Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/535

Rh A R C A R C 477 ARCHYTAS, of Tarentum, son of Mnesagoras or Histi- ECUS, was one of the most celebrated men of antiquity. He was. distinguished as a mathematician, a philosopher, a statesman, and a general ; nor was he less remarkable for the purity and integrity of his life and the mildness and benevolence of his disposition. The time at which he flourished can be settled approximately from the fact that he was contemporary with Plato, whom he knew per sonally, and whose life he saved by interceding with the Tyrant Dionysius. He took a prominent part in the admin istration of the state, and was seven times made general of the army, although by a law it was forbidden that any citizen should hold the command more than once. It is said that he was never defeated in battle. He was also intrusted with the charge of many important civil affairs. There seems to have been a tradition (see Horace, Odes, i. 28) that Archytas was drowned while crossing the Adriatic, but of this there is no certain information. Archytas belonged to the Pythagorean school of philosophy, and is said by some to have been the teacher of Philolaos. This, however, must certainly be an error. According to others, he was the eighth leader of the Pythagorean school. Frag ments of writings, said to be his, on various points of ethical and metaphysical philosophy, are given by Stobseus, Simplicius, and others. To portions of these Aristotle has been supposed to owe his doctrine of the Categories and some of his principal ethical theories. But it seems quite clear that scarcely any of these fragments are genuine, and that they belong to the 1st or 2d century A.D., a period during which Eclecticism, and a consequent desire to find traces of later doctrines in old writers, were the prevailing influences. Such fragments as do appear genuine are of no philosophical value, and are generally on special subjects. Archytas is particularly celebrated as a mathe matician. To him are ascribed a solution of the problem of the duplication of the cube, and the application of analysis to the resolution of geometrical problems. He was also a skilled mechanician, and was one of the first to apply mathe matics to mechanics and music. On the fragments of Archytas see Hartenstein, De Archy. Taren. frag., Leipsic, 1833; Gruppe, Ucber d. Frag. d. Archy., 1840 ; and Beck- mann, De Pythagor. Reliquiis ; also Zeller, Phil. d. Griech. 2d ed. iii. 2, 88, sqq t ARCIS-SUR-AUBE, the chief town of the arrondisse- ment of the same name, in the department of Aube, in France, is situated, in long. 4 9 E., lat. 48 31 N., about 17 miles (28 kilometres) N. of Troyes, on the left bank of the river, just at the point where it becomes navigable. It is mentioned in the Itinerary of Antoninus ; but successive fires (1719, 1727, and 1814) have destroyed the ancient buildings, and it is now a town built in modern style, with wide and regular streets. An old castle, where Brune- haut and afterwards Diana of Poitiers resided, looks down on it from a height, the only other building- of interest being the church, which dates from the IGth century. A battle was fought here on the 20th and 21st of March 1814 between Napoleon and the Austro-Russian army under Schwarzenberg, which led the former to retire upon Vitry, leaving the way open to Paris. There are important hosiery manufactures in the town, and it carries on a large trade in .grain and coal, besides being an emporium for the wooden wares of the Vosges. Arcis-sur- A.ube is on the highway between Troyes and Chalons-sur- -Marne, and by means of the Aube it has intercourse with 1 aris. It is a subprefecture, and in 1872 had a population of 2845. ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA, a Spanish town in the province of Cadiz, on the river Guadalete, which flows past Santa Maria into the bay of Cadiz. It is built upon a high and precipitous rock, and commands magnificent views. The special designation &quot; of the frontier&quot; is due to its position as a border town after its capture from the Moors by Alphonso the Wise. Its horses, reared in the plains below, are famous in the ancient ballads of Spain. It contains two parish churches, a number of convents, and 15,378 inhabitants. ARGOT, two districts and a city of British India, within the presidency of Madras, and under the jurisdiction of tho governor of that province. The district of NORTH ARCOT lies between 12 22 and 14 11 N. lat; and between 78 17 and 80 12 E. long. It is bounded on the N. by the districts of Cuddapah and Nellor; on the E. by the district of Chengalpat; on the S. by the districts of South Arcot and Salem ; and on the W. by the Mysor territory. The area of North Arcot, according to the Annals of Indian Administration for 1871-72, is 15,146 square miles; the population, as ascertained by a census taken in July 1871, being 2,007,667 souls. The aspect of the country, in the eastern and southern parts, is flat and uninteresting; but the western parts, where it runs along the foot of the Eastern Ghats, as well as all the country northwards from Trivellam to Tripali and the Karkambadi Pass, are mountainous, with an agreeable diversity of scenery. The elevated platform in the west of the district is comparatively cool, being 2000 feet above the level of the sea, with a maximum range of the thermometer in the hottest weather of 88. The hills are composed principally of granite and sienite, and have little vegetation. Patches of stunted jungle here and there diversify their ragged and barren aspect; but they abound in minerals, especially copper and iron ores. The narrow valleys between the hills are very fertile, having a rich soil and an abundant water- supply even in the dryest seasons. The principal river in the district is the Palar, which rises in Mysor, and flows through North Arcot from west to east past the towns of Vellor and Arcot, into the neighbouring district of Chen galpat, eventually falling into the sea at Sadras. Although a considerable stream in the rainy season, and often im passable, the bed is dry or nearly so during the rest of the year. Other smaller rivers of the district are the Paini, which passes near, Chittur and falls into the Palar, the Sonamukhf, and the Chayaur. These streams are all dry during the hot season, but in the rains they flow freely and replenish the numerous tanks and irrigation channela The principal roads in the district of. North Arcot are the Trunk road from Madras to Bangalor, running from east to west; a road from north-east to south-west from Madras through North Arcot to Coimbator; and a road running north and south from Chittur to Arcot. The Madras Railway, and the Great Southern Indian Railway, also pass through the district. Grain of many species and cotton are largely grown throughout North Arcot, as well as sugar-cane and indigo. A part of the latter is sent to the Madras market. Cotton cloth is largely manufactured,, and oil is prepared in considerable quantities for local con sumption and for export. For fiscal purposes, the district is divided into the following fifteen taluks: (1.) Chittur, (2.) Tripali, (3.) K Avert Pak, (4.) Sholingarh, (5.) Trivellam, (6.) Satgarh, (7.) Caddapanatam, (8.) Arcot, (9.) Vellor, (10.) Trivatur, (11.) Polur, (12.) Wandiwash, (13.) Sat- waid, (14.) Penmari, and (15.) Venkatagiri Kota. ARCOT, SOUTH, lies between 11 and 11 39 N. lat., and between 78 42 and 80 -4 E. long. The district of South Arcot is bounded on the N. by the districts of North Arcot and Chengalpat; on the E. by the French territory of Pondecherri and the Bay of Bengal; on the S. by the British districts of Tanjor and Trichinopoly; and on the W. by the British district of Salem. It con tains an area, according to the Annals of Indian Admini stration for 1871-72, of 4779 square miles; and a popu-