Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/387

Rh C A S C A 365 adducing a single proof either of his father's descent from the La Scala family, or of any single event narrated by Julius as happening to himself or any member of his family prior to his arrival at Agen. Nor does he even attempt a refutation of what seems really to be the crucial point in the whole controversy, and which Scioppius had proved, as far as a negative can be proved, namely, that William, the last prince of Verona, had no son Nicholas, the alleged grandfather of Julius, nor indeed any son who could have been such grandfather. But whether complete or not, the Confutatio had no success ; the attack of the Jesuits was successful, far more so than they could possibly have hoped. Scioppius was wont to boast that his book had killed Scaliger. It certainly embittered the few remaining months of his life, and it is not improbable that the mortifi- cation which he suffered may have shortened his days. The Confutatio was his last work. Five months after it ap- peared, "on the 21st of January, 1609, at four in the morning, he fell asleep in Heinsius's arms. The aspiring spirit ascended before the Infinite. The most richly stored intellect which had ever spent itself in acquiring know- ledge was in the presence of the Omniscient" (Pattison). Of Joseph Scaliger the only biography in any way adequate is that of Jacob Bernays (Berlin, 1855). It was reviewed by the late Mark Pattison in an excellent article in the Quarterly Review, vol. cviii. (1860). Mr Pattison had made many MS. collections for a life of Joseph Scaliger on a much more extensive scale, which it is greatly to be regretted he left unfinished, and in too fragmentary a state to be published. The present writer has had access to and made much use of these MSS. , which include a life of Julius Csesar Scaliger written some years since. For the life of Joseph, besides the recently published letters above referred to, the two old collections of Latin and French letters and the two Scaligerana are the most important sources of information. For the life of Julius Cresar the letters edited by his son, those subsequently published in 1620 by the President de Maussac, the Scaligerana, and his own writings, which are full of autobio- graphical matter, are the chief authorities. M. De Bourousse de Laffore's &tude sur Jules Cesar de Lescale (Agen, 1860) and M. Magen's Documents sur Julius Caesar Scaliger et sa famille (Agen, 1873) add important details for the lives of both father and son. The lives by M. Charles Nisard that of Julius in Les Gladiateurs de la EynMique des Lettres, and that of Joseph in Le Triumvirat Litteraire au scizieme siecle are equally unworthy of their author and their subjects. Julius is simply held up to ridicule, while the life of Joseph is almost wholly based on the book of Scioppius and the Scaligerana. A complete list of the works of Joseph will be found in his life by Bernays. (R. C. C.) SCAMMONY. Under this name the dried juice of the root of Convolvulus Scammonia, L. (o-Kofwovta), is used in medicine. 1 It appears to have been known to the Greeks as early as the 3d century B.C., and is supposed to have been one of the medicines recommended to Alfred the Great by Helias, patriarch of Jerusalem (Cockayne Leech- doms, vol. ii. pp. xxiv., 289, 175; 273, 281). The scam- mony plant is a native of the countries of the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin, growing in bushy waste places, from Syria in the south to the Crimea in the north, its range extending westward to the Greek islands, but not to northern Africa or Italy. It is a twining perennial, bearing flowers like those of Convolvulus arvensis, and having irregularly arrow-shaped leaves and a thick fleshy root. The drug is collected principally in Asia Minor, and near Aleppo in Syria, although a little is obtained from the neighbourhood of Mount Carmel and the Lake of Tiberias. The principal places of export are Smyrna and Aleppo (Scanderoou), but the drug often bears in commerce the name of the district where it was collected, e.g., Broussa, Angora, &c. Formerly Aleppo scammony was considered the best and commanded the highest price, but at present the purest article comes from Smyrna. The very variable quality of the drug has led to the use of the resin prepared directly from the root, which affords it to the extent of 5| 1 It was formerly called diagrydion, probably from Sdxpv, a tear, in allusion to the manner the juice exudes from the incised root. per cent., and an establishment for its manufacture was founded at Broussa in 1870. The dried root is also exported to England, and the resin prepared from it there. By purification the resin can be obtained almost white. The crude resin obtained from the root, being free from gum, does not present a milky appearance when rubbed with a wetted finger, and is thus easily dis- tinguished from the natural product. Scammony is used in medicine as a safe but energetic purgative, and is frequently prescribed in combination with calomel and colocynth. Its medicinal activity is due to the resin scammouin, which is also called jalapin from its occurrence in the root of the male jalap (Ipomsea orizabensis), and of Tampico jalap (/. simulans) (see JALAP). The export of scammony from Smyrna in 1881 was only 97 boxes, valued at 544, the amount having decreased of late years owing to the increased export of the root from Syria. More than half of this quantity was taken by England, about one-fourth by France, and the remainder by Italy, America, and Austria. The drug is obtained from the root by slicing off obliquely one or two inches from the crown and allowing the milky juice which exudes to drain into a small shell (generally that of a freshwater mussel), which is inserted in the root just below the base of the incision. To prevent the juice from becoming soiled, the earth is scraped away so as to leave exposed four or five inches of the root. The shells are collected in the evening and their contents emptied into a copper or leathern vessel, the scrapings from the surface of the root, consisting of partially dried tears, being added. On the average, about one drachm is afforded by each incision; a plant four years old may give two drachms ; in rare cases as much as twelve drachms has been obtained from a single large root. The collection usually takes place when the plant is in flower towards the end of summer. The product of different roots naturally varies in quality, and the peasants therefore, on arrival at their homes, render it uniform by mixing it with a knife. It is then spread out in the air to dry. Sometimes the gathering of several days is allowed to accumulate, and then moistened, kneaded, and made up into cakes. During the drying it appears to undergo a kind of fermentation, which gives the drug a slightly porous appearance and dark colour. Frequently it is adulterated by adding 40 per cent, of flour and earthy matter. It then assumes a paler colour and opaque appear- ance, and loses its brittleness. This adulterated article is known as " skilip," and the pure article as "virgin" scammony. The latter is met with in the form of flattened pieces half an inch or more in thickness, with a blackish, resinous fracture, thin fragments being translucent. Externally it is often covered with a greyish powder. The odour, when a piece is freshly broken, is cheesy; when chewed, it leaves an acrid sensation in the throat. Scammony of good quality should yield to ether 80 to 90 per cent, of resin; the remain- der consists of gum and mineral matter. SCANDERBEG, i.e., Iskander (Alexander) Bey, is the Turkish name and title of GEORGE CASTRIOTA, the youngest son of John Castriota, lord of an hereditary prin- cipality in Albania. He was born about the year 1404, and as a boy was sent as a hostage to the Ottoman court, where he was brought up as a Mohammedan for the Turkish military service. He early distinguished himself as a soldier and received high promotion under Amurath II. In 1443 he was of the expedition against the Mag- yars, but shortly after taking the field he heard of his father's death and resolved to strike a blow for freedom. Availing himself of the opportunity afforded by John Hunyady's defeat of the Turks at Nish, he forced from the principal secretary of the sultan a firman making him governor of Croya, his native town, and forthwith left the camp with 300 Albanian horsemen. Once master of the place, he abjured Islam and proclaimed his independence. The Albanians soon recognized him as their head, and flocked to his standard, and pasha after pasha was vainly sent to crush him. Amurath II. in person unsuccessfully besieged him in 1450, and Mohammed II. found it neces- sary to grant him favourable terms of peace in 1461. Instigated by the legates of Pius II. and the ambassadors of the Venetian republic, Scanderbeg again proclaimed war in 1464, and at least was successful in repelling the