In the treatment of aneurysm the aim is generally to lower the blood pressure by absolute rest and moderated diet, but a cure is rarely effected except by operation, which, fortunately, is now resorted to more promptly and securely than was previously the case. Without trying the speculative and dangerous method of treatment by compression, or the application of an india rubber bandage, the surgeon now without loss of time cuts down upon the artery, and applies an aseptic ligature close above the dilatation. Experience has shown that this method possesses great advantages, and that it has none of the disadvantages which were formerly supposed to attend it. Saccular dilatations of arteries which are the result of cuts or other injuries are treated by tying the vessel above and below, and by dissecting out the aneurysm. Popliteal, carotid and other aneurysms, which are not of traumatic origin, are sometimes dealt with on this plan, which is the old "Method of Antyllus" with modern aseptic conditions. Speaking generally, if an aneurysm can be dealt with surgically the sooner that the artery is tied the better. Less heroic measures are too apt to prove painful, dangerous, ineffectual and disappointing. For anturysm in the chest or abdomen (which cannot be dealt with by operation) the treatment may be tried of injecting a pure solution of gelatine into the loose tissues of the armpit, so that the gelatine may find its way into the blood stream and increase the chance of curative coagulation in the distant aneurysmal sac.
(E. O.)
ANFRACTUOSITY (from Lat. anfractuosus, winding), twisting and turning, circuitousness; a word usually employed in the plural to denote winding channels such as occur in the depths of the sea, mountains, or the fissures (sulci) separating the convolutions of the brain, or, by analogy, in the mind.
ANGARIA (from ἄγγαρος, the Greek form of a Babylonian word adopted in Persian for "mounted courier"), a sort of postal system adopted by the Roman imperial government from the ancient Persians, among whom, according to Xenophon (Cyrop. viii. 6; cf. Herodotus viii. 98) it was established by Cyrus the Great. Couriers on horseback were posted at certain stages along the chief roads of the empire, for the transmission of royal despatches by night and day in all weathers. In the Roman system the supply of horses and their maintenance was a compulsory duty from which the emperor alone could grant exemption. The word, which in the 4th century was used for the heavy transport vehicles of the cursus publicus, and also for the animals by which they were drawn, came to mean generally "compulsory service." So angaria, angariare, in medieval Latin, and the rare English derivatives "angariate," "angariation," came to mean any service which was forcibly or unjustly demanded, and oppression in general.
ANGARY (Lat. jus angariae; Fr. droit d'angarie; Ger. Angarie; from the Gr. ἀγγαρεία, the office of an ἄγγαρος, courier or messenger), the name given to the right of a belligerent to seize and apply for the purposes of war (or to prevent the enemy from doing so) any kind of property on, belligerent territory, including that which may belong to subjects or citizens of a neutral state. Art. 53 of the Regulations respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, annexed to the Hague Convention of 1899 on the same subject, provides that railway plant, land telegraphs, telephones, steamers and other ships (other than such as are governed by maritime law), though belonging to companies or private persons, may be used for military operations, but "must be restored at the conclusion of peace and indemnities paid for them." And Art. 54 adds that "the plant of railways coming from neutral states, whether the property of those states or of companies or private persons, shall be sent back to them as soon as possible." These articles seem to sanction the right of angary against neutral property, while limiting it as against both belligerent and neutral property. It may be considered, however, that the right to use implies as wide a range of contingencies as the "necessity of war" can be made to cover.
(T. Ba.)
ANGEL, a general term denoting a subordinate superhuman being in monotheistic religions, e.g.. Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and in allied religions, such as Zoroastrianism. In polytheism the grades of superhuman beings are continuous; but in monotheism there is a sharp distinction of kind, as well as degree, between God on the one hand, and all other superhuman beings on the other; the latter are the "angels."
"Angel" is a transcription of the Gr. ἄγγελος, messenger. ἄγγελος in the New Testament, and the corresponding mal'akh in the Old Testament, sometimes mean "messenger," and sometimes "angel," and this double sense is duly represented in the English Versions. "Angel" is also used in the English Version for אביר 'Abbir, Ps. lxxviii. 25. (lit. "mighty"), for אלהים 'Elohim, Ps. viii. 5, and for the obscure שנאן shin'an, in Ps. lxviii. 17.
In the later development of the religion of Israel, 'Elohim is almost entirely reserved for the one true God; but in earlier times 'Elohim (gods), bnē 'Elohim, bnē Elim (sons of gods, i.e. members of the class of divine beings) were general terms for superhuman beings. Hence they came to be used collectively of superhuman beings, distinct from Yahweh, and therefore inferior, and ultimately subordinate.[[1]] So, too, the angels are styled "holy ones,"[[2]] and "watchers,"[[3]] and are spoken of as the "host of heaven"[[4]] or of "Yahweh."[[5]] The "hosts," צבאות Sebaoth in the title Yahweh Sebaoth, Lord of Hosts, were probably at one time identified with the angels.[[6]] The New Testament often speaks of "spirits," πνεύματα. [[7]] In the earlier periods of the religion of Israel, the doctrine of monotheism had not been formally stated, so that the idea of "angel" in the modern sense does not occur, but we find the Mal'akh Yahweh, Angel of the Lord, or Mal'akh Elohim, Angel of God. The Mal'akh Yahweh is an appearance or manifestation of Yahweh in the form of a man, and the term Mal'akh Yahweh is used interchangeably with Yahweh (cf. Exod. iii. 2, with iii. 4; xiii. 21 with xiv. 19). Those who see the Mal'akh Yahweh say they have seen God.[[8]] The Mal'akh Yahweh (or Elohim) appears to Abraham, Hagar, Moses, Gideon, &c., and leads the Israelites in the Pillar of Cloud.[[9]] The phrase Mal'akh Yahweh may have been originally a courtly circumlocution for the Divine King; but it readily became a means of avoiding crude anthropomorphism, and later on, when the angels were classified, the Mal'akh Yahweh came to mean an angel of distinguished rank.[[10]] The identification of the Mal'akh Yahweh with the Logos, or Second Person of the Trinity, is not indicated by the references in the Old Testament; but the idea of a Being partly identified with God, and yet in some sense distinct from Him, illustrates the tendency of religious thought to distinguish persons within the unity of the Godhead, and foreshadows the doctrine of the Trinity, at any rate in some slight degree.
In the earlier literature the Mal'akh Yahweh or Elohim is almost the only mal'akh ("angel") mentioned. There are, however, a few passages which speak of subordinate superhuman beings other than the Mal'akh Yahweh or Elohim. There are the cherubim who guard Eden. In Gen. xviii., xix. (J) the appearance of Yahweh to Abraham and Lot is connected with three, afterwards two, men or messengers; but possibly in the original form of the story Yahweh appeared alone.[[11]] At Bethel, Jacob sees the angels of God on the ladder,[[12]] and later on they appear to him at Mahanaim.[[13]] In all these cases the angels, like the Mal'akh Yahweh, are connected with or represent a theophany. Similarly the "man" who wrestles with Jacob at Peniel is identified with God.[[14]] In Isaiah vi. the seraphim, superhuman beings with six wings, appear as the attendants of Yahweh. Thus the pre-exilic literature, as we now have it, has little to say about angels or about superhuman beings other than Yahweh and manifestations of Yahweh; the pre-exilic prophets hardly mention angels.[[15]] Nevertheless we may well suppose that the popular religion of ancient Israel had much to say of superhuman beings other than Yahweh, but that the inspired writers have mostly suppressed references to them as unedifying. Moreover such beings were not strictly angels.