ess of the _Peche de
Madeleine_ and other well-known novels. He died in Paris on the 13th of
July 1887. In his philosophy he was mainly concerned to defend
Christianity against modern Positivism. The philosophy of Cousin
influenced him strongly, but his strength lay in exposition and
criticism rather than in original thought. Besides important
contributions to _La France_ and the _Revue des deux mondes_, he wrote
_Le Mysticisme au XVIII^e siecle_ (1852-1854), _L'Idee de Dieu_ (1864),
_Le Materialisme et la science_ (1868), _Le Pessimisme au XIX^e siecle_
(1878), _Jours d'epreuves_ (1872), _M. Littre et le positivisme_ (1883),
_George Sand_ (1887), _Melanges et portraits_ (1888), _La Philosophie de
Goethe_ (2nd ed., 1880).

CAROL (O. Fr. _carole_), a hymn of praise, especially such as is sung at
Christmas in the open air. The origin of the word is obscure. Diez
suggests that the word is derived from _chorus_. Others ally it with
_corolla_, a garland, circle or coronet,[1] the earliest sense of the
word being apparently "a ring" or "circle," "a ring dance." Stonehenge,
often called the Giants' Dance, was also frequently known as the Carol;
thus Harding, _Chron._ lxx. x., "Within (the) Giauntes Carole, that so
they hight, The (Stone hengles) that nowe so named been." The Celtic
forms, often cited as giving the origin of the word, are derivatives of
the English or French. The crib set up in the churches at Christmas was
the centre of a dance, and some of the most famous of Latin Christmas
hymns were written to dance tunes. These songs were called
_Wiegenlieder_ in German, _noels_ in French, and carols in English. They
were originally modelled on the songs written to accompany the choric
dance, which were probably the starting-point of the lyric poetry of the
Germanic peoples. Strictly speaking, therefore, the word should be
applied to lyrics written to dance measures; in common acceptation it is
applied to the songs written for the Christmas festival. Carolling, i.e.
the combined exercise of dance and song, found its way from pagan ritual
into the Christian church, and the clergy, however averse they might be
from heathen survivals, had to content themselves in this, as in many
other cases, with limiting the practice. The third council of Toledo
(589) forbade dancing in the churches on the vigils of saints' days, and
secular dances in church were forbidden by the council of Auxerre in the
next year. Even as late as 12