Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 3.djvu/454

 CASEY

400

CASGRAIN

episcopal see. The first-known bishop was Ranulfo whose election in 1113 was confirmed by Senne, Archbishop of Capua. Other bishops of note were: Andrea (1234), who finished the beautiful belfry of the cathedral; Secondo (1285) and Azzone (1290), champions of ecclesiastical liberty; Antonio Bernardo della Mirandola (1552), a famous student of Aris- totle; Benedetto Mandina (1594), a zealous promoter of an alliance of Christian princes against the Turks; the Franciscan, Bonaventura Caballo (1669), re- nowned for his piety and his preaching. In 1818 Pius VII united this see with that of Caiazzo, but Pius IX made them separate sees. Caserta is a suffragan of Capua, and has a population of 96,800, with 51 parishes, 176 churches and chapels, 267 secular and 38 regular priests, and 7 religious houses of men and 10 of women.

Cappelletti, Le chiese d'halia (Venice, 1844), XX, 241-60; Ann. eccl. (Rome, 1907), 374-76.

U. Benigni.

Casey, John, mathematician, b. at Kilkenny, Ire- land, 12 May, 1820; d. at Dublin, 3 Jan., 1891. He received his early education in the school of his native town. As soon as his age permitted he took service under the Board of National Education and taught in various schools, finally becoming head master of the Central Model School of Kilkenny. In his leisure moments he cultivated his natural taste for mathe- matics, learning at the same time Latin, French, and German. His success in obtaining a geometrical solution of Poncelet's problem brought him to the notice of mathematicians, including Dr. Salmon and Professor Townsend of Trinity College, Dublin. Fol- lowing the advice of the latter, he entered Trinity in 1858, though approaching his fortieth year. He won a sizarship in 1859, a scholarship in 1861 and took his B. A. degree in 1862. During the following eleven years he was mathematical master in the Kingstown School where he gained distinction by his success in training candidates for the Indian Civil Service examinations. In 1873 he became professor of higher mathematics and mathematical physics at the Catholic University in Dublin. Shortly after- wards he was offered a professorship at Trinity which he refused, preferring to devote his energies to the advancement of Catholic higher education. In 1881 he was elected to a fellowship in the Royal University and at the same time was appointed lecturer on mathe- matics at University College, Stephen's Green, a position which he held until his death.

Casey carried on an extensive correspondence with mathematicians at home and abroad, and during his life received many distinctions in recognition of his work in mathematics. In 1866 he was elected a member of the Royal Irish Academy, serving for many years as a member of its council, and for four years as vice-president. He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Trinity in 1869. In 1874 he was elected a member of the London Mathematical Society, and in 1875 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1878 he served as secretary of the British Association during its Dublin meeting. From 1862-1868 he was one of the editors of the "Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin Messenger of Mathematics" and for several years Dublin correspondent of the "Jahrbuch iiber die Fortschritte der Mathematik". Casey was an enthusiastic and devoted teacher and yet found time for much original work in mathe- matics, confining himself chiefly to geometry which he treated with much ability. He was withal a man of ardent piety, being a member of the Third Order of St. Francis and for many years a daily communicant. He was the author of' a number of mathematical papers, many of them published in the "Philosophical Transactions" and in the "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy". In 1881 he began a series of text- books which were highly esteemed. Among his

works are: "On Cubic Transformations" ^'Dublin, 1880); "Sequel to Euclid" (Dublin, 1881); "Trea- tise on the Analytic Geometry of the Point, Line, Circle and Conic Sections" (Dublin, 1885); "Treatise on Plane Trigonometry containing an account of the Hyperbolic Functions" (Dublin, 1888); "Treatise on Spherical Trigonometry" (Dublin, 1889).

Irish Monthly (1S91), XIX, 106, 152; Prof. Rowl Society (1891), XLIX, 30, p. xxiv.

H. M. Brock.

Casgrain, Henri Raymond, author of some of the best works in French Canadian literature, b. at Riviere Ouelle, 16 September, 1831; d. at Quebec, 2 February, 1904. His father, a proprietor of the old feudal regime who had been a member of the Cana- dian ministry, gave him a careful education at the College of Sainte- Anne-de-la- Pocatiere. Having finished his classics he studied medicine, but became a priest in 1856. For several years he discharged his clerical duties at Beauport and Quebec, until poor health and a serious affection of the eyes compelled him to retire; thenceforth he was free to devote him- self entirely to literary pursuits. He first wrote tales, such as, "Le tableau de la riviere Ouelle", "La jongleuse", " Les pionniers canadiens", for peri- odicals, liis work appearing, 1860-68, in the "Soirees canadiennes et foyer canadien". In these narra- tives, which were well received, he depicted the life and customs of the early colonists of Canada. He has also left several biographies of Canadian writers, including lives of de Gaspe, Garneau, Cremazie, Chau- veau. Casgrain's instinct for research led him to devote himself almost exclusively to history. His historical works include: "Histoire de la Mere Marie de l'lncarnation" (1864); "Histoire de l'Hotel-Dieu de Quebec" (1878); "Une paroisse canadienne au XVII 8 siecle"; "Pelerinage au pays d'Evangeline" (1885); "Montcalm et Levis" (1891); "Une seconde Acadie" (1894); "Histoire de l'asile du Bon-Pasteur de Quebec" (1890); "Les sulpiciens et les pretres des Missions etrangeres en Acadie" (1897); not to men- tion numerous monographs, archaeological studies, and letters of travel written for the press. Ill-health compelled him to spend a long time in Europe, and he turned necessity to profit by making researches in the archives of France; thus he gathered many valuable documents for the history of his own coun- try. Under his direction the Government of Quebec published (1888-1S95) the collection known under the name of "Documents de Levis", dealing with the last wars between the French and English in Canada, which he had secured from the family of this name. He also collected and published the works of Cr6- mazie, the national poet of the French Canadians, under the title: "CEuvres de Cremazie" (1882). Some of Casgrain's writings have been crowned by the French Academy. He was professor of history at Laval University, and president of the Royal Society of Canada (1SS9-1890). As historian, poet, and literary critic Casgrain has exercised con- siderable influence upon the intellectual movement in Canada, and has accomplished much in making his country known. Although almost blind he was gifted with remarkable fecundity. That he had read in his youth many of the works of the Romantic school is betrayed by a style inclined to over-elaboration, but his diction grew purer as time went on. His literary judgments are not always accurate, and liis apprecia- tions of historical events are sometimes a I fault. Ithas even been said that he was better fitted to write tales than history. However, everything considered, his work, as a whole, has real worth. Above all he was a patriot; his one thought was to increase the fame of his country. Casgrain's outlook is somewhat re- stricted, but his flights of fancy are frequently beau- tiful, and he is always interesting. He left unedited memoirs, which were bequeathed, together with his