Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/702

 684 MNEMOSYNE MOAB 1 284 5 678 90 bdtfl spknz Words formed from these letters by combi- nation with any of the vowels are more easily numbered than the figures they repre- sent. The most complicated system of mne- monics is that of Fainaigle, who began to lec- ture in Paris in 1807 and in England in 1811. He divides the walls, ceiling, and floor of a room into 50 imaginary equal compartments. To each compartment is assigned a particular hieroglyphic, with which it is indelibly asso- ciated. These elements having been thorough- ly mastered, some association, no matter how ridiculous, is formed between the object to be remembered and one of the hieroglyphs. The substitution of letters for figures also belongs to his system. His table is as follows : 128456 7 8 9 t n m r 1 d ckgq bvw pf sxz He selected these letters on account of some similarity to or association with the figure rep- resented ; as, for example, t resembles the fig- ure 1, n with two strokes suggests 2, m with three strokes suggests 3, r occurs in the word denoting four in the European languages, &c. Fainaigle published a work in English illus- trative of his system, entitled "The New Art of Memory " (London, 1812). His system was improved by Aime'e Paris (Principes et appli- cations diverges de la mnemotechnie, 7th ed., Paris, 1833), who applied his method to chro- nology, geography, jurisprudence, mathematical formulas, and the nomenclature of all the sci- ences. Further modifications were made by F. Fauvel-Gouraud, who taught in the United States and published " Phreno-Mnemotechnic Dictionary " (part i., New York, 1844), and " Phreno-Mnemotechny, or the Art of Memo- ry " (1845). Among other late writers on mne- monics are Gen. Bern, Expose general de la methode mnemonique polonaise, &c. (Paris and Leipsic, 1839), an enlargement of Jazvvinski's system ; Hermann Kothe, System der Mnemo- nik (Cassel, 1853) ; and Karl Otto-Reventlow, Mnemotechnischer Commentar zur allgemeinen Weltgeschichte (Stuttgart, 1861). HEV08YIE (Gr.), in classical mythology, the goddess of memory, one of the Titanides, daughter of Uranus, who became by Jupiter the mother of the Muses. MOA. See DINORNIS. MOAB, the ancient name of a region on the E. shore of the Dead sea and the E. bank of the Jordan, about 50 m. long by 20 broad. [t is designated in Scripture as the land of Moab. The plains are well watered and very productive. The uplands consist of a rolling plateau about 3,200 ft. above the sea, which descends at angles of 45 and 50 into the Dead sea. . The great chasm of Wady Mojeb, the Arnon of Scripture, divides them into two districts, of which the northern is called by the modern Arabs El-Belka, and extends as far N. as the mountain of Gilead ; while the southern is known as El-Kerak, and reaches southward to the wady of that name. The village of Kerak is supposed to stand upon the site of one of the ancient capitals of Moab, called in the Old Testament Kir-Haraseth (2 Kings iii. 25), Kir-Hareseth (Isa. xvi. 7), Kir- Haresh (Isa. xvi. 11), Kir-Heres (Jer. xlviii. 31, 36), or Kir-Moab, an earlier one having been Ar, or Rabbath-Moab. It is built on the top of a steep hill surrounded by a deep and narrow valley. The land is now inhabited by a few scattered Arab tribes, but is covered with ruined villages and towns. According to the Biblical account, Moab was a child of Lot, and his descendants conquered before the time of the exodus a gigantic tribe called Emim, and took possession of their land ; but they lost a portion of it to the Amorites, from whom it was taken by Moses. Balak, king of Moab, formed an alliance with the Midianites to resist the invading Hebrews, and sought to persuade Balaam the seer to curse them ; but Balaam by divine direction blessed them. Subsequently Balaam seduced the Hebrews to join in the worship of Baal-peor. The Midianites were thereupon attacked by command of the Lord, and suffered great losses, but the Moabites were spared. Moses died and was buried in the land of Moab, in a ravine facing Beth-peor, the house of Baal-peor. During the time of the judges Eglon, king of Moab, united with the Ammonites and Amalekites and subjugated the Israelites ; but after ruling and receiving trib- ute in Jericho for 18 years, he was killed by Ehud the Benjamite, and the Moabites were driven back to their own territory. Moab was conquered by Saul, and David made it a tribu- tary state. After the division of the Hebrew state, the Moabites revolted against Ahab, king of Israel, whose son Jehoram tried in vain to reconquer their territory. They subsequent- ly made various incursions into the Hebrew possessions, and appear in later times to have reoccupied the land between the Jabbok and Arnon, probably after the exile of the ten tribes, and they also assisted the Babylonians in their invasion of Palestine. But they, too, were subdued by the conquerors. Their name, like those of Ammon and Edom, was finally lost under that of the Arabians. Their licentious and bloody idolatry of Baal-peor .and Chemosh made them an object of national detestation to the Hebrews, no less than their frequent hos- tilities, and they are often contemptuously spo- ken of in the prophets. The discovery in 1868, at Dhiban in Moab, of a monument of black basaltic granite, with an inscription of 34 lines in Hebrew-Phoenician characters, attracted re- newed attention to this country. The only Eu- ropean who saw the Moabite stone in a com- plete state was the Rev. Mr. Klein, of the Je- rusalem mission society. The negotiations set on foot to obtain possession of it unfortunate- ly resulted in quarrels among the Arab tribes, and led them to believe that the Turks would