Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/743

 MOLOCH MOLTKE 725 the branchial sac is large, the opening of the oesophagus situated at the bottom; they are mostly attached, and propagate both by eggs and buds, the male and female organs being on the same individual. They "are both simple and compound. Those young which originate from eggs move free in the early stage, and have a long tail which is lost when they fix themselves by the opposite extremity ; in the compound forms, larvas of this description may enclose a group of eight united ascidians, by their division laying the foundation for a col- ony while yet free, capable of greater multi- plication by further gemmation. Ascidians are found from the tropics even into the. arctic regions, and some of the compound forms are brilliantly phosphorescent. The non-peduncu- lated single ascidians were known to Aristotle, and were called by him teihuon; sometimes called bagpipes, these animals are often seen attached to rocks, shells, crabs, and other bod- ies ; though several may be found in a group, they do not form a compound body with a com- mon external covering; they are occasionally found attached to a shapeless mass formed by the bodies of other ascidians. The food consists of small organic particles, which are brought with the water into the branchial sac and to the cesophageal opening at the bottom. The brachiopods, or palliobrancliiata, have the body depressed, covered with a mantle, bilobed and open ; the branchia3 are not separated from the mantle ; the heart is double and arterial ; near the mouth are two long spirally convoluted arms (whence the name of the order) provided with cirri or cilia; the mouth is simple, at the base of the arms ; the shell is bivalve, always attached either by a peduncle or by the shell, and adheres to the mantle by several oblique muscles; there is no elastic ligament at the hinge, which is opened by the arms and by internal muscles ; all are aquatic and marine. They include the terebratula ; the extinct spirifers, orthis and productus, with ar- ticulated calcareous shells ; and the crania and lingula, the last interesting as occurring with slightly modified species and with few inter- ruptions from the Silurian to the present epoch. MOLOCH, or Molech, the national god of the Ammonites, who was worshipped by human sacrifices. The Hebrews were repeatedly ad- dicted to his worship. Solomon, induced by his foreign wives, built a high-place to him; Manasseh imitated his impiety ; and the idol- atry continued from that time chiefly in the valley of Tophet and Hinnom, till the place was defiled by Josiah. Some explain the terms which are generally thought to refer to the burning of children as sacrifices to Moloch, to mean only the passage between two burning pyres, or the act of leaping over a fire, as a symbol of purification, practised by many an- cient nations. Milcom (1 Kings xi. ; 2 Kings xxiii.) and Malcham (Jer. xlix.) are considered dialectic variations of the name Moloch, which probably signified king (Heb. melelcJi). MOLOCH, an Australian iguanian reptile, of the family agamidce. The M. horridus (Gray) is the most ferocious-looking of the lizard tribe, and, though harmless, is as ugly as any of the representations of fabled basilisks and dragons. The whole body is covered with irregular plates and strong sharp spines, and the head is crowned with two very large spines; on the back of the neck are large rounded protuberances, similarly armed with granular scales and spines. MOLOSSli, or Molossis, in ancient geography, a division of Epirus in northern Greece, ex- tending across the province from K to S., partly between Athamania on the east and Thesprotia on the west. In early times it was peopled by various tribes of unknown race, with whom the Molossi, a Grecian people who claimed descent from Pyrrhus (Neoptolemus), the son of Achilles, mingled at a later period. Though regarded as semi-barbarians, the Mo- lossians became predominant in Epirus, and established a royal dynasty over the whole country in the last quarter of the 4th century B. C., the capital being Ambracia (now Arta), near .the gulf called after it. MOLTKE, Helmuth Karl Bernhard Ton, count, a German general, born at Parchim, Mecklen- burg, Oct. 26, 1800. His father was a Danish general, and he was educated in the cadets' academy at Copenhagen, and at 18 became an officer. He entered the Prussian service in 1822, and after ten years of arduous studies and labors was admitted to the general staff. In 1835 he went to Constantinople, and Mah- moud II. conceiving a high regard for his genius, the Prussian authorities permitted him to serve him in improving the fortifications of Turkish cities and in the warfare against the Kurds and against Egypt. He returned to Berlin after the sultan's death in 1839, was employed for many years in staff service, and in 1856 became adjutant of Prince Frederick William, and in 1858 chief of the general staff of the army, which post he still holds. The rank of lieu- tenant general was conferred upon him in 1859. He planned the operations in the wars with Denmark (1864) and Austria (1866), accom- panying on the former occasion Prince Fred- erick Charles, and on the latter King William. After the battle of Sadowa Moltke made every preparation for marching upon Olmutz and Vienna, but negotiated a five days' truce, which became the prelude to peace. He was reward- ed with the order of the black eagle and the command of the Kolberg or second Pome- ranian grenadier regiment. Having long fore- seen the contingency of a war with France, he was ready with his plans when it suddenly broke out in 1870, and their execution resulted in the most astonishing and uninterrupted series of victories ever achieved by one great military nation over another. His system con- sists mainly in making the different army corps advance separately and operate simultaneously in grappling with the enemy, and he brings to