Siren
in acoustics, an instrument for determining the number of vibrations corresponding to a note of any given pitch. In classical mythology, certain melodious divinities who dwelt on the shores of Sicily, and so charmed passing mariners by the sweetness of their song that they forgot their homes and remained there till they perished of hunger. According to one legend, they threw themselves into the sea, from rage and despair, on hearing the more melodious song of Orpheus. Originally there were only two sirens; but their number was afterward increased to three, and their names are given with great variety.
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Sirens
in Greek mythology, young maidens who sat on a certain island or promontory of southwestern Italy and sang songs of such bewitching sweetness that passing sailors, forgetting their duties, were drawn to their destruction on the rocks. According to Homer, Ulysses, voyaging homeward to the faithful Penelope, filled his sailors', that is to say his rowers', ears with wax and lashed himself to a mast where he was powerless to change the course of the ship. In this way he succeeded in getting safely out of reach of the enchantresses. One account has it that, on being resisted for the first time, the sirens flung themselves into the sea, where they still lie, huge, dangerous rocks. In Greek art, the sirens are figured often as having the wings and legs of birds, with the bust and upper parts of maidens. Each is carrying a musical instrument. No doubt the myth of the sirens is akin to the later belief in mermaids and to the German legend of the Lorelei or river-siren of the Rhine. See Lorelei.
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Sirius
sir'i-us, or the dog-star, the brightest star in the heavens. It is situated in the constellation of Canis Major, or the Great Dog. It has thirteen times the sun's magnitude and 3.24 times the sun's mass, yet, owing to distance, it gives us only 1/7,000,000,000 as much light as the sun. The Egyptians hailed the appearance of Sirius with delight as the forerunner of the flood of the Nile. The Romans regarded Sirius as the cause of the hot or dogdays of summer. In mythology, Sirius is the hunting dog of Orion. The star follows its master through the heavens at a respectful distance. See Orion ; Constellation
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Sismondi, Jean Charles
sis-mon'di, Jean Charles (1773-1842), a Swiss writer of note. He was a native of Geneva. His father was a well-to-do French Huguenot. The Sismondis were driven from Geneva, and the family property confiscated. Young Sismondi resided in England and Italy, and later became one of the coterie of persons attendant on Madame de Stael. He wrote voluminously. A treatise on practical agriculture was his first published work. Principles of Political Economy Applied to Commerce appeared in 1803. His History of the Italian Republics in sixteen volumes is standard. He prolonged a History of the French to thirty-one volumes and left it unfinished. Sismondi was a man of character and affability--a writer of great industry. He overrated the value of his work, but was never arrogant. As a historian he ranks with Rollin.
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Sisson
EDWARD OCTAVIUS, an American educator, born at Gateshead, England, in 1869. He came to the United States in 1882 and was educated at Kansas State Agricultural College, University of Chicago, University of Berlin and Harvard University. From 1886 to 1891 he was a teacher and principal of public schools; from 1892 to 1897 principal of the South Side Academy, Chicago, Ill.; from 1897 to 1904 director of Bradley Polytechnic Institute, Peoria, Ill; from 1905 to 1906 assistant professor of education at the University of Illinois; from 1906 to 1912 p professor of pedagogy and director of the department of education at the University of Washington; from 1913 to 1917 State commissioner of education of Idaho; and since 1917 president of the State University of Montana. He was a member of various educational societies and, besides lecturing and contributing articles on educational subjects, he was the author of "The Essentials of Character" (1910); and joint author of "The Social Emergency" (1913); "Principals of Secondary Education" (1914).
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Sistan
an extensive level and lowlying tract on the borders of Persia and Afghanistan, partly filled by the Hamum (Sistan) Lake or swamp. It is divided between Persia and Afghanistan.
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Sisters of Charity
an order of unmarried women in the Roman Catholic church. The first congregation was established at Chatillon, France, by St. Vincent de Paul, in 1629. Under authority of the church its houses are to be found all over the world. The sisters are devoted to the care of foundling and destitute children, aged persons, and sick people. They support a large number of hospitals and are noted as nurses. The sisters of charity are well known for their kindly acts and unselfishness, and are regarded with respect. A number of smaller orders have been founded under the same name and have branches in America. An American order of sisters of charity was founded in Maryland in 1804, but the public understands little of the distinction between different congregations of the name. The tendency of late has been to unite the several orders.
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Sistine Madonna
a famous painting of the Christ mother and child by Raphael. See Raphael ; Madonna ; Dresden
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Sistova
a town of Bulgaria; on the Danube, opposite Simmitza; 38 miles S. W. of Rustchuk, beautifully situated on undulating slopes. It has mosques and churches, and carries on manufactures of wine, leather, and wool. Here was signed, on Aug. 4, 1791, a treaty of peace between Turkey and Austria. Sistova was a place of some importance in the Russo-Turkish War. Part of the Russian army crossed the Danube here, and the town fell into their hands on June 27, 1877. Pop. about 14,000.
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Sivas
a town in Armenia, the center of a large and fertile plain watered by the Kizil Irmak, 410 miles E. S. E. of Constantinople. It has numerous mosques, large and well-supplied bazaars, commodious khans, baths, etc. Being on the road from Bagdad, and having easy access to the Black Sea, it commands a considerable trade. Pop. about 65,000. organization of
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