Ramses Ii

One measure of Egypt's prosperity is the amount of temple building the kings could afford to carry out, and on that basis the reign of Ramses II is the most notable in Egyptian history, even making allowance for its great length. It was that, combined with his prowess in war as depicted in the temples, that led the Egyptologists of the 19th century to dub him “the Great,” and that,

Dhyani-buddha

Scholars in recent years have pointed out that the term Dhyani-Buddha does not appear in the original texts, but the nomenclature continues

Gagern, Maximilian (joseph Ludwig) Freiherr Von (baron Of)

Gagern, like his two prominent brothers, a nationalist

Hooker, Isabella Beecher

Isabella Beecher was a daughter of the Reverend Lyman Beecher and a half sister of Henry Ward Beecher, Catharine Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. She was educated mainly in schools founded by Catharine. In 1841 she married John Hooker,

Zuni

Also spelled  Zuñi,   North American Indian pueblo in west-central New Mexico, on the Arizona border (see Pueblo Indians). The Zuni speak a language related to Penutian. Their origin and early history are unknown; their mythology pictures their ancestors as emerging from underground and wandering to their present location. When they were first encountered by whites, the Spaniards in

Beals, Jessie Tarbox

Jessie Tarbox moved to Williamsburg, Massachusetts, at age 18 to make her living as a schoolteacher. After nearly 10 years of teaching, she quit and devoted herself to photography, which she had been exploring in

Plurality System

Advantages of the plurality system are

Paasche Index

The index is a ratio that compares the total purchase cost of a specified bundle of current-period commodities (commodities valued at current

Edinburgh Review, The, Or The Critical Journal

Scottish magazine that was published from 1802 to 1929, and which contributed to the development of the modern periodical and to modern standards of literary criticism. The Edinburgh Review was founded by Francis Jeffrey, Sydney Smith, and Henry Brougham as a quarterly publication, with Jeffrey as its first and longtime editor. It was intended as an outlet for liberal views

Sabha

The sabha differs from the panchayat (caste or subcaste council) in that its scope is much larger; rather than

Priesthood

The Vedic, Brahmanic, and Upanishadic conceptions of priesthood and the predominance of the Brahman caste in Hinduism are discussed in Arthur Berriedale Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads, 2 vol. (1925, reprinted 1989); S. Radhakrishnan, The Hindu View of Life (1927, reissued 1980), and Eastern Religions and Western Thought, 2nd ed. (1940, reissued 1991); J.H. Hutton, Caste in India, 2nd ed. (1951); and R.C. Zaehner, Hinduism (1962, reissued 1977), with a full bibliography. C.J. Fuller, Servants of the Goddess: The Priests of a South Indian Temple (1984), analyzes the complex interrelationships between the priests of the Minaksi Temple in Madurai and the economic, political, and social structure of contemporary India. V. Bouillier and G. Toffin (eds.), Priesthood, Power, and Authority in the Himalayas (1989), in English and French, is a collection of ethnographic papers concerning the role of the priesthood in Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and two tribal religions, the Tharu of Dang and the cult of Kham Magar. The sublimation of priesthood in Buddhism in India, China, and Japan is treated in Paul Dahlke, Buddhism and Its Place in the Mental Life of Mankind (1927); and Edward Conze, Buddhism: Its Essence and Development (1951, reissued 1975). D. Howard Smith, Chinese Religions (1968), introduces religious thought and sacerdotal practice in China. Religious Studies in Japan (1959), a collection of papers from the ninth International Congress for the History of Religions, is a very informative composite volume in English by a group of Japanese scholars. Texts concerning the Zen sect include Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism, 2nd ed. (1950, reissued 1983); and Alan Watts, The Way of Zen (1957, reprinted 1989); while reference is made to it in R.C. Zaehner, Mysticism, Sacred and Profane (1957, reissued 1980). The priesthood in Shinto is discussed in D.C. Holtom, The National Faith of Japan (1938, reissued 1965).

Fuel Cell

Any of a class of devices that convert the chemical energy of a fuel directly into electricity by electrochemical reactions. A fuel cell is much more efficient than most other types of energy converters.