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none of the true elevation of the tragic art, but only an imitation, sometimes a happy one, of the manner struck out by Corneille. He was a man of a proud and independent character, disdained to flatter the great, and passed much of his life in a condition bordering on poverty. More fortunate circumstances might have given more amenity to his spirit; but, neglected, as he imagined, by mankind, he sought consolation in the company of dogs and cats, which he picked up in the streets (the poorest and most sickly were those which he preferred), and found a species of enjoyment in an irregular manner of living. In 1731, he became a member of the academy. Crébillon died June 17, 1762, at the age of 88. Louis XV erected a magnificent monument to him in the church of St. Gervais, which, however, was never entirely completed till it was removed to the museum of French monuments (aux petits Augustins). Besides the splendid edition of Crébillon's works published by the order of Louis XV, for the benefit of the author, after the successful performance of Catiline (Euvres de Crébillon, imprimerie R. du Louvre, 1750, 2 vols. 4to.), there is another published by Didot the elder, 1812, 3 vols., in both of which, however, six verses are omitted in Catiline, which had been left out in the representation, as applicable to madame de Pompadour.

CRÉBILLON, Claude Prosper Jolyot de, the younger, son of the preceding, born at Paris in 1707, succeeded as an author in an age of licentiousness. By the exhibition of gross ideas, covered only with a thin veil, and by the subtleties with which he excuses licentious principles, Crébillon contributed to diffuse a general corruption of manners, before confined to the higher circles of Parisian society. In later times, the French taste has been so much changed, especially by the revolution, that such indelicacies as are found in his works would not be tolerated at the present day. His own morals, however, appear to have been the opposite of those which he portrayed. We are told of his cheerfulness, his rectitude of principle, and his blameless life. In the circle of the Dominicaux (a Sunday society), he was a favorite, and the caveau where Piron, Gallet, Collé, wrote their songs and uttered their jests, was made respectable by his company. Of his works, the best are-Lettres de la Marquise * * * au Comte de *** (1732, 2 vols., 12mo.); Tanzai et Néadarné (less licentious, but full of now unintelligible allusions); Les Égaremens du Cœur et de

l'Esprit (Hague, 1736, 3 vols.), perhaps the most successful, but unfinished. One of his most voluptuous pieces is Le Sopha (1745, 2 vols.). In the same licentious strain are most of his other writings composed. It is still a disputed point whether he was the author of the Lettres de la Marquise de Pompadour. They are not included in the edition of 1779, 7 vols., 12mo. Crébillon held a small office in the censorship of the press. He died at Paris, April 12, 1777.

CRECY or CRESSY EN PONTHIEU; a town in France, in Somme; 10 miles N. of Abbeville, and 100 N. of Paris; population, 1650. It is celebrated on account of a battle fought here Aug. 26, 1346, between the English and French. Edward III and his son, the Black Prince, were both engaged, and the French were defeated with great slaughter, 30,000 foot and 1200 horse being left dead in the field; among whom were the king of Bohemia, the count of Alençon, Louis count of Flanders, with many others of the French nobility.

CREDIT, in economy, is the postponement agreed on by the parties of the payment of a debt to a future day. It implies confidence of the creditor in the debtor; and a "credit system" is one of general confidence of people in each other's honesty, solvency and resources. Credit is not confined to civilized countries; Mr. Park mentions instances of it among the Africans; but it will not prevail extensively where the laws do not protect property, and enforce the fulfilment of promises. Public credit is founded upon a confidence in the resources, good faith and stability of the government; and it does not always flourish or decline at the same time and rate as private credit; for the people may have either greater or less confidence in the government than in each other: still there is some sympathy and correspondence between the two; for a general individual confidence can rarely, if ever, take place in the midst of distrust of the government; and, vice versa, a firm reliance upon the government promotes a corresponding individual confidence among the citizens. The history of every industrious and commercial community, under a stable government, will present successive alternate periods of credit and distrust, following each other with a good deal of regularity. A general feeling of prosperity produces extension and facilities of credit. The mere opinion or imagination of a prevailing success has, of its own force, a most powerful influence

in exciting the enterprise, and quickening the industry, of a community. The first requisite to industry is a stock of instruments, and of materials on which to employ them: a very busy and productive community requires a great stock of both. Now if this stock, being ever so great, were hoarded up; if the possessors would neither use, let, nor sell it, as long as it should be so withdrawn from circulation, it would have no effect upon the general activity and productiveness. This is partially the case when a general distrust and impression of decay and decline cause the possessors of the stock and materials to be scrupulous about putting them out of their hands, by sale or otherwise, to be used by others; and others, again, having no confidence in the markets, and seeing no prospect of profits, hesitate to purchase materials, or to buy or hire the implements, mills, ships, &c., of others, or to use their own in the processes of production and transportation. This state of surplusage and distrust is sure to be followed by a reduction of money prices; and every one who has a stock on hand, and whose possessions are estimated in money, is considered to be growing poorer and poorer every day. But when prices have reached their lowest point, and begin regularly to rise, every body begins to esteem himself and others as being prosperous, and the opinion contributes powerfully to verify itself. Credit begins to expand; all the stores of the community are unlocked, and the whole of its resources is thrown open to enterprise. Every one is able readily to command a sufficiency of means for the employment of his industry; capital is easily procured, and services are readily rendered, each one relying upon the success of the others, and their readiness to meet their engagements; and the acceleration of industry, and the extension of credit, go on until a surplus and stagnation are again produced. The affairs of every industrious and active community are always revolving in this circle, in traversing which, general credit passes through its periodical ebbs and flows. This facility and extension of credit constitutes what is commonly called fictitious capital. The fiction consists in many individuals being supposed to be possessed of a greater amount of clear capital than they are actually worth. The most striking instance of this fictitiousness of capital, or, in other words, excess of credit, appears in the immense amounts of negotiable paper, that some individuals and companies spread in the community,

or of paper currency, where the issuing of notes for supplying currency by companies or individuals is permitted. Individuals or companies thus draw into their hands an immense capital, and it is by no means a fictitious capital when it comes into their possession, but actual money, goods, lands, &c.; but, if they are in a bad, losing business, the capital, as soon as they are intrusted with it, becomes fictitious in respect to those who trusted them with it, since they will not again realize it. Extensive credits, both in sales and the issuing of paper, in new and growing communities, which have a small stock and great industry, grow out of their necessities, and thus become habitual and customary, of which the U. States hitherto have given a striking example.

CREECH, Thomas, a scholar of some eminence for his classical translations, was born in 1659. He took the degree of M. A. at Oxford in 1683, having the preceding year established his reputation as a scholar, by printing his translation of Lucretius. He also translated several other of the ancient poets, wholly or in part, comprising selections from Homer and Virgil, nearly the whole of Horace, the thirteenth Satire of Juvenal, the Idyls of Theocritus, and several of Plutarch's Lives. He likewise published an edition of Lucretius in the original, with interpretations and annotations. He put an end to his life at Oxford, in 1700. Various causes are assigned for this rash act, but they are purely conjectural. He owes his fame almost exclusively to his translation of Lucretius, the poetical merit of which is very small, although, in the versification of the argumentative and mechanical parts, some skill is exhibited. As an editor of Lucretius, he is chiefly valuable for his explanation of the Epicurean philosophy, for which, however, he was largely indebted to Gassendi.

CREED; a summary of belief; from the Latin credo (I believe), with which the Apostles' Creed begins. In the Eastern church, a summary of this sort was called μánua (the lesson), because it was learned by the catechumens; yoápn (the writing), or Kávov (the rule). But the most common name in the Greek church was opßolλov (the symbol, q. v.), which has also passed into the Western church. Numerous ancient formularies of faith are preserved in the writings of the early fathers, Irenæus, Origen, Tertullian, &c., which agree in substance, though with some diversity of expression. The history of creeds would be the history of the church,

and of its melancholy aberrations from the simple doctrines of Jesus. Into this interesting, but humiliating history we cannot now enter, but must confine ourselves to a rapid view of a few of its most prominent features. Of the earlier creeds, there are three which require particular attention. I. The Apostles' Creed is so called from its having been formerly considered as the work of the apostles themselves. This notion is now acknowledged to be without foundation. When and by whom it was drawn up, is not known. It can only be traced to the 4th century. It contains a profession of belief in the Holy Ghost, in the divinity of Jesus, his descent into hell, and his ascension into heaven, in the resurrection of the body, in life everlasting, &c. II. The Nicene Creed, so called because it was adopted at the council of Nice, A. D. 325, held to oppose the Arian heresy. It therefore contains an explanation of the article of the Apostles' Creed-"I believe in Jesus Christ, the only Son," &c., which is as follows: "The only Son of God, begotten by the Father, that is to say, of the substance of the Father, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten and not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom every thing has been made in heaven and on earth." Macedonius, bishop of Constantinople, having denied the divinity of the Holy Ghost, it became necessary to settle this point, which was done by the council of Constantinople, A. D. 381, who added the words which follow "I believe in the Holy Ghost;" viz. "the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father (and the Son' was afterward inserted by the Spanish bishops), who, with the Father and the Son together, is worshipped and glorified, who spake by the prophets." The insertion of the words " and the Son" was finally sanctioned by the Roman church in 883, but has never been received by the Greek church. III. The Athanasian Creed is now acknowledged not to have been the work of Athanasius (q. v.), whose name it bears. It was probably written in Latin, in the sixth century. In the 10th century, it was generally received in the Western church, and, at the reformation, was adopted by the Protestants. It consists of an introduction and two positions, with their proofs, deductions and conclusions. The introduction declares, that "whosoever will be saved must hold the Catholic faith." The first position then states, "The Catholic faith is this that we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in

Unity, neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance." For (to give briefly the remainder of this position) there are three persons, but one Godhead. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are uncreate, incomprehensible, eternal, almighty, God, Lord; yet there are not three Lords, Gods, almighty, eternal, incomprehensible, uncreated, but one. The Father is neither made, created nor begotten: the Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Ghost is of the Father and the Son, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding; and in this Trinity none is afore or after another; none is greater or less than another. He, therefore, that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity. The second position establishes the doctrine of Christ's incarnation. It is necessary to everlasting salvation, that we believe rightly in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The right faith is, that he is the Son of God, God and man; perfect God and perfect man; yet not two, but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of the manhood into God; one altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. This is the Catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

Besides these creeds, there are numerous Confessions of Faith, which have been adopted by different churches, as standards to which the ministers in the respective communions are required to conform. I. The Greek church (q. v.) presented the Confession of the true and sincere Faith to Mohammed II, in 1453; but in 1643, the Orthodox Confession of the Catholic and Apostolic Greek Church, composed by Mogila, metropolitan of Kiow, was approved with great solemnity by the patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, and for a long time was the standard of the principles of the Russian Greek church: it has been superseded by the Summary of Christian Divinity, composed in 1765, by the metropolitan of Moscow (translated into English, Edinburgh, 1814). II. The church of Rome has always received the Apostles', the Nicene and the Athanasian Creeds; but a public authoritative symbol was first fixed by the council of Trent. A summary of the doctrines contained in the canons of that council is given in the creed published by Pius IV (1564), in the form of a bull. It is introduced by the Nicene Creed, to which it adds twelve articles, containing those doctrines which

the church of Rome finally adopted after her controversies with reformers. III. The Lutherans call their standard books of faith and discipline Libri Symbolici Ecclesia Evangelica. They contain the three creeds above mentioned, the Augsburg Confession (q. v.), the Apology for that confession by Melancthon, the Articles of Smalcalden, drawn up by Luther, the Catechisms of Luther, and, in many churches, the Form of Concord or Book of Torgau. The best edition is by Tittmann (Leipsic, 1817). The Saxon (composed by Melancthon), Würtemberg, Suabian, Pomeranian, Mansfeldtian and Copenhagen Confessions agree in general with the symbolical books of the Lutherans, but are of authority only in the countries, from which they are respectively called. IV. The confessions of the Calvinistic churches are numerous. The following are the principal: 1. The Helvetic Confessions are three-that of Basle (1530); the Summary and Confession of Faith of the Helvetic churches (Basle, 1536); and the Expositio simplex, &c. (1566), attributed to Bullinger. 2. The Tetrapolitan Confession (Strasburg, 1531), which derives its name from the four cities of Strasburg, Constance, Memmingen and Lindau, by the deputies of which it was signed, is attributed to Bucer. It differs from the symbolical books of the Lutherans in the doctrine of the sacraments, and especially in its exposition of the eucharist. 3. The Palatine or Heidelberg Confession was framed at Heidelberg by order of the elector palatine, John Casimir (1575). 4. The Confession of the Gallic Churches was accepted at the first synod held by the reformed at Paris, in 1559. In the following year, it was presented to Francis II, and, in 1561, it was presented by Beza to Charles IX. 5. The Confession of the Reformed Churches in Belgium was drawn up in 1559, and approved in 1561. 6. The Confession of Faith of the Kirk of Scotland. The ecclesiastical discipline and doctrine of the church of Geneva were adopted in Scotland from the beginning of the reformation there. In 1581, the Scotch nation subscribed a General Confession, together with a Solemn League and Covenant to defend the Protestant religion and Presbyterian government. The Scotch covenanters afterwards adopted the Westminster Confession, in the compilation of which some delegates from their general assembly had assisted. In 1688, that confession was received as the standard of the national faith, which all ministers, and the officers of the Scotch uni

versities, are required to subscribe. With this are generally connected the catechisms of their assembly. 7. Confession of Faith of the Anglican Church. In the beginning of the reign of queen Elizabeth, she gave her assent to thirty-nine articles agreed upon in the convocation held at London in 1552. They were drawn up in Latin; but, in 1571, they were revised and subscribed both in Latin and English. They were adopted by the Episcopal church in the U. States in 1801, with some alterations, and the rejection of the Athanasian Creed. The first five contain the doctrines of the Anglican church concerning the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; in the sixth, seventh and eighth, the rule of faith is established; the next 10 relate to Christians as individuals, and the remaining 21 relate to them as members of a religious society. (See Corpus et Syntagma Confessionum Fidei, Geneva, 1612 and 1654; Sylloge Confessionum, Oxford, 1804; ler's Account of Confessions of Faith.)

But

CREEKS, or MUSCOGEES; Indians in the western part of Georgia and the eastern part of Alabama, in the country watered by the Chatahoochee, Tallapoosa and Coosa. The number of warriors is about 6000, and of souls about 20,000. They suffered severely in 1813 and 1814, in the war with the U.States. (See Seminoles). They are accounted the most warlike tribe found east of the Mississippi. Some of their towns contain from 150 to 200 houses. They have made considerable progress in agriculture, and raise horses, cattle, fowls and hogs, and cultivate tobacco, rice and corn.

CREES, or KNISTENAUX; Indians in North America, residing about lon. 105° 12 W.; lat. 55° N. They are of moderate stature, well proportioned, active, have keen black eyes and open countenances.

CREFELD; a city in the Prussian province of Cleves-Berg, with 1543 houses and 16,000 inhabitants, of whom 700 are Mennonites; above 12,000 are manufacturers. The city is built in the Dutch taste. The chief manufactories are of velvet cloth and ribands. The former is made principally in the city, the latter in the environs. Silk goods of various kinds, flannels, woollen stockings, cotton and linen goods, &c., are also made here. Crefeld likewise contains tanneries, sugar refineries, distilleries, manufactories of soap. Of late, it has exported much to America.

CREMNITZ, OF KREMNITZ; a free royal city in Hungary, in Barsch, situated on the side of a hill; 100 miles E. Vienna; lon. 19° 13′ E.; lat. 48° 45′ N.; population, 9700; houses, 1200. It is situated amidst

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lofty mountains, and contains one Lutheran, one Calvinist, and one Catholic church, and a Lutheran gymnasium. It is celebrated for its mines of gold and silver, and is the oldest mining town in Hungary. The situation is elevated, and the air is very cold. The town itself is very small, not containing 50 houses, but the faubourgs are of great extent. The ducats which bear the name of Cremnitz have enjoyed, for a long time, the reputation of very fine gold. They are to be known by the two letters K. B. (Kermecz Banya, Cremnitz mines), between which is the image of the sovereign. Much gold and silver from these mines is coined in Vienna.

CREMONA; a city of the LombardoVenetian kingdom, capital of the province and district, in a beautiful situation. It is about five miles in circumference, and has spacious and regular streets, with several squares, but the houses are in general ill built. Here are 44 churches and chapels, 43 convents, and an obscure university. It is the see of a bishop. The cathedral is a massy structure, with a façade of beautiful white and red marble, ornamented, in the interior, with various paintings and pictures in fresco. The tower of Cremona, built by Frederic Barbarossa, in the 12th century, is a very curious edifice, consisting of two octagonal obelisks, surmounted by a cross, and, in all, 372 feet in height. The silk manufactures of this place are considerable, and it has long been noted for its superior violins. This city is of great antiquity, having been created a Roman colony B. C. 291. The Venetians possessed it a long time; and, under Napoleon, it was, until 1814, capital of the department of Alto Po. Population, 23,000; 38 miles S. E. Milan; lon. 10° 2′ 12′′ E.; lat. 45° 7′ 43′′ N.

CREOLE (from the Spanish Criollo) is the name which was originally given to all the descendants of Spaniards born in America and the West Indies. It is also used for the descendants of other Europeans, as French, Danes, in which case we say, French-Creole, Danish-Creole. Since the native Spaniards have been expelled from the former Spanish American colonies, the term Creole is comparatively little used, in speaking of those parts of America, it being seldom necessary as a term of distinction; but, in speaking of the French, Danish and Spanish possessions in the West Indies, the word occurs more frequently. In the U. States, it is often used for the descendants of the French and Spaniards in Louisiana (many of the latter having

settled there from Spanish America), in contradistinction to Americans, meaning, by the latter term, people born in the other states, or their descendants. In 1776, Charles III, king of Spain, declared the Creoles capable of civil, military, and ecclesiastical offices, from which, till then, they had been excluded. Native Spaniards, however, still continued to have the preference, and the Creoles were treated with the arrogance which too often distinguishes the conduct of the natives of a parent country towards colonists; and the consequence was great exacerbation of feeling on the part of the Creoles. In the West Indies, the Creoles have always enjoyed equal rights with native Europeans. Before the declaration of independence by the colonies of Spanish America, there existed marked lines of distinction.between the different classes, founded on difference of birth. The Chapetones were Europeans by birth, and first in rank and power; the Creoles were the second; the Mulattoes and Mestizoes (descendants of white and black, or white and Indian parents) formed the third class; Negroes and Indians, the fourth. At present, they are all entitled to equal privileges by the constitutions. Some of Bolivar's generals are dark Mulattoes, and Paez is a Llanero. The Llaneros are converted Indians. The native Spaniards formerly avoided associating with the Creoles, and formed the first class. In Venezuela, there existed a kind of Creole nobility, unknown in other parts of South America. They were called Mantuanos, and divided themselves into those of Sangre Azul (blue blood), descendants of the first Spanish conquerors, and those of Sangre Mezclada (mixed blood), Creole families of a later origin, who had intermarried with Spaniards or Frenchmen. The Creoles, in general, before the revolution, were very lazy, leaving the mechanical arts and husbandry altogether to the Mulattoes, Negroes or Indians; and, even now, the mechanics are mostly colored or black persons. The ladies are of a sallow complexion, have beautiful teeth, large, dark eyes, and are, like the men, very finely formed.-Creole dialects are those jargons which have originated from the mixture of different languages in the West Indies. They are spoken by the slaves, who have destroyed the fine grammatical construction of the European languages, and have intermixed with them some original African words. According to the European language which prevails in a Creole dialect, it is called French-Creole, Danish-Creole, &c.