Chapter IV: Part 4

Chenier (Marie André de), French poet, b. Constantinople, 29 Oct. 1762. His mother, a Greek, inspired him with a love for ancient Greek literature. Sent to college at Paris, he soon manifested his genius by writing eclogues and elegies of antique simplicity and sensibility. In 1787 he came to England as Secretary of Legation. He took part in the legal defence of Louis XVI., eulogised Charlotte Corday, and gave further offence by some letters in the Journal de Paris. He was committed to prison, and here met his ideal in the Comtesse de Coigny. Confined in the same prison, to her he addressed the touching verses, The Young Captive (La jeune Captive). He was executed 25 July, 1794, leaving behind, among other poems, an imitation of Lucretius, entitled Hermes, which warrants the affirmation of de Chênedolle, that "André Chénier était athée avec délices."

Chenier (Marie Joseph de), French poet and miscellaneous writer, brother of the preceding, b. Constantinople, 28 Aug. 1764. He served two years in the army, and then applied himself to literature. His first successful drama, "Charles IX.," was produced in 1789, and was followed by others. He wrote many patriotic songs, and was made member of the Convention. He was a Voltairean, and in his Nouveaux Saints (1801) satirised those who returned to the old faith. He wrote many poems and an account of French literature. Died Paris, 10 Jan. 1811.

Chernuishevsky or Tchernycheiosky (Nikolai Gerasimovich), Russian Nihilist, b. Saratof, 1829. Educated at the University of St. Petersburg, translated Mill's Political Economy, and wrote on Superstition and the Principles of Logic, '59. His bold romance, What is to be Done? was published '63. In the following year he was sentenced to the Siberian mines, where, after heartrending cruelties, he has become insane.

Chesneau Du Marsais (César). See Dumarsais.

Chevalier (Joseph Philippe), French chemist, b. Saint Pol, 21 March, 1806, is the author of an able book on "The Soul from the standpoint of Reason and Science," Paris, '61. He died at Amiens in 1865.

Chies y Gomez (Ramon), Spanish Freethinker, b. Medina de Pomar, Burgos, 13 Oct. 1845. His father, a distinguished Republican, educated him without religion. In '65 Chies went to Madrid, and followed a course of law and philosophy at the University, and soon after wrote for a Madrid paper La Discusion. He took an active part in the Revolution of '65, and at the proclamation of the Republic, '73, became civil governor of Valencia. In '81 he founded a newspaper El Voto Nacional, and since '83 has edited Las Dominicales del Libre Pensamiento, which he also founded. Ramon Chies is one of the foremost Freethought champions in Spain and lectures as well as writes.

Child (Lydia Maria) née Francis, American authoress, b. Medford, Mass., 11 Feb. 1802. She early commenced writing, publishing Hobomok, a Tale of Early Times, in '21. From '25 she kept a private school in Watertown until '28, when she married David Lee Child, a Boston lawyer. She, with him, edited the Anti-Slavery Standard, '41, etc., and by her numerous writings did much to form the opinion which ultimately prevailed. She was, however, long subjected to public odium, her heterodoxy being well known. Her principal work is The Progress of Religious Ideas, 3 vols.; '55. Died Wayland, Mass., 20 Oct. 1880. She was highly eulogised by Wendell Phillips.

Chilton (William), of Bristol, was born in 1815. In early life he was a bricklayer, but in '41 he was concerned with Charles Southwell in starting the Oracle of Reason, which he set up in type, and of which he became one of the editors. He contributed some thoughtful articles on the Theory of Development to the Library of Reason, and wrote in the Movement and the Reasoner. Died at Bristol, 28 May, 1855.

Chubb (Thomas), English Deist, b. East Harnham, near Salisbury, 29 Sept. 1679, was one of the first to show Rationalism among the common people. Beginning by contending for the Supremacy of the Father, he gradually relinquished supernatural religion, and considered that Jesus Christ was of the religion of Thomas Chubb. Died 8 Feb. 1747, leaving behind two vols. which he calls A Farewell to his Readers, from which it appears that he rejected both revelation and special providence.

Church (Henry Tyrell), lecturer and writer, edited Tallis's Shakespeare, wrote Woman and her Failings, 1858, and contributed to the Investigator when edited by Mr. Bradlaugh. Died 19 July, 1859.

Clapiers (Luc de). See Vauvenargues.

Claretie (Jules Armand Arsène), French writer, b. Limoges, 3 Dec. 1840. A prolific writer, of whose works we only cite Free Speech, '68; his biographies of contemporary celebrities; and his work Camille Desmoulins, '75.

Clarke (John), brought up in the Methodist connection, changed his opinion by studying the Bible, and became one of Carlile's shopmen. He was tried 10 June, 1824, for selling a blasphemous libel in number 17, vol. ix., of The Republican, and after a spirited defence, in which he read many of the worst passages in the Bible, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, and to find securities for good behavior during life. He wrote while in prison, A Critical Review of the Life, Character, and Miracles of Jesus, a work showing with some bitterness much bold criticism and Biblical knowledge. It first appeared in the Newgate Magazine and was afterwards published in book form, 1825 and '39.

Clarke (Marcus), Australian writer, b. Kensington, 1847. Went to Victoria, '63; joined the staff of Melbourne Argus. In '76 was made assistant librarian of the Public Library. He has compiled a history of Australia, and written The Peripatetic Philosopher (a series of clever sketches), His Natural Life (a powerful novel), and some poems. An able Freethought paper, "Civilisation without Delusion," in the Victoria Review, Nov. '79, was replied to by Bishop Moorhouse. The reply, with Clarke's answer, which was suppressed, was published in '80. Died 1884.

Claude-Constant, author of a Freethinkers' Catechism published at Paris in 1875.

Clavel (Adolphe), French Positivist and physician, b. Grenoble, 1815. He has written on the Principles of 1789, on those of the nineteenth century, on Positive Morality, and some educational works.

Clavel (F. T. B.), French author of a Picturesque History of Freemasonry, and also a Picturesque History of Religions, 1844, in which Christianity takes a subordinate place.

Clayton (Robert), successively Bishop of Killala, Cork, and Clogher, b. Dublin, 1695. By his benevolence attracted the friendship of Samuel Clarke, and adopted Arianism, which he maintained in several publications. In 1756 he proposed, in the Irish House of Lords, the omission of the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds from the Liturgy, and stated that he then felt more relieved in his mind than for twenty years before. A legal prosecution was instituted, but he died, it is said, from nervous agitation (26 Feb. 1758) before the matter was decided.

Cleave (John), bookseller, and one of the pioneers of a cheap political press. Started the London Satirist, and Cleave's Penny Gazette of Variety, Oct. 14, 1837, to Jan. 20, '44. He published many Chartist and Socialistic works, and an abridgment of Howitt's History of Priestcraft. In May, '40, he was sentenced to four months' imprisonment for selling Haslam's Letters to the Clergy.

Clemenceau (Georges Benjamin Eugene), French politician, b. Moulleron-en-Pareds, 28 Sept. 1841. Educated at Nantes and Paris, he took his doctor's degree in '65. His activity as Republican ensured him a taste of gaol. He visited the United States and acted as correspondent on the Temps. He returned at the time of the war and was elected deputy to the Assembly. In Jan. 1880 he founded La Justice, having as collaborateurs M. C. Pelletan, Prof. Acollas and Dr. C. Letourneau. As one of the chiefs of the Radical party he was largely instrumental in getting M. Carnot elected President.

Clemetshaw (C.), French writer, using the name Cilwa. B. 14 Sept. 1864 of English parents; has contributed to many journals, was delegate to the International Congress, London, of '87, and is editor of Le Danton.

Clemens (Samuel Langhorne), American humorist, better known as "Mark Twain," b. Florida, Missouri, 30 Nov. 1835. In '55 he served as Mississippi pilot, and takes his pen name from the phrase used in sounding. In Innocents Abroad, or the New Pilgrim's Progress, '69, by which he made his name, there is much jesting with "sacred" subjects. Mr. Clemens is an Agnostic.

Clifford (Martin), English Rationalist. Was Master of the Charterhouse, 1671, and published anonymously a treatise of Human Reason, London, '74, which was reprinted in the following year with the author's name. A short while after its publication Laney, Bishop of Ely, was dining in Charterhouse and remarked, not knowing the author, "'twas no matter if all the copies were burnt and the author with them, because it made every man's private fancy judge of religion." Clifford died 10 Dec. 1677. In the Nouvelle Biographie Générale Clifford is amusingly described as an "English theologian of the order des Chartreux," who, it is added, was "prior of his order."

Clifford (William Kingdon), mathematician, philosopher, and moralist, of rare originality and boldness, b. Exeter 4 May, 1845. At the age of fifteen he was sent to King's College, London, where he showed an early genius for mathematics, publishing the Analogues of Pascal's Theorem at the age of eighteen. Entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in '63. In '67 he was second wrangler. Elected fellow of his college, he remained at Cambridge till 1870, when he accompanied the eclipse expedition to the Mediterranean. The next year he was appointed Professor of mathematics at London University, a post he held till his death. He was chosen F.R.S. '74. Married Miss Lucy Lane in April, '75. In the following year symptoms of consumption appeared, and he visited Algeria and Spain. He resumed work, but in '79 took a voyage to Madeira, where he died 3 March. Not long before his death appeared the first volume of his great mathematical work, Elements of Dynamic. Since his death have been published The Common Sense of the Exact Sciences, and Lectures and Essays, in two volumes, edited by Leslie Stephen and Mr. F. Pollock. These volumes include his most striking Freethought lectures and contributions to the Fortnightly and other reviews. He intended to form them into a volume on The Creed of Science. Clifford was an outspoken Atheist, and he wrote of Christianity as a religion which wrecked one civilisation and very nearly wrecked another.

Cloots or Clootz (Johann Baptist, afterwards Anacharsis) Baron du Val de Grâce, Prussian enthusiast, b. near Cleves, 24 June, 1755, was a nephew of Cornelius de Pauw. In 1780 he published the The Certainty of the Proofs of Mohammedanism, under the pseudonym of Ali-gier-ber, an anagram of Bergier, whose Certainty of the Proofs of Christianity he parodies. He travelled widely, but became a resident of Paris and a warm partisan of the Revolution, to which he devoted his large fortune. He wrote a reply to Burke, and continually wrote and spoke in favor of a Universal Republic. On 19 June, 1790, he, at the head of men of all countries, asked a place at the feast of Federation, and henceforward was styled "orator of the human race." He was, with Paine, Priestley, Washington and Klopstock, made a French citizen, and in 1792 was elected to the Convention by two departments. He debaptised himself, taking the name Anacharsis, was a prime mover in the Anti-Catholic party, and induced Bishop Gobel to resign. He declared there was no other God but Nature. Incurring the enmity of Robespierre, he and Paine were arrested as foreigners. After two and a half months' imprisonment at St. Lazare, he was brought to the scaffold with the Hébertistes, 24 March, 1794. He died calmly, uttering materialist sentiments to the last.

Clough (Arthur Hugh), poet, b. Liverpool, 1 Jan. 1819. He was educated at Rugby, under Dr. Arnold, and at Oxford, where he showed himself of the Broad School. Leslie Stephen says, "He never became bitter against the Church of his childhood, but he came to regard its dogmas as imperfect and untenable." In '48 he visited Paris, and the same year produced his Bothie of Toper-na-Fuosich: a Long-Vacation Pastoral. Between '49 and '52 he was professor of English literature in London University. In '52 he visited the United States, where he gained the friendship of Emerson and Longfellow, and revised the Dryden translation of Plutarch's Lives. Died at Florence, 13 Nov. 1861. His Remains are published in two volumes, and include an essay on Religious Tradition and some notable poems. He is the Thyrsis of Matthew Arnold's exquisite Monody.

Cnuzius (Matthias). See Knutzen.

Coke (Henry), author of Creeds of the Day, or collated opinions of reputable thinkers, in 2 vols, London, 1883.

Cole (Peter), a tanner of Ipswich, was burnt for blasphemy in the castle ditch, Norwich, 1587. A Dr. Beamond preached to him before the mayor, sheriffs, and aldermen, "but he would not recant." See Hamont.

Colenso (John William), b. 24 Jan. 1814. Was educated at St. John's, Cambridge, and became a master at Harrow. After acquiring fame by his valuable Treatise on Algebra, '49, he became first Bishop of Natal, '54. Besides other works, he published The Pentateuch and Book of Joshua Critically Examined, 1862-79, which made a great stir, and was condemned by both Houses of Convocation and its author declared deposed. The Privy Council, March '65, declared this deposition "null and void in law." Colenso pleaded the cause of the natives at the time of the Zulu War. He died 20 June, 1883.

Colins (Jean Guillaume César Alexandre Hippolyte) Baron de, Belgian Socialist and founder of "Collectivism," b. Brussels, 24 Dec. 1783. Author of nineteen volumes on Social Science. He denied alike Monotheism and Pantheism, but taught the natural immortality of the soul. Died at Paris, 12 Nov. 1859. A number of disciples propagate his opinions in the Philosophie de l'Avenir.

Collins (Anthony), English Deist, b. Heston, Middlesex, 21 June, 1676. He studied at Cambridge and afterwards at the Temple, and became Justice of the Peace and Treasurer of the County of Essex. He was an intimate friend of Locke, who highly esteemed him and made him his executor. He wrote an Essay on Reason, 1707; Priestcraft in Perfection, 1710; a Vindication of the Divine Attributes, and a Discourse on Freethinking, 1713. This last occasioned a great outcry, as it argued that all belief must be based on free inquiry, and that the use of reason would involve the abandonment of supernatural revelation. In 1719 he published An Inquiry Concerning Human Liberty, a brief, pithy defence of necessitarianism, and in 1729 A Discourse on Liberty and Necessity. In 1724 appeared his Discourse on the Grounds and Reasons of the Christian Religion, and this was followed by The Scheme of Literal Prophecy Considered, 1726. He was a skilful disputant, and wrote with great ability. He is also credited with A Discourse Concerning Ridicule and Irony in Writing. Died at London, 13 Dec. 1729. Collins, says Mr. Leslie Stephen, "appears to have been an amiable and upright man, and to have made all readers welcome to the use of a free library." Professor Fraser calls him "a remarkable man," praises his "love of truth and moral courage," and allows that in answering Dr. Samuel Clarke on the question of liberty and necessity he "states the arguments against human freedom with a logical force unsurpassed by any necessitarian." A similar testimony to Collins as a thinker and dialectician is borne by Professor Huxley.

Colman (Lucy N.), American reformer, b. 26 July, 1817, has spent most of her life advocating the abolition of slavery, women's rights, and Freethought. She has lectured widely, written Reminisences in the Life of a Reformer of Fifty Years, and contributed to the Truthseeker and Boston Investigator.

Colotes, of Lampsacus, a hearer and disciple of Epicurus, with whom he was a favorite. He wrote a work in favor of his master's teachings. He held it was unworthy of a philosopher to use fables.

Combe (Abram), one of a noted Scotch family of seventeen, b. Edinburgh, 15 Jan. 1785. He traded as a tanner, but, becoming acquainted with Robert Owen, founded a community at Orbiston upon the principle of Owen's New Lanark, devoting nearly the whole of his large fortune to the scheme. But his health gave way and he died 11 Aug. 1827. He wrote Metaphysical Sketches of the Old and New Systems and other works advocating Owenism.

Combe (Andrew), physician, brother of the above, b. Edinburgh, 27 Oct. 1797; studied there and in Paris; aided his brother George in founding the Phrenological Society; wrote popular works on the Principles of Physiology and the Management of Infancy. Died near Edinburgh, 9 Aug. 1847.

Combe (George), phrenologist and educationalist, b. Edinburgh, 21 Oct. 1788. He was educated for the law. Became acquainted with Spurzheim, and published Essays on Phrenology, 1819, and founded the Phrenological Journal. In '28 he published the Constitution of Man, which excited great controversy especially for removing the chimeras of special providence and efficacy of prayer. In '33 he married a daughter of Mrs. Siddons. He visited the United States and lectured on Moral Philosophy and Secular Education. His last work was The Relations between Science and Religion, '57, in which he continued to uphold Secular Theism. He also published many lectures and essays. Among his friends were Miss Evans (George Eliot), who spent a fortnight with him in '52. He did more than any man of his time, save Robert Owen, for the cause of Secular education. Died at Moor Park, Surrey, 14 Aug. 1858.

Combes (Paul), French writer, b. Paris, 13 June, 1856. Has written on Darwinism, '83, and other works popularising science.

Commazzi (Gian-Battista), Count author of Politica e religione trovate insieme nella persona di Giesù Cristo, Nicopoli [Vienna] 4 vols., 1706-7, in which he makes Jesus to be a political impostor. It was rigorously confiscated at Rome and Vienna.

Comparetti (Domenico), Italian philologist, b. Rome in 1835. Signor Comparetti is Professor at the Institute of Superior Studies, Rome, and has written many works on the classic writers, in which he evinces his Pagan partialities.

Comte (Isidore Auguste Marie François Xavier), French philosopher, mathematician and reformer, b. at Montpelier, 12 Jan. 1798. Educated at Paris in the Polytechnic School, where he distinguished himself by his mathematical talent. In 1817 he made the acquaintance of St. Simon, agreeing with him as to the necessity of a Social renovation based upon a mental revolution. On the death of St. Simon ('25) Comte devoted himself to the elaboration of an original system of scientific thought, which, in the opinion of some able judges, entitles him to be called the Bacon of the nineteenth century. Mill speaks of him as the superior of Descartes and Leibniz. In '25 he married, but the union proved unhappy. In the following year he lectured, but broke down under an attack of brain fever, which occasioned his detention in an asylum. He speedily recovered, and in '28 resumed his lectures, which were attended by men like Humboldt, Ducrotay, Broussais, Carnot, etc. In '30 he put forward the first volumes of his Course of Positive Philosophy, which in '42 was completed by the publication of the sixth volume. A condensed English version of this work was made by Harriet Martineau, '53. In '45 Comte formed a passionate Platonic attachement to Mme. Clotilde de Vaux, who died in the following year, having profoundely influenced Comte's life. In consequence of his opinions, he lost his professorship, and was supported by his disciples--Mill, Molesworth and Grote, in England, assisting. Among other works, Comte published A General View of Positivism, '48, translated by Dr. Bridges, '65; A System of Positive Polity, '51, translated by Drs. Bridges, Beesley, F. Harrison, etc., '75-79; and A Positive Catechism, '54, translated by Dr. Congreve, '58. He also wrote on Positive Logic, which he intended to follow with Positive Morality and Positive Industrialism. Comte was a profound and suggestive thinker. He resolutely sets aside all theology and metaphysics, coordinates the sciences and substitutes the service of man for the worship of God. Mr. J. Cotter Morison says "He belonged to that small class of rare minds, whose errors are often more valuable and stimulating than other men's truths." He died of cancer in the stomach at Paris, 5 Sept. 1857.

Condillac (Etienne Bonnot de), French philosopher, b. Grenoble, about 1715. His life was very retired, but his works show much acuteness. They are in 23 vols., the principal being A Treatise on the Sensations, 1764; A Treatise on Animals, and An Essay on the Origin of Human Knowledge. In the first-named he shows that all mental life is gradually built up out of simple sensations. Died 3 Aug. 1780.

Condorcet (Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat, Marquis de), French philosopher and politician, b. Ribemont, Picardy, 17 Sept. 1743. Dedicated to the Virgin by a pious mother, he was kept in girl's clothes until the age of 11. Sent to a Jesuit's school, he soon gave up religion. At sixteen he maintained a mathematical thesis in the presence of Alembert. In the next year he dedicated to Turgot a Profession of Faith. After some mathematical works, he was made member of the Academy, of which he was appointed perpetual secretary, 1773. In 1776 he published his atheistic Letters of a Theologian. He also wrote biographies of Turgot and Voltaire, and in favor of American independence and against negro slavery. In 1791 he represented Paris in the National Assembly, of which he became Secretary. It was on his motion that, in the following year, all orders of nobility were abolished. Voting against the death of the king and siding with the Gironde drew on him the vengeance of the extreme party. He took shelter with Madame Vernet, but fearing to bring into trouble her and his wife, at whose instigation he wrote his fine Sketch of the Progress of the Human Mind while in hiding, he left, but, being arrested, died of exhaustion or by poison self-administered, at Bourg la Reine, 27 March, 1794.

Condorcet (Sophie de Grouchy Caritat, Marquise de), wife of above, and sister of General Grouchy and of Mme. Cabanis, b. 1765. She married Condorcet 1786, and was considered one of the most beautiful women of her time. She shared her husband's sentiments and opinions and, while he was proscribed, supported herself by portrait painting. She was arrested, and only came out of prison after the fall of Robespierre. She translated Adam Smith's Theory of the Moral Sentiments, which she accompanied with eight letters on Sympathy, addressed to Cabanis. She died 8 Sept. 1822. Her only daughter married Gen. Arthur O'Connor.

Confucius (Kung Kew) or Kung-foo-tsze, the philosopher Kung, a Chinese sage, b. in the State of Loo, now part of Shantung, about B.C. 551. He was distinguished by filial piety and learning. In his nineteenth year he married, and three years after began as a teacher, rejecting none who came to him. He travelled through many states. When past middle age he was appointed chief minister of Loo, but finding the Duke desired the renown of his name without adopting his counsel, he retired, and devoted his old age to editing the sacred classics of China. He died about B.C. 478. His teaching, chiefly found in the Lun-Yu, or Confucian Analects, was of a practical moral character, and did not include any religious dogmas.

Congreve (Richard), English Positivist, born in 1819. Educated at Rugby under T. Arnold, and Oxford 1840, M.A. 1843; was fellow of Wadham College 1844-54. In '55 he published his edition of Aristotle Politics. He became a follower of Comte and influenced many to embrace Positivism. Translated Comte's Catechism of Positive Philosophy, 1858, and has written many brochures. Dr. Congreve is considered the head of the strict or English Comtists, and has long conducted a small "Church of Humanity."

Connor (Bernard), a physician, b. Co. Kerry, of Catholic family, 1666. He travelled widely, and was made court physician to John Sobieski, King of Poland. He wrote a work entitled Evangelium Medici (1697), in which he attempts to account for the Christian miracles on natural principles. For this he was accused of Atheism. He died in London 27 Oct. 1698.

Constant de Rebecque (Henri Benjamin), Swiss writer, b. Lausanne, 25 Oct. 1767, and educated at Oxford, Erlangen and Edinburgh. In 1795 he entered Paris as a protégé of Mme. de Stael, and in 1799 became a member of the Tribunal. He opposed Buonaparte and wrote on Roman Polytheism and an important work on Religion Considered in its Source, its Forms and its Developments (6 vols.; 1824-32). Died 8 Dec. 1830. Constant professed Protestantism, but was at heart a sceptic, and has been called a second Voltaire. A son was executor to Auguste Comte.

Conta (Basil), Roumanian philosopher, b. Neamtza 27 Nov. 1845. Studied in Italy and Belgium, and became professor in the University of Jassy, Moldavia. In '77 he published in Brussels, in French, a theory of fatalism, which created some stir by its boldness of thought.

Conway (Moncure Daniel), author, b. in Fredericksburg, Stafford co. Virginia, 17 March, 1832. He entered the Methodist ministry '50, but changing his convictions through the influence of Emerson and Hicksite Quakers, entered the divinity school at Cambridge, where he graduated in '54 and became pastor of a Unitarian church until dismissed for his anti-slavery discourses. In '57 he preached in Cincinnati and there published The Natural History of the Devil, and other pamphlets. In '63 Mr. Conway came to England and was minister of South Place from the close of '63 until his return to the States in '84. Mr. Conway is a frequent contributor to the press. He has also published The Earthward Pilgrimage, 1870, a theory reversing Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress; collected a Sacred Anthology from the various sacred books of the world 1873, which he used in his pulpit; has written on Human Sacrifices, 1876, and Idols and Ideals, 1877. His principal work is Demonology and Devil Lore, 1878, containing much information on mythology. He also issued his sermons under the title of Lessons for the Day, two vols., 1883, and has published a monograph on the Wandering Jew, a biography of Emerson, and is at present engaged on a life of Thomas Paine.

Cook (Kenningale Robert), LL.D., b. in Lancashire 26 Sept. 1845, son of the vicar of Stallbridge. When a boy he used to puzzle his mother by such questions as, "If God was omnipotent could he make what had happened not have happened." He was intended for the Church, but declined to subscribe the articles. Graduated at Dublin in '66, and took LL.D. in '75. In '77 he became editor of the Dublin University Magazine, in which appeared some studies of the lineage of Christian doctrine and traditions afterwards published under the title of The Fathers of Jesus. Dr. Cook wrote several volumes of choice poems. Died July, 1886.

Cooper (Anthony Ashley), see Shaftesbury.

Cooper (Henry), barrister, b. Norwich about 1784. He was a schoolfellow of Wm. Taylor of Norwich. He served as midshipman at the battle of the Nile, but disliking the service became a barrister, and acquired some fame by his spirited defence of Mary Ann Carlile, 21 July, 1821, for which the report of the trial was dedicated to him by R. Carlile. He was a friend of Lord Erskine, whose biography he commenced. Died 19 Sept. 1824.

Cooper (John Gilbert), poet, b. Thurgaton Priory, Notts, 1723. Educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. An enthusiastic disciple of Lord Shaftesbury. Under the name of "Philaretes" he contributed to Dodsley's Museum. In 1749 he published a Life of Socrates, for which he was coarsely attacked by Warburton. He wrote some poems under the signature of Aristippus. Died Mayfair, London, 14 April, 1769.

Cooper (Peter), a benevolent manufacturer, b. N. York, 12 Feb. 1791. He devoted over half a million dollars to the Cooper Institute, for the secular instruction and elevation of the working classes. Died 4 April, 1883.

Cooper (Robert), Secularist writer and lecturer, b. 29 Dec. 1819, at Barton-on-Irwell, near Manchester. He had the advantage of being brought up in a Freethought family. At fourteen he became teacher in the Co-operative Schools, Salford, lectured at fifteen, and by seventeen became an acknowledged advocate of Owenism, holding a public discussion with the Rev. J. Bromley. Some of his lectures were published--one on Original Sin sold twelve thousand copies--when he was scarcely eighteen. The Holy Scriptures Analysed (1832) was denounced by the Bishop of Exeter in the House of Lords. Cooper was dismissed from a situation he had held ten years, and in 1841 became a Socialist missionary in the North of England and Scotland. At Edinburgh (1845) he wrote Free Agency and Orthodoxy, and compiled the Infidel's Text Book. About '50 he came to London, lecturing with success at John Street Institution. In '54 he started the London Investigator, which he edited for three years. In it appears his lectures on "Science v. Theology," "Admissions of Distinguished Men," etc. Failing health obliged him to retire leaving the Investigator to "Anthony Collins" (W. H. Johnson), and afterwards to "Iconoclast" (C. Bradlaugh). At his last lecture he fainted on the platform. In 1858 he remodelled his Infidel Text-Book into a work on The Bible and Its Evidences. He devoted himself to political reform until his death, 3 May, 1868.

Cooper (Thomas), M.D., LL.D., natural philosopher, politician, jurist and author, b. London, 22 Oct. 1759. Educated at Oxford, he afterwards studied law and medicine; was admitted to the bar and lived at Manchester, where he wrote a number of tracts on "Materialism," "Whether Deity be a Free Agent," etc., 1789. Deputed with James Watt, the inventor, by the Constitutional clubs to congratulate the Democrats of France (April, 1792), he was attacked by Burke and replied in a vigorous pamphlet. In '94 he published Information Concerning America, and in the next year followed his friend Priestly to Philadelphia, established himself as a lawyer and was made judge. He also conducted the Emporium of Arts and Sciences in that city. He was Professor of Medicine at Carlisle College, '12, and afterwards held the chairs both of Chemistry and Political Economy in South Carolina College, of which he became President, 1820-34. This position he was forced to resign on account of his religious views. He translated from Justinian and Broussais, and digested the Statutes of South Carolina. In philosophy a Materialist, in religion a Freethinker, in politics a Democrat, he urged his views in many pamphlets. One on The Right of Free Discussion, and a little book on Geology and the Pentateuch, in reply to Prof. Silliman, were republished in London by James Watson. Died at Columbia, 11 May, 1840. [1]

[1] So varied was the activity of T. Cooper during his long life that his works in the British Museum were catalogued as by six different persons of the same name. I pointed this out, and the six single gentlemen will be rolled into one.

Coornhert (Dirk Volkertszoon), Dutch humanist, poet and writer, b. Amsterdam, 1522. He travelled in his youth through Spain and Portugal. He set up as an engraver at Haarlem, and became thereafter notary and secretary of the city of Haarlem. He had a profound horror of intolerance, and defended liberty against Beza and Calvin. The clergy vituperated him as a Judas and as instigated by Satan, etc. Bayle, who writes of him as Theodore Koornhert, says he communed neither with Protestants nor Catholics. The magistrates of Delft drove him out of their city. He translated Cicero's De Officiis, and other works. Died at Gouda, 20 Oct. 1590.

Cordonnier de Saint Hyacinthe. See Saint-Hyacinthe (Themiseuil de).

Corvin-Wiersbitski (Otto Julius Bernhard von), Prussian Pole of noble family, who traced their descent from the Roman Corvinii, b. Gumbinnen, 12 Oct. 1812. He served in the Prussian army, where he met his friend Friedrich von Sallet; retired into the Landwehr 1835, went to Leipsic and entered upon a literary career, wrote the History of the Dutch Revolution, 1841; the History of Christian Fanaticism, 1845, which was suppressed in Austria. He took part with the democrats in '48; was condemned to be shot 15 Sept. '49, but the sentence was commuted; spent six years' solitary confinement in prison; came to London, became correspondent to the Times; went through American Civil War, and afterwards Franco-Prussian War, as a special correspondent. He has written a History of the New Time, 1848-71. Died since 1886.

Cotta (Bernhard), German geologist, b. Little Zillbach, Thuringia, 24 Oct. 1808. He studied at the Academy of Mining, in Freiberg, where he was appointed professor in '42. His first production, The Dendroliths, '32, proved him a diligent investigator. It was followed by many geological treatises. Cotta did much to support the nebular hypothesis and the law of natural development without miraculous agency. He also wrote on phrenology. Died at Freiburg, 13 Sept 1879.

Cotta (C. Aurelius), Roman philosopher, orator and statesman, b. B.C. 124. In '75 he became Consul. On the expiration of his office he obtained Gaul as a province. Cicero had a high opinion of him and gives his sceptical arguments in the third book of his De Natura Deorum.

Courier (Paul Louis), French writer, b. Paris, 4 Jan. 1772. He entered the army and became an officer of artillery, serving with distinction in the Army of the Republic. He wrote many pamphlets, directed against the clerical restoration, which place him foremost among the literary men of the generation. His writings are now classics, but they brought him nothing but imprisonment, and he was apparently assassinated, 10 April, 1825. He had a presentiment that the bigots would kill him.

Coventry (Henry), a native of Cambridgeshire, b. about 1710, Fellow of Magdalene College, author of Letters of Philemon to Hydaspus on False Religion (1736). Died 29 Dec. 1752.

Coward (William), M.D., b. Winchester, 1656. Graduated at Wadham College, Oxford, 1677. Settled first at Northampton, afterwards at London. Published, besides some medical works, Second Thoughts Concerning Human Soul, which excited much indignation by denying natural immortality. The House of Commons (17 March, 1704) ordered his work to be burnt. He died in 1725.

Cox (the Right Rev. Sir George William), b. 1827, was educated at Rugby and Oxford, where he took B.C.L. in 1849. Entered the Church, but has devoted himself to history and mythology. His most pretentious work is Mythology of the Aryan Nations (1870). He has also written an Introduction to Comparative Mythology and several historical works. In 1886 he became Bishop of Bloemfontein. He is credited with the authorship of the English Life of Jesus, published under the name of Thomas Scott. At the Church Congress of 1888 he read an heretical paper on Biblical Eschatology. His last production is a Life of Bishop Colenso, 2 vols, 1888.

Coyteux (Fernand), French writer, b. Ruffec, 1800. Author of a materialistic system of philosophy, Brussels, 1853 Studies on physiology, Paris, 1875, etc.

Craig (Edward Thomas), social reformer, b. at Manchester 4 Aug. 1804. He was present at the Peterloo massacre '19; helped to form the Salford Social Institute and became a pioneer of co-operation. In '31 he became editor of the Lancashire Co-operator. In Nov. of the same year he undertook the management of a co-operative farm at Rahaline, co. Clare. Of this experiment he has written an history, '72. Mr. Craig has edited several journals and contributed largely to Radical and co-operative literature. He has published a memoir of Dr. Travis and at the age of 84 he wrote on The Science of Prolonging Life.

Cramer (Johan Nicolai), Swedish writer, b. Wisby, Gottland, 18 Feb. 1812. He studied at Upsala and became Doctor of Philosophy '36; ordained priest in '42; he resigned in '58. In religion he denies revelation and insists on the separation of Church and State. Among his works we mention Separation from the Church, a Freethinker's annotations on the reading of the Bible, Stockholm, 1859. A Confession of Faith; Forward or Back? (1862). He has also written on the Punishment of Death (1868), and other topics.

Cranbrook (Rev. James.) Born of strict Calvinistic parents about 1817. Mr. Cranbrook gradually emancipated himself from dogmas, became a teacher, and for sixteen years was minister of an Independent Church at Liscard, Cheshire. He also was professor at the Ladies' College, Liverpool, some of his lectures there being published '57. In Jan. '65, he went to Albany Church, Edinburgh, but his views being too broad for that congregation, he left in Feb. '67 but continued to give Sunday lectures until his death, 6 June, 1869. In '66 he published Credibilia: an Inquiry into the grounds of Christian faith and two years later The Founders of Christianity, discourses on the origin of Christianity. Other lectures on Human Depravity, Positive Religion, etc., were published by Thomas Scott.

Cranch (Christopher Pearse), American painter and poet, b. Alexandria, Virginia, 8 March, 1813, graduated at divinity school, Cambridge, Mass. '35, but left the ministry in '42. He shows his Freethought sentiments in Satan, a Libretto, Boston, '74, and other works.

Craven (M. B.), American, author of a critical work on the Bible entitled Triumph of Criticism, published at Philadelphia, 1869.

Cremonini (Cesare), Italian philosopher, b. Cento, Ferrara, 1550, was professor of philosophy at Padua from 1591 to 1631, when he died. A follower of Aristotle, he excited suspicion by his want of religion and his teaching the mortality of the soul. He was frequently ordered by the Jesuits and the Inquisition to refute the errors he gave currency to, but he was protected by the Venetian State, and refused. Like most of the philosophers of his time, he distinguished between religious and philosophic truth. Bayle says. "Il a passé pour un esprit fort, qui ne croyait point l'immortalité de l'âme." Larousse says, "On peut dire qu'il n'était pas chrétien." Ladvocat says his works "contain many things contrary to religion."

Cross (Mary Ann). See Eliot (George).

Crousse (Louis D.), French Pantheistic philosopher, author of Principles, or First Philosophy, 1839, and Thoughts, 1845.

Curtis (S. E.), English Freethinker, author of Theology Displayed, 1842. He has been credited with The Protestant's Progress to Infidelity. See Griffith (Rees). Died 1847.

Croly (David Goodman), American Positivist, b. New York, 3 Nov. 1829. He graduated at New York University in '54, and was subsequently a reporter on the New York Herald. He became editor of the New York World until '72. From '71 to '73 he edited The Modern Thinker, an organ of the most advanced thought, and afterwards the New York Graphic. Mr. Croly has written a Primer of Positivism, '76, and has contributed many articles to periodicals. His wife, Jane Cunningham, who calls herself "Jennie June," b. 1831, also wrote in The Modern Thinker.

Cross (Mary Ann), see Eliot (George).

Crozier (John Beattie), English writer of Scottish border parentage, b. Galt, Ontario, Canada, 23 April, 1849. In youth he won a scholarship to the grammar school of the town, and thence won another scholarship to the Toronto University, where he graduated '72, taking the University and Starr medals. He then came to London determined to study the great problems of religion and civilisation. He took his diploma from the London College of Physicians in '73. In '77 he wrote his first essay, "God or Force," which, being rejected by all the magazines, he published as a pamphlet. Other essays on the Constitution of the World, Carlyle, Emerson, and Spencer being also rejected, he published them in a book entitled The Religion of the Future, '80, which fell flat. He then started his work Civilisation and Progress, which appeared in '85, and was also unsuccessful until republished with a few notices in '87, when it received a chorus of applause, for its clear and original thoughts. Mr. Crozier is now engaged on his Autobiography, after which he proposes to deal with the Social question.

Cuffeler (Abraham Johann), a Dutch philosopher and doctor of law, who was one of the first partizans of Spinoza. He lived at Utrecht towards the end of the seventeenth century, and wrote a work on logic in three parts entitled Specimen Artis Ratiocinandi, etc., published ostensibly at Hamburg, but really at Amsterdam or Utrecht, 1684. It was without name but with the author's portrait.

Cuper (Frans), Dutch writer, b. Rotterdam. Cuper is suspected to have been one of those followers of Spinoza, who under pretence of refuting him, set forth and sustained his arguments by feeble opposition. His work entitled Arcana Atheismi Revelata, Rotterdam 1676, was denounced as written in bad faith. Cuper maintained that the existence of God could not be proved by the light of reason.

Cyrano de Bergerac (Savinien), French comic writer, b. Paris 6 March, 1619. After finishing his studies and serving in the army in his youth he devoted himself to literature. His tragedy "Agrippine" is full of what a bookseller called "belles impiétés," and La Monnoye relates that at its performance the pit shouted "Oh, the wretch! The Atheist! How he mocks at holy things!" Cyrano knew personally Campanella, Gassendi, Lamothe Le Vayer, Linière, Rohault, etc. His other works consist of a short fragment on Physic, a collection of Letters, and a Comic History of the States and Empires of the Moon and the Sun. Cyrano took the idea of this book from F. Godwin's Man in the Moon, 1583, and it in turn gave rise to Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Voltaire's Micromegas. Died Paris, 1655.

Czolbe (Heinrich), German Materialist, b. near Dantzic, 30 Dec. 1819, studied medicine at Berlin, writing an inaugural dissertation on the Principles of Physiology, '44. In '55 he published his New Exposition of Sensationalism, in which everything is resolved into matter and motion, and in '65 a work on The Limits and Origin of Human Knowledge. He was an intimate friend of Ueberweg. Died at Königsberg, 19 Feb. 1873. Lange says "his life was marked by a deep and genuine morality."

D'Ablaing. See Giessenburg.

Dale (Antonius van), Dutch writer, b. Haarlem, 8 Nov. 1638. His work on oracles was erudite but lumbersome, and to it Fontenelle gave the charm of style. It was translated into English by Mrs. Aphra Behn, under the title of The History of Oracles and the Cheats of Pagan Priests, 1699. Van Dale, in another work on The Origin and Progress of Idolatry and Superstition, applied the historical method to his subject, and showed that the belief in demons was as old and as extensive as the human race. He died at Haarlem, 28 Nov. 1708.

Damilaville (Etienne Noël), French writer, b. at Bordeaux, 1721. At first a soldier, then a clerk, he did some service for Voltaire, who became his friend. He also made the friendship Diderot, d'Alembert, Grimm, and d'Holbach. He contributed to the Encyclopédie, and in 1767 published an attack on the theologians, entitled Theological Honesty. The book entitled Christianity Unveiled [see Boulanger and Holbach] was attributed by Voltaire, who called it Impiety Unveiled, and by La Harpe and Lalande to Damilaville. Voltaire called him "one of our most learned writers." Larousse says "he was an ardent enemy of Christianity." He has also been credited with a share in the System of Nature. Died 15 Dec. 1768.

Dandolo (Vincenzo) Count, Italian chemist, b. Venice, 26 Oct. 1758, wrote Principles of Physical Chemistry, a work in French on The New Men, in which he shows his antagonism to religion, and many useful works on vine, timber, and silk culture. Died Varessa, 13 Dec. 1819.

Danton (Georges Jacques), French revolutionist, b. Arcis sur Aube, 28 Oct. 1759. An uncle wished him to enter into orders, but he preferred to study law. During the Revolution his eloquence made him conspicuous at the Club of Cordeliers, and in Feb. 1791, he became one of the administrators of Paris. One of the first to see that after the flight of Louis XVI. he could no longer be king, he demanded his suspension, and became one of the chief organisers of the Republic. In the alarm caused by the invasion he urged a bold and resolute policy. He was a member of the Convention and of the Committee of Public Safety. At the crisis of the struggle with Robespierre, Danton declined to strike the first blow and disdained to fly. Arrested March, 1794, he said when interrogated by the judge, "My name is Danton, my dwelling will soon be in annihilation; but my name will live in the Pantheon of history." He maintained his lofty bearing on the scaffold, where he perished 5 April, 1794. For his known scepticism Danton was called fils de Diderot. Carlyle calls him "a very Man."

Dapper (Olfert), Dutch physician, who occupied himself with history and geography, on which he produced important works. He had no religion and was suspected of Atheism. He travelled through Syria, Babylonia, etc., in 1650. He translated Herodotus (1664) and the orations of the late Prof. Caspar v. Baerli (1663), and wrote a History of the City of Amsterdam, 1663. Died at Amsterdam 1690.

Darget (Etienne), b. Paris, 1712; went to Berlin in 1744 and became reader and private secretary to Frederick the Great (1745-52), who corresponded with him afterwards. Died 1778.

Darwin (Charles Robert), English naturalist, b. Shrewsbury, 12 Feb. 1809. Educated at Shrewsbury, Edinburgh University, and Cambridge. He early evinced a taste for collecting and observing natural objects. He was intended for a clergyman, but, incited by Humboldt's Personal Narrative, resolved to travel. He accompanied Captain Fitzroy in the "Beagle" on a voyage of exploration, '31-36, which he narrated in his Voyage of a Naturalist Round the World, which obtained great popularity. In '39 he married, and in '42 left London and settled at Down, Kent. His studies, combined with the reading of Lamarck and Malthus, led to his great work on The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection, '59, which made a great outcry and marked an epoch. Darwin took no part in the controversy raised by the theologians, but followed his work with The Fertilisation of Orchids, '62; Cross and Self Fertilisation of Plants, '67; Variations of Plants and Animals under Domestication, '65; and in '71 The Descent of Man and Selection in relation to Sex, which caused yet greater consternation in orthodox circles. The following year he issued The Expression of the Emotions of Men and Animals. He also published works on the Movements of Plants, Insectivorous Plants, the Forms of Flowers, and Earthworms. He died 19 April, 1882, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, despite his expressed unbelief in revelation. To a German student he wrote, in '79, "Science has nothing to do with Christ, except in so far as the habit of scientific research makes a man cautious in admitting evidence. For myself I do not believe that there ever has been any revelation." In his Life and Letters he relates that between 1836 and 1842 he had come to see "that the Old Testament was no more to be trusted than the sacred books of the Hindoos." He rejected design and said "I for one must be content to remain an Agnostic."

Darwin (Erasmus), Dr., poet, physiologist and philosopher, grandfather of the above, was born at Elston, near Newark, 12 Dec. 1731. Educated at Chesterfield and Cambridge he became a physician, first at Lichfield and afterwards at Derby. He was acquainted with Rousseau, Watt and Wedgwood. His principal poem, The Botanic Garden was published in 1791, and The Temple of Nature in 1803. His principal work is Zoomania, or the laws of organic life (1794), for which he was accused of Atheism. He was actually a Deist. He also wrote on female education and some papers in the Philosophical Transactions. Died at Derby, 18 April, 1802.

Daubermesnil (François Antoine), French conventionalist. Elected deputy of Tarn in 1792. Afterwards became a member of the Council of Five Hundred. He was one of the founders of Theophilanthropy. Died at Perpignan 1802.

Daudet (Alphonse), French novelist, b. at Nîmes, 13 May 1840, author of many popular romances, of which we mention L'Evangeliste, '82, which has been translated into English under the title Port Salvation.

Daunou (Pierre Claude François), French politician and historian, b. Boulogne, 18 Aug. 1761. His father entered him in the congregation of the Fathers of the Oratory, which he left at the Revolution. The department of Calais elected him with Carnot and Thomas Paine to the Convention. After the Revolution he became librarian at the Pantheon. He was a friend of Garat, Cabanis, Chenier, Destutt Tracy, Ginguené and Benj. Constant. Wrote Historical Essay on the Temporal Power of the Popes, 1810. Died at Paris, 20 June, 1840, noted for his benevolence.

Davenport (Allen), social reformer, b. 1773. He contributed to Carlile's Republican; wrote an account of the Life, Writings and Principles of Thomas Spence, the reformer (1826); and published a volume of verse, entitled The Muses' Wreath (1827). Died at Highbury, London, 1846.

Davenport (John), Deist, b. London, 8 June, 1789, became a teacher. He wrote An Apology for Mohammed and the Koran, 1869; Curiositates Eroticoe Physiologæ, or Tabooed Subjects Freely Treated, and several educational works. Died in poverty 11 May, 1877.

David of Dinant, in Belgium, Pantheistic philosopher of the twelfth century. He is said to have visited the Papal Court of Innocent III. He shared in the heresies of Amalric of Chârtres, and his work Quaterini was condemned and burnt (1209). He only escaped the stake by rapid flight. According to Albert the Great he was the author of a philosophical work De Tomis, "Of Subdivisions," in which he taught that all things were one. His system was similar to that of Spinoza.

David (Jacques Louis), French painter, born at Paris, 31 Aug. 1748, was made painter to the king, but joined the Jacobin Club, became a member of the Convention, voted for the king's death and for the civic festivals, for which he made designs. On the restoration he was banished. Died at Brussels, 29 Dec. 1825. David was an honest enthusiast and a thorough Freethinker.

Davidis or David (Ferencz), a Transylvanian divine, b. about 1510. He was successively a Roman Catholic, a Lutheran and an Antitrinitarian. He went further than F. Socinus and declared there was "as much foundation for praying to the Virgin Mary and other dead saints as to Jesus Christ." He was in consequence accused of Judaising and thrown into prison at Deva, where he died 6 June, 1579.

Davies (John C.), of Stockport, an English Jacobin, who in 1797 published a list of contradictions of the Bible under the title of The Scripturian's Creed, for which he was prosecuted and imprisoned. The work was republished by Carlile, 1822, and also at Manchester, 1839.

Davidson (Thomas), bookseller and publisher, was prosecuted by the Vice Society in Oct. 1820, for selling the Republican and a publication of his own, called the Deist's Magazine. For observations made in his defence he was summoned and fined £100, and he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment in Oakham Gaol. He died 16 Dec. 1826.

Debierre (Charles), French writer, author of Man Before History, 1888.

De Dominicis. See Dominicis.

De Felice (Francesco), Italian writer, b. Catania, Sicily, 1821, took part in the revolution of '43, and when Garibaldi landed in Sicily was appointed president of the provisional council of war. Has written on the reformation of elementary schools.

De Greef (Guillaume Joseph), advocate at Brussels Court of Appeal, b. at Brussels, 9 Oct. 1842. Author of an important Introduction to Sociology, 1886. Wrote in La Liberté, 1867-73, and now writes in La Societé Nouvelle.

De Gubernatis (Angelo), Italian Orientalist and writer, b. Turin, 7 April, 1840; studied at Turin University and became doctor of philosophy. He studied Sanskrit under Bopp and Weber at Berlin. Sig. de Gubernatis has adorned Italian literature with many important works, of which we mention his volumes on Zoological Mythology, which has been translated into English, '72: and on the Mythology of Plants. He has compiled and in large part written a Universal History of Literature, 18 vols. '82-85; edited La Revista Europea and the Revue Internationale, and contributed to many publications. He is a brilliant writer and a versatile scholar.

De Harven (Emile Jean Alexandre), b. Antwerp, 23 Sept. 1837, the anonymous author of a work on The Soul: its Origin and Destiny (Antwerp, 1879).

Dekker (Eduard Douwes), the greatest Dutch writer and Freethinker of this century, b. Amsterdam, 2 March, 1820. In '39 he accompanied his father, a ship's captain, to the Malayan Archipelago. He became officer under the Dutch government in Sumatra, Amboina, and Assistant-Resident at Lebac, Java. He desired to free the Javanese from the oppression of their princes, but the government would not help him and he resigned and returned to Holland, '56. The next four years he spent, in poverty, vainly seeking justice for the Javanese. In '60 he published under the pen name of "Multatuli" Max Havelaar, a masterly indictment of the Dutch rule in India, which has been translated into German, French and English. Then follow his choice Minnebrieven (Love Letters), '61; Vorstenschool (A School for Princes), and Millioenen Studiën (Studies on Millions). His Ideën, 7 vols. '62-79, are full of the boldest heresy. In most of his works religion is attacked, but in the Ideas faith is criticised with much more pungency and satire. He wrote "Faith is the voluntary prison-cell of reason." He was an honorary member of the Freethought Society, De Dageraad, and contributed to its organ. During the latter years of his life he lived at Wiesbaden, where he died 19 Feb. 1887. His corpse was burned in the crematory at Gotha.

De Lalande (see Lalande).