CORPULENCE 159 CORPUSCLE A corps d'armee, or army corps, one of the largest divisions of an army. In the United States it formerly numbered 25,- 000 men, but has now been replaced by a Field Army of two or more divisions under a lieutenant-general. The terra was abolished in the British army in 1906. Corps diplomatique, the body of ministers or diplomatic characters. Corps legislatif (kor la-zhis-la-tef), the lower house of the French legislature in 1857-1870. Its members were elected for six years in the proportion of one to 35,000 electors. CORPULENCE, or CORPULENCY, grossness or fleshiness of body; exces- sive fatness; a state of being loaded with flesh. It is impossible to define exactly the limit beyond which the body can be said to be corpulent, depending, as it does, very much on the general habit and the state of health of the in- dividual. It most commonly takes place after the age of 40, but is not confined to any particular period of life, being found also in childhood and youth. The causes of corpulence are both natural and acquired. There are some persons who have a natural tendency to corpu- lence; in others it may be induced by modes of life, indolent and sedentary habits, and the use of certain kinds of food. The undue accumulation of fat produces a variety of effects, interfer- ing with the vital energies of the body, and incapacitating for exei'tion. The chances of life are not so great among persons of a corpulent habit as among those of a normal condition. All sudden or violent measures to get rid of corpu- lence are attended with harm. Attention to diet, and the avoidance of such articles as tend to generate fat, to- gether with active exercise, and the counteracting of indolent habits, are among the best means that can be em- ployed. CORPUS CHRISTI, city and county- seat of Nueces co., Tex.; on Corpus Christi bay, at the mouth of the Nueces river, and on the Mexican National, the St. Louis, Brovimsville and Mexico, and the San Antonio & Aransas Pass rail- roads, 140 miles S. S. E. of San An- tonio. It is the stock-raising and farm- ing center of the county, and has an ex- tensive fish and oyster-packing business, several daily and weekly newspapers, a Catholic convent, several churches, 2 National banks, etc. Pop. (1910) 8,222; (1920) 10,522. CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, a college of Cambridge University, Eng- land, founded in 1352, when, by reason of the plague, many churches in Eng- land were left without priests. To help meet this need two guilds of Cambridge, St. Mary and Corpus Christi, united to found a college to educate clergymen. The meml^ers of this college held the services in St. Benet's church, hence the college was known as Benet College. In 1827 its official name was changed to Corpus Christi. In the reigns of Henry VIII. and of Elizabeth, the master of the college was Archbishop Parker, to whom it is chiefly indebted for the valu- able collection of monastic records in its possession which were donated to the college upon the dissolution of the mon- asteries. A large and interesting collec- tion of plate is another of its valuable assets. The main building of the col- lege stands practically the same as it did when erected in the 14th century. Among its many distinguished alumni were the dramatists Marlowe and Flet- cher. The college consists of 1 master and 33 fellows, in addition to about 100 undergraduates. CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, a college of Oxford University, England, founded in 1516, when the humanist movement in Europe was at its height. Its foundation and the provisions gov- erning it are notable in the intellectual history of the university. Richard Foxe, Bishop of Winchester, and Bishop Oldham, of Exeter, were the founders. It was the first college in England to break away from the old scholastic tra- ditions and to establish an endowed chair in Greek. It also admitted all members of the university to the lec- tures. For these measures, as well as for the emphasis placed on the humanis- tic studies, it won high praise from Erasmus. Among its many distin- guished graduates were Thomas Arnold, Hooker, and Nicholas Udall, the author of the first English comedy. Its present foundation provides for a president, 14 fellows, 27 scholars, and a number of undergraduates. In 1913 the number of the latter was 89, but the war reduced their numbers considerably. CORPUS CHRISTI FESTIVAL, the most splendid festival of the Roman Catholic Church. It was instituted in 1264, in honor of the Consecrated Host and with a view to its adoration, by Pope Urban IV., who appointed for its celebration the Thursday after the festi- val of the Trinity, and promised to all the penitents who took part in it indul- gence for a period of from 40 to 100 days. The festival is chiefly distin- guished by magnificent processions. In France it is known as the Fete Dieu; in German, as the Fronleichnamsfest. CORPUSCLE, minute solid micro- scopic bodies found in the blood. They
