276 



AHNOBIUS -AUNOLD. 



with which they are adorned. From any hill in the 

 in iidilxmrhood of Florence, or at tin- confluence of 

 ilic i hiaiw, tin- view into the valley of the A. is 

 -luii-miii ir. In ancient times, the Etruscans erected 

 here extensive works of hydraulic architecture, long 

 In-fore any other Italian nation had arrived at such a 

 degree of civilization. Nielmhr, in his Roman His- 

 tory, division Tuscans and Etruscans, says as fol- 

 lows : " The greatest part of Tuscany is mountain- 

 ous. The rich valley, through which the Arno flows, 

 was, in ancient times, covered by a lake and marshes. 

 From Segna to Fiesole, and toward Prato, was one 

 lake: the Gonfalina closed up the valley: a passage 

 was made through this rock, to open a way for the 

 river towards Pisa. The water covered this space at 

 the time of the erection of the walls of Fiesole, as is 

 shown by many openings which were designed for 

 draining it off. It covered the site of modern Flo- 

 rence, whose origin it is, therefore, absurd to refer 

 to the Etruscan times. A section was also cut at 

 La'ncisa (the cut), to drain the rich fields of the upper 

 valley of the Arno ; or it may be that the rivers, 

 which now form tin's part of the Arno, formerly fell 

 into the Clanis, and the object was, to diminish the 

 water of the Tiber. The marshes through which 

 Hannibal marched are, at present, dry on the right 

 bank of the Lower Arno." In the time of Napoleon, 

 the A. gave its name to an extensive and populous 

 department in the grand empire; Florence being 

 the capital. The population amounted to about 

 600,000. 



ARNOBIPS the Elder, called also the African, was, 

 about A. D. 300, teacher of rhetoric, at Sicca Vene- 

 ria, in Numidia, and, in 303, became a Christian. 

 While yet a catechumen, he wrote seven books of 

 Dispuiationes adversns Gentes, in which he refuted 

 the objections of the heathens against Christianity 

 with spirit and learning. This work betrays a de- 

 fective knowledge of Christianity, but is rich in 

 materials for the understanding of Greek and Roman 

 mythology. Hence it is one of the writings of the 

 I .at in fathers, which, like the works of his disciple 

 I-aciaiuius, are particularly valued by philologists. 

 Orelli lias published the last and best edition (Leipsic, 

 1816). From the younger A., a Gallic divine, in the 

 last half of the 5th century, we have only an insig- 

 nificant commentary on the Psalms, which betrays 

 the principles of the Semi-Pelagians. 



ARNOLD of Brescia, one of the disciples of Abelard, 

 returned, full of new ideas on religion and the 

 church, in 1136, to his native city. His bold and 

 lofty spirit, his knowledge of Christian antiquities, 

 and his vehement eloquence in his public harangues, 

 gave authority to his reproaches against the abuses 

 of the church. Thus he instigated the people against 

 the clergy ; and, in France, where he was obliged to 

 flee in 1 139, he also found numerous adherents ; for 

 the immorality and arrogance of the clergy had 

 everywhere excited discontent. The fierce flame 

 which he had kindled could not be extinguished by 

 the excommunication pronounced against him and his 

 adherents (Arnoldists) by Innocent 1 1. A. preached 

 his doctrine in safety at Zurich, in Switzerland, until 

 1 144, when he appeared at Rome, and, by the powers 

 of his eloquence, occasioned a violent excitement 

 among the people against the clergy. The furious 

 multitude, whom he himself could no longer restrain, 

 revered him as their father, and even the senate pro- 

 tected him, till Adrian IV., in 1155, laid an interdict 

 upon the city. This disgrace, never before experi- 

 enced, subdued the Romans. They sued for mercy, 

 and A. was obliged to fly. He was taken in Cam- 

 pania, and burned at Rome, as a heretic and a rebel ; 

 his ashes were thrown into the Tiber, and his party 

 was suppressed. But the spirit of his doctrine de- 



scended upon the sects which arose during 

 and the following centuries. 



AUMH.I), Benedict, one, of the most distinguished 

 generals in the American army during the earlier 

 part of the contest of the colonies with Great Britain, 

 and subsequently infamous as a traitor to his country, 

 was born in ( 'onnecticut, of obscure parentage, and 

 received an education suitable to an humble condi- 

 tion. [The narrative of this man's life, as given in 

 the American Encyclopedia, we find so novel and 

 interesting, that we refrain from abridging it, al- 

 though it greatly exceeds the bounds to which our 

 biographical notices are usually limited.] The occu- 

 pations of Arnold's youth were not, fitted to prepare 

 him for the functions which he was. called upon to 

 exercise in the sequel. At first a dealer in horses, 

 he sustained losses in his trade. Eager for renown, 

 greedy of money, the troubles of his country inspi red 

 him with the hope of acquiring fame and fortune by 

 the profession of arms : accordingly, on the breaking 

 out of the revolutionary war, he embraced the cause 

 of his countrymen with enthusiasm, and took the 

 command of a company of volunteers at New I laven. 

 He soon won a high military reputation. Washington, 

 encouraged by secret advices that the Canadians 

 were inclined to make part of the Union, projected 

 the surprise of Quebec. This hazardous undertaking 

 required leaders at once active, vigilant, bold, and 

 inflexibly patient. He committed it to Montgomery 

 and colonel Arnold, as the most capable. He ex- 

 horted them, with extreme earnestness, to treat the 

 Canadians as friends, as fellow-citizens, and to punish 

 severely the least irregularities of the soldiery. Ar- 

 nold began his march in the month of September. 

 He conducted his small force through deserts which 

 man had never before penetrated. The river of 

 Kennebeck had overflowed its banks ; he crossed it 

 by swimming, or on rafts. Unknown streams pre- 

 sented a new obstacle: he diverted their course. 

 The snow fell in abundance ; a few hours of sun 

 during the day were insufficient to thaw the ice 

 formed in the long and severe nights of the northern 

 autumn ; but nothing could arrest his progress. He 

 was always in the van with the pioneers, who cut a 

 passage through this wild country, and, at the end of 

 each march, had arrived before the enemy knew of 

 his approach. He thus put in practice a maxim 

 which he was fond of repeating : " In war, expedi- 

 tion is equivalent to strength." The last division, 

 conducted by a man less resolute and persevering, 

 returned ; while he, at the head of the two first, sus- 

 tained the courage of the soldiers, who were ex- 

 hausted by fatigue, hunger, and every species of 

 suffering. After two months of toil, all impediments 

 were overcome, and he encamped before the fortress, 

 but with a band so much enfeebled, that he was 

 obliged to await the arrival of Montgomery, who 

 approached by another route. Montgomery died 

 gloriously in an assault, Dec. 31, 1775. Arnold was 

 severely wounded in the leg, and forced to convert 

 the siege into a blockade. He was not, however, to 

 be daunted by any reverse. From the bed to which 

 his wound confined him, he infused into the little 

 army, the command of which had now devolved upon 

 him, his own spirit of determination and confidence. 

 The enterprise failed : the courage and intelligence, 

 which he exhibited throughout, placed him, never- 

 theless, in the first class of American officers. He 

 served with better fortune, and still greater distinc- 

 tion, in the subsequent campaigns, and bore a con- 

 siderable part in that in which Burgoyne and his 

 army were made prisoners. He fought with his 

 usual intrepidity in the engagement which immedi- 

 ately preceded the capitulation. The first to throw 

 himself into the intrenchments of the enemy, he was 



