Con's tant, De

REBECQUE, BENJAMIN. There are few names in the political and literary history of France, since the first revolution, which present us with a more curious subject of speculation, than that of Benjamin Constant; but the leading facts of his career, and a very summary judgment upon them, is all that we can give here. He was the descendant of a French family, denaturalized by the Edict of Nantes, and was B. in Lausanne, 1767. He came to Paris in the heat of the revo lutionary period, and his philosophical spirit led him into alliance with the most talented men of that period. In 1796 he brought himself into notice by a work entitled, De la Force du Gouvernement Actuel de la France et de la Nece ité de s'y Rallier, being an appeal in support of the Directory. The year following he claimed the rights of a French citizen, and procured a degree which restored the descendants of the religious exiles of France to their proper country; increasing his literary fame about the same period, by his treatises on political reaction, and on the effects of terror. Though an influential member of the political circle, C. was not called upon to exercise any public function until the ascendancy of Napoleon was established, when he became a member of the tribunate, and aspiring to lead the opposition, was ordered to quit France in 1802. Madame de Staël, with whom he was politically connected, being ordered into exile at the same time, they left the capital together, and travelled over many parts of Europe, at length fixing their abode in Germany, where they cultivated an acquaintance with its rising literature, and enjoyed the intimacy of Schlegel. It was here that C. wrote his famous work On the Spirit of Conquest and Usurpation, his tragedy of Walstein, .; and besides courting the Muses, contrived to form an alliance with the daughter of the Pru ian minister, Prince Harden berg. On the fall of Napoleon, in 1814, C. returned to Paris, and not only advocated the alliance of the Bourbons, as he hoped, with the institutions achieved by the people, but denounced in bitter language the conqueror, who was even then returning to reclaim his authority. By whatever arguments he was won over to the cause of Napoleon-and there is reason to believe they leave no stain on his patriotism - this singular politician figured as a counsellor of state during the hundred days, and though he quitted France at the crisis of the second restoration, he appeared again as a deputy under Louis XVIII. B. Constant, Manuel, and Lafayette, in the chamber of representatives (1819), boded no good to the royalists, and the murder of the Duc de Berry, followed by the discu ion of the electoral laws, was the signal for a new conflict, and for that brilliant opposition which ended in the revolution of 1830. During this interval, B. Constant, besides taking a leading part in the discu ions of the chambers, contributed many political and other works to the literature of his country; and was also actively engaged as one of the editors of The Minerva. The presumed cause of his death, which happened within six months after the abdication of Charles X., was the fatigue and exposure which he underwent during the tumults of July; and it is singular to add, that he closed his career by accepting favors from Louis Philippe. The problem for the biographer is to reconcile his loyalty to constitutional principles, and his cosmopolitan views with his versatile conduct as a politician. We are inclined to believe that he was trustful beyond what would be esteemed political propriety, and hoped, it may be, too much. Hence he was disposed to accept the fait accompli, and make the best of it, and only when his too generous expectations were disappointed, commenced those chivalrous attacks which appear so extraordinary in contrast with his liaisons in the camp of the enemy. His philosophical refinement, his dramatic tastes, and his high sense of honor when placed on a side, in the scale of royalty, as it was natural they should be, weighed too much against his political sagacity, on the other. His romance of Adolphe exercised a great influence on the youth of his time. Constant i a, ( kon-stan's he-a,) n. A choice wine grown in S. Africa, Cape Colony. It much resembles sherry, and when obtained in a pure state, appears both as a white and a red wine, of an extremely smooth flavor and delicate bouquet. The vine whence it is derived originally came from Shiraz, in Persia. The quantity of this wine, when produced in the best years, does not exceed 22,000 imp. gallons; consequently, every season's growth is sold beforehand, and it is almost impo ible otherwise to obtain it. Constant i a, in New York, a post-village and town ship of Oswego co., on Oneida Lake, abt. 115 m. W.N.W. of Albany. Constant i a, in Ohio, a post-office of Delaware co. Constant i a Centre, in New York, a post-office of Oswego co. Constant in a, a town of Spain, defended by a strong castle, 40 m. from Seville; pop . 7,832. Con's tantine, an inland city of N. Africa, in Algeria, cap. of its E. prov., beyond the Le er Atlas chain, on a peninsulated height, surrounded on three sides by the Rommell, or Wad-el-Kebir (the ancient Ampsega ), which partly runs through a deep ravine, cro ed by an ancient bridge, 114 yards above the water, and 113 in length; 190 m. E.S.E. of Algiers. Lat. 36° 24' N., Lon. 6° 8' E. C. is strongly fortified, as well by art as by nature, having walls on the landward side casemated, and 5 feet in thickne . It has 4 gates; and on the N., or more elevated side of the plateau, on which the city is built, is the Kasba , or citadel. C. contains many mosques, and IMG:content-0348.jpg:[graphic] a fine palace; other than these, there are few buildings of any architectural beauty or importance. Manf . Saddlery, boots, coarse blankets, . C. carries on an active trade with the S. In 1836, C. was attacked by the French, who then sustained a repulse; but in the following year took it by storm, after a vigorous resist ance. It has since remained in French occupation. Pop . (1891) 46,581, of whom abt. one-third are Europe ans and one-half natives. Const an tine, in Michigan , a post-village and township of St. Joseph co., on the St. Joseph River, abt. 89 m. S.W. of Lansing. Const an tine I., FLAVIUS VALERIUS, surnamed THE GREAT, a Roman emperor, son of Constant i us Chlorus, by Helena, born A. D. 272 On the death of his father, 306, C. was proclaimed emperor, and married Fausta, the daughter of Maximian, but was soon involved in a war with his father-in-law, who a umed the title of emperor. The usurper's reign was brief, and on his being taken prisoner, C. caused him to be strangled. This involved him in a war with Maxentius, son of Maximian, in which the latter was defeated and drowned in the Tiber. It is said that, as he was going to fight against Maxentius, he saw a cro in the sky, with this inscription: εν τοντω νικα - in hoc sig no vinces, (by this sign thou shalt conquer). In the year 312, he became a convert to Christianity, and obtained an easy victory, ever after adopting a cro or labarum as his standard. Being then sole emperor, he began to reform the state. He prohibited nocturnal a emblies, and abolished many of the obscenities of paganism. In 321 he ordered the observance of the Sunday, and abstinence from work on that day; caused the Christian churches which war had destroyed to be rebuilt, and in 325 a embled the first universal council of Nicea; abolished the consulting of oracles, and 'the fights of gladiators; but in 326, upon a false accusation, caused his son Crispus to be beheaded for attempting to seduce Fausta, his own stepmother. She herself, however, was afterwards put to death. In 328 he founded the city where Byzantium formerly stood, and called it by his own name, Constant i no polis. Here he transported part of the Roman senate; and, by keeping his court in it, raised it to be the rival of Rome, in population and magnificence. From that time the two imperial capitals began to look upon each other with an eye of envy; and soon after the age of C. , a separation was made of the two empires, and Rome was called the capital of the western, and Constant i no polis the capital of the eastern. D. at Nicomedia, 337. having been baptized only a few days before. - This emperor has been distinguished for personal courage, and praised for the protection he extended to the Christians; but the murder of his son Crispus has been deservedly censured. His remains were carried to Constant i no polis, where he was sumptuously interred. He was placed by the senate of Rome among the gods, and by the Christians of the East, among the saints. His festival is celebrated on the 21st of May by the Greek, Ru ian, and Coptic churches. He left three sons, Constant in us, Constans, and Constant i us, among whom he divided his empire. CONST AN TINE II., called the Younger , eldest son of the above, received, as his share of the empire, on the death of his father, Gaul, Spain, and Britain. Being desirous, however, of po e ing himself of the territory of his brother Constans, he was killed in Italy, 340. CONST AN TINE III., ( Novus ,) B. 612 A. D.; D. 641. CONST AN TINE IV., emperor of the East, surnamed Pogona tus, or the Bearded, was son of Constans II., whom he succeeded in 668. His two brothers, Tiberius and Heraclius, shared the title of August us, but had little or no share in the government, and towards the close of his reign, C., under the influence of suspicion, had them mutilated and put to death. Constantinople was unsucce fully attacked by the Mu ulmans in 672 and the six following years; and it was during these wars that the famous "Greek fire" was invented. C. convoked and took part in the sixth general council held at Constantinople, at which the doctrine of the Monothelites was condemned. D. 685. CONST AN TINE V., emperor of the East, succeeded his father, Leo the I saurian, in 743. He sided with the Iconoclasts, who hurled down the images of the saints, and persecuted the followers of the Roman Catholic Church. D. of the plague, in an expedition against the Bulgarians, 775. CONST AN TINE VI., emperor of the East, was son of Leo IV., whom he succeeded in 780. Being only 10 years old when his father died, his mother Irene was his guardian and regent of the empire. On arriving at a mature age he wished to a ume the government himself; but Irene, made cruel by ambition, had him imprisoned. He escaped in 790, exiled his mother, recalled her, and finally, ruined by his licentious living, and despised by his subjects, a conspiracy was formed against him, Irene taking the lead in it; and being imprisoned, his eyes were put out by her orders. The blind prince languished some time in obscurity, and D. in 797. CONST AN TINE VII., was named emperor in 868, during the lifetime of his father, Basilius I., but D. before him, 878. CONST AN TINE VIII., surnamed Porphyrogenitus , emperor of the East, succeeded Leo the Wise in 905. He was destitute of energy, and devoted himself chiefly to study. He admitted colleagues to the throne, so that at last five emperors were reigning together. C. left a treatise on state affairs, a geography of the empire, and the Life of the Emperor Basilius , the Maced on i an . D. 959, poisoned, it is said, by his son Roman us. CONST AN TINE IX., son of Roman us I., reigned with his father and his two brothers, from 919 to 945, during the time that Porphyrogenitus was deposed. CONST AN TINE X., son of Roman us II., succeeded John Zemisces, and was proclaimed emperor of the East, with his brother, Basilius II., who held the principal authority till 1025, when he died. C. was, after that, sole emperor. D. 1028. CONST AN TINE XI., surnamed the Gladiator , obtained the empire in 1042, having married the empre Zoe, widow of Roman us III. This prince is known alone for his debaucheries. He allowed the Turks to increase their territories at his expense, and to establish themselves in Persia. CONST AN TINE XII., surnamed Ducas , succeeded, in 1059, Isaac Comnenus, who had adopted him. In his reign the Scythians ravaged the empire, and some cities were destroyed by earthquakes. D. 1067. CONST AN TINE XIII., the last of the Greek emperors, succeeded to the throne in 1448. He was killed in bravely defending Constantinople against Mahomet II., who, in 1453, besieged the city with 300,000 men. The heroic valor displayed by C. in this unequal contest demands our admiration; but valor was of no avail, the city was taken by storm, and thus ended the Greek empire.