architecture is the art of building according to certain proportions and rules. A-RENA. A Latin word, originally meaning sand, but applied to that part of the amphitheatre in which the gladiators fought, which was covered with sand, 94. ARION, an ancient Greek bard and performer on the cithern, or gittern, a stringed instrument similar to the guitar. His life being threatened by pirates at sea, he is fabled to have played on his cithern, and then, with a prayer to the gods, to have leaped into the sea, where a song-loving dolphin received him on his back, and bore him safely to the shore, 295. ARISTAR CHUS, the greatest critic of antiquity. He flourished B. C. 156. His criticisms were so severe that his name has become proverbial, 342. ARISTOTLE, often called the Stagyrite, from Stagira, a town of Macedonia, where he was born, 384 B. C., was a pupil of Plato and a preceptor of Alexander the Great. lle was one of the most influential of the philosophers and writers of ancient Greece, and a good part of his works still exist. His doctrines are sometimes styled the Aristotelian philosophy. He died 323 B. C. See p. 311. ARITHMETIC (Gr. arithmos, number), the science of numbers, 124. ARNDT, from the German of, 360. ARTICULATION explained, 14, 27. ASIDE. In dramatic writing, a character is supposed to utter a remark aside when he does not mean that the other persons of the drama, who may be present, shall hear it. ASININE (as'i-nine), resembling an ass. Ass. The Ass and the Lamb, 67. ASPARAGUS, a Greek word, meaning the first bud or sprout; now applied to a wellknown garden vegetable. ASSIZE (from a Latin word meaning to sit) is the periodical session held by the judges of the superior courts in the counties of England. The plural form, assizes, is popularly used. ASTHMA (Gr. asthmaino, I breathe hard). A disease the leading symptom of which is difficulty of breathing. ASTONISHED (from the L. ad, to, and tono, I thunder) means originally struck with thunder. ASTRONOMY (Gr. astron, a star, and nomos, a law). The science which treats of the celestial bodies. Astronomy and Immortality, 150, 224. ASYLUM (Gr. a, without, sulē, plunder). A place to which those who fled were free from harm; a sanctuary. The modern use of the word differs from the ancient. ATHEIST (Gr. a, without, theos, God). One who madly denies the existence of a God. "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." Take away this belief in God wholly from man,-let him have been subjected to none of the influences from society and his fellow-men which the belief produces,- and "the man will have vanished, and you have insteal a creat ure more subtle than any beast of the field; upon the belly must it go, and dust must it eat all the days of its life." ATHENS, the most celebrated city of Greece, once the great world metropolis of philosophy and art; mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. It is the capital of the modern kingdom of Greece, 128. ATMOSPHERE (Gr. atmos, vapor, and sphai ros, a sphere). The fluid which sur rounds the earth, and consists of air and vapor of water. The air is composed of two gases, oxygen and nitrogen, mixed in the proportion of one of the former to four of the latter. Animals cannot live in nitrogen, nor can flame burn in it, separated from oxygen. See pp. 206, 362, 404. ATONE. To be, or cause to be, at one; to reconcile; to make amends. AUDUBON, John James, a native of Louisiana, and celebrated for his published collection of drawings, under the title of the "Birds of America." He was educated in art at Paris, under the great painter David. Died 1851. Disappearance of Indians, 302. AUGUST. The eighth month of the year; so named from AUGUSTUS Cæsar, the first Roman emperor. He was born B. C. 63. Literature and the arts flourished remarkably under his reign. AURORA. In the ancient Mythology the goddess of the morning. AUTUMN. This word is said to be derived from the Latin auctum, increased, be cause the wealth of man is augmented by the fruits of harvest. Poetry of Autumn, 374. AVALANCHE (from the French avaler, to descend). A mass of snow siiding down a mountain. AVERAGE, a mean number, or quantity. BABEL, or Babylon, an ancient city and province of Asia, on the Euphrates. The city was probably on the site of the fam ous tower of Babel; and its present ruins consist of fused masses of brick-work, &c It stood on a large plain; and its walls formed an exact square, each side of which was fifteen miles long. There were one hundred gates, twenty-five in each of the four sides, all of which were of solid brass, as Isaiah bears witness, ch. 45. v. 2. "I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron." Babylon was taken by Cyrus, the Persian monarch, B. C. 538; and the Babylonian empire was destroyed, as the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah had predicted. Cy rus, who was the destined conqueror of Babylon, was foretold by name above one hundred years before he was born. Isaiah 45 1-4. See pp. 164, 217. BACCHANAL, a drunken reveller; from Bac chus, the deity of wine. BACON, Francis, Lord, was born in London in 1561; died 1626. He was a great philosopher, and the most learned man of Lines on, by T. Moore, 311. BAYONET, SO called from having been first BAYS, the plural of bay, the laurel-tree; ap- BEADLE (from the root of to bid), a messen- B. C. These initials attached to dates sig- BEGUINE. The Beguines were a class of BELVIDERE (from the Lat. bellus, fine, and BENGAL (the a as in fall) is the most east- BERESINA (Bĕr-e-ze'na), a river of Russia. The Passage of, by the French, 326. BILLETS, pieces of wood, cut with a bill, or BONAPARTE, Napoleon, was born in Corsica, An Early Riser, 226. Character of, by Lamartine, 393. BONUS, a premium for a privilege. BOOKS. The inner bark of trees was one used for writing on. In England, many hundred years ago, people used to write upon the bark of the beech-tree, which they called boc. We have not changed the word much. See Library. Thoughts on Books, 397. BOOM (from the Danish bomme, a drum), to make a noise like the roar of the waves, or a distant gun. BOONS (from the Lat. bonus, or Fr. bon), a gift, a favor. BOULOGNE (Boo-lon'), a seaport of France on the English Channel. BOUQUET (boo-ka'), a nosegay. Bow, the curved part of a ship forward. When it has this meaning it is pronounced so as to rhyme with cow. BOWRING, John, his translation of Derzhavin's ode, 153. True Courage, by, 242. BRAHMIN, the highest or priestly class, among the Hindoos. BRAVE MAN, The, translated from the German of Burger, 165. BRAZIER, an artificer in brass. BREWSTER, Sir David, an eminent philosopher of Scotland, b. 1781. He was the inventor of that optical toy, the Kaleidoscope. Barbarism of War, by, 303. BRIDEWELL, a house of correction for disorderly persons; so called from the palace near Bridget's well in London, which was turned into a work-house. BROOKE, Henry, The Lion, &c., by, 139. BROOKS, C. T., Translatious by, 83, 412. BROUGHAM, Henry, Lord, distinguished as a statesman, man of letters, and philosopher; born in Scotland." He entered Parliament in 1810. On Science, by, 441. The Schoolmaster Abroad, by, 269. On the Pleasures of Science, 441. BROWNE, J. R., The Whale Chase, by, 400. BRUCE, Robert, one of the most heroic of the Scottish kings, and the deliverer of Scotland from the English yoke; b. 1274, d. 1329. BRUIN, a familiar name given to the bear, from the Fr. brun, brown. BRUTUS, Lucius Junius, known as the first Brutus, received his surname of Brutus, or brute, from feigning idiocy in order to escape the tyranny of Tarquin, a king of ancient Rome. Lucretia, a lady of great purity, having been grossly abused by Sextus Tarquin, Brutus threw off his pretended idiocy, and roused the Romans to expel their king and establish a republic. As consul, he afterwards sentenced his two sons to death for crimes against their country. See p. 308. Marcus Junius Brutus, celebrated by Shakspeare, was a descendant of the first Brutus, 350. BRYANT, Wm. Cullen, an eminent American poet, b. in Cummington, Mass., Nov. 3, 1794. Extracts from, 178, 205, 257, 338. BUFFON, born 1707, died 1788; a famous naturalist, the eloquence of whose style gave a charm to his scientific works. He was very methodical in his time; but there is not much to praise in his private char acter. 226. Buoy (from bois, the French for wood), a piece of wood floating on the water, to in dicate shoals, &c. The adjective buoyanɩ has the same origin. BURGER, Godfrey Augustus, b. 1748, d. 1794: a German poet, celebrated for his spirited ballads. The Brave Man, by, 165. BURKE, Edmund, a writer, orator, and statesman, of great eminence. Born in Ireland, 1780; died 1797. He was one of the greatest masters of English style; an amiable and religious man in private life, and exemplary in his domestic and social duties. See character of, by Hazlitt, and Grattan, 245, 246. Extracts from his Speeches, 146, 268, 269. He was BURNET, Gilbert, Bishop of Salisbury, was born in Scotland, 1643; d. 1714. the author of a History of the Reformation. 226. BURRINGTON, E. H., Lines by, 264. BURTON, W., Learning to Write, 87. BUSHMEN. A name given by the Dutch colonists to some roaming tribes akin to the Hottentots, in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope. They are of a dark copper complexion, and small in stature. So deep are they sunk in barbarism, as to be unacquainted even with the construction of huts or tents, 119. By and By. The proverb, p. 64, T 2, is directed against the habit of procrastination; of putting off what ought be done at once till "by and by." BYRON, Lord George Gordon, an English nobleman, of great but misapplied talents. He was born in the year 1788, and died in Greece, in 1824. See p. 148. Ambition, by, 100. The Guilty Conscience, 258. A Storm on the Mountains, 333. CABINET, in politics, the governing council of a country; so called from the cabinet or apartment in which the Chief Magistrate transacts public business, and assembles his privy council. In the United States the members of the President's Cabinet are the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy, the Interior, the Postmaster General, and the Attorney General. CADI (in Arabic, a judge). The Turks style their inferior judges Cadi. CALYX, a Greek word, signifying a cup. It is the name given by botanists to the outermost of the enveloping organs of a flower. CALABRIA, the southern part of the kingdom of Naples; traversed throughout by the Apennine Mountains. Adventure in Calabria, 305. CAMERA Obscura, or Dark Chamber, is an optical apparatus, by which the images of external objects are thrown on a white surface, and represented in a vivid man- CAMPAGNA (kam-pan'-ya, the a pronounced Fr. "Pleasures of Hope," 309, 412, Lord Ullin's Daughter, 276. CANDOR, from the Latin word canderë, to CANDLES, candlestick. See Candor. CANNING, George, a highly accomplished CAPACITY (from the L. capio, I hold, or or head of land projecting from the main- CARICATURE (from the Italian caricare, to ous. The Sword and Press, by, 255. CASHIER (Fr. casser, to break), to dismiss CASTLE-BUILDING, forming visionary proj- CASTLE of Indolence, the title of a celebrated CASS, LEWIS, On Labor, 427. CATILINE, a Roman of great talents, but dis- CAVERN by the Sea, The, 183. Ode on Cecilia's Day, 416. sea. CENTURY (from the Latin centum, a hun- CHALMERS, Thomas, a celebrated Scotch Planets and Heavenly Bodies, 224. Kindness to Brute Animals, 195. Passage of Beresina, 326. CHANNING, Wm. Ellery, a celebrated Ameri- On the Teacher's Calling, 186. Described by Hazlitt, Grattan, 245, 6. CHAPMAN, a trafficker, a cheapener. CHAPS (chops), the mouth of a beast. CHAPTER (Irom the Lat. caput, a head), a division of a book or treatise; as Genesis contains fifty chapters. CHARLATAN, a quack; from an Italian word, meaning to prate. CHARLEMAGNE (Shǎr-le-man), King of the Franks, and subsequently Emperor of the West, was boru 742, died 814. His name means Charles the Great. Although he did not know how to write, he was a friend to learning. See p. 395. CHARLES the Twelfth of Sweden; born 1682; killed by a cannon-ball, 1718. He was a military hero, who was lavish of human blood whenever his selfishness or ambition was to be gratified. CHICANERY (she-kan-er-y), trickery, by which a cause is delayed or perplexed. CHILLON (Shillong), 142. See Bonnivard. CHIROGRAPHY (kirog'rafy), the art of writing; from the Gr. cheir, the hand, and grapho, I write. CHOCK, a wedge used to secure anything with, or for anything to rest on. The long-boat, when it is stowed, rests on two large chocks. CHO'RUS, a number of singers; verses of a song, in which all present join. CHRISTENDOM, all the countries of the world, the people of which profess Christianity. to CHRISTIANITY, Obligations to, 313. Compared with Demosthenes, 243. CINCINNATUS, a consul of ancient Rome; he was repeatedly taken from his plough and farm to assume the highest offices of the state. A society of American revolutionary officers took their name from him, calling themselves Cincinnati, whence the great city of Ohio has its Extract from his Speeches 271. CLEAVE; as used p. 265, this is an in transitive verb, or one in which the action is confined to the agent, and does not pass over to an object. CLERK; the English pronunciation of this word (as if clark) is now repudiated. CLEVER, dexterous, expert; the meaning good-natured seems peculiar to Amer ica. CLIFF (now generally spelt clef), a charac ter in music; from the L. clavis, a key. CODE. With the ancient Romans that part of the wood of a tree next to the bark was called codex; and the laws written on this wood, smeared with wax, took its name; whence is our word code, a collection of laws. COGNAC (kōn-yak), a French brandy. COLERIDGE, Samuel Taylor, an English poet and philosopher, b. 1770, d. 1843. Translation from Schiller, by, 343. COLOSSAL, gigantic, like a Colossus; an ancient statue of Apollo, which stood across the entrance of the harbor at Rhodes, being so called. It was of brass, one hundred and five feet high, so that ships could pass under its legs. COLOSSEUM (col-os-se'um), The, 386. COLLINS, Wm., an English poet, b. 1720, d. 1756. His odes, written when he was quite young, show great genius. Ode to the Passions, 402. COLUMBUS, Christopher, was born at Genoa, 1437; died 1506. See America. COMBUSTIBLE, capable of burning. COMET (from the Gr. kome, hair), a celes tial body, with a luminous train. COMMONS. In countries having kings and nobles, the common people, or their representatives, are thus called. COMPANION (from the Lat. commu'nis, common, and panis, bread), literally, one with whom we share bread. CONCAVE, hollow; opposed to convex, spherical. CONCIERGERIE (kon-se-airzh'-re), the name of a prison in Paris. CONCISE (from the Lat. conci'do, to cut down), brief, containing few words. CONCRETE (Lat. concres-ce-re, to grow to gether, to coalesce in one mass). As an adj., formed by coalition of separate particles in one body. In logic, existing in a subject; not abstract; as the white snow. As a noun, a compound, a mass formed by concretion. CONFUSED. As used by Heywood, p. 294, the accent is on the first syllable. In his day, usage had not settled the accent of a large class of English words. CONGREVE, WM., an English dramatist and poet, b. 1672, d. 1729. His reputation, very great in his day, has deservedly dwindled. The Preacher who Failed, &c., 286 CONJURE; when it means to call on solemnly (as on p. 372), the accent is on the last syllable; when it means to affect by magic, or to practise the arts of a conjurer, the accent is on the first syllable. |