Character Sketches of Romance, Fiction and the Drama, Vol 1
by
The Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D.
Part 3 out of 15
_Antig'onus (King)_, an old man with a young man's amorous passions.
He is one of the four kings who succeeded to the divided empire of
Alexander the Great.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Humorous Lieutenant_
(1647).
ANTIN'OUS (4 _syl_.), a page of Hadrian, the Roman emperor, noted for
his beauty.
_Antin'ous_ (4 _syl_.), son of Cas'silane (3 _syl_.) general of Candy,
and brother of An'no-phel, in _The Laws of Candy_ a drama by Beaumont
and Fletcher (1647).
ANTI'OCHUS, emperor of Greece, who sought the life of Per'icles
prince of Tyre, but died without effecting his desire.--Shakespeare,
_Pericles Prince of Tyre_ (1608).
ANTI'OPE (4 _syl_.), daughter of Idom'e-neus (4 _syl_.), for whom
Telem'achus had a _tendresse_. Mentor approved his choice, and assured
Telemachus that the lady was designed for him by the gods. Her charms
were "the glowing modesty of her countenance, her silent diffidence,
and her sweet reserve; her constant attention to tapestry or to some
other useful and elegant employment; her diligence in household
affairs, her contempt of finery in dress, and her ignorance of her own
beauty," Telemachus says, "She encourages to industry by her example,
sweetens labor by the melody of her voice, and excels the best of
painters in the elegance of her embroidery."--Fenelon, _Telemaque_,
xxii. (1700).
He [_Paul_] fancied he had found in Virginia the wisdom of Antiope
with the misfortunes and the tenderness of Eucharis.--Bernardin de St.
Pierre, _Paul and Virginia_ (1788).
ANTIPH'OLUS, the name of two brothers, twins, the sons of Aege'on, a
merchant of Syracuse. The two brothers were shipwrecked in infancy,
and, being picked up by different cruisers, one was carried to
Syracuse, and the other to Ephesus. The Ephesian entered the service
of the duke, and, being fortunate enough to save the duke's life,
became a great man and married well. The Syracusian Antipholus, going
in search of his brother, came to Ephesus, where a series of blunders
occurs from the wonderful likeness of the two brothers and their
two servants called Dromio. The confusion becomes so great that the
Ephesian is taken up as a madman. It so happened that both brothers
appeared before the duke at the same time; and the extraordinary
likeness being seen by all, the cause of the blunders was evident,
and everything was satisfactorily explained.--Shakespeare, _Comedy of
Errors_ (1593).
ANTON (_Sir_). Tennyson says that Merlin gave Arthur, when an infant,
to sir Anton and his lady to bring up, and they brought him up as
their own son. This does not correspond with the _History of Prince
Arthur_, which states that he was committed to the care of sir Ector
and his lady, whose son, sir Key, is over and over again called the
prince's foster-brother. The _History_ furthermore states that Arthur
made sir Key his seneschal _because_ he was his foster-brother.
So the child was delivered unto Merlin, and he
bare him forth unto sir Ector, and made a holy
man christen him, and named him "Arthur."
And so sir Ector's wife nourished him with her
own breast.--Part i. 3.
So sir Ector rode to the justs, and with him
rode sir Key, his son, and young Arthur that
was his nourished brother.--Ditto.
"Sir," said sir Ector, "I will ask no more of
you but that you will make my son, sir Key,
your foster-brother, seneschal of all your lands."
"That shall be done," said Arthur (ch. 4).--Sir
T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_ (1470).
_Anton_, one of Henry Smith's men in _The Fair Maid of Perth_, by sir
W. Scott (time, Henry IV.).
ANTO'NIO, a sea captain who saved Sebastian, the brother of Vi'ola,
when wrecked off the coast of Illyria.--Shakespeare, _Twelfth Night_
(1614).
_Anto'nio_, the Swiss lad who acts as the guide from Lucern, in sir W.
Scott's _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
_Anto'nio_, a stout old gentleman, kinsman of Petruccio, governor
of Bologna.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Chances_ (a comedy, before
1621).
_Antonio (Don)_, father of Carlos, a bookworm, and Clodio, a coxcomb;
a testy, headstrong old man. He wants Carlos to sign away his
birthright in favor of his younger brother, to whom he intends
Angelina to be married; but Carlos declines to give his signature, and
elopes with Angelina, whom he marries, while Clodio engages his troth
to Elvira of Lisbon.--C. Cibber, _Love Makes a Man_.
_Antonio (Don)_, in love with Louisa, the daughter of don Jerome of
Seville. A poor nobleman of ancient family.--Sheridan, _The Duenna_
(1778).
ANTONOMAS'IA _(The princess_), daughter of Archipiela, king of
Candaya, and his wife Maguncia. She married don Clavijo, but the giant
Malambru'no, by enchantment, changed the bride into a brass monkey,
and her spouse into a crocodile of some unknown metal. Don Quixote
mounted the wooden horse Clavileno the Winged, to disenchant the
lady and her husband, and this he effected "simply by making the
attempt."--Cervantes, _Don Quixote_, II iii. 4, 5 (1615).
ANTONY _(Saint)_ lived in a cavern on the summit of Cavadonga, in
Spain, and was perpetually annoyed by devils.
Old St. Antonius from the hell
Of his bewildered phantasy saw fiends
In actual vision, a foul throng grotesque
Of all horrific shapes and forms obscene,
Crowd in broad day before his open eyes.
Southey, _Roderick, etc_., xvi. (1814).
AN'TONY AND CAESAR. Macbeth says that "under Banquo his own genius was
rebuked [or snubbed], as it is said Mark Antony's was by Caesar" (act
iii. sc. 1), and in _Antony and Cleopatra_ this passage is elucidated
thus--
Thy daemon, that's thy spirit which keeps thee, is
Noble, courageous, high, unmatchable,
Where Caesar's is not; but near him thy angel
Becomes a fear, as being overpowered.
Act ii. sc. 3.
ANVIL (_The Literary_). Dr. Mayo was so called, because he bore the
hardest blows of Dr. Johnson without flinching.
AODH, last of the Culdees, or primitive clergy of Io'na, an island
south of Staffa. His wife was Reullu'ra. Ulvfa'gre the Dane, having
landed on the island and put many to the sword, bound Aodh in
chains of iron, then dragging him to the church, demanded where the
"treasures were concealed." A mysterious figure now appeared, which
not only released the priest, but took the Dane by the arm to the
statue of St. Columb, which fell on him and crushed him to death.
After this the "saint" gathered the remnant of the islanders together,
and went to Ireland.--Campbell, _Reullura_.
APE (1 _syl._), the pseudonym of M. Pellegrini, the caricaturist of
_Vanity Fair_. Dr. Johnson says "_to ape_ is to imitate ludicrously;"
whence the adoption of the name.
APEL'LES AND THE COBBLER. A cobbler found fault with the shoe-latchet
of one of Apelles' paintings, and the artist rectified the fault. The
cobbler, thinking himself very wise, next ventured to criticise the
legs; but Apelles said, _Ne sutor ultra crepidam_ ("Let not the
cobbler go beyond his last").
Within that range of criticism where all are equally judges, and where
Crispin is entitled to dictate to Apelles.--_Encyc. Brit._, Art.
"Romance."
_Apelles_. When his famous painting of Venus rising out of the sea
(hung by Augustus in the temple of Julius Caesar) was greatly injured
by time, Nero replaced it by a copy done by Dorotheus. This Venus
by Apelles is called "Venus Anadyom'-ene," his model (according to
tradition) being Campaspe (afterwards his wife).
APEMAN'TUS, a churlish Athenian philosopher, who snarled at men
systematically, but showed his cynicism to be mere affectation, when
Timon attacked him with his own weapons.--Shakespeare, _Timon of
Athens_ (1600).
Their affected melancholy showed like the cynicism of Apemantus,
contrasted with the real misanthropy of Timon.--Sir W. Scott.
APIC'IUS, an epicure in the time of Tiberius. He wrote a book on the
ways of provoking an appetite. Having spent L800,000 in supplying
the delicacies of the table, and having only L80,000 left, he hanged
himself, not thinking it possible to exist on such a wretched
pittance. _Apicia_, however, became a stock name for certain cakes and
sauces, and his name is still proverbial in all matters of gastronomy.
There was another of the name in the reign of Trajan, who wrote a
cooking book and manual of sauces.
No Brahmin could abominate your meal more than I do. Hirtius and
Apicius would have blushed for it. Mark Antony, who roasted eight
whole boars for supper, never massacred more at a meal than you have
done.--Cumberland, _The Fashionable Lover_, i. 1 (1780).
APOLLO, son of Jupiter and Latona, and model of masculine beauty. He
is the sun, in Homeric mythology, the embodiment of practical wisdom
and foresight, of swift and far-reaching intelligence, and hence of
poetry, music, etc.
_The Apollo Belvidere_, that is, the Apollo preserved in the Belvidere
gallery of the Vatican, discovered in 1503 amid the ruins of An'tium,
and purchased by pope Julius II. It is supposed to be the work of
Cal'amis, a Greek sculptor of the fifth century B.C.
_The Apollo of Actium_ was a gigantic statue, which served for a
beacon.
_The Apollo of Rhodes_, usually called the colossus, was a gigantic
bronze statue, 150 feet high, made by Chares, a pupil of Lysippus, and
set up B.C. 300.
_Animals consecrated to Apollo_, the cock, the crow, the grasshopper,
the hawk, the raven, the swan, and the wolf.
APOLL'YON, king of the bottomless pit; introduced by Bnnyan in his
_Pilgrim's Progress_. Apollyon encounters Christian, by whom, after a
severe contest, he is foiled (1678).
APOSTLE _or Patron Saint of_--
ABYSSINIANS, St. Frumentius (died 360). His day, October 27.
ALPS, Felix Neff (1798-1829).
ANTIOCH, St. Margaret (died 275). Her day, July 20.
ARDENNES, St. Hubert (656-730).
ARMENIANS, Gregory of Armenia (256-331).
CAGLIARI (_Sardinia_), St. Efisio.
CORFU, St. Spiridion (fourth century). His day, December 14.
ENGLISH, St. Augustin (died 607); St. George (died 290).
ETHIOPIA, St. Frumentius (died 360). His day, October 27.
FRANCONIA, St. Kilian (died 689). His day, July 8.
FREE TRADE, Richard Cobden (1804-1865).
FRENCH, St. Denis (died 272). His day, October 9.
FRISIANS, St. Wilbrod (657-738).
GAULS, St. Irenae'us (130-200); St. Martin (316-397).
GENTILES, St. Paul (died 66). His days, June 29, January 25.
GEORGIA, St. Nino.
GERMANY, St. Boniface (680-755). His day, June 5.
HIGHLANDERS, St. Colomb (521-597). His day, June 9.
HUNGARIANS, St. Anastasius (died 628). His day, January 22.
INDIANS, Bartolome de Las Casas (1474-1566); Rev. John Eliot (1603-1690).
INDIES, St. Francis Xavier (1506-1552). His day, December 3.
INFIDELITY, Voltaire (1694-1778).
IRISH, St. Patrick (372-493). His day, March 17.
LIBERTY, Thomas Jefferson, third president of the U.S. (1743-1826).
LONDON, St. Paul; St. Michael. Days, January 25, September 29.
NETHERLANDS, St. Armand (589-679).
NORTH, St. Ansgar (801-864); Bernard Gilpin (1517-1583).
Padua, St. Anthony (1195-1231). His day, June 13. Paris, St. Genevieve
(419-512). Her day, January 3. Peak, W. Bagshaw, so called from his
missionary labors in Derbyshire (1628-1702). Picts, St. Ninian.
Scottish Reformers, John Knox (1505-1572). Sicily (the tutelary deity
is) Ceres. Slaves, St. Cyril (died 868). His day, February 14. Spain,
St. James the Greater (died 44.) His day, July 24. Temperance, Father
Mathew (1790-1856). Venice, St. Mark; St. Pantaleon; St. Andrew
Justiniani. St. Mark's day, April 25; St. Pantaleon's, July 27. Wales,
St. David (480-544). His day, March 1. Yorkshire, St. Pauli'nus,
bishop of York (597-644).
APOSTOLIC FATHERS (_The Five_): Clement of Rome, Barnabas, Hermas,
Igna'tius, and Polycarp. All contemporary with the Apostles.
AP'PETIZER. A Scotchman being told that the birds called kittiewiaks
were admirable appetizers, ate six of them, and then complained "he
was no hungrier than he was before."
AQUARIUS, SAGITTARIUS. Mrs. Browning says that "Aquarius" is a symbol
of man _bearing_, and "Sagittarius" of man _combatting_. The passive
and active forms of human labor.
_Eve_. Two phantasms of two men.
_Adam_. One that sustains,
And one that strives, so the ends
Of manhood's curse of labor.
E. B. Browning, _A Drama of Exile_ (1851).
A'QUILANT, son of Olive'ro and Sigismunda; a knight in Charlemagne's
army. He was called "_black_," and his brother Gryphon "_white_" from
the color of their armor.--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
A'QUILINE (3 _syl_.), Raymond's steed, whose sire was the
wind.--Tasso, _Jerusalem Delivered_, vii. (1575).
(Solinus, Columella, and Varro relate how the Lusitanian mares "with
open mouth against the breezes held, receive the gales with warmth
prolific filled, and thus inspired, their swelling wombs produce the
wondrous offspring."--See also Virgil, _Georgics_, in. 266-283.)
AQUIN'IAN SAGE. Juvenal is so called, because he was born at Aqui'num,
in Latium (fl. A.D. 100).
ARABEL'LA, an heiress left under the guardianship of justice Day. Abel
Day, the son of justice Day, aspires to her hand and fortune, but she
confers both with right good will on captain Manly.--T. Knight, _The
Honest Thieves_.
ARA'BIA FE'LIX ("_Araby the blest_"). This name is a blunder made by
British merchants, who supposed that the precious commodities of India
bought of Arab traders were the produce of Arabia.
ARA'BIAN BIRD (_The_), the phoenix, a marvellous man, one _sui
generis_.
O Antony! O thou Arabian bird!
Shakespeare, _Antony and Cleopatra_, act iii. sc. 2.
ARACH'NE (3 _syl_.), a spider, a weaver. "Arachne's labors," spinning
or weaving. Arachne was a Lydian maiden, who challenged Minerva to
compete with her in needle tapestry, and Minerva changed her into a
spider.
No orifice for a point
As subtle as Arachne's broken woof
To enter.
Shakespeare, _Troilus and Cressida_, act v. sc. 2 (1602).
ARAGNOL, the son of Arachne (the "most fine-fingered of all workmen,"
turned into a spider for presuming to challenge Minerva to a contest
in needlework). Aragnol entertained a secret and deadly hatred against
prince Clarion, son of Muscarol the fly-king; and weaving a curious
net, soon caught the gay young flutterer, and gave him his death-wound
by piercing him under the left wing.--Spenser, _Muiopotmos or The
Butterfly's Fate_ (1590).
ARAMIN'TA, the wife of Moneytrap, and friend of Clarissa (wife of
Gripe the scrivener).--Sir John Vanbrugh, _The Confederacy_ (1695).
ARANZA (_The duke of_). He marries Juliana, eldest daughter of
Balthazar. She is so haughty, arrogant, and overbearing, that after
the marriage he takes her to a mean hut, which he calls his home, and
pretends to be only a peasant who must work for his living, and gives
his bride the household duties to perform. She chafes for a time, but
firmness, manliness, and affection win the day; and when the duke
sees that she loves him for himself, he leads her to his castle, and
reveals to her that the peasant husband is after all the duke of
Aranza.--J. Tobin, _The Honeymoon_ (1804).
AR'APHIL or AR'APHILL, the poetic pseudonym of Win. Habington. His
lady-love, Miss Lucy Herbert, he calls Castara.
ARAS'PES (3 _syl_.), king of Alexandria, who joined the Egyptian
armament against the crusaders.--Tasso, _Jerusalem Delivered_ (1575).
ARBA'CES (3 _syl_.), king of Ibe'ria, in the drama called _A King or
no King_, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1619).
ARBATE (2 _syl_.), governor of the prince of Ithaca, in Moliere's
comedy _La Princesse d'Elide_ (1664). In his speech to "Euryle" prince
of Ithaca, persuading him to love, he is supposed to refer to Louis
XIV., then 26 years of age.
Je dirai que l'amour sied bien a vos pareil ...
Et qu'il est malaise que, sans etre amoureux
Un jeune prince soit et grand et genereux.
Act i. 1.
_Arbate_, in Racine's drama of _Mithridate_ (1673).
AR'BITER EL'IGANTIAE. C. Petro'nius was appointed dictator-in-chief
of the imperial pleasures at the court of Nero, and nothing was
considered _comme il faut_ till it had received the sanction of this
Roman _beau Brummel_.
Behold the new Petronius of the day,
The arbiter of pleasure and of play.
Byron, _English Bards and Scottish Reviewers_.
ARBRE SOL foretold, with audible voice, the place and manner of
Alexander's death. It figures in all the fabulous legends of
Alexander.
ARBUTUS, sturdy yeoman usually known as "Bute," in Bayard Taylor's
novel _Hannah Thurston._ Rugged and sound as the New England granite
underlying the farm he tills.
ARC _(Joan of)_, or _Jeanne la Pucelle_, the "Maid of Orleans,"
daughter of a rustic of Domremy, near Vaucouleurs, in France. She was
servant at an inn when she conceived the idea of liberating France
from the English. Having gained admission to Charles VII., she was
sent by him to raise the siege of Orleans, and actually succeeded in
so doing. Schiller has a tragedy on the subject, Casimir Delavigne an
elegy on her, Southey an epic poem on her life and death, and Voltaire
a burlesque.
In regard to her death, M. Octave Delepiere, in his _Doute
Historique_, denies the tradition of her having been burnt to death at
Rouen; and Vignier discovered in a family muniment chest the "contract
of marriage between" Robert des Armoise, knight, and Jeanne d'Arc,
surnamed "The Maid of Orleans."
AR'CADES AMBO, both fools alike; both "sweet innocents;" both alike
eccentric. There is nothing in the character of Corydon and Thyrsis
(Virgil's _Eclogue_, vii. 4) to justify this disparaging application
of the phrase. All Virgil says is they were both "in the flower of
their youth," and both Arcadians, both equal in setting a theme for
song or capping it epigrammatically; but as Arcadia was the least
intellectual part of Greece, an "Arcadian" came to signify a dunce,
and hence "Arcades ambo" received its present acceptation.
ARCALA'US (4 _syl_.), an enchanter who bound Am'adis de Gaul to a
pillar in his courtyard, and administered to him 200 stripes with his
horse's bridle.--_Amadis de Gaul_ (fifteenth century).
ARCA'NES (3 _syl_.), a noble soldier, friend of Cas'silane (3 _syl_.)
general of Candy.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Laws of Candy_ (1647).
ARCHAN'GEL. Burroughs, the puritan preacher, called Cromwell "the
archangel that did battle with the devil."
ARCHAS, "the loyal subject" of the great duke of Moscovia, and general
of the Moscovites. His son is colonel Theodore.
_Young Archas_, son of the general. Disguised as a woman, he assumes
the name of Alinda.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Loyal Subject_
(1618).
ARCHBSH'OP OF GRANA'DA told his secretary, Gil Blas, when he hired
him,
"Whenever thou shalt perceive my pen smack of old age and my genius
flag, don't fail to advertise me of it, for I don't trust to my own
judgment, which may be seduced by self-love." After a fit of apoplexy,
Gil Blas ventured in the most delicate manner to hint to his grace
that "his last discourse had not altogether the energy of his former
ones." To this the archbishop replied, "You are yet too raw to make
proper distinctions. Know, child, that I never composed a better
homily than that which you disapprove. Go, tell my treasurer to
give you 100 ducats. Adieu, Mr. Gil Blas; I wish you all manner of
prosperity, with a little more taste."--Le-sage, _Gil Blas_, vii. 3
(1715).
AR'CHER (_Francis_), friend of Aimwell, who joins him in
fortune-hunting. These are the two "beaux." Thomas viscount Aimwell
marries Dorinda, the daughter of lady Bountiful. Archer hands the
deeds and property taken from the highwaymen to sir Charles Freeman,
who takes his sister, Mrs. Sullen, under his charge again.--George
Farquhar, _The Beaux' Stratagem_ (1707).
ARCHIBALD (_John_), attendant on the duke of Argyle.--Sir W. Scott,
_Heart of Midlothian_ (time, George II.).
ARCHIMA'GO, the reverse of holiness, and therefore Satan the father of
lies and all deception. Assuming the guise of the Red Cross Knight, he
deceived Una; and under the guise of a hermit, he deceived the knight
himself. Archimago is introduced in bks. i. and ii. of Spenser's
_Faery Queen._ The poet says:
... he could take
As many forms and shapes in seeming wise
As ever Proteus to himself could make:
Sometimes a fowl, sometimes a fish in lake,
Now like a fox, now like a dragon fell.
Spenser, _The Faery Queen_, I. ii. 10 (1590).
ARCHIMEDES, Syracusan philosopher, who discovered, among other great
scientific facts, the functions of the lever. The solution of an
abstruse problem having occurred to him while in the bath, he
leaped out of the water, and ran naked through the city, shouting,
"_Eureka!_"
AR'CHY M'SAR'CASM _(Sir)_, "a proud Caledonian knight, whose tongue,
like the dart of death, spares neither sex nor age ... His insolence
of family and licentiousness of wit gained him the contempt of every
one" (i. 1). Sir Archy tells Charlotte, "In the house of M'Sarcasm are
two barons, three viscounts, six earls, one marquisate, and two dukes,
besides baronets and lairds oot o' a' reckoning" (i. 1). He makes love
to Charlotte Goodchild, but supposing it to be true that she has lost
her fortune, declares to her that he has just received letters "frae
the dukes, the marquis, and a' the dignitaries of the family ...
expressly prohibiting his contaminating the blood of M'Sarcasm wi'
onything sprung from a hogshead or a coonting-house" (ii. 1).
The man has something droll, something ridiculous in him. His
abominable Scotch accent, his grotesque visage almost buried in snuff,
the roll of his eyes and twist of his mouth, his strange inhuman
laugh, his tremendous periwig, and his manners altogether--why, one
might take him for a mountebank doctor at a Dutch fair.--C. Macklin,
_Love a-la-mode_, i. 1 (1779).
_Sir Archy's Great-grandmother._ Sir Archy M'Sarcasm insisted on
fighting Sir Callaghan O'Brallaghan on a point of ancestry. The
Scotchman said that the Irish are a colony from Scotland, "an ootcast,
a mere ootcast." The Irishman retorted by saying that "one Mac Fergus
O'Brallaghan went from Carrickfergus, and peopled all Scotland with
his own hands." Charlotte [Goodchild] interposed, and asked the cause
of the contention, whereupon Sir Callaghan replied, "Madam, it is
about sir Archy's great-grandmother."--C. Macklin, _Love a-la-mode_,
i. I (1779).
We shall not now stay to quarrel about sir Archy's
great-grandmother.--Maepherson, _Dissertation upon Ossian_.
ARCHY'TAS of Tarentum made a wooden pigeon that could fly; and
Regiomonta'nus, a German, made a wooden eagle that flew from
Koenigsberg to meet the emperor, and, having saluted him, returned
whence it set out (1436-1476).
This engine may be contrived from the same principles by which
Archytas made a wooden dove, and Regiomontanus a wooden eagle.--Dr.
John Wilkins (1614-1672).
AR'CITE (2 _syl_.) AND PAL'AMON, two Theban knights, captives of
duke Theseus, who used to see from their dungeon window the duke's
sister-in-law, Emily, taking her airing in the palace garden, and fell
in love with her. Both captives having gained their liberty, contended
for the lady by single combat. Arcite was victor, but being
thrown from his horse was killed, and Emily became the bride of
Palamon.--Chaucer, _Canterbury Tales_ ("The Knight's Tale," 1388).
Richard Edwards in 1566 produced a drama entitled _Palamon and
Arcite_.
AR'DEN _(Enoch)_, the hero of a poetic tale by Tennyson. He is a
seaman wrecked on a desert island, who returns home after the absence
of several years, and finds his wife married to another. Seeing her
both happy and prosperous, Enoch resolves not to mar her domestic
peace, so leaves her undisturbed, and dies of a broken heart.
AR'DEN OF FEV'ERSLIAM, a noble character, honorable, forgiving,
affectionate, and modest. His wife Alicia in her sleep reveals to him
her guilty love for Mosby, but he pardons her on condition that she
will never see the seducer again. Scarcely has she made the promise
when she plots with Mosby her husband's murder. In a planned
street-scuffle, Mosby pretends to take Arden's part, and thus throws
him off his guard. Arden thinks he has wronged him, and invites him to
his house, but Mosby conspires with two hired ruffians to fall on his
host during a game of draughts, the right moment being signified by
Mosby's saying, "Now I take you." Arden is murdered; but the whole
gang is apprehended and brought to justice.
(This drama is based on a murder which took place in 1551. Ludwig
Tieck has translated the play into German, as a genuine production of
Shakespeare. Some ascribe the play to George Lillo, but Charles Lamb
gives 1592 as the date of its production, and says the author is
unknown.)
AREOUS'KI, the Indian war-god, war, tumult.
A cry of Areouski broke our sleep. Campbell, _Gertrude of Wyoming_, i,
16 (1809).
ARETHU'SA, daughter of the king Messi'na, in the drama called
_Philaster_ or _Love Lies a-bleeding_, by Beaumont and Fletcher
(1638).
_Arethusa_, a nymph pursued by Alpheos the river-god, and changed into
a fountain in the island of Ortygia; but the river-god still pursued
her, and mingled his stream with the fountain, and now, "like friends
once parted grown single-hearted," they leap and flow and slumber
together, "like spirits that love but live no more."
[Illustration] This fable has been exquisitely turned into poetry by
Percy B. Shelley (_Arethusa_, 1820).
ARGALI'A, brother of Angel'ica, in Ariosto's _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
AR'GAN, the _malade imaginaire_ and father of Angelique. He is
introduced taxing his apothecary's bills, under the conviction that he
cannot afford to be sick at the prices charged, but then he notices
that he has already reduced his bills during the current month, and is
not so well. He first hits upon the plan of marrying Angelique to a
young doctor, but to this the lady objects. His brother suggests that
Argan himself should be his own doctor, and when the invalid replies
he has not studied either diseases, drugs, or Latin, the objection is
overruled by investing the "malade" in a doctor's cap and robe. The
piece concludes with the ceremonial in macaronic Latin.
[Illustration] When Argan asks his doctor how many grains of salt he
ought to eat with an egg, the doctor answers, "Six, huit, dix, etc.,
par les nombres pairs, comme dans les medicaments par les nombres
impairs."--Moliere, _Le Malade Imaginaire_, ii. 9 (1673).
ARGAN'TE (3 _syl_.), a giantess called "the very monster and miracle
of lust." She and her twin-brother Ollyphant or Oliphant were the
children of Typhoe'us and Earth. Argante used to carry off young
men as her captives, and seized "the Squire of Dames" as one of
her victims. The squire, who was in fact Britomart (the heroine of
chastity), was delivered by sir Sat'yrane (3 _syl_.).--Spenser, _Faery
Queen_, iii. 7 (1590).
_Argante_' (2 _syl_.), father of Octave (2 _syl_.) and Zerbinette (3
_syl_.). He promises to give his daughter Zerbinette to Leandre (2
_syl_.), the son of his friend Geronte (2 _syl_.); but during his
absence abroad the young people fall in love unknown to their
respective fathers. Both fathers storm, and threaten to break off the
engagement, but are delighted beyond measure when they discover that
the choice of the young people has unknowingly coincided with their
own.--Moliere, _Les Fourteries de Scapin_ (1671).
(Thomas Otway has adapted this play to the English stage, and called
it _The Cheats of Scapin_. "Argante" he calls _Thrifty_; "Geronte" is
_Gripe_; "Zerbinette" he calls _Lucia_; and "Leandre" he Anglicizes
into _Leander_.)
ARGAN'TES (3 _syl_.), a Circassian of high rank and undoubted courage,
but fierce and a great detester of the Nazarenes. Argantes and Solyman
were undoubtedly the bravest heroes of the infidel host. Argantes
was slain by Rinaldo, and Solyman by Tancred.--Tasso, _Jerusalem
Delivered_ (1575).
Bonaparte stood before the deputies like the Argantes of Italy's
heroic poet.--Sir Walter Scott.
AR'GENIS, a political romance by Barclay (1621).
AR'GENTILE (3 _syl_.), daughter of king Adelbright, and ward of Edel.
Curan, a Danish prince, in order to woo her, became a drudge in her
house, but being obliged to quit her service, became a shepherd. Edel,
the guardian, forcing his suit on Argentile, compelled her to flight,
and she became a neatherd's maid. In this capacity Curan wooed and won
her. Edel was forced to restore the possessions of his ward, and
Curan became king of Northumberland. As for Edel, he was put to
death.--William Warner, _Albion's England_ (1586).
AR'GENTIN _(Le sieur d_'), one of the officers of the duke of
Burgundy.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of Geiersiein_ (time, Edward IV.).
ARGE'O, baron of Servia and husband of Gabrina. (See _Dictionary of
Phrase and Fable_.)--Ariosto, _Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
ARGES'TES (3 _syl_.), the west wind.
Winged Argestes, faire Aurora's sonne,
Licensed that day to leave his dungeon,
Meekly attended.
Wm. Browne, _Britannia's Pastorals_, ii. 5 (1613).
_Arges'tes_ (3 _syl_.), the north-east wind; Cae'cias, the north-west;
Bo'reas, the full north.
Boreas and Caecias and Argestes loud
... rend the woods, and seas upturn.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, x. 699, etc. (1665).
AR'GILLAN, a haughty, turbulent knight, born on the banks of the
Trent. He induced the Latians to revolt, was arrested, made his
escape, but was ultimately slain in battle by Solyman.--Tasso,
_Jerusalem Delivered_, viii. ix. (1575).
ARGON AND RURO, the two sons of Annir, king of Inis-thona, an island
of Scandinavia. Cor'malo, a neighboring chief, came to the island, and
asked for the honor of a tournament. Argon granted the request, and
overthrew him, and this so vexed Cormalo that during a hunt he shot
both the brothers with his bow. Their dog Runo, running to the hall,
howled so as to attract attention, and Annir, following the hound,
found his two sons both dead. On his return he discovered that Cormalo
had run off with his daughter. Oscar, son of Ossian, slew Cormalo in
fight, and restored the daughter to her father.--_Ossian_ ("The War of
Inis-thona").
ARGONAUTS, heroes and demi-gods, who sailed to Colchis in quest of the
golden fleece, guarded by a sleepless dragon. Jason was their leader.
_Argonauts (The)_. Title applied to adventurers who, in 1849, sought
gold in California. Bret Harte has seized upon the name as the theme
of tales and ballads of the "Forty-niners."
AR'GUS, the turf-writer, was Irwin Willes, who died in 1871.
ARGYLE _(Mac Callum More, duke of_), in the reign of George I.--Sir W.
Scott, _Rob Roy_ (1818).
_Mac Callum More, marquis of Argyle_, in the reign of Charles I.,
was commander of the parliamentary forces, and is called "Gillespie
Grumach;" he disguises himself, and assumes the name of Murdoch
Campbell.--Sir W. Scott, _Legend of Montrose_ (1819).
(Duke and duchess of Argyle are introduced also in the _Heart of
Midlothian_, by Sir W. Scott, 1818.)
ARIAD'NE (4 _syl_.), daughter of Minos king of Crete. She gave Theseus
a clew of thread to guide him out of the Cretan labyrinth. Theseus
married his deliverer, but when he arrived at Naxos _(Dia)_ forsook
her, and she hung herself.
Surely it is an Ariadne.... There is dawning womanhood in every line;
but she knows nothing of Naxos.--Ouida, _Ariadne_, i. 1.
AR'IBERT, king of the Lombards (653-661), left "no male pledge
behind," but only a daughter named Rhodalind, whom he wished duke
Gondibert to marry, but the duke fell in love with Bertha, daughter
of As'tragon, the sage. The tale being unfinished, the sequel is not
known.--Sir W. Davenant, _Gondibert_ (died 1668).
ARIDEUS _[A.ree'.de.us]_, a herald in the Christian army.--Tasso,
_Jerusalem Delivered_ (1575).
A'RIEL, in _The Tempest_, an airy spirit, able to assume any shape,
or even to become invisible. He was enslaved to the witch Syc'orax,
mother of Caliban, who overtasked the little thing, and in punishment
for not doing what was beyond his strength, imprisoned him for twelve
years in the rift of a pine tree, where Caliban delighted to torture
him with impish cruelty. Prospero, duke of Milan and father of
Miranda, liberated Ariel from the pine-rift, and the grateful spirit
served the duke for sixteen years, when he was set free.
And like Ariel in the cloven pine tree,
For its freedom groans and sighs.
Longfellow, _The Golden Milestone_.
_A'riel_, the sylph in Pope's _Rape of the Lock_. The impersonation
of "fine life" in the abstract, the nice adjuster of hearts and
necklaces. When disobedient he is punished by being kept hovering over
the fumes of the chocolate, or is transfixed with pins, clogged with
pomatums, or wedged in the eyes of bodkins.
_A'riel_, one of the rebel angels. The word means "the Lion of God."
Abdiel encountered him, and overthrew him.--Milton, _Paradise Lost_,
vi. 371 (1665).
ARIELLA, an invalid girl, the daughter of Malachi and Hagar his wife,
in _Come Forth_, by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward. Her
name signifies STRENGTH OF GOD. She has lain a helpless cripple for
nine years, when she is healed by a word from The Christ (1891).
ARIMAN'ES (4 _syl_.), the prince of the powers of evil, introduced by
Byron in his drama called _Manfred_. The Persians recognized a power
of good and a power of evil: the former Yezad, and the latter Ahriman
(in Greek, Oroma'zes and Ariman'nis). These two spirits are ever at
war with each other. Oromazes created twenty-four good spirits, and
enclosed them in an egg to be out of the power of Arimanes; but
Arimanes pierced the shell, and thus mixed evil with every good.
However, a time will come when Arimanes shall be subjected, and the
earth will become a perfect paradise.
ARIMAS'PIANS, a one-eyed people of Scythia, who adorned their hair
with gold. As gold mines were guarded by Gryphons, there were
perpetual contentions between the Arimaspians and the Gryphons. (See
GRYPHON.)
Arimaspi, quos diximus uno oculo in fronte
media in signes; quibus assidue bellum esse
circa metella cum gryphis, ferarum volucri genere,
quale vulgo traditur, eruente ex cuniculis
aurum, mire cupiditate et feris custodientibus,
et Arimaspis rapientibus, multi, sed maxime
illustres Herodotus et Aristeas Proconnesius scribunt.--Pliny,
_Nat. Hist._ vii. 2.
AR'IOCH ("_a fierce lion_"), one of the fallen angels overthrown by
Abdiel.--Milton, _Paradise Lost_, vi. 371 (1665).
ARIODAN'TES (5 _syl_.), the beloved of Geneu'ra, a Scotch princess.
Geneura being accused of incontinence, Ariodantes stood forth her
champion, vindicated her innocence, and married her.--Ariosto,
_Orlando Furioso_ (1516).
ARI'ON. William Falconer, author of _The Shipwreck_, speaks of himself
under this _nom de plume_ (canto iii). He was sent to sea when a lad,
and says he was eager to investigate the "antiquities of foreign
states." He was junior officer in the _Britannia_, which was wrecked
against the projecting verge of cape Colonna, the most southern point
of Attica, and was the only officer who survived.
Thy woes, Arion, and thy simple tale
O'er all the hearts shall triumph and prevail.
Campbell, _Pleasures of Hope_, ii. (1799).
_Ari'on_, a Greek musician, who, to avoid being murdered for his
wealth, threw himself into the sea, and was carried to Tae'naros on the
back of a dolphin.
_Ari'on_, the wonderful horse which Hercules gave to Adrastos. It had
the gift of human speech, and the feet on the right side were the feet
of a man.
(One of the masques in Sir W. Scott's _Kenilworth_ is called "Arion.")
ARIO'STO OF THE NORTH, Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832).
And, like the Ariosto of the North,
Sang ladye-love and war, romance and knightly worth.
Byron, _Childe Harold_, iv. 40.
ARISTAE'US, protector of vines and olives, huntsmen and herdsmen. He
instructed man also in the management of bees, taught him by his
mother Cyrene.
In such a palace Aristaeus found
Cyrene, when he bore the plaintive tale
Of his lost bees to her maternal ear.
Cowper, _The Ice Palace of Anne of Russia_.
ARISTAR'CHUS, any critic. Aristarchus of Samothrace was the greatest
critic of antiquity. His labors were chiefly directed to the _Iliad_
and _Odyssey_ of Homer. He divided them into twenty-four books each,
marked every doubtful line with an obelos, and every one he considered
especially beautiful with an asterisk. (Fl. B.C. 156; died aged 72.)
The whole region of belle lettres fell under my inspection.... There,
sirs, like another Aristarch, I dealt out fame and damnation at
pleasure.--Samuel Foote, _The Liar_, i. 1.
"How, friend," replied the archbishop, "has it [_the homily_] met
with any Aristarchus [_severe critic_]?"--Lesage, _Gil Blas_, vii. 4
(1715).
ARISTE (2 _syl_.), brother of Chrysale (2 _syl_.), not a _savant_,
but a practical tradesman. He sympathizes with Henriette, his womanly
niece, against his sister-in-law Philaminte (3 _syl_.) and her
daughter Armande (2 _syl_.), who _femmes savantes_.--Moliere, _Les
Femmes Savantes_ (1672).
ARISTE'AS, a poet who continued to appear and disappear alternately
for above 400 years, and who visited all the mythical nations of the
earth. When not in the human form, he took the form of a stag.--_Greek
Legend_.
ARISTI'DES (_The British_), Andrew Marvell, an influential member of
the House of Commons in the reign of Charles II. He refused every
offer of promotion, and a direct bribe tendered to him by the lord
treasurer. Dying in great poverty, he was buried, like Aristides, at
the public expense (1620-1678).
ARISTIP'POS, a Greek philosopher of Cyre'ne, who studied under
Soc'rates, and set up a philosophic school of his own, called
"he'donism" (_[Greek: aedonae]_ "pleasure").
[Illustration] C. M. Wieland has an historic novel in German, called
_Aristippus_, in which he sets forth the philosophical dogmas of this
Cyrenian (1733-1813).
An axiom of Aristippos was _Omnis Aristippum decuit color, et status,
et res_ (Horace, _Epist_. i. 17, 23); and his great precept was _Mihi
res, non me rebus subjungere_ (Horace, _Epist_. i. I, 18).
I am a sort of Aristippus, and can equally accommodate myself to
company and solitude, to affluence and frugality.--Lesage, _Gil Blas_,
v. 12 (1715).
ARISTOBU'LUS, called by Drayton Aristob'ulus (_Rom._ xvi. 10), and
said to be the first that brought to England the "glad tidings of
salvation." He was murdered by the Britons.
The first that ever told Christ crucified to us,
By Paul and Peter sent, just Aristob'ulus ...
By the Britons murdered was.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, xxiv. (1622).
ARISTOM'ENES (5 _syl_.), a young Messenian of the royal line, the
"Cid" of ancient Messe'nia. On one occasion he entered Sparta by night
to suspend a shield from the temple of Pallas. On the shield were
inscribed these words: "Aristomenes from the Spartan spoils dedicates
this to the goddess."
[Illustration] A similar tale is told of Fernando Perez del Pulgar,
when serving under Ferdinand of Castile at the siege of Grana'da. With
fifteen companions he entered Granada, then in the power of the Moors,
and nailed to the door of the principal mosque with his dagger a
tablet inscribed "Ave Maria!" then galloped back, before the guards
recovered from their amazement.--Washington Irving, _Conquest of
Granada_, 91.
ARISTOPH'ANES (5 _syl_.), a Greek who wrote fifty-four comedies,
eleven of which have survived to the present day (B.C. 444-380). He is
called "The Prince of Ancient Comedy," and Menander "The Prince of New
Comedy" (B.C. 342-291).
_The English_ or _Modern Aristophanes_, Samuel Foote (1722-1777).
_The French Aristophanes_, J. Baptiste Poquelin de Moliere
(1622-1673).
ARISTOTLE. The mistress of this philosopher was Hepyllis; of Plato,
Archionassa; and of Epicurus, Leontium.
_Aristotle of China_, Tehuhe, who died A.D. 1200, called "The Prince
of Science."
_Aristotle of Christianity_, Thomas Aqui'nas, who tried to reduce the
doctrines of faith to syllogistic formulae (1224-1274).
_Aristotle of the Nineteenth Century_, George Cuvier, the naturalist
(1769-1832).
AR'ISTOTLE IN LOVE. Godfrey Gobilyve told sir Graunde Amoure that
Aristotle the philosopher was once in love, and the lady promised to
listen to his prayer if he would grant her request. The terms being
readily accepted, she commanded him to go on all fours, and then,
putting a bridle into his mouth, mounted on his back, and drove him
about the room till he was so angry, weary, and disgusted, that he was
quite cured of his foolish attachment.--Stephen Hawes, _The Pastime of
Plesure_, xxix. (1555).
ARMADALE (_Allan_), bluff young Englishman, devoted to the sea and
ship-building, and prone to fall in love. He is betrothed, first
to Miss Milroy, a winning lass of sixteen, then to Miss Gwilt, her
governess, again and lastly to Miss Milroy, whom he marries.--Wilkie
Collins, _Armadale_.
ARMADO (_Don Adriano de_), a pompous, affected Spaniard, called "a
refined traveller, in all the world's new fashion planted, that had
a mint of phrases in his brain. One whom the music of his own vain
tongue did ravish." This man was chosen by Ferdinand, the king of
Navarre, when he resolved to spend three years in study with three
companions, to relate in the interim of his studies "in high-born
words the worth of many a knight from tawny Spain lost in the world's
debate."
His humor is lofty, his discourse peremptory, his tongue filed, his
eye ambitious, his gait majestical, and his general behavior vain,
ridiculous, and thrasonical.... He draweth out the thread of his
verbosity finer than the staple of his argument.--Shakespeare, _Love's
Labor's Lost_, act v. sc. 1 (1594).
ARMANDE (2 _syl_.), daughter of Chrysale (2 _syl_.), and sister of
Henriette. Armande is a _femme savante_, and Henriette a "thorough
woman." Both love Clitandre, but Armande loves him platonically, while
Henriette loves him with womanly affection. Clitandre prefers the
younger sister, and after surmounting the usual obstacles, marries
her.--Moliere, _Les Femmes Savantes_ (1672).
ARMI'DA, a sorceress, who seduces Rinaldo and other crusaders from
the siege of Jerusalem. Rinaldo is conducted by her to her splendid
palace, where he forgets his vows, and abandons himself to sensual
joys. Carlo and Ubaldo are sent to bring him back, and he escapes from
Armida; but she follows him, and not being able to allure him back
again, sets fire to her palace, rushes into the midst of the fight,
and is slain.
[Julia's] small hand
Withdrew itself from his, but left behind
A little pressure ... but ne'er magician's wand
Wrought change with, all Armida's fairy art,
Like what this light touch left on Juan's heart.
Byron, _Don Juan_, i. 71.
When the young queen of Frederick William of Prussia rode about in
military costume to incite the Prussians to arms against Napoleon, the
latter wittily said, "She is Armida in her distraction setting fire to
her own palace."
(Both Glueck and Rossini have taken the story of Armida as the subject
of an opera.)
_Armida's Girdle_. Armida had an enchanted girdle, which, "in price
and beauty," surpassed all her other ornaments; even the cestus of
Venus was less costly. It told her everything; "and when she would be
loved, she wore the same."--Tasso, _Jerusalem Delivered_ (1575).
ARM'STRONG (_John_), called "The Laird's Jock." He is the laird of
Mangerton. This old warrior witnesses a national combat in the valley
of Liddesdale, between his son (the Scotch chieftain) and Foster (the
English champion), in which young Armstrong is overthrown.--Sir W.
Scott, _The Laird's Jock_ (time, Elizabeth).
_Armstrong (Grace)_, the bride-elect of Hobbie Elliot of the
heugh-foot, a young farmer.--Sir W. Scott, _The Black Dwarf_ (time,
Anne).
_Armstrong (Archie)_, court jester to James I., introduced in _The
Fortunes of Nigel_, by Sir Walter Scott (1822).
AR'NAUT, an Albanian mountaineer. The word means "a brave man."
Stained with the best of Arnaut blood. Byron, _The Giaour_, 526.
ARNHEIM (2 _syl.). The baron Herman von Arnheim_, Anne of Geierstein's
grandfather.
_Sibilla of Arnheim_, Anne's mother.
_The baroness of Arnheim_, Anne of Geierstein.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of
Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).
ARNOLD, the deformed son of Bertha, who hates him for his ugliness.
Weary of life, he is about to make away with himself, when a stranger
accosts him, and promises to transform him into any shape he likes
best. He chooses that of Achilles, and then goes to Rome, where he
joins the besieging army of Bourbon. During the siege, Arnold enters
St. Peter's of Rome just in time to rescue Olimpia, but the proud
beauty, to prevent being taken captive by him, flings herself from the
high altar on the pavement, and is taken up apparently lifeless. As
the drama was never completed, the sequel is not known.--Byron, _The
Deformed Transformed_.
_Ar'nold_, the torch-bearer at Rotherwood.--Sir W. Scott, _Ivanhoe_
(time, Richard I.).
_Ar'nold_ of Benthuysen, disguised as a beggar, and called
"Ginks."--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Beggar's Bush_ (1622).
ARNOLD BRINKWORTH, frank, whole-souled sailor, in love with and
betrothed to Blanche Lundie. Through his friendship for the man who
has betrayed Anne Silvestre, and desire to serve the hapless woman, he
is the bearer of a message to her from _Geoffrey Delamayne_, and
is mistaken for her husband. Through this blunder he finds himself
married by Scotch law to Anne, while he is engaged to Blanche.--Wilkie
Collins, _Man and Wife_.
ARNOL'DO, son of Melchtal, patriot of the forest cantons of
Switzerland. He was in love with Mathilde (3 _syl._), sister of
Gessler, the Austrian governor of the district. When the tyranny of
Gessler drove the Swiss into rebellion, Arnoldo joined the insurgents,
but after the death of Gessler he married Mathilde, whose life he had
saved when it was imperilled by an avalanche.--Rossini, _Guglielmo
Tell_ (1829).
_Arnol'do_, a gentleman contracted to Zeno'cia, a chaste lady,
dishonorably pursued by the governor, count Clodio.--Beaumont and
Fletcher, _The Custom of the Country_ (1647).
AR'NOLPHE (2 _syl._), a man of wealth, who has a crotchet about the
proper training of girls to make good wives, and tries his scheme on
Agnes, whom he adopts from a peasant's hut, and intends in time to
make his wife. She is brought up, from the age of four years, in
a country convent, where difference of sex and the conventions of
society are wholly ignored; but when removed from the convent Agnes
treats men like school-girls, nods to them familiarly, kisses them,
and plays with them. Being told by her guardian that married women
have more freedom than maidens, she asks him to marry her; however, a
young man named Horace falls in love with her, and makes her his
wife, so Arnolphe, after all, profits nothing by his pains.--Moliere,
_L'Ecole des Femmes_ (1662).
Dans un petit couvent loin de toute pratique
Je le fis elever selon ma politique
C'est-a-dire, ordonnant quels soins on emploieroit
Pour le rendre idiote autant qu'il se pourroit.
Act i. I.
AR'NOT (_Andrew_), one of the yeomen of the Balafre [Ludovic
Lesly].--Sir W. Scott, _Quentin Durward_ (time, Edward IV.).
ARON'TEUS (4 _syl._), an Asiatic king, who joined the Egyptian
armament against the crusaders.--Tasso, _Jerusalem Delivered_ (1575).
ARPA'SIA, the betrothed of Mone'ses, a Greek, but made by constraint
the bride of Baj'azet sultan of Turkey. Bajazet commanded Moneses
to be bow-strung in the presence of Arpasia, to frighten her into
subjection, but she died at the sight.--N. Eowe, _Tamerlane_ (1702).
AR'ROT, the weasel in the beast-epic of _Reynard the Fox_ (1498).
ARROW-HEAD, Indian warrior in Cooper's _Pathfinder_, the husband of
Dew-in-June (1840).
ARROW-MAKER, father of Minnehaha, in Longfellow's _Hiawatha_ (1855).
AR'SACES (3 _syl._), the patronymic name of the Persian kings,
from Arsaces, their great monarch. It was generally added to some
distinctive name or appellation, as the Roman emperors added the name
of Caesar to their own.
Cujus memoriae hunc honorem Parthi tribuerunt
ut omnes exinde reges suos Arsacis nomine
nuncupent.--Justin, _Historiarae Philippicae_, xli.
ARSE'TES (3 _syl._), the aged eunuch who brought up Clorinda, and
attended on her.--Tasso, _Jerusalem Delivered_ (1575).
ARSINOE, prude in Moliere's comedy _Le Misanthrope_.
AR'TAMENES (3 _syl_.) or LE GRAND CYRUS, a "long-winded romance," by
Mdlle. Scuderi (1607-1701).
ARTAXAM'INOUS, king of Utopia, married to Griskinissa, whom he wishes
to divorce for Distaffi'na. But Distaffina is betrothed to general
Bombastes, and when the general finds that his "fond one" prefers
"half a crown" to himself, he hates all the world, and challenges the
whole race of man by hanging his boots on a tree, and daring any one
to displace them. The king, coming to the spot, reads the challenge,
and cuts the boots down, whereupon Bombastes falls on his majesty, and
"kills him," in a theatrical sense, for the dead monarch, at the close
of the burletta, joins in the dance, and promises, if the audience
likes, "to die again to-morrow."--W. B. Rhodes, _Bombastes Furioso_.
AR'TEGAL OR ARTHEGAL (_Sir_), son of Gorlois prince of Cornwall,
stolen in infancy by the fairies, and brought up in Fairyland.
Brit'omart saw him in Venus's looking-glass, and fell in love with
him. She married him, and became the mother of Aurelius Conan, from
whom (through Cadwallader) the Tudor dynasty derives descent. The
wanderings of Britomart, as a lady knight-errant and the impersonation
of chastity, is the subject of bk. iii. of the _Faery Queen_; and the
achievements of sir Artegal, as the impersonation of justice, is the
subject of bk. v.
Sir Artegal's first exploit was to decide to which claimant a living
woman belonged. This he decided according to Solomon's famous judgment
respecting "the living and dead child" (canto 1). His next was to
destroy the corrupt practice of bribery and toll (canto 2). His third
was the exposing of Braggadoccio and his follower Trompart (canto 3).
He had then to decide to which brother a chest of money found at sea
belonged, whether to Bracidas or Am'idas; he gave judgment in favor of
the former (canto 4). He then fell into the hands of Rad'igund queen
of the Amazons, and was released by Britomart (cantos 5 and 6), who
killed Radigund (canto 7). His last and greatest achievement was the
deliverance of Ire'na _(Ireland)_ from Grantorto _(rebellion)_, whom
he slew (canto 12).
N.B.--This rebellion was that called the earl of Desmond's, in 1580.
Before bk. iv. 6, Artegal is spelled Arthegal, but never afterwards.
[Illustration] "Sir Artegal" is meant for lord Gray of Wilton,
Spenser's friend. He was sent in 1580 into Ireland as lord-lieutenant,
and the poet was his secretary. The marriage of Artegal with Britomart
means that the justice of lord Gray was united to purity of mind or
perfect integrity of conduct.--Spenser's _Faery Queen_, v. (1596).
ARTEMIS'IA, daughter of Lygdamis and queen of Carlia. With five
ships she accompanied Xerxes in his invasion of Greece, and greatly
distinguished herself in the battle of Salamis by her prudence and
courage. (This is _not_ the Artemisia who built the Mausoleum.)
Our statues ... she
The foundress of the Babylonian wall _[Semirfa-mis]_;
The Carian Artemisia strong in war.
Tennyson, _The Princess_, ii.
_Artemis'ia_, daughter of Hecatomnus and sister-wife of Mauso'lus.
Artemisia was queen of Caria, and at the death of her fraternal
husband raised a monument to his memory (called a mausole'um), which
was one of the "Seven Wonders of the World." It was built by four
different architects: Scopas, Timotheus, Leochares, and Bruxis.
This made the four rare masters which began
Fair Artemysia's husband's dainty tomb
(When death took her before the work was done,
And so bereft them of all hopes to come),
That they would yet their own work perfect make
E'en for their workes, and their self-glories sake.
Lord Brooke, _An Inquiry upon Fame, etc_. (1554-1628).
ARTEMUS WARD, travelling showman and philosopher, whose adventures and
sayings as given by Charles Brown were a new departure in the history
of American dialect literature (1862).
ARTFUL DODGER, the sobriquet of John Dawkins, a young thief, up
to every sort of dodge, and a most marvellous adept in villainy.--Dickens,
_Oliver Twist_ (1837).
ARTHGALLO, a mythical British king, brother of Gorbonian, his
predecessor on the throne, and son of Mor'vidus, the tyrant who was
swallowed by a sea-monster. Arthgallo was deposed, and his brother
El'idure was advanced to the throne instead.--Geoffrey, _British
History_, iii. 17 (1142).
ARTHUR (_King_), parentage of. His father was Uther the pendragon, and
his mother Ygerne (3 _syl_.), widow of Gorlois duke of Cornwall. But
Ygerne had been a widow only three hours, and knew not that the duke
was dead (pt. i. 2), and her marriage with the pendragon was not
consummated till thirteen days afterwards. When the boy was born
Merlin took him, and he was brought up as the foster-son of sir Ector
(Tennyson says "sir Anton"), till Merlin thought proper to announce
him as the lawful successor of Uther, and had him crowned. Uther lived
two years after his marriage with Ygerne.--Sir T. Malory, _History of
Prince Arthur_, i. 2, 6 (1470).
Wherefore Merlin took the child
And gave him to sir Anton, an old knight
And ancient friend of Uther; and his wife
Nursed the young prince, and reared him with her own.
Tennyson, _Coming of Arthur_.
_Coming of Arthur_. Leod'ogran, king of Cam'eliard (3 _syl._),
appealed to Arthur to assist him in clearing his kingdom of robbers
and wild beasts. This being done, Arthur sent three of his knights to
Leodogran, to beg the hand of his daughter Guenever in marriage. To
this Leodogran, after some little hesitation, agreed, and sir Lancelot
was sent to escort the lady to Arthur's court.
_Arthur not dead_. According to tradition Arthur is not dead, but
rests in Glastonbury, "till he shall come again full twice as fair, to
rule over his people." (See BARBAROSSA.)
According to tradition, Arthur never died, but was converted into a
raven by enchantment, and will, in the fulness of time, appear again
in his original shape, to recover his throne and sceptre. For this
reason there is never a raven killed in England.--Cervantes, _Don
Quixote_, I ii. 5 (1605).
_Arthur's Twelve Battles_ (or victories over the Saxons). I. The
battle of the river Glem (_i.e._ the glen of Northumberland). 2 to 5.
The four battles of the Duglas (which falls into the estuary of the
Ribble). 6. The battle of Bassa, said to be Bashall Brook, which
joins the Ribble near Clithero. 7. The battle of Celidon, said to
be Tweeddale. 8. The battle of Castle Gwenion (_i.e._ Caer Wen, in
Wedale, Stow). 9. The battle of Caerleon, _i.e._ Carlisle; which
Tennyson makes to be Caerleon-upon-Usk. 10. The battle of Trath
Treroit, in Anglesey, some say the Solway Frith. 11. The battle of
Agned Cathregonion (_i.e._ Edinburgh). 12. The battle of Badon Hill
(_i.e._ the Hill of Bath, now Bannerdown).
Then bravely chanted they The several twelve pitched fields he
[_Arthur_] with the Saxons fought. M. Drayton, _Polyolbion_, iv.
(1612).
_Arthur, one of the Nine Worthies_. Three were Gentiles: Hector,
Alexander, and Julius Caesar; three were Jews: Joshua, David, and Judas
Maccabaeus; three were Christians: Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of
Bouillon.
_Arthur's Foster-Father and Mother_, sir Ector and his lady. Their
son, sir Key (his foster-brother), was his seneschal or steward.--Sir
T. Malory, _History of Prince Arthur_, i. 3, 8 (1470).
N.B.--Tennyson makes sir Anton the foster-father of Arthur.
_Arthur's Butler_, sir Lucas or Lucan, son of duke Corneus; but sir
Griflet, son of Cardol, assisted sir Key and sir Lucas "in the rule of
the service."--_History of Prince Arthur_, i. 8 (1470).
_Arthur's Sisters_ [half-sisters], Morgause or Margawse (wife of king
Lot); Elain (wife of king Nentres of Carlot); and Morgan le Fay, the
"great clark of Nigromancy," who wedded king Vrience, of the land of
Core, father of Ewayns le Blanchemayne. Only the last had the same
mother (Ygraine or Ygerne) as the king.--Sir T. Malory, _History of
Prince Arthur_, i. 2.
_Arthur's Sons_--Urien, Llew, and Arawn. Borre was his son by Lyonors,
daughter of the earl Sanam.--_History of Prince Arthur_, i. 15.
Mordred was his son by Elain, wife of king Nentres of Carlot. In some
of the romances collated by sir T. Malory he is called the son of
Morgause and Arthur; Morgause being called the wife of king Lot,
and sister of Arthur. This incest is said to have been the cause of
Mordred's hatred of Arthur.--Pt. i. 17, 36, etc.
_Arthur's Drinking-Horn_. No one could drink from this horn who was
either unchaste or unfaithful.--_Lai du Corn_ and _Morte d'Arthur_.
(See CHASTITY.)
_Arthur's Shield_, Pridwin. Geoffrey calls it Priwen, and says it was
adorned with the picture of the Virgin Mary.--_British History_, ix. 4
(1142).
_Arthur's Spear_, Rone. Geoffrey calls it Ron. It was made of
ebony.--_British History_, ix. 4 (1142).
His spere he nom an honde tha Ron wes ihaten.
Layamon. _Brut_, (twelfth century).
_Arthur's Sword_, Escal'ibur or Excal'ibur. Geoffrey calls it
Caliburn, and says it was made in the isle of Avallon.--_British
History_, ix. 4 (1142).
The temper of his sword, the tried Escalabour,
The bigness and the length of Rone, his noble
spear,
With Pridwin, his great shield.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, iv. (1612).
_Arthur's Round Table_. It contained seats for 150 knights. Three were
reserved, two for honor, and one (called the "siege perilous") for sir
Galahad, destined to achieve the quest of the sangreal. If any one
else attempted to sit in it, his death was the certain penalty.
[Illustration] There is a table so called at Winchester, and Henry
VIII. showed it to Francois I. as the very table made by Merlin for
Uther the pendragon.
And for great Arthur's seat, her Winchester
prefers,
Whose old round table yet she vaunteth to be
hers.
M. Drayton, _Polyolbion_, ii. (1612).
_Arthur_ (_King_), in the burlesque opera of
_Tom Thumb_, has Dollallolla for his queen, and Huncamunca for his
daughter. This dramatic piece, by Henry Fielding, the novelist, was
produced in 1730, but was altered by Kane O'Hara, author of _Midas_,
about half a century later.
ARTHURIAN ROMANCES.
_King Arthur and the Round Table_, a romance in verse (1096).
_The Holy Graal_ (in verse, 1100).
_Titurel_, or _The Guardian of the Holy Graal_, by Wolfram von
Eschenbach. Titurel founded the temple of Graalburg as a shrine for
the holy graal.
_The Romance of Parzival_, prince of the race of the kings of
Graalburg. By Wolfram of Eschenbach (in verse). This romance (written
about 1205) was partly founded upon a French poem by Chretien de
Troyes, _Parceval le Gallois_ (1170).
_Launcelot of the Lake_, by Ulrich of Zazikoven, contemporary with
William Rufus.
_Wigalois_, or _The Knight of the Wheel_, by Wirnd of Graffenberg.
This adventurer leaves his mother in Syria, and goes in search of his
father, a knight of the Round Table.
_I'wain_, or _The Knight of the Lion_, and _Ereck_, by Hartmann von
der Aue (thirteenth century).
_Tristan and Yseult_ (in verse), by Master Grottfried of Strasburg
(thirteenth century). This is also the subject of Luc du Grast's prose
romance, which was revised by Elie de Borron, and turned into verse by
Thomas the Rhymer, of Erceldoune, under the title of the _Romance of
Tristram_.
_Merlyn Ambroise_, by Robert de Borron.
_Roman des diverses Quetes de St. Graal_, by Walter Mapes (prose).
_La Morte d'Arthur_, by Walter Mapes.
_A Life of Joseph of Arimathea_, by Robert de Borron.
_The Idylls of the King_, by Tennyson, in blank verse, containing "The
Coming of Arthur," "Gareth and Lynette," "Geraint and Enid," "Merlin
and Vivien," "Lancelot and Elaine," "The Holy Graal," "Peleas and
Ettarre" (2 _syl._), "The Last Tournament," "Guinevere" (3 _syl._)
and "The Passing of Arthur," which is the "Morte d'Arthur" with an
introduction added to it.
(The old Arthurian Romances have been collated and rendered into
English by sir Thomas Malory, in three parts. Part i. contains the
early history of Arthur and the beautiful allegory of Gareth and
Linet; part ii. contains the adventures of sir Tristram; and part iii.
the adventures of sir Launcelot, with the death of Arthur and his
knights. Sir Frederick Madden and J.T.K. have also contributed to the
same series of legends.)
[Illustration] _Sources of the Arthurian Romances_. The prose series
of romances called Arthurian, owe their origin to: 1. The legendary
chronicles composed in Wales or Brittany, such as _De Excidio
Britanniae_ of Gildas. 2. The chronicles of Nennius (ninth century).
3. The Armoric collections of Walter [Cale'nius] or Gauliter,
archdeacon of Oxford. 4. The _Chronicon sive Historia Britonum_ of
Geoffrey of Monmouth. 5. Floating traditions and metrical ballads and
romances. (See CHARLEMAGNE.)
AR'THURET _(Miss Seraphina_ the papist and _Miss Angelica_), two
sisters in sir W. Scott's novel called _Redgauntlet_ (time, George
III.).
ARTHUR KAVANAGH, the new pastor in the Fairmeadow parish, endowed
"with the zeal of Peter and the gentleness of John," who writes on his
study-door Dante's injunction--
Think that To-day will never dawn again. _Kavanagh. A Tale_, by H.W.
Longfellow (1872).
ARTHUR LIVINGSTON, an American traveller in Egypt who falls in love,
at first leisurely, finally desperately, with the heroine of _Kismet_
by George Fleming (Julia C. Fletcher) (1877).
ARTHUR RIPLEY, young New York lawyer employed in the criminal case
that is the pivotal centre of interest in Sidney Luska's (Harry
Harland) novel, _Mrs. Peixada_ (1886).
AR'TURO (lord Arthur Talbot), a cavalier affianced to Elvi'ra "the
puritan," daughter of lord Walton. On the day appointed for the
wedding, Arturo has to aid Enrichetta (_Henrietta, widow of Charles
I._) in her escape, and Elvira, supposing he is eloping with a rival,
temporarily loses her reason. On his return, Arturo explains the
circumstances, and they vow never more to part. At this juncture
Arturo is arrested for treason, and led away to execution; but a
herald announces the defeat of the Stuarts, and free pardon of all
political offenders, whereupon Arturo is released, and marries "the
fair puritan."--Bellini's opera, _I Puritani_ (1834).
_Ar'turo_ [BUCKLAW]. So Frank Hayston is called in Donizetti's opera
of _Lucia di Lammermoor_ (1835). (See HAYSTON.)
AR'VALAN, the wicked son of Keha'ma, slain by Ladur'lad for attempting
to dishonor his daughter Kail'yal (2 _syl._). After this, his spirit
became the relentless persecutor of the holy maiden, but holiness and
chastity triumphed over sin and lust. Thus when Kailyal was taken to
the bower of bliss in paradise, Arvalan borrowed the dragon-car of the
witch Lor'rimite (3 _syl._) to carry her off; but when the dragons
came in sight of the holy place they were unable to mount, and went
perpetually downwards, till Arvalan was dropped into an ice-rift of
perpetual snow. When he presented himself before her in the temple of
Jaganaut, she set fire to the pagoda. And when he caught the maiden
waiting for her father, who was gone to release the glendoveer from
the submerged city of Baly, Baly himself came to her rescue.
"Help, help, Kehama! help!" he cried.
But Baly tarried not to abide
That mightier power. With irresistible feet
He stampt and cleft the earth. It opened wide,
And gave him way to his own judgment-seat.
Down like a plummet to the world below
He sank ... to punishment deserved and endless woe.
Southey, _Curse of Kehama_, xvii. 12 (1809).
ARVI'DA (_Prince_), a noble friend of Gustavus Vasa. Both Arvida and
Gustavus are in love with Christi'na, daughter of Christian II. king
of Scandinavia. Christian employs the prince to entrap Gustavus, but
when he approaches him the better instincts of old friendship and the
nobleness of Gustavus prevail, so that Arvida not only refuses to
betray his friend, but even abandons to him all further rivalry in the
love of Christina.--H. Brooke, _Gustavus Vasa_ (1730).
ARVIR'AGUS, the husband of Do'rigen. Aurelius tried to win her love,
but Dorigen made answer that she would never listen to his suit till
the rocks that beset the coast were removed, "and there n'is no stone
y-seen." By the aid of magic, Aurelius caused all the rocks of the
coast to disappear, and Dorigen's husband insisted that she should
keep her word. When Aurelius saw how sad she was, and was told that
she had come in obedience to her husband's wishes, he said he would
rather die than injure so true a wife and noble a gentleman.--Chaucer,
_Canterbury Tales_ ("The Franklin's Tale," 1388).
(This is substantially the same as Boccaccio's tale of _Dianora and
Gilberto_, day x. 5. See DIANORA.)
_Arvir'agus_, younger son of Cym'beline (3 _syl._) king of Britain,
and brother of Guide'rius. The two in early childhood were kidnapped
by Bela'rius, out of revenge for being unjustly banished, and were
brought up by him in a cave. When they were grown to manhood,
Belarius, having rescued the king from the Romans, was restored to
favor. He then introduced the two young men to Cymbeline, and told
their story, upon which the king was rejoiced to find that his two
sons whom he thought dead were both living.--Shakespeare, _Cymbeline_
(1605).
ARYAN LANGUAGES (_The_)--
1. Sanskrit, whence Hindustanee.
2. Zend, whence Persian.
3. Greek, whence Romaic.
4. Latin, whence Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Wallachian
(_Romance_).
5. Keltic, whence Welsh, Irish, Gaelic.
6. Gothic, whence Teutonic, English, Scandinavian.
7. Slavonic, whence European Russian, and Austrian.
AS YOU LIKE IT, a comedy by Shakespeare. One of the French dukes,
being driven from his dukedom by his brother, went with certain
followers to the forest of Arden, where they lived a free and easy
life, chiefly occupied in the chase. The deposed duke had one
daughter, named Rosalind, whom the usurper kept at court as the
companion of his own daughter Celia, and the two cousins were very
fond of each other. At a wrestling match Rosalind fell in love with
Orlando, who threw his antagonist, a giant and professional athlete.
The usurping duke (Frederick) now banished her from the court, but her
cousin Celia resolved to go to Arden with her; so Rosalind in boy's
clothes (under the name of Ganymede), and Celia as a rustic maiden
(under the name of Alie'na), started to find the deposed duke. Orlando
being driven from home by his elder brother, also went to the forest
of Arden, and was taken under the duke's protection. Here he met
the ladies, and a double marriage was the result--Orlando married
Rosalind, and his elder brother Oliver married Celia. The usurper
retired to a religious house, and the deposed duke was restored to his
dominions.--(1598.)
ASAPH. So Tate calls Dryden in _Absalom and Achitophel_.
While Judah's throne and Zion's rock stand fast,
The song of Asaph and his fame shall last.
Part ii.
_Asaph (St.)_ a British [_i.e. Welsh_] monk of the sixth century,
abbot of Llan-Elvy, which changed its name to St. Asaph, in honor of
him.
So bishops can she bring, of which her saints shall be:
As Asaph, who first gave that name unto that see.
Drayton, _Polyolbion_, xxiv. (1622).
ASCAL'APHOS, son of Acheron, turned into an owl for tale-telling and
trying to make mischief.--_Greek Fable_.
ASCA'NIO, son of don Henrique (2 _syl._), in the comedy called _The
Spanish Curate_, by Beaumont and Fletcher (1622).
AS'CAPART or AS'CUPART, an enormous giant, thirty feet high, who
carried off sir Bevis, his wife Jos'ian, his sword Morglay, and his
steed Ar'undel, under his arm. Sir Bevis afterwards made Ascapart his
slave, to run beside his horse. The effigy of sir Bevis is on the city
gates of Southampton.--Drayton, _Polyolbion_, ii. (1612).
He was a man whose huge stature, thews, sinews, and bulk ... would
have enabled him to enact "Colbrand," "Ascapart," or any other giant
of romance, without raising himself nearer to heaven even by the
altitude of a chopin.--Sir W. Scott.
Those Ascaparts, men big enough to throw
Charing Cross for a bar.
Dr. Donne (1573-1631).
Thus imitated by Pope (1688-1744)--
Each man an Ascapart of strength to toss
For quoits both Temple Bar and Charing Cross.
ASCRAE'AN SAGE, or _Ascraean poet_, Hesiod, who was born at Ascra, in
Boeo'tia. Virgil calls him "The Old Ascraean."
Hos tibi dant calamos, en accipe, Musae
Ascraeo quos ante seni.
_Ecl._ vii. 70.
AS'EBIE (3 _syl_.), Irreligion personified in _The Purple Island_
(1633), by Phineas Fletcher (canto vii.). He had four sons: Idol'atros
(_idolatry_), Phar'makeus (3 _syl_.) (_witchcraft_), Haeret'icus,
and Hypocrisy; all fully described by the poet. (Greek, _asebeia_,
"impiety.")
ASEL'GES (3 _syl_.), Lasciviousness personified. One of the four
sons of Anag'nus (_inchastity_), his three brothers being Maechus
(_adultery_), Pornei'us (_fornication_), and Acath'arus. Seeing
his brother Porneius fall by the spear of Parthen'ia (_maidenly
chastity_), Aselges rushes forward to avenge his death, but the
martial maid caught him with her spear, and tossed him so high i'
the air "that he hardly knew whither his course was bent." (Greek,
_aselges_, "intemperate, wanton.")--Phineas Fletcher, _The Purple
Island_, xi. (1633).
AS'EN, strictly speaking, are only the three gods next in rank to
the twelve male Asir; but the word is not unfrequently used for the
Scandinavian deities generally.
ASHBURTON (_Mary_), heroine of _Hyperion_, by H.W. Longfellow (1839).
ASH'FIELD (_Farmer_), a truly John Bull farmer, tender-hearted,
noble-minded but homely, generous but hot-tempered. He loves his
daughter Susan with the love of a woman. His favorite expression is
"Behave pratty," and he himself always tries to do so. His daughter
Susan marries Robert Handy, the son of sir Abel Handy.
_Dame Ashfield_, the farmer's wife, whose _bete noire_ is a
neighboring farmer named Grundy. What Mrs. Grundy will say, or what
Mrs. Grundy will think or do, is dame Ashfield's decalogue and gospel
too.
_Susan Ashfield_, daughter of farmer and dame Ashfield.--Thom. Morton,
_Speed the Plough_ (1764-1838).
ASH'FORD (_Isaac_), "a wise, good man, contented to be poor."--Crabbe,
_Parish Register_ (1807).
ASHPENAZ, chief of eunuchs, and majordomo to Nebuchadnezzar, the
Babylonian monarch. Wily, corpulent, and avaricious, a creature to
be at once feared and despised.--_The Master of the Magicians_, by
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward (1890).
ASH'TAROTH, a general name for all Syrian goddesses. (See ASTORETH.)
[_They_] had general names
Of Baaelim and Ashtaroth: those male,
These feminine.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, i. 422 (1665).
ASH'TON (_Sir William_), the lord keeper of Scotland, and father of
Lucy Ashton.
_Lady Eleanor Ashton_, wife of sir William.
_Colonel Sholto Douglas Ashton_, eldest son of sir William.
_Lucy Ashton_, daughter of sir William, betrothed to Edgar (the master
of Ravenswood); but being compelled to marry Frank Hayston (laird of
Bucklaw), she tries to murder him in the bridal chamber, and becomes
insane. Lucy dies, but the laird recovers.--Sir W. Scott, _The Bride
of Lammermoor_ (time, William III.).
(This has been made the subject of an opera by Donizetti, called
_Lucia di Lammermoor_, 1835.)
ASIA, the wife of that Pharaoh who brought up Moses. She was the
daughter of Mozahem. Her husband tortured her for believing in Moses;
but she was taken alive into paradise.--Sale, _Al Koran_, xx., note,
and Ixvi., note.
Mahomet says, "Among women four have been perfect: Asia, wife of
Pharaoh; Mary, daughter of Imran; Khadijah, the prophet's first wife;
and Fatima, his own daughter."
AS'IR, the twelve chief gods of Scandinavian mythology--Odin, Thor,
Baldr, Niord, Frey, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall, Vidar, Vali, Ullur, and
Forseti.
Sometimes the goddesses--Frigga, Freyja, Idu'na, and Saga, are ranked
among the Asir also.
AS'MADAI (3 _syl.)_ the same as As-mode'us _(4 syl.)_ the lustful and
destroying angel, who robbed Sara of her seven husbands _(Tobit_ iii.
8). Milton makes him one of the rebellious angels overthrown by Uriel
and Ra'phael. Hume says the word means "the _destroyer_."--_Paradise
Lost_, vi 365 (1665).
ASMODE'US _(4 syl.)_, the demon of vanity and dress, called in the
Talmud "king of the devils." As "dress" is one of the bitterest evils
of modern life, it is termed "the Asmodeus of domestic peace," a
phrase employed to express any "skeleton" in the house of a private
family.
In the book of _Tobit_ Asmodeus falls in love with Sara, daughter of
Rag'uel, and causes the successive deaths of seven husbands each on
his bridal night, but when Sara married Tobit, Asmodeus was driven
into Egypt by a charm made of the heart and liver of a fish burnt on
perfumed ashes.
(Milton throws the accent on the third syl., Tennyson on the second.)
Better pleased
Than Asmodeus with the fishy fume.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, iv. 168.
Abaddon and Asmodeus caught at me.
Tennyson, _St. Simeon Stylites_.
_Asmode'us_, a "diable bon-homme," with more gaiety than malice; not
the least like Mephistopheles. He is the companion of Cle'ofas, whom
he carries through the air, and shows him the inside of houses, where
they see what is being done in private or secrecy without being seen.
Although Asmodeus is not malignant, yet with all his wit, acuteness,
and playful malice, we never forget the fiend.--Le Sage, _Le Diable
Boiteux_.
(Such was the popularity of the _Diable Boiteux_, that two young men
fought a duel in a bookseller's shop over the only remaining copy, an
incident worthy to be recorded by Asmodeus himself.)
Miss Austen gives us just such a picture of domestic life as
Asmodeus would present could he remove the roof of many an English
home.--_Encyc. Brit_. Art. "Romance."
ASO'TUS, Prodigality personified in _The Purple Island_ (1633), by
Phineas Fletcher, fully described in canto viii. (Greek, _asotos_, "a
profligate.")
ASPA'TIA, a maiden the very ideal of ill-fortune and wretchedness.
She is the troth-plight wife of Amintor, but Amintor, at the king's
request, marries Evad'ne (3 _syl_.). "Women point with scorn at the
forsaken Aspatia, but she bears it all with patience. The pathos of
her speeches is most touching, and her death forms the tragical event
which gives name to the drama."--Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Maid's
Tragedy_ (1610).
AS'PRAMONTE (3 _syl_.), in Sir W. Scott's _Count Robert of Paris_
(time, Rufus).
_The old knight_, father of _Brenhilda_.
_The lady of Aspramonte_, the knight's wife.
_Brenhilda of Aspramonte_, their daughter, wife of count Robert.
AS'RAEL or AZ'RAEL, an angel of death. He is immeasurable in height,
insomuch that the space between his eyes equals a 70,000 days'
journey.--_Mohammedan Mythology_.
AS'SAD, son of Camaral'zaman and Haiatal'nefous (5 _syl_.), and
half-brother of Amgiad (son of Camaralzaman and Badoura). Each of the
two mothers conceived a base passion for the other's son, and when the
young men repulsed their advances, accused them to their father of
gross designs upon their honor. Camaralzaman commanded his vizier to
put them both to death; but instead of doing so, he conducted them out
of the city, and told them not to return to their father's kingdom
(the island of Ebony). They wandered on for ten days, when Assad went
to a city in sight to obtain provisions. Here he was entrapped by an
old fire-worshipper, who offered him hospitality, but cast him into a
dungeon, intending to offer him up a human victim on the "mountain
of fire." The ship in which he was sent being driven on the coast of
queen Margiana, Assad was sold to her as a slave, but being recaptured
was carried back to his old dungeon. Here Bosta'na, one of the old
man's daughters, took pity on him, and released him, and ere long
Assad married queen Margiana, while Amgiad, out of gratitude, married
Bostana.--_Arabian Nights_ ("Amgiad and Assad").
ASTAG'ORAS, a female fiend, who has the power of raising
storms.--Tasso, _Jerusalem Delivered_ (1575).
ASTAR'TE (3 _syl_.), the Phoenician moon-goddess, the Astoreth of the
Syrians.
With these
Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians called
Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, i. 438 (1665).
_As'tarte_ (2 _syl_.), an attendant on the princess Anna
Comne'na.--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Eufus).
_Astarte_ a woman, beloved by Manfred.--Byron, _Manfred_.
We think of Astarte as young, beautiful, innocent,--guilty, lost,
murdered, judged, pardoned; but still, in her permitted visit to
earth, speaking in a voice of sorrow, and with a countenance yet pale
with mortal trouble. We had but a glimpse of her in her beauty and
innocence, but at last she rises before us in all the moral silence of
a ghost, with fixed, glazed, and passionless eyes, revealing death,
judgment, and eternity.--Professor Wilson.
The lady Astarte his? Hush! who
comes here? (iii. 4.)
...The same Astarte? no! (iii. 4.)
AS'TERY, a nymph in the train of Venus; the lightest of foot and most
active of all. One day the goddess, walking abroad with her nymphs,
bade them go gather flowers. Astery gathered most of all; but Venus,
in a fit of jealousy, turned her into a butterfly, and threw the
flowers into the wings. Since then all butterflies have borne wings
of many gay colors.--Spenser, _Muiopotmos or the Butterfly's Fate_
(1590).
ASTOL'PHO, the English cousin of Orlando; his father was Otho. He was
a great boaster, but was generous, courteous, gay, and singularly
handsome. Astolpho was carried to Alci'na's isle on the back of a
whale; and when Alcina tired of him, she changed him into a myrtle
tree, but Melissa disenchanted him. Astolpho descended into the
infernal regions; he also went to the moon, to cure Orlando of his
madness by bringing back his lost wits in a phial.--Ariosto, _Orlando
Furioso_ (1516).
AS'TON _(Sir Jacob)_, a cavalier during the Commonwealth; one of
the partisans of the late king.--Sir W. Scott, _Woodstock_ (period,
Commonwealth).
_As'ton (Enrico)._ So Henry Ashton is called in Donizetti's opera of
_Lucia di Lammermoor_ (1835). (See ASHTON.)
AS'TORAX, king of Paphos and brother of the princess Calis.--Beaumont
and Fletcher, _The Mad Lover_ (before 1618).
AS'TORETH, the goddess-moon of Syrian mythology; called by Jeremiah,
"The Queen of Heaven," and by the Phoenicians, "Astar'te."
With these [_the host of heaven_] in troop
Came Astoreth, whom the Phoenicians called
Astarte, queen of heaven, with crescent horns.
Milton, _Paradise Lost_, i. 438 (1665).
(Milton does not always preserve the difference between Ashtaroth and
Ashtoreth; for he speaks of the "mooned Ashtaroth, heaven's queen and
mother.")
AS'TRAGON, the philosopher and great physician, by whom Gondibert and
his friends were cured of the wounds received in the faction fight
stirred up by prince Oswald. Astragon had a splendid library and
museum. One room was called "Great Nature's Office," another "Nature's
Nursery," and the library was called "The Monument of Vanished Mind."
Astragon (the poet says) discovered the loadstone and its use in
navigation. He had one child, Bertha, who loved duke Gondibert, and
to whom she was promised in marriage. The tale being unfinished, the
sequel is not known.--Sir W. Davenant, _Gondibert_ (died 1668).
ASTRE'A _(Mrs. Alphra Behn_), an authoress. She published the story of
_Prince Oroonoka_ (died 1689).
The stage now loosely does Astrea tread. Pope.
ASTRINGER, a falconer. Shakespeare introduces an astringer in _All's
Well that Ends Well_, act v. sc. 1. (From the French _austour_,
Latin _austercus_, "a goshawk.") A "gentle astringer" is a gentleman
falconer.
We usually call a falconer who keeps that kind of hawk [the goshawk]
an austringer.--Cowell, _Law Dictionary_.
AS'TRO-FIAMMAN'TE (5 _syl_.), queen of the night. The word means
"flaming star."--Mozart, _Die Zauberfloete_ (1791).
ASTRONOMER (_The_), in _Rasselas_, an old enthusiast, who believed
himself to have the control and direction of the weather. He leaves
Imlac his successor, but implores him not to interfere with the
constituted order.
"I have possessed," said he to Imlac, "for five years the regulation
of the weather, and the distribution of the seasons: the sun has
listened to my dictates, and passed from tropic to tropic by my
direction; the clouds, at my call, have poured their waters, and the
Nile has overflowed at my command; I have restrained the rage of the
Dog-star, and mitigated the fervor of the Crab. The winds alone ...
have hitherto refused my authority.... I am the first of human beings
to whom this trust has been imparted."--Dr. Johnson, _Rasselas_,
xli.--xliii. (1759).
AS'TROPHEL (_Sir Philip Sidney_). "Phil. Sid." may be a contraction
of _philos sidus_, and the Latin _sidus_ being changed to the Greek
_astron_, we get _astron philos_ ("star-lover"). The "star" he loved
was Penelope Devereux, whom he calls _Stella_ ("star"), and to whom he
was betrothed. Spenser wrote a poem called _Astrophel_, to the memory
of Sir Philip Sidney.
But while as Astrophel did live and reign,
Amongst all swains was none his paragon.
Spenser, _Colin Clout's Come Home Again_ (1591).
ASTYN'OME (4 _syl_.) or CHRYSEIS, daughter of Chryses priest of
Apollo. When Lyrnessus was taken, Astynome fell to the share of
Agamemnon, but the father begged to be allowed to ransom her.
Agamemnon refused to comply, whereupon the priest invoked the anger of
his patron god, and Apollo sent a plague into the Grecian camp. This
was the cause of contention between Agamemnon and Achilles, and forms
the subject of Homer's epic called _The Iliad_.
AS'WAD, son of Shedad king of Ad. He was saved alive when the angel of
death destroyed Shedad and all his subjects, because he showed mercy
to a camel which had been bound to a tomb to starve to death, that it
might serve its master on the day of resurrection.--Southey, _Thalaba
the Destroyer_ (1797).
ATABA'LIPA, the last emperor of Peru, subdued by Pizarro, the Spanish
general. Milton refers to him in _Paradise Lost_, xi. 409 (1665).
AT'ALA, the name of a novel by Francois Auguste Chateaubriand. Atala,
the daughter of a white man and a Christianized Indian, takes an oath
of virginity, but subsequently falling in love with Chactas, a young
Indian, she poisons herself for fear that she may be tempted to break
her oath. The novel was received with extraordinary enthusiasm (1801).
(This has nothing to do with _Attila_, king of the Huns, nor with
_Atlialie_ (queen of Judah), the subject of Racine's great tragedy.)
ATALANTA, of Arcadia, wished to remain single, and therefore gave out
that she would marry no one who could not outstrip her in running;
but if any challenged her and lost the race, he was to lose his
life. Hippom'enes won the race by throwing down golden apples, which
Atalanta kept stopping to pick up. William Morris has chosen this for
one of his tales in _Earthly Paradise_ (March).
In short, she thus appeared like another Atalanta.--Comtesse D'Aunoy,
_Fairy Tales_ ("Fortunio," 1682).
_Atalanta_, the central figure in Algernon Charles Swinburne's poem
after AEschylus _Atalanta in Calydon_ (1864).
ATALI'BA, the inca of Peru, most dearly beloved by his subjects, on
whom Pizarro makes war. An old man says of the inca--
The virtues of our monarch alike secure to him the affection of his
people and the benign regard of heaven.--Sheridan, _Pizarro_; ii. 4
(from Kotzebue),(1799).
Ate (2 _syl_.), goddess of revenge.
With him along is come the mother queen. An Ate, stirring him to blood
and strife. Shakespeare, _King John_, act ii. sc. I (1596).
_Ate_ (2 _syl_.), "mother of debate and all dissension," the friend of
Duessa. She squinted, lied with a false tongue, and maligned even the
best of beings. Her abode, "far under ground hard by the gates of
hell," is described at length in bk. iv. I. When Sir Blandamour was
challenged by Braggadoccio (canto 4), the terms of the contest were
that the conqueror should have "Florimel," and the other "the old hag
Ate," who was always to ride beside him till he could pass her off to
another.--Spenser, _Faery Queen_, iv. (1596).
ATH'ALIE (3 _syl_.), daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and wife of Joram
king of Judah. She massacred all the remnant of the house of David;
but Joash escaped, and six years afterwards was proclaimed king.
Athalie, attracted by the shouts, went to the temple, and was
killed by the mob. This forms the subject and title of Racine's
_chef-d'oeuvre_ (1691), and was Mdlle. Rachel's great part.
(Racine's tragedy of _Athalie_, queen of Judah, must not be confounded
with Corneille's tragedy of _Attila_, king of the Huns.)
ATHEIST'S TRAGEDY (_The_), by Cyril Tourneur. The "atheist"
is D'Amville, who murders his brother Montferrers for his
estates.--(Seventeenth century.)
ATH'ELSTANE (3 _syl_.), surnamed "The Unready," thane of
Coningsburgh.--Sir W. Scott, _Ivanhoe_ (time, Richard I.).
[Illustration] "Unready" does not mean _unprepared_ but _injudicious_
(from Anglo-Saxon _raed_, "wisdom, counsel").
ATHE'NA (_Pallas_) once meant "the air," but in Homer this goddess is
the representative of civic prudence and military skill; the armed
protectress of states and cities. The Romans called her Minerva.
ATHE'NIAN BEE, Plato, so called from, the honeyed sweetness of his
composition. It is said that a bee settled on his lip while he was an
infant asleep in his cradle, and indicated that "honeyed words" would
fall from his lips, and flow from his pen. Sophocles is called "The
Attic Bee."
ATH'LIOT, the most wretched of all women.
Her comfort is (if for her any be),
That none can show more cause of grief than she.
Wm. Browne, _Britannia's Pastorals_, ii. 5 (1613).
ATH'OS. Dinoc'rates, a sculptor, proposed to Alexander to hew mount
Athos into a statue representing the great conqueror, with a city in
his left hand, and a basin in his right to receive all the waters
which flowed from the mountain. Alexander greatly approved of the
suggestion, but objected to the locality.
And hew out a huge mountain of pathos,
As Philip's son proposed to do with Athos.
Byron, _Don Juan_, xii. 86.
AT'IMUS, Baseness of Mind personified in _The Purple Island_ (1633),
by Phineas Fletcher. "A careless, idle swain ... his work to eat,
drink, sleep, and purge his reins." Fully described in canto viii.
(Greek, _atimos_, "one dishonored.")
A'TIN (_Strife_), the squire of Pyr'ochles.--Spenser, _Faery Queen_,
ii. 4, 5, 6 (1590).
ATOS'SA. So Pope calls Sarah duchess of Marlborough, because she was
the great friend of lady Mary Wortley Montagu, whom he calls Sappho.
But what are these to great Atossa's mind?
Pope.
(The great friend of Sappho was Atthis. By Atossa is generally
understood Vashti, daughter of Cyrus and wife of Ahasuerus of the Old
Testament.)
AT'ROPOS, one of the Fates, whose office is to cut the thread of life
with a pair of scissors.
... nor shines the knife,
Nor shears of Atropos before their vision.
Byron, _Don Juan_, ii. 64.
ATTIC BEE _(The)_, Soph'ocles (B.C. 495-405). Plato is called "The
Athenian Bee."
ATTIC BOY _(The)_, referred to by Milton in his _Il Penseroso_, is
Ceph'alos, who was beloved by Aurora or Morn, but was married to
Procris. He was passionately fond of hunting.
Till civil-suited Morn appear,
Not tricked and flounced, as she was wont
With the Attic boy to hunt,
But kerchiefed in a comely cloud.
_II Penseroso_ (1638).
ATTIC MUSE _(The)_, a phrase signifying the whole body of Attic
poetry.
ATTICUS. The surname of T. Pomponius, the intimate friend of Cicero,
given to him on account of his long residence in Athens. His biography
is found in Nepor.
_The English Atticus_. Joseph Addison.
Who but must laugh if such a man there be.
Who would not weep if Atticus were he?
Pope, _Prologue to the Satires_.
AT'TILA, one of the tragedies of Pierre Corneille (1667). This king of
the Huns, usually called "The Scourge of God," must not be confounded
with "Athalie," daughter of Jezebel and wife of Joram, the subject
and title of Racine's _ches-d'oeuvre_, and Mdlle. Rachel's chief
character.
AUBERT _(Therese)_, the heroine of C. Nodier's romance of that name
(1819). The story relates to the adventures of a young royalist in
the French Revolutionary epoch, who had disguised himself in female
apparel to escape detection.
AUBREY, a widower for eighteen years. At the death of his wife he
committed his infant daughter to the care of Mr. Bridgemore, a
merchant, and lived abroad. He returned to London after an absence of
eighteen years, and found that Bridgemore had abused his trust, and
his daughter had been obliged to quit the house and seek protection
with Mr. Mortimer.
_Augusta Aubrey_, daughter of Mr. Aubrey, in love with Francis Tyrrel,
the nephew of Mr. Mortimer. She is snubbed and persecuted by the
vulgar Lucinda Bridgemore, and most wantonly persecuted by lord
Abberville, but after passing through many a most painful visitation,
she is happily married to the man of her choice.--Cumberland, _The
Fashionable Lover_ (1780).
AUBRI'S DOG showed a most unaccountable hatred to Richard de Macaire,
snarling and flying at him whenever he appeared in sight. Now Aubri
had been murdered by some one in the forest of Bondy, and this
animosity of the dog directed suspicion towards Richard de Macaire.
Richard was taken up, and condemned to single combat with the dog, by
whom he was killed. In his dying moments he confessed himself to be
the murderer of Aubri. (See DOG.)
Le combat entre Macaire et le chien eut lieu a Paris, dans l'ile
Louviers. On place ce fait merveilleux en 1371, mais ... il est bien
anterieur, car il est mentionne des le siecle precedent par Alberic
des Trois-Fontaines.--Bouillet, _Dict. Universel, etc._
AUCHTERMUCHTY (_John_), the Kinross carrier.--Sir W. Scott, _The
Abbot_ (time, Elizabeth).
AUDHUMBLA, the cow created by Surt to nourish Ymir. She supplied him
with four rivers of milk, and was herself nourished by licking dew
from the rocks.--_Scandinavian Mythology_.
AUDREY, a country wench, who jilted William for Touchstone. She is an
excellent specimen of a wondering she-gawky. She thanks the gods that
"she is foul," and if to be poetical is not to be honest, she thanks
the gods also that "she is not poetical."--Shakespeare, _As You Like
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