3925 



HELL.EN 



fore classed as inert. The remark- 

 able fact has, however, been estab- 

 lished that the gas evolved from a 

 solution of radium bromide in water 

 contains helium. Helium for a 

 long time resisted all attempts at 

 liquefaction. Sir James Dewar 

 failed, but in 1908 Onnes of Amster- 

 dam working on methods devised 

 by Dewar succeeded. The boiling- 

 point of this liquid is about 40 

 above absolute zero, that is about 

 269 C., the lowest temperature 

 which has so far been reached. 

 Onnes's investigations show that 

 electrical resistance nearly disap- 

 pears at that temperature. 



Helium is used for filling low- 

 temperature gas thermometers and 

 electric light bulbs, and but for the 

 termination of the Great War it 

 would have been employed by the 

 Allies as a gas filling for airships. 

 The fact that hydrogen, employed 

 as the gas filling for airships, is 

 inflammable, turned attention to 

 helium as a substitute. 



It was found that helium mixed 

 with 15 p.c. of hydrogen produced 

 non - inflammable mixture. An 

 investigation was made of the 

 amount of helium contained in 

 natural gases, those of Ontario and 

 Alberta, Canada, being found to be 

 the richest in helium, and it was 

 estimated that from ten to twelve 

 million cubic feet of helium could 

 be obtained annually from them. 



An experimental station was set 

 up at Calgary, and a refrigeration 

 process developed of separating 

 helium from natural gas, Claudet's 

 liquid oxygen-producing apparatus 

 being modified for the purpose. By 

 passing the natural gas through the 

 apparatus several times, the quan- 

 tity of helium was gradually in- 

 creased in the gaseous portion until 

 a product containing upwards of 

 97 p.c. of helium was obtained. 

 See Radium. 



Helix (Gr., spiral). Genus of 

 land gastropodous molluscs, of 

 which the common snail is a fami- 

 liar example. All snails of this 

 genus have conical, globular, or de- 

 pressed shells. The genus includes 

 over 4,000 species, distributed all 

 over the world. See Snail. 



Hell. In modern English, place 

 or condition of punishment for im- 

 penitent sinners after death or 

 after the final judgement. In the 

 Authorised Version of the Bible it 

 had the wider meaning of the place 

 of the departed. The R.V. has dis- 

 tinguished between Hell and 

 Hades. It should be noticed that 

 the clause in the Apostles' Creed, 

 " He descended into Hell," should 

 be " He descended into Hades " or 

 the realm of departed spirits. 



The idea of a place of punish- 

 ment for the wicked after death is 

 | 



an obvious corollary of the belief 

 in a future reward for the righteous, 

 and is found in most religions 

 which have developed beyond the 

 primitive stage. In some, how- 

 ever, the belief in retribution takes 

 the form of the idea that the 

 wicked are reborn in a lower grade 

 of life. The word Hell in the Bible 

 is equivalent to Gehenna, which is 

 itself derived from Hinnom, the 

 name of a valley near Jerusalem 

 associated with heathen rites. It 

 became a place where refuse was 

 deposited and constant fires were 

 kept burning. Hence the name was 

 adopted for the place of torment 

 for the wicked. The idea of retri- 

 bution for the individual after 

 death is not prominent in the O.T. 

 The Apocalyptic writings, of which 

 Daniel is an example, were the first 

 to lay great stress on a final judge- 

 ment and retribution. 



At the time when Jesus began to 

 teach, the belief was widespread. 

 There can be no doubt that Jesus 

 and the N.T. in general teach that 

 impenitent sinners are punished in 

 the future life. Considerable con- 

 troversy, however, has taken place 

 on the question whether this pun- 

 ishment is eternal. Many theo- 

 logians, feeling that such a doctrine 

 would contradict the thought of 

 God as a loving Father, maintain 

 that Jesus meant not an eternal 

 punishment but an " age long " 

 punishment. Others interpret liter- 

 ally S. Paul's words, like Drum- 

 mond in Natural Law in The 

 Spiritual World, " the wages of 

 sin is death," and have argued that 

 the fate of sinners who are finally 

 impenitent is annihilation. 



The Roman Catholic Church 

 still holds to the doctrine of Hell 

 developed by the medieval church 

 which was greatly influenced by 

 Augustine. According to this even 

 unbaptized infants and virtuous 

 pagans are in Hell. The severity of 

 this view is, however, greatly miti- 

 gated by the belief that there are 

 different regions in Hell, that of 

 " Limbo," which is assigned to un- 

 baptized infants, not being a place 

 of torment. Among other Chris- 

 tians the doctrine of Hell has fallen 

 into the background. 



This is largely due to a change in 

 our conception of the purpose of 

 punishment. The older view, that 

 retribution is an end in itself, is giv- 

 ing way to the view that the object 

 of punishment should be reform 

 and prevention. For this reason it 

 would be true to say that among 

 many modern Christians the idea 

 of Hell is being transformed into 

 that of a state of further probation 

 and purification, i.e. Purgatory. 

 Whatever modifications the idea of 

 Hell may undergo in the light of 



modern thought, the belief in a 

 future punishment of the wicked 

 corresponds to a demand of the 

 conscience and emphasises the vital 

 importance of the struggle against 

 evil. It cannot therefore be safely 

 eliminated from the Christian faith. 

 See Gehenna; Sin; Theology. 



W. B. Matthews 



Hellanicus (c. 480-405 B.C.). 

 Greek logographer. Like his prede- 

 cessor Hecataeus (q.v.) a great 

 traveller, he was the author of 

 works on genealogy and chron- 

 ology, and on the history of various 

 countries, including a brief sketch 

 of political events. The most im- 

 portant were Atthis, a history of 

 Attica down to the Peloponnesian 

 war, and lists of the priestesses of 

 Hera at Argos and of the victors 

 in the games at the Spartan festival 

 Carnea, both valuable for chron- 

 ology. 



Hellas. Originally a small dis- 

 trict of Thessaly inhabited by Hel- 

 lenes, the supposed descendants of 

 the legendary king Hellen, son of 

 Deucalion. The name afterwards 

 came to be applied by the Greeks 

 to all places inhabited by those of 

 their race. Hellas thus included not 

 only Greece proper, but the Greek 

 cities of Asia Minor and Sicily, and 

 even distant colonies such as Mas- 

 silia (Marseilles), and those on the 

 Pontus Euxinus. See Greece. 



Hellebore (Helleborus). Genus 

 of perennial herbs of the natural 

 order Ranunculaceae. They are 

 natives of Europe and N. and VV. 

 Asia. They have large leaves 

 deeply cut into lobes which are ar- 

 ranged finger-fashion. The showy 



Hellebore. Foliage and flowers or 

 Helleborus foetidus 



parts of the flowers are the sepals, 

 which are coloured, whilst the 

 petals are converted into small 

 nectar-tubes. Owing to their 

 cathartic and narcotic properties 

 they were formerly used in medi 

 cine. H. niger is the so-called 

 Christmas-rose ; H. foetidus, stink- 

 ing hellebore or setterwort; and 

 H. viridis, the bear's-foot. See Fruit. 

 Hellen (Gr. Hellen). In Greek 

 legend, the founder of the Greek 

 race (Hellenes). He was king of 

 Phthia in Thessaly, and was the 

 son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. 



