[Caduceus], the winged rod of Hermes, entwined with two serpents; originally a simple olive branch; was in the hands of the god possessed of magical virtues; it was the symbol of peace.
[Cædmon], an English poet of the 7th century, the fragment of a hymn by whom, preserved by Bede, is the oldest specimen extant of English poetry; wrote a poem on the beginning of things at the call of a voice from heaven, saying as he slept, "Cædmon, come sing me some song"; and thereupon he began to sing, as Stopford Brooke reports, the story of Genesis and Exodus, many other tales in the sacred Scriptures, and the story of Christ and the Apostles, and of heaven and hell to come.
[Caen] (45), a fine old Norman town, capital of Calvados, about 80 m. SE. of Cherbourg; lace the chief manufacture; the burial-place of William the Conqueror, and the native place of Charlotte Corday; it is a well-built town, and has fine old public buildings, a large library, and a noble collection of pictures.
[Caer`leon], a small old town in Monmouthshire, on the Usk, 2½ m. NE. of Newport; celebrated by Tennyson in connection with Arthurian legend; it is a very ancient place, and contains relics of Roman times.
[Cæsalpinus], Italian natural philosopher, born at Arezzo; was professor of botany at Pisa; was forerunner of Harvey and Linnæus; discovered sex in plants, and gave hints on their classification (1519-1603).
[Cæsar], name of an old Roman family claiming descent from the Trojan Æneas, which the emperors of Rome from Augustus to Nero of right inherited, though the title was applied to succeeding emperors and to the heirs-apparent of the Western and the Eastern Empires; it survives in the titles of the Kaiser of Germany and the Czar of Russia.
[Cæsar, Caius Julius], pronounced the greatest man of antiquity, by birth and marriage connected with the democratic party; early provoked the jealousy of Sulla, then dictator, and was by an edict of proscription against him obliged to quit the city; on the death of Sulla returned to Rome; was elected to one civic office after another, and finally to the consulship. United with Pompey and Crassus in the First Triumvirate (60 B.C.); was appointed to the government of Gaul, which he subdued after nine years to the dominion of Rome; his successes awoke the jealousy of Pompey, who had gone over to the aristocratic side, and he was recalled; this roused Cæsar, and crossing the Rubicon with his victorious troops, he soon saw all Italy lying at his feet (49 B.C.); pursued Pompey, who had fled to Greece, and defeated him at Pharsalia (48 B.C.); was thereupon elected dictator and consul for five years, distinguishing himself in Egypt and elsewhere; returned to Rome (47 B.C.); conceived and executed vast schemes for the benefit of the city, and became the idol of its citizens; when he was assassinated on the Ides (the 15th) of March, 44 B.C., in the fifty-sixth year of his age; b.100 B.C.
[Cæsarea], a Syrian seaport, 30 m. N. of Joppa, built in honour of Augustus Cæsar by Herod the Great, now in ruins, though a place of note in the days of the Crusades. Also C. Philippi, at the source of the Jordan, whence Christ, on assuring Himself that His disciples were persuaded of His divine sonship, turned to go up to Jerusalem, and so by His sacrifice perfect their faith in Him.
[Cagliari] (44), the cap of Sardinia, and the chief port, on the S. coast, was a colony of Jews from the time of Tiberius till 1492, whence they were expelled by the Spaniards; lies on the slopes of a hill, the summit of which is 300 ft. high, and is on the site of an ancient Carthaginian town.
[Cagliari, Paolo], proper name of [Paul Veronese] (q. v.).