The manufactures are woollen and linen fabrics, brandy, and earthenware. A tolerable wine is made in the vicinity. E. has some trade in fruits, wool, hardware, and grain. Pop. about 6000. Here Don Carlos was proclaimed king in November 1833; and here, in February 1839, six of his officers were treacherously betrayed and executed without even a form of trial.

ESTEPA, a town of Spain, in the province of Seville, and 60 miles east-south-east of the town of that name. It is, on the whole, well built; has four squares, and numerous religious edifices, among which are the churches of Santa Maria and San Sebastian; the former, a noble specimen of Gothic, having three naves, and a richly ornamented interior. It has manufactures of coarse cloth, baize, and oil, with a trade in grain, fruits, oil, brandy, wool, and cattle. In the vicinity are marble and buildingstone quarries. Pop. 7339.

ESTEPO'NA, a maritime town of Spain, in the province of Malaga, and 25 miles north-north-east of Gibraltar. It is well and regularly built; its streets wide, clean, and well paved. It supplies Gibraltar with fruits and vegetables; and its chief industrial features are its fishing, linen-weaving, and manufactures of leather. Pop. 9400.

ESTERHAZY, an ancient Hungarian family, afterwards raised to the rank of princes of the empire, the representative of which is at present the richest landed proprietor in Austria." The family divided into three main branches-the Esesznek, Altsohl or Zolyom, and Forchtenstein lines. A descendant of the last family, Nicholas de Esterhazy, born in 1765, travelled over a great part of Europe, and resided for a considerable time in England, France, and Italy. He founded the splendid collection of pictures at Vienna. He also made a choice collection of drawings and engravings. When Napoleon, in 1809, entertained the notion of weakening Austria by the separation of Hungary, he made overtures to Prince Esterhazy respecting the crown of Hungary, which, however, were declined. The great Haydn composed most of his works at the court of Prince Nicholas. His son, Prince Paul Anton d'Esterhazy, born in 1786, entered at an early age on a diplomatic career. After the peace of Vienna, he went as ambassador to the court of Westphalia. From 1815 to 1818, he represented the Austrian government at London. He filled the same office between 1830 and 1838, and distinguished himself by his diplomatic tact and ability. In 1842, he returned home, and continued to exert himself in the cause of political and literary progress. In March 1848, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the cabinet presided over by Batthyani; but when the struggle between Austria and Hungary broke out, he exhibited more prudence than heroism by retiring from public affairs altogether. The hereditary prince, Nicholas Paul Charles Esterhazy, born 25th June 1817, married Lady Sarah Villiers, daughter of the Earl of Jersey.

E'STHER (the word signifies the planet Venus') is the Persian name of Hadassah, daughter of Abihail, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite, She is represented in Scripture as an orphan, and as having been brought up by her cousin Mordecai, an officer in the household of the Persian monarch Ahasuerus. Her history, as recorded in the book of Esther, is well known and extremely interesting. When the misconduct of Vashti had cost her her 'royal estate,' all the fair young virgins' of the kingdom were gathered together, that Ahasuerus might choose a successor. He selected Hadassah, who received the name of E. on account of her

loveliness. The great event of her life was the saving of her Jewish countrymen from the horrors of that universal massacre planned by the malice of Haman, and consented to by the thoughtless cruelty of an Oriental despot. The details of this event are too familiar to require narration. It is sufficient to say that E.'s success was signal; and the feast which she and her cousin Mordecai appointed in memory of their deliverance-viz., the feast of Purim (i. e., of Lots), is, in consequence, celebrated with great enthusiasm. E. is not mentioned in profane history, whence it has been inferred by some that she was not exactly the wife of Ahasuerus (Xerxes), but rather the favourite of his harem, to which she undoubtedly belonged; for, as we read (ii. 8), E. was consigned to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.' This hypothesis is rendered probable by the fact, that the Persian kings did not choose wives from their harem, but from the principal Persian families, or else from the daughters of foreign potentates.

The

ESTHER, BoоOK OF, one of the very latest of the canonical works of the Old Testament, and commonly, but without a shadow of evidence, supposed to be written by Mordecai or Ezra. This is the view of Ahenesra, Clement of Alexandria, The Talmud Augustine, Gerhard, and others. assigns the authorship to the members of the Great Synagogue, a semi-mythical body, who are made use of by Jewish rabbis and Christian divines as a sort of Deus ex machina to solve every difficulty. According to the opinions of the most learned and unprejudiced critics, the date of its composition must be placed after the downfall of the Persian monarchy. The language is much later than that of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the fact of occasional explanation of Persian customs fits the period of the Seleucidæ better than an earlier one. Hebrew text is that which has been followed in the English version; but the Septuagint is full of late interpolations and additions by Alexandrian Jews. The book is held in the highest reverence by the Jews; so much so, that Maimonides declared that, in the days of the Messiah, every Jewish scripture would be forgotten except the book of Esther and the Pentateuch. The book is not written in a theocratic spirit, like the rest of Jewish literature. Nothing is directly attributed to God; in fact, his name is not once mentioned. Neither is there the remotest trace of religious feeling of any kind. Luther, in his usual off-hand hasty way, expressed his contempt for the book, in spite of the admiration which the Jews bestowed on it, censuring it for its heathenish extravagance,' and declaring that, in his judgment, it was more worthy than all of being excluded from the canon.' The absence of all recognition of God, perplexed some of the ancient Jewish commentators, who therefore invented the hypothesis, that the book was originally a part of the Persian chronicles, probably executed by Mordecai; and that, being intended for the heathen, the sacred name was wisely left out!

ESTHO'NIA, called by the inhabitants themselves Wiroma (i. e., the Border-land), a Russian government, and one of the Baltic Provinces (q. v.), extends immediately south of the Gulf of Finland; has an area of 7597 square miles, and a population of about 300,000. It was conquered (1182-1241) by the Danes, who sold it to the Teutonic knights in 1346. It came into the possession of the Swedes in 1561, but was taken from them by Peter the Great in 1710; and by the treaty of Nystadt was finally secured to Russia in 1721. One-third of the entire surface, which is in general flat, is under cultivation, and produces great quantities of rye

and barley; the remaining two-thirds are chiefly composed of sandy tracts and marshes, strewn in many places with large blocks of granite; there are also extensive forests of birch and pine. The government of E. is divided into four circles; its principal town is Reval or Revel (q. v.).

soil.

The inhabitants are divided into Esthlanders and Esths. The former are a mixture of Swedes, Germans, and Russians, and comprise the nobles and the town-populations. The latter belong to the Finnish race, and are the original possessors of the Their language is soft and musical, and is divided into two leading dialects, that of Revel and that of Dorpart. They also possess a literature rich in splendid national songs. See Neus, Esthnische Volkslieder (Reval, 1850-1851). They are industrious, kind-hearted, and in the main religious and attached to the Protestant doctrines. A great part of Livonia is peopled with Esths, the entire number of whom in the Baltic provinces is about 650,000. ESTO'C (Italian), a small dagger worn at the girdle, called in Elizabethan times a Tucke (q. v.). ESTOILE, or STAR, in Heraldry, differs from the Mullet (q. v.) by having six waved points; the mullet consisting of five plain points.

ESTO'PPEL, an impediment or bar to a right of action, arising from a man's own act. It is called an estoppel or conclusion, because a man's own act or acceptance stoppeth or closeth up his mouth to allege or plead the truth.-Co. Litt. 352 a. Estoppels are of three kinds-1. By matter of record, where any judgment has been given in a court of record, the parties to the suit are estopped from afterwards alleging such matters as would be contradictory to the record. 2. By matter in writing. Thus, a party who has executed a deed will be precluded from afterwards denying, in any action brought upon that instrument, the fact of which it is evidence. 3. By matter in pays, as by livery, by entry, by acceptance of rent, &c.-by any of which acts a man is barred from pleading anything to the contrary. The principle of estoppel is that what a man has once solemnly alleged is to be presumed to be true, and therefore he should not be suffered to contradict. The doctrine of estoppel prevails in America as well as in England. In Scotland also, the same principle is recognised, under the name of Personal Exception (q. v.).

ESTO VER (Fr. estoffer, to furnish), an incident to the estate of a tenant for life or for years. It is the right which the tenant has to make use of the wood on the estate for certain definite purposes. Estovers, or botes (Saxon), are of three kinds-housebote, which is twofold-viz., estoverium ædificandi et ardendi, a right to wood for fuel and repairs of the house, ploughbote, estoverium arandi, wood for ploughs and carts; and haybote, estoverium claudendi, wood for repairing hedges and fences.-Co. Litt. 41 b.

ESTREA'T (Lat. extractum), in English Law, a true extract copy or note of some original writing or record, and specially of fines or amercements, as entered in the rolls of a court, to be levied by bailiffs or other officers. When, however, it is applied to a Recognisance (q. v.), it signifies that the recognisance itself is estreated, or taken out from among the other records, and sent to the Exchequer.-Blackstone, Comm. iv. 253. If the condition of a recognisance be broken, the recognisance is forfeited; and on its being estreated, the parties become debtors to the crown for the sums in which they are bound.- Archbold, Crim. Practice, 78. The Court of Exchequer has power over penalties and forfeitures incurred at assizes, and can discharge or compound them at its discre

tion; but that court has no power over recognisances forfeited before justices of the peace.

ESTREMADU'RA, previous to the new distribution of the country, a province of Spain, situated between Portugal and New Castile, and watered by the Tagus and the Guadiana. It is bounded on the N. by Leon, on the S. by Andalusia, and, since 1833, has been divided into the two provinces of Badajos and Caceres. It has an area of 16,554 square miles, and contains about 707,115 inhabitants. Although a continuation of the high table-land of New Castile, E. is not, like it, a uniform plain, but is mountainous on the north and south, and is well watered, the slopes of the hills being covered with wood, and the valleys with rich grass. Notwithstanding the fertility of the soil, the land has lain desolate and uncultivated ever since the expul sion of the Moors in the 13th century. This is chiefly to be attributed to the Mesta, or right of pasture, which causes the land to be regarded as the common property of the possessors of flocks. The breeding of goats, swine, horses, asses, and mules is much attended to. Silk and honey form no inconsiderable branches of trade. Corn is still imported. The mines, which were formerly very productive, are no longer wrought. Commerce is confined almost entirely to a contraband trade with Portugal. The inhabitants are poor, and, from the want of roads, isolated from the rest of Spain, and consequently in a low state of civilisation. They make excellent soldiers, however, and have produced a series of brave conquistadores and generals.

ESTRÉMADURA, next to Alemtejo, the largest province of Portugal, has an area of 8180 square miles, and, including the capital, Lisbon, contains 751,571 inhabitants. The greater part of the country is hilly, but the hills do not attain any great elevation. To the west of the estuary of the Tagus are the granite mountains of the Serra da Cintra, varying from 1500 to 1800 feet in height, and terminating in the Cabo de Roca. To the south of the Tagus are barren moors, partly broken by morasses, and the limestone chain of Arrabida, rising to a height of 1000 feet, and terminating in the Cabo de Espichel. Many districts are extremely fertile, others are barren and uncultivated. The Tagus, which is only navigable as far as Abrantes, receives the waters of the Zezeres, the Sorraya, and the Canha, and is strewn with islands at its mouth. The chief productions of the country are wine, oil, fruits, corn, and cork; but even the sandy plains are covered with cistus, rosemary, myrtles, and other flowering and fragrant plants. The breeding of cattle is not much attended to. The minerals are marble, coal, and sea-salt. This province has been frequently visited by earthquakes.

ESTREMO'Z, a fortified town of Portugal in the province of Alemtejo, is 23 miles north-east of Evora,

and about the same distance east of Elvas. It is

built round the base of the hill on which its once formidable castle, erected in 1360, is placed. It now ranks as the fourth or fifth stronghold in Portugal. E. is famous for its manufactures of earthenware; its jars, which are made of a porous clay, and have the property of keeping water singularly cool, are of elegant shape, and are used all over the peninsula. The earthenware manufactures of E. seem to have continued unchanged since Roman times, as until the present day the forms into which the jars are cast are purely classical. In the neighbourhood of E. is a marble quarry. Pop. 6500.

E'SZEK, a royal free town of Slavonia, on the right bank of the Drave, twelve miles above is confluence with the Danube, is the chief town of the district of Veroecze, and is the most prosperous

and Hatred? or by a mixed faculty like Prudence? or by something peculiar and distinct, relating to this one object and no other, as the eye is formed for recognising colour, and the ear for sound? This question has been often improperly mixed up with the other, although there are certain theories wherein the answer to the first depends on the answer to the second.

As regards the Standard of Morals, it should be premised that Punishment for neglect is what shews an action to be obligatory. We may dislike a man's conduct; but if we do not consider it deserving of punishment, it is not immoral in our eyes. People's imprudences, whereby they hurt themselves alone, are disapproved of; but there is seldom any disposition to step in by way of penalty in order to prevent such conduct; the disapprobation, therefore, is not of the moral kind. The punishment inflicted by society is partly legal, or through the civil government, and partly by public opinion, which, by attaching a stigma to certain conduct, is able to inspire no less dread than the civil authority. The punishment, by society acting in this way, is sometimes called the popular sanction, to distinguish it from the legal sanction. Dishonour is another name for the same thing. Many kinds of conduct tolerated by law, are still punished by the loss of public esteem and the infliction of disgrace. Cowardice, eccentricity, heterodoxy beyond certain limits, expose the individual to public censure. Many kinds of inhumanity, as maltreating dependents, have no other check than expressed disapprobation. There have been various theories to account for the singling out of some actions to be authoritatively forbidden by Law and Society-that is, forbidden by the sanction of punishment. Some have said that the will of the Deity, or divine revelation, has indicated what we are not to do, and that there is nothing left to us but to conform to what is thus prescribed; others, as Cudworth, maintain, on the contrary, that what the Deity commands must be such as our own conscience approves, otherwise we could not give Him the character of being independently good and just. It has been said that Right Reason shews us the difference between right and wrong; this was Cudworth's own view. Samuel Clarke conceived that there was an eternal and intrinsic fitness in the things considered as right, and an unfitness in the wrong, with a regard to which the will of God always chooses, and which ought likewise to determine the wills of all subordinate rational beings.' Both these writers aimed at replying to Hobbes, who had maintained that the Civil Magistrate is supreme in Morality as well as in Politics; meaning, however, in all probability, that the magistrate himself ought to frame his dictates in one, as in the other, with a view to the public good, which would be a Utilitarian view. phrase, the Moral Sense,' which now represents perhaps the most prevalent moral theory, occurs first in Lord Shaftesbury's Inquiry Concerning Virtue, from whom it was adopted by Hutcheson, and has since passed into general currency. Sometimes it has been maintained that a regard to Selfinterest is the only ultimate rule of right, which has a very different meaning, according as we look at self exclusive, or inclusive, of other men's wellbeing. The most enlarged benevolence, in one view, is but an aspect of self. Adam Smith, in his Theory of Moral Sentiments, laid down as the criterion of right, the 'sympathetic feelings of the impartial and wellinformed spectator.' But although this theory acknowledges our bias in the capacity of agents, it presumes us to be infallible when acting as judges or critics, a position by no means self-evident. The spectator has his own failings as well as the actor,

The

unless specially qualified by nature and education to play the part of a moral judge. But to pass on. Jeremy Bentham is known as the most distinguished propounder of the principle of Utility as the basis of morals, a principle explained by him as in contrast, first to Asceticism, and next to Sympathy and Antipathy,' by which he meant to describe all those systems, such as the Moral Sense theory, that are grounded in internal feeling, instead of a regard to outward consequences. In opposing Utility to Asceticism, he intended to imply that there was no merit attaching to self-denial as such, and that the infliction of pain, or the surrender of pleasure, could only be justified by being the means of procuring a greater amount of happiness than was lost. Paley also repudiated the doctrine of a Moral Sense, and held that virtue is the doing good to mankind, in obedience to the will of God, and for the sake of everlasting happiness.' The utilitarian theory of Bentham, with various modifications, has been defended and expounded by James Mill, in his Analysis of the Human Mind, and in his anonymous Fragment on Mackintosh; by John Austin, in his Province of Jurisprudence Determined; and by Mr John Stuart Mill in his Dissertations and Discussions, and in Fraser's Magazine (Oct. to Dec. 1861).

The great controversy may be said to lie between the adherents of the Moral Sense in some form or other, and those that deny both the existence of a separate faculty in the mind for perceiving moral distinctions, and the validity of the determinations of the individual conscience; maintaining that morality ought to be founded on a regard to the wellbeing of mankind, and that exclusively; and that rules of morality grounded on any other motives are indefensible. In short, the question is, Is morality an intuition of the mind, or is it like the government of the state, a positive institution, on which different societies may differ, and which may be set up or be abrogated at the pleasure of the society?

The theory of Intuitive Morality was vigorously assailed by Locke in his Essay on the Understanding (book i. chap. 3); and we may venture to say that his objections to what he called Innate Practical Principles' have never been answered. These objections have been given in a condensed form by Paley (Moral Philosophy, book i.). Locke urged that, in point of fact, there are no principles universally received among men; that moral rules require a reason to be given for them, which ought not to be necessary, if they are innate; that virtue is generally approved of, not because innate, but because profitable; that innumerable enormities have been practised in various countries without even causing remorse; that the moral rules of some nations are flatly contradicted by others; that no one has ever been able to tell what the innate rules are; that we do not find children possessed of any moral rules, &c. It has been attempted to reply to the objection, founded on the great variety and opposition of moral rules in different places and times, by saying that although the substance of the moral codes differone part of the world being monogamous and chaste, while other nations allow promiscuous intercourse of the sexes-all agree in enjoining some moral rules; nowhere is there an absence of social and moral obligations. But this is to depart from the original question, which was to assign the standard of morals, the criterion for determining which of two opposite courses-monogamy or polygamy-is the correct or moral course. The intuitive moralists say that human nature is endowed with an instinct which at once approves the right and disapproves of the wrong, and that we need go no further than our own conscience to settle the point. Now, when the