Part I
. _Diprotodon, Mem. R. Soc. S. Australia_ (vol. i., 1889); R. Broom, "On the Affinities of _Thylacoleo," Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales_ (1898); H. F. Osborn, "Mesozoic Mammalia," _Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia_ (vol. ix., 1888); E. S. Goodrich, "On the Fossil Mammalia from the Stonesfield Slate," _Quart. Journ. Micr. Science_ (vol. xxxv., 1894). (R. L.*)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The presence or absence of the corpus callosum has been much disputed; the latest researches, however, indicate its absence.
MARSUPIAL MOLE (_Noloryctes typhlops_), the "Ur-quamata" of the natives, an aberrant polyprotodont from central South Australia, constituting a family (_Noloryctidae_). This is a small burrowing animal, of a pale golden-yellow colour, with long silky hair, a horny shield on the nose, and a stumpy leathery tail. The feet are five-toed, and the third and fourth toes of the front pair armed with enormous claws adapted for digging. Neither ear-conches nor eyes are visible externally. There are but three pairs of incisor teeth in each jaw, and the upper molars are tricuspid. This animal spends most of its time burrowing in the sand in search of insects and their larvae, but occasionally makes its appearance on the surface.
[Illustration: Marsupial Mole (_Notoryctes typhlops_).]
MARSUS, DOMITIUS, Latin poet, the friend of Virgil and Tibullus, and contemporary of Horace. He survived Tibullus (d. 19 B.C.), but was no longer alive when Ovid wrote (c. A.D. 12) the epistle from Pontus (_Ex Ponto_, iv. 16) containing a list of poets. He was the author of a collection of epigrams called _Cicuta_ ("hemlock")[1] from their bitter sarcasm, and of a beautiful epitaph on the death of Tibullus; of elegiac poems, probably of an erotic character; of an epic poem _Amazonis_; and of a prose work on wit (_De urbanitate_). Martial often alludes to Marsus as one of his predecessors, but he is never mentioned by Horace, although a passage in the _Odes_ (iv. 4, 19) is supposed to be an indirect allusion to the _Amazonis_ (M. Haupt, _Opuscula_, iii. 332).
See J. A. Weichert, _Poetarum latinorum vitae et reliquiae_ (1830); R. Unger, _De Dom. Marsi cicuta_ (Friedland, 1861).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] According to others, a reed-pipe made of the stalks of hemlock; the reading _scutica_ ("whip") has also been proposed.
MARSYAS, in Greek mythology, a Phrygian god or Silenus, son of Hyagnis. He was originally the god of the small river of the same name near Celaenae, an old Phrygian town. He represents the art of playing the flute as opposed to the lyre--the one the accompaniment of the worship of Cybele, the other that of the worship of Apollo. According to the legend, Athena, who had invented the flute, threw it away in disgust, because it distorted the features. Marsyas found it, and having acquired great skill in playing it, challenged Apollo to a contest with his lyre. Midas, king of Phrygia, who had been appointed judge, declared in favour of Marsyas, and Apollo punished Midas by changing his ears into ass's ears. In another version, the Muses were judges and awarded the victory to Apollo, who tied Marsyas to a tree and flayed him alive. Marsyas, as well as Midas and Silenus, are associated in legend with Dionysus and belong to the cycle of legends of Cybele. A statue of Marsyas was set up in the Roman forum and colonies as a symbol of liberty. The contest and punishment of Marsyas were favourite subjects in Greek art, both painting and sculpture. In Florence there are several statues of Marsyas hanging on the tree as he is going to be flayed (see GREEK ART, fig. 54, Pl. II.); Apollo and the executioner complete the group. In the Lateran museum at Rome there is a statue representing Marsyas in the act of picking up the flute, a copy of a masterpiece by Myron (Hyginus, _Fab._ 167, 191; Apollodorus i. 4, 2; Ovid, _Metam._ vi. 382-400, xi. 145-193), for which see GREEK ART, fig. 64 (Pl. III.).
MARTABAN, a town in the Thaton district of Lower Burma, on the right bank of the Salween, opposite Moulmein. It is said to have been founded in A.D. 573, by the first king of Pegu, and was once the capital of a powerful Talaing kingdom; but it is now little more than a village. Martaban is frequently mentioned by European voyagers of the 16th century; and it has given the name of "Martavans" to a class of large vessels of glazed pottery, also known in India as "Pegu jars." It was twice captured by the British, in 1824 and 1852. The Bay of Martaban receives the rivers Irrawaddy and Salween.
MARTELLO TOWER, a kind of tower formerly used in English coast defence. The name is a corruption of Mortella. The Martello tower was introduced in consequence of an incident of the French revolutionary wars. In September 1793 a British squadron of three ships of the line and two frigates was ordered to support the Corsican insurgents. It was determined in the first place to take a tower on Cape Mortella which commanded the only secure anchorage in the Gulf of San Fiorenzo. This tower, according to James, was named "after its inventor"; but the real derivation appears to be the name of a wild myrtle which grew thickly around. The tower, which mounted one 24-pounder and two 18-pounders on its top, was bombarded for a short time by the frigates, was then deserted by its little garrison, and occupied by a landing party. The tower was afterwards retaken by the French from the Corsicans. So far it had done nothing to justify its subsequent reputation. In 1794, however, a fresh attempt was made to support the insurgents. On the 7th of February 1400 troops were landed, and the tower was attacked by land and sea on the 8th. The "Fortitude" and "Juno" kept up a cannonade for 2½ hours and then hauled off, the former being on fire and having sixty-two men killed and wounded. The fire from the batteries on shore produced no impression until a hot shot set fire to the "bass junk with which, to the depth of 5 ft., the immensely thick parapet was lined." The garrison of thirty-three men then surrendered. The armament was found to consist only of two 18-pounders and one 6-pounder. The strong resistance offered by these three guns seems to have led to the conclusion that towers of this description were specially formidable, and Martello towers were built in large numbers, and at heavy expense, along the shores of England, especially on the southern and eastern coasts, which in certain parts are lined with these towers at short intervals. They are structures of solid masonry, containing vaulted rooms for the garrison, and providing a platform at the top for two or three guns, which fire over a low masonry parapet. Access is provided by a ladder, communicating with a door about 20 ft. above the ground. In some cases a deep ditch is provided around the base. The chief defect of the tower was its weakness against vertical fire; its masonry was further liable to be cut through by breaching batteries. The French _tours modèles_ were somewhat similar to the Martello towers; their chief use was to serve as keeps to unrevetted works. While the Martello tower owes its reputation and its widespread adoption in Great Britain to a single incident of modern warfare, the round masonry structure entered by a door raised high above the base is to be found in many lands, and is one of the earliest types of masonry fortification.
MARTEN, HENRY (1602-1680), English regicide, was the elder son of Sir Henry Marten, and was educated at University College, Oxford. As a public man he first became prominent in 1639 when he refused to contribute to a general loan, and in 1640 he entered parliament as one of the members for Berkshire. In the House of Commons he joined the popular party, spoke in favour of the proposed bill of attainder against Strafford, and in 1642 was a member of the committee of safety. Some of his language about the king was so frank that Charles demanded his arrest and his trial for high treason. When the Great Rebellion broke out Marten did not take the field, although he was appointed governor of Reading, but in parliament he was very active. On one occasion his zeal in the parliamentary cause led him to open a letter from the earl of Northumberland to his countess, an impertinence for which, says Clarendon, he was "cudgelled" by the earl; and in 1643, on account of some remark about extirpating the royal family, he was expelled from parliament and was imprisoned for a few days. In the following year, however, he was made governor of Aylesbury, and about this time took some small part in the war. Allowed to return to parliament in January 1646, Marten again advocated extreme views. He spoke of his desire to prepare the king for heaven; he attacked the Presbyterians, and, supporting the army against the parliament, he signed the agreement of August 1647. He was closely associated with John Lilburne and the Levellers, and was one of those who suspected the sincerity of Cromwell, whose murder he is said personally to have contemplated. However, he acted with Cromwell in bringing Charles I. to trial; he was one of the most prominent of the king's judges and signed the death warrant. He was then energetic in establishing the republic and in destroying the remaining vestiges of the monarchical system. He was chosen a member of the council of state in 1649, and as compensation for his losses and reward for his services during the war, lands valued at £1000 a year were settled upon him. In parliament he spoke often and with effect, but he took no part in public life during the Protectorate, passing part of this time in prison, where he was placed on account of his debts. Having sat among the restored members of the Long Parliament in 1659, Marten surrendered himself to the authorities as a regicide in June 1660, and with some others he was excepted from the act of indemnity, but with a saving clause. He behaved courageously at his trial, which took place in October 1660, but he was found guilty of taking part in the king's death. Through the action, or rather the inaction of the House of Lords, he was spared the death penalty, but he remained a captive, and was in prison at Chepstow Castle when he died on the 9th of September 1680. Although a leading Puritan, Marten was a man of loose morals. He wrote and published several pamphlets, and in 1662 there appeared _Henry Marten's Familiar Letters to his Lady of Delight_, which contained letters to his mistress, Mary Ward.
Marten's father, Sir Henry Marten (c. 1562-1641), was born in London and was educated at Winchester school and at New College, Oxford, becoming a fellow of the college in 1582. Having become a barrister, he secured a large practice and soon came to the front in public life. He was sent abroad on some royal business, was made chancellor of the diocese of London, was knighted, and in 1617 became a judge of the admiralty court. Later he was appointed a member of the court of high commission and dean of the arches. He became a member of parliament in 1625, and in 1628 represented the university of Oxford, taking part in the debates on the petition of right.
See J. Forster, _Statesmen of the Commonwealth_ (1840); M. Noble, _Lives of the English Regicides_ (1798); the article by C. H. Firth in _Dict. Nat. Biog._ (1893); and S. R. Gardiner, _History of the Great Civil War_ and _History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate_.
MARTEN,[1] a name originally belonging to the pine-marten (_Mustela martes_), but now applied to all members of the same genus of carnivorous mammals (see CARNIVORA). Martens are limited to the northern hemisphere, ranging throughout the greater part of the northern temperate regions of both Old and New Worlds, and southwards in America to 35° N. lat., while in Asia one species is met with in Java.
The species appear to be similar in their habits. They live in woods and rocky places, and spend most of their time in trees, although descending to the ground in quest of prey. They climb with great facility, and are agile and graceful in their movements. Some are said occasionally to resort to berries and other fruit for food, but as a rule they are carnivorous, feeding chiefly on birds and their eggs, small mammals, as squirrels, hares, rabbits and moles, but chiefly mice of various kinds, and occasionally snakes, lizards and frogs. In proportion to their size they are among the most bloodthirsty of animals, though less so than the weasels. The female makes her nest of moss, dried leaves and grass in the hollow of a tree, but sometimes in a hole among rocks or ruined buildings, and produces several young at a birth, usually from four to six. Though wild and untameable to a great degree if captured when fully grown, if taken young they are docile, and have frequently been made pets, not having the strong unpleasant odour of the smaller _Mustelidae_. The pine-marten appears to have been partially domesticated by the Greeks and Romans, and used to keep houses clear from rats and mice. In the same way, according to Brian Hodgson, the yellow-bellied weasel (_Putorius kathia_) "is exceedingly prized by the Nepalese for its service in ridding houses of rats. It is easily tamed; and such is the dread of it common to all murine animals that not one will approach a house where it is domiciled." It is, however, to the great value attached to the pelts of these animals that their importance to man is chiefly due. Though all yield fur of serviceable quality, the commercial value varies immensely, not only according to the species from which it is obtained, but according to individual variation, depending upon age, sex, season, and other circumstances. The skins from northern regions are more full and of a finer colour and gloss than those from more temperate climates, as are those of animals killed in winter compared to the same individuals in summer. Fashion has, moreover, set fictitious values upon slight shades of colour. Enormous numbers of animals are caught, chiefly in traps, to supply the demand of the fur trade, Siberia and North America being the principal localities from which they are obtained.
With the exception of the pekan (_M. pennanti_), the martens are much alike in size, general colouring and cranial and dental characters. The following description by Dr Elliott Coues of the American marten (_M. americana_) will apply almost equally well to most of the others. "It is almost impossible to describe the colour of the marten, except in general terms, without going into the details of the endless diversities occasioned by age, sex, season, or other incidents. The animal is 'brown,' of a shade from orange or tawny to quite blackish; the tail and feet are ordinarily the darkest, the head lightest, often quite whitish; the ears usually have a whitish rim, while on the throat there is usually a large tawny-yellowish or orange-brown patch, from the chin to the fore legs; sometimes entire, sometimes broken into a number of smaller, irregular blotches, sometimes wanting, sometimes prolonged on the whole under surface, when the animal is bicolor like a stoat in summer. The general 'brown' has a greyish cast, as far as the under fur is concerned, and is overlaid with rich lustrous blackish-brown in places where the long bristly hairs prevail. The claws are whitish; the naked nose pad and whiskers are black. The tail occasionally shows interspersed white hairs, or a white tip."
The following are the best-known species:--
_Mustela foina_: the beech-marten, stone-marten or white-breasted marten.--Distinguished from the following by the greater breadth of the skull, and some minute but constant dental characters, by the dull greyish-brown colour of the fur of the upper parts and the pure white of the throat and breast. It inhabits the greater part of the continent of Europe, but is more southern than the next in its distribution, not being found in Sweden or Norway.
_M. martes_, the pine-marten (see figure).--Fur rich dark brown; under fur reddish-grey, with clear yellow tips; breast spot usually yellow, varying from bright orange to pale cream-colour or yellowish-white. Length of head and body 16 to 18 in., of tail (including the hair) 9 to 12 in. This species is extensively distributed throughout northern Europe and Asia, and was formerly common in most parts of Great Britain and Ireland. It is still found in the northern counties of England and North Wales, but in decreasing numbers. In Scotland it is rare, but in Ireland may be found in almost every county occasionally. Though commonly called "pine-marten," it does not appear to have any special preference for coniferous trees.
[Illustration: The Pine-Marten (_Mustela martes_).]
Next comes _M. zibellina_, the sable (German, _Zobel_ and _Zebel_; Swedish, _sabel_; Russian, _sobel_, a word probably of Turanian origin), which closely resembles the last, if indeed it differs except in the quality of the fur--the most highly valued of that of all the group. The sable is found chiefly in eastern Siberia.
Very distinct is the brilliantly coloured orange-and-black Indian marten (_M. flavigula_), found from the Himalaya and Ceylon to Java.
The North American _M. americana_ is closely allied to the pine-marten and Asiatic sable. The importance of the fur of this animal as an article of commerce may be judged of from the fact that 15,000 skins were sold in one year by the Hudson's Bay Company as long ago as 1743. It is ordinarily caught in wooden traps of simple construction, being little enclosures of stakes or brush in which the bait is placed upon a trigger, with a short upright stick supporting a log of wood, which falls upon its victim on the slightest disturbance. A line of such traps, several to a mile, often extends many miles. The bait is any kind of meat, a mouse, squirrel, piece of fish or bird's head. It is principally trapped during the colder months, from October to April, when the fur is in good condition, as it is nearly valueless during the shedding in summer. It maintains its numbers partly in consequence of its shyness, which keeps it away from the abodes of men, and partly because it is so prolific, bringing forth six to eight young at a litter. Its home is sometimes a den under ground or beneath rocks, but oftener the hollow of a tree, and it is said to take possession of a squirrel's nest, driving off or devouring the rightful proprietor.
The pekan or Pennant's marten, also called fisher marten, though there appears to be nothing in its habits to justify the appellation, is the largest of the group, the head and body measuring from 24 to 30 in., and the tail 14 to 18 in. It is also more robust in form than the others, its general aspect being more that of a fox than a weasel; in fact its usual name among the American hunters is "black fox." Its general colour is blackish, lighter by mixture of brown or grey on the head and upper fore part of the body, with no light patch on the throat, and unlike other martens generally darker below than above. It was generally distributed in wooded districts throughout the greater part of North America, as far north as Great Slave Lake, lat. 63° N., and Alaska, and extending south to the parallel of 35°; but at the present time is almost exterminated in the settled parts of the United States east of the Mississippi. (W. H. F.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] By all old authors, as Ray, Pennant, Shaw and Fleming, the word is written "Martin," but this form of spelling is now generally reserved for the bird (see MARTIN). The word, as applied to the animal here described, occurs in most Germanic and Romanic languages: German, _marder_; Dutch, _marter_; Swedish, _mard_; Danish, _maar_; English, _marteron_, _martern_, _marten_, _martin_ and _martlett_; French, _marte_ and _martre_; Italian, _martora_ and _martorella_; Spanish and Portuguese, _marta_. Its earliest known use is in the form _martes_ (Martial, _Ep._ x. 37), but it can scarcely be an old Latin word, as it is not found in Pliny or other classical writers, and Martial often introduced foreign words into his Latin. Its etymology has been connected with the German "martern," to torment. A second Romanic name for the same animal is _fuina_, in French _fouine_. The term "Marten Cat" is also used.
MARTENS, FRÉDÉRIC FROMMHOLD DE (1845-1909), Russian jurist, was born at Pernau in Livonia. In 1868 he entered the Russian ministry of foreign affairs, was admitted in 1871 as a _Dozent_ in international law in the university of St Petersburg, and in 1871 became lecturer and then (1872) professor of public law in the Imperial School of Law and the Imperial Alexander Lyceum. In 1874 when Prince Gorchakov, then imperial chancellor, needed assistance for certain kinds of special work, Martens was chosen to afford it. His book on _The Right of Private Property in War_ had appeared in 1869, and had been followed in 1873 by that upon _The Office of Consul and Consular Jurisdiction in the East_, which had been translated into German and republished at Berlin. These were the first of a long series of studies which won for their author a world-wide reputation, and raised the character of the Russian school of international jurisprudence in all civilized countries. First amongst them must be placed the great _Recueil des traités et conventions conclus par la Russie avec les puissances étrangères_ (13 vols., 1874-1902). This collection, published in Russian and French in parallel columns, contains not only the texts of the treaties but valuable introductions dealing with the diplomatic conditions of which the treaties were the outcome. These introductions are based largely on unpublished documents from the Russian archives. Of Martens' original works his _International Law of Civilized Nations_ is perhaps the best known; it was written in Russian, a German edition appearing in 1884-1885, and a French edition in 1887-1888. It displays much judgment and acumen, though some of the doctrines which it defends by no means command universal assent. More openly "tendencious" in character are such treatises as _Russia and England in Central Asia_ (1879); _Russia's Conflict with China_ (1881), _The Egyptian Question_ (1882), and _The African Conference of Berlin and the Colonial Policy of Modern States_ (1887). In the delicate questions raised in some of these works Martens stated his case with learning and ability, even when it was obvious that he was arguing as a special pleader. Martens was repeatedly chosen to act in international arbitrations. Among the controversies which he helped to adjust were that between Mexico and the United States--the first case determined by the permanent tribunal of The Hague--and the difference between Great Britain and France in regard to Newfoundland in 1891. He played an important part in the negotiations between his own country and Japan, which led to the peace of Portsmouth (Aug. 1905) and prepared the way for the Russo-Japanese convention. He was employed in laying the foundations for The Hague Conferences. He was one of the Russian plenipotentiaries at the first conference and president of the fourth committee--that on maritime law--at the second conference. His visits to the chief capitals of Europe in the early part of 1907 were an important preliminary in the preparation of the programme. He was judge of the Russian supreme prize court established to determine cases arising during the war with Japan. He received honorary degrees from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Yale; he was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1902. In April 1907 he addressed a remarkable letter to _The Times_ on the position of the second Duma, in which he argued that the best remedy for the ills of Russia would be the dissolution of that assembly and the election of another on a narrower franchise. He died suddenly on the 20th of June 1909.
See T. E. Holland, in _Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation_ for October 1909, where a list of the writings of Martens appears.
MARTENS, GEORG FRIEDRICH VON (1756-1821), German jurist and diplomatist, was born at Hamburg on the 22nd of February 1756. Educated at the universities of Göttingen, Regensburg and Vienna, he became professor of jurisprudence at Göttingen in 1783 and was ennobled in 1789. He was made a counsellor of state by the elector of Hanover in 1808, and in 1810 was president of the financial section of the council of state of the kingdom of Westphalia. In 1814 he was appointed privy cabinet-councillor (_Geheimer Kabinetsrat_) by the king of Hanover, and in 1816 went as representative of the king to the diet of the new German Confederation at Frankfort, where he died on the 21st of February 1821.
Of his works the most important is the great collection of treaties _Recueil des traités, &c._ from 1761 onwards. Of this the first seven volumes were published at Göttingen (1791-1801), followed by four supplementary volumes partly edited by his nephew Karl von Martens (see below). These were followed by _Nouveau recueil_, of treaties subsequent to 1808, in 16 vols. (Göttingen, 1817-1842), of which G. F. von Martens edited the first four, the fifth being the work of K. von Martens, the others (6-9) by F. Saalfeld and (10-16) F. Murhard. A _Nouveau supplément_, in 3 vols., filling gaps in the previous collection, was also published by Murhard (Göttingen, 1839-1842). This was followed by _Nouveau recueil ... continuation du grand recueil de Martens_, in 20 vols. (Göttingen, 1843-1875), edited in turn by F. Murhard, C. Murhard, J. Pinhas, C. Samwer and J. Hopf, with a general index of treaties from 1494 to 1874 (1876). This was followed by _Nouveau recueil, 2me série_ (Göttingen, 1876-1896; vols. xxii.-xxxv., Leipzig, 1897-1908). From vol. xi. on this series was edited by Felix Stork, professor of public law at Greifswald. In 1909 appeared vol. i. of a further _Continuation (troisième série)_ under the editorship of Professor Heinrich Triepel of Kiel University.
Of Martens' other works the most important are the _Précis du droit des gens modernes de l'Europe_ (1789; 3rd ed., Göttingen, 1821; new ed., G. S. Pinheiro-Ferreira, 2 vols., 1858, 1864); _Erzählungen merkwürdiger Fälle des neueren europäischen Völkerrechts_, 2 vols. (Göttingen, 1800-1802); _Cours diplomatique ou tableau des relations des puissances de l'Europe_, 3 vols. (Berlin, 1801); _Grundriss einer diplomatischen Gesch. der europ. Staatshändel u. Friedensschlüsse seit dem Ende des 15. Jahrhunderts_ (ibid. 1807).
His nephew KARL VON MARTENS (1790-1863), who at his death was minister resident of the grand-duke of Weimar at Dresden, published a _Manuel diplomatique_ (Leipzig, 1823), re-issued as _Guide diplomatique_ in two vols. in 1832 (5th ed. by Geffcken, 1866), a valuable textbook of the rules and customs of the diplomatic service; _Causes célèbres du droit des gens_ (2 vols., ibid., 1827) and _Nouvelles causes célèbres_ (2 vols., ibid., 1843), both republished, in 5 vols. (1858-1861); _Recueil manuel et pratique de traités_ (7 vols., ibid., 1846-1857); continued by Geffcken in 3 vols., (1885-1888).
MARTENSEN, HANS LASSEN (1808-1884), Danish divine, was born at Flensburg on the 19th of August 1808. He studied in Copenhagen, and was ordained in the Danish Church. At Copenhagen he was lektor in theology in 1838, professor extra-ordinarius in 1840, court preacher also in 1845, and professor ordinarius in 1850. In 1854 he was made bishop of Seeland. In his studies he had come under the influence of Schleiermacher, Hegel and Franz Baader; but he was a man of independent mind, and developed a peculiar speculative theology which showed a disposition towards mysticism and theosophy. His contributions to theological literature included treatises on Christian ethics and dogmatics, on moral philosophy, on baptism, and a sketch of the life of Jakob Boehme, who exercised so marked an influence on the mind of the great English theologian of the 18th century, William Law. Martensen was a distinguished preacher, and his works were translated into various languages. The "official" eulogy he pronounced upon Bishop Jakob P. Mynster (1775-1854) in 1854, brought down upon his head the invectives of the philosopher Sören Kierkegaard. He died at Copenhagen on the 3rd of February 1884.
Amongst his works are: _Grundriss des Systems der Moralphilosophie_ (1841; 3rd ed., 1879; German, 1845), _Die christl. Taufe und die baptistische Frage_ (2nd ed., 1847; German, 2nd ed., 1860), _Den Christelige Dogmatik_ (4th ed., 1883; Eng. trans., 1866; German by himself, 4th ed., 1897); _Christliche Ethik_ (1871; Eng. trans., Part I . 1873,