[Jansen, Cornelius], a Dutch theologian and bishop of Ypres, born in Louvain; studied the works of Augustine, and wrote a book entitled "Augustinus" in exposition of that great Father's doctrine of grace, which was published after his death, and which gave occasion to a great controversy between his followers, in France especially, and the Jesuits (1585-1638).
[Jansenists], a party in the Roman Catholic Church, supporters of Jansen's views, who, in opposition to the Jesuits, maintained the Augustinian principle of the sovereign and irresistible nature of divine grace. The most celebrated members of the party were the [Port-Royalists] (q. v.) of France, in particular Arnauld and Pascal, and they were opposed not only by the Jesuits, but by both Louis XIV. and the Pope. Driven from France on the death of Louis, they took refuge in Holland, and thither the Pope Clement XI. followed them, first in 1713, hurling a bull against them, and then in 1719 by ex-communicating them and driving them for good from within the pale of the Catholic Church.
[Januarius, St.], a Christian who suffered martyrdom under Diocletian, and whose head is preserved in Naples with a phial containing his blood which, on certain occasions, liquefies when brought into contact with the head. Recourse is had to it on the occasion of public calamities, not without desired effects, and it is an object of worship. Festival, September 19.
[January], the first month of the year, so called as sacred to [Janus] (q. v.).
[January, Edict of], edict of date January 17, 1562, on which Catherine de Médecis granted certain concessions to the Protestants.
[Janus], a very ancient Italian deity who presided over the beginning of the several divisions of time, as well as the beginning of all enterprises, in connection with which he was worshipped; he had two heads, or faces, one of which looked behind into the past and the other before into the future, and this power of penetrating into both it is said Saturn endowed him with as a reward for receiving him on earth when he was driven out of heaven.
[Japan] (40,719), an island empire of the N. Pacific, lying along the E. coast of Asia, and separated from Corea and Primorsk by the Sea of Japan, consists of Honshiu (31,000), Shikoku (3,000), Kyushu (6,000), Yezo (314), and 4000 small islands; though not of volcanic origin, the islands are the most mountainous in the world, have many volcanoes and sulphur springs, and are subject to earthquakes; they are very picturesque, and have peaks from 8000 to 12,000 ft. high; the rivers are too swift for navigation; the coast, not much indented, has yet some good harbours; the valleys are well wooded, but the soil not very fertile; temperature and climate are various; nowhere is the heat intense, but in some parts the winter is very cold; there is much rain, but on the whole it is healthy; the chief industry is agriculture; farming is careful and intelligent; rice, cereals, pulse, tea, cotton, and tobacco are raised, and many fruits; gold, silver, all the useful metals, coal, granite, some decorative stones are found, but good building-stone is scarce; the manufacture of porcelain, lacquer-work, and silk is extensive, and in some artistic work the Japanese are unrivalled; the chief ports are Yokohama (143), on the E. of Honshiu, which has grown up since 1854, when the country was opened to trade; and Hyogo (143), on the S. coast of the same island, where are also shipbuilding yards; the chief exports are tea, silk, and rice; imports cotton, woollen, iron goods, and chemicals; the Japanese, sprung from an ancient union of Tartars with Ainos and with S. Malays, are a kindly, courteous, law-abiding folk, with highly developed artistic tastes; education is compulsory, and well provided for; religion is Shintoism and Buddhism, but Christianity is gaining rapid ground; the government is in the hands of the Mikado, who rules now with the aid of ministers and two houses of parliament; education, government, army, and navy—indeed the whole modern civilisation of the country—is on Western lines, though until 1853 foreigners were excluded; a civil war in 1867-68 effected the change from the old feudalism, and the amazing success of Japan in the war against China in 1894 has proved that the new civilisation is no mere veneer; the capital is Tokyo (1,162).
[Japheth], one of the three sons of Noah and the ancestor of the Gentiles, as distinct from the descendants of Shem, or the Semites, and of Ham, or the Hamites. See [Iapetos].
[Jaques], or the "melancholy" a cynical moraliser in Shakespeare's "As You Like It."