MYSTICISM

the 2oth century has seen a remark- able revival of interest in mysticism. several causes have con- tributed to this. first, the inevitable reaction against 19th cen- tury rationalism, with its excessive emphasis on the ethical and neglect of the transcendental in religion. next, the disturbance of traditional theology by textual criticism and historical and scientific research, forcing many religious minds to look else- where for the grounds of belief. thirdly, the application of the comparative method to records of religious experience, especially that intensive form which claims direct intuitive apprehension of god (and this is the kernel of mysticism) disclosed remarkable unity between them; and the development of psychology brought within the range of that science many “ mystical phenomena ” which had formerly been dismissed unexamined, as the products of superstition or of mental disease. the fresh material brought in from the study of oriental reli- gions has also supported the claim of mysticism to be regarded as a genuine form of human experience. finally, in opposition to the merely moral and humanitarian view of christianity popu- larised by liberal protestantism and social reformers, this cen- tury has produced a number of records of contemporary mystical experience. thus there have becn both additions to the material accessible to students, and advances in the proper arrangement and understanding of facts. no well-informed person now identi- fies the substance of mysticism with trances, ecstasies or other psychophysical phenomena, or regards it as necessarily hostile to dogmatic theology. modern study.—modern study of the subject may be said to begin with dean inge’s bampton lectures on christian mysti- cism (1899). it has since been pursued along the parallel routes of psychology, history and philosophy of religion. these aspects of mysticism cannot rigidly be separated, or indeed understood in isolation; each being of vital importance to the rest. the peculiar triumph of the greatest modern writer on mysticism, baron friedrich von hiigel, consists in the synthesis effected between the historical, philosophical and intuitive aspects of man’s experience of god. tue psycholocy or mystticismm the serious study of mysticism, especially from the psy- chological point of view, and attempt to discover its relation to other forms of consciousness, originates in william james’s epoch- making gifford lectures on the varieties of religious ex peri- ioi3 ence (1902). although based on material chosen from too re- stricted a field, the publication of this book revolutionised the attitude of students towards religious psychology. the concep- tion of the subconscious was now first used to provide an explanation and sanction for the ecstatic and other abnormal phe- nomena found in connection with mysticism, and an attempt was made to distinguish the accompaniments of genuine relig- ious apprehension from their pathological imitations. these researches have continued vigorously, especially in america and france. pratt’s religious consciousness (1921) represents the matured result of the movement started by james. considerable advance has been made towards the correlation and better understanding of such types as the prophet, visionary and religious revivalist, in all of whom a strong mystical impulse is commonly at work. the hostile study of mysticism from the psychological ‘standpoint has its chief exponent in j. h. leuba; whilst an approach midway between the philosophical and psy- chological is provided by bucke’s cosmic consciousness, a curious work which has exercised considerable influence. realisation of the close correspondence between the abnormal phenomena of mysticism and those connected with other forms of mental exaltation, healthy and diseased, has caused an at- tempt to distinguish the essence of mysticism—intuitive experi- ence of absolute reality—from the ecstatic states often accom- panying it. this may be the line along which the apologetic of the future will move. characteristic of the revival is the import- ant part taken by french writers. effective criticism of mystical phenomena has come from experimental psychologists such as pierre janet. delacroix’s sympathetic but penetrating analyses of the evolution of the great mystics have shed much light on the psychological characteristics of religious genius. valuable studies of the nature of mystical contemplation, and restatement in mod- ern terms of its processes, have been produced by roman catho- lic scholars; the best being those of pere poulain, s.j. these works have a practical as well as a scientific objective. on the whole, the general result of the application of psychological cri- teria to mystical experience has been to establish the claim of psychology to explain the special methods and characteristics of the mystic, and disestablish the claim of certain schools of psychology to explain away the reality of his experience. the ilistory of the movement the modern psychological study of mystical phenomena has illuminated many historical problems; especially those connected with prophecy and the origins of religious movements. it has also stimulated interest in the records of empirical religion in its intensest form—the lives and writings of mystical seers and saints. the contribution of mvstical experience to the religious outlook of such apparent intellectualists as, e.g., st. augustine or aquinas is beginning to be understood; together with the great part played in religious history by mystics and their articulation to the corporate religious life. the treatment of the subject in such works as ijeiler’s das gebet and der katholizismus or bre- mond’s monumental histoire du sentiment religicux en france, is symptomatic of the changed outlook. material available for students of historical mysticism has been much enriched. good texts and translations of many masterpieces of european mys- ticism have appeared, with valuable studies such as those of abbot butler and rufus jones, based on the historical method. siifi mysticism, once only known to oriental scholars, can now— thanks mainly to the work of reynold nicholson—be compared with that of the west. such studies are seen to have an impor- tant bearing on the history of ideas; and the substantial identity of experience which they reveal has proved that mysticism must be regarded as an enduring type of human apprehension. - ‘the changed outlook of physical science, the new understand- ing of its limitations and the marked revolt from 1roth-century materialism, have brought about a rapprochement between mysticism and philosophy. there is a tendency alike in monists, critical realists and exponents of the “ philosophy of value” to consider seriously the claims and findings of the mystic, which are congenial to the pantheistic temper of modern religious ioi4 thought. on the other hand, those hostile to pantheistic doctrine find in the mystic’s intuition of god a warrant for transcenden- talism; and even show some willingness to reinstate in suitable disguise the ancient concept of supernature. inge’s philosophy of plotinus (1918) and otto’s widely discussed essay der ffeilige (the idea of the holy, 1924) show different aspects of the re- action of philosophy to mysticism. but this is also felt in the pure metaphysics of wittgenstein, and in the inimical attitude of croce and his school. the greatest and ultimately most influ- ential expositions of the place of mysticism in theistic philosophy, and its limitations and rightful relation with other aspects of knowledge, are von hiigel’s af ysticul element of religion and eternal life. these books have affected all modern religious thinkers, and may provide the starting-point of a critical realism harmonising the mystical, moral and intellectual approaches to reality. in america, hocking’s meaning of god in human ex- perience is probably the most important philosophic contribution to this subject. : modern mystics —the first quarter of the 20th century saw, especially in france, a revival of genuine christian mysticism; possibly the beginning of what later historians may recognise as a ‘“‘mystical epoch.” its most impressive document is the spiritual journal of the lady known as lucie-christine (1844-1908), a rec- ord which bears comparison with the historical classics of mysti- cism. its most striking product is the career of the hermit saint of the sahara, charles de foucauld (1858-1916). these stand up among a number of more obscure personalities, such as eliza- beth de la trinite (1880-1906) and madeleine semer (1874- 1921), all of whom claim and describe with a conviction and so- briety compelling respect the characteristic mystical experience and certitude. from india, the autobiography of the saintly hindu theist maharshi devendranath tagore (1817-1905), and mysticism the experiences of the christian convert sadhu sundar singh (born 1889), whose career and personality have made a wide- spread impression, provide unspoilt examples of first-hand mys- ticism, and deepen the sense of unity in the spiritual intuitions. the revived interest in mysticism has had popular results in several directions. it has seemed to endorse the shallow eclecti- cism in which many escape the difficulties of belief. its super- ficial peculiarities have been exploited by theosophists and other apostles of eccentric religiosity. it has produced numerous bastard cults, mostly hailing from america though often wearing oriental disguise; cults mainly compounded of pantheism, quiet- ism and crude autosuggestion, and offering a “ mystical religion” to those seeking a spiritual home full of modern conveniences and devoid of discipline. on the other hand, its spirit has affected for good the literature and activity of the organised churches; shifting the emphasis from tradition to experience, and bringing back into focus those mysterious realities which religious symbols and institutions seek to express. brnirocrapiy.—h. delacroix, etudes d’histotre et dela psychologie du mystictsme (1908); f. von hiigel, eternal life (1912); r. a. nicholson, afystics of islam (1914); h. bremond, histoire latteratre du sentiment religieux en france, 6 vol. (1916-23); w. e. hock- ing, the meaning of god in human experience (1918); w. r. inge, the philosophy of plotinus, 2 vol. (1918); f. weiler, sections on mysticism in das gebet (1920); r. a. nicholson, studies tn islamic mvsticism (cambridge, 1921); j. b. pratt, sections on mysticism in the religious consciousness (1921); dom. c. butler, western mysticism (1922); a. poulain, des graces d’oratson, traite de theologie mystique, 10th ed. (1922); f. heiler, sections on mysticism in der katholizgismus (munich, 1923); f. von hiigel, the afystecal element of religion, 2nd ed. (1923); r. thouless /ntroduction to the psychology of religion (cambridge, 1923); r. otto, the idea of the hoty (oxford, 1924); evelyn underhill, af ysticism, roth ed. (1924); j. ul. leuba, the psychology of religious mfysticism (1925), evelyn underhill, the mystics of the church (1925). (eu) nairobi—nansen (see 19.155). in 1923 the population was: europeans 3,071, asiatics 8,356, africans 12,666, total 24,093. nairobi is the seat of the kenya legislature and the headquarters of most of the european organisations in the colony. nearly all the whites are british, and the town has most of the amenities of a european city. both the standard and the cost of living are high. laid out on a large scale, nairobi was still in the transition stage in 1926, but had many fine private and public buildings. the main thoroughfares are gov- ernment road, in which numbers of shops and offices are owned by indians, and sixth avenue. parklands is a residential suburb for europeans. a natural history museum, in kirk road, was opened in 1922. the indian bazaar covers nine acres. the natives occupy a separate location. a branch railway runs to the foot of mt. kenya. nairobi is governed by an elected munici- pality, with separate franchise rolls for europeans and indians. namur, belgium (see 19.159), with a population in 1923 of 31,044, has been called the sheffield of belgium, because of its large cutlery industry. tanning and glass-making are also car- ried on, and the town has a considerable trade, and six lines of railway. an athletic sports ground was laid out and a fine open- air theatre built before the world war in the park on the citadel mount. namur was bombarded for two days in 1914, before it was taken by the germans, and after their entry a number of houses were burnt and looted. the place leopold and place d’armes suffered severely in the bombardment and the town hall was destroyed. the forts were repaired by the germans after the capture of the town, which formed their cavalry headquarters during the war. the railway station was bombed by the british shortly before the armistice (see belgium, invasion of), nanking, china (see 19.162), had an estimated population of 380,900 in 1923. since it became the terminus of a railway line to shanghai, and the line to tientsin, terminating at pukow, on the opposite bank of the yangtze kiang river, was opened, the trade has increased, but the city has little commercial importance. a short railway line has been opened to hsiakwan, the port of nanking a few miles to the south. a grand indus- trial exhibition, the first in china, was held in the city in 1910, and again in 1921. only a portion of the ground enclosed by the 20-mile circuit of the walls is inhabited, but the area has been opened up by roads and shops, offices and government buildings in western style have been erected. the city possesses a naval college, an arsenal, an agricultural experimental station, a government mint and a university. the last was formed by the union of three independent mission schools in 1911, and in- cludes a college of arts and sciences and one of agriculture and forestry; a hospital and library; senior, junior and primary schools, etc. two-thirds of the surplus from the american china relief fund was presented to the university in 1922 for research, particularly in connection with famine prevention. good work has also been done in the production of silkworm eggs immune from disease. a number of the large silk stores in nanking were burnt and looted by chinese soldiery in 1924, and american marines had to be landed to protect the foreign population. nanking was the scene of much fighting during the revolution of 1911, and the tartar city was burnt. it became the seat of a provisional government, which hoped to make it the capital city, but in 1913 an armed rebellion took place and the city was bombarded for a fortnight by the troops of the government. hsiakwan was burnt down, but was rapidly rebuilt with new and wider streets. nansen, fridtjof (1861- ), norwegian scientist, ex- plorer and statesman (see 19.162). after dr. nansen’s return from the north polar expedition in 1896 a professorship of zool- ogy was established for him at the university of christiania. ifere he was engaged in working up the results of his expedition n airobi, the capital of kenya colony, british east africa ioi5' and in general scientific research, especially in physical geography and oceanography. in the summer of 1900 he took part in an arctic oceanographic expedition in the s.s. “ michael sars,” headed by dr. johan hjort, and became director of the inter- national central laboratory in christiania for the research of the sea. in 1902 he published the oceanography of the north polar basin, and in 1904 the bathymetrical features of the north polar seas. in 1905 nansen actively intervened in politics for the first time. he issued a manifesto and many articles in con- nection with the crisis between norway and sweden. his atti- tude may be summarised by the last words of a short work pub- lished later in the year: ‘‘ any union in which the one people is restrained in exercising its freedom is and will remain a danger ” (vorway and the union with sweden, london, 1905). on the establishment of the norwegian monarchy nansen was appointed minister to england (1906), and in the same year was created g.c.v.o. in 1908 he retired from his post and returned to his scientific work as professor of oceanography at christiania uni- versity. he devoted all his time to oceanographic research, and in co-operation with his friend professor bjorn helland-hansen, of the bergen museum, wrote the norwegian sea, its physical oceanography (report on norwegian fishery and marine in- vestigations, vol. 2, 1909). in 1910 nansen made an oceanographic cruise in the “‘ frith- jof ’’ through the northeastern north atlantic from ireland to iceland and back to norway, and published the results in the waters of the northeastern north atlantic (internationale revue der gesammten hydrobiologie und hydrogeographic, leipzig, 1913). in 1o11 he published in northern afisis (2 vol.) on the exploration of the northern regions from early times up to the beginning of the 16th century. in 1912 he made a further oceano- graphic cruise to spitsbergen and the waters to the north in his yacht the“ veslemoy,” and described it in en ferd til spitzbergen; the scientific results of the cruise are contained in spiledergen waters (society of science, christiania, r9r5). the following year he made an expedition through the arctic and the kama seas to the mouth of the yenisei river and through siberia and the amur region, recounted in through siberia, the land of the future (london, 1914). in 1914, jointly with professor bjorn helland-hansen, nansen made an oceanographic expedition in the eastern north atlantic to portugal, madeira and the azores and back to norway, the important scientific results of this expedition being published by the two scientists in the eastern north atlantic (geophysic pub- lication, academy of science, oslo). during the world war further oceanographic expeditions—nansen’s absorbing inter- est—were impossible. in 1917 he was appointed head of a nor- wegian govt. commission to the united states, and secured a satisfactory agreement with the american govt. in regard to the import into norway of essential supplies. after the armistice (1918) nansen threw himself with vigor into the work of re- patriating prisoners of war, and under him, as commissioner of the league of nations, and with the executive assistance of the national red crosses, about 500,000 prisoners of war were repa- triated from siberia, china and other parts of the world. this work was financed largely by the governments participating in the international committee for relief credits, paris, of which lord bradbury was chairman. in rorg nansen conferred with hoover regarding the possibil- ities of assisting the russian people, and suggested to president wilson and the members of the supreme council an organisation for russian relief on the lines of the belgian relief commission. the supreme council supported the proposal on the condition that all hostilities in russia cease. as this was at the time when kolchak in the east and deniken in the south were advancing towards moscow the project was abandoned. in 1921 nansen was asked by an international conference in geneva of delegates of 48 red cross societies and 12 governments to put himself at lo1o the head of the relief work for famine-stricken russia, and on aug. 27 in the same year he signed an agreement in moscow with chicherin, the soviet foreign minister, regarding the method of furnishing relief on an important scale, and visited the areas of famine. in sept. nansen endeavoured unsuccessfully to induce the league of nations to assist the starving millions in russia by raising, under safeguards, an international governmental relief loan. failing here, he visited the chief capitals of europe, and as a result largely of his intensive propaganda the european red crosses fed and clothed at one time at the peak of the russian famine over 1,600,000 inhabitants of the volga and south ukraine regions. ilis publicity campaign undoubtedly had influence in america, which under hoover’s inspiration and direction fed at one time 10,000,000 russian sufferers. nansen’s mission in russia continued to conduct two agricultural demonstration estates in the former famine areas. in 1923 nansen published russia and the peace setting out the economic position of soviet russia. as high commissioner for refugees to the league, he accepted responsibility for the protection and settlement of russian, armenian and greek refugees, and the following is the appreciation of the assembly of the league of this work:— the assembly feels it its duty to pay a whole-hearted tribute to the high commissioner, dr. fridtjof nansen, both for his unceasing devotion, of which for more than four years he has given proof, in assisting refugees of every nation, and for the high qualities which he has displayed in the carrying out of his oncrous dutics. the assembly would record the fact that with the very limited means at his disposal dr. nansen has saved from misery and often from death hundreds of thousands of human beings, and would render him the grateful thanks due to him as a benefactor of humanity. in 1923 nansen was awarded the nobel peace prize, which he gave to the furtherance of the nansen agricultural demonstration estates and model farms in saratov and ekaterinoslav govern- ments, russia. in his early manhood nansen was a great ath- lete, and by his writings was largely responsible for popularis- ing ski-ing in the alps, and evidence of his enthusiasm for sport is his work on sport in the polar regions and wud norway (1928). nansen, as delegate for norway to the league of nations, made an impassioned intervention protesting against the occu- pation of corfu by italy in 1923, and at the fifth assembly in 1924 he conducted the first informal negotiations that took place concerning the entry of germany into the league of nations. nansen’s interest in education has been evidenced by his cam- paign in favour of russian professors and universities. in 1925 he was elected lord rector of aberdeen. (see polar regions; refugees.) (j. h. go.) naoroji, dadabhai (1825-1917), indian politician (see 19.167), died at versova, near bombay, june 30 1917. naples, italy (see 19.178), the second largest city in italy, had a population of 772,405 in 1921. to improve the sanitary con- dition of the city an opening has been made through the squalid pendino quarter, and a new approach to the castle from the strada san carlo. the quarter of santa lucia has grown largely. a fine art collection was presented to the city in 1925, and will be housed in the villa floridiana. the museum, which houses the pompeian collections, shaken by the building of a tunnel, was found to be in danger of col- lapse; the walls were temporarily shored up pending its repair. excavations in 1913 led to the discovery of the old port of pom- peii, and further discoveries in pompeii itself were opened to the public in 1915. the neapolitan university was closed in 1925, owing to riots between fascists and non-fascists. a metropoli- tan electric railway was opened in 1925, with seven stations, the terminus being at pozzuoll; another station will be built at bagnoli. the work on port improvements was temporarily sus- pended in 1924. fears were expressed in 1925 lest the orient line would cease to use naples as a port of call, owing to the new regulations for third-class passengers. naples is now the third port of italy: the number and tonnage of vessels entering the harbour are greater than at genoa, though the amount of goods is less. | naquet, alfred joseph (1834-1916), french chemist and politician (see 19.236), died in paris march 12 1916. naoroji—narew, battles of the nares, sir george strong (1831-10915), british explorer (sce 19.240), died at surbiton, surrey, jan. 15 rors. narew, battles of the.—the battles on the river narew, northeast of warsaw, in july and aug. rors, were a part of the great offensive planned by falkenhayn against russia. (see eastern front and map.) during may and june, mackensen had driven the russian armies in galicia from tarnew on the dunajec to the east of lemberg (sce dunayec-san; lemberg). in july the group ‘of armies under his command was directed northeast towards brest-litovsk against the communications of the russian forces which still held the warsaw salient (see brest-lirovsk). hindenburg, who commanded the group of armies on the northern part of the eastern front, was now ordered to strike a blow on the north side of the salient. falken- hayn hoped thus by driving in the flanks of the salient to cut off large numbers of russians in its apex about warsaw. the realisation of this hope depended of course on the rapidity with which the flanks could be forced. rival german plans.—the operation against the narew line is of interest because of the controversy it provoked between the two men who had most influence on german strategy during the war, falkenhayn and ludendorff. the former was at this time chief of the german great general staff, and thus responsible for the supreme direction of the war; the latter was chief of staff to hindenburg. ludendorft had long cherished the idea of a napoleonic manoeuvre against the russian rear by kovno and wilno on minsk, and considered the proposed narew offensive as timid and ineffectual, falkenhayn, with heavier responsibilities on his shoulders, mistrusted both the feasibility and the ex- pedience of the wilno adventure. he could not afford to become so deeply involved in the eastern theatre as to be unable to withdraw formations to meet the coming offensive in the west. after a discussion of the alternative plans held in the presence of the kaiser, falkenhayn’s views were approved; and hinden- burg was ordered to carry out the narew attack. a formidable water barrier protects russian poland against invasion from east prussia. from kovno to grodno it is formed by the niemen; from near grodno it is continued by the bobr, the narew and the lower course of the bug to the fortress of nowo-georgiewsk (modlin); thence the vistula flows northwest to the frontier. the russians had fortified this river line. be- sides the fortresses of kovno and grodno on the niemen, oso- weic on the bobr, lomza on the narew and nowo-georgiewsk at the confluence of the bug and vistula, there were fortified bridge heads on the narew at ostroteka, rozan, puttusk and zegrze. though the river was fordable in the summer at many points, marshes along its length increased its effectiveness as an obstacle. the german altack.—gallwitz’s army, which was to make the attack, comprised six corps (14 divisions). it extended from the river szkwa, northeast of ostrotcka, to the vistula. opposite to it, from jednorozec, on the river orzec, to near plock on the lower vistula, lay the russian i. army (litvinov) with three corps and a cavalry corps. the tactical details of the fighting are not of any special interest. on july 13 gallwitz delivered his first attack on the approximate line przasnysz-ciechanew, aiming at pultusk. the russians, over-weighted both in numbers and heavy artillery at once fell back more than half-way to the narew line. they were attacked again on july 15, and during july 18 and 19 with- drew across the river, the russian nii. army on their right conforming to the movement. reinforcements had now arrived and resistance stiffened. though the germans stormed the bridge-heads of pultusk and rozan on july 23, and secured crossings over the river, their further progress was limited by violent russian counter-attacks, and they were unable to reach the line wyszk6w (on the lower bug)—ostrew, at which they were aiming. an attempt to force a passage further east at ostroteka on july 30 failed, and it was not until aug. 4 that this bridge-head fell. losses were heavy on both sides; but the russians had secured time and space sufficient to evacuate the warsaw salient without danger. narocz, battle of lake hindenburg and ludendorff naturally claimed that the result of the battle vindicated their opinion on the mistaken strategy of the supreme command. falkenhayn retorted that the opera- tions would have had the desired effect of intercepting the russian retreat had hindenburg used the full force available and given gallwitz 20 divisions instead of fourteen. it seems doubtful, however, whether the communications would have allowed the effective employment of so large a force. bibliography.—j. reed, zhe war in fastern europe (1916); g. meyer, durchbruch am narev, juli-aug. 1915 (1919); a. knox, with the russian army, tor4-7 (1921); m. hoffmann, the war of lost opportunities (1924). (see also world war: bibliography.) (a. pw.) narocz, battle of lake.—lake narocz, in lithuania, 62 m. e.n.e. of wilno (vilna), gives its name to a great ofien- sive by the russian it. army in the spring of 1916 (see eastern front and map). . general situation on the eastern front.—the river pripet formed the dividing line between the german and austrian com- mands. at the beginning of march there were 42 german and two austrian divisions on the front north of the pripet, the total length of which was about 250 miles. the russians had organ- ised their armies into three groups: the northern (xii. and v. armies) on the dvina, the western (i., ii., x., iv., 111. armies) extending to south of the pinsk marshes and the southwestern (viii., xi., vii., ix. armies) up to the rumanian border. their main strength was concentrated on the northern and western fronts, where it had been decided that the principal efforts of the year should be made. ‘the losses of 1915 in men and material had been made good; guns and munitions were available on a larger scale than previously, though still insuffi- cient for the requirements of trench warfare. plan of operations.—-the general idea of the battle was for the ii. army to attack on either side of lake narocz, where the german line formed a slight salient; the two wings were even- tually to join at swieciany and to continue their advance west- wards to panevezys (some 80 m. north of wilno (vilna) and 1co m. west of the original line), where the v. army, which was to attack from the jakobstadt bridgehead on the dvina, was to join them. the operation seems to have been planned originally to take place later in the year, when all the allies proposed to attack simultaneously. but on feb. 21 the german assaults on verdun began, and the russians chivalrously hurried on their preparations and attacked to relieve the pressure on the french, at the worst possible time of the year, when the annual thaw, which renders all communications practically impossible for a period, might be expected at any moment. description of the terrain.—lake narocz (eight m. by six m.) is the largest of a whole series of small lakes in which the tribu- taries of the wilia and the dzisna rise. it drains into the river narocz, which flows south to join the wilia east of smorgonie. the greater part of the trench line between dvinsk and smor- gonie (over 100 m. in a straight line) was protected by lake, stream or marsh, and stretches of dry ground wide enough for a large scale offensive were few. on either side of lake narocz, however, were gaps of four m. or so in the water line, where the terrain was comparatively favourable for attack, though com- munications were poor. the northern gap was 10 m. to the north of lake narocz, between the villages of wilcjty and mozejki; the southern was between the lake itself and lake wiszniew. dis positions of the opposing forces.—the ii. army, which was to carry out the attack, was divided into three groups: the right group, under gen. plyeshkov, opposite the northern gap, con- sisted of three corps and a cavalry corps; the centre group, under gen. sirelius, of two corps; and the left group, under gen. baluev, of three corps. four corps were available behind these groups to exploit any success gained. the right and leit groups were to attack the north and south faces of the salient respectively, while the centre group assisted by minor assaults and demon- strations. the army commander, smirnov, went sick just before the battle and his place was taken by gen. ragoza. 1017 the ii. army was opposed by von eichorn’s x. army, which extended from the river dzisna to krewo, south of smorgonie, a front of some 85 m., and comprised 11 divisions and two cavalry divisions. the germans were aware of the russian concentra- tion. just before the attack, gen. von hutier, commanding the xxi. corps opposite the lake narocz front, was reinforced by one division, and other reserves were held in readiness to sup- port him. the russian attacks —a thaw set in on march 17, but the offensive was nevertheless begun on the 18th. after a bombard- *s, oat & s:ensszh: ts english miles 6 7 io kilometres ry 5 ass al approx tine between armes sme direction of russian attacks rertways -wecmem forest 24% marshes =. es = is a 4 a soap metengrary pr t-te! ee eer) y ao goduciszky kor mo . = ah, “ak a er ane 4 ; ~ ip ee a “ny eo hie ind lined ood] * a eon e le prbe fiat a ye i obre a eres men mle he j 13 i 71, lage wh ae bane 4° as oon fey r a la) ite 5: d al ia tae : pepr a be fs le x erate et le a os] see he ez mastery ose. ti teat! wit of ‘te f aunt bide bas eo eight? ae a a at ae mg at bets : smm tipe fone at otl y tet amulieg : oo = " 2, markowo cere aie) far wee: , sine sg a lebedziewd, ~-—tm “sa a g 3 ment of several hours, massed infantry attacks were made both by plyeshkov’s group north of lake narocz and by baluev’s group in the south. in the thickly wooded and enclosed terrain the insufficiently trained russian infantry soon lost cohesion, and their assaults were ill-timed and disjointed. though the german first-line trenches were in several cases occupied, they could not be held under the concentrated fire of the german ar- tillery, which was extremely skilfully handled. by nightfall the russians were back in their original positions, having suffered very heavy casualties without result. after two days of further 1018 artillery preparation and minor attacks intended to mislead the enemy, renewed heavy assaults were made on the nights of march 19-20 and 20-21. on plyeshkov’s front no ground was permanently gained, in spite of terrible losses, but baluev’s group in the south had some measure of success, and made an advance of over a mile on a front of about 2} miles. the weather conditions were by now terrible; it thawed from the 17th to the 22nd, and the whole area of operations became a sea of mud. the battle was, however, continued till march 27, when the russians at last desisted from their fruitless and costly attacks. in april a german counter- stroke retook all the ground gained by baluev. meanwhile, the attacks of the v. army from jakobstadt, march 21-6, were equally unsuccessful and almost equally wasteful of life. results of the operations.—the operations resulted in a com- plete and disastrous failure for the russians. their losses were over 100,000 and they accomplished nothing. the offensive did not cause the germans to move a single man from the western front, and so brought no relief to the french. the operation was mismanaged in every way. both time and place were ill-chosen; the staff work was bad; and the artillery, in spite of a greater concentration of heavy guns on a narrow front and a more liberal expenditure of ammunition than ever before, failed to give proper support to the infantry, who as usual paid the price in terrible losses. the result was, in fact, a bitter disillusionment to the rus- sian high command, to the russian soldier and to the russian people. birliography.—b. gourko, memories and impressions of war and revolution in russia (1918); sir a. w.f. knox, with the russian army, rorg-7 (1921); e. ludendorff, afy war memories (1922). see also world war: bibliography. cal pw) nash, paul (1889- ), british painter, was born in london may rr 1889, and educated at st. paul’s school and at the slade school. his first exhibition was given in 1911, but he was comparatively little known until an exhibition of his western front war pictures (1918), the fruit of his work as an official artist 1917-8; several of these are in the imperial war museum, london. he then attracted attention as a landscape painter of individuality and charm, a somewhat mannered technique giving way gradually to a freer expression; he gave an important exhibition in london in 1924. he also produced some interesting woodcuts and book illustrations, such as the wood engravings, ** genesis ” (1924). he was instructor of design at the royal college of art, south kensington. his brother, john northcote (1893- ), worked on simi- lar lines, and was also an official war artist during 1918. nashville, tenn., u.s.a. (see 19.246), had a greater busi- ness development between 1910 and 1925 than is indicated by the growth of its population within the city limits: 1910, 110,364; 1920, 118,342 (of whom 35,633 were negrocs and 2,412 foreign- born, both of these groups being smaller than in ror1o); 1925, 136,220, as estimated by the census bureau, and probably 150,- ooo if suburban population which is a part of the economic unit, were included. the value of products manufactured within the city limits increased from $29,650,000 (1909) to $83,041,583 (1923); postal receipts and bank clearings increased threefold, savings deposits and the value of new buildings constructed even more. during the world war the u.s. govt. established the “old hickory’ powder plant in the wilderness across the cumberland river, constructing a village for 30,000 residents. plant and village were bought after the war by a local corporation formed for the purpose of salvaging the property for an industrial centre. by 1925 a large factory for the production of rayon (artificial silk) was in operation on this site, and the location of other industries was assured. vanderbilt university, with grants of $8,000,000 from the general education board and the carnegie corp. thoroughly reorganised its medical school (1919- 25) and built for it an adequate modern plant, which was oc- cupied in 1925. nashville, davidson county, and the state of tennessee united in erecting a beautiful memorial building in honour of the men of the state who lost their lives in the war. in 1913 nashville adopted the commission form of government. nash—nathan natal (see 19.252), the smallest and most densely populated province of the union of south africa. its area (including zulu- land) is 35,284 sq. m. and the population (1921) 1,429,398, of whom 136,838 were whites, 141,649 asiatics, 1,139,804 bantu and 11,107 of mixed or other race. since 19112 the white inhabi- tants had increased by nearly 39,0c0; the astatics by 8,210, the bantu (natives) by 186,000. the density of population per sq.m. was 40.51. the chief towns are durban and pietermaritz- burg (gq.v.). next in size is ladysmith with (1921) 6,783 in- habitants (3,221 whites). the change from the status of a self-governing colony to a province of the union affected natal politically more closely than any other province, since in it alone were the great majority of the white inhabitants of british descent. the firm attach- ment of natalians to the british connection continued an un- changing factor in the south african situation. provincial administration was, however, largely carried on upon non-party lines. the first administrator, mr. c. j. smythe, had previously held office as colonial secretary and as prime minister of natal. mr. smythe, who was reappointed for a second term in 1915, died in 1918 and mr. (later sir) g. t. plowman succeeded to the post, which he still held in 1926. revenue, derived chiefly from trans- fer dutics and licences, increased from £118,000 in 1912-3 to £413,000 in 1922-3, the subsidies from the union govt. rising from £361,000 to £563,000. about 70% of the total expendi- ture was on education, the sums spent for that object rising from £169,000 in 1912-3 to £695,000 in 1922-3. the indian problem—natal was deeply interested in the question of indians in south africa. of the 161,339 british indians in the union in 1921, no fewer than 141,336 lived in natal, where they had rendered possible the development of the sugar, tea and wattle industries, as well as provided labour for the coal-mines, railways and other public works. besides labourers, there were many indians engaged in professions and commerce. white south africans in general opposed the further increase of asiatics in the union; while, in 1911, the indian govt., long dissatisfied with the attitude of natal to indians, prohibited the recruitment of indentured coolies. the indians both in natal and the transvaal complained of many grievances, and their cause was championed by m. k. gandhi, then resident in south africa. arising out of the agitation, riots and disturbances occurred in natal in 1913. in 1914 the union govt. passed legislation intended to prevent indian immigration into south africa and to prevent asiatics already in the union leaving the province in which they lived. the so-called smuts-gandhi agreement of the same was designed to guard the vested in- terests of indians already in the union. the attitude of the white inhabitants of natal was shown by the borough ordinance passed by the provincial conncil in jan. 1924, debarring indians in future from acquiring the municipal franchise. this ordinance was held up by the union govt. for consideration, but in dec. 1924, assent to its operation was given. the parliamentary franchise was, with a few special exceptions, already confined to whites. in 1925 there were 38,547 parliamentary electors, of whom only 24 were indian. ; a notable element in the progress of natal has been the devel- opment of coal-mining. the output, which in roro first exceeded 2,500,000 tons, had increased to 4,302,000 tons in 1923. natal coal is of excellent quality. the quantity of coal bunkered and exported in 1924 exceeded 2,700,000 tons. the offical year book of the union of south africa ( pretoria) gives list of government publications dealing with the asiatic ques- tion and provincial administration, see south africa, union of, (f.r.c,) nathan, ernesto (1845-1921), italian politician, was born in london, the son of an englishman, joseph nathan, and of an italian mother, sara rosselli, both jews. in 1858 he settled in pisa with his mother and attended the university there. soon afterwards they had to repair to switzerland on account of sara nathan’s republican sentiments; it was then that ernesto nathan became acquainted with mazzini, whose views became thence- forth his chief inspiration and cult. a violent anti-clerical, national debt—national parks and game preserves to1g he soon joined the freemasons and was elected ‘‘ grand orient ”’ for italy in 1899, but resigned in 1905 owing to internal dis- agreements. he became an italian citizen, and although he had been a republican in his early years, he gradually accepted the monarchy as the best regime for italy. he showed great activity in organising the ‘ unione dei partiti popolari’’ in 1900, a blocco of the various radical and anti-clerical parties in rome, and when at the municipal elections of 1900 the clerical administra- tion fell, nathan was chosen as mayor. re-elected in r1gto, he fell when the blocco broke up in 1913. on the outbreak of the world war, in spite of his 7o years, he volunteered for the army and actually served as a lieutenant of infantry for a time. he was editor of the national edition of mazzini’s works. nathan died in rome april 9 1921. national debt: see debts, inter-allied; great britain: finance. national parks and game preserves.—under the influence of president roosevelt’s great interest in outdoor life and faith in the value to the people—moral, physical and edu- cative—of contact with nature, the early years of the present century saw in the united states a wonderful advance in the movement for national parks and nature conservation. the momentum gathered was not lost when the administration. of president wilson came, but passed into a new constructive period under his secretary of the interior, franklin k. lane, a man of imagination and high enthusiasm for the public service and under the latter’s friend, stephen t. mather, the inspiring head of national park accomplishment in recent years in the united states. the national park service —at the creation in 1916 of the national park service the separate park units created by the federal govt. were gathered into a logical system whose aims were clarified and placed upon the highest basis, and a founda- tion was established on which the future could be safely built. its establishment, with the unified control it gave, marks the most important advance made since 1910 in national park development in america, whose influence has been widely felt. since 1910 a change fundamentally altering the national park problem and incalculably increasing its importance has come into the life of the american people. from being relatively sta- tionary they have become to an extraordinary extent a nation in movement, owing to the automobile, multiplying many times the travel to the national parks and their opportunity for service, but presenting, equally, new difficulties in the organisation and care of motor-camps, the building of roads and the provision for great multitudes of visitors. the aim of the national park service as it has crystallised has been to have each recreationally important feature of the country’s landscape typically repre- sented in the national system, so that a traveller visiting in turn the various parks may see the country illustrated through supreme examples and learn of the characteristic hife—plant and animal—inhabiting its regions. to this educational aspect of the national parks constantly greater emphasis 1s being given. they form wonderful natural exhibits and outdoor museums, illustrating, in each section where they lie, the regional life and landscape. with the wide travel to them which the automobile is causing they are becoming also conservational factors of prime importance in arousing interest in the preservation of the nation’s irreplaceable wild life inheritance and native beauty. parks established.—during and since 1910 the following national parks, a magnificent group supplementing in extraordinary variety the earlier units, have been established by congress in the united states: glacier national park (1,534 sq. m.) in montana in igio; rocky mountain national park (397 sq. m.) in colorado in 1915; hawaii national park (186 sq. m.) in the territory of hawaii in 1916; lassen volcanic national park (126 sq. m.) in california in 1916; mount mckinley national park (2,645 sq. m.) in alaska in iq17, in its present stage a game preserve and mountain reservation rather than a park in the true sense; grand canyon national park (958 sq. m.) in arizona in 1919; lafayette national park (12 sq. m.) upon mount desert i. off the coast of maine in 1919; and zion national park (120 sq. m.) in utah in 1919; while a bill to create two others in the great smoky mountains of tennessee and north carolina and in the blue ridge mountains of virginia was before congress in 1926 and was being strongly urged. national monuments—intimately related to the national parks in the united states are the national monuments, whose first establishment in 1906 was one of the farsighted conserva- tional acts of president roosevelt’s administration. created by presidential proclamation for the preservation of outstanding features of historic, antiquarian or scientific interest, their num- ber has steadily increased since rgro, until in 1926 they con- stituted, supplementing the national parks and administered in connection with them or with the national forests, a trne museum of the out-of-doors, preserving battlefields and historical sites, prehistoric dwellings, fossil forests, rare botanical exhibits and striking geologic features. parks in canada.—in canada the older national parks—the rocky mountains national park (2,751 sq. m.) in alberta, by banff; the yoho national park (476 sq. m.) in british columbia; glacier national park (468 sq. m.) in the selkirk mountains; jasper national park (4,400 sq. m.) in northern alberta; and waterton lakes national park (220 sq. m.), adjoining across the national boundary the united states glacier park, have all been extensively added to since 1910, and the following have been created: revelstoke national park (100 sq. m.) in british columbia, dedicated in 1919 and the westernmost in the chain of canadian nationa] parks; and kootenay national park (587 sq. m.), created in 1920, on the western slope of the rockies, adjoining the yoho and rocky mountains national parks. in south america.—in south america plans for an inter- national park centring about the celebrated cataract of l’iguazu on the boundary between argentina and brazil were in 1926 under consideration but had not then been embodied in definite shape. far to the south in argentina, near the chilean bound- ary in the andean region, lies the nahuel-huapi national park amid lakes and snow-clad mountains of the cordillera range, the first of actual establishment south of the united states. in europe.—in europe, switzerland led the way in national park creation by establishing in the years before the world war a national park and botanical reservation among the alps that lie between the lower engadine and the italian border, in the canton of the grisons, rich in alpine flowers and in scenic beauty. italy, since the war, has followed with the establishment of a national game preserve, i] gran paradiso, in the alps of pied- mont, for the protection of the few remaining ibexes, and of a national park in the apennines, northeast from rome: the national park of the abruzzi. originating in a royal hunting park established for victor emmanuel when united italy became a kingdom, it includes the highest mountain in the apennine range, il gran sasso d'italia, and ancient woods of beech and oak that also are the refuge of wild life in vanishing species. but it is a park still in the making, for the future to develop. one other area in europe claims attention as the scene of activity in national and international park creation—the eastern carpathian and high tatra mountains, along whose summits lies the boundary between czechoslovakia and poland, where extensive parks were planned in 1926, culminating in the tatra international park, cresting the range in a magnificent domain of wild and rugged scenery. in australia—in australia no federal park system has yet been established, but state reservations, notably centennial park, sydney, n.s.w., have been made which the common- wealth may make the basis for one later, as wealth and popula- tion grow. the unique flora and fauna and continental character of the country make the opportunity remarkable. new zealand, also, has opportunity for the creation of a wonderful park system in the southern hemisphere and is moving fast toward it through the development of her sea-borne tourist trade. game preserves.—the swift destruction of wild life now taking place in the united states and canada through increasing pop- ulation, the ready invasion by the motor-car of regions till now the secluded habitats of wild life, and the drainage of marsh- lands, has led to a widespread movement for the enactment of protective fedcral legislation and the increased establishment of national game preserves. 1020 to these the united states has largely added, both in extent and number, since 1910, and, national park areas apart, which are ab- solute sanctuaries, has now the following: wichita national game preserve (91 sq. m.) in oklahoma; the grand canyon national game preserve (1,384 sq. m.), co-extensive with the kaibab national forest, in arizona; the national bison range (29 sq. m.) in montana; the elk refuge national game preserve (414 sq. m.) in wyoming; the niobrara national bird and wild life reservation (25 sq. m.) in nebraska; the pisgah national game preserve (120 sq, m.) in north carolina; the cherokee federal game reserves in georgia and tennessee; and an extensive area bordering the upper missis- sippi, in process of acquisition in 1926 under a congressional appro- priation, for a national bird and wild life reservation. in canada since 1910 the following national game preserves, bear- ing the name of parks, have been established in addition to the one, buffalo national park (161 sq. m.), which then existed; elk island national park (51 sq. m.) in northern alberta; nemiskam national park (8% sq. m.), an antelope preserve in southeastern alberta; and point pelee national park (4 sq. m.) jutting out into lake erie from ontario, a bird sanctuary at the most southerly point in canada, which is an important resting-place for many migratory birds. elsewhere, apart from the big game reserves of africa and seal protection areas, little has been done for game protection through national preserves. much, however, has been done besides, in anglo-saxon lands, by federal states and provinces, and much by associations, of which outstanding examples for bird protection exist in louisiana, administered partly by the state and partly by the national audubon society, and in new zealand, where stewart i. (665 sq. m.) has been set aside as a sanctuary, while it is to be remembered that all game protective laws, federal or state, have the effect, if enforced and well con- ceived, of creating reservations to the extent of the territory they cover and the protection they afford, and are complemen- tary in this sense to special game preserves. in great britain the constant vigilance and activity of the royal society for the protection of birds and the selborne society have secured legislative and administrative protection for birds. sanctuaries have been established on properties of the national trust and in scheduled public parks and commons. the selborne society provides nesting boxes for private gardens. the farne islands have been purchased and given to the na- tional trust as a sanctuary for sea birds. the royal society for the protection of birds has established a watchers’ com- mittee which does invaluable work against depredations by col- lectots, by pollution of the sea by oil, by overhead wires and rat plagues. the bird nests and perches at four selected lighthouses have been the means of saving many migratory birds. the society keeps constant watch for evasions of the plumage act (1921) and develops its propaganda by lectures to schools, by competitions and by the issue of a special journal, bird notes and news. (g..b: d3}