Nice
Nice names 4 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below. 1 of them is described by more than one encyclopedia.
Nice Council of, a general council of the Christian church
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
Council of, a general council of the Christian church held during the summer of 325 in Nicaea or Nice, an important city of Asia Minor . The council was summoned by the Emperor Constantine to secure the establishment throughout his dominions "of some one definite and complete form of religious worship." As a matter of fact the church and the empire, much the same thing at that day, were torn up over the conflicting theologies of Arius and Athanasius. Now Arius was a suburban priest of Alexandria. He was zealous, learned, popular, an able talker and writer, a determined Unitarian. He came into conflict with the bishop of Alexandria who held to Trinitarianism. Athanasius was a gifted priest in the family of the bishop. He and Arius were pitted against each other, and their controversy threw the churches of the empire into an uproar. The eastern churches favored Arius; the western favored Athanasius. The emperor may not have cared whether the views of Arius or the views of Athanasius prevailed, but he wanted one thing or the other, and, above all, he wanted harmony. A division into parties was bad enough, and here was a theological division that threatened to split the empire into an eastern and a western fragment. The emperor took the ground that the difference between the contending parties was not an essential one. In an open letter to the clergy of Alexandria he wrote: "My advice is neither to ask nor answer question, which, instead of being Scriptural, are the merest spirit of idleness or an exercise of ability: at best keep them to yourself and do not publish them. You agree in fundamentals." None the less the bishop banished Arius and the exiled priest went up and down stirring up a din that led Constantine to call the council. This was the first general council of Christianity. It contained about 300 bishops. The roll has not been preserved, but there were divines from the east and from the west. The bishop of Cordova is thought to have presided. Antioch, Ancyra, Jerusalem, Carthage, Rome, and Constantinople were represented. The bishop of Alexandria and Athanasius were present. Arius and his friends were on hand for the fray. The actual proceedings of the council are not known. As no record has come down, we do not know whether the conclave sat for days or for weeks. Athanasius and Arius were but priests. They were not entitled to seats in the august assembly, but they were heard repeatedly. Discussions were carried on in the Greek tongue. Arius and his followers made a good showing at first. If they had not been uncompromising they might have carried the day in favor of a middle course; but, as time went by, they drove the middle ground bishops to the Trinitarian party. The west outvoted the east. The views of Arius were anathematized, declared heretical, and Trinitarianism became the official creed of the "orthodox" church. The original Nicene creed as adopted on this occasion, and for disbelief in which heretics were henceforth to burn and hang throughout Christendom, was: We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things, both visible and invisible; and in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, only begotten, that is to say of the substance of the Father, God of God and Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made, both things in heaven and things on earth; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down and was made flesh, made man, suffered and rose again on the third day, went up into the heavens, and is to come again to judge the quick and the dead; and in the Holy Ghost. Subsequently this Nicene creed was amended and enlarged, just by what authority is not clear. Certain expressions were omitted, and the following was added: I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeded from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son are worshipped and glorified, who spake by the prophets. And I believe in one Catholic and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Nice capital of the department of Alpes Maritimes
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
capital of the department of Alpes Maritimes, France, on the coast, 140 miles E. by N. of Marseilles and 110 S. W. of Genoa. On the N. of the city the hills rise in terraces and shield it from the cold winds. On the S. it faces the sea, which tempers the heat in summer. Owing to the advantages of its situation, Nice has for many long years been celebrated as a winter resort for invalids; the number of visitors is estimated from 15,000 to The mean temperature of win- 40,000. 40,000. ter is 49° F., of summer 72°. Frost occurs but seldom. The city consists of three parts-the New Town on the W., the Old Town, and the Port on the E. The first of these is the part frequented by foreigners. Beautiful promenades stretch along the seashore, and are overlooked by villas and hotels. The most famous of these is the Promenade des Anglais. Numerous bridges across the little river Paglione (Paillon) connect the New Town with the Old or Upper Town. This part, with narrow streets, clusters at the foot of a rocky height, the Castle Hill; on the other (E.) side of this hill is the harbor, called Lympia. The Castle Hill is an isolated mass of limestone 318 feet high, formerly crowned by a strong castle, now in 1 ruins, and is laid out in public gardens. 1 The chief public buildings are the cathedral, the Gothic church , the natural history museum, art gallery of Notre Dame library, observatory, casino, etc. The people manufacture artistic pottery, perfumery, and Italian pastes, grow flowers and fruits, the last of which they preserve, and produce inlay work in olive wood, in some of which a considerable export trade is carried on. The annual flower carnival attracts pleasure seekers from all parts of the world. The ancient Ligurian town of Nicea, founded by a colony of Phocæans from Massalia (Marseilles), became subject to Rome in the 2d century B. C. It was in the hands of the Saracens during the greater part of the 10th century. Then, after existing as an independent city, it acknowledged the supremacy of the Counts of Provence and the House of Savoy (1388). From 1600 onward it was repeatedly taken by the French; and they kept possession of it from 1792 to 1814. In 1860 it was ceded to France by Sardinia (Savoy). Masséna was born near the city, and Garibaldi in it. Pop. about 150,000.
Nice or NICEA, in ancient geogra-
Described by 2 of the 6 encyclopedias.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
or NICEA, in ancient geogra- , a city of Bithynia, in phy Asia Minor, or, on the E. shore of Lake Ascania. Antigonus rebuilt it 316 B. c., and named it Antigonea; but Lysimachus, having conquered this part of Asia, changed its name to Nicæa, in honor of his wife. It became a city of great importance. The celebrated Council of Nicea, the first general council, was convened there A. D. 325, by the Emperor Constantine, in order to settle differences that had arisen in respect to the doctrines of Arius. This council was attended by upward of 300 bishops, of whom a great majority came from the East, besides presbyters, deacons, and others from all parts of the Christian world. The chief question was the Arian heresy; and the council decreed the excommunication of Arius (see ARIAN). The confession of faith adopted by this council is known as the NICENE CREED (q. v.). The 2d council of Nice, recognized ecumenic council of the Roman Catholics, assembled in 786 under the authority of Pope Adrian I. by the desire of Empress Irene. The bishops declared the veneration of images and the cross to be agreeable to sacred Scripture and reason, and to the teachings of the Church.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
nes, a city of Asia Minor . It is located on the shore of a lake, forty-five miles southeast of Constantinople. Its site is now occupied by a mere village. It is renowned in history as the place of a famous ecclesiastical council convened 325 A. D. by the Emperor Constantine. This was composed of bishops. This Nice of church history is to be distinguished from a city of the same name situated on the Mediterranean coast of France. See Arianism
Nice Called Victoria by the Romans
1000 Classical Characters (1900)
Called Victoria by the Romans, the goddess of victory, is described as a daughter of Pallas and Styx, and as a sister of Zelus (zeal), Cratos (strength), and Bia (force). Nice had a celebrated temple on the Acropolis of Athens , which is still extant. She is often represented in ancient works of art, especially with other divinities, such as Zeus ( Jupiter ) and Athena (Minerva), and with conquering heroes, whose horses she guides. In her appearance she resembles Athena, but has wings, and carries a palm or a wreath, and is engaged in raising a trophy, or in inscribing the victory of the conqueror on a shield.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's in 1921 described Nice as a winter refuge for invalids, with 15,000 to 40,000 visitors sheltering from northern cold; the season has since flipped, and the city of roughly 350,000 people now draws millions of mostly summer tourists, served by Nice Côte d'Azur, one of France's busiest airports. In 2021 UNESCO placed the resort city on the World Heritage list precisely for the winter-resort architecture Collier's was describing, while the Promenade des Anglais gained a grimmer fame after a truck attack there on 14 July 2016 killed 86 people. On the Council of "Nice" of 325, Aiton's account still broadly stands, though the city is now always called Nicaea and sits in Turkey as İznik. Aiton's puzzlement over the creed's later enlargement "just by what authority is not clear" has a settled answer: the expanded text comes from the Council of Constantinople in 381, and the clause that the Spirit proceeds "from the Father and the Son" was a later Western addition that Eastern Orthodoxy has never accepted.
Written for this edition, 2026.