Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/790

 780 CARDINAL CARDINAL BIRD there are several small lakes. Slate is the pre- vailing geological feature of the county. Veins of copper, lead, and zinc are found. Some do- mestic manufactures of woollen are carried on ; outs, butter, cattle, sheep, woollens, and slates are exported. Remains of castles and religious houses are frequent, as are druidical remains and Roman encampments. Capital, Cardigan. CARDINAL (Lat. ca-rdinalis, principal orchief), originally, any clergyman bearing an official appointment in a principal church. By degrees, however, the title became the exclusive desig- nation of the principal clergy of the Roman church, who, as the natural counsellors of the pope, acquired an influence and consideration of a superior kind. Thus, in process of time, an ecclesiastical senate was formed to advise and assist the sovereign pontiff in the government of the church; and the constitution of this body was continually perfected until it was ultimately fixed in its present form by Pope Sixtus V. (J585-'90). The dignity of cardinal is the highest in the Latin church after that of pope, who is elected by the assembled body of cardinals. (See CONCLAVE.) Cardinals have also the rank of secular princes, being classed with electors, and next after kings. Their in- signia (^besides those worn by bishops, which all cardinals, even those who are not in sacred orders, are entitled to use) are a purple mantle, a scarlet hat, and a ring of sapphire set in gold. They are divided into three classes, cardinal bishops, cardinal priests, and cardinal deacons; and the maximum number of these classes is respectively 6, 50, and 14. The first class, when full, consists of the bishops of the six suf- fragan sees of the former States of the Church, Ostia, Porto, Albano, Tusculum, Sabina, and Palestrina. Their title arose from the circum- stance that they were obliged to officiate pon- tifically on certain days in the greater basilicas of Rome, and were inaugurated or incardinated (incardinati) into these functions, and hence ranked as the chief of the cardinals, who were, as stated above, the clergy of these principal churches. The cardinal priests were originally the arch priests who presided over the clergy attached to the principal churches, of which there were already 25 at the close of the 5th century. The cardinal deacons sprung from the regionary deacons, of whom there were ori- ginally 7 and afterward 14, each one having charge over the poor in a certain district of the city. In modern times the cardinal priests are very frequently archbishops and bishops. Each one, however, derives his title from a particular church, and in that church he has special juris- diction. The cardinal deacons may he priests, deacons, or subdeacons, or merely in minor orders. They are generally men who have de- voted their lives to the study of law, diplomacy, and statesmanship, and are employed in the temporal affairs of the Roman court. Every cardinal, whatever order he may have receiv- ed, exercises quasi-episcopal jurisdiction in his church, gives solemn benediction, and issues dispensations. Those who are priests can give the tonsure and minor orders. They take pre- cedence of all prelates, even patriarchs, and have a decisive voice in general councils. The appointment of a cardinal rests exclusively with the pope. The number is never quite filled, and there are always some reserved in petto, to be announced when a death occurs or any other suitable opportunity presents itself. In accord- ance with stipulations entered into at different times, the pope appoints a few cardinals recom- mended by the principal Catholic sovereigns, who are called crown cardinals. The decrees of the council of Trent and the constitutions of Sixtus V. direct that the cardinals should be selected as far as possible from all nations. The reasons of this direction are evident ; for, as the pope exercises supreme authority over so many national churches in different parts of the world, he needs the advice of wise and learned men from all civilized countries in order to give a truly catholic character to his admin- istration. On Jan. 1, 1873, there were 47 car- dinals, leaving 23 vacancies. There were 4 cardinal bishops, all born in Italy ; 36 cardinal priests, of whom 25 were born in Italy, 5 in France, 8 in Germany, 1 in Spain, 1 in Ireland, and 1 in Guatemala; and 7 cardinal deacons, all born in Italy. Of these 47 cardinals, 38 were appointed by Pope Pius IX. The oldest was the cardinal priest Alexander Biliet, arch- bishop of Ohambery, born in 1783, appoint- ed in 1861 ; the youngest, the cardinal priest Lucien Bonaparte, born in 1828, appointed in 1868. There were 19 more than 70 years of age, 19 between 60 and 70, 5 between 50 and 60, and 4 between 40 and 50. CARDINAL BIRD, or Cardinal Grosbeak, a bird of the finch family (cardinalis Virginianut, Bonap.). It has a very large bill, moderate wings, and a graduated tail longer than the Cardinal Bird (Cardinalie Vlrginianiu). wings ; the length is 8 inches ; the bill red ; the crown surmounted by a flattened erectile crest, about an inch long; the general color bright vermilion red, darkest on the back,