Chapter XXIII: Book I: Satan presents himself as an old peasant, and, entering into (13)

=Scriptores Decem=, a collection of ten ancient chronicles on English history, in one vol., folio, London, 1652, edited by Roger Twysden and John Selden. The volume contains: (1) Simeon Dunelmensis [Simeon of Durham], _Historia_; (2) Johannes Hagustaldensis [John of Hexham], _Historia Continuata_; (3) Richardus Hagustaldensis [Richard of Hexham], _De Gestis Regis Stephani_; (4) Ailredus Rievallensis [Ailred of Rieval], _Historia_ (genealogy of the kings); (5) Radulphus de Diceto [Ralph of Diceto], _Abbreviationes Chronicorum_ and _Ymagines Historiarum_; (6) Johannes Brompton, _Chronicon_; (7) Gervasius Dorobornensis [Gervais of Dover], _Chronica, etc._ (burning and repair of Dover Church; contentions between the monks of Canterbury and Archbishop Baldwin; and lives of the archbishops of Canterbury); (8) Thomas Stubbs (a Dominican), _Chronica Pontificum ecc. Eboraci_ [_i.e._ York]; (9) Guilielmus Thorn Cantuariensis [of Canterbury], _Chronica_; and (10) Henricus Knighton Leicestrensis [of Leicester], _Chronica_. (The last three are chronicles of “pontiffs” or archbishops.)

=Scriptores Quinque=, better known as _Scriptores Post Bedam_, published at Frankfürt, 1601, in one vol., folio, and containing: (1) Willielm Malmesburiensis, _De Gestis Regum Anglorum_, _Historiæ Novellæ_, and _De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum_; (2) Henry Huntindoniensis, _Historia_; (3) Roger Hovedeni [Hoveden], _Annales_; (4) Ethelwerd, _Chronica_; and (5) Ingulphus Croylandensis [of Croyland], _Historia_.

=Scriptores Tres=, three “hypothetical” writers on ancient history, which Dr. Bertram professed to have discovered between the years 1747 and 1757. They are called Richardus Corinensis [of Cirencester], _De Situ Britanniæ_; Gildas Badonĭcus; and Nennius Banchorensis [of Bangor].--J. E. Mayor, in his preface to _Ricardi de Cirencestria Speculum Historiale_, has laid bare this literary forgery.

=Scripture.= Parson Adams’s wife said to her husband that in her opinion “it was blasphemous to talk of Scriptures out of church.”--Fielding, _Joseph Andrews_.

A great impression in my youth
Was made by Mrs. Adams, where she cries,
“That Scriptures out of church are blasphemous.”

Byron, _Don Juan_, xiii. 96 (1824).

=Scroggen=, a poor hack author, celebrated by Goldsmith in his _Description of an Author’s Bedchamber_.

=Scroggens=, (_Giles_), a peasant, who courted Molly Bawn, but died just before the wedding day. Molly cried and cried for him, till she cried herself fast asleep. Fancying that she saw Giles Scroggens’s ghost standing at her bedside, she exclaimed in terror, “What do you want?” “You for to come for to go along with me,” replied the ghost. “I ben’t dead, you fool!” said Molly; but the ghost rejoined, “Why, that’s no rule.” Then, clasping her round the waist, he exclaimed, “Come, come with me, ere morning beam.” “I won’t!” shrieked Molly, and woke to find “‘twas nothing but a dream.”--_A Comic Ballad._

=Scroggs= (_Sir William_), one of the judges.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).

=Scrooge= (_Ebenezer_), partner, executor, and heir of old Jacob Marley, stock-broker. When first introduced, he is “a squeezing, grasping, covetous old hunks, sharp and hard as a flint;” without one particle of sympathy, loving no one, and by none beloved. One Christmas Day Ebenezer Scrooge sees three ghosts; The Ghost of Christmas Past; Ghost of Christmas Present; and the Ghost of Christmas To-come. The first takes him back to his young life, shows him what Christmas was to him when a schoolboy, and when he was an apprentice; reminds him of his courting a young girl, whom he forsook as he grew rich; and shows him that sweetheart of his young days married to another, and the mother of a happy family. The second ghost shows him the joyous home of his clerk, Bob Cratchit, who has nine people to keep on 15_s._ a week, and yet could find wherewithal to make merry on this day; it also shows him the family of his nephew, and of others. The third ghost shows him what would be his lot if he died as he then was, the prey of harpies, the jest of his friends on ‘Change, the world’s uncared-for waif. These visions wholly changed his nature, and he becomes benevolent, charitable, and cheerful, loving all, and by all beloved.--C. Dickens, _A Christmas Carol_ (in five staves, 1843).

=Scrow=, the clerk of Lawyer Glossin.--Sir W. Scott, _Guy Mannering_ (time George II.).

=Scrub=, a man-of-all-work to Lady Bountiful. He describes his duties thus;

Of a Monday I drive the coach, of a Tuesday I drive the plough, on
Wednesday I follow the hounds, on Thursday I dun the tenants, on
Friday I go to market, on Saturday I draw warrants, and on Sunday I
draw beer.--Geo. Farquhar, _The Beaux’ Stratagem_, iii. 4 (1707).

=Scrubin´da=, the lady who “lived by the scouring of pots in Dyot Street, Bloomsbury Square.”

Oh, was I a quart, pint, or gill,
To be scrubbed by her delicate hands!...
My parlor that’s next to the sky
I’d quit, her blest mansion to share;
So happy to live and to die
In Dyot Street, Bloomsbury Square.

W. B. Rhodes, _Bombastes Furioso_ (1790).

=Scruple=, the friend of Random. He is too honest for a rogue, and too conscientious for a rake. At Calais he met Harriet, the elder daughter of Sir David Dunder, of Dunder Hall, near Dover, and fell in love with her. Scruple subsequently got invited to Dunder Hall, and was told that his Harriet was to be married next day to Lord Snolt, a stumpy, “gummy” fogey of five and forty. Harriet hated the idea, and agreed to elope with Scruple; but her father discovered by accident the intention, and intercepted it. However, to prevent scandal, he gave his consent to the union, and discovered that Scruple, both in family and fortune, was quite suitable for a son-in-law.--G. Colman, _Ways and Means_ (1788).

=Scu´damour= (_Sir_), the knight beloved by Am´oret (whom Britomart delivered from Busyrane, the enchanter), and whom she ultimately married. He is called Scudamour (3 _syl._) from [_e_]_scu d’amour_ (“the shield of love”), which he carried (bk. iv. 10). This shield was hung by golden bands in the temple of Venus, and under it was written: “WHOSOEVER BE THIS SHIELD, FAIRE AMORET BE HIS.” Sir Scudamour, determined to win the prize, had to fight with twenty combatants, overthrew them all, and the shield was his. When he saw Amoret in the company of Britomart, dressed as a knight, he was racked with jealousy, and went on his wanderings, accompanied by nurse Glaucê for “his squire;” but somewhat later, seeing Britomart, without her hemlet,[TN-163] he felt that his jealousy was groundless (bk. iv. 6). His tale is told by himself (bk. iv. 10).--Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, iii., iv. (1590-6).

=Sculpture= (_Father of French_), Jean Goujon (1510-1572). G. Pilon is so called also (1515-1590).

=Scyld=, the king of Denmark preceding Beowulf. The Anglo-Saxon epic poem called _Beowulf_ (sixth century) begins with the death of Scyld.

At his appointed time, Scyld deceased, very decrepit, and went into
the peace of the Lord. They ... bore him to the sea-shore as he
himself requested.... There on the beach stood the ring-prowed
ship, the vehicle of the noble ... ready to set out. They laid down
the dear prince, the distributer of rings, in the bosom of the
ship, the mighty one beside the mast ... they set up a golden
ensign high overhead ... they gave him to the deep. Sad was their
spirit, mournful their mood.--Kemble, _Beowulf_ (an Anglo-Saxon
poem, 1833).

=Scylla and Charybdis.= The former was a rock, in which dwelt Scylla, a hideous monster, encompassed with dogs and wolves. The latter was a whirlpool, into which Charybdis was metamorphosed.--_Classic Fable._

=Scythian= (_That Brave_), Darius, the Persian. According to Herod´otus, all the south-east of Europe used to be called Scythia, and Xenophon calls the dwellers south of the Caspian Sea “Scythians,” also. In fact, by Scythia was meant the south of Russia and west of Asia; hence, the Hungarians, a Tartar horde, settled on the east coast of the Caspian Sea, who, in 889, crossed into Europe, are spoken of as “Scythians,” and Lord Brooke calls the Persians “Scythians.” The reference below is to the following event in Persian history:--The death of Smerdis was kept for a time a profound secret, and one of the officers about the court who resembled him usurped the crown, calling himself brother of the late monarch. Seven of the high nobles conspired together, and slew the usurper, but it then became a question to which of the seven the crown should be offered. They did not toss for it, but they did much the same thing. They agreed to give the crown to him whose horse neighed first. Darius’s horse won, and thus Darius became king of the Persian empire.

That brave Scythian,
Who found more sweetness in his horse’s neighing
Than all the Phrygian, Dorian, Lydian playing.

Lord Brooke, (1554-1628).

⁂ Marlowe calls Tamburlaine of Tartary “a Scythian.”

You shall hear the Scythian Tamburlaine
Threatening the world with high astounding terms.

Marlowe, _Tamburlaine_ (prologue, 1587).

=Scythian’s Name= (_The_). Humber or Humbert, king of the Huns, invaded England during the reign of Locrin, some 1000 years B.C. In his flight, he was drowned in the river Abus, which has ever since been called the Humber, after “the Scythian’s name.”--Geoffrey, _British History_, ii. 2 (1142); and Milton’s _History of England_.

Or Humber loud that keeps the Scythian’s name.

Milton, _Vacation Exercise_ (1627).

=Sea-Captain= (_The_), a drama by Lord Lytton (1839). Norman, “the sea-captain,” was the son of Lady Arundel by her first husband, who was murdered. He was born three days after his father’s murder, and was brought up by Onslow, a village priest. At 14 he went to sea, and became the captain of a man-of-war. Lady Arundel married again, and had another son named Percy. She wished to ignore Norman, and to settle the title and estates on Percy, but it was not to be. Norman and Percy both loved Violet, a ward of Lady Arundel. Violet, however, loved Norman only. A scheme was laid to murder Norman, but failed; and at the end Norman was acknowledged by his mother, reconciled to his brother, and married to the ward.

=Seaforth= (_The earl of_), a royalist, in the service of King Charles I.--Sir W. Scott, _Legend of Montrose_ (time, Charles I.).

=Seasons= (_The_), a descriptive poem in blank verse, by James Thomson, “Winter” (1726), “Summer” (1727), “Spring” (1728), “Autumn” (1730). “Winter” is inscribed to the earl of Wilmington; “Summer” to Mr. Doddington; “Spring” to the countess of Hertford; and “Autumn” to Mr. Onslow.

1. In “Winter,” after describing the season, the poet introduces his episode of a traveller lost in a snowstorm, “the creeping cold lays him along the snow, a stiffened corse,”[TN-164] of wife, of children, and of friends unseen. The whole book containing 1069 lines.

2. “Summer” begins with a description of the season, and the rural pursuits of haymaking and sheep-shearing; passes on to the hot noon, when “nature pants, and every stream looks languid.” After describing the tumultuous character of the season in the torrid zone, he returns to England, and describes a thunder-storm, in which Celădon and Amelia are overtaken. The thunder growls, the lightnings flash, louder and louder crashes the aggravated roar, “convulsing heaven and earth.” The maiden, terrified, clings to her lover for protection. “Fear not, sweet innocence,” he says. “He who involves yon skies in darkness ever smiles on thee. ’Tis safety to be near thee, sure, and thus to clasp protection.” As he speaks the words, a flash of lightning strikes the maid, and lays her a blackened corpse at the young man’s feet. The poem concludes with the more peaceful scenery of a summer’s evening, when the story of Damon and Musidōra is introduced. Damon had long loved the beautiful Musidora, but met with scant encouragement. One summer’s evening he accidently[TN-165] came upon her bathing, and the respectful modesty of his love so won upon the damsel that she wrote upon a tree, “Damon, the time may come when you need not fly.” The whole book contains 1804 lines.

3. In “Spring” the poet describes its general features, and its influence on the vegetable and animal world. He describes a garden with its harem of flowers, a grove with its orchestry of song-birds making melody in their love, the rough world of brutes, furious and fierce with their strong desire, and lastly man tempered by its infusive influence. The book contains 1173 lines.

4. In “Autumn” we are taken to the harvest-field, where the poet introduces a story similar to that of Ruth and Boaz. His Ruth he calls “Lavinia,” and his Boaz “Palēmon.” He then describes partridge and pheasant shooting, hare and fox hunting, all of which he condemns. After luxuriating in the orchard and vineyard, he speaks of the emigration of birds, the falling of the sear and yellow leaf, and concludes with a eulogy of country life. The whole book contains 1371 lines.

⁂ It is much to be regretted that the poet’s order has not been preserved. The arrangement of the seasons into Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, is unnatural, and mars the harmony of the poet’s plan.

=Seatonian Prize.= The Rev. Thomas Seaton, Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge University, bequeathed the rents of his Kislingbury estate for a yearly prize of £40 to the best English poem on a sacred subject announced in January, and sent in on or before September 29 following.

Shall hoary Granta call her sable sons....
Shall these approach the Muse? Ah, no! she flies,
And even spurns the great Seatonian prize.

Byron, _English Bards and Scotch Reviewers_ (1809).

=Sebastes of Mytile´ne= (4 _syl._), the assassin in the “Immortal Guards.”--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).

=Sebastian=, a young gentleman of Messalinê, brother to Viola. They were twins, and so much alike that they could not be distinguished except by their dress. Sebastian and his sister, being shipwrecked, escaped to Illyria. Here Sebastian was mistaken for his sister (who had assumed man’s apparel), and was invited by the Countess Olivia to take shelter in her house from a street broil. Olivia was in love with Viola, and thinking Sebastian to be the object of her love, married him.--Shakespeare, _Twelfth Night_ (1614).

_Sebastian_, brother of Alonso, king of Naples, in _The Tempest_ (1609).

_Sebastian_, father of Valentine and Alice.--Beaumont and Fletcher, _Mons. Thomas_ (1619).

_Sebastian_ (_Don_), king of Portugal, is defeated in battle and taken prisoner by the Moors (1574). He is saved from death by Dorax, a noble Portuguese, then a renegade in the court of the emperor of Barbary. The train being dismissed, Dorax takes off his turban, assumes his Portuguese dress, and is recognized as Alonzo of Alcazar.--Dryden, _Don Sebastian_ (1690).

The quarrel and reconcilation[TN-166] of Sebastian and Dorax [_alias
Alonzo of Alcazar_] is a masterly copy from a similar scene between
Brutus and Cassius [_in Shakespeare’s Julius Cæsar_].--R. Chambers,
_English Literature_, i. 380.

_Don Sebastian_, a name of terror to Moorish children.

Nor shall Sebastian’s formidable name
Be longer used to still the crying babe.

Dryden, _Don Sebastian_ (1690).

=Sebastian I. of Brazil=, who fell in the battle of Alcazarquebir in 1578. The legend is that he is not dead, but is patiently biding the fulness of time, when he will return, and make Brazil the chief kingdom of the earth. (See BARBAROSSA.)

=Sebastoc´rator= (_The_), the chief officer of state in the empire of Greece. Same as Protosebastos.--Sir W. Scott, _Count Robert of Paris_ (time, Rufus).

=Sebile= (2 _syl._), la Dame du Lac, in the romance called _Perceforest_. Her castle was surrounded by a river, on which rested so thick a fog that no one could see across it. Alexander the Great abode with her a fortnight to be cured of his wounds, and King Arthur was the result of this amour (vol. i. 42).

=Secret Hill= (_The_). Ossian said to Oscar, when he resigned to him the command of the morrow’s battle, “Be thine the secret hill to-night,” referring to the Gaelic custom of the commander of an army retiring to a secret hill the night before a battle, to hold communion with the ghosts of departed heroes.--Ossian, _Cathlin of Clutha_.

=Secret Tribunal= (_The_), the count of the Holy Vehme.--Sir W. Scott, _Anne of Geierstein_ (time, Edward IV.).

=Sedgwick= (_Doomsday_), William Sedgwick, a fanatical “prophet” in the Commonwealth, who pretended that it had been revealed to him in a vision that the day of doom was at hand.

=Sedillo=, the licentiate, with whom Gil Blas took service as a footman. Sedillo was a gouty old gourmand of 69. Being ill, he sent for Dr. Sangrado, who took from him six porringers of blood every day, and dosed him incessantly with warm water, giving him two or three pints at a time, saying, “a patient cannot be blooded too much; for it is a great error to suppose that blood is needful for the preservation of life. Warm water,” he maintained, “drunk in abundance, is the true specific in all distempers.” When the licentiate died under this treatment, the doctor insisted it was because his patient had neither lost blood enough nor drunk enough warm water.--Lesage, _Gil Blas_, ii. 1, 2 (1715).

=Sedley= (_Mr._), a wealthy London stock-broker, brought to ruin by the fall of the Funds just prior to the battle of Waterloo. The old merchant then tried to earn a meagre pittance by selling wine, coals, or lottery-tickets by commission, but his bad wine and cheap coals found but few customers.

_Mrs. Sedley_, wife of Mr. Sedley. A homely, kind-hearted motherly woman in her prosperous days, but soured by adversity, and quick to take offence.

_Amelia Sedley_, daughter of the stock-broker, educated at Miss Pinkerton’s academy, Chiswick Mall, and engaged to Captain George Osborne, son of a rich London merchant. After the ruin of old Sedley, George married Amelia, and was disinherited by his father. He was adored by his young wife, but fell on the field of Waterloo. Amelia then returned to her father, and lived in great indigence, but Captain Dobbin greatly loved her, and did much to relieve her worst wants. Captain Dobbin rose in his profession to the rank of colonel, and married the young widow.

_Joseph Sedley_, a collector, of Boggley Wollah; a fat, sensual, conceited dandy, vain, shy, and vulgar. “His Excellency” fled from Brussels on the day of the battle between Napoleon and Wellington, and returned to Calcutta, where he bragged of his brave deeds, and made appear that he was Wellington’s right hand; so that he obtained the sobriquet of “Waterloo Sedley.” He again returned to England, and became the “patron” of Becky Sharp (then Mrs. Rawdon Crawley, but separated from her husband). But this lady proved a terrible dragon, fleeced him of all his money, and in six months he died under very suspicious circumstances.--Thackeray, _Vanity Fair_ (1848).

_Sedley_ (_Sir Charles_), in the court of Charles II.--Sir W. Scott, _Woodstock_ (time, Commonwealth).

=Seelencooper= (_Captain_), superintendent of the military hospital at Ryde.--Sir W. Scott, _The Surgeon’s Daughter_ (time, George II.).

=Seer= (_The Poughkeepsie_), Andrew Jackson Davis.

=Seicen´to= (3 _syl._), the sixteenth century of Italian notables, the period of bad taste and degenerate art. The degraded art is termed _Seicentista_, and the notables of the period the _Seicentisti_. The style of writing was inflated and bombastic, and that of art was what is termed “rococo.” The chief poet was Marini (1569-1615), the chief painter Caravaggio (1569-1609), the chief sculptor Bernini (1593-1680), and the chief architect Borromini (1599-1667).

=Sede=, in Voltaire’s tragedy of _Mahomet_, was the character in which Talma, the great French tragedian, made his _début_ in 1787.

=Seidel-Beckir=, the most famous of all talismanists. He made three of extraordinary power: viz., a little golden fish, which would fetch from the sea whatever was desired of it; a poniard, which rendered the person who bore it invisible, and all others whom he wished to be so; and a steel ring, which enabled the wearer to read the secrets of another’s heart.--Comte de Caylus, _Oriental Tales_ (“The Four Talismans,” 1743).

=Sejanus= (_Ælius_), a minister of Tibērius, and commander of the Prætorian Guards. His affability made him a great favorite. In order that he might be the foremost man of Rome, all the children and grandchildren of the emperor were put to death under sundry pretences. Drusus, the son of Tiberius, then fell a victim. He next persuaded the emperor to retire, and Tiberius went to Campania, leaving to Sejānus the sole management of affairs. He now called himself emperor; but Tiberius, roused from his lethargy, accused his minister of treason. The senate condemned him to be strangled, and his remains, being treated with the grossest insolence, were kicked into the Tiber, A.D. 31. This was the subject of Ben Jonson’s first historical play, entitled _Sejanus_ (1603).

=Sejjin= or =Sejn=, the record of all evil deeds, whether by men or the genii, kept by the recording angel. It also means that dungeon beneath the seventh earth, where Eblis and his companions are confined.

Verily, the register of the deeds of the wicked is surely in
Sejjin.--Sale, _Al Korân_, lxxxiii.

=Selby= (_Captain_), an officer in the guards.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).

=Self-Admiration Society= (_The_). _Poets_: Morris, Rosetti and Swinburne. _Painters_: Brown, Mudon, Whistler and some others.

=Selim=, son of Abdallah, who was murdered by his brother, Giaffir (pacha of Aby´dos). After the death of his brother, Giaffir (2 _syl._) took Selim under his charge and brought him up, but treated him with considerable cruelty. Giaffir had a daughter named Zuleika (3 _syl._), with whom Selim fell in love; but Zuleika thought he was her brother. As soon as Giaffir discovered the attachment of the two cousins for each other, he informed his daughter that he intended her to marry Osmyn Bey; but Zuleika eloped with Selim, the pacha pursued them, Selim was shot, Zuleika killed herself, and Giaffir was left childless and alone.--Byron, _Bride of Abydos_ (1813).

_Selim_, son of Acbar. Jehanguire was called Selim before his accession to the throne. He married Nourmahal, the “Light of the Haram,” but a coolness rose up between them. One night Nourmahal entered the sultan’s banquet-room as a lute-player, and so charmed young Selim that he exclaimed, “If Nourmahal had so sung, I could have forgiven her!” It was enough. Nourmahal threw off her disguise, and became reconciled to her husband.--T. Moore, _Lalla Rookh_ (“Light of the Haram,” 1817).

_Selim_, son of the Moorish king of Algiers. [Horush] Barbarossa, the Greek renegade, having made himself master of Algiers, slew the reigning king, but Selim escaped. After the lapse of seven years, he returned under the assumed name of Achmet, and headed an uprising of the Moors. The insurgents succeeded, Barbarossa was slain, the widowed Queen Zaphīra was restored to her husband’s throne, and Selim, her son, married Irēnê, daughter of Barbarossa.--J. Brown, _Barbarossa_ (1742 or 1755).

_Selim_, friend of Etan (the supposed son of Zamti, the mandarin).--Murphy, _The Orphan of China_ (1759).

=Sel´ima=, daughter of Bajazet, sultan of Turkey, in love with Prince Axalla, but promised by her father in marriage to Omar. When Selima refused to marry Omar, Bajazet would have slain her; but Tamerlane commanded both Bajazet and Omar to be seized. So every obstacle was removed from the union of Selima and Axalla.--N. Rowe, _Tamerlane_ (1702).

_Selima_, one of the six Wise Men from the East, led by the guiding star to Jesus.--Klopstock, _The Messiah_, v. (1771).

=Se´lith=, one of the two guardian angels of the Virgin Mary, and of John the Divine.--Klopstock, _The Messiah_, ix. (1771).

=Sellock= (_Cisly_), a servant girl in the service of Lady and Sir Geoffrey Peveril, of the Peak.--Sir W. Scott, _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).

=Selvaggio=, the father of Sir Industry, and the hero of Thomson’s _Castle of Indolence_.

In Fairy-land there lived a knight of old,
Of feature stern, Selvaggio well y-clept;
A rough, unpolished man, robust and bold,
But wondrous poor. He neither sowed nor reaped;
No stores in summer for cold winter heaped.
In hunting all his days away he wore--
Now scorched by June, now in November steeped,
Now pinched by biting January sore.
He still in woods pursued the libbard and the boar.

Thomson, _Castle of Indolence_, ii. 5 (1745).

=Sem´ele= (3 _syl._), ambitious of enjoying Jupiter in all his glory, perished from the sublime effulgence of the god. This is substantially the tale of the second story of T. Moore’s _Loves of the Angels_. Liris requested her angel lover to come to her in all his angelic brightness; but was burnt to ashes as she fell into his embrace.

For majesty gives nought to subjects, ...
A royal smile, a guinea’s glorious rays,
Like Semelê, would kill us with its blaze.

Peter Pindar [Dr. Wolcot], _Progress of Admiration_ (1809).

=Semi´da=, the young man, the only son of a widow, raised from the dead by Jesus, as he was being carried from the walls of Nain. He was deeply in love with Cidli, the daughter of Jairus.

He was in the bloom of life. His hair hung in curls on his
shoulders, and he appeared as beautiful as David, when, sitting by
the stream of Bethlehem, he was ravished at the voice of
God.--Klopstock, _The Messiah_, iv. (1771).

=Semir´amis=, queen of Assyria, wife of Ninus. She survived her husband, and reigned. The glory of her reign stands out so prominently that she quite eclipses all the monarchs of ancient Assyria. After a reign of forty-two years she resigned the crown to her son, Ninyas, and took her flight to heaven in the form of a dove. Semiramis was the daughter of Dercĕto, the fish-goddess, and a Syrian youth, and, being exposed in infancy, was brought up by doves.

=Semiramis of the North=, Margaret, daughter of Waldemar III. of Denmark. At the death of her father she succeeded him; by the death of her husband, Haco VIII., king of Norway, she succeeded to that kingdom also; and, having conquered Albert of Sweden, she added Sweden to her empire. Thus was she queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1353-1412).

_Semirămis of the North_, Catherine of Russia, a powerful and ambitious sovereign, but in morals a law unto herself (1729-1796).

=Semkail=, the angel of the winds and waves.

I keep the winds in awe with the hand which you see in the air, and
prevent the wind Haidge from coming forth. If I gave it freedom it
would reduce the universe to powder. With my other hand I hinder
the sea from overflowing, without which precaution it would cover
the face of the whole earth.--Comte de Caylus, _Oriental Tales_
(“History of Abdal Motalleb,” 1743).

=Semo= (_Son of_), Cuthullin, general of the Irish tribes.

=Sempro´nius=, one of the “friends” of Timon of Athens, and “the first man that e’er received a gift from him.” When Timon sent to borrow a sum of money of “his friend,” he excused himself thus: As Timon did not think proper to apply to me first, but asked others before he sent to me, I consider his present application an insult. “Go,” said he to the servant, “and tell your master:

Who bates mine honor shall not know my coin.”

Shakespeare, _Timon of Athens_, act iii. sc. 3 (1600).

_Sempronius_, a treacherous friend of Cato while in Utĭca. Sempronius tried to mask his treason by excessive zeal and unmeasured animosity against Cæsar, with whom he was acting in alliance. He loved Marcia, Cato’s daughter, but his love was not honorable love; and when he attempted to carry off the lady by force, he was slain by Juba, the Numidian prince.--J. Addison, _Cato_ (1713).

I’ll conceal
My thoughts in passion, ’tis the surest way.
I’ll bellow out for Rome, and for my country,
And mouth at Cæsar till I shake the senate.
Your cold hypocrisy’s a stale device,
A worn-out trick.

Act i. 1.

=Sena´nus= (_St._), the saint who fled to the island of Scattery, and resolved that no woman should ever step upon the isle. An angel led St. Can´ara to the isle, but Senanus refused to admit her.--T. Moore, _Irish Melodies_ (“St. Senanus and the Lady,” 1814).

=Sen´eca= (_The Christian_), Bishop Hall, of Norwich (1574-1656).

=Sene´na= (3 _syl._), a Welsh maiden, in love with Car´adoc. She dressed in boy’s clothes, and, under the assumed name of Mervyn, became the page of the Princess Goervyl, that she might follow her lover to America, when Madoc colonized Caer-Madoc. Senena was promised in marriage to another; but when the wedding day arrived and all was ready, the bride was nowhere to be found.

... she doffed
Her bridal robes, and clipt her golden locks,
And put on boy’s attire, thro’ wood and wild
To seek her own true love; and over sea,
Forsaking all for him, she followed him.

Southey, _Madoc_, ii. 23 (1805).

=Sennac´herib=, called by the Orientals King Moussal.--D’Herbelot, _Notes to the Korân_ (seventeenth century).

=Sennamar=, a very skilful architect, who built at Hirah, for Nôman-al-Aôuar, king of Hirah, a most magnificent palace. In order that he might not build another equal or superior to it, for some other monarch, Nôman cast him headlong from the highest tower of the building.--D’Herbelot, _Bibliothèque Orientale_ (1697).

⁂ A parallel tale is told of Neim´heid (2 _syl._), who employed four architects to build for him a palace in Ireland, and then, jealous lest they should build one like it, or superior to it, for another monarch, he had them all privately put to death.--O’Halloran, _History of Ireland_.

=Sensitive= (_Lord_), a young nobleman of amorous proclivities, who marries Sabīna Rosny, a French refugee, in Padua, but leaves her, more from recklessness than wickedness. He comes to England and pays court to Lady Ruby, a rich young widow; but Lady Ruby knows of his marriage to the young French girl, and so hints at it that his lordship, who is no libertine, and has a great regard for his honor, sees that his marriage is known, and tells Lady Ruby he will start without delay to Padua, and bring his young wife home. This, however, was not needful, as Sabina was at the time the guest of Lady Ruby. She is called forth, and Lord Sensitive openly avows her to be his wife.--Cumberland, _First Love_ (1796).

=Sentimental Journey= (_The_), by Laurence Sterne (1768). It was intended to be sentimental sketches of his tour through Italy in 1764, but he died soon after completing the first part. The tourist lands at Calais, and the first incident is his interview with a poor monk of St. Francis, who begged alms for his convent. Sterne refused to give anything, but his heart smote him for his churlishness to the meek old man. From Calais he goes to Montriul (Montreuil-sur-Mer) and thence to Nampont, near Cressy. Here occurred the incident, which is one of the most touching of all the sentimental sketches, that of “The Dead Ass.” His next stage was Amiens, and thence to Paris. While looking at the Bastille, he heard a voice crying, “I can’t get out! I can’t get out!” He thought it was a child, but it was only a caged starling. This led him to reflect on the delights of liberty and miseries of captivity. Giving reins to his fancy, he imaged to himself a prisoner who for thirty years had been confined in a dungeon, during all which time “he had seen no sun, no moon, nor had the voice of kinsman breathed through his lattice.” Carried away by his feelings, he burst into tears, for he “could not sustain the picture of confinement which his fancy had drawn.” While at Paris, our tourist visited Versailles, and introduces an incident which he had witnessed some years previously at Rennes, in Brittany. It was that of a marquis reclaiming his sword and “patent of nobility.” Any nobleman in France who engaged in trade, forfeited his rank; but there was a law in Brittany that a nobleman of reduced circumstances might deposit his sword temporarily with the local magistracy, and if better times dawned upon him, he might reclaim it. Sterne was present at one of these interesting ceremonies. A marquis had laid down his sword to mend his fortune by trade, and after a successful career at Martinico for twenty years, returned home, and reclaimed it. On receiving his deposit from the president, he drew it slowly from the scabbard, and, observing a spot of rust near the point, dropped a tear on it. As he wiped the blade lovingly, he remarked, “I shall find some other way to get it off.” Returning to Paris, our tourist starts for Italy; but the book ends with his arrival at Moulines (Moulins). Some half a league from this city he encountered Maria, whose pathetic story had been told him by Mr. Shandy. She had lost her goat when Sterne saw her, but had instead a little dog named Silvio, led by a string. She was sitting under a poplar, playing on a pipe her vespers to the Virgin. Poor Maria had been crossed in love, or, to speak more strictly, the curé of Moulines had forbidden her banns, and the maiden lost her reason. Her story is exquisitely told, and Sterne says, “Could the traces be ever worn out of her brain, and those of Eliza out of mine, she should not only eat of my bread and drink of my cup, but Maria should lie in my bosom, and be unto me as a daughter.”

=Sentinel and St. Paul’s Clock= (_The_). The sentinel condemned to death by court-martial for falling asleep on his watch, but pardoned because he affirmed that he heard St. Paul’s clock strike thirteen instead of twelve, was John Hatfield, who died at the age of 102, June, 1770.

=Sentry= (_Captain_), one of the members of the club under whose auspices the _Spectator_ was professedly issued.

=September Massacre= (_The_), the slaughter of loyalists confined in the Abbaye. This massacre took place in Paris between September 2 and 5, 1792, on receipt of the news of the capture of Verdun. The number of victims was not less than 1200, and some place it as high as 4000.

=September the Third= was Cromwell’s day. On September 3, 1650, he won the battle of Dunbar. On September 3, 1651, he won the battle of Worcester. On September 3, 1658, he died.

=Seraphic Doctor= (_The_), St. Bonaventura, placed by Dantê among the saints of his _Paradiso_ (1221-1274).

=Seraphic Saint= (_The_), St. Francis d’Assisi (1182-1226).

Of all the saints, St. Francis was the most blameless and
gentle.--Dean Milman.

=Seraphina Arthuret= (_Miss_), a papist. Her sister is Miss Angelica Arthuret.--Sir W. Scott, _Redgauntlet_ (time, George III.).

=Sera´pis=, an Egyptian deity symbolizing the Nile, and fertility in general.

=Seraskier´= (3 _syl._), a name given by the Turks to a general of division, generally a pacha with two or three tails. (Persian, _seri asker_, “head of the army.”)

... three thousand Moslems perished here,
And sixteen bayonets pierced the seraskier.

Byron, _Don Juan_, viii. 81 (1824).

=Serb=, a Servian or native of Servia.

=Sereme´nes= (4 _syl._), brother-in-law of King Sardanapālus, to whom he entrusts his signet-ring to put down the rebellion headed by Arbācês, the Mede, and Belĕsis, the Chaldēan soothsayer. Seremēnês was slain in a battle with the insurgents.--Byron, _Sardanapalus_ (1819).

=Sere´na=, allured by the mildness of the weather, went into the fields to gather wild flowers for a garland, when she was attacked by the Blatant Beast, who carried her off in its mouth. Her cries attracted to the spot Sir Calidore, who compelled the beast to drop its prey.--Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, vi. 3 (1596).

=Sergis= (_Sir_), the attendant on Irēna. He informs Sir Artegal that Irena is the captive of Grantorto, who has sworn to take her life within ten days, unless some knight will volunteer to be her champion, and in single combat prove her innocent of the crime laid to her charge.--Spenser, _Faëry Queen_, v. 11 (1596).

=Sergius=, a Nestorian monk, said to be the same as Boheira, who resided at Bosra, in Syria. This monk, we are told, helped Mahomet in writing the _Korân_. Some say it was Saïd or Felix Boheira.

Boheira’s name, in the books of Christians, is Sergius.--Masudi,
_History_, 24 (A.D. 956).

=Serimner=, the wild boar whose lard fed the vast multitude in Einheriar, the hall of Odin. Though fed on daily, the boar never diminished in size. Odin himself gave his own portion of the lard to his two wolves, Geri and Freki.--_Scandinavian Mythology._ (See RUSTICUS’S PIG.)

=Seri´na=, daughter of Lord Acasto, plighted to Chamont (the brother of Monimia, “the orphan”).--Otway, _The Orphan_ (1680).

=Seriswattee=, the Janus of Hindû mythology.

=The Serpent and Satan.= There is an Arabian tradition that the devil begged all the animals, one after another, to carry him into the garden, that he might speak to Adam and Eve, but they all refused except the serpent, who took him between two of its teeth. It was then the most beautiful of all the animals, and walked upon legs and feet.--Masudi, _History_, 22 (A.D. 956).

_The Serpent’s Punishment._ The punishment of the serpent for tempting Eve was this: (1) Michael was commanded to cut off its legs; and (2) the serpent was doomed to feed on human excrements ever after.

=Serpent d’Isabit=, an enormous monster, whose head rested on the top of the Pic du Midi de Bigorre, its body filled the whole valley of Luz, St. Sauveur, and Gèdres, and its tail was coiled in the hollow below the cirque of Gavarnie. It fed once in three months, and supplied itself by making a very strong inspiration of its breath, whereupon every living thing around was drawn into its maw. It was ultimately killed by making a huge bonfire, and waking it from its torpor, when it became enraged, and drawing a deep breath, drew the bonfire into its maw, and died in agony.--Rev. W. Webster, _A Pyrenean Legend_ (1877).

=Served My God.= WOLSEY said, in his fall, “Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king, He would not in mine age have left me naked to mine enemies.”--Shakespeare, _Henry VIII._ act iii. sc. 2 (1601).

SAMRAH, when he was deposed from the government of Basorah by the Caliph Moawiyah, said, “If I had served God so well as I have served the caliph, He would never have condemned me to all eternity.”

ANTONIO PEREZ, the favorite of Philip II. of Spain, said, “Mon zele etoit si grand vers ces benignes puissances [i.e. _Turin_] qui si j’en eusse eu autant pour Dieu, je ne doubte point qu’il ne m’eut deja recompensé de son paradis.”

The earl of GOWRIE, when, in 1854, he was led to execution, said, “If I had served God as faithfully as I have done the king [_James VI._], I should not have come to this end.”--Spotswood, _History of the Church of Scotland_, 332, 333 (1653).

=Sesostris= (_The Modern_), Napoleon Bonaparte (1769, 1804-1815, 1821).

But where is he, the modern, mightier far,
Who, born no king, made monarchs draw his car;
The new Sesostris, whose unharnessed kings,
Freed from the bit, believe themselves with wings,
And spurn the dust o’er which they crawled of late,
Chained to the chariot of the chieftain’s state?

Byron, _Age of Bronze_ (1821).

⁂ “Sesostris,” in Fénelon’s _Télémaque_, is meant for Louis XIV.

=Set´ebos=, a deity of the Patagonians.

His art is of such power,
It would control my dam’s god Setebos.

Shakespeare, _The Tempest_ (1609).

The giants, when they found themselves fettered, roared like bulls,
and cried upon Setebos to help them.--Eden, _History of Travayle_.

=Seth=, a servant of the Jew at Ashby. Reuben is his fellow-servant.--Sir W. Scott, _Ivanhoe_ (time, Richard I.).

=Seth Fairchild.= Young countryman, who is almost persuaded to be in love with Isabel, the wife of his brother, Albert. Albert is killed--it is supposed, accidentally--and Isabel, assuming that Seth has murdered him, and for her sake, promises to keep the deed secret. The horror of the supposition and her readiness to believe him capable of the crime, dispels Seth’s unholy illusion and sends him back to his first love, who has always been his good angel.--Harold Frederic, _Seth’s Brother’s Wife_ (1887).

=Settle= (_Elkana_), the poet, introduced by Sir W. Scott in _Peveril of the Peak_ (time, Charles II.).

=Seven Champions of Christendom= (_The_): St. George for England; St. Andrew for Scotland; St. Patrick for Ireland; St. David for Wales; St. Denis for France; St. James for Spain; and St. Anthony for Italy.

⁂ Richard Johnson wrote _The Famous History of the Seven Champions of Christendom_ (1617).

=Seven=, Rienzi’s Number.

October 7, Rienzi’s foes yielded to his power.
7 months Rienzi reigned as tribune.
7 years he was absent in exile.
7 weeks of return saw him without an enemy (Oct. 7).
7 was the number of the crowns the Roman convents and the Roman
council awarded him.

=Seven Sleepers= (_The_). The tale of these sleepers is told in divers manners. The best accounts are those in the _Korân_ xviii., entitled, “The Cave, Revealed at Mecca;” _The Golden Legends_, by Jacques de Voragine; the _De Gloria Martyrum_, i. 9, by Gregory of Tours; and the _Oriental Tales_, by Comte de Caylus (1743).

_Names of the Seven Sleepers._ Gregory of Tours says their names were: Constantine, Dionysius, John, Maximian, Malchus, Martinian or Marcian, and Serapĭon. In the _Oriental Tales_ the names given are: Jemlikha, Mekchilinia, Mechlima, Merlima, Debermouch, Charnouch, and the shepherd Keschetiouch. Their names are not given in the _Korân_.

_Number of the Sleepers._ Al Seyid, a Jacobite Christian of Najrân, says the sleepers were only three, with their dog; others maintain that their number was five, besides the dog; but Al Beidâwi, who is followed by most authorities, says they were seven, besides the dog.

_Duration of the Sleep._ The _Korân_ says it was “300 years and nine years over;” the _Oriental Tales_ say the same; but if Gregory of Tours is followed, the duration of the sleep was barely 230 years.

_The Legend of the Seven Sleepers._ (1) According to Gregory of Tours. Gregory says they were seven noble youths of Ephesus, who fled in the Decian persecution to a cave in Mount Celion, the mouth of which was blocked up by stones. After 230 years they were discovered, and awoke, but died within a few days, and were taken in a large stone coffin to Marseilles. Visitors are still shown, in St. Victor’s Church, the stone coffin.

If there is any truth at all in the legend, it amounts to this: In A.D. 250, some youths (three or seven) suffered martyrdom under the Emperor Decius, “fell asleep in the Lord,” and were buried in a cave of Mount Celion. In 479 (the reign of Theodosius) their bodies were discovered, and, being consecrated as holy relics, were removed to Marseilles.

(2) According to the _Oriental Tales_. Six Grecian youths were slaves in the palace of Dakiānos (_Decianus_, _Decius_). This Dakianos had risen from low degrees to kingly honors, and gave himself out to be a god. Jemlikha was led to doubt the divinity of his master, because he was unable to keep off a fly which persistently tormented him, and being roused to reflection, came to the conclusion that there must be a god to whom both Dakianos and the fly were subject. He communicated his thoughts to his companions, and they all fled from the Ephesian court till they met the shepherd Keschetiouch, whom they converted, and who showed them a cave, which no one but himself knew of. Here they fell asleep, and Dakianos, having discovered them, commanded the mouth of the cave to be closed up. Here the sleepers remained 309 years, at the expiration of which time they all awoke, but died a few hours afterwards.

_The Dog of the Seven Sleepers._ In the notes of the _Korân_, by Sale, the dog’s name is Kratim, Kratimer, or Katmir. In the _Oriental Tales_ it is Catnier, which looks like a clerical blunder for Catmer, only it occurs frequently. It is one of the ten animals admitted into Mahomet’s paradise. The _Korân_ tells us that the dog followed the seven young men into the cave, but they tried to drive him away, and even broke three of its legs with stones, when the dog said to them, “I love those who love God. Sleep, masters, and I will keep guard.” In the _Oriental Tales_ the dog is made to say, “You go to seek God, but am not I also a child of God?” Hearing this, the young men were so astounded, they went immediately, and carried the dog into the cave.

_The Place of Sepulture of the Seven Sleepers._ Gregory of Tours tells us that the bodies were removed from Mount Celion in a stone coffin to Marseilles. The _Korân_, with Sale’s notes, informs us they were buried in the cave, and a chapel was built there to mark the site. (See SLEEPER.)

_The Seven Sleepers turning on their sides._ William of Malmesbury says that Edward the Confessor, in his mind’s eye, saw the seven sleepers turn from their right sides to their left, and (he adds) whenever they turn on their sides, it indicates great disasters to Christendom.

Woe, woe to England! I have seen a vision:
The seven sleepers in the cave of Ephesus
Have turned from right to left.

Tennyson, _Harold_, i. 1.

=Seven Wise Masters.= Lucien, the son of Dolopathos, was placed under the charge of Virgil, and was tempted in manhood by his step-mother. He repelled her advances, and she accused him to the king of taking liberties with her. By consulting the stars it was discovered that if he could tide over seven days his life would be spared; so seven wise masters undertook to tell the king a tale each, in illustration of rash judgments. When they had all told their tales, the prince related, under the disguise of a tale, the story of the queen’s wantonness; whereupon Lucien was restored to favor, and the queen was put to death.--Sandabar, _Parables_ (contemporary with King Courou).

⁂ John Rolland, of Dalkeith, has rendered this legend into Scotch verse. There is an Arabic version by Nasr Allah (twelfth century), borrowed from the Indian by Sandabar. In the Hebrew version by Rabbi Joel (1270), the legend is called _Kalilah and Dimnah_.

=Seven Wise Men= (_The_).

One of Plutarch’s _brochures_ in the _Moralia_ is entitled “The Banquet of the Seven Wise Men,” in which Periander is made to give an account of a contest at Chalcis between Homer and Hesiod, in which the latter wins the prize, and receives a tripod, on which he caused to be engraved this inscription:

This Hesiod vows to the Heliconian nine,
In Chalcis won from Homer the divine.

=Seven Wise Men of Greece= (_The_), seven Greeks of the sixth century B.C., noted for their maxims.

BIAS. His maxim was, “Most men are bad” (“There is none that doeth good, no, not one,” _Psalm_ xiv. 3): Οἱ πλέιους κακοὶ[TN-167] (fl. B.C. 550).

CHILO. “Consider the end:” Τέλος ὁρᾳν μακροῦ βίου (fl. B.C. 590).

CLEOBŪLOS. “Avoid extremes” (the golden mean): Ἄριστον μέτρον (fl. B.C. 580).

PERIANDER. “Nothing is impossible to industry” (patience and perseverance overcome mountains): Μελέτη τὸ πᾶν (B.C. 665-585).

PITTĂCOS. “Know thy opportunity” (seize time by the forelock): Καιρὸν γνῶθι (B.C. 652-569).

SOLON. “Know thyself:” Γνῶθι σεαυτὸν (B.C. 638-558).

THĀLES (2 _syl._). “Suretyship is the forerunner of ruin.” (“He that hateth suretyship is sure,” _Prov._ xi. 15): Εγγύα, πάρα δ᾽ ἄτη (B.C. 636-546).

First Solon, who made the Athenian laws,
While Chilo, in Sparta, was famed for his saws;
In Milētos did Thalês astronomy teach;
Bias used in Priēnê his morals to preach;
Cleobūlos of Lindos, was handsome and wise;
Mitylēnê, gainst thraldom saw Pittăcos rise;
Periander is said to have gained, thro’ his court,
The title that Myson, the Chenian, ought.

⁂ It is Plato who says that Myson should take the place of Periander as one of the Seven Wise Men.

=Seven Years.=

Barbarossa changes his position in his sleep every seven years.

Charlemagne starts in his chair from sleep every seven years.

Ogier, the Dane, stamps his iron mace on the floor every seven years.

Olaf Redbeard of Sweden uncloses his eyes every seven years.

=Seven Year’s War= (_The_), the war maintained by Frederick II. of Prussia against Austria, Russia, and France (1756-1763).

=Seven Against Thebes= (_The_). At the death of Œdĭpus, his two sons, Eteŏclês and Polynīcês, agreed to reign alternate years, but at the expiration of the first year Eteoclês refused to resign the crown to his brother. Whereupon, Polynicês induced six others to join him in besieging Thebes, but the expedition was a failure. The names of the seven Grecian chiefs who marched against Thebes were: Adrastos, Amphiarāos, Kapaneus, Hippomedon (_Argives_), Parthenopæos (_an Arcadian_), Polynicês (_a Theban_), and Tydeus (_an Æolian_). (See EPIGONI.)

Æschylos has a tragedy on the subject.

=Severn=, a corruption of Averne, daughter of Astrild. The legend is this: King Locryn was engaged to Gwendolen, daughter of Corīneus, but seeing Astrild (daughter of the king of Germany), who came to this island with Homber, king of Hungary, fell in love with her. While Corineus lived he durst not offend him, so he married Gwendolen, but kept Astrild as his mistress, and had by her a daughter (Averne). When Corineus died, he divorced Gwendolen, and declared Astrild queen, but Gwendolen summoned her vassals, dethroned Locryn, and caused both Astrild and Averne to be cast into the river, ever since called Severn fron[TN-168] Averne “the kinges dohter.”

=Sevier= (_Dr._), New Orleans physician. “His inner heart was all of flesh, but his demands for the rectitude of mankind pointed out like the muzzles of cannon through the embrasures of his virtues.” He befriends the struggling Richlings, setting John upon his feet time and again, and in his last illness, never leaving him until he goes out and closes the door upon the dying man, reunited to his wife and child. Dr. Sevier finds work for the widow, and educates little Alice, named for his own dead wife.

“And oh! when they two, who have never joined hands on this earth,
go to meet John and Alice,--which GOD grant may be at one and the
same time,--what weeping there will be among GOD’S poor!”--George
W. Cable, _Dr. Sevier_ (1883).

=Sewall= (_Judge_) Colonial judge in Massachusetts. He has left in his diary a circumstantial account of his courtship of Madam Winthrop, also a curious “confession” made by him in church of the “Guilt contracted upon the opening of the late Commission of Oyer and Terminer, at Salem.”--_Sewall Papers_ (1697).

_Sewall_ (_Rev. Mr._). Boston clergyman, liberal in opinion, and large of heart. He counsels the Lapham parents in their family perplexities, and becomes the not-too-willing sponsor of Lemuel Barker, a rustic aspirant after literary honors.--W. L. Howells, _The Rise of Silas Lapham_ and _The Minister’s Charge_.

=Sex.= Milton says that spirits can assume either sex at pleasure, and Michael Psellus asserts that demons can take what sex, shape, and color they please, and can also contract or dilate their forms at pleasure.

For spirits when they please,
Can either sex assume, or both; so soft
And uncompounded is their essence pure;
Not tied or manacled with joint and limb,
Nor founded on the brittle strength of bones,
Like cumbrous flesh.

_Paradise Lost_, i. 423, etc. (1665).

_Sex._ Cæneus and Tire´sias were at one part of their lives of the male sex, and at another part of their lives of the female sex. (See these names.)

Iphis was first a woman, and then a man.--Ovid, _Metamorphoses_, ix. 12; xiv 699.

=Sextus [Tarquinius].= There are several points of resemblance in the story of Sextus and that of Paris, son of Priam. (1) Paris was the guest of Menelāos, when he eloped with his wife, Helen; and Sextus was the guest of Lucretia when he defiled her. (2) The elopement of Helen was the cause of a national war between the Greek cities and the allied cities of Troy; and the defilement of Lucretia was the cause of a national war between Rome and the allied cities under Por´sena. (3) The contest between Greece and Troy terminated in the victory of Greece, the injured party; and the contest between Rome and the supporters of Tarquin terminated in favor of Rome, the injured party. (4) In the Trojan war, Paris, the aggressor, showed himself before the Trojan ranks, and defied the bravest of the Greeks to single combat, but when Menelaos appeared, he took to flight; and so Sextus rode vauntingly against the Roman host, but when Herminius appeared, fled to the rear like a coward. (5) In the Trojan contest, Priam and his sons fell in battle; and in the battle of Lake Regillus, Tarquin and his sons were slain.

⁂ Lord Macaulay has taken the “Battle of Lake Regillus” as the subject of one of his _Lays of Ancient Rome_. Another of his lays, called “Horatius,” is the attempt of Porsĕna to re-establish Tarquin on the throne.

=Seyd=, pacha of the Morea, assassinated by Gulnare (2 _syl._), his favorite concubine. Gulnare was rescued from the burning harem by Conrad, “the Corsair.” Conrad, in the disguise of a dervise, was detected and seized in the palace of Seyd, and Gulnare, to effect his liberation, murdered the pacha.--Byron, _The Corsair_ (1814).

=Seyton= (_Lord_), a supporter of Queen Mary’s cause.

_Catherine Seyton_, daughter of Lord Seyton, a maid of honor in the Court of Queen Mary. She appears at Kinross village in disguise.

_Henry Seyton_, son of Lord Seyton.--Sir W. Scott, _The Abbot_ (time, Elizabeth).

=Sforza=, of Lombardy. He with his two brothers (Achilles and Palamēdês) were in the squadron of adventurers in the allied Christian army.--Tasso, _Jerusalem Delivered_ (1575).