A Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers of All Ages and Nations Part 6

Cardano (Girolamo), better known as Jerome Cardan, Italian mathematician, and physician, b. Pavia, 24 Sept. 1501. He studied medicine, but was excluded from the Milan College of Physicians on account of illegitimate birth. He and his young wife were at one time compelled to take refuge in the workhouse. It is not strange that his first work was an exposure of the fallacies of the faculty. A fortunate cure brought him into notice and he journeyed to Scotland as the medical adviser of the Archbishop of St. Andrews, 1551. In 1563 he was arrested at Bologna for heresy, but was released, although deprived of his professorship. He died at Rome, 20 Sept. 1576, having, it is said, starved himself to verify his own prediction of his death. Despite some superst.i.tion, Cardano did much to forward science, especially by his work on Algebra, and in his works De Subtilitate Rerum and De Varietate Rerum, amid much that is fanciful, perceived the universality of natural law and the progressive evolution of life. Scaliger accused him of Atheism. Punjer says "Carda.n.u.s deserves to be named along with Telesius as one of the princ.i.p.al founders of Natural Philosophy."

Carducci (Giosue), Italian poet and Professor of Italian Literature at the University of Bologna, b. Pietrasantra, in the province of Lucca, 27 July, 1836. As early as '49 he cried, Aba.s.so tutti i re! viva la republica--Down with all kings! Long live the republic! Sprung into fame by his Hymn to Satan, '69, by which he intended the spirit of resistance. He has written many poems and satires in which he exhibits himself an ardent Freethinker and Republican. At the end of '57 he wrote his famous verse "Il secoletto vil che cristianeggia"--"This vile christianising century." In '60 he became professor of Greek in Bologna University, being suspended for a short while in '67 for an address to Mazzini. In '76 he was elected as republican deputy to the Italian Parliament for Lugo di Romagna.

Carlile (Eliza Sharples), second wife of Richard Carlile, came from Lancashire during the imprisonment of Carlile and Taylor, 1831, delivered discourses at the Rotunda, and started a journal, the Isis, which lasted from 11 Feb. to 15 Dec. 1832. The Isis was dedicated to the young women of England "until superst.i.tion is extinct,"

and contained Frances Wright's discourses, in addition to those by Mrs. Carlile, who survived till '61. Mr. Bradlaugh lodged with Mrs. Carlile at the Warner Place Inst.i.tute, in 1849. She had three children, Hypatia, Theophila and Julian, of whom the second is still living.

Carlile (Jane), first wife of R. Carlile, who carried on his business during his imprisonment, was proceeded against, and sentenced to two years' imprisonment, 1821. She had three children, Richard, Alfred, and Thomas Paine Carlile, the last of whom edited the Regenerator, a Chartist paper published at Manchester, 1839.

Carlile (Richard), foremost among the brave upholders of an English free press, b. Ashburton, Devon, 8 Dec. 1790. He was apprenticed to a tin-plate worker, and followed that business till he was twenty-six, when, having read the works of Paine, he began selling works like Wooler's Black Dwarf, which Government endeavored to suppress. Sherwin offered him the dangerous post of publisher of the Republican, which he accepted. He then published Southey's Wat Tyler, reprinted the political works of Paine and the parodies for which Hone was tried, but which cost Carlile eighteen weeks' imprisonment. In 1818 he published Paine's Theological Works. The prosecution inst.i.tuted induced him to go on printing similar works, such as Palmer's Principles of Nature, Watson Refuted, Jehovah Unveiled, etc. By Oct. 1819, he had six indictments to answer, on two of which he was tried from 12 to 16 October. He read the whole of the Age of Reason in his defence, in order to have it in the report of the trial. He was found guilty and sentenced (16 Nov.) to fifteen hundred pounds fine and three years'

imprisonment in Dorchester Gaol. During his imprisonment his business was kept on by a succession of shopmen. Refusing to find securities not to publish, he was kept in prison till 18 Nov. 1835, when he was liberated unconditionally. During his imprisonment he edited the Republican, which extended to fourteen volumes. He also edited the Deist, the Moralist, the Lion (four volumes), the Prompter (for No. 3 of which he again suffered thirty-two months' imprisonment), and the Gauntlet. Amongst his writings are An Address to Men of Science, The Gospel according to R. Carlile, What is G.o.d? Every Woman's Book, etc. He published Doubts of Infidels, Ja.n.u.s on Sion, Sepher Toldoth Jeshu, D'Holbach's Good Sense, Volney's Ruins, and many other Freethought works. He died 10 Feb. 1843, bequeathing his body to Dr. Lawrence for scientific purposes.

Carlyle (Thomas), one of the most gifted and original writers of the century, b. 4 Dec. 1795, at Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire, where his father, a man of intellect and piety, held a small farm. Showing early ability he was intended for the Kirk, and educated at the University of Edinburgh. He, however, became a tutor, and occupied his leisure in translating from the German. He married Jane Welsh 17 Oct. 1826, and wrote in the London Magazine and Edinburgh Review many masterly critical articles, notably on Voltaire, Diderot, Burns, and German literature. In 1833-4 his Sartor Resartus appeared in Fraser's Magazine. In '34 he removed to London and began writing the French Revolution, the MS. of the first vol. of which he confided to Mill, with whom it was accidentally burnt. He re-wrote the work without complaint, and it was published in '37. He then delivered a course of lectures on "German Literature" and on "Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History," in which he treats Mahomet as the prophet "we are freest to speak of." His Past and Present was published in '43. In '45 appeared Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches. In '50 he published Latter-Day Pamphlets, which contains his most distinctive political and social doctrines, and in the following year his Life of John Sterling, in which his heresy clearly appears. His largest work is his History of the Life and Times of Frederick the Great, in 10 vols. He was elected rector of Edinburgh University in '65. Died 5 Feb. 1881. Mr. Froude, in his Biography of Carlyle, says, "We have seen him confessing to Irving that he did not believe as his friend did in the Christian religion." ... "the special miraculous occurrences of sacred history were not credible to him."

Carneades, sceptical philosopher, b. Cyrene about B.C. 213. He went early to Athens, and attended the lectures of the Stoics, learning logic from Diogenes. In the year 155, he was chosen with other deputies to go to Rome to deprecate a fine which had been placed on the Athenians. During his stay at Rome he attracted great attention by his philosophical orations. Carneades attacked the very idea of a G.o.d at once infinite and an individual. He denied providence and design. Many of his arguments are preserved in Cicero's Academics and De Natura Deorum. Carneades left no written works; his views seem to have been systematised by his follower c.l.i.tomachus. He died B.C. 129. Carneades is described as a man of unwearied industry. His ethics were of elevated character.

Carneri (Bartholomaus von), German writer, b. Trieste, 3 Nov. 1821. Educated at Vienna. In 1870 he sat in the Austrian Parliament with the Liberals. Author of an able work on Morality and Darwinism, Vienna, 1871. Has also written Der Mensch als Selbstweck, "Humanity as its own proper object," 1877; Grundlegung der Ethik, Foundation of Morals, 1881; and Ethical Essays on Evolution and Happiness, Stuttgart, 1886.

Carra (Jean Louis), French man of letters and Republican, b. 1743 at Pont de Veyle. He travelled in Germany, Italy, Turkey, Russia, and Moldavia, where he became secretary to the hospodar. On returning to France he became employed in the King's library and wrote a History of Moldavia and an Essay on Aerial Navigation. He warmly espoused the revolution and was one of the most ardent orators of the Jacobin club. In the National a.s.sembly he voted for the death of Louis XVI., but was executed with the Girondins, 31 Oct. 1793. His Freethought sentiments are evident from his System of Reason, 1773; his Spirit of Morality and Philosophy, 1777; New Principles of Physic, 1782-3, and other works.

Carrel (Jean Baptiste Nicolas Armand), called by Saint Beuve "the Junius of the French press," b. Rouen, 8 May, 1800. He became a soldier, but, being a Republican, fought on behalf of the Spanish revolution. Being taken prisoner, he was condemned to death, but escaped through some informality. He became secretary to Thierry, edited the works of P. L. Courier, and established the Nation in conjunction with Thiers and Mignet. J. S. Mill writes of him in terms of high praise. The leading journalist of his time, his slashing articles led to several duels, and in an encounter with Emile de Girardin (22 July, 1836) he was fatally wounded. On his death-bed, says M. Littre, he said "Point de pretres, point d'eglise"--no priests nor church. Died 24 July, 1836. He wrote a History of the Counter-Revolution in England, with an eye to events in his own country.

Carus (Julius Viktor), German zoologist, b. Leipsic, 25 Aug. 1825. Has been keeper of anatomical museum at Oxford, and has translated Darwin's works and the philosophy of G. H. Lewes.

Carus (Karl Gustav), German physiologist and Pantheist, b. Leipsic, 3 Jan. 1789. He taught comparative anatomy at the university of that town, and published a standard introduction to that subject. He also wrote Psyche, a history of the development of the human soul, 1846, and Nature and Idea, 1861. Died at Dresden, 28 July, 1869.

Castelar y Ripoll (Emilio), Spanish statesman, b. Cadiz, 8 Sept. 1832. He began as a journalist, and became known by his novel Ernesto, 1855. As professor of history and philosophy, he delivered lectures on "Civilisation during the first three centuries of Christendom." La Formula del Progresso contains a sketch of democratic principles. On the outbreak of the revolution of '68 he advocated a Federal Republic in a magnificent oration. The Crown was however offered to Amadeus of Savoy. "Gla.s.s, with care," was Castelar's verdict on the new dynasty, and in Feb. '73 Castelar drew up a Republican Const.i.tution; and for a year was Dictator of Spain. Upon his retirement to France he wrote a sketchy History of the Republican Movement in Europe. In '76 he returned to Spain and took part in the Cortes, where he has continued to advocate Republican views. His Old Rome and New Italy, and Life of Lord Byron have been translated into English.

Castelli (David), Italian writer, b. Livorno, 30 Dec. 1836. Since 1873 he has held the chair of Hebrew in the Inst.i.tute of Superior Studies at Florence. He has translated the book of Ecclesiastes with notes, and written rationalistic works on Talmudic Legends, 1869; The Messiah According to the Hebrews, '74; the Bible Prophets, '82; and The History of the Israelites, 1887.

Castilhon (Jean Louis), French man of letters, b. at Toulouse in 1720. He wrote in numerous publications, and edited the Journal of Jurisprudence. His history of dogmas and philosophical opinions had some celebrity, and he shows himself a Freethinker in his Essay on Ancient and Modern Errors and Superst.i.tions, Amsterdam, 1765; his Philosophical Almanack, 1767; and his History of Philosophical Opinions, 1769. Died 1793.

Cattell (Christopher Charles), writer in English Secular journals, author of Search for the First Man; Against Christianity; The Religion of this Life, etc.

Caumont (Georges), French writer of genius, b. about 1845. Suffering from consumption, he wrote Judgment of a Dying Man upon Life, and humorous and familiar Conversations of a Sick Person with the Divinity. Died at Madeira, 1875.

Cavalcante (Guido), n.o.ble Italian poet and philosopher, b. Florence, 1230. A friend of Dante, and a leader of the Ghibbelin party. He married a daughter of Farinata delgi Uberti. Bayle says, "it is said his speculation has as their aim to prove there is no G.o.d. Dante places his father in the h.e.l.l of Epicureans, who denied the immortality of the soul." Guido died in 1300. An edition of his poems was published in 1813.

Cavallotti (Felice Carlo Emanuel), Italian poet and journalist, b. Milan, 6 Nov. 1842, celebrated for his patriotic poems; is a p.r.o.nounced Atheist. He was elected member of the Italian parliament in 1873.

Cayla (Jean Mamert), French man of letters and politician b. Vigan (Lot) 1812. Became in '37 editor of the Emanc.i.p.ator of Toulouse, a city of which he wrote the history. At Paris he wrote to the Siecle, the Republique Francaise and other journals, and published European Celebrities and numerous anti-clerical brochures, such as The Clerical Conspiracy, '61; The Devil, his Grandeur and Decay, '64; h.e.l.l Demolished, '65; Suppression of Religious Orders, '70; and The History of the Ma.s.s,'74. He died 2 May, 1877.

Cazelles (Emile), French translator of Bentham's Influence of Natural Religion, Paris, 1875. Has also translated Mill's Subjection of Women and his Autobiography and Essays on Religion.

Cecco d'Ascoli, i.e., Stabili (Francesco degli), Italian poet, b. Ascoli, 1257. He taught astrology and philosophy at Bologna. In 1324 he was arrested by the Inquisition for having spoken against the faith, and was condemned to fine and penitence. He was again accused at Florence, and was publicly burnt as an heretic 16 Sept. 1327. His best known work is ent.i.tled Acerba, a sort of encyclopaedia in rhyme.

Cellarius (Martin), Anabaptist, who deserves mention as the first avowed Protestant Anti-trinitarian. He studied Oriental languages with Reuchlin and Melancthon, but having discussed with Anabaptists acknowledged himself converted, 1522, and afterwards gave up the deity of Christ. He was imprisoned, and on his release went to Switzerland, where he died 11 Oct. 1564.

Celsus, a Pagan philosopher, who lived in the second century. He was a friend of Lucian, who dedicated to him his treatise on the False Prophet. He wrote an attack on Christianity, called The True Word. The work was destroyed by the early Christians. The pa.s.sages given by his opponent, Origen, suffice to show that he was a man of high attainments, well acquainted with the religion he attacked, and that his power of logic and irony was most damaging to the Christian faith.

Cerutti (Giuseppe Antonio Gioachino), poet, converted Jesuit, b. Turin, 13 June, 1738. He became a Jesuit, and wrote a defence of the Society. He afterwards became a friend of Mirabeau, adopted the principles of 1789, wrote in defence of the Revolution, and wrote and published a Philosophical Breviary, or history of Judaism, Christianity, and Deism, which he attributed to Frederick of Prussia. His opinions may also be gathered from his poem, Les Jardins de Betz, 1792. Died Paris, 3 Feb. 1792.

Chaho (J. Augustin), Basque man of letters, b. Tardets, Ba.s.ses-Pyrenees, 10 Oct. 1811. His princ.i.p.al works are a Philosophy of Comparative Religion, and a Basque dictionary. At Bayonne he edited the Ariel. In 1852 this was suppressed and he was exiled. Died 23 Oct. 1858.

Chaloner (Thomas), M.P., Regicide, b. Steeple Claydon, Bucks, 1595. Educated at Oxford, he became member for Richmond (Yorks), 1645. Was a witness against Archbishop Laud, and one of King Charles's Judges. In 1651 he was made Councillor of State. Wood says he "was as far from being a Puritan as the east is from the west," and that he "was of the natural religion." He wrote a pretended True and Exact Relation of the Finding of Moses His Tomb, 1657, being a satire directed against the Presbyterians. Upon the Restoration he fled to the Low Countries, and died at Middelburg, Zeeland, in 1661.

Chambers (Ephraim), originator of the Cyclopaedia of Arts and Sciences, b. Kendal about 1680. The first edition of his work appeared in 1728, and procured him admission to the Royal Society. A French translation gave rise to Diderot and D'Alembert's Encyclopedie. Chambers also edited the Literary Magazine, 1836, etc. His infidel opinions were well known, and the Cyclopaedia was placed upon the Index, but he was buried in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey. Died 15 May, 1740.

Chamfort (Sebastien Roch Nicolas), French man of letters, b. in Auvergne, near Clermont, 1741. He knew no parent but his mother, a peasant girl, to supply whose wants he often denied himself necessaries. At Paris he gained a prize from the Academy for his eulogy on Moliere. About 1776 he published a Dramatic Dictionary and wrote several plays. In 1781 he obtained a seat in the Academy, being patronised by Mme. Helvetius. He became a friend of Mirabeau, who called him une tete electrique. In 1790 he commenced a work called Pictures of the Revolution. In the following year he became secretary of the Jacobin Club and National Librarian. Arrested by Robespierre, he desperately, but vainly, endeavored to commit suicide. He died 13 April, 1794, leaving behind numerous works and a collection of Maxims, Thoughts, Characters, and Anecdotes, which show profound genius and knowledge of human nature.

Chapman (John), M.R.C.S., b. 1839. Has written largely in the Westminster Review, of which he is proprietor.

Chappellsmith (Margaret), nee Reynolds, b. Aldgate, 22 Feb. 1806. Early in life she read the writings of Cobbett. In '36 she began writing political articles in the Dispatch, and afterwards became a Socialist and Freethought lecturess. She married John Chappellsmith in '39, and in '42 she began business as a bookseller. In '37 she expressed a preference for the development theory before that of creation. In '50 they emigrated to the United States, where Mrs. Chappellsmith contributed many articles to the Boston Investigator.

Charles (Rudolf). See Giessenburg.

Charma (Antoine), French philosopher, b. 15 Jan. 1801. In '30 he was nominated to the Chair of Philosophy at Caen. He was denounced for his impiety by the Count de Montalembert in the Chamber of peers, and an endeavor was made to unseat him. He wrote many philosophical works, and an account of Didron's Histoire de Dieu. Died 5 Aug. 1869.

Charron (Pierre), French priest and sceptic, b. Paris, 1513. He was an intimate friend of Montaigne. His princ.i.p.al work is a Treatise on Wisdom, 1601, which was censured as irreligious by the Jesuits. Franck says "the scepticism of Charron inclines visibly to 'sensualisme'

and even to materialism." Died Paris, 16 Nov. 1603.

Cha.s.seboeuf de Volney (Constantin Francois). See Volney.

Chastelet du or Chatelet Lomont (Gabrielle Emilie le Tonnelier de Breteuil), Marquise, French savante, b. Paris, 17 Dec 1706. She was learned in mathematics and other sciences, and in Latin, English and Italian. In 1740 she published a work on physical philosophy ent.i.tled Inst.i.tutions de Physique. She afterwards made a good French translation of Newton's Principia. She lived some years with Voltaire at Cirey between 1735 and 1747, and addressed to him Doubts on Revealed Religions, published in 1792. She also wrote a Treatise on Happiness, which was praised by Condorcet.

Chastellux (Francois Jean de), Marquis. A soldier, traveller and writer, b. Paris 1734. Wrote On Public Happiness (2 vols., Amst. 1776), a work Voltaire esteemed highly. He contributed to the Encyclopedie; one article on "Happiness," being suppressed by the censor because it did not mention G.o.d. Died Paris, 28 Oct. 1788.

Chatterton (Thomas), the marvellous boy poet, b. Bristol, 20 Nov, 1752. His poems, which he pretended were written by one Thomas Rowley in the fourteenth century and discovered by him in an old chest in Redcliffe Church, attracted much attention. In 1769 he visited London in hopes of rising by his talents, but after a bitter experience of writing for the magazines, destroyed himself in a fit of despair 25 Aug. 1770. Several of his poems betray deistic opinions.

Chaucer (Geoffrey), the morning star of English poetry and first English Humanist, b. London about 1340. In 1357 he was attached to the household of Lionel, third son of Edward III. He accompanied the expedition to France 1359-60, was captured by the French, and ransomed by the king. He was patronised by John of Gaunt, and some foreign missions were entrusted to him, one of them being to Italy, where he met Petrarch. All his writings show the influence of the Renaissance, and in his Canterbury Pilgrims he boldly attacks the vices of the ecclesiastics. Died 25 Oct. 1400, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Chaumette (Pierre Gaspard), afterwards Anaxagoras, French revolutionary, b. Nevers, 24 May, 1763. The son of a shoemaker, he was in turn cabin boy, steersman, and attorney's clerk. In early youth he received lessons in botany from Rousseau. He embraced the revolution with ardor, was the first to a.s.sume the tri-color c.o.c.kade, became popular orator at the club of the Cordeliers, and was a.s.sociated with Proudhomme in the journal Les Revolutions de Paris. Nominated member of the Commune 10 Aug. 1792, he took the name of Anaxagoras to show his little regard for his baptismal saints. He was elected Procureur Syndic, in which capacity he displayed great activity. He abolished the rod in schools, suppressed lotteries, inst.i.tuted workshops for fallen women, established the first lying-in-hospital, had books sent to the hospitals, separated the insane from the sick, founded the Conservatory of Music, opened the public libraries every day (under the ancien regime they were only open two hours per week), replaced books of superst.i.tion by works of morality and reason, put a graduated tax on the rich to provide for the burial of the poor, and was the princ.i.p.al mover in the feasts of Reason and closing of the churches. He was accused by Robespierre of conspiring with Cloots "to efface all idea of the Deity," and was guillotined 13 April, 1794.

Chaussard (Pierre Jean Baptiste), French man of letters, b. Paris, 8 Oct. 1766. At the Revolution he took the name of Publicola, and published patriotic odes, Esprit de Mirabeau, and other works. He was preacher to the Theophilanthropists, and became professor of belles lettres at Orleans. Died 9 Jan. 1823.

Chemin-Dupontes (Jean Baptiste), b. 1761. One of the founders of French Theophilanthropy; published many writings, the best known of which is ent.i.tled What is Theophilanthropy?

Chenier (Marie Andre 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, ent.i.tled Hermes, which warrants the affirmation of de Chenedolle, that "Andre Chenier etait athee avec delices."

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 Superst.i.tion 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 (Cesar). 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.