Chapter New Jerusalem to Nibelungen-Lied of N by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

New Jerusalem to Nibelungen-Lied

New Jerusalem The paradise of Christians, in allusion to Rev. xxi.

New Man The regenerated man. In Scripture phrase the unregenerated state is called the old man (q.v.).

New Style The reformed or Gregorian calendar, adopted in England in September, 1752.

New Testament The oldest MSS. extant are:- (1) The Codex Sinaiticus, published at the expense of Alexander II. of Russia since the Crimean war. This codex contains nearly the whole of the Old and New Testaments, and was discovered in the convent of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai, by Constantius Tischendorf. It is ascribed to the fourth century. (2) The Codex Vaticanus (B), in the Vatican Library. Written on vellum in Egypt about the fourth century. (3) The Codex Alexandrinus (A), belonging to the fifth century. It was presented to Charles I. in 1628 by Cyrillus Lucaris, Patriarch of Alexandria, and is preserved in the British Museum. It consists of four folio volumes on parchment, and contains the Old and New Testaments (except the first twenty-four chapters of St. Matthew) and the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians.

New World America; the Eastern Hemisphere is called the Old World.

New Year's Day January 1st. The ancient Romans began their year in March; hence such words as September, October, November, December, meaning the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th month, had a rational meaning. Since the introduction of the Christian era, Christmas Day, Lady Day, Easter Day, and March 1st have in turns been considered as New Year's Day; but since the reform of the calendar in the sixteenth century, January 1st has been accepted as New Year's Day, because it was the eighth day after the Nativity, when Jesus was circumcised (Luke ii. 21). (See New Style .)
    The civil and legal year began March 25th till after the alteration of the style, in 1752, when it was fixed, like the historic year, to January 1st. In Scotland the legal year was changed to January 1st as far back as 1600; the proclamation was made Nov. 27, 1599.

New Year's Gifts The Greeks transmitted the custom to the Romans, and the Romans to the early Britons. The Roman presents were called strenae, whence the French term étrenne (a New Year's gift). Our forefathers used to bribe the magistrates with gifts on New Year's Day- a custom abolished by law in 1290, but even down to the reign of James II. the monarchs received their tokens.
   N.B. Nonius Marcellus says that Tatius, King of the Sabines, was presented with some branches of trees cut from the forest sacred to the goddess Strenia (strength), on New Year's Day, and from this happy omen established the custom.

News The letters N E W S used to be prefixed to newspapers to show that they obtained information from the four quarters of the world, and the supposition that our word news is thence derived is at least ingenious; but the old-fashioned way of spelling the word, newes, is fatal to the conceit. The French nouvelles seems to be the real source. (See Notarica .)

“News is conveyed by letter, word, or mouth,
And comes to us from North, East, West, and South.”
Witt's Recreations.

Newcastle (Northumberland) was once called Moncaster, from the monks who settled there in Anglo-Saxon times; it was called Newcastle from the castle built there by Robert, son of the Conqueror, in 1080, to defend the neighbourhood from the Scots.
   Newcastle (Staffordshire) is so called from the new castle built to supply the place of an older one which stood at Chesterton-under-Line, about two miles distant.
   Carry coals to Newcastle. A work of supererogation, Newcastle being the great seat of coals. The Latins have “Aquam mari infundere” (“To pour water into the sea”); “Sidera coelo addere” (“To add stars to the sky”); “Noctuas Athenas” (“To carry owls to Athens,” which abounds in them).

Newcastle Programme (See People's Charter .)

Newcome (Colonel). A character in Thackeray's novel called The Newcomes.