. m^0$g§i:0i saitttt NmiKf >v- iiiti ■ : . 1 1 Bap- mMmSm CJutpman Sat Dodd. Deli ENCYCLOPAEDIA LONDINENSIS ORp UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, AND LITERATURE. COMPREHENDING, UNDER ONE GENERAL ALPHABETICAL ARRANGEMENT, ALL THE WORDS AND SUBSTANCE OF EVERY KIND OF DICTIONARY EXTANT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. IN WHICH THE IMPROVED DEPARTMENTS OF THE MECHANICAL ARTS, THE LIBERAL SCIENCES, THE HIGHER MATHEMATICS, AND THE SEVERAL BRANCHES OF POLITE LITERATURE, ARE SELECTED FROM THE ACTS, MEMOIRS, AND TRANSACTIONS, OF THE MOST EMINENT LITERARY SOCIETIES, IN EUROPE, ASIJL. and AMERICA. FORMING A COMPREHFN®1^® VIEW OF THE RISE, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT STATE, OF HUMAN LEARNING IN EVERY PART OF THE ‘WORLD. EMBELLISHES BY A MOST MAGNIFICENT SET OF COPPER PLATE ENGRAVINGS ' ILLUSTRATING, AMONGST OTHER INTERESTING SUBJECTS, THE MOST CURIOUS, RARE, AND ELEGANT, PRODUCTIONS OF NATURE, IN EVERY PART OF THE UNIVERSE! $ AND ENRICHED WITH PORTRAITS OF EMINENT AND LEARNED PERSONAGES, IN ALL AGES OF THE WORLD. TOGETHER WITH A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF HERALDRY, FINELY ILLUMINATED, AND ENRICHED WITH THE ARMORIAL BEARINGS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY; OF THE ENGLISH, SCOTCH, AND -IRISH, NOBILITY; OF THE BARONETS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM; AND OF NUMEROUS DISTINGUISHED FAMILIES, PATRONS OF THIS WORK. COMPILED, DIGESTED, AND ARRANGED, By JOHN WILKES, of MILL AND HOUSE,' in the COUNTY of SUSSEX, Esquire j ASSISTED BY EMINENT SCHOLARS ofe THE ENGLISH, SCOTCH, AND IRISH, UNIVERSITIES. VOLUME I. ^London : PRINTED FOR THE PROPRIETOR, BY J. ADLARD, DUKE-STREET, WrF.ST SMITHFIELD: SOLD AT THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OFFICE, AVE-M ARIA-LANE, ST. PAULS; BY J. WHITE, FLEET-STREET; AND CHAMPANTE AND WHITROW, JEWRY-STREET, ALDGATE. 1810. (: ~ SWALES • 4 ’ V// COLLECTION e Kon audiendi sunt homines imperiti , qui hummo ingenio mojorem , vel inutilem, et rebus gerendis adverfam n&vituSetxv criminantur. Eft scilicet quttdam Scientiarum cognutio et conciliatio ; unde et EyxvxtorrctstieMv vacant Gr.ceci ; ut in una perfect us did nequeat, qui cateras nan attigerit. — Morhofi Polyhistor, 1. i. c. i.s. i* Those inexperienced perfons, who mafc* h « 01 acculation againft variety and extemlve learning, that it exceeds the compafs of human ability, or is ufelefs, or that it is an impediment to tranlacu..e bufinefs, deferve no attention. For there is between the Sciences a degree of natural and clofe connexion ; from which the Greeks ufe the term « Encyclopaedia f so that no one can be perfect in any one Science, who has not attained to fome knowledge of the reft. 77 dttr S/)ntAt/S////tnnAttA ?//?//* /Atts cc&ncu //,. ft? r/A ^ A// At At?/. A/J A€llZAA€/ d), '^^d^A/Ad^ley/A/zAj /jt/anAj/yn/n- /Aa dAs///t St e/n’t sua^7 TAA/Aia .JAa^ai A^A/aa/i/aa o-aaA • y?, t tyrtyf/Aty ^tt/AA/A/t/si/i lJ/f/.sJl>€ynf/j/n^ /At/ ' ^HZ/U ouZ rStAtuir/rraj odAAAo?7ifin/cme/, Sa\ ^yle/y a€AIo, //t/Sa/Ay .Aty/A (Aiy /nan/'tA' y/Auvj/ydAeaA.mA tZAAy-Atytyt/AtdAisZAA^'ZyAbG/ifldyAA' '/jAieJSAmte? aA,A/ij!^y^uAjZ;/jj/^^ Aam a. ‘/{/a// o-w'iy d//Ay ?a:/.j, tt> / /At/??. /'//A?a '?///?? d/ A/Ar , tS As s7 /? . . / ♦ aai?; otS/A^9?yi6SiA/V^/yy, t /Aidji///SyZzSydt.}/S/7tt// :/// /Alt’ 7 AA/a, a,j d?. AyMtSAt??* and Tdr, Au/y 07Atdy?ttAy'dy/ZA'/tdledyfA' (2ti/i aAsa/ah/Sa aA 'dat/ny/d^at ■ . cA* (ssAi/A^A sa&a, aj /l/z&yy n>//A t/rtAt/At w-zteZA and od/Sn tAAtA/Sin o/ AAi’t tn, ate [ "uM Sa/aAc nof/dduf/ /ISS/l-aS am&tS, dAdatAlf/Ay e/tvy t^'d/Ay /ytp/), /t?^ /Ate * d/u 't/n -AAA/At 7/ ’?>// 7 •a 7a tmt ///a nd 7 AA> r /( Ul. /At ( A t/ ? //) TO u 5 . | g5 (pkh il to fc/ - Scores THE SUBSCRIBERS AND PATRONS OF THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA LONDXNENSIS, It cannot but be a reflexion molt highly gratifying to every ftudious mind, that amidft the deflations of war, and the unparalleled proceedings of hoftile powers, which have long deftroyed the Peace of Europe, the Light of Science and Literature has ftill flione, and the cultivation of liberal Arts has ftill continued to diftufe its inflnenre with fuccefs and advantage over every part of the United Kingdom. It is alfo a circumftance, in which the humane and ingenious find peculiar fatisfaCtion, that thofe learned and eminent perfons, who are Members of Literary Societies in the various belligerent Countries, have made political animofity give place to feelings of a more generous nature ; and, equally as if they enjoyed profound peace, have reciprocally communicated the refultof their refearches, experiments, and difcoveries, for the general benefit of man kind. The nations moft diftinguiflied in modern times for their literary focicties, are Great Britain and Ireland, France, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, and Germany. Yet to thefe alone w7e are not indebted. Our brethren in America, for fuch we fliall ever confider them, and our countrymen and fellow- fubjeCts in the Empire of Hindooftan, have refpec- tively contributed to the general Stock of recent Information. Stimulated by the laudable example of others who have been active in the caufe of intellectual Improvement, and im¬ pelled as they were by an anxious defire of diffeminating polite Literature and fcicntific ac¬ quirements among the rifing generation, I have endeavoured to feleCt from all quarters, how¬ ever remote, the moft interefting communications and difcoveries ; and, having combined and incorporated them with the valuable ftore of Learning, which has long adorned and enriched Great Britain and Ireland, I thus have provided materials which may tend to eonfolidate No. 689= confolidate the foundation and raife the fuperftruaure of my laborious work, The Ency¬ clopedia Londinensis. In the profecution of this work, it has been my ftudious care fo to connect and arrange the various branches of claffical and mathematical know¬ ledge, as that propriety and perfpicuity Ihould be obferved ; information and tafte be in- creafed ; reafon and judgment be ftrengthened. IIow far my endeavours have been fuc- cefsful, muft be pronounced by the fentence of others. That my labours however have not been altogether vain, nor the arrangements and improvements totally devoid of merit* I am induced to hope from the encouragement which has been given to this work by a very confiderable part of the nobility as well as by the public in general. With the deepeft fentiments of gratitude and refpect for their patronage and favourable opinion, I have the honour to fubfcribe myfelf Their nioft obliged, obedient, &nd humble, fervant, MiUand Hovjc , March 13, IS 10, J. WILKES3 ENCYCLOPAEDIA LONDINENSIS ; OR, AN UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY 0 F ARTS, SCIENCES, and LITERATURE. A. THE letter A is the firft of the alphabet in all the known languages of the world, that of Ethiopia excepted, in which it is the thirteenth. It is placed firft, on account of its fimplicity, very little more beingjieceffary to its pronunciation than barely open¬ ing the mouth. In the Englifh it hath three different founds, which may be termed the broad, open, and flender. The broad found, refembling that of the German is found in many of our monofyllables, as all, wall, malt, fait, in which a is pronounced as au in caufe, or aw in law. Many of thefe words were anciently written with au, as fault, waulk ; which happens to be ftill retained in fault. This was probably the ancient found of the Saxons, fince it is almoft uniformly preferved in the ruftic pronunciation, and the northern dialeCts, as maun for man, kaund for hand. A, open, not unlike the a of the Italians, is found in father , rather, and more obfcurely in fancy, faf, &c. A, flender or clofe, is the peculiar a of the Englifh lan¬ guage, refembling the found of the French e mafculine, or dipthong ai in fat's, or perhaps a middle found between them, or between the a and e; to this the Arabic a is faid nearly to approach. Of this found we have examples in the words, place, face, wafe, and all thofe which termi¬ nate in ation ; as relation, nation, generation. A is fhort, as glafs , grafs; or long, as glaze, graze: it is marked long, generally, by an e final, plane-, or by an i added, as plain. The fhort a is open, the long a clofe. A, an article fet before nouns of the Angular num¬ ber; a man; a tree; denoting the number one, as, a man is coming, that is, no more than one. This article has no plural lignification. Before a word beginning with a vowel, it is written an, as, an ox, an egg, of which a is the contraction. A, taken materially, or for itfelf, is a noun; as, a great A, a little a. A is placed before a participle, or participle noun ; and is confidered by Wallis as a contraction of at, when it is put before a word denoting fome aCtion not yet finiflied ; as, I am a walking. It alfo feems to be anciently con¬ tracted from at, when placed before local furnames, as, Thomas a Becket. In other cafes, it feems to fignify to, like the French a ; A hunting Chloe went. Prior. They go a begging to a bankrupt’s door. Drydcn. A has a peculiar fignification, denoting the propor¬ tion of one thing to another. Thus we fay, The landlord Vol. I. No. i. hath a hundred a year; The (hip’s crew gained a thou', fand pounds a man. A is ufed in burlefque poetry, the fame as o, to length¬ en out a fyllable, without adding to the fenfe ; For cloves and nutmegs to the line-a. And even for oranges to China. Dryden. A, in compofition, feems to have fometimes the power of the French a in thefe phrafes, a droit, a gauche, &c. and fometimes to be contracted from at; as, afide , afope, afoot, ajlecp , athirf, aware, atrip; And now a breeze from fliore began to blow, The failors fhip their oars, and ceafe to row ; Then hoiff their yards atrip, and all their fails Let fall, to court the wind, and catch the gales. Dryden „ A is fometimes redundant; as arife, aroufe, awake 5 the fame with rife, roufe, wake. A, in abbreviations, (lands for artium, or arts; as, A. B. batchelorof arts, artium baccalaureus; A. M. maf- ter of arts, artium magifer; or, anno, as, A. D. anno domini. A, in the Julian calendar, is the firft of the feven do¬ minical letters. It had been in ufe among the Romans long before the eftablilhment of Chriftianity, as the firft of the eight nundinales litterce; in imitation whereof it was that the dominical letters were firft introduced. Among the ancients, A was a numerical letter, and fig- nified 500; and, with a ftroke over it, it ftands for 5000. With logicians, it denotes an univerfal affirmative propofition. Among merchants, if fet alone after- a bill of exchange, it fignifies accepted ; and is ufed by them to dif- tinguifli their lets of accounts inftead of a figure : thus, A, B, C, are inftead of 1, 2, 3. A, or aa, is ufed by phyficians inftead of ana, and fignifies that the propor¬ tions of the ingredients to which it refers are to be equal. A, in mufic, is that note which lies between the fecond and third line in the treble ; or upon the top, or fifth, in the bafs. A, in the ancient infcriptions of marbles, &c. occa- fionally ftands for Augufus, ager, aiunt, &c. When dou¬ ble, it denotes Augufi; when triple aurum argentum, as ; and fometimes its meaning can only be known by the reft of the infcription. Ilidore adds, that when it occurs after the word miles (foldier), it denotes him young. On the reverfe of ancient medals, it denotes them (truck by the city of Argos, fometimes by that of Athens j but on coins of modern date it is the mark of Paris. B AAA. 1 2 AAA AAA. The chemical abbreviation for Amalgama, or Amalgamation. AA, rivers of Courland, Germany, SwifTerland, Flan¬ ders, and France ; Aa in the Daniffi language, Ea in the Saxon, and Eau in the French, fignifying water. AACH, a fmall town of Nellenburgh in Suabia, near a river of the fame name which falls into the lake of Zell. 1 1 is fubject to Auftria, and feated on an eminence between the Danube and the lake of Conftance. Lat. 47. 45. N. Ion. 9. o. E. AAGG1I-DOGGII, a mountain of Amafia, over which the caravans pal's, in their journey between Conliantinople and Ifpahan. AAG-HOLM, a fmall illand of Norway. AAHUS, a fmall town, in a county of the fame name, in Weltphalia, is iituated near the fource of the A a. Lat. 48. 13. N. Ion. 7. 22. E. AA1N-CHARIN, a village near Jerufalem, faid to be the place where Zacharias lived : it is yet frequented by pilgrims; and near it there is a convent, a large elegant building with a handfome cupola, under which is an ex¬ traordinary fine mofaic pavement : the altar is a very fplendid one, encompafled with marble fteps, and is, faid to be built on the very fpot where John the Baptift was born. AAKIAR, a diftriift of North Jutland, in Denmark. AAKIRKE, an inland place in Bornholm, is the feat of the civil court and fynod, and has the privileges of a town. AALBERG, or Aalburgh, a biflioprir in Jutland, Denmark ; has for its capital AALBORG, (that is, eel-town, from the number of eels taken there) an old, large, and populous, city, and, next to Copenhagen, the richeft and beft in Denmark. It has an exchange, and a harbour deep and fecure, but ra¬ ther dangerous in the entrance. It carries on a confider- able trade in herrings and corn, and a manufactory of faddles and gloves. Lat. 57. 18. N. Ion. 29. 16. E. AALHEIDE, a large heath in Jutland. AAM, or FIaam, a liquid meafure in ufe among the Dutch, containing 128 mingles, each weighing nearly thir¬ ty-fix ounces averdupoife; whence the Aam contains 288 Englifh, and 1485 pints Paris meafure. AAMA, a province of Barbary, fifteen days journey from Tunis. The entrance to it is very dangerous, being very long and narrow, among quickfands and rivers, fo covered with duft, that they appear like one continued plain. AAN-SIRE, a fmall illand of Norway. • AAR, rivers in Germany and Swilferland, and an illand in the Baltic containing feveral villages but no town. AARACK, a city of Hira in Perfia. AARASSUS, an ancient city of Alia Minor, men¬ tioned by Strabo, but at prefent only a village. It is thought to be the Anaflus of Ptolemy. AARAW, a town and bailiwick in Bern, where the diets of the proteftant cantons are held. In thefe alfem- blies the deputies and their fervants being all citizens, dine in the fame hall. Their town-houfe is built of the ruins of she caftle, which. the inhabitants of Aaraw entirely de- molifhed when the Swifs Ihook off the yoke of Auftria. Lat. 47. 20. N. Ion. 8. 10. E. A ARHUUS, in North Jutland, Denmark, the capital of the diocefe of the fame name, is an open, large, and po¬ pulous, city, with two market-places, an hofpital, uni- verfity, cathedral, and other public buildings. It lies low, on a beautiful plain, between the lea and an inland lake; from which laft the water is conveyed, by means of a pretty broad canal, through the town. The harbour at the mouth of this canal or river is indeed fafe and com¬ modious, but hardly of fufficient depth and extent for the trade of the place. I.at. 56. 6. N. Ion. 10. o. E. AARON, high pried of the Jews, and brother to Mofes, was by the father’s fide great grandfon, and by the mother’s grandfon, of Levi. By God’s command lie-met Mofes at the foot of mount Horeb, and they went together into AAR Egypt to deliver the children of Ifrael. They went to the court of Pharaoh, and told him that God commanded him to let the Hebrews go to offer facrifices in the defert of Arabia; but the impious monarch difregarded this command, and caufed the labour of the Ifraelites to be doubled. The meffengers of the Almighty again returned to the king, when Aaron wrought a miracle in his fight to move his heart, and induce him to let the people go. Aaron caft down his miraculous rod, and it was immedi¬ ately converted into a ferpent: but the fame thing being performed by the king’s magicians, his heart was hard¬ ened more and more ; and his obftinacy at laft drew down the juft judgments of heaven upon his kingdom, which was afflicted with ten dreadful plagues, in the fame order that Aaron ftretched forth his rod, at the command of the Almighty. The firft was the changing of the waters of the Nile and of all the rivers into blood, fo that the Egyptians died of thirft. In confequence of the fecond plague, the land was covered with innumerable fwarms of frogs, which entered even into Pharaoh’s palace. By the third plague, the duft was converted into lice, which cru¬ elly tormented both man and beaft. The fourth plague was a multitude of deftrufitive flies, which fpread through¬ out Egypt, and infefted the whole country. The fifth was a Hidden peftilence, which deftroyed all the cattle of the Egyptians, without injuring thofe of the Ifraelites. The fixth produced numberlefs ulcers and fiery biles upon man and beaft. The feventh was a dreadful ftorm of hail, accompanied with thunder and lightning, which deftroyed every thing that was in the fields, and fpared only the land of Goflien, where the children of Ifrael dwelt. By the eighth plague fwarms of locufts were brought into the country, which devoured every green herb, the fruit of the trees, and the produce of the harveft. By the ninth plague thick darknefs covered all the land of Egypt, ex¬ cept the dwellings of the children of Ifrael. The tenth and laft plague was the death of the firft-born in Egypt, who were all in one night cut of!' by the deftroying angel, from the firft-born of the king to the firft-born of the flaves and of the cattle. This dreadful calamity moved the heart of the hardened Pharaoh, and he at length con- • fented to allow the children of Ifrael to depart. That thefe miracles refulted from the immediate interpofition of an offended Deity, is admitted by all authors facred and profane ; but the feats performed on this occafion by Pha¬ raoh’s magicians, have, without much reafon, opened a wide field for controverfy and difpute. We are told, that when Aaron caft down his rod, and it became a ferpent, they alfo did the like with their inchantments ; “ for they caft down every man his rod, and they became ferpents.” This was a phenomenon which, it mud be confefted, had a very miraculous appearance; and yet there feems to be nothing in it which might not have been effefited by (light of hand. The Egyptians, and perhaps the inhabitants of every country where ferpents abound, have the art of depriving them, of their power to do mifehief, fo that they may be handled without danger. It was eafy for the ma¬ gicians, who were favoured by the court, to pretend that they changed their rods into ferpents, by dexteroufty fub- ftituting one of thofe animals in place of the rod. In like manner they might pretend to change water into blood, and to produce frogs ; for, after the previous information of the nature of the miracles which were to be wrought was given, the magicians might eafily provide themlelves with a quantity of "blood and a number of frogs fufficient to anfwer their purpofe of deceiving the people. Beyond this, however, their power could not go. It flopped where that of all workers in legerdemain mufthave (lop¬ ped— at the failure of proper materials to work. Egypt abounds with ferpents; blood could be eafily procured; and without difficulty they might have frogs from the ri¬ ver. But when Aaron proceeded to the other miracles, and with his rod produced lice from the duft of the ground, the magicians, who had it not in their power to eollebt a fufficient quantity of thefe animals, were com- i pelled AAR pelled to own this to be an effect of divine agency. Thus Aaron had a great fhare in all that Mofes did for the deli¬ verance of the Israelites; whence the fcriptures call him the prophet of Mofes, and he atted in that capacity after the Ifraelites had palled over the Red Sea. He afcended mount Sinai with two of his fons, Nadab and Abihu, and feventy elders of the people; but neither he nor they went higher than half way, from whence they law the glory of God ; only Mofes and Jofhua went to the top, where they flaid forty days. During their abfence, Aaron, overcome by the people’s eager intreaties, fet up the golden calf, which the Ifraelites worlhipped by his confent. This calf has given rife to various conjeftures. Some rabbies main¬ tain that he did not make the golden calf; but only threw the gold into the fire, to get rid of the importunities of the people; and that certain magicians, who mingled with the Ifraelites at their departure from Egypt, call this gold into the figure of a calf. According to fome authors, the fear of falling a facrifice to the refentment of the peo¬ ple by giving a refufal, made Aaron comply with their defire : and they allege alfo, that he hoped to elude their requeft, by demanding of the women to contribute their ear-rings, imagining they would rather choole to remain without a vifible deity, than be deprived of their perfonal ornaments. This affair of the golden calf happened in the third month after the Ifraelites came out of Egypt. In the firft month of the following year, Aaron was ap¬ pointed by God high-prieft; which office he executed during the time the children of Ifrael continued in the wildernefs. He died in the fortieth year after their de¬ parture from Egypt, upon mount Hor, being then 123 years old; A.M. 2522, of the Julian period 3262, before the Chriftian ama 1452. Aaron and Julius (Saints), fuffered martyrdom to¬ gether, during the perfecution under the Emperor Dio- clefian, in the year 303, about the fame time with Saint Alban, the protomartyr of Britain. We are not told what their Britilh names were, it being ufual with the Chrif¬ tian Britons, at the time of baptifm, to take new names from the Greek, Latin, or Hebrew. Nor have we any other particulars of their death; only that they fuffered the molt cruel torments. Each had a church erected to his memory ; and their feftival is placed, in the Roman martyrology, on the firft of July. Aaron Harischon, a learned rabbi and caraite in the fifteenth century, wrote an Hebrew grammar, printed at Conftantinople in 1581 ; probably the, fame with Aaron the caraite, who wrote a commentary on the five books of Mofes, which is in. MS. in the royal library of Paris. A ARSENS (Francis), Lord of Someldyck and Spyck, was one of the greateft minifters for negociation the Uni¬ ted Provinces could ever boaft of. His father, Cornelius Aarfens, was regifter to the States ; and, being acquainted with Mr. Pleffis Mornay, at the court of William prince of Orange, he prevailed upon him to take his fon under him, with whom he continued fome years. John Olden Barnevelt, who prefided over the affairs of Holland and all the United Provinces, fent him afterwards agent into France, where he learned to negociate under thofe pro¬ found politicians Henry IV. Villeroy, Silleri, Roffie, Jaonnin, & c. and he acquitted himfelf in fuch a manner as to obtain their, approbation. Soon after he was inverted with the character of ambaffador, being the firft who was recognifed as fuch by the French court ; at which time Henry IV. declared, that he Ihould take precedence next to the Venetian minifter. He refided in France fifteen years; during which time he received great marks of ef- teem from the king, who created him a knight and baron ; and for this reafon he was received amongft the nobles of the province of Holland. Pie w as the firft of three extra¬ ordinary ambaffadors fent to England in 1620, and the fecond in 1641, to treat about the marriage of Pripce William, fon to the Prince of Orange. He was likewife ambaffador-extraordinary at the French court in 1624; and tfye Cardinal de Richlieu having'juft taken the admi- A B A 3 niftration of affairs into his hands, and knowing he was an able man, made ufe of him to ferve his own purpofes. He died in a very advanced age; and his fon, who fur- vived him, was reputed the wealthieft man in Holland. Aarsens (Peter), a painter, called in Italy Pietro Longo, becaufe of his ftature, was born at Amfterdam in 1519. He was eminent for all kinds of fubjeCts; but was particularly famous for altar-pieces, and for reprefenting a kitchen with its furniture : he had the pain to fee a fine altar-piece of his painting deftroyed by the rabble in the infurreftion of 1566, though a lady of Alcmaer offered 200 crowns to redeem it. AARSEO, a town of Algiers, near the mouth of the river Mina, trades to Guinea, Numidia, and other places. Lat. 36. 50. N. Ion. 2. 10. E. AARTGEN, or Aertgen, a painter of merit, the fon of a woolcomber, born at Leyden in 1498. He worked at his father’s trade till the age of eighteen ; and then, having difeovered a genius for defigning, he was placed with Cornelius Engelheihtz, under whom he made a con- fiderable progrefs in painting. Pie became fo diftinguiflied, that the celebrated Francis Floris went to Leyden out of mere curiofity to fee him. He found him inhabiting a poor half-ruined hut, and in a very mean condition. He Toli- cited him to go to Antwerp, promifing him wealth fui table to his merit ; but Aartgen refilled, declaring that he found more gratification in his poverty than others did in their riches. It was a cuftorri with this painter never to work on Mondays, but to devote that day to the bottle. He ufed to Itroll about the ftreets in the night, playing on the german flute, and in one of thefe frolics he walked into a rivulet and was drowned, in 1564. AASAR, anciently a town of Paleftine, in the tribe of Judah, fituated between Azotus and Afcalon. In Jerome’s time it was an hamlet. AASTRUP, adiftridlof Aalberg and North Jutland, to which belong the Herreds of Wenneborg, with twelve parifties, and Jerlef with the like number. AB,/. the eleventh month of the civil year of the He¬ brews, and the fifth of their ecclefiaftical year, which be¬ gins with the month Nifan. It anfwers to the moon of July; that is, to part of our month of the fame name, and to the beginning of Auguft: it confifts of thirty days. The Jews faff on the firft of this month, in memory of Aaron’s death; and on the ninth, becaufe on that day both the temple of Solomon and that erected after the captivity, were burnt; the former by the Chaldeans, and the latter by the Romans. The fame day is alfo remarka¬ ble among that people for the publication of Adrian's edift, w herein they were forbid to continue in Judea, or even to look back when at a diltance from Jerufalem, in order to lament the defolation of that city. The 18th of the fame month is alfo a faff; among the Jews ; becaufe the lamp in the fanfluary was that night extinguiffied in the time of Ahaz. — In the Syriac calendar it is alfo the name of the laft fummer-month. The firft day of this month they called Suum Miriam , the fart: of the virgin, be¬ caufe the eaftern Chriftians farted from that day to the fif¬ teenth, which was therefore called Fat/ir- Miriam, thecei- fation of the faff of the virgin. ABA, or ABAU, Hanifah or PIanfa, furnamed AI- Nooma, was the fon of Thabet, and born at Coufah in the eightieth year of the Hegira. This is the mod cele¬ brated doflor of the orthodox Muflulmans, and his feft holds the principal erteem among the four which they in¬ differently follow. Notwithftanding this, he was not very well efteemed during his life, infomuch that the khaliff Almanfor caufied him to be imprifoned at Bagdad, for having refilled to fubferibe to the opinion of abfolute pre- deftination, which the Muflulmans call Cadha. But af¬ terwards Aboil Jofeph, who was the fovereign judge or chancellor of the empire under the khaliff Hadi, brought his doftrine into fuch credit, that it became a prevailing opinion, That to be a good Muffulman was to be a Hani- fite. Pie died in the hundred and fiftieth year of the He- 4 A B .A gira, in the prifon of Bagdad aforefaid: and it was not till 335 years after his death, that Ivfelick Schah, a fultan of the Selgiucidan race, built for him a magnificent mo¬ nument in the fame city, whereto he adjoined a College peculiarly appropriated to fuch as made a profeflion of this feci. This was in the 485th year of the Hegira, and anno Chridi 1092. The mod eminent fucceffors of this doflor were Ahmed Benali, A1 Giaffas, and A1 Razi, who was the mailer of Naffari; and there is a mofque particularly appropriated to them in the temple of Mecca. Aba, a lofty mountain of Great Armenia, part of mount Taurus; the rivers Euphrates and Araxes have their rife here ; alfo a city of the ancient kingdom of Pho- cis in Greece, famous for an oracle of Apollo, and for a rich temple plundered and burnt by the Perfians. ABACA, one of the Philippine Iflands. ABACENA, the ancient name of a town in Media, and another of Cana in the hither Afia. ABACiENUM, anciently a town of Sicily, whofe ru¬ ins are fuppofed to be thofe lying near T rippi, a citadel on a high and deep mountain not far from Medina. The in¬ habitants were called Abacoznini. AB ACATUAIA,/. in ichthyology, a barbarous name of the zeus vomer. See Zeus. ABACH, a market town of Germany, in Lower Bava¬ ria, feated on the Danube. It is remarkable for Roman antiquities, and for fprings of mineral waters, which are faid to be good for various diltempers. E. Ion. 11. 56. lat. 48. 53- ABACINARE, or Abbacinare, f. a fpecies of pu- nilhment exercifed in the middle-ages, confiding in blind¬ ing of the criminal, by holding a hot bafon or bowl of metal before his eyes. ABACK, adv. a fea-term denoting the fituation of the fails when the furfaces are flatted againfl the mads by the force of the wind. The fails are faid to be taken aback when they are brought into this fituation, either by a hidden change of the wind, or by an alteration in the Blip’s eourfe. They are laid aback , to effeCl an immediate re¬ treat, without turning to the right or left ; or, in the fea- phrafe, to give the fhip Jlcrn-way , in order to avoid fome danger difcovered before her in a narrow channel, or when die has advanced beyond her dation in the line of battle, or otherwife. The fails are placed in this pofition by flackening their lee-braces, and hauling in the weather ones; fo that the whole effort of the wind is exerted on the fore part of their furface, which readily pufhes the fhip adern, unlefs Ate is redrained by fome counterafling force. It is alfo ufual to fpread fome fail aback near the Bern, as the mizen-top-fail, when a Blip rides with a Angle anchor in a road, in order to prevent her from approaching it fo near as to entangle the flukes with her flackened cable, and thereby loofen it from the ground. AB ACOT, f. the name of an ancient cap of date worn by the kings of England, the upper part whereof was in the form of a double crown. ABACTOR, f [Lat.] One who drives away or deals cattle in herds, or great numbers at once, in didin&ion from thofe that deal only a fheep or two. ABACUS, /. [Lat.] in arithmetic, an ancient indru- ment ufed by mod nations for cadingup accounts, or per¬ forming arithmetical calculations : it is by fome derived from the Greek which fignifies a cupboard or buf¬ fet, perhaps from the fimilarity of the form of this indru- ment ; and by others it is derived from the Phoenician abak, which fignifies dud or powder, becaufe it ivas faid that this indrument was fometimes made of a fquare board or tablet, which was powdered over with fine fand or dud, in which were traced the figures or characters ufed in mak¬ ing calculations, which could thence be eafily defaced, and the abacus refitted for ufe. But Lucas Paciolus, in the fird part of his fecond diftinCtion, thinks it is a corrup¬ tion of Arabicus, by which he meant their Algorifm, or Site method of numeral computation received from them. ABA We find this indrument for computation in ufe, under fome variations, with mod nations, as the Greeks, Ro¬ mans, Germans, French, Chinefe, &c. The Grecian abacus was an oblong frame, over which were dretched feveralbrafs wires, drung with little ivory balls, like the beads of a necklace ; by the various ar¬ rangements of which invention all kinds of computations were very eafily made. Mahudel, in Hid. Acad. R. Infer, t. 3. p.390. The Roman abacus was a little varied from the Grecian, having pins Aiding in grooves, indead of Brings or wires and beads. Philof. Tranf. No. 180. The Chinefe abacus, or Shwan-pan, like the Grecian, confids of feveral feries of beads drung on brafs wires, dretched from the top to the bottom of the indrument, and divided in the middle by a crofs piece from fide to fide. In the upper fpace every Bring has two beads, which are each counted for five ; and in the lower fpace every firing has five beads, of different values, the fird being counted as one, the fecond as ten, the third as 100, and fo on, as with us. See Shwan-pan. The abacus chiefly ufed in European countries, is near¬ ly upon the fame principles, though the ufe of it is here more limited, becaufe of the arbitrary and unequal divifions of money, weights, and meafures, which, in China, are all divided in a tenfold proportion, like our fcale of com¬ mon numbers. This is made by drawing any number of parallel lines, like paper ruled for mufic, at fuch a dis¬ tance as may be at lead equal to twice the diameter of a calculus or counter. Then the value of thefe lines, and of the fpaces between them, increafes, from the lowed to the highed in a tenfold proportion. Thus, counters pla¬ ced upon the fird line, fignify fo many units or ones ; on the fecond line 1 o’s, on the third line 100’s, on the fourth line 1000’s, and fo on : in like manner a counter placed in the fird fpace, between the fird and fecond line, denotes 5, in the fecond fpace 50, in the third fpace 500, in the fourth fpace 5000, and foon See for example the fol¬ lowing figure, where the fame number, viz. 1788, is re- prefented in both divifions of the abacus, by different difpolitions of the counters : Befides the above indruments for computation, there have been feveral others invented by different perfons ; as Napier’s rods or bones, deferibed in his Rabdologia; alfo the Abacus Rhabdologicus, a variation of Napier’s, which is deferibed in the fird volume of Machines et Inventions approuvees par I’Academie Royale des Sciences. An inge¬ nious and general one was alfo invented by Mr. Gamaliel Smethurd, and is deferibed in the Philof. Tranf. vol. xlvi. where the inventor remarks that computations by it are much quicker and eafier than by the pen, are lefs bur- thenfome to the memory, and can be performed by blind perfons, or in the dark as well as in the light. A very comprehenfive indrument of this kind was alfo contrived by the late learned Dr. Nicholas Saundeffon, by which he performed very intricate calculations: an account of it is prefixed to the fird volume of his Algebra, and is there by the editor called Palpable Arithmetic. Abacus, Pythagorean, fo denominated from its in¬ ventor, Pythagoras; a table of numbers, contrived for readily learning the principles of arithmetic; and was probably what we now call the multiplication-table. Abacus, or Abaciscus, in architecture, the upper part or member of the capital of a column; ferving as a crowning both to the capital and to the whole column. Vitruvius informs us that the abacus was originally in¬ tended ABA tended to reprefent a fquare flat tile laid over an urn, or a balket ; and the invention is aferibed to Calimachus, an ingenious ftatuary of Athens, who, it is faid, adopted it on obferving a fmall balket, covered with a tile, over the root of an acanthus plant, which grew on the grave of a young lady ; the plant (hooting tip, encompafled the balket all around, till meeting with the tile, it curled back in the form of fcrolls : Calimachus palling by, took the hint, and immediately executed a capital on this plan ; reprefenting the tile by the abacus, the leaves of the acanthus by the volutes or fcrolls, and the balket by the vafe or body of the capital. Abacus is alfo ufed by Scamozzi for a concave mould¬ ing in the capital of the Tufcan pedeltal. And the word is ufed by Palladio for other members which he deferibes. Alfo, in the ancient architecture, the fame term is ufed to denote certain compartments in the incrudation or lining of the walls of date-rooms, mofaic-pavements, and the like. There were abaci of marble, porphyry, jafper, alabader, and even glafs ; varioully lhaped, as fquare, triangular, &c. Abacus Logisticus is a right-angled triangle, whofe fides, about the right angle, contain all the numbers from one to fixty ; and its area the products of each two of the Oppolite numbers. This is alfo called a canon of fexagefi- mals, and is no other than a multiplication-table carried to lixty both ways. Abacus & Palmul^, in the ancient mufic, denote the machinery by which the drings of the polypleftra, or indruments of many drings, were druck, with a pleftrum made of quills. Abacus Harmonious is ufed by Kircher for the ftrufture and difpolition of the keys of a mufical indru- ment, either to be touched with the hands or feet. Abacus, in geometry, a table or date upon which fchemes or diagrams are drawn. Abacus Major, in metallurgic operations, the name of a trough ufed in the mines, wherein the ore is waflied. ABADDON, is the name which St. John in the Reve¬ lation gives to the king of the locud, the angel of the bot- tomlefs pit. The infpired writer fays, this word is He¬ brew, and in Greek lignifies awoMvwv, i. e. a dedroyer. That angel-king is thought to be Satan : but M. le Clerc thinks with Dr. Hammond, that by the locud which came out of the abyfs, may be underdood the zealots and rob¬ bers, who miferably afflicted the land of Judea, and laid it in a manner wade, before Jerufalem was taken by the Ro¬ mans ; and that Abaddon, the king of the locud, may be John of Gifchala, who having treacheroudy left that town a little before it was furrendered to Titus, came to Jerufa¬ lem, where he foon headed part of the zealots, who ac¬ knowledged him as their king, whill't the red would not fubmit to him. Thisfubdivifion of the zealot party brought a thoufand calamities upon the Jews. ABADIR, a title w hich the Carthaginians. gave to gods of the fird order. In the Roman mythology, it is the name of a done which Saturn fwallowed, by the contri¬ vance of his wife Ops, believing it to be his new-born fon Jupiter: hence it ridiculoully became the object of reli¬ gious wordiip. ABAFEDE, a mountain in Egypt, the refidence, in antiquity, of the Egyptian magi ; it was much revered by the Romans on their obtaining it, and was afterwards inhabited by Chridian devotees who lived in caves dug out of the rock. ABAFT, adv. \_abaftan, Sax.] afea-term, fignifying the hinder part of a fliip, or all thofe parts both within and without which lie towards the dern, in oppofition to afore. — Abaft, is alfo ufed as a prepolition, and lignifies further aft, or nearer the fern ; as, the barricade dands abaft the main-mad, i. e. behind it, or nearer the dern. ABAISANCE, /. [ abaifer , Fr. to deprefs, to bring down.] An aft of reverence, a bow. Obeyfance is con- lidered by Skinner as a corruption of abaifance , but is now univerfally ufed. ABAKA-khan, the 1 8th emperor of the Moguls, a Vol. I. No. j. ABA 5 wife and clement prince. He reigned 17 years, and is by fome authors faid to have been a Chridian. It .may be admitted, indeed, that he joined with the Chridians in keeping the fead of Eader, in the city Hanadau, fome Ihort time before his death. But this is no proof of his Chridianity ; it having been common, in times of brother¬ ly love, for Chridians and Mahometans to join in keeping the fame feads, when each would compliment the other with doing honour to his folemnity. ABAKAN, a river falling into the Jenefei, near its fource in Afiatic RulTia, near which dands the town of Abakanlkoi. Lat. 53. 3. N. Ion. 94. 5. E. ABALA, a city of the tribe of Judah ; alfo a town of the Troglodytes in Africa, near the Red Sea. ABALASKOI, a town of Siberia. It is yet frequent¬ ed by pilgrims, on account of a datue, called the image of the Virgin Mary. Lat. 58. n. N. Ion. 68. 20. E. To ABALIENATE, v.a. \_abalieno , Lat.] To make that another’s which was our own before. A term of the civil law, not much ufed in common fpeech. AB ALIENATION, f [_abalienatio,'L3.t.~\ The aft of giving up one’s right to another perfon ; or making over an edate, goods, or chattels, by fale, or due courfe of law. To ABANDON, v. a. \_abandonner, Fr. derived, ac¬ cording to Menage, from the Italian abandonare, which dignifies to forfake his colours ; bandum [vexillum] defercre. Pafquier thinks it a coalition of a ban donner, to give up to a profeription ; in which fenfe we, at this day, mention the ban of the empire. Ban, in our own old dial'eft, dig¬ nifies a curfe ; and to abandon, if confidered as compounded between French and Saxon, is exaftly equivalent to dir is devovere.'] To give up, reiign, or quit ; often followed by the particle to. — Who is he do abandoned to fottilh credu¬ lity, as to think, that a clod of earth in a lack, may ever, by eternal fliaking, receive the fabric of man’s body >. Bentley. Todefert; to forfake: in an ill fenfe. To forfake, to leave. To ABANDON OVER, v. a. [a form of writing not ufual, perhaps not exaft.] To give up, to refign. Look on me as a man abandon'd o'er To an eternal lethargy of love ; To pull and pinch, and wound me, cannot cure, And but didurb the quiet of my death. Dryden. ABANDONED, participle adj. Corrupted in thehigh- ed degree ; as, an abandoned wretch. In this fenfe, it is a contraction of a longer form, abandoned, or given up to wickednefs. ABANDONING, \_irom abandon. ] Deferting, forfaking. ABANDONMENT, f. \_abandonncment, Fr.] The act of abandoning ; the date of being abandoned. AB ANNITION, f. \_abanitio, Lat.] A banifhment for one or two years, for manflaughter. Obfolete. ABANO, a town of Padua in Italy, in the republic of Venice, much frequented on account of its warm baths. Lat. 43. 30. N. Ion. jo. 47. E. ABANTES, a people who came originally from Thrace, and fettled in Phoceca, a country of Greece, where they built a town which they called Aba, after the name of Abas their leader. The Abantes were a very warlike people, doling with their enemies, and fighting hand to hand, ABANTIAS, or Abantis, anciently a name of the illand Euboea in the Egean fea, extending along the coad of Greece, from the promontory Sunium of Attica to Theflaly, and feparated from Boeotiabya narrow drait called Euripus. The ifland was called Abantias, from. the Abantes, a people originally of Thrace, called by Homer wuricrB-eu Kc///.owfl£;, from wearing their hair long behind, having in a battle experienced the inconvenience of wearing long hair before. From cutting their hair before, they were called Curetes. ABAPTISTON, f. in furgery, [from « and (SW-rify,, immergo, to fink under.] the perforating part of the ipfiru- ment called a trepan. ABARA, a town in the Greater Armenia, under the C domiaioa 6 ABA dominion of the Turks: it is often the refidehce of the Arciibifh'op of Nakfivan. Lon. 46. 25. lat. 39. 45. ABARANER, a city of Tiircomania in Alia, laid to contain about 300 Chriftian families. Lat. 39. o. N. Ion. 63. 59. E. . . ABARCA,/ an ancient kind of flioe ufed- in Spain for pafling the mountains with. It was made of raw hides, and bound with cords, which fecured the feet of travellers again!! the fnow. LoABARE, v. a. [ abarian , Sax.] To make bare, to uncover, of difclofe. ABARGALE a country of Abyffinia. ABARIM, high mountains of deep afcent, feparating the country of the Ammonites and Moabites from the land of Canaan where Mofes died. Nebah and Pifgah were parts of thefe mountains. ABARIS, the Hyperborean ; a celebrated fage of anti¬ quity, whofe hiftory and travels have been the fubjefit of much learned difcuffion. Such a number of fabulous ftories were told of him, that Herodotus himfelf feerhs to fcruple to relate them. He tells us only, that this barba¬ rian was faid to have travelled with an arrow, and to have taken no dtdenance : but this does not acquaint us with the marvellous properties which were attributed to that arrow ; nor that it had been given him by the Hyperborean Apol¬ lo. With regard to the occalion t>f his leaving his native country, Harpocralion tells us, that the whole earth being infeded with a deadly plague, Apollo, upon being eonfulted, gave no other anfwer than that the Athenians diould oder up prayers in behalf of all other nations; upon which, feveral countries deputed ambadadors to Athens, among whom was Abaris the Hyperborean. In this jour¬ ney, he renewed the alliance between his countrymen, and the inhabitants of the idand of Delos. It appears that he alfo went to Lacedaemon ; dnce, according to Paufanias, he there built a temple confecrated to Proferpine the Salu¬ tary. It is afferted, that he was capable of foretelling earthquakes, driving away plagues, allaying dorms, &c. The orator Himerius defcribes his perfon accurately, and gives him a very noble character : “ They relate (fays he) that Abaris the fage was by nation an Hyperborean, ap¬ peared a Grecian in fpeech, and refembled a Scythian in habit and appearance. He came to Athens, holding a bow in his hand, having a quiver hanging on his dioulders, his body wrapt up in a plaid, girt about the loins with a gilded belt, and wearing trowfers reaching from his waid downward.” Hewasalfable andpleafant in converfation, in difpatching great affairs fecret and indudrious, quick- fighted in prefent exigencies, in preventing future dangers circumfpeft, a fearcher after wifdom, dedrous of friend- fhip, trading little to fortune, and having every thing traded to him for his prudence. Neither the Academy ■nor the Lycteum could have furnifhed a man with dtter qualities to travel fo far abroad, and to fuch wife nations, about affairs no lefs arduous than important. And if we further attentively confider his moderation in eating, drinking, and theufe of all thofe things which our natural appetites inceffantly crave: joining the candour and fim- plicity of his manners with the folidity and wifdom of his mind ; all which we dnd diffidently atteded ; it mud be owned, that the world at that time had few to compare with Abaris. AB ARTICULATION, f. \_ab, and articulus, a joint, Lat.) A good and apt conftruftion of the bones, by which they move drongly and eadly ; or that fpecies of articulation that has manifed motion. In anatomy, it lignides a fpecies of articulation, admitting of a manifed motion ; called alfo Diarthrolis, and Dearticulatio, to didinguiffi it from that fort of articulation, which admits of a very obfcure motion, and is called Synarthrods. ABAS, J. a weight ufed in Perda for weighing pearls. It is 1 -8th lefs than the European carat. Abas, in the heathen mythology, was the fon of Hypo- thoon and Meganira, who entertained Ceres, and offered p facrifice to that goddefs; but Abas ridiculing the cere- A B A mony, and giving her opprobrious language, die fprift™ kled him with a certain mixture, and he became a newt of Wdtef-lizard. Abas (Schali) the Great, was third fon of Codabehdi* feventh king of Perda, of the race of the Sophis. Suc¬ ceeding to his father at eighteen, in 1385, he found th« adairs of Perda at a low ebb, occadoned by the cOnpufeftg of the Turks and Tartars. By his intrepid conduct and magnanimity, lie regained feveral of the provinces they had feized ; but death put a (lop to his victories in 1629, after a reign of forty-four years. He was the prince who made Ifpahan the metropolis of Perda. Abas (Schah) his grandfon, ninth king of Perda, of the race of the Sophis, fuceeeded his father Sefi at thirteen years of age; he was but eighteen when lie made hinlfelf mailer of the city Candapar, which had furrendered in his father’s reign to the Gpeat Mogul, and all the province about it ; and ire preferred it afterwards againft this Indian emperor, though lie bedeged it more than once witli an army of 300,000 men. He was a very merciful prince; and openly protected the Chriftians : he died at thirty-fe- ven years of age, in 1666. ABAS A, a fmall town of Romania ; it 'has an elegant mofqtie and a fpacious kane or inn, and is twelve miles from Adrianople, on the road to Conliantinople. Lat. 42. 8. N. Ion. 26. 35. E. ABASCIA, or Abcas, a country in Ada, tributary to the Turks, (ituated 011 the coaft of the Black Sea. The people are poor, threviffi, and treacherous, infomuch that there is no trading with them without the utmoft caution. Their commodities are furs, buck and tyger ikins, linen yarn, boxwood and bees-wax : but their greateft traffic is in felling their Own children, and even one another, to the Turks; infomuch that they live in perpetual diftruft. They are deftitute of many neceffaries of life, and have nothing among them that can be called a town ; though we find Anacopia, Dandar, and Czekorni, mentioned in the maps. They have the name of Chriftians ; but have nothing left but the name, any more than the Mitrgrelians their northern neighbours. The men are robuft and active, and the women are fair and beautiful ; on which account the Turks give a great price for the female flaVes, which they purchafe very young. ABASCUS, a river of Afiatic Sarmatio, which, rifing from Mount Caucafus, falls into the Euxine, between Pi- tyus to the eaft, and Nods to the Weft. To ABASE, v. a. [ abaijfer , Fr. from the Lat. bajis , or baffus, a barbarous word, fignifying low, bafe.] To de- prefs, to lower. To caft down, to deprefs, to bring loWj in a figurative and perfonal fenfe, which is the common ufe. — Behold every One that is proud, and abafe him. Job. xl. 11. — If the mind be curbed and humbled too much in children ; if their fpirits be abafed and broken much by too ftrift an hand over them ; they lofe all their vigour and. induftry. Locke. ABASED, adj. in heraldry, is a term ufed of the wings of eagles, when the tops look dowmwards towards the point of the fliield ; or when the wings are Unit ; the natu¬ ral way of bearing them being fpread with the top pointing to the chief of the angle. ABASEMENT, [ The ftate of being brought low; the aft of bringing low ; depreffion. — There is an abafe- ment becaufe of glory; and there is that lifteth up his head from a low eftate. Eccl. xx. 11. To ABASH, v. a. [ abaijfer , Fr.] To put into confu- fion ; to make afhamed. It generally implies a fudden im- preffion of ffiarne. — They heard, and were abajldd, Milton.. — The paffive admits the particles, fometimes cAbefore: the cafual noun. — In no wife fpeak againft the truth, but. be abajhed of the error of thy ignorance. Ecclus. iv. 25. The little Cupids hovering round, (As pictures prove) with garlands crown’d, Abajh'd at what they faw and heard. Flew off, nor ever more appear’d. Swift. AB AS SI,. ABA ABASSI, or Agassis, [ a filvereoiri current in Perfia, equivalent in value to a French livre, or ten-pence half¬ penny flcrli'rig. It ‘took its name' from Schah Abas II. ki rig of Perfia, it nder Whom it was ft ruck . To ABATE, v. a. [ abbatre , Fr. to beat down.] To le fieri, to diminifh ; to dejeft, or dcprcfs the mind. In commerce, to let down the price in felling, fometimes to beat down the price in buying. To Abate, v. n. Togrdwlefs; as, his paflion abates ; the Horn', abates. It is ufed fometimes with the particle e/before the thing lelfened. — In procefs of time fome dif- eafes have abated of their virulence. Dryden. — In horfe- manfnip, a ho'rfe is laid to abate or take down his cur¬ vets, when, w orking upon curvets, he puts his two hind legs to the ground both at once, and obferves the fame ex- adtnefs in all the times. AB AT£iVIENT,yi [ abatement , Fr.] The aft of aba¬ ting or lelfening. The Hate of being abated. — Coffee has an oil ftrongly combined and entangled with earthy par¬ ticles ; the mod noxious part of the oil exhales in roafting, to the abatement of near one quarter of its weight. Arbuthnol. • — The fum or quantity taken away by the aCt of abating. — The law of works is that law, which requires perfedt obedience, without remiffion or abatement. Locke. — The caufe of abating ; extenuation. — We cannot plead in abate¬ ment of our guilt, that we were ignorant of our duty, un¬ der the prepofieffion of ill habits, and the bias of a wrong education. Atterbuty. Abatement inlaw, is ufed in three fenfes : Thefirft is that of removing or beating down a nufance. In which refpeCt, the perfon aggrieved by the nufance may abate or remove the fame without the formality of an adtion, fo as he commit no riot in the doing of it. If a houfe or wall is ereiSted fo near to mine, that it flops my ancient lights (which is a private nufance), I may enter my neighbour’s land and peaceably pull it down. Dr if a new gate be erected acrofs the king’s highway (which is a public nu¬ fance), any of the king’s fubjefts palling that way may cut it down and delfroy it. And the reafon why tlie law allows this fummary method of doing one’s feif juftice is, becaufe injuries of this kind require an immediate remedy, and cannot wait for the How progrefsof the ordinary forms of juftice. 3 Blackjl. 5. The fecond fignification of abatement is, the defeating or overthrowing of an adfion, by fome defedt in the pro¬ ceedings; as where exception is taken to the infufticiency of the matter; to the incertainty of the allegation, by mif- naming either of the parties, or the place ; to the variance between the writ and the fpecialty or record ; to the in¬ certainty of the writ or declaration ; or to the death of either of the parties before judgment had. For thefe and many Other caufes, the defendant oftentimes prays, that the fuit of the plaintiff may for that time ceafe. And in cafe of abatement in thefe refpefts, all writs and procefs muft begin de novo. In the cafe of an indidlmeht, on a criminal procefs, the defendant may plead in abatement, that his name is not as in the indidlment fpecified, or that they have given him a wrong addition, as yeoman inftead of gentleman ; and if the jury find it fo, the indidfment Ihall abate. But in the end, there is little advantage ac¬ cruing to the defendant by means of this kind of dilatory plea ; becaufe, if the exception be allowed, a new bill of kididfment may be framed, according to what the prifoner in his plea avers to be the true name and addition. For it is a rule, upon all pleas in abatement, that he, who takes advantage of a flaw, muft at the fame time Ihew how it may be amended. 4 Blackjl. 335. The third fpecies of abatement is, where the rightful poireflion or freehold of the heir or devifee is defeated or overthrown by the intervention of a ftranger. And here¬ in it differs from intrufion, which is the entry of a ftranger after a particular eftate of freehold is determined, before him in remainder or reverfion. An abatement is always fo the prejudice of the heir or immediate devifee ; an in- f'rufton is always to the prejudice of the remainder-man or ABB 7 reverfionor. For example: If a man dieth feized of lands in fee Ample, and before the entry of his heir, a ftranger enters thereon, this is an abatement ; but if a man be te¬ nant for life, with remainder to another in fee, and after the death of the tenant for life a ftranger enters, this is an intrufion. The remedy in abatement or intrufion may be by entry, without the parties being put about to bring their aCtion : for as the original entry of the wrong-doer was unlawful, this may therefore be remedied by the mere entry of him who hath right; unlefs a defcent hath been call, which gives the heir of the abator or intruder a colourable title, and therefore he Ihall not be oufted but by another making out a better claim. 3 Blackjl. 175. Abatement, in heraldry, an accidental mark, which being added to a coat of arms, the dignity of it is abafed, by reafon of fome ftain or difhonourable quality of the bearer. Abatement, in the cuftoms, an allowance made upon the duty of goods, when the quantum damaged is deter¬ mined by the judgment of two merchants upon oath, and afcertained by a certificate from the furveyor and land- waiter. A B ATI ON, an ereClion at Rhodes, as a fence to the trophy of Artemilia, queen of Halicarnafius, Coos, &c-> raifed in memory of her victory over the Rhodians ; or rather as a lcreen to conceal the difgrace of the Rhodians from the eyes of the world, the effacing or deftrc'Jfdg the trophy being with them a point of religion. ABATIS, or Abattis,^ {abattre, Fr. ] Tothrowdown or beat down. In the military art, it denoted a kind of retrenchment made by a quantity of whole trees cut down, and laid lengthways belide each other, the clofer the bet¬ ter, -having all their branches pointed towards the enemy,, which prevents his approach, at the fame time that the- trunks ferve as a breaft-work before the men. The ab- batis is a very ufeful work on mod occafions, efpecially on fudden emergencies, when trees are near at hand ; and has- always been practifed, with coniiderable fuccefs, by the ableft commanders- in all ages and nations. Abatis, an ancient term for anofficerof the ftables. ABATER, f. The agent or caufe by which an abate¬ ment is procured ; that by which any thing is leffened. ABATOR, f. A law term. One who intrudes into houfes or land, void by the death of the former pofleffor, and yet not entered upon or taken up by his heir, as de- fcribed above. ABATUDE, f. In old records, any thing diminiftied. ABATURE,y. [ abatre , Fr.] Thofe fprigs of grafts* which are thrown down by a flag in his paffmg by. ABATOS, an ifland of Egypt, in the Lake Moeris. It was famous for being the fepulchre of Ofiris, and for producing the papyrus plant, of which the ancients made their paper. ABAVO, f. in botany, a fynonime of the Adansonia. ABB, f. a term among clothiers, applied to the yarn of a weaver’s Warp. They fay alfo abb-wool in the fame fenfe. ABBA, in the Syriac and Chaldee languages, fignifies father; and figuratively, a fuperior, reputed as a father in refpedt of age, dignity, or affection. It is more par¬ ticularly ufed in the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic, churches, as a title given to the bilhops. The biihops themfelves beftow the title Abba more eminently on the bifliop of Alexandria; which occafioned the people to give him the title of Baba or Papa , that is, Grandfather-, a title which he bore before the biihop of Rome. It is a Jewifh titjfe of honour given to certain rabbins called Tanaites: and it is alfo ufed, by fome writers of the middle age, for the fupe¬ rior of a monaftery, ufually called abbot. ABBACY. J'. [ abbatia , Lat.J The rights or privileges of an abbot. — According' to Felinus, an abbacy is the. dignity itfelf, fince an abbot is a term or word of dignity and not of office; arid, therefore, even a fecular pfrfon, who has the care of fouls, is fometimes, in the canon law, alfo ftiled an abbot. ABBA DIE (James), an eminent proteftant divine, born at Nay in Bern, 1111654; firlt educated under the famous John $ ABB John la Placettc, and afterwards at the univerfity of Sedan. From thence he went into Holland and Germany, and was minifter in tbe French church of Berlin. He left that place in 1690; came into England; and was fome time minifter in the French church in the Savoy, London; and was made dean of Killalow in Ireland. He died in Lon¬ don, in 1727, aged 73. He was ftrongly attached to the caufe of King William, as appears in his elaborate de¬ fence of the revolution, and his hiftory of the affafii- nation-plot. He had great natural abilities, which he improved by true and.ufeful learning. He was a moft zealous defender of the primitive doitrine of the prctef- tants, as appears by his writings; and that ftrong nervous eloquence for which he was fo remarkable, enabled him to enforce the doftrines of his profeftion from the pulpit with great fpirit and energy. He publifhed feveral works in French, that were much efteemed. ABBAS, fon of Abdalmothleb, and Mahomet’s uncle, oppofed his nephew .with all his power, efteeming him an impoftor and infidel ; but, in the fecond year of the Hegira, being overcome and made a prifoner at the battle of Bendir in 623, and a great ranfom being demanded for him, he reprefented to Mahomet, that his paying it would reduce him to poverty, which would redound to the dif- honour of the family. But Mahomet having been in¬ formed of Abbas’s having fecreted large fums of money, allied him after the purl’es of gold he had left in his mo¬ ther’s cuftody at Mecca. Abbas, upon this, conceiving him to be really a prophet, embraced his new religion; became one of his principal captains; and faved his life when in imminent danger at the battle of Henain, againft the Thakefites, foon after the reduflion of Mecca. B.ut belides being a great commander, Abbas was alfo a famous doftor of the Muffulman law, infomuch that lie read ledhires upon every chapter of the Koran, as his ne¬ phew pretended to receive them one by one from heaven. He died in 652, and his memory is held in the higheft ve¬ neration among the Muffulmans to this day. Abbas (Abul), furnamed Saflali, was proclaimed kha- lif ; and in him began the dynafty of the ABBASIDES, who polfeffed the khalifate for 524 years; and there were thirty-feven khalifs of tliis race who l'ucceeded one another without interruption. ABBE ,f. ina modern fenfe, the name of a curious po¬ pular character in France, of late very much mentioned, but very little known, in Britain. The term is not to be rendered in our language, as the exiftence of the clafs it denominates is pofterior to the reformation, and no fuch chara&er was known among the Romanifts till about a century and a half ago. Abbes, according to the ftridteft definition, are perfons who have never obtained any precife or fixed fettlement in church or ftate, yet poftefted, till very lately, the moft ready accefs to all tables, and to all communities in France. Their drefs was rather that of an academic, or of a pro- fefted fcholar, than of an ecclefiaftic ; and, by never vary¬ ing in colour, was no incumbrance on the pocket. We are told thefe abb£s were very numerous, and no lefs infinua- ting. They were, in colleges, the inftruftors of youth ; in private families, the tutors of young gentlemen; and many procured a decent livelihood by their literary and witty compofttions of all kinds, from the profoundeft phi- lofophy, to the moft airy romances. They were in (Tiort, a body of men who poftefted a fund of univerfal talents and learning, and were inceftantly employed in the publi¬ cation of the moft witty larcafms, and impreflive truths. No fubjeft efcaped them ; ferious or gay, folid or ludicrous, facred or profane, all were fubfervient to their refearches ; and, as they were converfant in the loweft as well as the higheft political topics, their fame was equally great in the learned, and in the fcribbling world. A diftinguiftiing part of their charafter too was their devotion to the fair- fex : whofe favourites, in return, they had the honour of being in the moft enviable degree; the wit and fmartnefs for which they were remarkable, being juft the very thing ABB that fuited the French ladies, In fine, thefe abbes were fought after by moft people, on varior accounts; as they were equally men of bufinefs and pleaf .re, not lefs expert in the moft ferious tranfaclions, than fond of enjoying their (hare in whatever occupied the gay world. Hence they diligently frequented all public fpettacles, which were thought incomplete without them ; and they compofed the moft intelligent part of the company, as they were the moft weighty approvers or condemners of what paffed in all places. And it is now faid, that by the wit, and fub- tlety of their writings, — by the poignancy of their fatire, and the freedom of their fpeech, they were, in a great meafure, the inftruments of ftirring up the public mind, and of bringing about that aftonifhing revolution, which will ever make the moft prominent feature in the civil and political hiftory of France. Abbe, in a monaftic fenfe, the fame with abbot. ABBEFIORD, a fea-port of Norway. ABBERLOUGH, a beautiful lake in Argylefhire. ABBERTON, near Lexden, Effex. — Abberton, near Perfliore, (even miles' from Worcefter, famous for its mi¬ neral water. — Asberwick, near Alnwick, Northumber¬ land. — Abbenhall, twelve miles from Gloucefter, three from Newnham, noted for a fpring of water very efficaci¬ ous in the cure of cutaneous eruptions. ABBESS, f. the fuperior of an abbey or convent of nuns. The abbefs has the fame rights and authority over her nuns that the abbots regular have over their monks. The fex indeed does not allow her to perform the fpiritual functions annexed to the priefthood, wherewith the abbot is ufually invefted; but there are inftances of fome ab- beftes who have a right or rather a privilege, to commif- fion a prieft to aft for them. They have even a kind of epifcopal jurifdiftion, as well as fome abbots who are ex¬ empted from the vifitation of their diocefans. Martene, in his Treatife on the Rites of the Church, obferves, that fome abbeffes have formerly confefted their nuns. But he adds, that their exceffive curiofity carried them fuch lengths, that there arofe a neceffity of checking it. How¬ ever, St. Bafil, in his rule, allows the abbefs to he prefent with the prieft at the confeftion of her nuns. ABBEVILLE, a confiderable city of France in Picar¬ dy, and the capital of Ponthieu; the river Somme runs through the middle of it, and divides it into two parts. It has a collegiate-church, and twelve parifh-churches ; the moft confiderable of which are St. George’s and St. Giles’s, befides a great number of monafteries and nun¬ neries, a bailiwic, and a prefidial court. It is a fortified town; the walls are flanked with baftions, and furrounded by large ditches. The country about it is low, marftiy, and dirty. It is pretty well peopled, and is famous for its manufaftory of foaps, and linen and woollen cloths. It is about fifteen miles eaft of the Britifh channel, and (Trips may 'come by the river Somme to the middle of the town. This city is 52 miles S. of Calais, and 80 N. by W, of Paris. E. Ion. 2. 6. lat. 50. 7. ABBEY, or ABB Y, / [ab'oatia, Lat.] A monaftery of religious perfons, whether men or women; diftinguiffied from religious houfes of other denominations by larger privileges. Abbeys differ from priories, in that the former are un¬ der the direction of an abbot, and the others of a prior.: but abbot and prior (we mean a prior conventual) are much the fame thing, differing in little but the name. Thefe abbeys were at firft no tiling more than religious houfes, whither perfons retired from the buftle of the world to fpend their time in ftftitude gnd devotion. But they foon degenerated from their original inftitution, and procured large privileges, exemptions, and riches. They prevailed greatly in England : and, as they increafed in riches, fo the date became poor ; for the lands which thefe regulars pofleffed were in mortua manu, i. e- could never revert to the lords who £ave them. This inconvenience gave rife to the ftatutes againft gifts in mortmain, which prohibited donations to thefe religious houfes: and Lord Coke ABB Coke tells us, that feveral lords, at their creation, had a elaufe in their grant, that the donor might give or fell his land to whom he would (exceptis viris religiojis & JudceisJ, excepting monks and Jews. Thefe places were wholly abolifhed in England at the time of the reformation; Henry VIII. having firrt ap¬ pointed vifitors to infpeil into the lives of the monks and nuns, which were found in fome places very diforderly : upon which, the abbots, perceiving their dilfolution una¬ voidable, were induced to refign their houfes to the king, who by that means became inverted with the abbey-lands : thefe were afterwards granted to different perfons, whofe defendants enjoy them at this day : they were then valued at 2,853,000k per annum, — animmenfe fum in thofe days. Though the fuppreffion of religious houfes, even con- fidered in a political light only, was of a very great na¬ tional benefit, it muff be owned that, at the time they flouriflied, they were not entirely ufelefs. Abbeys or monafteries were then the repolitories, as well as the ierni- naries of learning; many valuable books and national re¬ cords, as well as private evidences, have been preferved in their libraries ; the only places wherein they could have been fafely lodged in thofe turbulent times. Many of thofe which had efcaped the ravages of the Danes, were deffroyed with more than Gothic barbarity at the diffolu- tion of the abbeys. Thefe ravages are pathetically la¬ mented by John Bale, in his declaration upon Leland’s Journal, 1549. “ Covetoufnefs (fays he) was at that time fo bufy about private commodity, that public wealth, in that mod necelfary and of refpedt, was not any where re¬ garded. A number of them which purchafed thefe fu- perftitious manfions, referved of the library-books, fome to ferve their jacks, fome to fcour the candlefficks, and fome to rub their boots ; fome they fold to the grocer and foap-feller; and fome they fent over the fea to the book-binders, not in fmall numbers, but in whole (hips full; yea, the univerfities of this realm are not clear of fo deteftable a faff. I know a merchant that bought the contents of two noble libraries for forty lhillings price ; a fhame it is to be fpoken! This ftuff hath he occupied in- ftead of grey paper, by the fpace of more than thefe ten years, and yet he hath Itore enough for as many years to come. I fhall judge this to be true, and utter it with hea- vinefs, that neither the Britons under the Romans and Saxons, nor yet the Engliffi people under the Danes and Normans, had ever fuch damage of their learned monu¬ ments as we have feen in our time.” In thofe days every abbey had at lead one perfon whofe office it was to inrtruft youth; and tire hirtorians of this country are chiefly beholden to the monks for the know¬ ledge they have of former national events. In thefe houfes alfo the arts of painting, architeffure, and printing, were cultivated. The religious houfes alfo were hofpitals for the fick and poor; affording likewife entertainment to travellers at a time when there were no inns. In them the nobility and gentry who were heirs to their founders could provide for a certain number of ancient and faithful fervants, by procuring them corodies, or dated allow¬ ances of meat, drink, and clothes. They were likewife an afylum for aged and indigent perfons of good family. The neighbouring places were alfo greatly benefited by the fairs procured for them, and by their exemption from fored-laws; add to which, that the monadic ertates were generally let at very eafy rents, the fines given at renewals included. The abbots who prefided over thefe monarteries, were many of them called to parliament, and had fe^ts and votes in the houfe of lords. Of abbots and priors who rtatedly and condantly enjoyed this privilege, there were twenty-nine in all, viz. the Abbot of Tewkelbury, the Prior of Coventry, the Abbots of Waltham, Cirencef- ter, St, John’s at Colcheder, Croyland, Shrewlbury, Sel¬ by, Bardney, St. Bennet’s of Hulme, Thorney, Hyde at Wincherter, Winchelcomb, Battel, Reading, St. Mary’s jn York, Ramfey, Peterborough, St. Peter’s in Glouceder, Vol.1. Ne. t. ABB 9 Gladonbury, St. Edmundlbury, St. Aurtin in Canterbu¬ ry, St. Alban’s, Wedminder, Abingdon, Eveffiam, Malmfbury, and Tavidock, and the prior of St. John’s of Jerufalem, who was rtyled. the firft baron of England, but it was in refpeft to the lay barons only, for he was the lad of the fpiritual barons. The abbey-lands, before the diflolution of the monaf¬ teries, were many of them difcharged from the payment of tithes; either by the pope’s bulls; or by real compod- tion with the parfon, patron, and ordinary; or by their order, as Cirtertians, Templars, Kofpitalars, and Prse- mondratenfes. But this was only fo long as the lands re¬ mained in the hands of the feveral religious focieties, and were cultivated by them, and not in the hands of their te¬ nants or lellees. Thefe exemptions by the dilfolution had been abolifhed, if they had not been continued by the aft of parliament 31 Henry VIII. c. 13. with refpeft to fuch of the monarteries as were diffolved by that aft; which enafts, that they who rtiall have any lands belonging to the faid religious houfes, (hall enjoy them difcharged of the payment of tythes, in like manner as the abbots and others enjoyed the fame at the time of their dilfolution. Which aft alfo created a new difcharge, which was not before at the common law, that is, unity of the pojfejjion of the par- fonage-and land tithable in the fame hand; for if the mo¬ nartery, at the time of the dilfolution, was feifed of the lands and reftory, and had paid no tithes within the me¬ mory of man for the lands; thofe lands fhall now be ex¬ empted from payment of tythe, by a fuppofed perpetual unity of poffellion ; becaufe the fame perfons that had the lands, having alfo the parfonage, could not pay tithes to themfelves. And now, though the titles of difcharge under 31 Henry VIII. are many of them lod, and cannot be made out at this day; yet if the lands of a religious houfe have been held lince the dilfolution freed from the payment of tythes, it fliall be intended that they were held l'o before. Wood , b. 2. c. 2. ABBEYBOYLE, a town of Ireland, in the county of Rofcommon, and province of Connaught, fituate on the river Buelle, over which there are two done bridges. It is eighty-four miles from Dublin, and is remarkable for an old abbey. W. long. 8.32. lat. 56. 54. ABBEYHOLM, a town in Cumberland, fo called from an abbey built there by David king of Scots. It rtands on an arm of the fea, 16 miles from Carlille. W. long. 2. 38. Lat. 54. 45. ABBEY-LUBBER, f. A flothful loiterer in areligious houfe, under pretence of retirement and auderity. ABBOT, f. [in the lower Latin abbas , from as* father, which fenfe was dill implied ; fo that the abbots were called patres, and abbelfes matres mcnaferii.'] The chief of a convent, or fellowfhip of canons. Of thefe, fome in England were mitred, fome not: thofe that were mitred, were exempted from the jurifdidtion of the diocefan, hav¬ ing in themfelves epifcopal authority within their precindts, and being alfo lords of parliament. Tire other fort were fubjebt to the diocefan in all fpiritual government. Some were called crofiered abbots, from their bearing the crolier or partoral rtaff. Others were ililed oecumenical or univer- fal abbots, in imitation of the patriarch of Conrtantinople : while others were termed cardinal abbots, from the if fuperiority over all other abbots. At prefent, in the Roman-catholic countries, the principal didinttions ob- ferved between abbots are thofe of regular and commen¬ datory. The former take the vow and wear the habit of their order ; whereas the latter are feculars, though they are obliged by their bulls to take orders when ot proper age. Anciently, the ceremony of creating an abbot com- firted in clothing him with the habit called ntcutus, or cowl; putting the partoral rtaff' into his hand, and the fltoes called pcdalcs on his feet; but at prefent, it is only a fimple benediftion, improperly called, by fome, confe- cration. Abbot (George), archbiQmp of Canterbury, was born Odt. 29, 1562, at Guildford in Surrey. He went through D his ro ABB "his (Indies at Oxford, and in 1597 was chofen principal of Univerfity College. In 1599, he was inftalled dean of Winchefter : the year following, he was chofen vice- chancellor of the univerlity of Oxford, and a fecond time in 603. In 1604, that tranflation of the bible now in ufe was begun by the direction of king James; and Dr. Ab¬ bot was the fecond of eight divines of Oxford, to whom the care of tranflating the whole New Teftament (except¬ ing the epiftles) was committed. The year following, he was a third time vice-chancellor. In 1608, lie went to Scotland with George Hume earl of Dunbar, to aflift in eftabli filing an union betwixt the kirk of Scotland and the church of England ; and in this affair he behaved with lb much addrefs and moderation, that it laid the foundation of all his future preferment. For king James ever after paid great deference to his advice and counfel ; and upon the death of Dr. Overton bifliop of Litchfield and Coven¬ try, he named Dr. Abbot for his fucceffor, who was ac¬ cordingly conftituted bifhop of thofe two united fees in Dec. 1609. A.bout a month afterwards he was tranflated to the fee of London, and on the fecond of November following was railed to thearchiepifcopal fee. His great zeal for the proteftant religion made him a ftrenuous promoter of the match between the Elector Pa¬ latine and the princefs Elizabeth ; which was accordingly concluded and folemnized on the 14th of February, 161 2, the archbifhop performing the ceremony on a ftage erected in the royal chapel. In the following year happened the famous cafe of divorce betwixt the lady Francis Howard, daughter of the earl of Suffolk, and Robert earl of Ef- fex : an affair which has been by many confidered as one of the greateft blemilhes of king James’s reign: but the part atfted therein by the archbilhop added much to the reputation he had already acquired 'for incorruptible inte¬ grity. He prepared a fpeech, which he intended to have fpoken againft the nullity of the marriage, in the court of Lambeth ; but he did not make ufe of it, becaufe the king ordered the opinions to be given in few words. He con¬ tinued, however, inflexible in his opinion againft the ‘di¬ vorce ; and drew up his reafons, which the king thought fit to anfwer himfelf. It need fcarcely be added, that fen- tence was given in the lady’s favour. In 1618, the king publiflied a declaration, which he ordered to be read in all churches, permitting fports and paftimes on the Lord’s day : this gave great uneafinefs to the archbifhop ; who, happening to be at Croydon when it came thither, had the courage to forbid its being read. Being now in a declining ftate of health, the archbifhop ufedin the fummer to go to Hampfhire for the fake of re¬ creation ; and being invited by Lord Zouch to hunt in his park at Bramfhill, he met there with the greateft misfor¬ tune that ever befel him ; for he accidentally killed the game-keeper by an arrow from a crofs-bow which he fliot at one of the deer. The accident threw him into a deep melancholy ; and he ever afterwards kept a monthly faft on Tuefday, the day on which this mifchance happened, and he fettled an annuity of 20I. on the 'widow. There were feveral perfons who took an advantage of this misfortune, to leffen him in the king’s favour ; but his majefty laid, “ An angel might have mifcarried in this fort.” Flis ene¬ mies alleging that he had incurred an irregularity, and was thereby rendered unfit for performing the offices of a primate ; thekmg directed a commifiion to ten perfons to inquire into this matter. The refult, however, was not fatisfaftory to his grace’s enemies ; it being declared, that, as the murder w'as invo¬ luntary, he had hot forfeited his archiepifcopal character. The archbifhop thenceforward feldom affifted at the council, being chiefly hindered by his infirmities ; but in the king’s laft illnefs he was fent for, and attended with great conftancy till his majefty expired on the 27th of March 1625. He performed the ceremony of the coro¬ nation of King Charles I. though very infirm and much troubled with the gout. At length being worn out with cares and infirmities, he died at Croydon, the 5th of Aug. ABB 1633, aged 71 years; and was buried at Guildford, the place of his nativity, where he had endowed an hofpital with lands.to the amount of 300I. per annum. A ftately monument is ereCted over the grave, with the effigy of the archbifhop in his robes. Fie (flowed himfelf, in moft circumflances of his life, a man of great moderation to all parties; and was defirous that the clergy (flould attract the erteem of the laity by the fanftity of their manners, rather than claim it as due to their function. Abbot (Robert), elder.brother to the former, born at Guildford in 1560, went through his ftuaies in Baliol college, Oxford. In 1582, he took his degree of mafter of arts, and foon became a celebrated preacher ; and to this talent he chiefly owed his preferment. Upon his firft fernton at Worcefter, he was chofen lecturer in that city, and foon after refitor of All Saintsin thefame place. John Stanhope, Efq. happening to hear him preach at Paul’s- crofs, was fo pleafed with him, that he immediately pre- fented him to the rich living of Bingham in Nottingham- fflire. In 1597, he took his degree of dofitor in divinity : and, in the beginning of king James’s reign, was appoint¬ ed chaplain in ordinary to his majefty ; who had fuch an opinion of him as a writer, that he ordered the doctor’s book De Antichrijlo to be printed with his own commentary upon part of the Apoealypfe. In 1609, he was elected mafter of Baliol college ; which truft he difcharged with the utmoft care and afliduity, by his frequent lectures to the fcholars, by his continual prefence at public exercifes, and by promoting temperance in the fociety. In Nov. 1610, he tvas made prebendary of Normanton in the church of Southwell; and, in 1612, the king appointed him regius profefforof divinity at Oxford. The fame of his leftures became very great ; and thofe which he gave upon the fupreme power of kings againft Bellarmine and Suarez, fo much pleafed his majefty, that wdien the fee of Salifbury became vacant, he named him to that bi (hop - ric, and lie was confecrated by his own brother at Lam¬ beth, Dec. 3, 1615. When he came to Saliftmry, he found the cathedral in a ftate of decay, owing to the covet- oufnefs of the clergy belonging to it ; however, he found means to draw five hundred pounds from the prebenda¬ ries, which he applied to the reparation of the church. He then gave himfelf up to the duties of his function with great diligence and afliduity, vifiting his whole diocefe in perfon, and preaching every Sunday whilft health would permit. But this was not long : for his fedentary life, and clofe application to ftudy, brought upon him the gra¬ vel and done ; of which he died on the 2d of March 1618, in the fifty-eighth year of his age ; having not filled the fee quite two years and three months, and being one of the five bifhops which Salifbury had in fix years. He was buried oppofite to the bilhop’s feat in the cathedral. Dr. Fuller, (peaking of the two brothers, fays, “ that George was the more plaufible preacher, Robert the greater fcholar ; George the abler ftatefman, Robert the deeper divine; gravity did frown in George, and fmile in Ro¬ bert.” He publiflied feveral pieces : he alfo left behind him fundry manufcripts, which Dr. Corbet made a pre- fent of to the Bodleian library. Abbots, or Apewood-Castle, in Staffordfhires fituated on a lofty round promontory, and a deep ridge of hills extending a mile in length, fuppofed to have been one continued fortification of the ancient Britons. It is in theparifh of Seifdon, feven miles from Wolverhampton. — Abbot’s-Anne, near Andover, Hampfhire. — Ab- bot’s-Beckington, on the river Towridge, Devon- (hire. ABBOTS-BROMLEY, a market-town in Stafford- fhire. After the diffolution of the monafteries, it was given to the Lord Paget'; and has fince been called Paget’s Bromley, and is fo denominated in the county map. But it retains its old name in the king’s books, and is a difcharg¬ ed vicarage of 30I. clear yearly value. W. long. 1. 53. lat. 52. 50.— The place conlifts chiefly of one ftreet, about 3 the ABB the middle of which is the town-hall, wherein are annual¬ ly held the court-leet and court-baron of the Right Hon. the Karl of Uxbridge, lord of the manor, and patron of the church; here is alfo a market-place, which is fpa- cious and very clean. The houfes ire neat, and built in general of brick. Bromley hands in a fine open fertile country, difiant from Litchfield n miles; Rugely, Uttoxeter, and Wolfe - ley-bridge, 6 ; from Stafford 13 ; and from London 128. It has a free grammar-fchool, founded in 1603, by Mr. Richard Clarke. Alio an aims-houfe well endowed, by Lambert Bagot, Efq. in 1703, for fix poor old men; and feveral other charities, to a confiderable amount. The market-day is on Tuefday ; and there are three fairs held annually, for horfes, cows, pigs, fheep, &c. viz. on the Tuefday after Midlent Sunday, the 22d of May, and the 4th of September. ABBOTSBURY, a fmall town in Dorfetfhire, 10 miles from Dorchefter, 8 from Weymouth, 7 from Brid- port, and 127 from London. The abbey, from which this town took its name, was founded by a Norman lady, about the year 1026; and Edward the Confeffor, and William the Conqueror, W'ere confiderable benefactors to it. The church is a large and handlome ItruCture, de¬ dicated to St. Nicholas, and fuppofed to have been built not very long before the reformation ; it is fituated on the fouth fide of the town, and the whole length is forty-eight feet. St. Catherine’s chapel ftands on an high round hill, half a mile S. W. of the town : it has two porches, a turret at the weft end, and windows all round it. It is a ftrong handfome building, with a« compafs roof arched with ft one, and is efteemed a great curioffty, and one of the moft venerable pieces of antiquity this kingdom has to boaft. By the ftile of building, it feems to have been ereCted in the reign of Edward IV. It ferves, by its high fituation, both for a fea and land mark. This town formerly had a market on Fridays, afterwards changed to Thurfdays, and two fairs ; but the market and one of the fairs are, of late years, quite decayed. Here is ftill one fair yearly on St. Peter’s day, the tutelar faint of the abbey. In 1706, the weft part of the town was burnt down. The principal p>art of the inhabitants (which are not numerous) depend chiefly on fifhing, or on the cultivation of fmall farms ; and others are employed in fpinning of cotton, which is here manufactured into-ftockings, the excellency of which has long acquired great reputation. There is a free-fchool for teaching twenty poor boys reading, writing, and arith¬ metic; at firft endowed with 12I. perann. lince augmented to 20I. by the late Mrs. Horner. The town lies near the Ihore, where vaft quantities of fine mackarel are caught from the middle of March till Midfummer ; they have fometimes caught 30 or 40,000 at a draught, and 100 have been fold for a penny : there are many curious ftones on the beach, and ftone is dug in the quarries near the fhore, very ferviceable for fating or paving. About a quarter of a mile S. W. of Abbotlbury is a large decoy, well co¬ vered with wood, where plenty of wild fowl refort, and are taken. A little weft of the town is a noble fwannery, much vilitedby Grangers : in the open part of the fleet are kept 6 or 700, formerly 1500, fwans : the royalty belonged anciently to the abbot ; lince to the family of the Strange- ways; now to the countefs dowager of Ilchefter, who has a fmall houfe upon the margin of the beach, where fhe ufually refidesfome time in the fumriier months. About a mile and an half weft of the town is an old fortification. The vicinity of this town to Weymouth, being a pleafant ride, occafions, in the bathing-feafon, frequent excurlions of company from that place, particularly of fuch as are curious in monaftk antiquities ; or have a tafte for roman¬ tic profpeCts; none of whom ever yifit this place without expreflions of the utmoft fatisfaClion and pleafure. Lat. 50. 38. W. Ion. 2. 42. Abbotsbury, near Barley, Hertf. Abbot’s-Cares- ■well, Devon. — Abbot’s-Crome, Wore.— .%ebot’.s- Fee-Tything, near Sherborne, Dorfet. — Abeotsham, A B D rr near Biddeford, Devon.— Abbot’s-Lang ley, near Barkway, Hertf. — Abbot’s-Leigh, or Isle, near II- minfter, Somerfet. — Abbotsley, near St. Neot’s, Hunt. Abbot’s-Moreton, Worceft. — Abbotstock, De¬ von. — Abbotstoke, near Bemifter, Dorfet. — Abbot- stone, near Kingfwood, Glou. called alfo Wyke, from a winding brook that runs by it. — Abbotstoke, near Syfton, Glou. — Abbotstoke, Wilts. — Abbotstoke, near Alresford, Hants. — Abbotsroot, Dorfet. near Wimborne. — Abbotsvvood, : orceft. 4 miles N. W. of Perlhore. — Abbot’s Worth y, near Winchefter, Hants. • — Abbot’s-Cou rt, in Walton, Surrey. ABBOT3HIP, f. The ftate or privilege of an abbot. To ABBREVIATE, v. a. [ abbreviare , Lat.] To Ihorten by contraction of parts without lofs of the main fubftance; to abridge. — The only invention of late years, which hath contributed towards, politenefs in difeourfe, is that of abbreviating or reducing words of many fyllables into one, by lopping off:' the reft. Swift.. — To Ihorten, to cut fttort. ABBREVIATION, f. The a6t of abbreviating. The means ufed to abbreviate, as characters fignifying whole words ; words contracted. — By itatute 4 G. 2. c. 26. all law proceedings fhall be in the Englifti tongue, and written in a common legible hand and character, and in words at length and not abbreviated : but by 6 G. 2. c. 14. this is fomewhat -mitigated, which allows, that they may be writ¬ ten in the like manner of exprefling numbers by figures as hath been commonly ufed, and with fuch abbreviations as are now commonly ufed in tife Englifti language. ABBREVI ATOP-, f. [, abbreviated , Fr.] One who abbreviates, or abridges. Abbreviators, a college of feventy-two perfons in the chancery of Rome, who draw up the pope’s briefs, and reduce petitions, when granted by him, into proper form for being converted into bulls. ABBREVIATURE, J. \_abbreviatura, Lat.] A mark ufed for the fake of (hortening. A compendium or abridgement. — He who prays for him that wrongs him, forgiving all his faults ; who fooner ftiews mercy than anger ; who offers violence to his appetite, in all things endeavouring to fubdue the fiefti to the fpirit : this is an excellent abbreviature of the whole duty of a Chrif- tian. Taylor. ' ABBREUVOIR,/. [a watering-place. Ital. abbeverato, dal verbo bevere. Lat. biberc. This word is derived by Menage, not much acquainted with the Teutonic dialefts, from adbibare for adbibere ; but more probably it comes from the fame root with brew.~\ Among mafons, the joint or juncture of two ftones, or the interltice between two ftones to be filled up with mortar. ABBS-HEAD, St. a promontory or head-land in Ecr- wickfhire, Scotland, in the divifton of Lamber Muir. It is the midway between Coldingham and Lumfden. This head-land is the fouthern extremity of the frith of Forth. -^at-.55-55- Ion. 1. 56. W. ABBTENAU, a market town, in the archbifhopric of Saltzburgh, in the circle of Bavaria, Germany, about ten miles N. W. of Radftadt, on a branch of the river Salzach. ABCEDARY,or Abcedari an, yzt/j.anepithet given to compofitions, the part of which are difpofed in the order of the letters of the alphabet : thus we fay, Abcedarian pfalms, lamentations, hymns, & c. ABCOlJpE, a village, about nine miles from Amfter- dam, on the road to Utrecht. ABCOURT, a town near St. Germain’s, four leagues from Paris. Here is a bride chalybeate water impregnated with fixed air and 'the foil'll alkali; and refembling the water of Spa and llmington. ABDALLA, the fon of Abdalmothleb, was the father- of the prophet Mahomet. Several other Arabians of eminence bore the fame name. ABDALMALEK, the fon of Mirvan, and the fifth khalif of the race of the Ommiades, furnamed Rafch al Hegianat, i. e. the lkinner of a.lione, becaufe. of his ex¬ treme; A B D A B D treme avarice ; as alfo Aboulzcbah , becaufe his breath was faid to be fo poifonous as to kill all the flies which relied on his face. Yet he furpafled all his predeceflors in power and dominion; for in his reign the Indies were conquered in the eaft, and his armies penetrated Spain in the weft : he likewife extended his empire toward the fouth, by making himfelf matter of Medina and Mecca. He began his reign in the fixty-fifth year of the Hegira, A. D. 648; reigned fifteen years; and four of his Ions enjoyed the khalifate one after another. ABDALMOTHLEB, or Abdai, Mateleb, the fon of Hafiiem, the father of Abdalla, and grandfather of Mahomet the prophet of the Muffulmans, was, it is faid, of fuch wonderful comelinefs and beauty, that all women who law him became enamoured; which may have given occalion to that prophetic light which, according to the Arabians, l'hone on the forehead of him, his anceftors, and defcendants ; it being certain that they were very hand- fome and graceful men. He died when Mahomet, of whom he had taken particular care, was onl" eight or nine years old; aged, according to fome, no, and according to other writers 1 20. ABDALONYMUS, or Abdolonymus (in claflic hiltory), of the royal family of Sidon, and defcended frond king Cinyras, was contented to live in obfcurity, and obtain his fubfiltence by cultivating a garden, while Strato was in pofleflion of the crown of Sidon. Alexan¬ der the Great having depofed Strato, enquired whether any of the race of Cinyras was diving, that he might fet him on the throne. It was generally thought that the whole race was extinft: but at la(t Abdalonymus was thought of, and mentioned to Alexander; who immedi¬ ately ordered fome of his foldiers to fetch him. They found the good man at work, happy in his poverty, and entirely a Itranger to the noife of arms, with which all Alia was at that time disturbed ; and they could fcarcely perfuade him they were in earned. Abdalonymus at firft thought it an infult offered to his poverty. He requelted them not to trouble him with their impertinent jefts, and to find feme other way of amufing themfelves, which might leave him in the peaceable enjoyment of his obfeure habitation. At length, however, they convinced him that they were ferious in their propofal, and prevailed upon him to accept the regal office, and accompany them to the palace. No fooner was. he in pofleflion of the go¬ vernment, than pride and envy created him enemies, who cvhifpered their murmurs in every place, till at laft they reached the ear of Alexander; who, commanding the new-elefted prince to be fent for, required of him, with what temper of mind he had borne his poverty. “ Would to heaven, (replied Abdalonymus,) that I may be able to bear my crown with equal moderation : for when 1 pof- fefled little, I wanted nothing : thefe hands fupplied me with whatever I defired.” From this anfwer Alexander formed fo high an idea of his wifdorn, that he confirmed the choice he had before made, and annexed a neighbour¬ ing province to the government of Sidon. ABDALS, in the ealtern countries, a kind of faints fuppofed to be infpired to a degree of madnefs. The word comes, perhaps, from the Arabic Abdallah , the fervant of God. They are often carried by excefs of zeal, efpecially in the Indies, to run about the fireets, and kill all they meet of a different religion ; of which tra¬ vellers furnifh many inftances. The Englifh call this run¬ ning a muk , from the name of the inftrument, a fort of poniard, which they employ on thofe defperate occasions. If they are killed, as it commonly happens, before they have done much mifehief, they reckon it highly meritori¬ ous ; andareeffeemed,by the vulgar, martyrs for their faith. ABDARA, or Abdera, anciently a town of Bceotia in Spain, a Phoenician colony; now Adra, to the weft of Alnteira in the kingdom of Granada. ABDERA, was formerly a maritime town of Thrace, not far from the mouth of the river Neffus, on the eaft fide. The foundation, according to Herodotus, was at¬ tempted to be laid by Timefius the Clazomenian; but he was forced by the Thracians to quit the defign. The Teians undertook it, and fucceeded; fettling there, in order to avoid the infults of the Perfians. Several Angu¬ larities are told of Abdera. The grafs of the country round it was fo ftrong, that fuch horfes as ate of it ran mad. In the reign of Callander king of Macedon, this city was fo peftered with frogs and rats, that the inhabi¬ tants were forced to quit it for a time. The Abderites, or Abderitani, were very much derided for their want of wit and judgment: yet their city has given birtli to feve- ral eminent perfons; as Protagoras, Democritus, Anax- archus, Hecataeus the hillorian, Nicensetus the poet, and many others, who were mentioned among the illuftrious men. ABDERAKMA, a Saracen viceroy in Spain, who re¬ volted and formed an independent principality at Cordova. He had feveral fucceffbrs of the fame name. ABDEST, a Perlian word, properly fignifying the wa¬ ter placed in a bal'on for waffling the hands ; but is ufed to imply the legal purifications praftifed by the Mahometans before they enter on their religious ceremonies. ABDIAS of Babylon, one of the boldeft legend- writers, who boafted he had feen our Saviour, that he was one of the feventy-two difciples, had been eye-witnefs of the aftions and prayers at the deaths of feveral of the apoftles, and had followed into Perfia St. Simon and St. Jude, who, he faid, made him the firft bilhop of Baby¬ lon. His book intitled Hjloria certaminis apojlolici , was publifhed by Wolfgang Lazius, at Bal'd, 1551; anaithas iince borne feveral impreflions in different places. To ABDICATE, v. a. [ abdico , Lat.] To give up one’s right; to refign; to lay down an office. Old Saturn here, with upcafteyes, Beheld his abdicated Ikies. Aadifon. ABDICATION, f. \abdicatio , Lat.] The aft of abdi¬ cating; refignation; quitting an office by one’s own pro¬ per aft before the ufual or ftated expiration. Abdication, inlaw, is where a magiltrate or perfon in office renounces and gives it up. So on king James the Second’s leaving the kingdom, the commons voted that he had abdicated the government, and thereby the throne was become vacant. The lords would have had the word deferted to be made ufe of, but the commons thought it was not comprehenlive enough, for then the king might have liberty of returning. ABDICATIVE, adj. [from abdo, Lat. to hide.] That which has the power or quality of hiding. ABDOMEN, / [from abdo, Lat. to hide.] A cavity commonly called the lower venter or belly. It contains the ftomach, guts, liver, fpleen, bladder, and is within lined with a membrane called the peritonaeum. See Anatomy. ABDOM1NALES, or Abdominal Fishes, confti- tute the IVth Order of the Fourth Clafs of Animals, in the Linnaean fyftem. See Zoology. To ABDUCE, v. a. \_abduco , Lat.] To draw to a dif¬ ferent part ; to withdraw one part from another. A word chiefly ufed in phyfic or fcience. ABDUCENT, adj. Mufcles abducent are thofe which ferve to open or pull back divers parts of the body ; their oppofiteS being called adducent. ABDUCTION, / [ abduElio , Lat.] The art of draw¬ ing apart, or withdrawing-one part from another. — In lo¬ gic, a particular form of argument, by the Greeks called apagoge, wherein the greater extreme is evidently con¬ tained in the medium, but the medium not fo evidently in the lefs extreme as not to require fome/arther medium or proof, to make it appear. — In furgery, a fpecies of frac¬ ture, wherein the broken parts of the bone recede from each other. ABDUCTOR,/ [abduElor, Lat.] The name given by anatomifts to thofe mufcles which ferve to lead, or draw back, the feveral members of the body. ABECEDARIAN, ABE ABECEDARIAN, /. [from the names of a, b, c, the three firft letters of the alphabet.] He that teaches or learns the alphabet, or firft rudiments of literature. ABEL, fecond fon of Adam and Eve, was a fhepherd. He offered to God fome of the firftlings of his flock, at the fame time that his brother Cain offered the fruits of the earth. God was pleafed with Abel’s oblation, but difpleafed with Cain’s ; which fo exafperated the latter, that he rofe up againft his brother and killed him. Thefe are the only circumftances Mofes relates of him ; though, ■were we to take notice of the feveral particulars to which curiofity has given birth on this ocCafion, they would run to a very great length. But this will not be expedited. It is. remarkable, that the Greek churches, who celebrate the feafts of every other patriarch and prophet, have not done the fame honour to Abel. His name is not to be found in any catalogue of faints or martyrs till the tenth century ; nor even in the new Romifh martyrology. How¬ ever he is prayed to, with fome other faints, in feveral Romifh litanies faid for perfons at the point of death. Abel Keramim, or Vincarum, beyond Jordan, in the country of the Ammonites, where Jephthah defeated them, feven miles diftant from 'Philadelphia, abounding in vines, and hence the name. It was alfo called Abela. Abel-Meholah, the country of the prophet Eliflia, fituate on this fide Jordan, between the valley of Jezreel and the village of Bethmaela in the plains of Jordan, where the Midianites were defeated by Gideon. Judges, vii. 22. Abel-Mizraim, called alfo the Threfhing-floor of Atad; fignifying the lamentation of the Egyptians; in allufion to the mourning for Jacob. Gen. i. 3, 10, 11. Suppofed to be near Hebron. Abel-Moschus, or Abelmush, /. in botany, the trivial name of a fpecies of the Hibiscus. Abel-Sattim, or Sittim, a town in the plains of Moab, to the north-eaft of the Dead Sea, not far from Jordan, where the Ifraelites committed fornication with the daughters of Moab. So called, probably, from the great number of fittim-trees there. ABELARD (Peter), one of the mod famous doctors of the twelfth century, was born at Palais near Nantz, in Brittany: he ivas well learned in divinity, philofophy, and the languages; but was particularly diftinguiihed by his fkill in logic, and his fondnefs for deputations, which led him to travel into feveral provinces in order to give pub¬ lic proof of his acutenefs in that fcience. After having baffled many antagonifts, he read leChires in divinity with great applaufe at Paris, where he boarded with a canon whofe name was Fulbert, and who had a very beautiful niece named Heloife. The canon ardently wifhed to fee this young lady make a figure among the learned, and Abelard was made her preceptor; but, in- ftead of inftrufting her in the fciences, he taught her to love. Abelard now performed his public functions very coldly, and wrote nothing but -amorous verfes. Heloife proving with child, Abelard fent her to a lifter of his in Brittany, where fhe was delivered of a fon. To foften the canon’s anger, he offered to marry Heloife privately; and the old man w'as better pleafed with the propofal than the niece ; who, from a fingular excefs of paflion, chofe to be Abelard’s miftrefs rather than his wife. She mar¬ ried, however; but ufed often to proteft upon oath that /he was fingle, which provoked the canon to ufe her ill. Upon this, Abelard fent her to the monaftery of Argen- teuil ; where fhe put on a religious habit, but did not take the veil. Heloife's relations confidering this as a fecond treachery, hired ruffians, who, forcing into his chamber in the dead of night, emafculated him. This infamous treatment made him fly to the gloom of a cloifter. He a (Turned the monaftic habit in the abbey of St. Dennis; but the diforders of that houfe foon drove him from thence. He was afterwards charged with herefy ; but after feveral perfections for his religious fentiments, he fettled in a folitude in the diocefe of Troies. where he Vol. I. No. 1. ABE 13 built an oratory, to which he gave the name of the Para- clet. He was afterwards chofen fuperior of the abbey of Ruis, in the diocefe of Vannes ; when the nuns being ex¬ pelled from the nunnery in which Heloife had been placed, he gave her his oratory, where Ihe fettled with fome of her After nuns, and became their priorefs.— -Abelard died in the priory of Marcellus at Chalons, April 21, 1142, aged fixty-three. His corpfe was fent to Heloife, who buried it in the Paraclet. He left feveral works: the mod celebrated of which are thofe tender letters' that pafled between him and Heloife, with an account of their misfortunes prefixed; which have been tranllated into Englilh, and immortalifed by the harmony of Mr. Pope’s numbers. ABEL-TREE,yi or Abele-tree, an obfolete name for a fpecies of the poplar. SeePopuLus. ABELIANS, Abeolites, or Abelonians, f. in church-hiftory, a fe£t of heretics mentioned by St. Auf- tin, which arofe in the diocefe of Hippo in Africa, and is fuppofed to have begun in the reign of Arcadius, and ended in that of Theodofius. Indeed it was not calculated for being of any long continuance. Thofe of this feCfc regulated marriage after the example of Abel ; who, they pretended, was married, but died without ever having known his wife. They therefore allowed each man to marry one woman, but enjoined them to live in conti¬ nence; and, to keep up the fetft, when a man and woman entered into this fociety, they adopted a boy and a girl, who were to inherit their goods, and to marry upon the fame terms of not begetting children, but of adopting two of different fexes. ABELL A, anciently a town of Campania, near the river Clanius. The inhabitants were called Abellani, and faid to have been a colony of Chalcidians. The mix Avellana, called alfo Frameftina, or the hazel-nut, takes its name from this town, according to Macrobius. Now Avella. ABELLINUM, anciently a town of the Hirpini, a people of Apulia; diftant about a mile from the rivulet Sabbato, between Beneventum and Salernum. Pliny calls the inhabitants Abellinates, with the epithet Protopi, to diftinguifti them from the Abellinates Marfi. Now Avel- lino. — E. Ion. 15. 20. lat. 21. ABEN EZRA (Abraham), a celebrated rabbi, born at Toledo, in Spain, called by the Jews, The wife, great, and admirable, DoCtor, was a very able interpreter of the Holy Scriptures ;■ and was well Ikilled in grammar, poe¬ try, philofophy, aftronomy, and medicine. He was alfo a perfeCt mafter of the Arabic. His principal work is. Commentaries on the Old Teftament, which is much efteemed : thefe are printed in Bomberg’s and Buxtorf ’s Hebrew Bibles. His ftyle is clear, elegant, concife, and much like that of the Holy Scriptures : he almoft always adheres to the literal fenfe, and every where gives proofs of his genius and'good fenfe : he, however, advances fome erroneous fentiments. The fcarceft of all his books is in- titled Jefud Mora; which is a theological work, intended as an exhortation to the ftudy of the Talmud. He died in 1174; aged 75. Aben Meller, a learned rabbi, who wrote a com¬ mentary on the Old Teftament in Hebrew, Entitled, The' Perfection of Beauty. ABENAS, a town of France, in Languedoc and in the Lower Vivarais, feated on the river Ardefch, at the foot of the Cevennes. E. Ion. 4. 43. lat. 44. 40. ABENEL GAUBY, a fixed ftar of the fecond or third magnitude, on the fouth fcale of the conftellation Libra. ABENOW, a mountain of Suabia, in Germany, twen¬ ty-three miles from Friburg. It is the fource of the Da¬ nube, and gives name to a chain of mountains, extending from the Rhine to the Neckar, and from the Fcreft-Towns to the city of Thorftieim. ABENF-ADEj a mountainous diftriCt of Slewick; it has for its capital Abenrade, or Apenrade, a fiourifliing town, on a E fpacious fpacious bay, with a good harbour, where they build large lliips. Lat. 55.6. N. Ion. 9. 14. E. ABENSBERG, a finall town of Germany, in the circle and duchy of Bavaria, and in the government of Mu¬ nich. It is feated on the river Abentz, near the Danube. E. Ion. 11. 38. lat. 48. 45. ABERAVON, a borough-town of Glamorganftiire, in Wales, governed by a portreeve. It had a market, which is now difcontinued. The vicarage is difcharged, and is worth 45I. clear yearly value. It is feated at the mouth of the river Avon, 194 miles weft of London. W. Ion. 3.21. lat. 51. 40. ABERBROTHWICK, or Arbroath, one of the royal boroughs of Scotland, lituated in the county of Angus, about forty miles N. N. E. of Edinburgh ; itsW. Ion. being 2. 29. andN. lat. 56. 36. It is feated on the difcharge of the little river Brothic into the fea, as the name imports, Aber in the Britifh implying fuch a litua- tion. It is a fmall but flourifliing place, well built, and frill increafing. — The glory of this place was the abbey, whofe very ruins give fome idea of its former magnifi¬ cence. It was founded by William the Lion in 1 1 78, and dedicated to our celebrated primate Thomas a Becket. ABERCONWAY, or Conway, Caernarvonfliire, North Wales; fo called from its fituation at the mouth of the river Conway. It is a handfome town, pleafantly fi- tuated on the fide of a hill, and has many conveniences for trade; notwithftanding which it is the pooreft town in the county. It was built by Edward I. and had not only walls, but a ftrong caftle which is now in ruins. Here is an infcription on the tomb of one Nicholas Hooker, im¬ porting that he was the one-and-fortieth child of his fa¬ ther, and had twenty-feven children himfelf. It is 235 miles from London. W. Ion. 3. 47. N. lat. 53. 20. ABERCORN, a town of Weft Lothian, near the Edinburgh Frith; here began the Roman wall, faid to have been built by Severus, which ran weft acrol's the country to the Frith of Clyde. Abercorn, a fmall town of Georgia, North America, thirteen miles north-weft of Savannah. ABERDEEN, the name of two cities in Scotland, call¬ ed the Old and New Town, lituated on the German ocean, in W. Ion. 1. 40. and N. lat. 57. 19. — Aberdeen is a place of great antiquity. According to tradition, it was of note in the reign of Gregory, who conferred on it fome privileges about the year 893. In 1004, Malcolm II. founded a bifhopric at a place called Mortlich in BanfF- fhire, in memory of a lignal vidtory which he there gained over the Danes: which bifhopric was tranflated to Old Aberdeen by David I. and in 1163, the then bifliop of Aberdeen obtained a new charter from Malcolm IV. There is extarlt a charter of Alexander II. by which, in 1217, the king grants to Aberdeen the fame privileges he had granted to his town of Perth. The Old Town lies about a mile to the north of the New, at the mouth of the river Don, over which is a fine Go¬ thic bridge, of a fingle arch, greatly admired, which refts at both tides on two rocks. The Old Town was formerly the feat of the bifliop, and had a large cathedral com¬ monly called St. Macher’s. Two very antique fpires, and one aille, which is ufed as a church, are now the only re¬ mains of it. The bifhopric was founded in the time of David I. as above-mentioned. The cathedral had anci¬ ently two rows of ftone pillars acrofs the church, and three turrets; the fteeple, which was the largeft of thefe turrets, refted upon an arch, fupported by four pillars. In this cathedral there was a fine library; but, about the year 1560, it wasalmoft totally deftroyed. But the capi¬ tal building is the King’s College on the fouth fide of the -town, which is a large and ftately fabric. It is built round a fquare, with cloifters on the fouth fide. The chapel is very ruinous within ; but there ftill remains fome wood-work of exquifite workmanfhip, which was pre- ferved by the fpirit of the principal at the time of the re¬ formation, who armed his people and checked the blind ABE zeal of the barons of the Mearns; who, after ftripping the cathedral ol its roof, and robbing it of the bells, were going to violate this feat of learning. They Hupped their facrilegious booty, with an intention of expofing it to fale in Holland : but the vefiel had fcarcely gone out of port, when it perifhedin a ftorm with all its ill-gained la.- ding. The fteeple is vaulted with a double crofs arch ; above which is an imperial crown, fupported by eight ftone pillars, and clofed with a globe and two gilded crof- fes. In the year 1631 this fteeple was thrown down by a ftorm, but was foon after rebuilt in a more ftately form. This college was founded in 1494, by William Elphin- fton bifliop of this place, lord chancellor of Scotland in the reign of James III. and lord privy feal in that of James IV. But James V. claimed the patronage of it, and it has fince been called the King’s College. This col¬ lege, and the Marifchal-college in the New Town, form one univerfity, called the Univerfity of King Charles. The library is large, but not remarkable for many curio- fities. Hedor Boethius was the firft principal of the col¬ lege; and fent for from Paris for that purpofe, on an an¬ nual falary of forty merks Scots, at thirteen-pence each. The fquare tower on the fide of the college was built by contributions from General Monk and the officers under him then quartered at Aberdeen, for the reception of ftudents; of which there are about a hundred belonging to the college, who lie in it. The New Town is the capital of the Afire of Aber¬ deen. For largenefs, trade, and beauty, it greatly ex¬ ceeds any town in the north of Scotland. It is built on a riling ground, and lies on a fmall bay formed by the Dee, deep enough for a fliip of 200 tons, and above two miles in circumference. The buildings (which are of granite from the neighbouring quarries) are generally four ftories high ; and have, for the molt part, gardens behind them, which gives it a beautiful appearance. In the High-ftreet is a large church which formerly belonged to the Francifcans. This church was begun by Bifliop William Elphinfton ; and finiftied by Gavinus Dunbar, bifliop of Aberdeen, about the year 1500. Bifliop Dun¬ bar is faid likewife to have built the bridge over the Dee, which confifts of feven arches. In the middle of Caftle- ftreet is an odagon building, with neat bafs-relievos of the kings of Scotland from James I. to James VII. The town-houfe makes a good figure, and has a handfome fpire in the centre. The grammar-fchool is a low, but neat building. Gordon’s hofpital is handfome; in front is a good ftatue of the founder, and it maintains forty boys, who are apprenticed at proper ages. The infirmary is a large plain building, and fends out between eight and nine hundred cured patients annually. But the chief public building in the New Town is the Marifchal-college, founded by George Keith earl of Marifchal, in the year 1593, but fince greatly augmented by additional buildings, which has about 140 ftudents belonging to it. In both the Marifchal and King’s colleges, the languages, mathema¬ tics, natural philofophy, divinity, &c. are taught by very able profeffors. The convents in Aberdeen were : One of Mathurines, or of the order of the Trinity, founded by William the Lion, who died in 1214; another of Do¬ minicans, by Alexander II. a third of Obfervantines, a building of great length in the middle of the city, found¬ ed by the citizens and Mr. Richard Vans, &c. and a fourth of Carmelites, or White Friars, founded by Philip de Arbuthnot in 13.50. — Aberdeen, including the Old Town, is fuppofed to contain 25,000 people. Its trade is confiderable, but might be greatly extended by an attention to the white fiflieries. The harbour was long a great detriment' to its trade, and occafioned the lofs of many lives and much property. A ftranger could never depend upon finding it as he left it ; while veffels lay at anchor in the road till the tide ftiould make, they have often been wrecked by ftorms which fuddenly arofe. It was very narrow at the mouth, having the eafterly rocky point of the Grampian mountains on ABE the fouth, and a flat blowing fand on the north, extending’ along the coaft for many miles. By the eafterly and north- eaft dorms the fand- was driven in a long ridge acrofs the harbour’s mouth, and formed what was called the bar. Upon this bar the depth of water at low' tide was fome- times not above three feet. Clearing away the land, though but a partial and temporary remedy, was a matter of great expence to the community. If it w as cleared one week fo as to have five or fix feet of w'ater at ebb, a frefh (lorm the next week undid all that had been done. The town at lafi came to the refolution of ereCling a ftrong pier on the north fide of the harbour. This pier is 1200 feet in length, and gradually increafes in thicknefs and height as it approaches to the lea, where the head or rounding is fixty feet in diameter at the bale, and the perpendicular elevation is thirty-eight feet. The whole is built of gra¬ nite, the mod durable done known; many of the outfide Hones are above three tons weight, with hewn beds. It was built under the direction of Mr. Smeaton; and the expence, amounting to above 17,0001. is defrayed by doubling the harbour-dues, which are chiefly paid by the inhabitants. — A little to the fouth of the bar, they have now a depth of feventeen fathoms at low water; and at the harbour’s mouth, from eight to nine fathoms, where they had formerly but a few feet. Aberdeen once enjoyed a good (hare of the tobacco trade. At prefent its imports are from the Baltic, and a few merchants trade to the Weft indies and North Ame¬ rica. Its exports are (lockings, thread, falmon, and oat¬ meal. The firft is a mod important article, as appears by the following (late of it : for, for this manufacture, 20,800 pounds worth of wool is annually imported, and j6oo pounds worth of oil. Of this wool are annually made 69,333 dozen pairs of dockings; worth, at an average, il. ios. per dozen. Thefe are the work of the country- people in almoft all parts of this great county, who get 4s. per dozen for (pinning, and 14s. per dozen for knitting; fo that there is annually paid them 62,329b 14s. There is, belides, about 2000I. value of (lockings manufactured from the wool of the county. — The thread manufacture is another confiderable article, though triflingin comparifon of the w'oollen. — The falmon-fiftieries on the Dee and the Don are a good branch of trade. About forty-fix boats and 130 men are employed on the firft ; and, in fome years, 167,0001b. of fifti have been fent pickled to London, and about 930 barrels of faltedfifli exported to France, Italy, See. — The fiftiery on the Don is far lefs confiderable. The filh of this river are taken in cruives above the bridge ; a praftice contrary to the ancient laws of the kingdom, un- lefs where the nature of the water rendered the net-fiftiery impracticable. The inhabitants likewife export confider¬ able quantities of pickled pork, which they fell to the Dutch for victualling their Eaft-India (hips and men of war; the Aberdeen pork having the reputation of being the beft cured of any in Europe for keeping on long voy¬ ages. — “It is however remarkable, (Mr. Knox obferves,) that there is not a Angle decked veffel fitted out from Aber-- deen for the herring or white fifheries. Here is now an excellent harbour ; an aCtive people, converfant in trade, and poflefled of capital; feated within fix hours failing of the Long Fortys, and two days failing of the Shetland Iftes. This inattention is the more extraordinary, as the exports of Aberdeen, though very confiderable, do not balance the imports in value. The herring and w hite fiftieries, therefore, if profecuted with vigour, and cured and dried with judgment, would not only extend the fcale of ex¬ ports, but alfo furnifh the outward-bound veflels with freights, and better aflortments for the foreign markets. The falmon of the Dee and Don are taken in great abun¬ dance, cured in the higheft perfection, and greatly valued at the European markets. If the merchants, in addition to thefe, (hould alfo export the cargoes of fifty or fixty veflels conftantly employed in the herring and white fifti¬ eries, the port of Aberdeen would in a few years become the moil celebrated mart of ftlh now exifting.’2 ABE r>~ From a round hill at the weft of the city, flow two fprings, one of pure water, and the other of a quality re- fembling German Spa. Aberdeen, with Aberbrothwick, Brechin, Montrofe, and Inverbervie, returns one mem¬ ber to parliament. ABERDEENSHIRE, comprehends the diftriCts of Mar, Garioch, Strathbogie, and the greater part of Bu¬ chan; and fends one member to parliament. Itiswafhed on the eafr and north by the ocean, and abounds in fea- ports ; from whence there is a fafe and ready paffage to the Orkneys and Shetland lfles, the Greenland fiftieries,, Nor¬ way, and the regions round the Baltic ; the German coaft, Holland, Flanders, and France. It is watered by nume¬ rous dreams, all of them the refort of falmon, and whofe banks difplay very extenlive plantations of natural woods. ABERDOUR, a fmall town in Fifefhire, Scotland, on the frith of Forth, about ten miles N. W. of Edinburgh. In old times it belonged to the Viponts; but in 1126 it was transferred to the Mortimers by marriage, and after¬ wards to the Douglafles. William lord of Liddefdule, furnamed the FLoiuer of Chivalry , in the reign of David II. by charter conveyed it to James Douglas, anceftor to the prefent noble owner the, Earl of Morton. ABERFORD, a market-town in the Weft Riding of Yorkfliire, 188 miles from London. It (lands on the great Roman caufeway, which, all thew'ay to Caftleford-bridge, appears as entire as when firft made, though it is upwards of feventeen hundred years old. Under the town runs the river Cock ; and near it may be feen the foundation of an old fort, called Caftle-cary. Here was formerly a priory of Francifcan friars. — This town has been many years noted for its manufactory of pins; but otherwife it is a place of no trade. It has a market on Wednefday, and five annual fairs, viz. the lad Monday in April, the laft Monday in May, the firft Monday in October, the firft Monday after St. Luke, and the firft' Monday aftfer All Souls. W. Ion. 2. 45. lat. 53. 52. ABERFRAW, a (mall town in Anglefea, North Wales, twenty miles from Holyhead. It derives its name from the river Aber, on the banks of which it is fituated. On one fide it is furrounded by fand-banks ; and, on the oppo- fite, by fine fertile land, producing, in particular, remark¬ able fine barley. Though Aberfraw is now an inconfider- able place, it was formerly the refidence of the famous prince Llewellyn, the remains of whofe houfe are yet to be feen. The river is navigable, in the fummer feafon, for veflels from thirty to forty tons burthen, up to its quay. The living is in the king’s gift, and worth 300L per annum. ABERGAVENNY, a large, populous, and flourifliing, tow'n, in Mcnmouthfhire, feated at the confluence of the rivers U(k and Gavenny. It has a fine bridge over the Ufk, confiding of fifteen arches; and being a great thorough¬ fare from the weft part of Wales to Bath, Briftol, Glou- cefter, and other places, is well furniftied with accommo¬ dation for travellers. It is furrounded with a wall, and had once a caftle. It carries on a confiderable trade in flannels, w'hich are brought hither for (ale from the other parts of the county. It is governed by a bailiff, recorder, and twenty-feven burgeffes. — The environs oi Aberga¬ venny are rich and beautiful, and, like the reft of the vale from Brecknock, abound with the inoft charming variety of landfcape. The profpefts are terminated at proper diftances with mountains, among which, at the oppofite (ide of the town, Skirid-vawr and Blorencli raife their confpicuoits heads. The mountains in this neighbourhood abound with iron-ore, coal, and lime; and thereon have been lately erefted feveral capital iron-works. Aberga¬ venny is j 6 miles from Monmouth, and 144 from London- W. Ion. 2. 45. lat. 5. 50. Abergavenny appears to have been the Gibbanium of Antoninus, and the town of Ufk his Burrium . ABERGELY, a village of Denbighfhire. — Abf.r- guilly, or Aber.ger.lech, a town of Carmarthea- Ihire, A B ERL AD Y, 1 6 ABE ABERLADY, a village in Eaft Lothian. — Aberlem- no, in the (hire of Angus.— Aberley, Aburley, or Abbotsley, Worcefterfhire. — Aberlour, in the thire of Elgin. ABERNETHY (John), an eminent diiTenting minifter, born at Colraine on the 19th of OCtober, i,6So. He ftudied at the univerlity of, Glafgow, till he took the degree of mailer of arts; and, in 1708, he was chofen minifter of a diffentirtg congregation at Antrim, where he continued above twenty years. About the time of the Bangorian controverfy, a diflention arofe among his brethren in the miniftry&t Belfaft, on the fubjeCt of fubfcription to the Weftminfter confellion; in which he became a leader on the negative fide, and incurred the cenfure of a general fynod. Being in confequence deferted by the greateft part of his congregation, he accepted an invitation to fettle in Dublin, where his preaching was much admired. He was diftingujflied by his candid, free, and generous, fentiments ; and died of the gout, December 1740, in the 60th year of his age. He publifhed a volume of Sermons on the Divine Attributes ; after his death a fecond volume was publifhed by his friends; and thefe were fucceeded by four other volumes on different fubje&s : all of which have been greatly admired. Abernethy, a town on the river Spey, in Murray- flf.re, near which was eredted a famous monument, called Macduff’s crofs; where if any, within the ninth degree to Macduff, fled, for manflaughter, he was pardoned on paying a few heads of cattle, by way of fine. Abernethy, a town in Strathern, a diftriCt of Perth- fhire, in Scotland. It is feated on the river Tay, a little above the mouth of the Erne. It is faid to have been the feat of the Piftifh kings ; and was afterwards the fee of an archbifhop, lince transferred to St. Andrew’s. It is now greatly decayed. ABERRANCE, or Aberrancy, f. [from aberro, Lat. to wander from the right way. ] A deviation from the right way; an error; amiftake; a falfe opinion. — Could a man be compofed to fuch an advantage of conftitution, that it mould not at all adulterate the images of his mind; yet this fecond nature would alter the crafts of hisunder- ftanding, and render it as obnoxious to aberrance s as now. Glanville. ABERRANT, adj. [from abcrrans, Lat.] Deviating, wandering from the right or known way. ABERRATION, J. \_abcrr-atio, Lat.] The act of devi¬ ating from the common or accuftomed track. Aberration, in aftronomy, an apparent motion of the celeftial bodies, obferved in the laft century by M. Pi¬ card, Dr. Hook, Flamltead, and others; but explained only of late years, by the ingenious Dr. Bradley, who, for the purpofe of difcovering the true caufes of this remark¬ able phenomenon, ereCted an apparatus for the zenith of Kew, and another for that of Wanftead, in order to ob- ferve more accurately fuch ftars as he judged likely to throw fome light upon the fubjecl. On the 3d of December 1725, the bright ftar in the head of Draco, marked 7 by Bayer, was for the firft time ob¬ ferved, as it palled near the zenith, and its fituafion care¬ fully taken with the inftrument ; and, about the beginning of March following, the ftar was found to be 20" more foutherly than at the time of the firft obfervation. It now feemed to have arrived at its utmoft limit fouthward ; for in feveral trials, made by Dr. Bradley about this time, no fenftble difference was obferved in its fttuation. By the middle of April, however, it appeared to be returning back again towards the north; and, about the beginning of June, it paffed at the fame diftance from the zenith as it had done in December, when it was firft obferved. F rom the quick alteration in the declination of the ftar at this time, increafing about one fecond in three days, it was conjectured that it would now proceed northward, as it had before gone fouthward, of its prefent fttuation; and it happened accordingly; for the ftar continued to move northward till September following, when it became ABE ftationary again ; being then near 20" more northerly than in June, and upwards of 39" more northerly than it had been in March. From September the ftar again returned towards the Youth, till, in December, it arrived at the fame fttuation in which it had been obferved twelve months before, allowing for the difference of declination on ac¬ count of the precellion of the equinox. After continuing thefe obfervations a few months longer, Dr. Bradley difeovered What he then apprehended to be a general law obferved by all the ftars, namely, that each of them became ftationary, or was fartheft north or fouth, when it paffed over his zenith at fix of the clock, either in the evening or morning. He perceived alfo that whatever fttuation the ftars were in, with refpeft to the cardinal points of the ecliptic, the apparent motion of every one of them tended the fame way, wftdn they paffed his in¬ ftrument about the fame hour of the day or night; for they all moved fouthward when they paffed in the day, and northward when in the night; fo that each of them was fartheft north, when it came in the evening about fix of the clock, and fartheft fouth when it came about fix in the morning. , After two years had been employed in thefe obferva¬ tions, he at laft difeovered, through an amazing fagacity, that this apparent motion of the ftars was only a deception on the optic nerve, occafioned by the progreffive motion of light, and the earth’s annual motion in her orbit: for he perceived', that if light were propagated in time, the apparent place of a . fixed objeCt would not be the fame when the eye is at reft, as when it is moving in any other direction but that of the line pafling through the objeCt and the eye ; and that, when the eye Amoving In different di¬ rections, the apparent place of the objedt would be different. M. de Maupertuis, in his Elements of Geography, gives a familiar and ingenious idea of the aberration, in this manner: “ It is juft the fame, (fays he,) concerning , the diredtion in which a gun mult be pointed to ftrike a bird in its flight; inftead of pointing it ftraight to the bird, the fowler will point a little before it, in the path of its flight, and that fo much the more as the flight of the bird is more 2‘apid, with refpeCt to the flight of the. fliot.” In this way of confidering the matter, the flight of the bird re- prefents the motion of the earth, and the flight of the fliot reprefents the motion of the rays of light. M. Clairaut too, in his Memoires of the Academy of Sciences for the year 1746, illuftrates this effeCt in a fami¬ liar way, by fuppofing drops of rain to fall rapidly and quickly after each other from a cloud, under which a per- fpn moves with a very narrow tube; in which cafe it is evident that the tube mult have a certain inclination, in order that a drop which enters at the top may fall freely through the axis of the tube, without touching the fides of it ; which inclination mud be more dr lefs, according to the velocity of the drops in refpeft to that of the tube: then the angle made by the direction of the tube and of the falling drops, is the aberration arifing from the com¬ bination of thole two motions. — This difeovery is certain¬ ly one of the brighteft of the prefent age. Aberration of the Planets, is equal to the geocentric motion of the planet, the fpace it appears to move as feen from the earth, during the time that light employs in paf- fing from the planet to the earth. Thus in the fun, the aberration in longitude is conftantly 20 fee. that being the fpace moved by the fun, or, which is the ‘fame thing, by the earth, in the time of 8 min. 7 fee. which is the time in which light paffes from the fun to the earth. In like manner, knowing the diftance of any planet from the earth, by. proportion it will be, as the diftance of the fun is to the diftance of the planet, fo is 8 min. 7 fee. to the time of light pafling from the planet to the earth : then computjng the planet’s geocentric motion in this time, that will be the aberration of the planet, whether it be in longitude, latitude, right afeenfion, or declination. Aberration, in optics, the deviation or difperfion of the rays of light when reflected by a fpeculum, or re¬ traced ABE fradted by a lens, by which they are prevented from meet¬ ing or uniting in the fame point, called the geometrical focus, but are fpread over a fmall fpace, and produce a confufion of images. Aberration is either lateral or lon¬ gitudinal : tire lateral aberration is meafured by a perpen¬ dicular to the axis of the fpeculum or lens, drawn from the focus to meet the refradted or reflected ray: the lon¬ gitudinal aberration is the diftance, on the axis, between the focus and the point where the ray meets the axis. — There are two fpecies of aberration, diftinguifhed accord¬ ing to their different caufes : the one arifes from the figure of the fpeculum or lens, producing a geometrical difper- iion of the rays, when thefe are perfectly equal in all re- fpedts; the other arifes from the unequal refrangibility of the rays of light themfelves ; a dilcovery that was made by Sir lfaac Newton, and for this reafon it is often called the Newtonian aberration. As to the former fpecies of aber¬ ration, or that arifing from the figure, it is very fmall, and ealily remedied, in comparifon with the other, arifing from the unequal refrangibility of the rays of light, which is very great; and, hence it may feem ftrange that objects appear through telefcopes fo diftindt as they do, conlider- ing that the error arifing from the different refrangibility is almoft incomparably larger than that of the figure. In confequence of the difcovefy of the unequal refrangi¬ bility of light, and the apprehenlion that equal refradtions muff produce equal divergencies in every fort of medium, it was fuppofed that all fpherical objedt-glaffes of telefcopes would be equally aft'edted by the different refrangibility of light, in proportion to their aperture, of whatever mate¬ rials they might be conftrudted : and therefore that the only improvement that could be made in refradting tele¬ fcopes, was that of increafing their length. So that Sir lfaac Newton, and other perfons after him, defpairing of fuccefs in the ufe and fabric of lenfes, diredted their chief attention to the conftrudtion of refledting telefcopes. However, about the year 1747, M. Euler applied himfelf to the .fubjedt of refradtion; and purfued a hint fuggefted by Newton, for the defign of making objedt-glafles with two lenfes of glafs incloiing water between them ; hoping that, by conftrudting them of different materials, the re- fradlions would balance one another, and fo the ufual aber¬ ration be prevented. Mr. John Dollond, an ingenious optician in London, minutely examined this fcheme, and found that M. Euler’s principles were not fatisfadtory. M. Clairaut likewife, whofe attention had been excited to the fame fubjedt, concurred in opinion that Euler’s fpecu- lations were more ingenious than ufeful. This controverfy, which feemed to be of great importance in the fcience of optics, engaged alio the attention of M. Klingenftierna of Sweden, who was led to make a careful examination of the eighth experiment in the fecond part of Newton’s Optics, with the conclufions there drawn from it. The confequence was, that he found that the rays of light, in the circumftances there mentioned, did not lofe their co¬ lour, as Sir lfaac had imagined. This hint of the Swe- dilh philofopher led Mr. Dollond to re-examine the fame experiment ; and after feveral trials it appeared, that dif¬ ferent fubftances caufed the light to diverge very different¬ ly, in proportion to their general refradtive powers. In the year 1757, therefore, he procured wedges of different kinds of glafs, and applied them together fo that the re¬ fradtions might be made in contrary diredtions, that he might difcover whether the refraction and divergency of colour would vanilli together. The refult of his firft trials encouraged him to perfevere; for he difcovered a diffe¬ rence far beyond his hopes in the qualities of different kinds of glafs, with refpedt to their divergency of colours. The Venice glafs and Englifh crown glafs were found to be nearly allied in this refpedt : the common Englifh plate glafs made the rays diverge more; and the Englifh flint glafs mod of all. But without enquiring into the caufe of this difference, he proceeded to adapt wedges of crown glafs, and of white flint glafs, ground to different angles, to each other, fo as to refradt in different diredtions: till VOL. I. No. 2. ABE ij the refracted light was entirely free from colours. Having meafured the refradtions of each wedge, he found that the refradtion of the white glafs was to that of the crown glafs, nearly as 2 to 3 : and he hence concluded in general, that any two wedges made in this, proportion, and applied to¬ gether fo as to refradt in contrary directions, would refradt the light without any aberration of the rays. Mr. Dollond’s next objedt was to make fimilar trials with fpherical glafles of different materials, with the view of applying his difcovery to the improvement of telefcopes : and here he perceived that, to obtain a refradtion of light in contrary diredtions, the one glafs muff be concave, and the other convex ; and the latter, which was to refradt the mod, that the rays might converge to a real focus, he made of crown glafs, the other of white flint glafs. And as the refradtions of -fpherical glafles are inverfely as their focal diftances, it was neceflary that the focal diftances of the two glafles fiiould be inverfely as the ratios of the refradtions of the wedges ; becaufe that, being thus pro¬ portioned, every ray of light that paiies through this com¬ pound glafs, at any diffance from its axis, will conftantly be refradted, by the difference between two contrary re¬ fradtions, in the proportion required; and therefore the different refrangibility of the light will be entirely removed. But in the applications of this ingenious difcovery to prac¬ tice, Mr. Dollond met with many and great difficulties. At length, however, after many repeated trials, by a re- folute perfeverance, he fucceeded fo far as to conffrudt re¬ fradting telefcopes much fuperior to any that had hitherto been made ; reprefenting objedts with great diffinctnefs, and in their true colours. M. Clairaut, who had interefted himfelf from the be¬ ginning in this difcovery, now endeavoured to afcertain the principles of Mr. Dollond’s theory, and to lay down rules to facilitate the conffruction of thefe new telefcopes. With this view he made feveral experiments, to determine the refradtive power of diff erent kinds of glafs, and the proportions in which they feparated the rays of light: and from thefe experiments he deduced feveral theorems of general ufe. M. d’Alembert made likewife a great variety of calculations to the fame purpofe ; and he fhewed how to corredt the errors to which thefe telefcopes are fubjedt, fometimes by placing the objedt-glaffes at a fmall diftance from each other, and fometimes by ufing eye- glafles of different refradtive powers. But though fo¬ reigners were hereby fupplied with the molt accurate cal¬ culations, they were very defective in pradtice. And the Englilh telefcopes, made, as they imagined, without any precife rule, were greatly fuperior to the belt of their conftrudtion. M. Euler, whofe fpeculations had firft given occafion to this important and ufeful enquiry, was very reludtant in admitting Mr. Dollond’s improvements, becaufe they militated againft a pre-conceived theory of his own. At laft however, after feveral altercations, being convinced of their reality and importance by M. Clairaut, he af- fented ; and he foon after received farther fatisfadtion from the experiments of M. Zeiher, of Peterfburgh. — • M. Zeiher fhewed by experiments that it is the lead, in the compolition of glafs, which gives it this remarkable property, namely, that while the refradtion of the mean rays is nearly the fame, that of the extreme rays con fide r- ably differs. And, by increafing the lead, he produced a kind of glafs, which occafioned a much greater repara¬ tion of the extreme rays than that of tiie flint glafs ufed by Mr. Dollond, and at the fame time confiderably in- creafed the mean refradtion. M. Zeiher, in the courfe of his experiments, made glafs of minium and lead, with a mixture alfo of alkaline falts; and he found that this mixture greatly diminiftied the mean refraction, and yet made hardly any change in the difperfion : and he at length obtained a kind of glafs greatly fuperior to the flint glafs of Mr. Dollond for the conftrudtion of telefcopes; as it occafioned three times as great a difperfion of the rays as the common glafs, wliilft the mean refraction was only as F 1 '6i ,8 A B G i -6 1 to x. — Other improvements have fince been made on the new c-r achromatic telefcopes by the inventor Mr. John Dollond, and by his fon Peter Dollond; which fee at large under the article Optics. Aberration, (Crown of,) is a luminous circle fur¬ rounding the real diflc of the fun, and depending on the aberration of the folar rays, whereby his apparent diame¬ ter is enlarged. To ABERUNCATE, v. a. [averunco, Lat.] To pull up by the roots ; to extirpate utterly. ABERYSTWITH, a market-town of Gardiganfhire, in Wales, feated on the Ridal, near its confluence with ihe Iftwith, where it falls into the lea. It is a populous and rich town, and has a great trade in lead, and a conli- derable fifliery of whiting, cod, and herrings. It was formerly furrounded with walls, and fortified with a caf- tle; but both are now in ruins. It is 30 miles diftant from Cardigan, and 203 fouth-weft of London. Lat 52. 30. Ion. 4. o. W. ABESTA,yi the name of one of the facred books of the Perlian magi, which they afcribe to their great founder Zoroafter. The abefta is a commentary on two others of their religious books called Zend and Pazend; the three together including the whole fyftem of the Ignicold or worfhippers of fire. To ABET, v.a. [from betan, Sax. fignifying to enkindle or animate.] To pulh forward another, to fupport him in his defigns by connivance, encouragement, or help. It was once indifferent, but is almoft always taken by mo¬ dern writers in an ill fenfe. ABETMENT, f. The a£t of abetting. ABETTER, or Abettor, f. Hethatabets; thefup- porter or encourager of another. — In law, it implies one who encourages another to the performance of fome cri¬ minal adtion. Abettors of murder, are fuch as com¬ mand, procure, or counfel, others to commit a murder ; and, in cafe they are prefent when the murder is commit¬ ted, they fliall be taken as principals, but if abfent at the time of committing the fa£t, they fliall be confidered as acceffaries only. Treafon is the only crime in which abettors are excluded by law, every individual concerned being confidered as a principal. ABEX, a country in Africa, bordering on the Red Sea. It is fubjedl to the Turks, and has the name of the Beglerbeg. of -Habeleth. It is about five hundred miles in length and one hundred in breadth, and is a w'retched bar¬ ren country. The heat here is almoft infupportable, and the air is fo unhealthy, that an European cannot ftay long in it without the utmoft hazkrd of his life. It is very mountainous, and there are many more wild beafts than men. Here are forefts, in which grow a great number of ebony-trees. ABEYANCE, f. [law-term, from buyer, Fr. to ex- pe£t,] is that which is in expectation, remembrance, and intendment, of the law. By a principle of law', in every land there is a fee-fimple in fomebody, or elfe it is in abey¬ ance-, that is, though for the prefent it be in no man, yet it is in expectancy belonging to him that is next to enjoy the land. Thus if a man be patron of a church, and pre- fenteth a clerk to the fame, the fee of the lands and tene¬ ments pertaining to the rectory is in the parfon : but if the parfon dies, and the church becometh void, then is the fee in abeyance, until there be a new parfon prefented, in- ftituted, and indudted. 1 Inji. 342. And though where no perfon is feen or knowrn in whom the inheritance can veft, it may be in abeyance, as in a limitation to feveral perfons, and the furvivor, and the heirs of fuch furvivor, becaufe it is uncertain who will be furvivor : yet the free¬ hold cannot, becaufe there muft be a tenant to the prsecipe always. 1 Vezcy , 174. ABGAR, or Abgarus, a name given to feveral of the kings of Edefla in Syria. The moft celebrated of them is one who, it is faid, w>as, cotemporary with our Saviour ; and who having a diftemper in his feet, and hearing of Chrilt’s miraculous cures, reguefted him by letter to come A B H and cure him. Eufebius, who believed that this letter was genuine, and alfo an anfwer our Saviour is faid to have returned to it, has tranfiated them both from the Syriac, and afferts that they were taken out of the ar¬ chives of the city of Edefla. The firft is as follows:— “ Abgarus, prince of Edefla, to Jefus the holy Saviour, who hath appeared in the flefti in the confines of Jerufa- lem, greeting. I have heard of thee, and of the cures thou haft wrought without medicines or herbs. For it is reported thou makeft the blind to fee, the lame to w'alk, lepers to be clean, devils and unclean fpirits to be expelled, fuch as have long been difeafed to be healed, and the dead to be railed; all which when I heard concerning thee, I concluded with myfelf, That either thou waft a god come down from heaven, or the Son of God lent to do thefe things. I have therefore written to thee, befeeching thee to vouchfafe to come unto me, and cure my difeafe. For I have alfo heard that the Jews ufe thee ill, 'and lay fnares to deftroy thee. I have here a little city, pleafantly fitua- ted, and fufficient for 11s both. Abgarus.” To this letter, Jefus, it is faid, returned an anfwer by Annanias, Abgarus’s courier; which was as follows : “ Blefled art thou, O Abgarus : who haft believed in me whom thou haft not feen; for the fcriptures fay of me, They who have feen me have not believed in me, that they who have not feen, may, by believing, have life. But whereas thou writeft to have me come to thee, it is of necefiity that I fulfill all things here for which I am fent; and having fi- nifhed them, to return to him that fent me : but when I am returned to him, I will then fend one of my dilciples . to thee, who fliall cure thy malady, and give life to thee and thine. Jesus.” After Chrift’s afcenlion, Judas, who is alfo named Thomas, fent Thaddeus, one of the feventy, to Abgarus ; who preached the gofpel to him and his peo¬ ple, cured him of his diforder, and wrought many other miracles: which was done, fays Eufebius, A. D. 43. — Though the above letters are acknowledged to be fpurious by the candid writers of the church of Rome; feveral Proteftant authors, as Dr. Parker, Dr. Cave, and Dr. Grabe, have maintained that they are genuine, and ought not to be rejected. ABGILLUS (John), furnamed Prefter-John, was fon to a king of the Frifcii; and, from the aufterity of his life, obtained the name of Prejler, or Prieft. He attended Charlemagne in his expedition to the Holy Land; but, in- ftead of returning with that monarch to Europe, it is pre¬ tended that he gained mighty conquefts, and founded the empire of the Abyflines, called, from his name, the em¬ pire of Prefter-John. ABGREGATION,yi \abgregatio , Lat.] A feparation from the flock. ABHEL,yi in botany, a name given to the flirub called Savin. ABHER, Habar, or Ebher, a city of Perfian-irak, or ancient Parthia, with a fmall river of the fame name running through the middle of it, which makes it very pleafant. Itsmofques, bazars, inns, &c. are elegant, and their gardens are of immenfe extent. It contains 2500 houfes, and is governed by a deroga. Lat. 36. 14. N. Ion. 50. 59. E. To ABHOR, v. a. \abhorreo, Lat.] To hate with acri¬ mony ; to deteft to extremity ; to loath ; to abominate. A church-of-England man abhors the humour of the age, in delighting to fling fcandals upon the clergy in general ; which, befides the difgrace to the reformation, and to reli¬ gion itfelf, calls an ignominy upon the kingdom. Swift. ABHORRENCE, or Abhorrency, f. The a£t of abhorring, deteftation; the difpofition to abhor, hatred. The firft tendency to any injuftice that appears, muft be fupprefled with a /how of wonder and abhorrency in parents and governors. Locke. ABHORRENT, adj. Struck with abhorrence; loath¬ ing; contrary to; foreign; inconfiftent with. It is ufed with the particles from or to, but more properly with from. —This I conceive to be an hypothefis, well worthy a ra- 3 tional A B I tional belief; and yet it is fo abhorrent from the vulgar, that they would as foon believe Anaxagoras, that fnow is black, as him that fliould affirm it is not white. Glanville. ABHORRER,/] The perfon that abhors; a hater, a detefter. ABHORRING, the obje£t of abhorrence. This feems not to be the proper ufe of the participial noun. — They fliall go forth, and look upon the carcafes of the men that have tranfgreffed againft me : for their worm (hall not die, neither (hall their fire be quenched, and they fliall be an abhorring unto all flefh. Ifaiafi , lxvi.44. ABIAD, a town on the coaft of Abex, feated on a high mountain, remarkable for its trade in ebony and aromatic plants. ABIANS, anciently a people of Thrace, or (according to fome authors) of Scythia. They had no fixed habita¬ tions ; they led a wandering life. Their lioufes were wag¬ gons, which carried all their pofTeflions. They lived on the flefh of their herds and flocks, on milk, and cheefe, chiefly on that of mare’s milk. They were unacquainted with commerce, and only exchanged commodities with their neighbours. They poflefled lands, but they did not cultivate them ; for they afligned their agriculture to any who would undertake it, referving only to themfelves a tribute; which they exadted, not with a view to live in affluence, but merely to enjoy the neceftaries of life. They never took arms but to oblige thofe to make good a promife to them by whom it had been broken. They paid tribute to none of the neighbouring ftates. They deemed themfelves exempt from fuch an impofition; for they relied on their ftrength and courage, and confequently thought themfelves able to repel any invafion. The Abi- ans, we are told, were a people of great integrity. This honourable eulogium is given them by Homer. Strabo. ABIATHAR, high-pried of the Jews, fontoAbime- lech, who had borne the fame office, and received David into his houfe. This fo enraged Saul, who hated David, that he put Abimelech to death, and eighty-one priefts ; Abiathar alone efcaped the maffacre. He afterwards was high -pried; and often gave king David teftimonies of his fidelity, particularly during Abfalom’s confpiracy, at which time Abiathar followed David,- and bore away the ark. But after this he confpired with Adonijah, in order to raife him to the throne of David his father; this fo ex- afperatea Solomon, that he afterwards diverted him of the priefthood, and banifhed him, A. M. 3021, before Chrift 1014. ABIB,/] fignifying an ear of corn, a name given by the Jews to the firrt month of their eecleliaftical year, after¬ wards called Nifan. It commenced at the vernal equinox ; and according to the courfe of the moon, by which their months were regulated, anfwered to the latter part of our March and beginning of April. To ABIDE, v. n. I abode or abid, [from bidian, or au- bidian. Sax.] To flay in a place ; not to remove. — Thofe who apply themfelves to learning, are forced to acknow¬ ledge one God, incorruptible and unbegotten ; who is the only true being, and abides for ever above the highert hea¬ vens, from whence he beholds all the things that are done in heaven and earth. Stilling fleet. — To remain; not ceafe or fail ; to be immoveable. To continue in the fame rtate. To endure without offence, anger, or contradiction. It is ufed with the particle with before a perfon, and at or in before a place. — It is better that I give her to thee, than I give her to another man : abide with me. Gen. xxix. 19. — For thy fervant vowed a vow, while I abode at Gefliur in Syria, faying, if the Lord fhall bring me again indeed to Jerufalem, then I will ferve the Lord. 2 Sam. xv, 8. — It is ufed with by before a thing; as, to abide by his tefti- mony ; to abide by his own fkill ; that is, to rely upon them. To abide by an opinion, to maintain it ; to abide by a man, is alfb-to defend or fupport him. But thefe forms are fonie- thinglow. — Of the participle abid, I have found only the example in Woodward, and fliould rather determine that A B I lg abide in the active fenfe has no paffive participle, or com¬ pounded preterite. John/on. To An ide, v. a. To wait for, expedt, attend, wait upon, await: uled of things prepared for perfons, as well as of perfons expecting things. To bear or fupport the confe- quences of a. thing. To bear or fupport, without being-con¬ quered or deftroyed.— But the Lord he is the true^God, he is the living God, and an everlafting king: at his wrath the earth (hall tremble, and the nations ihall not be able to abide his indignation. Jfer. x. 10. — To bear with¬ out ayerfion; in which fenfe it is commonly ufed with a negative. To bear or fiiffer : - Girt with circumfluous tides, He Hill calamitous conrtraint abides. Pope. ABIDER, f. The perfon that abides or dwells in a place; perhaps that lives or endures. A word little in ufe. ABIDING,/] Continuance; flay; fixed date. ■ — We are ft rangers before thee and fojourners, as were all our fa¬ thers : our days on the earth are as a Ihadow, and there is none abiding. 1 Chron. xxix. 15. ABJECT, adj. [ abjeElus , Lat. thrown away as of no va¬ lue.] Mean; worthlefs; bale; groveling: fpoken of per¬ fons, or their qualities. — Honeft men, who tell their So¬ vereigns v. hat they expe£t from them, and what obedience they fliall be always ready to pay them, are not upon an equal foot with bafe and abjcEl flatterers. Addifon. — Beino- of no hope or regard : ufed of condition. — We fee man and woman in the highert innocence and perfection, and in the moft abjeEl rtate of guilt and infirmity. Addifon.— . Mean and defpicable : ufed of aCfions : To what bafe ends, and by what abjeEl ways, Are mortals urg’d, through facred luft of praife ? Pope. ABJECT, /. A man without hope ; a man whofe mi- feries are irretrievable; one of the loweft condition. _ Yea, the objects gathered themfelves together againft me, PJalm xxxv. 13. ABJECTEDNESS,/] The ftate of anabjeCh ABJECTION,/] Meannefs of mind; want of fpirit; fervility; bafenefs. — That this fliould be termed bafenefs, abjeElion of mind, or fervility, is it credible ? Hooker. ABJECTLY, adv. I11 an abjeCt manner, meanly, bafe- ly, fervilely, contemptibly. ABJECTNESS, f. Abjeftion, fervility, meannefs. — Servility and abjeElncfs of humour is implicitly involved in the charge of lying. ABIES, f. the fir-tree. See Pinus. ABIGEAT,/] an old law-term, denoting the crime of dealing cattle by droves or herds. This crime was Se¬ verely puniflied ; the delinquent being often condemned to the mines, banifliment, or fomething capital. ABIHU, brother to Nadab, and fon to Aaron. The two former had the happinefs to afcend mount Sinai with their father, and there to behold the glory of God : but afterward putting ftrange fire into their cenfers, inrtead of the facred fire commanded by God, fire ruflied upon them, and killed them. Though all the people bewailed this terrible cataftrophe, Mofes forbad Aaron and his two fons Eleazar and Lthamar to join in the lamentation. ABII SCYTHEE, taken by Strabo to denote the Euro¬ pean Sarmatae, bordering on the Thracians and Baftanae : they were commended by Curtius for their love of juftice, and by Ammielius for their contempt of earthly things. ' ABILITY,/] [habilete', Fr.] The power to do any thing, whether depending upon (kill, or riches, or ftrength, or any other quality. Capacity of mind; force of under- ftanding; mental power. When it has the plural number, abilities , it frequently fignifies the faculties or powers of the mind, and fometirnes the force of underftanding given by nature, as diftinguiftied from acquired qualifications. ABIMELECH, king of Gerar, a country of the Phi- liftines, was cotemporary with Abraham. This patriarch and his family being there, his wife Sarah, though ninety veai-s 20 A B I years of age, was not fafe in it ; for Abimelech carried her off, and was fo enamoured of her, that he refolved to marry her. Abraham did not declare himfelf Sarah’s hufbar.d ; but gave out fhe was his filter. But the king- being warned in a dream, that die was married to a pro¬ phet, and that he fhould die if he did not reftore her to Abraham, the king obeyed, at the fame time reproving Abraham for his difingenuity ; who, thereupon, among other excufes, faid fhe was really his fifter, being born of the fame father, though of a different mother. Abime- lech afterwards gave conliderable prefents to Abrahain ; and a covenant was entered into between them. — After the death of Abraham, there being a famine in the neigh¬ bouring countries’, Ifaac hisfonalfo withdrew into Gerar, which was then likewife governed by a king called Abimelech, probably the fucceffor of the former. Here Rebecca’s beauty forced her hufband to employ Abraham’s artifice. Abimelech difcovering that they ■ were nearly related, chid Ifaac for calling his wife his lif¬ ter ; and at the fame time forbad all his fubjefts, upon pain of death, to do the lead injury to Ifaac or Rebecca. — Ifaac’s profperity loft him the king’s friendfhip, and he was defired to go away from among them. He obeyed; but Abimelech afterwards entered into a covenant with him. Abimelech, the natural fon of Gideon, by Druma his concubine. His violent a&s and death are recorded in Judges, chap. ix. ABINGDON, the county-town of Berkfhire, feated on a branch of the Thames, is of great antiquity. It had its name and principal glory from the abbey, founded by the father of king Ina, about the year of Chrift 675, which was one of the fineft and richeft in England. Henry I. furnamed Beauclerk, was educated in this monaftery. Ke- nulpluis, king of the Weft Saxons, gave to the monaftery of Abingdon fifteen manfions, called Oulnam, with all profits to the fame belonging, as an inheritance for ever, and that it ftiould be for ever free from all epifcopal ju- rifdiction ; and that all difcuflions of caufes ftiould be fub- je£t to the decree of the abbot of that monaftery only. From this charter Sir Edw-ard Coke inferred, that the ec- clefiaftical jurifdiftion was always inverted in the imperial crown of England ; and, therefore, the ftatute made under Henry VIII. concerning the king’s fpiritual authority, was not introductory of a new law, but declaratory only of an old one. The town, (which has two churches and three meeting- houfes for diifenters,) confifts of feveral ftreets, which centre in a fpacious area, where the market is kept on Monday and Friday, toll-free, and is very confiderable for barley, as there are great quantities of malt made here, and fent down the Thames in barges to London. The market-houfe is a (lately edifice, of moft curious work- manfhip, and claims the preference of moft others in the kingdom ; over which there is a noble hall, where the fum- mer affize is held; the Lent allize being held at Reading. The county-court is kept here once a month, at which the members for the county are elected ; as alfo the coroners, and verdurers of Windfor foreft. It had formerly an elegant crofs, but it was quite demolifhed in the civil wars. It is a free borough, and fends one member to parliament ; the firft of which it fent to parliament in the 4th year of the reign of Philip and Mary. The right of election is in the inhabitants paying fcot and lot, and not receiving alms, or any charity, by a refolution of tire houfe of commons of the jgth of January, 1708. The fuppofed number of voters is 600. It is a town-corporate, confiding of a mayor, recorder, two bailiffs, twelve principal burgeffes, fixteen fecondary burgeffes, two ferjeants, and a beadle. Here is a good free-fchool, founded in 1563, by Mr. John Royfe; alfo feveral alms-houfes well endowed; and about 900I. per ann. left for charitable ufes. Alfo a large manufactory, which employs a great number of hands in the facking, bagging, and floor and fail cloths, which are principally fent to London. Here are feven fairs annually, y'lT,, on the firft Monday in Lent, May the 6th, June 20, AST Auguft 5, September 19; Monday before Old Michael- mas-day, for fervants, &c. and on" December 11. Abingdon is diftant from Oxford fix miles, from Wan¬ tage ten, Farringdon fourteen, Wallingford ten, Newbury twenty-one, Reading twenty-fix, and fifty-fix from Lon¬ don. This town is fuppofed by Biihop Gibfon to be the place called, in the Saxon annals, Clovejkoo , where two fy- nods are faid to have been held,' one in 742, and the other in 822. Lat. 51. 42. Ion. 1. 20. Abingdon, a pretty town of Philadelphia county, in Pennfylvania; alfo a final! town in Ireland, feven miles eaft of Limerick, and ninety miles from Dublin. ABINTESTATE, adj. [of ab, from, and inteftatus , Lat.] A term of law', implying him that inherits from a man, who, though he had the power to make a will, yet did not make it. ABIPONIANS, a tribe of American Indians, who for¬ merly inhabited the diftricts pf Chaks , in Paraguay ; but the hoftilities of the Spaniards have now obliged them to remove fouthvvard into the territory lying between Santa Fe and St. Jago. The only account we have of them is that publifhed by M. Dobrizhoffer in 1785. This gentle¬ man, who lived feven years in their country, informs us, that they are not numerous, the whole nation not much ex¬ ceeding 5000 ; for which lie afligns as a reafon an unnatural cuflom among their women of fometimes deftroying their own children from motives of jeaioufy, left their hufbands ftiould take other mates during the long time they give fuck, which is not lefs than two years. They are natu¬ rally white, but, by expofure to the air and fmoke, be¬ come of a brown colour. They are a ftrong and hardy race of people; which our author attributes to their mar¬ rying fo late, an Abiponian feldom or never thinking of marriage till thirty years of age. They are greatly cele¬ brated on account of their chaftity and other virtues; though they feem to have no knowledge of a Deity. They make frequent incurfions into the territories of the Spa¬ niards, mounted on the horfes which run wild in thofe parts. They have a kind of order of chivalry for their warriors ; and are fo formidable, that a hundred of their enemies w ill fly before ten of thefe horfemen. The hatred which thefe favages, whofe manners, though rude and un¬ cultivated, are in many refpe£ts pure and virtuous, bear to the Spaniards, is invincible. “ Thefe pretended Chrif- tians, (fays our author,) who are the feum of the Spanifh nation, praCtife every kind of fraud and viilany among thefe poor barbarians; and their corrupt and vicious mo¬ rals are fo adapted to prejudice the Abiponians againft the Chriftian religion, that the Jefuit miflionaries have, by a fevere law, prohibited any Spaniard from coming, w ith¬ out a formal permiffi.on, into any of their colonies.” — From this account of the fuccefs of the Jefuits in convert¬ ing them to Chriftianity, it does not appear that they have been able to make any impreflion on their minds; fo that in general they are* quite ignorant and uncivilized: a moft ftriking inftance of which is, that in counting they can go no farther than three ; and all the art of the Jefuits to teach them the fimpleft ufeand exprelfton of numbers, has proved unfuccefsful. ABIRAM, a feditious I.evite, who, in concert with Korah and Dathan, rebelled againft Mofes and Aaron, in order to (hare with them in the government of the people ; when Mofes ordering them to come with their cenfers be¬ fore the altar of the Lord, the earth fuddenly opened un¬ der their feet, and fwallowed up them and their tents; and at the fame inftant fire came from heaven, and con- fumed 250 of their followers. Numb. xvi. ABISHAT, fon of Zeruiah, and brother to Job, was one of the celebrated warriors w'ho flouriftied in the reign of David. He killed with Iris own hand 300 men, with no other weapon but his lance; and flew a Philiftine giant, the iron of whofe fpear weighed 300 ftiekels. 1 Samuel, xxvi. 2 Samuel, xxiii. To ABJUGATE, v. a. [abjugo, Lat.] To unyoke, to uncouple. ABIUL, A B L ABIUL, a town of Baira, containing 1300 inhabitants. Lat. 40. 20. Ion. 7. 10. W. To ABJURE, v. a. [ abjuro , Lat.] To call: off upon oath, to fwear not to do or not to have fomething. To retract, recant, or abnegate a.polition upon oath. ABJURATION,/. The aft of abjuring. The oath taken for that end in law ; by which it was anciently the cuftom, that if a perfon had committed a felony, and could fly to a church or church-yard before he was apprehended, lie could not be taken from thence to be tried for his crime; but on confellion thereof before the coroner, he was admitted to his oath to abjure the realm. But by the 21 J. c. 28. all privilege of fanftuary, and abjuration con- fequent thereupon, is utterly abolifhed. 2///. 628. But there is one kind of abjuring the realm which yet remains, as not depending on any privilege of fanftuary; and that is, with refpedt to popilb recufants convift, re¬ moving from the place of their habitation without licence, and not conforming in three months after. notice : in which cafe, they are required by ftatute 35 Eliz. c. 2. to abjure the realm before two juftices of the peace or tire coroner ; the form of which abjuration, according to the old books, is this: “ This hear you, Sir Coroner, that I, A. B • am a popifli recufant, and, in contempt of the latysand Statutes of England, I have and do refute to come to their church. I do therefore, according to the intent and meaning of the llatute made in the 35th year of queen Elizabeth late queen of this realm of England, abjure the realm of England. And I thall hade me towards the port of C. which you have given and ailigned to me, and that 1 thall not go out of the highway leading thither, nor return back again; and if I do, 1 will that I be taken as a felon of the king. And that at C. I will diligently feek for patfage, and will tarry there but one flood and ebb, if I can have patfage; and unlefs I can have it in fuch place, I will go every day into the fea up to my knees, atfaying to pafs over. So help me God and his doom.” Stamf. 1 16. Offic. Cor. 49. There is alfo an oath of abjuration, whereby every per¬ fon in any office, truft, or employment, abjutes the pre¬ tender, and recognifes the right of his majefty under the aft of fettlement, engaging to fupport him, and promifing’ to difclofe all trealons and traitorous confpiracies againlt him. ABKAS, one of the feven nations, in the countries comprehended between the Black Sea and the Cafpian. Its capital is Anakopir, tributary to the Turks. To ABLACTATE, v. a. [ablatio, Lat.] To wean from the bread. ABLACTATION, f. in medicine, the taking a child from the milk of the bread; alfo called apqgalaSifmus. When the mother wants health, or ftrength ; hath too fmall nipples, or ill formed ones ; when the infant will not take the bread ; the mother’s milk is bad or in too fmall a quan¬ tity; when the mother hath weak nerves, is apt ealily to be furprifed; thefe defefts fpoil the milk, and render it advifeable to wean the child. It can never be ti fifth 1 to con¬ tinue the bread more than eight or nine months ; but gene¬ rally, if a child is favoured with a good fupply by fucking, during its fird three or four months, and is in a tolerably healthful date, it will rarely be the worfe for weaning at this early period; fo that if difficulties attend its'being fuck- led, there need not be any hell tat ion about taking it from the bread. If it feeds tolerably with the fpoon, and is free front diforders in its bowels, a tendency to convulfions, &c. weaning may be attempted at any time. But, if feeding with the fpoon is difficult; if the child is much fubjeft to the gripes, &c. another nurfe lhould be fought for, and weaning mud be deferred until more favourable circum- flances attend. In general, the fooner a child is weaned, the more eafy it parts with the bread. Prudence direfts to accudom infants to early feeding with the fpoon, and to continue the fame until the bread may be wholly omitted. They fnould only be fed once in fix hours, at the mod, du¬ ring the flrd two months; and fliould be entirely weaned from the bread, and from all feeding in the night; for Vol. I. No. 2. A B L 2 i night-feeding bloats them, and if they are not ufed to it in the fird week, they will never want it: if they are not didurbed from their birth, in a week or two, they will be formed to a habit of deeping mod of the night very quietly. The food lhould be fimple and light; not fpoiled with fugar, wine, and fuch-like additions, for they produce the difeafes with which children are mod troubled, acidities in the primes vice. Unfermented flour makes a vifcid food that turns four before it digeds, and well fermented bread foon turns four; but if this latter is made into frefn panada eve¬ ry night and morning, or, in cool Weather, every morning, the inconvenience of fouring is prevented. To avoid aci¬ dity in the child’s flomach by a daily ufe of vegetable food, give now and then a little frelh broth, made from either veal, mutton, or beef, once or twice in the day; fuppofe, for example, a mixture of equal parts of the gravy which is difeharged in cutting a joint that is brought hot on the table, and warm water, to which may be added a little fait, and thus an excellent broth is readily made. This fills children with hymours, only of the mod nourifhing kind. Cows milk, a little diluted with water, is an excellent lub - flitute for the mother’s ; yet, as it is apt to turn four, add to it a little Litbon fugar. Rice is not fb apt to turn four as wheat bread is; it therefore would be a more conveni¬ ent food for children, and deferves to be attended to. Toaft- ed bread boiled in water tiii it is almoft dry, then mixed with frelh milk, not boiled, is ap agreeable change. As the teeth advance, the diet ynay increafe in its folidity. A[s to the quantity, let the appetite be the meafure of it; ob- ferving to fatjsfy hunger, but no more, which may be thus managed ; feed the child no longer than lie eats with a de¬ gree of eagernefs. In feeding, let the child be held in a fitting pofture, and thus continue it until the flomach has nearly digefted its contents. The practice of violently dancing and fhaking the child lhould be avoided, though moderate exercife is elfentially neceffary.— Keep the .child awake until it breaks wind after each time it is fed ; divert it during the day as much as you can, and thus it will foon lie quiet all the night. Never awaken a child when it is alleep, for thus fickyefs and peevilhnefs are often produced. As foon as teeth appear, give the child now and then a piece of fifth meat in its hand to chew; but never give it any confectionaries. Ablactation,/ One of the methods of grafting; and, according to the fignification of the word, as it were a weaning of a lcion by degrees .from its mother flock ; not cutting it off wholly from the flock, till it is firmly united to that on which it is grafted. ABLAI, a country of Great •Tartary, the inhabitants of which, called Buc/iprs or Bac/iares, are fubjeft toRuffia, but that only for protection. It is governed by a Calmuc prince, and lies eaftward of the. river Irtis, extending five hundred leagues along the fouthern frontiers of Siberia. ABLANIA,/ in botany. See Trichocarpus. ABLAQUEATION,/ [ ablaqueatio , Lat.] The art or praftice of opening the ground about the roots of trees, to let the air and water operate upon them. ABLATION,/ [ ablatio , Lat.] The aft of taking away. ABLATIVE, adj. in grammar, [ ablativus , Lat.] .That which takes away. It is. the .fixth cafe of Latin nqiins. Prifcian alfo calls it the comparative cafe-, as ferving among the Latins for comparing as well as for taking away. The .ablative is oppofite to the dative; the firft exprefling the aftion of taking away, and the latter that of giving. In Englifn, French, Sec. there is no precife mark whereby to diftinguifli the. ablative from other cafes; and we only ufe .the term in analogy to th.e Latin. Thus, in the two phrafes, the magnitude of the pity, .and lie J 'pofre much of the city, w„e fay, that of the city in th.e lirfi \i genitive-, and in the latter ablative-, becaufe it would be fo,.if the two phra¬ fes were expreffed in Latin. The queftion concerning the Greek ablative has been tire fubjeft of a famous literary war between' two great. gram¬ marians, Frifchlin and Cruiius ; tire former of jvhorn main¬ tained, and the latter oppofed, the reality of it. Tliedif- G * pute 22 A B L pute flill fubfifts among their refpg'Stive followers. The chief reafon alleged by the former is, that the Roman writers often joined Greek words with the Latin prepofi- tions, which govern ablative cafes, as well as with nouns of the lame cafe. To which their opponents anfvver, that the Latins anciently had no ablative themfelves ; but inftead thereof, made ufe, like the Greeks, of the dative cafe: till at length they formed an ablative, governed by prepo- fitions, which were not put before the dative : that, at firft, the two cafes had always tire fame termination, as they flill have in many inftances: but that this was afterwards changed in certain words. It is no wonder then, that the Latins fometimes join prepofitions which govern an abla¬ tive cule, or nouns in the ablative cafe, with Greek da¬ tives, fince they were originally the fame; and that the Greek, dative has the fame effeil as the Latin ablative. ABLE, adj. \habile , Fr. kahilis, Lat. fkilful, ready.] Having ftrong faculties, or great ftrength or knowledge, riches or any other power of mind, body, or fortune. Hav¬ ing power (ufticient; enabled. — Before a verb, with the particle to, it fignifies generally having the power. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to (land before envy > Prov. xxvii. 4. — With for it is not often nor very properly ufed. Able, or Abel (Thomas), chaplain to queen Catha¬ rine confort to Henry VIII. diflinguifhed himfelf by his zeal in oppofing the proceedings againlt that unfortunate prin- cefs for a divorce. He took the degree of batchelor of arts at Oxford on the 4th of July, 1513, and that of maf- ter of arts on the 27th of July, 1516. In 1534 he fell un¬ der a profecution for being concerned in the affair of Elizabeth Barton, called the Holy Maid of Kent. This was an infamous impoftor, fuborned by the monks to ufe fome ffrange gefticulations, and to pretend to infpiration by the fpirit of prophecy ; and fo well did (lie acl her part, that fome people of confequence gave credit to her ; but being at lad detected, die was- condemned and executed, after difeovering the names of her principal accomplices and inftigators. On her account Able was accufed of mifpri- f on of treafon, by flat. 25 Henry VIII. and, being alfo one of thofe who denied the king’s fupremacy over the church, he was apprehended and imprifoned ; during which time his confinement was fo rigorous, that the keep¬ er of Newgate was committed to the Marfhalfea prifon for fuffering him to go out upon bail. He was afterwards hanged, drawn, and quartered, at Smithfield, in 1540. To Able, v. a. To make able; to enable, which is the word commonly ufed. ABLE-BODIED, adj . Strong of body. — It lies in the power of every fine woman, to fecure at lead half a do¬ zen able-bodied men to his majefty’s fervice. Addifon. ABLECTI, in Roman antiquity, a feleift body of fol- diers chofen from among thofe called Extraordinarii. 7b ABLEGATE, v. a. [ ablego , Lat.] To fend abroad upon fome employment ; to lend out of the way. ABLEGATION, f. The aft of fending abroad. ABI.EGMINA,yi in Roman antiquity, thofe choice parts of the entrails of victims which were offered in facri- fice to the gods. They were fprinkled with flour, and burnt upon the altar; the priefts pouring fome wine on them. ABLE, NESS, f Ability of body or mind, vigour, force. ABLEPSY, /! Gr. ] Want of fight, blind- nefs; unadvifednefs. ABLIGURITION, f [ abliguritio , Lat.] Prodigal ex¬ pence on meat and drink. ABI.IGATE, v. a. [from abligo, Lat.] To tie up from. To AELOCATE, v. a. [ abloco , Lat.] To let out to hire. — Perhaps properly by him who has hired it from another. ABLOCATION,y. A letting out to hire. ABLOE, a town of Little Tartary, between the river Dnieper and the Black Sea. Lat. 46. 20. N. Ion. 33.15. E. To ABLUDE, v.n. \_abludo, Lat.] To be unlike. ABLUENT, adj . [_abluens} Lat. from abluo, to wa(h ABO away. ] That which wafhes clean ; that which has the pow¬ er of cleanfing. ABLUTION, f. \_abluiio, Lat.] The a£l of cleanfing, or waffling clean. The water ufed in waffling : Waffl’d by the briny wave, the pious train Are cleans’d, and caff th’ ablution 3 in the main. Pope. The rinfing of chemical preparations in water, to diffolve and wafli away any acrimonious particles. Ablution, in a religious lenfe, a ceremony in ufe among the ancients, and flill pjaltifed in feveral parts of the world: it confided in waffling the body, which was alwaysdonebefore facrificing, or even entering their houfes. — Ablutions appear to be as old as any ceremonies, and ex¬ ternal worfliip itfelf. Mofes enjoined them; the heathens adopted them; and Mahomet and his followers have con¬ tinued them : thus they have got footing among mod nations, and make a confiderable part of many eftabliffied religions. The Egyptian priefts had their diurnal and nocturnal ablutions; the Grecians their fprinklings ; the Romans their luftrations and lavations; the Jews their waffling of hands and feet, befide their baptifms. The ancient Chriftians had their ablutions before communion; which the Romiffi church dill retain before their mafs, fometimes after: the Syrians, Cophts, See. have their fo- lemn walkings on Good- Friday : the Turks their greater and Idler ablutions ; their Gliaft and Wodou, their Aman, Taharat, &c. — The Indians practife ablution, and have a high veneration for the waters of the Ganges. But as they cannot at all times be near enough to wafli themfelves in its facred waters, the bramins tell them that all other wa¬ ters will have the fame virtue, if, whillt they are bathing", they pronounce thefe wrnrds, “ O Ganges, purify me.” No doubt ablutions might be deligned to reprefent in¬ ward purity ; but they were at the fame time calculated for the preferv.ation of health. However whimfical thefe walkings may appear to fome, few things would tend more to prevent difeafes than a proper attention to many of them. Were every perfon, for example, after vifiting the lick, handling a dead body, or touching any thing that might convey infection, to wafli before he went into company, or lat down to meat, he would run lefs hazard of catching the infeflion himfelf, or of communicating it to others. ABNAKIS, atribeof Indians between Canada and New England, who diffike labour, and prefer hunting and fiffi- ing to tillage. To ABNEGATE, v. a. \_abnego, Lat.] To deny. ABNEGATION, f. \_abncgatio, Lat. denial, from abne- go, to deny.] Denial, renunciation. ABNER, the foil of Ner, father-in-law to Saul, and general of all his forces, who ferved him on all occafions with fidelity and courage. After the death of that prince, Abner fet I ffibofiieth, Saul’s fop, on the throne. A war breaking out between the tribe of Judah who had elected David king, and Ifrael, Abner marched againft that prince with the flower of his troops, but was defeated. Abner afterward, being difguifed, went over to David, and dif- pofed the chiefs of the army and the elders of Ifrael to declare for him ; and was received by David with fuch tef- timonies of affedion, as gave umbrage tojoab, who kill¬ ed him traiteroufly. ABNODATION,yi jabnodatio, Lat.] The ad of cut ■ ting away knots from trees: a term of gardening. ABNORMOUS, adj. [abnormis , Lat. out of rule.] Ir¬ regular, misfhapen. ABO, a maritime town in Sweden: it is the capital of the province of Finland, and lies upon the point where the gulphs of Bothnia and Finland unite. It is a good port; and is the fee of abiftiop, fuffragan of Upfal. It has an univerfity; founded by queen Chriftina in 1640, and en¬ dowed with the fame privileges as that of Upfal. There is alfo a fchool here, which was founded by Guftavus Adolphus, for 300 fcholars. This town is tolerably well built, and contains feveral brick buildings; but the gene¬ rality are of wood painted red. The inhabitants export linen. ABO linen, corn, and planks. ' It lies 140 miles north -eaft from Stockholm. Lat. 60. 27. Ion. 22. iS. E. ABOARD, adv. a fea-term, but adopted into common language; [derived immediately from the French a bord, as alter a bord, envoyer a bord. ] Bord is itfelf a word of very doubtful original, and perhaps, in its different accepta¬ tions, deducible from different roots. Bord, in the ancient Saxon-, lignified a houfe-, in. which fen k to go aboard, is to take up refidence hi a fhip. Hence any perfon who enters a fhip is faid to go aboard; but when an enemy enters in the time of battle, he is faid to board ; a phrafe which always implies hoftility. — To fall aboard of, is to (frike or encoun¬ ter another fhip when one or both are in motion, or to be driven upon a fhip by the force of the wind or current. — Aboard main-tack , the order to draw the main-tack, i. e. the lower corner of the main-fail, down to the chess-tree. ABODE,/. Habitation, dwelling, place of refidence: Others may ufe the ocean as their road. Only the Englifn make it their abode-, Whofe ready fails with every wind can fly, And make a cov’nant with th’ inconflant iky. Waller. Stay, continuance in a place : The woodcocks early vifit, and abode Of long continuance in our temperate clime, Fore tel a liberal harvefl. Phillips. To make abode. To dwell, to refide, to inhabit. To ABODE, v. a. [See Bode.] To foretoken or ,fore- fliow ; to be a prognoftic, to be ominous. It is taken, with its derivatives, in the fenfe either of good or ill. ABODEMENT,/. A fecret anticipation of fomething future ; an impreflion upon the mind of fome event to come; prognoffication ; omen: I like not this. For many men that (fumble at the threfhold; Are well foretold that danger lurks within. — ■ — Tufh ! man, abodements muff not now affright us. Shakefpeare. To ABOLISH, v. a. \_aboleo, Lat.] To annul; to make void: applied to laws or inffitutions. To put an end to, to deflroy. — Fermented fpirits contract, harden, and con- folidate, many fibres together, abolifhing many canals ; e Im¬ perially where the fibres are the tendered, as in the brain. Arbuthnct. ABOLISHABLE, adj. That which may be aboliflied. ABOLISHER,/ He that abolifhes. ABOLISHMENT, / The aft of abolifhing. . ABOLITION,/. The aft of abolifhing. This is now more frequently ufed than abolifhment. — An apoplexy is a hidden abolition of all the lenfes, and of all voluntary mo¬ tion, by the lloppage of the flux and reflux of the animal fpirits through the nerves deftined for thofe motions. Ar- buthnot. ABOLLA,/ a kind of garment worn by the Greeks and Romans, chiefly out of the city, in following the camp. — Critics and antiquaries are greatly divided as to the form, life, kinds, &c. of this garment. Papias makes it a fpecies of the toga, or gown; but Nonius, and the generality, a fpecies of the pallium, or cloak. The abolla feems rather to have (food oppofed to the toga, which was a garment of peace, as the abolla was of war ; at leaf! Varro and Martial place them in this oppofite light. There feem to have been different kinds of abollas, fitted to different occafions. Even kings appear to have ufed the abolla: Caligula was aff ronted at king Ptolemy for appearing at the fhows in a purple- abolla, and by the eclat thereof turning the eyes of the fperiators from the emperor upon himfelf. ABOMASUS, Abomasum, Abomasius,/. names of the fourth ffomach of ruminating animals. It is in the abomafus of calves and lambs that the runnet is formed Wherewith milk is curdled. ABOMINABLE, adj. \_abcminabilis , Lat.] Hateful, de- teffable; to be loathed. Unclean. In low and ludicrous language, it is a word of loofe and indeterminate cenfure. ABO ABOMINABLENESS, /. The quality of being abo¬ minable; hatefulnefs, odioufnefs.- — Till we have proved, in its proper place, the eternal and effential difference be¬ tween virtue and vice, we muff forbear to urge atheifls with the corruption and abominablenfs of their principles. Bentley. ABOMINABLY, adv. A word of low or familiar lan¬ guage, fignifying exceflively, extremely, exceedingly; in an ill fenfe. It is not often ferioufly ufed. To ABOMINATE, v. a. \_abominor , Lat.] To abhor, deteff, hate utterly. — Pride goes hated, curfed, and abo¬ minated by all. Hammond. ABOMINATION,/! Hatred, detefiation. Theobjefft of hatred. Pollution, defilement. Wickednefs; hateful or fhameful vice. The caufe of pollution. It is ufed in fcrip'ture wi/i regard to the Hebrews, who, being fliepherds, are faid to have been an abomination to the Egyptians, becaufe they facrificed' the facred ani¬ mals of that people, as oxen, goats, fheep, See. which the Egyptians effeemed as abominations, or things unlawful. The term is alfo applied in the facred writings to idolatry and idols, becaufe the worfhip of idols is in itfelf an abo¬ minable thing, and at the fame time ceremonies obferved by idolaters were always attended with licentioufnefs and' other odious and abominable actions. The abomination of deflation , foretold by the prophet Daniel, is fuppofed to imply the ffatue of Jupiter Olympius, which Antiochus Epiphanes eaufed to be placed in the temple of Jerufalem. And the abomination of deflation, mentioned by the Evan- gelifts, fignifies the enfigns of the Romans, during the lafl iiege of Jerufalem by Titus, on whom the figures of their gods and emperors were embroidered, and placed upon the temple after it was taken. ABORAM, a fmall ifland on the coaff of Morocco, whofe inhabitants live chiefly by fifhing. ABORIGINES,/'. [Lat.] The earlieft inhabitants of a country; thofe of whom no original is to be traced; as, the Welfh in Britain. Dionyfius HalicarnafTus, Livy, and Virgil, gave this name to a certain people in Italy, who in¬ habited the ancient Latium, or country now called Cam- pagna di Roma. Whence this people came by the appella¬ tion, is much difputed. St. Jerom fays they were fo called, as being abfque origine, the primitive planters of the country after the flood : Dion of HalicarnafTus accounts for the name, as denoting them the founders of the race of inha¬ bitants of that country : others think them fo called, as being originally Arcadians, who claimed to be earth-born, and not defeended from any people. Aurelius Viftor fug- gefts another opinion, viz. that they were called Aborigines , q. d . Aberrigines, from ab “ from,” and errare “to wan¬ der:” as having been before a wandering people. Pau- fanias rather thinks they were thus called cesro open, from “mountains;” which opinion feems confirmed by Virgil, who, fpeaking of Saturn, the legiflator of this people, fays. Is genus indocile ac difpenfum montibas altis Compofuit , legefque dedit. - - The Aborigines were either the original inhabitants of the country, fettled there by Janus, as fome imagine ; or by Saturn, or Cham, as others; not long after the difperfion, or even, as fome think, before it: or they were a colony fent from fome other nation; who, expelling the ancient inhabitants the Siculi, fettled in their place. The term Aborigines, though fo famous in antiquity, is ufed in mo¬ dern geography only occafionally as an appellative. It is- given to the primitive inhabitants of any country, in con- tradiftinriion to colonies, or new races of people. To ABORT, v. n. \_aborto, Lat.] To bring forth before the time ; to mifearry. ABORTION,/, [abortio, Lat.] The ari: of bringing forth untimely; the produce of an untimely birth; 111 which fenfe it is ufed for the unfeafonable exclufion of an iinperferi human foetus, either alive or dead, before the natural time of delivery. if abortion happens before the fecond month of preg¬ nancy, it is called a falfe conception. Abortions are feldom 3, dangsroucr dangerous in the firft three months; but a frequent habit of mifcarriage debilitates the fyftern, thatters theconftitu- tion, and lays the foundation of chronic difeafes of the 1110ft obftinate and dangerous nature. In the advanced months, the prognofis will be' more or lefs favourable, ac¬ cording to the patient’s former ftate of health. The prox¬ imate caufe of abortion is the fame with that of real tra¬ vail,- namely, a contradling effort of the uterus, and abdo¬ minal mufdes, aflifted by the other expulfive powers. The remote caufes cannot be explained with precifion, as many circumftances, with regard to the nature of impregnation and connection of the foetus with the placenta and uterus, are fubjedts involved in many difficulties ; fo that the ge¬ neral maxims which follow, are the heads that require particular attention, i . Whatever interrupts the regular circulation between the uterus and placenta. 2. Every thing that excites the fpafmodic contradlion of the uterus, or' other aflifting powers. 3. All accidents, or occafions, that deprive the foetus of life. In confequence of the great abridgment of the human race by abortion, and of the ill health it induces to thofe unfortunate females who become fubjedl to it, the late Dr. Hunter bellowed infinite pdins to inveftigate its caufe, and to check i|ts progrefs. He diflefted three abortions, which happened at the mod ufual time women are fubjeft to this 'misfortune, namely, toward the end of the third month ; 'whence it appeared that there is an extindtion of life in the foetus for fome time before any fymptoms of abortion oc¬ cur. For inftance, if the mifcarriage happens about the end of the third month, the age of the foetus is generally no more than eight or nine weeks; or if it perifhes in the fifth, fixth, or feventh, month, it will ft ill be retained in the uterus, and the expulfion will rarely happen until near the completion of its full time. Previous to opening thefe abortions, Dr. Hunter had made feveral ufeful difcoveries relative to the human preg¬ nant uterus, which fee under Anatomy. His brother, Mr. John Hunter, had likewife, by a number of furgical operations, manifefted, that “ the blood is the life of the body;” which fee under Blood. Hence Dr. Hunter concluded, that a careful inveftigation of the minuter vef- iels of the uterine fyftern, with their ramifications, would be the likeiieft means of obtaining fatisfafilory information on this delicate fubjedf. This alfo led him to the diicovery of the Decidua, which is a membrane of a very peculiar nature, the knowledge of which throws great light upon the contents of the pregnant womb, and upon the connec¬ tion between the mother and child. It appears to be an efflorefcence of the internal coat of the uterus ; and is therefore (lied, as often as a Woman bears a child, or fuf- fers, a mifcarriage. Itconfiftsof two parts, called decidua veira, and decidua rejlexa. In feparating it from the chorion, and from the mu'fcular fibres of the uterus, an infinite number of fmall veins and arteries are difeovered full of blood, which ramify from its outer furface inwards through its whole fubftance, blending itfelf infeparably with the umbilical portion of the placenta. Its principal arteries run in winding convolutions, like the coilings of a fnake ; forming an appearance much refembling that of lace ; ■ and confidering the number and fize of the veflels, which are neceflarily broken upon the expulfion of the foetus, we cannot longer wonder at thofe frequent fatal bleedings, which accompany mifcarriage s in an advanced ftate of pregnancy. The fubjedts of thefe curious and mafterly difletlions are reprelented on the annexed plate, -of which the. following is an explanation. Fig. 1. An abortion of about nine weeks old, feen on that fide which is membranous. The decidua is torn, and turned fomewhat alide, to (hew the fmooth and opaque de¬ cidua reflexa. A, the rough external furface of the deci¬ dua, which exfoliated from the womb. B, the outlide of a fmall portion of the placenta, the reft of which was fitu- ated on the back part of this objeft. CC, the internal cribiform furface of the decidua, which, in the firft months of pregnancy, does not adhere to the membranes which it ABO enclofes. DD, the lacerated edge of the decidua which had been continued into the edge EE of the fame membrane. F, the decidua reflexa fipread over the out- fide of the chorion. GG, the angle of reflection at the edge of the placenta, where the inner layer of the decidua is turned over the chorion ; much in the fame manner as the inner lamella of the pericardium is reflected, to cover the outer furface of the heart. H, the termination of the decidua at the cervix uteri. Fig. 2. (hews a vertical fedtion of the fame fubject. AA, the fedtion of the placenta; which, wemuftfuppole, had adhered to the upper and back part of the womb. B, the fedtion of the anterior portion of the decidua. C, the fedtion of the pofterior portion of the decidua. D, the ter¬ mination of the decidua at the cervix uteri. E, the cavity of the amnion, in which the embryo hangs by a (lender navel-ftring, from the infide of the placenta. F, the fec- tion of the three membranes, which are not only conti¬ guous, but adhere to one another, viz. the amnion, the chorion, and the decidua reflexa. GG, the angle at the edge of the placenta where the inner layer of the decidua is refledted over the outfide of the chorion. H, here thofe three membranes are a little feparated, to (hew their courle at the placenta. Fig. 3. reprefents an abortion of about eight weeks old. A (mail ftrap of the decidua is cut out, and turned up, to (hew the cavity between it and the other membranes. A, the cut flip of the decidua. B, the part of the concep¬ tion where there is no decidua, viz. oppofite to the paiTage through the cervix uteri. CC, the external furface of the decidua. D, the decidua reflexa covering the chorion and amnion, which projedt and fill up the cavity of the decidua. E, the outlide of the upper part of the pla¬ centa. Fig. 4. reprefents the fame fubject, when the decidua had been opened by a crucial incifion, and the four angles had been turned oft’, and then a round piece of the deci¬ dua reflexa diffedted off, and turned to one fide, to (hew the loofe veflels on the outlide of the chorion. AA, the infide of the four angles or flaps into which the decidua was reduced by a crucial incifion. BB, the decidua re¬ flexa covering the other membranes. C, the angle at the edge of the placenta where the interior lamella of the de¬ cidua is continued over the outlide of the chorion, forming the decidua reflexa. D, a round portion of the decidua reflexa dilfedfed from the outfide of the chorion and turn¬ ed afide. E, the chorion, with itsfhaggy veflels, laid bare. Thefe veflels adhered firmly to the decidua reflexa, and parts of them were cut off with, that membrane. Fig. 5. (hews an abortion of the fame age,- confiding of the chorion only, with its veflels and contents ; that is, without the .decidua, or uterine part of the fecundines. A, the larger and more crouded branches of the (baggy veflels which (hoot from the external furface of one part of the chorion, to mix with the decidua, or uterine part, to form the placenta. B, that portion of the chorion which afterwards becomes the uniform tranfparent membrane. It is covered with fewer and more delicate floating veflels, which lofe themfelves in the decidua reflexa. The em¬ bryo is feen through it. C, the velicula umbilicalis on the outfide of the amnion, feen through the chorion; with a whitifh thread, (the remains of an artery and vein,) lead¬ ing from it, towards the navel of the embryo. Fig. 6. reprefents the fame abortion opened. The mem¬ branes, which were at the fore-part, being cut from the placenta, and turned- up, the embryo is diftindtly feen. A, the veficula umbilicalis, from which B, the remains of an artery and vein, in the form of a white thread, pafs to C, the navel of the embryo, with fome turns of the inteftines lodged in the beginning of the navel-ftring. The common caufes of abortion are, the death of the child; weaknefs or relaxation of the mother; or too great evacuations. It however proceeds oftener from a violent diftention, or rupture, of the minuter veflels of the uterine iyftern, occafioned by too ftrong exercife; railing, great ABO and without tricks. L'EJlrange. — Without difguife or con¬ cealment. Above-cited, adv. Cited before. A figurative ex- preflion, taken from the ancient manner of writing, books on fcrolls; where whatever is cited or mentioned before in the fame page, mult be above. Above-ground, adv. An exprefiion ufed to fignify alive; not in the grave.. Above-mentioned, adv. The fame as above-cited. — • 1 do not remember, that Homer any where falls into the faults above-mentioned, which were indeed the falfe refine¬ ments of latter ages. Addifon. ABQUKIR, al'mall town of Egypt, fituate in the de¬ fart between Alexandria and Roletta. It is the ancient Canopus, and is fituated, according to Mr. Savary, (ix leagues from Pharos. The town is built upon a rock, which forms a handfome road for {hipping, and is out of the reach of inundations. See Canopus. To ABOUND, v. n. \_abundo, Lat. abondcr , Fr.J To have in great plenty; to be copioufly ltored. It is ufed fome- times with the particle in, andfometimes the particle with. To be in great plenty :• Words are like leaves, and where they mod abound, Much fruit of l'enfe beneath is rarely found. Pope. ABOUT, prep. [ abutan , or abuton, Sax. which feems to fignify encircling on the outfide.] Round, furrounding, encircling. — Let not mercy and truth forfake thee. Bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thy heart. Proverbs, iii. 3. — Near to. Concerning/ with re¬ gard to, relating to. — The painter is not to take fo much pains about the drapery as about the face, where the prin¬ cipal refemblance lies. Dry den. — In a Bate- of being en¬ gaged in, or employed upon. — Our armies ought to be provided with fecretaries, to tell their ftory in plain En- glifh, and to let us know, in our mother tongue, what it is our countrymen are about. Addifon, — Appendant to the perfon, as clothes. Relating to the perfon, as a fervant or dependant. Relating to perfon, as an act or office. — Good corporal, for my old dame’s fake, {land my friend : file hath nobody to do any thing about her when I am gone, and Hie is old and cannot help herfelf. Shakcfpeare. About , adv. Circularly, in a round ; circum. In cir¬ cuit, in compafs. Nearly; circiter. Here and there; eve¬ ry way; circa. — A wolf that was paft labour, in his old age, borrows a habit, and fo about he goes, begging cha¬ rity from door to door, under the difguife of a pilgrim. L'EJlrange. — With to before a verb ; as about to jly , upon the point, within a fmall diftance of : Thefe dying lovers, and their floatingfons, Sufpend the fight, and filence all our guns : Beauty and youth, about to perifh, finds ■Such noble pity in brave Englifii minds. Waller. Round; the longeft way, in oppofition to the ffiort firaight way. To bring about-, to bring to the point or ftate defired ; as, he has brought about his purpofes. To come about ; to come to feme certain (late or point. It has commonly the idea of revolution, or gyration. — Wherefore it came to pafs, when the time was come about, after Hannah had conceived, that file bare a foil. 1 Sam. i. 20. One evening it befel, that looking out, The wind they long had wifh’d was come about ; Yvrell pleas’d they went to reft ; and if the gale Till morn continu’d, both refolv’d to fail. Dryden. To go about ; to prepare to do it. In common language, they fay, to come about a man, to circumvent him. Some of thefe phrafes feem to derive their original from the French a bout-, venir a bout d'une chofe-, venir a bout de quelqu'un. About, adv. in fea-language, the fituationof a iliip im¬ mediately after file has tacked, or changed her courfe by going about and Banding on the other tack.— About 'flip ! the order to the fliip’s crew for tacking. ABOUTIGE, a tow n in Upper Egypt, in Africa, near the Nile, where they make the befi opium in all the Le- A B R 27 vant. It was formerly a large, but now is a mean place. N. Lat. 26. 50. ABRA, afilver coin ftruck in Poland, worth about one Bulling Iferling. It is current in feveral parts of Germa¬ ny, Confiantinople, Aftracan, Smyrna, and Grand. Cairo. ABRABANEL, Abarbanel, or Avravanel, (I- faac), a celebrated rabbi, defeended from King David, and born at Lifbon A. D. 1437. He became counfellor to Alphonfo V. king of Portugal, and afterwards to Ferdi¬ nand the catholic; but in 1492 was obliged to leave Spain with the other Jews. And, after refiding at Naples, Cor- fou, and feveral other cities, he died at Venice in 1508, aged 71. Among other works he wrote a Treatife on the World; in which he refutes Ariftotle, who imagined that the world wms eternal. Though Abrabanel difeovers his implacable averfion to Chriftianity in all his writings, yet he treated Chriftians with politenefs and good manners in all the common affairs of life. ABRACADABRA, a magic word, recommended by Serenius Sammonicus, fuppofed to have the virtue of a charm, or amulet, in curing agues, and preventing other difeafes, particularly the fever called by the phyficians he- mitratceus. T o have this effect, the word muff be wrote on paper, and repeated, omitting each time the laft letter in the former, fo that the whole may form a kind of inverted cone: in which there was this property, that which way fo- ever the letters betaken, beginning from the apex and af~ cending from the left to the right, they make the fame word, or, as forne would have it, the fame fentiment, as is found in the firft.whole line. According to Julius Afri- canus, another ancient writer, the pronouncing of the word in the fame manner, will do as well. To ABRADE, v. a. \_abrado, Lat.] To rubotf; to wear away from the other parts ; to walte by degrees. ABRAHAM, the father and ftock from whence the faithful fprung, was the fon of Terah. He was defeended Irom Noah by Shem, from whom he wms nine degrees re¬ moved. Some fix his birth in the 130th year of Terah’s age, but others place it in his father’s 70th year. It is highly probable he was born in the city of Ur, in Chaldea, which he and his father left when they went to Canaan, where they remained till the death of Terah; after which Abraham refumed his firft delign of going to Paleftine. The Scriptures mention the feveral places he flopped at in Canaan ; his journey into Egypt, where his w rife was car¬ ried off' from him; his going into Gerar, where Sarah was again taken from him ; but reftored as before ; the victo¬ ry he obtained over the four kings wdio had plundered So¬ dom; his compliance with his wife, who infifted that he Ihould make ufe of their maid Hagar in order to raife up children; the covenant God made with him, fealed with the ceremony of circumCifion ; his obedience to the com¬ mand of God, who ordered him to offer up his only fon as a facrifice, and how this was prevented; his marriage with Keturah; his death at the age of 175 years; and his in¬ terment at tire cave of Macpelah, near the body of Sarah his firft wife. It would be of little ufe to dwell long upon thefe particulars, lince they are fo well known. But tra¬ dition has fupplied numberlefs other's, tire mention of one or two of which may not be unacceptable. Many extraordinary particulars have been told relating to his converfioii from idolatry. It is a pretty genera! opi¬ nion, that he fucked in the poifon with his milk.; that his father made ftatues, and taught that they were to be wor- fliippedas gods. Some Tewifii authors relate, that Abra¬ ham followed the fame trade with Terah for a considera¬ ble time. Maimonides fays, that he was bred up in the re¬ ligion of the Sabieans, who acknowledged no deity but the ftars ; that his reflexions on the nature of the planets, his admiration of their motions, beauty, and order, made him conclude there muff, be a Being fuperior to the machine of the univerfe, a Being who created and governed it; how¬ ever, according to an old tradition, he did not renounce Paganifm till the fiftieth year of his age. It is related, that his father, being gone a journev, left him to fell the ftatues 28 ABR ftatues in his abfence ; and that a man, who pretended to be a purchafer, afked him how old he was: Abraham an- fwered, “Fifty.” -“Wretch that thou art (faid the other), for adoring at fuch an age a being which is but a day old !” Thefe words greatly confounded Abraham. Some time afterwards, a woman brought him fome flour, that he might give it as an offering to the idols; but Abraham, inftead of doing fo, took up a hatchet and broke them all to pieces, excepting the larged, into the hand of which he put the weapon. Terah, at his return, afked whence came all this havock? Abraham made anfwer, that the ftatues had had a great conteft which fhould eat fir ft of the oblation ; “ Upon which (laid he) the god you fee there, being the flouted, hewed the others to pieces, with that hatchet.” Terah told him this was bantering ; for thofe idols had not the fenfe to aft in this manner. Abraham retorted thefe words upon his father againft the worfhipping ot fuch gods. Terah, flung with this raillery, delivered up his fon to the cognizance of Nimrod, the fovereign of the country : who exhorted Abraham to vvorfliip the fire ; and, upon his re- fufal, commanded him to be thrown into the midfl of the flames • “ Now let your God (laid he) come and deliver you.’ But (adds the tradition) Abraham came fafe and found out of the flames. — This tradition is not of modern date, fince it is told by St. Jerome; who feemsto credit it in general, but dilbelieves that part of it which makes Te¬ rah fo cruel as to be the informer againft his own fon. Perhaps the word Ur might have given rife to the fiction altogether. Such as lay ftrefs on the following words which God fays to Abraham (Gen. xv. 7.), I am the Lord that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, imagine that lie faved him from a great perfecution, fince he employed the very fame words in the beginning of the decalogue to de¬ note the deliverance from Egypt. Abraham is faid to have been well Jkilled in many fei- ences, and to have written leveral books. Jofephus tells us that he taught the Egyptians arithmetic and geometry ; and, according to Eupolemus and Artapan, he inftrufted the Phoenicians, as well as the Egyptians, in aftronomy. A work which treats of the creation has been long aferibed to him : it is mentioned in the Talmud, and the Rabbis Chanina and Hofchia ufed to read it on the eve before the fabbath. In the firft ages of Chriftianity, according to St. Epiphanius, an heretical feft, called Sethmians, difperfed a piece which had the title of Abraham's Revelation. Origen mentions alfo a treatife fuppofedto be wrote by this patri¬ arch. All the feveral works which Abraham compofed in the plains of Mamre, are faid to be contained in the li¬ brary of the monaftery of the Holy Crofson Mount Ama- ria in Ethiopia. The book on the creation was printed at Paris in 1552, and tranflated into Latin by Poftel : Rittan- gel, a converted Jew', and profeffor at Konigfberg, gave al¬ fo a Latin tranflation of it, with remarks, in 1642. Abraham Usq«ue, a Portuguefe Jew, who tranflated the Bible out of Hebrew into Spanifh. It was printed at Ferrara in 1,553, and reprinted in Holland in 1630. This Bible, efpecially the firft edition, which is mofi valuable, marked with ftars at certain words, which are defigned o (hew that thefe words are difficult to be underftood in tire Hebrew, and that they may be ufed in a different fenfe. Abraham (Nicholas), a learned Jefuit, born in the dio- cefe of Toul, in Lorrain, in 1589. He obtained the rank of divinity profeffor in the univerfity of Pont-a-Moufon, which he enjoyed feventeen years, and died September 7, 1655. He wrote Notes on Virgil and on Nonnius; A Commentary on fome of Cicero’s Orations, in two vols. folio ; an excellent colleftion of theological pieces in folio, Entitled Pharus Veterus Tef amend-, and fome other works. ABR AHAMITES, an order of monks exterminated for idolatry by Theophilus in the ninth century. Alfo the name of another feft of heretics who had adopted the er¬ rors of Paulus. ABRAHAM’s BALM. The name of an herb. ABRANTES, a town of Portugal, in Eftremadura, feated on the river Tajo, belongs to a marquis of the fame ABR name. It (lands high, is furrounded with gardens and olive-trees, and contains thirty-five thoufand inhabitants. It has four convents, an alms-houfe, and an hofpital. Lat. 39. 13. W. Ion. 7.18. ABRASION, y. The aft of abrading or rubbing off. In medicine, the wearing away of the natural mucus, which covers the membranes, particularly thofe of the ftomach and bow'els, by corrofive or (harp medicines, or humours. The matter worn off by the attrition of bodies. ABRAUM,/. in natural hiftory, a name given by fome writers to a fpecies of red clay, ufed in England by the ca¬ binet-makers, &c. to give a red colour to new mahogany v'ood. We have it from the Ille of Wight; but it is alfo found in Germany and Italy. ABRAXAS, /.or ABRASAX,thefupreme god of the Ba- filidian heretics. It is a myftical word, compofed of the Greek numerals a, (•?, ^ a, a, r, which together make up the number CCCLXV. For Bafllides taught, that there were 365 heavens between the earth and the empyrean ; each of which heavens had its angel or intelligence, which created it ; each of which angels likewife was created by the angel next above it; thus afeending by a fcale to the Supreme Being, or firft Creator. The Balilidians ufed the word Abraxas by way of charm or amulet. Abraxas, yi an antique ftone with the word abraxas en¬ graven on it. They are of various fizes, and moll of them as old as the third century. They are frequent in the cabi¬ nets of the curious ; and a colleftion of them, as complete as poffible, has been defired by feveral. There is a fine one in the abbey of St. Genevieve, which has occafioned much fpeculation. Moftof themfeem to have come from Egypt ; whence they are of fome ufe for explaining the antiquities of that country. Sometimes they have no other infeription befides the word : but others have the names of faints, an¬ gels, or Jehovah himfelf, annexed ; though mod ufually the name of the Bafilidian god. Sometimes there is a re- prefentation of Ifis fitting on a lobe, or apis, furrounded with ftars ; fometimes monftrous compofitions of animals, obfeene images, Phalli, and Ithyfalli. 'I he gravingis rare¬ ly good, but the W'ordon thereverfe is fometimes (aid to be in a more modern tafte than the other. The charafters are ufually Greek, Hebrew, Coptic, orHetnerian, and fome¬ times of a mongrel kind, invented, as it would fee m, to render their meaning the more infcrutable. It is difputed whether the Veronica of Montreuil, or the granite obelilk mentioned by Gori, be Abraxes. ABREAST, adv. Side by fide; in fuch a pofition that the breads may bear againft the fame line. In fea language it denotes a fituation in which two or more (hips lie, with their (ides parallel to each other, and tlaeir heads equally advanced. This term more particularly regards the line of battle at fea, where, on the different occafions of attack, re¬ treat, or purfuit, the feveral fqtiadrons or divifions of a fleet are obliged to vary their difpofitions, and yet maintain a proper regularity by failing in right or curved lines. When the line is formed abreaft, the whole fquadron ad¬ vances uniformly, the (hips being equally diftant from and parallel to each other, fo that the length of each (hip forms a right angle with the extent of the fquadron or line abreaft. The commander in chief is always ftationed in the centre, and the fecond and third in command in the centres of their refpeftive fqtiadrons. — Abreaft, within the (hip, im- plies on a line with the beam, or by the fide of any object aboard; as, the frigate fprung a leak abreaft of the main hatch-way, i. e. on the fame line with the main hatch-way, eroding the (hip’s length at right angles, in oppofition to afore or abaft the hatch-way. — We difcovered a fleet abreaft of Beachy-head; i. c. oft', direftly oppofite to it. To ABPTDGE, v.a. \_abreger, Fr. abbrevio , Lat.] To make fhorter in words, keeping (till the fame fubftance. To contraft, to diminifti, to cut (hort. To deprive of ; to cut off from. In which fenfe it is followed by the particle from, or of, preceding the thing taken away. ABRIDGED OF, Jtart. Deprived of, debarred from, cut IhorL ABRIDGES, A B R ABRIDGER, f. He that abridges; a fliortener. A writer of compendiums or abridgments. ABRIDGMENT, A- [abregement, Fr.] The epitome of a larger work contra&ed into a fmall compafs ; a com- pend ; a fummary. A diminution in general. Contrac¬ tion; reduction. Reffraint from any thing pleafing; con¬ traction of any thing enjoyed. Abridgment, in literature, is the art of conveying much fentiment in few words, and the happieff talent an au¬ thor can be polfeffed of. This talent is peculiarly necef- fary in the prefent date of literature ; for many writers have acquired the dexterity of fpreading a few trite thoughts over feveral hundred pages. When an author hits upon a thought that pleafes him, he is apt to dwell upon it, to view it in different lights, to force it in improperly, or upon the flighted relations. Though this may be pleafant to the writer, it tires and vexes the reader. There is another great fource of diffufion in compofition. It is a capital ob¬ ject with an author, whatever be the fubjedt, to give vent to all his belt thoughts. When he finds a proper place for any of them he is peculiarly happy. But rather titan fa- crifice a thought he is fond of, he forces it in by way of digreffion, or fuperfluous illuftration. If none of thefe expedients anfwer hispurpofe, he has recourfe to the mar¬ gin, a very convenient apartment for all manner of pe¬ dantry and impertinence. Tltere is notan author, howe¬ ver correct, but is more or lefs faulty in this refpeft. — An abridg'd', however, is not fubject to thefe temptations. The thoughts are not his own ; he views them in a cooler and lefs affectionate manner ; he difcovers an impropriety in fome, a vanity in others, and a want of utility in many. His bulinefs, therefore, is to retrench fuperfluities, digref- fions, quotations, pedantry, &c. and to lay before the pub¬ lic only what is really ufeful. Abridging is peculiary ufeful in taking the fub ftanc-e of what is delivered by profelfors, &c. It is impollible, even with the affiftance of fhort-hand, to take down verbatim , what is faid by a public fpeaker. Befides, although it were practicable, fucli a talent would be of little ufe. Every public fpeaker has circumlocutions, redundancies, lumber, which deferve not to be copied. All that is real¬ ly ufeful may be comprehended in a fhort compafs. If the plan of the difcourle, and arguments employed in fup- port of the different branches, be taken down, you have the whole. Thefe you may afterwards extend in the form of a difcourfe drelfed in your own language. This would not only be a more rational employment, but would like- wife be an excellent method of improving young men in compofition; an objeCt too little attended to in all our uni- verfities. ABROACH, adv. In a pofture to run out, or yield the liquor contained ; properly fpoken of veffels. In a figu¬ rative fenfe : in a ftate to be diff'ufed or extended, in a Hate of fuch beginning, as promifes a progrefs : That man, that fits within a monarch’s heart, And ripens in the funfhine of his favour, Would he abufe the count’nance of the king,- Alack! what mifehiefs might be fet abroach, In fliadow of fuch greatnefs! Shakefpeare. ABROAD, adv. Without confinement ; widely ; at large: Again, the lonely fox roams far abroad , On fecret rapine bent, and midnight fraud ; Now haunts the cliff, now traverfes the lawn, And flies the hated neighbourhood of man. Prior. In another country. Out of the houfe. In all directions, this way and that; with wide expanfion. Without, not within. — Bodies politic, being fubjeCt, as much as natural, to difl’olution by divers means, there are undoubtedly more Hates overthrown through difeafes bred within themfelves, than through violence from abroad. Hooker. To ABROGATE, v. a. \_abrogo , Lat.] To take away from a law its force ; to repeal ; to annul. ABROGATION, A [_abrogatio, Lat.] The aft of abro¬ gating ; the repeal of a law. — Abrogation Hands oppofed to Vol. I. No. 2. rogation: it is diffinguiffied from derogation , which implies the taking away only fome part of a law ; from f abrogation, which denotes the adding a claufe to it ; from abrogation , which implies the limiting or reffraining it; from difpen- fation, which only fets itafideina particular infiance ; and from antiquation, which is the refuting to pafs a law. ABROIIANI, or Mallemolli, a kind of muffin, or clear white cotton cloth, brought from the Eaff Indies, particularly from Bengal; being in length 16 and a French ells, and in breadth five-eighths. ABROLKOS, the name of certain flielves, or banks of fand, about twenty leagues from the coaff of Brazil. ABROMA, [os and ^-co^os, no food, not fit for food ; in oppofition to Tkeobroma, with whiclvit ranks in the fyf- tem.] In botany, a genus of the polyadelphia dodecandria clafs, and of the natural order of colummferas. The generic characters are — Calyx: perianth five-leaved; leaf¬ let lanceolate, acute, fpreading, permanent. Corolla : petals five, larger than the calyx; claws obovate, arched, concave, obtufe, hairy at the end, ereCt, inferted at the bafe into the nectary ; borders oval, obtufe, fpreading, ciliate, contracted at the bafe into very fhort, ciliate, re¬ curved, little claws, on which the principal claws are pla¬ ced. NeCtary, fhort, fmall, pitcher- fhaped, divided into five fegments, which are obcordate, hairy, erect, recurv¬ ed and arched, alternate with the claws of the petals. - Stamina: filaments five, membranaceous, very fmall, growing on the neCtary between the fegments, emarginate- trifid. Anthene on each filament three, twin, kidney-form. Piffillum : germ fubcylindrical. Styles five, fubujate, ap¬ proximating. Stigmas acute. Pericarpium :. capfule o- vate, membranaceous, veined, five-winged, five-beaked, five-celled, gaping at-top info five.parts between the beaks ; partitions folded. Seeds : very many, fubovate, within an oblique membranaceous aril, fixed in a double , row to the central edge of the partitions, which is thickened and lon¬ gitudinally bearded. Receptacle of the feeds, none. — Ef- fential Char abler. Piffils five; capfule five-celled, one- valved, gaping at top ; feeds fubovate, incompletely arilled. Species, i. Abroma auguffa, or maple-leaved abroma : leaves cordate or angular, ffiarply ferrulate. This is a tree, with a ftraight trunk, yielding a gum when cut, and filled with a white pith, like the elder. Some of the leaves'are heart-fliaped and acuminate; others, efpecially almoff all of the firff year, are angular, and have five or feven lobes, which are acute, and the anterior ones moff produced; they are all veined, alternate, green on both (ides, but pa¬ ler underneath, and the petioles are round. The whole' plant is covered with ffiff, whitifh, finning, decumbent, bridles, fcarcely vifible to the naked eye, eafily feparating, and flicking to the hands, but harmlefs. The peduncles are generally bifid, and bear two flowers. There is one ftipule on each fide to every petiole; but four at the divi- fion of the peduncles, lanceolate and acute. The flower nods, is elegant, but has little fmell. The corolla is of a dark purple. The time of flowering is from June to Oc¬ tober. In September and Odtober the fruit ripens, and the peduncle is erect. It is a native of New South-Wales, and the Philippine iflands ; and was brought into England about the year 1770. 2. AbromaWheleri, or Wheeler’s abroma : leavesovate- lanceolate acuminate flightly toothed. This is a ffirub with a brown bark; the extreme branches tomentofe. Leaves alternate, fome having a few teeth about the edge, others entire ; the nerves are tomentofe. Peduncles op- polite to the leaves, having one joint curved back and woody when bearing fruit: they have aninvolucrum con¬ fiding of feveral lanceolate deciduous leaflets. The flow¬ ers are of a dufky purple colour. Nedtary b'earded on each fide with parallel hairs ; the inner one confiding of ob¬ cordate fcales. Antherre in threes, fitting in the 'finufes between the divifions or fcales of the inner nedtary. Cap¬ fule large, with five membranaceous valves. Receptacle five-parted, bearded, faflened to the futures of the valves. Seeds ovate, dark-cdloured, fcabrous with raifed points, I Native 30 A B R Native of the Eaft Indies, where it was obferved by Koe¬ nig, who gave ic the trivial name in compliment to Edw. Wheeler, Efq. member of the fupreme council in Bengal. Propagation and Culture. 'I he firfl fort requires the pro¬ tection of a hot-houfe ; arid is propagated here by cuttings ; the feeds will not eafily ripen With us, and feldom arrive in a date fit for vegetation, unlefs great care be taken of them; the plant requires a ftrong heat and abundance of wate-r. The fecorid is not known in Europe. ABROTANOIDES,/. in botany. See Artemisia, Protea, and Seriphium. AB.RQTANUM,/ in botany. See Artemisia, Eri- ocephalus, Santolina, and Tanacetum. ABROTONUM, anciently a towp and harbour on the Medit'erranerin, in the diftriCt of Syrtis Pafva, in Africa, one of the three cities that went to form Tripoli. ABRUG-Bv\NY A; a well-inhabited town of Tranfyl- vania, on the river Ompay; near which there are mines of gold and filver, and the mine-court is held there. Lat. 4 6. 50. N. Ion. 23. 24. E. ABRUPT, adj. [. abruptvs , Lat. broken off.] Broken, craggy. Divided, without any thing intervening. Sud¬ den, without the cuftomary or proper preparatives: R-efiftlefs, roaring, dreadful, down it comes From the rude mountain, and the molly wild, Tumbling through rocks abrupt. Thomjon. ABRUPTED, adj. [ abruptus , Lat. a word little in ufe.] Broken off fuddenly. ABRUPTION, A [abruptio, Lat.] Breaking off, vio¬ lent and hidden reparation. • ABRUPTLY, adv. Haflily, without the due forms of preparation. — They punctually obferved the time agreed upon, and in whatever company or bufinefs they were en¬ gaged, they left it abruptly , as foon as the clock warned them to retire. Addifon. ABRUPTNESS, f. An abrupt manner, hafte, fudden- nef’s, untimely vehemence. The date of an abrupt or bro¬ ken thing; roughnefs, cragginefs; as of a fragment vio¬ lently disjoined. ABRUS, f. [«€po?, foft, delicate; from the extreme tendernefsof the leaves.] In botany, a genus of the dia- delphia decandria clafs, arid of the natural order of legu- minofie. The generic charaCtersare — Calyx : perianthone- leafed, bell-lhaped, obfeurely four-lobed ; teeth blunt, the upper one broader than the reft. Corolla : papilionace¬ ous. Banner roundifh, entire, afeending, flatted at the Tides, longer than the wings and keel. Wings oblong, blunt. Keel oblong, fickle-fhaped, gibbous, longer than the wrings. Stamina : Filaments nine, united into a fheath, cloven above, free at the end, unequal, riling. Antherae oblong, ereCt. Piftillum : germ cylindrical, hairy. Style fubulate, riling fhorter than the flamina. Stigma in form of a head, and final! . Pericarpium : legume like a rhomb, comprelfed, coriaceous, bivalved, four or five celled, acu¬ minate, writh a little fubulate deflex claw. Seeds: foli- iary fubglobofe. — EJJ'ential CharaEler. Calyx: obfeurely fourlobed; the upper lobe broadeft. Filaments nine, united into a fheath at bottom, gaping at the back. Stig¬ ma -blunt. Seeds fubglobofe. There is only one fpecies which grows naturally in both Indies, Guinea, and Egypt. It was alfo Jxmnd by the late circumnavigators in the Society iflands, about the year 2769. This is a perennial plant, with flender, fhrubby, twining, branching, ftalks, by which it will rife to the height of eight or ten feet. The leaves are pinnate, end¬ ing abruptly, and have from twelve to fixteen pairs of fmall, fmooth, oblong, blunt, leaflets, fet clofe together ; thefe have the tafte of liquorice, whence the inhabitants of the Weft Indies have given it the name of wild liquorice, and they ufe the herb for the fame purpofe as we do the liquo¬ rice in Europe. The flowers are produced from the fide of the ftalks in fhort fpikes or bunches ; they are of a pale purple colour, and fliaped like thofe of the kidney-bean ; thefe are fucceeded by fhort fmooth pods, each containing A B R three or four hard feeds, very fmooth, of a glowing fear- let colour, with a black fpot or eye on that fide Which is fattened to the pod. The legume or pod is fometimes of an oblong form, and contains fix feeds, fcarce apparently divided by a membrane, which indeed frequently difap- pears as the pods ripen. There are two varieties, one with a white, and the other with a yellow feed; but thefe do not differ from the former in leaf or ftalk. The feeds of this plant are commonly ftrung, and worn as ornaments by the natives of thofe countries where the plant grows wild : they are frequently brought to Europe from Guinea, and the Eaft and W eft Indies, and wrought into various forms with other hard feeds, and fhells. A few years lince an attempt was made, both at London and Paris, to introduce them into ear-rings and other -female ornaments, but with¬ out much fuccefs. This, like molt others, was only the revival of a fafhion which prevailed for a fhort time in Holland, at the latter end of the laft -century. In their native countries they are commonly ufed for weighing pre¬ cious commodities ; they are alfo ftrung as beads for rofa- ries; whence the trivial name of precatorius. They' are frequently thrown, with other Weft-Indian feeds, on the north weft coaft of Scotland. Linnaeus affirms that they are extremely deleterious. Abrus was accounted a fpecies of glycine, until Linnaeus made it a feparate genus in the twelfth edition of his Syjtema Vcgetabilivm, on, account of a difference in its -ftature and appearance . from the other fpecies. The abrus was cultivated before 1680, by Bi- fhop Compton, at Fulham. Propagation and Culture. This plant is propagated by feeds, which mull be f'own upon a good hot-bed in the fpring; but, as the feeds are very hard, unlefs they are foaked in water twelve or fourteen hours before they are fown, they frequently lie in the ground a whole year before they vegetate; but when foaked, the plants will appear in a fortnight, if the feeds be good, and the bed in a proper temperature of heat. When the plants are two inches high, they fhould be tranfplanted each into a feparate pot, filled with light earth, and plunged into a hot-bed of tan¬ ner’s bark, where they fhould be fhaded from the fun un¬ til they have taken new root ; after which they mull be treated in the fame manner as other tender plants from the fame countries, always keeping them in the bark ftove. They will flower the fecond year, and fometimes ripen their feeds in England. ABRUZZO, a province in Naples. The river Pef- cara divides it into two parts ; one of which is called Ul¬ terior, whereof Aquila is the capital ; and the other Cite- rior, whofe capital is Solomona. Befides the Appenines, there are two confiderable mountains, the one called Monte Cavallo, and the other Monte Majello ; the top of which laft is always covered with fnow. Abruzzo is a cold coun¬ try ; but the rigour of the climate is not fo great as to pre¬ vent the country from producing in abundance every thing requifite for the fupport of life. Vegetables, fruits, ani¬ mals, and numberlefs other articles of fuftenance, not only furnifh ample provifion for the ufe of the natives, but alfo allow of exportation. There is fo large a quantity of wheat reaped, that many thoufands of Quarters are annually fnip- ped oft'. Much Turkey wheat is fent out, and the province Teramo fells a great deal of rice little inferior in goodnefs to that of Lombardy. Oil is a plentiful commodity, and wines are made for exportation on many parts of the coaft ; but wool has always been, and ftill is, their ftaple commo¬ dity: the flocks, after palling the fummer in the fine paf- turesof the mountains, are driven for the winter into the warm plains of Puglia, and a fevC fpots near their own coaft, where the fnow does not lie ; there are no manufactures of woollens in the province, except two fmall ones of coarfe cloth, andthegreateftpartof thewoolisfentout unwrought.. No filk is made here, though mulbCrry-trees would grow well on the low grounds. The antiquary and the naturalift may travel here with exquifite pleafure and profit ; the former will find treafures of inferiptions, and inedited monuments appertaining to the A B 5 the warlike nations that once covered the face of the coun¬ try : the natural philolopher will have a noble field for ob- fervation in the fiupendous monuments that rife on all fides. Monte-corno and Majella are among the' molt inte- refting ; the firft is, like an aged monument of. nature, bald, and horribly broken on every afpedt: from various ap¬ pearances, it is evident that its bowels contain many valua¬ ble veins of metallic ore ; but the great difficulty of accefs renders the fearch of them almoft impracticable. Majella has other merits, and of a gayer kind : — nature has clothed its declivities and elevated fields with an infinite variety of her molt precious plants ; vulnerary herbs grow there in as great perfection as on the Alps of Swiflerland, and are applied by the natives to wounds with equal fuccefs. ABSALOM, the fon of David by Maacah, was bro¬ ther to Thamar, David’s daughter, who was ravifhed by Amnon their eldeft brother by another mother. Abla- lom waited two years for an opportunity of revenging the injury done to his filter ; and at laft procured the aflaflin- ation of Amnon at a feaft which he had prepared for the king’s fons. He took refuge with Talmai king of Gelhur ; and, was no fooner reftored to favour, but he engaged the Ifraeikesto revolt from his father. Abfalom was defeated in the wood of Ephraim : as he was flying, his hair caught hold of an qak, where he hung till Joab came and thruft him through with three darts. David had exprefsly or¬ dered his life to be fipared ; and he lamented his death extremely. ABSCESS,/. [ abfeeffus , Lat.] in furgery, a cavity con¬ taining pus ; or, a gathering of matter in a part ; fo called, becaufe the parts which were joined are now feparated; one part recedes from another, to make way for the col¬ lected matter. For the cure, fee Surgery. To ABSCIND, v. a. To cut off, either in a natural or figurative fenfe. \ ABSCISSA, [Lat.] Part of the diameter of a conic feftion, intercepted between the vertex and a femi-ordi- nate . ABSCISSION,/ [ abfcijjio , Lat.] The aCl of cutting off. The date of being cut off. To ABSCOND, v n. \_abfcondo, Lat.] To hide one’s felf ; to retire from the public view : generally ufed of perfons in debt, or criminals eluding the law. — The mar- motte or mus alpinus, which abfeonds all winter, lives on its own fat: for in autumn, when it fhuts itfelf up in its hole, it is very fat ; but, in the fpring-time, when it comes forth again, very lean. Ray. ABSCONDER,/ The perfon that abfeonds. ABSCONSA, / a dark lanthern ufed by the monks at the ceremony of burying their dead. ABSENCE, / [ abfentio , Lat.] The (late of being abfent, oppofed to prefence. Inattention, heedleffnefs, negledt of the prefent objeft. Want of appearance in a legal fenfe. - — Abfence is of a fourfold kind or fpecies. The firft is a neceffary abfence, as in banifhed perfons; this is entirely neceffary. A fecond, neceffary and voluntary ; as, upon the account of the commonwealth ; or in the fervice of the church. The third kind the civilians call a probable abfence ■ as, that of Undents on the fcore of fludy. And the fourth, an abfence entirely voluntary; as, on the ac¬ count of trade, merchandife, and the like. Some add a fifth kind of abfence , ..which is committed cum dolo & culpa , by a man’s non-appearance'on a citation ; as, in a contu¬ macious perfon, who, in hatred to his contumacy, is, by the law, in fome refpedts, reputed as a perfon prefent. Aylijfe. ABSENT, adj. \abfens, Lat.] Not prefent. Abfent in mind, inattentive; regardlefs of the prefent objetd. It is ufed with the particle/m; In fpring the fields, in autumn hills I love; At morn the plains, at noon the fliady grove; But Delia always : abfent from her fight, Nor plains at morn, nor groves at noon delight. Pope, A B S 3* To Absent, v. a. To withdraw, to forbear to come in¬ to prefence : Go — for thy flay, not free, abfents thee more. Milton, ABSENTANEOUS, adj. Relating to abfence ; abfent. ABSENTEE,/. He that is abfent from his ftation or employment, or country, A word ufed commonly with regard to Irifhmen living out of their country, — Then was the firfl: ftatute made againft abfentees, commanding all fuch as had land in Ireland, to return and reiide thereupon. Davies.. — A great- part of eflates in Ireland are owned by abfentees , and fuch as draw over the profits raifed out of Ireland, refunding nothing. Child. ABSINTL1I ATED, part, [from abfnthium, Lat. worm¬ wood.] Imbittered," impregnated with wormwood. Bar¬ tholin mentions a woman whofe milk was become abiin- thiated, and rendered as bitter as gall, by the too liberal ufe of wormwood. Vinum abfinthites, or poculum alfntfriatum, “wormwood wine,” is much fpoke of among the ancients as a whole- fome drink, and even an antidote againft drunkennefs- Ray makes it a preventative of venery. It is made by in¬ filling the leaves of the plant in wine; but, according to Fehr, it ought to be prepared by fermentation, in order to correft the crudities, and call forth a volatile fait ; which laft, however, does not exift in wormwood. Some prefer the dittiiled water; but whatever virtues wormwood pof- feffes reiide entirely in its effential oil. ABSINTHIUM,/ in botany. See Artemisia, A- chillea, Anthemis, Parthenium, Senecio, Tana- CENTUM. ABSIS, / in aftronomy, the fame with Apsis. To ABS1ST, v. n. \_abffo, Lat.] To Hand off, to leave off. To ABSOLVE, v.a. \_abfolvo, Lat. ]' To clear, to acquit of a crime in a judicial fenfe. To fet free from an engage¬ ment or promife. To pronounce fin remitted, in the ec- clefiaftical fenfe : But all is calm in this eternal fleep; Here grief forgets to groan, and love to weep; E’en fuperftition lofes every fear ; For God, not man, abfolves our frailties here. Pope. ABSOLUTE, adj. \_alfolutus, Lat. ] Complete; applied as well to perfons as things. . Unconditional; as, an abfo¬ lute promife. Not relative; as, abfolute fpace. — An abfo- lute mode is that which belongs to it's fubjeft, without re- fpedt to any other beings whatfoever ; but a relative' mode is derived from the regard that one being has to others. Watts. — In this fenfe we fpeak of the ablative ca ‘it abfolute in grammar. Not limited; as, alfolute power. Pofitive; certain ; without any hefttation. In this fenfe it rarely occurs. Absolute, in metaphyfics, is more particularly un- derftood of a being or thing which does not proceed from any caufe, or does notfublift by virtue of any other being, confidered as its caufe; in which fenfe, God alone is ab¬ folute. Abfolute, in this fenfe, is Synonymous with inde¬ pendent, and ftands oppofed to dependent. Absolute alfo denotes a thing’s being free from con¬ ditions or limitations ; in which fenfe, the word is fynony- rnous with unconditional. We- fay, an abfolute decree, abjo- lute promife, abfolute obedience. Absolute Government, adj. that wherein the prince is left folely to hi? own will, not being limited to the obfervance of any laws except th'ofe oi his own dis¬ cretion. Absolute Eqjjation, in aftronomy, is the aggregate of the optic and eccentric equations. The apparent ine¬ quality of a planet’s motion ariiing from its mat being equally diftant from the earth atall times,, is called its op¬ tic equation, and would fublift even if the planet’s real motion were uniform. The eccentric. inequality is cabled by the planet’s motion being uniform. To iiiuftrate whk h, conceive the lun to move, or to appear to move, in the circumference 32 A B S circumference of a circle, in whofe centre the earth is placed. It is manifeft, that if the fun moves uniformly in this circle, it muli appear to move uniformly to a fpec- tator on the earth, and in this cafe there will be no optic nor eccentric equation ; but fuppofe the earth to be placed out of the centre of the circle, and then, though the fun’s motion mould be really uniform, it would not appear to be fo, being feen from the earth ; and in this cafe there would be an optic equation, without an eccentric one. Imagine farther, the fun’s orbit to be not circular, but elliptic, and the earth in its focus ; it will be as evident that the fun cannot appear to have an uniform motion in fuch ellipfe: fo that his motion will then be fubject to two equations, the optic and the eccentric. Absolute Number, in algebra, is any pure number handing in any equation without the conjunction of literal characters; as 2.V-I-36— +8; where 36 and 48 are abfolute numbers, but 2 is not, as being joined by the letter x. ABSOLUTELY, adv. Completely, without reftriftion. Without relation: in a hate unconnected. Without limits or dependance. Without condition. Peremptorily, pofi- tively : Being as I am, why didh not thou Command me abfoLutcly not to go, Going into fuch danger, as thou faid’ft? Milton. ABSOLUTENESS, f. Completenefs. Freedom from dependence, or limits. — There is nothing that can raife a man to that generous abfo'lutenefs of condition, as neither to cringe, to fawn, or to depend meanly; but that which gives him that happinefs within himfelf, for which men depend upon others. South.— Defpoticifm. — He kept a ftrait hand upon his nobility, and chofe rather to advance clergymen and lawyers, which were more obfequious to him, but had lei's intereft in the people ; which made for his abfolutenefs , but not for his fafety. Bacon. ABSOLUTION,/, [abfalutio, Lat.] Acquittal. — Abfo- lution, in the civil law, imports a full acquittal of a perfon by fome final fentence of law ; alfo, a temporary difeharge of his farther attendance upon a mefne procefs, through a failure or defeft in pleading; as it does likewife in the ca¬ non lav/, where, and among divines, it likewife fignifies a relaxation of him from the obligation of fome fentence pronounced either in a court of law, or elfe in foro paeni- tentiali. Thus there is, in this kind of law, one kind of abfolulion , termed judicial, and another, ftyled a declara¬ tory or extrajudicial abfolution. Ayliffe. — The remillion of fins, or penance, declared by eccleiiaftical authority. — The Romanifts hold abfolution a part of the facrament of pe¬ nance : the council of Trent, felf. xiv. cap. iii. and that of Florence, in the decree ad Armenos, declare the form or elfence of the facrament to lie in the words of abfolution , “ I abfoive thee of thy fins.” T he formula of abfolution in the Romilh church, is abfolute: in the Greek church, it is deprecatory; and, in the churches of the reformed, declarative. ABSOLUTORY, -adj. \abfolutorius, Lat.] That which ablolves. — Though an abfolutory fentence fliould be pro¬ nounced in favour of the perfons, upon the account of nearnefs of blood ; yet, it adultery fliall afterwards be truly proved, he may again be proceeded againlt as an adulterer. Ayliffe. ABSONANT, adj. Contrary to reafon, wide from the purpofe. ABSONOUS, adj. \_abfonus , Lat. ill-founding. ] Abfurd, contrary to reafon. It is not much in ufe, and it may be doubted whether it Ihould be followed by to ox from.. — To fuppofe an uniter of a middle conftitution, that Ihould partake of fome of the qualities of both, is unwarranted by any of our faculties ; yea, mod abfonous to our reafon. Glanville. To ABSORB, v. a. \_abforbco, Lat. preter. abforbed ; part. pret. abforbed , or abforptf To fwallow up. — Mofes imputed the deluge to the difruption of the abyfs ; and St. Peter to the particular conftitution of that earth, which . 3 A B S made it obnoxious to be abforpt in water. Burnet. — To fuck up. — While we perfpire, we abforb the outward air. Arbuthnot. ABSORBENT, f \_abforbens , Lat.] In general, any thing potrefling the faculty of abforbing, or fwallowing up another. Absorbent Medicines, adj. teftaceous powders, as chalk, crabs-eyes, &c. which are taken inwardly for dry¬ ing up or abforbing any acid or redundant humours in the ftomach or inteftines. They are likewife applied outward¬ ly to ulcers or fores with the fame intention. Absorbent Vessels, a name given promifeuoufly to the lafteal veflels, lymphatics, and inhalent arteries. See Anatomy. — Natiiralifts alio define (imilar abforbents in plants, the fibrous or hairy roots of which are as a kind of vafa abforbentia, which attradb and imbibe the nutri- cious juices from the earth. See Plants. ABSORBING, part, the fwallowing up, fucking up, or imbibing, any tiling : thus black bodies are faid to ab¬ forb the rays of light; luxuriant branches, to abforb or wafte the nutricious juices which fliould feed the fruit of trees, &c. ABSORPT, part. Swallowed up ; ufed as well, in a fi¬ gurative fenfe, of perfons, as, in the primitive, of thino's. ABSORPTION, f. the aft of fwallowing up; and, in the animal ceconomy, is the power whereby the abforbent veflels imbibe the juices, &c. Absorptions of the Earth, / a term ufed by Kirch- er and others for the finking in of large trails of land by means of fubterranean commotions, and many other acci¬ dents. Pliny tells us, that in Iris time the mountain Cym- botus, with the town of Eurites, which flood on its fide, were wholly abforbed into the earth, fo that not the leaft trace of either remained ; and lie records the like fate of the city Tantalis in Magnefia, and after it of the moun¬ tain Sypelus, both thus abforbed by a violent opening of the earth. Galanis and Garnatus, towns once famous in Phoenicia, are recorded to have met the fame fate; and the vaft promontory, called Phlegium, in Ethiopia, after a violent earthquake in the night-time, was not to be feen in the morning, the whole having difappeared, and the earth clofed over it. Tliefe and many other hiftories, at- tefted by authors of the greateft credit among the ancients, abundantly prove the fail in the earlier ages; and there have not been wanting too many inftances of more modern date. Kircher’s Mund. Subter. p. 77. See Earth and Earthquake. ABSORUS, Apsorus, Absyrtis, Absyrtides, Apsyrtides, Apsyrtis, and Absyrtium, (Strabo, Mela, Ptolomy;) iflands in the Adriatic, in the gulph of Carnero ; fo called from Abfyrtus, Medea’s brother, there flaiii. They are either one ifland or two, feparated by a narrow channel, and joined by a bridge ; and are now call¬ ed Ckerfo and Ofero. To ABSTAIN, v. n. \_abfineo , Lat.] To forbear, to deny one’s felf any gratification ; with the particle from; If thou judge it hard and difficult, Converting, looking, loving, to abfain From love’s due rites, nuptial embraces fweet; And, with defires, to Ianguifli without hope. Milton. ABSTEINEN, a diftrift and village of Pruflia, in a mountainous and pleafant country, fo fertile in corn and cattle, that it is called the ftcrehoufe of Lithuania. ABSTEMII, in church-hiftory, a name given to fuch perfons as could not partake of the cup of the eucharift on account of their natural averiion to wine. Calvinifts allow thefe to communicate in the fpecies or bread only, touching the cup with their lip ; which, on the other hand, is by the Lutherans deemed a profanation. ABSTEMIOUS, adj. [ abfemius , Lat.] Temperate, fo- ber, abftinent, refraining from excefs of pleafures. It is ufed of perfons ; as, an abfianious hermit : and of things, as, an abftemious divAc. It is fpoken likewife of things that caufe temperance. — The Hiitory of Mr. Wood, in the Medic. A B S Medic. Tranf. vol. ii. p. 261. art. j8. is a very renjark- able exemplification of the very beneficial alterations which may be effected on the human body by a ftricf courfe of abftemioulnefs. — Tlie Roman ladies, in the firft ages of the republic, were all enjoined to be abftemious ; and that it might appear, by their breath, whether or no they kept up to the injundtion, it was one of the laws of the Roman civility, that they fhould kifs their friends and relations whenever they accofted them. ABSTEMIOUSLY, adv. Temperately, foberly, with¬ out indulgence. ABSTEMIOUSNESS, f. The quality of being abfte- mious. ABSTENTION, /, [from abjlineo, Lat.] The aft of holding off, or reftraining; reftraint. To ABSTERGE, v. a. [ abjlergo , Lat.] To cleanfe by wiping; to wipe. ABSTERGENT, ad j. Cleanfing; having a cleanfing quality. — Abftergent medicines are thofe employed for re- folving obftruflions, concretions, &rc. fuch as foap, &c. To ABSTERSE, v. a. To cleanfe, to purify; a word very little in life, and lefs analogical than abjierge. — Nor will we affirm, that iron receiveth, in the ftomach of the ofirich, no alteration ; but we fufpe.tf this effect rather from corrofion tha.n digeftion; not any tendence to chilification by the natural heat, but rather fome attrition from an acid and vitriolous humidity in the ftomach, which may abjlcrfe and fhave the fcorious parts thereof. Brown. ABSTERSION,/! [ abjlerfio , Lat.] The acd of cleanfing. ABSTERSIVE, adj. That has the quality ofablterging or cleanfing. ABSTINENCE, / [abjlinentia, J. at.] Forbearance of any thing; with the particle from. Faffing, or forbearance of necelfary food. It is generally diftinguifhed from tem¬ perance, as the greater degree from the lefs ; fornetimes as fingle performances from Habits ; as, a day of abjtinence, and a life of temperance. — Among the Jews, various kinds of abftinence were ordained by their law. Among the pri¬ mitive Chriftians, fome denied themfelves the life of fuch meats as were prohibited by'that law, others looked upon this abftinence with contempt; as to which, St. Paul gives hisopinion, Rom. xiv. 1 — 3. The council of Jerufhlem, which was held by the Apoftles, ■ enjoined the Chriftian converts to abftain from meats ftrangled, from blood, from fornication, and from idolatry. Abftinence, as prefcribed by the gofpel, is intended to mortify and reftrain the paf- fions, to humble our vicious natures, and by that means raife our minds to a due fenfe of devotion. But there is another fort of abftinence, which may be called ritual , and confifts in abftaining from particular meats at certain times and feafons. It was the fpiritual monarchy of the weftern world which firft introduced this ritual abftinence; the rules of which were called rogations ; but grofsly abufed from the true nature and defign of faffing. — Iiv England, abftinence from flefti has been enjoined by Iljitute even lince the reformation, particularly on Fridays and Satur¬ days, on vigils, and on all commonly called fjh-days. The like injunttions were renewed under Queen Eliza¬ beth : but at the fame time it was declared, that this was done not out of motives of religion, as if there were any difference in meats; but in favour of the confumption of fifth and to multiply the number of fifhermen and mari¬ ners, as well as fpare the ftock of ftieep. The great faft, fays St. Auguftin, is to abfain from ftn. Abstinence is more particularly ufed for a fpare diet, or a [lender parfimonious ufe of food, below' the ordinary ftandard of nature. The phyficians relate wonders of the effects of abftinence in the cure of many diforders, and protracting the term of life. The noble Venetian, Cor- naro, after all imaginable means had proved vain, fo that his life was defpaired of at 40, recovered, and lived to near too, by mere dint of abftinence; and he himfelf gives the account. It is indeed furpriling to w'hat a great age the primitive Chriftians of theeaft, who retired from the per¬ secutions into the defarts of Arabia and Egypt, lived Vol. 1. No. 3. A B S 33 healthful and cheerful on a very little food. CafTian af- fures us, that the common rate for twenty-four hours w as twelve ounces of, bread and mere water: with this St. Anthony lived 105 years; James the Hermit 104; Arfe- nius, tutor of the Emperor Arcadius, 120; St. Epiphani- us, 1 15; Simeon the Stylite, 212; and Romauld, 120. Indeed, wre can match thefe inftances of longevity at home. Buchanan writes, that one Lawrence preferved himfelf to 140 by force of temperance and labour; and Spotfwood mentions one Kentigern, afterwards called St. Mongah or Mungo, who lived to 185 by the fame means. Other in¬ ftances fee under the article Longevity. — Abftinence, however, is to be recommended only as it means a proper regimen; for in general it muft have bad confequences when obferved without a due regard to conftitution, age, ftrength, &c. According to Dr. Cheyne, mod of the chronical difeafes, the infirmities of old age, and the fliort lives of Engliftimen, are owing to repletion; and may be either cured, prevented, or remedied, by abftinence: but then the kinds of abftinence which ought to obtain, either in ficknefs or health, are to be deduced from the laws of diet and regimen. Among the brute creation, we fee extraordinary inftan¬ ces of long abftinence. The ferpent-kind, in particular, bear abftinence to a wonderful degree. We have feen rat¬ tle -fnakes that had fubfifted many months without any. food, yet ftill retained their vigour and fiercenefs. Dr. Shaw [peaks of a couple of ceraftes (a fort of ./Egyptian ferpents), which had been kept five years in a bottle clofe corked,- without any fort of food, unlefs a fmall quantity of fand wherein they coiled themfelves up in the bottom of the veflel may be reckoned as fuch : yet when he [aw them, they had newly caff their (kins, and were as brifk and lively as if juft taken. But it is even natural for di¬ vers fpecies to pals four, five, or fix, months, every year, without either eating or drinking. Accordingly, the tor- toife, bear, dormoiife, ferpent, See. are obferved regularly to retire, at thofe feafons, to their refpedfive cells, arid hide themfelves, fome in the caverns of rocks or ruins; others dig holes under ground; others get into woods, and lay themfelves up in the clefts of trees; others bury them¬ felves under water, &c. And thefe animals are found as fat and fleftiy after fome months abftinence as before. — Sir G. Ent weighed his tortoife feveral years fucceflively, at its going to earth in October, and coming cut again in March; and found, that, of four pounds four ounces, it ufed only to lofe about one ounce. — Indeed, we have in¬ ftances of men palling feveral months as ftrictly abftirient as other creatures. In particular, the records of the Tow¬ er mention a Scotchman imprifoned for felony, and ftridlly watched in that fortrefs for fix weeks: in all which time he took not the lead fuftenance; for which he had his pardon. Numberlefs inftances of extraordinary abftinence, particularly from morbid caufes, are to be found in tlite different periodical Memoirs, Tranfaritions, Ephemerides, &c. — It is to be added, that, in mod inftances of extra¬ ordinary human abftinence related by naturalifts, there were faid to have been apparent marks of a texture of blood and humours, much like that of the animals above- mentioned. Though it is no improbable opinion, that the air itfelf may furnilh fomething for nutrition ; it is certain, there are fubftances of all kinds, animal, vegetable. See. floating in the atmofphere, which muft continually be taken in by refpiration. And that an animal body may be nou- riflied thereby, is evident in the inftanceof vipers; which, if taken when firft brought 'forth, and kept from every thing but air, will yet grow very confiderably in a few days. So the eggs of lizards are obferved to increafe in bulk, after they are produced, though there be nothing to furnifh the increment but air alone; in like. manner as the eggs, or fpawn of fillies grow and are nouriflied with the water. And hence, fay fome, it is that cooks, turn- fpit-dogs, See. though they eat but little, yet are ufually fat. See Fasting. ABSTINENT, adj. [ abfinens , Lat.] That ufes abfti- K nence, nence, in oppofition to covetous,, rapacious, or luxurious. It is ufed chiefly of perfons. ABSTINENTS, or Abstinentes, a fe6t of heretics that appeared in France and Spain about the end of the third century. They are fuppofed to have borrowed part of their opinions iromthe Gnoflics and Manicheans, be- caufe they oppoled marriage,' condemned the ufe of flefli meat, and placed the Holy Gholt in the clafs of created beings. ABSTORTED, adj. [ abjlortus , Lat.] Forced away, wrung from another by violence. To ABSTRACT, v. a. \_abfraho, I.at.] To take one thing from another. To feparate by diltillation. To fe- parate ideas. To reduce to an epitome. — If we would fix in the memory the difcourfes we hear, or what we delign to fpeak, let us abfraEl them into brief compends, and re¬ view them often. Watts. Abstract, ad], \_ahfraElus , Lat.] Separated from fomething elfe ; generally ufed with relation to mental perceptions; as, abfraEl mathematics, abjlraEl terms, in oppofition to concrete. Abstract, f A fmaller quantity, containing the vir¬ tue or power of a greater. An epitome made by taking out the principal parts. The ftate of being abftrabted or ■disjoined. In literature, a compendious view of any large Work; fhorter and more fuperficial than an abridgment. Abstract Idea, ad j. in metaphyfics, is a partial idea of a complex objett, limited to one or more of the com¬ ponent parts or properties, laying alide or abftrafting from the reft. Thus, in viewing an objedf with the eye, or re¬ collecting it in the mind, we can eafily ab (tract from fome of its parts and properties, and attach ourfelves toothers: we can attend to the rednefs of a cherry, without regard to its figure, tafte, or confidence. Abstract Terms, words that are ufed to exprefs abftraift ideas. Thus beauty, uglinefs, whitenefs, round- nefs, life, death, are abftraft terms. Abstract Numbers, are alfemblages of units, con- fidered in themfelves without denoting any particular and determined particulars. Thus 6 is an abftraCf number, when not applied to any thing; but, if we fay 6 feet, 6 becomes a concrete number. Seethe article Number. - Abstract Mathematics, otherwife called Pure Mathematics, is that which treats of magnitude or quantity, abfolutely and generally confidered, without reftriCtion to any fpecies of particular magnitude ; fuch are Arithme¬ tic and Geometry. In this fenfe, abftratl mathematics is oppofed to mixed mathematics; wherein Ample and ab- ftract properties, and the relations-of quantities primitively confidered in pure' mathematics, are applied to fe'nfible ob¬ jects, and by that means become intermixed with phylical confiderations ; fuch are Hydroftatics, Optics, Naviga¬ tion, &c. A BSTR ACTED, part. adj. Separated; disjoined. Re¬ fined, purified. .. Abftrufe; difficult. Abfent of mind, inattentive to prefent obieCts; as, an ab/fraEled fcholar. ABSTRACTEDLY, adv. With ‘abftraction, Amply, feparately from all contingent circumftances.. ABSTRACTION, / \_abf radio, Lat.] TheaCtof ab- ftraCting. The ftate of being abftracted. ' Abfence of mind; inattention. Difregard to worldly objects. Abstraction, in metaphyfics, the operation of the mind when occupied bv abftraCt ideas. A large oak fixes our attention, and abftraCts us from the fhrubs that fur- round it. In the fame manner a beautiful woman in a crowd, abftraCts our thoughts, and engroffes our attention folely to herfelf. Thefe are examples of real abftraction : when thefe, or any others of a fimilar kind, are recalled to tire mind after the objeCts themfelves are removed from our fight, they form what are called abjlraEt ideas. AbftraCtion is chiefly employed thefe three ways, Firft, When the mind confiders any one part of a thing, in fome i-efpeft diftinCt from the whole; as a man’s arm without the confideration of the reft of the body. Secondly, When we confider the mode of any fub fiance, omitting the fub- A B S fiance itfelf ; or when we feparately confider feveral modes which fubfift together in one fubjeft. This abftradtion the geometricians make ufe of when they confider the length of a body feparately, which they call a line, omitting the confideration of its breadth and thicknefs. Thirdly, It is by abftraction that the mind forms general or univerfal ideas ; omitting the modes and relations of the particular objects whence they are formed. Thus, when we would underftand a thinking being in general, we gather from our felt-confcioufnefs what it is to think; and, omitting thofe things which have a particular relation to our own minds, or to the human mind, we conceive a thinking be¬ ing in general. Ideas formed in this manner, which are what we properly call abjlraEl ideas, become general re- prefentatives of all objects of the fame kind; and their names applicable to whatever exifts conformable to fuch ideas. Thus the idea of colour that we receive from chalk, fnow, milk, & c. is a reprefentative of all of that kind ; and has a name given it, whitenej's, which dignifies the fame quality wherever found or imagined. ABSTRACTIVE, adj. Having the power or quality of abftracting. ABSTRACTLY, adv. In an abftradt manner, abfo¬ lutely, without reference to any thing elfe. ABSTRACTNESS,/! Subtilty; feparation from all matter or common notion.— I have taken fome pains to make plain and familiar to your thoughts, truths, Which eftabliftied prejudice, or the abJlraEtncfs of the ideas them¬ felves, might render difficult. Locke. ABSTRACTED, part. adj. [abJlriElus, Lat.] Unbound, To ABSTRINGE, v. a. 'To unbind. To ABSTRUDE, v. a. \_abJlrudo, Lat.] To thruft oft", or pull away. ABSTRUSE, adj. \abfirufus, Lat. thruft out of fight.] Hidden. Difficult; remote from conception or apprehen- fion. It is oppofed to obvious and eajy ; Th’ eternal eye, whole fight difeerns Abjlrufejl thoughts, from forth his holy mount. And from within the golden lamps that burn Nightly before him, faw, without their light. Rebellion riling. Milton. ABSTRUSELY, adv. In an abftrufe manner; obfeure- ly, not plainly, or obvioufly. ABSTRUSENESS, f. The quality of being abftrufe; difficulty, obfeurity. — It is not oftentimes fo much what the feripture fays, as what fome men perfuade others it fays, that makes it feem obfeure, and that as to fome other paflages w hich are fo indeed, fince it is the abjlrujenejs of what is taught in them, that makes them almoft inevitably fo ; it is little lefs fancy, upon fuch a fcore, to find fault with the ftyle of the feripture, than to do fo with the Au¬ thor for making us but men. Boyle. ABSTRUSITY,/! Abftrufenefs. That which is ab¬ ftrufe. A word feldom ufed. To ABSUME, v. a. \abfumo, Lat.] To bring to an end by a gradual w'afte ; to eat up. An uncommon word. ABSURD, adj. [qmirdus, Lat.] Unreafonable ; with¬ out judgment, as ufed of men. Inconfiftent, contrary to reafon, ufed of fentiments or practices. — Thus, it would be abfurd to fay that 6 and 6 make only io, or to deny that twfice 6 make 12. When the term abfurd is applied to aitions, it lias the fame import as ridiculous. ABSURDITY, / The quality of being abfurd; want of judgment, applied to men ; want of propriety, applied to things. That which is abfurd ; as, His travels were full of abfurdities. In which fenfe it has a plural. — Thefatis- faftion we receive from the opinion of fome pre-eminence in ourfelves, when we fee the abfurdities of another, or when we refleft on any pad abfurdities of our own. Addifcn. ABSURDLY, adv. After an abfurd manner ; impro¬ perly; unreafonably. — We may proceed yet further with the atheift, and convince him, that not only his principle is abfurd, but his confequenees alfo as abfurdly deduced from it. Bent by. ABSURDNESS.. ABU ABSURDNESS, A The quality of being abfurd ; in- judicioufnefs; impropriety. Abfurdity is more frequently 'ufed. ABSUS, /! in botany. See Cassia. ABSYRTUS, in the heathen mythology, the fon of AStaand Hypfea, and the brother of Medea. The latter running away with Jafpn, after her having aflifted him in carrying off the golden fleece, was purfned by her father ; when, to hop hisprogrefs, (lie tore Abfyrtus in pieces, and fcattered his limbs in his way. ABTHANES, a title of honour ufed by the ancient in¬ habitants of Scotland, whocalled their nobles thanes, which in the old Saxon lignifies king’s minijters ; and of rhefe the higher rank were llyled abtkanes, and thole of the lower under thanes. ABUCCO, Abocco, or Abocchi, a weight ufed in thekingdom of Pegu. One abucco contains 1 teccalis; tw'o abuccos make a giro oragire; two giri, half a piza; and a piza weighs an hundred teccalis ; that is, two pounds five ounces the heavy weight, or three pounds nine ounces the light weight of Venice. ABUKESO, in commerce, the fame with Aslan. ABULF ARAGIUS (Gregory,) fon to Aaron a phyfi- cian, born in 1226, in the city of Malatia, near the fource of the Euphrates in Armenia. He followed the profeflion of his father ; and praCtifed with great fuccefs, numbers of people coming from the moll remote parts to afle his ad¬ vice. However, he would hardly have been known at this time, had his knowledge been confined to phyfic : but he applied hirnfelf to the ftudyof the Greek, Syriac, and A- rabic languages, as well as philofophy and divinity ; and he wrote a hiftory which does honour to his memory. It is written in Arabic, and divided into dynafties. It conlifts ' of ten parts, being an epitome of univerfal hiftory from the creation of the world to his own time. Dr. Pocock publiflied it with a Latin tranflation in 1663 ; and added, by way of fupplement, a fliort continuation relating to the hiftory of the eaftern princes. ABUNA, the title given to the archbifhop or metropo¬ litan of Abyflinia. ABUNDANCE, fi. \_abondancc, Fr.] Plenty; a fenfe chiefly poetical. Great numbers. A great quantity. Ex¬ uberance, more than enough. ABUNDANT, adj. \abundans, Lat. ] Plentiful. Exu¬ berant. Fully ftored. It is followed fometimes by in, commonly by with. — The w’orld began but fome ages be¬ fore thefe w'ere found out, and was abundant with all things at firft; and men not very numerous; and therefore were not put fo much to the ufe of their w its, to find out wavs for living commodioully. Burnet. — It is applied generally to things, fometimes toperfons. — The Lord, the I ord God, merciful and gracious, long-futferingand^fena'a^t in good- nefs and truth. Exod. xxxiv. 6. Abundant Number, in arithmetic, is a number, the fum of whofe aliquot parts is greater than the number it- felf. Thus the aliquot parts of 12, being j, 2, 3, 4, and 6, they make, when added together, 16. An abundant number is oppofed to a deficient number, or that which is greater than all its aliquot parts taken together; as ' 14, whofe aliquot parts are, 1, 2, and 7, which make no more than 10: and to a perfieB number, or one to which its ali¬ quot parts are equal; as 6, whofe aliquot parts are 1, 2, and 3. ABUNDANTLY, adv. In plenty. — Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life. Gen. i. 20. — Amply, liberally, more than fufficiently. — He¬ roic poetry has ever been efteemed the greateft work of human nature. In that rank has Ariftotle placed it ; and Longinus is fo full of the like exprellions, that he abun¬ dantly confirms the other's teftimony. Dryden. ABUNDANTIA, a heathen divinity, reprefented in ancient monuments under the figure of a woman with a pleafing afpeft, crov/ned with garlands of flowers, pour¬ ing all forts of fruit out of a horn which Hie holds in her right hand, and fcattering grain with her left, taken pro- A B Y jy mifcuoully from a flieaf of corn. On a medal of Trajan, Ihe is reprefented with two cornucopia;. ABURY, or Aubery, Wilts, near Marlborough- downs, noted lor the ftupendous remains of a Druidical temple, like Stonehenge, on Saliflmry plain. ABU SAID (Ebn Aljaptu), fultan of the Moguls, fuc- ceeded his father anno 717 of the hegira. He was the lad monarch of the race of Jcnghizkhan ; and after his death, w hich happened the fame year that Tamerlane was born,, the empire was made a feene of blood and defolation. ABUS, in ancient geography, a river of Britain, formed by the confluence of the Ure, the Derwent, Trent, &c. falling into the German Sea between Yorkfliire and Lin- colnlhire, and forming the mouth of the Humber. To ABUSE, v. a. [ abutor , abu/us, Lat.] In abufe the: verb, s has the found of z\ in the noun, the common found. To make an ill ufe of. To violate; to defile. To de¬ ceive ; to impofe on. To treat with rudenefs ; to reproach. Some praife at morning what they blame at night,. But always-think the lad opinion right. A mule by thefe is like a midrefs us’d, This hour Ihe’s idoliz'd, the next abus’d. Pope. Abuse, fi. The ill ufe of any thing. A corrupt prac¬ tice, bad cuflom. Seducement. Unjufl cenfure, rude re- proach, contumely: I dark in light expos’d To daily fraud, contempt, abufie, and wrong. Milton. ABUSER, fi. He that makes an ill ufe. lie that de¬ ceives. — Next thou, the abufier of thy prince’s ear. Denham. He that reproaches with rudenefs. A ravi flier, a violater.. ABUSIVE;, adj. Pradtifing abufe. Containing abufe ; as anabulive lampoon. Deceitful; a fenfe little ufed, yet not improper. — It is verified by a number of examples, that w hatfoever is gained by an abufiive treaty, ought to be redored in integrum. Bacon. ABUSIVELY, adv. Improperly, by a wrong ufe. Re¬ proachfully. ABUSIVENESS, J. The quality of being abuli.ve;, foulnefs of language.- — -Pick Out of mirth, like ftones out of thy ground, profanenefs, filthinefs, abufivenefis. Herbert. To ABUT, v. n. obfolete. \_aboutir, to touch at the end, Fr.] To end at, to border upon-, to meet, or approach to, with the particle upon. — The Looes are two feveral cor¬ porations, didinguiflied by the addition of eaft and wed, abutting upon a navigable creek, and joined by a fairbridge. of many arches. Carew. ABUTILON, in botany. See Hibiscus, Mei.ochia, Malva, NaPAEA, SlDA. ABUTMENT, f. That which abuts, or borders up¬ on another. ABUTTAL, fi. Thebutting or boundaries, of any land. A writing declaring on what lands, highways, or other places, it does abut. ABYDOS, anciently a town built by the Milefians in Alia, on the Hellefpont, where it is fcarce a mile over, op- polite to Seftos on the European fide. Now' both called the Dardanelles. Abydos lay midway between Lampfa- cus and Ilium, famous for Xerxes’s bridge ; and for the loves of Leander and Hero ; celebrated alfo for its oyders. As ydos waslikewife anciently an inland town of Egypt, between Ptolemais and Diofpolis Parva, towards Syrene j- famous for the palace of Memnon and the temple of Oli- ris. A colony of Milefians : and the only one in thecoun- trv into which the lingers and dancers were forbid to enter. This city, reduced to a village under the empire of Au- cruftus, now prefents to our view only an heap of ruins without inhabitants; but to the weft of thefe ruins is Hill found the celebrated tomb of Ifmandes. The entrance is under a portico lixty feet high, and fupported by two rows ofmaffy columns. The immoveable folidity of the edi¬ fice, the huge malfes. which compofe it, the hieroglyphics it is loaded with, ftamp it a work of the ancient Egyptians.. Beyondit is a temple 300. feet long and 145 wide. Upou entering; A B Y entering the monument we meet with an immenfe hall, the root' of which is fupported by twenty-eight columns frxty-feet high and nineteen in circumference at the bate. They are 1 z feet diftant from each other. The enormous hones that form the ceiling, perfectly joined and incrufted, as it were, one in the other, offer to the eye nothing but one iolid platform of marble 126 feet long and twenty-fix wide. The walls are covered with hieroglyphics. One fees there a multitude of animals, birds, and human figures with pointed caps on their heads, and a piece of fluff hanging down behind, dreffed in loofe robes that come down only to the waifl. Among!! thefe we may diftinguifh fome wm- men fuckling their children, and men prefenting offerings to them. Here a! fo we meet with the divinities of India. Monfieur Chevalier, formerly governorof Chandernagore, who redded twenty years in that country, carefully vilited this monument on his return from Bengal. He remarked here the gods Jagrenet, Goncz, and Vechnou, or Wifnou, fuch as they are reprefented in the temples of Indoftan. A great gate opens at the bottom of the nrfthall, which leads to an apartment fortv-lix feet long by twenty-two wide. Six fquare pillars lupport the roof of it ; and at the angles are the doors of four other chambers, but fo choaked up with rubbiih that they cannot now be entered. The lad hall, lixty-four feet long by twenty- four wide, has flairs by which one defcends into the fubterraneous apartments of this grand edifice. The Arabs, in fearching after trea- lure, have piled up heaps of earth and rubbifh. In the part we are able to penetrate, fculpture and hieroglyphics are difcoverable as in the upper ftory. The natives fay that they correfpond exaftly with thofe above ground, and that the columns are as deep in the earth as they are lofty above ground. It would be dangerous to go far into thofe vaults ; for the air of them is fo loaded with a mephitic va- oour, that a candle can fcarce be kept burning in them. Six lions heads, placed on the two Tides of the temple, ferve as fpouts to carry off the water. You mount to the top by a ftaircafe of a very lingular ftruclure. It is built with flones incrufied in the wall, and projecting fix feet out; fo that being fupported only at one end, they appear to be fufpended in the air. 'lhe walls, the roof, and the co¬ lumns of this edifice, have fullered nothing from the inju¬ ries of time; and did not the hieroglyphics, by being cor¬ roded in fome places, mark its antiquity, it would appear to have been newly built. The f olidity is fuch, that un- lefs people make a point of deftroying it, the building mull laft a great number of ages. To the left of this great building we meet with another much fmaller, at the bot¬ tom of which is a fort of altar. This was probably the fanctuary of the temple of Ofiris. ABYLA (Ptolemy, Mela) ; one of Hercules’s pillars on the African fide, called by the Spaniards Sierra de las Monas , over again!! Calpe in Spain, the other pillar; fuppofed to. have been formerly joined, but feparated by Hercules, and thus to have given entrance to the fea now called the Mediterranean : the limits of the labours of Hercules. Pliny. ABYSM, f \_abyfme, old Fr. now written contrafted- ly abime. ] A gulf ; the fame with abyfs. My good Bars that were my former guides, Have empty left their orbs, and fhot their fires Into the abyfvi of hell. Shaltcfpeare. ABYSS , f. [ abyjjus , Lat. oc£vv far we have clear and diftindl ideas, we confine our thoughts within the contemplation of thofe things that are within the A B Y reaeh of our underftandings, and launch npt out Into that abyfs of darknefs, out of aprefumption that nothing is be¬ yond our comprehenfion. Locke. — The body of waters fuppofed at the center of the earth. — We are here to con- fider what is generally underftood by the great abyfs, in the common explication of the deluge ; and it is common¬ ly interpreted either to be the fea, or fubterraneous waters hid in the bowels of the earth. Burnet. — In the language of divines, hell : That infatiable abyfs. Where flames devour, and ferpents hifs. Rofcommon. Dr. Woodward, in his Natural Hiiloryof the Earth, af- ferts, That there is a mighty collection of waters inclofed in the bowels of the earth, conflituting a huge orb in the interior or central parts of it ; and over the furface of this water he fuppofes the terreflrial firata to be expanded. This, according to him, is what Moles calls the great deep, and what mof! authors render the great abyfs . The water of this vail abyfs, he alleges, does communicate with that of the ocean, by means of certain hiatufes or chafms paf- iing betwixt it and the bottom of the ocean: and this and the abyfs he fuppofes to have one common centre, around which the water of both is placed; but fo, that the ordi¬ nary furface of the abyfs is not level with that of the ocean, nor at fo great a diftance from the centre as the other, it being for the mof! part reftrainedand deprefled by the fira¬ ta of earth lying upon it: but wherever thofe firata are broken, or fo lax and porous that water can pervade them, there the water of the abyfs attends ; fills up all the clefts and fiffures into which it can get admittance ; and fatu- rates all the interfiices and pores of the earth, ftone, or other matter, all around the globe, quite up to tire level of the ocean. The exiftence of an abyfs, or receptacle of fubterranc- ous waters, is controverted by Camerarius ; and defended by Dr. Woodward chiefly by two arguments : the firft drawn from the vaft quantity of water which covered the earth in the time of the deluge ; the fecond, from the con- fideration of earthquakes, which he endeavours to flrow are occafioned by the violence of the waters in this abyfs. A great part of the terreflrial globe has-been frequently fliaken at the fame moment; which argues, according to him, that the waters, which were the occafion thereof, were co-extended with that part of the globe. There are even inftances of univerfal earthquakes; which low, that the whole abyfs mull have been agitated ; for fo general an ef¬ fect mull have been produced by as general a caufe, and that caufe can be nothing but the fubterraneous abyfs. To tlusabyfsalfo has been attributed the origin of fprings and rivers ; the level maintained in the fill-faces of differ¬ ent feas; and their not overflowing their banks. To the effluvias emitted from it, fome even attribute all the diver- lities of weather and change in our atmofphere. Ray, and other authors, ancient as well as modern, fuppofe a communication between the Cafpian Sea and the ocean by means of a fubterranean abyfs: and to this they attribute it that the Cafpian does not overflow, notwithflanding the great number of large rivers it receives, of which Keinp- fer reckons above fifty i n the compafs of fix ty miles ; though, as to this, others fuppofe that the daily evaporation may fuffice to keep the level. The different arguments concerning this fubjedl maybe feen collected and amplified in Cockburn’s Inquiry into the Truth and Certainty of the Mofaic Deluge, p. 37 1, &c. After all, however, this amazing theory of a central abyfs is far from being demonftrated : it will perhaps in feveral refpedls appear inconfiftent with found phiiofophy, as well as repugnant to the phenomena of nature. In particu¬ lar, if we believe any thing like elective attraction to have prevailed in the formation of the earth, we muff believe that the feparation of the chaos proceeded from the union of fimilar particles. It is certain that reft is favourable to fuch operationsof nature. As, therefore, the central parts of the earth were more immediately quiefeent than thofe remote A B Y remote from the centre, it feems abfurd to fuppofe that the Jieavier and denfer bodies gave place to the more light and fluid; that the central part thould confift of water only, and the more fuperficial part of a cruft or Ihell. Vid. Whitehurft’s Inquiry into the original Formation of the Strata, See. See Deluge. Abyss is mo're particularly ufed in antiquity, to denote the temple of Proferpine. It was thus called on account of the immenfe fund of gold and riches depofited there ; fome fay, hid under ground. Abyss is alfo ufed in heraldry to denote the centre of an efcutcheon. In which fenfe, a thing is faid to be bore in abyfs, en abyfme, when placed in the middle of the fliield, clear from any other bearing : He bears azure, a fleur- de-lis, in abyfs. ABYSSINIA, or Modern Ethiopia, is a very extenfive empire in Africa, called by the Arabians Al Habafh. • — Into this part of the globe the admiffion of travellers has been fuppofed extremely difficult, and their return from thence almoft impracticable. James Bruce, Efq. of Kinnaird, in Scotland, has, however, lately made the tour of thofe remote regions: from whence he has returned home in fafety, and has fince" favoured the world with a very interefting and curious defcription of Abyffinia and the other parts of Ethiopia, through which he travelled to difcover the fource of the Nile. According to a map of the country publiflied by this gentleman, Abyffinia is bounded on the fouth by a vaft chain of mountains, extend¬ ing with very little interruption from 34° to 440 E. Ion. and between So0 and 90° N. lat. On the eaft and north- eaft it has the Red Sea, and on the fouth-eaft the kingdom of Adel. On the weft and north its boundaries are lei's dif- tinclly marked; having on both thefe quarters the barba¬ rous kingdom of Sennaar, whofe limits frequently vary ac- 'cording to the fortune of war. From Arkeeko, fituated near the foot of the Bafaltes mountains, in about 15° 30' N. lat. it extends to near 70 N. lat. where the mountains of Cafta, the mod foutherly province of Abyflinia, termi¬ nate. Along the coaftof the Red Sea lie the territories in¬ habited by the Hazorta-Shiho, the diftrict of Engana-Shi- ho, and the kingdom of Dancali, including the territory of Azab. To the weftward of thefe are the province or king- domof Tigre, including the country of the Dobas, part of the kingdom of Bali, and that of Dawaro. Still farther weft are thofe of Sire, Lafta, Amhara, the greateft part of Bali, and part of Fatigar, which laft reaches beyond the mountains. Proceeding ftill in the fame direction, we come to Tcherkin, Tchelga, Abargale, Salao, Begemder, Shoa, and Ifat ; reckoning always from north to fouth; Tcher¬ kin, for inftance, being to the northward of Tchelga, See. Shoa extends a conliderable way to the weftward ; fo that, befides Ifat, it has to the fouth of it alfo the kingdoms of Hade and Cambut; the latter extending beyond the fouth - ern ridge of mountains. To the weftward are Ras-el-Feel, Dembea, Gojam, and Damot; and beyond thefe are the kingdoms of Dembea, Bizamo, Gooderoo, and Guraque; thole of Nare or Enarea and Cafta occupying the fouth- weft corner of the empire. The principal river is the Nile, which has its fource in this Country ; and the mod conliderable lake is that of Dam- bea, which difcharges itfelf info the Nile; it is about 700 miles in length, and ninety in breadth. The air is pretty temperate in the mountains, and therefore their towns and ftrong holds are. generally placed on them ; but in the val¬ leys it is hot and fuffocating. The torrents in the rainy feafon waft) a great deal of gold from the mountains. This feafon begins in May, when the fun is vertical, or direftly over their heads, and ends in September. — Thefe rains produce the inundation of the Nile; for the particulars of which fee that Article. The Abyffines in general are of an olive complexion, tail, graceful, and well featured. Thofe who are neither mechanics nor tradefmen (which fpw of them are), nor tillers of the ground, are enured to bear arms, which are a head-piece, a buckler, a coat of mail, bows and arrows, Vol. I. No. 3. darts, pikes capped with iron at both ends, a fling, and a fword: they have very few fire-arms, and thofe were in¬ troduced by the Portuguefe. The habit of perfons of qua¬ lity is a fine filken veft, or fine cotton, with a kind of fcarf. The citizens have the fame habit, only coarfer. The common people have nothing but a pair of cotton draw¬ ers, and a fcarf which covers the reft of their body. The women are of a healthy conftitution, aftive, and moderate¬ ly handfome, having neither flat nofes nor thick lips like the negroes ; and nature is fo friendly, that they Hand in little need of midwives, which is indeed the cafe of moft countries in the torrid zone. They appear in public as in Europe, without being forbid the converfation of the men as among the Mahometans. Princefles of the royal blood are not permitted to marry foreigners : and when they take the air, they go in great ftate,. with 400 or 500 women attendants. Their language bears a great affinity with the Arabic ; but particular provinces have a differ¬ ent dialed!. Gold, filver, copper, and iron, are the principal ores with which their mines abound in this extenfive part of Africa: but not above one third part is made ule of by way of merchandize, or converted into money; of which they have little or no ufe in Abyffinia. They cut their gold indeed into fmall pieces for the pay of their troops, and for expencesof the court, which is but a modern cuf- tom among them; the king’s gold, before the ertd of the 17th century, being laid up in his treafury in ingots, with intent to be never carried out, or never tiled in any thing butveffels and trinkets for the fervice of the palace. Iu the lieu of fmall money, they make ufe of rock fait as white as fnow and as hard as ftone. This is taken out of the mountain of Lafta, and put into the king’s warehoufes ; where it is reduced into tablets of a foot long, and three in¬ ches broad, ten of which are worth about a French crown. When they are circulated in trade, they are reduced into ftill fmaller pieces, as occallon requires. This fait is alfo applied to the fame purpofe as common fea-falt. With this mineral fait, they purchafe pepper, fpices, and lilk fluffs, which are brought to them by the Indians, in their ports in the Red Sea. Cardamums, ginger, aloes, myrrh, caflia, civet, ebony-wood, ivory, wax, honey, and cotton, are merchandifes which may be had from Abyffinia; to which may be added fugar, hemp, flax, &c. It is affirmed there are in this country the fineft emeralds that are any where to be found ; and, though they are found but in one place, they are there in great quantities, and fome fo large and fo perfect as to be of almoft ineftimable value. The greateft part of the merchandifes above mentioned, are more for foreign than inland trade. The domeftic commerce conlifts chiefly in fait, honey, buck-wheat, grey peafe, ci¬ trons, oranges, lemons, and other provifions, with fruits and herbage necelfary for the fupport of life. Thofe pla¬ ces that the Abyllinian merchants frequent the moft, who dare venture to carry their commodities by fea themfelves, are Arabia Felix, and the Indies, particularly Goa, Cam- baye, Bengal, and Sumatra. With regard to their ports on the Red Sea, to which foreign merchants commonly re¬ fort, the moft confiderable are thofe of Mette, Azum, Za- jalla, Maga, Dazo, Patea, and Brava. The trade of the A.byffioians by land is inconfiderable. There are, howe¬ ver, bands of them who arrive yearly at Egypt, particu¬ larly at Cairo, laden with gold duft, which they bring to barter for the merchandifes of that country, or of Europe, for which they have occaiion. Thefe cafilas or caravans, if we may be allowed thus to call a body of forty or fifty poor wretcheswho unite togetherfor their mutual affiftance in their journey, are commonly three or four months in their route, traverfing forefts and mountains almoft im ■ paflable in order to exchange their gold for neceflaries for' their families, and return immediately with the greateft part of the merchandife on their backs. Frequently the- Jews or Egyptians give them large credit; which may feem furpriling, as they are beyond recourfe i f they ihoadd. fail of payment. But experience has fliewn, that they have. L never 38 A E Y never abufcd the' confidence repofedin them; and even in the event of death, their fellow-travellers take care of the effects of the deceafed for the benefit of their families, but in the fir ft place for the difcharge of thofe debts contra&ed at Cairo. — It remains only to be obferved, that one of the principal branches of trade of the Abylfines is that of Haves ; who. are greatly- efteemed in the Indies and Arabia for the belt, and moft faithful, of all that the other king¬ doms of Africa furnifli. The Indian and Arabian mer¬ chants frequently lubftitute them as their fatfors; and, on account of their good fervices and integrity, not only often give them their liberty, but liberally reward them. There is a great difference of climate in this country, ow¬ ing to the vaft extent and variety of elevation in different parts of the empire, which is very perceptible in its foil and produftions. The mountains in many places are not only barren, but altogether inaccellible, except by thofe who make it their conftant practice to climb amongft them ; and even by them they cannot be afcended without great difficulty and danger. The fliapes of thefe mountains are Very firange and tremendous; exceedingly different from thofe ol Europe; fome refembling towers and fteeples, while others are like a board or date let up on end ; the bafe being fo narrow, and the whole mountain fo high and thin, that it feems wonderful how it can ftand. In the valleys, how ever, and flat parts of the country, the foil is exceflively fruitful, though in the warmeft places grain cannot be brought to perfection. Wine is alfo made only in one or two places ; but the greateft profufion of fruits of all kinds is to be met with every where, as well as many vegetables not to be found in other countries. There is a vaft variety of flowers, which adorn the banks of the rivers in fuch a manner as to make them referable fine gardens. Among thefe a fpecies of rofes is met with, which grow s upon trees, and is ;auch fuperior in fragrance to thofe which grow' on bullies. Among the variety of rare plants to be met with in Abyflinia, Mr. Bruce particularly defcribes the following. i. The papyrus, the ancient material for paper; which our author luppofes to have been a native of Ethiopia, and not of Egypt as has been liippofed. 2. Baleflan, balm, or balfam plant ; a tree growing to the height of fourteen or fifteen feet, and ufed for fuel along with other trees in the country. It grows on the coaft of the Red Sea, among the myrrh trees behind Azab, all the way to Babelmandel. This is the tree producing the balm of Gilead mentioned in Scripture. 3. The fafla, myrrh, and opocalpafum trees. Thefe grow likewife along the coaft of the Red Sea. The fafla or opocalpafum is ufed in manufactures ; and, accord¬ ing to' our author, refembles gum adragant, probably tra- gacanth. The tree which produces it grow's to a great fize, and has a beautiful flower, fcarce admitting of de- fcription without a drawing. 4. The ergett, a fpecies of the mimofa, is of two kinds ; one called ergete y'dimmo, or the bloody ergett, from the pink colour of its filaments ; the other ergett el krone , or the horned ergett, with a flow¬ er refembling the acacia vera or Egyptian thorn. Thefe were both found on the banks of a river named Amo, near the great lake Dambea. 5. Enfete, an herbacious plant, growing in Narea, in fw'ampy places ; but it is fuppofed to grow equally as well in any other part of the empire where there is heat and moifture fufficient. It forms a great part of the vegetable food of the Abyflinians. It produces a kind of figs, but thefe are not eatable. When ufed for food, it is to be cut immediately above the fmall detached roots, or perhaps a foot or two higher, according to the age of the plant. The green is to be ftripped from the upper part till it becomes white ; and, when foft, it affords an excellent food wheneaten with milk or butter. 6. Kol- quall, a kind of tree, only the lower part of which is woody, the upper part being herbaceous and fucculent. The flowers are of a beautiful golden colour, and the fruit turns to a deep crimfon ; fo that the trees make a very beautiful appearance. The whole plant is full of a very acrid and tauftic milk. 7 . Rack is a large tree, growing not only in A B Y Abyflinia, but in many places of Arabia Felix. Its wood is lb hard and bitter, that no worm will touch it ; for which reafon it is ufed by the Arabs for conftrucling their boats. It grows, like the mangrove, among the falt-water of the fea, or about falt-fprings. 8. Gir-gir, or gelhe-el-aube ; a kind of grafs found about Ras-el-Feel, growing to the height of about three feet four inches. 9. The kantuffa, a very noxious fpecies of thorn, much more troublefome than any with which we are acquainted, and growing to the height of eightor more feet. The flowers have a ftrong fmeil like the flower mignionet. 10. The gaguedi, is a Ihort tree only about nine feet high, a native of Lamalmon. The flowers, which are yellow and very beautiful, turn .towards the fun like thofe of the helianthus. n. The wanfey, a tree common throughout all Abyflinia; flowers exaftly on the firft day the rains ceafe. It grows to the height of eighteen or twenty feet; having a thick barkand clofe heavy wood ; the firft part of which is white, but the reft of adark colour. The flowers are of a beautiful white colour ; but it does not appear to poffefs any other remark¬ able property, though it is held in great eftimation by the Abyflinians, and is even worfliipped by the Galla. 12. Tlie farek, or Bauhinia acuminata, grows in the country immediately adjacent to the fources of the Nile: being found by Mr. Bruce fcarce 400 yards diftant from the fountain. 13. Kuara, is a beautiful tree, growing in the fouthandfouth-weft parts of Abyflinia. It has a fruit like a bean, of a red colour, which in the early ages was made life of as a weight for gold and diamonds; and lienee Mr. Bruce is of opinion that the name of the imaginary weight carat is derived. 14. The walkufta, grows in the hotteft parts of Ethiopia. It is a flowering tree, with beautiful white bloffoms, which do not appear till towards the middleofjanuary. The flowers haveno fmeil, and are ac¬ counted pernicious to bees. The wood is very heavy. 13. The wooginoos, or Brucea antidyfenterica, is common throughout the whole empire, but principally on the Ildes- of the valleys. It is a fovereign remedy againft the dyfen- tery, a very common and fatal difeafe in hot countries. Mr. Bruce had experimental proof of its antidyfenteric vir¬ tues. 1 6. Cuffo, or Bankiia anthelmintica, is a very beau¬ tiful and ufeful tree, being a ftrong anthelmintic, and ufed as fuch by the Abyflinians. Every perfon there, whether male or female, is troubled with that kind of worm called afcarides\ a great number of which are evacuated every month, and the evacuation is promoted by an infu/ion of this plant. While taking tins medicine, the patients fe- queftrate themfelves from all their acquaintance, and keep clofe at home. It is laid, that the want of this medicine in other countries is the reafon why the Abyflinians do not go out of their own country; or, if they do, that they are fbort-lived. 17. Teft’, is a kind of grain fown generally throughout Abyflinia; and conftituting the bread com¬ monly made ufe of by the inhabitants. They have indeed plenty of wheat, and are as fkiiful in forming it into bread as the Europeans ; but this is only made ufe of by people of the firft rank: however, the teff is fometimes of fuch an excellent quality, that the bread made from it is held in equal eftimation with the fineft wheat. From the bread made of this grain a fourifh liquor called bouza is prepared, which is ufed for common drink like our fmall beer. A liquor of the fame kind, but of inferior quality, is made from barley cakes. Some have been of opinion, that the ufe of teff occafions the worms above mentioned; but this is controverted by Mr. Bruce. Nook, a plant not to be diftinguifhed from our marigold eitherin fhape, fize, or fo¬ liage, is alfo fown very generally over the country, and fur- niflies all Abyflinia with oil for the kitchen and other ufes. Abyflinia abounds with a vaft variety of quadrupeds, both wild and tame. Immenfe numbers of cattle every where prefent themfelves, fome of them the moft beauti¬ ful in the world. Buffaloes are here met with in great numbers, and are very fierce and untraftable ; but there are no fuch animals as carnivorous bulls, which have been faid to exift in this and other internal parts of Africa. An¬ telopes A B Y telopes and other wild animals are met with in great num¬ bers in the uncultivated parts; feeding chiefly on the leaves of trees. They abound mod of all, however, in thofe parts which have- been once cultivated, but fince defolated by the calamities of war; and where wild oats abound in fuch quantities as to hide them from purfuit. Hyaenas-, lions, foxes, jackals, wild boars, &c. are alfo found, as well as the elephant, rhinoceros, cameleopard, and others of the larger and more uncommon kinds. Great havock is made in the cultivated fields by multi¬ tudes of baboons, apes, rats, and mice. There is plenty ef hares; but thefe being reckoned unclean, as well as wild boars, are not ufed as food. The rivers abound with crocodiles and hippopotami, at . lead the Nile, and thofe large dreams which flow into it : but a great number have water in them only during the rainy feafon, and thefe have neither irlh nor any animal that feeds upon them. The number of birds in this country is immenfe ; nor are thofe of the carnivorous kind at all deficient. Great num¬ bers of eagles, vultures, hawks, and others of that kind, are met with, and come punctually every year after the tropical rains have, ceafed. They feed at firft upon the fliell-fifh which are met with in great quantities on the edges of the deferts, where they had lived in the fait fprings; but, being forced from their natural habitations when thefe fprings were fwelled by the rains, are after¬ wards left to perilh on dry land. When thefe fail, their next refource is from the carcafes of the large animals, jfuch as the elephant and rhinoceros, which are killed in the flat country by. the hunters. Their next fupply is the multitude of rats and field-mice which infefl the country after harveft. The valt daughter of cattle made by the Abyfliiiian armies, the multitude of perfons killed whole bodies are allowed to rot on the field of battle, Sec. furnilh them alfo with another refource. Thefe fupplies, how¬ ever, all fail at the beginning of the rainy feafon, when the hunters and armies return home, and the valt quantity of water which continually overflows the ground renders it impoflible for them to find any other food. There are other birds, which feed upon infects, and multitudes which live on grain or feeds of various kinds; all of which are amply fupplied by the immenfe quantity of fruits and berries which grow in AbylTinia, and are ripe at all feafons of the year. A very remarkable particular concerning this is, that the trees which bear fruit all the year round do not carry it always in the fame place. The weft fide is that which blofloms firft, and where of con- fequence the fruit firft comes to perfection ; the fouth fide fucceeas, and goes through the fame procefs ; after which, the north bloiToms in like manner; and laft of all is the eaft fide, which produces flowers and fruit towards the beginning of the rainy feafon. All the trees of Abyili- nia are ever-green ; and their leaves are of a thick lea¬ thery confidence, and highly varnifhed to enable them to refift the violent rains which fall during a certain feafon. The granivorous birds have likewife this advantage, that the rains do not fall at the fame time all over the country. It is interfered by a chain of mountains that divide the feafons alfo; fo that they have but a fhort way to fly in order to become birds of pafiage, and fupply themfelves with fuch food as is neceflary for them beyond the moun¬ tains. All the pigeons, of which there are many fpecies, are birds of pafiage excepting one kind. The owls are extremely large and beautiful, but few in number. There is a great variety of fwallows, feveral kinds of which are unknown in Europe; but, fays Mr. Bruce, “ thofe that are common in Europe appear in pafiage at the very fea¬ fon when they take their flight from thence. We faw the greateft part of them in the ifland of Mafuah, where they lighted and tarried two days, and then proceeded with moon-light nights to the fouth-weft.” The large birds which refide conftantly among the mountains of Samen and Taranta have all their feathers tubular, the hollow part being filled with a kind of yellow duft which ifllies eut in great abundance on hunting them. This was par- A B Y 39 ticularly obferved by Mr. Bruce in a fpecies of eagle which he calls the'golden eagle ; and the duft being viewed through a microfc'ope with a very ftrong magnifying pow¬ er, appeared like fine feathers. The crows are fpotted "white and black, ahnoft in equal proportions. The raven has his feathers intermixed with brown; the tip of his beak white, and a figure like a cup or chalice of white feathers upon his head. Mr. Bruce faw no fp arrows, magpies, nor bats; neither are there many water-fowl, efpecially of the web-foot-cd kind ; but there are vafi num¬ bers of ftorks, which cover the plains in May, when the rains become conftant. There are no geefe, excepting one fpecies called the golden goofe or goofe of the Nile, which is common all over Africa; but there are fnipes in all the marfhes. Our author deferibes very few fifties ; though he fays that an account of thefe, and other marine productions of the Red Sea, which he collected, would occupy many large volumes. He mentions a fiih named binny, which is good food, and grows to a large fize; its whole body is covered with beautiful feales refembling filver fpangles. Of the reptiles in Abyflinia, Mr. Bruce deferibes a kind' of lizard, and of the ceraftes, or horned ferpent ; but de¬ nies that ferpents are numerous in Abyflinia, as ahnoft ail authors have fuppofed, and as we fhould be led naturally to fuf'pect. He vouches alfo for the pow er that fome per¬ fons have of inchanting ferpents and fcorpions, which in fome is natural, in others communicated artificially by cer¬ tain medicines. He prevailed upon thofe who knew the fecret to prepare him by thefe means as they had done others;- but, notwithftanding this afliftance, he acknow¬ ledges, that when it came to the trial his heart always failed him. Mr. Bruce gives an ample defeription of the manners of the Abyflinians, who in fome refpeCts are barbarous beyond meafure. The continual ftate of warfare in which- they are engaged, no doubt contributes to confirm them; in their barbarity. This arifes from an error in the regu¬ lations concerning the fucceflion. The crown is indeed hereditary, but it depends on the minifter to choofe the particular perfon who is to enjoy it; and as it is. always- his inclination to have the government in his own hands,, he never fails to choofe an infant, who is feldom differed; to live after lie comes to the years of maturity. Thus perpetual wars and commotions take place, infomuch that the ravenous birds, as has been obferved, find one great: fupply of food in the daughters made by the Abyflinians of one another. All authors agree, that the devaftations committed by their armies are exceflive ; infomuch, that af¬ ter a long encampment is removed, nothing is to be feera all around the place where it was but bare earth. When an army there marches through the country, an incon¬ ceivable number of birds and beads of prey, efpecially the former, follow it from the firft day of its march to its return; increafttig always in proportion the more it ad¬ vances into the country. An army there leaves nothing living behind, nor the veftige of an habitation; but the fire and the fword reduce every thing to a wildernefs and folitude. The beafts and birds unmolefted have the coun¬ try to themfelves, and increafe beyond all poflible con¬ ception. The flovenly manner of this favage people, who,, after a battle, bury neither friends nor enemies ; the quan¬ tity of beafts of burthen that die perpetually under the load of baggage, and variety of mifmanagement ; the quantity of offal, and half-eaten carcafesof cows, goats, and fheep, which they confume in their march for fuftenance; all furnifh a ftock of carrion fufficient to occafion conta¬ gious diftempers, were there not fuch a prodigious num¬ ber of voracious attendants who confume them almoft before putrefaction. There is no giving the reader any idea of their number, unlefs by comparing them to tlte fand of the fea. While the army is in motion, they are a black canopy which extends over it for leagues. When encamped, ' the ground is difcoloured with them beyond the fight of the eye; and all the trees are loaded with them. The. 4o A B Y The prodigious number of criminals executed for high treafon, vvhofe bodies are cut in pieces and thrown about the ftreets, invite the hyaenas to the capital, in the fame manner that the carrion of the camp invites tire birds of prey. to follow it. The method of keeping oft' thefe vo¬ racious animals is certainly very curious. “ An officer (fays Mr. Bruce) called Serac/i Majfery, with along whip, begins cracking and making a noife worfe than twenty French poftilions, at the door of the palace before the dawn of day. This chafes away the hyaenas and other wild beafts; this too is the fignal for the king’s riling, who fits in judgment every morning faffing; and after that, about eight o’clock, he goes to breakfaft.” With regard to the ferocious manners of the Abyffinians, they are accounted for by Mr. Bruce very naturally Their continual, warfare inures them to blood from their infancy ; fo that even children would not have the leaf; fcruple at killing one another, or grown up perfons, if they were able. Many (hocking inftances of hardnefs of heart are related of them. Their cruelty difplays itfelf abundantly in the punifhments inflicted upon criminals, one of which is fleaing alive. Cutting in pieces with a fab re is another; and this is performed, not by executioners, whofe employ¬ ment is reckoned difgraceful as in this country, but by officers and people of quality. So little is this thought of in Gondar, the capital of Abyffinia, that Mr. Bruce happening to pafs by an officer employed in this work, who had three men to difpatch, the officer called to him to flop till he had killed them all, as he wanted to fpeak to Irina upon a matter of confequence. Stoning to death is a ca¬ pital punifhment likewile common in this country; and ufually inflitfed'on Roman Catholics if they happen to be found, or upon other heretics in religion as they term them. It is not to be fuppofed that people who regard the lives of one .another fo little, will fliow much companion to the brute creation. In this refpeft however, the Abyffinians are cruel and favage beyond all people on the face of the earth. There are many inftances of fitvages eating raw fleffi, and we call them barbarous that do fo; but what name ffiall we give to thofe who cut off pieces of fleffi from animals while ftill living, and eat it not only raw but fra® quivering with life ! Mr. Bruce alfo fays, that this way of eating not raw, but living, flefli, was cuflomary among the nations of antiquity ; and, in Picard, we find a people called Antis, that inhabited the mountains of Peru, who after they had taken an enemy, tied him alive to a tree, and cut off and ate the flefli from his bones, in which ffate he was left to languiffi and expire. Mr. Bruce in¬ forms us, that when he was at no great diftance from Axurn, the capital of Tigre, he fell in with three of the natives driving a cow. They halted at a brook, threw down the beaft, and one of them cut a pretty large col- lop of flefli from its buttock; after eating which, they drove the cow gently on as before. In his defeription of their feafts he fays the animal is tied, fo that it cannot move : after dripping off the (kin, the flefli of the but¬ tocks is cut off in folid fquare pieces, without bones or much eftufion of blood ; and the prodigious noife the ani¬ mal makes is a fignal for the company to fit down to table. Every man fits between two women, having a long knife in his hand. With this he cuts the flefli, while the mo¬ tion of its fibres is yet vifible, into pieces like dice. Thefe are laid upon pieces of bread made of the grain called tej}\ being ftrongly powdered with Cayenne pepper, and foffile fait. They are then rolled up like fo many car¬ tridges ; the men open their mouths, ftooping anti gaping like idiots, while the women cram them fo full of thefe cartridges, that they feem every moment in danger of be¬ ing choaked ; and in proportion to the quantity their mouths can hold, and the noife they make in chewing, they are held in eftimation by the company. All this time the animal bleeds but little : but when the large arteries are cut and it expires, the flefli becomes tough; and the wretches who have the reft to eat, gnaw it from the bones like dogs ! A C A This circumfiance, mentioned by Mr. Bruce, of the Abyffinians eating raw flefli from the ox, appears at ftrft view fo unnatural and difgufting, that it has induced ma¬ ny perfons to doubt his veracity, and even to queftion whether he had ever really vilited the fource of the Nile. Yet, we find every nation has its peculiarities with refpedt to food, many of which would appear inhuman, did not our familiarity with the cuftom take off the impreflion. Do not we eat raw oyfters within a fecond of their being feparated from the fliell ? And do we not both roaft them and loblters whilft alive ; the barbarity of which practice feems almoft to equal that of the Abyffinians ? Do not cooks fkin eels whilft alive? And do not epicures crimp fiffi for the gratification of their appetites? That the Abyffinians eat beef in a raw ftate, is agreed both by Lobo and Poncet; and the former fays, reeking from the beaft. Mr. Antes, moreover, was told by a Francifcan monk, who went with the caravan from Abyf¬ finia to Cairo, that he was witnefs to an ox being killed, and immediately devoured by a band of travellers. For the civil, religious, and political, hiftory of this people, fee Ethiopia. ACA, Ace, or Acon, a town of Phoenicia, on the Mediterranean; afterwards called Ptolemaia; now Acre. See Acre. ACACALOTL,/! the Brafilian name of a bird called by fome corvus aquaticus, or water raven: properly, the pelicus carbo, or corvorant. See Pelicanus. ACACIA, f. inbotany. See Guilandina, Guaia- cum, Mimosa, Poinciana, Spartium. The flowers of a fpecies of the acacia are ufed by the Chinefe in making that yellow which we fee bears wafliing in their filks and fluffs, and appears with fo much elegance in their painting on paper. The method is this : — They gather the flowers before they are fully open ; thefe they put into a clean earthen veifel over a gentle heat, and ftir them continually about, as they do the tea leaves, till they become dryifli and of a yellow colour; then to half a pound of the flowers they add three fpoonfuls of fair wa¬ ter, and after that a little more, till there is juft enough to hold the flowers incorporated together: they boil this for fome time, and the juice of- the flowers mixing with the water, it becomes thick and yellow ; they then take it from the fire, and ftrain it through a piece of coarfe iilk. To the liquor they add half an ounce of common alum, and an ounce of calcined oyfter-fliells reduced to‘a fine powder. All is then well mixed together; and this is the fine lading yellow they have fo long ufed. Mr; GeoftVoy attributes the origin of bezoar to the feeds of this plant; which being broufed by certain animals, and vellicating the ftoniach by their great fournefs and af- tringency, caufe a condenfation of the juices till at length they become coated over with a ftony matter, which we call bezoar. Acacia False, in botany. SeePoBiNiA. Acacia Three-thorned, in botany. See Gledit- sia. Acacia,/! in the materia medica, the infpiffated juice of the unripe fruit of the Mimosa Nilotica. This juice is brought to 11s from Egypt, in roundilh mafhes, wrapt up in thin bladders. It is outwardly of a deep- brown colour, inclining to black; inwardly of a reddifn or yellowiffi brown ; of a firm confidence, but not very dry. It foon foftens in the mouth, and difeovers a rough, but not difagreeable, tafte, which is followed by a fweetifh re- lifli. This infpiffated juice entirely diffolves in watery li¬ quors; but is fcarce fenfibly added on by redfifted fpirit. Acacia is a mild aftringent medicine. The Egyptiansgive it in fpitting of blood, in the quantity of a drachm, diifolved in any convenient liquor; they likewife employ it in col- lyria for (lengthening the eyes, and in gargarifins for quinfeys. Among us, it is little otherwife ufed than as an ingredient in mithridate and theriaca, and is rarely met with in the (hops. What is ufually fold for the Egyptian acacia, is the infpiffated juice of unripe floes : this is hard- A C A er, heavier, of a darker colour, and fomewhat fliarper in take, than the true fort. Acacia German, the juice of unripe (Toes infpiflated nearly to drinefs over a gentle fire, care being taken to prevent its burning. It is moderately aftringent, fimilar to the Egyptian acacia, for which it has been commonly fubftituted in the ftiops. It is given in fluxes, and other diforders where ftyptic medicines are indicated, from a fcruple to a drachm. Acacia, among antiquaries, fomething refembling a roll or bag, feen on medals, in the hands of feveral con- fuls and emperors. Some take it to reprefent a handker¬ chief rolled up, wherewith they made fignals at the games; others, a roll of petitions or memorials; and fome, a pur¬ ple bag full of earth, to remind them of their mortality. ACACIANS, in eccleliaftical hiftory, the name of fe- veral lefts of heretics; fome of which maintained, that the Son was only a fimilar, not the fame, fub fiance with the Father; and others, that he was not only a diftinft, but a diflimilar, fubftance. Two of thefe lefts had their denomination from Acacius bifliop of Caefarea, who lived in the fourth century, and changed his opinions, fo as, at different times, to be head of both. Another was named from Acacius patriarch of Conftantinople, who lived in the clofe of the fifth century. ACACIUS, furnamed Luscus, becaufe he was blind of one eye, was bifliop of Caefarea in Paleftine, and fuc- ceeded the famous Eufebius : he had a great fliare in the banifliment of Pope Liberius, and bringing Felix to the fee of Rome. He gave name to the above left, and died about the year 365. He wrote the life of Eufebius, and feveral other works. Acacius (St.) bifhop of Amida, in Mefopotamia, in 420, was diftinguilhed by his piety and charity. He fold the plate belonging to his church, to redeem feven thou- fand Perfian flaves who were ready to die with want and mifery ; and, giving each of them fome money, fent them home. Veranius their king was fo aftefted with this noble inftance of benevolence, that he defired to fee the bifliop ; and this interview procured a peace between that prince and Theodolius I. ACAD, or Achad, a town in which Nimrod reigned, called Archad by the Seventy ; lituated in Babylonia to the eaftward of the Tigris. ACADEMIAL, adj. Relating to an academy, belong¬ ing to an academy. ACADEMI AN, f. A fcholar of an academy or uni- verlity ; a member of an univerfity. IVood, in his Athena Oxonienfes, mentions a great feaft made for the academians . ACADEMICAL, adj. [academicus,'LaX.~] Belonging to an univerfity. ACADEMICI AN,yi [ acajcmicien , Fr.) The member of an academy. It is generally ufed in lpeaking of the profeifors in the academies of France. ACADEMlC,yi A ftudent of an univerfity. Academic, aclj. [ acadcmicus , Lat.) Relating to an univerfity : While through poetic fcenes the genius roves, Or wanders wild in academic groves. Pope. ACADEMICS, or Academists, a denomination giv¬ en to the cultivators of a fpecies of philofophy originally derived from Socrates, and afterwards illuftrated and en¬ forced by Plato, who taught in a grove near Athens, con- i'ecrated to the memory of Academus, an Athenian hero ; from which circumftance this philofophy received the name of academical. Before the days of Plato, philofophy had in a great meafure fallen into contempt. The contra¬ dictory fyftems and hypothefes which had fuccefsfully been urged upon the world were become fo numerous," that, from a view of this inconftancy and uncertainty of human opinions, many w^ere led to conclude, that truth lay be¬ yond the reach of our comprehenlion. Abfolute and uni- verfal fccpticifm was the natural confequence of thiscon- clufion. In order to remedy this abufe of philofophy and Vol. I. No. 3. A C A of the human faculties, Plato laid hold of the principles of the academical philofophy ; and, in his Phaedo, reafons in the following manner: — “ If we are unable to difeover truth (fays he), it muff be owdng to two circumffances : either there is no truth in the nature of things; or the mind, from a defeft in its powers, is not able to appre¬ hend it. Upon the latter fuppofition, all the uncertainty and fluctuation in the opinions and judgments of mankind ■ admit of an eafy folution. Let us therefore be modeft, and aferibe our errors to the real weaknefs of our own minds, and not to the nature of things themfelves. Truth is often difficult of accels : in order to come at it, we muff pro¬ ceed with caution and diffidence, carefully examining every ftep; and, after all our labour, we fliall frequently find our greateff efforts difappointed, and be obliged toconfefs our ignorarice and w'eaknefs.” Labour and caution in their refearches, in oppofition to rath and huffy decifions, were the diftinguiffiing charafte- riftics of the difciples of the ancient academy. A philo- fopher, poflefled of thefe principles, will be flow in his progrefs; but will feldom fall into errors, or have occa- lion to alter his opinion after it is once formed. Vanity and precipitance are the great fources of fcepticifm: Lur¬ ried on by thefe, inffead of attending to the cool and deli¬ berate principles recommended by the academy, feveral of our modern philofophers have plunged themfelves into an abfurd and ridiculous kind of fcepticifm. They pretend to diferedit fubjefts that are plain, fimple, and eallly com¬ prehended; but give peremptory and decifive judgments upon things that evidently exceed the limits of our capa¬ city. Of thefe, Berkeley and Hume are the mod confide- rable. Berkeley denied the exiftence of every thing, ex¬ cepting his own ideas. Mr. Hume has gone a ftep further, and queftioned even the exiftence of ideas ; but at the fame time has not helitated to give determined opinions with regard to eternity, providence, and a future date, miracu¬ lous interpofitions of the Deity, &c. fubjefts far above the reach of our faculties. In his eflay on the academical or fceptical philofophy, he has confounded two very oppoiite fpecies of philofophy. After the days of Plato, indeed, the principles of the firft academy were grofsly corrupted by Arcefilas, Carneades, See. This might lead Mr. Hume into the notion that the academical and fccptical philofophy were fynonymous terms. But no principles can be of a more oppoiite nature than thofe which were inculcated bv the old academy of Socrates and Plato, and the fceptical notions which were propagated by Arcefilas, Carneades, and the other difciples of the fucceeding academies. ACADEMIST,yi The member of an academy. This is not often ufed. — it is obferved by the Parilian acadcmijls, that fome amphibious quadrupeds, particularly the lea- calf or feal, hath his epiglottis extraordinary large. Ray. ACADEMY, f. [anciently, and properly, with the ac¬ cent on the firft fyliable, now frequently on the fecond. Academia , Lat.) An aflembly or fociety of men, uniting for the promotion of fome art. The place where feiences are taught. An univerfity. A place of education, in contradiltinftion to the univerfities or public fchools. The thing, and therefore the name, is modern. The firft academy was a fine villa or pleafure houfe, in one of the fuburbs of Athens, about a mile from the city ; where Plato, and the wife men who followed him, held aflemblies for difputes and philofophical conference ; which gave the name to the feet of academics. The houfe took its name. Academy, from one Academus, or Ecadenuts, a citizen of Athens, to whom it originally belonged: he lived in the time of Thefeus ; and here he ufed to have gymnaftic fports or exercifes. This academy was farther improved by Ciinon, and adorned with fountains, trees, fliady walks, See, for the convenience of .the philofophers and men of learning, who here met to confer and difpute for their mutual improve¬ ment. It was furrounded with a wall by Hipparchus, the Ion, of Piliftratus ; and it was alfo ufed as the burying-' place for iiluftr-ious perfons, who haddeferved well of the M republic. 42 A C A republic. It was here that Plato taught his philofophy; and hence it was that all public places, deftined for the affemblies of the learned and ingenious, have been iince called academies. Sylla facrificed the delicious walks and groves of the academy, which had been planted by Ci- raon, to the ravages of war ; and employed thofe very trees in conftrudling machines to batter the walls of the city which they had adorned. — Cicero too had a villa or country retirement, near Puzzuoli, which he called by the fame name, Academia . Here he ufed to entertain his phi¬ losophical friends ; and here it was that he compofed his Academical Queftions, and his, books De Natura Deorum. Academy, among the moderns, denotes a regular So¬ ciety or company of learned perfons, inftituted under the protection of fome prince, or other public authority, for the cultivation and improvement of arts or fciences. Some authors confound academy with univerllty; but, though much the fame in Latin, they are very different things in Englifh. An univerfity is properly a body com¬ pofed of graduates in the feveral faculties ; of profeffors, who teach in the public fchools ; of regents or tutors, and Undents who learn under them, and afpire likewife to de¬ grees. Whereas an academy is not intended to teach, or profefs any art or fcience, but to improve it : it is not for novices to be infitrudled in, but for thofe that are more knowing; for perfons of learning to confer in, and com¬ municate their lights and difcoveries to each other, for their mutual benefit and improvement. The firfl modern academy we read of, was eftablifhed by Charlemagne, by the advice of Alcuin, an Englifli monk : it was compofed of the chief geniufes of the court, the emperor himfelf being a member. In their academical conferences, every perfon was to give fome account of the ancient authors he had read ; and each one affumed the name of fome ancient author, that pleafed him mod, or fome celebrated perfon of antiquity. Alcuin, from whole letters we learn thefe particulars, took that of Flaccus, the furname of Horace; a young lord named Augilbert, took that of Homer ; Adelard bifliop of Corbie, was called Auguftin; Reclufe bifliop of Mentz, was Dametas; and the king himfelf David. Since the revival of learning in Europe, academies have multiplied greatly, mod nations being furnifned with fe¬ veral, and from their communications' the chief improve¬ ments have been made in the arts and fciences, and in cul¬ tivating natural knowledge. There are now academies for almoft every art, or fpecies of knowledge ; in giving an account of which, it feems mod: proper to arrange them according to their fubjedts. I. Medical Academies, as that of the Naturae C'u- riofi in Germany; that founded at Palermo in 164.5 ; ano¬ ther at Venice in 1701, which meets weekly in a hall near the grand hofpital ; another at Geneva in 1715, in the hoafe of M. le Clerc. The colleges of phylicians at London and Edinburgh are alfo, by fome, ranked in the number of Academies. Tke Academy 0/ Naturae Curiofi, called alfo the Leopoldine Academy, was founded in 1652 by jo. Laur. Baufchius, a phylician ; who, in imitation of the Englifh, publifhed an invitation to all phylicians to communicate their extra¬ ordinary cafes ; and, meeting with fuccefs, was defied prefident. Their works were at firfl publifhed feparately ; but in 1670 a new fcheme was laid for publifhing a vo¬ lume of obfervations every year. The firfl volume ap¬ peared in 1684, under the title of Ephemerides, and the work has been continued with fome interruptions and va¬ riations of the title, See. In 1687, the emperor Leopold took the fociety under his protection, granting the mem¬ bers feveral privileges, particularly that their prefidents fhould be counts palatine of the holy Roman empire. This academy has no fixed refidence, nor regular aflem- blies : inllead of thefe, there is a kind of bureau, or office, firfl eftablifhed. at Breflau, and afterwards removed to Nu¬ remberg, where letters, obfervations, &c. from correfpon- dents or members are taken in. The academy confifts of a A C A prefident, two adjuncts or fecretaries, and colleagues or members without reftriflion. The colleagues, at their ad- miffion, oblige themfelves to two things : firfl, to choofe fome fubjeft out of the animal, vegetable, or mineral, kingdom, to handle, provided it had not been treated of by any colleague before ; the fecond, to apply themfelves to furnifh materials for the Annual Ephemerides. Each member to bear a fymbol of the academy, viz. a gold ring ; whereon, inflead, of a flone, is a book open, and on the face thereof, an eye ; on the other fide the motto of the academy, Nunquavi otiefus. II. Chirurgical Academies ; as that inftituted fome years ago, by public authority, at Paris: the members of which were not only to publifh their own and correfpon- dents obfervations and improvements; but to give an ac¬ count of all that is publifhed on forgery, and to compofe a complete hiftory of the art, by their extracts from all the authors ancient and modern who have wrote on it. A queftion in furgery is annually propofed by the academy, and a gold medal of 200 livres value given to him who fur- nifhes the mod fatisfadlory anfwer. Academy of Surgery at Vienna, was inftituted fome years ago, by order of the emperor, under the direction of the celebrated Brambilla. 1 n this there were at firfl only two profeffors ; and to their charge the inftrudlion of 1 30 young men was committed, 30 of whom had formerly been fur- geons in the army. But of late the number both of the teachers and pupils has been confiderably increafed. Ga¬ brieli was appointed to teach pathology and pradlice; Boecking, anatomy, phyfiology, and phyfics; Streit, me¬ dical and pharmaceutical furgery ; Hunczowfky, furgical operations, midwifery, and the chirurgia forenfis; and Plenk, chemiftry and botany. To thefe alfo was added, Beindl, as profedlor and extraordinary profeffor of furgery and anatomy. A large and fplendid edifice is erected in Vienna for this fociety, which affords habitation both for the teachers, the Undents, pregnant women, patients for clinical ledlures, and fervants. The emperor alfo pur- chafed, for the ufe of this academy a medical library; a complete fet of chirurgical inftruments; an apparatus for experiments in natural philofophy; a collection of natural hiftory; a number of anatomical and pathological prepa¬ rations; a collection of preparations in wax brought from Florence; and a variety of other ufeful articles. Ad¬ joining to the building alfo there is a good botanical garden. III. Ecclesiastical Academies; as thatof Bologna in Italy, inftituted in 1687, employed in the examination of the doClrine, difeipline, and hiftory, of each age of the church. IV. Cosmog raphical Academies ; as that at Ve¬ nice, called the Argonauts. This was inftituted at the fo- licitation of F. Coronelli, for the improvement of geo¬ graphical knowledge. Its defign was to publifh exact maps, both ceieftial and terreftrial, as well particular a$ general, together with geographical, hiftorical, and aftro- nomical, deferiptions. Each member, in order to defray the expence of Inch a publication, was to fubferibe a pro¬ portional fum, for which they were to receive one or more copies of each piece publifhed. For this end three focie- ties are fettled ; one under F. Moro, provincial of the Minorities in Hungary; another undertheAbbotI.au- rance an Ruy Payenne an Marais; the third under F. Baldigiani, Jefuit, profeffor of mathematics in the Roman college. The device of this academy is the terraqueous globe, with the motto Plus ultra ; and at its expence all the globes, maps, and geographical writings, of F. Coro¬ nelli have been publifhed. V. Academies of Sciences. Thefe comprehend fuch as are erected for improving natural and mathema¬ tical knowledge. They are otherwife called P hilofophical and Phyjical academies. The firfl of thefe was inftituted at Naples about the year 1560, in the houfe of Baptifla Porta. It was called the Academy Secrclorum Naturae ; and was fucceeded by the Academy of Lyncei , founded at Rome by Prince Frederic Celi, towards the end of that century. Several A C A Several of the members of this academy rendered it fa¬ mous by their difcoveries ; among thefe was the celebrated Galileo. Several other academies were inftituted about that time, which contributed greatly to the advancement of the fciences-; but none of them comparable to that of the Lyncei. Some years after the death of Toricelli, the Academy del Cimento made its appearance, under the protection of Prince Leopold, afterwards’ Cardinal de Medicis. Rediwas one of its chief members; and the ftudies purfued by the reft, may be collected from thofe curious experiments publifhed in 1667, by their fecretary Count Laurence Magulotti, under the title of Saggi di Naturali Efperienze-, a copy of which was prefented to the Royal Society, tranflated into Englifh by Mr. Waller, and publifhed at London in 4to. the Academy degl' Inquidi, afterwards' incorporated into that of Della Tracia in the fame city, followed the exam¬ ple of that of Del Cimento. Some excellent difeourfes on phylical and mathematical fubjects, by Geminiano Montenari, one of the chief members, were publifhed in 1667, under the title of Perjieri Fiftco Matematici. The Academy of Rofjano, in the kingdom of Naples, was originally an academy of Belles Lettres, founded in 1540, and transformed into an Academy of Sciences in 1695 at the felicitation of the learned abbot Don Giacinto Gim- ma; who, being made prelident, under the title of pro¬ moter general thereof, gave them a new fet of regulations. He divided the academifts into the following claffes : — Grammarians, Rhetoricians, Poets, Biftorians, Philofo- phers, Phyficians, Mathematicians, Lawyers, and Divines, with a clafs apart for cardinals, and perfons of quality. To be admitted a member, a man mull have fome degrees in the faculty. The members are not allowed to take the title of academifts in the beginning of their books, with¬ out a written permilfion from their prefident, which is not granted till the work has been examined by the cenfers of the academy; and the permillion is the greateft honour the academy can confer, as they thereby adopt the work, and are anfwerable for it againft all criticifms that may be made upon it. To this law the prefident or promoter himfelf is fubjeft ; and no academift is allowed to pub- lifh any thing againft the writings of another without leave from the fociety. Several other Academies of Sciences have been founded in Italy; but, for want of being patronized, did not con¬ tinue long. The lofs of them, however, was abundantly repaired by the inftitution of others fti 11 fublifting; fuch as, the Academy of Filarmonici at Verona ; of Ricovatri at Padua, where a learned difeourfe on the origin of fprings was delivered by Sig. Vallifnieri, firft profeffor of phylic in the univerfity of .that city, and which was afterwards printed. To the Academy of the Mud de Reggio, at Mode¬ na, the fame Sig. Vallifnieri prefented an excellent dif¬ eourfe on the fcale of created beings, fince inferred in his Hiftory of the Generation of Man and Animals, printed at r Venice in the year 1721. F. Merfenne is faid to have given the firft idea of a phi- lofophical academy in France, towards the beginning of the 17th century, by the conferences of naturalifts and mathematicians occafionally held at his lodgings ; at which Gaffendi, DesCartes, Hobbes, Roberval, Pafcal, Blondel, and others, allifted. F. Merfenne propofed to each certain problems to examine, or certain experiments to be made. Thefe private affemblies were lucceeded by more public ones, formed by Mr. Montmort and Mr. Thevenot, the celebrated traveller. The French example animated fe- veral Engliftimen of diftindtion and learning to ereft a kind of philofophical academy at Oxford, towards the clofe of Oliver Cromwell’s adminiftration ; which, after the reftoration, was eredted into a Royal Society. See So- cie-ty. The Englifh example, in its turn, animated the French. Louis XIV. in 1 666, affifted by the counfels of M. Colbert,- founded an academy of fciences at Paris, with a fufficient revenue to defray the charge of experi¬ ments, and. falaries to the members. A C A 43 Royal Academy of Sciences. After the peace of the Py¬ renees, Louis XIV. being defirous of eftabliftiing the Arts, Sciences, and Literature, upon a folid foun¬ dation, diredted M. Colbert to form a fociety of men of known abilities and experience in the different branches, who fhould meet together under the king’s proteftion, and communicate their refpeclive difeoveries. Accordingly' M. Colbert formed a fociety of Inch perfons as were con- verfant in natural philofophy and mathematics, joined to them other perfons fkilled in hiftory, and other branches of erudition, with thole who were entirely engaged in what are called the Belles Lettres, grammar, eloquence, and poetry. All the different claffes were ordered to meet to¬ gether upon the firft Thurlday of every month; and, by their refpedtive fecretaries, make a report of the pro¬ ceedings of the foregoing month. In a fliort time, how¬ ever, the claffes.of hiftory, belles lettres, See. were united to the French Academy, which was originally inftituted for the improvement and refining the French language ; fo that the Royal Academy contained only two claffes, viz. that of natural philofophy and mathematics. In the year 1696, the king, by a proclamation dated the 26th of January, gave this academy a new form, and put it upon a more relpedlable footing. — It was now to be compofed of four kinds of members, viz. 'honorary, pen - fionary , ajfociates, and e lives. Thefe laft were a kind of pu¬ pils, or fcholars, each of whom was attached to one of the penlionaries. The firft clafs to contain ten perfons, and each of the reft twenty. The honorary academifts to be all inhabitants of France ; the penlionaries all to refideat Paris ; eight of the aflociates allowed to be foreigners ; and the eleves all to live at Paris. The officers to be, a prefident named by the king, out of the clafs of honorary acade¬ mifts; and a fecretary and treafurer to be perpetual. Of the penlionaries, three to be geometricians', three aftrono- mers, three mechanics,- three anatomifts, three chemifts, three botanifts, and the remaining two to be fecretary and treafurer. Of the twelve affociates, two to apply them- felves to geometry, two to botany, and two to chemiftry. The eleves to apply themfelves to the fame kind of fcience with the penfionaries they were attached to ; and not to fpeak, except when called by the prefident. No regular or religious to be admitted, except into the clafs of hono¬ rary academifts; nor any perfon to be admitted either for affbeiate or penfionary, unlefs known by fome conliderable printed work, fome machine, or other difeovery. To en¬ courage the members to purfue their labours, the king engaged not only to pay the ordinary penfions, but even to give extraordinary gratifications, according to the merit of their refpeftive performances; furniflving withal the expence of the experiments and other inquiries neceffary to be made. If any member gave in a bill of charges of ex¬ periments he had made, the money was immediately paid by the king, . upon the prefideat’s allowing and figning the. faid bill. So, if an anatemift, for inftance, required live tortoifes, for making experiments on the heart, &c. as- many as he pleafed were brought him at the king’s charge.. Finally in the year 17S5 the king confirmed, by letters- patent, dated April 23, the eftabliftunent of the academy of fciences, making the following alterations, and adding; claffes of agriculture, natural hiftory, mineralogy, and phylics; incorporating the affociates and adjundts, and li¬ miting to fix the members of each clafs, namely, three penfioners and three affociates; by which the former re¬ ceive an increafe of falary, and the latter approach nearer to becoming penfioners. By the articles of this inftrument it is ordained, that the academy fiiall confift of eight claffes, namely, that of geo¬ metry, 2d aftrohomy, 3d mechanics, 4th general phyfics, 5th anafomy, 6th chemiftry and metallurgy, 7th botany itnd agriculture, 8th natural hiftory and mineralogy. That each clafs Ihall remain irrevocably fixed at fix members; namely, three penfioners and three affociates, independent however of a perpetual fecretary and treafurer, of twelve free aflociates, and of eight affociate ftrangers or foreign- , . ers, 44 A C A ers, the fame as before, except that the adjunCt-geogra- pher for the future be called, the affociate-geographer. The late M. Rouble de Meflay, counfellor of the par¬ liament of Paris, founded two prizes, the one of 2500 livres, the other of 2000 livres, which the academy dif- tributed alternately every year: the fubjedts of the for¬ mer prize refpeCting phylical aftronomy, and of the latter, navigation and commerce. And the world is highly in¬ debted to this academy for the many valuable works they have executed, or publifhed, both individually and as a body collectively, efpecially by their memoirs, making upwards of a hundred volumes in 410, with the machines, indexes, &c. in which may be found 1110ft excellent com- pofitioris in every branch of fcience. The French have alfo confiderable academies in mod of their great cities; as, at Montpelier, a Royal Academy of Sciences on the like footing as that at Paris, being as it were a counter part thereof; at Thouloufe, an academy under the denomination of Lanternifts; others at Nifmes, Arles, Lyons, Dijon, Bourdeaux, &c. And we have the belt authority for aderting', that, notwithftanding the late un¬ paralleled aCts of violence, which ihook the Gallic em¬ pire to’ its very foundations, the progrefs of literature was but for a (hort time impeded, and the public academies are now encouraged and protected. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin, was founded in 1700, by Frederic I. king of Prullia, on the model of that of England; excepting that, beiides natural knowledge, it likewife comprehends the Belles Lettres. In 1718, it was ordained that the prefident fhall be one of the coun- fellors of date, and nominated by the king. The mem¬ bers were divided into four clades; the fird for profecu- ting phydcs, medicine, and chemidry; the fecond for mathematics, adronomy, and mechanics; the third for the German language, and the hidory of the country; the fourth for oriental learning, particularly as it may concern the propagation of the gofpel among infidels. The great promoter of this inditution was the celebrated M. Leib¬ nitz, who was made director. The fird volume of their tranfaftions was publidied in 1710, under the title of Mif- cellanca Berolincnfia ; and, though they received but few marks of the royal favour for fome time, they continued topubli'h new volumes in 1723, 1727, 1734, and 1740. At lad, Frederic II. the renowned king of Prudia, gave new vigour to this academy, by inviting to Berlin fuch foreign¬ ers as were mod didinguifhed for their merit in literature, and encouraged his fubjeCts to profecute the dudy and cultivation of the liberal fciences by giving ample rewards ; and thinking that the academy, indead of having fome opulent nobleman for its prefident, would find an advan¬ tage in having a man of letters at its head, he conferred that honour on M. Maupertuis. At the fame time he gave a new regulation to the academy, and took upon him- felf the title of its protestor. The academids hold two public ademblies annually, at the lad of which is given a gold medal of 50 ducats value : the fubjeCt for this prize is fuccedively, natural philofophy, mathematics, meta- phyfics, and erudition. The Imperial Academy of Sciences at Pcterjhurgh , was pro¬ jected by Czar Peter the Great. That monarch having, during his travels, obferved the advantage of public fo- cicties for the encouragement and promotion of literature, formed the dedgn of founding an academy of fciences at Peterfburgh. By the advice of Wolf and Leibnitz, whom he confulted on this occafion, the fociety was regulated, and feveral learned foreigners were invited to become members. The emperor himfelf drew the plan, and fign- ed it on the 10th of February, 1724; but was prevented by the fuddennefs of his death, from carrying it into exe¬ cution. His deceafe, however, did not prevent its com¬ pletion: for, on the 21ft of December, 1725, the emprefs Catharine I. eftablidied it on the original plan; and on the 27th of the fame month the fociety was fird aflembled. The emprefs fettled a fund of 4982I. per annum for the fupport of the academy ; and fifteen members, all emi- A C A nent for their learning and talents, were admitted and pen- fioned, under the title of profeffors in the various branches of literature and fcience. The moil diftinguifhed of thefe profeflors were Nicholas and Daniel Bernoulli, the two De I-ifles, Bulfinger, and Wolf. During the fhort reign of Peter II. the falaries of the members were difeontinued, and the academy was utterly neglebted by the court ; but it was again patronized by the emprefs Anne, who even added a feminary for the edu¬ cation of youth, under the fuperintendance of the profef¬ fors. Both inftitutions fiouriihed for fome time under the direction of baron Korf; but upon his death, towards the latter end of Anne's reign, an ignorant perfon being ap¬ pointed prefident, many of the mod able members quitted Ruflia. At the acceffion of Elizabeth, new life and vi¬ gour were again redored to the academy : the original plan was enlarged and improved; fome of the mod learned fo¬ reigners were again drawn to Peterfburgh ; and, what was confidered as a good omen for the literature of Ruflia, two natives, Lomonofof and Rumovfky, men of genius and abilities, who had profecuted their dudies in fo, reign univerfities, were enrolled among its members. The an¬ nual income was now increafed to 10,659!. and foon after¬ wards the new inditution took place. The prefent emprefs Catharine II. with her ufual zeal for promoting the dilfufion of knowledge, has taken this ufeful fociety under her more immediate protection. She has altered the court of directors greatly to the advantage of the whole body ; die has corrected many abufes, and has infufed a new fpirit into their refearches. By her majedy’s particular recommendation, the mod ingenious profelfors have vifited the various provinces of her vad do¬ minions; and, as the fund of the academy was not diffid¬ ent to fupply the whole expence or thefe feveral expedi¬ tions, the emprefs bedowed a largefs of 2000I. which die dill renews as often as occafion requires. In thefe tra¬ vels, they were ordered to purfue their inquiries upon the different forts of earths and waters ; upon the bed methods of cultivating the barren and defert fpots ; upon the local diforders incident to men and animals, and the mod effica¬ cious means of relieving them; upon the breeding of cattle, and particularly of dieep ; on the rearing ot bees and filk-worms ; on the different places and objeCts for fifhing and hunting; on minerals ; on the arts and trades; and on forming a Flora Ruflica, or collection of indigenous plants: they were particularly indruCted to rectify the longitude and latitude of the principal towns : to make adronomical, geographical, and meteorological, obferva- tions; to trace the courfe of the rivers; to take the mod exaCt charts; and to be very didinCt and accurate in re¬ marking and defcribing tire manners and cudoms of the different people, their drelfes, languages, antiquities, tra¬ ditions, hidory, religion ; and, in a word, to gain every in¬ formation which might tend to illudrate the real date of the whole Ruffian empire. In confequence of thefe ex¬ peditions, perhaps no country can boad, within the Ipace of fo few years, fuch a number of excellent publications on its internal date, on its natural productions, on its to¬ pography, geography, and hidory; on the manners, cuf- toms, and languages, of the different people, as have if- fued from the prefs of this academy. The fird tranfaCtions of this fociety were publidied in 1728, and intitled, Commentarii Academia Scicntianm Impe¬ rials Petropolitance ad anno 1726, with a dedication to Pe¬ ter II. The publication was continued under this form until the year 1747, when its tranfaCtions were called Novi Commentarii Academia, &c. In 1777 the academy again changed the title into Atla Academice Scientiarum Imperials Petropolitance, and likewife made fome alteration in the arrangement and plan of the work. Under the new title of A£la Academia:, feveral volumes have been given to the public, and two are printed every year. Thefe tranlac- tions abound with ingenious and elaborate difquifitions upon various parts of fcience and natural hidory, and which refleCt the greated honour upon their authors; and A C A it may not be an exaggeration to aflert, that no fociety in Europe has more diltinguifned itfelf for the excellence of its publications, and particularly in the more abftrul'e parts of the pure and mixed mathematics. The academy is fiill compofed, as at firft, of fifteen profelT'ors, befides the prefident and director. Each of thefe profelTors has a houfe and an annual llipend from 200I. to 600I. Belide the profelTors, there are four adjuncts, who are penlioned, and who are prefent at the fittings of the fociety, and fucceed to the firft vacancies. The building and apparatus of this academy are extra¬ ordinary. There is a fine library, confiding of 40,000 curious books and manufcripts. — There is an extend ve Riufuem, in which the various branches of natural hiftory, &c. are diflributed in different apartments : it is extreme¬ ly rich in native productions, having been confiderably augmented with a variety of fpecimens collected by Pallas, Gmelin, Guldenftaedt, and other learned profeff’ors, dur¬ ing their late expeditions through the Ruffian empire. The fluffed animals and birds occupy one apartment. The chamber of rarities, the cabinet of coins, See. contain innumerable articles of the higheft curiolity and value, not to mention Cox’s Mufeum ^nd other valuable curiolities purchafed from thiscountry. The fociety has this modeft motto, Paulatim. Tim Academy of Sciences at Bologna, called the Injlitule of Bologna, was founded by Count Marligli in 17 1 2, for the cul¬ tivating of phylics, mathematics, medicine, chemiftry, and natural hiftory. Its hiftory is written by M. de Linders, from memoirs furnifhed by the founder himfelf. The Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, or Royal Swedift Aca¬ demy, owes its inftitution to fix perfons of diftinguifhed learning, amongft whom was the celebrated Linnaeus; they originally met on the 2d of June, 1739, formed a private fociety, in which fome differtations were read; and in the latter end of the fame year rheir firft publication made its appearance. As the meetings continued and the members increafed, the fociety attracted the notice of the king, and was, on the 31ft of March, 1741, incorporated under the name of the Royal Swedifti Academy. Not receiving any penfion from the crown, it is only under the protection of the king, being directed, like our Royal Society, by its own members. It has now a large fund, which has chiefly arifen from legacies and other donations ; but a profeffor of experimental philofophy, and two fecretaries, are ftill the only perfons who receive any falaries. The differta¬ tions read at each meeting are collected and publifhed four times in the year ; they are written in the Swedifti lan¬ guage, and printed in oCtavo, and the annual publications make a volume. The firft forty volumes, which were finifhed in 1779, are called the Old Tranfaftions ; for in the following year the title was changed into that of New Tranfaclions. The king is fometimes prefent at the ordi¬ nary meetings, and particularly at the annual affembly in April for the election of members. Any perfon who fends a treatife which is thought worthy of being printed, receives the tranfaClions for that quarter gratis, and a di¬ ver medal, which is not efteemed for its value, being worth only three (hillings, but for its rarity and the honour con¬ veyed by it. All the papers relating to agriculture are put forth feparately under the title of Oeconomica aCla. Annual premiums, in money and gold medals, principally for the encouragement of agriculture and inland trade, are alfo diftributed by the academy. The Royal Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen, owes its infti¬ tution to the zeal of fix literati, whom Chriftian VI. in 1742, ordered to arrange his cabinet of medals. The count of Holftein was the firft prefident ; and the fix perfons who firft formed the defign, were John Gram, Joachim Frede¬ ric Ramus, Chriftian Louis Scheid, Mark Woldickey, Eric Pontopidan, and Bernard Moelman. Thefe perfons, occafionally meeting tor that purpofe, extended their de- figns ; aff’cciated with them others who were eminent in fe¬ deral branches of fcience; and forming a kind of literary fociety, employed themfel ves in fearching into, and explain- Vol. I. No. 3. A C A 45 ing the hiftory and antiquities of their country. The count of Holftein warmly patronized this fociety, and recom¬ mended it fo ltrongly to Chriftian VI. that, in 1743, his Danilh majefty took it under his protection, called it the Royal Academy of Sciences, endow'ed it with a fund, and ordered the members to join to their former purfuits, na¬ tural hiftory, phylics, and mathematics. In confequence of the royal favour, the members engaged with frelh zeal in their purfuits; and the academy has publifhed twenty volumes in the Danilli language, fome whereof have been tranflated into Latin. The American A.cadcmy of Sciences, was eftablifhed in 1780 by the council and houfe of reprefentatives in the province of Maffachufet’s Bay, for promoting the knowledge of the antiquities of America, and of the natural hiftory of the country ; for determining the ufes to which its various na¬ tural productions might be applied; for encouraging me¬ dicinal difcoveries, mathematical difquilitions, philofophi- cal inquiries and experiments, aftronomical, meteorologi¬ cal, and geographical, obfervations, and improvements in agriculture, manufactures, and commerce; and, in ffiort, for cultivating every art and fcience which may tend co ad¬ vance the intereft, honour, dignity, and happinefs, of a iree, independent, and virtuous, people. The members ot this academy are never to be more than 200, nor lefs than 40. VI. Academies or Schools of Arts; as that at Peterlburgh, which was eftablilhed by the emprefs Eliza¬ beth, at the fuggeftion of count Shuvalof, and annexed to the academy of fciences: the fund w'as4oool. per annum, and the foundation for 40 fcholars. The prefent emprefs has formed it into a feparate inftitution, enlarged the an¬ nual revenue to 12,000k and augmented the number of fcholars to 300; fhe has alfo conliruCted, for the ufe and accommodation of the members, a large circular building, which fronts the Neva. The fcholars are admitted at the age of fix, and continue until they have attained that of 18 ; they are clothed, fed, and lodged, at the expence of the crown. They are all inftruCted in reading and writing, arithmetic, the French and German languages, and draw¬ ing. At the age of 14 they are at liberty to choofe any of the following arts, divided into four dalles. 1. Paintingin all its branches of hiftory, portraits, battles, and land- fcapes; architecture ; Mofaic ; enamelling, &c. 2. En¬ graving on copper-plates, feal-cutting, &c. 3. Carving in wood, ivory, and amber. 4. Watch-making, turning, inftrument-making, calling ftatues in bronze and other me¬ tals, imitating gems and medals in palle and other coinpo- fitions, gilding, and varnilhing. Prizesare annually d'ltri- buted to thofe who excel in any particular art ; and from thofe who have obtained four prizes, twelve are leleCled, who are fent abroad at the charge of the emprefs. A cer¬ tain fum is paid to defray their travelling expences; and when they are fettled in any town, they receive an annual falaryof 60I. which is continued during four years. 'There is a fmallalTortment of paintings for the ufe of the fcholars ; and thofe who have made great progrefs are permit¬ ted to copy the pictures in the emprefs’s collection. For the purpofe of defign, there are models in plaifter of the bed antique ftatues in Italy, all done at Rome, of the lame lize with the originals, which the artifts of the academy^ were employed to call in bronze. The Royal Academy of Arts in London, was inllituted for the encouragement of Dcfigning, Painting , Sculpture, &c. See. in the year 1768. This academy is provided with a noble fet cf apartments in the front of Somerfet-place, under the immediate patronage of the king, and under the direClion of forty artifts of the firft rank in their feveral profeffions. It furnilhes, in winter, living models of dif¬ ferent characters to draw after; and in fummer, piodels of the fame kind to paint after. Nine of the abielt academi¬ cians are annually eleCted out of the forty, whole buiinefs is to attend by rotation, to fet the figures, to examine the performance of the ftudeuts, and to give them neceffary inftruCtions. There arelikewife four profelTors, ol Paint- N i«S» 46 A C A ing, of Architecture, of Anatomy, and of Perfpe&ivc, who annually read public left u res on the fubjedts of theirfeve- ral departments ; befides a prefiaent, a council, and other officers. The admiffion to this academy is free to all Un¬ dents properly qualified to reap advantage from the (In¬ dies cultivated in it ; and there is an annual exhibition of paintings, fculptures, and deligns, open to all artifts of di- ftinguilhed merit, the elegance and utility of which does infinite honour to the kingdom. The Academy of Painting and Sculpture at Paris. This took its rife from the difputes that happened between the mailer painters and fculptors in that capital; in confe- quence of which, M. Le Brun, Sarazin, Corneille, and others of the king’s painters, formed a defign of inftituting a particular academy ; and, having prefented a petition to the king, obtained an arret dated Jan. 20, 1648. In the beginning of 1655, they obtained from Cardinal Mazarin a brevet, and letters patent, which were regiftered in par¬ liament ; in gratitude for which favour, they chofe the car¬ dinal for their protestor, and the chancellor for their vice- proteftor. In 1663, by means of M. Colbert, they ob¬ tained a penlion of 4000 livres.' The academy confifts of a proteftor ; a vice-proteftor ; a direftor; a chancellor; four reftors ; adjuncts to the reftors; a treafurer; four profelfors, one of which is profeffor of anatomy, and ano¬ ther of geometry; feveral adjuncts and counfellors, an hiftorio'grapher, a fecretary, and two ulliers. There is alfo an Academy of Painting, Sculpture, &c. at Rome, eltabliflied by Lewis XIV. wherein thofe who have gained the annual prize at Paris are intitled to be three years entertained at the king’s expence, for their further improvement. The Academy of Architecture, eltabliflied by M. Colbert in 1671, confilting of a company of Ikilful architefts, un¬ der the direction of the fuperintendant of the buildings. VII. Academies of Law ;- as that famous one at Be- ryta, and that of the Sitientes at Bologna. VIII. Academies of History ; as the Royal Acade¬ my of PortugueJ'e Hifory at Lijbon. This academy was inlti - tuted by king John V. in 1720. It confilts of a direftor, four cenlors, a fecretary, and fifty members; to each of whom is affigned fome part of the ecclefialtical or civil hif- tory of the nation, which he is to treat either in Latin or Portugiiefe. In the church hiltory of each diocefe, the prelates; fynods, councils, churches, inonafteries, acade¬ mies, perfons illuftrious for fanftity or learning, places famous for miracles or reiics, mult be diltinftly related in twelve chapters. The civil hiltory comprifes the trarif- aftions of the kingdom from the government of the Ro¬ mans down to the prefent time. The members who refide in the country are obliged to make collections and extraftts out of all the regilters, &c. where they live. A medal was Itruck by this academy in honour of their prince ; the front of which was his effigy, with the inscription Johannes V. Lufitanorum Rex-, and, on the reverfe, the fame prince is reprefented Handing, and raifing Hiltory almolt prolirate before him, with the legend Hijloria Refuges. Academy of Suabian Hifory at Tubingen, was lately efta- blilhedby fome learned men, for publilhing the belt hifto- rical writings, the lives of the chief hiftorians, and com¬ piling new memoirs, on the feveral points and periods thereof. IX. Academies of Antiquities; as that at Corto¬ na in Italy, and at Upfal in Sweden. The firlt is defigned for the ftudy of Hetrurian antiquities : the other for illuf- trating the northern languages, and the antiquities of Swe¬ den, in which notable difeoveries have been made by it. The head of the Hetrurian academy is called Lucomon, by which the ancient governors of the country were diltin- guifhed. One of their laws is to give audience to poets only one day in the year; another is to fix their felfions, and impofe a tax of a dillertation on eacli member in his turn. The Academy of Medals and Infcriptions at Paris was fet on foot by M. Colbert, under the patronage of Lewis XIV. A C A in 1663, for the ftudy and explanation of ancient monu¬ ments, and perpetuating great and memorable events, by coins, relievos, infcriptions, &c. — One of the firlt under¬ takings of this academy, was to compofe, by means of me¬ dals, a connected hiltory of the principal events of Lewis XIV’S reign; but in this defign they met with great diffi¬ culties, and of confequence it was interrupted for many years ; but at length, it was completed down to the advance¬ ment of thedukeof Anjou to the crown of Spain. — lnthis celebrated work, the eftablifhment of the academy itfelf was not forgot. The medal on this fubjeft reprefents Mercury fitting, and writing with an antique Itylus on a table of brafs ; he leans with his left hand upon an urn full' of medals, and at his feet are leveral others placed upon a card: the legend, Rerum gef arum fides-, and on the ex¬ ergue, Academia regia inferiptionum et numifnatum , infituta M.DC.LXIII. fignifying that the Royal Academy of Me¬ dals and Infcriptions, founded in 1663, ought to give to future ages a faithful teftimony of all great aftions. Be¬ fides this work, we have feveral volumes of their memoirs ; and theirhiltory, writtenandcontinuedby their fecretaries. X. Academies of Belles Lettres, are thofe wherein eloquence and poetry are chiefly cultivated. Thefe are very numerous in Italy, and not uncommon in France. The Academy ofUmidiat Florence has contributed greatly to the progrefs of the fciences by the excellent Italian tranllations given, by fome of its members, of the ancient Greek and Latin hiftorians. Their chief attention is to the Italian poetry, at the fame time that they have applied themfelves to the polilhing of their language, which pro¬ duced the Academy della Crvfca. The Academy of Humorifs, Umorifti, had its origin at Rome from the marriage of Lorenzo Marcini, a Roman gentle¬ man ; at which feveral perfons of rank were guefts; and, it being carnival time, to give the ladies fome diverfion, they took themfelves to the reciting of verfes, fonnets, fpeeches, firlt extempore, and afterwards premeditately; which gave them the denomination of Belli Humori. After foipe experience, coming more and more into the tafte of thefe exercifes, they refolved to form an Academy of Bel¬ les Lettres ; and changed the title of Belli Humori for that of Humorijli : chooling for their device a cloud, which, af¬ ter being formed of exhalations from the fait waters of the ocean, returns in a gentle fweet fliower; with this motto from Lucretius, Redit agmine dulci. In 1690, the Academy of Arcadi was eltabliflied at Rome, for reviving the ftudy of Poetry and of the Belles Lettres. Befides molt of the politer wits of both fexes in Italy, this academy comprehends many princes, cardinals, and other eccleliaftics ; and, to avoid difputes about pre-eminence, all appear mafked after the manner of Arcadian (hepherds. Within ten years from its firft eltabliihment, the number of academifts amounted to fix hundred. They hold alfem- blies feven times a year in a mead or grove, or in the gar¬ dens of fome nobleman of diftinftion. Six of thefe meet¬ ings are employed in the recitation of poems and verfes of the Arcadi refidingat Rome; who read their own compo- fitions; except ladies and cardinals, who are allowed to employ others. The feventh meeting is fet apart for the competitions of foreign or abfent members. This acade¬ my is governed by a cuftos, who reprefents the whole fo- ciety, and is chofen every four years, with a power of eleft- ing twelve others yearly for his afiiltance. Under thefe are two fub-cuftodes, one vicar, or pro-cuftos, and four depu¬ ties or fuperintendants, annually chofen. The laws of the fociety are immutable, and bear a near refemblance to the ancient model. • XI. Academies of Languages ; called, by fome. Grammatical Academies: as, The Academy della Cnfca at Florence, famous for its voca¬ bulary of the Italian tongue, vvasformed in 1 582, butfcarce heard of before the year 1 584, when it became noted for a difpute between Talfo and feveral of its members. Many authors confound this with the Florentine academy. The difeourfes A C A difcourfes-which Toricelli, the celebrated difcipleof Gali¬ leo, delivered in' the aflemblies, concerning levity, and the wind, the power of percuflion, mathematics, and mili¬ tary architecture, ’are a proof that thefe academifts applied themfelves to things as well as words. Tht Academy of FruElifen had its rife in 1617, at an af- femfely of feveral princes and nobility of the country, who met with a defign to refine and perfeCt the German tongue. It flourifhed long under the direction of princes of the empire, who w ere always chofen prefidents. In 1668, the number of members arofe to upwards of 900. It was prior in time to the French Academy, which only ap¬ peared in 1629, and was not eltabliihed into an academy be¬ fore the year 1635. Its hiltory is written in the German tongue by George Neumarck. The French Academy, which had its rife from a meeting of men of letters in the houfe of M. Conrat, in 1629. In 1635, it was ereCted into an academy, by Cardinal -Rich- lieu, for refining and afeertaining the French language and ftyle. — The number of its members are limited to forty ; out of whom a director, chancellor, and fecretary, are to be chofen : the two former hold, their polts for two months, the latter is perpetual. They meet three times a week in the Louvre; and, at breaking up, forty lilver medals are diltributed among them. By this diftribution, the attend¬ ance of the acadcmilts is fecured, thofe who are prefent receiving the furplus otherwife intended for the abfent. To eleCt or expel a member, at leaft eighteen are requi¬ red ; nor can any be chofen unlefs he petition for it : by this expedient, the affront of refufals from perfons eleCted is avoided. Religious are. not admitted ; nor can any per- fon be admitted on another footing than as a man of let¬ ters. The defign of this academy was to give not only rules, but examples, of good writing. They began with making fpeeches on fubjeCts taken at pleafure, about twen¬ ty of which were printed. They have been feverely fa- tirized, and their ftyle has been ridiculed as enervating in- ftead of refining the French language. The moft remark¬ able work of this academy is a dictionary of the French tongue ; which, after fifty years fpent in fettling the words and phrafes to be ufed in writing, was at laft publiftiedin the year 1694. An Academy fimilar to the above has been fet on foot at Peterfburgh, by the learned princefs Dalhkof : it confifts of l'ixty members. The plan has alfo been approved by the emprefs, who has given a fund for its fupport and efta- blifhment. The Royal Sbanifk Academy at Madrid, held its firft meet¬ ing in July 1713, in the palace of its founder, the Duke d’Efcalona. It conlifted at firft of eight academifts, in¬ cluding the duke; to which number fourteen others were afterwards added, the founder being chofen prefidenc or director. In 1714, the king granted them his confirma¬ tion and protection. Their device is a crucible in the middle of the fire, with this motto, Lympia, fya, y da ef- plcndor -, “ It purifies, fixes, and gives brightnefs.” The number of members is limited to twenty-four; the Duke d’Efcalona to be director for life, but his fucceiTors cho¬ fen yearly, and the fecretary to be perpetual. Their ob- jeCt, as marked out by the royal declaration, was to culti¬ vate and improve the national language : they were to begin with chpofing carefylly fuch words and phrafes .as have been ufed by the heft Spanifh writers; noting the low, barbarous, or obfolete, ones ; and compofing a dic¬ tionary wherein thefe may be diftinguiftied from the form¬ er.— For a further account of fimilar eftablilhments, fee the article Society. - Academy is alfo a term for fchools and other femina- ries of learning among the Jews, where their rabbins and do&ors inftruCted their youth in the Hebrew language, and explained to them the Talmud and the fecrets'or the Cabbala. Thofeof Tiberias and Babylon have been moft noted. • The Romans had a kind of military academies, eftablilh- ed in all the Cities oi Italy, under the name of Campi A C JE 47 Martis. Here the youth were admitted to be trained for war at the public expence. The Greeks, befides acade¬ mic's of this kind, had. military profelfors called TaElici , who taught all the higher offices of war, &c. See. We have two royal academies of this kind in England, the expences of which are defrayed by the government ; the one at Woolwich, for the artillery and military engi¬ neers; and the other at Portfmouth, for the navy. The former was eftablifhed by his late majefty king George II. in 1741, for inftrudting perfons belonging to the military part of the ordnance, in the feveral branches of the ma¬ thematics, fortification, See. proper to qualify them for the fervice of artillery, and the office of engineers. This in- ftitution is under the direction of the mafter- general' and board of ordnance for the time being: ind at firft the lectures cl the mafters in the academy were attended by the practitioner-engineers, with the officers, ferjeants, cor¬ porals, and private men of the artillery, befides the ca¬ dets. At prefent, however, none are educated there but the gentlemen cadets, to the number of 90 or 100, where they receive an education perhaps not to be obtained or purchafed for money in any part of the world. The maf- ter-general of the ordnance is always, captain of the ca¬ dets’ company, and governor of the academy ; under him are a lieutenant-governor, and an infpedtor of ftudies. The mafters have been gradually increafed, from two or three at firft, now to the number of twelve, namely, a profeftbr of mathematics, and two other mathematical mafters, a profelTcr of fortification and an afliftant, two drawing- mafteTs, two French mafters, with mafters for fencing, dancing, and chemiftry. This inftitution is of the greateft confequence to the ftate, and it is hardly credible that fo important an objeft Ihould be accompliflied at fo trifling an expence. It is to be lamented, however, that the academy is fixed in fo unhealthy a fituation ; that the leCtu re- rooms and cadets’ barracks are fo fmall as to be infufficient for the purpofes of the inftitution; and that the falaries of the profelfors and mafters ffiould be fo ina¬ dequate to their labours, and the benefit of their fervices. The Royal Naval Academy at Portfmouth was founded by George I. in 1722, for inftrufting young. gentlemen in the fciences ufeful for navigation, to breed officers for the royal navy. The eftablilhment is under the direction of the board of admiralty, who give falaries to two mafters, by one of whom the ftudents are boarded and lodged, the expence of which is defrayed by their own friends, no¬ thing being fupplied by the government but their educa¬ tion. Academy is likewife a name given to a riding-fehool, where young gentlemen are taught to ride the great horfe, &c. and the ground allotted is uliially called the Manege. Academy Figure, a drawing of a naked man or wo¬ man, taken from the life ; which is ufually done on paper with red or black chalk, and fometimes with, paftils or crayons. ACADIE, Or Ac ady, in geography, a name formerly given to Nova Scot: or New Scotland, in America. See Nova Scotia. ACH2NA,/i in antiquity, a Grecian meafure of length, being a ten-feet red, uil-d in meafuring their lands. Ac£na ,f. [azsm*, Gr. a thorn. J In botany, a plant of the tetrandria monogynia clafs. The generic characters are —Calyx: peri:, r . .m four-leaved; leaflets ovate, con¬ cave, equal. permanent. Corolla: none, unlefs the calyx be termed as -:h. Stamina: filaments equal, of middle length, o-pp ;ute to the calyx. Aniherae quadrangular, twin, er®|t. Piftillum: germ inferior, o'oovate, hifpid. Style very fmall, beat in on one fide. Stigma a fmall, ma¬ ny-cleft, thick fill, coloured, membrane. Pericarpium: a dry, obovate, one-celled, berry, befet with fpines bent backwards. Seed: jingle. — EJfential CharaElcr. Calyx: four-leaved. Corolla: four-petalled. Berry dry, infe¬ rior, one-feeded, with fpines bent backwards. — This is a Mexican plant. Perennial, woody, very-branching; the branches very long. Stems many, Ihrubby, rather ereCt, two 4? A C A two feet high. Leaves pinnate, fcattered, ftieathing ; leaf¬ lets fertile, approximating, pubefcent underneath : the firft pairs very fmall, linear, acute, quite entire; from four to eight large pairs, oblong, ferrate; the ferratures bearded at the end. Spikes axillary, ancipital, erebl, a little rigid, fix or fev'en inches long. Brabtes ovate-oblong, concave, fo near the calyx as eafily to be taken for a part of it. Flowers fubfeflile, alternate. ACAJOU, and Acajuba,/. in botany. See Ana- cardium. ACALANDRUS, a river falling into the. bay of Ta- rentum, not far from the Metapontum (Pliny, Strabo); now Fiume de Rofetto. AC ALEPTIC,_/. in ancient profody, a complete verfe. ACALYPHA,/ f to jj-vi e^eu a-tpr,)/^ Gr. not being pleafant to handle. ] In botany, a genus of the monoecia monadelphia clafs, ranking in the natural order of tricoccte. The generic charabfers are — (male flowers crowded above the females) Calyx : perianthium three or four leaved; leaflets rounailh, concave, equal. Corolla: none. Stamina: filaments eight to fixteen, fliort, crowded, connebled at the bafe. Antherse roundifh. — Female flowers fewer, below the others, received into a large divided involucre. Calyx: perianthium three leav¬ ed; leaflets fubovate, concave, converging, fmall, per¬ manent. Corolla: none. Piftillum : germ roundifh. Styles three; branching, ufually three-parted, long. Stig¬ mas Ample. Pericarpium : capfule roundifh, three-fur- rowed, three-celled ; the valves gaping two ways. Seeds : folitary, roundifh, very large. — EJfential Character. Male. Calyx, three or four leaved. Corolla, none. Stamina, eight to fixteen.' — Female. Calyx, three-leaved. Corolla, none. Styles, three. Capfule three-grained, three-cel¬ led. Seed, one. Species, i. Acalypha Virginica, or Virginian acalypha. Female involucres heart-fhaped gafhed : leaves ovate-lan¬ ceolate longer than the petiole. This fort grows naturally in Virginia, and feveral other parts of North America ; alfo in Ceylon. It is an annual plant, feldpm more than a foot high, fending out feveral fide-branch.es towards the bottom: the leaves are very like thofe of broad-leaved pellitory of the wall : the flowers are produced in fmall clufters in July and Auguft: thefe make but a poor ap¬ pearance, and refemble thofe of pellitory fo much, that they may eafily be miftaken for them at a little diflance. 2. Acalypha virgata, or Jamaica acalypha. Female fpikes with involucres heart-fhaped, ferrate; male ones diftinbt, naked ; leaves lanceolate-ovate. This is a native of the warmed countries, and grows plentifully in Jamai¬ ca. This is alfo an annual plant, which in England fel- dom exceeds the former in ftature. The leaves greatly refemble thofe of the annual nettle, and fting full as much when touched. 3. Acalypha I ndica, or Indian acalypha. Female in¬ volucres heart-fhaped flightly notched : leaves ovate fhort- er than the petiole. This fpecies was difeovered in great plenty by Dr. Houftoun, at La Vera Cruz. It is an inha¬ bitant of marfhy places, and grows about three feet high, with an herbaceous fialk : leaves alternate, differing much in their figure ; fome plants having them long and narrow, others broad like thofe of the chefnut-tree, and deeply veined. Thefe varieties arife from the feed of the fame plant. It is found alfo in the Eaft Indies upon dunghills, whence it has the name of Kupamenija, i. e. duno'-lovino-. It is annual, and flowers in July. The Items are round, firiated, branching, a foot high : at the joints are roundifh fmooth leaves, which are flightly notched, and refemble thofe of mercury; whence, and from tire tricoccous cap¬ fule, thefe plants are called by fome Three-J'eeded Mercury. A fpike comes out from the axils with fix, feven, or eight, female flowers. The involucres are ftem-clafping, each having one female flower, with male flowers terminating the fpike. 4. Acalypha villofa, or villous acalypha. Female in¬ volucres very fjnail, toothed, and extremely villous ; fpikes A C A elongate ; leaves ovate pointed ferrate, longev than the pe¬ tiole — It was found by Mutis in the woods about Cartha- gena, where it flowers from May to Auguft. It ig an erebt branching fhrub, often fifteen feet high. The flow¬ ers are very lmall, in axillary fpikes, thofe of different fexes on diftinbt branches : the male fpike dole, cylindric, erebt : the female very loofe; calyx fiveTleaved; three ffyles, each bifid to the bafe. 5. Acalypha Auftralis, or South American acalypha. Female involucres quite entire ; leaves lanceolate obtufe. — Is a native of South America. 6. Acalypha hernandifolia. Female fpikes very long, involucres cordate ferrate; males diffinbt naked; leaves fubcordate ferrate, on very long petioles. 7. Acalypha corenfis. Female flowers terminating diffinbt, involucres three-leaved; male fpikes axillary involucred; leaves ovate ferrate. 8. Acalypha laevigata. Female fpikes with many-parted involucres; male fpikes lax naked; leaves wedge-ovate acuminate ferrulate very fmooth. 9. Aca¬ lypha elliptica. Female fpikes with involucres fhorter than the germs, ovate toothed hirfute ; males naked lax ; leaves elliptic acuminate toothed. 10. Acalypha reptans. Spikes terminating erect, flowers mixed, females lower; involucres cordate ferrate; males leaflets; leaves ovate ferrate; ftem creeping. 1 1 . Acalypha tomento fa. Fe¬ male fpikes terminating folitary, involucres many-parted ; males erebt; leaves ovate-lanceolate ferrate fcabrous vil- lous-tomentofe underneath. 12. Acalypha anguftifolia. Female flowers fubfeflile terminating, involucres ferrate; males in fpikes; leaves linear ferrate. 13. Acalypha fca- brofa. Female fpikes with cordate gafhed involucres; leaves oblong-lanceolate ferrate fcabrous. — Thefe are all natives of the Weft Indies. The feventh is a flirub fix feet in height, upright, fmooth, and having runners: and is a native of Domingo and Martinico, but moft frequent on the confines of woods in Venezuela. The eleventh and twelfth are found in Hifpaniola. The tenth is found both there and in Jamaica. The reft are inhabitants of the ifland of Jamaica. 14. Acalypha betulaefolia. Female flowers axillary fef- iile, involucres cordate crenate; males in fpikes; leaves roundifh crenate fmooth. — This is a fhrub that has very much the appearance of Betula mana. The leaves are about half an inch in length, and fome of them almoft as broad. Propagation and Culture. Thefe plants have no beauty to recommend them, and are preferved only in fome bo¬ tanic gardens for the fake of variety. If the feeds of the firft fort are permitted to fcatter, the plants will come up. in the fpring, better than if fown by hand ; and, if they are not put into the ground in autumn, they rarely grow the firff year. All the culture this plant requires, is to keep it clear from weeds, and to let it remain where it was fown, for it does not bear removing well. It flowers in Auguft, and the feeds ripen in Obfober. The fecond fort is too tender to thrive in the open air in England, therefore the feeds fhould be fown in pots, plunged into a hot-bed; and, if the plants do not come up the firft year, which often happens, the pots fhould be put under fhelter in wrtnter, and the following fpring plunged again into a hot-bed, which will bring up the plants : thefe muft be tranfplanted into other pots, and brought forward in hot¬ beds, otherwife they will not produce ripe feeds at ail. The third fpecies may be treated like the fecond : in a ftove it will flower, and in September perfebt the feeds. The other forts have not yet been introduced, but will require the fame treatment with the fecond and third. ACAMANTIS, the. ancient name of the ifland of Cy¬ prus, taken from one of its promontaries fttuated to the weft, and called Acamas. Teos in Ionia was alfo called thus from Acamus the founder. ACAMAS, or Acamantis, the weft promontory of the ifland of Cyprus, from whence it took this ancient name ; now Cape Pifanio, or Epifanio, where formerly was a town of the fame name, now a village called Crufoccq, ACAMASs A C A ACAMas, fon of Thefeus, followed the reft of the Gre¬ cian princes to the fiege of Troy; and was deputed with Diomedes, to the Trojans, in order to get Helen reftored. Laodice, Priam’s daughter, falling in love with this prince, ftole a night with him, and had a fon by him called Mu- nitus. He was one of the heroes who concealed them- felves in the wooden horfe. One of the tribes of Athens was called Acamanticles from him, by the appointment of the oracle; and he founded a city in Phrygia Major, call¬ ed Acamantium. Homer mentions two other heroes of this name ; one a Thracian prince who came to fuccour Priam, another a fon of Antenor. ACANACEOUS PLANTS, / fuch as are armed with prickles. ACANGA,/ in botany. See Bromelia. ACANGIS, that is, Ravagers or Adventurers', a name which the Turks give their huflars or light-troops, who are generally Cent out in detachments to procure intelli¬ gence, harrafs the enemy, or lavage the country. ACANNY, a country of Guinea, long famous for pro¬ ducing and trading in very fine gold ; alfo a town or village of Guinea. Lat. 8. 30. N. Ion. o. 30. E. ACANOS, or Acanthium,/ in botany. See Ono- FORDUM. ACANTHA, f. in botany, the prickle of any plant; in zoology, a term for the fpine or prickly fins of fillies. ACANTH ABOLUS,/ in furgery, an inftrument for pulling thorns, or the like, out of the fkin. ACANTH1NE, /. any thing refembling or belonging to the herb acanthus. Acanthine garments, among the ancients, are faid to be made of the down of thiltles ; others think they were garments embroidered in imitation of the acanthus. ACANTHOIDES,/ in botany. See Carlina. ACANTHOPTERYGIOUS FISHES,/ a term ufed by Linnaeus and others for thofe fifties whofe back-fins are hard, olleous, and prickly. ACANTHOS, a town of Egypt, near Memphis, now Bifalta. Alfo a maritime town ot Macedonia, to the weft of mount Athos, a colony of Andrians, now ErilFo; near which Was ftiown Xerxes’ ditch, of feyen ftadia, in order to ieparate mount Athos from the continent, and convey his fhips, without doubling Athos, into the Singitic bay. Acanthos is alfo a town of Epirus. ACANTHUS,/ UxajGa, Gr. a thorn.] In botany, a genus of the didynamia angiofpermia clafs, ranking in the natural order of perlonatae. 1 lie generic characters are . — Calyx : perianthium with leaflets in three alternate pairs, unequal, permanent. Corolla : one-petalled unequal ; tube very fliort, clofed with a beard ; upper lip none ; un¬ der lip very large, flat, ftraight, very broad, three-lobed, obtufe, the length of the upper lip of the calyx. Stami¬ na: filaments four, fubulate, fhor.ter than the corolla, the two upper rather longer, recurved, incurved at the top. Antherie oblong, comprefted, obtufe, the lateral ones pa¬ rallel, villous before. Piftillum : germ conical. Style fi¬ liform, length of the ftamens. Stigmas two, acute, late¬ ral. Pericarpium : capfule iubovate with a point, two- celled, two-valved, with a contrary partition p claws alter¬ nate, curved, fattened to the partition. Seed-, ovate, gibbous, Angle ; fometimestwo .—EJentialCharacier. Ca¬ lyx.: two-leaved, bifid. Corolla: one-lipped, bent down, trifid. Capfule two-celled. Description. The plants of this genus are generally large, with a Angle herbaceous ftalk, and great pinnatifid leaves. The flowers are produced in terminating fpikes. Some of the fpecies are fhrubby and thorny; with undi¬ vided leaves, toothed, and having a thorn at the end of the teeth. Species. 1. Acanthus mollis, or fmooth acanthus ; the leaves Annate unarmed. — '1 his has a Hem from two to three feet in height. The leaves oblong, fmooth on both Aides, and ftiining ; from a fpan to a foot in length, divided deep¬ ly into oppofite ovate lobes, which are bluntly toothed and .finely ciliate about the edges : they are Placed ofiroundilh Vol. I. No. 4. A C A 49 petioles, with a flat channel running along the upper fur- face. Though the leaves are faid to be fmooth, yet they are not without white bridles on both fides, efpecially along the nerves. The flowers are white, and come out from about the middle to the top of the ftalk. This is the fpe¬ cies which is ufed in medicine, under the name of branca, urjina. The roots and leaves abound with a mucilage, which is readily extracted by boiling or infufion. The roots are the mod mucilaginous. Where this plant is common, they employ it for the fame purpofes to which the althaa or marfh- mallow, .and other vegetables pofleffing fimilar qualities, are applied among us. 2. Acanthus cardufolius, or thiftle-leaved acanthus. The leaves finuous-toothed thorny, fpike of flowers radi cal. — The Item is extremely (hort. Many leaves proceed almoft immediately from the root, refembling thofe of the thiftle ; whence it derives the trivial name : the divifions terminate in a tomentofe or naked fpine. The fpike of flowers is oblong, of the fame length with the leaves, or longer; and furnifhed with imbricate, nerved, ftift, fix- fpined, braftes. The calyxes are thornlefs and membra¬ naceous. Sparrmann found this plant at the Cape of Good Hope. 3. Acanthus fpinofus, or prickly acanthus, the leaves pinnatifid thorny, deeply jagged in very regular order, and each fegment is terminated with a lharp fpine ; as are alfo the petioles, and the calyx of the flowers; fo that this plant is troublefome to handle. It grows w ild in Italy and Provence; and flowers from July to September. In 1629 it was cultivated in England. Thefe plants were formerly called brank-urfme, and alfo by the vulgar appellation of bear’s-breech, from the roughnefs of this fpecies. But thefe have now become obfolete; and the fofter, more clallical, name of acanthus is generally adopted in Englifti. 4. Acanthus Diofcoridis, or acanthus of Diofcorides ; the leaves lanceolate quite entire and thorny qn the mar¬ gin. — .This, which Linnaeus fuppofes to be the genuine fpecies of Diofcorides, grows naturally intheeaft, on Le¬ banon, & c. 5. Acanthus ilicifolius, or holly-leaved acanthus ; the leaves repand tooth-thorny, Hem fhrubby prickly ; it is anever-green fhrub, rifing about four feet high, and di¬ viding into many branches; with leaves very like thofe of the common holly, both in fize and fhape. ; and armed with fpines in the fame manner. The flowers come out lingly in an upright raceme at the end ot the ftalk; they are white, and fhaped like thofe of the common acanthus, but fmaller. The calyx confifts of fix imbricate leaflets, ac¬ cording to Linnaeus. Loureiro deferibes it as having an upright border, divided into four parts ; the fegments acute, and the two outer ones larger than the others. The corolla has the tube truncate in front, and extending back¬ wards into an ovate, upright, fegment, which is (lightly trifid. The ftigma is Ample, and there are two feeds. He obferved it near Canton in China, differing from that of Cochin-china, in having two fmall concave leaflets at the bafe of the calyx ; and the truncate part of the corol¬ la emarginate. Native of the Eaft and Weft Indies, arid fome of the iflands in the South Seas. 6 . Acanthus integrifolius, or entire-leaved acanthu ; the leaves oblong entire, ftera herbaceous procumbent. Acanthus procumbens, or procumbent acanthus. Leaves oblong ferrate and ciliate, item procumbent fhrubby. 3. Acanthus furcatus, or forked acanthus; the leaves oblong tooth-thorny, ftem fhrubby, bractes terminated by a three¬ forked thorn. 9. Acanthus Capenfis, or Cape acanthus ; the leaves oblong toothed thorny, ftem fhrubby erect, b ruffes terminated by a Ample thorn. — Thefe fpecies are natives of the Cape ot Good Hope. The lart has round, oppofite, afh-coloured, branches; oppofite, fublunceqlaie, fellile, ftiff, leaves, with two fpines on each fide, arfd-'bne at the ehd; the axillary leaves are pe.tioled, longer, fofter, but thorny as well as the others. Spikes of flowers ter¬ minal, folitary, and fefiiie : the bracles referable the leaves, but arc moftly without fpines. The calyx is bivalve and O i.ueoih. $o A C A fmoo'th, the upper valve longed: the corolla has one tri- fid lip. io. Acanthus Maderafpatenfis, or Madras acanthus ; the leaves fourfold, flowers axillary, calyxes ciliate, with an herbaceous dichotomous Hem : elliptic thornlefs leaves : the outer calyx imbricated, with four pairs of obovate leaflets inclining to wedge- fliaped, and ciliate: the inner four-leaved, the two outer leaflets of which are lanceolate and longer than the others; the two inner lefs and linear. Capfule red. It is a native of the Ead Indies. Propagation and Culture. The fmooth and prickly acan¬ thus are lading' plants, which may be propagated either by feeds, or parting of their roots ; if by the former method, the feeds (hould be fown in a light dry foil, towards the end of March : when the feafon proves favourable, the plants will appear in May, and all the culture they require is to keep them clean from weeds, and, where the plants are too clofe to thin them, fo as to leave them about fix inches afunder, which will be room enough for them to grow till autumn, when they fhould be tranfplanted where they are defigned to remain. The firfl fort, and efpecially the Portuguefe variety, being more tender, ought to be planted in a warm border near a wall ; and, as thefe do not multiply fo fad by their roots, they do not require more room than three feet ; but the third fpreads its roots to a great didance, therefore mull have more than twice that room. This, being hardy, may be planted between flirubs, to fill up vacant fpaces, where it will thrive fad enough, provided the ground be light, and not over wet; and, when it is in flower, will make an agreeable variety. If this fort be propagated by its roots, the operation may be performed either in fpring or autumn; but the others mud only be removed in the fpring; for, it they are tranfplanted in the autumn, and the following winter fhould prove cold, they will run the hazard of being loll. 1 hefe plants take root very deep, fo that when they are planted in wet grounds, their roots will rot in winter. When they are once efiabliflied in a garden, they are with difficulty eradicated. The holly-leafed and Madras acanthus are too tender to thrive out of a dove in England, and can only be propa¬ gated by feeds, which do not ripen in Europe. — The other forts mud be placed among Cape plants, and treated in tire fame manner as they are. Acanthus,/, in architecture, an ornament reprefent- ing the leaves of the acanthus, ufed in the capitals of the Corinthian and Compofite orders. ACAPULCO, a conliderable town and port in Mexico, in the South Sea. It has a fine harbour, from whence a (hip annually fails to Manillain the Philippine iflands, near the coad of China in Afia; and another returns annually from thence with all the treafures of the Ead Indies, fuch as diamonds, rubies, fapphires, and other precious dones; the rich carpets of Perfia; the camphire of Borneo; the benjamin and ivory of Pegu and Cambodia; the iilks, mufl ins, and calicoes, of the Mogul’s country; the gold- dud, tea, china-ware, (ilk, and cabinets, of China and Ja¬ pan; infomuch that this Angle fhip contains more riches than many whole fleets. It was one of thefe Acapulco fhips or galleons, that commodore Anfon captured in 1743, which retrieved all the misfortunes of that celebrated voyage, for which fee Anson; and the St. Jago regifler-Ihip was alfo one of this defeription, which in 1793 was taken by the French privateer le Dumourier, and afterwards captured by Sir Andrew Snape Douglas in the Phaeton frigate, detached from admiral Cell’s fquadron, and brought into Portf- mouth. The rich cargo of this fhip, confiding of 33 chefis of gold, jewels, and plate, 680 cheds of dollars, and a pro¬ digious quantity of the choiced merchandize, loaded twen¬ ty-one waggons, which conveyed the property in caval¬ cade, under a drong detachment of dragoons, from Portf- mouth to the Tower of London, where it was fafely depofited. The fhip and cargo, after being two years in A C A litigation, produced, itisfaid, upwards of 900,000!. which was divided amongfi the captors in 1795. The goods brought by thefe fhips to Acapulco are car¬ ried to the city of Mexico by mules and pack-horfes; and from thence to Vera Cruz on the North Sea, in order to be (hipped for Europe. Acapulco itfelf is a fmall place, confiding only of about 200 or 300 thatched houfes. Ships arrive at the port by two inlets, feparated from each other by a fmall ifland; the entrance into them in the day-time is by means of a fea-breeze, as the failing out in the nicht- time is effefted by a land-breeze. A wretched fort^ 42 pieces of cannon, and a garrifon of 60 men, defend it. It is equally extenfive, fafe, and commodious. The bafon which conditutes this harbour is furrounded by lofty mountains, which are fo dry, that they are even deditute of water. The air here is hot, heavy, and unwholefome ; to which none can habituate themfelves, except certain ne¬ groes that are born under a fimilar climate, or fome mu- lattoes. This' feeble and miferable colony is crowded with a vad accedion to its numbers upon the arrival of the gal¬ leons, and the Spanifh regider-(hips ; when a fair is held, which continues about 30 days, to which traders flock from all the provinces of Mexico, who come to exchange Eu¬ ropean toys, their own cochineal, and about ten millions of diver (437,500k derling), for fpices, muflins, printed lin¬ ens, (ilk, perfumes, and the gold works of Afia. N. Lat. 17. 30. W. Ion. 102. 29. ACARADY, a country on the fouth coad of Guinea, remarkable for fine pure gold. ACAR AI, a town of Paraguay, in South America, built by the Jefuits in 1624. S. Lat. 26. o. Ion. 51.5. W. ACARAUNA,/! a fmall American fifli, called by our Bailors the old wife. See Labrus. ACARNA,/i in botany. See Atractylis, Cardu- us, Carlina, Cnicus. ACARNANIA, the fird county of Free Greece, or Greece Proper, bounded on the wed by the Sinus Ambra- cius, and feparated from FEtoliaby the river Achelous on the ead, and by the Sinus Ambracius from Epirus. The people were called Acarnanes, denoting perfons undiorn ; other Etolians, to the ead of the Achelous, being called Curetcs, from being fhorn. According to Lucian, they were noted for effeminacy and incontinence; hence the proverb, Porcellus Acamanius. This country was famous for an excellent breed of horfes; fo that Av.apm-oj iwsr©- is a proverbial faying for a thing excellent in its kind. It is now called la Carnia and il Def potato. ACARON, or Accaron, a town of Paledine, called Ekron in Scripture. It was the boundary of the Philif- tines to the north ; dood at fome didance from the fea, near Bethfhemefh, and was famous for the idol Baalzebub. ACARUS, / the Tick or Mite, a genus of infefts belonging to the order of aptera, or fuch as have no wings. The acarus has eight legs; two eyes, one on each fide of the head; and two jointed tentacula. The female is ovi¬ parous. Linnaeus enumerates thirty-five fpecies; of which fome are inhabitants of the earth, fome of waters; fome live on trees, others among dones, and others on the bodies of other animals, and even under the (kin. We (hall give a defeription of a few of the mod remarkable. 1. The firo, or cheefe-mite, is a very minute fpecies. To the naked eye, thefe mites appear like moving parti-- cles of dud ; but the microfcope difeovers them to be per¬ fect animals, having as regular a figure, and performing all the functions of life as perfectly, as creatures that ex¬ ceed them many times in bulk. The head is fmall in pro¬ portion to the body ; and has a fliarp fnout, and a mouth that opens and flints like a mole’s. They have two fmall eyes, and are extremely quickfighted ; and when they have been once touched with a pin, you will eafily perceive how cunningly they avoid a fecond touch. Their legs are each furniflied at the extremity with two little claws, with which the animal very nicely takes hold of any thing. The hinder part of the body is plump and bulky ; and ends in an JSo n JPuJ' tis/uxi as tfie ttcrsats, , Zz7i .>s -j- hairs. Other parts of the body are alfo befet with thin and long hairs. The males and females are.ealily dif- tinguilhed in tiiefe little animals. The females are ovipa¬ rous, as the loufe and fpider ; and from their eggs the young ones are hatched in their proper form, without having any change to undergo afterwards. I hey are, however, when fi rib hatched, extremely minute ; and, in their growing to their full lize, they call their ikins feve- ral times. Thefe little creatures may be kept alive many months between two concave glalfes, and applied to the microfcope at pleafure. They are thus often feen in coitu, conjoined tail to tail ; and this is performed by an incredi- bly fwift motion. Their eggs, in warm weather, hatch in twelve or fourteen days; but in winter they are much longer. Their eggs are fo fmall, that a regular compu¬ tation fiiows, that ninety millions of them are not fo large as a common pigeon’s egg. They are very voracious ani¬ mals, and have often been feen to eat one another. Their manner of eating is by thralling alternately one jaw for¬ ward and the other backward, and in this manner grinding their food; and after they have done feeding, they feem to chew the cud. — There are feveral varieties of this fpe- cies found in different fubftances belides cheefe; as in malt-dud, flour, oatmeal, &c. Thofe in malt-dull and oatmeal are much nimbler than the cheefe-mites, and have more and longer hairs. There are alfo a fort of wander¬ ing mites, w hich range wherever there is any thing they can feed on: they are often feen in the form of a white dull, and are not fufpecled to be living creatures. — The mite is called by authors Amply, acarus. It is an animal very tenacious of life, and will live months without food. Mr. Lewenhoek had one which lived eleven weeks on the point of a pin, on which he had fixed it for examining by his microfcope. 2. The fanguifugus. The hinder part of the abdomen is crenated, the fcutellum is oval and yellowifh, and the beak trifid. It is a native of America, and flicks fo fad on the legs of travellers, fucking their blood, that they can hardly be extracted. 3. The telariits is of a greenilh yellow colour. It has a fmall fling or w eapon, with which it wounds the leaves of plants, and occafions, them to fold backward. They are very frequently to be met with in the autumn, inclofed in the folded leaves of the lime-tree. 4. The exulcerans, or itch-acarus, is a very fmall fpe- cies: its body is of a figure approaching to oval, and lo- bated; the head is fmall and pointed ; its colour is whitilh, but it has tw'o dulky femicircular lines on the back. It has long fetaceous legs, but the two firft are fliort. It is found in puflules of the itch: authors in general have fuppofed that it caufes that difeafe : but others obferve, that if this were fo, it would be found more univerfally in thofe puflules. It is more probable that thefe only make a proper nidus for it. See the article Itch. 5. The batatas is of a blood-colour, and a little rough ; the fore pair of legs are as long as the body. It inhabits the potatoes of Surinam. 6. The ovinus, or (heep-tick, has a flat body of a round- ifh figure, but fomewhat approaching to oval, and of a yellowifh white colour, and has a Angle large round fpot on the back : the anus is viAble in the lower part of the body ; the thorax is fcarcely confpicuous ; the head is very fmall and black ; the mouth is bifid : the antennae are of a clavated figure, and of the length of the fnout ; the legs are fhort and black. It is common on fheep, and its ex¬ crements (lain the wool green: it will live in the wool many months after it is fliorn from the animal. 7. The coleoptratorum, or acarus of infefls, is extreme¬ ly minute : its body is round, reddifh, and covered with a firm and hard (kin; the head is very fmall, the neck fcarcely vifible ; the legs are moderately long, the anteri¬ or pair longer than the others ; it has a whitenefs about the anus. It is frequent on the bodies of many infebls, which it infells, as the loufe does others; it runs very 3 lwiftly: the humble-bee and many other of the larger infedts, are continually infefled with it; but none fo much as the common black beetle, which has thence been called the loufy beetle. S. The baccarum, or fcarlet tree-mite, is a fmall fpe- cies : its body is roundifh, and the back not at all flatted, as it is in many others; the fkin is fmooth, fhining, and gloffy ; and the whole animal feems dillended, and ready to burft; the colour is a bright red, but a little dufkier on the Aides than elfevrhere : the head is very fmall, and the legs fliort; there is on each fide a fmall dulky fpot near the thorax, and a few hairs grow from different parts of the body. It is very common on trees, particularly on the currant, on the fruit of which we frequently fee it running. ACASTUS, in clalfic hiilory, the fon of Pelias king of Theffaly, and one of the moll famous hunters of his time, married Hippolyta, who falling defperately in love with Peleus her fon-in-law, and he refufing to gratify her w Alli¬ es, (he accufed him to her hulband of a rape; on which he flew them both. ACA I ALECT IC,yi [anaTotAwliK©-, Gr.] A verfe which has the complete number of fyllables, without de¬ feat or fuperfluity. ACATERY, or AcATRY,yi anciently an officer of the king’s houfehold, deligned for a check betwixt the clerks of the kitchen and the purveyors. ACATH ARSI A,yi in medicine, an impurity of the blood or humours. ACATHISTUS,yi the name of a folemn hymn anci¬ ently fung in the Greek church on the Saturday of the fifth week in Lent, in honour of the Virgin, for having thrice delivered Conllantinople from the invalions of the barba¬ rous nations. ACATIUM,_/i in the ancient navigation, a kind of boat or pinnace ufed for military purpofes. Strabo de- feribes it as a privateer or pirate Hoop. ACAULIS,/! in botany, a termapplied to certain plants, the flowers of which have no pedicle or ltalk to fupport them, but rell immediately on the ground, fuch as the carline thillle, &c. ACCA (St.) bilhop of Haguflaldt, or Hexam, in Nor¬ thumberland, fucceeded Wilfrid in that fee in 709. He ornamented his cathedral in a mod magnificent manner : he furnifhed it alfo with plate and holy vellments ; and ereft- ed a noble library, confiding chiefly of ecclefiadical learn¬ ing, and a large collection of the lives of the faints, which he was at great pains to procure. He was accounted a very able divine, and was famous for his (kill in church-mulic. He died in 740, having enjoyed the fee of Hexam thirty- one years, under Egbert king of the Northumbrians. ACCA LI A, f. in Roman antiquity, folemn feflivals held in honour of Acca Laurentia, Romulus’s nurfe : they were otherwife called Laurentalia. ACCANY. SeeAcANNY. ACCAPITARE, v. n. in law, the a£t of becoming vaf- fal of a lord, or of yielding him homage and obedience. Hence, ACCAPITUM,/! fignifies the money paid by a vaffal upon his admillion to a feud. Itlikewife, in our ancient law, was ufed to exprefs the relief due to the chief lord. ACCEDAS ad Curiam, f. in the Engliih law, a writ lying, where a man has received, or fears, falfe judgment in an inferior court. It lies alfo for jullice delayed,- and is a fpecies of the w'rit R ecordare. To ACCEDE, v. n. \_accedo , Lat.] To be added to, to come to; generally ufed in political accounts; as, another power has acceded to the treaty ; that is, has become a party. To ACCELERATE, v. a. [ accclero , Lat.) T o make quick, to halle.n, to quicken motion ; to give a continual impulfe to motion, fo as perpetually to increafe : Lo ! from the dread immenfity of fpace Returning, with accelerated courfe, The rufhing comet to the fun deicends. Thomjon. Spices p ACC Spices quicken the pulfe, and accelerate the motion of the blood, and diffipate the fluids; from whence leannefs, pains in the ftomach, loathings, and fevers. Arbuthnot.— It is generally applied to matter, and tiled chiefly in phi- lofophical language ; but it is fometimes ufed on other oc¬ casions. — It may point out to a (Indent now and then, what may employ the mod ufeful labours of his thoughts, and accelerate his diligence in the mod momentous enquiries. Waits. ACCELERATION,^ \acceleratio, Lat.] The aft of quickening motion. The (late of the body accelerated or quickened in its motion. The aft of haftening. — Confl- dering the languor enfuing' that action in forne, and the vifible acceleration it nraketh of age in molt, we cannot but think venery very much abridgeth our days. Brown. Acceleration, in mechanics, the increafe of velo¬ city in a moving body. Accelerated motion is that which continually receives frefli acceflions of velocity. Accele- rationltands direCtly oppofed to retardation, which denotes a diminution of velocity. It is chiefly ufed in phyflcs, in refpeCt of falling bodies, i. e. of heavy bodies tending to¬ wards the centre of the earth by the force of gravity. That natural bodies are accelerated in their defcent, is evident from various conliderations, both d priori and ■pofieriori. Thus, we adlually find, that the greater height a body falls from, the greater impreflion it makes, and the more vehemently does it Hr ike the fubjeCt plane, or •other obllaciev Various were the fyltems and opinions which phiiofo- phers produced to account for this acceleration. But the immediate caule of acceleration is now futficiently obvi¬ ous ; the principle of gravitation, which determines the body to defeend, determining it to be accelerated by a ne- ceflary confequence. Suppofe a body let fall from on high : the primary caufe of its beginning to defeend is doubtlefs the power of gra¬ vity; buc when once the defcent is commenced, that date •becomes in feme meafure natural to the body ; fo that, if left to itlelf, it would perfevere in it for ever, even though the firft caufe fliould ceafe : as we fee in a Hone cad with the hand, which continues to move after it is left by the caufe that gave it motion. But, betide the propenlity to defeend imp re (Ted by the fi-rfi caufe, and which of itfelf were fuffic'ient to continue the fame degree of motion, once begun, in infinitum ; there is a conllant acceflion of lub- fequent efforts of the fame principle, gravity, which Con¬ tinues to a6t on the body already in motion, in the fame man¬ ner as if it were at reft. Here, then, being a double caule of motion; and both afting in the fame direction, viz. di¬ rectly towards the centre of the earth ; the motion they jointly produce mult necefTarily be greater than that of any one of them.— -And the velocity thus inereafed having the fameoaufe of increafe (till peril (ting, the defcent mult neceffarily be continually accelerated. Acceleration of Bodies on inclined Planes. The ■fame general law obtains here as in bodies falling perpen¬ dicularly : the effect of the plane is to make the motion flower; but the inclination being every where equal, the retardation ariling therefrom will proceed equally in all parts, at the beginning and the ending of the motion. See Mechanics. Acceleration of the Motion of Pendulums, The motion of pendulous bodies is accelerated in their ■defcent; but in a lefs ratio than that of bodies falling per¬ pendicularly. See Mechanics and Pendulum. Acceleration of the Motion of Projectiles. See Projectile. Acceleration is alfo applied in the ancient agrono¬ my , in refpeCt of the fixed flars. This acceleration was the difference between the revolution of the primum mobile and the loiar revolution; which was computed at three minutes and fifty-iix feconds. Acceleration of a Planet. A planet is faidto be accelerated in its motion, when its real diurnal motion ex¬ ceeds its mean diurnal motion. And, on the,othcr hand, ACC the planet is faid to be retarded in its motion, when the mean exceeds the real diurnal motion. This inequality arifes from the change in the diftance of the planet from the fun, which is continually varying; the planet moving always quicker in its orbit when nearer the fun, and flow¬ er when farther off. Acceleration of the Moon, a term ufed to exprefs the increafe of the moon’s mean motion from the fun. Compared with the diurnal motion of the earth ; fo that it is now a little fwifter than it was formerly. Dr. Halley was the firfl who made this difeovery : and he was led to it by comparing the ancient eclipfes obferved at Babylon with thofe obferved by Albatennius in the ninth century, and fome of his Own time. He was not able to afeertain the quantity of this acceleration, becaufe the longitudes of Bagdad, Alexandria, and Aleppo, where the obfervations were made, had not been accurately determined. ' But lince his time the longitude of Alexandria has been afccr- tained by Chazelles; and Babylon, according to Ptolemy’s account, lies 50' eaft from Alexandria. From thefe data, Mr. Dunthorne compared feveral ancient and modern eclipfes, with the calculations of them, by his own tables, and hereby verified Dr. Halley’s opinion; for he found that the fame tables reprefent the moon’s place more backward than her true place in ancient eclipfes, and more forward than her true place in later eclipfes; and thence juflly inferred, that her motion in ancient times was flow¬ er; in later times quicker, than the tables give it. But he did not content himfelf with merely afeertaining the faCt ; he proceeded to determine the quantity of the acce¬ leration; and by means of the molt ancient eclipfe of which ary authentic account remains, obferved at Baby¬ lon in the year before Chvifl 711, he concluded, that the obferved beginning of this eclipfe was not above an hour and three-quart rs before the beginning by the tables ; and therefore the moon’s true place could precede her place by computation but little more than 50' of a degree at that time. Adhiitting the acceleration to be uniform, and the aggregate of it as the fquare cf the time, it will be at the rate of about to" in 100 years. Dr. Long attributes the acceleration above deferibed to one or more of thefe caufes: — ei her, 1. The annual and diurnal motion of the earth continuing rhe fame, the moon is really carried round the earth with a greater velocity than heretofore: or, 2. The diurnal motion of the earth, and the periodical revolution of the moon, continuing the fame, the annual motion of the earth round the fun is a little retarded; which makes the fun’s apparent motion in the ecliptic a little flower than formerly ; and, consequent¬ ly, the moon, in palling from any conjunction with the fun, fpends lefs time before (lie again overtakes the fun, and forms a fubfequent conjunction : in both thefe cafes, the motion of the moon from the fun is really accelerated, and the fynodical month actually (hortened. Or, 3. Ihe an¬ nual nic ion cf the earth, and the periodical revolution of the moon continuing the fame, the rotation of the earth round its axis is a little retarded : in this cafe, days, hours, minutes, feconds, See. by which all periods of time mult be meafured, are of a longer duration ; and conse¬ quently the fynodical month will appear to be fnortened, though it really contains the fame quantity of abfolute time as it always did. If the quantity of matter in the body of the fun be leflened by the particles of light con¬ tinually dreaming from it, the motion of the earth round the fun may become flower: if the earth encreafes in balk, the motion of the moon round the earth may be quickened thereby. See Astronomy. ACCELERATOR, /! in anatomy, the name of twa mufcles of the penis, which ferve for ejecting the urine or fefneri. See Anatomy. To ACCEND, v. a. [ acctndo , Lat.] To kindle, tofet on fire; a word very rarely ufed. ACCENDENTES, a lower order of minifters in the Romifli church, whole office is to light and trim the can¬ dles. ACCENDONESj ACC ACCENDONES, in Roman antiquity, a kind of gla¬ diators, whofe office was to excite and animate the com¬ batants during the engagement. The orthography of the word is contested: the fir ft edition of Tertullian, byRhe- nanus, has it accedones\ an ancient manufcript, accendones. Aquinas adheres to the former, Pitifcus to the latter. The origin of the word, fuppofing it accendones , is from acccn- do, I kindle ; fuppofing it accedones, from accedo, I accede, am added to. The former places their diftinguifhing cha¬ racter in enlivening the combat by their exhortations and fuggeftions ; the latter thinks them to be much the fame with what among us are called feconds, among the Italians pa- ironi: excepting that thele latter only Hand by to fee the laws of the fword duly obferved, without intermeddling to give advice or instruction. ACCENSI, in die Roman armies, certain fupernume- rary foldiers, deligned to fupply the places of thofe who fliould be killed or difabled. The accenfl, Livy obferves, were placed at the rear of the army, becaufe no great ex¬ ertions were expected from them: they were taken out of the fifth clafs of citizens. Accensi, inantiquity, dt otes an inferior order of of¬ ficers, appointed to attend the Roman magistrates, forne- what in the manner of uffiers, ferjeants, or tipftaves, among us. They were thus called from accire, to fend for; one part of their office being to call affemblies of the people, fummon parties toappear and anfwer before the judges, tkc. Accensi was alfo an appellation given to a kind of ad¬ jutants, appointed by the tribune to affift each centurion and decurion. In which fenfe, accenfus is fynonyntous with optio. In an ancient inscription, given by a Torre, we meet Accensus Equitum Romanorum ; an office ■no where elfe heard of. That author fufpedts it to be a corruption ; and inftead thereof reads, A cenfibus. ACCENSION',/! [accenflo, Lat. ] The aft of kindling, or the ftate of being kindled. — The fulminating damp will take fire at a candle, or other flame, and, upon its accenflon, gives a report like the difcharge of a gun, and makes an explofion fo forcible as fometimes to kill the mi¬ ners, fliake the earth, and force bodies of great weight and bulk from the bottom of the pit or mine. Woodward. ACCENT, f. [acccntus, I.at.] The manner of fpeaking or pronouncing, with regard either to force or elegance. The found given to the Syllable pronounced. In gram¬ mar, the marks made upon Syllables, to regulate their pronunciation. Poetically, language or words. A modi¬ fication of the voice, expreflive of the paffions or fenti- jnents:; The tender accent of a woman’s cry Will pafs unheard, will unregarded die; When the rough feantan’s louder fliouts prevail, When fair occafion fliews the Springing gale. Prior. To ACCENT, v. a. [ accentus , Lat.] formerly elevated at the Second Syllable, now at the firft. To pronounce, to Speak words with particular regard to the grammatical marks or rules. In poetry ; to pronounce or utter in ge¬ neral. To write or note the accents. We generally reck¬ on three grammatical accents in ordinary ufe, all borrow¬ ed from the Greeks, viz. the acute accent ('), which Shews when the tone of the voice is to be raifed. The grave accent (-'), when the note or tone of the voice is to be de- preffed. The circumflex accent (~ or "), is compofed of both the acute and the grave, and points out a kind of un¬ dulation of the voice. The Latins have made the fame ufe of thefe three accents. The Hebrews have a grammatical, a rhetorical, and muSical, accent ; though the firft and laft Seem, in eff'eCt, to be the fame; both being comprised under the general name of tonic accents, becaufe they give the proper tone to Syllables; as the rhetorical accents are faid to be eupho¬ nic, becaufe they tend to make the pronunciation more Sweet and agreeable. There are four euphonic accents, and twenty-five tonic: of which Some are placed above, Vol. I. No. 4. ACC 53 and others below, the Syllables; the Hebrew accents Serv¬ ing not only to regulate the rifings and fallings of the voice, but alfo to diftinguifh the feCtions, periods, and numbers of periods, in a difcourfe; and to anfwer the fame purpofes with the points in other languages. Their accents are divided into emperors, kings, dukes, &c. each bearing a title anfwerable to the importance of the distinc¬ tion its makes. Their emperor rules over a whole phrafe, and terminates the fenfe completely ; anfwering to our full- point. Their king anfwers to our colon ; and their duke to our comma. The king, however, occasionally becomes a duke, and the duke a king, as the phrafes are more or lefs Short. As to the Greek accents, now Seen both in manuferipts and printed books, there has been no lefs difpute about their antiquity and ufe than about thofe of the Hebrews. Ifaac Voffius endeavours to prove them of modern inven¬ tion; affecting, that anciently they had nothing of this kind, but only a tew notes in their poetry, which were invented by Aristophanes the grammarian, about the time of Pto¬ lemy Philopater; and that thefe were of mufical, rather than grammatical, ufe, Serving as aids in the Singing of their poems, and very different from thole introduced af¬ terwards. Ke alfo Shows from feveral ancient gramma¬ rians, that the manner of writing the Greek accents in thefe days was quite different from that which appears in our books. The ufe of accents, to prevent ambiguities, is moft re¬ markably perceived in fomeeaftern languages, particularly the Siamefe and Chinefe. Among the people of China, every word, or (which is the fame thing) Syllable, admits of five accents, as Spoken more acutely or remifsly ; and thus Stands for many different things. The fame foundjwz, according to the accent affixed to it, Signifies God, a wall, excellent, flupidity, and a goofle. The Chinefe have but 330 Spoken words in their language ; but thefe being multi¬ plied by the different accents or tones, which affect the vowels, furnifh a language tolerably copious. By means hereof, their 330 Ample Sounds come to denote 1650 tlnngs ; but, this being hardly Sufficient, they are increased further by afpirates added to each word to double the number. The Chinefe only reckon four accents; for which the miflionaries ufe the following marks, ad, a , a, a; to which they have added a fifth, thus, oi. They make a kind of modulation; wherein, prolonging the duration of the found of the vowel, they vary the tone, raffing and finking it by a certain pitch of voice : fo that their talking is a fort of mulic or finging. Attempts have been made to determine the quantity of the rife or fall in each accent by means of mufical notes; but this is hard to effeCt, as being different in different perfons. Hence the great dif¬ ficulty of the language to foreigners ; they are forced to Sing moft fcrupuloufly : if they deviate ever fo little from the accent, they Say quite a different thing from what was intended. Thus, meaning to compliment the perfon you are fpeaking to with the title Sir, you call him a beaft with the fame word, only a little varied in the tone. Accent, in mufic, is a certain enforcement of parti¬ cular founds, whether by the voice or instruments, gene¬ rally ufed at the beginning of bars. To ACCENTUATE, v. a. \_accentuet, Fr.] To place the proper accents over the vowels, ACCENTUATION, yi The aft of placing the accent in pronunciation. Marking the accent in writing. To ACCEPT, v. a. [ accipio , Lat. accepter, Fr.] To take with pleafure; to receive kindly ; to admit with approba¬ tion. It is distinguished from receive, as fpecific from gene¬ ral-, noting a particular manner of receiving. — God is no refpedter of perS'ons: but, in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteoufnefs, is’ accepted with him. Adis, x. 34. — It is ufed in a kind of juridical fenfe; as, to accept terms, accept a treaty. In the language of the Bi¬ ble, to accept perfons, is to adt with pedbnal and partial regard. It is fometimes uied with the particle of — 1 will 54 ACC appeafe him with the prefent that goeth before me, and afterward 1 will fee his face; peradventure he will accept of me. Gen. xxxii. 20. ACCEPTABILITY, /l The quality of being accept¬ able. — He hath given us his natural blood to be (bed for the remillion of our fins, and for the obtaining the grace and acceptability of repentance. Taylor. ACCEPTABLE, adj. [ acceptable , Fr. from the Latin.] It is pronounced by fome with the accent on the firl't fyi- lable, as bv Milton; by others, with the accent on the fecond, which is more analogical. That which is likely to be accepted ; grateful; pleafing. It is ufed with the particle to before the perfon accepting — I do not fee any other method left for men of that function to take, in or¬ der to reform the world, than by tiling all honeft arts to make themfelves acceptable to the laity. Swift. ACCEPTABLENESS, f. The quality of being ac¬ ceptable. ACCEPTABLY, adv- In an acceptable manner; fo as to pleafe; with the particle to.— If you can teach them to love and kelp eel: other people, they will, as your age re¬ quires it, find ways to exprels it acceptably to every one. Locke. ACCEPTANCE, f. [acceptance, Fr.] Reception with approbation. The meaning of a word as it is received or undejrftood; acceptation is the word now commonly ufed. Acceptance, in law, is as it were a kind of tacit agreement to a preceding adt, which might have been de¬ feated and avoided, were it not for Inch acceptance had. For example: If a bifiiop before the ftatute of 1 Eliz. leafed part of his bilhopric for a term of years, referving rent,, and then died; and afterwards another is made bi¬ fiiop, who accepts and receives the rent when due, by this acceptance the leafe is made good, which otherwife the new' bifiiop might have avoided. So if hujband and wife , feifed of lands in right of the wife, join and make a leafe, referving rent, and the hulband dies, after whole death the wife receives or accepts the rent ; by this the leafe is confirmed, and it fiiall bind her. So if tenant in dower leafes for years, and dies, and the heir accepts the rent. But if a parj'on makes a leafe for years not warranted by the ftatute 32 i-Ien. VIII. and which confequently is void by his death, acceptance of rent by a new parfon or fuccel- for will not make it good. 1 Saund. 241. And it a tenant for life makes a leafe for years, there no acceptance will make the leafe good, becaufe the leafe is void by his death. Dyer, 46. 239. But if tenant in tail makes a leafe for years, rendering rent, and then dies, and the iflfue accepts the rent, it fiiall bind him. But it- Inch tenant in tail makes a leafe for years to commence after his death, rendering rent; in fuch cafe, acceptance of rent by the ilfue will not make the leafe good to bar him, becaufe the leafe did not take effebt in the life of his anceftor. Flowd. 418. If an infant, accepts of rent at his full age, it makes the leafe good, and fiiall bind him. If a leafe is made on condition that the lefiee fiiall do no wajle, and he commits wafte, and afterwards the leflor accepts the rent, he cannot enter for the condition broken ; becaufe he thereby affirms the leafe to have continuance. 1 Injl. 211. If the lefl'or accepts from his tenant the laft rent due to him,' and gives the lef- fee a releafe for it ; all rent in arrear is by law prefumed to be fatisfied. 1 Injl. 373. Acceptance of a bill of exchange by the perfon on whom it is drawn (fo as to charge the drawer withcofts) mufit be in writing, under or on the back of the bill. But if he accepts it, either verbally or in writing, he thereby makes himfelf liable to pay it. If he reiufes to accept it, and it is of the value of 20I. or upwards, and exprelfed to be for value received, the perfon to whom it is made payable, or to whom it isindorfed, may p rote ft it for non-acceptance which proteft muff be made in writing, under a copy of fuch bill of exchange, by a notary public; or, if no no¬ tary public be refident in the. place, then by any other fub- fiantial inhabitant in the prefence of two witneftes: and notice of fuch proteft mull, within fourteen days after, be ACC given fo the drawer. But if the bill be accepted, and' afterwards the accepter fails or refufes to pay it within three days after it becomes due (which three days arc called days of grace), the fame mull for non-payment be protefted and notified, in like manner as for non-accept¬ ance. And, on producing the proteft, either of non-ac¬ ceptance or non-payment, the drawer is bound to make good to the payee or indorfee, not only the amount of the bill (which he is bound to do within a reafonable time after non-payment, without any proteft, by the rules of the common law), but alfo intereft and all charges, to be com¬ puted from tlie time of making the proteft. 2 Elackjl. 469. Acceptance, in the church of Rome, is put for re¬ ceiving the pope’s conftitutions, ACCEPTATION,/. Reception, whether good or bad. This large fenfe now feems wholly out of ufe. — What is new finds better acceptation, than what is good or great. Denham. — Good reception, acceptance. -“Cain, envious of the acceptation of his brother’s prayer and lacririce, flew him; making himfelf the fir ft manflayer, and his brother the firft martyr. Raleigh. — The ftate of being acceptable ; regard. Acceptance in the juridical fenfe : this fenfe oc¬ curs rarely. The meaning of a word, as it is commonly received. ACCEPTER, /. The perfon that accepts. ACCEPT1 LA LION,/! [ acceptilatio , Lat.] A term of the civil law, importing the, remillion of a debt by an ac¬ quittance from the creditor, teftifying the receipt of mo¬ ney which has never been paid. ACCEPTION, f. [acception, Fr. from acceptio, Lat.] The received fenfe of a word ; the meaning. Not in ufe. ACCESS, f [In fome of its fenfes, it teems- derived from acccjfus ; in others, from accejfio, Lat. acces, Fr.] The way by which any thing may be approached. The means,- or liberty, of approaching either to things or men. , En- creafe, enlargement, addition. It is fometimes ufed, after the French, to fignify the returns or fits of a diftemper; but this fenfe feems yet fcarcely received into our language, ACCESSARINESS,/ The ftate of being acceflary. ACCESSARY, adj. [A corruption, as it feems, of the word accejfory, which fee; but now more commonly ufed than the proper word.] That which, without being the chief conftituent of a crime, contributes to it. But it had formerly a good and general fenfe. ACCESSIBLE, adj. [ accejjibilis , Lat. accejjible , Fr. ] That which may be approached ; that which we may reach or arrive at. It is applied both to perfons and things, with the particle to. — Asanifland, we are accejjible on eve-' ry fide, and expofed to perpetual invafions; againft which it is impoflible to fortify ourfelves fufficiently, without a power at fea. Addifort. ACCESSION,/. \_acceJfto, Lat. accrjfion, Fr.] Increafe by fomething added, enlargement, augmentation. The a£t of coming to, or joining one’s felf to ; as, accejfon to a confederacy. The add of arriving at; as, the king’s ac- cejjion to the throne. Accession, inlaw, is -a method of acquiring proper¬ ty, by which, in things that have a dole connection or de¬ pendence upon one another, the property of the principal thing draws after it the property of the accelfory. Thus, the owner of a cow becomes likewife the owner of the calf. It fometimes likewife li -^ Gr.] Without a head. The term is more particularly ufed in fpeaking of certain nations, or people, reprefented by ancient natural- ills and cofmographers, as well as by fome modern tra¬ vellers, as formed without heads ; their eyes, mouths, & c. being placed in other parts. Such are the Blemmyes, a nation of Africa near the head of the Niger, reprefented to be by Pliny and Solinus ; Blemmyes traduntur capita abejfe, ore et oculis pcElore ajfixis. Ctefiasand Solinus mention others in India near the Gan¬ ges, fine cervice, oculos in humeris habentes. Mela alfo fpeaks of people, quibus capita et vultus in peElore Junt. And Sui- das, Stephanus Byzantinus, Vopifcus, and others after them, relate the like. Some modern travellers Hill pre¬ tend to find acephalous people in America. Several opinions have been framed as to the origin of the fable of the Acephali. The firft is that of Thomas Bartholin, who turns the whole into a metaphor ; being convinced, that the name Acephali was anciently given to fuch as had lefs brain, or conducted themfelves lefs by the rules of prudence, than others. Olearius rather ap¬ prehends, that the ancient voyagers, viewing certain bar¬ barous people from the coafts, had been impofed on by their uncouth drefs ; for that the Samogitians, being Ihort of ftature-, and going in the feverity of winter with their heads covered in hoods,, feem at a diftance as if they were headlefs,. ACE headlefs. F. Lafitan fays, that by Acephali are only meant, people w hofe heads are funk, below their fhoulders. In effeit, Hulfius, in his epitome of Sir Walter Raleigh’s voyage to Guaiana, alfo fpeaks of a people which that tra¬ veller found in the province of Irvipanama, between the lakes of Panama and Callipa, who had no head or neck ; and Hondius, in his map, marks the place with the figures of thefe monfters. Yet De Laet rejefts the ftory ; being informed by others, that the inhabitants of the banks of the Caora, a river that flows out of the lake of CafTipa, have their head fo far funk between their fhoulders, that many believed they had their eyes in their fhoulders and their mouths in their breads. But, though the exifience of a nation of Acephali be ill warranted, naturalifts furnifh leveral infhmces of indivi¬ duals born without heads, by fome lufus or aberration of nature. Wepfer gives a catalogue of fuch acephalous births, from Schenckius, Licetus, Paraeus, Wolfius, Mau- riceau, See. Acephalus, an obfolete term for the taenia or tape¬ worm, which was long fuppofed to be acephalous. See Taenia. The firll who gave it a head was Tulpius ; and after him, Fehr : the former even makes it biceps, or two- headed. Acephalus, isalfoufed to exprefs a verfe defedlive in the beginning. ACER,yi [according to fome from acris, on account of the hardnefs of the wood : according to others, from acre ingenium , becaufe it w’as much employed by ingenious artificers in fine works,] the Maple-tree. This belongs to the polygamia monoecia clafs, and ranks in the natural order of trihilatae. The generic charadter of the herma¬ phrodite flowers are — Calyx : perianth one-leaved, five- cleft, acute, coloured, flat and entire at the bale, per¬ manent. Corolla: petals five, ovate, broader outward, obtufe, fcarcely larger than the calyx, fpreading. Sta¬ mina : filaments eight, fubulate, fhort. Anthera; fimple : pollen cruciform.' Piftillum : germ compreffed, immerfed in a convex perforated large receptacle. Style filiform, advancing in height daily. Stigmas two (or three) point¬ ed, flender, reflex. Pericarpium : capfules the number of the ftigmas, coalefcent at the bale, roundifli, compref- fed, each terminated by a very large membranous wing. Seeds: folitary, roundifli. The male flowers are the fame with the hermaphrodites, except that they have neither germ nor flyle, but only a bifid ftigma. On the firft un¬ folding of the flower, the ftigma only appears ; and, a few days after, the ftyle. Hermaphrodite flowers in the fame umbel are often of two kinds: the lower ones feminine hermaphrodites, of which the antherte do not burft, but the piftil grow's into a fruit ; the upper ones mafeuline hermaphrodites, of which the antherae fcatter their duft, and the piftils do not grow, but fall off. — EJfential Charac¬ ter. Calyx, five-cleft ; corolla, five-petalled ; ftamina, eight (or ten) ; germs, two (or three) fuperior ; ftyle, fim¬ ple ; capfule, two (fometimes three) with one feed in each, terminated by a wing ; males, without germ or ftyle. The genus acer or maple conlifts entirely of trees, mod: of them yielding a faccharine juice from the trunk, branches, and leaves. All, except the two laft, have fim¬ ple leaves, generally palmate, or elfe divided into three or five lobes. The flowers are either in racemes or corymbs, commonly from the tides of the twigs ; of an herbaceous or yellowifli-green colour (except in the fourth) : there are males and imperfedl hermaphrodites, either mixed with or diftindt from the perfect flowers. Sometimes the petals are wanting, or elfe they referable the leaflets of the calyx fo as fcarcely to be diftinguiflied from them. Two united winged capfules generally fucceed to each perfect flower ; but fometimes there are three. Species, i . Acerfempervirens, evergreen-maple : leaves ovate, quite entire, evergreen. Mr. Miller deferibes this fpecies as a flirub, with the leaves of the colour and confidence of box. It was fent him from the Duke d’Ay- en’s garden; and he had the feeds from the Levant. Lin- A C E 6S nteus retains this as a diftindt fpecies : it appears to be but a variety, though a remarkable one, of the Cretan maple. 2. Acer tartaricum, Tartarian maple : leaves heart- fhaped, undivided ferrate, lobes obfeure ; flowers in ra¬ cemes. It is an inhabitant of fouthern RulTia ; by the Tanais, Volga, & c. The wood is whitifh, with fome brownifh veins. The feeds are ufed as aftringents by the Calmuc Tartars, boiled with milk and butter. Linnaeus deferibes this as a lofty fhrub, or rather a low tree, not exceeding twenty feet in height ; with leaves like thofeof hornbeam, having fcarcely any apparent lobes : with flow¬ ers in racemes, as in the great maple, but the raceme compound, and the flowers petaloid. They appear early, and are fometimes followed by ripe feeds in our gardens. 3. Acer pfeudoplatanus, or great maple; leaves five - loht-d, unequally ferrate, flowers in racemes. It grows wild in^hitzerland, Germany, Auflria, and Italy, in mountain- 01?$ lituations. With us it is vulgarly called the fycamore- tfefc, and by fome mock-plane. In Scotland it is known by the appellation of plane-tree. It grows to a great height, has frequently a clean ftraight bole and a fpread¬ ing top. It is in leaf by the middle of April ; and on their firft appearance the leaves are of a pleafant green, but they exude a clammy juice fo abundantly, that they attradl a variety of infects, which foon perforate and disfigure them. The bunches of flowers are in full blow within a fortnight after the appearance of the leaves ; but, being of an herbaceous colour, they make no great appearance. The great maple was formerly much planted for walks and avenues, but has lately given way to better or more lightly trees. This, however, the Norway, and fome of the reft, are peculiarly proper to make plantations near the fea, or to Ihelter other trees in that fituation ; for they refill the fpray better than 1110ft trees. They alfo do lefs damage to grafs in paftures. An enormous tree of this fort is faid to have been growing before the duke of Dor- fet’s feat at Knowle, in Kent. It is reprefented in Bude- flade’s view of that feat, and is preferved in Dr. Harris’s, hiftory of the county. It was twelve or fourteen feet in girth. The original plantations of Vauxhall and Mary- bone gardens were chiefly of this tree. Before earthen¬ ware came into ufeatthe table, the wood of the great ma¬ ple, which is foft and white, was in much requeft for trenchers. It is ftill ufed by the turners for bowls, dilh- es, & c. by the fadlers for faddle-trees ; and is recom¬ mended by Mr. Evelyn as excellent for cart and plow- timber, being light and tough. It is however inferior to the afh for thefe purpofes. In fpring and autumn, this fpecies will pour forth from the wounded Item, in the fame manner as the birch, abundance of faccharine juice ; from which a good wine may be made, as Mr. Ray affirms, from the information of Dr. Martin Lifter. There are two varieties of this tree common in the nurferies ; one which has only broader leaves and larger keys; the other with variegated leaves, producing a plealing variety in the tints of large plantations. 4. Acer rubrum, or fcarlet- flowering maple : leave*- five-lobed, llightly toothed, glaucous underneath ; pe¬ duncles very fimple and aggregate. Of this fpecies there are two varieties in the nurferies: 1. Virginian fcarlet- flowering maple. 2. Sir Charles Wager’s flowering ma¬ ple. This fort is propagated with us for the fake of the fcarlet flowers, which come out early in the fpring. In Pennfylvania, v/here it grows in the fwamps, the natives ufe it for almoft all forts of wood-work; with the bark they dye a dark-blue, and make a good black ink. The Canadians tap the tree for the juice, of which they make fugar and treacle. 5. Acer faccharinum, or American fugar maple : leaves, five-parted-palmate, point-toothed, pubefeent. This maple will grow to the height of forty feet. It has fome refemblance to the Norway, when the plan's are young ; but, as they grow up, the leaves of this are more deeply divided, and their furfaces lefs fmooth, fo that the two- fpecies are then eafily diftinguilhed. From this tree the 3 iaha,~ 64 ACE inhabitants of North America make a Very good fort of fugar, m iarge quantities, by tapping the trees early in the fpring, and boiling the juice. Large trafts in North America are covered with the fugar maple; this tree yields a fugar equal to the belt from the cane, and in great quantity, with no other labour than what women and girls can bellow, in drawing otf and boiling the li¬ quor ; and when (kilfully tapped will lad: many years. It is therefore believed by judicious perfons tliat the coun¬ try can not only fupply their own demand, but even make fugar for exportation. We are allured by Dr. Rufli, that this tree is fo far from being injured by tapping, that it yields the more fyrup the oftener it is tapped ; and that a tree flourilhed after forty-two annual operations. From twenty-three gallons and one quart of fan, procured in twenty-four hours from two trees, four pounds and thju- - teen ounces of good grained fugar have been obtained. But a tree of an ordinary fize yields in a good feafon from twenty to thirty gallons of fap, from which are made from five to fix pounds of fugar. It is fuppofed that by tranf- planting.to an open expofure, the quantity of fap may be increafed, and its quality improved. For a farmer in Pennfylvania having planted a number of thefe trees above twenty years ago in his meadow, lie obtains every year a pound of fugar from every three gallons of the fap. The feafon for tapping is in February, March, and April, ac¬ cording to the weather. Warm days and frofly nights are mod favourable to a plentiful difcharge of fap. The quantity obtained in a day from one tree is from five gal¬ lons to a pint : but twenty-three gallons were procured from a lingle tree on the 14th of April, 1789. Fora number of years many hundred private families in New York, and Pennfylvania have fupplied themfelves plenti¬ fully with this fugar. Matty have made from 200 to 400 pounds in a year. One man Ibid 600 pounds, all made with his own hands in one feafon ; another made 640 pounds, without any aflidance, in lefs than four weeks, belides attending to the other bulinefs of his farm, for which he received 1 61 . and a family confiding of a man and his two fons made 1800 pounds weight in one feafon. The quality of this fugar is fuperior to that which is made in the Welt Indies from the cane ; and it depolits lefs fe- diment when dilfolved in water. The Indians of Canada have p raft i fed the making of fugar from the maple, time out of mind, and they gained a pound of fugar from eight pints of liquor. The French began to refine it in that country towards the clofe of the lad century ; and Dr. Robinfonfent fome of the fugar to Mr. Ray in 1684. A friend of Mr. Ray’s tried the experiment with our great maple, and obtained a fugar from the juice, but in fmall quantity. 6. Acer dilfeftum, or cut-leaved maple : leaves many- parted-palmate, the divilions fubpinnatifid and ferrate. 7. Acer japonicum, or Japanefe maple: leaves many- parted, gadied, and villous ; flowers fubumbelled. 8. Acer palmatum, or hand-leaved maple : leaves palmate-ferrate fmooth, flowers in umbels. 9. Acer feptemlobum, or feven-lobed maple : leaves feven-lobed fmooth, lobes pointed, regularly and lharply ferrate. 10. Acer piftum, or painted maple : leaves feven-lobed fmooth, lobes point¬ ed entire. — Thefe five fpecies, and alfo the feventeenth, grow in Japan. 11. Acer platanoides, or Norway maple: leaves five- lobed pointed lharply toothed fmooth, flowers in corymbs. This grows to a large lize; the leaves being fmooth and of a (hining green, as large or larger than thofe of the fy- t'amore, and being feldom eaten or defaced, becaufe the tree abounds in a fltarp milky juice difliked by infects ; they have a much better appearance than thofe of the fy- camore ; and in the fpring, when the flowers are out, which are of a fine yellow colour, this tree has great beauty, Hanbury obferves, that in the autumn the leaves die to a golden-yellow colour, which produces a good ef- fiedl at that feafon, when the different tints of the decay- fag vegetable vvorid are difplayed. He lays farther that ACE it is a quick growing tree, arrives at a great bulk, and Is one of the belt trees for (heltering habitations. Linnaeus recommends it for walks and plantations ; as yielding a juice from which fugar may be made, if it be wounded in. the winter ; and as cutting out into a white fmooth wood, fit for the (locks of guns, the joiner, and the turner. Dr. Hunter obferves, that as it is a quick grower, arrives at a great bulk, and anfwers all the purpofes of the fycamore, the raifing it for ufe, as well as ornament and variety, fhould not be neglefted. Norway maple is found on mountains in the northern countries of Europe, Germa¬ ny, Switzerland, Stiria, Carniola, and Savoy. 12. Acer montanum, or mountain maple : leaves (lightly five-lobed acute ferrate, racemes compound, calyxes hairy. This is a native of North America. 13. Acer Pennfylvanicum, or Pennfylvanian maple : leaves three-lobed acuminate, (liarply double-ferrate, ra¬ cemes fiinple, calyxes fmooth. It is a fmall tree, which in fome (ituations may be conlidered rather as a fhrub. It will grow to the height of about fifteen feet, with a (len¬ der (tern, covered with awhitilh bark, and (ending forth feveral red branches. The flowers are on long pendulous racemes, of a greenifh-yellow colour. The feeds gene¬ rally fall off before they are ripe. It is a native of Penn¬ fylvania, Virginia, and Canada. The thicknefs of the: (hade, the beauty of the bark, and the tree not being lia¬ ble to infefts, would make it deln'able for plantations, were it not for the litter occafioned by the abundance of the leaves and fruits which it produces, audits being fub- jeft to be torn by dorms. 1 4. Acer campeftre, or common or fmall maple. The common maple, though it does not become a large tree, fliould not however have been degraded by Linnieus to a dirub ; nor does it make a bad figure in plantations. Eve¬ lyn fays, that by (hredding up the boughs to a head, lie has caufed it to (hoot to a wonderful height in a little time. The common maple is chiefly feen in hedge-rows and cop¬ pices. We meet witli high encomiums on this wood among the ancients; and Virgil introduces Evander fitting on a maple throne. It was chiefly valued among them for the finenefs of its grain. The timber is .far fuperior to that of the beech for all ufes of the turner, particularly didies, cups, trenchers, and bowls; and when it abounds in knots, as it very frequently does, it is highly edeemed by the joiners for inlaying, &c. On account alfo of the lightnefs of the wood, it is often ufed by mudeal indru- ment makers ; from its hardnefs, for gun-docks and other purpofes ; and from its whitenefs it was formerly in great requed .for tables. In the vale of Glouceder, where oak timber is fcarce, it is ufed for gate-dud' and other purpo¬ fes of hufbandry ; andfometi'mes ferews for cyder-predes are made of this wood : but the principal value ot the ma¬ ple is for underwood : it is of quick growth and ad'ords good fuel. 15. Acer opalus, or Italian maple: leaves roundifh five-lobed, loofely ferrate, capfules ovate, fmooth, almod upright. Thisis common in many parts of Italy, particu¬ larly about Rome and Viterbo. It is one of the loftied trees of that country, and is edeemed for the leaves, which are large, and ad'ord a great fliade ; fo that it is planted frequently there by the (ides of roads, and near habita¬ tions. This tree is not noticed by Linnaeus, and many other modern authors. It is rarely to be met with in England, though hardy enough to bear the open air ; and, being a noble tree, acquiring a condderable dature, having a fpreading head adorned with large and beautiful foliage, it deferves the attention of ornamental planters'. 16. Acer monfpelfiilanum, or Montpelier maple : leaves three-lobed very entire fmooth annual. This fpecies grows about twenty feet in height. The leaves refemble thofe of the common maple, but are of a much thicker fubdance, and not fo large ; they are of a ihining-green colour, and continue their verdure very late in the au¬ tumn, which renders this tree more valuable. At pre- fent this fort is not common in England. The flowers have little ACE little'beauty, their blow is foon over, and the feeds forne- times come to perfection with us. It is common in the South of France, and Italy: and was cultivated by Mr. Miller in 1739. 17. Acer creticum, or Cretan maple : leaves three- lobed very entire pubefcent perennial. This bears fome refemblance to the daft, and gains the fame height. The leaves of the young trees are ovate, but afterwards be¬ come fhaped like tliofe of ivy : they are of a much thinner texture than in that, and their petioles are covered with ■ a loft hairy down ; whereas thole of the other are fmooth and ftift'. Where the trees are well flieltered, they conti¬ nue green mod part of the year. The flowers are feldorn followed by good feeds, it grows naturally in the Le- vant. 18. Acer trifidum, or trifid -leaved maple: leaves un¬ divided and trifid, without indentations on the edge. The twigs are round, fmooth, and purplilh. The leaves at the ends of the twigs; fcattered, undivided, and of two or three lobes, fmooth on both tides, pale underneath, ovate and lliarp. 19. Acer negundo, or Virginian afh-leaved maple: leaves compound, flowers racemed. This is a very (trong fhooting tree, of quick growth, and is in Virginia and Ca¬ rolina one of the largeft trees of this kind. It is well adapted by its pale-green leaves, fo different in form from thofe of the other fpecies, to make a beautiful variety in woods, but they fall very foon in autumn ; and it mult be planted in places not too much expofed to violent winds, being fubject to fplit. The timber is fit for the fame tiles with that of the Norway maple and fycamore, but is foft and brittle. 20. Acer pinnatum, or w ing-leaved maple : leaves pin¬ nate : leaflets oblong quite entire. The maple of Cochin China is a tree of a middling iize, with a very hard wood, and fpreading branches. The leaves have about four pairs of alternate, fmall, fmooth, leaflets, terminated by an odd one. The flowers are white, in compound ra¬ cemes. It is a native of woods in Cochin China. Propagation and Culture. The genus acer confifts of de¬ ciduous trees, mo ft of them fufficiently hardy. They are ealily propagated by flowing their feeds, foon after they are ripe, in a bed of common earth, covering them about half an inch thick with light mould. In the fpring they will appear above ground ; and, if kept clear from weeds, and watered in dry weather, fome of the forts will grow above a foot high the firfl fummer. The autumn or fpring following, if they are clofe in the feed-bed, it will be proper to tranfplant them into a nurfery, in rows at three feet diftance, and two feet afunder in the rows ; in this fituation they may remain three or four years, by which time they will be large enough to plant out for continuance. If the feeds are kept out of the ground till fpring, they rarely come up the fame year, and many times do not grow. When therefore theyare to be tranf- ported to any diftance, it will be proper to put them up in fand or earth. The common, fugar, Norway, and afh-leaved, maples, being large-growing trees forty feet high and upwards, with large fpreading heads, and exuberant foliage, are fit , for large plantations ; and the leaves being of different lizes, lhapes, and colours, they will make a confiderable variety, efpecially if we take in the variegated forts : and the large! pendulous branches of flowers, though deficient in colour, are not without their beauty, efpecially thofe of the Norway maple.— The other forts are of inferior growth, feldoin riling more than from twenty to thirty feet. AcER,yi in botany. See Banisteria and Triop- teris. ACERB, adj. [ acerbus , Lat.] Acid, with an addition of roughnels, as moft fruits are before they are ripe. ACERBITY, J. \_acerbitas, Lat.] A rough four tafte. Applied to men, fharpnefs of temper; feverity. — True it is, tliat the talents for criticifm, namely, fmartnefs, quick Vol. I . No. 5, ACE 65 cenfure, vivacity of remark, indeed all but acerbity , feem rather the, gifts of youth than of old age. Pope. ACERNO, a town of Italy, in the citerior principality of Naples, with a bilhop’s fee. E. Ion. 15.46. N. lat. 4°- 5°- ACERINA,/. in ichthyology, a name given by Pliny and other of the old naturalilts, to the filli we at this time call the ruffe. See Perca. ACERRA, /. in antiquity, an altar ereCted, among the Romans, near the bed of a perfon deceafed, on which his friends daily offered incenfe till his burial. — The real in¬ tention probably was to overcome any offenfive fine 11 that might arife about the corpfe. The Chinefe have dill a cuftom like this : they erect an altar to the deceafed in a room hung with mourning ; and place an image of the dead perfon on the altar, to which every one that approach- es it bows tour times, and offers oblations and perfumes. The acerra alfo lignified a little pot wherein were put the incenfe and perfumes to be burnt on the altars of the gods and before the dead. It appears to have been the fame with what was otherwife called thuribulum, pyxis. We find mention of acerra; in the ancient church. The Jews had alfo their acerrae, in our verfion rendered cenfers and the Romanilts If ill retain them under the name of in¬ cenfe -pots. In Roman writers, we frequently meet with plena acerra , a full acerra : to underhand which, it is to be obferved, that people were obliged to offer incenfe in pro¬ portion to their eftate and condition ; the rich in larger quantities, the poor only a few grains; the former pour¬ ed out acerras full on the altar, the latter took out two or three bits with their fingers. Acerra, a town of Italy, in the kingdom of Naples,, and in the Terra di Lavaro ; feated on the river Agno. E. Ion. 15. 10. N. lat. 40. 55. ACERRftE, the ancient name of a town, now called la Girola, in the territory and to the fouth-eall of Lodi, where the rivulet Serio falls into the Adda, to the weft of Cre¬ mona and north of Placentia. To ACERVATE, v. a. [ acervo , Lat.] To heap up. ACER.VATION, f. The act of heaping together. ACERVOSE, adj. Full of heaps. ACESCENT, adj. [acefccns, Lat.] That which has a tendency to fournefs or acidity. — The fame perfons,. per¬ haps, had enjoyed their health as well with a mixture of animal diet, qualified with a fufficient quantity of acefccnts\ as bread, vinegar, and fermented liquors. Arbuthnot. ACESTRIDES, a name ufed among theGreeks for fe¬ male phyiicians or midwives. ACETABULUM, in antiquity, a meafure ufed by the ancients, equal to one eighth of our pint. It feems to have acquired its name from a veffel in which acetutn or vinegar was brought to their tables, and which probably contained about this quantity. Acetabulum, in anatomy, a cavity in any bone for receiving the protuberant head of another, and thereby forming that fpecies of articulation called Enarthrosis, Acetabulum, in botany, the trivial nameof a fpecies of the peziza, or cup-peziza, a genus belonging to the cryptogamia fungi of Linnxus. It has got the name of acetabulum, from tire refemblance its leaves bear to a cup.. See Peziza. ACETARY, a pulpy fubftance in certain fruits, c. g. the pear, which is inclofed in a congeries of fmall calcu¬ lous bodies towards thebafe of the’ fniit, and is always of an acid tafte. AC ETI AM are words or a claufe in a writ, where, in order to intitle the court to.jurifdiftion, an additional caufe of aCtion is alleged ; as where, upon the ulual complaint of trefpafs, the defendant is required to be brought in to anfwer the plaintiff of a plea of trefpafs, and alfo ( ac etiam j to abill of debt : or where, to the ufual, complaint of break¬ ing the plaintiff’s clofe, a claufe is added containing the real caufe of action. ACETOSA, f. forrel; by Linnaeus. joined to the gc.- nusofdock* under the title of Rumcx. bee Rumex. S ACE POSE., •6/> A C H ACETOSE, adj. That which has in it any thing four. ACETOSELLA,yi in botany, a fpecies of Oxalis. See Oxalis and Rumf.x. ACETOSITY, f. The ftate of being acetofe, or of containing fournefs. ACETOUS, adj. [from acetvm, vinegar, Lat.] Having the quality of vinegar ; four. — Raifins which conlift chief¬ ly of the juice of grapes, infpiffated in the (kins or hulks by the avolation of the (uperfluous moifture through their pores, being diftilled in a retort, did not afford any vinous, but ratlier an acetous, fpirit. Boyle. ACETUM, / vinegar, the vegetable acid of die chemifts. See Vinegar. ACHABY TUS, a high mountain in Rhodes, on the top of which hood a temple of Jupiter. A C H JE A , anciently a town of the i-fiand of Rhodes, in the diftrict of Jalyfus, and the fil'd and molt ancient of ad, laid to be built by the Heliades, or grandfons of the lun. Achasa, a hamlet of Afiatic Sarmatia, on the Euxine. The inhabitants were called Achsci, a colony of the Or- chonienians. ACHfE ANS, the inhabitants of Achaia Propria, a Peloponnefum (rate. This republic was not conliderable in early times, for the number of its troops, nor for its wealth, nor for the ..extent of its territories ; but it was famed for its probity, its juftice, and its love of liberty. Its high reputation for thefe virtues w as very ancient. The Crotonians and Sybarites, to re-efitablilh order in their towns, adopted the laws and cuftoms of the Achaeans. After the famous battle of Leuftra, a difference arole be¬ twixt the Lacedemonians and Thebans, who held the vir¬ tue of this people in fuch veneration, that they terminated the difpute by tlieir decifion. The government of the Achaeans was democratical. They preferved their liberty till the time of Philip and Alexander; but, in the reign of thofe princes, and afterwards, they were either fub- jed to the Macedonians, who had made themfe'lves maf- ters of Greece, or opprelfed by cruel tyrants. The Achaean commonwealth conlifted of twelve inconfiderable towns in Peloponneftis. Its firft annals are not marked by any great adion, for they are not graced with one eminent charader. After the death of Alexander, this little re¬ public was a prey to all the evils which flow from political difeord. A zeal for the good of the community was now extinguiffied. Each town was only attentive to its private intereff. There was no longer any (lability in the (fate ; for it changed its mafters with every revolution in Mace¬ donia. Towards the .124th Olympiad, about the time when Ptolemy Soter died, and when Pyrrhus invaded Italy, She republic of the Achaeans recovered its old inftitutions and unanimity. The inhabitants of Patse and of Dymre were the firft affertors of ancient liberty. The tyrants were baniftied, and the towns again made one common¬ wealth. A public council was then held, in which affairs of importance were difeuifed and determined. A regilter was appointed to record the tranfaflions of the council. This alfembly had two preiidents., who were nominated alternately by the different towns.. But inftead of two prefidents, they foon elected but one. Many neighbour¬ ing towns which admired the conftitution of this republic, founded on equality, liberty, the love of juftice, and of the public good, were incorporated with the Achaeans, and admitted to the full enjoyment of their laws and privileges. • — The arms which the Achaeans chiefly ufed were flings. They were trained to the art from their infancy, by fling¬ ing, from a great defiance, at a circular mark of a mode¬ rate circumference. By long practice they took fo nice an aim, that they were Pure, not only to hit their enemies on the head, but on any part of the face they chofe. Their flings were of a different kind from thofe of the Baleari- ans, whom they far furpaffed in dexterity. ACH.ni (Achaeans) ; the inhabitants of Achaia Pro¬ pria. In Livy, the people of Greece; for the moll part A C H called Achivi, by the Roman poets. In Ilomcr, the ge¬ neral name for Grecians. ACHfEORUM PORTUS, (Pliny;) now Porto Boon, a harbour of the Ch'erfonefus Taurica, on the Euxine. Another, near Sigaeum, into which the Xanthus, after being joined by the Simois, falls. ACHfEMENES, according to Herodotus, was father ■of Cambyfes, and grandfather of Cyrus I. king of Perfia. Moil of the commentators of Horace are of opinion, that the Achaemenes whom that poet mentions, Ode xii. of his 2d Book, was one of the Perlian monarchs : but, if that were true, he muft have reigned before the Medes fub- dued the Perlians ; for vne do not hear of any king of that name from the time that the Perlians founded that great monarchy, which is looked upon as the fecond univerfal one. However this be, the epithet Achcemeuians is very frequently given to the Perlians in the old Latin poets. Achiemekes, (on of Darius I. king of Perfia, and brother of Xerxes, had the government of Egypt bellowed on him, after Xerxes had forced the Egyptians to return to their allegiance. He fome time after commanded the Egyptian fleet in the celebrated expedition w hich proved fo fatal to all Greece. The Egyptians having again taken up arms after the death of Xerxes, Achaemenes was fent into Egypt to fupprefs the rebellion ; but was vanquilhed by Inaius, chief of the rebels, fuccouredby the Athenians. ACHfEUS, coufin-german to Seleucus Centunus and Antiochus the Great, kings of Syria, became a very pow¬ erful monarch, and enjoyed the dominions he had ufurped for many years ; but at laft he was puniflied for his iifur*- pations in a dreadful manner, in the 140th year of Rome, as related by Polybius. ACHAIA, a name taken for that part of Greece which Ptolemy calls Hellas ; the younger Pliny, Gracia; now called Livadia: bounded on the north by Theftaly, the river Sperchius, the Sinus Maliacus, and mount Oeta; on the weft by tiie river Achelous ; on the eaft, turning a little to the north, it is walked by the Archipelago, down to the promontory of Sunium; on the fouth, joined to the Pe- loponnefus or Morea, by the ifthmus of Corinth, five miles broad. It contained the cities of Athens, Thebes, Del¬ phi, Pythia, See. alfo the mounts Parnaft'us, Helicon, and feveral other places mentioned in ancient hiftory. Achaia Propria, anciently a fniall diftrift in the norrh of Peloponnefus, running weftward along the bay of Corinth, and bounded on the weft by the Ionian fea, on the fouth by Elis and Arcadia, and on the eaft by Si- cyonia: inhabitants, the Achaeans, properly fo called ; its metropolis Patra. It is now called Romania Alta, in the Morea. Achaia was alfo taken for all thofe countries that joined in the Achaean league, reduced by the Romans to a pro¬ vince. Likewife for Peloponnefus. Achaia Presbyteri, or the Prelbyters of Achaia, were thofe w’howereprefent at the martyrdom of St. An¬ drew the Apoftle, A. D. 59 ; and are faid to have written an epiftle in relation to it. Bellarmin, and feveral other eminent writers in the church of Rome, allow it to be ge¬ nuine ; wftiile Du Pin, and fome others, exprefsly rejedl it. ACHAIS, a town near the river Oxus in Sogdiana, built by Alexander, and called Heraclea ; afterwards over¬ thrown and re-built by Antiochus, who gave it the name of Achais. ACHAIUS, fon of Ethwin, was raifed to the crown of Scotland, A. D. 788. The emperor Charlemagne fent an embaffy to delire an alliance with him againft the Englifh, whole pirates fo infefted the feas, that the merchants could not carry on their trade. This alliance was concluded in France upon conditions fo advantageous to the Scots, that Achaius, to perpetuate the memory of it, added to the arms of Scotland a double field lowed with lilies. He di¬ ed in 819. ACH ALALACTLI, f in ornithology, a fpecies of king’s fiftier. See AlCedo . ACHAM, A C H ACHAM, an inland country of Afia, lying between Hindoftan and China, and but little known to Euro¬ peans. ACHAN, the fon of Carmi, of the tribe of Juda, at the taking of Jericho concealed two hundred (hekels of Silver, a Babylonifh garment, and a wedge of gold, con¬ trary to the exprefs command" of God. This fin proved fatal to the lfraelites, who were repulfed at the fiege of Ai. In this dreadful exigence, Jodma proftrated himfelf before the Lord, and begged that he would have mercy upon his people. Achan was difcovered by carting lots, and he and his children were rtoned to death. This expi¬ ation being made, Ai was taken by ftratagem. jojliua , chap. vii. ver. S, 9. ACI-IANE, an ancient Perfian corn-meafure, contain¬ ing 45 Attic midimni. ACHANIA,/ becaufe the corolla does not open.] In botany, agenusof the monadelphia polyandria clafs, of the natural order of columniferse. The generic characters are — Calyx': perianthium double. Outer ma¬ ny-leaved; leaflets linear, permanent, (lightly coalefcing at the bale. Inner one-leafed, fubcylindric, (freaked half way, (ive-cleft, permanent. Corolla: fubclavate, convo¬ luted. Petals (ive, obovate-oblong, eredt, with a lobe at the bafe on one (ide, involving the column of ftamens. Stamina: filaments numerous, coalefcing into a writhed tube longer than the corolla, free at top, capillary. An¬ thers oblong. Piftillum : germ fubglobular. Style fili¬ form, the fame length with the tube of the ftamens, ten- cleft at top : the (egments fpreading. Stigmas capitate. Pericarpium: berry (ubglobular, fleftiy, five-celled. Seeds: folitary, convex on one fide, angular on the other. — EJfcn* tial CharaEler. Calyx, double ; outer many-leaved. Co¬ rolla, convolute. Berry, five-feeded. Species. 1. Achania malvavifcus, fcarlet achania, or baftard hibiscus ; leaves fomewhat fcabrous, acuminate, leaflets of the outer calyx erecf. This is a native of Mex¬ ico and Jamaica, and flowers mod part of the year. 2 . Achania mollis, or woolly achania ; leaves tomentofe, leaflets of the outer calyx fpreading. A native of South America, and the Wert-India illands. It flowers in Au- gurt and September. 3. Achania pilofa, or hairy achania ; leaves hairy, ob- tufe and acute. This fpecies has a very different appear¬ ance from the two former. It is (hrubby as they are, but the ffem and branches are fmaller, thinner, and not downy ; and it continues only two or three years. It is a native of Jamaica, and flowers in November. Propagation and Culture. Achania is generally propaga¬ ted by cuttings, becaufe the feeds do not often ripen here ; if the cuttings are planted in pots filled with light earth, and plunged into a gentle hot-bed, keeping the air from them, they will foon take root, and (liould be gradually inured to bear the open air. Thefe plants require a mo¬ derate (love to preferve them through the winter; and, if they are kept in warmth in Cummer, they wall flower, and feme times ripen fruit; they may be placed abroad in a fheltered (ituation for two or three months, but tire plants fo treated feldom flower well. ACHARACA, anciently a town of Lydia, fituate be¬ tween Tralles and Nyfa ; in which were the temple of Pluto, and the cave Charonium, where patients (lept in order to obtain a cure. ACHAT, / in law, implies a purchafe or bargain ; and hence, probably, purveyors were called Adiators , from their making bargains. ACHATES, the companion of zEneas, and his mod: faithful friend, celebrated in Virgil. Achates,/, in natural hi (lory. See Agate. Achates, anciently a river of Sicily, now the Drillo; which runs from north to Couth, almoft parallel with, and at no great diftance from, the Gela; and rifes in the north of the territory of Nom. It gave name to the achates, or agate, faid to be firft found there. ACHAZIB, or Achzib, anciently a town of Galilee, 3 A C H 67 in the tribe of Afher, nine miles from Ptolemais. Alfo a town in the more fouthern parts of the tribe of Judah. ACHE,/! [ ace , Sax. Gr. now generally written ake, and in the plural ahes, of one fyllable; the primitive manner being preferved chiefly in poetry, for the lake of themeafure.] A continued pain. See Ake. Jo Ache, v. n. To be in pain. — Upon this account, our fenfes are dulled and fpent by any extraordinary intention, and our very eyes will ache, if long fixed upon any diffi- cultly-difcerned objedt. Glanville. ACHEEN, Ache', or Achen, a kingdom of Sumatra, in the Eaft Indies, fituuted on the north-weftern part of the ifland. The capital is fituated on a river which emp¬ ties itfelf near the north-wert point, or Acheen-head, about two miles from the mouth. It lies in a wide valley, formed like an amphitheatre by two lofty ranges of hills. The river is not large, and by emptying itfelf in feveral channels is rendered very (hallow at the bar. In the dry monfoon it will not admit boats of any burthen, much lefs large veflels, w hich lie without, in the road formed by the illands off the point. Though no longer the great mart of eaftern commodities, it (till carries on a confiderable trade with the natives of that part of the coaft of Indoftan call¬ ed Telinga, who fupply it with the cotton-goods of their country, and receive in return, gold-duft, fapan-wood, betel-nut, patch-leaf (colfus Indicus), a little pepper, ful- ■phur, camphire, and benzoin. The country is fupplied with Bengal opium, and alfo with iron, and many other articles of merchandife, by the European traders. Acheen is effeemed, comparatively, healthy, being more free from woods and fwamps than moft other portions of the ifland; and the fevers and dyfenteries to which thefe are fuppofed to give occafion, are there faid to be uncom¬ mon. The foil is light and fertile; and the produdts, be- (ide thofe already enumerated as articles of export trade, and a variety of fine fruits, are chiefly rice and cotton. There is likewife fomeraw filk procured in the country, of very inferior quality. Gold-duft is colledlea in the mountains near Acheen, but the greafeft part is brought from the fouthern ports of Nalaboo and Soofoo. The ful- plmr is gathered from a volcanic mountain in the neigh¬ bourhood, which fitpplies their own confumption for the manufacture of gun-powder, and admits of a large ex¬ portation. In their perfons, the Achenefe differ from the reft of the Sumatrans; being taller, ((outer, and darker-com- plexioned. They appear not to be a genuine people ; but are thought, with great appearance of reafon, to be a mix¬ ture of Battas, Malays, and Moors, from the weft of India. In their difpofitions they are more adtive and induftrious than their neighbours; they pollefs more penetration ‘and fagacity; have more general knowledge; and, as mer¬ chants, they deal upon a more extenfive and liberal foot¬ ing. Their religion is Mahometanifm ; and, having a great number of mofques and priefts, its forms and cere¬ monies are ftridtly obferved. The appearance of the town, and the nature of the buildings, are much the fame as are found in the generality of Malay bazars, excepting that the fuperior wealth of this place has occafioneri a great number of public edifices, but without the (mailed pretenfions to magnificence. The king’s palace, if it deferves the appellation, is a very rude and uncouth piece of architecture, defigned to refill' the force of an enemy, and furrounded for that purpofe by Ttrong walls, but without any regular plan, or view to-the modern fyftem of military attack. The houfes in com¬ mon are built of bamboos and rough timber, and raifed fome feet from the ground, on account of the place being overflowed in t lie rainy feafon. A confiderable fabric of a thick fpecies of cotton-cloth, and of (luff for the (liort drawers worn both by Malays and Achenefe, is eftabliflied here, and fupplies an exten- iive demand . 'i hey weave alfo very handfome (ilk-pieces, of a particular form, for that part of the drefs which is called by the Malays cayeu far rung. The 68 A C H The Achenefe are expert and bold navigators, and em¬ ploy a variety of velTels, according to the voyages they undertake, and the purpofes for which they defign them. The river is covered with a multitude of tiihing fampans ■or canoes, which go to fea with the morning breeze, and return in the afternoon, with the lea-wind, full laden. — Having no convenient coins, though moil fpecies of mo¬ ney will be taken there at a valuation, they commonly make their payments in gold-dull, and for that purpofe are all provided with fcales or (mall fteelyards. They carry their gold about them, wrapped up in pieces of bladder, and often purchafe to fo (mail an amount as to make ufe of 'grain or feeds for weights. — The monarchy is hereditary; and the king ufually maintains a guard of joo fepoys about his palace. According to Mr. Marfden, “ the grand council of the nation confills of the king or fultan, four oolooballangs, and eight of a lower degree, who fit on his right hand, and fixteen enjoorangs, who fit on his left. At the king’s feet tits a woman, to whom he makes known his pleafure ; by her it is communicated to an eunuch, who fits next to her, and by him to an officer named Cajoorang Gondovg, who ■then proclaims it aloud to the aflfembly. There are alfo prefent two other officers, one of whom has the govern¬ ment of the bazar or market, and the other the fuperin- tending and carrying into execution the punifhment of cri¬ minals. All matters relative to commerce and the euf- toms of the port come under the jurifdidtion of the S/ia- bandar, who performs the ceremony of giving the chap or licence for trade ; which is done by lilting a golden-hafted creefe over the head of the merchant who arrives, and without which he dares not to land his goods. Prefents, the value of which are become pretty regularly afeertain- ■ed, are then fent to the king and his officers. If the Ilranger be in the (lyle of an ambaflador, the royal ele¬ phants are fent down to carry him and his letters to the monarch’s prefence ; thefe being firft delivered into tire hands of an eunuch, who places them in a filver diffi, co¬ vered with rich lilk, on the back of the largeft elephant, which is provided with a machine (bonder) for that pur¬ pofe. Within about an hundred yards of an open hall where the king fits, the cavalcade Hops, and the ambafla¬ dor difmounts, making his obeifance by bending his body, and lifting his joined hands to his'liead. When he enters the palace, if an European, he is obliged to take off his fhoes; and, having made his fecond obeifance, is feated upon a carpet on the floor, where betel is brought to him. The throne was fome years ago of ivory and tortoifelhell ; and, when the place was governed by queens, a curtain of gauze was hung before it, which did not obftruft the au¬ dience, but prevented any perfect view. The Ilranger, after fome general difeourfe, is then conduced to a fepa- rate building, where he is entertained with the delicacies of the country, by the officers of (late, and in the even¬ ing returns in the manner he came, furrounded by a pro¬ digious number of lights. On high days (aree ryah) the king goes in great Hate mounted on an elephant richly ca- parifoned, to the great mofque, preceded by his ooloobal- langs ; who are armed nearly in the European manner.” The country under the immediate jurifdidlion of Acheen is divided into three dillrifts, named Duo pooloo duo, Duo pooloo leemo, and Duo pooloo anam. Each diftricl is govern¬ ed by a pangleemo, and under him an imaum and four pan- geeches to each mofque. “ Acheen has ever been remarkable for the feverity with which crimes are punilhed by their laws ; the fame rigour ltill fubfills, and there is no commutation admitted, as is regularly ellablifhed in the fouthern countries. There is great reafon, however, to conclude, that the poor alone experience the rod of jultice; the nobles being fecure from retribution in the number of their dependants. Pet¬ ty theft is punilhed by ful'pending the criminal from a tree, with a gun or heavy weight tied to his feet ; or by cutting off a finger, a hand, or leg, according to the nature of the theft. Many of thefe mutilated and wretched ob- A C H jadVs are daily to be feen in the ftreets. Robbery on the highway and houfe-breaking are punilhed by drowning, and afterwards expofing the body on a Hake for a few days. If the robbery is committed on an imaum or prieff, the facrilege is expiated by burning the criminal alive. A man who is convidted of adultery is feldom attempted to be fereenedby his friends, but is delivered up to the friends and relations of the injured hulband. Thefe take him to fome large plain, and, forming themfelves in a circle, place him in the middle. A large weapon, called a gadoobong, is then delivered to him by one of his family; and if he can force his way through thofe who furround him, and make his efcape, he is not liable to further profecution: but it commonly happens that he is inlfantly cut to pieces*. In this cafe his relations bury him as they would a dead buf¬ falo, refilling to admit the corpfe into their houfe, or to perform any funeral rites.” Thefe difeouragements to vice might feern to befpeak a moral and virtuous people; yet all travellers agree in reprefenting the Achenefe as one of the molt dilhonelt and flagitious nations of the ealt. Acheen was vilited by the Portuguefc in 1 509, only twelve years after they had difcovered the pafiage to the Ealt Indies by the Cape of Good Hope. They made various attempts to eltablilii themfelves in the country, but were expelled with difgrace. See Sumatra. ACHELOUS, in fabulous hiltory, wreftled with Her¬ cules, for no lefs a prize than Deianira, daughter to king Oenus: but, as Achelous had the power of affuming all fiiapes, the conteli was long dubious : at laft, as lie took that of a bull, Hercules tore off' one of his horns ; fo that he was forced to fubmit, and to redeem it by giving the- conqueror the horn of Amalthea, the fame, with the cor¬ nucopia, or horn of plenty ; which Hercules, having filled with a variety of fruits, confeerated to Jupiter. Some explain this fable, by faying, That Achelous is a winding river of Greece, whofe If ream was fo rapid, that it roar¬ ed like a bull, and overflowed its banks; but Hercules, by bringing it into two channels, broke oft' one of the- horns, arid fio reltored plenty to the country. See the next article. Achelous-, a river of Acarnania; which rifes in mount Pindus, and, dividing FEtolia from Acarnania, falls from north to fouth into the Sinus Corinthiacus. It was for¬ merly called T/was, from its impetuofity, and King of Riv¬ ers, (Homer.) The epithet Ache/oius is ufed for Aqueus,. (Virgil ;) the ancients calling all water Achelous, efpecially in oaths, vows, and facrifices, according to Ephorus: now called Afpro Potamo. Rivers are by the ancient poets-, called Tauriformes, either from the bellowing of their wa-. ters, or from their ploughing the earth in their courfe : Hercules, reltraining by dykes and mounds the inunda¬ tions of the Achelous, is faid to have broken off one of his horns, and to have brought back plenty to the country. See the preceding article. ACHERI (LukeD’), a learned Benedidline of the con¬ gregation of St. Maur, was born at St. Quintin, in Picar¬ dy, in 1609 ; and made himfelf famous by printing feve- ral works, which till then were only in manufeript : par¬ ticularly, The Epiftle attributed to St. Barnabas; the Works of Lanfrank, archbilhop of Canterbury ; a collec¬ tion of fcarce and curious pieces, under the title of Spi- cilegium, i. e. Gleanings,, in thirteen volumes quarto. The prefaces and notes, which he annexed to many of thefe pieces, Ihow him to have been a man of genius and abili¬ ties. He had alfo fome ffiare in the pieces inferted in tire firt! volumes of the Aids of the Saints of the Order of St. Bennet ; the title whereof acquaints us . that they were colledled and publillied by him and father Mubillon. Af¬ ter a very retired life, till the age of 73, he died at Paris the 29th of April, 1683, in the abbey of St. Germain in the Fields, where he had been librarian. ACHERNER, or Acharner, f. a liar of the firft magnitude in the fouthern extremity of the conftellation Eridanus, but invilible in our latitude. ACHERON, a river of Epirus. The poets feigned it to. A C H to have been the fon of Ceres, whom flic hid in hell for fear of the Titans, and turned into a river, over which fouls departed were ferrfed in their way to Elyfium. Acheron, a river of Thefprotia, in Epirus; which, after forming the lake of Acherufia, at no great diftance from, falls into the fea near, the promontory of Chime- rium, to the weft of the Sinus Ambracius, inacourfe from north to fouth. Acheron, or Acheros, a river of the Brutii, in Ita¬ ly, running from eaft to weft ; where Alexander king of Epirus was (lain by the Lucani, being deceived by the oracle of Dodona, which bade him beware of Acheron. ACHERSET,/. an ancient meafure of corn, conjec¬ tured to be the fame with our quarter, or eight bufhels. ACHERUSIA PALUS, a lake between Cumne and the promontory Mifenum, now il Lago della Collucia, (Cluve- rius.) Some confound it with the Lacus Lucrinus, and others with the Lacus Averni. But Strabo and Pliny dif- tinguifh them. The former takes it to be an effufion, ex- .undation, or wadies of the fea, and therefore called by Lycophron, Ao-v^jpaoaa yyan;.- — Alfo a lake of Epirus, through which the Acheron runs. — There is alfo an Ache¬ rufia, a peninfula of Sithnya, on the Euxine, near Hera- clea ; and a cave there of the fame name, through which Hercules is fabled to have defeended to hell to drag forth Cerberus. ACHIAR,/ a Malayan word, which fignifies all forts of fruits and roots pickled with vinegar and fpice. The Dutch import from Batavia all forts of achiar, but par¬ ticularly that of Bamboo (fee Arundq), a kind of cane, extremely thick, which grows in the Eaft Indies. It is preferved there whilft it is ftill green, with very ftrong vinegar and fpice ; and is called bamboo -achiar . The name changes according to the fruit with which the achiar is made. ACHICOLUM,/. is ufed to exprefs the fornix , t/iolus, or fudatorium , of the ancient baths : which was a hot room where they ufed to fvveat. It is alfo called architholus. To ACHIEVE, v. a. [ achever , Fr. to complete.] To perform, to finifti a defign profperoufly. To gain, to ob¬ tain : Show all the fpoils by valiant kings achiev'd , And groaning nations by their arms reliev’d. Prior. ACHIEVER, f. He that performs; he that obtains what he endeavours after. — A viftory is twice itfelf, when the achiever brings home full numbers. Shakefpeare. ACHIEVEMENT, f. \_achevement, Fr.] The perform¬ ance of an adlion. The efcutcheon, or enfigns armorial, granted to any man for the performance of great actions : Then fhall the war, and ftern debate, and ftrife Immortal, be the bus’nefs of my life; And in thy fane, the dufty fpoils among, High on the burnifh’d roof, my banner fhall be hung; Rank’d with my champion’s bucklers, and below, With arms revers’d, th’ achievements of the foe. Dryden. Achievement, in the firft fenfe, is derived from achieve , as it fignifies to perforin: in the feeond, from achieve, as it imports to gain. ACHILLEA, [fo named from Achilles the famous Grecian hero, who is fuppofed to have imbibed the know¬ ledge of botany from his mafter Chiron. ] A plant belong¬ ing to the fyngenefia polygamia fuperflua clafs, and rank¬ ing in the natural order of.co.mpofitae difeoideas. The ge¬ neric characters are — Calyx: common ovate, imbricate; feales ovate, acute, converging. Corolla : compound ra¬ diate ; corollets hermaphrodite, tubular, in the difk. Fe¬ males ligulate, five to ten-, in .the ■ ray. P-roper of the hermaphrodite, funnel-fhaped, five-cleft, fpreading. Fe¬ male obcorda.te, fpreading, trifid ;, the middle cleft lefs than the others. Stamina : in the hermaprodites, fila¬ ments five, capillary, very fliort. Antherae cylindrical, tubular. Piftillum : in the hermaphodites germ fmall. Style filiform, the length of the ftamens. Stigma obtufe, Vol. I. No. 5 A C H 69 emarginate. In the females germ fmall. Style filiform, the fame length as in the others. Stigmas two, obtufe, re¬ flex. Pericarpium : none. Calyx fcarcely changed ;• re¬ ceptacle filiform, elongate, as the difk of the feeds, ovate, twice the length of the calyx. Seeds: folitary, ovate, furnifhed with flocks; but having no down. Receptaculum: chaffy, elevated ; chaffs lanceolate, the length of the flo¬ rets. — EJfentialCharaEier. Calyx, ovate, imbricate. Flo¬ rets of the rayabout four. Dowm, none. Receptaculum,' chaffy. Moft of the milfoils are hardy, herbaceous, fibrous- rooted perennials ; with the flowers commonly in corymbs at the ends of the ftalk and branches ; the ray in fome yellow, in others white, in a few purple : the leaves in many of the fpecies are pinnate, bipinnate, or fuperde- compound; in a few they are fimple. They are chiefly inhabitants of the Levant or the fouth of Europe: the 12th and 20th only are natives of England. The fpecies want to be better deferibed ; and probably it may be found that culture has produced fome changes which have been taken for fpecific differences. Species. I. With yellow corollas. 1. Achillea fantodina, or lavender-cotton leaved milfoil : leaves briftle-fhaped toothed, toothlets nearly entire fubulate reflex. This-has large yellow' flowers, which ftand upon pretty long -pe¬ duncles fingly, not in clofe bunches, as in the. common fort. It has leaves like thofe of lavender-cotton, which, when rubbed, emit a ftrong oily odour. It- flowers.'in June and July. It is an inhabitant of the Levant. 2. Achillea ageratum, or fweet milfoil or maudlin r leaves lanceolate-obtufe fharply ferrate. It is a native of Italy, about Florence, Leghorn, Nice, &c. ofthefouthof France, about Montpelier, Orange, & c. and of Spain; by road fides : flowering from Auguft to October. Being now fcarcely ufed in medicine, it is not cultivated in the gar- dens for fale : or, if it is alked for, the people in the mar¬ kets give the thirteenth fort, which is a very hardy plant, and eafily propagated. For, though this is hardy in re- fpedt to cold ; yet in wet winters the roots are often killed, efpecially in good ground ; but, when the plants grow out of the joints of walls, or in rubbifh, they will live many years without care. There are two varieties of this plant ; one of them having longer and more compact corymbs-; the other broader leaves and fmaller flowers. It is fweet to the fmell, bitter to the tafte, and aromatic. Linnaeus fets it down as obfolete and fuperfluous. Allione, on the contrary, thinks it an efficacious plant, and recommends it in all diforders arifing from a debility of the nerves. He prefers it much to tanfy. 3. Achillea falcata, or fickle-leaved milfoil : leaves li¬ near toothed obtufe flat, toothlets crenate. It is a native of the eaft, where it is ufed in medicine. 4. Achillea tomentofa, or w’oolly milfoil: leaves pin¬ nate hirfute, pinnas linear toothed. This is often planted in gardens for the fake of variety : is of humble grow th, but the flow-ers continue long in beauty. It grows natu¬ rally in Spain, the fouth of France, the Valais, and Italy ; but bears the open air very w,ell jn England. 5. Achillea pubefeens, or downy milfoil: leaves pin¬ nate, leaflets lanceolate gafhed ferrate wool-bearing be¬ neath. This hath no chaffs to the receptacle, and there¬ fore recedes in that circumliance from the generic cha- rafter. It is a native of the Levant, and was cultivated in the botanic garden at Chelfeain 1739. 6. Achillea abrotanifolia, or fouthernwood-leaved mil¬ foil : leaves pinnate fuperdecompound, divifions linear diftant. This is alfo a native of the Levant. It grows to the height of two feet and a half, and it flowers in June and July. 7. Achillea bipinnata, or bipinnate milfoil: leaves- bi¬ pinnate tomentofe, leaflets ovate entire. A native of the Levant. 8. Achillea iEgyptiaca, or Egyptian milfoil: leaves pinnate, leaflets obtufely lanceolate ferrate-toothed. Lt • rifes from nine inches to a foot in height. The flowers are T produced produced in corymbs, on the top of the flalks; appear from June to September, and fome of them frequently continue the greater part of the winter. It is a native of the Levant. II. Corollas white in the ray. 9. Achillea macrophyl- la, or feverfew-leaved milfoil : leaves pinnate, pinnas galh-ferrate, the outmoft larger and connected. It is a native of the Alps, is very hardy, thrives in almofl any foil, but loves an open expofure, and deferves a place in gardens. It flowers in July and Align ft. 10. Achillea impatiens, or impatient milfoil: leaves pinnate, pinnas diftant linear-lanceolate, acute from the bafe upwards. This fpecies is frequent in all Siberia. 1 1 . Achillea clavennse, or filvery-leaved milfoil : leaves jagged flat obtufe tomentofe. Silvery-leaved milfoil is a very humble plant, rarely rifing above fix inches high. The flowers are white, and grow in flat corymbs ; they appear in June and July. The leaves have fome likenels to thofe of common wormwood, and are very hoary, growing clofe to the ground, and decaying in auttimn. It is a native of the Alps of Switzerland, Auftria, Pannonia, and Carinthia, 12. Achillea ptarmica, or fneefewort milfoil : leaves lanceolate acuminate finely ferrate. This fpecies grows wild in all the temperate parts of Europe. In Britain it is found not very uncommon in meadows, by the fides of ditches, on the balks of corn-fields, in moift woods and Ihady places. It creeps greatly by the roots. In the fpring the young tender (hoots are put into fallads, to cor¬ rect the coldnefs of other herbs ; and the roots, being hot and biting, are ufed for the tooth-ach, whence fome have given the title of field or baftard pellitory to this plant. From the form of the leaf it is called goofe -tongue. The dried powder of the leaves, fnuffed up the noftrils, pro¬ vokes fneezing, and hence its trivial and Englilh name. In Siberia it is faid to be ufed with fuccefs in internal hae¬ morrhages, taken in form of a decoftion of the whole herb. There is a variety with double flowers, which is preferved in gardens, and is commonly known by the name of double ptarmica, or batchelors buttons. When this is planted in pots, fo as to confine the roots from creeping, the ftalks will grow clofer together, and then it makes a tolerable appearance when in flower, which is in July and Auguft. 13. Achillea alpina, or alpine milfoil: leaves lanceo¬ late tooth-ferrate, toothlets very finely ferrate. This bears fome refemblance to the laft, but the leaves are longer, deeper cut on their edges, and of a darker green. It is very hardy ; and is a native of Switzerland, Savoy, and Siberia. Linnaeus queftions whether fituation may not have altered this from the laft; and Gmelin (ufpebls that it is only a variety. 14. Achillea ferrata, or notched-leaved milfoil : leaves linear-lanceolate feflile tomentofe, deeply ferrate, laciniate at the bafe. It flowers in Auguft and September. 15. Achillea criftata, or (lender-branched milfoil : leaves linear ferrate, ferratures tranfverfe crefted, ftem branch¬ ed weak. This is a native of the eaft. It flowers here in July and Auguft. 16. Achillea atrata, or camomile-leaved or black mil¬ foil : pinnules pectinate almoft entire, peduncles villous. This fpecies is found on the mountains of Switzerland, the Valais, and Auftria. 17. Achillea mofchata, or mufk milfoil, or Swifsgenipi, leaves pinnate dotted, pinnas remote linear fiibulate al¬ moft entire, rays the length of the calyx. This bears fo much refemblance to the laft, as not readily to be diftin- guilhed, unlefs its pleafant aromatic fmell be attended to. It is the true genipi of the Swifs. In Savoy they call it genipi batard, and give the name of true genipi to thear- temifia rupeftris. Either of them is an excellent fudori- fic ; but hot, and frequently injurious in the pleurify when the fever ip high. It promifes to be of much fervice in diforders arifing from a debility of the folids : and is a A C H grateful food to all forts of cattle. It grows wild in Swit¬ zerland on the high Alps, in Savoy, Piedmont, and Auf¬ tria: and was introduced in 17 7*5 by doctors Pitcairn and Fothergill. 18. Achillea nana, or dwarf milfoil : leaves pinnate toothed extremely hirfute, flowers glomerate-umbelled. The fmell of this is fomewhat weaker than that of the laft, for which it is frequently fold. It grows on the high Alps of Switzerland, the Valais, and Savoy. It is hardy, and will thrive with us in almoft any foil, but loves an open expofure. It deferves a place in gardens. 19. Achillea magna, or great milfoil or yarrow : leaves bipinnate rather hairy, the divifions linear and toothed ; earlets decuffated. This fort very much refembles com¬ mon milfoil, but is twice the fize. The ftem has hairs thinly fcattered over it. The leaves arealfo like thofe of common milfoil, but larger, and with two ears at the bafe, one under the leaf, the other prominent above the rib. It grows in Italy. 20. Achillea millefolium, or common milfoil or yar¬ row: leaves bipinnate naked, divifions linear toothed; ftems furrowed towards the top. It is abundant in pafi- tures and by road fides, flowering from June to Septem¬ ber. The inhabitants of Dalekarlia mix it with their ale, inftead of hops, in order to increafe the inebriating quali¬ ty of the liquor. This plant has been generally execrated as a noxious weed in paftures : it is found however to be eaten by cattle, at leaft by (heep ; and has lately been even recommended for cultivation. Perhaps other plants befides this, may be of fervice to cattle in paftures, rather as medicine than as food. Linnams recommends the bruifed herb frefh as an excellent vulnerary and ftyptic: many foreign phyficians ftill have an opinion of it in hae¬ morrhages ; according to Dr. Hill, it is excellent in dy- fenteries, taken in form of a ftrong decodtion : an oint¬ ment is made of it for the piles, and it is reckoned good againft the fcab in (heep. An effential oil is extracted from the flowers. It is not in ufe with us in the prefent pradtice. The variety with purple flowers of different (hades is not uncommon, wild ; and is frequently feen in gardens. The alpine is a variety arifing merely from litu - ation ; and is different from the thirteenth fort. In culti¬ vation they both approach to the common fpecies. 21. Achillea nobilis, or noble milfoil : leaves bipinnate, the lower ones naked flat, the upper obtufe tomentofe, the flowers in convex and very crowded corymbs. This ap¬ proaches near to the foregoing or common fort, but the leaves are of a pale-green, and not fo long, or fo much cut : thefe have a ftrong fvveet feent when bruifed- It is a native of Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Narbonne, and Tartary. 22. Achillea odorata, or feented milfoil: leaves bipin¬ nate oval almoft naked, corymbs faftigiate crowded. Ge¬ rard and Haller make this only a variety of the foregoing. 23. Achillea cretica, or Cretan milfoil : leaves linear, pinnas roundilh imbricate backwards-, ftem tomentofe. Cretan milfoil has the air of the common fort. The flow¬ ers are white ; and it is a native of Crete. 24. Achillea fquarrofa, or rough-headed milfoil : leaves lanceolate-linear pinnatifid, pinnas ovate, wedge-Ihaped, gafh-acuminate vertical, ftem fomewhat villous. 25. Achillea herbarota, or herbarota milfoil: leaves wedge-fhaped entire, toothed at the top. This fpecies is in great and general efteem among the peafants of the Alps : and is recommended as a fudorific ; againft worms, flatulencies, and intermittent fevers. 26. Achillea liguftica, or marjoram-feented milfoil : leaves pinnate, pinna, fliarply toothed flat fmooth. This fpecies, as well as the laft, has a very ftrong fmell, like maudlin. 27. Achillea tanacetifolia, or tanfy-leaved milfoil: leaves.pinnate, pinnas laciniate flat gaftied and entire. It is a native of the Grifons ; and not uncommon in the paf¬ tures and valleys of the Alps- Propagation, A C H Propagation and Culture . All the fpeeies ef Achillea may be propagated by parting the roots either in fpring or autumn. Many of them ripen their feeds, and may therefore be increafed that way by fowing them in March or April ; and tranfplanting them at Michaelmas. They will flower the fummer following. Some alfo will grow from flips or cuttings, planted in a ffiady border in fum¬ mer. They are mo (Fly hardy, and require little care in the cultivation. Thofe which are moft commonly feen in gardens are, the purple variety of common milfoil, the double variety of common fneezewort, called double ptarmica, and wool¬ ly milfoil. Whatever merit the alpine forts may poftefs as medi¬ cines, it cannot anfwer to cultivate them with that view in gardens, for they owe their efficacy to their peculiar litu- ation. But they, who aredefirous of having them for va¬ riety, will find that they are very hardy, and will thrive almoft in any foil, but that they love an open expofure. Achillea Inodora. See Athanasia. Achillea Montana. See Senecio. Achillea Tanecitifolia. See Chrysanthe¬ mum. Achillea, an ifland, in theEuxine, oppofite the Bo- ryfthenes, where the monument of Achilles was ereited. ACHILLEID, Achilleis, a celebrated poem of Statius, in which that author propofed to deliver the whole life and exploits of Achilles ; but, being prevented by death, he has only treated of the infancy and education of his hero. See Statius. ACHILLES, one of the greateft heroes of ancient Greece, was the fon of Peleus and Thetis. He was a na¬ tive of Phthia, in Theflaly. His mother, it is faid, in order to confume every mortal part of his body, ufed to lay him every night under live coals, anointing him with ambrofia, which preferved every part from burning but one of his lips, owing to his having licked it. She dip¬ ped him alfo in the waters of the river Styx : by which his whole body became invulnerable, except that part of his heel by which (he held him. But this opinion is not univerfal, nor is it a part of his charaiter as drawn by Homer; for in the Iliad, b. xxi. 161, he is atlually wound¬ ed in the right arm, by the lance of Afteropaus, in the battle near the river Scamander. Thetis afterwards in¬ truded him to the care of the centaur Chiron, who, to give him the ftrength neceftary for martial toil, fed him with honey and the marrow of lions and wild boars. To prevent his going to the liege of Troy, (he difguifed him in female apparel, and hid him among the maidens at the court of king Lycomedes : but Ulyfles, difcovering him, perfuaded him to follow the Greeks. Achilles diftin- guiffied himfelf by a number of heroic aitions at the fiege. Being difgufted, however, with Agamemnon for the lofs of Brifeis, he retired from the camp. But, returning to avenge the death of his friend Patroclus, he flew Heitor, faftened his corpfe to his chariot, and dragged it round the walls of Troy. At laft Paris, the brother of Hedtor, wounded him in the heel with an arrow, while he was in the temple treating about his marriage with Philoxena, daughter to king Priam. Of this wound he died, and was interred on the promontory of Sigasum ; and after Troy was taken, the Greeks facrificed Philoxena on his tomb, jn obedience to his defire, that he might enjoy her compa¬ ny in the Elyfian fields. It is laid, that Alexander, feeing this tomb, honoured it by placing a crown upon it ; at the fame time crying out, that “ Achilles was happy in hav¬ ing, during his life, fuch a friend as Patroclus ; and, after his death, a poet like Homer.” Achilles is fuppofed to have died 118-3 years before the Chriftian sera. Achilles Tatius- See Tatius. Tendo A chi llis, in anatomy, is a ftrong tendinous cord formed by the tendons of-feveral mufcles, and inferted in¬ to the os calcis. It has its name from the fatal wound Achilles is faid to have received in that part from Paris the fon of Priam, A C H 7* ACHILLINI (Alexander), born at Bologna, and doc¬ tor of philofophy in that univerlity. He flouriihed in the 15th and i6th centuries, and by way of eminence wa3 fiyled the great philofopher. He was a ftedfaft follower and accurate interpreter of Averroes upon Arillotle, but moft admired for his acutenefs and ftrength of arguing in private and public deputations. He made a furprifing' quick progrefs in his ftudies, and was very early promot¬ ed to a profeiforfliip in the univerftty ; in which he ac¬ quitted himfelf w ith fo much applaule that his name be¬ came famous throughout all Italy. He continued at Bo¬ logna till the year 1506 ; when the univerftty of Padua made choice of him to fucceed Antonio Francatiano in the firft chair of philofophy, and his fame brought vaft numbers of ftudents to his leitures at Padua : but the war, wherein the republic of Venice was engaged againft the league of Cambray, putting a (top to the leitures of that univerftty, he withdrew to his native Country ; where he was received with the fame marks of honour and dif- tinition as before, and again appointed profelfor of philo¬ fophy in Bologna. He fpent the remainder of his life in that city, where he died, and was interred w ith great pomp in the church of St. Martin the Great, which belongs to the Carmelite friars. He wrote feveral pieces on phiiofo- phical fubjeits, which he publiffied, and dedicated to John Bentivogli. Achillini (Claudius), grandfon of the former, read leitures at Bologna, Ferrara, and Parma : where he was reputed a great philofopher, a learned divine, an excel¬ lent lawyer, an eloquent orator, a good mathematician, and an elegant poet. He accompanied Cardinal Ludovi- no, who went as legate into Piedmont; but being after¬ ward negleited by this cardinal, when he became pope under the name of Gregory XV. he left Rome in difguft, and retired, to Parma ; where the duke appointed him profelfor of law, with a good falary. He publiffied a vo¬ lume of Latin letters, and another of Italian poems, w hich gained him great reputation? he died in rd-io, aged 66. ACHIMKNES/, f. in botany. SeeCoLUMKEA. ACHING, J. [from ache.~\ Pain; uneaftnefs. — When- old age comes to- wait upon a. great and worfhipful (inner, it comes attended with many painful girds and achings , called the gout. South. ACHIGTTE, or Achiotl, a foreign drug ufed in dyeing, and in the preparation of chocolate. It is the fame with the fubftance more ufually known by the iume of Arnotto ; which fee. ACHIROPOETOS, a name given by ancient writers to certain miraculous pictures of Chrift and the Virgin, fuppofed to have been made without hands. — The moft celebrated of thefe is the piiture of Chrift, preferved in the church of St. John Lateran at Rome ; faid to have been begun by St. Luke, but finilhed by the miniftry of angels. ACHLAM, a village twelve miles from York, w here the body of the emperor Severus, who died at York, w as burnt to affies, agreeable to the cuftora of thofe times. ACHMET, Ion of Seerim, has left a book concerning the interpretation of dreams according to the doctrine of the Indians, Perfians, and Egyptians, which was tranflated out of-Greek into Latin by Leo Tufcus in ii6q. He liv¬ ed in the 9th century. ACHMET GEDUC, a famous general under Maho¬ met II. and Bajazet II. in the 15th century. When Ma¬ homet II. died, Bajazet and Zezanbothclaimed the throne: Achmet fided with the former, and by his bravery and conduit fixed the crown on his head. But Bajazet took away his life ; (liining virtue being always. an unpardona¬ ble crime in the eyes of a tyrant. ACHMETSCHET, q town of the peninfula of Cri¬ mea, the refidence of the fultan Galga, who is eldeft fon of the khan of Tartary. Lat. 45. o. Ion. 51. 20. ACHMIM, a large town of Upper Egypt, fituated on the eaftern bank of the Nile. “ One admires there (fays Abulfeda, as quoted by Mr. Savary) a temple, which is comparable? jz A C H comparable to the moft celebrated monuments of antiquity. It is coriftrucled with dones of a furprifirig fize, on which are fculptured innumerable figures.” Though this town be fallen from its ancient fplenddur, it is hill one of the moft beautiful of Upper Egypt. According to Mr. Sava- ry, an Arab prince commands there, and the police is well attended to. The ftreets are wide and clean, and commerce and agriculture flourifti. It has a manufactory of cotton, (tuffs, and pottery, which are conveyed overall Egypt. It is the fame that Herodotus calls Chemmis, and Strabo Panopolis, or the City of Pan, who was worfhipped there. Herodotus fays, that Perfeus was a native of this city, and that his deicendants had eftablilhed feftivals there in his honour. It has loft its ancient edifices, and much of its extent; the ruins- of the temple, defcribed by Abulfe- da, being without its limits, to the north. Nothing re¬ mains of it but fome (tones, of fuch magnitude that the Turks have not been able to move them. They are co¬ vered with hieroglyphics. On one of them are traced four concentric circles, in a fquare. The' innermoft of thefe contains a fun. The two fucceeding ones, divided into twelve parts, contain, one, twelve birds, the other, twelve animals almoft effaced, which appear to be the figns of the zodiac. The fourth has no divifions, and prefents twelve human figures; which Mr. Savary imagines to re- prefetit the twelve gods, the twelve months of the year, and the twelve figns of the zodiac. The Egyptians, fays Herodotus, are the firft who divided the year into twelve months, and employed the names of the twelve gods. The four feafons occupy the angles of the fquare, on the fide of which may be diftinguiihed a globe with wings. Mr; Savary thinks it probable that this ftone belonged to a temple dedicated to the fun, that the whole of thefe hiero¬ glyphics mark his paffage into the ligns of the zodiac, and his courfe, whofe revolution forms the year. The co¬ lumns of this temple have been partly broken to make lime and millftones. Some qf them have been tranfported into one of the mofques of Achmim, where they are placed without tafte ; others are heaped up in the fquares of the town. Mr. Savary tells us of a ferpent which is worfhipped here, and is the wonder of the country. ii Upwards of a century ago (fays he), a religious Turk called Scheilk Ha- ridi died here. He paffed for a faint among the Maho¬ metans; who raifed a monument to him, covered with a cupola, at the foot of the mountain. The people flocked from all parts to offer up their prayers to him. One of their priefts, profiting by their credulity, perfuaded them that God had made the foul of Scheilk Haridi pafs into the body of a ferpent. Many of thefe are found in the The- bais, which are harmlefs ; and he h'ad taught one to obey his voice. He appeared with his ferpent, dazzled the vul¬ gar by his furprifing tricks, and pretended to cure all dif- orders. Some lucky inftances of fuccefs, due to nature .alone, and fometimes to the imagination of the patients, gave him great celebrity. He foon confined his ferpent Haridi to the tomb, producing him only to oblige princes and perfons capable of giving him a handfome recom- pence. The fucceffors of this prieft, brought up in the fame principles, found no difficulty in giving fanition to fo advantageous an error. They added to the general per- fuafion of his virtue that of his immortality. They had the boldnefs even to make a public proof of it. The ferpent was cut in pieces in prefence of the emir, and placed for two hours under a vafe. At the inftant of lift¬ ing up the vafe, the priefts, no doubt, had the addrefs to fubftitute one exaftly refembling it. A miracle was pro¬ claimed, and the immortal Haridi acquired a frefh degree of confideration. This knavery procures them great ad¬ vantages. The people flock from all quarters to pray at this tomb ; and, if the ferpent crawls out from under the (hone, and approaches the fuppliant, it is a fign that his laalady will be cured. It may be imagined, that he does not appear till an offering has been made proportioned to the quality and richnefs. of the different perfons. In A C H extraordinary cafes, where the fickperfon cannot be cured without the prefence of the ferpent, a pure virgin mull come and- folicit him. To avoid inconveniences on this head, they take care to choofe a very young girl indeed. She is decked out in her beft clothes, and crowned with flowers. She puts herfelf in a praying attitude; and, as the priefts are inclined, the ferpent comes out, .makes cir¬ cles round the young fuppliant, and goes and repofes on her. The virgin, accompanied by a vaft multitude, car¬ ries him in triumph amidft the general acclamation. No human reafoning would perfuade thefe ignorant and cre¬ dulous Egyptians that they are the dupes of a few impof- tors : they believe in the ferpent Haridi as firmly as in the prophet.” ACHONRY, a fmall town of Ireland, in the province of Connaught and county of Sligo, feated on the river Shannon. ACHOR, yf [achor, Lat. Gr .furfur.] A fpeeies of the Herpes. It appears with a crufty fcab, which caufes an itching on the furface of the head, occafioned by a fait (harp ferum oozing through the (kin. Achor, yi Ladtumen: abas, acores, cerion ; favus. The crujla ladiea of authors, and in England the scald head. Trallian fays, that it is a fore on the outlide of the head, full of little perforations, which difcharge a humour like ichor, whence its name. He farther fays, that the cerion refembles an achor; but that the mouths of the perfora¬ tions are larger, refembling the cells of a honey-comb, whence the name; the matter is alio nearly of the confid¬ ence of thin honey. When thefe difeafes fpread, the fe¬ rum, which oozes out, dries, and forms a (cab. The achor differs from the favus and tinea only in the degree of virulence. It is called favus when the perfo¬ rations are large ; and tinea when they are like thofe made by moths in cloth : but generally by tinea is underftood a dry fcab on the hairy fcalp of children, with thick fcales and an offenfive fmell; when this diforder affedts the face, it is called crufta laftea or milk-scab. Mr. Bell, in his Treatife on Ulcers, fays, that the tinea capitis & crufta ladtea, may both be reduced to the fame fpeeies of herpes, viz. the herpes pufulofus, they being naturally the fame, differing only in fituation ; the tinea is on the hair-fcalp, and the crufta laHea on the face. Dr. Cullen places this difeafe under ulcus, as a fynonyme; where alfo he pla¬ ces the crufta ladtea, the clafs locales, and order dialyfes. When it happens to children, if in other refpedts they are healthy, the beft treatment, befides keeping the belly mo¬ derately lax, is cleanlinefs and a moderate diet. An iffue may be made and continued till the diforder is cleared, and the ftrength of the conftitution is eftablilhed ; keep the hair fhort, and wadi the head with foap fuds. Some inftances of this fort are very difficult of cure, and attended with violent itching, a pale countenance, &c. but (till the fame method generally fucceeds in all the fpeeies and de¬ grees of virulence. Small dofes of calomel maybe given as an alterative rather than as a laxative, and the vin. an- tim. in fuch dofes, at proper intervals, as the ftomach will eafily retain. Externally^unguent e pice may be ufed two or three times in a week, "or cream mixed with chalk in fine powder. If the humour is repelled, give warm fudo- rifics until it returns. Scabby eruptions on children (hould not be repelled when about the mouth, ears, or indeed on any part of the body. Though thefe eruptions depend not on the habit, but the difficulty of paffing through the (kin, yet cold bathing (hould not be ufed. Cleanlinefs and a frequent life of the warm bath are of great fervice. The practice of tearing up the roots ot the hair is ufe- lefs, therefore cruel. Keep the hair fhort, and walli the part with aq. pur. ffe i. in quafolut. eft gr. x. hydrargyji muriati. AfcHOR, a valley of Jericho, lying along the river Jor¬ dan, not far from Gilgal ; fo called from Achan, the trou- bier of Ifrael, being there (toned to death. Achor, in mythology, the^God of Flies; to whom, according to Pliny, the inhabitants of Cyrene facrificed. A C H in order to obtain deliverance from the infe£ls and the dis¬ orders occafioned by them. ACHRADINA, anciently one of the four cities or di- vifions of Syracufe, and the thonged, larged, and mod beautiful, part of it ; Separated by a very drong wall from the outer town, Tycha and Neapolis. It was adorned with a very large forum, with beautiful porticos, a mod elegant prytaneum, a fpacious fenate-houfe, and a fuperb temple of Jupiter Olympius. ACHRAS,/ [the Greek name of a tree in Theophra- dus, commonly tranflated the wild pear.~\ In botany, a ge¬ nus of the hexandria monogynia clafs, ranking in the na- tiwal order of dumofae. The generic characters are — ■ Calyx: perianthium fix-leaved ; leaflets ovate, concave, erett; outer broader fhorter, inner coloured. Corolla: one-petalled, ovate, of the fame height with the calyx ; border cut Into fix fubovate flat divilions; Scales at the jaws of the corolla, equal in length to the divilions, nar¬ rower, Spreading, emarginate. Stamina: filaments Short, awl-lhaped, at the jaws of the corolla, alternate with the divilions, bent inwards; anthera: lharp. Pidillum: germ ronndd/h, flatted; dyle awl-lhaped, longer than the corol¬ la; fligma obtufe. Pericarpium : a globofe very fuccu- lent pome, with twelve cells. Seeds : Solitary, ovate, Shin¬ ing, Scarred on one fide and pointed at the bale. — Ejfential CkaraEler. Calyx: fix-leaved. Corolla: ovate, iexfid ; with fix Scales alternate, more within. Pome, ten-celled. Seeds Solitary, with a fear on the edge, and a tail or pro- cefs at the top. Species, s . Achras mammofa, or mamme fapota, other- wife called the nippled fapota or American marmalade, grows in America to the height of thirty-five or forty feet, having a draight trunk, covered with an alh -coloured bark. The branches are produced on every fide, fo as to form a regular head. The leaves are a foot in length, and near three inches broad in the middle. The flowers are cream- coloured, and are fucceeded by large oval or top-lhaped fruit, covered with a brownilh Skin, under which is a thick pulp of a rulfet colour, very lufeious, called natural marmalade, from its likenefs to marmalade of quinces. This tree is commonly planted in gardens for the fruit, in Jamaica, Barbadoes, Cuba, and mod of the Wed-India idands. This Species has a Sixth part lefs in the parts of fructification. — There is all'o a variety of this, called the bully or nilbery-bully tree, becaufe it generally grows the tailed of all the trees in the woods: its fruit is Small, and the feeds oblong and narrow. It is edeemed one of the bed timber-trees in Jamaica. 2. Achras fapota, or common fapota: flowers Solitary, leaves lanceolate-ovate. This is a large, tall, draight, tree, without knots or branches, for Sixty or Seventy feet or more. The head Spreads into many Small branches, which grow pretty thick and clofe together. The bark is dark grey, thick and rough, full of large chops. The fruit is bigger than a quince, round, and covered with a thick grey rind, which when the fruit is ripe becomes yellow and tough. The flelh is yellow as a carrot, and in the middle are two large rough dones, flat, and each much bigger than an almond. The fruit Smells very well, and the tade is anfwerable. It is deferibed by Swartz as a Soft roundiSh berry, the Size of a Small apple, having from fix to twelve cells, with Several feeds in each : he remarks, however, that mod of the Seeds are nfually lod by culti¬ vation. — The American fapota, or ni(berry-tree, is com¬ mon about Panama, and Some other places in the Spanish Wed Indies, but is notto be found in many of the English Settlements. — The fapodillia is thus deferibed by Brow ne. It rifes to a considerable height, throwing out its branch¬ es on all Sides. Leaves Smooth and beautiful ; and the fruit, which generally grow’s among them, of a moderate fize, and when ripe of a delicate mellow tafte. All the tender parts are full of a milky juice, extremely harSh, and bitterish ; but the fruit, though full of this w hile young, is very fweet and agreeable w hen it ripens. T. he Vol. I. No. 5. A C H 7j Shells that cov.er the feeds are generally of a Shining or gloSTy brown cad, but the inward edge is always whitish and rugged. The kernel is bitter, and may be ufed oc¬ casionally in drengthening emulsions. The lapadillo-trce. Says Dampier, is as big as a large pear-tree, the fruit much like a Bergoma pear in colour, Shape, and Size; but in fome trees the fruit is a little longer. When it is green or fird gathered the juice is white and clammy, and will dick like glue ; then the fruit is hard, but, when it has been gathered two or three days, it grows Soft and juicy, and then the juice is clear as fpring water, and very fweet ; in the midd of the fruit are two or three black dones or feeds, about the bignefs of a pompion-feed. This is an excellent fruit. 3. Achras difleCta, or cloven-flowered fapota : flowers, crowded, corollas cloven into eight parts, leaves obovate, bluntly notched at the end. This is a lofty tree, with a thick upright trunk, and abundance of branches, tuber- cled, and bearing leaves and branches at the ends. The flowers are white, and about half an inch in diameter. All the herbaceous parts of this tree are milky. It is cultivated in Malabar for the fruit, which is a pome of the form and fize of an olive, fucculent, the pulp of a fweetifh acid flavour, and containing only one or two feeds, the red of the cells being ufually abortive. The leaves are uled for cataplafms to tumours, being bruifed and boiled with the root of curcuma and the leaves of ginger. It is fuppofed to be a native of the Philippine idands, whence it is called Manylkara and Manil-gale , and by the Portuguefe Fruita Manilha. It probably grows alio in China, for the Dutch call it Chineefche pruynen. Forder found it flowering in September, in the ifland of Tonga- taboo. 4. Achras falicifolia, or willow-leaved fapota: flowers crowded, leaves lanceolate-ovate, acuminate. This tree, called in Jamaica white-bully tree or galimeta-wood, grows to a confiderable height, with many branches towards the top, ridng irregularly, at diflant dages, as in mod firs. It is commonly draight and tapering, and mod frequently' found in the lower lands. The wood is pale yellow, and reckoned good timber, but is modly ufed in fuch parts of the building as are lead expofed to the weather. No part of the tree is milky. The bark of the fapota and mammofa is very adringent, and goes under the name of Cortex Jamacienfis. It was once fuppofed by fome to be the true jefuit’s bark, has been given as fuch to the negroes with very ill edett, and lias been tried in England. It is an excellent aftringent, but very different from jefuit’s bark. Propagation and Culture. As thefe trees are natives of very warm countries, they cannot be preferved in Eng¬ land, unlefs they are placed in the wanned doves and ma¬ naged with great care. They are propagated by planting the dones, but, as thefe will not keep good long out of the ground, the fured method to obtain thefe plants is, to have the dones planted in tubs of earth as foon as they are taken out of the fruit, and the tubs placed in a lituation where they may have the morning fun, and kept duly watered. When the plants come up, they mud be fecured from vermin, and kept clear from weeds, but diould remain in the country till they are about a foot high, when they may be fhipped for England; they fhould be brought over in the dimmer, and, if poflibie, time enough for the plants to make good roots after they arrive. During their paf- fage they mud have fome water, while they continue, in a warm climate ; but, as they come into colder weather, they diould have very little moidure ; and they mud be fecured from fait water, which will loon dedroy the plants if it gets at them. When thefe plants arrive in England, they Ihould be carefully taken out of the tubs, preferving fome earth to their roots, and planted into pots filled with frefh earth, and then plunged into a moderate hot-bed of tan¬ ners’ bark, obferving, if the weather is hot, to fhade the glafles with mats every day, toicreenthe plants from the U fan 74 A C tt fun until they have taken new root; observing alfo not to water them too much at firft, efpecially if the earth in which they come over is moift; becaufe too much water is very injurious to the plants before they are well rooted, but afterward they muft be frequently refrefhed with water in warm weather ; and they muft have a large fhare of air admitted to them, otherwife their leaves will be infefted with infeCts, and become foul ; in which cafe they muft be wafhed with a fponge .to clean them, without which tire plants will not thrive. In the winter thefe plants muft be placed in the warmeft ftove, and in cold weather they fhould have but little w-ater given to them, though they nmft be frequently refrefhed when the earth is dry; efpe¬ cially if they retain their leaves all the winter, they will require a greater (hare of water than when they drop their leaves; fo that this muft be done with dilcretion, accord¬ ing to the ftate in which the plants are. As thefe plants grow in magnitude, they fhould be flufted into pots of a: larger fize, but they muft not be over-potted, for that will infallibly deftroy them. . ACHROMATIC, adj. in optics, without colour ; a term which, it feems, w’as firft ufed by M. de la Lande, in his aftronomy, to denote telefcopes of a new invention, con¬ trived to remedy aberrations and colours. See Aberra¬ tion and Telescope. Achromatic Telescope, a fingular fpecies of re¬ fracting telefcope, faid to be invented by the late Mr. John Dollond, optician to the king, and fince improved by his- fon Mr. Peter Dollond, and others. Every ray of light pafling obliquely from a rarer into a denfer medium, changes its direction towards the perpen¬ dicular ; and every ray pafling obliquely from. a denfer in¬ to a rarer medium, changes its direction from the-per- pendicular. This bending of the ray, caufed by the change of its direction, is called its refraCtion; and the- quality of light which fubjeCts it to this refraCtion, is call¬ ed its refrangibility. Every ray of light, before it is re- fraCted, is white, though it confifts of a number of com¬ ponent rays, each of which is of a different colour. As foon as its refraCted, it is feparated into- its component rays, which, from that time, proceed diverging from each other, like rays from a center: and this divergency is caufed by the different refrangibility of the component rays, in fuch fort, that the more the original or compo¬ nent ray is refraCted, the more will the compound rays di¬ verge when the light is refraCted by one given medium only. From hence it has been concluded, that any tw o diffe¬ rent mediums that can be made to produce equal refrac¬ tions, will neceffarily produce equal divergencies : whence it fhould alfo follow, that equal and contrary refractions ftiould not only deftroy each other, but that the diver¬ gency of the colours caufed by one refraCtion fhould be corrected by the other; and that to produce refraCtion that would not be affeCted by the different refrangibility of light, is impoflible. But Mr. Dollond has proved, by many experiments, that thefe conclufions are not well founded ; from which experiments it appeared, that a ray of light, after equal and contrary refractions, was ftill fpread into component rays differently coloured ; in cither words, that two diffe¬ rent mediums may caufe equal refraction, but different di¬ vergency ; and equal divergency, with different refraCtion. It follows therefore that refraCtion may be produced, which is not affeCted by the different refrangibility of light. In other words, that, if the mediums be different, different refraCtions may be produced, though at the fame time the divergency caufed by one refraCtion fhall be ex¬ actly counteracted by the divergency, caufed by the other ; and fo an cbjeft may be feen .through mediums which, together, caufe the rays to converge, without appearing of different colours. This is the foundation of Mr. Dollond’s improvement of refraCting telefcopes. By fubfequent experiments he found, that different forts of glafs differed greatly in their refractive qualities,. with refpeCt to the divergency of co- X C H ' lours. . He found that crown glafs caufes the leaft diver¬ gency, ' and white 'flint the moft, when they are wrought into forms that produce equal refraCtions. He ground a piece of white flint. glafs into a wedge, whofe. angle was about 25 degrees; and a piece of crown glafs to another, whofe angle was about 29 degrees; and thefe he found refraCted nearly alike, but that their divergency of co¬ lours was very different. He then ground feveral other pieces of crown glafs to wedges of different angles, till he got one that was equal, in the divergency it produced, to that of a wedge of flint glafs of 25 degrees; fo that when they were put together, in fuch a manner as to refract in contrary directions, the refraCted light was perfectly free from colour. Then, meafuring the fractions of each wedge, he found that that of the white flint glafs was to that of the crown glafs nearly as two to three. And hence any two wedges, made of thefe two fubliances, and in this proportion, would, when applied together fo as to refraCt in contrary direc¬ tions, refraCt the light without any effeCt arifing from, the- different refrangibility of the component rays. Therefore, to make two fpherical glades that refraCt the light in contrary directions, one muft be concave, and the -other convex-; and as the rays, after pafling through both, muft meet in a focus, the excels- of the refraCtion muft be in the convex one : and, as the convex is to refract moft, it appears from the experiment that it muft be made of crown glafs ; and, as the concave is to refraCt leaft, it muft be made of white flint. And farther, ■ as the refraCtion of fpherical glafles are in an inverfe ratio of their focaf diftances, it follows that the' focal diftances of the two glafles fhould be in the ratio of the refraCtions of the wedges; for, being thus pro¬ portioned, every ray of light that pafles through this com¬ bined glafs, at whatever diftance from its axis, will corr- ftantly be refraCted by the difference between two con¬ trary refraCtions, in the proportion required ; and there¬ fore the effeCt of the different refrangibility of light will, be prevented. The removal of this impediment, however, produced another: for the two glafles, which were thus combined, being fegmenls of very deep fpheres, the aberrations from the fpherical -furfaces became fo conliderable, as greatly to difturb the diftinCtnefs of the image. Yet confidering that the furfaces of fpherical glafles admit of great vari¬ ations, though the focal diftance be limited, and that by thefe variations their aberration might be made more or lefs at pleafure, Mr. Dollond plainly faw that it was pofli- ble to make the aberrating of any two glafles equal ; and that, as in this cafe the refraCtions of the two glafles were contrary to each other, and their aberrations being equal, thefe would deftroy each other. Thus he obtained a perfeCt theory of making objeCt glafles, to the apertures of which he could hardly perceive any limits ; for, if the praCtice could come up to the theo¬ ry, they muft admit of apertures of great extent, ;ar\d,con- fequently bear great magnifying powers. The difficulties of the practice are, however, ftill very confiderable. For firft, the focal diftances, as well as the particular furfaces, muft be proportioned with the utmoft accuracy to the denfitiesand .refracting powers of theglaf- fes, which vary even in the fame fort of glafs, when made at different-times. Secondly, there are four furfaces to be wrought perfectly fpherical. However, Mr. Dollond could conftr.uCt refracting telefcopes upon thefe principles,, with fuch apertures and magnifying powers, under limit¬ ed lengths, as greatly -exceed any that were produced be¬ fore, in -forming the images of objeCts bright, diftin.Ct, and uninfeCted with colours about the edges, through the whole extent of a very large field or compafs of view ; of which he has given abundant and undeniable teftimony. See Telescope. There has lately appeared in the Gentleman’s Magazine (1790, pa. 890) a paper on the refraCting telefcope, by an author whQ figns Veritus}, in which the invention is afcribed to ; A C H- to aVother perlon, not heretofore mentionefl, in thefe wor(js.(__“ As the. invention. has been claimed by M. Eu¬ ler,. M. Klingenftierna, and home other foreigners, we ought, for the honour' bf England, to aflert our right, and giv.q the merit of the difcovery to whom it is due ; and, therefore* without farther .preface, I ill all obferve, that the inventor was Chefter More Hall, Efq. of More-hall, in-EfffX;)’, who, about 1729, as appears by-his papers, con- fitlering .the 'different humours of the eye; imagined they were -p kiced fo as to correct the different refrangibility of light. He then conceived, that if he could find fubftan- ces having .fuch properties as he fuppofed thefe humours might potfefs, he fliould be enabled to conftruCt an objebl glafs- that would fhew objefts colourlefs-. After many ex¬ periments he had the good fortune to find thofe properties in two different forts of glafs, and, making them difperfe the rays of light in. different directions, he fucceeded. About 1733- he completed .feveral achromatic object glaf- fes (though, .he did not give them this name) that bore an aperture of more than 2^. inches, though the focal length did not exceed, 20 inches ; one of which is. now in thepof- feilion of the. Rev. Mr. Smith, of Charlotte-ftreet, Rath- bone -place. This glafs has been examined by feveral gentlemen of eminence and fcientific abilities, and found to poffefs the properties of the prefent achromatic glades. Mr. Hall ufed to employ the working opticians to grind his lenfes; at the fame time he finifhed them with the ra¬ dii of the furfaces, not only to correct the different refran¬ gibility of rays, but alfo the aberration arifing from the fpherical figure of the lenfes. Old Mr. Bafs, who at that time lived in Bridewell iPrecinbl, was one of thefe working opticians, from whom Mr. Hall’s invention feems to have been obtained. In the trial at Weftininfter-hall about the patent for making achromatic telefcopes, Mr. Hall was allowed to be the inventor; but Lord Mansfield obferved, .“ It was not the perfon that locked up his invention in his ferutoire that ought to profit by a patent for fuch an invention, but he who brought it forth for the benefit of the public.” This, perhaps, might be faid with fome degree of juftice, as Mr. Hall was a gentleman of property, and did not look to any pecuniary advantage from his difcovery; and, confequently, it is very probable that he might not have an intention to make it generally known at that time. That Mr. Ayfcough, optician, in Ludgate-fireet, was in polfelfion of one of Mr. Hall’s achromatic telefcopes in 1754, is a fact w hich at this time will not be difputed.” ACHTELING,/. a meafure for liquids ufed in Ger¬ many. Thirty-two acht dings make a heemcr ; four fciltims, or fciltins , make an achteling . ACHYR, a ftrong town and caftle of the LTkraine, fub- Jedt to the Ruffians fince 1667. It ftands on the river Uorlklo near the frontiers of Ruifia, 127 miles weft of Kiovv. Lat. 49.32. Ion. 36. o. ACHYRANTHES,/.. chaff, and ouiSn a flow¬ er.) In botany, a genus of the pentandriamonogynia clafs, and in the natural order of amaranthi. The generic cha- raftersare — Calyx : perianthium, outer three-leaved, lan¬ ceolate, acute, permanent ; inner five-leaved, permanent. Corolla: none; neftary of five valves furrounding the germ, bearded at the tip, concave, caducous. Stamina: filamentsTiliform, the length of the corolla ; antherae ovate,, incumbent. Piftillum: germ fuperior, turbinate ; ftyle filiform, the length of the ftamina ;. ftigma bifid, villous. Pericarpium: capfule roundifti, one-celied, not gaping. Seed: (ingle, oblong. — EJfential Char after. Calyx, five, leaved. Corolla, none. Stigma, bifid. Seed, folitary. Species. 1. Achyranthes afpera, or rough achyranthes : ftem fhrubby eredt : calyxes reflex, preffed to the fpike. The Sicilian plant grows near three feet high, with oblong pointed leaves; the flowers come out in long fpikes from the extremity of the branches. As foundAn Malabar, Ceylon, Jamaica, and almoft every where within the tro¬ pics, it has the leaves fmooth and green on both (ides, like Plumbago zeylanica ; broader than in the Sicilian plant, and A C I 75 dotted underneath : but the appearance, fpike, ftature, flower, &c. being the fame in both, they are not diftindt fpecies. 2. Achyranthes lappacea, or burry achyranthes: ftem flirubby, ditfufed, profirate; fpikes interrupted ; lateral flowers having a bundle of hooked briftles on each fide. This is a native of Malabar and Ceylon. 3 . Achyranthes muricata, or prickly achyranthes : ftem flirubby, patulous; leaves alternate; flowers in remote ovate fpikes; calyxes fquarrofe. Leaves pctioled, ovate, entire, almoft naked. Spike alternate, peduncled, long, as in the firft fpecies, but the flowers more remote, more ovate, and not reflex, but three feales of the calyx ftiort- er. Native of India. 4. Achyranthes patula, or fpreading achyranthes : ftem flirubby, patulous, pubefeent ; flowers in orbicular fpikes, hedgehog-hooked. In a ftate of deep, the oppofite leaves of this fpecies are bent down under the branch, and ap¬ proximate to the under furface. It is a native of the Eaft Indies. 5. Achyranthes alternifolia, or alternate-leaved achy¬ ranthes i fteni herbaceous, eredl; flowers in fubglobular burrs. This fpecies is alfo a native of the Eaft indies. 6. Achyranthes corymbofa, or corymbed achyranthes: leaves four-fold, linear; panicle dichotomous corymbed. The flowers refentble thofe of cdofia, and it was put into that genus formerly by Linnaeus. It is found in Ceylon. 7. Achyranthes dichotoma, or dichotomous achyran¬ thes: ftems fuffruticofe, leaves oppofite lifiear flat acute ; cyme dichotomous. This very much refembles the fore¬ going : it grows in Virginia. 8. Achyranthes proftrata, or profirate achyranthes : the ftems profirate flirubby ; fpikes oblong ; fiofcules in pairs, with a hooked fafcicle on each fide. • This is a native of India. 9. Achyranthes nivCa, or white achyranthes: leaves veticilled ovate tomentofe, corymbs compact dichotomous, flowers corolled. It is a native of the Canary ifiands, v.'hence it was introduced here by Mr. Francis Maflbn, in 1780. It flowers from May to July. 10. Achyranthes altiflima, or tall achyranthes : ftem fitf- fruticofe fcandent, panicles terminating and axillary, branched. The ftalks of this fpecies climb up trees to th'e height of twenty feet. It is common among low bufhes about Spanifh Town and Kingfton, in Jamaica ; and in the ■ woods of St. Domingo. 1 1 . Achyranthes polygoncides : ftem decumbent four- cornered, leaves ovate-cordate, fpikes lax, fiiort. This fpecies was found in Arabia by Forlkahl, and in Malabar by Koenig. It refembles the polygonum orienta/e m leaves and fpikes, but the latter are lefs compaft. The Arabians call this plant didjar and buo'jer: from the firft of thefe the trivial name is formed. Propagation and Culture. The firft fort has been long known in England ; but neither tiiis, nor any of the others, having much beauty to recommend them, they are only preserved in botanic gardens. The firft may be raifed on a hot-bed from the feeds, and when the plants have ac¬ quired ftrength, they may be removed into the full ground, where they will flower in July, and the feeds will ripen in. September. If they are kept in pots, and fet into a warm green-houfe in winter, they will live two or three years. — The other forts muft be placed in a ftove to preferve. them through the winter : except the ninth, which wdl live in a green-houfe. ACI A,/ [from the vernacular name aciova, in Guiana.) In botany, a genus of the monadelphia dodecandria clafs, of the natural order of pomaceae. 1 he generic charac¬ ters are — Calyx: perianthium one-leafed, turbinate, cur¬ ved; border five-parted; parts'roundifh, fpreading; the uppermoft and two loweft larger; the two middle ones fmaller. Corolla: petals five, oblong, rounded ; the three upper longer, afeending; the two lower (horter. Stami¬ na: filaments twelve, unequal, uniting at bottom in a li¬ near fleflvy membrane, infer ted into the calyx between the- /two- j6 A C 1 two fn