Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/826

* SECOND SIGHT. ns SECBET ASSOCIATIONS. i,,i,. I,, ,1k aiipciirance of characlcristic oftiens. Coiisiiil : Hoswoll. Life of Johnson, ed. by Bir- Iwck Hill (Oxfuid, 1887) ; Martin, "Western Isl: nnds of Scotland," anil Pennant, "A Tour in Scot- land," in PinUerton, Voyages and Travels (Lon- don, 180!)) ; Crowe, The Xight .S'irfe "/ y<itiire (2d od., ib., 1854) ; Tylor, Primitive Culture (ib., 1871); Dyer, The Ghost ^Vorld (Philadelpbia, I8!)3) ; Lang, Cock Lane and Cotnmon Sense (London. 1804). SECBET (OF., Fr. secret, from Lat. seeretus, secret, separated, p. p. of srcernere, to separate, from SC-, apart + eerncrc. to separate). One of the prayers of tbc mass of the same general form as the 'collect, but recited by the priest in so low a voice as not to be heard by the people, whence the name Kccrela is derived, it follows immediately after the oblation of the eucliaristic bread and "wine, and was in the earlier ages the only prayer of oblation provided in the missal ; the' Sacr'amcntary of Saint Gregory calls it the Oratio super ohUita. SECBETAN, sc-kra'tiiN', Charles (1815-95). A Swiss mctaplivsician. born at Lausanne. He was a pupil of 'Vinet at Bale in 1835. and of Sehelling in 1837. In the latter year he founded the Uevue Suisse, and in 1838 was appointed pro- fessor of philosophv at the University of Lau- sanne. The work of Secretan, at once a philos- opher and a theologian, was one of the most interesting attempts that have been made to reconcile the dogmas of Christianity with the principles of philosophy. The system of Secre- tan. evolved from that of Descartes, is best set forth in his principal book. La Philosophie de la liberie (2 vols., 1848-49). Other works are La philosophie de Leibnitz (1840), La raison et le christianisme (1863), and La civilisation et la croyance ( 1887.) SECBETABY. In the Federal Government of the L'nitcd States, the head of an executive department and a member of the President's Cabinet. See the articles on the various depart- ments, as State, Department of, etc. SECBETABY BIBD, or Seepent-Eagle. A remarkable raptorial. bird (Serpentariiis secre- tiirius) of South Africa, the sole representative of a separate family (Serpentariidie), classified between the turkey-buzzards and the true vul- tures. It is about four feet long, and has vei-y long, unfeathered legs;' the plumage is bluish gray, and there is an erectile crest of single feathers, suggesting quill pens carried above the ears. It feeds on reptiles of all kinds, which it devours in great numbers, and is so highly valued, on account of the constant war which it wages against serpents, that a fine is inflicted in Cape Colony for shooting it. It fearlessly attacks the most venomous serpents, stunning them with blows of its knobbed wings or feet, or seizing and carrying them into the air so high that they are killed when let fall. Small serpents are swallowed entire ; the larger ones are torn to pieces. The secretary is most frequently seen in pairs, or solitary. It is tamed as a protector of poultry-yards, but if not sifRciently fed is apt to help itself to a chicken or duckling. It con- structs a huge nest in trees, and occupies it year after year. Consult Evans, Birds (London, 1900) ; Newton, Dictionary of Birds (London, 1893-90). SECBETABY OF STATE. ancient ofhce of importance in the Government of the United Kingdom. The first authentic record of its ex- istence is in the reign of Henry III., when .John Maunsell is described as ".secretarius noster." Two secretaries were first appointed toward the close of the reign of Henry VIII. At the union of 1707 Anne added a third secretary of State for Scotland, but this oflice was soon abolished. In the reign of George III. there were at first two secretaries; and for a time, until 1782, a third for America, The two secretaries directed home affairs; to one the foreign affairs of the northern department were committed ; to the other those of the southern department. Irish affairs belonged to the province of the elder sec- retary. There are now in the United Kingdom five principal secretaries of State, who are re- spectively appointed for home affairs, foreign affairs, war, the colonies, and India. They are always mendjers of the Privy Council and of the Cabinet. For the American Secretary of State, see State, Dep-^etment of. SECBET ASSOCIATIONS. Societies which admit members by an initiation and sul)scription to an oath, and often possess an elaborate ritual leading to higher degrees, with the use of symbols, pass-words, and grips as a means of recognition among members. Many secret societies are found on the west coast of Africa. Among the Polynesians societies which unite large numbers of freemen in a free- masonry of common interest virtually control the economic and the political life. (See DrK-DUK.) The associations of priests that conducted the mysteries of the ancient religions ai'e counted as the forerunners of later societies. The secrecy was due to one or both of two causes : ( 1 ) The tendency to hide all knowledge of life in mystical forms, away from the contamination of the vul- gar, and to keep the multitude under the sway of superstition; or (2) the danger of maintaining such advanced ideas in the face of ignorance and prejudice. The political element entered at a very early date. The Pythagoreans coml>incd phi- loso])hy and politics. The East was a fertile ter- ritory for secret societies. The Ismaili and after- wards the Assassins (q.v.) were organized in behalf of the claims of Ali's successor to the throne of the caliphate. It is customary among many Protestants to consider the Jesuits as a secret society in spite of their re- lation to the Church, but the notion is based upon a misapprehension. Secrecy and strange ceremonials often accompanied gatherings of the Middle Ages that first speculated on religion and science. The Secret Tribunals of Westphalia (the Vehmgerichte) and the Beati Paoli of Sicily were constituted to administer justice in an age of anarchy. On the other hand, there were cer- tain criminal associations of brigands w'ho levied tribute upon the people, best known of wdiicli is the Mafia (q.v.). With the awakening of mod- ern thought secret societies were formed with speculative tendencies. The Rosicrucians (q.v.) mingled mysticism and occultism. The Illuminati sought social amelioration and were a source of republican propagarniism. In the nineteenth cen- tury secret political societies have taken part in nearly every revolution. (See C.IBBONARI: He- T.ERIA PHILIKE; FeNIAN SOCIETY; NlIIII.I.'iM. ) China is honevcombed with secret societies, many