Volume 1

Universal pronouncing dictionary of biography and mythology / by Joseph Thomas.

  • Joseph Thomas
Date:
1911, ©1908
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Universal pronouncing dictionary of biography and mythology / by Joseph Thomas. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    1421/1486 (page 1403)
    JOSEPHSON was born in 1763 in the island of Martinique. At a very early age she attracted attention by her remark* able beauty and vivacity. About 1778 she went to reside in France with an aunt by whom she had been adopted, and thus became the heiress to a large for¬ tune. She was soon after married to Viscount de Beau- harnais, one of the most polished noblemen of the French court. In 1780 she gave birth to Eugene, who was sub¬ sequently appointed Viceroy of Italy by Bonaparte, and in 1783 to Hortense, afterwards Queen of Holland, and mother of Napoleon III. Jealousies having arisen be¬ tween Beauharnais and his wife, the former sued for a divorce before the Parliament of Paris. The case was decided in favour of Josephine, who in a short time sailed for Martinique with her daughter. At this period her circumstances were so straitened that she was glad to accept from the captain of the vessel a pair of shoes for Hortense. At the expiration of three years she re¬ turned to France and was reconciled to her husband. During the French Revolution Beauharnais boldly op¬ posed the measures of the Jacobins, by whom he was executed in 1794. His wife, who was then in prison, escaped the same fate only by the sudden fall of Robes¬ pierre. Through the influence of Barras and Tallien, she regained part of her husband’s property, which had been confiscated. She now became one of the leaders of fashion. Her talents and personal attractions enabled her also to exert no little influence in the politics of that period. In 1796 she was married to Bonaparte, who had recently been appointed commander-in-chief of the army in Italy. At the time Josephine was thought by her friends to have formed a misalliance. After Bonaparte became First Consul, she exerted all her influence to alle¬ viate the sufferings of the royalists, and even endeavoured to persuade him to restore the Bourbons. While Napo¬ leon was in Egypt, she had bought for her favourite resort the estate of Malmaison, which she fitted up with royal magnificence. At length her expenditures for this and other luxuries became so enormous as to occasion the First Consul serious embarrassment. When Napoleon was raised to the imperial throne and she became Empress of France, to her was due in a great measure the honour of having imparted to the court of the Tuileries the splendour and taste for which it was then distinguished. From the time of her coronation her influence over the emperor rapidly diminished; and, as there was no longer hope of her bringing him an heir, he finally resolved to divorce her. The announcement of this decision plunged the empress into the deepest despair. Napoleon himself is said to have been greatly affected; but his resolu¬ tion was fixed, and the bill of divorce was passed in 1809. Josephine, still retaining her former dignities and titles, retired to Malmaison. Napoleon occasionally visited her, and appeared to cherish a sincere affection for her. When the allied armies invaded France, she was treated with the greatest respect by the emperor Alexander. She died in 1814, soon after the abdication of Napoleon. The character of Josephine has been greatly admired. The cause of this is to be attributed more to her pleasing manners than to any exalted virtue which she possessed. It is said that there was a fascination in her countenance which no painter could transfer to canvas. She had a very remarkable memory, was accomplished, educated, and witty ; but vanity seems to have had an unlimited ascendency over her, and it does not appear that she was endowed with so many uncommon qualities as several modern writers have attributed to her. (See Bona¬ parte, Napoleon.) See “Josephine, ” in the “Nouvelle Biographie G4n^rale,” vol. xxxvii. For the private life of Josephine, the reader may consult Aobhnas* “Histoire de l’lmp^ratrice Josephine,” avols. 8vo, Paris, 1857-59; also the letters of Napoleon to Josephine, and of Josephine to Napoleon and to her daughter. For a very curious account of the empress Josephine’s descendants, see “London Review’’ for June, 1865; Marie Anne Le Normand, “M&noires histonques et secrets de Josephine,” 2 vols., 1820, (English version of the same, 1848;) P. C. Headley, “Life of the Empress Josephine,” 1852. Josephson, yo'sef-son, (Ludwig,) a Swedish dram¬ atist, born at Stockholm, of Jewish parents, February 20, 1830. Among his pieces are “Kunstens Vapen, ’ “ Kapten Gars,” and “Thord Hasle,” (1881.). He also prepared a history of the Swedish stage. His. brother Jakob (1818-80) was a noted composer of music. Jo-se'phus, [Fr. JosiPHE, zho'zfiff; It. Gioseffo, jo-sSfffo,] or, more fully, Fla'vl-us Jo-se'phus, [Gr. 4>Aa/?tof ’luoTjnof,] the most celebrated of Jewish historians, was born at Jerusalem a.d. 37. His mother was of the royal house of the Asmonaeans, and his father belonged to the sacerdotal order from which the chief pontiffs were chosen. He pursued his studies in his native city with such assiduity that at the age of fourteen he was often consulted on abstruse points of Jewish law. He after¬ wards joined the sect of the Essenes, and passed three years with a hermit in the desert. At the age of nine¬ teen he became a Pharisee. In the year 63 he visited Rome, in order to procure the liberation of some Jew¬ ish priests whom the governor Felix had sent there as prisoners. He was favourably received at the imperial court, and succeeded in his enterprise through the in¬ fluence of Poppaea, the wife of Nero. On his return to Judea he opposed the revolutionary spirit that was then gaining ground among his countrymen. Perceiving his efforts to be of no avail, he accepted the government of the two Galilees, and in 67 a.d. bravely defended for forty- seven days the city of Jotapata against a powerful Roman army under Vespasian. The Romans finally triumphed, however, and of the Jewish warriors Josephus alone was saved, on account of his predicting that Vespasian would soon receive the imperial purple. He was treated with the greatest respect by Vespasian and Titus, and at the destruction of Jerusalem his influence procured the liberation of his brother and fifty of his friends. He afterwards accompanied Titus to Rome, where Vespasian granted him a pension and raised him to the rank of a Roman citizen. As a mark of gratitude for these and other favours, Josephus assumed the emperor’s family name of Flavius. The date of his death is unknown; but some writers have placed it a.d. 95. The most im¬ portant works of Josephus are his “ History of the Jew¬ ish War,” in seven books, “ The Antiquities of the Jews,” (’Iowiaod) 'Apxatolcryia,) in twenty books, two treatises “ Against Apion of Alexandria,” a “ Discourse on the Martyrdom of the Maccabees,” and an account of his own life. All of these were written in Greek, with the exception of the first, which was originally composed in Syro-Chaldaic and afterwards translated into Greek by himself. On account of the beauty of his style, he has been called “ the Grecian Livy.” His works have been translated into Latin and most of the modern languages of Europe. See G. R. van Hoevell, “ F. Josephi Vita,” 1835; J. F. Eck- hard, “ Biographie des beriihmten F. Josephus,” 1785 ; Fabricius, “ Bibliotheca GraecaCave, “ Scriptorum ecclesiasticorum Historia literaria;” C. F. Boehmrrt, “ Ueber des Flavius Josephus Zeugniss von Christo,” 1823; Philar&te Chasles, “ De l’Autorit^ historique de F. Josiphe,” 1841. Jos^pin. See Cesari, (Giuseppe.) Josh'u-a, [Heb. ; Gr. ’b/crovf ; Fr. Josu£, zho'- zii'i',] or d'she-a, the son of Nun, (Numbers xiii. 16,) became commander of the Israelites on the death of Moses. He was distinguished for his bravery and mili¬ tary skill, and gained numerous important victories over the different Canaanite princes. Much controversy has arisen in regard to the authorship of the book of Joshua. Many suppose it to have been compiled from manuscripts written by himself; others attribute it to Samuel. Died about 1425 B.c. Jo-si'ah [Heb. ; Fr. Josias, zho'se'Ss'] suc¬ ceeded his father Amon on the throne of Judah 641 B.c., at the age of eight years. He was an able and pious prince, and during his reign of thirty-one years many wise and beneficial laws were enacted: idolatry was suppressed, the Temple was repaired, and the true forms of worship were restored. He was killed in a battle against Pharaoh-Necho, King of Egypt, about 610 B.c. See II. Kings xiii., xxii.; II. Chronicles xxxiv., xxxv. Josias. See Josiah. Josika, yo'she-koh, (Miklos,) a Hungarian nobleman and celebrated novelist, born in 1796 at Torda, in Tran¬ sylvania. His first and most successful work, “ Abafi,” a historical tale, appeared in 1836. He produced about sixty volumes of romances, which were very popular with the Hungarians. In 1848, as a member of the upper house of nobles, he took a bold stand against the en¬ croachments of Austria, and advocated the measures of