Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/666

644 the ancient philosophies, &quot;but expressly maintained that the eclectic is the only method now open to the philosopher, whose function thus resolves itself into critical selection and nothing more. &quot; Each system,&quot; he asserted, &quot; is not false, but incomplete, and iu reuniting all incomplete systems, we should have a complete philosophy, adequate to the totality of consciousness.&quot; But this assumes that every philosophical truth is contained somewhere in the various philosophies ; and if, as it would be surely rash to deny, there still remains philosophical truth undiscovered, but dis coverable by human intelligence, it is evident that eclecti cism is not yet the only philosophy. For a discussion of tho question how far the above dicta of Cousin represent his own method of philosophizing we must refer the reader to the article. Eclecticism gained great popularity, and, partly owing to Cousin s position as minister of public instruction, became the authorized system in the chief seats of learning in France, where it has given a most remark able impulse to the study of the history of philosophy.  ECLIPSE. See.  ECSTASY (eKorao-is, from e^ib-Tiy/xi, to put out of its place, to alter), a term applied to a morbid mental condition, in which the mind is entirely absorbed in the contemplation of one dominant idea or object, and loses for the time its normal self-control. With this there is commonly associ ated the prevalence of some strong emotion, which manifests itself in various ways, and with varying degrees of intensity. This state resembles in many points that of catalepsy already described, but differs from it sufficiently to consti tute it a separate affection. The patient in ecstasy may lie in a fixed position like the cataleptic, apparently quite un conscious, yet, on awaking, there is a distinct recollection of visions perceived during this period. More frequently there is violent emotional excitement, which may find ex pression in impassioned utterances, and in extravagant bodily movements and gesticulations. This disease usually presents itself as a kind of temporary religious in sanity, and has frequently appeared as an epidemic. It is well illustrated in the celebrated examples of the dancing epidemics of Germany and Italy in the Middle Ages, and the Convulsionnaires of St Medard at the grave of the Abb6 Paris in the early part of the last century, and in more re cent times has been witnessed during periods of religious excitement in this country. This disorder is highly contagious, and readily spreads by imitation. As a disease it is more curious than important, and for its treatment requires the judicious exercise of moral influences rather than medical remedies, although these also, as in the case of similar ailments, may often be used with advantage.  ECUADOR, or, in full, undefined, an independent state of South America, traversed by the equator, from which it takes its name, and bounded on the N. by the United States of Colombia, E. by Brazil, S. by Peru, and W. by the Pacific Ocean (see ). Its area cannot be stated with any close approximation to accuracy, for large districts along the frontiers are equally claimed by Ecuador and the neighbouring powers ; and even within the limits of undisputed possession no systematic survey has been undertaken. According to Villavicencio, the area is only 127,205 English square miles ; but F. Hanemann, quoted by Behm and Wagner (Bevolk- erung der Erde, 1874, p. 76), makes it 248,580 by plani- motric calculation on the basis of H. Kiepert s map in his Handatlas, 1872. Kiepert places the eastern limit at 70 W. of Greenwich, but does not assign to Ecuador the dis puted territory along both sides of the Maranon. The population was stated by Villavicencio at 1,108,082 in 1857, exclusive of 200,000 &quot; wild&quot; Indians; but an official esti mate for the same year is quoted by Wappiius, which gives only 881,943, exclusive of 150,000 &quot; wild&quot; Indians, and even this he thinks is probably too high. His opinion is so far confirmed by the memoir of the minister Leon, published in 1875 at Quito, according to which the total population, exclusive of about 200,000 Indians, was 866,137. The Galapagos Islands, an uninhabited group with an area of 2951 square miles, are dependent on Ecuador.

Mountains.—The great South American chain of the Andes traverses Ecuador from south to north, and forms the predominant factor in its physical constitution. Its two Cordilleras run parallel with each other, and inclose an elevated longitudinal valley about 40 miles wide and 300 miles long, which is divided by the transverse ridges, or nudos, of Tiupullo and Assuay into the three great basins of Quito, Ambato, and Cuenca, which are again subdivided by inferior ridges into irregular sections. The eastern Cordillera attains in several of its summits a height of more than 18,000 feet; the western has only one (Chim- borazo) which exceeds 17,500. The Quito plain lies 9500 feet above the sea, Ambato 8500, and Cuenca 7800 : the last two are comparatively barren and melancholy, while the first, though so much the loftiest of the three, is clothed with luxuriant vegetation. The altitude of the Tiupullo or Chisinche ridge, stretching across from Cotopaxi to Iliniza, is 11,500 feet, and that of the Assuay ridge about 13,500. Both the western and eastern slopes of the chain are marked by magnificent valleys of erosion ; the former, which con tains at least sis successive terraces, has an average gradient of 275 feet per mile, while that of the latter is only 125. Granitic, gneissoid, and schistose rocks are the main materials of the gigantic pile ; tho summits are capped with trachyte and porphyry, and the sides are strewn with immense beds of gravel and volcanic debris. Nowhere in the whole Andean system do the individual mountains attain so magnificent a development as in the Ecuadorian section. Around the valley of Quito alone there are twenty noble volcanic summits, presenting a beautiful variety of form, here a perfect and there a truncated cone, there a jagged and blasted crest, and there again a smooth and snow-covered dome.

