The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 299

MAMMON, the Syrian G.o.d of riches, which has given name to the modern pa.s.sion for material wealth, specially conceived of as an abnegation of Christianity, the profession of which is in flat antagonism to it.

MAMMOTH, an extinct species of elephant of enormous size found fossilised in Northern Europe and Asia in deposits alongside of human remains, and yielding a supply of fossil ivory.

MAMMOTH CAVE, a cave in Kentucky, U.S., about 10 m., the largest in the world, and rising at one point to 300 ft. in height, with numerous side branches leading into grottoes traversed by rivers, which here and there collect into lakes; name also of another of smaller dimensions in California.

MAN, ISLE OF (56), a small island in the Irish Sea, 35 m. W. of c.u.mberland and about the same distance E. of Co. Down; from its equable climate and picturesque scenery is a favourite holiday resort; it has important lead mines at Laxey and Foxdale; fis.h.i.+ng and cattle-grazing are profitable industries; the people are Keltic, with a language and government of their own; the island is a bishopric, with the t.i.tle Sodor and Man.

MAN OF DESTINY, name given to Napoleon Bonaparte as reflecting his own belief, for he was a fatalist.

MAN OF FEELING, the t.i.tle of a novel by Henry Mackenzie, frequently applied to himself as well as his hero.

MAN OF ROSS, John Kyrle, a public-spirited gentleman, immortalised by Pope from the name of his parish in Hereford. See KYRLE.

MAN OF SIN, name given in 2 Thess. ii. 3 to the incarnation at the height of its pride of the spirit of Antichrist, synchronous with the day of its fall.

MANa.s.sEH-BEN-ISRAEL, a Jewish rabbi, born at Lisbon; settled at Amsterdam; wrote several works in the interest of Judaism (1604-1659).

MANBY, CAPTAIN, a militia officer, born in Norfolk; was inventor of the apparatus for saving s.h.i.+pwrecked persons, and by means of which he saved the lives of nearly a thousand persons himself (1765-1854).

MANCHA, LA, an ancient province of Spain, afterwards included in New Castile, the greater part of which is occupied by Ciudad-Real; it is memorable as the scene of Don Quixote's adventures.

MANCHE, LA, the French name for the English Channel, so called from its resemblance to a sleeve, which the word in French means.

MANCHESTER (505), on the Irwell, in the SE. of Lancas.h.i.+re, 30 m. E.

of Liverpool, the centre of the English cotton manufacturing district, with many other textile and related industries, is an ancient, rich, and prosperous city; it has many fine buildings, including a Gothic Town Hall and a.s.size Court-House by Waterhouse; there is a picture-gallery, philosophic and other inst.i.tutions, and technical school; Owens College is the nucleus of Victoria University; the subst.i.tution of steam for hand power began here about 1750; the industrial struggles in the beginning of the 19th century were severe, and included the famous "Peterloo ma.s.sacre"; the Anti-Corn-Law League originated in Manchester, and Manchester has given its name to a school of Liberal politicians identified with the advocacy of peace abroad, free trade, no government interference with industry, and _laissez-faire_ principles at home; the Bridgewater Ca.n.a.l 1762, the railway 1830, and the s.h.i.+p Ca.n.a.l to the mouth of the Mersey 1894, mark steps in the city's progress; since 1888 Manchester with Salford (198), on the opposite bank of the Irwell, have formed a county.

MANCHESTER, EDWARD MONTAGU, EARL OF, English statesman and general, eldest son of the first earl; sided with the Parliament in the Civil War, and commanded in the army, but was censured by Cromwell for his slackness at Newbury, which he afterwards resented by opposing the policy of the Protector; he contributed to the restoration of Charles II., and was in consequence made Lord Chamberlain (1602-1671).

MANCHURIA (21,000), a Chinese province lying between Mongolia and Corea, with the Amur River on the N. and the Yellow Sea on the S., is five times the size of England and Wales; the northern, central, and eastern parts are mountainous; the Sungari is the largest river; the soil is fertile, producing large crops of millet, maize, hemp, &c., but the climate in winter is severe; pine forests abound; the country is rich in gold, silver, coal, and iron, but they are little wrought; beans, silk, skins and furs are exported; the imports include textiles, metals, paper, and opium; the Manchus are the aristocracy of the province; Chinese settlers are industrious and prosperous; the chief towns are Moukden (250) in the S., Kirin (75) on the Sungari, and New-Chw.a.n.g (60) on the Liao River, a treaty-port since 1858; Russian influence predominates in the province since 1890.

MANDaeANS, a community found working as skilled artisans in the Persian province of Khuzistan, and in Basra on the Euphrates; are a religious sect; called also Sabians, and holding tenets gathered from Christian, Jewish, and heathen sources, resembling those of the ancient Gnostics; their priesthood admits women; their chief rite is baptism, and hence their old name, Christians of St. John the Baptist.

MANDALAY (189), capital of Upper Burma, on the Irawadi, in the centre of the country, 360 m. N. of Rangoon; was seized by the British in 1885. The Aracan PaG.o.da, with a brazen image of the Buddha, attracts many pilgrims, and Buddhist monasteries cl.u.s.ter outside the town. There are silk-weaving, gold, silver, ivory, and wood work, gong-casting and sword-making industries. Great fires raged in it in 1886 and 1892.

MANDARIN, the name given by foreigners, derived from the Portuguese, signifying to "command," to Chinese official functionaries, of which there are some nine orders, distinguished by the b.u.t.tons on their caps, and they are appointed chiefly for their possession of the requisite qualifications for the office they aspire to.

MANDEVILLE, BERNARD DE, a cynical writer, born at Dordrecht, Holland; bred to medicine; came to London to practise; wrote in racy English the "Fable of the Bees," intended to show, as Stopford Brooke says, how the "vices of society are the foundation of civilisation," or as Professor Saintsbury says, how "vice makes some bees happy, and virtue makes them miserable"; the latter calls him "The Diogenes of English Philosophy"; he affirmed that "private vices are public benefits," and reduced virtue into a form of selfishness; his satire is directed against the ethics of SHAFTESBURY (q. v.) (1670-1733).

MANDEVILLE, SIR JOHN, English adventurer, named of St. Albans, who from his own account travelled over thirty years in the East, and wrote a narrative of the marvels he experienced in a book of voyages and travels published in 1356; the authors.h.i.+p of this book has been questioned, but on this point there is no doubt that, as Professor Saintsbury says, "it is the first book of belles-lottres in English prose."

MANDINGOES, a negro race in Senegambia, and farther inland around the Quorra; are numerous and powerful, and arranged in separate nationalities so to speak.

MANES, the general name given by the Romans to the departed spirits of good men, who are conceived of as dwelling in the nether world, and as now and again ascending to the upper.

MANES, MANI, or MANICHaeANS, the founder of the MANICHaeANS (q. v.), a native of Persia, and who died A.D. 274.

MANETHO, an Egyptian priest and historian, of the 3rd century B.C.; wrote a history of Egypt in Greek, derived from study of sacred monumental inscriptions, which is extant only in fragments.

MANFRED, king of the Two Sicilies, son of the Emperor Frederick II., who had to struggle for his birthright with three Popes, Innocent IV., Alexander IV., and Urban IV., the last of whom having excommunicated him, as his predecessors had done, and bestowed his dominions on Charles of Anjou, in conflict with whom at Benevento he fell, and who denied him Christian burial, though his n.o.bles pled with him to grant it (1231-1266).

MANFRED, COUNT, hero of a poem of Byron's; sold himself to the Prince of Darkness; lived in solitude on the Alps, estranged from all sympathy with others, and was carried off in the end by the master whom he had served.

MANHATTAN, a long island at the mouth of the Hudson, on which a great part of New York stands.

MANICHaeISM, the creed which ascribes the created universe to two antagonistic principles, the one essentially good--G.o.d, spirit, light; the other essentially evil--the devil, matter, darkness; and this name is applied to every system founded on the like dualism. Mani, the founder of it, appears to have borrowed his system in great part from Zoroaster.

MANILA (270), capital of the Philippine Islands; at the head of a great bay on the W. coast of Luzon; is hot, but not unhealthy; suffers severely from storms and earthquakes, and is largely built of wood. It has a cathedral, university, and observatory. Its only industry is cigar-making, but the exports include also manila hemp, sugar, and coffee. The population, chiefly Tagals, includes 25,000 Chinese, many Spaniards and Europeans. In the Spanish-American War of 1898 Admiral Dewey captured the city.

MANIN, DANIEL, an ill.u.s.trious Italian patriot, born at Venice, of Jewish birth; bred for the bar, and practised at it; became President of the Venetian Republic in 1848, and was one of the most distinguished opponents of the domination of Austria; died at Paris, a teacher of Italian (1804-1857).

MANITO'BA (193), a partially developed inland province of Canada, somewhat larger than England and Wales; is square in shape, with the United States on its S. border, a.s.siniboia on the W., Saskatchewan and Keewatin on the N., and Ontario on the E.; a level prairie and arable country, scantily wooded but well watered, having three large lakes, Winnipeg, Winnipegosis, and Manitoba, and three large rivers, a.s.siniboine, Souris, and Red River. The climate is dry and healthy, though subject to great extremes of temperature; comparatively little snow falls; the soil is very fertile; mixed farming, dairy, cattle, and sheep farming are carried on successfully. Land is cheap, and the government still makes free grants of 160-acre lots. There is no mineral wealth; coal is found in the S.; fis.h.i.+ng is pursued on the lakes and rivers. Const.i.tuted a province in 1870, Manitoba was the scene of the Riel rebellion, quelled that same year. The government is vested in a lieutenant-governor, an executive council, and a single chamber of 40 members. In the Dominion Government the province is represented by four members of Senate and five members of the Commons. The capital is Winnipeg (26), the seat of a university and of extensive flour-mills. The other chief towns are Brandon (4), a market town, and Portage-la-Prairie (4), with a brewery, flour, and paper mills.

MANITOU, among the North American Indians an animal revealed to the head of a tribe as the guardian spirit of it, and an object of sacred regard. See TOTEMISM.

MANLIUS, CAPITOLINUS, a Roman hero who, in 390 B.C., saved Rome from an attack of the Gauls, and who was afterwards for treason thrown down the Tarpeian Rock.