THORACIC DUCT. 246 THORESBY. by the breastplate, thorax). A canal equal in diameter to a goosequill, proceeding from the receptiiculum chyli (into which the contents of the lacteals are collected, and which is situated in the front pf the body of the second lumbar vertebra), which ascends along the front of the vertebral column, between the aorta and ascend- ing vena cava, as high as the fourth dorsal verte- bra : it then inclines to the left, and passing be- hind the arch of the aorta, ascends as high as the seventh cervical vertebra, when it bends for- ward and downward, and empties into the sub- clavian at its junction with the internal jugular vein of the left side, where it is provided with a pair of semilunar valves, which prevent the admission of venous blood into it. It is also pro- vided with other valves on its upward course. This duct is not liable to any special diseases, but if its function of conveying chyle from its source into the general circulation be interfered with. as. for example, by the pressure of a tumor. nutrition is impaired and there is often at the same time an accumulation of chylous fluid in the peritoneal cavity. THORAH. See Torah. THORAX. See Chest. THORBECKE, tOrliek-e, Heinbich { 1837-90) . A German Arabic scholar. He was born at Meiningen, and studied at Munich and Leipzig. He was appointed i)rofessor at Heidelberg (1873) and at Halle (1875). He is especially noted for his knowledge of Arabic poetry. He published: Antarah, ein vorislumitischer Dichter (1867); Al-Bariri's Durrat-al-gawwas (1871); Al- A'scha's Lohgedicht atif Mahammed (1875) ; Ibn Duraid's Kitah al-maWiin (1882); Die Mufad- duU-fat (1885) ; Mihail Sahhag's Orammatik der ariihiM-hen Vnujungssprache in Syrien und Aegyp- ien (1880). THOREAtr, tho'ro or th6-ro', Henry David (1817-02). An American naturalist and author. He was of French and Scotch extraction and was born at Concord, JIass., where his father was a manufacturer of lead pencils. At this trade the younger Thoreau worked at intervals. He gradu- ated from Harvard College in 1837, and was for five or six years engaged in school teaching and tutoring in Concord and in Staten Island, N. Y. Preferring, however, to live a life of contempla- tion, he soon abandoned teaching and proceeded, during the rest of his days, to demonstrate how simply and agreeably a man might live. He was for a time an inmate of Emerson's house, but his most characteristic act was his residence, from July, 1845, to September, 1847. in a hut on the shores of Walden Pond, a beautiful body of water on the outskirts of Concord. Here he lived, doing what little work was necessary to supply the necessaries of life, and devoting the major part of his time to the study of nature and to the society of friends. On leaving Walden Pond, he again became an inmate of Emerson's house, 1847-48, and passed the remainder of his life, after 1849, with his parents and sister at Concord. Dur- ing the entire period at Walden Pond and else- where in Concord, he supported himself by odd jobs of gardening, land surveying, carpentering, etc., but without more exertion than he needed to keep himself in food and clothing. His large amount of leisure time he devoted to the study of nature, to the reading of Greek, Latin, French, and English classical literature, to excursions, to pondering metaphysical problems, and to friendly cliat with his neighbors, by whom he was be- loved. From 1837 till his death he kept a journal, and this furnished the source and basis of his writ- ings, and gave them uniformity of character. Of the ten volumes which comprise his works in the standard Riverside edition (11 vols, with the Familiar Letters of Thoreaii edited by F. B. San- born), but two appeared in his lifetime. The first of these, A Week on the Concord ami Merri- mac Rirers (1849). is the narrative of a boating trip taken in August. 1839: it is full of admirable description and minute observation of nature, not inimingled with divagations into transcen- dental philosophy. The second book records the experiences, physical and moral, of the two years' residence at Walden Pond: Walden, or. Life in the Woods (1854). perhaps his most pop- ular volume, and now recognized as one of the most original and sincere productions in Ameri- can letters and as one of the most genuine of woodland books. It gives a plain unaffected state- ment of the reasons for the author's life as a her- mit, and an admirably specific account of the main details of that life. The other volumes, not nuich different in quality, were posthumously edited from his journal, and are. chiefly: Excur- sions (1803); The Maine Woo4s (1864); Cape Cod (1865); Earhi Spring in Massachusetts (1S81); Siitnmer (1884); Winter (1888); and Autumn (1892). Their publication indicated an increasing interest in Thoreau and a sense of the permanent value of his work — that of a sincere thinker and an observer of nature. The lit- erary quality of the writing was high ; he had a marked gift for style, and wrote with great care and unfailing freshness. His best essays, to be found in the volumes entitled Miscellanies and, Excursions, are perhaps not excelled in Ameri- can literature, whether for substance or for style, and it may be doubted whether the work of any of his contemporaries is wearing so well. His poems are interesting, but occupy a minor place in his writings, which are being increased by such publications as the Essay on Service ('l902). There is a Life by F. B. Sanborn in the "American Men of Letters Series" (1882), and an admirable sketch by Emerson in Bio- graphical Sketches. Channing's suggestive Thoreau, the Poet-Naturalist (1873-1902), biog- raphies by A. H. Japp (1877) and H. S. Salt (1896), and essays by Lowell and Stevenson should also be mentioned; considerable space is given to Thoreau in the histories of American literature, and the list of books specially de- voted to him is growing steadily. THORENBTJRG, to'rcn-bcRirK (Hung. Tor- da). A town of the County of Torda-Aranyos, Hungary, 235 miles east-southeast of Budapest (Map: Hungary, H 3). Its salt mines and baths, still used, were known to the Romans. The modern town has a large manufactory of cellulose. Population, in 1900, 12,117. THORESBY, thorz'bi, Ralph (1658-1725). An English antiquary and topographer, born at Leeds. In 1679 he was left by his father's death in possession of a moderate fortune and the re- sponsibilities of a business, which he somewhat neglected for his antiquarian studies and religious
