THIERS. 228 THIGMOTROPISM. measures for the suppression of the movement. On August 31, 1871, the National Assembly con- ferred upon him the title of President of the Republic, making his term of office three years. Thiers, contrary to the expectations of the monarchical parties, became convinced of the need of a republican form of government, and in November, 1872, sent to the National Assem- bly a message urging the necessity of formu- lating an organic instnuuent of government for the Republic. The Clericals and Monarchists thereupon decided upon his fall, and as the result of a vote of censure passed on the Ministry, Thiers resigned Ma.v 24, 1873. He retired from public life for some time, but in 1876 was elected from Paris to the Chamber of Deputies, exercising his influence to the last in the defense of the Re- public against the plots of the Monarchists. Thiers was perhaps the most influential po- litical leader France has produced. His fig- ure was small, his appearance far from impres- sive, and his early attempts at oratory are said to have been ridiculous, but when he adopted the rapid, incisive style adapted to his personality he became one of the most efl'ective speakers in France. His course as a statesman was guided by an intense love of country bordering on Chau- vinism, and the conviction that the political power should re^se in the hands of the middle class whose interests and tastes he so well represented. His histories are merely brilliant eulogies of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic ideals. He was elected a member of the Academy in 1834. Among the studies and sketches of Thiers may be noted Franck, Vie de M. Thiers (Paris, 1877) ; Mazade, Monsieur Thiers, cinquante annee& d'histnire contemporaine (ib., 1884) : E6musat, A. Thiers (ib., 1889; Eng. trans., Lon- don, 1892) ; Simon, Le f)Ouvernement de M. Thiers, 1871-73 (Paris, 1878; Eng. trans.. New York, 1879) ; Goff, The Life of Louis Adolphe Thiers (trans, from the unpublished manuscript by Theodore Stanton, New York, 1879). THIERSCH, tersh, Friedrich (1784-18G0). An eminent Germiin classical philologist and edu- cator, born at Kirchscheidungen, near Freyburg- on-the-Unstrut, and educated at Leipzig and Got- tingen. In 1808 Thiersch began his career as a teacher in the g^'uuiasium at Gottingen, and in 1809 was called as a professor to the newl.v estab- lished gymnasium in Munich, where by his in- fluence he became the founder of philological studies in Bavaria. The Philological Institute established by him was joined to the universit.v in 1826, when the latter was removed from Landshut to Munich. As a result of his sojourn in Greece, in 1831-32, he published his impor- tant work De Vetat actiiel de la (rrece, etc. ( 1833) . He was also a prime mover in establish- ing in 1837 regular meetings of German philolo- gists and teachers. In 1848 he became president of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. His pub- lished writings include: Oriechische Granimatik (3d ed. 1828); Pi)idar (1820); Ueber die Epochcn der bildcnden Kitiist iinter den Griecheii (2d ed. 1829) ; Allyemeine Aesthetik in akadr- viischen Lehrvortriigen (1846) ; numerous mono- graphs in the Acta philolofiorum Monacensiinn (1811-26) ; and many works on education. Con- sult his biography by his son Heinrich (Leipzig. 1866). THIERSCH, LuDWiG (1825 — ). A German painter, born in Munich. He studied at the Munich Academy and became professor of paint- ing at Athens in 1852. He returned to Germany in 1855. He was engaged bj' the Russian Government to fresco the Church of Saint Nicodemus. Similar commissions he executed for the Greek Church in Vienna, the chapels of the Grand Dukes Nicholas and Michael, and the Protestant Church of Saint Catharine at Saint Petersburg (1860-64). His easel pictures included a "Sakuntala" (1848): "Christ at Gethseniane" (1865) ; and "Christ in the Desert" (1874). THIETMAR, tet'mar, Bishop of Merseburg (975 or 976-1018). A German chronicler of aris- tocratic famil}', related to the Emperor Henry II. Thietmar was educated in the cloister schools at Quedlinburg and Magdeburg, was created in 1002 Provost of Walbeck, shared in the campaign of 1007 against Boseslav of Poland, and in 1009 was made Bishop of Merseburg. He passed the remainder of his life for the greater part at Court and sharing in campaigns against the Slavs. His Chronicon covers in eight books the period from Henry I. (the Fowler) to 1018, and at its close is almost a diary. It is rough and inflated with diction, credulous in narration, but shows an earnest search for truth, and is the principal source of history for the Trans- Elbian Slavic districts during the period it covers. The best edition of the Chronicon is by Kurtz in Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum (Han- over, 1889). It was translated bv Laurent (Ber- lin. 1S4S, and Leipzig. 1892). THIGH. The portion of the lower extremity which extends from the hip to the knee. The nuiscles of the front of the thigh are tensor faseiie femoris, sartorivis and quadriceps exten- sor, the last of which is a powerful group of four muscles (rectus, crureus, and the two vasti) which are inserted below into the patella, or knee-cap, and whose action is to strengthen the knee, thus being a most important factor in the preservation of the erect position and in loco- motion. The muscles of the back of the thigh are biceps, scmitendinosus and semimembranosus, also called the 'hamstring muscles.' Their action is to flex the leg on the thigh, to support the pelvis upon the head of the femur, or thigh bone, and to draw the trunk backward. On the inner side of each thigh is a group of adductor muscles, whose action is to bring the knees together. There is but one bone in the thigh, the femir, which articulates with the pelvis above and with the tibia below. The most important structures of the thigh lie in the triangle of Scarpa (q.v. ). This is bounded above by Poupart's ligament, which is the base of the triangle, internally b.v adductor longus, and externall.y by sartorius. The great femoral arteiy and vein pass through the triangle dividing it into nearly equal parts, the artery giving off here the profunda femoris and the vein receiving the long saphenous. The anterior crural nerve lies to the outer side of the artery. Femoral hernia appears in Scarpa's tri- angle, and not infrequently the extremity of a fistula nnuiing from Potts' disease of the spine appears in this space. THIGMOTROPISM (from Gk. eiyfia, thiqwa. anythim; touched + rpo-rr^, trope, a turning, from rpcTcn; trcpein, to turn). The sensitive-
