The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 193

EXOGENS, the name for the order of plants whose stem is formed by successive accretions to the outside of the wood under the bark.

EXORCISM, conjuration by G.o.d or Christ or some holy name, of some evil spirit to come out of a person; it was performed on a heathen as an idolater, and eventually on a child as born in sin prior to baptism.

EXOTERIC, a term applied to teaching which the uninitiated may be expected to comprehend, and which is openly professed, as in a public confession of faith.

EXTERNALITY, the name for what is _ab extra_ as apart from what is _ab intra_ in determining the substance as well as form of things, and which in the Hegelian philosophy is regarded as working conjointly with the latter.

EXTREME UNCTION, one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church; an anointing of consecrated or holy oil administered by a priest in the form of a cross to a sick person upon the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hands, and face at the point of death, which is presumed to impart grace and strength against the last struggle.

EYCK, JAN VAN, a famous Flemish painter, born at Ma.s.s-Eyck; was instructed by his eldest brother Hubert (1370-1426), with whom he laboured at Bruges and Ghent; reputed to have been the first to employ oil colours (1389-1440).

EYLAU, a small town, 23 m. S. of Konigsberg, the scene of a great battle between Napoleon and the Russian and Prussian allies in February 8, 1807; the fight was interrupted by darkness, under cover of which the allies retreated, having had the worst of it.

EYRE, EDWARD JOHN, explorer and colonial governor, born in Yorkshire; emigrated to Australia in 1832; successfully explored the interior of SW. Australia in 1841; governor of New Zealand in 1846, of St. Vincent in 1852, and of Jamaica in 1862; recalled in 1865, and prosecuted for harsh treatment of the natives, but was acquitted; his defence was championed by Carlyle, Ruskin, and Kingsley, while J. S. Mill supported the prosecution; _b_. 1815.

EYRE, JANE, the heroine of a novel of Charlotte Bronte's so called, a governess who, in her struggles with adverse fortune, wins the admiration and melts the heart of a man who had lived wholly for the world.

EZEKIEL, a Hebrew prophet, born in Jerusalem; a man of priestly descent, who was carried captive to Babylon 599 B.C., and was banished to Tel-abib, on the banks of the Chebar, 201 m. from the city, where, with his family about him, he became the prophet of the captivity, and the rallying centre of the Dispersion. Here he foretold the destruction of Jerusalem as a judgment on the nation, and comforted them with the promise of a new Jerusalem and a new Temple on their repentance, man by man, and their return to the Lord. His prophecies arrange themselves in three groups--those denouncing judgment on Jerusalem, those denouncing judgment on the heathen, and those announcing the future glory of the nation.

EZRA, a Jewish scribe of priestly rank, and full of zeal for the law of the Lord and the restoration of Israel; author of a book of the Old Testament, which records two successive returns of the people from captivity, and embraces a period of 79 years, from 576 to 457 B.C., being a continuation of the book of Chronicles, its purpose being to relate the progress of the restored theocracy in Judah and Jerusalem, particularly as regards the restoration of the Temple and the re-inst.i.tution of the priesthood.

F

FABER, FREDERICK WILLIAM, a Catholic divine and hymn-writer, born at Calverley, Yorkshire; at Oxford he won the Newdigate Prize in 1836; for three years was rector of Elton, but under the influence of Newman joined the Church of Rome (1845), and after founding a brotherhood of converts at Birmingham in 1849, took under his charge a London branch of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri; wrote several meritorious theological works, but his fame chiefly rests on his fine hymns, the "Pilgrims of the Night"

one of the most famous (1814-1863).

FABER, GEORGE STANLEY, an Anglican divine, born in Holland; a voluminous writer on theological subjects and prophecy (1773-1854).

FABIAN, ST., Pope from 236 to 251; martyred along with St. Sebastian during the persecution of Decius.

FABIAN SOCIETY, a middle-cla.s.s socialist propaganda, founded in 1883, which "aims at the reorganisation of society by the emanc.i.p.ation of land and industrial capital from individual and cla.s.s ownership, and vesting of them in the community for the general benefit"; has lectureships, and issues "Essays" and "Tracts"; it watches and seizes its opportunities to achieve Socialist results, and hence the name. See FABIUS QUINTUS (1).

FABII, a family of ancient Rome of 307 members, all of whom perished in combat with the Veii, 477 B.C., all save one boy left behind in Rome, from whom descended subsequent generations of the name.

FABIUS PICTOR, the oldest annalist of Rome; his annals of great value; 216 B.C.

FABIUS QUINTUS, (Maximus Verrucosus), a renowned Roman general, five times consul, twice censor and dictator in 221 B.C.; famous for his cautious generalship against Hannibal in the Second Punic War, hara.s.sing to the enemy, which won him the surname of "Cunctator" or delayer; _d_.

203 B.C.

FABIUS QUINTUS (Rullia.n.u.s), a noted Roman general, five times consul and twice dictator; waged successful war against the Samnites in 323 B.C.

FABIUS, THE AMERICAN, General Washington, so called from his Fabian tactics. See FABIUS QUINTUS (1).

FABLE OF THE BEES, a work by Mandeville, a fable showing how vice makes some people happy and virtue miserable, conceived as bees.

FABLIAUX, a species of metrical tales of a light and satirical nature in vogue widely in France during the 12th and 13th centuries; many of the stories were of Oriental origin, but were infused with the French spirit of the times; La Fontaine, Boccaccio, and Chaucer drew freely on them; they are marked by all the vivacity and perspicuity, if also lubricity, of their modern successors in the French novel and comic drama.

FABRE, JEAN, a French Protestant, celebrated for his filial piety; he took the place of his father in the galleys, who had been condemned to toil in them on account of his religious opinions (1727-1797).

FABRE D'EGLANTINE, a French dramatic poet, born at Carca.s.sonne; wrote comedies; was a member of the Convention and of the Committee of Public Safety, of the extreme party of the Revolution; falling under suspicion, was guillotined along with Danton (1752-1794).

FABRICIUS, CAIUS, a Roman of the old school, distinguished for the simplicity of his manners and his incorruptible integrity; his name has become the synonym for a poor man who in public life deals honourably and does not enrich himself; was consul 282 B.C.

FABRICIUS or FABRIZIO, GIROLAMO, a famous Italian anatomist, born at Aquapendente; became professor at Padua in 1565, where he gained a world-wide reputation as a teacher; Harvey declares that he got his first idea of the circulation of the blood from attending his lectures (1537-1619).

FABRONI, ANGELO, a learned Italian, born in Tuscany; wrote the Lives of the ill.u.s.trious literati of Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, and earned for himself the name of the "Plutarch" of his country (1732-1803).

FACCIOLATI, JACOPO, lexicographer, born at Torreglia; became a professor of Theology and Logic at Padua; chiefly interested in cla.s.sical literature; he, in collaboration with an old pupil, Egidio Forcellini (1688-1768), began the compilation of a new Latin dictionary, which was completed and published two years after his death by his colleague; this work has been the basis of all subsequent lexicons of the Latin language (1682-1769).

FACIAL ANGLE, an angle formed by drawing two lines, one horizontally from the nostril to the ear, and the other perpendicularly from the advancing part of the upper jawbone to the most prominent part of the forehead, an angle by which the degree of intelligence and sagacity in the several members of the animal kingdom is by some measured.

FAeRIE QUEENE, the name of an allegorical poem by Edmund Spenser, in which 12 knights were, in twelve books, to represent as many virtues, described as issuing forth from the castle of Gloriana, queen of England, against certain impersonations of the vices and errors of the world. Such was the plan of the poem, but only six of the books were finished, and these contain the adventures of only six of the knights, representing severally Holiness, Temperance, Chast.i.ty, Friendship, Justice, and Courtesy.

FAED, JOHN, a Scottish artist, son of a millwright, born at Barley Mill, Kirkcudbright; was elected an A.R.S.A. in 1847, and R.S.A. in 1851; his paintings are chiefly of humble Scottish life, the "Cottar's Sat.u.r.day Night" among others; _b_. 1820.