He, however, considered it his duty to advise the continuance of the war; which being determined on, no entreaties or supplications could prevent him from fulfilling his solemn engagement; and the Carthaginians, on his return, put him to death.

Republic, French. See FRENCH REPUBLIC.

Richard II., (1366–1400 a. d.,) King of England, was the son of the Black Prince, and succeeded his grandfather, Edward III., in 1377. (See Genealogy, I.) Richard showed no small courage and presence of mind on the outbreak of an insurrection provoked by the poll-tax. Meeting the insurgents, with their leader, Wat Tyler, in Smithfield, he persuaded them to disperse. This conduct gained him the confidence of the nobility, and augured well for his reign; but, though gifted with great talents, Richard was by no means adequate to the discharge of the royal functions; he was profligate, and governed by his favorites. Among them was the earl of Suffolk, who was made by Richard lord chancellor. On the king's refusal to remove his favorite from office, the king himself was deprived of power, (1386,) and the administration intrusted to a council of regency, at the head of which was Richard's uncle, the duke of Gloucester. The king resumed the government in 1389, when he made the celebrated William of Wykeham chancellor. The famous quarrel between the dukes of Hereford and Norfolk took place in 1398, when both were banished by the king. After the death of Lancaster, in the following year, Hereford (now duke of Lancaster) returned, professedly to claim his estates, which had been seized by Richard; he was joined by the Percys and other nobles, and on Richard's return from Ireland, made him prisoner at Flint, and compelled him to resign the crown. Richard was sent to the Tower, then to Pomfret Castle, where he is commonly said to have been murdered. But nothing is certainly known of his end, and there are strong grounds for believing that he soon escaped from Pomfret and lived in Scotland till 1417 or 1419. Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, (1585-1642,) Cardinal, Duke de, first minister of France under Louis XIII. Destined at first for the army, he turned to the Church on his brother's resignation of the see of Luçon, and was consecrated bishop of the see in 1607. He attended punctually to his episcopal functions, especially aiming at the conversion of Calvinists,

till 1614, when he was chosen deputy to the states-general. Having attracted attention by his eloquence, he was charged to harangue the young king, and was named almoner to the queen-mother, Mary of Medici. Two years later he became secretary of state for war and foreign affairs. He had at this time the protection of the queen's favorite, the marshal D'Ancre; after whose assassination, and the exile of the queen to Blois, he was banished from the court, first to his diocese, and then to Avignon, where he employed himself in writing theological works. He afterward managed a formal reconciliation between the king and the queen; was created cardinal in 1622; and in 1624 took his place in the council of state as first minister, a post which he held for eighteen years. He made himself absolute master of France, owning neither colleagues nor equals. His history for the rest of his life is the history of France, the government of which he chiefly contributed to make an absolute monarchy. In working out his policy, whether domestic or foreign, he was unscrupulous as to means. He broke the power of the nobility, put many of them to death, and imprisoned many more; he suppressed the Calvinists as a party in the state by his severe measures, and besieged and took Rochelle in 1628; while at the same time, to humiliate the house of Hapsburg, he aided the Protestants of Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Richelieu, meanwhile, like some other despotic ministers, distinguished himself by a liberal patronage of letters and the arts. In 1635 he founded the French academy; he greatly improved the royal printing-office; built the Palais Cardinal, since called Palais Royal, and rebuilt on a larger scale the Sorbonne. By the imposition of additional taxes he excited in his latter years general discontent, and conspiracies were formed to assassinate him. He died in 1642, having recommended Cardinal Mazarin as his successor. The remains of Richelieu were interred in the chapel of the Sorbonne, but were exhumed with others in the first years of the Revolution, and flung away, the head only being accidentally preserved.

Ripperda, John William, (1680-1737,) Baron de, a celebrated adventurer. He served some time as colonel of infantry in the Dutch army; and in 1715 was sent on a mission to Spain, where he acquired such an ascendency over Philip V. that the monarch took him into his service, made him chief minister, and created him a duke. At length he fell into disgrace, and was

imprisoned in the castle of Segovia, whence he escaped in 1728, and came to England. In 1731 he went to Morocco, where he was favorably received by Muley Abdalla, declared himself a convert to Mohammedanism, took the name of Osman, and obtained the chief command of the Moorish army at the siege of Ceuta. But the Moors being defeated, he fell into disgrace; and, retiring to Tetuan, he there died in 1737.

Robespierre, François Maximilien Joseph Isidore, (1759–1794,) one of the most violent of the French revolutionists. He was a lawyer by profession, and distinguished himself greatly at the bar. At the convocation of the states-general, in 1789, Robespierre was chosen deputy. He joined the Jacobin Club, and soon became one of its most influential members. His voice was raised against martial law, against the frequent punishment of death, and against slavery; and so invincible appeared to be his justice and integrity, that he obtained the title of "The Incorruptible." The flight of the king in 1791 gave Robespierre an opportunity of announcing clearly his republican views. In June of that year he was named public accuser, an office which he held till 1792. In the discussions respecting the fate of the king, he vehemently demanded his death, even without the form of a trial, as already condemned by the people. Robespierre was at this time one of the chiefs of the party named the Mountain, who were earnestly opposed by the Girondists. The influence of Robespierre prevailed, and the Girondists perished by the guillotine at the close of May, 1793. He had now virtually the power of a dictator, for in the Jacobin Club, in the Commune of Paris, in the Committee of Public Safety, and in the Convention he was supreme: the "Reign of Terror" had begun. The dictator set himself now to the establishment of a new worship. The Convention decreed "the Existence of the Supreme Being," and, on the 8th of June, 1794, Robespierre, in person, celebrated what he impiously termed "The Feast of the Supreme Being." But, powerful and secure as he appeared, his tyranny and mysterious denunciations had alarmed many of those who had been most intimately connected with him, and a conspiracy was formed for his destruction. Instead of acting with his accustomed decision, he secluded himself for more than a month; and when he again made his appearance in the National Convention, Sallien and others openly accused him; and, amidst cries of "A bas le tyran!" he, with his brother,

and his friends St. Just, Couthon, and Le Bas, were arrested and sent to the Luxemburg prison. In the night, however, he was set free by the keeper, and conducted to the hall of the Commune of Paris, where Henriot, commander of the national guard, and others, were waiting to receive him. Meanwhile his enemies proceeded to action. Barras and other commissioners, directing the military of Paris, seized the fallen tyrant and his associates; and he entered his solitary room with apparent indifference. Le Bas, having provided a pair of pistols, killed himself with one of them; and Robespierre, taking the other, put the muzzle to his mouth, intending to blow out his brains, but the ball only fractured his lower jaw. On the next day, July 28th, 1794, he and his associates were guillotined. The fall of Robespierre is the revolution of 9th Thermidor. It is the close of the Reign of Terror. The name of Robespierre is abhorred. But the lapse of time has calmed the natural agitation of terror and hate, and made it possible to be fair to him. It is now admitted that, while good qualities and great qualities are scarcely discernible in him, he has seemed worse than he He was not guilty of all the atrocities charged on him; some of his colleagues surpassed him in cruelty; the terror became more terrible during his retirement; and it was his hope and purpose to put an end to it. A "Life of Robespierre" has been written by G. H. Lewis.

was.

Romanows, The, in Russia, (1612 A. D.) The great men and nobles of the Russian empire, wearied with the confusions that prevailed, assembled for the purpose of deciding who should govern Russia. They passed three days in fasting and prayer. At length the nobles and the deputies of the states united their votes in favor of a boy of fifteen. Michaila Romanow, a son of the archbishop Philaretus, and grandson, by the mother's side, of the czar Ivan Vasilievitsch, was raised to the throne; and it was resolved that the czars should thenceforward be nominated from the family of Romanow, and invested with the sole power of the administration. Michaila ascended the throne of an humiliated empire: all the institutions of Ivan, and all the useful regulations that Boris attempted to introduce, had vanished; the exhaustion was universal, and the influence of Poland and Sweden predominant. The young czar conducted his measures for the restoration of the power of his kingdom, chiefly in a peaceable and imperceptible manner. The grandson of this Michaila Romanow was Peter the Great. The house

of Romanow gave eight rulers to Russia, and died out in 1730 with Peter II. (See Genealogy, XII.)

Rome, Foundation of, (about 750 B. C.) About 14 miles up from the mouth of the river Tiber, hills of moderate elevation rise on both banks of the stream, higher on the right, lower on the left bank. With the latter group there has been closely associated, for at least 26 centuries, the name of the Romans. From various settlements on these hills the city of Rome arose. The founding of a city, such as the legend assumes, is of course to be reckoned altogether out of the question: Rome was not built in a day. But the serious consideration of the historian may well be directed to the inquiry in what way Rome could so early attain that prominent political position which it held in Latium, so different from what the physical character of the locality would have led us to anticipate. This cannot have been the result of mere accident. The Tiber was the natural highway for the traffic of Latium; and its mouth, on a coast scantily provided with harbors, became necessarily the anchorage of seafarers. Moreover, the Tiber formed from very ancient times the frontier defence of the Latin stock against their northern neighbors. There was no place better fitted for an emporium of the Latin river and sea traffic, and for a maritime frontier fortress of Latium, than Rome. It combined the advantages of a strong position and of immediate vicinity to the river; it commanded both banks of the stream down to its mouth; it was so situated as to be equally convenient for the river navigator descending the Tiber or the Anio, and for the seafarer with vessels of so moderate a size as those which were then used; and it afforded greater protection from pirates than places situated immediately on the coast.

Rome, Burning of. See Appendix, page 184.

Rousseau, Jean Jacques, (1712-1778,) French philosopher. It was not till 1750 that he manifested his splendid literary talents. In that year he gained the prize offered by the Academy of Dijon, on the question, "Whether the revival of learning has contributed to the improvement of morals," taking the negative side of the question. From this period his pen became fertile and popular; but the appearance of his celebrated Letter on French Music," (1753,) in which he pointed out its defects, excited a general storm. Singers and connoisseurs, who could not wield

the pen, contributed to spread calumnies, pasquinades, and caricatures against the author, who retired to Geneva. Here he published "Julie, ou la Nouvelle Héloise," containing many new ideas about education. This was followed, in 1762, by "Emile, ou de l'Education;" which was anathematized by the archbishop of Paris, and ordered to be burnt by the Parliament of Paris and the authorities of Geneva. His famous "Contrat Social" appeared soon afterward, and this bold though superficial speculation on the condition and destiny of man and society alarmed and irritated men still more. Thenceforth his existence was passed in frequent changes of place, to escape real or fancied persecution, for his mind was now completely under the tyranny of the morbid habit of suspecting all his friends of insulting and conspiring against him. His last days were spent at Ermenonville, where he died suddenly, in 1778. Rousseau was the author of many works besides those we have noticed, all of them exhibiting his peculiar warmth and energy of style, and vigor of thinking. That he exercised a great influence over the opinions of his age at the period of the French Revolution, there can be no doubt; but his works, with all their fascination of splendid and passionate eloquence, have no place among the lights that men love and walk by. His social and political theories have no basis more solid than his personal feelings; and these he interpreted falsely.

Rubens, Peter Paul, (1577-1640,) the most distinguished painter of the Flemish school. He received an excellent education; and, after studying in his own country, he went to Italy, where he improved himself by copying the works of the best masters, but chiefly Titian. While in Italy he was employed by the duke of Mantua, not only as an artist, but on an embassy to Madrid. In 1620 he was employed by the princess Mary de' Medici to adorn the gallery of the Luxemburg with a series of paintings illustrative of the principal scenes of her life. While thus engaged, he became known to the duke of Buckingham, who purchased his museum. He was afterward employed by the infanta Isabella and the king of Spain in some important negotiations, which he executed with such credit as to be appointed secretary of the privy council. On coming to England with a commission from the infanta, he obtained the favor of Charles I. While there he painted the fine picture called "Peace and War," "William the

Silent," and the picture of "Charles I. as St. George; " for which he was knighted, and received a chain of gold. Rubens, beyond all comparison, was the most rapid in execution of the great masters; and, according to Sir Joshua Reynolds, he was the greatest master of the mechanical part

Salamis, Battle of, (480 B. C.) Salamis is an island lying between the western coast of Attica and the eastern coast of Megaris, and forming the southern boundary of the bay of Eleusis. It is separated from the coasts both of Attica and Megaris by only a narrow channel. It is chiefly memorable on account of the great battle fought off its coast, in which the Persian fleet of Xerxes was defeated by the Greeks, (480 B. C.) The battle took place in the strait between the eastern part of the island and the coast of Attica. The Greek fleet was drawn up in the small bay in front of the town of Salamis, and the Persian fleet opposite to them, off the coast of Attica. The battle was witnessed by Xerxes from the Attic coast, who had erected for himself a lofty throne on one of the projecting proclivities of Mount Ægaleos.

Sallustius, Caius Crispus, (B. C. 86-35,) a Roman historian, distinguished equally for his talents and profligacy. His name was expunged from the list of senators in consequence of his extravagance and shameless debaucheries; but being restored by Julius Cæsar, and made governor of Numidia, he there amassed an enormous fortune by acts of rapine. His Histories of the Jugurthine War and the Conspiracy of Catiline bear testimony to his genius; but the rigid morality paraded in his writings forms a strange contrast to the vices of his life.

Samnite Wars. See Appendix, page 185.

Samos, (440 B. C.) The word denotes a height, especially by the sea-shore. Samos is a large island in that part of the Ægæan which is called the Icarian sea. In the maritime confederacy which was organized after the battle of Salamis, under Athenian rule, Samos seems to have been the most powerful of the three islands which were exempted from paying tri

of his art that ever existed. His works are very numerous and very diversified in subject. There are nearly a hundred in the picture gallery at Munich. The "Descent from the Cross," at Antwerp, is perhaps his masterpiece.

bute. It was at the instance of her citizens that the common treasure was removed from Delos to Athens. But this friendship with Athens was turned into bitter enmity. Samos openly revolted, and a large force was despatched from Athens against it, under the command of 10 generals, two of whom were Sophocles and Pericles. After nine months, Samos was reduced to complete subjection.

Sardanapalus, (B. C. 950.) The true Sardanapalus was the mightiest conqueror of the Assyrian empire; and, instead of falling a victim to the power of the king of Babylon, it was he who first added Babylonia to the Assyrian empire. To use the words of his monuments, his conquests were pushed to Lebanon and the Great Sea, and the kings of all the chief Phoenician cities paid him tribute. Among them was Ethbaal, the father of Jezebel. This fixes his date. Sardanapalus is the first known of the Assyrian kings who left behind them those great works of architecture, which, lately disinterred from their mounds of shapeless ruin, have restored the monarchy to its true place in the history of the world; for while these palaces confirm by their magnitude the traditional splendor of the Assyrian kings, the scenes portrayed in sculpture on the walls exhibit a vivid picture of their life in war and peace.

Savonarola, Fra Girolamo, (1452-1498,) the great Florentine preacher and political reformer. Of a deeply reflective and even ascetic temper, which was confirmed by the frivolity and corruptions of the court of the princes of Este, he lived there in his youth a sad and solitary life; praying, fasting, and studying the Bible and the works of Thomas Aquinas. At the age of 23 he secretly left home and entered the Dominican order at Bologna. The presentiment that he was called to some extraordinary mission had been long fixed in his mind, and gave a tone to his preaching.

He distinctly announced the idea which pervaded all his discourses as it ruled his life"The church will be scourged and regenerated, and that quickly "—and produced the most extraordinary impression on the crowds who listened to him. He spoke with the fervor and authoritative tone of a prophet, and acquired almost unbounded influence, both political and social. The invasion of Italy by the French, under Charles VIII., appeared to be the fulfilment of the alarming warnings repeatedly uttered by Savonarola, who was twice sent ambassador to Charles. After the expulsion of Piero de' Medici, successor of Lorenzo, in consequence of his disgraceful submission to the French, to whom he gave up some of the chief cities of the republic, Savonarola rose higher and higher, was real though not nominal head of the state, restored the democratic form of government, reformed taxation, abolished usury, passed a general amnesty, and improved the administration of justice; not a sword being drawn nor any blood shed, and not even a riot taking place. Great social and moral changes gave the city a new aspect; but these fruits of mere legislation were very transitory. Meanwhile the Pope, Alexander VI., was persuaded by the banished Piero de' Medici to send an order to the magistrates of Florence to prohibit his preaching, which they did in March, 1498. Then followed the famous "ordeal by fire," the immediate result of which was the loss of his credit with the populace. He returned to San Marco, of which he had been prior since 1491, and, with a few faithful friends, awaited the inevitable end. An attack was made on the convent by his enemies; he and his friends were seized and imprisoned; and after repeated examinations with brutal torture, they were hung and then burnt in the Piazza at Florence, May 23d, 1498. The most contradictory judgments have been passed on this extraordinary man, and there are points in his life which must probably remain insoluble problems. But one thing is certain, that he was a man of rare sincerity and intensely in earnest. It is noteworthy that the results of his action do not appear to have lasted beyond his own lifetime, nor his influence to have been more than local. Many of his sermons remain, and are sufficient to confirm the reports of his marvellous power as a speaker, and to testify to his clearness of spiritual vision, his profound scorn for mere shows, his deep and tender human affections, and his high principles of morality. The best account of him is Villari's History of his Life and Times, of which an English trans

lation, by Leonard Horner, appeared in 1863. Perhaps the truest estimate of his character is that presented in "George Eliot's" fine story of Romola, in which Savonarola has a prominent place.

Saxe, Maurice, (1696-1750,) Count de, Marshal of France, was a natural son of Augustus II., king of Poland. After an unsuccessful attempt to get himself elected duke of Courland, he took service in the French army, distinguished himself in the campaigns of 1733-5, and was made lieutenant-general. In the war which followed the death of Charles VI., (see Appendix,) Count Maurice took a distinguished part. He captured Prague, defended Alsace, and in 1743 was named marshal of France. In the following year he held a command in Flanders. One of his most brilliant achievements was his victory over the English and Hanoverian forces at Fontenoy, in 1745. He was at the time "nearly dead with dropsy;" could not sit on horseback, except for minutes; was carried about in a wicker bed, and had a lead bullet in his mouth all day, to mitigate the intolerable thirst. Saxe was a man of great size and strength; intrepid, self-possessed, and, as a commander, famed for his ingenuity and dash; he was also one of the most dissolute men of his age.

Schiller, Johann Christoph Friedrich von, (1759-1805,) one of the most illustrious German poets. After having studied medicine, and become surgeon in a regiment, he, in his 22d year, wrote his tragedy of "The Robbers," which at once raised him to the foremost rank among the dramatists of his country. But some passages of a revolutionary tendency having incurred the displeasure of the duke of Würtemberg, Schiller left Stuttgard by stealth, and made his way to Mannheim, where, after various wanderings and many hardships, he got his tragedy of "Fiesco" brought out on the stage. The tragedies of "Cabal and Love" and "Don Carlos" were his next productions. In 1787 he repaired to Weimar, where he was welcomed with great warmth by Wieland and Herder. Here he made also the acquaintance of Goethe, which soon ripened into a friendship only dissolved by death. In 1789 he was appointed to a chair of history in the university of Jena, and beside lecturing to crowded audiences, he published his "History of the Thirty Years' War," and engaged in various literary enterprises, which had great influence on the literature of Germany. He