Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/406

* sou. 352 SOUL. SOU, soo (OF. sou, sol, It. soldo, from ML. solidus, sort of coin. Lat. solidiis, solid, firm). A former Frenuli coin, originall}- of gold, subse- quently of silver, and then of copper; toward the end of the eighteenth century large numbers were struck in bell metal. At various times there were fourth (liard), half, two, and three sou pieces. The value of the sou was 12 deniers, or one-twentieth of a livre tournois or one-twenty-fifth of a livre pai'isis. The copper sou of the eighteenth century weighed 12.238 grains, and while its nominal value remained 12 deniers, it w'as actually worth only about two. The coinage of the sou ceased upon the adoption of the present decimal monetary system, but the word sou is popularly applied to the tive-centime piece, which is one-twentieth of a franc and worth about one cent. SOUBISE, soS'hiz'. An ancient French family which became extinct in the male line in 1560, the female survivor marrying in 1575 Vi- comte Rene II. de Rohan. Two sons were the offspring of this marriage, of whom the elder was Henri, Duke de Rohan (q.v.), a celebrated leader of the Huguenots. The younger son, Ben- jamin, Sieur de Soubise ( 1583-1642 ). served under Maurice of Nassau in the Netherlands, joined his brother in the leadership of the Huguenots, and gained his greatest distinction in the defense of La Rochelle (1627-28) against Richelieu. He died without issue and the title passed to Fran- cois de Rohan, of whose descendants the best known was Charles de Rohan, Prince de .Soubise ( 1715-87). He served in the War of the Austrian Succession and was made lieutenant-general in 1748. In the Seven Years' War he held impor- tant commands and was at the head of the French and Imperial forces in the disastrous battle of Rossbach (1757). He was made a field-marshal in 1758. In the following year he became a Minister of State. After the Peace of Paris he retired from active participation in militar}' affairs. He had the favor of Mme. de Pompadour and afterwards that of Mme. du Barry. He died .July 4, 1787. the last of the line of Soubise-Rohan. See Rohan. SOUDAN, soo-diln'. A region in Northern Africa. See Sudan. SOUFPLOT, soo'flo', .Tacqies Germain (1713-80). A French architect, born at Irancy (Yonne). In 1734 he went to Rome as a pen- sioner of the Academy. After studying in Italy and Asia ilinor he returned to Lyons, where he soon gained distinction. At this period he eitlier constructed or collaborated in the design of every building of importance that was under- taken in Lyons. In 1749, having become a mem- ber of the Ro.val Academy of Architecture, he removed to Paris. In 1772 he was appointed controller of the monuments and embellishments of Lyons, and in 1775 controller of the biiildings of Paris. He is chiefly noted as the architect of the Pantheon, one of the largest and finest cupo- las in existence. Among his other works are the sacristy of the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Ecole de Droit in Paris, the Hotel Dieu in Lyons, the H6tel de Ville in Bordeaux, and the Cathedral of Rennes. SOUFRIERE, son'fre-.nr'. La. A volcano situated near the northern end of the island of Saint Vincent (q.v.) in the West Indies. Its height Is 3700 feet. It has had three violent eruptions within the last two centuries. In 1718 there was a terrific explosive eruption which covered the whole island with debris. In 1812 another devastating outbreak took place in which a new crater was formed immediately beside the old one. During the next ninety years the vol- cano was dormant, the old crater being occupied by a lake. On May 7, 1902, there occurred, simul- taneously with the eruption of Mont Pelee (q.v.) in Martinique, a violent outburst in which im- mense clouds of steam charged with hot vol- canic dust rushed down the sides of the moun- tain in all directions with the velocity of a hurricane, wliile large quantities of red-hot stones were showered over the northern part of the island. The entire northern third of the island was devastated, all vegetation being de- stroyed and the ground covered with dust and rocks to the depth of from 1 to 25 feet. Two villages were annihilated and 1500 persons killed. On September 3d there was another outburst al- most as violent as the first. SOUL (AS. sawl, satmil, Goth, saiwala, OHG. sriiki, srla, Ger. Seele, soul; possibly connected with Lat. scECulum, generation, age). A term which is used for at least three conceptions. In the most primitive sense the soul is conceived as a refined and intangible material being, often as a sort of diaphanous double of the physical body. In a later sense the term designates the human spirit, conceived to be an immaterial (and usually an immortal) being, which is the source of human life, intelligence, and person- ality. In a third sense it is used by psycholo- gists to designate the totality of psychical phe- nomena connected with one individual or one body. In this sense the soul is equivalent either to consciousness considered as a whole or to those factors of consciousness which may be said to constitute the ego. It is not, however, asserted to have any existence outside of or apart from consciousness. B.v primitive man the soul was not carefully distinguished from the body; the conception was probably the result of observing the phenomena of death. A man is alive, he dies, and his body, which has still the same appearance, has suddenly lost all power of motion and feeling. The soul has gone out of it like a breath of air, or a phantom or a dream, or like a subtle es- sence pervading thin.es. Beyond this primitive man does not seem to have gone in defining what soul means. Advance is shown among Oriental peoples. Thus the Hindus teach in their Vedas that the human soul is a portion of the Supreme Being, which fills all things. Being pantheists, most Oriental people fail in their conceptions of individual personality. Hence the Hindus hold that all finite differentiations of Brahma are ultimately absorbed. There is, therefore, only a negative belief in the soul. Among the Egyptians transmigration provides a background for more distinct ideas. Accoi'ding to this theory the soul lives primarily in the bodv of an animal and passes from it, after wandering for 3000 years through all the species of animals, into a human body, unless the priests shorten this period. In the Book of the Dead a vague belief in immortality is foreshadowed : but it is doubtful if this lielief is dissociated entirely from the corresponding idea of the sur- vival of the body. We find traces of this uncer-