Ramayana
Ramayana, The Name Of One Of The Two Great Epic Poems Of Ancient India (the Other, See Mafiabharata). Its Subject Matter Is The History Of Rama, And Its Reputed Author Is Valmiki, Who Is Said To Have Taught His Poem To The Two Sons Of Rama. But Though This Lat ...
Rank
Rank, In The Army And Navy, A Grade Of Various Officers Established By Law, Each One Carrying Distinct Rights, Privi Leges, And Emoluments. Official Etiquette Often Prescribes That Certain Functions Shall Be Performed By Officers Of Certain Grades, And That An Officer Is Entitled To Have An Officer Of Equal ...
Ranke Leopold Von
Ranke. Leopold Von. A German Historian; Born In Wiehe, Between Gotha And Halle, Dec. 21, 1795. Though He Studied Theology And Philology At Halle And Berlin, And In 1818 Began To Teach At The Gymnasium Of Frankfort-on-oder, His Chiefest Thoughts Were Given To The Study Of History. The Works, "a ...
Rastrites
Rastrites, In Paleontology, A Genus Of Graptolites Or Rhabdophora. The Potypary Consists Of A Slender Axial Tube, Having On One Side A Row Of Cellules, Or Hydrothecw, Separate And Not Overlap Ping. The Typical Species Is R. Pere Grinus, Which, With R. Triangulatus, Is Found In The S. Of Scotland. ...
Ratio
Ratio, In Law, An Account; A Cause, Or The Giving Judgment Therein. In Mathematics: (1) The Measure Of The Relation Which One Quantity Bears To An Other Of The Same Kind; That Is, It Is The Number Of Times That One Quantity Con Tains Another Regarded As A Standard. This ...
Rationalism
Rationalism, As A "system Of Belief Regulated By Reason," Might Be Ex Pected To Mean The Opposite Of Irration Ality, Crass Ignorance, And Perverse" Pre Judice; And The Rationalism Would Then Mean The Progress Of Civilization, The De Velopment Of The Intellectual And Moral Nature Of Men And Nations. It ...
Read John Meredith
Read. John Meredith, An Amer Ican Jurist; Born In Philadelphia, Pa., July 21, 1797; Was Graduated At The University Of Pennsylvania In 1812; Ad Mitted To The Bar In 1818. He Held A Seat In The Pennsylvania Legislature In 1822-1823; Was United States Attorney For The Eastern District Of Pennsylvania ...
Realism
Realism, In Philosophy, A Doctrine Diametrically Opposed To Nominalism. As Involving The Belief That Genus And Species Are Real Things, Existing Inde Pendently Of Our Conceptions And Their Expressions, And That These Are Alike Actually The Object Of Our Thoughts When We Make Use Of The Terms. Again, As Opposed ...
Reason
Reason, In Logic, The Premise Or Or Premises Of An Argument, And Espe Cially The Minor Premise. In Metaphys Ics, The Power Of Thinking Consecutively; The Power Of Passing In Mental Review All The Facts And Principles Bearing On A Subject, And, After A Careful Considera Tion Of Their Bearings, ...
Reciprocity
Reciprocity, A Policy Under Which There Exist Two Sets Of Tariff Duties; One To Be Put In Force Under Ordinary Cir Cumstances; The Other A Much Lower One To Be Established In Case Another Coun Try Reduces Its Tariff Schedules To A Cor Responding Scale. In The Case Of The ...
Reconstruction
Reconstruction, In United States History, A Making-over Of The Political Fabric Of The States That Composed The Southern Confederacy. At The Close Of The Civil War, These States Were Prac Tically Without Governments, Those Which They Had Established After Their With Drawal From The Union Having Been Over Thrown. They ...
Record
Record, The List Of Known Facts In A Person's Life, Especially In That Of A Pub Lic Man; Personal History. Also Some Thing Set Down In Writing For The Pur Pose Of Preserving The Memory Of A Fact Or Event; Specifically A Register; An Au Thentic Or Official Copy Of ...
Red Sea
Red Sea, An Arm Of The Indian Ocean, Running N. N. W. From The Gulf Of Aden, With Which It Communicates By The Strait Of Bab-el-mandeb, 131/2 Miles Across. Its Length Is About 1,200 Miles, And Its Width In The Central Portion Is Between 100 And 200 Miles, The Greatest ...
Reel
Reel, A Revolving Contrivance On Which Fiber, Thread, Cord, Rope, Fabric, Etc., Are Wound, To Form Them Into Hanks Or Skeins, And For Various Other Pur Poses; Applied To: Agriculture, A Device Having Radial Arms Carrying Horizontal Slats, And Ro Tated By Gear Or Pulley Connected With The Axle Of ...
Referendum
Referendum, A System Of Legisla Tion Which Consults All The Electors Of A State As To Whether New Laws Shall Be Confirmed. In Some Cantons Of Switzer Land A Method Resembling The Referen Dum Has Been Practiced Since The 16th Century. The Present Form Was Adopted In The Canton Of ...
Reflection
Reflection, That Which Is Reflected, Or Produced By Being Reflected; An Image Given Back From A Reflecting Surface. Also The Act Or Habit Of Turning The Mind To Something Which Has Already Occupied It; Thoughtful, Attentive, Or Continued Consideration Or Deliberation; Meditation, Thought. A Surface On Which A Beam Of ...
Reform Acts
Reform Acts, A Term Applied To Certain Acts Of The British Parliament By Which The Regulations As To The Parlia Mentary Representation Of The People Were Altered, And Especially To Those Of 1832, 1867, And 1884-1885. The First Two Acts Provided Both For An Extension Of The Franchise And For ...
Reformation
Reformation. The Religious Rev Olution Of The 16th Century, Known As The Reformation, Is The Greatest Event In The History Of Civilization Since Paganism Gave Place To Christianity As The Faith Of The Leading Nations Of The World. It Marks The Supreme Importance Of This Revolution That The Age Which ...
Reformed Church
Reformed Church, A Religious Body In The United States, Whose Desig Nation Has Been Changed From That Of Its Progenitor, The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, Which Arose In The Neth Erlands Early In The 16th Century And Attained Its Form And Organization Dur Ing The Struggle Against Philip Il Under ...
Reformed Episcopal Church
Reformed Episcopal Church, A Denomination Organized By Members Of The Protestant Episcopal Church, Who Give Substantially The Following State Ment Of The Events And Circumstances Which, As They Believe, Justify Their Course: (1) The Protestant Reforma Tion In England Had Outwardly A Politi Cal Origin (in The Act Of The ...
Refraction
Refraction. When A Beam Of Light Traveling In A Transparent Medium, Impinges Obliquely Upon The Surface Of Another Transparent Medium, What Oc Curs In The Vast Majority Of Cases Is That A Part Of It Is Reflected (see Reflection) And A Part Of It Enters The Second Me Dium, But ...
Refrigeration
Refrigeration. In Refrigerating Machines There Is A Transference Of Heat From The Substance Which Is To Be Re Frigerated To The Cooling Agent, Which Is Evaporating Fluid, Expanding Gas, Or A Material Which Promotes Evaporation Of The Liquid To Be Cooled. If 80.025 Pound Centigrade Units Of Heat Be Withdrawn ...
Regeneration
Regeneration, In Biology, The Genesis Or Production Of New Tissue To Supply The Place Of An Old Texture Lost Or Removed. In Some Of The Inferior Ani Mals An Organ Or A Limb Can Thus Be Sup Plied; In Man Regeneration Is Much More Limited In Its Operation. Thus, When ...
Regulation Of Public Utilities
Public Utilities, Regulation Of, In Which The Government, National, State Or Municipal, On Behalf Of The Pub Lic, Asserts Its Right To Interfere In The Management Of Certain Corporations For The Protection Of The Public Interest. It Was, At One Time, A Generally Accepted Theory That The Right Of Private ...
Reindeer
Reindeer, The Rangif Er Tarandus, The Only Domesticated Species Of The Family. It Extends Over The Boreal Re Gions Of Both Hemispheres, And Runs Into Several Well Marked Varieties. Many Authors Consider The American Reindeer Or Caribou, Which Has Never Been Domes Ticated, As A Distinct Species. The Rein Deer ...
Relapsing Fever
Relapsing Fever (also Known As Famine Fever And Seven-day Fever), One Of The Three Great Species Of Con Tinued Fever, The Two Others Being Typhus And Typhoid. It Was First Definitely Dis Criminated From These Diseases By Dr. Henderson Of Edinburgh And Other Scotch Physicians About 1842. During The 19th ...
Relativity Op Knowledge
Relativity Op Knowledge, A Philosophical Doctrine That Is Almost A Commonplace In Some Philosophical Schools, And Is As Strenuously Denied By Others. It Is Connected Primarily With The Contrast Between The Absolute And The Relative, Or The Noumenon And Phe Nomenon, And Is One Phase Of The Great Discussions As ...
Relics
Relics, Personal Memorials Of Those Among The Dead Who Have Been Distin Guished During Life By Eminent Qualities: Especially, In The History Of The Church, Objects Which Derive Their Value From Their Connection With Our Lord And With The Saints; As, For Example, Fragments Of Our Lord's Cross Or Crown ...
Religion
Religion, A Term That Since The 16th Century Has Become Naturalized In Most European Languages. It Has Even In The Teutonic Tongues Taken The Place Of The Native Terms Formerly In Use. As To Its Etymology, The Derivation From Relin Quere Is Universally Recognized To Be In Consistent With Phonetic ...
Religious Orders
Orders, Religious, Associations, The Members Of Which Band Themselves To Lead Strict And Devotional Lives, And To Live Separate From The World. Prior To Their Formation There Were Only The Hermits Or Anchorites (see Monastery). The Entry Into Religious Orders From Their Foundation To The Present Time, Is Preceded By ...
Remittent Fever
Remittent Fever, One Of The Va Rieties Of Fever Arising From Malaria Or Marsh Poison—one Being Intermittent Fever, Or Ague. In Its Milder Forms It Scarcely Differs From Severe Intermittent Fever; While In Its More Serious Form It May Approximate Closely To Yellow Fever. The Attack May Be Either Sudden ...
Renaissance
Renaissance, A Name Given To The Great Intellectual Movement Which Marks The Transition From The Middle Ages To The Modern World. It Was A Change In Attitude Of Mind And Ideal Of Life, In Philosophy, Art, Literary Criticism, Politi Cal And Religious Thought. Substantially A Revolt Against The Dogmatism Of ...
Renan Joseph Ernest
Renan. Joseph Ernest (re Nano), A French Writer; Born In Tre France, Feb. 27, 1823. He Studied At The Seminary Of St. Sulpice, Paris, But In 1845 Gave Up All Intention Of Be Coming A Priest And Devoted Himself To Historical And Linguistic Studies, Espe Cially The Study Of Oriental ...
Reporting
Reporting, An Important Branch Of Journalism; The Act, System, Or Practice Of Making Reports Of Meetings, Debates, Or The Like. Accounts Of Single Speeches, And At Times Of Entire Debates In The Eng Lish Parliament, Having Come Down To Us From A Very Early Period. Sir Symonds D'ewes Edited The ...
Repousse
Repousse, A Term Applied To A Khd Of Ornamental Metal Work, Formed In Re Lief By Striking On The Metal From Behind With A Punch Or Hammer Till The Required Forms Are Roughly Produced In Relief On The Surface; The Work Is Then Finished By The Process Of Chasing. The ...
Reproduction
Reproduction, The Term Applied To The Whole Process Whereby Life Is Con Tinued From Generation To Generation. One Of The Characteristics Of Life Is Its Continuity; The Races Of Animals And The Orders Of Plants Live On Without Marked Change For Centuries; By Slow Modifica Tions They May Be Enriched ...
Reptilia
Reptilia, Reptiles; Cold-blooded, Oviparous, Or Ovoviviparous, Vertebrate Animals Having The Skin Covered With Scales Or Scutes; Heart With Two Auricles, Ventricular Chamber Incompletely Di Vided. Respiration Takes Place By Lungs, Respiratory Movements Being Slow And Irregular. Intestinal Tract And Urogen Ital Organs Open Into A Common Cloaca. Aristotle Was The ...
Republican Party
Republican Party, One Of The Two Great Political Parties In The United States. The Term Republican Has Had At Different Times Different Significations. In 1792 A Faction Of The Anti-federalists, Advocating More Direct Control Of The Government By The People, Further Re Striction Of Supreme Authority, And A Stronger Emphasis ...
Robert Edwin Peary
Peary, Robert Edwin, An Arc Tic Explorer And Civil Engineer In The United States Navy; Born In Cresson, Pa., May 6, 1856; Was Graduated At Bow Doin College, And In 1885 Became A Civil Engineer In The United States Navy, With The Rank Of Lieutenant. In 1886 He Made A ...
Samuel Hanson Ordway
Ordway, Samuel Hanson, An American Lawyer, Born In New York A Fuse. The Modern Gun Is Made Of Steel, And Only Selected Parts Of Special Ingots Are Used. The Ingot Is Cast In The Rough Form Of The Gun, Bored On A Special Lathe, Then Heated And Forged On A ...
Samuel Plimsoll
Plimsoll, Samuel, "the Sailor's Friend," And English Legislator; Born In Bristol, England, Feb. 10, 1824. In 1854 He Started Business On His Own Account, In The Coal Trade In London. Shortly Afterward He Began To Interest Himself In The Sailors Of The Mercantile Marine, And The Dangers To Which They ...
Simon Petlura
Petlura, Simon, Nationalist Leader Of The Ukrainians, Or Little Russians; Born In Poltava, South Russia, 1880, Son Of A Coachman, Educated In The Lower Clerical Schools, Then Expelled From The Higher Schools Because Of His Revolution Ary Activities. Inspired A Peasant Upris Ing In The Ukraine In 1902, Through A ...
Sir Robert Peel
Peel, Sir Robert, An English Statesman, Son Of Sir Robert Peel, A Wealthy Manufacturer ; Born In 1788, And Studied At Harrow And Oxford. When Just 21 Years Of Age He Entered Parliament. He Was No Orator, Nor Was He, Properly Speaking, A Natural And Sim Ple Debater. His Manner ...
Sir Walter Raleigh
Raleigh, Sir Walter, An Eng Lish Explorer, Historian, And Essayist, Born At Hayes, Devon, England, About 1554. He Was A Half-brother Of Two Other Famous Elizabethan "knights-errant Of The Seas," Humphrey And Adrian Gil Bert. For A Time He Studied At Oriel College, Oxford, But In 1569 He Was Fight ...
Theodore Parker
Parker, Theodore, An American Theologian; Born In Lexington, Mass., In 1810. He Entered Harvard College In 1830, Continuing, However, For A Time To Work On His Father's Farm; Afterward Teaching School At Boston. In 1834 He Entered The Theological School. He Was Chosen, In 1837, Minister Of A Unitarian Congregation ...
Theory Of Projectiles
Projectiles, Theory Of, That Branch Of Mechanics Which Treats Of The Motion Of Bodies Thrown Or Driven Some Distance By An Impelling Force, And Whose Progress Is Affected By Gravity And The Resistance Of The Air. The Most Common Cases Are The Balls Projected From Cannon Or Other Firearms. If ...
Tomas Estrada Palma
Palma, Tomas Estrada, A Cuban Statesman And Soldier, Called The "frank Lin Of Cuba"; Born In Bayamo, Santiago De Cuba, July 9, 1835. He Was Educated At Havana And Studied Law At The Uni Versity Of Seville, Spain. In 1867 He Al Lied Himself With The Patriots Working For Cuban ...
Use In Warfare Poison
Poison Gas, Use In Warfare. The Employment Of Poisonous Or Suffo Cating Gases In Warfare Dates Back To Early Times, The Use Of "stink Pots" Con Taining Burning Sulphur And Similar Materials Producing Noxious Fumes Being Common Among The Ancients. It Re Mained, However, For The World War Of 1914-1918 ...
War Relief
Relief, War. When The War Broke Out In Europe In 1914 Very Little Time Was Allowed To Pass Before Organizations Were Brought Into Being For The Purpose Of Assisting The People In Europe Who Were The Chief Sufferers In The Zones Affected. Sympathy Was Particularly Aroused On Behalf Of The ...
William Penn
Penn, William, Founder Of The State Of Pennsylvania; Son Of Sir Wil Liam Penn; Born In London, Oct. 13, 1644. He Received A Good Education, Completing It At Christ Church, Oxford, But Disappointed His Father's Expectations By Turning Quaker, And Was Discarded By Him. Sir William Afterward Relented, And Sent ...
William Pynchon
Pynchon, William, An American Colonist; Born In Springfield, England, About 1590. He Emigrated To New Eng Land And Founded The Town Of Spring Field, Mass. In 1650 He Published "the Meritorious Price Of Our Redemption," Opposing The Calvinistic View Of Atone Ment. The Book Was Denounced As Her Etical, And ...
The Pamirs
Pamirs, The, ("roof Of The World") The Name Given To That Part Of Central Asia Where The Frontiers Of Russia, China, And Afghanistan Adjoin. It Forms The Nucleus Of The Central Asiatic Highland System, Uniting The Himalaya And The Mountains Of The Tian Shan Range With The Hindukush, And Is ...
The Peace Movement
Peace Movement, The. Men Have Dreamed Of Universal Peace At Least Since The Days Of The Hebrew Prophets And The Early Church Fathers. The Latin Poets Too, Vergil In Particular, Had Their Conception Of A Pax Romana. In The Middle Ages Dante In His "de Mon Archia" (c. 1300) Laid ...
The Red Cross
Red Cross, The, Is A Society Organ Ized Under Governmental Authority To Furnish Volunteer Relief To The Sick And Wounded Of Armies In Time Of War And To All Who May Need Relief In Time Of Great National Calamities; And To Prevent Other. Suffering In Time Of Peace. Thus Its ...
The Republic Of Portugal
Portugal, The Republic Of, Forming The W. Portion Of The Iberian Peninsula; Bounded By Spain And The Atlantic; Area 36,038 Square Miles; Pop. About 6,000,000. Topography.—the Country Generally Inclines From N. E. To S. W. Several Of The Great Mountain Chains Of Spain In Tersect It From E. To W. ...