[Stilicho], a Roman general, son of a Vandal captain under the emperor Valens; on the death of Theodosius I., under whom he served, became the ruler of the West, and by his military abilities saved the Western Empire; defeated Alaric the Goth in a decisive battle and compelled him to retire from Italy, as he did another horde of invading barbarians afterwards; aspired to be master of the Roman empires, but was assassinated at Ravenna in 403.
[Still, John], bishop of Bath and Wells, born at Grantham; rose in the Church through a succession of preferments: is credited with the authorship of one of the oldest comedies in the English language, "Gammer Gurton's Needle," turning on the loss and recovery by her of the needle with which she was mending her goodman's breeches (1543-1607).
[Stilling, Jung], a German mystic; studied medicine at Strasburg, and when there became acquainted with Goethe, who took a liking for him and remained his warm friend; settled as a physician at Elberfeldt and became professor at Marburg and at Heidelberg; he was distinguished for his skill in operations on the eye, and is said to have restored to sight without fee or reward 3000 poor blind persons; he is best known by his autobiography; Carlyle defines him as the German "Dominie Sampson."
[Stillingfleet, Edward], bishop of Worcester, born in Dorsetshire; was a scholarly man, wrote on apologetics, in defence of the Church of England as a branch of the Church Catholic, in support of the doctrine of the Trinity, and in advocacy of harmony in the Church; was an able controversialist and a generous minded; was a handsome man, and popularly called the "Beauty of holiness" (1635-1699).
[Stipple], a mode of engraving by dots instead of lines, each dot when magnified showing a group of small ones.
[Stirling, James Hutchison], master in philosophy, born in Glasgow; bred to medicine and practised for a time in South Wales; went to Germany to study the recent developments in philosophy there, on his return to Scotland published, in 1863, his "Secret of Hegel: being the Hegelian System in Origin, Principle, Form, and Matter," which has proved epoch-making, and has for motto the words of Hegel, "The Hidden Secret of the Universe is powerless to resist the might of thought! It must unclose before it, revealing to sight and bringing to enjoyment its riches and its depths." It is the work of a master-mind, as every one must feel who tackles to the study of it, and of one who has mastered the subject of it as not another in England, or perhaps even in Germany, has done. The grip he takes of it is marvellous and his exposition trenchant and clear. It was followed in 1881 by his "Text-book to Kant," an exposition which his "Secret" presupposes, and which he advised the students of it to expect, that they might be able to construe the entire Hegelian system from its root in Kant. It is not to the credit of his country that Dr. Stirling has never been elected to a chair in any of her universities, though it is understood that is due to the unenlightened state of mind of electoral bodies in regard to the Hegelian system and the prejudice against it, particularly among the clergy of the Church. He was, however, elected to be the first Gifford Lecturer in Edinburgh University, and his admirers have had to content themselves with that modicum of acknowledgment at last. He is the author of a critique on Sir William Hamilton's theory of perception, on Huxley's doctrine of protoplasm, and on Darwinianism, besides a translation of [Schwegler's] "History of Philosophy," with notes, a highly serviceable work. His answer to Huxley is crushing. He is the avowed enemy of the Aufklärung and of all knowledge that consists of mere Vorstellungen and does not grasp the ideas which they present; b. 1820.
[Stirling, William Alexander, Earl of], poet, born at Menstrie, near Alloa; was for a time tutor to the family of Argyll; was the author of sonnets called "Aurora," some curious tragedies, and an "Elegy on the Death of Prince Henry"; he was held in high honour by James VI. and followed him to London, obtained a grant of Nova Scotia, and made Secretary of State for Scotland; he has been ranked as a poet with Drummond of Hawthornden, who was his friend (1580-1640).
[Stirling-Maxwell], See [Maxwell, Stirling].
[Stirling] (17), the county town of Stirlingshire, and one of the most ancient and historically-interesting cities of Scotland; occupies a fine site on the Forth, 36 m. NW. of Edinburgh and 29 m. NE. of Glasgow; most prominent feature is the rocky castle hill, rising at the westward end of the town to a height of 420 feet, and crowned by the ancient castle, a favourite Stuart residence, and associated with many stirring events in Scottish history, and utilised now as a garrison-station; interesting also are "Argyll's Lodging," Greyfriars Church (Pointed Gothic of the 15th century), the fine statue of Bruce, &c.; has manufactures of tartans, tweeds, carpets, &c., and a trade in agricultural and mining products.
[Stirlingshire] (126), a midland county of Scotland, stretching E. and W. from Dumbarton (W.) to the Forth (E.); between Lanark (S.) and Perth (N.) it forms the borderland between the Lowlands and the Highlands; Loch Lomond skirts the western border, and on the northern Loch Katrine, stretching into Perthshire; Ben Lomond and lesser heights rise in the NW.; main streams are the Avon, Carron, Bannock, &c.; between Alloa and Stirling stretches the fertile and well-cultivated plain, "The Carse of Stirling"; in the W. lies a portion of the great western coal-field, from which coal and iron-stone are largely extracted; principal towns are [Stirling] (q. v.), Falkirk, and Kilsyth; interesting remains of Antoninus' Wall, from Forth to Clyde, still exist; within its borders were fought the battles of Bannockburn, Sauchieburn, Stirling Bridge, Falkirk, &c.