Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/14

ISHTAR. jn Roschor's Ausfiihrlichcs Lexil-on dcr gricch- ischen und riimischcn Mi/tholoyic (Leipzig, 1884 sqq.); Ziiiinierii, Kciliiischriftcn und das alte Testament (3il cd., Horlin, 1002), vol. ii., pp. 420-442; J.astrow, Uvliijion vf Bahijlonia and Assyria (Boston. 1808: revised in the German trans., Giessen, 100203) ; Peters, yippur (New York. 1897).

I'SIAC TABLE. The name formerly given to a hronze phite, 4 feet 8 inches long and 3 feet wide, on which are dcjiictcd tliree rows of Egj"p- tian deities inlaid in niello and silver. It seems to have been foimd in Italy, and was sold by a soldier of the Constable de Bourbon to a lock- smith, who sold it in 'yl' to Cardinal B<-mbo. It excited nnuh curiosity, and gave rise to con- siderable discussion l)cfore Egi>tologists had learned to decipher liieriiglyphics. It is now preserved in Turin, but is almost forgotten, being considered as at best au imitation dating from the RiPiiian |x'riod.

ISIDORE OF CHARAX, ka'raks (Lat. Isi- darus Chamecniis). A geographer of the first cen- tury A.D., born at Charax, on the Tigris, the aithor of Travels in Parthia. often quoted by Athenaois, and of an extant work on a similar subject, en- titled lr(if)/iu liapftiKoi, which has survived. It is better known under its Latin title, Mansioncs Pnrlhica-, and is published, with a Latin trans- lation, in tlie series of Scriplores Oeographici (ViwW. 1830).

ISIDORE OF SEVILLE, >fvll' (?-036). Arclibishoj) of Seville, and one of the most dis- tinguished ecclesiastics of the seventh century. He was born about 560 (or 570), probably at or near Cartagena, where his father, .Severianus, had been prefect. Two of his l)rothers, I'ulgen- tius and I^-andcr. were, like himself, bisliops, the first of Cartagena, the second of Seville; Isidore succeeded the latter in 600. The episcopate of Isidore is rendereil notable by the two half- ecclesiastieal, half-civil councils of Seville in 019 and of Toleilo in (i33, which were held under his presidency, and the canons of which may almost be said to have formed the basis of the consti- tutional law of the Spanish kingdoms, both for Church and for State, down to tlie great consti- tutional changes of the fifteenth ccnturj-. The de- crees of councils and other Church laws anterior to his time, called by his name, are not from his hand. He died at Seville. April 4, 03fl. Isidore was the most learned man of his time, and his works are in the most various depart- ments of knowledge — theological, aseetical. lit- urgical, scriptural, historical, philosophical, and even philological. The most complete edition is that of Arevaio (7 vols., Rome. 1707-1803), re- printed with addition of the canons and liturgy in Migne, I'atrologia Latina. Ixxxi.-lxxxvi. We are indebted to Isidore for many fragments of Greek and Latin authors, among the number several of whom hardly any other remains have been preserved. In 1722 Benedict XIV. made him one of the doctors of the Church. His Sentences from Augustine and Gregory the Great suggested Peter Lombard's Sentences, and his Etiimnlogies, in twenty books (edited by Otto. T^eipzig. 1833), was the great mediipval eneyclopirdia.

ISIDORIAN DECRETALS. See PsErno- IsinORi.vN Decret.vi.s.

IS'IDOTIITS (Lat.. from Gk. 'U^Scopot^. Saint (c.370e.44O). A monk, often called Pehisiota or of Pclusium, from the monastery of which ho was abbot. He was born probably at -Mcxandria, and tradition makes him a pupil of Chrysostoni: but this is not certain. He is best known by his let- ters, of which about two thousand remain. They contain a mass of exegesis, often valuable in itself and always of importance for the construction of the early history of interpretation. They are edited in iligne. Patrolugia Graca, vol. Ixxviii. (18(!0). Consult: GlUck. Isidori Summa Doc- trina .V oral is (1848), and Xiemeyer. Pe Isidori Pelusiota Vita, Scriptis et Durlrina (182.5).

ISINAY, eV-nii'^ or ISINAYA, e's^-nii'yi. A Malay people in ueva Vizcaya Province, Luzon. See PiiiurpiXE Islands.

ISINGLASS, I'zin-glas (from JID. hui/sen- bias, Dutcli Iniislilnd. Ger. IJaiisrnblase. isin- glass, sturgeon-liladder, from MDutch hui/scn, Dutch /iKiccH, OllG. huss, (ier. Hansen, sturgeon + MDutch hlas, Dutch blad. OHG. blusa, Ger. lilaseu, bladder, dialectic Eng. blaze, pimple; associated by popular etymologj' with Eng, glass). The dried swimming-bladders of differ- ent fishes. The amount of gelatin in it is from 8G to 03 per cent., and even more. It is pre- pared by tearing the air-bladder from the back of the fish, from which it is IfMi.sencd by striking several blows with a woixlen club, then washing in cold water, removing the black outer skin with a knife, again washing, and spreading on a board to dry in the open air. with the white shiny skin turned outward. To prevent shriveling or shrinking, the bladders nuist be fastened to the drj'ing-board. The best quality of isinglass comes from sounds that are dried in the sun. After drying, the sound is again moistened with wann water, and the interior shiiw skin is removed by hammering or rubbing. Finally, it is rolled be- tween two polished iron rollers. If it is desired to extract the gelatin, the isinglass, while still in ,a moist condition, is bleached in a solution of sulphuric acid, in which it swells up to a colorless jelly; the latter, after having been dis- solved in warm water, is cooled, and the jelly then formed, when dry, is a clear and colorless gela- tin. The chief places of manufacture are Rus- sia. Canada. Brazil, the West Indies, the East Indies, and Jfanila. The Russian varieties, which are supposed to be the best on the market, are made chiefly from the sturgeon ; but elsewhere the bladders of cod. hake, and other tish are also used. Isinglass should be of a bright or light yellow color, thin and transparent, and without any odor or taste. The latter naturally indi- cates the presence of impurities. When dissolved in boiling water there should remain but a veiy small insoluble residue, and the jelly which is formed shouhl be clear and colorless. Isinglass may be used for the same purposes as gelatin (q.v.). It is employed chiefly for clarifying beer and wine, for culinary purposes (in jellies and soups), for making cement, etc. The adhesive (|u:ility (if court -plaster is due to isinglass,

I'SIS (Gk. ^Io-(j, Egyptian, 'Ise-t, a name of obscure etymology). An Egj-ptian goddess, the daughter of Seb (Earth) and Nut (Heaven), and the sister and wife of Osiris (q.v.). After the treacherous nuirder of her husband by his brother Set (q.v.), Isis fled to the swamps of the Delta, accompanied by seven scorpions. On one occasion the mistress of a house in which she sought shelter, fearing the scorpions, turned the