Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

Engaged as they are in continual wars, and accustomed | from or acknowledged independence of the central power at

to bloodshed, human life is little regarded among them. Murders and executions are frequent, and yet cruelty is said not to be a marked feature of their character; and in war they seldom kill their prisoners. When one is convicted of murder, he is handed over to the relatives of the deceased, who may either put him to death or accept a ransom. When the murdered person has no relatives, the priests take upon themselves the office of avengers. The Abyssinians are irritable, but easily appeased; and are a gay people, fond of festive indulgences. On every festive occasion, as a saint's day, birth, marriage, &c., it is customary for a rich man to collect his friends and neighbours, and kill a cow and one or two sheep. The principal parts of the cow are eaten raw while yet warm and quivering, the remainder being cut into small pieces, and cooked with the favourite sauce of butter and red pepper paste. The raw meat in this way is considered to be very superior in taste and much tenderer than when cold. "I can readily believe," says Mr Parkyns," that raw meat would be preferred to cooked meat by a man who from childhood had been accustomed to it." The statement by Bruce respecting the cutting of steaks from a live cow has frequently been called in question, but there can be no doubt that Bruce actually saw what he narrates, though it would appear to have been a very exceptional case. Mr Parkyns was told by a soldier, "that such a practice was not uncommon among the Gallas, and even occasionally occurred among themselves, when, as in the case Bruce relates, a cow had been stolen or taken in foray." The principal drinks are mése, a kind of mead, and bousa, a sort of beer made from fermented cakes. Their dress consists of a large folding mantle and close-fitting drawers; and their houses are very rude structures of a conical form, covered with thatch. Marriage is a very slight connection among them, dissolvable at any time by either of the parties; and polygamy is by no means uncommon. Hence there is little family affection, and what exists is only among children of the same father and mother. Children of the same father, but of different mothers, are said to be "always enemies to each other."-Gobat.

Abyssinia is one of the most ancient monarchies in the world, and has been governed from time immemorial by an emperor. For many years, however, until the accession of the late Emperor Theodore, he had been a mere puppet in the hands of one or other of his chiefs. Each chief is entire master of all sources of revenue within his territory, and has practically full power of life and death. His subjection consists in an obligation to send from time to time presents to his superior, and to follow him to war with as large a force as he can muster. For several generations the emperor had been little better than a prisoner in his palace at Gondar, his sole revenue consisting of a small stipend and the tolls of the weekly markets of that city, the real power being in the hands of the ras or vizier of the empire, who was always the most powerful chief for the time. If at any time a chief "has found himself strong enough to march upon the capital, he has done so, placed upon the throne another puppet emperor, and been by him appointed ras or vizier, till a rival stronger than himself could turn him out and take his place."-Dr Beke.

The three principal provinces of Abyssinia are Tigré in the north, Amhara (in which Gondar the capital is situated) in the centre, and Shoa in the south. The governors of these have all at different times assumed the title of Ras. Three other provinces of some importance are Lasta and Waag, whose capital is Sokota; Godjam, to the south of Lake Dembea; and Kivara, to the west of that lake, the birth-place of the Emperor Theodore The two provinces of Tigré and Shoa have generally been in a state of rebellion

Gondar. The geographical position of Tigré enhances its political importance, as it lies between Gondar and the sea at Massowah, and thus holds as it were the gate of the capital. The province of Shoa is almost separated from that of Amhara by the Wolla Gallas, a Mohammedan tribe, and for a long time the former had been virtually independent, and governed by a hereditary line of princes, to one of whom the Indian government sent a special embassy under Major Harris in 1841.

The principal towns are Gondar in Amhara, the former capital of the kingdom, and containing about 7000 inhabit ants, and Debra Tabor in Amhara, formerly a small village, but which rose to be a place of considerable size in conse quence of the Emperor Theodore having fixed upon it as his residence, and near it was Gaffat, where the European workmen resided. It was burned by the emperor when he set out on his fatal march to Magdala. Adowa is the capital of Tigré, and the second city in the empire, having about 6000 inhabitants. Antalo is also one of the principal towns of Tigré, and the capital of Enderta. Near Antalo is Chelicut. Sokota, the capital of Lasta Waag, is a town of considerable size. The capital of Shoa is Ankobar, and near it is Angolala, also a place of considerable size. The capital of Agamé is Adigerat.

The language of the religion and literature of the country is the Geez, which belongs to the Ethiopic class of languages, and is the ancient language of Tigré; of this the modern Tigré is a dialect. The Amharic, the language of Amhara, is that of the court, the army, and the merchants, and is that too which travellers who penetrate beyond Tigré have ordinarily occasion to use. But the Agow in its various dialects is the language of the people in some provinces almost exclusively, and in others, where it has been superseded by the language of the dominant race, it still exists among the lowest classes. This last is believed to be the original language of the people; and from the affinity of the Geez, Amharic, and cognate dialects, to the Arabic, it seems probable that they were introduced by conquerors or settlers from the opposite shores of the Red Sea. The Gallas, who have overrun a great part of Abyssinia, have introduced their own language into various parts of the country, but in many cases they have adopted the language of the people among whom they have come. The literature of Abyssinia is very poor, and contains nothing of much value. During the late war the libraries in connection with the religious communities were found to contain only modern works of little interest. On the capture of Magdala, a large number of MSS. were found there, which had been brought by Theodore from Gondar and other parts. Of these 359 were brought home for examination, and are now deposited in the British Museum. The oldest among them belong to the 15th and 16th centuries, but the great bulk of them are of the 17th and 18th, and some are of the present century. They are mostly copies of the Holy Scriptures, canonical and apocryphal, including the Book of Enoch, prayer and hymn books, missals, lives of saints, and translations of various of the Greek fathers.

The trade and manufactures of Abyssinia are insignificant, the people being chiefly engaged in agriculture and pastoral pursuits. Cotton cloths, the universal dress of the country, are made in large quantities. The preparation of leather and parchment is also carried on to some extent, and manu factures of iron and brass. "The Abyssinians are, J think," says Mr Markham, "capable of civilisation. Their agriculture is good, their manufactures are not to be despised; but the combined effects of isolation, Galla inroads, and internal anarchy, have thrown them back for centuries." The foreign trade of Abyssinia is carried on entirely through Massowah. Its principal imports are lead,

tin, copper, silk, gunpowder, glass wares, Persian carpets, and coloured cloths. The chief exports are gold, ivory, slaves, coffee, butter, honey, and wax.

Abyssinia, or at least the northern portion of it, was included in the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia. The connection between Egypt and Ethiopia was in early times very intimate, and occasionally the two countries were under the same ruler, so that the arts and civilisation of the one naturally found their way into the other. In early times, too, the Hebrews had commercial intercourse with the Ethiopians; and according to the Abyssinians, the Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon, was a monarch of their country, and from her son Menilek the kings of Abyssinia are descended. During the captivity many of the Jews settled here, and brought with them a knowledge of the Jewish religion. Under the Ptolemies, the arts as well as the enterprise of the Greeks entered Ethiopia, and led to the establishment of Greek colonies. A Greek inscription at Adulis, no longer extant, but copied by Cosmos, and preserved in his Topographia Christiana, records that Ptolemy Euergetes, the third of the Greek dynasty in Egypt, invaded the countries on both sides of the Red Sea, and, having reduced most of the provinces of Tigré to subjection, returned to the port of Adulis, and there offered sacrifices to Jupiter, Mars, and Neptune. Another inscription, not so ancient, found at Axum, and copied by Salt and others, states that Aeizanas, king of the Axomites, the Homerites, &c., conquered the nation of the Bogos, and returned thanks to his father, the god Mars, for his victory. The ancient kingdom of Auxume flourished in the first or second century of our era, and was at one time nearly coextensive with the modern Abyssinia. The capital Auxume and the seaport Adulis were then the chief centres of the trade with the interior of Africa in gold dust, ivory, leather, aromatics, &c. At Axum, the site of the ancient capital, many vestiges of its former greatness still exist; and the ruins of Adulis, which was once a seaport on the Bay of Annesley, are now about 4 miles from the shore. Christianity was introduced into the country by Frumentius, who was consecrated first bishop of Abyssinia by St Athanasius of Alexandria about A.D. 330. SubseSubsequently the monastic system was introduced, and between 470 and 480 a great company of monks appear to have entered and established themselves in the country. Since that time Monachism has been a power among the people, and not without its influence on the course of events. In 522 the king of the Homerites, on the opposite coast of the Red Sea, having persecuted the Christians, the Emperor Justinian requested the king of Abyssinia, Caleb or Elesbaan, to avenge their cause. He accordingly collected an army, crossed over into Arabia, and conquered Yemen, which remained subject to Abyssinia for 67 years. This was the most flourishing period in the annals of the country. The Ethiopians possessed the richest part of Arabia, carried on a large trade, which extended as far as India and Ceylon, and were in constant communication with the Greek empire. Their expulsion from Arabia, followed by the conquest of Egypt by the Mohammedans in the middle of the 7th century, changed this state of affairs, and the continued advances of the followers of the Prophet at length cut them off from almost every means of communication with the civilised world; so that, as Gibbon says, "encompassed by the enemies of their religion, the Ethiopians slept for near a thousand years, forgetful of the world by whom they were forgotten." About A.D. 960, a Jewish princess, Judith, conceived the bloody design of murdering all the members of the royal family, and of establishing herself in their stead. During the execution of this project, the infant king was carried off by some faithful adherents, and conveyed to Shoa, where his authority was acknowledged, while Judith reigned

[ocr errors]

for 40 years over the rest of the kingdom, and transmitted the crown to her descendants. In 1268 the kingdom was restored to the royal house in the person of Icon Imlac.

Towards the close of the 15th century the Portuguese missions into Abyssinia commenced. A belief had long prevailed in Europe of the existence of a Christian kingdom in the far east, whose monarch was known as Prester John, and various expeditions had been sent in quest of it. Among others who had engaged in this search was Pedro de Covilham, who arrived in Abyssinia in 1490, and, believing that he had at length reached the far-famed kingdom, presented to the Negus, or emperor of the country, a letter from his master the king of Portugal, addressed to Prester John. Covilham remained in the country, but in 1507 an Armenian named Matthew was sent by the Negus to the king of Portugal to request his aid against the Turks. In 1520 a Portuguese fleet, with Matthew on board, entered the Red Sea in compliance with this request, and an embassy from the fleet visited the country of the Negus, and remained there for about six years. One of this embassy was Father Alvarez, from whom we have the earliest and not the least interesting account of the country. Between 1528 and 1540 armies of Mohammedans, under the renowned general Mohammed Gragn, entered Abyssinia from the low country, and overran the kingdom, obliging the emperor to take refuge in the mountain fastnesses. In this extremity recourse was again had to the Portuguese, and Bermudez, who had remained in the country after the departure of the embassy, was ordained successor to the Abuna, and sent on this mission. In consequence a Portuguese fleet, under the command of Stephen de Gama, was sent from India and arrived at Massowah. A force of 450 musqueteers, under the command of Christopher de Gama, younger brother of the admiral, marched into the interior, and being joined by native troops were at first successful against the Turks, but were subsequently defeated, and their commander taken prisoner and put to death. Soon afterwards, however, Mohammed Gragn was shot in an engagement, and his forces totally routed. After this, quarrels arose between the Negus and the Catholic primate Bermudez, who wished the former publicly to profess himself a convert to Rome. This the Negus refused to do, and at length Bermudez was obliged to make his way out of the country. The Jesuits who had accompanied or followed Bermudez into Abyssinia, and fixed their head-quarters at Fremona, were oppressed and neglected, but not actually expelled. In the beginning of the following century Father Paez arrived at Fremona, a man of great tact and judgment, who soon rose into high favour at court, and gained over the emperor to his faith. He directed the erection of churches, palaces, and bridges in different parts of the country, and carried out many useful works. His successor Mendez was a man of much less conciliatory manners, and the feelings of the people became more strongly excited against the intruders, till at length, on the death of the Negus, and the accession of his son Facilidas in 1633, they were all sent out of the country, after having had a footing there for nearly a century and a half. The French physician Poncet, who went there in 1698, was the only European that afterwards visited the country before Bruce in 1769.

It was about the middle of the 16th century that the Galla tribes first entered Abyssinia from the south; and notwithstanding frequent efforts to dislodge them, they gradually extended and strengthened their positions till they had overrun the greater part of the country. The power of the emperor was thus weakened, independent chiefs set themselves up in different parts, until at length he became little better than a puppet in the hands of the most powerful of his chiefs. In 1805 the country was visited by Lord Valentia and Mr Salt, and again by Salt in 1810. In

1829 Messrs Gobat and Kugler were sent out as missionaries by the Church Missionary Society, and were well received by the Ras of Tigré. Mr Kugler died soon after his arrival, and his place was subsequently supplied by Mr Isenberg, who was followed by Messrs Blumhardt and Krapf. In 1830 Mr Gobat proceeded to Gondar, where he also met with a favourable reception. In 1833 he returned to Europe, and published a journal of his residence here. In the following year he went back to Tigré, but in 1836 he was compelled to leave from ill health. In 1838 other missionaries were obliged to leave the country, owing to the opposition of the native priests. Messrs Isenberg and Krapf went south, and established themselves at Shoa. The former soon after returned to England, and Mr Krapf remained in Shoa till March 1842. Dr Rüppel, the German naturalist, visited the country in 1831, and remained nearly two years. MM. Combes and Tamisier arrived at Massowah in 1835, and visited districts which had not been traversed by Europeans since the time of the Portuguese. In 1839 the French Government sent out a scientific commission under M. Lefebvre. Its labours extended over five years, and have thrown great light on the condition and productions of the country. In 1841 a political mission was sent by the Governor-General of India to Shoa, under the direction of Major Harris, who subsequently published an account of his travels. One who has done much to extend our geographical knowledge of this country is Dr Beke, who was there from 1840 to 1843. Mr Mansfield Parkyns was there from 1843 to 1846, and has written the most interesting book on the country since the time of Bruce. Bishop Gobat having conceived the idea of sending lay missionaries into the country, who would engage in secular occupations as well as carry on missionary work, Dr Krapf| and Mr Flad arrived in 1855 as pioneers of that mission. Six came out at first, and they were subsequently joined by others. Their work, however, was more valuable to Theodore than their preaching, so that he employed them as workmen to himself, and established them at Gaffat, near his capital. Mr Stern arrived in Abyssinia in 1860, but returned to Europe, and came back in 1863, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Rosenthal.

Lij Kassa, who came subsequently to be known as the Emperor Theodore, was born in Kuara, a western province of Abyssinia, about the year 1818. His father was of noble family, and his uncle was governor of the provinces of Dembea, Kuara, and Chelga. He was educated in a convent, but, preferring a wandering life, he became leader of a band of malcontents. On the death of his uncle he was made governor of Kuara, but, not satisfied with this, he seized upon Dembea, and having defeated several generals sent against him, peace was restored on his receiving Tavavitch, daughter of Ras Ali, in marriage. This lady is said to have been his good genius and counsellor, and during her life his conduct was most exemplary. He next turned his arms against the Turks, but was defeated; and the mother of Ras Ali having insulted him in his fallen condition, he proclaimed his independence. The troops sent against him were successively defeated, and eventually the whole of the possessions of Ras Ali fell into his hands. He next defeated the chief of Godjam, and then turned his arms against the governor of Tigré, whom he totally defeated in February 1855. In March of the same year he took the title of Theodore III., and caused himself to be crowned king of Ethiopia by the Abuna. Theodore was now in the zenith of his career. He is described as being generous to excess, free from cupidity, merciful to his vanquished enemies, and strictly continent, but subject to violent bursts of anger, and possessed of unyielding pride and fanatical religious zeal. He was also a man of education and intelligence, superior to those among whom he lived, with natural

In

talents for governing, and gaining the esteem of others. He had further a noble bearing and majestic walk, a frame capable of enduring any amount of fatigue, and is said to have been "the best shot, the best spearman, the best runner, and the best horseman in Abyssinia." Had he contented himself with what he now possessed, the sovereignty of Amhara and Tigré, he might have maintained his position; but he was led to exhaust his strength against the Gallas, which was probably one of the chief causes of his ruin. He obtained several victories over that people, ravaged their country, took possession of Magdala, which he afterwards made his principal stronghold, and enlisted many of the chiefs and their followers in his own ranks. He shortly afterwards reduced the kingdom of Shoa, and took Ankobar, the capital; but in the meantime his own people were groaning under his heavy exactions, rebellions were breaking out in various parts of his provinces, and his good queen was now dead. He lavished vast sums of money upon his army, which at one time amounted to 100,000 or 150,000 fighting men; and in order to meet this expenditure, he was forced to exact exorbitant tributes from his people. The British consul, Plowden, who was strongly attached to Theodore, having been ordered by his Government in 1860 to return to Massowah, was attacked on his way by a rebel named Garred, mortally wounded, and taken prisoner. Theodore attacked the rebels, and in the action the murderer of Mr Plowden was slain by his friend and companion Mr Bell, but the latter lost his life in preserving that of Theodore. The deaths of the two Englishmen were terribly avenged by the slaughter or mutilation of nearly 2000 rebels. Theodore soon after married his second wife Terunish, the proud daughter of the late governor of Tigré, who felt neither affection nor respect for the upstart who had dethroned her father, and the union was by no means a happy one. 1862 he made a second expedition against the Gallas, which was stained with atrocious cruelties. Theodore had now given himself up to intoxication and lust. When the news of Mr Plowden's death reached England, Captain Cameron was appointed to succeed him as consul, and arrived at Massowah in February 1862. He proceeded to the camp of the king, to whom he presented a rifle, a pair of pistols, and a letter in the Queen's name. In October Captain Cameron was dismissed by Theodore, with a letter to the Queen of England, which reached the Foreign Office on the 12th of February 1863. For some reason or other this letter was put aside and no answer returned, and to this in no small degree is to be attributed the difficulties that subsequently arose with that country. After forwarding the letter, Captain Cameron, hearing that the Christians of Bogos had been attacked by the Shangallas and other tribes under Egyptian rule, proceeded to that district, and afterwards went to Kassala, the seat of the Egyptian administration in that quarter. Thence he went to Metemeh, where he was taken ill, and in order to recruit his health he returned to Abyssinia, and reached Jenda in August 1863. In November despatches were received from England, but no answer to the emperor's letter, and this, together with the consul's visit to Kassala, greatly offended him, and in January 1864 Captain Cameron and his suite, with Messrs Stern and Rosenthal, were cast into prison. When the news of this reached England, the Government resolved, when too late, to send an answer to the emperor's letter, and selected Mr Hormuzd Rassam to be its bearer. He arrived at Massowah in July 1864, and immediately despatched a messenger requesting permission to present himself before the emperor. Neither to this nor a subsequent application was any answer returned till August 1865, when a curt note was received, stating that Consul Cameron had been released, and if Mr Rassam still

In the meantime Theodore had been reduced to great straits. His army was rapidly deserting him, and he could hardly obtain food for his followers. He resolved to quit his capital Debra Tabor, which he burned, and set out with the remains of his army for Magdala. During this march he displayed an amount of engineering skill in the construction of roads, of military talent, and fertility of resource, that excited the admiration and astonishment of his enemies. On the afternoon of the 10th of April a force of about 3000 men suddenly poured down upon the English in the plain of Arogié, a few miles from Magdala. They advanced again and again to the charge, but were each time driven back, and finally retired in good order. Early next morning Theodore sent Lieut. Prideaux, one of the captives, and Mr Flad, accompanied by a native chief, to the English camp to sue for peace. Answer was returned, that if he would deliver up all the Europeans in his hands, and submit to the Queen of England, he would receive honourable treatment. The captives were liberated and sent away, and along with a letter to the English general was a present of 1000 cows and 500 sheep, the acceptance of which would, according to Eastern custom, imply that peace was granted. Through some misunderstanding, word was sent to Theodore that the present would be accepted, and he felt that he was now safe; but in the evening he learned that it had not been received, and despair again seized him. Early next morning he attempted to escape with a few of his followers, but subsequently returned. The same day (13th April) Magdala was stormed and taken, and within they found the dead body of the emperor, who had fallen by his own hand. The inhabitants and troops were subsequently sent away, the fortifications destroyed, and the town burned. The queen Terunish having expressed her wish to go back to her own country, accompanied the British army, but died during the march, and her son Alam-ayahu, the only legitimate son of the emperor, was brought to England, as this was the desire of his father. The success of the expedition was in no small degree owing to the aid afforded by the several native chiefs through whose country it passed, and no one did more in this way than Prince Kassai of Tigré. In acknowledgment of this several pieces of ordnance, small arms, and ammunition, with much of the surplus stores, were handed over to him, and the English troops left the country in May 1868. Soon after this Prince Kassai declared his independence; and in a war which broke out between him and Wagsham Gobaze, the latter was defeated, and his territory taken possession of by the conqueror. In 1872 Kassai was crowned king of Abyssinia with great ceremony at Axam, under the title of King Johannes. In that year the governor of Massowah, Munzinger Bey, a Swiss, by command of the Viceroy of Egypt, marched an armed force against the Bogos country. The king solicited the aid of England, Germany, and Russia against the Egyptians, whose troops, however, were after a time withdrawn. Sir Bartle Frere, in the blue-book published respecting his mission to Zanzibar, is of the opinion that England, having regard to the passage to India by the Red Sea, should not have wholly abandoned Abyssinia. (D. K.)

desired to visit the king, he was to proceed by the route of | Wadela.
Metemeh. They reached Metemeh on 21st November, and
five weeks more were lost before they heard from the
emperor, whose reply was now courteous, informing them
that the governors of all the districts through which they
had to march had received orders to furnish them with
every necessary. They left Metemeh on the 28th December,
and on 25th January following arrived at Theodore's camp
in Damot. They were received with all honour, and were
afterwards sent to Kuarata, on Lake Dembea, there to await
the arrival of the captives. The latter reached this on 12th
March, and everything appeared to proceed very favourably.
A month later they started for the coast, but had not pro-
ceeded far when they were all brought back and put into
confinement. Theodore then wrote a letter to the Queen,
requesting European workmen and machinery to be sent to
him, and despatched it by Mr Flad. The Europeans,
although detained as prisoners, were not at first unkindly
treated; but in the end of June they were sent to Magdala,
where they were soon afterwards put in chains. They
suffered hunger, cold, and misery, and were in constant
fear of death, till the spring of 1868, when they were
relieved by the British troops. In the meantime the power
of Theodore in the country was rapidly waning. In order
to support his vast standing army, the country was drained
of its resources: the peasantry abandoned the fertile plains,
and took refuge in the fastnesses, and large fertile tracts
remained uncultivated. Rebellions broke out in various
parts of the country, and desertions took place among his
troops, till his army became little more than a shadow of
what it once was. Shoa had already shaken off his yoke;
Godjam was virtually independent; Walkeit and Samen
were under a rebel chief; and Lasta Waag and the
country about Lake Ashangi had submitted to Wagsham
Gobaze, who had also overrun Tigré, and appointed Dejach
Kassai his governor. The latter, however, in 1867 rebelled
against his master, and assumed the supreme power of that
province. This was the state of matters when the English
troops made their appearance in the country. With a view
if possible to effect the release of the prisoners by con-
ciliatory measures, Mr Flad was sent back, with some
artisans and machinery, and a letter from the Queen,
stating that these would be handed over to his Majesty on
the release of the prisoners and their return to Massowah.
This, however, failed to influence the emperor, and the
English Government at length saw that they must have
recourse to arms. In July 1867, therefore, it was resolved
to send an army into Abyssinia to enforce the release of
the captives, and Sir Robert Napier was appointed com-
mander-in-chief. A reconnoitring party was despatched
beforehand, under Colonel Merewether, to select the landing-
place and anchorage, and explore the passes leading into
the interior. They also entered into friendly relations
with the different chiefs in order to secure their co-operation.
The landing-place selected was Mulkutto, on Annesley Bay,
the point of the coast nearest to the site of the ancient
Adulis, and we are told that "the pioneers of the English
expedition followed to some extent in the footsteps of the
dventurous soldiers of Ptolemy, and met with a few faint
traces of this old world enterprise."-C. R. Markham.
The force amounted to upwards of 16,000 men, besides
12,640 belonging to the transport service, and followers,
making in all upwards of 32,000 men. The task to be
accomplished was to march over 400 miles of a mountainous
and little-known country, inhabited by savage tribes, to
the camp or fortress of Theodore, and compel him to deliver
up his captives. The commander-in-chief landed on 7th
January 1868, and soon after the troops began to move
forward through the pass of Senafé, and southward through
the districts of Agamé, Tera, Endarta, Wojerat, Lasta, and

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

(See Travels of Bruce, 1768-73; Lord Valentia, Salt, 1809-10; Combes et Tamisier, 1835-37; Ferret et Galinier, 1839-43; Rüppell, 1831-33; MM. Th. Lefebvre, A. Petit, et Quartin-Dillon, 1839-43; Major Harris; Gobat; Dr C. Beke; Isenberg and Krapf, 1839-42; Mansfield Parkyns ; Von Heuglin, 1861-62; H. A. Stern, 1860 and 1868; Dr Blanc, 1868; A. Rassam, 1869; C. R. Markham, 1869; W. T. Blanford, 1870; Record of the Expedition to Abyssinia, compiled by order of the Secretary of State for War, by Major T. J. Holland and Captain H. Hozier, 2 vols. 4to, and plates, 1870; various Parliamentary Papers, 1867-68.)

ACACIA, a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the natural family Leguminosa and the section Mimoseæ. The flowers are small, arranged in rounded or elongated clusters. The leaves are compound pinnate in general. In some instances, however, more especially in the Australian species, the leaf-stalks become flattened, and serve the purpose of leaves; the plants are hence called leafless Acacias, and as the leaf-stalks are often placed with their edges towards the sky and earth, they do not intercept light so fully

Leaf of Acacia heterophylla.

as ordinary trees. There are about 420 species of Acacias widely scattered over the warmer regions of the globe. They abound in Australia and Africa. Various species, such as Acacia vera, arabica, Ehrenbergii, and tortilis, yield gum arabic; while Acacia Verek, Seyal, and Adansonii furnish a similar gum, called gum Senegal. These species are for the most part natives of Arabia, the northeastern part of Africa, and the East Indies. The wattles

of Australia are species of Acacia with astringent barks. Acacia dealbata is used for tanning. An astringent medicine, called catechu or cutch, is procured from several species, but more especially from Acacia Catechu, by boiling down the wood and evaporating the solution so as to get an extract. The bark of Acacia arabica, under the name of Babul or Babool, is used in Scinde for tanning. Acacia formosa supplies the valuable Cuba timber called sabicu. Acacia Seyal is the plant which is supposed to be the shittah tree of the Bible, which supplied shittim-wood. The pods of Acacia nilotica, under the name of neb-neb, are used by tanners. The seeds of Acacia Niopo are roasted and used as snuff in South America. The seeds of all the varieties of Acacia in South Australia to the west, called Nundo, are used as food after being roasted. Acacia melanoxylon, black wood of Australia, sometimes called. light wood, attains a great size; its wood is used for furniture, and receives a high polish. Acacia homalophylla, myall wood, yields a fragrant timber, used for ornamental purposes. A kind of Acacia is called in Australia Bricklow. In common language the term Acacia is often applied to species of the genus Robinia, which belongs also to the Leguminous family, but is placed in a different section. Robinia Pseudo-acacia, or false Acacia, is cultivated in the milder parts of Britain, and forms a large tree, with beautiful pink pea-like blossoms. The tree is sometimes called the Locust tree.

A

ACADEMY

CADEMY, åκadýμcia,1 a suburb of Athens to the north, forming part of the Ceramicus, about a mile beyond the gate named Dypilum. It was said to have belonged to the hero Academus, but the derivation of the word is unknown. It was surrounded with a wall by Hipparchus, and adorned with walks, groves, and fountains by Cimon, the son of Miltiades, who at his death bequeathed it as a public pleasure-ground to his fellow-citizens. The Academy was the resort of Plato, who possessed a small estate in the neighbourhood. Here he taught for nearly fifty years, till his death in 348 B.C.; and from these "groves of the Academy where Plato taught the truth," his school, as distinguished from the Peripatetics, received the name of the Academics.

The same name (Academia) was in after times given by Cicero to his villa or country-house near Puteoli. There was composed his famous dialogue, The Academic Questions.

Of the academic school of philosophy, in so far as it diverged from the doctrines of its great master (see PLATO), we must treat very briefly, referring the reader for particulars to the founders of the various schools, whose names we shall have occasion to mention.

The Academy lasted from the days of Plato to those of Cicero. As to the number of successive schools, the critics are not agreed. Cicero himself and Varro recognised only two, the old and the new; Sextus Empiricus adds a third, the middle; others a fourth, that of Philo and Charmidas; and some even a fifth, the Academy of Antiochus.

Of the old Academy, the principal leaders were Speusippus, Plato's sister's son, and his immediate successor; Xenocrates of Chalcedon, who with Speusippus accompanied Plato in his journey to Sicily; Polemo, a dissolute young 1 The bye-form ixadnuía, which occurs in Diogenes Laertius, is probably a rationalistic attempt to interpret the word, such as we commonly meet with in the writings of Plato.

2 Horace, Ep. ii. 2, 45.

|

Athenian, who came to laugh at Xenocrates, and remained to listen (Horace, Sat., ii. 3, 253); Crates, and Crantor, the latter of whom wrote a treatise, πeρì πévlovs, praised by Cicero. Speusippus, like the Pythagoreans, with whom Aristotle compares him, denied that the Platonic Good could be the first principle of things, for (he said) the Good is not like the germ which gives birth to plants and animals, but is only to be found in already existing things. He therefore derived the universe from a primeval indeterminate unit, distinct from the Good; from this unit he deduced three principles-one for numbers, one for magnitude, and one for the soul. The Deity he conceived as that living force which rules all and resides everywhere. Xenocrates, though like Speusippus infected with Pytha goreanism, was the most faithful of Plato's successors. He distinguished three essences: the sensible, the intelligible, and a third, compounded of the other two. The sphere of the first is all below the heavens, of the second all beyond the heavens, of the third heaven itself. To each of these three spheres one of our faculties corresponds. To the sensible, sense; to the intelligible, intellect or reason; to the mixed sphere, opinion (dóga). So far he closely follows the psychology and cosmogeny of his master; but Cicero notes as the characteristic of both Speusippus and Xenocrates, the abandonment of the Socratic principle of hesitancy.

Of the remaining three, the same writer (who is our principal authority for the history of the Academic school) tells us that they preserved the Platonic doctrine, but emphasised the moral part. On the old Academy he pronounces the following eulogium (De Fin. v. 3): "Their writings and method contain all liberal learning, all history, all polite discourse; and besides, they embrace such a variety of arts, that no one can undertake any noble career without their aid. . . . . In a word, the Academy is, as it were, the workshop of every artist." Modern criticism has not endorsed this high estimate. They preserved, it is true, and

« ElőzőTovább »