The Augsburg Confession was a document which was presented by the Protestants at the Diet of Augsburg, 1530, to the Emperor Charles V and the diet, and being signed by the Protestant states was adopted as their creed. Luther made the original draught;
but as its style appeared too violent it was given to Melanchthon for amendment. The original is to be found in the imperial Austrian archives. Afterwards Melanchthon arbitrarily altered some of the articles, and there arose a division between those who held the original and those who held the altered Augsburg Confession. The former is received by the Lutherans, the latter by the German Reformed. Research Augsburg Confession
The Banting System was a course of diet for reducing superfluous fat, adopted and recommended in 1863 by W Banting of London. The dietary recommended was the use of butcher-meat principally, and abstinence from beer, farinaceous food, and vegetables - a similar low-carbohydrate diet was 100 years later promoted by Dr Atkins as the Atkins Diet. Research Banting System
Censorship of books is the supervision of books by some authority so as to settle what may be published. After the invention of printing the rapid diffusion of opinions by means of books induced the governments in all countries to assume certain powers of supervision and regulation with regard to printed matter. The popes were the first to institute a regular censorship. By a bull of Leo X. in 1515 the bishops and inquisitors were required to examine all works before they were printed, with a view to prevent the publication of heretical opinions. As this decree could not be carried out in countries which had accepted the reformed religion, they prepared a list of prohibited books (known as the Index Librorum Prohibitorum), books, that is, which nobody was allowed to read under penalty of the censure of the church. This index continued to be reprinted and revised as late as 1906, as well as another index commonly called the Index Expurgatorius, containing the works which may be read if certain expurgations have been made.
In England the censorship was established by act of parliament in 1662, but before that both the well-known Star-chamber and the parliament itself had virtually performed the functions. In 1694 the censorship in England ceased entirely. In France the censorship, like so many other institutions, was annihilated by the revolution. During the republic there was no formal censorship, but the supervision of the directory virtually took its place, and at length in 1810 Napoleon openly restored it under another name (Direction de rimprimerie). After the restoration it underwent various changes, and was re-established by Napoleon III, but again abolished. In the old German empire the diet of 1530 instituted a severe superintendence of the press, but in the particular German states the censure was very differently applied, and in Protestant states especially it was never difficult for individual authors to obtain exemption. In 1849 the censorial laws were repealed, but were again gradually introduced, and still existed in a modified form in most of the German states in 1906. The censorship was abolished in Denmark in 1770, in Sweden in 1809, in the Netherlands in 1815. Research Censorship of Books
Developing countries are countries that often have abundant natural resources but lack the capital and entrepreneurial and technical skills required to develop them. The average income per head and the standard of living in these countries is therefore far below that of the industrial nations. Often known as the third world, these countries are being supported by various United Nations organisations as well as by western and eastern bloc nations, both of whom wish to influence their political development. The developing countries, in which some 70% of the world's population lives, are characterised by poverty, poor diet, the prevalence of disease, high fertility, overpopulation, illiteracy, poor educational facilities, and an agricultural economy. Many depend on a single product for their exports and are therefore vulnerable in world markets. The third world consists of most of Africa (except the Republic of South Africa), most of Asia (except Japan and the USSR), and much of South America. Research Developing Countries
A diet was a meeting of some body of men held for deliberation or other purposes. The term was especially applied to the legislative or administrative assemblies of the German empire, Austria, etc. Research Diet
Geophagism is the practice of eating some kind of earthy matter, such as rock or chalk. It is most common among non-industrialised races, and was once thought to allay hunger. However, new evidence suggests that some peoples obtain valuable minerals in their diet from geophagism, as those minerals are not available in their normal food, and as such early writers who described the practice as 'depraved' were as naïve as they were prejudiced. Research Geophagism
Sonderbund is a German word meaning separate league. The name is applied to a league formed in 1843 by seven Swiss cantons. Antagonism between Catholics and Protestants in Switzerland during the 19th century came to a head in 1841 when the great council unconstitutionally voted in favour of suppressing the monasteries in Aargau. This was passed in a modified form by the diet in 1843. The Roman Catholics protested, and in September 1843 seven cantons in which they were dominant: Zug, Lucerne, Unterwalden, Fribourg, Uri, Schwyz and the Valais formed a Sonderbund. Disorder broke out in Lucerne, the Sonderbund armed, and in 1847 the diet of the Swiss Confederation declared the separate league illegal and forcibly broke up the league and restored authority. Research Sonderbund
Vegetarianism is a movement which originally aimed at making vegetable foods the solediet of human beings, but now refers to those individuals who keep a diet solely of vegetable foods. The vegetarianism movement began in Europe about 1850, and its followers abstain from eating the flesh of animals and birds. Some eat fish, but others do not, while strict vegetarians abstain from all food which comes from animals, such as eggs, milk, butter, and cheese.
One reason for vegetarianism is the dislike of inflicting pain, but it is also advocated as providing a more nourishing and economical diet. It is also claimed that a vegetarian diet makes persons less liable to certain diseases, e.g. cancer, and less gross in their appetites and desires, while it is also advocated on economic and patriotic grounds. Akin to the vegetarians are the fruitarians, who maintain life solely on a diet of fruit.
In the 19th century the movement made a good deal of progress in Great Britain, the USA, and several European countries. Vegetarian restaurants were opened in large towns, and other measures taken to popularise vegetarian dishes. Research Vegetarianism
Amara is a genus of beetles of the ground beetle family, Carabidae, with some 35 species living in Britain. They vary in shape, but the majority of species have an elongate or compactly oval body. They vary in size from 4 to 15 mm and may be black or brown in colour, often with a metallic sheen. Generally they live in dry localities, hiding under stones, moss and between grass roots living on a mixed diet of insect larvae and vegetable matter. Research Amara
The bald eagle (Haliaetus leucocephalus) is a bird found in North America and North-east Asia. It is the symbol of the United States, though Franklin deplored the selection on account of the bald eagle's mean and dishonest habit of robbing the industrious osprey of the fish it has caught. Like all members of the genus his diet is less restricted than that of the true eagles; and he even takes carrion. Research Bald Eagle
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Augsburg Confession
