and eulogizes the great men of his nation. In the Roman Catholic church it has been held as canonical since the council of Carthage, whose decision was confirmed by the council of Trent. ECHELON (Fr., round of a ladder), in military language, the order of arrangement when separate bodies are drawn up behind each other obliquely, each to the right or left of the one preceding, so that the whole force presents the outline of a stairway.

ECHEVIN (Lat. scabini), a name given in France from the time of Charlemagne to the assessors in the provinces. They were royal officers, and appointed with the design of securing a uniform administration. At first they combined the administration of justice with that of finance, but in the 12th century the judicial functions were performed by other officers, and from that time the echevins were found only in cities. In Paris they were not only assessors, but had authority in matters of police relating to commercial affairs, till they were suppressed by the law of 1789, which organized new municipalities. ECHINADES, a group of islands in the Ionian sea, off the coast of Acarnania, near the entrance of the gulf of Corinth. They lay at the mouth of the Achelous, and were said to have been formed by the alluvial deposits of that river; and Herodotus says that many of them in his time had become reunited to the mainland. According to the legend, they were nymphs who dwelt upon the mainland at the mouth of the Achelous, but having forgotten on one occasion to pay their offerings to the god of that river, the angry divinity tore them away from their residence on the land, carried them out to sea, and formed them into islands. They took their name from the echinus, or sea urchin, in consequence of their sharp and prickly outlines. The largest of them was Dulichium, now a part of the mainland. Homer describes them as inhabited, but later writers speak of them as barren and deserted. At the present time they are the seat of 5 small villages, but are of little importance for their extent or productions.

ECHINODERMS, ECHINODERMATA (Gr. exos, a hedgehog, and depua, skin), a class of invertebrate animals, so named from the spines with which many of the species are covered. It includes a number of families, both recent and fossil, among which the echinidans or sea urchins, the stelleridans or star-fish, and the crinoideans, are the most prominent. The class is distinguished among the radiata by the animals possessing the power of locomotion, and being protected by a strong external covering. Though ranked as the highest class in Cuvier's 4th division of the animal kingdom, the radiata, it has been shown by Agassiz that they do not conform to the structure upon which this great division is founded, viz.: of organs disposed like rays about a common centre, which is the mouth or axis of the body. On the contrary, they have a bilateral arrangement of organs, or a right and left side, which really belongs to the other divisions. The order holothurida of this class has

long been regarded as a connecting link between the radiata and articulata. The echinoderms are found in all the fossiliferous formations, abounding especially in the oolitic and cretaceous. It is remarkable how little they have changed in their forms, most of the oldest fossils of this class being referred by Goldfuss in his Petrefacten to existing genera.

ECHINUS (Gr. exuvos, hedgehog), a genus of the echinoderms, the type of the class, and represented by the sea urchins or sea eggs common on our coast. They are animals inhabiting globular-shaped cases with flat bases, formed of calcareous plates accurately fitted together in rows of larger alternating with smaller plates, the former covered upon the outside with movable spines like coarse bristles. In some species they are 5 or 6 inches long, exceeding in length the diameter of the body. These spines fit by a ball and socket joint into little depressions, which occupy the centre of tubercles that cover the larger plates, and by the movement of the outer skin to which they are all attached, they admit of considerable motion. Beside these organs of motion, upon which the weight of the animal not buoyed up by the water is sustained, hundreds of tubular feet project through smaller tubercles upon the smaller plates. These being transparent are seldom noticed, but they may be thrust out beyond the spines, and having a little sucker at their ends, they serve to take hold of any object that comes in contact with them; and thus the animal may cause the shell to roll slowly, the spines aiding the motion. The tubular feet also serve to seize their prey, one foot after another fastening to it and passing it around to the mouth, which is in the centre of the under portion of the shell. This being furnished with a powerful arrangement of teeth, small shellfish and crabs are easily masticated. The echini are found of numerous species, fossil as well as recent. They first appeared in the epoch of the coal, and have since abounded in the later formations. In the greensand formation of New Jersey they are found in large quantities, beautifully preserved in the straw-colored limestone. The chalk of Great Britain is also a famous repository of them.

ECHO. Sound comes to the ear direct from the object producing it; and is returned, as light is reflected to the eye, from surfaces that intercept its progress. When the interval of time between the direct and reflected sounds is sufficient to be appreciated, a repetition of the noise is produced, which is called an echo. The same repetition of a flash of light from distant surfaces upon the earth would be perceived, were the velocity of light no greater than that of sound. The distance of the reflecting surfaces is thus an important element in the qualities of the echo. The time occupied by the passage of sound over the space of 100 feet may be appre ciated, inasmuch as 10 distinct impulses upon the sense of hearing may be distinguished in a second, during which time the sound at ordinary temperatures passes 1,125 feet, or at the freezing tem

perature 1,090 feet. Sounds reflected from the walls within ordinary buildings are confused, and do not form distinct echoes from their succeeding one another too rapidly for the ear to detect the intervals between them. But if the building be very large, distinct echoes may be produced in some parts of it, and these may be repeated several times by the wave of sound being reflected from surfaces at different distances, and consequently coming back at distinct intervals. A wave also may be reflected from one side to another, as a ball upon a billiard table, and at last, having traversed a space much greater than its extreme distance at any time, come back to the starting point. The analogy, however, is not complete in the case of concave surfaces, the waves of sound in these being concentrated, as the rays of light are concentrated in the focus of a concave mirror, and returned with increased effect. The number of distinct sounds that may be brought back depends upon the distance of the reflecting surface; the further off this is, the more time there is for a number of successive impulses to be sent forth before the first of the series can return to be confused with the direct sound of the last. If the surface be 500 feet distant, about one second is occupied by the sound in going and returning, and in this time 9 or 10 distinct sounds may be uttered. Such an echo may be a repeating one also, giving the same sounds several times over. They may come back in the same pitch, or each sound a note lower. An instance of the latter is cited by Dr. Charles G. Page in the "American Journal of Science" (vol. xxxvi., 1839). The locality is upon his father's grounds in Fairfax co., Va. Three reflections are given, the second much the most distinct, and 13 syllables may be distinguished. Twenty notes played upon a flute are returned with perfect clearness. Some notes in the scale, however, are not returned in their places, but are supplied by notes which are either thirds, fifths, or octaves, and the effects are observed to vary with the changes of the atmosphere or of the wind. Another echo is noticed in the same article, which has been observed between two barns at Belvidere, Alleghany co., N. Y. It repeats a word of 3 syllables distinctly 11 times, at whichever of the two the sound is made, becoming fainter each time. A person placed about midway between the two barns can distinguish a monosyllable as the sound traverses each way past him in quick succession to the number of 22 times. The distance apart of the two barns is not given. Back of each is a range of hills, the valley being that of the Genesee river. At the Simonetta palace near Milan an echo is spoken of in the "Philosophical Transactions" (1766), which repeats the sound of a pistol no less than 60 times. In this instance the experimenter is probably nearly midway between the two reflecting surfaces. The rolling of the thunder is in part probably a continuation of echoes returned from the clouds. The effect in the heavens may possibly be owing to the great difference of dis

tance from the observer along the line of an instantaneous flash, the sound of the more remote portions coming to the ear after that produced nearer by. The stunning crash sometimes heard may be when one happens to stand near the focus of a circular discharge, as within the dome of a cathedral. In large buildings of this class some very curious effects are often noticed resulting from the reflection of sounds from their walls; a slight noise is multiplied into a confused roar, or it may be reflected from some surface and conveyed to a remote part of the building with all its original clearness and distinctness. Though this is not properly an echo in the usual sense of a returned sound, it is a reflection of sound sent to another point by a different route than the direct one, and may therefore be classed with echoes. Whispering galleries are of this nature. Two points within the building stand in the relation to each other of the two foci of an ellipse, the ceiling presenting the ellipsoid reflecting surface more or less perfectly; the more perfect and extended, the more distinctly is the sound produced at one of the foci concentrated at the other, even when their distance apart is so great that the direct sound may not reach half so far. Were the ceiling in this case a bright mirror, the rays from a light at one of the foci would in like manner be reflected and concentrated at the other, illuminating the surface of any object, though the faint glimmer might scarcely be perceptible in the dark intervening space. Examples of these galleries are often met with in large structures. That of St. Paul's, London, is often cited. The gallery is 140 yards in circumference, and is just below the dome. The distance across is early as many feet. A whisper near the wall on one side is conveyed to a person on the opposite side, as a loud voice apparently close to his ear, yet it is not heard in the intermediate space. The shutting of a door produces a sound like a peal of thunder rolling among the mountains. To avoid the confused sounds produced by echoes in buildings designed for public speaking, and at the same time properly distribute the sound of the voice with all its distinctness, it is recommended to give to the apartment a length equal to 11 or 14 times the breadth, and a height somewhat greater than the breadth. The ceiling should be higher in the centre than at the sides, and should join these by bevelled edges. Its surface also should be broken into compartments and roughened by pendants.

ECHO, in Greek mythology, an oread nymph, daughter of the earth and air. She dwelt upon the banks of the Cephissus, not far from Athens, at the foot of Mt. Pentelicus, and became so desparately in love with Narcissus, son of the river, that she followed him through the forests, in the chase, to the darkness of grottoes, and to the borders of fountains, and ever repeated in solitary places the name of her beloved. Narcissus disdained her passion; and she retreated into the depth of the woods, and concealed her

self. There she pined away in secret, and no longer appeared among the choirs of nymphs. Only her plaintive voice was always heard in the distance, which occasioned the saying that her bones were changed into rocks, and her voice alone remained.

ECIJA (anc. Astigis), a city of Andalusia, Spain, on the Genil, 42 m. E. Ñ. E. of Seville; pop. 23,722. Its industry consists chiefly in the manufacture of woollens, leather, shoes, and saddlery. Some have supposed that Ecija was visited by the apostle Paul. It was the rival of Cordova and Seville, and for a long time a border town between the Moors and Christians, and the scene of many romantic adventures. Many inscriptions and relics of antiquity still exist here.

ECK, or ECKIUS, JOHANN MAYR VON, a German theologian, distinguished by his opposition to Luther, born in Eck, in Swabia, Nov. 13, 1486, died in Ingolstadt in 1543. The son of a peasant, he acquired, by a profound study of the Christian fathers and the scholastic philosophers, an erudition and skill in disputation which Luther and Melanchthon much admired. He was doctor of theology, canon of Eichstädt, and vice-chancellor of the university of Ingolstadt, when in 1518 he appeared as an adversary of Luther by his notes upon the theses of that reformer. He subsequently met Luther and Carlstadt in the conferences at Augsburg and Leipsic, but failing to convince them by his arguments, he repaired to Rome to urge more severe measures against them. He returned to Germany with a papal bull of condemnation, but at Leipsic the people had so warmly embraced the new doctrines, that he saved himself from violence only by retreating to a convent. He subsequently labored fruitlessly to reunite the divided church.

ECKERMANN, JOHANN PETER, a German literary man, born in Winsen, Hanover, in 1792, died in Weimar, Dec. 3, 1854. He is chiefly celebrated for his intercourse with Goethe, to whom he became first known by a volume of poetry which he published in 1821. He assisted Goethe in his last edition of his complete works, and was named in his will editor of his literary remains, which were accordingly published in 1832-'3. In 1839-40 he edited a complete issue of Goethe's works in 40 volumes; but the work which won for him much reputation was his publication of his conversations with Goethe, or Gespräche mit Goethe (3d and last volume, Magdeburg, 1848). Extracts of this work were translated into many foreign languages, including the Turkish. The first English translation was made by Margaret Fuller, and published at Boston, Mass., in 1839. Another English translation by Oxenford appeared at London in 1850. Eckermann accompanied Goethe's son to Italy in 1830; and on his return to Weimar he was appointed teacher of the hereditary grand duke. In 1836 he became director of the library of the grand duchess of Weimar. Of Eckermann's original poetical productions, those

published at Stuttgart in 1823 derive interest from their allusions to Goethe.

ECKFORD, HENRY, an American ship-builder, born in Irvine, Scotland, March 12, 1775, died in Constantinople, Nov. 12, 1832. At the age of 16 he was sent to Canada and placed under the care of his maternal uncle, Mr. John Black, a naval constructor of Quebec. In 1796 he removed to New York, where his skill in modelling and constructing vessels soon gave him ample employment. He was in the habit of obtaining from the commander of each of his ships an accurate account of her properties under all the casualties of navigation, and with the experience thus gained he endeavored to improve step by step upon each succeeding model. Many important changes in the hull and rigging of vessels date, from the commencement of his labors in New York, and the supremacy of that city in naval architecture became generally recognized throughout the United States. During the war of 1812 he entered into a contract with the U. S. government to construct vessels of war on the lakes, and soon had an excellent fleet afloat and equipped, notwithstanding that it was necessary to fell the timber in the neighboring forests, and to transport the rigging, sails, and other materials from the seaboard. Shortly after the war he constructed the steamer Robert Fulton, which in 1822 made the first successful voyage by steam to New Orleans and Havana. She was subsequently altered into a sailing vessel, and became the fastest sloop of war in the Brazilian navy. In 1820 he accepted the appointment of naval constructor at the navy yard in Brooklyn, where the line-of-battle ship Ohio was built from his designs. On the day that she was launched, however, he resigned his commission, in consequence of disagreements with the officers composing the bureau of construction. He subsequently constructed vessels of war for various European powers, and for some of the South American republics. Upon the accession of Gen. Jackson to the presidency he was invited to furnish a plan for a new organization of the navy, and the suggestions which he of fered, though not adopted, were considered judicious and practical. About this time he projected a work on naval architecture and the establishment of a professorship on that branch of science in Columbia college. In 1831 he built a sloop of war for Sultan Mahmoud, and received from that sovereign an invitation to enter his service as naval constructor. He accordingly took up his residence in Constantinople, where he organized a navy yard, and laid the keel of a ship of the line, which, however, he did not live to see completed.

ECKMÜHL, a village of Bavaria, on the river Great Laber, in the circle of Lower Bavaria, 13 m. from Ratisbon, memorable for the great victory gained here by Napoleon over the Austrians under the archduke Charles, April 22, 1809. Marshal Davoust, having especially signalized his valor during the engagement, was created

prince of Eckmühl. This battle, and the partial actions which had preceded it, cost Austria 25,000 men, and obliged the archduke Charles to retire into Bohemia, and to leave open to Napoleon the highway to Vienna.

ECKSTEIN, FERDINAND, baron d', a French publicist, born of Jewish parents in Denmark in 1790, became a convert to Lutheranism in 1807, and afterward to Catholicism. He studied in Göttingen and Heidelberg, took a part in the campaigns of 1812-'14, held various offices under the government of the Netherlands and of the Bourbons in France, who conferred on him the title of baron, and retired from public life in 1830. From 1826 to 1829 he conducted a periodical, Le Catholique, in which he advocated the religious views of De Maistre and De Bonald. He has since written for the Avenir, the Augsburg Allgemeine Zeitung, and various scientific periodicals, and enjoys a high reputation for his familiarity with the literature of Hindostan.

ECLECTICS (Gr. exλeyw, to select), a class of ancient philosophers who professed to select whatever was good and true from all the other philosophical sects, that they might combine it in a new system. They held Plato in the highest esteem, but did not hesitate to add to his doctrines whatever they thought conformable to reason in the tenets of the other schools, or to reject from his teachings whatever they disapproved. The eclectic system is supposed to have originated with Potamon of Alexandria, a Platonist; it was in a flourishing state at Alexandria about the beginning of our era; and it reached its perfection under Ammonius Saccas, who blended Christianity with his views, and founded the sect of the Ammonians, or New Platonists, in the 2d century. The moral doctrine of the Alexandrian school was, that the mind of man, originally part of the Divine Being, having fallen into darkness and defilement through its connection with the body, is to be gradually emancipated from the influence of matter, and rise by contemplation to the knowledge and likeness of God; and that this result, which is the great end of philosophy, is to be attained through abstinence, voluntary mortification, and religious exercises. In the infancy of this school, not a few professors of Christianity were led, by the pretensions of the eclectic sect, to think that a coalition might advantageously be formed between its system and that of the gospel; and this union seemed the more desirable when several prominent eclectics became converts to the Christian faith. The only consequence, however, was the corruption of the pure and simple doctrines of the New Testament, by their mixture with pagan ideas and opinions.-The term ECLECTICISM is also used by Victor Cousin to represent his own philosophical system. (See COUSIN, VICTOR.)

ECLIPSE (Gr. exλes, failure), the interception of light from one heavenly body by the intervention of another. An eclipse of the moon is the passage of the moon into the sha

dow of the earth. It is evident that this can only happen at full moon, and then only when the moon is nearly in the plane of the ecliptic, i. e. in the plane of the earth's orbit. These eclipses occur often, and are beautiful phenomena; but the edge of the shadow of the earth is not defined with sufficient sharpness to make lunar eclipses of much value to the progress of astronomy. Solar eclipses are caused by the earth's passing into the shadow of the moon, and of course occur only at new moon, and when the moon is nearly in the plane of the ecliptic. As the moon is much smaller than the sun, its shadow runs rapidly to a point, and never covers more than a small portion of the earth; hence the phenomenon of a total eclipse is very rarely seen. But as the cone of the moon's shadow is surrounded by a larger inverted cone of penumbra, i. e. of space in which the moon intercepts a part of the light, the opportunities of seeing a partial eclipse of the sun are much more frequent. The instant of entering the penumbra is sharply defined by an apparent indentation in the limb of the sun, and that of entering the shadow by the total disappearance of the sun. It sometimes happens that the moon is too far from the earth to allow her shadow to reach us, in which case persons in the centre of the penumbra see a ring of the sun surrounding the moon; this is called an annular eclipse (Lat. annulus, a ring). It is evident that solar eclipses afford the means of testing our calculations of the moon's motions, and of determining the longitude of places on the earth. The beginning and ending of the partial, of the total, and of the annular phases, and the distance apart of the ends of the indentation in the sun's limb, all may be calculated and observed with great accuracy, and the observations are of great use in correcting the assumed data of the calculation of the moon's motions, and the longitude of the places of observation. Total eclipses also afford opportunities for many interesting observations on physical phenomena, and on the emotions of the animal tribes; the most singular optical effect being the occasional issuing of rose-colored flames from the sun during the total phase. Eclipses of the sun by Venus and Mercury are called transits; they occasion an inappreciable diminution of light, are rare occurrences, and are of much astronomical utility. Eclipses of stars and planets by the moon are called occultations, and possess a value similar to that of solar eclipses. The eclipses in Jupiter's system are of 4 kinds: the satellites pass into the shadow of Jupiter, or may cast their shadow upon his face; they may pass between us and their primary, or may pass behind him. The last named eclipses were at one time the most important means of determining longitude at sea, as the eclipse gave the Greenwich time for direct comparison with the time at the ship. Solar eclipses and occultations, being of great use in determining longitudes, are calculated beforehand so accurately as to prepare the observer to be on the watch at the right

moment, which can be ascertained by means of an instrument invented by Thomas Hill of Waltham, Mass., which marks out on a chart of the sky the moon's apparent motions as seen from any part of the earth's surface.

ECLIPTIC (from eclipse, being the region of lunar and solar eclipses), the great circle in the heavens, in the circumference of which the sun appears to move during the annual revolution of the earth. This great circle makes an angle of about 23° 28' with the equinoctial or celestial equator (the great circle equidistant from the poles), which is called the obliquity of the ecliptic, and is evidently equivalent to the angle which the axis of the earth makes with a line perpendicular to the plane of its orbit. The points where the equator cuts the ecliptic are called equinoxes, because when the sun is there the days and nights are equal in all parts of the globe. The ecliptic is divided into 12 equal parts called signs: Aries T, Taurus 8, Gemini п, Cancer, Leo N, Virgo , Libra, Scorpio m, Sagittarius, Capricornus 15, Aquarius, Pisces. These signs formerly coincided with the constellations of the same names, which now occupy places about one sign to the east, so that the constellation Aries is in the sign Taurus, &c. The first point of is the vernal equinox, or point at which the sun ascends about March 20 to the northern side of the equator; the autumnal equinox is the first point of, where the sun descends south of the equator. The point at which the sun is furthest north, about June 20, is the summer solstice or solstitial point; this is the first point of; while the winter solstice is the first point of 13, reached by the sun about Dec. 20. The obliquity of the ecliptic suffers a diminution of about 48" in a century, but the limits of this diminution are said to be fixed. The equinoxes also move on the ecliptic in the direction opposite to the sun's apparent motion, at the rate of about 50.22" a year, which is called the precession of the equinoxes. The obliquity of the ecliptic also suffers a monthly annual variation, called nutation, arising from the action of the sun and moon upon the protuberant regions of the earth's equator, which makes the direction of the earth's axis slightly oscillatory. The effect of nutation is to cause the pole of the heavens to move in a minute oval about its mean position. That the obliquity of the ecliptic has not materially changed since the creation is shown by the fact in geography first pointed out by Peirce, that the principal coast lines and mountain chains either coincide with, or are perpendicular to, the line separating light and darkness when the sun is at the solstices. The whole of the present faunas and floras of the world are also adapted in their constitution to the present obliquity of the ecliptic and average course of the seasons. For it is evident that a perceptible change in the obliquity of the ecliptic would produce a change in the average temperatures of summer and winter, which would

drive plants further north or further south according to their ability to endure sun and frost. ECLOGUE, a pastoral poem. The names eclogue and idyl, both of Greek derivation, are given indifferently to short poems commemorating the events of rural life. The distinction which has been made, that idyl belongs to pieces in which the poet himself relates the event, and eclogue to pieces in which he conceals himself and introduces shepherds as actors, is not strictly observed.

ECUADOR, or EQUADOR, a republic of South America, lying between lat. 1° 35′ N. and 5° 50' S., and between long. 68° 20′ and 81° 12′ W. Its name is derived from its position under the equator. It is bounded N. by New Granada; E. by New Granada, Brazil, and Peru; S. by Peru; W. by the Pacific. The boundary lines between Ecuador and New Granada, Brazil, and Peru have never been definitely settled, the Ecuadorians claiming territory extending S. of the Amazon or Marañion, over which Peru asserts jurisdiction, and a tract lying between the Putumayo river and the cordillera of Caqueta, which is also claimed by New Granada. As how ever the territory thus disputed is as yet only inhabited by Indian tribes, its present value is comparatively small. The area of a country whose boundaries are so unsettled cannot be definitely ascertained. It is probaby not far from 250,000 sq. m.-The Pacific coast has many indentations, few of which, however, form good harbors. The principal gulfs are those of Guayaquil, at the mouth of the Guayaquil river, and that of Ancon de Sardinas, between the rivers Mira and Santiago. There are also 3 considerable bays, that of Caracas, S. of Cape Pasado; that of Mompiche, S. of Cape San Francisco; and that of Pailon, which is rather what the Scotch call a frith than a proper bay. The principal harbors are Guayaquil and Manta. The bays and gulfs are studded with a considerable number of islets, a few of them inhabited, and all adding by their rich tropical vegetation to the beauty of the scenery.-Ecuador is decidedly a mountainous country; the Andes extend over the greatest part of its territory, spreading out in elevated plateaus called paramos by the inhabitants, and rising in lofty peaks from these elevated plains. There are 3 principal cordilleras, or ranges of mountains, into which the Andes are divided, as they enter Ecuador from the north: the easternmost, which retains the name of Andes, and which as a whole maintains the greatest elevation; the western cordillera, or range, connected with the first by a broad plateau, having an elevation of from 10,000 to 16,000 feet above the level of the sea, and from either border of which shoot up the lofty peaks which stand like sentinels along the elevated plain; and, still nearer to the coast, a lower range extending in lines parallel or nearly so to the Pacific shore, beginning near the New Granadian line, in a knot or group of mountains which unites the 3 ranges, and losing itself in the salt marshes near the mouth of the Esmeraldas. The inhabitants of