Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/780

 EREIL

700

EREITEN

prominent place in Dante literature. Somewhat earlier he had published "Luca Signorelli's Illustrationen zu Dante's DivinaCommedia " (Freiburg, 1892).

His collected " Essays" also belong to Kraus's most brilliant literary efforts (vols. I and II, Berlin, 1896 and 1901); they are of a literary, historical, and polit- ical character, and the majority appeared originally in the " Deutsche Rundschau " ; particularly note- worthy are the essays " Antonio Rosmini " — for whom Kraus had a particular veneration — and " Francesco Petrarca in seinem Briefwechsel ". Compared with the more congenial occupation of literature and art, Kraus's work on church history takes second place. His "Lehrbuch der Kirchengeschichte fiir Studierende" (1st ed. in 3 parts, Trier, 1872-5; 4th ed., 1896; French translation: "Histoire de I'Eghse par F. X. Kraus, traduite par P. Godet et C. Verschaffel" (4 vols., Paris, 1891-2) contains much that is excellent, but has also serious defects. It is distinguished by clear and perspicuous arrangement, based more or less on that of the well-known manual of the Protestant his- torian Kurtz, and by its elegant and interesting narra- tive, but its statement of fact is frequently neither sufficiently accurate nor reliable. One misses the calm objectivity of the historian, the author showing in many instances the inordinate influence which his liberalizing views exerted over his judgment. This bias naturally aroused enmity, and as it was still more emphatic in the second edition of 1882, Kraus was compelled by the pope to withdraw this edition and revise it. The revised edition appeared in 1887 with the ecclesiastical imprimatur. The first edition of the church history was followed by the " Synchronistische Tabellen zur Kirchengeschichte" (Trier, 1876) and " Charakterbilder aus der christlichen Kirchen- geschichte" (5 parts, Trier, 1877), which were desig- natetl the fourth and fifth divisions of the ecclesiastical history, but had really the character of separate works. Among his less important ecclesiastico-historical works are " Briefe Benedicts XIV. an den Canonicus Francesco Peggi in Bologna 1727-1758" (Freiburg and Tubingen, 1884; 2nd ed., 1888); " Medicean Rome " in " The Cambridge Modern History ", II (Cambridge, 1903), 1-35. Mention should also be made of his prep- aration of the tenth edition of Alzog's "Handbuch der allgemeinen Kirchengeschichte" (2 vols., Mainz, 1882), and his " Gedachtnissrede auf Johannes Alzog, Professor der Theologie an der Universitat Freiburg " (Freiburg, 1879). His poUtical rather than his eccle- siastical views are reflected in " Die Erhebung Italiens im 19. Jahrhundert: Cavour" (Mainz, 1902^ " Welt- geschichte in Karakterbildern ", vol. V).

As a politician Kraus displayed an extensive jour- naUstic activity, which, from the Catholic standpoint, is greatly to be regretted. Personally, he was a man of deep religious feeling and Catholic faith, but, from association with the Liberal Catholics in France, Italy, and Germany, he soon became imbued with their views on ecclesiastical polity. At the time of the Vatican Council, he entered into close connexions with the opposition party, and kept up these relations for some time. He remained in the Church, but the strife had engendered in his mind a certain bitterness. In many anonymous or pseudonymous articles written for the Liberal press, he gave vent to his dissatisfaction with certain ecclesiastical conditions — often with ex- cessive severity and bitterness. The " Kirchenpoli- tische Briefe " in the " Beilage zur Allgemeinen Zei- tung" (1895-9), written under the pseudonym of "Spectator", created a great sensation. It is to him that we owe the distinction between " religious and political Catholicism", a formula in which he imag- med he had found the .solution of many difficulties. The permanent services of Kraus as a scholar are, however, sufficiently great to permit us to draw a veil of ol)livion over his political errors and his secret ac- tivity on behalf of Liberalism.

Braig, Zur Erinnerung an From Xaver Kraus (Freiburg 1902) ; Hahviller, F. X. Kraus. ein Lebensbilcl aus der Zeit des Reformkalholizismus (Colmar, 1904; 2nd ed., Munich, 1905), shows Liberal tendencies; Gradert in Historiaches Jahrbuch (1902), 238-44; Kolnische Volkszeitung (1902), nos. 21, 22, 24- KuNSTLE, Notice biographique et bibliographique sur F. X. Kraua in Revue d'histoire ecclesiastique. III (1902), 431-41 ; Sauer in Kunstchronik, New Series, XIII (1901-2), cols. '225-33- Deutsche Rundschau. CX (1902), 432-59: Huhbin, F. X. Kraus und die Schweiz in Hochland,^ I, 2 (1904), 650-67; Schrors in Badische Biographien, V (Heidelberg. 1906). 424-42.

Feiedrich Lauchert.

Kreil, Karl, Austrian meteorologist and astrono- mer, b. at Ried, Upper Austria, 4 Nov., 1798; d. at Vienna, 21 Dec, 1862. He received his early edu- cation at the Benedictine Abbey of Kremsmunster, under the noted astronomer P. Boniface Schwarzen- brunner. There he joined in the work at the obser- vatory. He studied law for financial reasons, but, in 1823, decided to give it up and to devote himself exclusively to the mathematical and physical sciences. In 1827 he became assistant at the observatory of the Vienna University, then, 1831, adjunct at the obser- vatory de La Brera of Milan. In 1838 he was trans- ferred to the Prague Observatory, of which he became director in 1845. He found this observatory in a very poor condition and was therefore obliged to confine his work more and more to terrestrial observations. He introduced into Austria the study of a new science, that of terrestrial physics. The necessary instruments he obtained by personal privations and persistent ef- forts. He organized a rational system of magnetic and meteorological observations, which soon placed Prague in the same class with such observatories as that of Gottingen, which was richly endowed and which was directed by the great Gauss.

The emperor conferred upon him the cross of Knight of the Order of Francis Joseph. A member of the Imperial Academy of Vienna since its foundation in 1847, he submitted to it his plans for the establish- ment of a central station for magnetic and meteoro- logical observations in Austria. Tfiis was realized at Vienna in 1851. He was made the first director and at the same time became professor of physics at the University of Vienna. His systematic observations, begun at Milan and Prague, soon extended first over Bohemia and later over the entire empire to the shores of the Adriatic, as well as to Turkey and the Black Sea. His religious convictions were very pronounced, and, far from clashing with his scientific occupations, they added a new force to them. He contributed a number of papers and reports to the Academy, im- proved magnetic apparatus, and constructed some self- registering meteorological instruments. The work at Prague was published in eleven volumes, 1839-1850, under the title of " Magnet, und Meteorolog. Beob. zu Prag ".

Other publications are: "Cenni storici e teoretici sulle comete" (Milan, 1832) ; " Beob. iiber den grossen Kometen von 1843" (Prague, 1843); "Natur und Bewegung der Kometen" (Prague, 1843); " Magn. und geogr. Ortsbestimmungen im Oesterr. Kaiser- thum" (5 vols., Vienna, 1846-1851); "Anleitung zu magn. Beobachtungen" (2nd ed., Vienna, 1858); "Horizontale Komponente der magnetischen Erd- kraft" (Vienna, 1853). He edited " .\stronomisch- meteorologisches Jahrliuch fiir Prag" (Prague, 1842- 1845) and also " Jalirbuchcr der Zentral-anstalt fur Meteorologie und FrdinaKiii-li^mus" (1S49-1S62).

KnELLEH. i>.r: rh,-i J, > '.,..,. 1 I, |l, ;i •■, I'Mt 1 I, 1(11; (lUNTHER.

Allgemeinc 1)., / \\ll ; u i I ss:; : , \l aushai.i,.

Les Mondes. \ 1 ■, 1 1 , I ~n , |n i ,. , \ ,-, I, ,r ,l,r Math.

und Phys.: I.iii,> /v. ,,-/,/, t ' I A 1 1 clrMi iiiM, Isf.l).

William Fox.

Kreiten, William, literary critic and poet, b. 21 June, 1847, at Gangelt near .Vschen; d. 6 June, 1902, at Kerkracle (Kirchrath) in Dutch Liraburg. At tlie ricbsburg at Miinster. After receiving his classical
 * ige of sixteen he entered the Jesuit novitiate of Fried-