246 



NON NONOTE. 



of Cracow (died 1410), Gabriel Biel (died 1495). 

 The nominalists were, indeed, often persecuted (in 

 Paris, 1339, 1340, 1409, 1473) ; but they gradually 

 gained the ascendency in the universities of France 

 as well as in Germany. They are memorable in the 

 history of philosophy in the middle ages, since from 

 them proceeded a spirit of more liberal investigation, 

 independent of dogmatic theology a spirit which 

 opened the way to the higher philosophy of subse- 

 quent times. 



NON, JEAN CLAUDE RICHARD DE SAINT, member 

 of the academy of painting and sculpture at Paris, 

 born 1121, died at Paris, November 25, 1791. He is 

 known for his Voyage pittoresque de Naples et de 

 Sidle (1782 86, 5 vols., fol.), which is principally 

 esteemed for the (417) plates. He himself etched 

 with much ability. Besides the engravings published 

 with his travels, he also published a number of en- 

 gravings from antiques and works of Le Prince, 

 Boucher, and Fragonard. See Denon. 



NON, or NUN. See Niger. 



NON-ACTIVITY, PRINCIPLE OF, in the law of 

 nations. See Neutrality. 



NON COMPOS MENTIS. A distinction is made 

 between an idiot and a person non compos mentis, 

 the former being constitutionally destitute of reason, 

 the latter deprived of that with which he was natu- 

 rally endowed. But, to many purposes, the law 

 makes no distinction between the two. It is a gener- 

 al maxim of the law that a person not possessed of 

 reason cannot bind himself by contract, for he is 

 incapable of giving that consent which is the founda- 

 tion of all obligation. And it makes no difference, 

 in this respect, whether the incapacity arises from a 

 temporary mental alienation or a natural idiocy, except 

 that in the latter case the act of an idiot is absolutely 

 void, whereas that of a lunatic is only voidable at 

 the election of the insane person or his guardian. A 

 maxim was formerly supposed to have crept into the 

 English law, which, in some degree, deprived per- 

 sons, subject to temporary insanity, of the advantage 

 of the doctrine, that they could not bind themselves 

 by contract while in this state. This maxim was, 

 that no one should be permitted to stultify himself, 

 that is, to say that when he made such a deed or 

 contract, he was bereft of his reason ; for, said the 

 judges, when a defendant made this plea, how can 

 you remember that you were non compos mentis ? 

 Sir William Blackstone exposes the absurdity of this 

 maxim, which was adopted, says Mr Fonblanque, 

 " in defiance of natural justice and the universal 

 practice of all civilized nations of the world." The 

 maxim has been disregarded by English judges in 

 some cases, and there is no recent evidence of its 

 being now considered a part of the English law. 

 Another very material consideration respecting per- 

 sons destitute of reason, is the custody and treatment 

 of them, which very naturally belong to their relatives; 

 but it would be totally unsafe to leave them absolutely 

 to determine when any one is insane. It very fre- 

 quently happens, indeed, that the relatives or friends 

 of a person deranged, restrain and confine him with- 

 out any intervention of a magistrate, or any legal 

 process for determining the fact of his mental aliena- 

 tion ; and instances have occurred of the greatest 

 cruelty and abuse practised under pretence that the 

 subject of them was non compos mentis ; and the oc- 

 currence has been made ttie foundation of incidents 

 in fictitious narratives. Such abuses do not take 

 place, however, from a want of provision in the laws 

 to protect the individual from them ; for any person 

 under arrest and detention for any crime whatever, 

 has a right to be brought before a magistrate on a 

 writ of habeas corpus, that the cause of his restraint 

 nmy be inquired into. This process affords an imme- 



diate remedy, if any one takes sufficient inUrest in 

 the welfare of the person detained to make applica- 

 tion for it in his behalf. Besides this remedy, the 

 laws of some states provide a precautionary process, 

 whereby the fact of mental incapacity or alienation 

 is previously inquired into before personal restraint is 

 permitted, and, in general, such previous proceedings 

 must be had in order to take from any person the ma- 

 nagement of his property. 



NON-CONDUCTOR. See Caloric and Electri- 

 city. 



NON-CONFORMISTS; those who refuse to join 

 the established church in England. The name was 

 at first particularly applied to those clergymen who 

 were ejected from their livings by the act of unifor- 

 mity in 1662. Their number was about 2000. The 

 act required that every clergyman should be reor- 

 dained, if he had before received episcopal ordination; 

 should declare his assent to every thing contained in 

 the book of Common Prayer ; take the oath of ca- 

 nonical obedience ; abjure the solemn league and 

 covenant ; and renounce the principle of taking arms 

 against the king. All the royal promises of tolera- 

 tion and of indulgence to tender consciences were 

 thus eluded and broken. The Presbyterians, Inde- 

 pendents, &c., refused to conform, and were exposed 

 to the most cruel persecutions. By the five mile act 

 (1665), it was enacted that no dissenting teacher, who 

 would not take the oath above-mentioned, should 

 approach within five miles of any corporation, or of 

 any place where he had preached after the act of 

 oblivion ; this act was intended to deprive them of 

 all means of subsistence. Other acts of a similar 

 character were passed; but, on the accession of 

 William III., these penalties and disabilities were 

 removed by the toleration act. Some of these op- 

 pressive provisions were revived during the reign of 

 queen Anne, but were finally repealed in 1718. The 

 name Nonconformists, in consequence of this change 

 of circumstances, gave way to that of Dissenters. 

 The chief dissenting sects are the presbyterians, 

 independents, baptists, quakers, methodists, and uni- 

 tarians, the catholics not being commonly compre- 

 hended under this term. (See Catholic Emancipation). 

 The statute 53d Geo. III., c. 60, repeals so much of 

 former acts as excepted persons denying the Trinity 

 from the benefit of the toleration act, or imposed 

 penalties on such persons. Protestant dissenters 

 were thus at least practically delivered from penal 

 restrictions in the exercise of their religion. The 

 repeal of the corporation and test acts in 1828, re- 

 moved the civil disabilities under which they had 

 previously been placed. The protestant dissenters 

 are estimated to be at least one-half of the popula- 

 tion. See Ecclesiastical Establishments, Puritans. 



NONES. See Calendar. 



NON-JURORS. See Jacobites. 



NONNUS ; a later Greek poet, who lived, accord- 

 ing to some, in the beginning, according to others, at 

 the end, of the fifth century. He was born at Pano- 

 polis, in Egypt. He is the author of a poem entitled 

 Dionysiaca, in forty-eight books, in which the expe- 

 dition of Bacchus (Dionysus) to India is described. 

 The style is inflated and prolix ; the descriptions go 

 too much into detail ; the epithets are often unneces- 

 sarily accumulated and far-fetched ; but the versifi- 

 cation is good, and the tone is animated. Nonnus also 

 wrote a paraphrase, in verse, of the gospel of St 

 John, which may serve as a commentary, being very 

 perspicuous, though not very poetical. 



NONOTE, CLAUDE FRANCOIS, a Jesuit, member of 

 the academy of Besangon, born 17 11, devoted him- 

 self principally to ecclesiastical history and to theo- 

 logy, and distinguished himself by his Erreurs de 

 Voltaire (Avignon, 1762, 2 vols.; 5th edition, 1770, 



