Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/322

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JOSEPH II. 294 JOSEPHINE. of those whom supposedly hif reforms were to benelit. As it was, he sueceedeil for the {greater part in antagonizin";; his suhjccts in HuiiHary, in Bohemia, and in the Netherlands, and was com- pelled repeatedly to revoke many of his im- Jiortant measures of reform. Not the least of his Idunders was his attemi)t to merge the heteroge- neous nationalities of his realms into a central- ized State. Nevertheless he ccmtrihuted immensely to the permanent imjirovement of the administra- tion and the system of taxation, and did much to develop commerce and industry. His liheral views in matters ecclesiastical aroused the hitter hostil- ity of the elergj-. As soon as he found liimself in full possession of the govermncnt of Austria, he proceeded to declare himself independent of the Pope and to prohihit the puhlication of any new Papal hulls in his dominions without his placet regium. The further puhlication of the bulls Uni- genitus and In cocna Domini was also prohibited. Besides this he suppressed no fewer than 700 eon- vents, reduced the number of the regular clergy from 63,000 to 27.000, prohibited Papal dispensa- tions as to marriage, and on Octxiher 1.3, 17S1, published the celebrated Edict of Toleration, by which he allowed the free exercise of their reli- gion to the Protestants and the adherents of the Greek faith in his dominions. Pope Pius VI. thought to change this policy by a personal inter- view with the Emperor, and for that purpose made a visit to Vienna in 1782; but, although he was quite unsuccessful in his object, he carried away with him the conviction that the people were utterly unprepared for the reforms which their sovereign sought to accomplish, a conviction the correctness of which the event abundantly proved. In 1788-89 Joseph II., in alliance with Russia, engaged in a war with Turkey, in which he was iuisuccessfil : and the vexation caused by this, and by the revolt in the Netherlands (1780-90), occasioned by the abolition of the .'incient Constitution of Brabant, hastened his death, which took place February 20, 1790. Con- sult: Gross-Hofflnger, Lehcns- unrl Rcgierungs- gcschichte Josephs II. (4 vols., Stuttgart, 183.5- 37 ) ; Ameth, Joseph IT. und Leopold von Tosainn : ihr lirirfwrchsel, J7S1-90 (Vienna, 1870) ; Brun- ner, Jo.teph II. (Freiburg, 188.5) : Schlitter, Pius XL nnd Joseph II. (Vienna, 1894). JOSEPH, Father. A popular name for Fran- cois Leclerc du Tremblay ( 1.577-1G38) . the private secretary and confidant of Cardinal Richelieu. He was bom in Paris of a distin- guished family, and was originally a soldier, but left the army in 1.599 and became a Capuchin friar. After some time Father Joseph, as he was palled, attracted the attention of Richelieu, and in IGll became his secretaiy. He was intrusted by Richelieu with the management of his secret diplomacy, and was frequently sent on import<Tnt missions abroad. So great was his influence with the Cardinal, and so well reeognizcd his power, that he was known by the sobriquet of 'His Gray Eminence,' in contradistinction to the title of Richelieu. Religious zeal actuated his entire official life, and the conversion and dissemination of the principles of the Church were the objects most dear to him. In pursuance of these objects he lent his aid to the forcible conversion of French Protestants, and also sent missionaries to India and Canada, while he earnestly advocated a crusade against the Turks. A priest of ascetic habits, but of fiery enthusiasm, he was also a statesman of broad views and comprehensive knowledge, and one of the shrewdest and most able diplomats of his time. His death took place at Kuel, December 18, 1()38. A series of memoirs of his time of which he is the author is deposited in the r>ilp|ioth6que Nationale in Paris, but the volumes have never been |)ublished, though sup- posed to contain inijiortant matter for the history of Louis XIII. 's reign. He was also the author of Le Ttirciiid, a Latin jjoem, and of several po- litical and religious tracts. Consult: Richard, Vie du pere Joseph (Paris. 1702) ; Fagniez, Le pere Joseph et Richelieu, l.'i<)7-1638{l'arU. 1894). JOSEPH, Prayer of. An apocryphal work belonging to the Old Testament Pseude|ugrapha. now known only from old lists of apocryphal books and some quotations in Origen. who seems to have esteemed it highly. The work was of ilewish origin. Why it was called the Prayer of .Joseph is uncertain, since in Origen's quota- tions .Jacob, not .Joseph, is the speaker. It was apparently of prophetic or apocalyptic character, dealing largely with matters concerning angels and their respective ranks and the secrets of the future. Since Jacob speaks of himself as the first bom of all living creatures, some have supposed that the book originated in the desire to counteract the claims of tjhristians in refer- ence to Jesus, by representing the patriarchs as of equal honor and rank. Consult Schfirer. //is- iort/ of the Jeicish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, vol. il. ( Eng. trans.. New York, 188.5-91). JOSEPH AN'DREWS. A novel liy Henry Fielding (1742). Begun as a satire on Richard- son's Pamela, whose brother the hero is, it turned out an excellent story, giving the ad- ventures and trials of .Joseph. ,a footman. The leading character is Parson Adams, a country clergyman, simple, kindly, and genuine. JOSEPH BAR'SABBAS. The unsuccessful candidate for the place among the Twelve made vacant by the death of .Judas Iscariot. He is men- tioned in the New Testament only in Acts i. 2.3. His Roman name, .Justus, is clear, but his .Jewish name, Barsabbas, perhaps son of Sheba or son of the Sabbath, is of doubtful etymologj*. Beyond the fact that he nuist have been a discii^le of Jesus from the Baptism to the Ascension, in or- der to be eligible to the Twelve (Acts i. 21-22), we know nothing. Later tradition, however, makes him one of the Seventy or Seventv-two ( Luke X. 1 ) . JOSEPH FRIEDRICH WILHELM, /zef fro'driK vil'helm, I'rince of Saxe-llildliurgliauscn (1702-87). An Avistrian general. He entered the service in 1719; became a Catholic in 1727; and fought bravely in Italy and on the Rhine (1734-35). In 173G he put down an insurrection of the Croats, and he served against the Turks until 1739. During the War of the Austrian Suc- cession he had charge of the defensive forces in the interior of the Empire. In 17.57 he was put in command to act with the French under Soubise ; was defeated at Rossbach, and retired from the service. JOSEPHINE, zhiVzfl'fen' (Fr. Josephine), Marie Rose ( 17(i3-]814) . Empress of the French and first wife of Napoleon I. She was born June 23, 1763, at Trois Ilets, in the island of Jlar- tinique, her father, Tascher de la Pagerie, being captain of the port of Saint-Pierre. When about fifteen years of age she went to France, and in