Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/395

NEGROS. 345 NEHEMIAH. interior arc inlialiitcil liy niaiiiing savages. Po- litically the i-laiid is diviiled iiUo the two prov- inces of Negros Occidental anil Xegros Oriental, wliose areas, respectively, are 3112 and 1742 square niiles, and whose populations are 231,000 and 141.000. The capital of the former is Baco- lod, and of the latter Duniaguete. The two old provinces were continued under civil government by the rhili|)pine t'onnuission Act of Fehruary 0, 1!H)1. Some resistance was offered to the authority of the United States by bands of natives, who kept American troops actively en- gaged on the inland during the campaigns of KS!Mi and 1000. Consult Ainiiiles (le la Isla de .ACi/ro.s' (.Ma 111 hi. 1S94). NEGRUZZI, na-grt3ot'se, KoNSTANTiN (1808- 68 ) . A Rumanian poet, born at Jassy, the dis- ciple and translator of the poet Pushkin. He also translated some of Higo's works, and wrote an epic poem, Aprodiil I'liricc, and a volume of verse and prose. The tS'i'iis of Youth. His com- plete works were published in 1873. His son, J.coB (1843 — ), was born at Jassy, and became professor of commercial law at the university there, and afterwards at Bucharest (1885). In 1807 he founded and became the editor of the literary journal, Convorbiri Literare. His writ- ings include: Poesil (1872) ; Mirdnasi Florica, an idyl: illhUni Vcreanu, a novel; and the short stories in i'ujiii dujM natura. NEGUN'DO ( Xeo-Lat., from the Xorth Ameri- can Indian name). A group of trees sometimes separated from Acer as a genus of the natural order Acerace* ( see jSIaple ) , differing from the maples chiefly in the apetalous dioecious llowers, and in the pinnated ash-like leaves. The common negundo, ash-lcaved maple, or box-elder (rj.v.), is a native of North America often planted for ornament and extensively cultivated in the West- ern I'nited States. NEHAN'TIC. See Niantic. NE'HEMI'AH (Heb. Xehemyah. Yahweh is consolalion) . A Hebrew leader of the fifth cen- tury n.c. whose memoirs are embodied in the Book of Xeiiemiah of the Old Testament. It is there stated that he was a son of Hachaliah, and cupbearer to Arta.xerxes (i.e. Arta.xerxes I., Longimanus, B.C. 405-425) in the palace of Shn- shan. Having learned the sad condition of the returned colonists in Jerusalem, he prevailed ripon the King to send him to his brethren there with fiill powers 'to seek their welfare.' He re- ceived an appointment as 'governor.' and worked for the safety of the city and its inhabitants. He rebuilt the city walls, notwithstanding many hindrances and dangers ; he induced people from the country — priests and laymen — to take up their abode in the city, thus promoting its pros- perity; above all he rekindled the tlame of an- cient piety and enthusiasm for the obsen'ance of the law in the hearts of the rough immigrants. He then returned to Persia, trusting to the new vitality which his reforms had, as he thought, infused into the Jewish commonwealth. But not long afterwards he had again to obtain leave from the King to return for the purpose of abolishing many abuses that had crept in during his brief absence. He enforced the rigorous ob- servance of feast and Sabbath, and reaminged the temple service, procuring at the same time the means for its proper support by inducing the people to offer the tithes as of old. Owing to the clianges in the memoirs of Xehe- niiali which have been made in the course of the dilleront editings to which they have been sub- jected (see Xeiiemiah, Book oe), it is dilTicult to separate the actual course of events from the traditional view concerning X'ehemiah's ac- tivity. This mucli, however, seems certain: that Xeiiemiah paid two visits to Jerusalem, the one in B.C. 445, the other proh.ably in 433. He came the first time on a special mission to pro- tect Jerusalem from attack by rebuilding the walls, and for this work he was intrusted with full jiowers by the Persian King. He completed the restoration of the walls in the short space of fifty-two days, and provided for the proper guarding of the gates; afterwards he returned to the Persians. In this visit he appears as the 'governor.' In the second, however, he holds no such office; his purpose is to insure the enforce- ment of the provisions of the 'Priestly Code.' par- ticularly those forbidding marriages between Jews and non-JcAs. By his infiuence he suc- ceeded in aiding the pious Ezra in his efforts. See Ezra. NEHEMIAH, Book of. One of the histor- ical books of the Old Testament. In some (Jreek and Latin versions it is called the Second Book of Ezra, and in the Jewish canon the books of Ezra and Xeiiemiah originally constituted one book. It is the opinion of modern scholars that both books were put into their present form by one and the same editor. ( See EzR., Book of. ) The period covered by the Book of Nehcmiah is the 3'ears B.C. 445-432. It is based upon the genuine memoirs of Xehemiali. but also, accord- ing to the critical view, contains much extraneous material, the memoirs having been freely used by compilers whose aim it was to prove that the work of restoration of the temple, the cult, and the general reorganization was performed by Babylonian Jews who returned from the Exile ; whereas, as a matter of fact, much of the work was due to the section of the .Jewish conununity of Jerusalem which had remained in the coun- try. The contents of the book may he sum- marized as follows: X'ehemiah's sorrow over the desolation of Jerusalem is depicted, and he prays to God for opportunity to rebuild the city (eh. i.). Permission is granted him bj- the King to undertake the work; he arrives at Jeru- salem, surveys the ruins, and begins to rebuild the walls (chs. ii.-iii.). The opposition of enemies is related and the plans by which their schemes were defeated (ch. iv.). The people com- plain against the oppression of the nobles and the evil is redressed (ch. v.). Enemies form a plot to interrupt the work, which is frustrated by Xehemiah's boldness (ch. vi.). A record of the families that returned first from Babylon is given, followed by an account of the offerings made by rich and poor for the work (ch. vii.). The law is read by Ezra the Scribe, acconqjanied with a joyful celebration of the feast of taber- nacles (ch. viii.). The |)eople mourn, fast, and re))ent, a full confession of sin is made and .a solemn covenant sealed by princes, priests, and Levites, and confirmed with an oath by the whole multitude to observe the law, sanctify the Sabliath, sustain the services of the temple, and bring in all the tithes (chs. ix.-x.). A tenth of the people are selected by lot to dwell in Jeru- salem and the rest are distributed through the other cities of the land (ch. xi.). A list of