OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Charles-Maurice Le Tellier

From volume 9 of the work.
Archbishop of Reims, b. at Turin, 1642; d. at Reims, 1710. The son of Michel Le Tellier and brother of Louvois (both ministers of Louis XIV), he studied for the Church, won the doctorate of theology at the Sorbonne, and was ordained priest in 1666. Provided, even before his ordination, with several royal abbeys, he rapidly rose to the coadjutorship of Langres, then to that of Reims, and became titular of that see at the age of twenty-nine. His administration was marked by zeal and success along the lines of popular education, training of clerics, parochial organization, restoration of ecclesiastical discipline, extirpation of Protestantism from the Sedan district, etc. The importance of his see together with the royal favour brought him to the front in the affairs of the Church in France. As secretary of the Petite Assemblée of 1681, he reported for the king and against the pope on all disputed points: the extension of the royal claim called régale, the forcible placing of a Cistercian abbess over the Augustinian nuns of Charonne, and the expulsion of the canonically elected vicars capitular of Pamiers. The famous Gallican Assembly of 1682 was convened at his suggestion. Elected president with Harlay, he caused the bishops to endorse the royal policy of encroachment upon church affairs, and even memorialized the pope with a view to make him accept the régale. His comparative moderation in the matter of the four Gallican propositions was due to Bossuet, who remarked that "the glory of the régale would only be obscured by those odious propositions." As president of the Assembly (1700) which undertook to deal with Jansenism and Laxism already judged by the pope, Le Tellier was unduly lenient with the Jansenists and severe with theologians of repute. The same holds true of the various controversies in which he took part: the "Version of Mons," the theory of philosophical sin, Molinism, etc. In spite of grave errors due less to lack of loyalty to the Holy See than to early education, royal fascination, and dislike for the Jesuits, Le Tellier is remembered as a successful administrator, an orator of some merit, a promoter of letters, a protector of Saint John Baptist de la Salle, Mabillon, Ruinart, etc., and a bosom friend of Bossuet, whom he consecrated, and visited on his deathbed, and whom he induced to write the "Oraison funèbre de Michel Le Tellier." His manuscripts, in sixty volumes, are at the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris, and his library of 50,000 volumes at the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève.
Gillet, Charles-Maurice Le Tellier, with an exhaustive bibliography (Paris, 1881), p. xii and passim; Ste-Beuve, Port-Royal (ed. 1900), index.
J.F. SOLLIER
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Charles-Louis Richard

From volume 13 of the work.
Theologian and publicist; b. at Blainville-sur-l'Eau, in Lorraine, April, 1711; d. at Mons, Belgium, 16 Aug., 1794. His family, though of noble descent, was poor, and he received his education in the schools of his native town. At the age of sixteen he entered the Order of St. Dominic and, after his religious profession, was sent to study theology in Paris, where he received the Doctorate at the Sorbonne. He next applied himself to preaching and the defense of religion against d'Alembert, Voltaire, and their confederates. The outbreak of the Revolution forced him to seek refuge at Mons, in Belgium. During the second invasion of that country by the French, in 1794, old age prevented him from fleeing, and, though he eluded his pursuers for some time, he was at last detected, tried by court martial, and shot, as the author of "Parallèle des Juifs qui ont crucifié Jésus-Christ, avec les Français qui ont exécuté leur roi" (Mons, 1794). Among his works may be mentioned "Bibliothèque sacrée, ou dictionnaire universelle des sciences ecclésiastiques" (5 vols., Paris, 1760) and "Supplément" (Paris, 1765), the last and enlarged edition being that of Paris, 1821-27, 29 vols., and "Analyses des conciles généraux et particuliers" (5 vols., Paris, 1772-77).
MOULAERT, Ch. L. Richard aus dem Predigerorden (Ratisbon, 1870); Nomenclator, III (3rd ed.), 433-35.
H.J. SCHROEDER
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Charles-Lucien-Jules-Laurent Bonaparte

From volume 2 of the work.
Prince of Canino and Musignano, ornithologist, b. in Paris, 24 May, 1803; d. in the same city 29 July, 1857.
He was the eldest son of Lucien Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon, and was educated in the universities of Italy. After his marriage to his cousin Zenaïde, daughter of Joseph Bonaparte, on 29 June, 1822, he came to the United States where his father-in-law was residing. While here he devoted himself to the study of natural science and particularly of ornithology. He undertook the completion of Wilson's "Ornithology or History of the Birds of the United States" in four volumes (Philadelphia, 1825-33). In this work he describes more than one hundred new species discovered by himself. He also published "Observations on the Nomenclature of Wilson's Ornithology" (in the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy); "Synopsis of the Birds of the United States" (in the Annals of the Lyceum of New York), etc. He returned to Europe in 1828 and took up his residence in Rome where he continued his scientific work. Upon the death of his father, Lucien, in 1840, he became Prince of Canino and Musignano and afterwards entered the political arena, associating himself with the anti-Austrian party. He did not, however, lose interest in his favourite studies for he organized and presided over several scientific congresses in Italy. He had been attached to Pius IX, but in 1848 he joined the radical party and in the following year was elected deputy of Viterbo and Vice-President of the Assembly. After the fall of the Republic he was obliged to leave Italy (July, 1849), but his cousin, Louis-Napoleon, refused to permit him to enter France until the following year when he settled in Paris. In 1854 he became director of the Jardin des Plantes.
Bonaparte had twelve children of whom eight survived him. Among them was Lucien-Louis-Joseph-Napoleon, who was ordained priest in 1853 and was made cardinal in 1868. Bonaparte became an honorary member of the Academy of Upsala in 1833, and of the Academy of Sciences of Berlin in 1843, and corresponding member of the "Institut" in 1844. Besides his published works already referred to may be mentioned: "Specchio comparativo delle ornithologie di Roma e di Filadelfia" (Paris, 1827); "Iconografia della Fauna Italica" (Rome, 1834-41). This is his principal work and is illustrated with fine coloured plates. "Geographical and Comparative List of Birds of Europe and North America" (London, 1838); "Catalogo metodico degli uccelli Europei" (Bologna, 1842); "Conspectus systematis ornitholo giæ" (Leyden, 1850); "Conspectus systematis ichthyologiæ" (Leyden, 1850); "Ornithologie fossile" (Paris, 1858).
DEBIDOUR in La grande encyc.; WOUTERS, Les Bonaparte depuis 1815; CANTÙ, Hist. de l'indépendance italienne, III; BALLYDIER, Hist. de la révolution de Rome de 1846-1850.
H. M. BROCK
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Charles-Marie de la Condamine

From volume 4 of the work.
Explorer and physicist, b. at Paris, 28 January, 1701; d. there 4 February, 1774. After a brief military career he turned to scientific pursuits and explored the coasts of Africa and Asia Minor on the Mediterranean. In 1735, he was selected to direct an expedition to the equatorial regions of South America in order to determine the form of the earth by measuring a meridian and thus establishing the flattening of our globe towards the poles. His companions were Pierre Bouguer and Louis Godin des Odonais. Two officers of the Spanish marine, Jorge Juan and Antonio de Ulloa, represented the Government of Spain on the voyage and also made independent observations in the interior. Condamine went to Ecuador and there began his labours, making a fairly accurate triangulation of the mountainous parts and the western sections of Ecuador. On this occasion he discovered that tall mountains deflect the pendulum by their attraction. He remained eight years in South America, then returned to France, where he was chosen member of the Academy of Sciences and of the French Academy and received the cross of Saint Lazarus. While Condamine on account of his ambition and inclination to controversy was a disagreeable character, as an explorer and physicist he stands very high. The topographical work performed by him or under his direction suffered from the relative imperfections of the instruments in use in his time, but the results obtained were astonishing. Not only in physiography and physical geography, but in other branches also his expedition opened a new perspective to investigation. It was the starting point for more extensive explorations of tropical America. The countries he visited became and remained thereafter, classical ground in the annals of natural science. It is claimed that he introduced caoutchouc into Europe, and he also tried to introduce inoculation for smallpox in France.
Interest in Condamine centring in his South American work, books on that expedition become the prominent source of information regarding the most important period of his life; especially his own writings, chief of which were: Journal du voyage fait par ordre du Roi à l'équateur (Paris, 1751); Relation abrégée d'un voyage dans l'intérieur de l'Amérique méridionale (Paris, 1745; 2d ed., 1778); Histoire des pyramides de Quito (Paris, 1751). Frequent references are found in the works of HUMBOLDT, also, DE ULLOA AND JUAN, Relación histórica del viage á la América Meridional hecho de orden de S. Mag. para medir algunos grados de meridiano terrestre (Madrid, 1748).
AD. F. BANDELIER
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sts. Cosmas and Damian

From volume 4 of the work.
Early Christian physicians and martyrs whose feast is celebrated on 27 September. They were twins, born in Arabia, and practised the art of healing in the seaport Ægea, now Ayash (Ajass), on the Gulf of Iskanderun in Cilicia, Asia Minor, and attained a great reputation. They accepted no pay for their services and were, therefore, called anargyroi, "the silverless". In this way they brought many to the Catholic Faith. When the Diocletian persecution began, the Prefect Lysias had Cosmas and Damian arrested, and ordered them to recant. They remained constant under torture, in a miraculous manner suffered no injury from water, fire, air, nor on the cross, and were finally beheaded with the sword. Their three brothers, Anthimus, Leontius, and Euprepius died as martyrs with them. The execution took place 27 September, probably in the year 287. At a later date a number of fables grew up about them, connected in part with their relics. The remains of the martyrs were buried in the city of Cyrus in Syria; the Emperor Justinian I (527-565) sumptuously restored the city in their honour. Having been cured of a dangerous illness by the intercession of Cosmas and Damian, Justinian, in gratitude for their aid, rebuilt and adorned their church at Constantinople, and it became a celebrated place of pilgrimage. At Rome Pope Felix IV (526-530) erected a church in their honour, the mosaics of which are still among the most valuable art remains of the city. The Greek Church celebrates the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian on 1 July, 17 October, and 1 November, and venerates three pairs of saints of the same name and profession. Cosmas and Damian are regarded as the patrons of physicians and surgeons and are sometimes represented with medical emblems. They are invoked in the Canon of the Mass and in the Litany of the Saints.
Acta SS., 27 Sept.; SCHLEYER in Kirchenlex.; ALOIS, Das Leben und Wirken d. hl. Cosmas und Damian, Patrone der Aerzte (Vienna, 1876); DEUBNER, Kosmas und Damian (Leipzig, 1907).
Gabriel Meier.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sts. Cyprian and Justina

From volume 4 of the work.
Christians of Antioch who suffered martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian at Nicomedia, 26 September, 304, the date in September being afterwards made the day of their feast. Cyprian was a heathen magician of Antioch who had dealing with demons. By their aid he sought to bring St. Justina, a Christian virgin, to ruin; but she foiled the threefold attacks of the devils by the sign of the cross. Brought to despair Cyprian made the sign of the cross himself and in this way was freed from the toils of Satan. He was received into the Church, was made pre-eminent by miraculous gifts, and became in succession deacon, priest, and finally bishop, while Justina became the head of a convent. During the Diocletian persecution both were seized and taken to Damascus where they were shockingly tortured. As their faith never wavered they were brought before Diocletian at Nicomedia, where at his command they were beheaded on the bank of the river Gallus. The same fate befell a Christian, Theoctistus, who had come to Cyprian and had embraced him. After the bodies of the saints had lain unburied for six days they were taken by Christian sailors to Rome where they were interred on the estate of a noble lady named Rufina and later were entombed in Constantine's basilica. This is the outline of the legend or allegory which is found, adorned with diffuse descriptions and dialogues, in the unreliable "Symeon Metaphrastes", and was made the subject of a poem by the Empress Eudocia II. The story, however, must have arisen as early as the fourth century, for it is mentioned both by St. Gregory Nazianzen and Prudentius; both, nevertheless, have confounded our Cyprian with St. Cyprian of Carthage, a mistake often repeated. It is certain that no Bishop of Antioch bore the name of Cyprian. The attempt has been made to find in Cyprian a mystical prototype of the Faust legend: Calderon took the story as the basis of a drama: "El magico prodigioso". The legend is given in Greek and Latin in Acta SS. September, VII. Ancient Syriac and Ethiopic versions of it have been published within the last few years.
KAULES in Kirchenlex., s.v.; ZAHN, Cyprian von Antiochien und die deutsche Faustsage (Erlange, 1882); RYSSEL, Urtext d. Cyprianschen Legende in Archiv f. neuere Sprachen u. Litt. (1903), XX, 273-311; Bibl. hagiog. lat., 308; see also BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 25 September; and (ibid.) BARING-GOULD, Lives of the Saints.
Gabriel Meier.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sts. Crispin and Crispinian

From volume 4 of the work.
Martyrs of the Early Church who were beheaded during the reign of Diocletian; the date of their execution is given as 25 October, 285 or 286. It is stated that they were brothers, but the fact has not been positively proved. The legend relates that they were Romans of distinguished descent who went as missionaries of the Christian Faith to Gaul and chose Soissons as their field of labour. In imitation of St. Paul they worked with their hands, making shoes, and earned enough by their trade to support themselves and also to aid the poor. During the Diocletian persecution they were brought before Maximianus Herculius whom Diocletian had appointed co-emperor. At first Maximianus sought to turn them from their faith by alternate promises and threats. But they replied: "Thy threats do not terrify us, for Christ is our life, and death is our gain. Thy rank and possessions are nought to us, for we have long before this sacrificed the like for the sake of Christ and rejoice in what we have done. If thou shouldst acknowledge and love Christ thou wouldst give not only all the treasures of this life, but even the glory of thy crown itself in order through the exercise of compassion to win eternal life." When Maximianus saw that his efforts were of no avail, he gave Crispin and Crispinian into the hands of the governor Rictiovarus (Rictius Varus), a most cruel persecutor of the Christians. Under the order of Rictiovarus they were stretched on the rack, thongs were cut from their flesh, and awls were driven under their finger-nails. A millstone was then fastened about the neck of each, and they were thrown into the Aisne, but they were able to swim to the opposite bank of the river. In the same manner they suffered no harm from a great fire in which Rictiovarus, in despair, sought death himself. Afterwards the two saints were beheaded at the command of Maximianus.
This is the story of the legend which the Bollandists have incorporated in their great collection; the same account is found in various breviaries. The narrative says that a large church was built over the graves of the two saints, consequently the legend could not have arisen until a later age; it contains, moreover, many details that have little probability or historical worth and seems to have been compiled from various fabulous sources. In the sixth century a stately basilica was erected at Soissons over the graves of these saints, and St. Eligius, a famous goldsmith, made a costly shrine for the head of St. Crispinian. Some of the relics of Crispin and Crispinian were carried to Rome and placed in the church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna. Other relics of the saints were given by Charlemagne to the cathedral, dedicated to Crispin and Crispinian, which he founded at Osnabrück. Crispin and Crispinian are the patron saints of shoemakers, saddlers, and tanners. Their feast falls on 25 October.
Acta SS., Oct., XI, 495-540; BARING-GOULD, Lives of the Saints, XII, 628; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints. 25 October; Bio-Bibl. s. v.
Gabriel Meier.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Stoning in Scripture

From volume 14 of the work.
Palestine being a very rocky country, the abundance of stones made it natural to use them as missiles. Stone throwing might be merely a mark of hatred and contempt (II Kings 16:6-13), or the means of carrying out murderous intentions against which provision had to be made in the Law (Exodus 21:18, Numbers 35:17). Stoning to death which was at first an expression of popular fury analogous to "lynching", later came to be a natural and legally recognized method of execution. It was this regulated by law as an appointed means of capital punishment (Deuteronomy 17:5-7; Acts 7:58). Death by stoning is prescribed in the Pentateuch as the penalty for eighteen different crimes including Sabbath-breaking, but for one crime only — murder — is it the penalty prescribed in all the codes. The execution of the criminal usually took place outside the city walls, and according to Deuteronomy 16:7, the witnesses in the case were to cast the first stone: "Thou shalt bring forth the man or the woman, who have committed that most wicked thing, to the gates of thy city, and they shall be stoned. By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he die who is to be slain.... The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to kill him, and afterwards the hands of the rest of the people". (Deuteronomy 17:5-7). Stoning is also mentioned in Acts 7:57-58, as the means by which Stephen the first Christian martyr was put to death: "And casting him forth without the city, they stoned him."
James F. Driscoll.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Stratonicea

From volume 14 of the work.
A titular see in Caria (Asia Minor) suffragan of Stauropolis. Stratoniceia or Stratonicea was founded perhaps on the site of the more ancient Idrias, in the interior of Caria, south-east of Mylassa, and south of the Marsyas, by Antiochus Soter, who named it after his wife Stratonice. His successors embellished it with magnificent monuments, and it became one of the chief towns of Caria. Later it was ceded to the Rhodians. Mithridates lived in it some time, and while there married the daughter of one of the principal citizens. Later it sustained a vigorous siege by Labienus. It is mentioned as a free town by Pliny. Some of its coins have been found. Near the city was a temple of Zeus Chrysaoreus, where the confederated Carian towns held their assemblies. To-day it is the small town of Eski Hissar, in the caza of Moughla, vilayet of Smyrna. It has extensive ruins, a theatre, tomb, columns, etc. The "Notitiæ episcopatuum" mention the see till the thirteenth century among the suffragans of Stauropolis. Only three of its bishops are known, by their signatures at councils: Eupeithus, at Chalcedon, 451; Theopemptus, at Constantinople, 692; Gregory, at Nicæa, 787.
LE QUIEN, Oriens christ., I. 911; CHANDLER, Travels in Asia Minor (2 vols., Oxford, 1825), 240; LEAKE, Asia Minor (London, 1824), 229; FELLOWS, Asia Minor (London, 1852), 254 sqq.; IDEM, Lycia, 50 sqq.; SMITH, Dict. of Greek and Roman Geog., s. v.
S. Pétridès.
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Striking of the Breast

From volume 2 of the work.
Striking of the breast as a liturgical act is prescribed in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass during the Confiteor at the phrase "Through my fault" (three times), at the Nobis Quoque Peccatoribus (once), at the Agnus Dei (three times), and at the Domine, Non Sum Dignus (three times). With bowed head, except at the Nobis Quoque Peccatoribus, moderately and without noise, the celebrant strikes his breast with the right hand, the fingers being held closely together and curved or fully extended, as the rubrics are silent on this point; after the consecration, however, with the last three fingers only, since the thumb and index finger, which are joined, must not come in contact with the chasuble. At the Agnus Dei in requiem Masses the striking of the breast is omitted, to show that the celebrant is thinking of the departed more than of himself. The faithful are accustomed to this practice as well as the priest.
The early Christians were familiar with the practice, as St. Augustine and St. Jerome testify. "No sooner have you heard the word 'Confiteor'", says the former, "than you strike your breast. What does this mean except that you wish to bring to light what is concealed in the breast, and by this act to cleanse your hidden sins?" (Sermo de verbis Domini, 13). We strike our breast", declares St. Jerome, "because the breast is the seat of evil thoughts: we wish to dispel these thoughts, we wish to purify our hearts" (In Ezechiel, c. xviii). A warrant for these statements is found in the Psalmist: A contrite and humbled heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise (Ps, l.,19). The petitioner at the Throne of Mercy would chasten his heart and offer it as a sacrifice to God who healeth the broken of heart and bindeth up their wounds (Ps. cxlvi, 3). The ancient Christians were accustomed to strike the breast when they heard mention made or sensual sins; at the "Forgive us our trespasses" of the Pater Noster; and in detestation of the crime of the Jews, at the words of the Gospel, "Thou hast a devil", applied to Christ.
ANDREW B. MEEHAN
# Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Sts. Abdon and Sennen

From volume 1 of the work.
​Abdon and Sennen, Saints (variously written in early calendars and martyrologies Abdo, Abdus; Sennes, Sennis, Zennen), Persian martyrs under Decius, about a.d. 250, and commemorated 30 July. The veneration paid them dates from as early as the third century, though their Acts, written for the most part prior to the ninth century, contain several fictitious statements about the cause and occasion of their coming to Rome and the nature of their torments. It is related in these Acts that their bodies were buried by a subdeacon, Quirinus, and transferred in the reign of Constantine to the Pontian cemetery on the road to Porto, near the gates of Rome. A fresco found on the sarcophagus supposed to contain their remains represents them receiving crowns from Christ. According to Martigny, this fresco dates from the seventh century. Several cities, notably Florence and Soissons, claim possession of their bodies, but the Bollandists say that they rest in Rome.
Acta SS., 30 July. Martigny, Dict. der antiq. chret., 1; Cheetham, in Dict. Christ. Antiq.; Butler, Lives of the Saints, July 30.
John J. Wynne.