Page:A biographical dictionary of modern rationalists.djvu/260

 LINDH

LTNTON

overwhelming evidence that he was never more than a Theist. His life-long friend and partner, Herndon, is emphatic in this sense, and quotes the explicit confirmation of Mrs. Lincoln and others (Abraham Lincoln, 1892 edition, ii, 145-56). Colonel Ward Hill Lamon, another intimate friend, whose testimony was challenged by H. W. Beecher, strongly repeated in the next edition of his book : &quot; He was not a Christian &quot; (Eecollections of Abraham Lincoln, Appendix to 1911 edition, p. 335). The supposed witnesses to the contrary are neither so authoritative nor so clear. General C. H. T. Collis, who tried to defend Lincoln s orthodoxy against Inger- soll, could only say that Lincoln in later years attended a Presbyterian church in Philadelphia and used Theistic language (The Religion of A. Lincoln, 1900). He could not meet Ingersoll s challenge to prove that Lincoln believed in the divinity of Christ or in revelation ; and no one has ever claimed that Lincoln was baptized or a regular member of any Church. H. B. Eankin, another orthodox claimant, relies mainly on his (Rankin s) mother s verbal report of a conversation with Lincoln ; yet even as it stands it is only an appreciation of the ethical side of Christianity (Personal Recollections of A. Lincoln). All the evi dence is collected, and Lincoln s Ration alism proved, in J. E. Remsburg s A. Lin coln : Was He a Christian ? (1893) and Six Historic Americans. The truth seems to be well expressed in C. G. Leland s A. Lincoln (1879), that &quot;as he grew older his intensely melancholy and emotional temperament inclined him towards reliance on an unseen Power and belief in a future state &quot; (p. 56), and that prudent regard for his position induced him to use rather exaggerated expressions of his Theism in his speeches. He was shot by an assassin and died on the following day, Apr. 15, 1865.

LINDH, Anders Theodor, Finnish poet. B. Jan. 13, 1833. Ed. Helsingfors University. He won attention by a volume

447

of admirable lyrics (Dikter) in 1862, and two years later he opened a successful dramatic career with Konung Birger och hans broder. He lives in Sweden, and writes in Swedish, into which he has translated many German, Danish, English, French, and Italian works. He is a member of the Town Council of Borga, and an outspoken Rationalist.

LINDKYIST, Alfred.

QVIST, A.

See LUND-

LINDNER, Ernst Otto Timotheus,

German writer. B. Nov. 28, 1820. Ed. Leipzig University. After graduating, he tried to secure an academic career, but &quot; his open unbelief in religious matters caused so much annoyance in high quarters &quot; (Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie) that he had to be content with private tutorship. He turned eventually to journalism, and became editor of the Vossische Zeitung. A man of wide accom plishments, both in art and philosophy, he wrote a number of works on music and on Schopenhauer, of whom he was a great friend. D. Aug. 7, 1867.

LINTON, Eliza Lynn, novelist. B. Feb. 10, 1822. In 1845 she left her home in Keswick for London, and opened a literary career. Her early historical novels were not very successful, and she acted as Paris correspondent of London newspapers (1851-54). In 1858 Miss Lynn married W. J. Linton, but their characters were so ill assorted that they soon separated, retaining a marked affection for each other throughout life. The differences are indi cated in her Autobiography of Christopher KirUand (1885). Mrs. Linton s high repu tation as a novelist began in 1872 with her True History of Joshua Davidson, a Ration alist novel ; as is also her Under Which Lord ? (1879). G. S. Layard, her bio grapher, amply tells of her Agnosticism (Mrs. Lynn Linton : Her Life, Letters, and Opinions, 1901, pp. 66, 155-56, etc.). He includes a statement by Mr. Benn, who 448