Smith, Goldwin, English man of letters, born in Berks; was at one time intimately associated with Oxford University, went to America and became professor of English History in Cornell University, and since 1871 has settled in Canada, and believes that Canada will be annexed to the United States; has written a number of books and pamphlets, one on the "Relations between England and America" and another on "The Political Destiny of Canada"; he is an ultra-Liberal; b. 1823.

Smith, James and Horace, authors of the famous parodies "The Rejected Addresses," born at London: James, in business as a solicitor, and Horace, a wealthy stockbroker; both were occasional contributors to the periodical press before the public offer of a prize for the best poetical address to be spoken at the re-opening of Drury Lane Theatre prompted them to issue a series of "Rejected Addresses," parodying the popular writers of the day—Wordsworth, Southey, Coleridge, Scott, Byron, &c.; intensely clever, these parodies have never been surpassed in their kind; Horace was also a busy writer of novels now forgotten, and also published two vols. of poetry; James subsequently wrote a number of Charles Mathews' "Entertainments" (James, 1775-1839; Horace, 1779-1849).

Smith, John, Cambridge Platonist, born in Northamptonshire; left "Select Discourses," giving signs both of spiritual insight and vigour of thinking (1616-1652).

Smith, John, sailor, born in Lincolnshire; had a life of adventure and peril, and became leader of the English colonists of Virginia; established friendly relations with the Indians, returned to this country twice over, and introduced Pocahontas (q. v.) to the Queen; died at Gravesend (1580-1631).

Smith, Sydney, political writer and wit, born at Woodford, Essex, of partly English and partly Huguenot blood; educated at Westminster and Oxford, bred for the Church; after a brief curacy in Wiltshire settled in Edinburgh from 1798 to 1803, where, while officiating as a clergyman, he became one of the famous editors of the Edinburgh Review, and a contributor; settled for a time afterwards in London, where he delivered a series of admirable lectures on ethics, till he was appointed to a small living in Yorkshire, and afterwards to a richer living in Somerset, and finally a canonry in St. Paul's; his writings deal with abuses of the period, and are, except his lectures perhaps, all out of date now (1771-1845).

Smith, Sir William, classical and biblical scholar, born in London; distinguished himself at the university there and took a course of law at Gray's Inn, but followed his bent for scholarship, and in 1840-42 issued his great "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities," following it up with the "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology" and the "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography"; did eminent service to the cause of education by a series of popular editions of Greek and Latin texts, school grammars, dictionaries, &c.; not less valuable are his "Dictionary of the Bible," &c.; was editor of the Quarterly Review from 1867, and in 1892 received a knighthood (1813-1893).

Smith, William Robertson, biblical scholar and critic, born at Keig, Aberdeenshire; educated for the Scottish Free Church, became professor of Hebrew in the connection at Aberdeen; was prosecuted for heresy in the matter of the origin of the books of the Old Testament, and finally removed from the chair; became joint-editor of the "Encyclopædia Britannica," and finally professor of Arabic at Cambridge; he was a man of versatile ability, extensive scholarship, keen critical acumen, and he contributed not a little to vindicate the claims of the scholar in regard to the Bible (1846-1894).

Smith, Sir William Sidney, British admiral, born at Westminster; entered the navy at 12, became a captain after many gallant services at 18, was naval adviser to the king of Sweden and knighted, joined Lord Hood off Toulon and helped to burn the French fleet; was taken prisoner by the French in 1796, and after two years made his escape; forced Napoleon to raise the siege of Acre, and was wounded at Aboukir; was rewarded with a pension of £1000, and raised in the end to the rank of admiral (1764-1840).

Smithfield or Smoothfield, an open space of ground in London, N. of Newgate, long famous for its live-stock markets; in olden times lay outside the city walls, and was used as a place of recreation and of executions; the scene of William Wallace's execution and the death of Wat Tyler; gradually surrounded by the encroaching city, the cattle-market became a nuisance, and was abolished in 1855; is partly laid out as a garden.

Smithsonian Institution, a celebrated American institution "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men," in Washington; founded and endowed by James Macie Smithson, a natural son of the Duke of Northumberland, a zealous chemist and mineralogist, after having had a paper rejected by the Royal Society, of which he was a Fellow. The building is one of the finest in the capital; is under government control, and the President of the United States is ex officio the head of the institution; encourages scientific research, administers various funds, and directs expeditions for scientific purposes.

Smoky City, Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania, from the effect produced by the bituminous coal used in the manufactories.

Smolensk (34), an ancient town of Russia, and capital of a government (1,412) of the same name, on the Dnieper, 244 m. SW. of Moscow; is surrounded by walls; has a fine cathedral, and is strongly fortified; carries on a good grain trade; here in 1812 Napoleon defeated the Russians under Barclay de Tolly and Bagration on his march to Moscow in August 1812.

Smollett, Tobias George, novelist, born at Dalquhurn, Dumbartonshire, of good family; bred to medicine, but drifted to literature, in prosecution of which he set out to London at the age of 18; his first effort was a failure; he took an appointment as a surgeon's mate on board a war-ship in 1746, which landed him for a time in the West Indies; on his return to England in 1748 achieved his first success in "Roderick Random," which was followed by "Peregrine Pickle" in 1751, "Count Fathom" in 1755, and "Humphrey Clinker" in 1771, added to which he wrote a "History of England," and a political lampoon, "The Adventures of an Atom"; his novels have no plot, but "in inventive tale-telling and in cynical characterisation he is not easily equalled" (1721-1771).

Smriti, in the Hindu religion the name given to traditional usage, as opposed to Sruti, or revelation, and from which proceeded, at a later date, the body of laws, such as that of Manu, in which the morality prescribed is, "sound, solid, and practical."

Smyrna (210), a town of great antiquity, since ancient times the chief port of Asia Minor; is situated amid surrounding hills at the head of the Gulf of Smyrna, an arm of the Ægean Sea; has no imposing structures, and is, especially in the Turkish quarter, ill-drained and crowded; is the seat of the Turkish Governor-General of the province, of archbishops, Roman Catholic, Greek, and Armenian; manufactures embrace carpets, pottery, cottons and woollens; a splendid harbour favours a large import and export trade; for long a possession of Greece and then of Rome, it finally fell into the hands of the Turks in 1424.

Smyrna, Gulf of, an inlet of the Ægean Sea, 40 m. in length by 20 m. in breadth, with an excellent anchorage.

Snake River, chief tributary of the Columbia; rises in Wyoming amid the Rockies; flows S. and NW. through Idaho, forming the Shoshone Falls, rivalling Niagara, which they exceed in height; through Southern Washington it flows W. under the name of the Lewis River or Fork, and discharges into the Columbia after a course of 1050 m.

Snake-stones, stones popularly believed to cure the bites of snakes, probably due to a porosity in their substance drawing off the poison.

Snider, Jacob, American mechanical genius; invented a method of converting muzzle-loading rifles into breech-loading; died unrewarded in 1866.

Snodgrass, Augustus, a member of the Pickwick Club in the "Pickwick Papers."

Snorri Sturlason, Icelandic historian and poet; published the collection of sagas entitled "Heimskringla," among which were many songs of his own composition; was a man of position and influence in Iceland, but having provoked the ill-will of Haco was at his instigation assassinated in 1241. See Edda.

Snowdon, a mountain range in Carnarvon, North Wales, extending from the coast to near Conway; it has five distinct summits, of which Moel-y-Wyddfa (the conspicuous peak) is the highest, being 3560 ft.; the easiest ascent is from Llanberis on the N., and is the route usually taken by tourists, for whose behoof there is a house on the summit.

Soane, Sir John, English architect, who left his house in Lincoln's Inn Fields with art collection to the nation at his death in 1837.

Sobieski, surname of the great patriot king of Poland, John III., in the 17th century; born at Olesko, in Galicia; was elected king of Poland in 1674, having, by repeated victories over the Turks and Russians, shown himself the greatest soldier of his country; proved a wise and brave ruler, a true leader of his people, and with unbroken success defied the utmost efforts of the infidel Turks (1624-1696).

Sobraon (4), a town in the Punjab, India, on the Sutlej, in the vicinity of which Sir Henry Gough won the decisive victory over the Sikhs, 10th February 1846.

Socage, name given to a feudal tenure by a certain and determinate service other than knight service.

Social War, name given to an Insurrection of the allied States in Italy against the domination of Rome, and which lasted from 90 to 88 B.C., in consequence of their exclusion from the rights of citizenship and the privileges attached; they formed a league to assert their rights, which ended in defeat.

Socialism, a social system which, in opposition to the competitive system that prevails at present, seeks to reorganise society on the basis, in the main, of a certain secularism in religion, of community of interest, and co-operation in labour for the common good, agreeably to the democratic spirit of the time and the changes required by the rise of individualism and the decay of feudalism.

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, a society founded in 1698 which during the last 200 years has originated and supported a number of agencies, both in this country and abroad, for propagating Christian knowledge; distributed into a number of separate departments.

Society Islands (24), an archipelago in the South Pacific, consisting of 13 principal islands and numerous islets, the chief being Tahiti; they are mountainous, and engirdled by belts of flat land as well as coral reefs; have a fertile soil and luxuriant vegetation, while the climate is healthy though enervating; the inhabitants are intelligent but indolent, and the land is worked by immigrant races.

Society of Jesus, the Jesuit order founded by Ignatius Loyola (q. v.).

Socinians, a sect of the Unitarian body who, in the 16th century, take their name from Faustus Socinus (q. v.), who, besides denying the doctrine of the Trinity, deny the divinity of Christ and the divine inspiration of Scripture; they arose into importance originally in Poland, and in the 17th century spread by degrees in Prussia, the Netherlands, and England.

Socinus, Faustus, a theologian, born in Italy; had for his views to exile himself for years, and was much persecuted for his opinions; in Cracow, where he dwelt for a time, he was by a mob dragged from a sick-bed half-naked along the street, had his house robbed and his papers burned (1530-1601).

Sociology, the science which treats of the nature and the developments of society and of social institutions; a science to which Herbert Spencer, in succession to Comte, has contributed more than any other scientist, deducing, as he does, a series of generalisations by comparison of individual organisms with social.

Socotra (10), an island off the E. coast of Africa, 148 m. NE. of Cape Guardafui, over 70 m. long and 20 m. broad; it is mountainous, surrounded by a margin of plain land from 2 to 4 m. broad; is comparatively barren; is inhabited by Mohammedans, who rear sheep, goats, and cattle; exports aloes, hides, and pearls; the sultan is a feudatory of Britain.

Socrates, Athenian philosopher, pronounced by the Delphic oracle the wisest of men; was the son of Sophroniscus, a statuary, and Phænarete, a midwife; was brought up to his father's profession, in which it would seem he gave promise of success; he lived all his days in Athens, and gathered about him as his pupils all the ingenuous youth of the city; he wrote no book, propounded no system, and founded no school, but was ever abroad in the thoroughfares in all weather talking to whoso would listen, and instilling into all and sundry a love of justice and truth; of quacks and pretenders he was the sworn foe, and he cared not what enmity he provoked if he could persuade one and another to think and do what was right; "he was so pious," says Xenophon in his "Memorabilia," "that he did nothing without the sanction of the gods; so just, that he never wronged any one, even in the least degree; so much master of himself, that he never preferred the agreeable to the good; so wise, that in deciding on the better and the worse he never faltered; in short, he was the best and happiest man that could possibly exist;" he failed not to incur enmity, and his enemies persecuted him to death; he was charged with not believing in the State religion, with introducing new gods, and corrupting the youth, convicted by a majority of his judges and condemned to die; thirty days elapsed between the passing of the sentence and its execution, during which period he held converse with his friends and talked of the immortality of the soul; to an offer of escape he turned a deaf ear, drank the hemlock potion prepared for him with perfect composure, and died; "the difference between Socrates and Jesus Christ," notes Carlyle in his "Journal," "the great Conscious, the immeasurably great Unconscious; the one cunningly manufactured, the other created, living and life-giving; the epitome this of a grand and fundamental diversity among men; but did any truly great man ever," he asks, "go through the world without offence, all rounded in, so that the current moral systems could find no fault in him? most likely never" (469-399 B.C.).

Socrates, Apology of, a work of Plato's, being a speech put into the mouth of Socrates before the Areopagus (q. v.) in his defence in answer to the charge brought against him, and which Plato wrote after his death.

Socrates, Church historian of the 4th century, born at Byzantium; bred to the bar; his "Ecclesiastical History" embraces a period from 306 to 439, a work of no great merit.

Sodom and Gomorrah, two ancient cities which, for their wickedness were, as the Bible relates, consumed with fire from heaven; they are supposed to have stood near the S. border of the Dead Sea, though they were not, as was at one time supposed, submerged in the waters of it.

Sofala, a Portuguese maritime district of South-East Africa, stretching from the Zambesi S. to Delagoa Bay, and forming the S. portion of the colony of Mozambique. Sofala (1), chief port on a bay of the same name, is a place of little importance.

Sofia (50), capital since 1878 of Bulgaria; is a fortified town, situated in the broad valley of the Isker, a tributary of the Danube, 75 m. NW. of Philippopolis; has recently largely undergone reconstruction, and with hotels, banks, a government palace, &c., presents a fine modern appearance; has a national university; is an important trade emporium, and is on the Constantinople and Belgrade railway; manufactures cloth, silks, leather, &c., and has long been famed for its hot mineral springs.

Sofronia, a Christian maiden of Jerusalem, who, to avert a general massacre of the Christians by the Mohammedan king, accused herself of the crime for which they were all to suffer, and whose story with the issue is touchingly related in Tasso's "Jerusalem Delivered."

Soissons (11), a fortified town of North France, dep. Aisne, on the Aisne, 65 m. NE. of Paris; has a 12th-century cathedral and ruins of a famous abbey; chief industries are brewing and the manufacture of various textiles; was a place of much importance in early times, and figures in the wars of Clovis and Pepin, frequently in the Hundred Years' War, and in 1870 was captured by the Germans; is considered the key to Paris from the Netherlands side.

Sokoto (11,000), a native kingdom of West Central Africa, within territories administered now by the British Government; lies between the Soudan (N.) and the river Benuë (S.), the main affluent of the Niger; the dominant people are the Fulahs, exercising sway over various native tribes; is a country capable of much agricultural development, and has large deposits of iron. Wurno (15), the capital, is on the Gandi, 18 m. E. of the town of Sokoto.

Solano, name given to a hot oppressive wind in the Mediterranean.

Solar Cycle, a period of 28 years, within which the first day of the year passes successively through the same sequence of week-days.

Solar Myth, a myth, the subject of which is a deified personification of the sun or phenomena connected with it.

Solar Year, the period of 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 52 seconds which the earth takes to complete a revolution of the sun.

Soldan, a corruption of Sultan, and denoting in mediæval romance the Saracen king.

Solecism, the name given to a violation of the syntax or idiom of a language, as well as to an incarnate absurdity of any kind, whether in mind or morals.

Solemn League and Covenant. See Covenant.

Solent, the western portion, Spithead (q. v.) being the eastern, of the strait which separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland of Hants, 17 m. long, with an average breadth of 3 m., but at its W. entrance, opposite Hurst Castle, contracts to ¾ m.

Soleure (86), a canton of North-West Switzerland, between Bern (W. and S.) and Aargau (E); is hilly, but fertile and well cultivated, especially in the valley of the Aar; inhabitants are mainly Catholics and German-speaking. Soleure, the capital (8), situated on the Aar, 18 m. NE. of Berne, has a fine cathedral, and manufactures of cottons, clocks, and cement.

Solfata`ra, a fissure or crevice in the earth which emits sulphurous and other vapours, and in regions where volcanoes have ceased to be active; they are met with in South Italy, the Antilles, Mexico, and Java.

Solferino, a village in North Italy, 20 m. NW. of Mantua, where the Austrians were defeated by the French and Piedmontese in 1859.

Solidarity, community of interest or responsibility; also that community of being which binds humanity into one whole, so that each affects and is affected by all.

Solidus, a Roman gold coin adopted by the Franks, and first coined by them in gold, but subsequently in silver, when it was equivalent to one-twentieth of the libra, or pound; as the "sol" or "sou" it depreciated greatly in value; was minted in copper, and on the introduction of the decimal system its place was taken by a five-centime piece; the "soldo" in Italy, and the Solidus L.S.D. owe their origin to this coin.

Solingen (37), a manufacturing town of Prussia, situated near the Wupper, 13 m. E. of Düsseldorf; has long been famed for its steel and iron works and cutlery manufactures.

Solomon, king of Israel from 1015 to 977 B.C., second son of David and Bathsheba, and David's successor; in high repute far and wide for his love of wisdom and the glory of his reign; he had a truly Oriental passion for magnificence, and the buildings he erected in Jerusalem, including the Temple and a palace on Mount Zion, he raised regardless of an expense which the nation resented after he was gone; the burden of which it would seem had fallen upon them, for when his successor, following in his courses, ascended the throne, ten of the tribes revolted, to the final rupture of the community, and the fall of first the one section and then the other under alien sway.

Solomon of England, an appellation conferred on Henry VII., and also satirically on James I., characterised by Sully as "the wisest fool in Christendom."

Solomon of France, a title bestowed on Louis IX.

Solomon Islands (167), a large group of islands in the West Pacific, 500 m. E. of New Guinea, the N. islands of which belong to Germany, and the S. to Britain; are volcanic in origin, mountainous, wooded, and thickly populated by Melanesian savages, who are totem worshippers, and still practise cannibalism.

Solomon's Ring, a ring worn by Solomon, in which was a stone from which, according to the Rabbins, he learned whatever he wished to know.

Solon, the great Athenian law-giver, and one of the seven sages of Greece (q. v.), born in Athens, was of royal degree, and kinsman of Pisistratus; began life as a trader, and in that capacity acquired a large experience of the world, and he soon turned his attention to political affairs, and showed such wisdom in the direction of them that he was elected archon in 594 B.C., and in that office was invested with full power to ordain whatever he might deem of advantage for the benefit of the State; he accordingly set about the framing of a constitution in which property, not birth, was made the basis of the organisation, and the title to honour and office in the community; he divided the citizens into four classes, gave additional power to the assemblies of the people, and made the archons and official dignitaries responsible to them in the administration of affairs; when he had finished his work, he ordered the laws he had framed to be engraved on tablets and set up in a public place, then took oath of the people to observe them for ten years, after which he left the country and set out on travel; at the end of the ten years he returned, to find things lapsing into the old disorder, and Pisistratus ready to seize the sovereignty of the State, whereupon he withdrew into private life, and died the subject of a tyrant at the age of eighty (640-559 B.C.).

Solstice, summer and winter, the two recurring periods of the year at which the sun is farthest distant N. or S. from the equator, which mark midsummer and midwinter, the times being the 21st of June and 22nd of December; also applied to the two points in the ecliptic (q. v.), which the sun appears to reach on these two dates.

Solway Firth, an arm of the Irish Sea, and in its upper part forming the estuary of the river Esk, separating Cumberland from the S. of Scotland (Kirkcudbright and Dumfries); stretches inland from Balcarry Point 36 m., and from 2 to 20 m. broad; receives the Annan, Dee, Nith, Eden, and Derwent, and has valuable salmon-fishings; the spring tides ebb and flow with remarkable rapidity, the "bore" often reaching a speed of from 8 to 10 m. an hour; is spanned near Annan by a railway viaduct 1960 yards long.

Solway Moss, a moss, now drained and cultivated, in Cumberland, on the Scottish border, that was the scene of the defeat of the Scotch army in 1542, a disaster which broke the heart of James V.

Solyman II., surnamed The Magnificent, the tenth and greatest of the Ottoman sultans, the son and successor of Selim I.; succeeded his father at 24; set himself at once to reform abuses and place the internal administration on a strict basis, and after making peace with Persia and allaying tumult in Syria, turned his arms westwards, captured Belgrade, and wrested the island of Rhodes from the Knights of St. John; he twice over led his army into Hungary; in connection with the latter invasion laid siege to Vienna, from which he was obliged to retire after the loss of 40,000 men, after which he turned his arms to the east, adding to his territory, and finally to the North of Africa, to the conquest of the greater part of it; he died at Szigeth while opening a new campaign against Hungary; d. 1566.

Soma, the intoxicating juice of a plant offered in libation to a Hindu god, especially to Indra (q. v.), to strengthen him in his war with the demons, and identified with the invigorating and inspiring principle in nature which manifests itself at once in the valour of the soldier and the inspiration of the poet; as a god Soma is the counterpart of Agni (q. v.).

Somai, Brahmo. See Brahmo-Somaj.

Somaliland, a broad plateau of East Africa, bounded by the Gulf of Aden on the N. and the Indian Ocean on the SE.; inhabited by the Somalis, a pastoral people, who rear camels, sheep, and oxen, and are of the Mohammedan faith; are under chiefs, and jealous of strangers.

Somerset House, a handsome Government building in London, with a double frontage on the Strand and the Victoria Embankment, built on the site of the palace of the Protector Somerset, and opened in 1786; accommodates various civil departments of the Government—the Inland Revenue, Audit and Exchequer, Wills and Probate, Registry-General. The east wing is occupied by King's College and School.

Somersetshire (484), a maritime county of England, fronting the Bristol Channel, between Devon (N.) and Gloucester (SW.), with Wilts and Dorset on the E. and S.; diversified by the Mendips (NE.), Quantock Hills, Exmoor (SW.), and other smaller elevations; is yet in the main occupied by wide level plains largely given over to pastoral and dairy farming; watered by the Bristol Avon, the Parret, and other lesser streams; its orchards rank next to those of Devon; is prolific in Roman, Saxon, and ancient British remains; Taunton is the county town, but Bath the largest.

Somerville, Mrs. Mary, a lady skilled in mathematics and physics, born at Jedburgh; was brought up at Burntisland and Edinburgh; contributed to the Transactions of the Royal Society; wrote a book entitled the "Mechanism of the Heavens" on the suggestion of Lord Brougham, as a popularisation of Laplace's "Mechanique Céleste," which was followed by her "Connection of the Physical Sciences," "Physical Geography," and "Molecular and Microscopic Science," the last published in her ninetieth year; died at Naples (1770-1872).

Somme, 1, a river of North France; rises in the department of Aisne, near St. Quentin, and flows 150 m. SW. and NW. to the English Channel; navigable as far as Abbeville. 2, A department (546) of North France, fronting the English Channel, between Seine-Inférieure (S.) and Pas-de-Calais (N.); one of the most prosperous agricultural and manufacturing districts of France; Amiens (q. v.) is the chief town.

Somnath (7), an ancient maritime town of Oujarat, India, in the SW. of the peninsula of Kathiawar; has interesting memorials of Krishna, who, it is alleged, is hurled in the vicinity; close by is a famous ruined Hindu temple, despoiled in the 11th century of its treasures, sacred idol, and gates; in 1842 Lord Ellenborough brought hack from Afghanistan gates which he thought to be the famous "Gates of Somnath," but doubt being cast on their authenticity, they were eventually placed in the arsenal of Agra.

Somnath, Idol of, "a mere mass of coarse crockery," says Jepherson Brick, an imaginary friend of Carlyle's, "not worth five shillings, sat like a great staring god, with two diamonds for eyes, which one day a commander of the Faithful took the liberty to smite once as he rode up with grim battle-axe and heart full of Moslem fire, and which thereupon shivered into a heap of ugly potsherds, yielding from its belly half a waggon-load of gold coins; the gold coins, diamond eyes, and other valuables were carefully picked up by the Faithful; confused jingle of potsherds was left lying; and the idol of Somnath, once showing what it was, had suddenly come to a conclusion."

Somnus, the god of Sleep, a brother of Death, and a son of Night, represented, he and Death, as two youths sleeping or holding inverted torches in their hands; near the dwelling of Somnus flowed the river of Lethe, which crept along over pebbles, and invited to sleep; he was attended by Morpheus, who inspired pleasing dreams.

Sonata, a musical composition chiefly designed for solo instruments, especially the pianoforte, and consisting generally of three or four contrasted movements—the allegro, adagio, rondo, minuetto or scherzo; reaches its noblest expression in the sonatas of Beethoven.

Sonderbund, the name given to the union of the Catholic cantons (Lucerne, Zug, Freiburg, and Valais) of Switzerland, which led to the civil disturbances of 1845-1846, and the war of 1847.

Sonnet, a form of poetical composition invented in the 13th century, consisting of 14 decasyllabic or hendecasyllabic iambic lines, rhymed according to two well-established schemes which bear the names of their two most famous exponents, Shakespeare and Petrarch. The Shakespearian sonnet consists of three four-lined stanzas of alternate rhymes clinched by a concluding couplet; the Petrarchan of two parts, an octave, the first eight lines rhymed abbaabba, and a sestet, the concluding six lines arranged variously on a three-rhyme scheme.

Sons of the Prophets. See Nebiim.

Sontag, Henrietta, a German singer, born at Coblenz; made her début at 15; had a brilliant career twice over (1806-1854).

Soochoo (500), a large city in China, 50 m. NW. of Shanghai; is intersected by canals, walled all round, and manufactures fine silk.

Sopherim, The, the name by which the Scribes (q. v.) are designated in Jewish literature.

Sophia, Electress of Hanover, youngest daughter of Elizabeth, queen of Bohemia (q. v.), and mother of George I. (1630-1714).

Sophia, St., the personification of the Divine wisdom, to whom, as to a saint, many churches have been dedicated, especially the Church of Constantinople.

Sophie Charlotte, wife of Friedrich I. of Prussia, born in Hanover, daughter of Electress Sophia; famous in her day both as a lady and a queen; was, with her mother, of a philosophic turn; "persuaded," says Carlyle, "that there was some nobleness for man beyond what the tailor imparts to him, and even very eager to discover it had she known how"; she had the philosopher Leibnitz often with her, "eagerly desirous to draw water from that deep well—a wet rope with cobwebs sticking to it often all she got—endless rope, and the bucket never coming to view" (1668-1705).

Sophists, a sect of thinkers that arose in Greece, and whose radical principle it was that we have only a subjective knowledge of things, and that we have no knowledge at all of objective reality, that things are as they seem to us, and that we have no knowledge of what they are in themselves; "on this field," says Schwegler, "they disported, enjoying with boyish exuberance the exercise of the power of subjectivity, and destroying, by means of a subjective dialectic, all that had been ever objectively established," such as "the laws of the State, inherited custom, religious tradition, and popular belief.... They form, in short, the German Aufklärung (q. v.), the Greek Illumination (q. v.). They acknowledged only private judgment and ignored the existence of a judgment that is not private, and has absolute rights irrespective of the sentiments of the individual."

Sophocles, Athenian tragic poet, born at Colonos, a suburb of Athens; when but 16, such was his musical talent, he was selected to lead the choir that sang the song of triumph over the victory of Salamis; his first appearance as a dramatist was in 488 B.C., when he had Æschylus as his rival and won the prize, though he was seven years afterwards defeated by Euripides, but retrieved the defeat the year following by the production of his "Antigone." That same year one of the 10 strategi (or generals) and he accompanied Pericles in his war against the aristocrats of Samos. He wrote a number of dramas, over 100 it is alleged, but only 7 survive, and these in probable order are "Ajax," "Antigone," "Electra," "Oedipus Tyrannus," "Trachineæ," "Oedipus Coloneus," and "Philoctetes." Thus are all his subjects drawn from Greek legend, and they are all alike remarkable for the intense humanity and sublime passion that inspires them and the humane and the high and holy resolves they stir up.

Sorata, a volcanic peak in the Bolivian Andes, 21,470 ft. in height.

Sorbonne, a celebrated college of Paris, taking its name from its founder, Robert of Sorbon, chaplain to Saint Louis in the 13th century; was exclusively devoted to theology, and through the rigour of its discipline and learning of its professors soon exercised a predominant influence on the theological thought of Europe, which it maintained until the new learning of the Renaissance (16th century), together with its own dogmatic conservatism, left it hopelessly stuck in the "Sorbonnian bog" of derelict scholastic theology; became an object of satiric attacks by Boileau, Voltaire, and others, and was suppressed in 1789 at the outburst of the Revolution; was revived by Napoleon in 1808; is at present the seat of the Académie Universitaire de Paris, with faculties of theology, science, and literature.

Sordello, a Provençal poet whom Dante and Virgil met in Purgatory sitting solitary and with a noble haughty mien, but who sprang up at sight of Virgil and embraced him and accompanied him a part of his way; Browning used his name, as the title of a poem showing the conflict a minister experiences in perfecting his craft.

Sorel, Agnes, the mistress of Charles VII. of France, who had a great influence over him; had been maid of honour to the queen (1409-1450).

Sorrow, Sanctuary of, Goethe's name for the fold of Christ, wherein, according to His promise (Matt. v. 4) the "mourners" who might gather together there would find relief and be comforted, the path of sorrow leading up to the "porch" of the sanctuary.

Sorrow, Worship of, Goethe's name for the Christian religion, "our highest religion, for the Son of Man," Carlyle adds, interpreting this, "there is no noble crown, well worn or even ill worn, but is a crown of thorns."