All inquiries and correspondence relating to the business management of Chautauqua should be addressed to Mr. W. A. Duncan, Secretary, Syracuse, N. Y. Mr. Duncan makes his home in that city, and is in easy communication with Chautauqua. He has entered upon the work of the secretaryship with his usual enterprise and zeal, and the management of Chautauqua is being greatly strengthened by his election.
There is very little of an exciting character in the political world. General W. T. Sherman has been mentioned by his friends for the Presidency, but the newspapers and politicians seem to have dismissed his name from the list of probable candidates. He is too much mixed up with the Romish church in his family relations. President Arthur has made a fine impression by the prudence and statesmanlike bearing of his administration. He has won a high rank as a man, a politician, and a patriot, since he took the oath of office, much higher than he held in the thought of the people before, but he will fail of the nomination for the Presidency. Ohio will not endorse him and his own state did not elect his Secretary of the Treasury governor, and the logic is that New York would not endorse him. All other candidates seem to have gone into private training for the open conflict.
The election of Mr. Payne to the United States Senate by the Democrats of Ohio, does, it is thought, change the attitude of the Democratic party on Civil Service Reform. Senator Pendleton, who is a strong champion of this reform in his party, and one of its earnest advocates in the Senate, was defeated by Mr. Payne, who is not regarded as an advocate of Civil Service.
Ever since our government was founded, there have been, no doubt, many persons who feared that there would eventually grow up a too close intimacy between the executive and legislative departments. This fear has in part prevented the heads of departments from being members of the House of Representatives. And yet they wield a tremendous influence in shaping legislative action as it relates to their departments. The secretaries are consulted by members on the floor of the House and the Senate on all important matters in which they are interested. Why not give them the rights and privileges of membership, that they may represent their departments in person? It might be the means of throwing new light on many vexed questions in the administration of the government.
After sixteen years of neglect and broken treaty stipulations the Congress of the United States is moving to provide Alaska with a simple, inexpensive government and school system. Strangely enough the portion of the bill pertaining to schools is the one that meets with the most opposition in Congress. That it shall not be defeated, and the native population of Alaska be deprived of educational advantages, it is in order for the readers of The Chautauquan to show their interest in education by petitioning Congress to pass this bill.
Every congressional season we have revived for public discussion in one form or another, “Who is first lady at Washington?” At the New Year’s reception, Mrs. Carlisle, the speaker’s wife, stood next the President, while it is maintained that the wife of the Secretary of State should have occupied this position, and that Mrs. Carlisle should have stood “below” the Cabinet. The President settled the dispute by inviting Mrs. Carlisle to stand by his side.
As knowledge increases, the tests applied to men for service grow more severe. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company has been inquiring into the color blindness of their employes, a very important matter, when we think of the relations of signals as they are used on the road to the safety of human life, as well as to the protection of the rolling stock of the company. Dr. William Thompson, the ophthalmologist by whom the work was conducted, discovered that one man in twenty-five is unfit for service where prompt recognition of color signals is required. Some who are color blind do indeed distinguish correctly between danger and safety flags, but, as Dr. Thompson suggests, they are guided by form, not by color. It might be some security, therefore, to make every danger signal peculiarly recognizable by both its form and color.
Shall the government take charge of the telegraph service? is a question that has not come up in any shape for discussion in Congress, and we doubt if it will receive much attention in either House or Senate in the immediate future. There is one objection to the government assuming control of this branch of public service, viz.: As the leading daily newspapers of the country are now conducted, they depend on the telegraph companies for facilities to transmit the Associated Press dispatches, and since this is the only medium the people have for the quick transmission of news, and it is feared that if the general government should get charge of the wires, the administration, if it were Republican or Democratic, would have the power indirectly, if not directly, to shade the news, and we would be in danger of losing what we now have—a free press. While monopolies are to be dreaded, still we believe that the present management of the telegraph system is preferable to anything we would be likely to get from the government; a change would be hazardous. “Better endure the ills we have than fly to those we know not of.”
Wendell Phillips died of heart disease, in Boston, February 5th. Few men become so generally known in a lifetime, without the help of public offices, as Mr. Phillips. He was an orator pure and simple, and, perhaps, when in his prime, the foremost of American orators. He has written nothing that will mark the period of his life among men, but he was a great battle-ax against slavery, and on that issue he found an opportunity to use his powers of denunciation to their maximum. As a lecturer he will be missed, for since the war here he shone the most brilliantly. Dr. Vincent expected him at Chautauqua the coming season to deliver his great lecture—“The Lost Arts.” We shall have more to say concerning him in a future number.
A letter from the wife of a missionary in Madagascar has been published in London. It was written on September 24th. She says: “The mourning for the late queen is ended. It only lasted about two months, and was not of the severe kind of olden times; this time the people were only forbidden to plait their hair, wear hats, carry an umbrella, build much, and to weave cloths, while in former times the mourning lasted at least a year, and everybody’s hair was shaven close to the head, women’s and all; they were not allowed to wear clothes at all, just mats round their waist. The new queen promises to be a worthy successor of her good mother. Her name is Rayafindrahely, but she comes to the throne under the title of Ranavalona III. The Malagasy now publish a newspaper, the Gazety they call it, once a fortnight; it is the first specimen of Malagasy attempt at printing and composing. It is after the style of our own newspapers, and gives the news of everything that happens in every part of the island, and especially of every movement of the queen and prime minister.”
The news from India that Keshub Chunder Sen is dead will occasion profound sorrow. He was in the midst of a great work, and we hoped for much from him in connection with needed reforms in India, to which his life was given. Through his open, manly renunciation of the errors of Brahmanism, and earnest protests against caste, child-marriages, and other social evils of their system, and more by his new theology, Mr. Sen was widely known. In his own land he was reverenced as a religious teacher, orator, and reformer. In this country and in England, where those marvelous outbursts of devout feeling stirred the hearts of all who heard, the chief interest centers in his theology. He, whose words so thrilled other Christian hearts, did not yet confess himself a Christian. He had renounced polytheism, and all forms of idolatrous worship, but attempted to show his countrymen, from their own sacred books, that primitive Hindoos, like himself, were monotheistic. The belief of the Brahmo Somaj, or society of which he became a minister, was a great advance from idolatrous Hindooism, and in most respects seemed like true Christian faith. His work as a reformer seemed full of promise. Who will be his successor to carry it forward, does not yet appear. His early death will be mourned as a great, if not an irreparable, loss. The inchoate creed of the community, so sadly bereaved, is not complete or fixed, and will, we hope, and perhaps now more rapidly, crystallize about the wisest sayings of their great leader. May a divine radiance from the cross of Jesus brighten its every line.
Poverty brings its temptations and makes its demands even on the priests of the church. “The other day a priest in Kerry,” says the St. James Gazette, “went to his Bishop: ‘I want you,’ he said, ‘to give me a general dispensing power for cases of perjury.’ ‘For perjury?’ said his lordship. ‘What do the people want with that?’ ‘Faith!’ answered the good father, ‘they can’t get on without it. For, first of all, the Moonlighters come to them and swear them that they must say that they didn’t know who they were; and then there’s the Arrears Act, and they have to take the oath they’re not worth a farthing; and you know in the Land Court they can’t get a reduction till they say they can’t pay their rent. In fact, my lord, the poor people have to perjure themselves at every turn.’”
Oscar Wilde, in a recent lecture in Dublin, made a remark which deserves more attention than anything which that gentleman has ever said in regard to American customs: “American children seem to be pale and precocious, and that might be owing to the fact that the only national game of America is euchre, which could hardly, if industriously practiced, tend to create and develop a fine or manly physique.” It is undoubtedly too broad a statement to call euchre our national game, but it probably is more universally played than any other. It puts us as a people in a weak light, to say that our leisure is spent in a game that calls for little thought, which gives us no outdoor exercise, and which enervates rather than strengthens, but it is the true light. We are, as a rule, making of ourselves hot-house plants. Vigorous games are shunned; weak ones are adopted. The criticism is just, and worth our attention.
The following item sent us from New York is to the point: “Kings County Wheelmen’s Club, which numbers fifty members, gave its annual reception, recently, in Knickerbocker Hall, Clymer Street, Brooklyn. Several clubs from New York and vicinity attended. The wheelmen gave an exhibition of fancy riding, and there was also a bicycle drill, in which movements were made by single file, and by twos, fours, and eights. At one part of the drill two lines of bicyclers advanced in opposite directions, met each other, came to a standstill, and saluted.” We feel like encouraging the use of the bicycle. As a sport it is an improvement on any of the games on which we have had a craze in late years. Roller skating, or standing to roll on spools, is not the healthiest or best exercise; perhaps it is the best substitute that can be invented for skating, but it is a failure for this purpose. The bicycle is useful and graceful, when in motion, and the wheelman gets genuine exercise out of turning the wheel.
There are many opinions advanced on the Newton case. Rev. Heber Newton, of the Episcopal Church, was silenced from delivering a course of lectures on the Old Testament, in which he advanced some startling and new opinions. As to their weight authorities differ. One remarks that they were “The work of a shallow thinker, with fragmentary knowledge, intent on saying startling things.” Others contend that he thought he could make the Bible a more helpful book. Let him have charity; he certainly acted the part of a moderate and wise man in obeying his bishop without making a hubbub. His attempt is but that of hundreds of other men in orthodox churches who every winter introduce courses of lectures in which they instruct their flocks in speculative philosophy, new theories and scientific teachings. A friend recently remarked to the writer: “The first idea of doubt that ever entered my mind was on hearing one of a series of scientific lectures delivered from a Christian pulpit. Pantheism was presented so invitingly that I went home a pantheist.” If minds are speculative they should enter another realm; the practical truth of the gospel is the work of the pulpit.
Decidedly the most sensible opinion on matters in Sudan is that of “Chinese” Gordon, who says: “That the people were justified in rebelling, nobody who knows the treatment to which they were subjected will attempt to deny. Their cries were absolutely unheeded at Cairo. In despair they had recourse to the only method by which they could make their wrongs known; and, on the same principle that Absalom fired the corn of Joab, so they rallied round the Mahdi, who exhorted them to revolt against the Turkish yoke. I am convinced that it is an entire mistake to regard the Mahdi as in any sense a religious leader; he personifies popular discontent. All the Sudanese are potential Mahdis, just as all the Egyptians are potential Arabis. The movement is not religious, but an outbreak of despair. Three times over I warned the late Khedive that it would be impossible to govern the Sudan on the old system after my appointment to the governor-generalship.”
Charles Scribner’s Sons have decided to begin a new issue of The Book Buyer. It was discontinued in 1877, but the demand for such a concise, readable and reliable “Summary of American and Foreign Literature” has led to republication. The Book Buyer is so cheap (fifty cents per year) that every one can have it; it is so useful and authoritative that no book-lover can afford to be without it.
Public opinion on the question of woman’s rights has so shaped itself that we all feel inclined to smile at the speech of the Solicitor of the Treasury against issuing the license as master of a steamboat on the Mississippi, for which Mrs. Mary A. Miller, of Louisiana, applied. Had it been on the ground of inability to fill the position no one would have commented, but on the ground of its “shocking the sensibilities of humanity,” the world laughs. The truth is, no one is seriously shocked—except fossils. Whatever ideas, pro or con, the public may hold on woman’s suffrage, it does recognize the right of women to earn their living in any employment for which they are fitted. The weight of public sentiment would say of Mrs. Miller: “If she be competent to do the work, let her do it.”
Henry Hart, the designer of the beautiful C. L. S. C. pins advertised in this number of The Chautauquan, has gone to Atlanta, Ga. He reports a fine local circle in that city. Mr. Hart makes C. L. S. C. a very generous offer in promising to devote one-tenth of the proceeds of the “People’s College” badge to the Hall fund. It is to be hoped that very many will take this opportunity of helping themselves and the Hall.
The Manhattan for February contains a finely illustrated article on “Caricature,” by our friend Prof. Frank Beard. We recommend it to our readers as a most entertaining paper.
P. 11.—“Matriculate.” The roll or register book in which the Romans recorded names was called matricula, from this we have the verb to matriculate, to admit to a membership in an institution or society, and the noun matriculate, the one admitted.
P. 17.—“Latium,” lāˈshe-ŭm. One of the principal divisions of ancient Italy, lying south of the Tiber. Its boundaries varied at different periods.
P. 18.—The Greeks called themselves Hellenes, their language the Hellenic.
“Æneas,” æ-nēˈas. See the Æneid of Virgil, page 251 of “Preparatory Latin Course.”
“Mars.” For the story of Mars and Romulus, see page 73 of “Preparatory Latin Course.” The date of the founding of the city is given as 753 B. C., and the line of legendary rulers numbered seven.
P. 19.—“Pyrrhus.” For his history see Timayenis, vol. ii.
“Cineas,” cinˈe-as. The friend and prime minister of Pyrrhus. So eloquent was he that Pyrrhus is said to have declared that “the words of Cineas had won him more cities than his own arms.” He went twice to Rome on important embassies for the king, and probably died in Sicily while Pyrrhus was there.
“Cavour,” käˈvoorˌ. (1810-1861.) An Italian statesman. After a varied experience in war and politics, Cavour was called in 1850 to the cabinet of Victor Immanuel, king of Sardinia. Italy was then divided into several states, some under Austria, others under papal rule. Cavour turned all his ability to defeating the Austrian powers and breaking the pope’s authority, in order to unite Italy. In all the struggles he was one of the chief advisers. In 1861 the states were united. It has been said of him, “he was one of the most enlightened, versatile and energetic statesmen of the age.… It is now conceded on all hands that to him more than any other man is owing the achievement of the unity of Italy.”
“Victor Immanuel.” (1820-1878.) Became king of Sardinia in 1849 by his father’s abdication. He took part in the Crimean war with France and England, and was joined by France in the war for Italian independence. In 1861 he assumed the title of King of Italy, having united many of the northern provinces. In 1866 he annexed Venetia, and in 1870 the last of the papal states. In 1871 he transferred his seat of power to Rome.
“Carthage,” carˈthage. The city was situated in the middle and northernmost part of the north coast of Africa. It was founded about one hundred years before Rome, and so rapidly its conquests and influence advanced that it soon became evident that the rulership of the western world lay between these two cities. Jealousy kept each on the alert, and B. C. 264 a dispute about matters in Sicily brought about the first Punic war, which lasted until B. C. 241. The second Punic war (B. C. 218-201) resulted in a complete relinquishment of all power by Carthage. The third (B. C. 149-146) was ended by the complete destruction of Carthage.
P. 20.—“Hamilcar.” A famous leader in the latter part of the first Punic war; the father-in-law of Hasdrubal, and father of Hannibal. After this war and a campaign in Africa, Hamilcar undertook to establish an empire for Carthage in Spain. After nine years he fell in battle there and was succeeded by Hasdrubal, who finished the work and formed a treaty with Rome, regulating the boundaries. After Hasdrubal’s death Hannibal took his place, but breaking the treaty, brought about the second Punic war, where he won several brilliant victories, though finally defeated by Scipio Africanus.
“Regulus.” A Roman leader captured by the Carthaginians in the first Punic war, and held five years. The Carthaginians desiring peace sent him to Rome with an embassy to help negotiate, but he dissuaded his countrymen from accepting the terms. Before leaving Carthage he had given his word to return if peace was not made, and in spite of the protest of Rome, he kept the promise. He is said to have been tortured to death on his return. This story, however, is suspected to be an invention of the Romans.
“Fabius.” Was five times Roman consul. After the first victories of Hannibal in the second Punic war, Fabius was appointed dictator. Here he earned the title of “Master of Delay.” Merivale says: “His tactics were to throw garrisons into the strong places, to carry off the supplies of all the country around the enemy’s camp, wherever he should pitch it, to harass him by constant movement, but to refuse an engagement.”
P. 21.—“Gracchus.” The family name of two brothers, Tiberius and Caius, who soon after the destruction of Carthage (146) tried to relieve the sufferings of the Roman poor. The former was made tribune in 133, and immediately tried to arrange for a fair division of public lands, so that the poor citizens might each obtain a small farm. The opposition was so great that in the attempt to reëlect Tiberius a riot occurred and he was slain. Ten years afterward Caius became tribune; he succeeded in carrying several measures to better the condition of the poor, but through the jealousy of the senate, his power with the people was broken, and finally during a disastrous fight between his party and his opponents he fled and caused a slave to kill him.
“Jugurtha.” See page 82 of “Preparatory Latin Course.”
“Marius.” See page 87 of “Preparatory Latin Course.”
P. 27.—“King William.” See The Chautauquan for February, page 252.
P. 28.—“Mommsen,” mŭmˈzen. A German historian, born in 1817. He has held professorships in jurisprudence or archæology at various universities, and has published several books. His “History of Rome” is the most important. It has run through five editions, and been translated into French and English.
P. 29.—“Curtius.” According to this legend the earth in the Roman forum gave way B. C. 362. The soothsayers declared that the chasm could only be filled by throwing into it Rome’s greatest treasure. Curtius, a young nobleman, declared that Rome possessed no greater treasure than the citizen willing to die for her, and mounting his steed leaped into the abyss, which closed upon him.
P. 31.—“Medusa.” One of the Gorgons, frightful beings, whose heads were covered with hissing serpents; they had wings, brazen claws and enormous teeth. Medusa was fabled to have been a beautiful maiden of whom Athena was jealous, and in consequence turned her into a gorgon. Her head was so fearful that every one who looked at it was changed into stone. See illustration, page 115.
P. 33.—“Roman Mile.” A thousand paces, or 1600 yards.
P. 34.—“Cretan.” From the island of Crete, one of the largest of the Mediterranean Sea. It became a Roman province B. C. 66. The people were celebrated as archers, and were frequently employed as mercenaries by other nations.
“Balearic.” The Balearic Islands, a group east of Spain, were known to both Greeks and Romans by this name, derived from the Greek verb to throw, because of the skill of the inhabitants as slingers. The Romans subdued the islands 123 B. C.
P. 37.—“Longwood.” The largest of the plains on the island of St. Helena.
P. 38.—“Trajectory.” The curve which a body describes.
“Cineas.” It is said that when Cineas (see note above) returned from an embassy at Rome, he told the king that there was no people like that; their city was a temple, their senate an assembly of kings.
P. 45.—“Montesquieu,” mŏnˈ-tĕs-kūˌ. French jurist and philosopher (1689-1755).
P. 46.—“Marcus Aurelius.” Roman Emperor from 161-180, called “The Philosopher.” Smith says of him: “The leading feature in the character of Aurelius was his devotion to literature. We still possess a work by him written in the Greek and entitled ‘Meditations,’ in twelve books. No remains of antiquity present a nobler view of philosophical heathenism.”
“Bœthius.” A Roman statesman and philosopher, said to be “the last Roman of any note who understood the language and studied the literature of Greece.” His most celebrated work was “On the Consolation of Philosophy.”
P. 48.—“Ennius.” (B. C. 239-169.) Called Father Ennius.
“Plautus.” (B. C. 254-184.) “Terence.” (B. C. 195-159.)
“Menander.” (B. C. 342-291.) A distinguished poet at Athens, in what was called the “New Comedy.”
P. 50.—“Cato.” (B. C. 234-149.) Cato was famous in military affairs in early life; after that he entered on a civil career. In 184 he was elected to the censorship, the great event of his life. Here he tried to turn public opinion against luxury and extravagance. Cato wrote several works; only fragments of his greatest, “A History of Rome,” have been saved.
P. 51.—“Boileau,” bwâˈlō. (1636-1711.) A French poet and critic.
P. 52.—“Æschines.” See Greek history.
“Hortensius,” hor-tenˈsi-us. (B. C. 114-50.) Hortensius was the chief orator of Rome until the time of Cicero, by whom, in the prosecution of Verres, he was completely defeated. He held many civil offices, but in old age retired from public life.
P. 53.—“Livy.” (B. C. 59-A. D. 17.) Livy spent the greater part of his life in Rome, where he was greatly honored by the emperors. His reputation is said to have been very great in all countries. His best known work was a history of Rome, in one hundred and forty-two books, only thirty-five of which are in existence.
“Tacitus,” “Suetonius.” See page 61 of this volume of The Chautauquan.
“Nepos.” A contemporary of Cicero, of whose life nothing is known. The chief works of Nepos were biographies, of which we have only fragments.
“Georgics.” See page 236 of “Preparatory Latin Course.”
P. 54.—“Horace.” (B. C. 65-8.) Horace was the son of a freedman who attempted to educate his son, sending him to Rome and then to Athens. While in the latter place Brutus came to Athens, and Horace joined his army. Returning to Rome he found his father’s estate gone. He lived in poverty until some of his poems were noticed by Virgil. Mæcenas became his patron, and afterward Augustus. His works are The Odes, Satires, Epistles, and The Art of Poetry.
“Ovid.” See page 100 of “Preparatory Latin Course.”
P. 63.—“Historia Sacra.” Sacred history.
P. 65.—“Æsop.” A writer of fables who lived about B. C. 570. He is said to have been born a slave, but was freed. He was thrown from a precipice by the Delphians because of a refusal to pay them money which Crœsus had sent to them. It is uncertain whether Æsop left any written fables, but many bearing his name have been popular for ages.
“Putative,” pūˈta-tive. Reputed; supposed.
P. 66.—“Viri Romæ.” Men of Rome.
“Valerius.” A historian of the time of the Emperor Tiberius. The circumstances of his life are unknown. His work remaining to us is on miscellaneous subjects, sacred rites, civil institutions, social virtues, etc.
P. 69.—“Fra Angelico,” frä-än-gelˈe-cō. At the age of twenty he entered a monastery, where he spent the rest of his life. His paintings of angels were so beautiful that he won the name of Fra Angelico—the Brother Angelic. He was called to Rome to decorate the papal chapel, and offered the position of Archbishop of Florence, but refused it. He painted only sacred subjects, and would never accept money for his pictures.
P. 70.—“Repertories,” rĕpˈer-to-ries. A book or index in which things are so arranged as to be easily found.
“Metellus Pius.” A prominent Roman of the first century B. C. He held various civil offices, was a commander in the Social war, and carried on war against the Samnites, in 87. Afterward he was in arms in Africa, and in 79 went as proconsul to Spain. He died about 60 B. C.
P. 71.—“Dolabella,” dŏl-a-bĕlˈla.
P. 72.—“Caninius,” ca-nĭnˈi-ŭs. One of Cæsar’s legates in Gaul and in the civil war.
“Drusus.” He won successes in the provinces after the death of Augustus, and was pointed out as the successor of Tiberius. Sejanus, the favorite of Tiberius, aspired to the empire. He won the wife of Drusus to his plans, and persuaded her to administer a slow poison to her husband, which finally caused his death.
P. 75.—“Egeria.” She had been worshiped by the people of Latium from the earliest times, as a prophetic divinity. Numa consecrated to her a grove in the environs of the city, where it is said that he used to meet her. The grotto and fountain of Egeria are still pointed out to travelers. It is said that on the death of Numa, Egeria was so inconsolable that she was changed into a fountain.
“Aurora.” In Grecian mythology the goddess of the morning, who sets out before the rising of the sun and heralds his coming.
“Nympholepsy,” nĭm-pho-lĕpˈsy. The state of being caught by the nymphs; ecstasy.
P. 77.—“Numidia,” nu-midˈi-a. A country of Northern Africa, now Algiers.
P. 78.—“Bohn.” An English publisher who has republished in the English language, and in cheap form, most of the rare standard works of the different literatures of Europe. His library now numbers between 600 and 700 volumes.
P. 80.—“Numantine.” This war was waged by the Numantians, a little people of Spain, not numbering more than 8,000 fighting men, against Rome. Their city, Numantia, was taken B. C. 133, after a long siege.
P. 82.—“Cato.” (B. C. 95-46.) Great-grandson of Cato the Censor. His character was stern and stoical, and in his public and military life he was famous for his rigid justice and sternness against abuses. Cato opposed Cæsar throughout his life. When Cæsar entered Africa he tried to persuade Utica to stand a siege, but failing, committed suicide.
P. 103.—“Clymene,” clymˈe-nē. The mother of Phæton.
“Styx.” The chief river of the infernal world, according to Grecian mythology, around which it flows seven times. The name comes from the Greek word to hate. Milton calls it “Abhorred Styx, the flood of burning hate.”
“Hours.” The Hours were the goddesses who presided over the order of nature and over the seasons. They gave fertility to the earth, and furnished various kinds of weather. The course of the season is described as the dance of the Hours. In art they are represented as beautiful maidens, carrying fruits and flowers.
P. 194.—“Tethys,” tĕˈthys. The goddess of the sea. The wife of Oceanus, and mother of the river gods.
P. 105.—“Seven Stars.” By these seven stars are meant the sun, moon, Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter and Venus.
“Serpent.” The constellation of Draco, which, stretching between Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, nearly encircles the latter.
“Boötes,” bo-oˈtes. The constellation commonly known as Charles’ Wain, or the Wagoner. Boötes is said to have been the inventor of the plow, to which he yoked two oxen. At his death he was taken to heaven and set among the stars.
“Libya.” A name for the continent of Africa, applied here to the Sahara Desert.
“Dirce.” It is fabled that a king of Thebes drove away his wife into the mountains of Bœotia, where she died, leaving two sons. When the boys grew up they returned to Thebes and killed both their father and his wife, Dirce, who had been an assistant in his crime. Dirce was dragged to death by a bull, and her body thrown into a well, which was from that time called the “Well of Dirce.” The celebrated statue of the Farnese bull represents the death of Dirce.
“Pyrene,” pyrˈe-ne.
“Amymone,” amˈy-moˌne. The daughter of Danaus, who had fled with his family from Egypt to Argos. The country was suffering from drought, and he sent out Amymone to bring water. She was attacked by a Satyr but rescued by Neptune, who bade her draw his trident from a rock. Thereupon a threefold spring gushed forth, which was called the river and well of Amymone.
“Tanais,” tanˈa-is. The river Don.
“Caicus,” ca-īˈcus. A river of Asia Minor.
“Lycormas,” ly-corˈmas.
“Xanthus,” zanˈthus. The chief river of Lycia, in Asia Minor.
“Mæander,” mæ-anˈder. A stream of Asia Minor. The greater part of its course is through a wide plain, where it flows in the numerous windings which have made of its name the verb to meander.
“Ismenos,” is-mēˈnos. A small river in Bœotia.
“Phasis,” phāˈsis. A river flowing through Colchis, into the Black Sea.
“Tagus.” One of the chief rivers in Spain.
P. 106.—“Cayster” or “Caystrus,” ca-ysˈter. A river of Lydia and Ionia, in Asia Minor. It is said that it still abounds in swans, as it did in Homer’s time.
“Pluto.” The god of the infernal world.
“Cyclades,” cycˈlă-des. A group of islands in the Ægean Sea, so called because they lay in a circle around Delos.
“Phocæ,” phōˈcæ. Sea calves, or sea monsters of any description.
“Doris.” The daughter of Oceanus, and wife of her brother Nereus; sometimes her name is given to the sea itself.
P. 107.—“Presto,” prĕsˈtō. Quickly; at once.
P. 108. “Burke,” Edmund. (1730-1797.) An English statesman, writer and orator.
“Lucian,” lūˈci-an. (A. D. 120-200.) A Greek author.
“Molossian,” mo-losˈsian. The Molossi were a people in Epirus, inhabiting a country called Molossis. They were the most powerful tribe in Epirus.
P. 109.—“Daphne,” dăphˈne.
P. 110.—“Peneus,” pe-neˈus. The name of the chief river of Thessaly. As a god Peneus was the son of Oceanus.
“Claros,” claˈros. A small town on the Ionian coast, with a celebrated temple and oracle of Apollo.
“Tenedos,” tĕnˈe-dŏs. A small island of the Ægean, off the coast of Troas, also sacred to Apollo.
“Patarian,” pa-taˈri-an. From Patara, one of the chief cities of Asia Minor, in Lycia. Apollo had an oracle here, and a celebrated temple.
P. 114.—“Narcissus.” A youth who was fabled to be so hard of heart that he never loved. The nymph Echo died of grief because of him. Nemesis caused him to fall in love with his own image as he saw it in a fountain, and Narcissus died because he could not approach the shadow. His corpse was metamorphosed into the flower which has his name.
“Dædalus.” A character of Grecian mythology, fabled to be the inventor of many contrivances, as well as a sculptor and architect. Having incurred the displeasure of the king of Crete, he was obliged to flee from the island. Accordingly he made wings for himself and his son Icarus. Dædalus flew safely to shore, but Icarus went so near the sun that the wax by which his wings were fastened melted, and he was drowned in that part of the Ægean called the Icarian Sea.
“Baucis.” Baucis and Philemon were an aged couple living in Phrygia. Jupiter and Mercury having occasion to visit this part of the world, went in the disguise of flesh and blood. Nobody would receive them until Baucis and Philemon took them into their hut. Jupiter took the couple to a hill near by, while he punished the inhospitable by an inundation; he then rewarded them by making them guardians of his temple, allowing them to die at the same moment, and changing them into trees.
“Lycidas,” lĭsˈi-das. A poetical name under which Milton laments the death of his friend Edward King, who had been drowned.
“Comus.” In the later age of Rome, a god of festive joy and mirth. In Milton’s poem entitled “Comus, a Masque,” he is represented as a base enchanter who endeavors, but in vain, to beguile and entrap the innocent by means of his “brewed enchantments.”—Webster.
P. 123.—“Rhodes.” An island of the Eastern Ægean. It was long celebrated for its schools of Greek art and oratory.
“Pontifex,” ponˈtĭ-fex. A Roman high priest, a pontiff. The pontifices constituted a college of priests, superintended the public worship, and gave information on sacred matters. Their leader was called pontifex maximus.
“Quæstor.” The title of a class of Roman officials, some of whom had charge of the pecuniary affairs of the state, while others superintended certain criminal trials.
“Ædile.” A magistrate of Rome who superintended public buildings, such as temples, theaters, baths, aqueducts, sewers, etc., as well as markets, weights, measures, and the expenses of funerals.
P. 125.—“Proconsul.” The title given to those who, after holding the office of consul, were sent to some province as governor.
P. 126.—“Ascham.” (1515-1568.) The foremost scholar of his time, celebrated for his superior knowledge of Greek and Latin.
P. 127.—“Æduans,” ædˈu-ans. Their country lay between the Loire and the Saone.
P. 126.—“Lingones.” A people living to the east of the source of the Mosa river. (See map.)
P. 137.—“Sequani.” A tribe of Gallia Belgica (see map), taking their name from the river Sequana, near the source of which they lived.
P. 139.—“Soissons,” swäˌsōnˈ, almost swīˌsōnˈ. About fifty miles northeast of Paris.
P. 112.—“Bellovaci.” They dwelt in the north of Gallia, beyond the Sequana river. (See map.)
P. 143.—“Ambian.” These people, with the Nervii and the Aduatuci (p. 147) were all tribes of Gallia Belgica.
P. 215, c. 1.—“Gallia.” For Gallia and the tribes Aquitani, Celtæ and Belgæ, see Professor Wilkinson on Cæsar in “Preparatory Latin Course.”
“Burgundians.” A race of early Germans who in 407 A. D. crossed the Rhine and settled between the Rhone and Saone. In 534 Burgundy was taken possession of by the Franks.
“Franks.” See page 63 of the present volume of The Chautauquan.
“Clovis.” See page 129 of the present volume of The Chautauquan.
“Salian Franks.” There were two tribes of the Franks, one called Salian, from the river Sala or Yssel, upon which they dwelt, the other Ripuarian, from the Latin ripa, bank, the name showing their location on the banks of the Rhine.
“Merovingians.” See notes, page 185 of present volume of The Chautauquan.
“Childeric,” or Hilderik. The race had become so weak that the rulers have been well described as the “shadow kings.” This last ruler of the Merovingians was thrust into a convent, where he soon died.
“Pepin,” pēpˈin. The son of Charles Martel. See page 129 of The Chautauquan. His wars were successful. The most interesting was against the Lombards, who were threatening Rome. He compelled them to give up to the Church of Rome a considerable territory which was, says a writer, “The foundation of that temporal power of the papacy, the end of which we have seen with our own eyes.”
“Charlemagne,” sharˈle-mānˌ. See page 131 of fourth volume of The Chautauquan.
“Hugues.” Hugh, in English; “Capet,” cāˈpet or căpˈet.
“Louis le Gros.” Louis the Great.
“Feudal system.” That system where land is held of superiors, on condition of military service.
P. 215, c. 2.—“Oriflamme.” From the Latin auriflamma, or flame of gold. A flag or banner of red or flame colored cloth, cut into long points at the end and mounted on a gilded lance. It originated in a certain abbey of France, where it was used in religious services.
“Touraine,” tô-rān; “Poitou,” pwä-tôˈ. These provinces had come to England on the accession of Henry II. (1154), to whom they belonged.
“Gallican Church.” The Catholic Church of France, which holds certain doctrines differing from those of the church at large. This church claims that the pope is limited as far as France is concerned, by the decisions of the Gallican Church, that kings and princes are not subject to him, and that he is not infallible. This pragmatic sanction of St. Louis in 1269 was the most important outbreak against Rome that ever took place in the Gallican Church.
“Le Bel.” The Beautiful.
“Navarre,” nă-varˈ. A province of France on the northern slope of the Pyrenees.
“Champagne,” shŏnˌpäñˈ. See map.
“Brie,” bre. A former province of France, lying between the Seine and the Marne.
“Valois,” väl-wäˈ.
“Salic Law.” According to this, “no woman could succeed to Salian soil.” The only descendant of Charles IV. was his infant daughter, and when the lords met to decide on the succession after his death, they followed this law; for as Froissart says, “The twelve peers of France said and say that the crown of France is of such noble estate, that by no succession can it come to a woman nor a woman’s son.”
P. 216, c. 1.—“Le Sage,” the wise; “Crécy,” krĕsˈe; “Poiters,” pwä-terzˈ; “Le Bien Aime,” the Beloved; “Agincourt,” ă-zhan-koor; “Le Victorieux,” the Victor; “Le père du peuple,” the father of his people.
“Valois-Orleans.” Louis XII. was the representative of the line nearest to the Valois family, that is, he was a son of the Duke of Orleans, and a grandson of the younger brother of Charles VI., thus representing both families.
“Valois Angoulême,” ŏnˌgooˌlāmeˈ. Louis XII. dying without heirs, the kingdom fell to the heirs of his uncle, the Count of Angoulême. Francis became a competitor with Charles I., of Spain, for the throne of Spain, but the latter was successful. This led to the war which was ended by Francis being made a prisoner at Pavia.
“St. Bartholomew.” There had been a struggle for many years between the Protestants and Catholics, which finally took the form of a conflict between the houses of Guise and Condé. Henry of Navarre was the successor to the throne—a marriage was arranged between him and the sister of the king, and August 18, 1572, was to be the wedding day. Many of the leading Huguenots were in Paris. It has been said that this wedding was but a scheme to bring them together; at any rate Coligni, a leading Huguenot, was fired upon by an assassin. The Huguenots became excited and threatened revenge. Catherine persuaded her son that they intended massacring the Catholics, and Charles gave an order for a general slaughter of the Protestants. The order was executed in nearly every city and town of France, and nearly 100,000 persons were put to death.
“Confederation of the League.” This holy league, or “Catholic Union,” as it was called, was supported by the pope and Philip II., of Spain. Its head was Duke Henry of Guise, who aimed at the French throne.
“Guise,” gheez.
“Bourbon,” boorˈbon. A French ducal and royal family, different branches of which have ruled Spain, France, Naples and Parma. The civil wars which were carried on between these houses were no less than eight in number.
“Richelieu,” reshˈeh-loo.
“Mazarin,” măz-a-reenˈ.
“Fronde.” A faction which opposed putting all the power of France into the hands of the government, as Richelieu and Mazarin both attempted. The name of frondeurs (slingers) was applied to them because in their sneering and flippant attacks upon Mazarin they were said to resemble boys throwing stones from slings.
“Tiers état.” Third estate. Before the reign of Philip the Fair, the people had had no voice in the government; but in his struggle with the papacy, as he desired to have the whole body of citizens on his side, he convened an assembly of the middle class of citizens, beside the clergy and nobility. The third body was called the third estate.
P. 216, c. 2.—“États Généraux,” States general. An assembly of the nation, which consisted of representatives of the clergy, nobility, and the third estate.
“National Assembly.” Upon the meeting of the states general, the nobles and the clergy insisted that the meetings of the body and its deliberations should be conducted according to class distinctions; this met with the opposition of the third estate, who finally declared themselves the only body having a right to act as the legislature of France, and summoned the clergy and nobles to attend their deliberations. They called themselves the National Assembly.
“Bastille,” bas-teelˈ. The state prison and citadel of Paris. It was begun in 1366; destroyed in 1789.
“Marie Antoinette,” mäˈrēˌ ŏnˌtwäˈnĕtˈ.
“Dauphin.” The title given to the eldest son of the king of France, under the Valois and Bourbon lines. It corresponds to “Prince of Wales” in England. It originally belonged to the counts of Dauphiny.
“Cis-Alpine,” sis-alˈpin. On this side of the Alps, that is, on the south or Roman side.
“Marengo,” ma-rĕnˈgō; “Prestige,” prĕs-tijˈ.
P. 317.—“D’Artois,” darˌtwäˈ; “Louis Phillippe,” loo-ē fe-leep; “Coup d’état,” a stroke of policy in state affairs; “Sedan,” se-dänˈ, a town of France, 130 miles northeast of Paris; “Bordeaux,” bor-dō; “Thiers,” te-êrˈ; “Grèvy,” grā-vē.
P. 317, c. 2.—“Champs-de-Mars,” shân-duh-marce. An extensive parade ground of Paris, on the left bank of the Seine. It has been the scene of many very remarkable historic events, and is now used for great reviews, etc. The buildings of the exposition of 1867 were erected upon it.
“Friesland,” freeceˈland. A province of Holland.
“Teignmouth,” tinˈmuth.
“Hengesdown,” henˈges-down.
“Narbonnese,” narˌbonˌnesˈ. One of the four provinces into which Augustus divided Gaul was named from Narbonne, a city near the Mediterranean, Gallia Narbonensis or Narbonnese Gaul.
P. 318, c. 1.—“Montfort.” The wife of the duke of Brittany, who had succeeded his brother, Jean III. It seems that the latter had left the duchy to his nephew, Charles of Blois, but Montfort took possession. War was declared, and the king of France aided Blois, the king of England, Montfort. The latter was taken prisoner and his wife took the field.
“Blois,” blwä; “Penthièvre,” pĕnˈtĕvrˌ.
“Van Artevelde,” vän arˈta-velt. A citizen and popular leader of Ghent, who for a long time was almost ruler of Flanders. In this war the people, under Artevelde, supported the English, while the nobility were in sympathy with the French.
“Froissart,” froisˈärt. (1337-1410.) A French history writer.
“D’Harcourt,” därˈkōrtˌ.
“Harfleur,” har-flurˈ; “Cherbourg,” sherˈburg; “Valognes,” väˌloñˈ (n like ni in minion). “Carentan,” käˈrŏnˌtŏnˌ; “Caen,” kŏn; “Louviers,” looˌve-āˈ; “Vernon,” vĕrˌnōnˈ; “Verneuil,” vĕrˈnuhl; “Mantes,” mants; “Meulan,” moi-lăn; “Poissy,” pwâ-sē; “Ruel,” roo-äl; “Neuilly,” nuhˌyēˈ; “Boulogne,” bou-lōnˈ; “Bourg-la-reine,” boor-la-rain.
“Béthune,” bā-tün; “Ponthieu,” pŏn-te-ŭh.
P. 318, c. 2.—“Hainault,” ā-nōl; “De Vienne,” deh ve-enˈ; “De Manny,” deh mănˌneˈ.
P. 319, c. 1.—“Eustace de St. Pierre,” eūsˈtace deh sănˌpe-êrˈ; “D’Aire,” d’air; “Domremy,” dôn-rŭh-me; “Neufchâtel,” nushˌäˌtelˈ; “Vancouleurs,” vŏnˌkooˈluhrˌ; “Baudricourt,” bōˈdrēˌkoorˌ; “Chinon,” she-nōng.
“Cap-a-pie,” kăpˌa-peeˈ. From head to foot.
P. 319, c. 2.—“La pucelle,” the maid; “Trémoille,” trāˌ-mooyˈ; “Boussac,” booˈsäkˌ; “Xaintrailles,” zanˈträlˌyeˌ; “La Hire,” läˌērˈ; “Dunois,” düˈnwâˌ; “Jargeau,” zharˌghōˈ; “Meung,” mŭng; “Beaugency,” bōˈgán-cēˌ; “Patay,” pa-tāyˈ.
P. 320, c. 1.—“Compiègne,” kŏmˌpe-ānˈ; “Ligny,” lē-nyē; “Vendôme,” vŏnˌdōmˈ.
P. 320, c. 2.—“Épernon,” āˈpĕrˌnōnˌ; “Angoumois,” ŏnˈgooˌmwäˈ; “Saintonge,” săn-tōnzhˈ.
P. 321.—“Sancy,” sanˈcē; “Ile de France,” eel-deh-frŏnss; “Picardy,” picˈar-dee; “Auvergne,” ō-vĕrnˈ; “Gaetano,” gā-ā-täˈno, usually written Cajetan.
“Sorbonne,” sor-bŭn. The principal school of theology in the ancient university of Paris. Its influence was powerful in many of the civil and religious controversies of the country.
“Arques,” ark; “Dreux,” druh; “Evreux,” ĕvˈruhˌ; “Ivry,” ēvˈrēˌ; “Eure,” yoor.
P. 321, c. 2.—“Reiters,” rīˈters; “Mayenne,” mäˌyenˈ; “Meaux,” mō; “Senlis,” sŏnˌlēsˈ.
P. 322, c. 1.—“Brisson,” brēˌsōnˈ; “Grève,” grāv.
“Sully.” A French statesman, the chief adviser of Henry IV.
P. 322, c. 2.—“Bèarnese,” bāˈarˌnēseˌ. Bèarn, a former southwest province of France, belonged to the kings of Navarre. From this possession Henry IV. received the title of the Bèarnese.
“Eustache,” uhsˌtäshˈ; “Merri,” mā-rē; “Guincestre,” ghinˈcestrˌ; “Villeroi,” vēlˈrwä; “Vervins,” vĕr-vănˈ.
“Escurial,” ĕs-koo-re-älˈ. A palace and mausoleum of the kings of Spain.
P. 323, c. 1.—“Saluzzo,” sâ-lootˈso; “Rosny,” ro-ne; “Gontaut de Biron,” gŏnˈ-toˌ deh beˌ-rōnˈ; “Malherbe,” mälˌêrbˈ.
P. 323, c. 2. “Praslin,” präˌlănˈ; “Montbazon,” mōnˌbäˌzŏnˈ; “Crèqui,” krā-keˈ; “Mirabeau,” meˌräˌbōˈ.
“Equerry,” e-quĕrˈry. An officer of nobles, charged with the care of their horses.
“Cœur Couronné,” etc. The crowned heart pierced with an arrow.
“Curzon en Quercy,” kür-sōnˈ ĕng kwerˈcēˌ.
P. 324, c. 1.—“Bruyère,” brü-eˌyêrˈ. (1646?-1696.) French author.
“Fouquet,” fooˌkāˈ. (1615-1680.) A French financier, convicted of dishonesty and treason under Louis XIV.
“De la Vallière,” deh lä väˌle-êrˈ; “Montespan,” mŏnˌtes-pănˈ.
“Bossuet,” boˌsü-āˈ (almost bosˌswāˈ). (1627-1704.) French bishop and orator.
“Lauzun,” lōˌzŭnˈ. (1633?-1723.) A French adventurer.
“Pignerol,” pē-nyŭh-rŭl. A city of Piedmont, Italy.
“Iron Mask.” The man in the iron mask was a prisoner who died in the Bastile in 1703. He was brought there in 1698, from the state prison of Marguerite, by the governor who had been changed to the Bastile. His face was covered with a black velvet mask, fastened with steel springs. He was never allowed to remove this, nor to speak to any one except his governor. After his death everything he possessed was burned. There have been many theories as to his identity, but no one has been thoroughly proven.
P. 324, c. 2.—“Marcillac,” mär-ceelˌlakˈ; “Rochefoucauld,” roshˌ-fooˌkōˈ; “Marèchal,” mäˌrāˌshalˈ; “Fontanges,” fōnˌtanzhˈ.
“Scarron,” skărˌrōnˈ. She had been the wife of Paul Scarron, a French author, who died in 1660. “Maintenon,” mănˈtŭhˌnōn.
P. 325, c. 2.—“Della Guidice,” dĕlˈlä gweeˈde-cā; “Alberoni,” ăl-bä-roˈnee.
P. 326, c. 1.—“Lettres de Fénelon,” etc. Letters of Fénelon to the duke of Chevreuse.
P. 326, c. 2.—“Nunc et in,” etc. Now and in the hour of death.
P. 331, c. 1.—“Transept.” Any part of a church which projects at right angles with the body and is of equal or nearly equal height to this. Transepts are in pairs, that is, the projection southward is accompanied by a corresponding projection northward.
“Nave.” The central portion of a cathedral, distinguished from the choir.
“Arcade.” Ranges of arches supported on piers or columns. “Triforium,” tri-fōˈri-um.
P. 331, c. 2.—“Apse,” ăpse; “Apsidal,” ăpˈsi-dal.
“Chapter-house.” The house where the chapter or assembly of the clergymen, and their dean, belonging to a cathedral, meet.
“Hospitium,” hos-pĭshˈi-ŭm.
“Castellated.” Adorned with turrets and battlements, like a castle.
“Dais,” dāˈis. A raised floor at the upper end of a dining hall.
“Lancet.” High, narrow, and sharp pointed.
“Piers.” A mass of stonework used in supporting an arch; also the part of the wall of a house between the windows or doors.
P. 332, c. 1.—“Cuspated,” cuspˈāt-ed. Ending in a cusp, that is, the projecting point thrown out from foliations in the heads of Gothic windows.
“La Sainte Chapelle.” The holy chapel.
“Chartres,” shartˈr; “Bourges,” boorzh; “Corbel,” a projecting stone or timber supporting, or seeming to support, some weight.
P. 332, c. 2.—“Tudor,” tūˈder. So called from the house on the English throne at the time of the growth of the style.
“Elizabethan,” elĭzˌa-bēthˈan.
“Newel-post.” The stout post at the foot of the staircase, on the top of which the rail rests.
“Wren.” (1632-1723.) An English architect, the designer of St. Paul’s, in London. After the London fire of 1666, he drew the plans for over fifty churches and many important public buildings of the city.
“Mural,” belonging to a wall.
“Beaumanti,” bĕ-ä-mänˈte.
P. 333, c. 2.—“Ichthyophagi,” ĭchˌthy-ŏphˈa-gi. A compound word of Greek origin, meaning fish eaters.
“Dunes.” Same as downs, little sand hills piled up near the sea.
“Badahuenna,” bad-a-huenˈna.
“Hercynian,” her-cynˈi-an.
P. 334, c. 1.—“Bouillon,” booˌyŭnˈ.
“Brabantine,” braˈbran-tīne.
P. 335, c. 2.—“Cortés,” kôrˈtez.
P. 336, c. 1.—“Narvaez,” nar-väˈĕth; “Chiapa,” che-āˈpä.