Part 394 (1/2)
SCALIGER, JULIUS CaeSAR, surnamed the Elder, cla.s.sical scholar, became page to the Emperor Maximilian, and served him in war and peace for 17 years; at 40 quitted the army, and took to study the learned languages among other subjects; wrote a treatise on poetics and a commentary on the physics and metaphysics of Aristotle, and became an authority on the Aristotelian philosophy (1484-1558).
SCANDERBEG (i. e. Prince or Bey Alexander), the patriot chief of Albania, and the great hero of Albanian independence, who in the 15th century renounced Islamism for Christianity, and by his military prowess and skill freed Albania from the Turkish yoke; throughout his lifetime maintained its independence, crus.h.i.+ng again and again the Turkish armies; was known among the Christians as George Castriot (1403-1468).
SCANDEROON or ALEXANDRETTA (2), the port of Aleppo, in Turkey in Asia, situated in the Gulf of Scanderoon, in the NE. of the Levant, 77 m. NW. of Aleppo; is itself an insignificant place, but has a large transit trade.
SCANDINAVIA, the ancient name (still used) of the great northern peninsula of Europe, which embraces NORWAY (q. v.) and SWEDEN (q. v.); also used in a broader sense to include Denmark and Iceland.
SCARBOROUGH (34), a popular seaside town and watering-place on the Yorks.h.i.+re coast; built on rising ground on the sh.o.r.es of a fine bay; is a place of great antiquity, with interesting ruins; has churches, harbour, piers, and a fine promenade; noted for the manufacture of jet.
SCARPA, ANTONIO, Italian anatomist, professor at Pavia (1747-1832).
SCARRON, PAUL, a French humourist, writer of the burlesque, born, of good parentage, in Paris; entered the Church, and was for some years somewhat lax-living abbe of Mans, but stricken with incurable disease settled in Paris, and supported himself by writing; is chiefly remembered for his ”Virgile Travesti” and ”Le Roman Comique,” which ”gave the impulse out of which sprang the masterpieces of Le Sage, Defoe, Fielding, and Smollett”; married in 1652 Francoise d'Aubigne, a girl of fifteen, afterwards the famous MADAME DE MAINTENON (q. v.); was a man who both suffered much and laughed much (1610-1660).
SCATTERY ISLAND, in the Shannon estuary, 3 m. SW. of Kilrush; an early Christian place of pilgrimage, with ruins and a ”round tower”; is fortified and marked by a lighthouse.
SCEPTICISM, primarily doubt respecting, and ultimately disbelief in, the reality of the super-sensible, or the transcendental, or the validity of the evidence on which the belief in it is founded, such as reason or revelation, and in religious matters is tantamount to infidelity more or less sweeping.
SCEPTRE, the symbol of royal power, power to command and compel, originally a club, the crown being the symbol of dominion.
SCHADOW, JOHANNES GOTTFRIED, sculptor, born in Berlin; was trained in Rome under the best masters, returned to Berlin, and became Director of the Academy of Arts; laboured here for 62 years, and produced works which placed him among the first rank of artists; he had two sons, one of whom distinguished himself as a sculptor, and the other as a painter (1764-1850).
SCHAFF, PHILIP, a theologian, born in Switzerland; studied in Germany; came recommended by high names to the United States, and became professor first in Pennsylvania, and finally in New York (1819-1893).
SCHAFFHAUSEN (38), a canton in the extreme N. of Switzerland, surrounded NE. and W. by Baden; the Rhine flanks it on the S.; is hilly, with fertile valleys sloping to the Rhine, and is chiefly given up to agriculture. The capital, Schaffhausen (19), occupies a picturesque site on the Rhine, 31 m. NW. of Constance; has a 12th-century cathedral, an interesting old castle, &c. The famous falls, the finest on the Rhine, are 3 m. below the town.
SCHaFFLE, DR. ALBERT, eminent German economist, born in Wurtemberg; has written, besides other works, ”The Quintessence of Socialism,” an able _expose_; _b_. 1831.
SCHALL, JOHANN ADAM VON, Jesuit missionary to China, born at Cologne; was received with honours at the Imperial Court; obtained permission to preach, and founded churches to the spread of Christianity, a privilege which was revoked by the next emperor; he was subjected to imprisonment, which shortened his life (1591-1669).
SCHAMYL. See SHAMYL.
SCHARNHORST, GERHARD VON, a Prussian general, distinguished as the organiser of the Prussian army, to the establishment of a national force instead of a mercenary; died of a wound in battle (1756-1813).
SCHEELE, CARL WILHELM, Swedish chemist, born in Pomerania, was an apothecary at Upsala and Koping; during his residence at the latter made numerous important discoveries, and published many chemical papers, his chief work ”Experiments on Air and Fire” (1742-1786).
SCHEFFEL, JOSEPH VICTOR VON, German poet, bred to law, but abandoned it for literature; his first and best work ”Der Trompeter von Sakkingen,”