body of the pastors, is above the possibility of error; consequently, also, the councils are infallible, because the councils, according to a Catholic writer, "do not make truths or dogmas, as some Protestants maintain, but merely express the belief of the church on certain points in question:" the truth pronounced, therefore, always existed, but had not been previously declared by the church. From several passages in the Bible, the Catholic infers that the above-mentioned tradition and the councils are under the continual guidance and influence of the Holy Ghost: hence the formula so often repeated by the council of Trent, the last general council of the Catholic church-"the holy council lawfully assembled under the guidance of the Holy Ghost." It is clear, that, if the councils are infallible, it is of the utmost importance for the Catholic to know what are lawful councils. This is a point which, as may be easily conceived, has created great discussions in the Catholic church, because the popes claimed the sole right to convoke councils. (See Council.) So far all Roman Catholics agree respecting infallibility, namely, that Christ, the apostles, the body of the pastors, the traditions of the church, and the councils, are infallible; but they disagree respecting the infallibility of the pope. The ultramontane theologians maintain that the pope is infallible, whenever he pronounces dogmatically on a point of doctrine, to settle the faith of the whole Catholic church. These theologians are therefore called infallibleists. The theologians of the Gallican church do not admit this infallibility. The assembly of the French clergy, in 1682, laid down the maxim, “that in questions of faith, the sovereign pontiff has the chief part, and that his decrees concern the whole church; but that his judgment is not irreformable, until it be confirmed by the acquiescence of the church." Bossuet, in his Defensio Declarat. Cleri Gallic., 2d part, l. 12 seq. has treated this point at length. He maintains, that the pope is by no means infallible, and that a papal decision is not to be considered infallible until the church acquiesces in it, which, he admits, may be done, in general, silently.-In politics, the word infallible is used in a different sense. The position that any political person, or body, is infallible, only means, that there is no appeal from such person or body. When the English public law declares that the king can do no wrong, every one knows that this is merely a political fiction. But the genuine supporters of di

vine right believe in a somewhat more real political infallibility of kings.

INFANT, in law. By the English, and generally by the American, and so by the French law, persons come to majority at the age of twenty-one years, until which time they are called in law infants, and are under guardianship or tutelage. The laws of some of the U. States, howeyer, make a distinction between males and females, the age of eighteen being that of majority in females. Infants cannot, in general, bind themselves by contracts, as they are supposed not to have sufficient discretion for this purpose. But this is their privilege, and their contracts are accordingly held in general not to be void, but only voidable at their election; and they may elect to avoid their contracts during their minority, but they cannot confirm them so as to be bound by them, until their majority. Infants may possess property, but it must be under the management and control of a guardian. They have not the right of citizens as to voting, and discharging other political functions. But in regard to crimes and punishments, and trespasses and private wrongs, their conduct is regulated by the same laws as that of the other members of the community, in case of their being of sufficient age and discretion to understand their duties and obligations. And for this purpose no general limit can be assigned, as some children are much more intelligent than others of the same age; and it will again depend, in some degree, upon the nature of the offence committed, or the wrong done, whether a child of any given age can be considered legally guilty of it, since some offences and wrongs can be more easily understood to be such than others. The law, in general, has a tender regard to youth, and does not permit them to be convicted and punished for offences and trespasses, unless it appears clearly that they have sufficient knowledge and discretion to distinguish them to be such.-There are exceptions to the incapacities of minors as to contracting, and these exceptions are made for their benefit.

Thus an infant not sufficiently furnished with necessary clothes, food or instruction, by his parent or guardian, and not being under the immediate superintendence of the parent or guardian, may make a valid contract, in respect to those subjects, and such contract may be enforced against him. Another exception to the general incapacity of infants to contract, relates to the contract of marriage, which, by the law of England and

the U. States, may be made by a male at the age of fourteen, and by a female at that of twelve. The French code fixes the age for making a valid marriage contract, in the case of the male, at eighteen, and in that of the female at fifteen. And as the law gives validity to the principal contract, the prevalent doctrine, though subject to some doubt as to the extent of its application, is, that all contracts collateral and incidental to that of marriage, such as making marriage settlements by the husband, and accepting them instead of dower by the wife, are equally binding on both of the parties, being of age to contract marriage, and, accordingly, not subject to be revoked either before or after coming to the age of majority. If, however, one party be under the age at which a contract of marriage may be made, he or she may, on arriving at such age, either ratify or annul any such contract previously made. The jurisdiction in respect to infants is generally vested in either probate or orphans' courts, in the U. States. These courts appoint guardians to take charge of the property of infants, and, in case of the decease of the father, to take charge of their persons; but, during the life of the father, he has the guardianship and control of the persons of his sons until they are twentyone years of age, and of his daughters until they are either eighteen or twentyone. At a certain age, however, that is, twelve or fourteen, the child, in case of the decease of the father, may choose his own guardian, who, being approved by the proper judge, is appointed accordingly. (See Infante.)

INFANT SCHOOLS. (See Schools.) INFANTADO, duke of, a Spanish grandee of the first class, born 1773, was educated in France, under the eye of his mother, a princess of Salm-Salm. In the war of 1793, he raised a regiment in Catalonia at his own expense. The prince of the Asturias formed an intimate union with him, because the duke showed an aversion to Godoy, the king's favorite. Godoy therefore obtained an order, in 1806, for the duke to leave Madrid. He became, in consequence (1807), still more intimately connected with the prince (see Ferdinand VII), who appointed him, in case of the death of the king, captain-general of New Castile. This appointment involved him in the affair of the Escurial; the attorneygeneral of the king demanded sentence of death against the duke and Escoiquiz; but the popular favor towards him, and

the intercession of the French ambassador Beauharnais, prevented the sentence. In 1808, the duke accompanied Ferdinand VII to Bayonne. July 7, 1808, he signed the constitution prepared by Napoleon, at Bayonne, for Spain, and became colonel in the guards of king Joseph; but he soon after resigned his post, and summoned the nation to arm against the French, and was consequently denounced as a traitor by Napoleon, Nov. 12, 1808. In 1809, he commanded a Spanish division, but was twice defeated by Sebastiani; and, notwithstanding his courage, he lost the confidence of the supreme junta, who deprived him of his command. He then retired to Seville. In 1811, the cortes appointed him president of the council of Spain and the Indies, and ambassador extraordinary to England. In June, 1812, he returned to Cadiz. From hence he went to Madrid, after the French had been driven from that capital, in 1813, but was obliged to withdraw from that city, by the command of the junta, as one of the chiefs of the Servile party (los serviles). Ferdinand VII, however, recalled the duke, made him president of the council of Castile, and treated him with distinguished favor. On the establishment of the constitution in 1820, he resigned his place, and retired to his estate near Madrid, but was banished to Majorca. In 1823, he was appointed president of the regency which was established by the French at Madrid during the war. In August, he went with Victor Saez to Puerto Santa Maria, to resign the government into the hands of the king, who

made him a member of the council of state. The duke formed the plan for the organization of the regiments of guards, and obtained for the king (1824) the sum of 100,000 florins, for his journey to Aranjuez. In October, 1825, he succeeded Zea as first minister, and changed Zea's deliberative junta into a council of state; but the machine of state, which the apostolic party checked in its course, could not be put effectually in motion. The duke contributed 500,000 francs, the amount of his income for one year, to the necessities of the state, and in October, 1826, obtained his discharge.

INFANTE, or INFANT (a word derived from the Latin, signifying child); the title given, particularly in Spain and Portugal, to the princes of the royal house, the eldest being also called el principe. The princesses at these courts are called infanta, the eldest also la princesa.

INFANTRY.* If cavalry (q. v.) are to be called l'arme du moment, the great work of the battle is to be performed by the infantry, which composes the greatest part of an army, and is, in point of character, the most important part, because it can be used every where in mountains, on plains, in woods, on rivers, and at sea, in the redoubt, in the breach, in cities and fields, and, depending only on itself, has a great advantage over the two other classes of troops, who, depending, in a great measure, for their efficiency on the strength and the will of brutes, are far less fitted to endure deprivation, and a noxious climate, to contend with the snows of Russia, or the deserts of Egypt. The infantry are preeminently the moral power of armies; and on no class of troops has a general, who knows how to act on his soldiers, such influence. Footsoldiers were armed, in old times, with a spear, sometimes with a sword, arrows, lance and sling; at present, with a gun and bayonet, which is generally accompanied with a sword. Sometimes, but rarely, they are armed with pikes. Some foot-soldiers, in most armies, have rifles, generally so constructed that the rifleman may put his short sword on the rifle, to be used as a bayonet, though this has proved of no great service. The sword given to foot-soldiers, in almost all armies, is of but little advantage, and is generally intended principally for ornament, to complete the soldierlike look, rather than to be used in fighting. It serves, how ever, for cutting branches, to be used in cooking and building huts; but swords might be given to foot-soldiers, similar to the sailors' cutlasses, which would answer all these purposes, and also the chief endto fight. (See Cutlass.) They ought always to have a sufficient guard for the hand. The foot-soldier has no defensive covering, or very little. The greatest is his mantle, rolled up, and worn on one shoulder by the Prussian and Russian troops. The helmet or cap protects the head, and epaulettes (q. v.) are sometimes

⚫ Though the word is immediately derived from the Italian infanteria and funteria, it is primarily of German origin. We find still, in the dialect of Lower Saxony, Fant and Vent, signifying a young, unmarried man, and, in a more extended meaning, a servent, a soldier on foot. The Icelandic fant, Italian fante, Danish fiant, Swedish fante, have the same meaning with the Low-Saxon Vent, and are, no doubt, connected with the Latin infans. With the prefixed sibilant, this root became, in Anglo-Saxon, swein, in English swain, in Danish suend (a youth employed in country service, a young lover).

The

used to protect the shoulders. The thick cue, with wire in it, has sometimes been considered a defence to the neck. Infantry is divided into light infantry and that of the line. The latter forms the great mass, which is intended to fight in line, to decide attacks by the bayonet, to make assaults, and is itself again divided into grenadiers (q. v.) and musketeers. light infantry is particularly intended to serve in the outposts, to act as sharpshooters, to make bold expeditions, and harass and disquiet the enemy. It includes the riflemen. The light infantry form from the 30th to the 60th part of an army. The character of military operations, however, has changed of late so much, that, in a good army, it is necessary that the infantry of the line should take part readily in the light service, and the light infantry be ready to fight in the line, from which the riflemen only are excepted. These are only used as sharpshooters. In some armies, there are, besides the riflemen, whole regiments of light infantry; in others, as in the Prussian army, each regiment has two battalions of infantry of the line, and one battalion of light infantry; in others, as in the French, each battalion has its grenadiers and tirailleurs (sharpshooters). Infantry is divided into battalions (q. v.), these into companies, these into platoons. Several battalions, two or three, sometimes four and five, form a regiment. The tactics of infantry admit three different modes of arranging this species of troops in battle-1. in line, when they are drawn up in line two or three men deep, an order very rarely, if ever, used at present; 2. in column, when several lines, three or two men deep, are drawn up one behind the other (see Column, in Tactics, and Square); 3. in dispersed order. (See Sharpshooters.) The excellence of infantry depends on their good order in advancing and retreating, perfect acquaintance with their exercises and duties, in a just application of their fire, and great calmness both in assaulting and when assaulted in the square, which is acquired by experience. As long as the infantry remain calm, the general need not lose hope; but all is to be feared when they are disordered, whether through ardor or fear. In countries affording horses, men always prefer, in the early periods of society, to fight on horseback, and civilization only gives more importance to infantry. Where foot-soldiers exist, at this early period, together with cavalry, they are considered of inferior consequence.

The Hebrew

army, however, consisted, for a long time, of infantry only. (See Cavalry.) The Egyptians, likewise, seem to have used cavalry little. With the Asiatics, besides the use of infantry and cavalry, princes and noblemen fought on chariots. The infantry was the part least esteemed, and, with the Persians, consisted of the heavyarmed, the slingers and archers. Probably this was one reason of the victories of the Greeks over the Persians, as they had cultivated infantry more, and had given up the chariots, described by Homer as common in the Trojan war. Even their kings and generals fought on foot. They had both heavy and light infantry. The Greeks were conquered, in their turn, by an improved form of infantry, the columns of Philip of Macedon, which also enabled his son Alexander to conquer the Persians. With the Romans, infantry was the strength of the armies. Their le gions, consisting mostly of infantry, conquered the world. With the ancient Germans and Gauls, also, infantry was considered very important; but when, in the great migration of nations, the Huns, and other Mongolic tribes, arrived in Europe, on small and fleet horses, and carried victory with them, spreading the terror of their arms far and wide, and when the Franks in Northern Spain became acquainted with the Moors, who came from Arabia, and the plateau of Asia, on beautiful horses, cavalry was considered as more important. When the feudal system was developed, the horse, of course, was more agreeable to the adventurous knight, than the foot service. The crusades, where the Europeans were obliged to fight with the fine cavalry of the Seljooks, favored this tendency still more. Infantry fell into total disrepute, and consisted of the poorer people, who cared little in whose service they fought, in those times of violence and oppression, when a change of rulers made no change in their sufferings; and no reliance could be placed upon them. Among those people who were not in feudal bondage, and fought for the defence of their own liberty, infantry maintained its old importance, as with the Swiss, on several occasions in the 14th and 15th century; and the penetrating Machiavelli, who burned to free his country from its numberless foreign and native tyrants, saw the great value of infantry, and urged its establishment upon a respectable footing. The invention of gunpowder changed the whole art of war, and brought infantry again into repute. (See Army.) The Swedish infantry, in

the thirty years' war, was excellent. The arrangement became, in the course of time, more judicious, and all unnecessary manoeuvring was avoided. The Austrians, at this time, employed soldiers from their Turkish frontiers-the Croats and Pandoors, semi-savages-as a sort of irregular light infantry; and other armies had troops of a similar character; but they were so rude and disorganized, because their warfare was little better than legalized robbery, that Gustavus Adolphus would not admit them into his forces; but Frederic the Great again established free corps (q. v.) during the seven years' war. Infantry remained without much change in the 18th century. Prince Leopold of Dessau, during this time, first introduced, in the Prussian army, the iron ramród, the lock-step, and several other improvements. The bayonet having been invented already in the middle of the 17th century, came more and more into use, and enabled the squares to resist the cavalry; but a great change in the use of infantry took place towards the end of the 18th century, when, in the American war of independence, the people, being obliged to contend, without discipline, against well trained troops, adopted the irregular mode of fighting, protected by trees or other objects, being, at the same time, mostly skilful marksmen. The efficiency of this method of fighting was evident; and when, in 1791, the French revolutionary war began, the French sent swarms of tirailleurs against the allies, and injured them exceedingly. In the wars from 1791 to 1802, the French greatly improved this way of fighting, which, in the interval of peace that followed, was reduced to a system, the consequences of which were seen in 1805, 1806, and 1807, against the 'Austrians, Prussians, and Russians. These nations, after the disasters which they suffered, adopted the same system, as well as the greater use of columns, particularly as the ordinary mode of arranging the troops before they came into the fire. Under equal circumstances, well trained infantry is almost uniformly successful against any other kind of troops.

INFERIE, in Roman antiquities; sacrifices offered to the infernal deities for the souls of the departed. Some writers have thought that they are the origin of the exequies of the Catholic church.

INFERNO (Italian for hell); the name of the first part of Dante's grand poem. (See Dante.)

INFINITESIMALS. (See Calculus.)

INFINITIVE; the indefinite mode, in which the verb is represented without a subject. As the verb expresses an action, or a state, it generally belongs to a subject whose action or state is expressed; but if we wish to express the mere idea of this action or state, we use the infinitive, which therefore, in many languages, is employed without further change, as a substantive for instance, in Greek and German-only preceded by the neuter article; but, as the verb expresses an action or state, under certain conditions of time, the infinitive can also express the action or state in the present, past or future, though these conditions are not expressed in all languages by peculiar forms; nay, some languages have not even a peculiar form for the infinitive present, and must express it by some grammatical contrivance, as is the case in English. (See Verb.)

INFLAMMATION OF THE INTESTINES. (See Enteritis.)

INFLEXION, POINT OF, in the theory of curves; that point in which the direction of the curve changes from concavity to convexity, and vice versa. It is particularly called punctum inflexionis, at the first turning, and punctum regressionis when the curve returns. These points are of much interest in the theory of the functions.

INFLUENZA (Italian, influence); a term used in medicine to denote an epidemic catarrh which has, at various times, spread more rapidly and extensively than any other disorder. It has seldom occurred in any country of Europe, without appearing successively in every other part of it. It has sometimes apparently traversed the whole of the Eastern continent, and, in some instances, has been transferred to America, and has spread over this continent likewise. The French call it la grippe. In all the known instances of its occurrence, from the 14th century, its phenomena have been pretty uniform, and have differed little, except in severity, from those of the common febrile catarrh. In 1802, such an influenza attracted universal attention. In February, it set out from the frontiers of China, traversed all Russia, extended along the Baltic, to Poland and Denmark; reached Germany and Holland in April and May, and France and Spain in June. It could even be followed to Gibraltar. No sex, age or state of health was exempted. It showed itself chiefly as a severe cold, attended with a catarrhal fever of a more or less inflammatory or bilious character.

Generally, it passed over within a few days, yet, in some places, it gave a check to business. Few persons died of it, except those who were afflicted at the same time with other diseases, but almost every one was attacked. G. F. Mort, a German physician, attempted to prove that Europe suffered periodically from the influenza. He maintained that, during the greater part of the period which had elapsed since 1712, this epidemic had visited Europe, at intervals of about 20 years, and still more frequently in the early part of the period. Accordingly, he prophesied a new one for 1820, which, however, did not happen.

INFORMER. To encourage the_apprehending of certain felons, divers English statutes of 1692, 1694, 1699, 1707, 1720, 1741 and 1742, granted rewards of from 10 to 50 pounds sterling, to such as should prosecute to conviction highwaymen, counterfeiters, and thieves. These acts were passed at the time of the troubles in Great Britain, occasioned by the risings of the Jacobites, when, with the increase of political criminals, the number of private offenders was thought to be increasing also. By the law of 1699, besides the £40, an immunity from all parish offices (overseer of the poor, churchwarden, &c.) was allowed to any person who should prosecute to conviction a felon guilty of burglary, horse-stealing, &c. The Tyburn tickets (as the certificates of exemption were called) could be sold, as the first was of no use to a man who received a second, and were actually sold in large cities, like Manchester, at high prices (from 250 to 300 pounds sterling). The amount of the rewards (without including the Tyburn tickets), in the 40 counties of England, for 1798, was £7700, and, in 1813, it had risen to £18,000. The abuses which originated from this system were horrible. The police officers made a trade of it, by seducing poor, ignorant persons, chiefly foreigners, to crimes (principally the issuing of counterfeit money), in order to gain the reward by prosecuting them for the offence. A certain McDaniel confessed (1756) that he had caused, by his testimony, 70 men to be condemned to death. He was brought to the bar with two others, but the people, fearing they were to be acquitted, treated them with such violence, that they were killed on the spot. In 1792, a similar case happened, in which 20 men had become the victims of an informer. A more recent case, in 1817, excited greater indignation. Four