5S3 



DEMOCIUTCS. 



DEMOIVKE, ABRAHAM. 



554 



bound himself to a blacksmith at Tula to work at a rate equal to 

 about three halfpence a week ; and "who, before the close of his 

 c irecr, wheu presents were made to the empress on the birth of 

 Priuce Peter, made her a present of a hundred thousand .rubles. He 

 was a favourite with Peter the Great, under whose auspices he 

 established the first iron-foundry in Siberia. His son Akinfi, and his 

 grandson Nikita, discovered the silver- and gold-mines in tha Ural 

 Mountains, which they kept concealed till they had ascertained that 

 the government would allow the proprietors of the land to work 

 them to their own profit. For some time the family has been fruitful 

 in members who have distinguished themselves by their liberality in 

 the interests of literature. Paul Demidov, who died at St. Petersburg 

 in 1826, made a gift to the University of Moscow of a valuable 

 museum of natural history, and founded the Demidov Lyceum at 

 1 ivl. Nikolay Nikitich Demidov, who had raised a regiment at 

 his own expense in 1812, and led it in person against the French, 

 afterwards spent gome years in France, and died at Florence in 1828, 

 1 aving two sons, Paul and Anatol. Paul, who died not long after, 

 leaving the bulk of hi* immense property to his brother, founded a 

 prize of 5000 rubles a year, to be given to the author who, in the 

 judgment of the Academy of Sciences, had enriched Russian literature 

 with the moat important and useful work. His brother Anatol has 

 taken the French language as the medium of his contributions to 

 literature. His most important work is that which bears the title of 

 ' Travels in Southern Russia ami the Crimea, through Hungary, 

 Wallachia, and Moldavia, during the year 1837,' which was printed at 

 Paris in 1839, and of which an English translation appeared at London 

 in '2 vols, 8vo in 1853. In these volumes, which appear to be partly 

 the production of other writers, who travelled in M. Demidov's com- 

 pany at his expense, may be found the best account that has yet 

 appeared of Sebastopol, Kertch, and Eupatoria. In 1840, Anatol 

 I >emi'lov was married at Florence to the Princess Matilda do Montfort, 

 daughter of Prince Jerome Bonaparte and of Princ?ps Catharine of 

 Wiirteuiberg. Much indignation was excited in RHS ia by the dis- 

 covery that in the contract of marriage it had been agreed, in 

 accordance with the present claims of the Roman Catholic Church, 

 that all the children should be educated in the Roman Catholic faith, 

 and Demidov had to repair to St. Petersburg to justify himself to the 

 Emperor Nicholas, who in the first movement of indignation had 

 struck him off the Iht of his chamberlains. The marriage produced 

 no children, and after five years it was dissolved by mutual consent, 

 I he Emperor Nicholas, who happened at the time to be in Itsly, fixing, 

 it H ml], the allowance for the princess at 200,000 rubles a year, 

 midov is still for the most part resident in Italy ; but he also 

 frequently resides at Spa, where, we observe, that on the 19th of June 

 1 856, there was a festival to celebrate the inauguration of a bust of 

 Peter the Great, which he presented to the town. The princess takes 

 a conspicuous part at the court of Louis Napoleon at Paris. 



DEMO'CRITUS was born at Abdera in Thrace, or, according to 

 some, as we learn from Diogenes Laertius (ix. 34), at Miletus, in the 

 year B.C. 460. He was thus forty years younger than Auaxagoras, 

 and eight years younger than Socrates. He received his first lessons 

 in astrology and theology from some Magi, who had been left with 

 his father by Xerxes when passing through Abdera to the invasion of 

 Greece; and he is said to have been afterwards a hearer of Leucippus 

 aud Anaxagora.". That he heard Anaxagoras is doubtful, but, if he 

 did, it must have been while Anaxagoras was at Lampsacus; for when 

 this philosopher was banished from Athens (B.C. 450) Democritus was 

 only ten years old. Democritus appears to have been a great traveller. 

 He U said to have visited Egypt, that he might learn geometry from 

 tin; Egyptian priests ; to have been in Persic, and with the Gymnoso- 

 phUta in India, and to have penetrated into Ethiopia. He sojourned 

 for some time at Athens; but from contempt of notoriety, as it is 

 . .ii'l, was known to nobody in that city. It is for this reason that 

 Demetrius Phalereas, as cited by Diogenes Laertius (ix. 37), contended 

 that Democritus had never visited Athens. One result of his extensive 

 travels was, that he expended all bis patrimony, which is said to 

 have exceeded 100 talents. Now, it was a law of his country, that 

 any one who spent his whole patrimony should be refused burial 

 in his native land ; but Democritus, having read his chief work aloud 

 to his fellow-citizens, so impressed them with an admiration of his 

 learning, that he not merely obtained a special exemption from the 

 above law, but was presented with 500 talents, and was, on his death, 

 buried at the public expense. (Diog. Laert. ix. 39.) A story sub- 

 illy the same, though varying somewhat in detail, is given in 

 Athenxui (iv. p. 198.) He is said to have continued travelling till he 

 was eighty years old. He died in the year B.C. 357 at the age of 104. 

 There is a story of his having protracted his life for three days after 

 seemed inevitable, by means of the smell of either bread or 

 honey, an 1 in order to gratify his sister, who, had he died when first 

 ho seemed likely to die, would have been prevented from attending a 

 val of Ceres. (Diog. Laert. ix. 43 ; Athtcu. ii. 7.) 



Democritus loved solitude, and was wholly wrapt up in study. 

 There are several anecdotes illustrative of his devotion to knowledge, 

 rmd his disregard of everything else. They conflict somewhat with 

 one another in their details ; but accuracy of detail is not to bo looked 

 for, and, tending all to the same point, they prov<*, which in all tlint 

 we can expect to know, what character was traditionally assigned to 



BIOO. DIV. VOL. II. 



Democritus. Cicero (' De Fin.,' v. 29) spoaks of him as, like Anaxago- 

 ras, leaving his lauds uncultivated, in his undivided care for learning ; 

 while, as an instance how these stories conflict, Diogenes Laertius 

 represents him as having, on the division of the paternal estate with 

 his two brother?, taken his own share entirely hi money, as being 

 more convenient than land for a traveller. Valerius Maximus (viii. 7) 

 makes him show his contempt for worldly things by giving almost 

 the whole of his patrimony to his country. He is said too to have 

 put out his eyes, that he might uot be diverted from thought ; but 

 Plutarch (' De Curiositate, p. 521, C) rejects this story, and explains 

 how it might havo arisen. It was Demoeritus who, struck with the 

 ingenuity displayed by Protagoras in the tying up of a bundle, raised 

 him from the humble condition of a porter, and gamed him for 

 philosophy. 



Democritus followed Leucippus at a very short distance of time, 

 and preceded Epicurus by somewhat less than a century, as an 

 expounder of the atomic or corpuscular philosophy. He viewed all 

 matter as reducible to particles, which are themselves indivisible 

 (hence called 'atoms'), and which are similar in form. He included 

 mind under the head of matter, recognising only matter aud empty 

 space as composing the universe, and viewed mind as consisting of 

 round atoms of fire. (Aristot. 'De Auim.' 1, 2.) Arguing that 

 nothing could arise out of nothing, and also that nothing could 

 utterly perish aud become nothing, he contended for the eternity of 

 the universe, and thus dispensed with a creator. He further explained 

 the difference in material substances (uiiud, as has been said, being 

 one of them) by a difference in tho nature and arrangement of their 

 component atoms, and all material (including mental) phenomena by 

 different motions, progressive or regressive, straight or circular, 

 taking place among these atoms and taking place of necessity. Thus 

 the cosmology of Uemocritus was essentially atheistic. 



In psychology ho explained sensation, as did Epicurus after him, by 

 suposing particles, efliwAa, as he called them, or sensible images, to 

 issue from bodies. He also thought to explain men's belief in gods 

 by the supposed existence of large images of human form in the air. 

 In moral philosophy he announced nothing more thau that a cheerful 

 state of mind (fufarai, ivSvula) was the only thing to be sought after. 

 The manner in which the follies of men affected him, and from which 

 he derived his name of the 'laughing philosopher,' ii well known. 

 (Juv. x. 33-55.) 



A list of the very numerous writings of Domocritus is contained in 

 Diogenes Laertius (ix. 46-49.) They are arranged under the five prin- 

 cipal heads of ethics, physics, mathematics, general literature, and 

 arts ; and there are besides a few of miscellaneous character. The 

 list, classified in the same manner, and enriched with critical remarks, 

 is given in Fabricius (' Bibliotheca Grajca,' ed. Harles. vol. ii., p. 634- 

 641.) The reader will see in this work a list of the writings wrongly 

 attributed to Democritus, and statements of the grounds on which 

 they are severally pronounced spurious ; among them are the writings 

 on magic which are spoken of by Pliny (' Hist. Nat.' xxx. 1), aud 

 considered by him as genuine. 



For an account of the philosophy of Democritus tho reader is 

 referred to Hill, 'De Philosophia Epicurea, Democritea et Thcr- 

 phrastea,' Genev.,1669; Ploucquet, 'De, Plaeitis Democriti Abdcritse,' 

 Tiibing., 1767; Cud worth, 'Intellectual System,' chap. i. ; aud to tho 

 common histories of philosophy; and for general information con- 

 cerning his life to Bayle's ' Dictionary,' and Fabricius' ' Bibliotheca 

 Grseca,' ed. Harles., vol. ii., p. 628. 



DEMOIVRE, ABRAHAM, was born at Vitry in Champagne, on 

 the 26th of May 1667, and was descended of an ancient aud honour- 

 able family of the French Protestant church. The revocation of tho 

 Edict of Nantes in 1685 compelled him to leave his native country, aud, 

 like a great number of the refugees created by that revocation, he settled 

 in England, choosing for the field of his efforts the metropolis. He 

 appears at the earliest period to which any account of him reaches to 

 have devoted himself to teaching mathematics, as tho surest means of 

 obtaining a subsistence. He also, though he was not the first who 

 adopted that plan, read lectures on natural philosophy : but it does 

 not appear that his attempts in this way were very successful, he being 

 neither fluent in the use of the English language, nor a good 

 experimental manipulator. 



The popularity, as a book to be talked about, of Newton's great 

 work, compelled Demoivre to enter upon the study of it ; and there 

 is no doubt that he was one of the few who at that time were able to 

 follow the illustrious Newton in the course of his investigations. 

 Demoivre's power however lay in pure mathematics of the kind now 

 called analytical; for in all his writings there is scarcely a trace 

 either of physical or geometrical investigation to be discerned. His 

 writings on analysis abound with consummate contrivance and skill ; 

 and one at least of his investigations has had the effect of completely 

 changing the whole character of trigonometrical science in its higher 

 departments. 



At a comparatively early period of his residence in London, Demoivro 

 was admitted to tho society of Newton and hid immediate circle of 

 personal friends; and many instances of the regard with Which ho 

 wa treated are current amongst the traditions which havo reached 

 our own time. This of course led to an intimacy with the leading 

 mathematician* of that period; and his great talents soon < btaiaed 



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