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HEPTARCHY 506 HERETIC HEPTARCHY (hep'tar-ke) , the name sometimes applied to the seven kingdoms supposed to have been established by the Saxons in England. This is under- stood to mean only that the chief king- doms at various periods from the 5th to the 9th century were Wessex, Sussex, Kent, Essex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumberland. HERALDRY, properly the knowledge of the whole multifarious duties devolv- ing on a herald; in the more restricted sense it is the science of armorial bear- ings. The rules of heraldry differ some- what in different countries, but the gen- eral principles are the same. In English heraldry, arms are divisible into three classes: Arms of states, of communities or corporations, and of persons and fam- ilies. All these classes of arms are dis- played on a shield or escutcheon. There is no prescribed form for the shield. The shields of maids and widows are in the form of a lozenge. The face of the shield, on which the arms ai'e blazoned, is technically called the field. HERAT (her-af), a city of Afghan- istan, and capital of an independent state; in a plain near the Herirood river, 360 miles W. by N. of Kabul. It is well fortified, and surrounded by a wet ditch, mound, and bastioned wall. It contains a number of caravanseries, public baths, reservoirs, and numerous mosques, be- sides a strong citadel. Herat is the em- porium of the commerce carried on be- tween Kabul and Bokhara, Hindustan, and Persia, and is a grand central mart for the products of India, China, Tar- tary, Afghanistan, and Persia. The local manufactures include carpets, leather, caps, cloaks, shoes, etc. This place has often been ravaged by various conquerors disputing the empire of Asia. The po- sition of Herat is one of the greatest possible importance, and has been well described as the "Gate of India"; for within the limits of the Heratee country all the great roads leading to India con- verge. By the Herat route alone could a formidable and well-equipped army march upon the Indian frontier from the N. W. regions. Pop. about 20,000. See Afghanistan. HERBERT, GEORGE, an English poet, brother of Lord Herbert of Cher- bury; born in 1593. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. From 1619 till 1627 he was university orator. The death of James I. in 1625 put an end to his prospects of civil promotion, and in the same year he took orders, and be- came a prebendary in the diocese of Lincoln. In 1630 he took priest's orders, and was presented to the rectory of Be- merton, near Salisbury, in Wiltshire. His collection of religious poems, "The Temple," was published in 1631 and the "Jacula Prudentum," a collection of prov- erbs, in 1640. His chief prose work was "The Country Parson" (1652). He died in 1633. HERCULANEUM (her-ku-la'ne-um), an ancient city about 5 miles from Na- {)les, completely buried with Pompeii by ava and ashes during an eruption of Vesuvius in the reign of Titus, A. D. 79. HERCULES (her'ku-lez), or HERAC- LES, the beloved son of Zeus by Alcmene, was intended by his father to be king of the Argives; but Hera, the jealous spouse of Zeus, by a trick caused Eurystheus to become king of Argos. Nor was her wrath satisfied with this; she made Hercules serve Eurystheus, by far the inferior man. And he enjoined hard adventures on Hercules, even send- ing him to Hades to fetch up the dog Cerberus. Thus Hercules was doomed to a life of trouble, and became the type among the Greeks not only of manly strength, but of manly endurance. Be- sides the labors imposed on him by Eurystheus, Hercules undertook adven- tures on his own account, killing a sea monster that ravaged Troy, and destroy- ing Troy when the mares promised him as i-eward for killing the monster were denied him. His love of horses also led him to kill Iphitus, though his guest. Finally, after death, he himself joined the banquet of the deathless gods, with Hebe as his wife; but his phantom, armed with bow and arrow and gold bal- dric, with wild boars and lions wrought upon it, terrified the dead in Hades. HEREDITY, thfc transmission from parent to offspring of physical and intel- lectual characters. HEREFORD, the county-town of Herefordshire, England, 144 miles W. N. W. of London. Its noble cathedral was built between 1079 and 1535, and so exhibits every variety of style from Nor- man to Perpendicular. HERETIC, one who adopts, and prob- ably propagates, religious views which the Church to which he belongs, or the Christian Church in general, deems er- roneous, and imperiling the eternal sal- vation of anyone holding them. Here- sies began in the Apostolic age. There were, for instance, Hymeneus and Phile- tus, who said that the resurrection was already past (II Tim. ii: 17), and ap- parently the Nicolaitanes, though they are censured for hateful deeds rather than doctrines (Rev. ii: 6). The Scrip- ture direction for dealing ecclesiastically