Danish.

poraries of the great astronomer, Tycho Brahé, and, like him, experienced the caprices of court-favor. The 17th c. shows a large number of able writers, among whom were Longomontanus, the pupil of Tycho Brahé; the family of Bartholin, numbering seventeen in three generations, who were all known for the ability of their writings on medical, philosophical, and mathematical subjects in Latin, German, and Danish; the family of the Pontoppidans, eleven in number, all of whom have left memorials of their proficiency in philology and history, and of their acquaintance with the theology and natural history of the times; Arreboe, the father of Danish poetry, who wrote on sacred 'subjects, and in his principal work, Hexameron, described in epic verse the events of the first six days of creation; Steno, the anatomist, and the lyrical poet, T. Kingo. A new era began with the genial and versatile Ludvig Holberg (born 1684), who wrote in Latin, French, German, and Danish, and has left very numerous works on history, biography, and topography, but whose fame among his countrymen will ever rest on his inimitable comedies, farces, and satirical compositions. His genius and his writings gave an impetus to the cultivation of the Danish language, which not all the studied neglect of the court-party, and their persistence in the use of German, could check. The 18th c. produced many good historical critics-as, for instance, Torfæus, Langebek, Schöning, and Suhm, Magnæus, the Icelandic scholar, Thorlacius, and Thorkelin, learned in ancient northern lore, and Rosenvinge, the jurist. Among the epic and dramatic poets of that age, Ewald stands foremost, whose national lyrics evince true poetic genius. The close of the century was, however, unfavorable to mental development and freedom of thought; and the best writers, as in the case of Malte Brunn and the poet Heiberg, were either compelled to leave the country, or to abstain from giving expression to their opinions. Among the more recent writers, we may instance the poet Oehlenschlägerwhose national tragedies and lyrical legends of Scandinavian mythology have rekindled all the long slumbering fire of Danish patriotism-Baggesen, Winther, Hauch, F. P. Müller, Heiberg, Hertz, H. C. Andersen, Rosenhoff, Holst, and Overskou. Ingemann, who stands first as a writer of historical novels, also wrote good lyrics, and his subjects were generally taken from the national history. Short tales or novelettes would seem, however, to be more congenial to the taste of the Danes, and most of their best writers of fiction have adopted this form-as, for instance, Blicher, Heiberg, Trane, Andersen, Winther, Carit Etlar, etc. The names of Oersted, Schouw, Forchhammer, Rask, Finn Magnussen, Worsaa, Grundtvig, Petersen, and Eschricht, sufficiently attest the stand that the physical sciences, philology and archæology, have attained in Denmark in the present day. Thorwaldsen, by the gift of his works to the nation, has created a taste and appreciation for sculpture and the arts generally among his countrymen, to which they were previously strangers, and has thus given a new direction to the mental culture of the Danes.

The Danish language is peculiarly soft, from the great number (ten) of distinct Vowel-sounds which it contains, the absence of gutturals, and the softening of all the consonants. It may be said to bear the same relation to the ancient tongue, the Norrana or Dönsk Tunga, that Italian does to Latin, force and precise inflections having been sacrificed for melody and simplicity.

DANISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (ante). The original language was the pure Scandinavian or Icelandic, but it has been transformed by foreign admixture, chiefly German, until the original features are nearly lost. The changes, beginning in the 12th c., culminated at the period of the reformation, and the language is now regarded as one of the richest of the European tongues. The literature of the country has had a remarkable development, and is of great interest not only to readers in general, but to scholars in all parts of the world. Excepting a medical treatise published in the 13th c., the oldest literary production of the country is a collection of 500 ballads, by unknown authors, celebrating the achievements and adventures of the chivalric age, and written in the 13th and 14th centuries. They are of great merit, historical as well as poetical, and, being handed down at first by tradition, have lately been edited and published in an exhaustive edition by Svend Gruntvig. The first printing press was set up in Copenhagen in 1490 by Gottfried of Gheman, and in 1495 was printed the first book, a history of Denmark in verse. Next, in 1506, appeared a collection of proverbs by Peder Lolle, and eight years later, three sacred poems by Mikkel, priest of St. Alban's in Odense. These and many other works were published in Latin. It was not until the period of the reformation that the literary spirit of Denmark began to utter itself in the native tongue. Christian Pedersen translated the Psalms of David and the New Testament, printed 1529; and, in co-operation with bishop Paladus, the Bible, which appeared in 1550. The first authorized Psalter was published in 1559. Among the other authors of this early period may be mentioned Arild Hvitfield, historian; Hyeronymous Rauch, dramatist; Anders Arrebo, bishop of Trondhjem, father of Danish poetry; bishop Erik Pontoppidan, author of the first systematic analysis of the Danish language; Brigitta Thott, a lady who introduced to the Danes the writings of Seneca and Epictetus; Thomas Kingo, of Scotch descent, and Hans Adol Brorson, eminent hymn-writers. Ludvig Holberg, born 1684, was a his torical and dramatic writer of great eminence, whose productions retain their interest and charm at the present day. He is sometimes called the founder of Danish literature.

His comedies, for the age in which they were written, are remarkably pure in tone and sentiment. Joannes Ewald was the most eminent Danish poet of the 18th century. One of his productions, The Fishers, contains the Danish national song. Werner Abrahamson, critic; Johan Clemens_Tode, scientist; Ove Malling, Peter Frederik Suhm, and Ove Guldberg, historians; Bastholm and Balle, theologians; and Niels Treschow, in the department of philosophy, were also among the writers of the 18th century. After the time of Wessell and Ewald, poetry languished, but prose received a new impulse. The most eminent prose writers of the period were Peter Andreas Heiberg, political and æsthetic critic, O. C. Olufsen, scientist; Rasmus Nyrup, statistician and critic; Englestoft, historian; bishop Mynster, theologian; and Hans Christian Oersted, scientist. With the beginning of the present c., a new school of poets and novelists arose who won a high reputation in all parts of Europe. The herald of this school was Adolph Schack Staffeldt, a man who united with great seriousness and depth an exquisite taste in language. He was followed by Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger, the greatest poet of Denmark, in whose verse the old Scandinavian mythology was imbued with fresh life; Steen Steensen Blitcher: Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig; Bernhard Severin Ingemann, the first to introduce the historical novel in Denmark; Johan Ludvig Heiberg, poet and dramatist; the countess Gyllembourg, novelist-a woman of remarkable power; Christian Winther, pastoral lyrist; Hans Christian Andersen, whose works are popular in England and America; Frederik Paludan Müller, a poet of great reputation. In philology, the names of Rasmus Christian Rask and Christian Molbeck are eminent, as is that of Niels Matthias Petersen in history. Joachim Frederik Schouw was an eminent botanist; Sören Naby Kierkegaard was a philosophical writer of much originality. Peter Thun Foersom made an excellent translation of Shakespeare. The greatest living geologist in Denmark is Johannes Japetus Smith Steenstrup. Jens Jacob Asmussen Worsaae is an eminent antiquarian; and Nikolai Madvig is celebrated as a philologist. Vilhelm Thomsen has acquired distinction by his researches into the Sla vonic tongue. In the fine arts there are some eminent Danish names. In painting, there may be mentioned Abilgaard, Juel, Eckersberg, Marstrand, Vermehren, Exner, Dalsgaard, and Skovgaard. In sculpture, it is necessary only to mention the name of Thorwaldsen, whose works adorn the museum at Copenhagen. The Danes are a musi cal people, and their first great composer was Christoph Weyse, whose comic operas are greatly admired. Hartmann and Gade are living composers of great merit.

DAN'ITES, a secret order among the Mormons suspected of having committed many murders, of which unfortunately there can be little doubt.

DANKALI', an independent state of Abyssinia, extending along the s. w. border of the Red sea, between lat. 13° and 15° 30' n., a range of mountains running almost parallel to the coast, and about 50 m. distant from it, forming its boundary inland. D. is a sterile territory, being almost quite destitute of water. The heat is excessive, often reaching 110° F. The inhabitants are composed of various Arab tribes, and are indolent, treacherous, and cruel. They number about 70,000.

DAN'NEBROG, an ancient battle standard of the Danes, alleged to have fallen from heaven at the battle of Volmar, 1219 A.D. Like the palladium, it was supposed to insure victory, but it was twice captured and twice retaken. The order of the Dannenbrog ranks second in the Danish orders of knighthood.

DAN NECKER, JOH. HEINR. VON, a German sculptor, was b. at Waldenbuch, in the district of Stuttgart, 15th Oct., 1758. His parents were in the humblest circumstances; but through the favor of the duke of Würtemberg, be received a good education at the military academy at Ludwigsburg. His artistic talents were rapidly developed. In 1780, he obtained the prize for the best model of "Milo of Croton destroyed by the Lion;" and in 1783, went to Paris, where he studied for two years under Pajou; after which, he proceeded to Rome, where he met with Goethe, Herder, and Canova, to the last of whom he was indebted for much valuable instruction in his profession. At Rome, D. remained till 1790. Here he executed in marble his statues of

Ceres" and

Bacchus." On his return to Germany, the duke of Würtemberg appointed him professor of sculpture in the academy of Stuttgart, in which city he resided till his death, 8th Dec., 1841. D. was undoubtedly one of the best of modern sculptors. His forte lay in expressing individual characteristics, in which respect he has not been surpassed. This gives a great value to his busts of distinguished persons, such as Schiller, Lavater, Gluck, and the kings Frederick and William of Würtemberg. His perceptions of the beautiful and the delicate, especially in the female form, are also considered by his countrymen to be more exquisite and true than those of Canova himself. His earlier works are chiefly pagan in their subjects, while his later ones are Christian, and are pervaded by a pensive idealism. Of the former, besides those already mentioned, the principal are Sappho," "Love," "Psyche," and Ariadne as the Bride of Bacchus riding on a Leopard (at Frankfort);" of the latter, "Christ," "John the Baptist," and "Faith."

DANNEMO'RA, a parish and iron-mining region of Sweden, 23 m. n. of Upsal; pop. 1000. The iron is of excellent quality, and is largely used in making steel.

DANNEVIR'KE, a wall of defense against the Franks, built by the Danes in 808 A.D., reaching from the North sea to the Baltic. During the troubles of 1848, the line of the old wall was strongly fortified, but the works were destroyed in 1864.

DAN RIVER, rising in the Blue Ridge in Virginia, passing through a considerable portion of that state into North Carolina, several times crossing the state boundaries, and finally uniting with the Staunton river in Virginia to form the Roanoke. It has a length of about 200 m., and is in some parts navigable.

DAN RIVER, Va. See page 901.

DANSVILLE, a village in Livingston co., N. Y., on the Erie railroad, at the terminus of the Genesee valley canal, 38 m. s. of Rochester; pop. '80, 3,625 (village). Among the institutions are the Dansville Methodist seminary, founded 1858, and a hygienic home, established about 1860. The village is in a fertile district, and has considerable trade.

DAN'TÉ (properly, DURANTE) ALIGHIERI, one of the greatest poets of all time, and incomparably the greatest among the Italians, was b. in Florence in 1265. The outward circumstances and fortunes of his life are involved for the most part in great uncertainty. His family was, by his own account, one of the most illustrious in the city. His father dying while D. was young, his education devolved upon his mother, Bella. În this duty, in which she displayed great fidelity and judgment, she seems to have been counseled and aided by the great statesman, scholar, and poet, Brunetto Latini. The elements of knowledge D. probably acquired in Florence; in riper years, he studied philosophy at Bologna and Padua. After his banishment, he pursued theology for a time at Paris, and, if Boccaccio were to be believed, even visited England. His studies, however, did not prevent him from discharging the public duties of a citizen. He fought in the successful battle with the Aretines at Campaldino in 1289, and was present at the taking of the fortress of Caprona, 1290. What civil offices he first held, we do not know, but it is certain that he was sent on several embassies, and at last, in 1300, rose to the highest dignity of the city, being chosen one of the Priori for two months, an office which was the source of his subsequent unhappy fortunes. Florence, on the whole, belonged to the party of the Guelphs (q.v.), but was divided into the two factions of the Neri and Bianchi (the blacks and whites). The Neri were the unconditional adherents of the pope, and this of course gave to the other faction a more Ghibelline leaning. See GUELPHS and GHIBELLINES. A tumult in the city, occasioned by the heads of the ultra-Guelphic or black party, caused their temporary expulsion from Florence. They hurried to Rome, to lay their complaints before his holiness. D., who belonged to the Bianchi, was sent by his party to Rome, to counteract their machinations; but Boniface VIII., in concert with the Neri, got Charles of Valois, brother of Philip IV. of France, to come to Florence and restore peace under the title of peacemaker. This explains the deadly enmity of D. to Boniface. The peace established by Charles of Valois consisted in recalling the banished leaders of the Neri, in giving up the houses and property of the Bianchi to be plundered, and banishing many of them, and among others Danté. D. never entered his native city again, and his whole subsequent life was unsettled, spent in various places, and under various protectors, at Arezzo, Verona, Padua, etc. In 1304, the Bianchi made a final attempt to return to Florence by force of arms, which failed; and it was probably on this occasion that D. went to Paris. The march of Henry VII. to Rome in 1310 recalled him to Italy, and he endeavored, by addressing ardent letters to the Italian princes, to promote the cause of the empire, which had now become his own. It was probably with this view and at this time, that his work De Monarchia was written. The unsuccessful siege of Florence, and the death of the emperor, which followed in 1313, annihilated the last hopes of D., and he spent the closing years of his life at Ravenna, under the protection of Guido Novello da Polenta. He went on a mission for this prince to Venice, returned sick, and died on the 14th Sept., 1321.

As not unfrequently happens with distinguished men, an accidental circumstance in D.'s early youth had made an indelible impression on the soul of the poet, and, as he himself expresses it, awaked in him a "new life." At a family festivity, he had seen Beatrice Portinaci, then eight years old, the daughter of a rich citizen, and the love that sprang up in the heart of the nine years' old boy became the fountain of the poetical inspiration of his life. How pure, chaste, and tender this love was, is testified by the Vita Nuova, his first work, which appeared about 1300. It is a collection of poems or canzoni, bearing upon this youthful love, and along with each piece is given a history of its origin and a minute analysis. The best edition of this collection is that prepared by the marquis Trivulzio (Mil. 1827). Beatrice married a nobleman, Simone de Bardi, and died young about 1290. D. himself afterwards married a lady named Gemma, of the powerful house of Donati.

His immortal work, the Divina Commedia, depicts a vision, in which the poet is conducted first by Virgil, the representative of human reason, through hell and purgatory; and then by Beatrice, the representative of revelation; and finally by St. Bernard, through the several heavens, where he beholds the triune God. The name Commedia was given to the work by the poet himself-because, beginning with the horrible, it ends cheerfully; and because, in respect of style, it is lowly, being written in the vulgar tongue. The epithet Divina was added by the admiration of after-times. Hell is

Danube.

represented in the poem as a funnel-shaped hollow, formed of gradually contracting circles, the lowest and narrowest of which is at the earth's center. Purgatory is a mountain rising solitary from the ocean on that side of the earth that is opposite to us; it is divided into terraces, and its top is the terrestrial paradise, the first abode of man. From this, the poet ascends through the seven planetary heavens, the heaven of the fixed stars, and the "primum mobile," to the empyrean, or fixed seat of God. In all parts of the regions thus traversed, there arise conversations with noted personages, for the most part recently deceased. At one time, the reader is filled with the deepest sorrow, at another, with horror and aversion; or the deepest questions of the then philosophy and theology are discussed and solved; and the social and moral condition of Italy, with the corruptions of church and state, are depicted with a noble indignation. Fifty-two years after the poet's death, the republic of Florence, at the instigation of Boccaccio, set apart an annual sum for public lectures to explain the Divine Comedy to the people in one of the churches, and Boccaccio himself was appointed first lecturer. The example was imitated in several other places of Italy. The works of these men are among the earliest commentaries on D. that we possess. The number of editions of the work amounts by this time to about 300. Only a few, in addition to the commentaries above mentioned, deserve notice. They are: that printed at Fuligno in 1472-the earliest of all; the Nidobeatine edition at Milan (1478); the first Aldine edition (1502); the first Cruscan edition (1695); that of Volpi (1727); of Venturi (1732); of Lombardi (1791), and with additions and illustrations in 1815, 1821, and 1822; of Dionisi (1795); of Ugo Foscolo (Lond. 1842-43). A reprint of the Fuligno edition above mentioned, together with those printed at Jesi (1472), at Mantua (1472), and at Naples by Francisco del Tuppo (about 1478), appeared at London, in 1858, under the superintendence of sir Antonio Panizzi, and at the expense of lord Vernon.

The Divina Commedia has been translated into almost all European languages. Two translations of the whole into Latin have been printed, one by Carlo d'Aquino (1728), and lately by Piazza (1848). In French, there are a number of translations both in prose and verse. The earliest, by Grangier, in 1596, is still the nearest to the original in form, but none is good. The German translations are numerous, and such as no other modern language can equal in faithfulness. Kannegiesser has translated the whole in the measure and rhyme of the original (4th edition, Leip. 1843); king John of Saxony's translation is said by some to be the best. The chief English translations are Boyd's (1785) and Cary's (1814), in blank verse (see "Chandos Classics." London, Warne & Co.); Wright's (1833), in triple rhymes; Cayley's, in the original ternary rhyme (the Inferno, 1801, the Purgatory, 1853, the Paradiso in 1854, with notes in 1855); Dr. John Carlyle's, the Inferno, in prose, with commentary (1849); Fred. Pollock's, in blank verse (1854); H. W. Longfellow's (1867), in blank verse, with D.'s ternary arrangement of lines. D. wrote other works.

DANTON, GEORGES-JACQUES, was b. at Arcis-sur-Aube, 28th Oct., 1759. At the outbreak of the French revolution, he was practicing as an advocate in Paris, but did not enjoy much reputation, on account of his dissolute habits. The fierce half-savage nature of the man, however, immediately found a fitting sphere for its action in the chaos into which France then fell. Mirabeau quickly detected his genius, and hastened to attach D. to himself. President of the district of the Cordeliers, D. ruled it at his will. Along with Marat and Camille Desmoulins, he instituted the Cordeliers' club, an exaggerated copy of that of the Jacobins. It soon became the rallying-point of all the hotter revolutionists. There the tall brawny man, with harsh and daring countenance, terrible black brows, and a voice of enormous power, thundered against the aristocrats, till the passions of the populace rose into ungovernable fury. It was not, however, till after the flight of Louis that the political role of D. commenced. On the 17th July, 1791, he and others assembled the people of Paris in the Champ-de-Mars, and goaded them on by furious declamation to sign a petition for the deposition of the king. Some time after, he became procureur-substitut for the city of Paris. The court, which found that it could not frighten D., now attempted to bribe him. It is not certain that he proved venal, but the evidence undoubtedly leaves a strong suspicion of his venality on the mind. Be that as it may, he soon broke off his secret intercourse with the royalist agents, and became more the implacable enemy of the monarchy than before. It was D. who excited to action the wild sanguinary rabble that, on the 10th of Aug., 1792, stormed the Tuileries, and butchered the faithful Swiss. The reward of his fatal eloquence was the office of minister of justice, and here the gigantic personality of the man seemed to overshadow all the surrounding figures. He stood forth as the incarnate spirit of the revolution, manifesting alike its heroic audacity in the presence of danger from without, and its maniacal terror in the presence of danger from within. The advance of the Prussians seemed for a moment to inspire France with a panic. On the 2d of Sept., D. mounted the tribune, and addressed the legislative assembly in a speech of tremendous power, probably the most effective delivered during the whole of the revolution. It closed with these words regarding the enemies of France: "Pour les vaincre, pour les atterrer, vue faut-il? De l'audace, encore de l'audace et toujours de l'audace." France quivered to its core with enthusiasm. In a few weeks, 14 republican armies stood upon the field of battle, and repelled with unexampled bravery the

66

aggressions of the allied forces." But unhappily that "audacity" by which alone D. thought it possible for France to save herself, required for its perfection the immolation of the imprisoned royalists. On the very evening when D. spoke, the frightful Sept. massacres began. D. publicly thanked the assassins, "not as the minister of justice, but as the minister of the revolution." Elected by the city of Paris one of its deputies to the national convention, he resigned his judicial function, and zealously hurried on the trial of the king. As a proof of his ferocious decision of character when pressed by difficulties, it is recorded that one of his friends having pointed out that the convention could not legally try the king, "You are right," instantly replied Danton. "So, we will not try him; we will kill him!" In the mean time, D. was sent on a mission to the army of the north, commanded by Dumourier, with whom he was soon on very close terms of intimacy-too much so, indeed, for the suspicious soul of his old friend Marat. The defection of Dumourier was the signal for Marat to give vent to his suspicions. It therefore became necessary for D. to throw himself again into the van of the revolutionary movement. On the 10th Mar., 1793, he established the " extraordinary criminal tribunal," which was at liberty to make what arrests it pleased, and from whose deadly decisions there was no appeal. He also became president of the "committee of public safety." D. now set himself to crush the Girondists, or moderate party, alleging, with singular candor, that "in a revolution the authority ought to belong to the greatest Scoundrels." In this he was supported by Robespierre, now gliding into power swiftly and silently like a serpent. After he had effected his purpose, however, a species of remorse seems to have seized him. He objected to the institution of the guillotine. This trait of moderation lost him the favor of the Jacobins or mountain party, whose murderous instincts led them to select Robespierre as a chief, on the permanence of whose cruelty more reliance might be placed. Several other indications of returning humanity lessened his influence still more, and at the close of 1793, D. felt that a crisis was approaching. A fruitless attempt was made to reconcile Robespierre and him. They had an interview, but parted on worse terms than ever. It was now a struggle for life between them; but D., sick of the revolution, and conscious that it was rapidly becoming a sham (a thing which D., with all his faults, could not abide), gave himself up to a sort of reckless apathy, which enabled the sleepless Robespierre to ruin him. His friends endeavored to rouse him. "I would rather be guillotined than guillotine,' he answered. Blinded by the consciousness of his own inherent power, he also declared that his enemies "would not dare" to lift their finger against him. But men of the stamp of Robespierre-though essentially cowards, and incapable of facing danger with honest straightforwardness-have a certain furtive audacity that emboldens them to attack a greater than themselves, if circumstances are favorable. So Robespierre sprang at Ď., and so the great anarch perished. On the night of the 30th Mar., 1794, he was arrested, and brought before that revolutionary tribunal which he himself had established, summarily condemned, and, along with Camille Desmoulins and others, was guillotined on the 5th of April. He predicted the fate of Robespierre, calling him "an infamous poltroon," and immediately added, "I was the only man who could have saved him." D. was an atheist-not a calm, thoughtful dispassionate disbeliever in the existence of God, but one who, by his own vices, and the general godlessness of the times in which he lived, had been robbed of the spirit and power of faith in the Unseen. When formally interrogated regarding his name and dwelling, he replied: "My dwelling-place will soon be annihilated, and my name will live in the pantheon of history.'

DANTZIG. See DANZIG.

DAN'UBE (Ger. Donau), the second of European rivers, inferior only to the Volga, has its origin in the Brege and Brigach, two mountain-streams rising in the eastern part of the Black Forest, in Baden, at an elevation of 2,850 ft. above sea-level in lat. 48 6' n., and in long. 8° 9' east. The total length of the D. is about 1750 m.; the area which it drains is estimated at 250,000 sq.m., comprising countries widely varying in climate and productions. The average fall of the D. is 18 in. per mile. At Ulm, it attains a breadth of 108 ft., and before its junction with the Sereth the mean breadth is 6,000 ft., and the depth, which at Ulm is 6 ft., and at Passau 16, is here on an average 20 feet. The D. is joined in its course by sixty navigable rivers, and falls into the Black sca, pouring into it a volume of water nearly equal to that of all the other rivers that empty themselves there. From its source it flows in a north-easterly direction through Würtemberg and Bavaria. Passing Ulm, at which point the river becomes navigable for vessels of 100 tons, it receives from the s. the Lech and the Iser, with some unimportant streams from the n.; flows rapidly past Ingolstadt, and onwards to Regensburg (Ratisbon); then suddenly altering its course, it proceeds in a south-easterly direction, passing Straubing and Passau, where it enters the Austrian dominions. With little variation of course, the D. flows eastward from Passau to Presburg, receiving from the s. the Inn and the Ens, and from the n. the March or Morava, through a tract of country rich in minerals, well peopled, and highly cultivated. Near Linz, and also in the picturesque neighborhood of Vienna, the waters of the D. frequently divide, and inclose large tracts of soil, forming islands, among which are the Great and Little Schütt, called also the "Golden Gardens." Hurrying past Presburg, the D. alters its course to s.e., and such is its velocity here, that barges can only navigate it downwards. Passing Pesth, and