The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Ebert to Estremadura Volume 4, Part 2

Part 1

Chapter 13,741 wordsPublic domain

Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net

Transcriber's note: A few typographical errors have been corrected: they are listed at the end of the text.

The colour plate ENTOMOLOGY was originally the Frontispiece to the Volume.

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In the pronunciation guides [=e] signifies "e macron"; [)e] "e breve"; [a:] "a with diaeresis below"; [.a] "a with dot above"; [n.] "n with dot below"; [:a] "a with diaeresis"; ['e] "e with acute"; [`e] "with grave"; [^e] "with circumflex"; and so forth.

THE

NEW . GRESHAM

ENCYCLOPEDIA

VOLUME . IV . PART . 2

_The_ GRESHAM . PUBLISHING COMPANY . _Limited_

66 CHANDOS STREET . STRAND LONDON W.C.2. 1922

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LIST OF PLATES AND MAPS

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VOLUME IV PART 2

EBERT to ESTREMADURA

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PLATES

Page

ELECTRICAL MACHINERY 200 ENTOMOLOGY (_coloured_) 267

MAPS IN COLOUR

ENGLAND AND WALES 242

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KEY TO PRONUNCIATION

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The method of marking pronunciations here employed is either (1) by marking the syllable on which the accent falls, or (2) by a simple system of transliteration, to which the following is the Key:--

VOWELS

[=a], as in f_a_te, or in b_a_re.

[:a], as in _a_lms, Fr. _[^a]_me, Ger. B_a_hn = ['a] of Indian names.

[.a], the same sound short or medium, as in Fr. b_a_l, Ger. M_a_nn.

a, as in f_a_t.

[a:], as in f_a_ll.

_a_, obscure, as in rur_a_l, similar to _u_ in b_u_t, [.e] in h_e_r: common in Indian names.

[=e], as in m_e_ = _i_ in mach_i_ne.

e, as in m_e_t.

[.e], as in h_e_r.

[=i], as in p_i_ne, or as _ei_ in Ger. m_ei_n.

i, as in p_i_n, also used for the short sound corresponding to [=e], as in French and Italian words.

_eu_, a long sound as in Fr. j_e[^u]_ne = Ger. long _[:o]_, as in S_[:o]_hne, G_[:o]_the (Goethe).

eu, corresponding sound short or medium, as in Fr. p_eu_ = Ger. _[:o]_ short.

[=o], as in n_o_te, m_oa_n.

o, as in n_o_t, s_o_ft--that is, short or medium.

[:o], as in m_o_ve, tw_o_.

[=u] as in t_u_be.

u, as in t_u_b: similar to [.e] and also to a.

[u:], as in b_u_ll.

[:u], as in Sc. ab_u_ne = Fr. _[^u]_ as in d_[^u]_, Ger. _[:u]_ long as in gr_[:u]_n, B_[:u]_hne.

[.u], the corresponding short or medium sound, as in Fr. b_u_t, Ger. M_[:u]_ller.

oi, as in _oi_l.

ou, as in p_ou_nd; or as _au_ in Ger. H_au_s.

CONSONANTS

Of the _consonants_, B, D, F, H, J, K, L, M, N, NG, P, SH, T, V, Z, always have their common English sounds, when used to transliterate foreign words. The letter C is not used by itself in re-writing for pronunciation, S or K being used instead. The only consonantal symbols, therefore, that require explanation are the following:--

ch is always as in ri_ch_.

_d_, nearly as _th_ in _th_is = Sp. _d_ in Ma_d_ri_d_, &c.

g is always hard, as in _g_o.

_h_ represents the guttural in Scotch lo_ch_, Ger. na_ch_, also other similar gutturals.

[n.], Fr. nasal _n_ as in bo_n_.

r represents both English _r_, and _r_ in foreign words, which is generally much more strongly trilled.

s, always as in _s_o.

th, as _th_ in _th_in.

_th_, as _th_ in _th_is.

w always consonantal, as in _w_e.

x = ks, which are used instead.

y always consonantal, as in _y_ea (Fr. _ligne_ would be re-written l[=e]ny).

zh, as _s_ in plea_s_ure = Fr. _j_.

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EBERT, Fritz, first President of the new German Republic, born at Heidelberg in 1870, the son of a tailor. Having received an elementary education in his youth, he first worked in his father's shop, and was then apprenticed to a saddler. He spent his spare time in reading and acquiring knowledge, entered journalism, and in 1892 became editor of the _Bremer B[:u]rgerzeitung_. In 1908 he was elected to the Reichstag, and in 1916 became president of the Socialist group of this Assembly. He appealed for peace in the Reichstag in Sept., 1918, and having thus become rather prominent, he succeeded Prince Max of Baden as Chancellor of the Empire. The office was suppressed a few days later, and Ebert became Provisional President of Germany. He crushed the efforts made by the Spartacus group to prevent the elections for the National Assembly, and altogether showed tact and energy in those critical days. The National Assembly met at Weimar, and elected Ebert as first President of the Reich on 11th Feb., 1919.

E'BIONITES (Heb. _ebyonim_, poor), a sect of the first century, so called from their leader, Ebion. Irenaeus described them as Jewish Christians. They held several dogmas in common with the Nazarenes, united the ceremonies of the Mosaic institution with the precepts of the gospel, and observed both the Jewish Sabbath and Christian Sunday. They denied the divinity of Christ and rejected many parts of the New Testament.

EBLIS, or IBLIS, in Mohammedan mythology, the chief of the evil spirits; also the name given to the prince of darkness, or Satan.

EB'OLI, a city of Campania, Southern Italy, a few miles from the Gulf of Salerno. Pop. 12,741.

EB'ONY, the popular name of various plants of different genera, agreeing in having wood of a dark colour. The best-known ebony is derived from plants of the genus Diospyros, nat. ord. Ebenaceae. The most valuable is the heart-wood of _D. Eb[)e]num_, which grows in great abundance in the flat parts of Ceylon, and is of such size that logs of its heart-wood 2 feet in diameter and from 10 to 15 feet long are easily procured. Other varieties of valuable ebony are obtained from _D. melanoxylon_ of Coromandel, _D. tesseleria_ of Mauritius, and other species. Ebony is hard, heavy, and durable, and admits of a fine polish or gloss. The most usual colour is black, red, or green. The best is jet black, free from veins, very heavy, astringent, and of an acrid pungent taste. On burning coals it yields an agreeable perfume, and when green it readily takes fire from its abundance of fat. It is wrought into toys, and used for mosaic and inlaid work.

EBONY LORE. In ancient times ebony was a sacred wood. The Indians carved from it images of gods and drinking-cups. It was first used by the ancient Egyptians, who called it _heben_, and imported it from 'God-land' (Punt). The Hebrew name is _hobn[=i]m_, the Greek _ebenos_, the Hindi _[=a]ban[=u]sa_. Ezekiel (xxvii, 15) connects ebony with Tyre. The ebony displayed in Rome by Pompey in his triumph over Mithridates came, according to Solinus, from India. The Chinese call it _Wu-men_ ('black-streaked wood'), and anciently imported it from India and Indo-China.

E'BRO (Lat. _Ib[=e]rus_), one of the largest rivers in Spain, which has its source in the province of Santander, about 25 miles S. of the Bay of Biscay, and after a south-easterly course of about 500 miles enters the Mediterranean. Its navigation is much interrupted by rapids and shoals, to avoid which a canal about 100 miles long has been constructed nearly parallel to its course. Saragossa is the principal town on the river.

['E]CART['E] ([=a]-k[:a]r't[=a]), a card-game for two players, is played with thirty-two cards, the smaller ones, from two to six inclusive, not being used. The remaining cards rank as follows: king (highest), queen, knave, ace, ten, &c. In the English mode of playing, the players cut for the deal, which is decided by the lowest card. The dealer gives five cards to either player, three and two at a time, and turns up the eleventh card for trump. If he turns up a king he scores one; and if a king occurs in the hand of either player, the holder may score one by announcing it before the first trick. The non-dealer leads; trumps take all other suits, but the players must follow suit if they can. Three tricks count one point, five tricks two points; five points make game. Before play begins, the non-dealer may claim to discard (['e]carter) any of the cards in his hand, and to replace them by fresh ones from the pack. This claim the dealer may or may not allow. Should he allow it, he can himself discard as many cards as he pleases. Sometimes only one discard is allowed, sometimes more. Cf. Cavendish, _The Laws of ['E]cart['e] adopted by the Turf Club_.

ECBAT'ANA, the chief city or ancient metropolis of Media, the summer residence of the Median and Persian and afterwards of the Parthian kings. It was a place of great splendour at an early period. Its site can no longer be fixed with certainty, though many explorers agree in identifying it with the modern Hamadan.

ECCE HOMO (ek's[=e]; Lat., 'Behold the man!'), a name often given to crucifixes and pictures which represent Christ bound and crowned with thorns. The most celebrated of these paintings are by Sodoma, Correggio (in the National Gallery), Titian, Tintoretto, Guido Reni, and Murillo. The expression is derived from the words spoken by Pilate when he showed Christ to the multitude before he was led forth to Crucifixion (_John_, xix, 5).

ECCEN'TRIC, a term in mechanics applied to contrivances for converting circular into reciprocating (backwards and forwards) rectilinear motion, consisting of circular discs attached to a revolving shaft, not centrally, i.e. eccentrically.

ECCHYMOSIS is extravasation of blood into the tissues underlying the skin. It is most frequently produced as the result of a bruise from injury, but may be due to some pathological condition.

ECCLEFECHAN (ek-l-fe_h_'an), a Scottish village in Dumfriesshire, near the Caledonian Railway main line, noteworthy as the birth-place and burial-place of Thomas Carlyle. Pop. 670.

ECCLES, a town of England, in Lancashire, 4 miles from Manchester, of which it may be considered a suburb. The town, engaged in textile industries, is famous for its cakes. Since 1918 it returns one member to Parliament. Pop. 41,946.

ECCLESIAS'TES (-t[=e]z), the title by which the _Septuagint_ translators rendered the Hebrew _Koheleth_ ('the gatherer of the people'), a symbolic name explained by the design of the book and the dramatic position occupied by Solomon in it, one of the canonical books of the Old Testament. The book consists of 12 chapters, being a series of discourses on the vanity of earthly things, and the tone, which is sceptical, is such as is found in Omar Khayy['a]m. According to Jewish tradition, it was written by Solomon; but the best modern criticism has decided that its style and language, no less than its thought, belong to a much later date.

ECCLESIASTICAL COMMISSIONERS, in England, a body corporate, constituted in 1836, with extensive powers in regard to the organization of the Church, the distribution of episcopal duties, and the formation of parishes. It consists of all the bishops of England and Wales, five cabinet ministers, four judges, and twelve others. Their decisions are ratified by orders in council, and acquire the force of Acts of Parliament. The Commissioners deal with an annual income of about 2 million pounds.

ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS, courts in which the canon law is administered and which deal with ecclesiastical cases, affecting benefices and the like. In England they are the _Archdeacon's Court_, _the Consistory Courts_, _the Court of Arches_, _the Court of Peculiars_, _the Prerogative Courts of the two archbishops_, _the Faculty Court_, and _the Privy Council_, which is the court of appeal, though its jurisdiction may by Order in Council be transferred to the new Court of Appeal. No separate ecclesiastical courts existed in England before the Norman Conquest, but by a charter of William I a distinction was made between courts civil and courts ecclesiastical. In Scotland the ecclesiastical courts are the _Kirk-session_, _Presbytery_, _Synod_, _General Assembly_ (which is the supreme tribunal as regards doctrine and discipline), and the _Teind Court_, consisting of the judges of the Court of Session, which has jurisdiction in all matters affecting the teinds of a parish. In the Isle of Man ecclesiastical courts still have, as formerly in England, jurisdiction in probate and matrimonial cases.

ECCLESIASTICAL LAW may, in the broad sense of the term, be taken to include the regulations existing in any Church or sect, however small, for the formation of its own polity and for the control of its members. It is, however, more generally applied to those legal bonds which exist between Established Churches and the State. The Roman Catholic Church claims to be the one and only true Church, regards her laws as being of universal application, and herself as an equal with the State; nevertheless she has, in non-Catholic countries, no higher legal standing than any small and obscure dissenting congregation, and is in this respect a 'free' Church. Protestant ecclesiastical law claims no such sovereign power, and in no way interferes with the State law. In England the Convocations of York and Canterbury have no authority to change the law, their power being limited to the making of recommendations. All changes in Church law are made by Parliament. Laymen can be, and often are, officials of the ecclesiastical courts. The civil law is subject to the canon law, above which is the common law, with, yet higher, statute law. Over all is the nominal supremacy of the Crown. Ecclesiastical law deals with such affairs and property of the Church of England as ecclesiastical parishes, churches, and matters matrimonial; but only so far as these are not controlled by common or statute law. It has long ceased to have any practical control of the laity. In Ireland, ecclesiastical law disappeared with the disestablishment of the Church.

ECCLESIAS'TICUS, a book placed by Protestants and Jews among the apocryphal scriptures. The author calls himself Jesus the son of Sirach, Originally written in Hebrew, it was translated into Greek by the author's grandson in the second century B.C. In 1896 fragments of four MSS. in the Hebrew original were discovered in the _Geniza_, or hiding-place for worn out copies of biblical books, in the synagogue at Cairo. Another fragment was discovered in Palestine by Mrs. Agnes Lewis.--Cf. Schechter and Taylor, _The Wisdom of Ben Sira: Portions of the Book Ecclesiasticus_.

['E]CHELLES, LES (l[=a]-z[=a]-sh[=a]l; 'the Ladders'), a village, France, department of Savoie, 12 miles south-west of Chamb['e]ry, in a valley from which egress at one end was formerly by means of ladders, but now by a tunnel. Pop. 798.

['E]CHELON (esh'e-lon), a formation of successive and parallel units facing in the same direction, each on a flank and to the rear of the unit in front of it.

ECHENEIS, the type genus of a small family (Echeneididae) of aberrant spiny-finned fishes, in which the first dorsal fin is modified into a transversely ridged suctorial disc. See _Remora_.

ECHEVERIA (ech-e-v[=e]'ri-a), a genus of succulent plants, ord. Crassulaceae (house-leek), chiefly natives of Mexico, but now cultivated in European and other gardens and greenhouses, some for their flowers, others for their foliage.

ECHIDNA ([=e]-kid'na), a genus of Australian toothless mammals, in size and general appearance resembling a large hedgehog, excepting that the spines are longer and the muzzle is protracted and slender, with a small aperture at the extremity for the protraction of a long flexible tongue. The habits of the Echidna are nocturnal; it burrows, having short strong legs with five toes, and feeds on insects, which it catches by protruding its long sticky tongue. It is nearly allied to the Ornithorhynchus, the two forming a peculiar class of animals, having in their structure some peculiarities at once of mammals, birds, and reptiles. In 1884 it was found that, as Geoffrey St. Hilaire had suspected, the Echidna, the closely related Proechidna of New Guinea, and the Ornithorhynchus constitute the lowest sub-class of mammals, the Prototheria or Monotremata, which present many reptilian characters. They possess a cloaca into which the intestine and urinogenital ducts open and are oviparous. During the breeding season a temporary pouch is formed, and into this the milk-glands open, but there are no teats. The egg when laid is put into the pouch by the mother, and is there hatched in a very immature state. It feeds by licking up the milk in the pouch. Later on, the mother digs a burrow, where she leaves the young at night, returning during the day to suckle it. One species (_E. hystrix_), from its appearance is popularly known as the _porcupine ant-eater_.

ECHINOCACTUS (e-k[=i]'-), a genus of cactaceous plants inhabiting Mexico and South America, and remarkable for their peculiar forms, being globular, oblong, or cylindrical, and without leaves, fluted and ribbed, with stiff spines clustered on woolly cushions. Some of them are very bulky. The flowers are large and showy. See _Cactus_.

ECHINOCOCCUS, the very large compound cyst which forms the bladder-worm stage in the life-history of a small tapeworm (_Taenia echinococcus_) living in the intestine of the dog. The cysts are found in various abdominal organs of herbivorous animals, and sometimes infest human beings, especially in Iceland.

ECHINODERMATA (e-k[=i]-n[=o]-d[.e]r'ma-ta), a phylum or sub-kingdom of invertebrate animals characterized by having a tough integument in which lime is deposited in scattered plates (sea-cucumber), flexibly articulated plates (star-fishes), or so as to form a rigid test or shell like that of the sea-urchin; and by the radial arrangement of many of the parts of the adult. Movable spines are commonly present. There is a system of tubes into which seawater is admitted (ambulacral system), and commonly tube-feet, that are put into use by being distended with fluid. Some of them, as the encrinites or sea-lilies, are permanently fixed by a stalk when adult. Their development is accompanied by metamorphosis, and the embryo shows a distinctly bilateral aspect, though the radiate arrangement prevails in the adult. By some they are classed with the Scolecida in the sub-kingdom Annuloida. The phylum is divided into nine classes: Asteroidea (star-fishes); Ophiuroidea (brittle-stars), Echinoidea (sea-urchins), Holothuroidea (sea-cucumbers), Crinoidea (sea-lilies, feather-stars, the latter free-moving), Thecoidea or Edrioasteroidea (extinct, stalkless but fixed), Carpoidea (extinct, stalked), Cystoidea (extinct, stalked), Blastoidea (extinct, stalked). All are marine.

ECHINOMYS, or SPINY RAT, a genus of South American rodent mammals distinguished by the presence of spines among the coarse fur. The long tail is covered by scales and hair intermixed, the ears are large, and all the extremities possess five digits.

ECHINUS (e-k[=i]'nus), SEA-URCHIN, or SEA-EGG, a genus of marine animals, the type of an order (Echinoidea) of the phylum Echinodermata (see above). In this type the body is spheroidal and invested in a test or shell composed of regularly arranged plates closely united together. It is covered with movable spines articulated by ball-and-socket joints. The mouth is situated in the centre of the under surface, and there is a complicated masticatory apparatus (Aristotle's lantern) consisting of five chisel-ended teeth supported by an elaborate framework. The anus is similarly placed on the upper side, and is surrounded by a circlet of ten plates (apical disc), one of which bears a furrowed tubercle (madreporite) perforated by small holes through which water enters the water-vascular system. Locomotion is effected by meridional rows of tube-feet, aided by the spines. _E. esculentus_ and some other species are edible. See _Sea-urchin_.

ECHINUS (e-k[=i]'nus), in architecture, the _ovolo_ or quarter-round convex moulding, seen in capitals of the Doric order. It is especially frequently found carved with the egg-and-dart ornament.

ECHO (ek'[=o]), the repetition of a sound caused by the reflection of sound-waves from some surface, as the wall of a building. The echo may, however, be very distinct when the reflecting surface is very irregular, and it is probable that the resonance of the obstacles and the masses of air which they enclose contribute in producing the echo. The waves of sound on meeting the surface are turned back in their course according to the same laws that hold for reflection of light. In order that the echo may return to the place from which the sound proceeds, the reflection must be direct, and not at an angle to the line of transmission, otherwise the echo may be heard by others but not by the transmitter of the sound. This may be effected either by a reflecting surface at right angles to the line of transmission, or by several reflecting surfaces which in the end bring the sound back to the point of issue. Sound travels about 1125 feet in a second; consequently, an observer standing at half that distance from the reflecting object would hear the echo a second later than the sound. Such an echo would repeat as many words and syllables as could be heard in a second. As the distance decreases, the echo repeats fewer syllables till it becomes mono-syllabic. The most practised ear cannot distinguish in a second more than from nine to twelve successive sounds, so that a distance of not less than 60 feet is needed to enable an average ear to distinguish between the echo and the original sounds. At a near distance the echo only clouds the original sounds, and this often interferes with the hearing in churches and other large buildings. Woods, rocks, and mountains produce natural echoes in every variety, for which particular localities have become famous.

ECHO, in Greek mythology, a mountain nymph (one of the Oreads). Legend relates that by her talking she detained Hera, when the latter sought to surprise Zeus among the mountain nymphs. To punish her the goddess deprived her of speech, unless first spoken to. She subsequently fell in love with Narcissus, and because he did not reciprocate her affection she pined away until nothing was left but her voice.

ECHUCA (e-ch[:o]'ka), an Australian town, colony of Victoria, on the Murray, over which is an iron railway and roadway bridge, connecting it with Moama in New South Wales; trade (partly by the river) in timber and wool. Pop. 4137.

['E]CIJA ([=a]-th[=e]-_h_[.a]), an ancient town of Southern Spain, province of Seville, on the Genil, with manufactures of textile fabrics and a good trade. It is one of the hottest places in Spain. Pop. 23,217.

ECK, Johann Maier von, the celebrated opponent of Luther, born in 1486, died in 1543. Having obtained a reputation for learning and skill in disputation, he was made doctor of theology, canon in Eichst[:a]dt, and pro-chancellor of the University of Ingolstadt. He went to Rome in 1520, and returned with a Papal bull against Luther, in attempting to publish which he met with violent popular opposition. In 1530, while at the Diet of Augsburg, he made the remarkable admission that he could confute the Augsburg Confession by the fathers but not by the Scriptures. Eck was present also at the Diets of Worms (1540) and Ratisbon (1541).

ECK'ERMANN, Johann Peter, German writer, born in 1792, died in 1854. In 1813 he served in the army against the French, and was afterwards appointed to a small governmental post. He finally settled in Weimar, where he became private secretary to Goethe. After Goethe's death he published his _Conversations with Goethe_, a book which has been translated into all European languages.