The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 399

SW. of Liege; noted for its extensive machine-shops (locomotives, &c.); established in 1817 by John c.o.c.kerill, and now, with forges, coal-mines, &c., giving employment to some 12,000 men.

SERAMPUR (36), a town of modern aspect in India, on the Hooghly, 13 m. N. of Calcutta; originally Danish, was purchased by the British in 1845; manufactures paper and mats, and is a.s.sociated with the successful missionary enterprise of the Baptists Carey, Marshman, and Ward.

SERAPHIC DOCTOR, appellation applied to ST. BONAVENTURA (q. v.); also by Carlyle to the doctors of the modern school of Enlightenment, or march-of-intellect school. See _AUFKLaRUNG_.

SERAPHIM, angels of the highest order and of etheriel temper, represented as guarding with veiled faces the Divine glory, and considered to have originally denoted the lightning darting out from the black thunder-cloud.

SERAPIS, an Egyptian divinity of partly Greek derivation and partly Egyptian, and identified with Apis.

SERASKIER, a Turkish general, in especial the commander-in-chief or minister of war.

SERBONIAN BOG, a quagmire in Egypt in which armies were fabled to be swallowed up and lost; applied to any situation in which one is entangled from which extrication is difficult.

SERFS, under the feudal system a cla.s.s of labourers whose position differed only from that of slaves in being attached to the soil and so protected from being sold from hand to hand like a chattel, although they could be transferred along with the land; liberty could be won by purchase, military service, or by residing a year and a day in a borough; these and economic changes brought about their gradual emanc.i.p.ation in the 15th and 16th centuries; mining serfs, however, existed in Scotland as recently as the 18th century, and in Russia their emanc.i.p.ation only took place in 1861.

SERINGAPATAM (10), a decayed city of S. India, formerly capital of Mysore State, situated on an island in the Kaveri, 10 m. NE. of Mysore city; in the later 18th century was the stronghold of Tippoo Sahib, who was successfully besieged and slain by the British in 1799; has interesting ruins.

SERJEANT-AT-ARMS, an officer attendant on the Speaker of the House of Commons, whose duty it is to preserve order and arrest any offender against the rules of the House.

SERPENT, THE, is used symbolically to represent veneration from the shedding of its skin, and sometimes eternity, and not unfrequently a guardian spirit; also prudence and cunning, especially as embodied in Satan; is an attribute of several saints as expressive of their power over the evil one.

SERPUKOFF (21), an ancient and still prosperous town of Russia, on the Nara, 57 m. S. of Moscow; has a cathedral, and manufactures of cottons, woollens, &c.

SERRANO Y DOMINGUEZ, Duke de la Torre, Spanish statesman and marshal; won distinction in the wars against the Carlists, and turning politician, became in 1845 a senator and favourite of Queen Isabella; was prominent during the political unrest and changes of her reign; joined Prim in the revolution of 1868, defeated the queen's troops; became president of the Ministry; commander-in-chief of the army, and in 1869 Regent of Spain, a position he held till Amadeus's succession in 1871; won victories against the Carlists in 1872 and 1874; was again at the head of the executive during the last months of the republic, but retired on the accession of Alfonso XII.; continued in active politics till his death (1810-1885).

SERTORIUS, Roman statesman and general; joined the democratic party under MARIUS (q. v.) against Sulla; retired to Spain on the return of Sulla to Rome, where he sought to introduce Roman civilisation; was a.s.sa.s.sinated 73 B.C.

SERVETUS, MICHAEL, physician, born at Tudela, in Navarre; had a leaning to theology, and pa.s.sing into Germany a.s.sociated with the Reformers; adopted Socinianism, and came under ban of the orthodox, and was burnt alive at Geneva, after a trial of two months, under sanction, it is said, of Calvin (1511-1553).

SERVIA (2,227), a kingdom of Europe occupying a central position in the Balkan Peninsula between Austria (N.) and Turkey (S. and W.), with Roumania and Bulgaria on the E.; one-third the size of England and Wales; its surface is mountainous and in many parts thickly forested, but wide fertile valleys produce in great abundance wheat, maize, and other cereals, grapes and plums (an important export when dried), while immense herds of swine are reared on the outskirts of the oak-forests; is well watered by the Morava flowing through the centre and by the Save and Danube on the N.; climate varies considerably according to elevation; not much manufacturing is done, but minerals abound and are partially wrought; the Servians are of Slavonic stock, high-spirited and patriotic, clinging tenaciously to old-fas.h.i.+oned methods and ideas; have produced a notable national literature, rich in lyric poetry; a good system of national education exists; belong to the Greek Church; the monarchy is limited and hereditary; government is vested in the King, Senate, and National a.s.sembly; originally emigrants in the 7th century from districts round the Carpathians, the Servians had by the 14th century established a kingdom considerably larger than their present domain; were conquered by the Turks in 1389, and held in subjection till 1815, when a national rising won them Home Rule, but remained tributary to Turkey until 1877, when they proclaimed their independence, which was confirmed by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878.

SERVIUS TULLIUS, the sixth king of Rome from 578 to 534 B.C., divided the Roman territory into 30 tribes, and the people into 5 cla.s.ses, which were further divided into centuries.

SESOSTRIS, a legendary monarch of Egypt, alleged to have achieved universal empire at a very remote antiquity, and to have executed a variety of public works by means of the captives he brought home from his conquests.

SESTERTIUS, a Roman coin either bronze or silver one-fourth of a denarius, originally worth 2 a.s.ses but afterwards 4 a.s.ses, up to the time of Augustus was worth fully 2d., and subsequently one-eighth less; Sestertium, a Roman "money of account," never a coin, equalled 1000 sestertii, and was valued at 8, 15s.

SETTLE, ELKANAH, a playwright who lives in the pages of Dryden's satire "Absalom and Achitophel"; was an Oxford man and litterateur in London; enjoyed a brief season of popularity as author of "Cambyses," and "The Empress of Morocco"; degenerated into a "city poet and a puppet-show keeper," and died in the Charterhouse; was the object of Dryden's and Pope's scathing sarcasms (1648-1723).

SETUBAL (English, St. Ubes) (15), a fortified seaport of Portugal, at the mouth of the Sado, on a bay of the same name, 17 m. SE. of Lisbon; has a good trade in wine, salt, and oranges; in the neighbourhood is a remarkable stalact.i.te cave.

SEVEN CHAMPIONS OF CHRISTENDOM, St. George, of England; St. Denis, of France; St. James, of Spain; St. Anthony, of Italy; St. Andrew, of Scotland; St. Patrick, of Ireland; and St. David, of Wales--often alluded to by old writers.

SEVEN DEADLY SINS, Pride, Wrath, Envy, l.u.s.t, Gluttony, Avarice, and Sloth.

SEVEN DOLOURS OF THE VIRGIN, the prediction of Simeon (Luke ii. 35); the flight into Egypt; the loss of the child in Jerusalem; the sight of her Son bearing the cross; the sight of Him upon the cross; the descent from the cross; and the entombment--the festival in connection with which is celebrated on the Friday before Palm Sunday.

SEVEN SAGES OF GREECE, Solon of Athens, his motto "Know thyself"; Chilo of Sparta, his motto "Consider the end"; Thales of Miletus, his motto "Whoso hateth suretys.h.i.+p is sure"; Bias of Priene, his motto "Most men are bad"; Cleobulus of Lindos, his motto "Avoid extremes"; Pittacus of Mitylene, his motto "Seize Time by the forelock"; Periander of Corinth, his motto "Nothing is impossible to industry."

SEVEN SLEEPERS, seven n.o.ble youths of Ephesus who, to escape the persecution of Decius, fled into a cave, where they fell asleep and woke up at the end of two centuries.

SEVEN WISE MASTERS, the t.i.tle of a famous cycle of mediaeval tales which centre round the story of a young prince who, after baffling all efforts of former tutors, is at last, at the age of 20, instructed in all knowledge by Sindibad, one of the king's wise men, but having cast his horoscope Sindibad perceives the prince will die unless, after presentation at the court, he keeps silence for seven days; one of the king's wives, having in vain attempted to seduce the young man, in baffled rage accuses him to the king with tempting her virtue, and procures his death-sentence; the seven sages delay the execution by beguiling the king with stories till the seven days are pa.s.sed, when the prince speaks and reveals the plot; an extraordinary number of variants exist in Eastern and Western languages, the earliest written version being an Arabian text of the 10th century: a great ma.s.s of literature has grown round the subject, which is one of the most perplexing as well as interesting problems of storiology.

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD, the pyramids of Egypt, the hanging gardens of Babylon, the tomb of Mausolus, the temple of Diana at Ephesus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the statue of Jupiter by Phidias at Olympia, and the Pharos at Alexandria.

SEVEN YEARS' WAR, the name given to the third and most terrible struggle between Frederick the Great of Prussia and Maria Theresa, empress of Austria, for, the possession of Silesia, which embroiled almost all Europe in war, and which had far-reaching effects on the destinies of England and France as well as Prussia; began in 1756 by Frederick's successful advance on Dresden, antic.i.p.ating Maria Theresa's intention of attempting the recovery of Silesia, lost to her in the previous two wars. With Austria were allied France, Sweden, Poland, and Russia, while Prussia was supported till 1761 by England. In 1762 Peter III. of Russia changed sides, and Frederick, sometimes victorious, often defeated, finally emerged successful in 1763, when the war was brought to a close by the Peace of Hubertsburg. Besides demonstrating the strength and genius of Frederick and raising immensely the prestige of Prussia, it enabled England to make complete her predominance in North America and to establish herself securely in India, while at the same time it gave the death-blow to French hopes of a colonial empire.

SEVERN, the second river of England, rises on the E. side of Plinlimmon, in Montgomerys.h.i.+re, and flows in a circuitous southerly direction through Montgomerys.h.i.+re, Shrops.h.i.+re, Worcesters.h.i.+re, and Gloucesters.h.i.+re, falling into the Bristol Channel after a course of 210 m.; is navigable to Welshpool (180 m.); chief tributaries are the Terne, Wye, and the Stratford Avon; there is a "bore" perceptible 180 m. from the mouth.

SEVERUS, L. SEPTIMIUS, Roman emperor, born in Leptis Magna, in Africa; was in command at Pannonia, and elected emperor on the murder of Pertinax, and after conquering his rivals achieved victories in the East, especially against the Parthians, and thereafter subdued a rebellion in Britain, and secured South Britain against invasions from the north by a wall; died at York (146-211).

SeVIGNe, MADAME DE, maiden name Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, the most charming of letter-writers, born at Paris; married at 18 the dissolute Marquis de Sevigne, who left her a widow at 25; her beauty and rare charms attracted many suitors, to one and all of whom, however, she turned a deaf ear, devoting herself with touching fidelity to her son and daughter, and finding all her happiness in their affection and in the social intercourse of a wide circle of friends; her fame rests on her letters, written chiefly to her daughter in Provence, which reflect the brightest and purest side of Parisian life, and contain the tender outpourings of her mother's heart in language of unstudied grace (1626-1696).

SEVILLE (144), a celebrated Spanish city and river port on the Guadalquivir, 62 m. NE. of Cadiz; an iron bridge connects it with Triana, a large suburb on the other side of the river; many of the old picturesque Moorish buildings have given place to modern and more commodious structures and broader streets; the great Gothic cathedral (15th century), containing paintings by Murillo, &c., is among the finest in Europe; the Moorish royal palace, the great Roman aqueduct (in use until 1883), the museum, with masterpieces of Murillo, Velasquez, &c., the university, archbishop's palace, Giralda Campanile, and the vast bull-ring, are noteworthy; chief manufactures embrace cigars, machinery, pottery, textiles, &c.; while lead, quicksilver, wines, olive-oil, and fruits are exported; is capital of a province (545).

SeVRES (7), a French town on the Seine, 10 m. SW. of Paris, celebrated for its fine porcelain ware (especially vases), the manufacture of which was established in 1755; has a school of mosaic work and museums for pottery ware of all ages and countries.