OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Actium

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​ACTIUM (mod. Punta), the ancient name of a promontory in the north of Acarnania (Greece) at the mouth of the Sinus Ambracius (Gulf of Arta) opposite Nicopolis, built by Augustus on the north side of the strait. On the promontory was an ancient temple of Apollo Actius, which was enlarged by Augustus, who also, in memory of the battle, instituted or renewed the quinquennial games called Actia or Ludi Actiaci. Actiaca Aera was a computation of time from the battle of Actium. There was on the promontory a small town, or rather village, also called Actium.
History.—Actium belonged originally to the Corinthian colonists of Anactorium, who probably founded the worship of Apollo Actius and the Actia games; in the 3rd century it fell to the Acarnanians, who subsequently held their synods there. Actium is chiefly famous as the site of Octavian’s decisive victory over Mark Antony (2nd of September 31 B.C.). This battle ended a long series of ineffectual operations. The final conflict was provoked by Antony, who is said to have been persuaded by Cleopatra to retire to Egypt and give battle to mask his retreat; but lack of provisions and the growing demoralization of his army would sufficiently account for his decision. The fleets met outside the gulf, each over 200 strong (the totals given by ancient authorities are very conflicting). Antony’s heavy battleships endeavoured to close and crush the enemy with their artillery; Octavian’s light and mobile craft made skilful use of skirmishing tactics. During the engagement Cleopatra suddenly withdrew her squadron and Antony slipped away behind her. His flight escaped notice, and the conflict remained undecided, until Antony’s fleet was set on fire and thus annihilated.
Authorities—Dio Cassius, 50.12-51.3; Plutarch, Antonius, 62-68; Velleius Paterculus, ii. 84-85. C. Merivale, History of the Romans under the Empire, iii. pp. 313-325 (London, 1851); V. Gardthausen, Augustus und seine Zeit, i. pp. 369-386, ii. pp. 189-201 (Leipzig, 1891); G. Ferrero in the Revue de Paris, Mar. 15, 1906, pp. 225-243; J. Kromayer, in Hermes, xxxiv. (1899), pp. 1-54. (M. O. B. C.)
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Acta Diurna

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​ACTA DIURNA (Lat. acta, public acts or records; diurnius, daily, from dies), called also Acta Populi, Acta Publica and simply Acta or Diurna, in ancient Rome a sort of daily gazette, containing an officially authorized narrative of noteworthy events at Rome. Its contents were partly official (court news, decrees of the emperor, senate and magistrates), partly private (notices of births, marriages and deaths). Thus to some extent it filled the place of the modern newspaper (q.v.). The origin of the Acta is attributed to Julius Caesar, who first ordered the keeping and publishing of the acts of the people by public officers (59 B.C.; Suetonius, Caesar, 20). The Acta were drawn up from day to day, and exposed in a public place on a whitened board (see Album). After remaining there for a reasonable time they were taken down and preserved with other public documents, so that they might be available for purposes of research. The Acta differed from the Annals (which were discontinued in 133 B.C.) in that only the greater and more important matters were given in the latter, while in the former things of less note were recorded. Their publication continued till the transference of the seat of the empire to Constantinople. There are no genuine fragments extant.
Leclerc, Des Journaux chez les Romains (1838); Renssen, De Diurnis aliisque Romanorum Actis (1857); Hübner, De Senatus Populique Romani Actis (1860); Gaston Boissier, Tacitus and other Roman Studies (Eng. trans., W. G. Hutchison, 1906), pp. 197-229.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Actaeon

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​ACTAEON, son of Aristaeus and Autonoë, a famous Theban hero and hunter, trained by the centaur Cheiron. According to the story told by Ovid (Metam. iii. 131; see also Apollod iii. 4), having accidentally seen Artemis (Diana) on Mount Cithaeron while she was bathing, he was changed by her into a stag, and pursued and killed by his fifty hounds. His statue was often set up on rocks and mountains as a protection against excessive heat. The myth itself probably represents the destruction of vegetation during the fifty dog-days. Aeschylus and other tragic poets made use of the story, which was a favourite subject in ancient works of art. There is a well-known small marble group in the British Museum illustrative of the story.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Acta Senatus

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​ACTA SENATUS, or Commentarii Senatus, minutes of the discussions and decisions of the Roman senate. Before the first consulship of Julius Caesar (59 B.C.), minutes of the proceedings of the senate were written and occasionally published, but unofficially; Caesar, desiring to tear away the veil of mystery which gave an unreal importance to the senate’s deliberations, first ordered them to be recorded and issued authoritatively. The keeping of them was continued by Augustus, but their publication was forbidden (Suetonius, Augustus, 36). A young senator (ab actis senatus) was chosen to draw up these Acta, which were kept in the imperial archives and public libraries (Tacitus, Ann. v. 4). Special permission from the city praefect was necessary in order to examine them. For authorities see Acta Diurna.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Actinometer

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​ACTINOMETER (Gr. ἀκτίς, ray, μέτρον, measure), an instrument for measuring the heating and chemical effects of light. The name was first given by Sir John Herschel to an apparatus for measuring the heating effect of solar rays (Edin. Journ. Science, 1825); Herschel’s instrument has since been discarded in favour of the pyrheliometer (Gr. πῦρ, fire, ἥλιος, sun). (See Radiation.) The word actinometer is now usually applied to instruments for measuring the actinic or chemical effect of luminous rays; their action generally depends upon photochemical changes (see Photo-Chemistry). Certain practical forms are described in the article Photography.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Acton

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​ACTON, an urban district in the Ealing parliamentary division of Middlesex, England, suburban to London, 9 m. W. of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Pop. (1861) 3151; (1901) 37,744. Its appearance is now wholly that of a modern residential suburb. The derivation offered for its name is from Oak-town, in reference to the extensive forest which formerly covered the locality. The land belonged from early times to the see of London, a grant being recorded in 1220. Henry III. had a residence here. At the time of the Commonwealth Acton was a centre of Puritanism. Philip Nye (d. 1672) was rector; Richard Baxter, Sir Matthew Hale (Lord Chief-Justice), Henry Fielding the novelist and John Lindley the botanist (d. 1865) are famous names among residents here. Acton Wells, of saline waters, had considerable reputation in the 18th century.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Anastasius

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​ANASTASIUS, the name of four popes.
Anastasius I., pope from 399–401. He it was who condemned the writings of Origen shortly after their translation into Latin.
Anastasius II., pope from 496–498. He lived in the time of the schism of Acacius of Constantinople. He showed some tendency towards conciliation, and thus brought upon himself the lively reproaches of the author of the Liber pontificalis. On the strength of this tradition, Dante has placed this pope in hell.
Anastasius III., pope from 911–913, was a Roman by birth. Practically nothing is recorded of him, his pontificate falling in the period when Rome was in the power of the Roman nobles.
Anastasius IV. was pope from 1153 to 1154. He was a Roman named Conrad, son of Benedictus, and at the time of his election, on the 9th of July 1153, was cardinal bishop of Sabina. He had taken part in the double election of 1130, had been one of the most determined opponents of Anacletus II. and, when Innocent II. fled to France, had been left behind as his vicar in Italy. During his short pontificate, however, he played the part of a peacemaker; he came to terms with the emperor Frederick I. in the vexed question of the appointment to the see of Magdeburg and closed the long quarrel, which had raged through four pontificates, about the appointment of William Fitzherbert (d. 1154)—commonly known as St William of York—to the see of York, by sending him the pallium, in spite of the continued opposition of the powerful Cistercian order. Anastasius died on the 3rd of December 1154, and was succeeded by Cardinal Nicholas of Albano as Adrian IV.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Anastasius I

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​ANASTASIUS I. (c. 430–518), Roman emperor, was born at Dyrrhachium not later than A.D. 430. At the time of the death of Zeno (491), Anastasius, a palace official (silentiarius), held a very high character, and was raised to the throne of the Roman empire of the East, through the choice of Ariadne, Zeno’s widow, who married him shortly after his accession. His reign, though afterwards disturbed by foreign and intestine wars and religious distractions, commenced auspiciously. He gained the popular favour by a judicious remission of taxation, and displayed great vigour and energy in administering the affairs of the empire. The principal wars in which Anastasius was engaged were those known as the Isaurian and the Persian. The former (492–496) was stirred up by the supporters of Longinus, the brother of Zeno. The victory of Cotyaeum in 493 “broke the back” of the revolt, but a guerilla warfare continued in the Isaurian mountains for some years longer. In the war with Persia (502–505), Theodosiopolis and Amida were captured by the enemy, but the Persian provinces also suffered severely and the Romans recovered Amida. Both adversaries were exhausted when peace was made (506) on the basis of status quo. Anastasius afterwards built the strong fortress of Daras to hold Nisibis in check. The Balkan provinces were devastated by invasions of Slavs and Bulgarians; to protect Constantinople and its vicinity against them he built the “Anastasian wall,” extending from the Propontis to the Euxine. The emperor was a convinced Monophysite, but his ecclesiastical policy was moderate; he endeavoured to maintain the principle of the Henotikon of Zeno and the peace of the church. It was the uncompromising attitude of the orthodox extremists, and the rebellious demonstrations of the Byzantine populace, that drove him in 512 to abandon this policy and adopt a monophysitic programme. His consequent unpopularity in the European provinces was utilized by an ambitious man, named Vitalian, to organize a dangerous rebellion, in which he was assisted by a horde of “Huns” (514–515); it was finally suppressed by a naval victory won by the general Marinus. The financial policy of Anastasius was so prudent and economical that it gained him a reputation for avarice and contributed to his unpopularity. He died in 518.
Authorities.—Sources: Joshua the Stylite, Chronicle, ed. Wright, with English translation, Cambridge, 1882; Marcellinus, Chronicle; Zachariah of Mytilene, Chronicle (Eng. trans. by Hamilton and Brooks, London, 1899); Evagrius, Ecclesiastical History; John Lydus, De Magistratibus; John Malalas, Chronicle. Modern works: Gibbon, Decline and Fall, vol. iv. (ed. Bury); Bury, Later Roman Empire, vol. i.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Anantapur

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​ANANTAPUR, a town and district of India, in the Madras presidency. The town has a station on the Madras railway, 62 m. S.E. from Bellary. Pop. (1901) 7938.
The district of Anantapur was constituted in 1882 out of the unwieldy district of Bellary. It has an area of 5557 sq. m., and in its northern and central portions is a high plateau, generally undulating, with large granite rocks or low hill ranges rising here and there above its surface. In the southern portion of the district the surface is more hilly, the plateau there rising to 2600 ft. above the sea. There is a remarkable fortress rock at Gooty, 2171 ft. above the sea, and a similar but larger rock at Penukonda, with an elevation equal to that of Bangalore, about 3100 ft. Gooty fortress was a stronghold of the Mahrattas, but was taken from them by Hyder Ali. In 1789 it was ceded by Tippoo to the nizam, and in 1800 the nizam ceded the district of Anantapur with others to the British in payment for a subsidiary British force. The population in 1901 was 788,254, showing an increase of 8% in the decade. The principal crops are millet, rice, other food grains, pulse, oil seeds and cotton. There are several steam factories for pressing cotton. Two railways traverse the district.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Anapaest

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​ANAPAEST (from Gr. ἀνάπαιστος, reversed), a metrical foot consisting of three syllables, the first two short and the third long and accented; so called as the reverse of a dactyl, which has the first a long syllable, followed by two short ones. An anapaestic verse is one which only contains, or is mostly made up of, anapaestic feet.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Anapa

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​ANAPA, a seaport town of Russia, in the government of Kuban, on the N. coast of the Black Sea, 45 m. S.E. from the Strait of Yenikale or Kerch, giving access to the Sea of Azov. It ​was originally built in 1781 as a frontier fortress of the Turks against Russia. Three times captured by the Russians, in 1791, 1807 and 1828, and twice restored by them, in 1792 and 1812, it was finally left in their hands by the treaty of Adrianople in 1829. During the Crimean War its fortifications were destroyed (1855) by the Russians themselves. Pop. (1897) 6676.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Anastasius II

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​ANASTASIUS II. (d. 721), Roman emperor in the East, whose original name was Artemius, was raised to the throne of Constantinople by the voice of the senate and people in A.D. 713, on the deposition of Philippicus, whom he had served in the capacity of secretary. The empire was threatened by the Saracens both by land and sea, and Anastasius sent an army under Leo the Isaurian, afterwards emperor, to defend Syria; adopted wise and resolute measures for the defence of his capital; attempted to reorganize the discipline of the army; and equipped and despatched to Rhodes a formidable naval force, with orders not only to resist the approach of the enemy, but to destroy their naval stores. The troops of the Opsikian province, resenting the emperor’s strict measures, mutinied, slew the admiral, and proclaimed Theodosius, a person of low extraction, emperor. After a six months’ siege, Constantinople was taken by Theodosius; and Anastasius, who had fled to Nicaea, was compelled to submit to the new emperor, and, retiring to Thessalonica, became a monk (716). In 721 he headed a revolt against Leo, who had succeeded Theodosius, and receiving a considerable amount of support, laid siege to Constantinople; but the enterprise failed, and Anastasius, falling into Leo’s hands, was put to death by his orders.
Authorities.—Sources: Theophanes, Chronicle; Nicephorus Patriarches, Breviarium. Modern works: Gibbon, Decline and Fall, vol. v. (ed. Bury); Bury, Later Roman Empire, vol. ii.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Ananias

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​ANANIAS, the Gr. form of Hananiah, or Ananiah, a name occurring several times in the Old Testament and Apocrypha (Neh. iii. 23, 1 Ch. xxv. 23, Tob. v. 12. &c.), and three times in the New Testament. Special mention need be made only of the bearers of the name in the New Testament. (1) A member of the first Christian community, who, with his wife Sapphira, was miraculously punished by Peter with sudden death for hypocrisy and falsehood (Acts v. 1–10; cf. Josh. vii. 1 ff.). (2) A disciple at Damascus who figures in the story of the conversion and baptism of Paul (Acts ix. 10–17, xxii. 12–16). (3) Son of Nedebaios (Jos. Ant. xx. 5. 2), a high priest who presided during the trial of Paul at Jerusalem and Caesarea (Acts xxiii. 2, xxiv. 1-5). He officiated as high priest from about A.D. 47 to 59. Quadratus, governor of Syria, accused him of being responsible for acts of violence. He was sent to Rome for trial (A.D. 52), but was acquitted by the emperor Claudius. Being a friend of the Romans, he was murdered by the people at the beginning of the Jewish war.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Anamalai Hills

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​ANAMALAI HILLS, a range of mountains in southern India, in the Coimbatore district of Madras, lying between 10° 13′ and 10° 31′ N. lat., and between 76° 52′ and 77° 23′ E. long., forming a portion of the Western Ghats, after this range has been broken by the Palghat Pass, south of the Nilgiris. They really consist of a forest-clad and grassy tableland, with summits rising about 8000 ft.; the Anaimudi mountain, which is the highest in southern India, having an altitude of 8850 ft. Their geological formation is metamorphic gneiss, veined with felspar and quartz, and interspersed with reddish porphyrite. The lower slopes yield valuable teak and other timber; and some land has been taken up for coffee planting. The only inhabitants are a few wild tribes who live by hunting and collecting jungle produce.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Anamorphosis

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​ANAMORPHOSIS (a Gr. word, derived from ἀνά, back, and μορφή, form: the second o in the Greek is long, but in English the pronunciation varies), a deformation or distortion of appearance; in drawing, the representation of an object as seen, for instance, altered by reflexion in a mirror; in botany, e.g. in the case of fungi or lichens, an abnormal change giving the appearance of a different species.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Alleghany

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​ALLEGHANY, or THE ALLEGHANIES (a spelling now more common than Allegheny), a name formerly used of all the Appalachian Mountains (q.v.), U.S.A., and now sometimes of all that system lying W. and S. of the Hudson river, being steep and narrow-crested in Pennsylvania (1500-1800 ft.), and in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia higher (3000 ft.-4473 ft). and with broader crests. Another usage applies to the ridges (“the Alleghany Ridges”) parallel to the Blue Ridge; the north-western part of this region is sometimes called the Alleghany Front or the Front of the Alleghany Plateau. The Alleghany Plateau is the north-westernmost division of the Appalachian system; it is an eroded mass of sedimentary rock sloping north-westward to the Prairie and Lake Plains and reaching south-west from the south-western part of New York state through Tennessee and into Alabama.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Allegory

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​ALLEGORY (ἄλλος, other, and ἀγορεύειν, to speak), a figurative representation conveying a meaning other than and in addition to the literal. It is generally treated as a figure of rhetoric, but the medium of representation is not necessarily language. An allegory may be addressed to the eye, and is often embodied in painting, sculpture or some form of mimetic art. The etymological meaning of the word is wider than that which it bears in actual use. An allegory is distinguished from a metaphor by being longer sustained and more fully carried out in its details, and from an analogy by the fact that the one appeals to the imagination and the other to the reason. The fable or parable is a short allegory with one definite moral. The allegory has been a favourite form in the literature of nearly every nation. The Hebrew scriptures present frequent instances of it, one of the most beautiful being the comparison of the history of Israel to the growth of a vine in the 80th psalm. In classical literature one of the best known allegories is the story of the stomach and its members in the speech of Menenius Agrippa (Livy ii. 32); and several occur in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Perhaps the most elaborate and the most successful specimens of allegory are to ​be found in the works of English authors. Spenser’s Faerie Queene, Swift’s Tale of a Tub, Addison’s Vision of Mirza, and, above all, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, are examples that it would be impossible to match in elaboration, beauty and fitness, from the literature of any other nation.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Allegro

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​ALLEGRO (an Italian word, meaning “cheerful,” as in Milton’s poem), a term in music to indicate quick or lively time, coming between andante and presto; it is frequently modified by the addition of qualifying words. It is also used of a separate piece of music, or of a movement in a sonata, symphony, &c.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Allemande

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​ALLEMANDE (Fr. for danse allemande, or German dance), a name for two kinds of dance, one a German national dance, in 2-4 time, the other somewhat resembling a waltz. The movement in a suite following the prelude, and preceding the courante (q.v.), with which it is contrasted in rhythm, is also called an allemande, but has no connexion with the dance. The name, however, is given to pieces of music based on the dance movement, examples of which are found in Beethoven’s German dances for the orchestra.
# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Allen, Bog of

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​ALLEN, BOG OF, the name given to a congeries of morasses in Kildare, King’s County, Queen’s County and Westmeath, Ireland. Clane Bog, the eastern extremity, is within 17 m. of Dublin, and the morasses extend westward almost to the Shannon. Their total area is about 238,500 acres. They do not form one continuous bog, the tract of the country to which the name is given being intersected by strips of dry cultivated land. The rivers Brosna, Barrow and Boyne take their rise in these morasses, and the Grand and Royal canals cross them. The Bog of Allen has a general elevation of 250 ft. above sea level, and the average thickness of the peat of which it consists is 25 ft. It rests on a subsoil of clay and marl.