326 



MOSHF.IM 



MOSQUITO COAST 



fltnlt (roL i. tnu>. 1887): and Kittrl's 



OacMcAte drr Hrtraer ( 1888 1. Ample rvfertnoun to tho 

 literature u{ the ubj.-ct ro given by lieiuu. 



Moshrim, JCUIANN LOICKN/ vox, a distin- 

 guished church historian of (iernmny, was liorn at 

 Lubeck on Oth (Molier K><4. itauad at Kid, 

 becani" in IT'J.'t professor of Theology at Hclmstedt, 

 in 1747 at (iiittingcn, as well as Chancellor of the 

 I'nivcmty. Here lie died, 9th September 1755. 

 His theological work- are numerous, among-t wliich 

 are a work on Hilile morality ami Ilritiyt linl' n. 

 Mut his most important work belonged to the 

 department of church history, his Instil iitinncs 

 Hittori<K Errlrtiattiea ( 1726 ;" improved e<l. 1735) 

 being familiar to every student as a work of great 

 learning anil accuracy. Its author in, in GibTton's 

 phrase, 'full, rational, correct, ami moderate. ' It has 

 been translated from the original very elegant Latin 

 into English ami other languages. The best 

 English translation is that by L)r James Murdock 

 (3 vols. New York, 1832). Other works were 

 Imtitutionfji Historife CAristiaiwe Majores (1763); 

 De Rebus (.'/iri.tliii nnrnm ante Cunstnntinum Cam- 

 tnenttirii ( 1 75.'} ) ; Dissertationes ad Historiam Eccle- 

 fiatlifam pertincnte* (2 vols. new ed. 17<!7) ; and 

 a Kctzergttchirhte (2 vols. 1746-48). Mosheim's 

 standpoint is that of liberal orthodoxy ; and hi* 

 greatest work remains a monument of erudition 

 and insight from the point of view of the impartial 

 observer. 



Moskwa. a branch of the Volga's tributary, 

 the Oka, rises in a marsh in the east of Smolensk, 

 flow* east to the city of Moscow, and thence 1 12 

 miles south-east to the Oka. Its total course is 305 

 miles. It is navigable from its mouth to Moscow, 

 except between November and April, when it is 

 generally fro/en, and is connected directly with 

 the Volga by the Moskwa Canal. 



Mosque, a Mohammedan house of prayer. The 

 word U derived, through the Italian tnoschta, from 

 the Arabic mrjijiif, 'a place of prayer.' The form of 

 the oldest mosques ia evidently from that of the 

 Christian basilica (see ARABIAN ARCHITECTURE). 

 The original forms Itecame, however, entirely oblit- 

 erated in the progress of Mohammedan architec- 

 ture, and the mosques, with their arcaded courts, 

 gateways, domes, and minarets, Ixjcame the most 

 characteristic edifices of Saracenic art. Wherever 

 the Moliainineilan faith prevailed, from Spain to 

 India, beautiful examples of these buildings c\i-t. 

 They vary considerably in style in different 

 countries, the Saracens generally Iwrrowing much 

 from the architecture of the various nations who 

 adopted their faith. In India the mosques have 

 many features in common with the temples of the 

 Jains (see the section on architecture in INDIA, 

 and the illustration at AGRA), while in Turkey 

 they resemble the liv/antine architecture of Con- 

 stantinople. Everywhere the dome is one of 

 the leaning and most beautiful features of the 

 mosque*, which commonly consist of porticoes 

 surrounding an open square, in the centre of 

 which U a tank or fountain for ablution. Ara- 

 besques and sentences of the Koran insciihed 

 upon the walls, which are generally whitewashed, 

 and never bear any device representing a living 

 thing, are tin- only ornaments of the interior. The 

 floor is generally covered with mats or carpets ; 

 there are no seats. In the south cast is a kind of 

 pulpit (mim/xir) for the imam : and in the direc- 

 tion in which Mecca lies (the Kibleh), there is a 

 niche (mihnih) towards which the faithful are 

 required to look when they pray. Opposite the 

 pulpit there is generally a platform (ilikkch), 

 surrounded by a parajH-t, with a desk liearing the 

 Koran, from which portions are read to the con- 

 gregation. The five daily prayers, which are 



gem-rally said at home on week-days, are said in 

 the mosque by the whole congrcgat ion on Fridays 

 and certain other days, together v. itli some addi- 

 tional prayers, and at times a sermon is MI[-I 

 added to the servie". It is not r.ustomary for 

 women to visit the mosques, and if they do, they 

 are separated from tin 1 male worshippers, (hi 

 entering the mosque, the Moslem takes off his 

 shoes, performs the nceessary ablutions, and finishes 

 by putting his shoes and any arms he may have 

 with him ii|Hin the matting before him. The chief 

 ollicer of a mosque is the na/ir, under whom are 

 two imams, a kind of religious official, i" " way 

 to be compared with what we understand by a 

 clergyman of a creed, but who performs a certain 

 numlier of religious rites, and, living very badly 

 remunerated, generally has to find some other 

 occupation besides. There are further many per- 

 sons attached to a mosque in a lower capacity, as 

 Muezzins (q.v.), door-keejiers, &c., all of whom are 

 paid from the funds of the mosque itnelf gener- 

 ally derived from lands. With many of the larger 

 mosques there are schools, academies \ medressehs), 

 and hospitals connected, and public kitchens, in 

 which food is prepared for the poor. 



Mosquito (dim. of Span, mosca, 'a fly'), a 



name applied to various troubles gnats, for the 



most jiart belonging to the genus Cnlex, though 

 sometime^ members of the adjacent family Simu- 

 lid.-e. They are very widely distributed, especially 

 in tropical countries, but also in the far north, as 

 in Arctic America, Lapland, and Sil>eria. The 

 numerous species to winch the popular title mos. 

 quito is justifiably applied are not yet known with 

 sufficient precision. Vet the entomologista cata 

 logue 150 species of Culex alone, of which 35 occur 

 in Europe, and most of these bite sorely enough to 

 be ranked as mosquitoes. In hot summers the cry- 

 is sometimes heard that mosquitoes have ap|>eared 

 in liritain from the Continent or even from 

 America. Importations no doubt occur ; but the 

 fact is that mosquitoes are always with us under the 

 name of gnats. In hot weather they often appear 

 in great swarms, especially in low countries, 

 and the temperature seems to exaggerate their 

 venomous voracity and our sensibility too. In 

 places where they abound complete protection 

 from their notoriously intense bites is almost im- 

 possible, but ' mosquito-curtains ' of vcrv fine gauze 

 are most useful safeguards at night. The natives 

 of various countries smear themselves with oil or 

 grease, and sometimes sleep with their bodies almost 

 buried in sand. It is noteworthy, however, that 

 some jieople are much less susceptible and sensitive 

 to mosquito-bites than is the case with the great 

 majority. In some countries an additional terror 

 is associated with mosquitoes, since they seem to 

 l>e the host of the embryonic stage of filaria sn- 

 guiiiif hominis, a parasite of man associated with 

 the loathsome disease of Elephantiasis (q.v.). For 

 the' -tincture ami life-history of most mosquitoes, 

 see Ox AT. 



Mosquito Const, or Mi>s..>riTi.\, formerly an 

 independent state undei the protectorate of liritain, 

 lies on the east side of Nicaragua (q.v.), to which 

 it has lieloiiged since 1S60. The roast -lands are 

 low anil swampy, but the interior rises into moun- 

 tains, and is healthy. The characteristic products 

 of the West Indies are grown. The inhabitants 

 are a mixed race, of Indian and African blood, and 

 number aUnit 15,(HM). The chief town is Minefields 

 (pop. 500). The Mosquito Coast was discovered 

 in 1502 by Columbus, and, though never con- 

 quered, was claimed by Spain. During the 17th 

 century it was the remlivvous of the Buccaneers 

 (q.v.).'and was subjected to liritain in 1655, who 

 only abandoned it in 1850. 



