Autocracy
a word signifying that form of government in which the sovereign unites in himself the legislative and the executive powers of the State, and thus rules uncontrolled. Such a sover- AUTO DA FE eign is, therefore, called an autocrat.
Nearly all Eastern governments are of this form. Among European rulers, the Emperor Emperor of Russ Russia alone bore the title of Autocrat, the name indicating his freedom from constitutional restraint of every kind. In point of fact, the peculiar feature of an autocracy is the absence of regular and constitutional limits; it is a strong form of personal rule.
AUTO DA FÉ (a'tō dä fā), or AUTO DE FÉ ["Act of Faith," from Latin actus, act, and fides, faith], was, in certain Catholic countries, a solemn day formerly held apart by the Inquisition for the punishment of heretics, and the absolution of accused persons found innocent. Thousands of persons perished in this manner in Spain, Portugal, and their colonies. It was instituted in Spain in 1556, and the first instance occurred in 1560, at Valladolid.