HEO-PLATONISM 412 NEPOMITK sidered canonically unfit to be conse- crated bishop. NEO-PLATONISM, the name given to an important movement in the Alex- andrian school. G. H. Lewes says that their originality consisted in having em- ployed the Platonic Dialectics as a guide to Mysticism and Pantheism; in having connected the doctrine of the East with the dialectics of the Greeks; in having made Reason the justification of faith; and he concludes that "by their Dia- lectics they were Platonists; by their bheory of the Trinity tney were Mystics; by their principle of Emana- tion they were Pantheists." Neoplaton- ism passed through three periods: (1) That of Ammonius Saccas and Plotinys, in the 3d century; (2) that of Porphyry and lamblichus, in the 4th century; and (3) that of Proclus (412-485). Under Justinian (483-565) the Alexandrian school became extinct. NEPAL (ne-pal'), an independent kingdom of India, on the S. slope of the Himalayas; bounded on the N. by Tibet, on the S. and W. by Bengal, and on the E. by Sikkim; long. 80° 6'— 88° 14' E.; length 500 miles; breadth about 150 miles; area about 54,000 square miles; pop. est. 2,000,000-5,000,000. The N. parts of the State embrace the main range of the Himalayas (q. v.), with its offset spurs, on which stand the great peaks of Everest, Dhawalagiri, etc. On the S. of the State lies the Terai, The intervening territory consists of mountain ridges, embracing several val- leys drained by the Kurnali, Gandak, Kosi, and other rivers. The climate of course varies greatly according to the altitude; the principal valley has a climate like that of southern Europe. The soil is very fertile, in some districts producing three crops in the year. The hillsides are terraced and the land is irrigated. Rice, opium, rape, linseed, to- bacco, and various cereals and pulses are the more important products. Sev- eral minerals, as copper, iron, sulphur, and others exist, but are little worked. The forests contain valuable timber trees. Nepal has extensive trading re- lations with the provinces of British India and with Tibet. The valleys are inhabited by numerous different hill tribes, partly aboriginal, partly of Mon- golian or Chinese descent; but the dom- inant race are the Gurkhas (q. v.), whose ancestors came to the Himalayan slopes from Rajputana in the 12th cen- tury, though it was not till 1769 that they made themselves masters of Nepal. They rapidly subdued the hill valleys to E. and W. of them, and, after a war with China (1789-1792), on account of Tibet, in which the Gurkhas were worsted, and a period of great internal disorder, Nepal came into conflict with the Indian government. War followed; in 1815 Sir David Ochterlony defeated the Gurkha armies in the W., and peace was agreed to; but the treaty not hav- ing been signed by the King of Nepal, a British force, 33,000 strong, ad- vanced in the succeeding year to with- in three days' march of Katmandu, and compelled the Gurkhas to sign the treaty. Since that they have ceased their encroachments on British terri- tory, and during the mutiny voluntarily sent to the assistance of the British a force which rendered useful service in the reduction of Oudh. The real ruler of the country is the prime minister; Sir Jang Bahadur held this office from 1846 to his death in 1877, and was suc- ceeded by his son. But he was slain and supplanted by the head of a rival fac- tion in 1885. Capital, Katmandu; pop. about 50,000. NEPHELINE, or NEPHELITE, a mineral species included by Dana in his unisilicate sub-division of anhydrous sili- cates. It has a vitreous or greasy luster. Crystallization, hexagonal, usually occur- ring in six or twelve-sided prisms, with plane or modified summits. NEPHRITE, a mineral, an aluminous variety of amphibole among the bisili- cates, of a leek-green color, massive, and in rolled pieces, remarkable for its hardness and tenacity. It was for- merly worn as a remedy for diseases of the kidneys. A unisilicate, zoisite, is also spoken of as nephrite, as is jade. All three are capable of fine polish, and have been used since prehistoric times for ornaments, weapon-handles, and even weapons. NEPOMUK, or POMITK, JOHN OF, the patron saint of Bohemia, honored as a martyr of the seal of confession; born in Pomuk, a few miles S. E. of Pilsen, Bohemia, about 1330. Having studied at the University of Prague and taken holy orders, he held various ecclesias- tical offices in Prague, and was ap- pointed confessor to Sophia, wife of King Wenceslaus IV. For refusing to betray to this monarch the confession of the queen John was put to the torture, then tied hand and foot, and flung into the Moldau, in March, 1383. His mem- ory was cherished with peculiar affec- tion by the Bohemian people, and in 1729 he was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII. His memory is celebrated May 16.
