ArilAril, Fruit of Nutmeg
Ar´il, orAril´lus, in some plants, as in the nutmeg, an extra covering of the seed, outside of the true seed-coats, proceeding from the placenta, partially investing the seed, and falling off spontaneously. It is either succulent or cartilaginous, coloured, elastic, rough, or knotted. In the nutmeg it is known asmace.
Arimas´pians, in ancient Greek traditions, a people who lived in the extreme north-east of the ancient world. They were said to be one-eyed and to carry on a perpetual war with the gold-guarding griffins, whose gold they endeavoured to steal. Cf. Milton,Paradise Lost, II, 943.
Arimathæ´a, a town of Palestine, identified with the modernRamleh, 22 milesW.N.W.of Jerusalem.
Ari´on, an ancient Greek poet and musician, born at Methymna, in Lesbos, flourished about 625B.C.He lived at the Court of Periander of Corinth, and afterwards visited Sicily and Italy. Returning from Tarentum to Corinth with rich treasures, the avaricious sailors resolved to murder him. Apollo, however, having informed him in a dream of the impending danger, Arion in vain endeavoured to soften the hearts of the crew by the power of music. He then threw himself into the sea, when one of a shoal of dolphins, which had been attracted by his music, received him on his back and bore him to land. The sailors, having returned to Corinth, were confronted by Arion and convicted of their crime. The lyre of Arion, and the dolphin which rescued him, became constellations in the heavens. A fragment of a hymn to Poseidon, ascribed to Arion, is extant.
Arios´to, Ludovi´co, one of the most celebrated poets of Italy, was born at Reggio, in Lombardy, 8th Sept., 1474, of a noble family; died 6th June, 1533. His lyric poems in the Italian and Latin languages, distinguished for ease and elegance of style, introduced him to the notice of the Cardinal Ippolito d'Este, son of Duke Ercole I of Ferrara. In 1503 Ippolito employed him in his service and used his counsel in the most important affairs. In this service he began and finished, in ten or eleven years, his immortal poem, theOrlando Furioso, which was published in 1515, and immediately became highly popular. He afterwards entered the service of Alfonso I, Duke of Ferrara, the cardinal's brother, a lover of the arts, who put much confidence in him. After quelling disturbances that had broken out in the wild and mountainous Garfagnana, he returned to Ferrara, where he employed himself in the composition of his comedies, and in putting the last touches to hisOrlando. TheOrlando Furiosois a continuation of theOrlando Innamoratoof Bojardo, details the chivalrous adventures of the paladins of the age of Charlemagne, and extends to forty-six cantos. The best English translation is that of Rose (1823). Cf. E. Gardner,Ariosto: the Prince of Court Poets; J. S. Nicholson,Life and Genius of Ariosto.
Arish.SeeEl Arish.
Aristæus, in Greek mythology, son of Apollo and Cyrene, the introducer of bee-keeping. Cf. Virgil,Georgics, IV, 315-558.
Aristarchus(a-ris-tär´kus), an ancient Greek grammarian, born at Samothrace 220B.C., died at Cyprus 143B.C.He edited Homer's poems with the greatest acuteness and ability, endeavouring to restore the text to its genuine state, and to clear it of all interpolations and corruptions; hence the phrase, Aristarchian criticism. His edition of Homer furnished the basis of all subsequent ones.
Aristarchus, an ancient Greek astronomer belonging to Samos, flourished about 155B.C., and first asserted the revolution of the earth about the sun; also regarded as the inventor of the sun-dial.
Aris´teas, a personage of ancient Greek legend, represented to have lived over many centuries, disappearing and reappearing by turns.
Aristides(a-ris-tī´dēz), a statesman of ancient Greece, for his strict integrity surnamed theJust. He was one of the ten generals of the Athenians when they fought with the Persians at Marathon, 490B.C.Next year he was eponymous archon, and in this office enjoyed such popularity that he excited the jealousy of Themistocles, who succeeded in procuring his banishment by ostracism (about 483). Three years after, when Xerxes invaded Greece with a large army, the Athenians hastened to recall him, and Themistocles now admitted him to his confidence and councils. In the battle of Platæa (479) he commanded the Athenians, and had a great share in gaining the victory. To defray the expenses of the Persian war he persuaded the Greeks to impose a tax, which should be paid into the hands of an officer appointed by the States collectively, and deposited at Delos. The confidence which was felt in his integrity appeared in their entrusting him with the office of apportioning the contribution. He died at an advanced age about 468B.C., so poor that he was buried at the public expense.
Aristip´pus(c. 425-366B.C.), a disciple of Socrates, and founder of a philosophical school among the Greeks, which was called theCyrenaic, from his native city Cyrēnē, in Africa; flourished 380B.C.His moral philosophy differed widely from that of Socrates, and was a science of refined voluptuousness. His fundamental principles were—that all human sensations may be reduced to two, pleasure and pain. Pleasure is a gentle, and pain a violent emotion. All living beings seek the former and avoid the latter. Happiness is nothing but a continued pleasure, composed of separate gratifications; and as it is the object of all human exertions, we should abstain from no kind of pleasure. Still we should always be governed by taste and reason in our enjoyments. His doctrines were taught only by his daughter Arĕtē, and by his grandson Aristippus the younger, by whom they weresystematized. Other Cyrenaics compounded them into a particular doctrine of pleasure, and are hence calledHedonici. His writings are lost.
Aristoc´racy(Gr.aristos, best,kratos, rule), a form of government by which the wealthy and noble, or any small privileged class, rules over the rest of the citizens. The term has now become almost entirely social in meaning, and is mostly applied to the nobility or chief persons in a State.
Aristogeiton(-gī´ton), a citizen of Athens, whose name is rendered famous by a conspiracy (514B.C.) formed in conjunction with his friend Harmodius against the tyrants Hippias and Hipparchus, the sons of Pisistratus. Both Aristogeiton and Harmodius lost their lives through their attempts to free the country, and were reckoned martyrs of liberty.
Aristolochia(-lō´ki-a), a genus of plants, the type of the ord. Aristolochiaceæ, which consists of dicotyledonous monochlamydeous plants, with an inferior 3-6-celled fruit, found for the most part in the hotter parts of the world, and in many cases used medicinally on account of their tonic and stimulating properties. The genus has emmenagogic qualities, especially the European speciesA. rotunda,A. longa, andA. Clematītis.A. bracteātais used in India as an anthelminthic;A. odoratissima, a West Indian species, is a valuable bitter and alexipharmic.A. serpentariais the Virginian snake-root, popularly regarded as a remedy for snake bites.
Aristophanes(-tof´a-nēz), the greatest comic poet of ancient Greece, born at Athens probably about the year 455B.C., died 375B.C.Little is known of his life. He appeared as a poet in 427B.C., and having indulged in some sarcasms on the powerful demagogue Cleon, was ineffectually accused by the latter of having unlawfully assumed the title of an Athenian citizen. He afterwards revenged himself on Cleon in his comedy of theKnights, in which he himself acted the part of Cleon, because no actor had the courage to do it. Of fifty-four (or forty-four) comedies attributed to him, eleven only remain; believed to be the flower of the ancient comedy, and distinguished by wit, humour, and poetry, as also by grossness. In them there is constant reference to the manners, actions, and public characters of the day, the freedom of the old Greek comedy allowing an unbounded degree of personal and political satire. The names of his extant plays areAcharnians,Knights,Clouds,Wasps,Peace,Birds,Lysistrata,Thesmophoriazusæ,Frogs,Ecclesiasuzæ, andPlutus.—Bibliography: B. B. Rogers,Complete Works of Aristophanes, with verse translation(by far the best translation); Hookham-Frere,Translation(five plays only); Couat,Aristophane et l'ancienne comédie attique.
Ar´istotle(Gr.Aristot´eles), a distinguished philosopher and naturalist of ancient Greece, the founder of the Peripatetic school of philosophy, was born in 384B.C.at Stagira, in Macedonia; died at Chalcis, 322B.C.His father, Nicomachus, was physician to Amyntas II, King of Macedonia, and claimed to be descended from Æsculapius. Aristotle had lost his parents before he came, at about the age of seventeen, to Athens to study in the school of Plato. With that philosopher he remained for twenty years, became pre-eminent among his pupils, and was known as the 'Intellect of the School'. Upon the death of Plato, 348B.C., he took up his residence at Atarneus, in Mysia, on the invitation of his former pupil Hermeias, the ruler of that city, on whose assassination by the Persians, 343B.C., he fled to Mitylene with his wife Pythias, a near relative of Hermeias. During his residence at Mitylene he received an invitation from Philip of Macedon to superintend the education of his son Alexander, then in his fourteenth year. This relationship between the great philosopher and the future conqueror continued for five or six years, during which the prince was instructed in grammar, rhetoric, poetry, logic, ethics, and politics, and in those branches of physics which had even then made some considerable progress. On Alexander succeeding to the throne Aristotle continued to live with him as his friend and councillor till he set out on his Asiatic campaign (334B.C.). He returned to Athens and established his school in the Lyceum, a gymnasium attached to the temple of Apollo Lyceius, which was assigned to him by the State. He delivered his lectures in the wooded walks of the Lyceum while walking up and down with his pupils. From the action itself, or more probably from the name of the walks (peripatoi), his school was called Peripatetic. Pupils gathered to him from all parts of Greece, and his school became by far the most popular in Athens. The statement that he had two circles of pupils, theexotericand theesoterichas given rise to much controversy. By some it has been held that Aristotle published during his lifetime popular discourses with a view to make way for his doctrines in Athenian society, then impregnated with Platonic theories, and that these are called exoteric in contradistinction to those in which are embodied his matured opinions. It was during the time of his teaching at Athens that Aristotle is believed to have composed the great bulk of his works. But it is not possible to speak with any certainty about the chronology of his writings, as the references may be additions of editors. On the death of Alexander a revolution occurred in Athens hostile to the Macedonian interests with which Aristotle was identified. He therefore retired to Chalcis, where he soon after died. SirCharles Walston, in 1891, opened a tomb near Eretria which he supposed to be that of Aristotle. According to Strabo he bequeathed all his works to Theophrastus, who, with other disciples of Aristotle, amended and continued them. They afterwards passed through various hands, till, about 50B.C., Andronicus of Rhodes put the various fragments together and classified them according to a systematic arrangement. Many of the books bearing his name are spurious, others are of doubtful genuineness. The whole are generally divided into logical, theoretical, and practical. The logical works are comprehended under the titleOrganon(Instrument). The theoretical are divided into physics, mathematics, and metaphysics. The physical works (including those on natural history) are on theGeneral Principles of Physical Science,The Heavens,Generation and Destruction,Meteorology,Natural History of Animals,On the Parts of Animals,On the Generation of Animals,On the Locomotion of Animals,On the Soul,On Memory,Sleep and Waking,Dreams,Divination. In mathematics there are two treatises,On Indivisible LinesandMechanical Problems.The Metaphysicsconsist of fourteen books; the title (Ta meta ta Physika, 'the things following the Physics',) is the invention of an editor. The practical works embrace ethics, politics, economics, and treatises on art, and comprise theNicomachæan Ethics(so called because dedicated to his son, Nicomachus),The Politics,Œconomics,Poetry, andRhetoric. Among the lost works are the dialogues and others termed exoteric. A treatiseOn the Constitution of Athenswas discovered in 1891. His style is devoid of grace and elegance. His works were first printed in a Latin translation, with the commentaries of Averroes, at Venice in 1489; the first Greek edition was that of Aldus Manutius (5 vols., 1495-8). SeePeripatetic Philosophy.—Bibliography: Blakesley,Life of Aristotle; S. H. Butcher,Poetics(with translation and excursus); R. Shute,History of the Aristotelian Writings; J. C. Wilson,Aristotelian Studies; E. Zeller,Aristotle and the Earlier Peripatetics; E. Barker,Political Thought of Plato and Aristotle.
Aristox´enus,an ancient Greek musician and philosopher of Tarentum, born about 324B.C.He studied music under his father Mnesias, and philosophy under Aristotle, whose successor he aspired to be. He endeavoured to apply his musical knowledge to philosophy, and especially to the science of mind, but it only appears to have furnished him with far-fetched analogies and led him into a kind of materialism. We have a work on theElements of Harmonyby him.
Arith´metic(Gr.arithmos, number) is primarily the science of numbers. As opposed to algebra it is the practical part of the science. Although the processes of arithmetical operations are often highly complicated, they all resolve themselves into the repetition of four primary operations—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Of these the two latter are only complex forms of the two former, and subtraction again is merely a reversal of the process of addition. Little or nothing is known as to the origin and invention of arithmetic. Some elementary conception of it is in all probability coeval with the first dawn of human intelligence. In consequence of their rude methods of numeration, the science made but small advance among the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, and it was not until the introduction of the decimal scale of notation and the Arabic, or rather Indian, numerals into Europe that any great progress can be traced. In this scale of notation every number is expressed by means of the ten digits, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0, by giving each digit a local as well as its proper or natural value. The value of every digit increases in a tenfold proportion from the right towards the left; the distance of any figure from the right indicating the power of 10, and the digit itself the number of those powers intended to be expressed: thus 3464 = 3000 + 400 + 60 + 4 = 3 × 103+ 4 × 102+ 6 × 10 + 4. The earliest arithmetical signs appear to have been hieroglyphical, but the Egyptian hieroglyphics were too diffuse to be of any arithmetical value. The units were successive strokes to the number required, the ten an open circle, the hundred a curled palm-leaf, the thousand a lotus flower, ten thousand a bent finger. The letters of the alphabet afforded a convenient mode of representing figures, and were used accordingly by the Chaldeans, Hebrews, and Greeks. The first nine letters of the Hebrew alphabet represented the units, the second nine tens, the remaining four together with five repeated with additional marks, hundreds; the same succession of letters with added points was repeated for thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands. The Greeks followed the same system up to tens of thousands. They wrote the different classes of numbers in succession as we do, and they transferred operations performed on units to numbers in higher places; but the use of different signs for the different ranks clearly shows a want of full perception of the value of place as such. They adopted the letter M as a sign for 10,000 and by combining this mark with their other numerals they could note numbers as high as 100,000,000. The Roman numerals, which are still used in marking dates or numbering chapters, were almost useless for purposes of computation. From one to four were represented by vertical strokesI,II,III,IIII, five byV, ten byX, fifty byL, one hundred bysquare C, afterwardsC, five hundred byD, a thousandbyM. These signs were derived from each other according to particular rules, thusVwas the half ofX,inverted Vbeing also used;Lwas likewise the half ofC.Mwas artistically writtenMandcIc*andIc*, afterwardsD, became five hundred.ccIrepresented 5000,ccIc*c*10,000,Ic*c*c*50,000,cccIc*c*c*100,000. They were also compounded by addition and subtraction, thusIVstood for four,VIfor six,XXXfor thirty,XLfor forty,LXfor sixty. Arithmetic is divided intoabstractandpractical: the former comprehends notation, numeration, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, measures and multiples, fractions, powers and roots; the latter treats of the combinations and practical applications of these and the so-called rules, such as reduction, compound addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, proportion, interest, profit and loss, &c. Another division isintegralandfractionalarithmetic, the former treating of integers, or whole numbers, and the latter of fractions. Decimal fractions were invented in the sixteenth century, and logarithms, embodying the last great advance in the science, in the seventeenth century.
Arithmet´ical, pertaining to arithmetic or its operations.—Arithmetical mean, the middle term of three quantities in arithmetical progression, or half the sum of any two proposed numbers; thus 11 is the arithmetical mean to 8 and 14.—Arithmetical progression, a series of numbers increasing or decreasing by a common difference, as 1, 3, 5, 7, &c.—Arithmetical signs, certain symbols used in arithmetic, and indicating processes or facts. The common signs used in arithmetic are the following:plus signsignifying that the numbers between which it is placed are to be added;minus sign- that the second is to be subtracted from the first;times signthat the one is to be multiplied by the other;divide signthat the former is to be divided by the latter;equals signsignifies that the one number is equal to the other;proportional signs - colonsare the signs placed between the members of a proportional series, as 4 : 6 :: 8 : 12. A small figure placed on the right hand of another at the top signifies the corresponding power of the number beside which it is placed, as 52, 43, meaning the square of 5 and the cube of 4.cube rootplaced before or over a number signifies the square root of that number; with a figure it signifies the root of a higher power, ascube root, which means cube root. A period placed to the left of a series of figures indicates that they are decimal fractions.
A´rius, the originator of the Arian heresy. SeeArians.
Arizo´na, a former territory of the United States, admitted into the union as a sovereign State on 14th Feb., 1912, is bounded south by Mexico, west by California and Nevada (the River Colorado forming the greater part of the boundary), north by Utah, and east by New Mexico; area, 113,956 sq. miles. The surface is generally mountainous, but many fertile and well-watered valleys lie between the ridges. Part of the surface consists of deserts often entirely destitute of vegetation. The territory belongs to the basin of the Colorado, which passes through a portion of it, besides forming the boundary; while the Gila and Little Colorado, tributaries of the Colorado, traverse it from east to west. The canyons of the Colorado form a wonderful feature, the river flowing for hundreds of miles in a deep rocky channel with walls rising perpendicularly to the height of 1500 to 6000 feet. In some parts timber is plentiful. The rainfall is small, and irrigation has been employed for agricultural purposes. Large tracts of elevated land have been found excellently adapted as pastures for sheep and cattle. The territory is rich in copper, gold, silver, lead, and other minerals, and mining is largely carried on, with much copper smelting and refining. The capital is Phœnix. Pop. 29,053. The Southern and the Santa Fé Pacific Railways traverse it. Pop. (1920), 333,903 (of which 171,468 are white), exclusive of Apaches and other Indians on reservations (area, 29,017 sq. miles; pop. (1920), 42,400).
Arjish Dagh, the loftiest peak of the peninsula of Asia Minor, at the western extremity of the Anti-Taurus Range, 13,150 feet; an extinct volcano; on theN.andN.E.slopes are extensive glaciers.
Ark, the name applied in our translation of the Bible to the boat or floating house in which Noah resided during the flood or deluge; to the floating vessel of bulrushes in which the infant Moses was laid; and to the chest in which the tables of the law were preserved—theark of the covenant. This last was made of shittim-wood, overlaid within and without with gold, about 3¾ feet long by 2¼ feet high and broad, and over it were placed the golden covering or mercy-seat and the two cherubim. It was placed in the sanctuary of the temple of Solomon; before his time it was kept in the tabernacle, and was moved about as circumstances dictated. At the captivity it appears to have been either lost or destroyed.
Arkansas(ar´kan-sa¨or ar-kan´sas), one of the United States of America, bounded north by Missouri; east by the Mississippi, which separates it from the States of Mississippi and Tennessee; south by Louisiana and Texas; and west by the Indian Territory and Texas; area, 53,335 sq. miles. The surface in the east is low, flat, and swampy, densely wooded, and subject to frequent inundations from the numerous streams which water it. Towards the centre it becomes more diversified, presenting many undulating slopes and hills of moderate elevation. In the west itrises still higher, being traversed by a range of hills called the Ozark, which attains a height of 2000 feet, some peaks rising to 3000. In various parts the prairies are of great extent; the forests also are extensive, principally of oak, hickory, ash, cotton, linden, maple, locust, and pine. Coal and other minerals are worked. The principal rivers, all tributaries of the Mississippi, are the Arkansas, the Red River, the St. Francis, and the Washita. Near the centre of the State are warm springs, much resorted to for chronic rheumatic and paralytic affections. The climate is subject to great extremes of heat and cold, and in the lower districts is unhealthy to new settlers. The staple products are cotton and maize; fruit is tolerably abundant. Many districts are admirably adapted for grazing, and great numbers of excellent cattle are reared. Arkansas was colonized as early as 1685 by the French. As part of Louisiana it was purchased by the United States in 1803. It was made into a separate territory in 1819, and admitted into the Union in 1836. It was one of the seceding States. The capital is Little Rock. The enumerated population in 1920 was 1,750,995.
Arkansas, a river of the United States, which gives its name to the above State, the largest affluent of the Mississippi after the Missouri. It rises in the Rocky Mountains, about lat. 39°N., long. 107°W., flows in a general south-easterly direction through Colorado, Kansas, the Indian Territory, and lastly through the State of Arkansas, and after a course of 2170 miles enters the Mississippi. During greater part of the year it is navigable for steamboats for 800 miles.
Arkite.SeeExplosives.
Ark´low, a town in Ireland, County Wicklow, on the right bank of the Avoca, which falls into the sea about 500 yards below the town; the scene of a severe fight during the rebellion of 1798. Fishing is the chief industry. Pop. 5042.
Arkwright's Water FrameArkwright's Water Frame
Ark´wright, Sir Richard, famous for his inventions in cotton-spinning, was born at Preston, in Lancashire, in 1732, died 1792. The youngest of thirteen children, he was bred to the trade of a barber. When about thirty-five years of age he gave himself up exclusively to the subject of inventions for spinning cotton. The thread spun by Hargreaves' jenny could not be used except as weft, being destitute of the firmness or hardness required in the longitudinal threads or warp. But Arkwright supplied this deficiency by the invention of thespinning-frame, which spins a vast number of threads of any degree of fineness and hardness, leaving the operator merely to feed the machine with cotton and to join the threads when they happen to break. His invention introduced the system of spinning by rollers, the carding, orrovingas it is technically termed (that is, the soft, loose strip of cotton), passing through one pair of rollers, and being received by a second pair, which is made to revolve with (as the case may be) three, four, or five times the velocity of the first pair. By this contrivance the roving is drawn out into a thread of the desired degree of tenuity and hardness. His inventions being brought into a pretty advanced state, Arkwright removed to Nottingham in 1768 in order to avoid the attacks of the same lawless rabble that had driven Hargreaves out of Lancashire. Here his operations were at first greatly fettered by a want of capital; but two gentlemen of means having entered into partnership with him, the necessary funds were obtained, and Arkwright erected his first mill, which was driven by horses, at Nottingham, and took out a patent for spinning by rollers in 1769. As the mode of working the machinery by horse-power was found too expensive, he built a second factory on a much larger scale at Cromford, in Derbyshire, in 1771, the machinery of which was turned by a water-wheel. Having made several additional discoveries and improvements in the processes of carding, roving, and spinning, he took out a fresh patent for the whole in 1775, and thus completed a series of the most ingenious and complicated machinery. Notwithstanding a series of law-suits in defence of his patent rights, and the destruction of his property by mobs, he amassed a large fortune. He was knighted by George III in 1786.
Arlberg(a˙rl´berh), a branch of the Rhætian Alps, in the west of Tyrol, between it and Vorarlberg, pierced by the fourth longest railway tunnel in the world. It is 6½ miles long, and was finished in Nov., 1883, and connects the valley of the Inn with that of the Rhine, and the Austrian railway system with the Swiss railways.
Ar´lecdon, an urban district of England, in Cumberland, 4 miles east of Whitehaven, with coal and iron mines. Pop. (1921), 5152.
Arles(a˙rl; ancient,Arelāte), a town of Southern France, department Bouches du Rhône, 17 miles south-east of Nismes. It was an important town at the time of Cæsar's invasion, and under the later emperors it became one of the most flourishing towns on the farther side of the Alps. It still possesses numerous ancient remains, of which the most conspicuous are those of a Roman amphitheatre, which accommodated 24,000 spectators. It has a considerable trade, manufactures of silk, &c., and furnishes a market for the surrounding country. Pop. 16,746.
Ar´lington, Henry Bennet, Earl of, member of the Cabal ministry, and one of the scheming creatures of Charles II, born 1618, died 1685. He is supposed to have lived and died a Roman Catholic.
Ar´lon, a Belgian town, capital province of Luxemburg, a thriving town, with manufactures of ironware, leather, tobacco, &c. Pop. 12,012.
Arm, the upper limb in man, connected with the thorax or chest by means of the scapula or shoulder-blade, and the clavicle or collar-bone. It consists of three bones, the arm-bone (humĕrus), and the two bones of the fore-arm (radiusandulna), and it is connected with the bones of the hand by thecarpusor wrist. The head or upper end of the arm-bone fits into the hollow called theglenoid cavityof the scapula, so as to form a joint of the ball-and-socket kind, allowing great freedom of movement to the limb. The lower end of the humerus is broadened out by a projection on both the outer and inner sides (the outer and innercondyles), and has a pulley-like surface for articulating with the fore-arm to form the elbow-joint. This joint somewhat resembles a hinge, allowing of movement only in one direction. The ulna is the inner of the two bones of the fore-arm. It is largest at the upper end, where it has two processes, thecoronoidand theolecranon, with a deep groove between to receive the humerus. The radius—the outer of the two bones—is small at the upper and expanded at the lower end, where it forms part of the wrist-joint. The muscles of the upper arm are eitherflexorsorextensors, the former serving to bend the arm, the latter to straighten it by means of the elbow-joint. The main flexor is thebiceps, the large muscle which may be seen standing out in front of the arm when a weight is raised. The chief opposing muscle of the biceps is thetriceps. The muscles of the fore-arm are, besides flexors and extensors,pronatorsandsupinators, the former turning the hand palm downwards, the latter turning it upwards. The same fundamental plan of structure exists in the limbs of all vertebrate animals.
Arma´da, the Spanish name for any large naval force; usually applied to the Spanish fleet vaingloriously designated theInvincible Armada, intended to act against EnglandA.D.1588. It was under the command of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, and consisted of 130 great war vessels, larger and stronger than any belonging to the English fleet, with 30 smaller ships of war, and carried 19,295 marines, 8460 sailors, 2088 slaves, and 2630 cannon. It had scarcely quitted Lisbon on 29th May, 1588, when it was scattered by a storm, and had to be refitted in Corunna. It was to co-operate with a land force collected in Flanders under the Prince of Parma, and to unite with this it proceeded through the English Channel towards Calais. In its progress it was attacked by the English fleet under Lord Howard, who, with his lieutenants, Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher, endeavoured by dexterous seamanship and the discharge of well-directed volleys of shot to destroy or capture the vessels of the enemy. The great lumbering Spanish vessels suffered severely from their smaller opponents, which most of their shot missed. Arrived at length off Dunkirk, the armada was becalmed, thrown into confusion by fire-ships, and many of the Spanish vessels destroyed or taken. The Duke of Medina-Sidonia, owing to the severe losses, at last resolved to abandon the enterprise, and conceived the idea of reconveying his fleet to Spain by a voyage round the north of Great Britain; but storm after storm assailed his ships, scattering them in all directions, and sinking many. Some went down on the cliffs of Norway, others in the open sea, others on the Scottish coast, others on the coast of Ireland. In all, seventy-two large vessels and over 10,000 men were lost.—Bibliography: J. A. Froude,Spanish Story of the Armada; Sir J. K. Laughton,State Papers relating to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada; J. R. Hale,Story of the Great Armada.
Armadale, a town of Scotland, Linlithgowshire, in coal and iron district. Pop. 4739.
ArmadillosArmadillos—Left, Hairy Armadillo. Right, Kappler's Armadillo
Armadi´llo(genus Dasўpus), an edentate mammal peculiar to South America, consistingof various species, belonging to a family intermediate between the sloths and ant-eaters. They are covered with a hard bony shell, divided into belts, composed of small separate plates like a coat of mail, flexible everywhere except on the forehead, shoulders, and haunches, where it is not movable. The belts are connected by a membrane which enables the animal to roll itself up like a hedgehog. These animals burrow in the earth, where they lie during the daytime, seldom going abroad except at night. They are of different sizes: the largest,Dasypus gigas, being 3 feet in length without the tail, and the smallest only 10 inches. They subsist chiefly on fruits and roots, sometimes on insects and flesh. They are inoffensive, and their flesh is esteemed good food.—There is a genus of isopodous Crustacea called Armadillo, consisting of animals allied to the wood-lice, capable of rolling themselves into a ball.
Armageddon(-ged´don), the great battlefield of the Old Testament, where the chief conflicts took place between the Israelites and their enemies—the table-land of Esdraelon in Galilee and Samaria, in the centre of which stood the town of Megiddo, on the site of the modern Lejjun: used figuratively in theApocalypseto signify the place of 'the battle of the great day of God'. It may, however, behar migdo, his fruitful mountain, 'the mountain land of Israel'. The phrase 'an Armageddon' expresses any great slaughter or final conflict, and has been frequently applied to the Great War of 1914-8. During this war severe fighting took place in Sept., 1918, on the field of Armageddon, the entrance to the passes of Megiddo. The battle ended in an overwhelming victory for General Allenby's armies. SeeMegiddo.
Armagh(a˙r-mä´), a county of Ireland, in the province of Ulster; surrounded by Monaghan, Tyrone, Lough Neagh, Down, and Louth; area, 328,086 acres, of which about a half is under tillage. The north-west of the county is undulating and fertile. The northern part, bordering on Lough Neagh, consists principally of extensive bogs. On the southern border is a range of barren hills. The chief rivers are the Blackwater, which separates it from Tyrone; the Upper Bann, which discharges itself into Lough Neagh; and the Callan, which falls into the Blackwater. There are several small lakes. The manufacture of linen is carried on very extensively. Armagh, Lurgan, and Portadown are the chief towns. The county sends three members to Parliament. Pop. 120,291.—The county town,Armagh, is situated partly on a hill, about half a mile from the Callan. It has a Protestant cathedral crowning the hill, a Gothic building dating from the eighth century, repaired and beautified recently; a new Roman Catholic cathedral in the pointed Gothic style, and various public buildings. It is the see of an archbishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church, who is primate of all Ireland, and is a place of great antiquity. Pop. 7356.
Armagnac(a˙r-ma˙-nya˙k), an ancient territory of France, in the province of Gascony, some of the counts of which hold prominent places in the history of France. Bernard VII, son of John II, surnamed the Hunchback, succeeded his brother, John III, in 1391, and was called to Court by Isabella of Bavaria, with the view of heading the Orleans in opposition to the Burgundian faction, where he no sooner gained the ascendancy than he compelled the queen to appoint him Constable of France. He showed himself a merciless tyrant, and became so generally execrated that the Duke of Burgundy, to whom Isabella had turned for help, found little difficulty in gaining admission into Paris, and even seizing the person of Armagnac, who was cast into prison in 1418, when the exasperated populace burst in and killed him and his followers. John V, grandson of the above, who succeeded in 1450, made himself notorious for his crimes. He was assassinated in his castle of Lectoure in 1473 by an agent of Louis XI, against whom he was holding out.
Ar´mature, a term applied to the piece of soft iron which is placed across the poles of permanent or electro-magnets for the purpose of receiving and concentrating the attractive force. In the case of permanent magnets it is also important for preserving their magnetism when not in use, and hence it is sometimes termed thekeeper. It produces this effect in virtue of the well-known law of induction, by which the armature, when placed near or across the poles of the magnet, is itself converted into a temporary magnet with reversed poles, and these, reacting upon the permanent magnet, keep its particles in a state of constant magnetic tension, or, in other words, in that constrained position which is supposed to constitute magnetism. A horse-shoe magnet should therefore never be laid aside without its armature; and in the case of straight bar-magnets two should be placed parallel to each other, with their poles reversed, and a keeper or armature across them at both ends. The term is also applied to the core and coil of the electro-magnet, which revolves before the poles of the permanent magnet in the magneto-electric machine.
Arme Blanche, a term applied to the rapier and duelling-foil, and frequently also to all weapons other than fire-arms. The phrase is particularly applied to the sabres and lances carried by cavalry, but also to the bayonet.
Arme´nia, a mountainous country of Western Asia, of great historical interest as the original seat of one of the oldest civilized peoples in theworld. The name Armenia occurs in theVulgate, but the Hebrew name is Ararat. It has an area of about 120,000 sq. miles, and is intersected by the Euphrates, which divides it into the ancient divisions, Armenia Major and Armenia Minor. The country is an elevated plateau, enclosed on several sides by the ranges of Taurus and Anti-Taurus, and partly occupied by other mountains, the loftiest of which is Ararat. Several important rivers take their rise in Armenia, namely, the Kur or Cyrus, and its tributary the Aras or Araxes, flowing east to the Caspian Sea; the Halys or Kizil-Irmak, flowing north to the Black Sea; and the Tigris and Euphrates, which flow into the Persian Gulf. The chief lakes are Van and Urumiyah. The climate is rather severe. The soil is on the whole productive, though in many places it would be quite barren were it not for the great care taken to irrigate it. Wheat, barley, tobacco, hemp, grapes, and cotton are raised; and in some of the valleys apricots, peaches, mulberries, and walnuts are grown. The inhabitants are chiefly of the genuine Armenian stock, a branch of the Aryan or Indo-European race; but besides them, in consequence of the repeated subjugation of the country, various other races have obtained a footing. The total number of Armenians is estimated at 2,900,000, of whom one-half are in Armenia. The remainder, like the Jews, are scattered over various countries, and are generally engaged in commercial pursuits. They everywhere retain, however, their distinct nationality.
Little is known of the early history of Armenia, but it was a separate State as early as the eighth centuryB.C., when it became subject to Assyria, as it also did subsequently to the Medes and the Persians. It was conquered by Alexander the Great in 325B.C., but regained its independence about 190B.C.Its king, Tigranes, son-in-law of the celebrated Mithridātes, was defeated by the Romans under Lucullus and Pompey between 69-66B.C., but was left on the throne. Since then its fortunes have been various under the Romans, Parthians, Byzantine emperors, Persians, Saracens, and Turks. Until quite recently Armenia had no political existence, having been partitioned between Turkey, Persia, and Russia, the last acquiring considerable portions in 1829 and 1878. The hope of the Armenians to see their country formed into an autonomous province administered by Christians was frustrated by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. The advanced party amongst the Armenians, therefore, determined to obtain their object by the production of disturbances and the spread of a revolutionary movement. The Porte retaliated by wholesale massacres of the Armenians in 1896, 1904, and 1908. The Armenian revolutionary and national parties in the meantime continued their activity and propaganda. Armenia proclaimed its independence in Aug., 1918. In Jan., 1920, the Supreme Council of the Allied Governments recognized the Armenian Republic of Erivan. A mandate for Armenia was also offered to the United States of America, but it was refused by the American Senate in May, 1920. On 18th March, 1922, Soviet Russia concluded a treaty with Turkey, giving to the latter most of Armenia. Batum was attached to Georgia. SeeErivan,Russia,Turkey.
The Armenians received Christianity at an early date, most probably at the beginning of the third century, although native historians maintain that several of the apostles preached in Armenia. The real apostle of Armenia was Gregory the Illuminator, in the third century. During the Monophysitic disputes they held with those who rejected the twofold nature of Christ, and being dissatisfied with the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (451) they separated from the Greek Church in 536. The Popes had at different times attempted to gain them over to the Roman Catholic faith, but have not been able to unite them permanently and generally with the Roman Church. There are, however, small numbers here and there of United Armenians, who acknowledge the spiritual supremacy of the Pope, agree in their doctrines with the Catholics, but retain their peculiar ceremonies and discipline. But the far greater part are yet Monophysites, and have remained faithful to their old religion and worship. Their doctrine differs from the orthodox chiefly in their admitting only one nature in Christ, and believing the Holy Spirit to proceed from the Father alone. Their sacraments are seven in number. They adore saints and their images, but do not believe in purgatory. Their hierarchy differs little from that of the Greeks. TheCatholicus, or head of the Church, has his seat at Etchmiadzin, a monastery near Erivan, the capital of former Russian Armenia, on Mount Ararat.
The Armenian language belongs to the Indo-European family of languages, and is most closely connected with the Iranic group. The Old Armenian or Haikan language, which is still the literary and ecclesiastical language, is distinguished from the New Armenian, the ordinary spoken language, which contains a large intermixture of Persian and Turkish elements. The most flourishing period of Armenian literature extended from the fourth to the fourteenth century. It then declined, but a revival began in the seventeenth century, and at the present day wherever any extensive community of Armenians has settled they have set up a printing-press. The Armenian Bible, translated from a Syriac version, and revised by means ofthe Septuagint, by Isaac the Great and St. Mesrop, early in the fifth century, is a model of the classic style.—Bibliography: E. N. and H. Buxton,Travel and Politics in Armenia; N. T. Gregor,History of Armenia; W. L. Williams,Armenia, Past and Present.
Armentières(a˙r-ma˙n˙-tyār), a town in France, department Nord, 10 milesW.N.W.of Lille, on the Lys. The town had extensive manufactures of linen and cotton goods and an extensive trade. The Germans captured Armentières by massed assault early in April, 1918, after methodically shelling the town for about two years and destroying almost every building in it. The enemy's offensive was intended to achieve greater results. Indeed, its object was to break through to the Channel ports. It began on 9th April, after artillery preparation, from La Bassée to Armentières. When, however, the battle of Armentières died down, the enemy plan to break through to the coast had been definitely and finally frustrated. German losses were extremely heavy, their attacks having been made with massed troops. (SeeYpres.) Pop. 28,086.
Arm´felt, Gustav Moritz, Count of, Swedish soldier, born 1757, died 1814. Though he had been highly favoured and loaded with honours by Gustavus III, he incurred the enmity of the Duke of Sudermania, guardian of the young king, Gustavus IV, and was deprived of all his titles and possessions. He was restored to his fortune and honours in 1799, when Gustavus IV attained his majority, and held several high military posts. Ultimately, however, he entered the Russian service, was made count, chancellor of the University of Abo, president of the department for the affairs of Finland, member of the Russian Senate, and served in the campaign against Napoleon in 1812.
Armida(a˙r-mē´da˙), a beautiful enchantress in Tasso'sJerusalem Delivered, who succeeds in bringing the hero Rinaldo, with whom she had fallen violently in love, to her enchanted gardens. Here he completely forgets the high task to which he had devoted himself, until messengers from the Christian host having arrived at the island, Rinaldo escapes with them by means of a powerful talisman. In the sequel Armida becomes a Christian.
Ar´millary Sphere(Lat.armilla, a hoop), an astronomical instrument consisting of an arrangement of rings, all circles of one sphere, intended to represent the principal circles of the celestial globe, the rings standing for the meridian of the station, the ecliptic, the tropics, the arctic and antarctic circles, &c., in their relative positions. Its main use is to give a representation of the apparent motions of the celestial bodies.
Armin´ians, a sect or party of Christians, so called from JacobusArminiusor Harmensen. (SeeArminius.) They were called alsoRemonstrants, from their having presented aremonstranceto the States-general in 1610. The Arminian doctrines are: (1) Conditional election and reprobation, in opposition to absolute predestination. (2) Universal redemption, or that the atonement was made by Christ for all mankind, though none but believers can be partakers of the benefit. (3) That man, in order to exercise true faith, must be regenerated and renewed by the operation of the Holy Spirit, which is the gift of God; but that this grace is not irresistible and may be lost, so that men may relapse from a state of grace and die in their sins. Arminianism being a revolt against certain aspects of Calvinism, especially the absolutism of the eternal decrees, its doctrines were vehemently attacked by the Calvinists of Holland, and were condemned by the Synod of Dort in 1619. The Arminians, in consequence, were treated with great severity; many of them fled to, and spread in, other countries, and though there is no longer any particular sect to which the name is exclusively applied, many bodies are classed as Arminians, as being opposed to the Calvinists on the question of predestination.—Bibliography: Regenboog,Historie der Remonstranten; Caspar Brandt,Life of Arminius(English translation by J. Guthrie); W. B. Pope,Compendium of Christian Theology(3 vols.).
Armin´ius, an ancient German hero celebrated by his fellow-countrymen as their deliverer from the Roman yoke, born about 18-16B.C., assassinatedA.D.19. Having been sent as a hostage to Rome, he served in the Roman army, and was raised to the rank ofeques. Returning home, he found the Roman governor, Quintilius Varus, making efforts to Romanize the German tribes near the Rhine. Placing himself at the head of the discontented tribes he completely annihilated the army of Varus, consisting of three legions, in a three days' battle fought in the Teutoburg Forest. For some time he baffled the Roman general Germanicus, and after many years' resistance to the vast power of the Empire he drew upon himself the hatred of his countrymen by aiming at the regal authority, and was assassinated. A national monument to his memory was inaugurated on the Grotenburg, near Detmold, in 1875.—Bibliography: see Tacitus,Annals(translated by Murphy); O. Kemmer,Arminius; F. W. Fischer,Armin und die Römer.
Arminius, Jacobus (properly Jakob Harmensen), founder of the sect of Arminians or Remonstrants, born in South Holland in 1560, died 1609. He studied at Utrecht, in the University of Leyden, and at Geneva, where his chief preceptor in theology was Theodore Beza (1582). On his return to Holland he was appointed minister of one of the churches inAmsterdam, and chosen to undertake the refutation of a work which strongly controverted Beza's doctrine of predestination; but he happened to be convinced by the work which he had undertaken to refute. Elected in 1603 professor of divinity at Leyden, he openly declared his opinions, and was involved in harassing controversies, especially with his fellow professor Gomarus. These contests, with the continual attacks on his reputation, at length impaired his health and brought on a complicated disease, of which he died. SeeArminians.
Ar´mitage, Edward, English historical painter, born 1817, died 1896. He studied under Delaroche at the École des Beaux Arts, Paris, was one of the ablest pupils of that painter, and in 1842 exhibited at the Salon (in the Louvre) a picture ofPrometheus Bound. At the exhibition of cartoons for historical pictures in Westminster Hall (1843) he obtained a premium of £300 for his design ofCæsar's First Invasion of Britain. Other similar premiums were gained by hisSpirit of Religion(1845), andBattle of Meeanee(1847—£500). He now went to study at Rome, and exhibited at the Academy in 1848 hisHenry VIII and Katherine Parr, and hisTrafalgar(Death of Nelson). He had pictures in most of the subsequent Academy exhibitions up nearly to the time of his death. In 1867 he was elected an associate, and in 1872 a full academician. He did much for the restoration of fresco painting in England. A large number of his pictures were biblical in subject, such asAhab and Jezebel,Esther's Banquet,The Remorse of Judas,Joseph and Mary,Herod's Birthday Feast, &c. As professor of painting to the Royal Academy he delivered lectures on painting, which were published in 1883. In 1898 appeared a volume of hisPictures and Drawings.
Armor´ica(from two Celtic words signifying 'upon the sea'), a name anciently applied to all north-western Gaul, afterwards limited to what is now Brittany. HenceArmoricis one name for Breton or the language of the inhabitants of Brittany, a Celtic dialect closely allied to Welsh.
Armour.SeeArms.
Armoured Car, a self-propelled car completely protected by bullet-proof armour-plating. Such a car is a stage in the development of mechanical warfare, i.e. warfare by means of a self-propelled, armed, and manned machine. The idea is a very ancient one, some form of protected vehicle having been in use among the Chinese in almost prehistoric times. The modern armoured car is constructed on a strongly-engined chassis, and is provided with a bullet-proof armour-plating both for engine and crew. This armour is continued low down over the wheels. The armament of such a car consists of two heavy machine-guns, firing through slits in the armour-plating of the body of the car.
Armour-plates, iron or steel plates with which the sides of vessels of war are covered with the view of rendering them shot-proof. SeeIron-clad Vessels.
Arms, Coat of, orArmorial Bearings, a collective name for the devices borne on shields, on banners, &c., as marks of dignity and distinction, and, in the case of family and feudal arms, descending from father to son. They were first employed by the Crusaders, and became hereditary in families at the close of the twelfth century. They took their rise from the knights painting their banners or shields each with a figure or figures proper to himself, to enable him to be distinguished in battle when clad in armour. SeeHeraldry.
Arms, College of.SeeHerald.