ELZEVIR EDITIONS, editions of the classics printed at Amsterdam and Leyden during the 16th and 17th centuries by a family of the Elzevirs, and considered to be immaculate.

EMANATION, THE DOCTRINE OF, a doctrine of Eastern origin, which derives everything that exists from the divine nature by necessary process of emanation, as light from the sun, and ascribes all evil and the degrees of it to a greater and greater distance from the pure ether of this parent source, or to the extent in consequence to which the being gets immersed in and clogged with matter.

EMANCIPATION, originally a term in Roman law and name given to the process of the manumission of a son by his father; the son was sold to a third party and after the sale became sui juris; it is now applied to the remission of old laws in the interest of freedom, which Carlyle regards in his “Shooting Niagara,” as the sum of nearly all modern recent attempts at Reform.

EMANUEL I., king of Portugal from 1495 to 1521; his reign inaugurated the golden period of Portuguese history, during which Portugal became the first maritime and commercial power in Europe; was the patron of Vasco da Gama and Albuquerque; issued an edict for the expulsion of the Jews from his kingdom, and wrote to the Elector of Saxony begging him to get rid of Luther (1469-1521).

EMBALMING, the art of preserving dead bodies from decay by means of antiseptic agents applied both externally and internally; although known to other people, e. g. the Peruvians, the art was chiefly practised among the Egyptians, and the practice of it dates back to 4000 B.C.; the thoroughness of the process depended on the money expended, but it usually involved the removal of the viscera, save the heart and kidneys, the extraction of the brain, the introduction of drugs to the cavities, and the pickling of the body in native carbonate of soda, and the wrapping of it in linen; experiments in embalming, more or less successful, have been made in recent times, and even still are.

EMBER DAYS, four annually recurring periods of three days each, appointed by the Romish and English Churches to be devoted to fasting and praying; they are the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent, after Pentecost, after the 14th September, and after the 13th December.

EMBRYO, the scientific term for the young of an animal while yet in the initial stage of development in the womb; also applied to the plant in its rudimentary stage within the seed.

EMBRYOLOGY, the section of biology which treats of the development of the embryo.

EMDEN (14), the chief part of the province of Hanover, in Prussia, situated at the outlet of the river Ems; is intersected by canals; shipbuilding and brewing are the chief industries.

EMERALD, a precious stone of great value, allied in composition to the beryl; is of a beautiful transparent green colour; the finest specimens are found in Colombia and Venezuela.