establish by proof the fundamental points of the theon,'. In an 'In(iuiry into the (Jrigin of Moral Distinctions,' contained in The Fable q/7/(f yiee*-, Mandeville contends that virtue and vice, and the feelings of moral approba- tion and disapprobation, have been created in men by their several governments, for the purpose of maintain- ing society and preserving their own power. Incredi- ble as it seems that such a proposition as this should be seriously put forth, it is yet more so that it should come from one whose professed object was, however strange the way in which he set about it, to promote good mor- als ; for there is nothing in Mandeville's writings to warrant the belief that he sought to encourage vice" {Fnglish Cyclop, s. v.). This book was translated into French, as well as the other writings of Mandeville, and contributed in no small degree to the corruption of French society, and helped forward the sad days of the Revolution. Schlosser (Hist, of the I8th and I9th Cent.) is quite severe on Mandeville. He says that "Mandeville was a man wholly destitute of morality, and without any insight into the nature of man or the coimcction between bodily and mental soundness and well-being." See Life by Dr. Birch ; Blackwood's Magazine, ii, '208, 442; xxvii, 712; Ailibone, Bid. of B?it.a?id A me?: A u- thors, s. v. ; Schrockh, Kirchengeschichte s. d. Ref vi, 204 sq. ; Heiike, Gesch. d. christl. Kirche, vi, 85 sq. (J. H. W.)
Mandeville, Henry, D.D., a (Dutch) Reformed minister, was born at Kinderhook, N. Y., March (!, 1804 ; graduated at Union College in 1826, and at New Bruns- wick Theological Seminary in 1829, and was licensed by the Classis of Albany in 1829. His ministry was chiefly spent in the Reformed Church in the State of New Yorl;, viz., at Shawangunk, 1829-31; Geneva, 1831-34 ; Utica, 1834-41. From 1841 to 1849 he was professor of moral philosophy and belles-lettres in Hamilton College, N. Y. While in this position he published several valuable text-books on elocution and English literature, which evince his thorough scholarship and " aptness to teach." From Hamilton College he was called to the Govern- ment Street Presbyterian Church, Mobile, Ala., whore he died of yellow fever in 1858. Dr. Mandeville was a man of large frame, imposing presence, and cultivated manners. He was a brilliant pulpit orator, a powerful reasoner, a successful preacher and professor, and a faithful pastor. He gloried in the cross of Christ, and devoted all of his fine powers to his work. His i)ub- lished address on the Reflex Influence of Fo7-eign Mis- sions, which was deliverctl before the Society of Inquiry of tlie Theological Seminary at New Brunswick, N. J., in 1847, is a masterpiece of reasoning and eloquence, and a worthy memorial of the author's genius, piety, and zeal. — Personal Recollections ; Corwin's Manual, s. V. ( \V. .1. R. T.)
Mandingo is the name of an African people, the nation of the Wangarawa — according to Barth, com- prising some 6,000,000 or more. Strictly speaking, how- ever, Mandingoes should be termed onl_y the inhab- itants of the most south-westerly territories belonging to the great West African race of the Wangarawa (sing. Wangara), and inhabiting a district extending in lat. from 8 to 12° N., and between the west coasts and the head waters of the Senegal and Niger. Their original seat is said to be Manding, a small mountain country on the eastern sources of the Senegal, whence, partly by conquest and partly by emigration, they have spread themselves over a most extensive tract of country, and now consist of a variety of tribes. They are black in color, tall and well shaiicd, with regular features, and are, generally speaking, a fine race, capable of a high degree of civilization and organization, great travellers, fond of trading, and remarkable for their industry and energy. The language of the Mandingo prevails from the Senegal coast up to Sago on the Niger. A gram- mar of the language was compiled by R. Maxwell Mac- brair (Loud. 1837).
Religious Belief etc. — Of the neighboring nations, the Mandingoes were the first who embraced Islamism.
MANDRA
699
MANDRAKE
The greater portion of them are now ]\roslems, and are zealous propagators of their religion. Those of the Mandingoes adhering to their primitive religion have a very peculiar idea of marriage. With them it is merely a form of regulated slavery, and there is no marriage ceremony observed to evince union (Caille, 7'nici^/f, i, 350). Most generally the female partner is carried from her home by force (Gray, Travels in W. Africa, p. 56). They have also, according to Park (7V«i'(-/i<, i,267),avery peculiar idea of the Deity, whom they regard as "so remote, and of so exalted a nature, that it is idle to imagine the feeble supplications of wretched mortals can reverse the decrees and change the purposes of unerring wisdom." Neither do they have any contidence in any belief in the hereafter, of which they assert that '' no man knows anything about it."
Mandra (sheep/old), a name given to a monastery in the Greek Church. See Akchimanduite.