STEPHENS 373 distinguished for their accuracy. His sons, FKANOIS (1502-'50), ROBERT I. (born in Paris in 1503, died in Geneva in 1559), and CHARLES (born in Paris about 1505, died in 1564), were largely engaged in printing. Robert, a man of great learning and industry, in his 20th year published an edition of the Latin New Testament, with some corrections by himself. At his house, which was the resort of the most eminent literary men, Latin was the or- dinary language of conversation, even among the children and servants, to whom it was taught by his wife. For many years scarcely a month passed in which some work, generally edited and corrected by himself, did not issue from his press. He is said to have publicly posted proof sheets of his works, with the offer of a premium for the detection of errors. In 1531 he began the publication of his Dictiona- rium, seu Thesaurus Linguce Latince, which he improved in two subsequent editions. New editions have appeared in the present century at London (8 vols. fol., 1815-'25) and Paris (9 vols. fol., 1829-'63). His editions of the Bible with notes brought him into trouble with the Sorbonne, from which he was protected during the life of Francis L, who had appointed him royal printer. After the king's death the Sor- bonne caused the sale of his Bibles to be pro- hibited, and to insure his safety the printer retired to Geneva, where he died, it is said, in the Oalvinistic faith. He published at least 11 complete editions of the Bible, in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and French, besides many sepa- rate editions of the New Testament; and 382 other works, mostly of the first importance, came from his press. He first introduced the existing division of the New Testament into verses. Charles, the younger brother of Rob- ert, devoted himself to physical sciences, and for some years practised medicine. He suc- ceeded to his brother's business when the lat- ter retired to Geneva, and was subsequently appointed printer to Henry II. His publica- tions, scientific and classical, are numerous. HENRY, son of Robert (born in Paris in 1528, died in 1598), spoke Latin with fluency while a child, and throughout his life was a profound student of Greek literature. His establishments were successively in Paris and Geneva; but after the publication of his Thesaurus Lingua Grcecce, the costliness of which confined it to a limited number of purchasers and involved the printer in pecuniary embarrassments, he travelled from city to city, exploring libraries, and collecting an immense amount of material for works which he was projecting, and which he published wherever he happened to be. Among the best known of them are : Confor- mite du langage franpois avec le grec (Geneva, about 1565 ; latest ed., with a notice of his life by Leon Feugere, Paris, 1853), and La precel- lence du langage fran$ois (Paris, 1579 ; latest ed., with an essay on him and notes by the same author, 1851). Among others of the family were PAUL, son of the preceding (born in Geneva in 1566, died there in 1627), who succeeded his father in the printing establish- ment at Geneva, which he conducted for many years ; and ANTHONY, his son (born in Geneva about 1592, died at the H6tel-Dieu in Paris in 1674), who for 50 years conducted a printing house in Paris, but died in great poverty. See A. A. Renouard, Annales de Vimprimerie des Estienne (Paris, 1837; 2d ed., 1843). STEPHENS, Alexander Hamilton, an American statesman, born in Taliaferro co., Ga., Feb. 11, 1812. He graduated at Franklin college, Ath- ens, Ga., in 1832, was admitted to the bar in 1834, and rapidly obtained a large and lucra- tive practice at Crawfordville. He was elected to the legislature of Georgia in 1836, and was reflected for five successive terms. In 1842 he was elected to the state senate. In 1843 he was elected as a whig to congress, and held his seat till 1859. In February, 1847, he sub- mitted a series of resolutions in relation to the Mexican war, which afterward formed the platform of the whig party. He opposed the Clayton compromise in 1848, and took a lead- ing part in the compromises of 1850. The passage of the Kansas and Nebraska act of 1854 in the house of representatives was strongly supported by him as chairman of the committee on territories. After the breaking up of the whig party he acted with the demo- crats. At the close of the 35th congress Mr. Stephens declined to be again a candidate, and on July 2, 1859, he made a speech at Augusta, Ga., announcing his retirement from public life. During the presidential canvass of 1860 he sustained Douglas, and denounced those who advocated a dissolution of the Union in case of Mr. Lincoln's election ; and in Novem- ber, 1860, he made a speech before the legis- lature of Georgia against secession, on which subject he had an interesting correspondence with Mr. Lincoln in December. He was nev- ertheless elected to the secession convention which met at Milledgeville, Jan. 16, 1861, and there spoke and voted against the secession ordinance. He was a member of the south- ern congress which met in Montgomery, -Ala., in February, and was elected vice president of the confederacy. On March 21 he deliv- ered a speech in Savannah, in which he de- clared slavery to be the corner stone of the new government. (See CONFEDERATE STATES.) On April 23, as a special commissioner from the Confederate States, he addressed the con- vention at Richmond, urging the union of Vir- ginia with the confederacy. He frequently differed from the policy of the Richmond gov- ernment, especially on the subject of martial law; and on Sept. 8, 1862, he pronounced the appointment by Gen. Bragg of James M. Cal- houn as civil governor of Atlanta a palpable usurpation. His letter on this subject created a marked sensation through the south. On Feb. 3, 1865, with R. M. T. Hunter and John A. Campbell, he held an informal conference on a steamer in Hampton roads with Presi-
