dikes are from twenty to thirty yards in breadth at the bottom, and of sufficient width at the top for two carriages to pass abreast; yet the country has been exposed to heavy calamities from the sea's breaking over the dikes in storms. The soil is a rich, black mould, excellent for pasturage, and for the culture of madder, flax, cole-seed, &c. The exports are corn, madder, flax, salt, meat, linen yarn, rape seed and oil. The air is damp from exhalations of fresh water, productive of bilious complaints and agues. The majority of the inhabitants are Calvinists; there are, also, some Catholics, Lutherans, and Mennonists. (See Netherlands.)

ZEALAND, OF SEELAND; the largest of the Danish islands between the Cattegat and the Baltic, separated from Sweden by the Sound, and from Funen by the Great Belt; about sixty-five miles long from north to south, and sixty from east to west; square miles, 2800; population, 296,350. It has no mountains; but the surface is finely variegated, having small hills and fields of a fertile soil, intersected by canals, resembling, in some parts, in summer, when the ground is covered with vegetation, the country of Lombardy. It produces large crops of corn, and has excellent pasture. Besides several towns of considerable importance, it contains the fortress of Elsinore, or Helsingör, and the capital and royal residence, Copenhagen. (See Denmark, and Copenhagen.)

ZEALAND, NEW; two islands in the South Pacific ocean, discovered by the Dutch navigator Tasman, in 1642. He sailed along the eastern coast, and supposed it to be a part of the southern continent, then imagined to occupy these unknown regions. From the Dutch the newly-discovered country received the name of New Zealand. In 1769, Cook first discovered the strait which bears his name, and separates the two islands from each other, the northernmost of which is called Eaheinomauwe, and the southernmost Tavai-Poenamoo. They extend from 34° to 47° S. lat., and from 167° to 179° E. lon., with an area estimated at about 95,000 square miles. Lying about 300 leagues east of the eastern shore of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land, these islands have recently become the theatre of an active commerce between the New Zealanders and the British colonists in that region. During the year 1830, the total tonnage of vessels cleared out from New South Wales for New Zealand was 5888 tons; and of seventy-eight

vessels cleared out from Sydney, fiftysix were for New Zealand. These voyages were undertaken chiefly for the purpose of procuring New Zealand flax ; but it has also been customary for the vessels to land parties on different parts of the coast, to prosecute the whale and seal fisheries in the bays, which are frequented, at certain seasons of the year, by the black whale and the seal. Establishments have also been formed for the purpose of procuring spars for shipping, and timber for housebuilding; and several large vessels have been built here by English mechanics, assisted by the natives. (Busby's Authentic Information relative to New South Wales and New Zealand, London, 1832.) The church missionary society and the Wesleyan missionary society have both had settlements on the northern island for a number of years. The stations of the former are at the Bay of Islands and Kidee Kidee, sixteen miles from that place. About a dozen missionaries, with their families, reside here, and have established schools for the instruction of the natives. These circumstances, and the difficulties occasioned by the conduct of runaway convicts from New South Wales, have led the British government to establish an agent or resident in New Zealand. The latest accounts of New Zealand are to be found in Cruise's Journal of ten Months Residence in New Zealand (London, 1823); Earle's Nine Months' Residence in New Zealand, in 1827 (London, 1832) · and the work of Busby, above mention ed.—The fifth volume of the Library of Entertaining Knowledge, entitled the New Zealanders, contains a full and in teresting view of the islands and their in habitants. The language of the New Zealanders is radically the same with that spoken in Otaheite, in the Sandwich group, and in many other islands of the South sea. Its principal characteristic is the simplicity of its grammatical forms it has no distinction of gender; declension and conjugation are effected, as in English, by particles, and superlatives are made by reduplication. A Grammar and Vocabulary of the Language of New Zealand, compiled by professor Lee of Cambridge, was published by the church missionary society, in 1820. The English alphabet is used in this work, but is much less suitable for that purpose than the Indian alphabet of Mr. Pickering (of which an account is given in our article Writing). The New Zealanders are, perhaps, superior in vigor of mind and in forecast to all other savages who have

Inade so little advance in the arts of civilized life they are remarkable for their energy and self-denial in the pursuit of distant advantages; and their discernment in appreciating the benefits of civilization is equally striking. They are also remarkable for the ferocity with which they engage in the perpetual wars that the different tribes wage with each other; for a contempt of human life, which is the natural result of a warfare that aims at the extermination or captivity of the hostile tribe; and for the revolting practice of eating the flesh of the enemies they have slain, and even of their own slaves when pressed by hunger. It has been stated, in palliation of the character of the New Zealander, that this is a superstitious observance; but those who are best acquainted with them affirm that it is also the result of a preference for that sort of food. Their chiefs are hereditary, and of different ranks, forming, with their connexions, a kind of aristocracy, the principal members of which enjoy different degrees of authority; but the power of the principal chief of the tribe is absolute; and the great body of the people are in a state of slavery, and at the entire disposal of their masters, who put them to death on the slightest occasion, or from mere caprice. The food of these islanders consists of the root of the fern (pteris esculenta), which grows to a large size, and in the greatest abundance, in every part of the islands, and of potatoes, which are cultivated by the slaves. Many of the chiefs also possess herds of swine, but seldom or never use the flesh of the latter as an article of food, when they can dispose of it in trading with Europeans. (Busby, p. 60.) The New Zealander does not, like some savages, despise the habits of civilized life; nor is he, like others, incapable of appreciating its advantages. The use of fire-arms has become general among these islanders, and the whale fishery is carried on in canoes manned wholly by natives. They are also acquainted with the practice of agriculture, the art of weaving, and have some musical wind instruments. The dress of both sexes is the same, and consists of an inner mat or tunic, fastened, by a girdle, round the waist, and an upper cloak, both of which are made of the native flax. They are generally tall, strong, active, and well-shaped; the hair commonly straight, and the complexion brown. The practice of tattooing is common (see Tattooing); and the taboo (q. v.) also prevails here, as in many of the South

sea islands. Of their religious opinions we have no accurate account: they are said to have no temples, and do not appear to assemble together for purposes of worship. The face of the country is irregular and broken, presenting many lofty and steep mountains, interspersed with fertile valleys and lovely plains. Much of the land is covered by lofty trees; and where there is no wood, the prevailing plant is the fern, which rises to the height of six or seven feet. The cli mate is temperate, suffering from neither extreme of heat or cold: the soil is, in general, rich, as the profuse vegetation with which it is covered, and the extraordinary vigor of its productions, prove. (For an account of two of the most important vegetable productions, see Flax, New Zealand, and New Zealand Spinage.) The native land animals are not numerous: the most common is an animal resembling the fox-dog, which is sometimes eaten; the rat and bat are also found. The birds are very numerous, and almost all peculiar to the country; and the shores abound with fish. (See Australia.)

ZEALOTS, among the Jews; those who were zealous for the honor of God and his temple, and not unfrequently went so far that they stoned, or otherwise destroyed, supposed blasphemers, or Sabbath-breakers.

ZEBRA. (See Horse.)

ZECCHIN (in Italian, zechino, from zecca, the mint where the money is coined); the gold coin of the former republic of Venice. Certain gold coins of other countries, such as the papal dominions, some other Italian states, and Turkey, are also called zecchins. The Florentine zecchins are called gigliati, from the lilies of the grandducal arms impressed on them; and the Austrian zecchins, or ducats, particularly those of Cremnitz (q. v.), are called, in Italy, ungheri. The Venetian zecchins were equal to the Hungarian ducats in actual value, but stood from four to five per cent. higher in Venice. The Italian ducat, a silver coin, is to be distinguished from the zecchin. Gold ducats are rarely coined in Italy.

ZECHARIAH, OF ZACHARIAH; one of the twelve minor prophets, of whose history little is known. We are ignorant both of the time and the place of his birth. He is called the son of Barachiah, and was commissioned by God to exhort the Jews to undertake the restoration of the temple. Like the other prophets, he also preaches moral reformation. His obscurity has

mentators.

ZEELAND. (See Zealand.)

ZEGEDIN, or SZEGEDIN; a royal free town of Hungary, in Csongrad, near the conflux of the rivers Maros and Theisse; 60 miles north-west of Temesvar, 68 north of Belgrade; lon. 9° 56′ E.; lat. 46° 15 N.; population, 32,000; houses, 3800. It is surrounded by a mound and moat, has a brick fort, is one of the most considerable towns in Hungary, and contains a college of the monks called Piarists, a Catholic gymnasium, a small philosophical seminary, a monastery of Minorites, and several Catholic and Greek churches. It has some manufactures of woollens, leather and toys. Its commercial intercourse is considerable, its position, at the junction of two navigable rivers, giving it the command of an extensive water carriage. The exports consist chiefly of corn, cattle, wool, tobacco and timber.

ZEISBERGER, David, a missionary among the Indians, distinguished by his zeal in religious labors, and by the services which he has rendered to general philology, was born in Moravia, a province of Austria, whence he emigrated, when young, with his parents, to Herrnhut (q. v.), in Upper Lusatia, for the sake of obtaining religious liberty. In 1738, he went to America, and landed in Georgia, where, at that time, some of the United Brethren (q. v.) had begun a settlement for the purpose of preaching the gospel to the Creek nation. Thence he removed to Pennsylvania, and assisted at the commencement of the settlements of Bethlehem and Nazareth. From 1746 to his death, which took place Nov. 17, 1808 (when he was eightyseven years and seven months old), a period of sixty-two years, he was, with very few and short intervals, a missionary among the Indians, and made himself master of several of their languages. Those Indians among whom he lived loved him, and often referred decisions, even respecting disputes among different tribes, to him. He received no salary, wanting nothing but food and clothing, and liberty to preach the gospel. He was one of the oldest white settlers in the state of Ohio, and there, and in Upper Canada, dwelt with the Indians, who had given him the name of Anausseracheri (signifying On-the-pumpkin), with whom he endured the greatest hardships. He was chiefly acquainted with two Indian languages, the Onondago (one of the idioms of the Six Nations) and the Delaware, but anderstood other languages connected

pleted, about the year 1768, two grammars, one written in English and the other in German, and a copious dictionary (German and Indian), containing upwards of one thousand seven hundred pages. In the language of the Lenape (or Delaware), he published, in the year 1776, his first edition of a spelling-book, and, in 1806, his second edition, enlarged. Two other books were published by him in this language, the one sermons to children, and the other a hymn-book, containing about three hundred sixty pages, and upwards of five hundred hymns, translated partly from the English, partly from the German. He left, in manuscript, a grammar of the Delaware language, written in German, which has been translated into English for the American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, by Mr. Duponceau,and which the distinguished and learned translator pronounces to be the most complete grammar that we have ever had of any one of those languages which are called barbarous (see Indian Languages, Appendix to vol. vi); and also a translation into Delaware of the Harmony of the Four Gospels. Mr. Zeisberger's works are so important to the students of the particular dialects which he had learned, and afford so valuable materials to the general philologist, that we think it proper to add the titles of them, as they are enumerated in the Catalogue annexed to Mr. Duponceau's Report to the American Philosophical Society, in whose library they are deposited: Deutsch und Onondagoisches Wörterbuch; a Dictionary of the German and Onondago Languages (7 vols., 4to., MS.); a Grammar of the Lenni Lenape or Delaware Language (translated from the German MS. of the author by P. S. Duponceau, since published in the Transactions of the Philosophical Society at Philadelphia); Essay of an Onondago Grammar, or a short Introduction to learn the Onondago, alias Maqua, Tongue (4to., 67 pp., MS.); Onondagoische Grammatik (4to., 87 pp., MS.); another Onondago Grammar (in the German language, 4to., 176 pp., MS.) See a Narrative of the Mission of the United Brethren among the Delaware and Mohegan Indians, from its Commencement, in 1740, to 1808, by John Heckewelder (q v. (Philadelphia, 1820).

ZEIST. (See Zeyst.)

ZEITZ; formerly a Saxon city, but since 1815, has belonged to Prussia. is about twenty-three miles distant from Leipsic, on the right bank of the White

Elster, on a high mountain, contains 7000 inhabitants, manufactories of cloth, leather, &c. The town is very old, has four churches, and a gymnasium, a house of correction, an institution for the reformation of juvenile offenders, a good library with 12,000 volumes and many manuscripts. The former bishopric of Zeitz was founded by the emperor Otho I, in 968, in order to promote the conversion of the Wends (q. v.) to Christianity. In 1029, the bishops transferred their see to Naumburg.

ZELLE, or CELLE; a city of Hanover, in Luneburg, 128 miles west of Berlin; lon. 10° 14 E.; lat. 53° 42′ N.; population, including the suburbs, 9729. It contains five churches, two hospitals, a gymnasium, an orphan-house, a lunatic hospital, a school of surgery, a society of agriculture, &c. It is fortified, and tolerably built, situated on the Aller, which is here navigable, and, behind the New Town, is joined by the Fuhsee, and has some trade and manufactures. It contains the courts of appeal for the Hanoverian territory at large. It was formerly the capital of a duchy belonging to the house of Brunswick.

ZELTER, Charles Frederic, professor and director of the singing academy in Berlin, a man of much musical talent, was born in 1758, in Berlin. In his seventeenth year, he began to learn the trade of his father, a mason. All his leisure, however, was given to music. Bach's and Hasse's works first made him acquainted with the rules of scientific composition. At last his father forbade him the study of music altogether, because he neglected his trade. In 1783, he became a master mason. Being now independent, he became an active member of the singing academy above mentioned, of which he was made director in 1800. In 1809, he was made professor of music in the Berlin academy of arts and sciences, and founded the first Liedertafel (glee club) in Berlin. From this glee club numerous others proceeded in Germany, to which the amateurs of music are indebted for many beautiful tunes and songs. He composed many glees for this club. He also composed other music; but his glees and motetts (q. v.) are his best productions. He has done much towards improving vocal music in Berlin, a city perhaps superior to any in respect to the general diffusion of fine singing. Died '32. ZEMLIN. (See Semlin.) ZEMZEM. (See Mecca.)

ZEND-AVESTA (Living Word) is the

name of the sacred books which the descendants of the ancient Persians, the Guebers (q. v.) in Persia, and the Parsees in India, assert that they received, more than four thousand years ago, from their lawgiver, and the founder of their religion, Zoroaster (q. v.), or Zerdusht. English and French travellers, at an early period, gave some information respecting the religion of the Guebers and their sacred books. Anquetil du Perron (q. v.) learned, during his residence in India, the sacred language in which those books are written, brought copies of them to Europe in 1762, and published, in 1771, a French translation of the Zend-Avesta. English and German scholars soon raised doubts respecting the genuineness and antiquity of these writings, which occasioned disputes. Even the fire-worshippers (q. v.) themselves are said to have admitted that the real Zend-Avesta has long been lost. Their present books are said to be legends of the middle ages, and the religion of the present Guebers a mixture of ancient Greek, Christian, and perhaps even Mohammedan notions. Rask (q. v.), however, in his treatise On the Age and Genuineness of the Zend Language and of the Zend-Avesta (translated into German by Hagen; Berlin, 1826), maintains the genuineness of the ZendAvesta, at least of some parts; but who is the author he does not decide. The Zend-Avesta consists of five books, written in the Zend language. A part of it was revealed to Zoroaster by Ormuzd, the highest among good beings. They treat of Ormuzd, and of the antag onist principle of evil, Ahriman; also of the genii of heaven (the angels), the rewards and punishments of a future state, &c., and are read aloud during religious service. Another part consists of a collection of prayers, glorifications of the most important genii, moral sentiments, &c. These are by various authors, and written in various dialects. There are also historical and geographical notices contained in these books, which, however, seem to be capable of various interpretations. Respecting the contents of the Zend writings, see Rhodes's work, The Sacred Traditions and the complete Religious System of the ancient Bactrians, Medians and Persians, or of the Zend People (Frankfort on the Maine, 1820). The great work of M. Burnouf, secretary of the Asiatic society in Paris, will throw light on this subject. (See Burnouf, Appendix to this volume.)

ZENITH; an Arabic word, used in as

tronomy to denote the vertical point of the heavens, or that point of the heavens directly over the head of the observer. Each point on the surface of the earth has therefore its corresponding zenith. The zenith is called the "pole of the horizon," as it is 90° distant from every point of that circle. (See Nadir. The zenith distance of a heavenly body is the arc intercepted between the body and the zenith, being the same as the co-altitude of the body.

ZENO; a name which often appears in ancient history. Two philosophers of this name are particularly celebrated :— 1. Zeno, the Eleatic, of Elea, or Velia, a Greek colony in Magna Græcia, lived about the eightieth Olympiad (about 450 B. C.), at which time he went with Parmenides to Athens. He was a disciple of the Eleatic school, founded by Xenophanes. (q. v.) To him is ascribed the invention, or at least the developement, of dialectics, of which he made use with much acuteness for the defence of the Eleatic system. Of his writings, nothing has come down to us. According to Aristotle, he taught that there is only one being, which is God; that in nature there is no vacuum, and that motion is impossible. Seneca even asserts that he carried his scepticism so far as to deny the exist ence of external objects. He is represented as a man of noble spirit, full of vigor and patriotism. Failing in his attempt to deliver Elea from the tyrant Nearchus, he calınly endured the torture, and at length bit off his own tongue, in order to prevent himself from betraying his companions. It is said that he was at last pounded in a mortar; and that, in the midst of his torments, he called Nearchus to him, as if he wished to reveal something of importance. The tyrant approached, and Zeno, pretending to whisper, caught his ear with his teeth, and bit it off.

2. Zeno, the founder of the Stoic sect, was born at Cittium, a maritime town of Cyprus, about 366 B. C. His father was a merchant, who occasionally visited Athens, where he purchased many of the writings of the Socratic philosophers for his son, who early displayed a great propensity for learning. When he became a nian, he visited Athens himself, where he became the disciple of the Cynic philosopher Crates; but, wishing to extend the sphere of his knowledge beyond the narrow limits of a sect which prided itself in a contempt for all science, he forsook Crates for Stilpo, and various other mas

He

ters, finishing his course of study in the school of Polemon, who detected his pur pose of selecting materials for the forma tion of a sect of his own. The design he ultimately carried into execution, in a place called the painted porch, from its being adorned with the pictures of Polygnotus, and other eminent painters, and more generally the Stoa, or porch, whence all his followers acquired the name of Stoics. Zeno obtained great fame by the acuteness of his reasonings; and, his private character being also highly respectable, he was much beloved and esteemed by his numerous disciples, and even by the great. The Athenians placed so much confidence in his integrity, that they deposited the keys of their citadel in his hands, and decreed him a golden crown and a statue. He is said to have come rich into Greece, but he lived with great simplicity and abstemiousness; and the modesty of his disposition led him to shun crowds and personal distinctions. reached the advanced age of ninety-eight, when, hurting one of his fingers in a fall, he interpreted the accident into a warming to depart, and, repeating from the tragedy of Niobe, "Here I am; why do you call me?" went home and strangled himself, on the principle that a man was at liberty to part with life whenever he deemed it eligible to do so. The Athenians honored him with a public funeral and a tomb, with an inscription recording his services to youth, by his rigid inculcation of virtuous principles and good conduct. His death is dated in the first year of the 129th Olympiad (B. C. 263). As the founder of a new school, he seems rather to have invented new terms than new doctrines, and agreed in many points with his masters of the Platonic sect. In morals, he followed the principles of the Cynics, freed of their practical indecencies, which induced Juvenal to observe that the two sects only differed in the tunic. (For an account of his philosophy, see Stoics.)

ZENO, Nicholas and Anthony; two celebrated Venetian navigators of the fourteenth century, to whom the discovery of America, prior to the voyage of Colum bus, has been attributed. The story is as follows: Nicholas having set sail in a ship equipped at his own cost, on a voyage to Flanders and England (about 1388), was driven by a storm upon an island called by the inhabitants Friseland, which geographers suppose to have been one of the Faroe islands. Here he was kindly received by a prince of some