VARELA y MORALES, Fe1ix (vah-ray'-lah), Cuban author, born in Havana in 1788; died in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1853. He studied in his native city, was graduated in theology in 1810, and became a priest in 1811. He was appointed professor of philosophy in San Carlos seminary, Havana, and afterward of political economy, dividing his time between the duties of the ministry and his labors as a teacher. He discarded completely the old scholastic philosophy and manner of teaching, and introduced the reforms that have changed the science of education in the 19th century. In 1821 he was elected representative for the western province of Cuba to the Spanish cortes, where he demanded political autonomy for Cuba. In 1823, with the end of the liberal regime and the return of absolute government, the cortes was forcibly dissolved : sixty-five of its members were condemned to death, and Varela, to save his life, took refuge with others at, Gibraltar. Thence he sailed for New York in December, 1823, where he fixed his residence after visiting the principal cities of the Union. He devoted his time to literary, scientific, and educational pursuits and to the duties of his ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. In 1845 he was appointed vicar-general for New York, and edited a religious magazine with Dr. Constantine Pise. His health obliged him to go to St. Augustine, Florida, in 1849, where he resided from 1852 until his death. Varela's works include " Institutiones Philosophiae Eclecticae" (2 vols., Havana, 1812-'13); "Etica" (2 vols., 1814) ; "Miscelgnea filosofica" (1818) ; "Leeciones de Filosofia" (1819-'20) ; " Observaciones sobre la Constituci6n de la Monarquia Espanola" (1821);" Manual de Practica Parlamentaria " (New York, 1826) ; " Maximas Morales y Sociales" (1830); " Cartas g Elpidio sobre la Impiedad, el Fanatismo " (1835); and numerous philosophical and religious pamphlets. Most of these works, especially "Lecciones de Filosofia," have gone through many editions in Cuba, Spain, and the United States. His biography has been written several times, and an exhaustive " Life of Varela" has appeared in Spanish, by Jose Ignacio Rodriguez (New York, 1876).