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THEOPHILANTHROPHY 342 THEOREM sociated themselves, and in December held their first meeting at a house in the Rue St. Denis for the purpose of divine worship and moral instruction, accord- ing to the dictates of natural religion. Their services consisted of moral dis- courses, singing, and prayer. One of their adherents was Revelliere-Lepaux, a member of the Directory, who allowed them the use of the 10 parish churches of Paris, which they fitted up and adorned with religious and moral inscriptions, an ancient altar, a basket of flowers as an offering to the Supreme Being, a pulpit, and allegorical paintings and banners. In 1802 Napoleon I. forbade them to hold their meetings in the churches, and after this time they no longer appear as a body. THEOPHILUS, a legendary coadju- tor-bishop at Adana in Cilicia, who, when deposed from his office through slanders, gave his soul in bond to the devil, and consequently was reinstated the next morning. But he was soon overtaken with remorse, and through 40 days' fast- ing and prayers prevailed on the Virgin to make intercession for him. She tore the bond from the devil, and laid it upon the breast of the repentant sinner as he lay asleep in the church. Theophilus then made a public confession of his crime and of the mercy of the Virgin, and died three days after. This forerunner of the Faust legend must have reached the West during the 10th century. THEOPHRASTA, (named after Theo- phrastus, the philosopher), the typical genus of Theophrastese. Only known species, T. jusieui. It is a small tree with an unbranched stem, and a tuft of long, evergreen leaves at the top, giving it a superficial resemblance to a palm tree. Calyx and corolla campanulate, the for- mer cartilaginous, the latter with a short tube, having a dilated throat with an angularly-lobed, fleshy ring, and a spread- ing limb; stamens five. Fruit, a spheri- cal berry with the seeds half immersed in the placenta. T. jussieui is a native of San Domingo and is cultivated for its fine leaves. THEOPHRASTUS, a Greek philoso- pher; often called the "father of bot- any"; a native of Eresus, in Lesbos; flourished in the 4th century B. C. He became a pupil of Plato at Athens, and made, at the academy, the acquaintance of Aristotle; but he quitted the academy after Plato's death, and was absent from Athens for some years. On his return, he gladly studied philosophy under his friend Aristotle, who had so high a re- gard for him as to bequeath to him his library, and to name him his successes'. Theophrastus had extraordinary success as head of the Lyceum, and was attended, it is said, by 2,000 disciples. Among them were Demetrius, Phalereus, and Menander. A charge of impiety was brought against him, but he successfully defended himself, and generously inter- posed to save his adversary from the popular vengeance. He was, however, compelled to leave Athens in 305 B. C, under the law which banished all philoso- phers. The law was soon repealed and he returned to his post and peacefully taught and commented on the system of his master, Aristotle, till his death. His writings were very numerous, but have perished with the following exceptions: His work entitled "Characters," a set of his lively sketches of vicious and ridicu- lous characters; treatises on the "His- tory of Plants," on the "Causes of Plants," and on "Stones"; a work on the "Senses," and several fragments. The "Characters" served as the model for La Bruyere's work with the same title; it has been several times translated into Eng- lish, French, and German. THEOPHYLACTUS, surnamed SiMOCATTA (the-6-fil-ak'tus), a Byzantine historian; bom in Locri about 570. Three of his works are extant: "History of the Emperor Maurice"; "Problems of Physics" ; "Letters, Moral, Rural, and Amorous," — of these there are 85, in which are imitated the letters of Aristae- netus. He died in Locri about 629. THEOPOMPUS OF CHIOS, a Greek historian; bom about 378 B. C. His prin- cipal historical works were "The Helle- nics," in 12 books, and "The Philippics," in 58 books; the former being a continua- tion of Thucydides, and the latter a general history of his own times, with the reign of Philip of Macedon as central point. THEORBO, in music, an old stringed instrument resembling the lute in form or tone. It had two necks, to the long- est of which the bass strings were at- tached. It was employed for accompany- ing voices, and was in great favor during the 17th century. It differed from the lute in the possession of its two necks, whence it is sometimes called cithara bijuga. The strings were usually single in the theorbo, and when double, or tuned in octaves or in unison with the bass or treble notes, the instrument was called the arch lute or chittarone. THEOREM, in geometry, a proposition to be proved; a statement of a principle to be demonstrated; that is, the truth of which is required to be made evident