NEREIS, ne'rē-is, genus; and NEREIDÆ, në-rët-dē (or NEREIDEs, nē-rē ̃ì-dēz), family of Annelida; having a long slender body, a distinct head, with tentacles and eyes; the whole body covered with tubercles, and the

S

Nereis.

gills lobed and tufted. They all are marine, and gener ally hide under rocks or in the sand. They swim actively, by rapid and undulating inflections of the body, and by the aid of numerous oars arranged along the sides; each formed of a stout footstalk, numerous bristles, and a flap. The proboscis is thick, strong, and armed with two jaws.

NERI, na'rē, PHILIP DE, Saint: founder of the Congregation of the Oratory (q.v.) in the Rom. Cath. Chh.: 1515, July 21-1595, May 26; b. Florence, of a distinguished family. His character, even in boyhood, foreshadowed a career of piety and benevolence, and he was commonly known among his youthful companions by the name of 'good Philip.' On the death of his parents, he was adopted by a very wealthy uncle, with whom he lived at San Germano, near Monte Cassino, and who recognized N. as his destined heir. But he relinquished all these prospects, for a life of piety and charity, and having come to Rome, 1534, he there completed his philosophical and theological studies, winning universal esteem. Although he did not receive priest's orders till 1551, he had already been for years one of the most earnest and devoted in all pious works among the poor, the sick, and the vicious; and in 1550, with several friends, he established a confraternity for the care of poor pilgrims visiting Rome, and other houseless persons, as well as of the sick generally, which still subsists, and has had many distinguished members, but is noteworthy chiefly as the germ of the far more celebrated CONGREGATION OF THE ORATORY (q.v.), founded by St. Philip de N. in concert with his friends Baronius and Tarugio, both afterward cardinals, Sabriati, and some others. Besides the general objects above indicated, and the spiritual duties designed for the personal sanctification of the members, the main object of the Oratory was the moral instruction and religious training of the young and uneducated, who were assembled in chapels

or oratorios in evening meetings, for prayer and for relig ious and moral instruction. As a further means of withdrawing youth from dangerous amusements, sacred musical entertainments (thence called by the name oratorio) were held in the oratory, at first consisting solely of hymns but afterward partaking of the nature of sacred operas or dramas, except that they did not admit the scenic or dramatic accompaniments of these more secular compositions. Religious and literary lectures also formed part of N's. plan, and it was in the lectures originally prepared for the Oratory that, at the instance of N., the gigantic Church History of Baronius had its origin. This scheme of varied effort has resemblance to that of the Young Men's Christian Associations among Protestants of the present day. The pure and kindly personal character of N., his cheerfulness, his quaint humor, and a tinge of drollery which pervaded many of his sayings and doings, contributed to popularize his institute, which soon found great public favor. N. indeed had the reputation of sanctity and of miracles among his fellow-religionists; and, after 300 years, he may still be described as emphatically the popular saint of the Roman people. N.'s order, like his work, was utterly un-conventional, un-mediæval, un-monastic. Its object and its principles are thoroughly practical. Its organization, at the opposite extreme from that of the Jesuits, is republican-each congregation outside of Rome being self-governed: this piece of congregationalism was in accordance with N.'s special desire. He was canonized by Gregory XV. 1622. His only literary remains are his Letters (8vo. Padua, 1751); the Constitutions of his congregation, printed 1612; some short spirital treatises, and a few sonnets in the collection of Rime Oneste.

NERIAD, nĕr-i-âd': town of Brit. India, presidency of Bombay and dist. of Kaira, on the route from Baroda to Ahmedabad, 38 m. n. w. from Baroda, on a feeder of the Sabarmati. It is the chief town of an extensive and well-cultivated tract, which produces much tobacco, and contains many prosperous towns and villages. Pop. (1881) 28,304.

NE'RIUM: see OLEANDER.

NERO, n. nero, in the expression A NERO [Nero, Roman emperor, A.D. 54-68, infamous for his oppression and cruelties] any bloody, relentless tyrant; one in power noted for extreme barbarity and savagery.

NERO, nērō, Roman Emperor: A.D. 37, Dec. 15-68, June 9 (reigned 54-68); b. Antium, on the coast of La tium; son of Cn. Domitius Ahenobarbus and of the younger Agrippa (q.v.), daughter of Germanicus Cæsar, and sister of Caligula. His mother becoming wife of Emperor Claudius, Claudius adopted him, A.D. 50, and his name, originally L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, was changed to Nero Claudius Cæsar Drusus Germanicus. After the death of Claudius, A. D. 54, his mother's daring and intrigue which had long been in exercise for his elevation to the throne, came to a successful issue; the Prætorian Guards, at the instigation of Afranius Burrhus, their prefect, declared him emperor, instead of Claudius's son Britannicus, and their choice was acknowledged both by the senate and the provinces. If the authorities may be trusted, the death of Claudius was by poison administered by the orders of his wife. His reign began with the semblance of moderation and good promise, under the guidance of Burrhus and his tutor Seneca the philosopher; and the first 5 years were called Nero's golden years; but the baleful influence of his mother, together with his own moral weakness and sensuality, frustrated their efforts, and he soon plunged headlong into debauchery, extravagance, and tyranny. He caused Britannicus, son of Claudius, to be treacherously poisoned at the age of 14, because he dreaded him as a rival, and afterward, A.D. 59, caused his own mother Agrippina (with whom he was latterly on bad terms) to be assassinated, to please his mistress Poppea Sabina (wife of his principal boon companion Otho, afterward emperor), in order to marry whom he also divorced and afterward put to death his wife Octavia (aged 20), sister of Britannicus. N.'s mother had set her imperious will that knew not how to yield, against the will of the emperorthat in ruling him she might rule Rome. One of these savage natures must have destroyed the other, and the final power was in N.'s hands. The low servility into which the Roman senate had sunk at this time, may be estimated from the fact that it actually issued an address congratulating the hateful matricide on the death of Agrippina. N. himself, on the other hand, confessed that he was ever haunted by the ghost of his murdered mother. The affairs of the empire were at this time far from tranquil. In A.D. 61, an insurrection broke out in Britain under Queen Boadicea, which was, however, suppressed by Suetonius Paulinus. The following year saw an unsuccessful war against the Parthians in Armenia. At home, matters were not much better. The emperor was lampooned in verse; the senate and priesthood, alike venal, also were satirized by audacious malcontents; Burrhus, a valuable friend, died; and even Seneca though not a great moralist out of his books, thought it

only decent to remove from court. In 64, July, a great conflagration in Rome reduced two-thirds of the city to ashes. N. himself is usually believed to have been the incendiary. It is said that he admired the spectacle from a distance, reciting verses about the burning of Troy, but many scholars are doubtful whether he really had any hand in it. At all events he laid the blame on the Christians-that mysterious sect, which, like the Jews, in the middle ages, were the cause of all otherwise inexplicable calamities and persecuted them with great tury. Moreover, he rebuilt the city with great magnificence, and reared for himself on the Palatine Hill a splendid palace, called, from the immense profusion of its golden ornaments, the Aurea Domus, or Golden House; and in order to provide for this expenditure, and for the gratification of the Roman populace by spectacles and distributions of corn, Italy and the provinces were unsparingly plundered. A conspiracy against him failed A.D. 65, and Seneca and the poet Lucan fell victims to his vengeance. In a fit of passion he murdered his wife Poppaa, by kicking her when she was pregnant. He then proposed marriage to Antonia, daughter of Claudius, but was refused; whereupon he caused the too fastidious lady to be put to death, and married Statilia Messallina, after killing her husband. He also put to death or banished many persons distinguished for integrity and virtue. His vanity led him to seek distinction as a poet, a philosopher, an actor, a musician, and a charioteer, and he received sycophantic applauses, not only in Italy, but in Greece, to which, on invitation of the Greek cities, he made a visit in 67, entering as a competitor in the Grecian games and contests. But in 68, the Gallic and Spanish legions, and after them the Prætorian Guards, rose against him to make Galba emperor, and N. fled to the house of a freedman, Phaon, about four m. from Rome. The senate, which had been most subservient, declared him an enemy of his country, and the tyrant ended his life by suicide. This wretch had a taste for poetry, and was skilful in painting and modelling. The Roman populace, fascinated by his splendor, luxury, and extravagance, refused to credit his death, and long expected his re-appearance. The Roman men of letters, whose friends he had murdered, set him forth in literrature as a monster of evil; and these writers, combined with the Christians whom he had so terribly persecuted, to make his name the synonym of violent and fiendish wickedness-a type of the infernal; indeed; a form of the mysterious Anti-Christ who was to re-appear for the last great struggle of the powers of darkness with the kingdom of Christ.

NEROLI, n. něr ́ŏ-lí [F. néroli]: the essential oil of orange-flowers. NEROLI CAMPHOR, n. in chem., the camphor of orange-flowers, obtained by adding alcohol of 90 per cent. to neroli oil. It is insoluble in water and absolute alcohol, soluble in ether, melting at 50°.

NERVA, nerva, MARCUS COCCEIUS: Roman Emperor: A.D. 32-98, Jan. 27 (reigned 96-98); of a family be longing to Narnia, in Umbria. He twice held the honor of consulship before his election to the dignity of em. peror after the murder of Domitian. He showed much wisdom and moderation, rectified the administration of justice, and diminished the taxes; but finding himself, at his advanced age, not vigorous enough to repress the insolence of the Prætorian Guards, he adopted, as son and successor, M. Ulpius Trajanus, then at the head of the army of Germany, who succeeded him on his death. After his decease, divine honors were rendered to him by his successor.

NERVE, n. nērv [L. nervus; Gr. neuron, a sinew, a nerve, the string of a bow: It. nervo: F. nerf]: one of the network of gray fibrous cords which are carried from the brain as their centre to all parts of the body, forming the organs of sensory and motor impulses (see NERVOUS SYSTEM): fig., fortitude; strength; firmness of mind or body; courage; manliness; in bot., one of the fibrous bundles of the combined vascular and cellular tissue ramifying through leaves, etc., like veins or nerves in the animal structure: V. to give strength or vigor to; to strengthen. NERVING, imp. NERVED, pp. nervd. NERVE LESS, a. without strength or nerve. NERVINE, n. nér vin, anything that affects the nerves: ADJ. good for the nerves. NERVOUS, a. nervus [F. nerveux, sinewyfrom L. nervōsus, full of nerve-lit., sinewy]: relating to the nerves; having the nerves affected; easily agitated; marked by strength in sentiment or style, as a writer; in bot., full of nerves; having the nerves prominently developed. NERVOUSLY, ad. -. NERVOUSNESS, n.-nés, the state or quality of being nervous; weakness or agitation of the nerves. NERVURES, n. plu. nérv ́ūrz [F. nervure, nerve or band] the veins of leaves; the horny tubes which expand the wings of insects. NERVATION, n. nérvā ́shun, in bot., the character or disposition of the nerves of a leaf or other foliaceous appendage. NERVE-CELL (see CELL-THEORY: HISTOLOGY). NERVOUS SYSTEM, the nerves spread over the body taken collectively, the office of which is to connect the organs of sense, and muscles, etc., with the brain (see below). NERVOUS TEMPERAMENT, a condition of body-generally characterized by thin skin, small muscles, quickness of motion, and a great excitability of the nervous system: see TEMPERAMENT.

: