1. _The term 'Fathers'._--This term, as used in the sense of spiritual
parents of the Christian faith and life, appears to have become current in
the fourth century. It was so used by Christian teachers, who cited as
authoritative the great teachers and guides who were their predecessors. By
the 'Fathers' they meant, specifically, the earlier writers who carried on
the work of instruction which was begun by Peter and John and the rest of
the Apostles. As employed nowadays, the term has a great fluidity of
meaning. In the widest sense it signifies all ecclesiastical writers (i.e.
all writers within the Christian Church who treat of matters of Christian
belief and practice) belonging to the older post-Apostolic period. In the
narrower and more frequent sense it signifies only those ecclesiastical
writers of the older post-Apostolic period who conform, more or less, to
the Catholic tradition. As St. Vincent of Lerins lays it down, "Those alone
should be named 'Fathers' who have been staunch in the communion and faith
of the One Catholic Church, and have received ecclesiastical approbation as
teachers".
2. _Fathers and Doctors._--To such among the Fathers as were regarded as
the most eminent the distinguishing title of 'Teachers' (_doctores_) was
given. Thus in the Western Church Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory I
were the four great Teachers or Doctors; while in the Eastern Church a
similar position was assigned to Athanasius, Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus,
and Chrysostom. But others also have been acknowledged as Doctors, as
Hilary of Poitiers, Cyril of Alexandria, John of Damascus, and our one
English Father (born out of due season) the Venerable Bede--not to speak of
the application of the term to some of the mediaeval Schoolmen.
3. _The Patristic Period._--While it is universally agreed that the
Apostolic Age is succeeded by the Age of the Fathers, there is a difference
of view as to when the Age of the Fathers terminates. Gregory I (the Great)
is usually regarded as the last of the Latin or Western Fathers and the
first of the Schoolmen, and John of Damascus as the last of the Greek or
Eastern Fathers. But where the term 'Fathers' is broadly used to designate
the older Church writers in general, the tendency is--and it is logically
defensible--to extend the Patristic period far beyond the Age of the Great
Fathers (325-451), and to include among the later Fathers many mediaeval
writers. Thus the Abbe Migne, who in the middle of last century issued a
monumental edition of the original Greek and Latin texts of the Fathers,
carried the Latin Fathers as far as Innocent III in the beginning of the
thirteenth century, and the Greek Fathers down to the Council of Florence
and the fall of Constantinople in the middle of the fifteenth century.
4. _Division and Classification._--The broadest division of the Fathers is
according to locality, and is into Eastern and Western. To this the
division according to language, into Greek and Latin, largely corresponds.
But it is to be remembered that in the early Patristic Age, or before
Tertullian, Latin was not used by ecclesiastical writers. It is also to be
remembered that among the Eastern Fathers there were writers in Syriac,
Armenian, and Coptic, as well as Greek. Another broad and general division
is into ante-Nicene, Nicene, and post-Nicene; which is according to the
principle that the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) marks the transition from a
simple and unsystematized to a unified doctrinal testimony. But it is usual
in Church history, while observing the aforesaid general divisions, to
arrange the Fathers in certain historical groups, representing for the most
part distinct schools of thought. There are, however, great names that
cannot be conveniently treated under any historical group, such names as
Irenaeus, Athanasius, Jerome, Leo the Great, and Gregory the Great. Keeping
this in view, we might classify the Fathers in accordance with the
following scheme: (1) the _Apostolic Fathers_ (the best known of whom are
Clement of Rome, Ignatius, and Polycarp), who received their title not only
as being younger contemporaries and perhaps personal disciples of Apostles,
but also for their nearness and faithfulness to the Apostolic tradition;
(2) the _Greek Apologists_ (the most notable of whom is Justin Martyr), who
sought to defend Christian truth on rational and philosophical grounds
against both Jew and pagan; (3) the _Alexandrians_ (outstanding among whom
are Clement and Origen), who greatly furthered the development of Christian
theology in general, but whose names are specially associated with the
allegorical and mystical type of Scriptural interpretation; (4) the _North
African School_ (to which Tertullian and Cyprian belong), who shaped
Christian Latinity, as well as the theology and ecclesiastical polity of
the West; (5) the _Cappadocians_ (in which group the most prominent members
are Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa), who caught up the
theology of Athanasius, providing it with well-defined terms, and so laying
broad the foundations of the Greek orthodoxy; (6) the _Antiochians_ (among
whom Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and Theodoret are the greatest),
who were opposed to the Alexandrian mysticism and held by the literal and
historical mode of Scriptural interpretation; (7) the _Western Nicene
Group_ (counting in their number eminent teachers like Hilary of Poitiers
and Ambrose), who followed the Alexandrians in their exegetical method, and
in their dogmatic theology Athanasius and the Cappadocians; (8) the _School
of Augustine_, in which the Western theological tradition set by Tertullian
and Cyprian culminated; (9) the _School of Lerins_ (leading members of
which are Hilary of Arles and Vincentius), which attempted to mitigate the
extreme Augustinian doctrines of sin and grace.
5. _Value of Patristic Study._--Among the Fathers are many great thinkers
and writers (not to say orators, organizers, and statesmen) who should be
studied for their own sake, and for the influence they have wielded. We
would only indicate here some of the various uses of patristic study. (1)
The _student of the Bible_ turns to the Fathers, and especially the earlier
of them, for light upon the problem of the true or original text of the
Bible--although very few of the Fathers knew the Hebrew tongue, and only
Origen and Jerome can throw direct light upon the Old Testament text. To
the Fathers also, especially great exegetes like Origen, Chrysostom,
Jerome, and Augustine, the Biblical student turns for light upon the
meaning of the sacred text, and for knowledge of the history of its
interpretation. (2) The _student of Church history_ finds first-hand
material in the Fathers for the older post-Apostolic period. This material
is supplied in the tractates and letters of the Fathers generally. But
patristic writers from Eusebius downwards furnish us also with formal
histories of the Church of both a general and special character. Patristic
histories, as indeed all histories, are to be used with critical caution.
And not only do the Fathers inform us as to the course of events; we are
dependent upon them for our knowledge of the development of creed and
liturgy, ritual and order, and other Christian institutions. (3) The
_student of ecclesiastical dogma and Christian theology in general_ cannot
dispense with the study of the Fathers. The patristic was the formative
and, in a sense, conclusive period of Christian theology. In the ancient
Greek theology the idea of God was developed, and in the so-called Nicene
Creed and the Chalcedonian Definition the doctrines of the Trinity and the
Person of Christ respectively received their final Greek dogmatic
expression. Landmarks in the history of this dogmatic development are the
names of Origen, Athanasius, Basil and the Gregories, Theodore of
Mopsuestia, and Leo the Great. In the ancient Latin theology, in accordance
with the more practical genius of the Westerns, the doctrine of man was
developed, and of sin and grace. With this anthropological or
soteriological, as distinguished from the other more strictly theological
movement, the names of Tertullian, Cyprian, and Augustine are principally
associated. It was left to the mediaeval theologians to work out the
doctrine of the Work of Christ.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: F. W. Farrar, _Lives of the
Fathers_; E. Leigh-Bennett, _Handbook of the Early Christian Fathers_;
S.P.C.K., _The Fathers for English Readers_ (a series of biographies); also
_Early Church Classics_ (a series of translations); H. B. Swete, _Patristic
Study_ (1902: an excellent introduction to the field of patristic learning,
with useful bibliographies); W. Bright, _The Age of the Fathers_.
FAT'IMITE DYNASTY, a line of caliphs claiming descent from Fatima, the
favourite daughter of Mohammed, and of Ali her cousin, to whom she was
married. In the year 909 Abu-Mohammed Obeidalla, giving himself out as the
grandson of Fatima, endeavoured to pass himself off as the Mahdi or Messiah
predicted by the _Koran_. Denounced as an impostor by the reigning Caliph
of Bagdad, he fled into Egypt, became Caliph of Tunis, and soon conquered
all Northern Africa from the Straits of Gibraltar to the borders of Egypt.
His son wrested Egypt from the Abbasides in 970 and founded Cairo. The
Fatimite dynasty was extinguished in 1171, on the death of Al Adid, the
fourteenth caliph, and a new line began with Saladin.
FATTY ACIDS, the homologues of formic and acetic acid; so called because
the members first studied were obtained from fats and oils, e.g. butyric
acid from butter, stearic acid from stearin, palmitic acid from palm-oil.
These acids are present united with glycerol in the fats as glycerides, and
are obtained from them by saponification with superheated steam or mineral
acids, when the fatty acid is liberated, floats to the surface, and
glycerol remains in solution. They are all monobasic acids; the lower
members are colourless liquids, and the higher members from C_7H_{15}COOH
upwards are colourless solids. The general formula for the series is
C_nH_{2n + 1}COOH (where n = the number of carbon atoms in the alkyl
group).
FATTY DEGENERATION, an abnormal condition found in the tissues of the
animal body, in which the healthy protoplasm is replaced by fatty granules.
It is a sign of defective nutrition, and is common in old age, affecting
the muscles, the heart, arteries, kidneys, &c. It is accompanied by great
muscular flabbiness and want of energy, the sufferer looking at the same
time fat and comparatively well.
FATTY TISSUE, in anatomy, the adipose tissue, a tissue composed of minute
cells or vesicles, having no communication with each other, but lying side
by side in the meshes of the cellular tissue, which serves to hold them
together, and through which also the blood-vessels find their way to them.
In the cells of this tissue the animal matter called fat is deposited.
FAUBOURG (f[=o]-boer; Lat. _foris_, outside, beyond, and _burgus_,
borough), a suburb of French cities; the name is also given to districts
now within the city, but which were formerly suburbs without it. Thus the
_Faubourg St. Germain_ is a fashionable quarter of Paris in which the
ancient nobility still resides.
FAU'CES (Lat., 'jaws'), in anatomy, the throat, the slightly constricted
communication between the posterior part of the mouth cavity and the
pharynx. The tonsils are lodged in the fauces at the sides of the root of
the tongue.
FAUCIGNY (f[=o]-s[=e]-ny[=e]), a district of France, department of Haute
Savoie, one of the loftiest districts of Europe, being partly traversed by
the Pennine Alps.
FAU'CIT, Helena, Lady Martin, was born in 1816, died in 1898. She was the
daughter of Mrs. Faucit the actress, and made her debut at the Theatre
Royal, Richmond, in 1833, as Juliet in _Romeo and Juliet_. She first
appeared in London at Covent Garden as Julia in _The Hunchback_, in which
she gained a decided success. One of the most important members of
Macready's company during the Shakespearean revivals of 1837, she created
the heroine's part in Lord Lytton's _Lady of Lyons_, _Money_, and
_Richelieu_, and in Browning's _Strafford_, _Blot on the Scutcheon_, and
_Colombe's Birthday_. She was married to Sir Theodore (then Mr.) Martin in
1851, after which she but rarely appeared on the stage except for
charitable purposes. In 1879 she appeared as Beatrice at the opening of the
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-on-Avon. Lady Martin wrote a
volume _On Some of Shakespeare's Female Characters_.
[Illustration: Fault in Geology]
FAULT, in geology, a fracture of strata, accompanied by a sliding down or
an upheaval of the deposits on the one side of the fracture to a greater
distance than the other. Faults are frequently recognizable in coal-beds,
the miner coming unexpectedly upon an abrupt wall cutting off the seam. The
angle this makes with the plane of the bed he is working usually indicates
whether he must look up or down for its continuation on the other side of
the fracture; but _reversed faults_ occur, in which the strata on one side
have been pushed up the slope of the plane of fracture. In mines these
faults often serve for natural drains. The cut shows at _a a_ the change of
position in strata caused by a fault. This is called the _throw_, and is
measured vertically.
FAUN, one of a kind of rural deities or demi-gods believed in among the
Romans, inhabiting the forests and groves, and differing little from
satyrs. Their form was principally human, but with a short goat's tail,
pointed ears, and projecting horns; sometimes also with cloven feet. There
are some famous antique statues of fauns, _The Dancing Faun_ at the Uffizi
in Florence (restored by Michel Angelo); _The Dancing Faun_ at Naples; _The
Faun_ (_of Praxiteles?_) at the Capitoline Museum, Rome; and _The Sleeping
Faun_.
FAUNA (from _faun_, q.v.), a collective word signifying all the animals of
a certain region, and also the description of them, corresponding to the
word _flora_ in respect to plants.
FAUST, or FAUSTUS, Doctor John, a celebrated dealer in the black art, who
lived in Germany, early in the sixteenth century. There is really a
substratum of fact beneath the Faust legend; there actually was a charlatan
of this name who lived in the sixteenth century. He seems to have been a
pretentious and vicious egomaniac. A vast amount of legend, however, has
gathered round his name in Germany. According to some accounts he was born
in Suabia, others make him a native of Anhalt, others of Brandenburg. In
his sixteenth year he went to Ingolstadt and studied theology, became in
three years a _magister_, but abandoned theology, and began the study of
medicine, astrology, and magic, in which he likewise instructed his
familiar Johann Wagner, the son of a clergyman at Wasserburg. After Dr.
Faust had spent a rich inheritance, he, according to tradition, made use of
his power to conjure up spirits, and entered into a contract with the devil
for twenty-four years. A spirit called _Mephistopheles_ was given him as a
servant, with whom he travelled about, enjoying life in all its forms, but
the evil spirit finally carried him off. Even yet Dr. Faustus and his
familiar Wagner play a conspicuous part in the puppet-shows of Germany, and
the legend forms the basis of Goethe's well-known drama _Faust_, and
furnishes the libretto for Gounod's famous opera of the same name. As early
as 1590 Christopher Marlowe made the legend the subject of his masterpiece
_Doctor Faustus_, the last scene of which is one of the most dramatic in
all literature.--Cf. H. B. Cotterill, _The Faust-legend and Goethe's
Faust_.
FAUSTI'NA, the name of two Roman ladies: (1) Annia Galeria Faustina (died
A.D. 141), the wife of the Emperor Antoninus Pius; and (2) her daughter,
who was married to the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (died A.D. 175). Both were
accused of dissolute conduct.
FAVART (f[.a]-vaer), Charles Simon, creator of the serio-comic opera in
France, born 1710, died in 1792, the son of a pastry-cook. His poetical
reputation rests principally on his numerous productions for the _opera aux
Italiens_, and the comic opera. He also wrote _Memoires et correspondance
litteraires_ (1808). He was the director of a company of itinerant actors
which followed Marshal Saxe into Flanders. His wife, Madame Favart, was a
famous singer, comic actress, and dancer, and helped in the composition of
her husband's plays.
FA'VERSHAM, a seaport of England, county Kent, on a branch of the Swale,
giving name to a parliamentary division of the county. It is a very ancient
place, and has manufactures of brick, cement, and gunpowder. Faversham
Creek is navigable up to the town for vessels of 200 tons. Pop. 10,870.
FAVRE (faevr), Jules, a French politician, born 21st March, 1809, at Lyons,
died in 1880. He studied law, and after distinguishing himself at the Lyons
Bar came to Paris in 1835, where he became famous as a defender of
political prisoners. On the outbreak of the revolution of 1848 he became
secretary to Ledru-Rollin. He was a leader of the party of opposition to
the President Louis Napoleon; and after the _coup d'etat_ (1851) he retired
from political life for six years, till in 1858 his defence of Orsini for
the attempt on the life of the emperor again brought him forward. From this
time he again became an active leader of the Republican opposition to the
emperor. On the fall of the empire he became Vice-President of the
Government of National Defence and Minister of Foreign Affairs. As such he
conducted the negotiations for peace with Prince Bismarck, and signed the
Treaty of Paris at Frankfurt on 10th May, 1871. But though he showed great
energy, and was very eloquent, his operations both in the matter of the
armistice and the peace showed a lack of skill and judgment. He resigned
his office in July, 1871.
FAVUS is a disease due to a fungus, and affects the hair, hair-follicles,
and skin, usually of the scalp. It produces rounded cup-shaped crusts, and
may lead to very extensive destruction of the hair. Cats and mice are
affected by the disease, and are frequently responsible for spreading it.
The X-rays are the most effective treatment.
FAW'CETT, Henry, an English politician and economist, born at Salisbury in
1833, died 6th Nov., 1884. He was educated at Cambridge, studied law for a
while at the Middle Temple, but soon renounced it. In 1858, when out
partridge shooting, he met with an accident which inflicted on him total
blindness. Undiscouraged, however, by his deprivation, he gave his
attention to economic studies. In 1863 he was elected to the chair of
political economy at Cambridge. In 1865 he was elected member of Parliament
for Brighton, which he represented till the general election of 1874, when
he was elected for Hackney. He became Postmaster-General in the second
Gladstone administration, and effected many reforms in his department. In
1883 he was made Lord Rector of Glasgow University. Amongst his principal
writings are: _A Manual of Political Economy_, _Lectures on the Economic
Position of the British Labourer_, and articles on Indian finances.
FAWCETT, Millicent Garrett, wife of the preceding, born 1847, shared her
husband's studies, and published: _Political Economy for Beginners_, _Some
Eminent Women of Our Time_, _Life of Queen Victoria_, and _Five Famous
French Women_. She is also known as a prominent advocate of all measures
for the educational and political advancement of women, and wrote _Women's
Suffrage_ (1912).
FAYAL (f[=i]-[.a]l'), an island belonging to Portugal, one of the Azores.
It is of a circular form, about 10 miles in diameter. The climate is good,
and the air always mild and pure. The soil is very fertile, producing in
abundance wheat, maize, flax, and almost all the fruits of Europe. It
exports a great quantity of oranges and lemons. The chief place is Villa
Horta or Orta. Pop. 22,385.
FAYOUM (f[.a]-yoem'), a province of Middle Egypt, a little to the west of
the Nile, surrounded by the Libyan Desert; area about 670 sq. miles. The
soil is alluvial, and, in the north, particularly fertile. Fayoum is
irrigated by canals coming from the Canal of Joseph, and that from the
Nile, and is one of the most fertile provinces of Egypt. Here lay the
ancient Labyrinth and the artificial Lake Moeris. On the west lies Lake
Birket-el-Kurun. The chief town, Medinet-el-Fayoum, is connected with Cairo
by a railway. Pop. of province, 441,583.
FEAST OF THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE, a Jewish feast instituted by Judas
Maccabaeus in 164 B.C. It lasted eight days, and was a time of general
rejoicing, when the people--old and young--carrying palm branches, met
together in their synagogues to hold services of thanksgiving and
commemoration. Every house was illuminated, and even the temple at
Jerusalem was lighted up. In certain of its observances it resembles the
Feast of the Tabernacles. Some authorities think that Christmas was
celebrated in December by the ancient Church because that was the date of
the Feast of Dedication. It is mentioned in _John_, x, 22.
FEATHER-GRASS, the popular name of _Stipa pennata_, a native of dry places
in the south of Europe. The rigid leaves roll up in dry air like those of
marram-grass; the awns are exceedingly long, feathered to the point, and
hygroscopic, curling up spirally when dry, and uncurling when moistened;
these movements of the awn serve to bury the fruit. _S. tenacissima_ is the
esparto-grass used in paper-making.
[Illustration: Types of Feathers from a Gull]
[Illustration: Feather from the Back of an Argus Pheasant]
FEATHERS, the form which the dermal appendages assume in birds, agreeing in
mode of development, but differing in form from hairs and scales. The
feather consists of a stem, horny, round, strong, and hollow in the lower
part, called the _quill_, and in the upper part, called the _shaft_, filled
with pith. On each side of the shaft is a web composed of a series of
regularly arranged fibres called _barbs_. The barbs and shaft constitute
the _vane_. On the edges of the barbs are set the _barbules_, which
interlock with those of adjacent barbs, and thus give strength to the vane.
Feathers are of four chief kinds. (1) _Quill feathers_ of the wing
(_remiges_) and tail (_rectrices_); the former are attached to the hand and
forearm. (2) _Contour feathers_, which determine the external form and are
attached to certain areas of the skin; those overlapping the quills are
known as _wing-coverts_ and _tail-coverts_. (3) Small soft _down feathers_.
(4) _Hair-like feathers_ (_filoplumes_). The plumage of birds is of
characteristic colours, due either to pigments or physical structure
(metallic feathers), and commonly having a protective function by
harmonizing with the surroundings (especially in females), or, when of
bright kind, playing a part in courtship (especially in males). The
feathers of birds are periodically changed, generally once, but in some
species twice a year. This is called _moulting_. When feathers have reached
their full growth they become dry, and only the tube, or the vascular
substance which it contains, continues to absorb moisture or fat. When,
therefore, part of a feather is cut off, it does not grow out again; and a
bird whose wings have been clipped remains in that condition till the next
moulting season, when the old stumps are shed and new feathers grow out.
If, however, the stumps are pulled out sooner (by which operation the bird
suffers nothing), the feathers will be renewed in a few weeks or even days.
The feather is a very strong formation, not readily damaged, the arch of
the shaft resisting pressure, while the web and fine fibres yield without
suffering. Being a bad conductor of heat, it preserves the high temperature
of the bird, while it is so light as to be easily carried in flight. It is
rendered almost impervious to wet by the oily fluid which most birds
secrete at the base of the tail. Feathers form a considerable article of
commerce, particularly those of the ostrich, heron, swan, peacock, and
goose, for plumes, ornaments, filling of beds, pens, and other purposes.
[Illustration: Feather-star holding on by its grasping threads and its
larvae attached by stalks]
FEATHER-STAR, one of the stalkless echinoderms belonging to the Crinoidea.
A well-known type is the rosy feather-star (_Antedon rosacea_), not
uncommon in British seas, and consisting of a central body or disc, from
which proceed five radiating arms, each dividing into two secondary
branches, so that ultimately there are ten slender rays. Each arm is
furnished on both sides with lateral processes so as to assume a
feather-like appearance. It is fixed when young by a short stalk, but
exists in a free condition in its adult state.
FEATHERSTONE, an urban district or town in the W. Riding of Yorks, England,
2 miles west by south of Pontefract; inhabitants work chiefly in the
collieries. Pop. 14,839.
FEB'RIFUGE is an agent used to lessen fever. Antipyrine, quinine, and
salicylic acid, are well-known examples of drugs used as febrifuges, while
cold baths and cold sponging are the most effective of other methods.
FEBRO'NIANISM, in Roman Catholic theology, a system of doctrines
antagonistic to the admitted claims of the Pope, and asserting the
independence of national Churches, and the rights of bishops to
unrestricted action in matters of discipline and Church government within
their own dioceses. The term is derived from Justinus _Febronius_, _a nom
de plume_ assumed by John Nicholas von Hontheim, Archbishop of Treves, in a
work entitled _De Statu Ecclesiae et legitima Potestate Romani Pontificis_
(On the State of the Church and the Legitimate Power of the Roman Pontiff),
published in 1763.
FEB'RUARY (from the Roman _Februa_, a festival of expiation or
purification), the second month in the year, having twenty-eight days,
except in leap-year, when it has twenty-nine. This latter number of days it
had originally among the Romans, until the Senate decreed that the seventh
month should bear the name of Augustus, when a day was taken from February
and added to August to make it equal to July in number of days.
FECAMP (f[=a]-kae[.n]; Lat. _Fiscanum_, derived from _Ficus Campus_, Fig
Plain), a seaport of France, department of Seine-Inferieure, 23 miles
north-east of Havre. It is one of the best ports in the Channel, and has
many vessels employed in the cod, herring, and mackerel fisheries. Pop.
17,383.
FECHTER (fesh-t[=a]r), Charles Albert, French actor and dramatist, born in
1824, died in America in 1879. His first appearance on the stage was at the
Salle Moliere, after which he made a short tour of Italy with a travelling
French company. Returning to Paris, he appeared between 1844 and 1856 at
different Parisian theatres, and in 1857 he was joint-director of the
Odeon. In 1860 he came to London, and at once achieved great success as Ruy
Blas and Hamlet at the Princess's Theatre, characters in which he departed
widely from stage traditions. He subsequently leased the Lyceum, and
afterwards the Adelphi, acting youthful and melodramatic parts with
striking power. From 1870 to 1878 he lived in the United States, but his
experiences as a manager in New York were not successful.
FED'ERAL, or FEDERALIST, an appellation in America given to those
politicians who wanted to strengthen the central government, in opposition
to those who wished to extend the separate authority of each individual
state. Hence in the Civil Wars of 1861-5 the term _Federals_ was applied to
the Northern party.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, government by the confederation of several united
states, self-governing in local matters, but subject in matters of general
polity to a central authority, as, for instance, the Swiss Republic, the
United States of North America, Mexico, Argentine, Brazil, The Union of
South Africa, and Russia since the revolution of 1917. The degree to which
such states give up their individual rights as sovereign bodies may be very
different.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Viscount Bryce, _The American Commonwealth_;
Burgess, _Political Science and Comparative Constitutional Law_; Freeman,
_History of Federal Government_.
FEE, or FIEF (A.S. _feoh_, cattle, property), in law, primarily meant a
loan of land, an estate held in trust on condition of the grantee giving
personal or other service to the prince or lord who granted it. Feudal
estates, however, soon came to be regarded as inalienable heritages held on
various tenures; hence the term fee came to be equivalent to an estate of
inheritance, that is, an interest in land which passes to heirs if the
owner die intestate. The amplest estate or interest in land is that of a
_fee-simple_, which is also called an absolute fee, in contradistinction to
a fee limited or clogged with certain conditions. A fee-simple means the
entire and absolute possession of land, with full power to alienate it by
deed, gift, or will. It is the estate out of which other lesser estates are
said to be carved; such as a _fee-tail_ (see _Entail_), which is limited to
particular heirs, and subject to certain restrictions of use; and a _base
fee_, which ceases with the existence of certain conditions.
FEE-FARM, in law, a kind of tenure of land without homage, fealty, or other
service, except that mentioned in the feoffment, which is usually the full
rent.
FEELING is properly a synonym for sensation, or that state of consciousness
which results from the application of a stimulus to some sensory nerve. It
is the most universal of the senses, existing wherever there are nerves;
and they are distributed over all parts of the body, though most numerous
in such parts as the finger-tips and the lines where skin and mucous
membrane pass into each other. This universal distribution of feeling is
necessary, otherwise parts of the body might be destroyed without our
knowledge. The structures which thus apprehend the impressions of contact
are papillae or conical elevations of the skin in which the nerves end, and
which are richly supplied with blood-vessels. The term feeling is also used
for a general sense of comfort or discomfort which cannot be localized, and
it designates states of consciousness which are either agreeable or
disagreeable. In a figurative sense the term is also applied to a mental
emotion, or even to a moral conception; thus we may speak of a friendly
feeling, a feeling of freedom. See _Emotion_.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. Bain, _The
Emotions and the Will_; T. Ribot, _Psychology of the Emotions_.
FEGATELLA, a genus of Liverworts, family Marchantiales. _F. conica_ is
common on moist banks.
FEIJOA, a genus of Myrtaceae, natives of Brazil. The flowers are pollinated
by birds, which feed on the juicy petals, a very unusual method.
FEISUL, or FEISAL, Emir, King of Irak (Mesopotamia), born in 1887, the
third surviving son of Hussein, King of Hejaz. Educated at Constantinople,
Feisul held several posts under the Turkish Government, but took an active
part in the revolutionary movement which resulted in the deposition of
Sultan Abdul Hamid. He then returned to Arabia, where he commanded the
Arabs against Ibn Saud, the head of a new religious sect, who threatened
his father's emirate. During the European War Hussein sided with the
Allies, and Feisul organized and commanded a regular Arab army, which
formed Lord Allenby's right wing, and took part in the latter's operations
in Palestine. As a reward for his services an independent, or
semi-independent, state was established at Damascus under Feisul, and the
prince was proclaimed King of Syria in March, 1920. Serious friction,
however, arose between the French authorities and the Arabs, and
hostilities broke out in July. The French, under General Gouraud, occupied
Damascus, compelled the Arabs to recognize the French mandate for Syria,
and deposed the new King of Syria. In August, 1921, Feisul became the first
Arab king of the new state of Irak (Mesopotamia), set up by the British
Government. He was crowned with great splendour at Bagdad on the 23rd of
Aug., in the presence of a great gathering of his people and the
representatives of the British Government. A personal message from King
George V was handed to Feisul, and the British High Commissioner, Sir Percy
Cox, formally announced the recognition by Great Britain of the new ruler
of Irak.
FELANICHE (fel-[.a]-n[=e]'ch[=a]), a town in the Island of Majorca, a very
ancient place with Moorish remains. Pop. (commune), 11,400.
FELEGYHAZA (f[=a]'led-yae-z[.a]), a town of Hungary, 66 miles S.E. of
Budapest, with large cattle-markets and an extensive trade in corn, wine,
and fruit. Pop. 34,924.
FELICU'DI, one of the Lipari Isles, off the north coast of Sicily, 10 miles
west of Salina. It is about 9 miles in circuit. The soil is both fertile
and well cultivated. Pop. 800.
[Illustration: Teeth of Felidae
Skull and Teeth of the Tiger. _a_, Canines or tearing teeth. _b_, Incisors
or cutting teeth. _c_, True molars or grinding teeth. _d_, Carnassial or
sectorial teeth.]
FE'LIDAE, animals of the cat kind, a family of Carnivora in which the
predaceous instincts reach their highest development. They are among the
quadrupeds what the Falconidae are among the birds. The teeth and claws are
the principal instruments of the destructive energy in these animals. The
incisor teeth are equal; the third tooth behind the large canine in either
jaw is narrow and sharp, and these, the carnassial or sectorial teeth, work
against each other like scissors in cutting flesh; the claws are sheathed
and retractile. They all approach their prey stealthily, seize it with a
spring, and devour it fresh. The species are numerous in Europe, Asia,
Africa, and America, but none are found in Australia. The family
comprehends the lion, tiger, leopard, lynx, jaguar, panther, cheetah,
ounce, serval, ocelot, and cat.
FELIX, Antonius or Claudius, procurator of Judaea and freedman of the
Emperor Claudius, is described by Tacitus as unscrupulous and profligate
both in his public and private conduct. It was before this Felix that
Paul's discourse (_Acts_, xxiv, 25) was spoken. He was recalled A.D. 62,
and narrowly escaped condemnation at Rome, on charges which the Jews had
lodged against him.
FELIX, Marcus Minucius, a distinguished Roman lawyer, who embraced
Christianity, and wrote a defence of it in a dialogue entitled _Octavius_.
The period when he flourished is uncertain; but Jerome is probably right in
placing him about A.D. 230.
FELIXSTOWE, a watering-place in England, on the Suffolk coast, 11 miles
south-east of Ipswich, between the mouths of the Orwell and Deben. The
steamers which ply between Ipswich and Harwich on the Orwell call at
Felixstowe Pier, which is opposite Harwich. Pop. (urban district), 11,655.
FELLAH (pl. _fellahin_), an Arabian word meaning 'peasant', and used for
the labouring class in Egypt. The fellahs or _fellahin_ constitute about
three-fourths of the population of Egypt, and are mostly the direct
descendants of the old Egyptians, although both their language and religion
are now that of their Arabian conquerors. They live in rude huts by the
banks of the Nile, and in past times have suffered much from over-taxation
and oppressive rule at the hands of a succession of tyrants, and especially
of the Turks before the British occupation of Egypt.
FELLA'TAH, FULBE, or FULAHS, a remarkable African race of the negro type,
the original locality of which is unknown, but which is now widely diffused
throughout the Sudan, where they are the predominant people in the states
of Futa-Toro, Futa-Jalon, Bondu, and Sokoto. Though of the negro family,
they have neither the deep jet colour, the crisped hair, flat nose, nor
thick lips of the negro. In person they are decidedly handsome, and mostly
of a light copper colour. They are shrewd, intelligent, and brave, and are
mostly Mohammedans. Their influence is continually spreading.
FEL'LENBERG, Philip Emanuel von, Swiss educationalist, born in 1771, died
in 1844. Having devoted himself to the social and intellectual improvement
of the peasantry, he purchased the estate of Hofwyl, and established
successively an institution for instructing the children of the poorer
classes, a seminary for children in the higher grades of life, and a normal
school. The pupils were all trained to work in the fields or at the bench,
and the product of their labour was sufficient to cover the expenses of
their education. Fellenberg's scheme was ultimately so successful as to
attract the attention even of foreign Governments. The institutions
established by him still exist in a modified form.
FELLING, a populous locality in Durham, a little to the south-east of
Newcastle, and adjoining Gateshead, consisting of the combined villages of
High and Low Felling, and forming an urban district. It contains chemical
and other industrial works. Pop. 26,152.
FEL'LOWS, Sir Charles, traveller and antiquarian, was born in 1799 at
Nottingham, died in 1860. He first explored the valley of the Xanthus in
Lycia, in 1838, and discovered the remains of the cities Xanthus and Teos.
Under the auspices of the trustees of the British Museum he made further
explorations in 1839 and 1841, and succeeded in obtaining the marbles now
in the Lycian saloon of the museum. He was knighted by the queen in 1845.
His principal works are: _The Xanthian Marbles: their Acquisition and
Transmission to England_; _Travels and Researches in Asia Minor_; and
_Coins of Ancient Lycia before the Reign of Alexander_.
FELLOWSHIP, a distinction conferred by some universities, especially those
of Oxford and Cambridge, which entitles the holder, called a fellow, to an
annual stipend for a certain period. Fellowships in the English colleges
commonly range in value from about L150 to L250 or L300 a year, and they
all confer upon their holders the right to apartments in the college, and
certain privileges as to commons or meals. Formerly they were usually
tenable for life or till the attainment of a certain position in the Church
or at the Bar, or till marriage; but six or seven years is now a common
period during which they may be held, though this may be prolonged in
certain circumstances. At Dublin University senior fellows hold their
office for life.
FELO DE SE (Lat., 'a felon in regard to himself'), in law, a person who,
being of sound mind and of the age of discretion, deliberately causes his
own death. Formerly, in England, the goods of such a person were forfeited
to the Crown, and his body interred in an ignominious manner; that is,
unless the coroner's jury gave a verdict of unsound mind; but these
penalties have been abolished.
FEL'ONY, in law, includes generally all crimes below treason and of greater
gravity than misdemeanours. Formerly it was applied to those crimes which
entailed forfeiture of lands or goods as part of the punishment.
FELSITE, or FELSTONE, a hard, compact igneous rock of somewhat flinty
appearance, composed usually of quartz and orthoclase felspar intimately
mixed, but sometimes of less highly siliceous minerals.
FEL'SPAR, or FELDSPAR, a very important group of mineral silicates of
aluminium, with potassium, sodium, or calcium, ranging from orthoclase, the
potassium species, with 64.7 per cent of silica, to anorthite, the calcium
species, with only 43.3. Albite, the sodium felspar, has 68.8 per cent of
silica, and the species between this and anorthite are regarded as mixtures
of albite and anorthite molecules. These molecules probably do not exist as
such within the crystals; but the various characters of the species
graduate into one another in agreement with the chemical constitution, so
that the felspars form an admirable example of the relation of chemical
composition, specific gravity, and crystalline and optical features. At the
same time orthoclase and microcline are both potassium felspars; yet the
former crystallizes in the monoclinic, and the latter in the triclinic
system. All the sodium, sodium-calcium, and calcium species are triclinic,
except the rare monoclinic sodium felspar barbierite. The forms throughout
the felspar series are closely similar, and the hardness is uniform, being
just below that of quartz, and about that of a steel file. Felspar is one
of the principal constituents of almost all igneous rocks, such as granite,
diorite, and basalt. The alkali species yield kaolin by alteration, and are
thus the source of china-clay.
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