BROWNSON, Orestes A., American pub licist: b. Stockbridge, Vt. 1803; d. 1876. His writings embrace philosophical, political, socio logical and theological subjects. He was brought up without any strictly defined creed, but at the age of 19 formally joined the Pres byterian Church. Soon becoming dissatisfied with Presbyterianism he sought refuge in Uni versalism, abandoning, as he himself says, Su pernaturalism for Rationalism. After leaving Presbyterianism, in 1825, he applied for and re ceived a letter of fellowship as a preacher from the General Convention of Universalists. It was shortly after this that he fell in with the socialistic theories of Robert Owen, who had come to this country to establish his commu nistic colony at New Harmony, Ind. Under the influence of Owen's ideas, Brownson co operated in founding and establishing the Work ingman's party to advance Socialism in the sphere of practical politics. Through Owen Dr. Brownson also came in contact with Frances Wright, who lectured throughout the United States in the interest of the Socialist propaganda. But Brownson's enthusiasm in the political side of the question was short lived and he soon abandoned the political move ment and returned to his pulpit, but as an inde pendent preacher, responsible to no church, sect or denomination. In 1832 he came under the influence of Dr. Charming, to whom he pays a grateful but discriminating tribute in his work ' whose object was the union and progress of mankind on broad humani tarian lines. The "new doctrine" inculcated and preached during this period by Dr. Brown son was a mixture, in part drawn from the Eclecticism of Cousin and from the Commu nism of the Saint-Simonians, a philosophico religious sect then recently sprung up in. France. Brownson's attitude was at this time ultra-radical; he utterly denied the Church and the priesthood in the religious order, and the distinction of classes in the social order, and would have made all government but the instru ment to level men and their institutions to the lowest terms of the socialistic idea. But by
1840 he began to retrace his steps, and after much study and reflection, and after having read for the first time, as he himself tells us in > With this conception as his premise, after some four years of struggle and study, he arrived at the conclusion that he must logically accept the Catholic Church as the divinely established institution for the su pernatural guidance and direction of mankind. After receiving instruction from Bishop Fitz patrick, of Boston, Dr. Brownson was bap tized a Catholic in 1844, and died in the Catholic communion. After his entrance into the Catho lic Church he became its ardent and vigorous champion, though sometimes in the advocacy of his views he came into conflict with ecclesi astical authority. He was a vigorous and trenchant writer, bold and uncompromising in his views, when he believed them logical, and often in controversy unsparing in his method against an adversary. His temperament was polemical and fearless, his interest keen and his advocacy enthusiastic of whatsoever cause he might be pleading. He was a sincere lover of truth and unflinching in pursuing his con clusions. He was perhaps the greatest publicist whom America has produced. His writings are voluminous, covering a vast variety of subjects, and have been published in 20 volumes (1882 87) by his son, Henry F. Brownson. A
CONDi B. FALLEN, Managing Editor,
Encyclopedia.'