Part 195 (1/2)
FALL, THE, the first transgression of divine law on the part of man, conceived of as involving the whole human race in the guilt of it, and represented as consisting in the wilful partaking of the fruit of the forbidden tree of the _knowledge_ of both good and evil. The story of the Fall in Genesis has in later times been regarded as a spiritual allegory, and simply the Hebrew attempt, one amongst many, to explain the origin of evil. It is worthy of note that a narrative, similar even to detail, exists in the ancient religious writings of the Hindus and Persians.
FALLOPIUS, GABRIELLO, anatomist, born at Modena; professor of Anatomy at Pisa and at Padua; the Fallopian tubes which connect the ovaries with the uterus, first accurately described by him, are called after his name, as also the duct which transmits the facial nerve after it leaves the auditory nerve (1523-1562).
FALLOUX, FReDeRIC ALFRED PIERRE, VICOMTE DE, author and statesman, born at Angers; member of the House of Deputies; favoured the revolutionaries of 1848, and under the Presidency of Louis Napoleon became Minister of Public Instruction; retired in 1849, and became a member of the French Academy (1857); author of a ”History of Louis XVI.”
and a ”History of Pius V.,” both characterised by a strong Legitimist bias (1811-1886).
FALMOUTH (13), a seaport on the Cornish coast, on the estuary of the Fal, 18 m. NE. of the Lizard; its harbour, one of the finest in England, is defended E. and W. by St. Mawes Castle and Pendennis Castle; pilchard fis.h.i.+ng is actively engaged in, and there are exports of tin and copper.
FALSTAFF, SIR JOHN, a character in Shakespeare's ”Henry IV.” and the ”Merry Wives of Windsor”; a boon companion of Henry, Prince of Wales; a cowardly braggart, of sensual habits and great corpulency. See FASTOLF.
FAMILIAR SPIRITS, certain supernatural beings presumed, agreeably to a very old belief (Lev. xix. 31), to attend magicians or sorcerers, and to be at their beck and call on any emergency.
FAMILISTS, or the Brotherhood of Love, a fanatical sect which arose in Holland in 1556, and affected to love all men as brothers.
FAMILY COMPACT, a compact concluded in 1761 between the Bourbons of France, Spain, and Italy to resist the naval power of England.
FAN, a light hand implement used to cause a draught of cool air to play upon the face; there are two kinds, the folding and non-folding; the latter, sometimes large and fixed on a pole, were known to the ancients, the former were invented by the j.a.panese in the 7th century, and became popular in Italy and Spain in the 16th century; but Paris soon took a lead in their manufacture, carrying them to their highest pitch of artistic perfection in the reign of Louis XIV.
FANARIOTS, the descendants of the Greeks of n.o.ble birth who remained in Constantinople after its capture by Mahomet II. in 1453, so called from Fanar, the quarter of the city which they inhabited; they rose at one time to great influence in Turkish affairs, though they have none now.
FANDANGO, a popular Spanish dance, specially in favour among the Andalusians; is in time, and is danced to the accompaniment of guitars and castanets.
FANS, an aboriginal tribe dwelling between the Gaboon and Ogoway Rivers, in western equatorial Africa; are brave and intelligent, and of good physique, but are addicted to cannibalism.
FANSHAWE, SIR RICHARD, diplomatist and poet, born at Ware Park, Hertford; studied at the Inner Temple, and after a Continental tour became attached to the English emba.s.sy at Madrid; sided with the Royalists at the outbreak of the Civil War; was captured at the battle of Worcester, but escaped and shared the exile of Charles II.; on the Restoration negotiated Charles's marriage with Catharine, and became amba.s.sador at the court of Philip IV. of Spain; translated Camoens's ”Lusiad” and various cla.s.sical pieces (1608-1666).
FANTINE, one of the most heart-affecting characters in ”Les Miserables” of Victor Hugo.
FANTIS, an African tribe on the Gold Coast, enemies of their conquerors the Ashantis; fought as allies of the British in the Ashanti War (1873-74), but, although of strong physique, proved cowardly allies.
FARAD, the unit of electrical energy, so called from Faraday.
FARADAY, MICHAEL, a highly distinguished chemist and natural philosopher, born at Newington b.u.t.ts, near London, of poor parents; received a meagre education, and at 13 was apprenticed to a bookseller, but devoted his evenings to chemical and electrical studies, and became a student under Sir H. Davy, who, quick to detect his ability, installed him as his a.s.sistant; in 1827 he succeeded Davy as lecturer at the Royal Inst.i.tution, and became professor of Chemistry in 1833; was pensioned in 1835, and in 1858 was allotted a residence in Hampton Court; in chemistry he made many notable discoveries, e. g. the liquefaction of chlorine, while in electricity and magnetism his achievements cover the entire field of these sciences, and are of the first importance (1791-1867).