Of the _consonants_, B, D, F, H, J, K, L, M, N, NG, P, SH, T, V, Z, always
have their common English sounds, when used to transliterate foreign words.
The letter C is not used by itself in re-writing for pronunciation, S or K
being used instead. The only consonantal symbols, therefore, that require
explanation are the following:--
ch is always as in ri_ch_.
_d_, nearly as _th_ in _th_is = Sp. _d_ in Ma_d_ri_d_, &c.
g is always hard, as in _g_o.
_h_ represents the guttural in Scotch lo_ch_, Ger. na_ch_, also other
similar gutturals.
[n.], Fr. nasal _n_ as in bo_n_.
r represents both English _r_, and _r_ in foreign words, which is generally
much more strongly trilled.
s, always as in _s_o.
th, as _th_ in _th_in.
_th_, as _th_ in _th_is.
w always consonantal, as in _w_e.
x = ks, which are used instead.
y always consonantal, as in _y_ea (Fr. _ligne_ would be re-written
l[=e]ny).
zh, as _s_ in plea_s_ure = Fr. _j_.
* * * * *
EBERT, Fritz, first President of the new German Republic, born at
Heidelberg in 1870, the son of a tailor. Having received an elementary
education in his youth, he first worked in his father's shop, and was then
apprenticed to a saddler. He spent his spare time in reading and acquiring
knowledge, entered journalism, and in 1892 became editor of the _Bremer
B[:u]rgerzeitung_. In 1908 he was elected to the Reichstag, and in 1916
became president of the Socialist group of this Assembly. He appealed for
peace in the Reichstag in Sept., 1918, and having thus become rather
prominent, he succeeded Prince Max of Baden as Chancellor of the Empire.
The office was suppressed a few days later, and Ebert became Provisional
President of Germany. He crushed the efforts made by the Spartacus group to
prevent the elections for the National Assembly, and altogether showed tact
and energy in those critical days. The National Assembly met at Weimar, and
elected Ebert as first President of the Reich on 11th Feb., 1919.
E'BIONITES (Heb. _ebyonim_, poor), a sect of the first century, so called
from their leader, Ebion. Irenaeus described them as Jewish Christians.
They held several dogmas in common with the Nazarenes, united the
ceremonies of the Mosaic institution with the precepts of the gospel, and
observed both the Jewish Sabbath and Christian Sunday. They denied the
divinity of Christ and rejected many parts of the New Testament.
EBLIS, or IBLIS, in Mohammedan mythology, the chief of the evil spirits;
also the name given to the prince of darkness, or Satan.
EB'OLI, a city of Campania, Southern Italy, a few miles from the Gulf of
Salerno. Pop. 12,741.
EB'ONY, the popular name of various plants of different genera, agreeing in
having wood of a dark colour. The best-known ebony is derived from plants
of the genus Diospyros, nat. ord. Ebenaceae. The most valuable is the
heart-wood of _D. Eb[)e]num_, which grows in great abundance in the flat
parts of Ceylon, and is of such size that logs of its heart-wood 2 feet in
diameter and from 10 to 15 feet long are easily procured. Other varieties
of valuable ebony are obtained from _D. melanoxylon_ of Coromandel, _D.
tesseleria_ of Mauritius, and other species. Ebony is hard, heavy, and
durable, and admits of a fine polish or gloss. The most usual colour is
black, red, or green. The best is jet black, free from veins, very heavy,
astringent, and of an acrid pungent taste. On burning coals it yields an
agreeable perfume, and when green it readily takes fire from its abundance
of fat. It is wrought into toys, and used for mosaic and inlaid work.
EBONY LORE. In ancient times ebony was a sacred wood. The Indians carved
from it images of gods and drinking-cups. It was first used by the ancient
Egyptians, who called it _heben_, and imported it from 'God-land' (Punt).
The Hebrew name is _hobn[=i]m_, the Greek _ebenos_, the Hindi
_[=a]ban[=u]sa_. Ezekiel (xxvii, 15) connects ebony with Tyre. The ebony
displayed in Rome by Pompey in his triumph over Mithridates came, according
to Solinus, from India. The Chinese call it _Wu-men_ ('black-streaked
wood'), and anciently imported it from India and Indo-China.
E'BRO (Lat. _Ib[=e]rus_), one of the largest rivers in Spain, which has its
source in the province of Santander, about 25 miles S. of the Bay of
Biscay, and after a south-easterly course of about 500 miles enters the
Mediterranean. Its navigation is much interrupted by rapids and shoals, to
avoid which a canal about 100 miles long has been constructed nearly
parallel to its course. Saragossa is the principal town on the river.
['E]CART['E] ([=a]-k[:a]r't[=a]), a card-game for two players, is played
with thirty-two cards, the smaller ones, from two to six inclusive, not
being used. The remaining cards rank as follows: king (highest), queen,
knave, ace, ten, &c. In the English mode of playing, the players cut for
the deal, which is decided by the lowest card. The dealer gives five cards
to either player, three and two at a time, and turns up the eleventh card
for trump. If he turns up a king he scores one; and if a king occurs in the
hand of either player, the holder may score one by announcing it before the
first trick. The non-dealer leads; trumps take all other suits, but the
players must follow suit if they can. Three tricks count one point, five
tricks two points; five points make game. Before play begins, the
non-dealer may claim to discard (['e]carter) any of the cards in his hand,
and to replace them by fresh ones from the pack. This claim the dealer may
or may not allow. Should he allow it, he can himself discard as many cards
as he pleases. Sometimes only one discard is allowed, sometimes more. Cf.
Cavendish, _The Laws of ['E]cart['e] adopted by the Turf Club_.
ECBAT'ANA, the chief city or ancient metropolis of Media, the summer
residence of the Median and Persian and afterwards of the Parthian kings.
It was a place of great splendour at an early period. Its site can no
longer be fixed with certainty, though many explorers agree in identifying
it with the modern Hamadan.
ECCE HOMO (ek's[=e]; Lat., 'Behold the man!'), a name often given to
crucifixes and pictures which represent Christ bound and crowned with
thorns. The most celebrated of these paintings are by Sodoma, Correggio (in
the National Gallery), Titian, Tintoretto, Guido Reni, and Murillo. The
expression is derived from the words spoken by Pilate when he showed Christ
to the multitude before he was led forth to Crucifixion (_John_, xix, 5).
[Illustration: Eccentric and Rod
P, Pulley. M, Strap. N, Rod. O, Centre of shaft. E, Centre of eccentric. O,
E, Is the throw or radius of the eccentric.]
ECCEN'TRIC, a term in mechanics applied to contrivances for converting
circular into reciprocating (backwards and forwards) rectilinear motion,
consisting of circular discs attached to a revolving shaft, not centrally,
i.e. eccentrically.
ECCHYMOSIS is extravasation of blood into the tissues underlying the skin.
It is most frequently produced as the result of a bruise from injury, but
may be due to some pathological condition.
ECCLEFECHAN (ek-l-fe_h_'an), a Scottish village in Dumfriesshire, near the
Caledonian Railway main line, noteworthy as the birth-place and
burial-place of Thomas Carlyle. Pop. 670.
ECCLES, a town of England, in Lancashire, 4 miles from Manchester, of which
it may be considered a suburb. The town, engaged in textile industries, is
famous for its cakes. Since 1918 it returns one member to Parliament. Pop.
41,946.
ECCLESIAS'TES (-t[=e]z), the title by which the _Septuagint_ translators
rendered the Hebrew _Koheleth_ ('the gatherer of the people'), a symbolic
name explained by the design of the book and the dramatic position occupied
by Solomon in it, one of the canonical books of the Old Testament. The book
consists of 12 chapters, being a series of discourses on the vanity of
earthly things, and the tone, which is sceptical, is such as is found in
Omar Khayy['a]m. According to Jewish tradition, it was written by Solomon;
but the best modern criticism has decided that its style and language, no
less than its thought, belong to a much later date.
ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSIONERS, in England, a body corporate, constituted in
1836, with extensive powers in regard to the organization of the Church,
the distribution of episcopal duties, and the formation of parishes. It
consists of all the bishops of England and Wales, five cabinet ministers,
four judges, and twelve others. Their decisions are ratified by orders in
council, and acquire the force of Acts of Parliament. The Commissioners
deal with an annual income of about 2 million pounds.
ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS, courts in which the canon law is administered and
which deal with ecclesiastical cases, affecting benefices and the like. In
England they are the _Archdeacon's Court_, _the Consistory Courts_, _the
Court of Arches_, _the Court of Peculiars_, _the Prerogative Courts of the
two archbishops_, _the Faculty Court_, and _the Privy Council_, which is
the court of appeal, though its jurisdiction may by Order in Council be
transferred to the new Court of Appeal. No separate ecclesiastical courts
existed in England before the Norman Conquest, but by a charter of William
I a distinction was made between courts civil and courts ecclesiastical. In
Scotland the ecclesiastical courts are the _Kirk-session_, _Presbytery_,
_Synod_, _General Assembly_ (which is the supreme tribunal as regards
doctrine and discipline), and the _Teind Court_, consisting of the judges
of the Court of Session, which has jurisdiction in all matters affecting
the teinds of a parish. In the Isle of Man ecclesiastical courts still
have, as formerly in England, jurisdiction in probate and matrimonial
cases.
ECCLESIASTICAL LAW may, in the broad sense of the term, be taken to include
the regulations existing in any Church or sect, however small, for the
formation of its own polity and for the control of its members. It is,
however, more generally applied to those legal bonds which exist between
Established Churches and the State. The Roman Catholic Church claims to be
the one and only true Church, regards her laws as being of universal
application, and herself as an equal with the State; nevertheless she has,
in non-Catholic countries, no higher legal standing than any small and
obscure dissenting congregation, and is in this respect a 'free' Church.
Protestant ecclesiastical law claims no such sovereign power, and in no way
interferes with the State law. In England the Convocations of York and
Canterbury have no authority to change the law, their power being limited
to the making of recommendations. All changes in Church law are made by
Parliament. Laymen can be, and often are, officials of the ecclesiastical
courts. The civil law is subject to the canon law, above which is the
common law, with, yet higher, statute law. Over all is the nominal
supremacy of the Crown. Ecclesiastical law deals with such affairs and
property of the Church of England as ecclesiastical parishes, churches, and
matters matrimonial; but only so far as these are not controlled by common
or statute law. It has long ceased to have any practical control of the
laity. In Ireland, ecclesiastical law disappeared with the disestablishment
of the Church.
ECCLESIAS'TICUS, a book placed by Protestants and Jews among the apocryphal
scriptures. The author calls himself Jesus the son of Sirach, Originally
written in Hebrew, it was translated into Greek by the author's grandson in
the second century B.C. In 1896 fragments of four MSS. in the Hebrew
original were discovered in the _Geniza_, or hiding-place for worn out
copies of biblical books, in the synagogue at Cairo. Another fragment was
discovered in Palestine by Mrs. Agnes Lewis.--Cf. Schechter and Taylor,
_The Wisdom of Ben Sira: Portions of the Book Ecclesiasticus_.
['E]CHELLES, LES (l[=a]-z[=a]-sh[=a]l; 'the Ladders'), a village, France,
department of Savoie, 12 miles south-west of Chamb['e]ry, in a valley from
which egress at one end was formerly by means of ladders, but now by a
tunnel. Pop. 798.
['E]CHELON (esh'e-lon), a formation of successive and parallel units facing
in the same direction, each on a flank and to the rear of the unit in front
of it.
ECHENEIS, the type genus of a small family (Echeneididae) of aberrant
spiny-finned fishes, in which the first dorsal fin is modified into a
transversely ridged suctorial disc. See _Remora_.
ECHEVERIA (ech-e-v[=e]'ri-a), a genus of succulent plants, ord.
Crassulaceae (house-leek), chiefly natives of Mexico, but now cultivated in
European and other gardens and greenhouses, some for their flowers, others
for their foliage.
ECHIDNA ([=e]-kid'na), a genus of Australian toothless mammals, in size and
general appearance resembling a large hedgehog, excepting that the spines
are longer and the muzzle is protracted and slender, with a small aperture
at the extremity for the protraction of a long flexible tongue. The habits
of the Echidna are nocturnal; it burrows, having short strong legs with
five toes, and feeds on insects, which it catches by protruding its long
sticky tongue. It is nearly allied to the Ornithorhynchus, the two forming
a peculiar class of animals, having in their structure some peculiarities
at once of mammals, birds, and reptiles. In 1884 it was found that, as
Geoffrey St. Hilaire had suspected, the Echidna, the closely related
Proechidna of New Guinea, and the Ornithorhynchus constitute the lowest
sub-class of mammals, the Prototheria or Monotremata, which present many
reptilian characters. They possess a cloaca into which the intestine and
urinogenital ducts open and are oviparous. During the breeding season a
temporary pouch is formed, and into this the milk-glands open, but there
are no teats. The egg when laid is put into the pouch by the mother, and is
there hatched in a very immature state. It feeds by licking up the milk in
the pouch. Later on, the mother digs a burrow, where she leaves the young
at night, returning during the day to suckle it. One species (_E.
hystrix_), from its appearance is popularly known as the _porcupine
ant-eater_.
ECHINOCACTUS (e-k[=i]'-), a genus of cactaceous plants inhabiting Mexico
and South America, and remarkable for their peculiar forms, being globular,
oblong, or cylindrical, and without leaves, fluted and ribbed, with stiff
spines clustered on woolly cushions. Some of them are very bulky. The
flowers are large and showy. See _Cactus_.
ECHINOCOCCUS, the very large compound cyst which forms the bladder-worm
stage in the life-history of a small tapeworm (_Taenia echinococcus_)
living in the intestine of the dog. The cysts are found in various
abdominal organs of herbivorous animals, and sometimes infest human beings,
especially in Iceland.
ECHINODERMATA (e-k[=i]-n[=o]-d[.e]r'ma-ta), a phylum or sub-kingdom of
invertebrate animals characterized by having a tough integument in which
lime is deposited in scattered plates (sea-cucumber), flexibly articulated
plates (star-fishes), or so as to form a rigid test or shell like that of
the sea-urchin; and by the radial arrangement of many of the parts of the
adult. Movable spines are commonly present. There is a system of tubes into
which seawater is admitted (ambulacral system), and commonly tube-feet,
that are put into use by being distended with fluid. Some of them, as the
encrinites or sea-lilies, are permanently fixed by a stalk when adult.
Their development is accompanied by metamorphosis, and the embryo shows a
distinctly bilateral aspect, though the radiate arrangement prevails in the
adult. By some they are classed with the Scolecida in the sub-kingdom
Annuloida. The phylum is divided into nine classes: Asteroidea
(star-fishes); Ophiuroidea (brittle-stars), Echinoidea (sea-urchins),
Holothuroidea (sea-cucumbers), Crinoidea (sea-lilies, feather-stars, the
latter free-moving), Thecoidea or Edrioasteroidea (extinct, stalkless but
fixed), Carpoidea (extinct, stalked), Cystoidea (extinct, stalked),
Blastoidea (extinct, stalked). All are marine.
ECHINOMYS, or SPINY RAT, a genus of South American rodent mammals
distinguished by the presence of spines among the coarse fur. The long tail
is covered by scales and hair intermixed, the ears are large, and all the
extremities possess five digits.
ECHINUS (e-k[=i]'nus), SEA-URCHIN, or SEA-EGG, a genus of marine animals,
the type of an order (Echinoidea) of the phylum Echinodermata (see above).
In this type the body is spheroidal and invested in a test or shell
composed of regularly arranged plates closely united together. It is
covered with movable spines articulated by ball-and-socket joints. The
mouth is situated in the centre of the under surface, and there is a
complicated masticatory apparatus (Aristotle's lantern) consisting of five
chisel-ended teeth supported by an elaborate framework. The anus is
similarly placed on the upper side, and is surrounded by a circlet of ten
plates (apical disc), one of which bears a furrowed tubercle (madreporite)
perforated by small holes through which water enters the water-vascular
system. Locomotion is effected by meridional rows of tube-feet, aided by
the spines. _E. esculentus_ and some other species are edible. See
_Sea-urchin_.
[Illustration: Echinus]
ECHINUS (e-k[=i]'nus), in architecture, the _ovolo_ or quarter-round convex
moulding, seen in capitals of the Doric order. It is especially frequently
found carved with the egg-and-dart ornament.
ECHO (ek'[=o]), the repetition of a sound caused by the reflection of
sound-waves from some surface, as the wall of a building. The echo may,
however, be very distinct when the reflecting surface is very irregular,
and it is probable that the resonance of the obstacles and the masses of
air which they enclose contribute in producing the echo. The waves of sound
on meeting the surface are turned back in their course according to the
same laws that hold for reflection of light. In order that the echo may
return to the place from which the sound proceeds, the reflection must be
direct, and not at an angle to the line of transmission, otherwise the echo
may be heard by others but not by the transmitter of the sound. This may be
effected either by a reflecting surface at right angles to the line of
transmission, or by several reflecting surfaces which in the end bring the
sound back to the point of issue. Sound travels about 1125 feet in a
second; consequently, an observer standing at half that distance from the
reflecting object would hear the echo a second later than the sound. Such
an echo would repeat as many words and syllables as could be heard in a
second. As the distance decreases, the echo repeats fewer syllables till it
becomes mono-syllabic. The most practised ear cannot distinguish in a
second more than from nine to twelve successive sounds, so that a distance
of not less than 60 feet is needed to enable an average ear to distinguish
between the echo and the original sounds. At a near distance the echo only
clouds the original sounds, and this often interferes with the hearing in
churches and other large buildings. Woods, rocks, and mountains produce
natural echoes in every variety, for which particular localities have
become famous.
ECHO, in Greek mythology, a mountain nymph (one of the Oreads). Legend
relates that by her talking she detained Hera, when the latter sought to
surprise Zeus among the mountain nymphs. To punish her the goddess deprived
her of speech, unless first spoken to. She subsequently fell in love with
Narcissus, and because he did not reciprocate her affection she pined away
until nothing was left but her voice.
ECHUCA (e-ch[:o]'ka), an Australian town, colony of Victoria, on the
Murray, over which is an iron railway and roadway bridge, connecting it
with Moama in New South Wales; trade (partly by the river) in timber and
wool. Pop. 4137.
['E]CIJA ([=a]-th[=e]-_h_[.a]), an ancient town of Southern Spain, province
of Seville, on the Genil, with manufactures of textile fabrics and a good
trade. It is one of the hottest places in Spain. Pop. 23,217.
ECK, Johann Maier von, the celebrated opponent of Luther, born in 1486,
died in 1543. Having obtained a reputation for learning and skill in
disputation, he was made doctor of theology, canon in Eichst[:a]dt, and
pro-chancellor of the University of Ingolstadt. He went to Rome in 1520,
and returned with a Papal bull against Luther, in attempting to publish
which he met with violent popular opposition. In 1530, while at the Diet of
Augsburg, he made the remarkable admission that he could confute the
Augsburg Confession by the fathers but not by the Scriptures. Eck was
present also at the Diets of Worms (1540) and Ratisbon (1541).
ECK'ERMANN, Johann Peter, German writer, born in 1792, died in 1854. In
1813 he served in the army against the French, and was afterwards appointed
to a small governmental post. He finally settled in Weimar, where he became
private secretary to Goethe. After Goethe's death he published his
_Conversations with Goethe_, a book which has been translated into all
European languages.
ECKM[:U]HL (ek'm[:u]l), a village of Bavaria, circle of Lower Bavaria, on
the Gross Laber, 13 miles S.S.E. of Ratisbon, the scene of a sanguinary
battle between the French and Austrians on 22nd April, 1809, in which the
latter were defeated.
ECLAMP'SIA, a medical term applied to convulsions that seem to be of an
epileptic character, but differ from true epilepsy as being due to some
special poison. The use of the term is now practically restricted to
puerperal eclampsia, convulsions occurring in pregnant women, generally
those suffering from kidney disease.
ECLEC'TICS (Gr. _eklektikos_, select) is a name given to all those
philosophers who do not follow one system entirely, but select what they
think the best parts of all systems. The system is called _eclecticism_. In
ancient philosophy Cicero was the most conspicuous representative of
eclecticism, and in modern times the eclectic method found a notable
supporter in the French philosopher Victor Cousin.
ECLIPSE (ek-lips'; Gr. _ekleipsis_, a failing, _ekleip[=o]_, I fail), an
interception or obscuration of the light of the sun, moon, or other
heavenly body by the intervention of another and non-luminous body. A star
or planet may be hidden by the moon; in this case the phenomenon is called
an occultation.
[Illustration: Diagrams illustrating the Theory of Eclipses]
_An Eclipse of the Moon_ is an obscuration of the light of the moon
occasioned by an interposition of the earth between the sun and the moon;
consequently, all eclipses of the moon happen at full moon. Further, the
moon's direction from the earth must make only a very small angle with the
axis of the earth's shadow, or line joining centres of sun and earth
produced. But as the moon's orbit makes an angle of more than 5deg with the
plane of the ecliptic, it frequently happens that though the moon is in
opposition it does not come within the shadow of the earth. The theory of
lunar eclipses will be understood from fig. 1, where S represents the sun,
E the earth, and M the moon. If the sun were a point of light, there would
be a sharp outlined shadow or _umbra_ only, but since the luminous surface
is so large there is always a region in which the light of the sun is only
partially cut off by the earth, which region is known as the _penumbra_ (P
P). Hence during a lunar eclipse the moon first enters the penumbra, then
is totally or partially immersed in the umbra, then emerges through the
penumbra again.
_An Eclipse of the Sun_ is an obscuration of the whole or part of the face
of the sun, occasioned by an interposition of the moon between the earth
and the sun; thus all eclipses of the sun happen at the time of new moon.
Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the cause of a solar eclipse. The dark or
central part of the moon's shadow, where the sun's rays are wholly
intercepted, is here the _umbra_, and the light part, where they are only
partially intercepted, is the _penumbra_; and it is evident that if a
spectator be situated on that part of the earth where the umbra falls,
there will be a total eclipse of the sun at that place; in the penumbra
there will be a partial eclipse, and beyond the penumbra there will be no
eclipse. As the moon is not always at the same distance from the earth, and
as the moon is a comparatively small body, if an eclipse should happen when
the moon is so far from the earth that her shadow falls short of the earth,
a spectator situated on the earth in a direct line with the centres of the
sun and moon would see a ring of light round the dark body of the moon.
Such an eclipse is called _annular_, as shown in fig. 3; when this happens,
there can be no total eclipse anywhere. An eclipse can never be annular
longer than 12 minutes 24 seconds, nor total longer than 7 minutes 58
seconds. The longest possible entire duration of an eclipse of the sun is a
little over 4 hours.
An eclipse of the sun begins on the western side of his disc and ends on
the eastern; and an eclipse of the moon begins on the eastern side of her
disc and ends on the western. The largest possible number of eclipses in a
year is seven, four of the sun and three of the moon, or five of the sun
and two of the moon. The smallest is two, both of the sun. But a solar
eclipse affects only a limited area of the earth, while a lunar eclipse is
visible from more than a terrestrial hemisphere, as the earth rotates
during its progress. Therefore at any given place eclipses of the moon are
more frequently visible than those of the sun.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: R. Buchanan,
_The Theory of Eclipses_; W. T. Lynn, _Remarkable Eclipses_.
ECLIP'TIC, the sun's path, the great circle of the celestial sphere, in
which the sun appears to describe his annual course from west to
east--really corresponding to the path which the earth describes. (See
_Earth_.) The Greeks observed that eclipses of the sun and moon took place
near this circle; whence they called it the _ecliptic_. The ecliptic has
been divided into twelve equal parts, each of which contains 30deg, and
which are occupied by the twelve celestial signs, viz.:
[Aries] Aries (the Ram), 21st March.
[Taurus] Taurus (the Bull), 20th April.
[Gemini] Gemini (the Twins), 21st May.
[Cancer] Cancer (the Crab), 21st June.
[Leo] Leo (the Lion), 23rd July.
[Virgo] Virgo (the Virgin), 23rd Aug.
[Libra] Libra (the Balance), 23rd Sept.
[Scorpio] Scorpio (the Scorpion), 23rd Oct.
[Sagittarius] Sagittarius (the Archer), 22nd Nov.
[Capricornus] Capricornus (the Goat), 22nd Dec.
[Aquarius] Aquarius (the Water-carrier), 20th Jan.
[Pisces] Pisces (the Fishes), 19th Feb.
These are also called signs of the _zodiac_, the zodiac being a belt of the
heavens extending 9deg on each side of the ecliptic. The days of the month
annexed show when the sun, in its annual revolution, enters each of the
signs of the zodiac. From the First Point of Aries, or the place of the sun
at the vernal equinox, the degrees of the ecliptic are counted from west to
east. The plane of the ecliptic is that by which the position of the
planets and the latitude and longitude of the stars are reckoned. The axis
of the earth is not fixed in direction in space, but performs a slow
conical motion about the pole of the ecliptic in about 26,000 years. In
consequence of this the points at which the equator intersects the
ecliptic, viz. the First Point of Aries and First Point of Libra, recede
westwards upon the ecliptic at the rate of about 50 seconds a year. The
signs of the zodiac, therefore, do not now coincide, as they did some 2000
years ago, with the constellations of the same names, and the First Point
of Aries has now regressed through the greater part of the constellation
Pisces. The angle at which the ecliptic and equator are mutually inclined
is also variable, and has been diminishing for about 4000 years at the rate
of about 50 seconds in a century. Laplace gave a theory to show that this
variation has certain fixed limits, and that after a certain time the angle
will begin to increase again. See _Precession_ and _Nutation_.
ECLOGUE (ek'log), a term usually applied to what Theocritus called
_idyls_--short, highly finished poems, principally of a descriptive or
pastoral kind, and in which the loves of shepherds and shepherdesses are
described. Eclogues flourished among the ancients (_Bucolics_ of Virgil),
and, under the name of pastorals, were fashionable in the sixteenth
century, Spenser's _Shepherds' Calendar_ being a good example. They were
revived in the eighteenth century by Pope.
['E]COLE DES BEAUX ARTS ('School of Fine Arts'), the French Government
school of fine arts at Paris, founded by Mazarin in 1648, and provided with
an extensive staff of teachers. The competitions for the _grands prix de
Rome_ take place at this school. All artists between the ages of fifteen
and twenty-five, whether pupils of this school or not, may compete, after
passing two preliminary examinations. The successful competitors receive an
annual allowance from the State for three or four years, two of which must
be passed at Rome. The Palais des Beaux Arts, the home of the ['E]cole, was
begun in 1820 and finished in 1863.
['E]COLE NORMALE SUP['E]RIEURE ('Superior Normal School'), a school at
Paris for the training of those teachers who have the charge of the
secondary education in France, founded by decree of the Convention in 1794,
reorganized by Napoleon in 1808, and again in 1830 by the Government of
Louis-Philippe. By the decree of 1903 the school forms part of the
University of Paris. It maintains a hundred students and has a course of
three years' duration.
['E]COLE POLYTECHNIQUE ('Polytechnic School'), a school in Paris
established with the purpose of giving instruction in matters connected
with the various branches of the public service, such as mines, roads and
bridges, engineering, the army and the navy, and Government manufactures.
It was founded in 1794, and is under the direction of the Minister of War.
Candidates are admitted only by competitive examination, and have to pay
for their board 1000 francs a year. The pupils who pass satisfactory
examinations at the end of their course are admitted to that branch of
public service which they select.
ECOLOGY, or OECOLOGY, the study of the relations of plants to their
surroundings, a branch of plant geography.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Horwood, _British
Wild-flowers_; Tansley, _Types of British Vegetation_; Warming, _Oecology_.
ECONOMICS is the name applied, in substitution for the older one of
political economy, to the scientific study of men in relation to the
production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of wealth. The origin
of both names lies in the analogy between provision for the needs of a
household and for those of a State. To the former the term 'economy' was
originally applied, as in Xenophon's treatise on the subject. But it was
soon adopted to describe that branch of the art of government which dealt
with public revenue and expenditure, and a matter intimately connected
therewith, the enrichment of the community as a whole.
This conception of economics inspired all economic writings until late in
the eighteenth century, a typical example being Thomas Mun's _England's
Treasure by Foreign Trade_ (1664), containing an exposition of the
mercantile system which sought to increase natural wealth by regulation of
the balance of trade. The treatment of economics as a science had its
origin in the writings of the Physiocrats, a group of French philosophers
of whom Quesnay (1694-1774) was the most prominent, and with whom Turgot
(1727-81), the great minister of Louis XVI, held many doctrines in common.
The Physiocrats argued that the wealth of the community was raised to the
maximum, not by State regulation, but by entire freedom in the economic
sphere. But the chief importance of the Physiocrats lay in their paving the
way for Adam Smith (1723-90), who in 1776 published _The Wealth of
Nations_, a book which has exercised profound and widespread influence on
thought and action, and is still a leading authority on the subject. Adam
Smith definitely retained the conception of economics as part of the art of
government. "Political economy", he says, "proposes two distinct objects:
first, to provide a plentiful revenue or subsistence for the people ... and
secondly, to supply the State or Commonweal with a revenue sufficient for
the public service. It proposes to enrich both the people and the
sovereign." But the book is also largely occupied with an investigation of
the production, distribution, and exchange of wealth when free from all
regulation and restriction, together with a powerful indictment of such
regulation. This doctrine of non-interference by the State came to be known
as the _laissez-faire_ doctrine, from a phrase used by Gournay, one of the
Physiocrats. Mainly through Adam Smith's influence, it became the orthodox
view of the State's relation to trade and industry. This meant that the
aims of economics, in its older sense, were best achieved without State
action at all; and, consequently, economics came to mean simply the study
of what are in fact men's activities in relation to wealth. This conception
is clearly expressed in such writers as Ricardo (1772-1823), whose
_Principles of Political Economy and Taxation_ enunciates the theory of
rent which has formed the basis of all subsequent reasoning on the subject,
and states a theory of wages which gave colour to Karl Marx's doctrine of
the exploitation of wage-earners by capitalists. It is also evident in the
work of Nassau Senior (1790-1864), in the important _Principles of
Political Economy_ of John Stuart Mill (1806-73), and is most fully
expressed by J. E. Cairnes (1823-78).
This conception has formed the basis of all modern economics, despite
important differences in the method of treating material. The modern view
of the matter is well stated by Dr. Alfred Marshall in his _Principles of
Economics_, a most important contribution to the subject, which has
exercised much influence. Economics he defines as "a study of mankind in
the ordinary business of life; it examines that part of individual and
social action which is most closely connected with the attainment and with
the rise of material requisites of well-being". The separation between
economics and the investigation of social phenomena in general is not so
rigidly maintained to-day as in the past. It is realized that men's
activities in relation to wealth are affected by other than purely economic
considerations, and that political, moral, religious, and aesthetic forces
must be taken into account. At the same time, the science deals only with
what is, and not with what ought to be done; and is therefore distinct from
_Ethics_, which is concerned with moral judgments. Of late years, interest
in the application of ethical considerations to economic problems has
increased considerably, using the conclusions of economic science as its
material, mainly in connection with problems of distribution, especially
wages. One of the most important of modern political movements, Socialism,
makes a just distribution of wealth the keynote of its doctrines. In so far
as man's conduct is studied in economics, the science is concerned with
psychological considerations; but it is distinct from _psychology_, taking
the principles thereof as data rather than establishing them as
conclusions. The traditional arrangement of the subject matter of economics
into the production, exchange, and distribution of wealth is still
maintained; but in recent years consumption, the end of almost all man's
productive activity, has received much attention, notably from W. S. Jevons
(1835-82) and Marshall. Important conceptions in this connection are those
of the _diminishing utility_ to an individual or group of individuals of
each successive increment of any commodity received beyond a certain point;
and of _consumer's surplus_, measured by the difference between the price a
person pays for a thing and what he would pay rather than go without it.
Any rigid distinction between the different branches of economics is,
however, impossible. For example, all processes of exchange may be
considered as part either of distribution or of production.
The central problem of economics is really that of how the exchange value
of commodities and services is determined; since in this determination all
the forces regulating production, distribution, and consumption are brought
to a focus, and their action and interaction can be investigated. The study
of value covers that of all forces affecting either the demand for or the
supply of a commodity, including its cost of production. On the side of
production, technical processes are not studied in detail, though some
knowledge of them is indispensable; but matters common to all production
are dealt with, such as the so-called _laws of increasing and diminishing_
return, which are statements of the relation between the amounts of labour,
land, and capital used in production, and the amount of product. Other
questions considered are transport, markets of all kinds, banking,
currency, finance, and trusts and combinations. The study of distribution
includes the methods by which wages, interest and profits, and rent are
determined; and since each of these is payment for a service (of labour,
capital, and land respectively) it is really an aspect of the study of
value. Distribution also covers such subjects as trade unionism,
co-operation, and labour disputes. Economics also deals with public finance
(including taxation), treating of the effects of different methods of
collecting and expending the State revenue. In considering the
above-mentioned subjects, the method of economics is strictly that of a
science, in that it aims partly at a descriptive analysis of material, and
partly at a statement of cause and effect. The laws of economics are, like
other scientific laws, statements of tendencies. They are not laws such as
the commands or prohibitions of the State, though they are often loosely
referred to in this way. That economics should be able to generalize and to
predict about the action of men is due to its dealing not with individuals,
but with large groups, so that individual peculiarities can be neglected
and the general characteristics of the group ascertained. It is in this
connection that considerable controversy has arisen. The older writers on
economics were mainly deductive in method, i.e. they took a few general
principles, such as that every man follows his own interest and knows where
that interest lies, and made certain assumptions, such as the existence of
free competition; and on this basis worked out a group of principles which
were sometimes quite unrelated to actual facts. This method is undoubtedly
a most powerful one, and of great value provided that the original
assumptions are kept clearly in mind, and variations from them in a
particular case allowed for in applying conclusions. But the unreality of
some of its results produced a reaction, of which an early instance is the
famous _Essay on the Principle of Population_ by T. R. Malthus, published
in 1798. This book inaugurated the rise of a school of economists who
treated their subject from an inductive and historical point of view. The
historians, who have been especially prominent in Germany, and of whom
representatives are Roscher (1817-94), de Laveleye (1822-92), and Cliffe
Leslie (1825-82), hold that economics should in the main be descriptive,
and not attempt to formulate laws. The inductive school, of whom J. S. Mill
is an important member, base their work upon more extensive investigation
than the older writers, and constantly test their conclusions by reference
to facts. Another important reaction against the early economists arose
from the identification of the latter with the doctrine of _laissez-faire_.
Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) and Friedrich List (1789-1840) argued in
favour of an extension of State activity, especially for the purpose of
protecting industry against foreign competition, and may be considered the
fathers of modern protectionist doctrine. In most modern treatment of
economics, the deductive and inductive methods are employed side by side.
The study of economic history has developed as a separate branch, but
economists recognize that it provides them with much valuable material.
Important recent developments in method are the increased use of
statistics, made possible by their more widespread and careful compilation,
and the application of mathematical methods to economic data. It is
recognized that, with due care, many conceptions which are with difficulty
expressed in words can be treated on mathematical lines to yield results of
great service. In this work the researches of Italian writers, such as
Pantaleoni and Pareto, are of conspicuous importance.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. C.
Pigou, _Wealth and Welfare_; _Preferential and Protective Import Duties_;
E. Cannan, _Wealth_; J. N. Keynes, _Scope and Method of Political Economy_;
G. Cassel, _Nature and Necessity of Interest_; W. Smart, _Distribution of
Income_; C. R. Fay, _Co-operation_; A. Andreades, _History of the Bank of
England_; H. Levy, _Monopoly and Competition_; C. F. Bastable, _Public
Finance_.
['E]CRASEUR is a wire loop or chain for amputating a growth suitably
situated for such an instrument. The chain is passed round the base or
pedicle of the growth, and gradually tightened by a screw till the growth
falls off. Its application in surgery is limited.
ECTOCARPACEAE, a family of Brown Algae, section Phaeosporeae. The typical
genus is Ectocarpus, comprising small, branched, filamentous plants of salt
or brackish water. According to the species, growth of the filaments may be
apical, intercalary, or common to all cells, whereas among the more
advanced members of the Brown Algae either apical or intercalary growth is
characteristic of entire families. The gametes show every gradation from
complete similarity (isogamy) to a condition like that of Cutleria.
ECUADOR (ek-w[.a]-d[=o]r') (_Republica Del Ecuador_), a republic of South
America, situated under the equator, whence it takes its name, between Peru
and Colombia. It is of triangular shape, its base resting on the Pacific,
but the boundaries between it and its neighbours are not very definitely
fixed; estimated area, about 116,000 sq. miles. The state has still a
boundary dispute with Peru, that with Colombia having been settled by
treaty in 1917. The country is divided into fifteen provinces, one
territory--'El Oriente'--and the Archipelago of Galapagos, officially
called 'Colon'. It falls, as regards the surface, into three sections: the
comparatively narrow and low-lying coast regions, the mountain region, and
the extensive plains on the east. The mountain region is formed by a double
range of snow-clad mountains--several of them active volcanoes--which
enclose a longitudinal valley or tableland, with a breadth of 20 to 40
miles, and varying in elevation from 8500 to 13,900 feet. The most elevated
of these mountains are, in the western range, Chimborazo, Pichincha, and
Cotacachi, Chimborazo being 20,703 feet high. In the eastern range are
Cayambe, Antisana, and Cotopaxi (19,500 feet). The cultivated land and the
population of Ecuador lie chiefly in this elevated region, which extends
along between the summits of the Cordillera, and may be considered as
divided by transverse ridges or dikes into the valleys of Quito, Hambato,
and Cuenca. The chief towns here are Quito, the capital, with a pop. of
70,000, Riobamba, and Cuenca, all situated at a height of 9000 feet or more
above the sea. The chief ports of Ecuador are Guayaquil and Esmeraldas. The
most considerable rivers, the Tigre, Napo, Pastaza, &c., belong to the
basin of the Amazon; and some of them, notably the Napo, are navigable for
long distances. On the western slope of the Andes the chief rivers are the
Esmeraldas and the Guayaquil. Ecuador is comparatively poor in Mammalia;
although various kinds of deer as well as tapirs and peccaries are found in
the forests. Parrots and humming-birds are also numerous, but perhaps the
most remarkable of the birds in Ecuador is the condor, which dwells on the
slopes of the Andes. Reptiles, including serpents, are numerous. The
forests yield cinchona bark, caoutchouc, sarsaparilla, and vegetable ivory.
The climate on the plains, both in the east and the west, is moist, hot,
and unhealthy. In the higher regions the climate is rough and cold, but in
great part the elevated valleys, as that of Quito, enjoy a delightful
climate. Here the chief productions are potatoes, barley, wheat, and
European fruits. In the lower regions are grown all the food-products of
tropical climates, cocoa, coffee, and sugar. The foreign commerce is not
large, the exports and imports being annually about L2,700,000 and
L1,670,000 respectively. In 1919 the imports from Ecuador to the United
Kingdom amounted to L1,257,350, and the exports to Ecuador to L373,346.
Cocoa forms three-fourths (or more) of the whole export; the remainder is
made up of tagua or ivory-nuts, rubber, straw hats, coffee, and gold. A
little gold is mined, and Panama hats are made. The State recognizes no
religion, but grants freedom of worship to all. A system of education was
organized in 1897 and improved in 1912. There are three universities: the
Central University, at Quito; the Guayas University, in Guayaquil; and the
Azuay University, in Cuenca. There are schools for higher education and
primary schools. The executive government is vested in a President elected
for four years, who is assisted by a Council of State. The Congress is the
legislative body, and consists of two Houses, one formed of Senators, two
for each province, the other of Deputies, one for every 30,000 inhabitants,
both elected by universal suffrage. The Congress has extensive privileges,
and cannot be dissolved by the President. The seat of government is Quito.
In 1920 both the revenue and expenditure amounted to nearly L2,000,000. The
debt amounts to about L5,620,000. The monetary standard is gold, the gold
_condor_ of ten _sucres_ being equivalent to a sovereign. The metric system
of weights and measures is the legal one. Railways and telegraphs have made
little progress.--Ecuador at the time of the conquest of Peru by the
Spaniards formed part of the great empire of the Incas. As the Presidency
of Quito it was long included in the Vice-Royalty of Peru. From 1710 it
became part of the Presidency of New Granada (or Santa F['e] de Bogot['a]).
In the revolutionary war against Spain, Ecuador, along with the
neighbouring territories, secured its independence (1822), and was
ultimately erected into a separate Republic in 1831. The present
Constitution of the Republic was promulgated on 6th May, 1906. Of the
present population, the aboriginal red race form more than half; the rest
are negroes, mulattoes, mestizoes, a degenerate breed of mixed negro and
Indian blood, and Spanish Creoles or whites. The last-named are the chief
possessors of the land, but are deficient in energy. Pop. (estimated)
2,000,000.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: F. Garcia-Calderon, _Latin America: its Rise and
Progress_; C. R. Enock, _Ecuador_; T. H. Stabler, _Travels in Ecuador_.
ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, a general ecclesiastical council regarded as
representing the whole Christian world or the universal Church; specially
applied to the general councils of the early Christian Church, beginning
with that of Nicaea in 325, and later to those of the Roman Catholic
Church, of which the most recent was the Vatican Council at Rome in 1870.
EC'ZEMA is a skin eruption marked by the appearance of papules or vesicles
and accompanied by irritation of the affected part, frequently very severe.
The characteristic watery discharge of the disease is produced by the
bursting of the vesicles. There is difference of opinion among
dermatologists as to whether or not it is primarily caused by germs.
Various predisposing causes, like digestive disturbances, anaemia, and
nervous disorders are important factors in determining the course of the
disease. Eczema may affect practically any part of the skin, but is most
frequently seen on the scalp, ears, face, hands, nipples, armpits, and the
genital regions.
ED'AM, a town of North Holland, near the Zuider Zee, 12 miles N.N.E. of
Amsterdam, noted for its cheese markets; but 'Edam cheese' is mostly made
elsewhere. Pop. 6623.
EDDA (meaning 'great-grandmother'), the name given to two ancient
collections of Icelandic literature, the one consisting of mythological
poems, the other being mainly in prose. The first of these collections,
called the _Elder_ or _Poetic Edda_, was compiled in the thirteenth
century, and discovered in 1643 by Brynjulf Sveinsson, an Icelandic bishop.
For a long time an earlier date was given, the compiler being erroneously
believed to have been Saemund Sigfusson, a learned Icelandic clergyman, who
lived from about 1056 to 1133. It consists of thirty-three pieces, written
in alliterative verse, and comprising epic tales of the Scandinavian gods
and goddesses, and narratives dealing with the Scandinavian heroes. These
poems are now assigned to a period extending from the ninth to the eleventh
century. The _Prose Edda_, or _Younger Edda_, presents a kind of prose
synopsis of the Northern mythology; a treatise on the Scaldic poetry and
versification, with rules and examples; and lastly a poem (with a
commentary) in honour of Haco of Norway (died 1263). In its earliest forms
this collection is ascribed to Snorri Sturlason, who was born in Iceland in
1178, and was assassinated there in 1241 on his return from Norway, where
he had been scald or court poet. Cf. S. Bugge, _Home of the Eddic Poems_.
EDDY, Mary Baker, founder of Christian Science (q.v.), born at Bow, New
Hampshire, United States, 16th July, 1821, died 3rd Dec., 1910. She was
married three times, to Mr. Glover, Mr. Patterson, and Mr. Asa Gilbert
Eddy, all of whom she survived. She began to teach her system of
psychotherapeutics in 1866, and founded the first Christian Science Church
in Boston in 1879. In 1881 she established the Metaphysical College at
Massachusetts. Her works, besides _Science and Health with Key to the
Scriptures_, include: _Unity of God_, _No and Yes_, _Pulpit and Press_,
_The First Church of Christ_, _Christian Science versus Pantheism_.--Cf. G.
Milmine, _Life of M. B. G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science_.
EDDYSTONE LIGHTHOUSE, a lighthouse in the English Channel, erected to mark
a group of rocks lying in the fair-way from the Start to the Lizard. The
rocks are covered only at the flood. The first lighthouse was of wood, and
built by Henry Winstanley in 1696. It was carried away in the storm of
1703. Another lighthouse, also of wood, was built in 1709 by Rudyerd, but
was burned down in 1755. It was succeeded by one built by Smeaton between
1757 and 1759, a circular tower 85 feet high; but, as the foundations on
which it stood became much weakened, a new structure, designed by Sir J. N.
Douglass, was built between 1879 and 1882 on the neighbouring reef. Its
light is visible 17-1/2 miles.
EDELWEISS ([=a]-d[.e]l-v[=i]s; Ger., 'noble white'), _Leontopodium
alp[=i]num_, a composite plant inhabiting the Alps, and often growing in
the most inaccessible places. Its flower-heads are surrounded by a
spreading foliaceous woolly involucre, and its foliage is also of the same
woolly character. It is not difficult to cultivate, but is apt to lose its
peculiar woolly appearance.
E'DEN (Heb. _eden_, delight), the original abode of the first human pair.
It is said to have had a garden in the eastern part of it, and we are told
that a river went out of Eden to water this garden, and from thence it was
parted into four heads, which were called respectively Pison, Gihon,
Hiddekel, and Euphrates (Phrat), but this does not enable us to identify
the locality. It was not the whole of Eden that was assigned to man for his
first habitation, but the part towards the east, to which the translators
of the Authorized Version have given the name of the Garden of Eden, and
which Milton, in _Paradise Lost_, calls Paradise, that word (originally
Persian) having in its Greek form (_paradeisos_) been applied to the Garden
of Eden by the translators of the _Septuagint_.
EDEN, a river in England, in Westmorland and Cumberland, falling into the
Solway Firth after a course of 65 miles.--Also, a river in Fifeshire,
Scotland.
EDENTA'TA ([=e]-), or TOOTHLESS ANIMALS, the name applied to a primitive
order of mammals mostly native to the neotropical region, but also
represented in South Africa and South Asia. The body is often covered by
horny scales or bony plates, the digits are clawed, and the teeth either
imperfect or absent altogether. I. New World forms.--(1) _Ant-eaters._
Toothless, with long narrow snout, and protrusible tongue. Covered with
dense fur. The great ant-eater (_Myrmecoph[)a]ga jubata_) lives on the
ground; the much smaller Tamandua and Cycloturus are arboreal. (2)
_Sloths._ Toothed arboreal leaf-eaters, covered by coarse fur, and provided
with very strong curved claws, by which they hang upside down from
branches. The three-toed sloth (Bradypus) has three digits in the
fore-limb, the two-toed sloth (Cholaepus) only two. (3) _Armadillos._
Burrowing forms protected by a strong carapace of bony plates, and
possessing numerous imperfect teeth. (4) _Extinct types._ The so-called
ground sloths were of large size, Megatherium being nearly as large as an
elephant, and Mylodon not much smaller. Glossodon, allied to the latter,
survived into the human period. Glyptodon resembled a gigantic armadillo.
II. Old World forms.--(1) The _aard-vark_ (Orycteropus) is a burrowing
African form about the size of a pig, covered with coarse hair; long ears
and snout; 20 imperfect grinding teeth. (2) _Scaly ant-eaters_ or
_pangolins_ (Manis), native to South Africa and South Asia, are toothless
forms not unlike the American ant-eaters in build, but the body is covered
dorsally and laterally by large overlapping scales.
EDES'SA, the name of two ancient cities.--1. The ancient capital of
Macedonia, and the burial-place of its kings, now _Vodhena_. It is probably
the same as the still more ancient Aegae. Philip II was murdered at Edessa
in 336 B.C.--2. An important city in the north of Mesopotamia, which,
subsequent to the establishment of Christianity, became celebrated for its
theological schools. In 1098, in the first Crusade, Edessa came into the
hands of Baldwin, but ultimately became part of the Turkish Empire. It is
thought to be the modern Urfah or Orfa.
EDFU, or EDFOO' (ancient APOLLINOPOLIS), a village in Upper Egypt, province
of Assouan, on the left bank of the Nile, with manufactures of cottons and
pottery. Its ancient magnificence is attested by several remains,
especially a temple, founded by Ptolemy Philopator (181-145 B.C.), the
largest in Egypt after those of Karnak and Luxor. Pop. 12,594.
ED'GAR (_the Peaceful_), one of the most distinguished of the Saxon Kings
of England, was the son of King Edmund I. He succeeded to the throne in
959, and managed the civil and military affairs of his kingdom with great
vigour and success. In ecclesiastical affairs he was guided by Dunstan,
Archbishop of Canterbury, and he was a great patron of the monks. He died
in 975, and was succeeded by his son Edward the Martyr.
EDGAR ATHELING, grandson of Edmund Ironside and son of Edward the Outlaw,
was born in Hungary, where his father had been conveyed in infancy to
escape the designs of Canute. After the battle of Hastings, Edgar (who had
been brought to England in 1057) was proclaimed King of England by the
Saxons, but made peace with William and accepted the earldom of Oxford.
Having been engaged in some conspiracy against the king, he was forced to
seek refuge in Scotland, where his sister Margaret became the wife of
Malcolm Canmore. Edgar subsequently was reconciled to William and was
allowed to live at Rouen, where a pension was assigned to him. In 1097,
with the sanction of William Rufus, he undertook an expedition to Scotland
for the purpose of displacing the usurper Donald Bane, in favour of his
nephew Edgar, son of Malcolm Canmore, and in this object he succeeded. He
afterwards took part in Duke Robert's unsuccessful struggle with Henry I,
but was allowed to spend the remainder of his life quietly in England.
EDGEHILL, a ridge in Warwickshire, England, 7 miles north-west of Banbury,
where was fought a fierce but indecisive battle on 23rd Oct., 1642, between
the Royalists under Charles I and the forces of the Parliament under the
Earl of Essex.
EDGEWORTH, Maria, Irish novelist, born at Black Bourton, Oxfordshire, 1st
Jan., 1767, died 22nd May, 1849, at Edgeworthstown. She was the daughter of
Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744-1817) of Edgeworthstown, County Longford,
Ireland. Her first novel, _Castle Rackrent_, a tale of Irish life,
published in 1800, immediately established her reputation. Her later works
include: _Belinda_, _Moral Tales_, _Leonora_, _Popular Tales_, _Tales of
Fashionable Life_, _Patronage_, _Harrington_, _Ormond_, and _Helen_,
besides an _Essay on Irish Bulls_, and a work on _Practical Education_,
largely based on Rousseau's _['E]mile_. Miss Edgeworth's characteristics
are a simple and lucid style and considerable power of observation, but she
was not a great creative artist.
ED'INBURGH, the metropolis of Scotland, and one of the finest as well as
most ancient cities in the British Empire, lies within 2 miles of the south
shore of the Firth of Forth. It is picturesquely situated, being built on
three eminences which run in a direction from east to west, and surrounded
on all sides by lofty hills except on the north, where the ground slopes
gently towards the Firth of Forth. The central ridge, which constituted the
site of the ancient city, is terminated by the castle on the west, situated
on a high rock, and by Holyrood House on the east, not far from which rise
the lofty elevations of Salisbury Crags, Arthur's Seat (822 feet high), and
the Calton Hill overlooking the city. The valley to the north, once the
North Loch, but now drained and traversed by the North British Railway,
leads to the New Town on the rising ground beyond, a splendid assemblage of
streets, squares, and gardens. The houses here, all built of a beautiful
white freestone found in the neighbourhood, are comparatively modern and
remarkably handsome. The principal streets of the New Town are Princes
Street, George Street, and Queen Street. From Princes Street, which is
lined by fine gardens adorned with Sir W. Scott's monument and other
notable buildings, a magnificent view of the Old Town with its picturesque
outline may be obtained. The principal street of the Old Town is that which
occupies the crest of the ridge on which the latter is built, and which
bears at different points the names of Canongate, High Street, Lawnmarket,
and Castle Hill. This ancient and very remarkable street is upwards of one
mile in length, rising gradually with a regular incline from a small plain
at the east end of the town, on which stands the palace of Holyrood, and
terminating in the huge rock on which the castle is built, 437 feet above
sea-level. The houses are lofty and of antique appearance. Amongst the
notable buildings are the ancient Parliament House, since the Union the
seat of the supreme courts of Scotland; St. Giles' Church or Cathedral, an
imposing edifice in the later Gothic style, dating from the fourteenth
century and carefully restored between 1879 and 1883; the Tron Church;
Victoria Hall (where the General Assembly of the Established Church meets),
with a fine spire; and also John Knox's House, besides some of the old
family houses of the Scottish nobility and other buildings of antiquarian
interest. From this main street descend laterally in regular rows numerous
narrow lanes called _closes_, many of them extremely steep, and very few at
their entrances more than 6 feet wide; those which are broader, and admit
of the passage of carriages, are called _wynds_. In these and the adjacent
streets the houses are frequently more than 120 feet in height, and divided
into from six to ten stories, or _flats_, the communication between which
is maintained by broad stone stairs, winding from the lowest part of the
building to the top. In the Old Town the most remarkable public building is
the castle, an extensive mass, of which the oldest portion--and the oldest
building in the city--is St. Margaret's Chapel, the private oratory of the
Saxon princess Margaret, queen of Malcolm Canmore; another portion being a
lofty range of old buildings, in a small apartment of which Queen Mary gave
birth to James VI in 1566; while in an adjoining apartment are kept the
ancient regalia of Scotland. Here is also the old Parliament Hall, restored
during 1888 and 1889. The castle as a fortress contains accommodation for
2000 soldiers, and the armoury space for 30,000 stand of arms. An old piece
of ordnance built of staves of malleable iron, cask fashion, and known as
_Mons Meg_, stands conspicuous in an open area. The palace of Holyrood, or
Holyrood House as it is more generally called, stands, as already
mentioned, at the lower or eastern extremity of the street leading to the
castle. No part of the present palace is older than the time of James V
(1528), while the greater portion of it dates only from the time of Charles
II. In the north-west angle of the building are the apartments which were
occupied by Queen Mary, nearly in the same state in which they were left by
that unfortunate princess. Adjoining the palace are the ruins of the chapel
belonging to the Abbey of Holyrood, founded in 1128 by David I. On the
south side of the Old Town, and separated from it also by a hollow crossed
by two bridges (the South Bridge and George IV Bridge), stands the
remaining portion of the city, which, with the exception of a few
unimportant streets, is mostly modern. Besides the buildings already
noticed, Edinburgh possesses a large number of important edifices and
institutions, chief amongst which are the Royal Institution (accommodating
the Royal Society and other bodies), a beautiful Grecian building; the
National (Picture) Gallery, another fine building in the Greek style, the
two buildings standing on a conspicuous site between East and West Princes
Street Gardens; the National Portrait Gallery, a building due to private
munificence and accommodating also the National Museum of Antiquities; the
Museum of Science and Art; the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Mary's, one of
the largest religious edifices of modern times; the university buildings,
including those of the medical department, standing apart from the others;
the infirmary buildings; the high school, register office, and others.
Amongst the more prominent educational institutions are the university, the
high school, the academy, the United Free Church New College, the Edinburgh
School of Medicine (connected with the Royal College of Physicians and the
Royal College of Surgeons), Medical College for Women, College of
Agriculture, the Edinburgh Veterinary College, Fettes College, the
Heriot-Watt College, normal schools, technical, commercial, and other
institutions, and endowed secondary schools. The Advocates' Library, the
largest in Scotland, contains upwards of 550,000 printed volumes and 3000
MSS.; the university library, 200,000; the library of Writers to the
Signet, 100,000. There is also a rate-supported public library in a
building erected at the expense of the late Andrew Carnegie. Printing,
bookbinding, coach-building, type-founding, machine-making, the making of
rubber goods, furniture-making, ale-brewing on a very large scale, and
distilling are the principal industries. Edinburgh is the head-quarters of
the book trade in Scotland, and the seat of the chief Government
departments. It is a great resort of tourists and other travellers. On
account of its picturesque and commanding situation and its literary fame,
Edinburgh is often called the 'Modern Athens'. The origin of Edinburgh is
uncertain. Its name is by many thought to be derived from Eadwinsburh, the
Burgh of Edwin, a powerful Northumbrian king of the early seventh century,
who absorbed the Lothians in his rule. The town was made a royal burgh in
the time of David I; but it was not till the fifteenth century that it
became the recognized capital of Scotland, and from that time it was the
scene of many important events in Scottish history. The city is now
governed by a council, which elects from its members a Lord Provost, a city
treasurer, and seven bailies. It returns five members to Parliament, and
within the municipal boundaries are included Portobello, Granton, Liberton,
Duddingston, and since 1920 also the port of Leith. Pop.
420,281.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. B. Gillies, _Edinburgh, Past and Present_; M. O.
Oliphant, _Royal Edinburgh, Her Saints, Kings, Prophets, and Poets_;
W. H. O. Smeaton, _Edinburgh and its Story_; H. E. Maxwell, _Edinburgh: a
Historical Study_.
EDINBURGH, COUNTY OF, or MIDLOTHIAN, is bounded north by the Firth of
Forth, along which it extends 11 or 12 miles; and by the counties of
Linlithgow, Haddington, Berwick, Lanark, Peebles, Selkirk, and Roxburgh;
area, 234,926 acres, over half of which is arable or under permanent
pasture. The south-south-east and south-west parts of the county are
diversified with hills, of which the two principal ranges are the Pentlands
and Moorfoots, the former stretching across the county to within 4 miles of
Edinburgh. The principal rivers are the North and South Esks and the Water
of Leith, all running into the Forth. The lowlands towards the Forth are
the most fertile; the farms are of considerable size, and the most approved
methods of agriculture are in use. The hilly parts are chiefly under
pasturage and dairy farming. The chief crops are oats, barley, turnips, and
potatoes. The manufactures are comparatively limited, but include ale,
whisky, gunpowder, paper, and tiles. The fisheries are valuable. The chief
towns are: Edinburgh, Dalkeith, and Musselburgh. Midlothian and Peebles
return two members to Parliament. Pop. 506,378.
EDINBURGH, DUKE OF, H.R.H. Prince Alfred Ernest Albert, K.G., K.T., K.P.,
&c., Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the second son of Queen Victoria, was born
at Windsor Castle, 6th Aug., 1844, died in 1900. At the age of fourteen he
joined the navy as naval cadet, and served on various foreign stations. In
1862 he declined the offer of the throne of Greece. On his majority he
received L15,000 a year from Parliament, and was created Duke of Edinburgh,
Earl of Kent, and Earl of Ulster. In 1867 he was appointed to the command
of the frigate _Galatea_, in which he visited Australia, Japan, China, and
India. In 1873 he received an additional annuity of L10,000, and next year
he married the Grand-Duchess Marie, only daughter of the Emperor of Russia.
In 1882 he was made a vice-admiral, and subsequently held important
commands. In 1898 he succeeded his uncle as ruler of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and
resigned L15,000 of his annuity and his other privileges as an English
prince, but retained his rank of admiral. He had one son (who predeceased
him) and four daughters. He was succeeded as Duke of Saxe-Coburg by his
nephew, Leopold Charles, Duke of Albany.
EDINBURGH REVIEW, THE, a quarterly review established in 1802. It had an
immediate and striking success, the brilliancy and vigour of its articles
being much above the standard of the periodical literature of that time. In
politics it was Whig, and did good service to the party. The _Review_ was
founded by a knot of young men living in Edinburgh, the more prominent of
whom were Brougham, Jeffrey, Sydney Smith, and Francis Horner. It was
edited from 1803 to 1829 by Jeffrey, under whom it was very successful. In
reply to his criticisms Byron wrote his _English Bards and Scotch
Reviewers_. Among the famous contributors to the _Review_ were Lord
Macaulay, Lord John Russell, and John Stuart Mill.
EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY, the latest of the Scottish universities, was founded
in 1582 by a charter granted by James VI. The number of professors and
other teachers is now over 240. The university is a corporation consisting
of a chancellor, rector, principal, professors, registered graduates and
alumni, and matriculated students. Its government is administered by the
University Court, the Senatus Academicus, and the General Council, as in
the other Scottish universities, in all of which new ordinances have been
introduced under the Universities (Scotland) Act of 1889. The University
Court, which is the supreme governing body of the university, consists of
the rector, who is president, the principal, the Lord Provost of Edinburgh,
and eleven assessors. The Senatus superintends the teaching and discipline
of the university, and consists of the principal and professors. The
General Council consists of the chancellor, who is president, the members
of the University Court and Senatus, and the graduates of the university.
It takes cognizance of matters generally affecting the well-being of the
university. The chancellor is the official head of the university, and it
is through him or his deputy, the vice-chancellor, that degrees are
conferred. He is elected for life by the General Council. The principal is
the resident head of the university and president of the Senatus, and is
appointed for life (at Edinburgh by a body called the 'Curators', elsewhere
by the Crown). The lord rector is elected for three years by the
matriculated students. There are six faculties in the university, viz.
arts, science, divinity, law, medicine, and music. Some of the professors
are appointed by the Crown, others by special electors, and a considerable
number by the curators, who represent the university court and the town
council. The number of students in 1919-20 was over 4300. Candidates for
degrees in the different faculties must now pass an entrance examination
before attendance upon classes. Women are admitted to all courses and
degrees, equally with men, except in the faculty of divinity. Those
desirous of taking the degree of Master of Arts (M.A.) must attend classes
and pass examinations in at least seven subjects, selected from four
departments, viz. language and literature, mental philosophy, science,
history and law, the course of study extending over three academic years at
least. There is a considerable restriction in choice of subjects, since
four of them must be (_a_) Latin or Greek; (_b_) English or a Modern
Language; (_c_) Logic or Moral Philosophy; (_d_) Mathematics or Natural
Philosophy; and the whole subjects must include both of (_a_) or both of
(_c_), or two out of the three--mathematics, natural philosophy, and
chemistry. Four medical degrees are conferred: Bachelor of Medicine (M.B.),
Bachelor of Surgery (Ch.B.), Master of Surgery (Ch.M.), and Doctor of
Medicine (M.D.). Before any of these degrees can be obtained the candidate
must have been engaged in medical study for at least five years. The
degrees in law are Bachelor of the Law (B.L.), Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.),
and Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), the last being purely honorary. In divinity the
degrees are Bachelor and Doctor of Divinity (B.D. and D.D.), the latter
being honorary. In science the degrees are likewise Bachelor and Doctor
(B.Sc. and D.Sc.), both conferred in the three departments of pure science,
engineering, and public health. There is also a B.Sc. in agriculture. The
degree of Doctor of Philosophy (D.Phil.) is conferred for proficiency in
mental science, and that of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) for proficiency in
literary, philological, and linguistic studies. The degrees of Bachelor and
Doctor of Music (Mus.B. and Mus.D.) are also conferred. There is a joint
board of examiners for the four Scottish universities, having the control
and supervision of the preliminary examinations. The university has
splendid laboratories and museums. The foundation stone of a new science
laboratory was laid by King George on 6th July, 1920. The library contains
200,000 volumes. There are bursaries, scholarships, and fellowships,
amounting annually to about L12,500. Since 1918 the University of Edinburgh
unites with the other Scottish universities in returning three members to
Parliament. The constituency consists of the General
Council.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. Kerr, _Scottish Education, School and
University, from Early Times to 1908_; _University Calendar_; Sir Alex.
Grant, _The Story of the University of Edinburgh from Early Times to 1908_.
ED'ISON, Thomas Alva, an American inventor, born in Ohio in 1847. He was
poorly educated, became a newsboy on the Grand Trunk Railway, and
afterwards, having obtained some type, issued a small sheet of his own
known as the _Grand Trunk Herald_, printing it in a freight car. He then
set himself to learn telegraph work, and in a short time became an expert
operator. In 1863, while at Indianopolis, he invented an automatic
telegraph repeater. This was the first of a long series of improvements and
inventions. He opened an extensive establishment at Newark for the
manufacture of electrical, printing, automatic, and other apparatus. In
1876, his health breaking down, he gave up manufacturing and devoted
himself to investigation and invention. Amongst his numerous inventions are
the quadruplex and sextuplex telegraph, the carbon telephone transmitter,
the 'Edison system' of lighting, the electric fire-alarm, the 'Edison
electric railway', the phonograph, and the megaphone. His improvements in
the cinematograph made it practicable, though he did not originate the idea
of it.
ED'MONTON, an urban district and parliamentary borough in England, county
of Middlesex, 7-1/2 miles north of London, with an extensive trade in
timber, carried on by the Lea River navigation. The 'Bell at Edmonton' has
become famous by association with the adventures of Cowper's _John Gilpin_.
The borough returns one member to Parliament. Pop. 64,820.
EDMONTON, a town of North-Western Canada, on the North Saskatchewan (here
navigable). Since 1905 it is the capital of the province of Alberta, and
has grown considerably in recent years. It is an important station on the
Canadian Pacific, Grand Trunk Pacific, and Canadian Northern railway
systems, and is the distributing centre of an immense area, being also the
centre of an excellent farming district. Easily-mined coal is worked here.
Pop, 61,000.
ED'MUND, ST., King of the East Angles, began to reign in 855, died in 870.
He was revered by his subjects for his justice and piety. In 870 his
kingdom was invaded, and he himself slain, by the Danes. The Church made
him a martyr, and a town (Bury St. Edmunds) grew up round the place where
he was buried.
EDMUND I, King of England, an able and spirited prince, succeeded his
brother Athelstan in 940. He conquered Cumbria, which he bestowed on
Malcolm, King of Scotland, on condition of doing homage for it to himself.
He was slain at a banquet 26th May, 946.
EDMUND II, surnamed _Ironside_, King of England, the eldest son of Ethelred
II, was born in 989. He was chosen king in 1016, Canute having been already
elected king by another party. He won several victories over Canute, but
was defeated at Assandun in Essex, and forced to surrender the midland and
northern counties to Canute. He died after a reign of only seven months.
EDOM, in the New Testament _Idumaea_, in ancient times a country lying to
the south of Palestine. The Edomites are said in _Genesis_ to be the
descendants of Esau, who was also called Edom (a word signifying 'red'),
and who dwelt in Mount Seir, the mountain range now called _Jebel Shera_,
stretching between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Akabah. Edom is frequently
mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions. The Edomites were subdued by King
David, and after the separation of the ten tribes remained subject to the
Kingdom of Judah until the reign of Jehoram, when they revolted and secured
their independence for a time. They were again subdued about half a century
later by Amaziah, and again, in the reign of Ahaz, recovered their
independence, which they maintained till the time of the invasion of Judea
by Nebuchadnezzar. They fell under the rule of the Persians, and afterwards
their fortunes were merged in those of Arabia. The chief city in this
region was Petra, which now presents remarkable ruins, as well as several
rock-cut temples.
EDRED, King of England, son of Edward the Elder, succeeded to the throne on
the murder of his brother, Edmund I, in May, 946. He quelled a rebellion of
the Northumbrian Danes, and died in 955.
[Illustration: Edriophthalmata