THOMAS AQUINAS THOMAS, ST. 



himself to dissipation, arid, having squandered his 

 property at the gamingtable, was obliged, at length, 

 to take refuge in London. There he remained 

 some time, making, however, occasional voyages to 

 America and France. In the latter country he 

 connected himself with the partisans of anarchy and 

 revolution, and probably contracted that spirit oi 

 discontent which influenced his future conduct. 

 After the peace of Amiens, he returned to England, 

 and improved his circumstances by a second mar- 

 riage. But he had now become a gambler by pro- 

 fession ; and, having associated himself with other 

 persons of desperate character, he engaged in 

 schemes which drew on him the notice of govern- 

 ment. When the riots in Spa fields took place, he 

 was arrested, with Watson and others ; and the 

 proceedings against him on that occasion only served 

 to irritate his passions, and prompt him to such 

 outrageous behaviour towards lord Sidmouth, then 

 secretary of state, as occasioned his subsequent de- 

 tention in prison for a considerable time. On his 

 liberation, he gave way to the suggestions of rage 

 and despair, and became the principal agent in the 

 memorable Cato street conspiracy, the object of 

 which was to murder several members of the ad- 

 ministration at a cabinet dinner, and excite an in- 

 surrection in the city of London. This absurd 

 scheme was betrayed by a man employed as a spy 

 by the ministry, and the insane projectors were ar- 

 rested, just as they were about to proceed to the 

 execution of their purpose. Being tried and con- 

 demned as a traitor, Thistlewood, with his coadju- 

 tors, suffered the sentence of the law, May 1, 1820. 

 THOMAS AQUINAS. See Aquinas. 

 THOALEANS. See Christians of St Thomas. 

 THOMAS A KEMPIS ; that is, Thomas of 

 Kempen, or Kampen, a small town in the archbi- 

 shopric of Cologne, where he was born in 1388, 

 though, according to some accounts, Kampen in 

 Overyssel was his birthplace. His family name 

 was Hamerken or Hammerlein (Malleolus, or Ham- 

 mer). His parents, who were poor, designed him, 

 from an early age, for the church ; and he received 

 instruction and assistance from Florentius, prior of 

 a monastery of regular canons, at Deventer, in 

 Overyssel. With such an example and such les- 

 sons, the youth was led to devote himself to the 

 rigorous observance of monastic practices ; and, at 

 the age of twenty, he retired, with a strong inclina- 

 tion for the monastic life, to the Augustine convent 

 on mount St Agnes, near Zwoll, where, after five 

 years of probation, he took the vows. Here, dis- 

 tinguished for the apostolical simplicity of his char- 

 acter, and Christian purity of his life, he died in 

 1471, superior of the convent. His works, some 

 of which have not yet been printed, were first pub- 

 lished in 1494 (folio). The best edition is that of 

 the Jesuit Sommel (1600, 4to.), which is not, 

 however, complete. His printed works are all in 

 Latin, and consist of sermons, discourses, exhorta- 

 tions, and other ascetic treatises, hymns, prayers, 

 and some lives. His Soliloyuia Animee, his Hortu- 

 lus Rosarum, and his sermons, have always held an 

 honourable rank among the mystical writers. His 

 De Imitatione Christi Libri IV., the most cele- 

 brated of his works, has been translated into all 

 modern languages, and has been republished more 

 than a thousand times. It penetrates so deeply 

 into the genuine spirit of Christianity, that it has 

 been received with equal favour by the most oppo- 

 site sects. 



THOMAS, ANTOINE LEONARD, an ingenious 



French writer, born at Ck-rmont, in Auvergne, in 

 1732, was placed, in his tenth year, at the college 

 of Duplessis in Paris, where he soon distinguished 

 himself, and, at the age of fifteen, obtained a prize. 

 Although designed for the law, his inclinations led 

 him to the cultivation of polite literature, and he 

 became professor at the college of Beauvais. In 

 1776, he was employed as secretary to the duke of 

 Praslin, minister of foreign affairs, afterwards held 

 the same post in the service of the duke of Orleans, 

 and died at Chateau d'Oullins, in 1785. Thomas 

 was a man of generous and elevated feelings, and 

 an excellent writer. The best known of his works 

 are his Eloges, or Eulogies of Distinguished Men, 

 several of which obtained the prize of the academy. 

 They are in general characterized by vigorous elo- 

 quence, boldness of thought, and a warm zeal for 

 the interests of humanity, virtue and knowledge ; 

 but they are not always free from exaggeration of 

 style and expression, and too great an effort after 

 effect. The best of his eulogies are those on Des- 

 cartes, Sully, marshal Saxe, and the dauphin. His 

 JSssai sur les Eloges (2 vols., 1773) acquired him 

 much reputation, on account of its brilliant imagery, 

 strong and just thought, and interesting views of 

 ancient and modern orators. His Essai sur les Fem- 

 mes is less esteemed. Among his poems, the best 

 are his EpUre au Peuple, Ode sur le Temps, and 

 Poeme de Jumonville. 



THOMAS, CHRISTIANS OF ST. See Christians 

 ofSt Thomas. 



THOMAS, ST, also called Didymus (the former 

 being the Hebrew, the latter the Greek word, 

 signifying twin), one of the twelve disciples, was 

 born in Galilee, of a family of fishernfcn. He fol- 

 lowed Jesus with the most devoted attachment, 

 during the three last years of his ministry ; and the 

 scene with his master, after the resurrection, is well 

 known. He is said to have preached the gospel 

 among the Parthians; but the particulars of his 

 life are unknown. Tradition relates that he suf- 

 fered martyrdom at Calamine, which Tillemont 

 conjectures to be Calamone, in Arabia. There are 

 some writings attributed to him, but they are 

 spurious. 



THOMAS, ST; the principal of the Virgin 

 isles, in the West Indies, belonging to Denmark ; 

 Ion. 64 55' W. ; lat. 18 22' N. It is eleven 

 miles long, and two broad ; population in 1815, 

 5050 ; whites, 550 ; free blacks, 1500 ; slaves, 

 3000. It abounds with potatoes, millet, manioc, 

 fruits, sugar and tobacco. It has a safe and com- 

 modious harbour. The town consists chiefly of one 

 long street, at the end of which is the Danish fac- 

 tory. Most of the houses are of brick, being built 

 and tiled in the Dutch fashion, yet but of one storey. 

 The trade of this small island, particularly in time 

 of peace, is very considerable. 



THOMAS, ST ; an island in the Atlantic, near 

 ;be coast of Guinea, situated on the equinoctial 

 ine, about forty miles long, and thirty broad ; Ion. 

 5 55' E. The climate is hot, moist, and unwhole- 

 some to Europeans. The soil is fertile, and pro- 

 duces the fruits of the climate in great abundance. 

 The island is well watered. In the centre is a high 

 mountain, covered with wood and fruit trees, and 

 wrapped in almost perpetual clouds, from which 

 descend a number of rivulets, which water the 

 sugar-cane plantations in the valleys at the bottom. 

 The ecclesiastical government is in the hands of the 

 bishop, a suffragan to the archbishop of Lisbon 

 Chief town, Povoacon, with 700 houses. 



