[251] Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), American philosopher, statesman, diplomatist, and author. He discovered the identity of lightning with electricity, invented the lightning-rod, went on several diplomatic missions to Europe, was one of the committee that drew up the Declaration of Independence, signed the treaty of Paris, and compiled Poor Richard's Almanac. [252] Francis Bacon (1561-1626), a famous English philosopher and statesman. He became Lord Chancellor under Elizabeth. He is best known by his Essays; he wrote also the Novum Organum and the Advancement of Learning. [253] Sir Isaac Newton. (See note 53.) [254] Scipio. (See note 205.) [255] Phidias (500?-432? b.c.), famous Greek sculptor. [256] Egyptians. He has in mind the pyramids. [257] The Pentateuch is attributed to Moses. [258] Dante (1265-1321), the greatest of Italian poets, author of the Divina Commedia. [259] Foreworld, a former ideal state of the world. [260] New Zealander, inhabitant of New Zealand, a group of two islands lying southeast of Australia. [261] Geneva, a city of Switzerland, situated at the southwestern extremity of Lake Geneva. [262] Greenwich nautical almanac. The meridian of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, near London, is the prime meridian for reckoning the longitude of the world. The nautical almanac is a publication containing astronomical data for the use of navigators and astronomers. What is the name of the corresponding publication of the U.S. Observatory at Washington? [263] Get the meaning of these astronomical terms. [264] Plutarch. (50?-120? a.d.), Greek philosopher and biographer, author of Parallel Lives, a series of Greek and Roman biographies. Next after Shakespeare and Plato he is the author most frequently mentioned by Emerson. Read the essay of Emerson on Plutarch. [265] Phocion (402-317 b.c.), Athenian statesman and general. (See note 364.) [266] Anaxagoras (500-426 b.c.), Greek philosopher of distinction. [267] Diogenes (400?-323?), Greek cynic philosopher who affected great contempt for riches and honors and the comforts of civilized life, and is said to have taken up his residence in a tub. [268] Henry Hudson (—— - 1611), English navigator and explorer, discoverer of the bay and river which bear his name. [269] Bering or Behring (1680-1741), Danish navigator, discoverer of Behring Strait. [270] Sir William Edward Parry (1790-1855), English navigator and Arctic explorer. [271] Sir John Franklin (1786-1846?), celebrated English navigator and Arctic explorer, lost in the Arctic seas. [272] Christopher Columbus (1445?-1506), Genoese navigator and discoverer of America. His ship, the Santa Maria, appears small and insignificant in comparison with the modern ocean ship.