14 
Candelabrum, originally a candlestick, came afterwards to 
signify a lamp stand. 
The Lamp. (Lampas as before mentioned means a torch- 
holder). The Latins called a Lamp “ Lucerna,’’ and the Greeks 
“‘Lychnos’”’ (Adxvos). A Lamp has been described as an 
apparatus for burning fluid combustible substances. Fluid 
combustible substances were, however, only practically known 
in hot climates. In colder countries a shell or hollow stone was 
filled with tallow, anda piece of moss or similar substance thrust 
into it. Our own prehistoric ancestors made circular hollows in 
stone for this purpose, and to-day the Esquimaux cut a square 
hole in soap stone. In tropical countries the lamp was probably 
a cocoa-nut shell filled with oil and with a floating wick. Up to 
within 50 years ago, the Scotch used the large whelk shell, ‘‘ the 
roaring buckie,” as a lamp. The Lamps of the Greeks and 
Romans were almost invariably small circular covered vessels 
with a hole in the top through which they were filled; this 
served also to supply air. ‘These had a handle on one side and 
one or more nozzles at the other side, the two nozzle lamp 
being called ‘‘dimyxos,” the three nozzle one ‘ trimyxos,”’ &c. 
Herodotus, writing about 450 B.C., refers to a ‘‘ Feast of Lamps,” 
which he saw at Sais in Egypt, and ceremonial lamps are 
mentioned in ‘ EHixodus,’’ but lamps only came into general use 
in Greece about 400 B.C. A little before that time, however, 
Callimachus designed the splendid gold lamp of the EKrectheum, 
which was furnished with a chimney shaped like a bronze 
palm tree to carry off the fumes. This lamp was said 
to have been filled only once a year. If this be true, it 
must have been fed with a mineral oil, and Strabo, (Geog. 
xvi., 15), speaks of solid asphalt and liquid asphalt as abounding 
in Babylonia, and says the liquid ‘Hygra” (typa) was 
called “naphtha,” (véd6a, a Persian word), and was burnt 
instead of oil in their lamps (“@ dv7’ eAafov tobs Adyvovs Katovat). 
The ordinary wick in early times was a mullein leaf, and this is 
still in common use in Spain. Later the wick was an untwisted 
rope-like mass of fibre of flax, tow, &c. Pausanias says that 
‘* Carpasus ’’ makes the best wicks ; this is now considered to have 
been cotton, which was certainly known to the Egyptians. Rushes 
were also used for wicks, aud Asbestos is likewise mentioned. 
Some of the ancient bronze lamps still have attached to them 
the hook with a point, something lke a small boathook, with 
which the wick was regulated, and many of the lamps were 
fitted with a shield to protect the light from the wind. But the 
ancients were also acquainted with “lanterns,” that is, 
transparent cases to contain lamps, the sides being filled with 
horn, (of which Carthage supplied the best), or with bladder or 
parchment, Dark Lanterns were also constructed for military 
