306 



SOLDIER. 



colour with the metal that is to be soldered. For 

 the simple solders, each of the metals may be used, 

 according to the nature of that which is to hi' sol- 

 dered. For fine steel, copper and brass work, gold 

 and silver may be employed. In the large way, 

 however, iron is soldered with copper, and copper 

 and brass with tin. Tho most usual solders are the 

 compound, which arc distinguished into two prin- 

 cipal classes, viz., hard and soft solders. The hard 

 solders are ductile, will hear hammering, and are 

 commonly prepared of the same metal with that 

 which is to be soldered, with the addition of some 

 other, by which a greater degree of fusibility is ob- 

 tained, though the addition is not always required 

 to he itself easier of fusion. Under this head comes 

 the hard solder for gold, which is prepared from gold 

 and silver, or gold and copper, or gold, silver, and 

 copper. The hard solder for silver is prepared 

 from equal parts of silver and brass, but made easier 

 of fusion by the admixture of one sixteenth of zinc. 

 The hard solder for brass is obtained from brass 

 mixed with a sixth, or an eighth, or even one half of 

 zinc, which may also be used for the hard solder of 

 copper. It is sold in the shops in a granulated form, 

 under the name of spelter solder. The soft solders 

 melt easily but are partly brittle, and therefore can- 

 not be hammered. Of this kind are the folio wing mix- 

 tures : tin and lead in equal parts ; of still easier 

 fusion is that consisting of bismuth, tin and lead in 

 equal parts ; one or two parts of bismuth, of tin and 

 lead each one part. In the operation of soldering, 

 the surfaces of the metal intended to be joined 

 must be made very clean, and applied to each other. 

 It is usual to secure them by a ligature of iron 

 wire, or other similar contrivance. The solder is 

 laid upon the joint, together with sal-ammoniac and 

 borax, or common glass, according to the degrees of 

 heat intended. These additions defend the metal 

 from oxidation. Glaziers use resin ; and pitch is 

 sometimes employed. Tin foil, applied between 

 the joints of fine brass work, first moistened with a 

 strong solution of sal-ammoniac, makes an excellent 

 juncture, care being taken to avoid too much heat. 

 SOLDIER;* originally a warrior who serves for 

 pay, from which circumstance, as is shown in the 

 note, the word is derived. In other languages, 

 having corresponding words derived from the same 

 root for instance, in German soldier is frequently 

 used to denote more especially the modern warrior, 

 contradistinguished to the ancient, as well as to the 

 feudal militia, and to the mercenaries of the middle 

 ages. The first example of mercenaries is found 

 about 700 B. C., in Carthage, if we except the 

 small companies of guards in the service of some 



* One of the many words met with in all the languages of 

 Western Furope, and though originally of Teutonic origin, 

 yet, in its present form, borrowed from the languages of the 

 l.atin stock. Soldier (in German, Swedish and French. soMat; 

 in Italian soldato, &c.) comes from the middle Latin term soli- 

 ifiriui, one who receives sold (German for military pay, in 

 which sense it is also used in old 1'nglish writers). This re- 

 ceiving pay distinguished the soldiers from the former feudal 

 militia ; and the German word sold came into use because the 

 Swiss were the first hired foot-soldiers ; but the term for war- 

 rior, derived from it, first received an Italian form, because the 

 Italians first employed hired warriors. Krom them it spread 

 to the other nations of Europe. 'I he German word. Wrf( Italian 

 n!ttn, French tnldr, Spanish iruelrlo, always signifying the pay 

 of troops) has been derived by some from "unit, because salt was 

 given to soldiers as part of their pav ; but it ought rather to be 

 derived, with dlinum, solt>er/>, and the German icahlfn, from 

 the ancient German word nfl'm (from which the English to 

 . fll >, which U frequently met with in the authors of Upper Ger- 

 many, and corresponds to the Swedish *(ilja. It means to give, 

 to transfer. From this verb comes the ancient Swedish tat, 

 pigmfvin? the fine paid for murder. Siil, in Icelandic to this 

 tiny, denotes nprnent, ytft,reirard-a. meaning which sold, the 

 p.vy of soldiers, probably had originally. 



kings and tyrants. Carthage, with a moderate 

 population, and much commerce and industry, first 

 kept an army of mercenaries on foot. Yet every 

 citizen continued to be obliged to serve, in case of 

 necessity. These mercenaries disturbed the peace 

 of the city by their conspiracies, and, in most of 

 the struggles for national independence, proved of 

 little use. Carthage, therefore, though defended 

 by numerous fleets and armies, was overthrown by 

 a power of but moderate strength, but relying solely 

 on the valour of its own citizens. The example of 

 Carthage was followed by Syracuse and other 

 governments of Sicily and Lower Italy, and with 

 precisely the same result. In Egypt also, under 

 Psammetichus and his successors, Greek mercen- 

 aries were employed (about 656 B. C., on which 

 account the old caste of warriors emigrated to 

 ./Ethiopia;) but a single battle with Cambyses suf- 

 ficed to overturn the throne of the Pharaohs, al- 

 ready shaken by the warlike hordes of Nebuchad- 

 nezzar; and another example was presented of the 

 insufficiency of mercenaries; yet the employment 

 of them became more general. In Persia, military 

 service was confined to the nobler tribes; only on 

 some extraordinary occasions, as the attempt of 

 Xerxes against Greece, the whole nation was called 

 to arms. With the increase of luxury among the 

 ruling tribes, the standing armies of Persja came 

 to be formed chiefly of Barbarian and Greek mer- 

 cenaries; and the consequence was that this vast 

 empire fell to pieces when boldly attacked by the 

 Macedonians. The flower of the army of Alex- 

 ander also consisted of standing troops ; but they 

 were native Macedonians, who, elevated by the 

 genius of their commander, fought for their national 

 honour. In the best times of Greece, her only 

 wars had been of a national character. The battle 

 of Marathon, the noblest conflict recorded in Greek 

 history, was gained by 10,000 Athenian and Pla- 

 taean citizens. But when Athens and Sparta began 

 to contend for the supremacy of Greece; when in- 

 ternal wars became frequent, and degeneracy in- 

 creased, then mercenaries were employed. The 

 number of citizen-soldiers diminished, and Greece 

 lost her liberty in the battle of Chseronea. From 

 the time when standing armies came extensively 

 into use, a melancholy spectacle is presented. Na- 

 tions appear to await their fate passively. In all 

 directions countries are overrun with troops, and 

 violence prevails. Every successful army estab- 

 lishes an empire ; every general becomes a monarch. 

 Thus arose the thrones of the New Macedonian, 

 the Selucidian, Ptolemaean, and other dynasties. 

 Even in Greece, tyrants (i. e. leaders of bands of 

 warriors) were seen in every city, oppressing the 

 defenceless or peaceable citizens, until, at a later 

 period, republics again rose in jEtolia and Achaia. 

 But the military empires which grew out of the 

 Macedonian conquests, had no firm foundation. 

 They fell in quick succession, when assailed by the 

 national armies of Rome. On the other hand, the 

 small JEtoli&Ti and Achaean leagues were conquered 

 with greater difficulty than the wide-spreading em- 

 pire of Antiochus, and their national warriors were 

 overcome rather by cunning and treachery than by 

 force. In Rome, until the latest times of the re- 

 public, the part of the people capable of bearing 

 arms were bound by law to serve, when called upon 

 by the magistrate. No pay was received until a 

 late period; and, when it was at length introduced, 

 on account of the protracted wars, none served for 

 the sake of it, but merely received it as a means of 



