The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 386

SADDA, the name given to a Persian epitome of the Zend-Avesta.

SADDUCEES, a sect of the Jews of high priestly origin that first came into prominence by their opposition to the Pharisees, being the party in power when Pharisaism arose in protestation against their policy as tending to the secularisation of the Jewish faith, or the prost.i.tution of it to mere secular ends. They represented the Tory or Conservative party among the Jews, as the Pharisees did the High Church party among us. The antagonism which thus arose on political grounds gradually extended to religious matters. In regard to religion they were the old orthodox party, and acknowledged the obligation of only the written law, and refused to accept tradition at the hands of the Scribes. They denied the immortality of the soul, the separate existence of spirits, and this they did on strictly Old Testament grounds, but this not from any real respect for the authority of Scripture, only as in accord with the main article of their creed, which attached importance only to what bears upon this present life, and which in modern times goes under the name of secularism. They were at bottom a purely political party, and they went out of sight and disappeared from Jewish history with the fall of the Jewish State, only the Pharisaic party surviving in witness of what Judaism is.

SADE, DONATIEN ALPHONSE FRANcOIS, MARQUIS DE, French novelist, who, after fighting in the Seven Years' War, was sentenced to death for odious crimes, effected his escape, but was caught and imprisoned in the Bastille, where he wrote a number of licentious romances; died a lunatic (1740-1814).

SaDI, a celebrated Persian poet, born at s.h.i.+raz, of n.o.ble lineage, but born poor; bred up in the Moslem faith; made pilgrimages to Mecca no fewer than 15 times; spent years in travel; fell into the hands of the Crusaders; was ransomed by a merchant of Aleppo, who thought him worth ransoming at a cost; retired to a hermitage near s.h.i.+raz, where he died and was buried; his works, both in prose and verse, are numerous, but the most celebrated is the "Gulistan" (the rose-gardens), a collection of moral tales interlarded with philosophical reflections and maxims of wisdom, which have made his name famous all over both the East and the West (1184-1291).

SADLER, SIR RALPH, a politician and diplomatist; was employed by Henry VIII. in carrying out the dissolution of the monasteries, and conducted diplomatic negotiations with Scotland; distinguished himself at the battle of Pinkie; enjoyed the favour of Elizabeth; was Queen Mary's keeper in the Castle of Tutbury; was the bearer of the news of Queen Mary's execution to King James (1507-1587).

SADOLETO, JACOPO, cardinal, born in Modena; acted as secretary under Leo X., Clement VII., and Paul III., the latter of whom created him a cardinal in 1536; was a faithful Churchman and an accomplished scholar, and eminent in both capacities (1477-1547).

SADOWA. See KoNIGGRaTZ.

SAFED (17), a town of Palestine, 12 m. N. of Tiberias, occupied princ.i.p.ally by Jews attracted thither in part by the expectation that the Messiah, when He appears, will establish His kingdom there; it spreads in horse-shoe fas.h.i.+on round the foot of a hill 2700 ft. high; is a seat of Hebrew learning.

SAFETY LAMP, name of a variety of lamps for safety in coal-mines against "fire-damp," a highly explosive mixture of natural gas apt to acc.u.mulate in them; the best known being the "Davey Lamp," invented by Sir Humphrey Davy; the "Geordie," invented by George Stephenson, both of which, however, have been superseded by the Gray, Muesler, Marsant, and other lamps; all are constructed on the principle discovered by Davy and Stephenson, that a flame enveloped in wire gauze of a certain fineness does not ignite "fire-damp."

SAFFI, or ASFI (9), a decayed seaport of Morocco, on the Mediterranean coast, 120 m. NW. of the city of Morocco; has ruins of a castle of the Sultans and of the old Portuguese fortifications; has still a fair export trade in beans, wool, olive-oil, &c.

SAGAR, a low island at the mouth of the Hugli, a sacred spot and a place of pilgrimage to the Hindus; mostly jungle; spa.r.s.ely peopled.

SAGAS, a collection of epics in prose embodying the myths and legends of the ancient Scandinavians, originally transmitted from mouth to mouth, and that began to a.s.sume a literary form about the 12th century.

SAGASTA, PRAXEDES MATEO, Spanish statesmen of liberal sympathies; took part in the insurrections of 1856 and 1866, and was for some time a fugitive in France; entered Prim's Cabinet, supported the elected King Amadeus, and since his abdication has led the Liberal party; has twice been Prime Minister; _b_. 1827.

SAGHALIEN (12), a long narrow island belonging to Russia, situated close to the E. coast of Siberia, from which it is separated by the so-called Gulf of Tartary; stretches N. from the island of Yezo, a distance of 670 m.; is mountainous and forest-clad in the interior; has excellent coast fisheries, but a cold, damp climate prevents successful agriculture; rich coal-mines exist, and are wrought by 4000 or 5000 convicts. Ceded by j.a.pan to Russia in 1875.

SAGUENAY, a large and picturesque river of Canada; carries off the surplus waters of Lake St. John, replenished by a number of large streams, and issuing a full-bodied stream, flows SE. through magnificent forest and mountain scenery till it falls into the St. Lawrence, 115 m.

below Quebec, after a course of 100 m.; is remarkable for its depth, and is navigable by the largest s.h.i.+ps.

SAGUNTUM, a town of ancient Spain, was situated where now stands the town of Murviedro, 18 m. NE. of Valencia; famous in history for its memorable siege by Hannibal in 219 B.C., which led to the Second Punic War.

SAHARA, the largest desert region in the world, stretches E. and W.

across Northern Africa, from the Atlantic to the valley of the Nile, a distance of 3000 m., and on the N. is limited by the slopes of the Atlas Mountains, and on the S. by the valleys of the Senegal and Niger Rivers.

The surface is diversified by long sweeps of undulating sand-dunes, elevated plateaux, hill and mountain ranges (8000 ft. highest) furrowed by dried-up water-courses, and dotted with fertile oases which yield date-palms, oranges, lemons, figs, &c. The most sterile tract is in the W., stretching in a semicircle between Cape Blanco and Fezzan. Rain falls over the greater part at intervals of from two to five years. Temperature will vary from over 100F. to below freezing-point in 24 hours. There are a number of definite caravan routes connecting Timbuctoo and the Central Soudan with the Niger and coast-lands. Dates and salt are the chief products; the giraffe, wild a.s.s, lion, ostrich, python, &c., are found; it is chiefly inhabited by nomadic and often warlike Moors, Arabs, Berbers, and various negro races. The greater part is within the sphere of French influence. "When the winds waken, and lift and winnow the immensity of sand, the air itself is a dim sand-air, and dim looming through it, the wonderfullest uncertain colonnades of sand-pillars whirl from this side and from that, like so many spinning dervishes, of a hundred feet of stature, and dance their huge Desert waltz there."

SAHARANPUR (59), a town in the North-West Provinces of India, 125 m.

N. of Delhi, in a district formerly malarious, but now drained and healthy; the population princ.i.p.ally Mohammedans, who have recently built in it a handsome mosque.

SAHIB (i. e. master), used in India when addressing a European gentleman; Mem Sahib to a lady.

SAIGON (16), capital of French Cochin-China, on the river Saigon, one of the delta streams of the Mekhong, 60 m. from the China Sea; is handsomely laid out with boulevards, &c.; has a fine palace, a.r.s.enal, botanical and zoological gardens, &c.; Cholon (40), 4 m. SW., forms a busy trading suburb, exporting rice, cotton, salt, hides, &c.

SAINT, a name applied to a holy or sacred person, especially one canonised; in the plural it is the name a.s.sumed by the Mormons.

ST. ALBANS (13), an old historic city of Hertfords.h.i.+re, on an eminence by the Ver, a small stream, which separates it from the site of the ancient Verulamium; has a splendid ancient abbey church, rebuilt in 1077; industries include brewing, straw-plaiting, silk-throwing, &c.; scene of two famous battles (1455 and 1461) during the Wars of the Roses.

ST. ALOYSIUS, Italian marquis, who renounced his t.i.tle, became a Jesuit, devoted himself to the care of the plague-stricken in Rome; died of it, and was canonised (1568-1591).

ST. ANDREWS (7), a famous city of Fife, occupies a bold site on St.

Andrews Bay, 42 m. NE. of Edinburgh; for long the ecclesiastical metropolis of Scotland, and a.s.sociated with many stirring events in Scottish history; its many interesting ruins include a 12th-century priory, a cathedral, "robbed" in 1559, a castle or bishop's palace built in the 13th century; has a university (St. Salvator's 1521 and St.

Leonard's 1537) the first founded in Scotland, and is still an important educational centre, having several excellent schools (Madras College the chief); since the Reformation its trade has gradually dwindled away; fis.h.i.+ng is carried on, but it depends a good deal on its large influx of summer visitors, attracted by the splendid golf links and excellent sea-bathing.

SAINT ARNAUD, JACQUES LEROY DE, a noted French marshal, born at Bordeaux; was already a distinguished soldier when he entered actively into the plans of Louis Napoleon to overthrow the Republic; a.s.sisted at the _coup d'etat_, and was created a marshal in reward; commanded the French forces at the outbreak of the Crimean War, and took part in the battle of the Alma, but died a few days later (1796-1854).

ST. ASAPH (2), a pretty little city in Flints.h.i.+re, 6 m. SE. of Rhyl; its cathedral, the smallest in the kingdom, was rebuilt after 1284, mainly in the Decorated style.

ST. BEES (1), a village on the c.u.mberland coast, 4 m. S. of Whitehaven; has a Church of England Theological College, founded in 1816 by Dr. Law, bishop of Chester; designed for students of limited means; a ruined priory church of Henry I.'s time was renovated for the accommodation of the college.

ST. BERNARD, the name of two mountain pa.s.ses in the Alps: 1, GREAT ST. BERNARD, in the Pennine Alps, leading from Martigny to Aosta, is 8120 ft. high, near the top of which stands a famous hospice, founded in 962, and kept by Augustinian monks, who, with the aid of dogs called of St. Bernard, do n.o.ble service in rescuing peris.h.i.+ng travellers from the snow; 2, LITTLE ST. BERNARD, in the Graian Alps, crosses the mountains which separate the valleys of Aosta and Tarantaise in Savoy.

Hannibal is supposed to have crossed the Alps by this pa.s.s.

ST. BRIEUC (16), capital of the dep. of Cotes du Nord, Brittany, on the Gouet, and 2 m. from its mouth; has a 13th-century cathedral, ruins of an interesting tower, lyceum, &c.; at the mouth of the river is the port Le Ligne.

ST. CHRISTOPHER or ST. KITTS (30), one of the Leeward Islands, in the West Indies archipelago, 45 m. NW. of Guadeloupe; a narrow mountainous island, 23 m. long; produces sugar, mola.s.ses, rum, &c.; capital is Ba.s.se-terre (7).

ST. CLAIR, a river of North America, flowing in a broad navigable stream from Lake Huron into Lake St. Clair, which in turn pours its surplus waters by means of the Detroit River into Lake Erie.