GAUTIER, THEOPHILE. 



GEOGKAPHICAL EXPLORATIONS. 329 



on Death and Immortality," published anony- 

 mously at Nuremberg, in 1830. This indicated 

 his revolt from orthodoxy, and it was followed 

 by " History of Modern Philosophy from Lord 

 Bacon to Spinoza," in 1833; "Abelard and 

 Heloi'se," 1834; " Summary Development and 

 Criticism of the Philosophy of Leibnitz," 1837 ; 

 " Peter Bayle at his most Interesting Moments 

 for the History of Philosophy and Humanity," 

 1838; "Philosophy and Christianity," 1839; 

 " The Essence of Christianity," 1841 ; " The 

 Philosophy of the Future," 1843 ; " The Es- 

 sence of the Faith in the Mind of Luther," 1844 ; 

 "The Essence of Religion," 1845 ; " Theogony," 



1857. These works were enlarged and slightly 

 modified by subsequent productions of his rest- 

 less pen ; but they remain the principal monu- 

 ments of his critical researches. As he re- 

 solved theology into anthropology, the philos- 

 ophy of religion into psychology, and the 

 absolute into the final subjective spirit, he was 

 accused of atheism by the theologians, and 

 found himself attacked by numerous other 

 philosophers. - His works were collected and 

 published in nine volumes in Leipsic, in 

 1846-'57, and some of them have been trans- 

 lated and published in England by George 

 Eliot (Mrs. G. H. Lewes). 



G- 



GAUTIER, THEOPHILE, a poet, critic, and 

 novelist of the French romantic school, born 

 at Tarves, August 31, 1811; died in Paris, 

 October 24, 1872. He was brought to Paris 

 when only three years old, was educated at 

 the College Charlemagne, became enamoured 

 with the study of the old French, in which he 

 found a hearty sympathizer in Gerard de 

 Nerval. After leaving college, Gautier deter- 

 mined to become a great painter, and entered 

 the studio of Rioult to acquire the art. He 

 soon became convinced that he was not in- 

 tended for an artistic career, and turned his 

 attention to poetry. This was in 1830, the 

 era when the production of Victor Hugo's 

 " Hernani " was the signal for an almost bloody 

 contest between classicism and romanticism. 

 Gautier was one of the most redoubtable cham- 

 pions of Victor Hugo, and contributed largely 

 to his triumph. In 1830 he published his first 

 volume, " Poesies," which he followed in 1832 

 with the charming poetical legend of " Al- 

 bertus." The same year, though but twenty- 

 one years of age, he became associate editor 

 with Gerard de Nerval of La France Litte- 

 raire, and in the two years following contrib- 

 uted to it a series of critical articles on the 

 poets of the times of Louis XIII., subsequently 

 republished in two volumes under the title of 

 " The Grotesques." He was successively asso- 

 ciated with De Nerval as one of the editors of 

 the Revue de Paris, the Artiste, the Charter of 

 1830, and, finally of the Presse, and, after this 

 had passed into the hands of Emile de Girardin, 

 he continued for twenty years to contribute to 

 it articles on art and dramatic criticism, though 

 writing at the same time for the Revue des 

 Deux Mondes, the Musee des Families, etc., 

 etc. In 1838, Gautier published a new poem 

 of great originality and power, "The Comedy 

 of Death ; " and, with that versatility of talent 

 for which he was so remarkable, produced a 

 half-score of novels in the course of ten or 

 twelve years, and half a dozen vaudevilles and 

 ballets. One of his novels, " Mademoiselle de 

 Maupin," in two volumes, published in 1835, in- 

 flicted a greater stain upon bis reputation than 



all his other works. It was a brilliant but in- 

 tensely licentious fiction, and with the bravado 

 of daring and lustful youth (he was but twenty- 

 four when he published it) he defied alike the 

 critics and the moralists in his preface. "It 

 was," says one of his biographers, " the most 

 brilliant novel ever written under the direct 

 inspiration of the devil.'.' He lived to regret 

 most bitterly ever having written it. Later 

 in life he published seven or eight other novels 

 of very considerable merit, and not marred by 

 such gross moral blemishes as his earlier ones. 

 While one of the editorial staff of the Presse y 

 he made extensive journeys in Spain, Italy, 

 and the East, and published his observations 

 in "Across the Mountains," 2 vols., 1843; 

 "Zigzags," 1845; "Italy," 1852; and "Con- 

 stantinople," 1854. In association with others 

 he also prepared a " History of Painters " and 

 "Treasures of Art of Ancient and Modern 

 Russia." In 1856 he left the Presse, and be- 

 came director of the literary feuilleton of the 

 Moniteur, and dramatic critic to that paper, 

 and in 1869 took the same position on the new 

 Journal Officiel, being also most of the time 

 editor-in-chief of the Artiste. In 1858 M. 

 Gautier was appointed an officer of the Le- 

 gion of Honor; in 1863 he was made the re- 

 cipient of a pension from the Imperial Govern- 

 ment, which was ever ready to compensate 

 the few literary men who would lend them- 

 selves to its defence. In 1868 he was appointed 

 librarian to the Princess Mathilde. For many 

 years M. Gautier was a constant candidate 

 whenever there was a vacancy for a member- 

 ship in the French Academy, and had the mor- 

 tification every time of seeing men greatly his 

 inferiors preferred to him, his " Mademoiselle 

 de Maupin " being constantly brought up to his 

 discredit, and his truckling to the imperial, 

 usurpation being also used against him. At 

 length, in 1869, he was elected, after long and 

 repeated ballotings. 



GEOGRAPHICAL EXPLORATIONS AND 

 DISCOVERIES IN 1872. With few excep- 

 tions, the geographical record of 1872 will be 

 occupied in chronicling discoveries made, par- 



