Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/661

* NIHILISM. 563 NIKE APTEROS. this Iiope failed, c•on^stl■Ul■tive measures were souf,'lit. In 1880 two reform parties were prominent: one of them had as its mouthpieci; the Tchenty I'cicilicI, wliii-h foiind its cliief sui)- port in the workinf^men, and |iroposcd to educate and orj^anize society in orcU'r that social revolu- tion might be effected. The second and more important party was the Xarodnaia V'olia (Will of the People}, which sou<;ht to ovcrtlirow des- potism by the communistic instincts of the peas- ants. It set forth a programme with the follow- ing demands: (1) A repBcsentative assembly hav- ing supreme control in all State matters: (2) provincial self-government with elective ollicers : 1 3) village eonununcs. which were to be eco- nomically and executively independent: (4) free- dom of conscience, press, si)eech. association, and political agitation; (5) manhood suffrage; (6) militia instead of a standing army; (7) na- tionalization of land ; ( 8 ) measures to socialize factories, etc. The Xarodnaia practically dis- solved in 1884. With its downfall there came a period of quiet in the social movement, al- though in the cities there still exists a reform movement among the workingmen. See Coii- m'XISM ; S0CIAL1.S.M. Consult : Turgeniefi', La Riissie ct les Itusscs (Paris, 1847); Ilertzen. La conspiration russc de IS^o (London, ISoS) ; Thun, Geschichtc des ruxsischen yHiilismns (Basel, 1883); Step- niak, Underground Russia (London, 1883) ; id., Fussia Under the Tsars (ih., 188.5) ; Tikhomirov, Russia, Political and Social (ib., 1887) ; Olden- burg, Der russisclic yihilismus {Leipzig, 1888) : Stegmann, Handhurh des l^ocialismus, article "Paissland" (Zurich, 1807); Karlowitsch, Die Entirirkcluiif] des rnssisclieii Xihilismus (3d ed., Berlin, 1880 1, a convenient short history of the movement : Kennan, Siberia and the Exile Sys- tem (Xew York, ISfll) ; Krapotkin, Memoirs of a Revolutionist (Boston, 1899), NIHONGI, neTi6n-ge' (.Jap., Chronicles of Ja- pan). An ancient Japanese historical book. In a.d. 71'2 the Jiojiki (Records of Ancient Matters), the first book written in Japan, appeared. It was followed in 720 by the yihonyi, which gives the substance of the Kojiki in Chinese form. Xot only are Chinese phrases and sentences employed, but it is fashioned throughout on the model of Chinese histories. It transforms, for example, the two gods from whom sprang the .Japanese race into the "positive" and "negative' principles of the Chinese philosophy, and it puts into the months of mythical .Japanese monarchs speeches filled with quotations from the Chinese classics. It omits a few legends, explains away the gross- ness of a few others, and gives variant versions of still others. It adds also 72 years of history. In .Japan it has far excelled the Kojiki in popu- larity, but to the serious student it is of much less value, though it is still a secondary source for the history of ancient Japan. NIIGATA, ne'e-gii'ta. A seaport on the west coast of Hondo, .Japan, and capital of a prefec- ture, at the mouth of the Shinano River, in latitude 37° .i.V X. and longitude 139° 3' E. (Map: .Japan, F.^). By tlie treaty of 1S.5S Xiigata was opened to foreign commerce on Janmiry 1, 18G9, but the existence of a heavy bar at the mouth of the river has prevented its commercial development. The Province of Echigo, in which Njigata lies, abounds in mineral wealth, petro- leum, coal, and metals, and the soil yields rice, silk, tea, and the lacquer tree, and inferior lac- quer ware is numufactured at Xiigata on a large scale. The town is clean, and well provided with schools, banks, newspapers, and post ollices. The climate is very hot in the summer and extremely cold in the winter. Population, in 1898, 53,330. NIJAR, ne'iiilr. A town of Southeastern Spain, in the Province of .lmerla, situated in an artilicially irrigated plain, 15 miles northeast of Almeria (ilap: Spain, D 4), There are mines of lead, iron, manganese, and phosphorite, and the town manufactures woolen blankets and fine ironstone pottery. Population, in 1900, 12,558. NIJKERK, nl'kerk. A town in the Province of Gelderland, Holland, 28 miles southeast of Amsterdam (Map: Xethcrlands, D 2). It has a good harbor connected with the Zuider Zee by a wide canal two miles long. The chief industries are matting and flax-spinning; a brisk trade is carried on in grain, wood, and cattle. Popula- tion, in 1899. 8124. NIJMEGEN, nI'ma-Gen. A city of the Neth- erlands. See XlMEGUEN. NIJNI-NOVGOROD, nyezh'nye ndv'go-rod. A city in Russia. See Xiziini-Novgoeod. NIKA (ne'ka) RIOT. An insurrection against the Emperor Justinian at Constantinople in 532. It was occasioned by the oppressive taxation and the fights between the Blue and the Green factions of the Circus. Justinian favored the Blues at first, but soon both Blues and GJreens joined in a popular uprising. Justinian yielded to their demands for reform, and this encouraged the mob, who set fire to the city. Saint Sophia and many public buildings were burned. The mob forced Hypatius to assume the Imperial insignia, and Justinian wished to flee, but was dissuaded by Theodora. Finally Belisarius (q.v. ) attacked the rioters in the hippodrome, and put down the rebellion by- the slaughter of as many as thirty thousand. See Justinian. NITCE (Gk. piK-//, victory). The Greek god- dess of victory, corresponding to the Roman Victoria. She was the daughter of Styx and Pallas, and sister of Zelos (zeal), Cratos (pow- er), and Bia (force). Having assisted Zeus in his combat with the Titans, she was taken to live with him on Oljnnpus. She is usually rep- resented with wings and bearing a wreath and palm branch, and is often foimd in sculpture in connection with other divinities, especially with Athena, who is also called Nike. NIKE AP'TEROS (Gk. TXUv 'Airrepot, Wing- less Victory), or Atiikne Nike, Temple of, A beautiful small temple of simple Doric archi- tecture standing on a bastioji flanking the en- trance to the Athenian Acropolis. The temple was erected as part of the scheme of beautifica- tion of the city undertaken by Pericles, and was built by Callicrates, the architect of the I>ong 'alls. It was torn down by the Turks in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and the material was used in the construction of a bastion. Lord Elgin took some of the slabs of its frieze to Londcm. In 1835. when the bastion was destroyed, the stones of the building were recovered, and the temple was rebuilt on the original foundation, missing portions being sup- plied by terra-cotta easts. The temple. 18 by 27 feet, consists merely of a small cella, with four