Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/643

SAEDIS. 577 SAEGENT. SAR'DIS, or SAR'DES (Lat., from Gl<. 2(ip5eis, i<iinlcis, Ionic 2ap5iet, Hardies, ^dp5is, ISunlisj. All ancient city of Asia Minor, tlic capital of Lydia, situated at the nortlicrn base of iloiint Tmolus, on the Pactohis, ()() miles east- northeast of Smyrna (ilap: Turkey in Asia, C 3). The city is first mentioned by .Kschylus. It was taken by the Cimmerians in the reign of King Ardys (n.c. USO-tiSl). In the reign of Croesus, the last Lydian King. Sardis attained its highest prosperity. It became the residence, of the Persian satraps after the ovortlirow of the Lydian monarchy. The lonians burned it about n.c. 499, and a little later Xerxes as- sembled his vast army at Sardis for the invasion of Greece. It was of importance under the Romans. It is one of the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation. The town vas almost completely destroyed by Timnr in 1402. Traces of the ancient city are still visible, notably the famous Ionic temple of Cybele and the tomb of Alyattes. Stn-t, the modern Sardis, is a poor village with a few straggling houses and tents of nomadic tribes. SARDONYX (Lat. sardonyx, from Gk. aapdSyv^. Mirdonyx, from <rAp5ios, sardios, sard, from IdpScit, Sardeis, Sardis, the ancient cap- ital of Lydia in Asia Jlinor -|- tm^, onijx, onyx, nail). A variety of quartz. It resembles onyx and usually consists of layers of red (carnclian) and white (chalcedony). It finds some use as a gem. being employed for brooches and other forms of jeweliy. SARDOTT, siir'doo', Victorien (1831—). A Frcncli dramatist, born in Paris. He at first studieil medicine, then history, taught for a time, and, failing in early dramatic efl'orts, of which La. lavcrne des etudianls (1854) was the first acted, he became a hack journalist and writer. He fell into poverty, and was nursed through a fever by Mile, de Brecourt, afterwards his wife, who introduced him to the noted actress and theatrical manager Mile. Dejazet, for whom he wrote plays of ephemeral popularity, among them Monsieur Oarat (1860). When he had once achieved notoriety Sardou produced comedies with astonishing rapidity, four in 1801, Lrs pattes dc ■n^ouchc, from Poe's Purloined Letter, Piecolino, Les femmes fortes, Xos intimes ; three in 1862, Les gamiches, a satire on the republican agita- tion. La papillonne, Les premieres armes de Figaro : and nearlj' a score in five years, all bril- liant in dialogue, all genre pictures of modern social life, never serious or stern in moralizing, bitter only in Les ganaehes, almost always suc- cessful. Of these the best is La famille lienoiton (1865). The same vein was pursued during the last years of the Empire (J<craphine, 1868: I'a- trie, 1869; Fernande. 1870), with a political di- gression in JVos hons villageois (1866). That vSardou was a sincere Bonapartist he showed after Napoleon's downfall in Le roi Carotte (1871) and Ragabas ( 1872) , a fierce attack on Gambetta, with Napoleon III. and Garibaldi in the back- ground. In 1878 he entered the Academy and in 1880 aroused clamor if not applause by Daniel Rochat. a plea for civil marriage, and (with Najac) Divoreons. a daring farce, which had a financial success then almost unparalleled in France. The plays of the eighties are more significant. Odette (1881) and Fedora (1882) show social and political satire develop- ing into character-study, centred round a single figure, usually a woman. In this vein Neraphine, Fernande, and Dora (1877) were early experi- ments. TModora (1884), Georgette (1885), and La Tosca (1887) lead up to the historic and spec- tacular dramas of the nineties (Clt'opdlrc. 1890; Thermidor, 1891; Madame Sanstttne, 1893; (lis- tnonda. 1894; Mareelle, 1895; Rohesjnerre, 1898; and Danlc, 1903). Of this .style I'ulrie (1869) and La liainc (1874) were the forerunners. These later plays were composed to be heard and seen, not to be read, and they have not been i)ul)lishcd. Occasional scenes show literary elaboration, but the general ell'eet is of exalted vaudeville. Sar- dou's importation into serious drama of sensation and spectacle has tended to corru|)t the stage and to make it artificial and insincere. Critical notices of Sardou arc in Lacour, 7'roi.s theatres (Paris, 1880); Matthews, Freneli, Dramatists- (New York, 1881); Sarrazin, Das moderne Drama der Franzosen (Stuttgart, 1888) ; Doumic, Ecrwains d'aujourd'hui (Paris, 1895). SAR'GENT, CiiAKLES SpKAfiUE (1841 — ). An American forester and botanist, born in Boston and educated at Harvard (class of 1862). He became director of the Arnold Arboretum at Cambridge in 1872, and in 1879 was appointed professor of arboriculture in Harvard University. Professor Sargent planned the Jesup collection of woods, now in the American JIuscum of Natural History, New York City, and described it in 1885. He edited the posthumous papers of Asa Gray in 1889. and wrote Report on the Forests of orth America (1884), Forest Flora of Japan (1894), and the great work entitled Hiira of North Ameriea (14 vols., 1891-1902). SARGENT, Epes (1813-80). An American editor, poet, and dramatist. He was born at Gloucester, Mass., and was educated at the Bos- ton Latin School, and at Harvard College. After a brief connection with the Boston Advertiser and Atlas, he went (1839) to New York as as- sistant editor of The Mirror, returned (1846) to Boston, where for several years he edited the Transcript, and then devoted himself to prepar- ing school text-books and i)opiilarizations of literature. He wrote four dramas. The Bride of (lenoa (1846), Velasco (1837), Change Makes Change, and The Priestess. The more note- worthy of his many juvenile or adolescent stories are: Wealth and Worth (1840); What's to be Doner (1841) ; Fleetuaod (1845) ; and Peculiar, a Tale of the Great Transition (1863). His ])oems are collected in Songs of the Sea (1847), Poems (1858), etc. Among miscellaneous works may be named: The Life and Services of Ilenrg Clay (1843) ; American Adventure by Laud and Sea (1847) ; Arctic Adventures by Sea and Land (1847). He is chiefly remembered for the song, "A Life on the Ocean Wave." SARGENT, Henry (1770-1845). An Auieri- can painter and soldier, born in Gloucester, Mass. He was educated at Duinmer Academy, near Newburyport, and in Boston, and afterwards studied art in London under Copley and West. Some time after his return to Boston he became adjutant-general of the State of Massachusetts, and was aide successively to Governor Brooks and (iovcrnor Strong. He also represented Bos- ton in the Legislature. His works include "Din- ner Party," Christ's Entrance into Jerusalem," "Landing of the Pilgrims," owned by the Pilgrim