114 



SCAUP SCEPTICISM. 



tumn or beginning of winter, at which time it very 

 often becomes ;i prevalent epidemic. Srnrltttiini, 

 in its inflammatory form, is not usually attended 

 with danger, although a considerable degree of de- 

 lirium sometimes prevails for a day or two; but 

 when it partakes much of the malignant character 

 (scarlatina anyiiiosa'), or degenerates into ti//ihtts 

 yutr'ula, which it is apt to do, it often proves fatal. 



SCAUP, in fortification; the interior slope of 

 the ditch with which the fortification is surrounded, 

 and which faces the country or champaign. 



SCAUP A, ANTONIO, one of the most celebrated 

 anatomists and surgeons of the eighteenth century, 

 was born in Lombardy, in 1746. His work Anato- 

 micee DistjuisitioHcs de Auditu et Olfactu appeared 

 at Pa via in 1789; previously to which his Anato- 

 mictE Observations de Slructura Fenestrce rotunda 

 Aurist (Modena, 1772) had already attracted the 

 notice of the learned. At the time of the revolu- 

 tion in Italy, he was deprived of his professorship 

 in the university on account-of his refusing to take 

 the oath required by the Cisalpine republic. He 

 now published his celebrated work On Aneurisms 

 (1804). When Napoleon, after his coronation at 

 Milan, as king of Italy, arrived at Pavia (1805), 

 and received the officers of the university, he in- 

 quired after Scarpa. He was informed that he had 

 long ceased to be a member of the university, and 

 was told the reason. " What," said Napoleon, 

 "have political opinions to do here? Scarpa is an 

 honour to Pavia and to any dominions. Let him 

 be honourably restored." Scarpa was the author 

 of several other surgical works, besides those al- 

 ready mentioned. He died in Pavia on the 31st 

 October, 1832. Most of his works have been trans- 

 lated into English and French. 



SCARRON, PAUL, a comic poet and satirist, 

 was born at Paris, in 1610. His father, a counsel- 

 lor of the parliament, wished to oblige him to take 

 orders; but the son was averse to such a step. At 

 the age of twenty-four, he travelled into Italy, 

 where he gave himself up, without restraint, to in- 

 dulgence of every kind, and continued his excesses, 

 after his return to Paris, in sucii a manner as to 

 bring upon himself the most painful diseases. At 

 the age of twenty-seven, having appeared during 

 the carnival at Mans as a savage, he was pursued by 

 the populace, and threw himself into a marsh. In 

 consequence of this exposure, he lost the use of his 

 limbs. Notwithstanding his sufferings, he never 

 lost his gayety; and, settling at Paris, his wit and 

 social powers gained him the friendship of some of 

 the most distinguished persons in the city and at 

 court. After the death of his father, he had a law- 

 suit with his mother-in-law, in which although his 

 whole fortune was at stake, he made a humorous 

 defence of his claims, and lost his case. Mad. de 

 Hautefort, his friend, touched by his misfortunes, 

 presented him to the queen. Scarron requested 

 permission to call himself her majesty's valetudin- 

 arian. The queen smiled ; and Scarron, taking her 

 smile as a commission, styled himself thenceforth 

 Scarron, par la grace de Dieu, malade indigne de la 

 reine. He now obtained a pension by his praises 

 of Mazarin, whom, however, he soon after offended 

 by his Mazarinade and his Typhon, and thus lost 

 his pension. His marriage with Francoise d'Aubigne, 

 atterwards wife of Louis XIV., and marchioness de 

 Maintenon (q. v.), however much it may have in- 

 creased his happiness, did not improve his fortune; 

 and he lived with so little economy, that he soon be- 

 came involved in pecuniary difficulties. The come- 



dies, which he wrote as a means of subsistence, were 

 borrowed from the Spanish theatre. His Jodclct 

 ou le Maitre Valet had great success. Jlis I'.iiiidc 

 travestie, and his Roman comique, particularly the 

 latter, are among the most esteemed of his works. 

 His works appeared at Paris (1737, 10 vols.) 

 SCAURUS, MARCUS JEMILIUS. There were 



two distinguished Romans of this name, father and 

 son. The former was chosen consul B. C. 1 16, 

 and was afterwards princeps senatus. He was like- 

 wise celebrated as an orator, and assumed a severity 

 and dignity of manner which gained him great con- 

 sideration, both with the senate and people, artfully 

 cloaking his ambition and rapacity. He also cele- 

 brated a triumph, on account of his victory over the 

 Gauls. Although he allowed himself to be bribed 

 in the war with Jugurtha, he conducted himself 

 with such caution and cunning as to secure his re- 

 election to the consulp.te, and his election to the 

 censorship His son was remarkable for the bril- 

 liant display which he made as adilis curulis. He 

 built a large and splendid theatre, and exhibited 

 public games at great expense. Cicero defended 

 him, when he was accused of being guilty of op- 

 pressions in the province of Sardinia. 



SCENERY; the decorations of a stage, by means 

 of which the different places in which the action of 

 the drama is supposed to go on, are represented. In 

 the theatres of the ancients, the scenes were not 

 changed during the performance ; the side walls re- 

 mained unaltered, and were decorated quite simply; 

 perhaps, only painted with some not very bright 

 colour, adapted to any representation and every 

 change of scene. When theatres were established 

 in Europe, in the sixteenth century, these side- walls 

 were not at first provided with movable scenery. 

 When the mysteries were represented on the stage, 

 the actors sat on particular seats along the sides. 

 As soon as the piece commenced, the spectators 

 saw at once all the performers. When an actor 

 was to make his appearance in the piece, he rose 

 from his seat, and took it again at his exit. In 

 later times, there was a space on the side of the 

 stage, in which some spectators were admitted, 

 particularly the critics and wits of the day. They 

 had servants to wait on them, who brought them 

 pipes and tobacco ; for they smoked there as well 

 as in other parts of the house. The representation 

 of a tragedy was indicated by black hangings round 

 the stage, and the changes of the scene merely by 

 inscriptions, with the names of the places represent- 

 ed. It was left to the imagination of the spectators 

 to supply the local circumstances. The Italian 

 architect Serlio (died 1540) first placed on the 

 sides of the stage movable scenes, so as to leave 

 intervals between them, affording a free passage. 

 In this way, the stage could be better lighted ; for 

 hitherto two chandeliers, suspended above the stage, 

 had been used for this purpose; but the new ar- 

 rangement permitted the use of lights which were 

 not seen by the spectators, and, besides, the brilli- 

 ancy of the light could be increased or diminished, 

 according to circumstances. In England, this mode 

 of lighting was first introduced after Garrick's re- 

 turn from France. But a more important advant- 

 age of the movable sides was, that they could be 

 varied as occasion required, so as to bring the place 

 and circumstances of the action represented before 

 the eye. 



SCEPTICISM (from awrutau, to look at dis- 

 tant objects with the hand held above the eyes, 

 and secondly, to survey, consider). The Greek 



