EPIGYNOUS (e-pij'i-nus) FLOWERS, those in which the gynaecium is
_inferior_, i.e. embedded in, and adherent to, the hollowed-out receptacle,
so that the other parts of the flower appear to be inserted on the top of
the ovary.
EP'ILEPSY (Gr. _epil[=e]psia_, literally, a seizure), a nervous disease,
the falling-sickness, so called because the patient falls suddenly to the
ground. It depends on various causes, often exceedingly complicated and
incapable of being removed; hence it is often an incurable periodical
disease, appearing in single paroxysms. In its fully developed form,
convulsions, attended by complete unconsciousness, are the prominent
feature. Among the different causes may be mentioned intense emotional
disturbance in early childhood, injury to the brain or its coverings at
birth or subsequently, or some irritation within the skull itself, such as
tumours, &c., developing later in life. Epileptiform fits due to the
last-mentioned cause differ from those of true epilepsy, and are known as
_Jacksonian epilepsy_ (cf. Sir W. K. Gowers, _The Borderland of Epilepsy_).
It is, for the most part, preceded by a tingling sensation, creeping up
from the foot or hand to the breast and head, or some other premonitory
symptom such as spectral illusions, headache, giddiness, confusion of
thought, sense of fear, &c.; but sometimes there are no precursive
symptoms. During the paroxysm all that is to be attended to is to prevent
the patient from injuring himself; and this is to be accomplished by
raising the head gently and loosening all tight parts of the dress. It is
advisable to protect the tongue from being bitten by introducing a piece of
india-rubber, cork, or soft wood between the teeth.
EPILO'BIUM, the willow-herbs, a genus of plants, nat. ord. Onagraceae. The
species are herbs or under-shrubs with pink or purple, rarely yellow,
flowers, solitary in the axils of the leaves or in terminal leafy spikes.
The seeds are tipped with a pencil of silky hairs, and are contained in a
long four-celled capsule. There are more than fifty species scattered over
the arctic and temperate regions of the world, ten of them being natives of
Britain.
EPIMEN'IDES (-d[=e]z), an ancient Greek philosopher and poet, born in Crete
in the seventh century before Christ, he was held for an infallible
prophet, and by some is reckoned among the seven wise men, instead of
Periander. He is supposed to be the prophet referred to by St. Paul in
_Titus_, i, 12: "One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The
Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies".
EPIMETHEUS (ep-i-m[=e]'th[=u]s), in Greek mythology, the son of Iapetus,
brother of Prometheus, and husband of Pandora. Epimetheus may be translated
'afterthought', as Prometheus 'forethought'.
['E]PINAL, a town of Eastern France, capital of the department of the
Vosges, on the Moselle. It is well built and has handsome quays, an ancient
Gothic church, a communal college, a public library of 30,000 volumes, a
museum, and extensive fortifications. The town was occupied by the Germans
in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and since that time a modern fortress
has been constructed. The manufactures consist of articles in metal,
cottons, linens, woollens, earthenware, and leather. The famous paper-mills
of Archettes are in the vicinity. Pop. 30,000.
['E]PINAY, Louise Florence P['e]tronille, Madame d', French authoress, born
in 1726, died 1783. She became the wife of M. Delalive d'['E]pinay, who was
collector-general of taxes. In 1748 she became acquainted with Rousseau,
and gave him a cottage in which he passed many of his days. She was the
author of _Les Conversations d'['E]milie_, a companion-volume to Rousseau's
_['E]mile; Lettres [`a] mon Fils_; and _Mes Moments heureux_. She left
interesting memoirs and correspondence.
EPIPHA'NIUS, ST., was born in Palestine about 310, died 403. About 367 he
was consecrated Bishop of Salamis or Constantia, in Cyprus. A zealous
denouncer of heresy, he combated the opinions of Arius and Origen. His work
_Panarion_ gives the history, together with the refutation, of a great
number of heresies. His festival is on the 12th of May.
EPIPH'ANY (Gr. _epiphaneia_, a manifestation or showing forth), a festival,
otherwise called the _manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles_, observed on
the 6th of January in honour of the adoration of our Saviour by the three
Magi, or wise men, who came to adore him and bring him presents, led by the
star. As a separate festival it dates from 813.
EP'IPHYTE (Gr. _epi_, on, _phyton_, a plant), a plant which grows and
flourishes on the trunks and branches of trees, adhering to the bark, as a
moss, lichen, fern, &c., but which does not, like a parasite, derive any
nourishment from the plant on which it grows. Most orchids are epiphytes,
and so are many Bromeliaceae and Cactaceae. Epiphytic Angiosperms are
characteristic of humid tropical regions. Depending as they do entirely on
atmospheric moisture, they show many curious adaptations, and are nearly
always more or less xerophytic in structure.
EPI'RUS (Gr. _Epeiros_), a country of ancient Greece corresponding to
Southern Albania and the north-western division of modern Greece. The most
interesting locality in it was Dodona. The inhabitants were only in part
Greeks. The Molossians at last acquired the ascendancy, and the kings of
this tribe took the name of kings of Epirus. The most celebrated King of
Epirus was Pyrrhus, who made war upon the Romans. Epirus became a Roman
province in 168 B.C., and shared the fortunes of Rome till it was conquered
by the Turks. The population is about 250,000. In Nov., 1914, Greece, with
the consent of the Great Powers, occupied North Epirus, and formally took
possession of it in March, 1916. By the end of 1920, however, the
occupation had not yet been recognized.--Epirus is also the name of an
administrative province of Greece, formed after the Balkan campaigns
(1912-3) out of the territory acquired by the country.
EPISTEMOL'OGY (Gr. _epist[=e]m[=e]_, knowledge), that department of
metaphysics which investigates and explains the doctrine or theory of
knowing. It deals with the validity of knowledge rather than with the
analysis of the knowing mind, and is thus distinguished from _psychology_.
It is also distinguished from _ontology_, which investigates real existence
or the theory of being.
EPIS'TOLAE OBSCURO'RUM VIRO'RUM (_Letters of Obscure Men_), the title of a
collection of satirical letters which appeared in Germany in 1515, and
professed to be the composition of certain ecclesiastics and professors in
Cologne and other places. It is considered as one of the most masterly
pieces of sarcasm in the history of literature, and its importance is
enhanced by the effect it had in promoting the cause of the Reformation.
The authorship of this satire has been a fertile subject of controversy,
and is yet apparently far from being settled. It was ascribed to Reuchlin,
and afterwards to Reuchlin, Erasmus, and Hutten. By a Papal bull the work
was placed on the Index of forbidden books.
EP'ITAPH (Gr. _epi_, upon, and _taphos_, tomb), an inscription upon a tomb
or monument in honour or memory of the dead. Epitaphs were in use both
among the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks distinguished by epitaphs only
their illustrious men. Among the Romans they became a family institution,
and private names were regularly recorded upon tombstones. The same
practice has generally prevailed in Christian countries. On Christian
tombstones epitaphs usually give brief facts of the deceased's life,
sometimes also the pious hopes of survivors in reference to the
resurrection or other doctrines of the Christian faith, &c. Many so-called
epitaphs are mere witty _jeux d'esprit_, which might be described as
epigrams, and which were never intended seriously for monumental
inscriptions. Dr. Johnson and William Wordsworth wrote essays on
epitaphs.--Cf. Andrews, _Curious Epitaphs_.
EPITHALAMIUM (Gr. _epi_, on, and _thalamos_, a chamber), a nuptial song or
poem in praise of a bride and bridegroom. Among the Greeks and Romans it
was sung by young men and maids at the door of the bridal chamber of a
newly-married couple. Epithalamia have been written by Spenser, Ben Jonson,
and Donne.
EPITHE'LIUM, in anatomy, the cellular layer which lines the internal
cavities and canals of the body, both closed and open, as the mouth, nose,
respiratory organs, blood-vessels, &c., and which is analogous to the
cuticle of the outer surface. There are several varieties of epithelium.
The epithelium lining the blood-vessels is called sometimes _endothelium_.
EPIZO'A, a term applied to those parasitic animals which live upon the
bodies of other animals, as lice, the itch-mite, &c.
EPIZO[:O]T'IC, or EPIZO[:O]TIC DISEASE, a disease that at some particular
time and place attacks great numbers of the lower animals just as an
epidemic attacks man. Pleuro-pneumonia is often an epizo[:o]tic, as is also
the rinderpest.
EPOCH, or ERA, is a fixed point of time, commonly selected on account of
some remarkable event by which it has been distinguished, and which is made
the beginning or determining point of a particular year from which all
other years, whether preceding or ensuing, are computed. The creation and
the birth of Christ are the most important of the historical epochs. The
creation has formed the foundation of various chronologies, the chief of
which are: (1) The epoch adopted by Bossuet, Ussher, and other Catholic and
Protestant divines, which places the creation in 4004 B.C. (2) The _Era of
Constantinople_ (adopted by Russia), which places it in 5508 B.C. (3) The
_Era of Antioch_, used till A.D. 284, placed the creation 5502 B.C. (4) The
_Era of Alexandria_, which made the creation 5492 B.C. This is also the
_Abyssinian Era_. (5) The _Jewish Era_, which places the creation in 3760
B.C. The Greeks computed their time by periods of four years, called
_Olympiads_, from the occurrence every fourth year of the Olympic games.
The first Olympiad, being the year in which Coroebus was victor in the
Olympic games, was in the year 776 B.C. The Romans dated from the supposed
era of the foundation of their city (Ab Urbe Condita, A.U.C.), the 21st of
April, in the third year of the sixth Olympiad, or 753 B.C. (according to
some authorities, 752 B.C.). The _Christian Era_, or mode of computing from
the birth of Christ as a starting-point, was first introduced in the sixth
century, and was generally adopted by the year 1000. This event is believed
to have taken place earlier, perhaps by four years, than the received date.
The Julian epoch, based on the coincidence of the solar, lunar, and
indictional periods, is fixed at 4713 B.C., and is the only epoch
established on an astronomical basis. The _Mohammedan Era_, or _Hej[)i]ra_,
commences on 16th July, 622, and the years are computed by lunar months.
The Chinese reckon their time by cycles of 60 years. Instead of numbering
them as we do, they give a different name to every year in the cycle.
EPPING, a village of England, in Essex (giving name to a parliamentary
division), 17 miles from London, in the midst of an ancient royal forest
which one time covered nearly the whole of Essex. The unenclosed portion
(5600 acres) was bought by the Corporation of London in 1882, and secured
to the public as a free place of recreation. Pop. 4253.
EPSOM, a town in the county of Surrey, England, 15 miles S.W. of London,
formerly celebrated for a mineral spring, from the water of which the
well-known Epsom salts were manufactured. The principal attraction Epsom
can now boast of is the grand race-meeting held on the Downs, the chief
races being the Derby and Oaks. Epsom gives name to one of the seven
parliamentary divisions of the county. Pop. 19,156.
EPSOM SALTS, sulphate of magnesium (MgSO_47H_2O), a cathartic salt which
appears in capillary fibres or acicular crystals. It is found covering
crevices of rocks, in mineral springs, &c.; but is commonly prepared by
artificial processes from magnesian limestone by treating it with sulphuric
acid, or by dissolving the mineral _kieserite_ (MgSO_4H_2O) in boiling
water, allowing the insoluble matter to settle, and crystallizing out the
Epsom salts from the clear solution. It is employed in medicine as a
purgative, and in the arts. The name is derived from its having been first
procured from the mineral waters at Epsom.
EPWORTH, a small town of N. Lincolnshire, 9 miles N. of Gainsborough, the
birth-place of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. Pop. 1836.
EQUATION, in algebra, a statement that two expressions have the same
numerical value. An equation may be either identical or conditional. An
example of an _identical equation_, or _identity_, is (x + y)(x - y) = x^2
- y^2. The left side here can be transformed into the right side, simply by
applying the laws of algebra so as to carry out the operations indicated,
without taking account in any way of the numerical values of x and y. An
identical equation is, therefore, true for all values of the variables
which appear in it. A _conditional_ equation is not true unless certain
special values are assigned to the variables. Thus the equation 4x + 7 = 15
is not true for any value of x except 2. This value 2 is called a _root_,
or _solution_, of the equation. An equation may have more than one root,
e.g. x^2 + 6x = 7 has two roots, 1 and -7; and 2x^3 + 3x^2 = 2x + 3 has
three roots, 1, -1, -3/2.
_Rational Integral Equations_ (_one Variable_).--The three equations just
given are special cases of the class of rational integral algebraic
equations. The general form of these is ax^n + bx^{n-1} + ... + kx + l = 0,
where n is a positive integer, and a, b, ... k, l are given numbers. This
equation is said to be of degree n. The branch of mathematics called the
Theory of Equations is conventionally restricted to equations of this type.
The fundamental result in this subject is that every rational integral
equation has a root, a theorem which it is by no means easy to prove. It
follows without difficulty that an equation of degree n has exactly n
roots, real or imaginary. Two or more of the roots, however, may be equal
to each other. To _solve_ an equation is to find its roots. The general
equation of degree n can always be solved to any degree of approximation
desired, when the numerical values of the coefficients a, b, ... are
assigned. Graphical methods of solution are often the best (see _Graph_).
When the coefficients a, b, ... are arbitrary, the general equation can be
solved algebraically if n does not exceed 4, but not for greater values of
n. It is not that the algebraical solution, or algebraic formula for the
roots, when n is greater than 4, has not been discovered; it does not
exist. This was proved more than a hundred years ago by Abel and Galois,
two mathematicians of the highest distinction, who both died before they
were thirty. For n = 2, the roots of the _quadratic_ equation ax^2 + bx + c
= 0 are (-b +/- [sqrt]( b^2 - 4ac))/2a. For n = 3, the _cubic_ equation
ax^3 + bx^2 + cx + d = 0 is reduced to the form z^3 + pz + q = 0 by putting
x = z - b/3a ; the solution of z^3 + pz + q = 0 can be verified to be z = u
- p/3u, where u is any one of the three cube roots of the quantity -1/2q +
[sqrt](1/4q^2 + 1/27p^3). For n = 4, the _biquadratic_ equation is solved
with the help of the solution of the cubic. The cubic was first solved by
the Italian mathematician Tartaglia, who communicated the solution to
Cardan, after binding him to keep it a secret. Cardan, however, gave the
solution in his _Algebra_, published at N[:u]rnberg in 1545.
_Equations with more than one Variable._--A solution of an equation which
contains more than one variable is a set of values of the variables making
the equation true. Thus the equation x^2 - y^2 = 9 has solutions (x = 5, y
= 4), (x = 3, y = 0), (x = 5, y = -4), and an unlimited number of others.
When several variables occur, there are usually also several _simultaneous_
equations connecting them; a solution of these is a set of values of the
variables making _all_ the equations true. When the number of equations is
equal to the number of variables, there is in general a limited number of
solutions of the system. Thus, e.g. the system of equations x^2 - y^2 = 9,
2x - y = 6 has two solutions (x = 3, y = 0) and (x = 5, y = 4), and no
others. A useful rule is that the number of solutions of a system of this
type is equal to the product of the degrees of the equations. Exceptions
may arise when two solutions coalesce, or when infinite values of the
variables occur.
Equations are of great importance in applied mathematics. The data of a
problem generally lead to an equation, or a set of equations, among the
quantities concerned. In practice a certain number of these quantities are
known in any given case; the unknown quantities are then found by the
solution of an equation or equations. Non-algebraic equations occur
frequently--equations involving trigonometrical functions, for example. For
a modern practical method of solving equations of many types, see
_Nomography_.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. E. Layng, _Elementary Algebra_; C. Smith,
_Algebra_. More advanced works are: G. Chrystal, _Algebra_; W. S. Burnside
and A. W. Panton, _Theory of Equations_.
EQUATION, PERSONAL, the accustomed error, almost a constant quantity in the
case of a practised observer, in timing a celestial phenomenon.
EQUATION OF PAYMENTS, an arithmetical rule for the purpose of ascertaining
at what time it is equitable that a person should make payment of a whole
debt which is due in different parts, payable at different times.
EQUATION OF THE CENTRE, the difference between the actual heliocentric
longitude of a planet revolving in an elliptic orbit and that which it
would have at the same instant if it revolved in a circular orbit. It is
zero at perihelion and aphelion.
EQUATION OF TIME, the difference between mean and apparent time, or the
difference of time as given by a clock and as given by a sun-dial, arising
chiefly from the varying velocity of the earth in its orbit and the
eccentricity of the orbit. The sun and the clock agree four times in the
year; the greatest difference between them at the beginning of November is
fully sixteen minutes. See _Day_.
EQUA'TOR, that great circle of our globe every point of which is 90deg from
the poles. All places which are on it have invariably equal days and
nights. Our earth is divided by it into the northern and southern
hemispheres. From this circle is reckoned the latitude of places both north
and south. There is also a corresponding celestial equator in the plane of
the terrestrial, an imaginary great circle in the heavens the plane of
which is perpendicular to the axis of the earth. It is everywhere 90deg
distant from the celestial poles, which coincide with the extremities of
the earth's axis, supposed to be produced to meet the heavens. During his
apparent yearly course the sun is twice in the celestial, that is,
vertically over the terrestrial equator, on 21st March and 23rd September.
Then the day and night are equal all over the earth, whence the name
_equinox_.--The _magnetic equator_ is a line at every point of which the
vertical component of the earth's magnetic force is zero; that is to say, a
dipping needle carried along the magnetic equator remains horizontal. It is
hence also called the _aclinic line_. It has a slightly devious course, but
upon the whole keeps fairly near the geographical equator.
EQUATO'RIAL, an astronomical instrument contrived for the purpose of
directing a telescope upon any celestial object, and of keeping the object
in view for any length of time, notwithstanding the diurnal motion of the
earth. For these purposes a principal axis resting on firm supports is
mounted exactly parallel to the axis of the earth's rotation, and
consequently pointing to the poles of the heavens, being fixed so as to
turn on pivots at its extremities. To this there is attached a telescope
moving on an axis of its own in such a way that it may either be exactly
parallel to the other axis, or at any angle to it; when at right angles it
points to the celestial equator. The two axes carry graduated circles, with
the help of which, even during the day, the telescope can be pointed to any
star whose declination and right ascension are known. By means of clockwork
the instrument is given such a motion round its principal axis that the
star is kept stationary in the field of view.
EQ'UERRY, in Britain, the name of certain officers of the royal household,
in the department of the Master of the Horse, whose duties consist in
attendance when the sovereign rides abroad. Equerries also form part of the
establishments of the members of the royal family.
EQUESTRIAN ORDER, the order of 'Knights' in ancient Rome. The _equites_ or
knights originally formed the cavalry of the army. They are said by Livy to
have been instituted by Romulus, who selected 300 of them from the three
principal tribes. About the time of the Gracchi (123 B.C.) the equites
became a distinct order in the state, and the judges and the farmers of the
revenue were selected from their ranks. They held their position in virtue
of a certain property qualification, and towards the end of the Republic
they possessed much influence in the state. They had particular seats
assigned to them in the circus and theatre, and the insignia of their rank,
in addition to a horse, were a gold ring and a robe with a narrow purple
border (the _clavus angustus_). Under the later emperors the order grew
less influential, and finally disappeared.
EQ'UIDAE, the horse family, a division of the odd-toed (perissodactyle)
Ungulates or hoofed mammals. There is but one existing genus, Equus,
distinguished by the possession of a mane; hard pads (callosities) on the
inner side of each fore-limb (and sometimes of the hind-limb); a single
functional digit (the third or middle one) terminating in a large curved
hoof; a simple stomach; 44 teeth, including 12 incisors with pitted crowns,
4 canines (tushes) reduced in the female, and 28 grinding teeth with broad
crowns, except the first (wolf tooth), which is rudimentary. The forms
included are horses, asses, and zebras; the first being distinguished from
the others by the presence of callosities ('chestnuts') on the hind-limbs
as well as the fore. The domesticated horse (_E. caballus_) has a large
flat tail abundantly hair-clad, and is not known with certainty in the wild
state, though possibly the tarpan of South Russia (Tartary) may represent
the original stock. Another candidate for this honour is the small wild
species (_E. przewalskii_) native to the deserts of Central Asia. The
domestic ass (_E. asinus_) is related to a number of wild species, such as
the onager (_E. onager_) of South Asia, the kiang (_E. hemionus_) of Tibet,
and two African species (_E. africanus_ and _E. somalicus_). The striped
zebras are purely African, and four species are generally recognized--the
common or mountain zebra (_E. zebra_), Burchell's zebra (_E. burchelli_),
Grevy's zebra (_E. grevyi_), and the quagga (_E. quagga_). The geological
record enables us to derive horses from a small plantigrade five-toed form
(Phenacodus), by gradual increase in size, complication of teeth, loss of
digits, and elongation of limbs, to the unguligrade condition.
EQUILIB'RIUM, in statics, the condition when a body is acted on by two or
more forces which balance one another. The body may be either at rest or
moving with uniform speed in a straight line. In the first case, when the
body, being slightly moved out of any position, always tends to return to
its position, that position is said to be one of _stable equilibrium_; when
the body, after a slight displacement, tends to move away from its previous
position, the body is in _unstable equilibrium_. If, after displacement,
the body tends to remain at rest, its state is one of _neutral
equilibrium_.
EQUINOC'TIAL, in astronomy, the circle in the heavens otherwise known as
the celestial equator. When the sun is on the equator, there is equal
length of day and night over all the earth: hence the name
_equinoctial_.--_Equinoctial gales_, storms which have been supposed to
take place about the time of the sun's crossing the equator, that is, at
the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, in March and September.--_Equinoctial
points_ are the two points wherein the celestial equator and ecliptic
intersect each other; the one, the first point of Aries, is called the
_vernal_ point; and the other, in Libra, the _autumnal_ point. These points
move backward or westward at the rate of 50" of arc in a year. This is
called the precession of the equinoxes.
EQ'UINOX, one of the equinoctial points. The term is also applied to the
dates at which the sun passes through them, viz. 21st March and 23rd
September, when day and night are of equal length all over the world. See
_Day_; _Earth_; _Equinoctial_; _Seasons_.
EQUISETALES, a group of Pteridophytes, represented at the present day only
by the genus Equisetum (q.v.). It was much more prominent in the
Carboniferous flora, in which large woody horse-tails (Calamites) played an
important part.
EQUISE'TUM, a genus of vascular cryptogamous plants with hollow jointed
stems, type of the group Equisetales, growing in wet places, and popularly
called _horse-tails_.
EQ'UITY (Lat. _aequus_, fair, equal), in English law, the system of
supplemental law administered in certain courts, founded upon defined
rules, recorded precedents, and established principles, the judges,
however, liberally expounding and developing them to meet new exigencies.
While it aims at assisting the defects of the common law, by extending
relief to those rights of property which the strict law does not recognize,
and by giving more ample and distributive redress than the ordinary
tribunals afford, equity by no means either controls, mitigates, or
supersedes the common law, but rather guides itself by its analogies, and
does not assume any power to subvert its doctrines. The Court of Chancery
was formerly in England the especial court of equity, but large powers were
by the Judicature Act of 1873 given to all the divisions of the Supreme
Court to administer equity, although many matters of equitable jurisdiction
are still left to the chancery division in the first
instance.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: F. T. White and O. O. Tudor, _Leading Cases in
Equity_; C. Thwaites, _Student's Guide to Equity_.
EQUITY OF REDEMPTION, in law, the advantage allowed to a mortgager of a
reasonable time to redeem an estate mortgaged, when it is of greater value
than the sum for which it is mortgaged.
EQUIV'ALENT, in chemistry, the number of parts by weight of an element
which will combine with or displace 8 parts by weight of oxygen or 1.008
parts by weight of hydrogen.
ERANTHIS. See _Winter Aconite_.
['E]RARD, S['e]bastien, a celebrated musical-instrument maker, born at
Strasbourg in 1752, died 1831. He went to Paris at the age of eighteen, and
in concert with his brother, Jean Baptiste, produced pianofortes superior
to any that had previously been made in France. He afterwards established a
manufactory in London, and made considerable improvements in the mechanism
of the harp.
ERASIS'TRATUS, an ancient Greek physician and anatomist, said to have been
a grandson of Aristotle. He lived in the third century before the Christian
era, and was court physician of Seleucus Nicator, King of Syria. He was the
first who systematically dissected the human body, and his description of
the brain and nerves is much more exact than any given by his predecessors.
He classified the nerves into nerves of sensation and of locomotion, and,
it is said, almost stumbled upon the discovery of the circulation of the
blood. Of his works only the titles and some fragments remain.
ERAS'MUS, Desiderius, a Dutch scholar, one of the greatest of the
Renaissance and Reformation period, born at Rotterdam in 1467, died in
1536. His original name was Gerard, but this he changed according to a
fashion of the time. After the death of his parents, whom he lost in his
fourteenth year, his guardians compelled him to enter a monastery; and at
the age of seventeen he assumed the monastic habit. The Bishop of Cambrai
delivered him from this constraint. In 1492 he travelled to Paris to
perfect himself in theology and literature. He became the instructor of
several rich Englishmen (from one of whom--Lord Mountjoy--he received a
pension for life), and accompanied them to England in 1497, where he was
graciously received by the king. Returning soon after to the Continent, he
took his doctor's degree, was relieved from his monastic vows by
dispensation from the Pope, and published several of his works. In 1510 he
returned to England, wrote his _Praise of Folly_ while residing with Sir
Thomas More, and was appointed Lady Margaret professor of divinity and
Greek lecturer at Cambridge. In 1514 he returned to the Continent and lived
chiefly at Basel, where he died. To extensive learning Erasmus joined a
refined taste and a delicate wit, and rendered great and lasting service to
the cause of reviving scholarship. Although Erasmus took no direct part in
the Reformation, and was reproached by Luther for lukewarmness, he attacked
the disorders of monasticism and superstition, and everywhere promoted the
cause of truth. A humanist rather than a reformer or a theologian, he waged
war upon ignorance and superstition. He edited various classics, the first
edition of the Greek Testament from MSS. (with Latin translation), &c., but
his best-known books are the _Encomium Moriae_ (Praise of Folly) and his
_Colloquies_. His letters are very valuable in reference to the history of
that period.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: S. Knight, _Life of Erasmus_; C. Butler, _Life
of Erasmus_; E. F. H. Capey, _Life of Erasmus_; P. S. Allen, _The Age of
Erasmus_.
ERAS'TUS (Gr. _erastos_, lovely, translation of Ger. _Lieber_), the learned
name of Thomas Lieber, a Swiss physician, who maintained the opinions from
which the well-known epithet of _Erastian_, as now used, is derived. He was
born at Baden in 1523, and died at Basel 1584. He was successively
professor of medicine at Heidelberg, and of ethics at Basel. In his
writings he maintained the complete subordination of the ecclesiastical to
the secular power; and denied to the Church the right to exclude any one
from Church ordinances, or to inflict excommunication.
ER'ATO, in Greek mythology, one of the nine Muses, whose name signifies
loving or lovely. She presided over lyric and especially amatory poetry,
and is generally represented crowned with roses and myrtle, and with the
lyre in the left hand and the plectrum in the right in the act of playing.
ERATOS'THENES, an ancient Greek astronomer, born at Cyrene, in Africa, 276
B.C., died about 194 B.C. He was librarian at Alexandria, and gained his
greatest renown by his investigations of the size of the earth. He rendered
much service to the science of astronomy, and first observed the obliquity
of the ecliptic. Of the writings attributed to him one only remains
complete--_Katasterismoi_--which treats of the constellations.
ER'BIUM, a rare metal found along with yttrium, terbium, and other rare
elements in some rare minerals. Its properties are but little known. It was
discovered by Mosander in 1843.
ERCILLA Y ZUNIGA (er-thil'y[.a] [=e] th[:o]-ny[=e]'g[.a]), Don Alonso de,
Spanish soldier and poet, born 1533, died 1595. He became page to the
Infant Don Philip, accompanied him on his travels, and in 1554 went with
him to England, on the occasion of his marriage with Queen Mary. After this
he fought against the Araucanians of South America (Chile), and his epic
_La Araucana_ is based on the events of this war. It is written in
excellent Spanish, and occupies an honourable position in the national
literature. The first fifteen cantos were published in 1569, and the
continuations, thirty-seven cantos, appeared in 1578 and 1589.
ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN (sh[.a]t-ri-[:a][n.]), the joint name of two
French-Alsatian writers of fiction. ['E]mile Erckmann, born at Pfalzburg
1822, studied law at Paris, and died in 1899. Alexandre Chatrian, born near
Pfalzburg in 1826, died in 1890, was for some time teacher in the Pfalzburg
College. They formed a literary partnership in 1847, but it was not till
the appearance of _L'Illustre Docteur Math['e]us_ in 1859 that success
attended them. Among their most popular books are: _L'Ami Fritz_, _Madame
Th['e]r[`e]se_, _Histoire d'un Conscrit de 1813_, _L'Histoire d'un Paysan_,
and _Waterloo_, most of which have been translated into English. Their
drama _Le Juif Polonais_ was made famous by Sir Henry Irving under the name
of _The Bells_.
ERDMANN, Johann Eduard, German philosopher, born 1805, died 1892. He
studied theology at Dorpat and Berlin; in 1829 became a clergyman, but in
1832 returned to Berlin and took his degree in philosophy. In 1836 he
became professor extraordinary of philosophy at Halle, being appointed
ordinary professor in 1839. He wrote numerous philosophical works, mostly
characterized by Hegelian tendencies, including: _Body and Soul_, _Nature
and Creation_, _Outlines of Psychology_, _Outlines of Logic and
Metaphysics_, _Psychological Letters_, and _Belief and Knowledge_. His
greatest work is his _Outlines of the History of Philosophy_, which has
been translated into English (3 vols., 1889).
ER'EBUS, in Greek mythology, the son of Chaos and Darkness, and father of
Aether and Hemera (day). The name Erebus was also given to the infernal
regions.
ER'EBUS, MOUNT, a volcano of the antarctic regions in S. Victoria Land;
height, 12,400 feet; discovered by Ross, 1841.
ERECHTHEUS (e-rek'th[=u]s), in Greek mythology, a mythical king of Athens
to whom a fine temple, the _Erechth[=e]um_, was built on the Acropolis. In
some representations of him he is depicted as half snake, so that he was
one of the autochthones, the earth-born ancestors of the Athenians.
ERECTION, LORDS OF, in Scots history, those private owners into whose hands
the ecclesiastical estates belonging to the clergy had passed during the
religious changes of the Reformation period.
ER'FURT (Lat. _Erfordia_, ford of Erpe, its legendary founder), an
important town in the Prussian province of Saxony, on the River Gera,
formerly a fortress with two citadels, now given up as such. It has a fine
cathedral dating from the thirteenth century and several handsome Gothic
churches. The university, founded in 1378 and suppressed in 1816, was long
an important institution. There is still an academy of science and a
library with 60,000 volumes. The monastery (now an orphanage) was the
residence of Luther from 1501 to 1508. Erfurt is a busy industrial town and
is in a very flourishing condition. The industries are varied, including
clothing, machinery, leather, shoes, ironmongery, and chemicals.
Flower-growing is extensively carried on in the neighbourhood, plants and
seed being produced for sale in great quantities. Pop. 123,550.
[Illustration: Ergot of Rye