A Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers. (continued 6)

Mittermaier (Karl Josef Anton von), German jurisconsult, b. Munich, 5 Aug. 1787. Studied law and medicine at Landshut, where he became professor. His works on Law gained him a high reputation. He obtained a chair at the Heidelberg University. In 1831 he represented Baden in Parliament. He advocated the unity of Germany and took an active part in the Radical movement of ’48. His writings are all in the direction of freedom. Died 28 Aug. 1867.

Mittie (Stanilas), in 1789 proposed the taking of church bells to make money and cannon, and during the revolution distinguished himself by other anti-clerical suggestions. Died 1816.

Mocenicus (Philippus), Archbishop of Nicosia, Cyprus, a Venetian philosopher, whose heretical Contemplations were printed at Geneva, 1588, with the Peripatetic Question of Cæsalpinus and the books of Telesio on The Nature of Things in the volume entitled Tractationum Philosophicarum.

Moleschott (Jacob), scientific Materialist, b. of Dutch parents at ’s Hertogenbosch, 9 Aug. 1822; studied at Heidelburg where he graduated M.D. Became Professor of Physiology at Zurich and afterwards at Turin. Becoming a naturalised Italian he was in ’76 made a senator, and in ’78 Professor of Physiology at the University of Rome. He has written Circulation of Life, Light and Life, Physiological Sketches, and other medical and scientific works. Lange calls him “the father of the modern Materialistic movement.”

Molesworth (Sir William), statesman and man of letters, the eighth baronet of his family, b. Cornwall, 23 May, 1810. In ’32 he was returned M.P. for East Cornwall, and from ’37–41 sat for Leeds. In ’53 he was First Commissioner of Public Works, and in ’55 was Secretary for the Colonies. He was for some time proprietor and conductor of the Westminster Review, in which he wrote many articles. A noble edition of Hobbes was produced at his expense, ’39–45, and he contributed to the support of Auguste Comte. Died 22 Oct. 1855.

Mommsen (Theodor), historian, b. Garding (Schleswig), 30 Nov. 1817. Studied at Kiel, and travelled from ’44 to 47. He became Professor of Law of Leipsic, Zürich and Berlin. Is best known by his History of Rome, ’53–85, a work of great research and suggestiveness in which he expresses the opinion that it is doubtful if the world was improved by Christianity.

Monboddo (Lord). See Burnett (James).

Monge (Gaspard), French scientist, b. at Beaume, 10 May 1746. Taught physics and mathematics at the military school of Mezieres, became a member of the Academy of Sciences in 1780, and through the influence of Condorcet was made Minister of the Marine in 1792. He was one of the founders of the Polytechnic School. Napoleon made him a senator, created him Count of Pelusium, and gave him an estate for his many services to the French nation. On the return of the Bourbons he was deprived of all his emoluments. Died 28 July, 1818. Maréchal and Lalande insert his name in their list of Atheists.

Mongez (Antoine), French archæologist, b. Lyons, 30 June 1747. Distinguished by his studies, he became a member of the Academy of Inscriptions and of the Institute, before which he said “he had the honor to be an Atheist.” He was one of the most ardent members of the Convention, and wrote many memoirs. Died at Paris, 30 July, 1835.

Monroe (J. R.), Dr., editor and proprietor of the Ironclad Age, b. Monmouth, co. New Jersey, about 1825. In ’50 he went to Rochford, where he had a good practice as a doctor. In ’55 he started the Rochford Herald, and in July, ’57, the Seymour Times. During the Civil War he was appointed surgeon to the 150th regiment, and after some hard service his own health broke down. In ’75 Dr. Monroe published his dramas and poems in a volume. From this time his paper became more Freethought and less political. In April, ’82, he removed to Indianapolis, Indiana, and changed the name to The Age, afterwards Monroe’s Ironclad Age. Dr. Monroe is a clever writer and a modest man, with a remarkable fund of natural humor. Among his publications are poems on The Origin of Man, etc., Genesis Revised, and Holy Bible Stories.

Montaigne (Michel de), French philosophic essayist, b. at the family castle in Perigord, 28 Feb. 1533. He studied law and became a judge at Bordeaux about 1554. In 1580 he produced his famous “Essays,” which indicate a sprightly humor allied to a most independent spirit. The Essays, Hallam says, make in several respects an epoch in literature. Emerson says, “Montaigne is the frankest and honestest of all writers.” Montaigne took as his motto: Que sçais-je? [What know I?] and said that all religious opinions are the result of custom. Buckle says, “Under the guise of a mere man of the world, expressing natural thoughts in common language, Montaigne concealed a spirit of lofty and audacious inquiry.” Montaigne seems to have been the first man in Europe who doubted the sense and justice of burning people for a difference of opinion. His denunciation of the conduct of the Christians in America does him infinite honor. Died 13 Sept. 1592.

Monteil (Charles François Louis Edgar), French journalist, b. Vire, 26 Jan. 1845. Fought against the Empire, writing in Le Rappel. During the Commune he was secretary to Delescluze. For his Histoire d’un Frère Ignorantin, ’74, he was prosecuted by the Christian Brothers, and condemned to one year’s imprisonment, 2,000 francs fine, and 10,000 francs damages. In ’77 he wrote a Freethinker’s Catechism, published at Antwerp, and in ’79 an edition of La République Française. In ’80 he was made a member of the Municipal Council of Paris, and re-elected in ’84. In ’83 he was made Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He has compiled an excellent secular Manual of Instruction for schools.

Montesquieu (Charles de Secondat), Baron, eminent French writer, b. near Bordeaux, 18 Jan. 1689. His first literary performance was entitled Persian Letters, 1721. In 1728 he was admitted a member of the French Academy, though opposed by Cardinal Fleury on the ground that his writings were dangerous to religion. His chief work is the Spirit of Laws, 1748. This work was one of the first-fruits of the positive spirit in history and jurisprudence. The chapters on Slavery are written in a vein of masterly irony, which Voltaire pronounced to be worthy of Molière. Died 10 Feb. 1755.

Montgomery (Edmund), Dr. philosopher, b. of Scotch parents, Edinburgh 1835. In youth he lived at Frankfort, where he saw Schopenhauer, and afterwards attended at Heidelberg the lectures of Moleschott and Kuno Fischer. He became a friend of Feuerbach. He wrote in German and published at Munich in ’71, The Kantian Theory of Knowledge refuted from the Empirical Standpoint. In ’67 he published a small book On the Formation of so-called Cells in Animal Bodies. In ’71 he went to Texas and prosecuted his scientific studies on life. He has written in the Popular Science Monthly, The Index, and The Open Court and Mind. Dr. Montgomery holds not only that there is no evidence of a God, but that there is evidence to the contrary.

Montgolfier (Michel Joseph), aeronaut, b. Aug. 1740. He was the first to ascend in an air balloon, 5 June 1783. A friend of Delambre and La Lalande, he was on the testimony of this last an atheist. Died 26 June 1810.

Mook (Friedrich) German writer, b. Bergzabern, 29 Sept. 1844, studied philosophy and theology at Tübingen, but gave up the latter to study medicine. He lived as a writer at Heidelberg and became lecturer to a free congregation at Nürenburg, and wrote a popular Life of Jesus, published at Zürich, ’72–3. He travelled abroad and was drowned in the river Jordan, 13 Dec. 1880. His brother Kurt, b. 12 Feb. 1847, is a physician who has published some poems.

Moor (Edmund), Major in the East Indian Company, author of the Hindu Pantheon, 1810 and Oriental Fragments, ’34. Died 1840.

Moreau (Hégésippe), French poet, b. Paris 9, April 1810. A radical and freethinker, he fought in the barricades in ’30. Wrote songs and satires of considerable merit, and a prose work entitled The Mistletoe and the Oak. His life, which was a continual struggle with misery, terminated in a hospital, 20 Dec. 1838. His works have been collected, with an introduction by Sainte-Beuve.

Moreau (Jacques Joseph), Dr. of Tours, b. Montresor, 1804. He became a distinguished alienist of the materialist school, and wrote on Moral Faculties from a medical point of view, ’36, and many physiological works.

Morelly, French socialist of the eighteenth century, b. Vitry-le-Français, author of a work called Code de la Nature, sometimes attributed to Diderot. It was published in 1755, and urges that man should find circumstances in which depravity is minimised.

Morgan (Thomas), Welsh Deist, known by the title of his book as The Moral Philosopher, 1737. Was a Presbyterian, but was deposed for Arianism about 1723, and practised medicine at Bristol. He edited Radicati’s Dissertation on Death, 1731. His Moral Philosopher seeks to substitute morality for religion. He calls Moses “a more fabulous romantic writer than Homer or Ovid,” and attacks the evidence of miracles and prophecy. This was supplemented by A Further Vindication of Moral Truth and Reason, 1739, and Superstition and Tyranny Inconsistent with Theocracy, 1740. He replied to his opponents over the signature “Philalethes.” His last work was on Physico-Theology, 1741. Lechler calls Morgan “the modern Marcion.” Died at London, 14 Jan. 1743.

Morgan (Sir Thomas Charles), M.D., b. 1783. Educated at Cambridge. In 1811 he was made a baronet, and married Miss Sidney Owensen. A warm friend of civil and religious liberty and a sceptic, he is author of Sketches of the Philosophy of Life, ’18, and the Philosophy of Morals, ’19. The Examiner says, “He was never at a loss for a witty or wise passage from Rabelais or Bayle.” Died 28 Aug. 1843.

Morin (André Saturnin), French writer, b. Chatres, 28 Nov. 1807. Brought up to the law, and became an advocate. In ’30 he wrote defending the revolution against the restoration. In ’48 he was made sous-prefet of Nogent. During the Empire he combated vigorously for Republicanism and Freethought, writing under the signature “Miron,” in the Rationaliste of Geneva, the Libre Pensée of Paris, the Libero-pensiero of Milan, and other papers. He was intimately associated with Ausonio Franchi, Trezza, Stefanoni, and the Italian Freethinkers. His principal work is an Examination of Christianity, in three volumes, ’62. His Jesus Reduced to his True Value has gone through several editions. His Essai de Critique Religieuse, ’85, is an able work. M. Morin was one of the founders of the Bibliothèque Démocratique, to which he contributed several anti-clerical volumes, the one on Confession being translated into English by Dr. J. R. Beard. In ’76 he was elected on the Municipal Council of Paris, where he brought forward the question of establishing a crematorium. Died at Paris, 5 July, 1888, and was cremated at Milan.

Morison (James Augustus Cotter), English Positivist and man of letters, b. London, 1831. Graduated at Lincoln Coll. Oxford, M.A., ’59. In ’63 he published the Life and Times of Saint Bernard. He was one of the founders of the Fortnightly Review, in which he wrote, as well as in the Athenæum. He contributed monographs on Gibbon and Macaulay to Morley’s “Men of Letters” Series. In ’86 he published his striking work The Service of Man, an Essay towards the Religion of the Future, which shows that the benefits of Christianity have been much exaggerated and its evils palpable. All his writings are earnest and thoughtful. He collected books and studied to write a History of France, which would have been a noble contribution to literature; but the possession of a competence seems to have weakened his industry, and he never did justice to his powers. Even the Service of Man was postponed until he was no longer able to complete it as he intended. Morison was a brilliant talker, and the centre of a wide circle of friends. George Meredith dedicated to him a volume of poems. Died at Hampstead, 26 Feb. 1888.

Morley (John), English writer and statesman, b. Blackburn, 24 Dec. 1838, educated at Oxford. Among his fellow students was J.C. Morison. He contributed to The Leader and the Saturday Review, edited the Morning Star, and the Fortnightly Review, ’67–82, in which appeared the germs of most of his works, such as On Compromise, Voltaire, ’72; Rousseau, ’73; Diderot and the Encyclopædists ’78. During his editorship important Freethought papers appeared in that review. From May, ’80 till Aug. ’83 he edited the Pall Mall Gazette. Upon the death of Ashton Dilke, M.P., he was elected to Parliament for Newcastle, and in Feb. ’86 was appointed by Mr. Gladstone Chief Secretary for Ireland.

Morselli (Enrico Agostino), Italian doctor and scientist, b. Modena, 1852. Has written many anthropological works, notably one on Suicide in the International Scientific Series, and a study on “The Religion of Mazzini.” He edits the Rivista di Filosofia Scientifica, and has translated Herbert Spencer on the past and future of religion.

Mortillet (Louis Laurent Gabriel de), French scientist, b. Meylan (Isère), 29 Aug. 1821, and was educated by Jesuits. Condemned in ’49 for his political writings he took refuge in Switzerland. He has done much to promote prehistoric studies in France. Has written Materials to serve for the positive and philosophical history of man, ’64. The Sign of the Cross before Christianity, ’66, Contribution to the History of Superstition, and Prehistoric Antiquity of Man, ’82. He contributed to the Revue Indépendante, Pensée Nouvelle, etc. M. de Mortillet is curator of the Museum of St. Germain and was elected Deputy in 1885.

Moss (Arthur B.), lecturer and writer, b. 8 May, 1855. Has written numerous pamphlets, a number of which are collected in Waves of Freethought, ’85. Others are Nature and the Gods, Man and the Lower Animals, Two Revelations, etc. Mr. Moss has been a contributor to the Secular Chronicle, Secular Review, Freethinker, Truthseeker, and other journals, and has had a written debate on “Was Jesus God or Man.” A School Board officer, he was for a time prohibited from lecturing on Sunday. A collection of his Lectures and Essays has been published, 1889.

Mothe Le Vayer. See La Mothe Le Vayer.

Mott (Lucretia), American reformer, nee Coffin, b. Nantucket, 3 Jan. 1793. She was a Quakeress, but on the division of the Society in 1827 went with the party who preferred conscience to revelation. A strong opponent of slavery, she took an active part in the abolitionist movement. She was delegated to the World’s Anti-slavery Convention in London in 1840, but excluded on account of her sex. A friend of Mrs. Rose and Mrs. Stanton. Took an active part in Women’s Rights conventions. Died at Philadelphia, 11 Nov. 1880.

Muhammad ibn al Hudail al Basri, philosopher of Asia Minor, founder of the Muhammadan Freethinking sect of Mutazilah, b. about 757. Died about 849.

Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Tarkhan (Abu Nasr.) See Alpharabius.

Muhammad Ibn Yahya Ibn Bajjat. See Avempace.

Muhammad Jalal ed din. See Akbar.

Muller (Dr. H. C.) Dutch writer, b. 31 Oct. 1855. Has contributed good articles to de Dageraad (the Daybreak), and is now teacher of modern Greek at the University of Amsterdam.

Murger (Henri), French author, b. Paris, 1822, contributed to the Revue des Deux Mondes, tales poems and dramas. In his poem Le Testament in “Winter Nights” he says in answer to the inquiring priest “Reponds lui que j’ai lu Voltaire.” His most popular work is entitled Scenes of Bohemian Life. Died Paris, 28 Jan. 1861.

Musset (Louis Charles Alfred de), French poet, b. Paris, 11 Nov. 1810. Before the age of twenty he became one of the leaders of the Romantic school. His prose romance, Confession d’un Enfant du Siècle, ’36, exhibits his intellectual development and pessimistic moods. Among his finest works are four poems entitled Nuits. He contributed to the Revue des Deux Mondes, and was admitted into the Academy in ’52. Died at Paris 1 May, 1857.

Naber (Samuel Adriaan), learned Dutch writer, b. Gravenhage, 16 July, 1828. Studied at Leyden and became rector of the Haarlem gymnasium, and head teacher at the Amsterdam Athenæum. He has edited a journal of literature, and is joint author with Dr. A. Pierson of Verisimilia (1886), a Latin work showing the fragmentary and disjointed character of the Epistles attributed to Paul.

Nachtigal (Gustav.), Dr., German traveller, b. Eichstadt, 23 Feb. 1834. He studied medicine, went to Algiers and Tunis, became private physician to the Bey of Tunis, explored North Africa, and wrote an account thereof, Sahara und Sudan. He became German Consul General at Tunis, and died 20 April, 1885.

Naigeon (Jacques André), French atheist, b. Dijon 1728. At first an art student, he became a disciple and imitator of Diderot. He became copyist to and collaborator with Holbach and conveyed his works to Amsterdam to be printed. He contributed to the Encyclopédie, notably the articles Ame and Unitaires and composed the Militaire Philosophe, or difficulties on religion proposed to Father Malebranche, 1768. This was his first work, the last chapter being written by Holbach. He took some share in several of the works of that writer, notably in the Theologie Portative. He published the Recuéil Philosophique, 2 vols., Londres (Amst.), 1770; edited Holbach’s Essay on Prejudices and his Morale Universelle. He also edited the works of Diderot, the essays of Montaigne and a translation of Toland’s philosophical letters. His principal work is the Dictionary of Ancient and Modern Philosophy in the Encyclopédie Méthodique (Paris 1791–94.) He addressed the National Assembly on Liberty of Opinion, 1790, and asked them to withhold the name of God and religion from their declaration of the rights of man. Naigeon was of estimable character. Died at Paris, 28 Feb. 1810.

Naquet (Joseph Alfred). French materialist, b. Carpentras, 6 Oct. 1834, became M.D. in ’59. In ’67 he received fifteen months imprisonment for belonging to a secret society. He founded, with M. Regnard, the Revue Encyclopédique, which was suppressed at once for containing an attack on theism. In ’69 he issued a work on Religion, Property, and Family, which was seized and the author condemned to four months imprisonment, a fine of five hundred francs, and the perpetual interdict of civil rights. He represented Vaucluse in the National Assembly, where he has voted with the extreme left. He was re-elected in ’81. The new law of divorce in France has been passed chiefly through M. Naquet’s energetic advocacy. In ’83 he was elected to the Senate, and of late has distinguished himself by his advocacy of General Boulanger.

Nascimento (Francisco Manuel do). Portuguese poet, b. Lisbon, 23 Dec, 1734. He entered the Church, but having translated Molière’s Tartuffe, was accused of heresy (1778), and had to fly for his life from the Inquisition. He wrote many poems and satires under the name of “Filinto Elysio.” Died 25 Feb. 1819.

Navez (Napoleon), Belgian Freethinker, president of La Libre Pensée, of Antwerp, and active member of the Council of the International Federation of Freethinkers.

Nelson (Gustave), a writer in the New York Truthseeker, conjectured to be the author of Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions, a large and learned work, showing how much of Christianity has been taken from Paganism.

Newcomb (Simon), LL.D., American astronomer, b. Wallace, (Nova Scotia), 12 March, 1835. Went to the United States in ’53, and was appointed computor on the Nautical Almanack. In ’77 he became senior professor of mathematics in the U. S. navy. He has been associated with the equipment of the Lick observatory, and has written many works on mathematics and astronomy, as well as Principles of Political Economy, 1885.

Newman (Francis William) brother of Cardinal Newman, b. London 1805. Educated at Oxford, he was elected to a fellowship at Balliol College ’26, but resigned in ’30, being unable conscientiously to comply with the regulations of the Test Act then in force. He then went to Bagdad with the object of assisting in a Christian mission, but his further studies convinced him he could not conscientiously undertake the work. He returned to England and became classical teacher in Bristol College, and subsequently Latin Professor at London University. In The Soul: its Sorrows and Aspirations, ’49, he states his Theistic position, and in Phases of Faith, ’50, he explains how he came to give up Christianity. He has also written A History of the Hebrew Monarchy, ’47, Theism: Doctrinal and Practical, ’58, and a number of Scott’s tracts on the Defective Morality of the New Testament, the Historical Depravation of Christianity, the Religious Weakness of Protestantism, etc. Also Religion not History, ’77; What is Christianity without Christ? ’81; Christianity in its Cradle, ’84; and Life after Death, ’86.

Neymann (Clara), German American Freethought lecturess, friend and colleague of Frau Hedwig Henrich Wilhelmi.

Nicholson (William), English writer on chemistry and natural philosophy, b. London 1753. He went to India at an early age, and upon returning settled at London as a Mathematical teacher. He published useful introductions to chemistry and natural philosophy. Conducted the British Encyclopedia, and the Journal of Natural Philosophy. He also wrote The Doubts of the Infidels, submitted to the Bench of Bishops by a weak Christian, 1781, a work republished by Carlile and also by Watson. He died in poor circumstances 21 May, 1815.

Nicolai (Christoph Friedrich), German writer, b. Berlin, 18 March, 1733. A friend of Lessing, and Moses Mendelssohn; he was noted for founding “The Universal German Library.” He wrote anecdotes of Friedrich II., and many other works. Died at Berlin, 8 Jan. 1811.

Nietzsche (Friedrich Wilhelm), German writer, b. Lutzen, 15 Oct. 1844, author of sketches of Strauss, Schopenhauer, and Wagner, and of Morgenröthe, and other philosophical works. Died 1889.

Nieuwenhuis (Ferdinand Jakob Domela), Dutch publicist, b. Utrecht, 3 May, 1848. At first a minister of the Lutheran church, on Nov. 25, ’77, he told his congregation that he had ceased to believe in Christianity, and as an honest man resigned. He then contributed to De Banier (Banner) de Dageraad (Dawn) and de Vragen des Tijds (Questions of the time.) On 1st March, ’79 he started a Socialist paper Recht voor Allen, now an important daily organ of Socialism and Freethought. His principle writings are—With Jesus, For or against Socialism, The Religious Oath Question, The Religion of Reason, The Religion of Humanity. On Jan. 19, ’87, he was sentenced to one years’ solitary confinement for an article he had not written, and was harshly treated till upon pressure of public opinion, he was liberated 30 Aug. 1887. He is now member of the Dutch Parliament.

Noeldeke (Theodor), German Orientalist, b. Harburg, 2 March, 1836. Studied at Gottingen, Vienna, Leyden, and Berlin, and has been professor of oriental studies at Gottingen, Kiel, and Strasburg. He has written a History of the Koran, ’56; a Life of Mahomet, ’63; and a Literary History of the Old Testament, which has been translated into French by MM. Derembourg and J. Soury, ’73.

Noire (Ludwig), German monist, b. 26 March, 1829. Studied at Geissen, and became a teacher at Mainz. His works show the influence of Spinoza and Schopenhauer. He is the author of Aphorisms on the Monist philosophy, ’77, and a work on the Origin of Speech, ’77. He contends that language originates in instinctive sounds accompanying will in associative actions. Died 26 March, 1889.

Noorthouck (John), author of a History of London, 1773, and an Historical and Classical Dictionary, 1776. Has been credited with the Life of the Man After God’s Own Heart. See Annet.

Nordau (Max Simon), b. of Jewish parents at Pesth, 29 July, 1849. He became a physician in ’73. He has written several books of travels and made some noise by his trenchant work on Convential Lies of our Civilisation. He has since written on The Sickness of the Century.

Nork (Felix). See Korn (Selig).

Nott (Josiah Clark), Dr., American ethnologist, b. Columbia, South Carolina, 24 March, 1804. He wrote The Physical History of the Jewish Race, Types of Mankind, ’54, and Indigenous Races of the Earth, ’55; the last two conjointly with G. R. Gliddon, and with the object of disproving the theory of the unity of the human race. Died at Mobile, 31 March, 1873.

Noun (Paul), French author of The Scientific Errors of the Bible, 1881.

Noyes (Thomas Herbert), author of Hymns of Modern Man, 1870.

Nunez (Rafael), President of Columbia, b. Carthagena, 28 Sept. 1825. He has written many poems and political articles, and in philosophy is a follower of Mill and Spencer.

Nuytz (Louis André). See Andre-Nuytz.

Nystrom (Anton Christen), Dr. Swedish Positivist, b. 15 Feb. 1842. Studied at Upsala and became a medical doctor in Lund, ’68. He served as assistant and field doctor in the Dano-Prussian war of ’67, and now practises an alienist in Stockholm, where he has established a Positivist Society and Workmen’s Institute. Has written a History of Civilisation.

Ocellus Lucanus, early Greek philosopher, who maintained the eternity of the cosmos. An edition of his work was published with a translation by the Marquis d’Argens, and Thomas Taylor published an English version.

Ochino (Bernardino Tommasini), Italian reformer, b. Sienna, 1487. A popular preacher, he was chosen general of the Capuchins. Converted to the Reformation by Jean Valdez, he had to fly to Geneva, 1542. Invited to England by Cranmer, he became prebend of Canterbury and preached in London until the accession of Mary, when he was expelled and went to Zurich. Here he became an Antitrinitarian, and was banished about 1562 for Thirty Dialogues, in one of which he shows that neither in the Bible nor the Fathers is there any express prohibition of polygamy. He went to Poland and joined the Socinians, was banished thence also, and died Slaukau, Moravia, in 1564. Beza ascribes the misfortunes of Ochinus, and particularly the accidental death of his wife, to the special interposition of God on account of his erroneous opinions.

O’Connor (Arthur, afterwards Condorcet), General, b. Mitchells, near Bandon (Cork), 4 July, 1768. Joined the United Irishmen and went to France to negotiate for military aid. In May 1798 he was tried for treason and acquitted. He entered the French service and rose to distinction. In 1807 he married Elisa, the only daughter of Condorcet, whose name he took, and whose works he edited. He also edited the Journal of Religious Freedom. Died at Bignon, 25 April, 1852.

O’Donoghue (Alfred H.) Irish American counsellor at law, b. about 1840. Educated for the Episcopal ministry at Trinity College, Dublin, but became a sceptic and published Theology and Mythology, an inquiry into the claims of Biblical inspiration and the supernatural element in religion, at New York, 1880.

Oest (Johann Heinrich) German poet, b. Cassel 1727. Wrote poems published at Hamburg, 1751, and was accused of materialism.

Offen (Benjamin), American Freethinker, b. in England, 1772. He emigrated to New York, where he became lecturer to the Society of Moral Philantropists at Tammany Hall. He wrote Biblical Criticism and A Legacy to the Friends of Free Discussion, and supported the Correspondent, Free Inquirer, and Boston Investigator. Died New York, 12 May, 1848.

Offray de la Mettrie (Julian). See Lamettrie.

O’Keefe (J. A.), M.D. Educated in Germany; author of an essay On the Progress of the Human Understanding, 1795, in which he speaks disparagingly of Christianity. He was a follower of Kant, and was classed with Living Authors of Great Britain in 1816.

O’Kelly (Edmund de Pentheny), a descendant of the O’Kelly’s; author of Consciousness, or the Age of Reason, 1853; Theological Papers, published by Holyoake; and Theology for the People, ’55, a series of short papers suggestive of religious Theism.

Oken (Lorenz), German morphologist and philosopher, b. Offenburg, 2 Aug. 1779. He studied at Göttingen and became a privat-docent in that university. In a remarkable Sketch of Natural Philosophy, 1802, he advanced a scheme of evolution. He developed his system in a work on Generation, 1805, and a Manual of Natural Philosophy, 1809. He was professor at Jena, but dismissed for his liberal views. From ’17 till ’48 he edited the scientific journal Isis. In ’32 he became a professor at Zürich, where he died, 11 Aug. 1851.

Oliver (William), M.D., of Bath, who was accused of Atheism. Died 1764.

Omar Khayyam. See Khayyam.

Omboni (Giovanni), Lombard naturalist, b. Abbiategrasso, 29 June, 1829. Is professor of geology at Padua, and author of many scientific works.

Onimus (Ernest Nicolas Joseph), Dr., French Positivist, b. near Mulhouse, 6 Dec. 1840. Studied medicine at Strasburg and Paris, and wrote a treatise on The Dynamical Theory of Heat in Biological Sciences, 1866. In ’73 he was one of the jury of the Vienna Exhibition, and obtained the Cross of the Legion of Honor. Is author of the Psychology in the Plays of Shakespere, ’78, and has written in the Revue Positive and other periodicals.

Oort (Henricus), Dutch rationalist, b. Eemnes, 27 Dec. 1836. Studied theology at Leyden, and became teacher at Amsterdam. Has written many works, of which we mention The Worship of Baalim in Israel, translated by Bp. Colenso, 1865, and The Bible for Young People, written with Drs. Hooykaas and Kuenen, and translated by P. H. Wickstead, 1873–79.

Orelli (Johann Kaspar von), learned Swiss critic, b. Zürich, 13 Feb. 1789. Edited many classics, and wrote a letter in favor of Strauss at the time when there was an outcry at his being appointed Professor at Zürich. Died 6 Jan. 1849.

Osborne (Francis), English writer, b. Clucksand, Beds. 1589. Was an adherent of Cromwell in the Civil War. His Advice to a Son, 1656, was popular though much censured by the Puritans who drew up a complaint against his works and proposed to have them burnt, and an order was passed 27 July, 1658, forbidding them to be sold. Died 1659.

Oscar (L.), Swiss writer, author of Religion Traced Back to its Source, Basel, 1874. He considers religion “a belief in conflict with experience and resting on exaggerated fancies” of animism and mythology. One of his chapters is entitled “The Crucifixion of the Son of God as Christian mythology.”

Ossoli (Countess d’). See Fuller (Margaret).

Oswald (Eugen), German teacher in England. Author of many popular school books, and a Study of Positivism in England, 1884.

Oswald (Felix Leopold), American writer, b. Belgium, 1845. Educated as a physician, he has devoted his attention to natural history, and in pursuit of his studies has travelled extensively. He has contributed to the Popular Science Monthly, The Truthseeker and other journals, and has published Summerland Sketches, or Rambles in the Backwoods of Mexico and Central America, ’81; Physical Education, ’82; The Secrets of the East, ’83, which argues that Christianity is derived from Buddhism, and The Bible of Nature or the Principles of Secularism, ’88. Dr. Oswald is now employed as Curator of Natural History in Brazil.

O’Toole (Adam Duff), Irish Freethought martyr, burnt to death at Hogging (now College) Green, Dublin, in 1327. Holinshed says he “denied obstinatelie the incarnation of our savior, the trinitie of persons in the vnitie of the Godhead and the resurrection of the flesh; as for the Holie Scripture, he said it was but a fable; the Virgin Marie he affirmed to be a woman of dissolute life, and the Apostolic see erronious.”

“Ouida,” See Ramée (Louise de la).

Ouvry (Henry Aimé), Col., translator of Feuchterslebens, Dietetics of the Soul and Rau’s Unsectarian Catechism, and author of several works on the land question.

Overton (Richard), English Republican, who wrote a satire on relics, 1642, and a treatise on Man’s Mortality (London, 1643, Amsterdam, 1644) a work designed to show man is naturally mortal.

Owen (Robert), social reformer, b. Newton, Montgomeryshire, Wales, 14 March, 1771. At 18 he was so distinguished by his business talents that he became partner in a cotton mill. In 1797 he married the daughter of David Dale, and soon afterwards became partner and sole manager at New Lanark Mills, where he built the first infant schools and improved the dwellings of the workmen. From 1810–15 he published New Views on Society, or, Essays on the Formation of Character. In ’17 he caused much excitement by proclaiming that the religions of the world were all false, and that man was the creature of circumstances. In ’24 he went to America and purchased New Harmony, Indiana, from the Rappists to found a new community, but the experiment was a failure, as were also others at Orbiston, Laner, and Queenswood, Hants. In ’28 he debated at Cincinatti with Alex. Campbell on the Evidences of Christianity. He published a numerous series of tracts, Robert Owen’s Journal, and The New Moral World, ’35. He debated on his Social System with the Rev. J. H. Roebuck, R. Brindley, etc. As his mind began to fail he accepted the teachings of Spiritism. Died Newton, 17 Nov. 1858. Owen profoundly influenced the thought of his time in the direction of social amelioration, and he is justly respected for his energy, integrity and disinterested philanthropy.

Owen (Robert Dale), son of the above, b. Glasgow 9 Nov. 1800. Was educated by his father till 1820, when he was sent to Fellenberg’s school, near Berne, Switzerland. In ’25 he went to America to aid in the efforts to found a colony at New Harmony, Indiana. On the failure of that experiment he began with Frances Wright, in Nov. ’28, the publication of the Free Inquirer, which was continued till ’32. In that year he had a written discussion with O. Bachelor on the existence of God, and the authenticity of the Bible, in which he ably championed the Freethought cause. He wrote a number of tracts of which we mention Situations, 1839; Address on Free Inquiry, 1840; Prossimo’s Experience, Consistency, Galileo and the Inquisition. He was elected to Congress in ’43. After fifteen years of labor he secured the women of Indiana independent rights of property. He became charge d’affaires at Naples in ’53. During the civil war he strongly advocated slave emancipation. Like his father he became a Spiritualist. Died at Lake George, 17 June, 1877.

Paalzow (Christian Ludwig), German jurist, b. Osterburg (Altmark), 26 Nov. 1753, translated Voltaire’s commentaries on The Spirit of the Laws and Burigny’s Examination of the Apologists of Christianity (Leipzic, 1793), and wrote a History of Religious Cruelty (Mainz, 1800). Died 20 May, 1824.

Paepe (Cesar de). See De Paepe.

Pagano (Francisco Mario Saverio Antonio Carlo Pasquale). Italian jurist, philosopher and patriot, b. Brienza, 1748. He studied at Naples, and became the friend of Filangieri. Was made professor of criminal law in 1787. For his Political Essays in three volumes (1783–92) he was accused of Atheism and impiety. He wrote on Criminal Process and a work on God and Nature. Taking part in the Provisional Government of the Neapolitan Republic in 1791, he was taken prisoner by the royalists and executed 6 Oct. 1800.

Page (David). Scotch geologist, b. 29 Aug. 1814. Author of introductory and advanced text-books of geology, which went through many editions. He gave advanced lectures in Edinburgh, and edited Life Lights of Song, ’64. His Man Where, Whence, and Whither?, ’67, advocating Darwinian views, made some stir in Scotland. He became professor of geology at Durham University. A friend of Robert Chambers, he was for some time credited with that writer’s Vestiges of Creation, in the scientific details of which he assisted. Died at Newcastle-on-Tyne, 9 March, 1879.

Paget (Violet). English authoress, who, under the pen-name of “Vernon Lee,” has written Studies of the Eighteenth Century in Italy and Baldwin, dialogues on views and aspirations 1886. Since ’71 she has lived chiefly in Florence, and contributes to the principal reviews, an article in the Contemporary (May ’83) on “Responsibilities of Unbelief” being particularly noticeable. Miss Paget’s writings show a cultivated mind and true literary instinct.

Pageze (L.) French Socialist; has written on the Concordat and the Budget des Cultes, ’86, Separation of Church and State, ’87, etc.

Paine (Thomas), Deist, b. Thetford, Norfolk, 29 Jan., 1737. His father was a Quaker and staymaker, and Paine was brought up to the trade. He left home while still young, went to London and Sandwich, where he married the daughter of an exciseman, and entered the excise. He was selected by his official associates to embody their wants in a paper, and on this work he displayed such talent that Franklin, then in London, suggested America as a good field for his abilities. Paine went in 1774, and soon found work for his pen. He became editor of the Pennsylvanian Magazine and contributed to the Pennsylvanian journal a strong anti-slavery essay. Common Sense, published early in 1776, advocating absolute independence for America, did more than anything else to precipitate the great events of that year. Each number of the Crisis, which appeared during the war, was read by Washington’s order to each regiment in the service. Paine subscribed largely to the army, and served for a short time himself. After peace was declared, congress voted him three thousand dollars, and the state of New York gave him a large farm. Paine turned his attention to mechanics, and invented the tubular iron bridge, which he endeavored to introduce in Europe. Reaching France during the Revolution, he published a pamphlet advocating the abolition of royalty. In 1791 he published his Rights of Man, in reply to Burke. For this he was outlawed. Escaping from England, he went to France, where he was elected to the Convention. He stoutly opposed the execution of the king, and was thrown by Robespierre into the Luxembourg prison, where for nearly a year he awaited the guillotine. During this time he wrote the first part of the Age of Reason, which he completed on his release. This famous book, though vulnerable in some minor points of criticism, throws a flood of light on Christian dogmas, and has had a more extended sale than any other Freethought work. As a natural consequence, Paine has been an object of incessant slander by the clergy. Paine died at New York 8 June, 1809, and, by his own direction was buried on his farm at New Rochelle. Cobbett is said to have disinterred him and brought his bones to England.

Pajot (François). See Liniere.

Paleario (Aonio), i.e., Antonio, della Paglia, Italian humanist and martyr, b. about 1500 at Véroli in the Roman Campagna. In 1520 he went to Rome and took place among the brilliant men of letters of court of Leo X. After the taking of Rome by Charles V. he retired to Sienna. In 1536 he published at Lyons an elegant Latin poem on the Mortality of the Soul—modeled on Lucretius. He was Professor of Eloquence at Milan for ten years, but was accused of heresy. He had called the Inquisition a poignard directed against all men of letters. On 3 July, 1570, he was hung and his body thrown into the flames. A work on the Benefit of Christ’s Death has been attributed to him on insufficient grounds. It is attributed to Benedetto da Mantova.

Pallas (Peter Simon), German naturalist and traveller, b. Berlin, 22 Sept. 1741. Educated as a physician at Gottingen and Leyden, he was invited by Catherine II. to become Professor of Natural History at St. Petersburg. He travelled through Siberia and settled in the Crimea. In 1810 he returned to Berlin, where he died 8 Sept. 1811. Lalande spoke highly of him, and Cuvier considered him the founder of modern geology.

Pallavicino (Ferrante), Italian poet and wit, b. Piacenza 1616. He became a canon of the Lateran congregation, but for composing some satirical pieces against Pope Urban VIII. had a price set on his head. He fled to Venice, but a false friend betrayed him to the Inquisition, and he was beheaded at Avignon, 5 March, 1644.

Palmer (Courtlandt), American reformer, b. New York, 25 March, 1843, graduated at the Columbia law-school in ’69. He was brought up in the Dutch Reformed Church, but became a Freethinker while still young. Mr. Palmer did much to promote Liberal ideas. In ’80 he established and became President of the Nineteenth Century Club, for the utmost liberty of public discussion. He contributed to the Freethinker’s Magazine, Truthseeker, etc. A sister married Prof. Draper with whom he was intimate. Died at New York, 23 July, 1888, and was cremated at Fresh Pond, his friend Col. R. G. Ingersoll delivering an eulogium.

Palmer (Elihu), American author, b. Canterbury, Connecticut, 1764. He graduated at Dartmouth in 1787, and studied divinity but became a deist in 1791. In 1793 he became totally blind from an attack of yellow fever. In 1797 he lectured to a Deistical Society in New York. After this he dictated his Principles of Nature, 1802, a powerful anti-Christian work, reprinted by Carlile in ’19. He also wrote Prospect or View of the Moral World from the year 1804. Palmer was the head of the Society of Columbian Illuminati founded in New York in 1801. He died in Philadelphia, 7 April, 1806.

Panaetius (Παναίτιος), Stoic philosopher, b. Rhodes, a pupil of Diogenes the Stoic, and perhaps of Carneades. About 150 B.C. he visited Rome and taught a moderate stoicism, denying the doctrine of the conflagration of the world, and placing physics before dialectics. He wrote a work On Duties, to which Cicero expresses his indebtedness in his De Officiis. Died in Athens 111 B.C.

Pancoucke (Charles Joseph), eminent French publisher, b. Lille, 26 Nov. 1736. He settled at Paris and became acquainted with d’Alembert, Garat, etc., and was a correspondent of Rousseau, Buffon and Voltaire, whose works he brought out. He translated Lucretius, 1768, brought out the Mercure de France, projected in 1781 the important Encyclopédie Méthodique, of which there are 166 vols., and founded the Moniteur, 1789. Died at Paris, 19 Dec. 1798.

Pantano (Eduardo), Italian author of a little book on the Sicilian Vespers and the Commune, Catania, 1882.

Papillon (J. Henri Fernand), French philosophic writer, b. Belfort, 5 June, 1847. He wrote an Introduction to Chemical Philosophy, ’65; contributed to the Revue de Philosophie Positive and the Revue des Deux Mondes. His principal work is entitled Nature and Life, ’73. Died at Paris 31 Dec. 1873.

Paquet (Henri Remi René), French writer, b. Charleville, 29 Sep. 1845. After studying under the Jesuits he went to Paris, where he became an advocate, but devoted his main attention to literature. Under the anagram of “Nérée Quépat” he has published La Lorgnette Philosophique, ’72, a dictionary of the great and little philosophers of our time, a study of La Mettrie entitled Materialist Philosophy in the Eighteenth Century and other works.

Pare (William), Owenite Social reformer, b. Birmingham, 11 Aug. 1805. Wrote an abridgment of Thompson’s Distribution of Wealth, also works on Capital and Labor ’54, Co-operative Agriculture, at Rahaline, ’70, etc. He compiled vol. 1 of the Biography of Robert Owen. Died at Croydon, 18 June, 1873.

Parfait (Noel), French writer and politician, b. Chartres, 30 Nov. 1814. Took part in the revolution of ’30, and wrote many radical brochures. After the coup d’état he took refuge in Belgium. In ’71 was elected deputy and sat on the extreme left.

Parfait (Paul), son of the foregoing, b. Paris, 1841. Author of L’Arsenal de la Dévotion, ’76, Notes to serve for a history of superstition, and a supplement Le Dossier des Pélerinages, ’77, and other pieces. Died 1881.

Parisot (Jean Patrocle), a Frenchman who wrote La Foy devoilée par la raison, 1681 [Faith Unveiled by Reason], a work whose title seems to have occasioned its suppression.

Parker (Theodore), American rationalist, b. Lexington, Mass., 24 Aug. 1810. From his father—a Unitarian—he inherited independence of mind, courage, and love of speculation. Brought up in poverty he studied hard, and acquired a University education while laboring on the farm. In March, ’31, he became an assistant teacher at Boston. In June, ’37, he was ordained Unitarian minister. Parker gradually became known as an iconoclast, and study of the German critics made him a complete rationalist, so that even the Unitarian body rejected him. A society was established to give him a hearing in Boston, and soon his fame was established. His Discourse on Matters Pertaining to Religion, ’47, exhibited his fundamental views. He translated and enlarged De Wette’s Critical Introduction to the Old Testament. A fearless opponent of the Fugitive Slave Law, he sheltered slaves in his own house. Early in ’59 failing health compelled him to relinquish his duties. Died at Florence, 10 May, 1860. He bequeathed his library of 13,000 volumes to the Boston Public Library.

Parmenides, a Greek philosopher, b. Elea, Italy, 518 B.C. Is said to have been a disciple of Xenophanes. He developed his philosophy about 470 B.C. in a didactic poem On Nature, fragments of which are preserved by Sextus Empiricus. He held to Reason as our guide, and considered nature eternal.

Parny (Évariste Désiré de Forges de), Viscount. French poet, b. St. Paul, Isle of Bourbon, 6 Feb. 1753. Educated in France, he chose the military profession. A disappointed passion for a creole inspired his “Amatory Poems,” and he afterwards wrote the audacious War of the Gods, Paradise Lost, and The Gallantries of the Bible. His poems, though erotic, are full of elegant charm, and he has been named the French Tibullus. He was admitted into the French Academy in 1803. Died at Paris, 5 Dec. 1814.

Parton (James), author, b. Canterbury, England, 9 Feb. 1822. Was taken to the United States when a child and educated at New York. He married Miss Willis, “Fannie Fern,” and has written many biographies, including Lives of Thomas Jefferson, ’74, and of Voltaire, ’81. He has also written on Topics of the Time, ’71, and Church Taxation. He resided in New York till ’75 when he removed to Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Parvish (Samuel), Deistic author of An Inquiry into the Jewish and Christian Revelation (London, 1739), of which a second edition was issued in 1746.

Pasquier (Étienne). French journalist, b. 7 April, 1529, at Paris. Brought up to the bar he became a successful pleader. He defended the Universities against the Jesuits, whom he also attacked in a bitter satire, Catéchisme des Jésuites. Died Paris, 30 Aug. 1615.

Passerano (Alberto Radicati di) count. Italian philosopher of last century, attached to the court of Victor Amedée II. For some pamphlets written against the Papal power he was pursued by the Inquisition and his goods seized. He lived in England and made the acquaintance of Collins, also in France and Holland, where he died about 1736, leaving his goods to the poor. In that year he published at Rotterdam Recueil de Pièces curieuses sur les matieres les plus íntéressantes, etc., which contains a Parallel between Mahomet and Sosem (anagram of Moses), an abridged history of the Sacerdotal Profession, and a Faithful and comic recital of the religion of modern cannibals, by Zelin Moslem; also a Dissertation upon Death, which was published separately in 1733. The Recueil was republished at London in 1749. He also wrote a pretended translation from an Arabic work on Mohammedanism, satirising the Bible, and a pretended sermon by Elwall the Quaker.

Pasteur (Louis). French scientist b. Dôle, 27 Dec 1822, became doctor in ’47 and professor of physic at Strassburg in ’48. He received the Rumford medal of the Royal Society in ’56 for his discoveries in polarisation and molecular chemistry. Decorated with the Legion of honor in ’53, he was made commander ’68 and grand officer ’78. His researches into innoculation have been much contested, but his admirers have raised a large institute for the prosecution of his treatment. He was elected to the Academy as successor of Littré. He gave his name as Vice-President of the British Secular Union.

Pastoret (Claude Emmanuel Joseph Pierre de), Marquis, French statesman and writer, b. of noble family at Marseilles, 25 Oct. 1756. Educated by the Oratorians at Lyons, in 1779 he published an Elege de Voltaire. By his works on Zoroaster, Confucius and Mahomet (1787) and on Moses Considered as Legislator and Moralist (1788) he did something for the infant science of comparative religion. His principal work is a learned History of Legislation, in 11 vols. (1817–37), in which he passes in review all the ancient codes. He embraced the Revolution, and became President of the Legislative Assembly (3 Oct. 1791). He proposed the erection of the Column of July on the Place of the Bastille, and the conversion of the church of Ste Geneviève into the Pantheon. On the 19th June, 1792, he presented a motion for the complete separation of the state from religion. He fled during the Terror, but returned as deputy in 1795. In 1820 he succeeded his friend Volney as member of the French Academy, in ’23 received the cross of the Legion of Honor, and in ’29 became Chancellor of France. Died at Paris, 28 Sept. 1840.

Pater (Walter Horatio), English writer, b. London, 4 Aug. 1839. B.A. at Oxford in ’62, M.A. in ’65. Has written charming essays in the Westminster Review, Macmillan, and the Fortnightly Review. In ’73 he published The Renaissance, and in ’85 Marius the Epicurean, His Sensations and Ideas.

Paterson (Thomas), b. near Lanark early in this century. After the imprisonment of Southwell and Holyoake he edited the Oracle of Reason. For exhibiting profane placards he was arrested and sentenced 27 Jan. 1843 to three months’ imprisonment. His trial was reported under the title God v. Paterson (’43.) He insisted on considering God as the plaintiff and in quoting from “the Jew book” to show the plaintiff’s bad character. When released he went to Scotland to uphold the right of free publication, and was sentenced 8 Nov. ’43 to fifteen months’ imprisonment for selling “blasphemous” publications at Edinburgh. On his release he was presented with a testimonial 6 April, 1845, H. Hetherington presiding. Paterson went to America.

Patin (Gui), French physician, writer, and wit, b. near Beauvais 31 Aug. 1602. He became professor at the college of France. His reputation is chiefly founded on his Letters, in which he attacked superstition. Larousse says “C’était un libre penseur de la famille de Rabelais.” Died at Paris 30 Aug. 1672.

Patot. See Tyssot de Patot (S.)

Pauw (Cornelius), learned Dutch writer, b. Amsterdam, 1739. He wrote philosophical researches on the Americans, and also on the Egyptians, Chinese, and Greeks. Was esteemed by Frederick the Great for his ingenuity and penetration. Died at Xanten, 7 July, 1799. He was the uncle of Anacharsis Clootz.

Peacock (John Macleay), Scotch poet, b. 21 March, 1817. He wrote many poems in the National Reformer, and in ’67 published Hours of Reverie. Died 4 May, 1877.

Peacock or Pecock (Reginald), the father of English rationalism, b. about 1390, and educated at Oriel College Oxford, of which he was chosen fellow in 1417. Was successively Bishop of St Asaph, 1444, and Chichester, 1450, by the favor of Humphrey, the good Duke of Gloster. He declared that Scripture must in all cases be accommodated to “the doom of reason.” He questioned the genuineness of the Apostles’ Creed. In 1457 he was accused of heresy, recanted from fear of martyrdom, was deprived of his bishopric, and imprisoned in a monastery at Canterbury, where he used to repeat to those who visited him,

“Wit hath wonder, that reason cannot skan,

How a Moder is Mayd, and God is Man.”

His books were publicly burnt at Oxford. He died in 1460. His influence doubtless contributed to the Reformation.

Pearson (Karl), author of a volume of essays entitled The Ethic of Freethought, 1888. Educated at Cambridge; B.A. ’79, M.A. ’82.

Pechmeja (Jean de), French writer. A friend of Raynal, he wrote a socialistic romance in 12 books in the style of Telemachus, called Télèphe, 1784. Died 1785.

Peck (John), American writer in the Truthseeker. Has published Miracles and Miracle Workers, etc.

Pecqueur (A.), contributor to the Rationaliste of Geneva, 1864.

Pelin (Gabriel), French author of works on Spiritism Explained and Destroyed, 1864, and God or Science, ’67.

Pelletan (Charles Camille), French journalist and deputy, son of the following; b. Paris, 23 June, 1846. Studied at the Lycée Louis le Grand. He wrote in La Tribune Française, and Le Rappel, and since ’80 has conducted La Justice with his friend Clémenceau, of whom he has written a sketch.

Pelletan (Pierre Clement Eugène), French writer, b. Saint-Palais-sur-Meir, 20 Oct. 1813. As a journalist he wrote in La Presse, under the name of “Un Inconnu,” articles distinguished by their love of liberty and progress. He also contributed to the Revue des Deux Mondes. In ’52 he published his Profession of Faith of the Nineteenth Century, and in ’57 The Law of Progress and The Philosophical Kings. From ’53–’55 he opposed Napoleon in the Siècle, and afterwards established La Tribune Française. In ’63 he was elected deputy, but his election being annulled, he was re-elected in ’64. He took distinguished rank among the democratic opposition. After the battle of Sedan he was made member of the Committee of National Defence, and in ’76 of the Senate, of which he became vice-president in ’79. In ’78 he wrote a study on Frederick the Great entitled Un Roi Philosophe, and in ’83 Is God Dead? Died at Paris, 14 Dec. 1884.

Pemberton (Charles Reece). English actor and author, b. Pontypool, S. Wales, 23 Jan. 1790. He travelled over most of the world and wrote The Autobiography of Pel Verjuice, which with other remains was published in 1843. Died 3 March, 1840.

Pennetier (Georges), Dr., b. Rouen, 1836, Director of the Museum of Natural History at Rouen. Author of a work on the Origin of Life, ’68, in which he contends for spontaneous generation. To this work F. A. Pouchet contributed a preface.

Perfitt (Philip William), Theist, b. 1820, edited the Pathfinder, ’59–61. Preached at South Place Chapel. Wrote Life and Teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, ’61.

Periers (Bonaventure des). See Desperiers.

Perot (Jean Marie Albert), French banker, author of a work on Man and God, which has been translated into English, 1881, and Moral and Philosophical Allegories (Paris, 1883).

Perrier (Edmond), French zoologist, Curator at Museum of Natural History, Paris, b. Tulle, 1844. Author of numerous works on Natural History, and one on Transformisme, ’88.

Perrin (Raymond S.), American author of a bulky work on The Religion of Philosophy, or the Unification of Knowledge: a comparison of the chief philosophical and religious systems of the world, 1885.

Perry (Thomas Ryley), one of Carlile’s shopmen, sentenced 1824 to three years’ imprisonment in Newgate for selling Palmer’s Principles of Nature. He became a chemist at Leicester and in 1844 petitioned Parliament for the prisoners for blasphemy, Paterson and Roalfe, stating that his own imprisonment had not fulfilled the judge’s hope of his recantation.

Petit (Claude), French poet, burnt on the Place de Grève in 1665 as the author of some impious pieces.

Petronius, called Arbiter (Titus), Roman Epicurean poet at the Court of Nero, in order to avoid whose resentment he opened his veins and bled to death in A.D. 66, conversing meanwhile with his friends on the gossip of the day. To him we owe the lines on superstition, beginning “Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor.” Petronius is famous for his “pure Latinity.” He is as plain-spoken as Juvenal, and with the same excuse, his romance being a satire on Nero and his court.

Petruccelli della Gattina (Ferdinando) Italian writer, b. Naples, 1816, has travelled much and written many works. He was deputy to the Naples Parliament in ’48, and exiled after the reaction.

Petrus de Abano. A learned Italian physician, b. Abano 1250. He studied at Paris and became professor of medicine at Padua. He wrote many works and had a great reputation. He is said to have denied the existence of spirits, and to have ascribed all miracles to natural causes. Cited before the Inquisition in 1306 as a heretic, a magician and an Atheist, he ably defended himself and was acquitted. He was accused a second time but dying (1320) while the trial was preparing, he was condemned after death, his body disinterred and burnt, and he was also burnt in effigy in the public square of Padua.

Peypers (H. F. A.), Dutch writer, b. De Rijp, 2 Jan. 1856, studied medicine, and is now M.D. at Amsterdam. He is a man of erudition and good natured though satirical turn of mind. He has contributed much to De Dageraad, and is at present one of the five editors of that Freethought monthly.

Peyrard (François), French mathematician, b. Vial (Haute Loire) 1760. A warm partisan of the revolution, he was one of those who (7 Nov. 1793) incited Bishop Gobel to abjure his religion. An intimate friend of Sylvian Maréchal, Peyrard furnished him with notes for his Dictionnaire des Athées. He wrote a work on Nature and its Laws, 1793–4, and proposed the piercing of the Isthmus of Suez. He translated the works of Euclid and Archimedes. Died at Paris 3 Oct. 1822.

Peyrat (Alphonse), French writer, b. Toulouse, 21 June, 1812. He wrote in the National and la Presse, and combated against the Second Empire. In ’65 he founded l’Avenir National, which was several times condemned. In Feb. ’71, he was elected deputy of the Seine, and proposed the proclamation of the Republic. In ’76 he was chosen senator. He wrote a History of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, ’55; History and Religion, ’58; Historical and Religious Studies, ’58; and an able and scholarly Elementary and Critical History of Jesus, ’64.

Peyrere (Isaac de la), French writer, b. Bordeaux, 1594, and brought up as a Protestant. He entered into the service of the house of Condé, and became intimate with La Mothe de Vayer and Gassendi. His work entitled Præadamitæ, 1653, in which he maintained that men lived before Adam, made a great sensation, and was burnt by the hangman at Paris. The bishop of Namur censured it, and la Peyrère was arrested at Brussels, 1656, by order of the Archbishop of Malines, but escaped by favor of the Prince of Condé on condition of retracting his book at Rome. The following epitaph was nevertheless made on him:

La Peyrere ici gît, ce bon Israelite,

Hugenot, Catholique, enfin Pre-adamite:

Quatre religions lui plurent à la fois:

Et son indifférence était si peu commune

Qu’après 80 ans qu’il eut à faire un choix

Le bon homme partit, et n’en choisit pas une.

Died near Paris, 30 Jan. 1676.

Pfeiff (Johan Gustaf Viktor), Swedish baron, b. Upland, 1829. Editor of the free religious periodical, The Truthseeker, since 1882. He has also translated into Swedish some of the writings of Herbert Spencer.

Pharmacopulo (A.P.) Greek translator of Büchner’s Force and Matter, and corresponding member of the International Federation of Freethinkers.

Phillips (Sir Richard), industrious English writer, b. London, 1767. He was hosier, bookseller, printer, publisher, republican, Sheriff of London (1807–8), and Knight. He compiled many schoolbooks, chiefly under pseudonyms, of which the most popular were the Rev. J. Goldsmith and Rev. D. Blair. His own opinions are seen most in his Million of Facts. Died at Brighton 2 April, 1840.

Phillippo (William Skinner), farmer, of Wood Norton, near Thetford, Norfolk. A deist who wrote an Essay on Political and Religious Meditations, 1868.

Pi-y Margall (Francisco), Spanish philosopher and Republican statesman, b. Barcelona, 1820. The first book he learnt to read was the Ruins of Volney. Studied law and became an advocate. He has written many political works, and translated Proudhon, for whom he has much admiration, into Spanish. He has also introduced the writings and philosophy of Comte into his own country. He was associated with Castelar and Figueras in the attempt to establish a Spanish Republic, being Minister of the Interior, and afterwards President in 1873.

Pichard (Prosper). French Positivist, author of Doctrine of Reality, “a catechism for the use of people who do not pay themselves with words,” to which Littré wrote a preface, 1873.

Pierson (Allard). Dutch rationalist critic, b. Amsterdam 8 April, 1831. Educated in theology, he was minister to the Evangelical congregation at Leuven, afterwards at Rotterdam and finally professor at Heidelberg. He resigned his connection with the Church in ’64. He has written many works of theological and literary value of which we mention his Poems ’82, New Studies on Calvin, ’83, and Verisimilia, written in conjunction with S. A. Naber, ’86.

Pigault-Lebrun (Guillaume Charles Antoine), witty French author, b. Calais, 8 April, 1753. He studied under the Oratorians of Boulogne. He wrote numerous comedies and romances, and Le Citateur, 1803, a collection of objections to Christianity, borrowed in part from Voltaire, whose spirit he largely shared. In 1811 Napoleon threatened the priests he would issue this work wholesale. It was suppressed under the Restoration, but has been frequently reprinted. Pigault-Lebrun became secretary to King Jerome Napoleon, and died at La Celle-Saint-Cloud, 24 July, 1835.

Pike (J. W.) American lecturer, b. Concord (Ohio), 27 June, 1826, wrote My Religious Experience and What I found in the Bible, 1867.

Pillsbury (Parker), American reformer, b. Hamilton, Mass., 22 Sep. 1809. Was employed in farm work till ’35, when he entered Gilmerton theological seminary. He graduated in ’38, studied a year at Andover, was congregational minister for one year, and then, perceiving the churches were the bulwark of slavery, abandoned the ministry. He became an abolitionist lecturer, edited the Herald of Freedom, National Anti-Slavery Standard, and the Revolution. He also preached for free religious societies, wrote Pious Frauds, and contributed to the Boston Investigator and Freethinkers’ Magazine. His principal work is Acts of the Anti-Slavery Apostles, 1883.

Piron (Alexis), French comic poet, b. Dijon, 9 July, 1689. His pieces were full of wit and gaiety, and many anecdotes are told of his profanity. Among his sallies was his reply to a reproof for being drunk on Good Friday, that failing must be excused on a day when even deity succumbed. Being blind in his old age he affected piety. Worried by his confessor about a Bible in the margin of which he had written parodies and epigrams as the best commentary, he threw the whole book in the fire. Asked on his death-bed if he believed in God he answered “Parbleu, I believe even in the Virgin.” Died at Paris, 21 Jan. 1773.

Pisarev (Dmitri Ivanovich) Russian critic, journalist, and materialist, b. 1840. He first became known by his criticism on the Scholastics of the nineteenth century. Died Baden, near Riga, July 1868. His works are published in ten vols. Petersburg, 1870.

Pitt (William). Earl of Chatham, an illustrious English statesman and orator, b. Boconnoc, Cornwall, 15 Nov. 1708. The services to his country of “the Great Commoner,” as he was called, are well known, but it is not so generally recognised that his Letter on Superstition, first printed in the London Journal in 1733, entitles him to be ranked with the Deists. He says that “the more superstitious people are, always the more vicious; and the more they believe, the less they practice.” Atheism furnishes no man with arguments to be vicious; but superstition, or what the world made by religion, is the greatest possible encouragement to vice, by setting up something as religion, which shall atone and commute for the want of virtue. This remarkable letter ends with the words “Remember that the only true divinity is humanity.”

Place (Francis), English Radical reformer and tailor; b. 1779 at Charing Cross. He early became a member of the London, Corresponding Society. He wrote to Carlile’s Republican and Lion. A friend of T. Hardy, H. Tooke, James Mill, Bentham, Roebuck, Hetherington, and Hibbert (who puts him in his list of English Freethinkers). He was connected with all the advanced movements of his time and has left many manuscripts illustrating the politics of that period, which are now in the British Museum. He always professed to be an Atheist—see Reasoner, 26 March, ’54. Died at Kensington, 1 Jan. 1854.

Platt (James), F.S.S., a woolen merchant and Deistic author of popular works on Business, ’75; Morality, ’78; Progress, ’80; Life, ’81; God and Mammon, etc.

Pliny (Caius Plinius Secundus), the elder, Roman naturalist, b. Verona, A.D. 22. He distinguished himself in the army, was admitted into the college of Augurs, appointed procurator in Spain, and honored with the esteem of Vespasian and Titus. He wrote the history of his own time in 31 books, now lost, and a Natural History in 37 books, one of the most precious monuments of antiquity, in which his Epicurean Atheism appears. Being with the fleet at Misenum, 24 Aug. A.D. 79, he observed the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and landing to assist the inhabitants was himself suffocated by the noxious vapors.

Plumacher (Olga), German pessimist, follower of Hartmann, and authoress of a work on Pessimism in the Past and Future, Heidelberg, 1884. She has also defended her views in Mind.

Plumer (William) American senator, b. Newburyport, Mass. 25 June, 1759. In 1780 he became a Baptist preacher, but resigned on account of scepticism. He remained a deist. He served in the Legislature eight terms, during two of which he was Speaker. He was governor of New Hampshire, 1812–18, wrote to the press over the signature “Cincinnatus,” and published an Address to the Clergy, ’14. He lived till 22 June, 1850.

Plutarch. Greek philosopher and historian, b. Cheronæa in Bœtia, about A.D. 50. He visited Delphi and Rome, where he lived in the reign of Trajan. His Parallel Lives of forty-six Greeks and Romans have made him immortal. He wrote numerous other anecdotal and ethical works, including a treatise on Superstition. He condemned the vulgar notions of Deity, and remarked, in connection with the deeds popularly ascribed to the gods, that he would rather men said there was no Plutarch than traduce his character. In other words, superstition is more impious than Atheism. Died about A.D. 120.

Poe (Edgar Allan), American poet, grandson of General Poe, who figured in the war of independence, b. Boston, 19 Jan. 1809. His mother was an actress. Early left an orphan. After publishing Tamerlane and other Poems, ’27, he enlisted in the United States Army, but was cashiered in ’31. He then took to literary employment in Baltimore and wrote many stories, collected as the Tales of Mystery, Imagination, and Humor. In ’45 appeared The Raven and other Poems, which proved him the most musical and dextrous of American poets. In ’48 he published Eureka, a Prose Poem, which, though comparatively little known, he esteemed his greatest work. It indicates pantheistic views of the universe. His personal appearance was striking and one of his portraits is not unlike that of James Thomson. Died in Baltimore, 7 Oct. 1849.

Poey (Andrés), Cuban meteorologist and Positivist of French and Spanish descent, b. Havana, 1826. Wrote in the Modern Thinker, and is author of many scientific memoirs and a popular exposition of Positivism (Paris, 1876), in which he has a chapter on Darwinism and Comtism.

Pompery (Edouard), French publicist, b. Courcelles, 1812. A follower of Fourier, he has written on Blanquism and opportunism, ’79, and a Life of Voltaire, ’80.

Pomponazzi (Pietro) [Lat. Pomponatius], Italian philosopher, b. Mantua, of noble family, 16 Sept. 1462. He studied at Padua, where he graduated 1487 as laureate of medicine. Next year he was appointed professor of philosophy at Padua, teaching in concurrence with Achillini. He afterwards taught the doctrines of Aristotle at Ferrara and Bologna. His treatise De Immortalitate Animæ, 1516, gave great offence by denying the philosophical foundation of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul. The work was burnt by the hangman at Venice, and it is said Cardinal Bembo’s intercession with Pope Leo X. only saved Pomponazzi from ecclesiastical procedure. Among his works is a treatise on Fate, Free Will, etc. Pomponazzi was a diminutive man, and was nicknamed “Peretto.” He held that doubt was necessary for the development of knowledge, and left an unsullied reputation for upright conduct and sweet temper. Died at Bologna, 18 May, 1525, and was buried at Mantua, where a monument was erected to his memory.

Ponnat (de), Baron, French writer, b. about 1810. Educated by Jesuits, he became a thorough Freethinker and democrat and a friend of A. S. Morin, with whom he collaborated on the Rationaliste of Geneva. He wrote many notable articles in La Libre Pensée, Le Critique, and Le Candide, for writing in which last he was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. He published, under the anagram of De Pontan, The Cross or Death, a discourse to the bishops who assisted at the Ecumenical Council at Rome (Brussels, ’62). His principal work is a history of the variations and contradictions of the Roman Church (Paris, ’82). Died in 1884.

Porphyry (Πορφύριος), Greek philosoper of the New Platonic school, b. Sinia, 233 A.D. His original name was Malchus or Melech—a “King.” He was a pupil of Longinus and perhaps of Origen. Some have supposed that he was of Jewish faith, and first embraced and then afterwards rejected Christianity. It is certain he was a man of learning and intelligence; the friend as well as the disciple of Plotinus. He wrote (in Greek) a famous work in fifteen books against the Christians, some fragments of which alone remain in the writings of his opponents. It is certain he showed acquaintance with the Jewish and Christian writings, exposed their contradictions, pointed out the dispute between Peter and Paul, and referred Daniel to the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. He wrote many other works, among which are lives of Plotinus and Pythagorus. Died at Rome about 305.

Porzio (Simone), a disciple of Pomponazzi, to whom, when lecturing at Pisa, the students cried “What of the soul?” He frankly professed his belief that the human soul differed in no essential point from the soul of a lion or plant, and that those who thought otherwise were prompted by pity for our mean estate. These assertions are in his treatise De Mente Humanâ.

“Posos (Juan de),” an undiscovered author using this pen-name, expressed atheistic opinions in a book of imaginary travels, published in Dutch at Amsterdam in 1708, and translated into German at Leipsic, 1721.

Post (Amy), American reformer, b. 1803. From ’28 she was a leading advocate of slavery abolition, temperance, woman’s suffrage and religious reform. Died Rochester, New York, 29 Jan. 1889.

Potter (Agathon Louis de). See De Potter (A. L.)

Potter (Louis Antoine Joseph de). See De Potter (L. A. J.)

Potvin (Charles), Belgian writer b. Mons. 2 Dec. 1818, is member of the Royal Academy of Letters, and professor of the history of literature at Brussels. He wrote anonymously Poesie et Amour ’58, and Rome and the Family. Under the name of “Dom Jacobus” he has written an able work in two volumes on The Church and Morality, and also Tablets of a Freethinker. He was president of “La Libre Pensée” of Brussels from ’78 to ’83, is director of the Revue de Belgique and has collaborated on the National and other papers.

Pouchet (Felix Archimède), French naturalist, b. Rouen 26 Aug. 1800. Studied medicine under Dr. Flaubert, father of the author of Mme. Bovary, and became doctor in ’27. He was made professor of natural history at the Museum of Rouen, and by his experiments enriched science with many discoveries. He defended spontaneous generation and wrote many monographs and books of which the principal is entitled The Universe, ’65. Died at Rouen, 6 Dec. 1872.

Pouchet (Henri Charles George), French naturalist, son of the proceeding, b. Rouen, 1833, made M.D. in ’64, and in ’79 professor of comparative anatomy in the museum of Natural History at Paris. In ’80 he was decorated with the Legion of Honor. He has written on The Plurality of the Human Race, ’58, and collaborated on the Siècle, and the Revue des Deux Mondes and to la Philosophie Positive.

Pouchkine (A.), see Pushkin.

Pougens (Marie Charles Joseph de), French author, a natural son of the Prince de Conti, b. Paris, 15 Aug. 1755. About the age of 24 he was blinded by small pox. He became an intimate friend of the philosophers, and, sharing their views, embraced the revolution with ardor, though it ruined his fortunes. He wrote Philosophical Researches, 1786, edited the posthumous works of D’Alembert, 1799, and worked at a dictionary of the French language. His Jocko, a tale of a monkey, exhibits his keen sympathy with animal intelligence, and in his Philosophical Letters, 1826, he gives anecdotes of Voltaire, Rousseau, D’Alembert, Pechmeja, Franklin, etc. Died at Vauxbuin, near Soissons, 19 Dec. 1833.

Poulin (Paul), Belgian follower of Baron Colins and author of What is God? What is Man? a scientific solution of the religious problem (Brussels, 1865), and re-issued as God According to Science, ’75, in which he maintains that man and God exclude each other, and that the only divinity is moral harmony.

Poultier D’Elmolte (François Martin), b. Montreuil-sur-Mer, 31 Oct. 1753. Became a Benedictine monk, but cast aside his frock at the Revolution, married, and became chief of a battalion of volunteers. Elected to the Convention he voted for the death of the King. He conducted the journal, L’Ami des lois, and became one of the Council of Ancients. Exiled in 1816, he died at Tournay in Belgium, 16 Feb. 1827. He wrote Morceaux Philosophiques in the Journal Encyclopédique; Victoire, or the Confessions of a Benedictine; Discours Décadaires, for the use of Theophilantropists, and Conjectures on the Nature and Origin of Things, Tournay, 1821.

Powell (B. F.), compiler of the Bible of Reason, or Scriptures of Ancient Moralists; published by Hetherington in 1837.

Prades (Jean Martin de), French theologian b. Castel-Sarrasin, about 1720. Brought up for the church, he nevertheless became intimate with Diderot and contributed the article Certitude to the Encyclopédie. On the 18th Nov. 1751 he presented to the Sorbonne a thesis for the doctorate, remarkable as the first open attack on Christianity by a French theologian. He maintained many propositions on the soul, the origin of society, the laws of Moses, miracles, etc., contrary to the dogmas of the Church, and compared the cures recorded in the Gospels to those attributed to Esculapius. The thesis made a great scandal. His opinions were condemned by Pope Benedict XIV., and he fled to Holland for safety. Recommended to Frederick the Great by d’Alembert he was received with favor at Berlin, and became reader to that monarch, who wrote a very anti-Christian preface to de Prades’ work on ecclesiastical history, published as Abrége de l’Histoire ecclesiastique de Fleury, Berne (Berlin) 1766. He retired to a benefice at Glogau (Silesia), given him by Frederick, and died there in 1782.

Prater (Horatio), a gentleman of some fortune who devoted himself to the propagation of Freethought ideas. Born early in the century, he wrote on the Physiology of the Blood, 1832. He published Letters to the American People, and Literary Essays, ’56. Died 20 July, 1885. He left the bulk of his money to benevolent objects, and ordered a deep wound to be made in his arm to insure that he was dead.

Preda (Pietro), Italian writer of Milan, author of a work on Revelation and Reason, published at Geneva, 1865, under the pseudonym of “Padre Pietro.”

Premontval (Andre Pierre Le Guay de), French writer, b. Charenton, 16 Feb. 1716. At nineteen years of age, while in the college of Plessis Sorbonne, he composed a work against the dogma of the Eucharist. He studied mathematics and became member of the Academy of Sciences at Berlin. He wrote Le Diogene de D’Alembert, or Freethoughts on Man, 1754, Panangiana Panurgica, or the false Evangelist, and Vues Philosophiques, Amst., 2 vols., 1757. He also wrote De la Théologie de L’Etre, in which he denies many of the ordinary proofs of the existence of a God. Died Berlin, 1767.

Priestley (Joseph), LL.D., English philosopher, b. Fieldhead, near Leeds, 18 March, 1733. Brought up as a Calvinist, he found his way to broad Unitarianism. Famous as a pneumatic chemist, he defended the doctrine of philosophical necessity, and in a dissertation annexed to his edition of Hartley expressed doubts of the immateriality of the sentient principal in man. This doctrine he forcibly supported in his Disquisitions on Matter and Spirit, 1777. Through the obloquy these works produced, he lost his position as librarian to Lord Shelburne. He then removed to Birmingham, and became minister of an independent Unitarian congregation, and occupied himself on his History of the Corruptions of Christianity and History of the Early Opinions Concerning Jesus Christ, which involved him in controversy with Bishop Horsley and others. In consequence of his sympathy with the French Revolution, his house was burnt and sacked in a riot, 14 July, 1791. After this he removed to Hackney, and was finally goaded to seek an asylum in the United States, which he reached in 1794. Even in America he endured some uneasiness on account of his opinions until Jefferson became president. Died 6 Feb. 1804.

Pringle (Allen), Canadian Freethinker, author of Ingersoll in Canada, 1880.

Proctor (Richard Anthony), English astronomer, b. Chelsea, 23 March, 1837. Educated at King’s College, London, and at St. John’s, Cambridge, where he became B.A. in ’60. In ’66 he became Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, of which he afterwards became hon. sec. He maintained in ’69 the since-established theory of the solar corona. He wrote, lectured, and edited, far and wide, and left nearly fifty volumes, chiefly popularising science. Attracted by Newman, he was for a while a Catholic, but thought out the question of Catholicism and science, and in a letter to the New York Tribune, Nov. ’75, formally renounced that religion as irreconcilable with scientific facts. His remarks on the so-called Star of Bethlehem in The Universe of Suns, and other Science Gleanings, and his Sunday lectures, indicated his heresy. In ’81 he started Knowledge, in which appeared many valuable papers, notably one (Jan. ’87), “The Beginning of Christianity.” He entirely rejected the miraculous elements of the gospels, which he considered largely a rechauffé of solar myths. In other articles in the Freethinkers’ Magazine and the Open Court he pointed out the coincidence between the Christian stories and solar myths, and also with stories found in Josephus. The very last article he published before his untimely death was a vindication of Colonel Ingersoll in his controversy with Gladstone in the North American Review. In ’84 he settled at St. Josephs, Mobille, where he contracted yellow fever and died at New York, 12 Sep. 1888.

Proudhon (Pierre Joseph), French anarchist and political thinker, b. Besançon, 15 Jan. 1809. Self-educated he became a printer, and won a prize of 1,500 francs for the person “best fitted for a literary or scientific career.” In ’40 appears his memoir, What is Property? in which he made the celebrated answer “C’est le vol.” In ’43 the Creation of Order in Humanity appeared, treating of religion, philosophy and logic. In ’46 he published his System of Economical Contradictions, in which appeared his famous aphorism, “Dieu, c’est le mal.” In ’48 he introduced his scheme of the organisation of credit in a Bank of the People, which failed, though Proudhon saw that no one lost anything. He attacked Louis Bonaparte when President, and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 francs. On 2 Jan. ’50 he married by private contract while in prison. For his work on Justice in the Revolution and in the Church he was condemned to three years’ imprisonment and 4,000 francs fine in ’58. He took refuge in Belgium and returned in ’63. Died at Passy, 19 Jan. 1865. Among his posthumous works was The Gospels Annotated, ’66. Proudhon was a bold and profound thinker of noble aspirations, but he lacked the sense of art and practicability. His complete works have been published in 26 vols.

Protagoras, Greek philosopher, b. Abdera, about 480 B.C. Is said to have been a disciple of Democritus, and to have been a porter before he studied philosophy. He was the first to call himself a sophist. He wrote in a book on the gods, “Respecting the gods, I am unable to know whether they exist or do not exist.” For this he was impeached and banished, and his book burnt. He went to Epirus and the Greek Islands, and died about 411. He believed all things were in flux, and summed up his conclusions in the proposition that “man is the measure of all things, both of that which exists and that which does not exist.” Grote, who defends the Sophists, says his philosophy “had the merit of bringing into forcible relief the essentially relative nature of cognition.”

Prudhomme (Sully). See Sully Prudhomme.

Pückler Muskau (Hermann Ludwig Heinrich), Prince, a German writer, b. Muskau, 30 Oct. 1785. He travelled widely and wrote his observations in a work entitled Letters of a Defunct, 1830; this was followed by Tutti Frutti, ’32; Semilasso in Africa, ’36, and other works. Died 4 Feb. 1871.

Pushkin (Aleksandr Sergyeevich), eminent Russian poet, often called the Russian Byron, b. Pskow, 26 May, 1799. From youth he was remarkable for his turbulent spirit, and his first work, which circulated only in manuscript, was founded on Parny’s Guerre des Dieux, and entitled the Gabrielade, the archangel being the hero. He was exiled by the Emperor, but, inspired largely by reading Voltaire and Byron, put forward numerous poems and romances, of which the most popular is Eugene Onéguine, an imitation of Don Juan. He also wrote some histories and founded the Sovremennik (Contemporary), 1836. In Jan. 1837 he was mortally wounded in a duel.

Putnam (Samuel P.), American writer and lecturer, brought up as a minister. He left that profession for Freethought, and became secretary to the American Secular Union, of which he was elected president in Oct. 1887. In ’88 he started Freethought at San Francisco in company with G. Macdonald. Has written poems, Prometheus, Ingersoll and Jesus, Adami and Heva; romances entitled Golden Throne, Waifs and Wanderings, and Gottlieb, and pamphlets on the Problem of the Universe, The New God, and The Glory of Infidelity.

Putsage (Jules), Belgian follower of Baron Colins, founder of the Colins Philosophical Society at Mons; has written on Determinism and Rational Science, Brussels 1885, besides many essays in La Philosophie de L’Avenir of Paris and La Societe Nouvelle of Brussels.

Pyat (Felix) French socialist, writer and orator, b. Vierzon, 4 Oct. 1810. His father was religious and sent him to a Jesuit college at Bourges, but he here secretly read the writings of Beranger and Courier. He studied law, but abandoned it for literature, writing in many papers. He also wrote popular dramas, as The Rag-picker of Paris, ’47. After ’52 he lived in England, where he wrote an apology for the attempt of Orsini, published by Truelove, ’58. In ’71 he founded the journal le Combat. Elected to the National Assembly he protested against the treaty of peace, was named member of the Commune and condemned to death in ’73. He returned to France after the armistice, and has sat as deputy for Marseilles. Died, Saint Gerainte near Nice, 3 Aug. 1889.

Pyrrho (Πύρρων). Greek philosopher, a native of Elis, in Peloponesus, founder of a sceptical school about the time of Epicurus; is said to have been attracted to philosophy by the books of Democritus. He attached himself to Anaxarchus, and joined her in the expedition of Alexander the Great, and became acquainted with the philosophy of the Magi and the Indian Gymnosophists. He taught the wisdom of doubt, the uncertainty of all things, and the rejection of speculation. His disciples extolled his equanimity and independence of externals. It is related that he kept house with his sister, and shared with her in all domestic duties. He reached the age of ninety years, and after his death the Athenians honored him with a statue. He left no writings, but the tenets of his school, which were much misrepresented, may be gathered from Sextus and Empiricus.

Quental. See Anthero de Quental.

“Quepat (Nérée.”) See Paquet (René).

Quesnay (François), French economist, b. Mérey, 4 June 1694. Self educated he became a physician, but is chiefly noted for his Tableau Economique, 1708, and his doctrine of Laissez Faire. He derived moral and social rules from physical laws. Died Versailles, 16 Dec. 1774.

Quinet (Edgar), French writer, b. Bourgen Bresse, 17 Feb. 1803. He attracted the notice of Cousin by a translation of Herder’s The Philosophy of History. With his friend Michelet he made many attacks on Catholicism, the Jesuits being their joint work. He fought in the Revolution of ’48, and opposed the Second Empire. His work on The Genius of Religion, ’42, is profound, though mystical, and his historical work on The Revolution, ’65 is a masterpiece. Died at Versailles, 27 March, 1875.

Quintin (Jean), Heretic of Picardy, and alleged founder of the Libertines. He is said to have preached in Holland and Brabant in 1525, that religion was a human invention. Quintin was arrested and burnt at Tournay in 1530.

Quris (Charles), French advocate of Angers, who has published some works on law and La Défense Catholique et la Critique, Paris, 1864.

Rabelais (François), famous and witty French satirist and philosopher, b. Chinon, Touraine, 7 Jan. 1495. At an early age he joined the order of Franciscans, but finding monastic life incompatible with his genial temper, quitted the convent without the leave of his superior. He studied medicine at Montpelier about 1530, after which he practised at Lyons. His great humorous work, published anonymously in 1535, was denounced as heretical by the clergy for its satires, not only on their order but their creed. The author was protected by Francis I. and was appointed curé of Meudon. Died at Paris, 9 April, 1553. His writings show surprising fertility of mind, and Coleridge says, “Beyond a doubt he was among the deepest as well as boldest thinkers of his age.”

Radenhausen (Christian), German philosopher, b. Friedrichstadt, 3 Dec. 1813. At first a merchant and then a lithographer, he resided at Hamburg, where he published Isis, Mankind and the World (4 vols.), ’70–72; Osiris, ’74; The New Faith, ’77; Christianity is Heathenism, ’81; The True Bible and the False, ’87; Esther, ’87.

Radicati (Alberto di), Count. See Passerano.

Ragon (Jean Marie de), French Freemason, b. Bray-sur-Seine, 1781. By profession a civil engineer at Nancy, afterwards Chief of Bureau to the Minister of the Interior. Author of many works on Freemasonry, and The Mass and its Mysteries Compared with the Ancient Mysteries, 1844. Died at Paris, 1862.

Ram (Joachim Gerhard), Holstein philosopher of the seventeenth century, who was accused of Atheism.

Ramaer (Anton Gerard Willem), Dutch writer b. Jever, East Friesland, 2 Aug. 1812. From ’29 he served as officer in the Dutch army. He afterwards became a tax collector, and in ’60 was pensioned. He wrote on Schopenhauer and other able works, and also contributed largely to De Dageraad, often under the pseudonym of “Laçhmé.” He had a noble mind and sacrificed much for his friends and the good cause. Died 16 Feb. 1867.

Ramee (Louise de la), English novelist, b., of French extraction, Bury St. Edmunds, 1840. Under the name of “Ouida,” a little sister’s mispronunciation of Louisa, she has published many popular novels, exhibiting her free and pessimistic opinions. We mention Tricotin, Folle Farine, Signa, Moths and A Village Commune. She has lived much in Italy, where the scenes of several novels are placed.

Ramee (Pierre de la) called Ramus, French humanist, b. Cuth (Vermandois) 1515. He attacked the doctrines of Aristotle, was accused of impiety, and his work suppressed 1543. He lost his life in the massacre of St. Bartholomew, 26 Aug. 1572.

Ramsey (William James), b. London, 8 June, 1844. Becoming a Freethinker early in life, he for some time sold literature at the Hall of Science and became manager of the Freethought Publishing Co. Starting in business for himself he published the Freethinker, for which in ’82 he was prosecuted with Mr. Foote and Mr. Kemp. Tried in March ’83, after a good defence, he was sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment, and on Mr. Foote’s release acted as printer of the paper.

Ranc (Arthur), French writer and deputy, b. Poitiers, 10 Dec. 1831, and was brought up a Freethinker and Republican by his parents. He took the prize for philosophy at the College of Poitiers, and studied law at Paris. He conspired with C. Delescluze against the Second Empire and was imprisoned, but escaped to Geneva. He collaborated on La Marseillaise, was elected on the Municipal Council of Paris in ’71, and Deputy, ’73. Has written Under the Empire and many other political works.

Randello (Cosimo), Italian author of The Simple Story of a Great Fraud, being a criticism of the origin of Christianity, directed against Pauline theology, published at Milan, 1882.

Rapisardi (Mario), Italian poet, b. Catania, Sicily, 1843. Has translated Lucretius, ’80, and published poems on Lucifer, and The Last Prayer of Pius IX., ’71, etc.

Raspail (François Vincent), French chemist and politician b. Carpentras 24 Jan. 1794, was brought up by ecclesiastics and intended for the Church. He became, while quite young, professor of philosophy at the theological seminary of Avignon but an examination of theological dogmas led to their rejection. He went to Paris, and from 1815–24 gave lessons, and afterwards became a scientific lecturer. He took part in the Revolution of ’30. Louis Philippe offered him the Legion of Honor but he refused. Taking part in all the revolutionary outbreaks he was frequently imprisoned. Elected to the chamber in ’69 and sat on the extreme left. Died at Arcueil 6 Jan. 1878.

Rau (Herbert), German rationalist b. Frankfort 11 Feb. 1813. He studied theology and became preacher to free congregations in Stuttgart and Mannheim. He wrote Gospel of Nature, A Catechism of the Religion of the Future, and other works. Died Frankfort 26 Sept. 1876.

Rawson (Albert Leighton) LL.D. American traveller and author, b. Chester, Vermont 15 Oct. 1829. After studying law, theology, and art, he made four visits to the East, and made in ’51–2 a pilgrimage from Cairo to Mecca, disguised as a Mohammedan student of medicine. He has published many maps and typographical and philological works, and illustrated Beecher’s Life of Jesus. Has also written on the Antiquities of the Orient, New York, ’70, and Chorography of Palestine, London, ’80. Has written in the Freethinkers’ Magazine, maintaining that the Bible account of the twelve tribes of Israel is non-historical.

Raynal (Guillaume Thomas François) l’abbé, French historian and philosopher, b. Saint Geniez, 12 April, 1713. He was brought up as a priest but renounced that profession soon after his removal to Paris, 1747, where he became intimate with Helvetius, Holbach, etc. With the assistance of these, and Diderot, Pechmeja, etc., he compiled a philosophical History of European establishments in the two Indies (4 vols. 1770 and 1780), a work full of reflections on the religious and political institutions of France. It made a great outcry, was censured by the Sorbonne, and was burnt by order of Parliament 29 May, 1781. Raynal escaped and passed about six years in exile. Died near Paris, 6 March, 1796.

Reade (William Winwood), English traveller and writer, nephew of Charles Reade the novelist, b. Murrayfield, near Crieff, Scotland, 26 Dec. 1824. He studied at Oxford, then travelled much in the heart of Africa, and wrote Savage Africa, ’63, The African Sketch Book, and in ’73, The Story of the Ashantee Campaign; which he accompanied as Times correspondent. In the Martyrdom of Man (’72), he rejects the doctrine of a personal creator. It went through several editions and is still worth reading. He also wrote Liberty Hall, a novel, ’60; The Veil of Isis, ’61, and See Saw, a novel, ’65. He wrote his last work The Outcast, a Freethought novel, with the hand of death upon him. Died 24 April, 1875.

Reber (George), American author of The Christ of Paul, or the Enigmas of Christianity (New York, 1876), a work in which he exposes the frauds and follies of the early fathers.

Reclus (Jean Jacques Elisée), French geographer and socialist, the son of a Protestant minister, b. Sainte-Foy-la-Grande (Gironde), 15 March, 1830, and educated by the Moravian brethren, and afterwards at Berlin. He early distinguished himself by his love for liberty, and left France after the coup d’état of 2 Dec. ’51, and travelled till ’57 in England, Ireland, and the North and South America, devoting himself to studying the social and political as well as physical condition of the countries he visited, the results being published in the Tour du monde, and Revue des Deux Mondes, in which he upheld the cause of the North during the American war. In ’71 he supported the Commune and was taken prisoner and sentenced to transportation for life. Many eminent men in England and America interceded and his sentence was commuted to banishment. At the amnesty of March ’79, he returned to Paris, and has devoted himself to the publication of a standard Universal Geography in 13 vols. In ’82 he gave two of his daughters in marriage without either religious or civil ceremony. He has written a preface to Bakounin’s God and the State, and many other works.

Reddalls (George Holland), English Secularist, b. Birmingham, Nov. 1846. He became a compositor on the Birmingham Daily Post, but wishing to conduct a Freethought paper started in business for himself, and issued the Secular Chronicle, ’73, which was contributed to by Francis Neale, H. V. Mayer, G. Standring, etc. He died 13 Oct. 1875.

Reghillini de Schio (M.), Professor of Chemistry and Mathematics, b. of Venetian parents at Schio in 1760. He wrote in French an able exposition of Masonry, 1833, which he traced to Egypt; and an Examination of Mosaism and Christianity, ’34. He was mixed in the troubles of Venice in ’48, and fled to Belgium, dying in poverty at Brussels Aug. 1853.

Regnard (Albert Adrien), French doctor and publicist, b. Lachante (Nièvre), 20 March, 1836, author of Essais d’Histoire et de Critique Scientifique (Paris, ’65)—a work for which he could find no publisher, and had to issue himself—in which he proclaimed scientific materialism. Losing his situation, he started, with Naquet and Clemenceau, the Revue Encyclopédique, which being suppressed on its first number, he started La Libre Pensée with Asseline, Condereau, etc. His articles in this journal drew on him and Eudes a condemnation of four months’ imprisonment. He wrote New Researches on Cerebral Congestion, ’68, and was one of the French delegates to the anti-Council of Naples, ’69. Has published Atheism, studies of political science, dated Londres, ’78; a History of England since 1815; and has translated Büchner’s Force and Matter, ’84. He was delegate to the Freethinkers’ International Congress at Antwerp, ’85.

Regnard (Jean François), French comic poet, b. Paris. 8 Feb. 1655. He went to Italy about 1676, and on returning home was captured by an Algerian corsair and sold as a slave. Being caught in an intrigue with one of the women, he was required to turn Muhammadan. The French consul paid his ransom and he returned to France about 1681. He wrote a number of successful comedies and poems, and was made a treasurer of France. He died as an Epicurean, 4 Sept. 1709.

Regnier (Mathurin), French satirical poet, b. Chartres, 21 Dec. 1573. Brought up for the Church, he showed little inclination for its austerities, and was in fact a complete Pagan, though he obtained a canonry in the cathedral of his native place. Died at Rouen, 22 Oct. 1613.

Reich (Eduard) Dr., German physician and anthropologist of Sclav descent on his father’s side, b. Olmütz, 6 March 1839. He studied at Jena and has travelled much, and published over thirty volumes besides editing the Athenæum of Jena ’75, and Universities of Grossenbain, ’83. Of his works we mention Man and the Soul, ’72; The Church of Humanity, ’74; Life of Man as an Individual, ’81; History of the Soul, ’84; The Emancipation of Women, ’84.