Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 19.djvu/247

* THEOPHILTJS. rank. Antiocli. Rome, Greece, and Alexandria have all been advocated as his place of resi- dence. THEOPHILTJS. One of the most important precursors of Dr. Faust. The facts appear to be that in the sixth century there was a '!1ico|)hilus who was treasurer of the church at Adana, near Tarsus, in Cilicia Secunda. He was elected bish- op, but refused the honor, out of humility. The new bishop removed him from his ollice. Later lie adopted heretical views, but on repentance was forgiven and restored. These facts were em- bellished by later story-tellers, until the legend arose that after his deposition he had recourse to a Jew magician, who took him to a midnight meeting of devils. But he was soon overtaken ■with remorse, and, through forty days' fasting and prayers, prevailed on Mary to intercede with her Son for him. Then he made a public con- fession of his crime, told of the goodness of the Virgin Mary, and died three days after. This legend, whose origin is traced back to an un- known Greek of the name of Eutychianus, was brought, during the tenth century, to the West, where it quickly spread far and wide. It was made the subject of poems and dramas in many languages, and frequent allusions to it are found in Latin, German, Anglo-Saxon, Icelandic, Swed- ish, French, and Spanish literature. THEOPHRAS'TTJS (Lat., from Gk. ee«- <)pn(rTos) fe. 372-287 B.C.). A Greek philosopher, born at Eresus, in Lesbos. He studied philosophy at Athens, first under Plato and subsequently under Aristotle, who at his death made him head of the Peripatetic School, which he directed for thirty-five years, 322-287. Under his leadership the character of the school was well maintained ; it had a large number of pupils, and enjoyed a high reputation at home and abroad. In phi- losophy he followed closel.y in the footsteps of his master, but was more inclined to natural his- tory than to metaphysics. His discourses on ethics were greatly admired, but his chief re- nown was gained by his botanical works. Two of these, his Historii of Plants, in nine books, and his Theoretical Botany, in six, are still extant, together with fragments of liis work On Miner- ology (Ilepi XtBuf), On Fire (Uepl Tvp6s), On the Senses (Hepi al<rdT)(T4wv xoi alaffijT Sv), Mctaphysies ( MeTa0u(j-«d ) , and other similar subjects. Especially famous is his book of sketches called Characters {Xapa.KTijpn) . They have been extremely popular and have been imi- tated many times, especially by the French and English of the eighteenth century. The best complete editions of his works are by Schneider (Leipzig, 1818) and by Wimmer (Paris, 1866). The Characters have been many times edited separately. Especially famous is the edition by C'asaubon with commentary (Leyden. 1.502) ; edited also by I^ssing (Copenhagen, 1868), by Jebb (London, 1870), and with translation and commentary by the Leipzig Philological Society (1897). - • THEOPH'YLACT (Gk. e(o>pvUKToi, Theo- phj/ltiktos) (died c. 1107). A Bible commentator, born probably at Constantinople. He became tutor to Constantinus Porphyrogenitus, son of Michael VII. In 1078 Theophylact was made Archbishop of Achrida and Metropolitan of Bul- garia. He labored diligently to extend Chris- VOL. XIX.— u. 203 THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. tianity, but was hindered by the half-civilized people of his dioce.se, and vainly endeavored to lay down the duties of his ollice. He wrote val- uable commentaries on the minor prophets and on tlie greater part of the Now Testament. In addi- tion he wrote 75 epistles and a number of tracts. His commentaries are founded on those of Chrysostom (q.v.). His e.xogesis is direct, pre- cise, and textual in its treatment. His works were much esteemed by later writers. Maria de Rubeis published his works in Latin and Greek at Venice in 4 folio volumes (1754-63). THE-OPOMTUS (Lat, from Gk. e««7roMiros) OF CHIOS (C.378-C.300 B.C.). A Greek his- torian. In early life he left home with his father, who was banished on account of his pre- dilection for the Spartans, and took refuge in Athens. There he was trained in oratory by Isocrates. In addition to numerous panegyrics, of which that on Mausolus was the most cele- brated, his works included 'EXXtjnKo! laropta^ or SiJpTafij 'EWtjwkui', a History of Greece in twelve books, embracing the period from B.C. 411, where Thucydides breaks off, to the battle of Cnidus, in 394; and *iXiir7riKd in fifty-eight books, a his- tory of the life and times of Philip of Macedon. Of these works only fragments remain, but an abridgment of the Latin translation of the (piKiTiviKd, by Trogus Pompeius, has been pre- served by Justin. Though the ancient critics commend his accuracy, they blame Theopompus for the harshness and illiberality of his remarks. This, however, was due to his fearless exposition of the corruption among the politicians of his day. According to Pliny, he was the first Greek writer to make any definite mention of Rome. For the fragments, consult Miiller, Fragmenta nistoriorum Grcecorum (Paris, I84I) ; Bunger, Theoponipca (Strassburg, 1874). THEOR'BO (It. tiorbo. of unknown etymol- ogy). An obsolete musical instrument of the lute family, of which it formed the bass. Besides having strings running over the fingerboard, it had a number of bass strings stretched along- side of the board. These strings were longer and were fastened in a separate neck attached to the neck containing the strings stopped by the fingers. The theorbo was an indispensable in- strument in the orchestra of the seventeenth cen- tury and was especially used for accompanying the voice. For illustration, see Plate of Musi- cal Instruments. THEOREM (Lat. theorem a, from Gk. eeiiprifia, sight, principle considered, rule, the- orem, from Beuipetv, theorein, to view, from Beoipis, theoros, spectator, from $ea(7ffai, thca- sthai, to view, behold). In mathematics, a propo- sition to be demonstrated. A theorem consists of two parts: the hypothesis, or the given, and the conclusion, or what is to be proved. One theorem is the converse of another when the con- clusion and the hypothesis are interchanged in the two theorems. The converse of a theorem is, however, not necessarily true. A corollary (q.v.) of a theorem is a truth easily deduced from it and not requiring a separate demonstration. A lemma (q.v.) is generally a theorem used to pre- pare the way for another. THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, A society founded bv Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (q.v.) in New York, November 17, 1875, assisted by