Dell (John Henry), artist and poet, b. 11 Aug. 1832. Contributed
to Progress, wrote Nature Pictures, '71, and The Dawning Grey, '85,
a volume of vigorous verse, imbued with the spirit of democracy and
freethought. Died 31 Jan. 1888.
Deluc (Adolphe), Professor of Chemistry at Brussels, b. Paris,
1 Sept. 1811. Collaborated on La Libre Recherche.
De Maillet. See Maillet (Benoît de).
Democritus, a wealthy Atheistic philosopher, b. Abdera, Thrace,
B.C. 460. He travelled to Egypt and over a great part of Asia,
and is also said to have visited India. He is supposed to have
been acquainted with Leucippus, and sixty works were ascribed to
him. Died B.C. 357. He taught that all existence consisted of atoms,
and made the discovery of causes the object of scientific inquiry. He
is said to have laughed at life in general, which Montaigne says
is better than to imitate Heraclitus and weep, since mankind are
not so unhappy as vain. Democritus was the forerunner of Epicurus,
who improved his system.
Demonax, a cynical philosopher who lived in the second century of
the Christian era and rejected all religion. An account of him was
written by Lucian.
Demora (Gianbattista), director of the Libero Pensatore of Milan,
and author of some dramatic works.
Denis (Hector), Belgian advocate and professor of political economy
and philosophy at Brussels University, b. Braine-le-Comte, 29 April,
1842. Has written largely on social questions and contributed to La
Liberté, la Philosophie Positive, etc. Is one of the Council of the
International Federation of Freethinkers.
Denslow (Van Buren), American writer, author of essays on Modern
Thinkers, 1880, to which Colonel Ingersoll wrote an introduction. He
contributed a paper on the value of irreligion to the Religio
Philosophic journal of America, Jan. '78, and has written in the
Truthseeker and other journals.
Denton (William F.), poet, geologist, and lecturer, b. Darlington,
Durham, 8 Jan. 1823. After attaining manhood he emigrated to the
United States, '48, and in '56 published Poems for Reformers. He was
a prolific writer, and constant lecturer on temperance, psychology,
geology, and Freethought. In '72 he published Radical Discourses
on Religious Subjects (Boston, '72), and Radical Rhymes, '79. He
travelled to Australasia, and died of a fever while conducting
scientific explorations in New Guinea 26 Aug. 1883.
De Paepe (César) Dr., Belgian Socialist, b. Ostend, 12 July, 1842. He
was sent to the college of St. Michel, Brussels. He obtained the
Diploma of Candidate of Philosophy, but on the death of his father
became a printer with Désiré Brismée (founder of Les Solidaires,
a Rationalist society). Proudhon confided to him the correction of
his works. He became a physician and is popular with the workmen's
societies. He was one of the foremost members of the International and
attended all its congresses, as well as those of the International
Federation of Freethinkers. He has written much on public hygiene,
political economy, and psychology, collaborating in a great number of
the most advanced journals. Dr. De Paepe is a short, fair, energetic
man, capable both as a speaker and writer.
Depasse (Hector), French writer, b. at Armentières in 1843, is
editor of La République Française, and member of the Paris Municipal
Council. He has written a striking work on Clericalism, in which he
urges the separation of Church and State, 1877; and is author of many
little books on Contemporary Celebrities, among them are Gambetta,
Bert, Ranc, etc.
De Ponnat. See Ponnat (--de), Baron.
De Pontan. See Ponnat.
De Potter (Agathon Louis), Belgian economist, b. Brussels, 11
Nov. 1827. Has written many works on Social Science, and has
collaborated to La Ragione (Reason), '56, and La Philosophie de
l'Avenir.
De Potter (Louis Antoine Joseph), Belgian politician and writer,
father of the above, b. of noble family, Bruges, 26 April, 1786. In
1811 he went to Italy and lived ten years at Rome. In '21 he wrote the
Spirit of the Church, in 6 vols., which are put on the Roman Index. A
strong upholder of secular education in Belgium, he was arrested
more than once for his radicalism, being imprisoned for eighteen
months in '28. In Sept. '30 he became a member of the provisional
government. He was afterwards exiled and lived in Paris, where he wrote
a philosophical and anti-clerical History of Christianity, in 8 vols.,
1836-37. He also wrote a Rational Catechism, 1854, and a Rational
Dictionary, 1859, and numerous brochures. Died Bruges, 22 July, 1859.
Deraismes (Maria), French writer and lecturer, b. Paris, 15
Aug. 1835. She first made her name as a writer of comedies. She wrote
an appeal on behalf of her sex, Aux Femmes Riches, '65. The Masonic
Lodge of Le Pecq, near Paris, invited her to become a member, and she
was duly installed under the Grand Orient of France. The first female
Freemason, was president of the Paris Anti-clerical Congress of 1881,
and has written much in her journal, Le Républicain de Seine et Oise.
De Roberty (Eugene). See Roberty.
Desbarreaux (Jacques Vallée), Seigneur, French poet and sceptic,
b. Paris, 1602, great-nephew of Geoffrey Vallée, who was burnt in
1574. Many stories are related of his impiety, e.g. the well-known
one of his having a feast of eggs and bacon. It thundered, and Des
Barreaux, throwing the plate out of window, exclaimed, "What an amount
of noise over an omelette." It was said he recanted and wrote a poem
beginning, "Great God, how just are thy chastisements." Voltaire,
however, assigns this poem to the Abbé Levau. Died at Chalons,
9 May, 1673.
Descartes (René), French philosopher, b. at La Haye, 31 March,
1596. After leaving college he entered the army in '16, and fought
in the battle of Prague. He travelled in France and Italy, and in
'29 settled in Holland. In '37 he produced his famous Discourses upon
the Method of Reasoning Well, etc., and in '41 his Meditations upon
First Philosophy. This work gave such offence to the clergy that he
was forced to fly his country "parce qu'il y fait trop chaud pour
lui." He burnt his Traite du Monde (Treatise on the World) lest
he should incur the fate of Gallilei. Though a Theist, like Bacon,
he puts aside final causes. He was offered an asylum by Christina,
Queen of Sweden, and died at Stockholm 11 Feb. 1650.
Deschamps (Léger-Marie), known also as Dom Deschamps, a French
philosopher, b. Rennes, Poitiers, 10 Jan. 1716. He entered the Order
of Benedictines, but lost his faith by reading an abridgment of
the Old Testament. He became correspondent of Voltaire, Rousseau,
d'Alembert, Helvetius, and other philosophers. "Ce prêtre athée,"
as Ad. Franck calls him, was the author of a treatise entitled La
Vérité, ou le Vrai Système, in which he appears to have anticipated
all the leading ideas of Hegel. God, he says, as separated from
existing things, is pure nothingness. An analysis of his remarkable
work, which remained in manuscript for three-quarters of a century,
has been published by Professor Beaussire (Paris, 1855). Died at
Montreuil-Bellay, 19 April 1774.
Deslandes (André François Boureau), b. Pondichery, 1690. Became member
of the Berlin Academy and wrote numerous works, mostly under the veil
of anonymity, the principal being A Critical History of Philosophy,
3 vols(1737). His Pygmalion, a philosophical romance, was condemned by
the parliament of Dijon, 1742. His Reflexions sur les grands hommes
qui sont mort en Plaisantant (Amsterdam, 1732) was translated into
English and published in 1745 under the title, Dying Merrily. Another
work directed against religion was On the certainty of Human Knowledge,
a philosophical examination of the different prerogatives of reason
and faith (London, 1741). Died Paris, 11 April, 1757.
Des Maizeaux (Pierre), miscellaneous writer, b. Auvergne, 1673. He
studied at Berne and Geneva, and became known to Bayle who introduced
him to Lord Shaftesbury, with whom he came to London, 1699. He edited
the works of Bayle, Saint Evremond and Toland, whose lives he wrote,
as well as those of Hales and Chillingworth. Anthony Collins was his
friend, and at his death left him his manuscripts. These he transferred
to Collins's widow and they were burnt. He repented and returned the
money, 6 Jan. 1730, as the wages of iniquity. He became Secretary of
the Royal Society of London, where he died, 11 July, 1745.
Desmoulins (Lucié Simplice Camille Benôit), French revolutionary
writer, b. Guise, 2 March, 1760. He was a fellow-student of Robespierre
at Paris, and became an advocate and an enthusiastic reformer. In
July '89 he incited the people to the siege of the Bastille,
and thus began the Revolution. On 29 Dec. 1790 he married Lucile
Laridon-Duplessis. He edited Le Vieux Cordelier and the Révolutions
de France et de Brabant, in which he stated that Mohammedanism was
as credible as Christianity. He was a Deist, preferring Paganism to
Christianity. Both creeds were more or less unreasonable; but, folly
for folly, he said, I prefer Hercules slaying the Erymanthean boar
to Jesus of Nazareth drowning two thousand pigs. He was executed
with Danton, 5 April 1794. His amiable wife, Lucile, who was an
Atheist (b. 1770), in a few days shared his fate (April 13). Carlyle
calls Desmoulins a man of genius, "a fellow of infinite shrewdness,
wit--nay, humor."
Des Periers (Jean Bonaventure), French poet and sceptic,
b. Arnay le Duc, about 1510. He was brought up in a convent,
only to detest the vices of the monks. In 1535 he lived in Lyons
and assisted Dolet. He probably knew Rabelais, whom he mentions as
"Francoys Insigne." Attached to the court of Marguerite of Valois,
he defended Clement Marot when persecuted for making a French version
of the Psalms. He wrote the Cymbalum Mundi, a satire upon religion,
published under the name of Thomas de Clenier à Pierre Tryocan,
i.e., Thomas Incrédule à Pierre Croyant, 1537. It was suppressed
and the printer, Jehan Morin, imprisoned. Des Periers fled and
died (probably by suicide, to escape persecution) 1544. An English
version of Cymbalum Mundi was published in 1712. P. G. Brunet, the
bibliographer, conjectures that Des Periers was the author of the
famous Atheistic treatise, The Three Impostors.
Destriveaux (Pierre Joseph), Belgian lawyer and politician, b. Liége,
13 March, 1780. Author of several works on public right. Died
Schaerbeck (Brussels), 3 Feb. 1853.
Destutt de Tracy (Antoine Louis de Claude) Count, French materialist
philosopher, b. 20 July, 1754. His family was of Scotch origin. At
first a soldier, he was one of the first noblemen at the Revolution
to despoil himself of his title. A friend of Lafayette, Condorcet,
and Cabanis, he was a complete sceptic in religion; made an analysis
of Dupuis' Origine de tous les Cultes (1804), edited Montesquieu and
Cabanis, was made a member of the French Academy (1808), and wrote
several philosophical works, of which the principal is Elements of
Ideology. He was a great admirer of Hobbes. Died Paris, 9 March, 1836.
Des Vignes (Pietro), secretary to Frederick II. (1245-49). Mazzuchelli
attributes to him the treatise De Tribus Impostoribus.
Detrosier (Rowland), social reformer and lecturer, b. 1796, the
illegitimate son of a Manchester man named Morris and a Frenchwoman. In
his early years he was "for whole days without food." Self-educated,
he established the first Mechanics' Institute in England at Hulme,
gave Sunday scientific lectures, and published several discourses
in favor of secular education. He became secretary of the National
Political Union. He was a Deist. Like Bentham, who became his friend,
he bequeathed his body for scientific purposes. Died in London,
23 Nov. 1834.
Deubler (Konrad). The son of poor parents, b. Goisern, near Ischl,
Upper Austria, 26 Nov. 1814. Self-taught amid difficulties,
he became the friend of Feuerbach and Strauss, and was known as
"the Peasant Philosopher." In 1854 he was indicted for blasphemy,
and was sentenced to two years' hard labor and imprisonment during
pleasure. He was incarcerated from 7 Dec. '54, till Nov. '56 at Brünn,
and afterwards at Olmutz, where he was released 24 March, 1857. He
returned to his native place, and was visited by Feuerbach. In '70
he was made Burgomaster by his fellow-townsmen. Died 30 March, 1884.
Deurhoff (Willem), Dutch writer, b. Amsterdam, March 1650. Educated
for the Church, he gave himself to philosophy, translated the works of
Descartes, and was accused of being a follower of Spinoza. Forced to
leave his country, he took refuge in Brabant, but returned to Holland,
where he died 10 Oct. 1717. He left some followers.
De Wette. (See Wette M. L. de).
D'Holbach. See Holbach (P. H. D. von), Baron.
Diagoras, Greek poet, philosopher, and orator, known as "the Atheist,"
b. Melos. A pupil of Democritus, who is said to have freed him from
slavery. A doubtful tradition reports that he became an Atheist after
being the victim of an unpunished perjury. He was accused (B.C. 411)
of impiety, and had to fly from Athens to Corinth, where he died. A
price was put upon the Atheist's head. His works are not extant,
but several anecdotes are related of him, as that he threw a wooden
statue of Hercules into the fire to cook a dish of lentils, saying the
god had a thirteenth task to perform; and that, being on his flight
by sea overtaken by a storm, hearing his fellow-passengers say it
was because an Atheist was on board, he pointed to other vessels
struggling in the same storm without being laden with a Diagoras.
Di Cagno Politi (Niccola Annibale), Italian Positivist, b. Bari,
1857. Studied at Naples under Angiulli, has written on modern culture
and on experimental philosophy in Italy, and contributed articles on
Positivism to the Rivista Europea.
Diderot (Denis), French philosopher, b. Langres, 6 Oct. 1713. His
father, a cutler, intended him for the Church. Educated by Jesuits,
at the age of twelve he received the tonsure. He had a passion for
books, but, instead of becoming a Jesuit, went to Paris, where he
supported himself by teaching and translating. In 1746 he published
Philosophic Thoughts, which was condemned to be burnt. It did much
to advance freedom of opinion. Three years later his Letters on the
Blind occasioned his imprisonment at Vincennes for its materialistic
Atheism. Rousseau, who called him "a transcendent genius," visited
Diderot in prison, where he remained three years. Diderot projected the
famous Encyclopédie, which he edited with Alembert, and he contributed
some of the most important articles. With very inadequate recompense,
and amidst difficulties that would have appalled an ordinary editor,
Diderot superintended the undertaking for many years (1751-65). He also
contributed to other important works, such as Raynal's Philosophic
History, L'Esprit, by Helvetius, and The System of Nature and other
works of his friend D'Holbach. Diderot's fertile mind also produced
dramas, essays, sketches, and novels. Died 30 July, 1784. Comte calls
Diderot "the greatest thinker of the eighteenth century."
Diercks (Gustav), German author of able works on the History of the
Development of Human Spirit (Berlin, 1881-2) and on Arabian Culture
in Spain, 1887. Is a member of the German Freethinkers' Union.
Dilke (Ashton Wentworth), b. 1850. Educated at Cambridge, travelled
in Russia and Central Asia, and published a translation of Turgenev's
Virgin Soil. He purchased and edited the Weekly Dispatch; was returned
as M.P. for Newcastle in 1880, but, owing to ill health, resigned in
favor of John Morley, and died at Algiers 12 March, 1883.
Dinter (Gustav Friedrich), German educationalist, b. Borna, near
Leipsic, 29 Feb. 1760. His Bible for Schoolmasters is his best-known
work. It sought to give rational notes and explanations of the Jew
books, and excited much controversy. Died at Konigsberg, 29 May, 1831.
Dippel (Johann Konrad), German alchemist and physician, b. 10
Aug. 1672, at Frankenstein, near Darmstadt. His Papismus vapulans
Protestantium (1698) drew on him the wrath of the theologians of
Giessen, and he had to flee for his life. Attempting to find out the
philosopher's stone, he discovered Prussian blue. In 1705 he published
his satires against the Protestant Church, Hirt und eine Heerde,
under the name of Christianus Democritos. He denied the inspiration
of the Bible, and after an adventurous life in many countries died
25 April, 1734.
Dobrolyubov (Nikolai Aleksandrovich), Russian author, b. 1836, at
Nijni Novgorod, the son of a priest. Educated at St. Petersburg, he
became a radical journalist. His works were edited in four vols. by
Chernuishevsky. Died 17 Nov. 1861.
Dodel-Port (Prof. Arnold), Swiss scientist, b. Affeltrangen, Thurgau,
16 Oct. 1843. Educated at Kreuzlingen, he became in '63 teacher in
the Oberschule in Hauptweil; then studied from '64-'69 at Geneva,
Zürich, and Munich, becoming privat docent in the University of
Zürich, '70. In '75 he published The New History of Creation. In
'78 he issued his world-famous Botanical Atlas, and was in '80 made
Professor of Botany in the Zürich University and Director of the
Botanical Laboratory. He has also written Biological Fragments (1885),
the Life and Letters of Konrad Deubler, "the peasant philosopher"
(1886), and has just published Moses or Darwin? a School Question,
1889. Dr. Dodel-Port is an hon. member of the London Royal Society
and Vice-President of the German Freethinkers' Union.
Dodwell (Henry), eldest son of the theologian of that name, was
b. Shottesbrooke, Berkshire, about the beginning of the eighteenth
century. He was educated at Magdalen Hall, when he proceeded B.A.,
9 Feb. 1726. In '42 he published a pamphlet entitled Christianity
not Founded on Argument, which in a tone of grave irony contends that
Christianity can only be accepted by faith. He was brought up to the
law and was a zealous friend of the Society for the Promotion of Arts,
Manufactures, and Commerce. Died 1784.
Doebereiner (Johann Wolfgang), German chemist, b. Bavaria, 15
Dec. 1780. In 1810 he became Professor of Chemistry at Jena, where
he added much to science. Died 24 March, 1849. He was friend and
instructor to Goethe.
Dolet (Etienne), a learned French humanist, b. Orleans 3 Aug. 1509. He
studied in Paris, Padua and Venice. For his heresy he had to fly
from Toulouse and lived for some time at Lyons, where he established
a printing-press and published some of his works, for which he was
imprisoned. He was acquainted with Rabelais, Des Periers, and other
advanced men of the time. In 1543 the Parliament condemned his books
to be burnt, and in the next year he was arrested on a charge of
Atheism. After being kept two years in prison he was strangled and
burnt, 3 Aug. 1546. It is related that seeing the sorrow of the crowd,
he said: "Non dolet ipe Dolet, sed pia turba dolet."--Dolet grieves
not, but the generous crowd grieves. His goods being confiscated,
his widow and children were left to beggary. "The French language,"
says A. F. Didot, "owes him much for his treatises, translations,
and poesies." Dolet's biographer, M. Joseph Boulmier, calls him "le
Christ de la pensée libre." Philosophy has alone the right, says
Henri Martin, to claim Dolet on its side. His English biographer,
R. C. Christie, says he was "neither a Catholic nor a Protestant."
Dominicis (Saverio Fausto de), Italian Positivist philosopher,
b. Buonalbergo, 1846. Is Professor of Philosophy at Bari, and has
written on Education and Darwinism.
Dondorf (Dr. A.), See Anderson (Marie) in Supplement.
Doray de Longrais (Jean Paul), French man of letters. b. Manvieux,
1736. Author of a Freethought romance, Faustin, or the Philosophical
Age. Died at Paris, 1800.
Dorsch (Eduard), German American Freethinker, b. Warzburg 10
Jan. 1822. He studied at Munich and Vienna. In '49 he went to America
and settled in Monroe, Michigan, where he published a volume of poems,
some being translations from Swinburne. Died 10 Jan. 1887.
Dorsey (J. M.), author of the The True History of Moses, and others,
an attack on the Bible, published at Boston in 1855.
Draparnaud (Jacques Philippe Raymond), French doctor, b. 3 June, 1772,
at Montpelier, where he became Professor of Natural History. His
discourses on Life and Vital Functions, and on the Philosophy of
the Sciences and Christianity (1801), show his scepticism. Died 1
Feb. 1805.
Draper (John William), scientist and historian, b. St. Helens,
near Liverpool, 5 May 1811. The son of a Wesleyan minister, he was
educated at London University. In '32 he emigrated to America,
where he was Professor of Chemistry and Natural History in New
York University. He was one of the inventors of photography and the
first who applied it to astronomy. He wrote many scientific works,
notably on Human Physiology. His history of the American Civil War
is an important work, but he is chiefly known by his History of the
Intellectual Development of Europe and History of the Conflict of
Religion and Science, which last has gone through many editions and
been translated into all the principal languages. Died 4 Jan. 1882.
Dreyfus (Ferdinand Camille), author of an able work on the Evolution
of Worlds and Societies, 1888.
Droysen (Johann Gustav), German historian, b. Treptoir, 6 July,
1808. Studied at Berlin; wrote in the Hallische Jahrbücher; was
Professor of History at Keil, 1840; Jena '51 and Berlin '59. Has edited
Frederick the Great's Correspondence, and written other important
works, some in conjunction with his friend Max Duncker. Died 15
June, 1882.
Drummond (Sir William), of Logie Almond, antiquary and author,
b. about 1770; entered Parliament as member for St. Mawes, Cornwall,
1795. In the following year he became envoy to the court of Naples,
and in 1801 ambassador to Constantinople. His principal work is
Origines, or Remarks on the Origin of several Empires, States,
and Cities (4 vols. 1824-29). He also printed privately The OEdipus
Judaicus, 1811. It calls in question, with much boldness and learning,
many legends of the Old Testament, to which it gave an astronomical
signification. It was reprinted in '66. Sir William Drummond also
wrote anonymously Philosophical Sketches of the Principles of Society,
1795. Died at Rome, 29 March, 1828.
Duboc (Julius) German writer and doctor of philosophy b. Hamburg, 10
Oct. 1829. Educated at Frankfurt and Giessen, is a clever journalist,
and has translated the History of the English Press. Has written
an Atheistic work, Das Leben Ohne Gott (Life without God), with the
motto from Feuerbach "No religion is my religion, no philosophy my
philosophy," 1875. He has also written on the Psychology of Love,
and other important works.
Dubois (Pierre), a French sceptic, who in 1835 published The True
Catechism of Believers--a work ordered by the Court of Assizes to
be suppressed, and for which the author (Sept. '35) was condemned to
six months' imprisonment and a fine of one thousand francs. He also
wrote The Believer Undeceived, or Evident Proofs of the Falsity and
Absurdity of Christianity; a work put on the Index in '36.
Du Bois-Reymond (Emil), biologist, of Swiss father and French
mother, b. Berlin, 7 Nov. 1818. He studied at Berlin and Bonn for
the Church, but left it to follow science, '37. Has become famous as
a physiologist, especially by his Researches in Animal Electricity,
'48-60. With Helmholtz he has done much to establish the new era
of positive science, wrongly called by opponents Materialism. Du
Bois-Reymond holds that thought is a function of the brain and nervous
system, and that "soul" has arisen as the gradual results of natural
combinations, but in his Limits of the Knowledge of Nature, '72, he
contends that we must always come to an ultimate incomprehensible. Du
Bois-Reymond has written on Voltaire and Natural Science, '68; La
Mettrie, '75; Darwin versus Galiani, '78; and Frederick II. and
Rousseau, '79. Since '67 he has been perpetual secretary of the
Academy of Sciences, Berlin.
Dubuisson (Paul Ulrich), French dramatist and revolutionary, b. Lauat,
1746. A friend of Cloots he suffered with him on the scaffold, 24
March, 1794.
Dubuisson (Paul), living French Positivist, author of Grand Types
of Humanity.
Du Chatelet Lomont. See Chastelet.
Duclos (Charles Pinot), witty French writer, b. Dinan, 12 Feb. 1704. He
was admitted into the French Academy, 1747 and became its secretary,
1755. A friend of Diderot and d'Alembert. His Considerations sur les
Moeurs is still a readable work. Died 27 March, 1772.
Ducos (Jean François), French Girondist, b. Bordeaux in 1765. Elected
to the Legislative Assembly, he, on the 26th Oct. 1791, demanded
the complete separation of the State from religion. He shared the
fate of the Girondins, 31 Oct. 1793, crying with his last breath,
"Vive la Republique!"
Du Deffand (Marie), Marchioness, witty literary Frenchwoman,
b. 1697. Chamfort relates that when young and in a convent she preached
irreligion to her young comrades. The abbess called in Massillon, to
whom the little sceptic gave her reasons. He went away saying "She
is charming." Her house in Paris was for fifty years the resort of
eminent authors and statesmen. She corresponded for many years with
Horace Walpole, D'Alembert and Voltaire. Many anecdotes are told of
her; thus, to the Cardinal de Polignac, who spoke of the miracle of
St. Denis walking when beheaded, she said "Il n'y a que le premier
pas qui coûte." Died 24 Sept. 1780. To the curé of Saint Sulpice,
who came to her death-bed, she said "Ni questions, ni raisons, ni
sermons." Larousse calls her "Belle, instruite, spirituelle mais
sceptique et materialiste."
Dudgeon (William), a Berwickshire Deist, whose works were published
(privately printed at Edinburgh) in 1765.
Dudnevant (A. L. A. Dupin), Baroness. See Sand (Georges).
Duehring (Eugen Karl), German writer, b. Berlin, 12 Jan. 1833; studied
law. He has, though blind, written many works on science and political
economy, also a Critical History of Philosophy, '69-78, and Science
Revolutionized, '78. In Oct. 1879, his death was maliciously reported.
Dulaure (Jacques Antoine), French archæologist and historian,
b. Clermont-Ferrand, 3 Dec. 1755. In 1788-90 he published six volumes
of a description of France. He wrote many pamphlets, including one
on the private lives of ecclesiastics. Elected to the Convention in
1792, he voted for the death of the King. Proscribed as a Girondist,
Sept. 1793, he fled to Switzerland. He was one of the Council of Five
Hundred, 1796-98. Dulaure wrote a learned Treatise on Superstitions,
but he is best known by his History of Paris, and his Short History
of Different Worships, 1825, in which he deals with ancient fetishism
and phallic worship. Died Paris, 9 Aug. 1835.
Dulaurens (Henri Joseph). French satirist, b. Douay, 27 March, 1719. He
was brought up in a convent, and made a priest 12 Nov. 1727. Published
a satire against the Jesuits, 1761, he was compelled to fly to
Holland, where he lived in poverty. He edited L'Evangile de la Raison,
a collection of anti-Christian tracts by Voltaire and others, and
wrote L'Antipapisme révelé in 1767. He was in that year condemned
to perpetual imprisonment for heresy, and shut in the convent of
Mariabaum, where he died 1797. Dulaurens was caustic, cynical and
vivacious. He is also credited with the Portfolios of a Philosopher,
mostly taken from the Analysis of Bayle, Cologne, 1770.
Dulk (Albert Friedrich Benno), German poet and writer, b. Konigsberg,
17 June, 1819; he became a physician, but was expelled for aiding
in the Revolution of '48. He travelled in Italy and Egypt. In '65
he published Jesus der Christ, embodying rationalism in prose and
verse. He has also written Stimme der Menschheit, 2 vols., '76,
'80, and Der Irrgang des Lebens Jesu, '84, besides numerous plays
and pamphlets. Died 29 Oct. 1884.
Dumont (Léon), French writer, b. Valenciennes, 1837. Studied for
the bar, but took to philosophy and literature. He early embraced
Darwinism, and wrote on Hæckel and the Theory of Evolution, '73. He
wrote in La Revue Philosophique, and other journals. Died Valenciennes,
17 Jan. 1877.
Dumarsais (César Chesneau), French grammarian and philosopher,
b. Marseilles, 17 July, 1676. When young he entered the congregation
of the oratory. This society he soon quitted, and went to Paris,
where he married. A friend of Boindin and Alembert, he wrote against
the pretensions of Rome and contributed to the Encyclopédie. He is
credited with An Analysis of the Christian Religion and with the
celebrated Essai sur les Préjugés, par Mr. D. M., but the latter was
probably written by Holbach, with notes by Naigeon. Le Philosophe,
published in L'Evangile de la Raison by Dulaurens, was written by
Voltaire. Died 11 June, 1756. Dumarsais was very simple in character,
and was styled by D'Alembert the La Fontaine of philosophers.
Dumont (Pierre Etienne Louis), Swiss writer, b. Geneva, 18 July,
1759. Was brought up as a minister, but went to France and became
secretary to Mirabeau. After the Revolution he came to England, where
he became acquainted with Bentham, whose works he translated. Died
Milan, 29 Sept. 1829.
Duncker (Maximilian Wolfgang), German historian, b. Berlin, 15
Oct. 1811. His chief work, the History of Antiquity, 1852-57,
thoroughly abolishes the old distinction of sacred and profane
history, and freely criticises the Jewish records. A translation in
six volumes has been made by E. Abbot. Duncker took an active part
in the events of '48 and '50, and was appointed Director-General of
the State Archives. Died 24 July, 1886.
Dupont (Jacob Louis), a French mathematician and member of the
National Convention, known as the Abbé Dupont, who, 14 Dec. 1792,
declared himself an Atheist from the tribune of the Convention. Died
at Paris in 1813.
Dupont de Nemours (Pierre Samuel), French economist, b. Paris, 14
Dec. 1739. He became President of the Constituent Assembly, and was
a Theophilantrophist. Died Delaware, U.S.A., 6 Aug. 1817.
Dupuis (Charles François), French astronomer and philosopher,
b. Trie-le-Chateau, 16 Oct. 1742. He was educated for the Church, which
he left, and married in 1775. He studied under Lalande, and wrote on
the origin of the constellations, 1781. In 1788 he became a member of
the Academy of Inscriptions. At the Revolution he was chosen a member
of the Convention. During the Reign of Terror he saved many lives at
his own risk. He was afterwards one of the Council of Five Hundred, and
president of the legislative body. His chief work is on the Origin of
Religions, 7 vols., 1795, in which he traces solar worship in various
faiths, including Christianity. This has been described as "a monument
of the erudition of unbelief." Dupuis died near Dijon, 29 Sept. 1809.
Dutrieux (Pierre Joseph), Belgian physician, b. Tournai, 19 July,
1848. Went to Cairo and became a Bey. Died 1 Jan. 1889.
Dutton (Thomas), M.A., theatrical critic, b. London, 1767. Educated
by the Moravians. In 1795 he published a Vindication of the Age of
Reason by Thomas Paine. He translated Kotzebue's Pizarro in Peru,
1799, and edited the Dramatic Censor, 1800, and the Monthly Theatrical
Reporter, 1815.
Duvernet (Théophile Imarigeon), French writer, b. at Ambert
1730. He was brought up a Jesuit, became an Abbé, but mocked at
religion. Duvernet became tutor to Saint Simon. For a political
pamphlet he was imprisoned in the Bastille. While here he wrote a
curious and rare romance, Les Devotions de Mme. de Bethzamooth. He
wrote on Religious Intolerance, 1780, and a History of the Sorbonne,
1790, but is best known by his Life of Voltaire (1787). In 1793
he wrote a letter to the Convention, in which he declares that
he renounces the religion "born in a stable between an ox and an
ass." Died in 1796.
Dyas (Richard H.), captain in the army. Author of The Upas. He resided
long in Italy and translated several of the works of C. Voysey.
Eaton (Daniel Isaac), bookseller, b. about 1752, was educated at the
Jesuits' College, St. Omer. Being advised to study the Bible, he did
so, with the result of discarding it as a revelation. In 1792 he was
prosecuted for publishing Paine's Rights of Man, but the prosecution
fell through. He afterwards published Politics for the People, which
was also prosecuted, 1793, as was his Political Dictionary, 1796. To
escape punishment, he fled to America, and lived there for three years
and a half. Upon returning to England, his person and property were
seized. Books to the value of £2,800 were burnt, and he was imprisoned
for fifteen months. He translated from Helvetius and sold at his
"Rationcinatory or Magazine for Truths and Good Sense," 8 Cornhill,
in 1810, The True Sense and Meaning of the System of Nature. The Law
of Nature had been previously translated by him. In '11 he issued
the first and second parts of Paine's Age of Reason, and on 6 March,
'12, was tried before Lord Ellenborough on a charge of blasphemy
for issuing the third and last part. He was sentenced to eighteen
months' imprisonment and to stand in the pillory. The sentence evoked
Shelley's spirited Letter to Lord Ellenborough. Eaton translated and
published Freret's Preservative against Religious Prejudices, 1812,
and shortly before his death, at Deptford, 22 Aug. 1814, he was again
prosecuted for publishing George Houston's Ecce Homo.
Eberhard (Johann August), German Deist, b. Halberstadt, 31 Aug. 1739,
was brought up in the church, but persecuted for heresy in his New
Apology for Socrates, 1772, was patronised by Frederick the Great,
and appointed Professor of Philosophy at Halle, where he opposed
the idealism of Kant and Fichte. He wrote a History of Philosophy,
1788. Died Halle, 7 Jan. 1809.
Eberty (Gustav), German Freethinker, b. 2 July, 1806. Author of some
controversial works. Died Berlin, 10 Feb. 1887.
Echtermeyer (Ernst Theodor), German critic, b. Liebenwerda, 1805. He
studied at Halle and Berlin, and founded, with A. Ruge, the Hallische
Jahrbücher, which contained many Freethought articles, 1837-42. He
taught at Halle and Dresden, where he died, 6 May, 1844.
Edelmann (Johann Christian), German Deist, b. Weissenfels, Saxony,
9 July, 1698; studied theology in Jena, joined the Moravians,
but left them and every form of Christianity, becoming an adherent
of Spinozism. His principal works are his Unschuldige Wahrheiten,
1735 (Innocent Truths), in which he argues that no religion is of
importance, and Moses mit Aufgedecktem Angesicht (Moses Unmasked),
1740, an attack on the Old Testament, which, he believed, proceeded
from Ezra; Die Göttlichkeit der Vernunft (The Divinity of Reason),
1741, and Christ and Belial. His works excited much controversy, and
were publicly burnt at Frankfort, 9 May, 1750. Edelmann was chased
from Brunswick and Hamburg, but was protected by Frederick the Great,
and died at Berlin, 15 Feb. 1767. Mirabeau praised him, and Guizot
calls him a "fameux esprit fort."
Edison (Thomas Alva), American inventor, b. Milan, Ohio, 10
Feb. 1847. As a boy he sold fruit and papers at the trains. He read,
however, Gibbon, Hume and other important works before he was ten. He
afterwards set up a paper of his own, then became telegraph operator,
studied electricity, invented electric light, the electric pen,
the telephone, microphone, phonograph, etc. Edison is known to be an
Agnostic and to pay no attention to religion.
Eenens (Ferdinand), Belgian writer, b. Brussels, 7 Dec. 1811. Eenens
was an officer in the Belgian army, and wrote many political and
anti-clerical pamphlets. He also wrote La Vérité, a work on the
Christian faith, 1859; Le Paradis Terrestre, '60, an examination of
the legend of Eden, and Du Dieu Thaumaturge, '76. He used the pen
names "Le Père Nicaise," "Nicodème Polycarpe" and "Timon III." Died
at Brussels in 1883.
Effen (Justus van), Dutch writer, b. Utrecht, 11 Feb. 1684. Edited the
Misanthrope, Amsterdam, 1712-16; translated Robinson Crusoe, Swift's
Tale of a Tub, and Mandeville's Thoughts on Religion, 1722; published
the Dutch Spectator, 1731-35. Died at Bois-le-Duc, 18 Sept. 1735.
Eichhorn (Johann Gottfried), German Orientalist and rationalist, b. 16
Oct. 1752, became Professor of Oriental Literature and afterwards
Professor of Theology at Gottingen. He published Introductions to
the Old and New Testaments and A Commentary on the Apocalypse, in
which his criticism tends to uproot belief in the Bible as a divine
revelation. He lectured every day for fifty-two years. Died 25 June,
1827.
"Elborch (Conrad von)," the pseudonym of a living learned Dutch writer,
whose position does not permit him to reveal his true name. Born
14 Jan. 1865, he has contributed to De Dageraad (The Daybreak),
under various pen-names, as "Fra Diavolo," "Denis Bontemps," "J. Van
den Ende," etc. He has given, in '88, a translation of the rare and
famous Latin treatise, De Tribus Impostoribus (On Three Impostors)
[Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad], with an important bibliographic and
historical introduction.
"Eliot (George)," the pen-name of Mary Ann Lewes (née Evans) one of
the greatest novelists of the century, b. at Arbury Farm, near Griff,
Warwickshire, 22 Nov. 1819. In '41 the family removed to Foleshill,
near Coventry. Here she made the friendship of the household of
Charles Bray, and changed her views from Evangelical Christianity
to philosophical scepticism. Influenced by The Inquiry into the
Origin of Christianity, by C. C. Hennell (Bray's brother-in-law),
she made an analysis of that work. Her first literary venture was
translating Strauss' Leben Jesu, published in 1846. After the death
of her father ('49) she travelled with the Brays upon the Continent,
and upon her return assisted Dr. Chapman in the editorship of the
Westminster Review, to which she contributed several articles. She
translated Feuerbach's Essence of Christianity, '54, the only work
published with her real name, and also translated from Spinoza's
Ethics. Introduced by Herbert Spencer to George Henry Lewes, she
linked her life with his in defiance of the conventions of society,
July, '54. Both were poor, but by his advice she turned to fiction,
in which she soon achieved success. Her Scenes of Clerical Life, Adam
Bede, Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Romola, Felix Holt, Middlemarch,
Daniel Deronda, and Theophrastus Such have become classics. As a poet,
"George Eliot" does not rank so high, but her little piece, "Oh,
may I join the choir invisible," well expresses the emotion of the
Religion of Humanity, and her Spanish Gipsy she allowed was "a mass
of Positivism." Lewes died in 1878, and within two years she married
his friend, J. W. Cross. Her new happiness was short-lived. She died
22 Dec. 1880, and is buried with Lewes at Highgate.
Ellero (Pietro) Italian jurisconsult, b. Pordenone, 8 Oct. 1833,
Counsellor of the High Court of Rome, has been Professor of Criminal
Law in the University of Bologna. Author of many works on legal and
social questions. His Scritti Minori, Scritti Politici and La Question
Sociale have the honor of a place on the Roman Index.
Elliotson (John, M.D., F.R.S.), an eminent medical man, b. London,
1791. He became physician at St. Thomas's Hospital in 1822, and made
many contributions to medical science. By new prescriptions of quinine,
creasote, etc., he excited much hostility in the profession. He was
the first in this country to advocate the use of the stethoscope. He
was also the first physician to discard knee-breeches and silk
stockings, and to wear a beard. In '31 he was chosen Professor at
University College, but, becoming an advocate of curative mesmerism,
he resigned his appointments, '38. He was founder and President of the
London Phrenological Society, and, in addition to many medical works,
edited the Zoist (thirteen vols.), translated Blumenbach's Physiology,
and wrote an introduction to Engledue's Cerebral Physiology, defending
materialism. Thackeray dedicated Pendennis to him, '50, and he received
a tribute of praise from Dickens. Died at London, 29 July, 1868.
Eichthal (Gustave d'), French writer, b. of Jewish family, Nancy,
22 March, 1804. He became a follower of Saint Simon, was one of the
founders of the Société d'Ethnologie, and published Les Evangiles, a
critical analysis of the gospels, 2 vols, Paris, '63. This he followed
by The Three Great Mediterranean Nations and Christianity and Socrates
and our Time, '84. He died at Paris, April, 1886, and his son published
his Mélanges de Critique Biblique (Miscellanies of Biblical Criticism),
in which there is an able study on the name and character of "Jahveh."
Emerson (Ralph Waldo), American essayist, poet, and philosopher,
b. Boston 25 May, 1803. He came of a line of ministers, and was
brought up like his father, educated at Harvard College, and ordained
as a Unitarian minister, 1829. Becoming too broad for the Church,
he resigned in '32. In the next year he came to Europe, visiting
Carlyle. On his return he settled at Concord, giving occasional
lectures, most of which have been published. He wrote to the Dial, a
transcendentalist paper. Tending to idealistic pantheism, but without
systematic philosophy, all his writings are most suggestive, and he
is always the champion of mental freedom, self-reliance, and the free
pursuit of science. Died at Concord, 27 April, 1882. Matthew Arnold
has pronounced his essays "the most important work done in prose"
in this century.
Emerson (William), English mathematician, b. Hurworth, near Darlington,
14 May, 1701. He conducted a school and wrote numerous works on
Mathematics. His vigorous, if eccentric, individuality attracted
Carlyle, who said to Mrs. Gilchrist, "Emerson was a Freethinker who
looked on his neighbor, the parson, as a humbug. He seems to have
defended himself in silence the best way he could against the noisy
clamor and unreal stuff going on around him." Died 21 May, 1782. He
compiled a list of Bible contradictions.
Emmet (Robert), Irish revolutionist, b. in Dublin 1778, was educated
as a barrister. Expelled from Dublin University for his sympathy with
the National Cause in 1798; he went to the Continent, but returned in
1802 to plan an ill-starred insurrection, for which he was executed 20
Sept. 1803. Emmet made a thrilling speech before receiving sentence,
and on the scaffold refused the services of a priest. It is well
known that his desire to see once more his sweetheart, the daughter
of Curran, was the cause of his capture and execution.
Engledue (William Collins), M.D., b. Portsea 1813. After taking his
degree at Edinburgh, he became assistant to Dr. Lizars and was elected
President of the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. He returned
to Portsmouth in 1835; originated the Royal Portsmouth Hospital and
established public baths and washhouses. He contributed to the Zoist
and published an exposition of materialism under the title of Cerebral
Physiology, 1842, republished by J. Watson, 1857. Died Jan. 1859.
English (George Bethune), American writer and linguist, b. Cambridge,
Mass., 7 March, 1787. He studied law and divinity, and graduated
at Harvard, 1807, but becoming sceptical published Grounds of
Christianity Examined, 1813. The work excited some controversy,
and has been reprinted at Toronto, 1839. He joined the Egyptian
service and became General of Artillery. He had a variable genius
and a gift of languages. At Marseilles he passed for a Turk with
a Turkish ambassador; and at Washington he surprised a delegation
of Cherokees by disputing with them in their own tongue. He wrote a
reply to his critics, entitled Five Smooth Stones out of the Brook,
and two letters to Channing on his sermons against infidelity. Died
at Washington, 20 Sept. 1828.
Ense (Varnhagen von). See Varnhagen.
Ensor (George), an Irish writer, b. Loughgall, 1769. Educated at
Trinity College; he became B.A. 1790. He travelled largely, and was
a friend of liberty in every country. Besides other political works
he published, The Independent Man, 1806; On National Government,
1810; A Review of the Miracles, Prophecies and Mysteries of the
Old and New Testaments, first printed as Janus on Sion, 1816, and
republished 1835; and Natural Theology Examined, 1836, the last being
republished in The Library of Reason. Bentham described him as clever
but impracticable. Died Ardress, Co. Armagh, 3 Dec. 1843.
Epicurus, Greek philosopher, b. Samos, B.C. 342. He repaired to
Athens, B.C. 323. Influenced by the works of Demokritos, he occupied
himself with philosophy. He purchased a garden in Athens, in which he
established his school. Although much calumniated, he is now admitted
to have been a man of blameless life. According to Cicero, he had no
belief in the gods, but did not attack their existence, in order not
to offend the prejudices of the Athenians. In physics he adopted the
atomic theory, and denied immortality. He taught that pleasure is the
sovereign good; but by pleasure he meant no transient sensation, but
permanent tranquility of mind. He wrote largely, but his works are
lost. His principles are expounded in the great poem of Lucretius,
De Rerum Natura. Died B.C. 270, leaving many followers.
"Erdan (Alexandre)," the pen-name of Alexandre Andre Jacob, a French
writer, b. Angles 1826. He was the natural son of a distinguished
prelate. Educated at Saint Sulpice for the Church, he read Proudhon,
and refused to take holy orders. He became a journalist and an advocate
of phonography. His work, La France Mystique (1855), in which he
gives an account of French religious eccentricities, was condemned
for its scepticism which appears on every page. Sentenced to a year's
imprisonment and a fine of three thousand francs, he took refuge in
Italy. Died at Frascati, near Rome, 24 Sept. 1878.
Ernesti (Johann August), German critic, b. Tennstadt, 4
Aug. 1707. Studied at Wittenberg and Leipsic, where he was appointed
professor of classical literature. Renowned as a philologist, he
insisted that the Bible must be interpreted like any other book. Died
Leipsic, 11 Sept. 1781.
Escherny (François Louis d') Count, Swiss litterateur, b. Neufchatel,
24 Nov. 1733. He spent much of his life in travel. At Paris he became
the associate of Helvetius, Diderot, and particularly Rousseau, whom he
much admired. He wrote Lacunes de la Philosophie (Amsterdam, 1783) and
a work on Equality (1795), in which he displays his Freethought. Died
at Paris, 15 July, 1815.
Espinas (Alfred), French philosopher, b. Saint-Florentin, 1844. Has
translated, with Th. Ribot, H. Spencer's Principles of Psychology,
and has written studies on Experimental Philosophy in Italy, and on
Animal Societies (1877).
Espronceda (José), popular Spanish poet, b. Almendralejo (Estremadura)
in 1810. After the War of Independence he went to Madrid and studied
under Alberto Lista, the poet and mathematician. He became so obnoxious
to the government by his radical principles that he was imprisoned
about the age of fifteen, and banished a few years later. He passed
several years in London and Paris, and was brought under the influence
of Byron and Hugo. He fought with the people in the Paris Revolution
of July, 1830. On the death of the Spanish King in '33 he returned
to Madrid, but was again banished for too free expression of his
opinions. He returned and took part in the revolutionary contest of
'35-36. He was elected to the Cortes in '41, and appointed secretary
of embassy to The Hague. Died 23 May, 1842. Among his works are
lyrical poems, which often remind us of Heine; an unfinished epic,
El Pelayo; and El Diablo-Mundo (the Devil-World), a fine poem, due
to the inspiration of Faust and Don Juan. Espronceda was a thorough
sceptic. In his Song of the Pirate he asks, "Who is my God?--Liberty";
and in his concluding lines to a star he says:
I unheedingly follow my path,
At the mercy of winds and of waves.
Wrapt thus within the arms of Fate,
What care I if lost or saved.
Estienne (Henri), the ablest of a family of learned French printers,
known in England as Stephens; b. Paris, 1528. At the age of
eighteen he assisted his father in collating the MSS. of Dionysius
of Halicarnassus. In 1557 he established a printing office of his
own, and issued many Greek authors; and in 1572 the Thesaurus Linguæ
Græcæ. His Apologie pour Herodote (Englished as a World of Wonders)
is designed as a satire on Christian legends, and directed against
priests and priestcraft. He was driven from place to place. Sir
Philip Sidney highly esteemed him, and "kindly entertained him in
his travaile." Died 1598. Garasse classes him with Atheists.
Esteve (Pierre), French writer, b. Montpelier at the beginning of the
eighteenth century. He wrote a History of Astronomy and an anonymous
work on the Origin of the Universe explained from a Principle of
Matter; Berlin, 1748.
Ettel (Konrad), Austrian Freethinker, b. 17 Jan. 1847, at Neuhof,
Sternberg. Studied at the Gymnasium Kremsier, and at the wish of his
parents at the Theological Seminary Olmütz, which he left to study
philosophy at Vienna. He has written many poems and dramas. His
Grundzuge der Natürlichen Weltanschauung (Sketch of a Natural View
of the World), a Freethinker's catechism, 1886, has reached a fourth
edition.
Evans (George Henry), b. at Bromyard, Herefordshire, 25 March,
1803. While a child, his parents emigrated to New York. He set up
as a printer, and published the Correspondent, the first American
Freethought paper. He also published the Working Man's Advocate, Man,
Young America, and the Radical. He labored for the transportation
of mails on Sundays, the limitation of the right to hold lands,
the abolition of slavery, and other reforms. His brother became one
of the chief elders of the Shakers. Died in Granville, New Jersey,
2 Feb. 1855.
Evans (William), b. Swansea, 1816, became a follower of Robert
Owen. He established The Potter's Examiner and Workman's Advocate,
'43, and wrote in the Co-operative journals under the anagram of
"Millway Vanes." Died 14 March, 1887.
Evanson (Edward), theological critic, b. Warrington, Lancashire,
21 April, 1731. He graduated at Cambridge, became vicar of South
Mimms, and afterwards rector of Tewkesbury. Entertaining doubts
on the Trinity, he submitted them to the Archbishop of Canterbury
without obtaining satisfaction. He made some changes in reading the
Litany, and for expressing heretical opinions in a sermon in 1771,
he was prosecuted, but escaped in consequence of some irregularity
in the proceedings. In 1772 he published an anonymous tract on the
Trinity. In 1797 he addressed a letter to the Bishop of Lichfield
on the Prophecies of the New Testament, in which he tried to show
that either Christianity was false or the orthodox churches. In the
following year he resigned both his livings and took pupils. In
1792 he published his principal work, The Dissonance of the Four
Generally-Received Evangelists, in which he rejected all the gospels,
except Luke, as unauthentic. This work involved him in a controversy
with Dr. Priestley, and brought a considerable share of obloquy and
persecution from the orthodox. Died 25 Sept. 1805.
Eve'merus or Euhemerus, a Sicilian author of the time of Alexander
the Great, who sought to rationalise religion, and treated the gods
as dead heroes. He is usually represented as an Atheist.
Eudes (Emile François Désiré), French Communist, b. Roncey, 1844. He
became a chemist, and was condemned, with Régnard, to three months'
imprisonment for writing in La Libre Pensée, '67, of which he was
director. He joined the ranks of the Commune and became a general. When
the Versailles troops entered Paris he escaped to Switzerland. On
his return after the Amnesty, he wrote with Blanqui. Died at a public
meeting in Paris, 5 Aug. 1888.
Ewerbeck (August Hermann), Dr., b. Dantzic. After the events of 1848,
he lived at Paris. He translated into German Cabet's Voyage en Icarie,
and in an important work entitled Qu'est ce que La Religion? (What
is Religion), '50, translated into French Feuerbach's "Essence of
Religion," "Essence of Christianity," and "Death and Immortality." In
a succeeding volume What is the Bible? he translated from Daumer,
Ghillany, Luetzelberger and B. Bauer. Ewerbeck also wrote in French
an historical work on Germany and the Germans; Paris, 1851.
Fabre D'Eglantine (Philippe François Nazaire), French revolutionist and
playwriter, b. Carcassonne, 28 Dec. 1755. After some success as a poet
and playwright he was chosen as deputy to the National Convention. He
voted for the death of Louis XVI., and proposed the substitution of
the republican for the Christian calendar, Sept. 1793. He was executed
with his friend Danton, 5 April, 1794.
Fabricatore (Bruto), Italian writer, b. Sarno, Naples, 1824. His father
Antonio had the honor of having a political work placed on the Index,
1821. He took part in the anti-papal Freethought Council of 1869,
and has written works on Dante, etc.
Farinata. See Uberti (Farinata degli).
Fauche (Hippolyte), French Orientalist, b. Auxerre, 22 May,
1797. Translations of the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, and the plays
of Kalidasa, attest his industry and erudition. He contributed to La
Liberté de Penser. Died at Juilly, 28 Feb. 1869.
Fausto (Sebastiano), Da Longiano, Italian of the beginning of the 16th
century, who is said to have projected a work The Temple of Truth,
with the intention of overturning all religions. He translated the
Meditations of Antoninus, also wrote observations on Cicero, 1566.
Feer (Henri Léon), French Orientalist, b. Rouen, 27 Nov. 1830, is
chiefly known by his Buddhistic Studies, 1871-75.
Fellens (Jean Baptiste), Professor of History, b. Bar-sur-Aube,
1794. Author of a work on Pantheism, Paris, 1873.
Fellowes (Robert), LL.D., b. Norfolk 1771, educated at Oxford. He
took orders in 1795, and wrote many books, but gradually quitted the
doctrines of the Church and adopted the Deistic opinions maintained in
his work entitled The Religion of the Universe (1836). Dr. Fellowes
was proprietor of the Examiner and a great supporter of the London
University. Died 5 Feb. 1847.
Fenzi (Sebastiano), Italian writer, b. Florence, 22 Oct. 1822. Educated
by the Jesuits in Vienna, England and Paris. Founded in '49 the Revista
Britannica, writer on the journal L'Italiano, and has written a credo
which is a non-credo.
Feringa (Frederik), Dutch writer, b. Groningen, 16 April, 1840. Studied
mathematics. A contributor to De Dageraad (The Daybreak) over the
signature, "Muricatus"; he has written important studies, entitled
Democratie en Wetenschap (Democracy and Science), 1871, also wrote
in De Vrije Gedachte (Freethought).
Fernau (Rudolf), Dr., German author of Christianity and Practical
Life, Leipsic, 1868; The Alpha and Omega of Reason, Leipsic, 1870;
Zoologica Humoristica, 1882; and a recent work on Religion as Ghost
and God Worship.
Feron (Emile), Belgian advocate, b. Brussels, 11 July, 1841. Councillor
of the International Freethought Federation.
Ferrari (Giuseppe), Italian philosopher, b. Milan 7 March, 1811. A
disciple of Romagnosi, a study of whose philosophical writings he
published '35. He also published the works of Vico, and in '39 a work
entitled Vico and Italy, and in the following year another on the
Religious Opinions of Campanella. Attacked by the Catholic party,
he was exiled, living in Paris, where he became a collaborator with
Proudhon and a contributor to the Revue de Deux Mondes. In '42 he
was made Professor of Philosophy at Strasbourg, but appointment was
soon cancelled on account of his opinions. He wrote a History of the
Revolution of Italy, '55, and a work on China and Europe. His history
of the Reason of the State, '60, is his most pronounced work. In '59,
he was elected to the Italian Parliament, where he remained one of
the most radical members until his death at Rome 1 July, 1876.
Ferri (Enrico), Member of the Italian Parliament, formerly professor
of criminal law at the University of Siena, studied at Mantua under
Professor Ardigo. Has written a large work on the Non-Existence of
Free Will, and is with Professor Lombroso, leader of the new Italian
school of criminal law reform.
Ferri (Luigi), Italian philosopher, b. Bologna, 15 June 1826. Studied
in Paris and became licentiate of letters in 1850. Author of History
of Philosophy in Italy, Paris 1868; The Psychology of Pomponazzi, etc.
Ferrière (Emile), French writer and licentiate of letters, b. Paris,
1830; author of Literature and Philosophy, 1865; Darwinism, 1872,
which has gone through several editions; The Apostles, a work
challenging early Christian Morality, 1879; The Soul the Function
of the Brain, a scientific work of popular character in two vols.,
1883; and Paganism of the Hebrews until the Babylonian Captivity,
1884. All these are works of pronounced Freethought. M. Ferrière has
also announced a work Jesus bar Joseph.
Feuerbach (Friedrich Heinrich), son of a famous German jurist, was
b. at Ansbach 29 Sept. 1806. He studied philology, but set himself to
preach what his brother Ludwig taught. He wrote Theanthropos, a series
of Aphorisms (Zurich, '38), and an able work on the Religion of the
Future, '43-47; and Thoughts and Facts, Hamburg, '62. Died Nurenberg,
24 Jan. 1880.
Feuerbach (Ludwig Andreas), brother of the preceding, b. Landshut,
Bavaria, 28 July 1804. He studied theology with a view to the Church,
but under the influence of Hegel abandoned it for philosophy. In '28
he was made professor at Erlangen, but was dismissed in consequence
of his first published work, Thoughts upon Death and Immortality,
'30, in which he limited immortality to personal influence on the
human race. After a wandering life he married in '37, and settled
near Anspach. He published there a history of modern philosophy from
Bacon to Spinoza. This was followed by a work on Peter Bayle. In '38
he wrote on philosophy and Christianity, and in '41 his work called
the The Essence of Christianity, in which he resolves theology
into anthropology. This book was translated by Mary Ann Evans,
'53. He also wrote Principles of the Philosophy of the Future. After
the revolution of '48 he was invited to lecture by the students of
Heidelberg, and gave his course on The Essence of Religion, published
in '51. In '57 he published Theogony from the Sources of Classical,
Hebrew, and Christian Antiquity, and in '66 Theism, Freedom, and
Immortality from the Standpoint of Anthropology. Died at Rechenberg,
near Nurenberg, 13 Sept. 1872. His complete works were published at
Leipsic in 1876. He was a deep thinker and lucid writer.
Fichte (Johann Gottlieb), one of the greatest German thinkers,
b. 19 May, 1762. He studied at the Universities of Jena, Leipsic,
and Wittenberg, embraced "determinism," became acquainted with Kant,
and published anonymously, A Criticism of all Revelation. He obtained
a chair of philosophy at Jena, where he developed his doctrines
of science, asserting that the problem of philosophy is to seek
on what foundations knowledge rests. He gave moral discourses in
the lecture-room on Sunday, and was accused of holding atheistical
opinions. He was in consequence banished from Saxony, 1799. He appears
to have held that God was not a personal being, but a system of
intellectual, moral, and spiritual laws. Fichte took deep interest in
the cause of German independence, and did much to rouse his countrymen
against the domination of the French during the conquest which led to
the fall of Napoleon. Besides many publications, in which he expounds
his philosophy, he wrote eloquent treatises on The Vocation of Man,
The Nature and Vocation of the Scholar, The Way Towards the Blessed
Life, etc. Died Berlin 27 Jan. 1814.
"Figaro." See Larra (Mariano José de).
Figuiera (Guillem), Provençal troubadour and precursor of the
Renaissance, b. Toulouse about 1190. His poems were directed against
the priests and Court of Rome.
Filangieri (Gaetano), an Italian writer on legislation, b. Naples,
18 Aug. 1752. He was professor at that city. His principal work is
La Scienza della Legislazione, 1780. In the fifth volume he deals
with pre-Christian religions. The work was put on the Index. Died 21
July, 1788.
Fiorentino (Francesco), Italian philosopher, b. Sambiasa, Nicastro,
1 May, 1834. In 1860 he became Professor of Philosophy at Spoletto,
in '62 at Bologna, and in '71 at Naples. He was elected deputy
to Parliament, Nov. '70. A disciple of Felice Tocco, he paid
special attention to the early Italian Freethinkers, writing upon
The Pantheism of Giordano Bruno, Naples, '61; Pietro Pomponazzi,
Florence, '68; Bernardius Telesio, Florence, 2 vols., '72-74. He
has also written on Strauss and Spinoza. In the Nuova Antologia he
wrote on J. C. Vanini, and on Cæsalpinus, Campanella, and Bruno. A
friend of Bertrando Spaventa, he succeeded to his chair at Naples in
'83. Died 22 Dec. 1884.
Fischart (Johann), German satirist called Mentzer, b. Strasbourg about
1545. His satires in prose and verse remind one of Rabelais, whom he
in part translated, and are often directed against the Church. Died
at Forbach in 1614.
Fischer (J. C.), German materialist, author of a work on the freedom of
the will 1858, a criticism of Hartmann's Philosophy of the Unconscious,
'72; Das Bewusstsein, '74. Died 1888.
Fischer (Kuno), German philosopher, b. 23 July, 1824, at Sandewald,
Silesia. Educated at Leipsic and Halle, in 1856 he was appointed
Professor of Philosophy at Jena. His chief works are History of Modern
Philosophy, '52-72; Life and Character of Spinoza; Francis Bacon,
'56; and Lessing, '81.
Fiske (John), American author, b. Hartford, Connecticut, 30 March,
1842. Graduated at Harvard, '63. In '69-71 was Lecturer on Philosophy
at that University, and from '72-9 Librarian. Mr. Fiske has lectured
largely, and has written Myths and Mythmakers, '72; Outlines of
Cosmic Philosophy, 2 vols. '74; Darwinism, and other essays, '79;
Excursions of an Evolutionist, '83; The Idea of God as Affected by
Modern Knowledge, '85.
Flaubert (Gustave), French novelist, b. Rouen, 12 Dec. 1821. The son
of a distinguished surgeon, he abandoned his father's profession for
literature. His masterpiece, Madame Bovary, published in '56 in the
Revue de Paris, drew a prosecution upon that journal which ended
in a triumph for the author. For his next great work, Salammbô,
'62, an epic of Carthage, he prepared himself by long antiquarian
studies. His intellectual tendencies are displayed in The Temptation
of Saint Anthony. He stands eminent among the naturalist school for
his artistic fidelity. He was a friend of Théophile Gautier, Ivan
Turgenev, Emile Zola and "George Sand." His correspondence with the
last of these has been published. He distinctly states therein that
on subjects like immortality men cheat themselves with words. Died
at Rouen, 9 May, 1880.
Flourens (Marie Jean Pierre), French scientist, b. near Béziers, 15
April, 1794. In 1828 he was admitted into the Academy of Sciences,
after having published a work on the nervous system of vertebrates;
he became perpetual secretary in '33. A work on Human Longevity and
the Quantity of Life on the Globe was very popular. Died near Paris,
6 Dec. 1867.
Flourens (Gustave), eldest son of the preceding, b. Paris,
4 Aug. 1838. In '63 he took his father's chair at the College of
France, and his course on "Ethnography" attracted much attention. In
the following year he published his work on The Science of Man. His
bold heresy lost him his chair, and he collaborated on Larousse's
Grand Dictionnaire. In '65 he left France for Crete, where for three
years he fought in the mountains against the Turkish troops. Upon
his return he was arrested for presiding at a political meeting. He
showed himself an ardent Revolutionist, and was killed in a skirmish
near Nanterre, 3 April, 1871.
Fonblanque (Albany William), English journalist, b. London, 1793;
the son of an eminent lawyer. In 1820 he was on the staff of the
Times, and contributed to the Westminster Review. In '30 he became
editor of the Examiner, and retained his post until '47. His caustic
wit and literary attainments did much to forward advanced liberal
views. A selection of his editorials was published under the title,
England under Seven Administrations. Died 13 Oct. 1872.
Fontanier (Jean), French writer, who was burnt at the Place
de Grève, 1621, for blasphemies in a book entitled Le Tresor
Inestimable. Garasse, with little reason, calls him an Atheist.
Fontenelle (Bernard le Bovier de), nephew of Corneille, called
by Voltaire the most universal genius of the reign of Louis XIV.,
b. Rouen, 11 Feb. 1657. Dedicated to the Virgin and St. Bernard,
he was educated at the Jesuits' College. He went to Paris in 1674;
wrote some plays and Dialogues of the Dead, 1683. In 1686 appeared
his Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds, and in the following
year his History of Oracles, based on the work of Van Dale, for which
he was warmly attacked by the Jesuit Baltus, as impugning the Church
Fathers. He was made secretary to the Academy of Sciences in 1699,
a post he held forty-two years. He wrote Doubts on the Physical
System of Occasional Causes, and is also credited with a letter
on the Resurrection of the Body, a piece on The Infinite, and a
Treatise on Liberty; "but," says l'Abbé Ladvocat, "as these books
contain many things contrary to religion, it is to be hoped they are
not his." Fontenelle nearly reached the age of one hundred. A short
time before he died (9 Jan. 1757), being asked if he felt any pain,
"I only feel," he replied, "a difficulty of existing."
Foote (George William), writer and orator, b. Plymouth, 11
Jan. 1850. Was "converted" in youth, but became a Freethinker by
reading and independent thought. Came to London in 1868, and was soon a
leading member of the Young Men's Secular Association. He taught in the
Hall of Science Sunday School, and became secretary of the Republican
League. Devoting his time to propagating his principles, he wrote
in the Secular Chronicle and National Reformer, and in '76 started
the Secularist in conjunction with Mr. G. J. Holyoake, and after
the ninth number conducting it alone. This afterwards merged in the
Secular Review. In '79 Mr. Foote edited the Liberal, and in Sept. '81,
started the Freethinker, which he still edits. In the following year
a prosecution was commenced by the Public Prosecutor, who attempted
to connect Mr. Bradlaugh with it. Undaunted, Mr. Foote issued a
Christmas number with an illustrated "Comic Life of Christ." For
this a prosecution was started by the City authorities against him
and his publisher and printer, and the trial came on first in March,
'83. The jury disagreed, but Judge North refused to discharge the
prisoners, and they were tried again on the 5th March; Judge North
directing that a verdict of guilty must be returned, and sentencing
Mr. Foote to one year's imprisonment as an ordinary criminal subject
to the same "discipline" as burglars. "I thank you, my lord; your
sentence is worthy of your creed," he remarked. On 24 April, '83,
Mr. Foote was brought from prison before Lord Coleridge and a special
jury on the first charge, and after a splendid defence, upon which
he was highly complimented by the judge, the jury disagreed. He has
debated with Dr. McCann, Rev. A. J. Harrison, the Rev. W. Howard,
the Rev. H. Chapman, and others. Mr. Foote has written much,
and lectures continually. Among his works we mention Heroes and
Martyrs of Freethought (1876); God, the Soul, and a Future State;
Secularism the True Philosophy of Life (1879); Atheism and Morality;
The Futility of Prayer; Bible Romances; Death's Test, afterwards
enlarged into Infidel Death-Beds; The God Christians Swear by; Was
Jesus Insane? Blasphemy No Crime; Arrows of Freethought; Prisoner
for Blasphemy (1884); Letters to Jesus Christ; What Was Christ? Bible
Heroes; and has edited The Bible Hand-book with Mr. W. P. Ball, and
the Jewish Life of Christ with the present writer, in conjunction
with whom he has written The Crimes of Christianity. From 1883-87
he edited Progress, in which appeared many important articles from
his pen. Mr. Foote is President of the London Secular Federation,
and a Vice-President of the National Secular Society.
Fouillee (Alfred), French philosopher, b. La Pouëze, near Angers,
18 Oct. 1838. Has been teacher at several lyceums, notably at
Bordeaux. He was crowned by the Academy of Moral Sciences for two
works on the Philosophy of Plato and Socrates. Elected Professor
of Philosophy at the Superior Normal School, Paris, he sustained
a thesis at the Sorbonne on Liberty and Determinism, which was
violently attacked by the Catholics. This work has gone through
several editions. M. Fonillée has also written an able History of
Philosophy, 1875, Contemporary Social Science, and an important
Critique of Contemporary Moral Systems (1883). He has written much
in the Revue des Deux Mondes, and is considered, with Taine, Ribot,
and Renan, the principal representative of French philosophy. His
system is known as that of idèes-forces, as he holds that ideas are
themselves forces. His latest work expounds the views of M. Guyau.
Forberg (Friedrich Karl), German philosopher, b. Meuselwitz, 30
Aug. 1770, studied theology at Leipsic, and became private docent
at Jena. Becoming attached to Fichte's philosophy, he wrote with
Fichte in Niethammer's Philosophical Journal on "The Development
of Religious Ideas," and an article on "The Ground of our Faith in
Divine Providence," which brought on them a charge of Atheism, and
the journal was confiscated by the Electorate of Saxony. Forberg held
religion to consist in devotion to morality, and wrote An Apology
for Alleged Atheism, 1799. In 1807 he became librarian at Coburg,
and devoted himself to the classics, issuing a Manuel d'Erotologie
Classique. Died Hildburghausen 1 Jan. 1848.
Forder (Robert), b. Yarmouth, 14 Oct. 1844. Coming to to Woolwich,
he became known as a political and Freethought lecturer. He took part
in the movement to save Plumstead Common from the enclosers, and was
sent to trial for riotous proceedings, but was acquitted. In '77 he
was appointed paid secretary to the National Secular Society, a post
he has ever since occupied. During the imprisonment of Messrs. Foote,
Ramsey, and Kemp, in '83, Mr. Forder undertook charge of the publishing
business. He has lectured largely, and written some pamphlets.
Forlong (James George Roche). Major General, H.B.A., b. Lanarkshire,
Scotland, Nov. 1824. Educated as an engineer, joined the Indian
army '43, fought in the S. Mahrata campaign '45-6, and in the second
Burmese war. On the annexation of Barma he became head of the Survey,
Roads and canal branches. In '58-9 he travelled extensively through
Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, etc. From '61-71 was
a superintending engineer of Calcutta, and in Upper Bengal, North-west
Provinces, and Rajputana, and '72-76 was Secretary and Chief Engineer
to the Government of Oudh. He retired in '77 after an active service of
33 years, during which he frequently received the thanks of the Indian
and Home Governments. In his youth he was an active Evangelical,
preaching to the natives in their own tongues. He has, however,
given his testimony that during his long experience he has known no
one converted solely by force of reasoning or "Christian evidences." A
great student of Eastern religions, archæology, and languages, he has
written in various periodicals of the East and West, and has embodied
the result of many years researches in two illustrated quarto volumes
called Rivers of Life, setting forth the evolution of all religions
from their radical objective basis to their present spiritualised
developments. In an elaborate chart he shows by streams of color the
movements of thought from 10,000 B.C. to the present time.
Fourier (François Marie Charles), French socialist, b. Besançon, 7
April, 1772. He passed some of the early years of his life as a common
soldier. His numerous works amid much that is visionary have valuable
criticisms upon society, and suggestions for its amelioration. He
believed in the transmigration of souls. Died at Paris, 8 Oct. 1837.
Fox (William Johnson), orator and political writer, b. near Wrentham,
Suffolk, 1786. Intended for the Congregational Ministry, he became
a Unitarian, and for many years preached at South Place, Finsbury,
where he introduced the plan of taking texts from other books
besides the Bible. One of his first published sermons was on behalf of
toleration for Deists at the time of the Carlile prosecutions 1819. He
gradually advanced from the acceptance of miracles to their complete
rejection. During the Anti-Corn Law agitation he was a frequent
and able speaker. In 1847 he became M.P. for Oldham, and retained
his seat until his retirement in '61. He was a prominent worker for
Radicalism, contributing to the Westminster Review, Weekly Dispatch,
and Daily News. For some years he edited the Monthly Repository. His
works, which include spirited Lectures to the Working Classes, and a
philosophical statement of Religions Ideas, were published in twelve
volumes, '65-68. Died 3 June, 1864.
"Franchi (Ausonio)," the pen name of Francesco Cristoforo Bonavino,
Italian ex-priest, b. Pegli, 24 Feb. 1821. Brought up in the Church
and ordained priest in '44, the practice of the confessional made
him sceptical and he quitted it for philosophy, having ceased to
believe in its dogmas, '49. In '52 he published his principal work,
entitled The Philosophy of the Italian Schools. The following year
he published The Religion of the Nineteenth Century. He established
La Razione (Reason) and Il Libero Pensiero at Turin, '54-57; wrote
on the Rationalism of the People, Geneva, '56, and became an active
organiser of anti-clerical societies. In '66 he published a criticism
of Positivism, and has since written Critical and Polemical Essays,
3 vols. Milan, '70-72. In '68 was appointed Professor of Philosophy
in the Academy of Milan by Terenzio Mamiani.
Francis (Samuel), M.D., author of Watson Refuted, published by
Carlile, 1819.
Francois de Neufchateau (Nicolas Louis), Count, French statesman,
poet, and academician, b. Lorraine, 17 April, 1750. In his youth he
became secretary to Voltaire, who regarded him as his successor. He
favored the Revolution, and was elected to the Legislative Assembly
in '91. As Member of the Directory, '97, he circulated d'Holbach's
Contagion Sacrée. He became President of the Senate, '14-16. He wrote
numerous pieces. Died at Paris 10 Jan. 1828.
Franklin (Benjamin), American patriot and philosopher, b. Boston 17
Jan. 1706. He was apprenticed to his uncle as a printer, came to
England and worked at his trade '24-26; returned to Philadelphia,
where he published a paper and became known by his Poor Richard's
Almanack. He founded the public library at Philadelphia, and
made the discovery of the identity of lightning with the electric
fluid. He became member of the Provincial Assembly and was sent to
England as agent. When examined before the House of Commons he spoke
boldly against the Stamp Act. He was active during the war with this
country, and was elected member of Congress. Became envoy to France,
and effected the treaty of alliance with that country, 6 Feb. '78,
which secured the independence of the American colonies. Turgot summed
up his services in the fine line Eripuit cælo fulmen, sceptrumque
tyrannis. "He wrested the thunderbolt from heaven and the sceptre
from kings." Died at Philadelphia, 17 April, 1790.
Fransham (John), a native of Norwich, b. 1730, became a teacher of
mathematics, renounced the Christian religion, and professed Paganism,
writing several treatises in favor of disbelief. Died 1810.
Frauenstaedt (Christian Martin Julius), Dr., philosopher and disciple
of Schopenhauer, b. 17 April, 1813, at Bojanowo, Posen. He studied
philosophy and theology at Berlin, but meeting Schopenhauer at
Frankfort in '47 he adopted the views of the pessimist, who made
him his literary executor. Among Frauenstädt's works are Letters on
Natural Religion, '58, The Liberty of Men and the Personality of God,
'38; Letters on the Philosophy of Schopenhauer, '54, etc. Died at
Berlin, 13 Jan. 1879.
Frederick II. (Emperor of Germany), the greatest man of the thirteenth
century and founder of the Renaissance, b. 26 Dec. 1194. Was elected
to the throne in 1210. He promoted learning, science, and art, founded
the Universities of Vienna and Naples, had the works of Aristotle
and Averroes translated, and was the patron of all the able men of
his time. For his resistance to the tyranny of the Church he was
twice excommunicated. He answered by a letter attacking the Pope
(Gregory IX.), whom he expelled from Rome in '28. He made a treaty
with the Sultan of Egypt, by which he became master of Jerusalem. For
some heretical words in his letter, in which he associates the names
of Christ, Moses, and Mohammed, he was reported author of the famous
work De Tribus Impostoribus. He addressed a series of philosophical
questions to Ibn Sabin, a Moslem doctor. He is said to have called
the Eucharist truffa ista, and is credited also with the saying
"Ignorance is the mother of devotion." Died at Florence, 13 Dec. 1250.
Frederick the Great (King of Prussia), b. 24 Jan. 1712, was educated in
a very rigid fashion by his father, Frederick William I. He ascended
the throne and soon displayed his political and military ability. By
a war with Austria he acquired Silesia. He wrote several deistical
pieces, and tolerated all religions and no religion saying "every man
must get to heaven his own way." He attracted to his court men like
Lamettrie, D'Argens, Maupertuis, and Voltaire, who, says Carlyle,
continued all his days Friedrich's chief thinker. In 1756 France,
Austria, Sweden, and Russia united against him, but he held his own
against "a world in arms." After a most active life Frederick died
at Potsdam, 17 Aug. 1786. The Philosophical Breviary attributed to
him was really written by Cérutti.
Fredin (Nils Edvard), Swedish writer, b. 1857. Has published
translation of modern poets, and also of Col. Ingersoll's writings. In
'80 he was awarded first prize by the Swedish Academy for an original
poem.
Freeke (William), b. about 1663, wrote A Brief but Clear Confutation
of the Trinity, which being brought before the notice of the House of
Lords it was on 3 Jan. 1693 ordered to be burnt by the common hangman,
and the author being prosecuted by the Attorney General was fined £500.
Freiligrath (Ferdinand) German poet, b. Detmold 17 June, 1810. In
'35 he acquired notice by some poems. In '44 he published his
profession of faith Mein Glaubensbekenntniss, and was forced to
fly the country. In '48 he returned and joined Karl Marx on the
Neue Rheinische Zeitung. Again prosecuted he took refuge in London,
devoting his leisure to poetry and translation. Freiligrath holds a
high place among the poets of his time. Died Kannstadt, near Stuttgart,
18 March 1876.
Fréret (Nicolas), French historical critic, b. 15 Feb. 1688. He was a
pupil of Rollin, and was patronised by Boulainvilliers. Distinguished
by his attainments in ancient history, philosophy and chronology,
he became member of the Academy of Inscriptions 1714. For a Discourse
on the "Origin of the Franks," he was incarcerated for four months in
the Bastille. While here he read Bayle so often that he could repeat
much from memory. He was an unbeliever, and the author of the atheistic
Letters from Thrasybulus to Leucippe on Natural and Revealed Religion,
and perhaps of La Moisade, a criticism of the Pentateuch, translated
by D. I. Eaton, as A Preservative against Religious Prejudices. The
Letters to Eugenie, attributed to Fréret, were written by D'Holbach,
and the Critical Examination of the Apologists of the Christian
Religion by J. Levesque de Burigny. A Critical Examination of the New
Testament, 1777 which long circulated in MS. has also been wrongly
attributed to Fréret. Died at Paris, 8 March, 1749.
Frey (William), the adopted name of a Russian Positivist
and philanthropist, b. of noble family, the son of a general,
1839. Educated at the higher military school, St. Petersburg, he
became teacher in a Government High School, and disgusted with the
oppression and degradation of his country he went to New York in
1866 where he established co-operative communities and also Russian
colonies in Kansas and Oregon. In 1884 he came to London in order to
influence his countrymen. In '87 he revisited Russia. Died 6 Nov. 1888.
Fries (Jacob Friedrich), German philosopher, b. Barby, 23
Aug. 1773. Brought up as a Moravian, he became a Deist. Fries is of
the Neo-Kantian rationalistic school. Among his writings are a System
of Metaphysics, 1824; a Manual of the Philosophy of Religion and
Philosophical Æsthetics, Heidelberg '32; in which he resolves religion
into poetry. He criticised Kant's proofs of God and immortality,
and wrote a History of Philosophy. Died Jena, 10 Aug. 1843.
Frothingham (Octavius Brooks), American author, b. Boston, 26
Nov. 1822. Graduated at Harvard, '43, and became Unitarian minister. In
'60 he became pastor of the most radical Unitarian congregation in
New York. In '67 he became first president of the Free Religious
Association, but, becoming too advanced, resigned in '79 and came
to Europe. Since his return to Boston, '81, he has devoted himself
to literature. He has published The Religion of Humanity, N.Y.,
'73; Life of Theodore Parker, '74; The Cradle of the Christ, '77;
Life of Gerrit Smith, 78; and numerous sermons.
Froude (James Anthony), man of letters and historian, the son of an
Archdeacon of Totnes, was b. Dartington, Devon, 23 April, 1818, and
educated at Westminster and Oxford, where he took his degree in '40,
was elected fellow of Exeter College and received deacon's orders. At
first, under the influence of the Romanising movement, he became
a rationalist and abandoned his fellowship and clerical life. His
Nemesis of Faith, '48, showed the nature of his objections. Mr. Froude
devoted his abilities to a literary career, and fell under the
influence of Carlyle. For many years he edited Fraser's Magazine,
in which he wrote largely. His essays are collected under the title
of Short Studies on Great Subjects, '71-83. His largest work is the
History of England, from the Fall of Wolsey to the Defeat of the
Spanish Armada, '56-76. His Life of Carlyle, '82, and publication
of Carlyle's Reminiscenses provoked much controversy. His magical
translation of Lucian's most characteristic Dialogue of the Gods
is done with too much verve to allow of the supposition that the
translator is not in sympathy with his author.