ENCYCLICAL LETTER, a letter addressed by the Pope to the bishops of the Church, condemnatory of prevailing errors or counselling them how to act in connection with public questions of the day.

ENCYCLOPAEDIA, a name of Greek derivation, given to works which embrace within their pages a more or less complete account, in alphabetical order, of the whole round of human knowledge, or of some particular section of it.  Attempts in this direction were made as far back as Aristotle’s day, and various others have since been made from time to time, according as the circle of knowledge widened.  Amongst famous encyclopaedias which have appeared, mention may be made of the French “ENCYCLOPEDIE” (q. v.); the “Encyclopaedia Britannica,” Edinburgh (1708-1771), now in its ninth edition (1889); the German “Encyclopedie,” begun in 1818 by Ersch and Gruber, and not yet completed, although 170 volumes have appeared; while the largest of all is the Chinese encyclopaedia, in 5020 vols., printed in Pekin in 1726.

ENCYCLOPEDIE, a French encyclopaedia consisting of 28 vols., to which a supplement of 5 vols. was added; edited by D’Alembert and Diderot; contributed to by a number of the eminent savants of France, and issued in 1751-1777, and which contributed to feed, but did nothing to allay, or even moderate, the fire of the Revolution.

ENCYCLOPEDIST, generally a man of encyclopedic knowledge, or who conducts or contributes to an encyclopaedia; specially one who has, as the French encyclopedists, an overweening, false, and illusory estimate of the moral worth and civilising power of such knowledge.  See CARLYLE’S “SARTOR,” BK.  I. CHAP. 10, ON THE “ENCYCLOPEDIC HEAD.”

ENDEMIC, a term applied to diseases which affect the inhabitants of certain countries and localities, and which arise from strictly local causes, e. g. neighbouring swamps, bad sanitation, impure water, climate, &c.

ENDOGENS, those plants in which the new fibrous matter is developed in the centre of the stem, and which is pushed outward by the formation of new tissue within, thus developing the stem outwards from the inside.  See EXOGENS.

ENDOR, a place on the S. of Mount Tabor, in Palestine, where the sorceress lived who was consulted by Saul before the battle of Gilboa, and who professed communication with the ghost of Samuel (1 Sam, xxviii. 7).

ENDOSMOSE, a word used in physics to describe the intermingling of two liquids of different densities, in close juxtaposition, but separated by a thin membranous tissue.  The liquid of lesser density passes more rapidly through the dividing tissue, and raises the level of the liquid in the other vessel, this action is named endosmose; while the flowing of the liquid of greater density into the vessel whose level is falling, is called exosmose.

ENDYMION, a beautiful shepherd, son of Zeus, whom SELENE (q. v.) carried off to Mount Lemnos, in Caria, where, as she kissed him, he sank into eternal sleep.  This is one version of the story.