diff options
Diffstat (limited to '34209.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 34209.txt | 21777 |
1 files changed, 21777 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/34209.txt b/34209.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..35b3f72 --- /dev/null +++ b/34209.txt @@ -0,0 +1,21777 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, +Volume 2, Slice 7, by Various + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 + "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" + +Author: Various + +Release Date: November 4, 2010 [EBook #34209] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENCYC. BRITANNICA, VOL 2, SLICE 7 *** + + + + +Produced by Marius Masi, Don Kretz and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +Transcriber's notes: + +(1) Numbers following letters (without space) like C2 were originally + printed in subscript. Letter subscripts are preceded by an + underscore, like C_n. + +(2) Characters following a carat (^) were printed in superscript. + +(3) Side-notes were relocated to function as titles of their respective + paragraphs. + +(4) Macrons and breves above letters and dots below letters were not + inserted. + +(5) The following typographical error has been corrected: + + ARTICLE ATARGATIS: "... but the home of the goddess was + unquestionably not Palestine, but Syria proper, especially at + Hierapolis (q.v.), where she had a great temple". 'especially' + amended from 'expecially'. + + + + ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA + + A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE + AND GENERAL INFORMATION + + ELEVENTH EDITION + + + VOLUME II, SLICE VII + + Arundel, Thomas to Athens + + + + +ARTICLES IN THIS SLICE: + + + ARUNDEL, THOMAS ASSAB + ARUNDEL (town) ASSAM + ARUNDELL OF WARDOUR ASSAMESE + ARUSIANUS MESSIUS ASSAROTTI, OTTAVIO GIOVANNI BATTISTA + ARVAL BROTHERS ASSARY + ARVALS ASSASSIN + ARVERNI ASSAULT + ARYAN ASSAYE + ARYA SAMAJ ASSAYING + ARYTENOID ASSEGAI + ARZAMAS ASSELIJN, HANS + AS ASSEMANI + ASA ASSEMBLY, UNLAWFUL + ASAFETIDA ASSEN + ASAF-UD-DOWLAH ASSER + ASAPH ASSESSMENT + ASBESTOS ASSESSOR + ASBJORNSEN, PETER CHRISTEN ASSETS + ASBURY, FRANCIS ASSIDEANS + ASBURY PARK ASSIGNATS + ASCALON ASSIGNMENT + ASCANIUS ASSINIBOIA + ASCENSION ASSINIBOIN + ASCENSION, FEAST OF THE ASSISE + ASCETICISM ASSISI + ASCHAFFENBURG ASSIUT + ASCHAM, ROGER ASSIZE + ASCHERSLEBEN ASSMANNSHAUSEN + ASCIANO ASSOCIATE + ASCITANS ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS + ASCITES ASSONANCE + ASCLEPIADES (Greek physician) ASSUAN + ASCLEPIADES (of Samos) ASSUMPSIT + ASCLEPIODOTUS ASSUMPTION, FEAST OF + ASCOLI, GRAZIADIO ISAIA ASSUR (land of Assyria) + ASCOLI PICENO ASSUR (capital of Assyria) + ASCONIUS PEDIANUS, QUINTUS ASSUR (god of Assyria) + ASCOT ASSUR-BANI-PAL + ASCUS ASSUS + ASELLI, GASPARO ASSYRIA + ASGILL, JOHN AST, GEORG ANTON FRIEDRICH + ASH ASTARA + A'SHA ASTARABAD + ASHANTI ASTARTE + ASH'ARI ASTELL, MARY + ASHBOURNE ASTER + ASHBURNHAM, JOHN ASTERIA + ASHBURTON, ALEXANDER BARING ASTERID + ASHBURTON, JOHN DUNNING ASTERISK + ASHBURTON (river) ASTERIUS (of Cappadocia) + ASHBURTON (town) ASTERIUS (bishop of Amasia) + ASHBY, TURNER ASTHMA + ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH ASTI + A-SHE-HO ASTLEY, JACOB ASTLEY + ASHER ASTLEY, SIR JOHN DUGDALE + 'ASHER BEN-YEHIEL ASTON, ANTHONY + ASHEVILLE ASTON MANOR + ASHFORD ASTOR, JOHN JACOB + 'ASHI ASTORGA, EMANUELE D' + ASHINGTON ASTORGA (city) + 'ASHKENAZI, SEBI ASTORIA + ASHLAND (Kentucky, U.S.A.) ASTRAEA + ASHLAND (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) ASTRAGAL + ASHLAND (Virginia, U.S.A.) ASTRAKHAN (government of Russia) + ASHLAND (Wisconsin, U.S.A.) ASTRAKHAN (town of Russia) + ASHLAR ASTROLABE + ASHLEY, WILLIAM JAMES ASTROLOGY + ASHMOLE, ELIAS ASTRONOMY + ASHRAF ASTROPALIA + ASHREF ASTROPHYSICS + ASHTABULA ASTRUC, JEAN + ASHTON-IN-MAKERFIELD ASTURA + ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE ASTURIAS + ASH WEDNESDAY ASTYAGES + ASHWELL, LENA ASTYLAR + ASIA (continent) ASUNCION + ASIA (Roman province) ASVINS + ASIA MINOR ASYLUM + ASIENTO ASYLUM, RIGHT OF + ASIR ATACAMA + ASISIUM ATACAMA, DESERT OF + ASKABAD ATACAMITE + ASKAULES ATAHUALLPA + ASKE, ROBERT ATALANTA + ASKEW, ANNE ATARGATIS + ASMA'I ATAULPHUS + ASMARA ATAVISM + ASMODEUS ATBARA + ASMONEUS ATCHISON + ASNIERES ATE + ASOKA ATELLA + ASOLO ATELLANAE FABULAE + ASOR ATESTE + ASP ATH + ASPARAGINE ATHABASCA + ASPARAGUS ATHALARIC + ASPASIA ATHALIAH + ASPASIUS ATHAMAS + ASPEN ATHANAGILD + ASPENDUS ATHANARIC + ASPER, AEMILIUS ATHANASIUS + ASPER, HANS ATHAPASCAN + ASPERGES ATHARVA VEDA + ASPERN-ESSLING ATHEISM + ASPHALT ATHELM + ASPHODEL ATHELNEY + ASPHYXIA ATHENA + ASPIC ATHENAEUM + ASPIDISTRA ATHENAEUS + ASPIROTRICHACEAE ATHENAGORAS + ASPIROZ, MANUEL DE ATHENODORUS + ASPROMONTE ATHENRY + ASQUITH, HERBERT HENRY ATHENS (Greece) + ASS ATHENS (Georgia, U.S.A.) + ASS, FEAST OF THE ATHENS (Ohio, U.S.A.) + + + + +ARUNDEL, THOMAS (1353-1414), archbishop of Canterbury, was the third son +of Richard Fitzalan, earl of Arundel and Warenne, by his second wife, +Eleanor, daughter of Henry Plantagenet, earl of Lancaster. His family +was an old and influential one, and when Thomas entered the church his +preferment was rapid. In 1373 he became archdeacon of Taunton, and in +April 1374 was consecrated bishop of Ely. During the early years of the +reign of King Richard II. he was associated with the party led by +Thomas, duke of Gloucester, Henry, earl of Derby, afterwards King Henry +IV., and his own brother Richard, earl of Arundel, and in 1386 he was +sent with Gloucester to Eltham to persuade Richard to return to +parliament. This mission was successful, and Arundel was made lord +chancellor in place of Michael de la Pole, duke of Suffolk, and assisted +to make peace between the king and the supporters of the commission of +regency. In April 1388 he was made archbishop of York, and, when Richard +declared himself of age in 1389, he gave up the office of chancellor, to +which, however, he returned in 1391. During his second tenure of this +office he removed the courts of justice from London to York, but they +were soon brought back to the metropolis. In September 1396 he was +translated from York to Canterbury, and again resigned the office of +chancellor. He began his new rule by a vigorous attempt to assert his +rights, warned the citizens of London not to withhold tithes, and +decided appeals from the judgments of his suffragans during a thorough +visitation of his province. In November 1396 he had officiated at the +marriage of Richard and Isabella, daughter of Charles VI., king of +France, and his fall was the sequel of the king's sudden attack upon the +lords appellant in 1397. After the arrest of Gloucester, Warwick and +Arundel, the archbishop was impeached by the Commons with the king's +consent, although Richard, who had not yet revealed his hostility, held +out hopes of safety to him. He was charged with assisting to procure the +commission of regency in derogation of the royal authority, and sentence +of banishment was passed, forty days being given him during which to +leave the realm. Towards the end of 1397 he started for Rome, and Pope +Boniface IX., at the urgent request of the king, translated him to the +see of St Andrews, a step which the pope afterwards confessed he +repented bitterly. This translation virtually deprived Arundel of all +authority, as St Andrews did not acknowledge Boniface. He then became +associated with Henry of Lancaster, but did not return to England before +1399, and the account which Froissart gives telling how he was sent by +the Londoners to urge Henry to come and assume the crown is thought to +refer to his nephew and namesake, Thomas, earl of Arundel. Landing with +Henry at Ravenspur, he accompanied him to the west. He took his place at +once as archbishop of Canterbury, witnessed the abdication of Richard in +the Tower of London, led the new king, Henry IV., to his throne in +presence of the peers, and crowned him on the 13th of October 1399. + +The main work of his later years was the defence of the church, and the +suppression of heresy. To put down the Lollards, he called a meeting of +the clergy, pressed on the statute _de haeretico comburendo_, and passed +sentence of degradation upon William Sawtrey. He resisted the attempt of +the parliament of 1404 to disendow the church, but failed to induce +Henry to pardon Archbishop Scrope in 1405. In 1407 he became chancellor +for the fourth time, and in 1408 summoned a council at Oxford, which +drew up constitutions against the Lollards. These he published in +January 1409, and among them was one forbidding the translation of the +Bible into English without the consent of the bishop of the diocese, or +of a provincial synod. In 1411 he went on an embassy abroad, and in 1412 +became chancellor again, his return to power being accompanied by a +change in the foreign policy of Henry IV. In 1397 he had sought to +vindicate his right of visitation over the university of Oxford, but the +dispute remained unsettled until 1411 when a bull was issued by Pope +John XXIII. recalling one issued by Pope Boniface IX., which had +exempted the university from the archbishop's authority. In 1413 he took +a leading part in the proceedings against Sir John Oldcastle, Lord +Cobham, and in the following year he died on the 19th of February, and +was buried at Canterbury. A legend of a later age tells how, just before +his death, he was struck dumb for preventing the preaching of the word +of God. + + The chief authorities are T. Walsingham, _Historia Anglicana_, ed. by + H.T. Riley (London, 1863-1864); _Eulogium historiarum sive temporis_, + ed. by F.S. Haydon (London, 1858-1863); the Monk of Evesham, _Historia + vitae et regni Ricardi II._, ed. by T. Hearne (Oxford, 1729); W.F. + Hook, _Lives of the Archbishops of Canterbury_, vol. iv. (London, + 1860-1876). + + + + +ARUNDEL, a market town and municipal borough in the Chichester +parliamentary division of Sussex, England, 58 m. S.S.W. from London by +the London, Brighton & South Coast railway. Pop. (1901) 2739. It is +pleasantly situated on the slope of a hill above the river Arun, which +is navigable for small vessels to Littlehampton at the mouth, 6 m. +south. From the summit of the hill rises Arundel Castle, which guarded +the passage along the river through the hills. For its connexion with +the title of earl of Arundel see ARUNDEL, EARLDOM OF. A castle existed +in the time of King Alfred, and at the time of the Conquest it was +rebuilt by Roger de Montgomerie, but it was taken from his son, who +rebelled against the reigning monarch, Henry I. In 1397 it was the scene +of a conspiracy organized by the earl of Arundel, archbishop of +Canterbury and duke of Gloucester, to dethrone Richard II. and murder +the lords of his council, a plot which was discovered before it could be +carried into execution. During the civil wars of the 17th century, the +stronghold was frequently assaulted by the contending parties, and +consequently greatly damaged; but it was restored by Charles, 11th duke +of Norfolk (d. 1815), who made it what it now is, one of the most +splendid baronial mansions in England. Extensive reconstruction, in the +style of the 13th century, was undertaken towards the close of the 19th +century. The town, according to the whimsical etymology shown on the +corporation seal, takes its name from _hirondelle_ (a swallow). The town +hall is a castellated building, presented to the corporation by the duke +of Norfolk. The church of St Nicholas, founded about 1375, is +Perpendicular with a low tower rising from the centre. In the north +aisle of the chancel there are several ancient monuments of the earls of +Arundel. The church is otherwise remarkable for its reredos and iron +work. The chancel is the property of the duke of Norfolk and is screened +from the rest of the building, although in 1880 this exercise of right +by the owner was made the subject of an action at law and subsequent +appeal. The Roman Catholic church of St Philip Neri was built by the +duke of Norfolk (1873). Some remains of a _Maison Dieu_, or hospital, +erected in the time of Richard II., still exist. The borough is under a +mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 councillors. Area, 2053 acres. + + The first mention of Arundel (Harundell) comes as early as 877, when + it was left by King Alfred in his will to his nephew Aethelm. In the + time of Edward the Confessor the town seems to have consisted of the + mill and a fortification or earthwork which was probably thrown up by + Alfred as a defence against the Danes; but it had increased in + importance before the Conquest, and appears in Domesday as a thriving + borough and port. It was granted by the Conqueror to Roger de + Montgomery, who built the castle on the site of the ancient earthwork. + From very early times markets were held within the borough on Thursday + and Saturday, and in 1285 Richard Fitzalan, earl of Arundel, obtained + a grant of two annual fairs on the 14th of May and the 17th of + December. The borough returned two members to parliament from 1302 to + 1832 when the Reform Act reduced the membership to one; in 1868 it was + disfranchised altogether. There are no early charters extant, but in + 1586 Elizabeth acknowledged the right of the mayor and burgesses to be + a body corporate and to hold a court for pleas under forty shillings, + two weekly markets and four annual fairs--which rights they claimed to + have exercised from time immemorial. James II. confirmed in 1688 a + charter given two years before, and incorporated the borough under the + title of a mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 burgesses. The town was half + destroyed by fire in 1338, but was soon rebuilt. Arundel was formerly + a thriving seaport, and in 1813 was connected by canal with London. + + See M.A. Tierney, _The History and Antiquities of the Castle and Town + of Arundel_ (London, 1834); _Victoria County History--Sussex._ + + + + +ARUNDELL OF WARDOUR, THOMAS ARUNDELL, 1ST BARON (c. 1562-1639), son of +Sir Mathew Arundell of Wardour Castle in Wiltshire, a member of the +ancient family of Arundells of Lanherne in Cornwall, and of Margaret, +daughter of Sir Henry Willoughby, was born about 1562. In 1579 he was +personally recommended by Queen Elizabeth to the emperor Rudolph II. He +greatly distinguished himself while serving with the imperial troops +against the Turks in Hungary, and at the siege of Gran or Esztergom on +the 13th of August 1595, he captured the enemy's banner with his own +hand. He was created by Rudolph II. a count of the Holy Roman Empire in +December 1595, and returned to England after suffering shipwreck and +barely preserving his life in January 1596. His assumption of the +foreign title created great jealousy among the English peers, who were +wont to give a precedence by courtesy to foreign nobles, and he incurred +the resentment of his father, who objected to his superior rank and +promptly disinherited him. The queen, moreover, was seriously +displeased, declared that "as chaste wives should have no glances but +for their own spouses, so should faithful subjects keep their eyes at +home and not gaze upon foreign crowns," and committed him to the Fleet +immediately on his arrival, while she addressed a long letter of +remonstrance on the subject to the emperor. Arundell remained under +arrest till April, when he was liberated after an examination. In April +1597, however, he was again confined, but declared innocent of any +charge save that of "practising to contrive the justification of his +vain title with Ministers beyond the seas." In December he was liberated +and placed under the care of his father, but next year he was again +arrested and accused of a conspiracy against the government. His +petitions for a licence to undertake an expedition by sea, wherein he +declared "his end was honour which some base minds call ambition," were +refused, but in 1599 he was apparently again restored to favour. On the +4th of May 1605 he was created by James I. Baron Arundell of Wardour, +but fell again under temporary suspicion at the time of the Gunpowder +Plot. In 1623 he once more got into trouble by championing the cause of +the recusants, of whom he was himself one, on the occasion of the visit +of the Spanish envoys, and he was committed to custody, and in 1625 all +the arms were removed by the government from Wardour Castle. After the +accession of Charles I. he was pardoned, and attended the sittings of +the House of Lords. He was indicted in the king's bench about the year +1627 for not paying some contribution, and in 1632 he was accused of +harbouring a priest. In 1637 he was declared exempt from the recusancy +laws by the king's order, but in 1639 he again petitioned for relief. +The same year he paid L500 in lieu of attending the king at York. He +died on the 7th of November 1639. Arundell was an earnest Roman +Catholic, but the suspicions of the government as to his loyalty were +probably unfounded and stifled a career destined by nature for +successful adventure. He married (1) Mary, daughter of Henry +Wriothesley, 2nd earl of Southampton, by whom besides other children he +had Thomas, who succeeded him as 2nd baron; and (2) Anne, daughter of +Miles Philipson, by whom he had several daughters. + +HENRY ARUNDELL, 3rd Baron Arundell of Wardour (c. 1607-1694), son of +Thomas, 2nd baron, and of Blanche, daughter of Edward, earl of +Worcester, was born on the 21st of July 1607, and succeeded on his +father's death in 1643 to the family title and estates. A strong +royalist and Roman Catholic, he supported the king's cause, and +distinguished himself in 1644 by the recapture of his castle at Wardour +from the parliamentarians, who had taken it in the previous year in +spite of his mother's brave defence of the place. In 1648 he was one of +the delinquents exempted from pardon in the proposals sent to Charles in +the Isle of Wight. His estates had been confiscated, but he was +permitted about 1653 to compound for them in the sum of L35,000. In +1652, in consequence of his being second at a duel in which one of the +combatants was killed, he was arrested, and tried in 1653; he pleaded +his peerage, but the privilege was disallowed as the House of Lords had +been abolished. At the Restoration he regained possession of the family +estates, and in 1663 was made master of the horse to Henrietta Maria. He +was one of the few admitted to the king's confidence concerning the +projects for the restoration of the Roman Catholic religion and the +alliance with France. In 1669 he took part in the secret council +assembled by Charles II., and in October was sent to France, ostensibly +for the funeral of Henrietta Maria, but in reality to negotiate with +Louis XIV. the agreement which took shape in 1670 in the treaties of +Dover (see CHARLES II.). In 1676 he was privy to James's negotiations +with Rome through Coleman. He was accused in 1678 by Titus Oates of +participation in the popish plot, and was one of the five Roman Catholic +peers arrested and imprisoned in the Tower in October, found guilty by +the Middlesex grand jury of high treason, and impeached subsequently by +the parliament. Lord Stafford was found guilty and executed in December +1680, but after the perpetration of this injustice the proceedings were +interrupted, and the three surviving peers were released on bail on the +12th of February 1684. On the 22nd of May 1685, after James II.'s +accession, the charge was annulled, and on the 1st of June 1685 they +obtained their full liberty. In February 1686, with other Roman +Catholics, Arundell urged upon the king the removal of his mistress, +Lady Dorchester, on account of her strong Protestantism. In spite of his +religion he was made a privy councillor in August 1686, and keeper of +the privy seal in 1687, being excused from taking the oaths by the +king's dispensation. He presented the thanks of the Roman Catholics to +James in June 1687 for the declaration of indulgence. His public career +ended with the abdication of the king, and he retired to Breamore, the +family residence since the destruction of Wardour Castle. He died on the +28th of December 1694. He was the author of five religious poems said to +be composed during his confinement in the Tower in 1679, published the +same year and reprinted in _A Collection of Eighty-six Loyal Poems_ in +1685. His piety and benevolence to his unfortunate co-religionists were +conspicuous. Evelyn calls him "very good company" and he was a noted +sportsman, the Quorn pack being descended from his pack of hounds at +Breamore. He married Cecily, daughter of Sir Henry Compton, by whom +besides other children he had Thomas, who succeeded him as 4th baron. + +The barony is still held in the Arundell family, which has never ceased +to be Roman Catholic. The 14th baron (b. 1859) was a direct descendent +of the 6th. + + + + +ARUSIANUS MESSIUS, or MESSUS, Latin grammarian, flourished in the 4th +century A.D. He was the author of a small extant work _Exempla +Elocutionum_, dedicated to Olybrius and Probinus, consuls for the year +395. It contains an alphabetical list, chiefly of verbs admitting more +than one construction, with examples from each of the four writers, +Virgil, Sallust, Terence and Cicero. Cassiodorus, the only writer who +mentions Arusianus, refers to it by the term Quadriga. + + See Keil, _Grammatici Latini_, vii.; Suringar, _Historia Critica + Scholiastarum Latinorum_ (1834-1835); Van der Hoeven, _Specimen + Literarium_ (1845). + + + + +ARVAL BROTHERS (Fratres Arvales), in Roman antiquities, a college or +priesthood, consisting of twelve members, elected for life from the +highest ranks in Rome, and always apparently, during the empire, +including the emperor. Their chief duty was to offer annually public +sacrifice for the fertility of the fields (Varro, _L. L_. v. 85). It is +generally held that the college was founded by Romulus (see ACCA +LARENTIA). This legend probably arose from the connexion of Acca +Larentia, as _mater Larum_, with the Lares who had a part in the +religious ceremonies of the Arvales. But apart from this, there is proof +of the high antiquity of the college, which was said to have been older +than Rome itself, in the verbal forms of the song with which, down to +late times, a part of the ceremonies was accompanied, and which is still +preserved. It is clear also that, while the members were themselves +always persons of distinction, the duties of their office were held in +high respect. And yet it is singular that no mention of them occurs in +Cicero or Livy, and that altogether literary allusions to them are very +scarce. On the other hand, we possess a long series of the _acta_ or +minutes of their proceedings, drawn up by themselves, and inscribed on +stone. Excavations, commenced in the 16th century and continued to the +19th, in the grove of the Dea Dia about 5 m. from Rome, have yielded 96 +of these records from A.D. 14 to 241. The brotherhood appears to have +languished in obscurity during the republic, and to have been revived by +Augustus. In his time the college consisted of a master (_magister_), a +vice-master (_promagister_), a _flamen_, and a _praetor_, with eight +ordinary members, attended by various servants, and in particular by +four chorus boys, sons of senators, having both parents alive. Each wore +a wreath of corn, a white fillet and the praetexta. The election of +members was by co-optation on the motion of the president, who, with a +flamen, was himself elected for one year. The great annual festival +which they had to conduct was held in honour of the anonymous Dea Dia, +who was probably identical with Ceres. It occupied three days in May. +The ceremony of the first day took place in Rome itself, in the house of +the magister or his deputy, or on the Palatine in the temple of the +emperors, where at sunrise fruits and incense were offered to the +goddess. A sumptuous banquet took place, followed by a distribution of +doles and garlands. On the second and principal day of the festival the +ceremonies were conducted in the grove of the Dea Dia. They included a +dance in the temple of the goddess, at which the song of the brotherhood +was sung, in language so antiquated that it was hardly intelligible (see +the text and translation in Mommsen, _Hist, of Rome_, bk. i. ch. xv.) +even to Romans of the time of Augustus, who regarded it as the oldest +existing document in their mother-tongue. Especial mention should be +made of the ceremony of purifying the grove, which was held to be +defiled by the felling of trees, the breaking of a bough or the presence +of any iron tools, such as those used by the lapidary who engraved the +records of the proceedings on stone. The song and dance were followed by +the election of officers for the next year, a banquet and races. On the +third day the sacrifice took place in Rome, and was of the same nature +as that offered on the first day. The Arvales also offered sacrifice and +solemn vows on behalf of the imperial family on the 3rd of January and +on other extraordinary occasions. The brotherhood is said to have lasted +till the time of Theodosius. The British Museum contains a bust of +Marcus Aurelius in the dress of a Frater Arvalis. + + Marini, _Atti e Monumenti de' Fratri Arvali_ (1795); Hoffmann, _Die + A._ (1858): Oldenberg, _De Sacris Fratrum A_. (1875); Bergk, _Das Lied + der Arvalbruder_ (1856); Breal, "Le Chant des Arvals" in _Mem. de la + Soc. de Linguistique_ (1881); Edon, _Nouvelle Etude sur le Chant + Lemural_ (1884); _Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum_, vi. 2023-2119; + Henzen, _Acta Fratrum Arvalium_ (1874). + + + + +ARVALS, ARVELS or ARTHELS (O. Norse _Arfr_, inheritance, and _ol_, A.S. +Ale, a banquet), primarily the funeral dinner, and later, especially in +the north of England, a thin, light, sweet cake, spiced with cinnamon +and nutmeg, served to the poor at such feasts. The funeral meal was +called the Arvel-dinner. The custom seems to have been to hold on such +occasions an informal inquest, when the corpse was publicly exposed, to +exculpate the heir and those entitled to the property of the dead from +all accusations of foul play. + + + + +ARVERNI, the name of an ancient Gaulish tribe in the Auvergne, which +still bears its name. It resisted Caesar longer than most of Gaul; when +once vanquished it adopted Roman civilization readily. Its tribal deity, +the god of the mountain, the Puy de Dome, rechristened in Roman phrase +Mercurius Dumias, was famous far beyond its territory. Part of his +temple has been excavated recently. + + + + +ARYAN, a term which has been used in a confusing variety of +significations by different philologists. By Max Muller especially it +was employed as a convenient short term for the whole body of languages +more commonly known as Indo-European (q.v.) or Indo-Germanic. In the +same way Max Muller used Aryas as a general term for the speakers of +such languages, as in his book published in 1888, _Biographies of Words +and the Home of the Aryas_. "Aryas are those who speak Aryan languages, +whatever their colour, whatever their blood. In calling them Aryas we +predicate nothing of them except that the grammar of their language is +Aryan" (p. 245). It is to be observed, therefore, that Max Muller is +careful to avoid any ethnological signification. The Aryas are those who +speak Aryan without regard to the question whether Aryan is their +_hereditary_ language or not. As he says still more definitely elsewhere +in the same work (p. 120), "I have declared again and again that if I +say Aryas, I mean neither blood nor bones, nor hair nor skull; I mean +simply those who speak an Aryan language. The same applies to Hindus, +Greeks, Romans Germans, Celts and Slaves. When I speak of them I commit +myself to no anatomical characteristics. The blue-eyed and fair-haired +Scandinavians may have been conquerors or conquered, they may have +adopted the language of their darker lords or their subjects, or vice +versa. I assert nothing beyond their language when I call them Hindus, +Greeks, Romans, Germans, Celts and Slaves; and in that sense, and in +that sense only, do I say that even the blackest Hindus represent an +earlier stage of Aryan speech and thought than the fairest +Scandinavians.... To me an ethnologist who speaks of Aryan race, Aryan +blood, Aryan eyes and hair, is as great a sinner as a linguist who +speaks of a dolichocephalic dictionary or a brachycephalic grammar." + +From the popularity of Max Muller's works on comparative philology this +is the use of the word which is most familiar to the general public. The +arguments in support of this use are set forth by him in the latter part +of lecture vi. of the _Lectures on the Science of Language_ (first +series) and as an appendix to chap. vii. of the final edition (i. pp. 291 +ff.). The Sanskrit usage of the word is fully illustrated by him from the +early Sanskrit writings in the article "Aryan" in the ninth edition of +this encyclopaedia. From the earliest occurrences of the word it is clear +that it was used as a national name not only in India but also in Bactria +and Persia (in Sanskrit _arya_- and _arya_, in Zend _airya_-, in Old +Persian _ariya_-). That it is in any way connected with a Sanskrit word +for earth, _ira_, as Max Muller asserts, is far from certain. As Spiegel +remarks (_Die arische Periode_, p. 105), though it is easy enough to +connect the word with a root _ar_-, there are several roots of that form +which have different meanings, and there is no certain criterion whereby +to decide to which of them it is related. Nor are the other connexions +for the word outside this group free from doubt. It is, however, certain +that the connexion with _Erin_ (Ireland), which Pictet in his article +"Iren and Arier" (Kuhn and Schleicher's _Beitrage_, i. 1858, pp. 81 ff.) +sought to establish, is impossible (Whitley Stokes in Max Muller's +_Lectures_, 1891, i. pp. 299 f.), though the word may have the same +origin as the _Ario_- of names like _Ariovistus_, which is found in both +Celtic and Germanic words (Uhlenbeck, _Kurzgefasstes etymologisches +Worterbuch der altindischen Sprache_, s.v.). The name of Armenia (Old +Persian _Armina_-), which has often been connected, is of uncertain +origin. Within Sanskrit itself probably two words have to be +distinguished: (1) _arya_, the origin of Aryan, from which the usual term +_arya_ is a derivative; (2) _arya_, which frequently appears in the _Rig +Veda_ as an epithet of deities. In many passages, however, _aryas_ may +equally well be the genitive of _ari_, which is explained as "active, +devoted, pious." Even in this word probably two originally separate words +have to be distinguished, for the further meanings which Grassmann in his +dictionary to the _Rig Veda_ attaches to it, viz. "greedy" (for treasure +and for battle), "godless," "enemy," seem more appropriately to be +derived from the same source as the Greek [Greek: eri-s], "strife." The +word _arya_- is not found as a national name in the _Rig Veda_, but +appears in the _Vajasaneyi-sainhita_, where it is explained by Mahidhara +as _Vaisya_-, a cultivator or a man of the third among the original four +classes of the population. So in the _Atharva Veda_ (iv. 20. 4; xix. 62. +1) it is contrasted with the Sudra or fourth class (Spiegel, _Arische +Periode_, p. 102). In the _Avesta, airya_- is found both as adjective and +substantive in the sense of Aryan, but no light is thrown upon the +history of the word. Darius describes himself in an inscription as of +Aryan stock, _Daraya[h]va[h]us ariya[h]civ[r]a[h]_. In the _Avesta_ the +derivative _airyana_- is also found in the sense of Aryan. In both India +and Persia a word is found (Skt. _aryaman_-; Zend _airyahman_-) which is +apparently of the same origin. In both Sanskrit and Zend it means +something like "comrade" or "bosom friend," but in Zend is used of the +priestly or highest class. In Sanskrit, besides this use in which it is +contrasted with the _Dasa_ or _Dasyu_, the enemies, the earlier +inhabitants, the word is often used for the bridegroom's spokesman, and +in both languages is also employed as the name of a divine being. In the +_Rig Veda, Aryaman_- as a deity is most frequently coupled with Mitra and +Varuna (Grassmann, _Worterbuch_, s.v.); in Zend, according to Bartholomae +(_Altiranisches Worterbuch_, s.v.), from the earliest literature, the +Gathas, there is nothing definite to be learnt regarding _Airyaman_. + +Whatever the origin of _arya_-, however, it is clear that it is a word +with dignified associations, by which the peoples belonging to the +Eastern section of the Indo-Europeans were proud to call themselves. It +is now used uniformly by scholars to indicate the Eastern branch as a +whole, a compound, _Indo-Aryan_, being employed for that part of the +Eastern branch which settled in India to distinguish them from the +Iranians (_Iran_ is of the same origin), who remained in Bactria and +Persia, while _Aryo-Indian_ is sometimes employed to distinguish the +Indian people of this stock from the Dravidian and other stocks which +also inhabit parts of the Indian peninsula. Of the stages in the +occupation of the Iranian table-land by the Aryan people nothing is +known, the people themselves having apparently no tradition of a time +when they did not hold these territories (Spiegel, _Arische Periode_, p. +319). Though the Hindus have no tradition of their invasion of India, it +is certain that they are not an indigenous people, and, if they are not, +it is clear that they could have come in no other direction save from +the other side of the Hindu Kush. At the period of their earliest +literature, which may be assigned roughly to about 1000 B.C., they were +still settled in the valley of the Indus, and at this time the +separation probably had not long taken place, the Eastern portion of the +stock having pushed their way along the Kabul valley into the open +country of the Indus. According to Professor E.W. Hopkins (_India Old +and New_, 1901, p. 31) the _Rig Veda_ was composed in the district about +Umballa. He argues that the people must have been then to the west of +the great rivers, otherwise the dawn could not be addressed as one who +"in shining light, before the wind arises, comes gleaming over the +waters, making good paths." The vocabulary is still largely the same; +whole sentences can be transliterated from one language to the other +merely by making regular phonetic changes and without the variation of a +single word (for examples see Bartholomae, _Handbuch der altiranischen +Dialekte_, 1883, p. v.; Williams Jackson, _Avesta Grammar_, 1892, pp. +xxxi. f.; _Grundriss der iranischen Philologie_, 1895, i. p. 1). It is +noteworthy that it is those who remain behind whose language has +undergone most change. + +By four well-marked characteristics the Aryan group is easily +distinguishable from the other Indo-European languages. (1) By the +confusion of original _e_ and _o_, both long and short, with the +original long and short _a_ sound; (2) the short schwa-sound [schwa] is +represented here, and in this group only, by _i_ (_pita_, "father," as +compared with [Greek: pataer], &c.); (3) original _s_ after _i_, _u_ and +some consonants becomes s; (4) the genitive plural of stems ending in a +vowel has a suffix-_nam_ borrowed by analogy from the stems ending in +_-n_ (Skt. _asvanam_, "of horses"; Zend _aspanam_; Old Persian +_aspanam_). The distinctions between Sanskrit and Iranian are also +clear, (1) The Aryan voiced aspirates _gh, dh, bh_, which survive in +Sanskrit, are confused in Iranian with original _g, d, b_, and further +changes take place in the language of the later parts of the Avesta; (2) +the Aryan breathed aspirates _kh, th, ph_, except in combination with +certain consonants, become spirants in Iranian; (3) Aryan _s_ becomes +_h_ initially before vowels in Iranian and also in certain cases +medially, Iranian in these respects resembling Greek (cf. Skt. _sapta_; +Zend _hapta_; Gr. [Greek: hepta], "seven"); (4) in Zend there are many +vowel changes which it does not share with Old Persian. Some of these +arise from the umlaut or epenthesis which is so prevalent, and which we +have already seen in _airya_- as compared with the Skt. _arya_. In other +respects the languages are remarkably alike, the only striking +difference being in the numeral "one"--Skt. _eka_-; Zend _aeva_-; Old +Persian _aiva_-, where the Iranian group has the same stem as that seen +in the Greek [Greek: oi(f)o-s], "alone." + +For the subdivisions of the two groups see the articles on PERSIA: +_Language_, and INDO-ARYAN LANGUAGES. Dr Grierson has shown in his +monograph on "The Pisaca Languages of North-Western India" (Royal +Asiatic Society, 1906) that there is good reason for regarding various +dialects of the north-western frontier (Kafiristan, Chitral, Gilgit, +Dardistan) as a separate group descended from Aryan but independent of +either Sanskrit or Iranian. + +The history of the separation of the Aryan from the other Indo-European +languages is not yet clear (see INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGES). Various +attempts have been made, with little success, to identify fragments of +unknown languages in cuneiform inscriptions with members of this group. +The investigation has entered a new and more favourable stage as the +result of the discoveries made by German excavators at Boghaz Keui (said +to be identical with Herodotus' Pteria in Cappadocia), where treaties +between the king of the Hittites and the king of Mitanni, in the +beginning of the 14th century B.C., seem almost certainly to contain the +names of the gods Mitra, Varuna and Indra, which belong to the early +Aryan mythology (H. Winckler, _Mitteilungen der deutschen +Orientgesellschaft_, No. 35; E. Meyer, _Sitzungsberichte der Berliner +Akademie_, 1908, pp. 14 ff.; _Zeitschrift fur vergleichende +Sprachforschung_, 42, 1908, pp. 24 ff.). Still further light is to be +expected when the vast collections of the German expedition to Turfan +(Turkestan) have been sifted. Up to 1909 only a preliminary account had +been given of Tocharish, a hitherto unknown Indo-European language, +which is reported to be in some respects more akin to the Western groups +than to Aryan. But further investigation is still required (see E. Sieg +and W. Siegling, "Tocharisch, die Sprache der Indoskythen," in +_Sitzungsberichte der Berl. Akad._ (July 1908, pp. 915 ff.). (P. Gi.) + + + + +ARYA SAMAJ, a Hindu religious association with reforming tendencies, +which was founded by a Guzerati Brahman named Dayanand Saraswati. This +man was born of a Saivite family about 1825, but in early manhood grew +dissatisfied with idol-worship. He undertook many pilgrim-ages and +studied the Vedic philosophy in the hope of solving the old problem of +the Buddha,--how to alleviate human misery and attain final liberation. +About 1866, when he had begun to teach and to gather disciples, he first +saw the Christian scriptures, which he vehemently assailed, and the _Rig +Veda_, which he correspondingly exalted, though in the conception which +he ultimately formed of God the former was much more influential than +the latter. Dayanand's treatment of the Vedas was peculiar, and +consisted of reading into them his own beliefs and modern scientific +discoveries. Thus he explains the _Yajna_ (sacrificial cult) as "the +entertainment of the learned in proportion to their worth, the business +of manufacture, the experiment and application of chemistry, physics and +the arts of peace; the instruction of the people, the purification of +the air, the nourishment of vegetables by the employment of the +principles of meteorology, called _Agni-Notri_ in Sanskrit." He denied +that the _Vedas_ warranted the caste system, but wished to retain the +four grades as orders of learning to which admission should be won by +examination. + +These views naturally met with scanty acceptance among the Brahmans to +whom he introduced them, and Dayanand turned to the masses and +established _Samajes_ in various parts of India, the first being at +Bombay in 1875. He chose the epithet Arya as being more dignified than +the slightly contemptuous term Hindu. After a successful series of +tours, during which he debated publicly with orthodox pundits and with +Christian missionaries, he died at Ajmere in 1883. + +The Arya Samaj is not an eclectic system like the Brahma Samaj, which +strives to find the common basis underlying all the great religions, and +its narrower scope and corresponding intensity of conviction have won it +a greater strength. It seemed to meet the feeling of many educated +natives whose faith in current Hinduism was undermined, but who were +predisposed against any foreign religious influence. Their patriotic +ardour gladly seized on "a view of the original faith of India that +seemed to harmonize with all the discoveries of modern science and the +ethics of European civilization," and they cheerfully supported their +leader's strange polemic with the agnostic and rationalist literature of +Europe. By 1890 their numbers had increased to 40,000, by 1900 to over +92,000. Divisions had, however, set in, especially a cleavage into the +_Ghasi_ or vegetarian, and the _Mansi_ or flesh-eating sections. To the +latter belong those Rajputs who though generally in sympathy with the +movement declined to adhere to the tenet of the _Samaj_ which forbade +the destruction of animal life and the consumption of animal food. The +age of admission to the Samaj is eighteen, and members are expected to +contribute to its funds at least 1% of their income. + +The ten articles of their creed may be summarized thus:-- + + 1. The source of all true knowledge is God. + 2. God is "all truth, all knowledge, all bliss, boundless, almighty, + just, merciful, unbegotten, without a beginning, incomparable, + the support and Lord of all, all-pervading, omniscient, + imperishable, immortal, eternal, holy, and the cause of the + universe; worship is due to him alone." + 3. The medium of true knowledge is the _Vedas_. + 4. and 5. The truth is to be accepted and to become the guiding + principle. + 6. The object of the Samaj is to benefit the world by improving + its physical, social, intellectual and moral conditions. + 7. Love and justice are the right guides of conduct. + 8. Knowledge must be spread. + 9. The good of others must be sought. + 10. In general interests members must subordinate themselves to + the good of others; in personal interests they should retain + independence. + +The sixth clause comprehends a wide programme of reform, including +abstinence from spirituous liquors and animal food, physical cleanliness +and exercise, marriage reform, the promotion of female education, the +abolition of caste and of idolatry. + + + + +ARYTENOID (or _arytaenoid_; from Gr. [Greek: arytaina], a funnel or +pitcher), a term, meaning funnel-shaped, applied to cartilages such as +those of the larynx. + + + + +ARZAMAS, a town of Russia, in the government of, and 76 m. by rail S. of +the town of, Nizhniy-Novgorod, on the Tesha river, at its junction with +the Arsha. It is an important centre of trade, and has tanneries, oil, +flour, tallow, dye, soap and iron works; knitting is an important +domestic industry. Sheepskins and sail-cloth are articles of trade. The +town has several churches. Pop. (1897) 10,591. + + + + +AS, the Roman unit of weight and measure, divided into 12 _unciae_ +(whence both "ounce" and "inch"); its fractions being deunx 11/12, +dextrans 5/6, dodrans 3/4, bes 2/3, septunx 7/12, semis 1/2, quincunx +5/12, triens 1/3, quadrans 1/4, sextans 1/6, sescuncia 1/8, uncia 1/12. +_As_ really denoted any integer or whole; whence the English word "ace." +The unit or _as_ of weight was the _libra_ (pound: = about 11-4/5 oz. +avoirdupois); of length, _pes_ (foot: = about 11-3/5 in.); of surface, +_jugerum_ ( = about 2/3 acre); of measure, liquid _amphora_ (about 5-3/5 +gal.), dry _modius_ (about 9/10 peck). In the same way _as_ signified a +whole inheritance; whence _heres ex asse_, the heir to the whole estate, +_heres ex semisse_, heir to half the estate. It was also used in the +calculation of rates of interest. + +_As_ was also the name of a Roman coin, which was of different weight +and value at different periods (see NUMISMATICS, S _Roman_). The first +introduction of coined money is ascribed to Servius Tullius. The old +_as_ was composed of the mixed metal _aes_, an alloy of copper, tin and +lead, and was called _as libralis_, because it nominally weighed 1 lb. +or 12 ounces (actually 10). Its original shape seems to have been an +irregular oblong bar, which was stamped with the figure of a sheep, ox +or sow. This, as well as the word _pecunia_ for money (_pecus_, cattle), +indicates the fact of cattle having been the earliest Italian medium of +exchange. The value was indicated by little points or globules, or other +marks. After the round shape was introduced, the one side was always +inscribed with the figure of a ship's prow, and the other with the +double head of Janus. The subdivisions of the _as_ had also the ship's +prow on one side, and on the other the head of some deity. The First +Punic War having exhausted the treasury, the _as_ was reduced to 2 oz. +In the Second Punic War it was again reduced to half this weight, viz. +to 1 oz. And lastly, by the Papirian law (89 B.C.) it was further +reduced to the diminutive weight of half an ounce. It appears to have +been still more reduced under Octavian, Lepidus and Antony, when its +value was 1/3 of an ounce. Before silver coinage was introduced (269 +B.C.) the value of the _as_ was about 6d., in the time of Cicero less +than a halfpenny. In the time of the emperor Severus it was again +lowered to about 5/24 of an ounce. During the commonwealth and empire +_aes grave_ was used to denote the old as in contradistinction to the +existing depreciated coin; while _aes rude_ was applied to the original +oblong coinage of primitive times. + + + + +ASA, in the Bible, son (or, perhaps, rather brother) of Abijah, the son +of Rehoboam and king of Judah (1 Kings xv. 9-24). Of his long reign, +during which he was a contemporary of Baasha, Zimri and Omri of Israel, +little is recorded with the exception of some religious reforms and +conflicts with the first-named. Baasha succeeded in fortifying Ramah +(_er-Ram_), 5 m. north of Jerusalem, and Asa was compelled to use the +residue of the temple-funds (cf. 1 Kings xiv. 26) to bribe the king of +Damascus to renounce his league with Baasha and attack Israel. Galilee +was invaded and Baasha was forced to return; the building material which +he had collected at Ramah being used by Asa to fortify Geba, and Mizpah +to the immediate north of Jerusalem. The Book of Chronicles relates a +story of a sensational defeat of Zerah the "Cushite," and a great +religious revival in which Judah and Israel took part (2 Chron. xiv.-xv. +15) (see CHRONICLES). Asa was succeeded by his son Jehoshaphat. + +"Cushite" may designate an Ethiopian or, more probably, an Arabian +(Cush, the "father" of the Sabaeans, Gen. x. 7). "If by Zerah the +Ethiopian or Sabaean prince be meant, the only real difficulty of the +narrative is removed. No king Zerah of Ethiopia is known at this period, +nor does there seem to be room for such a person." (W.E. Barnes, +_Cambridge Bible_, Chronicles, p. xxxi.). The identification with +Osorkon I. or II. is scarcely tenable considering Asa's weakness; but +inroads by desert hordes frequently troubled Judah, and if the tradition +be correct in locating the battle at Mareshah it is probable that the +invaders were in league with the Philistine towns. Similar situations +recur in the reigns of Ahaz and Jehoram. + + See also Wellhausen, _Prolegomena_, 208; S.A. Cook, _Expositor_ (June + 1906), p. 540 sq. (S. A. C.) + + + + +ASAFETIDA (_asa_, Lat. form of Persian _aza_ = mastic, and fetidus, +stinking, so called in distinction to _asa dulcis_, which was a drug +highly esteemed among the ancients as _laser cyrenaicum_, and is +supposed to have been a gummy exudation from _Thapsis garganica_), a +gum-resin obtained principally from the root of _Ferula fetida_, and +probably also from one or two other closely allied species of +umbelliferous plants. It is produced in eastern Persia and Afghanistan, +Herat and Kandahar being centres of the trade. _Ferula fetida_ grows to +a height of from 5 to 6 ft., and when the plant has attained the age of +four years it is ready for yielding asafetida. The stems are cut down +close to the root, and the juice flows out, at first of a milky +appearance, but quickly setting into a solid resinous mass. Fresh +incisions are made as long as the sap continues to flow, a period which +varies according to the size and strength of the plant. A +freshly-exposed surface of asafetida has a translucent, pearly-white +appearance, but it soon darkens in the air, becoming first pink and +finally reddish-brown. In taste it is acrid and bitter; but what +peculiarly characterizes it is the strong alliaceous odour it emits, +from which it has obtained the name asafetida, as well as its German +name _Teufelsdreck_ (devil's dung). Its odour is due to the presence of +organic sulphur compounds. Asafetida is found in commerce in "lump" or +in "tear," the latter being the purer form. Medicinally, asafetida is +given in doses of 5 to 15 grains and acts as a stimulant to the +intestinal and respiratory tracts and to the nervous system. An enema +containing it is useful in relieving flatus. It is sometimes useful in +hysteria, which is essentially a lack of inhibitory power, as its nasty +properties induce sufficient inhibitory power to render its +readministration superfluous. It may also be used in an effervescing +draught in cases of malingering, the drug "repeating" in the mouth and +making the malingering not worth while. The gum-resin is relished as a +condiment in India and Persia, and is in demand in France for use in +cookery. In the regions of its growth the whole plant is used as a fresh +vegetable, the inner portion of the full-grown stem being regarded as a +luxury. + + + + +ASAF-UD-DOWLAH, nawab wazir of Oudh from 1775 to 1797, was the son of +Shuja-ud-Dowlah, his mother and grandmother being the begums of Oudh, +whose spoliation formed one of the chief counts in the charges against +Warren Hastings. When Shuja-ud-Dowlah died he left two million pounds +sterling buried in the vaults of the zenana. The widow and mother of the +deceased prince claimed the whole of this treasure under the terms of a +will which was never produced. When Warren Hastings pressed the nawab +for the payment of debt due to the Company, he obtained from his mother +a loan of 26 lakhs of rupees, for which he gave her a _jagir_ of four +times the value; he subsequently obtained 30 lakhs more in return for a +full acquittal, and the recognition of her _jagirs_ without interference +for life by the Company. These _jagirs_ were afterwards confiscated on +the ground of the begum's complicity in the rising of Chai Singh, which +was attested by documentary evidence. The evidence now available seems +to show that Warren Hastings did his best throughout to rescue the nawab +from his own incapacity, and was inclined to be lenient to the begums. + + See _The Administration of Warren Hastings, 1772-1785_, by G.W. + Forrest (1892). + + + + +ASAPH, the eponym of the Asaphite gild of singers, one of the hereditary +choirs that superintended the musical services of the temple at +Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The names occur in the titles of certain +Psalms, and the writer of the Book of Chronicles makes Asaph a seer (2 +Chron. xxix. 30), contemporary with David and Solomon, and chief of the +singers of his time. + + + + +ASBESTOS, a fibrous mineral from Gr. [Greek: asbestos], unquenchable, by +transference, incombustible, in allusion to its power of resisting the +action of fire. The word was applied by Dioscorides and other Greek +authors to quicklime, but Pliny evidently used it in its modern sense. +It was occasionally woven by the ancients into handkerchiefs, and, it +has been said, into shrouds which were used in cremation to prevent the +ashes of the corpse from mingling with the wood-ashes of the pyre. + +In different varieties of asbestos the fibres vary greatly in character. +When silky and flexible they are sometimes known as mountain flax. The +finer kinds are often termed amianthus (q.v.). When the fibres are +naturally interwoven, so as to form a felted mass, the mineral passes +under such trivial names as mountain leather, mountain cork, mountain +paper, &c. The asbestos formerly used in the arts was generally a +fibrous form of some kind of amphibole, like tremolite, or +anthophyllite, though occasionally perhaps a pyroxene. In recent years, +however, most of the asbestos in the market is a fibrous variety of +serpentine, known mineralogically as chrysotile, and probably some of +the ancient asbestos was of this character (see AMIANTHUS). Both +minerals possess similar properties, so far as resistance to heat is +concerned. The amphibole-asbestos, or hornblende-asbestos, is usually +white or grey in colour, and may present great length of fibre, some of +the Italian asbestos reaching exceptionally a length of 5 or 6 ft., but +it is often harsh and brittle. The serpentine-asbestos occurs in narrow +veins, yielding fibres of only 2 or 3 in. in length, but of great +tensile strength: they are usually of a delicate silky lustre, very +flexible and elastic, and of yellowish or greenish colour. + +The Canadian asbestos, which of all kinds is at present the most +important industrially, occurs in a small belt of serpentine in the +province of Quebec, principally near Black Lake and Thetford, where it +was first recognized as commercially valuable about 1877. The rock is +generally quarried, cobbed by hand, dried if necessary, crushed in +rock-breakers, and then passed between rollers; it is reduced to a finer +state of division by so-called fiberizers, and graded on a shaking +screen, where the loosened fibres are sorted. The process varies in +different mills. + +In the United States asbestos is worked only to a very limited extent. +An amphibole-asbestos is obtained from Sall Mountain, Georgia; and +asbestos has also been worked in the serpentine of Vermont. It occurs +also in South Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts, Arizona and elsewhere. +Dr G.P. Merrill has shown that some asbestos results from a process of +shearing in the rocks. + +Formerly asbestos was obtained almost exclusively from Italy and +Corsica, and a large quantity is still yielded by Italian workings. This +is mostly an amphibole. It is in some cases associated with nodules of +green garnet known as "seeds"--_Semenze dell' amianto._ Asbestos is +widely distributed, but only in a few localities does it occur in +sufficient abundance and purity to be worked commercially; it is found, +for example, to a limited extent, at many localities in Tirol, Hungary +and Russia; Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand. In the British +Isles it is not unknown, being found among the old rocks of North Wales +and in parts of Ireland. Byssolite or asbestoid is a blue or green +fibrous amphibole from Dauphiny. + +The Asbestos Mountains in Griqualand West, Cape Colony, yield a blue +fibrous mineral which is worked under the name of Cape asbestos. This is +referable to the variety of amphibole called crocidolite (q.v.). It +occurs in veins in slaty rocks, associated with jaspers and quartzites +rich in magnetite and brown iron-ore. Their geological position is in +the Griqua Town series, belonging to what are known in South Africa as +the Pre-Cape rocks. + +Asbestos was formerly spun and woven into fabrics as a rare curiosity. +Charlemagne is said to have possessed a tablecloth of this material, +which when soiled was purified by being thrown into the fire. At a +meeting of the Royal Society in 1676 a merchant from China exhibited a +handkerchief of "salamander's wool," or _linum asbesti._ By the Eskimos +of Labrador asbestos has been used as a lamp-wick, and it received a +similar application in some of the sacred lamps of antiquity. In recent +times asbestos has been applied to a great variety of uses in the +industrial arts, and its applications are constantly increasing. Its +economic value depends not only on its power of withstanding a high +temperature, but also on its low thermal conductivity and its partial +resistance to the attack of acids: hence it is used for jacketing +boilers and steam-pipes, and as a filtering medium for corrosive +liquids. It has also come into use as an electric insulator. It is made +into yarn, felt, millboard, &c., and is largely employed as packing for +joints, glands and stopcocks in machinery. Fire-proof sheathing and felt +are used for flooring and roofing; fire-proof curtains have been made +for the stage, and even clothing for firemen. Asbestos enters into the +composition of fire-proof cements, plasters and paints: it is used for +packing safes; and is made into balls with fire-clay for gas-stoves. +Various preparations of asbestos with other materials pass in trade +under such names as uralite, salamandrite, asbestolith, gypsine, &c. +"Asbestic" is the name given to a Canadian product formed by crushing +the serpentine rock containing thin seams of asbestos, and mixing the +result with lime so as to form a plaster. + + REFERENCES.--Fritz Cirkel, _Asbestos, its Occurrence, Exploitation and + Uses_ (Ottawa, 1905); J.H. Pratt and J.S. Diller in Annual Reports on + Mineral Resources, U.S. Geol. Survey; G.P. Merrill, _The Non-metallic + Minerals_ (New York, 1904); R.H. Jones, _Asbestos and Asbestic_ + (London, 1897). (F. W. R.*) + + + + +ASBJORNSEN, PETER CHRISTEN (1812-1885), and MOE, JORGEN ENGEBRETSEN +(1813-1882), collectors of Norwegian folklore, so closely united in +their life's work that it is unusual to name them apart. Asbjornsen was +born in Christiania on the 15th of January 1812; he belonged to an +ancient family of the Gudbrandsdal, which is believed to have died with +him. He became a student at the university in 1833, but as early as +1832, in his twentieth year, he had begun to collect and write down all +the fairy stories and legends which he could meet with. Later he began +to wander on foot through the length and breadth of Norway, adding to +his stores. Moe, who was born at Mo i Hole parsonage, in Sigdal +Ringerike, on the 22nd of April 1813, met Asbjornsen first when he was +fourteen years of age. A close friendship began between them, and lasted +to the end of their lives. In 1834 Asbjornsen discovered that Moe had +started independently on a search for the relics of national folklore; +the friends eagerly compared results, and determined for the future to +work in concert. By this time, Asbjornsen had become by profession a +zoologist, and with the aid of the university made a series of +investigating voyages along the coasts of Norway, particularly in the +Hardanger fjord. Moe, meanwhile, having left Christiania University in +1839, had devoted himself to the study of theology, and was making a +living as a tutor in Christiania. In his holidays he wandered through +the mountains, in the most remote districts, collecting stories. In +1842-1843 appeared the first instalment of the great work of the two +friends, under the title of _Norwegian Popular Stories (Norske +Folkeeventyr)_, which was received at once all over Europe as a most +valuable contribution to comparative mythology as well as literature. A +second volume was published in 1844, and a new collection in 1871. Many +of the _Folkeeventyr_ were translated into English by Sir George Dasent +in 1859. In 1845 Asbjornsen published, without help from Moe, a +collection of Norwegian fairy tales (_huldreeventyr og folkesagn_). In +1856 the attention of Asbjornsen was called to the deforestation of +Norway, and he induced the government to take up this important +question. He was appointed forest-master, and was sent by Norway to +examine in various countries of the north of Europe the methods observed +for the preservation of timber. From these duties, in 1876, he withdrew +with a pension; he died in Christiania on the 6th of January 1885. From +1841 to 1852 Moe travelled almost every summer through the southern +parts of Norway, collecting traditions in the mountains. In 1845 he was +appointed professor of theology in the Military School of Norway. He +had, however, long intended to take holy orders, and in 1853 he did so, +becoming for ten years a resident chaplain in Sigdal, and then (1863) +parish priest of Bragernes. He was moved in 1870 to the parish of Vestre +Aker, near Christiania, and in 1875 he was appointed bishop of +Christiansand. In January 1882 he resigned his diocese on account of +failing health, and died on the following 27th of March. Moe has a +special claim on critical attention in regard to his lyrical poems, of +which a small collection appeared in 1850. He wrote little original +verse, but in his slender volume are to be found many pieces of +exquisite delicacy and freshness. Moe also published a delightful +collection of prose stories for children, _In the Well and the Churn (_I +Bronde og i Kjaernet), 1851; and _A Little Christmas Present (En liden +Juleegave)_, 1860. Asbjornsen and Moe had the advantage of an admirable +style in narrative prose. It was usually said that the vigour came from +Asbjornsen and the charm from Moe, but the fact seems to be that from +the long habit of writing in unison they had come to adopt almost +precisely identical modes of literary expression. (E. G.) + + + + +ASBURY, FRANCIS (1745-1816), American clergyman, was born at Hamstead +Bridge in the parish of Handsworth, near Birmingham, in Staffordshire, +England, on the 20th of August 1745. His parents were poor, and after a +brief period of study in the village school of Barre, he was apprenticed +at the age of fourteen to a maker of "buckle chapes," or tongues. It +seems probable that his parents were among the early converts of Wesley; +at any rate, Francis became converted to Methodism in his thirteenth +year, and at sixteen became a local preacher. He was a simple, fluent +speaker, and was so successful that in 1767 he was enrolled, by John +Wesley himself, as a regular itinerant minister. In 1771 he volunteered +for missionary work in the American colonies. When he landed in +Philadelphia in October 1771, the converts to Methodism, which had been +introduced into the colonies only three years before, numbered scarcely +300. Asbury infused new life into the movement, and within a year the +membership of the several congregations was more than doubled. In 1772 +he was appointed by Wesley "general assistant" in charge of the work in +America, and although superseded by an older preacher, Thomas Rankin +(1738-1810), in 1773, he remained practically in control. After the +outbreak of the War of Independence, the Methodists, who then numbered +several thousands, fell, unjustly, under suspicion of Loyalism, +principally because of their refusal to take the prescribed oath; and +many of their ministers, including Rankin, returned to England. Asbury, +however, feeling his sympathies and duties to be with the colonies, +remained at his post, and although often threatened, and once arrested, +continued his itinerant preaching. The hostility of the Maryland +authorities, however, eventually drove him into exile in Delaware, where +he remained quietly, but not in idleness, for two years. In 1782 he was +reappointed to supervise the affairs of the Methodist congregations in +America. In 1784 John Wesley, in disregard of the authority of the +Established Church, took the radical step of appointing the Rev. Thomas +Coke (1747-1814) and Francis Asbury superintendents or "bishops" of the +church in the United States. Dr Coke was ordained at Bristol, England, +in September, and in the following December, in a conference of the +churches in America at Baltimore, he ordained and consecrated Asbury, +who refused to accept the position until Wesley's choice had been +ratified by the conference. From this conference dates the actual +beginning of the "Methodist Episcopal Church of the United States of +America." To the upbuilding of this church Asbury gave the rest of his +life, working with tireless devotion and wonderful energy. In 1785, at +Abingdon, Maryland, he laid the corner-stone of Cokesbury College, the +project of Dr Coke and the first Methodist Episcopal college in America; +the college building was burned in 1795, and the college was then +removed to Baltimore, where in 1796, after another fire, it closed, and +in 1816 was succeeded by Asbury College, which lived for about fifteen +years. Every year Asbury traversed a large area, mostly on horseback. +The greatest testimony to the work that earned for him the title of the +"Father of American Methodism" was the growth of the denomination from a +few scattered bands of about 300 converts and 4 preachers in 1771, to a +thoroughly organized church of 214,000 members and more than 2000 +ministers at his death, which occurred at Spottsylvania, Virginia, on +the 31st of March 1816. + + His _Journals_ (3 vols., New York, 1852), apart from their importance + as a history of his life work, constitute a valuable commentary on the + social and industrial history of the United States during the first + forty years of their existence. Consult also F.W. Briggs, _Bishop + Asbury_ (London, 1874); W.P. Strickland, _The Pioneer Bishop; or, The + Life and Times of Francis Asbury_ (New York, 1858); J.B. Wakeley, + _Heroes of Methodism_ (New York, 1856): W.C. Larrabee, _Asbury and His + Co-Laborers_ (2 vols., Cincinnati, 1853); H.M. Du Bose, _Francis + Asbury_ (Nashville, Tenn., 1909); see also under METHODISM. + + + + +ASBURY PARK, a city of Monmouth county, New Jersey, U.S.A., on the +Atlantic Ocean, about 35 m. S. of New York City (50 m. by rail). Pop. +(1900) 4148; (1905) 4526; (1910) 10,150. It is served by the Central of +New Jersey and the Pennsylvania railways, and by electric railway lines +connecting it with other New Jersey coast resorts both north and south. +Fresh-water lakes, one of which, Deal Lake, extends for some distance +into the wooded country, form the northern and southern boundaries. It +is one of the most popular seaside resorts on the Atlantic coast, its +numerous hotels and cottages accommodating a summer population that +approximates 50,000, and a large transient population in the autumn and +winter months. There is an excellent beach, along which extends a +board-walk about 1 m. long; the beach is owned and controlled by the +municipality. The municipality owns and operates its water-works, water +being obtained from artesian wells. Asbury Park was founded in 1869, was +named in honour of the Rev. Francis Asbury, was incorporated as a +borough in 1874, and was chartered as a city in 1897. In 1906 territory +to the west with a population estimated at 6000 was annexed. + + + + +ASCALON, now 'ASKALAN, one of the five chief cities of the Philistines, +on the coast of the Mediterranean, 12 m. N. of Gaza. The place is +mentioned several times in the Tell el-Amarna correspondence. It +revolted from Egypt on two occasions, but was reconquered, and a +sculpture at Thebes depicts the storming of the city. Ascalon was a +well-fortified town, and the seat of the worship of the fish-goddess +Derketo. Though situated in the nominal territory of the tribe of Judah, +it was never for any length of time in the possession of the Israelites. +The only incident in its history recorded in the Bible (the spoliation +by Samson, Judg. xiv. 19) may possibly have actually occurred at another +place of the same name, in the hill country of Judaea. Sennacherib took +it in 701 B.C. The conquest of Alexander hellenized its civilization, +and after his time it became tributary alternately to Syria and Egypt. +Herod the Great was a native of the city, and added greatly to its +beauty; but it suffered severely in the later wars of the Romans and +Jews. In the 4th century it again rose to importance; and till the 7th +century, when it was conquered by the Moslems, it was the seat of a +bishopric and a centre of learning. During the first crusade a signal +victory was gained by the Christians in the neighbouring plain on the +15th of August 1099; but the city remained in the hands of the caliphs +till 1157, when it was taken by Baldwin III., king of Jerusalem, after a +siege of five months. By Baldwin IV. it was given to his sister Sibylla, +on her marriage with William of Montferrat in 1178. When Saladin (1187) +had almost annihilated the Christian army in the plain of Tiberias, +Ascalon offered but a feeble resistance to the victor. At first he +repaired and strengthened its fortifications, but afterwards, alarmed at +the capture of St Jean d'Acre (Acre) by Richard Coeur de Lion in 1191, +he caused it to be dismantled. It was restored in the following year by +the English king, but only to be again abandoned. From this time Ascalon +lost much of its importance, and at length, in 1270, its fortifications +were almost totally destroyed by Sultan Bibars, and its port was filled +up with stones. The place is now a desolate heap of ruins, with remains +of its walls and fragments of granite pillars. The surrounding country +is well watered and very fertile. + + See a paper by Guthe, "Die Ruinen Ascalons," in the _Zeitschrift_ of + the Deutsche Palastina-Verein, ii. 164 (translated in Palestine + Exploration Fund _Quarterly Statement_, 1880, p. 182). See also C.R. + Conder in the latter journal, 1875, p. 152. (R. A. S. M.) + + + + +ASCANIUS, in Roman legend, the son of Aeneas by Creusa or Lavinia. From +Livy it would appear that tradition recognized two sons of Aeneas called +by this name, the one the son of his Trojan, the other of his Latin +wife. According to the usual account, he accompanied his father to Italy +on his flight from Troy. On the death of Aeneas, the government of +Latium was left in the hands of Lavinia, Ascanius being too young to +undertake it. After thirty years he left Lavinium, and founded Alba +Longa. Ascanius was also called Ilus and Iulus, and the Julian gens +claimed to be descended from him. Several more or less contradictory +traditions may be found in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Strabo and other +writers. + + Virg. _Aen_. ii. 666; Livy i. 3; see also Klausen. _Aeneas und die + Penaten_ (1840). + + + + +ASCENSION, an island in the Atlantic Ocean, between 7 deg. 53' and 8 +deg. S., and 14 deg. 18' and 14 deg. 26' W., 800 m. N.W. of St Helena, +about 7-1/2 m. in length and 6 in breadth, with an area of 38 sq. m. and +a circumference of about 22 m. The island lies within the immediate +influence of the south-east trade-wind. The lee side of the island is +subject to the visitation of "rollers," which break on the shore with +very great violence. Ascension is a volcanic mass erected on a submarine +platform. Numerous cones exist. Green Mountain, the principal elevation, +is a huge elliptical crater, rising 2820 ft. above the sea, while the +plains or table-lands surrounding it vary in height from 1200 to 2000 +ft. On the north side they sweep gradually down towards the shore, but +on the south they terminate in bold and lofty precipices. Steep and +rugged ravines intersect the plains, opening into small bays or coves on +the shore, fenced with masses of compact and cellular lava; and all over +the island are found products of volcanic action. Ascension was +originally destitute of vegetation save on the summit of Green Mountain, +which owes its verdure to the mists which frequently enshroud it, but +the lower hills have been planted with grasses and shrubs. The air is +clear and light, and the climate remarkably healthy, notwithstanding the +high temperature--the average day temperature on the shore being 85 deg. +F., on Green Mountain 75 deg. F. The average rainfall is about 20 in., +March and April being the rainy months. Ascension is noted for the +number of turtles and turtle eggs found on its shores, the season +lasting from December to May or June. The turtles are caught and kept in +large ponds. The coasts abound with a variety of fish of excellent +quality, of which the most important are the rock-cod, the cavalli, the +conger-eel and the "soldier." Numbers of sheep are bred on the island, +and there are a few cattle and deer, besides goats and wild cats. +Feathered game is abundant. Like St Helena, the island does not possess +any indigenous vertebrate land fauna. The "wideawake" birds frequent the +island in large numbers, and their eggs are collected and eaten. Beetles +and land-shells are well represented. Flies, ants, mosquitoes, +scorpions, centipedes and crickets abound. The flora includes purslane, +rock roses and several species of ferns and mosses. + +The island was discovered by the Portuguese navigator, Joao da Nova, on +Ascension Day 1501, and was occasionally visited thereafter by ships. In +1701 William Dampier was wrecked on its coast, and during his detention +discovered the only spring of fresh water the island contains. Ascension +remained uninhabited till after the arrival of Napoleon at St Helena +(1815), when it was taken possession of by the British government, who +sent a small garrison thither. A settlement, named George Town (locally +known as Garrison), was made on the north-west coast, water being +obtained from "Dampier's" springs in the Green Mountain, 6 m. distant. +The island is under the rule of the admiralty, and was likened by Darwin +to "a huge ship kept in first-rate order." It is governed by a naval +captain borne on the books of the flagship of the admiral superintendent +at Gibraltar. A depot of stores for the navy is maintained, but the +island is used chiefly as a sanatorium. Ascension is connected by cable +with Europe and Africa, and is visited once a month by mail steamers +from the Cape. Formerly letters were left by passing ships in a crevice +in one of the rocks. The population, about 300, consists of seamen, +marines, and Krumen from Liberia. + + See _Africa Pilot_, part ii., 5th ed. (London, 1901); C. Darwin, + _Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands visited during the + Voyage of H.M.S. "Beagle"_ (London, 1844); _Report of the Scientific + Results of the Voyage of the "Challenger,"_ vol. i. part 2 (London, + 1885); and _Six Months in Ascension_, by Mrs Gill (London, 1878), an + excellent sketch of the island and its inhabitants. It was at + Ascension that Mr, afterwards Sir, David Gill determined, in 1877, the + solar parallax. + + + + +ASCENSION, FEAST OF THE, one of the oecumenical festivals of the +Christian Church, ranking in solemnity with those of Christmas, of +Easter and of Pentecost. It is held forty days after Easter, or ten days +before Whitsunday, in celebration of Christ's ascension into heaven +forty days after the resurrection. It always falls on a Thursday, and +the day is known as Ascension Day, or Holy Thursday. The festival is of +great antiquity; and though there is no discoverable trace of it before +the middle of the 4th century, subsequent references to it assume its +long establishment. Thus St Augustine (_Ep. 54 ad Januar._) mentions it +as having been kept from time immemorial and as probably instituted by +the apostles. Chrysostom, in his homily on the ascension, mentions a +celebration of the festival in the church of Romanesia outside Antioch, +and Socrates (_Hist. eccles._ vii. 26) records that in the year 390 the +people of Constantinople "of old custom" ([Greek: ex ethous]) celebrated +the feast in a suburb of the city. As these two references suggest, the +festival was associated with a professional pilgrimage, in commemoration +of the passing of Christ and his apostles to the Mount of Olives; such a +procession is described by Adamnan, abbot of Iona, as taking place at +Jerusalem in the 7th century, when the feast was celebrated in the +church on Mount Olivet (_de loc. sanct._ i. 22). The _Peregrinatio_ of +Etheria (Silvia), which dates from c. A.D. 385, says that the festival +was held in the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem (Duchesne, _Chr. +Worship_, p. 515). In the West, however, in the middle ages, the +procession with candles and banners outside the church was taken as +symbolical of Christ's triumphant entry into heaven. + +In the East the festival is known as the [Greek: analaepsis], "taking +up," or [Greek: episozomenae], a term first used in the Cappadocian +church, and of which the meaning has been disputed, but which probably +signifies the feast "of completed salvation." The word _ascensio_, +adopted in the West, implies the ascension of Christ by his own power, +in contradistinction to the _assumptio_, or taking up into heaven of the +Virgin Mary by the power of God. + +In the Roman Catholic Church the most characteristic ritual feature of +the festival is now the solemn extinction of the paschal candle after +the Gospel at high mass. This candle, lighted at every mass for the +forty days after Easter, symbolizes the presence of Christ with his +disciples, and its extinction his parting from them. The custom dates +from 1263, and was formerly confined to the Franciscans; it was +prescribed for the universal church by the Congregation of Rites on the +19th of May 1697. Other customs, now obsolete, were formerly associated +with the liturgy of this feast; e.g. the blessing of the new beans after +the Commemoration of the Dead in the canon of the mass (Duchesne, p. +183). In some churches, during the middle ages, an image of Christ was +raised from the altar through a hole in the roof, through which a +burning straw figure representing Satan was immediately thrown down. + +In the Anglican Church Ascension Day and its octave continue to be +observed as a great festival, for which a special preface to the +consecration prayer in the communion service is provided, as in the case +of Christmas, Easter, Whitsunday, and Trinity Sunday. The celebration of +the Feast of the Ascension was also retained in the Lutheran churches as +warranted by Holy Scripture. + + See Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopadie_ (1900), s. _"Himmelfahrtsfest"_; + L. Duchesne, _Christian Worship_ (2nd Eng. ed., London, 1904); _The + Catholic Encyclopaedia_ (London and New York, 1907). + + + + +ASCETICISM, the theory and practice of bodily abstinence and +self-mortification, generally religious. The word is derived from the +Gr. verb [Greek: askeo], "I practise," whence the noun [Greek: askaesis] +and the adjective [Greek: askaetikos]; and it embodies a metaphor taken +from the ancient wrestling-place or palaestra, where victory rewarded +those who had best trained their bodies. Not a few other technical terms +of Greek philosophic asceticism, used in the first instance by Cynics +and Neo-pythagoreans, and then continued among the Greek Jews and +Christians, were metaphors taken from athletic contests--but only +metaphors, for all asceticism, worthy of the name, has a moral purport, +and is based on the eternal contrast of the proposition, "This is +right," with the proposition, "That is pleasant." The ascetic instinct +is probably as old as humanity, yet we must not forget that early +religious practices are apt to be deficient in lofty spiritual meaning, +many things being esteemed holy that are from a modern point of view +trifling and even obscene. We may therefore expect in primitive +asceticism to find many abstentions and much self-torture apparently +valueless for the training of character and discipline of the feelings, +which are the essence of any healthy asceticism. Nevertheless these +non-moral _taboos_ or restraints may have played a part in building up +in us that faculty of preferring the larger good to the impulse of the +moment which is the note of real civilization. Aristotle in his _Ethics_ +defines, as the barbarian's ideal of life, "the living as one likes." +Yet nothing is less true; for the savage, more than the civilized man, +is tied down at every step with superstitious scruples and restrictions +barely traceable in higher civilizations except as primitive survivals. +It is not that savages are devoid of the ascetic instinct. It is on the +contrary over-developed in them, but ill-informed and working in ways +unessential or even morally harmful. It is the note of every great +religious reformer, Moses, Buddha, Paul, Mani, Mahomet, St Francis, +Luther, to enlighten and direct it to higher aims, substituting a true +personal holiness for a ritual purity or _taboo_, which at the best was +viewed as a kind of physical condition and contagion, inherent as well +in things and animals as in man. + +It is useful, therefore, in a summary sketch of asceticism, to begin +with the facts as they can be observed among less advanced races, or as +mere survivals among people who have reached the level of genuine moral +reflection; and from this basis to proceed to a consideration of +self-denial consciously pursued as a method of ethical perfection. The +latter is as a rule less cruel and rigorous than primitive forms of +asceticism. Under this head fall the following:--Fasting, or abstention +from certain meats and drinks; denial of sexual instinct; subjection of +the body to physical discomforts, such as nakedness, vigils, sleeping on +the bare ground, tattooing, deformation of skull, teeth, feet, &c., vows +of silence to be observed throughout life or during pilgrimages, +avoidance of baths, of hair-cutting and of clean raiment, living in a +cave; actual self-infliction of pain, by scourging, branding, cutting +with knives, wearing of hair shirts, fire-walking, burial alive, hanging +up of oneself by hooks plunged into the skin, suspension of weights by +such hooks to the tenderer parts of the body, self-mutilation and +numerous other, often ingenious, modes of torture. Such customs repose +on various superstitions; for example, the self-mutilation of the Galli +or priests of Cybele was probably a magical ceremony intended to +fertilize the soil and stimulate the crops. Others of the practices +enumerated, probably the greater part of them, spring from demonological +beliefs. + +Fasting (q.v.) is used in primitive asceticism for a variety of reasons, +among which the following deserve notice. Certain animals and vegetables +are _taboo_, i.e. too holy, or--what among Semites and others was the +same thing--too defiling and unclean, to be eaten. Thus in Leviticus xi. +the Jews are forbidden to eat animals other than cloven-footed +ruminants; thus the camel, coney, hare and swine were forbidden; so also +any water organisms that had not fins and scales, and a large choice of +birds, including swan, pelican, stork, heron and hoopoe. All winged +creeping things that have four feet were equally abominable. Lastly, the +weasel, mouse and most lizards were _taboo_. All or nearly all of these +were at one time totem animals among one or another of the Semitic +tribes, and were not eaten because primitive men will not eat animals +between which and themselves and their gods they believe a peculiar tie +of kinship to exist. Men do not eat an animal for which they have a +reverential dread, or if they eat it at all, it is only in a sacramental +feast and in order to absorb into themselves its life and holy +properties. Such abstinences as the above, though based on _taboo_, that +is, on a reluctance to eat the totem or sacred animal, are yet ascetic +in so far as they involve much self-denial. No flesh is more wholesome +or succulent than beef, yet the Egyptians and Phoenicians, says Porphyry +(_de Abst._ ii. 11), would rather eat human flesh than that of the cow, +and so would two hundred and fifty millions of modern Hindus. The +privation involved in abstention from the flesh of the swine, a _taboo_ +hardly less widespread, is obvious. + +Similar prohibitions are common in Africa, where fetish priests are +often reduced to a diet of herbs and roots. That such dietary +restrictions were merely ceremonial and superstitious, and not intended +to prevent the consumption of meats which would revolt modern tastes, is +certain from the fact that the Levitical law freely allowed the eating +of locusts, grasshoppers, crickets and cockroaches, while forbidding the +consumption of rabbits, hares, storks, swine, &c. The Pythagoreans were +forbidden to eat beans. + +Another widespread reason for avoiding flesh diet altogether was the +fear of absorbing the irrational soul of the animal, which especially +resided in the blood. Hence the rule not to eat meats strangled, except +in sacramental meals when the god inherent in the animal was partaken +of. It is equally a soul or spirit in wine which inspires the +intoxicated; the old Egyptian kings avoided wine at table and in +libations, because it was the blood of rebels who had fought with the +gods, and out of whose rotting bodies grew the vines; to drink the blood +was to imbibe the soul of these rebels, and the frenzy of intoxication +which followed was held to be possession by their spirits. The medieval +Jews also held that there is a cardiac demon in wine which takes +possession of drunken men; and the Mahommedan prohibition of +wine-drinking is based on a similar superstition. The avoidance of wine, +therefore, by Rechabites, Nazirites, Arab dervishes and Pythagoreans, +and also of leaven in bread, is parallel to and explicable in the same +way as abstention from flesh. Porphyry (_de Abst._ i. 19) acquaints us +with another widespread scruple against flesh diet. It was this, that +the souls of men transmigrated into animals, so that if you ate these, +you might consume your own kind, cannibal-wise. Contemporary meat-eaters +set themselves to combat this prejudice, and argued that it was a pious +duty to kill animals and so release the human souls imprisoned. In the +same tract Porphyry relates (ii. 48) how wizards acquired the mantic +powers of certain birds, such as ravens and hawks, by swallowing their +hearts. The soul of the bird, he explains, enters them with its flesh, +and endows them with power of divination. The lover of wisdom, who is +priest of the universal God, rather than risk the taking into himself of +inferior souls and polluting demons, will abstain from eating animals. +Such is Porphyry's argument. + +The same fear of imbibing the irrational soul of animals, and thereby +reinforcing the lower appetites and instincts of the human being, +inspired the vegetarianism of Apollonius of Tyana and of the Jewish +Therapeutae, who in their sacred meals were careful to have a table free +from blood-containing meats; and the fear of absorbing the animal's +psychic qualities equally motived the Jewish and early Christian rule +against eating things strangled. It was an early belief, which long +survived among the Manichaean sects, that fish, being born in and of the +waters, and without any sexual connexion on the part of other fishes are +free from the taint which pollutes all animals _quae copulatione +generantur_. Fish, therefore, unlike flesh, could be safely eaten. Here +we have the origin of the Catholic rule of fasting, seldom understood by +those who observe it. The same scruple against flesh-eating is conveyed +in the beautiful confession, in the _Cretans_ of Euripides, of one who +had been initiated in the mysteries of Orpheus and became a "Bacchos." +The last lines of this, as rendered by Dr Gilbert Murray, are as +follows:-- + + "Robed in pure white, I have borne me clean + From man's vile birth and coffined clay, + And exiled from my lips alway + Touch of all meat where life hath been." + +This Orphic fast from meat was only broken by an annual sacramental +banquet, originally, perhaps, of human, but later of raw bovine flesh. + +The Manichaeans held that in every act of begetting, human or otherwise, +a soul is condemned afresh to a cycle of misery by imprisonment in +flesh--a thoroughly Indian notion, under the influence of which their +perfect or elect ones scrupulously abstained from flesh. The prohibition +of taking life, which they took over from the Farther East, in itself +entailed fasting from flesh. A fully initiated Manichaean would not even +cut his own salad, but employed a catechumen to commit on his behalf +this act of murder, for which he subsequently shrived him. + +We come to a third widespread reason for fasting, common among savages. +Famished persons are liable to morbid excitement, and fall into +imaginative ecstasies, in the course of which they see visions and +spectres, converse with gods and angels, and are the recipients of +supernatural revelations. Accordingly King Saul "ate no bread all the +day nor all the night" in which the witch of Endor revealed to him the +ghost of Samuel. Weak and famished, he hardly wanted to eat the fatted +calf when the vision was over. Among the North American Indians ecstatic +fasting is regularly practised. A faster writes down his visions and +revelations for a whole season. They are then examined by the elders of +the tribe, and if events have verified them, he is recognized as a +supernaturally gifted being, and rewarded with chieftaincy. All over the +world fasting is a recognized mode of evoking, consulting and also of +overcoming the spirit world. This is why the Zulus and other primitive +races distrust a medicine man who is not an ascetic and lean with +fasting. In the Semitic East it is an old belief that a successful fast +in the wilderness of forty days and nights gives power over the Djinns. +The Indian _yogi_ fasts till he sees face to face all the gods of his +Pantheon; the Indian magician fasts twelve days before producing rain or +working any cure. The Bogomils fasted till they saw the Trinity face to +face. From the first, fasting was practised in the church for similar +reason. In the _Shepherd of Hermas_ a vision of the church rewards +frequent fasts and prayer; and it is related in extra-canonical sources +that James the Less vowed that he would fast until he too was vouchsafed +a vision of the risen Lord. After a long and rigorous fast the Lord +appeared to him. Not a few saints were rewarded for their fasting by +glimpses of the beatific vision. Dr Tylor writes on this point as +follows (_Prim. Cult._ ii. 415): "Bread and meat would have robbed the +ascetic of many an angel's visit: the opening of the refectory door must +many a time have closed the gates of heaven to his gaze." + +Among the Semites and Tatars worshippers lacerate themselves before the +god. So in I Kings xviii. 28 the priests of Baal engaged in a +rain-making ceremony, gashed themselves with knives and lances till the +blood gushed out upon them. The Syriac word _ethkashshaph_, which means +literally to "cut oneself," is the regular equivalent of to "make +supplication." Among Greeks and Arabs, mourners also cut themselves with +knives and scratched their faces; the Hebrew law forbade such mourning, +and we find the prohibition repeated in many canons of the Eastern +churches. At first sight these rites seem intended to call down the pity +of heaven on man, but as Robertson Smith points out, their real import +was by shedding blood on a holy stone or in a holy place to tie or renew +a blood-bond between the God and his faithful ones. We have no clear +information about the mind of the Flagellants, who in 1259, and again in +1349, swarmed through the streets of European cities, naked and +thrashing themselves, till the blood ran, with leather thongs and iron +whips. They were penitents, and no doubt imbued with the ancient belief +that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. + +Asceticism then in its origin was usually not ascetic in a modern sense, +that is, not ethical. It was rather of the nature of the savage _taboo_ +(q.v.), the outcome of totemistic beliefs or a mode of averting the +contaminating presence of djinns and demons. Above all, fasting was a +mode of preparing oneself for the sacramental eating of a sacred animal, +and as such often assisted by use of purgatives and aperients. It was +essential in the old Greek rites of averting the _Keres_ or djinns, the +ill regulated ghosts who return to earth and molest the living, to +abstain from flesh. The Pythagoreans and Orphic _mystae_ so abstained +all their life long, and Porphyry eloquently insists on such a +discipline for all who "are not content merely to talk about Reason, but +are really intent on casting aside the body and living through Reason +with Truth. Naked and without the tunic of the flesh these will enter +the arena and strive in the Olympic contest of the soul." + +It is time to pass on to Buddhist asceticism, in its essence a more +ethical and philosophical product than some of the forms so far +considered. The keynote of Buddhist asceticism is deliverance from life +and its inevitable suffering. Once at a village where he rested the +Blessed One (Buddha) addressed his brethren and said: "It is through not +understanding and grasping four Noble Truths, O brethren, that we have +had to run so long, to wander so long in this weary path of +transmigration, both you and I." These noble truths were about sorrow, +its cause, its cessation and the path which leads to that cessation. +Once they are grasped the craving for existence is rooted out, that +which leads to renewed existence is destroyed, and there is no more +birth. The Buddha believed he had a way of Truth, which if an elect +disciple possessed he might say of himself, "Hell is destroyed for me, +and rebirth as an animal, or a ghost, or in any place of woe. I am +converted, I am no longer liable to be reborn in a state of suffering, +and am assured of final salvation." + +Suffering, said the sage in his great sermon at Benares, is inseparable +from birth and old age. Sickness is suffering, so is death, so is union +with the unloved, and separation from the loved; not to obtain what one +desires is suffering; the entire fivefold clinging to the earthly is +suffering. Its origin is the thirst for being which leads from birth to +birth, together with lust and desire, which find gratification here and +there; the thirst for pleasures, for being, for power. This thirst must +be extinguished by complete annihilation of desire, by letting it go, +expelling it, separating oneself from it, giving it no room. This +extinction is achieved in eight ways, namely rectitude of faith, +resolve, speech, action, living, effort, thought, self-concentration. + +In this gospel we must be done with the outer world, participation in +which is not the self, yet means for the self birth and death, +appetites, longings, emotions, change and suffering, pleasure and pain. +He that has put off all lust and desire, all hope and fear, all will to +exist as a sinful, because a sentient, being, has won to the heaven of +extinction or Nirvana. He may still tread the earth, but he is a saint +or Brahman, is in heaven, has quitted the transient and enjoys eternity. + +Such was the Buddha's gospel, as his most ancient scriptures enunciate +it. Nirvana is constantly defined in them as supreme happiness. It is +not even clear how far, if we interpret it strictly, this philosophy +leaves any self to be happy. However this be, its practical expression +is the life of the monk who has separated himself from the world. Five +commandments must be observed by him who would even approach the higher +life of saint and ascetic. They are these: to kill no living thing; not +to lay hands on another's property; not to touch another's wife; not to +speak what is untrue; not to drink intoxicating drinks. + +Though couched in the negative, these rules must be interpreted in the +amplest and widest sense by all believers. The Order, however, which the +would-be ascetic can enter by regular initiation, when he is twenty +years of age, entails a discipline much more severe. He has gone forth +from home into homelessness, and has not where to lay his head. He must +eat only the morsels he gets by begging; must dress in such rags as he +can pick up; must sleep under trees. Mendicancy is his recognized way of +life. Furthermore, he must abstain all his life from sexual intercourse; +he may not take even a blade of grass without permission of the owner; +he must not kill even a worm or ant; he must not boast of his +perfection. In practice the lives of Buddhist monks are not so squalid +as these rules would lead us to suppose. Thanks to the reverent charity +of the laymen, they do not live much worse than Benedictine monks; and +the prohibition to live in houses does not extend to caves. Everywhere +in India and Ceylon they hollowed out cells and churches in the cliffs +and rocks, which are the wonder of the European tourist. + +But long before the advent of Buddhism, the hermit, or wandering beggar, +was a familiar figure in India. No formal initiation was imposed on the +would-be ascetic, save (in the case of young men) the duty to live at +first in his teacher's house. One who had thus fulfilled the duties of +the student order must "go forth remaining chaste," says the +_Apastamba_, ii. 9. 8. He shall then "live without a fire, without a +house, without pleasures, without protection; remaining silent and +uttering speech only on the occasion of the daily recitation of the +Veda; begging so much food only in the village as will sustain his life, +he shall wander about, neither caring for this world nor for heaven. He +shall only wear clothes thrown away by others. Some declare that he +shall even go naked. Abandoning truth and falsehood, pleasure and pain, +the Vedas, this world and the next, he shall seek the Universal Soul, in +knowledge of which standeth eternal salvation." + +Such a life was specially recommended for one who has lived the life of +a householder, and, having begotten sons according to the sacred law and +offered sacrifices, desires in his old age to abandon worldly objects +and direct his mind to final liberation. He leaves his wife, if she will +not accompany him, and goes forth into the forest, committing her and +his house to his sons. He must indeed take with him the sacred fire and +implements for domestic sacrifice, but until death overtakes him he must +wander silent, alone, possessing no hearth nor dwelling, begging his +food in the villages, firm of purpose, with a potsherd for an alms bowl, +the roots of trees for a dwelling, and clad in coarse worn out garments. +"Let him not desire to die, let him not desire to live; let him wait for +his appointed time, as a servant waits for the payment of his wages. Let +him drink water purified by straining with a cloth, let him utter speech +purified by truth, let him keep his heart pure. Let him patiently bear +hard words, let him not insult anybody, let him not become any one's +enemy for the sake of this perishable body.... Let him reflect on the +transmigrations of men, caused by their sinful deeds, on their falling +into hell, and on their torments in the world of Yama.... A twice-born +man who becomes an ascetic thus shakes off sin here below and reaches +the highest Brahman" (_Laws of Manu_, by G. Buhler, vi. 85). + +This old-world wisdom of the Hindus, a thousand years before our era, is +worthily to be paralleled from the Manichaeism of about the year 400. +Augustine has preserved (_contra Faustum_, v. 1) the portraiture of a +Manichaean elect as drawn by himself:-- + + "I have given up father and mother, wife, children and all else that + the gospel bids us, and do you ask if I accept the gospel? Are you + then still ignorant of what the word gospel means? It is nothing else + than the preaching and precept of Christ. I have cast away gold and + silver, and have ceased to carry even copper in my belt, being content + with my daily bread, nor caring for the morrow, nor anxious how my + belly shall be filled or my body clothed; and do you ask me if I + accept the gospel? You behold in me those beatitudes of Christ which + make up the gospel, and you ask me if I accept it. You behold me + gentle, a peacemaker, pure of heart, a mourner, hungering, thirsting, + bearing persecutions and hatreds for righteousness' sake, and do you + doubt whether I accept the gospel.... All that was mine I have given + up, father, mother, wife, children, gold, silver, eating, drinking, + delights, pleasures. Deem this a sufficient answer to your question + and deem yourself on the way to be blessed, if you have not been + scandalized in me." + +The Greek Cynics (see CYNICS) played a great part in the history of +Asceticism, and they were so much the precursors of the Christian +hermits that descriptions of them in profane literature have been +mistaken for pictures of early monasticism. In striving to imitate the +rugged strength and independence of their master Socrates, they went to +such extremes as rather to caricature him. They affected to live like +beggars, bearing staff and wallet, owning nothing, renouncing pleasures, +riches, honours. For older thinkers like Plato and Aristotle the perfect +life was that of the citizen and householder; but the Cynics were +individualists, citizens of the world without loyalty or respect for the +ancient city state, the decay of which was coincident with their rise. +Their zeal for renunciation often extended not to pleasures, marriage +and property alone, but to cleanliness, knowledge and good manners as +well, and in this respect also they were the forerunners of later monks. + +Philo (20 B.C.-A.D. 40) has left us many pictures of the life which to +his mind impersonated the highest wisdom, and they are all inspired by +the more respectable sort of cynicism, which had taken deep root among +Greek Jews of the day. One such picture merits citation from his tract +_On Change of Names_ (vol. i. 583, ed. Mangey): "All this company of the +good and wise have of their own free will divested themselves of too +copious wealth; nay, have spurned the things dear to the flesh. For of +good habit and lusty are athletes, since they have fortified against +the soul the body which should be its servant; but the disciples of +wisdom are pale and wasted, and in a manner reduced to skeletons, +because they have sacrificed the whole of their bodily strength to the +faculties of the soul." + +His own favourite ascetics, the Therapeutae, whose chief centre was in +Egypt, had renounced property and all its temptations, and fled, +irrevocably abandoning brothers, children, wives, parents, throngs of +kinsmen, intimacy of friends, the fatherlands where they were born and +bred (see THERAPEUTAE). Here we have the ideal of early Christian +renunciation at work, but apart from the influence of Jesus. In the +pages of Epictetus the same ideal is constantly held up to us. + +In the Christian Church there was from the earliest age a leaning to +excessive asceticism, and it needed a severe struggle on the part of +Paul, and of the Catholic teachers who followed him, to secure for the +baptized the right to be married, to own property, to engage in war and +commerce, or to assume public office. One and all of the permanent +institutions of society were condemned by the early enthusiasts, +especially by those who looked forward to a speedy advent of the +millennium, as alien to the kingdom of God and as impediments to the +life of grace. + +Marriage and property had already been eschewed in the Jewish Essene and +Therapeutic sects, and in Christianity the name of Encratite was given +to those who repudiated marriage and the use of wine. They did not form +a sect, but represented an impulse felt everywhere. In early and popular +apocryphal histories the apostles are represented as insisting that +their converts should either not contract wedlock or should dissolve the +tie if already formed. This is the plot of the _Acts of Thecla_, a story +which probably goes back to the first century. Repudiation of the tie by +fervent women, betrothed or already wives, occasioned much domestic +friction and popular persecution. In the Syriac churches, even as late +as the 4th century, the married state seems to have been regarded as +incompatible with the perfection of the initiated. Renunciation of the +state of wedlock was anyhow imposed on the faithful during the lengthy, +often lifelong, terms of penance imposed upon them for sins committed; +and later, when monkery took the place, in a church become worldly, +partly of the primitive baptism and partly of that rigorous penance +which was the rebaptism and medicine of the lapsed, celibacy and +virginity were held essential thereto, no less than renunciation of +property and money-making. + +Together with the rage for virginity went the institution of _virgines +subintroductae_, or of spiritual wives; for it was often assumed that +the grace of baptism restored the original purity of life led by Adam +and Eve in common before the Fall. Such rigours are encouraged in the +_Shepherd of Hermas_, a book which emanated from Rome and up to the 4th +century was read in church. They were common in the African churches, +where they led to abuses which taxed the energy even of a Cyprian. They +were still rife in Antioch in 260. We detect them in the Celtic church +of St Patrick, and, as late as the 7th century, among the Celtic elders +of the north of France. In the Syriac church as late as 340, such +relations prevailed between the "Sons and daughters of the +Resurrection." It continued among the Albigenses and other dissident +sects of the middle ages, among whom it served a double purpose; for +their elders were thus not only able to prove their own chastity, but to +elude the inquisitors, who were less inclined to suspect a man of the +catharism which regarded marriage as the "greater adultery" (_maius +adulterium_) if they found him cohabiting (in appearance at least) with +a woman. There was hardly an early council, great or small, that did not +condemn this custom, as well as the other one, still more painful to +think of, of self-emasculation. In the Catholic church, however, common +sense prevailed, and those who desired to follow the Encratite ideal +repaired to the monasteries. + + AUTHORITIES.--E.B. Tylor, _Primitive Culture_ (London, 1903); + Robertson Smith, _Religion of the Semites_ (London, 1901); J.E. + Harrison, _Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion_; F. Max Muller, + _The Sacred Books of the East_; Victor Henry, _La Magie dans l'Inde + antique_; J.G. Frazer, _The Golden Bough_ (London, 1900), and _Adonis, + Attis, Osiris_ (London, 1906); Georges Lafay, _Culte des divinites + d'Alexandrie_ (Paris, 1884); Dollinger, _Sectengeschichte des + Mittelalters_ (Munich, 1890); Fr. Cumont, _Mysteries of Mithra_ + (Chicago, 1903); Zockler, _Gesch. der Ascese_ (1863). See also under + PURIFICATION. Goldziher, "De l'ascetisme aux premiers temps de + l'Islam," in _Revue de l'histoire des religions_ (1898), p. 314; + Muratori, _De Synisactis et Agapetis_ (Pavia, 1709); Jas. Martineau, + _Types of Ethical Theory_ (Oxford, 1885); T.H. Green, _Prolegomena to + Ethics_ (Oxford, 1883); Franz Cumont, _Les Religions orientales dans + le paganisme romain_ (Paris, 1907); Porphyrius, _De Abstinentia_; + Plutarchus, _De Carnium Esu_. (F. C. C.) + + + + +ASCHAFFENBURG, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Bavaria, on the +right bank of the Main, at its confluence with the Aschaff, near the +foot of the Spessart, 26 m. by rail S.E. of Frankfort-On-Main. Pop. +(1900) 18,091; (1905) 25,275. Its chief buildings are the Johannisburg, +built (1605-1614) by Archbishop Schweikard of Cronberg, which contains a +library with a number of _incunabula_, a collection of engravings and +paintings; the _Stiftskirche_, or cathedral, founded in 980 by Otto of +Bavaria, but dating in the main from the early 12th and the 13th +centuries, in which are preserved various monuments by the Vischers, and +a sarcophagus, with the relics of St Margaret (1540); the Capuchin +hospital; a theatre, which was formerly the house of the Teutonic order; +and several mansions of the German nobility. The town, which has been +remarkable for its educational establishments since the 10th century, +has a gymnasium, lyceum, seminarium and other schools. There is an +archaeological museum in the old abbey buildings. The graves of Klemens +Brentano and his brother Christian (d. 1851) are in the churchyard; and +Wilhelm Heinse is buried in the town. Coloured and white paper, +ready-made clothing, cellulose, tobacco, lime and liqueurs are the chief +manufactures, while a considerable export trade is done down the Main in +wood, cattle and wine. + +Aschaffenburg, called in the middle ages Aschafaburg and also Askenburg, +was originally a Roman settlement. The 10th and 23rd Roman legions had +their station here, and on the ruins of their _castrum_ the Frankish +mayors of the palace built a castle. Bonifacius erected a chapel to St +Martin, and founded a Benedictine monastery. A stone bridge over the +Main was built by Archbishop Willigis in 989. Adalbert increased the +importance of the town in various ways about 1122. In 1292 a synod was +held here, and in 1474 an imperial diet, preliminary to that of Vienna, +in which the concordat was decided which has therefore been sometimes +called the _Aschaffenburg Concordat_. + +The town suffered greatly during the Thirty Years' War, being held in +turn by the various belligerents. In 1842-1849, King Louis built himself +to the west of the town a country house, called the _Pompeianum_, from +its being an imitation of the house of Castor and Pollux at Pompeii. In +1866 the Prussians inflicted a severe defeat on the Austrians in the +neighbourhood. + +The principality of Aschaffenburg, deriving its name from the city, +comprehended an area of 654 English sq. m. It formed part of the +electorate of Mainz, and in 1803 was made over to the archchancellor, +Archbishop Charles of Dalberg. In 1806 it was annexed to the grand-duchy +of Frankfort; and in 1814 was transferred to Bavaria, in virtue of a +treaty concluded on the 19th of June between that power and Austria. +With lower Franconia, it now forms a district of the kingdom of Bavaria. + + + + +ASCHAM, ROGER (c. 1515-1568), English scholar and writer, was born at +Kirby Wiske, a village in the North Riding of Yorkshire, near +Northallerton, about the year 1515. His name would be more properly +spelt Askham, being derived, doubtless, from Askham in the West Riding. +He was the third son of John Ascham, steward to Lord Scrope of Bolton. +The family name of his mother Margaret is unknown, but she is said to +have been well connected. The authority for this statement, as for most +others concerning Ascham's early life, is Edward Grant, headmaster of +Westminster, who collected and edited his letters and delivered a +panegyrical oration on his life in 1576. + +Ascham was educated not at school, but in the house of Sir Humphry +Wingfield, a barrister, and in 1533 speaker of the House of Commons, as +Ascham himself tells us, in the _Toxophilus_, p. 120 (not, as by a +mistake which originated with Grant and has been repeated ever since, +Sir Anthony Wingfield, who was nephew of the speaker). Sir Humphry +"ever loved and used to have many children brought up in his house," +where they were under a tutor named R. Bond. Their sport was archery, +and Sir Humphry "himself would at term times bring down from London both +bows and shafts and go with them himself to the field and see them +shoot." Hence Ascham's earliest English work, the _Toxophilus_, the +importance which he attributed to archery in educational establishments, +and probably the provision for archery in the statutes of St Albans, +Harrow and other Elizabethan schools. From this private tuition Ascham +was sent "about 1530," at the age, it is said, of fifteen, to St John's +College, Cambridge, then the largest and most learned college in either +university. Here he fell under the influence of John Cheke, who was +admitted a fellow in Ascham's first year, and Sir Thomas Smith. His +guide and friend was Robert Pember, "a man of the greatest learning and +with an admirable facility in the Greek tongue." On his advice he +practised seriously the precept embodied in the saying, "I know nothing +about the subject, I have not even lectured on it," and "to learn Greek +more quickly, while still a boy, taught Greek to boys." In Latin he +specially studied Cicero and Caesar. He became B.A. on the 18th of +February 1534/5. Dr Nicholas Metcalfe was then master of the college, "a +papist, indeed, and yet if any young man given to the new learning as +they termed it, went beyond his fellows," he "lacked neither open +praise, nor private exhibition." He procured Ascham's election to a +fellowship, "though being a new bachelor of arts, I chanced among my +companions to speak against the Pope ... after grievous rebuke and some +punishment, open warning was given to all the fellows, none to be so +hardy, as to give me his voice at that election." The day of election +Ascham regarded as his "birthday," and "the whole foundation of the poor +learning I have and of all the furtherance that hitherto elsewhere I +have obtained." He took his M.A. degree on the 3rd of July 1537. He +stayed for some time at Cambridge taking pupils, among whom was William +Grindal, who in 1544 became tutor to Princess Elizabeth. Ascham himself +cultivated music, acquired fame for a beautiful handwriting, and +lectured on mathematics. Before 1540, when the Regius professorship of +Greek was established, Ascham "was paid a handsome salary to profess the +Greek tongue in public," and held also lectures in St John's College. He +obtained from Edward Lee, then archbishop of York, a pension of L2 a +year, in return for which Ascham translated Oecumenius' Commentaries on +the Pauline Epistles. But the archbishop, scenting heresy in some +passage relating to the marriage of the clergy, sent it back to him, +with a present indeed, but with something like a reprimand, to which +Ascham answered with an assurance that he was "no seeker after +novelties," as his lectures showed. He was on safer ground in writing in +1542-1543 a book, which he told Sir William Paget in the summer of 1544 +was in the press, "on the art of Shooting." This was no doubt suggested +partly by the act of parliament 33 Henry VIII. c. 9, "an acte for +mayntenaunce of Artyllarie and debarringe of unlawful games," requiring +every one under sixty, of good health, the clergy, judges, &c., +excepted, "to use shooting in the long bow," and fixing the price at +which bows were to be sold. Under the title of _Toxophilus_ he presented +it to Henry VIII. at Greenwich soon after his triumphant return from the +capture of Boulogne, and promptly received a grant of a pension of L10 a +year, equal to some L200 a year of our money. A novelty of the book was +that the author had "written this Englishe matter in the Englishe tongue +for Englishe men," though he thought it necessary to defend himself by +the argument that what "the best of the realm think it honest to use" he +"ought not to suppose it vile for him to write." It is a Platonic +dialogue between Toxophilus and Philologus, and nowadays its chief +interest lies in its incidental remarks. It may probably claim to have +been the model for Izaak Walton's _Compleat Angler._ + +From 1541, or earlier, Ascham acted as letter-writer to the university +and also to his college. Perhaps the best specimen of his skill was the +letter written to the protector Somerset in 1548 on behalf of Sedbergh +school, which was attached to St John's College by the founder, Dr +Lupton, in 1525, and the endowment of which had been confiscated under +the Chantries Act. In 1546 Ascham was elected public orator by the +university on Sir John Cheke's retirement. + +Shortly after the beginning of the reign of Edward VI., Ascham made +public profession of Protestant opinions in a disputation on the +doctrine of the Mass, begun in his own college and then removed for +greater publicity to the public schools of the university, where it was +stopped by the vice-chancellor. Thereon Ascham wrote a letter of +complaint to Sir William Cecil. This stood him in good stead. In January +1548, Grindal, the princess Elizabeth's tutor, died. Ascham had already +corresponded with the princess, and in one of his letters says that he +returns her pen which he has mended. Through Cecil and at the princess's +own wish he was selected as her tutor against another candidate pressed +by Admiral Seymour and Queen Katherine. Ascham taught Elizabeth--then +sixteen years old--for two years, chiefly at Cheshunt. In a letter to +Sturm, the Strassburg schoolmaster, he praises her "beauty, stature, +wisdom and industry. She talks French and Italian as well as English: +she has often talked to me readily and well in Latin and moderately so +in Greek. When she writes Greek and Latin nothing is more beautiful than +her handwriting ... she read with me almost all Cicero and great part of +Titus Livius: for she drew all her knowledge of Latin from those two +authors. She used to give the morning to the Greek Testament and +afterwards read select orations of Isocrates and the tragedies of +Sophocles. To these I added St Cyprian and Melanchthon's Commonplaces." +In 1550 Ascham quarrelled with Elizabeth's steward and returned to +Cambridge. Cheke then procured him the secretaryship to Sir Richard +Morrison (Moryson), appointed ambassador to Charles V. It was on his way +to join Morrison that he paid his celebrated morning call on Lady Jane +Grey at Bradgate, where he found her reading Plato's _Phaedo_, while +every one else was out hunting. + +The embassy went to Louvain, where he found the university very inferior +to Cambridge, then to Innsbruck and Venice. Ascham read Greek with the +ambassador four or five days a week. His letters during the embassy, +which was recalled on Mary's accession, were published in English in +1553, as a "Report" on Germany. Through Bishop Gardiner he was appointed +Latin secretary to Queen Mary with a pension of L20 a year. His +Protestantism he must have quietly sunk, though he told Sturm that "some +endeavoured to hinder the flow of Gardiner's benevolence on account of +his religion." Probably his never having been in orders tended to his +safety. On the 1st of June 1554 he married Margaret Howe, whom he +described as niece of Sir R. (? J., certainly not, as has been said, +Henry) Wallop. By her he had two sons. From his frequent complaints of +his poverty then and later, he seems to have lived beyond his income, +though, like most courtiers, he obtained divers lucrative leases of +ecclesiastical and crown property. In 1555 he resumed his studies with +Princess Elizabeth, reading in Greek the orations of Aeschines and +Demosthenes' _De Corona_. Soon after Elizabeth's accession, on the 5th +of October 1559, he was given, though a layman, the canonry and prebend +of Wetwang in York minster. In 1563 he began the work which has made him +famous, _The Scholemaster_. The occasion of it was, he tells us (though +he is perhaps merely imitating Boccaccio), that during the "great +plague" at London in 1563 the court was at Windsor, and there on the +10th of December he was dining with Sir William Cecil, secretary of +state, and other ministers. Cecil said he had "strange news; that divers +scholars of Eaton be run away from the schole for fear of beating"; and +expressed his wish that "more discretion was used by schoolmasters in +correction than commonly is." A debate took place, the party being +pretty evenly divided between floggers and anti-floggers, with Ascham as +the champion of the latter. Afterwards Sir Richard Sackville, the +treasurer, came up to Ascham and told him that "a fond schoolmaster" +had, by his brutality, made him hate learning, much to his loss, and as +he had now a young son, whom he wished to be learned, he offered, if +Ascham would name a tutor, to pay for the education of their respective +sons under Ascham's orders, and invited Ascham to write a treatise on +"the right order of teaching." _The Scholemaster_ was the result. It is +not, as might be supposed, a general treatise on educational method, but +"a plaine and perfite way of teachyng children to understand, write and +speake in Latin tong"; and it was not intended for schools, but +"specially prepared for the private brynging up of youth in gentlemen +and noblemens houses." The perfect way simply consisted in "the double +translation of a model book"; the book recommended by this professional +letter-writer being "Sturmius' _Select Letters of Cicero_." As a method +of learning a language by a single pupil, this method might be useful; +as a method of education in school nothing more deadening could be +conceived. The method itself seems to have been taken from Cicero. Nor +was the famous plea for the substitution of gentleness and persuasion +for coercion and flogging in schools, which has been one of the main +attractions of the book, novel. It was being practised and preached at +that very time by Christopher Jonson (c. 1536-1597) at Winchester; it +had been enforced at length by Wolsey in his statutes for his Ipswich +College in 1528, following Robert Sherborne, bishop of Chichester, in +founding Rolleston school; and had been repeatedly urged by Erasmus and +others, to say nothing of William of Wykeham himself in the statutes of +Winchester College in 1400. But Ascham's was the first definite +demonstration in favour of humanity in the vulgar tongue and in an easy +style by a well-known "educationist," though not one who had any actual +experience as a schoolmaster. What largely contributed to its fame was +its picture of Lady Jane Grey, whose love of learning was due to her +finding her tutor a refuge from pinching, ear-boxing and bullying +parents; some exceedingly good criticisms of various authors, and a +spirited defence of English as a vehicle of thought and literature, of +which it was itself an excellent example. The book was not published +till after Ascham's death, which took place on the 23rd of December +1568, owing to a chill caught by sitting up all night to finish a New +Year's poem to the queen. + + His letters were collected and published in 1576, and went through + several editions, the latest at Nuremberg in 1611; they were re-edited + by William Elstob in 1703. His English works were edited by James + Bennett with a life by Dr Johnson in 1771, reprinted in 8vo in 1815. + Dr Giles in 1864-1865 published in 4 vols. select letters with the + _Toxophilus_ and _Scholemaster_ and the life by Edward Grant. _The + Scholemaster_ was reprinted in 1571 and 1589. It was edited by the + Rev. J. Upton in 1711 and in 1743, by Prof. J.E.B. Mayor in 1863, and + by Prof. Edward Arber in 1870. The _Toxophilus_ was republished in + 1571, 1589 and 1788, and by Prof. Edward Arber in 1868 and 1902. + (A. F. L.) + + + + +ASCHERSLEBEN, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Saxony, 36 +m. by rail N.W. from Halle, and at the junction of lines to Cothen and +Nienhagen. Pop. (1900) 27,245; (1905) 27,876. It contains one Roman +Catholic and four Protestant churches, a synagogue, a fine town-hall +dating from the 16th century, and several schools. The discovery of coal +in the neighbourhood stimulated and altered its industries. In addition +to the manufacture of woollen wares, for which it has long been known, +there is now extensive production of vinegar, paraffin, potash and +especially beetroot-sugar; while the surrounding district, which was +formerly devoted in great part to market-gardening, is now turned almost +entirely into beetroot fields. There are also iron, zinc and chemical +manufactures, and the cultivation of agricultural seeds is carried on. +In the neighbourhood are brine springs and a spa (Wilhelmsbad). +Aschersleben was probably founded in the 11th century by Count Esico of +Ballenstedt, the ancestor of the house of Anhalt, whose grandson, Otto, +called himself count of Ascania and Aschersleben, deriving the former +part of the title from his castle in the neighbourhood of the town. On +the death of Otto III. (1315) Aschersleben passed into the hands of the +bishop of Halberstadt, and at the peace of 1648 was, with the bishopric, +united to Brandenburg. + + + + +ASCIANO, a town of Tuscany, in the province of Siena, 19 m. S.E. of the +town of Siena by rail. Pop. (1901) 7618. It is surrounded by walls built +by the Sienese in 1351, and has some 14th-century churches with +paintings of the same period. Six miles to the south is the large +Benedictine monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, founded in 1320, famous +for the frescoes by Luca Signorelli (1497-1498) and Antonio Bazzi, +called Sodoma (1505), in the cloister, illustrating scenes from the +legend of St Benedict; the latter master's work is perhaps nowhere +better represented than here. The church contains fine inlaid choir +stalls by Fra Giovanni da Verona. The buildings, which are mostly of red +brick, are conspicuous against the gray clayey and sandy soil. The +monastery is described by Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (Pope Pius II.) in +his _Commentaria_. Remains of Roman baths, with a fine mosaic pavement, +were found within the town in 1898 (G. Pellegrini in _Notizie degli +scavi_, 1899, 6). + + + + +ASCITANS (or ASCITAE; from [Greek: askos], the Greek for a wine-skin), a +peculiar sect of 2nd-century Christians (Montanists), who introduced the +practice of dancing round a wine-skin at their meetings. + + + + +ASCITES, ([Greek: askitaes] dropsical, from [Greek: askosaskos] _sc_. +[Greek: nosos] disease), the term in medicine applied to an effusion of +non-inflammatory fluid within the peritoneum. It is not a disease in +itself, but is one of the manifestations of disease elsewhere--usually +in the kidneys, heart, or in connexion with the liver (portal +obstruction). Portal obstruction is the commonest cause of well-marked +ascites. It is produced by (1) diseases within the liver, as cirrhosis +(usually alcoholic) and cancer; (2) diseases outside the liver, as +cancer of stomach, duodenum or pancreas, causing pressure on the portal +vein, or enlarged glands in the fissure of the liver producing the same +effect. Ascites is one of the late symptoms in the disease, and precedes +dropsy of the leg, which may come on later, due to pressure on the large +veins in the abdominal cavity by the ascitic fluid. In ascites due to +heart disease, the dropsy of the feet and legs precedes the ascites, and +there will be a history of palpitation, shortness of breath, and perhaps +cough. In the ascites of kidney troubles there will be a history of +general oedema--puffiness of face and eyes on rising in the morning +probably having attracted the attention of the patient or his friends +previously. Other less common causes of ascites are chronic peritonitis, +either tuberculous in the young, or due to cancer in the aged, and more +rarely still pernicious anaemia. + + + + +ASCLEPIADES, Greek physician, was born at Prusa in Bithynia in 124 B.C., +and flourished at Rome in the end of the 2nd century B.C. He travelled +much when young, and seems at first to have settled at Rome as a +rhetorician. In that profession he did not succeed, but he acquired +great reputation as a physician. He founded his medical practice on a +modification of the atomic or corpuscular theory, according to which +disease results from an irregular or inharmonious motion of the +corpuscles of the body. His remedies were, therefore, directed to the +restoration of harmony, and he trusted much to changes of diet, +accompanied by friction, bathing and exercise, though he also employed +emetics and bleeding. He recommended the use of wine, and in every way +strove to render himself as agreeable as possible to his patients. His +pupils were very numerous, and the school formed by them was called the +Methodical. Asclepiades died at an advanced age. + + + + +ASCLEPIADES, of Samos, epigrammatist and lyric poet, friend of +Theocritus, flourished about 270 B.C. He was the earliest and most +important of the convivial and erotic epigrammatists. Only a few of his +compositions are actual "inscriptions"; others sing the praises of the +poets whom he specially admired, but the majority of them are +love-songs. It is doubtful whether he is the author of all the epigrams +(some 40 in number) which bear his name in the Greek Anthology. He +possibly gave his name to the Asclepiadean metre. + + + + +ASCLEPIODOTUS, Greek military writer, flourished in the 1st century B.C. +Nothing is known of him except that he was a pupil of Poseidonius the +Stoic (d. 51 B.C.). He is the supposed author of a treatise on +Graeco-Macedonian tactics ([Greek: Taktika Kephalaia]), which, however, +is probably not his own work, but the skeleton outline of the lectures +delivered by his master, who is known to have written a work on the +subject. + + + + +ASCOLI, GRAZIADIO ISAIA (1820-1907), Italian philologist; of Jewish +family, was born at Gorz at an early age showed a marked linguistic +talent. In 1854 he published his _Studii orientali e linguistici_, and +in 1860 was appointed professor of philology at Milan. He made various +learned contributions to the study of Indo-European and Semitic +languages, and also of the gipsy language, but his special field was the +Italian dialects. He founded the _Archivio glottologico italiano_ in +1873, publishing in it his _Saggi Ladini_, and making it in succeeding +years the great organ of original scholarship on this subject. He was +universally recognized as the greatest authority on Italian linguistics, +and his article in the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_ (9th ed., revised for +this edition) became the classic exposition in English. (See ITALY: +_Language_.) + + + + +ASCOLI PICENO[1] (anc. _Ausculum_) a town and episcopal see of the +Marches, Italy, the capital of the province of Ascoli Piceno, 17 m. W. +of Porto d' Ascoli (a station on the coast railway, 56 m. S.S.E. of +Ancona), and 53 m. S. of Ancona direct, situated on the S. bank of the +Tronto (anc. _Truentus_) at its confluence with the Castellano, 500 ft. +above sea-level, and surrounded by lofty mountains. Pop. (1901) town, +12,256; commune, 28,608. The Porta Romana is a double-arched Roman gate; +adjacent are remains of the massive ancient city walls, in rectangular +blocks of stone 2 ft. in height, and remains of still earlier +fortifications have been found at this point (F. Barnabei in _Notizie +degli scavi_, 1887, 252). The church of S. Gregorio is built into a +Roman tetrastyle Corinthian temple, two columns of which and the _cella_ +are still preserved; the site of the Roman theatre can be distinguished; +and the church and convent of the Annunziata (with two fine cloisters +and a good fresco by Cola d' Amatrice in the refectory) are erected upon +large Roman substructures of concrete, which must have supported some +considerable building. Higher up is the castle, which now shows no +traces of fortifications older than medieval; it commands a fine view of +the town and of the mountains which encircle it. The town has many good +pre-Renaissance buildings; the picturesque colonnaded market-place +contains the fine Gothic church of S. Francesco and the original Palazzo +del Comune, now the prefecture (Gothic with Renaissance additions). The +cathedral is in origin Romanesque,[2] but has been much altered, and was +stored in 1888 by Count Giuseppe Sacconi (1855-1905). The frescoes in +the dome, of the same date, are by Cesare Mariani. The cope presented to +the cathedral treasury by Pope Nicholas IV. was stolen in 1904, and sold +to Mr J. Pierpont Morgan, who generously returned it to the Italian +government, and it was then placed for greater safety in the Galleria +Corsini at Rome. The baptistery still preserves its ancient character; +and the churches of S. Vittore and SS. Vincenzo ed Anastasio are also +good Romanesque buildings. The fortress of the Malatesta, constructed in +1349, has been in the main destroyed; the part of it which remains is +now a prison. The present Palazzo Comunale, a Renaissance edifice, +contains a fine museum, chiefly remarkable for the contents of +prehistoric tombs found in the district (including good bronze fibulae, +necklaces, amulets, &c., often decorated with amber), and a large +collection of acorn-shaped lead missiles (_glandes_) used by slingers, +belonging to the time of the siege of Asculum during the Social War (89 +B.C.). There is also a picture gallery containing works by local +masters, Pietro Alamanni, Cola d' Amatrice, Carlo Crivelli, &c. The +bridges across the ravines which defend the town are of considerable +importance; the Ponte di Porta Cappucina is a very fine Roman bridge, +with a single arch of 71 ft. span. The Ponte di Cecco (so named from +Cecco d' Ascoli), with two arches, is also Roman and belongs to the Via +Salaria; the Ponte Maggiore and the Ponte Cartaro are, on the other +hand, medieval, though the latter perhaps preserves some traces of Roman +work. Near Ascoli is Castel Trosino, where an extensive Lombard +necropolis of the 7th century was discovered in 1895; the contents of +the tombs are now exhibited in the Museo Nazionale delle Terme at Rome +(_Notizie degli scavi_, 1895, 35). + +The ancient Asculum was the capital of Picenum, and it occupied a strong +position in the centre of difficult country. It was taken in 268 B.C. by +the Romans, and the Via Salaria was no doubt prolonged thus far at this +period; the distance from Rome is 120 m. It took a prominent part in the +Social War against Rome, the proconsul Q. Servilius and all the Roman +citizens within its walls being massacred by the inhabitants in 90 B.C. +It was captured after a long siege by Pompeius Strabo in 89 B.C. The +leader, Judacilius, committed suicide, the principal citizens were put +to death, and the rest exiled. The Roman general celebrated his triumph +on the 25th of December of that year. Caesar occupied it, however, as a +strong position after crossing the Rubicon; and it received a Roman +colony, perhaps under the triumvirs, and became a place of some +importance. In A.D. 301 it became the capital of Picenum Suburbicarium. +In 545 it was taken by Totila, but is spoken of by Paulus Diaconus as +the chief city of Picenum shortly afterwards. From the time of +Charlemagne it was under the rule of its bishops, who had the title of +prince and the right to coin money, until 1185, when it became a free +republic. It had many struggles with Fermo, and in the 15th century came +more directly under the papal sway. + + See N. Persichetti in _Romische Mitteilungen_ (1903), 295 seq. (T. + As.) + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [1] The epithet distinguishes it from Ascoli Satriano (anc. + _Ausculum_), which lies 19 m. S. of Foggia by rail. + + [2] It contains a fine polyptych by Carlo Crivelli (1473). + + + + +ASCONIUS PEDIANUS, QUINTUS (9 B.C.-A.D. 76; or A.D. 3-88), Roman +grammarian and historian, was probably a native of Patavium (Padua). In +his later years he resided at Rome, where he died, after having been +blind for twelve years, at the age of eighty-five. During the reigns of +Claudius and Nero he compiled for his sons, from various sources--e.g. +the Gazette (_Acta Publica_), shorthand reports or "skeletons" +(_commentarii_) of Cicero's unpublished speeches, Tiro's life of Cicero, +speeches and letters of Cicero's contemporaries, various historical +writers, e.g. Varro, Atticus, Antias, Tuditanus and Fenestella (a +contemporary of Livy whom he often criticizes)--historical commentaries +on Cicero's speeches, of which only five, viz. _in Pisonem_, _pro +Scauro_, _pro Milone_, _pro Cornelio_ and _in toga Candida_, in a very +mutilated condition, are preserved. In a note upon the speech _pro +Scauro_, he speaks of Longus Caecina (d. A.D. 57) as still living, while +his words imply that Claudius (d. 54) was not alive. This statement, +therefore, must have been written between A.D. 54 and 57. These valuable +notes, written in good Latin, relate chiefly to legal, historical and +antiquarian matters. A commentary, of inferior Latinity and mainly of a +grammatical character, on Cicero's Verrine orations, is universally +regarded as spurious. Both works were found by Poggio in a MS. at St +Gallen in 1416. This MS. is lost, but three transcripts were made by +Poggio, Zomini (Sozomenus) of Pistoia and Bartolommeo da Montpulciano. +That of Poggio is now at Madrid (Matritensis x. 81), and that of Zomini +is in the Forteguerri library at Pistoia (No. 37). A copy of +Bartolommeo's transcript exists in Florence (Laur. liv. 5). The later +MSS. are derived from Poggio's copy. Other works attributed to Asconius +were: a life of Sallust, a defence of Virgil against his detractors, and +a treatise (perhaps a symposium in imitation of Plato) on health and +long life. + + Editions by Kiessling-Scholl (1875), and A.C. Clark (Oxford, 1906), + which contains a previously unpublished collation of Poggio's + transcript. See also Madvig, _De Asconio Pediano_ (1828). + + + + +ASCOT, a village in the Wokingham parliamentary division of Berkshire, +England, famous for its race-meetings. Pop. of parish of Ascot Heath +(1901), 1927. The station on the Southwestern railway, 29 m. W.S.W. of +London, is called Ascot and Sunninghill; the second name belonging to an +adjacent township with a population (civil parish) of 4719. The +race-course is on Ascot Heath, and was laid out by order of Queen Anne +in 1711, and on the 11th of August in that year the first meeting was +held and attended by the queen. The course is almost exactly 2 m. in +circumference, and the meetings are held in June. The principal race is +that for the Ascot Gold Cup, instituted in 1807. The meeting is one of +the most fashionable in England, and is commonly attended by members of +the royal family. The royal procession, for which the meeting is +peculiarly famous, was initiated by George IV. in 1820. + + See R. Herod, _Royal Ascot_ (London, 1900). + + + + +ASCUS (Gr. [Greek: askos], a bag), a botanical term for the membranous +sacs containing the reproductive spores in certain lichens and fungi. +Various compounds of the word are used, e.g. _ascophorous_, producing +asci; _ascospore_, the spore (or sporule) developed in the ascus; +_ascogonium_, the organ producing it, &c. + + + + +ASELLI [ASELLIUS, or ASELLIO], GASPARO (1581-1626), Italian physician, +was born at Cremona about 1581, became professor of anatomy and surgery +at Pavia, and practised at Milan, where he died in 1626. To him is due +the discovery of the lacteal vessels, published in _De Lactibus_ (Milan, +1627). + + + + +ASGILL, JOHN (1659-1738), English writer, was born at Hanley Castle, in +Worcestershire, in 1659. He was bred to the law, and gained considerable +reputation in his profession, increased by two pamphlets--the first +(1696) advocating the establishment of some currency other than the +usual gold and silver, the second (1698) on a registry for titles of +lands. In 1699, when a commission was appointed to settle disputed +claims in Ireland, he set out for that country, attracted by the hopes +of practice. Before leaving London he put in the hands of the printer a +tract, entitled _An Argument proving that, according to the Covenant of +Eternal Life revealed in the Scripture, Man may be translated from hence +into that Eternal Life without passing through Death_ (1700). Coleridge +has highly praised the "genuine Saxon English," the "irony" and "humour" +of this extraordinary pamphlet, which interpreted the relation between +God and man by the technical rules of law, and insisted that, Christ +having wiped out Adam's sin, the penalty of death must consequently be +illegal for those who claim exemption. How far it was meant seriously +was doubted at the time, and may be doubted now. But its fame preceded +the author to Ireland, and was of material service in securing his +professional success, so that he amassed money, purchased an estate, and +married a daughter of the second Lord Kenmare. He was returned both to +the Irish and English parliaments, but was expelled from both on account +of his "blasphemous" pamphlet. He was also involved in money +difficulties, and litigation about his Irish estate, and these +circumstances may have had something to do with his trouble in +parliament. In 1707 he was arrested for debt, and the remainder of his +life was spent in the Fleet prison, or within the rules of the king's +bench. He died in 1738. Asgill also wrote in 1714-1715 some pamphlets +defending the Hanoverian succession against the claims of the Pretender. + + + + +ASH[1] (Ger. _Esche_), a common name (Fr. _frene_) given to certain +trees. The common ash (_Fraxinus excelsior_) belongs to the natural +order Oleaceae, the olive family, an order of trees and shrubs which +includes lilac, privet and jasmine. The Hebrew word _Oren_, translated +"ash" in Isaiah xliv. 14, cannot refer to an ash tree, as that is not a +native of Palestine, but probably refers to the Aleppo pine (_Pinus +halepensis_). The ash is a native of Great Britain and the greater part +of Europe, and also extends to Asia. The tree is distinguished for its +height and contour, as well as for its graceful foliage. It attains a +height of from 50 to 80 ft., and flowers in March and April, before the +leaves are developed. The reddish flowers grow in clusters, but are not +showy. They are naked, that is without sepals or petals, and generally +imperfect, wanting either stamens or pistil. The large leaves, which are +late in appearing, are pinnately compound, bearing four to seven pairs +of gracefully tapering toothed leaflets on a slender stalk. The dry +winged fruits, the so-called keys, are a characteristic feature and +often remain hanging in bunches long after the leaves have fallen in +autumn. The leaves fall early, but the greyish twigs and black buds +render the tree conspicuous in winter and especially in early spring. + +The ash is in Britain next in value to the oak as a timber-tree. It +requires a good deep loam with gravelly subsoil, and a situation +naturally sheltered, such as the steep banks of glens, rivers or lakes; +in cold and wet clay it does not succeed. As the value of the timber +depends chiefly on its toughness and elasticity, it is best grown in +masses where the soil is good; the trunk is thus drawn up free from +large side-branches. The tree is easily propagated from seeds; it throws +up strong root shoots. The ash requires much light, but grows rapidly, +and its terminal shoots pierce easily through thickets of beech, with +which it is often associated. Unmixed ash plantations are seldom +satisfactory, because the foliage does not sufficiently cover the +ground; but when mixed with beech it grows well, and attains great +height and girth. Owing to the dense mass of roots which it sends out +horizontally a little beneath the surface of the ground, the ash does +much harm to vegetation beneath its shade, and is therefore obnoxious as +a hedgerow tree. Coppice shoots yield excellent hop-poles, crates, +hoops, whip-handles, &c. The timber is much used for agricultural +implements, and by coach-builders and wheelwrights. + +A variety of the common species, known as var. _heterophylla_, has +simple leaves. It occurs wild in woods in Europe and England. Another +variety of ash (_pendula_) is met with in which the branches are +pendulous and weeping. Sometimes this variety is grafted on the tall +stem of the common ash, so as to produce a pleasing effect. It is said +that the weeping variety was first observed at Gamlingay, in +Cambridgeshire. A variety (_crispa_) occurs with curled leaves, and +another with warty stems and branches, called _verrucosa_. _F. Ornus_ is +the manna ash (see MANNA), a handsome tree with greenish-white flowers +and native in south Europe. In southern Europe there is a small-leaved +ash, called _Fraxinus parvifolia_. _F. floribunda_, a large tree with +terminal panicles of white flowers, is a native of the Himalayas. In +America there are several species--such as _Fraxinus americana_, the +white ash; _F. pubescens_, the red ash; and _F. sambucifolia_, the black +ash. + +The "mountain ash" belongs to a totally different family from the common +ash. It is called _Pyrus Aucuparia_, and belongs to the natural order +Rosaceae, and the tribe _Pomeae_, which includes also apples, pears, &c. +Its common name is probably due to its resemblance to the true ash, in +its smooth grey bark, graceful ascending branches, and especially the +form of the leaf, which is also pinnately compound but smaller than in +the true ash. Its common name in Scotland is the rowan tree; it is well +known by its clusters of white blossoms and succulent scarlet fruit. The +name of poison ash is given to _Rhus venenata_, the North American +poison elder or sumach, belonging to the Anacardiaceae (Cashew family). +The bitter ash of the West Indies is _Simaruba excelsa_, which belongs +to the natural order Simarubaceae. The Cape ash is _Ekebergia capensis_, +belonging to the natural order Meliaceae, a large tree, a native of the +Cape of Good Hope. The prickly ash, _Xanthoxylon Clava-Herculis_ (nat. +ord. Xanthoxyleae), a native of the south-eastern United States, is a +small tree, the trunk of which is studded with corky tubercles, while +the branches are armed with stout, sharp, brown prickles. + + +FOOTNOTE: + + [1] The homonym, ash or (pl.) ashes, the residue (of a body, &c.) + after burning, is a common Teutonic word, Ger. _Asche_, connected + with the root found in Lat. _ardere_, to burn. + + + + +A'SHA [MAIMUN IBN QAIS], Arabian poet, was born before Mahomet, and +lived long enough to accept the mission of the prophet. He was born in +Manfuha, a village of al-Yemama in the centre of Arabia, and became a +wandering singer, passing through all Arabia from Hadramut in the south +to al-Hira in the north, and naturally frequenting the annual fair at +Okaz (Ukaz). His love poems are devoted to the praise of Huraira, a +black female slave. Even before the time of Mahomet he is said to have +believed in the resurrection and last judgment, and to have been a +monotheist. These beliefs may have been due to his intercourse with the +bishop of Nejran (Najran) and the `Ibadites (Christians) of al-Hira. His +poems were praised for their descriptions of the wild ass, for the +praise of wine, for their skill in praise and satire, and for the +varieties of metre employed. His best-known poem is that in praise of +Mahomet. + + His poems have been collected from various sources in L. Cheikho's + _Les Poetes arabes chretiens_ (Jesuit press, Beirut, 1890), pp. + 357-399. His eulogy of Mahomet has been edited by H. Thorbecke, _Al + Asa's Lobgedicht auf Muhammad_ (Leipzig, 1875). (G. W. T.) + + + + +ASHANTI, a British possession in West Africa, bounded W. by the (French) +Ivory Coast colony, N. by the British Protectorate known as Northern +Territories of the Gold Coast (see GOLD COAST), and E. by the river +Volta (which separates it from the German colony of Togoland); the +southern frontier is conterminous with the northern frontier of the +(British) Gold Coast colony. It forms an irregular oblong, with a +triangular projection (the country of the Adansi) southward. It has an +area of 23,000 sq. m., and a population estimated (1907) at 500,000. + +_Physical Features; Flora and Fauna._--A great part of Ashanti is +covered with primeval and almost impenetrable forest.[1] Many of the +trees, chiefly silk-cotton and hardwood, attain splendid proportions, +the bombax reaching a height of over 200 ft., but the monotony is +oppressive, and is seldom relieved by the sight of flowers, birds or +beasts. Ferns are abundant, and the mimosa rises to heights of from 30 +to 60 ft. All over the forest spread lianas, or monkey-ropes, their +usual position being that of immense festoons hanging from tree to tree. +To these lianas (species of which yield one kind of the rubber of +commerce) is due largely the weird aspect of the forest. The country +round the towns, however, is cultivated with care, the fields yielding +in abundance grain, yams, vegetables and fruits. In the north-eastern +districts the primeval forest gives place to park-like country, +consisting of plains covered with high coarse grass, and dotted with +occasional baobabs, as well as with wild plum, shea-butter, dwarf date, +fan palms, and other small trees. Among the wild animals are the +elephant (comparatively rare), the leopard, varieties of antelope, many +kinds of monkeys and numerous venomous snakes. Crocodiles and two kinds +of hippopotami, the ordinary and a pygmy variety, are found in the +rivers. Of birds, parrots are the most characteristic. Insect life is +abundant. + +About 25 m. south-east of Kumasi is Lake Busumchwi, the sacred lake of +the Ashanti. It is surrounded by forest-clad hills some 800 ft. high, is +nearly circular and has a maximum diameter of 6 m. The Black Volta, and +lower down the Volta (q.v.), form the northern frontier, and various +tributaries of the Volta, running generally in a northerly direction, +traverse the eastern portion of the country. In the central parts are +the upper courses of the Ofin and of some tributaries of the Prah. +Farther west are the Tano and Bia rivers, which empty their waters into +the Assini lagoon. In their course through Ashanti, the rivers, apart +from the Volta, are navigable by canoes only. The elevation of the +country is generally below 2000 ft., but it rises towards the north. + +_Climate._--The climate, although unsuited to the prolonged residence of +Europeans, is less unhealthy than that of the coast towns of West +Africa. The water-supply is good and abundant. The rainy season lasts +from the end of May until October; storms are frequent and violent. The +mean temperature at Kumasi is 76 deg. F., the mean annual rainfall 40 +ins. + +_Inhabitants._--The most probable tradition represents the Ashanti as +deriving their origin from bands of fugitives, who in the 16th or 17th +century were driven before the Moslem tribes migrating southward from +the countries on the Niger and Senegal. Having obtained possession of a +region of impenetrable forest, they defended themselves with a valour +which, becoming part of their national character, raised them to the +rank of a powerful and conquering nation. They are of the pure negro +type, and are supposed to be originally of the same race as the Fanti, +nearer the coast, and speak the same language. The separation of Fanti +and Ashanti has been ascribed to a famine which drove the former south, +and led them to live on _fan_, or herbs, while the latter subsisted on +_san_, or Indian corn, &c., whence the names Fanti and Santi. The +Ashanti are divided into a large number of tribes, of whom a dozen may +be distinguished, namely, the Bekwai, Adansi, Juabin, Kokofu, Kumasi, +Mampon, Nsuta, Nkwanta, Dadiassi, Daniassi, Ofinsu and Adjisu. Each +tribe has its own king, but from the beginning of the 18th century the +king of Kumasi was recognized as king paramount, and was spoken of as +the king of Ashanti. As paramount king he succeeded to the "golden +stool," the symbol of authority among the Ashanti. After the deposition +of Prempeh (1896) no king of Kumasi was chosen; Prempeh himself was +never "enstooled." The government of Ashanti was formerly a mixture of +monarchy and military aristocracy. The confederate tribes were +originally organized for purposes of war into six great divisions or +clans, this organization developing into the main social fabric of the +state. The chiefs of the clans, with a few sub-chiefs having hereditary +rights, formed the King's Council, and the king, unless of exceptionally +strong character, often exercised less power than the council of chiefs, +each of whom kept his little court, making a profuse display of barbaric +pomp. Land is held in common by the tribes, lands unallotted being +attached to the office of head chief or king and called "stool lands." +Polygamy is practised by all who can afford it. It is stated by the +early chroniclers that the king of Ashanti was bound to maintain the +"fetish" number of 3333 wives; many of these, however, were employed in +menial services. The crown descended to the king's brother, or his +sister's son, not to his own offspring. The queen mother exercised +considerable authority in the state, but the king's wives had no power. +The system of human sacrifices, practised among the Ashanti until the +closing years of the 19th century, was founded on a sentiment of piety +towards parents and other connexions--the chiefs believing that the rank +of their dead relatives in the future world would be measured by the +number of attendants sent after them. There were two periods, called the +great Adai and little Adai, at which human victims, chiefly prisoners of +war or condemned criminals, were immolated. There is reason to believe +that the extent of this practice was not so great as was currently +reported. + +There are a few Mahommedans in Ashanti, most of them traders from other +countries, and the Basel and Wesleyan missionaries have obtained some +converts to Christianity; but the great bulk of the people are +spirit-worshippers. Unlike many West African races, the Ashanti in +general show a repugnance to the doctrines of Islam. + +_Towns and Trade._--Besides the capital, Kumasi (q.v.), with a +population of some 6000, there are few important towns in Ashanti. +Obuassi, in the south-west, is the centre of the gold-mining industry. +Wam is on the western border, Nkoranza, Atabubu and Kintampo in the +north. Kintampo is a town of some size and is about 130 m. north-east of +Kumasi. It is the meeting-place of traders from the Niger countries and +from the coast. Formerly one of the great slave and ivory marts of West +Africa, it is now a centre of the kola-nut commerce and a depot for +government stores. The Ashanti are skilful in several species of +manufacture, particularly in weaving cotton. Their pottery and works in +gold also show considerable skill. A large quantity of silver-plate and +goldsmiths' work of great value and considerable artistic elaboration +was found in 1874 in the king's palace at Kumasi, not the least +remarkable objects being masks of beaten gold. The influence of Moorish +art is perceptible. + +The vegetable products do not differ greatly from those found on the +Gold Coast; the most important commercially is the rubber tree +(_Funtumia elastica_). The nut of the kola tree is in great demand, and +since 1905 many cocoa plantations have been established, especially in +the eastern districts. Tobacco is cultivated in the northern regions. +Gum copal is exported. Part of the trade of Ashanti had been diverted to +the French port of Assini in consequence of the wars waged between +England and the Ashanti, but on the suppression of the revolt of 1900 +measures were taken to improve trade between Kumasi and Cape Coast. +Kumasi is the distributing centre for the whole of Ashanti and the +hinterland. Gold exists in the western districts of the country, and +several companies were formed to work the mines in the period 1895-1901. +Most of the gold exported from the Gold Coast in 1902 and following +years came from the Obuassi mines. The gold output from Ashanti amounted +in 1905 to 68,259 oz., valued at L254,790. The railway to Kumasi from +Sekondi, which was completed in 1903, passes through the auriferous +region. As far as the trade goes through British territory southward, +the figures are included in those of the Gold Coast; but Ashanti does +also a considerable trade with its French and German neighbours, and +northwards with the Niger countries. Its revenue and expenditure are +included in those of the Gold Coast. Revenue is obtained principally +from caravan taxes, liquor licences, rents from government land and +contributions from the gold-mining companies. + +_Communications._--The railway to Kumasi, cut through one of the densest +forest regions, is described under GOLD COAST. The usual means of +communication is by tortuous paths through the forest, too narrow to +admit any wheeled vehicle. A wide road, 141 m. long, has been cut +through the bush from Cape Coast to Kumasi, and from Kumasi ancient +caravan routes go to the chief trading centres farther inland. Where +rivers and swamps have to be crossed, ferries are maintained. A +favourite mode of travelling in the bush is in a palanquin borne on the +heads of four carriers. Telegraph lines connect Kumasi with the coast +towns and with the towns in the Northern Territories. There is a +well-organized postal service. + + + Early relations with the British. + +_History._--The Ashanti first came under the notice of Europeans early +in the 18th century, through their successful wars with the kingdoms +bordering the maritime territory. Osai Tutu may be considered as the +real founder of the Ashanti power. He either built or greatly extended +Kumasi; he subdued the neighbouring state of Denkera (1719) and the +Mahommedan countries of Gaman (Jaman) and Banna, and extended the empire +by conquests both on the east and west. At last he was defeated and +slain (1731); but his successor, Osai Apoko, made further acquisitions +towards the coast. In 1800, Osai Tutu Quamina, an enterprising and +ambitious man, who appears early to have formed the desire of opening a +communication with white nations, became king. About 1807, two chiefs of +the Assin, whom he had defeated in battle, sought refuge among the +Fanti, the ruling people on the coast. On the refusal of the Fanti to +deliver up the fugitives, Osai Tutu invaded their country, defeated them +and drove them towards the sea. The Ashanti reached the coast near +Anamabo, where there was then a British fort. The governor exhorted the +townsmen to come to terms and offered to mediate; but they resolved to +abide the contest. The result was the destruction of the town, and the +slaughter of 8000 of the inhabitants. The Ashanti, who lost over 2000 +men, failed, however, to storm the English fort, though the garrison was +reduced from twenty-four to eight men. A truce was agreed to, and the +king refusing to treat except with the governor of Cape Coast, Colonel +G. Torrane (governor 1805-1807) repaired to Anamabo, where he was +received with great pomp. Torrane determined to surrender the fugitive +Assin chiefs, but one succeeded in escaping; the other, on being given +up, was put to death by the Ashanti. Torrane concluded an agreement with +the Ashanti, acknowledging their conquest of Fantiland, and delivering +up to them half the fugitives in Anamabo fort (most of the remainder +were sold by Torrane and the members of his council as slaves). The +governor also agreed to pay rent to the Ashanti for Anamabo fort and +Cape Coast castle. The character of this man, who died on the coast in +1808, is indicated by Osai Tutu's eulogy of him. "From the hour Governor +Torrane delivered up Tchibbu [one of the Assin fugitives] I took the +English for my friends," said the king of Ashanti, "because I saw their +object was trade only and they did not care for the people. Torrane was +a man of sense and he pleased me much." + +In consequence of repeated invasions of Fantiland by the Ashanti, the +British in 1817 sent Frederick James, commandant of Accra fort, T.E. +Bowdich and W. Hutchinson on a mission to Kumasi. After one or two +harmonious interviews, the king advanced a claim for the payment of the +quit rents for Anamabo fort and Cape Coast castle, rents the major part +of which the Fanti had induced the British to pay to them, leaving only +a nominal sum for transmission to Kumasi. Mr James, the head of the +mission, volunteered no satisfactory explanation, whereupon the king +broke into uncontrollable rage, calling the emissaries cheats and liars. +Bowdich and Hutchinson, thinking that British interests and the safety +of the mission were endangered, took the negotiation into their own +hands. Mr James was recalled, and a treaty was concluded, by which the +king's demands were satisfied, and the right of the British to control +the natives in the coast towns recognized. + + + Sir Charles M'Carthy's fate. + +The government at home, though they demurred somewhat to the course that +had been pursued, saw the wisdom of cultivating intercourse with this +powerful African kingdom. They sent out, therefore, to Kumasi, as +consul, Mr Joseph Dupuis, formerly consul at Mogador, who arrived at +Cape Coast in January 1819. By that time fresh difficulties had arisen +between the coast natives, who were supported by the British, and the +Ashanti. Dupuis set out on the 9th of February 1820, and on the 28th +arrived at Kumasi. After several meetings with the king, a treaty was +drawn up, which acknowledged the sovereignty of Ashanti over the +territory of the Fanti, and left the natives of Cape Coast to the mercy +of their enemies. Mr J. Hope Smith, the governor of Cape Coast, disowned +the treaty, as betraying the interests of the natives under British +protection. Mr Hope Smith was supported by the government in London, +which in 1821 assumed direct control of the British settlements. Sir +Charles M'Carthy, the first governor appointed by the crown, espoused +the cause of the Fanti, but was defeated in battle by the Ashanti, the +21st of January 1824, at a place beyond the Prah called Essamako. The +Ashanti had 10,000 men to Sir Charles's 500. Sir Charles and eight other +Europeans were killed. The skull of the governor was afterwards used at +Kumasi as a royal drinking-cup. It was asserted that Sir Charles lost +the battle through his ordnance-keeper bringing up kegs filled with +vermicelli instead of ammunition. The fact is that the mistake, if made, +only hastened the inevitable catastrophe. On the very day of this defeat +Osai Tutu Quamina died and was succeeded by Osai Okoto. A state of +chronic warfare ensued, until the Ashanti sustained a signal defeat at +Dodowah on the 7th of August 1826. From this time the power of the +Ashanti over the coast tribes waned, and in 1831 the king was obliged to +purchase peace from Mr George Maclean, then administrator of the Gold +Coast, at the price of 600 oz. of gold, and to send his son as a hostage +to Cape Coast. The payment of ground rent for the forts held by the +British had ceased after the battle of Dodowah, and by the treaty +concluded by Maclean the river Prah was fixed as the boundary of the +Ashanti kingdom, all the tribes south of it being under British +protection. + +The king (Kwaka Dua I.), who had succeeded Osai Okoto in 1838, was a +peace-loving monarch who encouraged trade, but in 1852 the Ashanti tried +to reassert authority over the Fanti in the Gold Coast protectorate, and +in 1863 a war was caused by the refusal of the king's demand for the +surrender by the British of a fugitive chief and a runaway slave-boy. +The Ashanti were victorious in two battles and retired unmolested. The +governor, Mr Richard Pine, urged the advisability of an advance on +Kumasi, but this the British government would not allow. No further +fighting followed, but the prestige of the Ashanti greatly increased. +"The white men" (said Kwaka Dua) "bring many cannon to the bush, but the +bush is stronger than the cannon." In April 1867 Kwaka Dua died, and +after an interval of civil war was succeeded by Kofi Karikari, who on +being enstooled swore, "My business shall be war." Thereafter +preparations were made throughout Ashanti to attack the Fanti tribes, +and the result was the war of 1873-74. + + + The war of 1873-1874. + +Two distinct events were the immediate cause of the war. The principal +was the transference of Elmina fort from the Dutch to the British, which +took place on the 2nd of April 1872. The Elmina were regarded by the +Ashanti as their subjects, and the king of Ashanti held the Elmina +"custom-note,"--that is, he received from the Dutch an annual payment, +in its origin a ground rent for the fort, but looked upon by the Dutch +as a present for trade purposes. The Ashanti greatly resented the +occupation by Britain of what they considered Ashanti territory. Another +but minor cause of the war was the holding in captivity by the Ashanti +of four Europeans. An Ashanti force invaded Krepi, a territory beyond +the Volta, and in June 1869 captured Mr Fritz A. Ramseyer, his wife and +infant son (the child died of privation shortly afterwards), and Mr J. +Kuhne, members of the Basel mission. Monsieur M.J. Bonnat, a French +trader, was also captured at another place. The captives were taken to +Kumasi. Negotiations for their release were begun, but the Europeans +were still prisoners when the sale of Elmina occurred. The Ashanti +delayed war until their preparations were complete, whilst the Gold +Coast officials appear to have thought the risk of hostilities remote. +However, on the 22nd of January 1873 an Ashanti force crossed the Prah +and invaded the British protectorate. They defeated the Fanti, stirred +up disputes at Elmina, and encamped at Mampon near Cape Coast, to the +great alarm of the inhabitants. Measures were taken for the defence of +the territory and the punishment of the assailants, which culminated in +the despatch of Sir Garnet (afterwards Viscount) Wolseley as British +administrator, L800,000 being voted by parliament for the expenses of +the expedition. On landing (October 2) at Cape Coast, Wolseley found the +Ashanti, who had been decimated by smallpox and fever, preparing to +return home. He determined, however, to march to Kumasi, whilst Captain +(afterwards Sir) John Glover, R.N., administrator of Lagos, was with a +force of native levies to co-operate from the east and take the Ashanti +in rear. Meanwhile the enemy broke up camp, and, although harassed by +native levies raised by the British, effected an orderly retreat. The +Ashanti army re-entered Kumasi on the 22nd of December. Wolseley asked +for the help of white troops, and the 2nd battalion Rifle Brigade, the +23rd Fusiliers and 42nd Highlanders were despatched. Seeing the +preparations made by his enemy, Kofi Karikari endeavoured to make peace, +and in response to General Wolseley's demands the European captives were +released (January 1874). Sir Garnet determined that peace must be signed +in Kumasi and continued his advance. On the 20th of January the river +Prah was crossed by the European troops; on the 24th the Adansi hills +were reached; on the 31st there was severe fighting at Amoaful; on the +1st of February Bekwai was captured; and on the evening of the 4th the +victorious army was in Kumasi, after seven hours' fighting. The king, +who had led his army, fled into the bush when he saw the day was lost. +As the 42nd Highlanders pushed forward to Kumasi, the town was found +full of Ashanti soldiers, but not a shot was fired at the invaders. Sir +Garnet Wolseley sent messengers to the king, but Kofi Karikari refused +to surrender. As his force was small, provisions scarce, and the rainy +season setting in, and as he was encumbered with many sick and wounded, +the British general decided to retire. On the 6th, therefore, the +homeward march was commenced, the city being left behind in flames. In +the meantime Captain Glover's force had crossed the Prah on the 15th of +January, and the Ashanti opposition weakening after the capture of +Kumasi, Glover was able to push forward. On the 11th of February, +Captain (later General) R.W. Sartorius, who had been sent ahead with +twenty Hausa only, found Kumasi still deserted. Captain Sartorius and +his twenty men marched 50 m. through the heart of the enemy's country. +On the 12th Glover and his force of natives entered the Ashanti capital. +The news of Glover's approach induced the king, who feared also the +return of the white troops, to sue for peace. On the 9th of February a +messenger from Kofi Karikari overtook Sir Garnet, who on the 13th at +Fomana received the Ashanti envoys. A treaty was concluded whereby the +king agreed, among other conditions, to pay 50,000 oz. of gold, to +renounce all claim to homage from certain neighbouring kings, and all +pretensions of supremacy over any part of the former Dutch protectorate, +to promote freedom of trade, to keep open a road from Kumasi to the +Prah, and to do his best to check the practice of human sacrifice. +Besides coloured troops, there were employed in this campaign about 2400 +Europeans, who suffered severely from fever and otherwise, though the +mortality among the men was slight. Seventy-one per cent of the troops +were on the sick list, and more than forty officers died--only six from +wounds. The success of the expedition was facilitated by the exertions +of Captain (afterwards General Sir William) Butler and Captain +(afterwards General W. L.) Dalrymple, who effected diversions with very +inadequate resources. + + + A British protectorate established. + + Prempeh deposed. + +One result of the war of 1873-74 was that several states dependent on +Ashanti declared themselves independent, and sought British protection. +This was refused, and the inaction of the colonial office contributed to +the reconsolidation of the Ashanti power.[2] Shortly after the war the +Ashanti deposed Kofi Karikari, and placed on the golden stool--the +symbol of sovereignty--his brother Mensa. This monarch broke almost +every article of the Fomana treaty, and even the payment of the +indemnity was not demanded. (In all, only 4000 oz. of gold, out of the +50,000 stipulated for, were paid.) Mensa's rule was tyrannous and +stained with repeated human sacrifices. In 1883 a revolution displaced +that monarch, who was succeeded by Kwaka Dua II.--a young man who died +(June 1884) within a few months of his election. In the same month died +the ex-king Kofi Karikari, and disruption threatened Ashanti. At length, +after a desolating civil war, Prince Prempeh--who took the name of Kwaka +Dua III.--was chosen king (March 26, 1888), the colonial government +having been forced to intervene in the dispute owing to the troubles it +occasioned in the Gold Coast. The election of Prempeh took place in the +presence and with the sanction of an officer of the Gold Coast +government. Prempeh defeated his enemies, and for a time peace and +prosperity returned to Ashanti. However in 1893 there was fresh trouble +between Ashanti and the tribes of the protectorate, and the roads were +closed to traders by Prempeh's orders. The British government was forced +to interfere, more especially as the country, by international +agreement, had been included in the British sphere of influence. A +mission was despatched to Prempeh, calling upon him to fulfil the terms +of the 1874 treaty, and further, to accept a British protectorate and +receive a resident at Kumasi. The king declined to treat with the +governor of the Gold Coast, and despatched informal agents to England, +whom the secretary of state refused to receive. To the demands of the +British mission relative to the acceptance of a protectorate and other +matters, Prempeh made no reply in the three weeks' grace allowed, which +expired on the 31st of October 1895. To enforce the British demands, to +put an end to the misgovernment and barbarities carried on at Kumasi, +and to establish law, order and security for trade, an expedition was at +length decided upon. The force, placed under Colonel Sir Francis Scott, +consisted of the 2nd West Yorkshire regiment, a "special service corps," +made up of detachments from various regiments in the United Kingdom, +under specially selected officers, the 2nd West India regiment, and the +Gold Coast and Lagos Hausa. The composition of the special service corps +was much criticized at the time; but as it was not called upon for +fighting purposes, no inferences as to its efficiency are possible. The +details of the expedition were carefully organized. Before the arrival +of the staff and contingent from England (December 1895) the native +forces were employed in improving the road from Cape Coast to Prahsu (70 +m.), and in establishing road stations to serve as standing camps for +the troops. About 12,000 carriers were collected, the load allotted to +each being 50 lb. In addition, a force of native scouts, which +ultimately reached a total of 860 men, was organized in eighteen +companies, and partly armed with Snider rifles, to cover the advance of +the main column, which started on the 27th of December, and to improve +the road. The king of Bekwai having asked for British protection, a +small force was pressed forward and occupied this native town, about 25 +m. from Kumasi, on the 4th of January 1896. The advance continued, and +at Ordahsu a mission arrived from King Prempeh offering unconditional +submission. On the 17th of January Kumasi was occupied, and Colonel Sir +F. Scott received the king. Effective measures were taken to prevent +his escape, and on the 20th Prempeh made submission to Mr (afterwards +Sir W. E.) Maxwell, the governor of Cape Coast, in native fashion. After +this act of public humiliation, the king and the queen mother with the +principal chiefs were arrested and taken as prisoners to Cape Coast, +where they were embarked on board H.M.S. "Racoon" for Elmina. The fetish +buildings at Bantama were burned, and on the 22nd of January Bokro, a +village 5 m. from Kumasi, and Maheer, the king's summer palace, were +visited by the native scouts and found deserted. On the same day, +leaving the Hausa at Kumasi, the expedition began the return march of +150 m. to Cape Coast. The complete success of the expedition was due to +the excellent organization of the supply and transport services, while +the promptitude with which the operations were carried out probably +accounts in great measure for the absence of resistance. Although no +fighting occurred, a heavy strain was thrown upon all ranks, and fever +claimed many victims, among whom was Prince Henry of Battenberg, who had +volunteered for the post of military secretary to Colonel Sir F. Scott. + + + Siege and relief of Kumasi. + +After the deportation of Prempeh no successor was appointed to the +throne of Ashanti. A British resident, Captain Donald W. Stewart, was +installed at Kumasi, and whilst the other states of the confederacy +retained their king and tribal system the affairs of the Kumasi were +administered by chiefs under British guidance. Mr and Mrs Ramseyer (two +of the missionaries imprisoned by King Kofi Karikari for four and a half +years) returned to Kumasi, and other missionaries followed. A fort was +built in Kumasi and garrisoned with Gold Coast constabulary. Though +outwardly submissive, the Kumasi chiefs were far from reconciled to +British rule, and in 1900 a serious rebellion broke out. The tribes +involved were the Kumasi, Adansi and Kokofu; the other tribes of the +Ashanti confederation remained loyal. The rebels were, however, able to +command a force reported to number 40,000. On the 28th of March, before +the rebellion had declared itself, the governor of the Gold Coast, Sir +F. Hodgson, in a public palaver at Kumasi, announced that the Ashanti +chiefs would have to pay the British government 4000 oz. of gold yearly, +and he reproached the chiefs with not having brought to him the golden +stool, which the Kumasi had kept hidden since 1896. Three days +afterwards the Kumasi warriors attacked a party of Hausa sent with the +chief object of discovering the golden stool. (In the previous January a +secret attempt to seize the stool had failed.) The Kumasi, who were +longing to wipe out the dishonour of having let Prempeh be deported +without fighting, next threatened the fort of Kumasi. Mr Ramseyer and +the other Basel missionaries, and Sir F. and Lady Hodgson, took refuge +in the fort, and reinforcements were urgently asked for. On the 18th of +April 100 Gold Coast constabulary arrived. On the 29th the Kumasi +attacked in force, but were repulsed. The same day a party of 250 Lagos +constabulary reached Kumasi. They had fought their way up, and came in +with little ammunition. On the 15th of May Major A. Morris arrived from +the British territory north of Ashanti, also with 250 men. The garrison +now numbered 700. The 29 Europeans in the fort included four women. +Outside the fort were gathered 3000 native refugees. Famine and disease +soon began to tell their tale. Sir F. Hodgson sent out a message on the +4th of June (it reached the relieving force on the 12th of June), saying +that they could only hold out to the 11th of June. However, it was not +till the 23rd of June that the governor and all the Europeans save +three, together with 600 Hausa of all ranks, sallied out of the fort. +Avoiding the main road, held by the enemy in force, they attacked a +weakly held stockade, and succeeded in cutting their way through, with a +loss of two British officers mortally wounded, 39 Hausa killed, and +double that number wounded or missing. The governor's party reached Cape +Coast safely on the 10th of July. + +A force of 100 Hausa, with three white men (Captain Bishop, Mr Ralph and +Dr Hay), was left behind in Kumasi fort with rations to last three +weeks. Meantime a relief expedition had been organized at Cape Coast by +Colonel James Willcocks. This officer reached Cape Coast from Nigeria on +the 26th of May. The difficulties before him were appalling. Carriers +could scarcely be obtained, there were no local food supplies, the rainy +season was at its height, all the roads were deep mire, the bush was +almost impenetrable, and the enemy were both brave and cunning, fighting +behind concealed stockades. It was not until the 2nd of July that +Colonel Willcocks was able to advance to Fumsu. On the next day he heard +of the escape of the governor and of the straits of the garrison left at +Kumasi. He determined to relieve the fort in time, and on the 9th of +July reached Bekwai, the king of which place had remained loyal. Making +his final dispositions, the colonel spread a report that on the 13th he +would attack Kokofu, east of Bekwai, and this drew off several thousands +of the enemy from Kumasi. After feinting to attack Kokofu, Colonel +Willcocks suddenly marched west. There was smart fighting on the 14th, +and at 4.30 P.M. on the 15th, after a march since daybreak through roads +"in indescribably bad condition," the main rebel stockade was +encountered. It was carried at the point of the bayonet by the Yoruba +troops, who proved themselves fully equal to the Hausa. "The charge +could not have been beaten in _elan_ by any soldiers." Kumasi was +entered the same evening, a bugler of the war-worn garrison of the fort +sounding the "general salute" as the relieving column came in view. Most +of the defenders were too weak to stand. Outside the fort nothing was to +be seen but burnt-down houses and putrid bodies. The relieving force +that marched into Kumasi consisted of 1000 fighting men (all West +Africans), with 60 white officers and non-commissioned officers, two +75-millimetre guns, four seven-pounder guns and six Maxims. + +Kumasi relieved, there remained the task of crushing the rebellion. +Colonel Willcocks's force was increased by Yaos and a few Sikhs from +Central Africa to a total of 3368 natives, with 134 British officers and +35 British non-commissioned officers. In addition there were Ashanti +levies. On the 30th of September the Kumasi were completely beaten at +Obassa. Thereafter many of the rebel chiefs surrendered, and the only +two remaining in the field were captured on the 28th of December. Thus +1901 opened with peace restored. The total number of casualties during +the campaign (including those who died of disease) was 1007. Nine +British officers were killed in action, forty-three were wounded, and +six died of disease. The commander, Colonel Willcocks, was promoted and +created a K.C.M.G. + + + Progress under British administration. + +By an order in council, dated the 26th of September 1901, Ashanti was +formally annexed to the British dominions, and given a separate +administration under the control of the governor of the Gold Coast. A +chief commissioner represents the governor in his absence, and is +assisted by a staff of four commissioners and four assistant +commissioners. A battalion of the Gold Coast regiment is stationed in +the country with headquarters at Kumasi. The order in council mentioned, +which may be described as the first constitution granted Ashanti by its +British owners, provides that the governor, in issuing ordinances +respecting the administration of justice, the raising of revenue, or any +other matter, shall respect any native laws by which the civil relations +of any chiefs, tribes or populations are regulated, "except so far as +they may be incompatible with British sovereignty or clearly injurious +to the welfare of the natives themselves." After the annexation of the +country in 1901 the relations between the governing power and the +governed steadily improved. Mr F.C. Fuller, who succeeded Sir Donald +Stewart as chief commissioner early in 1905, was able to report in the +following year that among the Ashanti suspicion of the "white man's" +ulterior motives was speedily losing ground. The marked preference shown +by the natives to resort to the civil and criminal courts established by +the British demonstrated their faith in the impartial treatment awarded +therein. Moreover, the maintenance of the tribal system and the support +given to the lawful chiefs did much to win the confidence and respect of +a people naturally suspicious, and mindful of their exiled king. + + BIBLIOGRAPHY.--For a general survey of the country, see _Travels_ _in + Ashanti and Jaman_, by R.A. Freeman (London, 1898); _Historical + Geography of the British Colonies_, vol. iii. "West Africa," by C.P. + Lucas (Oxford, 1900); and the _Annual Reports, Ashanti_, issued from + 1906 onward by the Colonial Office, London. _The Tshi-speaking Peoples + of the Gold Coast_, by Col. A.B. Ellis (London, 1887), deals with + ethnology. Of early works on the country the most valuable are _A + Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee_, by T.E. Bowdich (London, + 1819); and _Journal of a Residence in Ashantee_ (London, 1824), by J. + Dupuis. For history generally, see _A History of the Gold Coast of + West Africa_, by Col. A.B. Ellis (London, 1893); and _History of the + Gold Coast and Asante ... from about 1500 to 1860_, by C.C. Reindorf, + a native pastor of the Basel mission (Basel, 1895). + + For the British military campaigns, in addition to the official + blue-books, consult: _Narrative of the Ashantee War_, 2 vols., by + (Sir) Henry Brackenbury (London, 1874); _The Story of a Soldier's + Life_ by Viscount Wolseley, vol. ii. chs. xliii.-l. (London, 1903); + _Coomassie_, by (Sir) H.M. Stanley, being the story of the 1873-74 + expedition (new ed., London, 1896); _Life of Sir John Hawley Glover_, + by Lady Glover, chs. iii.-x. (London, 1897); _The Downfall of + Prempeh_, by (General) R.S.S. Baden-Powell, an account of the 1895-96 + expedition (London, 1896); _From Kabul to Kumassi_ (chs. xv. to end), + by Sir James Willcocks, (London, 1904); _The Ashanti Campaign of + 1900_, by Capt. C.H. Armitage and Lieut.-Col. A.F. Montanaro (London, + 1901); _The Relief of Kumasi_, by Capt. H.C.J. Biss (London, 1901). + The two bocks following are by besieged residents in Kumasi: _The + Siege of Kumasi_, by Lady Hodgson (London, 1901); _Dark and Stormy + Days at Kumasi_, 1900, from the diary of the Rev. Fritz Ramseyer + (London, 1901). Many of the works quoted under GOLD COAST deal also + with Ashanti. (F. R. C.) + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [1] The exact area of dense forest land is unknown, but is estimated + at fully 12,000 sq. m. + + [2] An attempt was made late in 1875, by the despatch of Dr V.S. + Gouldsbury on a mission to Eastern Akim, Juabin and Kumasi, to repair + the effects of the previous inaction of the colonial government, but + without success. + + + + +ASH'ARI [Abu-l Hasan 'Ali ibn Isma'il ul-Ash'ari], (873-935), Arabian +theologian, was born of pure Arab stock at Basra, but spent the greater +part of his life at Bagdad. Although belonging to an orthodox family, he +became a pupil of the great Mu'tazalite teacher al-Jubba'i, and himself +remained a Mu'tazalite until his fortieth year. In 912 he returned to +the faith of his fathers and became its most distinguished champion, +using the philosophical methods he had learned in the school of heresy. +His theology, which occupied a mediate position between the extreme +views on most points, became dominant among the Shafi'ites. He is said +to have written over a hundred works, of which only four or five are +known to be extant. + + See W. Spitta, _Zur Geschichte Abu 'l-Hasan al As'ari's_ (Leipzig, + 1876); A.F. Mehren, _Expose de la reforme de l'Islamisme commencee par + Abou. 'l-Hasan Ali el-Ash'ari_ (Leiden, 1878); and D.B. Macdonald's + _Muslim Theology_ (London, 1903), especially the creed of Ash'ari in + Appendix iii. (G. W. T.) + + + + +ASHBOURNE, a market-town in the western parliamentary division of +Derbyshire, England, 13 m. W.N.W. of Derby, on the London & +North-Western and the North Staffordshire railways. Pop. of urban +district (1901) 4039. It is pleasantly situated on rising ground between +two small valleys opening into that of the Dove, and the most beautiful +scenery of Dovedale is not far distant. The church of St Oswald is +cruciform, Early English and later; a fine building with a central tower +and lofty octagonal spire. Its monuments and brasses are of much +interest. The town has a large agricultural trade and a manufacture of +corsets. The streams in the neighbourhood are in favour with trout +fishermen. Ashbourne Hall, an ancient mansion, has associations with +"Prince Charlie," who occupied it both before and after his advance on +Derby in 1745. There are also many connexions with Dr Johnson, a +frequent visitor here to his friend Dr Taylor, who occupied a house +opposite the grammar school. + + + + +ASHBURNHAM, JOHN (c. 1603-1671), English Royalist, was the son of Sir +John Ashburnham of Ashburnham in Sussex. He early entered the king's +service. In 1627 he was sent to Paris by his relative the duke of +Buckingham to make overtures for peace, and in 1628 he prepared to join +the expedition to Rochelle interrupted by the duke's assassination. The +same year he was made groom of the bedchamber and elected member of +parliament for Hastings, which borough he also represented in the Long +Parliament of 1640. In this capacity he rendered services by reporting +proceedings to the king. He made a considerable fortune and recovered +the Ashburnham estates alienated by his father. He became one of the +king's chief advisers and had his full confidence. He attended Charles +at York on the outbreak of the war with Scotland. In the Civil War he +was made treasurer of the royal army, in which capacity he aroused +Hyde's jealousy and remonstrances by infringing on his province as +chancellor of the exchequer. In 1644 he was a commissioner at Uxbridge. +He accompanied Charles in his flight from Oxford in April 1646 to the +Scots, and subsequently escaped abroad, joining the queen at Paris, +residing afterwards at Rouen and being sent to the Hague to obtain aid +from the prince of Orange. After the seizure of Charles by the army, +Ashburnham joined him at Hampton Court in 1647, where he had several +conferences with Cromwell and other army officers. When Charles escaped +from Hampton Court on the 11th of November, he followed Ashburnham's +advice in opposition to that of Sir John Berkeley, who urged the king to +go abroad, and took refuge in the Isle of Wight, being placed by +Ashburnham in the hands of Robert Hammond, the governor. "Oh, Jack," the +king exclaimed when he understood the situation, "thou hast undone me!" +when Ashburnham, "falling into a great passion of weeping, offered to go +and kill Hammond." By this fatal step Ashburnham incurred the unmerited +charge of treachery and disloyalty. Clarendon, however, who censures his +conduct, absolves him from any crime except that of folly and excessive +self-confidence, and he was acquitted both by Charles I. and Charles II. +He was separated with Berkeley from Charles on the 1st of January 1648, +waited on the mainland in expectation of Charles's escape, and was +afterwards taken and imprisoned at Windsor, and exchanged during the +second Civil War for Sir W. Masham and other prisoners. He was one of +the delinquents specially exempted from pardon in the treaty of Newport. +In November he was allowed to compound for his estates, and declared +himself willing to take the covenant. After the king's death he remained +in England, an object of suspicion to all parties, corresponded with +Charles II., and underwent several terms of imprisonment in the Tower +and in Guernsey. At the Restoration he was reinstated in his former +place of groom of the bedchamber and was compensated for his losses. He +represented Sussex in parliament from 1661 till the 22nd of November +1667, when he was expelled the House for taking a bribe of L500 from +French merchants for landing their wines. He died on the 15th of June +1671. + +He had eight children, the eldest of whom, William, left a son John +(1656-1710), who in 1689 was created Baron Ashburnham. John's second +son, John (1687-1737), who became 3rd Baron Ashburnham on his brother's +death in 1710, was created Viscount St Asaph and earl of Ashburnham in +1730. The 5th earl (b. 1840) was his direct descendant. Bertram +(1797-1878), the 4th earl, was the collector of the famous Ashburnham +library, which was dispersed in 1883 and 1884. + + _A Letter from Mr Ashburnham to a Friend_, defending John Ashburnham's + conduct with regard to the king, was published in 1648. His longer + _Narrative_ was published in 1830 by George, 3rd earl of Ashburnham + (the latter's championship of his ancestor, however, being entirely + uncritical and unconvincing); _A Letter to W. Lenthall_ (1647) + repudiates the charge brought against the king of violating his parole + (_Thomason Tracts_, Brit. Museum, E 418 [4]). + + + + +ASHBURTON, ALEXANDER BARING, 1ST BARON[1] (1774-1848), English +politician and financier, 2nd son of Sir Francis Baring (the founder of +the house of Baring Brothers & Co.) and of Harriet, daughter of William +Herring, was born on the 27th of October 1774, and was brought up in his +father's business. He was sent by the latter to the United States; +married Anne, daughter of William Bingham, of Philadelphia, and formed +wide connexions with American houses. In 1810, by his father's death, he +became head of the firm. He sat in parliament for Taunton (1806-1826), +Callington (1826-1831), Thetford (1831-1832), North Essex (1832-1835). +He regarded politics from the point of view of the business man, opposed +the orders in council, and the restrictions on trade with the United +States in 1812, and in 1826 the act for the suppression of small +bank-notes. He was a strong antagonist of Reform. He accepted the post +of chancellor of the exchequer in the duke of Wellington's projected +ministry of 1832; but afterwards, alarmed at the scene in parliament, +declared "he would face a thousand devils rather than such a House of +Commons," and advised the recall of Lord Grey. In 1834 he was president +of the board of trade and master of the mint in Sir Robert Peel's +government, and on the latter's retirement was created Baron Ashburton +on the 10th of April 1835, taking the title previously held by John +Dunning, his aunt's husband. In 1842 he was despatched to America, and +the same year concluded the Ashburton or Webster-Ashburton treaty. A +compromise was settled concerning the north-east boundary of Maine, the +extradition of certain criminals was arranged, each state agreed to +maintain a squadron of at least eighty guns on the coast of Africa for +the suppression of the slave trade, and the two governments agreed to +unite in an effort to persuade other powers to close all slave markets +within their territories. Despite his earlier attitude, Lord Ashburton +disapproved of Peel's free-trade projects, and opposed the Bank Charter +Act of 1844. He was a trustee of the British Museum and of the National +Gallery, a privy councillor and D.C.L. of Oxford. He published, besides +several speeches, _An Enquiry into the Causes and Consequences of the +Orders in Council_ (1808), and _The Financial and Commercial Crisis +Considered_ (1847). He died on the 13th of May 1848, leaving a large +family, his eldest son becoming 2nd baron. The 5th baron (b. 1866) +succeeded to the title in 1889. + + +FOOTNOTE: + + [1] i.e. in the existing line; see below for the earlier creation. + + + + +ASHBURTON, JOHN DUNNING, 1ST BARON[1] (1731-1783), English lawyer, the +second son of John Dunning of Ashburton, Devonshire, an attorney, was +born at Ashburton on the 18th of October 1731, and was educated at the +free grammar school of his native place. At first articled to his +father, he was admitted, at the age of nineteen, to the Middle Temple, +and called to the bar in 1756, where he came very slowly into practice. +He went the western circuit for several years without receiving a single +brief. In 1762 he was employed to draw up a defence of the British East +India Company against the Dutch East India Company, which had +memorialized the crown on certain grievances, and the masterly style +which characterized the document procured him at once reputation and +emolument. In 1763 he distinguished himself as counsel on the side of +Wilkes, whose cause he conducted throughout. His powerful argument +against the validity of general warrants in the case of _Leach v. Money_ +(June 18, 1763) established his reputation, and his practice from that +period gradually increased to such an extent that in 1776 he is said to +have been in the receipt of nearly L10,000 per annum. In 1766 he was +chosen recorder of Bristol, and in December 1767 he was appointed +solicitor-general. The latter appointment he held till May 1770, when he +retired with his friend Lord Shelburne. In 1771 he was presented with +the freedom of the city of London. From this period he was considered as +a regular member of the opposition, and distinguished himself by many +able speeches in parliament. He was first chosen member for Calne in +1768, and continued to represent that borough until he was promoted to +the peerage. In 1780 he brought forward a motion that the "influence of +the crown had increased, was increasing, and ought to be diminished," +which he carried by a majority of eighteen. He strongly opposed the +system of sinecure officers and pensions; but his probity was not strong +enough to prevent his taking advantage of it himself. In 1782, when the +marquis of Rockingham became prime minister, Dunning was appointed +chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, a rich sinecure; and about the +same time he was advanced to the peerage, with the title of Lord +Ashburton. Under Lord Shelburne's administration he accepted a pension +of L4000 a year. He died at Exmouth on the 18th of August 1783. Though +possessed of an insignificant person, an awkward manner and a provincial +accent, Lord Ashburton was one of the most fluent and persuasive orators +of his time. He had married Elizabeth Baring, and was succeeded as 2nd +baron by his son Richard, at whose death in 1823 the title became +extinct, being revived in 1835 by Alexander Baring. + + Besides the answer to the Dutch memorial, Lord Ashburton is supposed + to have assisted in writing a pamphlet on the law of libel, and to + have been the author of _A Letter to the Proprietors of East India + Stock, on the subject of Lord Clive's Jaghire, occasioned by his + Lordship's Letter on that Subject_ (1764, 8vo). He was at one time + suspected of being the author of the _Letters of Junius_. + + +FOOTNOTE: + + [1] i.e. of the first creation; for the present title see above. + + + + +ASHBURTON, a river of Western Australia, rising in the mountains west of +the Great Sandy Desert, and following a course north-westward for 400 +m., into Exmouth Gulf. In its upper reaches it flows through a rich +gold-bearing district to which it gives name, and nearer its mouth it +traverses a vast tract of fine pastoral country. The outlet for both +these districts is the port of Onslow, at the mouth of the river, near +which there are several pearl-fishing stations. The river is not +navigable. + + + + +ASHBURTON, a market-town in the Ashburton parliamentary division of +Devonshire, England, 24 m. N.W. by W. of Plymouth, on a branch of the +Great Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 2628. It lies in a +valley surrounded by hills, at a short distance from the river Dart; the +scenery, towards Dartmoor and in the neighbourhood of Buckland and Holne +Chase, being unsurpassed in the county. The church of St. Andrew is +cruciform with a lofty tower. It was built early in the 15th century, +and contains a fine old oak roof over the north aisle, and a tablet in +memory of John Dunning, solicitor-general and 1st Baron Ashburton +(1731-1783). The inscription is by Dr Johnson. Lord Ashburton was +educated at the grammar school, which was founded as a chantry in 1314. +Serge is manufactured in Ashburton, and there are breweries, paint +factories and saw-mills. A large deposit of umber is worked in the +neighbourhood. Slate quarries and copper and tin mines were formerly +valuable. A neighbouring centre of the serge industry is the urban +district of BUCKFASTLEIGH (pop. 2520), 3 m. S S.W. Between the two towns +is Buckfast Abbey, said to have been, before the Conquest, a Benedictine +house, and refounded for Cistercians in 1137. It was restored to use in +1882 by a French Benedictine community, the fine Perpendicular abbot's +tower remaining, while other parts have been rebuilt on the original +lines. + + Ashburton (Essebretona, Asperton, Ashperton) is a borough by + prescription and an ancient stannary town. It was governed by a + portreeve and bailiff, elected annually at the court leet held by the + lord of the manor. According to Domesday, Ashburton was held in chief + by Osbern, bishop of Exeter, and rendered geld for six hides. In 1552, + as the two manors of Ashburton Borough and Ashburton Foreign, it was + sold by the bishop, and subsequently became crown property. Finally, + it was acquired in moieties by the Clinton family, and the present + Lord Clinton is joint lord of the manor with Sir Robert Jardine. In + 1298 and 1407 Ashburton returned two members, from 1407 until 1640 one + member only, and then again two members, until deprived of one by the + Reform Act of 1832 and of the other by the Reform Act of 1885. In the + reign of Edward II. Bishop Stapledon obtained a Saturday market, and + two annual fairs lasting three days at the feasts of St Laurence + (August 10) and St Martin in winter (November 11). In 1672 John Ford + was granted a Tuesday market for the sale of wool and woollen goods + made from English yarn, and in 1705 Andrew Quicke obtained two annual + fairs, on the first Thursdays in March and June, for the sale of + cattle, corn and merchandise. + + + + +ASHBY, TURNER (1824-1862), American cavalry leader in the Confederate +army, was born in Fauquier county, Virginia, in 1824. Before the Civil +War he was a planter in Markham, Fauquier county, and a local +politician. When hostilities began he raised a regiment of cavalry, +which he led with conspicuous success in the Valley campaigns of +1861-62, under Joseph Johnston and Stonewall Jackson. He was promoted a +brigadier-general shortly before his death, which took place in a +cavalry skirmish at Harrisonburg, Va., on the 6th of June 1862. By his +early death the Confederates lost one of the best cavalry officers in +their service. + + + + +ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH, a market-town in the Bosworth parliamentary division +of Leicestershire, England; 118 m. N.W. by N. from London by the Midland +railway, on the Leicester-Burton branch. Pop. of urban district (1901) +4726. The church of St Helen is a fine Perpendicular building, restored +and enlarged (1880); it contains monuments of the Huntingdon family, and +an old finger-pillory for the punishment of misbehaviour in church. The +Ivanhoe baths, erected in 1826, are frequented for their saline waters, +which, as containing bromine, are found useful in scrofulous and +rheumatic complaints. The springs are at Moira, 3 m. west. There is a +Queen Eleanor cross commemorating the countess of Loudoun, by Sir +Gilbert Scott. To the south of the town are the extensive remains of +Ashby Castle. There are extensive coal-mines in the neighbouring +district, as at Moira, whence the Ashby-de-la-Zouch canal runs south to +the Coventry canal. + + At the time of the Domesday survey Ashby-de-la-Zouch formed part of + the estates of Hugh de Grentmaisnel. Soon after it was held by Robert + Beaumeis, from whom it passed by female descent to the family of la + Zouch, whence it derived the adjunct to its name, having been hitherto + known as Ashby or Essebi. The earliest record of a grant of market + rights is in 1219, when Roger la Zouch obtained a grant of a weekly + market and a two days' fair at the feast of St Helen, in consideration + of a fine of one palfrey. In the 15th century the manor was held by + James Butler, earl of Ormond, after whose attainder it was granted in + 1461 to Lord Hastings, who in 1474 obtained royal licence to empark + 3000 acres and to build and fortify a castle. At this castle Mary + queen of Scots was detained in 1569 under the custody of the earls of + Huntingdon and Shrewsbury. During the Civil War Colonel Henry Hastings + fortified and held it for the king, and it was visited by Charles in + 1645. In 1648, at the close of the war, it was dismantled by order of + parliament. It plays a great part in Sir Walter Scott's _Ivanhoe_. In + the 18th century Ashby was celebrated as one of the best markets for + horses in England, and had besides prosperous factories for woollen + and cotton stockings and for hats. + + See _Victoria County History--Leicestershire; History of + Ashby-de-la-Zouch_ (Ashby-de-la-Zouch, 1852). + + + + +A-SHE-HO (Manch. _Alchuku_), a town of Manchuria, China, 125 m. N.E. of +Kirin, and 30 m. S. of the Sungari. It is governed by a mandarin of the +second class. Pop. about 60,000. + + + + +ASHER, a tribe of Israel, called after the son of Jacob and Zilpah, +Leah's maid. The name is taken by the narrator of Gen. xxx. 12 seq. (J) +to mean happy or propitious, possibly an allusion to the fertility of +the tribe's territory (with which cf. Gen. xlix. 20, Deut. xxxiii. 24); +on the other hand, like Gad, it may have been originally a divine title. +The district held by this tribe bordered upon Naphtali, and lay to the +north of Issachar and Zebulun, and to the south of Dan. But the +boundaries are not definite and the references to its territory are +obscure. Asher is blamed for taking no part in the fight against Sisera +(Judg. v. 17), and although it shares with Zebulun and Naphtali in +Gideon's defeat of the Midianites (Judg. vi. 35, vii. 23), the narrative +in question is not the older of the two accounts of the event, and the +incorporation of the name is probably due to a late redactor. Lying as +it did in the closest proximity to Phoenicians and Aramaeans, its +population must have been exceptionally mixed, and the description of +the occupation of Palestine in Judg. i. 31 seq. shows that it contained +a strong Canaanite element. In the Blessing of Moses it is bidden to +defend itself--evidently against invasion (Deut. xxxiii. 25). + +Even in the time of Seti I. and Rameses II. (latter half of 14th cent. +B.C.) the district to the west of Galilee appears to have been known to +the Egyptians as Aser(u), so that it is possible to infer either (a) +that Asher was an Israelite tribe which, if it ever went down into +Egypt, separated itself from its brethren in Egypt and migrated north, +"an example which was probably followed by some of the other tribes as +well" (Hommel, _Ancient Hebrew Tradition_, p. 228); or (b) it was a +district which, if never closely bound to Israel, was at least regarded +as part of the national kingdom, and treated as Israelite by the +genealogical device of making it a "son" of Jacob. It is possible that +some of its Israelite population had followed the example of Dan and +moved from an earlier home in the south. Two of the clans of Asher, +Heber and Malchiel, have been associated with Milk-ili and Habiri, the +names of a hostile chief and people in the Amarna Tablets (Jastrow, +_Journal Bibl. Lit._ xi. pp. 118 seq., xii. pp. 61 seq., Hommel), but it +is scarcely probable that events of about 1400 B.C. should have survived +only in this form. This applies also to the suggestion that the name +Asher has been derived from a famous Abd-ashirta of the same period +(Barton, _ib._ xv. p. 174). Some connexion with the goddess Ashir(t)a, +however, is not unlikely. + + See further H.W. Hogg, _Ency. Bibl._ col. 327 seq.; E. Meyer, + _Israeliten_, pp. 540 sqq. (S. A. C.) + + + + +'ASHER BEN-YEHIEL (known as _Rosh_), Jewish rabbi and codifier, was born +in the Rhine district c. 1250, and died in Toledo 1327. Endangered by +the persecutions inflicted on the German Jews in the 13th century, +'Asher fled to Spain, where he was made rabbi of Toledo. His enforced +exile impoverished him, and from this date begins an important change in +the status of medieval rabbis. Before the 14th century, rabbis had +obtained a livelihood by the exercise of some secular profession, +particularly medicine, and received no salary for performing the +rabbinic function. This was now changed. A disciple of Meir of +Rothenburg, 'Asher's sole interest was in the Talmud. He was a man of +austere piety, profound and narrow. He was a determined opponent of the +study of philosophy, and thus was antipathetic to the Spanish spirit. +The Jews of Spain continued, nevertheless, devotees of secular sciences +as well as of rabbinical lore. 'Asher was the first of the German rabbis +to display strong talent for systematization, and his chief work partook +of the nature of a compendium of the Talmud. Compiled between 1307 and +1314, 'Asher's _Compendium_ resembled, and to a large extent superseded, +the work of 'Al-phasi (q.v.). 'Asher's _Compendium_ is printed in most +editions of the Talmud, and it differed from previous Compendia in +greater simplicity and in the deference shown to German authorities. +'Asher's son Jacob, who died at Toledo before 1340, was the author of +the four _Turim_, a very profound and popular codification of rabbinical +law. This work was the standard code until Joseph Qaro directly based on +it his widely accepted Code of Jewish law, the _Shulhan 'Arukh_. + (I. A.) + + + + +ASHEVILLE, a city and the county-seat of Buncombe county, North +Carolina, U.S.A., in the mountainous Blue Ridge region in the west part +of the state, about 210 m. W. of Raleigh. Pop. (1890) 10,235; (1900) +14,692, of whom 4724 were negroes; (1910, census) 18,762. Asheville is +situated at the junction of three branches of the Southern railway, on a +high terrace on the east bank of the French Broad river, at the mouth of +the Swannanoa, about 2300 ft. above the sea. The city is best known as +one of the most popular health and pleasure resorts in the south, being +a summer resort for southerners and a winter resort for northerners. It +has a dry and equable climate and beautiful scenery. Among its social +clubs are the Albemarle, the Asheville, the Elks, the Tahkeeostee and +the Swannanoa Country clubs. An extensive system of city and suburban +parks, connected by a series of beautiful drives, adds to the city's +attractiveness. There are great forests in the vicinity. Among the +public buildings are the city hall, the court house, the Federal +building, the public library and an auditorium. In or near Asheville are +a normal and collegiate institute for young women (1892), and, occupying +the same campus, a home industrial school (1887) for girls, both under +the control of the Woman's Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian +Church; the Asheville farm school for boys, an industrial school for +negroes; the Asheville school for boys (5 m. west of Asheville); and the +Bingham school (1793), founded at Pittsboro, N.C., by William Bingham +(d. 1826), and removed to its present site (3 m. north-west of +Asheville) in 1891. About 2 m. south-east of the city is Biltmore, the +estate of George W. Vanderbilt, its 125,000 acres constituting what is +probably the finest country place in the United States. The central +feature of the estate is a chateau (375 X 150 ft.) of French Renaissance +design, after the famous chateau at Blois, France. In the neighbourhood +is a model village, with an elementary school, an industrial school for +whites, a hospital and a church, maintained by Mr Vanderbilt. Both the +chateau and the village were designed by Richard M. Hunt; the landscape +gardening was done by Frederick Law Olmsted. A collection of woody +plants, one of the largest and finest in the world, and a broad forest +and hunting preserve, known as Pisgah Forest (100,000 acres), are also +maintained by the owner. Asheville is a market for live-stock, dairy +products, lumber and fruits, and has various manufactories (in which a +good water-power is utilized), including tanneries, cotton mills, brick +and tile factories, and a wood-working and veneer plant. The value of +the city's factory products increased from $1,300,698 in 1900 to +$1,918,362 in 1905, or 47.5%. The city was named in honour of Samuel +Ashe (1725-1813), chief-justice of North Carolina from 1777 to 1796, and +John Ashe (1720-1781), a North Carolina soldier who distinguished +himself in the War of Independence, was settled about 1790, and was +incorporated in 1835. The city's boundaries were enlarged in 1905. + + + + +ASHFORD, a market-town in the Southern or Ashford parliamentary division +of Kent, England, 56 m. S.E. of London by the South-Eastern & Chatham +railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 12,808. It is pleasantly situated +on a gentle eminence near the confluence of the upper branches of the +river Stour. It has a fine Perpendicular church dedicated to St Mary, +with a lofty, well-proportioned tower and many interesting monuments. +The grammar school was founded by Sir Norman Knatchbull in the reign of +Charles I. Ashford has agricultural implement works and breweries; and +the large locomotive and carriage works of the South-Eastern & Chatham +railway are here. At Bethersden, between Ashford and Tenterden, marble +quarries were formerly worked extensively, supplying material to the +cathedrals of Canterbury and Rochester, and to many local churches. At +Charing, north-west of Ashford, the archbishops of Canterbury had a +residence from pre-Conquest times, and ruins of a palace, mainly of the +Decorated period, remain. On the south-eastern outskirts of Ashford is +the populous village of Willesborough (3602). + + Ashford (Esselesford, Asshatisforde, Essheford) was held at the time + of the Domesday survey by Hugh de Montfort, who came to England with + William the Conqueror. A Saturday market and an annual fair were + granted to the lord of the manor by Henry III. in 1243. Further annual + fairs were granted by Edward III. in 1349 and by Edward IV. in 1466. + In 1672 Charles II. granted a market on every second Tuesday, with a + court of pie-powder. James I. in 1607, at the petition of the + inhabitants of Ashford, gave Sir John Smith, Kt., the right of holding + a court of record in the town on every third Tuesday. The fertility of + the pasture-land in Romney Marsh to the south and east of Ashford + caused the cattle trade to increase in the latter half of the 18th + century, and led to the establishment of a stock market in 1784. The + town has never been incorporated. + + See Edward Hasted, _History and Survey of Kent_ (Canterbury, + 1778-1799, 2nd ed. 1797-1801); _Victoria County History--Kent_. + + + + +'ASHI (352-427), Jewish _'amora_, the first editor of the Talmud, was +born at Babylon. He was head of the Sura Academy, and there began the +Babylonian Talmud, spending thirty years of his life at it. He left the +work incomplete, and it was finished by his disciple Rabina just before +the year 500 A.D. (See TALMUD.) + + + + +ASHINGTON, an urban district in the Wansbeck parliamentary division of +Northumberland, England, 4 m. E. of Morpeth, on the Newbiggin branch of +the North Eastern railway. Pop. (1901) 13,956. The district, especially +along the river Wansbeck, is not without beauty, but there are numerous +collieries, from the existence of which springs the modern growth of +Ashington. At Bothal on the river (from which parish that of Ashington +was formed) is the castle originally belonging to the Bertram family, of +which Roger Bertram probably built the gatehouse, the only habitable +portion remaining, in the reign of Edward III. The ruins of the castle +are fragmentary, but of considerable extent. The church of St Andrew +here has interesting details from Early English to Perpendicular date, +and in the neighbouring woods is a ruined chapel of St Mary. The mining +centre of Ashington lies 2 m. north-east, on the high ground north of +the Wansbeck. + + + + +'ASHKENAZI, SEBI (1656-1718), known as Hakham Sebi, for some time rabbi +of Amsterdam, was a resolute opponent of the followers of the +pseudo-Messiah, Sabbatai Sebi (q.v.). He had a chequered career, owing +to his independence of character. He visited many lands, including +England, where he wielded much influence. His _Responsa_, are held in +high esteem. + + + + +ASHLAND, a city of Boyd county, Kentucky, U.S.A., on the Ohio river, +about 130 m. E. by N. of Frankfort. Pop. (1890) 4195; (1900) 6800 (489 +negroes); (1910) 8688. It is served by the Chesapeake & Ohio (being a +terminal of the Lexington and Big Sandy Divisions) and the Norfolk & +Western railways, and is connected with Huntington, West Virginia, by an +electric line. The city has a fine natural park (Central Park) of about +30 acres; and Clyffeside Park (maintained by a private corporation), of +about 75 acres, just east of the city, is a pleasure resort and a +meeting-ground (with a casino seating 3000 people) for the Tri-State +"Chautauqua" (for certain parts of Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia). +The surrounding country abounds in coal, iron ore, oil, clay, stone and +timber, for which the city is a distributing centre. Ashland has +considerable river traffic, and various manufactures, including pig +iron, nails, wire rods, steel billets, sheet steel, dressed lumber +(especially poplar), furniture, fire brick and leather. Ashland was +settled in 1854, and was chartered as a city in 1870. + + + + +ASHLAND, a borough of Schuylkill county, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., about 50 +m. N.E. of Harrisburg and about 100 m. N.W. of Philadelphia. Pop. (1890) +7346; (1900) 6438 (969 foreign-born); (1910) 6855. It is served by the +Lehigh Valley and the Philadelphia & Reading railways, and by the +electric lines of the Schuylkill Railway Company and the Shamokin & +Mount Carmel Transit Company. The borough is built on the slope of +Locust Mountain, about 885 ft. above sea-level. Its chief industry is +the mining of anthracite coal at several collieries in the vicinity; and +at Fountain Springs, 1 m. south-east, is a state hospital for injured +persons of the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania, opened in 1883. +The municipality owns and operates the waterworks. Ashland was laid out +as a town in 1847, and was named in honour of Henry Clay's home at +Lexington, Ky.; in 1857 it was incorporated. + + + + +ASHLAND, a village of Hanover county, Virginia, U.S.A., 17 m. N.W. of +Richmond. Pop. (1900) 1147; (1910) 1324. It is served by the Richmond, +Fredericksburg & Potomac railway, and is a favourite resort from +Richmond. Here is situated the Randolph-Macon College (Methodist +Episcopal, South), one of the oldest Methodist Episcopal colleges in the +United States. In 1832, two years after receiving its charter, it opened +near Boydton, Mecklenburg county, Virginia, and in 1868 was removed to +Ashland. The college in 1907-1908 had 150 students and a faculty of 16; +it publishes an endowed historical series called _The John P. Branch +Historical Papers of Randolph-Macon College_; and it is a part of the +"Randolph-Macon System of Colleges and Academies," which includes, +besides, Randolph-Macon Academy (1890) at Bedford City, Virginia, and +Randolph-Macon Academy (1892) at Front Royal, Virginia, both for boys; +Randolph-Macon Woman's College (1893) at Lynchburg, Virginia, which in +1907-1908 had an enrolment of 390; and Randolph-Macon Institute, for +girls, Danville, Virginia, which was admitted into the "System" in 1897. +These five institutions are under the control of a single board of +trustees; the work of the preparatory schools is thus correlated with +that of the colleges. About 7 m. out of Ashland is the birthplace of +Henry Clay, and about 15 m. distant is the birthplace of Patrick Henry. +Ashland was settled in 1845 and was incorporated in 1856. + + + + +ASHLAND, a city and the county-seat of Ashland county, Wisconsin, +U.S.A., situated about 315 m. N.W. of Milwaukee, and about 70 m. E. of +Superior and Duluth, in the N. part of the state, at the head of +Chequamegon Bay, an arm of Lake Superior. Pop. (1890) 9956; (1900) +13,074, of whom 4417 were foreign-born; (1910, census) 11,594. It is +served by the Chicago & North-Western, the Northern Pacific, the +Chicago, St Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha, and the Wisconsin Central +railways, and by several steamboat lines on the Great Lakes. The city is +attractively situated, has a dry, healthful climate, and is a summer +resort. It has a fine Federal building, one of the best high-school +buildings in Wisconsin, the Vaughn public library (1895), a Roman +Catholic hospital, and the Rinehart hospital, and is the seat of the +Northland College and Academy (Congregational). Ashland has an excellent +harbour, has large iron-ore and coal docks, and is the principal port +for the shipment of iron ore from the rich Gogebic Range, the annual ore +shipment approximating 3,500,000 tons, valued at $12,000,000, and it has +also an extensive export trade in lumber. Brownstone quarried in the +vicinity is also an important export. The lake trade amounts to more +than $35,000,000 annually. Ashland has large saw-mills, iron and steel +rolling mills, foundries and machine shops, railway repair shops (of the +Chicago & North-Western railway), knitting works, and manufactories of +dynamite, sulphite fibre, charcoal and wood-alcohol. In 1905 its total +factory product was valued at $4,210,265. Settled about 1854, Ashland +was incorporated as a village in 1863 and received a city charter in +1887. + + + + +ASHLAR, also written ASHLER, ASHELERE, &c. (probably from Lat. _axilla_, +diminutive of _axis_, an axle), hewn or squared stone, generally applied +to that used for facing walls. In a contract of date 1398 we +read--"Murus erit exterius de puro lapide vocato _achilar_, plane +incisso, interius vero de lapide fracto vocato _roghwall_." "Clene hewen +ashler" often occurs in medieval documents; this no doubt means tooled +or finely worked, in contradistinction to rough-axed faces. + +An "ashlar piece" in building is an upright piece of timber framed +between the common rafters and the wall plate. + + + + +ASHLEY, WILLIAM JAMES (1860- ), English economist, was born in London +on the 25th of February 1860. He was educated at St Olave's grammar +school and Balliol College, Oxford, and became a fellow of Lincoln +College. In 1888 he was appointed professor of political economy and +constitutional history in Toronto University, a post which he resigned +in 1892, in order to become professor of economic history at Harvard +University. In 1901 he was appointed professor of commerce and finance +in Birmingham University and in 1902 dean of the faculty of commerce. +Professor Ashley became well known for his work on the early history of +English industry, and for his prominence among those English economists +who supported Mr Chamberlain's tariff reform movement. His most +important works are _Early History of the English Woollen Industry_ +(1887); _Introduction to English Economic History and Theory_ (2 parts, +1888-1893); _Surveys, Historic and Economic_ (1900); _Adjustment of +Wages_ (1903); the _Tariff Problem_ (2nd ed. 1904); _Progress of the +German Working Classes_ (1904). + + + + +ASHMOLE, ELIAS (1617-1692), English antiquarian, and founder of the +Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, was born at Lichfield on the 23rd of May +1617, the son of a saddler. In 1638 he became a solicitor, and in 1644 +was appointed commissioner of excise. At Oxford, whither this brought +him when the Royalist Parliament was sitting there, he made friends with +Captain (afterwards Sir) George Wharton, through whose influence he +obtained the king's commission as captain of horse and comptroller of +the ordnance. In 1646 he was initiated as a Freemason--the first +gentleman, or amateur, to be "accepted." In 1649 he married Lady +Mainwaring, some twenty years his senior and a relative of his first +wife who had died eight years before. This marriage placed him in a +position of affluence that enabled him to devote his whole time to his +favourite studies. His interest in astrology, aroused by Wharton, and by +William Lilly,--whom with other astrologers he met in London in +1646,--seems, in the following years, to have subsided in favour of +heraldry and antiquarian research. In 1657 his wife petitioned for a +separation, but failing to gain her case returned to live with him. +Between this crisis in his domestic life and the time of her death in +1668, Ashmole was in high favour at court. He was made successively +Windsor herald, commissioner, comptroller and accountant-general of +excise, commissioner for Surinam and comptroller of the White Office. He +afterwards refused the office of Garter king-at-arms in favour of Sir +William Dugdale, whose daughter he had married in 1668. In 1672 he +published his _Institutions, Laws and Ceremonies of the Order of the +Garter_, a work which was practically exhaustive, and is an example of +his diligence and years of patient antiquarian research. Five years +later he presented the Ashmolean Museum, the first public museum of +curiosities in the kingdom, the larger part of which he had inherited +from a friend, John Tradescant, to the university of Oxford. He made it +a condition that a suitable building should be erected for its +reception, and the collection was not finally installed until 1683. +Subsequently he made the further gift to the university of his library. +He died on the 18th of May 1692. + + + + +ASHRAF (SHUREFA, SHERIFS), a small scattered tribe of African "Arabs" +settled near Tokar, in the valleys of the Gash and Baraka, and in the +Amarar country north of Suakin. They call themselves Beni Hashin, and +claim descent from Mahomet; hence their name, _sherif_ (plural _ashraf_) +being the title applied to descendants of the prophet. In the time of +the khalifa Abdulla (1885-1898), Ashraf was the name by which the family +and adherents of his late master the mahdi were known, the mahdi's +family claiming to be Ashraf. The Ashraf of Tokar remained loyal to +Egypt during the Sudan troubles. + + See _Anglo-Egyptian Sudan_, edited by Count Gleichen (London, 1905); + _Fire and Sword in the Sudan_, by Slatin Pasha (London, 1896); for the + Ashraf or Sherifs in Arabia, see ARABIA: _Geography_. + + + + +ASHREF, a town of Persia in the province of Mazandaran, about 50 m. W. +of Astarabad and 5 m. inland from the Caspian Sea, in 36 deg. 42' N. and +53 deg. 32' E. The population is about 6000, comprising descendants of +some Georgians introduced by Shah Abbas I. (1587-1629) and a number of +Gudars, a peculiar pariah race, probably of Indian origin. The place was +without importance until 1612, when Shah Abbas began building and laying +out the palaces and gardens in the neighbourhood now collectively known +as Bagh i Shah (the garden of the shah). The palaces, completed in 1627, +are now in ruins, but the gardens with their luxuriant vegetation and +gigantic cypress and orange trees ate well worth a visit. There were +originally six separate gardens, all contained within one large wall but +separated one from another by high walls. The principal palace was the +Chehel Situn (forty pillars), destroyed by the Afghans in 1723, and, +although rebuilt by Nadir Shah in 1731, already in ruins in 1743. About +3/4 m. north of the town is the Safi-abad garden, with a palace built by +Shah Safi (1629-1642) for his daughter. It is situated on a lovely +wooded hill, and was repaired and in part renovated about 1870 by +Nasiru'd-Din Shah. + + + + +ASHTABULA, a city of Ashtabula county, Ohio, U.S.A., in Ashtabula +township, on the Ashtabula river and Lake Erie, and 54 m. N.E. of +Cleveland. Pop. (1890) 8338; (1900) 12,949, of whom 3688 were +foreign-born; (1910, census) 18,266. There is a large Finnish-born +population in the city and in Ashtabula county, and the _Amerikan +Sanomat_, established here in 1897, is one of the most widely read +Finnish weeklies in the country. Ashtabula is served by the +Pennsylvania, the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern, and the New York, +Chicago & St Louis railways, and by inter-urban electric lines. The city +is built on the high bank of the river about 75 ft. above the lake, and +commands good views of diversified scenery. There is a public library. +Ashtabula has an excellent harbour, to and from which large quantities +of iron ore and coal are shipped. More iron ore is received at this port +annually than at any other port in the country, or, probably, in the +world; the ore is shipped thence by rail to Pittsburg, Youngstown and +other iron manufacturing centres. In 1907 the port received 7,542,149 +gross tons of iron ore, and shipped 2,632,027 net tons of soft coal. +Among the city's manufactures are leather, worsted goods, agricultural +implements, and foundry and machine shop products; in 1905 the total +value of the factory product was $1,895,454, an increase of 114.3% in +five years. There are large green-houses in and near Ashtabula, and +quantities of lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes are raised under glass and +shipped to Pittsburg and other large cities. The first settlement here +was made about 1801. Ashtabula township was created in 1808, and from it +the townships of Kingsville, Plymouth and Sheffield have subsequently +been formed. The village of Ashtabula was incorporated in 1831, and +received a city charter in 1891. The name _Ashtabula_ is an Indian word +first applied to the river and said to mean "fish river." + + + + +ASHTON-IN-MAKERFIELD, an urban district in the Newton parliamentary +division of Lancashire, England, 4 m. S. of Wigan, on the Great Central +railway. Pop. (1901) 18,687. The district is rich in minerals, and has +large collieries, and a colliery company's institute; iron goods are +manufactured. + + + + +ASHTON-UNDER-LYNE, a market-town and municipal and parliamentary borough +of Lancashire, England, on the river Tame, a tributary of the Mersey, +185 m. N. W. by N. from London and 6-1/2 E. from Manchester. Area, 1346 +acres. Pop. (1891) 40,486; (1901) 43,890. It is served by the London & +North-Western and the Lancashire & Yorkshire railways (Charlestown +station), and by the Great Central (Park Parade station). The church of +St Michael is Perpendicular, but almost wholly rebuilt. In the vicinity +are barracks. The Old Hall, or manor house of the Asshetons, remains in +an altered form, with an ancient prison adjoining, and the name of +Gallows Meadow, still preserved, recalls the summary execution of +justice by the lords of the manor. In the vicinity of Ashton a few +picturesque old houses remain among the numerous modern residences. +Stamford Park, presented by Lord Stamford, is shared by the towns of +Ashton and Stalybridge, which extends across the Tame into Cheshire. A +technical school, school of art and free library, and several hospitals +are maintained. Chief among industries are cotton-spinning, hat-making +and iron-founding and machinery works; and there are large collieries in +the neighbourhood. The parliamentary borough, which returns one member, +extends into Cheshire. The corporation consists of a mayor, 8 aldermen +and 24 councillors. + +The derivation from the Saxon _aesc_ (ash) and _tun_ (an enclosed place) +accounts for the earliest orthography Estun. The addition _subtus +lineam_ is found in ancient deeds and is due to the position of the +place below the line or boundary of Cheshire, which once formed the +frontier between the kingdoms of Northumbria and Mercia. The manor was +granted to Roger de Poictou by William I., but before the end of his +reign came to the Greslets as part of the barony of Manchester. It was +held by the Asshetons from 1335 to 1515, when it passed by marriage to +the Booths of Dunham Massey, and is now held by the earl of Stamford, +the representative of that family. The lord of the manor still holds the +ancient court-leet and court-baron half-yearly in May and November, in +which cognizance is taken of breaches of agreement among the tenants, +especially concerning the repair of roads and cultivation of lands. The +place had long enjoyed the name of borough, but it was not till 1847 +that a charter of incorporation was granted. Under the Reform Act (1832) +it returns one member. One of the markets dates back to 1436. The +ancient industry was woollen, but soon after the invention of the +spinning frame the cotton trade was introduced, and as early as 1769 the +weaving of ginghams, nankeens and calicoes was carried on, and the +weaving of cotton yarn by machinery soon became the staple industry. A +chapel or church existed here as early as 1261-1262. + + + + +ASH WEDNESDAY, in the Western Church, the first day of Lent (q.v.), so +called from the ceremonial use of ashes, as a symbol of penitence, in +the service prescribed for the day. The custom, which is ultimately +based on the penance of "sackcloth and ashes" spoken of by the prophets +of the Old Testament, has been dropped in those of the reformed Churches +which still observe the fast; but it is retained in the Roman Catholic +Church, the day being known as _dies cinerum_ (day of ashes) or _dies +cineris et cilicii_ (day of ash and sackcloth). The ashes, obtained by +burning the palms or their substitutes used in the ceremonial of the +previous Palm Sunday, are placed in a vessel on the altar before High +Mass. The priest, vested in a violet cope, prays that God may send His +angel to hallow the ash, that it become a _remedium salubre_ for all +penitents. After another prayer the ashes are thrice sprinkled with holy +water and thrice censed. Then the priest invites those present to +approach and, dipping his thumb in the ashes, marks them as they kneel +with the sign of the cross on the forehead (or in the case of clerics on +the place of tonsure), with the words: _Memento, homo, quid pulvis es et +in pulverem reverteris_ (Remember, man, that thou art dust and unto dust +thou shall return). The celebrant himself either sprinkles the ash on +his own head in silence, or receives it from the priest of highest +dignity present. + +This ceremony is derived from the custom of public penance in the early +Church, when the sinner to be reconciled had to appear in the +congregation clad in sackcloth and covered with ashes (cf. Tertullian, +_De Pudicitia_, 13). At what date this use was extended to the whole +congregation is not known. The phrase _dies cinerum_ appears in the +earliest extant copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary, and it is probable +that the custom was already established by the 8th century. The +Anglo-Saxon homilist Aelfric, in his _Lives of the Saints_ (996 or 997), +refers to it as in common use; but the earliest evidence of its +authoritative prescription is a decree of the synod of Beneventum in +1091. + +Of the reformed Churches the Anglican Church alone marks the day by any +special service. This is known as the Commination service, its +distinctive element being the solemn reading of "the general sentences +of God's cursing against sinners, gathered out of the seven and +twentieth chapter of Deuteronomy, and other places of Scripture." The +lections for the day are the same as in the Roman Church (Joel ii. 12, +&c., and Matt. vi. 16, &c.). In the American Prayer Book the office of +Commination is omitted, with the exception of the three concluding +prayers, which are derived from the prayers and anthems said or sung +during the blessing and distribution of the ashes according to the Sarum +Missal. The ceremonial of the ashes was not proscribed in England at the +Reformation; it was indeed enjoined by a proclamation of Henry VIII. +(February 26, 1538) and again in 1550 under Edward VI.; but it had +fallen into complete disuse by the beginning of the 17th century. + + See Wetzer and Welte, _Kirchenlexikon_, and Herzog-Hauck, + _Realencyklopadie_ (3rd ed.), s. "_Aschermittuoch_"; L. Duchesne, + _Christian Worship_, trans. by M.L. McClure (London, 1904). + + + + +ASHWELL, LENA (1872- ), English actress, was the daughter of Commander +Pocock, R.N. In 1896 she married the actor Arthur Playfair, whom she +divorced in 1908; later in the latter year she married Dr Simson. In +1895 she played Elaine in Sir Henry Irving's production of _King Arthur_ +at the Lyceum, and again acted with him in 1903 in _Dante_. She made her +first striking success, however, on the London stage in _Mrs Dane's +Defence_ with Sir Charles Wyndham in 1900, and a few years later her +acting in _Leah Kleschna_ confirmed her position as one of the leading +actresses in London. In 1907 she started under her own management at the +Kingsway theatre. + + + + +ASIA, the name of one of the great continents into which the earth's +surface is divided, embracing the north-eastern portion of the great +mass of land which constitutes what is generally known as the Old World, +of which Europe forms the north-western and Africa the south-western +region. + +Much doubt attaches to the origin of the name. Some of the earliest +Greek geographers divided their known world into two portions only, +Europe and Asia, in which last Libya (the Greek name for Africa) was +included. Herodotus, who ranks Libya as one of the chief divisions of +the world, separating it from Asia, repudiates as fables the ordinary +explanations assigned to the names Europe and Asia, but confesses his +inability to say whence they came. It would appear probable, however, +that the former of these words was derived from an Assyrian or Hebrew +root, which signifies the west or setting sun, and the latter from a +corresponding root meaning the east or rising sun, and that they were +used at one time to imply the west and the east. There is ground also +for supposing that they may at first have been used with a specific or +restricted local application, a more extended signification having +eventually been given to them. After the word Asia had acquired its +larger sense, it was still specially used by the Greeks to designate the +country around Ephesus. The idea of Asia as originally formed was +necessarily indefinite, and long continued to be so; and the area to +which the name was finally applied, as geographical knowledge increased, +was to a great extent determined by arbitrary and not very precise +conceptions, rather than on the basis of natural relations and +differences subsisting between it and the surrounding regions. + + +GEOGRAPHY + + Boundaries. + +The northern boundary of Asia is formed by the Arctic Ocean; the +coast-line falls between 70 deg. and 75 deg. N., and so lies within the +Arctic circle, having its extreme northern point in Cape +Sivero-Vostochnyi (i.e. north-east) or Chelyuskin, in 78 deg. N. On the +south the coast-line is far more irregular, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of +Bengal, and the China Sea reaching about to the northern tropic at the +mouths of the Indus, of the Ganges and of the Canton river; while the +great peninsulas of Arabia, Hindostan and Cambodia descend to about 10 +deg. N., and the Malay peninsula extends within a degree and a half of +the equator. On the west the extreme point of Asia is found on the shore +of the Mediterranean, at Cape Baba, in 26 deg. E., nor far from the +Dardanelles. Thence the boundary passes in the one direction through the +Mediterranean, and down the Red Sea to the southern point of Arabia, at +the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, in 45 deg. E.; and in the other through the +Black Sea, and along the range of Caucasus, following approximately 40 +deg. N. to the Caspian, whence it turns to the north on a line not far +from the 60th meridian, along the Ural Mountains, and meets the Arctic +Ocean nearly opposite the island of Novaya Zemlya. The most easterly +point of Asia is East Cape (Vostochnyi, i.e. east, or Dezhnev), in 190 +deg. E., at the entrance of Bering Strait. The boundary between this +point and the extremity of the Malay Peninsula follows the coast of the +Northern Pacific and the China Sea, on a line deeply broken by the +projection of the peninsulas of Kamchatka and Korea, and the recession +of the Sea of Okhotsk, the Yellow Sea, and the Gulfs of Tongking and +Siam. + + + Islands. + +On the east and south-east of Asia are several important groups of +islands, the more southern of which link this continent to Australia, +and to the islands of the Pacific. The Kurile islands, the Japanese +group, Luchu, Formosa and the Philippines, may be regarded as +unquestionable outliers of Asia. Between the islands of the Malay +archipelago from Sumatra to New Guinea, and the neighbouring Asiatic +continent, no definite relations appear ever to have existed, and no +distinctly marked boundary for Asia has been established by the old +geographers in this quarter. Modern science, however, has indicated a +line of physical separation along the channel between Borneo and +Celebes, called the Straits of Macassar, which follows approximately +120 deg. E., to the west of which the flora and fauna are essentially +Asiatic in their type, while to the south and east the Australian +element begins to be distinctly marked, soon to become predominant. To +this boundary has been given the name of Wallace's line, after the +eminent naturalist, A.R. Wallace, who first indicated its existence. + + + Form of continent. + +Owing to the great extent of Asia, it is not easy to obtain a correct +conception of the actual form of its outline from ordinary maps, the +distortions which accompany projections of large spherical areas on a +flat surface being necessarily great and misleading. Turning, therefore, +to a globe, Asia, viewed as a whole, will be seen to have the form of a +great isosceles spherical triangle, having its north-eastern apex at +East Cape (Vostochnyi), in Bering Strait; its two equal sides, in length +about a quadrant of the sphere, or 6500 m., extending on the west to the +southern point of Arabia, and on the east to the extremity of the Malay +peninsula; and the base between these points occupying about 60 deg. of +a great circle, or 4500 m., and being deeply indented by the Arabian Sea +and the Bay of Bengal on either side of the Indian peninsula. A great +circle, drawn through East Cape and the southern point of Arabia, passes +nearly along the coast-line of the Arctic Ocean, over the Ural +Mountains, through the western part of the Caspian, and nearly along the +boundary between Persia and Asiatic Turkey. Asia Minor and the +north-western half of Arabia lie outside such a great circle, which +otherwise indicates, with fair accuracy, the north-western boundary of +Asia. In like manner a great circle drawn through East Cape and the +extremity of the Malay peninsula, passes nearly over the coasts of +Manchuria, China and Cochin-China, and departs comparatively little from +the eastern boundary. + + + General physiography. + + Asia is divided laterally along the parallel of 40 deg. north by a + depression which, beginning on the east of the desert of Gobi, extends + westwards through Mongolia to Chinese Turkestan. To the west of + Kashgar the central depression is limited by the meridional range of + Sarikol and the great elevation of the Pamir, of which the Sarikol is + the eastern face. The level of this depression (once a vast inland + sea) between the mountains which enclose the sources of the Hwang-ho + and the Sarikol range probably never exceeds 2000 ft. above sea, and + modern researches tend to prove that in the central portions of the + Gobi (about Lop Nor) it may be actually below sea-level. A vast + proportion of the continent north of this central line is but a few + hundred feet in altitude. Shelving gradually upward from the low flats + of Siberia the general continental level rises to a great central + water-parting, or divide, which stretches from the Black Sea through + the Elburz and the Hindu Kush to the Tian-shan mountains in the Pamir + region, and hence to Bering Strait on the extreme north-east. This + great divide is not always marked by well-defined ranges facing + steeply either to the north or south. There are considerable spaces + where the strike, or axis, of the main ranges is transverse to the + water-parting, which is then represented by intermediate highlands + forming lacustrine regions with an indefinite watershed. Only a part + of this great continental divide (including such ranges as the Hindu + Kush, Tian-shan, Altai or Khangai) rises to any great height, a + considerable portion of it being below 5000 ft. in altitude. South of + the divide the level at once drops to the central depression of Gobi, + which forms a vast interior, almost waterless space, where the local + drainage is lost in deserts or swamps. South of this enclosed + depression is another great hydrographic barrier which parts it from + the low plains of the Amur, of China, Siam and India, bordered by the + shallows of the Yellow Sea and the shoals which enclose the islands of + Japan and Formosa, all of them once an integral part of the continent. + This second barrier is one of the most mighty upheavals in the world, + by reason both of its extent and its altitude. Starting from the Amur + river and reaching along the eastern margin of the Gobi desert towards + the sources of the Hwang-ho, it merges into the Altyn-tagh and the + Kuen-lun, forming the northern face of the vast Tibetan highlands + which are bounded on the south by the Himalaya. The Pamir highlands + between the base of the Tian-shan mountains and the eastern buttresses + of the Hindu Kush unite these two great divides, enclosing the Gobi + depression on the west; and they would again be united on the east but + for the transverse valley of the Amur, which parts the Khingan + mountains from the Yablonoi system to the east of Lake Baikal. + + If we consider the whole continent to be divided into three sections, + viz. a northern section with an average altitude of less than 5000 ft. + above sea, where all the main rivers flow northward to the + Mediterranean, the Arctic Sea, or the Caspian; a central section of + depression, where the drainage is lost in swamps or _hamuns_, and of + which the average level probably does not exceed 2000 ft. above sea; + and a southern section divided between highly elevated table-lands + from 15,000 to 16,000 ft. in altitude, and lowlands of the Arabian, + Indian, Siamese and Chinese peninsulas, with an ocean outlet for its + drainage; we find that there is only one direct connexion between + northern and southern sections which involves no mountain passes, and + no formidable barrier of altitudes. That one is afforded by the narrow + valley of the Hari Rud to the west of Herat. From the Caspian to + Karachi it is possible to pass without encountering any orographic + obstacle greater than the divide which separates the valley of the + Hari Rud from the Helmund _hamun_ basin, which may be represented by + an altitude of about 4000 ft. above sea-level. This fact possesses + great significance in connexion with the development of Asiatic + railways. + + + Hydrography. + + If we examine the hydrographic basins of the three divisions of Asia + thus indicated we find that the northern division, including the + drainage falling into the Arctic Sea, the Aralo-Caspian depression, or + the Mediterranean, embraces an area of about 6,394,500 sq. m., as + follows:-- + + Sq. m. + Area of Arctic river basins 4,367,000 + " Aralo-Caspian basin 1,759,000 + " Mediterranean 268,500 + --------- + Total 6,394,500 + + The southern division is nearly equal in extent-- + + Sq. m. + Pacific drainage 3,641,000 + Indian Ocean 2,873,000 + --------- + Total 6,514,000 + + The interior or inland basins, including the lacustrine regions south + of the Arctic watershed, the Gobi depression, Tibetan plateau, the + Iranian (or Perso-Afghan) uplands, the Syro-Arabian inland basin, and + that of Asia Minor, amount to 3,141,500 sq. m. or about half the + extent of the other two. + + By far the largest Asiatic river basin is that of the Ob, which + exceeds 1,000,000 sq. m. in extent. On the east and south the Amur + embraces no less than 776,000 sq. m., the Yang-tsze-kiang including + 685,000, the Ganges 409,500, and the Indus 370,000 sq. m.[1] + + The lakes of Asia are innumerable, and vary in size from an inland sea + (such as Lakes Baikal and Balkash) to a highland loch, or the + indefinitely extended swamps of Persia. Many of them are at high + elevations (Lake Victoria, 13,400 ft., being probably the most + elevated), and are undoubted vestiges of an ancient period of + glaciation. Such lakes, as a rule, show indications of a gradual + decrease in size. Others are relics of an earlier geological period, + when land areas recently upheaved from the sea were spread at low + levels with alternate inundations of salt and fresh water. Of these + Lop Nor and the Helmund _hamuns_ are typical. Such lakes (in common + with all the plateau _hamuns_ of south-west Baluchistan and Persia) + change their form and extent from season to season, and many of them + are impregnated with saline deposits from the underlying strata. The + _kavirs_, or salt depressions, of the Persian desert are more + frequently widespread deposits of mud and salt than water-covered + areas. + + + Political divisions. + + Although for the purposes of geographical nomenclature, boundaries + formed by a coast-line--that is, by depressions of the earth's solid + crust _below_ the ocean level--are most easily recognized and are of + special convenience; and although such boundaries, from following + lines on which the continuity of the land is interrupted, often + necessarily indicate important differences in the conditions of + adjoining countries, and of their political and physical relations, + yet variations of the elevation of the surface _above_ the sea-level + frequently produce effects not less marked. The changes of temperature + and climate caused by difference of elevation are quite comparable in + their magnitude and effect on all organized creatures with those due + to differences of latitude; and the relative position of the high and + low lands on the earth's surface, by modifying the direction of the + winds, the fall of rain, and other atmospheric phenomena, produce + effects in no sense less important than those due to the relative + distribution of the land and sea. Hence the study of the mountain + ranges of a continent is, for a proper apprehension of its physical + conditions and characteristics, as essential as the examination of its + extent and position in relation to the equator and poles, and the + configuration of its coasts. + + + Himalayan boundary. + + From such causes the physical conditions of a large part of Asia, and + the history of its population, have been very greatly influenced by + the occurrence of the mass of mountain above described, which includes + the Himalaya and the whole elevated area having true physical + connexion with that range, and occupies an area about 2000 m. in + length and varying from 100 to 500 m. in width, between 65 deg. and + 100 deg. east and between 28 deg. and 35 deg. north. These mountains, + which include the highest peaks in the world, rise, along their entire + length, far above the line of perpetual snow, and few of the passes + across the main ridges are at a less altitude than 15,000 or 16,000 + ft. above the sea. Peaks of 20,000 ft. abound along the whole chain, + and the points that exceed that elevation are numerous. A mountain + range such as this, attaining altitudes at which vegetable life + ceases, and the support of animal life is extremely difficult, + constitutes an almost impassable barrier against the spread of all + forms of living creatures. The mountain mass, moreover, is not less + important in causing a complete separation between the atmospheric + conditions on its opposite flanks, by reason of the extent to which it + penetrates that stratum of the atmosphere which is in contact with the + earth's surface and is effective in determining climate. The highest + summits create serious obstructions to the movements of nearly + three-fourths of the mass of the air resting on this part of the + earth, and of nearly the whole of the moisture it contains; the + average height of the entire chain is such as to make it an almost + absolute barrier to one-half of the air and three-fourths of the + moisture; while the lower ranges also produce important atmospheric + effects, one-fourth of the air and one-half of the watery vapour it + carries with it lying below 9000 ft. + + This great mass of mountain, constituting as it does a complete + natural line of division across a large part of the continent, will + form a convenient basis from which to work, in proceeding, as will now + be done, to give a general view of the principal countries contained + in Asia. + + + Tibet. + + The summit of the great mountain mass is occupied by Tibet, a country + known by its inhabitants under the name of _Bod_ or _Bodyul_. Tibet is + a rugged table-land, narrow as compared with its length, broken up by + a succession of mountain ranges, which follow as a rule the direction + of the length of the table-land, and commonly rise into the regions of + perpetual snow; between the flanks of these lie valleys, closely + hemmed in, usually narrow, having a very moderate inclination, but at + intervals opening out into wide plains, and occupied either by rivers, + or frequently by lakes from which there is no outflow and the waters + of which are salt. The eastern termination of Tibet is in the line of + snowy mountains which flanks China on the west, between the 27th and + 35th parallels of latitude, and about 103 deg. east. On the west the + table-land is prolonged beyond the political limits of Tibet, though + with much the same physical features, to about 70 deg. east, beyond + which it terminates; and the ranges which are covered with perpetual + snow as far west as Samarkand, thence rapidly diminish in height, and + terminate in low hills north of Bokhara. + + The mean elevation of Tibet may be taken as 15,000 ft. above the sea. + The broad mountainous slope by which it is connected with the lower + levels of Hindostan contains the ranges known as the Himalaya; the + name Kuen-lun is generally applied to the northern slope that descends + to the central plains of the Gobi, though these mountains are not + locally known under those names, Kuen-lun being apparently a Chinese + designation. + + The extreme rigour of the climate of Tibet, which combines great cold + with great drought, makes the country essentially very poor, and the + chief portion of it little better than desert. The vegetation is + everywhere most scanty, and scarcely anything deserving the name of a + tree is to be found unless in the more sheltered spots, and then + artificially planted. The population in the lower and warmer valleys + live in houses, and follow agriculture; in the higher regions they are + nomadic shepherds, thinly scattered over a large area. + + + China. + + China lies between the eastern flank of the Tibetan plateau and the + North Pacific, having its northern and southern limits about on 40 + deg. and 20 deg. N. respectively. The country, though generally broken + up with mountains of moderate elevation, possesses none of very great + importance apart from those of its western border. It is well watered, + populous, and, as a rule, highly cultivated, fertile, and well wooded; + the climate is analogous to that of southern Europe, with hot summers, + and winters everywhere cold and in the north decidedly severe. + + + Indo-Chinese region. + + From the eastern extremity of the Tibetan mountains, between the 95th + and 100th meridians, high ranges extend from about 35 deg. N. in a + southerly direction, which, spreading outwards as they go south, reach + the sea at various points in Cochin-China, the Malay peninsula, and + the east flank of Bengal. Between these ranges, which are probably + permanently snowy to about 27 deg. N., flow the great rivers of the + Indo-Chinese peninsula, the Mekong, the Menam, the Salween, and the + Irrawaddy, the valleys of which form the main portions of the states + of Cochin-China (including Tongking and Cambodia), of Siam (including + Laos) and of Burma. The people of Cochin-China are called Anam; it is + probably from a corruption of their name for the capital of Tongking, + Kechao, that the Portuguese Cochin has been derived. All these + countries are well watered, populous and fertile, with a climate very + similar to that of eastern Bengal. The geography of the region in + which the mountains of Cochin-China and Siam join Tibet is still + imperfectly known, but there is no ground left for doubting that the + great river of eastern Tibet, the Tsanpo, supplies the main stream of + the Brahmaputra. The two great rivers of China, the Hwang-ho and the + Yang-tsze-kiang take their rise from the eastern face of Tibet, the + former from the north-east angle, the latter from the south-east. The + main stream of this last is called Dichu in Tibet, and its chief + feeder is the Ya-lung-kiang, which rises not far from the Hwang-ho, + and is considered the territorial boundary between China and Tibet. + + + British India. + + British India comprises approximately the area between the 95th and + 70th meridians, and between the Tibetan table-land and the Indian + Ocean. The Indian peninsula from 25 deg. N. southwards is a + table-land, having its greatest elevation on the west, where the + highest points rise to over 8000 ft., though the ordinary altitude of + the higher hills hardly exceeds 4000 ft.; the general level of the + table-land lies between 3000 ft. as a maximum and 1000 ft. + + From the delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra on the east to that of + the Indus on the west, and intervening between the table-land of the + peninsula and the foot of the Himalayan slope of the Tibetan plateau, + lies the great plain of northern India, which rises at its highest + point to about 1000 ft., and includes altogether, with its + prolongation up the valley of Assam, an area of about 500,000 sq. m., + comprising the richest, the most populous and most civilized districts + of India. The great plain extends, with an almost unbroken surface, + from the most western to the most eastern extremity of British India, + and is composed of deposits so finely comminuted, that it is no + exaggeration to say that it is possible to go from the Bay of Bengal + up the Ganges, through the Punjab, and down the Indus again to the + sea, over a distance of 2000 m. and more, without finding a pebble, + however small. + + The great rivers of northern India--the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and + the Indus--all derive their waters from the Tibetan mountain mass; and + it is a remarkable circumstance that the northern water-parting of + India should lie to the north of the Himalaya in the regions of + central Tibet. + + The population of India is very large, some of its districts being + among the most densely peopled in the world. The country is generally + well cleared, and forests are, as a rule, found only along the flanks + of the mountains, where the fall of rain is most abundant. The more + open parts are highly cultivated, and large cities abound. The climate + is generally such as to secure the population the necessaries of life + without severe labour; the extremes of heat and drought are such as to + render the land unsuitable for pasture, and the people everywhere + subsist by cultivation of the soil or commerce, and live in settled + villages or towns. + + The island of Ceylon is distinguished from the neighbouring parts of + British India by little more than its separate administration and the + Buddhistic religion of its population. The highest point in Ceylon + rises to about 9000 ft. above the sea, and the mountain slopes are + densely covered with forest. The lower levels are in climate and + cultivation quite similar to the regions in the same latitude on the + Malay peninsula. + + Of the islands in the Bay of Bengal the Nicobar and Andaman groups are + alone worth notice. They are placed on a line joining the north end of + Sumatra and Cape Negrais, the south-western extremity of Burma. They + possibly owe their existence to the volcanic agencies which are known + to extend from Sumatra across this part of the Indian Ocean. + + [Illustration: map of Asia.] + + The Laccadives and Maldives are groups of small coral islands, + situated along the 73rd meridian at no great distance from the + Indian peninsula on which they have a political dependency. + + + The Nearer East. + + The portion of Asia west of British India excluding Arabia and Syria + forms another extensive plateau covering an area as large as that of + Tibet though at a much lower altitude. Its southern border runs along + the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Tigris and thence westward to + the north-east angle of the Levant, on the north the high land follows + nearly 36 deg. N. to the southern shore of the Caspian and thence to + the Black Sea and Sea of Marmora. Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Iran or + Persia, Armenia and the provinces of Asia Minor occupy this high + region with which they are nearly conterminous. The eastern flank of + this table-land follows a line of hills drawn a short distance from + the Indus between the mouth of that river and the Himalaya, about on + the 72nd meridian, these hills do not generally exceed 4000 or 5000 + ft. in elevation but a few of the summits reach 10,000 ft. or more. + The southern and south western face follows the coast closely up the + Persian Gulf from the mouth of the Indus, and is formed farther west + by the mountain scarp, which, rising in many points to 10,000 ft. + flanks the Tigris and the Mesopotamian plains, and extends along + Kurdistan and Armenia nearly to the 40th meridian, beyond which it + turns along the Taurus range, and the north eastern angle of the + Mediterranean. The north eastern portion of the Afghan table-land + abuts on the Himalaya and Tibet, with which it forms a continuous mass + of mountain between the 71st and 72nd meridians and 34 deg. and 36 + deg. N. From the point of intersection of the 71st meridian with the + 36th parallel of latitude, an unbroken range of mountain stretches on + one side towards the north east, up to the crest of the northern slope + of the Tibetan plateau, and on the other nearly due west as far as the + Caspian. The north eastern portion of this range is of great altitude, + and separates the headwaters of the Oxus, which run off to the Aral + Sea, from those of the Indus and its Kabul tributary, which, uniting + below Peshawar are thence discharged southward into the Arabian Sea. + The western part of the range, which received the name of Paropamisus + Mons from the ancients, diminishes in height west of the 65th meridian + and constitutes the northern face of the Afghan and Persian plateau + rising abruptly from the plains of the Turkoman desert which lies + between the Oxus and the Caspian. These mountains at some points + attain a height of 10,000 or 12,000 ft. Along the south coast of the + Caspian this line of elevation is prolonged as the Elburz range (not + to be confused with the Elburz of the Caucasus), and has its + culminating point in Demavend, which rises to 19,400 ft. above the sea + thence it extends to the north west to Ararat, which rises to upwards + of 17,000 ft. from the vicinity of which the Euphrates flows off to + the south west across the high lands of Armenia. Below the north east + declivity of this range lies Georgia, on the other side of which + province rises the Caucasus, the boundary of Asia and Europe between + the Caspian and Black Seas, the highest points of which reach an + elevation of nearly 19,000 ft. West of Ararat high hills extend along + the Black Sea between which and the Taurus range lies the plateau of + Asia Minor reaching to the Aegean Sea, the mountains along the Black + Sea, on which are the Olympus and Ida of the ancients rise to 6000 or + 7000 ft., the Taurus is more lofty--reaching 8000 and 10,000 ft.--both + ranges decline in altitude as they approach the Mediterranean. + + This great plateau extending from the Mediterranean to the Indus has a + length of about 2500 m. from east to west, and a breadth of upwards of + 600 m. on the west and nowhere of less than 250 m. It lies generally + at altitudes between 2000 ft. and 8000 ft. above the sea level. Viewed + as a whole the eastern half of this region, comprising Persia, + Afghanistan and Baluchistan, is poor and unproductive. The climate is + very severe in the winter and extremely hot in summer. The rainfall is + very scanty, and running waters are hardly known excepting among the + mountains which form the scarps of the elevated country. The + population is sparse, frequently nomadic, and addicted to plunder, + progress in the arts and habits of civilization is small. The western + part of the area falls within the Turkish empire. Its climate is less + hot and and its natural productiveness much greater and its population + more settled and on the whole more advanced. + + + Arabia. + + The peninsula of Arabia with Syria, its continuation to the + north-west, has some of the characteristics of the hottest and driest + parts Persia and Baluchistan. Excepting the northern part of this + tract which is conterminous with the plain of Mesopotamia (which at + its highest point reaches an elevation of about 700 ft. above the sea) + the country is covered with low mountains, rising to 3000 or 4000 ft. + in altitude having among them narrow valleys in which the vegetation + is scanty with exceptional regions of greater fertility in the + neighbourhood of the coasts where the rainfall is greatest. In + northern Syria the mountains of Lebanon rise to about 10,000 ft. and + with a more copious water supply the country becomes more productive. + The whole tract, excepting south eastern Arabia is nominally subject + to Turkey but the people are to no small extent practically + independent living a nomadic pastoral and freebooting life under petty + chiefs in the more arid districts, but settled in towns in the more + fertile tracts where agriculture becomes more profitable and external + commerce is established. + + + Trans-Caspian region and central Asia. + + The area between the northern border of the Persian high lands and the + Caspian and Aral Seas is a nearly desert low lying plain, extending to + the foot of the north-western extremity of the great Tibeto-Himalayan + mountains and prolonged eastward up the valleys of the Oxus (Amu + Darya) and Jaxartes (Syr-Darya), and northward across the country of + the Kirghiz to the south western border of Siberia. It includes + Bokhara, Khiva and Turkestan proper in which the Uzbeg Turks are + dominant, and for the most part is inhabited by nomadic tribes, who + are marauders, enjoying the reputation of being the worst among a race + of professed robbers. The tribes to the north, subject to Russia, are + naturally more peaceable, and have been brought into some degree of + discipline. In this tract the rainfall is nowhere sufficient for the + purposes of agriculture, which is only possible by help of irrigation, + and the fixed population (which contains a non-Turkish element) is + comparatively small, and restricted to the towns and the districts + near the rivers. + + The north-western extremity of the elevated Tibeto-Himalayan mountain + plateau is situated about on 73 deg. E. and 39 deg. N. This region is + known as Pamir, it has all the characteristics of the highest regions + of Tibet, and so far fitly receives the Russian designation of steppe, + but it seems to have no special peculiarities, and the reason of its + having been so long regarded as a geographical enigma is not obvious. + From it the Oxus, or Amu, flows off to the west, and the Jaxartes, or + Syr, to the north, through the Turki state of Khokand, while to the + east the waters run down past Kashgar to the central desert of the + Gobi, uniting with the streams from the northern slope of the Tibetan + plateau that traverse the principalities of Yarkand and Khotan, which + are also Turki. Here the Tibetan mountains unite with the line of + elevation which stretches across the continent from the Pacific, and + which separates Siberia from the region commonly spoken of under the + name of central Asia. + + + Manchuria. + + A range of mountains, called Stanovor, rising to heights of 4000 or + 5000 ft., follows the southern coast of the eastern extremity of Asia + from Kamchatka to the borders of Manchuria, as far as the 135th + meridian, in lat. 55 deg. N. Thence the Yablonoi range, continuing in + the same direction, divides the waters of the river Lena, which flows + through Siberia into the Arctic Sea, from those of the river Amur, + which falls into the North Pacific, the basin of this river, with its + affluents, constitutes Manchuria. From the north of Manchuria the + Khingan range stretches southward to the Chinese frontier near Peking, + east of which the drainage falls into the Amur and the Yellow Sea, + while to the west is an almost rainless region, the inclination of + which is towards the central area of the continent, Mongolia. + + + Mongolia. + + From the western end of the Yablonoi range, on the 115th meridian, a + mountainous belt extends along a somewhat irregular line to the + extremity of Pamir, known under various names in its different parts, + and broken up into several branches, enclosing among them many + isolated drainage areas, from which there is no outflow, and within + which numerous lakes are formed. The most important of these ranges is + the Tian-shan or Celestial Mountains, which form the northern boundary + of the Gobi desert, they lie between 40 deg. and 43 deg. N., and + between 75 deg. and 95 deg. E., and some of the summits are said to + exceed 20,000 ft. in altitude, along the foot of this range are the + principal cultivated districts of central Asia, and here too are + situated the few towns which have sprung up in this barren and thinly + peopled region. Next may be named the Ala-tau, on the prolongation of + the Tian-shan, flanking the Syr on the north, and rising to 14,000 or + 15,000 ft. It forms the barrier between the Issyk-kul and Balkash + lakes, the elevation of which is about 5000 ft. Last is the Altai, + near the 50th parallel, rising to 10,000 or 12,000 ft., which + separates the waters of the great rivers of western Siberia from those + that collect into the lakes of north-west Mongolia, Dzungaria and + Kalka. A line of elevation is continued west of the Altai to the Ural + Mountains, not rising to considerable altitudes; this divides the + drainage of south-west Siberia from the great plains lying north east + of the Aral Sea. + + The central area bounded on the north and north-west by the Yablonoi + Mountains and their western extension in the Tian-shan, on the south + by the northern face of the Tibetan plateau and on the east by the + Khingan range before alluded to, forms the great desert of central + Asia, known as the Gobi. Its eastern part is nearly conterminous with + south Mongolia, its western forms Chinese or eastern Turkestan. It + appears likely that no part of this great central Asiatic desert is + less than 2000 ft. above the sea level. The elevation of the plain + about Kashgar and Yarkand is from 4000 to 6000 ft. The more northern + parts of Mongolia are between 4000 and 6000 ft., and no portion of the + route across the desert between the Chinese frontier and Kiakhta is + below 3000 ft. The precise positions of the mountain ridges that + traverse this central area are not properly known, their elevation is + everywhere considerable, and many points are known to exceed 10,000 or + 12,000 ft. + + In Mongolia the population is essentially nomadic, its wealth + consisting in herds of horned cattle, sheep, horses and camels. The + Turki tribes, occupying western Mongolia, are among the least + civilized of human beings, and it is chiefly to their extreme + barbarity and cruelty that our ignorance of central Asia is due. The + climate is very severe, with great extremes of heat and cold. The + drought is very great, rain falls rarely and in small quantities. The + surface is for the most part a hard stony desert, areas of blown sand + occurring but exceptionally. There are few towns or settled villages, + except along the slopes of the higher mountains, on which the rain + falls more abundantly, or the melting snow supplies streams for + irrigation. It is only in such situations that cultivated lands are + found, and beyond them trees are hardly to be seen. + + + Siberia. + + The portion of Asia which lies between the Arctic Ocean and the + mountainous belt bounding Manchuria, Mongolia and Turkestan on the + north is Siberia. It includes an immense high and broken plateau which + spreads from south-west to north-east, losing in width and altitude as + it advances north-east. It is fringed on either side by high border + ridges, which subside on the north-west into a stretch of high plains, + 1500 to 2000 ft. high, finally dropping to lowlands a few hundred feet + above sea-level. The extremes of heat and cold are very great. The + rainfall, though not heavy, is sufficient to maintain such vegetation + as is compatible with the conditions of temperature, and the surface + is often swampy or peaty. The mountain-sides are commonly clothed with + pine forests, and the plains with grasses or shrubs. The population is + very scanty; the cultivated tracts are comparatively small in extent + and restricted to the more settled districts. The towns are entirely + Russian. The indigenous races are nomadic Mongols, of a peaceful + character, but in a very backward state of civilization. The Ural + Mountains do not exceed 2000 or 3000 ft. in average altitude, the + highest summits not exceeding 6000 ft., and one of the passes being as + low as 1400 ft. In the southern half of the range are the chief mining + districts of Russia. The Ob, Yenisei and Lena, which traverse Siberia, + are among the largest rivers in the world. + + + Malay Archipelago. + + The southern group of the Malay Archipelago, from Sumatra to Java and + Timor, extends in the arc of a circle between 95 deg. and 127 deg. E., + and from 5 deg. to 10 deg. S. The central part of the group is a + volcanic region, many of the volcanoes being still active, the summits + frequently rising to 10,000 ft. or more. + + Sumatra, the largest of the islands, is but thinly peopled; the + greater part of the surface is covered with dense forest, the + cultivated area being comparatively small, confined to the low lands, + and chiefly in the volcanic region near the centre of the island. Java + is the most thickly peopled, best cultivated and most advanced island + of the whole Eastern archipelago. It has attained a high degree of + wealth and prosperity under the Dutch government. The people are + peaceful and industrious, and chiefly occupied with agriculture. The + highest of the volcanic peaks rises to 12,000 ft. above the sea. The + eastern islands of this group are less productive and less advanced. + + Borneo, the most western and the largest of the northern group of + islands which extends between 110 deg. and 150 deg. E., as far as New + Guinea or Papua, is but little known. The population is small, rude + and uncivilized; and the surface is rough and mountainous and + generally covered with forest except near the coast, to the alluvial + lands on which settlers have been attracted from various surrounding + countries. The highest mountain rises to nearly 14,000 ft., but the + ordinary elevations do not exceed 4000 or 5000 ft. + + Of Celebes less is known than of Borneo, which it resembles in + condition and natural characteristics. The highest known peaks rise to + 8000 ft., some of them being volcanic. + + + Pacific Islands. + + New Guinea extends almost to the same meridian as the eastern coast of + Australia, from the north point of which it is separated by Torres + Straits. Very little is known of the interior. The mountains are said + to rise to 20,000 ft., having the appearance of being permanently + covered with snow; the surface seems generally to be clothed with + thick wood. The inhabitants are of the Negrito type, with curly or + crisp and bushy hair; those of the west coast have come more into + communication with the traders of other islands and are fairly + civilized. Eastward, many of the tribes are barbarous savages. + + The Philippine Islands lie between 5 deg. and 20 deg. N., between + Borneo and southern China. The highest land does not rise to a greater + height than 10,250 ft.; the climate is well suited for agriculture, + and the islands generally are fertile and fairly cultivated, though + not coming up to the standard of Java either in wealth or population. + + Formosa, which is situated under the northern tropic, near the coast + of China, is traversed by a high range of mountains, reaching nearly + 13,000 ft. in elevation. On its western side, which is occupied by an + immigrant Chinese population, are open and well-cultivated plains; on + the east it is mountainous, and occupied by independent indigenous + tribes in a less advanced state. + + The islands of Japan, not including Sakhalin, of which half is + Japanese, lie between the 30th and 45th parallels. The whole group is + traversed by a line of volcanic mountains, some of which are in + activity, the highest point being about 13,000 ft. above the sea. The + country is generally well watered, fertile and well cultivated. The + Japanese people have added to their ancient civilization and their + remarkable artistic faculty, an adaptation of Western methods, and a + capacity for progress in war and commerce, which single them out among + Eastern races as a great modern world-force. + + + EXPLORATION + + The progress of geodetic surveys in Russia had long ago extended + across the European half of the great empire, St Petersburg being + connected with Tiflis on the southern slopes of the Caucasus by a + direct system of triangulation carried out with the highest scientific + precision. St Petersburg, again, is connected with Greenwich by + European systems of triangulation; and the Greenwich meridian is + adopted by Russia as the zero for all her longitude values. But beyond + the eastern shores of the Caspian no system of direct geodetic + measurements by first-class triangulation has been possible, and the + surveys of Asiatic Russia are separated from those of Europe by the + width of that inland sea. The arid nature of the trans-Caspian deserts + has proved an insuperable obstacle to those rigorous methods of + geodetic survey which distinguish Russian methods in Europe, so that + Russian geography in central Asia is dependent on other means than + that of direct measurement for the co-ordinate values in latitude and + longitude for any given point. The astronomical observatory at + Tashkent is adopted for the initial starting-point of the + trans-Caspian triangulation of Russia; the triangulation ranks as + second-class only, and now extends to the Pamir frontier beyond Osh. + The longitude of the Tashkent observatory has been determined by + telegraph differentially with Pulkova as follows:-- + + H. M. S. + In 1875 via Ekaterinburg and Omsk 2 35 52.151 + " 1891 " Saratov " Orenburg 2 35 52.228 + " 1895 " Kiev " Baku 2 35 51.997 + + With these three independent values, all falling within a range of + 0^S.25, it is improbable that the mean value has an error as large as + 0^S.10. + + + Extent of exact surveys in Asia. + + Exact surveys in Russia, based upon triangulation, extend as far east + as Chinese Turkestan in longitude about 75 deg. E. of Greenwich. In + India geodetic triangulation furnishes the basis for exact surveys as + far east as the eastern boundaries of Burma in longitude about 100 + deg. E. + + The close of the 19th century witnessed the forging of the final links + in the great geodetic triangulation of India, so far as the peninsula + is concerned. Further geodetic connexion with the European systems + remains to be accomplished. Since 1890 further and more rigorous + application of the telegraphic method of determining longitudes + differentially with Greenwich has resulted in a slight correction + (amounting to about 2" of arc) to the previous determination by the + same method through Suez. This last determination was effected through + four arcs as follows:-- + + I. Greenwich--Potsdam. + II. Potsdam--Teheran. + III. Teheran--Bushire. + IV. Bushire--Karachi. + + Each arc was measured with every precaution and a multitude of + observations. The only element of uncertainty was caused by the + retardation of the current, which between Potsdam and Teheran (3000 + m.) took 0^S.20 to travel; but it is probable that the final value can + be accepted as correct to within 0^S.05. + + The final result of this latest determination is to place the Madras + observatory 2' 27" to the west of the position adopted for it on the + strength of absolute astronomical determinations. + + + Connexion between Russian and Indian surveys. + + But while we have yet to wait for that expansion of principal + triangulation which will bring Asia into connexion with Europe by the + direct process of earth measurement, a topographical connexion has + been effected between Russian and Indian surveys which sufficiently + proves that the deductive methods employed by both countries for the + determination of the co-ordinate values of fixed points so far agree + that, for all practical purposes of future Asiatic cartography, no + difficulty in adjustment between Indian and Russian mapping need be + apprehended. + + + Extension of geographical surveys. + + In connexion with the Indian triangulation minor extensions carried + out on systems involving more or less irregularity have been pushed + outwards on all sides. They reach through Afghanistan and Baluchistan + to the eastern districts of Persia, and along the coast of Makran to + that of Arabia. They have long ago included the farther mountain peaks + of Nepal, and they now branch outwards towards western China and into + Siam. These far extensions furnish the basis for a vast amount of + exploratory survey of a strictly geographical character, and they have + contributed largely towards raising the standard of accuracy in + Asiatic geographical surveys to a level which was deemed unattainable + fifty years ago. There is yet a vast field open in Asia for this class + of surveys. While at the close of the 19th century western Asia + (exclusive of Arabia) may be said to have been freed from all + geographical perplexity, China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia still + include enormous areas of which geographical knowledge is in a + primitive stage of nebulous uncertainty. + + + Indian explorers. + + Of scientific geographical exploration in Asia (beyond the limits of + actual surveys) the modern period has been so prolific that it is only + possible to refer in barest outline to some of the principal + expeditions, most of which have been directed either to the great + elevated table-land of Tibet or to the central depression which exists + to the north of it. In southern Tibet the trans-Himalayan explorations + of the native surveyors attached to the Indian survey, notably Pundits + Nain Singh and Krishna, added largely to our knowledge of the great + plateau. Nain Singh explored the sources of the Indus and of the Upper + Brahmaputra in the years 1865-1867; and in 1874-1875 he followed a + line from the eastern frontiers of Kashmir to the Tengri Nor lake and + thence to Lhasa, in which city he remained for some months. Krishna's + remarkable journey in 1879-1882 extended from Lhasa northwards through + Tsaidam to Sachu, or Saitu, in Mongolia. He subsequently passed + through eastern Tibet to the town of Darchendo, or Tachienlu, on the + high road between Lhasa and Peking, and on the borders of China. + Failing to reach India through Upper Assam he returned to the + neighbourhood of Lhasa, and crossed the Himalayas by a more westerly + route. Both these explorers visited Lhasa. + + + Russian explorers. + + In 1871-1873 the great Russian explorer, Nicolai Prjevalsky, crossed + the Gobi desert from the north to Kansu in western China. He first + defined the geography of Tsaidam, and mapped the hydrography of that + remarkable region, from which emanate the great rivers of China, Siam + and Burma. He penetrated southwards to within a month's march of + Lhasa. In 1876 he visited the Lop Nor and discovered the Altyn Tagh + range. In 1879 he followed up the Urangi river to the Altai Mountains, + and demonstrated to the world the extraordinary physical changes which + have passed over the heart of the Asiatic continent since Jenghiz Khan + massed his vast armies in those provinces. He crossed, and named, the + Dzungarian extension of the Gobi desert, and then traversed the Gobi + itself from Hami to Sachu, which became a point of junction between + his journeys and those of Krishna. He visited the sources of the + Hwang-ho (Yellow river) and the Salween, and then returned to Russia. + His fourth journey in 1883-1885 was to Sining (the great trade centre + of the Chinese borderland), and thence through northern Tibet + (crossing the Altyn Tagh to Lop Nor), and by the Cherchen-Keriya trade + route to Khotan. From Khotan he followed the Tarim to Aksu. + + Following Prjevalsky the Russian explorers, Pevtsov and Roborovski, in + 1889-1890 (and again in 1894), added greatly to our knowledge of the + topography of western Chinese Turkestan and the northern borders of + Tibet; all these Russian expeditions being conducted on scientific + principles and yielding results of the highest value. Among other + distinguished Russian explorers in Asia, the names of Lessar, + Annentkov (who bridged the Trans-Caspian deserts by a railway), P.K. + Kozlov and Potanin are conspicuous during the 19th century. + + + Other explorations in central Asia. + + Although the establishment of a lucrative trade between India and + central Asia had been the dream of many successive Indian viceroys, + and much had been done towards improving the approaches to Simla from + the north, very little was really known of the highlands of the + Pamirs, or of the regions of the great central depression, before the + mission of Sir Douglas Forsyth to Yarkand in 1870. Robert Barkley Shaw + and George Hayward were the European pioneers of geography into the + central dominion of Kashgar, arriving at Yarkand within a few weeks of + each other in 1868. Shaw subsequently accompanied Forsyth's mission in + 1870, when Henry Trotter made the first maps of Chinese Turkestan. The + next great accession to our knowledge of central Asiatic geography was + gained with the Russo-Afghan Boundary Commission of 1884-1886, when + Afghan Turkestan and the Oxus regions were mapped by Colonel Sir T.H. + Holdich, Colonel St George Gore and Sir Adelbert Talbot; and when Ney + Elias crossed from China through the Pamirs and Badakshan to the camp + of the commission, identifying the great "Dragon Lake," Rangkul, on + his way. About the same time a mission, under Captain (afterwards Sir + Willaim) Lockhart, crossed the Hindu Kush into Wakhan, and returned to + India by the Bashgol valley of Kafiristan. This was Colonel + Woodthorpe's opportunity, and he was then enabled to verify the + results of W.W. M'Nair's previous explorations, and to determine the + conformation of the Hindu Kush. In 1885 Arthur Douglas Carey and + Andrew Dalgleish, following more or less the tracks of Prjevalsky, + contributed much that was new to the map of Asia; and in 1886 Captain + (afterwards Sir Francis) Younghusband completed a most adventurous + journey across the heart of the continent by crossing the Muztagh, the + great mountain barrier between China and Kashmir. + + + Tibetan explorations. + + It was in 1886-1887 that Pierre G. Bonvalot, accompanied by Prince + Henri d'Orleans, crossed the Tibetan plateau from north to south but + failed to enter Lhasa. In 1889-1891 the American traveller, W.W. + Rockhill, commenced his Tibetan journeys, and also attempted to reach + Lhasa, without success. By his writings, as much as by his + explorations, Rockhill has made his name great in the annals of + Asiatic research. In 1891 Hamilton Bower made his famous journey from + Leh to Peking. He, too, failed to penetrate the jealously-guarded + portals of Lhasa; but he secured (with the assistance of a native + surveyor) a splendid addition to our previous Tibetan mapping. In + 1891-1892-1893 the gallant French explorer, Dutreuil de Rhins, was in + the field of Tibet, where he finally sacrificed his life to his work; + and the same years saw George N. (afterwards Lord) Curzon in the + Pamirs, and St George Littledale on his first great Tibetan journey, + accompanied by his wife. Littledale's first journey ended at Peking; + his second, in 1894-1895, took him almost within sight of the sacred + walls of Lhasa, but he failed to pass inside. Greatest among modern + Asiatic explorers (if we except Prjevalsky) is the brave Swede, + Professor Sven Hedin, whose travels through the deserts of Takla Makan + and Tibet, and whose investigations in the glacial regions of the + Sarikol mountains, occupied him from 1894 to 1896. His is a truly + monumental record. From 1896 to 1898 we find two British cavalry + officers taking the front position in the list of Tibetan + travellers-Captain M.S. Wellby of the 18th Hussars and Captain H. + Deasy of the 16th Lancers, each striking out a new line, and rendering + most valuable service to geography. The latter continued the Pamir + triangulation, which had been carried across the Hindu Kush by + Colonels Sir T.H. Holdich and R.A. Wahab during the Pamir Boundary + Commission of 1895, into the plains of Kashgar and to the sources of + the Zarafshan. + + Since the beginning of the century the work of Deasy in western Tibet + has been well extended by Dr M.A. Stein and Captain C. G. Rawling, who + have increased our knowledge of ancient fields of industry and + commerce in Turkestan and Tibet. Ellsworth Huntington threw new light + on the Tian-shan plateau and the Alai range by his explorations of + 1903; and Sven Hedin, between 1899 and 1902, was collecting material + in Turkestan and Tibetan fields, and resumed his journeys in + 1905-1908, the result being to revolutionize our knowledge of the + region north of the upper Tsanpo (see TIBET). The mission of Sir + Francis Younghusband to Lhasa in 1904 resulted in an extension of the + Indian system of triangulation which finally determined the + geographical position of that city, and in a most valuable + reconnaissance of the valleys of the Upper Brahmaputra and Indus by + Captains C.H.D. Ryder and C.G. Rawling. + + + Chinese explorations. + + Meanwhile, in the Farther East so rapid has been the progress of + geographical research since the first beginnings of investigation into + the route connexion between Burma and China in 1874 (when the brave + Augustus Margary lost his life), that a gradually increasing tide of + exploration, setting from east to west and back again, has culminated + in a flood of inquiring experts intent on economic and commercial + development in China, essaying to unlock those doors to trade which + are hereafter to be propped open for the benefit of humanity. Captain + William Gill, of the Indian survey, first made his way across China to + eastern Tibet and Burma, and subsequently delighted the world with his + story of the _River of Golden Sand_. Then followed another charming + writer, E.C. Baber, who, in 1877-1878, unravelled the geographic + mysteries of the western provinces of the Celestial empire. Mark Bell + crossed the continent in 1887 and illustrated its ancient trade + routes, following the steps of Archibald Colquhoun, who wandered from + Peking to Talifu in 1881. Meanwhile, the acquisition of Burma and the + demarcation of boundaries had opened the way to the extension of + geographical surveys in directions hitherto untraversed. Woodthorpe + was followed into Burmese fields by many others; and amongst the + earliest travellers to those mysterious mountains which hide the + sources of the Irrawaddy, the Salween and the Mekong, was Prince Henri + d'Orleans. Burma was rapidly brought under survey; Siam was already in + the map-making hands of James M'Carthy, whilst Curzon and Warrington + Smyth added much to our knowledge of its picturesque coast districts. + No more valuable contribution to the illustration of western Chinese + configuration has been given to the public than that of C.C. Manifold + who explored and mapped the upper basin of the Yang-tsze river between + the years 1900 and 1904, whilst our knowledge of the geography of the + Russo-Chinese borderland on the north-east has been largely advanced + by the operations attending the Russo-Japanese war which terminated in + 1905. + + + Indian frontiers--Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Persia. + + Turning our attention westwards, no advance in the progress of + scientific geography is more remarkable than that recorded on the + northern and north-western frontiers of India. Here there is little + matter of exploration. It has rather been a wide extension of + scientific geographical mapping. Afghan war of 1878-80; the + Russo-Afghan Boundary Commission of 1884-1885; the occupation of + Gilgit and Chitral; the extension of boundaries east and north of + Afghanistan, and again, between Baluchistan and Persia--these, added + to the opportunities afforded by the systematic survey of Baluchistan + which has been steadily progressing since 1880--combined to produce a + series of geographical maps which extend from the Oxus to the Indus, + and from the Indus to the Euphrates. + + In these professional labours the Indian surveyors have been assisted + by such scientific geographers as General Sir A. Houtum Schindler, + Captain H.B. Vaughan and Major Percy M. Sykes in Persia, and by Sir + George Robertson and Cockerill in Kafiristan and the Hindu Kush. + + + Arabia. + + In still more western fields of research much additional light has + been thrown since 1875 on the physiography of the great deserts and + oases of Arabia. The labours of Charles Doughty and Wilfrid S. Blunt + in northern Arabia in 1877-1878 were followed by those of G. + Schweinfurth and E. Glaser in the south-west about ten years later. In + 1884-1885 Colonel S.B. Miles made his adventurous journey through + Oman, while Theodore Bent threw searchlights backwards into ancient + Semitic history by his investigations in the Bahrein Islands in 1888 + and in Hadramut in 1894-1895. + + + Northern Asia, Siberia, &c. + + In northern Asia it is impossible to follow in detail the results of + the organized Russian surveys. The vast steppes and forest-clad + mountain regions of Siberia have assumed a new geographical aspect in + the light of these revelations, and already promise a new world of + economic resources to Russian enterprise in the near future. A + remarkable expedition by Baron Toll in 1892 through the regions + watered by the Lena, resulted in the collection of material which + will greatly help to elucidate some of the problems which beset the + geological history of the world, proving _inter alia_ the primeval + existence of a boreal zone of the Jurassic sea round the North Pole. + + + General results of investigation. + + In no other period of the world's history, of equal length of time, + has so much scientific enterprise been directed towards the field of + Asiatic inquiry. The first great result of recent geographical + research has been to modify pre-existing ideas of the orography of the + vast central region represented by Tibet and Mongolia. The great + highland plateau which stretches from the Himalaya northwards to + Chinese Turkestan, and from the frontier of Kashmir eastwards to + China, has now been defined with comparative geographical exactness. + The position of Sachu (or Saitu) in Mongolia may be taken as an + obligatory point in modern map construction. The longitude value now + adopted is 94 deg. 54' E. of Greenwich, which is the revised value + given by Prjevalsky in the map accompanying the account of his fourth + exploration into central Asia. Other values are as follows:-- + + Prjevalsky, by his second and third explorations 94 deg. 26' + Krishna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 deg. 23' + Carey and Dalgleish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 deg. 48' + Littledale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 deg. 49' + Kreitner (with Szecheny's expedition) . . . . . 94 deg. 58' + + The longitude of Darchendo, or Tachienlu, on the extreme east, may be + accepted as another obligatory point. The adopted value by the Royal + Geographical Society is 102 deg. 12". Krishna gives 102 deg. 15", + Kreitner 102 deg. 5", Baber 102 deg. 18". + + South and west the bounding territories are well fixed in geographical + position by the Indian survey determinations of the value of Himalayan + peaks. On the north the Chinese Turkestan explorations are now brought + into survey connexion with Kashmir and India. + + No longer do we regard the Kuen-lun mountains, which extend from the + frontiers of Kashmir, north of Leh, almost due east to the Chinese + province of Kansu, as the southern limit of the Gobi or Turkestan + depression. This very remarkable longitudinal chain is undoubtedly the + northern limit of the Chang Tang, the elevated highland steppes of + Tibet; but from it there branches a minor system to the north-east + from a point in about 83 deg. E. longitude, which culminates in the + Altyn Tagh, and extends eastwards in a continuous water-divide to the + Nan Shan mountains, north of the Koko Nor basin. Thus between Tibet + and the low-lying sands of Gobi we have, thrust in, a system of + elevated valleys (Tsaidam), 8000 to 9000 ft. above sea-level, forming + an intermediate steppe between the highest regions and the lowest, + east of Lop Nor. All this is comparatively new geography, and it goes + far to explain why the great trade routes from Peking to the west were + pushed so far to the north. + + + Russo-Chinese boundary. + + On the western edge of the Kashgar plains, the political boundary + between Russia and China is defined by the meridional range of + Sarikol. This range (known to the ancients as Taurus and in medieval + times as Bolor) like many others of the most important great natural + mountain divisions of the world, consists of two parallel chains, of + which the western is the water-divide of the Pamirs, and the eastern + (which has been known as the Kashgar or Kandar range) is split at + intervals by lateral gorges to allow of the passage of the main + drainage from the eastern Pamir slopes. + + + Indian frontiers--Afghanistan, &c. + + In western Asia we have learned the exact value of the mountain + barrier which lies between Merv and Herat, and have mapped its + connexion with the Elburz of Persia. We can now fully appreciate the + factor in practical politics which that definite but somewhat + irregular mountain system represents which connects the water-divide + north of Herat with the southern abutment of the Hindu Kush, near + Bamian. Every pass of importance is known and recorded; every route of + significance has been explored and mapped; Afghanistan has assumed a + new political entity by the demarcation of a boundary; the value of + Herat and of the Pamirs as bases of aggression has been assessed, and + the whole intervening space of mountain and plain thoroughly examined. + + + Persia. + + Although within the limits of western Asiatic states, still under + Asiatic government and beyond the active influence of European + interests, the material progress of the Eastern world has appeared to + remain stationary, yet large accessions to geographical knowledge have + at least been made, and in some instances a deeper knowledge of the + surface of the country and modern conditions of life has led to the + straightening of many crooked paths in history, and a better + appreciation of the slow processes of advancing civilization. The + steady advance of scientific inquiry into every corner of Persia, + backed by the unceasing efforts of a new school of geographical + explorers, has left nothing unexamined that can be subjected to + superficial observation. The geographical map of the country is fairly + complete, and with it much detailed information is now accessible + regarding the coast and harbours of the Persian Gulf, the routes and + passes of the interior, and the possibilities of commercial + development by the construction of trade roads uniting the Caspian, + the Karun, the Persian Gulf, and India, via Seistan. Persia has + assumed a comprehensible position as a factor in future Eastern + politics. + + + Arabia. + + In Arabia progress has been slower, although the surveys carried out + by Colonel Wahab in connexion with the boundary determined in the Aden + hinterland added more exact geographical knowledge within a limited + area. Little more is known of the wide spaces of interior desert than + has already been given to the world in the works of Sir Richard F. + Burton, Wm. Gifford Palgrave and Sir Lewis Pelly amongst Englishmen, + and Karsten Niebuhr, John Lewis Burckhardt, Visconte, Joseph Halevy + and others, amongst foreign travellers. Charles Doughty and Wilfrid S. + Blunt have visited and illustrated the district of Nejd, and described + the waning glories of the Wahabi empire. But extended geographical + knowledge does not point to any great practical issue. Commercial + relations with Arabia remain much as they were in 1875. + + + Asia Minor, &c. + + In Asia Minor, Syria and Mesopotamia there is little to record of + progress in material development beyond the promises held out by the + Euphrates Valley railway concession to a German company. The exact + information obtained by the researches of English surveyors in + Palestine and beyond Jordan, or by the efforts of explorers in the + regions that lie between the Mediterranean and the Caspian, have so + far led rather to the elucidation of history than to fresh commercial + enterprise or the possible increase of material wealth. + + + Russia in Asia. + + Asiatic Russia, especially eastern Siberia and Mongolia, have been + brought within the sphere of Russian exploration, with results so + surprising as to form an epoch in the history of Asia. Here there has + been a development of the resources of the Old World which parallels + the best records of the New. + + + Chinese Turkestan and Oxus basin. + + The great central depression of the continent which reaches from the + foot of the Pamir plateau on the west through the Tarim desert to Lop + Nor and the Gobi has yielded up many interesting secrets. The + remarkable phenomenon of the periodic shifting of the Lop Nor system + has been revealed by the researches of Sven Hedin, and the former + existence of highly civilized centres of Buddhist art and industry in + the now sand-strewn wastes of the Turkestan desert has been clearly + demonstrated by the same great explorer and by Dr M.A. Stein. The + depression westward of the Caspian and Aral basins, and the original + connexion of these seas, have also come under the close investigation + of Russian scientists, with the result that the theory of an ancient + connexion between the Oxus and the Caspian has been displaced by the + more recent hypothesis of an extension of the Caspian Sea eastwards + into Trans-Caspian territory within the post-Pleiocene age. The + discovery of shells (now living in the Caspian) at a distance of about + 100 m. inland, at an altitude of 140 to 280 ft. above the present + level of the Caspian, gives support to this hypothesis, which is + further advanced by the ascertained nature of the Kara-kum sands, + which appear to be a purely marine formation exhibiting no traces of + fluviatile deposits which might be considered as delta deposits of the + Oxus. + + In the discussion of this problem we find the names of Baron A. + Kaulbars, Annentkov, P.M. Lessar, and A.M. Konshin prominent. Further + matter of interest in connexion with the Oxus basin was elucidated by + the researches of L. Griesbach in connexion with the Russo-Afghan + Boundary Commission. He reported the gradual formation of an + anticlinal or ridge extending longitudinally through the great Balkh + plain of Afghan Turkestan, which effectually shuts off the northern + affluents of that basin from actual junction with the river. This + evidence of a gradual process of upheaval still in action may throw + some light on the physical (especially the climatic) changes which + must have passed over that part of Asia since Balkh was the "mother of + cities," the great trade centre of Asia, and the plains of Balkh were + green with cultivation. In the restoration of the outlines of ancient + and medieval geography in Asia Sven Hedin's discoveries of the actual + remains of cities which have long been buried under the advancing + waves of sand in the Takla Makan desert, cities which flourished in + the comparatively recent period of Buddhist ascendancy in High Asia, + is of the very highest interest, filling up a blank in the + identification of sites mentioned by early geographers and + illustrating more fully the course of old pilgrim routes. + + + Baluchistan and Makran. + + With the completion of the surveys of Baluchistan and Makran much + light has also been thrown on the ancient connexion between east and + west; and the final settlement of the southern boundaries of + Afghanistan has led to the reopening of one at least of the old trade + routes between Seistan and India. + + + Burma and China. + + Farther east no part of Asia has been brought under more careful + investigation than the hydrography of the strange mountain wilderness + that divides Tibet and Burma from China. In this field the researches + of travellers already mentioned, combined with the more exact + reconnaissance of native surveyors and of those exploring parties + which have recently been working in the interests of commercial + projects, have left little to future inquiry. We know now for certain + that the great Tsanpo of Tibet and the Brahmaputra are one and the + same river; that north of the point where the great countermarch of + that river from east to west is effected are to be found the sources + of the Salween, the Mekong, the Yang-tsze-kiang and the Hwang-ho, or + Yellow river, in order, from west to east; and that south of it, + thrust in between the extreme eastern edge of the Brahmaputra basin + and the Salween, rise the dual sources of the Irrawaddy. From the + water-divide which separates the most eastern affluent of the + Brahmaputra, eastwards to the deep gorges which enclose the most + westerly branch of the upper Yang-tsze-kiang (here running from north + to south), is a short space of 100 m.; and within that space two + mighty rivers, the Salween and the Mekong, send down their torrents to + Burma and Siam. These three rivers flow parallel to each other for + some 300 m., deep hidden in narrow and precipitous troughs, amidst + some of the grandest scenery of Asia; spreading apart where the + Yank-tsze takes its course eastwards, not far north of the parallel of + 25 deg. + + The comparatively restricted area which still remains for close + investigation includes the most easterly sources of the Brahmaputra, + the most northerly sources of the Irrawaddy, and some 300 m. of the + course of the upper Salween. + + _Modern Boundary Demarcation._--The period from about 1880 has been an + era of boundary-making in Asia, of defining the politico-geographical + limits of empire, and of determining the responsibilities of + government. Russia, Persia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, India and China + have all revised their borders, and with the revision the political + relations between these countries have acquired a new and more assured + basis. See also the articles on the different countries. We are not + here concerned with understandings as to "spheres of influence," or + with arrangements such as the Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 + concerning Persia. + + + Southern boundary of Russia in Asia. + + The advance of Russia to the Turkoman deserts and the Oxus demanded a + definite boundary between her trans-Caspian conquests and the kingdom + of Afghanistan. This was determined on the north-west by the + Russo-Afghan Boundary Commission of 1884-1886. A boundary was then + fixed between the Hari Rud (the river of Herat) and the Oxus, which is + almost entirely artificial in its construction. Zulfikar, where the + boundary leaves the Hari Rud, is about 70 m. south of Sarakhs, and the + most southerly point of the boundary (where it crosses the Kushk) is + about 60 m. north of Herat. From the junction of the boundary with the + Oxus at Khamiab about 150 m. above the crossing-point of the Russian + Trans-Caspian railway at Charjui, the main channel of the Oxus river + becomes the northern boundary of Afghanistan, separating that country + from Russia, and so continues to its source in Victoria Lake of the + Great Pamir. Beyond this point the Anglo-Russian Commission of 1895 + demarcated a line to the snowfields and glaciers which overlook the + Chinese border. Between the Russian Pamirs and Chinese Turkestan the + rugged line of the Sarikol range intervenes, the actual dividing line + being still indefinite. Beyond Kashgar the southern boundary of + Siberia follows an irregular course to the north-east, partly defined + by the Tian-shan and Alatau mountains, till it attains a northerly + point in about 53 deg. N. lat. marked by the Sayan range to the west + of Irkutsk. It then deflects south-east till it touches the Kerulen + affluent of the Amur river at a point which is shown in unofficial + maps as about 117 deg. 30' E. long, and 49 deg. 20' N. lat. From here + it follows this affluent to its junction with the Amur river, and the + Amur river to its junction with the Usuri. It follows the Usuri to its + head (its direction now being a little west of south), and finally + strikes the Pacific coast on about 42 deg. 30' N. lat. at the mouth of + the Tumen river 100 m. south of the Amur bay, at the head of which + lies the Russian port of Vladivostok. At two points the Russian + boundary nearly approaches that of provinces which are directly under + British suzerainty. Where the Oxus river takes its great bend to the + north from Ishkashim, the breadth of the Afghan territory intervening + between that river and the main water-divide of the Hindu Kush is not + more than 10 or 12 m.; and east of the Pamir extension of Afghanistan, + where the Beyik Pass crosses the Sarikol range and drops into the + Taghdumbash Pamir, there is but the narrow width of the Karachukar + valley between the Sarikol and the Muztagh. Here, however, the + boundary is again undefined. Eastwards of this the great Kashgar + depression, which includes the Tarim desert, separates Russia from the + vast sterile highlands of Tibet; and a continuous series of desert + spaces of low elevation, marking the limits of a primeval inland sea + from the Sarikol meridional watershed to the Khingan mountains on the + western borders of Manchuria, divide her from the northern provinces + of China. From the Khingan ranges to the Pacific, south of the Amur, + stretch the rich districts of Manchuria, a province which connects + Russia with the Korea by a series of valleys formed by the Sungari and + its affluents--a land of hill and plain, forest and swamp, possessing + a delightful climate, and vast undeveloped agricultural resources. + Throughout this land of promise Russian influence was destroyed by + Japan in the war of 1904. The possession of Port Arthur, and direct + political control over Korea, place Japan in the dominant position as + regards Manchuria. + + + Afghan political boundaries. + + Coincident with the demarcation of Russian boundaries in Turkestan was + that of northern Afghanistan. From the Hari Rud on the west to the + Sarikol mountains on the east her northern limits were set by the + Boundary Commissions of 1884-1886 and of 1895 respectively. Her + southern and eastern boundaries were further defined by a series of + minor commissions, working on the basis of the Kabul agreement of + 1893, which lasted for nearly four years, terminating with the Mohmand + settlement at the close of an expedition in 1897. + + The Pamir extension of Afghan territory to the north-east reaches to a + point a little short of 75 deg. E., from whence it follows the + water-divide to the head of the Taghdumbash Pamir, and is + thenceforward defined by the water-parting of the Hindu Kush. It + leaves the Hindu Kush near the Dorah Pass at the head of one of the + minor Chitral affluents, and passing south-west divides Kafiristan + from Chitral and Bajour, separates the sections of the Mohmands who + are within the respective spheres of Afghan and British sovereignty, + and crosses the Peshawar-Kabul route at Lundi-Khana. It thus places a + broad width of independent territory between the boundaries of British + India (which have remained practically, though not absolutely, + untouched) and Afghanistan; and this independent belt includes Swat, + Bajour and a part of the Mohmand territory north of the Kabul river. + The same principle of maintaining an intervening width of neutral + territory between the two countries is definitely established + throughout the eastern borders of Afghanistan, along the full length + of which a definite boundary has been demarcated to the point where it + touches the northern limits of Baluchistan on the Gomal river. From + the Gomal Baluchistan itself becomes an intervening state between + British India and Afghanistan, and the dividing line between + Baluchistan and Afghanistan is laid down with all the precision + employed on the more northerly sections of the demarcation. + + + Baluchistan. + + Baluchistan can no longer be regarded as a distinct entity amongst + Asiatic nations, such as Afghanistan undoubtedly is. Baluchistan + independence demands qualification. There is British Baluchistan _par + excellence_, and there is the rest of Baluchistan which exists in + various degrees of independence, but is everywhere subject to British + control. British Baluchistan officially includes the districts of + Peshin, Sibi and of Thal-Chotiali. As these districts had originally + been Afghan, they were transferred to British authority by the treaty + of Gandamak in 1879, although nominally they had been handed over to + Kalat forty years previously. Now they form an official province of + British Baluchistan within the Baluchistan Agency; and the agency + extends from the Gomal to the Arabian Sea and the Persian frontier. + Within this agency there are districts as independent as any in + Afghanistan, but the political status of the province as a whole is + almost precisely that of the native states of the Indian peninsula. + The agent to the governor-general of India, with a staff of political + assistants, practically exercises supreme control. + + + Kirman. + + The increase of Russian influence on the northern Persian border and + its extension southwards towards Seistan led to the appointment of a + British consul at Kirman, the dominating town of southern Khorasan, + directly connected with Meshed on the north; and the acquisition of + rights of administration of the Nushki district secured to Great + Britain the trade between Seistan and Quetta by the new Helmund desert + route. + + + Boundary between French territory and India. + + While British India has so far avoided actual geographical contact + with one great European power in Asia on the north and west, she has + touched another on the east. The Mekong river which limits British + interests in Burma limits also those of France in Tongking. The + eastern boundaries of Burma are not yet fully demarcated on the + Chinese frontier. At a point level in latitude with Mogaung, near the + northern termination of the Burmese railway system, this boundary is + defined by the eastern watershed of the Nmaikha, the eastern of the + two great northern affluents of the Irrawaddy. Then it follows an + irregular course southwards to a position south-east of Bhamo in lat. + 24 deg. It next defines the northern edge of the Shan States, and + finally strikes the Mekong river in lat. 21 deg. 45' (approximately). + From that point southwards the river becomes the boundary between the + Shan States and Tongking for some 200 m., the channel of the river + defining the limits of occupation (though not entirely of interest) + between French and British subjects. Approximately on the parallel of + 20 deg. N. lat. the Burmese boundary leaves the Mekong to run + westwards towards the Salween, and thereafter following the eastern + watershed of the Salween basin it divides the Lower Burma provinces + from Siam. + + + Area and political division. + + The following table shows the areas of territories in Asia + (continental and insular) dependent on the various extra-Asiatic + powers, and of those which are independent or nominally so:-- + + Territory. Sq. m. + Russian . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,495,970 + British . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,998,220 + Dutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586,980 + French . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247,580 + U.S.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114,370 + German . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 + Turkish . . . . . . . . . . . . . 681,980 + Chinese . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,299,600 + Japanese . . . . . . . . . . . . 161,110 + Other independent territories . 2,232,270 + + The total area of Asia, continental and insular, is therefore somewhat + over 16,819,000 sq. m. (but various authorities differ considerably in + their detailed estimates). The population may be set down roughly as + 823,000,000, of which 330,000,000 inhabit Chinese territory, + 302,000,000 British, and 25,000,000 Russian. (T. H. H.*) + + [Illustration: Geological map of Asia] + + + GEOLOGY + + The geology of Asia is so complex and over wide areas so little known + that it is difficult to give a connected account of either the + structure or the development of the continent, and only the broader + features can be dealt with here. + + In the south, in Syria, Arabia and the peninsula of India, none but + the oldest rocks are folded, and the Upper Palaeozoic, the Mesozoic + and the Tertiary beds lie almost horizontally upon them. It is a + region of quiescence or of faulting, but not of folding. North of this + lies a broad belt in which the Mesozoic deposits and even the lower + divisions of the Tertiary system are thrown into folds which extend in + a series of arcs from west to east and now form the principal mountain + ranges of central Asia. This belt includes Asia Minor, Persia, + Afghanistan, Baluchistan, the Himalayas, the Tian-shan, and, although + they are very different in direction, the Burmese ranges. The + Kuen-lun, Nan-shan and the mountain ranges of southern China are, + perhaps, of earlier date, but nevertheless they be in the same belt. + It is not true that throughout the whole width of this zone the beds + are folded. There are considerable tracts which are but little + disturbed, but these tracts are enclosed within the arcs formed by the + folds, and the zone taken as a whole is distinctly one of crumpling. + North of the folded belt, and including the greater part of Siberia, + Mongolia and northern China, lies another area which is, in general, + free from any important folding of Mesozoic or Tertiary age. There + are, it is true, mountain ranges which are formed of folded beds; but + in many cases the direction of the chains is different from that of + the folds, so that the ranges must owe their elevation to other + causes; and the folds, moreover, are of ancient date, for the most + part Archaean or Palaeozoic. The configuration of the region is + largely due to faulting, trough-like or tray-like depressions being + formed, and the intervening strips, which have not been depressed, + standing up as mountain ridges. Over a large part of Siberia and in + the north of China, even the Cambrian beds still lie as horizontally + as they were first laid down. In the extreme north, in the Verkhoyansk + range and in the mountains of the Taimyr peninsula, there are + indications of another zone of folding of Mesozoic or later date, but + our information concerning these ranges is very scanty. Besides the + three chief regions into which the mainland is thus seen to be + divided, attention should be drawn to the festoons of islands which + border the eastern side of the continent, and which are undoubtedly + due to causes similar to those which produced the folds of the folded + belt. + + Of all the Asiatic ranges the Himalayan is, geologically, the best + known; and the evidence which it affords shows clearly that the folds + to which it owes its elevation were produced by an overthrust from + the north. It is, indeed, as if the high land of central Asia had been + pushed southward against and over the unyielding mass formed by the + old rocks of the Indian peninsula, and in the process the edges of the + over-riding strata had been crumpled and folded. Overlooking all + smaller details, we may consider Asia to consist of a northern mass + and a southern mass, too rigid to crumple, but not too strong to + fracture, and an intermediate belt of softer rock which was capable of + folding. If then by the contraction of the earth's interior the outer + crust were forced to accommodate itself to a smaller nucleus, the + central softer belt would yield by crumpling, the more rigid masses to + the north and south, if they gave way at all, would yield by faulting. + It is interesting to observe, as will be shown later, that during the + Mesozoic era there was a land mass in the north of Asia and another in + the south, and between them lay the sea in which ordinary marine + sediments were deposited. The belt of folding does not precisely + coincide with this central sea, but the correspondence is fairly + close. + + The present outline of the eastern coast and the nearly enclosed seas + which lie between the islands and the mainland, are attributed by + Richthofen chiefly to simple faulting. + + Little is known of the early geological history of Asia beyond the + fact that a large part of the continent was covered by the sea during + the Cambrian and Ordovician periods. But there is positive evidence + that much of the north and east of Asia has been land since the + Palaeozoic era, and it has been conclusively proved that the peninsula + of India has never been beneath the sea since the Carboniferous period + at least. Between these ancient land masses lies an area in which + marine deposits of Mesozoic age are well developed and which was + evidently beneath the sea during the greater part of the Mesozoic era. + The northern land mass has been named Angaraland by E. Suess; the + southern, of which the Indian peninsula is but a fragment, is called + Gondwanaland by Neumayr, Suess and others, while the intervening sea + is the central Mediterranean sea of Neumayr and the Tethys of Suess. + The greater part of western Asia, including the basin of the Obi, the + drainage area of the Aral Sea, together with Afghanistan, Baluchistan, + Persia and Arabia, was covered by the sea during the later stages of + the Cretaceous period, but a considerable part of this region was + probably dry land in Jurassic times. + + The northern land mass begins in the north with the area which lies + between the Yenisei and the Lena. Here the folded Archean rocks are + overlaid by Cambrian and Ordovician beds, which still lie for the most + part flat and undisturbed. Upon these rest patches of freshwater + deposits containing numerous remains of plants. They consist chiefly + of sandstone and conglomerate, but include workable seams of coal. + Some of the deposits appear to be of Permian age, but others are + probably Jurassic, and they are all included under the general name of + the Angara series. Excepting in the extreme north, where marine + Jurassic and Cretaceous fossils have been found, there is no evidence + that this part of Siberia has been beneath the sea since the early + part of the Palaeozoic era. Besides the plant beds extensive outflows + of basic lava rest directly upon the Cambrian and Ordovician strata. + The date of these eruptions is still uncertain, but they probably + continued to a very recent period. + + South and east of the Palaeozoic plateau is an extensive area + consisting chiefly of Archean rocks, and including the greater part of + Mongolia north of the Tian-shan. Here again there are no marine beds + of Mesozoic or Tertiary age, while plant-bearing deposits belonging to + the Angara series are known. Structurally, the folds of this region + are of ancient date, but the area is crossed by a series of + depressions formed by faults, and the intervening strips, which have + not been depressed to the same extent, now stand up as mountain + ranges. Farther south, in the Chinese provinces of Shansi and Shensi, + the geological succession is similar in some respects to that of the + Siberian Palaeozoic plateau, but the sequence is more complete. There + is again a floor of folded Archean rocks overlaid by nearly horizontal + strata of Lower Palaeozoic age, but these are followed by marine beds + belonging to the Carboniferous period. From the Upper Carboniferous + onward, however, no marine deposits are known; and, as in Siberia, + plant bearing beds are met with. Southern China is very different in + structure, consisting largely of folded mountain chains; but the + geological succession is very similar, and excepting near the Tibetan + and Burmese borders, there are no marine deposits of Mesozoic or + Tertiary age. + + Thus it appears that from the Arctic Ocean there stretches a broad + area as far as the south of China, in which no marine deposits of + later date than Carboniferous have yet been found, except in the + extreme north. Freshwater and terrestrial deposits of Mesozoic age + occur in many places, and the conclusion is irresistible that the + greater part of this area has been land since the close of the + Palaeozoic era. The Triassic deposits of the Verkhoyansk Range show + that this land did not extend to the Bering Sea, while the marine + Mesozoic deposits of Japan on the east, the western Tian-shan on the + west and Tibet on the south give us some idea of its limits in other + directions. + + In the same way the entire absence of any marine fossils in the + peninsula of India, excepting near its borders, and the presence of + the terrestrial and freshwater deposits of the Gondwana series, + representing the whole of the geological scale from the top of the + Carboniferous to the top of the Jurassic, show that this region also + has been land since the Carboniferous period. It was a portion of a + great land mass which probably extended across the Indian Ocean and + was at one time united with the south of Africa. + + But these two land masses were not connected. Between India and China + there is a broad belt in which marine deposits of Mesozoic and + Tertiary age are well developed. Marine Tertiary beds occur in Burma; + in the Himalayas and in south Tibet there is a nearly complete series + of marine deposits from the Carboniferous to the Eocene; in + Afghanistan the Mesozoic beds are in part marine and in part + fluviatile. The sea in which these strata were deposited seems to have + attained its greatest extension in Upper Cretaceous times when its + waters spread over the whole of western Asia and even encroached + slightly upon the Indian land. The Eocene sea however cannot have been + much inferior in extent. + + It was after the Eocene period that the main part of the elevation of + the Himalayas took place, as is shown by the occurrence of nummulitic + limestone at a height of 20,000 ft. The formation of this and of the + other great mountain chains of central Asia resulted in the isolation + of portions of the former central sea, and the same forces finally led + to the elevation of the whole region and the union of the old + continents of Angara and Gondwana. Gondwanaland, however, did not long + survive, and the portion which lay between India and South Africa sank + beneath the waves in Tertiary times. + + Leaving out of consideration all evidence of more ancient volcanic + activity, each of the three regions into which, as we have seen, the + continent may be divided has been, during or since the Cretaceous + period, the seat of great volcanic eruptions. In the southern region + of unfolded beds are found the lavas of the "harras" of Arabia, and in + India the extensive flows of the Deccan Trap. In the central folded + belt lie the great volcanoes, now mostly extinct, of Asia Minor, + Armenia, Persia and Baluchistan. In Burma also there is at least one + extinct volcano. In the northern unfolded region great flows of basic + lava lie directly upon the Cambrian and Ordovician beds of Siberia, + but are certainly in part of Tertiary age. Similar flows on a smaller + scale occur in Manchuria, Korea and northern China. + + In all these cases, however, the eruptions have now almost ceased, and + the great volcanoes of the present day lie in the islands off the + eastern and south eastern coasts. + + REFERENCES--E. Suess, _Das Antlitz der Erde_ (see, especially, vol. + iii. part 1.); F.V. Richthofen, "Ueber Gestalt und Gliederung einer + Grundlinie in der Morphologie Ost-Asiens," _Sitz. k. preuss. Akad. + Wiss._ (Berlin, 1900), pp. 888-925, and Geomorphologische Studien aus + Ostasien, _ibid._, 1901, pp. 782-808, 1902, pp. 944-975, 1903, pp. + 867-918. (P. La.) + + + CLIMATE. + + Temperature. + + Among the places on the globe where the temperature falls lowest are + some in northern Asia; and among those where it rises highest are some + in southern Asia. The mean temperature of the north coast of eastern + Siberia is but a few degrees above the zero of Fahrenheit; the lowest + mean temperature anywhere observed is about 4 deg. Fahr., at Melville + Island, north of the American continent. The isothermals of mean + annual temperature lie over northern Asia on curves tolerably regular + in their outline, having their western branches in a somewhat higher + latitude than their eastern; a reduction of 1 deg. of latitude + corresponds approximately--and irrespective of modifications due to + elevation--to a rise of 1/2 deg. Fahr., as far say as 30 deg. N, where + the mean temperature is about 75 deg. Fahr. Farther south the increase + is slower, and the highest mean temperature anywhere attained in + southern Asia is not much above 82 deg. Fahr. + + The variations of temperature are very great in Siberia, amounting + near the coast to more than 100 deg. Fahr., between the mean of the + hottest and coldest months, and to still more between the extreme + temperatures of those months. In southern Asia, and particularly near + the sea, the variation between the hottest and coldest monthly means + is very much less, and under the equator it is reduced to about 5 deg. + In Siberia the difference between the means of the hottest and coldest + months is hardly anywhere less than 60 deg. Fahr. On the Sea of Aral + it is 80 deg. Fahr., and at Astrakhan, on the Caspian, more than 50 + deg. At Tiflis it is 45 deg. In northern China, at Peking, it is 55 + deg., reduced to 30 deg. at Canton, and to 20 deg. at Manila. In + northern India the greatest difference does not exceed 40 deg., and it + falls off to about 15 deg. at Calcutta and to about 10 deg. or 12 deg. + at Bombay and Madras. The temperatures at the head of the Persian Gulf + approximate to those of northern India, and those of Aden to Madras. + At Singapore the range is less than 5 deg., and at Batavia in Java, + and Galle in Ceylon, it is about the same. The extreme temperatures in + Siberia may be considered to lie between 80 deg. and 90 deg. Fahr. for + maxima, and between -40 deg. and -70 deg. Fahr. for minima. The + extreme of heat near the Caspian and Aral Seas rises to nearly 100 + deg. Fahr., while that of cold falls to -20 deg. Fahr. or lower. + Compared with these figures, we find in southern Asia 110 deg. or 112 + deg. Fahr. as a maximum hardly ever exceeded. The absolute minimum in + northern India, in lat. 30 deg., hardly goes below 32 deg.; at + Calcutta it is about 40 deg., though the thermometer seldom falls to + 50 deg. At Madras it rarely falls as low as 65 deg., or at Bombay + below 60 deg. At Singapore and Batavia the thermometer very rarely + falls below 70 deg., or rises above 90 deg. At Aden the minimum is a + few degrees below 70 deg., the maximum not much exceeding 90 deg. + + These figures sufficiently indicate the main characteristics of the + air temperatures of Asia. Throughout its northern portion the winter + is long and of extreme severity; and even down to the circle of 35 + deg. N. lat., the minimum temperature is almost as low as zero of + Fahrenheit. The summers are hot, though short in the northern + latitudes, the maximum of summer heat being comparatively little less + than that observed in the tropical countries farther south. The + moderating effect of the proximity of the ocean is felt in an + important degree along the southern and eastern parts of Asia, where + the land is broken up into islands or peninsulas. The great elevations + above the sea-level of the central part of Asia, and of the + table-lands of Afghanistan and Persia, tend to exaggerate the winter + cold; while the sterility of the surface, due to the small rainfall + over the same region, operates powerfully in the opposite direction in + increasing the summer heat. In the summer a great accumulation of + solar heat takes place on the dry surface soil, from which it cannot + be released upwards by evaporation, as might be the case were the soil + moist or covered with vegetation, nor can it be readily conveyed away + downwards as happens on the ocean. In the winter similar consequences + ensue, in a negative direction, from the prolonged loss of heat by + radiation in the long and clear nights--an effect which is intensified + wherever the surface is covered with snow, or the air little charged + with vapour. In illustration of the very slow diffusion of heat in the + solid crust of the earth, and as affording a further indication of the + climate of northern Asia, reference may here be made to the frozen + soil of Siberia, in the vicinity of Yakutsk. In this region the earth + is frozen permanently to a depth of more than 380 ft. at which the + temperature is still 5 deg. or 6 deg. Fahr. below the freezing point + of water, the summer heat merely thawing the surface to a depth of + about 3 ft. At a depth of 50 ft. the temperature is about 15 Fahr. + below the freezing point. Under such conditions of the soil, the land, + nevertheless, produces crops of wheat and other grain from fifteen to + forty fold. + + The very high summer temperatures of the area north of the tropic of + Cancer are sufficiently accounted for, when compared with those + observed south of the tropic, by the increased length of the day in + the higher latitude, which more than compensates for the loss of heat + due to the smaller mid-day altitude of the sun. The difference between + the heating power of the sun's rays at noon on the 21st of June, in + latitude 20 deg. and in latitude 45 deg., is only about 2%; while the + accumulated heat received during the day, which is lengthened to + 15-1/2 hours in the higher latitude, is greater by about 11% than in + the lower latitude, where the day consists only of 13-1/4 hours. + + Although the foregoing account of the temperatures of Asia supplies + the main outline of the observed phenomena, a very important modifying + cause, of which more will be said hereafter, comes into operation over + the whole of the tropical region, namely, the periodical summer rains. + These tend very greatly to arrest the increase of the summer heat over + the area where they prevail, and otherwise give it altogether peculiar + characteristics. + + + Pressure and Winds. + + The great summer heat, by expanding the air upwards, disturbs the + level of the planes of equal pressure, and causes an outflow of the + upper strata from the heated area. The winter cold produces an effect + of just an opposite nature, and causes an accumulation of air over the + cold area. The diminution of barometric pressure which takes place all + over Asia during the summer months, and the increase in the winter, + are hence, no doubt, the results of the alternate heating and cooling + of the air over the continent. + + The necessary and immediate results of such periodical changes of + pressure are winds, which, speaking generally, blow from the area of + greatest to that of least pressure--subject, however, to certain + modifications of direction, arising from the absolute motion of the + whole body of the air due to the revolution of the earth on its axis + from west to east. The south-westerly winds which prevail north of the + equator during the hot half of the year, to which navigators have + given the name of the south-west monsoon (the latter word being a + corruption of the Indian name for season), arise from the great + diminution of atmospheric pressure over Asia, which begins to be + strongly marked with the great rise of temperature in April and May, + and the simultaneous relatively higher pressure over the equator and + the regions south of it. This diminution of pressure, which continues + as the heat increases till it reaches its maximum in July soon after + the solstice, is followed by the corresponding development of the + south-west monsoon; and as the barometric pressure is gradually + restored, and becomes equalized within the tropics soon after the + equinox in October, with the general fall of temperature north of the + equator, the south-west winds fall off, and are succeeded by a + north-east monsoon, which is developed during the winter months by the + relatively greater atmospheric pressure which then occurs over Asia, + as compared with the equatorial region. + + Although the succession of the periodical winds follows the progress + of the seasons as just described, the changes in the wind's direction + everywhere take place under the operation of special local influences + which often disguise the more general law, and make it difficult to + trace. Thus the south-west monsoon begins in the Arabian Sea with west + and north-westerly winds, which draw round as the year advances to + south-west and fall back again in the autumn by north-west to north. + In the Bay of Bengal the strength of the south-west monsoon is rather + from the south and south-east, being succeeded by north-east winds + after October, which give place to northerly and north-westerly winds + as the year advances. Among the islands of the Malay Archipelago the + force of the monsoons is much interrupted, and the position of this + region on the equator otherwise modifies the directions of the + prevailing winds. The southerly summer winds of the Asiatic seas + between the equator and the tropic do not extend to the coasts of + Java, and the south-easterly trade winds are there developed in the + usual manner. The China Sea is fully exposed to both monsoons, the + normal directions of which nearly coincide with the centre of the + channel between the continent of Asia and the eastern islands. + + The south-west monsoon does not generally extend, in its character of + a south-west wind, over the land. The current of air flowing in from + over the sea is gradually diverted towards the area of least pressure, + and at the same time is dissipated and loses much of its original + force. The winds which pass northward over India blow as + south-easterly and easterly winds over the north-eastern part of the + Gangetic plain, and as south winds up the Indus. They seem almost + entirely to have exhausted their northward velocity by the time they + have reached the northern extremity of the great Indian plain; they + are not felt on the table-lands of Afghanistan, and hardly penetrate + into the Indus basin or the ranges of the Himalaya, by which + mountains, and those which branch off from them into the Malay + peninsula, they are prevented from continuing their progress in the + direction originally imparted to them. + + Among the more remarkable phenomena of the hotter seas of Asia must be + noticed the revolving storms or cyclones, which are of frequent + occurrence in the hot months in the Indian Ocean and China Sea, in + which last they are known under the name of typhoon. The cyclones of + the Bay of Bengal appear to originate over the Andaman and Nicobar + islands, and are commonly propagated in a north-westward direction, + striking the east coast of the Indian peninsula at various points, and + then often advancing with an easterly tendency over the land, and + passing with extreme violence across the delta of the Ganges. They + occur in all the hot months, from June to October, and more rarely in + November, and appear to be originated by adverse currents from the + north meeting those of the south-west monsoon. The cyclones of the + China Sea also occur in the hot months of the year, but they advance + from north-east to south-west, though occasionally from east to west; + they originate near the island of Formosa, and extend to about the + 10th degree of N. lat. They are thus developed in nearly the same + latitudes and in the same months as those of the Indian Sea, though + their progress is in a different direction. In both cases, however, + the storms appear to advance towards the area of greatest heat. In + these storms the wind invariably circulates from north by west through + south to east. + + + Rainfall. + + The heated body of air carried from the Indian Ocean over southern + Asia by the south-west monsoon comes up highly charged with watery + vapour, and hence in a condition to release a large body of water as + rain upon the land, whenever it is brought into circumstances which + reduce its temperature in a notable degree. Such a reduction of + temperature is brought about along the greater part of the coasts of + India and of the Burmo-Siamese peninsula by the interruption of the + wind current by continuous ranges of mountains, which force the mass + of air to rise over them, whereby the air being rarefied, its specific + capacity for heat is increased and its temperature falls, with a + corresponding condensation of the vapour originally held in + suspension. + + This explanation of the principal efficient cause of the summer rains + of south Asia is immediately based on an analysis of the complicated + phenomena actually observed, and it serves to account for many + apparent anomalies. The heaviest falls of rain occur along lines of + mountain of some extent directly facing the vapour-bearing winds, as + on the Western Ghats of India and the west coast of the Malay + peninsula. The same results are found along the mountains at a + distance from the sea, the heaviest rainfall known to occur anywhere + in the world (not less than 600 in. in the year) being recorded on the + Khasi range about 100 m. north-east of Calcutta, which presents an + abrupt front to the progress of the moist winds flowing up from the + Bay of Bengal. The cessation of the rains on the southern border of + Baluchistan, west of Karachi, obviously arises from the projection of + the south-east coast of Arabia, which limits the breadth of the + south-west monsoon air current and the length of the coast-line + directly exposed to it. The very small and irregular rainfall in Sind + and along the Indus is to be accounted for by the want of any obstacle + in the path of the vapour-bearing winds, which, therefore, carry the + uncondensed rain up to the Punjab, where it falls on the outer ranges + of the western Himalaya and of Afghanistan. + + The diurnal mountain winds are very strongly marked on the Himalaya, + where they probably are the most active agents in determining the + precipitation of rain along the chain--the monsoon currents, as before + stated, not penetrating among the mountains. The formation of dense + banks of cloud in the afternoon, when the up wind is strongest, along + the southern face of the snowy ranges of the Himalaya, is a regular + daily phenomenon during the hotter months of the year, and heavy rain, + accompanied by electrical discharges, is the frequent result of such + condensation. + + Too little is known of the greater part of Asia to admit of any more + being said with reference to this part of the subject, than to + mention a few facts bearing on the rainfall. In northern Asia there + is a generally equal rainfall of 19 to 29 in. between the Volga and + the Lena in Manchuria and northern China, rather more considerable + increase in Korea, Siam and Japan. At Tiflis the yearly fall is 22 + in.; on the Caspian about 7 or 8 in.; on the Sea of Aral 5 or 6 in. In + south-western Siberia it is 12 or 14 in., diminishing as we proceed + eastward to 6 or 7 in. at Barnaul, and to 5 or 6 in. at Urga in + northern Mongolia. In eastern Siberia it is about 15 to 20 in. In + China we find about 23 in. to be the fall at Peking; while at Canton, + which lies nearly on the northern tropic and the region of the + south-west monsoon is entered, the quantity is increased to 78 in. At + Batavia in Java the fall is about 78 in.; at Singapore it is nearly + 100 in. The quantity increases considerably on that part of the coast + of the Malay peninsula which is not sheltered from the south-west by + Sumatra. On the Tenasserim and Burmese coast falls of more than 200 + in. are registered, and the quantity is here nowhere less than 75 or + 80 in., which is about the average of the eastern part of the delta of + the Ganges, Calcutta standing at about 64 in. On the hills that flank + Bengal on the east the fall is very great. On the Khasi hills, at an + elevation of about 4500 ft., the average of ten years is more than 550 + in. As much as 150 in. has been measured in one month, and 610 in. in + one year. On the west coast of the Indian peninsula the fall at the + sea-level varies from about 75 to 100 in., and at certain elevations + on the mountains more than 250 in. is commonly registered, with + intermediate quantities at intervening localities. On the east coast + the fall is far less, nowhere rising to 50 in., and towards the + southern apex of the peninsula being reduced to 25 or 30 in. Ceylon + shows from 60 to 80 in. As we recede from the coast the fall + diminishes, till it is reduced to about 25 or 30 in. at the head of + the Gangetic plain. The tract along the Indus to within 60 or 80 m. of + the Himalaya is almost rainless, 6 or 8 in. being the fall in the + southern portion of the Punjab. On the outer ranges of the Himalaya + the yearly fall amounts to about 200 in. on the east in Sikkim, and + gradually diminishes on the west, where north of the Punjab it is + about 70 or 80 in. In the interior of the chain the rain is far less, + and the quantity of precipitation is so small in Tibet that it can be + hardly measured. It is to the greatly reduced fall of snow on the + northern faces of the highest ranges of the Himalaya that is to be + attributed the higher level of the snow-line, a phenomenon which was + long a cause of discussion. + + In Afghanistan, Persia, Asia Minor and Syria, winter and spring appear + to be the chief seasons of condensation. In other parts of Asia the + principal part of the rain falls between May and September, that is, + in the hottest half of the year. In the islands under the equator the + heaviest fall is between October and February. (R. S.) + + + FLORA AND FAUNA + + The general assemblage of animals and plants found over northern Asia + resembles greatly that found in the parts of Europe which are adjacent + and have a similar climate. Siberia, north of the 50th parallel, has a + climate not much differing from a similarly situated portion of + Europe, though the winters are more severe and the summers hotter. The + rainfall, though moderate, is still sufficient to maintain the supply + of water in the great rivers that traverse the country to the Arctic + Sea, and to support an abundant vegetation. A similar affinity exists + between the life of the southern parts of Europe and that in the zone + of Asia extending from the Mediterranean across to the Himalaya and + northern China. This belt, which embraces Asia Minor, northern Persia, + Afghanistan, and the southern slopes of the Himalaya, from its + elevation has a temperate climate, and throughout it the rainfall is + sufficient to maintain a vigorous vegetation, while the summers, + though hot. and the winters, though severe, are not extreme. The + plants and animals along it are found to have a marked similarity of + character to those of south Europe, with which region the zone is + virtually continuous. + + The extremely dry and hot tracts which constitute an almost unbroken + desert from Arabia, through south Persia and Baluchistan, to Sind, are + characterized by considerable uniformity in the types of life, which + closely approach to those of the neighbouring hot and dry regions of + Africa. The region of the heavy periodical summer rains and high + temperature, which comprises India, the Indo-Chinese peninsula, and + southern China, as well as the western part of the Malay Archipelago, + is also marked by much similarity in the plants and animals throughout + its extent. The area between the southern border of Siberia and the + margin of the temperate alpine zone of the Himalaya and north China, + comprising what are commonly called central Asia, Turkestan, Mongolia + and western Manchuria, is an almost rainless region, having winters of + extreme severity and summers of intense heat. Its animals and plants + have a special character suited to the peculiar climatal conditions, + more closely allied to those of the adjacent northern Siberian tract + than of the other bordering regions. The south-eastern parts of the + Malay Archipelago have much in common with the Australian continent, + to which they adjoin, though their affinities are chiefly Indian. + North China and Japan also have many forms of life in common. Much + still remains to be done in the exploration of China and eastern Asia; + but it is known that many of the special forms of this region extend + to the Himalaya, while others clearly indicate a connexion with North + America. + + The foregoing brief review of the principal territorial divisions + according to which the forms of life are distributed in Asia, + indicates how close is the dependence of this distribution on climatic + conditions, and this will be made more apparent by a somewhat fuller + account of the main features of the flora and fauna. + + + Northern Asia. + + _Flora._--The flora of the whole of northern Asia is in essentials the + same as that of northern Europe, the differences being due rather to + variations of species than of genera. The absence of the oak and of + all heaths east of the Ural may be noticed. Pines, larch, birch are + the principal trees on the mountains; willow, alders and poplars on + the lower ground. The northern limit of the pine in Siberia is about + 70 deg. N. + + Along the warm temperate zone, from the Mediterranean to the Himalaya, + extends a flora essentially European in character. Many European + species reach the central Himalaya, though few are known in its + eastern parts. The genera common to the Himalaya and Europe are much + more abundant, and extend throughout the chain, and to all elevations. + There is also a corresponding diffusion of Japanese and Chinese forms + along this zone, these being most numerous in the eastern Himalaya, + and less frequent in the west. + + The truly tropical flora of the hotter and wetter regions of eastern + India is continuous with that of the Malayan peninsula and islands, + and extends along the lower ranges of the Himalaya, gradually becoming + less marked and rising to lower elevations as we go westward, where + the rainfall diminishes and the winter cold increases. + + The vegetation of the higher and therefore cooler and less rainy + ranges of the Himalaya has greater uniformity of character along the + whole chain, and a closer general approach to European forms is + maintained; an increased number of species is actually identical, + among these being found, at the greatest elevations, many alpine + plants believed to be identical with species of the north Arctic + regions. On reaching the Tibetan plateau, with the increased dryness + the flora assumes many features of the Siberian type. Many true + Siberian species are found, and more Siberian genera. Some of the + Siberian forms, thus brought into proximity with the Indian flora, + extend to the rainy parts of the mountains, and even to the plains of + upper India. Assemblages of marine plants form another remarkable + feature of Tibet, these being frequently met with growing at + elevations of 14,000 to 15,000 ft. above the sea, more especially in + the vicinity of the many salt lakes of those regions. + + The vegetation of the hot and dry region of the south-west of the + continent consists largely of plants which are diffused over Africa, + Baluchistan and Sind; many of these extend into the hotter parts of + India, and not a few common Egyptian plants are to be met with in the + Indian peninsula. + + + Indian region. + + The whole number of species of plants indigenous in the region of + south-eastern Asia, which includes India and the Malayan peninsula and + islands, from about the 65th to the 105th meridian, was estimated by + Sir J.D. Hooker at 12,000 to 15,000. The principal orders, arranged + according to their numerical importance, are as follows:--Leguminosae, + Rubiaceae, Orchidaceae, Compositae, Gramineae, Euphorbiaceae, + Acanthaceae, Cyperaceae and Labiatae. But within this region there is + a very great variation between the vegetation of the more humid and + the more arid regions, while the characteristics of the flora on the + higher mountain ranges differ wholly from those of the plains. In + short, we have a somewhat heterogeneous assemblage of tropical, + temperate and alpine plants, as has been already briefly indicated, of + which, however, the tropical are so far dominant as to give their + character to the flora viewed as a whole. The Indian flora contains a + more general and complete illustration of almost all the chief natural + families of all parts of the world than any other country. Compositae + are comparatively rare; so also Gramineae and Cyperaceae are in some + places deficient, and Labiatae, Leguminosae and ferns in others. + Euphorbiaceae and Scrophulariaceae and Orchidaceae are universally + present, the last in specially large proportions. + + The perennially humid regions of the Malayan peninsula and western + portion of the archipelago are everywhere covered with dense forest, + rendered difficult to traverse by the thorny cane, a palm of the genus + _Calamus_, which has its greatest development in this part of Asia. + The chief trees belong to the orders of Terebinthaceae, Sapindaceae, + Meliaceae, Clusiaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, Ternstroemiaceae, + Leguminosae, laurels, oaks and figs, with Dilleniaceae, Sapotaceae and + nutmegs. Bamboos and palms, with _Pandanus_ and _Dracaena_, are also + abundant. A similar forest flora extends along the mountains of + eastern India to the Himalaya, where it ascends to elevations varying + from 6000 to 7000 ft. on the east to 3000 or 4000 ft. on the west. + + The arboreous forms which least require the humid and equable heat of + the more truly tropical and equatorial climates, and are best able to + resist the high temperatures and excessive drought of the northern + Indian hot months from April to June, are certain Leguminosae,. + _Bauhinia, Acacia, Butea_ and _Dalbergia, Bombax, Skorea, Nauclea, + Lagerstroemia_, and _Bignonia_, a few bamboos and palms, with others + which extend far beyond the tropic, and give a tropical aspect to the + forest to the extreme northern border of the Indian plain. + + Of the herbaceous vegetation of the more rainy regions may be noted + the Orchidaceae, Orontiaceae, Scitamineae, with ferns and other + Cryptogams, besides Gramineae and Cyperaceae. Among these some forms, + as among the trees, extend much beyond the tropic and ascend into the + temperate zones on the mountains, of which may be mentioned _Begonia, + Osbeckia_, various Cyrtandraceae, Scitamineae, and a few epiphytical + orchids. + + Of the orders most largely developed in south India, and more + sparingly elsewhere, may be named Aurantiaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, + Balsaminaceae, Ebenaceae, Jasmineae, and Cyrtandraceae; but of these + few contain as many as 100 peculiar Indian species. _Nepenthes_ may be + mentioned as a genus specially developed in the Malayan area, and + extending from New Caledonia to Madagascar; it is found as far north + as the Khasi hills, and in Ceylon, but does not appear on the Himalaya + or in the peninsula of India. The Balsaminaceae may be named as being + rare in the eastern region and very abundant in the peninsula. A + distinct connexion between the flora of the peninsula and Ceylon and + that of eastern tropical Africa is observable not only in the great + similarity of many of the more truly tropical forms, and the identity + of families and genera found in both regions, but in a more remarkable + manner in the likeness of the mountain flora of this part of Africa to + that of the peninsula, in which several species occur believed to be + identical with Abyssinian forms. This connexion is further established + by the absence from both areas of oaks, conifers and cycads, which, as + regards the first two families, is a remarkable feature of the flora + of the peninsula and Ceylon, as the mountains rise to elevations in + which both of them are abundant to the north and east. With these + facts it has to be noticed that many of the principal forms of the + eastern flora are absent or comparatively rare in the peninsula and + Ceylon. + + The general physiognomy of the Indian flora is mainly determined by + the conditions of humidity of climate. The impenetrable shady forests + of the Malay peninsula and eastern Bengal, of the west coast of the + Indian peninsula, and of Ceylon, offer a strong contrast to the more + loosely-timbered districts of the drier regions of central India and + the north-western Himalaya. The forest areas of India include the + dense vegetation and luxuriant growth of the Tarai jungles at the foot + of the eastern Himalaya, and wide stretches of loosely-timbered + country which are a prevailing feature in the Central Provinces and + parts of Madras. Where the lowlands are highly cultivated they are + adorned with planted wood, and where they are cut off from rain they + are nearly completely desert. + + The higher mountains rise abruptly from the plains; on their slopes, + clothed below almost exclusively with the more tropical forms, a + vegetation of a warm temperate character, chiefly evergreen, soon + begins to prevail, comprising Magnoliaceae, Ternstroemiaccae, + subtropical Rosaceae, rhododendron, oak, _Ilex, Symplocos_, Lauraceae, + _Pinus longifolia_, with mountain forms of truly tropical orders, + palms, _Pandanus, Musa, Vitis, Vernonia_, and many others. On the east + the vegetation of the Himalaya is most abundant and varied. The forest + extends, with great luxuriance, to an elevation of 12,000 ft., above + which the sub-alpine region may be said to begin, in which + rhododendron scrub often covers the ground up to 13,000 or 14,000 ft. + Only one pine is found below 8000 ft., above which several other + Coniferae occur. Plantains, tree-ferns, bamboos, several _Calami_, and + other palms, and _Pandanus_, are abundant at the lower levels. Between + 4000 and 8000 ft. epiphytal orchids are very frequent, and reach even + to 10,000 ft. Vegetation ascends on the drier and less snowy mountain + slopes of Tibet to above 18,000 ft. On the west, with the drier + climate, the forest is less luxuriant and dense, and the hill-sides + and the valleys better cultivated. The warm mountain slopes are + covered with _Pinus longifolia_, or with oaks and rhododendron, and + the forest is not commonly dense below 8000 ft., excepting in some of + the more secluded valleys at a low elevation. From 8000 to 12,000 ft., + a thick forest of deciduous trees is almost universal, above which a + sub-alpine region is reached, and vegetation as on the east continues + up to 18,000 ft. or more. The more tropical forms of the east, such as + the tree-ferns, do not reach west of Nepal. The cedar or deodar is + hardly indigenous east of the sources of the Ganges, and at about the + same point the forms of the west begin to be more abundant, increasing + in number as we advance towards Afghanistan. + + The cultivated plants of the Indian region include wheat, barley, rice + and maize; various millets, _Sorghum, Penicillaria, Panicum_ and + _Eleusine_; many pulses, peas and beans; mustard and rape; ginger and + turmeric; pepper and capsicum; several Cucurbitaceae; tobacco, + _Sesamum_, poppy, _Crotolaria_ and _Cannabis_; cotton, indigo and + sugar; coffee and tea; oranges, lemons of many sorts; pomegranate, + mango, figs, peaches, vines and plantains. The more common palms are + _Cocos, Phoenix_ and _Borassus_, supplying cocoa-nut and toddy. Indian + agriculture combines the harvests of the tropical and temperate zones. + North of the tropic the winter cold is sufficient to admit of the + cultivation of almost all the cereals and vegetables of Europe, wheat + being sown in November and reaped early in April. In this same region + the summer heat and rain provide a thoroughly tropical climate, in + which rice and other tropical cereals are freely raised, being as a + rule sown early in July and reaped in September or October. In + southern India, and the other parts of Asia and of the islands having + a similar climate, the difference of the winter and summer half-years + is not sufficient to admit of the proper cultivation of wheat or + barley. The other cereals may be seen occasionally, where artificial + irrigation is practised, in all stages of progress at all seasons of + the year, though the operations of agriculture are, as a general rule, + limited to the rainy months, when alone is the requisite supply of + water commonly forthcoming. + + The trees of India producing economically useful timber are + comparatively few, owing to the want of durability of the wood, in the + extremely hot and moist climate. The teak, _Tectona grandis_, supplies + the finest timber. It is found in greatest perfection in the forests + of the west coasts of Burma and the Indian peninsula, where the + rainfall is heaviest, growing to a height of 100 or 150 ft., mixed + with other trees and bamboos. The sal, _Shorea robusta_, a very + durable wood, is most abundant along the skirts of the Himalaya from + Assam to the Punjab, and is found in central India, to which the teak + also extends. The sal grows to a large size, and is more gregarious + than the teak. Of other useful woods found in the plains may be named + the babool, _Acacia_; toon, _Cedrela_; and sissoo, _Dalbergia_. The + only timber in ordinary use obtained from the Himalaya proper is the + deodar, _Cedrus deodara_. Besides these are the sandalwood, + _Santalum_, of southern India, and many sorts of bamboo found in all + parts of the country. The cinchona has recently been introduced with + complete success; and the mahogany of America reaches a large size, + and gives promise of being grown for use as timber. + + + Western Asia. + + The flora of the rainless region of south-western Asia is continuous + with the desert flora of northern and eastern Africa, and extends from + the coast of Senegal to the meridian of 75 deg. E., or from the great + African desert to the border of the rainless tract along the Indus and + the southern parts of the Punjab. It includes the peninsula of Arabia, + the shores of the Persian Gulf, south Persia, and Afghanistan and + Baluchistan. On the west its limit is in the Cape Verde Islands, and + it is partially represented in Abyssinia. + + The more common plants in the most characteristic part of this region + in southern Arabia are Capparidaceae, Euphorbiaceae, and a few + Leguminosae, a _Reseda_ and _Dipterygium_; palms, Polygonaceae, ferns, + and other cryptogams, are rare. The number of families relative to the + area is very small, and the number of genera and species equally + restricted, in very many cases a single species being the only + representative of an order. The aspect of the vegetation is very + peculiar, and is commonly determined by the predominance of some four + or five species, the rest being either local or sparingly scattered + over the area. The absence of the ordinary bright green colours of + vegetation is another peculiarity of this flora, almost all the plants + having glaucous or whitened stems. Foliage is reduced to a minimum, + the moisture of the plant being stored up in massive or fleshy stems + against the long-continued drought. Aridity has favoured the + production of spines as a defence from external attack, sharp thorns + are frequent, and asperities of various sorts predominate. Many + species produce gums and resins, their stems being encrusted with the + exudations, and pungency and aromatic odour is an almost universal + quality of the plants of desert regions. + + The cultivated plants of Arabia are much the same as those of northern + India--wheat, barley, and the common _Sorghum_, with dates and lemons, + cotton and indigo. To these must be added coffee, which is restricted + to the slopes of the western hills. Among the more mountainous regions + of the south-western part of Arabia, known as Arabia Felix, the + summits of which rise to 6000 or 7000 ft., the rainfall is sufficient + to develop a more luxuriant vegetation, and the valleys have a flora + like that of similarly situated parts of southern Persia, and the less + elevated parts of Afghanistan and Baluchistan, partaking of the + characters of that of the hotter Mediterranean region. In these + countries aromatic shrubs are abundant. Trees are rare, and almost + restricted to _Pistacia, Celtis_ and _Dodonaea_, with poplars, and the + date palm. Prickly forms of _Statice_ and _Astragalus_ cover the dry + hills. In the spring there is an abundant herbaceous vegetation, + including many bulbous plants, with genera, if not species, identical + with those of the Syrian region, some of which extend to the Himalaya. + + The flora of the northern part of Afghanistan approximates to that of + the contiguous western Himalaya. _Quercus Ilex_, the evergreen oak of + southern Europe, is found in forests as far east as the Sutlej, + accompanied with other European forms. In the higher parts of + Afghanistan and Persia Boraginaceae and thistles abound; gigantic + Umbelliferae, such as _Ferula, Galbanum, Dorema, Bubon, Peucedanum, + Prangos_, and others, also characterize the same districts, and some + of them extend into Tibet. + + The flora of Asia Minor and northern Persia differs but little from + that of the southern parts of Europe. The mountains are clothed, where + the fall of rain is abundant, with forests of _Quercus, Fagus, Ulmus, + Acer, Carpinus_ and _Corylus_, and various Coniferae. Of these the + only genus that is not found on the Himalaya is _Fagus_. Fruit trees + of the plum tribe abound. The cultivated plants are those of southern + Europe. + + + Eastern Asia. + + The vegetation of the Malayan Islands is for the most part that of the + wetter and hotter region of India; but the greater uniformity of the + temperature and humidity leads to the predominance of certain tropical + forms not so conspicuous in India, while the proximity of the + Australian continent has permitted the partial diffusion of Australian + types which are not seen in India. The liquidambar and nutmeg may be + noticed among the former, the first is one of the most conspicuous + trees in java, on the mountains of the eastern part of which the + casuarina, one of the characteristic forms of Australia, is also + abundant. Rhododendrons occur in Borneo and Sumatra, descending to the + level of the sea. On the mountains of Java there appears to be no + truly alpine flora, _Saxifraga_ is not found. In Borneo some of the + temperate forms of Australia appear on the higher mountains. On the + other islands similar characteristics are to be observed, Australian + genera extending to the Philippines, and even to southern China. + + The analysis of the Hong Kong flora indicates that about three-fifths + of the species are common to the Indian region, and nearly all the + remainder are either Chinese or local forms. The number of species + common to southern China, Japan and northern Asia is small. The + cultivated plants of China are, with a few exceptions, the same as + those of India South China, therefore seems, botanically hardly + distinct from the great Indian region, into which many Chinese forms + penetrate, as before noticed. The flora of north China, which is akin + to that of Japan, shows manifest relation to that of the neighbouring + American continent, from which many temperate forms extend, reaching + to the Himalaya, almost as far as Kashmir. Very little is known of the + plants of the interior of northern China, but it seems probable that a + complete botanical connexion is established between it and the + temperate region of the Himalaya. + + + Central Asia. + + The vegetation of the dry region of central Asia is remarkable for the + great relative number of Chenopodiaceae, _Salicornia_ and other salt + plants being common; Polygonaceae also are abundant, leafless forms + being of frequent occurrence, which gives the vegetation a very + remarkable aspect. Peculiar forms of Leguminosae also prevail, and + these with many of the other plants of the southern and drier regions + of Siberia, or of the colder regions of the desert tracts of Persia + and Afghanistan, extend into Tibet, where the extreme drought and the + hot (nearly vertical) sun combine to produce a summer climate not + greatly differing from that of the plains of central Asia. + + + Zoological Regions. + + _Fauna._--The zoological provinces of Asia correspond very closely + with the botanical. The northern portion of Asia, as far south as the + Himalaya, is not zoologically distinct from Europe, and these two + areas, with the strip of Africa north of the Atlas, constitute the + Palaearctic region of Dr. Sclater, whose zoological primary divisions + of the earth have met with the general approval of naturalists. The + south-eastern portion of Asia with the adjacent islands of Sumatra, + Java, Borneo and the Philippines, form his Indian region. The extreme + south-west part of the continent constitutes a separate zoological + district, comprising Arabia, Palestine and southern Persia, and + reaching, like the hot desert botanical tract, to Baluchistan and + Sind, it belongs to what Dr. Sclater calls the Ethiopian region, which + extends over Africa, south of the Atlas. Celebes, Papua, and the other + islands east of Java beyond Wallace's line fall within the Australian + region. + + + Mammals and birds. + + Nearly all the mammals of Europe also occur in northern Asia, where + however, the Palaearctic fauna is enriched by numerous additional + species. The characteristic groups belong mostly to forms which are + restricted to cold and temperate regions. Consequently the Quadrumana, + or monkeys, are nearly unrepresented, a single species occurring in + Japan, and one or two others in northern China and Tibet. + Insectivorous bats are numerous, but the frugivorous division of this + order is only represented by a single species in Japan. Carnivora are + also numerous, particularly the frequenters of cold climates, such as + bears, weasels, wolves and foxes. Of the Insectivora, numerous forms + of moles, shrews and hedgehogs prevail. The Rodents are also well + represented by various squirrels, mice, and hares. Characteristic + forms ot this order in northern Asia are the marmots (_Arctomys_) and + the pikas or tailless hares (_Lagomys_). The great order of Ungulata + is represented by various forms of sheep, as many as ten or twelve + wild species of _Ovis_ being met with in the mountain chains of Asia, + and more sparingly by several peculiar forms of antelope, such as the + saiga (_Saiga tatarica_) and the _Gazella gutturosa_, or yellow sheep. + Coming to the deer, we also meet with characteristic forms in northern + Asia, especially those belonging to the typical genus _Cervus_. The + musk deer (_Moschus_) is also quite restricted to northern Asia, and + is one of its most peculiar types. + + The ornithology ot northern Asia is even more closely allied to that + of Europe than the mammal fauna. Nearly three fourths of the + well-known species of Europe extend through Siberia into the islands + of the Japanese empire. Here again, we have an absence of all tropical + forms, and a great development of groups characteristic of cold and + temperate regions. One of the most peculiar of these is the genus + _Phasianus_, of which splendid birds all the species are restricted in + their wild state to northern Asia. The still more magnificently clad + gold pheasants (_Thaumalea_), and the eared pheasants (_Crossoptilon_) + are also confined to certain districts in the mountains of north + eastern Asia. Amongst the _Passeres_, such forms as the larks, stone + chats, finches, linnets, and grosbeaks are well developed and exhibit + many species. + + The mammal fauna of the Indian region of Asia is much more highly + developed than that of the Palaearctic. The Quadrumana are represented + by several peculiar genera, amongst which are _Semnopithecus_, + _Hylobates_ and _Simia_. Two peculiar forms of the Lemurine group are + also met with. Both the insectivorous and frugivorous divisions of the + bats are well represented. Amongst the Insectivora very peculiar forms + are found, such as _Gymnura_ and _Tupaia_. The _Carnivora_ are + likewise numerous, and this region may be considered as the true home + of the tiger, though this animal has wandered far north into the + Palaearctic division of Asia. Other characteristic Carnivora are + civets, various ichneumons, and the benturong (_Arctictis_). Two + species of bears are likewise restricted to the Indian region. In the + order of Rodents squirrels are very numerous and porcupines of two + genera are met with. The Indian region is the home of the Indian + elephant--one of the two sole remaining representatives of the order + Proboscidea. Of the Ungulates, four species of rhinoceros and one of + tapir are met with, besides several peculiar forms of the swine + family. The Bovidae or hollow-horned ruminants, are represented by + several genera of antelopes, and by species of true _Bos_--such as _B. + sondaicus_, _B. frontalis_ and _B. bubalus_. Deer are likewise + numerous, and the peculiar group of chevrotains (_Tragulus_) is + characteristic of the Indian region. Finally, this region affords us + representatives of the order Edentata, in the shape of several species + of _Manis_, or scaly ant-eater. + + The assemblage of birds of the Indian region is one of the richest and + most varied in the world, being surpassed only by that of tropical + America. Nearly every order, except that of the Struthiones or + ostriches, is well represented, and there are many peculiar genera not + found elsewhere, such as _Buceros_, _Harpactes_, _Lophophorus_, + _Euplocamus_, _Pajo_ and _Ceriornis_. The _Phasianidae_ (exclusive of + true _Phasianus_) are highly characteristic ot this region, as are + likewise certain genera of barbets (_Megalaema_), parrots + (_Palaeornis_), and crows (_Dendrocitta_, _Urocissa_ and _Cissa_). The + family _Eurylaemidae_ is entirely confined to this part of Asia. + + The Ethiopian fauna plays but a subordinate part in Asia, intruding + only into the south-western corner, and occupying the desert districts + of Arabia and Syria, although some of the characteristic species reach + still farther into Persia and Sind, and even into western India. The + lion and the hunting leopard, which may be considered as in this epoch + at least, Ethiopian types extend thus far, besides various species of + jerboa and other desert-loving forms. + + In the birds, the Ethiopian type is shown by the prevalence of larks + and stone chats, and by the complete absence of the many peculiar + genera of the Indian region. + + The occurrence of mammals of the Marsupial order in the Molucca + Islands and Celebes, while none have been found in the adjacent + islands of Java and Borneo, lying on the west of Wallace's line, or in + the Indian region, shows that the margin of the Australian region has + here been reached. The same conclusion is indicated by the absence + from the Moluccas and Celebes of various other Mammals, Quadrumana, + Carnivora, Insectivora and Ruminants, which abound in the western part + of the Archipelago. Deer do not extend into New Guinea, in which + island the genus _Sus_ appears to have its eastern limit. A peculiar + form of baboon, _Cynopithecus_, and the singular ruminant, _Anoa_, + found in Celebes, seem to have no relation to Asiatic animals, and + rather to be allied to those in Africa. + + The birds of these islands present similar peculiarities. Those of the + Indian region abruptly disappear at, and many Australian forms reach + but do not pass, the line above spoken of. Species of birds akin to + those of Africa also occur in Celebes. + + Of the marine orders of Sirenia and Cetacea the Dugong, _Halicore_, is + exclusively found in the Indian Ocean and a dolphin, _Platanista_, + peculiar to the Ganges, ascends that river to a great distance from + the sea. + + + Fishes. + + Of the sea fishes of Asia, among the Acanthopterygii, or spiny-rayed + fishes, the _Percidae_, or perches, are largely represented, the genus + _Serranus_, which has only one species in Europe, is very numerous in + Asia, and the forms are very large. Other allied genera are abundant + and extend from the Indian seas to eastern Africa. The Squamipennes, + or scaly-finned fishes, are principally found in the seas of southern + Asia, and especially near coral reefs. The _Mullidae_ or red mullets + are largely represented by genera differing from those of Europe. The + _Polynemidae_, which range from the Atlantic through the Indian Ocean + to the Pacific, supply animals from which isinglass is prepared; one + of them, the mango fish, esteemed a great delicacy, inhabits the seas + from the Bay of Bengal to Siam. The _Sciaenidae_ extend from the Bay + of Bengal to China, but are not known to the westward. The + _Stromateidae_, or pomfrets, resemble the dory, a Mediterranean form, + and extend to China and the Pacific. The sword fishes _Xiphidae_, the + lancet fishes, _Acanthuridae_, and the scabbard fishes, _Trichuridae_, + are distributed through the seas of south Asia. Mackerels of various + genera abound, as well as gobies, blenniesm and mullets. + + Among the Anacanthim, the cod family so well known in Europe shows but + one or two species in the seas of south Asia, though the soles and + allied fishes are numerous along the coasts. Of the Physostomi, the + siluroids are abundant in the estuaries and muddy waters; the habits + of some of these fishes are remarkable, such as that of the males + carrying the ova in their mouths till the young are hatched. The small + family of _Scopelidae_ affords the gelatinous _Harpodon_, or bumalo. + The gar-fish and flying fishes are numerous, extending into the seas + of Europe. The _Clupeidae_ or herrings, are most abundant, and + anchovies, or sardines, are found in shoals, but at irregular and + uncertain intervals. The marine eels, _Muraenidae_, are more numerous + towards the Malay Archipelago than in the Indian seas. Forms of + sea-horses (_Hippocampus_), pipe-fishes (_Syngnathus_), fife-fishes + (_Sclerodermus_), and sun-fish, globe-fish, and other allied forms of + _Gymnodontes_, are not uncommon. + + Of the cartilaginous fishes, Chondropterygii, the true sharks and + hammer-headed sharks, are numerous. The dog-fish also is found, one + species extending from the Indian seas to the Cape of Good Hope. The + saw-fishes, _Pristidae_, the electrical rays, _Torpedinae_, and + ordinary rays and skates, are also found in considerable numbers. + + The fresh waters of southern Asia are deficient in the typical forms + of the Acanthopterygii, and are chiefly inhabited by carp, siluroids, + simple or spined eels, and the walking and climbing fishes. The + _Siluridae_ attain their chief development in tropical regions. Only + one _Silurus_ is found in Europe, and the same species extends to + southern Asia and Africa. The _Salmonidae_ are entirely absent from + the waters of southern Asia, though they exist in the rivers that flow + into the Arctic Ocean and the neighbouring parts of the northern + Pacific, extending perhaps to Formosa; and trout, though unknown in + Indian rivers, are found beyond the watershed of the Indus, in the + streams flowing into the Caspian. The _Cyprinidae_, or carp, are + largely represented in southern Asia, and there grow to a size unknown + in Europe; a _Barbus_ in the Tigris has been taken of the weight of + 300 lb. The chief development of this family, both as to size and + number of forms, is in the mountain regions with a temperate climate; + the smaller species are found in the hotter regions and in the + low-lying rivers. Of the _Clupeidae_, or herrings, numerous forms + occur in Asiatic waters, ascending the rivers many hundred miles; one + of the best-known of Indian fishes, the hilsa, is of this family. The + sturgeons, which abound in the Black Sea and Caspian, and ascend the + rivers that fall into them, are also found in Asiatic Russia, and an + allied form extends to southern China. The walking or climbing fishes, + which are peculiar to south-eastern Asia and Africa, are organized so + as to be able to breathe when out of the water, and they are thus + fitted to exist under conditions which would be fatal to other fishes, + being suited to live in the regions of periodical drought and rain in + which they are found. + + + Insects. + + The insects of all southern Asia, including India south of the + Himalaya, China, Siam and the Malayan Islands, belong to one group; + not only the genera, but even the species are often the same on the + opposite sides of the Bay of Bengal. The connexion with Africa is + marked by the occurrence of many genera common to Africa and India, + and confined to those two regions, and similarities of form are not + uncommon there in cases in which the genera are not peculiar. Of + Coleopterous insects known to inhabit east Siberia, nearly one-third + are found in western Europe. The European forms seem to extend to + about 30 deg. N., south of which the Indo-Malayan types are met with, + Japan being of the Europeo-Asiatic group. The northern forms extend + generally along the south coast of the Mediterranean up to the border + of the great desert, and from the Levant to the Caspian. + + + Domesticated animals. + + Of the domesticated animals of Asia may first be mentioned the + elephant. It does not breed in captivity, and is not found wild west + of the Jumna river in northern India. The horse is produced, in the + highest perfection in Arabia and the hot and dry countries of western + Asia. Ponies are most esteemed from the wetter regions of the east, + and the hilly tracts. Asses are abundant in most places, and two wild + species occur. The horned cattle include the humped oxen and buffaloes + of India, and the yak of Tibet. A hybrid between the yak and Indian + cattle, called zo, is commonly reared in Tibet and the Himalaya. Sheep + abound in the more temperate regions, and goats are universally met + with; both of these animals are used as beasts of burden in the + mountains of Tibet. The reindeer of northern Siberia call also for + special notice; they are used for the saddle as well as for draught. + (R. S.) + + + ETHNOLOGY + + Racial types. + + Asia, including its outlying islands, has become the dwelling-place of + all the great families into which the races of men have been divided. + By far the largest area is occupied by the Mongolian group. These have + yellow-brown skins, black eyes and hair, flat noses and oblique eyes. + They are short in stature, with little hair on the body and face. In + general terms they extend, with modifications of character probably + due to admixture with other types and to varying conditions of life, + over the whole of northern Asia as far south as the plains bordering + the Caspian Sea, including Tibet and China, and also over the + Indo-Malayan peninsula and Archipelago, excepting Papua and some of + the more eastern islands. + + Next in numerical importance to the Mongolians are the races which + have been called by Professor Huxley _Melanochroic_ and + _Xanthochroic_. The former includes the dark-haired people of southern + Europe, and extends over North Africa, Asia Minor, Syria to + south-western Asia, and through Arabia and Persia to India. The latter + race includes the fair-haired people of northern Europe, and extends + over nearly the same area as the Melanochroi, with which race it is + greatly intermixed. The Xanthochroi have fair skins, blue eyes and + light hair; and others have dark skins, eyes and hair, and are of a + slighter frame. Together they constitute what were once called the + Caucasian races. The Melanochroi are not considered by Huxley to be + one of the primitive modifications of mankind, but rather to be the + result of the admixture of the Xanthochroi with the Australoid type, + next to be mentioned. + + The third group is that of the Australoid type. Their hair is dark, + generally soft, never woolly. The eyes and skin are dark, the beard + often well developed, the nose broad and flat, the lips coarse, and + jaws heavy. This race is believed to form the basis of the people of + the Indian peninsula, and of some of the hill tribes of central India, + to whom the name Dravidian has been given, and by its admixture with + the Melanochroic group to have given rise to the ordinary population + of the Indian provinces. It is also probable that the Australoid + family extends into south Arabia and Egypt. + + The last group, the Negroid, is represented by the races to which has + been given the name of _Negrito_, from the small size of some of them. + They are closely akin to the negroes of South Africa, and possess the + characteristic dark skins, woolly but scanty beard and body hair, + broad flat noses, and projecting lips of the African; and are diffused + over the Andaman Islands, a part of the Malay peninsula, the + Philippines, Papua, and some of the neighbouring islands. The Negritos + appear to be derived from a mixture of the true Negro with the + Australoid type. + + + Mongolians. + + The distribution of the Mongolian group in Asia offers no particular + difficulty. There is complete present, and probably previous + long-existing, geographical continuity in the area over which they are + found. There is also considerable similarity of climate and other + conditions throughout the northern half of Asia which they occupy. The + extension of modified forms of the Mongolian type over the whole + American continent may be mentioned as a remarkable circumstance + connected with this branch of the human race. + + The Mongolians of the northern half of Asia are almost entirely + nomadic, hunters and shepherds or herdsmen. The least advanced of + these, but far the most peaceful, are those that occupy Siberia. + Farther south the best-known tribes are the Manchus, the Mongols + proper, the Moguls and the Turks, all known under the name of Tatars, + and to the ancients as Scythians, occupying from east to west the zone + of Asia comprised between the 40th and 50th circles of N. lat. The + Turks are Mahommedans; their tribes extend up the Oxus to the borders + of Afghanistan and Persia, and to the Caspian, and under the name of + Kirghiz into Russia, and their language is spoken over a large part of + western Asia. Their letters are those of Persia. The Manchus and + Mongols are chiefly Buddhist, with letters derived from the ancient + Syriac. The Manchus are now said to be gradually falling under the + influence of Chinese civilization, and to be losing their old nomadic + habits, and even their peculiar language. The predatory habits of the + Turkish, Mongolian and Manchu population of northern Asia, and their + irruptions into other parts of the continent and into Europe, have + produced very remarkable results in the history of the world. + + The Chinese branch of the Mongolian family are a thoroughly settled + people of agriculturists and traders. They are partially Buddhist, and + have a peculiar monosyllabic, uninflected language, with writing + consisting of symbols, which represent words, not letters. + + The countries lying between India and the Mongolian are occupied by + populations chiefly of the Mongolian and Chinese type, having + languages fundamentally monosyllabic, but using letters derived from + India, and adopting their religion, which is almost everywhere + Buddhist, from the Indians. Of these may be named the Tibetans, the + Burmese and the Siamese. Cochin-China is more nearly Chinese in all + respects. It is known that to the Tibeto-Chinese modifications of the + pure Mongolian type all the eastern Burmese tribes--Chins, Kachins, + Shans, &c.--belong (as indeed do the Burmese themselves), and that a + cognate race occupies the Himalaya to the eastern limits of Kashmir. + + Some light has been thrown on the connexion between the Tibetan race + and certain tribes of central India, the Bhils and Kols; and it seems + more probable that these tribes are the remnants of a Mongolian race + which first displaced a yet earlier Negroid population, and was then + itself shouldered out by a Caucasian irruption, than that they entered + India by any of the northern passages within historic times. Mongolian + settlements have lately been found very much farther extended into the + border countries of north-west India than has been hitherto + recognized. The Mingals, who, conjointly with the Brahuis, occupy the + hills south of Kalat to the limits of the Rajput province of Las Bela, + claim Mongolian descent, and traces of a Mongolian colony have been + found in Makran. + + + Malays. + + The Malays, who occupy the peninsula and most of the islands of the + Archipelago called after them, are Mongols apparently modified by + their very different climate, and by the maritime life forced upon + them by the physical conditions of the region they inhabit. As they + are now known to us, they have undergone a process of partial + civilization, first at the hands of the Brahminical Indians, from whom + they borrowed a religion, and to some extent literature and an + alphabet, and subsequently from intercourse with the Arabs, which has + led to the adoption of Mahommedanism by most of them. + + + Aryans. + + The name of Aryan has been given to the races speaking languages + derived from, or akin to, the ancient form of Sanskrit, who now occupy + the temperate zone extending from the Mediterranean, across the + highlands of Asia Minor, Persia and Afghanistan, to India. The races + speaking the languages akin to the ancient Assyrian, which are now + mainly represented by Arabic, have been called Semitic, and occupy the + countries south-west of Persia, including Syria and Arabia, besides + extending into North Africa. Though the languages of these races are + very different they cannot be regarded as physically distinct, and + they are both without doubt branches of the Melanochroi, modified by + admixture with the neighbouring races, the Mongols, the Australoids + and the Xanthochroi. + + The Aryans of India are probably the most settled and civilized of all + Asiatic races. This type is found in its purest form in the north and + north-west, while the mixed races and the population referred to the + Australoid type predominate in the peninsula and southern India. The + spoken languages of northern India are very various, differing one + from another in the sort of degree that English differs from German, + though all are thoroughly Sanskritic in their vocables, but with an + absence of Sanskrit grammar that has given rise to considerable + discussion. The languages of the south are Dravidian, not Sanskritic. + The letters of both classes of languages, which also vary + considerably, are all modifications of the ancient Pali, and probably + derived from the Dravidians, not from the Aryans. They are written + from left to right, exception being made of Urdu or Hindostani, the + mixed language of the Mahommedan conquerors of northern India, the + character used for writing which is the Persian. From the river Sutlej + and the borders of the Sind desert, as far as Burma and to Ceylon, the + religion of the great bulk of the people of India is Hindu or + Brahminical, though the Mahommedans are often numerous, and in some + places even in a majority. West of the Sutlej the population of Asia + may be said to be wholly Mahommedan with the exception of certain + relatively small areas in Asia Minor and Syria, where Christians + predominate. The language of the Punjab does not differ very + materially from that of Upper India. West of the Indus the dialects + approach more to Persian, which language meets Arabic and Turki west + of the Tigris, and along the Turkoman desert and the Caspian. Through + the whole of this tract the letters are used which are common to + Persian, Arabic and Turkish, written from right to left. + + + Racial distribution. + + Considerable progress has been made in the classification of the + various races which occupy the continent to the west of the great + Mongolian region. The ancient Sacae, or Scyths, are recognized in the + Aryan population, who may be found in great numbers and in their + purest form in the more inaccessible mountains and glens of the + central highlands. These Tajiks (as they are usually called) form the + underlying population of Persia, Baluchistan, Afghanistan and + Badakshan, and their language (in the central districts of Asia) is + found to contain words of Aryan or Sanskrit derivation which are not + known in Persian. They have been for the most part dispossessed of + their country by Turkish immigration and conquests, but they still + retain their original intellectual superiority over the Turkish and + other mixed tribes by which they are surrounded. Uzbegs and Kirghiz + have but small affinity with the Mongol element of Asia. They are the + representatives of those countless Turkish irruptions which have taken + place through all history. Of the two divisions (Kara Kirghiz and + Kassak Kirghiz) into which the Kirghiz tribes are divided by Russian + authorities, the Kassak Kirghiz is the more closely allied to the + Mongol type; the Kara Kirghiz, who are found principally in the + valleys of the Tian-shan and Altai mountains, being unmistakably + Turkish. The Kipchaks are only a Kirghiz clan. The language of the + Kirghiz is Turki and their religion that of Mahomet. As a nomadic + people they have great contempt for the Sarts, who represent the town + dwellers of the tribe. The Kalmucks are a Buddhist and Mongolian + people who originated in a confederacy of tribes dwelling in + Dzungaria, migrated to Siberia, and settled on the Lower Volga. From + thence they returned late in the 18th century to the reoccupation of + their old ground in Kulja under the Chinese. The Turkoman is the + purest form of the Turk element, and his language is the purest form + of the Turkish tongue, which is represented at Constantinople by a + comparatively mongrel, or mixed, dialect. Ethnographers have traced a + connexion between the Turkoman of central Asia and the Teutonic races + of Europe, based on a similarity of national customs and immemorial + usage. Evidence of an original affinity between Turkoman and Rajput + has also been found in the mutual possession by these races of a ruddy + skin, so that as ethnographical inquiry advances the Turk appears to + recede from his Mongolian affinities and to approach the Caucasian. + Turks and Mongols alike were doubtless included under the term Scyth + by the ancients, and as Tatars by more modern writers, insomuch that + the Turkish dynasty at Delhi, founded by Baber, is usually termed the + Mogul dynasty, although there can be no distinction traced between the + terms Mogul and Mongol. The general results of recent inquiry into the + ethnography of Afghanistan is to support the general correctness of + Bellew's theories of the origin of the Afghan races. The claim of the + Durani Afghan to be a true Ben-i-Israel is certainly in no way + weakened by any recent investigation. The influence of Greek culture + in northern India is fully recognized, and the distribution of Greek + colonies previous to Alexander's time is attested by practical + knowledge of the districts they were said to occupy. The _habitat_ of + the Nysaeana, and the identity of certain tribes of Kafiristan with + the descendants of these pre-Alexandrian colonists from the west, are + also well established. To this day hymns are unwittingly sung to + Bacchus in the dales and glens of Kafiristan. The ethnographical + status of the mixed tribes of the mountains that lie between Chitral + and the Peshawar plains has been fairly well fixed by John Biddulph, + and much patient inquiry in the vast fields of Baluchistan by Major + Mockler, G.P. Tate and others has resulted in quite a new appreciation + of the tribal origin of the great conglomeration of Baluch peoples. + + The result of trans-border surveys to the north and west of India has + been to establish the important geographical fact that it is by two + gateways only, one on the north-west and one on the west of India, + that the central Asiatic tides of immigration have flowed into the + peninsula. The Kabul valley indicates the north-western entrance, and + Makran indicates that on the west. By the Kabul valley route, which + includes at its head the group of passes across the Hindu Kush which + extend from the Khawak to the Kaoshan, all those central Asian hordes, + be they Sacae, Yue-chi, Jats, Goths or Huns, who were driven towards + the rich plains of the south, entered the Punjab. Some of them + migrated from districts which belong to eastern Asia, but none of them + penetrated into India by eastern passes. Such tides as set towards the + Himalaya broke against their farther buttresses, leaving an + interesting ethnographical flotsam in the northern valleys; but they + never overflowed the Himalayan barrier. Later most of the historic + invasions of India from central Asia followed the route which leads + directly from Kabul to Peshawar and Delhi. + + By the western gates of Makran prehistoric irruptions from Mesopotamia + broke into the plains of Lower Sind, and either passed on towards the + central provinces of India or were absorbed in the highlands south of + Kalat. In later centuries the Arabs from the west reached the valley + of the Indus by their western route, and there established a dynasty + which lasted for 300 years. The identification of existing peoples + with the various Scythic, Persian and Arab races who have passed from + High Asia into the Indian borderland, has opened up a vast field of + ethnographical inquiry which has hardly yet found adequate workers for + its investigation. To such fields may be added the yet more + complicated problems of those reflex waves which flowed backwards from + India into the border highlands. (T. H. H.*) + + +HISTORY + +1. The borders assigned to Asia on the west are somewhat arbitrary. The +Urals indicate no real division of races, and in both Greek and Turkish +times Asia Minor has been connected with the opposite shores of Europe +rather than with the lands lying to the east. A juster view of early +history is probably obtained by thinking of the countries round the +Mediterranean as interacting on one another than by separating Palestine +and Asia Minor as Asiatic. + + + Asiatic characteristics. + +2. The words "Asiatic" and "Oriental" are often used as if they denoted +a definite and homogeneous type, but Russians resemble Asiatics in many +ways, and Turks, Hindus, Chinese, &c., differ in so many important +points that the common substratum is small. It amounts to this, that +Asiatics stand on a higher level than the natives of Africa or America, +but do not possess the special material civilization of western Europe. +As far as any common mental characteristic can be assigned it is also +somewhat negative, namely, that Asiatics have not the same sentiment of +independence and freedom as Europeans. Individuals are thought of as +members of a family, state or religion, rather than as entities with a +destiny and rights of their own. This leads to autocracy in politics, +fatalism in religion and conservatism in both. Hence, too, Asiatic +history has large and simple outlines. Though longer chronologically +than the annals of Europe, it is less eventful, less diversified and +offers fewer personalities of interest. But the same conditions which +render individual eminence difficult procure for it when once attained a +more ready recognition, and the conquerors and prophets of Asia have had +more power and authority than their parallels in Europe. Jenghiz Khan +and Timur covered more ground than Napoleon, and no European has had +such an effect on the world as Mahomet. + + + Religion and civilisation. + +3. Attention has often been called to the religious character of Asia. +Not only the great religions of the world--Buddhism, Christianity, +Islam--but those of secondary importance, such as Judaism, Parseeism, +Taoism, are all Asiatic. No European race left to itself has developed +any thing more than an unsystematic paganism. It is true that Greek +philosophy advanced far beyond this stage, but it produced nothing +sufficiently popular to be called a religion. On the other hand +Christianity, though Asiatic in its origin and essential ideas, has to a +large extent taken its present form on European soil, and some of its +most important manifestations--notably the Roman Church--are European +reconstructions in which little of the Asiatic element remains. +Christianity has made little way farther east then Asia Minor. Modern +missions have made no great conquests there, and in earlier times the +Nestorians and Jacobites who penetrated to central Asia, China and +India, received respectful hearing, but never had anything like the +success which attended Buddhism and Islam. Yet Buddhism has never made +much impression west of India; and Islam is clearly repugnant to +Europeans, for even when under Moslem rule (as in Turkey) they refuse to +accept it in a far larger proportion than did the Hindus in similar +circumstances. Hence there is clearly a deep-seated difference between +the religious feelings of the two continents. + +Since Asiatic records go back much farther than those of Europe, it is +natural that Asia should be thought the birthplace of civilization. But +this originality cannot be absolute, for, whatever may have been the +relations of Babylonia and the Aryans, the latter brought civilization +to India from the west, and it is not always clear whether similarity of +government and institutions is the result of borrowing or of parallel +development. Both in Europe and in Asia small feudal or aristocratic +states tended to consolidate themselves into monarchies, but whereas in +Europe from the early days of Rome onwards royalty has often been driven +out and replaced temporarily or permanently by popular government, this +change seems not to occur in Asia, where revolution means only a change +of dynasty. The few cases where the government is not monarchical, as +Arabia, seem to represent the persistence of very ancient conditions. + +The contemplation of Asia suggests that progress is most rapid when +accompanied by the migration of races or the transplantation of ideas +and institutions. Thus Greece excelled the Eastern countries from whom +she may have derived her civilization, and Buddhism had a far more +brilliant career outside India than in it. + + + General historical outlines. + +4. In many parts of southern Asia are found semi-barbarous races +representing the earliest known stratum of population, such as the +Veddahs of Ceylon, and various tribes in China and the Malay +Archipelago. Some of them offer analogies to the Australians. This +connexion, if true, must be very ancient, since it apparently goes back +to a time when the distribution of land and water was other than at +present. In northern Asia are found other aborigines, such as the Ainus +of Japan and the so-called hyperborean races (Chukchis, &c.), but no +materials are at present forthcoming for their history. There is some +record of the migrations of the later races superimposed on these +aborigines. The Chinese came from the west, though how far west is +unknown: the Hindus and Persians from the north-west: the Burmese and +Siamese from the north. We do not know if the Mongols, Turks, &c., had +any earlier home than central Asia, but their extensive movements from +that region are historical. + +The antiquity of Asiatic history is often exaggerated. With the +exception of Babylonia and Assyria, we can hardly even conjecture what +was the condition of this continent much before 1500 B.C. At that period +the Chinese were advancing along the Hwang-ho, and the Aryans were +entering India from the north-west. Both were in conflict with earlier +races. The influence of Babylonian civilization was probably widespread. +Some connexion between Babylonia and China is generally admitted, and +all Indian alphabets seem traceable to a Semitic original borrowed in +the course of commerce from the Persian Gulf. + +Apart from European conquests, the internal history of Asia in the last +2000 years is the result of the interaction of four main influences: (a) +Chinese, (b) Indian, (c) Mahommedan, (d) Central Asian. Of these the +first three represent different types of civilization: the fourth has +little originality, but has been of great importance in affecting the +distribution of races and political power. + +(a) China has moulded the civilization of the eastern mainland and +Japan, without much affecting the Malay Archipelago. In the sphere of +direct influence fall Korea, Japan and Annam; in the outer sphere are +Mongolia, Tibet, Siam, Cambodia and Burma, where Indian and Chinese +influence are combined, the Indian being often the stronger. These +countries, except Japan, have all been at some time at least nominal +tributaries of China. Where Chinese influence had full play it +introduced Confucianism, a special style in art and the Chinese system +of writing. After the Christian era it was accompanied by Chinese +Buddhism. The cumbrous Chinese script maintains itself in the Far East, +but has not advanced west of China proper and Annam. + +(b) Indian influence may be defined as Buddhism, if it is understood +that Buddhism is not at all periods clearly distinguishable from +Hinduism. Its sphere includes Indo-China, much of the Malay Archipelago, +Tibet and Mongolia, Moreover, China and Japan themselves may be said to +fall within this sphere, in view of the part which Buddhism has played +in their development. The Buddhist influence is not merely religious, +for it is always accompanied by Indian art and literature, and often by +an Indian alphabet. Much of this art is Greek in origin, being derived +from the Perso-Greek states on the north-west frontiers of India. Indian +alphabets have spread to Tibet, Cambodia, Java and Korea. The history of +Indian civilization in Indo-China and the Archipelago is still obscure, +in spite of the existence of gigantic ruins, but it would appear that in +some parts at least two periods must be distinguished, first the +introduction of Hinduism (or mixed Hinduism and Buddhism), perhaps under +Indian princes, and secondly a later and more purely ecclesiastical +introduction of Sinhalese Buddhism, with its literature and art. + +(c) Mahommedanism or Islam is perhaps the greatest transforming force +which the world has seen. It has profoundly affected and to a large +extent subjugated all western Asia including India, all eastern and +northern Africa as well as Spain, and all eastern Europe. Its open +advocacy of force attracts warlike races, and the intensity of its +influence is increased by the fusion of secular and religious power, so +that the Moslem Church is a Moslem state characterized by slavery, +polygamy, and, subject to the autocracy of the ruler, by the theoretical +equality of Moslems, who in political status are superior to +non-Moslems. Thus, whenever the population of a Moslem country is of +mixed belief, a ruling caste of Moslems is formed, as in Turkey at the +present day and India under the Moguls. Islam is paramount in Turkey, +Persia, Arabia and Afghanistan. India is the dividing line: Islam is +strong in northern and central India, weaker in the south. But only +one-fifth of the whole population is Moslem. Beyond India it has spread +to Malacca and the Malay Archipelago, where it overwhelmed Hindu +civilization, and reached the southern Philippines. But it made no +progress in Indo-China or Japan; and though there is a large Moslem +population in China the Chinese influence has been stronger, for alone +of all Asiatics the Chinese have succeeded in forcing Islam to accept +the ordinary limitations of a religion and to take its place as a creed +parallel to Buddhism or any other. + +Even more than Buddhism Islam has carried with it a special style of art +and civilization. It is usually accompanied by the use of the Arabic +alphabet, and in the languages of Moslem nations (notably Turkish, +Persian, Hindustani and Malay) a large proportion of the vocabulary is +borrowed from Arabic. Hindi and Hindustani, two forms of the same +language as spoken by Hindus and Mahommedans respectively, are a curious +example of how deeply religion may affect culture. + +(d) The great part which central Asian tribes have played in history is +obscured by the absence of any common name for them. Linguistically they +can be divided into several groups such as Turks, Mongols and Huns, but +they were from time to time united into states representing more than +one group, and their armies were recruited, like the Janissaries, from +all the military races in the neighbourhood. Soon after the Christian +era central Asia began to boil over, and at least seven great invasions +and more or less complete conquests can be ascribed to these tribes +without counting minor movements, (i.) The early invasions of Europe by +the Avars, Huns and Bulgarians. (ii.) The invasion and temporary +subjection of Russia by the Mongols, who penetrated as far west as +Silesia, (iii.) The conquests of Timur. (iv.) The conquest of Asia Minor +and eastern Europe by the Turks. (v.) The conquest of India by the +Moguls. (vi.) The conquest of China by the Mongols under Kublai. (vii.) +The later conquest of China by the Manchus. To these may be added +numerous lesser invasions of India, China and Persia. + +These tribes have a genius for warfare rather than for government, art +or literature, and with few exceptions (e.g. the Moguls in India) have +proved poor administrators. Apart from conquest their most important +function has been to keep up communications in central Asia, and to +transport religions and civilizations from one region to another. Thus +they are mainly responsible for the introduction of Islam with its +Arabic or Persian civilization into India and Europe, and in earlier +times their movements facilitated the infiltration of Graeco-Bactrian +civilization into India, besides maintaining communication between China +and the West. + +5. _Babylonia and Assyria._--The movements mentioned above have been the +chief factors of relatively modern Asiatic history, but in early times +the centre of activity and culture lay farther west, in Babylonia and +Assyria. These ancient states began to decline in the 7th century B.C., +and on their ruins rose the Persian empire, which with various political +metamorphoses continued to be an important power till the 7th century +A.D., after which all western Asia was overwhelmed by the Moslem wave, +and old landmarks and kingdoms were obliterated. + +The materials for the study of their institutions and population are +abundant, but lend themselves to discussion rather than to a summary of +admitted facts. In the early history of south-western Asia the Semites +form the most important ethnic group, which is primarily linguistic but +also shares other remarkable characteristics. Two of the greatest +religions of the world, Christianity and Islam, are Semitic in origin, +as well as Judaism. In politics these races have been less successful in +modern times, but the Semitic states of Babylonia and Assyria were once +the principal centres for the development and distribution of +civilization. It is generally agreed that this civilization can be +traced back to an earlier race, the Sumero-Akkadians, whose language +seems allied to the agglutinative idioms of central Asia. If this +ancient civilized race was really allied to the ancestors of the Turks +and Huns, it is a remarkable instance of how civilization thrives best +by being transplanted at a certain period of growth. Still less is known +of the early non-Aryan races of Asia Minor such as the Hittites and +Alorodians. One hypothesis supposes that the shores of the Mediterranean +were originally inhabited by a homogeneous race neither Aryan nor +Semitic. + +The earliest Sumerian records seem to be anterior to 4000 B.C. Shortly +after that period Babylonia was invaded by Semites, who became the +ruling race. The city of Babylon came to the fore as metropolis about +2285 B.C. under Khammurabi. Assyria was an offshoot of Babylonia lying +to the north-west, and apparently colonized before the second +millennium. While using the same language as the Babylonians, the +Assyrians had an individuality which showed itself in art and religion. +In the 9th and 8th centuries B.C. they became the chief power within +their sphere and the suzerain of their parent Babylon. But they +succumbed before the advance of the Medo-Persian power in 606 B.C., +whereas it was not till 555 that Cyrus took Babylon. Assyria, being +essentially a military power, disappeared with the destruction of +Nineveh, but Babylon continued to exercise an influence on culture and +religion for many centuries after the Persian conquest. + +6. _China._--This is the oldest of existing states, though its authentic +history does not go back much beyond 1000 B.C. It is generally admitted +that there was some connexion between the ancient civilizations of China +and Babylonia, but its precise nature is still uncertain. It is clear, +however, that the Chinese came from the west, and entered their present +territory along the course of the Hwang-ho at an unknown period, +possibly about 3000 B.C. In early historical times China consisted of a +shifting confederacy of feudal states, but about 220 B.C. the state of +Tsin or Chin (whence the name China) came into prominence, and succeeded +in forming a homogeneous empire, which advanced considerably towards the +south. The subsequent history of China is mainly a record of struggles +with various tribes, commonly, but not very correctly, called Tatars. +The empire was frequently broken up by successful incursions, or divided +between rival dynasties, but at least twice became a great Asiatic +power: under the Han dynasty (about 200 B.C.-A.D. 220), and the T'ang +(A.D. 618-906). The dominions of the latter extended across central Asia +to northern India, but were dismembered by the attacks of the Kitans, +whence the name Cathay. China proper, minus these external provinces, +was again united under the Sung dynasty (960-1127), but split into the +northern (Tatar) and southern (Chinese) kingdoms. In the 13th century +arose the Mongol power, and Kublai Khan conquered China. The Mongol +dynasty lasted less than a century, but the Ming, the native Chinese +dynasty which succeeded it, reigned for nearly 300 years and despatched +expeditions which reached India, Ceylon and East Africa. In 1644 the +Ming succumbed to the attacks of the Manchus, a northern tribe who +captured Peking and founded the present imperial house. + +Until the advent of Europeans, the Chinese were always in contact with +inferior races. Whether they expanded at the expense of weak aboriginal +tribes or were conquered by more robust invaders, Chinese civilization +prevailed and assimilated alike the conquered and the conquerors. It is +largely to this that we must ascribe the national conservatism and +contempt for foreigners. The spirit of the Chinese polity is +self-contained, anti-military and anti-sacerdotal. Rank is nominally +determined by merit, as tested by competitive examinations. Society is +conceived as regulated by mutual obligations, of which the duties of +parents and children are the most important. The emperor is head of the +state and the high priest, who sacrifices to Heaven on behalf of his +people, but he can be deposed, and no divine right is inherent in +certain families as in Japan and Turkey. On the contrary there have been +20 dynasties since the Christian era. + +The most conspicuous figure in Chinese literature is Confucius (551-475 +B.C.). Though he laid no claim to originality and merely sought to +collect and systematize the traditions of antiquity, his influence in +the Far East has been unbounded, and he must be pronounced one of the +most powerful advocates of peace and humanity that have ever existed. +Confucianism is an ethical rather than a religious system, and hence was +able to co-exist, though not on very friendly terms, with Buddhism, +which reached China about the 1st century A.D. and was the chief source +of Chinese religious ideas, except the older ancestor worship. But they +are not a religious people, and like many Europeans regard the church as +a department of the state. + +7. _Japan_ appears to have been formerly inhabited by the Ainus, who +have traditions of an older but unknown population, but was invaded in +prehistoric times by a race akin to the Koreans, which was possibly +mingled with Malay elements after occupying the southern part of the +islands. Authentic history does not begin till about the 6th century +A.D., when Chinese civilization and Buddhism were introduced. The +government was originally autocratic, but as early as the 7th century +the most characteristic feature of Japanese politics--the power of great +families who overshadowed the throne--makes its appearance. We hear +first of the Fujiwara family, and then of the rivalry between the houses +of Taira and Minamoto. The latter prevailed, and in 1192 established the +dual system of government under which the emperor or Mikado ruled only +in name, and the real power was in the hands of a hereditary military +chief called Shogun. Japan has never been invaded in historical times, +but an attempt made by Kublai Khan to conquer it was successfully +repulsed. The chief power then passed to the Ashikaga dynasty of +Shoguns, who retained it for about 200 years and were distinguished for +their patronage of the arts. The second half of the 16th century was a +period of ferment and anarchy, marked by the arrival of the Portuguese +and the rise of some remarkable adventurers, one of whom, Hideyoshi, +conquered Korea and apparently meditated the invasion of China. His +plans were interrupted by his death, and his successor, Ieyasu, who +shaped the social and political life of Japan for nearly 300 years +(1603-1868), definitely decided on a policy of seclusion and isolation. +All ideas of external conquest were abandoned, Christianity was +forbidden, and Japan closed to foreigners, only the Dutch being allowed +a strictly limited commerce. In 1854-1859 the Christian powers, +beginning with the United States, successfully asserted their right to +trade with Japan. The influx of new ideas provoked civil war, in which +the already decadent Shogunate was abolished and the authority of the +Mikado restored. Recognizing that their only chance of competing with +Europeans was to fight them with their own weapons, the Japanese set +themselves deliberately to assimilate the material civilization and to +some extent the institutions of Europe, such as constitutional +government. Their progress and success are without parallel. In 1895 +they defeated the Chinese and ten years later the Russians. Their +exceptional status among Asiatic nations has been recognized by treaties +which, contrary to the general practice in non-Christian countries, +place all foreigners in Japan under Japanese law. + +This sudden development of the Japanese is perhaps the most important +event of the second half of the 19th century, since it marks the rise of +an Asiatic power capable of competing with Europe on equal terms. Their +history is so different from that of the rest of Asia that it is not +surprising if the result is different. The nation hardly came into +existence till China and India had passed their prime, and remained +secluded and free from the continual struggle against barbarian +invaders, which drained the energies of its neighbours. It was left +untouched by Mahommedanism, and for an unprecedentedly long period kept +Europeans at bay without wasting its strength in hostilities. The +military spirit was evolved, not in raids and massacres of the usual +Asiatic type which create little but intense racial hatred, but in feuds +between families and factions of the same race, which restrained +ferocity and tended to create a temper like that of the feudal chivalry +of Europe. On the other hand it is noticeable that the Japanese have +little which is original in the way of religion, literature or +philosophy. Unlike the Chinese and Indians, they have hitherto not had +the smallest influence on the intellectual development of Asia, and +though they have in the past sometimes shown themselves intensely +nationalist and conservative, they have, compared with India and China, +so little which is really their own that their assimilation of foreign +ideas is explicable. + +8. _Korea_ received its civilization and religion from China, but +differs in language, and to some extent in customs. An alphabet derived +from Indian sources is in use as well as Chinese writing. The country +was at most periods independent though nominally tributary to China. In +the 16th century the Japanese occupied it for a short period, and in +1894 they went to war with China on account of her claims to suzerainty. +In 1895 Korea was declared independent. + +9. _India._--The population of India comprises at least three strata: +firstly, uncivilized aborigines, such as the Kols and Santhals, and +secondly, the Dravidians (Tamils, Kanarese, &c.), who perhaps represent +the earliest northern invaders, and appear to have attained some degree +of culture on their own account. The most recent authorities are of +opinion that the Kolarians and Dravidians represent a single physical +type; but, whatever the historical explanation may be, they certainly +have different languages and show different stages of civilization. In +prehistoric times they were spread over the whole of India, but were +driven to the centre and south of the peninsula by the third stratum of +Aryans, and perhaps also by invasions of so-called Mongolian races from +the north-west. No historical record has been preserved of these latter, +but they appear to have profoundly affected the population of Bengal, +which is believed to be Mongolo-Dravidian in composition. The Aryans +appear to have been settled to the north of the Hindu Kush, and to have +migrated south-eastwards about 1500 B.C. Their original home has been a +subject of much discussion, but the view now prevalent is that they +arose in southern Russia or Asia Minor, whence a section spread +eastwards and divided into two closely related branches--the Hindus and +Iranians. There were probably two successive Aryan immigrations, and the +tradition of a struggle between them may be preserved in the +_Mahabharata_. The life of the ancient Aryans, as portrayed in their +sacred songs, the _Rig Veda_, was quasi-nomadic and in many ways +democratic, but by the 6th century B.C. settled states had been formed +in the Ganges valley. They were absolute monarchies, but the power of +the king was tempered by the extraordinary influence possessed by the +hereditary sacerdotal class or Brahmans. The position of this class, +which has remained till the present day, is connected with the +institution of caste, a division of the population into groups founded +partly on racial distinctions. The peaceful progress of Brahmanism was +hindered by the doctrine of the Indian prince Gotama, called the Buddha, +which grew into one of the greatest religions of the world. For many +centuries the culture and development of the Hindus depended mainly on +the interaction of the old Brahmanical religion and Buddhism. The latter +was finally absorbed, and disappeared in India itself, but has spread +Indian influence over the whole of eastern Asia, where it still +flourishes. + +In 326 B.C. Alexander invaded the Punjab. The immediate result was +small, but the establishment of Perso-Greek kingdoms in central Asia had +a powerful influence on Indian art and culture. It may also have helped +to familiarize the Hindu mind with the idea of an empire, which appeared +among them later than in other Asiatic countries. The first empire, +called Maurya, reached its greatest extent in the time of Asoka (264-227 +B.C.), who ruled from Afghanistan to Madras. He was a zealous Buddhist +and gave the first example of a missionary religion, for by his +exertions the faith was spread over all India and Ceylon. No Hindu +empires have lasted long, and the Maurya dominions broke up fifty years +after his death. + +In the next period (c. 150 B.C.-A.D. 300) India was invaded from the +north by tribes partly of Parthian and partly of Turki (Yue-chi, &c.) +origin. Owing to the absence of dated records, the chronology of these +invasions has not yet been set beyond dispute, but the most important +was that of the Kushans, whose king Kanishka founded a state which +comprised northern India and Kashmir. They were Buddhists, and it is +probable that the Mahayana or northern form of Buddhism was due to an +amalgamation of Gotama's doctrines with the ideas (largely Greek and +Persian) which they brought with them. Much of Sivaism has probably the +same origin. Another native empire, known as Gupta, rose on the ruins of +the Kushan kingdom, and embraced nearly the whole peninsula, but it +broke up in the 5th century, partly owing to the attacks of new northern +invaders, the Huns. The Malava dynasty maintained Hindu civilization in +the 6th century, and from 606 to 646 Harsha established a brief but +brilliant empire in the north with its capital at Kanauj. This epoch is +marked by the renaissance of Sanskrit literature and the gradual revival +of Hinduism at the expense of Buddhism. But after Harsha Hindu history +is lost in a maze of small and transitory states, incapable of resisting +the ever advancing Mahommedan peril. As early as 712 the Arabs conquered +Sind, and by the end of the 11th century the whole of northern India was +in Moslem hands. Two periods may be distinguished, namely the Turki +(1200-1526) and the Mogul empire. The former comprised several dynasties +of mixed Turki and Iranian race, but was wanting in coherency. In the +neighbourhood of the Moslem capitals, Islam spread rapidly, but in such +districts as Rajputana and specially Vijayanagar (Mysore) Hindu +civilization and religion maintained themselves. + +In 1526 the Moguls descended on India from Transoxiana and seized the +throne of Delhi. They never subjugated the south, but the empire which +they founded in the north was for about two centuries, under such rulers +as Akbar and Shah Jehan, one of the most brilliant which Asia has seen. +After 1707 it began to decline: the governors became independent: a +powerful Mahratta confederacy arose in central India; Nadir Shah of +Persia sacked Delhi; and Ahmed Shah made repeated invasions. A still +more formidable danger, the power of the French and English, continued +to increase. Amidst such confusion the authority of the Mogul empire +rapidly disappeared, but it lasted as a name till the Mutiny (1857). + +Indian history until Mahommedan times is marked by the unusual +prominence of religious ideas, and is a record of intellectual +development rather than of political events. Whatever national unity the +Hindu peoples possessed came from the persistent and penetrating +influence of the Brahman caste. Kings held a secondary position, and +were generally regarded as adventitious tyrants, rather than as the +heads and representatives of the nation. Even the great dynasties have +left few traces, and it is with difficulty that the patient historian +disinters the minor kingdoms from obscurity, but Indian religion, +literature and art have influenced all Asia from Persia to Japan. + +10._Persia._-- The Persians, with whom are often coupled the Medes, +appear to be pure Aryans in origin, and the earliest form of their +language and religion offers remarkable analogies to the Vedas. It is +reasonable to suppose that their ancestors and those of the Hindus at +one time formed a single tribe somewhere in central Asia. The religion +was remodelled by Zoroaster, who seems to be a historical character and +to have lived about the 7th century B.C. About the same time they shook +off the domination of Assyria. From the 6th century onwards their +empire, then known as Median, began to expand at the expense of the +surrounding states. They destroyed Nineveh in alliance with the +Babylonians, and half a century later Cyrus took Babylon and founded the +great dynasty of the Achaemenidae. The substitution of the Persian for +the Median power, which took place with the advent of Cyrus, seems to +indicate merely the pre-eminence of a particular tribe and not conquest +by another race. The power of the Achaemenidae, when at its maximum, +extended from the Oxus and Indus in the east to Thrace in the west and +Egypt in the south, but fell before Greece, after lasting for rather +more than 200 years. Darius and Xerxes were repulsed in their efforts to +subjugate the Greek Peninsula, and Alexander the Great conquered their +successor Darius III. in 329. But the greater part of the empire +continued to exist under new masters, the Seleucids, as a Hellenistic +power which was of great importance for the dissemination of Greek +culture in the East. Bactria soon became independent under an Indo-Greek +dynasty, and the blending of Greek, Persian, central Asiatic and Hindu +influences had an important effect on the art and religion of India, and +through India on all eastern Asia. About the same period (250 B.C.-A.D. +227) the Parthian empire arose under the Arsacids in Khorasan and the +adjacent districts. The Parthians appear to have been a Turanian tribe +who had adopted many Persian customs. They successfully withstood the +Romans, and at one time their power extended from India to Syria. They +succumbed to the Persian dynasty of the Sassanids, who ruled +successfully for about four centuries, established the Zoroastrian faith +as their state religion, and maintained a creditable conflict with the +East Roman empire. But in the 7th century they were defeated by +Heraclius, and shortly afterwards were annihilated before the first +impetus of the Mahommedan conquest, which established Islam in Persia +and the neighbouring lands, sweeping away old civilizations and +boundaries. During the greater part of the Mahommedan period Persia has +been ruled by troubled and short-lived dynasties. It attained a certain +dignity and unity under Abbas Shah (1585-1628), but in later times was +distracted and disorganized by Afghan invasions. The present dynasty, +which is of Turkoman origin, dates from 1789. + +The achievements of the Persians in art, literature and religion are by +no means contemptible, but somewhat mixed and cosmopolitan. Owing to its +position, the Persian state, when it from time to time became a +conquering empire, overlapped Asia Minor, Babylon and India, and hence +acted as an intermediary for transmitting art and ideas, sending for +instance Greek sculpture to India and the cult of Mithra to western +Europe. It is perhaps on account of this intermediate flavour that the +literature of Persia--for instance the adaptations of Omar Khayyam--is +more appreciated in Europe than that of other Oriental nations. On the +other hand, the wars between Persia and Greece were recognized both at +the time and afterwards as a struggle between Europe and Asia; the fact +that both combatants were Aryans was not felt, and has no importance +compared to the difference of continent. + +11. _Jews._--The Israelites appear to have been originally a nomadic +tribe akin to the Arabs, whom they resemble in their want of political +instinct and in their extraordinary religious genius. Among many +remarkable qualities they have been distinguished from the earliest +times by a species of commensalism, or power of living among other +nations without becoming either socially merged or politically distinct. +Their traditional history represents them as migrating to the borders of +Egypt and living there for some centuries. After the exodus, which +perhaps took place about 1300 B.C., they moved northwards again and +founded a state of modest dimensions, which attained a short-lived unity +under Solomon, but succumbed to internal dissensions and to the attacks +of Assyria and Babylon. Shalmanezer destroyed the northern kingdom or +Israel in 720, and following the practice of the times deported the +majority of the population, whose traces became lost to history. There +is no reason why their descendants should not be found to-day in various +tribes, but the physical type commonly called Jewish is characteristic +not so much of Israel as of western Asia generally. In 588 +Nebuchadnezzar carried off the Jews in captivity, but after the Persian +conquest of Babylonia they were allowed to return to Palestine in 538. +Their institutions and ideas were probably considerably modified during +this period. Babylon long continued to be a Jewish centre whence the +Jews radiated to other countries. The restored state of Jerusalem lived +for about six centuries in partial independence under Persian, Egyptian, +Syrian and Roman rule, often showing an aggressively heroic attachment +to its national customs, which brought it into collision with its +suzerains, until the temple was destroyed by Titus in A.D. 70, and the +country laid waste in the succeeding years. But long before this period +the Jews of the Dispersion had become as important as the inhabitants of +Palestine. From choice or compulsion large numbers settled in Egypt in +the time of the Ptolemies, and added an appreciable element to +Alexandrine culture, while gradual voluntary emigration established +Jewish communities in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Italy, who +facilitated the first spread of Christianity. In spite of chronic +unpopularity and recurring persecutions they have spread over nearly all +Europe. At the end of the 13th century they were expelled from Spain and +many of the exiles moved eastwards. At present the largest numbers are +to be found in the eastern parts of Europe. It is remarkable that though +the Jews live in relative peace with Asiatics, the great majority of +them prefer Europe as a residence. + +12. _Arabs._--The Arabs have hardly any history before the rise of +Islam, although their name is mentioned by surrounding nations from the +9th century B.C. onwards. They appear to have had few states or kings, +but rather tribes and chiefs. Their relationship to the Babylonians and +Jews is indicated by linguistic and ethnological data. The language and +writing of the Semites who, at an unknown period, settled in what is now +Abyssinia, show affinities with those of South Arabia, and these Semites +may have been immigrants into Africa from that region. It is plain from +early Moslem literature that Persian, Christian and especially Jewish +ideas had penetrated into Arabia. + +With the rise of Mahommedanism occurred a sudden effervescence of the +Arabs, who during some centuries threatened to impose not only their +political authority but their civilization and new religion on the whole +known world. They successfully invaded India and central Asia in the +east, Spain and Morocco in the west. The Caliphate under the Omayyads of +Damascus, and then the Abbasids of Bagdad, became the principal power in +the nearer East. It had not, however, a sufficiently coherent +organization for permanence; parts of it became independent, others +were first protected and then absorbed by the Turks. The Arab rule in +Spain, which once threatened to overwhelm Europe and was turned back +near Tours by Charles Martel, was distinguished by its tolerance and +civilization, and lingered on till the 15th century. + +The collapse of the political power of the Arabs was singularly +complete. The Caliphate, though Arabian, was always geographically +outside Arabia, and on its fall Arabia remained as it was before Islam, +isolated and inaccessible. It is still one of the least known parts of +the globe, and has hardly any political link with the outside, for the +Arabs of northern Africa form separate states. But in spite of this +total political collapse, Arabic religion and literature are still one +of the greatest forces working in the western half of Asia, in northern +Africa and to some extent in eastern Europe. + +13. _Ceylon_, though geographically an annex of India, has not followed +its fortunes historically. According to tradition it was invaded by an +Aryan-speaking colony from the valley of the Ganges in the 6th century +B.C. It received Buddhism from north India in the time of Asoka, and has +had considerable importance as a centre of religious culture which has +influenced Burma and Siam. Its medieval history consists of struggles +between the native sovereigns and Tamil invaders. A powerful native +dynasty reigned in the 12th century, but in 1408 the island was attacked +by Chinese, and from 1505 onwards it was distracted by the attacks and +squabbles of Europeans. It was partially subjugated, first by the +Portuguese and then by the Dutch. In 1796 the Dutch were expelled by the +English. + +14. _Indo-China._--This is an appropriate name for Burma, Siam, +Cambodia, Annam, &c., for both in position and in civilization they lie +between India and China. Indian influence is predominant as far as +Cambodia (though with a Chinese tinge), Indian alphabets being employed +and the Buddhism being of the Sinhalese type, but in Annam and Tongking +the Chinese script and many Chinese institutions are in use. The +population belongs to various races, and also comprises little-known +wild tribes, (i.) Languages of the group known as Mon-Annam are spoken +in Annam and in Pegu, an ancient kingdom originally distinct from Burma +though now confounded with it. This distribution seems to indicate that +they once spread over the whole region, and were divided by the later +advance of the Siamese and others. Until Annam was taken by the French, +its history consisted of a struggle with the Chinese, who alternately +asserted and lost their sovereignty. The Annamese are, however, a +distinct race. Cochin China was once the seat of a kingdom called +Champa, which appears to have had a hinduized Malay civilization and to +have been subsequently absorbed by Annam. (ii.) The Burmese are +linguistically allied to the Tibetans, and probably entered Burma from +the north-west. The early history consists largely of conflicts between +the Burmese and Talaings. The kingdom which was annexed by Britain in +1885 was founded about 1750 by Alompra, who united his countrymen and +broke the power of the Talaings. He also invaded Siam. (iii.) The Khmers +or Cambodians, whose languages appear to belong to the Mon-Annam group, +form a relatively ancient kingdom, much reduced in the last few +centuries by the advance of the Siamese and new a French protectorate. +Remarkable ruins dating from perhaps A.D. 800 to 1000 attest the former +prevalence of strong Hindu influence, (iv.) The Siamese or Thai, who +speak a monosyllabic language of the Chinese type, but written in an +Indian alphabet, represent a late invasion from southern China, whence +they descended about the 13th century. + +15. _Malays._--This widely-scattered race has no political union and its +distribution is a puzzle for ethnography. At present it occupies the +extremity of the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra, Borneo, the Philippines +and other islands of the Malay Archipelago as well as Madagascar, while +the inhabitants of most islands in the South Seas, including New Zealand +and Hawaii, speak languages which if not Malay have at least undergone a +strong Malay influence. It would seem from this distribution that the +Malays are not continental, but a seafaring race with exceptional powers +of dispersal, who have spread over the ocean from some island +centre--perhaps Java. The latest theory, however, is that there is a +great linguistic group (which may or may not prove to correspond to an +ethnic unity) comprising the Munda, Monkhmer, Malay, Polynesian and +Micronesian languages, and that the stream of immigration which +distributed them started from the extreme west. Three periods can be +traced in the history of the Asiatic Malays. In the first (in which such +tribes as the Dyaks have remained) they were semi-barbarous. In the +second, Hindu civilization reached the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra +and other islands. The presence of Hindu ruins, as well as of numerous +Indian words and customs, testifies to the strength of this influence. +It was, however, superseded by Islam, which spread to the Malay +Archipelago and Peninsula before the 16th century. At the present time +the Arabic alphabet is used on the mainland, but Indian alphabets in +Java, Sumatra, &c. + +16. _Tibet._--This remote and mountainous country has a peculiar +civilization. It has entirely escaped Islam, and though it is a nominal +vassal of China, direct Chinese influence has not been strong. The most +striking feature is the religion, a corrupt form of late Indian +Buddhism, known as Lamaism, which, largely in consequence of the favour +shown by Jenghiz Khan and his successors, has attained temporal power +and developed into an ecclesiastical state curiously like the papacy. + +17. _Mongols._--Such civilization as the Mongols possess is a mixture of +Chinese and Indian, the latter derived chiefly through Tibet, but their +alphabet is a curious instance of transplantation. It is an adaptation +of the Syriac writing introduced by the early Nestorian missionaries. + + + Literature, art, science. + +18. Almost all Asiatic countries have a literature, but it is often not +indigenous and consists of foreign works, chiefly religious, read either +in translations or the original. Thus with the exception of a little +folklore the literature of Indo-China, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea and +Manchuria is mainly Indian or Chinese. The chief original literatures +are Chinese, Sanskrit, Pali, Arabic and Persian. The Japanese have +produced few books of importance, and their compositions are chiefly +remarkable as being lighter and more secular than is usual in Asia, but +the older Chinese works take high rank both for their merits and the +effect they have had. The extensive Sanskrit literature, which has +reached in translations China, Japan and Java, is chiefly theological +and poetical, history being conspicuously absent. India has also a +considerable medieval and modern literature in various languages. Pali, +though only a form of Hindu literature, has a separate history, for it +died in India and was preserved in Ceylon, whence it was imported to +Burma and Siam as the language of religion. The Pali versions of +Buddha's discourses are among the most remarkable products of Asia. The +literatures of all Moslem peoples are largely inspired by Arabic, which +has produced a voluminous collection of works in prose and poetry. +Persian, after being itself transformed by Arabic, has in its turn +largely influenced all west Asiatic Moslem literature from Hindustani to +Turkish. + +If one excepts the Old Testament, which is a product of the extreme west +of Asia, it is remarkable how small has been the influence of Asiatic +literature on Europe. Though Greek and Slavonic almost ceased to be +written languages under Turkish rule, Europeans showed no disposition to +replace them by Ottoman or Arabic literature. + +Without counting subdivisions there would seem to be three main schools +of art in Asia at present--Chinese, Indian and Moslem. The first +contains many original elements. It is feeblest in architecture and +strongest in the branches demanding skill and care in a limited compass, +such as painting, porcelain and enamel. It is the main inspiration of +Japanese art, which, however, shows great originality in its treatment +of borrowed themes. Both China and Japan have felt through Buddhism the +influence of Indian art, which contains at least two elements--one +indigenous and the other Greco-Persian. Unlike Chinese art it has a +genius for architecture and sculpture rather than painting. Mahommedan +art is also largely architectural and has affected nearly all Moslem +countries. Except that the use of Arabic inscriptions is one of its +principal methods of decoration, it owes little to Arabia and much to +Byzantium. The Persian variety of this art is more ornate, and less +averse to representations of living beings. Both Moslem and Chinese art +are closely connected with calligraphy, but Hindus rarely use writing +for ornament. + +In both art and literature modern Asia is inferior to the past more +conspicuously than Europe. + +As for science, astronomy was cultivated by the Babylonians at an early +period, and it is probably from them that a knowledge of the heavenly +bodies and their movements spread over Asia. Grammar and prosody were +studied in India with a marvellous accuracy and minuteness several +centuries before Christ. Mathematics were cultivated by the Chinese, +Indians and Arabs, but nearly all the sciences based on the observation +of nature, including medicine, have remained in a very backward +condition. Much the same, however, might have been said of Europe until +two centuries ago, and the scientific knowledge of the Arabs under the +earlier Caliphates was equal or superior to that of any of their +contemporaries. Histories and accounts of travels have been composed +both in Arabic and Chinese. + + + Influence of Asia on other continents. + +19. It is only natural that Europe should have chiefly felt the +influence of western Asia. Though Europeans may be indebted to China for +some mechanical inventions, she was too distant to produce much direct +effect, and the influence of India has been mainly directed towards the +East. The resemblances between primitive Christianity and Buddhism +appear to be coincidences, and though both early Greek philosophy and +later Alexandrine ideas suggest Indian affinities, there is no clear +connexion such as there is between certain aspects of Chinese thought +and India. + +Any general statement as to the debt owed by early European +civilizations to western Asia would at present be premature, for though +important discoveries have been made in Crete and Babylonia the best +authorities are chary of positive conclusions as to the relations of +Cretan civilization to Egypt and Babylonia. Egyptian influence within +the Aegean area seems certain, and the theory that Greek writing and +systems for reckoning time are Babylonian in origin has not been +disproved, though the history of the alphabet is more complex than was +supposed. + +In historic times Asia has attempted to assert her influence over Europe +by a series of invasions, most of which have been repulsed. Such were +the Persian wars of Greece, and perhaps one may add Hannibal's invasion +of Italy, if the Carthaginians were Phoenicians transplanted to Africa. +The Roman empire kept back the Persians and Parthians, but could not +prevent a series of incursions by Avars, Huns, Bulgarians, and later by +Mongols and Turks. Islam has twice obtained a footing in Europe, under +the Arabs in Spain and under the Turks at Constantinople. The earlier +Asiatic invasions were conducted by armies operating at a distance from +their bases, and had little result, for the soldiery retired after a +time (like Alexander from India), or more rarely (e.g. the Bulgarians) +settled down without keeping up any connexion with Asia. The Turks, and +to some extent the Arabs in Spain, were successful because they first +conquered the parts of Asia and Africa adjoining Europe, so that the +final invaders were in touch with Asiatic settlements. Though the Turks +have profoundly affected the whole of eastern Europe, the result of +their conquests has been not so much to plant Asiatic culture in Europe +as to arrest development entirely, the countries under their rule +remaining in much the same condition as under the moribund Byzantine +empire. + +In general, Europe has in historic times shown itself decidedly hostile +to Asiatic institutions and modes of thought. It is only of recent years +that the writings of Schopenhauer and the researches of many +distinguished orientalists have awakened some interest in Asiatic +philosophy. + +The influence of Asia on Africa has been considerable, and until the +middle of the 10th century greater than that of Europe. Some authorities +hold that Egyptian civilization came from Babylonia, and that the +so-called Hamitic languages are older and less specialized members of +the Semitic family. The connexion between Carthage and Phoenicia is more +certain, and the ancient Abyssinian kingdom was founded by Semites from +south Arabia. The traditions of the Somalis derive them from the same +region. The theory that the ruins in Mashonaland were built by +immigrants from south Arabia is now discredited, but there was certainly +a continuous stream of Arab migration to East Africa which probably +began in pre-Moslem times and founded a series of cities on the coast. +The whole of the north of Africa from Egypt to Morocco has been +mahommedanized, and Mahommedan influence is general and fairly strong +from Timbuktu to Lake Chad and Wadai. South of the equator, Arab +slave-dealers penetrated from Zanzibar to the great lakes and the Congo +during the second and third quarters of the 19th century, but their +power, though formidable, has disappeared without leaving any permanent +traces. + +The relation to Asia of the pre-European civilizations of America is +another of those questions which admit of no definite answer at present, +though many facts support the theory that the semi-civilized inhabitants +of Mexico and Central America crossed from Asia by Bering Straits and +descended the west coast. Some authorities hold that Peruvian +civilization had no connexion with the north and was an entirely +indigenous product, but Kechua is in structure not unlike the +agglutinative languages of central and northern Asia. + + + Influence of Europe on Asia. + +20. European influence on Asia has been specially strong at two epochs, +firstly after the conquests of Alexander the Great, and secondly from +the 16th century onwards. Alexander's conquests resulted in the +foundation of Perso-Greek kingdoms in Asia, which not only hellenized +their own area but influenced the art and religion of India and to some +extent of China. Then follows a long period in which eastern Europe was +mainly occupied in combating Asiatic invasions, and had little +opportunity of Europeanizing the East. Somewhat later the Crusades kept +up communication with the Levant, and established there the power of the +Roman Church, somewhat to the detriment of oriental Christianity, but +intercourse with farther Asia was limited to the voyages of a few +travellers. Looking at eastern Europe and western Asia only, one must +say that Asiatic influences have on the whole prevailed hitherto (though +perhaps the tide is turning), for Islam is paramount in this region and +European culture at a low ebb. But the case is quite different if one +looks at the two continents as a whole, for improvement in means of +communication has brought about strange vicissitudes, and western Europe +has asserted her power in middle and eastern Asia. + +In the 16th century a new era began with the discovery by the Portuguese +of the route to India round the Cape, and the naval powers of Europe +started one after another on careers of oriental conquest. The movement +was maritime and affected the nations in the extreme west of Europe +rather than those nearer Asia, who were under the Turkish yoke. Also the +parts of Asia affected were chiefly India and the extreme East. The +countries west of India, being less exposed to naval invasion, remained +comparatively untouched. It will thus be seen that European (excluding +Russian) power in Asia is based almost entirely on improved navigation. +There was no attempt to overwhelm whole empires by pouring into them +masses of troops, but commerce was combined with territorial +acquisition, and a continuity of European interest secured by the +presence of merchants and settlers. The course of oriental conquest +followed the events of European politics, and the possessions of +European powers in the East generally changed hands according to the +fortunes of their masters at home. Portugal was first on the scene, and +in the 16th century established a considerable littoral empire on the +coasts of East Africa, India and China, fragments of which still remain, +especially Goa, where Portuguese influence on the natives was +considerable. Before the century was out the Dutch appeared as the +successful rivals of the Portuguese, but the real struggle for supremacy +in southern Asia took place between France and England about 1740-1783. +Both entered India as commercial companies, but the disorganized +condition of the Mogul empire necessitated the use of military force to +protect their interests, and allured them to conquest. The companies +gradually undertook the financial control of the districts where they +traded and were recognized by the natives as political powers. The +ultimate victory of England seems due less to any particular aptitude +for dealing with oriental problems than to a better command of the seas +and to considerations of European politics. At the end of the Napoleonic +wars Portugal had Macao and Goa, Holland Java, Sumatra and other +islands, France some odds and ends in India, while England emerged with +Hong Kong, Singapore, Ceylon and a free hand in India. Guided by such +administrators as Warren Hastings, the East India Company had assumed +more and more definitely the functions of government for a great part of +India. In 1809 its exclusive trading rights were taken away by +Parliament, but its administrative status was thus made clearer, and +when after the mutiny of 1857 it was desirable to define British +authority in India there seemed nothing unnatural in declaring it to be +a possession of the crown. + +Another category of European possessions in Asia comprises those +acquired towards the end of the 19th century, such as Indo-China +(France), Burma and Wei-Hai-Wei (Britain), and Kiao-Chow (Germany). +Whereas the earlier conquests were mostly the results of large +half-conscious national movements working out their destinies in the +East, these later ones were annexations deliberately planned by European +cabinets. It seemed to be assumed that Asia was to be divided among the +powers of Europe, and each was anxious to get its share or more. + +The advance of Russia in Asia is entirely different from that of the +other powers, since it has taken place by land and not by sea. Though +the geographical extent of Russian territory and influence is enormous, +she has always moved along the line of least resistance. She is a +moderately strong empire lying to the north of the great Moslem states, +and having for neighbours a series of very weak principalities or +semi-civilized tribes. The conquest of Siberia and central Asia +presented no real difficulties: Persia and Constantinople were left on +one side, and Russia was defeated as soon as she was opposed by a +vigorous power in the Far East. As the Russian possessions in Asia are +continuous with European Russia, it is only natural that they should +have been russified far more thoroughly than the British possessions +have been anglicized. + +There has been great difference of opinion as to the extent to which +Alexander's conquests influenced Asia, and it is equally hard to say +what is the effect now being produced by Europe. Clearly such +alterations as the construction of railways in nearly all parts of the +continent, and the establishment of peace over formerly disturbed areas +like India, are of enormous importance, and must change the life of the +people. But the mental constitution of Asiatics is less easily modified +than their institutions, and even Japan has assimilated European methods +rather than European ideas. (C. El.) + + AUTHORITIES.--The modern bibliography of Asia, including the works of + travellers and explorers since 1880, is voluminous. It is impossible + to refer to all that has been written in the Survey Reports and + Gazetteers of the government of India, or in the records of the Royal + Asiatic Society, or the Asiatic Society, Bengal; but amongst the more + important popular works are the following:--Richthofen, "China, Japan, + and Korea," vol. iv. _Jour. R.G.S._, _China_ (Berlin, 1877); Regel, + "Upper Oxus," vol. i. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1879; Dr Bellew, _Afghanistan + and the Afghans_ (London, 1879); Nicolas Prjevalski, "Explorations in + Asia," see vols. i., ii., v., ix. and xi. of the _Proc. R.G.S._, + 1879-1889; W. Blunt, "A Visit to Jebel Shammar," vol ii. _Proc. + R.G.S._, 1880; Captain W Gill, _The River of Golden Sand_ (London, + 1880); Sir R. Temple, "Central Plateau of Asia," vol. iv. _Proc. + R.G.S._ 1882; Baker, "A Journey of Exploration in Western Ssu-Chuan," + vol. i. _Supplementary Papers R.G.S._, 1882-1885; Sir C. Wilson, + "Notes on Physical and Historical Geography of Asia Minor," vol. vi. + _Proc. R.G.S._, 1884; General J.T. Walker, "Asiatic Explorers of the + Indian Survey," vol. viii. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1885; Samuel Beal, + _Buddhist Records of the Western World_ (Boston, 1885); Charles + Doughty, _Travels in Northern Arabia_ (Cambridge, 1886); _Travels in + Arabia Deserta_ (Cambridge, 1888); Venukoff, "Explorations," vol. + viii. _Proc. G.R.S._, 1886; Ney Elias, "Explorations in Central Asia," + see vols. viii. and ix. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1886-1887; Arthur Carey, + "Explorations in Turkestan," see vol. ix. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1887; Henry + Lansdell, _Through Central Asia_ (London, 1887); Archibald Colquhoun, + _Report on Railway Connexion between Burma and China_ (London, 1887); + Major C. Yate, _Northern Afghanistan_ (Edinburgh, 1888); Captain F. + Younghusband, _The Heart of a Continent_ (London, 1893); _A Journey + through Manchuria, &c._ (Lahore, 1888); also see vol. x. _Proc. + R.G.S._, and vol. v. _Jour. R.G.S._; Dutreuil de Rhins, _L'Asie + Centrale_ (Paris, 1889); Pierre Bonvalot, _Through the Heart of Asia_, + trans. Pitman (London, 1889); _From Paris to Tonkin_, trans. Pitman + (London, 1891); Roborovski, translation from Russian _Invalide_, + October 1889, vol. xii. _Proc. R.G.S._; "Central Asia," vol. viii. + _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; Colonel Mark Bell, "Trade Routes of Asia," vol. + xii. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1890; W.W. Rockhill, "An American in Tibet," + _Century Magazine_, November 1890; _The Land of the Lamas_ (London, + 1891); Theodore Bent, "Hadramut," vol. iv. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1894; + "Southern Arabia," vol. vi. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; "Bahrein Islands," + vol. xii. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1890; Grombcherski, "Explorations in Kuen + Lun," vol. xii. _Proc. R.G.S._, 1890; Lydekker, "The Geology of the + Kashmir Valley and Chamba Territories," vols. xiii. and xiv. + _Geological Survey of India_; Max Muller, _The Sacred Books of the + East_ (Oxford, 1890-1894); Elisee Reclus, _The Earth and its + Inhabitants_ (series, 1890); G.W. Leitner, _Dardistan_; H.F. Blanford, + _Elementary Geography of India, Burma, and Ceylon_ (London, 1890); + _Guide to the Climate and Weather of India_ (London, 1889); Lord + Dunmore, _The Pamirs_ (London, 1892); A. Tissandier, _Voyage au tour + du monde_ (Paris, 1892); Lord Curzon, _Persia and the Persian + Question_ (London, 1892); _Russia and the Anglo-Russian Question_ + (London, 1889); _Problems of the Far East_ (London, 1894); Captain + Hamilton Bower, _Diary of a Journey across Tibet_ (Calcutta, 1893); + Szechenyi, _Die wissenschaftlichen Ergebnisse der Reise des Grafen + Bela Szechenyi in Ostasien_ (Wien, 1893); R.D. Oldham, "Evolution of + Indian Geology," vol. iii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1894; Baron Toll, + "Siberia," vol. iii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1894; Delmar Morgan, "The + Mountain Systems of Central Asia," _Scottish Geological Magazine_, No. + 10, of 1894; Sir Frederick Goldsmid, "Persian Geography," vol. vi. + _Jour. R.G.S._, 1895; Warrington Smyth, "Siam," vol. vi. _Jour. + R.G.S._, 1895; "Siamese East Coast," vol xi. _Jour._ 1898; Prince + Kropotkin, "Siberian Railway," vol. v. _R.G.S. Jour._, 1895; W.R. + Lawrence, _The Vale of Kashmir_ (Oxford, 1895); Captain Vaughan, + "Persia," vol. viii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; Prince H. d'Orleans, "Yunan + to India," vol. vii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; "Tonkin to Talifu," vol. + viii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; Sir T. Holdich, "Ancient and Medieval + Makran," vol. vii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; _The Indian Borderland_ + (London, 1901); India (Oxford, 1904); Colonel Woodthorpe, "Shan + States," vol. vii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; _Report of the Pamir Boundary + Commission_ (Calcutta, 1896); St George Littledale, "Journey Across + the Pamirs from North to South," vol. iii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1894, and + vol. vii. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1896; Sir G. Robertson, _The Kafirs of the + Hindu Kush_ (London, 1896); Captain Stiffe, "Persian Gulf Trading + Centres," vols. viii., ix. and x. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1897; Ney Elias and + Ross, _A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia, from the + Tarskh-i-Rastisdi of Mirza Haidar_ (London, 1898); Grenard, _Mission + scientifique sur la Haute Asie_ (Paris, 1898); Dr Sven Hedin, _Through + Asia_ (London, 1898); Central Asia and Tibet (1903); _Geographie des + Hochlandes van Pamir_ (Berlin, 1894); Captain M.S. Wellby, "Through + Tibet," _R.G.S. Jour._, September 1898; Captain P.M. Sykes, "Persian + Explorations," vol. x. _Jour. R.G.S._, 1898; _Ten Thousand Miles in + Persia_ (1902); Kronshin, "Old Beds of the Oxus," _Jour. R.G.S._, + September 1898; Sir W. Hunter, _History of British India_, vol. i. + (London, 1898); Captain H. Deasy, "Western Tibet," vol. ix. _Jour. + R.G.S._; In Tibet and Chinese Turkestan (London, 1901); A. Little, + _The Far East_ (Oxford, 1905); Captain Rawling, _The Great Plateau_ + (London, 1905); _Journal of the Royal Geogl. Society_, vols. xv. to + xxv. (1900-1905); Colonel A. Durand, _The Making of a Frontier_ + (London, 1899); R. Cobbold, _Innermost Asia_ (London, 1900). + (T. H. H.*) + + +FOOTNOTE: + + [1] Authorities differ in their methods and results of computation of + these and other similar measurements. + + + + +ASIA, in a restricted sense, the name of the first Roman province east +of the Aegean, formed (133 B.C.) out of the kingdom left to the Romans +by the will of Attalus III. Philometor, king of Pergamum. It included +Mysia, Lydia, Caria and Phrygia, and therefore, of course, Aeolis, Ionia +and the Troad. In 84 B.C., on the close of the Mithradatic War, Sulla +reorganized the province, forming 40 _regiones_ for fiscal purposes, and +it was later divided into _conventus_. From 80 to 50 B.C. the upper +Maeander valley and all Phrygia, except the extreme north, were detached +and added to Cilicia. In 27 B.C. Asia was made a senatorial province +under a pro-consul. As the wealthiest of Roman provinces it had most to +gain by the _pax Romana_, and therefore welcomed the empire, and +established and maintained the most devout cult of Augustus by means of +the organization known as the _Koinon_ or Commune, a representative +council, meeting in the various _metropoleis_. In this cult the emperor +came to be associated with the common worship of the Ephesian Artemis. +By the reorganization of Diocletian, A.D. 297, Asia was broken up into +several small provinces, and one of these, of which the capital was +Ephesus, retained the name of the original province (see ASIA MINOR). + + + + +ASIA MINOR, the general geographical name for the peninsula, forming +part of the empire of Turkey, on the extreme west of the continent of +Asia, bounded on the N. by the Black Sea, on the W. by the Aegean, and +on the S. by the Mediterranean, and at its N.W. extremity only parted +from Europe by the narrow straits of the Bosporus and Dardanelles. On +the east, no natural boundary separates it from the Armenian plateau; +but, for descriptive purposes, it will suffice to take a line drawn from +the southern extremity of the Giaour Dagh, east of the Gulf of +Alexandretta along the crest of that chain, then along that of the +eastern Taurus to the Euphrates near Malatia, then up the river, keeping +to the western arm till Erzingan is reached, and finally bending north +to the Black Sea along the course of the Churuk Su, which flows out west +of Batum. This makes the Euphrates the main eastern limit, with radii to +the north-east angle of the Levant and the south-east angle of the Black +Sea, and roughly agrees with the popular conception of Asia Minor as a +geographical region. But it must be remembered that this term was not +used by classical geographers (it is first found in Orosius in the 5th +century A.D.), and is not in local or official use now. It probably +arose in the first instance from a vague popular distinction between the +continent itself and the Roman province of "Asia" (q.v.), which at one +time included most of the peninsula west of the central salt desert +(_Axylon_). The name _Anatolia_, in the form _Anadol_, is used by +natives for the western part of the peninsula (_cis Halym_) and not as +including ancient Cappadocia and Pontus. Before the reconstitution of +the provinces as _vilayets_ it was the official title of the principal +_eyalet_ of Asia Minor, and was also used more generally to include all +the peninsular provinces over which the beylerbey of Anadoli, whose seat +was at Kutaiah, had the same paramount military jurisdiction which the +beylerbey of "Rumili" enjoyed in the peninsular provinces of Europe. The +term "Anatolia" appears first in the work of Constantine Porphyrogenitus +(10th century). + + The greatest length of Asia Minor, as popularly understood, is along + its north edge, 720 m. Along the south it is about 650 m. The greatest + breadth is 420 m. from _C. Kerembe_ to _C. Anamur_; but at the waist + of the peninsula, between the head of the Gulf of Alexandretta and the + southernmost bight of the Black Sea (at Ordu), it is not quite 300 m. + The greater portion of Asia Minor consists of a plateau rising + gradually from east to west, 2500 ft. to 4500 ft.; east of the Kizil + Irmak (Halys), the ground rises more sharply to the highlands of + Armenia (q.v.). On the south the plateau is buttressed by the Taurus + range, which stretches in a broken irregular line from the Aegean to + the Persian frontier. On the north the plateau is supported by a range + of varying altitude, which follows the southern coast of the Black Sea + and has no distinctive name. On the west the edge of the plateau is + broken by broad valleys, and the deeply indented coast-line throws out + long rocky promontories towards Europe. On the north, excepting the + deltas formed by the Kizil and Yeshil Irmaks, there are no + considerable coast plains, no good harbours except Sinope and Vona, + and no islands. On the west there are narrow coast plains of limited + extent, deep gulfs, which offer facilities for trade and commerce, and + a fringe of protecting islands. On the south are the isolated plains + of Pamphylia and Cilicia, the almost land-locked harbours of + Marmarice, Makri and Kekova, the broad bay of Adalia, the deep-seated + gulf of Alexandretta (Iskanderun), and the islands of Rhodes with + dependencies, Castelorizo and Cyprus. + + _Mountains._--The Taurus range, perhaps the most important feature in + Asia Minor, runs the whole length of the peninsula on the south, + springing east of Euphrates in the Armeno-Kurdish highlands, and being + prolonged into the Aegean Sea by rocky promontories and islands. It + attains in Lycia an altitude of 10,500 ft., and in the Bulgar Dagh + (Cilicia) of over 10,000 ft. The average elevation is about 7000 ft. + East of the Bulgar Dagh the range is pierced by the Sihun and Jihun + rivers, and their tributaries, but its continuity is not broken. The + principal passes across the range are those over which Roman or + Byzantine roads ran:--(1) from Laodicea to Adalia (Attalia), by way of + the Khonas pass and the valley of the Istanoz Chai; (2) from Apamea or + from Pisidian Antioch to Adalia, by Isbarta and Sagalassus; (3) from + Laranda, by Coropissus and the upper valley of the southern + Calycadnus, to Germanicopolis and thence to Anemourium or Kelenderis; + (4) from Laranda, by the lower Calycadnus, to Claudiopolis and thence + to Kelenderis or Seleucia; (5) from Iconium or Caesarea Mazaca, + through the Cilician Gates (Gulek Boghaz, 3300 ft.) to Tarsus; (6) + from Caesarea to the valley of the Sarus and thence to Flaviopolis on + the Cilician Plain; (7) from Caesarea over Anti-Taurus by the Kuru + Chai to Cocvsus (Geuksun) and thence to Germanicia (Marash). Large + districts on the southern slopes of the Taurus chain are covered with + forests of oak and fir, and there are numerous _yailas_ or grassy + "alps," with abundant water, to which villagers and nomads move with + their flocks during the summer months. + + Anti-Taurus is a term of rather vague and doubtful application, (a) + Some have regarded it as meaning the more or less continuous range + which buttresses up the central plateau on the north, parallel to the + Taurus, (b) Others take it to mean the line of heights and mountain + peaks which separates the waters running to the Black Sea and the + Anatolian plateau from those falling to the Persian Gulf and the + Mediterranean. This has its origin in the high land, near the source + of the Kizil Irmak, and thence runs south-west towards the volcanic + district of Mt. Argaeus, which, however, can hardly be regarded as + orographically one with it. After a low interval it springs up again + at its southern extremity in the lofty sharp-peaked ridge of Ala Dagh + (11,000 ft.), and finally joins Taurus. (c) South of Sivas a line of + bare hills connects this chain with another range of high forest-clad + mountains, which loses itself southwards in the main mass of Taurus, + and is held to be the true Anti-Taurus by geographers. It throws off, + in the latitude of Kaisarieh, a subsidiary range, the Binboa Dagh, + which separates the waters of the Sihun from those of the Jihun. The + principal passes are those followed by the old roads:--(1) from + Sebasteia to Tephrike and the upper valley of the western Euphrates; + (2) from Sebasteia to Melitene, by way of the pass of Delikli Tash and + the basin of the Tokhma Su; (3) from Caesarea to Arabissus, by the + Kuru Chai and the valley of Cocysus (Geuksun). The range of Amanus + (Giaour Dagh) is separated from the mass of Taurus by the deep gorge + of the Jihun, whence it runs south-south-west to Ras el-Khanzir, + forming the limit between Cilicia and Syria, various parts bearing + different names, as Elma Dagh above Alexandretta. It attains its + greatest altitude in Kaya Duldul (6500 ft.), which rises abruptly from + the bed of the Jihun, and it is crossed by two celebrated passes:--(1) + the Amanides Pylae (Baghche Pass), through which ran the road from the + Cilician Plain to Apamea-Zeugma, on the Euphrates; (2) the Pylae + Syriae or "Syrian Gates" (Beilan Pass), through which passed the great + Roman highway from Tarsus to Syria. On the western edge of the plateau + several short ranges, running approximately east and west, rise above + the general level:--Sultan Dagh (6500 ft.); Salbacus-Cadmus (8000 + ft.); Messogis (3600 ft.); Latmus (6000 ft.); Tmolus (5000 ft.); + Dindymus (8200 ft.); Ida (5800 ft.); and the Mysian Olympus (7600 + ft.). The valleys of the Maeander, Hermus and Caicus facilitate + communication between the plateau and the Aegean, and the descent to + the Sea of Marmora along the valleys of the Tembris and Sangarius + presents no difficulties. The northern border range, though not + continuous, rises steadily from the west to its culmination in the + Galatian Olympus (Ilkaz Dagh), south of Kastamuni. East of the Kizil + Irmak there is no single mountain chain, but there are several short + ranges with elevations sometimes exceeding 9000 ft. The best routes + from the plateau to the Black Sea were followed by the Roman roads + from Tavium and Sebasteia to Sinope and Amisus, and those from + Sebasteia to Cotyora and Cerasus-Pharnacia, which at first ascend the + upper Halys. Several minor ranges rise above the level of the eastern + plateau, and in the south groups of volcanic peaks and cones extend + for about 150 m. from Kaisarieh (Caesarea) to Karaman. The most + important are Mt. Argaeus (Erjish Dagh, 13,100 ft.) above Kaisarieh + itself, the highest peak in Asia Minor; Ali Dagh (6200 ft.); Hassan + Dagh (8000 ft.); Karaja Dagh; and Kara Dagh (7500 ft.). On the west of + the plateau evidences of volcanic activity are to be seen in the + district of Kula (Katakekaumene), coated with recent erupted matter, + and in the numerous hot springs of the Lycus, Maeander, and other + valleys. Earthquakes are frequent all over the peninsula, but + especially in the south-east and west, where the Maeander valley and + the Gulf of Smyrna are notorious seismic foci. The centre of the + plateau is occupied by a vast treeless plain, the _Axylon_ of the + Greeks, in which lies a large salt lake, Tuz Geul. The plain is + fertile where cultivated, fairly supplied with deep wells, and in many + places covered with good pasture. Enclosed between the Taurus and + Amanus ranges and the sea are the fertile plains of Cilicia Pedias, + consisting in great part of a rich, stoneless loam, out of which rise + rocky crags that are crowned with the ruins of Greco-Roman and + Armenian strongholds, and of Pamphylia, partly alluvial soil, partly + travertine, deposited by the Taurus rivers. + + _Rivers._--The rivers of Asia Minor are of no great importance. Some + do not flow directly to the sea; others find their way to the coast + through deep rocky gorges, or are mere torrents; and a few only are + navigable for boats for short distances from their mouths. They cut so + deep into the limestone formation of the plateau as to over-drain it, + and often they disappear into swallow holes (_duden_) to reappear + lower down. The most important rivers which flow to the Black Sea are + the following:--the Boas (Churuk Su) which rises near Baiburt, and + flows out near Batum; the Iris (Yeshil Irmak), with its tributaries + the Lycus (Kelkit Irmak), which rises on the Armenian plateau, the + Chekerek Irmak, which has its source near Yuzgat, and the Tersakan Su; + the Halys (Kizil Irmak) is the longest river in Asia Minor, with its + tributaries the Delije Irmak (Cappadox), which flows through the + eastern part of Galatia, and the Geuk Irmak, which has its sources in + the mountains above Kastamuni. With the exception of Sivas, no town + of importance lies in the valley of the Kizil Irmak throughout its + course of over 600 m. The Sangarius (Sakaria) rises in the Phrygian + mountains and, after many changes of direction, falls into the Black + Sea, about 80 m. east of the Bosporus. Its tributaries are the Pursak + Su (Tembris), which has its source in the Murad Dagh (Dindymus), and, + after running north to Eski-shehr, flows almost due east to the + Sakaria, and the Enguri Su, which joins the Sakaria a little below the + junction of the Pursak. To the Black Sea, about 40 m. east of Eregli, + also flows the Billaeus (Filiyas Chai). Into the Sea of Marmora run + the Rhyndacus (Edrenos Chai) and the Macestus (Susurlu Chai), which + unite about 12 m. from the sea. The most celebrated streams of the + Troad are the Granicus (Bigha Chai) and the Scamander (Menderes Su), + both rising in Mt. Ida (Kaz Dagh). The former flows to the Sea of + Marmora; the latter to the Dardanelles. The most northerly of the + rivers that flow to the Aegean is the Caicus (Bakir Chai), which runs + past Soma, and near Pergamum, to the Gulf of Chanderli. The Hermus + (Gediz Chai) has its principal sources in the Murad Dagh, and, + receiving several streams on its way, runs through the volcanic + district of Katakekaumene to the broad fertile valley through which it + flows past Manisa to the sea, near Lefke. So recently as about 1880 it + discharged into the Gulf of Smyrna, but the shoals formed by its + silt-laden waters were so obstructive to navigation that it was turned + back into its old bed. Its principal tributaries are--the Phrygius + (Kum Chai), which receives the waters of the Lycus (Gurduk Chai), and + the Cogamus (Kuzu Chai), which in its upper course is separated from + the valley of the Maeander by hills that were crossed by the Roman + road from Pergamum to Laodicea. The Caystrus (Kuchuk Menderes) flows + through a fertile valley between Mt. Tmolus and Messogis to the sea + near Ephesus, where its silt has filled up the port. The Maeander + (Menderes Chai) takes its rise in a celebrated group of springs near + Dineir, and after a winding course enters the broad valley, through + which it "meanders" to the sea. Its deposits have long since filled up + the harbours of Miletus, and converted the islands which protected + them into mounds in a swampy plain. Its principal tributaries are the + Glaucus, the Senarus (Banaz Chai), and the Hippurius, on the right + bank. On the left bank are the Lycus (Churuk Su), which flows + westwards by Colossae through a broad open valley that affords the + only natural approach to the eleated plateau, the Harpasus (Ak Chai), + and the Marsyas (China Chai). The rivers that flow to the + Mediterranean, with two exceptions, rise in Mt. Taurus, and have short + courses, but in winter and spring they bring down large bodies of + water. In Lycia are the Indus (Gereniz Chai), and the Xanthus (Eshen + Chai). The Pamphylian plain is traversed by the Cestrus (Ak Su), the + Eurymedon (Keupri Su), and the Melas (Menavgat Chai), which, where it + enters the sea, is a broad, deep stream, navigable for about 6 m. The + Calycadnus (Geuk Su) has two main branches which join near Mut and + flow south-east, and enter the sea, a deep rapid river, about 12 m. + below Selefke. The Cydnus (Tersous or Tarsus Chai) is formed by the + junction of three streams that rise in Mt. Taurus, and one of these + flows through the narrow gorge known as the Cilician Gates. After + passing Tarsus, the river enters a marsh which occupies the site of + the ancient harbour. The Cydnus is liable to floods, and its deposits + have covered Roman Tarsus to a depth of 20 ft. The Sarus (Sihun) is + formed by the junction of the Karmalas (Zamanti Su), which rises in + Uzun Yaila, and the Sarus (Saris), which has its sources in the hills + to the south of the same plateau. The first, after entering Mt. + Taurus, flows through a deep chasm walled in by lofty precipices, and + is joined in the heart of the range by the Saris. Before reaching the + Cilician Plain the river receives the waters of the Kerkhun Su, which + cuts through the Bulgar Dagh, and opens a way for the roads from the + Cilician Gates to Konia and Kaisarieh. After passing Adana, to which + point small craft ascend, the Sihun runs south-west to the sea. There + are, however, indications that at one period it flowed south-east to + join the Pyramus. The Pyramus (Jihun) has its principal source in a + group of large springs near Albistan; but before it enters Mt. Taurus + it is joined by the Sogutli Irmak, the Khurman Su and the Geuk Su. The + river emerges from Taurus, about 7 m. west of Marash, and here it is + joined by the Ak Su, which rises in some small lakes south of Taurus. + The Jihun now enters a remarkable defile which separates Taurus from + the Giaour Dagh, and reaches the Cilician Plain near Budrun. From this + point it flows west, and then south-west past Missis, until it makes a + bend to discharge its waters south of Ayas Bay. The river is navigable + as far as Missis. The only considerable tributary of the Euphrates + which comes within our region is the Tokhma Su, which rises in Uzun + Yaila and flows south-east to the main river not far from Malatia. In + the central and southern portions of the plateau the streams either + flow into salt lakes, where their waters pass off by evaporation, or + into freshwater lakes, which have no visible outlets. In the latter + cases the waters find their way beneath Taurus in subterranean + channels, and reappear as the sources of rivers flowing to the coast. + Thus the Ak Geul supplies the Cydnus, and the Beishehr, Egirdir and + Kestel lakes feed the rivers of the Pamphylian plain. + + _Lakes._--The salt lakes are Tuz Geul (anc. _Tatta_), which lies in + the great central plain, and is about 60 m. long and 10 to 30 m. broad + in winter, but in the dry season it is hardly more than a saline + marsh; Buldur Geul, 2900 ft. above sea-level; and Aji-tuz Geul, 2600 + ft. The freshwater lakes are Beishehr Geul (anc. _Karalis_), 3770 ft., + a fine sheet of water 30 m. long, which discharges south-east to the + Soghla Geul; Egirdir Geul (probably anc. _Limnae_, a name which + included the two bays of Hoiran and Egirdir, forming the lake), 2850 + ft., which is 30 m. long, but less broad than Beishehr and noted for + the abundance and variety of its fish. In the north-west portion of + Asia Minor are Isnik Geul (L. Ascania), Abulliont Geul (L. Apollonia), + and Maniyas Geul (L. Miletopolis). + + _Springs._--Asia Minor is remarkable for the number of its thermal and + mineral springs. The most important are:--Yalova, in the Ismid sanjak; + Brusa, Chitli, Terje and Eskishehr, in the Brusa vilayet; Tuzla, in + the Karasi; Cheshme, Ilija, Hierapolis (with enormous alum deposits), + and Alashehr, in the Aidin; Terzili Hammam and Iskelib in the Angora; + Boli in the Kastamuni; and Khavsa, in the Sivas. Many of these were + famous in antiquity and occur in a list given by Strabo. The Maeander + valley is especially noted for its hot springs. + + _Geology._--The central plateau of Asia Minor consists of nearly + horizontal strata, while the surrounding mountain chains form a + complex system, in which the beds are intensely folded. Around the + coast flat-lying deposits of Tertiary age are found, and these often + extend high up into the mountain region. The deposits of the central, + or Lycaonian, plateau consist of freshwater marls and limestones of + late Tertiary or Neogene age. Along the south-eastern margin, in front + of the Taurus, stands a line of great volcanoes, stretching from + Kara-Dagh to Argaeus. They are now extinct, but were probably active + till the close of the Tertiary period. On its southern side the + plateau is bounded by the high chains of the Taurus and the + Anti-Taurus, which form a crescent with its convexity facing + southwards. Devonian and Carboniferous fossils have been found in + several places in the Anti-Taurus. Limestones of Eocene or Cretaceous + age form a large part of the Taurus, but the interior zone probably + includes rocks of earlier periods. The folding of the Anti-Taurus + affects the Eocene but not the Miocene, while in the Taurus the + Miocene beds have been elevated, but without much folding, to great + heights. North of the Lycaonian plateau lies another zone of folding + which may be divided into the East Pontian and West Pontian arcs. In + the east a well-defined mountain system runs nearly parallel to the + Black Sea coast from Batum to Sinope, forming a gentle curve with its + convexity facing southwards. Cretaceous limestones and serpentine take + a large part in the formation of these mountains, while even the + Oligocene is involved in the folds. West of Sinope Cretaceous beds + form a long strip parallel to the shore line. Carboniferous rocks + occur at Eregli (Heraclea Pontica), where they have been worked for + coal. Devonian fossils have been found near the Bosporus and + Carboniferous fossils at Balia Maden in Mysia. Triassic, Jurassic and + Cretaceous beds form a band south of the Sea of Marmora, probably the + continuation of the Mesozoic band of the Black Sea coast. Farther + south there are zones of serpentine, and of crystalline and schistose + rocks, some of which are probably Palaeozoic. The direction of the + folds of this region is from west to east, but on the borders of + Phrygia and Mysia they meet the north-westerly extension of the Taurus + folds and bend around the ancient mass of Lydia. Marine Eocene beds + occur near the Dardanelles, but the Tertiary deposits of this part of + Asia Minor are mostly freshwater and belong to the upper part of the + system. In western Mysia they are much disturbed, but in eastern Mysia + they are nearly horizontal. They are often accompanied by volcanic + rocks, which are mainly andesitic, and they commonly lie unconformably + upon the older beds. In the western part of Asia Minor there are + several areas of ancient rocks about which very little is known. The + Taurus folds here meet another system which enters the region from the + Aegean Sea. + + _Climate._--The climate is varied, but systematic observations are + wanting. On the plateau the winter is long and cold, and in the + northern districts there is much snow. The summer is very hot, but the + nights are usually cool. On the north coast the winter is cold, and + the winds, sweeping across the Black Sea from the steppes of Russia, + are accompanied by torrents of rain and heavy falls of snow. East of + Samsun, where the coast is partially protected by the Caucasus, the + climate is more moderate. In summer the heat is damp and enervating, + and, as Trebizond is approached, the vegetation becomes almost + subtropical. On the south coast the winter is mild, with occasional + frosts and heavy rain; the summer heat is very great. On the west + coast the climate is moderate, but the influence of the cold north + winds is felt as far south as Smyrna, and the winter at that place is + colder than in corresponding latitudes in Europe. A great feature of + summer is the _inbat_ or north wind, which blows almost daily, often + with the force of a gale, off the sea from noon till near sunset. + + _Products, &c._--The mineral wealth of Asia Minor is very great, but + few mines have yet been opened. The minerals known to exist are--alum, + antimony, arsenic, asbestos, boracide, chrome, coal, copper, emery, + fuller's earth, gold, iron, kaolin, lead, lignite, magnetic iron, + manganese, meerschaum, mercury, nickel, rock-salt, silver, sulphur and + zinc. The vegetation varies with the climate, soil and elevation. The + mountains on the north coast are clothed with dense forests of pine, + fir, cedar, oak, beech, &c. On the Taurus range the forests are + smaller, and there is a larger proportion of pine. On the west coast + the ilex, plane, oak, valonia oak, and pine predominate. On the + plateau willows, poplars and chestnut trees grow near the streams, + but nine-tenths of the country is treeless, except for scrub. On the + south and west coasts the fig and olive are largely cultivated. The + vine yields rich produce everywhere, except in the higher districts. + The apple, pear, cherry and plum thrive well in the north; the orange, + lemon, citron and sugar-cane in the south; styrax and mastic in the + south-west; and the wheat lands of the Sivas vilayet can hardly be + surpassed. The most important vegetable productions are--cereals, + cotton, gum tragacanth, liquorice, olive oil, opium, rice, saffron, + salep, tobacco and yellow berries. Silk is produced in large + quantities in the vicinity of Brusa and Amasia, and mohair from the + Angora goat all over the plateau. The wild animals include bear, boar, + chamois, fallow red and roe deer, gazelle, hyena, ibex, jackal, + leopard, lynx, moufflon, panther, wild sheep and wolf. The native + reports of a maneless lion in Lycia (_arslan_) are probably based on + the existence of large panthers. Amongst the domestic animals are the + buffalo, the Syrian camel, and a mule camel, bred from a Bactrian sire + and Syrian mother. Large numbers of sheep and Angora goats are reared + on the plateau, and fair horses are bred on the Uzun Yaila; but no + effort is made to improve the quality of the wool and mohair or the + breed of horses. Good mules can be obtained in several districts, and + small hardy oxen are largely bred for ploughing and transport. The + larger birds are the bittern, great and small bustard, eagle, + francolin, goose; giant, grey and red-legged partridge, sand grouse, + pelican, pheasant, stork and swan. The rivers and lakes are well + supplied with fish, and the mountain streams abound with small trout. + + The principal manufactures are:--Carpets, rugs, cotton, tobacco, + mohair and silk stuffs, soap, wine and leather. The exports + are:--Cereal, cotton, cotton seed, dried fruits, drugs, fruit, gall + nuts, gum tragacanth, liquorice root, maize, nuts, olive oil, opium, + rice, sesame, sponges, storax, timber, tobacco, valonia, walnut wood, + wine, yellow berries, carpets, cotton yarn, cocoons, hides, leather, + mohair, silk, silk stuffs, rugs, wax, wool, leeches, live stock, + minerals, &c. The imports are:--Coffee, cotton cloths, cotton goods, + crockery, dry-salteries, fezzes, glass-ware, haberdashery, hardware, + henna, ironware, jute, linen goods, manufactured goods, matches, + petroleum, salt, sugar, woollen goods, yarns, &c. + + _Communications._--There are few metalled roads, and those that exist + are in bad repair, but on the plateau light carts can pass nearly + everywhere. The lines of railway now open are:--(1) From Haidar Pasha + to Ismid, Eski-shehr and Angora; (2) from Mudania to Brusa; (3) from + Eski-shehr to Afium-Kara-hissar, Konia and Bulgurli, east of Eregli + (the first section of the Bagdad railway). These lines are worked by + the German _Gesellschaft der anatolischen Eisenbahnen_. (4) From + Smyrna to Manisa, Ala-shehr and Afium-Kara-hissar, with a branch line + from Manisa to Soma. This line is worked by a French company. (5) From + Smyrna to Aidin and Dineir, with branches to Odemish, Tireh, Sokia, + Denizli, Ishekli, Seidi Keui and Bouja, constructed and worked by an + English company. (6) From Mersina to Tarsus and Adana, an English line + under a control mainly French. There are two competing routes for the + eastern trade--one running inland from Constantinople (Haidar Pasha), + the other from Smyrna. The first is connected by ferry with the + European railway system; the second with the great sea routes from + Smyrna to Trieste, Marseilles and Liverpool. The right to construct + all railways in Armenia and north-eastern Asia Minor has been conceded + to Russia, and the Germans have a virtual monopoly of the central + plateau. + +_Ethnology._--None of the conquering races that invaded Asia Minor, +whether from the east or from the west, wholly expelled or exterminated +the race in possession. The vanquished retired to the hills or absorbed +the victors. In the course of ages race distinction has been almost +obliterated by fusion of blood; by the complete Hellenization of the +country, which followed the introduction of Christianity; by the later +acceptance of Islam; and by migrations due to the occupation of +cultivated lands by the nomads. It will be convenient here to adopt the +modern division into Moslems, Christians and Jews:--(a) _Moslems._ The +Turks never established themselves in such numbers as to form the +predominant element in the population. Where the land was unsuitable for +nomad occupation the agricultural population remained, and it still +retains some of its original characteristics. Thus in Cappadocia the +facial type of the non-Aryan race is common, and in Galatia there are +traces of Gallic blood. The Zeibeks of the west and south-west are +apparently representatives of the Carians and Lycians; and the peasants +of the Black Sea coast range of the people of Bithynia, Paphlagonia and +Pontus. Wherever the people accepted Islam they called themselves Turks, +and a majority of the so-called "Turks" belong by blood to the races +that occupied Asia Minor before the Seljuk invasion. Turkish and +Zaza-speaking Kurds (see KURDISTAN) are found in the Angora and Sivas +vilayets. There are many large colonies of Circassians and smaller ones +of Noghai (Nogais), Tatars, Georgians, Lazis, Cossacks, Albanians and +Pomaks. East of Boghaz Keui there is a compact population of Kizilbash, +who are partly descendants of Shia Turks transplanted from Persia and +partly of the indigenous race. In the Cilician plain there are large +settlements of Nosairis who have migrated from the Syrian mountains (see +SYRIA). The nomads and semi-nomads are, for the most part, +representatives of the Turks, Mongols and Tatars who poured into the +country during the 350 years that followed the defeat of Romanus. +Turkomans are found in the Angora and Adana vilayets; Avshars, a tribe +of Turkish origin, in the valleys of Anti-Taurus; and Tatars in the +Angora and Brusa vilayets; Yuruks are most numerous in the Konia +vilayet. They speak Turkish and profess to be Moslems, but have no +mosques or imams. The Turkomans have villages in which they spend the +winter, wandering over the great plains of the interior with their +flocks and herds during the summer. The Yuruks on the contrary are a +truly nomad race. Their tents are made of black goats' hair and their +principal covering is a cloak of the same material. They are not limited +to the milder districts of the interior, but when the harvest is over, +descend into the rich plains and valleys near the coast. The Chepmi and +Takhtaji, who live chiefly in the Aidin vilayet, appear to be derived +from one of the early races. (b) _Christians._ The Greeks are in places +the descendants of colonists from Greece, many of whom, e.g. in +Pamphylia and the Smyrna district, are of very recent importation; but +most of them belong by blood to the indigenous races. These people +became "Greeks" as being subjects of the Byzantine empire and members of +the Eastern Church. On the west coast, in Pontus and to some extent of +late in Cappadocia, and in the mining villages, peopled from the +Trebizond Greeks, the language is Romaic; on the south coast and in many +inland villages (e.g. in Cappadocia) it is either Turkish, which is +written in Greek characters, or a Greco-Turkish jargon. In and near +Smyrna there are large colonies of Hellenes. Armenians are most numerous +in the eastern districts, where they have been settled since the great +migration that preceded and followed the Seljuk invasion. There are, +however, Armenians in every large town. In central and western Asia +Minor they are the descendants of colonists from Persia and Armenia (see +ARMENIA), (c) The _Jews_ live chiefly on the Bosporus; and in Smyrna, +Rhodes, Brusa and other western towns. _Gypsies_--some Moslem, some +Christian--are also numerous, especially in the south. + +_History._--Asia Minor owes the peculiar interest of its history to its +geographical position. "Planted like a bridge between Asia and Europe," +it has been from the earliest period a battleground between the East and +the West. The central plateau (2500 to 4500 ft.), with no navigable +river and few natural approaches, with its monotonous scenery and severe +climate, is a continuation of central Asia. The west coast, with its +alternation of sea and promontory, of rugged mountains and fertile +valleys, its bright and varied scenery, and its fine climate, is almost +a part of Europe. These conditions are unfavourable to permanence, and +the history of Asia Minor is that of the march of hostile armies, and +rise and fall of small states, rather than that of a united state under +an independent sovereign. At a very early period Asia Minor appears to +have been occupied by non-Aryan tribes or races which differed little +from each other in religion, language and social system. During the past +generation much light has been thrown upon one of these races--the +"Hittites" or "Syro-Cappadocians," who, after their rule had passed +away, were known to Herodotus as "White Syrians," and whose descendants +can still be recognised in the villages of Cappadocia.[1] The centre of +their power is supposed to have been Boghaz Keui (see PTERIA), east of +the Halys, whence roads radiated to harbours on the Aegean, to Sinope, +to northern Syria and to the Cilician plain. Their strange sculptures +and inscriptions have been found at Pteria, Euyuk, Fraktin, Kiz Hissar +(Tyana), Ivriz, Bulgar, Muden and other places between Smyrna and the +Euphrates (see HITTITES). When the great Aryan immigration from Europe +commenced is unknown, but it was dying out in the 11th and 10th +centuries B.C. In Phrygia the Aryans founded a kingdom, of which traces +remain in various rock tombs, forts and towns, and in legends preserved +by the Greeks. The Phrygian power was broken in the 9th or 8th century +B.C. by the Cimmerii, who entered Asia Minor through Armenia; and on its +decline rose the kingdom of Lydia, with its centre at Sardis. A second +Cimmerian invasion almost destroyed the rising kingdom, but the invaders +were expelled at last by Alyattes, 617 B.C. (see SCYTHIA). The last +king, Croesus (? 560-546 B.C.) carried the boundaries of Lydia to the +Halys, and subdued the Greek colonies on the coast. The date of the +foundation of these colonies cannot be fixed; but at an early period +they formed a chain of settlements from Trebizond to Rhodes, and by the +8th century B.C. some of them rivalled the splendour of Tyre and Sidon. +Too jealous of each other to combine, and too demoralized by luxury to +resist, they fell an easy prey to Lydia; and when the Lydian kingdom +ended with the capture of Sardis by Cyrus, 546 B.C. they passed, almost +without resistance, to Persia. Under Persian rule Asia Minor was divided +into four satrapies, but the Greek cities were governed by Greeks, and +several of the tribes in the interior retained their native princes and +priest-dynasts. An attempt of the Greeks to regain their freedom was +crushed, 500-494 B.C., but later the tide turned and the cities were +combined with European Greeks into a league for defence against the +Persians. The weakness of Persian rule was disclosed by the expedition +of Cyrus and the Ten Thousand Greeks, 402 B.C.; and in the following +century Asia Minor was invaded by Alexander the Great (q.v.), 334 B.C. +(See GREECE; PERSIA; IONIA.) + +The wars which followed the death of Alexander eventually gave Asia +Minor to Seleucus, but none of the Seleucid kings was able to establish +his rule over the whole peninsula. Rhodes became a great maritime +republic, and much of the south and west coast belonged at one time or +another to the Ptolemies of Egypt. An independent kingdom was founded at +Pergamum, 283 B.C., which lasted until Attalus III., 133 B.C., made the +Romans his heirs. Bithynia became an independent monarchy, and +Cappadocia and Paphlagonia tributary provinces under native princes. In +southern Asia Minor the Seleucids founded Antioch, Apamea, Attalia, the +Laodiceas and Seleuceias, and other cities as centres of commerce, some +of which afterwards played an important part in the Hellenization (see +HELLENISM) of the country, and in the spread of Christianity. During the +3rd century, 278-277 B.C., certain Gallic tribes crossed the Bosporus +and Hellespont, and established a Celtic power in central Asia Minor. +They were confined by the victories of Attalus I. of Pergamum, c. 232 +B.C., to a district on the Sangarius and Halys to which the name Galatia +was applied; and after their defeat by Manlius, 189 B.C., they were +subjected to the suzerainty of Pergamum (see GALATIA). + +The defeat of Antiochus the Great at Magnesia, 190 B.C., placed Asia +Minor at the mercy of Rome; but it was not until 133 that the first +Roman province, Asia, was formed to include only western Anatolia, +without Bithynia. Errors in policy and in government facilitated the +rise of Pontus into a formidable power under Mithradates, who was +finally driven out of the country by Pompey, and died 63 B.C. Under the +settlement of Asia Minor by Pompey, Bithynia-Pontus and Cilicia became +provinces, whilst Galatia and Cappadocia were allowed to retain nominal +independence for over half a century more under native kings, and Lycia +continued an autonomous League. A long period of tranquillity followed, +during which the Roman dominion grew, and all Asia Minor was divided +into two provinces. The boundaries were often changed; and about A.D. +297, in Diocletian's reorganization of the empire, the power of the +great military commands was broken, and the provinces were made smaller +and united in groups called dioceses. A great change followed the +introduction of Christianity, which spread first along the main roads +that ran north and west from the Cilician Gates, and especially along +the great trade route to Ephesus. In some districts it spread rapidly, +in others slowly. With its advance the native languages and old +religions gradually disappeared, and at last the whole country was +thoroughly Hellenized, and the people united by identity of language and +religion. + +At the close of the 6th century Asia Minor had become wealthy and +prosperous; but centuries of peace and over-centralization had affected +the _moral_ of the people and weakened the central government. During +the 7th century the provincial system broke down, and the country was +divided into _themes_ or military districts. From 616 to 626 Persian +armies swept unimpeded over the land, and Chosroes (Khosrau) II. pitched +his camp on the shore of the Bosporus. The victories of Heraclius forced +Chosroes to retire; but the Persians were followed by the Arabs, who, +advancing with equal ease, laid siege to Constantinople, A.D. 668. It +almost appeared as if Asia Minor would be annexed to the dominion of the +Caliph. But the tide of conquest was stemmed by the iconoclast emperors, +and the Arab expeditions, excepting those of Harun al-Rashid, 781 and +806, and of el-Motasim, 838, became simply predatory raids. In the 10th +century the Arabs were expelled. They never held more than the districts +along the main roads, and in the intervals of peace the country rapidly +recovered itself. But a more dangerous enemy was soon to appear on the +eastern border. + +In 1067 the Seljuk Turks ravaged Cappadocia and Cilicia; in 1071 they +defeated and captured the emperor Romanus Diogenes, and in 1080 they +took Nicaea. One branch of the Seljuks founded the empire of Rum, with +its capital first at Nicaea and then at Iconium. The empire, which at +one time included nearly the whole of Asia Minor, with portions of +Armenia and Syria, passed to the Mongols when they defeated the sultan +of Rum in 1243, and the sultans became vassals of the Great Khan. The +Seljuk sultans were liberal patrons of art, literature and science, and +the remains of their public buildings and tombs are amongst the most +beautiful and most interesting in the country. The marches of the +Crusaders across Asia Minor left no permanent impression. But the +support given by the Latin princes to the Armenians in Cilicia +facilitated the growth of the small warlike state of Lesser Armenia, +which fell in 1375 with the defeat and capture of Leo VI. by the +Mameluke sultan of Egypt. The Mongols were too weak to govern the +country they had conquered, and the vassalage of the last sultan of Rum, +who died in 1307, was only nominal. On his death the Turkoman governors +of his western provinces drove out the Mongols and asserted their +independence. A contest for supremacy followed, which eventually ended +in favour of the Osmanli Turks of Brusa. In 1400 Sultan Bayezid I. held +all Asia Minor west of the Euphrates; but in 1402 he was defeated and +made prisoner by Timur, who swept through the country to the shores of +the Aegean. On the death of Timur Osmanli supremacy was re-established +after a prolonged straggle, which ended with the annexation by Mahommed +II. (1451-1481) of Karamania and Trebizond, and the abandonment of the +last of the Italian trading settlements which had studded the coast +during the 13th and 14th centuries. The later history of Asia Minor is +that of the Turkish empire. The most important event was the advance +(1832-1833) of an Egyptian army, under Ibrahim Pasha, through the +Cilician Gates to Konia and Kutaiah. + +The defeat of the emperor Romanus (1071) initiated a change in the +condition of Asia Minor which was to be complete and lasting. A long +succession of nomad Turkish tribes, pressing forward from central Asia, +wandered over the rich country in search of fresh pastures for their +flocks and herds. They did not plunder or ill-treat the people, but they +cared nothing for town life or for agricultural pursuits, and as they +passed onward they left the country bare. Large districts passed out of +cultivation and were abandoned to the nomads, who replaced wheeled +traffic by the pack horse and the camel. The peasants either became +nomads themselves or took refuge in the towns or the mountains. The +Mongols, as they advanced, sacked towns and laid waste the agricultural +lands. Timur conducted his campaigns with a ruthless disregard of life +and property. Entire Christian communities were massacred, flourishing +towns were completely destroyed, and all Asia Minor was ravaged. From +these disasters the country never recovered, and the last traces of +Western civilization disappeared with the enforced use of the Turkish +language and the wholesale conversions to Islam under the earliest +Osmanli sultans. The recent large increase of the Greek population in +the western districts, the construction of railways, and the growing +interests of Germany and Russia on the plateau seem, however, to +indicate that the tide is again turning in favour of the West. + +[Illustration: Asia Minor map.] + + BIBLIOGRAPHY.--1. GENERAL AUTHORITIES:--C. Texier, _Asie Mineure_ + (1843); P. Tchihatcheff, _Asie Mineure_ (1853-1860); C. Ritter, + _Erdkunde_, vols. xviii. xix. (1858-1859); W.J. Hamilton, _Researches + in Asia Minor_ (1843); E. Reclus. _Nouv. Geog. Univ._ vol. ix. (1884); + V. Cuinet, _La Turquie d'Asie_ (1890); W.M. Ramsay, _Hist. Geog. of A. + M._ (1890); Murray's _Handbook for A. M. &c._, ed. by Sir C. Wilson + (1895). For GEOLOGY see Tchihatcheff, _Asie Mineure, Geologie_ (Paris, + 1867-1869); Schaffer, _Cilicia, Peterm. Mitt. Erganzungsheft_, 141 + (1903); Philippson, _Sitz. k. preuss. Akad. Wiss._ (1903), pp. + 112-124; English, _Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc._ (London, 1904), pp. + 243-295; see also Suess, _Das Antlitz der Erde_, vol. iii. pp. + 402-412, and the accompanying references. + + 2. A. _Western Asia Minor._--J. Spon and G. Wheler, _Voyage du Levant_ + (1679); P. de Tournefort, _Voyage du Levant_ (1718); F. Beaufort, + _Ionian Antiquities_ (1811); R. Chandler, _Travels_ (1817); W.M. + Leake, _Journal of a Tour in A. M._ (1820); F.V.J. Arundell, _Visit to + the Seven Churches_ (1828), and _Discoveries, &c._ (1834); C. Fellows, + _Excursion in A. M._ (1839); C.T. Newton, _Travels_ (1867), and + _Discoveries at Halicarnassus, &c._ (1863); Dilettanti Society, + _Ionian Antiquities_ (1769-1840); J.R.S. Sterrett, _Epigr. Journey_ + and _Wolfe Exped._ (Papers, Amer. Arch. Inst. ii. iii.) (1888); J.H. + Skene, _Anadol_ (1853); G. Radet, _Lydie_ (1893); O. Rayet and A. + Thomas, _Milet et le Golfe Latmique_ (1872); K. Buresch, _Aus Lydien_ + (1898); W.M. Ramsay, _Cities and Bishoprics of Phrygia_ (1895), and + _Impressions of Turkey_ (1898). + + B. _Eastern Asia Minor._--W.F. Ainsworth, _Travels in A. M._ (1842); + G. Perrot and E. Guillaume, _Expl. arch, de la Galatie_ (1862-1872); + E.J. Davis, _Anatolica_ (1874); H.F. Tozer, _Turkish Armenia_ (1881); + H.J. v. Lennep, _Travels_ (1870); D.G. Hogarth, _Wandering Scholar_ + (1896); Lord Warkworth, _Notes of a Diary, &c._ (1898); E. Sarre, + _Reise_ (1896); D.G. Hogarth and J.A.R. Munro, _Mod. and Anc. Roads_ + (R.G.S. Supp. Papers iii.) (1893); H.C. Barkley, _A Ride through A. M. + and Armenia_ (1891); M. Sykes, _Dar ul-Islam_ (1904); E. Chantre, + _Mission en Cappadocie_ (1898). + + C. _Southern Asia Minor._--F. Beaufort, _Karamania_ (1817); C. + Fellows, _Discoveries in Lycia_ (1841); T.A.B. Spratt and E. Forbes, + _Travels in Lycia_ (1847); V. Langlois, _Voy. dans la Cilicie_ (1861); + E.J. Davis, _Life in Asiatic Turkey_ (1879); O. Benndorf and E. + Niemann, _Lykien_ (1884); C. Lanckoronski, _Villes de la Pamphylie et + de la Pisidie_ (1890); F. v. Luschan, _Reisen in S.W. Kleinasien_ + (1888); E. Petersen and F. v. Luschan, _Lykien_ (1889); K. Humann and + O. Puchstein, _Reisen in Kleinasien und Nordsyrien_ (1890). + + D. _Northern Asia Minor._--J.M. Kinneir, _Journey through A. M._ + (1818); J.G.C. Anderson and F. Cumont, _Studia Pontica_ (1903); E. + Naumann, _Vom Goldenen Horn, &c._ (1893). + + See also G. Perrot and C. Chipiez, _Hist. de l'art dans l'antiquite_, + vols. iv. v. (1886-1890); J. Strzygowski, _Kleinasien, &c._ (1903). + Also numerous articles in all leading archaeological periodicals, the + _Geographical Journal_, _Deutsche Rundschau_, _Petermann's Geog. + Mitteilungen_, &c. &c. + + 3. MAPS.--H. Kiepert, _Nouv. carte gen. des prov. asiat. de l'Emp. + ottoman_ (1894), and _Spezialkarte v. Westkleinasien_ (1890); W. von + Diest, _Karte des Nordwestkleinasien_ (1901); R. Kiepert, _Karte von + Kleinasien_ (1901); E. Friederich, _Handels- und Produktenkarte von + Kleinasien_ (1898); J.G.C. Anderson, _Asia Minor_ (Murray's Handy + Class. Maps) (1903). (C. W. W.; D. G. H.) + + +FOOTNOTE: + + [1] The people, Moslem and Christian, are physically one and appear + to be closely related to the modern Armenians. This relationship is + noticeable in other districts, and the whole original population of + Asia Minor has been characterized as Proto-Armenian or Armenoid. + + + + +ASIENTO, or ASSIENTO (from the verb _asentar_, to place, or establish), +a Spanish word meaning a farm of the taxes, or contract. The farmer or +contractor is called an _asentista_. The word acquired a considerable +notoriety in English and American history, on account of the "Asiento +Treaty" of 1713. Until 1702 the Spanish government had given the +contract for the supply of negroes to its colonies in America to the +Genoese. But after the establishment of the Bourbon dynasty in 1700, a +French company was formed which received the exclusive privilege of the +Spanish-American slave trade for ten years--from September 1702 to 1712. +When the peace of Utrecht was signed the British government insisted +that the monopoly should be given to its own subjects. By the terms of +the Asiento treaty signed on the 16th of March 1713, it was provided +that British subjects should be authorized to introduce 144,000 slaves +in the course of thirty years, at the rate of 4800 per annum. The +privilege was to expire on the 1st of May 1743. British subjects were +also authorized to send one ship of 500 tons per annum, laden with +manufactured goods, to the fairs of Porto Bello and La Vera Cruz. Import +duties were to be paid for the slaves and goods. This privilege was +conveyed by the British government to the South Sea Company, formed to +work it. The privilege, to which an exaggerated value was attached, +formed the solid basis of the notorious fit of speculative fever called +the South Sea Bubble. Until 1739 the trade in blacks went on without +interruption, but amid increasingly angry disputes between the Spanish +and the British governments. The right to send a single trading ship to +the fairs of Porto Bello or La Vera Cruz was abused. Under pretence of +renewing her provisions she was followed by tenders which in fact +carried goods. Thus there arose what was in fact a vast contraband +trade. The Spanish government established a service of revenue boats +(_guarda costas_) which insisted on searching all English vessels +approaching the shores of the Spanish colonies. There can be no doubt +that the smugglers were guilty of many piratical excesses, and that the +_guarda costas_ often acted with violence on mere suspicion. After many +disputes, in which the claims of the British government were met by +Spanish counterclaims, war ensued in 1739. When peace was made at +Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748 Spain undertook to allow the asiento to be +renewed for the four years which were to run when war broke out in 1739. +But the renewal for so short a period was not considered advantageous, +and by the treaty of El Retiro of 1750, the British government agreed to +the recession of the Asiento treaty altogether on the payment by Spain +of L100,000. + + A very convenient account of the Asiento Treaty, and of the trade + which arose under it, will be found in Malachy Postlethwayt's + _Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce_ (London, 1751), s.v. + + + + +ASIR, a district in western Arabia, lying between 17 deg. 30' and 21 +deg. N., and 40 deg. 30' and 45 deg. E.; bounded N. by Hejaz, E. by +Nejd, S. by Yemen and W. by the Red Sea. Like Yemen, it consists of a +lowland zone some 20 or 30 m. in width along the coast, and of a +mountainous tract, falling steeply on the west and merging into a +highland plateau which slopes gradually to the N.E. towards the Nejd +steppes. Its length along the coast is about 230 m., and its breadth +from the coast to El Besha about 180. The lowland, or Tehama, is hot and +barren; the principal places in it are Kanfuda, the chief port of the +district, Marsa Hali and El Itwad, smaller ports farther south. The +mountainous tract has probably an average altitude of between 6000 and +7000 ft., with a temperate climate and regular rainfall, and is fertile +and populous. The valleys are well watered and produce excellent crops +of cereals and dates. The best-known are the Wadi Taraba and the W. +Besha, both running north-east towards the W. Dawasir in Nejd. Taraba, +according to John Lewis Burckhardt, is a considerable town, surrounded +by palm groves and gardens, and watered by numerous rivulets, and tamous +for its long resistance to Mehemet Ali's forces in 1815. Five or six +days' journey to the south-east is the district of Besha, the most +important position between Sana and Taif. Here Mehemet Ali's army, +amounting to 12,000 men, found sufficient provisions to supply it during +a fortnight's halt. The Wadi Besha is a broad valley abounding with +streams containing numerous hamlets scattered over a tract some six or +eight hours' journey in length. Its principal affluent, the W. Shahran, +rises 120 m. to the south and runs through the fertile district of +Khamis Mishet, the highest in Asir. The Zahran district lies four days +west of Besha on the crest of the main range: the principal place is +Makhwa, a large town and market, from which grain is exported in +considerable quantities to Mecca. Farther south is the district of +Shamran. Throughout the mountainous country the valleys are well watered +and cultivated, with fortified villages perched on the surrounding +heights. Juniper forests are said to exist on the higher mountains. +Three or four days' journey east and south-east of Besha are the +encampments of the Bani Kahtan, one of the most ancient tribes of +Arabia; their pastures extend into the adjoining district of Nejd, where +they breed camels in large numbers, as well as a few horses. + +The inhabitants are a brave and warlike race of mountaineers, and aided +by the natural strength of their country they have hitherto preserved +their independence. Since the beginning of the 19th century they have +been bigoted Wahhabis, though previously regarded by their neighbours as +very lax Mahommedans; during Mehemet Ali's occupation of Nejd their +constant raids on the Egyptian communications compelled him to send +several punitive expeditions into the district, which, however, met with +little success. Since the reconquest of Yemen by the Turks, they have +made repeated attempts to subjugate Asir, but beyond occupying Kanfuda, +and holding one or two isolated points in the interior, of which Ibha +and Manadir are the principal, they have effected nothing. + +The chief sources of information regarding Asir are the notes made by +J.L. Burckhardt at Taif in 1814 and those of the French officers with +the Egyptian expeditions into the country from 1814 to 1837. No part of +Arabia would better repay exploration. + + AUTHORITIES.--J.L. Burckhardt, _Travels in Arabia_ (London, 1829); F. + Mengin, _Histoire de l'Egypte_, &c. (Paris, 1823); M.O. Tamisier, + _Voyage en Arabie_ (Paris, 1840). (R. A. W.) + + + + +ASISIUM (mod. _Assisi_), an ancient town of Umbria, in a lofty situation +about 15 m. E.S.E. of Perusia. As an independent community it had +already begun to use Latin as well as Umbrian in its inscriptions (for +one of these recording the chief magistrates--_marones_--see _C.I.L._ +xi. 5390). It became a _municipium_ in 90 B.C., but, though numerous +inscriptions (_C.I.L._ xi. 5371-5606) testify to its importance in the +Imperial period, it is hardly mentioned by our classical authorities. +Scanty traces of the ancient city walls may be seen; within the town the +best-preserved building is the so-called temple of Minerva, with six +Corinthian columns of travertine, now converted into a church, erected +by Gaius and Titus Caesius in the Augustan era. It fronted on to the +ancient forum, part of the pavement of which, with a base for the +equestrian statues of Castor and Pollux (as the inscription upon it +records) has been laid bare beneath the present Piazza Vittorio +Emanuele. The remains of the amphitheatre, in _opus reticulatum_, may be +seen in the north-east corner of the town; and other ancient buildings +have been discovered. Asisium was probably the birthplace of Propertius. + (T. As.) + + + + +ASKABAD, or ASKHABAD, a town of Russian central Asia, capital of the +Transcaspian province, 345 m. by rail S.E. of Krasnovodsk and 594 from +Samarkand, situated in a small oasis at the N. foot of the Kopet-dagh +range. It has a public library and a technical railway school; also +cotton-cleaning works, tanneries, brick-works, and a mineral-water +factory. The trade is valued at L250,000 a year. The population, 2500 in +1881, when the Russians seized it, was 19,428 in 1897, one-third +Persians, many of them belonging to the Babi sect. + + + + +ASKAULES (Gr. [Greek: askaulaes] [?] from [Greek: askos], bag, [Greek: +aulos], pipe), probably the Greek word for bag-piper, although there is +no documentary authority for its use. Neither it nor [Greek: askaulos] +(which would naturally mean the bag-pipe) has been found in Greek +classical authors, though J.J. Reiske--in a note on Dio Chrysostom, +_Orat._ lxxi. _ad fin._, where an unmistakable description of the +bag-pipe occurs ("and they say that he is skilled to write, to work as +an artist, and to play the pipe with his mouth, on the bag placed under +his arm-pits")--says that [Greek: askaulaes] was the Greek word for +bag-piper. The only actual corroboration of this is the use of +_ascaules_ for the pure Latin _utricularius_ in Martial x. 3. 8. Dio +Chrysostom flourished about A.D. 100; it is therefore only an assumption +that the bag-pipe was known to the classical Greeks by the name of +[Greek: askaulos]. It need not, however, be a matter of surprise that +among the highly cultured Greeks such an instrument as the bag-pipe +should exist without finding a place in literature. It is significant +that it is not mentioned by Pollux (_Onomast._ iv. 74) and Athenaeus +(_Deipnos._ iv. 76) in their lists of the various kinds of pipes. + + See articles AULOS and BAG-PIPE; art. "Askaules" in Pauly-Wissowa, + _Realencyclopadie_. + + + + +ASKE, ROBERT (d. 1537), English rebel, was a country gentleman who +belonged to an ancient family long settled in Yorkshire, his mother +being a daughter of John, Lord Clifford. When in 1536 the insurrection +called the "Pilgrimage of Grace" broke out in Yorkshire, Aske was made +leader; and marching with the banner of St Cuthbert and with the badge +of the "five wounds," he occupied York on the 16th of October and on the +20th captured Pontefract Castle, with Lord Darcy and the archbishop of +York, who took the oath of the rebels. He caused the monks and nuns to +be reinstated, and refused to allow the king's herald to read the royal +proclamation, announcing his intention of marching to London to declare +the grievances of the commons to the sovereign himself, secure the +expulsion of counsellors of low birth, and obtain restitution for the +church. The whole country was soon in the hands of the rebels, a +military organization with posts from Newcastle to Hull was established, +and Hull was provided with cannon. Subsequently Aske, followed by 30,000 +or 40,000 men, proceeded towards Doncaster, where lay the duke of +Norfolk with the royal forces, which, inferior in numbers, would +probably have been overwhelmed had not Aske persuaded his followers to +accept the king's pardon, and the promise of a parliament at York and to +disband. Soon afterwards he received a letter from the king desiring him +to come secretly to London to inform him of the causes of the rebellion. +Aske went under the guarantee of a safe-conduct and was well received by +Henry. He put in writing a full account of the rising and of his own +share in it; and, fully persuaded of the king's good intentions, +returned home on the 8th of January 1537, bringing with him promises of +a visit from the king to Yorkshire, of the holding of a parliament at +York, and of free elections. Shortly afterwards he wrote to the king +warning him of the still unquiet state not only of the north but of the +midlands, and stating his fear that more bloodshed was impending. The +same month he received the king's thanks for his action in pacifying Sir +Francis Bigod's rising. But his position was now a difficult and a +perilous one, and a few weeks later the attitude of the government +towards him was suddenly changed. The new rising had given the court an +excuse for breaking off the treaty and sending another army under +Norfolk into Yorkshire. Possibly in these fresh circumstances Aske may +have given cause for further suspicions of his loyalty, and in his last +confession he acknowledged that communications to obtain aid had been +opened with the imperial ambassador and were contemplated with Flanders. +But it is more probable that the government had from the first +treacherously affected to treat him with confidence to secure the +secrets of the rebels and to effect his destruction. In March Norfolk +congratulated Cromwell on the successful accomplishment of his task, +having persuaded Aske to go to London on false assurances of security. +He was arrested in April, tried before a commission at Westminster, and +sentenced to death for high treason on the 17th of May; and on the 28th +of June he was taken back to Yorkshire, being paraded in the towns and +country through which he passed. He was hanged at York in July, +expressing repentance for breaking the king's laws, but declaring that +he had promise of pardon both from Cromwell and from Henry. It is +related that his servant, Robert Wall, died of grief at the thought of +his master's approaching execution. Aske was a real leader, who gained +the affection and confidence of his followers; and his sudden rise to +greatness and his choice by the people point to abilities that have not +been recorded. + + See _Henry VIII. and the English Monasteries_, by F.A. Gasquet (1906); + _Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII._, vols. xi. and xii.; + _English Histor. Review_, v. 330, 550 (account of the rebellion, + examination and answers to interrogations); _Chronicle of Henry + VIII._, tr. by M.A.S. Hume (1889); Whitaker's _Richmondshire_, i. 116 + (pedigree of the Askes). + + + + +ASKEW, or ASCUE, ANNE (1521?-1546), English Protestant martyr, born at +Stallingborough about 1521, was the second daughter of Sir William Askew +(d. 1540) of South Kelsey, Lincoln, by his first wife Elizabeth, +daughter of Thomas Wrottesley. Her elder sister, Martha, was betrothed +by her parents to Thomas Kyme, a Lincolnshire justice of the peace, but +she died before marriage, and Anne was induced or compelled to take her +place. She is said to have had two children by Kyme, but religious +differences and incompatibility of temperament soon estranged the +couple. Kyme was apparently an unimaginative man of the world, while +Anne took to Bible-reading with zeal, became convinced of the falsity of +the doctrine of transubstantiation, and created some stir in Lincoln by +her disputations. According to Bale and Foxe her husband turned her out +of doors, but in the privy council register she is said to have "refused +Kyme to be her husband without any honest allegation." She had as good a +reason for repudiating her husband as Henry VIII. for repudiating Anne +of Cleves. In any case, she came to London and made friends with Joan +Bocher, who was already known for heterodoxy, and other Protestants. She +was examined for heresy in March 1545 by the lord mayor, and was +committed to the Counter prison. Then she was examined by Bonner, the +bishop of London, who drew up a form of recantation which he entered in +his register. This fact led Parsons and other Catholic historians to +state that she actually recanted but she refused to sign Bonner's form +without qualification. Two months later, on the 24th of May, the privy +council ordered her arrest. On the 13th of June 1545, she was arraigned +as a sacramentarian under the Six Articles at the Guildhall; but no +witness appeared against her; she was declared not guilty by the jury +and discharged after paying her fees. + +The reactionary party, which, owing to the absence of Hertford and Lisle +and to the presence of Gardiner, gained the upper hand in the council in +the summer of 1546, were not satisfied with this repulse; they probably +aimed at the leaders of the reforming party, such as Hertford and +possibly Queen Catherine Parr, who were suspected of favouring Anne, and +on the 18th of June 1546 Anne was again arraigned before a commission +including the lord mayor, the duke of Norfolk, St John, Bonner and +Heath. No jury was empanelled and no witnesses were called; she was +condemned, simply on her confession, to be burnt. On the same day she +was called before the privy council with her husband. Kyme was sent home +into Lincolnshire, but Anne was committed to Newgate, "for that she was +very obstinate and heady in reasoning of matters of religion." On the +following day she was taken to the Tower and racked; according to Anne's +own statement, as recorded by Bale, the lord chancellor, Wriothesley, +and the solicitor-general, Rich, worked the rack themselves; but she +"would not convert for all the pain" (Wriothesley, _Chronicle_ i. 168). +Her torture, disputed by Jardine, Lingard and others, is substantiated +not only by her own narrative, but by two contemporary chronicles, and +by a contemporary letter (_ibid._; _Narratives of the Reformation_, p. +305; Ellis, _Original Letters_, 2nd Ser. ii. 177). For four weeks she +was left in prison, and at length on the 16th of July, she was burnt at +Smithfield in the presence of the same persecuting dignitaries who had +condemned her to death. + + AUTHORITIES.--Bale's two tracts, printed at Marburg in November 1546 + and January 1547, are the basis of Foxe's account. See also _Acts of + the Privy Council_ (1542-1547), pp. 424-462; Wriothesley's _Chron._ + i. 155, 167-169; _Narratives of the Reformation_, passim; Gough's + _Index to Parker Soc. Publications_; Burnet's _Hist. of the + Reformation_; Dixon's _Hist. of the Church of England; Dict. Nat. + Biogr._ (A. F. P.) + + + + +ASMA'I [Abu Sa'id 'Abd ul-Malik ibn Quraib] (c. 739-831), Arabian +scholar, was born of pure Arab stock in Basra and was a pupil there of +Abu 'Amr ibn ul-'Ala. He seems to have been a poor man until by the +influence of the governor of Basra he was brought to the notice of Harun +al-Rashid, who enjoyed his conversation at court and made him tutor of +his son. He became wealthy and acquired property in Basra, where he +again settled for a time; but returned later to Bagdad, where he died in +831. Asma'i was one of the greatest scholars of his age. From his youth +he stored up in his memory the sacred words of the Koran, the traditions +of the Prophet, the verses of the old poets and the stories of the +ancient wars of the Arabs. He was also a student of language and a +critic. It was as a critic that he was the great rival of Abu 'Ubaida +(q.v.). While the latter followed (or led) the Shu'ubite movement and +declared for the excellence of all things not Arabian, Asma'i was the +pious Moslem and avowed supporter of the superiority of the Arabs over +all peoples, and of the freedom of their language and literature from +all foreign influence. Some of his scholars attained high rank as +literary men. Of Asma'i's many works mentioned in the catalogue known as +the _Fihrist_, only about half a dozen are extant. Of these the _Book of +Distinction_ has been edited by D.H. Muller (Vienna, 1876); the _Book of +the Wild Animals_ by R. Geyer (Vienna, 1887); the _Book of the Horse_, +by A. Haffner (Vienna, 1895); the _Book of the Sheep_, by A. Haffner +(Vienna, 1896). + + For life of Asma'i, see Ibn Khallikan, _Biographical Dictionary_, + translated from the Arabic by McG. de Slane (Paris and London, 1842), + vol. ii. pp. 123-127. For his work as a grammarian, G. Flugel, _Die + grammatischen Schulen der Araber_ (Leipzig, 1862), pp. 72-80. + (G. W. T.) + + + + +ASMARA, the capital of the Italian colony of Eritrea, N.E. Africa. It is +built on the Hamasen plateau, near its eastern edge, at an elevation of +7800 ft., and is some 40 m. W.S.W. in a direct line of the seaport of +Massawa. Pop. (1904) about 9000, including the garrison of 300 Italian +soldiers, and some 1000 native troops. The European civil population +numbers over 500; the rest of the inhabitants are chiefly Abyssinians. +There is a small Mahommedan colony. The town is strongly fortified. The +European quarter contains several fine public buildings, including the +residence of the governor, club house, barracks and hospital. Fort +Baldissera is built on a hill to the south-west of the town and is +considered impregnable. + +Asmara, an Amharic word signifying "good pasture place," is a town of +considerable antiquity. It was included in the maritime province of +northern Abyssinia, which was governed by a viceroy who bore the title +of Bahar-nagash (ruler of the sea). By the Abyssinians the Hamasen +plateau was known as the plain of the thousand villages. Asmara appears +to have been one of the most prosperous of these villages, and to have +attained commercial importance through being on the high road from Axum +to Massawa. When Werner Munzinger (q.v.) became French consul at +Massawa, he entered into a scheme for annexing the Hamasen (of which +Asmara was then the capital) to France, but the outbreak of the war with +Germany in 1870 brought the project to nought (cf. A.B. Wylde, _Modern +Abyssinia_, 1901). In 1872 Munzinger, now in Egyptian service, annexed +Asmara to the khedivial dominions, but in 1884, owing to the rise of the +mahdi, Egypt evacuated her Abyssinian provinces and Asmara was chosen by +Ras Alula, the representative of the negus Johannes (King John), as his +headquarters. Shortly afterwards the Italians occupied Massawa, and in +1889 Asmara (see ABYSSINIA: _History_). In 1900 the seat of government +was transferred from Massawa to Asmara, which in its modern form is the +creation of the Italians. It is surrounded by rich agricultural lands, +cultivated in part by Italian immigrants, and is a busy trading centre. +A railway from Massawa to Asmara was completed as far as Ghinda, at the +foot of the plateau, in 1904. At Medrizien, 6 m. north of Asmara, are +gold-mines which have been partially worked. + + See G. Dainelli, _In Africa. Lettere dall' Eritrea_ (Bergamo, 1908); + R. Perini, _Di qua dal Mareb_ (Florence, 1905). + + + + +ASMODEUS, or ASHMEDAI, an evil demon who appears in later Jewish +tradition as "king of demons." He is sometimes identified with Beelzebub +or Apollyon (Rev. ix. 11). In the Talmud he plays a great part in the +legends concerning Solomon. In the apocryphal book of Tobit (iii. 8) +occurs the well-known story of his love for Sara, the beautiful daughter +of Raguel, whose seven husbands were slain in succession by him on their +respective bridal nights. At last Tobias, by burning the heart and liver +of a fish, drove off the demon, who fled to Egypt. From the part played +by Asmodeus in this story, he has been often familiarly called the +genius of matrimonial unhappiness or jealousy, and as such may be +compared with Lilith. Le Sage makes him the principal character in his +novel _Le Diable boiteux_. Both the word and the conception seem to have +been derived originally from the Persian. The name has been taken to +mean "covetous." It is in any case no doubt identical with the demon +Aeshma of the Zend-Avesta and the Pahlavi texts. But the meaning is not +certain. It is generally agreed that the second part of the name +Asmodeus is the same as the Zend _daewa, dew_, "demon." The first part +may be equivalent to Aeshma, the impersonation of anger. But W. +Baudissin (Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopadie_) prefers to derive it from +_ish_, to drive, set in motion; whence _ish-min_, driving, impetuous. + + The legend of Asmodeus is given fully in the _Jewish Encyclopaedia_, + s.v. See also the articles in the _Encyclopaedia Biblica_, Hastings' + _Dictionary of the Bible_, and Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopadie_. + + + + +ASMONEUS, or ASAMONAEUS (so Josephus), great-grandfather of Mattathias, +the father of Judas Maccabaeus. Nothing more is known of him, and the +name is only given by Josephus (not in 1 Macc. ii. 1). But the dynasty +was known to Josephus and the Mishna (once) as "the sons (race) of the +Asamonaeans (of A.)"; and the Targum of 1 Sam. ii. 4 has "the house of +the Hashmoneans who were weak, signs were wrought for them and +strength." If not the founder, Asmoneus was probably the home of the +family (cf. Heshmon, Jos. xv. 27). + + See Schurer, _Geschichte des judischen Volkes_, i. 248 N; art. + "Maccabees," S 2, in _Ency. Biblica_. (J. H. A. H.) + + + + +ASNIERES, a town of northern France, in the department of Seine, on the +left bank of the Seine, about 1-1/2 m. N.N.W. of the fortifications of +Paris. Pop. (1906) 35,883. The town, which has grown rapidly in recent +years, is a favourite boating centre for the Parisians. The industries +include boat-building and the manufacture of colours and perfumery. + + + + +ASOKA, a famous Buddhist emperor of India who reigned from 264 to 228 or +227 B.C. Thirty-five of his inscriptions on rocks or pillars or in caves +still exist (see INSCRIPTIONS: _Indian_), and they are among the most +remarkable and interesting of Buddhist monuments (see BUDDHISM). Asoka +was the grandson of Chandragupta, the founder of the Maurya (Peacock) +dynasty, who had wrested the Indian provinces of Alexander the Great +from the hands of Seleucus, and he was the son of Bindusara, who +succeeded his father Chandragupta, by a lady from Champa. The Greeks do +not mention him and the Brahmin books ignore him, but the Buddhist +chronicles and legends tell us much about him. The inscriptions, which +contain altogether about five thousand words, are entirely of religious +import, and their references to worldly affairs are incidental. They +begin in the thirteenth year of his reign, and tell us that in the ninth +year he had invaded Kalinga, and had been so deeply impressed by the +horrors involved in warfare that he had then given up the desire for +conquest, and devoted himself to conquest by "religion." What the +religion was is explained in the edicts. It is purely ethical, +independent alike of theology and ritual, and is the code of morals as +laid down in the Buddhist sacred books for laymen. He further tells us +that in the ninth year of his reign he formally joined the Buddhist +community as a layman, in the eleventh year he became a member of the +order, and in the thirteenth he "set out for the Great Wisdom" (the +_Sambodhi_), which is the Buddhist technical term for entering upon the +well-known, eightfold path to Nirvana. One of the edicts is addressed to +the order, and urges upon its members and the laity alike the learning +and rehearsal of passages from the Buddhist scriptures. Two others are +proclamations commemorating visits paid by the king, one to the dome +erected over the ashes of Konagamana, the Buddha, another to the +birthplace of Gotama, the Buddha (q.v.). Three very short ones are +dedications of caves to the use of an order of recluses. The rest either +enunciate the religion as explained above, or describe the means adopted +by the king for propagating it, or acting in accordance with it. These +means are such as the digging of wells, planting medicinal herbs, and +trees for shade, sending out of missionaries, appointment of special +officers to supervise charities, and so on. The missionaries were sent +to Kashmir, to the Himalayas, to the border lands on the Indus, to the +coast of Burma, to south India and to Ceylon. And the king claims that +missions sent by him to certain Greek kingdoms that he names had +resulted in the folk there conforming themselves to his religion. The +extent of Asoka's dominion included all India from the thirteenth degree +of latitude up to the Himalayas, Nepal, Kashmir, the Swat valley, +Afghanistan as far as the Hindu Kush, Sind and Baluchistan. It was thus +as large as, or perhaps somewhat larger than, British India before the +conquest of Burma. He was undoubtedly the most powerful sovereign of his +time and the most remarkable and imposing of the native rulers of India. +"If a man's fame," says Koppen, "can be measured by the number of hearts +who revere his memory, by the number of lips who have mentioned, and +still mention him with honour, Asoka is more famous than Charlemagne or +Caesar." At the same time it is probable that, like Constantine's +patronage of Christianity, his patronage of Buddhism, then the most +rising and influential faith in India, was not unalloyed with political +motives, and it is certain that his vast benefactions to the Buddhist +cause were at least one of the causes that led to its decline. + + See also _Asoka_, by Vincent Smith (Oxford, 1901); _Inscriptions de + Piyadasi_, by E. Senart (Paris, 1891); chapters on Asoka in T.W. Rhys + Davids's _Buddhism_ (20th ed., London, 1903), and _Buddhist India_ + (London, 1903); V.A. Smith, _Edicts of Asoka_ (1909). (T. W. R. D.) + + + + +ASOLO (anc. _Acelum_), a town of Venetia, Italy, in the province of +Treviso, about 19 m. N.W. direct from the town of Treviso, and some 10 +m. E. of Bassanoby road. Pop. (1901) 5847. It is well situated on a +hill, 690 ft. above sea-level. Remains of Roman baths and of a theatre +have been discovered in the course of excavation (_Notizie degli scavi_, +1877, 235; 1881, 205; 1882, 289), and the town was probably a +_municipium_. It became an episcopal see in the 6th century. It was to +Asolo that Catherine Cornaro, queen of Cyprus, retired on her +abdication. Here she was visited by Pietro Bembo, who conceived here his +_Dialoghi degli Asolani_, and by Andrea Navagero (Naugerius). Paulus +Manutius was born here. The village of Maser is 4-1/2 m. to the E., and +near it is the Villa Giacomelli, erected by Palladio, containing +frescoes by Paolo Veronese, executed in 1566-1568 for Marcantonio +Barbaro of Venice, and ranking among his best works. + + + + +ASOR (Hebr. for "ten"), an instrument "of ten strings" mentioned in the +Bible, about which authors are not agreed. The word occurs only three +times in the Bible, and has not been traced elsewhere. In Psalm xxxiii. +2 the reference is to "kinnor, nebel and asor"; in Psalm xcii. 3, to +"nebel and asor"; in Psalm cxliv. to "nebel-asor." In the English +version _asor_ is translated "an instrument of ten strings," with a +marginal note "omit" applied to "instrument." In the Septuagint, the +word being derived from a root signifying "ten," the Greek is [Greek: en +dekachordo] or [Greek: psaltaerion dekachordon], in the Vulgate _in +decachordo psalterio_. Each time the word _asor_ is used it follows the +word _nebel_ (see PSALTERY), and probably merely indicates a variant of +the nebel, having ten strings instead of the customary twelve assigned +to it by Josephus (_Antiquities_, vii. 12. 3). + + See also Mendel and Reissmann, _Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon_, + vol. i. (Berlin, 1881); Sir John Stainer, _The Music of the Bible_, + pp. 35-37; Forkel, _Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik_, Bd. i. p. 133 + (Leipzig, 1788). (K. S.) + + + + +ASP (_Vipera aspis_), a species of venomous snake, closely allied to the +common adder of Great Britain, which it represents throughout the +southern parts of Europe, being specially abundant in the region of the +Alps. It differs from the adder in having the head entirely covered with +scales, shields being absent, and in having the snout somewhat turned +up. The term "Asp" [Greek: aspis] seems to have been employed by Greek +and Roman writers, and by writers generally down to comparatively recent +times, to designate more than one species of serpent; thus the asp, by +means of which Cleopatra is said to have ended her life, and so avoided +the disgrace of entering Rome a captive, is now generally supposed to +have been the cerastes, or horned viper (_Cerastes cornutus_), of +northern Africa and Arabia, a snake about 15 in. long, exceedingly +venomous, and provided with curious horn-like protuberances over each +eye, which give it a decidedly sinister appearance. The snake, however, +to which the word "asp" has been most commonly applied is undoubtedly +the haje of Egypt, the _spy-slange_ or spitting snake of the Boers +(_Naja haje_), one of the very poisonous _Elarinae_, from 3 to 4 ft. +long, with the skin of its neck loose, so as to render it dilatable at +the will of the animal, as in the cobra of India, a species from which +it differs only in the absence of the spectacle-like mark on the back of +the neck. Like the cobra, also, the haje has its fangs extracted by the +jugglers of the country, who afterwards train it to perform various +tricks. The asp (_Pethen_, [Hebrew: pethen]) is mentioned in various +parts of the Old Testament. This name is twice translated "adder," but +as nothing is told of it beyond its poisonous character and the +intractability of its disposition, it is impossible accurately to +determine the species. + + + + +ASPARAGINE, C4H3N2O3, a naturally occurring base, found in plants +belonging to the natural orders Leguminosae and Cruciferae. It occurs +in two optically active forms, namely, as laevo-asparagine and +dextro-asparagine. Laevo-asparagine was isolated in 1805 by L.N. +Vauquelin. A. Piutti (_Gazz. chim. Ital._, 1887, 17, p. 126; 1888, 18, +p. 457) synthesized the asparagines from the monomethyl ester of +inactive aspartic acid by heating it with alcoholic ammonia. In this way +a mixture of the two asparagines was obtained, which were separated by +picking out the hemihedral crystals. + + HOOC.CH.NH2CH2.COOC2H5 + NH3 = C2H5OH + HOOC.CH.NH2.CH2.CONH2. + +Laevo-asparagine is slightly soluble in cold water and readily soluble +in hot water. It crystallizes in prisms, containing one molecule of +water of crystallization, the anhydrous form melting at 234-235 deg. C. +Nitrous acid converts it into malic acid, HOOC.CHOH.CH2.COOH. It is +laevo-rotatory in aqueous or in alkaline solution, and dextro-rotatory +in acid solution (L. Pasteur, _Ann. Chim. Phys._, 1851 [2], 31, p. 67). +Dextro-asparagine was first found in 1886 in the shoots of the vetch +(Piutti). It forms rhombic crystals possessing a sweet taste. It is +dextro-rotatory in aqueous or alkaline solution, and laevo-rotatory in +acid solution. + +Hydrolysis by means of acids or alkalis converts the asparagines into +aspartic acid; whilst on heating with water in a sealed tube they are +converted into ammonium aspartate. The constitution of the asparagines +has been determined by A. Piutti (_Gazz. chim. Ital._, 1888, 18, p. +457). + + + + +ASPARAGUS, a genus of plants (nat. ord. Liliaceae) containing more than +100 species, and widely distributed in the temperate and warmer parts of +the Old World; it was introduced from Europe into America with the early +settlers. The name is derived from the Greek [Greek: asparagos] or +[Greek: aspharagos], the origin of which is obscure. _Sperage_ or +_sparage_ was the form in use from the 16th to 18th centuries, cf. the +modern Italian _sparagio_. The vulgar corruption _sparrow-grass_ or +_sparagrass_ was in accepted popular use during the 18th century, +"asparagus" being considered pedantic. The plants have a short, +creeping, underground stem from which spring slender, branched, aerial +shoots. The leaves are reduced to minute scales bearing in their axils +tufts of green, needle-like branches (the so-called _cladodes_), which +simulate, and perform the functions of, leaves. In one section of the +genus, sometimes regarded as a distinct genus _Myrsiphyllum_, the +cladodes are flattened. The plants often climb or scramble, in which +they are helped by the development of the scale-leaves into persistent +spines. The flowers are small, whitish and pendulous; the fruit is a +berry. + +Several of the climbing species are grown in greenhouses for their +delicate, often feathery branches, which are also valuable for cutting; +the South African _Asparagus plumosus_ is an especially elegant species. +The so-called smilax, much used for decoration, is a species of the +_Myrsiphyllum_ section, _A. medeoloides_, also known as _Myrsiphyllum +asparagoides_. The young shoots of _Asparagus officinalis_ have from +very remote times been in high repute as a culinary vegetable, owing to +their delicate flavour and diuretic virtues. The plant, which is a +native of the north temperate zone of the Old World, grows wild on the +south coast of England; and on the waste steppes of Russia it is so +abundant that it is eaten by cattle like grass. In common with the +marsh-mallow and some other plants, it contains asparagine or aspartic +acidamide. The roots of asparagus were formerly used as an aperient +medicine, and the fruits were likewise employed as a diuretic. Under the +name of Prussian asparagus, the spikes of an allied plant, _Ornithogalum +pyrenaicum_, are used in some places. The diuretic action is extremely +feeble, and neither the plant nor asparagine is now used medicinally. + +Asparagus is grown extensively in private gardens as well as for market. +The asparagus prefers a loose, light, deep, sandy soil; the depth should +be 3 ft., the soil being well trenched, and all surplus water got away. +A considerable quantity of well-rotted dung or of recent seaweed should +be laid in the bottom of the trench, and another top-dressing of manure +should be dug in preparatory to planting or sowing. The beds should be 3 +ft. or 5 ft. wide, with intervening alleys of 2 ft., the narrower beds +taking two rows of plants, the wider ones three rows. The beds should +run east and west, so that the sun's rays may strike against the side of +the bed. In some cases the plants are grown in equidistant rows 3 to 4 +ft. apart. Where the beds are made with plants already prepared, either +one-year-old or two-year-old plants may be used, for which a trench +should be cut sufficient to afford room for spreading out the roots, the +crowns being all kept at about 2 in. below the surface. Planting is best +done in April, after the plants have started into growth. To prevent +injury to the roots, it is, however, perhaps the better plan to sow the +seeds in the beds where the plants are to remain. To experience the +finest flavour of asparagus, it should be eaten immediately after having +been gathered; if kept longer than one day, or set into water, its finer +flavour is altogether lost. If properly treated, asparagus beds will +continue to bear well for many years. The asparagus grown at Argenteuil, +near Paris, has acquired much notoriety for its large size and excellent +quality. The French growers plant in trenches instead of raised beds. +The most common method of forcing asparagus is to prepare, early in the +year, a moderate hot-bed of stable litter with a bottom heat of 70 deg., +and to cover it with a common frame. After the heat of fermentation has +somewhat subsided, the surface of the bed is covered with a layer of +light earth or exhausted tan-bark, and in this the roots of strong +mature plants are closely placed. The crowns of the roots are then +covered with 3 to 6 in. of soil. A common three-light frame may hold 500 +or 600 plants, and will afford a supply for several weeks. After +planting, linings are applied when necessary to keep up the heat, but +care must be taken not to scorch the roots; air must be occasionally +admitted. Where there are pits heated by hot water or by the tank +system, they may be advantageously applied to this purpose. A succession +of crops must be maintained by annually sowing or planting new beds. + +The "asparagus-beetle" is the popular name for two beetles, the "common +asparagus beetle" (_Crioceris asparagi_) and the "twelve-spotted" (_C. +duodecimpunctata_), which feed on the asparagus plant. _C. asparagi_ has +been known in Europe since early times, and was introduced into America +about 1856; the rarer _C. duodecimpunctata_ (sometimes called the "red" +to distinguish it from the "blue" species) was detected in America in +1881. For an admirable account of these pests see F.H. Chittenden, +_Circular 102 of the U.S. Dep. of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology_, +May 1908. + +The "asparagus-stone" is a form of apatite, simulating asparagus in +colour. + + + + +ASPASIA, an Athenian courtesan of the 5th century B.C., was born either +at Miletus or at Megara, and settled in Athens, where her beauty and her +accomplishments gained for her a great reputation. Pericles, who had +divorced his wife (445), made her his mistress, and, after the death of +his two legitimate sons, procured the passing of a law under which his +son by her was recognized as legitimate. It was the fashion, especially +among the comic poets, to regard her as the adviser of Pericles in all +his political actions, and she is even charged with having caused the +Samian and Peloponnesian wars (Aristoph. _Acharn_. 497). Shortly before +the latter war, she was accused of impiety, and nothing but the tears +and entreaties of Pericles procured her acquittal. On the death of +Pericles she is said to have become the mistress of one Lysicles, whom, +though of ignoble birth, she raised to a high position in the state; +but, as Lysicles died a year after Pericles (428), the story is +unconvincing. She was the chief figure in the dialogue _Aspasia_ by +Aeschines the Socratic, in which she was represented as criticizing the +manners and training of the women of her time (for an attempted +reconstruction of the dialogue see P. Natorp in _Philologus_, li. p. +489, 1892); in the _Menexenus_ (generally ascribed to Plato) she is a +teacher of rhetoric, the instructress of Socrates and Pericles, and a +funeral oration in honour of those Athenians who had given their lives +for their country (the authorship of which is attributed to Aspasia) is +repeated by Socrates; Xenophon (_Oecon._ lii. 14) also speaks of her in +favourable terms, but she is not mentioned by Thucydides. In opposition +to this view, Wilamowitz-Mollendorff (_Hermes_, xxxv. 1900) regards her +simply as a courtesan, whose personality would readily become the +subject of rumour, favourable or unfavourable. There is a bust bearing +her name in the Pio Clementino Museum in the Vatican. + + See Le Conte de Bievre, _Les Deux Aspasies_ (1736); J.B. Capefigue, + _Aspasie et le siecle de Pericles_ (1862); L. Becq de Fouquieres. + _Aspasie de Milet_ (1872); H. Houssaye, _Aspasie, Cleopatre, Theodora_ + (1899); R. Hamerling, _Aspasia_ (a romance; Eng. trans. by M.J. + Safford, New York, 1882); J. Donaldson, _Woman_ (1907). Also PERICLES. + + + + +ASPASIUS, a Greek peripatetic philosopher, and a prolific commentator on +Aristotle. He flourished probably towards the close of the 1st century +A.D., or perhaps during the reign of Antoninus Pius. His commentaries on +the _Categories, De Interpretatione, De Sensu_, and other works of +Aristotle are frequently referred to by later writers, but have not come +down to us. Commentaries on Plato, mentioned by Porphyry in his life of +Plotinus, have also been lost. Commentaries on books 1-4, 7 (in part), +and 8 of the _Nicomachean Ethics_ are preserved; that on book 8 was +printed with those of Eustratius and others by Aldus Manutius at Venice +in 1536. They were partly (2-4) translated into Latin by Felicianus in +1541, and have frequently been republished, but their authenticity has +been disputed. The most recent edition is by G. Heylbut in _Commentaria +in Aristotelem Graeca_, xix. 1 (Berlin, 1889). + +Another ASPASIUS, in the 3rd century A.D., was a Roman sophist and +rhetorician, son or pupil of the rhetorician Demetrianus. He taught +rhetoric in Rome, and filled the chair of rhetoric founded by Vespasian. +He was secretary to the emperor Maximin. His orations, which are praised +for their style, are lost. + + + + +ASPEN, an important section of the poplar genus (_Populus_) of which the +common aspen of Europe, _P. tremula_, may be taken as the type,--a tall +fast-growing tree with rather slender trunk, and grey bark becoming +rugged when old. The roundish leaves, toothed on the margin, are +slightly downy when young, but afterwards smooth, dark green on the +upper and greyish green on the lower surface; the long slender petioles, +much flattened towards the outer end, allow of free lateral motion by +the lightest breeze, giving the foliage its well-known tremulous +character. By their friction on each other the leaves give rise to a +rustling sound. It is supposed that the mulberry trees (_Becaim_) +mentioned in 1 Chronicles xiv. 14, 15 were really aspen trees. The +flowers, which appear in March and April, are borne on pendulous hairy +catkins, 2-3 in. long; male and female catkins are, as in the other +species of the genus, on distinct trees. + +The aspen is found in moist places, sometimes at a considerable +elevation, 1600 ft. or more, in Scotland. It is an abundant tree in the +northern parts of Britain, even as far as Sutherland, and is +occasionally found in the coppices of the southern counties, but in +these latter habitats seldom reaches any large size; throughout northern +Europe it abounds in the forests,--in Lapland flourishing even in 70 +deg. N. lat., while in Siberia its range extends to the Arctic Circle; +in Norway its upper limit is said to coincide with that of the pine; +trees exist near the western coast having stems 15 ft. in circumference. +The wood of the aspen is very light and soft, though tough; it is +employed by coopers, chiefly for pails and herring-casks; it is also +made into butchers' trays, pack-saddles, and various articles for which +its lightness recommends it; sabots are also made of it in France, and +in medieval days it was valued for arrows, especially for those used in +target practice; the bark is used for tanning in northern countries; +cattle and deer browse greedily on the young shoots and abundant +suckers. Aspen wood makes but indifferent fuel, but charcoal prepared +from it is light and friable, and has been employed in gunpowder +manufacture. The powdered bark is sometimes given to horses as a +vermifuge; it possesses likewise tonic and febrifugal properties, +containing a considerable amount of salicin. The aspen is readily +propagated either by cuttings or suckers, but has been but little +planted of late years in Britain. _P. trepida_, or _tremuloides_. is +closely allied to the European aspen, being chiefly distinguished by its +more pointed leaves; it is a native of most parts of Canada and the +United States, extending northwards as far as Great Slave Lake. The wood +is soft and neither strong nor durable; it burns better in the green +state than that of most trees, and is often used by the hunters of the +North-West as fuel; split into thin layers, it was formerly employed in +the United States for bonnet and hat making. It is largely manufactured +into wood-pulp for paper-making. The bark is of some value as a tonic +and febrifuge. _P. grandidentata_, the large-leaved American aspen, has +ovate or roundish leaves deeply and irregularly serrated on the margin. +The wood is light, soft and close-grained, but not strong. In northern +New England and Canada it is largely manufactured into wood-pulp; it is +occasionally used in turnery and for wooden-ware. + + + + +ASPENDUS (mod. _Balkis Kale_, or, more anciently in the native language, +ESTVEDYS (whence the adjective _Estvedijys_ on coins), an ancient city +of Pamphylia, very strongly situated on an isolated hill on the right +bank of the Eurymedon at the point where the river issues from the +Taurus. The sea is now about 7 m. distant, and the river is navigable +only for about 2 m. from the mouth; but in the time of Thucydides ships +could anchor off Aspendus. Really of pre-Hellenic date, the place +claimed to be an Argive colony. It derived wealth from great _salines_ +and from a trade in oil and wool, to which the wide range of its +admirable coinage bears witness from the 5th century B.C. onwards. There +Alcibiades met the satrap Tissaphernes in 411 B.C., and thence succeeded +in getting the Phoenician fleet, intended to co-operate with Sparta, +sent back home. The Athenian, Thrasybulus, after obtaining contributions +from Aspendus in 389, was murdered by the inhabitants. The city bought +off Alexander in 333, but, not keeping faith, was forcibly occupied by +the conqueror. In due course it passed from Pergamene to Roman dominion, +and according to Cicero, was plundered of many artistic treasures by +Verres. It was ranked by Philostratus the third city of Pamphylia, and +in Byzantine times seems to have been known as Primopolis, under which +name its bishop signed at Ephesus in A.D. 431. In medieval times it was +evidently still a strong place, but it has now sunk, in the general +decay of Pamphylia, to a wretched hamlet. + +The ruins still extant are very remarkable, and, with the noble Roman +theatre, the finest in the world, have earned for the place (as is the +case with certain other great monuments) a legendary connexion with +Solomon's Sheban queen. On the summit of the hillock, surrounded by a +wall with three gates, lie the remains of the city. The public buildings +round the forum can all be traced, and parts of them are standing to a +considerable height. They consist of a fine nympheum on the north with a +covered theatre behind it, covered market halls on the west, and a +peristyle hall and a basilica on the east. In the plain below are large +thermae, and ruins of a splendid aqueduct. But all else seems +insignificant beside the huge theatre, half hollowed out of the +north-east flank of the hill. This was first published by C.F.M. Texier +in 1849, and has now been completely planned, &c., by Count +Lanckoronski's expedition in 1884. It is built of local conglomerate and +is in marvellous preservation. Erected to the honour of the emperors +Marcus Aurelius and L. Verus by the architect Zeno, for the heirs of a +local Roman citizen (as an inscription repeated over both portals +attests), its auditorium has a circuit of 313.17 feet. There are forty +tiers of seating, divided by one _diazoma_, and crowned by an arched +gallery of rather later date, repaired in places with brick. This +auditorium held 7500 spectators. The seats are not perfect, but so +nearly so as to appear practically intact. The wooden stage has, of +course, perished, but all its supporting structures are in place, and +the great scena wall stands to its full height, and produces a +magnificent impression whether from within or from without. Inwardly it +was decorated with two orders of columns one above the other, with rich +entablatures, much of which survives. In the _tympanum_ is a relief of +Bacchus (wrongly supposed to be of a female, and called the Bal-Kis, +i.e. "Honey Girl"). The position of the sounding board above the stage +is apparent. Under the forepart of the auditorium, built out from the +hill, are immense vaults. The whole structure was enclosed within one +great wall, pierced with numerous windows. This structure was probably +put to some ecclesiastical Byzantine use, as certain mutilated heads of +saints appear upon it; and later it became a fortress and received +certain additions. It is now under the care of the local _agha_ and not +allowed to be plundered for building stone. + + See C. Lanckoronski, _Villes de la Pamphylie et de la Pisidie_, i. + (1890). (D. G. H.) + + + + +ASPER, AEMILIUS, Latin grammarian, possibly lived in the 2nd century +A.D. He wrote commentaries on Terence, Sallust and Virgil. Numerous +fragments of the last show that as both critic and commentator he +possessed good judgment and taste. They are printed in Keil, _Probi in +Vergilii Bucolica Commentarius_ (1848); see also Suringar, _Historia +Critica Scholiastarum Latinorum_ (1834); Grafenhan, _Geschichte der +klassischen Philologie im Alterthum._ iv. (1843-1850). Two short +grammatical treatises, extant under the name of Asper, and of very +little value, have nothing to do with the commentator, but belong to a +much later date--the time of Priscian (6th century). Both are printed in +Keil, _Grammatici Latini_. See also Schanz, _Geschichte der romischen +Litteratur_, S 598. + + + + +ASPER, HANS (1499-1571), Swiss painter, was born and died at Zurich. He +wrought in a great variety of styles, but excelled chiefly in flower and +fruit pieces, and in portrait-painting. Many of his pictures have +perished, but his style may be judged from the illustrations to +Gessner's _Historia Animalium_, for which he is said to have furnished +the designs, and from portraits of Zwingli and his daughter Regula +Gwalter, which are preserved in the public library of Zurich. It has +been usual to class Asper among the pupils and imitators of Holbein, but +an inspection of his works is sufficient to show that this is a mistake. +Though Asper was held in high reputation by his fellow-citizens, who +elected him a member of the Great Council, and had a medal struck in his +honour, he seems to have died in poverty. + + + + +ASPERGES ("thou wilt sprinkle," from the Latin verb _aspergere_), the +ceremony of sprinkling the people with holy water before High Mass in +the Roman Catholic Church, so called from the first word of the verse +(Ps. iv. 9) _Asperges me, Domini, hyssopo et mundabor_, with which the +priest begins the ceremony. The brush used for sprinkling is an +aspergill (_aspergillum_), or aspersoir, and the vessel for this water +an _aspersorium_. The act of sprinkling the water is called _aspersion_. + + + + +ASPERN-ESSLING, BATTLE OF (1809), a battle fought on the 21st and 22nd +of May 1809 between the French and their allies under Napoleon and the +Austrians commanded by the archduke Charles (see NAPOLEONIC CAMPAIGNS). +At the time of the battle Napoleon was in possession of Vienna, the +bridges over the Danube had been broken, and the archduke's army was on +and about the Bisamberg, a mountain near Korneuburg, on the left bank of +the river. The first task of the French was the crossing of the Danube. +Lobau, one of the numerous islands which divide the river into minor +channels, was selected as the point of crossing, careful preparations +were made, and on the night of the 19th-20th of May the French bridged +all the channels from the right bank to Lobau and occupied the island. +By the evening of the 20th great masses of men had been collected there +and the last arm of the Danube, between Lobau and the left bank, +bridged. Massena's corps at once crossed to the left bank and dislodged +the Austrian outposts. Undeterred by the news of heavy attacks on his +rear from Tirol and from Bohemia, Napoleon hurried all available troops +to the bridges, and by daybreak on the 21st, 40,000 men were collected +on the Marchfeld, the broad open plain of the left bank, which was also +to be the scene of the battle of Wagram. The archduke did not resist the +passage; it was his intention, as soon as a large enough force had +crossed, to attack it before the rest of the French army could come to +its assistance. Napoleon had, of course, accepted the risk of such an +attack, but he sought at the same time to minimize it by summoning every +available battalion to the scene. His forces on the Marchfeld were drawn +up in front of the bridges facing north, with their left in the village +of Aspern (Gross-Aspern) and their right in Essling (or Esslingen). Both +places lay close to the Danube and could not therefore be turned; +Aspern, indeed, is actually on the bank of one of the river channels. +But the French had to fill the gap between the villages, and also to +move forward to give room for the supports to form up. Whilst they were +thus engaged the archduke moved to the attack with his whole army in +five columns. Three under Hiller, Bellegarde and Hohenzollern were to +converge upon Aspern, the other two, under Rosenberg, to attack Essling. +The Austrian cavalry was in the centre, ready to move out against any +French cavalry which should attack the heads of the columns. During the +21st the bridges became more and more unsafe, owing to the violence of +the current, but the French crossed without intermission all day and +during the night. + +The battle began at Aspern; Hiller carried the village at the first +rush, but Massena recaptured it, and held his ground with the same +tenacity as he had shown at Genoa in 1800. The French infantry, indeed, +fought on this day with the old stubborn bravery which it had failed to +show in the earlier battles of the year. The three Austrian columns +fighting their hardest through the day were unable to capture more than +half the village; the rest was still held by Massena when night fell. In +the meanwhile nearly all the French infantry posted between the two +villages and in front of the bridges had been drawn into the fight on +either flank. Napoleon therefore, to create a diversion, sent forward +his centre, now consisting only of cavalry, to charge the enemy's +artillery, which was deployed in a long line and firing into Aspern. The +first charge of the French was repulsed, but the second attempt, made by +heavy masses of cuirassiers, was more serious. The French horsemen, +gallantly led, drove off the guns, rode round Hohenzollern's infantry +squares, and routed the cavalry of Lichtenstein, but they were unable to +do more, and in the end they retired to their old position. In the +meanwhile Essling had been the scene of fighting almost as desperate as +that of Aspern. The French cuirassiers made repeated charges on the +flank of Rosenberg's force, and for long delayed the assault, and in the +villages Lannes with a single division made a heroic and successful +resistance, till night ended the battle. The two armies bivouacked on +their ground, and in Aspern the French and Austrians lay within pistol +shot of each other. The latter had fought fully as hard as their +opponents, and Napoleon realized that they were no longer the +professional soldiers of former campaigns. The spirit of the nation was +in them and they fought to kill, not for the honour of their arms. The +emperor was not discouraged, but on the contrary renewed his efforts to +bring up every available man. All through the night more and more French +troops were put across. + +At the earliest dawn of the 22nd the battle was resumed. Massena swiftly +cleared Aspern of the enemy, but at the same time Rosenberg stormed +Essling at last. Lannes, however, resisted desperately, and reinforced +by St Hilaire's division, drove Rosenberg out. In Aspern Massena had +been less fortunate, the counter-attack of Hiller and Bellegarde being +as completely successful as that of Lannes and St Hilaire. Meantime +Napoleon had launched a great attack on the Austrian centre. The whole +of the French centre, with Lannes on the right and the cavalry in +reserve, moved forward. The Austrian line was broken through, between +Rosenberg's right and Hohenzollern's left, and the French squadrons +poured into the gap. Victory was almost won when the archduke brought up +his last reserve, himself leading on his soldiers with a colour in his +hand. Lannes was checked, and with his repulse the impetus of the attack +died out all along the line. Aspern had been lost, and graver news +reached Napoleon at the critical moment. The Danube bridges, which had +broken down once already, had at last been cut by heavy barges, which +had been set adrift down stream for the purpose by the Austrians. +Napoleon at once suspended the attack. Essling now fell to another +assault of Rosenberg, and though again the French, this time part of the +Guard, drove him out, the Austrian general then directed his efforts on +the flank of the French centre, slowly retiring on the bridges. The +retirement was terribly costly, and but for the steadiness of Lannes the +French must have been driven into the Danube, for the archduke's last +effort to break down their resistance was made with the utmost fury. +Only the complete exhaustion of both sides put an end to the fighting. +The French lost 44,000 out of 90,000 successively engaged, and amongst +the killed were Lannes and St Hilaire. The Austrians, 75,000 strong, +lost 23,360. Even this, the first great defeat of Napoleon, did not +shake his resolution. The beaten forces were at last withdrawn safely +into the island. On the night of the 22nd the great bridge was repaired, +and the army awaited the arrival of reinforcements, not in Vienna, but +in Lobau. + + See sketch map in article WAGRAM. + + + + +ASPHALT, or ASPHALTUM. The solid or semi-solid kinds of bitumen (q.v.) +were termed [Greek: asphaltos] by the Greeks; and by some ancient +classical writers the name of _pissasphaltum_ ([Greek: pissa], pitch) +was also sometimes employed. The asphalt of the Dead Sea (known as +_Lacus Asphaltites_) received considerable notice from early travellers, +and Diodorus the historian states that the inhabitants of the +surrounding parts were accustomed to collect it for use in Egypt for +embalming. In common with other forms of bitumen, asphalt is very widely +distributed geographically and occurs in greater or less quantity in +rocks of all ages. There is some divergence in the views expressed as to +the precise manner of its production, but it may certainly be said that +the principal asphalt deposits are merely the result of the evaporation +and oxidation of liquid petroleum which has escaped from outcropping +strata. The celebrated Pitch Lake of Trinidad was long regarded as the +largest deposit of asphalt in existence, but it is said to be exceeded +in area, if not in depth also, by one in Venezuela. The Trinidad "Lake" +has an area of 99.3 acres, and is sufficiently firm in places to support +a team of horses. The deposit is worked with picks to a depth of a foot +or two, and the excavations soon become filled up by the plastic +material flowing in from below and hardening. The depth of the deposit +is not accurately known. The surface is not level but is composed of +irregularly tumescent masses of various sizes, each said to be subject +to independent motion, whereby the interior of each rises and flows +centrifugally towards the edges. As the spaces between them are always +filled with water, these masses are prevented from coalescing. The +softer parts of the lake constantly evolve gas, which is stated to +consist largely of carbon dioxide and sulphuretted hydrogen, and the +pitch, which is honeycombed with gas-cavities, continues to exhibit this +action for some time after its removal from the lake. The working of the +deposit is in the hands of the New Trinidad Asphalt Company, who hold +the concession up to the year 1930 on payment to the government of a +minimum royalty of L10,000 a year. A circular line of tramway, supported +on palm-leaves, has been laid on the lake to facilitate the removal of +the asphalt. Very large quantities are exported for paving and other +purposes, the annual shipments amounting to about 130,000 tons from the +lake and about 30,000 tons from other properties. The amount of asphalt +in the lake has been estimated at 158,400 tons for each foot of depth, +and if the average depth be taken at 20 ft. this would give a total of +3,168,000 tons; but in 1908, though 1,885,600 tons had been removed in +the previous thirty-five years, there was but little evidence of +reduction in the quantity. The Venezuelan deposit already referred to is +in the state of Bermudez, and the area of it is reported to be more than +1000 acres. The asphalt of Cuba is a well-known article of commerce, of +which 7252 tons was exported to the United States in 1902. The principal +deposits are near the harbour of Cardenas (70 ft. thick), in the Pinar +del Rio, near Havana (18 ft. thick), at Canas Tomasita (105 ft. thick); +and a specially pure variety near Vuelta. + +The comparative composition of Trinidad and Cuba asphalt is given in the +following table:-- + + +---------------------+---------+------------+------------+ + | | Refined | Refined | Refined | + | |Trinidad,|Cuba (soft),|Cuba (hard),| + | | Melting | Melting | Melting | + | |point 185| point 115 | point 160 | + | | deg. F. | deg. F. | deg. F. | + +---------------------+---------+------------+------------+ + | Water. | 0.17 | 0.13 | 0.11 | + | Volatile bitumen. | 51.81 | 64.03 | 8.34 | + | Sulphur. | 10.00 | 8.35 | 8.92 | + | Ash (earthy matter).| 28.30 | 19.51 | 16.60 | + | Fixed carbon. | 9.72 | 7.98 | 66.03 | + | +---------+------------+------------+ + | | 100.00 | 100.00 | 100.00 | + +---------------------+---------+------------+------------+ + +The chemical composition of Trinidad asphalt has been given as:-- + + +-------+------+------+------+-------+ + | C. | H. | N. | O. | S. | + +-------+------+------+------+-------+ + | 80.32 | 6.30 | 0.50 | 1.40 | 11.48 | + +-------+------+------+------+-------+ + +The following is a comparison of Trinidad and Venezuela (Bermudez) +asphalt:-- + + Refined Refined + Trinidad. Bermudez. + Specific gravity at 60 deg. F. 1.373 1.071 + Bitumen soluble in carbon bisulphide. 61.507 % 92.22 % + Mineral matter (ash). 34.51 " 1.50 " + Non-bituminous organic matter. 3.983 " 1.28 " + Portion of total bitumen soluble in alcohol. 8.24 " 11.66 " + Portion of total bitumen soluble in ether. 80.01 " 81.63 " + Loss at 212 deg. F. 0.65 " 1.37 " + Loss at 400 deg. F. in ten hours. 7.98 " 17.80 " + Loss at 400 deg. on total bitumen. 12.811 " 18.308 " + Evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen at 410 deg. F. none at 437 deg. F. + Softening-point. 160 deg. F. " 113 deg. F. + Flowing-point. 192 deg. F. " 150 deg. F. + +Asphalt in its purest forms is generally black or blackish brown in +colour, and is frequently brittle at ordinary temperatures. Apart from +its principal use in the manufacture of paving materials, it is largely +employed in building as a "damp-course" and as a water-excluding coating +for concrete floors, as well as in the manufacture of roofing-felt. It +also enters largely into the composition of black varnish. The material +chiefly used in the construction of asphalt roadways is an asphaltic or +bituminous limestone found in the Val de Travers, canton of Neuchatel; +in the neighbourhood of Seyssel, department of Ain; at Limmer, near the +city of Hanover; and elsewhere. The proportion of bitumen present in +asphalt rock usually ranges from 7 to 20%, but it is found that rock +containing more than 11% cannot be satisfactorily used for street +pavements, and it is accordingly customary to mix the richer and poorer +varieties in fine powder in such respective quantities that the +proportion of bitumen present is from 9 to 10%. The richer rock is +utilized as a source of asphalt "mastic," which is employed for +footpaths, floors, roofs, &c. Excellent foundations for steam-hammers, +dynamos and high-speed engines are made of asphaltic concrete. + (B. R.) + + + + +ASPHODEL (_Asphodelus_), a genus of the lily order (Liliaceae), +containing seven species in the Mediterranean region. The plants are +hardy herbaceous perennials with narrow tufted radical leaves and an +elongated stem bearing a handsome spike of white or yellow flowers. +_Asphodelus albus_ and _A. fistulosus_ have white flowers and grow from +1-1/2 to 2 ft. high; _A. ramosus_ is a larger plant, the large white +flowers of which have a reddish-brown line in the middle of each +segment. Bog-asphodel (_Narthecium ossifragum_), a member of the same +family, is a small herb common in boggy places in Britain, with rigid +narrow radical leaves and a stem bearing a raceme of small golden yellow +flowers. + +In Greek legend the asphodel is the most famous of the plants connected +with the dead and the underworld. Homer describes it as covering the +great meadow ([Greek: asphodelos leimon]), the haunt of the dead (_Od._ +xi. 539, 573; xxiv. 13). It was planted on graves, and is often +connected with Persephone, who appears crowned with a garland of +asphodels. Its general connexion with death is due no doubt to the +greyish colour of its leaves and its yellowish flowers, which suggest +the gloom of the underworld and the pallor of death. The roots were +eaten by the poorer Greeks; hence such food was thought good enough for +the shades (cf. Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 41; Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxi. +17 [68]; Lucian, _De luctu_, 19). The asphodel was also supposed to be a +remedy for poisonous snake-bites and a specific against sorcery; it was +fatal to mice, but preserved pigs from disease. The Libyan nomads made +their huts of asphodel stalks (cf. Herod. iv. 190). + +No satisfactory derivation of the word is suggested. The English word +"daffodil" is a perversion of "asphodel," formerly written "affodil." +The d may come from the French _fleur d'affodille_. It is no part of the +word philologically. + + See Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencyclopadie_, s.v.; H.O. Lenz, _Botanik der + alten Griechen und Romer_ (1859); J. Murr, _Die Pflanzenwelt in der + griechischen Mythologie_ (1890). + + + + +ASPHYXIA (Gr. [Greek: a-] priv., [Greek: sphaexis], a pulse), a term in +medicine, literally signifying loss of pulsation, which is applied to +describe the arrestment of the function of respiration from some +hindrance to the entrance of air into the lungs. (See RESPIRATORY +SYSTEM: _Pathology_.) + + + + +ASPIC (French, from Lat. _aspis_), an asp or viper found in Egypt whose +bite is supposed to cause a swift and easy death, hence poetically a +term for any venomous snake. From association, perhaps, with the +coldness of the aspic (as in the French proverb, _froid comme un +aspic_), the word is used for a savoury jelly containing meat, fish or +eggs, &c. It is also the botanical name of the _Lavandula spica_, or +spikenard, from which a white, aromatic and highly inflammable oil is +distilled, called _huile d'aspic_. + + + + +ASPIDISTRA, a small genus of the lily order (Liliaceae), native of the +Himalayas, China and Japan. _Aspidistra lurida_ is a favourite +pot-plant, bearing large green or white-striped leaves on an underground +stem, and small dark purplish, cup-shaped flowers close to the ground. + + + + +ASPIROTRICHACEAE (O. Butschli), an order of Ciliate Infusoria, +characterized by an investment, general or partial, of nearly uniform +cilia, without any distinct adoral wreath, and one or two adoral endoral +undulating membranes. With the Gymnostomaceae it formed the Holotricha +of Stein. + + + + +ASPIROZ, MANUEL DE (1836-1905), Mexican statesman and diplomatist, was +born at Puebla, and educated at the university of Mexico, where he took +his degree in 1855. He took part in the war against the emperor +Maximilian, and in 1867, on the establishment of the republic, was +appointed assistant secretary of state for foreign affairs. In 1873 he +became Mexican consul at San Francisco, where he remained till his +election to the Senate in 1875. He was professor of jurisprudence at the +college of Puebla from 1883 to 1890, when he was again appointed +assistant secretary of foreign affairs. From 1899 till he died in 1905 +he was Mexican ambassador to the United States. Among his writings may +be mentioned; _Codigo de extranjeria de los Estados-Unidos Mexicanos_ +(1876), and _La liberdad civil como base del derecho internacional +privado_ (1896). + + + + +ASPROMONTE, a mountain of Calabria, Italy, rising behind Reggio di +Calabria, the west extremity of the Sila range. The highest point is +6420 ft. and the slopes are clad with forest. Here Garibaldi was wounded +and taken prisoner by the Italian troops under Pallavicini in 1862. + + + + +ASQUITH, HERBERT HENRY (1852- ), English statesman, son of Joseph +Dixon Asquith, was born at Morley, Yorkshire, on the 12th of September +1852. He came of a middle-class Yorkshire family of pronounced Liberal +and Nonconformist views, and was educated under Dr Edwin Abbott at the +City of London school, from which he went as a scholar to Balliol, +Oxford; there he had a distinguished career, taking a first-class in +classics, winning the Craven scholarship and being elected a fellow of +his college. He was president of the Union, and impressed all his +contemporaries with his intellectual ability, Dr Jowett himself +confidently predicting his signal success in any career he adopted. On +leaving Oxford he went to the bar, and as early as 1890 became a K.C. In +1887 he unsuccessfully defended Mr R.B. Cunninghame Graham and Mr John +Burns for their share in the riot in Trafalgar Square; and in 1889 he +was junior to Sir Charles (afterwards Lord) Russell as counsel for the +Irish Nationalists before the Parnell Commission--an association +afterwards bitterly commented upon by Mr T. Healy in the House of +Commons (March 30, 1908). But though he attained a fair practice at the +bar, and was recognized as a lawyer of unusual mental distinction and +clarity, his forensic success was not nearly so conspicuous as that of +some of his contemporaries. His ambitions lay rather in the direction of +the House of Commons. He had taken a prominent part in politics as a +Liberal since his university days, especially in work for the Eighty +Club, and in 1886 was elected member of parliament for East Fife, a seat +which he retained in subsequent elections. Mr Gladstone was attracted by +his vigorous ability as a speaker, and his evidence of sound political +judgment; and in August 1892, though comparatively unknown to the +general public, he was selected to move the vote of want of confidence +which overthrew Lord Salisbury's government, and was made home secretary +in the new Liberal ministry. At the Home Office he proved his capacity +as an administrator; he was the first to appoint women as factory +inspectors, and he was responsible for opening Trafalgar Square to +Labour demonstrations; but he firmly refused to sanction the proposed +amnesty for the dynamiters, and he was violently abused by extremists on +account of the shooting of two men by the military at the strike riot at +Featherstone in August 1893. It was he who coined the phrase +(Birmingham, 1894) as to the government's "ploughing the sands" in their +endeavour to pass Liberal legislation with a hostile House of Lords. His +Employers' Liability Bill 1893 was lost because the government refused +to accept the Lords' amendment as to "contracting-out." His suspensory +bill, with a view to the disestablishment of the church in Wales, was +abortive (1895), but it served to recommend him to the Welsh +Nationalists as well as to the disestablishment party in England and +Scotland. During his three years of office he more than confirmed the +high opinion formed of his abilities. + +The Liberal defeat in 1895 left him out of office for eleven years. He +had married Miss Helen Melland in 1877, and was left with a family when +she died in 1891; in 1894, however, he had married again, his second +wife being the accomplished Miss Margaret ("Margot") Tennant, daughter +of the wealthy ironmaster, Sir Charles Tennant, Bart., a lady well known +in London society as a member of the coterie known as "Souls," and +commonly identified as the original of Mr E.F. Benson's _Dodo_ (1893). +On leaving the Home Office in 1895, Mr Asquith decided to return to his +work at the bar, a course which excited much comment, since it was +unprecedented that a minister who had exercised judicial functions in +that capacity should take up again the position of an advocate; but it +was obvious that to maintain the tradition was difficult in the case of +a man who had no sufficient independent means. During the years of +Unionist ascendancy Mr Asquith divided his energies between his legal +work and politics; but his adhesion to Lord Rosebery (q.v.) as a Liberal +Imperialist at the time of the Boer War, while it strengthened his +position in the eyes of the public, put him in some difficulty with his +own party, led as it was by Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman (q.v.), who was +identified with the "pro-Boer" policy. He was one of the founders of the +Liberal League, and his courageous definiteness of view and intellectual +vigour marked him out as Lord Rosebery's chief lieutenant if that +statesman should ever return to power. He thus became identified with +the Roseberyite attitude towards Irish Home Rule; and, while he +continued to uphold the Gladstonian policy in theory, in practice the +Irish Nationalists felt that very little could be expected from his +advocacy. In spite of his Imperialist views, however, he did much to +smooth over the party difficulties, and when the tariff-reform movement +began in 1903, he seized the opportunity for rallying the Liberals to +the banner of free-trade and championing the "orthodox" English +political economy, on which indeed he had been a lecturer in his younger +days. During the critical years of Mr Chamberlain's crusade (1903-1906) +he made himself the chief spokesman of the Liberal party, delivering a +series of speeches in answer to those of the tariff-reform leader; and +his persistent following and answering of Mr Chamberlain had undoubted +effect. He also made useful party capital out of the necessity for +financial retrenchment, owing to the large increase in public +expenditure, maintained by the Unionist government even after the Boer +War was over; and his mastery of statistical detail and argument made +his appointment as chancellor of the exchequer part of the natural order +of things when in December 1905 Mr Balfour resigned and Sir Henry +Campbell-Bannerman (q.v.) became prime minister. + +During Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's premiership, Mr Asquith gradually +rose in political importance, and in 1907 the prime minister's +ill-health resulted in much of the leadership in the Commons devolving +on the chancellor of the exchequer. At first the party as a whole had +regarded him somewhat coldly. And his unbending common-sense, and +sobriety of criticism in matters which deeply interested the less +academic Radicals who were enthusiasts for extreme courses, would have +made the parliamentary situation difficult but for the exceptional +popularity of the prime minister. In the autumn of 1907, however, as the +latter's retention of office became more and more improbable, it became +evident that no other possible successor had equal qualifications. The +session of 1908 opened with Mr Asquith acting avowedly as the prime +minister's deputy, and the course of business was itself of a nature to +emphasize his claims. After two rather humdrum budgets he was pledged to +inaugurate a system of old-age pensions (forming the chief feature of +the budget of 1908, personally introduced by him at the beginning of +May), and his speech in April on the Licensing Bill was a triumph of +clear exposition, though later in the year, after passing the Commons, +it was thrown out by the Lords. On the 5th of April it was announced +that Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman had resigned and Mr Asquith been sent +for by the king. As the latter was staying at Biarritz, the +unprecedented course was followed of Mr Asquith journeying there for the +purpose, and on the 8th he resigned the chancellorship of the exchequer +and kissed hands as prime minister. The names of the new cabinet were +announced on the 13th. The new appointments were: Lord Tweedmouth as +lord president of the council (instead of the admiralty); Lord Crewe as +colonial secretary (instead of lord president of the council); Mr D. +Lloyd George, chancellor of the exchequer (transferred from the Board of +Trade); Mr R. McKenna, first lord of the admiralty (instead of minister +of education); Mr Winston Churchill, president of the Board of Trade; +and Mr Walter Runciman, minister of education. Lord Elgin ceased to be +colonial secretary, but Lord Loreburn (lord chancellor), Lord Ripon +(lord privy seal), Mr H. Gladstone (Home Office), Sir E. Grey (foreign +affairs), Mr Haldane (War Office), Mr Sinclair (secretary for Scotland; +created in 1909 Lord Pentland), Mr Burns (Local Government Board), Lord +Carrington (Board of Agriculture), Mr Birrell (Irish secretary), Mr S. +Buxton (postmaster-general), Mr L. Harcourt (commissioner of works), Mr +John Morley (India) and Sir Henry Fowler (duchy of Lancaster) retained +their offices, the two latter being created peers. The Budget (see LLOYD +GEORGE) was the sole feature of political interest in 1909, and its +rejection in December by the Lords led to the general election of +January 1910, which left the Liberals and Unionists practically equal, +with the Labour and Irish parties dominating the situation (L. 275, U. +273, Lab. 40, I. 82). Mr Asquith was in a difficult position, but the +ministry remained in office; and he had developed a concentration of +forces with a view to attacking the veto of the House of Lords (see +PARLIAMENT), when the death of the king in May caused a suspension of +hostilities. A conference between the leaders on both sides was +arranged, to discuss whether any compromise was possible, and +controversy was postponed to an autumn session. (H. Ch.) + + + + +ASS (O.E. _assa_; Lat. _asinus_), a common name (the synonym "donkey" is +supposed to be derived either by analogy from "monkey," or from the +Christian name Duncan; cf. Neddy, Jack, Dicky, &c.) for different +varieties of the sub-genus _Asinus_, belonging to the horse tribe, and +especially for the domestic ass; it differs from the horse in its +smaller size, long ears, the character of its tail, fur and markings, +and its proverbial dulness and obstinacy. The ancient Egyptians +symbolized an ignorant person by the head and ears of an ass, and the +Romans thought it a bad omen to meet one. In the middle ages the Germans +of Westphalia made the ass the symbol of St Thomas, the incredulous +apostle; the boy who was last to enter school on St Thomas' day was +called the "Ass Thomas" (Gubernatis's _Zoological Mythology_, i. 362). +The foolishness and obstinacy of the ass has caused the name to be +transferred metaphorically to human beings; and the fifth proposition of +Book i. of Euclid is known as the _Pons Asinorum_, bridge of asses. + + + + +ASS, FEAST OF THE, formerly a festival in northern France, primarily in +commemoration of the biblical flight into Egypt, and usually held on the +14th of January. A girl with a baby at her breast and seated on an ass +splendidly caparisoned was led through the town to the church, and there +placed at the gospel side of the altar while mass was said. The ceremony +degenerated into a burlesque in which the ass of the flight became +confused with Balaam's ass. So scandalous became the popular revels +associated with it, that the celebration was prohibited by the church in +the 15th century. (See FOOLS, FEAST OF.) + + + + +ASSAB, a bay and port on the African shore of the Red Sea, 60 m. N. of +the strait of Bab-el Mandeb. Assab Bay was the first territory acquired +by Italy in Africa. Bought from the sultan of Raheita in 1870, it was +not occupied until 1880. (See ERITREA, and ITALY: _History_.) + + + + +ASSAM, a former province of British India, which was amalgamated in 1905 +with "Eastern Bengal and Assam" (q.v.). Area 56,243 sq. m.; pop. (1901) +6,126,343. The province of Assam lies on the N.E. border of Bengal, on +the extreme frontier of the Indian empire, with Bhutan and Tibet beyond +it on the N., and Burma and Manipur on the E. It comprises the valleys +of the Brahmaputra and Surma rivers, together with the mountainous +watershed which intervenes between them. It is situated between 24 deg. +0' and 28 deg. 17' N. lat., and between 89 deg. 46' and 97 deg. 5' E. +long. It is bounded on the N. by the eastern section of the great +Himalayan range, the frontier tribes from west to east being +successively Bhutias, Akas, Daphlas, Miris, Abors and Mishmis; on the +N.E. by the Mishmi hills, which sweep round the head of the Brahmaputra +valley; on the E. by the unexplored mountains that mark the frontier of +Burma, by the hills occupied by the independent Naga tribes and by the +state of Manipur; on the S. by the Lushai hills, the state of Hill +Tippera, and the Bengal district of Tippera; and on the W. by the Bengal +districts of Mymensingh and Rangpur, the state of Kuch Behar and +Jalpaiguri district. + +_Natural Divisions._--Assam is naturally divided into three distinct +tracts, the Brahmaputra valley, the Surma valley and the hill ranges +between the two. The Brahmaputra valley is an alluvial plain, about 450 +m. in length, with an average breadth of 50 m., lying almost east and +west. To the north is the main chain of the Himalayas, the lower ranges +of which rise abruptly from the plain; to the south is the great +elevated plateau or succession of plateaus known as the Assam range. The +various portions of this range are called by the names of the tribes who +inhabit them--the Garo, the Khasi, the Jaintia, the North Cachar and the +Naga hills. The range as a whole is joined at its eastern extremity by +the Patkai to the Himalayan system, and by the mountains of Manipur to +the Arakan Yoma. The highest points in the range are Nokrek peak (4600 +ft.) in the Garo hills, Shillong peak (6450 ft.) in the Khasi-Jaintia +hills, and Japva peak (nearly 10,000 ft.) in the Naga hills. South of +the range comes the third division of the province, the Surma valley, +comprising the two districts of Cachar and Sylhet. The Surma valley is +much smaller than the Brahmaputra valley, covering only 7506 against +24,283 sq. m.; its mean elevation is much lower and its rivers are more +sluggish. + + _Physical Aspects._--Assam is a fertile series of valleys, with the + great channel of the Brahmaputra (literally, the _Son of Brahma_) + flowing down its middle, and an infinite number of tributaries and + watercourses pouring into it from the mountains on either side. The + Brahmaputra spreads out in a sheet of water several miles broad during + the rainy season, and in its course through Assam forms a number of + islands in its bed. Rising in the Tibetan plateau, far to the north of + the Himalayas, and skirting round their eastern passes not far from + the Yang-tsze-kiang and the great river of Cambodia, it enters Assam + by a series of waterfalls and rapids, amid vast boulders and + accumulations of rocks. The gorge, situated in Lakhimpur district, + through which the southernmost branch of the Brahmaputra enters, has + from time immemorial been held in reverence by the Hindus. It is + called the Brahmakunda or Parasuramkunda; and although the journey to + it is both difficult and dangerous, it is annually visited by + thousands of devotees. After a rapid course westwards down the whole + length of the Assam valley, the Brahmaputra turns sharply to the + south, spreading itself over the alluvial districts of the Bengal + delta, and, after several changes of name, ends its course of 1800 m. + in the Bay of Bengal. Its first tributaries in Assam, after crossing + the frontier, are the Kundil and the Digaru, flowing from the Mishmi + hills on the north, and the Tengapani and Dihing, which take their + rise on the Singpho hills to the south-east. Shortly afterwards it + receives the Dihang, flowing from the north-east; but its principal + confluent is the Dihong, which, deriving its origin, under the name of + the Tsangpo, from a spot in the vicinity of the source of the Sutlej, + flows in a direction precisely opposite to that river, and traversing + the table-land of Tibet, at the back of the great Himalaya range, + falls into the Brahmaputra in 27 deg. 48' N. lat., 95 deg. 26' E. + long., after a course of nearly 1000 m. Doubts were long entertained + whether the Dihong could be justly regarded as the continuation of the + Tsangpo, but these were practically set at rest by the voyage of F.J. + Needham in 1886. Below the confluence, the united stream flows in a + south-westerly direction, forming the boundary between the districts + of Lakhimpur and Darrang, situated on its northern bank, and those of + Sibsagar and Nowgong on the south; and finally bisecting Kamrup, it + crosses over the frontier of the province and passes into Bengal. In + its course it receives on the left side the Dihing, a river having its + rise at the south-eastern angle of the province; and lower down, on + the opposite side, it parts with a considerable offset termed the Buri + Lohir, which, however, reunites with the Brahmaputra 60 m. below the + point of divergence, bearing with it the additional waters of the + Subansiri, flowing from Tibet. A second offset, under the name of the + Kalang river, rejoins the parent stream a short distance above the + town of Gauhati. The remaining rivers are too numerous to be + particularized. The streams of the south are not rapid, and have no + considerable current until May or June. Among the islands formed by + the intersection and confluence of the rivers is Majuli, or the Great + Island, as it is called by way of pre-eminence. This island extends 55 + m. in length by about 10 in breadth, and is formed by the Brahmaputra + on the south-east and the Buri Lohit river on the north-west. In the + upper part of the valley, towards the gorge where the Brahmaputra + enters, the country is varied and picturesque, walled in on the north + and east by the Himalayas, and thickly wooded from the base to the + snow-line. On either bank of the Brahmaputra a long narrow strip of + plain rises almost imperceptibly to the foot of the hills. Gigantic + reeds and grasses occupy the low lands near the banks of the great + river; expanses of fertile rice-land come next; a little higher up, + dotted with villages encircled by groves of bamboos and fruit trees of + great size and beauty, the dark forests succeed, covering the interior + table-land and mountains. The country in the vicinity of the large + rivers is flat, and impenetrable from dense tangled jungle, with the + exception of some very low-lying tracts which are either permanent + marshes or are covered with water during the rains. Jungle will not + grow on these depressions, and they are covered either with water, + reeds, high grasses or rice cultivation. On or near such open spaces + are collected all the villages. As the traveller proceeds farther down + the valley, the country gradually opens out into wide plains. In the + western district of Kamrup the country forms one great expanse, with a + few elevated tracts here and there, varying from 200 to 800 ft. in + height. + + _Soils._--The soil is exceedingly rich and well adapted to all kinds + of agricultural purposes, and for the most part is composed of a rich + black loam reposing on a grey sandy clay, though occasionally it + exhibits a light yellow clayey texture. The land may be divided into + three great classes. The first division is composed of hills, the + largest group within the valley being that of the Mikir Mountains, + which stand out upon the plain. Another set of hills project into the + valley at Gauhati. But these latter are rather prolongations of spurs + from the Khasi chain than isolated groups belonging to the plains. The + other hills are all isolated and of small extent. The second division + of the lands is the well-raised part of the valley whose level lies + above the ordinary inundations of the Brahmaputra. The channels of + some of the hill streams, however, are of so little depth that the + highest lands in their neighbourhood are liable to sudden floods. On + the north bank of the great river, lands of this sort run down the + whole length of the valley, except where they are interrupted by the + beds of the hill streams. The breadth of these plains is in some + places very trifling, whilst in others they comprise a tract of many + miles, according to the number and the height of the rocks or hills + that protect them from the aberrations of the river. The alluvial + deposits of the Brahmaputra and of its tributary streams may be + considered as the third general division of lands in Assam. These + lands are very extensive, and present every degree of fertility and + elevation, from the vast _chars_ of pure sand, subject to annual + inundations, to the firm islands, so raised by drift-sand and the + accumulated remains of rank vegetable matter, as no longer to be + liable to flood. The rapidity with which wastes, composed entirely of + sand newly washed forward by the current during floods, become + converted into rich pasture is astonishing. As the freshets begin to + lessen and retire into the deeper channels, the currents form natural + embankments on their edges, preventing the return of a small portion + of water which is thus left stagnant on the sands, and exposed to the + action of the sun's rays. It slowly evaporates, leaving a thin crust + of animal and vegetable matter. This is soon impregnated with the + seeds of the _Saccharum spontaneum_ and other grasses that have been + partly brought by the winds and partly deposited by the water. Such + places are frequented by numerous flocks of aquatic birds, which + resort thither in search of fish and mollusca. As vegetation begins to + appear, herds of wild elephants and buffaloes are attracted by the + supply of food and the solitude of the newly-formed land, and in their + turn contribute to manure the soil. + + _Geology._--Geographically the Assam hills lie in the angle between + the Himalayas and the Burmese ranges, but geologically they belong to + neither. The older rocks are like those of Bengal, and the newer beds + show no sign of either the Himalayan or the Burmese folding--on the + top of the plateau they are nearly horizontal, but along the southern + margin they are bent sharply downwards in a simple monoclinal fold. + The greater part of the mass is composed of gneiss and schists. The + Sylhet traps near the southern margin are correlated with the Rajmahal + traps of Bengal. The older rocks are overlaid unconformably by + Cretaceous beds, consisting chiefly of sandstones with seams of coal, + the whole series thinning rapidly towards the north and thus + indicating the neighbourhood of the old shore-line. The fossils are + very similar to those of the South Indian Cretaceous, but very + different from those of the corresponding beds in the Nerbudda valley. + The overlying Tertiary series includes nummulitic beds and valuable + seams of coal. + + The border ranges of the east and south of Assam belong to the Burmese + system of mountain chains (see BURMA), and consist largely of Tertiary + beds, including the great coal seams of Upper Assam. The Assam valley + is covered by the alluvial deposits of the Brahmaputra. + + Of the mineral productions by far the most valuable is coal. Compared + with the Gondwana coal of the peninsula of India the Tertiary coal + seams of Assam are remarkable for their purity and their extraordinary + thickness. The "Thick Seam" of Margherita, in Upper Assam, averages 50 + ft., and in some places reaches as much as 80 ft. The average + percentage of ash in 27 assays of Assam coal was 3.8 as against 16.3 + in 17 assays of Raniganj coal. The coal seams are commonly associated + with petroleum springs. Gold is found in the alluvial deposits, but + the results of exploration have not been very promising. + + _Earthquakes_.--Assam is liable to earthquakes. There was a severe + earthquake in Cachar on the 10th of January 1869, a severe shock in + Shillong and Gauhati in September 1875, and one in Silchar in October + 1882; but by far the severest shock known is that which occurred on + the evening of 12th June 1897. The area of this seismic disturbance + extended over north-eastern India, from Manipur to Sikkim; but the + focus was in the Khasi and Garo hills. In the station of Shillong + every masonry building was levelled to the ground. Throughout the + country bridges were shattered, roads were broken up like ploughed + fields, and the beds of rivers were dislocated. In the hills there + were terrible landslips, which wrecked the little Cherrapunji railway + and caused 600 deaths. The total mortality recorded was 1542, + including two Europeans at Shillong. The levels of the country were so + affected that the towns of Goalpara and Barpeta became almost + uninhabitable during the rains. + + _Fauna._--The zoology of Assam presents some interesting features. + Wild elephants abound and commit many depredations, entering villages + in large herds, and consuming everything suitable to their tastes. + Many are caught by means of female elephants previously tamed, and + trained to decoy males into the snares prepared for subjecting them to + captivity. A considerable number are tamed and exported from Assam + every year. Many are killed every year in the forests for the sake of + the ivory which they furnish. The government _keddah_ establishment + from Dacca captures large numbers of elephants in the province, and + the right of hunting is also sold by auction to private bidders. The + annual catch of the latter averages about two hundred. The rhinoceros + is found in the denser parts of the forests and generally in swampy + places. This animal is hunted and killed for its skin and its horn. + The skin affords the material for the best shields. The horn is sacred + in the eyes of the natives. Contrary to the usual belief, it is stated + that, if caught young, the rhinoceros is easily tamed and becomes + strongly attached to his keeper. Tigers abound, and though many are + annually destroyed for the sake of the government reward, their + numbers seem scarcely, if at all, to diminish. Leopards and bears are + numerous; and the sand-badger, the _Arctonyx collaris_ of Cuvier, a + small animal somewhat resembling a bear, but having the snout, eyes + and tail of a hog, is found. Among the most formidable animals known + is the wild buffalo or _gaur_ which is of great size, strength and + fierceness. The fox and the jackal exist, and the wild hog is very + abundant. Goats, deer of various kinds, hares, and two or three + species of antelope are found, as are monkeys in great variety. The + porcupine, the squirrel, the civet cat, the ichneumon and the otter + are common. The birds are too various to admit of enumeration. Wild + game is plentiful; pheasants, partridges, snipe and water-fowl of many + descriptions make the country a tempting field for the sportsman. + Vultures and other birds of prey are met with. Crocodiles (commonly + called alligators) swarm in all parts of the Brahmaputra, and are very + destructive to the fish, of which hundreds of varieties are found, and + which supply a valuable article of food. The most destructive of the + _ferae naturae_, as regards human life, are, however, the snakes. Of + these, several poisonous species exist, including the cobra and karait + (_Naja tripudians_ and _Bungarus caeruleus_). The bite of a + fairly-grown healthy serpent of either of these species is deadly; and + it is ascertained that more deaths occur from snake-bite than from all + the other wild beasts put together. Among the non-poisonous serpents + the python ranks first. This is an enormous boa-constrictor of great + length and weight, which drops upon his prey from the branch of a + tree, or steals upon it in the thick grass. He kills his victim by + rolling himself round the body till he breaks its ribs, or suffocates + it by one irresistible convolution round its throat. He seldom or + never attacks human beings unless in self-defence, and loss of life + from this cause is scarcely ever reported. + + _Agriculture._--The principal and almost the only food-grain of the + plains portion of the province is rice. The production of this staple + is carried on generally under the same conditions as in Bengal; but + the times of sowing and reaping and the names given to the several + crops vary much in different parts of the province. In 1901-1902 out + of a total cultivated area of 1,736,000 acres, there were 1,194,000 + acres under rice. In addition jute is grown to a considerable extent + in Goalpara and Sylhet; cotton is grown in large quantities along the + slopes of the Assam range. Rubber is grown in government plantations + and is also brought in by the hill tribes; while lac, mustard and + potatoes are also produced. + + _Tea Plantations._--The most important article of commerce produced in + Assam is tea. The rice crop covers a very great proportion of the + cultivated land, but it is used for local consumption, and the + Brahmaputra valley does not produce enough for its own consumption, + large quantities being imported for the coolies. The tea plantations + are the one great source of wealth to the province, and the + necessities of tea cultivation are the chief stimulants to the + development of Assam. The plant was discovered in 1823 by Mr Robert + Bruce, who had proceeded thither on a mercantile exploration. The + country, however, then formed part of the Burmese dominions. But war + with this monarchy shortly afterwards broke out, and a brother of the + first discoverer, happening to be appointed to the command of a + division of gunboats employed in some part of the operations, followed + up the pursuit of the subject, and obtained several hundred plants and + a considerable quantity of seed. Some specimens were ultimately + forwarded to the superintendent of the botanic garden at Calcutta. In + 1832 Captain F. Jenkins was deputed by the governor-general of India, + Lord William Bentinck, to report upon the resources of the country, + and the tea plant was brought to his especial notice by Mr Bruce; in + 1834 a minute was recorded by the governor-general on the subject, in + which it is stated that his attention had been called to it in 1827 + before his departure from England. In accordance with the views of + that minute, a committee was appointed to prosecute inquiries, and to + promote the cultivation of the plant. Communications were opened with + China with a view to obtain fresh plants and seeds, and a deputation, + composed of gentlemen versed in botanical studies, was despatched to + Assam. Some seeds were obtained from China; but they proved to be of + small importance, as it was clearly ascertained by the members of the + Assam deputation that both the black and the green tea plants were + indigenous here, and might be multiplied to any extent; another result + of the Chinese mission, that of procuring persons skilled in the + cultivation and manufacture of black tea, was of more material + benefit. Subsequently, under Lord Auckland, a further supply of + Chinese cultivators and manufacturers was obtained--men well + acquainted with the processes necessary for the production of green + tea, as the former set were with those requisite for black. In 1838 + the first twelve chests of tea from Assam were received in England. + They had been injured in some degree on the passage, but on samples + being submitted to brokers, and others of long experience and tried + judgment, the reports were highly favourable. It was never, however, + the intention of government to carry on the trade, but to resign it to + private adventure as soon as the experimental course could be fairly + completed. Mercantile associations for the culture and manufacture of + tea in Assam began to be formed as early as 1839; and in 1849 the + government disposed of their establishment, and relinquished the + manufacture to the ordinary operation of commercial enterprise. In + 1851 the crop of the principal company was estimated to produce + 280,000 lb. Since then the enterprise has rapidly developed. Tea is + now cultivated in all the plains district of the provinces. When the + industry was first established, the land which was supposed to be best + for the plant was hill or undulating ground; but now it has been found + in the Surma valley that with good drainage the heaviest crops of tea + can be raised from low-lying land, even such as formerly supported + rice cultivation. At the close of the year 1905 there were 942 gardens + in all, with 422,335 acres, and employing 464,912 coolies. The + majority of gardens are owned by Europeans, 405,486 acres belonging to + them as against 16,849 to Indians. The total out-turn for the province + in 1905 was 193,556,047 lb. Between 1893 and 1898 there was a great + extension of tea cultivation, with the result that the industry began + to suffer from the congestion that follows over-production. Also to + meet the requirements of the industry, an enormous number of coolies + had to be brought into the province from other parts of India, and in + recent years the supply of labour has begun to fall off, causing a + rise in the cost of production. For these reasons there was a crisis + in the tea industry of Assam, which was relieved to some extent by the + reduction of the English duty on tea in 1906. + + _Tea-Garden Coolies._--The labour required on the tea gardens is + almost entirely imported, as the natives of the province are too + prosperous to do such work. During the decade 1891-1901, 596,856 + coolies were imported, or about a tenth of the total population of the + province. The importation of coolies is controlled by an elaborate + system of legislation, which provides for the registration of + contracts, the medical inspection of coolies during the journey, and + supervision over rates of pay, &c., on the gardens. The first labour + act was passed in 1863, and since then the law on the subject has been + changed by successive enactments. The measure now in force is called + Act VI. of 1901. Under this act the maximum term of the labour + contract is fixed at four years, and a minimum monthly wage is laid + down, the payment of which, however, is contingent on the completion + of a daily task by the labourer. Labourers under contract deserting + are liable to fine and imprisonment, and, subject to certain + restrictions, may be arrested without warrant by their employers. In + addition to the labourers engaged under this act, a large number are + employed under contract enforceable by Act XIII, of 1859, which + provides penalties for breach of the contract, but does not allow of + the arrest of deserters without warrant. Neither does this act + regulate in any way the terms of the contract, nor contain any special + provisions for the protection of the labourer. Many labourers on the + conclusion of their first engagement under Act VI. of 1901 enter into + renewed contracts under Act XIII. of 1859. In 1905 there were in all + 664,296 labourers, and 24,209 fresh importations, of whom 62% chose + the old act. + + _Railways._--The Assam-Bengal railway runs from the seaport of + Chittagong to the Surma valley, and thence across the hills to + Dibrugarh, at the head of the Brahmaputra valley, with a branch to + Gauhati lower down the Brahmaputra. The hill section of this line was + found exceedingly difficult of construction, and extensive damage was + done by the earthquake of 1897; but it is now complete. This railway + is financed by the government, though worked by a company, and + therefore ranks as a state line. At the end of 1904 its open mileage + was 576 m. There are several short lines of light railway or tramway + in the province. The most important is the Dibru-Sadiya railway, at + the head of the Brahmaputra valley, with a branch to the coal-fields. + + _Trade_.-The external trade of Assam is conducted partly by steamer, + partly by native boat, and to a small extent by rail. In the + Brahmaputra valley steamers carry as much as 86% of the exports, and + 94% of the imports. In the Surma valley native boats carry about 43% + of both. In 1904-1905 the total exports were valued at 726 lakhs of + rupees. The chief items were tea, rice in the husk, oil-seeds, + tea-seed, timber, coal and jute. The imports were valued at 457 lakhs + of rupees. The chief items were cotton piece-goods, rice not in the + husk, sugar, grain and pulse, salt, iron and steel, tobacco, cotton + twist and yarn, and brass and copper. No less than two-thirds of the + total trade is conducted with Calcutta. The trans-frontier trade is + insignificant; and most of it is conducted with the Bengal state of + Hill Tippera. The trade through Chittagong is increasing owing to the + opening of the hill-section of the Assam-Bengal railway, which gives + direct communication between the districts of Upper Assam and the port + of Chittagong, and the incorporation of that port in the new province + of Eastern Bengal and Assam. + +_Inhabitants._--The total population of Assam, according to the census +of 1901, was 6,126,343, of whom 3,429,099 were Hindus, 1,581,317 +Mahommedans and 1,068,334 Animists. The number of foreigners in the +population due to immigration by the tea-garden coolies was 775,844. But +in spite of this immigration the rate of increase in the population was +only 5.9% in the decade, and with the immigrants deducted 1.36%. Amongst +native-born Assamese during the decade there was a serious decrease in +Nowgong and some other districts, due to _kalaazar_ and other diseases. +The Assamese are an interesting race, of distinct origin from the +neighbouring Bengalis. A large proportion of them derive their origin +from tribes who came from the Himalayan ranges, from Burma or from the +Chinese frontier. The most important of these are the Ahoms or Ahams, an +offshoot of the Shan race of northern Burma. They were the last +conquerors of Assam before the Burmese, and they long preserved their +ancient traditions, habits and institutions. Hinduism first made its +encroachments among their kings and nobility. Several generations ago +they gave up eating beef, and they are now completely Hinduized, except +in a few remote recesses of Assam. Hinduism has also impressed its +language upon the province, and the vernacular Assamese possesses a +close affinity to Bengali, with the substitution of _s_ for the Bengali +_ch_, of a guttural _h_ for the Bengali _h_ or _sh_, and a few other +dialectic changes. Indeed, so close was the resemblance that for a time +Bengali was used as the court and official language of the province +under British rule. But with the development of the country the Assamese +tongue asserted its claims to be treated as a distinct vernacular, and a +resolution of government (1873) re-established it as the language of +official life and public business. + +The Assam peasant, living in a half-populated province, and surrounded +by surplus land, is indolent, good-natured and, on the whole, +prosperous. He raises sufficient food for his wants with very little +labour, and, with the exception of a few religious ceremonies, he has no +demand made upon him for money, saving the light rental of his fields. +Under the peaceful influences of British rule, he has completely lost +his ancient warlike instincts, and forgotten his predatory habits. In +complexion he is a shade or two fairer than the Bengali. His person is +in general short and robust, but devoid of the grace and flexibility of +the Hindu. A flat face, with high cheek-bones, presents a physiognomy +resembling the Chinese, and suggests no idea of beauty. His hair is +abundant, black, lank and coarse, but the beard is scanty, and usually +plucked out, which gives him an effeminate appearance. The women form a +striking contrast to the men; there is more of feminine beauty in them +than is commonly seen in the women of Bengal, with a form and feature +somewhat approaching the European. The habits of life of the Assamese +peasantry are pre-eminently domestic. Great respect is paid to old age; +when parents are no longer capable of labour they are supported by their +children, and scarcely any one is allowed to become a burden to the +public. They have also in general a very tender regard for their +offspring, and are generous and kind to their relations. They are +hospitable to people of their own caste, but to no others. The use of +opium is very general. + +_Hill Tribes._--The hill and frontier tribes of Assam include the Nagas, +Singphos, Daphlas, Miris, Khamtis, Mishmis, Abors, &c., nearly all of +whom, excepting the Nagas, are found near the frontiers of Lakhimpur +district. The principal of these, in point of numbers, are the Nagas, +who inhabit the hills and forests along the eastern and south-eastern +frontier of Assam. They reside partly in the British district of the +Naga hills and partly in independent territory under the political +control of the deputy-commissioner of the adjoining districts. They +cultivate rice, cotton, yams and Indian corn, and prepare salt from the +brine springs in their hills. The different tribes of Nagas are +independent of and unconnected with one another, and are often at war +with each other. The Singphos are another of the main population of the +same race, who occupy in force the hilly country between the Patkai and +Chindwin rivers, and are nominally subject to Burma. The Akas, Daphlas, +Miris, Abors, Mishmis and Khamtis are described under separate headings. +Under regulation V. of 1873, an inner line has been laid down in certain +districts, up to which the protection of British authority is +guaranteed, and beyond which, except by special permission, it is not +lawful for British subjects to go. This inner line has been laid down in +Darrang towards the Bhutias, Akas and Daphlas; in Lakhimper towards the +Daphlas, Miris, Abors, Mishmis, Khamtis, Singphos and Nagas; and in +Sibsagar towards the Nagas. The inner line formerly maintained along the +Lushai border has since 1895 been allowed to fall into desuetude, but +Lushais visiting Cachar are required to take out passes from the +superintendent of the Lushai hills. The line is marked at intervals by +frontier posts held by military police and commanding the roads of +access to the tract beyond; and any person from the plains who has +received permission to cross the line has to present his pass at these +posts. + +_History._--Assam was the province of Bengal which remained most +stubbornly outside the limits of the Mogul empire and of the Mahommedan +polity in India. Indeed, although frequently overrun by Mussulman +armies, and its western districts annexed to the Mahommedan vice-royalty +of Bengal, the province maintained an uncertain independence till its +invasion by the Burmese towards the end of the 18th century, and its +final cession to the British in 1826. It seems to have been originally +included, along with the greater part of north-eastern Bengal, in the +old Hindu territory of Kamrup. Its early legends point to great +religious revolutions between the rival rites of Krishna and Siva as a +source of dynastic changes. Its roll of kings extends deep into +prehistoric times, but the first rajah capable of indentification +flourished about the year 76 A.D. Kamrup, the Pragjotishpur of the +ancient Hindus, was the capital of a legendary king Narak, whose son +Bhagadatta distinguished himself in the great war of the _Mahabharata_. + +When Hsuan Tsang visited the country in A.D. 640, a prince named Kumar +Bhaskara Barman was on the throne. The people are described as being of +small stature with dark yellow complexions; they were fierce in +appearance, but upright and studious. Hinduism was the state religion, +and the number of Buddhists was very small. The soil was deep and +fertile, and the towns were surrounded by moats with water brought from +rivers or banked-up lakes. Subsequently we read of Pal rulers in Assam. +It is supposed that these kings were Buddhist and belonged to the Pal +dynasty of Bengal. Although the whole of Kamrup appears from time to +time to have been united into one kingdom under some unusually powerful +monarch, it was more often split up into numerous petty states; and for +several centuries the Koch, the Ahom and the Chutia powers contested for +the Assam valley. In the early part of the 13th century the Ahoms or +Ahams, from northern Burma and the Chinese frontiers, poured into the +eastern districts of Assam, founded a kingdom, and held it firmly for +several centuries. The Ahoms were Shans from the ancient Shan kingdom of +Pong. Their manners, customs, religion and language were, and for a long +time continued to be, different from those of the Hindus; but they found +themselves compelled to respect the superior civilization of this race, +and slowly adopted its customs and language. The conversion of their +king Chuchengpha to Hinduism took place in the year A.D. 1655, and all +the Ahoms of Assam gradually followed his example. In medieval history, +the Assamese were known to the Mussulman population as a warlike, +predatory race, who sailed down the Brahmaputra in fleets of innumerable +canoes, plundered the rich districts of the delta, and retired in safety +to their forests and swamps. As the Mahommedan power consolidated itself +in Bengal, repeated expeditions were sent out against these river +pirates of the north-east. The physical difficulties which an invading +force had to contend with in Assam, however, prevented anything like a +regular subjugation of the country; and after repeated efforts, the +Mussulmans contented themselves with occupying the western districts at +the mouth of the Assam valley. The following details will suffice for +the history of a struggle in which no great political object was +attained, and which left the Assamese still the same wild and piratical +people as when their fleets of canoes first sallied forth against the +Bengal delta. In 1638, during the reign of the emperor Shah Jahan, the +Assamese descended the Brahmaputra, and pillaged the country round the +city of Dacca; they were expelled by the governor of Bengal, who +retaliated upon the plunderers by ravaging Assam. During the civil wars +between the sons of Shah Jahan, the king of Assam renewed his predatory +incursions into Bengal; upon the termination of the contest, Aurangzeb +determined to avenge these repeated insults, and despatched a +considerable force for the regular invasion of the Assamese territory +(1660-1662). His general, Mir Jumla, defeated the rajah, who fled to the +mountains, and most of the chiefs made their submission to the +conqueror. But the rains set in with unusual violence, and Mir Jumla's +army was almost annihilated by famine and sickness. Thus terminated the +last expedition against Assam by the Mahommedans, whose fortunes in this +country were never prosperous. A writer of the Mahommedan faith +says:--"Whenever an invading army has entered their territories, the +Assamese have sheltered themselves in strong posts, and have distressed +the enemy by stratagems, surprises and alarms, and by cutting off their +provisions. If these means failed, they have declined a battle in the +field, but have carried the peasants into the mountains, burned the +grain and left the country desert. But when the rainy season has set in +upon the advancing enemy, they have watched their opportunity to make +excursions and vent their rage; the famished invaders have either become +their prisoners or been put to death. In this manner powerful and +numerous armies have been sunk in that whirlpool of destruction, and not +a soul has escaped." The same writer states that the country was +spacious, populous and hard to be penetrated; that it abounded in +dangers; that the paths and roads were beset with difficulties; and that +the obstacles to conquest were more than could be expressed. The +inhabitants, he says, were enterprising, well-armed and always prepared +for battle. Moreover, they had lofty forts, numerously garrisoned and +plentifully provided with warlike stores; and the approach to them was +opposed by thick and dangerous jungles, and broad and boisterous rivers. +The difficulties in the way of successful invasion are of course not +understated, as it was the object of the writer to exalt the prowess and +perseverance of the faithful. He accounts for their temporary success by +recording that "the Mussulman hordes experienced the comfort of fighting +for their religion, and the blessings of it reverted to the sovereignty +of his just and pious majesty." The short-lived triumph of the +Mussulmans might, however, have warranted a less ambitious tone. About +the middle of the 17th century the chief became a convert to Hinduism. +By what mode the conversion was effected does not clearly appear, but +whatever were the means employed, it seems that the decline of the +country commenced about the same period. Internal dissensions, invasion +and disturbances of every kind convulsed the province, and neither +prince nor people enjoyed security. Late in the 18th century some +interference took place on the part of the British government, then +conducted by Lord Cornwallis; but the successor of that nobleman, Sir +John Shore, adopting the non-intervention policy, withdrew the British +force, and abandoned the country to its fate. Its condition encouraged +the Burmese to depose the rajah, and to make Assam a dependency of Ava. +The extension of their encroachments on a portion of the territory of +the East India Company compelled the British government to take decisive +steps for its own protection. Hence arose the series of hostilities with +Ava known in Indian history as the first Burmese War, on the termination +of which by treaty in February 1826, Assam remained a British +possession. In 1832 that portion of the province denominated Upper Assam +was formed into an independent native state, and conferred upon +Purandhar Singh, the ex-rajah of the country; but the administration of +this chief proved unsatisfactory, and in 1838 his principality was +reunited with the British dominions. After a period of successful +administration and internal development, under the lieutenant-governor +of Bengal, it was erected into a separate chief-commissionership in +1874. + +In 1886 the eastern Dwars were annexed from Bhutan; and in 1874 the +district of Goalpara, the eastern Dwars and the Garo hills were +incorporated in Assam. In 1898 the southern Lushai hills were +transferred from Bengal to Assam, and the north and south Lushai hills +were amalgamated as a district of Assam, and placed under the +superintendent of the Lushai hills. Frontier troubles occasionally occur +with the Akas, Daphlas, Abors and Mishmis along the northern border, +arising out of raids from the independent territory into British +districts. In October 1905 the whole province of Assam was incorporated +in the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam. + + See E.A. Gait, _The History of Assam_ (1906). + + + + +ASSAMESE, the Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Assam valley. In 1901 +the number of its speakers was 1,350,846. It is closely related to +Bengali and Oriya, forming with them and with Bihari the Eastern Group +of the Indo-Aryan vernaculars. For further particulars see BENGALI. + + + + +ASSAROTTI, OTTAVIO GIOVANNI BATTISTA (1753-1829), the founder of schools +for the education of deaf-mutes in Italy, was born at Genoa in 1753. +After qualifying himself for the church, he entered the society of the +Pietists, "Scuole Pie," who devoted themselves to the training of the +young. His superior learning caused him to be appointed to lecture on +theology to the students of the order. In 1801 he heard of the Abbe +Sicard's training of deaf-mutes in Paris, and resolved to try something +similar in Italy. He began with one pupil, and had by degrees collected +a small number round him, when, in 1805, Napoleon, hearing of his +endeavours, ordered a convent to be given him for a school-house, and +funds for supporting twelve scholars to be taken from the convent +revenues. This order was scarcely attended to till 1811, when it was +renewed, and in the following year Assarotti, with a considerable number +of pupils, took possession of the new school. Here he continued, with +the exception of a short interval in 1814, till his death in 1829. A +pension, which had been awarded him by the king of Sardinia, he +bequeathed to his scholars. + + + + +ASSARY, or ASSARION, a Roman copper coin, the "farthing" of Matthew x. +29. + + + + +ASSASSIN (properly _Hashishin_, from _Hashish_, the opiate made from the +juice of hemp leaves), a general term for a secret murderer, originally +the name of a branch of the Shiite sect (see SHIITES), known as +Isma'ilites, founded by Hassan (ibn) Sabbah at the end of the 11th +century, and from that time active in Syria and Persia until crushed in +the 13th century by the Mongols under Hulaku (Hulagu) in Persia, and by +the Mameluke Bibars in Syria. The father of Hassan Sabbah, a native of +Khorasan, and a Shiite, had been frequently compelled to profess Sunnite +orthodoxy, and from prudential motives had sent his son to study under +an orthodox doctor at Nishapur. Here Hassan made the acquaintance of +Nizam-ul-Mulk, afterwards vizier of the sultan Malik-Shah (see SELJUKS). +During the reign of Alp-Arslan he remained in obscurity, and then +appeared at the court of Malik-Shah, where he was at first kindly +received by his old friend the vizier. Hassan, who was a man of great +ability, tried to supplant him in the favour of the sultan, but was +outwitted and compelled to take his departure from Persia. He went to +Egypt (1078-79), and, on account of his high reputation, was received +with great honour by the lodge at Cairo. He soon stood so high in the +caliph Mostansir's favour as to excite against him the jealousy of the +chief general, and a cause of open enmity soon arose. The caliph had +nominated first one and then another of his sons as his successor, and +in consequence a party division took place among the leading men. +Hassan, who adopted the cause of Nizar, the eldest son, found his +enemies too strong for him, and was forced to leave Egypt. After many +adventures he reached Aleppo and Damascus, and after a sojourn there, +settled near Kuhistan (Kohistan). He gradually spread his peculiar +modification of Isma'ilite doctrine, and, having collected a +considerable number of followers, formed them into a secret society. In +1090 he obtained, by stratagem, the strong mountain fortress of Alamut +in Persia, and, removing there with his followers, settled as chief of +the famous society afterwards called the Assassins. + +The speculative principles of this body were identical with those of the +Isma'ilites, but their external policy was marked by one peculiar and +distinctive feature--the employment of secret "assassination" against +all enemies. This practice was introduced by Hassan, and formed the +essential characteristic of the sect. In organization they closely +resembled the western lodge at Cairo. At the head was the supreme ruler, +the _Sheik-al-Jabal_ (_Jebel_), i.e. Chief, or, as it is commonly +translated, Old Man of the Mountains. Under him were three +_Da'i-al-Kirbal_, or, as they may be called, grand priors, who ruled the +three provinces over which the sheik's power extended. Next came the +body of _Da'is_, or priors, who were fully initiated into all the secret +doctrines, and were the emissaries of the faith. Fourth were the +_Refiqs_, associates or fellows, who were in process of initiation, and +who ultimately advanced to the dignity of _da'is_. Fifth came the most +distinctive class, the _Fedais_ (i.e. the devoted ones), who were the +guards or assassins proper. These were all young men, and from their +ranks were selected the agents for any deed of blood. They were kept +uninitiated, and the blindest obedience was exacted from and yielded by +them. When the sheik required the services of any of them, the selected +_fedais_ were intoxicated with the _hashish_. When in this state they +were introduced into the splendid gardens of the sheik, and surrounded +with every sensual pleasure. Such a foretaste of paradise, only to be +granted by their supreme ruler, made them eager to obey his slightest +command; their lives they counted as nothing, and would resign them at a +word from him. Finally, the sixth and seventh orders were the _Lasiqs_, +or novices, and the common people. Hassan well knew the efficacy of +established law and custom in securing the obedience of a mass of +people; accordingly, upon all but the initiated, the observances of +Islam were rigidly enforced. As for the initiated, they knew the +worthlessness of positive religion and morality; they believed in +nothing, and scoffed at the practices of the faithful. + +The Assassins soon began to make their power felt. One of their first +victims was Hassan's former friend, Nizam-ul-Mulk, whose son also died +under the dagger of a secret murderer. The death by poison of the sultan +Malik-Shah was likewise ascribed to this dreaded society, and +contributed to increase their evil fame. Sultan Sinjar, his successor, +made war upon them, but he was soon glad to come to terms with enemies +against whose operations no precaution seemed available. After a long +and prosperous rule Hassan died at an advanced age in 1124. He had +previously slain both his sons, one on suspicion of having been +concerned in the murder of a _da'i_ at Kuhistan, the other for drinking +wine, and he was therefore compelled to name as his successor his chief +_da'i_, Kia-Busurg-Omid. + +During the fourteen years' reign of this second leader, the Assassins +were frequently unfortunate in the open field, and their castles were +taken and plundered; but they acquired a stronghold in Syria, while +their numerous murders made them an object of dread to the neighbouring +princes, and spread abroad their evil renown. A long series of +distinguished men perished under the daggers of the _fedais_; even the +most sacred dignity was not spared. The caliph Mostarshid was +assassinated in his tent, and not long after, the caliph Rashid suffered +a similar fate. Busurg-Omid was succeeded by his son Mahommed I., who, +during the long period of twenty-five years, ruthlessly carried out his +predecessor's principles. In his time Massiat became the chief seat of +the Syrian branch of the society. Mahommed's abilities were not great, +and the affections of the people were drawn towards his son Hassan, a +youth of great learning, skilled in all the wisdom of the initiated, and +popularly believed to be the promised Imam become visible on earth. The +old sheik prevented any attempt at insurrection by slaying 250 of +Hassan's adherents, and the son was glad to make submission. When, +however, he attained the throne, he began to put his views into effect. +On the 17th of the month Ramadan, 1164, he assembled the people and +disclosed to them the secret doctrines of the initiated; he announced +that the doctrines of Islam were now abolished, that the people might +give themselves up to feasting and joy. Soon after, he announced that he +was the promised Imam, the caliph of God upon earth. To substantiate +these claims he gave out that he was not the son of Mahommed, but was +descended from Nizar, son of the Egyptian caliph Mostansir, and a lineal +descendant of Isma'il. After a short reign of four years Hassan was +assassinated by his brother-in-law, and his son Mahommed II. succeeded. +One of his first acts was to slay his father's murderer, with all his +family and relatives; and his long rule, extending over a period of +forty-six years, was marked by many similar deeds of cruelty. He had to +contend with many powerful enemies, especially with the great Atabeg +sultan Nureddin, and his more celebrated successor, Saladin, who had +gained possession of Egypt after the death of the last Fatimite caliph, +and against whom even secret assassination seemed powerless. During his +reign, also, the Syrian branch of the society, under their _da'i_, +Sinan, made themselves independent, and remained so ever afterwards. It +was with this Syrian branch that the Crusaders made acquaintance; and it +appears to have been their emissaries who slew Count Raymund of Tripoli +and Conrad of Montferrat. + +Mahommed II. died from the effects of poison, administered, it is +believed, by his son, Jelaleddin Hassan III., who succeeded. He restored +the old form of doctrine--secret principles for the initiated, and Islam +for the people--and his general piety and orthodoxy procured for him the +name of the new Mussulman. During his reign of twelve years no +assassinations occurred, and he obtained a high reputation among the +neighbouring princes. Like his father, he was removed by poison, and his +son, 'Ala-ed-din Mahommed III., a child of nine years of age, weak in +mind and body, was placed on the throne. Under his rule the mild +principles of his father were deserted, and a fresh course of +assassination entered on. In 1255, after a reign of thirty years, +'Ala-ed-din was slain, with the connivance of his son, Rukneddin, the +last ruler of the Assassins. In the following year Hulaku (Hulagu), +brother of the Tatar, Mangu Khan, invaded the hill country of Persia, +took Alamut and many other castles, and captured Rukneddin (see +MONGOLS). He treated him kindly, and, at his own request, sent him under +escort to Mangu. On the way, Rukneddin treacherously incited the +inhabitants of Kirdkuh to resist the Tatars. This breach of good faith +was severely punished by the khan, who ordered Rukneddin to be put to +death, and sent a messenger to Hulaku (Hulagu) commanding him to slay +all his captives. About 12,000 of the Assassins were massacred, and +their power in Persia was completely broken. The Syrian branch +flourished for some years longer, till Bibars, the Mameluke sultan of +Egypt, ravaged their country and nearly extirpated them. Small bodies of +them lingered about the mountains of Syria, and are believed still to +exist there. Doctrines somewhat similar to theirs are still to be met +with in north Syria. + + See J. von Hammer, _Geschichte der Assassinen_ (1818); S. de Sacy, + _Memoires de l'lnstitut_, iv. (1818), who discusses the etymology + fully; _Calcutta Review_, vols. lv., lvi.; A. Jourdain in Michaud's + _Histoire des Croisades_, ii. pp. 465-484, and trans. of the Persian + historian Mirkhond in _Notices et extraits des manuscrits_, xiii. pp. + 143 sq.; cf. R. Dozy, _Essai sur l'histoire de l'Islamisme_ (Leiden + and Paris, 1879); ch. ix. (G. W. T.) + + + + +ASSAULT (from Lat. _ad_, to or on, and _saltare_, to leap), in English +law, "an attempt or offer with force or violence to do corporal hurt to +another, as by striking at another with a stick or other weapon, or +without a weapon, though the party misses his aim." Notwithstanding +ancient opinions to the contrary, it is now settled that mere words, be +they ever so provoking, will not constitute an assault. Coupled with the +attempt or threat to inflict corporal injury, there must in all cases be +the means of carrying the threat into effect. A _battery_ is more than a +threat or attempt to injure the person of another; the injury must have +been inflicted, but it makes no difference however small it may be, as +the law does not "draw the line between degrees of violence," but +"totally prohibits the first and lowest stage of it." Every battery +includes an assault. A common assault is a misdemeanour, and is +punishable by imprisonment with or without hard labour to the extent of +one year, and if it occasions bodily harm, with penal servitude for +three years, or imprisonment to the extent of two years, with or without +hard labour. There are various different kinds of assaults which are +provided against by particular enactments of parliament, such as the +Offences against the Person Act 1861, the Prevention of Crimes Act 1871, +&c.; and there are also certain aggravated assaults for which the +punishment is severer than for common assault, as an assault with intent +to murder, with intent to commit a rape, &c. In certain cases an assault +and battery is sometimes justifiable, as in the case where a person in +authority, as a parent or schoolmaster, inflicts moderate punishment +upon a child, or in certain cases of self-defence, or in defence of +one's goods and chattels. An assault may be both a tort and a crime, +giving a civil action for damages to the person injured, as well as +being the subject of a criminal prosecution. + +_United States._--The general principles applicable throughout the +United States are the same as in England. Riding a horse threateningly +near a person; or riding a bicycle against another (_Mercer v. Corbin_, +117 Indiana Rep. 450); waking one from sleep to present a milk bill +(_Richmond v. Fiske_, 160 Mass. 34), are assaults. A minor is liable for +damages for an assault (_Hildreth v. Hancock_, 156 Illinois Rep. 618). +In Texas it has been held that an assault with a knife is not +necessarily an aggravated assault (_Warren v. State_, 3 S.W. 240), and +an axe is not necessarily a "deadly weapon" with which to assault +(_Gladney v. State_, 12 S.W. 868), and the State must prove that it +would be likely to produce death or serious bodily injury (_Melton v. +State_, 17 S.W. 257). Neither a pistol nor brass knuckles are +necessarily deadly weapons; the State must show their size or manner of +use in making the assault (_Ballard v. State_, 13 S.W. 674; _Miles v. +State_, 5 S.W. 250). But in 1903 a pistol was held by the Texas Supreme +Court to be a deadly weapon if not used simply as a club (_Lockland v. +State_, 73 S.W. 1054), and the same court held in 1904 that a pistol is +a deadly weapon (_Pace v. State_, 79 S.W. 531), and so the assault was +an aggravated assault. In North Carolina it has been held that an axe is +_ex vi termini_ a "deadly weapon" (_State v. Shields_, 110 N.C. 49). + + + + +ASSAYE, a village of Hyderabad or the Nizam's Dominions, in southern +India, just beyond the Berar frontier. The place is celebrated as the +site of a battle fought on the 23rd of September 1803 between the +combined Mahratta forces Under Sindhia and the rajah of Berar and the +British under Major-General Wellesley, afterwards the duke of +Wellington. The Mahratta force consisted of 50,000 men, supported by 100 +pieces of cannon served by French artillerymen, and entrenched in a +strong position. Against this the English had but a force of 4500 men, +which, however, after a severe struggle, gained the most complete +victory that ever crowned British valour in India. Of the enemy 12,000 +were killed and wounded; and General Wellesley lost 1657--one-third of +his little force--killed and wounded. Assaye is 261 m. north-west of +Hyderabad. + + + + +ASSAYING. To "assay" (or "essay"; Fr. _essayer_) is in general to try, +or attempt, so to make trial or test. In a restricted sense the term +assaying is applied in metallurgy to the determination of the amount of +gold or silver in ores or alloys; in this article, however, it will be +used in a wider technical signification, and will include a description +of the methods for the quantitative determination of those elements in +ores which affect their value in metallurgical operations. It would be +impossible to give in detail here all the precautions necessary for the +successful use of the methods, and the descriptions will therefore be +confined to the principles involved and the general manner in which they +are applied to secure the desired results. + +_Gold and Silver._--Ores containing gold or silver are almost invariably +assayed in the dry way; that is, by fusion with appropriate fluxes and +ultimate separation of the elements in the metallic form. One of the +customs which has grown out of our peculiar system of weights is the +form of statement of the results of such an assay. Instead of expressing +the amounts of gold and silver in percentages of the weight of ore, they +are expressed in ounces to the ton, the ounce being the troy ounce and +the ton that of 2000 avoirdupois pounds. To simplify calculation and to +enable the assayer to use the metric system of weights employed in all +chemical calculations, the "assay ton" ("A.T." = 29.166 grammes) has +been devised, which bears the same relation to the ton of 2000 lb. +avoirdupois that one milligram does to the troy ounce; when one assay +ton of ore is used, each milligram of gold or silver found represents +one ounce to the ton. + +The assay of an ore for gold or silver consists of two operations. In +the first the gold or silver is made to combine or alloy with metallic +lead, the other constituents of the ore being separated from the lead as +slag. In the second, the lead button containing the gold or silver is +cupelled and the resulting gold or silver button is weighed. The first +is conducted in one of two ways, known respectively as the crucible +method and the scorification method. The crucible method is generally +used for ores containing gold in small amounts and for certain classes +of silver ores. The amount of ore taken for assay is generally one-half +"A.T.," but in very low-grade ores one, two, and sometimes even four +"A.T.s" are used. In the scorification method one-tenth of an "A.T." is +the amount commonly taken. While in both methods the same result is +sought, the means employed are quite different. In the scorification +method the ore is mixed in the scorifier (a shallow dish of burned clay) +with from ten to twenty times its weight of granulated metallic lead +(test lead) and a little borax glass, and heated in a muffle, the front +of which is at first closed. When the lead melts and begins to oxidize, +the lead oxide, or so-called litharge, combines with or dissolves the +non-metallic and readily oxidizable constituents of the ore, while the +gold and silver alloy with the lead. As the slag thus formed flows off +to the sides of the scorifier, the assay clears and the melted metallic +lead forms an "eye" in the middle. The door of the muffle is then opened +and the current of air which is drawn over the scorifier rapidly +oxidizes the lead, while the melted litharge gradually closes over the +metal. When the "eye" has quite disappeared the door is closed and the +temperature raised to make the slag very liquid. The scorifier is taken +from the muffle in a pair of tongs and the contents poured into a mould, +the lead forming a button in the bottom while the slag floats on top. +When cold, the contents of the mould are taken out and the lead button +hammered into the form of a cube, the slag, which is glassy and brittle, +separating readily from the metal, which is then ready for cupellation. +In the crucible method the ore is mixed with from once to twice its +weight of flux, which varies in composition, but of which the following +may be taken as a type:-- + + Sodium bicarbonate . . . 8 parts. + Potassium carbonate . . . 3 " + Powdered borax . . . . . 4 " + Flour . . . . . . . . . . 1 " + Litharge . . . . . . . . 9 " + +The mixture is charged into a round clay crucible from 100 mm. to 125 +mm. high, and heated either in a muffle or in a crucible furnace at a +gradually increasing heat for forty or fifty minutes. At the expiration +of this time, when the charge should be perfectly liquid and in a +tranquil state of fusion, the crucible is removed from the furnace and +the contents are poured into a mould. The resulting lead button hammered +into shape and carefully cleansed from slag is ready for the cupel. If +the button is too large for cupellation, or if it is hard, it may be +scorified either alone or mixed with test lead before cupellation. The +character and amount of the flux necessarily depend upon the character +of the ore, the object being to concentrate in the lead button all the +gold and silver while dissolving and carrying off in the slag the other +constituents of the ore. Under the most favourable conditions there is a +slight loss of gold and silver in the fusion, the scorification and the +cupellation, both by absorption in the slag and by actual volatilization +and absorption in the cupel. In ores containing much copper, this metal +is largely concentrated in the lead button, making it hard, and +necessitating repeated scorifications and, in some cases, a preliminary +removal of the copper by solution of the ore in nitric acid. This leaves +the gold in the insoluble residue, which is filtered off, and the silver +in the solution is thrown down by hydrochloric acid. The resulting +precipitate of silver chloride is filtered, and the residue and the +precipitate are scorified together. Ores containing much arsenic or +sulphur are generally roasted at a low heat and the assay is made on the +roasted material. + +The process of cupellation is briefly as follows:--The gold alloy is +fused with a quantity of lead, and a little silver if silver is already +present. The resulting alloy, which is called the _lead button_, is then +submitted to fusion on a very porous support, made of bone-ash, and +called a _cupel_. The fusion being effected in a current of air, the +lead oxidizes. The heat is sufficient to keep the resulting lead oxide +fused, and the porous cupel has the property of absorbing melted lead +oxide without taking up any of the metallic globule, exactly in the same +way that blotting-paper will absorb water whilst it will not touch a +globule of mercury. The heat being continued, and the current of air +always passing over the surface of the melted lead button, and the lead +oxide being sucked up by the cupel as fast as it is formed, the metallic +globule rapidly diminishes in size until at last all the lead has been +got rid of. Now, if this were the only action, little good would have +been gained, for we should simply have put lead into the gold alloy, and +then taken it out again; but another action goes on whilst the lead is +oxidizing in the current of air. Other metals, except the silver and +gold, also oxidize, and are carried by the melted litharge into the +cupel. If the lead is therefore rightly proportioned to the standard of +alloy, the resulting button will consist of only gold and silver, and +these are separated by the operation of _parting_, which consists in +boiling the alloy (after rolling it to a thin plate) in strong nitric +acid, which dissolves the silver and leaves the gold as a coherent +sponge. To effect this parting properly, the proportion of silver to +gold should be as 3 to 1. The operation by which the alloy is brought to +this standard is termed _quartation_ or _inquartation_, and consists in +fusing the alloy in a cupel with lead and the quantity of fine silver or +fine gold necessary to bring it to the desired composition. + +_Lead._--The "dry" or fire assay for lead is largely used for the +valuation of lead ores, although it is being gradually replaced by +volumetric methods. One part of the ore is mixed with from three to five +parts of a flux of the following composition:-- + + Potassium carbonate . . . . . 40.6 % + Sodium bicarbonate . . . . . 31.3 " + Borax . . . . . . . . . 15.6 " + Flour . . . . . . . . . 12.5 " + +The mixture is charged into a clay crucible and heated for twenty +minutes at a good red heat. When the mixture has been in a tranquil +state of fusion for a few minutes it is poured into a mould. When cold, +the button is hammered, cleaned carefully from slag, and weighed. The +proportion is calculated from the amount of ore used, and the result is +expressed in parts in a hundred or percentage of the ore. Various +impurities, such as copper, antimony and sulphur, go into the lead +button, so that the result is generally too high. The most accurate +method for the determination of lead in ores is the gravimetric method, +in which it is weighed as lead sulphate after the various impurities +have been separated. Nearly all lead ores contain more or less sulphur; +and as in the process of solution in nitric acid this is oxidized to +sulphuric acid which unites with the lead to form the very insoluble +lead sulphate, it is simpler to add sulphuric acid to convert all the +lead into sulphate and then evaporate until the nitric acid is expelled. +The salts of iron, copper, &c., are then dissolved in water and filtered +from the insoluble silica, lead sulphate, and calcium sulphate, which +are washed with dilute sulphuric acid. The insoluble matter is treated +with a hot solution of alkaline ammonium acetate, which dissolves the +lead sulphate, the other materials being separated by filtration. The +lead sulphate, re-precipitated in the filtrate by an excess of sulphuric +acid and alcohol, is then filtered on an asbestos felt in a Gooch +crucible, washed with dilute sulphuric acid and alcohol, ignited, and +weighed. Lead sulphate contains 68.30% of metallic lead. + +There are several volumetric methods for assaying lead ores, but the +best known is that based on the precipitation of lead by ammonium +molybdate in an acetic acid solution. The lead sulphate, obtained as +described above and dissolved in ammonium acetate, is acidulated with +acetic acid diluted with hot water and heated to boiling-point. A +standardized solution of ammonium molybdate is then added from a +burette. As long as the solution contains lead, the addition of the +molybdate solution causes a precipitation of white lead molybdate. An +excess of the precipitant is shown by a drop of the solution imparting a +yellow colour to a solution of tannin, prepared by dissolving one part +of tannin in 300 of water; drops of this solution are placed on a white +porcelain plate, and as the precipitant is added to the lead solution a +drop of the latter is removed from time to time on a glass stirring-rod +and added to one of the drops on the porcelain plate. The appearance of +a yellow colour shows that all the lead has been precipitated and that +the solution contains an excess of molybdate. From the reading of the +burette the lead is calculated. The molybdate solution should be of such +a strength that 1 cc. will precipitate 0.01 gramme of lead. It is +standardized by dissolving a weighed amount of lead sulphate in ammonium +acetate and proceeding as described above. + +_Zinc._--Chemically the ores of zinc consist of the silicates, +carbonates, oxides, and sulphides of zinc associated with other metals, +some of which complicate the methods of assay. The most modern and the +most generally accepted method is volumetric, and is based on the +reaction between zinc chloride and potassium ferrocyanide, by which +insoluble zinc ferrocyanide and soluble potassium chloride are formed; +the presence of the slightest excess of potassium ferrocyanide is shown +by a brownish tint being imparted by the solution to a drop of uranium +nitrate. The ore (0.5 gramme) is digested with a mixture of potassium +nitrate and nitric acid. A saturated solution of potassium chlorate in +strong nitric acid is added, and the mass evaporated to dryness. It is +then heated with a mixture of ammonium chloride and ammonia, filtered +and washed with a hot dilute solution of the same mixture. The filtrate +diluted to 200 cc. is carefully neutralized with hydrochloric acid, and +excess of 6 cc. of the strong acid is added, and the solution saturated +with hydrogen sulphide, which precipitates the copper and cadmium, +metals which would otherwise interfere. Without filtering, the standard +solution is added from a burette, and from time to time a drop of the +solution is removed on the glass stirring-rod and added to a drop or two +of a strong solution of uranium nitrate, previously placed on a white +porcelain plate. The appearance of a brown tint in one of these tests +shows the end of the reaction. When cadmium is not present the copper +may be precipitated by boiling the acidulated ammoniacal solution with +test lead and titrating, as before described, without removing the lead +and copper from the solution. The ferrocyanide solution is standardized +by dissolving 1 gramme of pure zinc in 6 cc. of hydrochloric acid, +adding ammonium chloride, and titrating as before. This method is +modified in practice by the character of the ores, carbonates and +silicates free from sulphides being decomposed by hydrochloric acid, +with the addition of a little nitric acid. + +_Copper._--The fire assay for copper ores was abandoned years ago and +the electrolytic method took its place; this in turn is now largely +replaced by volumetric methods. In the electrolytic method from 0.5 to 5 +grammes of ore are treated in a flask or beaker, with a mixture of 10 +cc. of nitric and 10 cc. of sulphuric acid, until thoroughly decomposed. +When this liquid is cold it is diluted with cold water, heated until all +the soluble salts are dissolved, transferred to a tall, narrow beaker, +and diluted to about 150 cc. The electrodes are attached to a frame +connected with the battery and the beaker is placed on a stool, which +can be raised so that the electrodes are immersed in the liquid and +reach the bottom of the beaker. The electrodes consist of two cylinders +of platinum (placed one inside the other) about 75 mm. high, the smaller +of the two 37 mm. and the larger 50 mm. in diameter, both pierced with +10 to 12 holes 5 mm. in diameter, evenly distributed over the surfaces +to facilitate diffusion of the liquids. The surfaces of the cylinders +are roughened with a sand blast to increase the areas and make the +deposited metals adhere more firmly. Each cylinder has a platinum wire +fused to the upper circumference to connect with a clamp from which a +wire leads to the proper pole of the battery. The smaller cylinder is +generally the negative electrode on which the copper is deposited. The +framework carrying the clamps is arranged so that a number of +determinations may be made at one time, the wires from the clamps +running from a rheostat, so arranged that currents of any strength may +be used simultaneously. The cylinder, having been carefully weighed, is +placed in position, the beaker containing the solution is adjusted, and +the current passed until all the copper is precipitated. This generally +requires from two to twelve hours. The cylinders are then removed from +the solution and washed with distilled water, the one holding the +deposited copper being washed with alcohol, dried and weighed; the +increase in weight represents the copper contents of the ore. The +deposited copper should be firmly adherent and bright rosy red in +colour. Silver, arsenic and cadmium, if present, are precipitated with +the copper and affect the accuracy of the results; they should be +removed by special methods. + +Volumetric methods are more expeditious and require less apparatus. The +potassium cyanide method is based on the fact that, when potassium +cyanide is added to an ammoniacal solution of a salt of copper, the +insoluble copper cyanide is formed, the end of the reaction being +indicated by the disappearance of the blue colour of the solution. One +gramme of the ore is treated in a flask with a mixture of nitric and +sulphuric acids and evaporated until all the nitric acid is expelled. +After cooling a little, water is added, and then a few grammes of +aluminium foil free from copper. On this foil the copper in the solution +is all precipitated by electrolytic action in a few minutes, and the +aluminium is dissolved by the addition of an excess of sulphuric acid. +Water is added, and as soon as the gangue and copper particles have +settled the clear solution is decanted, and the residue washed several +times in the same way. The copper is then dissolved in 5 cc. of nitric +acid; if silver is present a drop or two of hydrochloric acid is added, +the solution diluted to about 50 cc., and filtered. To the filtrate (or, +if no silver is present, to the diluted nitric acid solution) 10 cc. of +ammonia are added, and a standard solution of potassium cyanide is run +in from a burette until the blue colour has nearly disappeared. The +solution is filtered to get rid of the precipitate, and the titration is +finished in the nearly clear nitrate, which should be always about 200 +cc. in volume. The titration is complete when the blue colour is so +faint that it is almost imperceptible after the flask has been +vigorously shaken. The potassium cyanide solution is standardized by +dissolving 0.5 gramme of pure copper in 5 cc. of nitric acid, diluting, +adding 10 cc. of ammonia, and titrating exactly as described above. + +When potassium iodide is added to a solution of cupric acetate, the +reaction Cu(C2H3O2)2 + 2KI = CuI + 2K(C2H3O2) + I takes place; that is, +for each atom of copper one atom of iodine is liberated. If a solution +of sodium thiosulphate (hyposulphite) is added to this solution, +hydriodic acid, sodium iodide and tetrathionate are formed; and if a +little starch solution has been added, the end of the reaction is +indicated by the disappearance of the blue colour, due to the iodide of +starch. The amount of iodine liberated is therefore a measure of the +copper in the solution, and when the sodium thiosulphate has been +carefully standardized the method is extremely accurate. The ore is +treated as described in the cyanide method until the copper precipitated +by the aluminium foil has been washed and dissolved in 5 cc. of nitric +acid; then 0.25 gramme of potassium chlorate is added, and the solution +boiled nearly dry to oxidize any arsenic present to arsenic acid. The +solution is cooled, 50 cc. water added, then 5 cc. ammonia, and the +solution is boiled for five minutes. Next 5 cc. of glacial acetic acid +are added, the solution cooled, and 5 cc. of a solution of potassium +iodide (300 grammes to the litre) and the standard solution of sodium +thiosulphate run in from a burette until the brown colour has nearly +disappeared. A few drops of starch solution are then added, and when the +blue colour has nearly vanished a drop or two of methyl orange makes the +end reaction very sharp. The thiosulphate solution is standardized by +dissolving 0.3 to 0.5 gramme of pure copper in 3 cc. of nitric acid, +adding 50 cc. of water and 5 cc. of ammonia, and titrating as above +after the addition of 5 cc. of glacial acetic acid and 5 cc. of the +potassium iodide solution. + +_Iron._--The methods used in the assay for iron are volumetric, and are +all based on the property possessed by certain reagents of oxidizing +iron from the ferrous to the ferric state. Two salts are in common use +for this purpose, potassium permanganate and potassium bichromate. It is +necessary in the first place, after the ore is in solution, to reduce +all the iron to the ferrous condition; then the carefully standardized +solution of the oxidizing reagent is added until all the iron is in the +ferric state, the volume of the standard solution used being the measure +of the iron contained in the ore. The end of the reaction when potassium +permanganate is employed is known by the change in colour of the +solution. As the solution of potassium permanganate, which is deep red +in colour, is dropped into the colourless iron solution, it is quickly +decolorized while the iron solution gradually assumes a yellowish tinge, +the first drop of the permanganate solution in excess giving it a pink +tint. With potassium bichromate solution, which is yellow, the iron +solution becomes green from the chromium chloride or sulphate formed, +and the end of the reaction is determined by removing a drop of the +solution on the stirring-rod and adding it to a drop of a dilute +solution of potassium ferricyanide on a white tile. So long as the +solution contains a ferrous salt, the drop on the tile changes to blue; +hence the absence of a blue coloration indicates the complete oxidation +of all the ferrous salt and the end of the reaction. One gramme of ore +is usually taken for assay and treated in a small flask or beaker with +10 cc. of hydrochloric acid. All the iron in the ore generally dissolves +upon heating, and a white residue is left. Occasionally this residue +contains a small amount of iron in a difficultly soluble form; in that +case the solution is slightly diluted with water and filtered into a +larger flask. The residue in the filter is ignited and fused with a +little sodium carbonate and nitrate, or with sodium peroxide. The +product is treated with water, filtered, and the residue dissolved in +hydrochloric acid and added to the main solution. This solution, which +should not exceed 50 cc. or 75 cc. in volume, contains the iron in the +ferric state and is ready for reduction. + +In the reduction by metallic zinc, about 3 grammes of granulated or +foliated zinc are placed in the flask, which is closed with a small +funnel; when the iron is reduced, add 10 cc. of sulphuric acid, and as +soon as all the zinc is dissolved the solution is ready for titration. +In the reduction by stannous chloride the solution of the ore in the +flask is heated to boiling, and a strong solution of stannous chloride +is added until the solution is completely decolorized; then 60 cc. of a +solution of mercuric chloride (50 grammes to the litre) are run in and +the contents of the flask poured into a dish containing 600 cc. of water +and 60 cc. of a solution containing 200 grammes of manganous sulphate, 1 +litre of phosphoric acid (1.3 sp. gr.), 400 cc. of sulphuric acid, and +1600 cc. of water. The solution is then ready for titration with the +standard permanganate solution. + +The permanganate or bichromate solution is standardized by dissolving +0.5 of a gramme of pure iron wire in a flask, in hydrochloric acid, +oxidizing it with a little potassium chlorate, boiling off all traces of +chlorine, deoxidizing by one of the methods described above, and +titrating with the solution. As the wire always contains impurities, the +absolute amount of iron in the wire must be determined and the +correction made accordingly. Pure oxalic acid may also be used, which, +in the presence of sulphuric acid, is oxidized by the standard solution +according to the reaction:-- + + 5(H2C2O42H2O) + 3H2SO4 + 2KMnO4 = 10CO2 + 2MnSO4 + K2SO4 + 18H2O. + +The reaction in case of ferrous sulphate is:-- + + 10FeSO4 + 2KMnO4 + 8H2SO4 = 5Fe2(SO4)3 + K2SO4 + 2MnSO4 + 8H2O; + +that is, the same amount of potassium permanganate is required to +oxidize 5 molecules of oxalic acid that is necessary to oxidize 10 +molecules of iron in the form of ferrous sulphate to ferric sulphate, or +63 parts by weight of oxalic acid equal 56 parts by weight of metallic +iron. Ammonium ferrous sulphate may also be used; it contains +one-seventh of its weight of iron. (A. A. B.) + + + + +ASSEGAI, or ASSAGAI (from Berber-Arab _as-zahayah_, through Portuguese +_azagaia_), a weapon for throwing or hurling, a light spear or javelin +made of wood and pointed with iron, particularly the spear used by the +Zulu and other Kaffir tribes of South Africa. In addition to the +long-handled assegai there is a shorter weapon for use at close +quarters. + + + + +ASSELIJN, HANS (1610-1660), Dutch painter, was born at Diepen, near +Amsterdam. He received instruction from Esaias Vandevelde (1587-1630), +and distinguished himself particularly in landscape and animal painting, +though his historical works and battle pieces are also admired. He +travelled much in France and Italy, and modelled his style greatly after +Bamboccio (Peter Laer). He was one of the first Dutch painters who +introduced a fresh and clear manner of painting landscapes in the style +of Claude Lorraine, and his example was speedily followed by other +artists. Asselijn's pictures were in high estimation at Amsterdam, and +several of them are in the museums of that city. Twenty-four, painted in +Italy, were engraved. + + + + +ASSEMANI, the name of a Syrian Maronite family of famous Orientalists. + +1. JOSEPH SIMON, a Maronite of Mount Lebanon, was born in 1687. When +very young he was sent to the Maronite college in Rome, and was +transferred thence to the Vatican library. In 1717 he was sent to Egypt +and Syria to search for valuable MSS., and returned with about 150 very +choice ones. The success of this expedition induced the pope to send him +again to the East in 1735, and he returned with a still more valuable +collection. On his return he was made titular archbishop of Tyre and +librarian of the Vatican library. He instantly began to carry into +execution most extensive plans for editing and publishing the most +valuable MS. treasures of the Vatican. His two great works are the +_Bibliotheca Orientalis Clementino-Vaticana rec. manuscr. codd. Syr., +Arab., Pers., Turc., Hebr., Samarit., Armen., Aethiop., Graec., Aegypt., +Iber., et Malab., jussu et munif. Clem. XI._ (Rome, 1719-1728), 9 vols. +folio, and _Ephraemi Syri opera omnia quae extant, Gr., Syr., et Lat._, +6 vols. folio (Rome, 1737-1746). Of the _Bibliotheca_ the first three +vols. only were completed. The work was to have been in four parts--(1) +Syrian and allied MSS., orthodox, Nestorian and Jacobite; (2) Arabian +MSS., Christian and Mahommedan; (3) Coptic, Aethiopic, Persian and +Turkish MSS.; and (4) Syrian and Arabian MSS. not distinctively +theological; only the first part was completed, but extensive +preparations were made for the others. There is a German abridgment by +A.F. Pfeiffer. + +2. JOSEPH ALOYSIUS, brother of Joseph Simon, and professor of Oriental +languages at Rome. He died in 1782. Besides aiding his brother in his +literary labours, he published, in 1749-1760, _Codex Liturgicus +Ecclesiae Universae in xv. libris_ (this is incomplete), and _Comment. +de Catholicis sive Patriarchis Chaldaeorum et Nestorianorum_ (Rome, +1775). + +3. STEPHEN EVODIUS, nephew of Joseph Simon and Joseph Aloysius, was the +chief assistant of his uncle Joseph Simon in his work in the Vatican +library. He was titular archbishop of Apamea in Syria, and held several +rich prebends in Italy. His literary labours were very extensive. His +two most important works were a description of certain valuable MSS. in +his _Bibliotheae Mediceo-Laurentianae et Palatinae codd. manuscr. +Orientalium Catalogus_ (Flor. 1742), fol., and his _Acta SS. Martyrum +Orientalium._ He made several translations from the Syrian, and in +conjunction with his uncle he began the _Bibliothecae Apostol. Vatic. +codd. manusc. Catal., in tres partes distributus._ Only three vols. were +published, and the fire in the Vatican library in 1768 consumed the +manuscript collections which had been prepared for the continuation of +the work. + +4. SIMON, grandnephew of Joseph Simon, was born at Tripoli in 1752, and +was professor of Oriental languages in Padua. He died in 1820. He is +best known by his masterly detection of the literary imposture of Vella, +which claimed to be a history of the Saracens in Syria. + + + + +ASSEMBLY, UNLAWFUL, the term used in English law for an assembly of +three or more persons with intent to commit a crime by force, or to +carry out a common purpose (whether lawful or unlawful), in such a +manner or in such circumstances as would in the opinion of firm and +rational men endanger the public peace or create fear of immediate +danger to the tranquillity of the neighbourhood. In the Year Book of the +third year of Henry VII.'s reign assemblies were referred to as not +punishable unless _in terrorem populi domini regis_. It has been +suggested (Criminal Code Commission, 1879) that legislation first became +necessary at a time when it was usual for those landed proprietors who +were on bad terms with one another to go to market at the head of bands +of armed retainers (Statute of Northampton, 1328, 2 Edw. III. c. 3). An +assembly, otherwise lawful, is not made unlawful if those who take part +in it know beforehand that there will probably be organized opposition +to it, and that it may cause a breach of the peace (_Beatty v. +Gillbanks_, 1882, 9 Q.B.D. 308). All persons may, and must if called +upon to do so, assist in dispersing an unlawful assembly (_Redford v. +Birley_, 1822, 1 St. Tr. n.s. 1215; _R. v. Pinney_, 1831, 3 St. Tr. n.s. +11). An assembly which is lawful cannot be rendered unlawful by +proclamation unless the proclamation is one authorized by statute (_R. +v. Fursey_, 1833, 3 St. Tr. n.s. 543, 567; _R. v. O'Connell_, 1831, 2 +St. Tr. n.s. 629, 656; see also the Prevention of Crimes [Ireland] Act +1887). Meetings for training or drilling, or military movements, are +unlawful assemblies unless held under lawful authority from the crown, +the lord-lieutenant, or two justices of the peace (Unlawful Drilling Act +1820, s. 11). + +An unlawful assembly which has made a motion towards its common purpose +is termed a _rout_, and if the unlawful assembly should proceed to carry +out its purpose, e.g. begin to demolish a particular enclosure, it +becomes a riot (q.v.). All three offences are misdemeanours in English +law, punishable by fine and imprisonment. The common law as to unlawful +assembly extends to Ireland, subject to the special legislation referred +to under the title RIOT. The law of Scotland includes unlawful assembly +under the same head as rioting. + +_British Dominions Abroad._--The law of the British colonies as a +general rule as to unlawful assemblies follows the common law of +England. The definitions in the Criminal Codes of Canada (1892, s. 79) +and Queensland (1899, s. 61) are substantially the same as the +common-law definition above given. Under the Indian Penal Code (s. 141) +an assembly of five or more persons is designated an unlawful assembly +if the common object of the persons composing that assembly is--(1) to +overawe by criminal force, or show of criminal force, the legislative or +executive government of India, or the government of any presidency or +any lieutenant-governor, or any public servant in the exercise of the +lawful power of such public servant; (2) to resist the execution of any +law or of any legal process; (3) to commit any mischief or "criminal +trespass" or other offence; (4) by means of criminal force or show of +criminal force to any person, to take or obtain possession of any +property, or to deprive any person of the enjoyment of a right of way, +or of the use of water, or other corporeal right of which he is in +possession or enjoyment, or to enforce any right or supposed right; or +(5) by means of criminal force or show of criminal force, to compel any +person to do what he is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do what +he is legally entitled to do (see Mayne, _Ind. Cr. Law_, ed. 1896, p. +480). In South Africa and Mauritius the law on this subject is derived +from the Roman Dutch and French law (see RIOT.) + +_United States._--The common-law definition of unlawful assembly is +accepted in the United States subject to the special legislation of the +constituent states. The New York Penal Code (s. 451) declares that +whenever three or more persons being assembled attempt or threaten any +act tending towards a breach of the peace or injury to person or +property, or any unlawful act, such assembly is unlawful (see Bishop, +_Amer. Crim. Law_, 8th ed., 1892, vol. i. s. 534, vol. ii. s. 1256). + + + + +ASSEN, the capital of the province of Drente, Holland, 16 m. by rail S. +of Groningen, at the junction of the two canals which run north and +south to Groningen and Meppel respectively. Pop. (1900) 11,329. It is +partly surrounded by a small forest belonging to the state. Assen +possesses schools (a gymnasium and burgher school), a chamber of +commerce, a museum of antiquities and a court-house. Peat-cutting forms +a considerable industry. Many prehistoric remains found in the +neighbourhood are in the museum at Leiden. Until the 19th century Assen +was a small place built round the convent in which Otto II. (of Lippe), +bishop of Utrecht, was murdered after being taken prisoner at Koevorden +in 1237. + + + + +ASSER, or ASSERIUS MENEVENSIS (d. c. 910), English bishop, and author +of a life of Alfred the Great, was a native of the western part of +Wales, and was related to Nobis, bishop of St David's. He became a monk +at St David's, and having acquired some reputation for learning, he was +invited by King Alfred to his court. The king met the monk at Denu +(probably East or West Dean, near Seaford in Sussex), but Asser did not +at once accept the invitation of Alfred, and returned to Wales to +consult his colleagues. He then agreed to spend six months of each year +with the king and six months in his own land; but his first stay at the +royal court extended to eight months, and it is probable that the +annual visit to Wales was curtailed if not altogether discontinued. It +is difficult to fix the date of Asser's arrival in England, but it was +probably about 885. He assisted the king in his studies, received from +him the monasteries of Congresbury and Banwell, and sometime later +"Exeter and its diocese in Saxonland and Cornwall." He became bishop of +Sherborne before 900, and his death is recorded in the Anglo-Saxon +Chronicle under the date 910, although it is possible that it occurred a +year or two earlier. The scanty details of Asser's life are taken from +his biography of Alfred, from which it is inferred that he was +acquainted with one or two Frankish biographies, and possibly had +visited the continent of Europe. + +Asser's work, _Annales rerum gestarum Alfredi magni_, was written about +893, and consists of a chronicle of English history from 849 to 887, and +an account of Alfred's life, largely drawn from personal knowledge, down +to 887. The only manuscript of which there is any record dates from +about 1000, and was destroyed by fire in 1731. From this manuscript an +edition was printed in 1574 under the direction of Matthew Parker, +archbishop of Canterbury; but this contained many interpolations and +alterations which were copied by subsequent editors. The text has since +been the subject of careful study, and the edition edited by W.H. +Stevenson (Oxford, 1904) distinguishes between the original work of +Asser and the later additions. Some doubt has been cast upon the +authenticity of the work, especially by T. Wright in the _Biographia +Britannica literaria_ (London, 1842), who ascribes the life to a monk of +St Neots; but the latest scholarship regards it as the work of Asser, +although all the difficulties which surround the authorship have not +been removed. The life was largely used by subsequent chroniclers, among +others by Florence of Worcester, Simeon of Durham, Roger of Hoveden, and +William of Malmesbury. + + See W.H. Stevenson, Introduction to Asser's _Life of King Alfred_ + (Oxford, 1904); R. Pauli, Introduction to _Konig Aelfred_ (Berlin, + 1851). + + + + +ASSESSMENT, (from Lat. _assessare_, to sit beside, to judge), a term +expressing either an official valuation of income or property for +purposes of taxation, or the amount so determined (see TAXATION and +VALUATION). It is also applied to the amount of damages fixed by a jury +in a court of law (see DAMAGES). + +An _assessment committee_ is a statutory committee appointed under the +Union Assessment Acts 1862, 1880, for the purpose of making out the +valuation lists upon which the poor-law rate is based. + +An _assessment policy_, in life insurance, is a policy issued at a fixed +premium, the excess of which over the portion necessary to meet current +claims and expenses goes to form a reserve fund which is devoted to +various forms of benefit for the policy-holders. See INSURANCE and +FRIENDLY SOCIETIES. + + + + +ASSESSOR (Lat. _assessare_, _assidere_, to sit by), a Roman term +originally applied to a trained lawyer who sat beside a governor of a +province or other magistrate, to instruct him in the administration of +the laws (see Roll, _De assessoribus magistratuum Romanorum_, Leipzig, +1872). The system is still exemplified in Scotland, where it is usual in +the larger towns for municipal magistrates, in the administration of +their civil jurisdiction, to have the aid of professional assessors. In +England, by the Judicature Act 1873, the court of appeal and the High +Court may in any cause or matter call in the aid of assessors. The +Patents Act 1907 makes special provision for assessors in patent and +trade-mark cases. By the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1891 the House +of Lords may, in appeals in admiralty actions, call in the aid of +assessors, while in the admiralty division of the High Court it is usual +for the Elder Brethren of Trinity House to assist as nautical assessors. +In admiralty cases in the county courts, too, the judge is frequently +assisted by assessors of "nautical skill and experience" (County Court +Admiralty Jurisdiction Act 1868). In the ecclesiastical courts assessors +assist the bishop in proceedings under the Church Discipline Act 1840, +s. 11, while under the Clergy Discipline Act 1892, s. 2, they assist the +chancellor in determining questions of fact. By the Appellate +Jurisdiction Act 1876, s. 14, the king in council may make rules for the +attendance of archbishops and bishops as assessors in the hearing of +ecclesiastical cases by the judicial committee of the privy council. + +The term "assessor" is also very generally applied to persons appointed +to ascertain and fix the value of rates, taxes, &c., and in this sense +the word is used in the United States. + +In France and in all European countries where the civil law system +prevails, the term _assesseur_ is applied to those assistant judges who, +with a president, compose a judicial court. + +In Germany an _Assessor_, or _Beisitzer_, is a member of the legal +profession who has passed four years in actual practice and become +qualified for the position of a judge. + + + + +ASSETS (from the O. Nor. Fr. _assetz_, mod. Fr. _assez_, "enough"), in +English law, strictly the property of a debtor in the hands of his +representative sufficient for the satisfaction of his creditors or +legatees. Thus the property of a bankrupt is termed his assets and is +the fund out of which his liabilities must be paid. All property of the +debtor is assets, and it is not necessary that it should have been +reduced into possession by him. + +The creditors of a debtor are either secured or unsecured. A secured +creditor, e.g. a mortgagee, has a prior claim to be paid his debt out of +his security. If on realization of the security there is a balance after +paying the debt, such balance becomes assets for the unsecured +creditors; if there is a deficit, then the creditor becomes an unsecured +creditor for such deficit. The unsecured creditors were formerly divided +into creditors by specialty and by simple contract, the first being +creditors secured by instrument under seal who ranked in priority to +simple contract creditors. But by Hinde Palmer's Act [the Executors Act] +1869 all unsecured creditors rank alike. + +Assets are divisible into legal assets and equitable assets, and the +former class is again divisible into assets real and personal. These +distinctions, though formerly of great importance, have now lost most of +their meaning, but it is necessary briefly to describe the nature of +these divisions and their consequences. The distinction between assets +legal and equitable depends entirely upon the remedy open to the +creditor to recover his debt and in no way upon the nature of the +property from which the debt is sought to be recovered. If the creditor +had to sue the executor of a debtor at law to obtain payment out of the +property, that property was legal assets; but if the only remedy open to +the creditor to get at the property was to bring an action in chancery +for the administration of the estate, then the assets were equitable. + +Legal assets, as has been said, were divided into real and personal +assets. The personal assets were those which devolved _virtute officii_ +on the executor or administrator; such assets are since Hinde Palmer's +Act available equally for specialty and simple contract creditors. The +real assets consisted of those descending to the heir or devised to a +devisee, and were at law only liable for specialty debts. However, by +the Land Transfer Act 1897 it is provided that the real estate of a +deceased shall devolve upon the executor and "shall be administered in +the same manner ... and with the same incidents as if it were personal +estate." The distinction, therefore, between assets real and personal +has practically ceased to exist, and only continues in regard to such +property as is not included in the act, the most important of which is +land held in copyhold. + +The equitable assets were treated otherwise. In the eyes of equity all +unsecured creditors stand upon the same footing, and a creditor suing +for administration of the estate sued on behalf of himself and all other +creditors of the estate, and the distinction between specialty and +simple contract creditors was ignored. Land was not at law liable to +satisfy simple contract creditors; but if a testator expressly charged +it with payment of his debts or devised it to his executors upon trust +to pay his debts, equity treated it as equitable assets and so made it +available to satisfy simple contract creditors; and finally by an act of +1833 it was provided that real estate should in all cases be assets to +be administered by equity for the benefit of simple contract creditors +as well as creditors by specialty. It will be seen therefore that, +generally speaking, all creditors have now the same remedies against the +executors either at law or in equity. The only property as to which +these distinctions at all survive is that not touched by the Land +Transfer Act 1897. + +The act of 1833 just mentioned does not, however, deal with legacies, +which continue to be payable only out of personalty unless they are +expressly charged upon the realty by the testator; it has been contended +that the effect of the Land Transfer Act 1897 has been to alter this and +make the realty assets for the purpose of paying legacies, but this view +is believed to be unsound. + +It is necessary for the representative so to distribute the assets that +any fund primarily liable shall bear its proper burden, and that as far +as possible all debts and legacies may be paid; this is said to be +"marshalling the assets," and a few examples of the principal cases of +marshalling will make this clear. If the personalty is exhausted in +satisfying the creditors the legatees are left without a fund from which +to be paid. But inasmuch as the creditor could have got paid out of the +realty, as well as the personalty, it is not fair that the legatee +should suffer by the creditor's choice, and he will therefore get +payment from the real estate. So again if one legacy is charged upon the +real estate and another is not, then if the former be paid out of the +personalty the latter will stand in its place and be paid from the real +estate. + +Finally it shall be noticed that an insolvent estate may be administered +in bankruptcy. In such a case the law of bankruptcy regulates the order +in which the assets are divided among the creditors (see BANKRUPTCY), +but by the Judicature Act 1875, it is provided that an insolvent estate +may be administered in the chancery division, and in such a case "the +same rules shall prevail and be observed as to the respective rights of +secured and unsecured creditors and as to the debts and liabilities +provable and as to the valuation of annuities and future and contingent +liabilities respectively as may be in force for the time being under the +law of bankruptcy." This clause must be construed strictly, and it is +only in the three cases specifically mentioned that the rules of +bankruptcy will be imported into the administration of an insolvent +estate by the chancery division. + +In a less strict sense, the term "assets," or "an asset," is used +derivatively as a synonym for any property, or as opposed to +"liabilities." Cecil Rhodes once spoke of the British flag as a "great +commercial asset" in South Africa, meaning merely that the imperial +connexion was a source of strength and credit. + + + + +ASSIDEANS (the Anglicized form, derived through the Greek, of the Hebrew +_Hasidim_, "the pious"), the name of a party or sect which stood out +against the Hellenization of the Jews in the 2nd century B.C. After the +massacre of those who fled from the forces of Antiochus Epiphanes and +would not resist on the sabbath, Mattathias (or Judas) decided to set +aside the law and was joined by a company of Assideans, brave men of +Israel every one, who offered themselves willingly for the law (1 Macc. +ii. 42, cf. 2 Macc. viii. 1). On the appointment of Alcimus (162 B.C.), +"a descendant of Aaron" as high-priest, "the Assideans were the first +who sought peace" (1 Macc. vii. 13 f.); but the treacherous murder of +sixty of them (ib. 16) threw them back into the arms of Judas. According +to 2 Macc. xiv., Alcimus identified them with the whole party of the +rebels, of which they were only one, though the most important, section. + + See Schurer, _Geschichte des judischen Volkes_, i. 203; art. in + _Jewish Encyclopaedia_, s.v. "Hasidim" (S.M. Dubnow). (J. H. A. H.) + + + + +ASSIGNATS (from Lat. _assignatus_, assigned), a form of paper-money +issued in France from 1789 to 1796. Assignats were so termed, as +representing land _assigned_ to the holders. + +The financial strait of the French government in 1789 was extreme. Coin +was scarce, loans were not taken up, taxes had ceased to be productive, +and the country was threatened with imminent bankruptcy. In this +emergency assignats were issued to provide a substitute for a metallic +currency. They were originally of the nature of mortgage bonds on the +national lands. These lands consisted of the church property +confiscated, on the motion of Mirabeau, by the Constituent Assembly on +the 2nd of November 1789, and the crown lands, which had been taken over +by the nation on the 7th of October (see FRENCH REVOLUTION). + +The assignats were first to be paid to the creditors of the state. With +these the creditors could purchase national land, the assignats having, +for this purpose, the preference over other forms of money. If the +creditor did not care to purchase land, it was supposed that he could +obtain the face-value for them from those who desired land. Those +assignats which were returned to the state as purchase-money were to be +cancelled, and the whole issue, it was argued, would consequently +disappear as the national lands were distributed. + +A first issue was made of 400,000,000 francs' worth of assignats, each +note being of 100 francs' value and bearing interest daily at a rate of +5%. They were to be redeemed by the product of the sales, and from +certain other sources, at the rate of 120,000,000 francs in 1791, +100,000,000 francs in 1792, 80,000,000 francs in 1793 and 1794, and the +surplus in 1795. The success of the issue was undoubted, and, possibly, +if the assignats had been restricted, as Mirabeau at first desired, to +the extent of one-half the value of the lands sold, they would not have +shared the usual fate of inconvertible paper money. Mirabeau was a +strenuous advocate of the assignats. "They represent," he said, "real +property, the most secure of all possessions, the soil on which we +tread." "There cannot be a greater error than the fear so generally +prevalent as to the over-issue of assignats ... reabsorbed progressively +in the purchase of the national domains, this paper-money can never +become redundant." + +In 1790 the interest was reduced to 3%, and as the treasury had again +become exhausted, a further issue was decided upon; it was also decreed +that the assignats were to be accepted as legal tender, all public +departments being instructed to receive them as the equivalent of +metallic money. This second issue amounted to 800,000,000 francs and +carried no interest. It was solemnly declared in the decree authorizing +the issue that the maximum issue was never to exceed twelve hundred +millions. This pledge, however, was soon broken, and further issues +brought the total up to 3,750,000,000 francs. The consequence of these +further issues was instant depreciation, and the note of 100 francs +nominal value sank to less than 20 francs coin. Recourse was then had to +protective legislation. The first step was to decree the penalty of six +years' imprisonment against any person who should sell specie for a more +considerable quantity of assignats, or who should stipulate a different +price for commodities according as the payment was to be made in specie +or in assignats. For the second offence the penalty was to be twenty +years' imprisonment (August 1, 1793), for which the death penalty was +ultimately substituted (May 10, 1794). This severe provision was, +however, repealed after the fall of Robespierre. Notwithstanding these +precautions, the value of assignats still declined, till the proportion +to specie had become that of six to one. Then came the passing by the +Convention on the 3rd of May 1793 of the absurd "maximum." The decree +required all farmers and corn-dealers to declare the quantity of corn in +their possession and to sell it only in recognized markets. No person +was to be allowed to lay in more than one month's supply. A maximum +price was fixed, above which no one was to buy or sell under severe +penalties. These measures were soon stultified by further issues, and by +June 1794 the total number of assignats aggregated nearly 8,000,000,000, +of which only 2,464,000,000 had returned to the treasury and been +destroyed. The extension of the "maximum" to all commodities only +increased the confusion. Trade was paralysed and all manufacturing +establishments were closed down. Attempts by the Convention to increase +the value of the assignats were of no avail. Too many causes operated in +favour of their depreciation: the enormous issue, the uncertainty as to +their value if the Revolution should fail, the relation they bore to +both specie and commodities, which retained their value and refused to +be exchanged for a money of constantly diminishing purchasing power. +Even between the assignats themselves there were differences. The royal +assignats, which had been issued under Louis XVI., had depreciated less +than the republican ones. They were worth from 8 to 15% more, a fact due +to the hope that in case of a counter-revolution they would be less +likely to be discredited. + +The Directory was guilty of even greater abuses in dealing with the +assignats. By 1796 the issues had reached the enormous figure of +45,500,000,000 francs, and even this gigantic total was swollen still +more by the numerous counterfeits introduced into France from the +neighbouring countries. The assignats had now become totally +valueless--the abolition of the "maximum" the previous year (1795) had +produced no effect, and, though, by various payments into the treasury, +the total number had been reduced to about 24,000,000,000 francs, their +face-value was about 30 to 1 of coin. At this value they were converted +into 800,000,000 francs of land-warrants, or _mandats territoriaux_, +which were to constitute a mortgage on all the lands of the republic. +These _mandats_ were no more successful than the assignats, and even on +the day of their issue were at a discount of 82%. They had an existence +of six months, and were finally received back by the state at about the +seventieth part of their face-value in coin. + + AUTHORITIES.--L.A. Thiers, _Histoire de la revolution francaise_, + gives a full and graphic account of the assignats, the causes of their + depreciation, &c.; J. Garnier, _Traite des Finances_ (1862); J. + Bresson, _Histoire financiere de la France_ (1829); R. Stourm, _Les + Finances de l'ancien regime et de la revolution_ (1885); F.A. Walker, + _Money_ (1891); Henry Higgs, in the _Cambridge Modern History_, vol. + viii. (1904). (T. A. I.) + + + + +ASSIGNMENT, ASSIGNATION, ASSIGNEE (from Lat. _assignare_, to mark out), +terms which, as derivatives of the verb "to assign," are of frequent +technical use in law. To assign is to make over, and the term is +generally used to express a transference by writing, in +contradistinction to a transference by actual delivery. In England the +usual expression is assignment, in Scotland it is assignation. The +person making over is called the _assignor_ or _cedent_; the recipient, +the _assign_ or _assignee_. An assignee may be such either _by deed_, as +when a lessee assigns his lease to another, or _in law_, as when +property devolves upon an executor. The law as to assignment in +connexion with each particular subject, as the assignment of a chose in +action, assignment in contract, of dower, of errors, of a lease, &c., +will be found under the respective headings. In a colloquial sense, +"assignation" means a secretly contrived meeting between lovers. + + + + +ASSINIBOIA, a name formerly applied to two districts of Canada, but not +now held by any. (1) A district formed in 1835 by the Hudson's Bay +Company, having in it Fort Garry at the junction of the Red and +Assiniboine rivers in Rupert's Land, North America. It extended over a +circular area, with a radius of 50 m. from Fort Garry. It was governed +by a local council nominated by the Hudson's Bay Company. It ceased to +exist when Rupert's Land was transferred to Canada in 1870. (2) A +district of the North-west Territories, which was given definite +existence by an act of the Dominion parliament in 1875. Assiniboia +extended from the western boundary of Manitoba (99 deg. W. in 1875, and +101 deg. 25' W. in 1881) to 111 deg. W., and from 49 deg. N. to 52 deg. +N. The name was a misnomer, as it barely touched the Assiniboine river. +To the north of the district lay the district of Saskatchewan, so that +when the two were united by the Dominion act of 1905, they were somewhat +changed in boundaries and the name Saskatchewan was given to the new +province. The derivation of Assiniboia is from two Ojibway words, +_assini_ meaning a stone, and the termination "to cook by roasting"; +from these came a name first applied to a Dakota or Sioux tribe living +on the Upper Red river; afterwards when this tribe separated from the +Dakotas, its name was given to the branch of the Red river which the +tribe visited, the river being known as the Assiniboine and the tribe as +Assiniboin. + + + + +ASSINIBOIN ("Stone-Cookers"), a tribe of North American Indians of +Siouan stock. Their name (see above) is said to refer to their method of +boiling water by dropping red-hot stones into it. Their former range was +between the Missouri and the middle Saskatchewan on both sides of the +Canadian frontier. In 1904 there were 1234 in the United States, all on +reservations in Montana; and in 1902 there were 1371 in Canada. + + See _Handbook of American Indians_, ed. F.W. Hodge (Washington, 1907). + + + + +ASSISE (from the Fr., derived from Lat. _assidere_, to sit beside), a +geological term for two or more beds of rock united by the occurrence of +the same characteristic species or genera. + + + + +ASSISI (anc. _Asisium_), a town and episcopal see of Umbria, Italy, in +the province of Perugia, 15 m. E.S.E. by rail from the town of Perugia. +Pop. (1901) town, 5338; commune, 17,240. The town occupies a fine +position on a mountain (1345 ft. above sea-level) with a view over the +valleys of the Tiber and Topino. It is mainly famous in connexion with +St Francis, who was born here in 1182, and returned to die in 1226. The +Franciscan monastery and the lower and upper church of St Francis were +begun immediately after his canonization in 1228, and completed in 1253, +being fine specimens of Gothic architecture. The crypt was added in +1818, when the sarcophagus containing his remains was discovered. The +lower church contains frescoes by Cimabue, Giotto and others, the most +famous of which are those over the high altar by Giotto, illustrating +the vows of the Franciscan order; while the upper church has frescoes +representing scenes from the life of St Francis (probably by Giotto and +his contemporaries) on the lower portion of the walls of the nave, and +scenes from Old and New Testament history by pupils of Cimabue on the +upper. The church of Santa Chiara (St Clare), the foundress of the Poor +Clares, with its massive lateral buttresses, fine rose-window, and +simple Gothic interior, was begun in 1257, four years after her death. +It contains the tomb of the saint and 13th-century frescoes and +pictures. Santa Maria Maggiore is also a good Gothic church. The +cathedral (San Rufino) has a fine facade with three rose-windows of +1140; the interior was modernized in 1572. The town is dominated by the +medieval castle (1655 ft.), built by Cardinal Albornoz (1367) and added +to by Popes Pius II. and Paul III. Two miles to the east in a ravine +below Monte Subasio is the hermitage _delle Carceri_ (2300 ft.), partly +built, partly cut out of the solid rock, given to St Francis by +Benedictine monks as a place of retirement. Below the town to the +south-west, close to the station, is the large pilgrimage church of +Santa Maria degli Angeli, begun in 1569 by Pope Pius V., with Vignola as +architect; but not completed until 1640. It contains the original +oratory of St Francis and the cell in which he died. Adjacent is the +garden in which the saint's thornless roses bloom in May. Half a mile +outside the town to the south-east is the convent of San Damiano, +erected by St Francis, of which St Clare was first abbess. + +In the early middle ages Assisi was subject to the dukes of Spoleto; but +in the 11th century it seems to have been independent. It became +involved, however, in the disputes of Guelphs and Ghibellines, and was +frequently at war with Perugia. It was sacked by Perugia and the papal +troops in 1442, and even after that continued to be the prey of +factions. The place is now famous as a resort of pilgrims, and is also +important for the history of Italian art. The poet Metastasio was born +here in 1698. + + See L. Duff-Gordon, _Assisi_ ("Mediaeval Towns" series, London, 1900). + For ancient history see ASISIUM. (T. As.) + + + + +ASSIUT, or SIUT, capital of a province of Upper Egypt of the same name, +and the largest and best-built town in the Nile Valley south of Cairo, +from which it is distant 248 m. by rail. The population rose from 32,000 +in 1882 to 42,000 in 1900. Assiut stands near the west bank of the Nile +across which, just below the town, is a barrage, completed in 1902, +consisting of an open weir, 2733 ft. long, and over 100 bays or sluices, +each 16-1/2 ft. wide, which can be opened or closed at will. At the +western end of the barrage begins the Ibrahimia canal, the feeder of the +Bahr Yusuf, the largest irrigation canal of Egypt. The Ibrahimia canal +is skirted by a magnificent embankment planted with shady trees leading +from the river to the town. There are several bazaars, baths and +handsome mosques, one noted for its lofty minaret, and here the American +Presbyterian mission has established a college for both sexes. Assiut is +famous for its red and black pottery and for ornamental wood and ivory +work, which find a ready market all over Egypt. It is one of the chief +centres of the Copts. Here also is the northern terminus of the caravan +route across the desert, which, passing through the Kharga oasis, goes +south-west to Darfur. It is known as the Arbain, or forty days road, +from the time occupied on the journey. Assiut (properly Asyut) is the +successor of the ancient Lycopolis (Eg. Sioout), capital of the 13th +nome of Upper Egypt. Here were worshipped two canine gods (see ANUBIS), +Ophois (Wepwoi) being the principal god of the city, while Anubis +apparently presided over the necropolis. No ruins are visible, the +mounds of the old city being for the most part hidden under modern +buildings; but the slopes of the limestone hills behind it are pierced +with an infinity of rock-cut tombs, some of which were large and +decorated with sculptures, paintings and long inscriptions. The +archaeological commission of the _Description de l'Egypte_ visited them +in 1799, when the walls of many of the large tombs were still almost +intact; in the first half of the 19th century (and to some extent later) +an immense amount of destruction was caused by blasting for stone. Three +of the tombs illustrate one of the darkest periods in Egypt's history, +when the princes of Siut played a leading part in the struggle between +Heracleopolis and Thebes (Dyns. IX.-XI.); another, of the XIIth Dynasty, +contains a remarkable inscription detailing the contracts made by the +nomarch with the priests of the temples of Ophois and Anubis for +perpetual services at his tomb (see Breasted, _Ancient Records of Egypt, +Historical Documents_, vol. i. pp. 179, 258). Remains of the mummies of +dogs and similar animals sacred to these deities are scattered among the +debris on the hillside in abundance. Lycopolis was the birthplace of +Plotinus, the founder of Neo-Platonism (A.D. 205-270). From the 4th +century onwards its grottoes were the dwellings of Christian hermits, +amongst whom John of Lycopolis was the most celebrated. (F. Ll. G.) + + + + +ASSIZE, or ASSISE (Lat. _assidere_, to sit beside; O. Fr. _assire_, to +sit, _assis_, seated), a legal term, meaning literally a "session," but +in fact, as Littleton has styled it, a _nomen aequivocum_, meaning +sometimes a jury, sometimes the sittings of a court, and sometimes the +ordinances of a court or assembly. + +It originally signified the form of trial by a jury of sixteen persons, +which eventually superseded the barbarous judicial combat; this jury was +named the grand assize and was sworn to determine the right of seisin of +land (see EVIDENCE). The grand assize was abolished in 1833; but the +term assize is still applicable to the jury in criminal causes in +Scotland. + +In the only sense in which the word is not now almost obsolete, assize +means the periodical session of the judges of the High Court of Justice, +held in the various counties of England, chiefly for the purposes of +gaol delivery and trying causes at _nisi prius_. Previous to Magna Carta +(1215) writs of assize had all to be tried at Westminster, or to await +trial in the locality in which they had originated at the septennial +circuit of the justices in eyre; but, by way of remedy for the great +consequent delay and inconvenience, it was provided by this celebrated +act that the assizes of _mort d'ancestor_ and _novel disseisin_ should +be tried annually by the judges in every county. By successive +enactments, the civil jurisdiction of the justices of assize was +extended, and the number of their sittings increased, till at last the +necessity of repairing to Westminster for judgment in civil actions was +almost obviated to country litigants by an act, passed in the reign of +Edward I., which provided that the writ summoning the jury to +Westminster should also appoint a time and place for hearing such causes +within the county of their origin. The date of the alternative summons +to Westminster was always subsequent to the former date, and so timed as +to fall in the vacation preceding the Westminster term, and thus +"_Unless before_," or _nisi prius_, issues came to be dealt with by the +judges of assize before the summons to Westminster could take effect. +The _nisi prius_ clause, however, was not then introduced for the first +time. It occurs occasionally in writs of the reign of Henry III. The +royal commissions to hold the assizes are--(1) general, (2) special. The +general commission is issued twice a year to the judges of the High +Court of Justice, and two judges are generally sent on each circuit. It +covers commissions--(1) of oyer and terminer, by which they are +empowered to deal with treasons, murders, felonies, &c. This is their +largest commission; (2) of _nisi prius_ (q.v.) (3) of gaol delivery, +which requires them to try every prisoner in gaol, for whatsoever +offence committed; (4) of the peace, by which all justices must be +present at their county assizes, or else suffer a fine. Special +commissions are granted for inquest in certain causes and crimes. See +also the articles CIRCUIT; JURY. + +Assizes, in the sense of ordinances or enactments of a court or council +of state, as the "assize of bread and ale," the "assize of Clarendon," +the "assize of arms," are important in early economic history. As early +as the reign of John the observance of the _assisae venalium_ was +enforced, and for a period of 500 years thereafter it was considered no +unimportant part of the duties of the legislature to regulate by fixed +prices, for the protection of the lieges, the sale of bread, ale, fuel, +&c. (see ADULTERATION). Sometimes in city charters the right to assize +such articles is specially conceded. Regulations of this description +were beneficial in the repression of fraud and adulteration. Assizes are +sometimes used in a wider legislative connexion by early chroniclers and +historians--the "assisae of the realme," e.g. occasionally meaning the +organic laws of the country. For the "assizes of Jerusalem" see +CRUSADES. + +The term assize, originally applying to an assembly or court, became +transferred to actions before the court or the writs by which they were +instituted. The following are the more important. + +_Assize of darrien presentment_, or last presentation, was a writ +directed to the sheriff to summon an assize or jury to enquire who was +the last patron that presented to a church then vacant, of which the +plaintiff complained that he was deforced or unlawfully deprived by the +defendant. It was abolished in 1833 and the action of _quare impedit_ +(q.v.) substituted. But by the Common Law Procedure Act 1860, no _quare +impedit_ can be brought, so that an action in the king's bench of the +High Court was substituted for it. + +Assize of _mort d'ancestor_ was a writ which lay where a plaintiff +complained of an "abatement" or entry upon his freehold, effected by a +stranger on the death of the plaintiff's father, mother, brother, +sister, uncle, aunt, &c. It was abolished in 1833. + +Assize of _novel disseisin_ was an action to recover lands of which the +plaintiff had been "disseised" or dispossessed. It was abolished in +1833. See Pollock and Maitland, _Hist. Eng. Law._ + +_Assize, clerk of_, an officer "who writes all things judicially done by +the justices of assizes in their circuits." He has charge of the +commission, and takes recognizances, records, judgments and sentences, +grants certificates of conviction, draws up orders, &c. By the Clerks of +Assize Act 1869 he must either have been for three years a barrister or +solicitor in actual practice, or have acted for three years in the +capacity of subordinate officer of a clerk of assize on circuit. + +_United States._--There are no assize courts in the United States; it is +not the custom for supreme court judges of the states to go on circuit, +but the judges of the United States Supreme Court do sit as members of +the United States circuit courts in the several states periodically +throughout the year. These courts are not assize courts, but are federal +as distinguished from state courts, and have a special and limited +jurisdiction. In the several states the highest court is divided into +departments, in each of which there are courts presided over by supreme +court judges residing in that department, thus avoiding the assize court +or circuit-going system. + + + + +ASSMANNSHAUSEN, a village of Germany, in the Prussian province of +Hesse-Nassau, on the right bank of the Rhine and the railway from +Frankfort-on-Main to Niederlahnstein. Pop. 1100. It has a lithium +spring, baths and a _Kurhaus_, and is famed for its red wine +(Assmannshauser), which resembles light Burgundy. From here a railway +ascends the Niederwald. + + + + +ASSOCIATE (Lat. _associatus_, from _ad_, to, and _sociare_ to join). one +who is united with another, and so generally a companion--in particular +a subordinate member of an institution or society, as an associate of +the Royal Academy, or one holding a degree in a learned society lower +than that of fellow. In English law the associates are officers of the +supreme court, whose duties are to draw up the list of causes, enter +verdicts, hand the records to the parties, &c., and generally to conduct +the business of trials. By the Judicature (Officers) Act 1879 they were +styled masters of the supreme court, but the office is now amalgamated +with the crown office department, of which they are clerks. + + + + +ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS, or MENTAL ASSOCIATION, a term used in psychology +to express the conditions under which representations arise in +consciousness, and also for a principle put forward by an important +historical school of thinkers to account generally for the facts of +mental life. Modern physiological psychology has so altered the approach +to this subject that much of the older discussion has become antiquated, +but it may be recapitulated here for historical purposes. + + _Earlier Theory._--In the long and erudite Note D**, appended by Sir + W. Hamilton to his edition of Reid's Works, many anticipations of + modern statements on association are cited from the works of ancient + or medieval thinkers; and for Aristotle, in particular, the glory is + claimed of having at once originated the doctrine and practically + brought it to perfection.[1] As translated by Hamilton, but without + his interpolations, the classical passage from the _De Memoria et + Reminiscentia_ runs as follows:-- + + "When, therefore, we accomplish an act of reminiscence, we pass + through a certain series of precursive movements, until we arrive at a + movement on which the one we are in quest of is habitually consequent. + Hence, too, it is that we hunt through the mental train, excogitating + from the present or some other, and from similar or contrary or + coadjacent. Through this process reminiscence takes place. For the + movements are, in these cases, sometimes at the same time, sometimes + parts of the same whole, so that the subsequent movement is already + more than half accomplished." + + The passage is obscure, but it does at all events indicate the various + principles commonly termed contiguity, similarity and contrast. + Similar principles are stated by Zeno the Stoic, by Epicurus (see + Diog. Laert. vii. S 52, x. S 32), and by St Augustine (_Confessions_, + x. e. 19). Aristotle's doctrine received a more or less intelligent + expansion and illustration from the ancient commentators and the + schoolmen, and in the still later period of transition from the age of + scholasticism to the time of modern philosophy, prolonged in the works + of some writers far into the 17th century, Hamilton adduced not a few + philosophical authorities who gave prominence to the general fact of + mental association--the Spaniard Ludovicus Vives (1492-1540) + especially being most exhaustive in his account of memory. + + In Hobbes's psychology much importance is assigned to what he called, + variously, the succession, sequence, series, consequence, coherence, + train of imaginations or thoughts in mental discourse. But not before + Hume is there express question as to what are the distinct principles + of association. John Locke had, meanwhile, introduced the phrase + "Association of Ideas" as the title of a supplementary chapter + incorporated with the fourth edition of his _Essay_, meaning it, + however, only as the name of a principle accounting for the mental + peculiarities of individuals, with little or no suggestion of its + general psychological import. Of this last Hume had the strongest + impression; he reduced the principles of association to + three--Resemblance, Contiguity in time and place, Cause and (or) + Effect. Dugald Stewart put forward Resemblance, Contrariety, and + Vicinity in time and place, though he added, as another obvious + principle, accidental coincidence in the sounds of words, and further + noted three other cases of relation, namely, Cause and Effect, Means + and End, Premisses and Conclusion, as holding among the trains of + thought under circumstances of special attention. Reid, preceding + Stewart, was rather disposed to make light of the subject of + association, vaguely remarking that it seems to require no other + original quality of mind but the power of habit to explain the + spontaneous recurrence of trains of thinking, when become familiar by + frequent repetition (_Intellectual Powers_, p. 387). + + Hamilton's own theory of mental reproduction, suggestion or + association is a development, greatly modified, of the doctrine + expounded in his _Lectures on Metaphysics_ (vol. ii. p. 223, seq.), + which reduced the principles of association first to two--Simultaneity + and Affinity, and these further to one supreme principle of + Redintegration or Totality. In the ultimate scheme he posits no less + than four general laws of mental succession concerned in reproduction: + (1) _Associability_ or possible co-suggestion (all thoughts of the + same mental subject are associable or capable of suggesting each + other); (2) _Repetition_ or direct remembrance (thoughts coidentical + in modification, but differing in time, tend to suggest each other); + (3) _Redintegration_, direct remembrance or reminiscence (thoughts + once coidentical in time, are, however, different as mental modes, + again suggestive of each other, and that in the mutual order which + they originally held); (4) _Preference_ (thoughts are suggested not + merely by force of the general subjective relation subsisting between + themselves, they are also suggested in proportion to the relation of + interest, from whatever source, in which they stand to the individual + mind). Upon these follow, as special laws:--A, Primary--modes of the + laws of Repetition and Redintegration--(1) law of Similars (Analogy, + Affinity); (2) law of Contrast; (3) law of Coadjacency (Cause and + Effect, &c.); B, Secondary--modes of the law of Preference, under the + law of Possibility--(1) laws of Immediacy and Homogeneity; (2) law of + Facility. + + _The Associationist School._--This name is given to the English + psychologists who aimed at explaining all mental acquisitions, and the + more complex mental processes generally under laws not other than + those which have just been set out as determining simple reproduction. + Hamilton, though professing to deal with reproduction only, formulates + a number of still more general laws of mental succession--law of + Succession, law of Variation, law of Dependence, law of Relativity or + Integration (involving law of Conditioned), and, finally, law of + Intrinsic or Objective Relativity--as the highest to which human + consciousness is subject; but it is in a sense quite different that + the psychologists of the so-called Associationist School intend their + appropriation of the principle or principles commonly signalized. As + far as can be judged from imperfect records, they were anticipated to + some extent by the experientialists of ancient times, both Stoic and + Epicurean (cf. Diogenes Laertius, as above). In the modern period, + Hobbes is the first thinker of permanent note to whom this doctrine + may be traced. Though, in point of fact, he took anything but an + exhaustive view of the phenomena of mental succession, yet, after + dealing with trains of imagination, or what he called mental + discourse, he sought in the higher departments of intellect to explain + reasoning as a discourse in words, dependent upon an arbitrary system + of marks, each associated with, or standing for, a variety of + imaginations; and, save for a general assertion that reasoning is a + reckoning--otherwise, a compounding and resolving--he had no other + account of knowledge to give. The whole emotional side of mind, or, in + his language, the passions, he, in like manner, resolved into an + expectation of consequences, based on past experience of pleasures and + pains of sense. Thus, though he made no serious attempt to justify his + analysis in detail, he is undoubtedly to be classed with the + associationists of the next century. They, however, were wont to trace + their psychological theory no further back than to Locke's _Essay_. + Bishop Berkeley was driven to posit expressly a principle of + suggestion or association in these terms:--"That one idea may suggest + another to the mind, it will suffice that they have been observed to + go together, without any demonstration of the necessity of their + coexistence, or so much as knowing what it is that makes them so to + coexist" (_New Theory of Vision_, S 25); and to support the obvious + application of the principle to the case of the sensations of sight + and touch before him, he constantly urged that association of sound + and sense of language which the later school has always put in the + foreground, whether as illustrating the principle in general or in + explanation of the supreme importance of language for knowledge. It + was natural, then, that Hume, coming after Berkeley, and assuming + Berkeley's results, though he reverted to the larger inquiry of Locke, + should be more explicit in his reference to association; but he was + original also, when he spoke of it as a "kind of attraction which in + the mental world will be found to have as extraordinary effects as in + the natural, and to show itself in as many and as various forms" + (_Human Nature_, i. 1, S 4). Other inquirers about the same time + conceived of association with this breadth of view, and set themselves + to track, as psychologists, its effects in detail. + + David Hartley in his _Observations on Man_, published in 1749 (eleven + years after the _Human Nature_, and one year after the better-known + _Inquiry_, of Hume), opened the path for all the investigations of + like nature that have been so characteristic of English psychology. A + physician by profession, he sought to combine with an elaborate theory + of mental association a minutely detailed hypothesis as to the + corresponding action of the nervous system, based upon the suggestion + of a vibratory motion within the nerves thrown out by Newton in the + last paragraph of the _Principia_. So far, however, from promoting the + acceptance of the psychological theory, this physical hypothesis + proved to have rather the opposite effect, and it began to be dropped + by Hartley's followers (as F. Priestley, in his abridged edition of + the _Observations_, 1775) before it was seriously impugned from + without. When it is studied in the original, and not taken upon the + report of hostile critics, who would not, or could not understand it, + no little importance must still be accorded to the first attempt, not + seldom a curiously felicitous one, to carry through that parallelism + of the physical and psychical, which since then has come to count for + more and more in the science of mind. Nor should it be forgotten that + Hartley himself, for all his paternal interest in the doctrine of + vibrations, was careful to keep separate from its fortunes the cause + of his other doctrine of mental association. Of this the point lay in + no mere restatement, with new precision, of a principle of coherence + among "ideas," but in its being taken as a clue by which to follow + the progressive development of the mind's powers. Holding that mental + states could be scientifically understood only as they were analysed, + Hartley sought for a principle of synthesis to explain the complexity + exhibited not only in trains of representative images, but alike in + the most involved combinations of reasonings and (as Berkeley had + seen) in the apparently simple phenomena of objective perception, as + well as in the varied play of the emotions, or, again, in the manifold + conscious adjustments of the motor system. One principle appeared to + him sufficient for all, running, as enunciated for the simplest case, + thus: "Any sensations A, B, C, &c., by being associated with one + another a sufficient number of times, get such a power over the + corresponding ideas (called by Hartley also vestiges, types, images) + _a, b, c_, &c., that any one of the sensations A, when impressed + alone, shall be able to excite in the mind _b, c_, &c., the ideas of + the rest." To render the principle applicable in the cases where the + associated elements are neither sensations nor simple ideas of + sensations, Hartley's first care was to determine the conditions under + which states other than these simplest ones have their rise in the + mind, becoming the matter of ever higher and higher combinations. The + principle itself supplied the key to the difficulty, when coupled with + the notion, already implied in Berkeley's investigations, of a + coalescence of simple ideas of sensation into one complex idea, which + may cease to bear any obvious relation to its constituents. So far + from being content, like Hobbes, to make a rough generalization to all + mind from the phenomena of developed memory, as if these might be + straightway assumed, Hartley made a point of referring them, in a + subordinate place of their own, to his universal principle of mental + synthesis. He expressly put forward the law of association, endued + with such scope, as supplying what was wanting to Locke's doctrine in + its more strictly psychological aspect, and thus marks by his work a + distinct advance on the line of development of the experiential + philosophy. + + The new doctrine received warm support from some, as Law and + Priestley, who both, like Hume and Hartley himself, took the principle + of association as having the like import for the science of mind that + gravitation had acquired for the science of matter. The principle + began also, if not always with direct reference to Hartley, yet, + doubtless, owing to his impressive advocacy of it, to be applied + systematically in special directions, as by Abraham Tucker (1768) to + morals, and by Archibald Alison (1790) to aesthetics. Thomas Brown (d. + 1820) subjected anew to discussion the question of theory. Hardly less + unjust to Hartley than Reid or Stewart had been, and forward to + proclaim all that was different in his own position, Brown must yet be + ranked with the associationists before and after him for the + prominence he assigned to the associative principle in + sense-perception (what he called external affections of mind), and for + his reference of all other mental states (internal affections) to the + two generic capacities or susceptibilities of Simple and Relative + Suggestion. He preferred the word Suggestion to Association, which + seemed to him to imply some prior connecting process, whereof there + was no evidence in many of the most important cases of suggestion, nor + even, strictly speaking, in the case of contiguity in time where the + term seemed least inapplicable. According to him, all that could be + assumed was a general constitutional tendency of the mind to exist + successively in states that have certain relations to each other, of + itself only, and without any external cause or any influence previous + to that operating at the moment of the suggestion. Brown's chief + contribution to the general doctrine of mental association, besides + what he did for the theory of perception, was, perhaps, his analysis + of voluntary reminiscence and constructive imagination--faculties that + appear at first sight to lie altogether beyond the explanatory range + of the principle. In James Mill's _Analysis of the Phenomena of the + Human Mind_ (1829), the principle, much as Hartley had conceived it, + was carried out, with characteristic consequence, over the + psychological field. With a much enlarged and more varied conception + of association, Alexander Bain re-executed the general psychological + task, while Herbert Spencer revised the doctrine from the new point of + view of the evolution-hypothesis. John Stuart Mill made only + occasional excursions into the region of psychology proper, but + sought, in his _System of Logic_ (1843), to determine the conditions + of objective truth from the point of view of the associationist + theory, and, thus or otherwise being drawn into general philosophical + discussion, spread wider than any one before him its repute. + + The Associationist School has been composed chiefly of British + thinkers, but in France also it has had distinguished representatives. + Of these it will suffice to mention Condillac, who professed to + explain all knowledge from the single principle of association + (_liaison_) of ideas, operating through a previous association with + signs, verbal or other. In Germany, before the time of Kant, mental + association was generally treated in the traditional manner, as by + Wolff. Kant's inquiry into the foundations of knowledge, agreeing in + its general purport with Locke's, however it differed in its critical + procedure, brought him face to face with the newer doctrine that had + been grafted on Locke's philosophy; and to account for the fact of + synthesis in cognition, in express opposition to associationism, as + represented by Hume, was, in truth, his prime object, starting, as he + did, from the assumption that there was that in knowledge which no + mere association of experiences could explain. To the extent, + therefore, that his influence prevailed, all inquiries made by the + English associationists were discounted in Germany. Notwithstanding, + under the very shadow of his authority a corresponding, if not + related, movement was initiated by J.F. Herbart. Peculiar, and widely + different from anything conceived by the associationists, as Herbart's + metaphysical opinions were, he was at one with them, and at variance + with Kant, in assigning fundamental importance to the psychological + investigation of the development of consciousness, nor was his + conception of the laws determining the interaction and flow of mental + presentations and representations, when taken in its bare + psychological import, essentially different from theirs. In F.E. + Beneke's psychology also, and in more recent inquiries conducted + mainly by physiologists, mental association has been understood in its + wider scope, as a general principle of explanation. + + The associationists differ not a little among themselves in the + statement of their principle, or, when they adduce several principles, + in their conception of the relative importance of these. Hartley took + account only of Contiguity, or the repetition of impressions + synchronous or immediately successive; the like is true of James Mill, + though, incidentally, he made an express attempt to resolve the + received principle of Similarity, and through this the other principle + of Contrast, into his fundamental law--law of Frequency, as he + sometimes called it, because upon frequency, in conjunction with + vividness of impressions, the strength of association, in his view, + depended. In a sense of his own, Brown also, while accepting the + common Aristotelian enumeration of principles, inclined to the opinion + that "all suggestion may be found to depend on prior coexistence, or + at least on such proximity as is itself very probably a modification + of coexistence," provided account be taken of "the influence of + emotions and other feelings that are very different from ideas, as + when an analogous object suggests an analogous object by the influence + of an emotion which each separately may have produced before, and + which is, therefore, common to both." To the contrary effect, Spencer + maintained that the fundamental law of all mental association is that + presentations aggregate or cohere with their like in past experience, + and that, besides this law, there is in strictness no other, all + further phenomena of association being incidental. Thus in particular, + he would have explained association by Contiguity as due to the + circumstance of imperfect assimilation of the present to the past in + consciousness. A. Bain regarded Contiguity and Similarity logically, + as perfectly distinct principles, though in actual psychological + occurrence blending intimately with each other, contiguous trains + being started by a first (it may be, implicit) representation through + Similarity, while the express assimilation of present to past in + consciousness is always, or tends to be, followed by the revival of + what was presented in contiguity with that past. + + The highest, philosophical interest, as distinguished from that which + is more strictly psychological, attaches to the mode of mental + association called Inseparable. The coalescence of mental states noted + by Hartley, as it had been assumed by Berkeley, was farther formulated + by James Mill in these terms:-- + + "Some ideas are by frequency and strength of association so closely + combined that they cannot be separated; if one exists, the other + exists along with it in spite of whatever effort we make to disjoin + them."--(_Analysis of the Human Mind_, 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 93.) + + J.S. Mill's statement is more guarded and particular:-- + + "When two phenomena have been very often experienced in conjunction, + and have not, in any single instance, occurred separately either in + experience or in thought, there is produced between them what has been + called inseparable, or, less correctly, indissoluble, association; by + which is not meant that the association must inevitably last to the + end of life--that no subsequent experience or process of thought can + possibly avail to dissolve it; but only that as long as no such + experience or process of thought has taken place, the association is + irresistible; it is impossible for us to think the one thing disjoined + from the other."--(_Examination of Hamilton's Philosophy_, 2nd ed. p. + 191.) + + It is chiefly by J.S. Mill that the philosophical application of the + principle has been made. The first and most obvious application is to + so-called necessary truths--such, namely, as are not merely analytic + judgments but involve a synthesis of distinct notions. Again, the same + thinker sought to prove Inseparable Association the ground of belief + in an external objective world. The former application, especially, is + facilitated, when the experience through which the association is + supposed to be constituted is understood as cumulative in the race, + and transmissible as original endowment to individuals--endowment that + may be expressed either, subjectively, as latent intelligence, or, + objectively, as fixed nervous connexions. Spencer, as before + suggested, is the author of this extended view of mental association. + + _Modern Criticism._--Of recent years the associationist theory has + been subjected to searching criticism, and it has been maintained by + many writers that the laws are both unsatisfactorily expressed and + insufficient to explain the facts. Among the most vigorous and + comprehensive of these investigations is that of F.H. Bradley in his + _Principles of Logic_ (1883). Having admitted the psychological fact + of mental association, he attacks the theories of Mill and Bain + primarily on the ground that they purport to give an account of mental + life as a whole, a metaphysical doctrine of existence. According to + this doctrine, mental activity is ultimately reducible to particular + feelings, impressions, ideas, which are disparate and unconnected, + until chance Association brings them together. On this assumption the + laws of Association naturally emerge in the following form:--(1) The + _law of Contiguity._--"Actions, sensations and states of feeling, + occurring together or in close connexion, tend to grow together, or + cohere, in such a way that, when any one of them is afterwards + presented to the mind, the others are apt to be brought up in idea" + (A. Bain, _Senses and Intellect_, p. 327). (2) The _law of + Similarity._--"Present actions, sensation, thoughts or emotions tend + to revive their like among previous impressions or states" (A. Bain, + _ibid._ 457. Compare J.S. Mill, _Logic_, ii. p. 440, 9th ed.). The + fundamental objection to (1) is that ideas and impressions once + experienced do not recur; they are particular existences, and, as + such, do not persevere to recur or be presented. So Mill is wrong in + speaking of two impressions being "frequently experienced." Bradley + claims thus to reduce the law to "When we have experienced (or even + thought of) several pairs of impressions (simultaneous or successive), + which pairs are like one another; then whenever an idea occurs which + is like all the impressions on one side of these pairs, it tends to + excite an idea which is like all the impressions on the other side." + This statement is destructive of the title of the law, because it + appears that what were contiguous (the impressions) are not + associated, and what are associated (the ideas) were not contiguous; + in other words, the association is not due to contiguity at all. + + Proceeding to the law of Similarity (which in Mill's view is at the + back of association by contiguity), and having made a similar + criticism of its phrasing, Bradley maintains that it involves an even + greater absurdity; if two ideas are to be recognized as similar, they + must both be present in the mind; if one is to call up the other, one + must be absent. To the obvious reply that the similarity is recognized + _ex post facto_, and not while the former idea is being called up, + Bradley replies simply that such a view reduces the law to the mere + statement of a phenomenon and deprives it of any explanatory value, + though he hardly makes it clear in what sense this necessarily + invalidates the law from a psychological point of view. He further + points out with greater force that in point of fact mere similarity is + not the basis of ordinary cases of mental reproduction, inasmuch as in + any given instance there is more difference than similarity between + the ideas associated. + + Bradley himself bases association on identity plus contiguity:--"Any + part of a single state of mind tends, if reproduced, to re-instate the + remainder," or "any element tends to reproduce those elements with + which it has formed one state of mind." This law he calls by the name + "redintegration," understood, of course, in a sense different from + that in which Hamilton used it. The radical difference between this + law and those of Mill and Bain is that it deals not with particular + units of thoughts but with universals or identity between individuals. + In any example of such reproduction the universal appears in a + particular form which is more or less different from that in which it + originally existed. + + _Psychophysical Researches._--Bradley's discussion deals with the + subject purely from the metaphysical side, and the total result + practically is that association occurs only between universals. From + the point of view of empirical psychologists Bradley's results are + open to the charge which he made against those who impugned his view + of the law of similarity, namely that they are merely a statement--not + in any real sense an explanation. The relation between the mental and + the physical phenomena of association has occupied the attention of + all the leading psychologists (see PSYCHOLOGY). William James holds + that association is of "objects" not of "ideas," is between "things + thought of"--so far as the word stands for an effect. "So far as it + stands for a cause it is between processes in the brain." Dealing with + the law of Contiguity he says that the "most natural way of accounting + for it is to conceive it as a result of the laws of habit in the + nervous system; in other words to ascribe it to a physiological + cause." Association is thus due to the fact that when a nerve current + has once passed by a given way, it will pass more easily by that way + in future; and this fact is a physical fact. He further seeks to + maintain the important deduction that the only primary or ultimate law + of association is that of neural habit. + + The objections to the associationist theory are summed up by G.F. + Stout (_Analytic Psychol._, vol. ii. pp. 47 seq.) under three heads. + Of these the first is that the theory as stated, e.g. by Bain, lays + far too much stress on the mere connexion of elements hitherto + entirely separate; whereas, in fact, every new mental state or + synthesis consists in the development or modification of a + pre-existing state or psychic whole. Secondly, it is quite false to + regard an association as merely an aggregate of disparate units; in + fact, the _form_ of the new idea is quite as important as the elements + which it comprises. Thirdly, the phraseology used by the + associationists seems to assume that the parts that go to form the + whole retain their identity unimpaired; in fact, each part or element + is _ipso facto_ modified by the very fact of its entering into such + combination. + + The experimental methods now in vogue have to a large extent removed + the discussion of the whole subject of association of ideas, depending + in the case of the older writers on introspection, into a new sphere. + In such a work as E.B. Titchener's _Experimental Psychology_ (1905), + association is treated as a branch of the study of mental reactions, + of which association reactions are one division. + + BIBLIOGRAPHY.--See PSYCHOLOGY; and the works of Bradley, Stout, and + James, above quoted, and general works on psychology: articles in + _Mind_ (passim); A. Bain, _Senses and Intellect_ (4th ed., 1894), and + in _Mind_, xii. (1887) pp. 237-249; John Watson, _An Outline of + Philosophy_ (1898); H. Hoffding, _Hist. of Mod. Philos._ (Eng. trans., + Lond., 1900), _Psychologie in Umrissen auf Grundlage der Erfahrung_ + (2nd ed., Leipzig, 1893); Jas. Sully, _The Human Mind_ (1892), and + _Outlines of Psych._ (Lond., 1892); E.B. Titchener, _Outline of + Psych._ (New York, 1896), and in his trans. of O. Kulpe's _Outlines of + Psych._ (New York, 1895,); Jas. Ward in _Mind_, viii. (1883), xii. + (1887), new series ii. (1893), iii. (1894); G.T. Ladd, _Psychology, + Descriptive and Explanatory_ (Lond., 1894); C.L.C. Morgan, _Introd. to + Comparative Psych._ (Lond., 1894); W. Wundt, _Princip. of Physiol. + Psych._ (Eng. trans., 1904), _Human and Animal Psych._ (Eng. trans., + 1894), pp. 282-307; _Outlines of Psych._ (Eng. trans., 1897); E. + Claparede, _L'Association des idees_ (1903). For associationism in + Greek philosophy see J.I. Beare, _Greek Theories of Elementary + Cognition_ (Oxford, 1906), part iii. SS 14, 43 seq. + + +FOOTNOTE: + + [1] There are, however, distinct anticipations of the theory in Plato + (_Phaedo_), as part of the doctrine of [Greek: anamnaesis]; thus we + find the idea of Simmias recalled by the picture of Simmias + (similarity), and that of a friend by the sight of the lyre on which + he played (contiguity). + + + + +ASSONANCE (from Lat. _adsonare_ or _assonare_, to sound to or answer +to), a term defined, in its prosodical sense, as "the corresponding or +riming of one word with another in the accented vowel and those which +follow it, but not in the consonants" (_New English Dictionary_, +Oxford). In other words, assonance is an improper or imperfect form of +rhyme, in which the ear is satisfied with the incomplete identity of +sound which the vowel gives without the aid of consonants. Much rustic +or popular verse in England is satisfied with assonance, as in such +cases as + + "And pray who gave thee that jolly red _nose_? + Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg and _Cloves_," + +where the agreement between the two _o's_ permits the ear to neglect the +discord between _s_ and _v_. But in English these instances are the +result of carelessness or blunted ear. It is not so in several +literatures, such as in Spanish, where assonance is systematically +cultivated as a literary ornament. It is an error to confound +alliteration,--which results from the close juxtaposition of words +beginning with the same sound or letter,--and assonance, which is the +repetition of the same vowel-sound in a syllable at points where the ear +expects a rhyme. The latter is a more complicated and less primitive +employment of artifice than the former, although they have often been +used to intensify the effect of each other in a single couplet. +Assonance appears, nevertheless, to have preceded rhyme in several of +the European languages, and to have led the way towards it. It is +particularly observable in the French poetry which was composed before +the 12th century, and it reached its highest point in the "Chanson de +Roland," where the sections are distinguished by the fact that all the +lines in a _laisse_ or stanza close with the same vowel-sound. When the +ear of the French became more delicate, and pure rhyme was introduced, +about the year 1120, assonance almost immediately retired before it and +was employed no more, until recent years, when several French poets have +re-introduced assonance in order to widen the scope of their effects of +sound. It held its place longer in Provencal and some other Romance +literatures, while in Spanish it has retained its absolute authority +over rhyme to the present day. It has been observed that in the Romance +languages the ear prefers the correspondence of vowels, while in the +Teutonic languages the preference is given to consonants. This +distinction is felt most strongly in Spanish, where the satisfaction in +_rimas asonantes_ is expressed no less in the most elaborate works of +the poets and dramatists than in the rough ballads of the people. The +nature of the language here permits the full value of the corresponding +vowel-sounds to be appreciated, whereas in English--and even in German, +where, however, a great deal of assonant poetry exists--the divergence +of the consonants easily veils or blunts the similarity of sound. +Various German poets of high merit, and in particular Tieck and Heine, +have endeavoured to obviate this difficulty, but without complete +success. Occasionally they endeavour, as English rhymers have done, to +mix pure rhyme with assonance, but the result of this in almost all +cases is that the assonances, &c., which make a less strenuous appeal to +the ear, are drowned and lost in the stress of the pure rhymes. Like +alliteration, assonance is a very frequent and very effective ornament +of prose style, but such correspondence in vowel-sound is usually +accidental and involuntary, an instinctive employment of the skill of +the writer. To introduce it with a purpose, as of course must be done in +poetry, has always been held to be a most dangerous practice in prose. +Assonance as a conscious art, in fact, is scarcely recognized as +legitimate in English literature. (E. G.) + + + + +ASSUAN, or ASWAN, a town of Upper Egypt on the east bank of the Nile, +facing Elephantine Island below the First Cataract, and 590 m. S. of +Cairo by rail. It is the capital of a province of the same name--the +southernmost province of Egypt. Population (1907) 16,128. The principal +buildings are along the river front, where a broad embankment has been +built. Popular among Europeans as a winter health resort and tourist +centre, Assuan is provided with large modern hotels (one situated on +Elephantine Island), and there is an English church. South-east of the +railway station are the ruins of a temple built by Ptolemy Euergetes, +and still farther south are the famous granite quarries of Syene. On +Elephantine Island are an ancient nilometer and other remains, including +a granite gateway built under Alexander the Great at the temple of the +local ram-headed god Chnubis or Chnumis (Eg. Khnum), perhaps on account +of his connexion with Ammon (q.v.); two small but very beautiful temples +of the XVIIIth Dynasty were destroyed there about 1820. In the hill on +the opposite side of the river are tombs of the VIth to XIIth dynasties, +opened by Lord Grenfell in 1885-1886. The inscriptions show that they +belonged to frontier-prefects whose expeditions into Nubia, &c., are +recorded in them. Three and a half miles above the town, at the +beginning of the Cataract, the Assuan Dam stretches across the Nile. +This great engineering work was finished in December 1902 (see +IRRIGATION: _Egypt_; and NILE). Above the dam the Nile presents the +appearance of a vast lake. Consequent on the rise of the water-level +several islands have been wholly and others partly submerged, among the +latter Philae (q.v.). On the east bank opposite Philae is the village of +Shellal, southern terminus of the Egyptian railway system and the +starting point of steamers for the Sudan. + +In ancient times the chief city, called Yeb, capital of the frontier +nome, the first of the Upper Country, was on the island of Elephantine, +guarding the entrance to Egypt. But, owing to the cataract, the main +route for traffic with the south was by land along the eastern shore. +Here, near the granite quarries--whence was obtained the material for +many magnificent monuments--there grew up another city, at first +dependent on and afterwards successor to the island town. This city was +called _Swan_, the Mart, whence came the Greek _Syene_ and Arabic +_Aswan_. Syene is twice mentioned (as Seveneh) in the prophecies of +Ezekiel, and papyri, discovered on the island, and dated in the reigns +of Artaxerxes and Darius II, (464-404 B.C.), reveal the existence of a +colony of Jews, with a temple to Yahu (Yahweh, Jehovah), which had been +founded at some time before the conquest of Egypt by Cambyses in 523 +B.C. They also mention the great frontier garrison against the +Ethiopians, referred to by Herodotus. Syene was one of the bases used by +Eratosthenes in his calculations for the measurement of the earth. In +Roman times Syene was strongly garrisoned to resist the attacks of the +desert tribes. Thither, in virtual banishment, Juvenal was sent as +prefect by Domitian. In the early days of Christianity the town became +the seat of a bishopric, and numerous ruins of Coptic convents are in +the neighbourhood. Syene appears also to have flourished under its first +Arab rulers, but in the 12th century was raided and ruined by Bedouin +and Nubian tribes. On the conquest of Egypt by the Turks in the 16th +century, Selim I. placed a garrison here, from whom, in part, the +present townsmen descend. As the southern frontier town of Egypt proper, +Assuan in times of peace was the entrepot of a considerable trade with +the Sudan and Abyssinia, and in 1880 its trade was valued at L2,000,000 +annually. During the Mahdia (1884-1898) Assuan was strongly garrisoned +by Egyptian and British troops. Since the defeat of the khalifa at +Omdurman and the fixing (1899) of the Egyptian frontier farther south, +the military value of Assuan has declined. + + For the Jewish colony see A.H. Sayce and A.E. Cowley, _Aramaic Papyri + discovered at Assuan_ (Oxford, 1906); E. Sachau, _Drei Aramaische + papyrus-Urkunden aus Elephantine_ (Berlin, 1907). For the dam see W. + Willcocks, _The Nile Reservoir Dam at Assuan_ (London, 1901). + (F. Ll. G.) + + + + +ASSUMPSIT ("he has undertaken," from Lat. _assumere_), a word applied to +an action for the recovery of damages by reason of the breach or +non-performance of a simple contract, either express or implied, and +whether made orally or in writing. _Assumpsit_ was the word always used +in pleadings by the plaintiff to set forth the defendant's undertaking +or promise, hence the name of the action. Claims in actions of +_assumpsit_ were ordinarily divided into (a) common or _indebitatus +assumpsit_, brought usually on an implied promise, and (b) special +_assumpsit_, founded on an express promise. _Assumpsit_ as a form of +action became obsolete after the passing of the Judicature Acts 1873 and +1875. (See further CONTRACT; PLEADING and TORT.) + + + + +ASSUMPTION, FEAST OF. The feast of the "Assumption of the blessed Virgin +Mary" (Lat. _festum assumptionis, dormitionis, depositionis, pausationis +B. V. M._; Gr. [Greek: koimaesis] or [Greek: analaephis taes theotokou]) +is a festival of the Christian Church celebrated on the 15th of August, +in commemoration of the miraculous ascent into heaven of the mother of +Christ. The belief on which this festival rests has its origin in +apocryphal sources, such as the [Greek: eis taen koimaesin taes +uperagias despoinaes] ascribed to the Apostle John, and the _de transitu +Mariae_, assigned to Melito, bishop of Sardis, but actually written +about A.D. 400. Pope Gelasius I. (492-496) included them in the list of +apocryphal books condemned by the _Decretum de libris recipiendis et non +recipiendis_; but they were accepted as authentic by the +pseudo-Dionysius (_de nominbus divinis c. 3_), whose writings date +probably from the 5th century, and by Gregory of Tours (d. 593 or 594). +The latter in his _De gloria martyrum_ (i. 4) gives the following +account of the miracle: As all the Apostles were watching round the +dying Mary, Jesus appeared with His angels and committed the soul of His +Mother to the Archangel Michael. Next day, as they were carrying the +body to the grave, Christ again appeared and carried it with Him in a +cloud to heaven, where it was reunited with the soul. This story is much +amplified in the account given by St John of Damascus in the homilies +_In dormitionem Mariae_, which are still read in the Roman Church as the +lesson during the octave of the feast. According to this the patriarchs +and Adam and Eve also appear at the death-bed, to praise their daughter, +through whom they had been rescued from the curse of God; a Jew who +touches the body loses both his hands, which are restored to him by the +Apostles; and the body lies three days in the grave without corruption +before it is taken up into heaven. + +The festival is first mentioned by St Andrew of Crete (c. 650), and, +according to the Byzantine historian Nicephorus Callistus (_Hist. +Eccles._ xvii. 28), was first instituted by the Emperor Maurice in A.D. +582. From the East it was borrowed by Rome, where there is evidence of +its existence so early as the 7th century. In the Gallican Church it was +only adopted at the same time as the Roman liturgy. But though the +festival thus became incorporated in the regular usage of the Western +Church, the belief in the resurrection and bodily assumption of the +Virgin has never been defined as a dogma and remains a "pious opinion," +which the faithful may reject without imperilling their immortal souls, +though not apparently--to quote Melchior Cano (_De Locis Theolog._ xii. +10)--without "insolent temerity," since such rejection would be contrary +to the common agreement of the Church. By the reformed Churches, +including the Church of England, the festival is not observed, having +been rejected at the Reformation as being neither primitive nor founded +upon any "certain warrant of Holy Scripture." + + See Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopadie_ (ed. 3), s. "Maria"; Mgr. L. + Duchesne, _Christian Worship_ (Eng. trans., London, 1904); Wetzer and + Welte, _Kirchenlexikon_, s. "Marienfeste"; The _Catholic + Encyclopaedia_ (London and New York, 1907, &c.), s. "Apocrypha," + "Assumption." + + + + +ASSUR (Auth. Vers. _Asshur_), a Hebrew name, occurring in many passages +of the Old Testament, for the land and dominion of Assyria.[1] The +_country_ of Assyria, which in the Assyro-Babylonian literature is known +as _mat Assur_ (_ki_), "land of Assur," took its name from the ancient +city of _Assur_, situated at the southern extremity of Assyria proper, +whose territory, soon after the first Assyrian settlement, was bounded +on the N. by the Zagros mountain range in what is now Kurdistan and on +the S. by the lower Zab river. The kingdom of Assyria, which was the +outgrowth of the primitive settlement on the site of the city of Assur, +was developed by a probably gradual process of colonization in the rich +vales of the middle Tigris region, a district watered by the Tigris +itself and also by several tributary streams, the chief of which was the +lower Zab.[2] + +It seems quite evident that the _city_ of Assur was originally founded +by Semites from Babylonia at quite an early, but as yet undetermined +date. In the prologue to the law-code of the great Babylonian monarch +Khammurabi (c. 2250 B.C.), the cities of Nineveh and Assur are both +mentioned as coming under that king's beneficent influence. Assur is +there called _A-usar_ (_ki_),[3] in which combination the ending _-ki_ +("land territory") proves that even at that early period there was a +province of Assur more extensive than the city proper. It is probable +that this non-Semitic form _A-usar_ means "well watered region,"[4] a +most appropriate designation for the river settlements of Assyria. The +problem as to the meaning of the name Assur is rendered all the more +confusing by the fact that the city and land are also called _Assur_ (as +well as _A-usar_), both by the Khammurabi records[5] and generally in +the later Assyrian literature. Furthermore, the god- and country-name +_Assur_ also occurs at a late date in Assyrian literature in the forms +_An-sar, An-sar_ (_ki_), which form[6] was presumably read _Assur_. In +the Creation tablet, the heavens personified collectively were indicated +by this term _An-sar_, "host of heaven," in contradistinction to the +earth = _Ki-sar_, "host of earth." In view of this fact, it seems highly +probable that the late writing _An-sar_ for _Assur_ was a more or less +conscious attempt on the part of the Assyrian scribes to identify the +peculiarly Assyrian deity _Asur_ (see ASSUR, the god, below) with the +Creation deity An-sar. On the other hand, there is an epithet _Asir_ or +Ashir ("overseer") applied to several gods and particularly to the deity +_Asur_, a fact which introduced a third element of confusion into the +discussion of the name _Assur_. It is probable then that there is a +triple popular etymology in the various forms of writing the name +_Assur_; viz. _A-usar_,[7] _An-sar_ and the stem _asaru_, all of which +is quite in harmony with the methods followed by the ancient +Assyro-Babylonian philologists.[8] + + See also A.H. Layard, _Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and + Babylon_ (1853); G. Smith, _Assyrian Discoveries_ (1875); R.W. Rogers, + _History of Babylonia and Assyria_, i. 297; ii. 13; ii. 30, 76, 102; + J.F. M'Curdy, _History, Prophecy and the Monuments_, SS 74, 171 f., + 247, 258, 283; 57, 59 f. (on the god). (J. D. Pr.) + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [1] The name Assur is not connected with the Asshur of 1 Chron. ii. + 24; ii. 45. Note that it is customary to spell the god-name _Asur_ + and the country-name _Assur_. + + [2] Cf. Rassam, _Asshur and the Land of Nimrod_, 250-251, and many + other works. + + [3] Robert Harper, _Code of Hammurabi_, pp. 6-7, lines 55-58. + + [4] Thus already Delitzsch, _Wo lag das Paradies?_ p. 252. The + element _a_ means "water," and in _u-sar_ it is probable that _u_ + also means "water," while _sar_ is "park, district." See Prince, + _Materials for a Sumerian Lexicon_, s.v. _usar_. + + [5] The name appears as _As-sur_ (_ki_) and _As-su-ur_ (_ki_). See + King, _Letters and Inscriptions of Hammurabi_, iv. p. 23, obv. 27; + and Nagel, _Beitrage zur Assyriologie_, iv. p. 404; also _Cun. Texts + from Bab. Tablets_, vi. pl. 19, line 7. + + [6] Meissner-Rost, _Bauinschrift Sanheribs_, K. 5413a; K. 1306, rev. + 16. + + [7] See on this entire subject, Morris Jastrow, Jr., _Journal Amer. + Orient. Soc._, xxiv. pp. 282-311; also _Die Religion Bab. u. Assyr._, + pp. 207 ff. + + [8] On the philological methods of the ancient Babylonian priesthood, + see Prince, _Materials for a Sumerian Lexicon_, Introduction. + + + + +ASSUR, the primitive capital of Assyria, now represented by the mounds +of Kaleh Sherghat (Qal'at Shergat) on the west bank of the Tigris, +nearly midway between the Upper and Lower Zab. It is still doubtful (see +discussion on the name in the preceding article) whether the national +god of Assyria took his name from that of the city or whether the +converse was the case. It is most probable, however, that it was the +city which was deified (see Sayce, _Religion of Ancient Egypt and +Babylonia_, 1902, pp. 366, 367). Sir A.H. Layard, through his assistant +Hormuzd Rassam, devoted two or three days to excavating on the site, but +owing to the want of pasturage and the fear of Bedouin attacks he left +the spot after finding a broken clay cylinder containing the annals of +Tiglath-Pileser I., and for many years no subsequent efforts were made +to explore it. In 1904, however, a German expedition under Dr W. Andrae +began systematic excavations, which have led to important results. The +city originally grew up round the great temple of the god Assur, the +foundation of which was ascribed to the High-priest Uspia. For many +centuries Assur and the surrounding district, which came accordingly to +be called the land of Assur (_Assyria_), were governed by high-priests +under the suzerainty of Babylonia. With the decay of the Babylonian +power the high-priests succeeded in making themselves independent kings, +and Assur became the capital of an important kingdom. It was already +surrounded by a wall of crude brick, which rested on stone foundations +and was strengthened at certain points by courses of burnt brick. A deep +moat was dug outside it by Tukulti-Inaristi or Tukulti-Masu (about 1270 +B.C.), and it was further defended on the land side by a _salkhu_ or +outwork. In the 15th century B.C. it was considerably extended to the +south in order to include a "new town" which had grown up there. The +wall was pierced by "the gate of Assur," "the gate of the Sun-god," "the +gate of the Tigris," &c., and on the river side was a quay of burnt +brick and limestone cemented with bitumen. The temples were in the +northern part of the city, together with their lofty towers, one of +which has been excavated. Besides the temple of Assur there was another +great temple dedicated to Anu and Hadad, as well as the smaller +sanctuaries of Bel, Ishtar, Merodach and other deities. After the rise +of the kingdom, palaces were erected separate from the temples; the +sites of those of Hadad-nirari I., Shalmaneser I., and Assur-nazir-pal +have been discovered by the German excavators, and about a dozen more +are referred to in the inscriptions. Even after the rise of Nineveh as +the capital of the kingdom and the seat of the civil power, Assur +continued to be the religious centre of the country, where the king was +called on to reside when performing his priestly functions. The city +survived the fall of Assyria, and extensive buildings as well as tombs +of the Parthian age have been found upon the site. + + See _Mitteilungen der deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft_ (1904-1906). + (A. H. S.) + + + + +ASSUR, ASUR, or ASHUR, the chief god of Assyria, was originally the +patron deity of the city of Assur on the Tigris, the ancient capital of +Assyria from which as a centre the authority of the _patesis_ (as the +rulers were at first called) spread in various directions. The history +of Assyria (q.v.) can now be traced back approximately to 2500 B.C., +though it does not rise to political prominence until c. 2000 B.C. The +name of the god is identical with that of the city, though an older form +A-shir, signifying "leader," suggests that a differentiation between the +god and the city was at one time attempted. Though the origin of the +form Ashur (or Assur) is not certain, it is probable that the name of +the god is older than that of the city (see discussion on the name +above). + +The title _Ashir_ was given to various gods in the south, as Marduk and +Nebo, and there is every reason to believe that it represents a direct +transfer with the intent to emphasize that Assur is the "leader" or head +of the pantheon of the north. He is in fact to all intents and purposes +of the north. Originally like Marduk a solar deity with the winged +disk--the disk always typifying the sun--as his symbol, he becomes as +Assyria develops into a military power a god of war, indicated by the +attachment of the figure of a man with a bow to the winged disk.[1] +While the cult of the other great gods and goddesses of Babylonia was +transferred to Assyria, the worship of Assur so overshadowed that of the +rest as to give the impression of a decided tendency towards the +absorption of all divine powers by the one god. Indeed, the other gods, +Sin, Shamash (Samas), Adad, Ninib and Nergal, and even Ea, take on the +warlike traits of Assur in the epithets and descriptions given of them +in the annals and votive inscriptions of Assyrian rulers to such an +extent as to make them appear like little Assurs by the side of the +great one. Marduk alone retains a large measure of his independence as a +concession on the part of the Assyrians to the traditions of the south, +for which they always manifested a profound respect. Even during the +period that the Assyrian monarchs exercised complete sway over the +south, they rested their claims to the control of Babylonia on the +approval of Marduk, and they or their representatives never failed to +perform the ceremony of "taking the hand" of Marduk, which was the +formal method of assuming the throne in Babylonia. Apart from this +concession, it is Assur who pre-eminently presides over the fortunes of +Assyria.[2] In his name, and with his approval as indicated by +favourable omens, the Assyrian armies march to battle. His symbol is +carried into the thick of the fray, so that the god is actually present +to grant assistance in the crisis, and the victory is with becoming +humility invariably ascribed by the kings "to the help of Assur." With +the fall of Assyria the rule of Assur also comes to an end, whereas it +is significant that the cult of the gods of Babylonia--more particularly +of Marduk--survives for several centuries the loss of political +independence through Cyrus' capture of Babylonia in 539 B.C. The name of +Assur's temple at Assur, represented by the mounds of Kaleh Sherghat, +was known as E-khar-sag-gal-kur-kurra, i.e. "House of the great mountain +of the lands." Its exact site has been determined by excavations +conducted at Kaleh Sherghat since 1903 by the German Oriental Society. +The name indicates the existence of the same conception regarding sacred +edifices in Assyria as in Babylonia, where we find such names as E-Kur +("mountain house") for the temple of Bel (q.v.) at Nippur, and E-Saggila +("lofty house") for Marduk's (q.v.) temple at Babylon and that of Ea +(q.v.) at Eridu, and in view of the general dependence of Assyrian +religious beliefs as of Assyrian culture in general, there is little +reason to doubt that the name of Assur's temple represents a direct +adaptation of such a name as E-Kur, further embellished by epithets +intended to emphasize the supreme control of the god to whom the edifice +was dedicated. The foundation of the edifice can be traced back to Uspia +(Ushpia), c. 2000 B.C., and may turn out to be even older. Besides the +chief temple, the capital contained temples and chapels to Anu, Adad, +Ishtar, Marduk, Gula, Sin, Shamash, so that we are to assume the +existence of a sacred precinct in Assur precisely as in the religious +centres of the south. On the removal of the seat of residence of the +Assyrian kings to Calah (c. 1300 B.C.), and then in the 8th century to +Nineveh, the centre of the Assur cult was likewise transferred, though +the sanctity of the old seat at Assur continued to be recognized. At +Nineveh, which remained the capital till the fall of the Assyrian empire +in 606 B.C., Assur had as his rival Ishtar, who was the real patron +deity of the place, but a reconciliation was brought about by making +Ishtar the consort of the chief god. The combination was, however, of an +artificial character, and the consciousness that Ishtar was in reality +an independent goddess never entirely died out. She too, like Assur, was +viewed as a war deity, and to such an extent was this the case that at +times it would appear that she, rather than Assur, presided over the +fortunes of the Assyrian armies. (M. Ja.) + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [1] See Prince, _Journ. Bibl. Lit._, xxii. 35. + + [2] As essentially a _national_ god, he is almost identical in + character with the early Yahweh of Israel. See Sayce, Hibbert + Lectures, _Religion of Ancient Babylonia_, p. 129. + + + + +ASSUR-BANI-PAL ("Assur creates a son"), the _grand monarque_ of Assyria, +was the prototype of the Greek Sardanapalus, and appears probably in the +corrupted form of Asnapper in Ezra iv. 10. He had been publicly +nominated king of Assyria (on the 12th of Iyyar) by his father +Esar-haddon, some time before the latter's death, Babylonia being +assigned to his twin-brother Samas-sum-yukin, in the hope of gratifying +the national feeling of the Babylonians. After Esar-haddon's death in +668 B.C. the first task of Assur-bani-pal was to finish the Egyptian +campaign. Tirhakah, who had reoccupied Egypt, fled to Ethiopia, and the +Assyrian army spent forty days in ascending the Nile from Memphis to +Thebes. Shortly afterwards Necho, the satrap of Sais, and two others +were detected intriguing with Tirhakah; Necho and one of his companions +were sent in chains to Nineveh, but were there pardoned and restored to +their principalities. Tirhakah died 667 B.C., and his successor Tandaman +(Tanuat-Amon) entered Upper Egypt, where a general revolt against +Assyria took place, headed by Thebes. Memphis was taken by assault and +the Assyrian troops driven out of the country. Tyre seems to have +revolted at the same time. Assur-bani-pal, however, lost no time in +pouring fresh forces into the revolted province. Once more the Assyrian +army made its way up the Nile, Thebes was plundered, and its temples +destroyed, two obelisks being carried to Nineveh as trophies (see Nahum +iii. 8). Meanwhile the siege of insular Tyre was closely pressed; its +water-supply was cut off, and it was compelled to surrender. +Assur-bani-pal was now at the height of his power. The land of the Manna +(Minni), south-east of Ararat, had been wasted, its capital captured by +the Assyrians, and its king reduced to vassalage. A war with Teumman of +Elam had resulted in the overthrow of the Elamite army; the head of +Teumman was sent to Nineveh, and another king, Umman-igas, appointed by +the Assyrians. The kings of Cilicia and the Tabal offered their +daughters to the harem of Assur-bani-pal; embassies came from Ararat, +and even Gyges of Lydia despatched envoys to "the great king" in the +hope of obtaining help against the Cimmerians. Suddenly the mighty +empire began to totter. The Lydian king, finding that Nineveh was +helpless to assist him, turned instead to Egypt and furnished the +mercenaries with whose help Psammetichus drove the Assyrians out of the +country and suppressed his brother satraps. Egypt was thus lost to +Assyria for ever (660 B.C.). In Babylonia, moreover, discontent was +arising, and finally Samas-sum-yukin put himself at the head of the +national party and declared war upon his brother. Elamite aid was +readily forthcoming, especially when stimulated by bribes, and the Arab +tribes joined in the revolt. The resources of the Assyrian empire were +strained to their utmost. But thanks in some measure to the intestine +troubles in Elam, the Babylonian army and its allies were defeated and +driven into Babylon, Sippara, Borsippa and Cutha. One by one the cities +fell, Babylon being finally starved into surrender (648 B.C.) after +Samas-sum-yukin had burnt himself in his palace to avoid falling into +the conqueror's hands. It was now the turn of the Arabs, some of whom +had been in Babylon during the siege, while others had occupied +themselves in plundering Edom, Moab and the Hauran. Northern Arabia was +traversed by the Assyrian forces, the Nabataeans were almost +exterminated, and the desert tribes terrorized into order. Elam was +alone left to be dealt with, and the last resources of the empire were +therefore expended in preventing it from ever being again a thorn in the +Assyrian side. + +But the effort had exhausted Assyria. Drained of men and resources it +was no longer able to make head against the Cimmerian and Scythian +hordes who now poured over western Asia. The Cimmerian Dugdamme +(Lygdamis in Strabo i. 3, 16), whom Assur-bani-pal calls "a limb of +Satan," after sacking Sardis, had been slain in Cilicia, but other +Scythian invaders came to take his place. When Assur-bani-pal died in +626 (?) B.C. his empire was already in decay, and within a few years the +end came. He was luxurious and indolent, entrusting the command of his +armies to others whose successes he appropriated, cruel and +superstitious, but a magnificent patron of art and literature. The great +library of Nineveh was to a considerable extent his creation, and +scribes were kept constantly employed in it copying the older tablets of +Babylonia, though unfortunately their patron's tastes inclined rather to +omens and astrology than to subjects of more modern interest. The +library was contained in the palace that he built on the northern side +of the mound of Kuyunjik and lined with sculptured slabs which display +Assyrian art at its best. Whether Kandalanu (Kinela-danos), who became +viceroy of Babylonia after the suppression of the revolt, was +Assur-bani-pal under another name, or a different personage, is still +doubtful (see SARDANAPALUS). + + AUTHORITIES.--George Smith, _History of Assurbanipal_ (1871); S.A. + Smith, _Die Keilschrifttexte Asurbanipals_ (1887-1889); P. Jensen in + E. Schrader's _Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek_, ii. (1889); J.A. + Knudtzon, _Assyrische Gebete an den Sonnengott_ (1893); C. Lehmann, + _Schamashschumukin_ (1892). (A. H. S.) + + + + +ASSUS [mod. _Behram_], an ancient Greek city of the Troad, on the +Adramyttian Gulf. The situation is one of the most magnificent in all +the Greek lands. The natural cleavage of the trachyte into joint planes +had already scarped out shelves which it was comparatively easy for +human labour to shape; and so, high up this cone of trachyte, the Greek +town of Assus was built, tier above tier, the summit of the crag being +crowned with a Doric temple of Athena. The view from the summit is very +beautiful and of great historical interest. In front is Lesbos, one of +whose towns, Methymna, is said to have sent forth the founders of Assus, +as early, perhaps, as 1000 or 900 B.C. The whole south coast-line of the +Troad is seen, and in the south-east the ancient territory of Pergamum, +from whose masters the possession of Assus passed to Rome by the bequest +of Attalus III. (133 B.C.). The great heights of Ida rise in the east. +Northward the Tuzla is seen winding through a rich valley. This valley +was traversed by the road which St Paul must have followed when he came +overland from Alexandria Troas to Assus, leaving his fellow-travellers +to proceed by sea. The north-west gateway, to which this road led, is +still flanked by two massive towers, of Hellenic work. On the shore +below, the ancient mole can still be traced by large blocks under the +clear water. Assus affords the only harbour on the 50 m. of coast +between Cape Lectum and the east end of the Adramyttian Gulf; hence it +must always have been the chief shipping-place for the exports of the +southern Troad. The great natural strength of the site protected it +against petty assailants; but, like other towns in that region, it has +known many masters--Lydians, Persians, the kings of Pergamum, Romans and +Ottoman Turks. From the Persian wars to about 350 B.C. Assus enjoyed at +least partial independence. It was about 348-345 B.C. that Aristotle +spent three years at Assus with Hermeas, an ex-slave who had succeeded +his former master Eubulus as despot of Assus and Atarneus. Aristotle has +left some verses from an invocation to Arete (Virtue), commemorating the +worth of Hermeas, who had been seized by Persian treachery and put to +death. + +Under its Turkish name of Behram, Assus is still the commercial port of +the southern Troad, being the place to which loads of valonia are +conveyed by camels from all parts of the country. Explorations were +conducted at Assus in 1881-1883 by Mr J.T. Clarke for the Archaeological +Institute of America. The main object was to clear the Doric temple of +Athena, built about 470 B.C. This temple is remarkable for a sculptured +architrave which took the place of the ordinary frieze. The scenes are +partly mythological (labours of Heracles), partly purely heraldic. +Eighteen panels were transported to the Louvre in 1838; other fragments +rewarded the Americans, and a scientific ground-plan was drawn. The +well-preserved Hellenistic walls were also studied. + + See J.T. Clarke, _Assos_, 2 vols., 1882 and 1898 (Papers of Arch. + Inst. of America, i. ii.); and authorities under TROAD. (D. G. H.) + + + + +ASSYRIA. The two great empires, Assyria and Babylon, which grew up on +the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, can be separated as little +historically as geographically. From the beginning their history is +closely intertwined; and the power of the one is a measure of the +weakness of the other. This interdependence of Assyrian and Babylonian +history was recognized by ancient writers, and has been confirmed by +modern discovery. But whereas Assyria takes the first place in the +classical accounts to the exclusion of Babylonia, the decipherment of +the inscriptions has proved that the converse was really the case, and +that, with the exception of some seven or eight centuries, Assyria might +be described as a province or dependency of Babylon. Not only was +Babylonia the mother country, as the tenth chapter of Genesis explicitly +states, but the religion and culture, the literature and the characters +in which it was contained, the arts and the sciences of the Assyrians +were derived from their southern neighbours. They were similar in race +and language. (See BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA.) + + + + +AST, GEORG ANTON FRIEDRICH (1778-1841), German philosopher and +philologist, was born at Gotha. Educated there and at the university of +Jena, he became privat-docent at Jena in 1802. In 1805 he became +professor of classical literature in the university of Landshut, where +he remained till 1826, when it was transferred to Munich. There he lived +till his death on the 31st of October 1841. In recognition of his work +he was made an aulic councillor and a member of the Bavarian Academy of +Sciences. He is known principally for his work during the last +twenty-five years of his life on the dialogues of Plato. His _Platon's +Leben und Schriften_ (1816) was the first of those critical inquiries +into the life and works of Plato which originated in the _Introductions_ +of Schleiermacher and the historical scepticism of Niebuhr and Wolf. +Distrusting tradition, he took a few of the finest dialogues as his +standard, and from internal evidence denounced as spurious not only +those which are generally admitted to be so (_Epinomis, Minos, Theages, +Arastae, Clitophon, Hipparchus, Eryxias, Letters and Definitions_), but +also the _Meno, Euthydemus, Charmides, Lysis, Laches, First and Second +Alcibiades, Hippias Major and Minor, Ion, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito_, +and even (against Aristotle's explicit assertion) _The Laws_. The +genuine dialogues he divides into three series:--(1) the earliest, +marked chiefly by the poetical and dramatic element, i.e. _Protagoras, +Phaedrus, Gorgias, Phaedo_; (2) the second, marked by dialectic +subtlety, i.e. _Theaetetus, Sophist, Statesman, Parmenides, Cratylus_; +(3) the third group, combining both qualities harmoniously, i.e. the +_Philebus, Symposium, Republic, Timaeus, Critias_. The work was followed +by a complete edition of Plato's works (11 vols., 1819-1832) with a +Latin translation and commentary. His last work was the _Lexicon +Platonicum_ (3 vols., 1834-1839), which is both valuable and +comprehensive. In his works on aesthetics he combined the views of +Schelling with those of Winckelmann, Lessing, Kant, Herder, Schiller and +others. His histories of philosophy are marked more by critical +scholarship than by originality of thought, though they are interesting +as asserting the now familiar principle that the history of philosophy +is not the history of opinions, but of reason as a whole; he was among +the first to attempt to formulate a principle of the development of +thought. Beside his works on Plato, he wrote, on aesthetics, _System der +Kunstlehre_ (1805) and _Grundriss der Aesthetik_ (1807); on the history +of philosophy, _Grundlinien der Philosophie_ (1807, republished 1809, +but soon forgotten), _Grundriss einer Geschichte der Philosophie_ (1807 +and 1825), and _Hauptmomente der Geschichte der Philosophie_ (1829); in +philology, _Grundlinien der Philologie_ (1808), and _Grundlinien der +Grammatik, Hermeneutik und Kritik_ (1808). + + + + +ASTARA, a port of Russian Transcaucasia, government of Baku, on the +Caspian, in 38 deg. 27' N. lat. and 48 deg. 53' E. long., on the river +of the same name, which forms the frontier between Persia and Russia. +Russian merchandize is landed there and forwarded to Azerbaijan and +Tabriz via Ardebil. + + + + +ASTARABAD, a province of Persia bounded N. by the Caspian Sea and +Russian Transcaspian, S. by the Elburz Mountains, W. by Mazandaran, and +E. by Khorasan. The country, mountainous in its southern portion, +possesses extensive forests, fertile valleys, producing rice, wheat and +other grains in abundance, and rich pasturages. The soil, even with +little culture, is exceedingly productive, owing to the abundance of +water which irrigates and fertilizes it. But while the province in many +parts presents a landscape of luxuriant beauty, it is a prey to the +ravages of disease, principally malarial fevers due to the extensive +swamps formed by waters stagnating in the forests, and to the frequent +incursions of the Goklan and Yomut Turkomans, who have their +camping-grounds in the northern part of the province, and until about +1890 plundered caravans sometimes at the very gates of Astarabad city, +and carried people off into slavery and bondage. The province has a +population of about 100,000 and pays a yearly revenue of about L30,000. +The inhabitants, notwithstanding the unhealthiness of their climate, are +a strong and athletic race, belying their yellow and sickly appearance. +The province has the following buluk (administrative divisions):--(1) +Astarabad town; (2) Astarabad rustak (villages); (3) Sadan rustak; (4). +Anazan; (5) Katul; (6) Findarisk, with Kuhsar and Nodeh; (7) Shahkuh +Savar. + +ASTARABAD, the capital of the province, is situated on the Astar, a +small tributary of the Kara Su (Black river), which flows into the +Caspian Sea 20 m. W. of the city, and about 18 m. S. of the Gurgan +river, in 36 deg. 51' N. lat. and 54 deg. 26' E. long. It is surrounded +by a mud wall about 30 ft. in height and about 3-1/2 m. in circuit, but +much of the enclosed space is occupied by gardens, mounds of refuse, and +ruins. At one time of greater size, it was reduced by Nadir Shah within +its present limits. Astarabad owes its origin to Yazid ibn Mohallab, who +occupied the province early in the 8th century for Suleiman, the seventh +of the Omayyad caliphs (715-717), and was destroyed by Timur (Tamerlane) +in 1384. Jonas Hanway, the philanthropist (d. 1786), visited the place +in 1744, and attempted to open a direct trade through it between Europe +and central Asia. Owing to the noxious exhalations of the surrounding +forests the town is so extremely unhealthy during the hot weather as to +have acquired the title of the "Abode of the Plague." It has post and +telegraph offices, and a population of about 10,000. Since 1890 the +Turkomans who impeded trade by their perpetual raids have been kept more +in check, and with the decrease of insecurity the commercial activity of +Astarabad has increased considerably. + + + + +ASTARTE, a Semitic goddess whose name appears in the Bible as +Ashtoreth.[1] She is everywhere the great female principle, answering to +the Baal of the Canaanites and Phoenicians[2] and to the Dagon of the +Philistines. She had temples at Sidon and at Tyre (whence her worship +was transplanted to Carthage), and the Philistines probably venerated +her at Ascalon (1 Sam. xxxi. 10). Solomon built a high-place for her at +Jerusalem which lasted until the days of King Josiah (1 Kings xi. 5; 2 +Kings xxiii. 13), and the extent of her cult among the Israelites is +proved as much by the numerous biblical references as by the frequent +representations of the deity turned up on Palestinian soil.[3] The +Moabites formed a compound deity, Ashtar-Chemosh (see MOAB), and the +absence of the feminine termination occurs similarly in the Babylonian +and Assyrian prototype Ishtar. The old South Arabian phonetic equivalent +'Athtar is, however, a male deity. Another compound, properly of mixed +sex, appears in the Aramaean Atargatis ('At[t]ar-'athe), worn down to +Derketo, who is specifically associated with sacred pools and fish +(Ascalon, Hierapolis-Mabog). (See ATARGATIS.) + +The derivation of the name Ishtar is uncertain, and the original +attributes of the goddess are consequently unknown. She assumes various +local forms in the old Semitic world, and this has led to consequent +fusion and identification with the deities of other nations. As the +great nature-goddess, the attributes of fertility and reproduction are +characteristically hers, as also the accompanying immorality which +originally, perhaps, was often nothing more than primitive magic. As +patroness of the hunt, later identification with Artemis was inevitable. +Hence the consequent fusion with Aphrodite, Artemis, Diana, Juno and +Venus, and the action and reaction of one upon the other in myth and +legend. Her star was the planet Venus, and classical writers give her +the epithet Caelestis and Urania. Whether Astarte was also a lunar +goddess has been questioned. As the female counterpart of the Phoenician +Baal (viewed as a sun-god), and on the testimony of late writers +(Lucian, Herodian) that she was represented with horns, the place-name +Ashteroth-Karnaim in Gilead ("Ashteroth of the horns") has been +considered ample proof in favour of the theory. But it is probable that +the horns were primarily ram's horns,[4] and that Astarte the +moon-goddess is due to the influence of the Egyptian Isis and Hathor. +Robertson Smith, too, argues that Astarte was originally a +sheep-goddess, and points to the interesting use of "Astartes of the +flocks" (Deut. vii. 13, see the comm.) to denote the offspring. To +nomads, Astarte may well have been a sheep-goddess, but this, if her +earliest, was not her only type, as is clear from the sacred fish of +Atargatis, the doves of Ascalon (and of the Phoenician sanctuary of +Eryx), and the gazelle or antelope of the goddess of love (associated +also with the Arabian Athtar). + + The literature is vast; see G.A. Barton, _Amer. Journ. of Sem. Lang._ + vols. ix. x., and his _Semitic Origins_; Driver, Hastings' _Dict. + Bible_, i. pp. 167-171; Zimmern, _Keilinschr. und das alte Test.^3_ + pp. 420 sqq.; Lagrange, _Etudes d. Relig. Sem._ pp. 123-140; and the + articles ADONIS, APHRODITE, ARTEMIS, BAAL. (S. A. C.) + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [1] The vocalization suggests the Heb. bosheth, "shame"; see BAAL. + + [2] Add also the Hittites; for Sutekh, the Egyptian equivalent of the + male partner, see W.M. Muller, _Mitt. d. vorderasiat. Gesell._ + (1902), v. pp. 11, 38. Astarte was introduced also into Egypt and had + her temple at Memphis. See also S.A. Cook, _Religion of Ancient + Palestine, Index_, s.v. + + [3] Such figurines are in a sense the prototypes of the Venus of + Medici. On the influence of her cult upon that of the Virgin Mary, + see Rosch, _Studien u. Krit._ (1888), pp. 265 sqq. + + [4] A model of an Astarte with ram's horns was unearthed by R.A.S. + Macalister at Gezer (_Pal. Explor. Fund, Quart. Statement_, 1903, p. + 227 with figure facing). + + + + +ASTELL, MARY (1668-1731), English author, was born at +Newcastle-upon-Tyne. She was instructed by her uncle, a clergyman, in +Latin and French, logic, mathematics and natural philosophy. In her +twentieth year she went to London, where she continued her studies. She +published, in 1697, a work entitled _A Serious Proposal to the Ladies, +wherein a Method is offered for the Improvement of their Minds_. With +the same end in view she elaborated a scheme for a ladies' college, +which was favourably entertained by Queen Anne, and would have been +carried out had not Bishop Burnet interfered. The most important of her +other works was _The Christian Religion, as professed by a Daughter of +the Church of England_, published in 1705. + + + + +ASTER (Gr. [Greek: astaer], a star), the name of a genus of plants, +given from the fact of the flowers having a radiated or star-like +appearance (see below). The Greek word also provides many derivatives: +e.g. _asterism_ (Gr. [Greek: asterismos]), a constellation (q.v.); +_asteroid_ (Gr. [Greek: astero-eidaes], star-like), an alternative name +for planetoids or minor planets (see PLANET). + +The genus of composite plants named aster (natural order _Compositae_) +is found largely in North America, and scattered sparingly over Asia, +Europe and South America. They are usually herbaceous perennials; their +flowers arranged in numerous heads (_capitula_) recall those of the +daisy, whence they are popularly known in England as Michaelmas daisies, +since many are in bloom about that time. They are valuable plants in a +garden, the various species flowering from late summer right on to +November or December. The only British species is _Aster Tripolium_, +found abundantly in saline marshes near the sea. One of the species, +_Aster alpinus_, grows at a considerable height on the mountains of +Europe. Some of them, such as _Aster spectabilis_ of North America, are +very showy. They are mostly easy to cultivate in ordinary garden soil, +and are readily propagated by dividing the roots in early spring. The +following are some of the better known forms:--_A. alpinus_, barely 1 +ft. high, and _A. Amellus_, 1-1/2 ft., with its var. _bessarabicus_, +have broadish blunt leaves and large starry bluish flowers; _A. +longifolius_ var. _formosus_, 2 ft., bright rosy lilac; _A. acris_, 2 to +3 ft., with blue flowers in August; _A. ericoides_, 3 ft., with +heath-like leaves and masses of small white flowers; _A. puniceus_, 4 to +6 ft., blue or rosy-lilac; _A. turbinellus_, 2 to 3 ft., mauve-coloured, +are showy border plants; and _A. Novae-Angliae_, 5 to 6 ft., +rosy-violet; _A. Novi-Belgii_, 3 to 6 ft., pale blue; _A. laevis_, 2 to +6 ft., blue-lilac; and _A. grandiflorus_, 3 ft., violet, are especially +useful from their late-flowering habit. + +The China aster (_Callistephus chinensis_) is also a member of the order +_Compositae_. It is a hardy annual, a native of China, which by +cultivation has yielded a great variety of forms. Some of the best for +ornamental gardening are the chrysanthemum-flowered, the +paeony-flowered, the crown or cockade, the comet, and the globe-quilled. +Crown asters have a white centre, and dark crimson or purple +circumference, and are very beautiful. The colours range from white and +blush through pink and rose to crimson, and from lilac through blue to +purple, in various shades. They should be sown early in March in pans, +in a gentle heat, the young plants being quickly transferred to a cool +pit, and there pricked out in rich soil as soon as large enough, and +eventually planted out in the garden in May or June, in soil which has +been well worked and copiously manured, where they grow from 8 to 18 +in. high, and flower towards the end of summer. They also make handsome +pot plants for the conservatory. + + + + +ASTERIA, or STAR-STONE (from Gr. [Greek: astaer], star), a name applied +to such ornamental stones as exhibit when cut _en cabochon_ a luminous +star. The typical asteria is the star-sapphire, generally a bluish-grey +corundum, milky or opalescent, with a star of six rays. (See SAPPHIRE.) +In red corundum the stellate reflexion is less common, and hence the +star-ruby occasionally found with the star-sapphire in Ceylon is among +the most valued of "fancy stones." When the radiation is shown by yellow +corundum, the stone is called star-topaz. Cymophane, or chatoyant +chrysoberyl, may also be asteriated. In all these cases the asterism is +due to the reflexion of light from twin-lamellae or from fine tubular +cavities or thin enclosures definitely arranged in the stone. The +_astrion_ of Pliny is believed to have been our moonstone, since it is +described as a colourless stone from India having within it the +appearance of a star shining with the light of the moon. All star-stones +were formerly regarded with much superstition. + + + + +ASTERID, a group of starfish. They are the starfish proper, and have the +typical genus _Asterias_ (see STARFISH). + + + + +ASTERISK (from Gr. [Greek: asteriskos], a little star), the sign * used +in typography. The word is also used in its literal meaning in old +writers, and as a description of an ornamental form (star-shaped) in one +of the utensils in the Greek Church. + + + + +ASTERIUS, of Cappadocia, sophist and teacher of rhetoric in Galatia, was +converted to Christianity about the year 300, and became the disciple of +Lucian, the founder of the school of Antioch. During the persecution +under Maximian (304) he relapsed into paganism, and thus, though +received again into the church by Lucian and supported by the Eusebian +party, never attained to ecclesiastical office. He is best known as an +able defender of the semi-Arian position, and was styled by Athanasius +the "advocate" of the Arians. His chief work was the _Syntagmation_, but +he wrote many others, including commentaries on the Gospels, the Psalms, +and Romans. He attended many synods, and we last hear of him at the +synod of Antioch in 341. + + + + +ASTERIUS, bishop of Amasia, in Pontus, c. 400. He was partly +contemporary with the emperor Julian (d. 363) and lived to a great age. +His fame rests chiefly on his _Homilies_, which were much esteemed in +the Eastern Church. Most of these have been lost, but twenty-one are +given in full by Migne (_Patrol. Ser. Gr._ xl. 164-477), and there are +fragments of others in Photius (_Cod._ 271). Asterius was a man of much +culture, and his works are a valuable contribution to our knowledge of +the history of preaching. + + + + +ASTHMA (Gr. [Greek: asthma], gasping, whence [Greek: asthmaino], I gasp +for breath), a disorder of respiration characterized by severe paroxysms +of difficult breathing (_dyspnoea_) usually followed by a period of +complete relief, with recurrence of the attacks at more or less frequent +intervals. The term is often loosely employed in reference to states of +embarrassed respiration, which are plainly due to permanent organic +disease of the respiratory organs (see RESPIRATORY SYSTEM: _Pathology_). + +The attacks occur quite suddenly, and in some patients at regular, in +others at irregular intervals. They are characterized by extreme +difficulty both in inspiration and expiration, but especially in the +latter, the chest becoming distended and the diaphragm immobile. In the +case of "pure," "idiopathic" or "nervous" asthma, there is no fever or +other sign of inflammation. But where the asthma is secondary to disease +of some organ of the body, the symptoms will depend largely on that +organ and the disease present. Such secondary forms may be bronchitic, +cardiac, renal, peptic or thymic. + +The mode of onset differs very markedly in different cases. In some the +attack begins quite suddenly and without warning, but in others various +sensations well known to the patient announce that an attack is +imminent. According to the late Dr Hyde Salter the commonest warning is +that of an intense desire for sleep, so overpowering that though the +patient knows his only chance of warding off the attack is to keep +awake, he is yet utterly unable to fight against his drowsiness. Among +other patients, however, a condition of unwonted mental excitement +presages the attack. Again the secondary forms of the disease may be +ushered in by flatulence, constipation and loss of appetite, and a +symptom which often attends the onset, though it is not strictly +premonitory, is a profuse diuresis, the urine being watery and nearly +colourless, as in the condition of hysterical diuresis. In the majority +of instances the attack begins during the night, sometimes abruptly but +often by degrees. The patient may or may not be aware that his asthma is +threatening. A few hours after midnight he is aroused from sleep by a +sense of difficult breathing. In some cases this is a slowly increasing +condition, not becoming acute for some hour or more. But in others the +attack is so sudden, so severe, that the patient springs from his bed +and makes his way at once to an open window, apparently struggling for +breath. Most asthmatics have some favourite attitude which best enables +them to use all the auxiliary muscles of respiration in their struggle +for breath, and this attitude they immediately assume, and guard fixedly +until the attack begins to subside. The picture is characteristic and a +very painful one to watch. The face is pale, anxious, and it may be +livid. The veins of the forehead stand out, the eyes bulge, and +perspiration bedews the face. The head is fixed in position, and +likewise the powerful muscles of the back to aid the attempt at +respiration. The breath is whistling and wheezing, and if it becomes +necessary for the patient to speak, the words are uttered with great +difficulty. If the chest be watched it is seen to be almost motionless, +and the respirations may become extraordinarily slowed. Inspiration is +difficult as the chest is already over-distended, but expiration is an +even far greater struggle. The attack may last any time from an hour to +several days, and between the attacks the patient is usually quite at +ease. But notwithstanding the intensely distressing character of the +attacks, asthma is not one of the diseases that shorten life. + +In the child, asthma is usually periodic in its recurrence, but as he +ages it tends to become more erratic in both its manifestations and time +of appearance. Also, though at first it may be strictly "pure" asthma, +later in life it becomes attended by chronic bronchitis, which in its +turn gives rise to emphysema. + +As to the underlying cause of the disease, one has only to read the many +utterly different theories put forward to account for it, to see how +little is really known. But it has now been clearly shown that in the +asthmatic state the respiratory centre is in an unstable and excitable +condition, and that there is a morbid connexion between this and some +part of the nasal apparatus. Dr Alexander Francis has shown, however, +that the disease is not directly due to any mechanical obstruction of +the nasal passages, and that the nose comparatively rarely supplies the +immediate exciting cause of the asthmatic attack. Paroxysmal sneezing is +another form in which asthma may show itself, and, curiously enough, +this form occurs more frequently in women, asthma of the more recognized +type in men. In infants and young children paroxysmal bronchitis is +another form of the same disease. Dr James Goodhart notes the connexion +between asthma and certain skin troubles, giving cases of the +alternation of asthma and psoriasis, and also of asthma and eczema. The +disease occurs in families with a well-marked neurotic inheritance, and +twice as frequently in men as in women. The immediate cause of an attack +may be anything or nothing. Dr Hyde Salter notes that 80% of cases in +the young date from an attack of whooping cough, bronchitis or measles. + +In the general treatment of asthma there are two methods of dealing with +the patient, either that of hardening the individual, widening his range +of accommodation, and thus making him less susceptible, or that of +modifying and adapting the environment to the patient. These two methods +correspond to the two methods of drug treatment, tonic or sedative. +During the last few years the method of treatment first used by Dr +Alexander Francis has come into prominence. His plan is to restore the +stability of the respiratory centre, by cauterizing the septal mucous +membrane, and combining with this general hygienic measures. In his own +words the operation, which is entirely painless and insignificant, is +performed as follows:--"After painting one side of the septum nasi with +a few drops of cocaine and resorcin, I draw a line with a +galvano-cautery point from a spot opposite the middle turbinated body, +forwards and slightly downwards for a distance of rather less than half +an inch. In about one week's time I repeat the operation on the other +side." In his monograph on the subject, he classifies a large number of +cases treated in this manner, most of which resulted in complete relief, +some in very great improvement, and a very few in slight or no relief. + + + + +ASTI (anc. _Hasta_), a town and episcopal see of Piedmont, Italy, in the +province of Alessandria, situated on the Tanaro; it is 22 m. W. by rail +from Alessandria. Pop. (1901) town, 19,787; commune, 41,047. Asti has +still numerous medieval towers, a fine Gothic cathedral of the 14th +century, the remains of a Christian basilica of the 6th century, and the +octagonal baptistery of S. Pietro (11th century). It was the birthplace +of the poet Vittorio Alfieri. In ancient times it manufactured pottery. +It is now famous for its sparkling wine (_Asti spumante_), and is a +considerable centre of trade. + + + + +ASTLEY, JACOB ASTLEY, BARON (1570-1652), royalist commander in the +English Civil War, came of a Norfolk family. In 1598 he joined Counts +Maurice and Henry of Orange in the Netherlands, where he served with +distinction, and afterwards fought under the elector palatine Frederick +V. and Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years' War. He was evidently +thought highly of by the states-general, for when he was absent, serving +under the king of Denmark, his company in the Dutch army was kept open +for him. Returning to England with a well-deserved reputation, he was in +the employment of Charles I. in various military capacities. As +"sergeant-major," or general of the infantry, he went north in 1639 to +organize the defence against the expected Scottish invasion. Here his +duties were as much diplomatic as military, as the discontent which +ended in the Civil War was now coming to a head. In the ill-starred +"Bishops' War," Astley did good service to the cause of the king, and he +was involved in the so-called "Army Plot." At the outbreak of the Great +Rebellion (1642) he at once joined Charles, and was made major-general +of the foot. His characteristic battle-prayer at Edgebill has become +famous: "O Lord, Thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget +Thee, do not forget me. March on, boys!" At Gloucester he commanded a +division, and at the first battle of Newbury he led the infantry of the +royal army. With Hopton, in 1644, he served at Arundel and Cheriton. At +the second battle of Newbury he made a gallant and memorable defence of +Shaw House. He was made a baron by the king, and at Naseby he once more +commanded the main body of the foot. He afterwards served in the west, +and with 1500 men fought stubbornly but vainly the last battle for the +king at Stow-on-the-Wold (March 1646). His remark to his captors has +become as famous as his words at Edgehill, "You have now done your work +and may go play, unless you will fall out amongst yourselves." His +scrupulous honour forbade him to take any part in the Second Civil War, +as he had given his parole at Stow-on-the-Wold; but he had to undergo +his share of the discomforts that were the lot of the vanquished +royalists. He died in February 1651/2. The barony became extinct in +1668. + + + + +ASTLEY, SIR JOHN DUGDALE, Bart. (1828-1894), English soldier and +sportsman, was a descendant of Lord Astley, and son of the 2nd baronet +(cr. 1821). From 1848 to 1859 he was in the army, serving in the Crimean +War and retiring as lieutenant-colonel. He married an heiress in 1858, +and thenceforth devoted himself to horse-racing, pugilism and sport in +general. He succeeded to the baronetcy in 1873, and from 1874 to 1880 +was Conservative M.P. for North Lincolnshire. He was a popular figure on +the turf, being familiarly known as "the Mate," and won and lost large +sums of money. Just before his death, on the 10th of October 1894, he +published some entertaining reminiscences, under the title of _Fifty +Years of my Life_. + + + + +ASTON, ANTHONY (fl. 1712-1731), English actor and dramatist, began to be +known on the London stage in the early years of the 18th century. He had +tried the law and other professions, which he finally abandoned for the +theatre. He had some success as a dramatic author, writing _Love in a +Hurry_, performed in Dublin about 1709, and _Pastora, or the Coy +Shepherdess_, an opera (1712). For many years he toured the English +provinces with his wife and son, producing pieces which he himself +wrote, or medleys from various plays fitted together with songs and +dialogues of his own. + + + + +ASTON MANOR, a municipal and parliamentary borough of Warwickshire, +England, adjoining Birmingham on the north-east. Pop. (1901) 77,326. +There are extensive manufactures, including those of motors and cycles +with their accessories, also paper-mills, breweries, &c., and the +population is largely industrial. Aston Hall, erected by Sir Thomas +Holte in 1618-1635, is an admirable architectural example of its period, +built of red brick. It stands in a large park, the whole property being +acquired by the corporation of Birmingham in 1864, when the mansion +became a museum and art gallery. It contains the panelling of a room +from the house of Edmund Hector, which formerly stood in Old Square, +Birmingham, where Dr Samuel Johnson was a frequent visitor. Aston Lower +Grounds, adjoining the park, contain an assembly hall, and the playing +field of the Aston Villa Football Club, where the more important games +are witnessed by many thousands of spectators. Aston Manor was +incorporated in 1903. The parliamentary borough returns one member. The +corporation consists of a mayor, 6 aldermen and 18 councillors. Area, +960 acres. + + + + +ASTOR, JOHN JACOB (1763-1848), American merchant, was born at the +village of Walldorf, near Heidelberg, Germany, on the 17th of July 1763. +Until he was sixteen he worked in the shop of his father, a butcher; he +then joined an elder brother in London, and there for four years was +employed in the piano and flute factory of an uncle, of the firm of +Astor & Broadwood. In 1783 he emigrated to America, and settled in New +York, whither one of his brothers had previously gone. On the voyage he +became acquainted with a fur-trader, by whose advice he devoted himself +to the same business, buying furs directly from the Indians, preparing +them at first with his own hands for the market, and selling them in +London and elsewhere at a great profit. He was also the agent in New +York of the firm of Astor & Broadwood. By his energy, industry and sound +judgment he gradually enlarged his operations, did business in all the +fur markets of the world, and amassed an enormous fortune,--the largest +up to that time made by any American. He devoted many years to carrying +out a project for organizing the fur trade from the Great Lakes to the +Pacific Ocean, and thence by way of the Hawaiian Islands to China and +India. In 1811 he founded at the mouth of the Columbia river a +settlement named after him Astoria, which was intended to serve as the +central depot; but two years later the settlement was seized and +occupied by the English. The incidents of this undertaking are the theme +of Washington Irving's _Astoria_. A series of disasters frustrated the +gigantic scheme. Astor made vast additions to his wealth by investments +in real estate in New York City, and erected many buildings there, +including the hotel known as the Astor House. The last twenty-five years +of his life were spent in retirement in New York City, where he died on +the 29th of March 1848, his fortune then being estimated at about +$30,000,000. He made various charitable bequests by his will, and among +them a gift of $50,000 to found an institution, opened as the "Astor +House" in 1854, for the education of poor children and the relief of the +aged and the destitute in his native village in Germany. His chief +benefaction, however, was a bequest of $400,000 for the foundation and +endowment of a public library in New York City, since known as the Astor +library, and since 1895 part of the New York public library. + + See Parton's _Life of John Jacob Astor_ (New York, 1865). + +His eldest son, WILLIAM BACKHOUSE ASTOR (1792-1875), inherited the +greater part of his father's fortune, and chiefly by judicious +investments in real estate greatly increased it. He was sometimes known +as the "Landlord of New York." Under his direction the building for the +Astor library was erected, and to the library he gave about $550,000, +including a bequest of $200,000. His son, JOHN JACOB ASTOR (1822-1890), +was also well known as a capitalist and philanthropist, giving liberally +to the Astor library. + +The son of the last named, WILLIAM WALDORF ASTOR (1848- ), served in +the New York assembly in 1877, and in the state senate in 1880-81. He +was United States minister to Italy from 1882 to 1885. He published two +romances, _Valentine_ (1885) and _Sforza_ (1889). His wealth, arising +from property in New York, where also he built the New Netherland hotel +and the Waldorf hotel, was enormous. In 1890 he removed to England, and +in 1899 was naturalized. In 1893 he became proprietor of the _Pall Mall +Gazette_, and afterwards started the _Pall Mall Magazine_. + + + + +ASTORGA, EMANUELE D' (1681-1736), Italian musical composer, was born at +Naples on the 11th of December 1681. No authentic account of Astorga's +life can be successfully constructed from the obscure and confusing +evidence that has been until now handed down, although historians have +not failed to indulge many pleasant conjectures. According to some of +these, his father, a baron of Sicily, took an active part in the attempt +to throw off the Spanish yoke, but was betrayed by his own soldiers and +publicly executed. His wife and son were compelled to be spectators of +his fate; and such was the effect upon them that his mother died on the +spot, and Emanuele fell into a state of gloomy despondency, which +threatened to deprive him of reason. By the kindness of the princess +Ursini, the unfortunate young man was placed in a convent at Astorga, in +Leon, where he completed a musical education which is said to have been +begun in Palermo under Francesco Scarlatti. Here he recovered his +health, and his admirable musical talents were cultivated under the best +masters. On the details of this account no reliance can safely be +placed, nor is there any certainty that in 1703 he entered the service +of the duke of Parma. Equally untrustworthy is the story that the duke, +suspecting an attachment between hi? niece Elizabeth Farnese and +Astorga, dismissed the musician. The established facts concerning +Astorga are indeed few enough. They are: that the opera _Dafne_ was +written and conducted by the composer in Barcelona in 1709; that he +visited London, where he wrote his _Stabat Mater_, possibly for the +society of "Antient Musick"; that it was performed in Oxford in 1713; +that in 1712 he was in Vienna, and that he retired at an uncertain date +to Bohemia, where he died on the 21st of August 1736, in a castle which +had been given to him in the domains of Prince Lobkowitz, in Raudnitz. +Astorga deserves remembrance for his dignified and pathetic _Stabat +Mater_, and for his numerous chamber-cantatas for one or two voices. He +was probably the last composer to carry on the traditions of this form +of chamber-music as perfected by Alessandro Scarlatti. + + + + +ASTORGA, a city of N.W. Spain, in the province of Leon; situated near +the right bank of the river Tuerto, and at the junction of the +Salamanca-Corunna and Leon-Astorga railways. Pop. (1900) 5573. Astorga +was the Roman Asturica Augusta, a provincial capital, and the +meeting-place of four military roads. Though sacked by the Goths in the +5th century, and later by the Moors, it is still surrounded by massive +walls of Roman origin. A ruined castle, near the city, recalls its +strategic importance in the 8th century, when Asturias, Galicia and Leon +were the headquarters of resistance to the Moors. Astorga has been the +see of a bishop since the 3rd century, and was formerly known as the +City of Priests, from the number of ecclesiastics resident within its +walls. Its Gothic cathedral dates from the 15th century. The city +confers the title of marquis on the Osorio family, the ruins of whose +palace, sacked in 1810 by the French, are still an object of interest. + + For the history, especially the ecclesiastical history, of Astorga, + see the anonymous _Historia de la ciudad de Astorga_ (Valladolid, + 1840); with _Fundacion de la ... iglesia ... de Astorga_, by P.A. + Ezpeleta (Madrid, 1634); and _Fundacion, nombre y armas de ... + Astorga_, by P. Junco (Pamplona, 1635). + + + + +ASTORIA, a city, port of entry, and the county-seat of Clatsop county, +Oregon, U.S.A., on the Columbia river, 8 m. from its mouth. Pop. (1890) +6184; (1900) 8381, of whom 3779 were foreign-born (many being Finns,--a +Finnish weekly was established here in 1905), and 601 were Chinese; +(1910, census) 9599. It is served by the Astoria & Columbia River +railroad (Northern Pacific System), and by several coastwise and foreign +steamship lines (including that of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Co.). +The river here is about 6 m. wide, and the city has a water-front of +about 5 m. and a deep, spacious and placid harbour. By dredging and the +construction of jetties the Federal government has since 1885 greatly +improved the channel at the mouth of the river. The business portion of +the city occupies the low ground of the river bottom; the residence +portion is on the hillsides overlooking the harbour. Astoria is the port +of entry for the Oregon Customs District, Oregon; in 1907 its imports +were valued at $21,262, and its exports at $329,103. The city is +especially important as a salmon fishing and packing centre (cod, +halibut and smaller fish also being abundant); it has also an extensive +lumber trade, important lumber manufactories, pressed brick and +terra-cotta factories, and dairy interests. In 1905 the value of the +factory product was $3,092,628 (of which $1,759,871 was the value of +preserved and canned fish), being an increase of 41.8% in five years. +Astoria is the oldest American settlement in the Columbia Valley. It was +founded in 1811, as a depot for the fur trade, by John Jacob Astor, in +whose honour it was named. It was seized by the British in 1813, but was +restored in 1818. In 1821, while occupied by the North-West Fur Company, +it was burned and practically abandoned, only a few settlers remaining. +It was chartered as a city in 1876. + + See Washington Irving's _Astoria; or Anecdotes of an Enterprise beyond + the Rocky Mountains_ (Philadelphia, 1836). + + + + +ASTRAEA, in Greek legend, the "star maiden," daughter of Zeus and +Themis, or of Astraeus the Titan and Eos, in which case she is +identified with Dike. During the golden age she remained among men +distributing blessings, but when the iron (or bronze) age came on, she +was forced to withdraw, being the last of the goddesses to quit the +earth. In the heavens she is amongst the signs of the zodiac as the +constellation Virgo. She is usually represented with a pair of scales +and a crown of stars. + + Ov. _Met._ i. 150; Juv. vi. 19; Aratus, _Phaenomena_, 96. + + + + +ASTRAGAL (from the Gr. [Greek: astragalos], the ankle-joint), an +architectural term for a convex moulding. This term is generally applied +to small mouldings, "torus" (q.v.) to large ones of the same form. The +Lesbian astragal referred to by Vitruvius, bk. iv. ch. vi., was in all +probability an astragal carved with a bead and reel enrichment. + + + + +ASTRAKHAN, a government of S.E. Russia, on the lower Volga, bounded N. +by the governments of Samara and Saratov, W. by Saratov and the +government of the Don Cossacks, S. by Stavropol and Terek, and E. by the +Caspian Sea and the government of the Urals. Area, 91,327 sq. m., of +which 6730 sq. m. belong to the delta of the Volga and its brackish +lagoons, and 62,290 sq. m. are covered by the Kalmuck and Kirghiz +Steppes. The surface is a low-lying plain, except that in the west the +Ergeni Hills (500-575 ft.) form the water-parting between the Volga +basin and that of the Don. The climate is very hot and dry, the average +temperature for the year being 50 deg. Fahr., for January 21 deg., and +for July 78 deg., rainfall 7.3 in., but often there is no rain at all in +the summer. Pop. (1897) 1,005,460, of whom 132,383 were urban. The +Kalmucks (138,580 in 1897) and Kirghiz (260,000) are semi-nomads. In +addition to them the population includes nearly 44,000 Tatars, 4270 +Armenians, with Poles and Jews. Fishing off the mouth of the Volga gives +occupation to 50,000 persons; the fish, chiefly herrings and sturgeon, +together with the caviare prepared from the latter, are sold for the +most part at Nizhniy-Novgorod. Over 300,000 tons of salt are extracted +annually from the lakes, principally those of Baskunchak and Elton. +Cattle-breeding is an important industry. Market-gardening (mustard, +water-melons, fruit) is on the increase; but pure agriculture is +relatively not much developed. The government is divided into five +districts, the chief towns of which are Astrakhan, Enotayevsk (pop. 2810 +in 1897), Krasnyi-yar (4680), Chernyi-yar (5140), and Tsarev (8900). +The Kalmucks and Kirghiz have their own local administrations, and so +have the Astrakhan Cossacks (25,600). + + + + +ASTRAKHAN, a town of E. Russia, capital of the government of Astrakhan, +on the left bank of the main channel of the Volga, 50 m. from the +Caspian Sea, in 46 deg. 21' N. lat. and 48 deg. 5' E. long. Since the +growth of the petroleum industry of Baku and the construction of the +Transcaspian railway, Astrakhan has become an important commercial +centre, exporting fish, caviare, sugar, metals, naphtha, cottons and +woollens, and importing grain, cotton, fruit and timber, to the +aggregate value of L8,250,000 with foreign countries and of L14,500,000 +with the interior of Russia. The town gives its name to the "fur" called +"astrakhan," the skin of the new-born Persian lamb, and so to an +imitation in rough woollen cloth. There is some tanning, shipbuilding +and brewing, and making of soap, tar and machinery. Astrakhan is the +chief port on the Caspian Sea and the headquarters of the Russian +Caspian fleet. The city consists of (1) the _kreml_ or citadel (1550), +crowning a hill, on which stand also the spacious brick cathedral +containing the tombs of two Georgian princes, the archbishop's palace +and the monastery of the Trinity; (2) the Byelogorod or White Town, +containing the administrative offices and the bazaars; and (3) the +suburbs, where most of the population resides. The buildings in the +first two quarters are of stone, in the third of wood, irregularly +arranged along unpaved, dirty streets. The city is the see of a Greek +Catholic archbishop and of an Armenian archbishop, and contains a +Lamaist monastery, as well as technical schools, an ichthyological +museum, the Peter museum, with ethnographical, archaeological and +natural history collections, a botanical garden, an ecclesiastical +seminary, and good squares and public gardens, one of which is adorned +with a statue (1884) of Alexander II. Vineyards surround the city. +Astrakhan was anciently the capital of a Tatar state, and stood some 7 +m. farther north. After this was destroyed by the Mongol prince Timur +the Great in 1395, the existing city was built. The Tatars were expelled +about 1554 by Ivan IV. of Russia. In 1569 the city was besieged by the +Turks, but they were defeated with great slaughter by the Russians. In +1670 it was seized by the rebel Stenka Razin; early in the following +century Peter the Great constructed here a shipbuilding yard and made +Astrakhan the base for his hostilities against Persia, and later in the +same century Catherine II. accorded the city important industrial +privileges. In 1702, 1718 and 1767, it suffered severely from fires; in +1719 was plundered by the Persians; and in 1830 the cholera swept away a +large number of its people. In the middle ages the city was known also +as Jitarkhan and Ginterkhan. Pop. (1867) 47,839; (1900) 121,580. Eight +miles above Astrakhan, on the right bank of the Volga, are the ruins of +two ancient cities superimposed one upon the other. In the upper, which +may represent the city of Balanjar (Balansar, Belenjer), have been found +gold and silver coins struck by Mongol rulers, as well as ornaments in +the same metals. The older and scantier underlying ruins are supposed to +be those of the once large and prosperous city of Itil or Atel (Etel, +Idl) of the Arab geographers, a residence of the khan of the Khazars, +destroyed by the Russians in 969. (P. A. K.) + + + + +ASTROLABE (from Gr. [Greek: astron], star, and [Greek: labein], to +take), an instrument used not only for stellar, but for solar and lunar +altitude-taking. The principle of the astrolabe is explained in fig. 2. +There were two kinds,--spherical and planispheric. The earliest forms +were "armillae" and spherical. Gradually, from Eratosthenes to Tycho, +Hipparchus playing the most important part among ancient astronomers, +the complex astrolabe was evolved, large specimens being among the chief +observatory instruments of the 15th, 16th and even 17th centuries; while +small ones were in use among travellers and learned men, not only for +astronomical, but for astrological and topographical purposes. Nearly +every one of the modern instruments used for the observations of +physical astronomy is a part of the perfected astrolabe. A collection of +circles such as is the armillary sphere, if each circle were fitted with +a view-tube, might be considered a complete astrolabe. Tycho's armillae +were astrolabes. In fact the modern equatorial, and the altitude and +azimuth circle are astrolabes in the strictest and oldest meaning of the +term; and Tycho in one of his astrolabes came so near the modern +equatorial that it may be taken as the first of the kind. + +[Illustration: PLATE. + +FIG. 1.--PERSIAN ASTROLABE (c. 1712) INSCRIBED IN ARABIC. + + FRONT, showing the _Rete_ or _Spider_, a network of star pointers. + Beneath the _Rete_, in a hollow, are four thin brass discs, called + Tables or Climates, engraved with projections of the sphere for + different latitudes. + + BACK, showing graduations, parallelogram for measuring heights; and + other tables, together with the _Rule_ with sights (A) held by a + moveable pin (B), known as the _Horse_ or _Wedge_.] + +[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Principle of the Astrolabe. If a solid circle be +fixed in any one position and a tube be pivoted on its centre so as to +move; and if the line C D be drawn upon the circle pointing towards any +object Q in the heavens which lies in the plane of the circle, by +turning the tube A B towards any other object P in the plane of the +circle, the angle BOD will be the angle subtended by the two objects P +and Q at the eye.] + +[Illustration: From _Exercises_, by T. Blundeville. + +FIG. 3.--Mariner's Astrolabe, A.D. 1594. Made of brass, or of heavy +wood: it varied in size from a few inches to 1 ft. in diameter.] + +The two forms of the planispheric astrolabe most widely known and used +in the 15th, 16th and even 17th centuries were: (1) the _portable +astrolabe_ shown in fig. 1 (Plate). This originated in the East, and was +in early use in India, Persia and Arabia, and was introduced into Europe +by the Arabs, who had perfected it--perhaps as early as A.D. 700. It +combines the planisphere and armillae of Hipparchus and others, and the +theodolite of Theon, and was usually of brass, varying in diameter from +a couple of inches to a foot or more. It was used for taking the +altitudes of sun, moon and stars; for calculating latitude; for +determining the points of the compass, and time; for ascertaining +heights of mountains, &c.; and for construction of horoscopes. The +instrument was a marvel of convenience and ingenuity, and was called +"the mathematical jewel." Nevertheless it passed out of use, because +incapable of any great precision. + +(2) The _mariner's astrolabe_, fig. 3, was adapted from that of +astronomers by Martin Behaim, c. 1480. This was the instrument used by +Columbus. With the tables of the sun's declination then available, he +could calculate his latitude by meridian altitudes of the sun taken with +his astrolabe. The mariner's astrolabe was superseded by John Hadley's +quadrant of 1731. + + AUTHORITIES.--Chaucer, _Treatise on the Astrolabe_ (Skeat's edition of + Chaucer); J.J. Stoffler, _Elucidatio Fabrice ususque Astrolabii_, &c.; + Thomas Blundeville, _His Exercises_ (1594); F. Ritter, _Astrolabium_; + W.H. Morley, _Description of Astrolabe of Shah Husain_; M.L. Huggins, + "The Astrolabe" (_Astrophysical Journal_, 1894); _Penny Cyclopaedia_, + article "Astrolabe;" R. Grant, _History of Physical Astronomy_. + (M. L. H.) + + + + +ASTROLOGY, the ancient art or science of divining the fate and future of +human beings from indications given by the positions of the stars (sun, +moon and planets). The belief in a connexion between the heavenly bodies +and the life of man has played an important part in human history. For +long ages astronomy and astrology (which might be called astromancy, on +the same principle as "chiromancy") were identified; and a distinction +is made between "natural astrology," which predicts the motions of the +heavenly bodies, eclipses, &c., and "judicial astrology," which studies +the influence of the stars on human destiny. Isidore of Seville (d. 636) +is one of the first to distinguish between astronomy and astrology; nor +did astronomy begin to rid itself of astrology till the 16th century, +when, with the system of Copernicus, the conviction that the earth +itself is one of the heavenly bodies was finally established. The study +of astromancy and the belief in it, as part of astronomy, is found in a +developed form among the ancient Babylonians, and directly or indirectly +through the Babylonians spread to other nations. It came to Greece about +the middle of the 4th century B.C., and reached Rome before the opening +of the Christian era. In India and China astronomy and astrology are +largely reflections of Greek theories and speculations; and similarly +with the introduction of Greek culture into Egypt, both astronomy and +astrology were actively cultivated in the region of the Nile during the +Hellenistic and Roman periods. Astrology was further developed by the +Arabs from the 7th to the 13th century, and in the Europe of the 14th +and 15th centuries astrologers were dominating influences at court. + +Even up to the present day men of intellectual eminence like Dr Richard +Garnett have convinced themselves that astromancy has a foundation of +truth, just as there are still believers in chiromancy or other forms of +divination. Dr Garnett ("A.G. Trent") insisted indeed that it was a +mistake to confuse astrology with fortune-telling, and maintained that +it was a "physical science just as much as geology," depending like them +on ascertained facts, and grossly misrepresented by being connected with +magic. Dr Garnett himself looked upon the study of biography in relation +to the casting of horoscopes as an empirical investigation, but it is +difficult in practice to keep the distinction clear, to judge by +present-day text-books such as those of Dr Wilde (_Primer of Astrology_, +&c.). Dr Wilde insists on there being "nothing incongruous with the laws +of nature in the theory that the sun, moon and stars influence men's +physical bodies and conditions, seeing that man is made up of a physical +part of the earth." There is an obvious tendency, however, for +astromancy to be employed, like palmistry, as a means of imposing on the +ignorant and credulous. How far the more serious claim is likely to be +revived in connexion with the renewal of research into the "occult" +sciences generally, it is still too early to speculate; and it has to be +recognized that such a point of view is opposed to the generally +established belief that astrology is either mere superstition or +absolute imposture, and that its former vogue was due either to +deception or to the tyranny of an unscientific environment. But if the +progress of physical science has not prevented the rehabilitation of +much of ancient alchemy by the later researches into chemical change, +and if psychology now finds a place for explanations of spiritualism and +witchcraft which involve the admission of the empirical facts under a +new theory (as in the case of the divining-rod, &c.), it is at least +conceivable that some new synthesis might once more justify part at all +events of ancient and medieval astromancy, to the extent of admitting +the empirical facts where provable, and substituting for the supposed +influence of the stars as such, some deeper theory which would be +consistent with an application to other forms of prophecy, and thus +might reconcile the possibility of dipping into futurity with certain +interrelations of the universe, different indeed from those assumed by +astrological theory, but underlying and explaining it. If this is ever +accomplished it will need the patient investigation of a number of +empirical observations by competent students unbiassed by any _parti +pris_--a difficult set of conditions to obtain; and even then no +definite results may be achieved. + +The history of astrology can now be traced back to ancient Babylonia, +and indeed to the earliest phases of Babylonian history, i.e. to about +3000 B.C. In Babylonia as well as in Assyria as a direct offshoot of +Babylonian culture (or as we might also term it "Euphratean" culture), +astrology takes its place in the official cult as one of the two chief +means at the disposal of the priests (who were called _bare_ or +"inspectors") for ascertaining the will and intention of the gods, the +other being through the inspection of the liver of the sacrificial +animal (see OMEN). Just as this latter method of divination rested on a +well-defined theory, to wit, that the liver was the seat of the soul of +the animal and that the deity in accepting the sacrifice identified +himself with the animal, whose "soul" was thus placed in complete accord +with that of the god and therefore reflected the mind and will of the +god, so astrology is based on a theory of divine government of the +world, which in contrast to "liver" divination assumes at the start a +more scientific or pseudo-scientific aspect. This theory must be taken +into consideration as a factor in accounting for the persistent hold +which even at the present day astrology still maintains on many minds. +Starting with the indisputable fact that man's life and happiness are +largely dependent upon phenomena in the heavens, that the fertility of +the soil is dependent upon the sun shining in the heavens as well as +upon the rains that come from heaven, that on the other hand the +mischief and damage done by storms and inundations, to both of which the +Euphratean Valley was almost regularly subject, were to be traced +likewise to the heavens, the conclusion was drawn that all the great +gods had their seats in the heavens. In that early age of culture known +as the "nomadic" stage, which under normal conditions precedes the +"agricultural" stage, the moon cult is even more prominent than sun +worship, and with the moon and sun cults thus furnished by the "popular" +faith it was a natural step for the priests, who correspond to the +"scientists" of a later day, to perfect a theory of a complete accord +between phenomena observed in the heavens and occurrences on earth. + +If moon and sun, whose regular movements conveyed to the more intelligent +minds the conception of the reign of law and order in the universe as +against the more popular notion of chance and caprice, were divine +powers, the same held good of the planets, whose movements, though more +difficult to follow, yet in the course of time came to be at least +partially understood. Of the planets five were recognized--Jupiter, +Venus, Saturn, Mercury and Mars--to name them in the order in which they +appear in the older cuneiform literature; in later texts Mercury and +Saturn change places. These five planets were identified with the great +gods of the pantheon as follows:--Jupiter with Marduk (q.v.), Venus with +the goddess Ishtar (q.v.), Saturn with Ninib (q.v.), Mercury with Nebo +(q.v.), and Mars with Nergal (q.v.). The movements of the sun, moon and +five planets were regarded as representing the activity of the five gods +in question, together with the moon-god Sin (q.v.) and the sun-god +Shamash (q.v.), in preparing the occurrences on earth. If, therefore, one +could correctly read and interpret the activity of these powers, one knew +what the gods were aiming to bring about. The Babylonian priests +accordingly applied themselves to the task of perfecting a system of +interpretation of the phenomena to be observed in the heavens, and it was +natural that the system was extended from the moon, sun and five planets +to the more prominent and recognizable fixed stars. That system involved +not merely the movements of the moon, sun and planets, but the +observation of their relative position to one another and to all kinds of +peculiarities noted at any point in the course of their movements: in the +case of the moon, for instance, the exact appearance of the new crescent, +its position in the heavens, the conditions at conjunction and +opposition, the appearance of the horns, the halo frequently seen with +the new moon, which was compared to a "cap," the ring round the full +moon, which was called a "stall" (i.e. "enclosure"), and more of the +like. To all these phenomena some significance was attached, and this +significance was naturally intensified in the case of such a striking +phenomenon as an eclipse of the moon. Applying the same method of careful +observation to the sun and planets, and later to some of the +constellations and to many of the fixed stars, it will be apparent that +the body of observations noted must have grown in the course of time to +large and indeed to enormous proportions, and correspondingly the +interpretations assigned to the nearly endless variations in the +phenomena thus observed. The interpretations themselves were based (as in +the case of divination through the liver) chiefly on two factors:--(1) on +the recollection or on written records of what in the past had taken +place when the phenomenon or phenomena in question had been observed, and +(2) association of ideas--involving sometimes merely a play upon +words--in connexion with the phenomenon or phenomena observed. Thus if on +a certain occasion the rise of the new moon in a cloudy sky was followed +by victory over an enemy or by abundant rain, the sign in question was +thus proved to be a favourable one and its recurrence would be regarded +as a good omen, though the prognostication would not necessarily be +limited to the one or the other of those occurrences, but might be +extended to apply to other circumstances. On the other hand, the +appearance of the new moon earlier than was expected was regarded as an +unfavourable omen--prognosticating in one case defeat, in another death +among cattle, in a third bad crops--not necessarily because these events +actually took place after such a phenomenon, but by an application of the +general principle resting upon association of ideas whereby anything +premature would suggest an unfavourable occurrence. A thin halo seen +above the new moon was pictured as a cap, and the association between +this and the symbol of royalty, which was a conical-shaped cap, led to +interpreting the phenomenon as an indication that the ruler would have a +successful reign. In this way a mass of traditional interpretation of all +kinds of observed phenomena was gathered, and once gathered became a +guide to the priests for all times. + +Astrology in this its earliest stage is, however, marked by two +characteristic limitations. In the first place, the movements and +position of the heavenly bodies point to such occurrences as are of +public import and affect the general welfare. The individual's interests +are not in any way involved, and we must descend many centuries and pass +beyond the confines of Babylonia and Assyria before we reach that phase +which in medieval and modern astrology is almost exclusively dwelt +upon--genethliology or the individual horoscope. In Babylonia and +Assyria the cult centred largely and indeed almost exclusively in the +public welfare and the person of the king, because upon his well-being +and favour with the gods the fortunes of the country were dependent in +accordance with the ancient conception of kingship (see J.G. Frazer, +_The Early History of Kingship_). To some extent, the individual came in +for his share in the incantations and in the purification ritual through +which one might hope to rid oneself of the power of the demons and of +other evil spirits, but outside of this the important aim of the priests +was to secure for the general benefit the favour of the gods, or, as a +means of preparing oneself for what the future had in store, to +ascertain in time whether that favour would be granted in any particular +instance or would be continued in the future. Hence in "liver" +divination, as in astrology, the interpretations of the signs noted all +have reference to public affairs and events and not to the individual's +needs or desires. In the second place, the astronomical knowledge +presupposed and accompanying early Babylonian astrology is essentially +of an empirical character. While in a general way the reign of law and +order in the movements of the heavenly bodies was recognized, and indeed +must have exercised an influence at an early period in leading to the +rise of a methodical divination that was certainly of a much higher +order than the examination of an animal's liver, yet the importance that +was laid upon the endless variations in the form of the phenomena and +the equally numerous apparent deviations from what were regarded as +normal conditions, prevented for a long time the rise of any serious +study of astronomy beyond what was needed for the purely practical +purposes that the priests as "inspectors" of the heavens (as they were +also the "inspectors" of the sacrificial livers) had in mind. True, we +have, probably as early as the days of Khammurabi, i.e. c. 2000 B.C., +the combinations of prominent groups of stars with outlines of pictures +fantastically put together, but there is no evidence that prior to 700 +B.C. more than a number of the constellations of our zodiac had become +part of the current astronomy. The theory of the ecliptic as +representing the course of the sun through the year, divided among +twelve constellations with a measurement of 30 deg. to each division, is +also of Babylonian origin, as has now been definitely proved; but it +does not appear to have been perfected until after the fall of the +Babylonian empire in 539 B.C. Similarly, the other accomplishments of +Babylonian astronomers, such as their system or rather systems of moon +calculations and the drawing up of planetary tablets, belong to this +late period, so that the golden age of Babylonian astronomy belongs not +to the remote past, as was until recently supposed, but to the Seleucid +period, i.e. after the advent of the Greeks in the Euphrates Valley. +From certain expressions used in astrological texts that are earlier +than the 7th century B.C. it would appear, indeed, that the beginnings +at least of the calculation of sun and moon eclipses belong to the +earlier period, but here, too, the chief work accomplished was after 400 +B.C., and the defectiveness of early Babylonian astronomy may be +gathered from the fact that as late as the 6th century B.C. an error of +almost an entire month was made by the Babylonian astronomers in the +attempt to determine through calculation the beginning of a certain +year. + +The researches of Bouche-Leclercq, Cumont and Boll have enabled us to +fix with a considerable degree of definiteness the middle of the 4th +century B.C. as the period when Babylonian astrology began its triumphal +march to the west, invading the domain of Greek and Roman culture and +destined to exercise a strong hold on all nations and groups--more +particularly in Egypt--that came within the sphere of Greek and Roman +influence. It is rather significant that this spread of astrology should +have been concomitant with the intellectual impulse that led to the rise +of a genuine scientific phase of astronomy in Babylonia itself, which +must have weakened to some extent the hold that astrology had on the +priests and the people. The advent of the Persians, bringing with them a +conception of religion of a far higher order than Babylonian-Assyrian +polytheism (see ZOROASTER), must also have acted as a disintegrating +factor in leading to the decline of the old faith in the Euphrates +Valley, and we thus have the interesting though not entirely exceptional +phenomenon of a great civilization bequeathing as a legacy to posterity +a superstition instead of a real achievement. "Chaldaean wisdom" became +among Greeks and Romans the synonym of divination through the planets +and stars, and it is not surprising that in the course of time to be +known as a "Chaldaean" carried with it frequently the suspicion of +charlatanry and of more or less wilful deception. The spread of +astrology beyond Babylonia is thus concomitant with the rise of a truly +scientific astronomy in Babylonia itself, which in turn is due to the +intellectual impulse afforded by the contact with new forms of culture +from both the East and the West. + +In the hands of the Greeks and of the later Egyptians both astrology and +astronomy were carried far beyond the limits attained by the +Babylonians, and it is indeed a matter of surprise to observe the +harmonious combination of the two fields--a harmony that seems to grow +more complete with each age, and that is not broken until we reach the +threshold of modern science in the 16th century. To the Greek astronomer +Hipparchus belongs the credit of the discovery (c. 130 B.C.) of the +theory of the precession of the equinoxes, for a knowledge of which +among the Babylonians we find no definite proof; but such a signal +advance in pure science did not prevent the Greeks from developing in a +most elaborate manner the theory of the influence of the planets upon +the fate of the individual. The endeavour to trace the horoscope of the +individual from the position of the planets and stars at the time of +birth (or, as was attempted by other astrologers, at the time of +conception) represents the most significant contribution of the Greeks +to astrology. The system was carried to such a degree of perfection that +later ages made but few additions of an essential character to the +genethliology or drawing up of the individual horoscope by the Greek +astrologers. The system was taken up almost bodily by the Arab +astronomers, it was embodied in the Kabbalistic lore of Jews and +Christians, and through these and other channels came to be the +substance of the astrology of the middle ages, forming, as already +pointed out, under the designation of "judicial astrology," a +pseudo-science which was placed on a perfect footing of equality with +"natural astrology" or the more genuine science of the study of the +motions and phenomena of the heavenly bodies. + +Partly in further development of views unfolded in Babylonia, but +chiefly under Greek influences, the scope of astrology was enlarged +until it was brought into connexion with practically all of the known +sciences, botany, chemistry, zoology, mineralogy, anatomy and medicine. +Colours, metals, stones, plants, drugs and animal life of all kinds were +associated with the planets and placed under their tutelage. In the +system that passes under the name of Ptolemy, Saturn is associated with +grey, Jupiter with white, Mars with red, Venus with yellow, while +Mercury, occupying a peculiar place in Greek as it did in Babylonian +astrology (where it was at one time designated as _the_ planet _par +excellence_), was supposed to vary its colour according to changing +circumstances. The sun was associated with gold, the moon with silver, +Jupiter with electrum, Saturn with lead, Venus with copper, and so on, +while the continued influence of astrological motives is to be seen in +the association of quicksilver, upon its discovery at a comparatively +late period, with Mercury, because of its changeable character as a +solid and a liquid. In the same way stones were connected with both the +planets and the months; plants, by diverse association of ideas, were +connected with the planets, and animals likewise were placed under the +guidance and protection of one or other of the heavenly bodies. By this +curious process of combination the entire realm of the natural sciences +was translated into the language of astrology with the single avowed +purpose of seeing in all phenomena signs indicative of what the future +had in store. The fate of the individual, as that feature of the future +which had a supreme interest, led to the association of the planets with +parts of the body. Here, too, we find various systems devised, in part +representing the views of different schools, in part reflecting +advancing conceptions regarding the functions of the organs in man and +animals. In one system the seat of Mercury, representing divine +intelligence as the source of all knowledge--a view that reverts to +Babylonia where Nebo (corresponding to Mercury) was regarded as the +divine power to whom all wisdom is due--was placed in the liver as the +primeval seat of the soul (see OMEN), whereas in other systems this +distinction was assigned to Jupiter or to Venus. Saturn, taking in Greek +astrology the place at the head of the planets which among the +Babylonians was accorded to Jupiter-Marduk, was given a place in the +brain, which in later times was looked upon as the centre of soul-life; +Venus, as the planet of the passion of love, was supposed to reign +supreme over the genital organs, the belly and the lower limbs; Mars, as +the violent planet, is associated with the bile, as well as with the +blood and kidneys. Again, the right ear is associated with Saturn, the +left ear with Mars, the right eye in the case of the male with the sun +and the left eye with the moon, while in the case of the female it was +just the reverse. From the planets the same association of ideas was +applied to the constellations of the zodiac, which in later phases of +astrology are placed on a par with the planets themselves, so far as +their importance for the individual horoscope is concerned. The fate of +the individual in this combination of planets with the zodiac was made +dependent not merely upon the planet which happened to be rising at the +time of birth or of conception, but also upon its local relationship to +a special sign or to certain signs of the zodiac. The zodiac was +regarded as the prototype of the human body, the different parts of +which all had their corresponding section in the zodiac itself. The head +was placed in the first sign of the zodiac--the Ram; and the feet in the +last sign--the Fishes. Between these two extremes the other parts and +organs of the body were distributed among the remaining signs of the +zodiac, the neck being assigned to the Bull, the shoulders and arms to +the Gemini (or twins), the breast to Cancer, the flanks to Leo, the +bladder to Virgo, the buttocks to the Balance, the pubis to the +Scorpion, the thighs to Sagittarius, the knees to Capricorn, and the +limbs to Aquarius. Not content with this, we find the late Egyptian +astrologers setting up a correspondence between the thirty-six _decani_ +recognized by them and the human body, which is thus divided into +thirty-six parts; to each part a god was assigned as a controlling +force. With human anatomy thus connected with the planets, with +constellations, and with single stars, medicine became an integral part +of astrology, or, as we might also put it, astrology became the handmaid +of medicine. Diseases and disturbances of the ordinary functions of the +organs were attributed to the influence of planets or explained as due +to conditions observed in a constellation or in the position of a star; +and an interesting survival of this bond between astrology and medicine +is to be seen in the use up to the present time of the sign of Jupiter, +which still heads medicinal prescriptions, while, on the other hand, the +influence of planetary lore appears in the assignment of the days of the +week to the planets, beginning with Sunday, assigned to the sun, and +ending with Saturday, the day of Saturn. Passing on into still later +periods, Saturn's day was associated with the Jewish sabbath, Sunday +with the Lord's Day, Tuesday with Tiw, the god of war, corresponding to +Mars of the Romans and to the Nergal of the Babylonians. Wednesday was +assigned to the planet Mercury, the equivalent of the Germanic god +Woden; Thursday to Jupiter, the equivalent of Thor; and Friday to Friga, +the goddess of love, who is represented by Venus among the Romans and +among the Babylonians by Ishtar. Astrological considerations likewise +already regulated in ancient Babylonia the distinction of lucky and +unlucky days, which passing down to the Greeks and Romans (_dies fasti_ +and _nefasti_) found a striking expression in Hesiod's _Works and Days_. +Among the Arabs similar associations of lucky and unlucky days directly +connected with the influence of the planets prevailed through all times, +Tuesday and Wednesday, for instance, being regarded as the days for +blood-letting, because Tuesday was connected with Mars, the lord of war +and blood, and Wednesday with Mercury, the planet of humours. Even in +modern times travellers relate how, when an auspicious day has been +proclaimed by the astrologers, the streets of Bagdad may be seen running +with blood from the barbers' shops. + +It is unnecessary here to give a detailed analysis of the methods of +judicial astrology as an art, or directions for the casting of a +horoscope, or "nativity," i.e. a map of the heavens at the hour of +birth, showing, according to the Ephemeris, the position of the heavenly +bodies, from which their influence may be deduced. Each of the twelve +signs of the zodiac (q.v.) is credited with its own characteristics and +influence, and is the controlling sign of its "house of life." The sign +exactly rising at the moment of birth is called the ascendant. The +benevolent or malignant influence of each planet, together with the sun +and moon, is modified by the sign it inhabits at the nativity; thus +Jupiter in one house may indicate riches, fame in another, beauty in +another, and Saturn similarly poverty, obscurity or deformity. The +calculation is affected by the "aspects," i.e. according as the planets +are near or far as regards one another (in conjunction, in semi-sextile, +semi-square, sextile, quintile, square, trine, sesqui-quadrate, +bi-quintile, opposition or parallel acclination). Disastrous signs +predominate over auspicious, and the various effects are combined in a +very elaborate and complicated manner. + +Judicial astrology, as a form of divination, is a concomitant of natural +astrology, in its purer astronomical aspect, but mingled with what is +now considered an unscientific and superstitious view of world-forces. +In the _Janua aurea reserata quatuor linguarum_ (1643) of J.A. Comenius +we find the following definition:--"_Astronomus siderum meatus seu motus +considerat: Astrologus eorundem efficaciam, influxum, et effectum_." +Kepler was more cautious in his opinion; he spoke of astronomy as the +wise mother, and astrology as the foolish daughter, but he added that +the existence of the daughter was necessary to the life of the mother. +Tycho Brahe and Gassendi both began with astrology, and it was only +after pursuing the false science, and finding it wanting, that Gassendi +devoted himself to astronomy. In their numerous allusions to the subtle +mercury, which the one makes when treating of a means of measuring time +by the efflux of the metal, and the other in a treatise on the transit +of the planet, we see traces of the school in which they served their +first apprenticeship. Huygens, moreover, in his great posthumous work, +_Cosmotheoros, seu de terris coelestibus_, shows himself a more exact +observer of astrological symbols than Kircher himself in his _Iter +exstaticum_. Huygens contends that between the inhabitants of different +planets there need not be any greater difference than exists between men +of different types on the earth. "There are on the earth," continues +this rational interpreter of the astrologers and chiromancers, "men of +cold temperament who would thrive in Saturn, which is the farthest +planet from the sun, and there are other spirits warm and ardent enough +to live in Venus." + +Those were indeed strange times, according to modern ideas, when +astrologers were dominant by the terror they inspired, and sometimes by +the martydom they endured when their predictions were either too true or +too false. Faith, to borrow their own language, was banished to Virgo, +and rarely shed her influence on men. Cardan (1501-1576), for instance, +hated Luther, and so changed his birthday in order to give him an +unfavourable horoscope. In Cardan's times, as in those of Augustus, it +was a common practice for men to conceal the day and hour of their +birth, till, like Augustus, they found a complaisant astrologer. But, as +a general rule, medieval and Renaissance astrologers did not give +themselves the trouble of reading the stars, but contented themselves +with telling fortunes by faces. They practised chiromancy (see +PALMISTRY), and relied on afterwards drawing a horoscope to suit. As +physiognomists (see PHYSIOGNOMY) their talent was undoubted, and +according to Vanini there was no need to mount to the house-top to cast +a nativity. "Yes," he says, "I can read his face; by his hair and his +forehead it is easy to guess that the sun at his birth was in the sign +of Libra and near Venus. Nay, his complexion shows that Venus touches +Libra. By the rules of astrology he could not lie." + +A few salient facts may be added concerning the astrologers and their +predictions, remarkable either for their fulfilment or for the ruin and +confusion they brought upon their authors. We may begin with one taken +from Bacon's _Essay of Prophecies_:--"When I was in France, I heard from +one Dr Pena, that the queen mother, who was given to curious arts, +caused the king her husband's nativitie to be calculated, under a false +name; and the astrologer gave a judgment, that he should be killed in a +duell; at which the queene laughed, thinking her husband to be above +challenges and duels; but he was slaine, upon a course at tilt, the +splinters of the staffe of Mongomery going in at his bever." A favourite +topic of the astrologers of all countries has been the immediate end of +the world. As early as 1186 the earth had escaped one threatened +cataclysm of the astrologers. This did not prevent Stoffler from +predicting a universal deluge for the year 1524--a year, as it turned +out, distinguished for drought. His aspect of the heavens told him that +in that year three planets would meet in the aqueous sign of Pisces. The +prediction was believed far and wide, and President Aurial, at Toulouse, +built himself a Noah's ark--a curious realization, in fact, of Chaucer's +merry invention in the _Miller's Tale_. + +Tycho Brahe was from his fifteenth year devoted to astrology, and +adjoining his observatory at Uranienburg the astronomer-royal of Denmark +had a laboratory built in order to study alchemy, and it was only a few +years before his death that he finally abandoned astrology. We may here +notice one very remarkable prediction of the master of Kepler. That he +had carefully studied the comet of 1577 as an astronomer, we may gather +from his adducing the very small parallax of this comet as disproving +the assertion of the Aristotelians that a solid sphere enveloped the +heavens. But besides this, we find him in his character of astrologer +drawing a singular prediction from the appearance of this comet. It +announced, he tells us, that in the north, in Finland, there should be +born a prince who should lay waste Germany and vanish in 1632. Gustavus +Adolphus, it is well known, was born in Finland, overran Germany, and +died in 1632. The fulfilment of the details of this prophecy suggests +that Tycho Brahe had some basis of reason for his prediction. Born in +Denmark of a noble Swedish family, a politician, as were all his +contemporaries of distinction, Tycho, though no conjuror, could foresee +the advent of some great northern hero. Moreover, he was doubtless well +acquainted with a very ancient tradition, that heroes generally came +from the northern frontiers of their native land, where they are +hardened and tempered by the threefold struggle they wage with soil, +climate and barbarian neighbours. + +Kepler explained the double movement of the earth by the rotation of the +sun. At one time the sun presented its friendly side, which attracted +one planet, sometimes its adverse side, which repelled it. He also +peopled the planets with souls and genii. He was led to his three great +laws by musical analogies, just as William Herschel afterwards passed +from music to astronomy. Kepler, who in his youth made almanacs, and +once prophesied a hard winter, which came to pass, could not help +putting an astrological interpretation on the disappearance of the +brilliant star of 1572, which Tycho had observed. Theodore Beza thought +that this star, which in December 1573 equalled Jupiter in brilliancy, +predicted the second coming of Christ. Astronomers were only then +beginning to study variable and periodic stars, and disturbances in that +part of the heavens, which had till then, on the authority of Aristotle, +been regarded as incorruptible, combined with the troubles of the times, +must have given a new stimulus to belief in the signs in heaven. +Montaigne (_Essais_, lib. i. chap, x.) relates a singular episode in the +history of astrology. Charles V. and Francis I., who both bid for the +friendship of the infamous Aretino, surnamed the divine, both likewise +engaged astrologers to fight their battles. In Italy those who +prophesied the ruin of France were sure to be listened to. These +prophecies affected the public funds much as telegrams do nowadays. "At +Rome," Montaigne tells us, "a large sum of money was lost on the Change +by this prognostication of our ruin." The marquis of Saluces, +notwithstanding his gratitude to Francis I. for the many favours he had +received, including his marquisate, of which the brother was despoiled +for his benefit, was led in 1536 to betray his country, being scared by +the glorious prophecies of the ultimate success of Charles V. which were +then rife. The influence of the Medici made astrologers popular in +France. Richelieu, on whose council was Jacques Gaffarel (1601-1681), +the last of the Kabbalists, did not despise astrology as an engine of +government. At the birth of Louis XIV. a certain Morin de Villefranche +was placed behind a curtain to cast the nativity of the future autocrat. +A generation back the astrologer would not have been hidden behind a +curtain, but have taken precedence of the doctor. La Bruyere dares not +pronounce against such beliefs, "for there are perplexing facts affirmed +by grave men who were eye-witnesses." In England William Lilly and +Robert Fludd were both dressed in a little brief authority. The latter +gives us elaborate rules for the detection of a thief, and tells us that +he has had personal experience of their efficacy. "If the lord of the +sixth house is found in the second house, or in company with the lord of +the second house, the thief is one of the family. If Mercury is in the +sign of the Scorpion he will be bald, &c." Francis Bacon abuses the +astrologers of his day no less than the alchemists, but he does so +because he has visions of a reformed astrology and a reformed alchemy. +Sir Thomas Browne, too, while he denies the capacity of the astrologers +of his day, does not venture to dispute the reality of the science. The +idea of the souls of men passing at death to the stars, the blessedness +of their particular sphere being assigned them according to their +deserts (the metempsychosis of J. Reynaud), may be regarded as a +survival of religious astrology, which, even as late as Descartes's day, +assigned to the angels the task of moving the planets and the stars. +Joseph de Maistre believed in comets as messengers of divine justice, +and in animated planets, and declared that divination by astrology is +not an absolutely chimerical science. Lastly, we may mention a few +distinguished men who ran counter to their age in denying stellar +influences. Aristarchus of Samos, Martianus Capella (the precursor of +Copernicus), Cicero, Favorinus, Sextus Empiricus, Juvenal, and in a +later age Savonarola and Pico della Mirandola, and La Fontaine, a +contemporary of the neutral La Bruyere, were all pronounced opponents of +astrology. + +In England Swift may fairly claim the credit of having given the +death-blow to astrology by his famous squib, entitled _Prediction for +the Year 1708, by Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq._ He begins, by professing +profound belief in the art, and next points out the vagueness and the +absurdities of the philomaths. He then, in the happiest vein of parody, +proceeds to show them a more excellent way:--"My first prediction is but +a trifle, yet I mention it to show how ignorant these sottish pretenders +to astrology are in their own concerns: it refers to Partridge the +almanac-maker. I have consulted the star of his nativity by my own +rules, and find he will infallibly die upon the 29th of March next about +eleven at night of a raging fever. Therefore I advise him to consider of +it and settle his affairs in time." Then followed a letter to a person +of quality giving a full and particular account of the death of +Partridge on the very day and nearly at the hour mentioned. In vain the +wretched astrologer protested that he was alive, got a literary friend +to write a pamphlet to prove it, and published his almanac for 1709. +Swift, in his reply, abused him for his want of manners in giving a +gentleman the lie, answered his arguments _seriatim_, and declared that +the evidence of the publication of another almanac was wholly +irrelevant, "for Gadbury, Poor Robin, Dove and Way do yearly publish +their almanacs, though several of them have been dead since before the +Revolution." Nevertheless a field is found even to this day for almanacs +of a similar type, and for popular belief in them. + +To astrological politics we owe the theory of heaven-sent rulers, +instruments in the hands of Providence, and saviours of society. +Napoleon, as well as Wallenstein, believed in his star. Many passages in +the older English poets are unintelligible without some knowledge of +astrology. Chaucer wrote a treatise on the astrolabe; Milton constantly +refers to planetary influences; in Shakespeare's _King Lear_, Gloucester +and Edmund represent respectively the old and the new faith. We still +_contemplate_ and consider; we still speak of men as _jovial_, +_saturnine_ or _mercurial_; we still talk of the _ascendancy_ of genius, +or a _disastrous_ defeat. In French _heur_, _malheur_, _heureux_, +_malheureux_, are all derived from the Latin _augurium_; the expression +_ne sous une mauvaise etoile_, born under an evil star, corresponds +(with the change of _etoile_ into _astre_) to the word _malotru_, in +Provencal _malastrue_; and _son etoile palit_, his star grows pale, +belongs to the same class of illusions. The Latia _ex augurio_ appears +in the Italian _sciagura_, _sciagurato_, softened into _sciaura_, +_sciaurato_, wretchedness, wretched. The influence of a particular +planet has also left traces in various languages; but the French and +English _jovial_ and the English _saturnine_ correspond rather to the +gods who served as types in chiromancy than to the planets which bear +the same names. In the case of the expressions _bien_ or _mal lune_, +well or ill mooned, _avoir un quartier de lune dans la tete_, to have +the quarter of the moon in one's head, the German _mondsuchtig_ and the +English _moonstruck_ or _lunatic_, the fundamental idea lies in the +strange opinions formerly held about the moon. + + BIBLIOGRAPHY.--For the history of astrology with its affinities to + astronomy on the one hand, and to other forms of popular belief on the + other, the following works out of a large number that might be + mentioned are specially recommended:--A. Bouche-Leclercq, + _L'Astrologie grecque_ (Paris, 1899), with a full bibliography; Franz + Boll, _Sphaera_ (Leipzig, 1903); Franz Cumont, _Catalogus Codicum + Astrologorum Graecorum_ (Brussels, 1898; 7 parts published up to + 1909); Franz Boll, "Die Erforschung der antiken Astrologie" (in _Neue + Jahrbucher fur das klassische Altertum_, Band xxi. Heft 2, pp. + 103-126); Franz Cumont, _Les Religions orientates dans le paganisme + romain_ (Paris, 1907) (ch. vii. "L'Astrologie et la magie"); Alfred + Maury, _La Magie et l'astrologie a l'antiquite et au moyen age_ (4th + ed., Paris, 1877); R.C. Thompson, _Reports of the Magicians and + Astrologers of Nineveh and Babylon_ (2 vols., London, 1900); F.X. + Kugler, _Sternkunde und Sterndienst in Babel_ (Freiburg, 1907;--to be + completed in 4 vols.); Ch. Virolleaud, _L'Astrologie chaldeenne_ + (Paris, 1905--to be completed in 8 parts--transliteration and + translations of cuneiform texts); Jastrow, _Religion Babyloniens und + Assyriens_ (Parts 13 and 14); also certain sections in + Bouche-Leclercq, _Histoire de la divination dans l'antiquite_ (Paris, + 1879), vol. i. pp. 205-257; in Marcellin Berthelot, _Les Origines de + l'alchimie_ (Paris, 1885), pp. 1-56; Ferd. Hofer, _Histoire de + l'astronomie_ (Paris, 1846), pp. 1-90; in Rudolf Wolf, _Geschichte der + Astronomie_ (Munich, 1877), ch. i. See also the article by Ernst Riess + on Astrology in Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencyclopadie der klassischen + Altertumswissenschaft_, vol. ii. (Stuttgart, 1896). For modern and + practical astrology the following works may be found useful in + different ways: E.M. Bennett, _Astrology_ (New York, 1894); J.M. + Pfaff, _Astrologie_ (Bamberg, 1816); G. Wilde, _Chaldaean Astrology up + to date_ (1901); R. Garnett ("A.G. Trent"), "The Soul and the Stars," + in the _University Magazine_, 1880 (reprinted in Dobson and Wilde, + _Natal Astrology_, 1893); Abel Haatan, _Traite d'astrologie + judiciaire_ (Paris, 1825); Fomalhaut, _Manuel d'astrologie spherique + el judiciaire_ (Paris, 1897). (M. Ja.) + + + + +ASTRONOMY (from Gr. [Greek: astron], a star, and [Greek: nemein], to +classify or arrange). The subject matter of astronomical science, +considered in its widest range, comprehends all the matter of the +universe which lies outside the limit of the earth's atmosphere. The +seeming anomaly of classifying as a single branch of science all that we +know in a field so wide, while subdividing our knowledge of things on +our own planet into an indefinite number of separate sciences, finds its +explanation in the impossibility of subjecting the matter of the heavens +to that experimental scrutiny which yields such rich results when +applied to matter which we can handle at will. Astronomy is of necessity +a science of observation in the pursuit of which experiment can directly +play no part. It is the most ancient of the sciences because, before the +era of experiment, it was the branch of knowledge which could be most +easily systematized, while the relations of its phenomena to day and +night, times and seasons, made some knowledge of the subject a necessity +of social life. In recent times it is among the more progressive of the +sciences, because the new and improved methods of research now at +command have found in its cultivation a field of practically unlimited +extent, in which the lines of research may ultimately lead to a +comprehension of the universe impossible of attainment before our time. + +The field we have defined is divisible into at least two parts, that of +Astronomy proper, or "Astrometry," which treats of the motions, mutual +relations and dimensions of the heavenly bodies; and that of +Astrophysics (q.v.), which treats of their physical constitution. While +it is true that the instruments and methods of research in these two +branches are quite different in their details, there is so much in +common in the fundamental principles which underlie their application, +that it is unprofitable to consider them as completely distinct +sciences. + +Speaking in the most comprehensive way, and making an exception of the +ethereal medium (see AETHER), which, being capable of experimental +study, is not included in the subject of astronomy, we may say that the +great masses of matter which make up the universe are of two kinds:--(1) +incandescent bodies, made visible to us by their own light; (2) dark +bodies, revolving round them or round each other. These dark bodies are +known to us in two ways: (a) by becoming visible through reflecting the +light from incandescent bodies in their neighbourhood, (b) by their +attraction upon such bodies. + +The incandescent bodies are of two classes: stars and nebulae. Among the +stars our sun is to be included, as it has no properties which +distinguish it from the great mass of stars except our proximity to it. +The stars are supposed to be generally spherical, like the sun, in form, +and to have fairly well-defined boundaries; while the nebulae are +generally irregular in outline and have no well-defined limits. It is, +however, probable that the one class runs into the other by +imperceptible gradations. In the relation of the universe to us there is +yet another separation of its bodies into two classes, one comprising +the solar system, the other the remainder of the universe. The former +consists of the sun and the bodies which move round it. Considered as a +part of the universe, our solar system is insignificant in extent, +though, for obvious reasons, great in practical importance to us, and in +the facility with which we may gain knowledge relating to it. + +Referring to special articles, SOLAR SYSTEM, STAR, SUN, MOON, &c. for a +description of the various parts of the universe, we confine ourselves, +at present, to setting forth a few of the most general modern +conceptions of the universe. As to extent, it may be said, in a general +way, that while no definite limits can be set to the possible extent of +the universe, or the distance of its farthest bodies, it seems probable, +for reasons which will be given under STAR, that the system to which the +stars that we see belong, is of finite extent. + +As the incandescent bodies of the universe are visible by their own +light, the problem of ascertaining their existence and position is +mainly one of seeing, and our facilities for attacking it have +constantly increased with the improvement of our optical appliances. But +such is not the case with the dark bodies. Such a body can be made known +to us only when in the neighbourhood of an incandescent body; and even +then, unless its mass or its dimensions are considerable, it will evade +all the scrutiny of our science. The question of the possible number and +magnitude of such bodies is therefore one that does not admit of +accurate investigation. We can do no more than balance vague estimates +of probability. What we do know is that these bodies vary widely in +size. Those known to be revolving round certain of the stars are far +larger in proportion to their central bodies than our planets are in +respect to the sun; for were it otherwise we should never be able to +detect their existence. At the other extreme we know that innumerable +swarms of minute bodies, probably little more than particles, move round +the sun in orbits of every degree of eccentricity, making themselves +known to us only in the exceptional cases when they strike the earth's +atmosphere. They then appear to us as "shooting stars" (see METEOR). + +A general idea of the relation of the solar system to the universe may +be gained by reflecting that the average distance between any two +neighbouring stars is several thousand times the extent of the solar +system. Between the orbit of Neptune and the nearest star known to us is +an immense void in which no bodies are yet known to exist, except +comets. But although these sometimes wander to distances considerably +beyond the orbit of Neptune, it is probable that the extent of the void +which separates our system from the nearest star is hundreds of times +the distance of the farthest point to which a comet ever recedes. + +We may conclude this brief characterization of astronomy with a +statement and classification of the principal lines on which +astronomical researches are now pursued. The most comprehensive problem +before the investigator is that of the constitution of the universe. It +is known that, while infinite diversity is found among the bodies of the +universe, there are also common characteristics throughout its whole +extent. In a certain sense we may say that the universe now presents +itself to the thinking astronomer, not as a heterogeneous collection of +bodies, but as a unified whole. The number of stars is so vast that +statistical methods can be applied to many of the characters which they +exhibit--their spectra, their apparent and absolute luminosity, and +their arrangement in space. Thus has arisen in recent times what we may +regard as a third branch of astronomical science, known as _Stellar +Statistics_. The development of this branch has infused life and +interest into what might a few years ago have been regarded as the most +lifeless mass of figures possible, expressing merely the positions and +motions of innumerable individual stars, as determined by generations of +astronomical observers. The development of this new branch requires +great additions to this mass, the product of perhaps centuries of work +on the older lines of the science. To the statistician of the stars, +catalogues of spectra, magnitude, position and proper motions are of the +same importance that census tables are to the student of humanity. The +measurement of the speed with which the individual stars are moving +towards or from our system is a work of such magnitude that what has yet +been done is scarcely more than a beginning. The discovery by improved +optical means, and especially by photography, of new bodies of our +system so small that they evaded all scrutiny in former times, is still +going on, but does not at present promise any important generalization, +unless we regard as such the conclusion that our solar system is a more +complex organism than was formerly supposed. + +One characteristic of astronomy which tends to make its progress slow +and continuous arises out of the general fact that, except in the case +of motions to or from us, which can be determined by a single +observation with the spectroscope, the motion of a heavenly body can be +determined only by comparing its position at two different epochs. The +interval required between these two epochs depends upon the speed of the +motion. In the case of the greater number of the fixed stars this is so +slow that centuries may have to elapse before motion can be deduced. +Even in the case of the planets, the variations in the form and position +of the orbits are so slow that long periods of observation are required +for their correct determination. + +The process of development is also made slow and difficult by the great +amount of labour involved in deriving the results of astronomical +observations. When an astronomer has made an observation, it still has +to be "reduced," and this commonly requires more labour than that +involved in making it. But even this labour may be small compared with +that of the theoretical astronomer, who, in the future, is to use the +result as the raw material of his work. The computations required in +such work are of extreme complexity, and the labour required is still +further increased by the fact that cases are rather exceptional in which +the results reached by one generation will not have to be revised and +reconstructed by another; processes which may involve the repetition of +the entire work. We may, in fact, regard the fabric of astronomical +science as a building in the construction of which no stone can be added +without a readjustment of some of the stones on which it has to rest. +Thus it comes about that the observer, the computer, and the +mathematician have in astronomical science a practically unlimited field +for the exercise of their powers. + +In treating so comprehensive a subject we may naturally distinguish +between what we know of the universe and the methods and processes by +which that knowledge is acquired. The former may be termed general, and +the latter practical, astronomy. When we descend more minutely into +details we find these two branches of the subject to be connected by +certain principles, the application of which relates to both subjects. +Considering as general or descriptive astronomy a description of the +universe as we now understand it, the other branches of the subject +generally recognized are as follows:-- + +_Geometrical_ or _Spherical Astronomy_, by the principles of which the +positions and the motions of the heavenly bodies are defined. + +_Theoretical Astronomy_, which may be considered as an extension of +geometrical astronomy and includes the determination of the positions +and motions of the heavenly bodies by combining mathematical theory with +observation. Modern theoretical astronomy, taken in the most limited +sense, is based upon _Celestial Mechanics_, the science by which, using +purely deductive mechanical methods, the laws of motion of the heavenly +bodies are derived by deductive methods from their mutual gravitation +towards each other. + +_Practical Astronomy_, which comprises a description of the instruments +used in astronomical observation, and of the principles and methods +underlying their application. + + +_Spherical or Geometrical Astronomy._ + +In astronomy, as in analytical geometry, the position of a point is +defined by stating its distance and its direction from a point of +reference taken as known. The numerical quantities by which the distance +and direction, and therefore the position, are defined, are termed +_co-ordinates_ of the point. The latter are measured or defined with +regard to a fixed system of lines and planes, which form the basis of +the system. + + The following are the fundamental concepts of such a system. + + (a) An origin or point of reference. The points most generally taken + for this purpose in astronomical practice are the following:-- + + (1) The position of a point of observation on the earth's surface. We + conceive its position to be that occupied by an observer. The position + of a heavenly body is then defined by its direction and distance from + the supposed observer. + + (2) The centre of the earth. This point, though it can never be + occupied by an observer, is used because the positions of the heavenly + bodies in relation to it are more readily computed than they can be + from a point on the earth's surface. + + (3) The centre of the sun. + + (4) In addition to these three most usual points, we may, of course, + take the centre of a planet or that of a star in order to define the + position of bodies in their respective neighbourhoods. + + Co-ordinates referred to a point of observation as the origin are + termed "apparent," those referred to the centre of the earth are + "geocentric," those referred to the centre of the sun, "heliocentric." + + (b) The next concept of the system is a fundamental plane, regarded as + fixed, passing through the origin. In connexion with it is an axis + perpendicular to it, also passing through the origin. We may consider + the axis and the plane as a single concept, the axis determining the + plane, or the plane the axis. The fundamental concepts of this class + most in use are:-- + + (1) When a point on the earth's surface is taken as the origin, the + fundamental axis may be the direction of gravity at that point. This + direction defines the vertical line. The fundamental plane which it + determines is horizontal and is termed the plane of the horizon. Such + a plane is realized in the surface of a liquid, a basin of + quicksilver, for example. + + (2) When the centre of the earth is taken as origin, the most natural + fundamental axis is that of the earth's rotation. This axis cuts the + earth's surface at the North and South Poles. The fundamental plane + perpendicular to it is the plane of the equator. This plane intersects + the earth's surface in the terrestrial equator. Co-ordinates referred + to this system are termed equatorial. A system of equatorial + co-ordinates may also be used when the origin is on the earth's + surface. The fundamental axis, instead of being the earth's axis + itself, is then a line parallel to it, and the fundamental plane is + the plane passing through the point, and parallel to the plane of the + equator. + + (3) In the system of heliocentric co-ordinates, the plane in which the + earth moves round the sun, which is the plane of the ecliptic, is + taken as the fundamental one. The axis of the ecliptic is a line + perpendicular to this plane. + + (c) The third concept necessary to complete the system is a fixed line + passing through the origin, and lying in the fundamental plane. This + line defines an initial direction from which other directions are + counted. + + [Illustration: FIG. 1.] + + The geometrical concepts just defined are shown in fig. 1. Here O is + the origin, whatever point it may be; OZ is the fundamental axis + passing through it. In order to represent in the figure the position + of the fundamental plane, we conceive a circle to be drawn round O, + lying in that plane. This circle, projected in perspective as an + ellipse, is shown in the figure. OX is the fixed initial line by which + directions are to be defined. + + Now let P be any point in space, say the centre of a heavenly body. + Conceive a perpendicular PQ to be dropped from this point on the + fundamental plane, meeting the latter in the point Q; PQ will then be + parallel to OZ. The co-ordinates of P will then be the following three + quantities:-- + + (1) The length of the line OP, or the distance of the body from the + origin, which distance is called the radius vector of the body. + + (2) The angle XOQ which the projection of the radius vector upon the + fundamental plane makes with the initial line OX. This angle is called + the Longitude, Right Ascension or Azimuth of the body, in the various + systems of co-ordinates. We may term it in a general way the + longitudinal co-ordinate. + + (3) The angle QOP, which the radius vector makes with the fundamental + plane. This we may call the latitudinal co-ordinate. Instead of it is + frequently used the complementary angle ZOP, known as the polar + distance of the body. Since ZOQ is a right angle, it follows that the + sum of the polar distance and the latitudinal co-ordinates is always + 90 deg. Either may be used for astronomical purposes. + + It is readily seen that the position of a heavenly body is completely + defined when these co-ordinates are given. + + One of the systems of co-ordinates is familiar to every one, and may + be used as a general illustration of the method. It is our system of + defining the position of a point on the earth's surface by its + latitude and longitude. Regarding O (fig. 1) as the centre of the + earth, and P as a point on the earth's surface, a city for example, it + will be seen that OZ being the earth's axis, the circle MN will be the + equator. The initial line OX then passes through the foot of the + perpendicular dropped from Greenwich upon the plane of the equator, + and meets the surface at N. The angle QOP is the latitude of the place + and the angle NOQ its longitude. The longitudes and latitudes thus + defined are geocentric, and the latitude is slightly different from + that in ordinary use for geographic purposes. The difference arises + from the oblateness of the earth, and need not be considered here. + + The conception of the co-ordinates we have defined is facilitated by + introducing that of the celestial sphere. This conception is embodied + in our idea of the vault of heaven, or of the sky. Taking as origin + the position of an observer, the direction of a heavenly body is + defined by the point in which he sees it in the sky; that is to say, + on the celestial sphere. Imagining, as we may well do, that the radius + of this sphere is infinite--then every direction, whatever the origin, + may be represented by a point on its surface. Take for example the + vertical line which is embodied in the direction of the plumb line. + This line, extended upwards, meets the celestial sphere in the zenith. + The earth's axis, continued indefinitely upwards, meets the sphere in + a point called the Celestial Pole. This point in our middle latitudes + is between the zenith and the north horizon, near a certain star of + the second magnitude familiarly known as the Pole Star. As the earth + revolves from west to east the celestial sphere appears to us to + revolve in the opposite direction, turning on the line joining the + Celestial Poles as on a pivot. + + As we conceive of the sky, it does not consist of an entire sphere but + only as a hemisphere bounded by the horizon. But we have no difficulty + in extending the conception below the horizon, so that the earth with + everything upon it is in the centre of a complete sphere. The two + parts of this sphere are the visible hemisphere, which is above the + horizon, and the invisible, which is below it. Then the plumb line not + only defines the zenith as already shown, but in a downward direction + it defines the nadir, which is the point of the sphere directly below + our feet. On the side of this sphere opposite to the North Celestial + is the South Pole, invisible in the Northern Terrestrial Hemisphere + but visible in the Southern one. + + The relation of geocentric to apparent co-ordinates depends upon the + latitude of the observer. The changes which the aspect of the heaven + undergoes, as we travel North and South, are so well known that they + need not be described in detail here; but a general statement of them + will give a luminous idea of the geometrical co-ordinates we have + described. Imagine an observer starting from the North Pole to travel + towards the equator, carrying his zenith with him. When at the pole + his zenith coincides with the celestial pole, and as the earth + revolves on its axis, the heavenly bodies perform their apparent + diurnal revolutions in horizontal circles round the zenith. As he + travels South, his zenith moves along the celestial sphere, and the + circles of diurnal rotation become oblique to the horizon. The + obliquity continually increases until the observer reaches the + equator. His zenith is then in the equator and the celestial poles are + in the North and South horizon respectively. The circles in which the + heavenly bodies appear to revolve are then vertical. Continuing his + journey towards the south, the north celestial pole sinks below the + horizon; the south celestial pole rises above it; or to speak more + exactly, the zenith of the observer approaches that pole. The circles + of diurnal revolution again become oblique. Finally, at the south pole + the circles of diurnal revolution are again apparently horizontal, but + are described in a direction apparently (but not really) the reverse + of that near the north pole. The reader who will trace out these + successive concepts and study the results of his changing positions + will readily acquire the notions which it is our subject to define. + + We have next to point out the relation of the co-ordinates we have + described to the annual motion of the earth around the sun. In + consequence of this motion the sun appears to us to describe annually + a great circle, called the ecliptic, round the celestial sphere, among + the stars, with a nearly uniform motion, of somewhat less than 1 deg. + in a day. Were the stars visible in the daytime in the immediate + neighbourhood of the sun, this motion could be traced from day to day. + The ecliptic intersects the celestial equator at two opposite points, + the equinoxes, at an angle of 23 deg. 27'. The vernal equinox is taken + as the initial point on the sphere from which co-ordinates are + measured in the equatorial and ecliptic systems. Referring to fig. 1, + the initial line OX is defined as directed toward the vernal equinox, + at which point it intersects the celestial sphere. + + The following is an enumeration of the co-ordinates which we have + described in the three systems:-- + + APPARENT SYSTEM. + + Latitudinal Co-ordinate; Altitude or Zenith Distance. + Longitudinal " Azimuth. + + EQUATORIAL SYSTEM. + + Latitudinal Co-ordinate; Declination or Polar Distance. + Longitudinal " Right Ascension. + + ECLIPTIC SYSTEM. + + Latitudinal Co-ordinate; Latitude or Ecliptic Polar Distance. + Longitudinal " Longitude. + + + _Relation of the Diurnal Motion to Spherical Co-ordinates._--The + vertical line at any place being the fundamental axis of the apparent + system of co-ordinates, this system rotates with the earth, and so + seems to us as fixed. The other two systems, including the vernal + equinox, are fixed on the celestial sphere, and so seem to us to + perform a diurnal revolution from east towards west. Regarding the + period of the revolution as 24 hours, the apparent motion goes on at + the rate of 15 deg. per hour. Here we have to make a distinction of + fundamental importance between the diurnal motions of the sun and of + the stars. Owing to the unceasing apparent motion of the sun toward + the east, the interval between two passages of the same star over the + meridian is nearly four minutes less than the interval between + consecutive passages of the sun. The latter is the measure of the day + as used in civil life. In astronomical practice is introduced a day, + termed "sidereal," determined, not by the diurnal revolution of the + sun, but of the stars. The year, which comprises 365.25 solar days, + contains 366.25 sidereal days. The latter are divided into sidereal + hours, minutes and seconds as the solar day is. The conception of a + revolution through 360 deg. in 24 hours is applicable to each case. + The sun apparently moves at the rate of 15 deg. in a solar hour; the + stars at the rate of 15 deg. in a sidereal hour. The latter motion + leads to the use, in astronomical practice, of time instead of angle, + as the unit in which the right ascensions are to be expressed. + Considering the position of the vernal equinox, and also of a star on + the celestial sphere, it will be seen that the interval between the + transits of these two points across the meridian may be used to + measure the right ascension of a star, since the latter amounts to 15 + deg. for every sidereal hour of this interval. For example, if the + right ascension of a star is exactly 15 deg., it will pass the + meridian one sidereal hour after the vernal equinox. For the relations + thus arising, and their practical applications, see TIME, MEASUREMENT + OF. + + +_Theoretical Astronomy._ + +Theoretical Astronomy is that branch of the science which, making use of +the results of astronomical observations as they are supplied by the +practical astronomer, investigates the motions of the heavenly bodies. +In its most important features it is an offshoot of celestial mechanics, +between which and theoretical astronomy no sharp dividing line can be +drawn. While it is true that the one is concerned altogether with +general theories, it is also true that these theories require +developments and modifications to apply them to the numberless problems +of astronomy, which we may place in either class. + + Among the problems of theoretical astronomy we may assign the first + place to the determination of orbits (q.v.), which is auxiliary to the + prediction of the apparent motions of a planet, satellite or star. The + computations involved in the process, while simple in some cases, are + extremely complex in others. The orbit of a newly-discovered planet or + comet may be computed from three complete observations by well-known + methods in a single day. From the resulting elements of the orbit the + positions of the body from day to day may be computed and tabulated in + an ephemeris for the use of observers. But when definitive results as + to the orbits are required, it is necessary to compute the + perturbations produced by such of the major planets as have affected + the motions of the body. With this complicated process is associated + that of combining numerous observations with a view of obtaining the + best definitive result. Speaking in a general way, we may say that + computations pertaining to the orbital revolutions of double stars, as + well as the bodies of our solar system, are to a greater or less + extent of the classes we have described. The principal modification is + that, up to the present time, stellar astronomy has not advanced so + far that a computation of the perturbations in each case of a system + of stars is either necessary or possible, except in exceptional cases. + + +_Celestial Mechanics_. + +Celestial Mechanics is, strictly speaking, that branch of applied +mathematics which, by deductive processes, derives the laws of motion of +the heavenly bodies from their gravitation towards each other, or from +the mutual action of the parts which form them. The science had its +origin in the demonstration by Sir Isaac Newton that Kepler's three laws +of planetary motion, and the law of gravitation, in the case of two +bodies, could be mutually derived from each other. A body can move round +the sun in an elliptic orbit having the sun in its focus, and describing +equal areas in equal times, only under the influence of a force directed +towards the sun, and varying inversely as the square of the distance +from it. Conversely, assuming this law of attraction, it can be shown +that the planets will move according to Kepler's laws. + +Thus celestial mechanics may be said to have begun with Newton's +_Principia_. The development of the science by the successors of Newton, +especially Laplace and Lagrange, may be classed among the most striking +achievements of the human intellect. The precision with which the path +of an eclipse is laid down years in advance cannot but imbue the minds +of men with a high sense of the perfection reached by astronomical +theories; and the discovery, by purely mathematical processes, of the +changes which the orbits and motions of the planets are to undergo +through future ages is more impressive the more fully one apprehends the +nature of the problem. The purpose of the present article is to convey a +general idea of the methods by which the results of celestial mechanics +are reached, without entering into those technical details which can be +followed only by a trained mathematician. It must be admitted that any +intelligent comprehension of the subject requires at least a grasp of +the fundamental conceptions of analytical geometry and the infinitesimal +calculus, such as only one with some training in these subjects can be +expected to have. This being assumed, the hope of the writer is that the +exposition will afford the student an insight into the theory which may +facilitate his orientation, and convey to the general reader with a +certain amount of mathematical training a clear idea of the methods by +which conclusions relating to it are drawn. The non-mathematical reader +may possibly be able to gain some general idea, though vague, of the +significance of the subject. + + The fundamental hypothesis of the science assumes a system of bodies + in motion, of which the sun and planets may be taken as examples, and + of which each separate body is attracted toward all the others + according to the law of Newton. The motion of each body is then + expressed in the first place by Newton's three laws of motion (see + MOTION, LAWS OF, and MECHANICS). The first step in the process shows + in a striking way the perfection of the analytic method. The + conception of force is, so to speak, eliminated from the conditions of + the problem, which is reduced to one of pure kinematics. At the + outset, the position of each body, considered as a material particle, + is defined by reference to a system of co-ordinate axes, and not by + any verbal description. Differential equations which express the + changes of the co-ordinates are then constructed. The process of + discovering the laws of motion of the particle then consists in the + integration of these equations. Such equations can be formed for a + system of any number of bodies, but the process of integration in a + rigorous form is possible only to a limited extent or in special + cases. + + The problems to be treated are of two classes. In one, the bodies are + regarded as material particles, no account being taken of their + dimensions. The earth, for example, may be regarded as a particle + attracted by another more massive particle, the sun. In the other + class of problems, the relative motion of the different parts of the + separate bodies is considered; for example, the rotation of the earth + on its axis, and the consequences of the fact that those parts of a + body which are nearer to another body are more strongly attracted by + it. Beginning with the first branch of the subject, the fundamental + ideas which it is our purpose to convey are embodied in the simple + case of only two bodies, which we may call the sun and a planet. In + this case the two bodies really revolve round their common centre of + gravity; but a very slight modification of the equations of motion + reduces them to the relative motion of the planet round the sun, + regarding the moving centre of the latter as the origin of + co-ordinates. The motion of this centre, which arises from the + attraction of the planet on the sun, need not be considered. + + In the actual problems of celestial mechanics three co-ordinates + necessarily enter, leading to three differential equations and six + equations of solution. But the general principles of the problem are + completely exemplified with only two bodies, in which case the motion + takes place in a fixed plane. By taking this plane, which is that of + the orbit in which the planet performs its revolution, as the plane of + xy, we have only two co-ordinates to consider. Let us use the + following notation: + + x, y, the co-ordinates of the planet relative to the sun as the origin. + + M, m, the masses of the attracting bodies, sun and planet. + + r, the distance apart of the two bodies, or the radius vector of m + relative to M. This last quantity is analytically defined by the + equation-- + + r^2 = x^2 + y^2 + + t, the time, reckoned from any epoch we choose. + + The differential equations which completely determine the changes in + the co-ordinates x and y, or the motion of m relative to M, are:-- + + d^2x (M + m)x + ---- = - -------- + dt^2 r^3 + + d^2y (M + m)y + ---- = - -------- + dt^2 r^3 + + These formulae are worthy of special attention. They are the + expression in the language of mathematics of Newton's first two laws + of motion. Their statement in this language may be regarded as + perfect, because it completely and unambiguously expresses the naked + phenomena of the motion. The equations do this without expressing any + conception, such as that of force, not associated with the actual + phenomena. Moreover, as a third advantage, these expressions are + entirely free from those difficulties and ambiguities which are met + with in every attempt to express the laws of motion in ordinary + language. They afford yet another great advantage in that the + derivation of the results requires only the analytic operations of the + infinitesimal calculus. + + The power and spirit of the analytic method will be appreciated by + showing how it expresses the relations of motion as they were + conceived geometrically by Newton and Kepler. It is quite evident that + Kepler's laws do not in themselves enable us to determine the actual + motion of the planets. We must have, in addition, in the case of each + special planet, certain specific facts, viz. the axes and eccentricity + of the ellipse, and the position of the plane in which it lies. + Besides these, we must have given the position of the planet in the + orbit at some specified moment. Having these data, the position of the + planet at any other time may be geometrically constructed by Kepler's + laws. The third law enables us to compute the time taken by the radius + vector to sweep over the entire area of the orbit, which is identical + with the time of revolution. The problem of constructing successive + radii vectores, the angles of which are measured off from the radius + vector of the body at the original given position, is then a geometric + one, known as Kepler's problem. + + In the analytic process these specific data, called elements of the + orbit, appear as arbitrary constants, introduced by the process of + integration. In a case like the present one, where there are two + differential equations of the second order, there will be four such + constants. The result of the integration is that the co-ordinates x + and y and their derivatives as to the time, which express the + position, direction of motion and speed of the planet at any moment, + are found as functions of the four constants and of the time. Putting + + a, b, c, d, + + for the constants, the general form of the solution will be + + x = f1(a, b, c, d, t) + y = f2(a, b, c, d, t) (2) + + From these may be derived by differentiation as to t the velocities + + dx/dt = f'1(a, b, c, d, t) = x' + dy/dt = f'2(a, b, c, d, t) = y' (3) + + The symbols x' and y' are used for brevity to mean the velocities + expressed by the differential coefficients. The arbitrary constants, + a, b, c and d, are the elements of the orbit, or any quantities from + which these elements can be obtained. We note that, in the actual + process of integration, no geometric construction need enter. + + [Illustration: fig. 2.] + + Let us next consider the problem in another form. Conceive that + instead of the orbit of the planet, there is given a position P (fig. + 2), through which the planet passed at an assigned moment, with a + given velocity, and in a given direction, represented by the + arrowhead. Logically these data completely determine the orbit in + which the planet shall move, because there is only one such orbit + passing through P, a planet moving in which would have the given + speed. It follows that the elements of the orbit admit of + determination when the co-ordinates of the planet at an assigned + moment and their derivatives as to time are given. Analytically the + elements are determined from these data by solving the four equations + just given, regarding a, b, c and d as unknown quantities, and x, y, + x', y' and t as given quantities. The solution of these equations + would lead to expressions of the form + + a = [phi]1(x, y, x', y', t) + b = [phi]2(x, y, x', y', t) (4) + &c. &c. + + one for each of the elements. + + The general equations expressing the motion of a planet considered as + a material particle round a centre of attraction lead to theorems the + more interesting of which will now be enunciated. + + (1) The motion of such a planet may take place not only in an ellipse + but in any curve of the second order; an ellipse, hyperbola, or + parabola, the latter being the bounding curve between the other two. A + body moving in a parabola or hyperbola would recede indefinitely from + its centre of motion and never return to it. The ellipse is therefore + the only closed orbit. + + (2) The motion takes place in accord with Kepler's laws, enunciated + elsewhere. + + (3) _Whewell's theorem_: if a point R be taken at a distance from the + sun equal to the major axis of the orbit of a planet and, therefore, + at double the mean distance of the planet, the speed of the latter at + any point is equal to the speed which a body would acquire by falling + from the point R to the actual position of the planet. The speed of + the latter may, therefore, be expressed as a function of its radius + vector at the moment and of the major axis of its orbit without + introducing any other elements into the expression. Another corollary + is that in the case of a body moving in a parabolic orbit the velocity + at any moment is that which would be acquired by the body in falling + from an infinite distance to the place it occupies at the moment. + + (4) If a number of bodies are projected from any point in space with + the same velocity, but in various directions, and subjected only to + the attraction of the sun, they will all return to the point of + projection at the same moment, although the orbits in which they move + may be ever so different. + + (5) At each distance from the sun there is a certain velocity which a + body would have if it moved in a circular orbit at that distance. If + projected with this velocity in any direction the point of projection + will be at the end of the minor axis of the orbit, because this is the + only point of an ellipse of which the distance from the focus is equal + to the semi-major axis of the curve, and therefore the only point at + which the distance of the body from the sun is equal to its mean + distance. + + (6) The relation between the periodic time of a planet and its mean + distance, approximately expressed by Kepler's third law, follows very + simply from the laws of centrifugal force. It is an elementary + principle of mechanics that this force varies directly as the product + of the distance of the moving body from the centre of motion into the + square of its angular velocity. When bodies revolve at different + distances around a centre, their velocities must be such that the + centrifugal force of each shall be balanced by the attraction of the + central mass, and therefore vary inversely as the square of the + distance. If M is the central mass, n the angular velocity, and a the + distance, the balance of the two forces is expressed by the equation + + an^2 = M/a^2, + + whence a^3n^2 = M, a constant. + + The periodic time varying inversely as n, this equation expresses + Kepler's third law. This reasoning tacitly supposes the orbit to be a + circle of radius a, and the mass of the planet to be negligible. The + rigorous relation is expressed by a slight modification of the law. + Putting M and m for the respective masses of the sun and planet, a for + the semi-major axis of the orbit, and n for the mean angular motion in + unit of time, the relation then is + + a^3n^2 = M + m. + + What is noteworthy in this theorem is that this relation depends only + on the sum of the masses. It follows, therefore, that were any portion + of the mass of the sun taken from it, and added to the planet, the + relation would be unchanged. Kepler's third law therefore expresses + the fact that the mass of the sun is the same for all the planets, and + deviates from the truth only to the extent that the masses of the + latter differ from each other by quantities which are only a small + fraction of the mass of the sun. + + _Problem of Three Bodies._--As soon as the general law of gravitation + was fully apprehended, it became evident that, owing to the attraction + of each planet upon all the others, the actual motion of the planets + must deviate from their motion in an ellipse according to Kepler's + laws. In the _Principia_ Newton made several investigations to + determine the effects of these actions; but the geometrical method + which he employed could lead only to rude approximations. When the + subject was taken up by the continental mathematicians, using the + analytical method, the question naturally arose whether the motions of + three bodies under their mutual attraction could not be determined + with a degree of rigour approximating to that with which Newton had + solved the problem of two bodies. Thus arose the celebrated "problem + of three bodies." Investigation soon showed that certain integrals + expressing relations between the motions not only of three but of any + number of bodies could be found. These were:-- + + First, the law of the conservation of the centre of gravity. This + expresses the general fact that whatever be the number of the bodies + which act upon each other, their motions are so related that the + centre of gravity of the entire system moves in a straight line with a + constant velocity. This is expressed in three equations, one for each + of the three rectangular co-ordinates. + + Secondly, the law of conservation of areas. This is an extension of + Kepler's second law. Taking as the radius vector of each body the line + from the body to the common centre of gravity of all, the sum of the + products formed by multiplying each area described, by the mass of the + body, remains a constant. In the language of theoretical mechanics, + the moment of momentum of the entire system is a constant quantity. + This law is also expressed in three equations, one for each of the + three planes on which the areas are projected. + + Thirdly, the entire _vis viva_ of the system or, as it is now called, + the energy, which is obtained by multiplying the mass of each body + into half the square of its velocity, is equal to the sum of the + quotients formed by dividing the product of every pair of the masses, + taken two and two, by their distance apart, with the addition of a + constant depending on the original conditions of the system. In the + language of algebra putting m1, m2, m3, &c. for the masses of the + bodies, r_1.2, r_1.3, r_2.3, &c. for their mutual distances apart; + v1, v2, v3, &c., for the velocities with which they are moving at any + moment; these quantities will continually satisfy the equation + + m1m2 m1m3 m2m3 + 1/2(m1[v1]^2 + m2[v2]^2 + ...) = ----- + ----- + ----- + ... + a constant. + r_1.2 r_1.3 r_2.3 + + The theorems of motion just cited are expressed by seven integrals, or + equations expressing a law that certain functions of the variables and + of the time remain constant. It is remarkable that although the seven + integrals were found almost from the beginning of the investigation, + no others have since been added; and indeed it has recently been shown + that no others exist that can be expressed in an algebraic form. In + the case of three bodies these do not suffice completely to define the + motion. In this case, the problem can be attacked only by methods of + approximation, devised so as to meet the special conditions of each + case. The special conditions which obtain in the solar system are such + as to make the necessary approximation theoretically possible however + complex the process may be. These conditions are:--(1) The smallness + of the masses of the planets in comparison with that of the sun, in + consequence of which the orbit of each planet deviates but slightly + from an ellipse during any one revolution; (2) the fact that the + orbits of the planets are nearly circular, and the planes of their + orbits but slightly inclined to each other. The result of these + conditions is that all the quantities required admit of development in + series proceeding according to the powers of the eccentricities and + inclinations of the orbits, and the ratio of the masses of the several + planets to the mass of the sun. + + _Perturbations of the Planets._--Kepler's laws do not completely + express the motion of a planet around a central body, except when no + force but the mutual attraction of the two bodies comes into play. + When one or more other bodies form a part of the system, their action + produces deviations from the elliptic motion, which are called + _perturbations_. The problem of determining the perturbations of the + heavenly bodies is perhaps the most complicated with which the + mathematical astronomer has to grapple; and the forms under which it + has to be studied are so numerous that they cannot be easily arranged + under any one head. But there is one conception of perturbations of + such generality and elegance that it forms the common base of all + those methods of determining these deviations which have high + scientific interest. This conception is embodied in the method of + "variation of elements," originally due to J.L. Lagrange. The simplest + method of presenting it starts with the second view of the elliptic + motion already set forth. + + We have shown that, when the position of a planet and the direction + and speed of its motion at a certain instant are given, the elements + of the orbit can be determined. We have supposed this to be done at a + certain point P of the orbit, the direction and speed being expressed + by the variables x, y, x' and y'. Now, consider the values of these + same variables expressing the position of the planet at a second point + Q, and the speed with which it passes that point. With this position + and speed the elements of the orbit can again be determined. Since the + orbit is unchanged so long as no disturbing force acts, it follows + that the elements determined by means of the two sets of values of the + variables are in this case the same. In a word, although the position + and speed of the planet and the direction of its motion are constantly + changing, the values of the elements determined from these variables + remain constant. This fact is fully expressed by the equations (4) + where we have constants on one side of the equation equal to functions + of the variables on the other. Functions of the variables possessing + this property of remaining constant are termed _integrals_. + + Now let the planet be subjected to any force additional to that of the + sun's attraction,--say to the attraction of another planet. To fix the + ideas let us suppose that the additional attraction is only an impulse + received at the moment of passing the point P. The first effect will + evidently be to change either the velocity or the direction in which + the planet is moving at the moment, or both. If, with the changed + velocity we again compute the elements they will be different from the + former elements. But, if the impulse is not repeated, these new + elements will again remain invariable. If repeated, the second impulse + will again change the elements, and so on indefinitely. It follows + that, if we go on computing the elements a, b, c, d from the actual + values of x, y, x' and y', at each moment when the planet is subject + to the attraction of another body, they will no longer be invariable, + but will slowly vary from day to day and year to year. These ever + varying elements represent an ever varying elliptic orbit,--not an + orbit which the planet actually describes through its whole course, + but an ideal one in which it is moving at each instant, and which + continually adjusts itself to the actual motion of the planet at the + instant. This is called the _osculating_ orbit. + + The essential principle of Lagrange's elegant method consists in + determining the variations of this osculating ellipse, the + co-ordinates and velocities of the planet being ignored in the + determination. This may be done because, since the elements and + co-ordinates completely determine each other, we may concentrate our + attention on either, ignoring the other. The reason for taking the + elements as the variables is that they vary very slowly, a property + which facilitates their determination, since the variations may be + treated as small quantities, of which the squares and products may be + neglected in a first solution. In a second solution the squares and + products may be taken account of, and so on as far as necessary. + + If the problem is viewed from a synthetic point of view, the stages of + its solution are as follows. We first conceive of the planets as + moving in invariable elliptic orbits, and thus obtain approximate + expressions for their positions at any moment. With these expressions + we express their mutual action, or their pull upon each other at any + and every moment. This pull determines the variations of the ideal + elements. Knowing these variations it becomes possible to represent by + integration the value of the elements as algebraic expressions + containing the time, and the elements with which we started. But the + variations thus determined will not be rigorously exact, because the + pull from which they arise has been determined on the supposition that + the planets are moving in unvarying orbits, whereas the actual pull + depends on the actual position of the planets. Another approximation + is, therefore, to be made, when necessary, by correcting the + expression of the pull through taking account of the variations of the + elements already determined, which will give a yet nearer + approximation to the truth. In theory these successive approximations + may be carried as far as we please, but in practice the labour of + executing each approximation is so great that we are obliged to stop + when the solution is so near the truth that the outstanding error is + less than that of the best observations. Even this degree of precision + may be impracticable in the more complex cases. + + The results which are required to compare with observations are not + merely the elements, but the co-ordinates. When the varying elements + are known these are computed by the equations (2) because, from the + nature of the algebraic relations, the slowly varying elements are + continuously determined by the equations (4), which express the same + relations between the elements and the variables as do the equations + (2) and (3). This method is, therefore, in form at least, completely + rigorous. There are some cases in which it may be applied unchanged. + But commonly it proves to be extremely long and cumbrous, and + modifications have to be resorted to. Of these modifications the most + valuable is one conceived by P.A. Hansen. A certain mean elliptic + orbit, as near as possible to the actual varying orbit of the planet, + is taken. In this orbit a certain fictitious planet is supposed to + move according to the law of elliptic motion. Comparing the longitudes + of the actual and the fictitious planet the former will sometimes be + ahead of the latter and sometimes behind it. But in every case, if at + a certain time t, the actual planet has a certain longitude, it is + certain that at a very short interval dt before or after t, the + fictitious planet will have this same longitude. What Hansen's method + does is to determine a correction dt such that, being applied to the + actual time t, the longitude of the fictitious planet computed for the + time t + dt, will give the longitude of the true planet at the time t. + By a number of ingenious devices Hansen developed methods by which dt + could be determined. The computations are, as a general rule, simpler, + and the algebraic expressions less complex, than when the computations + of the longitude itself are calculated. Although the longitude of the + fictitious planet at the fictitious time is then equal to that of the + true planet at the true time, their radii vectores will not be + strictly equal. Hansen, therefore, shows how the radius vector is + corrected so as to give that of the true planet. + + In all that precedes we have considered only two variables as + determining the position of the planet, the latter being supposed to + move in a plane. Although this is true when there are any number of + bodies moving in the same plane, the fact is that the planets move in + slightly different planes. Hence the position of the plane of the + orbit of each planet is continually changing in consequence of their + mutual action. The problem of determining the changes is, however, + simpler than others in perturbations. The method is again that of the + variation of elements. The position and velocity being given in all + three co-ordinates, a certain osculating plane is determined for each + instant in which the planet is moving at that instant. This plane + remains invariable so long as no third body acts; when it does act the + position of the plane changes very slowly, continually rotating round + the radius vector of the planet as an instantaneous axis of rotation. + + _Secular and Periodic Variations._--When, following the preceding + method, the variations of the elements are expressed in terms of the + time, they are found to be of two classes, _periodic_ and _secular_. + The first depend on the mean longitudes of the planets, and always + tend back to their original values when the planets return to their + original positions in their orbits. The others are, at least through + long periods of time, continually progressive. + + A luminous idea of the nature of these two classes of variation may be + gained by conceiving of the motion of a ship, floating on an ocean + affected by a long ground swell. In consequence of the swell, the ship + is continually pitching in a somewhat irregular way, the oscillations + up and down being sometimes great and sometimes small. An observer on + board of her would notice no motion except this. But, suppose the tide + to be rising. Then, by continued observation, extended over an hour or + more, it will be found that, in the general average, the ship is + gradually rising, so that two different kinds of motion are + superimposed on each other. The effect of the rising tide is in the + nature of a secular variation, while the pitching is periodic. + + But the analogy does not end here. If the progressive rise of the ship + be watched for six hours or more, it will be found gradually to cease + and reverse its direction. That is to say, making abstraction of the + pitching, the ship is slowly rising and falling in a total period of + nearly twelve hours, while superimposed upon this slow motion is a + more rapid motion due to the waves. It is thus with the motions of the + planets going through their revolutions. Each orbit continually + changes its form and position, sometimes in one direction and + sometimes in another. But when these changes are averaged through + years and centuries it is found that the average orbit has a secular + variation which, for a number of centuries, may appear as a very slow + progressive change in one direction only. But when this change is more + fully investigated, it is found to be really periodic, so that after + thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of years, its + direction will be reversed and so on continually, like the rising and + falling tide. The orbits thus present themselves to us in the words of + a distinguished writer as "Great clocks of eternity which beat ages as + ours beat seconds." + + The periodic variations can be represented algebraically as the + resultant of a series of harmonic motions in the following way: Let L + be an angle which is increasing uniformly with the time, and let n be + its rate of increase. We put L0 for its value at the moment from which + the time is reckoned. The general expression for the angle will then + be + + L = nt + L0. + + Such an angle continually goes through the round of 360 deg. in a + definite period. For example, if the daily motion is 5 deg., and we + take the day as the unit of time, the round will be completed in 72 + days, and the angle will continually go through the value which it had + 72 days before. Let us now consider an equation of the form + + U = a sin (nt + L0). + + The value of U will continually oscillate between the extreme values + +a and -a, going through a series of changes in the same period in + which the angle nt + L0 goes through a revolution. In this case the + variation will be simply periodic. + + The value of any element of the planet's motion will generally be + represented by the sum of an infinite series of such periodic + quantities, having different periods. For example + + U = a sin (nt + L0) + b sin (mt + L1) + c sin (kt + L2) &c. + + In this case the motion of U, while still periodic, is seemingly + irregular, being much like that of a pitching ship, which has no one + unvarying period. + + In the problems of celestial mechanics the angles within the + parentheses are represented by sums or differences of multiples of the + mean longitudes of the planets as they move round their orbits. If l + be the mean longitude of the planet whose motion we are considering, + and l' that of the attracting planet affecting it, the periodic + inequalities of the elements as well as of the co-ordinates of the + attracted planet, may be represented by an infinite series of terms + like the following:-- + + a sin (l' - l) + b sin (2l' - l) + c sin (l' - 2l) + &c. + + Here the coefficients of l and l' may separately take all integral + values, though as a general rule the coefficients a, b, c, &c. + diminish rapidly when these coefficients become large, so that only + small values have to be considered. + + [Illustration: Fig. 3.] + + The most interesting kind of periodic inequalities are those known as + "terms of long period." A general idea both of their nature and of + their cause will be gained by taking as a special case one celebrated + in the history of the subject--the great inequality between Jupiter + and Saturn. We begin by showing what the actual fact is in the case of + these two planets. Let fig. 3 represent the two orbits, the sun being + at C. We know that the period of Jupiter is nearly twelve years, and + that of Saturn a little less than thirty years. It will be seen that + these numbers are nearly in the ratio of 2 to 5. It follows that the + motions of the mean longitudes are nearly in the same proportion + reversed. The annual motion of Jupiter is nearly 30 deg., that of + Saturn a little more than 12 deg. Let us now consider the effect of + this relation upon the configurations and relations of the two + planets. Let the line CJ represent the common direction of the two + planets from the sun when they are in conjunction, and let us follow + the motions until they again come into conjunction. This will occur + along a line CR1, making an angle of nearly 240 deg. with CJ. At this + point Saturn will have moved 240 deg. and Jupiter an entire revolution + + 240 deg., making 600 deg. These two motions, it will be seen, are in + the proportion 5:2. The next conjunction will take place along CS1, + and the third after the initial one will again take place near the + original position JQ, Jupiter having made five revolutions and Saturn + two. + + The result of these repetitions is that, during a number of + revolutions, the special mutual actions of the two planets at these + three points of their orbits repeat themselves, while the actions + corresponding to the three intermediate arcs are wanting. Thus it + happens that if the mutual actions are balanced through a period of a + few revolutions only there is a small residuum of forces corresponding + to the three regions in question, which repeats itself in the same + way, and which, if it continued indefinitely, would entirely change + the forms of the two orbits. But the actual mean motions deviate + slightly from the ratio 2:5, and we have next to show how this + deviation results in an ultimate balancing of the forces. The annual + mean motions, with the corresponding combinations, are as follows:-- + + Jupiter:--n = 30 deg. .349043 + Saturn:--n' = 12 deg. .221133 + 2n = 60 deg. .69809 + 5n' = 61 deg. .10567 + 5n' - 2n = 0 deg. .40758 + + If we make a more accurate computation of the conjunctions from these + data, we shall find that, in the general mean, the consecutive + conjunctions take place when each planet has moved through an entire + number of revolutions + 242.7 deg. It follows that the third + conjunction instead of occurring exactly along the line CQ1 occurs + along CQ2, making an angle of nearly 8 deg. with CQ1. The successive + conjunctions following will be along CR2, CS2, CQ3, &c., the law of + progression being obvious. + + The balancing of the series of forces will not be complete until the + respective triplets of conjunctions have filled up the entire space + between them. This will occur when the angle whose annual motion is + 5n' - 2n has gone through 360 deg. From the preceding value of 5n' - + 2n we see that this will require a little more than 883 years. The + result of the continued action of the two planets upon each other is + that during half of this period the motion of one planet is constantly + retarded and of the other constantly accelerated, while during the + other half the effects are reversed. There is thus in the case of each + planet an oscillation of the mean longitude which increases it and + then diminishes it to its original value at the end of the period of + 883 years. + + The longitudes, latitudes and radii vectores of a planet, being + algebraically expressed as the sum of an infinite periodic series of + the kind we have been describing, it follows that the problem of + finding their co-ordinates at any moment is solved by computing these + expressions. This is facilitated by the construction of tables by + means of which the co-ordinates can be computed at any time. Such + tables are used in the offices of the national Ephemerides to + construct ephemerides of the several planets, showing their exact + positions in the sky from day to day. + + We pass now to the second branch of celestial mechanics viz. that in + which the planets are no longer considered as particles, but as + rotating bodies of which the dimensions are to be taken into account. + Such a body, in free space, not acted on by any force except the + attraction of its several parts, will go on rotating for ever in an + invariable direction. But, in consequence of the centrifugal force + generated by the rotation, it assumes a spheroidal form, the + equatorial regions bulging out. Such a form we all know to be that of + the earth and of the planets rotating on their axes. Let us study the + effect of this deviation from the spherical form upon the attraction + exercised by a distant body. + + [Illustration: Fig. 4.] + + We begin with the special case of the earth as acted upon by the sun + and moon. Let fig. 4 represent a section of the earth through its axis + AB, ECQ being a diameter of the equator. Let the dotted lines show the + direction of the distant attracting body. The point E, being more + distant than C, will be attracted with less force, while Q will be + attracted with a greater force than will the centre C. Were the force + equal on every point of the earth it would have no influence on its + rotation, but would simply draw its whole mass toward the attracting + body. It is therefore only the _difference_ of the forces on different + parts of the earth that affects the rotation. + + Let us, therefore, divide the attracting forces at each point into two + parts, one the average force, which we may call F, and which for our + purpose may be regarded as equal to the force acting at C; the others + the residual forces which we must superimpose upon the average force F + in order that the combination may be equal to the actual force. It is + clear that at Q this residual force as represented by the arrow will + be in the same direction as the actual force. But at E, since the + actual force is less than F, the residual force must tend to diminish + F, and must, therefore, act toward the right, as shown by the arrow. + These residual forces tend to make the whole earth turn round the + centre C in a clockwise direction. If nothing modified this tendency + the result would be to bring the points E and Q into the dotted lines + of the attraction. In other words the equator would be drawn into + coincidence with the ecliptic. Here, however, the same action comes + into play, which keeps a rotating top from falling over. (See + GYROSCOPE and MECHANICS.) For the same reason as in the case of the + gyroscope the actual motion of the earth's axis is at right angles to + the line joining the earth and the attracting centre, and without + going into the details of the mathematical processes involved, we may + say that the ultimate mean effect will be to cause the pole P of the + earth to move at right angles to the circle joining it to the pole of + the ecliptic. Were the position of the latter invariable, the + celestial pole would move round it in a circle. Actually the curve in + which it moves is nearly a circle; but the distance varies slightly + owing to the minute secular variation in the position of the ecliptic, + caused by the action of the planets. This motion of the celestial pole + results in a corresponding revolution of the equinox around the + celestial sphere. The rate of motion is slightly variable from century + to century owing to the secular motion of the plane of the ecliptic. + Its period, with the present rate of motion, would be about 26,000 + years, but the actual period is slightly indeterminate from the cause + just mentioned. + + The residual force just described is not limited to the case of an + ellipsoidal body. It will be seen that the reasoning applies to the + case of any one body or system of bodies, the dimensions of which are + not regarded as infinitely small compared with the distance of the + attracting body. In all such cases the residual forces virtually tend + to draw those portions of the body nearest the attracting centre + toward the latter, and those opposite the attracting centre away from + it. Thus we have a tide-producing force tending to deform the body, + the action of which is of the same nature as the force producing + precession. It is of interest to note that, very approximately, this + deforming force varies inversely as the cube of the distance of the + attracting body. + + The action of the sun upon the satellites of the several planets and + the effects of this action are of the same general nature. For the + same reason that the residual forces virtually act in opposite + directions upon the nearer and more distant portions of a planet they + will virtually act in the case of a satellite. When the latter is + between its primary and the sun, the attraction of the latter tends to + draw the satellite away from the primary. When the satellite is in the + opposite direction from the sun, the same action tends to draw the + primary away from the satellite. In both cases, relative to the + primary, the action is the same. When the satellite is in quadrature + the convergence of the lines of attraction toward the centre of the + sun tends to bring the two bodies together. When the orbit of the + satellite is inclined to that of the primary planet round the sun, the + action brings about a change in the plane of the orbit represented by + a rotation round an axis perpendicular to the plane of the orbit of + the primary. If we conceive a pole to each of these orbits, determined + by the points in which lines perpendicular to their planes intersect + the celestial sphere, the pole of the satellite orbit will revolve + around the pole of the planetary orbit precisely as the pole of the + earth does around the pole of the ecliptic, the inclination of the two + orbits remaining unchanged. + + If a planet rotates on its axis so rapidly as to have a considerable + ellipticity, and if it has satellites revolving very near the plane of + the equator, the combined actions of the sun and of the equatorial + protuberances may be such that the whole system will rotate almost as + if the planes of revolution of the satellites were solidly fixed to + the plane of the equator. This is the case with the seven inner + satellites of Saturn. The orbits of these bodies have a large + inclination, nearly 27 deg., to the plane of the planet's orbit. The + action of the sun alone would completely throw them out of these + planes as each satellite orbit would rotate independently; but the + effect of the mutual action is to keep all of the planes in close + coincidence with the plane of the planet's equator. + + _Literature._--The modern methods of celestial mechanics may be + considered to begin with Joseph Louis Lagrange, whose theory of the + variation of elements is developed in his _Mecanique analytique_. The + practical methods of computing perturbations of the planets and + satellites were first exhaustively developed by Pierre Simon Laplace + in his _Mecanique celeste_. The only attempt since the publication of + this great work to develop the various theories involved on a uniform + plan and mould them into a consistent whole is that of de Pontecoulant + in _Theorie analytique du systeme du monde_ (1829-46, Paris). An + approximation to such an attempt is that of F.F. Tisserand in his + _Traite de mecanique celeste_ (4 vols., Paris). This work contains a + clear and excellent resume of the methods which have been devised by + the leading investigators from the time of Lagrange until the present, + and thus forms the most encyclopaedic treatise to which the student + can refer. + + Works less comprehensive than this are necessarily confined to the + elements of the subject, to the development of fundamental principles + and general methods, or to details of special branches. An elementary + treatise on the subject is F.R. Moulton's _Introduction to Celestial + Mechanics_ (London, 1902). Other works with the same general object + are H.A. Resal, _Mecanique celeste_; and O.F. Dziobek, _Theorie der + Planetenbewegungen_. The most complete and systematic development of + the general principles of the subject, from the point of view of the + modern mathematician, is found in J.H. Poincare, _Les Methodes + nouvelles de la mecanique celeste_ (3 vols., Paris, 1899, 1892, 1893). + Of another work of Poincare, _Lecons de mecanique celeste_, the first + volume appeared in 1905. + + +_Practical Astronomy._ + +Practical Astronomy, taken in its widest sense, treats of the +instruments by which our knowledge of the heavenly bodies is acquired, +the principles underlying their use, and the methods by which these +principles are practically applied. Our knowledge of these bodies is of +necessity derived through the medium of the light which they emit; and +it is the development and applications of the laws of light which have +made possible the additions to our stock of such knowledge since the +middle of the 19th century. + + At the base of every system of astronomical observation is the law + that, in the voids of space, a ray of light moves in a right line. The + fundamental problem of practical astronomy is that of determining by + measurement the co-ordinates of the heavenly bodies as already + defined. Of the three co-ordinates, the radius vector does not admit + of direct measurement, and must be inferred by a combination of + indirect measurements and physical theories. The other two + co-ordinates, which define the direction of a body, admit of direct + measurement on principles applied in the construction and use of + astronomical instruments. + + In the first system of co-ordinates already described the fundamental + axis is the vertical line or direction of gravity at the point of + observation. This is not the direction of gravity proper, or of the + earth's attraction, but the resultant of this attraction combined with + the centrifugal force due to the earth's rotation on its axis. The + most obvious method of realizing this direction is by the plumb-line. + In our time, however, this appliance is replaced by either of two + others, which admit of much more precise application. These are the + basin of mercury and the spirit-level. The surface of a liquid at rest + is necessarily perpendicular to the direction of gravity, and + therefore horizontal. Considered as a curved surface, concentric with + the earth, a tangent plane to such a surface is the plane of the + horizon. The problem of measuring from an axis perpendicular to this + plane is solved on the principle that the incident and reflected rays + of light make equal angles with the perpendicular to a reflecting + surface. It follows that if PO (fig. 5) is the direction of a ray, + either from a heavenly body or from a terrestrial point, impinging at + O upon the surface of quicksilver, and reflected in the direction OR, + the vertical line is the bisector OZ, of the angle POR. If the point P + is so adjusted over the quicksilver that the ray is reflected back on + its own path, P and R lying on the same line above O, then we know + that the line PO is truly vertical. The zenith-distance of an object + is the angle which the ray of light from it makes with the vertical + direction thus defined. + + [Illustration: FIG. 5.] + + [Illustration: FIG. 6.] + + To show the principle involved in the spirit-level let MN (fig. 6) be + the tube of such a level, fixed to an axis OZ on which it may revolve. + If this axis is so adjusted that in the course of a revolution around + it the bubble of the level undergoes no change of position, we know + that the axis is truly vertical. Any slight deviation from verticality + is shown by the motion of the bubble during the revolution, which can + be measured and allowed for. The level may not be actually attached to + an axis, a revolution of 180 deg. being effected round an imaginary + vertical axis by turning the level end for end. The motion of the + bubble then measures double the inclination of this imaginary axis, or + the deviation of a cylinder on which the level may rest from + horizontality. + + [Illustration: FIG. 7.] + + [Illustration: FIG. 8.] + + The problem of determining the zenith distance of a celestial object + now reduces itself to that of measuring the angle between the + direction of the object and the direction of the vertical line + realized in one of these ways. This measurement is effected by a + combination of two instruments, the telescope and the graduated + circle. Let OF (fig. 7) be a section of the telescope, MN being its + object glass. Let the parallel dotted lines represent rays of light + emanating from the object to be observed, which, for our purpose, we + regard as infinitely distant, a star for example. These rays come to a + focus at a point F lying in the focal plane of the telescope. In this + plane are a pair of cross threads or spider lines which, as the + observer looks into the telescope, are seen as AB and CD (fig. 8). If + the telescope is so pointed that the image of the star is seen in + coincidence with the cross threads, as represented in fig. 8, then we + know that the star is exactly in the line of sight of the telescope, + defined as the line joining the centre of the object glass, and the + point of intersection of the cross threads. If the telescope is moved + around so that the images of two distant points are successively + brought into coincidence with the cross threads, we know that the + angle between the directions of these points is equal to that through + which the telescope has been turned. This angle is measured by means + of a graduated circle, rigidly attached to the tube of the telescope + in a plane parallel to the line of sight. When the telescope is turned + in this plane, the angular motion of the line of sight is equal to + that through which the circle has turned. + + Stripped of all unnecessary adjuncts, and reduced to a geometric form, + the ideal method by which the zenith distance of a heavenly body is + determined by the combination which we have described is as + follows:--Let OP (fig. 9) be the direction of a celestial body at + which a telescope, supplied with a graduating circle, is pointed. Let + OZ be an axis, as nearly vertical as it can easily be set, round which + the entire instrument may revolve through 180 deg. After the image of + the body is brought into coincidence with the cross threads, the + instrument is turned through 180 deg. on the axis, which results in + the line of sight of the telescope pointing in a certain direction OQ, + determined by the condition QOZ = ZOP. The telescope is then a second + time pointed at the object by being moved through the angle QOP. + Either of the angles QOZ and ZOP is then one half that through which + the telescope has been turned, which may be measured by a graduated + circle, and which is the zenith distance of the object measured from + the direction of the axis OZ. This axis may not be exactly vertical. + Its deviation from the vertical line is determined by the motion of + the bubble of a spirit-level rigidly attached either to the axis, or + to the telescope. Applying this deviation to the measured arc, the + true zenith distance of the body is found. + + [Illustration: FIG. 9.] + + When the basin of quicksilver is used, the telescope, either before or + after being directed toward P, is pointed directly downwards, so that + the observer mounting above it looks through it into the reflecting + surface. He then adjusts the instrument so that the cross threads + coincide with their images reflected from the surface of the + quicksilver. The angular motion of the telescope in passing from this + position to that when the celestial object is in the line of sight is + the distance (ND) of the body from the nadir. Subtracting 90 deg. from + (ND) gives the altitude; and subtracting (ND) from 180 deg. gives the + zenith distance. + + In the measurement of equatorial co-ordinates, the polar distance is + determined in an analogous way. We determine the apparent position of + an object near the pole on the celestial sphere at any moment, and + again at another moment, twelve hours later, when, by the diurnal + motion, it has made half a revolution. The angle through the celestial + pole, between these two positions, is double the polar distance. The + pole is the point midway between them. This being ascertained by one + or more stars near it, may be used to determine by direct measurements + the polar distances of other bodies. + + The preceding methods apply mainly to the latitudinal co-ordinate. To + measure the difference between the longitudinal co-ordinates of two + objects by means of a graduated circle the instruments must turn on an + axis parallel to the principal axis of the system of co-ordinates, and + the plane of the graduated circle must be at right angles to that + axis, and, therefore, parallel to the principal co-ordinate plane. The + telescope, in order that it may be pointed in any direction, must + admit of two motions, one round the principal axis, and the other + round an axis at right angles to it. By these two motions the + instrument may be pointed first at one of the objects and then at the + other. The motion of the graduated circle in passing from one pointing + to the other is the measure of the difference between the longitudinal + co-ordinates of the two objects. + + In the equatorial system this co-ordinate (the right ascension) is + measured in a different way, by making the rotating earth perform the + function of a graduated circle. The unceasing diurnal motion of the + image of any heavenly body relative to the cross threads of a + telescope makes a direct accurate measure of any co-ordinate except + the declination almost impossible. Before the position of a star can + be noted, it has passed away from the cross threads. This troublesome + result is utilized and made a means of measurement. Right ascensions + are now determined, not by measuring the angle between one star and + another, but, by noting the time between the transits of successive + stars over the meridian. The difference between these times, when + reduced to an angle, is the difference of the right ascensions of the + stars. The principle is the same as that by which the distance between + two stations may be determined by the time required for a train moving + at a uniform known speed to pass from one station to the other. The + uniform speed of the diurnal motion is 15 deg. per hour. We have + already mentioned that in astronomical practice right ascensions are + expressed in time, so that no multiplication by 15 is necessary. + + Measures made on the various systems which we have described give the + apparent direction of a celestial object as seen by the observer. But + this is not the true direction, because the ray of light from the + object undergoes refraction in passing through the atmosphere. It is + therefore necessary to correct the observation for this effect. This + is one of the most troublesome problems in astronomy because, owing to + the ever varying density of the atmosphere, arising from differences + of temperature, and owing to the impossibility of determining the + temperature with entire precision at any other point than that + occupied by the observer, the amount of refraction must always be more + or less uncertain. The complexity of the problem will be seen by + reflecting that the temperature of the air inside the telescope is not + without its effect. This temperature may be and commonly is somewhat + different from that of the observing room, which, again, is commonly + higher than the temperature of the air outside. The uncertainty thus + arising in the amount of the refraction is least near the zenith, but + increases more and more as the horizon is approached. + + The result of astronomical observations which is ordinarily wanted is + not the direction of an object from the observer, but from the centre + of the earth. Thus a reduction for parallax is required. Having + effected this reduction, and computed the correction to be applied to + the observation in order to eliminate all known errors to which the + instrument is liable, the work of the practical astronomer is + completed. + + The instruments used in astronomical research are described under + their several names. The following are those most used in + astrometry:-- + + The equatorial telescope (q.v.) is an instrument which can be directed + to any point in the sky, and which derives its appellation from its + being mounted on an axis parallel to that of the earth. By revolving + on this axis it follows a star in its diurnal motion, so that the star + is kept in the field of view notwithstanding that motion. + + Next in extent of use are the transit instrument and the meridian + circle, which are commonly united in a single instrument, the transit + circle (q.v.), known also as the meridian circle. This instrument + moves only in the plane of the meridian on a horizontal east and west + axis, and is used to determine the right ascensions and declinations + of stars. These two instruments or combinations are a necessary part + of the outfit of every important observatory. An adjunct of prime + importance, which is necessary to their use, is an accurate clock, + beating seconds. + + _Use of Photography._--Before the development of photography, there + was no possible way of making observations upon the heavenly bodies + except by the eye. Since the middle of the 19th century the system of + photographing the heavenly bodies has been introduced, step by step, + so that it bids fair to supersede eye observations in many of the + determinations of astronomy. (See PHOTOGRAPHY: _Celestial_.) + + The field of practical astronomy includes an extension which may be + regarded as making astronomical science in a certain sense universal. + The science is concerned with the heavenly bodies. The earth on which + we live is, to all intents and purposes, one of these bodies, and, so + far as its relations to the heavens are concerned, must be included in + astronomy. The processes of measuring great portions of the earth, and + of determining geographical positions, require both astronomical + observations proper, and determinations made with instruments similar + to those of astronomy. Hence geodesy may be regarded as a branch of + practical astronomy. (S. N.) + + +_History of Astronomy._ + + Origin of the science. + +A practical acquaintance with the elements of astronomy is indispensable +to the conduct of human life. Hence it is most widely diffused among +uncivilized peoples, whose existence depends upon immediate and +unvarying submission to the dictates of external nature. Having no +clocks, they regard instead the face of the sky; the stars serve them +for almanacs; they hunt and fish, they sow and reap in correspondence +with the recurrent order of celestial appearances. But these, to the +untutored imagination, present a mystical, as well as a mechanical +aspect; and barbaric familiarity with the heavens developed at an early +age, through the promptings of superstition, into a fixed system of +observation. In China, Egypt and Babylonia, strength and continuity were +lent to this native tendency by the influence of a centralized +authority; considerable proficiency was attained in the arts of +observation; and from millennial stores of accumulated data, empirical +rules were deduced by which the scope of prediction was widened and its +accuracy enhanced. But no genuine science of astronomy was founded until +the Greeks sublimed experience into theory. + + + Chinese astronomy. + +Already, in the third millennium B.C., equinoxes and solstices were +determined in China by means of culminating stars. This is known from +the orders promulgated by the emperor Yao about 2300 B.C., as recorded +in the _Shu Chung_, a collection of documents antique in the time of +Confucius (550-478 B.C.). And Yao was merely the renovator of a system +long previously established. The _Shu Chung_ further relates the tragic +fate of the official astronomers, Hsi and Ho, put to death for +neglecting to perform the rites customary during an eclipse of the sun, +identified by Professor S.E. Russell[1] with a partial obscuration +visible in northern China 2136 B.C. The date cannot be far wrong, and it +is by far the earliest assignable to an event of the kind. There is, +however, no certainty that the Chinese were then capable of predicting +eclipses. They were, on the other hand, probably acquainted, a couple +of millenniums before Meton gave it his name, with the nineteen-year +cycle, by which solar and lunar years were harmonized;[2] they +immemorially made observations in the meridian; regulated time by +water-clocks, and used measuring instruments of the nature of armillary +spheres and quadrants. In or near 1100 B.C., Chou Kung, an able +mathematician, determined with surprising accuracy the obliquity of the +ecliptic; but his attempts to estimate the sun's distance failed +hopelessly as being grounded on belief in the flatness of the earth. +From of old, in China, circles were divided into 365-1/4 parts, so that +the sun described daily one Chinese degree; and the equator began to be +employed as a line of reference, concurrently with the ecliptic, +probably in the second century B.C. Both circles, too, were marked by +star-groups more or less clearly designated and defined. Cometary +records of a vague kind go back in China to 2296 B.C.; they are +intelligible and trustworthy from 611 B.C. onward. Two instruments +constructed at the time of Kublai Khan's accession in 1280 were still +extant at Peking in 1881. They were provided with large graduated +circles adapted for measurements of declination and right ascension, and +prove the Chinese to have anticipated by at least three centuries some +of Tycho Brahe's most important inventions.[3] The native astronomy was +finally superseded in the 17th century by the scientific teachings of +Jesuit missionaries from Europe. + + + Egyptian astronomy. + +Astrolatry was, in Egypt, the prelude to astronomy. The stars were +observed that they might be duly worshipped. The importance of their +heliacal risings, or first visible appearances at dawn, for the purposes +both of practical life and of ritual observance, caused them to be +systematically noted; the length of the year was accurately fixed in +connexion with the annually recurring Nile-flood; while the curiously +precise orientation of the Pyramids affords a lasting demonstration of +the high degree of technical skill in watching the heavens attained in +the third millennium B.C. The constellational system in vogue among the +Egyptians appears to have been essentially of native origin; but they +contributed little or nothing to the genuine progress of astronomy. + + + Babylonian astronomy. + +With the Babylonians the case was different, although their science +lacked the vital principle of growth imparted to it by their successors. +From them the Greeks derived their first notions of astronomy. They +copied the Babylonian asterisms, appropriated Babylonian knowledge of +the planets and their courses, and learned to predict eclipses by means +of the "Saros." This is a cycle of 18 years 11 days, or 223 lunations, +discovered at an unknown epoch in Chaldaea, at the end of which the moon +very nearly returns to her original position with regard as well to the +sun as to her own nodes and perigee. There is no getting back to the +beginning of astronomy by the shores of the Euphrates. Records dating +from the reign of Sargon of Akkad (3800 B.C.) imply that even then the +varying aspects of the sky had been long under expert observation. Thus +early, there is reason to suppose, the star-groups with which we are now +familiar began to be formed. They took shape most likely, not through +one stroke of invention, but incidentally, as legends developed and +astrological persuasions became defined.[4] The zodiacal series in +particular seem to have been reformed and reconstructed at wide +intervals of time (see ZODIAC). Virgo, for example, is referred by P. +Jensen, on the ground of its harvesting associations, to the fourth +millennium B.C., while Aries (according to F.K. Ginzel) was interpolated +at a comparatively recent time. In the main, however, the constellations +transmitted to the West from Babylonia by Aratus and Eudoxus must have +been arranged very much in their present order about 2800 B.C. E.W. +Maunder's argument to this effect is unanswerable.[5] For the space of +the southern sky left blank of stellar emblazonments was necessarily +centred on the pole; and since the pole shifts among the stars through +the effects of precession by a known annual amount, the ascertainment of +any former place for it virtually fixes the epoch. It may then be taken +as certain that the heavens described by Aratus in 270 B.C. represented +approximately observations made some 2500 years earlier in or near north +latitude 40 deg. + +In the course of ages, Babylonian astronomy, purified from the +astrological taint, adapted itself to meet the most refined needs of +civil life. The decipherment and interpretation by the learned Jesuits, +Fathers Epping and Strassmeier, of a number of clay tablets preserved in +the British Museum, have supplied detailed knowledge of the methods +practised in Mesopotamia in the 2nd century B.C.[6] They show no trace +of Greek influence, and were doubtless the improved outcome of an +unbroken tradition. How protracted it had been, can be in a measure +estimated from the length of the revolutionary cycles found for the +planets. The Babylonian computers were not only aware that Venus returns +in almost exactly eight years to a given starting-point in the sky, but +they had established similar periodic relations in 46, 59, 70 and 83 +years severally for Mercury, Saturn, Mars and Jupiter. They were +accordingly able to fix in advance the approximate positions of these +objects with reference to ecliptical stars which served as fiducial +points for their determination. In the Ephemerides published year by +year, the times of new moon were given, together with the calculated +intervals to the first visibility of the crescent, from which the +beginning of each month was reckoned; the dates and circumstances of +solar and lunar eclipses were predicted; and due information was +supplied as to the forthcoming heliacal risings and settings, +conjunctions and oppositions of the planets. The Babylonians knew of the +inequality in the daily motion of the sun, but misplaced by 10 deg. the +perigee of his orbit. Their sidereal year was (4-1/2)^m too long,[7] and +they kept the ecliptic stationary among the stars, making no allowance +for the shifting of the equinoxes. The striking discovery, on the other +hand, has been made by the Rev. F.X. Kugler[8] that the various periods +underlying their lunar predictions were identical with those heretofore +believed to have been independently arrived at by Hipparchus, who +accordingly must be held to have borrowed from Chaldaea the lengths of +the synodic, sidereal, anomalistic and draconitic months. + + + Greek astronomy. Thales. + + Pythagoras. + + Heraclides. + +A steady flow of knowledge from East to West began in the 7th century +B.C. A Babylonian sage named Berossus founded a school about 640 B.C. in +the island of Cos, and perhaps counted Thales of Miletus (c. 639-548) +among his pupils. The famous "eclipse of Thales" in 585 B.C. has not, it +is true, been authenticated by modern research;[9] yet the story told by +Herodotus appears to intimate that a knowledge of the Saros, and of the +forecasting facilities connected with it, was possessed by the Ionian +sage. Pythagoras of Samos (fl. 540-510 B.C.) learned on his travels in +Egypt and the East to identify the morning and evening stars, to +recognize the obliquity of the ecliptic, and to regard the earth as a +sphere freely poised in space. The tenet of its axial movement was held +by many of his followers--in an obscure form by Philolaus of Crotona +after the middle of the 5th century B.C., and more explicitly by +Ecphantus and Hicetas of Syracuse (4th century B.C.), and by Heraclides +of Pontus. Heraclides, who became a disciple of Plato in 360 B.C., +taught in addition that the sun, while circulating round the earth, was +the centre of revolution to Venus and Mercury.[10] A genuine +heliocentric system, developed by Aristarchus of Samos (fl. 280-264 +B.C.), was described by Archimedes in his _Arenarius_, only to be set +aside with disapproval. The long-lived conception of a series of +crystal spheres, acting as the vehicles of the heavenly bodies, and +attuned to divine harmonies, seems to have originated with Pythagoras +himself. + + + Eudoxus. + +The first mathematical theory of celestial appearances was devised by +Eudoxus of Cnidus (408-355 B.C.).[11] The problem he attempted to solve +was so to combine uniform circular movements as to produce the resultant +effects actually observed. The sun and moon and the five planets were, +with this end in view, accommodated each with a set of variously +revolving spheres, to the total number of 27. The Eudoxian or +"homocentric" system, after it had been further elaborated by Callippus +and Aristotle, was modified by Apollonius of Perga (fl. 250-220 B.C.) +into the hypothesis of deferents and epicycles, which held the field for +1800 years as the characteristic embodiment of Greek ideas in astronomy. +Eudoxus further wrote two works descriptive of the heavens, the +_Enoptron_ and _Phaenomena_, which, substantially preserved in the +_Phaenomena_ of Aratus (fl. 270 B.C.), provided all the leading features +of modern stellar nomenclature. + + + School of Alexandria. + + Aristarchus. + +Greek astronomy culminated in the school of Alexandria. It was, soon +after its foundation, illustrated by the labours of Aristyllus and +Timocharis (c. 320-260 B.C.), who constructed the first catalogue giving +star-positions as measured from a reference-point in the sky. This +fundamental advance rendered inevitable the detection of precessional +effects. Aristarchus of Samos observed at Alexandria 280-264 B.C. His +treatise on the magnitudes and distances of the sun and moon, edited by +John Wallis in 1688, describes a theoretically valid method for +determining the relative distances of the sun and moon by measuring the +angle between their centres when half the lunar disk is illuminated; but +the time of dichotomy being widely indeterminate, no useful result was +thus obtainable. Aristarchus in fact concluded the sun to be not more +than twenty times, while it is really four hundred times farther off +than our satellite. His general conception of the universe was +comprehensive beyond that of any of his predecessors. + + + Eratosthenes. + +Eratosthenes (276-196 B.C.), a native of Cyrene, was summoned from +Athens to Alexandria by Ptolemy Euergetes to take charge of the royal +library. He invented, or improved armillary spheres, the chief +implements of ancient astrometry, determined the obliquity of the +ecliptic at 23 deg. 51' (a value 5' too great), and introduced an +effective mode of arc-measurement. Knowing Alexandria and Syene to be +situated 5000 stadia apart on the same meridian, he found the sun to be +7 deg. 12' south of the zenith at the northern extremity of this arc +when it was vertically overhead at the southern extremity, and he hence +inferred a value of 252,000 stadia for the entire circumference of the +globe. This is a very close approximation to the truth, if the length of +the unit employed has been correctly assigned.[12] + + + Hipparchus + +Among the astronomers of antiquity, two great men stand out with +unchallenged pre-eminence. Hipparchus and Ptolemy entertained the same +large organic designs; they worked on similar methods; and, as the +outcome, their performances fitted so accurately together that between +them they re-made celestial science. Hipparchus fixed the chief data of +astronomy--the lengths of the tropical and sidereal years, of the +various months, and of the synodic periods of the five planets; +determined the obliquity of the ecliptic and of the moon's path, the +place of the sun's apogee, the eccentricity of his orbit, and the moon's +horizontal parallax; all with approximate accuracy. His loans from +Chaldaean experts appear, indeed, to have been numerous; but were +doubtless independently verified. His supreme merit, however, consisted +in the establishment of astronomy on a sound geometrical basis. His +acquaintance with trigonometry, a branch of science initiated by him, +together with his invention of the planisphere, enabled him to solve a +number of elementary problems; and he was thus led to bestow especial +attention upon the position of the equinox, as being the common point of +origin for measures both in right ascension and longitude. Its steady +retrogression among the stars became manifest to him in 130 B.C., on +comparing his own observations with those made by Timocharis a century +and a half earlier; and he estimated at not less than 36" (the true +value being 50") the annual amount of "precession." + +The choice made by Hipparchus of the geocentric theory of the universe +decided the future of Greek astronomy. He further elaborated it by the +introduction of "eccentrics," which accounted for the changes in orbital +velocity of the sun and moon by a displacement of the earth, to a +corresponding extent, from the centre of the circles they were assumed +to describe. This gave the elliptic inequality known as the "equation of +the centre," and no other was at that time obvious. He attempted no +detailed discussion of planetary theory; but his catalogue of 1080 +stars, divided into six classes of brightness, or "magnitudes," is one +of the finest monuments of antique astronomy. It is substantially +embodied in Ptolemy's _Almagest_ (see PTOLEMY). + + + Ptolemy. + +An interval of 250 years elapsed before the constructive labours of +Hipparchus obtained completion at Alexandria. His observations were +largely, and somewhat arbitrarily, employed by Ptolemy. Professor +Newcomb, who has compiled an instructive table of the equinoxes +severally observed by Hipparchus and Ptolemy, with their errors deduced +from Leverrier's solar tables, finds palpable evidence that the +discrepancies between the two series were artificially reconciled on the +basis of a year 6^m too long, adopted by Ptolemy on trust from his +predecessor. He nevertheless holds the process to have been one that +implied no fraudulent intention. + + + Arab astronomers. + +The Ptolemaic system was, in a geometrical sense, defensible; it +harmonized fairly well with appearances, and physical reasonings had not +then been extended to the heavens. To the ignorant it was recommended by +its conformity to crude common sense; to the learned, by the wealth of +ingenuity expended in bringing it to perfection. The _Almagest_ was the +consummation of Greek astronomy. Ptolemy had no successor; he found only +commentators, among the more noteworthy of whom were Theon of Alexandria +(fl. A.D. 400) and his daughter Hypatia (370-415). With the capture of +Alexandria by Omar in 641, the last glimmer of its scientific light +became extinct, to be rekindled, a century and a half later, on the +banks of the Tigris. The first Arabic translation of the _Almagest_ was +made by order of Harun al-Rashid about the year 800; others followed, +and the Caliph al-Mamun built in 829 a grand observatory at Bagdad. Here +Albumazar (805-885) watched the skies and cast horoscopes; here Tobit +ben Korra (836-901) developed his long unquestioned, yet misleading +theory of the "trepidation" of the equinoxes; Abd-ar-rahman al-Suf +(903-986) revised at first hand the catalogue of Ptolemy;[13] and +Abulwefa (939-998), like al-Sufi, a native of Persia, made continuous +planetary observations, but did not (as alleged by L. Sedillot) +anticipate Tycho Brahe's discovery of the moon's variation. Ibn Junis +(c. 950-1008), although the scene of his activity was in Egypt, falls +into line with the astronomers of Bagdad. He compiled the Hakimite +Tables of the planets, and observed at Cairo, in 977 and 978, two solar +eclipses which, as being the first recorded with scientific +accuracy,[14] were made available in fixing the amount of lunar +acceleration. Nasir ud-din (1201-1274) drew up the Ilkhanic Tables, and +determined the constant of precession at 51". He directed an observatory +established by Hulagu Khan (d. 1265) at Maraga in Persia, and equipped +with a mural quadrant of 12 ft. radius, besides altitude and azimuth +instruments. Ulugh Beg (1394-1449), a grandson of Tamerlane, was the +illustrious personification of Tatar astronomy. He founded about 1420 a +splendid observatory at Samarkand, in which he re-determined nearly all +Ptolemy's stars, while the Tables published by him held the primacy for +two centuries.[15] + + + Moorish Astronomy. + + European Astronomy. + + Purbach. + + Walther. + +Arab astronomy, transported by the Moors to Spain, flourished +temporarily at Cordova and Toledo. From the latter city the Toletan +Tables, drawn up by Arzachel in 1080, took their name; and there also +the Alfonsine Tables, published in 1252, were prepared under the +authority of Alphonso X. of Castile. Their appearance signalized the +dawn of European science, and was nearly coincident with that of the +_Sphaera Mundi_, a text-book of spherical astronomy, written by a +Yorkshireman, John Holywood, known as Sacro Bosco (d. 1256). It had an +immense vogue, perpetuated by the printing-press in fifty-nine editions. +In Germany, during the 15th century, a brilliant attempt was made to +patch up the flaws in Ptolemaic doctrine. George Purbach (1423-1461) +introduced into Europe the method of determining time by altitudes +employed by Ibn Junis. He lectured with applause at Vienna from 1450; +was joined there in 1452 by Regiomontanus (q.v.); and was on the point +of starting for Rome to inspect a manuscript of the _Almagest_ when he +died suddenly at the age of thirty-eight. His teachings bore fruit in +the work of Regiomontanus, and of Bernhard Walther of Nuremberg +(1430-1504), who fitted up an observatory with clocks driven by weights, +and developed many improvements in practical astronomy. + + + Copernicus. + +Meantime, a radical reform was being prepared in Italy. Under the +searchlights of the new learning, the dictatorship of Ptolemy appeared +no more inevitable than that of Aristotle; advanced thinkers like +Domenico Maria Novara (1454-1504) promulgated _sub rosa_ what were +called Pythagorean opinions; and they were eagerly and fully +appropriated by Nicolaus Copernicus during his student-years (1496-1505) +at Bologna and Padua. He laid the groundwork of his heliocentric theory +between 1506 and 1512, and brought it to completion in _De +Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium_ (1543). The colossal task of remaking +astronomy on an inverted design was, in this treatise, virtually +accomplished. Its reasonings were solidly founded on the principle of +the relativity of motion. A continuous shifting of the standpoint was in +large measure substituted for the displacements of the objects viewed, +which thus acquired a regularity and consistency heretofore lacking to +them. In the new system, the sphere of the fixed stars no longer +revolved diurnally, the earth rotating instead on an axis directed +towards the celestial pole. The sun too remained stationary, while the +planets, including our own globe, circulated round him. By this means, +the planetary "retrogradations" were explained as simple perspective +effects due to the combination of the earth's revolutions with those of +her sister orbs. The retention, however, by Copernicus of the antique +postulate of uniform circular motion impaired the perfection of his +plan, since it involved a partial survival of the epicyclical machinery. +Nor was it feasible, on this showing, to place the sun at the true +centre of any of the planetary orbits; so that his ruling position in +the midst of them was illusory. The reformed scheme was then by no means +perfect. Its simplicity was only comparative; many outstanding anomalies +compromised its harmonious working. Moreover, the absence of sensible +parallaxes in the stellar heavens seemed inconsistent with its validity; +and a mobile earth outraged deep-rooted prepossessions. Under these +disadvantageous circumstances, it is scarcely surprising that the +heliocentric theory, while admired as a daring speculation, won its way +slowly to acceptance as a truth. + + + Observatory of Cassel. + +The _Tabulae Prutenicae_, calculated on Copernican principles by Erasmus +Reinhold (1511-1553), appeared in 1551. Although they represented +celestial movements far better than the Alfonsine Tables, large +discrepancies were still apparent, and the desirability of testing the +novel hypothesis upon which they were based by more refined observations +prompted a reform of methods, undertaken almost simultaneously by the +landgrave William IV. of Hesse-Cassel (1532-1592), and by Tycho Brahe. +The landgrave built at Cassel in 1561 the first observatory with a +revolving dome, and worked for some years at a star-catalogue finally +left incomplete. Christoph Rothmann and Joost Burgi (1552-1632) became +his assistants in 1577 and 1579 respectively; and through the skill of +Burgi, time-determinations were made available for measuring right +ascensions. At Cassel, too, the altitude and azimuth instrument is +believed to have made its first appearance in Europe.[16] + + + Tycho Brahe. + +Tycho's labours were both more strenuous and more effective. He +perfected the art of pre-telescopic observation. His instruments were on +a scale and of a type unknown since the days of Nasir ud-din. At +Augsburg, in 1569, he ordered the construction of a 19-ft. quadrant, and +of a celestial globe 5 ft. in diameter; he substituted equatorial for +zodiacal armillae, thus definitively establishing the system of +measurements in right ascension and declination; and improved the +graduation of circular arcs by adopting the method of "transversals." By +these means, employed with consummate skill, he attained an +unprecedented degree of accuracy, and as an incidental though valuable +result, demonstrated the unreality of the supposed trepidation of the +equinoxes. + + + Kepler. + +No more congruous arrangement could have been devised than the +inheritance by Johann Kepler of the wealth of materials amassed by Tycho +Brahe. The younger man's genius supplied what was wanting to his +predecessor. Tycho's endowments were of the practical order; yet he had +never designed his observations to be an end in themselves. He thought +of them as means towards the end of ascertaining the true form of the +universe. His range of ideas was, however, restricted; and the attempt +embodied in his ground-plan of the solar system to revive the ephemeral +theory of Heraclides failed to influence the development of thought. +Kepler, on the contrary, was endowed with unlimited powers of +speculation, but had no mechanical faculty. He found in Tycho's ample +legacy of first-class data precisely what enabled him to try, by the +touchstone of fact, the successive hypotheses that he imagined; and his +untiring patience in comparing and calculating the observations at his +disposal was rewarded by a series of unique discoveries. He long adhered +to the traditional belief that all celestial revolutions must be +performed equably in circles; but a laborious computation of seven +recorded oppositions of Mars at last persuaded him that the planet +travelled in an ellipse, one focus of which was occupied by the sun. +Pursuing the inquiry, he found that its velocity was uniform with +respect to no single point within the orbit, but that the areas +described, in equal times, by a line drawn from the sun to the planet +were strictly equal. These two principles he extended, by direct proof, +to the motion of the earth; and, by analogy, to that of the other +planets. They were published in 1609 in _De Motibus Stellae Martis_. The +announcement of the third of "Kepler's Laws" was made ten years later, +in _De Harmonice Mundi_. It states that the squares of the periods of +circulation round the sun of the several planets are in the same ratio +as the cubes of their mean distances. This numerical proportion, as +being a necessary consequence of the law of gravitation, must prevail in +every system under its sway. It does in fact prevail among the +satellite-families of our acquaintance, and presumably in stellar +combinations as well. Kepler's ineradicable belief in the existence of +some such congruity was derived from the Pythagorean idea of an +underlying harmony in nature; but his arduous efforts for its +realization took a devious and fantastic course which seemed to give +little promise of their surprising ultimate success. The outcome of his +discoveries was, not only to perfect the geometrical plan of the solar +system, but to enhance very materially the predicting power of +astronomy. The Rudolphine Tables (Ulm, 1627), computed by him from +elliptic elements, retained authority for a century, and have in +principle never been superseded. He was deterred from research into the +orbital relations of comets, by his conviction of their perishable +nature. He supposed their tails to result from the action of solar rays, +which, in traversing their mass, bore off with them some of their +subtler particles to form trains directed away from the sun. And through +the process of waste thus set on foot, they finally dissolved into the +aether, and expired "like spinning insects." (_De Cometis; Opera_, ed. +Frisch, t. vii. p. 110.) This remarkable anticipation of the modern +theory of light-pressure was suggested to him by his observations of the +great comets of 1618. + +The formal astronomy of the ancients left Kepler unsatisfied. He aimed +at finding out the cause as well as the mode of the planetary +revolutions; and his demonstration that the planes in which they are +described all pass through the sun was an important preliminary to a +physical explanation of them. But his efforts to supply such an +explanation were rendered futile by his imperfect apprehension of what +motion is in itself. He had, it is true, a distinct conception of a +force analogous to that of gravity, by which cognate bodies tended +towards union. Misled, however, into identifying it with magnetism, he +imagined circulation in the solar system to be maintained through the +material compulsion of fibrous emanations from the sun, carried round by +his axial rotation. Ignorance regarding the inertia of matter drove him +to this expedient. The persistence of movement seemed to him to imply +the persistence of a moving power. He did not recognize that motion and +rest are equally natural, in the sense of requiring force for their +alteration. Yet his rationale of the tides in _De Motibus Stellae_ is +not only memorable as an astonishing forecast of the principle of +reciprocal attraction in the proportion of mass, but for its bold +extension to the earth of the lunar sphere of influence. + +Galileo Galilei, Kepler's most eminent contemporary, took a foremost +part in dissipating the obscurity that still hung over the very +foundations of mechanical science. He had, indeed, precursors and +co-operators. Michel Varo of Geneva wrote correctly in 1584 on the +composition of forces; Simon Stevin of Bruges (1548-1620) independently +demonstrated the principle; and G.B. Benedetti expounded in his +_Speculationum Liber_ (Turin, 1585) perfectly clear ideas as to the +nature of accelerated motion, some years in advance of Galileo's +dramatic experiments at Pisa. Yet they were never assimilated by Kepler; +while, on the other hand, the laws of planetary circulation he had +enounced were strangely ignored by Galileo. The two lines of inquiry +remained for some time apart. Had they at once been made to coalesce, +the true nature of the force controlling celestial movements should have +been quickly recognized. As it was, the importance of Kepler's +generalizations was not fully appreciated until Sir Isaac Newton made +them the corner-stone of his new cosmic edifice. + + + Galileo. + +Galileo's contributions to astronomy were of a different quality from +Kepler's. They were easily intelligible to the general public: in a +sense, they were obvious, since they could be verified by every +possessor of one of the Dutch perspective-instruments, just then in +course of wide and rapid distribution. And similar results to his were +in fact independently obtained in various parts of Europe by Christopher +Scheiner at Ingolstadt, by Johann Fabricius at Osteel in Friesland, and +by Thomas Harriot at Syon House, Isleworth. Galileo was nevertheless by +far the ablest and most versatile of these early telescopic observers. +His gifts of exposition were on a par with his gifts of discernment. +What he saw, he rendered conspicuous to the world. His sagacity was +indeed sometimes at fault. He maintained with full conviction to the end +of his life a grossly erroneous hypothesis of the tides, early adopted +from Andrea Caesalpino; the "triplicate" appearance of Saturn always +remained an enigma to him; and in regarding comets as atmospheric +emanations he lagged far behind Tycho Brahe. Yet he unquestionably ranks +as the true founder of descriptive astronomy; while his splendid +presentment of the laws of projectiles in his dialogue of the "New +Sciences" (Leiden, 1638) lent potent aid to the solid establishment of +celestial mechanics. + + + Gravitational Astronomy. + + Bacon. + + Descartes. + + Newton. + + Euler, Clairault, D'Alembert. + +The accumulation of facts does not in itself constitute science. +Empirical knowledge scarcely deserves the name. _Vere scire est per +causas scire._ Francis Bacon's prescient dream, however, of a living +astronomy by which the physical laws governing terrestrial relations +should be extended the highest heavens, had long to wait for +realization. Kepler divined its possibility; but his thoughts, derailed +(so to speak) by the false analogy of magnetism, brought him no farther +than to the rough draft of the scheme of vortices expounded in detail by +Rene Descartes in his _Principia Philosophiae_ (1644). And this was a +Descartes _cul-de-sac._ The only practicable road struck aside from it. +The true foundations of a mechanical theory of the heavens were laid by +Kepler's discoveries, and by Galileo's dynamical demonstrations; its +construction was facilitated by the development of mathematical methods. +The invention of logarithms, the rise of analytical geometry, and the +evolution of B. Cavalieri's "indivisibles" into the infinitesimal +calculus, all accomplished during the 17th century, immeasurably widened +the scope of exact astronomy. Gradually, too, the nature of the problem +awaiting solution came to be apprehended. Jeremiah Horrocks had some +intuition, previously to 1639, that the motion of the moon was +controlled by the earth's gravity, and disturbed by the action of the +sun. Ismael Bouillaud (1605-1694) stated in 1645 the fact of planetary +circulation under the sway of a sun-force decreasing as the inverse +square of the distance; and the inevitableness of this same "duplicate +ratio" was separately perceived by Robert Hooke, Edmund Halley and Sir +Christopher Wren before Newton's discovery had yet been made public. He +was the only man of his generation who both recognized the law, and had +power to demonstrate its validity. And this was only a beginning. His +complete achievement had a twofold aspect. It consisted, first, in the +identification, by strict numerical comparisons, of terrestrial gravity +with the mutual attraction of the heavenly bodies; secondly, in the +following out of its mechanical consequences throughout the solar +system. Gravitation was thus shown to be the sole influence governing +the movements of planets and satellites; the figure of the rotating +earth was successfully explained by its action on the minuter particles +of matter; tides and the procession of the equinoxes proved amenable to +reasonings based on the same principle; and it satisfactorily accounted +as well for some of the chief lunar and planetary inequalities. Newton's +investigations, however, were very far from being exhaustive. Colossal +though his powers were, they had limits; and his work could not but +remain unterminated, since it was by its nature interminable. Nor was it +possible to provide it with what could properly be called a sequel. The +synthetic method employed by him was too unwieldy for common use. Yet no +other was just then at hand. Mathematical analysis needed half a century +of cultivation before it was fully available for the arduous tasks +reserved for it. They were accordingly taken up anew by a band of +continental inquirers, primarily by three men of untiring energy and +vivid genius, Leonhard Euler, Alexis Clairault, and Jean le Rond +d'Alembert. The first of the outstanding gravitational problems with +which they grappled was the unaccountably rapid advance of the lunar +perigee. But the apparent anomaly disappeared under Euler's powerful +treatment in 1749, and his result was shortly afterwards still further +assured by Clairault. The subject of planetary perturbations was next +attacked. Euler devised in 1753 a new method, that of the "variation of +parameters," for their investigation, and applied it to unravel some of +the earth's irregularities in a memoir crowned by the French Academy in +1756; while in 1757, Clairault estimated the masses of the moon and +Venus by their respective disturbing effects upon terrestrial movements. +But the most striking incident in the history of the verification of +Newton's law was the return of Halley's comet to perihelion, on the 12th +of March 1759, in approximate accordance with Clairault's calculation of +the delays due to the action of Jupiter and Saturn. Visual proof was +thus, it might be said, afforded of the harmonious working of a single +principle to the uttermost boundaries of the sun's dominion. + + + Lagrange. + +These successes paved the way for the higher triumphs of Joseph Louis +Lagrange and of Pierre Simon Laplace. The subject of the lunar +librations was treated by Lagrange with great originality in an essay +crowned by the Paris Academy of Sciences in 1764; and he filled up the +lacunae in his theory of them in a memoir communicated to the Berlin +Academy in 1780. He again won the prize of the Paris Academy in 1766 +with an analytical discussion of the movements of Jupiter's satellites +(_Miscellanea_, Turin Acad. t. iv.); and in the same year expanded +Euler's adumbrated method of the variation of parameters into a highly +effective engine of perturbational research. It was especially adapted +to the tracing out of "secular inequalities," or those depending upon +changes in the orbital elements of the bodies affected by them, and +hence progressing indefinitely with time; and by its means, accordingly, +the mechanical stability of the solar system was splendidly demonstrated +through the successive efforts of Lagrange and Laplace. The proper share +of each in bringing about this memorable result is not easy to +apportion, since they freely imparted and profited by one another's +advances and improvements; it need only be said that the fundamental +proposition of the invariability of the planetary major axes laid down +with restrictions by Laplace in 1773, was finally established by +Lagrange in 1776; while Laplace in 1784 proved the subsistence of such a +relation between the eccentricities of the planetary orbits on the one +hand, and their inclinations on the other, that an increase of either +element could, in any single case, proceed only to a very small extent. +The system was thus shown, apart from unknown agencies of subversion, to +be constructed for indefinite permanence. The prize of the Berlin +Academy was, in 1780, adjudged to Lagrange for a treatise on the +perturbations of comets, and he contributed to the Berlin Memoirs, +1781-1784, a set of five elaborate papers, embodying and unifying his +perfected methods and their results. + + + Laplace. + +The crowning trophies of gravitational astronomy in the 18th century +were Laplace's explanations of the "great inequality" of Jupiter and +Saturn in 1784, and of the "secular acceleration" of the moon in 1787. +Both irregularities had been noted, a century earlier, by Edmund Halley; +both had, since that time, vainly exercised the ingenuity of the ablest +mathematicians; both now almost simultaneously yielded their secret to +the same fortunate inquirer. Johann Heinrich Lambert pointed out in 1773 +that the motion of Saturn, from being retarded, had become accelerated. +A periodic character was thus indicated for the disturbance; and Laplace +assigned its true cause in the near approach to commensurability in the +periods of the two planets, the cycle of disturbance completing itself +in about 900 (more accurately 929-1/2) years. The lunar acceleration, +too, obtains ultimate compensation, though only after a vastly +protracted term of years. The discovery, just one hundred years after +the publication of Newton's _Principia_, of its dependence upon the +slowly varying eccentricity of the earth's orbit signalized the removal +of the last conspicuous obstacle to admitting the unqualified validity +of the law of gravitation. Laplace's calculations, it is true, were +inexact. An error, corrected by J.C. Adams in 1853, nearly doubled the +value of the acceleration deducible from them; and served to conceal a +discrepancy with observation which has since given occasion to much +profound research (see MOON). + +The _Mecanique celeste_, in which Laplace welded into a whole the items +of knowledge accumulated by the labours of a century, has been termed +the "Almagest of the 18th century" (Fourier). But imposing and complete +though the monument appeared, it did not long hold possession of the +field. Further developments ensued. The "method of least squares," by +which the most probable result can be educed from a body of +observational data, was published by Adrien Marie Legendre in 1806, by +Carl Friedrich Gauss in his _Theoria Motus_ (1809), which described also +a mode of calculating the orbit of a planet from three complete +observations, afterwards turned to important account for the recapture +of Ceres, the first discovered asteroid (see PLANETS, MINOR). Researches +into rotational movement were facilitated by S.D. Poisson's application +to them in 1809 of Lagrange's theory of the variation of constants; +Philippe de Pontecoulant successfully used in 1829, for the prediction +of the impending return of Halley's comet, a system of "mechanical +quadratures" published by Lagrange in the Berlin Memoirs for 1778; and +in his _Theorie analytique du systeme du monde_ (1846) he modified and +refined general theories of the lunar and planetary revolutions. P.A. +Hansen in 1829 (_Astr. Nach._ Nos. 166-168, 179) left the beaten track +by choosing time as the sole variable, the orbital elements remaining +constant. A.L. Cauchy published in 1842-1845 a method similarly +conceived, though otherwise developed; and the scope of analysis in +determining the movements of the heavenly bodies has since been +perseveringly widened by the labours of Urbain J.J. Leverrier, J.C. +Adams, S. Newcomb, G.W. Hill, E.W. Brown, H. Gylden, Charles Delaunay, +F. Tisserand, H. Poincare and others too numerous to mention. Nor were +these abstract investigations unaccompanied by concrete results. Sir +George Airy detected in 1831 an inequality, periodic in 240 years, +between Venus and the earth. Leverrier undertook in 1839, and concluded +in 1876, the formidable task of revising all the planetary theories and +constructing from them improved tables. Not less comprehensive has been +the work carried out by Professor Newcomb of raising to a higher grade +of perfection, and reducing to a uniform standard, all the theories and +constants of the solar system. His inquiries afford the assurance of a +nearly exact conformity among its members to strict gravitational law, +only the moon and Mercury showing some slight, but so far unexplained, +anomalies of movement. The discovery of Neptune in 1846 by Adams and +Leverrier marked the first solution of the "inverse problem" of +perturbations. That is to say, ascertained or ascertainable effects were +made the starting-point instead of the goal of research. + + + Descriptive and practical astronomy. + + Bayer. + + Gassendi. + + Horrocks. + + Huygens. + + Gascoigne. + + Hevelius. + +Observational astronomy, meanwhile, was advancing to some extent +independently. The descriptive branch found its principle of development +in the growing powers of the telescope, and had little to do with +mathematical theory; which, on the contrary, was closely allied, by +relations of mutual helpfulness, with practical astronomy, or +"astrometry." Meanwhile, the elementary requirement of making visual +acquaintance with the stellar heavens was met, as regards the unknown +southern skies, when Johann Bayer published at Nuremberg in 1603 a +celestial atlas depicting twelve new constellations formed from the rude +observations of navigators across the line. In the same work, the +current mode of star-nomenclature by the letters of the Greek alphabet +made its appearance. On the 7th of November 1631 Pierre Gassendi watched +at Paris the passage of Mercury across the sun. This was the first +planetary transit observed. The next was that of Venus on the 24th of +November (O.S.) 1639, of which Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree +were the sole spectators. The improvement of telescopes was prosecuted +by Christiaan Huygens from 1655, and promptly led to his discoveries of +the sixth Saturnian moon, of the true shape of the Saturnian appendages, +and of the multiple character of the "trapezium" of stars in the Orion +nebula. William Gascoigne's invention of the filar micrometer and of the +adaptation of telescopes to graduated instruments remained submerged for +a quarter of a century in consequence of his untimely death at Marston +Moor (1644). The latter combination had also been ineffectually proposed +in 1634 by Jean Baptiste Morin (1583-1656); and both devices were +recontrived at Paris about 1667, the micrometer by Adrien Auzout (d. +1691), telescopic sights (so-called) by Jean Picard (1620-1682), who +simultaneously introduced the astronomical use of pendulum-clocks, +constructed by Huygens eleven years previously. These improvements were +ignored or rejected by Johann Hevelius of Danzig, the author of the last +important star-catalogue based solely upon naked-eye determinations. +He, nevertheless, used telescopes to good purpose in his studies of +lunar topography, and his designations for the chief mountain-chains and +"seas" of the moon have never been superseded. He, moreover, threw out +the suggestion (in his _Cometographia_, 1668) that comets move round the +sun in orbits of a parabolic form. + + + The Paris observatory. + + G.D. Cassini + + Romer. + +The establishment, in 1671 and 1676 respectively, of the French and +English national observatories at once typified and stimulated progress. +The Paris institution, it is true, lacked unity of direction. No +authoritative chief was assigned to it until 1771. G.D. Cassini, his son +and his grandson were only _primi inter pares_. Claude Perrault's +stately edifice was equally accessible to all the more eminent members +of the Academy of Sciences; and researches were, more or less +independently, carried on there by (among others) Philippe de la Hire +(1640-1718), G.F. Maraldi (1665-1729), and his nephew, J.D. Maraldi, +Jean Picard, Huygens, Olaus Romer and Nicolas de Lacaille. Some of the +best instruments then extant were mounted at the Paris observatory. G.D. +Cassini brought from Rome a 17-ft. telescope by G. Campani, with which +he discovered in 1671 Iapetus, the ninth in distance of Saturn's family +of satellites; Rhea was detected in 1672 with a glass by the same maker +of 34-ft. focus; the duplicity of the ring showed in 1675; and, in 1684, +two additional satellites were disclosed by a Campani telescope of 100 +ft. Cassini, moreover, set up an altazimuth in 1678, and employed from +about 1682 a "parallactic machine," provided with clockwork to enable it +to follow the diurnal motion. Both inventions have been ascribed to +Olaus Romer, who used but did not claim them, and must have become +familiar with their principles during the nine years (1672-1681) spent +by him at the Paris observatory. Romer, on the other hand, deserves full +credit for originating the transit-circle and the prime vertical +instrument; and he earned undying fame by his discovery of the finite +velocity of light, made at Paris in 1675 by comparing his observations +of the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites at the conjunctions and +oppositions of the planet. + + + Flamsteed. + +The organization of the Greenwich observatory differed widely from that +adopted at Paris. There a fundamental scheme of practical amelioration +was initiated by John Flamsteed, the first astronomer royal, and has +never since been lost sight of. Its purpose is the attainment of so +complete a power of prediction that the places of the sun, moon and +planets may be assigned without noticeable error for an indefinite +future time. Sidereal inquiries, as such, made no part of the original +programme in which the stars figured merely as points of reference. But +these points are not stationary. They have an apparent precessional +movement, the exact amount of which can be arrived at only by prolonged +and toilsome enquiries. They have besides "proper motions," detected in +1718 by E. Halley in a few cases, and since found to prevail +universally. Further, James Bradley discovered in 1728 the annual +shifting of the stars due to the aberration of light (see ABERRATION), +and in 1748, the complicating effects upon precession of the "nutation" +of the earth's axis. Hence, the preparation of a catalogue recording the +"mean" positions of a number of stars for a given epoch involves +considerable preliminary labour; nor do those positions long continue to +satisfy observation. They need, after a time, to be corrected, not only +systematically for precession, but also empirically for proper motion. +Before the stars can safely be employed as route-marks in the sky, their +movements must accordingly be tabulated, and research into the method of +such movements inevitably follows. We perceive then that the fundamental +problems of sidereal science are closely linked up with the elementary +and indispensable procedures of celestial measurement. + +The history of the Greenwich observatory is one of strenuous efforts for +refinement, stimulated by the growing stringency of theoretical +necessities. Improved practice, again, reacted upon theory by bringing +to notice residual errors, demanding the correction of formulae, or +intimating neglected disturbances. Each increase of mechanical skill +claims a corresponding gain in the subtlety of analysis; and vice versa. +And this kind of interaction has gone on ever since Flamsteed +reluctantly furnished the "places of the moon," which enabled Newton to +lay the foundations of lunar theory. + + + Halley. + + Bradley. + + Bliss. + + Maskelyne. + + Pond. + + Airy. + +Edmund Halley, the second astronomer royal, devoted most of his official +attention to the moon. But his plan of attack was not happily chosen; he +carried it out with deficient instrumental means; and his administration +(1720-1742) remained comparatively barren. That of his successor, though +shorter, was vastly more productive. James Bradley chose the most +appropriate tasks, and executed them supremely well, with the +indispensable aid of John Bird (1700-1776), who constructed for him an +8-ft. quadrant of unsurpassed quality. Bradley's store of observations +has accordingly proved invaluable. Those of 3222 stars, reduced by F.W. +Bessel in 1818, and again with masterly insight by Dr A. Auwers in 1882, +form the true basis of exact astronomy, and of our knowledge of proper +motions. Those relating to the moon and planets, corrected by Sir George +Airy, 1840-1846, form part of the standard materials for discussing +theories of movement in the solar system. The fourth astronomer royal, +Nathaniel Bliss, provided in two years a sequel of some value to +Bradley's performance. Nevil Maskelyne, who succeeded him in 1764, set +on foot, in 1767, the publication of the _Nautical Almanac_, and about +the same time had an achromatic telescope fitted to the Greenwich mural +quadrant. The invention, perfected by John Dollond in 1757, was long +debarred from becoming effective by difficulties in the manufacture of +glass, aggravated in England by a heavy excise duty levied until 1845. +More immediately efficacious was the innovation made by John Pond +(astronomer royal, 1811-1836) of substituting entire circles for +quadrants. He further introduced, in 1821, the method of duplicate +observations by direct vision and by reflection, and by these means +obtained results of very high precision. During Sir George Airy's long +term of office (1836-1881) exact astronomy and the traditional purposes +of the royal observatory were promoted with increased vigour, while the +scope of research was at the same time memorably widened. Magnetic, +meteorological, and spectroscopic departments were added to the +establishment; electricity was employed, through the medium of the +chronograph, for the registration of transits; and photography was +resorted to for the daily automatic record of the sun's condition. + + + Wargentin. + + Lacaille. + + Tobias Mayer. + + Lalande. + +Meanwhile, advances were being made in various parts of the continent of +Europe. Peter Wargentin (1717-1783), secretary to the Swedish Academy of +Sciences, made a special study of the Jovian system. James Bradley had +described to the Royal Society on the 2nd of July 1719 the curious +cyclical relations of the three inner satellites; and their period of +437 days was independently discovered by Wargentin, who based upon it in +1746 a set of tables, superseded only by those of J.B.J. Delambre in +1792. Among the fruits of the strenuous career of Nicolas Louis de +Lacaille were tables of the sun, in which terms depending upon planetary +perturbations were, for the first time, introduced (1758); an extended +acquaintance with the southern heavens; and a determination of the +moon's parallax from observations made at opposite extremities of an arc +of the meridian 85 deg. in length. Tobias Mayer of Gottingen (1723-1762) +originated the mode of adjusting transit-instruments still in vogue; +drew up a catalogue of nearly a thousand zodiacal stars (published +posthumously in 1775); and deduced the proper motions of eighty stars +from a comparison of their places as given by Olaus Romer in 1706 with +those obtained by himself in 1756. He executed besides a chart and forty +drawings of the moon (published at Gottingen in 1881), and calculated +lunar tables from a skilful development of Euler's theory, for which a +reward of L3000 was in 1765 paid to his widow by the British government. +They were published by the Board of Longitude, together with his solar +tables, in 1770. The material interests of navigation were in these +works primarily regarded; but the imaginative side of knowledge had +also potent representatives during the latter half of the 18th century. +In France, especially, the versatile activity of J.J. Lalande +popularized the acquisitions of astronomy, and enforced its demands; and +he had a German counterpart in J.E. Bode. + + + Distance of the sun. + +Between the time of Aristarchus and the opposition of Mars in 1672, no +serious attempt was made to solve the problem of the sun's distance. In +that year, however, Jean Richer at Cayenne and G.D. Cassini at Paris +made combined observations of the planet, which yielded a parallax for +the sun of 9.5", corresponding to a mean radius for the terrestrial +orbit of 87,000,000 m. This result, though widely inaccurate, came much +nearer to the truth than any previously obtained; and it instructively +illustrated the feasibility of concerted astronomical operations at +distant parts of the earth. The way was thus prepared for availing to +the full of the opportunities for a celestial survey offered by the +transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769. They had been signalized by E. +Halley in 1716; they were later insisted upon by Lalande; an enthusiasm +for co-operation was evoked, and the globe, from Siberia to Otaheite, +was studded with observing parties. The outcome, nevertheless, +disappointed expectation. The instants of contact between the limbs of +the sun and planet defied precise determination. Optical complications +fatally impeded sharpness of vision, and the phenomena took place in a +debateable borderland of uncertainty. J.F. Encke, it is true, derived +from them in 1822-1824 what seemed an authentic parallax of 8.57", +implying a distance of 95,370,000 m.; but the confidence it inspired was +finally overthrown in 1854 by P.A. Hansen's announcement of its +incompatibility with lunar theory. An appeal then lay to the 19th +century pair of transits in 1874 and 1882; but no peremptory decision +ensued; observations were marred by the same optical evils as before. +Their upshot, however, had lost its essential importance; for a fresh +series of investigations based on a variety of principles had already +been started. Leverrier, in 1858, calculated a value of 8.95" for the +solar parallax (equivalent to a distance of 91,000,000 m.) from the +"parallactic inequality" of the moon; Professor Newcomb, using other +forms of the gravitational method, derived in 1895 a parallax of 8.76". +Again, since the constant of aberration defines the ratio between the +velocity of light and the earth's orbital speed, the span of the +terrestrial circuit, in other words, the distance of the sun, is +immediately deducible from known values of the first two quantities. The +rate of light-transmission was accordingly made the subject of an +elaborate set of experiments by Professor Newcomb in 1880-1882; and the +result, taken in connexion with the aberration-constant as determined at +Pulkowa, yielded a solar parallax of 8.79", or a distance (in round +numbers) of 93,000,000 m. But the direct or geometrical mode of attack +has still the preference over any of the indirect plans. Sir David Gill +derived a highly satisfactory value of 8.78" for the long-sought +constant from the opposition of Mars in 1877, and from combined +heliometer observations at five observatories in 1888-1889 of the minor +planets Iris, Victoria and Sappho, the apparently definitive value of +8.80" (equivalent distance, 92,874,000 m.). But an unlooked-for fresh +opportunity was afforded by the discovery in 1898 of the singularly +circumstanced minor planet Eros, which occasionally approaches the earth +more nearly than any other heavenly body except the moon. The opposition +of November 1900, though only moderately favourable, could not be +neglected; an international photographic campaign was organized at Paris +with the aid of 58 observatories; and the voluminous collected data +imply, so far as they have been discussed, a parallax for the sun a +little greater than 8.8". (See also PARALLAX.) + + + Reflecting telescopes. + + William Herschel. + + Sir John Herschel. + + Lord Rosse. + +The first specimen of a reflecting telescope was constructed by Isaac +Newton in 1668. It was of what is still called "Newtonian" design, and +had a speculum 2 in. in diameter. Through the skill of John Hadley +(1682-1743) and James Short of Edinburgh (1710-1768) the instrument +unfolded, in the ensuing century, some of its capabilities, which the +labours of William Herschel enormously enhanced. Between 1774 and 1789 +he built scores of specula of continually augmented size, up to a +diameter of 4 ft., the optical excellence of which approved itself by a +crowd of discoveries. Uranus (q.v.) was recognized by its disk on the +13th of March 1781; two of its satellites, Oberon and Titania, disclosed +themselves on the 11th of January 1787; while with the giant 48-in. +mirror, used on the "front-view" plan, Mimas and Enceladus, the +innermost Saturnian moons, were brought to view on the 28th of August +and the 17th of September 1789. These were incidental trophies; +Herschel's main object was the exploration of the sidereal heavens. The +task, though novel and formidable, was executed with almost incredible +success. Charles Messier (1730-1817) had catalogued in 1781 103 nebulae; +Herschel discovered 2500, laid down the lines of their classification, +divined the laws of their distribution, and assigned their place in a +scheme of development. The proof supplied by him in 1802 that coupled +stars mutually circulate threw open a boundless field of research; and +he originated experimental inquiries into the construction of the +heavens by systematically collecting and sifting stellar statistics. He, +moreover, definitively established, in 1783, the fact and general +direction of the sun's movement in space, and thus introduced an element +of order into the maze of stellar proper motions. Sir John Herschel +continued in the northern, and extended to the southern hemisphere, his +father's work. The third earl of Rosse mounted, at Parsonstown in 1845, +a speculum 6 ft. in diameter, which afforded the first indications of +the spiral structure shown in recent photographs to be the most +prevalent characteristic of nebulae. Down to near the close of the 19th +century, both the use and the improvement of reflectors were left mainly +in British hands; but the gift of the "Crossley" instrument in 1895, to +the Lick observatory, and its splendid subsequent performances in +nebular photography, brought similar tools of research into extensive +use among American astronomers; and they are now, for many of the +various purposes of astrophysics, strongly preferred to refractors. + + + Giuseppe Piazzi. + + Max Wolf. + +Acquaintance with the asteroidal family began as the 19th century +opened. On the 1st of January 1801 Giuseppe Piazzi (1746-1826) +discovered Ceres, at Palermo, while engaged in collecting materials for +his star-catalogues. A prolonged succession of similar events followed. +But in the mode of detecting these swarming bodies, a typical change was +made on the 22nd of December 1891, when Dr Max Wolf of Heidelberg +photographically captured No. 323. Repetitions of the feat are now +counted by the score. + + + Lassell. + + Bond. + + Hall. + + Barnard. + + Perrine. + + W.H. Pickering. + +Practical astronomy was only secondarily concerned with the addition of +Neptune, on the 23rd of September 1846, to the company of known planets; +but William Lassell's discovery of its satellite, on the 10th of October +following, was a consequence of the perfect figure and high polish of +his 2-ft. speculum. With the same instrument, he further detected, on +the 19th of September 1848, Hyperion, the seventh of Saturn's +attendants, and, on the 24th of October 1851, Ariel and Umbriel, the +interior moons of Uranus. Simultaneously with Lassell, on the opposite +shore of the Atlantic, W.C. Bond identified Hyperion; and he perceived, +on the 15th of November 1850, Saturn's dusky ring, independently +observed, a fortnight later, by W.R. Dawes, at Wateringbury in Kent. +With the Washington 26-in. refractor, on the 11th of August 1877, +Professor Asaph Hall descried the moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos; and +a minute light-speck, noticed by Professor E.E. Barnard in the close +neighbourhood of Jupiter on the 9th of September 1892, proved +representative of a small inner satellite, invisible with less perfect +and powerful instruments than the Lick 36-in. achromatic. The Jovian +system has been reinforced by three remote and extremely faint members, +two photographed by Professor C.D. Perrine with the Crossley reflector +in 1904-1905, and the third at Greenwich in 1908; and a pair of +Saturnian moons, designated Phoebe and Themis, were tracked out by +Professor W.H. Pickering, in 1898 and 1905 respectively, amid the +thicket of stars imprinted on negatives taken at Arequipa with the Bruce +24-in. doublet lens. This raises to 26 the number of discovered +satellites in the solar system. + + + Comets. + + Meteors. + +Cometary science has ramified in unexpected ways during the last hundred +years. The establishment of a class of "short-period" comets by the +computations of J.F. Encke in 1819, and of Wilhelm von Biela in 1826, +led to the theory of their "capture" by the great planets, for which a +solid mathematical basis was provided by H. Newton, F. Tisserand and O. +Callandreau. An argument for the aboriginal connexion of comets with the +solar system, founded by R.C. Carrington in 1860 upon their +participation in its translatory movement, was more fully developed by +L. Fabry in 1893; and the close orbital relationships of cometary +groups, accentuated by the pursuit of each other along nearly the same +track by the comets of 1843, 1880 and 1882, singularly illustrated the +probable vicissitudes of their careers. The most remarkable event, +however, in the recent history of cometary astronomy was its +assimilation to that of meteors, which took unquestionable cosmical rank +as a consequence of the Leonid tempest of November 1833. The affinity of +the two classes of objects became known in 1866 through G.V. +Schiaparelli's announcement that the orbit of the bright comet of 1862 +agreed strictly with the elliptic ring formed by the circulating Perseid +meteors; and three other cases of close coincidence were soon afterwards +brought to light. Tebbutt's comet in 1881 was the first to be +satisfactorily photographed. The study of such objects is now carried on +mainly through the agency of the sensitive plate. The photographic +registration of meteor-trails, too, has been lately attempted with +partial success. The full realization of the method will doubtless +provide adequate data for the detailed investigation of meteoric paths. + + + Sidereal astronomy. + + Star catalogues. + +The progress of science during the 19th century had no more distinctive +feature than the rapid growth of sidereal astronomy (see STAR). Its +scope, wide as the universe, can be compassed no otherwise than by +statistical means, and the collection of materials for this purpose +involves most arduous preliminary labour. The multitudinous enrolment of +stars was the first requisite. Only one "catalogue of precision"--Nevil +Maskelyne's of 36 fundamental stars--was available in 1800. J.J. +Lalande, however, published in 1801, in his _Histoire celeste_, the +approximate places of 47,390 from a re-observation of which the great +Paris catalogue (1887-1892) has been compiled. A valuable catalogue of +about 7600 stars was issued by Giuseppe Piazzi in 1814; Stephen +Groombridge determined 4239 at Blackheath in 1806-1816; while through +the joint and successive work of F.W. Bessel and W.A. Argelander, exact +acquaintance was made with 90,000, a more general acquaintance with the +324,000 stars recorded in the _Bonn Durchmusterung_ (1859-1862). The +southern hemisphere was subsequently reviewed on a similar duplicate +plan by E. Schonfeld (1828-1891) at Bonn, by B.A. Gould and J.M. Thome +at Cordoba. Moreover, the imposing catalogue set on foot in 1865 at +thirteen observatories by the German astronomical society has recently +been completed; and adjuncts to it have, from time to time, been +provided in the publications of the royal observatories at Greenwich and +the Cape of Good Hope, and of national, imperial and private +establishments in the United States and on the continent of Europe. But +in the execution of these protracted undertakings, the human eye has +been, to a large and increasing extent, superseded by the camera. +Photographic star-charting was begun by Sir David Gill in 1885, and the +third and concluding volume of the _Cape Photographic Durchmusterung_ +appeared in 1900. It gives the co-ordinates of above 450,000 stars, +measured by Professor J.C. Kapteyn at Groningen on plates taken by C. +Ray Woods at the Cape observatory. And this comprehensive work was +merely preparatory to the International Catalogue and Chart, the +production of which was initiated by the resolutions of the Paris +Photographic Congress of 1887. Eighteen observatories scattered north +and south of the equator divided the sky among them; and the outcome of +their combined operations aimed at the production of a catalogue of at +least 2,000,000 strictly determined stars, together with a colossal map +in 22,000 sheets, showing stars to the fourteenth magnitude, in numbers +difficult to estimate. (Sea PHOTOGRAPHY, CELESTIAL.) + + + Photometric catalogues. + +The arrangement of the stars in space can be usefully discussed only in +connexion with their apparent light-power, or "magnitude." Photometric +catalogues, accordingly, form an indispensable part of stellar +statistics; and their construction has been zealously prosecuted. The +_Harvard Photometry_ of 4260 lucid stars was issued by Professor E.C. +Pickering in 1884, the _Uranometria Nova Oxoniensis_, giving the +relative lustre of 2784 stars, by C. Pritchard in 1885. The instrument +used at Harvard was a "meridian photometer," constructed on the +principle of polarization; while the "method of extinctions," by means +of a wedge of neutral-tinted glass, served for the Oxford +determinations. At Potsdam, some 17,000 stars have been measured by +C.H.G. Muller and P.F.F. Kempf with a polarizing photometer; but by far +the most comprehensive work of the kind is the Harvard _Photometric +Durchmusterung_ (1901-1903), embracing all stars to 7.5 magnitude, and +extended to the southern pole by measurements executed at Arequipa. The +embarrassing subject of photographic photometry has also been attacked +by Professor Pickering. The need is urgent of fixing a scale, and +defining standards of actinic brightness; but it has not yet been +successfully met. + + + Double stars. + +The investigation of double stars was carried on from 1819 to 1850 with +singular persistence and ability at Dorpat and Pulkowa by F.G.W. Struve, +and by his son and successor, O.W. Struve. The high excellence of the +data collected by them was a combined result of their skill, and of the +vast improvement in refracting telescopes due to the genius of Joseph +Fraunhofer (1787-1826). Among the inheritors of his renown were Alvan +Clark and Alvan G. Clark of Cambridgeport, Massachusetts; and the superb +definition of their great achromatics rendered practicable the division +of what might have been deemed impossibly close star-pairs. These +facilities were remarkably illustrated by Professor S.W. Burnham's +record of discovery, which roused fresh enthusiasm for this line of +inquiry by compelling recognition of the extraordinary profusion +throughout the heavens of compound objects. Discoveries with the +spectroscope have ratified and extended this conclusion. + + + Stellar parallax. + +Only spurious star-parallaxes had claimed the attention of astronomers +until F.W. Bessel announced, in December 1838, the perspective yearly +shifting of 61 Cygni in an ellipse with a mean radius of about one-third +of a second. Thomas Henderson (1798-1844) had indeed measured the larger +displacements of [alpha] Centauri at the Cape in 1832-1833, but delayed +until 1839 to publish his result. Out of several hundred stars since +then examined, seventy or eighty have yielded fairly accurate, though +very small parallaxes. But this amount of knowledge, however valuable in +itself, is utterly inadequate to the needs of sidereal research; and +various attempts have accordingly been made, chiefly by Professors J.C. +Kapteyn and Simon Newcomb, to estimate, through the analysis of their +proper motions, the "mean parallax" of stars assorted by magnitude. And +the data thus arrived at are reassuringly self-consistent. A wide +photographic survey, by which parallaxes might be secured wholesale, has +further been recommended by Kapteyn; but is unlikely to be undertaken in +the immediate future. + + + Proper motions. + +The exhaustive ascertainment of stellar parallaxes, combined with the +visible facts of stellar distribution, would enable us to build a +perfect plan of the universe in three dimensions. Its perfection would, +nevertheless, be undermined by the mobility of all its constituent +parts. Their configuration at a given instant supplies no information as +to their configuration hereafter unless the mode and laws of their +movements have been determined. Hence, one of the leading inducements +to the construction of exact and comprehensive catalogues has been to +elicit, by comparisons of those for widely separated epochs, the proper +motions of the stars enumerated in them. Little was known on the subject +at the beginning of the 19th century. William Herschel founded his +determination in 1783 of the sun's route in space upon the movements of +thirteen stars; and he took into account those of only six in his second +solution of the problem in 1805. But in 1837 Argelander employed 390 +proper motions as materials for the treatment of the same subject; and +L. Struve had at his disposal, in 1887, no less than 2800. From the +re-observation of Lalande's stars, after the lapse of not far from a +century, J. Bossert was enabled to deduce 2675 proper motions, published +at Paris in four successive memoirs, 1887-1902; and the sum-total of +those ascertained probably now exceeds 6000. Yet this number, although +it represents a portentous expenditure of labour, is insignificant +compared with the multitude of the stellar throng; nor had any general +tendency been discerned to regulate what seemed casual flittings until +Professor Kapteyn, in 1904, adverted to the prevalence among all the +brighter stars of opposite stream-flows towards two "vertices" situated +in the Milky Way (see STAR). The assured general fact as regards the +direction of stellar movements was that they included a common +parallactic element due to the sun's translation. And it is by the +consideration of this partial accordance in motion that the advance +through space of the solar system has been ascertained. + + + Astrophysics. + + Spectrum analysis. + +The apex of the sun's way was fixed by Professor Newcomb in 1898 at a +point about 4 deg. S. of the brilliant star Vega; but was shifted nearly +7 deg. to the S.W. by J.C. Kapteyn's inquiry in 1901; so that the range +of uncertainty as to its position continues unsatisfactorily wide. The +speed with which our system progresses is, on the other hand, fairly +well known. It cannot differ much from 12-1/2 m. a second, the rate +assigned to it by Professor W.W. Campbell in 1902. He employed in his +discussion the radial velocities of 280 stars, spectroscopically +determined; and the upshot signally exemplified the community of +interests between the rising science of astrophysics and the ancient +science of astrometry. Their characteristic purposes are, nevertheless, +entirely different. The positions of the heavenly bodies in space, and +the changes of those positions with time, constitute the primary subject +of investigation by the elder school; while the new astronomy concerns +itself chiefly with the individual peculiarities of suns and planets, +with their chemistry, physical habitudes and modes of luminosity. Its +distinctive method is spectrum analysis, the invention and development +of which in the 19th century have fundamentally altered the purpose and +prospects of celestial inquiries. + + + Wollaston. + + Fraunhofer. + + Kirchhoff. + + Chemistry of the sun. + +A beam of sunlight admitted into a darkened room through a narrow +aperture, and there dispersed into a vario-tinted band by the +interposition of a prism, is not absolutely continuous. Dr W.H. +Wollaston made the experiment in 1802, and perceived the spaces of +colour to be interrupted by seven obscure gaps, which took the shape of +lines owing to his use of rectangular slit. He thus caught a preliminary +glimpse of the "Fraunhofer lines," so called because Joseph Fraunhofer +brought them into prominent notice by the diligence and insight of his +labours upon them in 1814-1815. He mapped 324, chose out nine, which he +designated by the letters of the alphabet, to be standards of +measurement for the rest, and ascertained the coincidence in position +between the double yellow ray derived from the flame of burning sodium +and the pair of dark lines named by him "D" in the solar spectrum. There +ensued forty-five years of groping for a law which should clear up the +enigma of the solar reversals. Partial anticipations abounded. The vital +heart of the matter was barely missed by W.A. Miller in 1845, by L. +Foucault in 1849, by A.J. Angstrom in 1853, by Balfour Stewart in 1858; +while Sir George Stokes held the solution of the problem in the hollow +of his hand from 1852 onward. But it was the synthetic genius of Gustav +Kirchhoff which first gave unity to the scattered phenomena, and finally +reconciled what was elicited in the laboratory with what was observed in +the sun. On the 15th of December 1859 he communicated to the Berlin +Academy of Sciences the principle which bears his name. Its purport is +that glowing vapours similarly circumstanced absorb the identical +radiations which they emit. That is to say, they stop out just those +sections of white light transmitted through them which form their own +special luminous badges. Moreover, if the white light come from a source +at a higher temperature than theirs, the sections, or lines, absorbed by +them show dark against a continuous background. And this is precisely +the case with the sun. Kirchhoff's principle, accordingly, not only +afforded a simple explanation of the Fraunhofer lines, but availed to +found a far-reaching science of celestial chemistry. Thousands of the +dark lines in the solar spectrum agree absolutely in wave-length with +the bright rays artificially obtained from known substances, and +appertaining to them individually. These substances must then exist near +the sun. They are in fact suspended in a state of vapour between our +eyes and the photosphere, the dazzling prismatic radiance of which they, +to a minute extent, intercept, thus writing their signatures on the +coloured scroll of dispersed sunshine. By persistent research, +powerfully aided by the photographic camera and by the concave gratings +invented by H.A. Rowland (1848-1901) in 1882, about forty terrestrial +elements have been identified in the sun. Among them, iron, sodium, +magnesium, calcium and hydrogen are conspicuous; but it would be rash to +assert that any of the seventy forms of matter provisionally enumerated +in text-books are wholly absent from his composition. + + + Solar eclipses. + +Solar physics has profited enormously by the abolition of glare during +total eclipses. That of the 8th of July 1842 was the first to be +efficiently observed; and the luminous appendages to the sun disclosed +by it were such as to excite startled attention. Their investigation has +since been diligently prosecuted. The corona was photographed at +Konigsberg during the totality of the 28th of July 1851; similar records +of the red prominences, successively obtained by Father Angelo Secchi +and Warren de la Rue, as the shadow-track crossed Spain on the 18th of +July 1860, finally demonstrated their solar status. The Indian eclipse +of the 18th of August 1868 supplied knowledge of their spectrum, found +to include the yellow ray of an exotic gas named by Sir Norman Lockyer +"helium." It further suggested, to Lockyer and P. Janssen separately, +the spectroscopic method of observing these objects in daylight. Under +cover of an eclipse visible in North America on the 7th of August 1869, +the bright green line of the corona was discerned; and Professor C.A. +Young caught the "flash spectrum" of the reversing layer, at the moment +of second contact, at Xerez de la Frontera in Spain, on the 22nd of +December 1870. This significant but evanescent phenomenon, which +represents the direct emissions of a low-lying solar envelope, was +photographed by William Shackleton on the occasion of an eclipse in +Novaya Zemlya on the 9th of August 1896; and it has since been +abundantly registered by exposures made during the obscurations of 1898, +1900, 1901 and 1905. A singular and unlooked-for result of eclipse-work +has been to include the corona within the scope of solar periodicity. +Heinrich Schwabe established, in 1851, the cyclical variation, in eleven +years, of spot-frequency; terrestrial magnetic disturbances manifestly +obeyed the same law; and the peculiar winged aspect of the corona +disclosed by the eclipse of the 29th of July 1878, at an epoch of +minimum sun-spots, intimated to A.C. Ranyard a theory of coronal types, +changing concurrently with the fluctuations of spot-activity. This was +amply verified at subsequent eclipses. + + + Prominence photography. + +The photography of prominences was, after some preliminary trials by +C.A. Young and others, fully realized in 1891 by Professor George E. +Hale at Chicago, and independently by Henri Deslandres at Paris. The +pictures were taken, in both cases, with only one quality of light; the +violet ray of calcium, the remaining superfluous beams being eliminated +by the agency of a double slit. The last-named expedient had been +described by Janssen in 1867. Hale devised on the same principle the +"spectroheliograph," an instrument by which the sun's disk can be +photographed in calcium-light by imparting a rapid movement to its image +relatively to the sensitive plate; and the method has proved in many +ways fruitful. + + + Stellar spectroscopy. + +The likeness of the sun to the stars has been shown by the spectroscope +to be profound and inherent. Yet the general agreement of solar and +stellar chemistry does not exclude important diversities of detail. +Fraunhofer was the pioneer in this branch. He observed, in 1823, dark +lines in stellar spectra which Kirchhoff's discovery supplied the means +of interpreting. The task, attempted by G.B. Donati in 1860, was +effectively taken in hand, two years later, by Angelo Secchi, William +Huggins and Lewis M. Rutherfurd. There ensued a general classification +of the stars by Secchi into four leading types, distinguished by +diversities of spectral pattern; and the recognition by Huggins of a +considerable number of terrestrial elements as present in stellar +atmospheres. Nebular chemistry was initiated by the same investigator +when, on the 29th of August 1864, he observed the bright-line spectrum +of a planetary nebula in Draco. About seventy analogous objects, +including that in the Sword of Orion, were found by him to give light of +the same quality; and thus after seventy-three years, verification was +brought to William Herschel's hypothesis of a "shining fluid" diffused +through space, the possible raw material of stars. In 1874, Dr H.C. +Vogel published a modification of Secchi's scheme of stellar +diversities, and gave it organic meaning by connecting spectral +differences with advance in "age." And in 1895, he set apart, as in the +earliest stage of growth, a new class of "helium stars," supposed to +develop successively into Sirian, solar, Antarian, or alternatively into +carbon stars. + + + Spectra of comets. + +On the 5th of August 1864, G.B. Donati analysed the light of a small +comet into three bright bands. Sir William Huggins repeated the +experiment on Winnecke's comet in 1868, obtained the same bands, and +traced them to their origin from glowing carbon-vapour. A photograph of +the spectrum of Tebbutt's comet, taken by him on the 24th of June 1881, +showed radiations of shorter wave-lengths but identical source, and in +addition, a percentage of reflected solar light marked as such by the +presence of some well-known Fraunhofer lines. Further experience has +generalized these earlier results. The rule that comets yield +carbon-spectra has scarcely any exceptions. The usual bands were, +however, temporarily effaced in the two brilliant apparitions of 1882 by +vivid rays of sodium and iron, emitted during the excitement of +perihelion-passage. + + + Progress in spectrography. + +The adoption, by Sir William Huggins in 1876, of gelatine or dry plates +in celestial photography was a change of decisive import. For it made +long exposures possible; and only with long exposures could autographic +impressions be secured of such faint objects as nebulae, telescopic +comets, and the immense majority of stars, or of the dim ranges of +stellar and nebular spectra. The first conspicuous triumph of the new +"spectrographic" art thus established was the record by Huggins in 1879 +of the dispersed light of several "white" or Sirian stars, in which the +chief traits of absorption were the rhythmical series of hydrogen-lines, +then memorably discovered. Again by Sir William Huggins, the spectrum of +the Orion nebula was photographed on the 7th of March 1882; and the +method has gradually become nearly exclusive in the study of nebular +emanations. The "Draper Catalogue" of 10,351 stellar spectra was +published by Professor E.C. Pickering in 1890. The materials for it were +rapidly accumulated by the use of an objective prism, that is, of a +prism placed in front of, instead of behind the object-lens, by which +means the spectra of all the stars in the field, to the number often of +many score, imprinted themselves simultaneously on the sensitive plate. +The progress of this survey was marked by a number of important +discoveries of "new" and variable stars and of spectroscopic binaries, +mainly through the acumen of Mrs Williamina Paton Fleming of Harvard +College in scrutinizing the negatives forming the data for the great +catalogue. + + + Doppler's principle. + +The principle that the refrangibility of light is altered by end-on +motion was enunciated by Christian Doppler of Prague in 1842. The pitch +of a steam-whistle quite obviously rises and falls as the engine to +which it is attached approaches and recedes from a stationary auditor; +and light-pulses are modified like sound-waves by velocity in the line +of sight. They are crowded together and therefore rendered shorter and +more frequent by the advance of their source, but drawn apart and +lengthened by its recession. These effects vary with the rate of motion, +which they consequently serve to measure; and they are produced +indifferently by movements of the spectator or of the light-source. But +Doppler's idea that they might be detected by colour-change was entirely +illusory. It would apply only if the spectrum had no infra-red and +ultraviolet extensions. These, however, since they share the general +lengthening or shortening of wave-length through motion, are thereby +shifted, to a certain definite extent, into visibility, and so produce +accurate chromatic compensation. Integrated light, accordingly, tells +nothing about velocity; but analysed light does, when it includes bright +or dark rays the normal positions of which are known. The distinction +was pointed out by Hippolyte Fizeau in 1848. By comparison with their +analogues in the laboratory it can be determined whether, in which +direction, and how much, lines of recognized origin are displaced in the +spectra of the heavenly bodies. This subtle mode of research was made +available by Sir William Huggins in 1868. He employed it, with an +outcome of striking promise, to measure the radial speed of some of the +brighter stars. In the following year, Sir Norman Lockyer was enabled to +prove, by its means, the extraordinary vehemence of chromospheric +disturbances, the bright prominence-rays in his spectroscope betraying, +through their opposite shiftings, movements and counter-movements up to +120 m. a second; while its validity and refinement were, in 1871, +vouched for by H.C. Vogel's observations on the 9th of June 1871, of +differences due to the sun's rotation in the refrangibility of +Fraunhofer lines derived respectively from the east and west limbs. +Stellar line-of-sight work, however, made no satisfactory progress +until, in 1888, Vogel changed the _venue_ from the eye to the camera. A +high degree of precision in measurement thus became attainable, and has +since been fully attained. Not only the grosser facts concerning radial +velocity, but variations in it so small as a mile, or less, per second, +have been recorded and interpreted in terms of deep meaning. For the +investigation of the general scheme of sidereal structure, the +multiplication of results of the kind is indispensable. But as yet, the +recessional or approaching movements of only a few hundred stars have +been registered; and this store of information is scanty indeed compared +with the needs of research. How the stars really move in space, and how +the sun travels among them, can be ascertained only with the aid of +materials collected by the spectrograph, which has now fortunately been +brought to comply with the arduous conditions of exactitude requisite +for collaboration with the transit instrument and its allies, the clock +and chronograph. And here, to their great mutual advantage, the old and +the new astronomies meet and join forces. + + AUTHORITIES.--R. Grant, _History of Physical Astronomy_ (1852); Sir G. + Cornewall Lewis, _An Historical Survey of the Astronomy of the + Ancients_ (1862); J.B.J. Delambre, _Hist. de l'astr. ancienne; Hist. + de l'astr. au moyen age; Hist. de l'astr. moderne; Hist, de l'astr. au + XVIII^e siecle_; J.S. Bailly, _Histoire de l'astronomie_ (5 vols., + 1775-1787); J.F. Weidler, _Historia Astronomiae_ (1741); J.H. Madler, + _Geschichte der Himmelskunde_ (1873); R. Wolf, _Geschichte der + Astronomie_ (1876); _Handbuch der Astronomie_ (1890-1892); W. Whewell, + _Hist. of the Inductive Sciences_; A.M. Clerke, _Hist. of Astronomy + during the 19th Century_ (4th ed., 1903); A. Berry, _Hist. of + Astronomy_ (1898); J.K. Schaubach, _Geschichte der griechischen + Astronomie bis auf Eratosthenes_ (1802); Th. H. Martin, "Memoire sur + l'histoire des hypotheses astronomiques," _Memoires de l'lnstitut_, t. + xxx. (Paris, 1881); P. Tannery, _Recherches sur l'histoire de + l'astronomie ancienne_ (1893); O. Gruppe, _Die kosmischen Systeme der + Griechen_ (1851); G.V. Schiaparelli, _I Precursori del Copernico_ + (1873); _Le Sfere Omocentriche di Eudosso_ (1875); P. Jensen, + _Kosmologie der Babylonier_ (1890); F.X. Kugler, _Die babylonische + Mondrechnung_ (1900); J. Epping and J.N. Strassmeier, _Astronomisches + aus Babylon_ (1889); F.K. Ginzel, _Die astronomischen Kenntnisse der + Babylonier_ (1901); C.L. Ideler, _Historische Untersuchungen uber die + astronomischen Beobachtungen der Alten_ (1806); _Handbuch der math. + Chronologie_ (2 vols., 1825-1826); _Untersuchungen uber den Ursprung + der Sternnamen_ (1809); G. Costard, _History of Astronomy_ (1767); J. + Narrien, _An Historical Account of the Origin and Progress of + Astronomy_ (1833); J.L.E. Dreyer, _Hist. of the Planetary Systems_ + (1906); G.W. Hill, "Progress of Celestial Mechanics," _The + Observatory_, vol. xix. (1896). (A. M. C.) + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [1] _The Observatory_, Nos. 231-234, 1895. + + [2] _Observations of Comets_, translated from the Chinese _Annals_ by + John Williams, F.S.A. (1871). + + [3] J.L.E. Dreyer, _Proc. Roy. Irish Acad._ vol. iii. No. 7 (December + 1881). + + [4] F.K. Ginzel, "Die astronomischen Kenntnisse der Babylonier," C.F. + Lehmann, _Beitrage zur alten Geschichte_, Heft i. p. 6 (1901). + + [5] _Knowledge and Scientific News_, vol. i. pp. 2, 228. + + [6] _Astronomisches aus Babylon_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1889). + + [7] Ginzel, loc. cit. Heft ii. p. 204. + + [8] _Die babylonische Mondrechnung_, p. 50 (1900). + + [9] S. Newcomb, _Astr. Nach._ No. 3682; P.H. Cowell, _Month. Notices + Roy. Astr. Soc._ lxv. 867. + + [10] G.V. Schiaparelli, _I Precursori del Copernico_, pp. 23-28, + Pubbl. del R. Osservatorio di Brera, No. iii. (1873). + + [11] G.V. Schiaparelli, _I Precursori del Copernico_, pp. 23-28, + Pubbl. del R. Osservatorio di Brera, No. ix. + + [12] Marie. _Hist. des sciences_, t. i. p. 79; P. Tannery, _Hist. de + l'astronomie ancienne_, ch. v. p. 115. + + [13] Published by H.C. Schjellerup in a French translation (St + Petersburg, 1874). + + [14] Newcomb, _Researches on the Motion of the Moon_, Washington + Observations for 1875, Appendix ii. p. 20. + + [15] F. Baily, _Memoirs Roy. Astr. Society_, vol. xiii. p. 19. + + [16] J.L.E. Dreyer, _Life of Tycho Brahe_, p. 321. + + + + +ASTROPALIA (classical _Astypalaea_), an island, with good harbours, in +the south part of the Aegean, situated in 36.5 deg. N. and immediately +west of 26.5 deg. E. It was colonized by Megara, and its constitution +and buildings are known from numerous inscriptions. The Roman emperors +recognized it as a free state, and in the middle ages it was called +_Stampalia_, and belonged to the noble Venetian family of Quirini. It +was taken by the Turks in the 16th century, and is now noted for its +sponges. The customs and dress of the people, who speak a patois of +romaic origin, are interesting. + + + + +ASTROPHYSICS, the branch of astronomical science which treats of the +physical constitution of the heavenly bodies. So long as these bodies +could be known to men only as points or disks of light in the sky, no +such science was possible. Even later, when the telescope was the only +instrument of research, knowledge on this subject was confined to the +appearances presented by the planets, supplemented by more or less +probable inferences as to the nature of their surfaces. When, in the +third quarter of the 19th century, spectrum analysis was applied to the +light coming to us from the heavenly bodies, a new era in astronomical +science was opened up of such importance that the body of knowledge +revealed by this method has sometimes been termed the "new astronomy." +The development of the method has been greatly assisted by photography, +while the application of photometric measurements has been a powerful +auxiliary in the work. It has thus come about that astrophysics owes its +recent development, and its recognition as a distinct branch of +astronomical science, to the combination of the processes involved in +the three arts of spectroscopy, photography and photometry. The most +general conclusions reached by this combination may be summed up as +follows:-- + +1. The heavenly bodies are composed of like matter with that which we +find to make up our globe. The sun and stars are found to contain the +more important elements with which chemistry has made us acquainted. +Iron, calcium and hydrogen may be especially mentioned as three familiar +chemical elements which enter largely into the constitution of all the +matter of the heavens. It would be going too far to say that all the +elements known to us exist in the sun or the stars; nor is the question +whether the rarer ones can or cannot be found there of prime importance. +The general fact of identity in the main constituents is the one of most +fundamental importance. It would be going too far in the other direction +to claim that all the elements which compose the heavenly bodies are +found on the earth. There are many lines in the spectra of the stars, as +well as of the nebulae, which are not certainly identified with those +belonging to any elements known to our chemistry. The recent discoveries +growing out of the investigation of newly discovered forms of radiation +lead to the conclusion that the question of the forms of matter in the +stars has far wider range than the simple question whether any given +element is or is not found outside our earth. The question is rather +that of the infinity of forms that matter may assume, including that +most attenuated form found in the nebulae, which seem to be composed of +matter more refined than even the atoms supposed to make up the matter +around us. + +2. The second conclusion is that, as a general rule, the incandescent +heavenly bodies are not masses of solid or liquid matter as formerly +assumed, but mainly masses either of gas, or of substances gaseous in +their nature, so compressed by the gravitation of their superincumbent +parts toward a common centre that their properties combine those of the +three forms of matter known to us. We have strong reason to believe that +even the sun, though much denser than the general average of the stars, +may possibly be characterized as gaseous rather than solid. +Probabilities also seem to favour the view that this may, to a certain +extent, be true of the four great planets of our system. The case of +bodies like our earth and Mars, which are solid either superficially or +throughout, is probably confined to the smaller bodies of the universe. + +3. A third characteristic which seems to belong to the great bodies of +the universe is the very high temperature of their interior. With a +modification to be mentioned presently, we may regard them as intensely +hot bodies, probably at a temperature higher than any we can produce by +artificial means, of which the superficial portions have cooled off by +radiation into space. A modification in this proposition which may +hereafter be accepted involves an extension of our ideas of temperature, +and leads us to regard the interior heat of the heavenly bodies as due +to a form of molecular activity similar to that of which radium affords +so remarkable an instance. This modification certainly avoids many +difficulties connected with the question of the interior heat of the +earth, sun, Jupiter and probably all the larger heavenly bodies. + +A limit is placed on our knowledge of astrophysics which, up to the +present time, we have found no means of overstepping. This is imposed +upon us by the fact that it is only when matter is in a gaseous form +that the spectroscope can give us certain knowledge as to its physical +condition. So long as bodies are in the solid state the light which they +emit, though different in different substances, has no characteristic so +precisely marked that detailed conclusions can be drawn as to the nature +of the substance emitting it. Even in a liquid form, the spectrum of any +kind of matter is less characteristic than that of gas. Moreover, a +gaseous body of uniform temperature, and so dense as to be +non-transparent, does not radiate the characteristic spectrum of the gas +of which it is composed. Precise conclusions are possible only when a +gaseous body is transparent through and through, so that the gas emits +its characteristic rays--or when the rays from an incandescent body of +any kind pass through a gaseous envelope at a temperature lower than +that of the body itself. In this case the revelations of the +spectroscope relate only to the constitution of the gaseous envelope, +and not to the body below the envelope, from which the light emanates. +The outcome of this drawback is that our knowledge of the chemical +constitution of the stars and planets is still confined to their +atmospheres, and that conclusions as to the constitution of the interior +masses which form them must be drawn by other methods than the +spectroscopic one. + +When the spectroscope was first applied in astronomy, it was hoped that +the light reflected from living matter might be found to possess some +property different from that found in light reflected from non-living +matter, and that we might thus detect the presence of life on the +surface of a planet by a study of its spectrum; but no hope of this kind +has so far been realized. + +We have, in this brief view of the subject, referred mainly to the +results of spectrum analysis. Growing out of, but beyond this method is +the beginning of a great branch of research which may ultimately explain +many heretofore enigmatical phenomena of nature. The discovery of +radio-activity may, by explaining the interior heat of the great bodies +of the universe, solve a difficulty which since the middle of the 19th +century has been discussed by physicists and geologists--that of +reconciling the long duration which geologists claim for the crust of +the earth with the period during which physicists have deemed it +possible that the sun should have radiated heat. Evidence is also +accumulating to show that the sun and stars are radio-active bodies, and +that emanations proceeding from the sun, and reaching the earth, have +important relations to the phenomena of Terrestrial Magnetism and the +Aurora. + +The subject of Astrophysics does not admit of so definite a subdivision +as that of Astrometry. The conclusions which researches relating to it +have so far reached are treated in the articles STAR; SUN; COMET; +NEBULA; AURORA POLARIS, &c. (S. N.) + + + + +ASTRUC, JEAN (1684-1766), French physician and Biblical critic, was born +on the 19th of March 1684 at Sauve, in Languedoc. He graduated in +medicine at Montpellier in 1703, and in 1710 he was appointed to the +chair of anatomy at Toulouse, which he retained till 1717, when he +became professor of medicine at Montpellier. Subsequently he was +appointed successively superintendent of the mineral waters of Languedoc +(1721), first physician to the king of Poland (1729), and regius +professor of medicine at Paris (1731). He died on the 5th of May 1766 at +Paris. Of his numerous works, that on which his fame principally rests +is the treatise entitled _De Morbis Venereis libri sex_, 1736. In +addition to other medical works he published anonymously _Conjectures +sur les memoires originaux dont il parait que Moyse s'est servi pour +composer le livre de la Genese_, (1753), in which he pointed out that +two main sources can be traced in the book of Genesis; and two +dissertations on the immateriality and immortality of the soul, 1755. + + See Hauck, _Realencyk. f. prot. Theol._, 1897, vol. ii. pp. 162-170. + + + + +ASTURA, formerly an island, now a peninsula, on the coast of Latium, +Italy, 7 m. S.E. of Antium, at the S.E. extremity of the Bay of Antium. +The name also belongs to the river which flowed into the sea immediately +to the S.E., at the mouth of which there was, according to Strabo, an +anchorage. The medieval castle of the Frangipani, in which Conradin of +Swabia vainly sought refuge after the battle of Tagliacozza in 1268, is +built upon the foundations of a very large villa, of _opus reticulatum_ +with later additions in brickwork, and with a small harbour attached to +it on the south-east. Remains of buildings also exist behind the sand +dunes, which possibly mark the line of the channel which separated the +island from the mainland, and these may have belonged to the +post-station on the Via Severiana. As far as can be seen at present, +there are remains of only one villa on the island itself;[1] but along +the coast a mile to the north-west a line of villas begins, which +continues as far as Antium. To the south-east, on the other hand, +remains are almost entirely absent, and this portion of the coast seems +to have been as sparsely populated in Roman times as it is now. The +island seems to have existed as such in the time of Pope Honorius III. +Astura was the site of a favourite villa of Cicero, whither he retired +on the death of his daughter Tullia in 453 B.C. It appears to have been +unhealthy even in Roman times; according to Suetonius, both Augustus and +Tiberius contracted here the illnesses which proved fatal to them. + + See T. Ashby, in _Melanges de l'Ecole Francaise de Rome_ (1905), p. + 207. (T. As.) + + +FOOTNOTE: + + [1] Servius, in speaking of it as _oppidum_, must be referring to the + post-station. + + + + +ASTURIAS, an ancient province and principality of northern Spain, +bounded on the N. by the Bay of Biscay, E. by Old Castile, S. by Leon +and W. by Galicia. Pop. (1900) 627,069; area, 4205 sq. m. By the +division of Spain in 1833, the province took the name of Oviedo, though +not to the exclusion, in ordinary usage, of the older designation. A +full description of its modern condition is therefore given under the +heading OVIEDO; the present article being confined to an account of its +physical features, its history, and the resultant character of its +inhabitants. Asturias consists of a portion of the northern slope of the +Cantabrian Mountains, and is covered in all directions with offshoots +from the main chain, by which it is almost completely shut in on the +south. The higher summits, which often reach a height of 7000-8000 ft., +are usually covered with snow until July or August, and the whole region +is one of the wildest and most picturesque parts of Spain. Until the +first railway was opened, in the middle of the 19th century, few of the +passes across the mountains were practicable for carriages, and most of +them are difficult even for horses. A narrow strip of level moorland, +covered with furze and rich in deposits of peat, coal and amber, +stretches inland, from the edge of the sheer cliffs which line the +coast, to the foot of the mountains. The province is watered by numerous +streams and rivers, which have hollowed out deep valleys; but owing to +the narrowness of the level tract, their courses are short, rapid and +subject to floods. The most important is the Nalon or Pravia, which +receives the waters of the Caudal, the Trubia and the Narcea, and has a +course of 62 m.; after it rank the Navia and the Sella. The estuaries of +these rivers are rarely navigable, and along the entire littoral, a +distance of 130 m., the only important harbours are at Gijon and Aviles. + +A country so rugged, and so isolated by land and sea, naturally served +as the last refuge of the older races of Spain when hard pressed by +successive invaders. Before the Roman conquest, the Iberian tribe of +Astures had been able to maintain itself independent of the +Carthaginians, and to extend its territory as far south as the Douro. It +was famous for its wealth in horses and gold. About 25 B.C., the Romans +subjugated the district south of the Cantabrians, to which they gave the +name of Augustana. Their capital was Asturica Augusta, the modern +Astorga, in Leon. The warlike mountaineers of the northern districts, +known as Transmontana, never altogether abandoned their hostility to the +Romans, whose rule was ended by the Visigothic conquest, late in the 5th +century. In 713, two years after the defeat and death of Roderick, the +last Visigothic king, all Spain, except Galicia and Asturias, fell into +the hands of the Moors. One of the surviving Christian leaders, Pelayo +the Goth, took refuge with three hundred followers in the celebrated +cave of Covadonga, or Cobadonga, near Cangas de Onis, and from this +hiding-place undertook the Christian reconquest of Spain. The Asturians +chose him as their king in 718, and although Galicia was lost in 734, +the Moors proved unable to penetrate into the remoter fastnesses held by +the levies of Pelayo. After his death in 737, the Asturians continued to +offer the same heroic resistance, and ultimately enabled the people of +Galicia, Leon and Castile to recover their liberty. The title of prince +of Asturias, conferred on the heir-apparent to the crown of Spain, dates +from 1388, when it was first bestowed on a Castilian prince. The title +of count of Covadonga is assumed by the kings of Spain. In modern times +Asturias formed a captaincy-general, divided into Asturias d'Oviedo, +which corresponds with the limits of the ancient principality, and +Asturias de Santillana, which now constitutes the western half of +Santander. + +Owing to their almost entire immunity from any alien domination except +that of the Romans and Goths, the Asturians may perhaps be regarded as +the purest representatives of the Iberian race; while their dialect +(_linguaje bable_) is sometimes held to be closely akin to the parent +speech from which modern Castilian is derived. It is free from Moorish +idioms, and, like Galician and Portuguese it often retains the original +Latin _f_ which Castilian changes into _h_. In physique, the Asturians +are like the Galicians, a people of hardy mountaineers and fishermen, +finely built, but rarely handsome, and with none of the grace of the +Castilian or Andalusian. Unlike the Galicians, however, they are +remarkable for their keen spirit of independence, which has been +fostered by centuries of isolation. Despite the harsh land-laws and +grinding taxation which prevent them, with all their industry and +thrift, from securing the freehold of the patch of ground cultivated by +each peasant family, the Asturians regard themselves as the aristocracy +of Spain. This pride in their land, race and history they preserve even +when, as often happens, they emigrate to other parts of the country or +to South America, and earn their living as servants, water-carriers, or, +in the case of the women, as nurses. They make admirable soldiers and +sailors, but lack the enterprise and commercial aptitude of the Basques +and Catalans; while they are differentiated from the inhabitants of +central and southern Spain by their superior industry, and perhaps their +lower standard of culture. It is, on the whole, true that by the +exclusion of the Moors they lost their opportunity of playing any +conspicuous part in the literary and artistic development of Spain. One +class of the Asturians deserving special mention is that of the nomad +cattle-drovers known as Baqueros or Vaqueros, who tend their herds on +the mountains of Leitariegos in summer, and along the coast in winter; +forming a separate caste, with distinctive customs, and rarely or never +intermarrying with their neighbours. + + For the modern condition of the principality (including climate, fauna + and flora), see S. Canals, _Asturias: informancion sobre su presente + estado_ (Madrid, 1900); and G. Casal, _Memorias de historia natural y + medica, de Asturias_ (Oviedo, 1900). For the history and antiquities, + there is much that is valuable in _Asturias monumental, epigrafica y + diplomatica_, &c., by C.M. Vigil (Madrid, 1887)--folio, with maps and + illustrations. See also F. de Aramburu y Zuloaga, _Monografia de + Asturias_ (Oviedo, 1899). + + + + +ASTYAGES, the last king of the Median empire. In the inscriptions of +Nabonidus the name is written Ishtuvegu (cylinder from Abu Habba V R 64, +col. 1, 32; Annals, published by Pinches, _Tr. Soc. Bibl. Arch_. vii. +col. 2, 2). According to Herodotus, he was the son of Cyaxares and +reigned thirty-five years (584-550 B.C.); his wife was Aryenis, the +daughter of Alyattes of Lydia (Herod, i. 74). About his reign we know +little, as the narrative of Herodotus, which makes Cyrus the grandson of +Astyages by his daughter Mandane, is merely a legend; the figure of +Harpagus, who as general of the Median army betrays the king to Cyrus, +alone seems to contain an historical element, as Harpagus and his family +afterwards obtained a high position in the Persian empire. From the +inscriptions of Nabonidus we learn that Cyrus, king of Anshan (Susiana), +began war against him in 553 B.C.; in 550, when Astyages marched against +Cyrus, his troops rebelled, and he was taken prisoner. Then Cyrus +occupied and plundered Ecbatana. The captive king was treated fairly by +Cyrus (Herod, i. 130), and according to Ctesias (_Pers_. 5, cf. Justin +i. 6) made satrap of Hyrcania, where he was afterwards slain by Oebares +against the will of Cyrus, who gave him a splendid funeral. Alexander +Polyhistor and Abydenus in their excerpts from Berossus, which Eusebius +(_Chron_. i. pp. 29 and 37) and Syncellus (p. 396) have preserved, give +the name Astyages to the Median king who reigned in the time of the fall +of Nineveh (606 B.C.), and became father-in-law of Nebuchadrezzar. This +is evidently a mistake; the name ought to be Cyaxares (in the fragments +of the Jewish history of Alexander Polyhistor, in Euseb. _Praep. Ev_. +ix. 39, the name is converted into Astibaras, who, according to the +unhistorical list of Ctesias, was the father of Astyages), and there is +no reason to invent an earlier king Astyages I., as some modern authors +have done. The Armenian historians render the name Astyages by Ashdahak, +i.e. Azhi Dahaka (Zohak), the mythical king of the Iranian epics, who +has nothing whatever to do with the historical king of the Medes. + (Ed. M.) + + + + +ASTYLAR (from Gr. a-, privative, and [Greek: stylos], a column), an +architectural term given to a class of design in which neither columns +nor pilasters are used for decorative purposes; thus the Ricardi and +Strozzi palaces in Florence are astylar in their design, in +contradistinction to Palladio's palaces at Vicenza, which are columnar. + + + + +ASUNCION (NUESTRA SENORA DE LA ASUNCION), a city and port of Paraguay, +and capital of the republic, on the left bank of the Paraguay river in +25 deg. 16' 04" S., 57 deg. 42' 40" W., and 970 m. above Buenos Aires. +Pop. (est. in 1900) 52,000. The port is connected with Buenos Aires and +Montevideo by regular lines of river steamers, which are its only means +of trade communication with the outer world, and with the inland town of +Villa Rica (95 m.) by a railway worked by an English company. The city +faces upon a curve in the river bank forming what is called the Bay of +Asuncion, and is built on a low sandy plain, rising to pretty hillsides +overlooking the bay and the low, wooded country of the Chaco on the +opposite shore. The general elevation is only 253 ft. above sea-level. +Asuncion is laid out on a regular plan, the credit for which is largely +due to Dictator Francia; the principal streets are paved and lighted by +gas and electricity; and telephone and street-car services are +maintained. The climate is hot but healthful, the mean annual +temperature being about 72 deg. F. The city is the seat of a bishopric +dating from 1547, and contains a large number of religious edifices. It +has a national college and public library, but no great progress in +education has been made. The most prominent edifice in the city is the +palace begun by the younger Lopez, which is now occupied by a bank. +There are some business edifices and residences of considerable +architectural merit, but the greater part are small and inconspicuous, a +majority of the residences being thatched, mud-walled cabins. +Considerable progress was made during the last two decades of the 19th +century, however, notwithstanding misgovernment and the extreme poverty +of the people. Asuncion was founded by Ayolas in 1335, and is the oldest +permanent Spanish settlement on the La Plata. It was for a long time the +seat of Spanish rule in this region, and later the scene of a bitter +struggle between the church authorities and Jesuits. Soon after the +declaration of independence in 1811, the city fell under the despotic +rule of Dr Francia, and then under that of the elder and younger Lopez, +through which its development was greatly impeded. It was captured and +plundered by the Brazilians in 1869, and has been the theatre of several +revolutionary outbreaks since then, one of which (1905) resulted in a +blockade of several months' duration. (A. J. L.) + + + + +ASVINS, in Hindu mythology, twin deities of light. After Indra, Agni and +Soma, they are the most prominent divinities in the Rig-Veda, and have +more than fifty entire hymns addressed to them. Their exact attributes +are obscure. They appear to be the spirits of dawn, the earliest +bringers of light in the morning sky; they hasten on in the clouds +before Dawn and prepare the way for her. In some hymns they are called +sons of the sun; in others, children of the sky; in others, offspring of +the ocean. They are youngest of the gods, bright lords of lustre, +honey-hued. They are inseparable. The sole purpose of one hymn is to +compare them with different twin objects, such as eyes, hands, feet and +wings. They have a common wife, Surya. They are physicians, protectors +of the weak and old, especially of elderly unmarried women. They are the +friends of lovers, and bless marriages and make them fruitful. + + See A.A. Macdonell, _Vedic Mythology_ (Strassburg, 1897). + + + + +ASYLUM (from Gr. [Greek: a-], privative, and [Greek: sulae], right of +seizure), a place of refuge. In ancient Greece, an asylum was an +"inviolable" refuge for persons fleeing from pursuit and in search of +protection. In a general sense, all Greek temples and altars were +inviolable, that is, it was a religious crime to remove by force any +person or thing once under the protection of a deity. But it was only in +the case of a small number of temples that this protecting right of a +deity was recognized with common consent. Such were the sanctuaries of +Zeus Lycaeus in Arcadia, of Poseidon in the island of Calauria, and of +Apollo at Delos, they were, however, numerous in Asia Minor. They +guaranteed absolute security to the suppliant within their limits. The +right of sanctuary, originally possessed by all temples, appears to have +become limited to a few in consequence of abuses of it. Asylums in this +sense were peculiar to the Greeks. The asylum of Romulus (Livy i. 8), +which was probably the altar of Veiovis, cannot be considered as such. +Under Roman dominion, the rights of existing Greek sanctuaries were at +first confirmed, but their number was considerably reduced by Tiberius. +Under the Empire, the statues of the emperors and the eagles of the +legions were made refuges against acts of violence. Generally speaking, +the classes of persons who claimed the rights of asylum were slaves who +had been maltreated by their masters, soldiers defeated and pursued by +the enemy, and criminals who feared a trial or who had escaped before +sentence was passed. (See treatises _De Asylis Graecis_, by Forster, +1847; Jaenisch, 1868; Barth, 1888.) + +With the establishment of Christianity, the custom of asylum or +sanctuary (q.v.) became attached to the church or churchyard. In modern +times the word asylum has come to mean an institution providing shelter +or refuge for any class of afflicted or destitute persons, such as the +blind, deaf and dumb, &c., but more particularly the insane. (See +INSANITY.) + + + + +ASYLUM, RIGHT OF (Fr. _droit d'asile_; Ger. _Asylrecht_), in +international law, the right which a state possesses, by virtue of the +principle that every independent state is sole master within its +boundaries, of allowing fugitives from another country to enter or +sojourn upon its territory. Extradition (q.v.) treaties are undertakings +between states curtailing the exercise of the right of asylum in respect +of refugees from justice, but the conditions therein laid down +invariably show that nations regard the maintenance of this right of +asylum as intimately connected with their right of independent action, +however weak as states they may be, on their own soil. The neutral right +to grant asylum to belligerent forces is now governed by articles 57, 58 +and 59 of the regulations annexed to the Hague Convention of the 29th +of July 1899, relating to the Laws and Customs of War on Land. (See +WAR.) (T. Ba.) + + + + +ATACAMA, a province of northern Chile, bounded N. and S. respectively by +the provinces of Antofagasta and Coquimbo, and extending from the +Pacific coast E. to the Argentine boundary line. It has an area of +30,729 sq. m., lying in great part within the Atacama desert region (see +below), and a population (1902) of 71,446. The silver and copper mines +of the province are numerous, some of them ranking among the most +productive known, but the majority are worked with limited capital and +on a small scale. The silver ore was first discovered in 1832 by a +shepherd at a place which bears his name, Juan Godoi. The nitrate and +borax deposits are extensive and productive, and common salt is a +natural product of large areas in the elevated desert regions of the +Andes. The exports include copper and silver and their ores, nitrate of +soda, borax, guano and other minerals in small quantities. The capital, +Copiapo (est. pop. 8991 in 1902), is situated on a small river of the +same name 37 m. from the coast and 51 m. south-east by rail from +Caldera, the principal port of this great mining district. Before 1842, +when guano began to attract notice as an exportable product, Atacama was +considered as Bolivian territory, and Coquimbo the extreme northern +province of Chile. In that year Chile decided to explore the desert +coast, and in 1843 that part of the desert extending north to the 26th +parallel was organized into the province of Atacama. + + + + +ATACAMA, DESERT OF, an arid, barren and saline region of western South +America, covering the greater part of the Chilean provinces of Atacama +and Antofagasta, the Argentine territory of Los Andes, and the +south-western corner of the Bolivian department of Potosi. The higher +elevations are known as the Puna de Atacama, which is practically a +continuation southward of the great _puna_ region of Peru and Bolivia. +It is a broken, mountainous region, volcanic in places, saline in +others, and ranges from 7000 to 13,500 ft. in general elevation. Its +culminating ridges are marked by an irregular line of peaks and extinct +volcanoes extending north by east from about 28 deg. S. into southern +Bolivia. On the eastern side, occasional rainfalls occur and streams +from the snow-clads peaks produce some slight displays of fertility, but +the general aspect of the plateaus, which are dry and cold in winter and +in summer are swept by rainstorms and covered by occasional tufts of +coarse grass, is barren and forbidding. They are also broken by great +saline lagoons and dry salt basins. This region forms the Argentine +territory of Los Andes and is habitable in places. On the western slope +the land descends gradually to the Pacific, being broken into great +basins, or terraces, by mountainous ridges in its higher elevations, +widening out into gently-sloping sandy plains below, famous for their +nitrate deposits, and terminating on the coast with sharply-sloping +bluffs, having an elevation of 800 to 1500 ft., and looking from the sea +like a range of flat-topped hills. This desolate region, which is +rainless and absolutely barren, and was considered worthless for three +and a half centuries, is now a treasure-house of mineral wealth, +abounding in copper, silver, lead, nickel, cobalt, iron, nitrates and +borax. It is occupied by many mining settlements, and includes some of +the most productive copper and silver mines of the world. + + See L. Darapsky, "Zur Geographic der Puna de Atacama," _Zeits. Ges. + Erdk. zu Berlin_, 1899; G.E. Church, "South America: an Outline of its + Physical Geography," _Geographical Journal_, 1901; John Ball, _Notes + of a Naturalist in South America_ (London, 1887); F. O'Driscoll, "A + Journey to the North of the Argentine Republic," _Geographical + Journal_, 1904. (A. J. L.) + + + + +ATACAMITE, a mineral found originally in the desert of Atacama, and +named by D. de Gallizen in 1801. It is a cupric oxychloride, having the +formula CuCl2.3Cu(OH)2, and crystallizing in the orthorhombic system. +Its hardness is about 3 and its specific gravity 3.7, while its colour +presents various shades of green, usually dark. Atacamite is a +comparatively rare mineral, formed in some cases by the action of +sea-water on various copper-ores, and occurring also as a volcanic +product on Vesuvian lavas. Some of the finest crystals have been yielded +by the copper-mines of South Australia, especially at Wallaroo. It +occurs also, with malachite, at Bembe, near Ambriz, in West Africa. From +one of its localities in Chile, Los Remolinos, it was termed Remolinite +by Brooke and Miller. Atacamite, in a pulverulent state, was formerly +used as a pounce under the name of "Peruvian green sand," and was known +in Chile as arsenillo. (F. W. R.*) + + + + +ATAHUALLPA (_atahu_, Lat. _virtus_, and _allpa_, sweet), "the last of +the Incas" (or Yncas) of Peru, was the son of the ruler Huayna Capac, by +Pacha, the daughter of the conquered sovereign of Quito. His brother +Huascar succeeded Huayna Capac in 1527; for, as Atahuallpa was not +descended on both sides from the line of Incas, Peruvian law considered +him illegitimate. He obtained, however, the kingdom of Quito. A jealous +feeling soon sprang up between him and Huascar, who insisted that Quito +should be held as a dependent province of his empire. A civil war broke +out between the brothers, and, about the time when the Spanish conqueror +Pizarro was beginning to move inland from the town of San Miguel, +Huascar had been defeated and thrown into prison, and Atahuallpa had +become Inca. Pizarro set out in September 1532, and made for Caxamarca, +where the Inca was. Messengers passed frequently between them, and the +Spaniards on their march were hospitably received by the inhabitants. On +the 15th of November, Pizarro entered Caxamarca, and sent his brother +and Ferdinando de Soto to request an interview with the Inca. On the +evening of the next day, Atahuallpa entered the great square of +Caxamarca, accompanied by some five or six thousand men, who were either +unarmed or armed only with short clubs and slings concealed under their +dresses. Pizarro's artillery and soldiers were planted in readiness in +the streets opening off the square. The interview was carried on by the +priest Vicente de Valverde, who addressed the Inca through an +interpreter. He stated briefly and dogmatically the principal points of +the Christian faith and the Roman Catholic policy, and concluded by +calling upon Atahuallpa to become a Christian, obey the commands of the +pope, give up the administration of his kingdom, and pay tribute to +Charles V., to whom had been granted the conquest of these lands. To +this extraordinary harangue, which from its own nature and the faults of +the interpreter must have been completely unintelligible, the Inca at +first returned a very temperate answer. He pointed out what seemed to +him certain difficulties in the Christian religion, and declined to +accept as monarch of his dominions this Charles, of whom he knew +nothing. He then took a bible from the priest's hands, and, after +looking at it, threw it violently from him, and began a more impassioned +speech, in which he exposed the designs of the Spaniards, and upbraided +them with the cruelties they had perpetrated. The priest retired, and +Pizarro at once gave the signal for attack. The Spaniards rushed out +suddenly, and the Peruvians, astonished and defenceless, were cut down +in hundreds. Pizarro himself seized the Inca, and in endeavouring to +preserve him alive, received, accidentally, on his hand the only wound +inflicted that day on a Spaniard. Atahuallpa, thus treacherously +captured, offered an enormous sum of money as a ransom, and fulfilled +his engagement; but Pizarro still detained him, until the Spaniards +should have arrived in sufficient numbers to secure the country. While +in captivity, Atahuallpa gave secret orders for the assassination of his +brother Huascar, and also endeavoured to raise an army to expel the +invaders. His plans were betrayed, and Pizarro at once brought him to +trial. He was condemned to death, and, as being an idolater, to death by +fire. Atahuallpa, however, professed himself a Christian, received +baptism, and his sentence was then altered into death by strangulation +(August 29, 1533). His body was afterwards burned, and the ashes +conveyed to Quito. (See also PERU: _History_.) + + + + +ATALANTA, in Greek legend, the name of two Greek heroines, (1) The +Arcadian Atalanta was the daughter of Iasius or Iasion and Clymene. At +her birth, she had been exposed on a hill, her father having expected a +son. At first she was suckled by a she-bear, and then saved by huntsmen, +among whom she grew up to be skilled with the bow, swift, and fond of +the chase, like the virgin goddess Artemis. At the Calydonian boar-hunt +her arrows were the first to hit the monster, for which its head and +hide were given her by Meleager. At the funeral games of Pelias, she +wrestled with Peleus, and won. For a long time she remained true to +Artemis and rejected all suitors, but Meilanion at last gained her love +by his persistent devotion. She was the mother of Parthenopaeus, one of +the Seven against Thebes (Apollodorus iii. 9; Hyginus, _Fab._ 99). (2) +The Boeotian Atalanta was the daughter of Schoeneus. She was famed for +her running, and would only consent to marry a suitor who could outstrip +her in a race, the consequence of failure being death. Hippomenes, +before starting, had obtained from Aphrodite three golden apples, which +he dropped at intervals, and Atalanta, stopping to pick them up, fell +behind. Both were happy at the result; but forgetting to thank the +goddess for the apples, they were led by her to a religious crime, and +were transformed into lions by the goddess Cybele (Ovid, _Metam._ x. +560; Hyginus, _Fab._ 185). The characteristics of these two heroines +(frequently confounded) point to their being secondary forms of the +Arcadian Artemis. + + + + +ATARGATIS, a Syrian deity, known to the Greeks by a shortened form of +the name, Derketo (Strabo xvi. c. 785; Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ v. 23. 81), +and as Dea Syria, or in one word Deasura (Lucian, _de Dea Syria_). She +is generally described as the "fish-goddess." The name is a compound of +two divine names; the first part is a form of the Himyaritic _'Athlar_, +the equivalent of the Old Testament _Ashtoreth_, the Phoenician +_Astarte_ (q.v.), with the feminine ending omitted (Assyr. _Ishtar_); +the second is a Palmyrene name _'Athe_ (_i.e. tempus opportunum_), which +occurs as part of many compounds. As a consequence of the first half of +the name, Atargatis has frequently, though wrongly, been identified with +Astarte. The two deities were, no doubt, of common origin, but their +cults are historically distinct. In 2 Macc. xii. 26 we find reference to +an Atargateion or Atergateion (temple of Atargatis) at Carnion in Gilead +(cf. 1 Macc. v. 43), but the home of the goddess was unquestionably not +Palestine, but Syria proper, especially at Hierapolis (q.v.), where she +had a great temple. From Syria her worship extended to Greece, Italy and +the furthest west. Lucian and Apuleius give descriptions of the +beggar-priests who went round the great cities with an image of the +goddess on an ass and collected money. The wide extension of the cult is +attributable largely to Syrian merchants; thus we find traces of it in +the great seaport towns; at Delos especially numerous inscriptions have +been found bearing witness to its importance. Again we find the cult in +Sicily, introduced, no doubt, by slaves and mercenary troops, who +carried it even to the farthest northern limits of the Roman empire. In +many cases, however, Atargatis and Astarte are fused to such an extent +as to be indistinguishable. This fusion is exemplified by the Carnion +temple, which is probably identical with the famous temple of Astarte at +Ashtaroth-Karnaim. + +Atargatis appears generally as the wife of Hadad (Baal). They are the +protecting deities of the community. Atargatis, in the capacity of +[Greek: polionchos], wears a mural crown, is the ancestor of the royal +house, the founder of social and religious life, the goddess of +generation and fertility (hence the prevalence of phallic emblems), and +the inventor of useful appliances. Not unnaturally she is identified +with the Greek Aphrodite. By the conjunction of these many functions, +she becomes ultimately a great Nature-Goddess, analogous to Cybele and +Rhea (see GREAT MOTHER OF THE GODS); in one aspect she typifies the +function of water in producing life; in another, the universal +mother-earth (Macrobius, _Saturn_, i. 23); in a third (influenced, no +doubt, by Chaldaean astrology), the power of destiny. The legends are +numerous and of an astrological character, intended to account for the +Syrian dove-worship and abstinence from fish (see the story in Athenaeus +viii. 37, where Atargatis is derived from [Greek: ates Gatidos] "without +Gatis,"--a queen who is said to have forbidden the eating of fish). Thus +Diodorus Siculus, using Ctesias, tells how she fell in love with a youth +who was worshipping at the shrine of Aphrodite, and by him became the +mother of Semiramis, the Assyrian queen, and how in shame she flung +herself into a pool at Ascalon or Hierapolis and was changed into a fish +(W. Robertson Smith in _Eng. Hist. Rev._ ii., 1887). In another story +she was hatched from an egg found by some fish in the Euphrates and by +them thrust on the bank where it was hatched by a dove; out of gratitude +she persuaded Jupiter to transfer the fish to the Zodiac (cf. Ovid, +_Fast._ ii. 459-474, _Metam._ v. 331). + + See articles _s.v._ in Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyk._ (1897), by W. + Baudissin; and Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencyc._; Fr. Baethgen, _Beitrage + zur Semit. Religiongesch._ (1888); R. Pietschmann, _Gesch. der + Phonizier_ (1889). + + + + +ATAULPHUS (the Latinized form of the Gothic Ataulf, "Father-wolf," from +_atta_, father, and _vulfs_, wolf; mod. Germ. Adolf, Latinized as +Adolphus, the form used by Gibbon for the subject of this article), king +of the Goths (d. 415). On the death of Alaric (q.v.) his followers +acclaimed his brother-in-law Ataulphus as king. In 412 he quitted Italy +and led his army across the Alps into Gaul. Here he fought against some +of the usurpers who threatened the throne of Honorius; he made some sort +of compact with that emperor and, in 414, he married his sister +Placidia, who had been since the siege of Rome a captive in the camp of +the Goths. The ex-emperor Attalus danced at the marriage festival, which +was celebrated with great pomp at Narbonne. In 415 Ataulphus crossed the +Pyrenees into Spain and died at Barcelona, being assassinated by a +groom. The most important fact in his history is his confession, +recorded by Orosius, that he saw the inability of his countrymen to rear +a civilized or abiding kingdom, and that consequently his aim should be +to build on Roman foundations and blend the two nations into one. + + + + +ATAVISM (from Lat. _atavus_, a great-great-great-grandfather or +ancestor), the term given in biology to the reproduction in a living +person or animal of the characteristics of an ancestor more remote than +its parents (see HEREDITY). Loosely used, it connotes a reversion to an +earlier type. Individuals reproduce unexpectedly the traits of earlier +ancestors, and ethnologists and criminologists frequently explain by +"atavism" the occurrence of degenerate species of man; but the whole +subject is complicated by other possible explanations of such phenomena, +included in the scientific study of normal "variation." + + + + +ATBARA (_Bahr-el-Aswad_, or Black River), the most northern affluent of +the river Nile, N.E. Africa. It rises in Abyssinia to the N.W. of Lake +Tsana, unites its waters with a number of other rivers which also rise +in the Abyssinian highlands, and flows north-west 800 m. till its +junction at Ed Damer with the Nile (q.v.). The battle of the Atbara, +fought near Nakheila, a place on the north bank of the river about 30 m. +above Ed Damer, on the 8th of April 1898, between the khalifa's forces +under Mahmud and Sir Herbert (afterwards Lord) Kitchener's +Anglo-Egyptian army, resulted in the complete defeat of the Mahdists and +the capture of their leader, and paved the way for the decisive battle +of Omdurman on the 2nd of September following (see EGYPT: _Military +Operations_). + + + + +ATCHISON, a city and the county-seat of Atchison county, Kansas, U.S.A., +on the west bank of the Missouri river, which is navigable at this point +but is utilized comparatively little for commerce. Pop. (1890) 13,963; +(1900) 15,722, of whom 2508 were of negro descent and 1308 were +foreign-born; (1910) 16,429. Atchison is served by the Atchison, Topeka +& Santa Fe, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Chicago, Rock Island & +Pacific, and the Missouri Pacific railways. The city is the seat of +Midland College (Lutheran, 1887), St Benedict's College (Roman Catholic, +1858) for boys, Mt. Scholastics Academy (Roman Catholic) for girls, and +Western Theological Seminary (Evangelical-Lutheran, 1893); a state +soldiers' orphans' home is also located here. Atchison's situation and +transportation facilities make it an important supply-centre, its trade +in grains and live-stock being particularly large; it has large railway +machine shops, and its principal manufactures are flour, furniture, +lumber, hardware and drugs. The value of the city's factory products +increased from $2,093,469 in 1900 to $4,052,274 in 1905, or 93.6%. +Atchison was founded in 1854 by pro-slavery partisans, and was named in +honour of their leader, David Rice Atchison, a United States senator. +The city was quickly surpassed by Leavenworth in commercial importance, +and during the Kansas struggle was never of great political importance. +Its first city charter was granted in 1858. The Atchison _Globe_ +(established 1878) is one of the best-known of western papers. + + + + +ATE, in Greek mythology, the personification of criminal folly, the +daughter of Zeus and Eris (Strife). She misled even Zeus to take a hasty +oath, whereby Heracles became subject to Eurystheus. Zeus thereupon cast +her by the hair out of Olympus, whither she did not return, but remained +on earth, working evil and mischief (_Iliad_, xix. 91). She is followed +by the Litae (Prayers), the old and crippled daughters of Zeus, who are +able to repair the evil done by her (_Iliad_, ix. 502). In later times +Ate is regarded as the avenger of sin (Sophocles, _Antigone_, 614, 625). + + See J. Girard, _Le Sentiment religieux en Grece_ (1869); J.F. Scherer, + _De Graecorum Ates Notione atque Indole_ (1858); E. Berch, _Bedeutung + der Ate bei Aeschylos_ (1876); C. Lehrs, _Populare Aufsatze aus dem + Alterthum_ (1875); L. Schmidt, _Die Ethik der alten Griechen_ (1882). + + + + +ATELLA, an ancient Oscan town of Campania, 9 m. N. of Naples and 9 m. S. +of Capua, on the road between the two. It was a member of the Campanian +confederation, and shared the fortunes of Capua, but remained faithful +to Hannibal for a longer time; the great part of the inhabitants, when +they could no longer resist the Romans, were transferred by him to +Thurii, and the town was reoccupied in 211 by the Romans, who settled +the exiled inhabitants of Nuceria there. The fate of Atella at the end +of the war, when the latter were able to return to their own city, is +unknown. Cicero was in friendly relations with it, and exerted influence +that it might retain its property in Gaul, so that it is obvious that it +had then recovered municipal rights. The town is mainly famous as the +cradle of early Roman comedy, the _Fabulae Atellanae_ (see below). Some +remains of the town still exist, including a tower of the city wall in +brick. + + See J. Beloch, _Campanien_ (2nd ed., Breslau, 1890), p. 379. + + + + +ATELLANAE FABULAE ("Atellan fables"), the name of a sort of popular +comedy amongst the ancient Romans. The name is derived from Atella, an +Oscan town in Campania; for this reason, and from their being also +called _Osci Ludi_, it has been supposed that they were of Oscan origin +and introduced at Rome after Campania had been deprived of its +independence. It seems highly improbable that they were performed in the +Oscan language. Mommsen, however, rejects their Oscan origin altogether; +he regards them as purely Latin, the scene merely being laid at Atella +to avoid causing offence by placing it at Rome or one of the Latin +cities. These plays, or rather sketches, contained humorous descriptions +of country as contrasted with town life, and found their subjects +amongst the lower classes of the people. The subjects alone were decided +upon before the performance began; the dialogue was improvised as it +proceeded. The Atellanae contained certain stock characters, like the +Italian harlequinades: Maccus (the fool), Bucco (fat-chaps), Pappus +(daddy), Dossennus (sharper); monsters and bogeys like Manducus, Pytho, +Lamia also made their appearance. The performers were the sons of Roman +citizens, who did not lose their rights as citizens, and were allowed to +serve in the army: professional actors were excluded. The simple prose +dialogues were probably varied by songs in the rude Saturnian metre: the +language was that of the common people, accompanied by lively +gesticulation and movements. They were characterized by coarseness and +obscenity. In the time of Sulla a literary form was given to the +Atellanae by Pomponius of Bononia and Novius, who made them regular +written comedies. Living persons seem to have been attacked, and even +the doings of the gods and heroes of mythology burlesqued. From this +time the Atellanae were used as after-pieces and performed by +professional actors. In 46 B.C. they were ousted by the mimes, but +regained popularity during the reign of Tiberius (chiefly owing to a +certain Mummius), until they were definitely superseded by and merged in +the mimes. They held their ground in the small towns and villages of +Italy during the last days of the empire; they probably lingered on into +the middle ages, and were the origin of the Italian _Commedie dell' +arte._ + + The scanty fragments of Pomponius and Novius are collected in + Ribbeck's _Comicorum Romanorum Reliquiae_; see also Munk, _De Fabulis + Atellanis_ (1840); and art. LATIN LITERATURE. + + + + +ATESTE (mod. _Este, q.v._), an ancient town of Venetia, at the southern +foot of the Euganean hills, 43 ft. above sea-level; 22 m. S.W. of +Patavium (Padua). The site was occupied in very early times, as the +discoveries since 1882 show. Large cemeteries have been excavated, which +show three different periods from the 8th century B.C. down to the Roman +domination. In the first period (Italic) cremation burials closely +approximating to the Villanova type are found; in the second[1] +(Venetian) the tombs are constructed of blocks of stone, and _situlae_ +(bronze buckets), sometimes decorated with elaborate designs, are +frequently used to contain the cinerary urns; in the third (Gallic), +which begins during the 4th century B.C., though cremation continues, +the tombs are much poorer, the ossuaries being of badly baked rough +clay, and show traces of Gallic influence, and characteristics of the +La-Tene civilization. The many important objects found in these +excavations are preserved in the local museum. See G. Ghirardini in +_Notizie degli Scavi; Monumenti dei Lincei_, ii. (1893) 161 seq., vii. +(1897) 5 seq., x. (1901) 5 seq.; _Atti del Congresso Internazionale di +Scienze Storiche_ (Rome, 1904), v. 279 seq. Inscriptions show that the +national language asserted its existence even after Ateste came into the +hands of the Romans. When this occurred is not known; boundary stones of +135 B.C. exist, which divide the territory of Ateste from that of +Patavium and of Vicetia, showing that the former extended from the +middle of the Euganean hills to the Atesis (mod. _Adige_, from which +Ateste no doubt took its name, and on which it once stood). After the +battle of Actium, Augustus settled veterans from various of his legions +in this territory, Ateste being thenceforth spoken of as a colony. It +appears to have furnished many recruits, especially for the _cohortes +urbanae_. It appears but little in history, though its importance is +vouched for by numerous inscriptions, the majority of which belong to +the early Empire. (T. As.) + + +FOOTNOTE: + + [1] This is by some authorities divided into two. + + + + +ATH, or AATH, an ancient town of the province of Hainaut, Belgium, +situated on the left bank of the Dender. Pop. (1890) 9868; (1904) +11,201. Formerly it was fortified, but after the change in the defensive +system of Belgium in 1858 the fortress was dismantled and its ramparts +superseded by boulevards. Owing to a fire caused by lightning its fine +church of St Julien, dating from the 14th century, which had escaped +serious injury during many wars, was destroyed in 1817 (since rebuilt). +This left the Tour Burbant as its sole relic of the middle ages. This +tower formed part of the _donjon_ of the fortress erected by Baldwin +IV., count of Hainaut, about the year 1150. Near Ath is the fine castle +of Beloeil, the ancient seat of the princely family of Ligne. Ath is +famous for its gild of archers, whose butts are erected on the plain of +the Esplanade in the centre of the town. The town militia has the +privilege of being armed with bows and crossbows. Ath is also well known +in Hainaut for its annual fete called _le jour de ducasse--ducasse_ +being the Walloon word for kermesse (fete). On this occasion a +procession escorting figures of two giants, Goliath, called locally +Goyasse, and Samson, forms the chief feature of the celebration. The +emperor Joseph II. stopped it for its "idolatrous" character, but this +act was one of the causes of the Brabant revolution of 1789. The +procession, revived in 1790, was again stopped by the French republicans +five years later, but was revived under the Empire, and has flourished +ever since. + + + + +ATHABASCA (_Athiapescow_), or ELK, a river and lake Of the province of +Alberta, Canada. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains near the +Yellowhead Pass in 52 deg. 10' N. and 117 deg. 10' W., and flows +north-east as far as Athabasca Landing, and thence north into Lake +Athabasca. It is 740 m. long and has a number of important tributaries, +including the McLeod, Pembina, Lesser Slave, which drains the lake of +that name, and Clearwater. Athabasca lake is 195 m. long, west to east, +from 20 to 32 m. wide has an area of 3085 sq. m., and is 690 ft. above +the sea. It discharges its waters northward by Slave river and the +Mackenzie system to the Arctic Ocean. On its north shore the country is +high and rocky; on the south, sandy and barren. Shallow draught steamers +navigate the lake and river, and Lesser Slave lake and river, with one +interruption--at Grand Rapids near the mouth of the Clearwater river. + + + + +ATHALARIC (516-534), king of the Ostrogoths, grandson of Theodoric, +became king of the Ostrogoths in Italy on his grandfather's death (526). +As he was only ten years old, the regency was assumed by his mother +Amalasuntha (q.v.). The murmurs of the Gothic nobles procured for their +young sovereign too early emancipation from the schoolroom. He drank +heavily, and indulged in vicious excesses which ruined his constitution. +He died on the 2nd of October 534. + + + + +ATHALIAH, in the Bible, the daughter of Ahab, and wife of Jehoram, king +of Judah. After the death of Ahaziah, her son she usurped the throne and +reigned for six years. She is said to have massacred all the members of +the royal house of Judah (2 Kings xi. 1-3), but a similar atrocity is +also ascribed to Jehu (2 Kings x. 12-14); with both notices contrast 2 +Chron. xxi. 17. The sole survivor Joash was concealed in the temple by +his aunt, Jehosheba, wife of the priest Jehoida (2 Chron. xxii. 11) +These organized a revolution in favour of Joash, and caused Athaliah and +her adherents to be put to death (2 Kings xi.; 2 Chron. xxii. 10-12, +xxiii., xxiv. 7). + +The story of Athaliah forms the subject of one of Racine's best +tragedies. It has been musically treated by Handel and Mendelssohn. + + + + +ATHAMAS, in Greek mythology, king of the Minyae in Boeotian Orchomenus, +son of Aeolus, king of Thessaly, or of Minyas. His first wife was +Nephele, the cloud-goddess, by whom he had two children, Phrixus and +Helle (see ARGONAUTS). Athamas and his second wife Ino were said to have +incurred the wrath of Hera, because Ino had brought up Dionysus, the son +of her sister Semele, as a girl, to save his life. Athamas went mad, and +slew one of his sons, Learchus; Ino, to escape the pursuit of her +frenzied husband, threw herself into the sea with her other son +Melicertes. Both were afterwards worshipped as marine divinities, Ino as +Leucothea, Melicertes as Palaemon (_Odyssey_ v. 333). Athamas, with the +guilt of his son's murder upon him, was obliged to flee from Boeotia. He +was ordered by the oracle to settle in a place where he should receive +hospitality from wild beasts. This he found at Phthiotis in Thessaly, +where he surprised some wolves eating sheep; on his approach they fled, +leaving him the bones. Athamas, regarding this as the fulfilment of the +oracle, settled there and married a third wife, Themisto. The spot was +afterwards called the Athamanian plain (Apollodorus i. 9; Hyginus, +_Fab_. 1-5; Ovid, _Metam._ iv. 416, _Fasti_, vi. 485; Valerius Flaccus +i. 277). + +According to a local legend, Athamas was king of Halos in Phthiotis from +the first (Schol. on Apoll. Rhodius ii. 513). After his attempt on the +life of Phrixus, which was supposed to have succeeded, the Phthiots were +ordered to sacrifice him to Zeus Laphystius, in order to appease the +anger of the gods. As he was on the point of being put to death, +Cytissorus, a son of Phrixus, suddenly arrived from Aea with the news +that Phrixus was still alive. Athamas's life was thus saved, but the +wrath of the gods was unappeased, and pursued the family. It was +ordained that the eldest born of the race should not enter the +council-chamber; if he did so, he was liable to be seized and sacrificed +if detected (Herodotus vii. 197). The legend of Athamas is probably +founded on a very old custom amongst the Minyae--the sacrifice of the +first-born of the race of Athamas to Zeus Laphystius. The story formed +the subject of lost tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and +other Greek and Latin dramatists. + + + + +ATHANAGILD (d. 547) became king of the Visigoths (in Spain) in 534, +having invoked the aid of the emperor Justinian for his revolt against +his predecessor Agila. Athanagild, when himself king, vainly tried to +oust his late allies from the footing which they had gained in Spain, +nor were the Greeks finally expelled from Spain till seventy years +later. Athanagild himself is chiefly remembered for the tragic fortunes +of his daughters Brunechildis and Gavleswintha, who married two Frankish +brother kings, Sigebert and Chilperic. Athanagild died ("peacefully," as +the annalist remarks) in 547. + + + + +ATHANARIC (d. 381), a ruler of the Visigoths from about 366 to 380. He +bore the title not of king but of judge, a title which may be compared +with that of ealdorman among the Anglo-Saxon invaders of Britain. +Athanaric waged, from 367 to 369, an unsuccessful war with the emperor +Valens, and the peace by which the war was ended was ratified by the +Roman and Gothic rulers meeting on a barge in mid-stream of the Danube. +Athanaric was a harsh and obstinate heathen, and his short reign was +chiefly famous for his brutal persecution of his Christian +fellow-countrymen. In 376 he was utterly defeated by the Huns, who a few +years before had burst into Europe. The bulk of the Visigothic people +sought refuge within the Empire in the region now known as Bulgaria, but +Athanaric seems to have fled into Transylvania. Being attacked there by +two Ostrogothic chiefs he also, in 381, sought the protection of the +Roman emperor. Theodosius I. received him courteously, and he was +profoundly impressed by the glories of Constantinople, but on the +fifteenth day after his arrival he died, and was honoured by the emperor +with a magnificent funeral. + + + + +ATHANASIUS (293-373), bishop of Alexandria and saint, one of the most +illustrious defenders of the Christian faith, was born probably at +Alexandria. Of his family and of his early education nothing can be said +to be known. According to the legend, the boy is said to have once +baptized some of his playmates and thereupon to have been taken into his +house by Bishop Alexander, who recognized the validity of this +proceeding. It is certain that Athanasius was young when he took orders, +and that he must soon have entered into close relations with his bishop, +whom, after the outbreak of the Arian controversy, he accompanied as +archdeacon to the council of Nicaea. In the sessions and discussions of +the council he could take no part; but in unofficial conferences he took +sides vigorously, according to his own evidence, against the Arians, and +was certainly not without influence. He had already, before the opening +of the Council, defined his personal attitude towards the dogmatic +problem in two essays, _Against the Gentiles_ and _On the Incarnation_, +without, however, any special relation to the Arian controversy. + +The essay _On the Incarnation_ is the _locus classicus_ for the +presentation of the teaching of the ancient church on the subject of +salvation. In this the great idea that God himself had entered into +humanity becomes dominant. The doom of death under which mankind had +sighed since Adam's fall could only then be averted, when the immortal +Word of God ([Greek: Logos]) assumed a mortal body, and, by yielding +this to death for the sake of all, abrogated once for all the law of +death, of which the power had been spent on the body of the Lord. Thus +was rendered possible the leading back of mankind to God, of which the +sure pledge lies in the grace of the resurrection of Christ. Athanasius +would hear of no questioning of this religious mystery. In the catchword +_Homousios_, which had been added to the creed at Nicaea, he too +recognized the best formula for the expression of the mystery, although +in his own writings he made but sparing use of it. He was in fact less +concerned with the formula than with the content. Arians and Semi-Arians +seemed to him to be pagans, who worship the creature, instead of the God +who created all things, since they teach two gods, one having no +beginning, the other having a beginning in Time and therefore of the +same nature as the heathen gods, since, like them, he is a creature. +Athanasius has no terms for the definition of the Persons in the one +"Divine" ([Greek: to theion]), which are in their substance one; and yet +he is certain that this "Divine" is not mere abstraction, but something +truly personal: "They are One," so he wrote later in his _Discourses +against the Arians_. "not as though the unity were torn into two parts, +which outside the unity would be nothing, nor as though the unity bore +two names, so that one and the same is at one time Father and then his +own Son, as the heretic Sabellius imagined. But they are two, for the +Father is Father, and the Son is not the same, but, again, the Son is +Son, and not the Father himself. But their Nature ([Greek: physis]) is +one, for the Begotten is not dissimilar ([Greek: anomoios]) to the +Begetter, but his image, and everything that is the Father's is also the +Son's." + +Five months after the return from the council of Nicaea Bishop Alexander +died; and on the 8th of February 326 Athanasius, at the age of +thirty-three, became his successor. The first years of his episcopate +were tranquil; then the storms in which the remainder of his life was +passed began to gather round him. The council had by no means composed +the divisions in the Church which the Arian controversy had provoked. +Arius himself still lived, and his friend Eusebius of Nicomedia rapidly +regained influence over the emperor Constantine. The result was a demand +made by the emperor that Arius should be readmitted to communion. +Athanasius stood firm, but many accusers soon rose up against one who +was known to be under the frown of the imperial displeasure. He was +charged with cruelty, even with sorcery and murder. It was reported that +a bishop of the Meletian party (see MELETIUS) in the Thebaid, of the +name of Arsenius, had been unlawfully put to death by him. He was easily +able to clear himself of these charges; but the hatred of his enemies +was not relaxed, and in the summer of 335 he was peremptorily ordered to +appear at Tyre, where a council had been summoned to sit in judgment +upon his conduct. There appeared plainly a predetermination to condemn +him, and he fled from Tyre to Constantinople to appeal to the emperor +himself. Refused at first a hearing, his perseverance was at length +rewarded by the emperor's assent to his reasonable request that his +accusers should be brought face to face with him in the imperial +presence. Accordingly the leaders of the council, the most conspicuous +of whom were Eusebius of Nicomedia and his namesake of Caesarea, were +summoned to Constantinople. Here they did not attempt to repeat their +old charges, but found a more effective weapon to their hands in a new +charge of a political kind--that Athanasius had threatened to stop the +Alexandrian corn-ships bound for Constantinople. It is very difficult to +understand how far there was truth in the persistent accusations made +against the prince-bishop of Alexandria. Probably there was in the very +greatness of his character and the extent of his popular influence a +certain species of dominance which lent a colour of truth to some of the +things said against him. On the present occasion his accusers succeeded +at once in arousing the imperial jealousy. Without obtaining a hearing, +he was banished at the end of 335 to Treves in Gaul. This was the first +banishment of Athanasius, which lasted about one year and a half. It was +brought to a close by the death of Constantine, and the accession as +emperor of the West of Constantine II., who, in June 337, allowed +Athanasius to return to Alexandria. + +He reached his see on the 23rd of November 337, and, as he himself has +told us, "the people ran in crowds to see his face; the churches were +full of rejoicing; thanksgivings were everywhere offered up; the +ministers and clergy thought the day the happiest in their lives." But +this period of happiness was destined to be short-lived. His position as +bishop of Alexandria placed him, not under his patron Constantine, but +under Constantius, another son of the elder Constantine, who had +succeeded to the throne of the East. He in his turn fell, as his father +had done in later years, under the influence of Eusebius of Nicomedia, +who in the latter half of 339 was transferred to the see of +Constantinople, the new seat of the imperial court. A second expulsion +of Athanasius was accordingly resolved upon. The old accusations against +him were revived, and he was further charged with having set at naught +the decision of a council. On the 18th of March 339 the exarch of Egypt +suddenly confronted Athanasius with an imperial edict, by which he was +deposed and a Cappadocian named Gregory was nominated bishop in his +place. On the following day, after tumultuous scenes, Athanasius fled, +and four days later Gregory was installed by the aid of the soldiery. On +the first opportunity, Athanasius went to Rome, to "lay his case before +the church." A synod assembled at Rome in the autumn of 340, and the +great council--probably that which met at Sardica in 342 or 343, where +the Orientals refused to meet the representatives of the Western +church--declared him guiltless. This decision, however, had no immediate +effect in favour of Athanasius. Constantius continued for some time +implacable, and the bold action of the Western bishops only incited the +Arian party in Alexandria to fresh severities. But the death of the +intruder Gregory, on the 26th of June 345, opened up a way of +reconciliation. Constantius decided to yield to the importunity of his +brother Constans, who had succeeded Constantine II. in the West; and the +result was the restoration of Athanasius for the second time, on the +21st of October 346. Again he returned to Alexandria amid the +enthusiastic demonstrations of the populace, which is described by +Gregory of Nazianzus, in his panegyric on Athanasius, as streaming forth +like "another Nile" to meet him afar off as he approached the city. + +The six years of his residence in the West had given Athanasius the +opportunity of displaying a momentous activity. He made long journeys in +Italy, in Gaul, and as far as Belgium. Everywhere he laboured for the +Nicene faith, and the impression made by his personality was so great +that to hold fast the orthodox faith and to defend Athanasius were for +many people one and the same thing. This was shown when, after the death +of the emperor Constans, Constantius became sole ruler of East and West. +With the help of counsellors more subtle than discerning, the emperor, +with the object of uniting the various parties in the Church at any +cost, sought for the most colourless possible formula of belief, which +he hoped to persuade all the bishops to accept. As his efforts remained +for years fruitless, he used force. "My will is your guiding-line," he +exclaimed in the summer of 355 to the bishops who had assembled at Milan +in response to his orders. A series of his most defiant opponents had to +go into banishment, Liberius of Rome, Hilarius of Poitiers and Hosius of +Corduba, the last-named once the confidant of Constantine and the actual +originator of the _Homousios_, and now nearly a hundred years old. At +length came the turn of Athanasius, now almost the sole upholder of the +banner of the Nicene creed in the East. Several attempts to expel him +failed owing to the attitude of the populace. On the night of the +8th-9th of February 356, however, when the bishop was holding the +Vigils, soldiers and police broke into the church of Theonas. Athanasius +himself has described the scene for us: "I was seated upon my chair, the +deacon was about to read the psalm, the people to answer, 'For his mercy +endureth for ever.' The solemn act was interrupted; a panic arose." The +bishop, who was at first unwilling to save himself, until he knew that +his faithful followers were in safety, succeeded in escaping, leaving +the town and finding a hiding-place in the country. The solitudes of +Upper Egypt, where numerous monasteries and hermitages had been planted, +seem at this time to have been his chief shelter. In this case, benefit +was repayed by benefit, for Athanasius during his episcopate had been a +zealous promoter of asceticism and monachism. With Anthony the hermit +and Pachomius the founder of monasteries, he had maintained personal +relations, and the former he had commemorated in his _Life of Anthony_. +During his exile his time was occupied in writing on behalf of his +cause, and to this period belong some of his most important works, above +all the great _Orations or Discourses against the Arians_, which furnish +the best exposition of his theological principles. + +During his absence the see of Alexandria was left without a pastor. It +is true that George of Cappadocia had taken his place; but he could only +maintain himself for a short while (February 357-October 358). The great +majority of the population remained faithful to the exile. At length, in +November 361, the way was opened to him for his return to his see by the +death of Constantius. Julian, who succeeded to the imperial throne, +professed himself indifferent to the contentions of the Church, and gave +permission to the bishops exiled in the late reign to return home. Among +others, Athanasius availed himself of this permission, and in February +362 once more seated himself upon his throne, amid the rejoicings of +the people. He had begun his episcopal labours with renewed ardour, and +assembled his bishops in Alexandria to decide various important +questions, when an imperial mandate again--for the fourth time--drove +him from his place of power. The faithful gathered around him weeping. +"Be of good heart," he said, "it is but a cloud: it will pass." His +forecast proved true; for within a few months Julian had closed his +brief career of pagan revival. As early as September 363, Athanasius was +able to travel to Jovian, the new emperor, who had sent him a letter +praising his Christian fidelity and encouraging him to resume his work. +He returned to Alexandria on the 20th of February 364. With the emperor +he continued to maintain friendly relations; but the period of repose +was short. In the spring of 365, after the accession of Valens to the +throne, troubles again arose. Athanasius was once more compelled to seek +safety from his persecutors in concealment (October 365), which lasted, +however, only for four months. In February 366 he resumed his episcopal +labours, in which he henceforth remained undisturbed. On the 2nd of May +373, having consecrated one of his presbyters as his successor, he died +quietly in his own house. + +Athanasius was a man of action, but he also knew how to use his pen for +the furtherance of his cause. He left a large number of writings, which +cannot of course be compared with those of an Origen, a Basil, or a +Gregory of Nyssa. Athanasius was no systematic theologian. All his +treatises are occasional pieces, born of controversy and intended for +controversial ends. The interest in abstract exposition of clearly +formulated theological ideas is everywhere subordinate to the polemical +purpose. But all these writings are instinct with a living personal +faith, and serve for the defence of the cause; for it was not about +words that he was contending. Even those who do not sympathize with the +cause which Athanasius steadfastly defended cannot but admire his +magnanimous and heroic character. If he was imperious in temper and +inflexible in his conception of the Christian faith, he possessed a +great heart and a great intellect, inspired with an enthusiastic +devotion to Christ. As a theologian, his main distinction was his +zealous advocacy of the essential divinity of Christ. Christianity in +its Arian conception would have evaporated in a new polytheism. To have +set a dam against this process with the whole force of a mighty +personality constitutes the importance of Athanasius in the world's +history. It is with good reason that the Church honours him as the +"Great," and as the "Father of Orthodoxy." + + The best edition of the works of Athanasius is the so-called Maurine + edition of Bernard de Montfaucon in 3 vols. (Paris, 1698); this was + enlarged in the 3rd edition by Giustiniani (4 vols., Padua, 1777), and + is printed in this form in Migne's _Patrologia_, vols. xxv.-xxviii. An + English translation of selections, with excellent introductions to the + several writings, was published by Archibald Robertson in the _Library + of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers_, second series, vol. 4 (Oxford + and New York, 1892). There is no biography satisfactory from the + modern point of view. Studies preliminary to such a biography began to + be published by E. Schwartz in his essays, "Zur Geschichte des + Athanasius" (in the _Nachrichten der koniglichen Gesellschaft der + Wissenschaften zu Gottingen_, 1904, &c.). The life of Athanasius, + however, is so completely intertwined with the history of his time + that it is permissible to refer, for a knowledge of him, to the + general descriptions which will be found at the close of the article + ARIUS. Of the older literature, Tillemont's _Memoires pour servir a + l'histoire ecclesiastique des six premiers siecles_, vols. vi. and + viii., are still a mine of material for the historian. Of the newer + literature the following deserve to be read:--Johann Adam Mohler, + _Athanasius der Grosse und die Kirche seiner Zeit_, 2 vols. (2nd ed., + Mainz, 1844); and Fr. Boehringer, "Arius und Athanasius," _Die Kirche + Christi und ihre Zeugen_, vol. i. part 2 (2nd ed., Stuttgart, 1874). + (G. K.) + + + + +ATHAPASCAN, a widely distributed linguistic stock of North American +Indians, the chief tribes included being the Chippewyan, Navajo, Apache, +Jicarilla, Lipan, Hupa and Wailaki. The Athapascan family is +geographically divided into Northern, Pacific and Southern. The Northern +division (Tinneh or Dene) is about Alaska, and the Yukon and Mackenzie +rivers,--the eponymous "Athabasca" tribe living round Lake Athabasca, in +the province of Alberta in Canada. The Pacific division covers a strip +of territory, some 400 m. in length, from Oregon southwards into +California. The Southern division includes Arizona and New Mexico, parts +of Utah, Colorado, Kansas and Texas, and the northern part of Mexico. +The typical tribes are those of the Northern division. + + See _Handbook of American Indians_ (Washington, 1907). + + + + +ATHARVA VEDA, the fourth book of the Vedas, the ancient scriptures of +the Brahman religion. Like the other Vedas it is divided into Samhita, +Brahmanas and Upanishads, representing the spiritual element and its +magical and nationalistic development. The mantras or sayings composing +the Samhita of the Atharva Veda differ from those of the other Vedas by +being in the form of spells rather than prayers or hymns, and seem to +indicate a stage of religion lower than that of the Rig Veda. + + + + +ATHEISM (from Gr. [Greek: a-], privative, and [Greek: theos], God), +literally a system of belief which denies the existence of God. The term +as generally used, however, is highly ambiguous. Its meaning varies (a) +according to the various definitions of deity, and especially (b) +according as it is (i.) deliberately adopted by a thinker as a +description of his own theological standpoint, or (ii.) applied by one +set of thinkers to their opponents. As to (a), it is obvious that +atheism from the standpoint of the Christian is a very different +conception as compared with atheism as understood by a Deist, a +Positivist, a follower of Euhemerus or Herbert Spencer, or a Buddhist. +But the ambiguities arising from the points of view described in (b) are +much more difficult both intellectually and in their practical social +issues. Thus history shows how readily the term has been used in the +most haphazard manner to describe even the most trivial divergence of +opinion concerning points of dogma. In other words, "atheism" has been +used generally by the orthodox adherents of one religion, or even of a +single sect, for all beliefs which are different or even differently +expressed. It is in fact in these cases, like "heterodoxy," a term of +purely negative significance, and its intellectual value is of the +slightest. The distinction between the terms "religion" and "magic" is, +in a similar way, often due merely to rivalry between the adherents of +two or more mutually exclusive religions brought together in the same +community. When the psalmist declares that "the fool hath said in his +heart, there is no God," he probably does not refer to theoretical +denial, but to a practical disbelief in God's government of human +affairs, shown in disobedience to moral laws. Socrates was charged with +"not believing in the gods the city believes in." The cry of the heathen +populace in the Roman empire against the Christians was "Away with the +atheists! To the lions with the Christians!" The ground for the charge +was probably the lack of idolatry in all Christian worship. Spinoza, for +whom God alone existed, was persecuted as an atheist. A common +designation of Knox was "the atheist," although it was to him "matter of +satisfaction that our most holy religion is founded on faith, not on +reason." + +In its most scientific and serious usage the term is applied to that +state of mind which does not find deity (i.e. either one or many gods) +in or above the physical universe. Thus it has been applied to certain +primitive savages, who have been thought (e.g. by Lord Avebury in his +_Prehistoric Times_) to have no religious belief; it is, however, the +better opinion that there are no peoples who are entirely destitute of +some rudimentary religious belief. In the second place, and most +usually, it is applied to a purely intellectual, metaphysical disbelief +in the existence of any god, or of anything supernatural. In this +connexion it is usual to distinguish three types of atheism:--the +_dogmatic_, which denies the existence of God positively; the +_sceptical_, which distrusts the capacity of the human mind to discover +the existence of God; and the _critical_, which doubts the validity of +the theistic argument, the proofs for the existence of God. That the +first type of atheism exists, in spite of the denials of those who +favour the second or the third, may be proved by the utterances of men +like Feuerbach, Flourens or Bradlaugh. "There is no God," says +Feuerbach, "it is clear as the sun and as evident as the day that there +is no God, and still more that there can be none." With greater passion +Flourens declares "Our enemy is God. Hatred of God is the beginning of +wisdom. If mankind would make true progress, it must be on the basis of +atheism." Bradlaugh maintained against Holyoake that he would fight +until men respected the name "atheist." The answer to dogmatic atheism, +that it implies infinite knowledge, has been well stated in John +Foster's _Essays_, and restated by Chalmers in his _Natural Theology_, +and its force is recognized in Holyoake's careful qualification of the +sense in which secularism accepts atheism, "always explaining the term +atheist to mean 'not seeing God' visually or inferentially, never +suffering it to be taken for anti-theism, that is, hating God, denying +God--as _hating_ implies personal knowledge as the ground of dislike, +and _denying_ implies infinite knowledge as the ground of disproof." But +dogmatic atheism is rare compared with the sceptical type, which is +identical with agnosticism (q.v.) in so far as it denies the capacity of +the mind of man to form any conception of God, but is different from it +in so far as the agnostic merely holds his judgment in suspense, though, +in practice, agnosticism is apt to result in an attitude towards +religion which is hardly distinguishable from a passive and unaggressive +atheism. The third or critical type may be illustrated by _A Candid +Examination of Theism_ by "Physicus" (G.J. Romanes), in which the writer +endeavours to establish the weakness of the proofs for the existence of +God, and to substitute for theism Spencer's physical explanation of the +universe, and yet admits how unsatisfying to himself the new position +is. "When at times I think, as think at times I must, of the appalling +contrast between the hallowed glory of that creed which once was mine, +and the lonely mystery of existence as now I find it--at such times I +shall ever feel it impossible to avoid the sharpest pang of which my +nature is susceptible." + +Atheism has to meet the protest of the heart as well as the argument of +the mind of mankind. It must be judged not only by theoretical but by +practical arguments, in its relations either to the individual or to a +society. Voltaire himself, speaking as a practical man rather than as a +metaphysician, declared that if there were no God it would be necessary +to invent one; and if the analysis is only carried far enough it will be +found that those who deny the existence of God (in a conventional sense) +are all the time setting up something in the nature of deity by way of +an ideal of their own, while fighting over the meaning of a word or its +conventional misapplication. + + + + +ATHELM (d. 923), English churchman, is said to have been a monk of +Glastonbury before his elevation in 909 to the see of Wells, of which he +was the first occupant. In 914 he became archbishop of Canterbury. + + + + +ATHELNEY, a slight eminence of small extent in the low level tract about +the junction of the rivers Tone and Parrett in Somersetshire, England. +It was formerly isolated by marshes and accessible only by boat or +artificial causeway, and under these conditions it gained its historical +fame as the retreat of King Alfred in 878-879 when he was unable to +withstand the incursions of the Danes. After regaining his throne he +founded a monastery here in gratitude for the retreat afforded him by +the island; no traces of it exist above ground, but remains have been +excavated. There was also found here, in 1693, the celebrated Alfred +jewel, bearing his name, and preserved in the Ashmolean Museum at +Oxford. An inscribed pillar commemorating the king was set up in 1801. +The name of Athelney signifies the Isle of Princes (A.S. +_AEthelingaea_). Athelney is a railway station on a branch of the Great +Western line. + + + + +ATHENA (the Attic form of the Homeric Athene, also called Athenaia, +Pallas Athene, Pallas), one of the most important goddesses in Greek +mythology. With Zeus and Apollo, she forms a triad which represents the +embodiment of all divine power. No satisfactory derivation of the name +Athena has been given[1]; Pallas, at first an epithet, but after Pindar +used by itself, may possibly be connected with [Greek: pallakhe] +("maiden"). Athena has been variously described as the pure aether, the +storm-cloud, the dawn, the twilight; but there is little evidence that +she was regarded as representing any of the physical powers of nature, +and it is better to endeavour to form an idea of her character and +attributes from a consideration of her cult-epithets and ritual. +According to the legend, her father Zeus swallowed his wife Metis +("counsel"), when pregnant with Athena, since he had been warned that +his children by her might prove stronger than himself and dethrone him. +Hephaestus (or Prometheus) subsequently split open his head with a +hatchet, and Athena sprang forth fully armed, uttering a loud shout of +victory (Hesiod, _Theogony_, 886; Pindar, _Olympia_, vii. 35). In Crete +she was said to have issued from a cloud burst asunder by Zeus. +According to Roscher, the manner of her birth represents the storm-cloud +split by lightning; Farnell (_Cults of the Greek States_, i. p. 285) +sees in it an indication that, as the daughter of Metis, Athena was +already invested with a mental and moral character, and explains the +swallowing of Metis (for which compare the story of Cronus and his +children) by the desire to attribute an extraordinary birth to one in +whom masculine traits predominated. In another account (as [Greek: +Tritogeneia]) she is the daughter of the river Triton, to which various +localities were assigned, and wherever there was a river (or lake) of +that name, the inhabitants claimed that she was born there. It is +probable that the name originated in Boeotia (C.O. Muller, _Geschichten +hellenischer Stamme_, i. pp. 351-357; but see Macan on Herodotus, iv. +180), whence it was conveyed by colonists to Cyrene and thence to Libya, +where there was a river Triton. Here some local divinity, a daughter of +Poseidon, connected with the water and also of a warlike character, was +identified by the colonists with their own Athena. In any case, it is +fairly certain that Tritogeneia means "water-born," although an old +interpretation derived it from [Greek: trito], a supposed Boeotian word +meaning "head," which further points to the name having originated in +Boeotia. Roscher suggests that the localization of her birthplace in the +extreme west points to the western sea, the home of cloud and storm. + +In Homer Athena already appears as the goddess of counsel, of war, of +female arts and industries, and the protectress of Greek cities, this +last aspect of her character being the most important and pronounced. +Hence she is called [Greek: polias], [Greek: poliouchos], in many Greek +states, and is frequently associated with [Greek: Zeus polieus]. The +most celebrated festival of the city-goddess was the Panathenaea at +Athens and other places. Other titles of kindred meaning are [Greek: +archegeris] ("founder") and [Greek: tanachais], the protectress of the +Achaean league. At Athens she presided over the phratries or clans, and +was known as [Greek: apatouria] and [Greek: fratria], and sacrifice was +offered to her at the festival Apaturia. The title [Greek: meter], given +her by the inhabitants of Elis, whose women, according to the legend, +she had blessed with abundance of children, seems at variance with the +generally-recognized conception of her as [Greek: parthenos]; but +[Greek: meter] may bear the same meaning as [Greek: kourotrophos], the +fosterer of the young, in harmony with her aspect as protectress of +civic and family life. At Alalcomenae, near the Tritonian lake in +Boeotia, she was [Greek: alalkomeneis] ("defender"). Her temple, which +was pillaged by Sulla, contained an ivory image, which was said to have +fallen from heaven. The inhabitants claimed that the goddess was born +there and brought up by a local hero Alalcomeneus. Her images, called +Palladia, which guarded the heights (cf. her epithets [Greek: acria, +kranaia]), represented her with shield uplifted, brandishing her spear +to keep off the foe. The cult of Athena Itonia, whose earliest seat +appears to have, been amongst the Thessalians, who used her name as a +battle-cry, made its way to Coronea in Boeotia, where her sanctuary was +the seat of the Pamboeotian confederacy. The meaning of Itonia is +obscure: Dummler connects it with [Greek: iteones], the "willow-beds" on +the banks of the river Coralios (the river of the maiden, i.e. Athena); +Jebb (on Bacchylides, _fr._ xi. 2) suggests a derivation from [Greek: +ienai], the goddess of the "onset." At Thebes she was worshipped as +Athena Onka or Onga, of equally uncertain derivation (possibly from +[Greek: ogkos], "a height"). Peculiar to Arcadia is the title Athena +Alea, probably = "warder off of evil," although others explain it as = +"warmth," and see in it an allusion to her physical nature as one of the +powers of light. Farnell (_Cults_, p. 275) points out that at the same +time she is certainly looked upon as in some way connected with the +health-divinities, since in her temple she is grouped with Asclepius and +Hygieia (see HYGIEIA). + +She already appears as the goddess of counsel ([Greek: poluboulos]) in +the _Iliad_ and in Hesiod. The Attic bouleutae took the oath by Athena +Boulaia; at Sparta she was [Greek: agoraia], presiding over the popular +assemblies in the market-place; in Arcadia [Greek: mechanitis] the +discoverer of devices. The epithet [Greek: pronoia] ("forethought") is +due, according to Farnell, to a confusion with [Greek: pronaia], +referring to a statue of the goddess standing "before a shrine," and +arose later (probably spreading from Delphi), some time after the +Persian wars, in which she repelled a Persian attack on the temples "by +divine forethought"; another legend attributes the name to her skill in +assisting Leto at the birth of Apollo and Artemis. With this aspect of +her character may be compared the Hesiodic legend, according to which +she was the daughter of Metis. Her connexion with the trial of Orestes, +the introduction of a milder form of punishment for justifiable +homicide, and the institution of the court [Greek: to epi Palladio], +show the important part played by her in the development of legal ideas. + +The protectress of cities was naturally also a goddess of war. As such +she appears in Homer and Hesiod and in post-Homeric legend as the slayer +of the Gorgon and taking part in the battle of the giants. On numerous +monuments she is represented as [Greek: areia], "the warlike," [Greek: +nikephoros], "bringer of victory," holding an image of Nike (q.v.) in +her outstretched hand (for other similar epithets see Roscher's +_Lexikon_). She was also the goddess of the arts of war in general; +[Greek: stoicheia], she who draws up the ranks for battle, [Greek: +zosteria], she who girds herself for the fray. Martial music (cp. +[Greek: Athene salpinx], "trumpet") and the Pyrrhic dance, in which she +herself is said to have taken part to commemorate the victory over the +giants, and the building of war-ships were attributed to her. She +instructed certain of her favourites in gymnastics and athletics, as a +useful training for war. The epithets [Greek: ippia], [Greek: +chalinitis], [Greek: damasippos], usually referred to her as goddess of +war-horses, may perhaps be reminiscences of an older religion in which +the horse was sacred to her. As a war-goddess, she is the embodiment of +prudent and intelligent tactics, entirely different from Ares, the +personification of brute force and rashness, who is fitly represented as +suffering defeat at her hands. She is the patroness and protectress of +those heroes who are distinguished for their prudence and caution, and +in the Trojan War she sides with the more civilized Greeks. + +The goddess of war develops into the goddess of peace and the pursuits +connected with it. She is prominent as the promoter of agriculture in +Attic legend. The Athenian hero Erechtheus (Erichthonius), originally an +earth-god, is her foster-son, with whom she was honoured in the +Erechtheum on the Acropolis. Her oldest priestesses, the +dew-sisters--Aglauros, Herse, Pandrosos--signify the fertilization of +the earth by the dew, and were probably at one time identified with +Athena, as surnames of whom both Aglauros and Pandrosos are found. The +story of the voluntary sacrifice of the Attic maiden Aglauros on behalf +of her country in time of war (commemorated by the ephebi taking the +oath of loyalty to their country in her temple), and of the leap of the +three sisters over the Acropolis rock (see ERECHTHEUS), probably points +to an old human sacrifice. Athena also gave the Athenians the +olive-tree, which was supposed to have sprung from the bare soil of the +Acropolis, when smitten by her spear, close to the horse (or spring of +water) produced by the trident of Poseidon, to which he appealed in +support of his claim to the lordship of Athens. She is also connected +with Poseidon in the legend of Erechtheus, not as being in any way akin +to the former in nature or character, but as indicating the contest +between an old and a new religion. This god, whose worship was +introduced into Athens at a later date by the Ionian immigrants, was +identified with Erechtheus-Erichthonius (for whose birth Athena was in a +certain sense responsible), and thus was brought into connexion with the +goddess, in order to effect a reconciliation of the two cults. Athena +was said to have invented the plough, and to have taught men to tame +horses and yoke oxen. Various arts were attributed to her--shipbuilding, +the goldsmith's craft, fulling, shoemaking and other branches of +industry. As early as Homer she takes especial interest in the +occupations of women; she makes Hera's robe and her own peplus, and +spinning and weaving are often called "the works of Athena." The custom +of offering a beautifully woven peplus at the Panathenaic festival is +connected with her character as Ergane the goddess of industry.[2] As +patroness of the arts, she is associated with Hephaestus (one of her +titles is [Greek: Ephaistia]) and Prometheus, and in Boeotia she was +regarded as the inventress of the flute. According to Pindar, she +imitated on the flute the dismal wail of the two surviving Gorgons after +the death of Medusa. The legend that Athena, observing in the water the +distortion of her features caused by playing that instrument, flung it +away, probably indicates that the Boeotians whom the Athenians regarded +with contempt, used the flute in their worship of the Boeotian Athena. +The story of the slaying of Medusa by Athena, in which there is no +certain evidence that she played a direct part, explained by Roscher as +the scattering of the storm-cloud, probably arose from the fact that she +is represented as wearing the Gorgon's head as a badge. + +As in the case of Aphrodite and Apollo, Roscher in his _Lexikon_ deduces +all the characteristics of Athena from a single conception--that of the +goddess of the storm or the thunder-cloud (for a discussion of such +attempts see Farnell, _Cults_, i. pp. 3, 263). There seems little reason +for regarding her as a nature-goddess at all, but rather as the +presiding divinity of states and cities, of the arts and industries--in +short, as the goddess of the whole intellectual side of human life. + +Except at Athens, little is known of the ceremonies or festivals which +attended her worship. There we have the following. (1) The ceremony of +the _Three Sacred Ploughs_, by which the signal for seed-time was given, +apparently dating from a period when agriculture was one of the chief +occupations of her worshippers. (2) The _Procharisteria_ at the end of +winter, at which thanks were offered for the germination of the seed. +(3) The _Scirophoria_, with a procession from the Acropolis to the +village of Skiron, in the height of summer, the priests who were to +entreat her to keep off the summer heat walking under the shade of +parasols ([Greek: skyron]) held over them; others, however, connect the +name with [Greek: skiros] ("gypsum"), perhaps used for smearing the +image of the goddess. (4) The _Oschophoria_, at the vintage season, with +races among boys, and a procession, with songs in praise of Dionysus and +Ariadne. (5) The _Chalkeia_ (feast of smiths), at which the birth of +Erechtheus and the invention of the plough were celebrated. (6) The +_Plynteria_ and _Callynteria_, at which her ancient image and peplus in +the Erechtheum and the temple itself were cleaned, with a procession in +which bunches of figs (frequently used in lustrations) were carried. (7) +The _Arrhephoria_ or _Errephoria_ (perhaps = _Ersephoria_, +"dew-bearing"), at which four girls, between seven and eleven years of +age, selected from noble families, carried certain unknown sacred +objects to and from the temple of Aphrodite "in the gardens" (see J.E. +Harrison, _Classical Review_, April 1889). (8) The _Panathenaea_, at +which the new robes for the image of he goddess were carried through the +city, spread like a sail on a mast. The reliefs of the frieze of the +cella of the Parthenon enable us to form an idea of the procession. +Athletic games, open to all who traced their nationality to Athens, were +part of this festival. Mention should also be made of the Argive +ceremony, at which the _xoanon_ (ancient wooden statue) of Athena was +washed in the river Inachus, a symbol of her purification after the +Gigantomachia. + +The usual attributes of Athena were the helmet, the aegis, the round +shield with the head of Medusa in the centre, the lance, an olive +branch, the owl, the cock and the snake. Of these the aegis, usually +explained as a storm-cloud, is probably intended as a battle-charm, like +the Gorgon's head on the shield and the faces on the shields of Chinese +soldiers; the owl probably represents the form under which she was +worshipped in primitive times, and subsequently became her favourite +bird (the epithet [Greek: glaukopis], meaning "keen-eyed" in Homer, may +have originally signified "owl-faced"); the snake, a common companion of +the earth deities, probably refers to her connexion with +Erechtheus-Erichthonius. + +As to artistic representations of the goddess, we have first the rude +figure which seems to be a copy of the Palladium; secondly, the still +rude, but otherwise more interesting, figures of her, as e.g. when +accompanying heroes, on the early painted vases; and thirdly, the type +of her as produced by Pheidias, from which little variation appears to +have been made. Of his numerous statues of her, the three most +celebrated were set up on the Acropolis. (1) Athena _Parthenos_, in the +Parthenon. It was in ivory and gold, and 30 ft. high. She was +represented standing, in a long tunic; on her head was a helmet, +ornamented with sphinxes and griffins; on her breast was the aegis, +fringed with serpents and the Gorgon's head in centre. In her right hand +was a Nike or winged victory, while her left held a spear, which rested +on a shield on which were represented the battles of the Amazons with +the giants. (2) A colossal statue said to have been formed from the +spoils taken at Marathon, the so-called Athena _Promachos_. (3) Athena +_Lemnia_, so called because it had been dedicated by the Athenian +cleruchies in Lemnos. In this she was represented without arms, as a +brilliant type of virgin beauty. The two last statues were of bronze. +From the time of Pheidias calm earnestness, self-conscious might, and +clearness of intellect were the main characteristics of the goddess. The +eyes, slightly cast down, betoken an attitude of thoughtfulness; the +forehead is clear and open; the mouth indicates firmness and resolution. +The whole suggests a masculine rather than a feminine form. + +From Greece the worship of Athena extended to Magna Graecia, where a +number of temples were erected to her in various places. In Italy proper +she was identified with Minerva (q.v.). + + See articles in Pauly-Wissowa's _Realencyclopadie_; W.H. Roscher's + _Lexikon der Mythologie_; Daremberg and Saglio's _Dictionnaire des + antiquites_ (s.v. "Minerva"); L. Preller, _Griechische Mythologie_; + W.H. Roscher, "Die Grundbedeutung der Athene," in _Nektar und + Ambrosia_ (1883); F.A. Voigt, "Beitrage zur Mythologie des Ares und + Athena," in _Leipziger Studien_, iv. (1881); L.R. Farnell, _The Cults + of the Greek States_, i. (1896); J.E. Harrison, _Prolegomena to the + Study of Greek Religion_ (1903), for the festivals especially; O. + Gruppe, _Griechische Mythologie_, ii. (1907). In the article GREEK + ART, fig. 21 represents Athena in the act of striking a prostrate + giant; fig. 38 a statuette of Athena Parthenos, a replica of the work + of Pheidias. (J. H. F.) + + +FOOTNOTES: + + [1] O. Gruppe (_Griechische Mythologie_, ii. p. 1194) thinks that it + probably means "without mother's milk," either in an active or in a + passive sense "not giving suck," or "unsuckled," in her character as + the virgin goddess, or as springing from the head of Zeus. In support + of this view he refers to Hesychius [Greek: thaenion gala] and a + passage in Athenagoras (_Legatio pro Christianis_, 17), where it is + stated that Athena was sometimes called [Greek: Athela] or [Greek: + Athele]. For Pallas, he prefers the old etymology from [Greek: palla] + (to "shake"), rather in the sense of "earth-shaker" than + "lance-brandisher." + + [2] According to J.E. Harrison in Classical Review (June 1894), + Athena Ergane is the goddess of the fruits of the field and the + procreation of children. + + + + +ATHENAEUM, a name originally applied in ancient Greece ([Greek: +Athaenaion]) to buildings dedicated to Athena, and specially used as the +designation of a temple in Athens, where poets and men of learning were +accustomed to meet and read their productions. The academy for the +promotion of learning which the emperor Hadrian built (about A.D. 135) +at Rome, near the Forum, was also called the Athenaeum. Poets and +orators still met and discussed there, but regular courses of +instruction were given by a staff of professors in rhetoric, +jurisprudence, grammar and philosophy. The institution, later called +Schola Romana, continued in high repute till the 5th century. Similar +academies were also founded in the provinces and at Constantinople by +the emperor Theodosius II. In modern times the name has been applied to +various academies, as those of Lyons and Marseilles, and the Dutch high +schools; and it has become a very general designation for literary +clubs. It is also familiar as the title of several literary periodicals, +notably of the London literary weekly founded in 1828. + + + + +ATHENAEUS, of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, +flourished about the end of the 2nd and the beginning of the 3rd century +A.D. Suidas only tells us that he lived "in the times of Marcus"; but +the contempt with which he speaks of Commodus (died 192) shows that he +survived that emperor. Athenaeus himself states that he was the author +of a treatise on the _thratta_--a kind of fish mentioned by Archippus +and other comic poets--and of a history of the Syrian kings, both of +which works are lost. We still possess the _Deipnosophistae_, which may +mean dinner-table philosophers or authorities on banquets, in fifteen +books. The first two books, and parts of the third, eleventh and +fifteenth, are only extant in epitome, but otherwise we seem to possess +the work entire. It is an immense storehouse of miscellaneous +information, chiefly on matters connected with the table, but also +containing remarks on music, songs, dances, games, courtesans. It is +full of quotations from writers whose works have not come down to us; +nearly 800 writers and 2500 separate writings are referred to by +Athenaeus; and he boasts of having read 800 plays of the Middle Comedy +alone. The plan of the _Deipnosophistae_ is exceedingly cumbrous, and is +badly carried out. It professes to be an account given by the author to +his friend Timocrates of a banquet held at the house of Laurentius (or +Larentius), a scholar and wealthy patron of art. It is thus a dialogue +within a dialogue, after the manner of Plato, but a conversation of +sufficient length to occupy several days (though represented as taking +place in one) could not be conveyed in a style similar to the short +conversations of Socrates. Among the twenty-nine guests are Galen and +Ulpian, but they are all probably fictitious personages, and the +majority take no part in the conversation. If Ulpian is identical with +the famous jurist, the _Deipnosophistae_ must have been written after +his death (228); but the jurist was murdered by the praetorian guards, +whereas Ulpian in Athenaeus dies a natural death. The conversation +ranges from the dishes before the guests to literary matters of every +description, including points of grammar and criticism; and they are +expected to bring with them extracts from the poets, which are read +aloud and discussed at table. The whole is but a clumsy apparatus for +displaying the varied and extensive reading of the author. As a work of +art it can take but a low rank, but as a repertory of fragments and +morsels of information it is invaluable. + + Editio princeps, Aldine, 1524; Casaubon, 1597-1600; Schweighauser, + 1801-1807; Dindorf, 1827; Meineke, 1859-1867; Kaibel, 1887-1890; + English translation by Yonge in Bohn's _Classical Library_. + + + + +ATHENAGORAS, a Christian apologist of the 2nd century A.D., was, +according to an emendator of the Paris Codex 451 of the 11th century, a +native of Athens. The only sources of information regarding him are a +short notice by Philip of Side, in Pamphylia (c. A.D. 420), and the +inscription on his principal work. Philip--or rather the compiler who +made excerpts from him--says that he was at the head of an Alexandrian +school (the catechetical), that he lived in the time of Hadrian and +Antoninus, to whom he addressed his _Apology_, and that Clement of +Alexandria was his pupil; but these statements are more than doubtful. +The inscription on the work describes it as the "Embassy of Athenagoras, +the Athenian, a philosopher and a Christian concerning the Christians, +to the Emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, +&c." This statement has given rise to considerable discussion, but from +it and internal evidence the date of the _Apology_ ([Greek: Presbeia +peri Christianon]) may be fixed at about A.D. 177. Athenagoras is also +the author of a discourse on the resurrection of the body, which is not +authenticated otherwise than by the titles on the various manuscripts. +In the _Apology_, after contrasting the judicial treatment of Christians +with that of other accused persons, he refutes the accusations brought +against the Christians of atheism, eating human flesh and +licentiousness, and in doing so takes occasion to make a vigorous and +skilful attack on pagan polytheism and mythology. The discourse on the +resurrection answers objections to the doctrine, and attempts to prove +its truth from considerations of God's purpose in the creation of man, +His justice and the nature of man himself. Athenagoras is a powerful and +clear writer, who strives to comprehend his opponents' views and is +acquainted with the classical writers. He used the _Apology_ of Justin, +but hardly the works of Aristides or Tatian. His theology is strongly +tinged with Platonism, and this may account for his falling into +desuetude. His discussion of the Trinity has some points of speculative +interest, but it is not sufficiently worked out; he regards the Son as +the Reason or Wisdom of the Father, and the Spirit as a divine +effluence. On some other points, as the nature of matter, the +immortality of the soul and the principle of sin, his views are +interesting. + + EDITIONS.--J.C. Th. Eg. de Otto, _Corpus Apol. Christ. Saec._ II. vol. + vii. (Jena, 1857); E. Schwartz in _Texte und Untersuchungen_, iv. 2 + (Leipzig, 1891). + + TRANSLATIONS.--Humphreys (London, 1714); B.P. Pratten (_Ante-Nic. + Fathers_, Edinburgh, 1867). + + LITERATURE.--A. Harnack, _Gesch. der altchr. Litt._ pp. 526-558, and + similar works by O. Bardenhewer and A. Ehrhard; Herzog-Hauck, + _Realencyk._; G. Kruger, _Early Chr. Lit._ p. 130 (where additional + literature is cited). In 1559 and 1612 appeared in French a work on + _True and Perfect Love_, purporting to be a translation from the Greek + of Athenagoras; it is a palpable forgery. + + + + +ATHENODORUS, the name of two Stoic philosophers of the 1st century B.C., +who have frequently been confounded. + +1. ATHENODORUS CANANITES (c. 74 B.C.-A.D. 7), so called from his +birthplace Canana near Tarsus (not Cana in Cilicia nor Canna in +Lycaonia), was the son of one Sandon, whose name indicates Tarsian +descent, not Jewish as many have held. He was a personal friend of +Strabo, from whom we derive our knowledge of his life. He taught the +young Octavian (afterwards Augustus) at Apollonia, and was a pupil of +Posidonius at Rhodes. Subsequently he appears to have travelled in the +East (Petra and Egypt) and to have made himself famous by lecturing in +the great cities of the Mediterranean. Writing in 50 B.C., Cicero speaks +of him with the highest respect (cf. _Ep. ad. Att._, xvi. 11. 4, 14. 4), +a fact which enables us to fix the date of his birth as not later than +about 74. His influence over Augustus was strong and lasting. He +followed him to Rome in 44, and is said to have criticized him with the +utmost candour, bidding him repeat the letters of the alphabet before +acting on an angry impulse. In later years he was allowed by Augustus to +return to Tarsus in order to remodel the constitution of the city after +the degenerate democracy which had misgoverned it under Boethus. He +succeeded (c. 15-10 B.C.) in setting up a timocratic oligarchy in the +imperial interest (see TARSUS). Sir W.M. Ramsay is inclined to attribute +to the influence of Athenodorus the striking resemblances which can be +established between Seneca and Paul, the latter of whom must certainly +have been acquainted with his teachings. According to Eusebius and +Strabo he was a learned scientist for his day, and some attribute to him +a history of Tarsus. He helped Cicero in the composition of the _De +Officiis_. His works are not certainly known, and none are extant. (See +Sir W.M. Ramsay in the _Expositor_, September 1906, pp. 268 ff.) + +2. ATHENODORUS CORDYLION, also of Tarsus, was keeper of the library at +Pergamum, and was an old man in 47 B.C. In his enthusiasm for Stoicism +he used to cut out from Stoic writings passages which seemed to him +unsatisfactory. He also settled in Rome, where he died in the house of +the younger Cato. + + Among others of the name may be mentioned (3) ATHENODORUS OF TEOS, who + played the cithara at the wedding of Alexander the Great and Statira + at Susa (324 B.C.); (4) a Greek physician of the 1st century A.D., who + wrote on epidemic diseases; and two sculptors, of whom (5) one + executed the statues of Apollo and Zeus which the Spartans dedicated + at Delphi after Aegospotami; and (6) the other was a son of Alexander + of Rhodes, whom he helped in the Laocoon group. + + + + +ATHENRY, a market town of county Galway, Ireland, 14 m. inland (E.) from +Galway on the Midland Great Western main line. Pop. (1901) 853. Its name +is derived from _Ath-na-riogh_, the ford of kings; and it grew to +importance after the Anglo-Norman invasion as the first town of the +Burgs and Berminghams. The walls were erected in 1211 and the castle in +1238, and the remains of both are noteworthy. A Dominican monastery was +founded with great magnificence by Myler de Bermingham in 1241, and was +repaired by the Board of Works in 1893. Of the Franciscan monastery of +1464 little is left. The town returned two members to the Irish +parliament from the time of Richard II. to the Union; but it never +recovered from the wars of the Tudor period, culminating in a successful +siege by Red Hugh O'Donnell in 1596. + + + + +ATHENS [[Greek: Athaenai], _Athenae_, modern colloquial Greek [Greek: +Athaena]], the capital of the kingdom of Greece, situated in 23 deg. 44' +E. and 37 deg. 58' N., towards the southern end of the central and +principal plain of Attica. The various theories with regard to the +origin of the name are all somewhat unconvincing; it is conceivable +that, with the other homonymous Greek towns, such as Athenae Diades in +Euboea, [Greek: Athaenai] may be connected etymologically with [Greek: +anthos], a flower (cf. _Firenze_, Florence); the patron goddess, Athena, +was probably called after the place of her cult. + + +I. TOPOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES + +The Attic plain, [Greek: to pedion], slopes gently towards the coast of +the Saronic Gulf on the south-west; on the east it is overlooked by +Mount Hymettus (3369 ft.); on the north-east by Pentelicus or Brilessus +(3635 ft.) from which, in ancient and modern times, an immense quantity +of the finest marble has been quarried; on the north-west by Parnes +(4636 ft.), a continuation of the Boeotian Cithaeron, and on the west by +Aegaleus (1532 ft.), which descends abruptly to the bay of Salamis. In +the centre of the plain extends from north-east to south-west a series +of low heights, now known as Turcovuni, culminating towards the south in +the sharply pointed Lycabettus (1112 ft.), now called Hagios Georgios +from the monastery which crowns its summit. Lycabettus, the most +prominent feature in the Athenian landscape, directly overhung the +ancient city, but was not included in its walls; its peculiar shape +rendered it unsuitable for fortification. The Turcovuni ridge, probably +the ancient Anchesmus, separates the valley of the Cephisus on the +north-west from that of its confluent, the Ilissus, which skirted the +ancient city on the south-west. The Cephisus, rising in Pentelicus, +enters the sea at New Phalerum; in summer it dwindles to an +insignificant stream, while the Ilissus, descending from Hymettus, is +totally dry, probably owing to the destruction of the ancient forests on +both mountains, and the consequent denudation of the soil. Separated +from Lycabettus by a depression to the south-west, through which flows a +brook, now a covered drain (probably to be identified with the +Eridanus), stands the remarkable oblong rocky mass of the Acropolis (512 +ft.), rising precipitously on all sides except the western; its summit +was partially levelled in prehistoric times, and the flat area was +subsequently enlarged by further cutting and by means of retaining +walls. Close to the Acropolis on the west is the lower rocky eminence of +the Areopagus, [Greek: Areios pagos] (377 ft.), the seat of the famous +council; the name (see also AREOPAGUS) has been connected with Ares, +whose temple stood on the northern side of the hill, but is more +probably derived from the [Greek: Apai] or Eumenides, whose sanctuary +was formed by a cleft in its north-eastern declivity. Farther west of +the Acropolis are three elevations; to the north-west the so-called +"Hill of the Nymphs" (341 ft.), on which the modern Observatory stands; +to the west the Pnyx, the meeting-place of the Athenian democracy (351 +ft.), and to the south-west the loftier Museum Hill (482 ft.), still +crowned with the remains of the monument of Philopappus. A cavity, a +little to the west of the Observatory Hill, is generally supposed to be +the ancient Barathron or place of execution. To the south-east of the +Acropolis, beyond the narrow valley of the Ilissus, is the hill Ardettus +(436 ft.). The distance from the Acropolis to the nearest point of the +sea coast at Phalerum is a little over 3 m. + + + Influence of the geographical position. + +The natural situation of Athens was such as to favour the growth of a +powerful community. For the first requisites of a primitive +settlement--food supply and defence--it afforded every advantage. The +Attic plain, notwithstanding the lightness of the soil, furnished an +adequate supply of cereals; olive and fig groves and vineyards were +cultivated from the earliest times in the valley of the Cephisus, and +pasturage for sheep and goats was abundant. The surrounding rampart of +mountains was broken towards the north-east by an open tract stretching +between Hymettus and Pentelicus towards Marathon, and was traversed by +the passes of Decelea, Phyle and Daphne on the north and north-west, but +the distance between these natural passages and the city was sufficient +to obviate the danger of surprise by an invading land force. On the +other hand Athens, like Corinth, Megara and Argos, was sufficiently far +from the sea to enjoy security against the sudden descent of a hostile +fleet. At the same time the relative proximity of three natural +harbours, Peiraeus, Zea and Munychia, favoured the development of +maritime commerce and of the sea power which formed the basis of +Athenian hegemony. The climate is temperate, but liable to sudden +changes; the mean temperature is 63 deg. .1 F., the maximum (in July) 99 +deg. .01, the minimum (in January) 31 deg. .55. The summer heat is +moderated by the sea-breeze or by cool northerly winds from the +mountains (especially in July and August). The clear, bracing air, +according to ancient writers, fostered the intellectual and aesthetic +character of the people and endowed them with mental and physical +energy. For the architectural embellishment of the city the finest +building material was procurable without difficulty and in abundance; +Pentelicus forms a mass of white, transparent, blue-veined marble; +another variety, somewhat similar in appearance, but generally of a +bluer hue, was obtained from Hymettus. For ordinary purposes grey +limestone was furnished by Lycabettus and the adjoining hills; limestone +from the promontory of Acte (the so-called "poros" stone), and +conglomerate, were also largely employed. For the ceramic art admirable +material was at hand in the district north-west of the Acropolis. For +sculpture and various architectural purposes white, fine-grained marble +was brought from Paros and Naxos. The main drawback to the situation of +the city lay in the insufficiency of its water-supply, which was +supplemented by an aqueduct constructed in the time of the Peisistratids +and by later water-courses dating from the Roman period. A great number +of wells were also sunk and rain-water was stored in cisterns. + + + Sources for Athenian topography. + + For the purposes of scientific topography observation of the natural + features and outlines is followed by exact investigation of the + architectural structures or remnants, a process demanding high + technical competence, acute judgment and practical experience, as well + as wide and accurate scholarship. The building material and the manner + of its employment furnish evidence no less important than the + character of the masonry, the design and the modes of ornamentation. + The testimony afforded by inscriptions is often of decisive + importance, especially that of commemorative or votive tablets or of + boundary-stones found _in situ_; the value of this evidence is, on the + other hand, sometimes neutralized owing to the former removal of + building material already used and its incorporation in later + structures. Thus sepulchral inscriptions have been found on the + Acropolis, though no burials took place there in ancient times. In the + next place comes the evidence derived from the whole range of ancient + literature and specially from descriptions of the city or its + different localities. The earliest known description of Athens was + that of Diodorus, [Greek: ho periaegtes], who lived in the second half + of the 4th century B.C. Among his successors were Polemon of Ilium + (beginning of 2nd century B.C.), whose great [Greek: kosmikae + periaegaesis] gave a minute account of the votive offerings on the + Acropolis and the tombs on the Sacred Way; and Heliodorus (second half + of the 2nd century) who wrote fifteen volumes on the monuments of + Athens. Of these and other works of the earliest topographers only + some fragments remain. In the period between A.D. 143 and 159 + Pausanias visited Athens at a time when the monuments of the great age + were still in their perfection and the principal embellishments of the + Roman period had already been completed. The first thirty chapters of + his invaluable _Description of Greece_ ([Greek: periaegaesis taes + Hellados]) are devoted to Athens, its ports and environs. Pausanias + makes no claim to exhaustiveness; he selected what was best worth + noticing ([Greek: ta axiologotata]). His account, drawn up from notes + taken in the main from personal observation, possesses an especial + importance for topographical research, owing to his method of + describing each object in the order in which he saw it during the + course of his walks. His accuracy, which has been called in question + by some scholars, has been remarkably vindicated by recent excavations + at Athens and elsewhere. The list of ancient topographers closes with + Pausanias. The literature of succeeding centuries furnishes only + isolated references; the more important are found in the scholia on + Aristophanes, the lexicons of Hesychius, Photius and others, and the + _Etymologicum Magnum_. The notices of Athens during the earlier middle + ages are scanty in the extreme. In 1395 Niccola da Martoni, a pilgrim + from the Holy Land, visited Athens and wrote a description of a + portion of the city. Of the work of Cyriac of Ancona, written about + 1450, only some fragments remain, which are well supplemented by the + contemporaneous description of the capable observer known as the + "Anonymous of Milan." Two treatises in Greek by unknown writers belong + to the same period. The Dutchman Joannes Meursius (1579-1639) wrote + three disquisitions on Athenian topography. The conquest by Venice in + 1687 led to the publication of several works in that city, including + the descriptions of De la Rue and Fanelli and the maps of Coronelli + and others. The systematic study of Athenian topography was begun in + the 17th century by French residents at Athens, the consuls Giraud and + Chataignier and the Capuchin monks. The visit of the French physician + Jacques Spon and the Englishman, Sir George Wheler or Wheeler + (1650-1723), fortunately took place before the catastrophe of the + Parthenon in 1687; Spon's _Voyage d'Italie, de Dalmatie, de Grece et + du Levant_, which contained the first scientific description of the + ruins of Athens, appeared in 1678; Wheler's _Journey into Greece_, in + 1682. A period of British activity in research followed in the 18th + century. The monumental work of James Stuart and Nicholas Revett, who + spent three years at Athens (1751-1754), marked an epoch in the + progress of Athenian topography and is still indispensable to its + study, owing to the demolition of ancient buildings which began about + the middle of the 18th century. To this period also belong the labours + of Richard Pococke and Richard Dalton, Richard Chandler, E.D. Clarke + and Edward Dodwell. The great work of W.M. Leake (_Topography of + Athens and the Demi_, 2nd ed., 1841) brought the descriptive + literature to an end and inaugurated the period of modern scientific + research, in which German archaeologists have played a distinguished + part. + + + Recent research. + + Recent investigation has thrown a new and unexpected light on the art, + the monuments and the topography of the ancient city. Numerous and + costly excavations have been carried out by the Greek government and + by native and foreign scientific societies, while accidental + discoveries have been frequently made during the building of the + modern town. The museums, enriched by a constant inflow of works of + art and inscriptions, have been carefully and scientifically arranged, + and afford opportunities for systematic study denied to scholars of + the past generation. Improved means of communication have enabled many + acute observers to apply the test of scrutiny on the spot to theories + and conclusions mainly based on literary evidence; five foreign + schools of archaeology, directed by eminent scholars, lend valuable + aid to students of all nationalities, and lectures are frequently + delivered in the museums and on the more interesting and important + sites. The native archaeologists of the present day hold a recognized + position in the scientific work; the patriotic sentiment of former + times, which prompted their zeal but occasionally warped their + judgment, has been merged in devotion to science for its own sake, and + the supervision of excavations, as well as the control of the + art-collections, is now in highly competent hands. Athens has thus + become a centre of learning, a meeting-place for scholars and a basis + for research in every part of the Greek world. The attention of many + students has naturally been concentrated on the ancient city, the + birthplace of European art and literature, and a great development of + investigation and discussion in the special domain of Athenian + archaeology has given birth to a voluminous literature. Many theories + hitherto universally accepted have been called in question or proved + to be unsound: the views of Leake, for instance, have been challenged + on various points, though many of his conclusions have been justified + and confirmed. The supreme importance of a study of Greek antiquities + on the spot, long understood by scholars in Europe and in America, has + gradually come to be recognized in England, where a close attention to + ancient texts, not always adequately supplemented by a course of local + study and observation, formerly fostered a peculiarly conservative + attitude in regard to the problems of Greek archaeology. Since the + foundation of the German Institute in 1874, Athenian topography has to + a large extent become a speciality of German scholars, among whom + Wilhelm Dorpfeld occupies a pre-eminent position owing to his great + architectural attainments and unrivalled local knowledge. Many of his + bold and novel theories have provoked strenuous opposition, while + others have met with general acceptance, except among scholars of the + more conservative type. + +[Illustration: Map of Athens.] + + + The early citadel. + +_Prehistoric Athens._--Numerous traces of the "Mycenaean" epoch have +recently been brought to light in Athens and its neighbourhood. Among +the monuments of this age discovered in the surrounding districts are +the rock-hewn tombs of Spata, accidentally revealed by a landslip in +1877, and domed sepulchre at Menidi, near the ancient Acharnae, +excavated by Lolling in 1879. Other "Mycenaean" landmarks have been laid +bare at Eleusis, Thoricus, Halae and Aphidna. These structures, however, +are of comparatively minor importance in point of dimensions and +decoration; they were apparently designed as places of sepulture for +local chieftains, whose domains were afterwards incorporated in the +Athenian realm by the [Greek: synoikismos] (synoecism) attributed to +Theseus. The situation of the Acropolis, dominating the surrounding +plain and possessing easy communication with the sea, favoured the +formation of a relatively powerful state--inferior, however, to Tiryns +and Mycenae; the myths of Cecrops, Erechtheus and Theseus bear witness +to the might of the princes who ruled in the Athenian citadel, and here +we may naturally expect to find traces of massive fortifications +resembling in some degree those of the great Argolid cities. Such in +fact have been brought to light by the modern excavations on the +Acropolis (1885-1889). Remains of primitive polygonal walls which +undoubtedly surrounded the entire area have been found at various points +a little within the circuit of the existing parapet. The best-preserved +portions are at the eastern extremity, at the northern side near the +ancient "royal" exit, and at the south-western angle. The course of the +walls can be traced with a few interruptions along the southern side. On +the northern side are the foundations of a primitive tower and other +remains, apparently of dwelling-houses, one of which may have been the +[Greek: pukinos domos Erthaeos] mentioned by Homer (_Od_. vii. 81). +Among the foundations were discovered fragments of "Mycenaean" pottery. +The various approaches to the citadel on the northern side--the rock-cut +flight of steps north-east of the Erechtheum (q.v.), the stairs leading +to the well Clepsydra, and the intermediate passage supposed to have +furnished access to the Persians--are all to be attributed to the +primitive epoch. Two pieces of polygonal wall, one beneath the bastion +of Nike Apteros, the other in a direct line between the Roman gateway +and the door of the Propylaea, are all that remain of the primitive +defences of the main entrance. + + + The Pelasgicum. + +These early fortifications of the Acropolis, ascribed to the primitive +non-hellenic Pelasgi, must be distinguished from the Pelasgicum Or +Pelargicum, which was in all probability an encircling wall, built round +the base of the citadel and furnished with nine gates from which it +derived the name of Enneapylon. Such a wall would be required to protect +the clusters of dwellings around the Acropolis as well as the springs +issuing from the rock, while the gates opening in various directions +would give access to the surrounding pastures and gardens. This view, +which is that of E. Curtius, alone harmonizes with the statement of +Herodotus (vi. 137) that the wall was "around" ([Greek: peri]) the +Acropolis, and that of Thucydides (ii. 17) that it was "beneath" +([Greek: hypo]) the fortress. Thus it would appear that the citadel had +an outer and an inner line of defence in prehistoric times. The space +enclosed by the outer wall was left unoccupied after the Persian wars in +deference to an oracular response apparently dictated by military +considerations, the maintenance of an open zone being desirable for the +defence of the citadel. A portion of the outer wall has been recognized +in a piece of primitive masonry discovered near the Odeum of Herodes +Atticus; other traces will probably come to light when the northern and +eastern slopes of the Acropolis have been completely explored. Leake, +whom Frazer follows, assumed the Pelasgicum to be a fortified space at +the western end of the Acropolis; this view necessitates the assumption +that the nine gates were built one within the other, but early antiquity +furnishes no instance of such a construction; Dorpfeld believes it to +have extended from the grotto of Pan to the sacred precinct of +Asclepius. The well-known passage of Lucian (_Piscator_, 47) cannot be +regarded as decisive for any of the theories advanced, as any portion of +the old _enceinte_ dismantled by the Persians may have retained the name +in later times. The Pelasgic wall enclosed the spring Clepsydra, beneath +the north-western corner of the Acropolis, which furnished a +water-supply to the defenders of the fortress. The spring, to which a +staircase leads down, was once more included in a bastion during the War +of Independence by the Greek chief Odysseus. + + + The Pnyx. + +To the "Pelasgic" era may perhaps be referred (with Curtius and +Milchhofer) the immense double terrace on the north-eastern slope of the +Pnyx (395 ft. by 212), the upper portion of which is cut out of the +rock, while the lower is enclosed by a semicircular wall of massive +masonry; the theory of these scholars, however, that the whole precinct +was a sanctuary of the Pelasgian Zeus cannot be regarded as proved, nor +is it easy to abandon the generally received view that this was the +scene of the popular assemblies of later times, notwithstanding the +apparent unsuitability of the ground and the insufficiency of room for a +large multitude. These difficulties are met by the assumption that the +semicircular masonry formed the base of a retaining-wall which rose to a +considerable height, supporting a theatre-like structure capable of +seating many thousand persons. The masonry may be attributed to the 5th +century; the chiselling of the immense blocks is not "Cyclopean." +Projecting from the upper platform at the centre of the chord of the +semicircular area is a cube of rock, 11 ft. square and 5 ft. high, +approached on either side by a flight of steps leading to the top; this +block, which Curtius supposes to have been the primitive altar of Zeus +[Greek: Hupsistos], may be safely identified with the orators' bema, +[Greek: ho lithos en tae Pykni] (Aristoph. _Pax_, 680). Plutarch's +statement that the Thirty Tyrants removed the bema so as to face the +land instead of the sea is probably due to a misunderstanding. Other +cubes of rock, apparently altars, exist in the neighbourhood. There can +be little doubt that the Pnyx was the seat of an ancient cult; the +meetings of the Ecclesia were of a religious character and were preceded +by a sacrifice to Zeus [Greek: Agoraios]; nor is it conceivable that, +but for its sacred associations, a site would have been chosen so +unsuitable for the purposes of a popular assembly as to need the +addition of a costly artificial auditorium. + + + Rock-dwellings and tombs. + +The Pnyx, the Hill of the Nymphs and the Museum Hill are covered with +vestiges of early settlements which extend to a considerable distance +towards the south-east in the direction of Phalerum. They consist of +chambers of various sizes, some of which were evidently human +habitations, together with cisterns, channels, seats, steps, terraces +and quadrangular tombs, all cut in the rock. This neighbourhood was held +by Curtius to have been the site of the primeval rock city, [Greek: +kranaa polis] (Aristoph. _Ach_. 75), anterior to the occupation of the +Acropolis and afterwards abandoned for the later settlement. It seems +inconceivable, however, that any other site should have been preferred +by the primitive settlers to the Acropolis, which offered the greatest +advantages for defence; the Pnyx, owing to its proximity to the centres +of civic life, can never have been deserted, and that portion which lay +within the city walls must have been fully occupied when Athens was +crowded during the Peloponnesian War. Some of the rock chambers +originally intended for tombs were afterwards converted, perhaps under +pressure of necessity, into habitations, as in the case of the so-called +"Prison of Socrates," which consists of three chambers horizontally +excavated and a small round apartment of the "beehive" type. The remains +on the Pnyx and its neighbourhood cannot all be assigned to one epoch, +the prehistoric age. The dwellings do not correspond in size or details +with the undoubtedly prehistoric abodes on the Acropolis. In view of the +ancient law which forbade burial within the city, the tombs within the +circuit of the city walls must either be earlier than the time of +Themistocles or several centuries later; in the similar rock-tombs on +the neighbouring slopes of the Acropolis and Areopagus both Mycenaean +and Dipylon pottery have been found. But the numerous vertically +excavated tombs outside the walls are of late date and belong for the +most part to the Roman period. + + + The Areopagus. + +The Areopagus is now a bare rock possessing few architectural traces. +The legend of its occupation by the Amazons (Aeschylus, _Eum_. 681 seq.) +may be taken as indicating its military importance for an attack on the +Acropolis; the Persians used it as a _point d'appui_ for their assault. +The seat of the old oligarchical council and court for homicide was +probably on its eastern height. Here were the altar of Athena Areia and +two stones, the [Greek: lithos Ybreos], on which the accuser, and the +[Greek: lithos Anaideias], on which the accused, took their stand. +Beneath, at the north-eastern corner, is the cleft which formed the +sanctuary of the [Greek: Semnai], or Erinyes. There is no reason for +disturbing the associations connected with this spot as the scene of St +Paul's address to the Athenians (E. Gardner, _Anc. Athens_, p. 505). + +_Hellenic Period._--While modern research has added considerably to our +knowledge of prehistoric Athens, a still greater light has been thrown +on the architecture and topography of the city in the earlier historic +or "archaic" era, the subsequent age of Athenian greatness, and the +period of decadence which set in with the Macedonian conquest; the first +extends from the dawn of history to 480-479 B.C., when the city was +destroyed by the Persians; the second, or classical, age closes in 322 +B.C., when Athens lost its political independence after the Lamian War; +the third, or Hellenistic, in 146 B.C., when the state fell under Roman +protection. We must here group these important epochs together, as +distinguished from the later period of Roman rule, and confine ourselves +to a brief notice of their principal monuments and a record of the +discoveries by which they have been illustrated in recent years. + + + The city in the "archaic" era. + +The earliest settlement on the Acropolis was doubtless soon increased by +groups of dwellings at its base, inhabited by the dependents of the +princes who ruled in the stronghold. These habitations would naturally +in the first instance lie in close proximity to the western approach; +after the building of the Pelasgicum they seem to have extended beyond +its walls towards the south and south-west--towards the sea and the +waters of the Ilissus. The district thus occupied sloped towards the sun +and was sheltered by the Acropolis from the prevailing northerly winds. +The Thesean synoecism led to the introduction of new cults and the +foundation of new shrines partly on the Acropolis, partly in the +inhabited district at its base both within and without the wall of the +Pelasgicum. Some of the shrines in this region are mentioned by +Thucydides in a passage which is of capital importance for the +topography of the city at this period (ii. 15). By degrees the inhabited +area began to comprise the open ground to the north-west, the nearer +portion of the later Ceramicus, or "potters' field" (afterwards divided +by the walls of Themistocles into the Inner and Outer Ceramicus), and +eventually extended to the north and east of the citadel, which, by the +beginning of the 5th century B.C., had become the centre of a circular +or wheel-shaped city, [Greek: polios trochoeideos akra karaena] (Oracle +_apud_ Herod, vii. 140). To this enlarged city was applied, probably +about the second half of the 6th century, the special designation +[Greek: to aste], which afterwards distinguished Athens from its port, +the Peiracus; the Acropolis was already [Greek: e polis] (Thucyd. ii. +15). The city is supposed to have been surrounded by a wall before the +time of Solon, the existence of which may be deduced from Thucydides' +account of the assassination of Hipparchus (vi. 57), but no certain +traces of such a wall have been discovered; the materials may have been +removed to build the walls of Themistocles. + + + The Agora. + +The centre of commercial and civic life of the older group of +communities, as of the greater city of the classical age, was the Agora +or market. Here were the various public buildings, which, when the power +of the princes on the citadel was transferred to the archons, formed the +offices of the administrative magistracy. The site of the primitive +Agora ([Greek: archaia agora]) was probably in the hollow between the +Acropolis and the Pnyx, which formed a convenient meeting-place for the +dwellers on the north and south sides of the fortress as well as for its +inhabitants. In the time of the Peisistratids the Agora was enlarged so +as to extend over the Inner Ceramicus on the north-west, apparently +reaching the northern declivities of the Areopagus and the Acropolis on +the south. After the Persian Wars the northern portion was used for +commercial, the southern for political and ceremonial purposes. In the +southern were the Orchestra, where the Dionysiac dances took place, and +the famous statues of Harmodius and Aristogeiton by Antenor which were +carried away by Xerxes; also the Metroum, or temple of the Mother of the +Gods, the Bouleuterium, or council-chamber of the Five Hundred, the +Prytaneum, the hearth of the combined communities, where the guests of +the state dined, the temple of the Dioscuri, and the Tholus, or Skias, a +circular stone-domed building in which the Prytaneis were maintained at +the public expense; in the northern were the Leocorium, where Hipparchus +was slain, the [Greek: stoa basilikae], the famous [Greek: stoa +poikilae], where Zeno taught, and other structures. The Agora was +commonly described as the "Ceramicus," and Pausanias gives it this name; +of the numerous buildings which he saw here scarcely a trace remains; +their position, for the most part, is largely conjectural, and the exact +boundaries of the Agora itself are uncertain. What are perhaps the +remains of the [Greek: stoa basilikae], in which the Archon Basileus +held his court and the Areopagus Council sat in later times, were +brought to light in the winter of 1897-1898, when excavations were +carried out on the eastern slope of the "Theseum" hill. Here was found a +rectangular structure resembling a temple, but with a side door to the +north; it possessed a portico of six columns. The north slope of the +Areopagus, where a number of early tombs were found, was also explored, +and the limits of the Agora on the south and north-west were +approximately ascertained. A portion of the main road leading from the +Dipylon to the Agora was discovered. + + + The Enneacrunus. + +In 1892 Dorpfeld began a series of excavations in the district between +the Acropolis and the Pnyx with the object of determining the situation +of the buildings described by Pausanias as existing in the neighbourhood +of the Agora, and more especially the position of the Enneacrunus +fountain. The Enneacrunus has hitherto been generally identified with +the spring Callirrhoe in the bed of the Ilissus, a little to the +south-east of the Olympieum; it is apparently, though not explicitly, +placed by Thucydides (ii. 15) in proximity to that building, as well as +the temple of Dionysus [Greek: en limnais] and other shrines, the +temples of Zeus Olympius and of Ge and the Pythium, which he mentions as +situated mainly to the south of the Acropolis. On the other hand, +Pausanias (i. 14. 1), who never deviates without reason from the +topographical order of his narrative, mentions the Enneacrunus in the +midst of his description of certain buildings which were undoubtedly in +the region of the Agora, and unless he is guilty of an unaccountable +digression the Enneacrunus which he saw must have lain west of the +Acropolis. It is now generally agreed that the Agora of classical times +covered the low ground between the hill of the "Theseum," the Areopagus +and the Pnyx; and Pausanias, in the course of his description, appears +to have reached its southern end. The excavations revealed a main road +of surprisingly narrow dimensions winding up from the Agora to the +Acropolis. A little to the south-west of the point where the road turns +towards the Propylaca was found a large rock-cut cistern or reservoir +which Dorpfeld identifies with the Enneacrunus. The reservoir is +supplied by a conduit of 6th-century tiles connected with an early stone +aqueduct, the course of which is traceable beneath the Dionysiac theatre +and the royal garden in the direction of the Upper Ilissus. These +elaborate waterworks were, according to Dorpfeld, constructed by the +Peisistratids in order to increase the supply from the ancient spring +Callirrhoe; the fountain was furnished with nine jets and henceforth +known as Enneacrunus. This identification has been hotly contested by +many scholars, and the question must still be regarded as undecided. An +interesting confirmation of Dorpfeld's view is furnished by the map of +Guillet and Coronelli, published in 1672, in which the Enneacrunus is +depicted as a well with a stream of running water in the neighbourhood +of the Pnyx. The fact that spring water is not now found in this +locality is by no means fatal to the theory; recent engineering +investigations have shown that much of the surface water of the Attic +plain has sunk to a lower level. In front of the reservoir is a small +open space towards which several roads converge; close by is a +triangular enclosure of polygonal masonry, in which were found various +relics relating to the worship of Dionysus, a very ancient wine-press +([Greek: laenos]) and the remains of a small temple. Built over this +early precinct, which Dorpfeld identifies with the Dionysium [Greek: en +limnais], or Lenaeum, is a basilica-shaped building of the Roman period, +apparently sacred to Bacchus; in this was found an inscription +containing the rules of the society of the Iobacchi. There is an +obvious difficulty in assuming that [Greek: limnai], in the sense of +"marshes," existed in this confined area, but stagnant pools may still +be seen here in winter. Dorpfeld's identification of the Dionysium, +[Greek: en limnais] cannot be regarded as proved; his view that another +Pythium and another Olympieum existed in this neighbourhood is still +less probable; but the inconclusiveness of these theories does not +necessarily invalidate his identification of the Enneacrunus, with +regard to the position of which the language of Thucydides is far from +clear. Another enclosure, a little to the south, is proved by an +inscription to have been a sanctuary of the hitherto unknown hero +Amynos, with whose cult those of Asclepius and the hero Dexion were here +associated; under the name Dexion, the poet Sophocles is said to have +been worshipped after his death. The whole district adjoining the +Areopagus was found to have been thickly built over; the small, mean +dwelling-houses intersected by narrow, crooked lanes convey a vivid idea +of the contrast between the modest private residences and the great +public structures of the ancient city. + + + The Academy and Lyceum. + +The age of the Peisistratids (560-511 B.C.) marked an era in the history +of Athenian topography. The greatest of their foundations, the temple of +Olympian Zeus, will be referred to later. Among the monuments of their +rule, in addition to the enlarged Agora and the Enneacrunus, were the +Academy and perhaps the Lyceum. The original name of the Academy may +have been Hecademia, from Hecademus, an early proprietor (but see +ACADEMY, GREEK). The famous seat of the Platonic philosophy was a +gymnasium enlarged as a public park by Cimon; it lay about a mile to the +north-west of the Dipylon Gate, with which it was connected by a street +bordered with tombs. The Lyceum, where Aristotle taught, was originally +a sanctuary of Apollo Lyceius. Like the Academy, it was an enclosure +with a gymnasium and garden; it lay to the east of the city beyond the +Diocharean Gate. + + + The Acropolis before the Persian wars. + +Little was known of the buildings on the Acropolis in the pre-Persian +period before the great excavations of 1885-1888, which rank among the +most surprising achievements of modern research. The results of these +operations, which were conducted by the Archaeological Society under the +direction of Kavvadias and Kawerau, must be summarized with the utmost +brevity. The great deposits of sculpture and pottery now unearthed, +representing all that escaped from the the ravages of the Persians and +the burning of the ancient shrines, afford a startling revelation of the +development of Greek art in the 7th and 6th centuries. Numbers of +statues--among them a series of draped and richly-coloured female +figures--masterpieces of painted pottery, only equalled by the Attic +vases found in Magna Grecia and Etruria, and numerous bronzes, were +among the treasures of art now brought to light. All belong to the +"archaic" epoch; only a few remains of the greater age were found, +including some fragments of sculptures from the Parthenon and +Erechtheum. We are principally concerned, however, with the results +which add to our knowledge of the topography and architecture of the +Acropolis. The entire area of the summit was now thoroughly explored, +the excavations being carried down to the surface of the rock, which on +the southern side was found to slope outwards to a depth of about 45 ft. +In the lower strata were discovered the remnants of Cyclopean or +prehistoric architecture already mentioned. Of later date, perhaps, are +the limestone polygonal retaining walls on the west front, which +extended on either side of the early entrance. Of these a portion may +probably be attributed to the Peisistratids, in whose time the Acropolis +once more became the stronghold of a despotism. Its fortifications, +though not increased, were apparently strengthened by the Tyrants. To +its embellishment they probably contributed the older ornamental +entrance, facing south-west, the precursor of the greater structure of +Mnesicles (see PROPYLAEA) and the colonnade of the "Hecatompedon," or +earlier temple of Athena, at this time the only large sacred edifice on +the citadel. The name was subsequently applied to the cella, or eastern +chamber, of the Parthenon, which is exactly 100 ft. long, and also +became a popular designation of the temple itself. + + + The old temple of Athena. + +The ancient Hecatompedon may in all probability be identified with an +early temple, also 100 ft. long, the foundations of which were pointed +out in 1885 by Dorpfeld on the ground immediately adjoining the south +side of the Erechtheum. On this spot was apparently the primitive +sanctuary of Athena, the rich temple [Greek: pion naeos] of Homer (_Il._ +ii. 549), in which the cult of the goddess was associated with that of +Erechtheus; the Homeric temple is identified by Furtwangler with the +"compact house of Erechtheus" (_Od_. vii. 81), which, he holds, was not +a royal palace, but a place of worship, and traces of it may perhaps be +recognized in the fragments of prehistoric masonry enclosed by the +existing foundations. The foundations seem to belong to the 7th century, +except those of the colonnade, which was possibly added by Peisistratus. +According to Dorpfeld, this was the "old temple" of Athena Polias, +frequently mentioned in literature and inscriptions, in which was housed +the most holy image [Greek: xoanon] of the goddess which fell from +heaven; it was burnt, but not completely destroyed, during the Persian +War, and some of its external decorations were afterwards built into the +north wall of the Acropolis; it was subsequently restored, he thinks, +with or without its colonnade--in the former case a portion of the +peristyle must have been removed when the Erechtheum was built so as to +make room for the porch of the maidens; the building was set on fire in +406 B.C. (Xen. _Hell._ i. 6. 1), and the conflagration is identical with +that mentioned by Demosthenes (_In Timocr._ xxiv. 155); its +"opisthodomos" served as the Athenian treasury in the 5th and 4th +centuries; the temple is the [Greek: archaios neos taes Poliados] +mentioned by Strabo (ix. 16), and it was still standing in the time of +Pausanias, who applies to it the same name (i. 27. 3). The conclusion +that the foundations are those of an old temple burnt by the Persians +has been generally accepted, but other portions of Dorpfeld's +theory--more especially his assumption that the temple was restored +after the Persian War--have provoked much controversy. Thus J.G. Frazer +maintains the hitherto current theory that the earlier temple of Athena +and Erechtheus was on the site of the Erechtheum; that the Erechtheum +inherited the name [Greek: archaios neos] from its predecessor, and that +the "opisthodomos" in which the treasures were kept was the west chamber +of the Parthenon; Furtwangler and Milchhofer hold the strange view that +the "opisthodomos" was a separate building at the east end of the +Acropolis, while Penrose thinks the building discovered by Dorpfeld was +possibly the Cecropeum. E. Curtius and J.W. White, on the other hand, +accept Dorpfeld's identification, but believe that only the western +portion of the temple or opisthodomos was rebuilt after the Persian War. +Admitting the identification, we may perhaps conclude that the temple +was repaired in order to provide a temporary home for the venerated +image and other sacred objects; no traces of a restoration exist, but +the walls probably remained standing after the Persian conflagration. +The removal of the ancient temple was undoubtedly intended when the +Erechtheum was built, but superstition and popular feeling may have +prevented its demolition and the removal of the [Greek: xoanon] to the +new edifice. The temple consisted of an eastern cella with pronaos; +behind this was the opisthodomos, divided into three chambers--possibly +treasuries--with a portico at the western end. The peristyle, if we +compare the measurements of the stylobate with those of the drums built +into the wall of the Acropolis, may be concluded to have consisted of +six Doric columns at the ends and twelve at the sides. In one of the +pediments was a gigantomachy, of which some fragments have been +recovered. + + + The grottoes of Pan and Apollo. + +In 1896 excavations with the object of exploring the whole northern and +eastern slopes of the Acropolis were begun by Kavvadias. The pathway +between the citadel and the Areopagus was found to be so narrow that it +is certain the Panathenaic procession cannot have taken this route to +the Acropolis. On the north-west rock the caves known as the grottoes of +Pan and Apollo were cleared out; these consist of a slight high-arched +indentation immediately to the east of the Clepsydra and a double and +somewhat deeper cavern a little farther to the east. In the first +mentioned are a number of niches in which [Greek: pinakes] (votive +tablets) were placed: some of these, inscribed with dedications to +Apollo, have been discovered. The whole locality was the seat of the +ancient cult of this deity, afterwards styled "Hypacraeus," with which +was associated the legend of Creusa and the birth of Ion. The worship of +Pan was introduced after the Persian wars, in consequence of an +apparition seen by Pheidippides, the Athenian courier, in the mountains +of Arcadia. Another cave more to the west was revealed by the demolition +of the bastion of Odysseus. To the east a much deeper and hitherto +unknown cavern has been revealed, which Kavvadias identifies with the +grotto of Pan. Close to it are a series of steps hewn in the rock which +connect with those discovered in 1886 within the Acropolis wall. Farther +east is an underground passage leading eastward to a cave supposed to be +the sanctuary of Aglaurus where the ephebi took the oath; with this +passage is connected a secret staircase leading up through a cleft in +the rock to the precinct of the Errephori on the Acropolis. It is +conceivable that the priestesses employed this exit when descending on +their mysterious errand. + + + The classical period: the walls of Themistocles. + +In the fifty years between the Persian and the Peloponnesian wars +architecture and plastic art attained their highest perfection in +Athens. The almost complete destruction of the buildings on the +Acropolis and in the lower city, among them many temples and shrines +which religious sentiment might otherwise have preserved, facilitated +the realization of the magnificent architectural designs of +Themistocles, Cimon and Pericles, while the rapid growth of the Athenian +empire provided the state with the necessary means for the execution of +these sumptuous projects. Of the great monuments of this epoch few +traces remain except on the Acropolis. After the departure of the +Persians the first necessity was the reconstruction of the defences of +the city and the citadel. The walls of the city, now built under the +direction of Themistocles, embraced a larger area than the previous +circuit, with which they seem to have coincided at the Dipylon Gate on +the north-west where the Sacred Way to Eleusis was joined by the +principal carriage route to the Peiraeus and the roads to the Academy +and Colonus. The other more important gates were the Peiraic and Melitan +on the west; the Itonian on the south leading to Phalerum, the Diomean +and Diocharean on the east, and the Acharnian on the north. The wall, +which was strengthened with numerous towers, enclosed the quarters of +Collytus on the north, Melite on the west, Limnae on the south-west and +south, and Diomea on the east. The scanty traces which remain have not +been systematically excavated except in the neighbourhood of the +Dipylon; the discovery of sepulchral tablets built into the masonry +illustrates the statement of Thucydides with regard to the employment of +such material in the hasty construction of the walls. The circuit has +been practically ascertained in its general lines, though not in +details; it is given by Thucydides (ii. 13. 7) as 43 stades (about 5-1/2 +m.) exclusive of the portion between the points of junction with the +long walls extending to the Peiraeus, but the whole circumference cannot +have exceeded 37 stades. Possibly Thucydides, who in the passage +referred to is dealing with the question of defence, included a portion +of the contiguous long walls in his measurement; this explanation +derives probability from his underestimate of the length of the long +walls. + + + The "Long Walls". + +The design of connecting Athens with the Peiraeus by long parallel walls +is ascribed by Plutarch to Themistocles. The "Long Walls" ([Greek: ta +makra teichae, ta skelae]) consisted of (1) the "North Wall" ([Greek: to +boreion teichos]), (2) the "Middle" or "South Wall" ([Greek: to dia +mesou teichos], Plato, _Gorg._ 555 [Epsilon]; [Greek: to notion +teichos]); and (3) the "Phaleric Wall" ([Greek: to Phalaerikon teichos]; +The north and Phaleric walls were perhaps founded by Cimon, and were +completed about 457 B.C. in the early administration of Pericles; the +middle wall was built about 445 B.C. The lines of the north and middle +walls have been ascertained from the remnants still existing in the 18th +century and the scantier traces now visible. The north wall, leaving the +city circuit at a point near the modern Observatory, ran from north-east +to south-west near the present road to the Peiraeus, until it reached +the Peiraeus walls a little to the east of their northernmost bend. The +middle wall, beginning south of the Pnyx near the Melitan Gate, +gradually approached the northern wall and, following a parallel course +at an interval of 550 ft., diverged to the east near the modern New +Phalerum and joined the Peiraeus walls on the height of Munychia where +they turn inland from the sea. The course of the Phaleric wall has been +much disputed. The widely-received view of Curtius that it ran to Cape +Kolias (now Old Phalerum) on the east of the Phaleric bay is not +accepted by recent topographers. The exigencies of the defensive system +planned by Themistocles could only have been satisfied by a juncture of +the Phaleric wall with that of the Peiraeus. The existence of any third +wall was denied by Leake, according to whose theory the southern +parallel wall would be identical with the Phaleric. The language of +Thucydides, however, seems decisive with regard to the existence of +three walls. The Phaleric wall, branching from the city circuit at some +point farther east than the middle or south wall, may have followed the +ridge of the Sikelia heights, where some traces of fortifications +remain, and then traversed the Phalerum plain till it reached the +Peiraeus defences at a point a little to the north-west of their +junction with the middle wall. The Phaleric wall, proving indefensible, +was abandoned towards the close of the Peloponnesian war; with the other +two walls it was completely destroyed after the surrender of the city, +and was not rebuilt when they were restored by Conon in 393 B.C. The +parallel walls fell into decay, during the Hellenistic period, and +according to Strabo (ix. 396) were once more demolished by Sulla. + + + The Peiraeus. + +The great advantages which the Peiraic promontory with its three natural +harbours offered for purposes of defence and commerce were first +recognized by Themistocles, in whose archonship (493 B.C.) the +fortifications of the Peiraeus were begun. Before his time the Athenians +used as a port the roadstead of Phalerum at the north-eastern corner of +Phalerum bay partly sheltered by Cape Kolias. As soon as the building of +the city walls had been completed, Themistocles resumed the construction +of the Peiraeus defences, which protected the larger harbour of +Cantharus on the west and the smaller ports of Zea and Munychia +(respectively south-west and south-east of the Munychia heights), +terminating in moles at their entrances and enclosing the entire +promontory on the land and sea sides except a portion of the south-west +shore of the peninsula of Acte. The walls, built of finely compacted +blocks, were about 10 ft. in thickness and upwards of 60 ft. in height, +and were strengthened by towers. The town was laid out at great expense +in straight, broad streets, intersecting each other at right angles, by +the architect Hippodamus of Miletus in the time of Pericles. In the +centre was the Agora of Hippodamus; on the western margin of the +Cantharus harbour extended the emporium, or Digma, the centre of +commercial activity, flanked by a series of porticoes; at its northern +end, near the entrance to the inner harbour, was another Agora, on the +site of the modern market-place, and near it the [Greek: makra stoa], +the corn depot of the state. This inner and shallower harbour, perhaps +the [Greek: kophos limaen], was afterwards excluded from the town +precinct by the walls of Conon, which traversing its opening on an +embankment ([Greek: to dia meson choma]) ran round the outer shore of +the western promontory of Eetionea, previously enclosed, with some space +to the north-west, by the wider circuit of Themistocles. In the harbours +of Zea and Munychia traces may be seen of the remarkable series of +galley-slips in which the Athenian fleet was built and repaired. The +galley-slips around Zea were roofed by a row of gables supported by +stone columns, each gable sheltering two triremes. Among the other +noteworthy buildings of the Peiraeus were the arsenal ([Greek: +skeuothaekae]) of Philo and the temples of Zeus Soter, the patron god of +the sailors, of the Cnidian Artemis, built by Cimon, and of Artemis +Munychia, situated near the fort on the Munychia height; traces of a +temple of Asclepius, of two theatres and of a hippodrome remain. The +fine marble lion of the classical period which stood at the mouth of the +Cantharus harbour gave the Peiraeus its medieval and modern names of +Porto Leone and Porto Draco; it was carried away to Venice by Morosini. + + + The Dipylon and Ceramicus. + +In 1870 the Greek Archaeological Society undertook a series of +excavations in the Outer Ceramicus, which had already been partially +explored by various scholars. The operations, which were carried on at +intervals till 1890, resulted in the discovery of the Dipylon Gate, the +principal entrance of ancient Athens. The Dipylon consists of an outer +and an inner gate separated by an oblong courtyard and flanked on either +side by towers; the gates were themselves double, being each composed of +two apertures intended for the incoming and outgoing traffic. An opening +in the city wall a little to the south-west, supposed to have been the +Sacred Gate ([Greek: iera pylae]), was in all probability an outlet for +the waters of the Eridanus. This stream, which has hitherto been +regarded as the eastern branch of the Ilissus rising at Kaesariane, has +been identified by Dorpfeld with a brook descending from the south slope +of Lycabettus and conducted in an artificial channel to the +north-western end of the city, where it made its exit through the walls, +eventually joining the Ilissus. The channel was open in Greek times, but +was afterwards covered by Roman arches; it appears to have served as the +main drain of the city. Between this outlet and the Dipylon were found a +boundary-stone, inscribed [Greek: oros Kerameikou], which remains in its +place, and the foundations of a large rectangular building, possibly the +Pompeium, which may have been a robing-room for the processions which +passed this way. On either side of the Dipylon the walls of +Themistocles, faced on the outside by a later wall, have been traced for +a considerable distance. The excavation of the outlying cemetery +revealed the unique "Street of the Tombs" and brought to light a great +number of sepulchral monuments, many of which remain _in situ_. +Especially noteworthy are the _stelae_ (reliefs) representing scenes of +leave-taking, which, though often of simple workmanship, are +characterized by a touching dignity and restraint of feeling. In this +neighbourhood were found a great number of tombs containing vases of all +periods, which furnish a marvellous record of the development of Attic +ceramic art. A considerable portion of the district remains unexplored. + + + The Acropolis of the classical period: its fortifications and area. + +The Acropolis had been dismantled as a fortress after the expulsion of +Hippias; its defenders against the Persians found it necessary to erect +a wooden barricade at its entrance. The fortifications were again +demolished by the Persians, after whose departure the existing north +wall was erected in the time of Themistocles; many columns, metopes and +other fragments from the buildings destroyed by the Persians were built +into it, possibly owing to haste, as in the case of the city walls, but +more probably with the design of commemorating the great historic +catastrophe, as the wall was visible from the Agora. The fine walls of +the south and east sides were built by Cimon after the victory of the +Eurymedon, 468 B.C.; they extend considerably beyond the old Pelasgic +circuit, the intervening space being filled up with earth and the debris +of the ruined buildings so as to increase the level space of the summit. +On the northern side Cimon completed the wall of Themistocles at both +ends and added to its height; the ground behind was levelled up on this +side also, the platform of the Acropolis thus receiving its present +shape and dimensions. The staircase leading down to the sanctuary of +Aglaurus was enclosed in masonry. At the south-western corner, on the +right of the approach to the old entrance, a bastion of early masonry +was encased in a rectangular projection which formed a base for the +temple of Nike. The great engineering works of Cimon provided a suitable +area for the magnificent structures of the age of Pericles. + + + The monuments on the Acropolis. + +The greater monuments of the classical epoch on the Acropolis are +described in separate articles (see PARTHENON, ERECHTHEUM, PROPYLAEA). +Next in interest to these noble structures is the beautiful little +temple of Athena Nike, wrongly designated Nike Apteros (Wingless +Victory), standing on the bastion already mentioned; it was begun after +450 B.C. and was probably finished after the outbreak of the +Peloponnesian War. The temple, which is entirely of Pentelic marble, is +amphiprostyle tetrastyle, with fluted Ionic columns, on a stylobate of +three steps; its length is 27 ft., its breadth 18-1/2 ft., and its total +height, from the apex of the pediment to the bottom of the steps, 23 ft. +The frieze, running round the entire building, represents on its eastern +side a number of deities, on its northern and southern sides Greeks +fighting with Persians, and on its western side Greeks fighting with +Greeks. Before the east front was the altar of Athena Nike. The +irregularly shaped precinct around the temple was enclosed by a +balustrade about 3 ft. 2 in. in height, decorated on the outside with +beautiful reliefs representing a number of winged Victories engaged in +the worship of Athena. The elaborate treatment of the drapery enveloping +these female figures suggests an approach to the mannerism of later +times; this and other indications point to the probability that the +balustrade was added in the latter years of the Peloponnesian War. The +temple was still standing in 1676; some eight years later it was +demolished by the Turks, and its stones built into a bastion; on the +removal of the bastion in 1835 the temple was successfully reconstructed +by Ross with the employment of little new material. At either corner of +the Propylaea entrance were equestrian statues dedicated by the Athenian +knights; the bases with inscriptions have lately been recovered. From +the inner exit of the Propylaea a passage led towards the east along the +north side of the Parthenon; almost directly facing the entrance was the +colossal bronze statue of Athena (afterwards called Athena Promachos) by +Pheidias, probably set up by Cimon in commemoration of the Persian +defeat. The statue, which was 30 ft. high, represented the goddess as +fully armed; the gleam of her helmet and spear could be seen by the +mariners approaching from Cape Sunium (Pausanias i. 28). On both sides +of the passage were numerous statues, among them that of Athena Hygeia, +set up by Pericles to commemorate the recovery of a favourite slave who +was injured during the building of the Parthenon, a colossal bronze +image of the wooden horse of Troy, and Myron's group of Marsyas with +Athena throwing away her flute. Another statue by Myron, the famous +Perseus, stood near the precinct of Artemis Brauronia. In this sacred +enclosure, which lay between the south-eastern corner of the Propylaea +and the wall of Cimon, no traces of a temple have been found. Adjoining +it to the east are the remains of a large rectangular building, which +was apparently fronted by a colonnade; this has been identified with the +[Greek: Chalkothaekae], a storehouse of bronze implements and arms, +which was formerly supposed to lie against the north wall near the +Propylaea. Beyond the Parthenon, a little to the north-east, was the +great altar of Athena, and near it the statue and altar of Zeus Polieus. +With regard to the buildings on the east end of the Acropolis, where the +present museums stand, no certainty exists; among the many statues here +were those of Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, and of Anacreon. +Immediately west of the Erechtheum is the Pandroseum or temenos of +Pandrosos, the daughter of Cecrops, the excavation of which has revealed +no traces of the temple ([Greek: naos]) seen here by Pausanias (i. 27). +The site of this precinct, in which the sacred olive tree of Athena +grew, has been almost certainly fixed by an inscription found in the +bastion of Odysseus. At its north-western extremity is a platform of +levelled rock which may have supported the altar of Zeus Hypsistus. +Farther west, along the north wall of the Acropolis, is the space +probably occupied by the abode and playground of the Errephori. Between +this precinct and the Propylaea were a number of statues, among them the +celebrated heifer of Myron, and perhaps his Erechtheus; the Lemnian +Athena of Pheidias, and his effigy of his friend Pericles. + + + The city in the classical period. + +The reconstruction of the city after its demolition by the Persians was +not carried out on the lines of a definite plan like that of the +Peiraeus. The houses were hastily repaired, and the narrow, crooked +streets remained; the influence of Themistocles, who aimed at +transferring the capital to the Peiraeus, was probably directed against +any costly scheme of restoration, except on the Acropolis. The period of +Cimon's administration, however, especially the interval between his +victory on the Eurymedon and his ostracism (468-461 B.C.), was marked by +great architectural activity in the lower city as well as on the +citadel. To his time may be referred many of the buildings around the +Agora (probably rebuilt on the former sites) and elsewhere, and the +passage, or [Greek: dromos], from the Agora to the Dipylon flanked by +long porticos. The Theseum or temple of Theseus, which lay to the east +of the Agora near the Acropolis, was built by Cimon: here he deposited +the bones of the national hero which he brought from Scyros about 470 +B.C. The only building in the city which can with certainty be assigned +to the administration of Pericles is the Odeum, beneath the southern +declivity of the Acropolis, a structure mainly of wood, said to have +been built in imitation of the tent of Xerxes: it was used for musical +contests and the rehearsal of plays. Of the various temples in which +statues by Pheidias, Alcamenes and other great sculptors are known to +have been placed, no traces have yet been discovered; excavation has not +been possible in a large portion of the lower city, which has always +been inhabited. The only extant structures of the classical period are +the Hephaesteum, the Dionysiac theatre, and the choragic monument of +Lysicrates. The remains of a small Ionic temple which were standing by +the Ilissus in the time of Stuart have disappeared. + +[Illustration: The Acropolis.] + + + The Hephaesteum or Theseum. + +The Hephaesteum, the so-called Theseum, is situated on a slight +eminence, probably the Colonus Agoraeus, to the west of the Agora. The +best preserved Greek temple in the world, it possesses no record of its +origin; the style of its sculptures and architecture leads to the +conclusion that it was built about the same time as the Parthenon; it +seems to have been finished by 421 B.C. It has been known as the Theseum +since the middle ages, apparently because some of its sculptures +represent the exploits of Theseus, but the Theseum was an earlier +sanctuary on the east of the Agora (see above). The building has been +supposed by Curtius, Wachsmuth and others to be the Heracleum in Melite, +but its identification with the temple of Hephaestus and Athena seen in +this neighbourhood by Pausanias (i. 14. 6), though not established, may +be regarded as practically certain, notwithstanding the difficulty +presented by the subjects of the sculptures, which bear no relation to +Hephaestus. The temple is a Doric peripteral hexastyle _in antis_, with +13 columns at the sides; its length is 104 ft., its breadth 45-1/2 ft., +its height, to the top of the pediment, 33 ft. The sculptures of the +pediments have been completely lost, but their design has been +ingeniously reconstructed by Sauer. The frieze of the entablature +contains sculptures only in the metopes of the east front and in those +of the sides immediately adjoining it; the frontal metopes represent the +labours of Heracles, the lateral the exploits of Theseus. As in the +Parthenon, there is a sculptured zophoros above the exterior of the +cella walls; this, however, extends over the east and west fronts only +and the east ends of the sides; the eastern zophoros represents a +battle-scene with seated deities on either hand, the western a +centauromachia. The temple is entirely of Pentelic marble, except the +foundations and lowest step of the stylobate, which are of Peiraic +stone, and the zophoros of the cella, which is in Parian marble. The +preservation of the temple is due to its conversion into a church in the +middle ages. + + + The Dionysiac theatre and Asclepieum. + +The Dionysiac theatre, situated beneath the south side of the Acropolis, +was partly hollowed out from its declivity. The representation of plays +was perhaps transferred to this spot from the early Orchestra in the +Agora at the beginning of the 5th century B.C.; it afterwards superseded +the Pnyx as the meeting-place of the Ecclesia. The site, which had been +accurately determined by Leake, was explored by Strack in 1862, and the +researches subsequently undertaken by the Greek Archaeological Society +were concluded in 1879. It was not, however, till 1886 that traces of +the original circular Greek orchestra were pointed out by Dorpfeld. The +arrangements of the stage and orchestra as we now see them belong to +Roman times; the _cavea_ or auditorium dates from the administration of +the orator Lycurgus (337-323 B.C.), and nothing is left of the theatre +in which the plays of Sophocles were acted save a few small remnants of +polygonal masonry. These, however, are sufficient to mark out the +circuit of the ancient orchestra, on which the subsequently built +proscenia encroached. The oldest stage-building was erected in the time +of Lycurgus; it consisted of a rectangular hall with square projections +([Greek: paraskenia]) on either side; in front of this was built in +late Greek or early Roman times a stage with a row of columns which +intruded upon the orchestra space; a later and larger stage, dating from +the time of Nero, advanced still farther into the orchestra, and this +was finally faced (probably in the 3rd century A.D.) by the "bema" of +Phaedrus, a platform-wall decorated with earlier reliefs, the slabs of +which were cut down to suit their new position. The remains of two +temples of Dionysus have been found adjoining the stoa of the theatre, +and an altar of the same god adorned with masks and festoons; the +smaller and earlier temple probably dates from the 6th century B.C., the +larger from the end of the 5th or the beginning of the 4th century. + +Immediately west of the theatre of Dionysus is the sacred precinct of +Asclepius, which was excavated by the Archaeological Society in +1876-1878. Here were discovered the foundations of the celebrated +Asclepieum, together with several inscriptions and a great number of +votive reliefs offered by grateful invalids and valetudinarians to the +god of healing. Many of the reliefs belong to the best period of Greek +art. A Doric colonnade with a double row of columns was found to have +extended along the base of the Acropolis for a distance of 54 yds.; +behind it in a chamber hewn in the rock is the sacred well mentioned by +Pausanias. The colonnade was a place of resort for the patients; a large +building close beneath the rock was probably the abode of the priests. + + + The choragic monument of Lysicrates. + +The beautiful choragic monument of Lysicrates, dedicated in the +archonship of Euaenetus (335-334 B.C.), is the only survivor of a number +of such structures which stood in the "Street of the Tripods" to the +east of the Dionysiac theatre, bearing the tripods given to the +successful choragi at the Dionysiac festival. It owes its preservation +to its former inclusion in a Capuchin convent. The monument consists of +a small circular temple of Pentelic marble, 21-1/2 ft. in height and 9 +ft. in diameter, with six engaged Corinthian columns and a sculptured +frieze, standing on a rectangular base of Peiraic stone. The delicately +carved convex roof, composed of a single block, was surmounted by the +tripod. The spirited reliefs of the frieze represent the punishment of +the Tyrrhenian pirates by Dionysus and their transformation into +dolphins. Another choragic monument was that of Thrasyllus, which faced +a cave in the Acropolis rock above the Dionysiac theatre. A portion of +another, that of Nicias, was used to make the late Roman gate of the +Acropolis. In one of these monuments was the famous Satyr of Praxiteles. + + + The Cynosarges. + +The Cynosarges, from earliest times a sanctuary of Heracles, later a +celebrated gymnasium and the school of Antisthenes the Cynic, has +hitherto been generally supposed to have occupied the site of the +Monastery of the Asomati on the eastern slope of Lycabettus; its +situation, however, has been fixed by Dorpfeld at a point a little to +the south of the Olympieum, on the left bank of the Ilissus. Here a +series of excavations, carried out by the British School in 1896-1897 +under the direction of Cecil Smith, revealed the foundations of an +extensive Greek building, the outlines of which correspond with those of +a gymnasium; it possessed a large bath or cistern, and was flanked on +two sides by water-courses. An Ionic capital found here possibly +belonged to the palaestra. The identification, however, cannot be +regarded as certain in the absence of inscriptions. + + + The Hellenistic period: the Stoa of Attalus. + +With the loss of political liberty the age of creative genius in +Athenian architecture came to a close. The era of decadence, of honorary +statues and fulsome inscriptions, began. The embellishments which the +city received during the Hellenistic and Roman periods were no longer +the artistic expression of the religious and political life of a great +commonwealth; they were the tribute paid to the intellectual renown of +Athens by foreign potentates or dilettanti, who desired to add their +names to the list of its illustrious citizens and patrons. Among the +first of these benefactions was the great gymnasium of Ptolemy, built in +the neighbourhood of the Agora about 250 B.C. Successive princes of the +dynasty of Pergamum interested themselves in the adornment of the city: +Attalus I. set up a number of bronze statues on the Acropolis; Eumenes +II. built the long portico west of the Dionysiac theatre, which was +excavated and identified in 1877; Attalus II. erected the magnificent +Stoa near the Agora, the remains of which were completely laid bare in +1898-1902 and have been identified by an inscription. The Stoa consisted +of a series of 21 chambers, probably shops, faced by a double colonnade, +the outer columns being of the Doric order, the inner unfluted, with +lotus-leaf capitals; it possessed an upper storey fronted with Ionic +columns. + + + The Olympieum. + +The greatest monument, however, of the Hellenistic period is the +colossal Olympieum or temple of Olympian Zeus, "unum in terris inchoatum +pro magnitudine dei" (Livy xli. 20), the remains of which stand by the +Ilissus to the south-east of the Acropolis. The foundations of a temple +were laid on the site--probably that of an ancient sanctuary-by +Peisistratus, but the building in its ultimate form was for the greater +part constructed under the auspices of Antiochus IV. Epiphanes, king of +Syria, by the Roman architect Cossutius in the interval between 174 B.C. +and 164 B.C., the date of the death of Antiochus. The work was then +suspended and its proposed resumption in the time of Augustus seems not +to have been realized; finally, in A.D. 129, the temple was completed +and dedicated by Hadrian, who set up a chryselephantine statue of Zeus +in the cella. The substructure was excavated in 1883 by F.C. Penrose, +who proved the correctness of Dorpfeld's theory that the building was +octostyle; its length was 318 ft., its breadth 132 ft. With the +exception of the foundations and two lower steps of the stylobate, it +was entirely of Pentelic marble, and possessed 104 Corinthian columns, +56 ft. 7 in. in height, of which 48 stood in triple rows under the +pediments and 56 in double rows at the sides; of these, 16 remained +standing in 1852, when one was blown down by a storm. Fragments of Doric +columns and foundations were discovered, probably intended for the +temple begun by Peisistratus, the orientation of which differed slightly +from that of the later structure. The peribolos, a large artificial +platform supported by a retaining wall of squared Peiraic blocks with +buttresses, was excavated in 1898 without important results; it is to be +hoped that the stability of the columns has not been affected by the +operations. + + + The Horologium of Andronicus. + +_The Roman Period._--After 146 B.C. Athens and its territory were +included in the Roman province of Achaea. Among the earlier buildings of +this period is the Horologium of Andronicus of Cyrrhus (the "Tower of +the Winds"), still standing near the eastern end of the Roman Agora. The +building may belong to the 2nd or 1st century B.C.; it is mentioned by +Varro (_De re rust_. iii. 5. 17), and therefore cannot be of later date +than 35 B.C. It is an octagonal marble structure, 42 ft. in height and +26 ft. in diameter; the eight sides, which face the points of the +compass, are furnished with a frieze containing inartistic figures in +relief representing the winds; below it, on the sides facing the sun, +are the lines of a sun-dial. The building was surmounted by a +weathercock in the form of a bronze Triton; it contained a water-clock +to record the time when the sun was not shining. + + + Monuments of the Roman period. + +The capture and sack of Athens by Sulla (March 1, 86 B.C.) seems to have +involved no great injury to its architectural monuments beyond the +burning of the Odeum of Pericles; a portion of the city wall was razed, +the groves of the Academy and Lyceum were cut down, and the Peiraeus, +with its magnificent arsenal and other great buildings, burnt to the +ground. After this catastrophe the benefactors of Athens were for the +most part Romans; the influence of Greek literature and art had begun to +affect the conquering race. The New, or Roman, Agora to the north of the +Acropolis, perhaps mainly an oil market, was constructed after the year +27 B.C. Its dimensions were practically determined by excavation in +1890-1891. It consisted of a large open rectangular space surrounded by +an Ionic colonnade into which opened a number of shops or storehouses. +The eastern gate was adorned with four Ionic columns on the outside and +two on the inside, the western entrance being the well-known Doric +portico of Athena Archegetis with an inscription recording its erection +from donations of Julius Caesar and Augustus. The whole conclave may be +compared with the enclosed bazaars or khans of Oriental cities which are +usually locked at night. The Agrippeum, a covered theatre, derived its +name from Vipsanius Agrippa, whose statue was set up, about 27 B.C., +beneath the north wing of the Acropolis propylaea, on the high +rectangular base still remaining. At the eastern end of the Acropolis a +little circular temple of white marble with a peristyle of 9 Ionic +columns was dedicated to Rome and Augustus; its foundations were +discovered during the excavations of 1885-1888. The conspicuous monument +which crowns the Museum Hill was erected as the mausoleum of Antiochus +Philopappus of Commagene, grandson of Antiochus Epiphanes, in A.D. +114-116. Excavations carried out in 1898-1899 showed that the structure +was nearly square; the only portion remaining is the slightly curved +front, with three niches between Corinthian pilasters; in the central +niche is the statue of Philopappus. + + + Novae Athenae: the buildings of Hadrian. + +The emperor Hadrian was the most lavish of all the benefactors of +Athens. Besides completing the gigantic Olympieum he enlarged the +circuit of the city walls to the east, enclosing the area now covered by +the royal public gardens and the Constitution Square. This was the City +of Hadrian (Hadrianapolis) or New Athens (Novae Athenae); a handsome +suburb with numerous villas, baths and gardens; some traces remain of +its walls, which, like those of Themistocles, were fortified with +rectangular towers. An ornamental entrance near the Olympieum, the +existing Arch of Hadrian, marked the boundary between the new and the +old cities. The arch is surmounted by a triple attic with Corinthian +columns; the frieze above the keystone bears, on the north-western side, +the inscription [Greek: aid eis Athaenai Thaeseos hae prin polis] and on +the south-eastern, [Greek: aid eis Hadrianou kai onchi Thaeseos polis]. +One of the principal monuments of Hadrian's munificence was the +sumptuous library, in all probability a vast rectangular enclosure, +immediately north of the New Agora, the eastern side of which was +explored in 1885-1886. A portion of its western front, adorned with +monolith unfluted Corinthian columns, is still standing--the familiar +"Stoa of Hadrian"; another well-preserved portion, with six pilasters, +runs parallel to the west side of Aeolus Street. The interior consisted +of a spacious court surrounded by a colonnade of 100 columns, into which +five chambers opened at the eastern end. A portico of four fluted +Corinthian columns on the western side formed the entrance to the +quadrangle. This cloistered edifice may be identified with the library +of Hadrian mentioned by Pausanias; the books were, perhaps, stored in a +square building which occupied a portion of the central area. Strikingly +similar in design and construction is a large quadrangular building, the +foundations of which were discovered by the British School near the +presumed Cynosarges; this may perhaps be the Gymnasium of Hadrian, which +Pausanias tells us also possessed 100 columns. A Pantheon and temples of +Hera and Zeus Panhellenius were likewise built by Hadrian; the aqueduct, +which he began, was completed by Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138-161); it was +repaired in 1861-1869 and is still in use. + + + The Stadium and Odeum of Herodes Atticus. + +The Stadium, in which the Panathenaic Games were held, was first laid +out by the orator Lycurgus about 330 B.C. It was an oblong structure +filling a natural depression near the left bank of the Ilissus beneath +the eastern declivity of the Ardettus hill, the parallel sides and +semicircular end, or [Greek: sphendonae] around the arena being +partially excavated from the adjoining slopes. The immense building, +however, which was restored in 1896 and the following years, was that +constructed in Pentelic marble about A.D. 143 by Tiberius Claudius +Herodes Atticus, a wealthy Roman resident, whose benefactions to the +city rivalled those of Hadrian. The seats, rising in tiers, as in a +theatre, accommodated about 44,000 spectators; the arena was 670 ft. in +length and 109 ft. in breadth. The Odeum, built beneath the south-west +slope of the Acropolis after A.D. 161 by Herodes Atticus in memory of +his wife Regilla, is comparatively well preserved; it was excavated in +1848 and in 1857-1858. The plan is that of the conventional Roman +theatre; the semicircular auditorium, which seated some 5000 persons, +is, like that of the Dionysiac theatre, partly hollowed from the rock. +The orchestra is paved with marble squares. The facade, in Peiraic +stone, displays three storeys of arched windows. The whole building was +covered with a cedar roof. The Stadium had been already completed and +the Odeum had not yet been built when Pausanias visited Athens; these +buildings were the last important additions to the architectural +monuments of the ancient city. (J. D. B.) + + +II. THE MODERN CITY + +At the conclusion of the Greek War of Independence, Athens was little +more than a village of the Turkish type, the poorly built houses +clustering on the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis. The +narrow crooked lanes of this quarter still contrast with the straight, +regularly laid-out streets of the modern city, which extends to the +north-west, north and east of the ancient citadel. The greater +commercial advantages offered by Nauplia, Corinth and Patras were +outweighed by the historic claims of Athens in the choice of a capital +for the newly founded kingdom, and the seat of government was +transferred hither from Nauplia in 1833. The new town was, for the most +part, laid out by the German architect Schaubert. It contains several +squares and boulevards, a large public garden, and many handsome public +and private edifices. A great number of the public institutions owe +their origin to the munificence of patriotic Greeks, among whom Andreas +Syngros and George Averoff may be especially mentioned. The royal +palace, designed by Friedrich von Gartner (1792-1847), is a tasteless +structure; attached to it is a beautiful garden laid out by Queen +Amalia, which contains a well-preserved mosaic floor of the Roman +period. On the south-east is the newly built palace of the crown prince. +The Academy, from designs by Theophil Hansen (1813-1891), is constructed +of Pentelic marble in the Ionic style: the colonnades and pediments are +richly coloured and gilded, and may perhaps convey some idea of the +ancient style of decoration. Close by is the university, with a +colonnade adorned with paintings, and the Vallianean library with a +handsome Doric portico of Pentelic marble. The observatory, which is +connected with the university, stands on the summit of the Hill of the +Nymphs; like the Academy, it was erected at the expense of a wealthy +Greek, Baron Sina of Vienna. In the public garden is the Zappeion, a +large building with a Corinthian portico, intended for the display of +Greek industries; here also is a monument to Byron, erected in 1896. The +Boule, or parliament-house, possesses a considerable library. Other +public buildings are the Polytechnic Institute, built by contributions +from Greeks of Epirus, the theatre, the Arsakeion (a school for girls), +the Varvakeion (a gymnasium), the military school ([Greek: scholae +enelpidon]), and several hospitals and orphanages. The cathedral, a +large, modern structure is devoid of architectural merit, but some of +the smaller, ancient, Byzantine churches are singularly interesting and +beautiful. Among private residences, the mansion built by Dr Schliemann, +the discoverer of Troy, is the most noteworthy; its decorations are in +the Pompeian style. + + + Museums. + +The museums of Athens have steadily grown in importance with the +progress of excavation. They are admirably arranged, and the remnants of +ancient art which they contain have fortunately escaped injudicious +restoration. The National Museum, founded in 1866, is especially rich in +archaic sculptures and in sepulchral and votive reliefs. A copy of the +Diadumenos of Polyclitus from Delos, and temple sculptures from +Epidaurus and the Argive Heraeum, are among the more notable of its +recent acquisitions. It also possesses the famous collection of +prehistoric antiquities found by Schliemann at Tiryns and Mycenae, other +"Mycenaean" objects discovered at Nauplia and in Attica, as well as the +still earlier remains excavated by Tsountas in the Cyclades and by the +British School at Phylakopi in Melos; terra-cottas from Tanagra and Asia +Minor; bronzes from Olympia, Delphi and elsewhere, and numerous painted +vases, among them the unequalled white _lekythi_ from Athens and +Eretria. The Epigraphical Museum contains an immense number of +inscriptions arranged by H.G. Lolling and A. Wilhelm of the Austrian +Institute. The Acropolis Museum (opened 1878) possesses a singularly +interesting collection of sculptures belonging to the "archaic" period +of Greek art, all found on the Acropolis; here, too, are some fragments +of the pedimental statues of the Parthenon and several reliefs from its +frieze, as well as the slabs from the balustrade of the temple of Nike. +The Polytechnic Institute contains a museum of interesting objects +connected with modern Greek life and history. In the Academy is a +valuable collection of coins superintended by Svoronos. Of the private +collections those of Schliemann and Karapanos are the most interesting: +the latter contains works of art and other objects from Dodona. There is +a small museum of antiquities at the Peiraeus. + + + Scientific institutions. + +Owing to the numbers and activity of its institutions, both native and +foreign, for the prosecution of research and the encouragement of +classical studies, Athens has become once more an international seat of +learning. The Greek Archaeological Society, founded in 1837, numbers +some distinguished scholars among its members, and displays great +activity in the conduct of excavations. Important researches at +Epidaurus, Eleusis, Mycenae, Amyclae and Rhamnus may be numbered among +its principal undertakings, in addition to the complete exploration of +the Acropolis and a series of investigations in Athens and Attica. The +French Ecole d'Athenes, founded in 1846, is under the scientific +direction of the Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres. Among its +numerous enterprises have been the extensive and costly excavations at +Delos and Delphi, which have yielded such remarkable results. The +monuments of the Byzantine epoch have latterly occupied a prominent +place in its investigations. The German Archaeological Institute, +founded in 1874, has carried out excavations at Thebes, Lesbos, Pares, +Athens and elsewhere; it has also been associated in the great +researches at Olympia, Pergamum and Troy, and in many other important +undertakings. The British School, founded in 1886, has been unable, +owing to insufficient endowment, to work on similar lines with the +French and German institutions; it has, however, carried out extensive +excavations at Megalopolis and in Melos, as well as researches at Abae, +in Athens (presumed site of the Cynosarges), in Cyprus, at Naucratis and +at Sparta. It has also participated in the exploration of Cnossus and +other important sites in Crete. The American School, founded in 1882, is +supported by the principal universities of the United States. In +addition to researches at Sicyon, Plataea, Eretria and elsewhere, it has +undertaken two works of capital importance--the excavation of the Argive +Heraeum and of ancient Corinth. An Austrian Archaeological Institute was +founded in 1898. + + + Industry and commerce. + +Notwithstanding certain disadvantages inherent in its situation, the +trade and manufactures of Athens have considerably increased in recent +years. Industrial and commercial activity is mainly centred at the +Peiraeus, where cloth and cotton mills, 45 cognac distilleries, 14 steam +flour mills, 8 soap manufactories, 13 shipbuilding and engineering +works, chair manufactories, dye works, chemical works, tanneries and a +dynamite factory have been established. The shipbuilding and engineering +trades are active and advancing. The export trade is, however, +inconsiderable, as the produce of the local industries is mainly +absorbed by home consumption. The principal exports are wine, cognac and +marble from Pentelicus. As a place of import, the Peiraeus surpasses +Patras, Syra and all the other Greek maritime towns, receiving about 53% +of all the merchandise brought into Greece. The principal imports are +coal, grain, manufactured articles and articles of luxury. The total +value of exports in 1904 was L459,565; of imports, L2,459,278. The +number of ships entered and cleared in 1905 was 5020 with a tonnage of +5,796,590 tons, of which 416, with a tonnage of 609,822 tons, were +British. + + + The Peiraeus. + +The Peiraeus, which had never revived since its destruction by the +Romans in 86 B.C., was at the beginning of the 19th century a small +fishing village known as Porto Leone. When Athens became the capital in +1833 the ancient name of its port was revived, and since that time piers +and quays have been constructed, and spacious squares and broad regular +streets have been laid out. The town now possesses an exchange, a large +theatre, a gymnasium, a naval school, municipal buildings and several +hospitals and charitable institutions erected by private munificence. +The harbour, in which ships of all nations may be seen, as well as great +numbers of the picturesque sailing craft engaged in the coasting trade, +is somewhat difficult of access to larger vessels, but has been improved +by the construction of new breakwaters and dry docks. The port and the +capital are now connected by railway with Corinth and the principal +towns of the Morea; the line opening up communication with northern +Greece and Thessaly, when its proposed connexion with the Continental +railway system has been effected, will greatly enhance the importance of +the Peiraeus, already one of the most flourishing commercial towns in +the Levant. + + + Population. + +The population of Athens has rapidly increased. In 1834 it was below +5000; in 1870 it was 44,510; in 1879, 63,374; in 1889, 107,251; in 1896, +111,486. The Peiraeus, which in 1834 possessed only a few hundred +inhabitants, in 1879 possessed 21,618; in 1889, 34,327; in 1896, 43,848. +The total population of Athens in 1907 was 167,479 and of Peiraeus +67,982. (J. D. B.) + + +III. HISTORY + +1. _The Prehistoric Period._--The history of primitive Athens is +involved in the same obscurity which enshrouds the early development of +most of the Greek city-states. The Homeric poems scarcely mention +Attica, and the legends, though numerous, are rarely of direct +historical value. In the Minoan epoch Athens is proved by the +archaeological remains to have been a petty kingdom scarcely more +important than many other Attic communities, yet enjoying a more +unbroken course of development than the leading states of that period. +This accords with the cherished tradition which made the Athenians +children of the soil, and free from admixture with conquering tribes. +Many legends, however, and the later state organization, point to an +immigration of an "Ionian" aristocracy in late Mycenaean days. These +Ionian newcomers are almost certainly responsible for the absorption of +the numerous independent communities of Attica into a central state of +Athens under a powerful monarchy (see THESEUS), for the introduction of +new cults, and for the division of the people into four tribes whose +names--Geleontes, Hopletes, Argadeis and Aegicoreis--recur in several +true Ionian towns. This centralization of power (_Synoecism_), to which +many Greek peoples never attained, laid the first foundations of +Athenian greatness. But in other respects the new constitution tended to +arrest development. When the monarchy was supplanted in the usual Greek +fashion by a hereditary nobility--a process accomplished, according to +tradition, between about 1000 and 683 B.C.--all power was appropriated +by a privileged class of Eupatridae (q.v.); the Geomori and Demiurgi, +who formed the bulk of the community, enjoyed no political rights. It +was to their control over the machinery of law that the Eupatridae owed +their predominance. The aristocratic council of the Areopagus (q.v.) +constituted the chief criminal court, and nominated the magistrates, +among whom the chief archon (q.v.) passed judgment in family suits, +controlled admission to the genos or clan, and consequently the +acquisition of the franchise. This system was further supported by +religious prescriptions which the nobles retained as a corporate secret. +Assisted no doubt by their judicial control, the Eupatridae also tended +to become sole owners of the land, reducing the original freeholders or +tenants to the position of serfs. During this period Athens seems to +have made little use of her militia, commanded by the polemarch, or of +her navy, which was raised in special local divisions known as +Naucraries (see NAUCRARY); hence no military _esprit de corps_ could +arise to check the Eupatrid ascendancy. Nor did the commons obtain +relief through any commercial or colonial enterprises such as those +which alleviated social distress in many other Greek states. The first +attack upon the aristocracy proceeded from a young noble named Cylon, +who endeavoured to become tyrant about 630 B.C. The people helped to +crush this movement; yet discontent must have been rife among them, for +in 611 the Eupatrids commissioned Draco (q.v.), a junior magistrate, to +draft and publish a code of criminal law. This was a notable concession, +by which the nobles lost that exclusive legal knowledge which had formed +one of their main instruments of oppression. + +2. _The Rise of Athens._--A still greater danger grew out of the +widespread financial distress, which was steadily driving many of the +agricultural population into slavery and threatened the entire state +with ruin. After a protracted war with the neighbouring Megarians had +accentuated the crisis the Eupatridae gave to one of their number, the +celebrated Solon (q.v.), free power to remodel the whole state (594). By +his economic legislation Solon placed Athenian agriculture once more +upon a sound footing, and supplemented this source of wealth by +encouraging commercial enterprise, thus laying the foundation of his +country's material prosperity. His constitutional reforms proved less +successful, for, although he put into the hands of the people various +safeguards against oppression, he could not ensure their use in +practice. After a period of disorder and party-feud among the nobles the +new constitution was superseded in fact, if not in form, by the +autocratic rule of Peisistratus (q.v.), and his sons Hippias and +Hipparchus. The age of despotism, which lasted, with interruptions, from +560 to 510, was a period of great prosperity for Athens. The rulers +fostered agriculture, stimulated commerce and industry (notably the +famous Attic ceramics), adorned the city with public works and temples, +and rendered it a centre of culture. Their vigorous foreign policy first +made Athens an Aegean power and secured connexions with numerous +mainland powers. Another result of the tyranny was the weakening of the +undue influence of the nobles and the creation of a national Athenian +spirit in place of the ancient clan-feeling. + +The equalization of classes was already far advanced when towards the +end of the century a nobleman of the Alcmaeonid family, named +Cleisthenes (q.v.), who had taken the chief part in the final expulsion +of the tyrants, acquired ascendancy as leader of the commons. The +constitution which he promulgated (508/7) gave expression to the change +of political feeling by providing a national basis of franchise and +providing a new state organization. By making effective the powers of +the Ecclesia (Popular Assembly) the Boule (Council) and Heliaea, +Cleisthenes became the true founder of Athenian democracy. + +This revolution was accompanied by a conflict with Sparta and other +powers. But a spirit of harmony and energy now breathed within the +nation, and in the ensuing wars Athens worsted powerful enemies like +Thebes and Chalcis (506). A bolder stroke followed in 500, when a force +was sent to support the Ionians in revolt against Persia and took part +in the sack of Sardis. After the failure of this expedition the +Athenians apparently became absorbed in a prolonged struggle with Aegina +(q.v.). In 493 the imminent prospect of a Persian invasion brought into +power men like Themistocles and Miltiades (qq.v.), to whose firmness +and insight the Athenians largely owed their triumph in the great +campaign of 490 against Persia. After a second political reaction, the +prospect of a second Persian war, and the naval superiority of Aegina +led to the assumption of a bolder policy. In 483 Themistocles overcame +the opposition of Aristides (q.v.), and passed his famous measure +providing for a large increase of the Athenian fleet. In the great +invasion of 480-479 the Athenians displayed an unflinching resolution +which could not be shaken even by the evacuation and destruction of +their native city. Though the traditional account of this war +exaggerates the services of Athens as compared with the other champions +of Greek independence, there can be no doubt that the ultimate victory +was chiefly due to the numbers and efficiency of the Athenian fleet, and +to the wise policy of her great statesman Themistocles (see SALAMIS, +PLATAEA). + +3. _Imperial Athens._--After the Persian retreat and the reoccupation of +their city the Athenians continued the war with unabated vigour. Led by +Aristides and Cimon they rendered such prominent service as to receive +in return the formal leadership of the Greek allies and the presidency +of the newly formed Delian League (q.v.). The ascendancy acquired in +these years eventually raised Athens to the rank of an imperial state. +For the moment it tended to impair the good relations which had +subsisted between Athens and Sparta since the first days of the Persian +peril. But so long as Cimon's influence prevailed the ideal of "peace at +home and the complete humiliation of Persia" was steadily unheld. +Similarly the internal policy of Athens continued to be shaped by the +conservatives. The only notable innovations since the days of +Cleisthenes had been the reduction of the archonship to a routine +magistracy appointed partly by lot (487), and the rise of the ten +elective strategi (generals) as chief executive officers (see +STRATEGUS). But the triumph of the navy in 480 and the great expansion +of commerce and industry had definitely shifted the political centre of +gravity from the yeoman class of moderate democrats to the more radical +party usually stigmatized as the "sailor rabble." Though Themistocles +soon lost his influence, his party eventually found a new leader in +Ephialtes and after the failure of Cimon's foreign policy (see CIMON) +triumphed over the conservatives. The year 461 marks the reversal of +Athenian policy at home and abroad. By cancelling the political power of +the Areopagus and multiplying the functions of the popular law-courts, +Ephialtes abolished the last checks upon the sovereignty of the commons. +His successor, Pericles, who commonly ranked as the "completer of the +democracy," merely developed the full democracy so as to secure its +effectual as well as its theoretical supremacy. The foreign policy of +Athens was now directed towards an almost reckless expansion (see +PERICLES). The unparalleled success of the Athenian arms at this period +extended the bounds of empire to their farthest limits. Besides securing +her Aegean possessions and her commerce by the defeat of Corinth and +Aegina, her last rivals on sea, Athens acquired an extensive dominion in +central Greece and for a time quite overshadowed the Spartan land-power. +The rapid loss of the new conquests after 447 proved that Athens lacked +a sufficient land-army to defend permanently so extensive a frontier. +Under the guidance of Pericles the Athenians renounced the unprofitable +rivalry with Sparta and Persia, and devoted themselves to the +consolidation and judicious extension of their maritime influence. + +The years of the supremacy of Pericles (443-429) are on the whole the +most glorious in Athenian history. In actual extent of territory the +empire had receded somewhat, but in point of security and organization +it now stood at its height. The Delian confederacy lay completely under +Athenian control, and the points of strategic importance were largely +held by cleruchies (q.v.; see also PERICLES) and garrisons. Out of a +citizen body of over 50,000 freemen, reinforced by mercenaries and +slaves, a superb fleet exceeding 300 sail and an army of 30,000 drilled +soldiers could be mustered. The city itself, with its fortifications +extending to the port of Peiraeus, was impregnable to a land attack. The +commerce of Athens extended from Egypt and Colchis to Etruria and +Carthage, and her manufactures, which attracted skilled operatives from +many lands, found a ready sale all over the Mediterranean. With tolls, +and the tribute of the Delian League, a fund of 9700 talents +(L2,300,000) was amassed in the treasury. + +Yet the material prosperity of Athens under Pericles was less notable +than her brilliant attainments in every field of culture. Her +development since the Persian wars had been extremely rapid, but did not +reach its climax till the latter part of the century. No city ever +adorned herself with such an array of temples, public buildings and +works of art as the Athens of Pericles and Pheidias. Her achievements in +literature are hardly less great. The Attic drama of the period produced +many great masterpieces, and the scientific thought of Europe in the +departments of logic, ethics, rhetoric and history mainly owes its +origin to a new movement of Greek thought which was largely fostered by +the patronage of Pericles himself. Besides producing numerous men of +genius herself Athens attracted all the great intellects of Greece. The +brilliant summary of the historian Thucydides in the famous Funeral +Speech of Pericles (delivered in 430), in which the social life, the +institutions and the culture of his country are set forth as a model, +gives a substantially true picture of Athens in its greatest days. + +This brilliant epoch, however, was not without its darker side. The +payment for public service which Pericles had introduced may have +contributed to raise the general level of culture of the citizens, but +it created a dangerous precedent and incurred the censure of notable +Greek thinkers. Moreover, all this prosperity was obtained at the +expense of the confederates, whom Athens exploited in a somewhat selfish +and illiberal manner. In fact it was the cry of "tyrant city" which went +furthest to rouse public opinion in Greece against Athens and to bring +on the Peloponnesian War (q.v.) which ruined the Athenian empire +(431-404). The issue of this conflict was determined less by any +intrinsic superiority on the part of her enemies than by the blunders +committed by a people unable to carry out a consistent foreign policy on +its own initiative, and served since Pericles by none but selfish or +short-sighted advisers. It speaks well for the patriotic devotion and +discipline of her commons that Athens, weakened by plague and military +disasters, should have withstood for so long the blows of her numerous +enemies from without, and the damage inflicted by traitors within her +walls (see ANTIPHON, THERAMENES). + +4. _The Fourth Century_--After the complete defeat of Athens by land and +sea, it was felt that her former services on behalf of Greece and her +high culture should exempt her from total ruin. Though stripped of her +empire, Athens obtained very tolerable terms from her enemies. The +democratic constitution, which had been supplanted for a while by a +government of oligarchs, but was restored in 403 after the latter's +misrule had brought about their own downfall (see CRITIAS, THERAMENES, +THRASYBULUS), henceforth stood unchallenged by the Greeks. Indeed the +spread of democracy elsewhere increased the prestige of the Athenian +administration, which had now reached a high pitch of efficiency. +Athenian art and literature in the 4th century declined but slightly +from their former standard; philosophy and oratory reached a standard +which was never again equalled in antiquity and may still serve as a +model. In the wars of the period Athens took a prominent part with a +view to upholding the balance of power, joining the Corinthian League in +395, and assisting Thebes against Sparta after 378, Sparta against +Thebes after 369. Her generals and admirals, Conon, Iphicrates, +Chabrias, Timotheus, distinguished themselves by their military skill, +and partially recovered their country's predominance in the Aegean, +which found expression in the temporary renewal of the Delian League +(q.v.). By the middle of the century Athens was again the leading power +in Greece. When Philip of Macedon began to grow formidable she seemed +called upon once more to champion the liberties of Greece. This ideal, +when put forward by the consummate eloquence of Demosthenes and other +orators, created great enthusiasm among the Athenians, who at times +displayed all their old vigour in opposing Philip, notably in the +decisive campaign of 338. But these outbursts of energy were too +spasmodic, and popular opinion repeatedly veered back in favour of the +peace-party. With her diminished resources Athens could not indeed hope +to cope with the great Macedonian king; however much we may sympathize +with the generous ambition of the patriots, we must admit that in the +light of hard facts their conduct appears quixotic. + +5. _The Hellenistic Period._--Philip and Alexander, who sincerely +admired Athenian culture and courted a zealous co-operation against +Persia, treated the conquered city with marked favour. But the people +would not resign themselves to playing a secondary part, and watched for +every opportunity to revolt. The outbreak headed by Athens after +Alexander's death (323) led to a stubborn conflict with Macedonia. After +his victory the regent Antipater punished Athens by the loss of her +remaining dependencies, the proscription of her chief patriots, and the +disfranchisement of 12,000 citizens. The Macedonian garrison which was +henceforth stationed in Attic territory prevented the city from taking a +prominent part in the wars of the Diadochi. Cassander placed Athens +under the virtual autocracy of Demetrius of Phalerum (317-307), and +after the temporary liberation by Demetrius Poliorcetes (306-300), +secured his interests through a dictator named Lachares, who lost the +place again to Poliorcetes after a siege (295). After a vain attempt to +expel the garrison in 287, the Athenians regained their liberty while +Macedonia was thrown into confusion by the Celts, and in 279 rendered +good service against the invaders of the latter nation with a fleet off +Thermopylae. When Antigonus Gonatas threatened to restore Macedonian +power in Greece, the Athenians, supported perhaps by the king of Egypt, +formed a large defensive coalition; but in the ensuing "Chremonidean +War" (266-263) a naval defeat off Andros led to their surrender and the +imposition of a Macedonian garrison. The latter was finally withdrawn in +229 by the good offices of Aratus (q.v.). At this period Athens was +altogether overshadowed in material strength by the great Hellenistic +monarchies and even by the new republican leagues of Greece; but she +could still on occasion display great energy and patriotism. The +prestige of her past history had now perhaps attained its zenith. Her +democracy was respected by the Macedonian kings; the rulers of Egypt, +Syria, and especially of Pergamum, courted her favour by handsome +donations of edifices and works of art, to which the citizens replied by +unbecoming flattery, even to the extent of creating new tribes named +after their benefactors. If Athens lost her supremacy in the fields of +science and scholarship to Alexandria, she became more than ever the +home of philosophy, while Menander and the other poets of the New Comedy +made Athenian life and manners known throughout the civilized world. + +6. _Relations with the Roman Republic._--In 228 Athens entered into +friendly intercourse with Rome, in whose interest she endured the +desperate attacks of Philip V. of Macedonia (200-199). In return for +help against King Perseus she acquired some new possessions, notably the +great mart of Delos, which became an Athenian cleruchy (166). By her +treacherous attack upon the frontier-town of Oropus (156) Athens +indirectly brought about the conflict between Rome and the Achaean +League which resulted in the eventual loss of Greek independence, but +remained herself a free town with rights secured by treaty. In spite of +the favours displayed by Rome, the more radical section of the people +began to chafe at the loss of their international importance. This +discontent was skilfully fanned by Mithradates the Great at the outset +of his Roman campaigns. His emissary, the philosopher Aristion, induced +the people to declare war against Rome and to place him in chief +command. The town with its port stood a long siege against Sulla, but +was stormed in 86. The conqueror allowed his soldiers to loot, but +inflicted no permanent punishment upon the people. This war left Athens +poverty-stricken and stripped of her commerce: her only importance now +lay in the philosophical schools, which were frequented by many young +Romans of note (Cicero, Atticus, Horace, &c.). Greek became fashionable +at Rome, and a visit to Athens a sort of pilgrimage for educated Romans +(cf. Propertius iv. 21: "Magnum iter ad doctas proficisci cogor +Athenas"). In the great civil wars Athens sided with Pompey and held out +against Caesar's lieutenants, but received a free pardon "in +consideration of her great dead." Similarly the triumvirs after Philippi +condoned her enthusiasm for the cause of Brutus. Antony repeatedly made +Athens his headquarters and granted her several new possessions, +including Eretria and Aegina--grants which Octavian subsequently +revoked. + +7. _The Roman Empire._--Under the new settlement Athens remained a free +and sovereign city--a boon which she repaid by zealous Caesar-worship, +for the favours bestowed upon her tended to pauperize her citizens and +to foster their besetting sin of calculating flattery. Hadrian displayed +his special fondness for the city by raising new buildings and relieving +financial distress. He amended the constitution in some respects, and +instituted a new national festival, the Panhellenica. In the period of +the Antonines the endowment of professors out of the imperial treasury +gave Athens a special status as a university town. Her whole energies +seem henceforth devoted to academic pursuits; the military training of +her youth was superseded by courses in philosophy and rhetoric; the +chief organs of administration, the revived Areopagus and the senior +Strategus, became as it were an education office. Save for an incursion +by Goths in A.D. 267 and a temporary occupation by Alaric in 395, Athens +spent the remaining centuries of the ancient world in quiet prosperity. +The rhetorical schools experienced a brilliant revival under Constantine +and his successors, when Athens became the _alma mater_ of many notable +men, including Julian, Libanius, Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus, and in +her professors owned the last representatives of a humane and moralized +paganism. The freedom of teaching was first curtailed by Theodosius I.; +the edict of Justinian (529), forbidding the study of philosophy, dealt +the death-blow to ancient Athens. + + The authorities for the history of ancient Athens will mostly be found + under GREECE: _History_, and the various biographies. The following + books deal with special periods or subjects only:--(1) _Early Athens_: + W. Warde Fowler, _The City-State_, ch. vi. (London, 1893). (2) _The + fifth and fourth centuries_: the "Constitution of Athens," ascribed to + Xenophon; W. Oncken, _Athen und Hellas_ (Leipzig, 1865); U. v. + Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, _Aus Kydathen_ (Berlin, 1880); L. Whibley, + _Political Parties at Athens_ (Cambridge, 1889); G. Gilbert, _Beitrage + zur inneren Geschichte Athens_ (Leipzig, 1877); J. Beloch, _Die + attische Politik seit Perikles_ (Leipzig, 1884). (3) _The Hellenistic + and Roman periods_: J.P. Mahaffy, _Greek Life and Thought_, from 323 + to 146 (London, 1887), chs. v., vi., xvii.; A. Holm, _Greek History_ + (Eng. trans., London, 1898), iv. chs. vi. and xxiii.; + Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, _Antigonos von Karystos_ (Berlin, 1881), pp. + 178-291; W. Capes, _University Life in Ancient Athens_ (London, 1877); + A. Dumont, _Essai sur l'Ephebie attique_ (Paris, 1875). (4) _The Latin + rule_: G. Finlay, _History of Greece_ (Oxford ed., 1877), vol. iv. ch. + vi. (5) _Constitutional History_: The Aristotelian "Constitution of + Athens"; U. v. Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, _Aristoteles und Athen_ + (Berlin and Leipzig, 1893), vol. ii.; G. Gilbert, _Greek + Constitutional Antiquities_ (Eng. trans., London, 1895), pp. 95-453; + A.H.J. Greenidge, _Handbook of Greek Constitutional History_ (Oxford, + 1896), ch. vi.; J.W. Headlam, _Election by Lot at Athens_ (Cambridge, + 1891). (6) _Finance and statistics_: A. Boeckh, _The Public Economy of + the Athenians_ (Eng. trans., London, 1828); Ed. Meyer, _Forschungen + zur alten Geschichte_ (Halle, 1899), vol. ii. pp. 149-195. (7) + _Inscriptions: Corpus Inscriptionum Atticarum_, with supplements + (Berlin, 1873-1895). (8) _Coins_: B.V. Head, _Historia Numorum_ + (Oxford, 1887), pp. 309-328. (M. O. B. C.) + +8. _Byzantine Period._--The city now sank into the position of a +provincial Byzantine town. Already it had been robbed of many of its +works of art, among them the Athena Promachos and the Parthenos of +Pheidias, for the adornment of Constantinople, and further spoliation +took place when the church of St Sophia was built in A.D. 532. The +Parthenon, the Erechtheum, the "Theseum" and other temples were +converted into Christian churches and were thus preserved throughout the +middle ages. The history of Athens for the next four centuries is almost +a blank; the city is rarely mentioned by the Byzantine chronicles of +this period. The emperor Constantine II. spent some months here in A.D. +662-663. In 869 the see of Athens became an archbishopric. In 995 Attica +was ravaged by the Bulgarians under their tsar Samuel, but Athens +escaped; after the defeat of Samuel at Belasitza (1014) the emperor +Basil II., who blinded 15,000 Bulgarian prisoners, came to Athens and +celebrated his triumph by a thanksgiving service in the Parthenon +(1018). From the Runic description on the marble lion of the Peiraeus it +has been inferred that Harold Hardrasda and the Norsemen in the service +of the Byzantine emperors captured the Peiraeus in 1040, but this +conclusion is not accepted by Gregorovius (bk. i. pp. 170-172). Like the +rest of Greece, Athens suffered greatly from the rapacity of its +Byzantine administrators. The letters of Acominatus, archbishop of +Athens, towards the close of the 12th century, bewail the desolate +condition of the city in language resembling that of Jeremiah in regard +to Jerusalem. + +9. _Period of Latin Rule: 1204-1458._--After the Latin conquest of +Constantinople in 1204, Otho de la Roche was granted the lordship of +Athens by Boniface of Montferrat, king of Thessalonica, with the title +of Megaskyr ([Greek: megas kyrios]= great lord). His nephew and +successor, Guy I., obtained the title duke of Athens from Louis IX. of +France in 1258. On the death of Guy II., last duke of the house of la +Roche, in 1308, the duchy passed to his cousin, Walter of Brienne. He +was expelled in 1311 by his Catalonian mercenaries; the mutineers +bestowed the duchy "of Athens and Neopatras" on their leader, Roger +Deslaur, and, in the following year, on Frederick of Aragon, king of +Sicily. The Sicilian kings ruled Athens by viceroys till 1385, when the +Florentine Nerio Acciajuoli, lord of Corinth, defeated the Catalonians +and seized the city. Nerio, who received the title of duke from the king +of Naples, founded a new dynasty. His palace was in the Propylaea; the +lofty "Tower of the Franks," which adjoined the south wing of that +building, was possibly built in his time. This interesting historical +monument was demolished by the Greek authorities in 1874, +notwithstanding the protests of Penrose, Freeman and other scholars. The +Acciajuoli dynasty lasted till June 1458, when the Acropolis after a +stubborn resistance was taken by the Turks under Omar, the general of +the sultan Mahommed II., who had occupied the lower city in 1456. The +sultan entered Athens in the following month; he was greatly struck by +its ancient monuments and treated its inhabitants with comparative +leniency. + +10. _Period of Turkish Rule: 1458-1833._--After the Turkish conquest +Athens disappeared from the eyes of Western civilization. The principal +interest of the following centuries lies in the researches of successive +travellers, who may be said to have rediscovered the city, and in the +fate of its ancient monuments, several of which were still in fair +preservation at the beginning of this period. The Parthenon was +transformed into a mosque; the existing minaret at its south-western +corner was built after 1466. The Propylaea served as the residence of +the Turkish commandant and the Erechtheum as his harem. In 1466 the +Venetians succeeded in occupying the city, but failed to take the +Acropolis. About 1645 a powder magazine in the Propylaea was ignited by +lightning and the upper portion of the structure was destroyed. Under +Francesco Morosini the Venetians again attacked Athens in September +1687; a shot fired during the bombardment of the Acropolis caused a +powder magazine in the Parthenon to explode, and the building was rent +asunder. After capturing the Acropolis the Venetians employed material +from its ancient edifices in repairing its walls. They withdrew in the +following year, when the Turks set fire to the city. The central +sculptures of the western pediment of the Parthenon, which Morosini +intended to take to Venice, were unskilfully detached by his workmen, +and falling to the ground were broken to pieces. Several ancient +monuments were sacrificed to provide material for a new wall with which +the Turks surrounded the city in 1778. + +During the 18th century many works of art, which still remained _in +situ_, fell a prey to foreign collectors. The removal to London in 1812 +of most of the remaining sculptures of the Parthenon by Lord Elgin +possibly rescued many of them from injury in the period of warfare which +followed. In 1821 the Greek insurgents surprised the city, and in 1822 +captured the Acropolis. Athens again fell into the hands of the Turks in +1826, who bombarded and took the Acropolis in the following year; the +Erechtheum suffered greatly, and the monument of Thrasyllus was +destroyed. The Turks remained in possession of the Acropolis till 1833, +when Athens was chosen as the capital of the newly established kingdom +of Greece; since that date the history of the city forms part of that of +modern Greece. (See GREECE: _History, modern_.) + + GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY.-W.M. Leake, _Topography of Athens and the Demi_ + (2nd ed., London, 1841); C. Wachsmuth, _Die Stadt Athen im Alterthum_ + (vol. i., Leipzig, 1874; vol. ii. part i., Leipzig, 1890); E. Burnouf, + _La Ville et l'acropole d'Athenes aux diverses epoques_ (Paris, 1877); + F.C. Penrose, _Principles of Athenian Architecture_ (London, 1888); + J.E. Harrison, _Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athens_ (London, + 1890); E. Curtius and A. Milchhofer, _Stadtgeschichte von Athen_ + (Berlin, 1891); H. Hitzig and H. Blumner, _Pausanias_ (text and + commentary; vol. i., Berlin, 1896); J.G. Frazer, _Pausanias_ + (translation and commentary; 6 vols., London, 1898. The commentary on + Pausanias' description of Athens, contained in vol. ii. with + supplementary notes in vol. v., is an invaluable digest of recent + researches); H. Omont, _Athenes au XVII^e siecle_ (Paris, 1898, with + plans and views of the town and acropolis and drawings of the + sculptures of the Parthenon); J.H. Middleton and E.A. Gardner, _Plans + and Drawings of Athenian Buildings_ (London, 1900); E.A. Gardner, + _Ancient Athens_ (London, 1902); W. Judeich, _Topographie von Athen_ + (Munich, 1905; forming vol. iii. part ii. second half, in 3rd edition + of I. von Muller's _Handbuch der klass. Altertumswissenschaft_). The + history of excavations on the Acropolis is summarized in M.L. d'Ooge, + _Acropolis of Athens_ (1909); see also A. Botticher, _Die Akropolis + von Athen_ (Berlin, 1888); O. Jahn, _Pausaniae descriptio arcis + Athenarum_ (Bonn, 1900); A. Furtwangler, _Masterpieces of Greek + Sculpture_ (appendix; London, 1895); A. Milchhofer, _Uber die alten + Burgheiligtumer in Athen_ (Kiel, 1899). For the Parthenon, A. + Michaelis, _Der Parthenon_ (texts and plates, Leipzig, 1871); L. + Magne, _Le Parthenon_ (Paris, 1895); J. Durm, _Der Zustand der antiken + athenischen Bauwerken_ (Berlin, 1895); F.C. Penrose in _Journal of + Royal Institute of British Architects_ for 1897; N.M. Balanos in + [Greek: Ephemeris tes kyberneseos] (Athens, August 25, 1898). For the + Dionysiac theatre, A.E. Haigh, _The Attic Theatre_ (Oxford, 1889); W. + Dorpfeld and E. Reisch, _Das griechische Theater_ (Athens, 1896); + Puchstein, _Die griechische Buhne_ (Berlin, 1901). For the "Theseum," + B. Sauer, _Das sogenannte Theseion_ (Leipzig, 1899). For the Peiraeus, + E.I. Angelopoulos, [Greek: Peri Peiraios kai tun limenou] (Athens, + 1898). For the Attic Demes, A. Milchhofer, _Untersuchungen uber die + Demenordnung des Kleisthenes_ (in transactions of Berlin Academy, + Berlin, 1892); Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencyclopadie der class. + Altertumswissenschaft_ (supplement, part i., article "Athenai"; + Stuttgart, 1903). For the controversies respecting the Agora, the + Enneacrunus and the topography of the town in general, see W. + Dorpfeld, _passim_ in _Athenische Mittheilungen_; C. Wachsmuth, "Neue + Beitrage zur Topographie von Athen," in _Abhandlungen der sachsischen + Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften_ (Leipzig, 1897). A. Milchhofer, "Zur + Topographie von Athen," in _Berlin. philol. Wochenschrift_ (1900), + Nos. 9, 11, 12. For the Byzantine and medieval periods, William + Miller, _Latins in the Levant_ (London, 1908); F. Gregorovius, + _Geschichte der Stadt Athen im Mittelalter_ (2 vols., Stuttgart, + 1889). Periodical Literature. _Mittheilungen des kais. deutsch. arch. + Instituts_ (Athens, from 1876); _Bulletin de correspondance + hellenique_ (Athens, from 1877); _Papers of the American School_ (New + York, 1882-1897); _Annual of the British School_ (London, from 1894); + _Journal of Hellenic Studies_ (London, from 1880); _American Journal + of Archaeology_ (New York, from 1885); _Jahrbuch des kais. deutsch. + arch. Instituts_ (Berlin, from 1886). The best maps are those in _Die + Karten van Attika_, published with explanatory text by the German + Archaeological Institute (Berlin, 1881). See also Baedeker's _Greece_ + (London, 1895); Murray's _Greece and the Ionian Islands_ (London, + 1900); Guide Joanne, vol. i. _Athenes et ses environs_ (Paris, 1896); + Meyer's _Turkei und Griechenlander_ (5th ed., 1901). (J. D. B.) + + + + +ATHENS, a city and the county-seat of Clarke county, Georgia, U.S.A., in +the N.E. part of the state, about 73 m. E. by N. of Atlanta. Pop. (1890) +8639; (1900) 10,245, of whom 5190 were negroes and only 114 were +foreign-born; (1910, census) 14,913. It is served by the Georgia, the +Central of Georgia, the Southern, the Seaboard Air Line and the +Gainesville Midland railways. Athens is an important educational centre. +It was founded in 1801 as the seat of the university of Georgia, which +had been chartered in 1785. Franklin College, the academic department of +the university, was opened in 1801, and afterwards the State College of +Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (the School of Science, 1872), the State +Normal School (co-educational, 1891), the School of Pharmacy (1903), the +University Summer School (1903), the School of Forestry (1906), and the +Georgia State College of Agriculture (1906), also branches of the +university, were established at Athens, and what had been the Lumpkin +Law School (incorporated in 1859) became the law department of the +university in 1867. Branches of the university not in Athens are: the +North Georgia Agricultural College (established in 1871; became a part +of the university in 1872), at Dahlonega; the medical department, at +Augusta (1873; founded as the Georgia Medical College in 1829); the +Georgia School of Technology (1885), at Atlanta; the Georgia Normal and +Industrial College for Girls (1889), at Milledgeville; and the Georgia +Industrial College for Colored Youth (1890), near Savannah. At Athens +also are several secondary schools, and the Lucy Cobb Institute (for +girls), opened in 1858 and named in honour of a daughter of its founder, +Gen. T.R.R. Cobb (1823-1862). The city has various manufactures, the +most important being fertilizers, cotton goods, and cotton-seed oil and +cake; the value of the total factory product in 1905 was $1,158,205, an +increase of 70.9% in five years. Athens was chartered as a city in 1872. + + + + +ATHENS, a village and the county-seat of Athens county, Ohio, U.S.A., in +the township of Athens, on the Hocking river, about 76 m. E.S.E. of +Columbus. Pop. (1890) 2620; (1900) 3066; (1910) 5463; of the township +(1910) 10,156. It is served by the Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern, the +Toledo & Ohio Central (Ohio Central Lines), and the Hocking Valley +railways. The village is built on rolling ground rising about 70 ft. +above the river (which nearly encircles it), and commands views of some +of the most beautiful scenery in the state. There are several ancient +mounds in the vicinity. Athens is the seat of Ohio University +(co-educational), a state institution established in 1804, and having in +1908 a college of liberal arts, a state normal college (1902), a +commercial college, a college of music and a state preparatory school. +In 1908 the University had 53 instructors and 1386 students. South of +the village, and occupying a fine situation, is a state hospital for the +insane. In the vicinity there are many coal mines, and among the +manufactures are bricks, furniture, veneered doors, and shirts. The +municipality operates the water-works. When the Ohio Company, through +Manasseh Cutler, obtained from congress their land in what is now Ohio, +it was arranged that the income from two townships was to be set aside +"for the support of a literary institution." In 1795 the townships +(Athens and Alexander) were located and surveyed, and in 1800 Rufus +Putnam and two other commissioners, appointed by the Territorial +legislature, laid out a town, which was also called Athens. Settlers +slowly came; the town became the county-seat in 1805, was incorporated +as a village in 1811, and was re-incorporated in 1828. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th +Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7, by Various + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENCYC. BRITANNICA, VOL 2, SLICE 7 *** + +***** This file should be named 34209.txt or 34209.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/2/0/34209/ + +Produced by Marius Masi, Don Kretz and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |