(1795), in which he displays his Freethought. Died at Paris, 15 July, 1815.Espinas(Alfred), French philosopher, b. Saint-Florentin, 1844. Has translated, with Th. Ribot, H. Spencer’sPrinciples of Psychology, and has written studies onExperimental Philosophy in Italy, and onAnimal Societies(1877).Espronceda(José), popular Spanish poet, b. Almendralejo (Estremadura) in 1810. After the War of Independence he went to Madrid and studied under Alberto Lista, the poet and mathematician. He became so obnoxious to the government by his radical principles that he was imprisoned about the age of fifteen, and banished a few years later. He passed several years in London and Paris, and was brought under the influence of Byron and Hugo. He fought with the people in the Paris Revolution of July, 1830. On the death of the Spanish King in ’33 he returned to Madrid, but was again banished for too free expression of his opinions. He returned and took part in the revolutionary contest of ’35–36. He was elected to the Cortes in ’41, and appointed secretary of embassy to The Hague. Died 23 May, 1842. Among his works are lyrical poems, which often remind us of Heine; an unfinished epic,El Pelayo; andEl Diablo-Mundo(the Devil-World), a fine poem, due to the inspiration of Faust and Don Juan.Esproncedawas a thorough sceptic. In hisSong of the Piratehe asks, “Who is my God?—Liberty”; and in his concluding lines to a star he says:I unheedingly follow my path,At the mercy of winds and of waves.Wrapt thus within the arms of Fate,What care I if lost or saved.Estienne(Henri), the ablest of a family of learned French printers, known in England as Stephens; b. Paris, 1528. At the age of eighteen he assisted his father in collating the MSS. of DionysiusofHalicarnassus. In 1557 he established a printing office of his own, and issued many Greek authors; and in 1572 theThesaurus Linguæ Græcæ. HisApologie pour Herodote(Englished as a World of Wonders) is designed as a satire on Christian legends, and directed against priests andpriestcraft. He was driven from place to place. Sir Philip Sidney highly esteemed him, and “kindly entertained him in his travaile.” Died 1598. Garasse classes him with Atheists.Esteve(Pierre), French writer, b. Montpelier at the beginning of the eighteenth century. He wrote a History of Astronomy and an anonymous work on theOrigin of the Universe explained from a Principle of Matter; Berlin, 1748.Ettel(Konrad), Austrian Freethinker, b. 17 Jan. 1847, at Neuhof, Sternberg. Studied at the Gymnasium Kremsier, and at the wish of his parents at the Theological Seminary Olmütz, which he left to study philosophy at Vienna. He has written many poems and dramas. HisGrundzuge derNatürlichenWeltanschauung(Sketch of a Natural View of the World), a Freethinker’s catechism, 1886, has reached a fourth edition.Evans(George Henry), b. at Bromyard, Herefordshire, 25 March, 1803. While a child, his parents emigrated to New York. He set up as a printer, and published theCorrespondent, the first American Freethought paper. He also published theWorking Man’s Advocate,Man,Young America, and theRadical. He labored for the transportation of mails on Sundays, the limitation of the right to hold lands, the abolition of slavery, and other reforms. His brother became one of the chief elders of the Shakers. Died in Granville, New Jersey, 2 Feb. 1855.Evans(William), b. Swansea, 1816, became a follower of Robert Owen. He establishedThe Potter’s Examiner and Workman’s Advocate, ’43, and wrote in the Co-operative journals under the anagram of “Millway Vanes.” Died 14 March, 1887.Evanson(Edward), theological critic, b. Warrington, Lancashire, 21 April, 1731. He graduated at Cambridge, became vicar of South Mimms, and afterwards rector of Tewkesbury. Entertaining doubts on the Trinity, he submitted them to the Archbishop of Canterbury without obtaining satisfaction. He made some changes in reading the Litany, and for expressing heretical opinions in a sermon in 1771, he was prosecuted, but escaped in consequence of some irregularity in the proceedings. In 1772 he published an anonymous tract on the Trinity. In 1797 he addressed a letter to the Bishop of Lichfield on the Prophecies of the New Testament, in which he tried to show that either Christianity was false or the orthodox churches. Inthe following year he resigned both his livings and took pupils. In 1792 he published his principal work,The Dissonance of the Four Generally-Received Evangelists, in which he rejected all the gospels, except Luke, as unauthentic. This work involved him in a controversy with Dr. Priestley, and brought a considerable share ofobloquyand persecution from the orthodox. Died 25 Sept. 1805.Eve’merusorEuhemerus(Εὐήμερος), a Sicilian author of the time of Alexander the Great, who sought to rationalise religion, and treated the gods as dead heroes. He is usually represented as an Atheist.Eudes(Emile François Désiré), French Communist, b. Roncey, 1844. He became a chemist, and was condemned, with Régnard, to three months’ imprisonment for writing inLa Libre Pensée, ’67, of which he was director. He joined the ranks of the Commune and became a general. When the Versailles troops entered Paris he escaped to Switzerland. On his return after the Amnesty, he wrote with Blanqui. Died at a public meeting in Paris, 5 Aug. 1888.Ewerbeck(August Hermann), Dr., b. Dantzic. After the events of 1848, he lived at Paris. He translated into German Cabet’sVoyage en Icarie, and in an important work entitledQu’est ce que La Religion?(What is Religion), ’50, translated into French Feuerbach’s “Essence of Religion,” “Essence of Christianity,” and “Death and Immortality.” In a succeeding volumeWhat is the Bible?he translated from Daumer, Ghillany, Luetzelberger and B. Bauer. Ewerbeck also wrote in French an historical work on Germany and the Germans; Paris, 1851.Fabre D’Eglantine(Philippe François Nazaire), French revolutionist and playwriter, b. Carcassonne, 28 Dec. 1755. After some success as a poet and playwright he was chosen as deputy to the National Convention. He voted for the death of Louis XVI., and proposed the substitution of the republican for the Christian calendar, Sept. 1793. He was executed with his friend Danton, 5 April, 1794.Fabricatore(Bruto), Italian writer, b. Sarno, Naples, 1824. His father Antonio had the honor of having a political work placed on theIndex, 1821. He took part in the anti-papal FreethoughtCouncilof 1869, and haswrittenworks on Dante, etc.Farinata. SeeUberti(Farinata degli).Fauche(Hippolyte), French Orientalist, b. Auxerre, 22 May, 1797. Translations of the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the plays of Kalidasa, attest his industry and erudition. He contributed toLa Liberté de Penser. Died at Juilly, 28 Feb. 1869.Fausto(Sebastiano),Da Longiano, Italian of the beginning of the 16th century, who is said to have projected a workThe Temple of Truth, with the intention of overturning all religions. He translated theMeditations of Antoninus, also wrote observations on Cicero, 1566.Feer(Henri Léon), French Orientalist, b. Rouen, 27 Nov. 1830, is chiefly known by his Buddhistic Studies, 1871–75.Fellens(Jean Baptiste), Professor of History, b. Bar-sur-Aube, 1794. Author of a work on Pantheism, Paris, 1873.Fellowes(Robert), LL.D., b. Norfolk 1771, educated at Oxford. He took orders in 1795, and wrote many books, but gradually quitted the doctrines of the Church and adopted the Deistic opinions maintained in his work entitledThe Religion of the Universe(1836). Dr. Fellowes was proprietor of theExaminerand a great supporter of the London University. Died 5 Feb. 1847.Fenzi(Sebastiano), Italian writer, b. Florence, 22 Oct. 1822. Educated by the Jesuits in Vienna, England and Paris. Founded in ’49 theRevista Britannica, writer on the journalL’Italiano, and has written a credo which is a non-credo.Feringa(Frederik), Dutch writer, b. Groningen, 16 April, 1840. Studied mathematics. A contributor toDe Dageraad(The Daybreak) over the signature, “Muricatus”; he has written important studies, entitledDemocratie en Wetenschap(Democracy and Science), 1871, also wrote inDeVrijeGedachte(Freethought).Fernau(Rudolf), Dr., German author ofChristianity and Practical Life, Leipsic, 1868;The Alpha and Omega of Reason, Leipsic, 1870;Zoologica Humoristica, 1882; and a recent work onReligion as Ghost and God Worship.Feron(Emile), Belgian advocate, b. Brussels, 11 July, 1841. Councillor of the International Freethought Federation.Ferrari(Giuseppe), Italian philosopher, b. Milan 7 March,1811. A disciple of Romagnosi, a study of whose philosophical writings he published ’35. He also published the works of Vico, and in ’39 a work entitledVico and Italy, and in the following year another on theReligious Opinions of Campanella. Attacked by the Catholic party, he was exiled, living in Paris, where he became a collaborator with Proudhon and a contributor to theRevue de Deux Mondes. In ’42 he was made Professor of Philosophy at Strasbourg, but appointment was soon cancelled on account of his opinions. He wrote aHistory of the Revolution of Italy, ’55, and a work onChina and Europe. His history of theReason of the State, ’60, is his most pronounced work. In ’59, he was elected to the Italian Parliament, where he remained one of the most radical members until his death at Rome 1 July, 1876.Ferri(Enrico), Member of the Italian Parliament, formerly professor of criminal law at the University of Siena, studied at Mantua under Professor Ardigo. Has written a large work on the Non-Existence of Free Will, and is with Professor Lombroso, leader of the new Italian school of criminal law reform.Ferri(Luigi), Italian philosopher, b. Bologna, 15 June 1826. Studied in Paris and became licentiate of letters in 1850. Author ofHistory of Philosophy in Italy, Paris 1868;The Psychology of Pomponazzi, etc.Ferrière(Emile), French writer and licentiate of letters, b. Paris, 1830; author ofLiterature and Philosophy, 1865;Darwinism, 1872, which has gone through several editions;The Apostles, a work challenging early Christian Morality, 1879;The Soul the Function of the Brain, a scientific work of popular character in two vols., 1883; andPaganism of the Hebrews until the Babylonian Captivity, 1884. All these are works of pronounced Freethought. M. Ferrière has also announced a workJesus bar Joseph.Feuerbach(Friedrich Heinrich), son of a famous German jurist, was b. at Ansbach 29 Sept. 1806. He studied philology, but set himself to preach what his brother Ludwig taught. He wroteTheanthropos, a series of Aphorisms (Zurich, ’38), and an able work on theReligion of the Future, ’43–47; andThoughts and Facts, Hamburg, ’62. Died Nurenberg, 24 Jan. 1880.Feuerbach(Ludwig Andreas), brother of thepreceding, b. Landshut, Bavaria, 28 July 1804. He studied theology with a view to the Church, but under the influence of Hegel abandoned it for philosophy. In ’28 he was made professor at Erlangen, but was dismissed in consequence of his first published work,Thoughts upon Death and Immortality, ’30, in which he limited immortality to personal influence on the human race. After a wandering life he married in ’37, and settled near Anspach. He published there a history of modern philosophy from Bacon to Spinoza. This was followed by a work on Peter Bayle. In ’38 he wrote on philosophy and Christianity, and in ’41 his work called theThe Essence of Christianity, in which he resolves theology into anthropology. This book was translated by Mary Ann Evans, ’53. He also wrotePrinciples of the Philosophy of the Future. After the revolution of ’48 he was invited to lecture by the students of Heidelberg, and gave his course onThe Essence of Religion, published in ’51. In ’57 he publishedTheogony from the Sources of Classical, Hebrew, and Christian Antiquity, and in ’66Theism, Freedom, and Immortality from the Standpoint of Anthropology. Died at Rechenberg, near Nurenberg, 13 Sept. 1872. His complete works were published at Leipsic in 1876. He was a deep thinker and lucid writer.Fichte(Johann Gottlieb), one of the greatest German thinkers, b. 19 May, 1762. He studied at the Universities of Jena, Leipsic, and Wittenberg, embraced “determinism,” became acquainted with Kant, and published anonymously,A Criticism of all Revelation. He obtained a chair of philosophy at Jena, where he developed his doctrines of science, asserting that the problem of philosophy is to seek on what foundations knowledge rests. He gave moral discourses in the lecture-room on Sunday, and was accused of holding atheistical opinions. He was in consequence banished from Saxony, 1799. He appears to have held that God was not a personal being, but a system of intellectual, moral, and spiritual laws. Fichte took deep interest in the cause of German independence, and did much to rouse his countrymen against the domination of the French during the conquest which led to the fall of Napoleon. Besides many publications, in which he expounds his philosophy, he wrote eloquent treatises onThe Vocation of Man,The Natureand Vocation of the Scholar,The Way Towards the Blessed Life, etc. Died Berlin 27 Jan. 1814.“Figaro.” SeeLarra(Mariano José de).Figuiera(Guillem), Provençal troubadour and precursor of the Renaissance, b. Toulouse about 1190. His poems were directed against the priests and Court of Rome.Filangieri(Gaetano), an Italian writer on legislation, b. Naples, 18 Aug. 1752. He was professor at that city. His principal work isLa Scienza della Legislazione, 1780. In the fifth volume he deals with pre-Christian religions. The work was put on theIndex. Died 21 July, 1788.Fiorentino(Francesco), Italian philosopher, b. Sambiasa, Nicastro, 1 May, 1834. In 1860 he became Professor of Philosophy at Spoletto, in ’62 at Bologna, and in ’71 at Naples. He was elected deputy to Parliament, Nov. ’70. A disciple of Felice Tocco, he paid special attention to the early Italian Freethinkers, writing uponThe Pantheism of Giordano Bruno, Naples, ’61; Pietro Pomponazzi, Florence, ’68; Bernardius Telesio, Florence, 2 vols., ’72–74. He has also written on Strauss and Spinoza. In theNuova Antologiahe wrote on J. C. Vanini, and on Cæsalpinus, Campanella, and Bruno. A friend of Bertrando Spaventa, he succeeded to his chair at Naples in ’83. Died 22 Dec. 1884.Fischart(Johann), German satirist calledMentzer, b. Strasbourg about 1545. His satires in prose and verse remind one of Rabelais, whom he in part translated, and are often directed against the Church. Died at Forbach in 1614.Fischer(J. C.), German materialist, author of a work on the freedom of the will 1858, a criticism of Hartmann’sPhilosophy of the Unconscious, ’72;DasBewusstsein, ’74. Died 1888.Fischer(Kuno), German philosopher, b. 23 July, 1824, at Sandewald, Silesia. Educated at Leipsic and Halle, in 1856 he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at Jena. His chief works areHistory of Modern Philosophy, ’52–72;Life and Character of Spinoza;Francis Bacon, ’56; andLessing, ’81.Fiske(John), American author, b. Hartford, Connecticut, 30 March, 1842. Graduated at Harvard, ’63. In ’69–71 was Lecturer on Philosophy at that University, and from ’72–9Librarian. Mr. Fiske has lectured largely, and has writtenMyths and Mythmakers, ’72;Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy, 2 vols. ’74;Darwinism, and other essays, ’79;Excursions of an Evolutionist, ’83;The Idea of God as Affected by Modern Knowledge, ’85.Flaubert(Gustave), French novelist, b. Rouen, 12 Dec. 1821. The son of a distinguished surgeon, he abandoned his father’s profession for literature. His masterpiece,Madame Bovary, published in ’56 in theRevue de Paris, drew a prosecution upon that journal which ended in a triumph for the author. For his next great work,Salammbô, ’62, an epic of Carthage, he prepared himself by long antiquarian studies. His intellectual tendencies are displayed inThe Temptation of Saint Anthony. He stands eminent among the naturalist school for his artistic fidelity. He was a friend of Théophile Gautier, Ivan Turgenev, Emile Zola and “George Sand.” His correspondence with the last of these has been published. He distinctly states therein that on subjects like immortality men cheat themselves with words. Died at Rouen, 9 May, 1880.Flourens(Marie Jean Pierre), French scientist, b. near Béziers, 15 April, 1794. In 1828 he was admitted into the Academy of Sciences, after having published a work on the nervous system of vertebrates; he became perpetual secretary in ’33. A work onHuman Longevity and the Quantity of Life on the Globewas very popular. Died near Paris, 6 Dec. 1867.Flourens(Gustave), eldest son of the preceding, b. Paris, 4 Aug. 1838. In ’63 he took his father’s chair at the College of France, and his course on “Ethnography” attracted much attention. In the following year he published his work onThe Science of Man. His bold heresy lost him his chair, and he collaborated on Larousse’sGrand Dictionnaire. In ’65 he left France for Crete, where for three years he fought in the mountains against the Turkish troops. Upon his return he was arrested for presiding at a political meeting. He showed himself an ardent Revolutionist, and was killed in a skirmish near Nanterre, 3 April, 1871.Fonblanque(Albany William), English journalist, b. London, 1793; the son of an eminent lawyer. In 1820 he was on the staff of theTimes, and contributed to theWestminster Review. In ’30 he became editor of theExaminer, and retained his postuntil ’47. His caustic wit and literary attainments did much to forward advanced liberal views. A selection of his editorials was published under the title,England under Seven Administrations. Died 13 Oct. 1872.Fontanier(Jean), French writer, who was burnt at the Place de Grève, 1621, for blasphemies in a book entitledLe Tresor Inestimable. Garasse, with little reason, calls him an Atheist.Fontenelle(Bernardle Bovier de), nephew of Corneille, called by Voltaire the most universal genius of the reign of Louis XIV., b. Rouen, 11 Feb. 1657. Dedicated to the Virgin and St. Bernard, he was educated at the Jesuits’ College. He went to Paris in 1674; wrote some plays andDialogues of the Dead, 1683. In 1686 appeared hisConversations on the Plurality of Worlds, and in the following year hisHistory of Oracles, based on the work of Van Dale, for which he was warmly attacked by the Jesuit Baltus, as impugning the Church Fathers. He was made secretary to the Academy of Sciences in 1699, a post he held forty-two years. He wroteDoubts on the Physical System of Occasional Causes, and is also credited with a letter on theResurrection of the Body, a piece onThe Infinite, and aTreatise on Liberty; “but,”says l’Abbé Ladvocat, “as these books contain many things contrary to religion, it is to be hoped they are not his.” Fontenelle nearly reached the age of one hundred. A short time before he died (9 Jan. 1757), being asked if he felt any pain, “I only feel,” he replied, “a difficulty of existing.”Foote(George William), writer and orator, b. Plymouth, 11 Jan. 1850. Was “converted” in youth, but became a Freethinker by reading and independent thought. Came to London in 1868, and was soon a leading member of the Young Men’s Secular Association. He taught in the Hall of Science Sunday School, and became secretary of the Republican League. Devoting his time to propagating his principles, he wrote in theSecular ChronicleandNational Reformer, and in ’76 started theSecularistin conjunction with Mr. G. J. Holyoake, and after the ninth number conducting it alone. This afterwards merged in theSecular Review. In ’79 Mr. Foote edited theLiberal, and in Sept. ’81, started theFreethinker, which he stilledits. In the following year a prosecution was commenced by the Public Prosecutor, who attempted to connect Mr. Bradlaugh with it. Undaunted, Mr. Foote issued a Christmas number with an illustrated “Comic Life of Christ.” For this a prosecution was started by the City authorities against him and his publisher and printer, and the trial came on first in March, ’83. The jury disagreed, but Judge North refused to discharge the prisoners, and they were tried again on the 5th March; Judge North directing that a verdict of guilty must be returned, and sentencing Mr. Foote to one year’s imprisonment as an ordinary criminal subject to the same “discipline” as burglars. “I thank you, my lord; your sentence is worthy of your creed,” he remarked. On 24 April, ’83, Mr. Foote was brought from prison before Lord Coleridge and a special jury on the first charge, and after a splendid defence, upon which he was highly complimented by the judge, the jury disagreed. He has debated with Dr. McCann, Rev. A. J. Harrison, the Rev. W. Howard, the Rev. H. Chapman, and others. Mr. Foote has written much, and lectures continually. Among his works we mentionHeroes and Martyrs of Freethought(1876);God, the Soul, and a Future State;Secularism the True Philosophy of Life(1879);Atheism and Morality;The Futility of Prayer;Bible Romances;Death’s Test, afterwards enlarged intoInfidel Death-Beds;The God Christians Swear by;Was Jesus Insane? Blasphemy No Crime;Arrows of Freethought;Prisoner for Blasphemy(1884);Letters to Jesus Christ;What Was Christ? Bible Heroes; and has editedThe Bible Hand-bookwith Mr. W. P. Ball, and theJewish Life of Christwith the present writer, in conjunction with whom he has writtenThe Crimes of Christianity. From 1883–87 he editedProgress, in which appeared many important articles from his pen. Mr. Foote is President of the London Secular Federation, and a Vice-President of the National Secular Society.Fouillee(Alfred), French philosopher, b. La Pouëze, near Angers, 18 Oct. 1838. Has been teacher at several lyceums, notably at Bordeaux. He was crowned by the Academy of Moral Sciences for two works on the Philosophy of Plato and Socrates. Elected Professor of Philosophy at the Superior Normal School, Paris, he sustained a thesis at the Sorbonne onLiberty and Determinism, which was violently attacked bythe Catholics. This work has gone through several editions. M. Fonillée has also written an ableHistory of Philosophy, 1875,Contemporary Social Science, and an importantCritique of Contemporary Moral Systems(1883). He has written much in theRevue des Deux Mondes, and is considered, with Taine, Ribot, and Renan, the principal representative of French philosophy. His system is known as that ofidèes-forces, as he holds that ideas are themselves forces. His latest work expounds the views of M. Guyau.Forberg(Friedrich Karl), German philosopher, b. Meuselwitz, 30 Aug. 1770, studied theology at Leipsic, and became private docent at Jena. Becoming attached to Fichte’s philosophy, he wrote with Fichte in Niethammer’sPhilosophical Journalon “The Development of Religious Ideas,” and an article on “The Ground of our Faith in Divine Providence,” which brought on them a charge of Atheism, and the journal was confiscated by the Electorate of Saxony. Forberg held religion to consist in devotion to morality, and wroteAn Apology for Alleged Atheism, 1799. In 1807 he became librarian at Coburg, and devoted himself to the classics, issuing aManuel d’Erotologie Classique. Died Hildburghausen 1 Jan. 1848.Forder(Robert), b. Yarmouth, 14 Oct. 1844. Coming to to Woolwich, he became known as a political and Freethought lecturer. He took part in the movement to save Plumstead Common from the enclosers, and was sent to trial for riotous proceedings, but was acquitted. In ’77 he was appointed paid secretary to the National Secular Society, a post he has ever since occupied. During the imprisonment of Messrs. Foote, Ramsey, and Kemp, in ’83, Mr. Forder undertook charge of the publishing business. He has lectured largely, and written some pamphlets.Forlong(James George Roche). Major General, H.B.A., b. Lanarkshire, Scotland, Nov. 1824. Educated as an engineer, joined the Indian army ’43, fought in the S. Mahrata campaign ’45–6, and in the secondBurmesewar. On the annexation of Barma he became head of the Survey, Roads and canal branches. In ’58–9 he travelled extensively through Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, etc. From ’61–71 was a superintending engineer of Calcutta, and in Upper Bengal,North-west Provinces, and Rajputana, and ’72–76 was Secretary and Chief Engineer to the Government of Oudh.He retired in ’77 after an active service of 33 years, during which he frequently received the thanks of the Indian and Home Governments. In his youth he was an active Evangelical, preaching to the natives in their own tongues. He has, however, given his testimony that during his long experience he has known no one converted solely by force of reasoning or “Christian evidences.” A great student of Eastern religions, archæology, and languages, he has written in various periodicals of the East and West, and has embodied the result of many years researches in two illustrated quarto volumes calledRivers of Life, setting forth the evolution of all religions from their radical objective basis to their present spiritualised developments. In an elaborate chart he shows by streams of color the movements of thought from 10,000B.C.to the present time.Fourier(François Marie Charles), French socialist, b. Besançon, 7 April, 1772. He passed some of the early years of his life as a common soldier. His numerous works amid much that is visionary have valuable criticisms upon society, and suggestions for its amelioration. He believed in the transmigration of souls. Died at Paris, 8 Oct. 1837.Fox(William Johnson), orator and political writer, b. near Wrentham, Suffolk, 1786. Intended for the Congregational Ministry, he became a Unitarian, and for many years preached at South Place, Finsbury, where he introduced the plan of taking texts from other books besides the Bible. One of his first published sermons was on behalf of toleration for Deists at the time of the Carlile prosecutions 1819. He gradually advanced from the acceptance of miracles to their complete rejection. During the Anti-Corn Law agitation he was a frequent and able speaker. In 1847 he became M.P. for Oldham, and retained his seat until his retirement in ’61. He was a prominent worker for Radicalism, contributing to theWestminster Review,Weekly Dispatch, andDaily News. For some years he edited theMonthly Repository. His works, which include spiritedLectures to the Working Classes, and a philosophical statement ofReligions Ideas, were published in twelve volumes, ’65–68. Died 3 June, 1864.“Franchi(Ausonio),” the pen name of Francesco CristoforoBonavino, Italian ex-priest, b. Pegli, 24 Feb. 1821. Brought up in the Church and ordained priest in ’44, the practice of the confessional made him sceptical and he quitted it for philosophy, having ceased to believe in its dogmas, ’49. In ’52 he published hisprincipalwork, entitledThe Philosophy of the Italian Schools. The following year he publishedThe Religion of the Nineteenth Century. He establishedLa Razione(Reason) andIl Libero Pensieroat Turin, ’54–57; wrote on theRationalism of the People, Geneva, ’56, and became an active organiser of anti-clerical societies. In ’66 he published a criticism of Positivism, and has since writtenCritical and Polemical Essays, 3 vols. Milan, ’70–72. In ’68 was appointed Professor of Philosophy in the Academy of Milan by Terenzio Mamiani.Francis(Samuel), M.D., author ofWatson Refuted, published by Carlile, 1819.Francois de Neufchateau(Nicolas Louis),Count, French statesman, poet, and academician, b. Lorraine, 17 April, 1750. In his youth he became secretary to Voltaire, who regarded him as his successor. He favored the Revolution, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly in ’91. As Member of the Directory, ’97, he circulated d’Holbach’sContagion Sacrée. He became President of the Senate, ’14–16. He wrote numerous pieces. Died at Paris 10 Jan. 1828.Franklin(Benjamin), American patriot and philosopher, b. Boston 17 Jan. 1706. He was apprenticed to his uncle as a printer, came to England and worked at his trade ’24–26; returned to Philadelphia, where he published a paper and became known by hisPoor Richard’s Almanack. He founded the public library at Philadelphia, and made the discovery of the identity of lightning with the electric fluid. He became member of the Provincial Assembly and was sent to England as agent. When examined before the House of Commons he spoke boldly against the Stamp Act. He was active during the war with this country, and was elected member of Congress. Became envoy to France, and effected the treaty of alliance with that country, 6 Feb. ’78, which secured the independence of the American colonies. Turgot summed up his services in the fine lineEripuit cælo fulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis. “He wrested thethunderbolt from heaven and the sceptre from kings.” Died at Philadelphia, 17 April, 1790.Fransham(John), a native of Norwich, b. 1730, became a teacher of mathematics, renounced the Christian religion, and professed Paganism, writing several treatises in favor of disbelief. Died 1810.Frauenstaedt(Christian Martin Julius), Dr., philosopher and disciple of Schopenhauer, b. 17 April, 1813, at Bojanowo, Posen. He studied philosophy and theology at Berlin, but meeting Schopenhauer at Frankfort in ’47 he adopted the views of the pessimist, who made him his literary executor. Among Frauenstädt’s works areLetters on Natural Religion, ’58,The Liberty of Men and the Personality of God, ’38;Letters on the Philosophy of Schopenhauer, ’54, etc. Died at Berlin, 13 Jan. 1879.Frederick II.(Emperor of Germany), the greatest man of the thirteenth century and founder of the Renaissance, b. 26 Dec. 1194. Was elected to the throne in 1210. He promoted learning, science, and art, founded the Universities of Vienna and Naples, had the works of Aristotle and Averroes translated, and was the patron of all the able men of his time. For his resistance to the tyranny of the Church he was twice excommunicated. He answered by a letter attacking the Pope (Gregory IX.), whom he expelled from Rome in ’28. He made a treaty with the Sultan of Egypt, by which he became master of Jerusalem. For some heretical words in his letter, in which he associates the names of Christ, Moses, and Mohammed, he was reported author of the famous workDe Tribus Impostoribus. He addressed a series of philosophical questions to Ibn Sabin, a Moslem doctor. He is said to have called the Eucharisttruffa ista, and is credited also with the saying “Ignorance is the mother of devotion.” Died at Florence, 13 Dec. 1250.Frederick the Great(King of Prussia), b. 24 Jan. 1712, was educated in a very rigid fashion by his father, Frederick William I. He ascended the throne and soon displayed his political and military ability. By a war with Austria he acquired Silesia. He wrote several deistical pieces, and tolerated all religions and no religion saying “every man must get to heaven his own way.” He attracted to his courtmen like Lamettrie, D’Argens, Maupertuis, and Voltaire, who, says Carlyle, continued all his days Friedrich’s chief thinker. In 1756 France, Austria, Sweden, and Russia united against him, but he held his own against “a world in arms.” After a most active life Frederick died at Potsdam, 17 Aug. 1786. ThePhilosophical Breviaryattributed to him was really written by Cérutti.Fredin(Nils Edvard), Swedish writer, b. 1857. Has published translation of modern poets, and also of Col. Ingersoll’s writings. In ’80 he was awarded first prize by the Swedish Academy for an original poem.Freeke(William), b. about 1663, wroteA Brief but Clear Confutation of the Trinity, which being brought before the notice of the House of Lords it was on 3 Jan. 1693 ordered to be burnt by the common hangman, and the author being prosecuted by the Attorney General was fined £500.Freiligrath(Ferdinand) German poet, b. Detmold 17 June, 1810. In ’35 he acquired notice by some poems. In ’44 he published his profession of faithMein Glaubensbekenntniss, and was forced to fly the country. In ’48 he returned and joined Karl Marx on theNeue Rheinische Zeitung. Again prosecuted he took refuge in London, devoting his leisure to poetry and translation. Freiligrath holds a high place among the poets of his time. Died Kannstadt, near Stuttgart, 18 March 1876.Fréret(Nicolas), French historical critic, b. 15 Feb. 1688. He was a pupil of Rollin, and was patronised by Boulainvilliers. Distinguished by his attainments in ancient history,philosophyand chronology, he became member of the Academy of Inscriptions 1714. For a Discourse on the “Origin of the Franks,” he was incarcerated for four months in the Bastille. While here he read Bayle so often that he could repeat much from memory. He was an unbeliever, and the author of the atheisticLetters from Thrasybulus to Leucippeon Natural and Revealed Religion, and perhaps ofLa Moisade, a criticism of the Pentateuch, translated by D. I. Eaton, asA Preservative againstReligiousPrejudices. TheLetters to Eugenie, attributed toFréret, were written by D’Holbach, and theCritical Examination of the Apologists of the Christian Religionby J. Levesque deBurigny.A Critical Examination of the New Testament, 1777 which long circulated in MS. has also been wrongly attributed to Fréret. Died at Paris, 8 March, 1749.Frey(William), the adopted name of a Russian Positivist and philanthropist, b. of noble family, the son of a general, 1839. Educated at the higher military school, St. Petersburg, he became teacher in a Government High School, and disgusted with the oppression and degradation of his country he went to New York in 1866 where he established co-operative communities and also Russian colonies in Kansas and Oregon. In 1884 he came to London in order to influence his countrymen. In ’87 he revisited Russia. Died 6 Nov. 1888.Fries(Jacob Friedrich), German philosopher, b. Barby, 23 Aug. 1773. Brought up as a Moravian, he became a Deist. Fries is of the Neo-Kantian rationalistic school. Among his writings are aSystem of Metaphysics, 1824; aManual of the Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Æsthetics, Heidelberg ’32; in which he resolves religion into poetry. He criticised Kant’s proofs of God and immortality, and wrote aHistory of Philosophy. Died Jena, 10 Aug. 1843.Frothingham(Octavius Brooks), American author, b. Boston, 26 Nov. 1822. Graduated at Harvard, ’43, and became Unitarian minister. In ’60 he became pastor of the most radical Unitarian congregation in New York. In ’67 he became first president of the Free Religious Association, but, becoming too advanced, resigned in ’79 and came to Europe. Since his return to Boston, ’81, he has devoted himself to literature. He has publishedThe Religion of Humanity, N.Y., ’73;Life of Theodore Parker, ’74;The Cradle of the Christ, ’77;Life of Gerrit Smith, 78; and numerous sermons.Froude(James Anthony), man of letters and historian, the son of an Archdeacon of Totnes, was b. Dartington, Devon, 23 April, 1818, and educated at Westminster and Oxford, where he took his degree in ’40, was elected fellow of Exeter College and received deacon’s orders. At first, under the influence of the Romanising movement, he became a rationalist and abandoned his fellowship and clerical life. HisNemesis of Faith, ’48, showed the nature of his objections. Mr. Froude devotedhis abilities to a literary career, and fell under the influence of Carlyle. For many years he editedFraser’s Magazine, in which he wrote largely. His essays are collected under the title ofShort Studies on Great Subjects, ’71–83. His largest work is theHistory of England, from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, ’56–76. HisLife of Carlyle, ’82, and publication ofCarlyle’s Reminiscensesprovoked much controversy. His magical translation of Lucian’s most characteristic Dialogue of the Gods is done with too muchverveto allow of the supposition that the translator is not in sympathy with his author.Fry(John), a colonel in the Parliamentary army. In 1640 he was elected one of the burgesses of Shaftesbury, but his return was declared void. After serving with distinction in the army, he was called to the House of Commons by the Independents in 1648. He voted for Charles I. being put on trial; and sat in judgment when sentence was passed on him. He was charged with blasphemy and wroteThe Accuser Shamed, 1649, which was ordered to be burnt for speaking against “that chaffie and absurd opinion of three persons in the Godhead.” He also wroteThe Clergy in their Colors, 1650.Fuller(Sarah Margaret), American authoress, b. Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, 23 May, 1810. In ’40–42 she edited theDial. She also publishedWoman in the Nineteenth Century, ’44. Among friends she counted Emerson, Hawthorne, Channing, and Mazzini. She visited Europe and married at Rome the Marquis D’Ossoli. Returning she was shipwrecked and drowned off the coast of New Jersey, 16 July, 1850.Furnemont(Léon), Belgian advocate, b. Charleroi, 17 April, 1861. Entered the school of Mines Liége in ’76, and founded theCircle of Progressive Students. Became president of International Congress of Students, ’84, and represented Young Belgium at the funeral of Victor Hugo. Radical candidate at the Brussels municipal elections, he obtained 3,500 votes, but was not elected. He is a Councillor of the International Federation of Freethinkers and director of a monthly journal,La Raison, 1889.Gabarro(Bartolomé) Dr., Spanish writer, b. Ygualade, Barcelona, 27 Sept. 1846, was educated in a clerical collegewith a view to taking the clerical habit, he refused and went to America. After travelling much, he established a day school in Barcelona and founded an Anti-clerical League of Freethinkers pledged to live without priests. This induced much clericalwrath, especially when Dr. Gabarro founded some 200 Anti-clerical groups and over 100 lay schools. For denouncing the assassins of a Freethinker he was pursued for libel, sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, and forced to fly to Cerbere on the frontier, where he continues his anti-clerical journalLa Tronada. He has written many anti-clerical brochures and an important work on Pius IX. and History.Gabelli(Aristide), Italian writer, b. Belluno, 22 March, 1830. Author ofThe Religious Question in Italy, ’64,Man and the Moral Sciences, ’69, in which he rejects all metaphysics and supernaturalism, andThoughts, 1886.Gage(Matilda Joslyn), American reformer, b. Cicero, New York, 24 March, 1826. Her father, Dr. H. Joslyn, was an active abolitionist. Educated at De Peyster and Hamilton, N.Y., in ’45 she married Henry H. Gage. From ’52 till ’61 she wrote and spoke against slavery. In ’72 she was made President of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association. She is joint author ofThe History of Woman Suffragewith Miss Anthony and Mrs. Stanton, and with them considers the Church the great obstacle to woman’s progress.Gagern(Carlos von), b. Rehdorf, Neumark, 12 Dec. 1826. Educated at Berlin, travelled in ’47 to Paris where he became acquainted with Humboldt. He went to Spain and studied Basque life in the Pyrenees; served in the Prussian army, became a friend of Wislicenus and the free-religious movement. In ’52 he went to Mexico; here he had an appointment under General Miramon. In the French-Mexican expedition he was taken prisoner in ’63; released in ’65 he went to New York. He was afterwards military attaché for Mexico at Berlin. His freethought appears in his memoirs entitledDead and Living, 1884, and in his volumeSword and Trowel, 1888. Died Madrid 19 Dec. 1885.Gall(Franz Joseph), founder of phrenology, b. Baden, 6 March, 1758. He practised as a physician in Vienna, devotingmuch time to the study of the brain, and began to lecture on craniology in that city. In 1802 he was prohibited from lecturing. He joined Dr. Spurzheim and they taught their system in various cities of Europe. Died at Paris, 22 Aug. 1828.Galton(Francis), grandson of Erasmus Darwin, was born in 1822. Educated at Birmingham, he studied medicine at King’s College, London, and graduated at Cambridge, ’24. In ’48 and ’50 he travelled in Africa. He wrote a popularArt of Travel, and has distinguished himself by many writings bearing on heredity, of which we nameHereditary Genius, ’69,English Men of Science, ’70. In hisInquiries into Human Faculty and Developement, ’83, he gives statistical refutation of the theory of prayer. Mr. Galton was Secretary of the British Association from ’63–68, President of the Geographical Section in ’62 and ’72, and of the Anthropological Section in ’77 and ’85. He is President of the Anthropological Institute.Gambetta(Léon Michel), French orator and statesman, b. Cahors, 30 Oct. 1838. His uncle was a priest and his father wished him to become one. Educated at a clerical seminary, he decided to study for the law. In ’59 he was enrolled at the bar. His defence of Delescluze (14 Nov. 1868), in which he vigorously attacked the Empire, made him famous. Elected to the Assembly by both Paris and Marseilles, he became the life and leader of the Opposition. After Sedan he proclaimed the Republic and organised the national defences, leaving Paris, then invested by the Germans, in a balloon. From Tours he invigorated every department, and was the inspiration of the few successes won by the French. Gambetta preserved the Republic against all machinations, and compelled MacMahon to accept the second of the alternatives, “Se soumettre ou se demettre.” He founded theRepublique Française, and became President of the Chamber. Gambetta was a professed disciple of Voltaire, an admirer of Comte, and an open opponent of clericalism. All the members of his Cabinet were Freethinkers. Died 31 Dec. 1882. His public secular funeral was one of the largest gatherings ever witnessed.Gambon(Ferdinand Charles), French Communist, b. Bourges, 19 March, 1820. In 1839 he became an Advocate, and he founded theJournal des Ecoles. In ’48 he was electedrepresentative. The Empire drove him into exile, he returned at amnesty of ’59. In ’69 he refused to pay taxes. In ’71 was elected deputy at Paris, and was one of the last defenders of the Commune. Imprisoned, he was released in ’82. Formed a League for abolishing standing army. Died 17 Sept. 1887.Garat(Dominique Joseph), Count, French revolutionist, orator and writer, b. near Bayonne, 8 September, 1749. He became a friend of d’Alembert, Diderot and Condercet, and in 1789 was elected to the Assembly, where he spoke in favor of the abolition of religion. As minister of justice he had to notify to Louis XVI his condemnation. He afterwards taught at the Normal School, and became a senator, count, and president of the Institute. Died at Urdains 9 December, 1833.Garborg(Arne), b. Western Coast of Norway, 25 Jan. 1851. Brought up as a teacher at the public schools, he entered the University of Christiania in 1875. Founded a weekly paperFedraheimen, written in the dialect of the peasantry. Held an appointment for some years in the Government Audit Office. In ’81 he published a powerfully written tale,A Freethinker, which created a deal of attention. Since he has publishedPeasant Students,Tales and Legends,Youth,Men, etc. He is one of the wittiest and cleverest controversialists on the Norwegian press.Garcia-Vao(Antonio Rodriguez), Spanish poet and miscellaneous writer, b. Manzanares, 1862. Educated at the institute of Cardinal Cisneros, where he made brilliant studies. He afterwards studied at the Madrid University and became a lawyer. After editing several papers, he attached himself to the staff ofLas Dominicales del Libre Pensiamento. Among his numerous works are a volume of poems,Echoes of a Free Mind,Love and the Monks, a satire, a study of Greco-Roman philosophy, etc. This promising student was stabbed in the back at Madrid, 18 December, 1886.Garde(Jehan de la), bookseller, burnt together with four little blasphemous books at Paris in 1537.Garibaldi(Guiseppe), Italian patriot and general, b. Nice, 4 July, 1807. His father, a small shipmaster, hoped he would become a priest. Young Garibaldi objected, preferring asailor’s life. A trip to Rome made him long to free his country. He joined Mazzini’s movement, “Young Italy,” and being implicated in the Genoese revolt of ’33, he fled at risk of his life to Marseilles, where he learnt he was sentenced to death. He went to South America and fought on behalf of the republic of Uruguay. Here he met Anita Rivera, his beautiful and brave wife, who accompanied him in numerous adventures. Returning to Italy he fought against the Austrians in ’48, and next year was the soul of resistance to the French troops, who came to restore Papal authority. Garibaldi had to retire; his wife died, and he escaped with difficulty to Genoa, whence he went to New York, working for an Italian soap and candlemaker at Staten Island. In ’54 he returned and bought a farm on the isle of Caprera. In ’59 he again fought the Austrians, and in May, ’60, landed at Marsala, Sicily, took Palermo, and drove Francis II. from Naples. Though a Republican he saluted Victor Emanuel as King of Italy. Vexed by the cessation of Nice to France, he marched to Rome, but was wounded by Victor Emanuel’s troops, and taken prisoner to Varignaro. Here he wrote hisRule of the Monk, a work exhibiting his love of liberty and hatred of the priesthood. In ’64 he visited England, and was enthusiastically received. In ’67 he again took part in an attempt to free Rome from the Papal government. In ’71 he placed his sword at the service of the French Republic, and the only standard taken from the Germans was captured by his men. Elected Member of the Italian Parliament in his later years he did much to improve the city of Rome. In one of his laconic letters of ’80, he says “Dear Friend,—Man has created God, not God man,—Yours ever, Garibaldi.” He died 2 June, ’82, and directed in his will that he should be cremated without any religious ceremony.Garrison(H. D.), Dr. of Chicago. Author of an able pamphlet onThe Absence of Design in Nature, 1876.Garth(Sir Samuel), English poet, wit, and physician, b. Yorkshire, 1672, and educated at Cambridge. He helped to establish dispensaries, and lashed the opposition in his poemThe Dispensary. He was made physician to King George I. Died 18 June 1719.Gaston(H.), French author of a brochure with the titleDieu, voila, l’ennemi, God the enemy, 1882.Gattina(F. P. della). SeePetruccelli.Gautama(called alsoGotama,Buddha, andSakyamuni), great Hindu reformer and founder of Buddhism, b. Kapilavastu, 624B.C.Many legends are told of his birth and life. He is said to have been a prince, who, pained with human misery, left his home to dedicate himself to emancipation. His system was rather a moral discipline than a religion. Though he did not deny the Hindu gods he asserted that all beings were subject to “Karma,” the result of previous actions. He said, “If a man for a hundred years worship Agni in the forest, and if he but for one moment pay homage to a man whose soul is grounded in true knowledge, better is that homage than sacrifice for a hundred years.” According to Ceylonese writers Gautama Buddha died at Kusinagara,B.C.543.Gautier(Théophile), exquisite French poet and prose writer, b. Tarbes, 31 Aug. 1811. He wrote no definite work against priestcraft or superstition, but the whole tendency of his writings is Pagan. His romanticism is not Christian, and he made merry with “sacred themes” as well as conventional morality. Baudelaire called him an impeccable master of French literature, and Balzac said that of the two men who could write French, one was Théophile Gautier. Died 22 Oct. 1872.Geijer(Erik Gustaf), eminent Swedish historian, poet, and critic, b. Wermland, 12 Jan. 1783. At the age of 20 he was awarded the Swedish Academy’s first prize for a patriotical poem. At first a Conservative in religious, philosophical, and political matters he became through his historical researches an ardent adherent of the principles of the French revolution. His historical work and indictment against “The Protestant creed” was published in 1820 in a philosophical treatise,Thorild, which was prosecuted. His acquittal by an enlightened jury stayed religious prosecutions in Sweden for over sixty years. He died 23 April 1847. A monument was erected to him last year at the University of Upsala, where he was professor of history. His works have been republished.Geijerstam(Gustaf), Swedish novelist, b. 1858. Is one of the Freethinking group ofYoung Sweden.
Dyas(Richard H.), captain in the army. Author ofThe Upas. He resided long in Italy and translated several of the works of C. Voysey.
Eaton(Daniel Isaac), bookseller, b. about 1752, was educated at the Jesuits’ College, St. Omer. Being advised to study the Bible, he did so, with the result of discarding it as a revelation. In 1792 he was prosecuted for publishing Paine’sRights of Man, but the prosecution fell through. He afterwards publishedPolitics for the People, which was also prosecuted, 1793, as was hisPolitical Dictionary, 1796. To escape punishment, he fled to America, and lived there for three years and a half. Upon returning to England, his person and property were seized. Books to the value of£2,800 were burnt, and he was imprisoned for fifteen months. He translated from Helvetius and sold at his “Rationcinatoryor Magazine for Truths and Good Sense,” 8 Cornhill, in 1810,The True Sense and Meaning of the System of Nature. TheLaw of Naturehad been previously translated by him. In ’11 he issued the first and second parts of Paine’sAge of Reason, and on 6 March, ’12, was tried before Lord Ellenborough on a charge of blasphemy for issuing the third and last part. He was sentenced to eighteen months’ imprisonment and to stand in the pillory. The sentence evoked Shelley’s spiritedLetter to Lord Ellenborough. Eaton translated and published Freret’sPreservative against Religious Prejudices, 1812, and shortly before his death, at Deptford, 22 Aug. 1814, he was again prosecuted for publishing George Houston’sEcce Homo.
Eberhard(Johann August), German Deist, b. Halberstadt, 31 Aug. 1739, was brought up in the church, but persecuted for heresy in hisNew Apology for Socrates, 1772, was patronised by Frederick the Great, and appointed Professor of Philosophy at Halle, where he opposed the idealism of Kant and Fichte. He wrote aHistory of Philosophy, 1788. Died Halle, 7 Jan. 1809.
Eberty(Gustav), German Freethinker, b. 2 July, 1806. Author of some controversial works. Died Berlin, 10 Feb. 1887.
Echtermeyer(Ernst Theodor), German critic, b. Liebenwerda, 1805. He studied at Halle and Berlin, and founded, with A. Ruge, theHallische Jahrbücher, which contained many Freethought articles, 1837–42. He taught at Halle and Dresden, where he died, 6 May, 1844.
Edelmann(Johann Christian), German Deist, b. Weissenfels, Saxony, 9 July, 1698; studied theology in Jena, joined the Moravians, but left them and every form of Christianity, becoming an adherent of Spinozism. His principal works are hisUnschuldige Wahrheiten, 1735 (Innocent Truths), in which he argues that no religion is of importance, andMoses mit Aufgedecktem Angesicht(Moses Unmasked), 1740, an attack on the Old Testament, which, he believed, proceeded from Ezra;DieGöttlichkeitder Vernunft(The Divinity of Reason), 1741, andChrist and Belial. His works excited much controversy, and were publicly burnt at Frankfort, 9 May, 1750. Edelmann was chased from Brunswick andHamburg, but was protected byFrederick the Great, and died at Berlin, 15 Feb. 1767. Mirabeau praised him, and Guizot calls him a “fameux esprit fort.”
Edison(Thomas Alva), American inventor, b. Milan, Ohio, 10 Feb. 1847. As a boy he sold fruit and papers at the trains. He read, however, Gibbon, Hume and other important works before he was ten. He afterwards set up a paper of his own, then became telegraph operator, studied electricity, invented electric light, the electric pen, the telephone, microphone, phonograph, etc. Edison is known to be an Agnostic and to pay no attention to religion.
Eenens(Ferdinand), Belgian writer, b. Brussels, 7 Dec. 1811. Eenens was an officer in the Belgian army, and wrote many political and anti-clerical pamphlets. He also wroteLa Vérité, a work on the Christian faith, 1859;Le Paradis Terrestre, ’60, an examination of the legend of Eden, andDu Dieu Thaumaturge, ’76. He used the pen names “Le Père Nicaise,” “Nicodème Polycarpe” and “Timon III.” Died at Brussels in 1883.
Effen(Justus van), Dutch writer, b. Utrecht, 11 Feb. 1684. Edited theMisanthrope, Amsterdam, 1712–16; translatedRobinson Crusoe, Swift’sTale of a Tub, and Mandeville’sThoughts on Religion, 1722; published theDutch Spectator, 1731–35. Died at Bois-le-Duc, 18 Sept. 1735.
Eichhorn(Johann Gottfried), German Orientalist and rationalist, b. 16 Oct. 1752, became Professor of Oriental Literature and afterwards Professor of Theology at Gottingen. He publishedIntroductions to the Old and New TestamentsandA Commentary on the Apocalypse, in which his criticism tends to uproot belief in the Bible as a divine revelation. He lectured every dayforfifty-two years. Died 25 June, 1827.
“Elborch(Conrad von),” the pseudonym of a living learned Dutch writer, whose position does not permit him to reveal his true name. Born 14 Jan. 1865, he has contributed toDe Dageraad(The Daybreak), under various pen-names, as “Fra Diavolo,” “Denis Bontemps,” “J. Van den Ende,” etc. He has given, in ’88, a translation of the rare and famous Latin treatise,De Tribus Impostoribus(On Three Impostors) [Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad], with an important bibliographic and historical introduction.
“Eliot(George),” the pen-name of Mary Ann Lewes (néeEvans) one of the greatest novelists of the century, b. at Arbury Farm, near Griff, Warwickshire, 22 Nov. 1819. In ’41 the family removed to Foleshill, near Coventry. Here she made the friendship of the household of Charles Bray, and changed her views from Evangelical Christianity to philosophical scepticism. Influenced byThe Inquiry into the Origin of Christianity, by C. C. Hennell (Bray’s brother-in-law), she made an analysis of that work. Her first literary venture was translating Strauss’Leben Jesu, published in 1846. After the death of her father (’49) she travelled with the Brays upon the Continent, and upon her return assisted Dr. Chapman in the editorship of theWestminster Review, to which she contributed several articles. She translated Feuerbach’sEssence of Christianity, ’54, the only work published with her real name, and also translated from Spinoza’s Ethics. Introduced by Herbert Spencer to George Henry Lewes, she linked her life with his in defiance of the conventions of society, July, ’54. Both were poor, but by his advice she turned to fiction, in which she soon achieved success. HerScenes of Clerical Life,Adam Bede,Mill on the Floss,Silas Marner,Romola,Felix Holt,Middlemarch,Daniel Deronda, andTheophrastus Suchhave become classics. As a poet, “George Eliot” does not rank so high, but her little piece, “Oh, may I join the choir invisible,” well expresses the emotion of the Religion of Humanity, and herSpanish Gipsyshe allowed was “a mass of Positivism.” Lewes died in 1878, and within two years she married his friend, J. W. Cross. Her new happiness was short-lived. She died 22 Dec. 1880, and is buried with Lewes at Highgate.
Ellero(Pietro) Italian jurisconsult, b. Pordenone, 8 Oct. 1833, Counsellor of the High Court of Rome, has been Professor of Criminal Law in the University of Bologna. Author of many works on legal and social questions. HisScritti Minori,Scritti PoliticiandLa Question Socialehave the honor of a place on the RomanIndex.
Elliotson(John, M.D., F.R.S.), an eminent medical man, b. London, 1791. He became physician at St. Thomas’s Hospital in 1822, and made many contributions to medical science. By new prescriptions of quinine, creasote, etc., he excited muchhostility in the profession. He was the first in this country to advocate the use of the stethoscope. He was also the first physician to discard knee-breeches and silk stockings, and to wear a beard. In ’31 he was chosenProfessorat University College, but, becoming an advocate of curative mesmerism, he resigned his appointments, ’38. He was founder and President of the London Phrenological Society, and, in addition to many medical works, edited theZoist(thirteen vols.), translated Blumenbach’sPhysiology, and wrote an introduction to Engledue’sCerebral Physiology, defending materialism. Thackeray dedicatedPendennisto him, ’50, and he received a tribute of praise from Dickens. Died at London, 29 July, 1868.
Eichthal(Gustave d’), French writer, b. of Jewish family, Nancy, 22 March, 1804. He became a follower of Saint Simon, was one of the founders of the Société d’Ethnologie, and publishedLes Evangiles, a critical analysis of the gospels, 2 vols, Paris, ’63. This he followed byThe Three Great Mediterranean Nations and ChristianityandSocrates and our Time, ’84. He died at Paris, April, 1886, and his son published hisMélanges de Critique Biblique(Miscellanies of Biblical Criticism), in which there is an able study on the name and character of “Jahveh.”
Emerson(Ralph Waldo), American essayist, poet, and philosopher, b. Boston 25 May, 1803. He came of a line of ministers, and was brought up like his father, educated at Harvard College, and ordained as a Unitarian minister, 1829. Becoming too broad for the Church, he resigned in ’32. In the next year he came to Europe, visiting Carlyle. On his return he settled at Concord, giving occasional lectures, most of which have been published. He wrote to theDial, a transcendentalist paper. Tending to idealistic pantheism, but without systematic philosophy, all his writings are most suggestive, and he is always the champion of mental freedom, self-reliance, and the free pursuit of science. Died at Concord, 27 April, 1882. Matthew Arnold has pronounced his essays “the most important work done in prose” in this century.
Emerson(William), English mathematician, b. Hurworth, near Darlington, 14 May, 1701. He conducted a school and wrote numerous works on Mathematics. His vigorous, if eccentric, individuality attracted Carlyle, who said to Mrs.Gilchrist, “Emerson was a Freethinker who looked on his neighbor, the parson, as a humbug. He seems to have defended himself in silence the best way he could against the noisy clamor and unreal stuff going on around him.” Died 21 May, 1782. He compiled a list of Bible contradictions.
Emmet(Robert), Irish revolutionist, b. in Dublin 1778, was educated as a barrister. Expelled from Dublin University for his sympathy with the National Cause in 1798; he went to the Continent, but returned in 1802 to plan an ill-starred insurrection, for which he was executed 20 Sept. 1803. Emmet made a thrilling speech before receiving sentence, and on the scaffold refused the services of a priest. It is well known that his desire to see once more his sweetheart, the daughter of Curran, was the cause of his capture and execution.
Engledue(William Collins), M.D., b. Portsea 1813. After taking his degree at Edinburgh, he became assistant to Dr. Lizars and was elected President of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. He returned to Portsmouth in 1835; originated the Royal Portsmouth Hospital and established public baths and washhouses. He contributed to theZoistand published an exposition of materialism under the title ofCerebral Physiology, 1842, republished by J. Watson, 1857. Died Jan. 1859.
English(George Bethune), American writer and linguist, b. Cambridge, Mass., 7 March, 1787. He studied law and divinity, and graduated at Harvard, 1807, but becoming sceptical publishedGrounds of Christianity Examined, 1813. The work excited some controversy, and has been reprinted at Toronto, 1839. He joined the Egyptian service and became General of Artillery. He had a variable genius and a gift of languages. At Marseilles he passed for a Turk with a Turkish ambassador; and at Washington he surprised a delegation of Cherokees by disputing with them in their own tongue. He wrote a reply to his critics, entitledFive Smooth Stones out of the Brook, and two letters to Channing on his sermons against infidelity. Died at Washington, 20 Sept. 1828.
Ense(Varnhagen von). SeeVarnhagen.
Ensor(George), an Irish writer, b. Loughgall, 1769. Educated at Trinity College; he became B.A. 1790. He travelled largely, and was a friend of liberty in every country. Besidesother political works he published,The Independent Man, 1806;On National Government, 1810;A Review of the Miracles, Prophecies and Mysteries of the Old and New Testaments, first printed asJanus on Sion, 1816, and republished 1835; andNatural Theology Examined, 1836, the last being republished inThe Library of Reason. Bentham described him as clever but impracticable. Died Ardress, Co. Armagh, 3 Dec. 1843.
Epicurus, Greek philosopher, b. Samos,B.C.342. He repaired to Athens,B.C.323. Influenced by the works of Demokritos, he occupied himself with philosophy. He purchased a garden in Athens, in which he established his school. Although muchcalumniated, he is now admitted to have been a man of blameless life. According to Cicero, he had no belief in the gods, but did not attack their existence, in order not to offend the prejudices of the Athenians. In physics he adopted the atomic theory, and denied immortality. He taught that pleasure is the sovereign good; but by pleasure he meant no transient sensation, but permanent tranquility of mind. He wrote largely, but his works are lost. His principles are expounded in the great poem of Lucretius,De Rerum Natura. DiedB.C.270, leaving many followers.
“Erdan(Alexandre),” the pen-name of Alexandre AndreJacob, a French writer, b. Angles 1826. He was the natural son of a distinguished prelate. Educated at Saint Sulpice for the Church, he read Proudhon, and refused to take holy orders. He became a journalist and an advocate of phonography. His work,La France Mystique(1855), in which he gives an account of French religious eccentricities, was condemned for its scepticism which appears on every page. Sentenced to a year’s imprisonment and a fine of three thousand francs, he took refuge in Italy. Died at Frascati, near Rome, 24 Sept. 1878.
Ernesti(Johann August), German critic, b. Tennstadt, 4 Aug. 1707. Studied at Wittenberg and Leipsic, where he was appointed professor of classical literature. Renowned as a philologist, he insisted that the Bible must be interpreted like any other book. Died Leipsic, 11 Sept. 1781.
Escherny(François Louis d’)Count, Swiss litterateur, b. Neufchatel, 24 Nov. 1733. He spent much of his life in travel. At Paris he became the associate of Helvetius, Diderot, andparticularly Rousseau, whom he much admired. He wroteLacunes de la Philosophie(Amsterdam, 1783) and a work onEquality(1795), in which he displays his Freethought. Died at Paris, 15 July, 1815.
Espinas(Alfred), French philosopher, b. Saint-Florentin, 1844. Has translated, with Th. Ribot, H. Spencer’sPrinciples of Psychology, and has written studies onExperimental Philosophy in Italy, and onAnimal Societies(1877).
Espronceda(José), popular Spanish poet, b. Almendralejo (Estremadura) in 1810. After the War of Independence he went to Madrid and studied under Alberto Lista, the poet and mathematician. He became so obnoxious to the government by his radical principles that he was imprisoned about the age of fifteen, and banished a few years later. He passed several years in London and Paris, and was brought under the influence of Byron and Hugo. He fought with the people in the Paris Revolution of July, 1830. On the death of the Spanish King in ’33 he returned to Madrid, but was again banished for too free expression of his opinions. He returned and took part in the revolutionary contest of ’35–36. He was elected to the Cortes in ’41, and appointed secretary of embassy to The Hague. Died 23 May, 1842. Among his works are lyrical poems, which often remind us of Heine; an unfinished epic,El Pelayo; andEl Diablo-Mundo(the Devil-World), a fine poem, due to the inspiration of Faust and Don Juan.Esproncedawas a thorough sceptic. In hisSong of the Piratehe asks, “Who is my God?—Liberty”; and in his concluding lines to a star he says:
I unheedingly follow my path,At the mercy of winds and of waves.Wrapt thus within the arms of Fate,What care I if lost or saved.
I unheedingly follow my path,
At the mercy of winds and of waves.
Wrapt thus within the arms of Fate,
What care I if lost or saved.
Estienne(Henri), the ablest of a family of learned French printers, known in England as Stephens; b. Paris, 1528. At the age of eighteen he assisted his father in collating the MSS. of DionysiusofHalicarnassus. In 1557 he established a printing office of his own, and issued many Greek authors; and in 1572 theThesaurus Linguæ Græcæ. HisApologie pour Herodote(Englished as a World of Wonders) is designed as a satire on Christian legends, and directed against priests andpriestcraft. He was driven from place to place. Sir Philip Sidney highly esteemed him, and “kindly entertained him in his travaile.” Died 1598. Garasse classes him with Atheists.
Esteve(Pierre), French writer, b. Montpelier at the beginning of the eighteenth century. He wrote a History of Astronomy and an anonymous work on theOrigin of the Universe explained from a Principle of Matter; Berlin, 1748.
Ettel(Konrad), Austrian Freethinker, b. 17 Jan. 1847, at Neuhof, Sternberg. Studied at the Gymnasium Kremsier, and at the wish of his parents at the Theological Seminary Olmütz, which he left to study philosophy at Vienna. He has written many poems and dramas. HisGrundzuge derNatürlichenWeltanschauung(Sketch of a Natural View of the World), a Freethinker’s catechism, 1886, has reached a fourth edition.
Evans(George Henry), b. at Bromyard, Herefordshire, 25 March, 1803. While a child, his parents emigrated to New York. He set up as a printer, and published theCorrespondent, the first American Freethought paper. He also published theWorking Man’s Advocate,Man,Young America, and theRadical. He labored for the transportation of mails on Sundays, the limitation of the right to hold lands, the abolition of slavery, and other reforms. His brother became one of the chief elders of the Shakers. Died in Granville, New Jersey, 2 Feb. 1855.
Evans(William), b. Swansea, 1816, became a follower of Robert Owen. He establishedThe Potter’s Examiner and Workman’s Advocate, ’43, and wrote in the Co-operative journals under the anagram of “Millway Vanes.” Died 14 March, 1887.
Evanson(Edward), theological critic, b. Warrington, Lancashire, 21 April, 1731. He graduated at Cambridge, became vicar of South Mimms, and afterwards rector of Tewkesbury. Entertaining doubts on the Trinity, he submitted them to the Archbishop of Canterbury without obtaining satisfaction. He made some changes in reading the Litany, and for expressing heretical opinions in a sermon in 1771, he was prosecuted, but escaped in consequence of some irregularity in the proceedings. In 1772 he published an anonymous tract on the Trinity. In 1797 he addressed a letter to the Bishop of Lichfield on the Prophecies of the New Testament, in which he tried to show that either Christianity was false or the orthodox churches. Inthe following year he resigned both his livings and took pupils. In 1792 he published his principal work,The Dissonance of the Four Generally-Received Evangelists, in which he rejected all the gospels, except Luke, as unauthentic. This work involved him in a controversy with Dr. Priestley, and brought a considerable share ofobloquyand persecution from the orthodox. Died 25 Sept. 1805.
Eve’merusorEuhemerus(Εὐήμερος), a Sicilian author of the time of Alexander the Great, who sought to rationalise religion, and treated the gods as dead heroes. He is usually represented as an Atheist.
Eudes(Emile François Désiré), French Communist, b. Roncey, 1844. He became a chemist, and was condemned, with Régnard, to three months’ imprisonment for writing inLa Libre Pensée, ’67, of which he was director. He joined the ranks of the Commune and became a general. When the Versailles troops entered Paris he escaped to Switzerland. On his return after the Amnesty, he wrote with Blanqui. Died at a public meeting in Paris, 5 Aug. 1888.
Ewerbeck(August Hermann), Dr., b. Dantzic. After the events of 1848, he lived at Paris. He translated into German Cabet’sVoyage en Icarie, and in an important work entitledQu’est ce que La Religion?(What is Religion), ’50, translated into French Feuerbach’s “Essence of Religion,” “Essence of Christianity,” and “Death and Immortality.” In a succeeding volumeWhat is the Bible?he translated from Daumer, Ghillany, Luetzelberger and B. Bauer. Ewerbeck also wrote in French an historical work on Germany and the Germans; Paris, 1851.
Fabre D’Eglantine(Philippe François Nazaire), French revolutionist and playwriter, b. Carcassonne, 28 Dec. 1755. After some success as a poet and playwright he was chosen as deputy to the National Convention. He voted for the death of Louis XVI., and proposed the substitution of the republican for the Christian calendar, Sept. 1793. He was executed with his friend Danton, 5 April, 1794.
Fabricatore(Bruto), Italian writer, b. Sarno, Naples, 1824. His father Antonio had the honor of having a political work placed on theIndex, 1821. He took part in the anti-papal FreethoughtCouncilof 1869, and haswrittenworks on Dante, etc.
Farinata. SeeUberti(Farinata degli).
Fauche(Hippolyte), French Orientalist, b. Auxerre, 22 May, 1797. Translations of the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the plays of Kalidasa, attest his industry and erudition. He contributed toLa Liberté de Penser. Died at Juilly, 28 Feb. 1869.
Fausto(Sebastiano),Da Longiano, Italian of the beginning of the 16th century, who is said to have projected a workThe Temple of Truth, with the intention of overturning all religions. He translated theMeditations of Antoninus, also wrote observations on Cicero, 1566.
Feer(Henri Léon), French Orientalist, b. Rouen, 27 Nov. 1830, is chiefly known by his Buddhistic Studies, 1871–75.
Fellens(Jean Baptiste), Professor of History, b. Bar-sur-Aube, 1794. Author of a work on Pantheism, Paris, 1873.
Fellowes(Robert), LL.D., b. Norfolk 1771, educated at Oxford. He took orders in 1795, and wrote many books, but gradually quitted the doctrines of the Church and adopted the Deistic opinions maintained in his work entitledThe Religion of the Universe(1836). Dr. Fellowes was proprietor of theExaminerand a great supporter of the London University. Died 5 Feb. 1847.
Fenzi(Sebastiano), Italian writer, b. Florence, 22 Oct. 1822. Educated by the Jesuits in Vienna, England and Paris. Founded in ’49 theRevista Britannica, writer on the journalL’Italiano, and has written a credo which is a non-credo.
Feringa(Frederik), Dutch writer, b. Groningen, 16 April, 1840. Studied mathematics. A contributor toDe Dageraad(The Daybreak) over the signature, “Muricatus”; he has written important studies, entitledDemocratie en Wetenschap(Democracy and Science), 1871, also wrote inDeVrijeGedachte(Freethought).
Fernau(Rudolf), Dr., German author ofChristianity and Practical Life, Leipsic, 1868;The Alpha and Omega of Reason, Leipsic, 1870;Zoologica Humoristica, 1882; and a recent work onReligion as Ghost and God Worship.
Feron(Emile), Belgian advocate, b. Brussels, 11 July, 1841. Councillor of the International Freethought Federation.
Ferrari(Giuseppe), Italian philosopher, b. Milan 7 March,1811. A disciple of Romagnosi, a study of whose philosophical writings he published ’35. He also published the works of Vico, and in ’39 a work entitledVico and Italy, and in the following year another on theReligious Opinions of Campanella. Attacked by the Catholic party, he was exiled, living in Paris, where he became a collaborator with Proudhon and a contributor to theRevue de Deux Mondes. In ’42 he was made Professor of Philosophy at Strasbourg, but appointment was soon cancelled on account of his opinions. He wrote aHistory of the Revolution of Italy, ’55, and a work onChina and Europe. His history of theReason of the State, ’60, is his most pronounced work. In ’59, he was elected to the Italian Parliament, where he remained one of the most radical members until his death at Rome 1 July, 1876.
Ferri(Enrico), Member of the Italian Parliament, formerly professor of criminal law at the University of Siena, studied at Mantua under Professor Ardigo. Has written a large work on the Non-Existence of Free Will, and is with Professor Lombroso, leader of the new Italian school of criminal law reform.
Ferri(Luigi), Italian philosopher, b. Bologna, 15 June 1826. Studied in Paris and became licentiate of letters in 1850. Author ofHistory of Philosophy in Italy, Paris 1868;The Psychology of Pomponazzi, etc.
Ferrière(Emile), French writer and licentiate of letters, b. Paris, 1830; author ofLiterature and Philosophy, 1865;Darwinism, 1872, which has gone through several editions;The Apostles, a work challenging early Christian Morality, 1879;The Soul the Function of the Brain, a scientific work of popular character in two vols., 1883; andPaganism of the Hebrews until the Babylonian Captivity, 1884. All these are works of pronounced Freethought. M. Ferrière has also announced a workJesus bar Joseph.
Feuerbach(Friedrich Heinrich), son of a famous German jurist, was b. at Ansbach 29 Sept. 1806. He studied philology, but set himself to preach what his brother Ludwig taught. He wroteTheanthropos, a series of Aphorisms (Zurich, ’38), and an able work on theReligion of the Future, ’43–47; andThoughts and Facts, Hamburg, ’62. Died Nurenberg, 24 Jan. 1880.
Feuerbach(Ludwig Andreas), brother of thepreceding, b. Landshut, Bavaria, 28 July 1804. He studied theology with a view to the Church, but under the influence of Hegel abandoned it for philosophy. In ’28 he was made professor at Erlangen, but was dismissed in consequence of his first published work,Thoughts upon Death and Immortality, ’30, in which he limited immortality to personal influence on the human race. After a wandering life he married in ’37, and settled near Anspach. He published there a history of modern philosophy from Bacon to Spinoza. This was followed by a work on Peter Bayle. In ’38 he wrote on philosophy and Christianity, and in ’41 his work called theThe Essence of Christianity, in which he resolves theology into anthropology. This book was translated by Mary Ann Evans, ’53. He also wrotePrinciples of the Philosophy of the Future. After the revolution of ’48 he was invited to lecture by the students of Heidelberg, and gave his course onThe Essence of Religion, published in ’51. In ’57 he publishedTheogony from the Sources of Classical, Hebrew, and Christian Antiquity, and in ’66Theism, Freedom, and Immortality from the Standpoint of Anthropology. Died at Rechenberg, near Nurenberg, 13 Sept. 1872. His complete works were published at Leipsic in 1876. He was a deep thinker and lucid writer.
Fichte(Johann Gottlieb), one of the greatest German thinkers, b. 19 May, 1762. He studied at the Universities of Jena, Leipsic, and Wittenberg, embraced “determinism,” became acquainted with Kant, and published anonymously,A Criticism of all Revelation. He obtained a chair of philosophy at Jena, where he developed his doctrines of science, asserting that the problem of philosophy is to seek on what foundations knowledge rests. He gave moral discourses in the lecture-room on Sunday, and was accused of holding atheistical opinions. He was in consequence banished from Saxony, 1799. He appears to have held that God was not a personal being, but a system of intellectual, moral, and spiritual laws. Fichte took deep interest in the cause of German independence, and did much to rouse his countrymen against the domination of the French during the conquest which led to the fall of Napoleon. Besides many publications, in which he expounds his philosophy, he wrote eloquent treatises onThe Vocation of Man,The Natureand Vocation of the Scholar,The Way Towards the Blessed Life, etc. Died Berlin 27 Jan. 1814.
“Figaro.” SeeLarra(Mariano José de).
Figuiera(Guillem), Provençal troubadour and precursor of the Renaissance, b. Toulouse about 1190. His poems were directed against the priests and Court of Rome.
Filangieri(Gaetano), an Italian writer on legislation, b. Naples, 18 Aug. 1752. He was professor at that city. His principal work isLa Scienza della Legislazione, 1780. In the fifth volume he deals with pre-Christian religions. The work was put on theIndex. Died 21 July, 1788.
Fiorentino(Francesco), Italian philosopher, b. Sambiasa, Nicastro, 1 May, 1834. In 1860 he became Professor of Philosophy at Spoletto, in ’62 at Bologna, and in ’71 at Naples. He was elected deputy to Parliament, Nov. ’70. A disciple of Felice Tocco, he paid special attention to the early Italian Freethinkers, writing uponThe Pantheism of Giordano Bruno, Naples, ’61; Pietro Pomponazzi, Florence, ’68; Bernardius Telesio, Florence, 2 vols., ’72–74. He has also written on Strauss and Spinoza. In theNuova Antologiahe wrote on J. C. Vanini, and on Cæsalpinus, Campanella, and Bruno. A friend of Bertrando Spaventa, he succeeded to his chair at Naples in ’83. Died 22 Dec. 1884.
Fischart(Johann), German satirist calledMentzer, b. Strasbourg about 1545. His satires in prose and verse remind one of Rabelais, whom he in part translated, and are often directed against the Church. Died at Forbach in 1614.
Fischer(J. C.), German materialist, author of a work on the freedom of the will 1858, a criticism of Hartmann’sPhilosophy of the Unconscious, ’72;DasBewusstsein, ’74. Died 1888.
Fischer(Kuno), German philosopher, b. 23 July, 1824, at Sandewald, Silesia. Educated at Leipsic and Halle, in 1856 he was appointed Professor of Philosophy at Jena. His chief works areHistory of Modern Philosophy, ’52–72;Life and Character of Spinoza;Francis Bacon, ’56; andLessing, ’81.
Fiske(John), American author, b. Hartford, Connecticut, 30 March, 1842. Graduated at Harvard, ’63. In ’69–71 was Lecturer on Philosophy at that University, and from ’72–9Librarian. Mr. Fiske has lectured largely, and has writtenMyths and Mythmakers, ’72;Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy, 2 vols. ’74;Darwinism, and other essays, ’79;Excursions of an Evolutionist, ’83;The Idea of God as Affected by Modern Knowledge, ’85.
Flaubert(Gustave), French novelist, b. Rouen, 12 Dec. 1821. The son of a distinguished surgeon, he abandoned his father’s profession for literature. His masterpiece,Madame Bovary, published in ’56 in theRevue de Paris, drew a prosecution upon that journal which ended in a triumph for the author. For his next great work,Salammbô, ’62, an epic of Carthage, he prepared himself by long antiquarian studies. His intellectual tendencies are displayed inThe Temptation of Saint Anthony. He stands eminent among the naturalist school for his artistic fidelity. He was a friend of Théophile Gautier, Ivan Turgenev, Emile Zola and “George Sand.” His correspondence with the last of these has been published. He distinctly states therein that on subjects like immortality men cheat themselves with words. Died at Rouen, 9 May, 1880.
Flourens(Marie Jean Pierre), French scientist, b. near Béziers, 15 April, 1794. In 1828 he was admitted into the Academy of Sciences, after having published a work on the nervous system of vertebrates; he became perpetual secretary in ’33. A work onHuman Longevity and the Quantity of Life on the Globewas very popular. Died near Paris, 6 Dec. 1867.
Flourens(Gustave), eldest son of the preceding, b. Paris, 4 Aug. 1838. In ’63 he took his father’s chair at the College of France, and his course on “Ethnography” attracted much attention. In the following year he published his work onThe Science of Man. His bold heresy lost him his chair, and he collaborated on Larousse’sGrand Dictionnaire. In ’65 he left France for Crete, where for three years he fought in the mountains against the Turkish troops. Upon his return he was arrested for presiding at a political meeting. He showed himself an ardent Revolutionist, and was killed in a skirmish near Nanterre, 3 April, 1871.
Fonblanque(Albany William), English journalist, b. London, 1793; the son of an eminent lawyer. In 1820 he was on the staff of theTimes, and contributed to theWestminster Review. In ’30 he became editor of theExaminer, and retained his postuntil ’47. His caustic wit and literary attainments did much to forward advanced liberal views. A selection of his editorials was published under the title,England under Seven Administrations. Died 13 Oct. 1872.
Fontanier(Jean), French writer, who was burnt at the Place de Grève, 1621, for blasphemies in a book entitledLe Tresor Inestimable. Garasse, with little reason, calls him an Atheist.
Fontenelle(Bernardle Bovier de), nephew of Corneille, called by Voltaire the most universal genius of the reign of Louis XIV., b. Rouen, 11 Feb. 1657. Dedicated to the Virgin and St. Bernard, he was educated at the Jesuits’ College. He went to Paris in 1674; wrote some plays andDialogues of the Dead, 1683. In 1686 appeared hisConversations on the Plurality of Worlds, and in the following year hisHistory of Oracles, based on the work of Van Dale, for which he was warmly attacked by the Jesuit Baltus, as impugning the Church Fathers. He was made secretary to the Academy of Sciences in 1699, a post he held forty-two years. He wroteDoubts on the Physical System of Occasional Causes, and is also credited with a letter on theResurrection of the Body, a piece onThe Infinite, and aTreatise on Liberty; “but,”says l’Abbé Ladvocat, “as these books contain many things contrary to religion, it is to be hoped they are not his.” Fontenelle nearly reached the age of one hundred. A short time before he died (9 Jan. 1757), being asked if he felt any pain, “I only feel,” he replied, “a difficulty of existing.”
Foote(George William), writer and orator, b. Plymouth, 11 Jan. 1850. Was “converted” in youth, but became a Freethinker by reading and independent thought. Came to London in 1868, and was soon a leading member of the Young Men’s Secular Association. He taught in the Hall of Science Sunday School, and became secretary of the Republican League. Devoting his time to propagating his principles, he wrote in theSecular ChronicleandNational Reformer, and in ’76 started theSecularistin conjunction with Mr. G. J. Holyoake, and after the ninth number conducting it alone. This afterwards merged in theSecular Review. In ’79 Mr. Foote edited theLiberal, and in Sept. ’81, started theFreethinker, which he stilledits. In the following year a prosecution was commenced by the Public Prosecutor, who attempted to connect Mr. Bradlaugh with it. Undaunted, Mr. Foote issued a Christmas number with an illustrated “Comic Life of Christ.” For this a prosecution was started by the City authorities against him and his publisher and printer, and the trial came on first in March, ’83. The jury disagreed, but Judge North refused to discharge the prisoners, and they were tried again on the 5th March; Judge North directing that a verdict of guilty must be returned, and sentencing Mr. Foote to one year’s imprisonment as an ordinary criminal subject to the same “discipline” as burglars. “I thank you, my lord; your sentence is worthy of your creed,” he remarked. On 24 April, ’83, Mr. Foote was brought from prison before Lord Coleridge and a special jury on the first charge, and after a splendid defence, upon which he was highly complimented by the judge, the jury disagreed. He has debated with Dr. McCann, Rev. A. J. Harrison, the Rev. W. Howard, the Rev. H. Chapman, and others. Mr. Foote has written much, and lectures continually. Among his works we mentionHeroes and Martyrs of Freethought(1876);God, the Soul, and a Future State;Secularism the True Philosophy of Life(1879);Atheism and Morality;The Futility of Prayer;Bible Romances;Death’s Test, afterwards enlarged intoInfidel Death-Beds;The God Christians Swear by;Was Jesus Insane? Blasphemy No Crime;Arrows of Freethought;Prisoner for Blasphemy(1884);Letters to Jesus Christ;What Was Christ? Bible Heroes; and has editedThe Bible Hand-bookwith Mr. W. P. Ball, and theJewish Life of Christwith the present writer, in conjunction with whom he has writtenThe Crimes of Christianity. From 1883–87 he editedProgress, in which appeared many important articles from his pen. Mr. Foote is President of the London Secular Federation, and a Vice-President of the National Secular Society.
Fouillee(Alfred), French philosopher, b. La Pouëze, near Angers, 18 Oct. 1838. Has been teacher at several lyceums, notably at Bordeaux. He was crowned by the Academy of Moral Sciences for two works on the Philosophy of Plato and Socrates. Elected Professor of Philosophy at the Superior Normal School, Paris, he sustained a thesis at the Sorbonne onLiberty and Determinism, which was violently attacked bythe Catholics. This work has gone through several editions. M. Fonillée has also written an ableHistory of Philosophy, 1875,Contemporary Social Science, and an importantCritique of Contemporary Moral Systems(1883). He has written much in theRevue des Deux Mondes, and is considered, with Taine, Ribot, and Renan, the principal representative of French philosophy. His system is known as that ofidèes-forces, as he holds that ideas are themselves forces. His latest work expounds the views of M. Guyau.
Forberg(Friedrich Karl), German philosopher, b. Meuselwitz, 30 Aug. 1770, studied theology at Leipsic, and became private docent at Jena. Becoming attached to Fichte’s philosophy, he wrote with Fichte in Niethammer’sPhilosophical Journalon “The Development of Religious Ideas,” and an article on “The Ground of our Faith in Divine Providence,” which brought on them a charge of Atheism, and the journal was confiscated by the Electorate of Saxony. Forberg held religion to consist in devotion to morality, and wroteAn Apology for Alleged Atheism, 1799. In 1807 he became librarian at Coburg, and devoted himself to the classics, issuing aManuel d’Erotologie Classique. Died Hildburghausen 1 Jan. 1848.
Forder(Robert), b. Yarmouth, 14 Oct. 1844. Coming to to Woolwich, he became known as a political and Freethought lecturer. He took part in the movement to save Plumstead Common from the enclosers, and was sent to trial for riotous proceedings, but was acquitted. In ’77 he was appointed paid secretary to the National Secular Society, a post he has ever since occupied. During the imprisonment of Messrs. Foote, Ramsey, and Kemp, in ’83, Mr. Forder undertook charge of the publishing business. He has lectured largely, and written some pamphlets.
Forlong(James George Roche). Major General, H.B.A., b. Lanarkshire, Scotland, Nov. 1824. Educated as an engineer, joined the Indian army ’43, fought in the S. Mahrata campaign ’45–6, and in the secondBurmesewar. On the annexation of Barma he became head of the Survey, Roads and canal branches. In ’58–9 he travelled extensively through Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, etc. From ’61–71 was a superintending engineer of Calcutta, and in Upper Bengal,North-west Provinces, and Rajputana, and ’72–76 was Secretary and Chief Engineer to the Government of Oudh.He retired in ’77 after an active service of 33 years, during which he frequently received the thanks of the Indian and Home Governments. In his youth he was an active Evangelical, preaching to the natives in their own tongues. He has, however, given his testimony that during his long experience he has known no one converted solely by force of reasoning or “Christian evidences.” A great student of Eastern religions, archæology, and languages, he has written in various periodicals of the East and West, and has embodied the result of many years researches in two illustrated quarto volumes calledRivers of Life, setting forth the evolution of all religions from their radical objective basis to their present spiritualised developments. In an elaborate chart he shows by streams of color the movements of thought from 10,000B.C.to the present time.
Fourier(François Marie Charles), French socialist, b. Besançon, 7 April, 1772. He passed some of the early years of his life as a common soldier. His numerous works amid much that is visionary have valuable criticisms upon society, and suggestions for its amelioration. He believed in the transmigration of souls. Died at Paris, 8 Oct. 1837.
Fox(William Johnson), orator and political writer, b. near Wrentham, Suffolk, 1786. Intended for the Congregational Ministry, he became a Unitarian, and for many years preached at South Place, Finsbury, where he introduced the plan of taking texts from other books besides the Bible. One of his first published sermons was on behalf of toleration for Deists at the time of the Carlile prosecutions 1819. He gradually advanced from the acceptance of miracles to their complete rejection. During the Anti-Corn Law agitation he was a frequent and able speaker. In 1847 he became M.P. for Oldham, and retained his seat until his retirement in ’61. He was a prominent worker for Radicalism, contributing to theWestminster Review,Weekly Dispatch, andDaily News. For some years he edited theMonthly Repository. His works, which include spiritedLectures to the Working Classes, and a philosophical statement ofReligions Ideas, were published in twelve volumes, ’65–68. Died 3 June, 1864.
“Franchi(Ausonio),” the pen name of Francesco CristoforoBonavino, Italian ex-priest, b. Pegli, 24 Feb. 1821. Brought up in the Church and ordained priest in ’44, the practice of the confessional made him sceptical and he quitted it for philosophy, having ceased to believe in its dogmas, ’49. In ’52 he published hisprincipalwork, entitledThe Philosophy of the Italian Schools. The following year he publishedThe Religion of the Nineteenth Century. He establishedLa Razione(Reason) andIl Libero Pensieroat Turin, ’54–57; wrote on theRationalism of the People, Geneva, ’56, and became an active organiser of anti-clerical societies. In ’66 he published a criticism of Positivism, and has since writtenCritical and Polemical Essays, 3 vols. Milan, ’70–72. In ’68 was appointed Professor of Philosophy in the Academy of Milan by Terenzio Mamiani.
Francis(Samuel), M.D., author ofWatson Refuted, published by Carlile, 1819.
Francois de Neufchateau(Nicolas Louis),Count, French statesman, poet, and academician, b. Lorraine, 17 April, 1750. In his youth he became secretary to Voltaire, who regarded him as his successor. He favored the Revolution, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly in ’91. As Member of the Directory, ’97, he circulated d’Holbach’sContagion Sacrée. He became President of the Senate, ’14–16. He wrote numerous pieces. Died at Paris 10 Jan. 1828.
Franklin(Benjamin), American patriot and philosopher, b. Boston 17 Jan. 1706. He was apprenticed to his uncle as a printer, came to England and worked at his trade ’24–26; returned to Philadelphia, where he published a paper and became known by hisPoor Richard’s Almanack. He founded the public library at Philadelphia, and made the discovery of the identity of lightning with the electric fluid. He became member of the Provincial Assembly and was sent to England as agent. When examined before the House of Commons he spoke boldly against the Stamp Act. He was active during the war with this country, and was elected member of Congress. Became envoy to France, and effected the treaty of alliance with that country, 6 Feb. ’78, which secured the independence of the American colonies. Turgot summed up his services in the fine lineEripuit cælo fulmen, sceptrumque tyrannis. “He wrested thethunderbolt from heaven and the sceptre from kings.” Died at Philadelphia, 17 April, 1790.
Fransham(John), a native of Norwich, b. 1730, became a teacher of mathematics, renounced the Christian religion, and professed Paganism, writing several treatises in favor of disbelief. Died 1810.
Frauenstaedt(Christian Martin Julius), Dr., philosopher and disciple of Schopenhauer, b. 17 April, 1813, at Bojanowo, Posen. He studied philosophy and theology at Berlin, but meeting Schopenhauer at Frankfort in ’47 he adopted the views of the pessimist, who made him his literary executor. Among Frauenstädt’s works areLetters on Natural Religion, ’58,The Liberty of Men and the Personality of God, ’38;Letters on the Philosophy of Schopenhauer, ’54, etc. Died at Berlin, 13 Jan. 1879.
Frederick II.(Emperor of Germany), the greatest man of the thirteenth century and founder of the Renaissance, b. 26 Dec. 1194. Was elected to the throne in 1210. He promoted learning, science, and art, founded the Universities of Vienna and Naples, had the works of Aristotle and Averroes translated, and was the patron of all the able men of his time. For his resistance to the tyranny of the Church he was twice excommunicated. He answered by a letter attacking the Pope (Gregory IX.), whom he expelled from Rome in ’28. He made a treaty with the Sultan of Egypt, by which he became master of Jerusalem. For some heretical words in his letter, in which he associates the names of Christ, Moses, and Mohammed, he was reported author of the famous workDe Tribus Impostoribus. He addressed a series of philosophical questions to Ibn Sabin, a Moslem doctor. He is said to have called the Eucharisttruffa ista, and is credited also with the saying “Ignorance is the mother of devotion.” Died at Florence, 13 Dec. 1250.
Frederick the Great(King of Prussia), b. 24 Jan. 1712, was educated in a very rigid fashion by his father, Frederick William I. He ascended the throne and soon displayed his political and military ability. By a war with Austria he acquired Silesia. He wrote several deistical pieces, and tolerated all religions and no religion saying “every man must get to heaven his own way.” He attracted to his courtmen like Lamettrie, D’Argens, Maupertuis, and Voltaire, who, says Carlyle, continued all his days Friedrich’s chief thinker. In 1756 France, Austria, Sweden, and Russia united against him, but he held his own against “a world in arms.” After a most active life Frederick died at Potsdam, 17 Aug. 1786. ThePhilosophical Breviaryattributed to him was really written by Cérutti.
Fredin(Nils Edvard), Swedish writer, b. 1857. Has published translation of modern poets, and also of Col. Ingersoll’s writings. In ’80 he was awarded first prize by the Swedish Academy for an original poem.
Freeke(William), b. about 1663, wroteA Brief but Clear Confutation of the Trinity, which being brought before the notice of the House of Lords it was on 3 Jan. 1693 ordered to be burnt by the common hangman, and the author being prosecuted by the Attorney General was fined £500.
Freiligrath(Ferdinand) German poet, b. Detmold 17 June, 1810. In ’35 he acquired notice by some poems. In ’44 he published his profession of faithMein Glaubensbekenntniss, and was forced to fly the country. In ’48 he returned and joined Karl Marx on theNeue Rheinische Zeitung. Again prosecuted he took refuge in London, devoting his leisure to poetry and translation. Freiligrath holds a high place among the poets of his time. Died Kannstadt, near Stuttgart, 18 March 1876.
Fréret(Nicolas), French historical critic, b. 15 Feb. 1688. He was a pupil of Rollin, and was patronised by Boulainvilliers. Distinguished by his attainments in ancient history,philosophyand chronology, he became member of the Academy of Inscriptions 1714. For a Discourse on the “Origin of the Franks,” he was incarcerated for four months in the Bastille. While here he read Bayle so often that he could repeat much from memory. He was an unbeliever, and the author of the atheisticLetters from Thrasybulus to Leucippeon Natural and Revealed Religion, and perhaps ofLa Moisade, a criticism of the Pentateuch, translated by D. I. Eaton, asA Preservative againstReligiousPrejudices. TheLetters to Eugenie, attributed toFréret, were written by D’Holbach, and theCritical Examination of the Apologists of the Christian Religionby J. Levesque deBurigny.A Critical Examination of the New Testament, 1777 which long circulated in MS. has also been wrongly attributed to Fréret. Died at Paris, 8 March, 1749.
Frey(William), the adopted name of a Russian Positivist and philanthropist, b. of noble family, the son of a general, 1839. Educated at the higher military school, St. Petersburg, he became teacher in a Government High School, and disgusted with the oppression and degradation of his country he went to New York in 1866 where he established co-operative communities and also Russian colonies in Kansas and Oregon. In 1884 he came to London in order to influence his countrymen. In ’87 he revisited Russia. Died 6 Nov. 1888.
Fries(Jacob Friedrich), German philosopher, b. Barby, 23 Aug. 1773. Brought up as a Moravian, he became a Deist. Fries is of the Neo-Kantian rationalistic school. Among his writings are aSystem of Metaphysics, 1824; aManual of the Philosophy of Religion and Philosophical Æsthetics, Heidelberg ’32; in which he resolves religion into poetry. He criticised Kant’s proofs of God and immortality, and wrote aHistory of Philosophy. Died Jena, 10 Aug. 1843.
Frothingham(Octavius Brooks), American author, b. Boston, 26 Nov. 1822. Graduated at Harvard, ’43, and became Unitarian minister. In ’60 he became pastor of the most radical Unitarian congregation in New York. In ’67 he became first president of the Free Religious Association, but, becoming too advanced, resigned in ’79 and came to Europe. Since his return to Boston, ’81, he has devoted himself to literature. He has publishedThe Religion of Humanity, N.Y., ’73;Life of Theodore Parker, ’74;The Cradle of the Christ, ’77;Life of Gerrit Smith, 78; and numerous sermons.
Froude(James Anthony), man of letters and historian, the son of an Archdeacon of Totnes, was b. Dartington, Devon, 23 April, 1818, and educated at Westminster and Oxford, where he took his degree in ’40, was elected fellow of Exeter College and received deacon’s orders. At first, under the influence of the Romanising movement, he became a rationalist and abandoned his fellowship and clerical life. HisNemesis of Faith, ’48, showed the nature of his objections. Mr. Froude devotedhis abilities to a literary career, and fell under the influence of Carlyle. For many years he editedFraser’s Magazine, in which he wrote largely. His essays are collected under the title ofShort Studies on Great Subjects, ’71–83. His largest work is theHistory of England, from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, ’56–76. HisLife of Carlyle, ’82, and publication ofCarlyle’s Reminiscensesprovoked much controversy. His magical translation of Lucian’s most characteristic Dialogue of the Gods is done with too muchverveto allow of the supposition that the translator is not in sympathy with his author.
Fry(John), a colonel in the Parliamentary army. In 1640 he was elected one of the burgesses of Shaftesbury, but his return was declared void. After serving with distinction in the army, he was called to the House of Commons by the Independents in 1648. He voted for Charles I. being put on trial; and sat in judgment when sentence was passed on him. He was charged with blasphemy and wroteThe Accuser Shamed, 1649, which was ordered to be burnt for speaking against “that chaffie and absurd opinion of three persons in the Godhead.” He also wroteThe Clergy in their Colors, 1650.
Fuller(Sarah Margaret), American authoress, b. Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, 23 May, 1810. In ’40–42 she edited theDial. She also publishedWoman in the Nineteenth Century, ’44. Among friends she counted Emerson, Hawthorne, Channing, and Mazzini. She visited Europe and married at Rome the Marquis D’Ossoli. Returning she was shipwrecked and drowned off the coast of New Jersey, 16 July, 1850.
Furnemont(Léon), Belgian advocate, b. Charleroi, 17 April, 1861. Entered the school of Mines Liége in ’76, and founded theCircle of Progressive Students. Became president of International Congress of Students, ’84, and represented Young Belgium at the funeral of Victor Hugo. Radical candidate at the Brussels municipal elections, he obtained 3,500 votes, but was not elected. He is a Councillor of the International Federation of Freethinkers and director of a monthly journal,La Raison, 1889.
Gabarro(Bartolomé) Dr., Spanish writer, b. Ygualade, Barcelona, 27 Sept. 1846, was educated in a clerical collegewith a view to taking the clerical habit, he refused and went to America. After travelling much, he established a day school in Barcelona and founded an Anti-clerical League of Freethinkers pledged to live without priests. This induced much clericalwrath, especially when Dr. Gabarro founded some 200 Anti-clerical groups and over 100 lay schools. For denouncing the assassins of a Freethinker he was pursued for libel, sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, and forced to fly to Cerbere on the frontier, where he continues his anti-clerical journalLa Tronada. He has written many anti-clerical brochures and an important work on Pius IX. and History.
Gabelli(Aristide), Italian writer, b. Belluno, 22 March, 1830. Author ofThe Religious Question in Italy, ’64,Man and the Moral Sciences, ’69, in which he rejects all metaphysics and supernaturalism, andThoughts, 1886.
Gage(Matilda Joslyn), American reformer, b. Cicero, New York, 24 March, 1826. Her father, Dr. H. Joslyn, was an active abolitionist. Educated at De Peyster and Hamilton, N.Y., in ’45 she married Henry H. Gage. From ’52 till ’61 she wrote and spoke against slavery. In ’72 she was made President of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association. She is joint author ofThe History of Woman Suffragewith Miss Anthony and Mrs. Stanton, and with them considers the Church the great obstacle to woman’s progress.
Gagern(Carlos von), b. Rehdorf, Neumark, 12 Dec. 1826. Educated at Berlin, travelled in ’47 to Paris where he became acquainted with Humboldt. He went to Spain and studied Basque life in the Pyrenees; served in the Prussian army, became a friend of Wislicenus and the free-religious movement. In ’52 he went to Mexico; here he had an appointment under General Miramon. In the French-Mexican expedition he was taken prisoner in ’63; released in ’65 he went to New York. He was afterwards military attaché for Mexico at Berlin. His freethought appears in his memoirs entitledDead and Living, 1884, and in his volumeSword and Trowel, 1888. Died Madrid 19 Dec. 1885.
Gall(Franz Joseph), founder of phrenology, b. Baden, 6 March, 1758. He practised as a physician in Vienna, devotingmuch time to the study of the brain, and began to lecture on craniology in that city. In 1802 he was prohibited from lecturing. He joined Dr. Spurzheim and they taught their system in various cities of Europe. Died at Paris, 22 Aug. 1828.
Galton(Francis), grandson of Erasmus Darwin, was born in 1822. Educated at Birmingham, he studied medicine at King’s College, London, and graduated at Cambridge, ’24. In ’48 and ’50 he travelled in Africa. He wrote a popularArt of Travel, and has distinguished himself by many writings bearing on heredity, of which we nameHereditary Genius, ’69,English Men of Science, ’70. In hisInquiries into Human Faculty and Developement, ’83, he gives statistical refutation of the theory of prayer. Mr. Galton was Secretary of the British Association from ’63–68, President of the Geographical Section in ’62 and ’72, and of the Anthropological Section in ’77 and ’85. He is President of the Anthropological Institute.
Gambetta(Léon Michel), French orator and statesman, b. Cahors, 30 Oct. 1838. His uncle was a priest and his father wished him to become one. Educated at a clerical seminary, he decided to study for the law. In ’59 he was enrolled at the bar. His defence of Delescluze (14 Nov. 1868), in which he vigorously attacked the Empire, made him famous. Elected to the Assembly by both Paris and Marseilles, he became the life and leader of the Opposition. After Sedan he proclaimed the Republic and organised the national defences, leaving Paris, then invested by the Germans, in a balloon. From Tours he invigorated every department, and was the inspiration of the few successes won by the French. Gambetta preserved the Republic against all machinations, and compelled MacMahon to accept the second of the alternatives, “Se soumettre ou se demettre.” He founded theRepublique Française, and became President of the Chamber. Gambetta was a professed disciple of Voltaire, an admirer of Comte, and an open opponent of clericalism. All the members of his Cabinet were Freethinkers. Died 31 Dec. 1882. His public secular funeral was one of the largest gatherings ever witnessed.
Gambon(Ferdinand Charles), French Communist, b. Bourges, 19 March, 1820. In 1839 he became an Advocate, and he founded theJournal des Ecoles. In ’48 he was electedrepresentative. The Empire drove him into exile, he returned at amnesty of ’59. In ’69 he refused to pay taxes. In ’71 was elected deputy at Paris, and was one of the last defenders of the Commune. Imprisoned, he was released in ’82. Formed a League for abolishing standing army. Died 17 Sept. 1887.
Garat(Dominique Joseph), Count, French revolutionist, orator and writer, b. near Bayonne, 8 September, 1749. He became a friend of d’Alembert, Diderot and Condercet, and in 1789 was elected to the Assembly, where he spoke in favor of the abolition of religion. As minister of justice he had to notify to Louis XVI his condemnation. He afterwards taught at the Normal School, and became a senator, count, and president of the Institute. Died at Urdains 9 December, 1833.
Garborg(Arne), b. Western Coast of Norway, 25 Jan. 1851. Brought up as a teacher at the public schools, he entered the University of Christiania in 1875. Founded a weekly paperFedraheimen, written in the dialect of the peasantry. Held an appointment for some years in the Government Audit Office. In ’81 he published a powerfully written tale,A Freethinker, which created a deal of attention. Since he has publishedPeasant Students,Tales and Legends,Youth,Men, etc. He is one of the wittiest and cleverest controversialists on the Norwegian press.
Garcia-Vao(Antonio Rodriguez), Spanish poet and miscellaneous writer, b. Manzanares, 1862. Educated at the institute of Cardinal Cisneros, where he made brilliant studies. He afterwards studied at the Madrid University and became a lawyer. After editing several papers, he attached himself to the staff ofLas Dominicales del Libre Pensiamento. Among his numerous works are a volume of poems,Echoes of a Free Mind,Love and the Monks, a satire, a study of Greco-Roman philosophy, etc. This promising student was stabbed in the back at Madrid, 18 December, 1886.
Garde(Jehan de la), bookseller, burnt together with four little blasphemous books at Paris in 1537.
Garibaldi(Guiseppe), Italian patriot and general, b. Nice, 4 July, 1807. His father, a small shipmaster, hoped he would become a priest. Young Garibaldi objected, preferring asailor’s life. A trip to Rome made him long to free his country. He joined Mazzini’s movement, “Young Italy,” and being implicated in the Genoese revolt of ’33, he fled at risk of his life to Marseilles, where he learnt he was sentenced to death. He went to South America and fought on behalf of the republic of Uruguay. Here he met Anita Rivera, his beautiful and brave wife, who accompanied him in numerous adventures. Returning to Italy he fought against the Austrians in ’48, and next year was the soul of resistance to the French troops, who came to restore Papal authority. Garibaldi had to retire; his wife died, and he escaped with difficulty to Genoa, whence he went to New York, working for an Italian soap and candlemaker at Staten Island. In ’54 he returned and bought a farm on the isle of Caprera. In ’59 he again fought the Austrians, and in May, ’60, landed at Marsala, Sicily, took Palermo, and drove Francis II. from Naples. Though a Republican he saluted Victor Emanuel as King of Italy. Vexed by the cessation of Nice to France, he marched to Rome, but was wounded by Victor Emanuel’s troops, and taken prisoner to Varignaro. Here he wrote hisRule of the Monk, a work exhibiting his love of liberty and hatred of the priesthood. In ’64 he visited England, and was enthusiastically received. In ’67 he again took part in an attempt to free Rome from the Papal government. In ’71 he placed his sword at the service of the French Republic, and the only standard taken from the Germans was captured by his men. Elected Member of the Italian Parliament in his later years he did much to improve the city of Rome. In one of his laconic letters of ’80, he says “Dear Friend,—Man has created God, not God man,—Yours ever, Garibaldi.” He died 2 June, ’82, and directed in his will that he should be cremated without any religious ceremony.
Garrison(H. D.), Dr. of Chicago. Author of an able pamphlet onThe Absence of Design in Nature, 1876.
Garth(Sir Samuel), English poet, wit, and physician, b. Yorkshire, 1672, and educated at Cambridge. He helped to establish dispensaries, and lashed the opposition in his poemThe Dispensary. He was made physician to King George I. Died 18 June 1719.
Gaston(H.), French author of a brochure with the titleDieu, voila, l’ennemi, God the enemy, 1882.
Gattina(F. P. della). SeePetruccelli.
Gautama(called alsoGotama,Buddha, andSakyamuni), great Hindu reformer and founder of Buddhism, b. Kapilavastu, 624B.C.Many legends are told of his birth and life. He is said to have been a prince, who, pained with human misery, left his home to dedicate himself to emancipation. His system was rather a moral discipline than a religion. Though he did not deny the Hindu gods he asserted that all beings were subject to “Karma,” the result of previous actions. He said, “If a man for a hundred years worship Agni in the forest, and if he but for one moment pay homage to a man whose soul is grounded in true knowledge, better is that homage than sacrifice for a hundred years.” According to Ceylonese writers Gautama Buddha died at Kusinagara,B.C.543.
Gautier(Théophile), exquisite French poet and prose writer, b. Tarbes, 31 Aug. 1811. He wrote no definite work against priestcraft or superstition, but the whole tendency of his writings is Pagan. His romanticism is not Christian, and he made merry with “sacred themes” as well as conventional morality. Baudelaire called him an impeccable master of French literature, and Balzac said that of the two men who could write French, one was Théophile Gautier. Died 22 Oct. 1872.
Geijer(Erik Gustaf), eminent Swedish historian, poet, and critic, b. Wermland, 12 Jan. 1783. At the age of 20 he was awarded the Swedish Academy’s first prize for a patriotical poem. At first a Conservative in religious, philosophical, and political matters he became through his historical researches an ardent adherent of the principles of the French revolution. His historical work and indictment against “The Protestant creed” was published in 1820 in a philosophical treatise,Thorild, which was prosecuted. His acquittal by an enlightened jury stayed religious prosecutions in Sweden for over sixty years. He died 23 April 1847. A monument was erected to him last year at the University of Upsala, where he was professor of history. His works have been republished.
Geijerstam(Gustaf), Swedish novelist, b. 1858. Is one of the Freethinking group ofYoung Sweden.