S I L ] 
SILENTIARY (Silentiarius), an officer among the ancient 
Roman slaves; being, according to some authors, a slave 
placed over the rest, to prevent any noise and uproar, and 
to keep them silent. 
SI'LENTLY, adv. Without speech. 
For me they beg, each silently 
Demands thy grace, and seems to watch thy eye. Dryden. 
Without noise. 
You to a certain victory are led ; 
Your men all arm’d stand silently within. Dry den. 
Without mention.—The difficulties remain still, till he 
can show who is meant by right heir, in all those cases 
where the present possessor hath no son: this he silently 
passes over. Locke. 
SI'LENTNESS, s. State or quality of being silent. 
Ash. 
SILESIA, a large and highly important province of the 
Prussian dominions, situated between Poland on the east, 
and Bohemia on the west, and extending from lat. 49. 40. 
to 51. 59. N., and from long. 14. 25. to 18. 12. E. The 
county of Glatz, and a portion of Lusatia, are now annexed 
to it. The form of the whole is oblong, extending in length, 
from south-east to north-west, 210 miles, in breadth about 
100. It contains an area' computed at 15,000 square miles, 
with a population of more than 2,000,000. Silesia was 
formerly divided into tipper and Lower, and sub-di¬ 
vided into a number of smaller principalities or duchies; 
but these distinctions are now abolished, and this province 
is placed on the same footing with the rest of Prussia. It 
forms a military division along with Posen, and is divided 
into the four governments of Breslau, Reichenbach, Lieg- 
nitz and Oppeln. The chief towns are— 
Population. 
Breslau, the capital.63,000 
Liegnitz .10,000 
Glogau.9,500 
Neisse.9,000 
Schweidnitz... 8,000 
Langen-Bielau. 6,800 
Glatz..6,700 
Hirschberg. 6,000 
Jauer. 4,600 
Frankenstein... 4,200 
Schneideberg. 3,800 
Oels. 3,600 
Oppeln. 3,500 
Leobschutz ... 3,400 
Reichenbach ... 3,350 
Landshut. 3,000 
Face of the Country, Soil and Climate. —A long range 
of mountains bearing different names, such as the Riesenge- 
birge, the Glatz mountains, Moravian mountains, &c., but 
all included in the Sudetic chain, divides Silesia from Bo¬ 
hemia and Moravia. From Hungary it is separated by the 
Carpathians. The Suedic mountains are steep, and full of 
narrow defiles, particularly on the north-west; but they be¬ 
come broader as they stretch to the southward, till they in a 
manner cover the surface of the county of Glatz. The effect 
of so great an extent of high ground on the climate is very 
sensible, the south of Silesia being often covered with snow, 
while over Breslau, and farther to the north, the progress of 
spring is very sensibly felt. , After these mountains, the 
great natural feature of Silesia is the Oder, which flowing 
from south to north, traverses it nearly in the middle, passes 
Breslau, and receives all the lesser rivers flowing from east 
and west, such as the Bober, the Queiss, the Bartsch. The 
country to the east of the Oder is called the Polish side : it 
is perfectly level, with a soil often sandy or marshy, and 
consequently unproductive; while the western or German 
side, though hilly, and even mountainous, is cultivated by 
a more improved race, and is superior not only in mineral, 
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but in vegetable products. It is in fact the best portion of 
the Prussian territory, containing mines of coal and iron, 
and, on a smaller scale, mines of copper, vitriol and cobalt. 
This is likewise a great manufacturing country, so that the 
population requires an annual import of corn and cattle. 
The linen manufactures being as general here as in Norman¬ 
dy or the north of Ireland, great attention is bestowed on 
the culture of flax, the quality of which is equal to that of 
any part of Europe. The wool of this province has also 
been improved since the latter part of the 18th century, by 
the introduction of the Spanish breed. Foxes and other 
beasts of game abound in the forests: the lynx is sometimes 
found in the mountains, as well as the beaver, but the lat¬ 
ter is now rare. The forests, though too remote from water 
conveyance to be subservient to ship-building, are of great 
importance to the local manufactures, affording an abundant 
supply of fuel. 
Manufactures. —The extent of the linen manufacture of 
Silesia, conducted as it is with little aid from machinery, is 
surprising, the value annually made being estimated at 
1,500,000/. sterling, of which more than half is exported. 
It is a received notion, that the water on the Silesian side of 
the Sudetic mountains, is better calculated for bleaching than 
that on the Bohemian side. The linen made in different parts 
of the continent, in particular in the north of France, is, 
and has been for many ages, of a thick texture; but the 
Silesian linen is in general as light as the Irish. The spin¬ 
ning of flax for so large a manufacture, necessarily occupies 
a great number of hands. In many houses it is the sole 
occupation ; and almost every family is employed, either 
in spinning or weaving. The distaff, and not the wheel, 
is generally employed, it being a traditionary notion that 
the threads formed by the latter are harder, less glossy, 
and less fit for bleaching. All this industry is carried on 
with a very limited capital. There are here no factories 
or collective establishments. Every one works at home, 
and on his own account, selling his thread or his linen 
to the itinerant dealer, who makes periodical visits for 
that purpose, according to the practice of Scotland nearly 
a century ago; 
After linen, woollens are the chief object of manufacture, 
but they are in general coarse, and the value as yet made in 
Silesia is computed at little more than half a million sterling: 
they are made chiefly at Goldberg and Grunberg. Cotton 
works date only from the latter part of the 18th century, and 
hardware has been made extensively only within the same 
period. Of tanneries, there are hardly enough to supply 
the consumption of the country. The total annual value of 
manufacture in this province is computed at 3,000,000/. 
sterling. In these, and in the raw produce of the country, 
coal, timber, and madder, Silesia carries on a considerable 
traffic. The Oder affords a ready conveyance to Frankfort, 
and other towns in Prussia: to the Baltic, its course from 
Silesia is not short of 300 miles; still it is the best channel 
for the conveyance of bulky commodities, part of which are 
warehoused at Stettin and Swinemundy, to be re-shipped 
for various ports, while part are sent direct to Dantzic in the 
east, and to Lubeck or Hamburgh in the west. The imports 
into Silesia are various; hemp, lint-seed, and hides from Rus¬ 
sia; wine, potash, and hardware from Austria; colonial pro¬ 
duce, silk, and the fruits of southern climates from different 
countries, all, or almost all, conveyed by the Oder. 
Character, Religion, Education. —The Silesians are in 
general a people of good moral habits, with little informa¬ 
tion ; sober, attentive to their duty, but credulous, and im¬ 
pressed with a blind veneration for aristocracy and the mi¬ 
nutiae of etiquette. The gentry, or, as they are styled, the 
noblesse, are here as numerous and as poor as in any part of 
Germany: a number of them find employment in the mili¬ 
tary service of Prussia. As to religion, the reformation was 
introduced here early, and with considerable success. In 
1609, Rodolph II. found it necessary to grant the Protestants 
full liberty of conscience. His successors, however, revoked 
the concession, and began a persecuting course, the effect 
overran 
