the colder parts of the globe. Many of the species have tubers or corms, which in some are mucilaginous and nutritious; others contain a bitter principle, and possess medicinal quali ties. Of the latter class is Cyperus longus, or sweet cyperus, one of the species which is common in ditches and wet meadows in some parts of Europe, the rhizome of which has an odor of violets, and is astringent, tonic, and stomachic. It has been employed in medicine from very ancient times, but is now more used in perfumery. Some of the Indian species are also used medicinally and in perfumery in their native country, as well as species of kindred genera. Of those with esculent tubers, the most important is Cyperus esculentus. (See CHUFA.) A number of species are frequently grown as house plants, common among which are the umbrella plant or umbrella palm, Cyperus alternifolius, and Cyperus papyrus, formerly called Papyrus antiquorum, the Egyptian paper-plant. See PAPY

BUS.

CYPHEL. See HOUSE-LEEK.

CY-PRÈS, sê' prâ' (OF., as near). The principle of English and American law whereby a testamentary gift which cannot take effect in the precise manner intended by the testator is given an effect as nearly as possible like that which was intended. The doctrine has been applied in two classes of cases.

In the Creation of Fee-tail Estates.-It is an established rule of real property law that a gift of land by way of remainder to the issue of an unborn person is void if it follow a gift of a life estate in the same property by the same instrument to such unborn person himself. But if the gifts be made by will, the remainder to the issue may be saved by construing the life estate of such unborn person as a fee tail, in which case it is capable of descending to the issue as tenant in tail. See FEE TAIL; ESTATE.

In Charitable Gifts.-Where the object of a charitable gift fails, as by the dying out of the entire class of persons intended as beneficiaries of the charity, or where a charitable gift might be void in consequence of the indefiniteness of the charity or the operation of the rule against perpetuities, the court of chancery may direct the application of the property to another or to a specific charity. Thus, in the first case, a testamentary gift for the emancipation of slaves in the United States might, after the abolition of slavery, be devoted under the cy-près doctrine to the education of emancipated slaves; and, in the second case, a charitable gift for the benefit of the American Zionist Society-there being no such society in existence and there being a possibility that it may not come into existence within the period fixed by the rule against perpetuities -may be applied to the purposes which the testator had in mind, through the agency of any other society having similar aims and competent to make a beneficial disposition thereof.

It is in cases of charitable gifts that the cy près doctrine finds most of its applications in the United States. It has been repudiated in several of the States, but in most of them it exists, and in New York, where it has for many years been in abeyance, it has recently been revived by statute. It is generally considered a salutary doctrine, as tending to preserve to charity a gift clearly intended for benevolent pur

CYPRESS.

poses, and as effectuating the general intention of the testator, even though the particular intention entertained by him cannot be carried into effect. See CHARITABLE TRUSTS; PERPETUITIES; TRUST; INTERPRETATION; WILLS; and the authorities there referred to under those titles.

CYPRESS (Fr. cyprès, Lat. cupressus, Gk. Kuпápioσos, kyparissos; connected by some with Heb. gōpher, a sort of tree, Assyr. gipāru, reed, canebrake). Evergreen trees and shrubs of the genus Cupressus, and of the natural order Coniferæ. They have small, generally appressed and imbricate leaves and globular cones of a few thickened scales. There are about a dozen species, natives of Europe, Asia, and the western part of North America. One of the best known is the common cypress of the south of Europe (Cupressus sempervirens), and introduced into England and parts of the United States, a tree which attains a height of 80 feet, and is famous alike for the great age it reaches and for the durability of its wood. The wood is red or yellowish, hard, compact, and durable. It is not subject to attacks of insects and was once in great demand for cabinet work. It is believed to be the cedar wood of Scriptures and possibly the gopher wood also. Museum specimens of the wood are known to be several thousand years old, and the old doors of Saint Peter's at Rome lasted for more than 1100 years until replaced by doors of bronze. Medicinal virtues were once attributed to the wood, but its present use is for cabinet work and musical instruments. Perhaps the finest tree of this genus is Cupressus macrocarpa, the Monterey cypress of California. It is a beautifully symmetrical tree, attaining a height of 150 feet and a circumference of trunk of eight to ten feet. It grows rapidly, even on poor soils, and thrives best near the sea. It is not very hardy; freezing temperatures are fatal to it. A small tree (Cupressus Macnabiana) of California is much hardier. Cupressus funebris, of China, has wide-spreading and often pendulous branches; it attains a height of 60 feet, and has been extensively planted as an ornament in regions adapted to it. Cupressus lusitanica is common ornamentally in the south of Europe, where it is known as cedar of Goa. Cupressus torulosa is a valuable species found in the north of India. Cupressus obtusa or Retinospora obtusa, a Japanese species, is hardy, attains a height of 100 feet, has a hard, close-grained, durable wood, which is considered of great value in Japan, where the tree is abundant in the forests. It is hardy in the latitude of New York, and some of its varieties are of great beauty. Other species occur in Japan, Mexico, and the United States. By some botanists the species of Chamacyparis are united with Cupressus. Among the best known are the white cedar (Cupressus thyoides) of the eastern United States, the yel low cedar (Cupressus nootkatensis), and Port Orford cedar (Cupressus Lawsoniana), all of the Pacific Coast region. The bald or southern cypress (Taxodium distichum) is a tall tree with deciduous leaves which occurs abundantly in the swamps from Maryland to Missouri and south to the Gulf of Mexico. The timber of this tree is valuable for many purposes. It works easily and is commonly used for shingles. In water it is very durable. When growing in wet places curious, conical, hollow upward growths, called knees, rise from the roots. Their function

CYP'RIAN. A name sometimes given to a courtesan as being a follower of Venus, the Cyprus-born goddess of love.

CYP'RIA'NUS, or CYPRIAN, THASCIUS CECILIUS (? -258). The great leader of the early African Church. He was born in North Africa, probably not in Carthage, though at the time he first comes into notice he was living there in the luxurious style of a man of large wealth. His training had been in the law, and he had attained prominence as a teacher of rhetoric. Up to 246 he had been a pagan. Then he applied for admission to the Christian Church as a catechumen, and after instruction was baptized. Such a man was a great gain to the Church. He early gave evidence of his piety and desire to throw in his lot with the Christians by voluntarily parting with his property and giving the proceeds to the poor. In 247 he was made a presbyter, and in 248 Bishop of Carthage. He owed his rapid elevation to his high character, his noteworthy gifts of administration, and to the promise he gave of being a devoted leader. These hopes he did not belie. No sooner had he become accustomed to the duties of his high office than the peace which the Church had enjoyed for many years was broken by the sudden exhibition of zeal for the old faith on the part of the Emperor Decius. By the imperial decree of 249 Christianity became a forbidden religion; its profession meant confiscation, torture, exile, even death, and bishops had a price set upon their heads. Not from cowardice, but from the conviction that it was better for him to continue to guide his flock, which he thought he could do just as well out of Carthage as in it, in January, 250, he went into retirement; not exactly concealment, because it must have been easy for the authorities to find him if they wished. Thus he lived fourteen months, and then as calmly returned to Carthage. His time had been well spent, and the fruits of it appear in his preserved correspondence and treatises. But when once more in the city he saw for himself the

desolation the persecution had caused. Many had denied the faith, or pretended to do So, many had abandoned their homes, many had died. The more pressing question related to the treatment to be accorded the 'lapsed,' whom he treated sternly and commanded to repent and show contrition; then he would receive them. (See LAPSED.) He had indeed dealt with the matter while in retirement, but now he must take a more decided stand. In March, 251, he

as

held his first council at Carthage, and there he met the internal foes, who had greatly increased during his retirement, and was compelled to yield some points. The relation between the Bishop of Rome and the Bishop of Carthage is the most interesting point. Cyprian treats Stephen, the bishop of the former, as an equal, and they differ upon the important matter of the reception into the Church upon their renunciation of heresy of those who had been baptized by heretics. Stephen-and this was the Roman and ultimately the general position-did not rebaptize such, while Cyprian did. The controversy between these bishops was sharp and even acrimonious. Stephen called Cyprian a pseudoChristian; Cyprian called Stephen a schismatic. bled one; heretics, schismatics, feeble, timid The episcopate of Cyprian was indeed a trouChristians, scheming, ambitious leaders, and, to add to the turmoil, the horrors of pestilenceall these must have greatly worried the Bishop. But he did much to strengthen the episcopate an institution, and make Church councils part of the regular machinery of the Church. These two services entitle him to everlasting remembrance. He held seven councils, the last in 256. But the end which he had long antici pated was very near. In August, 257, persecu tion once more broke out, this time under Valerian, the successor of Decius, and Cyprian was apprehended. He was treated with the utmost tenderness, for manifestly the officers were discharging a very disagreeable duty. He was brought before the proconsul (August 30, 257). required to sacrifice to the gods, and on his refusal banished to Curubis, a free town near the (modern Xurbo), 50 miles southeast of Carthage. There he lived, attended by many friends and active in his episcopal duties, for eleven months, when he was recalled to Carthage and lived for a while in his own home. On September 13, 258, he was again arrested, brought before the consul, sternly questioned, and sentenced to death. "Our pleasure is that Thascius Cyprianus be executed by the sword;" to which Cyprian only said, "Thanks be to God." On September 14 the sentence was carried out.

sea

The writings of Cyprian are most interesting and handle a great variety of topics. The eightytwo letters are the most important, but the treatises on the "Unity of the Church," the "Dress of Virgins," the "Lapsed," the "Lord's Prayer," the "Vanity of Idols," "Against the Jews," are very instructive. The best edition of his writings is by G. Hartel (3 vols., Vienna, 1868-71); there is an English translation in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. v. (Buffalo, 1886-96). Consult A. Harnack, Drei wenig beachtete Cyprianische Schriften und die Acta Pauli (Leipzig, 1899); Von Soden, Die Cyprianische Briefsammlung (Leipzig, 1904); and for his life E. W. Benson (London and New York, 1897).

cuprinus, from cuprum, copper). A name given to a pale sky-blue or greenish-blue variety of Vesuvianite. Its color is said to be caused by small amount of copper, whence its name.

CYPRINE, sip'rin or -rin (Lat. cyprinus,

a