Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 05.djvu/823

CYPRESS. 711 CYPBINID^. is not positively knoMi. The tree will grow in dry jjlaees, and is frequently planted as an orna- ment as well as for its limber. For illustra- tion of a California cypress-tree, see Plate of Cy- CADS AND Cypeess. Fot fossil forms of cypress, see Conifer.^. CYPRESS SWAMPS. Swamps of the south- eastern United States in which the bald cypress {Taxodiiim disliclium) is one of the dominant trees. See Swamps. CYPRESS- VINE. See Ipomcea. CYP'RIA (Lat., from C4k. K<V/)io, Kypria, from KiTTpoj, Kiipros, Cyprus).- The title of a poem once ascribed to Homer, but declared by Herodotus not to be his, and later attributed to Stasinus or Hegesias. It relates the causes lead- ing to the Trojan War, and so is a sort of preface to the Iliad. CYP'RIAN. A name sometimes given to a courtesan as being a follower of Venus, the Cyprus-born goddess of love. CYPRIATifUS, or CYPRIAN, TiiASCirs C.ECILIUS ( ? -258). The great leader of the early African Church. He was born in North Africa, probabh' not in Carthage, though at the time he first comes into notice he was living there in the luxurious style of a man of large wealth. His training had been in the law, and he had attained prominence as a teaclier of rhet- oric. Up to 246 he had been a pagan. Then he applied for admission to the Cliristian Church as a catechumen, and after instruction was baptized. Such a man vas a great gain to the Church. He early gave evidence of his pietj' and desire to throw in his lot with the Christians by volun- tarily parting with his property and giving the proceeds to the poor. In 247 he was made a presb.vter, and in 248 Bishop of Carthage. He owed his rapid elevation to his high character, his noteworthy gifts of administration, and to the promise he gave of being a devoted leader. These hopes he did not belie. No sooner had he become accustomed to the duties of his high office than the peace which the Church had en- joyed for many yeai's was broken by the sudden exhibition of zeal for the old faith on the part of the Emperor Decius. By the imperial decree of 240 Christianity became a forbidden religion; its profession meant confiscation, torture, exile, even death, and bishops had a price set upon their heads. Not from cowardice, but from the conviction that it was better for him to continue to guide his flock, which he thought he could do just as well out of Carthage as in it, in January, 2.50, he went into retirement ; not exactly con- cealment, because it must have been easy for the authorities to find him if they wished. Thus he lived fourteen months, and then as calmly re- turned to Carthage. His time had been well spent, and the fruits of it ajijiear in his pre- served correspondence and treatises. But when once more in the city he saw for himself the desolation the persecution had caused. Many had denied the faith, or pretended to do so, many had abandoned their homes, many had died. The more pressing question related to the treatment to be accorded the "lapsed,' whom he treated sternly and commanded to repent and show contrition : then he would receive them. (See LAP.SED.) He had indeed dealt with the matter while in retirement, but now he nnist take a more decided stand. In March, 2.51, he held his first council at Carthage, and there he met the internal foes, who had greatly increased during his retircnient, and was compelled to yield .some points. The relation between the Bishop of Kome and the ]?ishop of Carthage is the most interesting point. Cyprian treats Stephen, the liishop of the fonner, as an equal, and they dill'er ujjon the important matter of the rece|)tion into the Church upon their renun- ciation of heresy of those who had been baptized by heretics. Stephen — and this was the Roman and ultimately the general position— tiid not re- baptize such, while Cyprian did. The contro- versy between these bishops was sharp and even acrimonious. Stephen called Cyprian a pseudo- Christian; Cyprian called Stephen a schismatic. The episcopate of Cyprian was indeed a trou- bled one; heretics, schismatics, feeble, timid Christians, scheming, ambitious leaders, and, to add to the turmoil, the horrors of pestilence — all these must have greatly worried the Bishop. But he did much to strengthen the episcopate as an institution, and make Church councils part of the regular machinery of the Church. These two services entitle him to everlasting remembrance. He held seven councils, the last in 250. But the end which he had long antici- pated was very near. In August, 257, persecu- tion once more broke out, this time under Vale- rian, the successor of Decius, and Cyprian was apprehended. He was treated with the utmost tenderness, for manifestly the olUcers were dis- ehai-ging a very disagreeable duty. He was brought before the proconsul (August 30, 257), required to sacrifice to the gods, and on his re- fusal banished to Curubis, a free town near the sea (modern Xurbo), 50 miles southeast of Carthage. There he lived, attended by many friends and active in his episcopal duties, for eleven months, when he was recalled to Carthage and lived for a while in his own home. On September 13, 258, he was again arrested, brought before the consul, sternly questioned, and sentenced to death. "Our pleasure is that Thascius Cyprianus be executed by the sword;" to which Cyprian only said, "Thanks be to God." On September 14 the sentence was carried out. The writipgs of Cv^prian are most interesting and handle a great variety of topics. The eighty- two letters are the most important, but the treatises on the "Unity of the Church," the "Dress of Virgins," the "Lapsed," the "Lord's Prayer," the 'Vanity of Idols," "Against the Jews," and others are very instructive. The best edition of his writings is by G. Hartel (3 vols., Vienna, 1868-71) ; there is an English translation in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. v. (Buffalo, 1886-90). Consult A. Hamack, Drei u-enig beach tete Ciiprianische Schriftcn und die Acta Pauli (Leipzig, 1899) ; and for his life consult E. W. Benson (London and New York, 1897). CYPRINE, slp'rtn or -Tin (Lat. cyprinus, cupriiiiis, from cuprum, copper). A name given to a pale sky-blue or greenish-blue variety of vesuvianite. Its color is said to be caused by a small amount of copper, whence its name. CYPRIN'IDJE (Neo-Lat. nom. pi., from Lat. cypriniis. Ok. Kv-rrphifS, Iqipriuos. carp). A family of soft-rayed fishes inhabiting the fresh waters of North America, eastern .sia, and Africa. The head is naked, and the body, with a