Huet (Coenraad Busken), Dutch writer, b. the Hague, 28 Dec. 1826. He
became minister of the Walloon Church at Haarlem, but through his
Freethought left the church in '63, and became editor of various
newspapers, afterwards living in Paris. He wrote many works of literary
value, and published Letters on the Bible, '57, etc. Died 1887.
Hugo (Victor Marie), French poet and novelist, b. Besançon, 26
Feb. 1802. Was first noted for his Odes, published in '21. His dramas
"Hernani," '30, and "Marion Delorme," '31, were highly successful. He
was admitted into the French Academy in '41, and made a peer in
'45. He gave his cordial adhesion to the Republic of '48, and was
elected to the Assembly by the voters of Paris. He attacked Louis
Napoleon, and after the coup d'état was proscribed. He first went to
Brussels, where he published Napoleon the Little, a biting satire. He
afterwards settled at Guernsey, where he remained until the fall of
the Empire, producing The Legend of the Ages, '59, Les Miserables, '62,
Toilers of the Sea, '69, and other works. After his return to Paris he
produced a new series of the Legend of the Ages, The Pope, Religions
and Religion, Torquemada, and other poems. He died 22 May, 1885,
and it being decided he should have a national funeral, the Pantheon
was secularised for that purpose, the cross being removed. Since his
death a poem entitled The End of Satan has been published.
Hugues (Clovis), French Socialist, poet, and deputy, b. Menerbes,
3 Nov. 1850. In youth he desired to become a priest, but under the
influence of Hugo left the black business. In '71 he became head
of the Communist movement at Marseilles. He was sentenced to three
years' imprisonment. In '81 he was elected deputy, and sits on the
extreme left.
Humboldt (Friedrich Heinrich Alexander von), illustrious German
naturalist and traveller, b. Berlin, 14 Sept. 1769. He studied under
Heyne and Blumenbach, travelled in Holland, France and England
with George Forster, the naturalist, and became director-general
of mines. In 1799 he set out to explore South America and Mexico,
and in 1804 returned with a rich collection of animals, plants and
minerals. Humboldt became a resident of Paris, where he enjoyed
the friendship of Lalande, Delambre, Arago, and all the living
distinguished French scientists. After numerous important contributions
to scientific knowledge, at the age of seventy-four he composed his
celebrated Cosmos, the first volume of which appeared in '45 and the
fourth in '58. To Varnhagen von Ense he wrote in 1841: "Bruno Bauer
has found me pre-adamatically converted. Many years ago I wrote,
'Toutes les réligions positives offrent trois parties distinctes;
un traité de moeurs partout le même et très pur, un rève géologique,
et un mythe ou petit roman historique; le dernier élément obtient
le plus d'importance.'" Later on he says that Strauss disposes of
"the Christian myths." Humboldt was an unwearied student of science,
paying no attention to religion, and opposed his brother in regard to
his essay On the Province of the Historian, because he considered it
to acknowledge the belief in the divine government of the world, which
seemed to him as complete a delusion as the hypothesis of a principle
of life. He died in Berlin, 6 May, 1859, in his ninetieth year.
Humboldt (Karl Wilhelm von), Prussian statesman and philosopher,
b. Potsdam, 22 June, 1767. He was educated by Campe. Went to Paris in
1789, and hailed the revolution with enthusiasm. In '92 he published
Ideas on the Organization of the State. He became a friend of Schiller
and Goethe, and in 1809 was Minister of Public Instruction. He took
part in founding the University of Berlin. He represented Prussia at
the Congress of Vienna, '14. He advocated a liberal constitution, but
finding the King averse, retired at the end of '19, and devoted himself
to the study of comparative philology. He said there were three things
he could not comprehend--orthodox piety, romantic love, and music. He
died 8 April, 1835. His works were collected and edited by his brother.
Hume (David), philosopher and historian, b. Edinburgh, 26 April,
1711. In 1735 he went to France to study, and there wrote his Treatise
on Human Nature, published in 1739. This work then excited no interest
friendly or hostile. Hume's Essays Moral and Political appeared in
1742, and in 1752 his Inquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals which
of all his writings he considered the best. In 1755 he published his
Natural History of Religion, which was furiously attacked by Warburton
in an anonymous tract. In 1754 he published the first volume of his
History of England, which he did not complete till 1761. He became
secretary to the Earl of Hertford, ambassador at Paris, where he was
cordially welcomed by the philosophers. He returned in 1766, bringing
Rousseau with him. Hume became Under Secretary of State in 1767,
and in 1769 retired to Edinburgh, where he died 25 Aug. 1776. After
his death his Dialogues on Natural Religion were published, and also
some unpublished essays on Suicide, the Immortality of the Soul,
etc. Hume's last days were singularly cheerful. His friend, the famous
Dr. Adam Smith, considered him "as approaching as nearly to the idea
of a perfectly wise and virtuous man as perhaps the nature of human
frailty will permit."
Hunt (James), Ph.D., physiologist, b. 1833, was the founder of the
Anthropological Society, of which he was the first president, '63. He
was the author of the Negro's Place in Nature, a work on Stammering,
etc. Died 28 Aug. 1869.
Hunt (James Henry Leigh), poet, essayist and critic, b. Southgate,
Middlesex, 19 Oct. 1784. was educated with Lamb and Coleridge at
Christ's Hospital, London. He joined his brother John in editing
first the Sunday News, 1805, and then the Examiner, 1808. They were
condemned to pay a fine, each of £500, and to be imprisoned for
two years, 1812-14, for a satirical article, in which the prince
regent was called an "Adonis of fifty." This imprisonment procured
him the friendship of Shelley and Byron, with whom, after editing
the Indicator he was associated in editing the Liberal. He wrote many
choice books of poems and criticisms, and in his Religion of the Heart,
'53, repudiates orthodoxy. Died 28 Aug. 1859.
Hutten (Ulrich von), German poet and reformer, b. of noble family
Steckelberg, Hesse Cassel, 22 April 1488. He was sent to Fulda
to become a monk, but fled in 1504 to Erfurt, where he studied
humaniora. After some wild adventures he went to Wittenberg in 1510,
and Vienna 1512, and also studied at Pavia and Bologna. He returned to
Germany in 1517 as a common soldier in the army of Maximilian. His
great object was to free his country from sacerdotalism, and
most of his writings are satires against the Pope, monks and
clergy. Persecution drove him to Switzerland, but the Council of
Zurich drove him out of their territory and he died on the isle of
Ufnau, Lake Zürich, 29 Aug. 1523.
Hutton (James), Scotch geologist and philosopher, b. at Edinburgh 3
June, 1736. He graduated as M.D. at Leyden in 1749, and investigated
the strata of the north of Scotland. He published a dissertation
on Light, Heat, and Fire, and in his Theory of the World, 1795,
attributes geological phenomena to the action of fire. He also wrote
a work entitled An Investigation of the Principles of Knowledge,
the opinions of which, says Chalmers, "abound in sceptical boldness
and philosophical infidelity." Died 26 March 1797.
Huxley (Thomas Henry), LL.D., Ph.D., F.R.S., b. Ealing, 4 May, 1825. He
studied medicine, and in '46 took M.R.C.S., and was appointed assistant
naval surgeon. His cruises afforded opportunities for his studies of
natural history. In '51 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, and
in '54 was made Professor at the School of Mines. In '60 he lectured on
"The Relation of Man to the Lower Animals," and afterwards published
Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature (1863). In addition to numerous
scientific works, Professor Huxley has written numerous forcible
articles, addresses, etc., collected in Lay Sermons, '70; Critiques
and Addresses, '73; and American Addresses, '79. A vigorous writer,
his Hume in the "English Men of Letters" series is a model of clear
exposition. In his controversies with Mr. Gladstone, in his articles
on the Evolution of Theology, and in his recent polemic with the
Rev. Mr. Wace in the Nineteenth Century, Professor Huxley shows all
his freshness, and proves himself as ready in demolishing theological
fictions as in demonstrating scientific facts. He states as his own
life aims "The popularising of science and untiring opposition to
that ecclesiastical spirit, that clericalism, which in England,
as everywhere else, and to whatever denomination it may belong,
is the deadly enemy of science."
Hypatia, Pagan philosopher and martyr, b. Alexandria early in
the second half of the fourth century. She became a distinguished
lecturer and head of the Neo-Platonic school (c. 400). The charms of
her eloquence brought many disciples. By a Christian mob, incited by
St. Cyril, she was in Lent 415 torn from her chariot, stripped naked,
cut with oyster-shells and finally burnt piecemeal. This true story
of Christian persecution has been disguised into a legend related of
St. Catherine in the Roman breviary (Nov. 25).
Ibn Bajjat. See Avenpace.
Ibn Massara. See Massara in Supplement.
Ibn Rushd. See Averroes.
Ibn Sabîn. See Sabin.
Ibn Sina. See Avicenna.
Ibn Tofail. See Abu Bakr.
Ibsen (Henrik), an eminent Norwegian dramatist and poet, b. Skien,
20 March, 1828. At first he studied medicine, but he turned his
attention to literature. In '52, through the influence of Ole Bull,
he became director of the theatre at Bergen, for which he wrote a
great deal. From '57 to '63 he directed the theatre at Christiania. In
the following year he went to Rome. The Storthing accorded him an
annual pension for his services to literature. His dramas, Brand,
(Peer Gynt), Kejser og Galilær (Cæsar [Julian] and the Galilean),
Nora, and Samfundets Stotler (the Pillars of Society), and Ghosts
exhibit his unconventional spirit. Ibsen is an open unbeliever in
Christianity. He looks forward to social regeneration through liberty,
individuality, and education without superstition.
Ilive (Jacob), English printer and letter founder, b. Bristol about
1710. He published a pretended translation of the Book of Jasher, 1751,
and some other curious works. He was prosecuted for blasphemy in Some
Modest Remarks on the late Bishop Sherlock's Sermons, and sentenced to
two years' imprisonment, 15 June, 1756-10 June, 1758. He was confined
in the Clerkenwell House of Correction and published some pamphlets
exposing the bad condition of the prison and suggesting means for
its improvement. He died in 1768.
Imray (I. W.), author, b. 1802. Wrote in Carlile's Republican and Lion,
and published "Altamont," an atheistic drama, in 1828.
Ingersoll (Robert Green), American orator, b. Dresden, New York,
11 Aug. 1833. His father was a Congregationalist clergyman. He
studied law, and opened an office in Shawneetown, Illinois. In '62 he
became colonel of the 11th Illinois Cavalry, and served in the war,
being taken prisoner. In '66 he was appointed attorney-general for
Illinois. At the National Republican Convention, '76, he proposed
Blaine for President in a speech that attracted much attention. In
'77 he refused the post of Minister to Germany. He has conducted
many important cases, and defended C. B. Reynolds when tried for
blasphemy in '86. Col. Ingersoll is the most popular speaker in
America. Eloquence, humor, and pathos are alike at his command. He is
well known by his books, pamphlets, and speeches directed against
Christianity. He had published the Gods, Ghosts, Some Mistakes
of Moses, and a collection of his Lectures, '83, and Prose Poems
and Extracts, '84. Most of his lectures have been republished in
England. We mention What must I do to be Saved? Hell, The Dying Creed,
Myth and Miracle, Do I Blaspheme? Real Blasphemy. In the pages of the
North American Review Col. Ingersoll has defended Freethought against
Judge Black, the Rev. H. Field, Mr. Gladstone, and Cardinal Manning.
Inman (Thomas), B.A., physician and archæologist, b. 1820. Educated
at London University, he settled at Liverpool, being connected with
the well-known shipping family of that port. He is chiefly known by
his work on Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names, in which he
deals with the evidences of phallic worship amongst Jews and other
nations. It was first published in '69. A second edition appeared in
'73. He also wrote Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism Exposed
and Explained, '69, and a controversial Freethought work, entitled
Ancient Faiths and Modern, published at New York '76. Dr. Inman was
for some time President of the Liverpool Literary and Philosophical
Society, and was physician to the Royal Infirmary of that city. His
professional life was one of untiring industry. He wrote several
medical works, including two volumes on the Preservation and
Restoration of Health. Died at Clifton, 3 May. 1876.
Iron (Ralph), pseudonym of Olive Schreiner, q.v.
Isnard (Felix), French physician, b. Grasse 1829. Author of a work
on Spiritualism and Materialism, 1879.
Isnard (Maximin), Girondin revolutionist, b. Grasse 16 Feb. 1751. He
was made a member of the Assembly, in which he declared, "The Law,
behold my God. I know no other." He voted for the death of the
King, and was nominated president of the Convention. On the fall of
the Girondins he made his escape, and reappeared after the fall of
Robespierre. In 1796 he was one of the Council of Five Hundred. Died
1830.
Isoard (Eric Michel Antoine), French writer, b. Paris, 1826. Was naval
officer in '48 but arrested as socialist in '49. In '70 he was made
sous-prefet of Cambrai and wrote Guerre aux Jésuites.
Isoard Delisle (Jean Baptiste Claude), called also Delisle de Sales,
French man of letters, b. Lyons 1743. When young he entered the
Congregation of the Oratory, but left theology for literature. In 1769
he published the Philosophy of Nature, which in 1771 was discovered to
be irreligious, and he was condemned to perpetual banishment. While in
prison he was visited by many of the philosophers, and a subscription
was opened for him, to which Voltaire gave five hundred francs. He
went to the court of Frederick the Great, and subsequently published
many works of little importance. Died at Paris 22 Sept. 1816.