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Mencius

(Encyclopedia)Mencius mĕnˈshəs [key], Mandarin Meng-tzu, 371?–288? b.c., Chinese Confucian philosopher. The principal source for Mencius' life is his own writings. He was born in the ancient state of Ch'ao, in...

Halifax, George Savile, 1st marquess of

(Encyclopedia)Halifax, George Savile, 1st marquess of, 1633–95, English statesman. A protégé of the 2d duke of Buckingham, he was made Viscount Halifax (1668) and sat (1672–76) in the privy council. An oppone...

Gospel

(Encyclopedia)Gospel [M.E.,=good news; evangel from Gr.,= good news], a written account of the life of Jesus. Though the Gospels of the New Testament are all anonymous, since the 2d cent. they have been named Matth...

ink

(Encyclopedia)ink, pigmented fluid used for writing and drawing, or a viscous compound used for printing, both of various colors but most frequently black. The oldest known variety, India ink or China ink, is still...

Saxons

(Encyclopedia)Saxons, Germanic people, first mentioned in the 2d cent. by Ptolemy as inhabiting the southern part of the Cimbric Peninsula (S Jutland). Holding the area at the mouth of the Elbe River and some of th...

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley

(Encyclopedia)Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 1751–1816, English dramatist and politician, b. Dublin. His father, Thomas Sheridan, was an actor and teacher of elocution and his mother, Frances Sheridan, published two...

prophet

(Encyclopedia)prophet [Gr.,=foreteller], a religious leader and spokesperson, particularly used in the Bible. The prophets emitted messages from the divine through inspired speech, the interpretation of omens and d...

Lennox, Matthew Stuart, 4th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Lennox, Matthew Stuart or Stewart, 4th earl of lĕnˈəks [key], 1516–71, Scottish nobleman. Related to the royal family, being next in the line of succession to the throne after James Hamilton, 2d ...

Morton, James Douglas, 4th earl of

(Encyclopedia)Morton, James Douglas, 4th earl of, d. 1581, Scottish nobleman. A nephew of Archibald Douglas, 6th earl of Angus, he married Elizabeth Douglas, from whose father he inherited (1553) the earldom of Mor...

Malory, Sir Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Malory, Sir Thomas mălˈərē [key], d. 1471, English author of Morte d'Arthur. It is almost certain that he was Sir Thomas Malory of Newbold Revell, Warwickshire. Knighted in 1442, he served in the ...