ANSKLM ANSON. 



185 



library. In 1763, he was made member of the aca- 

 demy of belles-lettres. A. then commenced the ar- 

 rangement of the materials which he had collected 

 with so much toil ; he published in succession, the 

 Zend-Avesta, the Spirit of Oriental Legislation, his 

 historical and geographical researches in India, and 

 liis work on commerce. Afterwards, the revolution 

 disturbed his literary labours. To withdraw himself 

 from its horrors, he broke off all connexion with so- 

 ciety, and shut himself up in his chamber, with no 

 friend but his books, no recreation but the recollec- 

 tion of his dear Brahmins and Parsees. The fruits of 

 this retirement were his work, VInde en Rapport avec 

 I' Europe, and the Unrevealable Mysteries (Oupne- 

 k'hat), 2 vols., 4to, 1804; the latter, a translation 

 into Latin of a Persian extract from the Vedas. 

 When the national institute had taken the place of 

 the former academies, A. was elected a member. 

 Exhausted by continued labours, and a very abstemi- 

 ous diet, he died at Paris, Jan. 17, 1805. Immense 

 learning, acquaintance with almost all the Euro- 

 pean languages, and a restless activity, were unit- 

 ed, in A., with the purest love of truth, with sound 

 philosophy, rare disinterestedness, and an excellent 

 heart. 



ANSELM, archbishop bf Canterbury, was born at 

 Aosta, in Piedmont, 1034 ; became a monk in 1060 ; 

 some years later, a prior ; and, in 1078, abbot of the 

 monastery of Bee, in Normandy, whether the fame 

 of the renowned Lanfranc had attracted him. In 

 1093, he succeeded Lanfranc as archbishop of Can- 

 terbury, Ui England, which place he held till his 

 death. Intelligence and piety distinguish his writ- 

 ings. He endeavoured to discover some conclusive 

 proofs of the existence of God, which he thought he 

 had finally effected in the ontological method, as it is 

 called, of which he is falsely styled the inventor. He 

 inferred the existence of a supreme and perfect 

 Being by arguments drawn from the abstract idea 

 of such a Being. Notwithstanding the insufficiency 

 of this proof, which found an early opponent in 

 (Jaunilo, a monk at Marmontier, the labours of A. 

 were of great importance. Though the influence of 

 the church, and the fathers of St Augustin in particu- 

 lar, is obvious, he deserves the praise of having de- 

 veloped the principles of his system of philosophical 

 religion in a decidedly logical form, with acuteness and 

 energy, ^and of having laid, at the same time, the 

 foundation of the scholastic philosophy. He died 

 in 1099, and will be remembered by his writings, De 

 I i-ntate, De Libertate Arlitrii, by his Monologium and 

 Proiogium ; in the latter of which his argument in 

 proof of the existence of a Supreme Being is set forth. 



A \SGAR, or AXSHAR ; called the apostle of the North, 

 because he introduced Christianity into Denmark and 

 Sweden. Born in 800, in Picardy, and educated in 

 the monastery of Corvey, he became, in 813, a Bene- 

 (IFrtine. At the instigation of the emperor, Louis le 

 Debonnaire, he went to Denmark in the suite of some 

 baptized Danish princes, in 826, and, after many dis- 

 appointments and persecutions, converted the king, 

 and the greater part of the nation, in 830. After his 

 return, 831, he founded a metropolitan church at 

 Hamburg, and became first archbishop in that place. 

 In 847, he transferred his residence to Bremen. At 

 this time, he undertook a new mission into Denmark, 

 in order to convert king Eric I., and went, with re- 

 commendations from him, to Sweden, where he l>ap- 

 tized many converts, with the permission of king 

 Olaus. lie also baptized the successor of Eric, in 

 858. He died 865, with the reputation of having 

 undertaken, if not the first, the most successful at- 

 tempts for the propagation of Christianity in the 

 North. His prudence, the purity and warmth of his 

 religious zeal, and the integrity of his life, are equally 



praised by all his contemporaries. The Catholic 

 church has placed him among the saints. 



ANSON, George, lord, whose name shines in the 

 annals of British navigation, was born in 1697, at 

 Shugborough manor, in Staffordshire, and entered 

 early into the navy. In 1716, he served, as second 

 lieutenant, under Sir John Norris, in the Baltic, and 

 in 1717 and 1718, under Sir George Byng, against 

 the Spaniards. In his 27th year, he was raised to the 

 rank of post-captain, and was, for a long time, on the 

 South Carolina station. When, in 1739, the ministry 

 considered a rupture with Spain as unavoidable, he 

 was made commander of a fleet in the South sea, di- 

 rected against the trade and the colonies of that na- 

 tion. The expedition consisted of five men-of-war, 

 and three smaller vessels, which carried 1400 men. 

 A. left England, with this squadron, Sept. 18, 1740, 

 and was attacked, on leaving the straits of le Maire, 

 by terrible storms, which prevented him from doub- 

 ling cape Horn for three months. Separated from 

 the rest of his squadron, he reached the island of Juan 

 Fernandez, where three of his vessels rejoined him in 

 a very miserable condition. After his men had rested, 

 he proceeded to the coast of Pern, without waiting 

 for the missing ships, made several prizes, and cap- 

 tured and burned the city of Paita. After a fruitless 

 attempt to intercept the annual Manilla galleon, he 

 found himself obliged to burn, not only a great part 

 of his booty, but all except one of his vessels, in order 

 to equip that one, the Centurion, with which he made 

 his retreat to Tinian, one of the Ladrones. Here the 

 Centurion was blown out to sea while the comman- 

 der was on shore. Upon this, much exertion was 

 made to enlarge and fit out a small vessel, found in 

 the island. The return of his ship relieved him from 

 this difficulty, and, after some weeks of rest, he sailed 

 for Macao, where he formed a bold plan for taking 

 the galleon of Acapulco. For this purpose, he spreati 

 the report of his having returned to Europe, but, in 

 fact, directed his course to the Philippines, and 

 cruised near the promontory Spiritu Santo. After a 

 month, the expected galleon appeared, which, trust- 

 ing to its superiority, commenced the fight. But the 

 valour of the British prevailed, and the galleon, 

 worth 400,000 was taken ; the booty gained on the 

 former occasion amounted to more than 600-,000. 

 With these acquisitions, A. returned to Macao, sold 

 his prize, and maintained with energy the rights of 

 his flag against the Chinese government at Canton. 

 From this place he sailed for England, and, passing 

 undiscovered through the French fleet in the channel, 

 arrived at Spithead, having circumnavigated the 

 globe, June 15, 1744, after an absence of three years 

 and nine months. This perilous voyage through un- 

 explored seas added much to geography and naviga- 

 tion. His adventures and discoveries are described 

 in Anson's Voyage. A few days after his return, he 

 was made rear-admiral of the blue, and, not long after, 

 rear-admiral of the white ; he was also elected mem- 

 ber of parliament. His victory over the French ad- 

 miral Jonquiere, near cape Finisterre, in 174-7, raised 

 him to the peerage, with the title of Lord Anson, 

 baron of Soberton. Two of the prizes taken on this 

 occasion were called V Invincible and la Gloire, which 

 induced the captain of the former to say, on giving 

 up his sword, " Monsieur, vous avez vaincu I' Invincible, 

 et la Gloire vous suit." " Sir, you have vanquished the 

 Invincible, and Glory follows you." Four years after- 

 wards, he was made first lord of the admiralty. In 

 1758, he commanded the fleet before Brest, protected 

 the landing of the British at St Malo, Cherbourg, 

 &c., and received the repulsed troops into his vessels. 

 Finally, in 1761, he was appointed to convey the 

 queen of George III. to England. He died in 1762, 

 on his estate at Moor Park, leaving no children. 



