CIRCUS 



1390 



CITIZEN 



goes to the big white tent which seems to 

 have grown in the meadow over night. With 

 eyes wide open and shining, he sees the daring 

 deeds of the acrobats and bareback riders, or 

 he laughs with glee at the amusing antics of 

 the clowns. 



The circus to-day is not merely for children. 

 Largely through the work of Barnum, it has 

 developed into an exhibition of the best talent 

 in this particular form of entertainment, and 

 the older people enjoy it, too. The modern 

 circus formerly had but one ring with only 

 about six performers, but it now has at least 

 two rings, sometimes three, and employs as 

 many as 3,000 people, including workmen. It 

 traveled in early days by teams, but now owns 

 its own railroad trains, excepting engines. 



The Roman Circus. The circus originated 

 among the Romans and consisted first of 

 merely horse and chariot races; the name 

 means ring or circle, from the circuit made by 

 the racers. Later wrestling, athletic contests 

 of all kinds and other games were added, and 

 large sums of money were spent to bring 

 wild animals from different parts of the country 

 to be killed in the arena, or center of the 

 circus. 



A nearly oblong building without a roof 

 formed the circus of Roman times. The seats 

 were ranged on two sides in tiers like the 

 modern ball parks and theaters; many were 

 of marble, and all were built not to be re- 

 moved, as are the hippodromes of to-day. On 

 the outside the circus was surrounded with 

 colonnades, galleries, shops and public places, 

 like the side shows and refreshment booths of 

 the circus of to-day. 



There were eight or ten circuses at Rome, 

 the largest of which was the Circus Maximus, 

 1,875 feet long and 625 feet wide, capable of 

 seating 260,000 spectators. The circus of Cara- 

 calla, however, is in the best state of preserva- 



AS THE CIRCUS MAXIMUS APPEARED 

 tion. A tourist visiting the ruins of these 

 wonderful one-time places of amusement, pic- 

 tures in his mind's eye a "circus day" of long 

 ago. He hears the trumpet call, the starting 



signal; then he sees the heavy, magnificent 

 chariots whirl past, the strong charioteers, with 

 reins looped about their waists, risking their 

 lives to amuse the throng of people of every 

 class the workmen, the nobility and the Im- 

 perial household. Or he imagines the roar 

 of the lions and sees the gladiator step into 

 the arena to match strength and cunning with 

 a lion thirsting for blood. Possibly he thinks 

 of the gymnastic contests and races between 

 the finest specimens of manhood in the land. 

 For such were the circuses of the days of 

 Pompey, Caesar and Augustus. M.S. 



CIRRHOSIS, siro'sis, a diseased condition 

 of tissues, occurring in certain organs of the 

 body. Though found most frequently in the 

 kidneys and liver, it may affect the lungs, 

 spleen, ovaries, heart and stomach. Cirrhosis 

 of the kidney is a chronic inflammation of the 

 connective-tissue elements of that organ, caus- 

 ing one form of Bright's disease (which see). 

 Cirrhosis of the liver consists in an abnormal 

 growth of the connective-tissue elements of 

 the liver. The organ itself at first becomes 

 greatly enlarged, but later contracts until it 

 is below normal size. The new growth of con- . 

 nective tissue causes atrophy, or wasting, of the 

 liver cells, and it often is responsible for the 

 stopping of the bile current. 'These disturb- 

 ances may result in the dilating of the veins 

 and in dropsy. See LIVER; DROPSY. 



CITIES OF REFUGE, in the story of the 

 children of Israel, six out of forty-eight cities 

 given to the tribe of Levi, in the division of 

 Canaan, which were set apart as places of 

 refuge for the "slayer that killed any person 

 unawares and unwittingly" (see Joshua, XX). 

 Whoever fled to one of these cities was pro- 

 tected temporarily from any avenger who 

 might pursue him, and was permitted to plead 

 his cause in the hall of judgment. If found 

 not guilty of wilful murder he could live in the 

 city until the death of the high priest, when 

 he was at liberty to return to his home. If 

 adjudged guilty, however, he was returned for 

 punishment to the place from which he had 

 fled. These cities were Kedesh, Shechem and 

 Hebron, on the west side of the Jordan; and 

 Bezer, Ramoth-Gilead and Golan, on the east. 



The temples and altars of the gods were 

 sacred places of refuge for the ancient Greeks 

 and Romans, and for a long period the Chris- 

 tian churches had a similar purpose. See ASY- 

 LUM ; BLOOD, AVENGER OF. 



CIT'IZEN, in the broadest sense, a member 

 of a political state, which, in return for alle- 



