COURT DE GEBELIN, Antoine (1725-1784), a celebrated French scholar, was the son of the preceding, and was born at Nîmes in 1725. He received a good education, and became, like his father, a pastor of the Reformed Church. This office, however, he soon relinquished, to devote himself entirely to literary work. He had conceived the project of a work wshich should set in a new light the phenomena, especially the languages and mythologies, of the ancient world; and, after his father’s death, he took up his abode at Paris for the sake of being within reach of the necessary books for his intended researches. After long years of studious devotion, he published in 1775 the first volume of his vast undertaking under the title of Le Monde Primitif, analyse et compare avec le monde moderne. The ninth volume appeared in 1784, leaving the work still unfinished. The literary world marvelled at the encyclopaedic learning displayed by the author, and supposed that the Forty of the Academy, or some other society of scholars, must have combined their powers in its production. Now, however, the world has well-nigh forgotten the huge quartos. These learned labours did not prevent Gebelin from pleading earnestly the cause of religious tolerance. In 17G0 he published a work entitled Les Toulousaines, advocating the rights of the Protestants; and he afterwards established at Paris an agency for collecting information as to their sufferings, and for exciting general interest in their cause. He co-operated with Franklin and others in the periodical work entitled Affaires de V Angleterre et de V Amérique (1776, sqq.), which was of course devoted to the support of American independence. He was also a supporter of the principles of the economists, andQuesnay called him his well-beloved ...