Tadpole

Most tadpoles are vegetarians, although those of some species are carnivorous or even cannibalistic. Tadpole metamorphosis follows

Cambridge Critics

Group of critics who were a major influence in English literary studies from the mid-1920s and who established an intellectually rigorous school of critical standards in the field of literature. The leaders were I.A. Richards and F.R. Leavis of the University of Cambridge and Richards' pupil William Empson. In the 1920s the University of Cambridge was distinguished in many

Transportation

Allingham, Margery (louise)

Campion's career was begun with a group of ingenious, popular thrillers: The Crime at Black Dudley (1928; U.S. title, The Black Dudley

Naqshbandiyah

Orthodox fraternity of Muslim mystics (Sufis) found in India, China, the Central Asian republics, and Malaysia. It claims a lineage extending back to Abu Bakr, the first caliph. Baha' ad-Din (d. 1384), founder of the order at Bukhara, Turkistan, was called an-naqshband, �the painter,� because of the impression of God that the repetition of his prescribed ritual prayer (dhikr) should leave upon

Zulu Language

A Bantu language spoken by more than nine million people mainly in South Africa, especially in the Zululand area of KwaZulu/Natal province. The Zulu language is a member of the Southeastern, or Nguni, subgroup of the Bantu group of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Other Southeastern Bantu languages are Xhosa, Swati (Swazi), Sotho, Tswana, Venda,

Maurice, Furnley

At age 14 Wilmot worked in a Melbourne bookshop, rising to the position of manager. When the business was dissolved in 1929, he operated

Lerma River

Spanish �R�o Lerma, � river in west-central Mexico. It rises on the central plateau 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Toluca and flows northwestward through the state of M�xico, forms the short border between the states of Quer�taro and Michoac�n, and then meanders generally west-northwestward through Guanajuato. After looping southward, the Lerma separates Guanajuato and Michoac�n, and

Papeete

Commune, capital of French Polynesia, lying on the northwest coast of Tahiti. A gracious tropical city with tall palms and abundant flowers, Papeete is one of the largest urban centres in the South Pacific. Its excellent harbour made it, by 1829, a place of trade and a favourite port of call for whalers. After annexation by the French (1880), it was made the seat of the governor, and in

Selkirk

Royal burgh (town), Scottish Borders council area, historic county of Selkirkshire, Scotland, lying on a hillside overlooking the river known as Ettrick Water. A Benedictine abbey founded in the early 12th century was later removed to Kelso. Selkirk's 12th-century castle was captured by the English under Edward I (reigned 1272 - 1307). It was retaken by the Scottish national leader William

Clough, Arthur Hugh

While at Oxford, Clough had intended to become a clergyman, but his increasing religious skepticism caused him to leave the university. He became head of University

Beak

A bird's bill is composed of

Ploceidae

Songbird family, order Passeriformes, including the bishop, weaver, and whydah groups and Old World sparrows. The 135 to 155 species are native chiefly to Africa - but several have been introduced elsewhere. Ploceids are small, compact birds with short, stout bills. In many species the males are brightly coloured; some acquire, in nonbreeding season, dull plumage resembling

Action Potential

The brief (about one-thousandth of a second) reversal of electric polarization of the membrane of a nerve cell (neuron) or muscle cell. In the neuron it constitutes the nerve impulse, and in the muscle cell it produces the contraction required for all movement. Sometimes called a propagated potential because a wave of excitation is actively transmitted along the nerve

Eusden, Laurence

British poet who, by flattering the Duke of Newcastle, was made poet laureate in 1718. He became rector of Coningsby and held the laureateship until his death. Alexander Pope satirized him frequently and derisively.

Tumba, Lake

Lake, part of the Congo River basin, northwestern Congo (Kinshasa). Lake Tumba lies 75 miles (120 km) northwest of Lake Mai-Ndombe (formerly Lake L�opold II). It covers 190 square miles (500 square km) and is 6 - 20 feet (2 - 6 m) deep. The lake empties into the Congo River by Irebu channel, just opposite its confluence with the Ubangi River. Lake Tumba is shallow, with low shores, and is navigable by river

Sa'adia Ben Joseph

Nechemiah Aloni, Ha-Egron (1969), an edition (in Hebrew) with extensive annotations; Israel Davidson (ed.), Saadiah's Polemic Against Hiwi al-Balkhi (1915), and The Book of the Wars of the Lord (1934), polemics against Sa'adia by Solomon ben Yeruhim (Hebrew edition with English translation) - the introductions to both editions require revision in light of later Genizah fragments; Joseph Derenbourg, Oeuvres compl�tes de R. Saadia Ben Iosef al-Fayyo�m�, vol. 3, Version arabe d'Isa�e (1896), and vol. 6, Version arabe des Proverbes (1894), Sa'adia's Arabic version of Isaiah and his version of the Proverbs - the Isaiah translation is accompanied by fragments of Sa'adia's lost commentary; Z. Diesendruck, �Saadya's Formulation of the Argument for Creation,� in Jewish Studies in Memory of George A. Kohut, 1874 - 1933 (1953), a profound article; Jakob Guttmann, Die Religionsphilosophie des Saadia (1882), traces the Greek and Arabic sources of Sa'adia's philosophy (the Arabic sources are not fully exhausted); Henry Malter, Saadia Gaon: His Life and Works (1921, reprinted 1969), the most comprehensive study on Sa'adia, although many aspects need to be revised in light of later studies; Harry A. Wolfson, �Saadia on the Trinity and Incarnation,� Studies and Essays in Honor of Abraham A. Neuman (1962), a very exhaustive study; Sa'adia anniversary volume, Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research (1943); Erwin I.J. Rosenthal (ed.), Saadya Studies (1943); Moses Zucker, Rav Saadya Gaon's Translation of the Torah (in Hebrew, with English summary; 1959), and A Critique Against the Writings of R. Saadya Gaon by R. Mubashshir (1955), an edition important for restoration of Sa'adianic material as well as for the study of the relationship of some of Sa'adia's contemporaries to his literary work.

Quebec, Battle Of

(December 31, 1775), in the American Revolution, unsuccessful American attack on the British stronghold. In the winter of 1775 - 76, American Revolutionary leaders detached some of their forces from the Siege of Boston to mount an expedition through Maine with the aim of capturing Quebec. On December 31, 1775, under General Richard Montgomery and Colonel Benedict Arnold, an inadequate force

East Hartford

Urban town (township), Hartford county, central Connecticut, U.S., across the Connecticut River from Hartford. The area, called Podunk by the Indians, was first settled in 1639 by John Crow. Organized as a parish in 1746 and originally part of Hartford, it was incorporated as a separate town in 1783 and experienced early industrial development (papermaking and the manufacture of gunpowder,

Y�eh-fu

Pinyin �yuefu� form of Chinese poetry derived from the folk-ballad tradition. The y�eh-fu takes its name from the Y�eh Fu (�Music Bureau�), created in 120 BC by Emperor Wu-ti for the purpose of collecting songs and their musical scores for ceremonial occasions at court. The music for these songs was later lost, but the words remained, forming a collection of Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 220) folk poetry that served

Baptist Federation Of Canada

Baptist churches were organized in the Maritime Provinces in the latter half of the 18th century, primarily by Baptists who were loyal

Quadrature

In astronomy, that aspect of a heavenly body in which its direction as seen from the Earth makes a right angle with the direction of the Sun. The Moon at First or Last Quarter is said to be at east or west quadrature, respectively. A superior planet (outside the Earth's orbit) is at west quadrature when its position is 90� west of the Sun. It rises around midnight, reaches the meridian

Vajrapani

Vajrapani (Sanskrit: Thunderbolt-Bearer) is believed to be the protector of the nagas (half-man, half-serpent deities) and sometimes assumes the shape of a bird in order to deceive their traditional enemy, the hawklike Garuda. Because of his association

Babeuf, Fran�ois-no�

John Anthony Scott (ed. and trans.), The Defense of Gracchus Babeuf Before the High Court of Vend�me, trans. from French (1964); R.B. Rose, Gracchus Babeuf: The First Revolutionary Communist (1978).

Stone, Fred (andrew)

Stone was raised in Topeka, Kan., making his stage debut there at age 11, and soon joined his brother on tour with a number of small circuses. In the 1890s he teamed up with Dave Montgomery and together they toured in vaudeville and minstrel shows before appearing in their first Broadway

Tabataba'i, Sayyid Zia Od-din

Tabataba'i became prominent during World War I as the editor of a pro-British newspaper, Ra'd (�Thunder�). In 1919 he led a quasi-diplomatic mission to negotiate a commercial agreement with the anti-Communist Russian revolutionaries at Baku. On his return to Iran he joined a secret nationalist

Bilbays

Also spelled �Bilbeis, or Bilbis, � town, southwestern ash-Sharqiyah muhafazah (governorate) in the eastern Nile River delta, Lower Egypt. Bilbays lies northeast of Cairo, on the main road from Ismailia and Port Said and on the al-Isma'iliyah Canal. Its name is an Arabic corruption of the Coptic Phelbes. Situated on a caravan and natural invasion route from the east, Bilbays was conquered in AD 640 by the Arabs, who in 727 resettled