ESTERS. 224 ESTHER. On the contrary, the saponifying action of bases is at present quite well understood ; at least, it is explained partly by the law of mass-action al- ready mentioned in this sketch, and partly by the theory of electrolytic dissociation. (See Disso- ciation.) The exact manner in which the facts in question are explained by theory cannot be discussed here. The resulting principles, how- ever, may be briefly summed up as follows: The saponifying action of a base is due to the pres- ence of electro-negative hydroxyl inns (OH) in it- aqueous solution. Since, according to the law of mass-action, the rapidity of any reaction in general depends on the amounts of the active substances contained in unit volume, the rapidity of a saponification must depend on the amount of ester and on the amount of the basic hydroxyl ion- present in every unit of volume. The strong- er the base the greater the number of hydroxyl ion- in its solution, and hence the ' greater its saponifying power. If the base is weak (like ammonium hydroxide), its small number of hy- droxyl ions is still further (and very consider- ably) diminished by the presence of one of its salts; hence the presence of such -alls lias a re- tarding effect on the process of saponification, especially in case the base is weak. Further, since a salt necessarily forms during the -aponi- fication (see, for example, the equation repre- senting, above, the saponification of ethyl acetic «ster by caustic potash), the rate of saponifica- tion must be diminished not only by the disap- pearance of the ester and base as such, but also by the formation of the salt and free alcohol, the products of the reaction. The mathematical ap- plication of these principles leads to a method of calculating the rapidity with which a saponifi- cation may take place, if the amounts of ester and base and the strength of the latter are given. The results thus obtained on a purely theoretical basis have, in a large number of cases, been veri- fied by actual experiment, and the agreement of the theoretical and experimental figures has been found remarkably good throughout. ESTHER, es'ter (Heb. Ester; cf. Babylonian lnhtar, ami late Bab. Estra), or Hadassah ( Eeb., myrtle). A biblical character who has given her name to the book of Ksther, which forms part of the collection of the Old Testament. Accord- ing to this book, Esther is a Jewess of tlie tribe of Benjamin. She is represented as the daughter of Abihail, orphaned in early life, and brought up by her cousin Mordecai (Esther ii. 7. 15) in Su-:i. the Persian capital ( ii. :"i). When the King of Persia, Ahasuerus (Xerxes, b.c. 485-65), angered at the refusal of his Queen, Vashti, to unveil herself publicly at a banquet, desired a new queen I i.-ii. -I), Esther was brought to the palace and was chosen in Vashti's place (ii. 8-20). - Queen she accomplished thai for which she has since been famous — the deliverance of her nation from the cruelty of Hainan, thi' King's Prime Minister, and also broughl aboul U ver- throw of Hainan himself (iii.-ix.). In com- inemoration of this deliverance the Jews celebrate Hie Fea -i oi Purim. See Pi rim. iii' t i era] difficult iea im olved in sup |i" in'.' Esther to lime actually been the Queen ni Xerxi H i dotus mentions Amestris a- (be only Queen of Xerxes, and what we know of her not at ill i ;ree with the story of Est her. '"Mi. the Persian kings chose their wives from the principal Persian families, or from the daughters of foreign potentates. Hence it has been supposed that Esther was in reality merely the favorite of the King's harem; but even thi- is unlikely. See Esther, Book of. ESTHER. ( 1 ) A drama by Racine, written at the suggestion of Madame de Maintenon, and founded on the life of the Old Testament person- age of the same name. It was written for the pupils of Saint. Cyr, and was performed by them before Louis XIV. in 1089. (2) An oratorio, the words by Humphreys, based on Racine's play, and the music by Handel. Its first performance took place in 1720. ESTHER, Apocryphal Book of. In the Greek translations of the Hebrew book of Esther there are large interpolations, intended to supple- ment and amplify the story, which became a favorite one with the Jews. The late Greek ori- gin of these additions is indicated by such a de- tail as the representation of Hainan as a Mace- donian who attempted to transfer the sovereignty from the Persians to the Macedonians. These additions, which are the work of Hellenistic writ- ers, were all put by Jerome, in his Latin trans- lation of the Bible, at the end of the book, to- gether with notes to show where other additions to the Hebrew occur in the Septuagint. In Eng- li-h versions, these additions are embodied in the Apocrypha under the title "The Rest of the Chap- ters of the Book of Esther." The additions em- body such subject- a- Mordecai's pedigree, his detection of the conspiracy against Ahasuerus, prayers of Mordecai, full terms of royal decrees, and a fuller account of Esther's interview with the King. In the Aramaic paraphrases of Esther, of which there are two (known as the first and sec- ond Targums to Esther), there are similar em- bellishments, independent of the Greek additions. Such liberties taken with the book, while illus- trating its popularity, despite (or perhaps be- cause of) its peculiar origin, also indicate that it was not regarded as sacred in the same sense as the Pentateuch, the historical books proper, and the Prophets. ESTHER, Book of. One of the very latest of the canonical books of the Old Testament, be- longing to the third division of the collection known as the Hagiographa. It contains the story of the deliverance of the Jews of Persja from a destruction planned for them by Hainan, the Grand Vizier of Ahasuerus (Xerxes, B.C. l s ">- 65). The heroine of the book is a Jewess whose original name is Fladassah, but who appears as Esther. The scene is laid at the court of Aha- "iii . in Susa. The King, who has deposed his Queen, Vashti, for refusing to obey hi- orders, gives direction to seek I'm- a beautiful woman Iii lake Vashti's plaee. Esther, a Jewess, i- selected iis llie fairest "f maidens, and meets with the favor of the King. She is the cousin of Mor- decai, a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, by whom she has been brought up: but. shortly after Es- ther's elevation a greal disaster threatens her people through the refusal of Mordecai to pay I age i" Hainan, the Grand Vizier, and who is a descendant of Agag, King of Amalek (I. Sum. xv.). Hainan in greal anger proceeds to Ahasue- rus, ami. accusing all the Jewish subjects of dis- loyalty, offers to put 10,000 talents of silver into the royal treasury as the proceeds of the per- mission in pillage I be Jew-. The King consents, ami issues an ediei for the extermination of the
