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 poem on the first Punic war. Probably his latest composition was the epitaph already referred to, written like the epic in Saturnian verse:—

If these lines were dictated by a jealousy of the growing ascendancy of Ennius, the life of Naevius must have been prolonged considerably beyond 204, the year in which Ennius began his career as an author in Rome. As distinguished from Livius Andronicus, Naevius was a native Italian, not a Greek; he was also an original writer, not a mere adapter or translator. If it was due to Livius that the forms of Latin literature were, from the first, moulded on those of Greek literature, it was due to Naevius that much of its spirit and substance was of native growth.

The impression we get of the man is that, whether or not he actually enjoyed the full rights of Roman citizenship, he was a

vigorous representative of the bold combative spirit of the ancient Roman commons. He was one of those who made the Latin language into a great organ of literature. The phrases still quoted from him have nothing of an antiquated sound, while they have a genuinely idiomatic ring. As a dramatist he worked more in the spirit of Plautus than of Ennius, Pacuvius, Accius or Terence; but the great Umbrian humorist is separated from his older contemporary, not only by his breadth of comic power, but by his general attitude of moral and political indifference. The power of Naevius was the more genuine Italian gift—the power of satiric criticism—which was employed in making men ridiculous, not, like that of Plautus, in extracting amusement from the humours, follies and eccentricities of life. Although our means of forming a fair estimate of Naevius are scanty, all that we do know of him leads to the conclusion that he was far from being the least among the makers of Roman literature, and that with the loss of his writings there was lost a vein of national feeling and genius which rarely reappears.

 NAEVUS, a term in surgery signifying that form of tumour which is almost entirely composed of enlarged blood-vessels. There are three principal varieties: (1) the capillary naevus, consisting of enlarged capillaries, frequently of a purplish colour, hence the term “port-wine stain”; (2) the venous naevus, in which the veins are enlarged, of a bluish colour; (3) the arterial naevus, in which there is distinct pulsation, it being composed of enlarged and tortuous arteries. The naevus can be lessened in size by pressure. It generally occurs in the skin or immediately under it; sometimes it lies in the mouth in connexion with the mucous membrane. It is often congenital, hence the term “mother’s mark,” or it may appear in early childhood. It often grows rapidly, sometimes slowly, and sometimes growth is checked, and it may gradually diminish in size, losing its vascularity and becoming fibrous and non-vascular. This natural cure is followed by less deformity than a cure by artificial means. Various methods are used by surgeons when an operation is called for: (1) the tumour may be excised; (2) a ligature tightly tied may be applied to the base of the tumour; (3) inflammation may be set up in the growth by the injection of irritating agents,—in this way its vascularity may be checked and the formation of fibrous tissue encouraged; (4) the blood in the enlarged vessels may be coagulated by the injection of coagulating agents or by electrolysis.  NAGA HILLS, a district of British India in the Hills division of Eastern Bengal and Assam. It forms part of the mountainous borderland lying between the Brahmaputra valley and Upper Burma. Area, 3070 sq. m.; pop. (1901) 102,402. Towards the N. lie the Patkoi hills, over which British jurisdiction has never been extended; but since 1904 the southern tract, formerly known as the “area of political control,” has been incorporated in the district, thus extending its E. boundary from the Dikho to the Tizic river. The whole country forms a wild expanse of forest, mountain and stream. The valleys are covered with dense jungle, dotted with small lakes and marshes. Coal is known to exist in many localities, as well as iron ore and petroleum. The administrative headquarters' of the district are at Kohima (pop. 3093), which is garrisoned by two companies of native infantry and a battalion of military police. The Dimapur-Manipur cart-road crosses the hills, connecting Kohima with the Assam-Bengal railway.

Naga means “naked,” and is the term applied by the Assamese to the wild tribes of the hills, of which the chief clans are called Angami, Ao, Shota, Sema and Rengma. These tribes have shown extraordinary obstinacy in their resistance to the British arms. Between 1832 and 1849 ten armed expeditions were despatched to chastise them, and from 1866 to 1887 there were eight more, a record which exceeds that of the most turbulent