Part 18 (1/2)
EYRE, LAKE, a large salt-water lake of South Australia. Area about 4000 sq.
miles, but it is subject to great fluctuations in size.
EZE'KIEL (Heb. _Yehezg[=e]l_, 'G.o.d shall strengthen'), the third of the great prophets, a priest, and the son of Buzi. He was carried away when young (about 599 B.C.) into the Babylonian captivity. His prophetic career extended over a period of twenty-two years, from the fifth to the twenty-seventh year of the captivity. The _Book of Ezekiel_ contains predictions made before the fall of Jerusalem, 586 B.C. (chaps. i-xxiv); prophecies against some of the neighbouring tribes (chaps. xxv-x.x.xii); prophecies concerning the future of Israel (x.x.xiii-x.x.xix); and a series of visions relating to the circ.u.mstances of the people after the restoration.
EZRA, a celebrated Jewish scribe and priest. Under his guidance the second expedition of the Jews set out from Babylon to Palestine in the reign of Artaxerxes I, about 458 B.C. The important services rendered by Ezra to his countrymen on that occasion, and also in arranging, and in some measure, it is believed, settling the canon of Scripture, are specially acknowledged by the Jews, and he has even been regarded as the second founder of the nation. Josephus states that he died in Jerusalem; others a.s.sert that he returned to Babylon, and died there at the age of 120 years. _The Book of Ezra_ contains an account of the favours bestowed upon the Jews by the Persian monarchs, the rebuilding of the temple, Ezra's mission to Jerusalem, and the various regulations and forms introduced by him. It is written partly in Hebrew and partly in Chaldee; this has led some to conclude that it is the work of different hands.
F
F, the sixth letter of the English alphabet, is a labio-dental articulation, formed by the pa.s.sage of breath between the lower lip and the upper front teeth. It is cla.s.sed as a surd spirant, its corresponding sonant spirant being _v_, which is distinguished from _f_ by being p.r.o.nounced with voice instead of breath, as may be perceived by p.r.o.nouncing _ef, ev_. The figure of the letter F is the same as that of the ancient Greek digamma, which it also closely resembles in power. As a mediaeval Roman numeral F stands for 40, and with a bar above it, it is 40,000. F, in music, is the fourth note of the diatonic scale.
FAAM-TEA, or FAHAM-TEA, a name given to the dried leaves of the _Angraec.u.m fragrans_, an orchid growing in the Mauritius and in India, and much prized for the fragrance of its leaves, an infusion of which is used as a stomachic and as an expectorant in pulmonary complaints.
FABER, Frederick William, D.D., a theologian and hymn-writer, the nephew of George Stanley Faber, born at Durham in 1814, died 26th Sept., 1863. In 1845 he became a convert to Roman Catholicism, and founded the oratory of St. Philip Neri, afterwards transferred to Brompton.
FABIAN SOCIETY, a Socialist organization, founded in 1888, whose object, as defined by the basis which members are required to sign, is the nationalization of all land and industrial capital for the benefit of the whole community; this result to be attained, not by any violent upheaval, but by educating the minds of the ma.s.ses and gradually extending the control of the State over the factors of production. Its policy, as expounded in _Fabian Essays_ (1889) by a number of its early members, is frankly opportunist, and contemplates the use of existing political machinery and the acceptance of any measure of reform which will further the ultimate aims of the society. The name is derived from that of the Roman general, Quintus Fabius Maximus, known as Cunctator from the cautious tactics by which he ultimately defeated Hannibal. Prominent members of the society at different times have been Bernard Shaw, Sidney Webb, H. G.
Wells, and J. A. Hobson. The society has branches in Great Britain, the Colonies, and America, and has issued a number of publications, notably _Fabian Tracts_. A research department recently established has done useful work. The growth of the labour movement has rather diminished the importance of the society, and has led to some secessions from its ranks.
FABII (f[=a]'bi-[=i]), an ancient and renowned family of Rome, who, having undertaken the duty of defending Roman territory against the incursions of the Veientines, established themselves at a post on the River Cremera.
Being drawn into an ambush, they were killed to a man (477 B.C.). A boy who happened to be left in Rome became the second founder of the family. Among its celebrated members in aftertimes was Fabius Maximus, whose policy of defensive warfare was so successful against Hannibal in the second Punic War (218-201 B.C.); and Quintus Fabius Pictor, who lived about the same time and wrote a history of Rome in Greek, thus being the earliest Roman historian.
FABLE (Lat. _fabula_, narrative), in literature, a term applied originally to every imaginative tale, but confined in modern use to short stories, either in prose or verse, in which animals and sometimes inanimate things are feigned to act and speak with human interests and pa.s.sions for the purpose of inculcating a moral lesson in a pleasant and pointed manner. The fable consists properly of two parts--the symbolical representation and the application, or the instruction intended to be deduced from it, which latter is called the _moral_ of the tale, and must be apparent in the fable itself. The oldest fables are supposed to be the Oriental; among these the Indian fables of Pilpay or Bidpai, and the fables of the Arabian Lokman, are celebrated. Amongst the Greeks, aesop is the master of a simple but very effective style of fable. The fables of Phaedrus are a second-rate Latin version of those of aesop. In modern times Gellert and Lessing among the Germans, Gay among the English, the Spanish Yriarte, the Italian Pignotti, and the Russian Ivan Krylov, are celebrated. The first place, however, amongst modern fabulists belongs to the French writer La Fontaine. R. L.
Stevenson wrote a collection of fables.--Cf. Walter Jerrold, _The Big Book of Fables_.
FABLIAUX (fab'li-[=o]; O.F. _fabliaus_, Lat. _fabella_, dim. of _fabula_, story), in French literature, the short metrical tales of the Trouveres, or early poets of the Langue d'Oil, composed for the most part in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. These productions were intended merely for recitation, not for singing, and had as their princ.i.p.al subjects the current gossip and news of the day, which were treated in a witty and sarcastic way. The fabliaux lashed not only the clergy and n.o.bility in their degeneracy, but even mocked the religious chivalrous spirit, and the religious and knightly doctrines and ceremonies.
FABRE, Jean Henri, French entomologist, born at Sainte-Leone, Aveyron, in 1823, died 11th Oct., 1915. The son of very poor parents, he received a free education at Rodez, and then went to the normal school at Vaucluse, and at the age of eighteen he began his career as teacher. He was in charge of a primary school, and in his spare time studied mathematics and physics.
He subsequently became professor of physics at the College of Ajaccio, and his interest in insects having in the meantime been aroused, he turned his entire attention to entomological pursuits. His reputation as a naturalist increased, and his work was praised by Darwin. He was particularly noted for the remarkable patience with which he investigated the life-history of insects, and for his minute and painstaking observations. His works first appeared in the _Annales des sciences naturelles_ from 1855-8, and were afterwards amplified in his _Souvenirs Entomologiques_ in 10 volumes, published between 1878 and 1907. He was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honour, and in 1912 the French Government granted him a pension. His works were translated into English by A. Texeira de Mattos.
FABRIA'NO, an episcopal city of Italy, province of Ancona. Pop. 23,750.
FABRICIUS, Gaius (with the cognomen Luscinus), an ancient Roman, celebrated on account of his fearlessness, integrity, moderation, and contempt of riches. After having conquered the Samnites and Lucanians, and enriched his country with the spoils, of which he alone took nothing, he was sent on an emba.s.sy to Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, who tried in vain to corrupt him by large presents. When consul in 279 B.C., Fabricius delivered up to Pyrrhus his treacherous physician, who had offered to poison his royal master for a sum of money. In grat.i.tude for the service the king released the Roman prisoners without ransom. In 275 B.C. Fabricius was chosen censor. He died about 250 B.C.
FABRICIUS, Johann Albrecht, a German scholar, born at Leipzig in 1668, died in 1736. He became professor of rhetoric and moral philosophy at Hamburg, and published many learned works, amongst which are his _Bibliotheca Latina_, _Bibliotheca Ecclesiastica_, and _Bibliotheca Antiquaria_.
FABRICIUS, Johann Christian, German entomologist, born 1743, died 3rd March, 1808. After studying at Copenhagen, Leyden, Edinburgh, and under Linnaeus at Upsala, he obtained the post of professor of natural history in the University of Kiel. In 1755 appeared his _Systema Entomologiae_, which gave to this science an entirely new form. In 1778 he published his _Philosophia Entomologica_, written upon the plan of the well-known _Philosophia Botanica_ of Linnaeus.
FACCIOLATI (f[.a]t-cho-la't[=e]), Jacopo, Italian cla.s.sical scholar, born 1682, died 1769; professor in the University of Padua. The most important work with which he was connected was the _Tot[=i]us Latinit[=a]tis Lexicon_, compiled by Forcellini under his direction and with his co-operation.
FACE, the front part of the head, the seat of most of the sense-organs. The bony basis of the face, exclusive of the thirty-two teeth (these not being in the strict sense bones), is composed of fourteen bones, called, in anatomy, the _bones of the face_. The anterior part of the brain-case (frontal bone) also forms an important feature of the face. Of all these bones the lower jaw only is movable, being articulated with the base of the skull. The other bones are firmly joined together and incapable of motion.
In most mammals the jaws project much more than in men, and form the prominent feature of the face, while the forehead recedes. See _Facial Angle_.
FACE'TIae, humorous sayings, witticisms, jests. There have been many collections of such. Amongst the most notable are the _Asteia_ (Jests) of Hierocles, an old Greek collection, the _Liber Facetiarum_ of Poggio Bracciolini, and Joe Miller's _Jest-Book_.
FACIAL ANGLE, an angle of importance in the method of skull measurement introduced by Camper, the Dutch anatomist, who sought to establish a connection between the magnitude of this angle and the intelligence of different animals and men, maintaining that it is always greater as the intellectual powers are greater. Suppose a straight line drawn at the base of the skull, posteriorly across the external orifice of the ear to the bottom of the nose, and another straight line from the bottom of the nose, or from the roots of the upper incisors, to the most prominent part of the forehead, then both lines will form an angle which will be more or less acute. In apes this angle is only from 45 to 60; in the skull of a negro, about 70; in a European, from 75 to 85. In another mode of drawing the lines the angle included between them varies in man from 90 to 120, and is more capable of comparison among vertebrate animals than the angle of Camper. Though of some importance in the comparison of races, this angle is fallacious as a test of individual capacity.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Facial Angle.
1, European. 2, Negro.]