Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/492

* CENT NOUVELLES NOUVELLES. ■t22 CENTRAL AMERICA. _CENT NOUVELLES NOUVELLES. sii.v iitHi'vOl' ( Fr.. luiiulred new >l(iiu-.). A ((jIIci- tion of Krenth talcs, many of theni taken from the works of Itjilian novelists, first printe<l hy Verurd, in an undated folio, from a nianiisirii)t of the year 14.5. Boecaceio and Pospio are the prineipal sources. The tales were originally written for the Court of liurj-undy, prolmhly at the direction of Philip the (iood. Antoine de la Salle had some part in collecting and editin;; them. They were re])ul)lishe(l in Paris in 1S.")S. under the editorship of Thomas Wright. They are marked bv an extremely cvnical and obscene wit. CEN'TO (Fr. ceiiton. It. ccntone, from Lat. cento, patchwork, Gk. aivrpuv, kentrOn, patch- work, from KtvTpov, h'ciilroii, pin, from hiiriiv, l;enlc'iii, to prick). A name applied to literary trivialities in the form of ))oems manufactured hy puttinff together distinct verses or passages oi one author, or of several authors, so as to make a new meaning. After the decay of genu- ine poetry among the flreeks, this worthless verse manufacture came into vogue, as is proved by the f]omcrnrr)itoinn. a patchwork of lines taken_ from Honier (edited hy Tcucher. Leip- zig, 179,3) : but it was nuich more common among the Romans in the later times of the Empire, when Vergil was frequently abused in this fash- ion, as in the Cento Xuptialis of Ausonius (who gives rules for the composition of the cento), and especially in the Cento VergiUaniis, con- structed in the Fourth Century by Proba Fal- conia, wife of the proconsul Adelfius, and giv- ing, in Vergil's misplaced words, an epitome of sacred history. The cento was a favorite recrea- tion in the ^liddle Ages. In the Twelfth Cen- tury a monk named ^fetelhis contrived to make a cento of spiritual hymns out of Horace and Vergil. Consult Uclepierre, Tohleau de la lit- ti'riitiirc du centon (London, 1874-75). CENTO, chen'tri. A city in northern Italy, 10 miles north of Bologna, situated in a fertile plain, on the left bank of the Reno (Jlap: Italy, 1- 3), It has a former palace of Count Chia- velli-Pannini, and in the churches are many paintings by Guercino, whose interesting home is still shown, and whose statue adorns the prin- cipal square. Cento is connected by canal with San Giovanni and with Ferrara, and is a hemp and rice market. Population (commune), in 18H1, 17.000; in ItlOl, 1(1.1 18. CENTO'NES HOMER'ICI (Lat., Homeric centos, translation (jf (ik. I'l/n/fioKtv-puvcc, homer- ol-evlrOnrfi. or ('inripSKevrpa, honu'rokentra. from 'Omipos, Homerofi. Homer + Kivrpwv, keiitron, cento). A poem founded on the life of Christ and written in Homeric hexameters. It dates l)robably from the Fifth Centurs', and was printed by .ldus in 1.501. and by" Stephens in 1.568. It has been ascribed to" the Emi)ress Kudocia. CENTO NOVELLE ANTICHE, chen't6 novf'l'lft an-te'kfl (It., hundred new stories). A co!lecti(m of tales belonging to Italy and the Thirteenth Century. They are founded variously on historical events and inediawal romances and tableaux. See It.m.ian I-.woiace and Litera- ti kk. CENTORBI, chpn-tor'bf. The former name of the Sicilian city Centuripe (q.v.). CENTRAL AMERICA. That portion of the Aiiicrican cuntiiiciil iictuci'ii .Mexico on the north and Colombia on the south, embracing the States of Costa Rica, Xicaragua, Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, and the Colony of British Hon- duras (Map: World, America, J 8 — sjiecial map). It extends from latitude 8° to 18° 30' .., end has an area estimated at about ISl.riOO square miles. Where it joins the Isthmus of Panama the distance between the .Atlantic ami Pacilic is reduced to about 75 miles. It is in general a mountainous region, the elevations reaching about 13.000 feet in the north, and over 11,000 feet in the south. The interrupted moun- tain chain alonjr the west coast is. in a sense, the roniiccling link between the cordilleras of North and South America. The chain includes numer- ous volcanoes, which have ejected enormous quan- tities of lava and ashes. There are two extensive lakes, those of Xicaragua and Managua. The west coast of Central America is liold and steep, but most of the eastern coast lies at low altitudes. The (lopulation is chielly of mixed Spanish and Indian blood. The inehistoric remains are of great interest. See Arc-ii.i:oi.oi:v, .mekica.. History. The coast of Central America was first sighted by Columbus on his fourth voyage, in August, 1502, After 1513 a part of what is now Costa Rica was con(|Uored by Pedro .rias de Avila. From 1522 to 1525 the" country was in dispute between Avila and Cortes, who. after the eompiest of Mexico, dis]]atched .Mvarado to sub- due (iuatemala (1523-24). Cortes himself in- vaded the country in 1524-25. completing its snb- jugatiim. All of Central .mcrica constituted the Ca|)tain-Generalcy of (Iuatemala until 1S21. In that year Guatemala proclaimed its inde- pendence, and in 1822 the five audiencias, corre- sponding to the [iresent five States, were united to the ;Mexican Empire of Iturbide. They re- gained their independence soon after, and in ■Tilly, 1823, constitiUeil themselves the Republic of the United States of Central America. From the first there was a bitter contlict between the Federalist element, which was strongest in Hon- duras, and the Conservative Party, comprising Uie clergy and the old Spanish bureaucracy, which were opposed to centralization, their stronghold lieiiig Guatemala. The struggle be- tween these two elements has persisted to the present day, and has shown itself in the numer- ous unsuccessful attemjits to establish a fed- erated Central America. The Liberals were in the ascendent tip to 1839, under the leadership of General MorazCm. In 1839, however, the union was dissolved, as the result of the smcess- fnl uprising of the Conservatives of Guatemala under Carrera. General .Morazon made an at- tempt to restore the Federal Republic, but was captured and shot in Costa Rica in 1842. In that year a new union of all the States, excepting Costa Rica, was brought about, but this was dissolved in 1845. Costa Rica, in general, took verv little part in the political allairs of Central America. In 1850 Honduras, Salvador, and Nic- aragua endeavored to restore the Republic by force, but their armies were overthrown in the following year by Carrera. It was during the period of disturbances which followed the victory of Guatemala that the filibu.ster Walker (q.v.) made Ins audacious attempts to >eize (he (iov- eriiment of Xicaragua (1851)) and Salvador (1800). Of subsequent efTorts to establish a fed-