FIELDING, SARAH (1710-1768).--Novelist, was the sister of the above, who had a high opinion of her talents. She wrote several novels, including _David Simple_ (1744), _The Governess_, and _The Countess_ of _Dellwyn_. She also translated Xenophon's _Memorabilia_ and _Apologia_ (1762). FILMER, SIR ROBERT (_d._ 1653?).--Political writer, _s._ of Sir Edward F., of East Sutton, Kent, was _ed._ at Camb. He was an enthusiastic Royalist, was knighted by Charles I. and, in 1671, was imprisoned in Leeds Castle, Kent. He is notable as the defender, in its most extreme form, of the doctrine of the divine right of kings, which he expounded in a succession of works, of which the latest and best known, _Patriarcha_, appeared in 1679. His theory is founded on the idea that the government of a family by the father is the original and method of all government. His doctrines were afterwards attacked by Locke in his _Treatise on Government_. He was opposed to the persecution of old women for supposed witchcraft. FINLAY, GEORGE (1799-1875).--Historian, of Scottish descent, was _b._ at Faversham, Kent, where his _f._, an officer in the army, was inspector of government powder mills. Intended for the law, he was _ed._ at Glasgow, Göttingen, and Edin., but becoming an enthusiast in the cause of Greece, he joined Byron in the war of independence, and thereafter bought a property near Athens, where he settled and busied himself with schemes for the improvement of the country, which had little success. His _History of Greece_, produced in sections between 1843 and 1861, did not at first receive the recognition which its merits deserved, but it has since been given by students in all countries, and specially in Germany, a place among works of permanent value, alike for its literary style and the depth and insight of its historical views. It was re-issued in 1877 as _A History of Greece from the Roman Conquest to the Present Time_ (146 B.C. _to_ 1864). FISHER, JOHN (_c._ 1469-1535).--Controversialist and scholar, _b._ at Beverley, and _ed._ at Camb., entered the Church, and became in 1504 Bishop of Rochester. He wrote in Latin against the doctrines of the Reformation, but was a supporter of the New Learning, and endeavoured to get Erasmus to teach Greek at Camb. Through his influence the Lady Margaret Professorship of Divinity were founded at both the Univ. by Margaret Countess of Richmond, and in 1502 he became first prof. at Camb., where he was also (1505-8) Head of Queen's Coll. He was also instrumental in founding Christ's and St. John's Coll. For opposing the divorce proceedings of Henry VIII. he was burned. Made a cardinal in 1535, he was beatified in 1886.