Blount

(Charles), English Deist of noble family, b. at Hollo way 27 April, 1654. His father, Sir Henry Blount, probably shared in his opinions, and helped him in his anti-religious work, Anima Mundi , 1678. This work Bishop Compton desired to see suppre ed. In 1680 he published Great is Diana of the Ephesians , or the Origin of Idolatry, and the two first books of A poll on i us Tyanius , with notes, in which he attacks priestcraft and superstition. This work was condemned and suppre ed. Blount also published The Oracles of Reason , a number of Free thought E ays. By his Vindication of Learning and Liberty of the Pre , and still more by his hoax on Bohun entitled William and Mary Conquerors , he was largely instrumental in doing away with the censorship of the pre . He shot himself, it is said, because he could not marry his deceased wife’s sister (August, 1693). His miscellaneous works were printed in one volume, 1695.