240 NESTOR been under Alexander. Nesselrode's policy having always been marked by moderation and caution, the hostile attitude assumed toward Turkey soon after the accession of Nicholas was attributed rather to the emperor than to his minister ; while the skill which the latter manifested in the negotiations, from those which preceded the battle of Navarino to the peace of Adrianople, contributed to strengthen the political influence of Russia. In 1844 he was promoted to the rank of chancellor of the empire. From that time his influence con- stantly increased. His administration, distin- guished for unity of spirit and perfect mech- anism, was weakened by his inflexible adhe- rence to the policy of the holy alliance, but tempered by his desire of maintaining friendly relations with France and the other Europe- an powers. This peaceful disposition clashed with the impetuous character of Nicholas, par- ticularly during the complications which led to the Crimean war ; and although Nesselrode continued to conduct the foreign affairs du- ring the lifetime of Nicholas and while the war was in progress, he retired soon after the accession of Alexander II. Throughout his official career he was noted for kindness to- ward his subordinates. Conspicuous among his personal habits was his fondness for cook- ing; in his daily consultations his cooks are said to have had the precedence over all others, and the invention of many dishes is attributed to him, among which is the pudding d la Nes- selrode. His only son is now one of the " mas- ters of the court " at St. Petersburg. NESTOR, a legendary Grecian hero, son of Neleus and Chloris, and king of Messenian or of Triphylian Pylos. Previous to going to Troy he had taken part in wars with the Ar- cadians and Eleans, and in the conflict of the Lapithsa with the Centaurs; and he is also enumerated among the Calydonian hunters and the Argonauts. He went to Troy with 60 ships, at a great age, having ruled three gen- erations of men, and during the siege figured as soldier, councillor, and orator ; his superior wisdom was appealed to in all dissensions among the Grecian commanders. In the fa- mous quarrel between Agamemnon and Achil- les, he effected their reconciliation. He re- turned home in safety after the fall of Troy. NESTOR, the earliest Russian chronicler, born about 1056, died about 1114. In the 17th year of his age he entered the Petcherskoi convent of Kiev, where he wrote his annals of Russia, commencing with the first appearance of the Varangians in that country about the middle of the 9th century, and bringing the history down to his own times, various events of which he described from personal observa- tion. He wrote in the old Slavic church dia- lect, and both as regards the language and the contents the original work has been consider- ably altered by the modifications and interpo- lations of various continuators, so that the real merits of Nestor can hardly be ascertained. NESTORIANS The best edition of the text is that by Byk- koff, chief librarian of the imperial library (St. Petersburg, 1873). The principal translation and critical illustration of the text are by Schlozer, Nestors RussiscJie Annalen, &c. (5 vols., Gottingen, 1802-'9). NESTORIANS, a sect of early Christians, so called after Nestorius, bishop of Constanti- nople in the 5th century. (See NESTOEIUS.) They claim a still earlier origin, ascribing their conversion to the preaching of the apostle Thomas. According to a very common tradi- tion, they are also of Jewish descent, claiming that their ancestors came from Ur of the Chal- dees, and from the loins of Abraham; hence they sometimes call themselves Chaldeans. The council of Ephesus (431), which condemned and banished Nestorius, declared the true sense of the church to be that Christ consists of one divine person, yet of two natures, not mixed and confounded, although intimately united, forming what is known to theologians as the hypostatical union. But this definition did not end the controversy. John, bishop of Antioch, and several other eastern prelates, held another council at Ephesus, and issued a severe sen- tence against Cyril of Alexandria ; and though a reconciliation was effected between John and Cyril in 433, the disciples of Nestorius con- tinued to propagate his doctrines throughout the East. Before the close of the 6th century his followers were numerous in most coun- tries of the East, penetrating even to India, Tartary, and China. The Nestorian church had patriarchs a part of the time at Babylon, but occupying successively the cities of Seleu- cia, Ctesiphon, Bagdad, and Mosul. Schools for the training of their clergy and mission- aries were established at Edessa, Nisibis, Se- leucia, Bagdad, and many other places. They were almost from the first divided among them- selves, and at various synods adopted doctrines, such as the existence of two distinct per- sons in Christ as well as two distinct natures, which it is not agreed that Nestorius himself ever taught. A portion of them adhered to the Monophysite heresy. (See CHRISTIANS OF SAINT THOMAS.) The Nestorians were espe- cially strong in Persia, where at one time they were the dominant sect. But in consequence of dissensions which arose in 1551, 70,000 or 80,000 of them, dwelling on the west side of the Kurdish mountains and on the plains of Mesopotamia, were led to unite with the church of Rome. Their descendants are not to be confounded with the Nestorians proper ; they call themselves Chaldeans, although their exclusive right to that title is disputed. Many of them still speak Syriac, though the com- mon speech around them is Arabic. The Jacobites, who also are numerous in Mesopo- tamia, were originally of the same stock, but are now quite unlike the Nestorians, and have no fellowship with them ; they call themselves Syrian Christians. Some of them are subject to the Roman see. As Mohammedanism ad-
