Argument is a term sometimes used as synonymous with the subject of a discourse, but more frequently appropriated to any kind of method employed for the purpose of confuting or at least silencing an opponent. Logicians have reduced arguments to a number of distinct heads, such as the argumentum ad judicium, which founds on solid proofs and addresses to the judgment; the argumentum ad verecundiam, which appeals to the modesty or bashfulness of an opponent by reminding him of the great names or authorities by whom the view disputed by him is supported; the argumentum ad ignorantiam, the employment of some logical fallacy towards persons likely to be deceived by it; and the argumentum ad hominem, an argument which presses a man with consequences drawn from his own principles and concessions, or his own conduct. Research Argument
A bell is a hollow, somewhat cup-shaped, sounding instrument of metal. The metal from which bells are usually made (by founding) is an alloy, called bell-metal, commonly composed of eighty parts of copper and twenty of tin. The proportion of tin varies, however, from one-third to one-fifth of the weight of the copper, according to the sound required, the size of the bell, and the impulse to be given. The clearness and richness of the tone depend upon the metal used, the perfection of its casting, and also upon its shape; it having been shown by a number of experiments that the well-known shape with a thick lip is the best adapted to give a perfect sound. The depth of the tone of a bell increases in proportion to its size.
A bell is divided into the body or barrel, the ear or cannon, and the clapper or tongue. The lip or sound-bow is that part where the bell is struck by the clapper. It is uncertain whether the jangling instruments used by the Egyptians and Israelites can be correctly described as bells; but it is certain that bells of a considerable size were in early use in China and Japan, and that the Greeks and Romans used them for various purposes. They are said to have been first introduced into Christian churches about 400 AD by Paulinus, bishop of Nola, in Campania (whence campana and nola as old names of bells); although their adoption on a wide scale does not become apparent until after the year 550, when they were introduced into France.
Benedict Biscop, abbot of Wearmouth, seems to have imported bells from Italy to England in 680, but their use in Ireland and Scotland is probably of earlier date. The oldest of those existing in Great Britain and Ireland, such as the 'bell of St. Patrick's will' and St Ninian's bell, are quadrangular and made of thin iron plates hammered and riveted together.
Until the thirteenth century bells were of comparatively small size, but after the casting of the Jacqueline of Paris (6.5 tons) in 1400 their weight rapidly increased. Among the more famous bells are the bell of Cologne, 11. tons, 1448; of Dantzic, 6 tons, 1453; of Halberstadt, 7.5, 1457; of Rouen, 16, 1501; of Breslau, 11, 1507; of Lucerne, 71, 1636; of Oxford,7.5 1680; of Paris, 12.8, 1680; of Bruges, 10.5, 1680; of Vienna, 17.75, 1711; of Moscow (the monarch of all bells), 193, 1736; three other bells at Moscow ranging from 16 to 31 tons, and a fourth of 80 tons cast in 1819; the bell of Lincoln (Great Tom), 5.5, 1834; of YorkMinster (Great Peter), 10.75, 1845; of Montreal, 134, 1847; of Westminster (Big Ben), 15.5, 1856, (St Stephen), 13.5, 1858; the Great Bell of St. Paul's, 17.5, 1882. Others are the bells of Ghent (5 tons), Gorlitz (10.75 tons), St Peter's, Rome (8 tons), Antwerp (7.25 tons), Olmutz (18 tons), Sacred Heart, Paris (27 tons), Novgorod (31 tons), Pekin (53.5 tons).
Besides their use in churches bells are employed for various purposes, formerly the most common use being to summon attendants or domestics in private houses, hotels, etc. Bells for this purpose were of small size and may be held in the hand and rung, but most commonly were rung by means of wires stretched from the various apartments to the place where the bells were hung. Bells rung by electricity became common in hotels and other establishments around 1905.
Byzantine art is the symbolic system which was developed by the early Greek or Byzantine artists out of the Christian symbolism. Byzantine Art arose in South-eastern Europe after Constantine the Great had made Byzantium the capital of the Roman Empire in 330 AD and ornamented that city, which was called after him, with all the treasures of Grecian art.
One of the chief influences in Byzantine art was Christianity, and to a certain extent Byzantine art may be recognized as the endeavour to give expression to the new elements which Christianity had brought into the life of men. The tendency towards Oriental luxuriance and splendour of ornament now quite supplanted the simplicity of ancient taste. Richness of material and decoration was the aim of the artist rather than purity of conception. Yet the classical ideals of art, and in particular the traditions of technical processes and methods carried to Byzantium by the artists of the Western Empire, held their ground long enough, and produced work pure and powerful enough, to kindle the new artistic life which began in Italy with Cimabue and Giotto.
With regard to sculpture the statues no longer displayed the freedom and dignity of ancient art. The true proportion of parts, the correctness of the outlines, and in general
the severe beauty of the naked figure, or of simple drapery in Greek art, were neglected for extravagant costume and ornamentation and petty details. Yet in the best period of Byzantine art, from the 6th to the 11th century, there is considerable spiritual dignity in the general conception of the figures. But sculpture was of second-rate importance at Byzantium, the taste of those times inclining more to mosaic work with the costliness and brilliant colours of its stones.
The first germ of a Christian style of art was developed in the Byzantine pictures. The artists, who appear to have seldom employed the living model, and had nothing real and material before them, but were obliged to find, in their own imaginations, conceptions of the external appearance of sacred persons, such as the mother of Christ or the apostles, could give but feeble renderings of their ideas. As they cared but little for a faithful imitation of nature, but were
satisfied with repeating what was once acknowledged as successful, it is not strange that certain forms, approved by the taste of the time, should be made, by convention, and without regard to truth and beauty, general models of the human figure, and be transmitted as such to succeeding times. In this way the artists in the later periods did not even aim at accuracy of representation, but were contented with stiff general outlines, lavishing their labour on ornamental parts.
Byzantine architecture may be said to have assumed its distinctive features in the church of St Sophia built by Justinian in the 6th century, and still existing as the chief mosque in Constantinople. It is more especially the style associated with the Greek Church as distinguished from the Roman.
The leading forms of the Byzantine style are the round arch, the circle, and in particular the dome. The last is the most conspicuous and characteristic object in Byzantine buildings, and the free and full employment of it was arrived at when by the use of pendentives the architects were enabled to place it on a square apartment instead of a circular or polygonal. In this style of building incrustation, the incrustation of brick with more precious materials, was largely in use. It depended much on colour and surface ornament for its effect, and with this intent mosaics wrought on grounds of gold or of positive colour are profusely introduced, while coloured marbles. and stones of various kinds are greatly made use of. The capitals are of peculiar and original design, the most characteristic being square and tapering downwards, and they are very varied in their decorations.
Byzantine architecture may be divided into an older and a newer (or Neo-Byzantine) style. The most distinctive feature of the latter ia that the dome is raised on a perpendicular circular or polygonal piece of masonry (technically the drum) containing windows for lighting the interior, while in the older style the light was admitted by openings in the dome itself. The Cathedral of Athens is an example of the Neo-Byzantine style.
The Byzantine Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, so called from its capital Byzantium or Constantinople was founded in 395 AD when Theodosius at his death divided the Roman Empire between his sons Arcadius and Honorius. In this empire the Greek language and civilization were prevalent; but the rulers claimed still to be Roman emperors, and under their sway the laws and official forms of Rome were maintained. It lasted for about a thousand years after the downfall of the Western Empire.
The Eastern Empire, then comprising Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, Greece, Thrace, Moesia, Macedonia, and Crete, fell to Theodosius's elder son Arcadius, through whose weakness and that of several of his immediate successors it suffered severely from the encroachments of Huns, Goths, Bulgarians, and Persians. In 527 the celebrated Justinian succeeded,, whose reign is famous for the codification of Roman law, and the victories of his generals Belisarius and Narses over the Vandals in Africa, and the Goths in Italy, which was henceforth governed for the Eastern Empire by an exarch residing at Ravenna. But his energy could not revive the decaying strength of the empire, and Justin II his successor, a weak and avaricious prince, lost his reason by the reverses encountered in his conflicts with plundering Lombards, Avars, and Persians.
Tiberius, a captain of the guard, succeeded in 578, and in 582 Mauricius; both were men of ability. In 602 Phocas, proclaimed emperor by the army, succeeded, and produced by his incapacity tlie greatest disorder in the empire. Heraclius, son of the governor of Africa, who headed a conspiracy, conquered Constantinople, and caused Phocas to be executed in 610. He was an excellent general, and finally succeeded in repressing the Avars and recovering the provinces lost to the Persians, whose power indeed he overthrew. But a far more dangerous enemy to the Byzantine empire now appeared in the Muslim power, founded amongst the Arabians by Mohammed and the caliphs, which gradually extended its conquests over Phoenicia, the countries on the Euphrates, Judea, Syria, and Egypt from 635-641.
The empire was in sore straits when Leo the Isaurian (Leo III), general of the army of the East, mounted the throne in 716, and a new period of comparative prosperity began. Some writers date the beginning of the Byzantine Empire proper, and the end of the Eastern Roman Empire, from this era.
Numerous reforms, civil and military, were now introduced, and the worship of images was prohibited. Leo repelled the Arabians or Saracens from Constantinople, but allowed the Lombards to seize the Italian provinces, while the Arabians plundered the Eastern ones. Constantine V in 741 recovered part of Syria and Armenia from the Arabians; and the struggle was carried on not unsuccessfully by his son Leo IV. Under his grandson, Constantine VI, Irene, the ambitious mother of the latter, raised a large faction by the restoration of image worship, and, in conjunction with her paramour Stauratius, deposed her son, and had his eyes put out in 797.
A revolt of the patricians placed one of their order, Nicephorus, on the throne, who fell in the war against the Bulgarians in 811. Stauratius, Michael, Leo V and Michael II in 820 ascended the throne in rapid succession. During the reign of the latter the Arabians conquered Sicily, Lower Italy, Crete, and other countries. The long dispute as to image-worship was brought to a close in 842, when the practice was finally sanctioned at the council of Nicaea, under Michael III.
He was put to death by Basil the Macedonian, who came to the throne as Basil I in 867, and whose reign formed a period of great glory in the history of the Byzantine Empire. He founded a dynasty (the Macedonian) which lasted until 1056. Among the greatest of his successors were Nicephorus II (Phocas), and John Zimisces in 969, who carried on successful wars against the Muslims, Bulgarians, and Russians.
Basil II succeeded this prince in 976. He vanquished the Bulgarians and the Arabians. His brother, Constantine IX was succeeded by Romanus III in 1028, who married Zoe, daughter of Constantine. This dissolute but able princess caused her husband to be executed, and successively raised to the throne Michael IV, Michael V, and Constantine X. Russians and Muslims meanwhile devastated the empire. Her sister Theodora succeeded her on the throne in 1054.
After the short reign of Michael VI from 1054 until 1057 Isaac Comnenus, the first of the Comnenian dynasty, ascended the throne, but soon after became a monk. The three chief emperors of this dynasty were Alexius, John, and Manuel Comnenus. During the reign of Alexius I from 1081 to 1118 the Crusades commenced. His son, John II, and grandson, Manuel I, fought with success against the Turks, whose progress also was considerably checked by the Crusades. The Latins, the name given to the French, Venetian, etc, crusaders, now forced their way to Constantinople in 1204, conquered the city, and retained it, together with most of the European territories of the empire.
Baldwin, count of Flanders, was made emperor; Boniface, marquis of Montferrat, obtained Thessalonica as a kingdom, and the Venetians acquired a large extent of territory. Theodore Lascaris seized on the Asiatic provinces, in 1206 made Nice (Nicaea) the capital of the empire, and was at first more powerful than Baldwin. Neither Baldwin nor his successors, Henry, Peter, and Robert of Courtenay, were able to secure the tottering throne. John, emperor of Nice, conquered all the remaining Byzantine territory except Constantinople, and at last, in 1261, Michael Palaeologus, king of Nice, conquered Constantinople, and thus overthrew the Latin dynasty.
Thus again the vast but exhausted Byzantine Empire was united under Michael Palaeologus, founder of the last Byzantine dynasty. Internal disturbances and wars with the Turks disturbed the reigns of his descendants Andronicus II and Andronicus III. For a time the Cantacuzenes shared the crown with John Palasologus, son of Andronicus III; but in 1355 John again became sole emperor. In his reign the Turks first obtained a firm footing in Europe, and conquered Gallipoli in 1357. In 1361 Sultan Amurath took Adrianople. Bajazet conquered almost all the European provinces except Constantinople, and was pressing it hard when Timur's invasion of the Turkish provinces saved Constantinople for this time in 1402. Manuel then recovered his throne, and regained some of the lost provinces from the contending sons of Bajazet. To him succeeded his son John, Palaeologus II whom Amurath II stripped of all his territories except Constantinople, and laid under tribute in 1444.
To the Emperor John succeeded his brother Constantine Palaeologus. With the assistance of his general Giustiniani, a Genoese, he withstood the superior forces of the enemy with fruitless courage, and fell in the defence of Constantinople, by the conquest of which on May the 29th, 1453 Mohammed II put an end to the Greek or Byzantine Empire. The Byzantine Empire, which thus lasted for over a thousand years, stemmed the tide of the advance of Islam and instead spread Christianity and maintained a regular system of government, law, and policy in the midst of surrounding conflicting systems. Research Byzantine Empire
Catacombs ( derived from the Greek kata, meaning down, and kumbos, meaning a hollow or recess) are caves or subterranean places for the burial of the dead, the bodies being placed in graves or recesses hollowed out in the sides of the cave. Caves of this kind were common amongst the Phoenicians, Greeks, Persians, and many oriental nations.
In Sicily and Asia Minor numerous excavations have been discovered containing sepulchres, and the catacombs near Naples are remarkably extensive. Those of Rome, however, are the most important. The catacumbae is said to have been originally applied to the district near Rome which contains the chapel of St Sebastian, in the vaults of which, according to tradition, the body of St Peter was first deposited; but (besides its general application) it is now applied in a special way to all the extensive subterranean burial-places in the neighbourhood of Rome, which extend underneath the town itself as well as the neighbouring country, and are said to contain not less than 6,000,000 tombs. They consist of long narrow galleries usually about 2.4 metres high and 1.5 metres wide, which branch off in all directions, forming a perfect maze of corridors. Different stories of galleries lie one below the other. Vertical shafts run up to the outer air, thus introducing light and air, though in small quantity.
The graves or loculi lie longwise in the galleries. They are closed laterally by a slab, on which there is occasionally a brief inscription or a symbol, such as a dove, an anchor, or a palm-branch, and sometimes both. The earliest that can be dated with any certainty belongs to the year 111 AD. It is now regarded as certain that in times of persecution the early Christians frequently took refuge in the catacombs, in order to celebrate there in secret the ceremonies of their religion; but it is not less certain that the catacombs served also as ordinary places of burial to the early Christians, and were for the most part excavated by the Christians themselves.
In early times rich Christians constructed underground burying-places for themselves and their brethren, which they held as private property under the protection of the law. But in course of time, partly by their coming under the control of the church and partly by accidents of proprietorship, these private burying-grounds were connected with each other, and became the property, not of particular individuals, but of the Christian community. In the 3rd century AD there were already several such common burying-places belonging to the Christian congregations, and their number went on increasing until the time of Constantine, when the catacombs ceased to be used as burying-places.
From the time of Constantine down to the 8th century they were used only as places of devotion and worship. But their use as formal places of worship can only have been occasional, for the limited dimensions even of the largest rooms, and the extreme narrowness of the passages, must have made it impossible for any large number to take efficient part in the services at one time. But though the idea of the catacombs as regular places of worship may be carried too far, there is no doubt, from the episcopal chairs, altars, basins, etc, found within them, and from the subjects of the mosaics and carvings on the walls, that the rites of the church, and particularly the eucharist and the sacrament of baptism, were often celebrated there.
They could never have cerved as dwelling-places for any length of time to the Christians, residence in most of them for more than a short time being very dangerous to the health.
During the siege of Rome by the Lombards in the 8th century the catacombs were in part destroyed, and soon became entirely inaccessible, so that they were forgotten, and only the careful and laborious investigations of archaeologists, amongst whom De Rossi (Roma Sotterranea) and Parker (The Catacombs) may be mentioned, have thrown anything like a complete light on the origin and history of the catacombs.
There are extensive catacombs at Paris, consisting of old quarries from which has been obtained much of the material for the building of the city. In them are accumulated bones removed from cemeteries now built over. Research Catacomb
Chinaware is a name given to porcelain (pottery made from kaolin), so called from China being the first country to supply it to Europeans. It is thought that the Chinese produced porcelain from ancient times, but it wasn't until around 500 AD that they perfected the art. Chinaware first came to Europe in the beginning of the 16th century and won immediate popularity for its beauty and novelty.
The European consumers thought it impossible to match the whiteness of Chinaware, until John Frederick of Saxony, an alchemist, discovered a means of producing a porcelain equal in whiteness to the Chinaware. This led to the establishment by the Government of a factory at Meissen which started to produce porcelain rivalling the Chinaware in beauty and quality.
In France also about the middle of the 18th century the celebrated factory at Sevres was set up and soon acquired a great renown. In England a porcfaiain work was established at Chelsea some years prior to 1745; it was made at Stratford-le-Bow about the same time, at Derby as early as 1750, at Worcester in 1751. About 1755 kaolin or porcelain clay was discovered in Cornwall, and this contributed greatly to improve the quality of English porcelain, which began to be largely manufactured in Staffordshire under the auspices of Josiah Spode and Thomas Minton.
Chinaware, when broken, presents a granular surface with a compact, dense, firm, hard, vitreous and durable texture. It is semi-transparent, with a covering of white glaze, clear, smooth, unaffected by all acids except hydroflouric acid, and able to withstand sudden changes of temperature. Research Chinaware
Civil Law (jus civile) among the Romans was a term nearly corresponding to what in modern times is implied by the phrase positive law, that is, the rules of right established by any government. They contradistinguished it from natural law (jus naturale), by which they meant a certain natural order followed by all living beings; also from the general laws of mankind established by the agreement of all nations and governments (jus gentium). With the growth and multiplication of the edicts issued by the praetors (in whose hands was the supreme administration of justice) for the modification and extension of the positive enactments a further distinction became necessary, the whole body of this praetorian law being known by the name of jus honorarium as opposed to the strict formal law (jus civile). The latter, however, included both the private law (jus privatum), which relates to the various legal relations of the different members of the state - the citizens - and the public law (jus publicum), that is, the rules respecting the limits, rights, obligations, etc, of the public authorities.
The final digest of Roman law was made in the 6th century AD under the Emperor Justinian, but at first was only admitted as formally binding in a small part of Italy. After the llth century, in Upper Italy, particularly in the school of Bologna, the body of the Roman law, put together by Justinian, was formed by degrees into a system applicable to the wants of all nations; and on this model the ecclesiastical and Papal decrees were arranged, and to a considerable degree the native laws of the new Teutonic states. From all these the Roman law was distinguished under the name of civil law. In this sense, therefore, civil law means ancient Roman law; and it is contradistinguished from canon law and feudal law, though the feudalcodes of the Lombards have been received into the corpus juris civilis, or body of civil law. As the Roman code exerted the greatest influence on the private law of modern Europe, the expression civil law is also used to embrace all the rules relating to the private rights of citizens. Under the term civil law, therefore, in both Europe and America, is to be understood not only the Roman law, but also the modern private law of the various countries; for example, in Germany, Das gemeine Deutsche Privatrecht, in France the Code civil des Francais or Code Napoleon. In this sense it is chiefly opposed to criminal law, particularly in reference to the administration of justice, which is to be divided into civil justice and criminal justice. Research Civil Law
An espalier is a wooden framework on which fruit-trees or creepers are trained to grow horizontally with the object of securing for the plant a freer circulation of air ad a full exposure to the sun. Research Espalier
The Exaltation of the Cross is a Roman Catholic festival celebrated on the 14th of September in honour of the recovery of a portion of the true cross from the Persians by Heraclitus in 628 AD and its erection on Mount Calvary. Research Exaltation of the Cross
In law, habeas corpus is a writ ordering a person to be brought before a court or judge. The term is particularly applied to a writ so issued so that the court may ascertain whether the person's detention is lawful. From the time of the Magna Charta imprisonment at the discretion of any person has been unlawful in England, but for long the royal prerogative was so indefinite and the power of the crown so great that persons were frequently detained in custody at the discretion of the crown. It was not until the 17th century that the Habeas Corpus Act, passed in 1679 provided the great remedy for the violation of personal liberty by the writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum (that you have the body to answer).
The provisions of the act may be stated generally thus : 1. That on complaint or request in writing, by, or on behalf of, any person committed and charged with any crime (unless treason, felony, etc, expressed in the warrant), the lord-chancellor, or any of the judges shall award a habeas corpus for such prisoner, and shall discharge the party, if bailable, upon security being given to appear and answer to the accusation. 2. The writ shall be returned, and the prisoner brought up within a limited time, not exceeding twenty days. 3. No person once delivered by habeas corpus shall be recommitted for the same offence. 4. Every person committed for treason or felony may insist on being tried at the next assizes, or admitted to bail, and if not tried at the second assizes or sessions, he shall be discharged from the imprisonment. The writ may be applied for by persons confined in any part of England, or Jersey and Guernsey. As the writ originally had to do solely with crimes, the statute 56 George III. cap. c. was passed, which extended the writ to other than criminal cases.
The result was that no person could be illegally confined in England for any length of time, since some friend could always apply for a habeas corpus, which, on a good prima facie case, would be issued. If the party was confined under recognized authority, as a child by a parent, this fact had to be stated.
In times of great political excitement, and suspected treasonable conspiracies, the operation of the Habeas Corpus Act has been occasionally suspended, and during the early 21st century under the pretext of 'combatting terrorism' exceptions made to it. But such suspension does not enable any one to imprison without cause or valid pretext for so doing. It only prevents persons who are committed from being bailed, tried, or discharged during the suspension, leaving to the committing magistrate all the responsibility attending on illegal imprisonment.
In Scotland similar protection of the liberty of the subject was secured by the Wrongous Imprisonment Act of 1701. The English statute was copied in the United States without essential change.
In the United States habeas corpus was suspended on July the 5th, 1861. Attorney-GeneralBates gave an opinion in favour of the President's power to declare martial law and suspend the writ of habeas corpus. A special session of Congress approved this opinion. Thereafter many arbitrary arrests were made, arousing much indignation. On September the 24th, 1862, the suspension was made general by the President so far as it might affect persons arrested by military authority for disloyal practices. An act of Congress, on March the 3rd, 1863, again authorized the suspension of the writ by the President in cases of prisoners of war, deserters, those resisting drafts and offenders against the military or naval service. The arrest of Vallandigham, in Ohio, and of Milligan, in Indiana, caused great excitement. The case of the latter being brought before the Supreme Court of the Union, that body decided that Congress could not give to military commissions the power of trial and conviction, and that the suspension of the privilege of habeas corpus did not suspend the writ itself. In the case of the Ku-Klux rebellions there was a brief suspension of habeas corpus in 1871. Research Habeas Corpus
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
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