Vicariate Apostolic of Dahomey
Father Damien (Joseph de Veuster)
Antoine-Elisabeth Dareste de la Chavanne
Victor Augustin Isidore Dechamps
Feast of the Dedication (Scriptural)
Defender of the Matrimonial Tie
Definitors (in Religious Orders)
Dei gratia Dei et Apostolicæ Sedis gratia
Ferdinand-Victor-Eugène Delacroix
Ambrose Lisle March Phillipps De Lisle
Prefecture Apostolic of the Delta of the Nile
Johann Nepomuk Cosmas Michael Denis
Jacques-René de Brisay Denonville
Heinrich Joseph Dominicus Denzinger
Jean Desmarets de Saint-Sorlin
Deus in Adjutorium Meum Intende
Francisco Garcia Diego y Moreno
Melchior, Baron (Freiherr) von Diepenbrock
Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite
Institute of the Divine Compassion
Daughters of the Divine Redeemer
Johann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger
Emmanuel-Henri-Dieudonné Domenech
Ferdinand-François-Auguste Donnet
Juan Francesco Maria de la Saludad Donoso Cortés
Clemens August von Droste-Vischering
Louis-Guillaume-Valentin Dubourg
Phillippe-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Tronson Du Coudray
Daniel Greysolon, Sieur Du Lhut
Felix-Antoine-Philibert Dupanloup
Archdiocese of Durango (Durangum)
German poet and philosopher, b. at Nuremberg, 5 March, 1800; d. at Wurzburg, 14 December, 1875. He was educated at the gymnasium of his native city, at that time directed by the famous philosopher Hegel. In 1817 he entered the University of Erlangen as a student of theology, but abandoned that study for philosophy. For a number of years Daumer was professor at the gymnasium of Nuremberg; owing to ill-health he was pensioned in 1832 and henceforth devoted himself entirely to literary work. While at Erlangen he came strongly under the influence of Pietism. Soon, however, he became sceptical and exhibited decided leanings towards pantheism. From an orthodox Protestant he gradually became a bitter enemy of Christianity, which he attacked in a number of writings and for which he strove to substitute a new religion "of love and peace", formulated in his work "Religion des neuen Weltalters" (Hamburg, 1850). Previous to this he had published a number of works, all of a distinctly anti-theological tendency, of which the more important are: "Philosophie, Religion, und Altertum" (Nuremberg, 1833); "Züge zu einer neuen Philosophie der Religion und Religionsgeschichte" (Nuremberg, 1835); "Der Feuer-und Molochdienst der Hebraer" (Brunswick, 1842); "Die Geheimnisse des christlichen Altertums" (Hamburg, 1847). Shortly after 1850 Daumer left Nuremberg and settled at Frankfort, where a great change soon came over him. In 1858 at Mainz he publicly embraced the Catholic Faith and thenceforth became its zealous defender. Among the works written after his conversion are: "Meine Konversion" (Mainz, 1859); "Aus der Mansarde" (1860-62); "Das Christentum und sein Urheber" (Mainz, 1864); "Das Wunder, seine Bedeutung, Wahrheit und Notwendigkeit" (Ratisbon, 1874). The last mentioned work is directed expressly against the opinions of David Strauss.
Undoubtedly the best part of Daumer's work is his poetry. His "Hafis" (Hamburg, 1846; a second collection, 1852) contains graceful but very free imitations of the songs of the famous Persian poet. In fact, these poems are really original productions, and some of them have become widely known through the musical settings of Brahms. This collection, as well as "Mahomed und sein Werk" (Hamburg, 1848), is distinctly directed against the hypocrisy and asceticism which at that time Daumer believed to be inseparable from orthodox Christianity. Among other poems may be mentioned: "Glorie der heiligen Jungfrau Maria" (Nuremberg, 1841); "Frauenbilder und Huldigungen" (Leipzig, 1853); "Marianische Legenden und Gedichte" (Munster, 1859) and "Schone Seelen" (Mainz, 1862).
ARTHUR F.J. REMY