Part 25

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. 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.

Reil (Johann Christian), German physician, b. Rauden, East Friesland, 20 Feb. 1758. Intended for the Church, he took instead to medicine; after practising some years in his native town he went in 1787 to Halle, and in 1810 he was made Professor of Medicine at Berlin University. He wrote many medical works, and much advanced medical science, displacing the old ideas in a way which brought on him the accusation of pantheism. Attending a case of typhus fever at Halle he was attacked by the malady, and succumbed 22 Nov. 1813.

Reimarus (Hermann Samuel), German philologist, b. Hamburg, 22 Dec. 1694. He was a son-in-law of J. A. Fabricus. Studied at Jena and Wittenberg; travelled in Holland and England; and was appointed rector of the gymnasium in Weimar, 1723, and in Hamburg, 1729. He was one of the most radical among German rationalists. He published a work on The Principle Truths of Natural Religion, 1754, and left behind the Wolfenbüttel Fragments, published by Lessing in 1777. Died at Hamburg, 1 March, 1768. Strauss has written an account of his services, 1862.

Reitzel (Robert), German American revolutionary, b. Baden, 1849. Named after Blum, studied theology, went to America, walked from New York to Baltimore, and was minister to an independent Protestant church. Studied biology and resigned as a minister, and became speaker of a Freethought congregation at Washington for seven years. Is now editor of Der Arme Teufel of Detroit, and says he "shall be a poor man and a Revolutionaire all my life."

Remsburg (John E.), American lecturer and writer, b. 1848. Has written a series of pamphlets entitled The Image Breaker, False Claims of the Christian Church, '83, Sabbath Breaking, Thomas Paine, and a vigorous onslaught on Bible Morals, instancing twenty crimes and vices sanctioned by scripture, '85.

Renan (Joseph Ernest), learned French writer, b. Tréguier (Brittany) 27 Feb. 1823. Was intended for the Church and went to Paris to study. He became noted for his linguistic attainment, but his studies and independence of thought did not accord with his intended profession. My faith, he says was destroyed not by metaphysics nor philosophy but by historical criticism. In '45 he gave up all thoughts of an ecclesiastic career and became a teacher. In '48 he gained the Volney prize, for a memoir on the Semitic Languages, afterwards amplified into a work on that subject. In '52 he published his work on Averroës and Averroïsm. In '56 was elected member of the Academy of Inscriptions, and in '60 sent on a mission to Syria; having in the meantime published a translation of Job and Song of Songs. Here he wrote his long contemplated Vie de Jesus, '63. In '61 he had been appointed Professor of Hebrew in the Institute of France, but denounced by bishops and clergy he was deprived of his chair, which was, however, restored in '70. The Pope did not disdain to attack him personally as a "French blasphemer." The Vie de Jesus is part of a comprehensive History of the Origin of Christianity, in 8 vols., '63-83, which includes The Apostles, St Paul, Anti-Christ, The Gospels, The Christian Church, and Marcus Aurelius, and the end of the Antique World. Among his other works we must mention Studies on Religious History ('58), Philosophical Dialogues and Fragments ('76), Spinoza ('77), Caliban, a satirical drama ('80), the Hibbert Lecture on the Influence of Rome on Christians, Souvenirs, '84; New Studies of Religious History,'84; The Abbess of Jouarre, a drama which made a great sensation in '86; and The History of the People of Israel, '87-89.

Renand (Paul), Belgian author of a work entitled Nouvelle Symbolique, on the identity of Christianity and Paganism, published at Brussels in 1861.