While it cannot be proved retrospectively that any experience of possession, conversion, revelation, or divine ecstasy was merely an epileptic discharge, we must ask how one differentiates "real transcendence" from neuropathies that produce the same extreme realness, profundity, ineffability, and sense of cosmic unity. When accounts of sudden religious conversions in TLEs</p> [temporal-lobe epileptics] are laid alongside the epiphanous revelations of the religious tradition, the parallels are striking. The same is true of the recent spate of alleged UFO abductees. Parsimony alone argues against invoking spirits, demons, or extraterrestrials when natural causes will suffice. -- Barry L. Beyerstein, "Neuropathology and the Legacy of Spiritual Possession", The Skeptical Inquirer, Vol. XII, No. 3, pg. 255
Nine ships Tlepolemus, Herculean-born, For courage famed and for superior size, Fill'd with his haughty Rhodians. They, in tribes Divided, dwelt distinct. Jelyssus these, Those Lindus, and the rest the shining soil Of white Camirus occupied. Him bore To Hercules, (what time he led the nymph From Ephyre, and from Sellea's banks, After full many a city laid in dust.) Astyocheia. In his father's house Magnificent, Tlepolemus spear-famed Had scarce up-grown to manhood's lusty prime When he his father's hoary uncle slew Lycimnius, branch of Mars. Then built he ships, And, pushing forth to sea, fled from the threats Of the whole house of Hercules. Huge toil And many woes he suffer'd, till at length At Rhodes arriving, in three separate bands He spread himself abroad, Much was he loved Of all-commanding Jove, who bless'd him there, And shower'd abundant riches on them all.
As when a tempest from autumnal skies Floats all the fields, what time Jove heaviest pours Impetuous rain, token of wrath divine Against perverters of the laws by force, Who drive forth justice, reckless of the Gods; The rivers and the torrents, where they dwell, Sweep many a green declivity away, And plunge at length, groaning, into the Deep From the hills headlong, leaving where they pass'd No traces of the pleasant works of man, So, in their flight, loud groan'd the steeds of Troy. And now, their foremost intercepted all, Patroclus back again toward the fleet Drove them precipitate, nor the ascent Permitted them to Troy for which they strove, But in the midway space between the ships The river and the lofty Trojan wall Pursued them ardent, slaughtering whom he reached, And vengeance took for many a Grecian slain. First then, with glittering spear the breast he pierced Of Pronöus, undefended by his shield, And stretch'd him dead; loud rang his batter'd arms. The son of Enops, Thestor next he smote. He on his chariot-seat magnificent Low-cowering sat, a fear-distracted form, And from his palsied grasp the reins had fallen. Then came Patroclus nigh, and through his cheek His teeth transpiercing, drew him by his lance Sheer o'er the chariot front. As when a man On some projecting rock seated, with line And splendid hook draws forth a sea-fish huge, So him wide-gaping from his seat he drew At his spear-point, then shook him to the ground Prone on his face, where gasping he expired. At Eryalus, next, advancing swift He hurl'd a rock; full on the middle front He smote him, and within the ponderous casque His whole head open'd into equal halves. With deadliest night surrounded, prone he fell. Epaltes, Erymas, Amphoterus, Echius, Tlepolemus Damastor's son, Evippus, Ipheus, Pyres, Polymelus, All these he on the champain, corse on corse Promiscuous flung. Sarpedon, when he saw Such havoc made of his uncinctured friends By Menoetiades, with sharp rebuke His band of godlike Lycians loud address'd.
To whom the leader of the Lycian band. Tlepolemus! he ransack'd sacred Troy, As thou hast said, but for her monarch's fault Laomedon, who him with language harsh Requited ill for benefits received, Nor would the steeds surrender, seeking which He voyaged from afar. But thou shalt take Thy bloody doom from this victorious arm, And, vanquish'd by my spear, shalt yield thy fame To me, thy soul to Pluto steed-renown'd.
His noble friends conducted from the field The godlike Lycian, trailing as he went The pendent spear, none thinking to extract For his relief the weapon from his thigh, Through eagerness of haste to bear him thence. On the other side, the Grecians brazen-mail'd Bore off Tlepolemus. Ulysses fill'd With earnest thoughts tumultuous them observed, Danger-defying Chief! Doubtful he stood Or to pursue at once the Thunderer's son Sarpedon, or to take more Lycian lives. But not for brave Ulysses had his fate That praise reserved, that he should slay the son Renown'd of Jove; therefore his wavering mind Minerva bent against the Lycian band. Then Coeranus, Alastor, Chromius fell, Alcander, Halius, Prytanis, and brave Noëmon; nor had these sufficed the Chief Of Ithaca, but Lycians more had fallen, Had not crest-tossing Hector huge perceived The havoc; radiant to the van he flew, Filling with dread the Grecians; his approach Sarpedon, son of Jove, joyful beheld, And piteous thus address'd him as he came.
So spake Sarpedon, and his ashen beam Tlepolemus upraised. Both hurl'd at once Their quivering spears. Sarpedon's through the neck Pass'd of Tlepolemus, and show'd beyond Its ruthless point; thick darkness veil'd his eyes. Tlepolemus with his long lance the thigh Pierced of Sarpedon; sheer into his bone He pierced him, but Sarpedon's father, Jove, Him rescued even on the verge of fate.
Thus toil'd both hosts in that laborious field. And now his ruthless destiny impell'd Tlepolemus, Alcides' son, a Chief Dauntless and huge, against a godlike foe Sarpedon. They approaching face to face Stood, son and grandson of high-thundering Jove, And, haughty, thus Tlepolemus began.
CAVAIGNAC, LOUIS EUGÈNE (1802-1857), French general, son of J.B. Cavaignac, was born at Paris on the 15th of October 1802. After going through the usual course of study for the military profession, he entered the army as an engineer officer in 1824, and served in the Morea in 1828, becoming captain in the following year. When the revolution of 1830 broke out he was stationed at Arras, and was the first officer of his regiment to declare for the new order of things. In 1831 he was removed from active duty in consequence of his declared republicanism, but in 1832 he was recalled to the service and sent to Algeria. This continued to be the main sphere of his activity for sixteen years, and he won especial distinction in his fifteen months' command of the exposed garrison of Tlemçen, a command for which he was selected by Marshal Clausel (1836-1837), and in the defence of Cherchel (1840). Almost every step of his promotion was gained on the field of battle, and in 1844 the duc d'Aumale himself asked for Cavaignac's promotion to the rank of _maréchal de camp_. This was made in the same year, and he held various district commands in Algeria up to 1848, when the provisional government appointed him governor-general of the province with the rank of general of division. The post of minister of war was also offered to Cavaignac, but he refused it owing to the unwillingness of the government to quarter troops in Paris, a measure which the general held to be necessary for the stability of the new régime. On his election to the National Assembly, however, Cavaignac returned to Paris. When he arrived on the 17th of May he found the capital in an extremely critical state. Several _émeutes_ had already taken place, and by the 22nd of June 1848 a formidable insurrection had been organized. The only course now open to the National Assembly was to assert its authority by force. Cavaignac, first as minister of war and then as dictator, was called to the task of suppressing the revolt. It was no light task, as the national guard was untrustworthy, regular troops were not at hand in sufficient numbers, and the insurgents had abundant time to prepare themselves. Variously estimated at from 30,000 to 60,000 men, well armed and organized, they had entrenched themselves at every step behind formidable barricades, and were ready to avail themselves of every advantage that ferocity and despair could suggest to them. Cavaignac failed perhaps to appreciate the political exigencies of the moment; as a soldier he would not strike his blow until his plans were matured and his forces sufficiently prepared. When the troops at last advanced in three strong columns, every inch of ground was disputed, and the government troops were frequently repulsed, till, fresh regiments arriving, he forced his way to the Place de la Bastille and crushed the insurrection in its headquarters. The contest, which raged from the 23rd to the morning of the 26th of June, was without doubt the bloodiest and most resolute the streets of Paris have ever seen, and the general did not hesitate to inflict the severest punishment on the rebels. Entry: CAVAIGNAC
The will of the people was acknowledged as the supreme source of authority; and every free Circassian had a right to express his opinion in those assemblies of his tribe in which the questions of peace and war, almost the only subjects which engaged their attention, were brought under deliberation. The princes and nobles, the leaders of the people in war and their rulers in peace, were only the administrators of a power which was delegated to them. As they had no written laws, the administration of justice was regulated solely by custom and tradition, and in those tribes professing Mahommedanism by the precepts of the Koran. The most aged and respected inhabitants of the various _auls_ or villages frequently sat in judgment, and their decisions were received without a murmur by the contending parties. The Circassian princes and nobles were professedly Mahommedans; but in their religious services many of the ceremonies of their former heathen and Christian worship were still preserved. A great part of the people had remained faithful to the worship of their ancient gods--Shible, the god of thunder, of war and of justice; Tleps, the god of fire; and Seosseres, the god of water and of winds. Although the Circassians are said to have possessed minds capable of the highest cultivation, the arts and sciences, with the exception of poetry and music, were completely neglected. They possessed no written language. The wisdom of their sages, the knowledge they had acquired, and the memory of their warlike deeds were preserved in verses, which were repeated from mouth to mouth and descended from father to son. Entry: CIRCASSIA
HELEN, or HELENA (Gr. [Greek: Elenê]),in Greek mythology, daughter of Zeus by Leda (wife of Tyndareus, king of Sparta), sister of Castor, Pollux and Clytaemnestra, and wife of Menelaus. Other accounts make her the daughter of Zeus and Nemesis, or of Oceanus and Tethys. She was the most beautiful woman in Greece, and indirectly the cause of the Trojan war. When a child she was carried off from Sparta by Theseus to Attica, but was recovered and taken back by her brothers. When she grew up, the most famous of the princes of Greece sought her hand in marriage, and her father's choice fell upon Menelaus. During her husband's absence she was induced by Paris, son of Priam, with the connivance of Aphrodite, to flee with him to Troy. After the death of Paris she married his brother Deïphobus, whom she is said to have betrayed into the hands of Menelaus at the capture of the city (_Aeneid_, vi. 517 ff.). Menelaus thereupon took her back, and they returned together to Sparta, where they lived happily till their death, and were buried at Therapnae in Laconia. According to another story, Helen survived her husband, and was driven out by her stepsons. She fled to Rhodes, where she was hanged on a tree by her former friend Polyxo, to avenge the loss of her husband Tlepolemus in the Trojan War (Pausanias iii. 19). After death, Helen was said to have married Achilles in his home in the island of Leuke. In another version, Paris, on his voyage to Troy with Helen, was driven ashore on the coast of Egypt, where King Proteus, upon learning the facts of the case, detained the real Helen in Egypt, while a phantom Helen was carried off to Troy. Menelaus on his way home was also driven by stress of winds to Egypt, where he found his wife and took her home (Herodotus ii. 112-120; Euripides, _Helena_). Helen was worshipped as the goddess of beauty at Therapnae in Laconia, where a festival was held in her honour. At Rhodes she was worshipped under the name of Dendritis (the tree goddess), where the inhabitants built a temple in her honour to expiate the crime of Polyxo. The Rhodian story probably contains a reference to the worship connected with her name (cf. Theocritus xviii. 48 [Greek: sebou m', Helenas phyton eimi]). She was the subject of a tragedy by Euripides and an epic by Colluthus. Originally, Helen was perhaps a goddess of light, a moon-goddess, who was gradually transformed into the beautiful heroine round whom the action of the _Iliad_ revolves. Like her brothers, the Dioscuri, she was a patron deity of sailors. Entry: HELEN
The eastern shores of the Aegean, which the earliest historical records represent to us as the seat of a brilliant civilization, giving way before the advance of the great military empires (Lydia and afterwards Persia), are almost a blank in Homer's map. The line of settlements can be traced in the Catalogue from Crete to Rhodes, and embraces the neighbouring islands of Cos and Calymnos. The colonization of Rhodes by Tlepolemus is related (_Il._ ii. 661 ff.), and seems to mark the farthest point reached in the Homeric age. Between Rhodes and the Troad Homer knows of but one city, Miletus--which is a Carian ally of Troy--and the mouth of one river, the Cayster. Even the Cyclades--Naxos, Paros, Melos--are unknown to the Homeric world. The disposition of the Greeks to look to the west for the centres of religious feeling appears in the mention of Dodona and the Dodonaean Zeus, put in the mouth of the Thessalian Achilles. Entry: 6
The great work by which he is known is a "Universal History," but it deals more particularly with the history of the Arabs of Spain and Africa. Its Arabic title is _Kitab ul'Ibar, wa diwan el Mubtada wa'l Khabar, fi ayyam ul 'Arab wa'l'Ajam wa'l Berber_; that is, "The Book of Examples and the Collection of Origins and Information respecting the History of the Arabs, Foreigners and Berbers." It consists of three books, an introduction and an autobiography. Book i. treats of the influence of civilization upon man; book ii. of the history of the Arabs and other peoples from the remotest antiquity until the author's own times; book iii. of the history of the Berber tribes and of the kingdoms founded by that race in North Africa. The introduction is an elaborate treatise on the science of history and the development of society, and the autobiography contains the history, not only of the author himself, but of his family and of the dynasties which ruled in Fez, Tunis and Tlemçen during his lifetime. An edition of the Arabic text has been printed at Bulaq, (7 vols., 1867) and a part of the work has been translated by the late Baron McG. de Slane under the title of _Histoire des Berbères_ (Algiers, 1852-1856); it contains an admirable account of the author and analysis of his work. Vol. i., the _Muqaddama_ (preface), was published by M. Quatremère (3 vols., Paris, 1858), often republished in the East, and a French translation was made by McG. de Slane (3 vols., Paris, 1862-1868). The parts of the history referring to the expeditions of the Franks into Moslem lands were edited by C. J. Tornberg (Upsala, 1840), and the parts treating of the Banu-l Ahmar kings of Granada were translated into French by M. Gaudefroy-Demombynes in the _Journal asiatique_, ser. 9, vol. xiii. The _Autobiography_ of Ibn Khaldun was translated into French by de Slane in the _Journal asiatique_, ser. 4, vol. iii. For an English appreciation of the philosophical spirit of Ibn Khaldun see R. Flint's _History of the Philosophy of History_ (Edinburgh, 1893), pp. 157-170. (E. H. P.; G. W. T.) Entry: IBN
BARBAROSSA ("Redbeard"), the name given by the Christians to a family of Turkish admirals and sea rovers of the 16th century,--Arouj and Khizr (_alias_ Khair-ed-Din) and Hassan the son of Khair-ed-Din. As late as 1840, Captain Walsin Esterhazy, author of a history of the Turkish rule in Africa, ventured the guess that "Barbarossa" was simply a mispronunciation of Bábá Arouj, and the supposition has been widely accepted. But the prefix Bábá was not applied to Arouj by contemporaries. His name is given in Spanish or Italian form as "Orux" or "Harrach" or "Ordiche." The contemporary Arab chronicle published by S. Rang and F. Denis in 1837 says explicitly that Barbarossa was the name applied by Christians to Khair-ed-Din. It was no doubt a nickname given to the family on account of their red or tawny beards (Lat. _barba_). The founder of the family was Yakub, a Roumeliot, probably of Albanian blood, who settled in Mitylene after its conquest by the Turks. He was a coasting trader and skipper, and had four sons--Elias, Isaak, Arouj and Khizr, all said to have been born after 1482. Khizr became a potter and Isaak a trader. Elias and Arouj took to sea roving. In an action with a galley of the Knights of Saint John, then established at Rhodes, Elias was killed and Arouj taken prisoner; the latter was ransomed by a Turkish pasha and returned to the sea. For some time he served the Mamelukes who still held Egypt. During the conflict between the Mamelukes and the sultan Selim I., he considered it more prudent to transfer himself to Tunis. The incessant conflicts among the Berber princes of northern Africa gave him employment as a mercenary, which he varied by piratical raids on the trade of the Christians. At Tunis he was joined by Khizr, who took, or was endowed with, the name of Khair-ed-Din. Isaak soon followed his brothers. Arouj and Khair-ed-Din joined the exiled Moors of Granada in raids on the Spanish coast. They also pushed their fortunes by fighting for, or murdering and supplanting, the native African princes. Their headquarters were in the island of Jerba in the Gulf of Gabes. They attempted in 1512 to take Bougie from the Spaniards, but were beaten off, and Arouj lost an arm, shattered by an arquebus shot. In 1514 they took Jijelli from the Genoese, and after a second beating at Bougie in 1515 were called in by the natives of Cherchel and Algiers to aid them against the Spaniards. They occupied the towns and murdered the native ruler who called them in. The Spaniards still held the little rocky island which gives Algiers its name and forms the harbour. In 1518 Arouj was drawn away to take part in a civil war in Tlemçen. He promptly murdered the prince he came to support and seized the town for himself. The rival party then called in the Spaniards, by whom Arouj was expelled and slain while fleeing at the Rio Salado. Khair-ed-Din clung to his possessions on the coast and appealed to the sultan Selim I. He was named beylerbey by the sultan, and with him began the establishment of Turkish rule in northern Africa. For years he was engaged in subduing the native princes, and in carrying on warfare with the Christians. In 1519 he repelled a Spanish attack on Algiers, but could not expel his enemies from the island till 1529. As a combatant in the forefront of the war with the Christians he became a great hero in Islam, and dreaded by its enemies under his name of Barbarossa. In 1534 he seized Tunis, acting as capitan pasha for the sultan Suleiman. The emperor Charles V. intervened on behalf of the native prince, retook the town, and destroyed great part of Barbarossa's fleet. The corsair retaliated by leading what remained of his navy on a plundering raid to the Balearic Islands. During the remainder of his life--till 1547--Barbarossa, though still beylerbey of northern Africa, was mainly engaged as capitan pasha in co-operating with the armies of the sultan Suleiman in the east. He was absent from Algiers when it was attacked by Charles V. in 1541. In 1543-1544 he commanded the fleet which Suleiman sent to the coast of Provence to support Francis I. Barbarossa would not allow the bells of the Christian churches to be rung while his fleet was at anchor in the ports. He plundered the coast of Italy on his way back to Constantinople. When he died in his palace at Constantinople he was succeeded as beylerbey of Africa by his son Hassan. Hassan Barbarossa, like his father, spent most of his life in the Levant, but was occasionally in Africa when the influence of his family was required to suppress the disorders of the Turkish garrisons. He left it for the last time in 1567, and is said by Hammer-Purgstall to have been present at Lepanto in 1571. His last years are obscure. Entry: BARBAROSSA
CANROBERT, FRANÇOIS CERTAIN (1809-1895), marshal of France, was born at St Céré (Lot) on the 27th of June 1809 and educated at St Cyr; he received a commission as sub-lieutenant in 1828, becoming lieutenant in 1833. He went to Algeria in 1835, served in the expedition to Mascara, at the capture of Tlemcen, and in 1837 became captain. In the same year he was wounded in the storm of Constantine, receiving the Legion of Honour for his conduct. In 1839 he was employed in organizing a battalion of the Foreign Legion for the Carlist Wars. In 1841 he was again serving in Africa. Promoted lieutenant-colonel in 1846 and colonel of the 3rd regiment in 1847, he commanded the expedition against Ahmed Sghir in 1848, and defeated the Arabs at the Djerma Pass. Transferred to the Zouaves, he defeated the Kabyles, and in 1849 displayed both courage and energy in reinforcing the blockaded garrison of Bou Sada, and in command of one of the attacking columns at Zaatcha (December 1849). For his valour on the latter occasion he received the rank of general of brigade and the commandership of the Legion of Honour. He led the expedition against Narah in 1850 and destroyed the Arab stronghold. Summoned to Paris, he was made aide-de-camp to the president, Louis Napoleon, and took part in the _coup d'etat_ of the 2nd of December 1851. In the Crimean War he commanded a division at the Alma, where he was twice wounded. He held a dormant commission entitling him to command in case of St Arnaud's death, and he thus succeeded to the chief command of the French army a few days after the battle. He was slightly wounded and had a horse killed under him at Inkerman, when leading a charge of Zouaves. Disagreements with the English commander-in-chief and, in general, the disappointments due to the prolongation of the siege of Sevastopol led to his resignation of the command, but he did not return to France, preferring to serve as chief of his old division almost up to the fall of Sevastopol. After his return to France he was sent on diplomatic missions to Denmark and Sweden, and made a marshal and senator of France (grand cross Legion of Honour, and honorary G.C.B.). He commanded the III. army corps in Lombardy in 1859, distinguishing himself at Magenta and Solferino. He successively commanded the camp at Châlons, the IV. army corps at Lyons and the army of Paris. In the Franco-German War he commanded the VI. army corps, which won the greatest distinction in the battle of Gravelotte, where Canrobert commanded on the St Privat position. The VI. corps was amongst those shut up in Metz and included in the surrender of that fortress. After the war Canrobert was appointed a member of the superior council of war, and was also active in political life, being elected senator for Lot in 1876 and for Charente in 1879 and again in 1885. He died at Paris on the 28th of January 1895 and his remains received a public funeral. His _Souvenirs_ were published in 1898 at Paris. Entry: CANROBERT
BAZAINE, ACHILLE FRANÇOIS (1811-1888), marshal of France, was born at Versailles on the 13th of February 1811. He entered the army as a private soldier in 1831, with a view to service in Algeria, and received a commission as sub-lieutenant in 1833. By his gallantry in action he won the cross of the Legion of Honour, and he was promoted lieutenant in 1835. He served two campaigns with the Foreign Legion against the Carlists in Spain in 1837-38, returning to Africa as captain in 1839. During the succeeding decade he saw continual active service in Africa, and rose to be a brigadier-general with the charge of the district of Tlemçen. In the Crimean War he commanded a brigade, and maintained his reputation in the trenches before Sevastopol. On the capture of the south side he was appointed governor of the place, and was promoted general of division. He also commanded the French forces in the expedition to Kinburn. In Lombardy in 1859 he was wounded when in command of a division at Melegnano, and took a conspicuous part in the battle of Solferino. For his services in the campaign he received the grand cross of the Legion of Honour, of which he was already (1855) a commander. He commanded with great distinction the first division under General (afterwards marshal) Forey in the Mexican expedition in 1862, succeeded him in supreme command in 1863, and became marshal and senator of France in the following year. He at first pursued the war with great vigour and success, entering Mexico in 1863 and driving President Juarez to the frontier. The marshal's African experience as a soldier and as an administrator stood him in good stead in dealing with the guerrilleros of the Juarez party, but he was less successful in his relations with Maximilian, with whose court the French headquarters was in constant strife. Here, as later in his own country, Bazaine's policy seems to have been directed, at least in part, to his own establishment in the rôle of a mayor of the palace. His own army thought that he aspired to play the part of a Bernadotte. His marriage to a rich Mexican lady, whose family were supporters of Juarez, still further complicated his relations with the unfortunate emperor, and when at the close of the American Civil War the United States sent a powerful war-trained army to the Mexican frontier, the French forces were withdrawn (see MEXICO, _History_). Bazaine skilfully conducted the retreat and embarkation at Vera Cruz (1867). On his return to Paris he was but coldly received by his sovereign; public opinion was, however, in his favour, and he was held to have been made a scapegoat for the faults of others. Entry: BAZAINE