Humanity of Bruce, 173. Coronach, 258. SCRIPTURE (Lat. scriptum, past participle of scrib-ere, to write), a writing. By way of distinction, the word is applied to the books of the Old and New Testament, as being the one Scripture needful; just as the term Bible (from the Greek biblos, a book) is applied by way of eminence to the one book. SCURRILOUS (Lat. scurra, a buffoon), using low, obscene, or abusive language. SEASONS, POETRY OF THE, in four parts, 83, 297, 337, 374, 433. SEGUR, COUNT DE, quoted, 329. In Verse, 100, 113, 177, 256, 309, 410. SELF-KILLING, by Chambers, 171. SEMI, a Latin prefix, signifying half; as semi-diameter, half a diameter. SEMINARY (Lat. seminare, to sow), literally, a place where seeds or first principles are implanted; hence, a school, a place of education. SE-MIR'AMIS, an Assyrian queen, wife of Ninus. Her history is much mixed up with fabulous matter. She won great battles, founded many cities, and erected buildings of rare magnificence; but she was cruel, unscrupulous, and treacher ous. SENTIMENT (Lat. sentio, I discern by the senses, I feel), hence it is a thought prompted rather by feeling and impulse than elaborated by the judgment; wherefore sentiment should be under the check and control of principle. SEPTEMBER (Lat. septem, seven), so called from its being the seventh month in the old Roman year, beginning with March. It is the ninth month of our year. SEQUA'CIOUS (Lat. sequax), following, pursuing. It is a poetical word. SERGEANT, JOHN, an eminent American lawyer and statesman, who died in 1853. Declaration of Independence, 381. SEVEN SAGES. The "seven sages" of Greece (referred to p. 429) were Periander, or, as some say, Epimenides, Pit'tūcus, Thales, Solon, Bias, Chilo, and Cleobulus. All of them, except Thales, acquired their distinction by their prac tical wisdom in regard to the affairs of life. They seem to have been the Franklins of their day. They flourished about 600 B. C. SEXTANT (Lat. sextans, the sixth part, the limb of the instrument being the sixth part of a complete circle), an astronomical instrument, used principally at sea for measuring the altitudes of celestial objects, by which the latitude in which a ship may be is ascertained. SHAKSPEARE, WILLIAM, or Shakespeare, as his name is sometimes spelled, was born in the little town of Stratford on the Avon, in Warwickshire, England, in April, 1564, and died in 1616, having just completed his fifty-second year. By all who can read the English language he is accounted the greatest dramatic writer of any age. Little is known of his life. His means of education must have been imperfect; but he must have supplied the want by much solitary and intense. though, perhaps, desultory, study. On his Power of Expression, p. 312. . Adam and Orlando, 319. Isabella and Angelo, 320. Brutus and Cassius, 350. Scenes from Hamlet, 371. Passages from Shakspeare, 391. Wolsey and Cromwell, 421. SHE DIED IN BEAUTY, p. 178. SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSIE, an English poet, b. 1792; drowned by the upsetting of a boat on the Gulf of Lerici, near Leghorn, 1822. He had great genius, unquestionably, but was conceited and presumptuous, undertaking, while yet a boy, to settle questions in philosophy and religion, which, to grapple with fitly, requires a lifetime of study and meditation. His intimate friends were of opinion that, had he lived, the goodness of his heart would eventually have corrected the errors of his head, and that poetry would have worked the cure of his irreligion. Address to a Sky-lark, by, 415. SHERIDAN, RICHARD BRINSLEY, distinguished as an orator and dramatist, was born in Dublin, in 1751; died 1816. He had splendid abilities, but was wanting in that high and steadfast moral principle which could control his appetites, and keep him from being immersed in debt. Anecdote of, p. 278. Extract from his speech against Hastings, 268. SHELL, an instrument of music; the first lyre being made, it is said, by drawing strings over a tortoise-shell. SHIP, THE, by Wilson, 228. SHORE. This word is the old past participle of the verb to shear. "Shore" (says Tooke), "as the sea-shore, shore of a river, is the place where the continuity of the land is interrupted or separated by the sea or the river." The word shore also means a prop or support for a building, ship, &c. SICKLE (sik1). This word is from the Latin sec'ula, a sickle, which is from seco, I cut. SIDNEY, SIR PHILIP, was born in 1554, in Kent, England. He wrote "The Defence of Poetry," and other works. He commanded a detachment of forces sent to assist the people of the Netherlands against the Spanish, and fell in a victorious engagement near Zutphen (pronounced zoot fen), in 1586. See anecdotes of, 172, 278. SIEGE (seej). The word is derived from the Latin sedo, I sit; and an armed force is sometimes said to sit down before a town. A siege is the act of besetting a fortified place with an army. To raise a siege is to relinquish a siege, or cause it to be relinquished. SIERRA (si-ēr'ra) is the Spanish name for a saw. Applied to a ridge of mountains, it suggests the resemblance of their outline to that of a saw. SIGNOR, the French mode of spelling the Spanish señor, a title of respect, pronounced seen'yur. SIMMS, WM. G., an American poet and miscellaneous writer, born 1806, in South Carolina. Quoted, p. 298. SI'NE-CURE (Latin, sine, without, cura, care), an office which yields profit, with little or no care attending it. SIRRAH (pronounced sir'rah, or sår'rah), a word of reproach, probably derived from Sir ha! though this derivation is disapproved by Webster. SKY, THE, Our neglect of, 263. SKY-LARK, TO THE, 415. See Lark. SLOUGH, pronounced slou, when meaning a miry place; and stuf, when meaning the cast skin of a serpent, or the part that separates from a foul sore. SLUG, to lie idle, to play the drone. On the Coming of Spring, 298. SMITH, REV. SYDNEY, an English clergyman, and a contributor to the Edinburgh Review; distinguished for his wit. He was born 1768, died 1845. Labor and Genius, 214. Resistance to Ridicule, 368. SOCLE (so'kl or sok-kl), in architecture, a square member, whose breadth is greater than its height; used instead of a pēdestal for the reception of a column. It differs from a pedestal in being without base or cornice. It is derived from the Latin soccus, a shoe. BOC'RA-TES, one of the greatest intellects of any age, was born in Greece, B. C. 470. He taught the immortality of the soul, and strove constantly to enlighten and improve men, to make them happy here, and give them faith in a life hereafter. He believed in one God, to whose providence he traced all human blessings. Being accused of hostility to the popular religion, he was condemned to drink hemlock, a powerful poison, which he did with perfect composure, and died in the seventieth year of his age, retaining to the last his high and hopeful faith. Plato was his most eminent disciple. SOLILOQUY (Lat. solus, alone, and loquor, I speak), a talking to one's self. Contrasted Soliloquies, 80. Soliloquy of Van Artevelde, 384. SOPH'IST (Gr. sophos, wise), a Greek word, originally signifying a wise person, but afterwards restricted to a bad sense, as the persons calling themselves sophists, through their vain subtleties and dishonest arguments, fell into disrepute ; so that sophistry came to mean fallacious reasoning, or reasoning sound in appearance only. SOPHOCLES (Sof-o-clés), a Greek dramatic poet, b. 495 B. C. In his ninety-fifth year he is said to have expired from joy, in consequence of the unexpected success of one of his dramas. Extract from, translated by Lytton, 436. SORCERER (the o pronounced as in nor) This word is from the Latin sortitor, & caster of lots, and means a conjurer, a wizard. SOUNDS AND LETTERS, 15. SOUR-KROUT, cabbage cut fine, pressed, and case. The Cataract of Lodore, 36. A Fair Day in Autumn, 374. SPAIN. The kingdom of Spain comprises nearly four-fifths of the Pyr-e-ne'an penin'sula, separated from France by the Pyrenees. It is a thoroughly mountainous country. Its chief articles of export are wines, fruits of southern Europe, salt, olive-oil, corks, quicksilver, and a little wool. By the fanatic and insensate proceeding of expelling the Moors (the last remnants of whom were driven out of the country in 1609), Spain lost 800,000 of her most diligent and industrious inhab itants, and the consequences were fatal both to her manufacturing and agricul tural interests. Thus does injustice, in the order of Providence, carry with it its own punishment, to nations as well as to individuals! SPARTA or LAC-E-DAMON, one of the most powerful states of ancient Greece. The distinguishing traits of the Spartans were severity, resolution, and perseverance. Defeat and reverse never discouraged them. Their children were early inured to hardship, and at a certain annual festival they were severely flogged, for the purpose of enabling them to bear pain with firmness. Whoever uttered the least cry during the scourging was disgraced. See story of the Spartan boy, p. 77. SPECIAL (Special), designating a species or sort; particular, peculiar. Special pleading, in law, is the allegation of special or new matter, as distinguished from a direct denial of matter previously alleged on the opposite side. A special verdict is one in which the facts of the case are put on the record, and the law is submitted to the judges. SPIDER. The Apologue of "The Spider and the Bee" (p. 108), from one of the early productions of Swift, had reference to an active contest going on at the time between the advocates of ancient learning and those of modern learning. The Bee | STOMACH, COMPLAINT OF A, 157. SPINACH (generally written, as pronounced, The Body's Motive Power, 138. SPRAGUE, CHARLES, on the Indians, 303. STALACTITES (Gr. stalak'tis, that which STAR. "He saw a star shoot," &c. (p. 92). STARBOARD. Standing on the deck of a STO ́ics, a celebrated sect of antiquity, so 66 in the Indian Ocean, 200. Fulton's First Steamboat, 324. STRID'ULOUS, from the Latin stri'dulus, SUFFOLK and NORFOLK were the two broad SUMMUM BONUM. See Bonum. SUPERSCRIPTION (Lat. super, upon, and written. SWIFT, JONATHAN, a celebrated political and man. The Spider and the Bee, 108. The Sword and the Press, 255. SYLLABLES, Derivation of, &c., 24. SYNONYME (written also syn'onym, and so TABBY, a term formerly applied to certain TABLE-LAND, elevated flat land, with steep TAD MOR, Subsequently called Palmyra, TALENTS. In our use of the word "talents 99 TALFOURD, THOMAS NOON, an English author TAM'ERLANE, called also Timour, one of the covered with tar to render it water TAYLOR, HENRY, an English dramatic and TAYLOR, JANE, the daughter of an artist in Abuse of the Imagination, 369. TEL'ESCOPE (Greek tele, afar off, skopeo, I TEMPE (Tem'-pe), a beautiful and cele- TENNYSON, ALFRED, poet laureate of Eng- 258. TERRA'QUEOUS (Lat. terra, earth, and aqua, TERSE (Lat. tersus, rubbed off). A terse TES'TER, the top covering of a bed. THAMES (pronounced těmz), a river of Eng- 66 66 Village Preacher, 218. THEATRE (Gr. theatron, from theaomai, I THEBES, an ancient city of Upper Egypt, on THE-OD'OLITE, a surveyor's compass, fur- fessor of Divinity in King's College, Lon THE-OL/OGY (Gr. theos, God, and logos, | TRENCH, RICHARD CHEVENIX, formerly pro- tem'plate), spec'ulative, not practical. THOMSON, JAMES, one of the most eminent Extracts from "The Seasons," 177, Extracts from "Castle of Indolence," THOUGHTS TO DWELL ON, 84. THRALDOM (thrawl'dum), a Saxon word, THURSDAY. This day derives its name from TIDE, to work in or out of a river by favor TITILLATION (Lat. titillo, I tickle), a tick- TITUS VESPANIA'NUS, a Roman emperor, b. To. The pronunciation of this word, TOBIN, JOHN, author of "The Honey-Moon," TOULON (Too-long), a seaport of France. TRADE-WINDS. Explained, p. 209. carry), the being carried beyond one's self; Shortsightedness of Man, 113. On the Study of Words, 119. TRIUMVIRATE (Lat. tres, three, vir, a man), TROPE (Gr. trepo, I turn), in Rhetoric, a TROYES (pronounced trwa, the a as in TU'BER, in Botany, a kind of fleshly stem, TUESDAY, the third day of the week; named TUMBLER, a clown; one who plays tricks of TU'MULT (Lat. tumeo, I swell), a noisy ris- TURNING THE GRINDSTONE, 103. TY'RO (Lat. tiro, a raw soldier), a beginner TYR'RHENE SEA, the ancient name of that ULYSSES, one of the principal Greek heroes UMPIRE. This word, according to Brande, U'SURY, the taking of interest for money; VADUTZ (pronounced Vah-dootz), a town of |