Amoeba

“ Amoeba, a minute animalcule of the simplest structure, being a mere mass of protoplasm; absorbs its food at every point all over its body by means of processes protruded therefrom at will, with the effect that it is constantly changing its shape. ”

“ The simplest Lobosa have no investment, nor indeed any distinction of front or back. In some forms of Amoeba, however, the hinder part is more adhesive, and may assume the form of a sucker-like disc, or be drawn into a tuft of short filaments or villi, to which particles adhere. ”

“ Amœba takes up and digests food composed of organic particles; it has the power of motion; it knows when its body comes in contact with some external object, that is, it can feel or has the power of sensation. Amœba takes in oxygen and gives out carbonic acid gas, and it can produce new individuals like itself, that is, it has the power of reproduction. But for the performance of these various life-processes or functions it has no special parts or organs, no mouth or alimentary canal, no lungs or gills, no legs, no special reproductive organs. ”

“ The single-celled body.—The study of Amœba and Paramœcium has made us acquainted with an animal body very different from that of the toad or the crayfish. These extraordinarily minute animals have a body so simple in its composition, compared with the toad's, that if the toad's body be taken for the type of the animal body, Amœba might readily be thought not to be an animal at all. The body of Amœba is not composed of organs, each with a particular function or work to perform. Whatever an Amœba does is done, we may say, with its whole body. ”

“ One of these single-celled animals is called the amoeba. That is a Greek word that means "change." The amoeba can change its shape whenever it wants to. If you could put on a pair of wings as easily as the amoeba can make feet, you could do what every boy has wanted to do—fly like a bird. Whenever the amoeba wants to move in a certain direction, little legs push out from that side of its body and draw the rest of the amoeba after it. Whenever it wants to go in another direction it draws in these legs and makes legs on the other side. ”

“ It is easy to imagine how Man was evolved from an Amoeba, but we cannot form a plausible guess as to how Veronica agrestis and Veronica polita were evolved, either one from the other, or both from a common form. ”

“ For, in the first place, we can far more readily reproduce under the microscope the normal conditions of their life; and, moreover, these free organisms are often many times larger than the leucocyte. Such free organisms are individual Protozoa, and are called by the general term "Amoebae." A large Amoeba may measure in its most contracted state 1⁄100 in. or 250 μ in diameter, [3] and some closely allied species (Pelomyxa, see p. 52) even twelve times this amount. ”

“ Figures a, b, e, illustrate the “eruptive pseudopods” by means of which this ameba moves. f, a variety or separate species whose ectoplasm is somewhat firmer, and whose posterior end possesses a conspicuous uroid. c, the nucleus found in a, b, e. d, the nucleus found in f.
There is another group of amebas in which the endoplasm is much more fluid than in dubia. To this group belong Amoeba limicola (Figure 5) and Pelomyxa schiedti (Figure 6) . ”

“ The case of amoeba, though it is an elementary case, is at the same time a complicated one. While it remains “amoeboid,” it is never at rest or in equi­lib­rium; it is always moving, from one to another of its protean changes of configuration; its surface tension is constantly varying from point to point. Where the {211} surface tension is greater, that portion of the surface will contract into spherical or spheroidal forms; where it is less the surface will correspondingly extend. ”

“ The village of Moaba is on the east side of the marshy valley of the Movuhi, and very difficult to be approached, as the water is chin-deep in several spots. I decided to make sheds on the west side, and send over for food, which, thanks to the Providence which watches over us, we found at last in a good supply of maëre and some ground-nuts; but through, all this upland region the trees yielding bark-cloth, or nyanda, are so abundant, that the people are all well-clothed with it, and care but little for our cloth. Red and pink beads are in fashion, and fortunately we have red. ”

“ Soon after his ascension Amuba assembled many of the leading men and chief priests in the country, and explained to them the convictions held by himself and Chebron and their wives, that there was but one God who ruled over the world, and that this knowledge was the highest wisdom of the Egyptians. He explained to the priests that he did not wish to overthrow the temples or disturb the worship of the former gods, but that he desired that the people should not remain in ignorance, but should be taught that the gods as they worshiped them were but symbols or images of the one great God. ”

“ This they did, that human kind might not utterly fail: and they bare sons; the son of the elder was named Moab, Which denotes one derived from his father; the younger bare Ammon, which name denotes one derived from a kinsman. The former of whom was the father of the Moabites, which is even still a great nation; the latter was the father of the Ammonites; and both of them are inhabitants of Celesyria. And such was the departure of Lot from among the Sodomites.
Chapter 12Chapter 12 Concerning Abimelech; And Concerning Ismael The Son Of Abraham ”

“ A headman even hailed us, and brought a generous present of corn and pumpkins.
Moemba owns a rich island, called Mosanga, a mile in length, on which his village stands. He has the reputation of being a brave warrior, and is certainly a great talker; but he gave us strangers something better than a stream of words. We received a handsome present of corn, and the fattest goat we had ever seen; it resembled mutton. His people were as liberal as their chief. They brought two large baskets of corn, and a lot of tobacco, as a sort of general contribution to the travellers. ”

“ Don't betray the fugitive! 016:004 Let my outcasts dwell with you! As for Moab, be a hiding place for him from the face of the destroyer. For the extortioner is brought to nothing. Destruction ceases. The oppressors are consumed out of the land. 016:005 A throne will be established in loving kindness. One will sit on it in truth, in the tent of David, judging, seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness. 016:006 We have heard of the pride of Moab, that he is very proud; even of his arrogance, his pride, and his wrath. His boastings are nothing. 016:007 Therefore Moab will wail for Moab. ”

“ The subject is then diversified by an elegant and well-supported comparison, importing that the Moabites increased in insolence and pride in proportion to the duration of their prosperity, [647] ; but this prosperity is declared to be nearly at an end; the destroyer is already commissioned against Moab, and his neighbors called to sing the usual lamentation at his funeral, [648] . The prophet then represents some of the women of Aroer and Ammon, (the extreme borders of Moab) , standing in the highways, and asking the fugitives of Moab, What intelligence? ”

“ The Moobid, before going to meals, recites a prayer, when he places before him fire, holy water, and the Hom, a knotted plant found in the desert. To his care is confided the Zendavesta and the Dessateer, or book of prophecies; whilst the sacred fire is watched over by attendants called Heerhed. Four fasts in each month are ordained to be observed by the Guebres, but at all other times they are at liberty to eat flesh. The flesh of all birds is lawful food for them, excepting that of the cock. ”

“ Moab was more exposed to the inroads of its nomadic neighbours from the wilderness than its sister-kingdom of Ammon. It lay along the eastern shores of the Dead Sea, and was a land of lofty mountains and fertile river-plains. Its wadis were coveted by the tribes of the desert; the well-watered valley of the Arnon attracted more powerful foes. When the Israelites encamped in "the plain of Moab," Balak, the Moabite [pg 110] king, sent in terror to Balaam, the seer of Pethor. He had indeed cause for alarm. The Amorites had already robbed him of the fairest portion of his dominions ”

“ When the prophet had said this, the next day, before the sun-rising, a great torrent ran strongly; for God had caused it to rain very plentifully at the distance of three days' journey into Edom, so that the army and the cattle found water to drink in abundance. But when the Moabites heard that the three kings were coming upon them, and made their approach through the wilderness, the king of Moab gathered his army together presently, and commanded them to pitch their camp upon the mountains, that when the enemies should attempt to enter their country, they might not be concealed from them. ”

“ The national traditions of Israel recognize a close relationship between Moab and Ammon, “sons” of Lot, and the “brothers” Esau (Edom) and Jacob (Israel) , and Moab is represented as already a powerful people when Israel fled from Egypt (Exod. xv. 15) . The detailed narratives, however, give conflicting views of the exodus and the conquest of Palestine. It was supposed that Moab, having expelled the aboriginal giants, was in turn displaced by the Amorite king Sihon, who forced Moab south of the Arnon (Wadi Mōjib, a natural boundary) and drove Ammon beyond the Jabbok. ”

“ For three transgressions of Moab, Yea, for four, I will not reverse it: Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime. 2So will I send a fire upon Moab, And it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; And Moab shall die with tumult, With shouting, and with the sound of the horn; 3And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, And will slay all the princes thereof with him, Saith the Lord. ”

“ Montbarts, calm and gloomy, examined him attentively, while fixing a scrutinizing glance upon him.
At length the Indian succeeded in speaking, though his voice issued from his throat like a whistle.
"Omopoua was a renowned chief among his people," he said; "a Spaniard had degraded him by making him a slave, through treachery, and selling him like a beast of burden: you restore Omopoua to the rank from which he ought never to have descended. It is well, you lose a bad slave, but gain a devoted friend; were it not for you I should be dead—my life belongs to you." ”

“ Moab alone offered any serious resistance. It had preserved its independence ever since the reign of Mesha, having escaped from being drawn into the wars which had laid waste the rest of Syria. It was now suddenly forced to pay the penalty of its long prosperity. Jeroboam made a furious onslaught upon its cities—Ar of Moab, Kir of Moab, Dibon, Medeba, Heshbon, Elealeh—and destroyed them all in succession. The Moabite forces carried a part of the population with them in their flight, and all escaped together across the deserts which enclose the southern basin of the Dead Sea. ”

“ The pale Chief really loves Omopoua. What is the Indian to do on arriving in his country?"
"Omopoua's brothers have sought shelter, I think, in the neighbourhood of the Artibonite?"
"Yes, in the great savannahs to which the French have given the name of Mirebalais."
"Good! Omopoua will go and join his friends; he will tell them in what way the filibusters treat the Caribs: he will present his companion to them, and wait."
"I will wait: the pale Chief, then, is coming to Haiti?"
"Probably," said Montbarts, with a smile of indefinable meaning ”

“ The mountains of Moab are little more than hills rising a few hundred feet above the rolling upland. The so-called mountains of the Abarim are simply the wild, rocky hills and promontories which rise rapidly from the Dead Sea. (47) Seen from across the Dead Sea they have the appearance of mountains. They skirt the eastern side of the lower Jordan [61] and Dead Sea, running eastward nine or ten miles to meet the fields of Moab on the heights. This region corresponds to the wilderness of Judea across the sea on the west. ”

“ How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful rod?
18 Come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst, O dwelling of the daughter of Dibon: because the spoiler of Moab is come up to thee, he hath destroyed thy bulwarks.
19 Stand in the way, and look out, O habitation of Aroer: inquire of him that fleeth: and say to him that hath escaped: What Is done?
20 Moab is confounded, because he is overthrown: howl ye, and cry, tell ye it in Amen, that Moab is wasted. ”

“ Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.
41 Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the LORD.
43 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.
44 He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit ”

“ The people of Aoba are remarkable for their cleanliness, the dwellers on the coast spending half the day in the water, while those from the mountains never miss their weekly bath, after which they generally carry a few cocoa-nuts full of salt water up to their homes. The women are very pretty, slim and strong; their faces often have quite a refined outline, a pointed chin, a small mouth and full but well-cut lips; their eyes are beautiful, with a soft and sensual expression; and the rhythm of their movements, their light and supple walk, give them a charm hardly ever to be found in Europe. ”

“ Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence;
23:015:002 He is gone up to Bajith, and to Dibon, the high places, to
weep: Moab shall howl over Nebo, and over Medeba: on all their
heads shall be baldness, and every beard cut off.
23:015:003 In their streets they shall gird themselves with sackcloth: on
the tops of their houses, and in their streets, every one
shall howl, weeping abundantly.
23:015:004 And Heshbon shall cry, and Elealeh: their voice shall be heard
even unto Jahaz: therefore the armed soldiers of Moab shall
cry out; his life shall be grievous unto him. ”