NATIVITY 



NATURALISM 



of the nightjar. 



Nativity. The Manger. From the painting by Van 

 Dyck, depicting the Virgin and Child at Bethlehem 



Corsini Palace. Borne , 



Nativity. Name of several 

 festivals in the Christian churches. 

 That of Christ's Nativity (Lat. 

 Festum Nativitatis ; Fr. Noel), 

 usually known as Christmas Day, 

 has been celebrated since the 5th 

 century on Dec. 25. The Nativity 

 of the B. V. M., a Roman Catholic 

 festival, mentioned in the 9th cen- 

 tury, is kept by Greeks and Latins 

 on Sept. 8; and that of S. John 

 Baptist on June 24. Representa- 

 tions of Christ's Nativity occur 

 often in carvings on early sarco- 

 phagi, ivory carvings of the 8th 

 and 9th centuries, in MS. illumi- 

 nations, stained glass, and wall- 

 paintings. On the Morning of 

 Christ's Nativity is the title of 

 an ode by Milton, 1629. In 

 astrology the word is used as a 

 synonym for horoscope. See Jesus 

 Christ; Mary. 



Natrolite. In mineralogy, a 

 sodium aluminium silicate of the 

 zeolite group. Semi-transparent 

 to transparent, it is yellow, red, 

 grey, or colourless with a glassy 

 lustre, and is found in cavities in 

 basalt and other igneous rocks. 

 Natrolite is used as a gem and for 

 ornament, being capable of receiv- 

 ing a very high polish. It is found 

 in Bohemia, Tirol, Ireland, and 

 Scotland, etc. See Zeolite. 



Natron. Lake of Africa. It is 

 about 20 m. S. of Lake Magadi. 

 Both these lakes contain enormous 

 deposits of soda. See Magadi, 



Natterjack (Bufo calamita). 

 Running-toad or golden-back. It 

 is a toad with a general resemb- 

 lance to the common species, yet 



with several points 

 of distinction that 

 make i d e n t i f i- 

 cation easy a t 

 sight. It is of 

 rather slighter 

 build, and the 

 limbs are propor- 

 tionately shorter, 

 while the warty 

 skin is smoother, 

 and down the cen- 

 tre of the back 

 runs a thin yellow 

 line. It progresses 

 b y walking o r 

 short runs, instead 

 of hopping, and is 

 found mostly in 

 sandy situations, 

 drier than those 

 affected by the 

 common toad. 

 The male has an 

 internal vocal sac 

 which distends 

 the throat when 

 the natterjack 

 utters his rattling 

 note, which is sug- 

 gestive of the call 

 It is a native of 



Europe, including Britain. See 

 Tiad. 



Nattier, JEAN MARC (1685-1766). 

 French painter. Born in Paris, he 

 studied under his father, Marc 

 Nattier, and at 

 the Academy. I 

 He secured the 

 patronage of 

 Louis XIV, and 

 was at first em- 

 ployed on draw- 

 ings for the en- 

 gravings of 

 R u b e n s' pic- 

 tures. The last 3. M. Nattier, 

 forty years of French painter 

 his life were de- Aft " Voi 

 voted to the painting of portraits. 



Natural. Literally, existing as 

 from birth, innate or inborn. It 

 appears in phrases such as natural 

 law and natural rights. (See Rous- 

 seau. ) A natural child is a synonym 

 for an illegitimate child. As a 

 noun natural is sometimes used for 

 an idiot. See Insanity. 



Natural. Musical sign fcf used 

 to neutralise the effect of a sharp 

 or flat. It probably derives its name 

 from the key of C, which is known 

 as the natural key, and has no 

 sharps or flats. Its shape comes 

 from the letter h (r;) the old 

 German name for B tt (B I? being 

 called B). See Flat ; Sharp. 



Natural Gas. Name given to 

 certain gases occurring in mineral 

 deposits. By boring in search of 

 oil many reservoirs of natural, gas 

 have been tapped, particularly in 

 the U.S.A., and there are large 



supplies in Canada, especially in 

 Ontario. It is supposed to have 

 been used in China and Persia in 

 ancient times. In the U.S.A. it 

 was first used in 1821, and it has 

 been used at Pittsburg for iron 

 smelting. A supply was discovered 

 at Heathfield, in Sussex, in 1897 and 

 used for lighting and fuel pur- 

 poses. See Fuel. 



Natural History. Term which 

 in its original meaning was used 

 for the study of all natural objects. 

 As such, the study of natural 

 history included that of zoology, 

 botany, geology, and allied sciences. 

 The term has gradually become 

 less broad in its meaning, until now 

 it is confined to zoology and 

 botany, but particularly the 

 former, though natural history 

 clubs still include geology. Natural 

 history is used for the more 

 popular side of the subjects, as 

 distinct from their scientific study. 

 See Botany ; Geology ; Zoology. 



Natural History Museum. 

 Collection of objects of natural 

 history, really part of the British 

 Museum. The building is in Crom- 

 well Road, South Kensington, 

 London, S.W. It was opened in 

 1881 to accommodate the natural 

 history collections in the British 

 Museum,- and so relieve the con. 

 gestion there, and between 1881-85 

 the exhibits were removed to their 

 new home. There are departments 

 of zoology, entomology, botany, 

 geology, and mineralogy. See 

 British Museum. 



Naturalism. In philosophy, 

 the theory that denies the exist- 

 ence or intervention of any being 

 or principle outside, and higher 

 than, nature, and interprets the 

 whole of experience in terms -of 

 natural science. It thus resembles 

 materialism, which, however, is 

 chiefly concerned with the essential 

 nature of things, while naturalism 

 deals with the course and causes 

 of events. 



In literature and the arts, 

 naturalism is, strictly speaking, 

 synonymous with realism, i.e. a 

 close imitation of reality, but has 

 come to imply insistence on the 

 more sordid and repellent aspects 

 of life and nature, owing to the 

 tendency of many naturalistic 

 artists and writers, such as Zola, 

 to emphasise in this manner their 

 antipathy to idealization. 



In painting, the name was 

 originally given to a group of 

 Neapolitans, who claimed to 

 found their art on direct observa- 

 tion of nature, and who had dis- 

 pensed with Academy teaching. 

 Their influence was transmitted 

 through F. Ribera to Spain, where 

 it found a nobler expression in the 

 naturalism of Velasquez. 



