THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
RAMSAY, rSm'ze, SIR WILLIAM MITCHELL: Church of Scotland layman; b. at Glasgow Mar. 15, 1851. He was educated at the universities of Aberdeen (M.A., 1871), Oxford (B.A., 1876), and Gottingen. He was Oxford University traveling scholar (1880-82), research fellow of Exeter College, Oxford (1882-87), and fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford, and professor of classical art and archeology in the University of Oxford (1885-86). Since 1886 he has been professor of humanity in the University of Aberdeen, where he was also Wilson fellow in 1901-05. He was elected honorary fellow of Exeter College in 1896 and of Lincoln College in the following year, and was lecturer in Mansfield College, Oxford, in 1891 and 1895, Levering lecturer at Johns Hopkins in 1894, Morgan lecturer at Auburn Theological Seminary in 1894, Rede lecturer in the University of Cambridge in 1906, and Gay lecturer at the Southwestern Theological Seminary in 1910. In 1880-91, 1898, and 1901-05 he traveled extensively in Asiatic Turkey, and received the gold medal of Pope Leo XIII. in 1893, the Victoria gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society, and the L. W Drexel gold medal for archeological exploration, University of Pennsylvania. He has written Historical Geography of Asia Minor (London, 1890); The Church in the Roman Empire before 180 A.D. (1893); The Cities and Bishops of Phrygia (2 vols., 1895-97); St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen (1895); Impressions of Turkey (1897); Was Christ born at Bethlehem? (1898); Historical Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (1899); The Education of Christ (1902); The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia (1904); Pauline and Other Studies in Early Christian History (1906); The Cities of St. Paul, their Influence on his Life and Thought. The Cities of Eastern Asia Minor (1907); Luke the Physician, and Other Studies in the Hist, of Religion (1908); The Revolution in Constantinople and Turkey; a Diary (1909); The Thousand and One Churches (1909; in collaboration with Gertrude L. Bell); and Pictures of the Apostolic Church, its Life and Preaching (1910); and has edited Studies in the Hist, and Art of the Eastern Provinces of the Roman Empire (1906).
RAMUS, ra-miis', PETRUS (PIERRE DE LA RAMEE): French humanist; b. at Cuth, near Soissons (56 m. n.e. of Paris), 1515; d. at Paris Aug. 24, 1572. He studied at Paris under Johann Sturm, who lectured from 1529 to 1536 on the principles of Agricola. In the thesis for his master's degree, written at the age of twenty-one, Quacunque ab Aristotele dicta essent, commentitia esse, Ramus asserted the fallibility of the philosopher and aroused great excitement, which was increased by the publication in 1543 of the Aristolelirrr animadversiones and the Dialectical institutiones, in which Ramus tried to show the inadequacy of the Aristotelian logic. Ramus' works were a protest against views like those of Peter Galland, according to which Aristotle's philosophy was in perfect accord with the Christian religion. An edict issued by Francis I. forbade Ramus to teach philosophy and consigned his books to the
flames. Ramus taught rhetoric and mathematics at the college of Ave Maria until, after the death of Francis in 1545, the restraint was removed through the efforts of Charles of Lorraine, the friend and protector of Ramus. He was allowed to teach philosophy at the College de Presles and in 1551 was made professor at the royal college.
Ramus was converted to Protestantism in 1561 after hearing Charles attempt to answer Beza. In the summer of 1562, when the Calvinists were banished from the city, Ramus found refuge with the dowager queen at Fontainebleau until the peace of Amboise, Mar. 10, 1563, permitted him to return. He resumed his work at the college. The persecution of the Reformed on the outbreak of the second civil war compelled Ramus to flee to the Huguenot camp at St. Denis, where he joined Cond6 and Coligny in the war. He returned to Paris in 1568, after the peace, but the uncertainty of the situation induced him to ask leave of absence in order to visit foreign universities. He set out on his travels shortly before the outbreak of the third civil war. At Heidelberg, he occupied for a time the position of professor of ethics, but his Aristotelian opponents made his continuance in the place impossible, and in July, 1570, he returned to Paris. His former positions were occupied; he received, however, a pension from Charles IX. and Catherine de Medici, only to perish on St. Bartholomew's night.
Ramus was more humanist than philosopher. He reformed the traditional method of studying the classics, and infused life into what had been a tedious exercise, and his pedagogical method was adopted in the next century. Ramus wished also to free theology from the subtleties of scholasticism and to establish the Bible as the only standard in matters of faith. His theological views are given in his Commentariorum de religione Christiana libri quatuor, nunquam antea editi (with a biography by T. Banos, Frankfort, 1576). His influence was wide-spread until the latter half of the seventeenth century, when it was displaced by Cartesianism. Among his disciples were Caspar Olevianus and Johannes Piscator (qq.v.), the jurists Hieronymus Treutler and Johannes Althusius, the statesman Emdens, and John Milton. (F. W. CuNof.)
Bibliography: As sources, besides the life by Banos in Commentariorum, ut sup., consult: N. de Nascel, V te de Ramus, Paris, 1599 (best); and J. T. Freigius, Vita P. Rami, in Ramus' Pr&lecliones in Ciceronia Orotiones, Basil, 1574. Consult further: T. Spencer, The Art of Logick Delivered in the Precepts of Aristotle and Ramus, London, 1656; A. Richardson, The Logicians Schoolmaster; or, a Comment upon Ramus' Logick, London, 1657; C. F. Leni, Lebensbeschreibung des Ramus, Wittenberg, 1713; P. Bayle, Dictionary Historical and Critical, pp. 834-842. London, 1737; C. Schmidt, La Vie et les travaux de Jean Sturm, Strasburg, 1855; C. Waddington, Ramus, sa ii>, ses icrits et ses opinions, Paris, 1855; E. Saisset, Les Precurseurs de Descartes, Paris, 1862; C. Desmaze, P Ramus, . , sa vie, ses ecrits, sa mort, Paris, 1864; A. Stock!, Geschichte der Philosophic des Mittelalters, iii. 296 sqq., Mainz, 1867; B. Chagnard, Ramus et ses opinions religieuses, Strasburg, 1869; P. Lobstein, Petrus Ramus al* Theolog, Strasburg, 1878; J. Barni, Les Martyres de la libre pensie, pp. 107-135, Paris, 1880; KL, x. 766-767; Lichtenberger, ESR, xi. 100-105 (worth consulting for the very full list of the writings of Ramus); American Journal of Education, xxiv. 131-134, xxx. 450-464; and the works on the history of philosophy.