394 



CONGESTION CONGO. 



and favoured and propngnted the existing belief in | 

 line and soothsaying, and in the worship ot certain | 

 yood spirits who watch over the elements and tnc 

 various parts of the earth. It is certain that he in- 

 culcated it as a duty on lus disciples to revere their 

 ancestors. We are better acquainted with that part 

 of his doctrines which relates to common life, and ( 

 contains general precepts of practical utility. In the 

 most impressive manner, lie enjoined universal Ix'ne- 

 volence, justice, virtue, and honesty, and the obser- 

 vance of all usages and customs which had been once 

 introduced ; it being proper that they who live to- 

 gether should live in the same manner, and sympa- 

 thize in each other's pains and pleasures. Some- 

 times lie inculcates reverence of old age ; sometimes 

 he shows how the tendencies of children should be 

 guided, and their rising passions corrected. Some- 

 times lie speaks of the peaceful virtues of domestic 

 life, and sometimes he exhorts monarchs to exercise 

 justice and humanity. He praises the delights of 

 friendship, and teaches the forgiveness of offences. 

 As a lawgiver, he deserves less honour. It cannot 

 be denied that lie extended the limits of paternal 

 authority too far ; for he allowed parents even the 

 right to sell their children. It was a sophism un- 

 worthy of his wisdom, to say, as children can sell 

 themselves, no one should hesitate to give this right 

 to the authors of their existence. Confucius erred 

 especially in viewing legislation as nothing but a 

 branch of morals, and was satisfied, therefore, with 

 giving general precepts on this subject. Moreover, 

 esteem for the early lawgivers of his people hindered 

 him from making careful investigations for himself : 

 he acquiesced rattier in the decisions of those cele- 

 brated men of whom he called himself the disciple. 

 His conduct is worthy of praise, inasmuch as he en- 

 couraged marriage, and recommended agriculture: 

 trade he did not positively denounce, but lie was Jess 

 favourable to it. Of the works ascribed to him, the 

 Shu- King, or Shan-Shu, is the most important ; but it 

 is doubtful whether all parts of it were written by 

 him. In comparing Confucius, Mohammed, and 

 Zoroaster, Mohammed bears away the palm as the 

 founder of a religion, Zoroaster as a lawgiver, and 

 Confucius as a moralist. (See the IVorks of Con- 

 fucius, original text, with an English translation, by 

 J. Marshman, Serampore, 1809, 4to). The first vol- 

 ume contains the Life of Confucius. Doctor Wilh. 

 Schott lias likewise translated the Works of the Chi- 

 nese Sage and his Disciples, for the first time, from 

 the original into German, with notes (1st vol. Halle, 

 1826). Of the successors of Confucius, Meng-Tseu 

 (Mencius) is to be chiefly noticed, who lived about 

 ten years after Socrates, and died B. C. 314, aged 

 eighty-four. He arranged the books of the She-King 

 and Shu-King, and wrote a collection of conversa- 

 tions on moral philosophy. He resembled Socrates, 

 in founding and building up a pure system of moral 

 philosophy. In 1824, Stanislaus Julien published in 

 Paris, in the Latin language, the system of Meng- 

 Tseu, with a commentary, translated from the Chi- 

 nese. 



CONGESTION (from the Latin congestio, the act 

 of heaping; carrying together). The different parts 

 of the human body do not always receive the same 

 quantity of blood, but sometimes more, sometimes 

 less. Thus, for instance, during digestion, it flows 

 towards the stomach and the liver ; during violent or 

 long-continued speaking, singing, or running, it col- 

 lects in the lungs and the heart ; during close think- 

 ing, in the brain. In general, the blood flows in 

 greater quantities into any part in proportion to the 

 action of that part ; but, in a state of health, it flows 

 off with- as much rapidity as it collects. Sometimes, 

 however, too much blood accumulates in an organ 



and remains too long in it ; and this injures tha 

 structure and the function of such an organ. '1 his 

 accumulation of blood ari-es from a diseased Mate of 

 the system, and is called cnngrstum. Congestion may 

 be caused by whatever, in general, accelerates tlu> 

 circulation of the blood, and causes it to tend to a 

 particular part ; thus, for instance, among the < 

 of congestion are the different periods of develop- 

 ment of the human body, each of which renders some 

 particular organ unusually active ; the crisis of dis- 

 ease ; and, lastly, the accidental exertions of certain 

 organs. Under such circumstances, congestion is 

 caused by an excited state of the arteries in general, 

 and of some particular ones especially. Secondly, 

 if the current of blood to one organ is checked, it ac- 

 cumulates in another. Hence colds caught through 

 exposure of the feet, also the suppression of the se- 

 cretions, &c., so often cause congestion. Thirdly, 

 the vessels which bring back the blood the veins 

 are sometimes in a condition unfit to answer their 

 destination; as, for instance, if they are. already too 

 full, if their power to receive the blood ami to propel 

 it is lost or diminished, or if they are prevented from 

 performing their function by external pressure, or 

 by tumours. Hence congestions are divided into ac- 

 tive and passive ; those of the arteries, and those of 

 the veins. Where the blood accumulates, the part 

 becomes red and hot, the pulse beats more violently, 

 and the veins expand ; the part swells, and a feeling 

 of sickness, pain, pressure, &c., comes on. The 

 functions of the part change ; if the congestion is 

 slight, they become more active. In higher degrees 

 of congestion, and if it is continued for a long time, 

 the functions are checked, weakened, and sometimes 

 entirely destroyed. Now, as every organ has its 

 peculiar function, it follows, that the symptoms of 

 congestion, resting on these grounds, must be very 

 different, according to the different organs in which 

 it takes place. During the congestion of blood in 

 one organ, the other organs exhibit symptoms of 

 want of blood, viz., coldness, paleness, diminution of 

 size, and weakness. Congestion generally lasts but 

 a short time ; but if not early cured, and its return, 

 which would otherwise be frequent, prevented, it is 

 only the beginning of other diseases. Sometimes it 

 terminates in bleeding, which is a remedy for it ; 

 sometimes it increases into inflammation ; sometimes 

 it becomes a chronic disease ; that is, the blood ac- 

 cumulates for a long time, and expands the veins ; 

 the expansion becomes permanent, and the original 

 excitement is succeeded by a state of torpidity and 

 weakness, which is called stagnatio, or infarctus. 



CONGLOMERATE. See Sandstone. 



CONGO ; a kingdom in Lower Guinea, under the 

 sovereignty of the Portuguese ; between lat. 2 40' 

 and 8 25' S., and between Ion. 12 3& and 19 30 

 E., bounded on the N. by Anziko, W. by the Atlan- 

 tic, S. by Angola, and E. by a country very little 

 known, and inhabited by savages. The river Zaire 

 (q. v.) forms the boundary of Congo in some parts 

 and empties into the Atlantic. From the mountains 

 east of Congo a large number of rivers descend, 

 wliich do not dry up in the hot season. In those 

 mountains (lat. 7 30' S.) lies the lake Achelunda. 

 The coast is unhealthy, on account of its low grounds 

 and forests ; the interior, however, has a temperate 

 climate, and according to the missionaries, is popu- 

 lous, well cultivated, and considered by the inhabi- 

 tants as a terrestrial paradise. There are two seasons, 

 the dry and the rainy ; the latter, beginning in Oc- 

 tober and ending in April, is accompanied by rains, 

 thunder, and tempests. All travellers agree in de- 

 scribing the soil as covered with an exuberant vege- 

 tation. Several kinds of grain, unknown to Europe, 

 are cultivated near the rivers ; among them is the 



