MINORCA, 567 MINOT. in which they excel, prochioinj^ very larjjc white eggs. They are hardy, active in luiiitiii^' fur their food, and generally eonmiendahle. A ilinorea cock should weigh eight pounds; a hen six and a half pounds. This breed should be long-bodied and stand high upon strong, slate-black legs; the tomb is larger than that of the Leghorn; the wattles thin and pendulous, and the ear-lobes pure white. Two varieties are recognized — the black and the white. In each ease the color must be alisulutely pure; the comb, face, and wat- tles bright red ; eyes dark hazel or red. See Colored Plate of FowL.s, under Poi'LTRY. MINORITY REPRESENTATION. See CU-MULATIVE VOTI^O : KeI'KESKN'IATION. MINOR PROPHETS. A common designa- tion for a gruup of twelve prophetical books in the Hebrew canon, which in the lOnglish Bible form the close of the Old Testament. It was em- ployed as early as the time of .ugustinc and Ru- iinus, who are careful to explain that its use is occasioned by the brevity of the books and does not characterize their merit or im[)ortance. The corresponding designation, major prophets, is applied to the longer books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezckiel. and Daniel. The Hebrews called this group of writings 'the Twelve' and this nomen- clature was followed by the Greeks. (See the article Bible.) The first reference to the collec- tion is in Ecclns. xlix, 10. a .section probably written in the time of .John Hyrcanus. The books included in the collection, in the order in which they are arranged in the Hebrew Bible, are Rosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Na- lium, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zcchariah, JIalachi. This order is retained in the English Bible. In the Greek version the arrangement is as follows: Hosea, Amos. Jlicali. Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk. Zephaniah, Haggai, Zcchariah, llalachi. Both arrangements no doubt were intended to be chronological. There is a general advance from the Assyrian to the Chalda-an and Persian periods. The three prophets of the Chalda^an period (Nahum, Habakkuk. Zephaniah) and the three of the Persian period (Haggai, Zcchariah, Malachi) are given in the same order. On the other hand, the earlier prophets seem to have formed two groups in the Greek, viz. Hosea, Amos, Micah. and Joel. Obadiah, .Jonah. It is significant that of these six only the first group of three can be assigned to the As.syrian period in the light of modern criticism. It would appear, therefore, that the late books. .Joel. Obadiah, and .Jonah, once were ajipcnded to the others, but subsequently W'ere copied after the prophets of the Assyrian period on account of the reference to .Jonah in II. Kings xiv. 25. The same consideration may have led to the placing of .Jonah before Micah as in the Hebrew recension. For the dates of the books and further information, consult the articles upon the individual books. BiRLiOGR.vpiiY. Many commentaries have been written upon the twelve minor prophets as a whole. The following are the more recent: Rosenmiiller. Prophcttr Miiiorea (2d ed.. Leipzig. 1S27) ; Hitziff, Die zwUlf l,lei»eyi Prophrlm (ih., IS.SS: 4th ed! by Steiner. 1881) : Ewald. Prophr- lm (Ira nifrn Biindrs (Grdtingcn. 1840-41: 2d ed. 1367) : Henderson. Connnrnlnrif on thr Tn'rjrc Minor Prophets (London. 18fiO-fii): Pusey. The Minor Prophets (ib., I860 seq.) ; Keil, Kleine Prophetcn (Leipzig, 186(i; yd ed. 1888) ; Reuss, l.a Bible, vol. ii. (Paris, 1876); Knabcubauer, Conniienlurius in Prophitus Minores lib., 1886) ; Orelli, Kleine Propltelen (Munieli, 1888; 2d ed. 1896) : Farrar, The Minor Prophets, "Men of the Bible Series" (London, 1890); Wellhausen, Die hieinen Prophelen {I'ilcizzen und Vorarbciten. v., Berlin, 1892; lid ed. 1898); Deane, "Minor Propliets" (Pulpit Commentary. London, 189.3) ; George Adam Smith, "The Book of the Twelve Prophets" (Expositor's Bible. London, 1896); Nowack, Die kleinen Prophet en (Gottingcn, 1897). Consult also Robertson Smitli, Prophets of Israel 2d ed., London, 1895). For other works, see the articles upon the different prophets. MI'NOS (Gk. mum). A legendary King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. and brother of Khadamanthus and Sarpedon. In the ordinary version he ajipears as a just and wise ruler, giv- ing to Crete a code of laws received from his father, Zeus. He was also a powerful monarch, establishing the first fleet and clearing the -Egean of pirates. He thus exercised a sway over the Greek coast-lands. After his death his reputa- tion for justice led the gods to make him a judge in the lower world, where with Rhada- raaiithus and -Eacus he passed sentence on the souls of the dead. In contradiction to this char- acter is the group of legends which gather about the Minotaur, where he appears as at fir.st de- priving Poseidon of his due ofTering, the bull sent by the god from the sea in answer to his prayer. From this bull and Pasiphae, wife of Minos, sprang the Minotaur (q.v.), for whose keeping Dsedalus (q.v.) built Minos the Laby- rinth. When his son Androgeos was slain by the Athenians. Minos made war upon them, and com- pelled them to pay the tribute of seven youths and seven maidens to be food for the Jlinotaur, luitil Theseus (q.v.) released them by killing the monster. The cruel character of Minos in this legend led later writers to distinguish two kings, the elder, a son of Zeus, who was just, and his grandson, who was cruel. The recent discoveries of a splendid palace at Cnosus and the evidences of a very powerful and splendid kingdom in Crete during the Mycena'an age warrant the be- lief that the story of Minos contains reminis- cences of an early Cretan supremacy in the .Egean. MITIOT, Charles Seduwick (1852—). An American biologist, born in Roxbury, Mass. He graduated at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1872, studied biidogy at Leipzig and Paris, and completed his studies at Harvard, where he took the degree of S.D. in 1878. In 1880 he became a lecturer in embryology in the Harvard Medical School and an instructor in oral pathology and surgery, and in 1892 was appointed professor of histology aiul embryology. He made important investigations and discoveries in the fields of muscular physiology, respiration, and human embryology. In 1887 he invented the automatic microtome which is now in general use. He w'as president of the American Society of Naturalists in 1894. and of the American Asso- i-i:ition for the .Vdvaneement of Science in 1900. In nrldition to many papers and monographs, his luiblications include llnmnn Enibri/olor)!/ (1892), which has been translated into German and is one of the most valuable works on the subject.
