[1] So A. Harnack, _Hist. of Dogma_, i. 301, and F.J.A. Hort,
_Judaistic Christianity_, p. 199. Th. Zahn and J.B. Lightfoot ("St.
Paul and the Three," in _Commentary on Galatians_) maintain the
distinction.
EBNER-ESCHENBACH, MARIE, FREIFRAU VON (1830- ), Austrian novelist, was
born at Zdislavic in Moravia, on the 13th of September 1830, the daughter
of a Count Dubsky. She lost her mother in early infancy, but received a
careful intellectual training from two stepmothers. In 1848 she married
the Austrian captain, and subsequent field-marshal, Moritz von
Ebner-Eschenbach, and resided first at Vienna, then at Klosterbruck, where
her husband had a military charge, and after 1860 again at Vienna. The
marriage was childless, and the talented wife sought consolation in
literary work. In her endeavours she received assistance and encouragement
from Franz Grillparzer and Freiherr von Muench-Bellinghausen. Her first
essay was with the drama _Maria Stuart in Schottland_, which Philipp
Eduard Devrient produced at the Karlsruhe theatre in 1860. After some
other unsuccessful attempts in the field of drama, she found her true
sphere in narrative. Commencing with _Die Prinzessin von Banalien_ (1872),
she graphically depicts in _Bozena_ (Stuttgart, 1876, 4th ed. 1899) and
_Das Gemeindekind_ (Berlin, 1887, 4th ed. 1900) the surroundings of her
Moravian home, and in _Lotti, die Uhrmacherin_ (Berlin, 1883, 4th ed.
1900), _Zwei Comtessen_ (Berlin, 1885, 5th ed. 1898), _Unsuehnbar_ (1890,
5th ed. 1900) and _Glaubenslos?_ (1893) the life of the Austrian
aristocracy in town and country. She also published _Neue Erzaehlungen_
(Berlin, 1881, 3rd ed. 1894), _Aphorismen_ (Berlin, 1880, 4th ed. 1895)
and _Parabeln, Maerchen und Gedichte_ (2nd ed., Berlin, 1892). Frau von
Ebner-Eschenbach's elegance of style, her incisive wit and masterly
depiction of character give her a foremost place among the German
women-writers of her time. On the occasion of her seventieth birthday the
university of Vienna conferred upon her the degree of doctor of
philosophy, _honoris causa_.
An edition of Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach's _Gesammelte Schriften_
began to appear in 1893 (Berlin). See A. Bettelheim, _Marie von
Ebner-Eschenbach: biographische Blaetter_ (Berlin, 1900), and M.
Necker, _Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, nach ihren Werken geschildert_
(Berlin, 1900).
EBOLI (anc. _Eburum_), a town of Campania, Italy, in the province of
Salerno, from which it is 16 m. E. by rail, situated 470 ft. above
sea-level, on the S. edge of the hills overlooking the valley of the
Sele. Pop. (1901) 9642 (town), 12,423 (commune). The sacristy of St
Francesco contains two 14th-century pictures, one by Roberto da Oderisio
of Naples. The ancient Eburum was a Lucanian city, mentioned only by
Pliny and in inscriptions, not far distant from the Campanian border. It
lay above the Via Popillia, which followed the line taken by the modern
railway. Some scanty remains of its ancient polygonal walls may still be
seen. (T. As.)
EBONY (Gr. [Greek: ebenos]), the wood of various species of trees of the
genus _Diospyros_ (natural order Ebenaceae), widely distributed in the
tropical parts of the world. The best kinds are very heavy, are of a
deep black, and consist of heart-wood only. On account of its colour,
durability, hardness and susceptibility of polish, ebony is much used
for cabinet work and inlaying, and for the manufacture of
pianoforte-keys, knife-handles and turned articles. The best Indian and
Ceylon ebony is furnished by _D. Ebenum_, a native of southern India and
Ceylon, which grows in great abundance throughout the flat country west
of Trincomalee. The tree is distinguished from others by the inferior
width of its trunk, and its jet-black, charred-looking bark, beneath
which the wood is perfectly white until the heart is reached. The wood
is stated to excel that obtained from _D. reticulata_ of the Mauritius
and all other varieties of ebony in the fineness and intensity of its
dark colour. Although the centre of the tree alone is employed, reduced
logs 1 to 3 ft. in diameter can readily be procured. Much of the East
Indian ebony is yielded by the species _D. Melanoxylon_ (Coromandel
ebony), a large tree attaining a height of 60 to 80 ft., and 8 to 10 ft.
in circumference, with irregular rigid branches, and oblong or
oblong-lanceolate leaves. The bark of the tree is astringent, and mixed
with pepper is used in dysentery by the natives of India. The wood of
_D. tomentosa_, a native of north Bengal, is black, hard and of great
weight. _D. montana_, another Indian species, produces a yellowish-grey
soft but durable wood. _D. quaesita_ is the tree from which is obtained
the wood known in Ceylon by the name _Calamander_, derived by Pridham
from the Sinhalee _kalumindrie_, black-flowing. Its closeness of grain,
great hardness and fine hazel-brown colour, mottled and striped with
black, render it a valuable material for veneering and furniture making.
_D. Dendo_, a native of Angola, is a valuable timber tree, 25 to 35 ft.
high, with a trunk 1 to 2 ft. in diameter. The heart-wood is very black
and hard and is known as black ebony, also as billet-wood, and Gabun,
Lagos, Calabar or Niger ebony. What is termed Jamaica or West Indian
ebony, and also the green ebony of commerce, are produced by _Brya
Ebenus_, a leguminous tree or shrub, having a trunk rarely more than 4
in. in diameter, flexible spiny branches, and orange-yellow,
sweet-scented flowers. The heart-wood is rich dark brown in colour,
heavier than water, exceedingly hard and capable of receiving a high
polish.
From the book of Ezekiel (xxvii. 15) we learn that ebony was among the
articles of merchandise brought to Tyre; and Herodotus states (iii. 97)
that the Ethiopians every three years sent a tribute of 200 logs of it
to Persia. Ebony was known to Virgil as a product of India (_Georg._ ii.
116), and was displayed by Pompey the Great in his Mithradatic triumph
at Rome. By the ancients it was esteemed of equal value for durability
with the cypress and cedar (see Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xii. 9, xvi. 79).
According to Solinus (_Polyhistor_, cap. lv. p. 353, Paris, 1621), it
was employed by the kings of India for sceptres and images, also, on
account of its supposed antagonism to poison, for drinking-cups. The
hardness and black colour of the wood appear to have given rise to the
tradition related by Pausanias, and alluded to by Southey in _Thalaba_,
i. 22, that the ebony tree produced neither leaves nor fruit, and was
never seen exposed to the sun.
EBRARD, JOHANNES HEINRICH AUGUST (1818-1888), German theologian, was
born at Erlangen on the 18th of January 1818. He was educated in his
native town and at Berlin, and after teaching in a private family became
_Privatdocent_ at Erlangen (1841) and then professor of theology at
Zuerich (1844). In 1847 he was appointed professor of theology at
Erlangen, a chair which he resigned in 1861; in 1875 he became pastor of
the French reformed church in the same city. As a critic Ebrard occupied
a very moderate standpoint; as a writer his chief works were
_Christliche Dogmatik_ (2 vols., 1851), _Vorlesungen ueber praktische
Theologie_ (1864), _Apologetik_ (1874-1875, Eng. trans. 1886). He also
edited and completed H. Olshausen's commentary, himself writing the
volumes on the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Johannine Epistles, and
Revelation. In the department of belles-lettres he wrote a good deal
under such pseudonyms as Christian Deutsch, Gottfried Flammberg and
Sigmund Sturm. He died at Erlangen on the 23rd of July 1888.
EBRO (anc. _Iberus_ or _Hiberus_), the only one of the five great rivers
of the Iberian Peninsula (Tagus, Douro, Ebro, Guadalquivir, Guadiana)
which flows into the Mediterranean. The Ebro rises at Fuentibre, a
hamlet among the Cantabrian Mountains, in the province of Santander; at
Reinosa, 4 m. east, it is joined on the right by the Hijar, and thus
gains considerably in volume. It flows generally east by south through a
tortuous valley as far as Miranda de Ebro, passing through the
celebrated Roman bridge known as La Horadada ("the perforated"), near
Ona in Burgos. From Miranda it winds south-eastward through the wide
basin enclosed on the right by the highlands of Old Castile and western
Aragon, and on the left by the Pyrenees. The chief cities on its banks
are Logrono, Calahorra, Tudela, Saragossa and Caspe. Near Mora in
Catalonia it forces a way through the coastal mountains, and, passing
Tortosa, falls into the Mediterranean about 80 m. south-west of
Barcelona, after forming by its delta a conspicuous projection on the
otherwise regular coast line. In its length, approximately 465 m., the
Ebro is inferior to the Tagus, Guadiana and Douro; it drains an area of
nearly 32,000 sq. m. Its principal tributaries are--from the right hand
the Jalon with its affluent the Jiloca, the Huerva, Aguas, Martin,
Guadalope and Matarrana; from the left the Ega, Aragon, Arba, Gallego,
and the Segre with its intricate system of confluent rivers. The Ebro
and its tributaries have been utilized for irrigation since the Moorish
conquest; the main stream becomes navigable by small boats about Tudela;
but its value as a means of communication is almost neutralized by the
obstacles in its channel, and seafaring vessels cannot proceed farther
up than Tortosa. The great Imperial Canal, begun under the emperor
Charles V. (1500-1558), proceeds along the right bank of the river from
a point about 3 m. below Tudela, to El Burgo de Ebro, 5 m. below
Saragossa; the irrigation canal of Tauste skirts the opposite bank for a
shorter distance; and the San Carlos or New Canal affords direct
communication between Amposta at the head of the delta and the harbour
of Los Alfaques. From Miranda to Mora the Bilbao-Tarragona railway
follows the course of the Ebro along the right bank.
EBROIN (d. 681), Frankish "mayor of the palace," was a Neustrian, and
wished to impose the authority of Neustria over Burgundy and Austrasia.
In 656, at the moment of his accession to power, Sigebert III., the king
of Austrasia, had just died, and the Austrasian mayor of the palace,
Grimoald, was attempting to usurp the authority. The great nobles,
however, appealed to the king of Neustria, Clovis II., and unity was
re-established. But in spite of a very firm policy Ebroin was unable to
maintain this unity, and while Clotaire III., son of Clovis II., reigned
in Neustria and Burgundy, he was obliged in 660 to give the Austrasians
a special king, Childeric II., brother of Clotaire III., and a special
mayor of the palace, Wulfoald. He endeavoured to maintain at any rate
the union of Neustria and Burgundy, but the great Burgundian nobles
wished to remain independent, and rose under St Leger (Leodegar), bishop
of Autun, defeated Ebroin, and interned him in the monastery of Luxeuil
(670). A proclamation was then issued to the effect that each kingdom
should keep its own laws and customs, that there should be no further
interchange of functionaries between the kingdoms, and that no one
should again set up a tyranny like that of Ebroin. Soon, however, Leger
was defeated by Wulfoald and the Austrasians, and was himself confined
at Luxeuil in 673. In the same year, taking advantage of the general
anarchy, Ebroin and Leger left the cloister and soon found themselves
once more face to face. Each looked for support to a different
Merovingian king, Ebroin even proclaiming a false Merovingian as
sovereign. In this struggle Leger was vanquished; he was besieged in
Autun, was forced to surrender and had his eyes put out, and, on the
12th of October 678, he was put to death after undergoing prolonged
tortures. The church honours him as a saint. After his death Ebroin
became sole and absolute ruler of the Franks, imposing his authority
over Burgundy and subduing the Austrasians, whom he defeated in 678 at
Bois-du-Fay, near Laon. His triumph, however, was short-lived; he was
assassinated in 681, the victim of a combined attack of his numerous
enemies. He was a man of great energy, but all his actions seem to have
been dictated by no higher motives than ambition and lust of power.
See _Liber historiae Francorum_, edited by B. Krusch, in _Mon. Germ.
hist. script. rer. Merov._ vol. ii.; _Vita sancti Leodegarii_, by
Ursinus, a monk of St Maixent (Migne, _Patr. Latina_, vol. xcvi.);
"Vita metrica" in _Poetae Latini aevi Carolini_, vol. iii. (_Mon.
Germ. hist._); J.B. Pitra, _Histoire de Saint Leger_ (Paris, 1846);
and J. Friedrich, "Zur Gesch. des Hausmeiers Ebroin," in the
_Proceedings of the Academy of Munich_ (1887, pp. 42-61).
(C. Pf.)
EBURACUM, or EBORACUM (probably a later variant), the Roman name of York
(q.v.) in England. Established about A.D. 75-80 as fortress of the
Ninth legion and garrisoned (after the annihilation of that legion about
A.D. 118) by the Sixth legion, it developed outside its walls a town of
civil life, which later obtained Roman municipal rank and in the 4th
century was the seat of a Christian bishop. The fortress and town were
separated by the Ouse. On the left bank, where the minster stands, was
the fortress, of which the walls can still be partly traced, and one
corner (the so-called Multangular Tower) survives. The municipality
occupied the right bank near the present railway station. The place was
important for its garrison and as an administrative centre, and the town
itself was prosperous, though probably never very large. The name is
preserved in the abbreviated form Ebor in the official name of the
archbishop of York, but the philological connexion between Eboracum and
the modern name York is doubtful and has probably been complicated by
Danish influence. (F. J. H.)
ECA DE QUEIROZ, JOSE MARIA (1843-1900), Portuguese writer, was born at
the northern fishing town of Povoa de Varzim, his father being a retired
judge. He went through the university of Coimbra, and on taking his
degree in law was appointed Administrador de Concelho at Leiria, but
soon tired of the narrow mental atmosphere of the old cathedral town and
left it. He accompanied the Conde de Rezende to Egypt, where he assisted
at the opening of the Suez Canal, and to Palestine, and on his return
settled down to journalism in Lisbon and began to evolve a style, at
once magical and unique, which was to renovate his country's prose.
Though he spent much of his days with the philosopher sonneteer Anthero
de Quental, and the critic Jayme Batalha Reis, afterwards consul-general
in London, he did not restrict his intimacy to men of letters, but
frequented all kinds of society, acquiring a complete acquaintance with
contemporary Portuguese life and manners. Entering the consular service
in 1872, he went to Havana, and, after a tour in the United States, was
transferred two years later to Newcastle-on-Tyne and in 1876 to Bristol.
In 1888 he became Portuguese consul-general in Paris, and there died in
1900.
Queiroz made his literary debut in 1870 by a sensational story, _The
Mystery of the Cintra Road_, written in collaboration with the art
critic Ramalho Ortigao, but the first publication which brought him fame
was _The Farpas_, a series of satirical and humorous sketches of various
phases of social life, which, to quote the poet Guerra Junqueiro,
contain "the epilepsy of talent." These essays, the joint production of
the same partners, criticized and ridiculed the faults and foibles of
every class in turn, mainly by a comparison with the French, for the
education of Queiroz had made him a Frenchman in ideas and sympathies.
His Brazilian friend, Eduardo Prado, bears witness that at this period
French literature, especially Hugo's verse, and even French politics,
interested Queiroz profoundly, while he altogether ignored the
_belles-lettres_ of his own country and its public affairs. This phase
lasted for some years, and even when he travelled in the East he was
inclined to see it with the eyes of Flaubert, though the publication of
_The Relic_ and that delightful prose poem _Sweet Miracle_ afterwards
showed that he had been directly impressed and deeply penetrated by its
scenery, poetry and mysticism. The Franco-German War of 1870, however,
by lowering the prestige of France, proved the herald of a national
Portuguese revival, and had a great influence on Queiroz, as also had
his friend Oliveira Martins (q.v.), the biographer of the patriot kings
of the Aviz dynasty. He founded the Portuguese Realist-Naturalist
school, of which he remained for the rest of his life the chief
exponent, by a powerful romance, _The Crime of Father Amaro_, written in
1871 at Leiria but only issued in 1875. Its appearance then led to a
baseless charge that he had plagiarized _La Faute de l'Abbe Mouret_, and
ill-informed critics began to name Queiroz the Portuguese Zola, though
he clearly occupied an altogether different plane in the domain of art.
During his stay in England he produced two masterpieces, _Cousin Basil_
and _The Maias_, but they show no traces of English influence, nor again
are they French in tone, for, living near to France, his disillusionment
progressed and was completed when he went to Paris and had to live under
the regime of the Third Republic. Settling at Neuilly, the novelist
became chronicler, critic, and letter-writer as well, and in all these
capacities Queiroz displayed a spontaneity, power and artistic finish
unequalled in the literature of his country since the death of Garrett.
A bold draughtsman, he excelled in freshness of imagination and careful
choice and collocation of words, while his warmth of colouring and
brilliance of language speak of the south. Many of his pages descriptive
of natural scenery, such for instance as the episode of the return to
Tormes in _The City and the Mountains_, have taken rank as classic
examples of Portuguese prose, while as a creator of characters he stood
unsurpassed by any writer of his generation in the same field. He
particularly loved to draw and judge the middle class, and he mocks at
and chastises its hypocrisy and narrowness, its veneer of religion and
culture, its triumphant lying, its self-satisfied propriety, its cruel
egotism. But though he manifested a predilection for middle-class types,
his portrait gallery comprises men and women of all social conditions.
_The Maias_, his longest book, treats of _fidalgos_, while perhaps his
most remarkable character study is of a servant, Juliana, in _Cousin
Basil_. At least two of his books, this latter and _The Crime of Father
Amaro_, are _chroniques scandaleuses_ in their plots and episodes; these
volumes, however, mark not only the high-water line of the
Realist-Naturalist school in Portugal, but are in themselves, leaving
aside all accidentals, creative achievements of a high order.
Though Queiroz was a keen satirist of the ills of society, his pages
show hardly a trace of pessimism. _The City and the Mountains_, and in
part _The Relic_ also, reveal the apostle of Realism as an idealist and
dreamer, a true representative of that Celtic tradition which survives
in the race and has permeated the whole literature of Portugal. _The
Mandarin_, a fantastic variation on the old theme of a man self-sold to
Satan, and _The Illustrious House of Ramires_, are the only other
writings of his that require mention, except _The Correspondence of
Fradique Mendes_. In conjunction with Anthero de Quental and Jayme
Batalha Reis, Queiroz invented under that name a smart man of the world
who had something of himself and something of Eduardo Prado, and made
him correspond on all sorts of subjects with imaginary friends and
relatives to the delight of the public, many of whom saw in him a
mysterious new writer whose identity they were eager to discover. These
sparkling and humorous letters are an especial favourite with admirers
of Queiroz, because they reveal so much of his very attractive
personality, and perhaps the cleverest of the number, that on Pacheco,
has received an English dress. In addition to his longer and more
important works, Queiroz wrote a number of short stories, some of which
have been printed in a volume under the title of _Contos_. The gems of
this remarkable collection are perhaps _The Peculiarities of a
Fair-haired Girl_, _A Lyric Poet_, _Jose Matthias_, _The Corpse_, and
_Sweet Miracle_.
Most of his books have gone through many editions, and they are even
more appreciated in the Brazils than in Portugal. It should be
mentioned that the fourth edition of _Father Amaro_ is entirely
different in form and action from the first, the whole story having
been rewritten. One of Queiroz's romances and two of his short stories
have been published in English. An unsatisfactory version of _Cousin
Basil_, under the title _Dragon's Teeth_, appeared at Boston, U.S.A.,
in 1889, while _Sweet Miracle_ has had three editions in England and
one in America, and there is also a translation of _O Defunto_ (_The
Corpse_) under the name of _Our Lady of the Pillar_.
An admirable critical study of the work of Queiroz will be found in _A
Geracao Nova--Os Novellistas_, by J. Pereira de Sampaio (_Bruno_),
(Oporto, 1886). The _Revista moderna_ of the 20th of November 1897 was
entirely devoted to him. Senhor Batalha Reis gives interesting
reminiscences of the novelist's early days in his preface to some
prose fragments edited by him and named _Prosas Barbaras_ (Oporto,
1903). (E. Pr.)
ECARTE (Fr. for "separated," "discarded"), a game at cards, of modern
origin, probably first played in the Paris _salons_ in the first quarter
of the 19th century. It is a development of a very old card game called
_la triomphe_ or _French-ruff_. Ecarte is generally played by two
persons, but a pool of three may be formed, the player who is out taking
the place of the loser, and the winner of two consecutive games winning
the pool. At French ecarte (but not at English) bystanders who are
betting may advise the players, but only by pointing to the cards they
desire them to play, and the loser of the game goes out, one of the
_rentrants_ taking his place, unless the loser is playing _la chouette_,
i.e. playing single-handed against two, and taking all bets.
The small cards (from the two to the six, both inclusive) are removed
from an ordinary pack. The players cut for deal, the highest having the
choice. The king is the highest card, the ace ranking after the knave.
The dealer gives five cards to his adversary, and five to himself, by
two at a time to each and by three at a time to each, or vice versa. The
eleventh card is turned up for trumps. If it is a king, the dealer
scores one, at any time before the next deal. The non-dealer then looks
at his cards. If satisfied with them he plays, and there is no
discarding; if not satisfied he "proposes." The dealer may either accept
or refuse. If he accepts, each player discards face downwards as many
cards as he thinks fit, and fresh ones are given from the undealt cards
or "stock," first to complete the non-dealer's hand to five, then to
complete the dealer's. To ask for "a book" is to ask for five cards.
Similarly a second proposal may be made, and so on, until one player is
satisfied with his hand. If the dealer refuses, the hand is played
without discarding. If the non-dealer announces that he holds the king
of trumps, he scores one; and similarly, if the dealer holds the king
and announces it, he scores one. The announcement must be made before
playing one's first card, or if that card be the king, on playing it.
The non-dealer, being satisfied with his hand, leads a card. The dealer
plays a card to it, the two cards thus played forming a trick. The
winner of the trick leads to the next, and so on. The second to play to
a trick must follow suit if able, and must win the trick if he can.
The scores are for the king and for the majority of tricks. The player
who wins three tricks scores one for the "point"; if he wins all five
tricks, he scores two for the "vole." If the non-dealer plays without
proposing, or the dealer refuses the first proposal, and fails to win
three tricks, the adversary scores two, but no more even if he wins the
vole. The game is five up. The points are conveniently marked with a
three-card and a two-card, as at euchre. The three is put face upwards
with the two face downwards on the top of it. When one or two or three
points are scored the top card is moved so as to expose them. At four,
one pip of the two-card is put under the other card. Games may be
recorded similarly.
_Hints to Players._--The following hints may be of service to
beginners:--
Shuffle thoroughly after every deal.
Do not announce the king until in the act of playing your first card.
The hands which should be played without proposing, called _jeux de
regle_ (standard hands), ought to be thoroughly known. They are as
follows:--