Memnonia
temples in honor of Memnon, were erected, one at Susa in Persia, the other at Thebes in Egypt. Two colossal statues of Amenhotep III at Thebes during the first century A. D. became connected with the myth of Memnon. One of these statues is called "the vocal Memnon." It had the peculiar property of giving out a musical note when the sun's rays first struck it in the morning. The phenomenon, if true, is thought to have been due to the expanding effect of heat upon a cold, damp stone. The low, humming sound was popularly supposed to be the greeting of Memnon to his mother, the Dawn.
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Memorial Day
. See Decoration Day
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Memory
the mental faculty or power which causes the impressions of bygone events, at ordinary times latent in the mind, to affect it anew or to be reproduced by an effort for the purpose. The art which furnishes aid to memory is called MNEMONICS (q. v.). In physiology, memory is the property of the cerebral organs only, not of the organ of sense, and is never entirely lost except through disease or accident. It depends entirely on association, and is one of the first faculties aroused in the infant mind, traces of it also occurring in the lower animals.
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Menahem
the 16th King of Israel, previously general of the army of Zachariah. He reigned in Samaria 10 years, 771-760 B. c., and was a tyrannical and cruel idolater.
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Menam
the chief river of Siam, rising in the Laos country, and flowing generally S. to enter the Gulf of Siam below Bangkok; length, about 900 miles.
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Menasha
a city of Winnebago co., Wis., 14 miles N. E. of Oshkosh, on Lake Winnebago, Chicago and Northwestern and other railroads. Is much frequented by visitors in summer. Has woolen mills, foundry, paper, woodenware, blinds, and cigar factories. City governed by mayor and council. Pop. (1910) 6,081; (1920) 7,214.
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Mencius
Latinized from MENGTSE (meng-tse'), a Chinese philosopher; born in Tsow-hien, in 372 He was a follower of Confucius B. C. , whose influence he revived. Twenty-nine years he spent in traveling about China preaching, but with small success; his last 15 years were passed with his disciples in retirement. His sayings are contained in the last of the Chinese "Four Books." He died about 289 b. c.
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Mendeleef
DMITRI IVANO- VITCH (men-del-ē'ef), a Russian chemist; born in Tobolsk, Siberia, Feb. 7, 1834. He studied at St. Petersburg, and, after having taught at Simferopol, Odessa, and St. Petersburg, became Professor of Chemistry in the University of St. Petersburg in 1866. He enriched every section of chemical science, but is especially distinguished for his contributions to physical chemistry and chemical philosophy. He died in 1907.
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Mendelism
a theory of heredity discovered and announced in 1865 by Gregor Mendel. His conclusions were the result of experimentation with plants, and the theory relates, in general, to the effects caused by successive crossing of hybrids. The general conclusion is that when two characters are mutually exclusive, one of them is always "dominant" over the other, which is said to be "recessive."
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Mendelssohn
MOSES (men'delszōn), a German-Jewish philosopher; born in Dessau, Germany, Sept. 6, 1729. He was bred to merchandise, but devoted himself to literature, in which he acquired a distinguished reputation. In 1742 he settled at Berlin. In 1755, he published his first piece, entitled "Pope a Metaphysician"; it was written in conjunction with Lessing. His best known work is the "Phædon," a discourse on the immortality of the soul. He also wrote "Letters on the Perceptions"; "Morning Hours"; "Jerusalem"; etc. He died in Berlin, Prussia, Jan. 4, 1786.
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Mendelssohn, Felix
Felix (1809-1847), a German musical composer. He was born at Hamburg and died at Leipsic. He was the son of Hebrew parents of Lutheran faith. He was educated carefully and won wide reputation as director of the Leipsic concerts from 1835 to the time of his death. As the most noted musician of his day, Mendelssohn visited Berlin, Paris, England, Scotland, and Italy. Probably no musical composer of high merit received more immediate and more highly gratifying recognition than Mendelssohn. His oratorio of Elijah, in the preparation of which for the Birmingham, England, festival, he spent nine years, is considered his masterpiece. To distinguish it from another branch of the same family, the Lutheran branch took the name of Mendelssohn-Bartholdy; but the addition is seldom used in speaking of the great musician. See Mozart ; Beethoven
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Mendicant Orders
monastic organizations, which, by their rule, were forbidden to acquire landed property in any manner whatsover, but were compelled to subsist on alms, in many instances in their early history, and in some cases even now, in some countries under Roman obedience, actually gathered by begging. They date from the 13th century, and at first consisted of the Carmelites, the Dominicans, and the Franciscans. In the latter half of the century the Augustinians became a mendicant order, and the Servites were recognized by Pope Innocent VIII., in 1487, as a fifth mendicant order.
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Mendip Hills
a range in Somersetshire, England, extending 23 miles S. E. from Weston-super-Mare to Shepton Mallet, and 3 to 6 miles in breadth. The highest point is Black Down (1,067 feet). The limestone of the Mendips is pierced by numerous caverns, some of which have yielded prehistoric remains; and lead mining, now much decreased in importance, has been carried on from pre- Roman days, calamine mining being a later industry.
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Mendoza
a W. departa), ment of the Argentine Republic; area, 56,000 square miles; pop. about 200,000. The Andes occupy the W. portion. Acon cagua (22,427 feet), the highest peak in America, being on the N. W. frontier; the rest of the province is pampa land, fertile wherever it can be irrigated by the waters of the Mendoza and other streams, but elsewhere almost worthless. Minerals, especially copper, abound, petroleum and coal also have been found; and a large quantity of wine is exported to the other provinces. Capital MENDOZA, 650 miles by rail W. by N. of Buenos Ayres, on the transcontinental railway; it is a handsome town; lying among vineyards and gardens, 2,320 feet above the sea; its streets have shade trees and streams of running water, and the Alameda is the most beautiful on the continent; an active trade is carried on with Chile. An earthquake in 1861 destroyed Mendoza (founded 1559) and 13,000 of its 14,600 inhabitants; many of the ruins are still visible in the larger city, which has been raised on its site. Pop. about 60,000.
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