STRAUSS
STEINDBEEG
criminal judge in 1831, sub-judge at Calicut
in 1843, civil and sessions judge at Telli-
cherry in 1845, and judge of the High
Court in 1862. He published a valuable
Manual of Hindoo Law (1856). In his
Light of Prophecy (1852) Judge Strange is
still a Christian, but he was one day
impressed by seeing a native "convert"
abjure Christianity at the point of death,
and he began to make a serious study of
his creed. He gave the result to the
world, after his retirement, in a number of
pamphlets which were included in the
Scott series and later collected in one
volume (Contributions to a Series of Contro
versial Writings, 1881). He wrote also
The Bible (1871), The Sources and Develop
ment of Christianity (1876), and other
books. He w 7 as a Theistic Rationalist.
D. Sep. 4, 1884.
STRAUSS, David Friedrich, German writer. B. Jan. 27, 1808. Ed. Tubingen University. Strauss was thoroughly trained in theology, and joined the Lutheran clergy. In 1830 he was appointed Vicar, and in 1831 supervisor of studies at Maul- bronn Seminary. After a few months he went to Berlin to study theology under Hegel. He then took an appointment at the Theological Seminary and the Univer sity at Tubingen ; but Hegel s philosophy had deeply influenced him, and in 1835 his famous Leben Jesu told the result. It dissolved the New as well as the Old Testament into a series of myths. The circulation was phenomenal, and Strauss replied to his innumerable critics in his Streitschriften (1837). The ecclesiastical authorities deprived him of his chair at Tubingen and sent him to Ludwigsberg. In 1836 he gave up his orders and all official connection with the Church. Three years later he was offered the chair of dogmatic theology and ecclesiastical history at Zurich, but the orthodox opposition was so stormy that the authorities pensioned him before he gave a single lecture. His second notable work, Die christliche Glau- benslehre (2 vols., 1840-41), was a very
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drastic criticism of all Church dogmas ; a
third, Der Christus des Glaubens und der
Jesus der Geschichte (1865), furthered his
demolition of the Gospels ; and in his
greatest work, Der alte und der neue Glaube
(1872), he withdrew all the concessions he
had made, broke with every shade of
Christianity, and expounded a positive
Monistic faith. The work ran to twenty
editions. Strauss wrote a number of other
works, and there are excellent biographies
of him by Zeller and Hausrath. D. Feb. 8,
1874.
STRAUSS, Richard, German composer. B. June 11, 1864. Ed. Munich Univer sity. Strauss, whose father was a skilful musician, began to learn the piano at the age of four, and to compose at seven. At the university he made a thorough study of philosophy and aesthetics, besides deepen ing his musical education. In 1885 he became conductor at Meiningen, in 1886 third conductor of the opera at Munich, and in 1889 conductor of the Grand-Ducal chapel at Weimar. In 1894 he conducted the Bayreuth Festival, and later he served as conductor at Munich and Berlin. In 1908 he received the title of General Musical Director for Prussia. He began to publish his compositions in 1883 ; and his Tod und Verklarung (1890), Till Eulens- piegel s Lustige Streiche (1895), and Also Sprach Zarathustra (1896) won world- wide recognition of his genius. His later music (Salome, 1905 ; Elektra, 1909 ; etc.) is much disputed. As the titles and spirit of his great works plainly suggest, Strauss is a thorough Rationalist.
STRINDBERG, Johan August, Swedish novelist, poet, and dramatist. B. Jan. 22, 1849. Ed. Upsala University. Of poor parents (his mother was a barmaid), Strindberg had to struggle hard for educa tion and for his early living. In 1874 he got a post in the Royal Library at Stock holm, and he studied Chinese and had scholarly ambitions. But letters and the stage attracted him, and in 1879 he had 768
