A Biographical Dictionary of Freethinkers of All Ages and Nations Part 21

Merimee (Prosper), learned French writer, b. Paris, 28 Sept. 1808, author of numerous essays and romances. Was made Inspector General of Historic Monuments and was admitted to the Academy in '44. In his anonymous brochure on H(enri) B(eyle), Eleutheropolis (Brussels), '64, there is an open profession of Atheism. Died at Cannes, 23 Sept. 1870.

Merritt (Henry), English painter and writer, b. Oxford, 8 June, 1822. On coming to London he lived with Mr. Holyoake, and contributed to the Reasoner, using the signature "Christopher." He wrote on Dirt and Pictures and Robert Dalby and his World of Troubles, etc. Died in London, 10 July, 1877.

Meslier or Mellier (Jean), cure of Etrepigny, Champagne, b. Mazerny, Rethelois, 15 June, 1664. Died in 1729. After his death a will was discovered of which he had made three copies, in which he repudiated Christianity and requested to be buried in his own garden. His property he left to his paris.h.i.+oners. Voltaire published it under the t.i.tle of Extract from the sentiments of Jean Meslier. To Meslier has been attributed the work ent.i.tled Le Bon Sens, written by Baron D'Holbach. Le Testament de Jean Meslier has been published in three volumes at Amsterdam, 1864, preceded by a study by Rudolf Charles (R. C. d'Ablaing van Giessenburg). It calls in question all the dogmas of Christianity. Anacharsis Clootz proposed to the National Convention to erect a statue to this "honest priest."

Metchnikov (Leon), Russian writer in French; author of a work on j.a.pan and of able articles, notably one on Christian Communion in the Revue Internationale des Sciences Biologiques, tome 12.

Metrodorus of Lampsacus. Greek philosopher, b. 330 B.C., a disciple and intimate friend of Epicurus. He wrote numerous works, the t.i.tles of which are preserved by Diogenes Laertius. Died B.C. 277.

Mettrie, see La Mettrie.

Meunier (Amedee Victor), French writer, b. Paris, 2 May, 1817. Has done much to popularise science by his Scientific Essays, 1851-58, the Ancestors of Adam, '75, etc.

Meyer (Lodewijk), a Dutch physician, a friend and follower of Spinoza, who published Exercitatio Paradoxa on the philosophical interpretation of scripture, Eleutheropoli (Amst.), 1666. This has been wrongly attributed to Spinoza. It was translated into Dutch in 1667. He is also credited with Lucii Antistic Constantes, de jure ecclesiasticorum. Alethopoli (Amst.), 1665. This work is also attributed to another writer, viz. P. de la Court.

Mialhe (Hippolyte), French writer, b. Roquecourbe (Tarn), 1834. From '60-62 he was with the French army of occupation at Rome. He has organised federations of Freethinkers in France, edited L'Union des Libres-Penseurs, and has written Memoires d'un libre Penseur (Nevers, 1888).

Michelet (Jules), French historian, b. Paris, 21 Aug. 1798. Became a Professor of History in 1821. Has written a History of France and of the French Revolution; The Jesuits, with his friend Quinet, '43; The Priest, Woman and the Family, '44; The Sorceress, dealing with witchcraft in the Middle Ages, '62; The Bible of Humanity, '64. His lectures were interdicted by the Government of Louis Phillippe, and after the coup d'etat he was deprived of his chair. All Michelet's works glow with eloquence and imagination. He never forgot that he was a republican and Freethinker of the nineteenth century. Died at Hyeres, 9 Feb. 1874.

Michelet (Karl Ludwig), German philosopher of French family, b. Berlin, 4 Dec. 1801. In '29 he became Professor of Philosophy. A disciple of Hegel, he edited his master's works, '32. His principle work is A System of Philosophy as an Exact Science, '76-81. He has also written on the relation of Herbert Spencer to German philosophy.

Middleton (Conyers), Freethinking clergyman, b. York 1683. His Letters from Rome, 1729, showed how much Roman Christianity had borrowed from Paganism, and his Free Inquiry into the Miraculous Powers supposed to have subsisted in the Christian Church, 1749, was a severe blow to hitherto received "Christian Evidences." He also wrote a cla.s.sic Life of Cicero. Died at Hildersham near Cambridge, 28 July, 1750.

Mignardi (G.), Italian writer, who in 1884 published Memorie di un Nuovo Credente (Memoirs of a New Believer).

Milelli (Domenico), Italian poet, b. Catanzaro, Feb. 1841. His family intended to make him a priest, but he turned out a rank Pagan, as may be seen in his Odi Pagane, '79, Canzonieri, '84, and other works.

Mill (James), philosopher and historian, b. Northwaterbridge, Montrose, 6 April, 1773. Studied at Edinburgh, and distinguished himself by his attainments in Greek and moral philosophy. He was licensed as preacher in the Scotch Church, but removed to London in 1800, and became editor of the Literary Review, and contributed to the reviews. He published, '17-'19, his History of British India. He contributed many articles to the fifth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. A friend of Bentham, he wrote largely in the Westminster Review, and did much to forward the views of Philosophic Radicalism. His a.n.a.lysis of the Human Mind, '39, is a profound work. In religion he was a complete sceptic. Reading Bishop Butler's a.n.a.logy made him an Atheist. Died 23 June, 1836.

Mill (John Stuart), eminent English writer, son of the preceding, b. London, 20 May, 1806. Educated by his father without religion, he became clerk in the East India House, and early in life contributed to the Westminster and Edinburgh Reviews. Of the first he became joint editor in '35. His System of Logic, '43, first made him generally known. This was followed by his Principles of Political Economy. In '59 appeared his small but valuable treatise On Liberty, in which he defends the unrestricted free discussion of religion. Among subsequent works were Utilitarianism, '63; Auguste Comte and Positivism, '67; Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy '65; Dissertations and Discussions, '59-'75; and the Subjection of Women, '69. In '65 he was elected to Parliament for Westminster, but lost his seat in '68. In '67 he was chosen Rector of St. Andrews, and delivered the students an able address. Prof. Bain says "in everything characteristic of the creed of Christendom he was a thorough-going negationist. He admitted neither its truth nor its utility." Died at Avignon, 8 May, 1873, leaving behind his interesting Autobiography and three essays on "Nature," "Theism," and "Religion."

Mille (Constantin), Roumanian writer, b. at Bucharest, educated at Paris. He lectured at Ja.s.sy and Bucharest on the History of Philosophy, from a Materialistic point of view. He was also active with Codreano, and after the latter's death ('77), in spreading Socialism. Mille contributes to the Rivista Sociala and the Vutorul, edited by C. Pilitis.

Milliere (Jean Baptiste), Socialist, b. of poor parents, Lamarche (Cote d'Or), 13 Dec. 1817. He became an advocate, and founded the Proletaire at Clermont Ferrand. For writing Revolutionary Studies he was, after the coup d'etat, banished to Algeria until the amnesty of '59. In '69 Milliere started, with Rochefort, the Ma.r.s.eillaise, of which he became one of the princ.i.p.al directors. At the election for the National a.s.sembly he was elected for Paris by 73,000 votes. Although he took no part in the Commune, but sought to act as an intermediary, he was arrested and summarily shot near the Pantheon, Paris, 26 May, 1871. He died crying "Vive l'Humanite."

Mirabaud (Jean Baptiste de), French writer, b. Paris, 1675. He translated Ta.s.so and Ariosto, and became perpetual secretary to the French Academy. He wrote Opinions of the Ancients on the Jews, a Critical Examination of the New Testament, (published under the name of Freret), The World: its Origin and Antiquity, 1751, Sentiments of a Philosopher on the Nature of the Soul inserted in the collection ent.i.tled Nouvelle libertes de Penser, Amst. (Paris) 1743. The System of Nature, attributed to Mirabaud, was written by d'Holbach. Mirabaud died 24 June, 1760.

Mirabeau (Honore Gabriel Riquetti Comte de), French statesman and orator, b. at the Chateau de Bignon (Loiret) 9 March, 1749. He inherited a pa.s.sionate nature, a frank strong will, generous temper, and a mind of prodigious activity. He entered the army in 1767, but by an amorous intrigue provoked the ire of his father, by whom he was more than once imprisoned. In 1776 he went to Amsterdam and employed himself in literary work. In 1783 appeared anonymously his Erotika Biblion, dealing with the obscenity of the Bible. In 1786 he was sent to Berlin, where he met Frederick and collected materials for his work on The Prussian Monarchy. He returned to the opening of the States General and soon became leader of the Revolution, being in Jan. 1791 chosen President of the National a.s.sembly. He advocated the abolition of the double aristocracy of Lords and bishops, the spoliation of the Church and the National Guard. Carlyle calls him "far the strongest, best practical intellect of that time." He died 2 April, 1791. Among his last words were, "Envelop me with perfumes and crown me with flowers that I may pa.s.s away into everlasting sleep."

Miranda (Don Francisco). South American patriot and general, b. Caracas 1750, aided the Americans in their War of Independence, tried to free Guatimalaus from the Spanish, allied himself to the Girondins and became second in command in the army of Dumouriez. He was a friend of Thomas Paine. In 1806-11 he was engaged seeking to free Peru from the Spaniards, by whom he was made prisoner, and died in a dungeon at Cadiz, 16 Jan. 1816. It was said General Miranda made a sceptic of James Mill.

Miron. See Morin (Andre Saturnin.)

Mitch.e.l.l (J. Barr), Dr., anonymous author of Dates and Data (1876) and Chrestos; a Religious Epithet (1880). Dr. Mitch.e.l.l has also written in the National Reformer, using his initials only.

Mitch.e.l.l (Logan), author of Lectures published as The Christian Mythology Unveiled. This work was also issued under the t.i.tle Superst.i.tion Besieged. It is said that Mitch.e.l.l committed suicide in Nov. 1841. He left by his will a sum of 500 to any bookseller who had the courage to publish his book. It was first published by B. Cousens, and was republished in '81.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monboddo (Lord). See Burnett (James).

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

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

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

Montaigne (Michel de), French philosophic essayist, b. at the family castle in Perigord, 28 Feb. 1533. He studied law and became a judge at Bordeaux about 1554. In 1580 he produced his famous "Essays,"

which indicate a sprightly humor allied to a most independent spirit. The Essays, Hallam says, make in several respects an epoch in literature. Emerson says, "Montaigne is the frankest and honestest of all writers." Montaigne took as his motto: Que scais-je? [What know I?] and said that all religious opinions are the result of custom. Buckle says, "Under the guise of a mere man of the world, expressing natural thoughts in common language, Montaigne concealed a spirit of lofty and audacious inquiry." Montaigne seems to have been the first man in Europe who doubted the sense and justice of burning people for a difference of opinion. His denunciation of the conduct of the Christians in America does him infinite honor. Died 13 Sept. 1592.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Morgan (Thomas), Welsh Deist, known by the t.i.tle of his book as The Moral Philosopher, 1737. Was a Presbyterian, but was deposed for Arianism about 1723, and practised medicine at Bristol. He edited Radicati's Dissertation on Death, 1731. His Moral Philosopher seeks to subst.i.tute morality for religion. He calls Moses "a more fabulous romantic writer than Homer or Ovid," and attacks the evidence of miracles and prophecy. This was supplemented by A Further Vindication of Moral Truth and Reason, 1739, and Superst.i.tion and Tyranny Inconsistent with Theocracy, 1740. He replied to his opponents over the signature "Philalethes." His last work was on Physico-Theology, 1741. Lechler calls Morgan "the modern Marcion." Died at London, 14 Jan. 1743.

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

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

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

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