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* HISTORY. 109 HITCHCOCK. emphasized in the Roman world. Out of this stormy mingling of conflicting ideas in the Middle Ages came modern Europe, which rests politically upon a combination of the German and Roman principles. The Middle Age is regarded as closing about the end of the fifteenth century, when the fall of Constantinople had removed the last shadow of the old Roman world, when the discoveries of Columbus had immeasurably wid- ened the European horizon, and the revolt was beginning against ecclesiastical imperial- ism. The national idea slowly took form out of the feudalism of the Middle Ages, and modern nations gradually arose, with the re- sult of bringing into being a legal code for the regulation of international relations. The in- ternal confusion of the Middle Ages had sep- arated Europe from the rest of the world, but with the revival of learning and the interest in new things, known in history as the Renaissance, came a larger acquaintance with that older world of the East which, while less progressive, had its own civilization, institutions, and history. The conflict of the religions and civilizations of the F ist and W est produced the Eastern question, in which are contained so many of the most diffi- cult problems of modem iniernational politics. The opening of the Xew World in the period of discovery introduced a new factor of the greatest importance in the world's history — the future great power of the Western Hemisphere, which had as its heritage the civilization of Europe, but was unhampered by immemorial traditions and institutions, and by conflicting national interests. The same pregnant era that saw these new elements thrown into the world's life saw also the renewal of the old conflict between the German idea of liberty and the Roman idea of unity in the Protestant revolt against the control of the Roman Church. This conflict shaped much of the world's history for three centuries. The expansion of population in the older countries, the development of commerce, the increasing knowledge of the world, and the growing ambi- tion of nations conscious of their own possibili- ties and increasing rapidly in power and wealth, together with the religious persecutions generated bj' the Protestant revolution, brought about the opening and settlement of new and hitherto in- accessible regions, resulting in the widening of national interests, enormous increase in the power and resources of the great nations, and a development of national rivalries on a scale hith- erto unknown. There has also come an insistence on the part of civilized peoples that barbarian races shall submit to civilization and not ob- struct the progress of world development. His- tory has imtil recently concerned itself almost exclusively with the Occidental nations, regard- ing the Orient only as it has come in contact with the West. ow. however, the histories of India, China. .Japan, and all other peoples that have enjoyed orsr.inized life have assumed importance in view of their bearing upon the larger problems of the age. Such has been the movement of the great current of history which has expanded in volume with the expansion of the race. Within these wide boundaries the histories of diff"erent countries may be studied in detail ; and the study cf history may be still further specialized along the lines of social, economic, political, or con- stitutional fields, or in those of art. literature, or thought. These special fields become in- creasingly important as history grows in com- plexity, so that light is needed upon its phases in detail. The true spirit of history is nowhere better expressed than in Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay on History. See also Frederic Harrison, The Meaning of History (London, 1894) ; Lord Ac- ton's inaugural address as regius professor at Oxford (London, 1895) ; W. S. Lill.v, "The Xew Spirit in Historv," in Nineteenth Century (Oc- tober, 1895) ; White, 'The Study of History," Atlantic Monthly (.January, 1870) ; Freeman, Methods of Historical f^tudy (London, 1886) ; Droysen, Grundriss der Historilc, trans, by An- drews as Outlines of the Principles of History (Boston, 1893) : Adams, Manual of Historical Literature (3d ed.. New York, 1889) ; Bernheim, Lehrbuch der historischen Methode (Leipzig, 1894) ; Langlois and Seignobos, Introduction to the Study of History, trans, from the French by G. G. Berry (Xew York, 1898) : Froude. Short Studies on Great Subjects (XewY'ork, 1893). On the pedagogical aspects of the subject, see Hall (ed. ), Methods of Teaching History (Boston, 1883-85), a collection of papers by well-known educators: Channing and Hart, Guide to the Study of American History (Boston, 1896), very full bibliographies; Committee of Seven of the American Historical Association, The Study of History in Schools (Xew York, 1899) : publica- tions of the Xew England History Teachers' As- sociation. The publications of the American Historical Association contain many papers re- lating to history in general in its different aspects. HIS TRIO MAS'TIX (Xeo-Lat.. from Lat. histrio. actor -|- Gk. /uiffril, mastix. scourge). A comedy produced not later than 1599, of which John Marston was at least a collaborator, and printed in ItilO. HISTRIOMASTIX. THE PLAYER'S SCOURGE, OB ACTOR'S TRAG.a;DIE. A tract violently attacking the drama, by William Prvnne. a Puritan, published in 1032. It gave great offense, and the author was fined, deprived of his Oxford degree, and, losing both his ears, was sentenced to life imprisonment. HIT (Gk."l5,7s). A town of Asiatic Turkey, situated among deserts and salt marshes on the right bank of the Euphrates, in the Vilayet of Bagdad, and 110 miles west-northwest of the city of that name (Map: Turkey in .sia. K 6). It is remarkable for the asphalt and naphtha pits in the neighborhood, from which asphalt is believed to have been obtained for the construc- tion of the walls of Babylon. At present the chief products of the place are asphalt, naphtha, salt, and lime. Population, about 5000. HITA, e'ta, GiNES Pkbf.z de. See Pebez de HlT., GlXES. HITCH. See Kn-ottiso and Splicing. HITCH'COCK, Ch.rles Henbt (1836—). An American geologist, the son of Edward Hitch- cock. He was born at Amherst. Mass. After graduating at Amherst College (1856). he was assistant to the Geological Survey of Vermont (1857-01) : State Geologist of Maine (1861-62), and of Xew Hampshire (1868-78). His report on his work in Xew Hampshire, containing a folio atlas of maps, profiles, and sections, is considered his most important publication. Incidental to