NATURE 



5656 



NAUMANN 



Nature. Word used in a num- 

 ber of senses. Originally it meant 

 birth, origin, or the source of life. 

 In a metaphysical sense it is used 

 for the source or essence of life of 

 the universe. The uncultivated 

 state, as distinguished from that 

 due to civilization, is said to be a 

 state of nature, and from such 

 meaning are obtained the phrases 

 nature worship, nature study, back 

 to nature, etc. The essence of a 

 substance or some outstanding 

 quality is often spoken of as its 

 nature, e.g. mustard is of a pun- 

 gent nature. 



Nature. British scientific peri- 

 odical. It was founded Nov. 4, 

 1869, by Sir Norman Lockyer, and 

 is published weekly by Macmillan 

 & Co. It presents a regular record 

 of scientific progress, makes a 

 feature of correspondence, reports 

 of learned societies, reviews of 

 scientific books, notices of scien- 

 tific papers, etc. 



Nature Study. Study of 

 natural history, especially by school 

 children. It takes an important 

 place in the curricula of American 

 schools, where its value is recog- 

 nized from the point of view of 

 developing the child's powers of 

 observation, and of giving him or 

 her an intelligent interest in the 

 outside world. In rural districts, 

 where the chief industry is agri- 

 culture and its allied occupations, 

 it may have a vocational value. 



Nature study, to the extent of 

 the examination of the growth of 

 certain plants and of the properties 

 of simple natural objects, is now 

 almost universally included in the 

 curriculum for young children, 

 and the school journey and the 

 annual camp of various organiza- 

 tions tend to assist the movement. 

 See Education ; Kindergarten. 



Nature- Worship. Ritual ex- 

 pression of reverence for those 

 phenomena of the visible universe 

 which are regarded as capable of 

 bringing to man good or ill. Stu- 

 dents of primeval man assume 

 a stage in his history when he 

 thought of individual objects in 

 nature, especially those display- 

 ing movement or action, as ani- 

 mated by powers akin to his 

 own. The action of some of them 

 could always be relied upon, and 

 aroused no anxiety. That of 

 others could not be predicted, 

 and hence there emerged a more 

 or less conscious perception of 

 the supernatural, and the need 

 for establishing relations there- 

 with. Some phenomena became 

 the object of approach or avoid- 

 ance by processes usually classed 

 as magical ; experience showed 

 others to be stronger than man, 

 and to call for propitiation. 



The conception of natural ob- 

 jects as animated beings akin to 

 man passed into that of personal- 

 ised objects or powers, amenable 

 to control or appeal. Out of this 

 arose the idea of supernatural 

 beings dominating the phenomena 

 which were held to be their abode. 

 So, too, there emerged from the 

 animistic conception of human 

 ghosts and of natural objects ani- 

 mated by spirits, human or non- 

 human, the notion of a spirit- 

 haunted world on the one hand, 

 and of separate souls on the other. 



Primitive thought deals with 

 individual things ; man comes into 

 relationship, intellectual or emo- 

 tional, with this particular rock, or 

 that particular stream. The formu- 

 lation of general ideas demands a 

 mental effort which some unpro- 

 gressive peoples apparently never 

 attained. It was only after pro- 

 longed reflection that man reached 

 the abstract notion 

 of the elements, ; 

 and became capable 

 of thinking of earth, 

 water, fire, or sky 

 as a whole. Nature- 

 worship was at first, 

 if not always, the 

 ritual approach to a 

 multitude of nature- 

 spirits or nature- 

 gods. 



In a remote past 

 worship was offered 

 to animals and 

 plants, because up- 

 on their goodwill 

 seened to depend 

 the f ood-s u p p 1 y. 

 Indeed domestication is best ex- 

 plained as an unexpected outcome 

 of their segregation as objects of 

 sanctity under the guise of tribal to- 

 tems. After men became herdsmen 

 and tillers they realized the need 

 for establishing relations with the 

 powers on whose goodwill rather 

 than on that of the herds and crops 

 themselves their livelihood was 

 seen to depend. Animal worship 

 and tree-worship accordingly 

 passed into that of the phenomena 

 behind them, including rivers and 

 wells, mountains and rocks, storm 

 and rain, thunder and fire, moon 

 and sun. See Introduction to the 

 History of Religion, F. B. Jevons, 

 3rd ed. 1904 ; The Golden Bough, 

 J. G. Frazer, 3rd ed. 1907-15. 



Naucratis. Ancient Greek 

 colony in Lower Egypt. Situated 

 near the modern Nebira on the 

 Canopic arm of the Nile, it was 

 founded by traders from Miletus 

 in the 7th century. Under Aahmes 

 II, c. 564 B.C., it monopolised 

 Greek trade in Egypt. 



The site was identified by Flin- 

 ders Petrie in 1885, and excavated 



by him, further work being done 

 by D. G. Hogarth in 1899. The 

 chief building found was the Hel- 

 lenion, a fortified store-house and 

 sanctuary for Greek residents in 

 Egypt. See Naucratis, W. M. 

 Flinders Petrie, 1886. 



Nauen. Town of Germany, in 

 Prussia. Situated 17 m. W.N.W. of 

 Potsdam, in Brandenburg, it is a 

 busy manufacturing place, with a 

 wireless station. Pop. 10,000. 



Naugatuck. Borough of Con- 

 necticut, U.S.A., in New Haven co. 

 It stands on Naugatuck river, 5 m. 

 W. of Waterbury on the New York, 

 New Haven and Hartford Rly., and 

 manufactures knitted goods, india 

 rubber articles, cutlery, and chemi- 

 cals. Naugatuck was incorporated 

 as a borough in 1893. Pop. 15,000. 



Nauheim. Town and watering- 

 place of Germany. It is in Hesse- 

 Darmstadt, on the river Usa and 

 the N.E. slope of the Taunus mts. 



Nauheim, Germany. Front of Kurhaus and terrace 



on the Frankfort-Cassel Rly. The 

 saline waters used for bathing and 

 drinking are rich in iron and car- 

 bonic acid. They are used to cure 

 gout, rheumatism, heart and ner- 

 vous troubles. The salt extracted 

 from the waters yields annually 

 from 1,500 to 2,000 tons. Pop. 

 6,000. Pron. Now-hime. 



Nauxnann, FRIEDRICH (1860- 

 1919). German politician and pub- 

 licist. Born at Stdrmthal, Saxony, 

 he was edu- 

 cated at Leip- 

 zig and be- 

 came a Luthe- 

 ran pastor. In 

 1896 he helped 

 to found the 

 national so- 

 cialist party, 

 and the week- 

 ly periodical 

 Die Zeit was 



established as its organ, with Nau- 

 mann as editor. This journal, later 

 amalgamated with Die Nation, and 

 the political organ Hilfe, he edited 

 until 1907, when he was returned 

 as Radical deputy for Heilbronn. 



Friedrich Naumann, 

 German politician 



