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A distinguished French philosopher; born in Paris, Nov. 28, 1792; died at Cannes, Jan. 2, 1867. He founded a school of Eclectic philosophy; combining the doctrines of the Scotch school of Reid and Stewart, based on sensation, with those of Schelling and Hegel, which rest on the opposite principle of idealism or intuition. He was not an original thinker in philosophy, but he possessed in a high degree the faculty of clear exposition; for that reason his lectures and his writings enjoyed a great popularity. He rendered a memorable service both to philosophy and literature by his translation of "Plato", praised by Jowett. Besides his "History of Philosophy" and other works on that theme, he is author of a few biographical sketches, mostly of characters related to the spiritual and intellectual movements of the 17th century: as "Jacqueline Pascal"; "Mme. de Longueville"; "Mme. de Hautefort"; "French Society in the 17th Century" (2 vols.).