show a rejection throughout of all religious ideas, except in the Positivist sense. See Prof. G. Marchesini, La Vita e il Pensiero di E. Ardigó (1907). D. Feb., 1906.
Argens, Jean Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d', French writer. B. June 24, 1704. After some years experience of the army, diplomacy, and law, he took to letters, adopting Bayle as his model. His Rationalistic Lettres juives (8 vols., 1754) and subsequent Lettres chinoises and Lettres cabalistiques had a wide circulation. Frederick the Great made him a Chamberlain, and Director of Fine Arts at Potsdam (1740). His Philosophie du bon sens (3 vols., 1768) and most of his works satirize the current religion, though he was not free from mysticism. Clerical writers stated that he was "converted" before death, but his widow refuted the charge. D. June 11, 1771.
Argenson, Marc Pierre de Voyer de Paulmy, Count d', French statesman. B. Aug. 16, 1696. He was a lieutenant of the police in 1720, then Governor of Touraine and State-Councillor. In 1740 he became Governor of Paris, and in 1742 Minister of War. D'Argenson rendered great services to his country and to enlightenment, and D'Alembert and Diderot dedicated to him their famous Dictionnaire Encyclopedique (1751). Voltaire had been at school with him, and was an intimate friend throughout life. He was a member of the Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Inscriptions. D. Aug. 22, 1764.
Argenson, Rene Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, Marquis d', French statesman. Argensonan and brother of Marc Pierre. B. Oct. 18, 1694. He was Governor of Hainaut 1720-24, State-Councillor 1724-44, and Minister of Foreign Affairs 1744-47. An intimate friend of Voltaire, D'Alembert, and Condillac, he advocated the most advanced humanitarian reforms in government, and was honoured with the acrid hostility of the clergy. His Essais and Memoires sufficiently betray his Deism; and he co-operated in writing the Histoire du droit publique ecclesiastique Français (1727), which was a powerful anti-clerical implement. D. Jan 26, 1757.
Argental, Charles Augustin de Ferriol, Count d', French diplomatist. B. Dec. 20, 1700. He was a Counsellor of the Paris Parlement from 1741 to 1768, and representative of the Due de Parma at the French Court 1759-63. The Count had been a fellow pupil of Voltaire at the College of Louis le Grand, and he remained an intimate friend until death, assisting Voltaire in the Galas case and other matters. D. Jan. 5, 1788.
Armellini, Carlo, Italian statesman. B. 1777. He studied law and attained great distinction in the Italian courts. Pope Pius VII made him a Consistorial Advocate at the Papal Court, and he was a Councillor of the Roman Court of Appeal. He was, however, an ardent reformer, and in 1848 he joined the triumphant Anti-Papals. He became Minister of the Interior after the flight of Pius IX, and presided at the opening of the Constituent Assembly. Mazzini made him a member of the Executive Committee of the Roman Republic, and he formed the Triumvirate with Saliceti and Montecchi, and afterwards with Saffi and Mazzini. At the restoration of the Pope by the French he retired to Belgium. D. 1863.
Armstrong, Professor Henry Edward, Ph.D., LL.D., D.Sc., F.R.S., chemist. Professor Armstrong declines to believe that the public are interested, or ought to be interested, in his biographical details. He is Emeritus Professor of Chemistry at the City and Guilds College, South Kensington, and he holds the Davy Medal of the Royal Society (awarded in 1911) and other high honours. He is one of the most distinguished organic chemists in Europe, and has written important works
