Being generally equipped as a corsair, the xebec is constructed with a narrow floor, for the sake of speed, and of a great breadth, so as to be able to carry a considerable force of sail without danger of overturning. As these vessels are usually very low built, their decks are made very convex, in order to carry off the water more readily. But, as this convexity would render it difficult to walk thereon at sea, particularly when the vessel rocks by the agitation of the waves, there is a platform of grating extending along the deck from the sides of the vessel towards the middle, whereon the crew may walk dry-footed, while the water is conveyed through the grating to the scuppers. The xebecs which the Algerines used, carried from 300 to 450 men, two thirds of whom were commonly soldiers. They had from sixteen to twenty-four

cannon.

XENIA (from the Greek word Zeviov); presents which were given guests among the Greeks and Romans. The Roman epigrammatist Martial (q. v.) inscribed the thirteenth book of his epigrams xenia. They are a number of distichs dedicated to his friends and patrons, and each contains praise or blame under the head of some subject connected with the table. Schiller's Musenalmanach for the year 1797 (Tübingen) contained more than four hundred distichs bearing the same name, and having reference principally to the then existing state of literature in Germany. They are ascribed to Schiller and Göthe.

XENOCRATES; an ancient philosopher, born in Chalcedon, and educated in the school of Plato, whose friendship he gained. Though of a dull and sluggish disposition, he supplied the defects of nature by unwearied attention and industry. Plato esteemed him much; but his want of polished manners often called forth his teacher's advice to sacrifice to the Graces. He travelled with Plato to Sicily, and after his death went with his fellow scholar Aristotle to Asia Minor, but soon returned. He succeeded Speusippus in the school of Plato, about 339 years B. C. He was remarkable as a disciplinarian, and required that his pupils should be acquainted with mathematics before they came under his care. He even rejected some who had not that qualification, saying that they had not yet found the key of philosophy. He recommended himself to his pupils not only by precepts, but more powerfully by example. Alexander sent some of his friends with fifty talents for

the philosopher. Not to offend the monarch, he accepted a small sum, about the two hundredth part of one talent. The courtesan Lais is said to have tried every art in vain to triumph over the virtue of Xenocrates. His integrity was so well known that, when he appeared in the court as a witness, the judges dispensed with his oath. He died in his eightysecond or eighty-fourth year, after he had presided in the academy for above twenty-five years. It is said that he fell, in the night, with his head into a basin of water, and that he was suffocated. He had written above sixty treatises on different subjects, all now lost.-He is to be distinguished from another Xenocrates, surnamed the Physician, who lived in the time of Tiberius or Nero, and of whose writings only one work, on the use of aquatic animals as food, exists. It gives a pretty complete idea of the knowledge then existing of the natural history of fishes and shell-fish.

XENOPHANES; a Greek philosopher, celebrated as the founder of the Eleatic school. He was a contemporary of Pythagoras and Anaximander, and is said to have attained to the age of a hundred years. Having been banished from his native city, Colophon, he went to Sicily, and thence to Græcia Magna. He settled, about 536 B. C., at Elea; and hence his system, and the school which he founded, derive their name. He did not remain satisfied with the opinions of his predecessors in philosophy, but made new inquiries into the nature of things. He attacked, in his silli, the mythological fables of the gods given by Homer and Hesiod, and inclined to an ideal pantheism. His chief doctrines are these: All Being is one, unchangeable, and perfect: this Being is called God. He is not to be represented under any human form; but all forms proceed from him, and he is able to do every thing. The apparent variety of things is not real. He is said to have maintained that every thing originated from earth and water, and to have considered the moon an inhabited body. He denied the possibility of predicting future events, and asserted that there is much more good than evil in the world. In general, he complained of the uncertainty of human knowledge. Of his poems, in which he treated of philosophical and other subjects, we have only fragments contained in the works of Athenæus, Plutarch, and others. The fragments of his didactic poem Пept vows have been collected in the Poesis philosophica of

Stephanus ; subsequently, and more completely, by Fülleborn, and recently by Brandis, German philologists.

XENOPHON; a celebrated historian and general, was born at Athens, about 450 B. C. He lived during a period in which the greatest political and intellectual excitement existed at Athens, and in which the most distinguished men, of whom he was one, appeared on the stage. Xenophon was a favorite disciple of the immortal teacher of wisdom, Socrates; and from his writings, especially his Apology, and the Memorabilia of Socrates, we learn the true spirit of the Socratic philosophy. Xenophon was less a speculative than a practical philosopher. He dedicated himself to that state in which he was born, and fought, together with his teacher, in the Peloponnesian war. When the Persian prince, Cyrus the Younger (so called in contradistinction to the founder of the monarchy), contended with his elder brother Artaxerxes Mnemon for the throne, the Lacedæmonians sent him auxiliaries, among whom Xenophon served as a volunteer. He became a favorite of Cyrus, who was defeated and lost his life in the plains of Babylon. The principal officers of the auxiliary army having been likewise killed in battle, or taken prisoners by artifice, and then put to death, Xenophon was selected to command the Greek forces, 10,000 men strong. They were in a most critical situation, in the midst of a hostile country, above two thousand miles from home, without cavalry, surrounded by enemies and innumerable difficulties; but Xenophon was able to inspire them with confidence, to repress insubordination, and to lead them home to Greece. They marched 1155 parasangs, or 34,650 stadia, in 215 days. This retreat is famous in the history of war. It has been compared to various retreats in modern times; for example, that of Moreau, in the south of Germany; but the circumstances are too different to admit of any proper parallel being drawn. Xenophon himself has described this retreat, and, at the same time, the whole expedition of the younger Cyrus, in his Anabasis, which has been geographically illustrated, particularly by James Rennell. That Xenophon is actually the author of this work has been proved by C. W. Krüger (author of the Vita Xenophontis), in his work De Authentia et Integritate Anabaseos Xenophonteæ (Halle, 1824). The expedition might have been forgotten, or, at least, very imperfectly known, had not the Grecian general been

so excellent a writer. Xenophon afterwards accompanied the Spartan king Agesilaus to Asia, on his expedition against the Persians. He enjoyed his confidence; he fought under his standard, and conquered with him in the Asiatic provinces, as well as at the battle of Coronæa. His fame, however, did not escape the aspersions of jealousy: he was publicly banished from Athens for accompanying Cyrus against his brother; and, being now without a home, he retired to Scillus, a small town of the Lacedæmonians, in the neighborhood of Olympia. In this solitary retreat, he dedicated his time to literary pursuits; and, as he had acquired riches in his Asiatic expeditions, he began to adorn the country which surrounded Scillus. He built a magnificent temple to Diana, in imitation of that of Ephesus, and spent part of his time in rural employments, or in hunting in the woods and mountains. His peaceful occupations, however, were soon disturbed by a war which arose between the Lacedæmonians and Elis. The sanctity of Diana's temple, and the venerable age of the philosopher, were disregarded; and Xenophon, driven by the Eleans from his favorite spot, retired to the city of Corinth. In this place he died, in the eighty-seventh year of his age. Besides the works already mentioned, Xenophon wrote the Banquet of the Philosophers, a counterpart of a composition of Plato, and several smaller works, relating to agriculture, politics, and the science of war; also a history of the Greeks, in seven books, and a continuation of the history of Thucydides, down to the battle of Mantinea; and the Life of Cyrus the Elder, more known under the name of Cyropædia. This celebrated production is not a real history, but rather a historical novel. It contains Xenophon's ideas respecting the best form of government; and the biography of the greatest ruler known time is embellished to illustrate the writer's principles. Xenophon considered the monarchical form of government the best; and his purpose seems to have been to recommend it to his countrymen. His style in general, and particularly in this work, is a model of elegant simplicity. Xenophon is therefore one of those classics which are particularly selected for the instruction of youth, though his philosophical works are not proper for beginners. The Greeks esteemed his merit as a writer so high that they called him the "Greek bee," and the "Attic muse." His works have been often published, sepa

that

rately and together. The most recent editions are by Schneider and Weiske. There is no other instance on record of a man who was at the same time so great a general, so excellent a writer, and so amiable a philosopher.-Another Xenophon, an amatory poet, lived towards the beginning of the third century A. D., was a native of Ephesus, and wrote a tale called the History of Habrocomes and Anthia.

XERES, Francis; a Spanish historian, who accompanied Pizarro in his conquest of Peru, and acted as his secretary. By order of the conqueror, he addressed a detailed account of this great expedition to Charles V. The work of Xeres appeared at Salamanca in 1547, folio, under the title Conquista del Piru: Verdadera Relacion de la Conquista del Piru y de la Provincia del Cuzco llamada la Nueva Castilla, &c. It is sometimes to be found at the end of Oviedo's Natural History of the Indies. The work of Xeres has been translated into Italian, and inserted by Ramusio in the third volume of his Collection of Travels and Voyages. Notwithstanding the great partiality of Xeres for the conqueror of Peru, his history is important, as he was an eye-witness of every thing he relates, and took an active part in the war which decided the fate of that beautiful country.

XERES DE LA FRONTERA; a town of Spain, in Seville, on the Guadalete; fifteen miles north-north-east of Cadiz, and thirty-two south of Seville; lon. 6° 15′ W.; lat. 36° 41' N.; population, between twenty and thirty thousand. It is pleasantly situated, surrounded with walls, the streets wider than those of Cadiz, clean and neatly paved, and some of the houses splendid. It is an ancient town, supposed to be built on the site of Asta Regia. In the environs is produced the wine called sherry, a corruption of Xeres. Some sweet wines are also produced in this neighborhood, of which the best known is the vino tinto, or tent wine. The country around is very fertile, and the climate delightful.-Near this town a battle was fought between the Moors and Goths, in 712, in which Roderic, the last king of the Goths, lost his life.

XERES WINE. (See Sherry.)

XERXES I, king of Persia, famous for his unsuccessful attempt to conquer Greece, began to reign in 485 B. C., and was the second son of Darius Hystaspes. (q. v.) He was preferred to his brother Artabazanes, who had been born before his father was raised to the throne; while

Xerxes was born after that event, and was the son of Atossa, daughter of Cyrus. This preference caused no struggle between the brothers. After having subdued Egypt in a single campaign, he thought himself able to execute the plan of conquering Greece, which had been already conceived by his father. He collected for this purpose an immense army. The historians estimate it at a million of men. In all probability, the Greeks greatly exaggerated the number of their enemies; and the train of women and slaves, who followed the army, made, at least, half of its numerical amount: still, however, the power of Xerxes was beyond all comparison superior to that of the Greeks. But these fought for their home and their freedom, and the Persian soldiers were hirelings. By means of a bridge of boats Xerxes crossed the Hellespont. The Greeks awaited their enemy on the frontier of their country, in the pass of Thermopyla. (q. v.) After the heroic Leonidas had fallen with his Spartans (see Leonidas, and Ephialtes), Xerxes pressed forward, and burned Athens, which had been forsaken by its inhabitants. The first naval battle between the two powers, at Artemisium, had been undecisive; but it inspired the Greeks with new confidence; and the second naval action, at Salamis (q. v.), in which, if we believe the Greek historians, two thousand Persian vessels were engaged against three hundred and eighty Greek, eventuated in the defeat of the Persians. Xerxes now quitted Greece, leaving behind him his best general, Mardonius, who, not long after, was entirely beaten at Platæœ. Xerxes himself returned from his expedition in the most humiliating manner. The bridge of boats over the Hellespont had been destroyed, and he passed the strait in a small fishing boat. He now gave himself up to debauchery: his conduct offended his subjects, and Artabanus, the captain of his guards, conspired against him, and murdered him in his bed, in the twenty-first year of his reign, about 465 years before the Christian era. The personal accomplishments of Xerxes have been commended by ancient authors; and Herodotus observes, that there was not one man among the millions of his army, that was equal to the monarch in comeliness or stature, or that was as worthy to preside over a great and extensive empire. Justin exclaims, that the vast armament which invaded Grecce was without a head. It is said of Xerxes, that, when he reviewed his

army from a stately throne in the plains of Asia, he suddenly shed tears on the recollection that, of the multitude of men whom he saw before his eyes, in one hundred years, none would be living. He is also said to have ordered chains to be thrown into the sea, and the waves to be whipped, because the first bridge which he had laid across the Hellespont had been destroyed by a storm. He cut a channel through mount Athos, and saw his fleet sail in a place which before was dry ground. The very rivers are said to have been dried up by his army as he advanced towards Greece, and the cities which he entered reduced to want and poverty.

XERXES II Succeeded his father, Artaxerxes Longimanus, on the throne of Persia, about 425 years B. C., and was assassinated in the first year of his reign, by his brother Sogdianus.

XIMENES, Francisco, cardinal, archbishop of Toledo, and prime minister of Spain, a great statesman, to whom Spain is very much indebted, was born in 1437, at Torrelaguna, a small village in Old Castile, where his father was a lawyer. He studied at Salamanca, travelled afterwards to Rome, and obtained a papal bull, which secured to him the first vacant benefice in Spain. The archbishop of Toledo refused to give him any place; and, Ximenes having manifested irritation upon this refusal, he caused him to be imprisoned. Ximenes, nevertheless, recovered his freedom, and the cardinal Gonzalez Mendoza, bishop of Siguença, appointed him his grand vicar. He afterwards entered the Franciscan order, became father confessor to queen Isabella of Castile, and, in 1495, archbishop of Toledo. He did not accept this dignity till after many refusals, and an express command from the pope. As an archbishop, he was very zealous, conducting as a father towards the poor, abolishing a multitude of abuses, and adhering steadfastly to his resolution, that the public offices should be filled with honorable and well-qualified men. He gave excellent rules to the clergy of his diocese, and, in spite of all opposition, effected a reform in the mendicant orders of Spain, founded, in 1499, a university at Alcala de Henares, and undertook, some years after, an edition of the Old Testament in six languages. (See Polyglot. Before this, in 1514, he had published, at Henares, an edition of the New Testament, in the original tongue. His activity was also displayed in other ways. Dissensions prevailed in the royal family. Philip of Austria, son of the

emperor Maximilian I, had married Joanna, the only daughter of Ferdinand the Catholic of Arragon, and of Isabella of Castile. After the death of the latter, Philip received the kingdom of Castile, in right of his wife, the sole heiress of her mother. This gave rise to disputes between him and his father-in-law, which were composed by Ximenes. After Philip's early death (1506), Ferdinand became regent of Castile, for his grandson, afterwards the emperor Charles V, who was a minor. On this occasion he had been much assisted by Ximenes. Ximenes now received from the pope the cardinal's hat, was appointed grand inquisitor of Spain, and had a great share in the affairs of state. But as he knew Ferdinand's jealous disposition, he left the court, and returned to his archbishopric. The conversion of the Moors, and the plan of wresting some provinces from these unbelievers, particularly occupied his attention. With this view, he formed the project of passing over to Africa, in order to take the fortress of Oran, which was in the possession of the Moors. He applied the income of his archbishopric (300,000 ducats), the richest in Europe, to this purpose. A mutiny which arose among a part of his troops, who disliked the idea of having a clergyman for their leader, he suppressed immediately by strict measures. In May, 1509, he landed on the coast of Africa. In the dress of an archbishop, over which he wore a suit of armor, surrounded by priests and monks, as if in a religious procession, he led the land forces. A battle soon followed in the neighborhood of Oran, in which the Moors were defeated. The fortress was immediately taken, and the garrison put to the sword. Ximenes caused Oran to be fortified anew, changed the mosques into churches, and then returned as a conqueror to Spain, where Ferdinand received him with much pomp. When the latter died, in 1516, his grandson Charles being still a minor, Ximenes became regent of Spain, and effected many important changes during his regency, which continued only two years. He brought the finances into order, paid the crown debts, and restored the royal domains which had been alienated. He humbled the Spanish nobility, who hated him on account of his pride and severity. He caused the laws to be observed, and placed the Spanish military force upon a respectable footing. All his plans and conceptions were great. He possessed great sagacity and firmness, was slow in decision, but quick in execu

tion. The Spanish cabinet was much indebted to him for the consideration in which it was held in Europe for a long time after his death. We have already mentioned that he was a patron of science. He was truly a great man. He has been accused, not entirely without foundation, of pride, severity, and even cruelty; but circumstances sometimes rendered such conduct necessary: his severity was particularly directed against the arrogance of the nobility of the kingdom. Upon various occasions he showed a benevolent spirit. Upon his entrance into Oran, when he saw the numerous corpses of the Moors who had fallen, he shed tears. 66 They were unbelievers," said he, "but men, who might have been brought to Christ. Their death has deprived me of the principal advantage of this victory." He died in 1517. His life, and his administration, have been the subject of various works.-See Histoire du Cardinal Ximénes, par Fléchier, Évêque de Nismes (Amsterdam, 1700), and the Historie von dem Staatsministerio des Cardinal Ximenes (Hamburg, 1791).

XIMENES, Augustin Louis, marquis de, a well-known French poet, descended from a family originally Spanish, was born in Paris in 1726. He was a soldier in his youth, and fought at the battle of Fontenai (May 11, 1745). He then became the associate of the most distinguished French savans of the eighteenth century, particularly Voltaire. Ximenes wrote some tragedics, among them Don Carlos;

a poem called César au Sénat Romain; and another, in which he illustrates the idea, that the sciences contributed as much to the glory of Louis XIV, as he did to their progress. Two Discours of his, one in praise of Voltaire, the other on the influence of Boileau on his century, are esteemed. He also wrote Lettres sur la Nouvelle Héloïse de J. J. Rousseau. His works appeared in 1772 and 1792; the later ones under the title of Codicille d'un Vieillard. Ximenes was a friend of the revolution, but without passion or selfishness. He took no part in the proceedings, nor did he hold any office. His last work is Discours au Roi. He died at Paris in 1817.

XIMENES, Leonardo; a distinguished mathematician, who died in Florence in 1786, in his sixty-fifth year. He did much for hydraulics and astronomy.

XIPHIAS. (See Sword-Fish.)

XUTHUS; the third son of Hellen and of Orseis. As he was passed over by his father in the partition of his lands, and his brothers expelled him from Thessaly, he went to Attica, where he assisted Erictheus against the Eleusinians, and married his daughter Creusa. (q. v.) But he was driven away again by his brothers-in-law, after he had founded the four cities of Attica. His sons were Achæus and Ion. (q. v.)

XYLOGRAPHY (from gulov, wood, and yoapw, I write); a name sometimes given to wood engraving. (q. v.)

Y; the twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, sometimes used as a vowel, sometimes as a consonant. It is a consonant at the beginning of words, in which cases it is produced by the emission of breath, whilst the root of the tongue is brought into contact with the hinder part of the palate, and nearly in the position into which the close g brings it, only a greater part of the tongue is pressed against the roof of the mouth. It has, in this case, the same sound with the Germanj, or the g in some parts of Germany. The letter y is derived from the Greek, which, however, had a different sound.

The Germans have entirely rejected it, except in names of persons. A few persons of the old school continue it, and some use it still in the case of seyn (to be), to distinguish that word from sein (his); but these are very few, and the distinction is unnecessary, as the context will always show which word is meant. In Spanish, the custom of using i instead of y, where this letter is a vowel, is becoming more general; thus, reyno, reynar, are now giving way to reino, reinar. The Romans either retained the Greek y in nouns originally Greek, and betraying a Greek origin, as physica, mythus, synodus, Harpyia, syste